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World of Labor
The World of Labor January 28, 2012
70 Billionaires at World Forum Talk about Income Inequality
This year’s annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. will have some 70 billionaires from around the world in attendance, as well as the 2,000 or more academics and politicians who usually come to this event. According to some advance interviews, the billionaires want to talk about economic inequality, the same subject that brings international labor leaders to the forum.
Some sessions in a series labeled “Ensuring Inclusive Growth and Development” will touch on income inequality, with the ultra-rich having distinctly different views from the labor leaders, who will be pressing for jobs and social programs in poor countries.
A panel, titled “Remodeling Capitalism,” is expected to stir lively debate and surprising proposals when it is discussed on Jan. 27 at the Swiss Alpine High School. A contingent of Occupiers will also attend and remind the bankers, investors and Wall Street financiers of their roles in creating the global economic crisis.
The World of Labor January 21, 2012
16 Million Indonesian Workers May Benefit from Changes in Law
A revision of Indonesia’s labor law that paves the way for outsourced workers to have equal benefits with permanent employees is expected to improve the lives of millions of workers. The amended law should also reduce conflicts between laborers and employers in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
On Jan. 17, the Constitutional Court declared outsourcing unlawful under the country’s Constitution, because it would create uncertainty over the faith and livelihood of the workers. Timbul Stregar, chairman of the Indonesian Workers Association (OPSI), said the revision of the law was a victory for 16 million outsourced workers, or roughly 40 percent of the country’s formal labor force of 41 million.
“The contract system will remain only if it is improved with benefits, such as overtime bonuses and severance pay,” Timbul said. The unions had been fighting in the courts for an improved law since 2003. The court’s ruling stated that Indonesian workers had “the right to a decent job and a decent life,” which should be the basis of the country’s labor law.
The World of Labor January 14, 2012
Dutch Pension Fund Dumps Walmart
Leaders of the Making Change at Walmart campaign hailed the news that one of the largest pension funds in the world has decided to divest from Walmart stores. Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensionfunds (ABP) announced Jan. 14 that the retirement fund would no longer invest in the retail giant due to the company’s repeated violation of international standards.
The fund, which has over $300 billion in assets and is the third largest in the world, had over $147 million invested in Walmart as of Sept, 30, 2011. Last October, Walmart “associates” told the company’s shareholders during the annual meeting in Bentonville, Ark., about the unfair tactics employed by management against employees.
Walmart is one of only five American companies to be blacklisted by the Dutch pension fund in 2012. (The other four companies are engaged in the production of clusterbombs.) ABP also cited PetroChina, an oil company with holdings in the Sudan and Burma.
The World of Labor January 7, 2012
Total Unpaid Overtime is equal to a Million Extra Jobs, Says TUC
The two million hours of overtime worked last year would be enough to create over a million extra full time jobs, the British Trade Union Congress (TUC) said on Jan. 5 , as it announced the date for “Work Your Proper Hours Day 2012.”
The total amount of unpaid overtime worked last year was 1,968 million hours-worth a record 29.2 billion British pounds. If workers who regularly put in unpaid overtime worked all their hours from the start of the year, the first day they would get paid would be Friday,
Feb. 24. The TUC has named that date as “Work Your Proper Hours Day.’’
The number of workers doing unpaid overtime has increased by more than a million, since records began in 1992. The proportion of workers doing overtime has grown from 19.7 percent in 1992 to 21.1 percent in 2011.
The World of Labor December 10, 2011
European Union Shifts Economic Aid to Poorer Countries
The European Commission has decided to cut aid from its 2014-2020 budget to 19 emerging economies together, with big economies like China, India and Brazil, and also including Argentina and 10 Latin American countries., the EC announced Dec, 8. “These countries are now able to ensure their own development, and our aid does not any longer have a high impact on their development,” said the EU in an official statement.
The EU commissioner said that the decision was taken to bring about a “shift in our relations with emerging countries and focus the aid on the poorest countries” between 2014 and 2020. The 27-state European Union is the world’s biggest donor, accounting for 50 percent of the world’s aid, with 53.8 billion euros (US $72 billion) handed out last year. The European Commission manages 20 percent of that aid - or 11 billion euros.
“An over-reliance on macro-economic data averaged at the national level hides the reality of poverty and inequality between countries. Aid should not be instrumentalized for EU strategic interests. We’re talking about public money aimed at poverty eradication,” said Sarah Kristine Johansen, who says the CONCORD confederation represents national aid agencies and 1,600 non-governmental organizations.
The World of Labor November 26, 2011
The U.S. Is ‘Dead Last’ Among 21 Nations in Unionization Rates
The United States is ‘dead last’ among 21 developed nations in both unionization rates and union coverage of the workforce. Instead, a new study, in both unionization rates and union coverage of the workforce, says it’s not because of globalization or high technology.
The new study, Politics Matter: Changes in Unionization Rates in Rich Countries, 1960-2010, states that the freedom of unions to bargain and organize are the determining factors in both union coverage and union density.
The biggest membership decline was in New Zealand, down 47.7 percentage points since 1980. And while the U.S. union membership dropped by 12.4 percentage points since 1980, it started from a lower base than the other 20 countries., and rested at 13.3 percent in 2007.
The World of Labor November 19, 2011
Mass Arrests at ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Protests
Some 250 people were arrested in New York alone, as thousands of protesters marched across Brooklyn Bridge in one of several U.S. rallies of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement. The rallies marked two months since the movement against inequality began.
The march across the Bridge had had been planned before demonstrators were swept two days ago (Nov. 15) from New York’s Zuccotti Park, where they had camped since September. Protesters accused the police of brutality, with TV images showing a man with a bloodied face being arrested. By Thursday evening, protesters were joined by union activists as they moved on to the Brooklyn Bridge. Seven officers and 10 protesters were injured during the day.
Despite police attacks and arrests, occupiers did not stop their protests in cities across the country. In Los Angeles, 500 marchers chanted anti-bank slogans. In Portland, Oregon. Activists tried to “occupy” a Wells Fargo bank branch. Rallies were held at bridges considered in disrepair in Chicago, Miami, Detroit, Boston and other cities, as activists called for infrastructure projects to create jobs.
Support for the Occupy movement also came from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
The World of Labor November 6, 2011
ILO Warns That World Economy Is on Verge of a New Jobs Recession
The world economy is in danger of falling into a new and deeper jobs recession that may ignite social unrest, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has warned. It will take at least five years for employment in advanced countries to return to pre-crisis levels, the ILO said.
The ILO also noted that in 45 of the 118 countries it examined, the risk of social unrest was rising. Separately, the OECD research body said that G-20 leaders meeting in Cannes this week need to take “bold decisions.” The rescue plan announced by European Union (EU) leaders on Oct. 26 had been an important first step, but the measures must be implemented promptly and forcefully.
The OECD’s message to world leaders came as it predicted a sharp slowdown in growth in the eurozone and warned that some countries in the 17-nation bloc were likely to face a negative growth.
The World of Labor October 29, 2011
Egypt Police Storm Government Building, as Thousands Strike
Protesting policemen in Red Sea city of Hurghada stormed security headquarters, as around 30,000 low-ranking Egyptian policemen held sit-ins for the second consecutive day. The policemen are demanding better pay and to rid the ministry of thousands of remnants of the ousted Mubarak regime.
Police disappeared from the streets at the start of the uprising that toppled Mubarak, and have since made a partial comeback, according to knowledgeable sources. The police have vowed to continue their protests until their demands are met., an official said
The strike comes amid a wave of industrial actions that have crippled the country’s economy since February, when Mubarak was ousted.
Egypt has around 350,000 police.
The World of Labor October 22, 2011
ITUC Council Sets Agenda for Global Action in 2012
The General Council of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), at its meeting in Elewijt, near Brussels, this week, has set out priorities for global trade union action through the end of 2012, with a determination to fight back against the attacks on labor rights and the loss of jobs, driven by the deepening world economic crisis.
Major areas of action include: The launching of a program of political organizing, focusing on countries where new attacks on union rights are emerging; an alternate job-centered growth model with guaranteed social protection and a minimum wage; stepping up campaigns against multinational companies which violate worker rights to union representation and collective bargaining; to ensure respect for ILO standards in nine “countries at risk”: Bahrain, Burma, Colombia, Egypt, Fiji, Georgia, Guatemala, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
The World of Labor October 15, 2011
‘Occupy Wall Street’ Fights Eviction Threat by New York’s Mayor
Tens of thousands of people rallied behind ‘Occupy Wall Street,’’ using a barrage of e-mails and phone calls to block a threat by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg that would have effectively evicted the protesters from Zuccotti Park, where they are encamped.
A confrontation between the protesters and city police was averted, when the park’s owner sent an e-mail to Mayor Bloomberg, indicating that he was withdrawing his clean-up orders and that the protesters could continue to stay at the park. The Mayor’s office agreed to the cancellation, and the police were informed of their new orders.
The ability of “Occupy Wall Street” to marshal such massive support in less than a few hours indicates that the protesters are becoming an important social force that commands attention. The protest group’s New York victory will raise the spirits of similar groups around the country.
The World of Labor October 8, 2011
AFL-CIO Endorses ‘Occupy Wall Street’; unions Join Growing Protest Movement
The grassroots movement, “Occupy Wall Street,” that has captured the imagination and passions of millions of frustrated Americans, received the endorsement of the AFL-CIO. In its press statement, the labor organization said: “We will open our union halls and community centers, as well as our arms and our hearts to those with the courage to stand up and demand a better America.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that anti-Wall Street rallies and marches have taken place in some 80 cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and Boston. On Oct.6, protesters marched past the gates of the White House, bringing their message of economic injustice to President Obama, and chanting ”Shame! Shame!’
The anti Wall Street movement has reached out to people from all walks of life, especially unemployed workers, something the AFL-CIO has been unable to do after years of trying. Last year , the AFL-CIO staged a demonstration in front of the Bank of America, but the noisy rally had little effect on the bank’s practices.
