International Employment Relations Network List
(IERN-L)
A Miscellany of International Employment Relations News
Miscellany 24, 29 August 2012
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Contents
Main Stories
Australia: Unionist drove car at site manager after Grocon protest, court hears
China: Trade union negotiates pay increase for Carrefour employees in Shanghai
China: Wuhan factory strike illustrates both the progress and limits to the workers’
movement in China’s inland provinces
Europe: EU Labour Migration in Troubled Times
ILO: Internships: Head start or labour trap?
ILO: South Africa could do more for miners, says ILO mining specialist
Peru: Telefónica Contractor dismisses 30 Workers
Singapore: New set-up to do more for working families
South Africa: COSATU statement on Marikana Massacre
South Africa: COSATU shocked at ‘shot-in-the-back’ allegations
1
Turkey: DHL Turkey under international spotlight over worker dismissals
UK: More than 100 quangos cut by coalition
UK: Unison slams NHS ‘pay cartel’ plans to slash wages
USA: Canada Labor Laws Support Workers' Freedom to Form Unions
In Brief
Australia: Business demands action on green and work laws
Australia: Childcare group warns over sector wage rises
Canada: CLC releases study on “union advantage”
Canada: Labour Day 2012: Standing up for fairness
France: Le ministre du Travail rétablit un délégué CGT dans son droit
Hong Kong: Company director fined for defaulting on payment of Labour
Tribunal award
India: Massive success for bank employees in India
India: UNI report on the threat of Walmart shapes opinion in India
Kenya: Claims of Outrageous Expenses by NHIF Caretaker Committee
UK: The Impact of Austerity on UNISON Members 2012
USA: Unions Matter More than Ever!
USA: AFT’s Randi Weingarten: Teachers and Parents on the Same Page, New
Movie 'Won't Back Down' Distorts the Truth
Opinion Pieces
Nigeria: To Reduce Unemployment
Research
Publications
Calls for Papers, Conferences, Seminars, Symposia
Labour History
Other Sites
2
________________________________________________________________
Main Stories
Australia: Unionist drove car at site manager after Grocon protest, court
hears
IR/Australia/Construction/CMFEU/Grocon
The Australian, 28 August 2012 at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nationalaffairs/industrial-relations/unionist-drove-car-at-site-manager-after-grocon-protest-courthears/story-fn59noo3-1226459889599
A SENIOR union official who is suing Opposition leader Tony Abbott for allegedly implying
he is a union thug deliberately drove his car at a building site manager following a violent
protest in Melbourne this morning, a court has heard.
CFMEU assistant secretary John Setka also allegedly hurled abuse at Grocon employees
during a protest in Melbourne where construction workers trampled on police officers.
Grocon has asked the Victorian Supreme Court to extend injunction orders against the
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union after hearing evidence about the violent
clash outside Grocon's Myer Emporium building site on Lonsdale St this morning.
The company's Victorian operations manager Brian McAdam told judge Anthony Cavonough
he had recognised Mr Setka at the CBD protest and saw him directly confront a group of
about 90 Grocon employees who were trying to enter their worksite.
"Mr Setka has then verbally abused our people," Mr McAdam told the court.
"It's not language I like to use, but he yelled out 'f..king dog."'
Mr McAdam said Mr Setka had also called the workers "scabs", to which some of them
replied "We just want to work".
A police officer then advised the Grocon employees to go back inside their office building.
The protest has now broken up, but Mr McAdam said he had heard one of the union
organisers on a loudspeaker saying "Back here tomorrow boys for more fun."
Mr McAdam said Mr Setka had arrived at one of Grocon's Footscray developments around
9.30 and told a security guard he wanted to speak to management.
3
Grocon's executive project manager Frank Bortoletto went outside and told Mr Setka he was
in contravention of court orders which were posted on the building site fences.
"He then said that we don't care about such things and then began to verbally abuse Mr
Bortoletto," Mr McAdam told the court.
"'Dog' and 'rat', and the usual sort of stuff."
Mr McAdam said Mr Bortoletto turned to leave before Mr Setka accelerated the vehicle,
striking the project manager on the leg.
Mr Setka is suing Tony Abbott for defamation over comments the Opposition leader made at
a Master Builders Association conference earlier this year.
Mr Setka claims he has been "gravely injured" by his public portrayal as a construction site
thug.
A magistrate threw out assault and obstruction charges against Mr Setka and a former union
official two days after Mr Abbott's speech to the Master Builders.
The Myer Emporium protest briefly escalated at around 7.00am when the crowd pushed back
against mounted police, with reports of some police horses being punched.
Victoria Police commander Rick Nugent said one group of officers on foot fell on to the
ground as the workers surged forward.
"They were under the feet of a number of union people but they don't appear to be injured,"
he said.
"Capsicum spray was used, I understand, by our members on the front line, and it was used at
the time the members were being trampled by union members and in fear of their safety.
"I understand that the use of the capsicum spray enabled members to get back onto their feet
and get back with their members."
Lonsdale Street has now reopened to traffic and the workers have dispersed.
Commander Nugent said no workers had been arrested at this morning's protest, but arrests
could follow if instances of violence were seen on video footage.
"It wasn't a violent confrontation per se which we're pleased about," he said.
"I haven't reviewed all of the footage but at this stage we're comfortable that they behaved
reasonably appropriately.
4
"If they have punched horses, then that's not appropriate."
Justice Cavanough has agreed to extend the existing injunction against the CFMEU. The
union did not attend the hearing.
___________________________________________________________________________
China: Trade union negotiates pay increase for Carrefour employees in
Shanghai
IR/China/Collective Bargaining/Carrefour/ACFTU/Role of Unions
China Labour Bulletin, 20 August 2012 at http://www.clb.org.hk/en/node/110111
Workers at the Shanghai supermarkets of French retail giant Carrefour will get a 7.5 per cent
pay increase under an agreement negotiated by the trade union and management. The
agreement also includes a bonus for employees who have worked at the company for more
than one year, as well as medical benefits.
Trade union officials told the China Daily newspaper that the pay increase had been a hardfought victory after years of management intransigence and refusal to negotiate.
“After our repeated and patient attempts to explain the mission of Chinese unions, which is to
support the development of enterprises and protect workers' rights, the employer finally
understood and agreed to hold the talks," said Mao Ronghua, deputy head of the Shanghai
Municipal Federation of Trade Unions.
However, Carrefour employees interviewed by the China Daily seemed less impressed with
the union’s efforts, pointing out that the deal would only benefit the lowest paid, and even
then it would bring monthly pay levels to just a few hundred yuan above the minimum wage.
Moreover, employees complained that the agreement took no account of how long workers
had been employed at the company.
“Although I've seen a wage increase in the past two years, I'm still paid almost the lowest
wages in the company, more or less as much as new staff members make, and I have worked
here for eight years,” said Zhu Xuefeng, a 36-year-old worker with the company's pricing
division. “I hope they (the union, the employer and workers' representatives) will take
employees' experience into account when they decide our wages.”
Although the Carrefour agreement was billed in the official media as collective bargaining
between employees and employer, it seems that the 6,500 employees were not really
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consulted in the process. Rather, the agreement was part of the All-China Federation of Trade
Unions’ (ACFTU) on-going campaign to get businesses in China owned by Fortune 500
companies to sign up to collective wage negotiations.
