STRUGGLES AROUND

Asia

Bangladesh:

Garment workers protest against police attacks

Factory goons, supported by police using teargas, attacked several hundred Masihata Sweaters workers demonstrating in the Gazipur industrial area. The garment workers were protesting against factory owners using law enforcement agencies and local goons to harass workers who had demanded an 8,000-taka ($US103) monthly minimum wage, as agreed by the wages board, and the right to form trade unions.

 

Workers ended their protests after Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association officials said their problems could be resolved in discussion between workers, the plant owner and the industrial police.

Meanwhile, 15 workers in Narayanganj, in the Dhaka district, were injured when truncheon-wielding police attacked a demonstration by 900 Fuji Knitwear workers demanding unpaid wages. The factory closed on August 27 without paying 100 workers their salaries.

Police open fire on protesting hotel workers

At least ten employees from different hotels and restaurants in Rajshahi city were injured when riot police opened fire on a demonstration on September 3. The workers were protesting the death of a colleague, Rojob Ali, who they allege died of injuries caused when his employer at the Mazed Hotel pushed him off the hotel roof during an argument.

India:

Gurgaon workers warn of labour unrest

Gurgaon, Sep 8 (IANS) Various workers unions, including from Munjal Showa, Napino Auto and Electronics, and Senior India organised a march here Sunday to protest their “exploitation” and “harassment” by their respective managements and warned of labour unrest if their pending demands were not met.

A large number of workers from automotive product manufacturer companies Munjal Showa’s Udyog Vihar and Manesar units, Napino Auto and Electronics Ltd and Senior India Pvt Ltd – both at Manesar – and quality management consultant firm P.N. Writers (Kherki Daula) gathered at Kamla Nehru park here.

Addressing the gathering, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) Gurgaon president Suresh Gaur, general secretary Anil Pawar and other leaders said that many company managements and labour officers were “testing our patience” for a long time.

They said the workers have done all within their efforts to avoid labour unrest but now it would not be easy to maintain peace from one side only.

Workers, holding banners in their hands, shouted slogans against “anti-worker” company managements and proceeded to Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi’s temporary residence at Sector 15. In his absence, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Vivek Kalia accepted the memorandum.

AITUC leaders later told IANS that if “necessary steps” were not taken timely to resolve the various issues regarding company employees, Gurgaon may face labour unrest.

“SDM Kalia has assured us of taking necessary steps to resolve the issues. A team, headed by additional deputy commissioner along with Additional Labour Commissioner Naresh Narwal, SDM Satendra Duhan and senior labour officers will look into the matter,” Anil Pawar said.

The memorandum alleged that Munjal Showa’s active union workers were Friday attacked by goons of the company management in which Narender, Anand, Sushil Rana and Meghraj were injured and had to be admitted to a private hospital in Palam Vihar.

The demand notice from Napino workers was unanswered even after 10 months.

Senior India suspended 12 workers without any cause a year ago and they were still waiting for their rejoining.

P.N. Writers management also suspended workers union president Gopal Prasad about 10 days ago but did not disclose the reason for the action.

Workers’ leaders from several other companies also took part in the protest.

Uttarakhand motorcycle plant workers end strike

About 5,000 workers at the Hero MotoCorps motorcycle plant in Haridwar district ended a two-day strike on September 2 over the termination of a permanent employee, without resolution. On returning to work, 700 permanent employees were asked to pledge that they would not get involved in any future demonstrations. Suspension letters were issued to 16 employees who refused to sign the agreement.

Workers, however, were assured of a “fair” hearing and told that there would not be any pay cut for the strike protest. The motorcycle workers alleged that the terminated employees were targeted because they had attempted to form a union.

Tamil Nadu contract health workers protest

On September 2, contract health workers at the Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital in Chennai, Tamil Nadu protested over outstanding dues. At least 120 workers had not been paid for the past three months. The low-paid workers only receive 3,000 rupees ($US45) a month to transport patients between wards. They ended their demonstration after hospital authorities pledged to pay the contract employer what would cover the outstanding dues.

Tamil Nadu agricultural workers protest

Over 50 farmers demonstrated outside the Collector office in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu on September 2 to demand the immediate release of crop insurance for 2012–13 and a write-off of 2012 banks loans because of crop failure. The protest was part of a state-wide campaign by the Agricultural workers Association, which is affiliated to the Communist Party of India.

The association also wants a 3,000-rupee ($US45) monthly pension for farmers above age 60, to bring them in line with pensions paid by other states, such as Goa and Rajasthan.

Pakistan

Pakistan utility workers protest

Hundreds of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) workers marched through Lahore on September 4 over price rises in basic items caused by the Pakistan government’s latest budget. Protesting All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union members also called for better working conditions and workplace safety. Their action followed a similar demonstration in Lahore on August 30. Members of the Pakistan Workers Confederation declared that they would participate in future nationwide protests.