The World of Labor October 1, 2011
Fifteen Colombian Union Leaders Have Been Murdered Since April
Fifteen union leaders have been murdered since the Labor Action Plan between the United States and Colombia went into effect in April 2011, said the largest U.S.-based trade union federation in a letter to President Barack Obama
The President of the American Federation and Congress of Industrial Organizations AFL-CIO) urged Obama not to send the Colombian-U.S. Free Trade Agreement to Congress for approval until the Colombian government addresses human rights violations against unionists in their own country. Twenty-two unionists, including the 15, have been killed in Colombia this year. In addition, six Catholic priests were killed.
Both Columbian President Santos and President Obama have expressed confidence that the U.S. Colombia FTA will be approved by Congress before the end of this year.
The World of Labor September 24, 2011
World Leaders to Discuss Unemployment at Annual Meeting
What do the Arab Spring, the London riots and the Greek debt crisis have in common? They have all happened in environments of rampant joblessness. In fact, it might not be far off to say that a big share of the world’s political and economic turmoil is fueled in one way or another by unemployment.
That is why when policy makers and economists meet in Washington this week for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, unemployment will be prominent on the agenda. It is the industrialized countries, not the poor ones that have the biggest growth in unemployment. Developed countries account for 15 percent of the world’s labor force, but half the number of newly jobless since 2007.
High growth rates mean that employment in the emerging countries is at least going in the right direction. That is not true of many developed countries. Germany appears to be an exception. Unemployment has plunged to 6.2 percent from a peak of 10.6 percent in 2005. One reason is a series of policies that loosened job protections and put more pressure on unemployed people to find work.
The World of Labor September 17, 2011
Actions Are Taken to Form a New Global Union Federation
Three global unions, each with jurisdiction over several sector industries, have taken steps to set up a new Global Union Federation at a meeting of representatives of affiliated unions from five continents, who met in Geneva on August 30-31. The new organization, will be governed by an executive committee of 60 members under a series of “Statutes” already agreed upon. After 2016, the committee will be reduced to 40 members. At least 30 percent of the members shall be women.
The Statutes foresee regional structures and offices that will implement the organization’s general policies, and address matters specific to the region. There will also be 14 industrial sectors, as well as sections for women and non-manual workers. The Action Plan group has agreed to produce a document that will summarize the main priorities for the new global union.
The three participating unions in launching the new global union are: International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) and International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF). The founding Congress of the Global Union Federation will be held in June 2012 in Copenhagen.
The World of Labor September 11, 2011
U.S. Economy Had Zero Job Growth in August
The United States economy gained zero jobs in August, stoking fears of a continuing recession. The unemployment rate stayed at 9.1 percent. There are about 26 million Americans who are unemployed, underemployed or have stopped looking for work. The unemployment job rate for African-Americans is almost twice the rate of white people.
This year, the attention of both President Obama and top Republicans have focused on debt reduction through massive spending cuts, which add to the jobless rolls. The Republicans are opposed to heavy spending on job-creating infrastructure projects.
The AFL-CIO has resolved to become an “independent labor voice” that will decide on its own political agenda, without relying on the guidance of the Democratic Party. In the 2012 elections, it will support those candidates who will speak favorably on pro-worker issues. The Federation will use SuperPac in its election campaign to reach a wider audience.
The World of Labor September 3, 2011
World’s Labor Force Includes 250 Million Children, Says ILO
The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there are 250 million working children in the world. About 120 million of them work every day, and two-thirds of these, work in the fields, one of the Three most hazardous places for the health and safety of the children. They often start work when five years old, which blocks any chances they might have at going to school or gathering any training for a job, and of having the means to grow and live decently today and in their future.
In Egypt, there are 7 million working children, 83 percent of them In rural areas. Many families could not do without the money their children bring in. In some homes, the child is the sole source of income. A majority of families do not have the means to pay school costs for their children.
In the fight against child labor in Egypt, an organization, Terre des Hommes, has started up a new project to help 4,000 children. Removed from exhausting farm work, they will be able to get back into an improved school system and return to their families, who will benefit from better living conditions.
The World of Labor August 27, 2011
U.S. Postal Service Seeks Concessions, from Union or else Congress
What the U.S. Postal Service can’t win at the bargaining table, it hopes to get in the halls of Congress. If it is successful, it would set a new stage in labor relations that would send shivers to labor organizations far removed from the post office.
Even as the USPS is negotiating with the unions, it has unveiled a proposal to have Congress eliminate the “no-layoff” provisions in postal union contracts. Postal negotiators raised that provision during talks that concluded last spring with the American Postal Workers Union (APWU).
The layoff clause will probably come up again during negotiations with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), which began last week, and during discussions with the National Postal Mail Handlers, Union, which begins this week. USPS is in critical condition because of a drastic drop in the volume of mail, and also facing stiff competition from private delivery companies.
The World of Labor August 20, 2011
Police Fire Teargas at Tunisian Protesters
Tunisian police fired teargas on Aug. 16 at a rally by hundreds of people protesting the lack of political reforms since the overthrow of the government of president Zine EL-Abidine Ben Ali in January. A second demonstration was called by the General Workers Union (UGTT)
"The main UGTT trade union had called for a peaceful march to demand that the objectives of the January revolution be attained. The marchers, estimated at about 2,000 people, denounced the traditional government, headed by Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi, and accused it of failing to do enough to press ahead with reform in the north African country. The protesters shouted "new revolution" and "the people want the system to fall," as well as accusing the Interior Ministry of "terrorism
A dozen police armored vehicles sealed off the main Habib Bourguiba Avenue to prevent demonstrators from marching on the interior ministry. This protest degenerated into violence, while a peaceful demonstration took place outside the city limits.
World of Labor
The World of Labor August 13, 2011
Japan and Norway Unions Help Thailand Truck Drivers
Unionists in Japan and Norway are standing by railroad workers in Thailand who are bearing the brunt of their employer’s anti-union actions that have been reinforced by a labor court order in Thailand. Seven members of the Thai ITF affiliate, State Railway Workers Union of Thailand (SRUT) face dismissal, and a claim for damages after a decision by the Central Labor Court.
The court supported management’s view that mechanisms, such as the “dead man’s grip,” were supplementary rather than essential devices. The dispute arose after railway workers refused to operate unsafe trains on October 2009, following three major accidents. The union is appealing the court’s decision.
In Norway, transport unions protested outside the Thai Embassy in Oslo on Aug. 11 in support of SRUT. They also delivered a protest letter, which the ambassador promised to convey to the Thai government. Two days earlier, ITF Tokyo office representatives met with officials of the Thailand embassy in Tokyo and presented a letter expressing their concerns about the dismissals and punitive actions.
World of Labor
The World of Labor August 6, 2011
A Global Minimum Wage System Needed for Economic Recovery
The global economy is suffering from severe shortages of demand. In developed countries, that shortfall is explicit in high unemployment rates and large output gaps. In emerging market economies, it is implicit in relying on export-led growth. In part, this shortfall reflects the lingering disruptive effects of the financial crisis and the Great Recession, but it also reflects globalization’s undermining of the income-generating process.
One mechanism that can help rebuild this process is a global minimum wage system. That does not mean imposing U.S. or European minimum wages in developing countries. It does mean establishing a global set of rules for resolving differences in minimum wages, Traditionally, each country establishes its own minimum wages under internal conditions, without regard to. to its neighbors.
Instead, countries should use a minimum standard that is a fixed percentage of their median (average) wage. Thus, the minimum wage will automatically rise with the median wage. Also, if a country wants to set a higher minimum wage, the adjustment would be easy. The global system would only set a floor, not a ceiling in its minimum wage system.
The World of Labor July 30, 2011
Olympics Firms Warned on Sweatshop Abuse
Marking one year before the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the anti-poverty charity, War on Want, on July 30 warned that sponsor Adida will tarnish the Games unless it acts to protect the rights of workers making its products. War on Want is part of the Playfair 2012 campaign, a coalition of trade unions and charities calling on the organizers of the London Olympics and companies to ensure that workers producing sportswear and goods with Olympic logos are not exploited.
Adidas is the 2012 Games official sportswear partner, but has refused to ensure that its suppliers pay a living wage or that workers have a right to join a union.
In a recent survey of 83 factories, supplying sportswear brands, including Adidas, Nike and Speedo, the International Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation found that Sri Lankan workers, most of them women, earned only 10,000 rupees ($90), less than half of the requirement for a living wage.
The World of Labor July 23, 2011
Germany Looks to Greece and Spain for Workers
German authorities, desperate to fill empty jobs needed to keep the economy upswing going, are targeting professionals in crisis-hit countries like Spain, Greece and Portugal. There is great potential in Spain, where thousands of engineers are unemployed, said Monika Vamhagen, director of the foreign and specialist section of the German Labor Agency.
One important problem is that only one in ten job applicants know the German language. Although they are willing to learn, this can slow up the production process. “Alternatively, the employer in Germany accepts that someone who has little German knowledge but good English can join the company,” Ms. Vamhagen said.
She reported that her staff had already accompanied a number Of German employers on a recruitment drive to Spain, and that the first work contracts were being signed, with a further trip planned in September. The next countries to be targeted will be Portugal and Greece.
The World of Labor July 16, 2011
Unions Call on Japan to Stop Nuclear Energy Use
Japan’s National Confederation of Trade Unions has released a draft proposal calling on the Japanese government to exchange nuclear energy for natural and renewable resources. Japan’s disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant was the second worst nuclear catastrophe in history, following Chernobyl in 1986, and is the main reason behind the labor union’s proposal.
On July 2, the labor coalition was responsible for more than 20,000 people gathering in Tokyo’s downtown Meiji Park to protest against the continued use of nuclear power. The Great Earthquake, as the March 11 disaster is known in Japan, has shed light on the growing dangers nuclear power poses, the labor coalition said.