The ACFTU hopes that by the end of 2013, about 95 percent of all Fortune 500 companies
operating in China will have engaged in collective wage negotiations. Approximately 80
percent of the 4,100 enterprises set up by Fortune 500 companies in China had introduced
such a system by the end of 2011, Zhang Jianguo, director of the ACFTU’s collective
contract department, told China Daily.
Zhang said the ACFTU was targeting Fortune 500 companies because “those companies play
an important role in China's economic and social development and they set an example for
other enterprises.” However, probably just as importantfor the ACFTU is that such a
campaign boosts its public image, which has been at low ebb for a long time.
___________________________________________________________________________
China: Wuhan factory strike illustrates both the progress and limits to the
workers’ movement in China’s inland provinces
IR/China/Collective Bargaining/Grass Root Initiative/Dongfeng Motors
China Labour Bulletin, 25 August 2012 at http://www.clb.org.hk/en/node/110118
A three-day strike involving more than 1,000 workers at a Wuhan automotive components
factory ended on Friday 24 August after management increased its pay offer to an extra 200
yuan a month. Production line workers at the Youde Auto electrical components plant have
now been promised a basic salary of 1,300 yuan per month, as against the 1,100 yuan
minimum wage in Wuhan.
Youde, a joint venture between China’s Dongfeng Motors and the US-based Lear
Corporation, initially refused to address workers’ demands for a 500 yuan per month pay
increase but it gradually made more concessions as the strike progressed. The first two offers
were ignored by the workers but after the third offer, in which long-serving employees got a
better deal, the workers’ unity began to fray and most of the strikers agreed to return to work.
Although the pay offer was less than they were hoping for, the strike was generally
considered to be a success. One worker told CLB; “If we didn’t take any action, we’d never
get the pay we deserve.”
6
The strike began on Wednesday morning as workers spread the news around their
dormitories that nobody should go to work. They then set up an underground QQ group to
discuss strike strategies. However, few workers were willing to take a leading role in
negotiations with management for fear of reprisals. Workers admitted this reluctance to stand
out from the crowd hampered their ability to get a good deal.
This was believed to be the first factory-wide strike at Youde, since the business was set up in
the Wuhan Economic Development Zone in 1994. There had been a few earlier small-scale
protests, workers said, but none led to a pay increase.
One reason for the success this time, workers said, was the significant economic loss incurred
by the company during the strike, estimated by one worker at 3.8 million yuan. One of
Youde’s biggest customers, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen, sold over 208,000 vehicles in the
first half this year with sales up 7.6 percent from the same period last year. And there is still a
generally positive outlook for sales in the Chinese automotive sector in the second half of the
year.
There is a trade union at Youde but workers said it not represent them, even though they have
to pay union dues each year. The lack of union support meant that the only way workers
could press their pay claim was to go out on strike. But without democratically elected
representatives to negotiate a sustainable deal on their behalf, the workers simply had to hope
that management would make an acceptable offer. And there was no guarantee the promise to
raise wages would actually be honoured.
The Youde strike is reminiscent of many strikes in the Pearl River Delta a few years ago.
Now, that region is seeing more positive signs in terms of trade union reforms and the
development of collective bargaining initiatives. This May, the Japanese-owned Ohms
Electronics in Shenzhen held direct trade unions elections, and in August, the new union
chairman delivered a work report, saying the trade union had set up communication channels
for workers and management. Ohms’ Japanese general manager reportedly welcomed the
move.
Moreover, a worker at a collective bargaining training center in Guangdong told CLB that the
provincial trade unions welcomed his organization’s endeavours and had actually invited him
to several meetings to discuss collective bargaining. He had been involved in eight collective
bargaining cases over the past year, primarily in the manufacturing sector, some involving up
to ten or even 20 rounds of negotiations.
7
He pointed out that the preconditions for collective bargaining are generally that the factory is
in good economic health and that the workers are united and their demands are legitimate. If
these conditions are met, he said, the prospects for collective bargaining in the province are
bright.
___________________________________________________________________________
Europe: EU Labour Migration in Troubled Times
ER/Europe/Labour Mobility/ Migrant Labour
ETUI, 24 August 2012 at http://www.etui.org/News/EU-Labour-Migration-in-TroubledTimes
The debate on the free movement of labour within the EU has gained new momentum in the
wake of the economic crisis. A new ETUI publication written by a team of experts from
across Europe sheds light on the critical issues raised by internal labour mobility within the
EU in the context of economic crisis and labour market pressures. The book's chapters tease
out the links between economic developments, regulatory frameworks and migration patterns
in different European countries. A central focus is on issues of skills and skills mismatch and
how they relate to migration forms, duration and individual decisions to stay or return.
The book edited by ETUI senior researchers Béla Galgóczi, Janine Leschke and Andrew
Watt demonstrates that migrants of the ten new EU member states were harder hit in the
majority of EU15 countries and at least partially acted as labour market buffers. This
appeared in a generally stronger decline of employment rates and higher increases of
unemployment rates for EU10 migrants than nationals. Paradoxically, however, due to
stronger influx of EU10 migrants to EU15 labour markets during the crisis, their absolute
numbers grew, while employment of nationals generally decreased.
Based on detailed analysis of European and national-level sources, the results presented
clearly contradict assumptions about a "knowledge driven migration". Rather, overqualification and the corresponding under-utilisation of migrant workers' skills emerge as a
pervasive phenomenon.
This phenomenon can be seen also as a failure of migration related policies to improve the
efficiency of cross-border labour mobility. As far as single policy elements are concerned, the
implications of transitional measures at least seem to be controversial. Whereas they
contributed to a quantitative geographical shift of east-west migration flows that also seem to
8
be maintained after their lifting (possible network effects) they were not able to improve
labour allocation, especially in the sense of tackling the under-utilisation of migrant labour.
At the same time transitional measures also contributed to qualitative divergence in terms of
working conditions with higher rates of own-account (and potentially bogus) selfemployment being observed in countries that uphold transitional measures.
___________________________________________________________________________
ILO: Internships: Head start or labour trap?
ER/Labour Markets/Internships/
ILO, 22 August 2012 at http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/press-and-mediacentre/insight/WCMS_187693/lang--en/index.htm
With youth unemployment rates reaching dramatic levels, internships have become
increasingly common in developed countries, as has controversy over the practice.
Internships are often considered a great way for young people to gather valuable work
experience and get a foothold in the labour market.
Their importance has risen as graduates find it increasingly difficult to land a job. But widely
reported abuses have led to vocal criticism of internships as a source of cheap, and often free,
labour.
“The main objective of internships is to provide work experience for young people who
otherwise often find themselves trapped in a ‘Catch 22’ situation in which they are unable to
acquire work experience because they cannot find a first job, and cannot find a job because
they do not have work experience,” said Gianni Rosas, the Coordinator of the ILO’s Youth
Employment Programme.
Paid vs unpaid internships
Several governments have put in place legal safeguards against the exploitation of interns.
But the inappropriate use of internships has expanded in recent years, particularly in countries
hit hard by the global crisis, and young people are increasingly voicing their concerns.