Cambodia

Cambodian Khmer Rouge tribunal workers on strike

About 200 Cambodian interpreters, translators and other employees at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal in Phnom Penh have been on strike since September 2 to demand wages outstanding since June. The Cambodian government is officially responsible for paying their salaries. The industrial action follows a strike in March by 30 translators who had not been paid for three months.

Khmer Rouge leaders, who are charged with alleged war crimes and other offences committed during their four-year rule of Cambodia in the 1970s, have been on trial since November 2011. The tribunal has met with resistance from the Cambodian government, where many top officials are former Khmer Rouge members.

SL Garment workers in Cambodia end strike

Close to 6,000 striking employees at Asia’s largest garment manufacturer SL Garment Processing in the Meanchey district, Phnom Penh ended an 18-day strike on August 30 after management and city authorities agreed to one of their demands. The garment workers walked out on August 12 over eight claims, including an increase in the minimum wage to $US150 a month and the removal of military police patrolling inside the company’s factories.

Government officials, following talks between the Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union and SL Garment, supervised by the Phnom Penh municipal government, ordered that military police be removed from the factories. It is not clear if other issues have been resolved.

South Korea:

Seoul call-centre workers end action

Following two walkouts last week by unionised contract workers at Seoul City’s 120 Dasan Call Centre, the city government and the three contracting employers have agreed to some of the workers’ demands.

The 270-member union, which covers just over half the workforce at the call centre, had demanded a 4 percent pay rise, additional paid leave, a 100,000-won ($US90) holiday bonus, and a change of status for full-time employees directly hired by the city. The agencies only offered a 1.9 percent pay rise and 30,000 won in extra bonuses.

The union accepted a 3 percent pay rise and 50,000-won ($US45.20) bonus for the Chuseok and Lunar New Year’s holidays. While Seoul city authorities have agreed to reduce workloads, they rejected contract workers’ demands for full-time employment.

Indonesia

Indonesian workers demand higher minimum wage

On September 3, for the second time since July, 3,000 workers organised by the Jakarta Labor Forum, marched on City Hall in Central Jakarta to protest the government’s restrictions on the 2014 minimum wage increase. Protesters demanded that the city authorities ignore a presidential instruction that said wage rises be based on inflation levels and limited to a maximum increase of 10 percent.

Rally leaders told protesters that with a 40 percent fuel-price rise in July and price increases in basic goods, the minimum wage should be 3.7 million rupiah ($US323) a month, a 60 percent increase from the current 2.2 million. More rallies are planned this month and in October.

 

Australia and the Pacific

Queensland sugar workers ordered to end industrial action

Around 200 members of three unions at MSF Sugar’s Mulgrave Central Mill on Queensland’s far north coast have been ordered by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to end all industrial action while it considers an application lodged by MSF. Australian Workers Union, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union members began rolling 24-hour stoppages in June in a dispute for a new work agreement.

Negotiations have dragged on since the existing agreement lapsed on May 1, with workers rejecting a 10.5 percent pay rise over three years, stating it did not provide pay parity with colleagues at other sites owned by the company.

Under the Labor government’s draconian industrial laws, the FWC can terminate or suspend protected industrial action if it agrees with employer or government claims that the action could threaten to “endanger the life, the personal safety or the welfare of the population” or cause significant damage to the economy.

Western Australian school-support workers protest

On September 4, over 1,000 school-support staff, including education assistants, cleaners and other workers, rallied outside state parliament in Perth to protest the Barnett government’s plan to slash jobs and funding. The school-support staff are members of the United Voice union. At least 350 education assistant jobs and 150 education department staff are to be axed, teacher numbers are to be frozen and specialist program funding cut.

The State School Teachers Union (SSTU) held a rally after school hours. One school principal told parents that their school would lose $280,000 due to budget cuts. While the SSTU has admitted that schools were expecting an extra 18,000 students over the next two years, a union official ruled out any immediate industrial action.

 

 

 

Europe

Greek workers protest transfer to mobility scheme and unpaid wages

Municipal employees, school guards, nursing staff and doctors from public hospitals protested in Athens Wednesday.

The school guards were protesting their inclusion in the governments’ mobility programme and are demanding the payment of unpaid wages. Early in the morning, about 100 school guards entered the Ministry of the Interior building in central Athens and occupied it for several hours. Around 50 school guards protested outside the Ministry of Administrative Reform.

The jobs of 2,150 guards were eliminated in July. Under the scheme, they have eight months from September 23 to be placed into another public job or be fired. This is part of the initial wave of 4,400 civil servants whose existing jobs were terminated as they were forced into the scheme. The scheme is a critical element of the New Democracy/PASOK government’s austerity agreement with the European Union and International Monetary Fund to slash 150,000 public sector jobs by 2015.