Japan’s Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said at a May press conference, “Under the current energy policy, by the year 2030, 50 percent of Japan’s electricity will come from nuclear power generation and 20 percent from renewable energy resources.”
The World of Labor July 9, 2011
U.S. Economy in Slowdown; No Growth in Jobs
Only a net of 18,000 jobs was created in June, while the unemployment rate inched up to 9.2 percent from 9.1 percent in May. The depressing data signaled that the economic recovery might be in serious trouble. There were layoffs at all levels of government. Hiring by companies continued to be sluggish, with many firms using temporary help or investing in equipment.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama and John Boehner, speaker of the House of Representatives, were meeting in private to decide the mix of spending cuts and tax increases for a $4 trillion deal to cut the federal deficit. Sharp spending cuts may be in the offing for Medicare and Medicaid; Social Security may not be immune from changes, as well as programs that serve the poor and elderly.
There are 14.1 million persons who are officially listed as unemployed. Altogether, there are some 25 million persons who are looking for full-time jobs and can’t find them. In addition, jobs must be found for 125 ,000 new entrants into the labor force each month.
Everyone agrees that the lack of jobs for millions of persons is a top-priority problem, but neither Congress nor the White’ House has come up with job-creating solutions
The World of Labor July 2, 2011
Biggest British Strikes Since 1980s over Pensions
One of the British government’s key arguments for reforming public sector pensions crumbled when it was made clear that they are projected to become more affordable in the future, not less, as teachers staged the biggest school strikes since the 1980s over the plans.
More than 2 million pupils missed classes as a group of four breakaway unions staged the first mass strikes against the coalition’s austerity plans. Thousands of parents were forced to take a day off from work, with nearly 6,000 schools closed and 5,000 partially closed.
“Today’s action across the country demonstrates the anger and distress that this government is causing teachers,” said Christine Blower general secretary of the National Union of Teachers. She added that teachers “cannot stand back and see their pensions attacked when all the evidence shows that they are affordable and sustainable and that their costs are falling.”
The World of Labor June 18, 2011
Biggest British Strike in 100 Years, Says Union Chief
The leader of the largest public sector union promises to mount a campaign of industrial action the country has not seen since the general strike of 1926, vowing not to back down until the government has dropped its controversial pension changes.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, which has 1.4 million members employed by the state, described plans for waves of strike action , with public services shut down on a daily basis, rolling from one region to the next, and from sector to sector.
There is growing anger over a public sector pay freeze That could trigger more disputes further down the line, and the changes would unfairly penalize women, who form the majority of low-paid public sector workers, Prentis said.
The World of Labor June 11, 2011
World-Wide Survey Shows Repression Is Increasing
The Annual Survey, conducted across 143 countries, paints a picture of people fighting for greater economic rights and freedom to organize, with many governments and businesses responding with repression, firing, violence, death threats and murder. The survey was released by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on June 8 at the 100th ILO Conference.
Covering the year 2010, the survey reveals:
• 90 murders of trade union activists (49 in Colombia);
• 75 recorded death threats; at least 2,500 arrests, and
• 5,000 firings of workers for union activity.
The survey shows that many governments encourage repression by not enforcing labor laws, hiring few inspectors and permitting discrimination against migrant workers.
The World of Labor June 4, 2011
European Railroad Workers Reject ‘Fragmentation’
More than 1,000 European railroad workers stood in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, last week to demand an end to plans that are designed to break up the railways. On May 24, workers from 15 countries reacted strongly to the European Parliament’s debate on a directive for the establishment of a single European railway area, which constitutes a “recast” of the first railway package. This proposes the further fragmentation of railroad companies.
Sabine Trier, deputy general secretary of the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), stated: “The ETF explicitly asked the members of the EP TRAN Committee to take the workers’ concerns into consideration and come up with a balanced and social European policy that promotes a strong and public railway sector for all European citizens, with good quality, safe and secure railway services.”
Guy Grievelding, president of the ETF railway section, added: “This campaign has the objective to raise awareness that, when the directive is implemented, the idea of railways as a service of general interest or public service will be completely abandoned.” The EP TRAN committee and the European Parliament will vote on the directive in July and September respectively.
World of Labor
The World of Labor May 14, 2011
Arab Workers Demand Jobs and Rights in Region
Tens of thousands of people across the Arab world have demonstrated to demand decent jobs, social justice and an end of repression. At trade union rallies across the region, from Iraq to the East to Mauritania to the West, workers from all walks of life added new momentum to the groundswell for democracy and workers’ rights, following the fall of the dictatorships in Egypt and Tunisia
Some 77 national trade union centers and sectoral trade unions across the region have also signed an “Arab Countries Declaration for Democracy and Social Justice,” adding even further pressure for change to the Arab Spring movement.
They are demanding a minimum wage, social justice, labor law reform and the creation of labor courts to tackle exploitation.
The World of Labor May 7, 2011
Millions March on May Day Amid Austerity Measures in Europe
Millions of people around the world marched on Sunday, defending workers’ rights in traditional May 1 demonstrations, in some cases clashing with police. In Europe, austerity measures amid budget cuts to stabilize the beleaguered euro currency, helped fuel protesters’ anger in countries, such as Greece and Portugal.
More than 420,000 people rallied across Germany, which is Europe’s biggest economy and is pushing for bigger budget cuts among some poorer neighbors Protests were largely peaceful in Berlin, the German capital, normally a hotspot for left-wing extremists on the International Workers’ Day. One of the biggest turnouts was in Istanbul, Turkey, where an estimated 200,000 people marched to demand worker rights and better wages. There were large May Day turnouts in Moscow, where May Day is an official Russian holiday.
There were fears that violence would erupt on Sunday after about 4,000 far-left protesters clashed with police in Hamburg, leaving ten police injured. Meanwhile, in Portugal fully dependent on outside financial aid, tens of thousands of people marched in Lisbon, with a union leader shouting, “We will never accept being colonized!”
The World of Labor April 23, 2011
Earth Day Is Celebrated by Countries Around the World
Earth Day was founded in the United States on April 22, 1970 with over 20 million people participating that year Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, an environmental activist, took a leading role in organizing the celebration, hoping to demonstrate popular political support for an environmental agenda, Today, Earth Day is now observed by more than 500 million people and several national governments in 175 countries.
Sen. Nelson modeled Earth Day on the highly effective teach-ins of the Vietnam War at that time. Earth Day was first proposed in a prospectus to President Kennedy. Nelson favored Earth Day to be a decentralized, grass-root effort, in which each community shaped its own action around local concerns.
Nelson had conceived the idea of Earth Day, following a trip he took to Santa Barbara, right after the horrific oil spill off the coast in 1969. Outraged by the devastation and Washington political inertia, Nelson proposed a national teach-in on the environment to be observed by every university campus in the United States.
The World of Labor April 16, 2011
200 Million Chinese in Danger of ‘Workplace Disease’
Occupational disease has overtaken workers’ accidents as the biggest danger to Chinese workers, with 200 million potentially under threat, a senior trade union official warned. Tang Chun, an occupational disease expert with the labor protection department, under the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, estimated that about 200 million workers in some 16 million enterprises work in hazardous environments.
“The number of new cases concerning occupational disease has been rising in recent years and the 2010 figure due to be released by the Ministry of Health in April , will undoubtedly pass the 2009 figure of 18,128,” he told China Daily in an interview. A total of 722,730 cases were reported from 1949 to 2009, and 146,500 lives had been lost from occupational diseases.
Tang suggested that local governments should make spot checks of working conditions to monitor the input of work safety bureaus and encourage enterprises to improve working conditions. Amending the occupational disease law which dates back to 2001, is part of this year’s agenda of the legislative body, he said.
The World of Labor April 9, 2011
U.S. Government Shutdown Averted by Budget Deal
A last-minute budget deal between Republicans and Democrats on April 8 averted a shutdown of the United States government The compromise agreement cuts $38 billion from the 2011 federal budget. (The Republicans had originally asked for $32 billion in cuts). Democrats said that the agreement would not include provisions to limit environmental regulations and to restrict financing Planned Parenthood.
House Majority Leader John Boehner , who negotiated for the Republicans, was able to convince his conservative caucus, including Tea Party members, to accept the deal. Negotiating for the Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid won approval from his caucus. President Barack Obama , speaking from the White House, said that some of the cuts will be painful. “Programs people rely on will be cut back,” he said, adding that Americans had to begin living within their means.
An extended shutdown of the U.S. government would cost a loss of income for federal workers and contractors of about $6 billion a week, economists estimate. Families of our soldiers would see a delay in their government checks. Passport offices would be closed, upsetting people’s travel plans. Museums, parks and other public facilities would be closed. And most serious, it could return the country to an economic recession.
World of Labor
The World of Labor April 2, 2011
AFL-CIO to Conduct Nation-Wide “Day of Actions” on April 4
With its members united and energized for the first time in years, the AFL-CIO and its affiliates will conduct a nation-wide “Day of Actions” on April 4, 2011, aimed at defending the rights of workers and their unions, that are now under fierce attack from Republicans and right-wing zealots. Under the banner, “We Are One,” AFL-CIO leaders are expecting as many as 400 events around the country on that day to dramatize their determination to preserve collective bargaining and other basic labor rights.
The Ohio legislature has approved a bill that would deprive 350,000 workers of the right to engage in collective bargaining with their employers and also restrict their ability to participate in electoral politics. The bill would bar public employees from striking and would prohibit binding arbitration for police and firefighters. It would allow bargaining over wages, but not on health coverage and pensions.
In Michigan, where the unemployment rate is among the highest in the country, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder reduced benefits for the unemployed by six weeks. In Maine, Republican Gov. Paul LePage ordered the removal of a 36-foot mural depicting Maine’s labor history from the lobby of the Department of Labor.