“Internships should always have a training component, since they are about on-the-job
training. If they use young people for duties that are normally carried out by core workers this
can be considered as disguised employment, which can be pursued in labour courts,” said
Rosas.
9
One major issue is whether young interns should be paid or not.
Under US law, internships in the private sector are generally viewed as employment, though
unpaid internships are legal under certain circumstances. Among the criteria for an internship
to be unpaid is that it should have a strong training component, that the intern does not
displace regular employees and that the employer derives no immediate advantage.
In France, interns do not have a legal right to a wage but must be given a bonus if their
internship is more than two months in the same academic year. The so-called “Cherpion
Law” of 2011 also states that internships cannot consist of tasks that could be done by a
worker in a permanent position, and they must also offer training.
But critics say the laws are difficult to enforce.
High-profile US court cases, in which former interns claimed they were exploited, have put
the issue in the spotlight, further fuelling controversy already stirred by Ross Perlin’s book
“Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy.”
Another issue that has become prominent is that of the “professional” interns - young people
who cannot find a job and get stuck in a vicious cycle of internships.
A need for “best practices”
A recent survey by the US National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) showed
that 60 per cent of university graduates who had done a paid internship received at least one
job offer, compared with 36 per cent of those with no internship experience.
But the survey also suggested that only interns who were paid had a decided advantage on the
jobs market over graduates with no internship experience. Only 37 per cent of those who did
an unpaid internship had job offers.
An internship must give young people the chance to learn practical skills that will impress
potential employers. It should also help them network and, hopefully, get a job.
There is a strong need to counter the bad rap that internships have received lately, by
adopting good practices such as not using unpaid interns to replace salaried workers, giving
interns meaningful work assignments, and providing them with proper training and guidance.
“There are a number of good practices, for example, the International Labour Organization
(ILO) does provide its interns with a stipend. This is in full recognition of the fact that quite
10
often young people need to travel and establish themselves in a city or a country where they
cannot get support from family or other networks,” said Rosas.
___________________________________________________________________________
ILO: South Africa could do more for miners, says ILO mining specialist
ER/South Africa/Miners/OH&S
ILO, 24 August 2012 at http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/press-and-mediacentre/news/WCMS_187783/lang--en/index.htm
South Africa has taken significant steps since the end of apartheid to address working
conditions in the mining industry, but there is still a lot of room for improvement, said ILO
mining specialist Martin Hahn. “More efforts could be made to better implement existing
mining regulations, especially when it comes to the health and safety of miners”, said Hahn,
noting that unions have kept the safety issue on top of the social agenda.
Last week, dozens of people died in the Marikana platinum mine in South Africa’s North
West province after police fired on protesting miners who were calling for higher wages and
better working conditions.
Hahn said that miners such as the ones from Marikana - an area with both opencast and
underground operations - were often exposed to a variety of safety hazards: falling rocks,
exposure to dust, intensive noise, fumes and high temperatures, among others.
Many miners also suffer from diseases such as silicosis and tuberculosis (TB). HIV rates can
also be high due to the fact that, in some cases, miners leave their families behind to find
work and are more exposed to casual sex.
With respect to wages, salaries are usually high for high-skilled workers such as engineers
and managers, but they can be very low for miners who are trained on the job and who have
limited formal education.
A drop in fatalities
The mining industry has been booming in South Africa over the last few years. According to
a government report from 2008, about 2.7 per cent of the economically active population was
employed in this sector.
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The government has taken a series of steps to improve working conditions in the mining
industry. In fact, the number of fatalities in South African mines dropped from 774 in 1984 to
128 in 2010.
The turning point was the reform of the country’s mining legislation. The reform was carried
out following the principles of the ILO’s Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995
(No.176), which the country then ratified.
“The drop in fatality rates clearly shows that significant efforts have been made to improve
the safety of South African mines, but a lot remains to be done in order to create a muchneeded preventive safety and health culture in every single mine and for South Africa to
attain the goal of zero fatality,” said Hahn.
He added that working conditions can vary a lot depending on whether a mine is new or old,
whether it is opencast or underground, its depth and the type of mineral being mined.
___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Singapore: New set-up to do more for working families
ER/Singapore/Labour Movement/NTUC/Corporatist Role of Unions/Social Enterprises
NTUC, 28 August 2012 at
http://www.ntuc.org.sg/wps/portal/up2/home/workingforu/workingforudetails?WCM_GLOB
AL_CONTEXT=/content_library/ntuc/home/working+for+u/4984be004c82b2b9aa22eb074f
891cc1
The Labour Movement today unveiled a new set up called NTUC Enterprise Co-operative
Limited (NTUC Enterprise) to assist its 12 Social Enterprises (SEs) meet working families’
growing needs for affordable, quality products and services.
The 12 NTUC SEs are made up of: NTUC Choice Homes; NTUC Eldercare; NTUC
FairPrice; Mercatus; NTUC First Campus; NTUC Foodfare; NTUC Income; NTUC
Investment (operating NTUC LearningHub); NTUC Link; NTUC Media; NTUC Thrift &
Loan; and NTUC Unity Healthcare.NTUC Enterprise Co-operative will focus on two key
areas: First, it will work closely with individual NTUC SEs to create even more value for
customers and deliver greater social impact by increasing the affordability, quality and
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accessibility of existing and new areas of core needs provided by the family of 12 NTUC
SEs.
Second, NTUC Enterprise Co-operative will lead NTUC SE group-wide efforts to increase
financial resilience and develop talent that will be essential for the sustainable, long-term
development of the SEs.
NTUC Enterprise has been formed by NTUC, the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF) and
unions affiliated to both NTUC and SLF.
The Board of NTUC Enterprise Co-operative will be chaired by Mr Lim Boon Heng, with
directors nominated by NTUC, SLF and unions.
“NTUC Enterprise institutionalises the strategic partnership between NTUC, SLF and the
unions to support the NTUC Social Enterprises to do even more for working families.
“This is in line with the NTUC SE2015 vision to scale up NTUC Social Enterprises rapidly to
meet social needs. NTUC Enterprise will steward the long-term development of the NTUC
Social Enterprises, focusing especially on developing greater social impact, and the financial
and human resources required,” said NTUC Enterprise Chairman Lim Boon Heng.
___________________________________________________________________________
South Africa: COSATU statement on Marikana Massacre
IR/South Africa/COSATU/Marikana
COSATU, 24 August 2012 at http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=6437
In response to the carnage at Marikana COSATU issues a strong statement to express its
shock and dismay that so many lives have been lost in such a violent manner. Today we want
to reiterate our heartfelt condolences to the families and fellow workers of those who
perished in the tragic events in Marikana.
We join all South Africans, and many millions more across the globe, in mourning this tragic
loss of 44 lives and we also send our best wishes to the 78 people who were injured and hope
that they recover as quickly and fully as possible. We also express our solidarity to all other
workers who have been killed in senseless and orchestrated violence since February 2012.
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We share the pain, grief and despair that the families of the bereaved must be feeling.
Families lost their loved ones, husbands, sons and brothers, and in most cases have also lost
their only breadwinner.
We know that most employed workers support as many as 12 family members from their
meagre wages. The biggest source of income for the unemployed – 70% - is in the form of
remittances from employed family members.
