French Strikers Slow Nuclear Reactor Maintenance
French nuclear workers, who have been protesting over pay since  the start of the year, are finding new methods to cut EDF's available electricity capacity, a SUD union spokeswoman said on May 20. Workers are preventing reactors, which are stopped for planned maintenance at  the Chignon, Cures, Playas Palely and Dampier plants from restarting on schedule, costing EDF millions of euros.

“This is a new form of striking,” the spokeswoman said. “A reactor is planned to stop at the Fessenheim plant on May 23. and we are expecting workers to block the maintenance there as well", she said.  

French electricity workers are asking for a five percent pay raise and a one-off bonus of 1,500 euros ($2,045). Nuclear workers cut 2,500 megawatts in power capacity in a one-day strike on May 19, but the spokeswoman said it was too difficult for workers to cut production capacity.

European and U.S. Unions Support Exploited Bangladeshi Workers
Ver.di, United Service Union in Germany, UNITE in England and United Steelworkers in North America expressed their outrage at the illegal and brutal sweatshop conditions at the R. L. Denim factory in Bangladesh, where over 650, mostly women, workers are being exploited sewing clothing for Metro Group and their Cash & Carry stores, Metro Group has sewn clothing at the R. J. Denim plant since 2003.

In a joint statement, they said: “No human being, no worker, should be forced to work 13 to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, while being paid as little as 11 1/2 cents (U.S.) an hour, leaving the workers and their families trapped in misery.  Pregnant women who begged for their legal right to maternity leave with pay were thrown out of the factory without a cent.  Workers who fell behind in their mandatory production goals were beaten and forced to work extra hours without pay.  Every single labor law in Bangladesh and the International Labor Organization’s core labor rights standards were violated in broad daylight over the course of years.”

The three unions asked  the Metro Group to pay the workers “every cent  of back wages  and benefits legally due them.” They asked for a commitment from the Metro management not to pull garment work from the  Denim factory. The Metro management was urged to monitor the factory to improve working conditions and  end the physical abuse of employees.

A Dutch Union Organizer Recruits Hundreds of New Members per Year
In 2007, Maurice Fernandez, an organizer for the Dutch construction union, signed up nearly 600 people. In 2008; he organized “only” 480, and by mid-April of this year, he has already reached 150 new members.. He visits schools and construction sites in the North-West Region. “You must always adapt your story to the people you are dealing with,” which, he says, accounts for his fabulous success;

Fernandes, when visiting schools, tells students that a union membership pays, and makes the calculations on a whiteboard. If a student who is a union member sends a copy of his diploma or his articles of apprenticeship to the union, he will receive 60 euros ($84). In various other ways that Fernandes explains, they can earn as much as 300 euros ($420), The money is made available by employers, because they have an interest in students finishing their education.

Many immigrants work in the construction industry and they speak a variety of languages. It is important to have union members who can speak the appropriate language on an organizing visit to a worksite. The important thing is to establish an easy-going relationship with the person you are trying to organize, Fernandes says. He is obviously a master at that. With all the advanced training that union organizers receive, most do not have the special quality that explains Fernandez’s amazing record.

European Unions Protest in Prague at Handling of Economic Crisis
About 20,000 trade union members from the Czech Republic  and  other European countries rallied in Prague on May 16 to demand better protection for workers during the economic crisis, and protested proposed measures they consider harmful. The protesters, joined by colleagues from German, Italy, France and eight other countries, gathered outside Prague Castle.

“We have to do the maximum, including staging demonstrations, to prevent the economic crisis from being used against those who are not responsible for it, that is, common citizens,” said Milan Stech, who  heads the country’s major trade union umbrella organization. The speakers targeted recently proposed changes to the country’s labor code, which they claimed  were unacceptable. There were also objections to the proposed reform of the pension system, which would make it easier for employers to fire workers

The report noted that the  Czech economy has been hit hard, because its major trading partners, including  Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, faces a deep recession. Unemployment grew to 7.9  percent in April, and the economy contracted by a record 3.4 percent in the first  quarter of 2009.

Canadians Oppose Afghan Laws Trampling Women’s Rights

Leaders of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) have spoken out sharply against recently passed legislation in Afghanistan aimed at trampling women’s rights.   Ken Lewenza, CAW president,  called the new law which prohibits women from doing many things, “an absolute disgrace in 2009.” “It is an injustice when they legislate when a woman has sex with her partner or when a woman does or does not leave her home, Lewenza said.” When a group of Afghan women protested, they were stoned.

Among many other repressive aspects  of the law, women are prevented from going to school. Maria Pinto, president of CAW Local 673, said: “This will create a generation of people without the education and the tools to fight back against this oppression.”

CAW  Council President Tim Carrie emphasized that one reason the Canadian government said it was sending  troops to Afghanistan was to protect the rights of women and children. Prime Minister Stephen Harper “must indicate that the continued support  of Canadian troops in Afghanistan is contingent on the Afghanistan Parliament repealing this repressive legislation,” Carrie said.

Shift Work Batters Health of Finnish Workers, Study Shows
Shift work can have significantly adverse effects on health, according to a broad study by Eurofound, an EU agency dealing with the improvement of living and working conditions. Researchers have found that Finland has the highest degree of shift work, as well as the highest absenteeism rates in the European Union.

Eurofound’s research of workers’ health in 23 EU states found that people who work in  shifts, including night-shift work, have 60 percent higher absenteeism rates due to illness than people who work during the day. People working weekends had 30 percent higher absenteeism rates than people working typical 9-5 hours,

Finland leads the league in shift work. Of the companies surveyed, Finnish companies  reported engaging workers in shift work more than other European  firms.  Finland has the highest rate of Sunday work after the United Kingdom and Sweden, Finns also have the highest rate of absences  due to sickness.