The World of Labor March 26, 2011
Egyptian Workers Defy Draft Bill to Ban Protests
Workers, activists and labor organizations rejected a draft cabinet bill
criminalizing “some protests, sit-ins and gatherings” and said they will continue protesting for their “legitimate demands.” Workers said that similar laws have been issued before but failed to stop labor movements. Their protests, they added, were a continuation of the Jan. 25 revolution, in which social justice was one of its main demands.
“The cabinet did something terrible. This decision won’t stop
protests because they are fueled by legitimate demands and it
will be condemned by the International Labor Organization
(ILO), as it contradicts international agreements signed by
Egypt,” said Kamal Abbas, general coordinator of the Center
of Trade Unions and Worker Services.
According to the draft law, those who organize protests or sit-ins that lead to obstructing work at one of the state’s institutions,
public authorities or private and public workplaces will be fined
between LE50,000 ( US $8,400) and LE100,000, or imprisoned.
Those who organize violent protests that involve production tools,
harm national unity or social peace, cause public disorder, damage or
occupy public or private property will be imprisoned for no less
than one year and fined between LE 100,000 and LE 500,000.
The law would only be effective in a state of emergency.
”Protests will continue and we will challenge this decision. We are
not afraid of being imprisoned or fined,” said labor activist Nagy
Rashad. “Our slogan will be Unity for Egyptian Workers, and we
shall show solidarity and support for every worker protest or sit-in,”
he added.
The World of Labor March 19, 2011
Global Unions Send Condolences and Funds to Japanese People
The International Transport Federation (ITF) is to donate 200,000 English pounds
(U.S. $320,400) to relieve the effects of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, in order to spearhead an appeal among its 781 member trade unions for assistance. The federation will also approach other global union federations and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to help coordinate trade union aid for those affected by the quake and tsunami.
As soon as appropriate, the ITF’s general secretary, David Cockroft, and president Paddy Crumlin, will travel to Japan to see how best to provide additional help. ITF president Crumlin said: “Every day more devastation is discovered, revealing just how important it is that help gets through. Just a month ago, the same Japanese trade unions that are today trying to re-establish the trade union links that are vital to the rescue effort were sending financial aid to the victims of the Queensland (Australia)) flooding. We in the ITF worldwide family are able to do all we can to help them in their great need.”
ITF General Secretary Cockroft commented: ”We’re in constant touch with our colleagues in Japan, and they identify funds and aid as immediate priorities. I am glad to report that we have been moving on these since the first news of the quake, and today, we’re taking that even further.”
The World of Labor March 11, 2011
International Women’s Day Celebrates 100th Anniversary
After decades of fighting the battles for women’s rights, the
International Women’s Day celebrated its 100th anniversary this
year on March 8. It was first observed on March 19, 1911 in Austria,
Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where more than one million
people attended rallies calling for women to be given the right to
work, vote and hold public office.
As a women’s holiday, Women’s Day was short-lived. lasting just
four years until the start of World War I, when Socialist opposition
to the war caused the commemoration to fall out of favor.
Washington recognized the European-founded International
Women’s Day after it was formerly recognized by the United
Nations in 1975. In the meantime, March 8 had become a
Russian holiday, treated almost like Valentine’s Day, with
gifts, flowers and well-wishes to women.
A new global economic report shows that women will find it
more difficult to get jobs that pay better than poverty wages.
Overall, the ranks of the working poor have swelled by more
than 100 million people due to the economic crisis, with around
1.5 billion people--half the world’s work force--now in vulnerable
employment.
The World of Labor March 5, 2011
Global Unions Spotlight 28 Oil Multinationals on Libya
World trade unions representing oil and chemical workers, have written 28 multinational companies in the oil, infrastructure and chemicals industries concerning investments in Libya and their future intentions regarding that conflict-ridden country. These companies have had relations with Libya, and thus the Gaddafi regime, which exercised full control over the economy,"
said Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union
Confederation.
Burrow told the oil companies that they should "immediately stop further payments of any kind to the present authorities in Tripoli, and support the establishment of a fund to be administered by the U.N. or other body until such time as a democratic government that respects human rights is established."
The letter from Burrow to the giant oil companies said that global unions were concerned "first and foremost" with the security of the oil and gas workers, both Libyan staff and expatriate workers,. Among the giant oil companies that received the letter were Exxon Mobil, Shell, Royal Dutch, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, Dow Chemical and Total
The World of Labor February 26, 2011
200,000 Indian Workers March to Parliament to Air Grievances
In a historic march to Parliament on Feb. 23, about 200,000 people of India rallied in New Delhi, the capital, demanding control of rising prices, strict enforcement of labor laws, an expansion of the social security fund and a stop to the privatization of central public sector enterprises. The demonstrations were led by the three major Central Trade Unions (CTU) and the National Employees Federation (NEF).
In their memorandum to Parliament, the CTUs said that the Indian government is ignoring the protests of working people and is relentlessly pursuing policies that accentuate price increases through the deregulation of petroleum prices. It accused the government of permitting continuing speculation in commodity markets and allowing a huge stockpile of food grains in the Food Corporation of India to rot.
The CTUs also demanded concrete action to extend social security benefits to all unorganized workers without any restrictions on entitlements and the allocation of adequate funds for the National Social Security Fund. The government’s position is that rising prices is the result of higher wages for workers, a view that the CTUs strongly dispute. It is not clear if and when Parliament will respond to the CTUs comprehensive demands
The World of Labor February 19, 2011
Suez Canal Workers Join Broad Strikes in Egypt
Hundreds of workers went on strike on Feb. 17 along the Suez Canal, one of the world’s strategic waterways, joining others in pressing demands for better wages and conditions. The protests have defied the military’s attempt to restore a veneer of orderly existence after Hosni Mubarak’s fall last week.
The labor unrest this week, at textile mills, pharmaceutical plants,
chemical industries, the Cairo airport, the transportation sector
and banks, has emerged as one of the most powerful features in
a country that is navigating the military-led transition that followed
an 18-day popular uprising and the end of Mubarak ’s three decades
of authoritarian rule.
Striking workers, in a statement on Feb. 17, said they would no
longer take part in a government-controlled labor union, but would
rather join the new Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade
Unions, which had been formed Jan. 30. As the days pass with no
solution to the growing economic problems, strikers and the military
may be moving toward a showdown with unpredictable consequences.
The World of Labor February 12, 2011
Mubarak Resigns; Egyptians Win Battle for Freedom
An 18-day rebellion by the people of Egypt ousted President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, forcing an end to a despotic regime that had governed the country for nearly 30 years and overturning the established order in the Arab world. Tens of thousands who had bowed down for evening prayer leapt to their feet, dancing with joy and crying: ”Lift your head high. You Are an Egyptian.!”
Mubarak, an 82-year-old former air force commander, left without comment for his home by the Red Sea in Sharm el Sheik, His departure overturns, after six decades, the Arab world’s original secular dictatorship. He was toppled by a radically new force in regional politics—a largely secular, non-violent, youth-led democratic movement that brought Egypt’s liberal and Islamist opposition groups together for the first time under its banner.
Mubarak’s fall created foreign policy uncertainties for
the Obama government in the Middle East. The United
States, its Arab allies and Israel are now pondering
whether the Egyptian military, which had vowed to hold
new elections, will give way to a new era of democratic
dynamism or to a perilous lurch into instability or Islamist rule.
The World of Labor February 5, 2011
U.S. Jobless Rate Drops to 9%; Only 36,000 New Jobs
The unemployment rate fell to 9 percent in January 2011, a drop
of 4 %, but the good news was tempered by the fact that only
36,000 new jobs were created last month, while at least 150,00
jobs a month are needed to keep up with the growth in the U.S.
work force.
Economists say that one of the reasons for the lower job rate is
that a substantial number of people have given up looking for
work and have dropped out of the labor market. The few new jobs
created is because companies are reluctant to hire new workers
and are getting along with their present staffs or hiring temporary
workers who can be fired when they are no longer needed.
Creating more jobs for the 13.9 million people who are officially
listed as unemployed by the government will require a huge
expenditure of funds for infrastructure projects. It will be
extremely difficult to get the multi-billion funding, since the
focus in Congress is on slashing spending, including a proposal
by President Obama for a five-year freeze on discretionary spending.
The World of Labor January 29, 2011
Revolt in Egypt Continues, Despite Mubarak Crackdown
This generation of dissidents, most of whom have lived their entire lives under the three-decade rule of President Hosni Mubarak, have
rebelled against a dictatorship that tolerates high unemployment
and suppresses free speech. President Mubarak ordered a crackdown
of the rebellion, while promising reforms in a television address,
ignoring U.S. President Barack Obama, who urged Mubarak to
exercise caution and restraint.
The massive protest is said to have been triggered by a 2008 strike of textile workers in the Nile Delta, that aroused an expanding protest movement against political oppression and economic hardship. The traditional working class from all corners of the country have continued to inspire protests ever since. occupying the streets outside of Parliament for weeks on end.
But what started on Jan. 25 was a set of specific demands: the resignation of the interior minister, the end of emergency law, and the imposition of a two-term limit on the presidency. The demands have coalesced into something far more radical and brought countless more people, whose latent hostility to the Mubarak
regime had never before translated into concrete action, into
confrontation with the state.
The World of Labor January 23, 2011
Tunisia’s main trade union is set to stage a general strike to demand the resignation of the prime minister and other ministers who served under the country’s ousted president. Members of the General Tunisian Workers’ Union (UGTT), the country’s main national union, which has more than half a million members, are expected to go on strike on Jan. 22, as they join forces with opposition groups, who called on members of the Constitutional Democratic Rally party(RCD) to vacate posts in the new government. The call for the general strike comes against a background of continued protests against the new government with many Tunisians expressing outrage over the appointment of several members of the previous regime in the "unity’ government announced last week. Weeks of street protests and a growing public outcry over high unemployment rates and the government’s crackdown on opponents last week resulted in the historic overthrow of the 74-year-old Ben Ali, whose 23-year reign was tainted with massive human rights violations. According to the latest tallies by the interior ministry, as many as 78 civilians were killed, many shot by the police, during anti-government protests that led to the "Jasmine Revolution" in the North African country. The general strike is expected to cripple the country’s transport system, as well as other public services across Tunis, the capital.