Doctors held a rally outside the health ministry offices in Athens to protest their forced transfers into other jobs as well as cuts in their pay.

Hellenic Vehicle Industry workers take industrial action

On Wednesday workers employed by the state-owned Hellenic Vehicle Industry (ELVO) struck to protest the Greek government’s plans to put the company up for sale as part of its privatisation programme.

Hellenic Vehicle Industry is the Greek Army’s largest supplier of armoured and civilian vehicles.

Workers held a rally in central Thessaloniki, starting at the northern city’s main courthouse and ending at the Macedonia-Thrace Ministry.

The head of the ELVO workers’ trade union, Theodoros Aliongas, said that the date of the protest rally was changed because union representatives wanted to meet with government minister Theodoros Karaoglou ahead of the latter’s meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens on Wednesday.

ELVO is one of three state-owned firms that the troika is demanding be closed. The other two are Larco, which produces military and civilian special-purpose machinery firms and EAS (Hellenic Defence Systems). In an email to the Finance Ministry on Monday, the troika stated, “In our view, the option of closure/liquidation must be considered for all three companies.”

Bosnian miners hold 48-hour underground protest

Around 140 miners employed at the Djurdjevik coal mine near Tuzla in Bosnia mounted a 48-hour underground sit-in at the mine.

The workers resurfaced Wednesday following discussions between their representatives and management. EPBiH, the power company that owns the mine, agreed to a pay rise and to hire more production staff to bring the underground sit-in to an end.

The brown coal mine employs around 1,000 workers and produces 600,000 tonnes of coal a year which goes to the Tuzla coal-fired power station.

 

Russian Aeroflot airline workers protest

Around 20 Aeroflot airline workers staged a protest outside the Moscow based Aeroflot office Tuesday to protest against working conditions.

The workers are demanding a premium to be paid for night flights and highlighting the lack of qualified personnel. The airline workers are members of the cockpit union SCPA. SCPA say the airline owes workers $30 million in back pay. The union has gone to court to retrieve the money.

UK teachers’ unions call more regional strikes

The National Union of Teachers and NASUWT teaching unions, the largest in the UK, representing nine out of ten teachers, announced further rolling strikes on Thursday.

Teachers are angered by a series of attacks made by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government since 2010, including a pay freeze, an increase in pension contributions and retirement age increase. Performance-related pay is also taking effect from this month with national pay levels being ended.

The union is to continue its policy of divisive regional strikes in October with teachers involved in the east of England, the Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside on October 1 and teachers in London, North East, South East and South West on October 17. In June, teachers in the northwest of England were called out.

No regional action is to be held in Wales as was originally scheduled. The unions stated, “the Welsh Government has been prepared to engage in constructive talks to seek to avoid the escalation of the rolling programme of strike action in Wales”. The unions gave no further details of the talks.

The union has not scheduled a national strike, stating that the possibility of one would not be discussed until after the October 17 regional action. This would be a non-starter, since at the beginning of the new academic year preparing for yet another action after the regional strikes is something teachers would likely be unwilling or unable to do.

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers said the unions had sought to avoid strike action. “With pay pensions and working conditions being systematically attacked and an education secretary who refuses to listen or negotiate, teachers now however have no other choice.”

The BBC reported that NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said the teachers’ unions would meet the government “any time, any place” to discuss a settlement to the dispute.

UK biscuit factory workers may ballot

Hundreds of workers at the United Biscuits factory in Aintree, Merseyside could be facing a strike ballot over changes in working arrangements that include having to ask permission to go to the toilet. The factory employs around 800 workers and makes biscuit brands including Penguins, Jacob’s Crackers, and McVitie’s.

The Liverpool Echo reported, “It is understood the toilet break rules were introduced by the acting general manager and affect staff who drive fork lift trucks.”

Evidence obtained by the Echo suggests they have been given rotas with an allocated time to use the bathroom. The breaks are said to be staggered throughout the day.

The GMB union said its executive will decide this week whether to ballot its members at the factory.

Staff at chemicals plant in Norwich, England reject pay deal

Workers at Briar Chemicals in Norwich, England have rejected the latest company pay offer in a formal ballot.

The firm employs 124 workers who voted to reject the final offer of an unconsolidated one-off payment and a one-off bonus payment. The company reportedly dropped its demand for a new “Agreement of Intent” and a new Substantive Agreement by April 2014.

Irish doctors set for action

Junior doctors represented by the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) have voted to strike beginning September 25 after a ballot of around 1,000 junior doctors produced a 97 percent vote in favour of industrial action over working hours.

The doctors’ grievance is over the fact they are working around 100 hours a week—more than twice the legal maximum. Talks between the IMO and Health Service representatives broke down at the end of last week prompting the ballot and planned strike action.