The families affected by this tragedy come from all over South Africa, not just around the
mines, but in areas established by the apartheid regime to facilitate the supply of cheap labour
to the mines, and also from neighbouring states.
We must appreciate the massive significance of this tragedy. After 18 years of democracy we
have witnessed scenes which we had hoped were now only part of our history. For 34
workers to be killed within three minutes is a colossal disaster. It has understandably made
headlines and provoked protests throughout the world.
COSATU is however refusing to use this tragedy to score points. We won’t play the blamegame nor will we use the anger workers and their communities are feeling to drive sentiments
against government or anyone. We must await the findings of the Commission of Enquiry,
which we have welcomed, and hope will establish exactly what happened not only on that
tragic day but in many months before that day.
Next week we shall write a letter to all members of COSATU to trace the events that led to
this tragedy. We shall do so, again, not to apportion blame but from the working class
perspective provide leadership and political direction to our members and supporters who are
calling for direction from their movement during these trying times.
One question which we have to confront immediately however, is what COSATU has raised
for many years now – a pattern of brutality and a "skiet en donner" attitude on the part of the
commanders of the police. While the Commission of Enquiry must determine precisely what
happened in this case - and we cannot attach blame until we have the full picture - there can
be no doubt that the police response was excessive and forms a pattern we have witnessed for
many years in terms of how police handle demonstrations.
We have on countless occasions protested against the immediate resort to firing live
ammunition which reveal a serious lack of training and planning on crowd control tactics. We
have also protested the use of rubber bullets on unarmed protesters.
14
Police must be trained to negotiate before using force to control crowds. We want to see no
guns, including those firing fire rubber bullets! We want to see riot shields, water-cannons
and tear-gas, not R5 automatic rifles, to control crowds.
COSATU has consistently condemned the use of live ammunition in protest actions by
workers and in communities, and will continue to argue for a better trained, better equipped
and socially responsible police service.
We must also equally criticize the carrying and use of dangerous weapons by demonstrators
and strikers. We must ensure that members of society do not carry dangerous weapons and
our demonstrations must be peaceful and free from intimidation of those who choose not
participate in our strikes or protest actions.
Workers have every right to be militant and angry, but must also be peaceful, lawful and
orderly, as COSATU has always insisted, and successfully achieves in the vast majority of
cases on a daily basis.
The underlying problems which give rise to incidents like those at Marikana are the stark
levels of inequality in South Africa and the super-exploitation of workers by ruthless and
rapacious employers. Since they discovered diamonds, gold and platinum these greedy
companies forced people from all over Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa to go down every day
deep in the bowels of the earth and dig out precious stones.
They work in most dangerous conditions in high temperatures, in damp and poorly ventilated
areas where rocks fall daily, killing many and condemning others to a life in a wheelchair and
the loss of limbs. Some families have never even had the chance to bury their breadwinners,
whose bones remain buried underground.
The rock-drill operatives (RDOs) at the centre of the dispute perform a more dangerous,
unhealthy and difficult job than anyone else in the world. They face death every time they go
down the shafts. Yet their monthly earnings are just R5 600!
Compare that to their bosses. The earnings of Lonmin’s Financial Officer, Alan Ferguson, are
R10 254 972 a year, R854 581 a month, 152 times higher than an RDO!
We welcome the fact that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is already taking up
the RDOs’ claim, with comparable demands for other workers in the industry, whose wages
15
are equally pathetic, and whose living conditions are also still squalid and lacking in basic
services.
In the face of these inequalities our responsibility is to maintain workers’ unity and direct
their anger and frustrations to those who keep wages down and working conditions
unbearable - the bosses. Our enemy is not ourselves or some amongst ourselves - our enemy
remains the capitalist system that exploits workers and robs them of the social surplus.
Everyday COSATU fights hard to expose these massive income inequalities. We have for
decades and for the past 18 years campaigned that the country and government must spare no
energy in a united battle against the tripe challenge of poverty, unemployment and
inequalities.
Everyday our unions, including the NUM, engage management in protracted battles using
negotiations and collective bargaining, and when all else fails, embarking on legal strikes to
force collective agreements to improve workers wages. Today every study shows that
members of the unions enjoy better wages, conditions of employment and job security in
comparison to unorganized workers.
The NUM has a proud 30-year history of fighting to improve the lives of this most exploited
section of the working class. It has always been a fortress of the mine workers’ struggle,
championing their demands for better wages and working conditions. It has earned its stripes
as a true representative of workers and lifted the bar for all the workers they represent.
As COSATU’s biggest affiliate, with over 300 000 members, it will and must continue to
defend and improve the lives of mineworkers and play a leading role in the federation for
years to come.
Today conditions of mine and construction workers, whilst far from ideal, have improved for
the better. Workers who used to be treated as the lowest of the low, with no respect for their
human dignity and paid starvation wages, have won important improvements in pay, health
and safety and living conditions.
Today the NUM, and the whole trade union movement, is facing a huge threat to workers’
unity. The report to be issued next week will reveal what we have identified as a as a coordinated political strategy to use intimidation and violence, manipulated by disgruntled
16
former union leaders, who have been discredited, expelled for ill-discipline, in a drive to
create breakaway ‘unions’ and divide and weaken the trade union movement.
Part of this onslaught against the federation is the emergence of the splinter unions in the
form of NATAWU, a breakaway from SATAWU, and AMCU which was formed by the
former NUM members. This is extremely worrying!
We not surprised that the right wing is focusing its energy on undercutting the power and
influence of the federation which is the fortress of the workers. Today political opportunists
of all different kinds disingenuously express shock at the pathetic salaries earned by
mineworkers in general and rock drillers in particular.
Suddenly politicians who on a daily basis condemn workers for being too militant and for
acting against the interests of the unemployed, are suddenly expressing sorrow and disgust
and have even have the guts to blame ‘defocus’ amongst unions for this state of affairs.
Their latest recruit is former ANC Youth league leader Julius Malema, a wealthy essentially
right-wing leader, who demagogically exploits any perceived weakness to encourage workers
to leave their union, their only means of defence.
What all these opportunist right wing politicians have in common is to blame COSATU for
the workers’ problems and try to divide and weaken the workers’ movement.
COSATU uses all its constitutional structures to address its weaknesses and to fortify its
strengths. Weaknesses and organizational challenges will always be part of any organisation.
No organisation does not have challenges, but COSATU does not hide these. The most
important thing is that these must be confronted before they undermine the strength of the
workers.
In less than a month, COSATU’s National Congress will be convening. While we shall be
celebrating yet another record level of membership, we will also have to discuss how we can
defeat this attempt to divide and weaken the workers, how we can give even better service to
our members, and cut the ground from under the feet of the bogus breakaway ‘unions’ and
their political and financial backers.
At our congress we shall seek to strength the capacity of the federation to intervene when its
affiliated unions faces problems. We shall do everything possible to prevent splits and
preserve and strengthen our unity. The old slogan: “United we stand – Divided we Fall” is
17
not empty rhetoric. It is the key to our success in transforming workers’ lives, building
prosperous and peaceful world and preventing any more Marikanas.