The World of Labor January 15, 2011
The National Labor Relations Board announced on Jan. 14 that it planned to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah in an effort to invalidate recently-approved state constitutional amendments that prohibit private sector workers from choosing a union through a process known as “card check.” The labor board asserts that the amendments conflict with federal laws and are pre-empted by those laws.
The state amendments were promoted by various conservative groups concerned that Congressional Democrats and President Obama would enact legislation allowing unions to insist on using card check, in which an employer recognizes a union as soon as a majority of workers sign pro-union cards. That method makes it possible for employees to unionize without elections. However, Republicans have blocked such legislation.
The four states would require using secret ballot elections when workers are deciding whether to unionize, even though federal law makes card check an option. The labor board said: The four amendments differ in language, but all conflict with federal law by closing off a well-established path to union representation recognized by the Supreme Court and protected by the National Labor Relations Act.”
The World of Labor January 15, 2011
The National Labor Relations Board announced on Jan. 14 that it planned to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah in an effort to invalidate recently-approved state constitutional amendments that prohibit private sector workers from choosing a union through a process known as “card check.” The labor board asserts that the amendments conflict with federal laws and are pre-empted by those laws.
The state amendments were promoted by various conservative groups concerned that Congressional Democrats and President Obama would enact legislation allowing unions to insist on using card check, in which an employer recognizes a union as soon as a majority of workers sign pro-union cards. That method makes it possible for employees to unionize without elections. However, Republicans have blocked such legislation.
The four states would require using secret ballot elections when workers are deciding whether to unionize, even though federal law makes card check an option. The labor board said: The four amendments differ in language, but all conflict with federal law by closing off a well-established path to union representation recognized by the Supreme Court and protected by the National Labor Relations Act.”
The World of Labor January 9, 2011
ILO Says Financial Crisis Halves World's Wage Growth
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has warned that a persistent stagnation of salaries across the world was weakening recovery in many economies. In its Global Wage Report, which compiles data from 115 countries and territories, the U.N.’s labor agency said growth in wages was halved in 2008 and 2009, due to the financial crisis, with some regions, such as Europe, even posting a net drop in salaries.
“The growth in average monthly wages declined from 2.8 percent before the crisis in 2007 to 1.5 percent in 2008, and 1.6 percent in, 2009,” the report, released Dec. 16, said. An “unusual high inflation,” mainly due to high fuel prices, in 2008, had cut purchasing power during the year, the report noted.
Overall data was propped up by wage growth in Asia, where real wages were 7.2 percent higher in 2008 and 8 percent more in 2009. The report also warned that the proportion of people earning less than the median wage had grown over the last 15 years in more than two-thirds of the countries surveyed, including Argentina, China, Germany, Ireland, South Korea and Spain.
The World of Labor December 18, 2010
The financial and economic crisis has cut wage growth by half in 2008 and 2009 says a new report by the International Labor Organization. (ILO).
Analyzing data from 115 countries and territories, covering 94 percent of the approximately 1.4 billion wage earners worldwide, the “Global Wage Report 2010/11: Wage Policies in Times of Crisis” says globally, growth in average monthly wages slowed from 2.8 percent in 2007, on the eve of the crisis to 1.5 percent in 2008, and 1.6 percent in 2009.
Excluding China from the aggregate, the global average wage rate drops to 0.8 in 2008 and 0.7 in 2009. The report cites considerable variations in wage growth rates across regions, saying that in Asia and Latin America, wage growth remained consistently positive, although other regions, like Eastern Europe and southern Asia experienced a dramatic fall. Advanced economies experienced a drop in the level of real wages, which fell in 12 of 28 countries in 2008 and in seven in 2009.
The World of Labor December 11, 2010
U.S. Labor Is Split over South Korea Free Trade Deal
Two powerful AFL-CIO unions, the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) have both endorsed the U.S. -South Korean Free Trade Agreement, each claiming that it would bring more jobs and other advantages to the workers in their respective industries.
But the agreement received strong opposition from several major AFL-CIO unions, including those representing machinists, steelworkers and communications workers, who argued that the deal would lead to a loss of jobs, just as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had done since its enactment in 1993.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka also opposed the agreement. ”So long as these agreements fall short of protecting the broad interests of American workers and their counterparts around the world in these uncertain economic times, we will oppose them,” Trumka said in a statement.
By supporting the agreement, the two unions are breaking with organized labor’s traditional opposition to free trade deals as a threat to American jobs. Their breakaway support improves the chances that Congress will approve the agreement. The U.S. had a $6.6 billion merchandize trade deficit with South Korea in the first nine months of this year.
The World of Labor December 4, 2010
Unemployment Is Rising to Highest Level in Europe
Unemployment in the euro zone rose to its highest level in more than 12 years, an official report released Nov. 30 showed. The seasonally-adjusted jobless rate for the 16 European countries using the euro was 10.1 percent in October, up from 10 percent in September, Eurostat the statistics agency of the European Union, reported. It was 9.9 percent in October 2009.
The rising joblessness threatens to defeat efforts to turn around stagnant economies at a time of tight budgets, especially in the "peripheral" countries of Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Greece, which will need strong growth to resolve financial problems. The unemployed spend less, pay fewer taxes and receive government assistance, dragging down demand and pressuring budgets.
The jobless rate conceals wide differences among countries. For example, the unemployment rate in the Netherlands at 4.4 percent was the lowest in the euro zone. It was dwarfed by that of
Spain, which at 20.7, was the highest.
The World of Labor November 27, 2010
Portugal Faces Biggest Strike in Its History, Leaders Say
The first joint strike staged by the country‘s two most influentialtrade unions was this week called the biggest in Portugal’s history,
as more than three million of the country’s four million workers
walked off their jobs. It was the first time that the unions had
joined forces since 1988 in a general strike to protest new labor
legislation.
UGT leader Joao Proenca said, “Government policies will have a negative impact on employment. We need policies that give
preference to increasing employment.” The UGT leader also
emphasized that the “budget cannot be the first, second and third
priority in Portugal.”
In 2011, Portugal’s growth will be less than in 2010, due to the
tenuous recovery in the global economy, especially because of
the downturn in Portugal’s trading partners. The initial cost of
the strike has been set at as well over 500 million euros ($ 662,450
million). Hardest hit by the work stoppage are commuters trying
to travel to work in major metropolitan areas like Lisbon and
Oporto.
The World of Labor November 6, 2010
U.S. Voters Give Republican Party a Major Role in Congress
Angry and frustrated at the failure of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party in power to solve their economic problems, the nation’s voters gave Republicans the control of the House of Representatives and a stronger influence in the U.S. Senate. The midterm elections that ended on Nov. 2, saw about 60 long-serving Democrats swept out of Congress, defeated by candidates with relatively little experience.The biggest loser in the election probably was the American labor movement. Despite spending an estimated $200 million and using tens of thousands of volunteers for staffing phone banks, distributing tons of leaflets and conducting intensive, door-to-door canvassing, the AFL-CIO was unable to ensure a victory for the Democrats as it had done in the 2008 national elections. The swing toward the Republicans meant that the AFL-CIO’s top legislative priority, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a bill to make it easier for unions to recruit workers, was virtually dead.
The morning after the elections, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka advised the Democrats and President Obama to “do what we’re going to do, because beginning today, we’re going to have three priorities: jobs, jobs and more jobs.” The AFL-CIO Executive Council will meet in Washington on Nov. 9 to review the election results and decide on a response.
The World of Labor October 30, 2010
800,000 Kenyan Tea Workers in Showdown over Machines
The ongoing standoff between tea companies and pickers over the introduction of plucking machines may have far-reaching effects on the jobs and welfare of more than 800,000 workers in the industry. Many workers are already being declared redundant, as managers continue to make use of the tea plucking machines, despite the nationwide strike. called by the unions.Francis Atwoli, general secretary of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU), has vowed that there will be no work in these companies unless the machines are withdrawn. Kenya Plantation Agricultural Workers Union and COTU called the strike two weeks ago, resulting in a number of machines in Nandi District to be burned by the protesters.
The management of these companies has employed various tactics to break the strike, including hiring replacements. Some strikers are being evicted from the company houses and denied water and electricity. Meanwhile, tea companies have been given round-the-clock protection after striking tea pluckers threatened to set fire to the machines in Nandi.
The World of Labor October 23, 2010
World Mobilization to End Violence Against Women
An international delegation of 250 women from over 160 countries, along with 900 Congolese women from the nation’s 10 regions met in Bukavu from Oct. 14-17 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to mobilize organizations and groups fighting for the eradication of the causes of poverty and violence against women. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), at its June congress, reaffirmed its priority to combat all types of violence obstructing women’s rights to participate fully in society.Women in the eastern part of the Congo, in particular, are victims of extreme violence perpetrated on a massive scale. For over ten years, rape and sexual violence have been systematically used in the region as a weapon of war, to spread fear, and as a method of ethnic cleansing. Despite high-level missions and reports, extreme violence against women has continued to grow over the years.
“There is an urgent need to consolidate peace in eastern Congo. The only way to achieve this is to tackle every aspect if the conflict, including the illegal exploitation of natural resources, the many shortfalls in terms of government, the endemic poverty and the lack of decent work opportunities for men and women. Social dialogue is a key factor in securing peace and bringing an end to the intolerable acts of violence committed against women,” said Sharon Burrow, ITUC general secretary.