UK postal workers to vote on strike

Postal workers in the UK are to ballot for strike action to protest government privatisation plans and threats to pay, jobs and pensions.

The workers employed by Royal Mail and Parcelforce are members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU). The union said it would ballot 125,000 workers starting September 20 with a result due on October 3.

It will be the first national postal ballot since a pay and conditions dispute in 2009. A number of local disputes have broken out around the UK among postal workers, with 96 percent of the CWU’s members recently voting against privatisation.

A statement by CWU Deputy General Secretary Dave Ward exposed the unions’ claim that it is organising a genuine struggle against privatisation. Ward made clear the union is preparing for the “realities”of thesell-off of Royal Mail stating, “We are dealing with a company that is preparing for privatisation with relish. While the union continues to fight privatisation we are also dealing with the potential realities for workers if there is a change of ownership.

“We are looking to reach a groundbreaking agreement on terms and conditions that sets unprecedented legally binding protection for workers in the event of a sale, and regardless of who owns the company.”[emphasis added]

The government said it will not alter its decision to sell shares in Royal Mail in this financial year. Royal Mail responded to the CWU’s announcement condemning industrial action or the possibility of disruption as damaging to its business, especially in the run-up to Christmas, which is the busiest time for the company.

Royal Mail managers in the Unite union have also voted strongly against the planned sell-off.

UK firefighters vote in favour of strikes

Firefighters voted by almost four-to-one last week in favour of striking in a dispute over pensions. If it goes ahead it will be the first national walkout by firefighters in a decade.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said planned changes to pensions were “unaffordable and unworkable”, would impose an increase in members’ contributions and would put firefighters at greater risk of dismissal without access to a proper pension. Workers retiring at the age of 55 could lose thousands of pounds per year.

In response to the strike vote FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said the union wanted to hold further talks with the government in order to avert a strike. “This result is a clear indication of the anger felt by firefighters. It’s still not too late for common sense to prevail if the government are willing to return to the negotiating table. None of us want a strike, but we cannot compromise on public and firefighter safety”, he said.

 

Middle East

Tunisian journalists announce strike

The General Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) announced a general strike on September 3 “protesting against a partisan leadership imposed upon the journalists”, according to the Tunis Times.

The strike is said to include all public radio stations.

The journalists and technicians are also demanding the resignation of the current director, Mohamed Meddeb, who was assigned by Hamadi Jebali’s cabinet on April of 2012. Meddeb is alleged to have been exercising pressure on journalists in an attempt to force them to change the editorial line of radio stations in favour of the current government.

 

Africa

Reinstated Tazara railway workers remain on strike

The management of the Tanzania-Zambia (Tazara) railway have rescinded their sacking of around 1,000 Tazara workers. They began their strike two weeks ago. They are refusing to return to work until the four months’ salary arrears (May to August) they are owed is paid.

Erasto Kihwele secretary of the Tazara Railway Workers’ Union (TRAWU) told reporters management had promised to pay at least one month’s pay by August 29, however this did not materialise. He added they would not return to work until all the arrears are paid.

Kenyan local government workers prevented from holding strike

Around 11,000 Nairobi county government workers were due to go on strike on Monday but have been ordered not to do so after intervention by the Industrial Court. The planned strike was to compel the government to implement a collective bargaining agreement signed into effect a year ago giving them a 50 percent increase in benefits received by them.

However, workers defied the court order and lobbied the Nairobi city hall on Tuesday. Police then used teargas to disperse them.

The agreement was signed between the workers’ union representatives and the national government. A lawyer representing the Nairobi county government area said because Nairobi county government was not a signatory to the agreement, they would not abide by it.

The Labour court is due to hear the case on September 9.

South African casual postal workers strike

Casual workers employed at some South Africa Post Office (SAPO) mail processing centres in the Gauteng area went on strike Monday. They took action as part of their campaign to be given permanent positions. SAPO management was in talks with representatives of the casual workers in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

South African auto workers vow to intensify dispute

Auto workers say they will intensify their strike now in its third week. Around 30,000 auto workers employed by Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford, amongst others, are on strike. They are demanding a double-digit pay agreement for the next three years together with medical aid facilities and shift flexibility.

Around 500 striking auto workers marched on the offices of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers in Pretoria last week to push their demands.

South African construction workers’ walk-out enters second week

The 90,000 construction workers organised by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) are continuing their strike. They are demanding a minimum wage of R5500 (US$535). The action is affecting major construction companies such as WBHO, Group Five, Murray and Roberts and Stocks amongst others.

Striking construction workers employed at the Nkomati mine in Machadodorp are due to be joined by nickel miners working at the site when they take secondary supportive action on Friday 6 September.