Women Around the World Will Be Honored on March 8, 2010
To honor the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around the world, Women for Women International is hosting a global campaign called “Join me on the Bridge” on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2010. On that day, the women of Rwanda and Congo will come together in peace on a bridge between their  countries to demand an end to war and  to demonstrate that women (and men) together on bridges throughout the world, creating a truly global movement that says No! to war  and YES! to peace and hope. There will be a march on Brooklyn Bridge in the United States and also on  Millenium Bridge in the United Kingdom

Dozens of nations, from Albania to Zambia, will  celebrate  International Women’s Day with demonstrations, marches and a variety of social and cultural events that dramatize women’s struggle for equality. The International Committee of the Red Cross will be drawing attention to the hardship that displaced women endure. There will be photo displays showing women as resourceful, resilient and courageous in the face of incredible hardships of the refugee camps.

International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labor movements in North America and across Europe at the turn of the 20th century. The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honor of the 1908  garment workers’ strike in New York City, where women were protesting  against exploitive working conditions.

‘Living Wage’ Could Be a Factor in Government Contracts
The White House is looking at a new policy that would give an advantage in bidding on U.S. government contracts to companies that offer good pay and generous benefits. But business groups that oppose the idea maintain it would shut out smaller companies from competing for more than $500 billion a year in federal contracts and increase government procurement costs.

Unions are strong advocates of the plan. They say that too many jobs financed by government contracts come with low wages and limited benefits, and support companies that violate federal labor laws. The Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank,  says that that nearly 20 percent of the two million  workers employed on federal contracts earn less than the poverty threshold wage of $9.91 an hour.

The new procurement policy is known as “high road” contracting and could draw the Obama administration into a larger debate over whether the government should use the public pursestrings to strengthen the middle class and promote higher labor standards. In 2007, Maryland  became the first U.S. state to adopt a living wage law that requires state contractors to pay a minimum salary to workers. More than 100 cities and counties have adopted the same mandates.

Apple  Admits Using Child Labor
The computer giant company, Apple, has admitted that child labor was used at the factories that built its computers, iPods and  mobile phones. At least eleven 15-year-old children were discovered to be working last year in three factories which supply Apple. The company did not  name the offending factories, or say where they were based, but the majority of its goods are assembled in China.

Apple also has factories working for it in Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, the Czech Republic and the United States. The company said the child workers  are now no longer being used, or are no longer underage. “In each of the three facilities, we  required a review of all employment records for the year, as well as a complete analysis of the hiring process, to clarify how underage people had been able to gain employment,” Apple said in an annual report to its suppliers.

Apple has been repeatedly criticized for using factories that abuse workers and where conditions are poor. Last week, it was revealed that 62 workers at a factory that manufactures products for Apple and Nokia had been poisoned by n-hexane, a toxic chemical that can cause muscular degeneration and blurred eyesight. Apple has not commented on the problems at the plant, which is run by Wintek in the Chinese city of  Suzhou.

Immigrants on Strike in Italy, France and Spain
Beginning the morning of March 5, Italy is seeing its first “national strike” of foreigners, called  to fight against racism  and to bring “visibility” to the immigrants living and working in Italy. The protest initiative began in France and is set to spread to  Greece, Spain and other countries. The strike is said to have been inspired by the 2006 protest movement of Latin Americans in the United States against the government’s immigration policies.

A number of activities have  been planned in various Italian cities; among them is an “ethnic lunch” that will be offered to prison police officers in Varese; the painting over or cleaning of racist slogans on walls in Trieste, a photo exhibition in Bologna with the faces of the “new Italians,” and open-air foreign language lessons to be offered in Milan.

The predominant color of the strike is “yellow,’” chosen by the organizers to bring together under the same symbolic yellow banner a coalition of foreigners,  European Union citizens, second generation immigrants and “anyone rejecting racism and any form of discrimination.”

67-Day Strike at Colombian Plantation Ends in Agreement
An agreement has been reached between the  Colombian rural workers union, SINTRAINAGRO, and Palo Alto Gnecco Espinosa Investments to end a bitter 67-day struggle at the company’s palm plantation in Magdelena.  Last December, Palo Alto workers began an active protest campaign against the company for non-payment of wages, bonuses,  and other payments, including seven years of arrears in pension and health-care contributions.

When the company refused to negotiate with their union,  the workers began a strike which continued for 67 days. On Jan. 14, armed gunmen entered the plantation and forced 185 out of a total of 200 workers to leave. SINTRAINAGRO immediately condemned the violence and welcomed the support of the International Transport Federation (ITF)

The company has now agreed to negotiate directly with SINTRAINAGRO, rescind the mass firings and reinstate workers under their previous contracts with no loss of service. It agrees to pay all wage arrears, including  back pay for the 67-day strike, by Sept. 30, 2010. On June 30, the company and the union will meet to review progress and deal with remaining outstanding issues.

Warsaw’s Licensed Taxi Drivers on Strike Against Unfair Competitors
Licensed taxi drivers in Poland’s capital have staged a protest  against unlicensed carriers, whom  they regard as unfair rivals. On the morning of March 5,  several dozen taxi drivers set off from Bankowy Square to the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in the style of a funeral procession. The drivers were playing the funeral march and carrying a coffin with the inscription: “The last licensed taxi driver.” The coffin was laid in front of the ministerial building on a catafalque.

The protesters want the government to reduce the number of unlicensed taxis and punish those who pretend to be bona fide taxi drivers. “Unlicensed taxis don’t have meters that give receipts, so a client can’t make a complaint. Besides,  most of them charge more than regular taxi drivers because the Road Transport Directorate doesn’t control them properly,” says Pawel Biedrzycki, from the Warsaw Private Transport Association.

The striking taxi drivers are supported by Solidarity trade unionists from the Mazovia region, and airport taxi drivers, who also complain about illegal cabs. The protesters have already announced that if the government doesn’t meet their demands, they will continue the strike by blocking up Warsaw’s streets.