The World of Labor October 16, 2010
33 Trapped Chilean Miners Are Rscued after 69-Day Ordeal
As the world cheered the 33 Chilean miners who had survived 69 days while trapped underground in an exploded mine, they faced new pressures as heroes in their new-found celebrity status. They were showered with gifts, expense-free vacations, offers from ad agencies, guest appearances on radio and TV talk shows and other events, all of which would bring them considerable wealth. Many companies made huge donations to their families.But they were also targets of criticism from fellow miners, partly from envy, as expressed by Nestor Jorquera, president of the Chilean Mine Workers Union, who said: “The miners are not ‘heroes;’ as they have been called around the world for surviving underground for over two months. They are victims.” Jorquera was echoing the complaints from international labor leaders that the media had ignored the fact that the mining company had initially refused to pay the wages of the miners after they were trapped underground on August 6.
In January 2006, an explosion occurred in a Chilean coal mine in Copiapo, leaving 70 miners trapped underground. They were rescued after a short period of time, but two died. Dozens of coal miners have died in recent years in Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. In the United States, an average of 93 coal miners died each year in the 1990s. In 2006, 72 miners lost their lives at work, 47 in coal mining.
The World of Labor October 8, 2010
Unions Mark ‘World Day for Decent Work’ with 285 Events
Trade unions across the world mobilized on Oct. 7 to demand fundamental reforms of the world economy. The organizers of more than 285 activities posted their events onto the special web site (http//www.wddw.org). This year’s actions will be promoting three central demands for economic recovery:1) growth and decent jobs, not austerity, are essential to beating the crisis and ending poverty
(2) quality public services must not be slashed
(3) the financial sector must pay for the damage it has caused.
The Oct. 7 events include some 50 activities across Japan, youth meetings in several African countries, and meetings and mobilizations throughout Russia and Ukraine. A series of activities in Latin America includes initiatives by trade unions in Peru and Chile. These events follow massive demonstrations in Europe last week and a major march in the United States involving more than 300 labor civil rights environmental anti-war and other progressive groups.
“This third annual Decent Work Day is the culmination of 10 days of union mobilization covering all the continents. It will increase pressure on governments to put in place positive solutions to the crisis, instead of simply slashing government spending to satisfy money markets. Good jobs and social protection are needed to get people back into work, support families in their time of greatest need and lay the foundations for sustainable growth to restore government finances,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.
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The World of Labor October 2, 2010
Anti-Austerity Protests Spread throughout Europe
An eruption of anti-austerity protests grew in number and intensity across Europe during the past week. As Greek doctors and subway employees walked off the job, Spanish workers shut down trains and buses. Strikes or protests were also taking place in Portugal, Ireland, Slovenia and Lithuania, all aimed at the budget-slashing, tax-hiking, pension-cutting austerity plans that European governments have implemented to control their debt.Tens of thousands of demonstrators, in their bright red and blue labor union jackets, marched through the streets of Brussels to European buildings, aiming to reinforce the impact of Spain’s first countrywide strike in eight years. The march in Brussels was taking place just as the EU Commission proposed new penalties to punish member states that have run up deficits, mainly to fund social programs in a time of high unemployment. The proposals, backed by Germany, are running into strong opposition from France, where the size of the protests has been enormous.
Unions fear that workers will become the biggest victims of an economic crisis set off by bankers and traders, many of whom were rescued by massive government interventions. “It is a bizarre time for the European Commission to be proposing a regime of punishment,” said John Monks, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in an interview. “How is that going to make the situation better? It is going to make it worse.”
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The World of Labor September 25, 2010
Wage Scandal Tarnishes India’s Commonwealth Games
As India struggled to prevent the Commonwealth Games from being cancelled on Sept. 23, human rights groups said that construction workers were being paid half the country’s minimum wage to toil on sites where accidents had killed dozens of workers. Organizers were trying to cope with unfinished buildings, a filthy athletic village, and an outbreak of dengue fever, just hours before thousands of athletes were scheduled to descend on New Delhi.It was reported that India’s Prime Minister, Mannohan Singh, was holding an emergency meeting in a bid to avoid a widespread lawsuit of the event. Common Cause, a rights group, said that at least 47 workers had died on sites linked to the Games, which are due to begin on Oct. 3. Many of the estimated 100,000 workers on Games’ sites were paid as little as 110 rupees ($2.40) per day, close to half of the mandated minimum wage of 203 rupees, said Kamala Jaswal, director and chief executive of Common Cause.
Held every four years by countries that were former British colonies, the Games are estimated to have cost as much as 6 billion dollars. India had hoped to use them to display its growing global economic and political clout, rivaling China. Instead, the Games have become a major embarrassment for the government, which has had to fend off criticism of shoddy construction, inadequate security and unfit accommodations.
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The World of Labor September 18, 2010
51 Million in U.S. Are Without Health Insurance
The number of people in the United. States without health insurance climbed to 51 million in 2009, compared to 46 million in 2007, the U.S. Census reported. At the same time, the U.S. poverty rate rose to 14.3 percent, the highest it has been since the Great Depression. Government benefits like food stamps and tax credits, which can provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra income, are not included in calculating whether a family’s income falls above or below the poverty line.While the numbers and percentage of the uninsured and poor rose, median yearly income of full-time workers remained flat at $49,800, according to David Johnson, the Census’ chief of household economic data. The percentage of full-time workers with employer-based insurance fell from 62.1 percent to 55.8 percent, Johnson said, adding that most of the decline took place in the past two years when there were tens of thousands of layoffs.
The health care law passed by Congress calls for providing health insurance by 2014 to some 30 million people who had no coverage. This will be a massive undertaking.
It is not clear how the Obama administration will provide health care coverage to 51 million uninsured people and an expected dropout of millions more by 2014.
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The World of Labor September 11, 2010
S. African Public Service Strike Is Suspended for Three Weeks
After 21 days on strike, hundreds of thousands of South African public employees have been instructed to return to work after the unions announced a three-week suspension of the work stoppage. The unions represent 1.3 million workers in schools, state hospitals, the judiciary and other public jobs. They said they would use the 21-day interim to review the government’s last wage offer.“Labor has decided to suspend the strike and this does not mean we have accepted the state offer,” said a statement from the 19 unions that had called the strike. There was evidence that the strike was losing public support, and that many of the strikers were eager to get back to their jobs because they could no longer afford to continue without a pay check.
Union leaders feel that the strike has peaked and any continuance of the national work stoppage would weaken their bargaining power. They will ask their members to accept the government’s latest offer of a 7.5 percent pay raise. They can claim it is a victory, since the government’s previous offer was 5.2 percent. (The unions had asked for 8.6 percent.) Their strategy appears to reach a wage agreement with the government as soon as possible without renewing the strike.
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The World of Labor September 4, 2010
U.S. Jobless Rate Rises to 9.6%; Net Loss of 57,000 Jobs
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the unemployment rate rose from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent in August, in its report issued September 3 on the Labor Day weekend. The private sector created only 67,000 jobs, far less than the 150,000 jobs a month needed to keep up with population growth, and nowhere near the hundreds of thousands of jobs a month to return to pre-recession levels.The number of people who are listed as officially unemployed rose to 15 million. More than 26 million workers are without jobs or full-time work. There were 6.2 million people in August who had been without a job for 27 weeks or more. Jobs increased in health care (28,000), mining (8,000) and construction (19,000). Manufacturing jobs declined by 27,000 in August.
The disappointing unemployment report will intensify labor’s demand for a massive jobs program, financed by a new economic stimulus package. On Sept. 15, workers, students, community and religious groups in dozens of cities across the country will revive one of the key demands of the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom back on the national agenda.
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The World of Labor August 28, 2010
American Women Won Right to Vote After Decades of Struggle
It took 72 years of often bitter struggle by women’s organizations and dedicated individuals to gain the right to vote and run for political office. That right was written into the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920 as the 19th Amendment. It is still perplexing why the wise men who drafted the U.S. Constitution could ignore women, who represented half of the country’s population, probably because their sexist attitudes toward women were part of the culture of those times.The first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York in 1948. After two days of discussion and debate, the 68 women and 32 men adopted a Declaration of Sentiments which outlined their grievances and set the agenda for the women’s rights movement.
Today, in the U.S., women are governors, mayors, also hold other high positions in government and can run for President of the United States. They enjoy important positions in the field of education and also serve as judges, prosecutors and lawyers. And they run major corporations that require high-level business skills. Yet a “glass ceiling” still exists, where women find it difficult to obtain and hold onto prestigious jobs. The most persistent and obvious evidence of discrimination is that women earn 78 percent of the pay of men for doing work of equal value.
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The World of Labor August 21, 2010
S. Africa warns it will impose pay Offer as Strike Worsens
Tensions between the South African government and the public sector increased dramatically Aug. 19 after striking protesters clashed with police and the state indicated it would force its final offer of a 7 percent wage increase on workers, Rubber bullets and water cannon were used against public sector workers who were protesting outside a number of hospitals in Johannesburg, with both sides blaming each other for the escalation of violence that led to at least seven strikers being hospitalized.On Aug. 17, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the country’s largest union federation, had called on 1.3 million members to go on indefinite strike to try to force the government to meet their demands of an 8.6 percent pay increase and a monthly housing allowance of 100 euros ( $127) “The South Africa National Defence Force has been instructed to render support to any government department that may require assistance during the public service strike,” said a Defence Ministry spokesman.
Despite the intensified strike, the government repeated it could not afford to raise its wage increase offer. It also warned unions it would force workers to accept its offer in 21 days. In an effort to resolve the situation, the South African Human Rights Commision called on President Jacob Zima to intervene in the negotiations and added that both sides should put the interests of the country first.
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The World of Labor August 14, 2010
Youth Unemployment is a Social “Time Bomb,” ILO Warns
More than 80 million young people are out of work and many millions more are trapped in short-term, low-paid jobs or in the informal economy. An entire generation of young people is being left behind, and the consequences of this for society will be severe, according to new figures released August 13 by the ILO on United Nations Youth Day. Governments have to act urgently to get job-creating moving by maintaining economic stimulus where it is needed rather than by cutting public expenditures, said Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Confederation of Trade Unions (ITUC).Even if the global employment situation begins to improve, youth unemployment is expected to reduce more slowly than for older workers. Between 2007 and 2009, an additional 8 million young people were without jobs. The increase in youth unemployment is compounded by the fact that about 152 million young “working poor” are living in extreme poverty, the ILO reported.