COSATU subscribes to the principle of "one union, one industry" and believes that workers
unity is sacrosanct. That is why we believe that splinter unions are inherently reactionary
because they divide the loyalties of the workers and undermine the need for maximum unity
and strength.
COSATU together with all affiliated unions have fought against attempts to promote workers
differences, including through tribalism and regionalism. In the aftermath of this tragedy we
call on workers to maintain maximum unity and not to allow any force to undermine the
gains we have made.
________________________________________________________________
South Africa: COSATU shocked at ‘shot-in-the-back’ allegations
IR/South Africa/ Marikana/”skiet en donner”
COSATU, 28 August 2012 at http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=6446
The Congress of South African Trade Unions is shocked at the report in The Star that postmortem results from the shooting on 16 August, when 34 miners were killed in Marikana,
indicate that “most of the people were fleeing from the police when they got killed. A lot of
them were shot in the back and the bullets exited through their chests".
While we must await the full report of the Commission of Enquiry to establish the whole
truth of what happened on that tragic day, this report, if true, will contradict the SAPS claim
that they were defending themselves against attack.
It will confirm the federation’s worst fears about the pattern of excessive violence by the
police in response to public demonstrations, which we have described as .a "skiet en donner"
attitude on the part of the commanders of the police.
COSATU reiterates its condemnation of immediately resorting to firing live ammunition and
the SAPS’s serious lack of training and planning on crowd control tactics.
The federation is also alarmed at reports of ill-treatment of the 260 workers arrested in
Marikana. Defence lawyer, Advocate Lesego Mmusi, alleges that some of the mineworkers
arrested in connection with the murder of 10 people at Marikana, North West, have not had
their TB and HIV and Aids treatment since 16 August.
18
There are even allegations that some of the accused are being tortured. It is reported the
Independent Police Investigative Directorate is investigating allegations that detainees
apprehended at Marikana, and held at Phokeng and Mogwase Police stations, were assaulted.
COSATU calls on government, through its minister, to ensure that the human rights of all
those arrested are not trampled upon.
COSATU is determined to get the whole truth about what happened at Marikana and will
demand the strongest action against anyone found to have acted illegally. Everything possible
must be done to ensure that there will never be any more Marikanas.
__________________________________________________________________________
Turkey: DHL Turkey under international spotlight over worker dismissals
IR/Turkey/DHL/Global/Regional/Labour Standards/Workers’ Rights
UNI, 24 August 2012 at
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf/pages/homepageEn?Opendocument&exURL=ht
tp://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/vwLkpByIdHome/7B01782B1ECA0661C
1257A640048E125?OpenDocument
Following visits to the picket lines in Gebze and Esenyurt in Istanbul, representatives from
the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and UNI Europa joined Tumtis
president Kenan Ozturk at a press conference today. There they set out the facts of the
dismissals and described how in its labour practices DHL Turkey is acting contrary to both
DHL's global corporate responsibility policies and Turkey's commitments as a signatory to
global labour rights conventions. Other Turkish trade unions also attended the event in a
show of solidarity
Alen Clifford, organising globally assistant coordinator at the ITF, said: “DHL Turkey's
claims that these workers were dismissed for underperformance appear patently untrue. In
each case heard at the Turkish labour courts the dismissals have been declared invalid. I have
heard first-hand accounts of workers sacked for not doing overtime in fact regularly working
large amounts of overtime. And I have also been told of bullying tactics and threats by
managers at so-called ‘training sessions’ to persuade workers to resign from the union.
“This kind of anti-union behaviour will not be tolerated by the international trade union
family, which is helping Tumtis by putting the global spotlight on DHL Turkey. Our
19
campaign will not end until the workers are reinstated and Tumtis has established a collective
bargaining agreement with DHL in Turkey.”
Cornelia Broos, Policy Officer for Post & Logistics at UNI Europa, said: "People claim that
Turkey is not ready to join the European Union but it seems in fact that it is European
companies operating in Turkey who are not ready. They appear unwilling to adopt the same
labour standards in Turkey that they do elsewhere in the EU.
She continued: “It is a fundamental right to join and organise a trade union free from
intimidation. In Germany companies take labour rights and respect for unions very seriously
but what we see at Deutsche Post-DHL is that across borders, even where these fundamental
rights should be guaranteed, DHL is ignoring them in Turkey, Belgium and elsewhere. This
is why we need a global framework agreement to guarantee rights wherever Deutsche PostDHL operates.”
Concluding the press conference, Kenan Ozturk said: “The International support we are
receiving sends a very clear message to DHL Turkey that they are under scrutiny around the
world. It also strengthens the resolve of Tumtis to keep on with the struggle until the
dismissed workers are reinstated and the company recognises the union. We call on DHL
Turkey to get round the table with us immediately.”
The ITF supported by UNI has launched a global campaign for the reinstatement of the
dismissed workers, to get DHL Turkey into talks with Tumtis, and to implement DHL's
global corporate responsibility policies, in which the company pledges to respect workers'
rights to organise and not allow any management interference.
___________________________________________________________________________
UK: More than 100 quangos cut by coalition
IT/ER/UK/Quangos/Restructuring/Retrenchment/PROSPECT
More than 100 quangos (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations) have been
abolished and another 90 merged since the collation came to power, ministers have
announced.
The Cabinet Office confirmed that it was on track to meet target savings of £2.6 billion
through its reform of these publicly funded bodies before the next general election.
20
But it has emerged that costs from the reorganisation – including redundancy payouts to
affected staff – could be as high as £900 million.
In 2010, a government review of 900 UK quangos earmarked 192 for closure and a further
418 for merger or reform in order to save money and “increase accountability”.
So far 106 quangos have lost their public status, resulting in savings of £1.4 billion, said
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude.
“We are only halfway through the first phase of our programme,” he said. “Once we have
completed the planned closures and mergers, we will continue to review all remaining
quangos to ensure that never again will we end up with so many of these vast bureaucratic
and unaccountable bodies.”
But opposition MPs have questioned the projected savings and impact on government
accountability, while the trade union Prospect warned that the quango cull was “a false
economy”.
“While more than 106 bodies have been shut down, most staff have had to be transferred to
other organisations because the work still has to be done,” said Dai Hudd, Prospect’s deputy
general secretary.
“The price of delivering these changes, including redundancy costs, will be up to £900
million by the government’s own admission, without counting the cost of the work being
done elsewhere, either by central government or replacement organisations.”
The union also claimed that moving work back into civil service departments meant that
decision making would be subject to “political meddling”.
Quangos – quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations – are ‘arms-length’ public
bodies with specialist functions which are funded by Whitehall but not run by central
government.
Advisory bodies and watchdogs are among these public service bodies, and high profile
casualties of the cuts have so far included the Audit Commission, the UK Film Council and
the country’s Regional Development Agencies.
The pay of top quango bosses – many of whom earned more than the prime minister – was
often censured before the government began its review and restructure.
21
However, the coalition’s approach to reforming quangos has itself been criticised by the
Commons public administration select committee, which last year described the process as
“rushed and poorly handled”.
