U.S. Labor Denounces Arizona Immigration Law
“Arizona’s new immigration law is an affront to American values of fairness and respect for our Constitution. The AFL-CIO joins with people of conscience around the country to condemn the law, which will make racial profiling the norm—if not a requirement—in Arizona and will be impractical, unenforceable and a waste of scarce public resources,” said AFL-CIO President  Richard Trumka.

The law requires a police officer to stop a person and demand proof of immigration status when the officer has “reasonable suspicion” to believe the person is not authorized to be in the United States, regardless of whether he or she is suspected of a crime. The law puts Arizona’s entire Latino population—the great majority of whom are U.S. citizens or legal residents—at risk of arrest.  The law was signed by Gov  Jan Brewer. It goes into effect in August, 90 days after the Arizona state legislature adjourns.

The harsh law against immigrants has sparked widespread opposition, not only among union members, but also faculty and students at the state’s university, Democratic politicians, human rights advocates and  players on professional sports teams. Latino organizations and individuals have called for a boycott of Arizona. The  law has triggered a demand that Congress take up the Comprehensive Immigration Act that would offer immigrants a path to citizenship.

British Airway Union Threatens 20-Day Strike
The Unite trade union is considering four waves of five-day strikes amid the possibility that 11,000 of its flight attendants will vote against the  airline’s latest contract offer. It is understood that there will be a strong rejection of BA’s offer in the voting on May 8, with strike dates awaiting the approval of Unite’s joint general secretaries, Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson. They could announce walkout on May 10.

The relationship between BA and Unite reached a new low after the airline fired one of the most senior union officials, a long-standing member of the airline’s cabin crew. Duncan Holley, 54,  was fired after failing to report for duty while carrying out union work as the secretary of Bassa,  Unite’s main cabin crew branch. Holley, who plans to appeal against the ending of his 34-years at BA, accused the airline of seeking to “chop the legs off” the Bassa leadership. Three other shop stewards at Bassa and its sister branch, Cabin Crew 89, are facing disciplinary proceedings and dismissal.

A union source said that a sustained walkout was likely because the impact of two shorter strikes in March was blunted by BA contingency plans, including the recruitment of 1,000 temporary flight attendants. A 20-day walkout would affect around 1.8 million passengers. A BA spokesman said: “It is entirely appropriate and reasonable for us to investigate serious allegations of misconduct.”

Young Women in Namibia  Are Training for Construction Crafts
An increasing number of young women in Namibia are enrolled in vocational programs that are training them  to be plumbers, bricklayers, masons and carpenters at the Windhoek Vocational Training School, thanks to the efforts of Metal & Allied Namibian Workers Union (MANWU), an affiliate of the Building and Wood International (BWI).

The Namibian union has been lobbying to increase the quotas for women, while they are still young, to learn an important occupation for this southwest African country. It collaborates with various institutions on various gender issues. It is currently working closely with the Labor Research Institute, the University of Namibia and Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare.

BWI has affiliates in Angola and Mozambique that will link gender to their decent work agenda, with main interests in health and safety and union organizing. The Namibian population is 2.1 million. The government is a republic  Namibians life span averages: about 51 years. More than 80 percent of men and women can read and write.
Dutch Cleaners Reach Agreement after Long Strike
After months of campaigning and a strike that lasted many weeks, Dutch cleaners have reached an agreement negotiated by their union, FNV Bondgenoten, with the employers’ organizations. The cleaners will get a 3.5 percent raise over two years. The union had initially asked for a 4 percent increase; the employers had finally offered a 2.5 percent raise.

In addition, there will be a supplement of up to 500 euros ( US $637) for union members who participated in the strike. It was also agreed that temporary workers will not lose their jobs because of the strike. Large contractors, including Dutch Railways, Schiphol Airport and the UVW employment agency, will sign a covenant on responsible contracting in July.

Ron Meyer of FNV Bondgenoten said: “The longest strike since 1933 has opened  peoples’ eyes all over the Netherlands and has inspired people. This is the achievement of the cleaners who are no longer invisible. They achieved what no one thought was possible: to get the largest corporations involved in a better treatment of the cleaners.”
Norway’s Model Approach to Binging Equality to the Board Room

By making it mandatory that women fill 40 percent of the seats on company boards,  Norway has become a pioneer in workplace equality, When the law was passed, many criticized it as both impractical and unwise. But now, many countries are rushing to enact similar legislation. Several countries have similar quotas for women, but Norway is the only country in the world that enforces it.

For months, journalists around the  world have been interviewing Audun Lysbakken, the head of Norway’s Ministry for Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, to elicit his thoughts on a law that is both novel and controversial. Since 2008, the law has made it mandatory that 40 percent of the supervisory board members of large, publicly-listed companies are women.  Companies that fail to comply with the law can face stiff penalties, including being excluded from stock exchanges, which amounts to forced liquidation.

Another criticism in Norway centers on the particular women assuming these positions. One controversial group is the  so-called “golden skirts,” a group of 70 women who are spread out onto at least 300 supervisory boards. As people opposed to this distribution see it,  this elite clique is abusing the new equality to advance their own careers. In Germany, it is not unusual  for men to serve as directors for  many companies.

150,000 Workers on  River Vessels in Bangladesh Strike for Better Pay
Demanding better pay and the removal of an unfair wage structure, more than 150,000 workers employed on river vessels in Bangladesh, walked off their jobs on May 8.  Workers were angered when Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan announced the pay structure (on the day before the strike) that stipulates  100 percent pay raise for cooks and cleaners of coaster tankers, but 50 percent for other vessels.

With the new wage increases, the minimum salary of a worker will be 2,850  taka (about US $41) instead of 5,000 taka (US $71) that the workers had demanded. Mohammad Ibrahim, an on-duty police officer, said that water vessels have not been moving since Friday midnight. “All the ferries have anchored on the other side of the river, Buriganga, the north bank of which Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka stands,” the officer said.

The shipping minister termed the strike as “illogical, unlawful and politically motivated.” He warned of stern action against any attempt to disrupt the water communication in Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by about 250 rivers. Over 2,000 ferries ply through the rivers of Bangladesh and transport over 100,000 passengers a day.