Trade unions across the world are pressing their governments to adopt economic policies that focus on jobs, with specific measures to improve the access of young people to decent jobs, as well as quality education and training, If sufficient jobs are not available to young people, social and economic unrest is bound to grow with potentially dangerous consequences to society.
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The World of Labor August 7 , 2010
1.3 Million Civil Servants Poised to Strike in South Africa
Unless last-minute negotiations succeed, 1.3 million South African public servants will go on strike on Aug. 10, the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) announced. A union spokesperson said that the labor federation had rejected the government’s latest offer, as did the Independent Labor Caucus (ILC). They plan to march and demonstrate throughout the country.
“It will lead to a complete shutdown in public services, with national marches taking place in Capetown, Tshwane and Pretoria, as well as provincial marches in all the cities in the whole country,” the spokesperson said. The unions are still willing to compromise their demands to avert a strike.
The unions declared a dispute two months ago, and by law, would have been able to give notice and go on strike within seven days but they had decided to “play the game.” “We did not exploit the World Cup. I’m sure if we had, we would have had an agreement by now, but we are responsible to the country,” he said.
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The World of Labor July 31, 2010
210,000 South African State Workers Begin Strike
South African government ministers met with public sector workers’ unions to end a wage strike by 210,000 teachers, nurses and other state employees, and prevent it from spreading to other segments of the nation’s workforce. Unions representing 1.3 million workers are demanding an 8.6 percent pay increase and a monthly housing allowance of 1,000 rand ($136), backdated to April 1, 2010.
On July 22, the government made a final offer to raise wages by 6.5 percent and pay 750 rand for monthly housing allowances. Other public sector unions also rejected the government’s pay offer and threatened to go out on strike next month unless their demands are met.
South Africa’s laws ban strikes by certain categories of workers who provide essential services, such as police officers. The government, which has seen its wage bill double to 259 billion rand ($35.3 billion ) in five years, says it must rein in pay increases if it is to improve health, education and other services.
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The World of Labor July 24, 2010
Metal Unions in Southeast Asia Agree on Strategy
Trade union leaders from four southeastern Asian countries met in Thailand from July 13-15 to discuss union-building strategies in a seminar arranged by their umbrella organization, the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) The participating countries--Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam—adopted a strategic plan that aims to strengthen the trade union movement in their region and to build solidarity, locally, regionally and at the global level.
The seminar began with an evaluation of the IMF’s work in the region since the last congress in 2005. It showed that IMF increased its activities in organizing and union-building in the region. Yet, despite organizing new members, this had yet to translate into a growth in IMF affiliations in the region. In fact, the level of new affiliations had decreased.
Representatives of the IMF’s executive committee members in the region (Australia, Indonesia and Japan) provided an overview of the different approaches and structures within the development of their own unions. Participants also shared information on organizing strategies and discussed how to build future sustainable approaches, despite each country having a different culture and each union having a different history.
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The World of Labor July 17, 2010
Strikers at Honda China Supplier Demand Apology
Striking workers at a plant supplying parts to Honda Motors in China operations have issued a long list of demands for returning to work, aiming to win better conditions commensurate with China’s rising economic clout. Stoppages at foreign-run factories across China by workers demanding pay increases disrupted operations for several weeks in May and June, but the wave of unrest tapered off by the end of last month.
The latest strike began on July 12 when the plant operated by Atsumitec tried to fire 90 workers demanding better pay and conditions. They also asked the Japanese management to apologize to Chinese workers for its conduct during the standoff, and to promise not to lay off any employee for the next two years. The workers are also seeking a pay increase of about 500 yuan ($74) per month. Wages currently average 980 yuan.
A worker confirmed that some production had restarted after the company brought in outsiders to work. Meanwhile, the factory had ceased to provide drinking water to the strikers. The factory makes car gear sticks in the south China city of Foshan.
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The World of Labor July 10, 2010
'Labour Start' Holds Global Solidarity Conference on July 9-11
Participants from more than 50 countries will hear first-hand reports about the struggles of working people around the world at the July 9-11 conference at the McMaster University’s School of Labor Studies in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The conference is sponsored by Labor Start, the global online labor news service, to promote international labor solidarity.
With the support of its 800 volunteer correspondents across the globe, Labour Start daily publishes links to hundreds of labor stories in 23 languages. Working closely with national and global union federations, Labour Start spearheads action campaigns in multiple languages. It has promoted use of new media through its labor web site photo and video of the year contests.
Eric Lee, the founder of Labour Start, says: “ The conference represents a major step forward for Labour Start in particular and for international labor networking in general. We’ve gone beyond the format of the small invitation-only event and are holding an event that is utterly unique, one that includes rank-and-file activists, trade union staffers and senior elected union officers from all over the world. It promises to be an exciting and important event.”
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The World of Labor July 3, 2010
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.
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The World of Labor June 26, 2010
World Labor and G-20 Meetings to Focus on Global Economy
A demand that the world’s economy be restructured and reformed with an emphasis on workers’ rights and needs will be the focus of a meeting in Canada this week, attended by some 1,000 labor leaders, representing 178 million workers from 158 countries and territories.
The delegates at the Second World Congress of the International Confederation of Trade Unions (ICTU) will discuss the warning by union leaders in the G-20 that they remind their governments that cutting budgets and imposing austerity now could plunge the international economy into another deeper recession.
In addition, leaders at the World Congress will discuss the unique problems faced by migrant workers across the globe, and develop more strategies for dealing with climate change and HIV/AIDS. In their statement last week, the G-20 union leaders also stressed the need for governments to focus on progressive revenue-raising measures and on action to implement a financial transaction tax.
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The World of Labor June 19, 2010
ILO Takes Big Steps Toward Domestic Workers Rights
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has taken a giant step forward in its fight to create workplace justice for the millions of housekeepers, nannies and other domestic workers around the world. At its conference in Geneva, which ended June 16, the ILO began the process which establishes a first-ever international standard “convention” to protect the rights of domestic workers.
If the convention is passed at the ILO’s meeting in 2011, it will require governments that ratify it to ensure that domestic workers are covered by the fundamental rights and principles of the ILO, which include the freedom to form unions, elimination of forced labor, abolition of child labor and an end to discrimination. Employers would be responsible for making sure workers are informed of the agreed upon conditions of work, preferably through a written contract, defining wages and working conditions.
In the United States, domestic workers have few rights. They were not even covered on the rights relating to wages until 1974. Early this month, the New York Senate extended basic rights to more than 200,000 domestic workers in the state. The State Assembly passed a similar bill last year. A new law on domestic worker rights will take effect on Jan. 1, 2011.
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The World of Labor June 12, 2010
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.
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The World of Labor June 5, 2010
Honda Strike in China Ends with a 24% Wage Increase
Workers at a Honda auto parts factory in China have returned to work with a 24 percent wage increase, after taking strike action that shut down Honda assembly plants to protest low wages. Production restarted on June 3 after the company agreed to the raise. Around 1,900 workers are employed at the factory in Foshan, China. The strike began May 21.
The average monthly wage at the transmission plant was around $150. Workers were demanding a wage hike of $117. The strike at the plant drew media coverage when a closure resulted in the shutdown of several of Honda’s assembly plants in China. The company announced that production of cars at four factories will restart June 4.
The official China Daily newspaper ran an editorial on May 28, citing the Honda strike as evidence that government inaction on wages might be fueling tension between workers and employers. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions reports that nearly a quarter of Chinese employees have not had a pay raise in five years.
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The World of Labor May 29, 2010
Europeans Fear Crisis Threatens Liberal Benefits
The deficit crisis that threatens the euro has also undermined the sustainability of the European standard of social welfare, built by left-leaning governments since the end of World War II. Europeans have boasted about their social model, with its generous vacations and early retirements, its national health care systems and extensive welfare benefits, contrasting it with the comparative harshness of American capitalism.
Europeans have benefitted from low military spending, protected by NATO and the American nuclear umbrella. They have also translated higher taxes into a cradle-to-the-grave safety net. But all over Europe, governments with big budgets, falling tax revenues and aging populations are experiencing rising deficits, with more bad news ahead.
Figures show the severity of the problem. Gross public social expenditures in the European Union increased from 16 percent of gross domestic product in 1980 to 21 percent in 2005, compared with 15.9 percent in the United States. In France, the figure now is 31 percent, the highest in Europe, with state pensions making up more than 44 percent of the total, and health care, 30 percent.
Strike Has Forced Honda to Shut Plants in China
A strike in a crucial parts factory has forced Honda to shut down all four of its joint venture assembly plants in China. It was the clearest sign yet of growing labor unrest in a country that now stands at the cornerstone of companies’ global supply chain. Industrial wages have been climbing steeply in the export zones of China’s coastal provinces, but workers’ expectations have been rising even more steeply.
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The World of Labor May 22, 2010
South Africa’s Unions May Strike during World Cup
Unions representing South Africa’s public employees will consider striking during the soccer World Cup, unless an independent mediator helps to end a wage dispute with the government, the Public Servants Association said. Government negotiators offered to raise wages for about one million workers, including nurses and teachers, by 5.3 percent from July 1, increasing its previous offer of 5.2 percent. The unions reduced their pay demand to 10.5 percent from 11 percent. The mediator has 30 days to end the impasse.
The soccer World Cup, the world’s most watched sporting event, is due to kick off on June 11. The government expects about 300,000 international visitors to attend the 32-nation tournament, which is being held in Africa for the first time. South Africa’s state-owned transportation company, Transnet Ltd., has proposed increasing workers’ pay by 11 percent in a bid to end a strike that began on May10.
