ITUC Survey shows 30% rise in murdered unionists in 2009
The Annual ITUC Survey  reveals an increase of 30 percent in the number of trade unionists murdered in 2009, bringing the total of killings for the year to 101. The survey, released June 10,  also  shows growing pressure on fundamental workers’ rights around the world as the impact of the global economic crisis on employment deepened. Of the 101 murdered, 48 were killed in Colombia, 16 in Guatemala, 12 in Honduras, six in Mexico, six in Bangladesh, four in Brazil,  three in the Dominican Republic,  three in the Philippines,  and one each in India,  Iraq and Nigeria.

This year’s report records an extensive list of 140 countries where trade unions are struggling  to defend workers’ interests against violations of government labor laws.  Numerous cases of strike-breaking and repression of  striking workers were documented in each region, including reports by thousands of workers claiming unpaid wages and harsh working conditions.

The undermining of internationally-recognized standards  has caused more and more workers to face insecurity and vulnerability in employment, with some 50 percent of the global workforce now in precarious jobs. The ITUC report notes that 2009 was the 60th anniversary of the ILO convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively, which has still not been ratified by about half the world’s nations, including Mexico, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam and the United States.

World Cup Soccer Ball Industry Continues Exploitation of Workers
As the frenzy grows over the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa, there is a part of the historic event that the world’s TV viewers will not see. The Play Fair Alliance  asked the sponsors (Federation  Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to respond to a report that workers stitching soccer balls in Pakistan, India, China and Thailand continue to be subjected to alarming labor rights violations. The report, released June 10, said that child labor still exists in the Pakistani industry and is also occurring in  India and China.

In the 13 years since the soccer ball industry signed the “Atlanta Agreement,” committing it to clean up the industry, regular  reports of violations of human rights have been brought to the attention of key actors in the industry, including global brands. Most recently, in 2008, the Play Fair Alliance published research on China, India and Thailand where wages were below the legal minimum, despite a workday of 12 to 13 hours. Home-based workers in India reported piece rates as low as 35 cents per ball, completing two to four balls a day.

The ITUC has invited FIFA to discuss concrete measures that can be taken to clean up the industry. It is a scandal that so many workers  are subjected to appalling exploitation  in an industry that generates so much wealth. We are looking to FIFA to take the lead in ensuring a fair deal for these workers,” said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder.

Spain Hit by Strike as Unions Protest Austerity Measures
Spanish public workers went on strike on June 8 against a cut in their wages in what could be the first of several union-led protests against the government’s latest austerity measures. Trade unions estimated that 75 percent of the country’s 2.5 million public workers had walked off their jobs, a number that was contested by the government, which put the level of participation at  about 11.85 percent.

Spain’s public workers were protesting a 5 percent average reduction  in their wages this year, part of a government package of additional cuts worth 15 billion euros   ($ 18 billion) that was narrowly approved by lawmakers last month.  The cuts are designed to help appease international investors who are concerned about Spain’s huge deficit,  11.2 percent of gross domestic product, which, under  the rules of the 16 euro  nations, must be cut to 3 percent by 2013.  

The June one-day strike is expected to be the prelude to more severe labor  unrest later this month after the government unveils its June 16 plans to overhaul Spain’s labor laws. The country’s  two main unions, that have been at loggerheads with employers on how to improve the labor market, have warned of a general strike, should the government present a “hurtful” reform plan.

ArcelorMittal Workers in Algeria Vote to Strike to Back a Wage Claim
Workers at the ArcelorMittal steelworks in Annaba, northeast Algeria, voted June 10 to go on an unlimited strike from June 20 to  support a pay claim. “Five thousand workers took part Thursday morning in a general assembly and they voted unanimously in favor of an unlimited strike, which can only begin on June 20 because of legal delays,” said Smain Kouadria, a union official.  The strike warning will officially be handed in on Sunday morning.

Pay talks between the management of ArcelorMittal and the unions broke down earlier in the week. However, the communications official of the steel complex, Mohamed Guedina said that ”talks have not broken off,"  and added that the director of ArcelorMittal’s Annaba plant had made new proposals in a letter to the  workforce. ”Management will continue the  dialogue with the union,” the letter said.

ArcelorMittal chief executive, Le Gouic, said the average basic salary has increased by 25 percent since January 2009, and will go up again by another 5 percent  on July 1. The company employs some 6,000 salaried workers and annually produces about 700,000 tons of steel.

IWJ Condemns Targeting of Immigrant Workers in BP Oil Spill
Interfaith  Worker Justice (IWJ)  the nation’s largest religious advocacy for the rights of low-wage workers, expressed utter incomprehension over the checkpoints and harassment to which workers cleaning up BP’s Gulf Coast oil disaster are being subjected  “As we scramble to contain the biggest environmental catastrophe in U.S. history, and send workers into harm's way to do the dirty work (ten were recently hospitalized after reporting dizziness, nausea and difficulty in breathing) why do the very people whose labors are so urgently needed and whose safety hangs in the balance, find themselves under investigation over their immigrant status?” asked  Danny Postel, IWJ Communications Coordinator.

“The fear of crime in the Gulf Coast is perfectly legitimate,” said Ted Smoker, IWJ’s director of  public policy, “but the perpetrators are not the workers—they are the employers who prey on them by stealing their wages and failing to provide them with safety  protections they need to do the dangerous work, and are required to do by law.”

The aftermath of Katrina  has been repeatedly invoked by local law enforcement officials, who are sounding alarm bells about criminal threats to the Gulf Coast region. “We don’t want it to happen again,” said the local sheriff.  IWJ formed the Gulf Coast Commission on Reconstruction Equity to monitor rebuilding contracts after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Lebanese Unions Gear Up for General Strike on June 17
To protest economic policies pursued by their government, Lebanese trade  unions have announced a general strike on June17. In the meantime, teachers organizations are continuing their protests outside the Education Ministry. The General Labor Confederation (GLC) issued a statement in which it criticized the heavy reliance of the 2010 budget on indirect taxation.

The statement labeled the imposition of a high tax on gasoline by the government as an “act of stealing from all Lebanese people,’’ that is resulting in a general increase in prices. ”The Cabinet and Parliament have a real opportunity to adopt a new approach in formulating  a budget with economic and social dimensions meeting the essential needs of people,” the statement said.

In April, the GLC participated  in a strike conducted by taxi drivers to protest  against high gasoline prices. “Confronting taxes on gasoline is a national duty”, said the  head of the GLC, adding that a  Facebook  campaign he initiated to mobilize people against increasing gasoline prices had attracted huge support.