________________________________________________________________
UK: Unison slams NHS ‘pay cartel’ plans to slash wages
IR/UK/National Health Service/Agenda for Change/terms and Conditions/UNISON
CIPD, 24 August 2012 at
http://bl168w.blu168.mail.live.com/default.aspx#n=1374826322&fid=1&fav=1&mid=d42ae
04e-ed18-11e1-b59a-00237de469c2
Unison, the public sector union, has criticised a group of NHS Trusts over their plans to bring
in regional pay, and cut holiday entitlement and sickness benefits.
The 20 Trusts, which make up the South West Pay, Terms and Conditions Consortium, say
that the changes will potentially save as many as 6,000 NHS jobs.
Employees at these Trusts, which number 68,000 in total, could face 1 per cent pay cuts as
central government budget reductions mean the NHS has to save £20billion over the next
four years.
Currently the staff wage bill accounts for as much as 68 per cent of employer spend, which
Unison said the consortium wants to slim down to 60 per cent.
Research published by the consortium suggests that a staff pay cut of 1 per cent could save as
much as £1.4million on hospital wage bills, while adding an hour of unpaid work to the
contracted 37.5 hour week would produce productivity worth £2.6m.
In addition, reducing annual leave by two days was estimated to save £750,000, the
documents showed, while cutting paid sick leave by two days would save an additional
£750,000.
The consortium argued that if employers in the NHS do not consider changes to staff terms
and conditions they will be forced to cut workforce numbers, which will hit the quality of
patient care.
Chris Bown, chief executive at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and consortium
steering group chairman, said: “These documents demonstrate our commitment to meet the
unprecedented challenges facing the NHS in the South West.
22
"Consortium trusts are fully supportive of the national negotiations between employer
representatives and unions which are looking at modernising the current Agenda for Change
(AfC) pay model.
“By promoting financially healthy NHS organisations we can preserve employment and
reduce the need for redundancies. Our analysis shows that up to 6,000 NHS jobs in the South
West may be safeguarded by changes to staff pay, terms and conditions.”
However, a Unison South West spokeswoman warned that bringing in lower regional pay
would “drive skilled staff out of the region in search of better pay and conditions”.
The union is concerned that regional pay will undermine ongoing national pay negotiations as
well as damaging staff morale, recruitment and retention.
Tanya Palmer, a Unison rep for the South West, added: “Prior to AfC we had hundreds of
Trusts throwing up inconsistencies on pay, that is why we have AfC and that national
bargaining framework is not broken. That doesn’t mean we can’t work with employers
locally but not to the detriment of national pay bargains.”
Palmer also raised concerns that if the consortium was successful in reducing terms and
conditions in the South West, employers would follow suit across the country. She also
warned that lower pay and reduced benefits would make these NHS services “ripe for
tendering to the private sector”.
___________________________________________________________________________
USA: Canada Labor Laws Support Workers' Freedom to Form Unions
IR/USA & Canada/Labour Law/ Freedom of Association
AFL-CIO, 28 August 20132 at http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Organizing-Bargaining/CanadaLabor-Laws-Support-Workers-Freedom-to-Form-Unions
In 1960, the same number of workers was in unions in Canada and in the United States. After
that, unionization in this country started a steep decline. Yet Canada’s unionization rate has
held fairly steady. By 2011, 11.8 per cent of U.S. workers were in unions, compared with
29.7 percent in Canada (click chart to enlarge).
So what happened here?
According to the authors of a new Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) report
released today, that question can be answered in two words: employer opposition.
23
Compared to Canada, many workers in the United States are not able to exercise their right to
freely join and form unions and participate in collective bargaining, in large part because of
employer opposition, which current labor law fails to adequately address.
“Protecting Fundamental Labor Rights: Lessons from Canada for the United States” finds
that Canada has two labor practices the United States does not:
1. Card-check recognition. Several jurisdictions in Canada have card-check authorization, in
which a majority of employees at a workplace join unions by signing union authorization
cards and submitting them to the labor board for verification. In the United States, petitioning
the labor board with signed cards is typically just the first step in the process. Unless an
employer chooses to voluntarily recognize a union, an election will be scheduled and held.
During the time between the petition and the election, which is often delayed by employer
opposition and can last for months, employers usually run anti-union campaigns— often
committing illegal acts of coercion, intimidation or firing—in an attempt to discourage their
employees from voting to unionize. The research presented here suggests that decreasing the
opportunities for employers to conduct illegal practices—by implementing card-check
authorization in the United States—would be the most effective way to curb this behavior.
2. First contract arbitration. Even after a union has been formed, employers continue to erect
barricades in the face of employees’ wishes to collectively bargain. Although employers are
required by law to bargain “in good faith,” in reality, they can delay the process with little to
no penalty for doing so, with the hope of remaining “union-free.” First contract arbitration
allows for a way through stalling tactics and bargaining impasse.
___________________________________________________________________________
In Brief
Australia: Childcare group warns over sector wage rises
IR/Australia/Employers/Child Care/Wages
The Australian, 23 August 2012 at
THE Australian Childcare Alliance has warned Labor and the Coalition to be cautious in
supporting an "exorbitantly high" union wage claim, arguing it must not be at the expense of
parents.
24
The alliance, representing 70 per cent of the long-daycare sector, argues that if a wage rise is
granted, the government must guarantee parents and centres are shielded from any increases
in payroll tax, superannuation and Work Cover premiums.
___________________________________________________________________________
Australia: Business demands action on green and work laws
IR/Australia/Employers/BCA/FWA
The Australian, 24 August 2012 at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nationalaffairs/childcare-group-warns-over-sector-wage-rises/story-fn59niix-1226456146009
Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said steps had to be taken to
lock in Australia's investment pipeline, including allowing Work Choices-era, employer-only
agreements on greenfield projects so work could start sooner as unions would not be involved
in talks on pay and conditions.
On industrial relations, Labor's Fair Work Act review panel did not support employer-only
greenfield deals, although it recommended last-offer arbitration when there was a prolonged
dispute. Ms Westacott said deals were needed so projects could start sooner.
___________________________________________________________________________
Canada: CLC releases study on “union advantage”
IR/Canada/Unions/Wages
CLC, 21 August 2012 at http://www.canadianlabour.ca/national/news/clc-releases-studyunion-advantage-unionized-workers-earn-511-more-hour-non-union.
The Canadian Labour Congress has released a study showing that on average unionized
workers in Canada earn $5.11 an hour more than do non-union workers. “That extra money
in the pockets of individual workers means the union advantage is worth a cumulative $793
million per week added to our economy,” says CLC president Ken Georgetti.
The study, called The Union Advantage in Canadian Communities, shows the benefits that
workers with unions bring to Canada as a whole, as well as 29 selected communities across
the country. “Unions make a positive difference in the incomes and the quality of life of their
25
members,” Georgetti says, “but beyond that they support a healthy middle class in Canadian
society
________________________________________________________________
Canada: Labour Day 2012: Standing up for fairness
IR/ER/Canada/Labour Day/’Fairness’
CLC/CTC, 28 August 2012 at http://www.canadianlabour.ca/news-room/statements/labourday-2012-standing-fairness
Unionized workers across the country are celebrating Labour Day this year by standing up for
fairness on key issues facing all Canadians.
Workers are proud of helping to build a better Canada but there is still much to be done.