“If there is no solution of the wage dispute, unions will then ballot their members on whether to strike,” said Manie Clercq, the association’s deputy general manager. “If the strike goes ahead, it will be in the middle of the World Cup.”
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The World of Labor May 15, 2010
25,000 Zimbabwe Miners Strike with Demand for Higher Wages
Thousands of mine workers in Zimbabwe went on strike for better pay on May 13 after negotiations with employers collapsed, union leaders said. “This is a national strike which covers the entire country, and so far, 25,000 workers have headed the call to go out on strike,” said Tinago Ruzive, president of the Associated Mine Workers Union of Zimbabwe. “The Chamber of Mines has refused to negotiate with us,” he said.
The workers are demanding 200 dollars a month for the lowest employees, who earn $140 a month. Ruzive said that a labor tribunal had already awarded a 140-dollar monthly wage to the mine workers, but the national chamber of mines has instructed its members not to pay out the full increase. Zimbabwe’s mining sector, which employs 40,000 workers, is showing signs of recovery after an economic crisis that saw hyperinflation erase the value of the local currency, which was abandoned last year.
Most of the mines were placed under maintenance or shut down, due to hyperinflation. Stringent government regulations compelled companies to sell minerals through the central banks. The country’s economy has been stabilizing since a power-sharing government was formed last year between President Robert Mugabe and former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangiral, and the U.S. dollar was established as the nation’s currency.
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The World of Labor May 8, 2010
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.
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The World of Labor May 1, 2010
New Global Movement called ‘TULIP’ Is Launched
Trade union leaders from three continents have announced the launch of a new global movement “to challenge the apologists for Hamas and Hezbollah in the labor movement” and to fight for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The acronym of the movement is TULIP (symbolized by the flower) and stands for Trade Union Linking Israel and Palestine.The new global union issued a statement on May Day 2010 that “salutes the Israeli and Palestinian workers and their unions on the one and only holiday that is celebrated by both peoples.” Emphasizing the historic role of the trade union movement in building unity among workers throughout the world, TULIP said: “We encourage genuine dialogue and reconciliation among union people to bring about justice and peace. We oppose divisive boycotts, divestments and sanctions.”
TULIP defined its position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stating: “We are committed to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, with secure and abiding borders. We reject completely the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. We oppose Palestinian terror tactics. The trade unions of the world must call upon the political elites on both sides to step back from the brink and make the necessary compromises to end the conflict now.”
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The World of Labor May 1, 2010
Mexican Striking Miners Say They’ll Destroy Mine if Evicted
Hundreds of striking miners occupying Mexico’s largest copper pit said on April 22 they are prepared to destroy the mine if the government tries to evict them after a court ruled they could be fired. The miners first walked off the job at the massive Cananea copper mine near the U.S. –Mexican border nearly three years ago over health and safety standards in a protracted labor dispute that has been fought back and forth in the Mexican courts.
Mexico’s Supreme Court this week upheld an earlier court ruling allowing mine owner Grupo Mexico to terminate the contracts of the strikers and hire new workers. But the miners at the historic copper pit have refused to turn over the mine and say if police or soldiers come to dislodge them, they are prepared to take extreme measures.
“We are not going to turn over the mine to Grupo Mexico, let that be clear,” national mining union spokesman Sergio Beltran said. “First we will burn it down. We have people already inside, we have a plan in place to burn it if necessary, if they want to force us out.” The union has successfully negotiated contracts with other companies in Mexico, including a wide-ranging agreement last month with global steelmaker ArcelorMittal.
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The World of Labor April 17, 2010
Trade Unions Ask India and Pakistan to Sign Nuclear Treaties
Trade union leaders in India and Pakistan have urged the two countries to sign the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and use the trillions they spend on bomb-making and the arms trade for poverty eradication and the welfare of their peoples.
At a conference organized by the International Trade Union Confederation of the Asia Pacific Region in Singapore on April 7-8, union leaders from the two countries joined with their counterparts from Japan, the Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia and other countries in the region in demanding that the nuclear stockpiles of the two nations be scrapped.
The conference adopted a resolution pointing out that war was not something the people of either India or Pakistan wanted. Millions of people in this region are poor, unemployed and starving, and need food, education and jobs instead of the false security offered by nuclear weapons, the resolution said.
India and Pakistan have been in dispute for decades over Kashmir, a territory that is controlled 65 percent by India and 35 percent by Pakistan, where a large majority of the population is Muslim. The conflict between two of the world’s most populous countries, both with nuclear capability, has the ominous potential to escalate into a nuclear war.
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The World of Labor April 10, 2010
Global Unions Support Tax on financial Transactions
A grass-roots campaign in favor of a tax on financial transactions has spread quickly throughout Europe. The goal is to have the G-20 governments agree to a minuscule tax on every trade in stocks, bonds, currencies and derivatives. The proceeds would be put into a global fund directed at poor countries or climate change. At the same time, the tax would encourage traders to think twice before engaging in reckless behavior.
“We want to make the case for it, because we think the case is extraordinarily strong,” said Guy Ryder, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), representing 175 million workers in 155 countries. France and Germany are leading the European campaign for the tax, while the Obama administration has not taken a position on the matter.
While sentiment for the tax is growing in Canada, the country’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, is opposed to the idea. Harper will be host to the G-20 meeting in Toronto on June 26-27, 2010. The European Union has said the financial tax could raise about $70 billion a year, while non-governmental agencies say the amount is more than $400 billion annually.
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The World of Labor April 3, 2010
OECD Lists Wage Gap Between Men and Women in 21 Countries
The wage gap between South Korean male and female workers is the highest among key industrialized economies, a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed. The report, released to mark this year’s International Women’s Day, revealed that of the 21 OECD countries checked, South Korea had the widest disparity between genders.
According to the findings, women employed as regular workers in South Korea received, on average, 38 percent less than their male counterparts Japan came in second in terms of wage disparity with women making 33.0 less, compared to men, followed by Germany, Canada and Britain. The difference in Germany stood at 23. while those for Canada and Britain reached 21.0 percent each.
For the United States, the average wage gap was 19.0 percent, with Belgium having the least disparity with a male employee earning 9.3 percent more than a woman worker. The Paris-based OECD is made up of 30 members, with South Korea joining the organization in 1996.
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The World of Labor March 27, 2010
New ITUC Campaign on Organizing Young People
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is initiating a new campaign on March 26 to connect global trade union work to the recruitment and organizing of young people. The new Youth Campaign uses a range of different tools, including video, social networking, posters and websites, as well as a special campaign guide.
Research in many countries has shown that young peoples’ attitudes on the issues that trade unions deal with have not changed greatly over the years, but that changes in the workforce, technology and society have meant that unions need to reach out to youth in different ways than in the past. This campaign aims to show that by joining a trade union, young people can influence issues and events which they are concerned about at a global level, as well as improving their own working lives.
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The World of Labor March 21, 2010
U.S. Congress Passes Historic Health-Care Bill, 220-211
After more than a year of public and media discussion of President Obama’s proposal for national health-insurance, Democrats succeeded in passing a health-care bill on March 21, after more than eight hours of heated debate in Congress, by a vote of 220-211, with 33 Democrats joining Republicans in opposition.
The bill, which will be signed by President Obama, would extend health insurance to 32 million people who are not now covered. It would prevent insurance companies from rejecting customers because of pre-existing medical conditions, and would extend coverage to children and insured family members up to age 26. Supporters of the bill said that it would help small businesses through tax cuts, so they could buy coverage for their employees. They said this was the first time in a century that a health care bill was ready to be enacted, and that Americans should not pass up the opportunity.
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The World of Labor March 12, 2010
IBEW Pension Fund Sues Goldman Sachs over Executive Pay
The Pension Fund of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) sued Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., on March 8, accusing the Wall Street investment bank of overpaying its executives. The lawsuit seeks to stop Goldman from allocating roughly 47 percent of 2009 net revenue as compensation to its top executives, saying that such allocations “vastly overcompensate management and constitute corporate waste.”
Goldman has been at the center of a public debate over how much banks should pay their executives in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, after taking billions of dollars of federal bailout money. Last week, Goldman said it would cap 2009 compensation expenses at $16.2 billion, for a 36 percent compensation ratio, despite posting a record profit.
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The World of Labor March 6, 2010
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.
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The World of Labor February 27, 2010
Defying Global Slump, China Has a Labor Shortage
Just a year after laying off millions of factory workers, China is facing an increasingly acute labor shortage. As American workers struggle with near double-digit unemployment, unskilled factory workers in China’s industrial heartland are being offered signing bonuses. Factory wages have risen as much as 20 percent in recent months.
Some manufacturers, already weeks behind schedule because they can’t find enough workers, are closing down production lines and considering raising prices. Such increases would most likely drive up the prices that American consumers pay for all sorts of Chinese-made goods. Rising wages could also lead to greater inflation in China.
The immediate cause of the labor shortage is that millions of migrant workers, who traveled home for the long Lunar New Year earlier this month, are not returning to the coast. Thanks to a half-trillion-dollar government stimulus program, jobs are being created in the country’s interior. At the same time, China’s birth rate has been sliding steadily ever since the introduction of the “one child” policy in 1977.
The Chinese government has rapidly expanded post-secondary education. Universities and other institutions of higher learning enrolled 6.4 million new students last year, compared to 5.7 million in 2007 and 2.2 million in 2000. Letting wages rise benefits workers, said Jingo Ulrich, chairwoman of China equities and commodities at J.P. Morgan Chase. Letting currency rise benefits currency speculators, she added.
Greece Comes to a Standstill; Citizens Are Angry at E.U.
Hundreds of thousands of workers, both public and private, stayed home from work to protest the government’s austerity program and express their anger at the European Union (E.U.) for its role in forcing their country to adopt its harsh measures. Greece was brought to a virtual standstill as a one-day general strike grounded all flights and halted buses, trains and ferries. Schools, government ministries and local authorities were also closed, with hospitals staffed only by emergency personnel.
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