Sodexo under Scrutiny by Workers and Unions in Six Countries
Workers and union leaders from six countries convened in Paris on July 1 to discuss Sodexo’s efforts in the United States and Colombia to stop workers from forming a union and  to hear reports of substandard working conditions in those countries. At the meeting were labor leaders from France, England, Colombia, Turkey, the Dominican Republic and the United States, represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The leaders vowed to step up the campaign for a global agreement that guarantees the rights of Sodexo workers to form a union and improve their working conditions.

Despite making more than a billion dollars in profits in 2009, and being the 22nd largest corporation in the world, Sodexo  pays its workers in the United States as little as $7.50 an hour and does not offer affordable health-care options to its food service and similar-type employees. Two-thirds of non-managerial employees in the U.S. do not have coverage under the medical insurance plans offered by the company.

The Paris meeting of the six-country coalition of labor leaders  was held after repeated unsuccessful attempts to get Sodexo to sign a global agreement. The meeting heard testimony from Sodexo workers about the anti-union activities of the company and discussed new strategies to organize the multinational giant.

Hundreds of Chinese Construction Workers Join Israeli Union
It  was certainly an extraordinary sight, when hundreds of Chinese construction workers appeared at the Tel Aviv headquarters of Histadrut  on June 30 to fill out the forms that would make them Israeli union members. Though the forms were in Hebrew, the applicants were given explanatory pages in Chinese. As one of the more veteran Chinese workers put it, speaking with a smattering of Hebrew: “We are here to get strength.”

Many of the workers were accompanied by their employers, who say they have reached the conclusion that it would be easier to deal with a single body—the trade union—rather than with lawyers who often take large sums from workers to defend their rights. In China, workers are not permitted to join free and independent unions.

The mass signup of the Chinese workers follows the decision several months ago by the Histadrut to begin  organizing foreign workers in Israel. The Israeli move stands in sharp contrast  to unions in some countries that campaign for the expulsion of foreign-born workers.

Shootings and Layoffs of 119 workers at UPS in Turkey
Speaking from the picket line outside the UPS Turkey offices in Istanbul, Mac Urata, secretary of the ITF’s Inland Transport Sections, on July 2 condemned the latest reported attacks on company employees. The picketing is in protest against the apparent victimization of union members working for UPS Turkey, 119 of whom have been fired. UPS Turkey is a subsidiary of the U.S.-based United Parcel Service.

The attacks against union members have increased, Urata says, with workers being forced to resign from their union at the office of a notary public. When the UPS manager returned from a visit to company headquarters in Atlanta, U.S., last week, another 30 workers were laid off.
In Izmir July 1, shots were fired, allegedly by a manager of the UPS subcontractor, no one was wounded, and the perpetrator is reported to be in the hands of the police.

“We will once again be speaking to the UPS head office to ask them to intervene immediately with their subsidiary in Turkey, while our colleagues in the ETF will also be raising the matter with the European Parliament, and jointly, we will do the same with the Prime Minister of Turkey,” Errata said. There was no public reaction from the United Parcel Service or the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), which has a contract with the company.

Madrid Subways Are Shut Down in Mass Strike
Striking train drivers shut down the Madrid subways July 1, ignoring minimum service rules imposed by the Madrid regional government. Traffic jams rapidly spread throughout the city.  The subway network carries two million passengers daily; bus and taxi services were overwhelmed as commuters tried to get to work. After the Madrid regional government demanded a 5 percent wage cut for Metro workers, the  workers gathered in an assembly on June 22 and voted for a three-day strike by unions, starting on June 28.

Transport chaos continued in Madrid as the strike  by Metro workers entered its third day, with the system totally shut down. The regional government, meanwhile,  took disciplinary measures against some 200 employees who failed to provide the 50 percent service legally required during such walkouts.

The 7,500 Metro workers are protesting a  wage cut of 5 percent, decided by a right-wing regional government  in line with similar measures on public employees’ pay. The current strike is seen by trade unions as a warm-up to a general strike on Sept. 29 against public spending cuts and reform of the labor laws.

Dutch Union Members Support Plan to Boost Pension Age
Members of the FNV Trade Union Federation have given their approval to a  plan to reform the Dutch pension system worked out by union officials and employer representatives. The plan envisions an increase in the state pension age from 65 to 67. It was supported by 80 percent of the 100,000 who voted.

The deal, which has not yet been finalized, involves an increase in the pension age from 65 to 66 in 2020 and possibly to 67 in 2025, depending on expected developments. Both state pensions (AOW) and corporate pension schemes would be affected.

Although it will be up to the next Cabinet and Parliament how to implement the increase, the union-employer agreement is likely to be influential on those efforts. Most parties agree the pension age must be lifted.

Chilean Unions Protest Minimum Wage Boost as 'Unjust'
Chilean unions were far from excited by the 4.2 percent boost  to the nation’s minimum wage that was approved by Congress on June 30. The increase, amounting to a difference of 14 U.S. dollars, and providing workers  with close to $344 a month, hopes to make up for the inflation expected within the next 12 months. The government had originally lobbied for just about 3 percent, arguing that Chile’s economy could not support more.

Despite this, union leaders allege that the increase does not even allow a family to eat well for one day. It accuses the Pinero government of falling short on its promise to eradicate poverty and improve social-support networks in the country. An official of a major union said the insufficient increase in the minimum showed a lack of respect for workers, especially since about a million people currently live off of minimum wage budgets.

Arturo Martinez, president of CUT (Chilean Central Union of Workers), called the  minimum wage measure “unjust.” Labor organizations have announced protests and demonstrations against the legislation next week. They say they have not ruled out the possibility of a nationwide strike.