Whether it’s improving workers’ wages, creating jobs for the unemployed, ensuring every
Canadian can retire with security, providing childcare for working parents or making taxes
fair, we have a long way to go.
The Canadian Labour Congress and its 3.3 million members invite all Canadians to join with
us to improve our country.
___________________________________________________________________________
France: Le ministre du Travail rétablit un délégué CGT dans son droit
IR/France/Government/Right to Strike
GGT, 17 August 2012 at http://www.cgt.fr/Le-ministre-du-Travail-retablit-un.html
La décision du ministère du Travail revenant sur l’autorisation donnée le 31 mai de licencier
Fathi Boussalmi, délégué syndical Cgt, salarié d’Intermarché Logistique Alimentaire (ITM –
LAI), pour fait de grève est salué comme une victoire par la fédération CGT du Commerce,
Distribution et Services.
___________________________________________________________________________
Hong Kong: Company director fined for defaulting on payment of Labour
Tribunal award
IR/Hong Kong/Labour Tribunals/ Awards/ Non-compliance
26
Hong Kong Labour Department, 23 August 2012 at
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201208/23/P201208230430.htm
The director of Link Sky Holdings Limited was fined $50,000 at the Tuen Mun Magistrates'
Courts today (August 23) for non-compliance with an award issued by the Labour Tribunal.
The prosecution was taken out by the Labour Department. The company failed to pay the
awarded sum of about $28,000 to an employee within 14 days of the date of the award. The
director was convicted of consent, connivance or neglect in the offence.
A spokesman for the Labour Department said, "The Labour Department will not tolerate
wage offences and the offences of non-compliance of awards issued by the Labour Tribunal
or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board and will spare no effort in bringing to
justice employers and directors who defy the law."
___________________________________________________________________________
India: Massive success for bank employees in India
IR/ER/India/Banks/Privatisation/National Strike
UNI, 23 August 2012 at
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf/pages/homepageEn?Opendocument&exURL=ht
tp://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/vwLkpByIdHome/EBA02EB86ED71B43
C1257A63003AF36B?OpenDocument
A coalition of trade unions representing about 1m workers at Indian public sector banks
began a two-day nationwide strike on the 22nd of August, in protest against pending
legislation that could open the sector to privatization and increased competition.
Milind Nadkarni, President of the UNI Indian liaison Council and the President of National
Confederation of Bank Employees reported that the strike was a massive success
___________________________________________________________________________
India: UNI report on the threat of Walmart shapes opinion in India
India/ER/Walmart/labour standards
UNI, 24 August 2012 at
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf/pages/homepageEn?Opendocument&exURL=ht
tp://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/vwLkpByIdHome/A2AD0F4E9A016C85C
1257A64004AB30D?OpenDocument
27
India’s Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jyotiraditya Scindia, in a written reply
to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) quoted from UNI’s report, “Walmart’s
Global Track Record and the Implication for FDI in Multi-Brand Retail in India” and said
foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail without adequate safeguards would lead
to widespread displacement and poor treatment of the Indian workers in logistics, agriculture
and manufacturing.
___________________________________________________________________________
Kenya: Claims of Outrageous Expenses by NHIF Caretaker Committee
IR/Kenya/ Unions/Rorting Expenses
COTU, 15 August 2012 at http://www.cotu-kenya.org/press-release/re-claims-outrageousexpenses-nhif-caretaker-committee
The Central Organization of Trade Unions, COTU (K) is stunned by “revelations” made by
the respective Chairmen of both the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) and Kenya National
Union of Teachers (KNUT) that for the six months the National Health Insurance Fund
(NHIF) Caretaker Committee has been in place, a whooping Kshs. 381M has been paid to its
members in terms of per diems and sitting allowances, with the Fund recording an
accumulated loss of Kshs. 455M in a period of three months.
___________________________________________________________________________
Peru: Telefónica Contractor Dismisses 30 Workers
IR/Peru/Collective bargaining/Telefónica del Peru/Dismissal
ITUC, 27 August 2012 at http://www.ituc-csi.org/peru-telefonica-contractor.html
The precarious labour relations maintained by subsidiaries or contractors of the Spanish
multinational Telefónica is at odds with the legitimate social dialogue needed between
stakeholders in the world of work. Thirty CUT members employed by Instalaciones y
Tendidos Telefónicos del Perú-ITETE Perú S.A have been dismissed.
Despite the existence of collective bargaining at national level and the company’s inclusion
in the system, the contractor has decided to get rid of the workers, members of the Tacna
branch of the Telefónica workers’ union SITENTEL, by not renewing their contracts, in
some cases, or directly dismissing them, in others. The company claims that the dismissals
have been made on administrative grounds or for serious misconduct, but the core reason for
28
the management’s actions is the workers’ membership of SITENTEL and the fact that they
have called for collective bargaining, which the Telefónica contractor wants to avoid at all
costs. The company’s actions constitute a direct attack on the collective bargaining
negotiations underway.
___________________________________________________________________________
UK: The Impact of Austerity on UNISON Members 2012
ER/UK/Redundancy/Public Sector/UNISON
WLRI, accessed 28 August 2012 at http://www.workinglives.org/news/archive/2012/theimpact-of-austerity-on-unison-members-2012.cfm
Working Lives Research Institute recently published a report into 'The Impact of Austerity on
UNISON Members 2012'. Our research shows that public sector workers have been taking a
huge "share of the pain" as a result of the continuing effects of the public sector pay freeze,
the Government Spending Reviews and wider public sector. 'The Impact of Austerity on
UNISON Members 2012' (PDF).
____________________________________________________________________________
USA: Unions Matter More than Ever!
IR/USA/ Unionism/Inequality
Change to Win, 28 August 2012 at http://www.changetowin.org/news/unions-matter-moreever
It is not a coincidence that the decline of the middle class began with the decline in union
membership. A study published last year in the American Sociological Review by Bruce
Western of Harvard University and Jake Rosenfeld of the University of Washington found
that "between a fifth to a third of the growth in inequality can be explained by the decline of
unions."
________________________________________________________________
USA: AFT’s Randi Weingarten: Teachers and Parents on the Same Page,
New Movie 'Won't Back Down' Distorts the Truth
IR/USA/Teachers/Unions
29
AFL-CIO, 28 August 2012 at http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Other-News/AFT-s-RandiWeingarten-Teachers-and-Parents-on-the-Same-Page-New-Movie-Won-t-Back-DownDistorts-the-Truth
Parents and educators share a "sense of urgency" when it comes to improving schools and
providing the best education possible for children, says AFT President Randi Weingarten.
But teachers and their unions are part of the solution, not the problem, despite what the soonto-be-released film, “Won’t Back Down,” says.
Weingarten rebutted the portrayal of teachers and teachers’ unions in “Won’t Back Down.”
She writes:
Many people who see this film will be moved by the story and will feel this same sense of
urgency. But the film uses blatant stereotypes and caricatures to blame teachers and their
unions for all of the problems facing our schools. These stereotypes and caricatures are even
worse than those in “Waiting for ‘Superman.’”
The film—being screened this week at the Republican National Convention in Tampa—is
from Walden Media, which is owned by oil billionaire Philip Anschutz, who helps fund the
extremist American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is behind many of the
“education reform” proposals presented in the movie.
___________________________________________________________________________
Opinion Pieces
Nigeria: To Reduce Unemployment
ER/Nigeria/Labour Market/Unemployment
The (Nigerian) Guardian, 29 August 2012 at
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97084:t
o-reduce-unemployment-&catid=37:editorial&Itemid=612
THE Jonathan administration has said that the economy has been experiencing jobless
growth. During the past one decade, official real GDP growth rate averaged over 6 per cent
annually. But widespread doubts have greeted the robust growth figure as well as the latest
official unemployment rate of 23.9 per cent, which, it is widely held, understates the reality.
30
About 70 per cent of the working population is reportedly employed in the agricultural sector.
With modernisation and improved agricultural productivity, the sector would engage perhaps
not more than 20 per cent of the population. The focus on rapidly creating employment
should therefore be placed on the other sectors of the economy with the manufacturing sector
receiving special attention. About a fortnight ago, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) called on
the Federal Government to create an enabling environment for businesses and industry to
thrive so as to expand opportunities for employment. It decried huge debts owed to
construction companies, which had sparked mass lay-offs to further swell the ranks of the
unemployed.
There exists a substantial pool of debts owed by the Jonathan administration to public
employees and contractors alike. The now routine long delays of debt repayment by
successive administrations in the past decade or so were not occasioned by shortage of funds
because revenue accruing to the Federal Government throughout the period far exceeded
budget projections while habitual under-implementation of the annual budgets left large
amounts of budgeted funds unspent and thousands of approved projects uncompleted. But
economic analysts knew all along that the actual reason for the payment delays, which the
National Bureau of Statistics inadvertently confirmed early this year, was the desire to slow
inflation by holding down the volume of money available for spending in the midst of
persistent liquidity surfeit created by extant faulty fiscal and monetary practices.
Ordinarily, given sound fiscal and monetary measures, prompt payment of government bills
stimulates the economy. Sadly, the culture of tardy payment of government debts has led to,
for instance, recurring distress in banks, rampant company closures, mass lay-offs with
countless tragedies in their wake and a scorching environment that wilts practically all new
Nigerian private enterprises.
Recent media reports rehashed the argument that the unyielding economic difficulties
emanate from the country’s heavy reliance on crude oil. That is incorrect. Through oil
exports, Nigeria enjoys enviable export proceeds-to-total revenue and export earnings-toGDP ratios. Indeed, the sheer volume of foreign earnings translates to self-generated
unlimited supplies of foreign capital for accelerated economic diversification and rapid
development. Proper management of the export earnings will not only render external
borrowings by government completely dispensable but also consign Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) to a supplementary role. Thus it is misplaced priority as well as
31
diversionary for the administration to preoccupy itself with seeking multilateral loans and
begging for FDIs as the best option for achieving job-inclusive economic growth.
Ruefully, creditor countries, true to their remorselessly self-seeking nature, found the
Nigerian economy’s Achilles heel to be failure to correctly infuse the ample crude oil export
earnings into the system and had long exploited that to prevent Nigeria becoming the
economic powerhouse that would compete on equal terms and even overshadow most of
them. For example, the recently released 2011 World Bank (WB) report, which chronicled
Nigeria’s low labour and capital productivity, is a celebration of how WB-administered
measures have successfully destroyed the manufacturing sector. Despite extorting overgenerous payoff of $12 billion for Nigeria’s debt exit, the Paris and London clubs of creditor
nations still extracted an undertaking by then Obasanjo administration to execute a Policy
Support Instrument (PSI) dictated by them. The creditor nations commissioned the IMF/WB
to administer the PSI whereby in February 2006, the Wholesale Dutch Auction System
(WDAS) was emplaced and two months later the apex bank began to release oil export
earnings to bureau de change (BDCs) for no-question-asked sale to all-comers.
Under WDAS, the naira becomes chronically overvalued, thereby requiring periodic
devaluation with adverse effects on inflation, lending rates and cost of production. The BDCdispensed oil proceeds escalate smuggling, export of treasury loot, money laundering, capital
flight and speculation in foreign exchange. That explains the challenges, which the Nigerian
Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (LCCI) repeatedly call on government to stamp out. Surely, the implementation of
the PSI is not legally binding and should therefore stop immediately. Its adoption in the first
place is galling and indecent since not a single member of the Paris and London clubs has
ever deployed WDAS and BDCs as foisted on Nigeria. The PSI is not even approved by the
National Assembly as mandated constitutionally for an international agreement, if indeed it is
such.
The genesis of the mishandling of the oil proceeds is the wrong interception by the CBN of
dollar accruals to the Federation Account (FA) and the substitution for same with freshly
printed naira funds. The action amounts to deficit financing of FA beneficiaries’ budgets. The
economy owes to these unintended deficits the excess liquidity and the legendary debilitating
harsh environment, which the IMF/WB and the so-called development partners have turned
to a singsong.
32
Secondly, when FA dollar accruals are appropriately released to the three tiers of government
(in a form that is abuse-free) for them as primary retail transactors to convert to naira revenue
through deposit money banks, the excess liquidity and attendant accumulation of noninvestable but costly national domestic debt will cease while the value of the naira will
become realistic and stable, inflation will trend to near-zero and lending rates will fall to
internationally competitive low-single digit levels. It will also eliminate, for example, the
extraneous CBN offer of special intervention funds (SIFs). The SIFs, which lack requisite
prior legislative authorisation, are being offered at illegally subsidised interest rate of 7 per
cent while the law prescribes the going monetary policy rate plus 1 per cent.
Thirdly, only eligible transactions access such foreign exchange to procure foreign goods and
essential inputs to complement local raw materials for domestic production while smuggling
and other PSI-facilitated anti-economic activities will peter out. Fourthly, cheap and abundant
bank credit in the ensuing conducive environment (not provision of infrastructure, which
takes time and has no end) is the most critical economic factor. With this factor in place,
businesses ranging from small enterprises to conglomerates would freely undertake various
investments, including public/private participation projects running into multi-billion naira
subject to specific repayment periods to be set for different categories of bank loan.
Thus, for instance, the 55 per cent unutilised installed manufacturing capacity would drop
rapidly as most of the factories that are currently shut may be expected to resurrect their minipower plants and resume production. In the process, forward and backward linkage industries
will spring up. And as the economy revs and gathers momentum, employment will receive a
fillip, too.
___________________________________________________________________________
Publications 2011-2012
Pubblicazioni BolletinoAdapt.it @ http://www.bollettinoadapt.it/acm-online/Home/Pubblicazioni.html
In questa sezione è possibile consultare la lista completa delle linee editoriali promosse da
Adapt e dalla Fondazione Marco Biagi:
- Collana Adapt - Centro Studi Marco Biagi
- Diritto delle Relazioni Industriali
- Dossier Adapt
33
- Working Paper Adapt
- Altre pubblicazioni
Nella Collana Adapt – Centro Studi Marco Biagi, istituita nel corso del 2003, sono pubblicati
commentari su differenti istituti introdotti o riformati dalla Legge Biagi, nonché diverse
monografie su tematiche specifiche nell’ambito del diritto del lavoro e delle relazioni
industriali.
Diritto delle Relazioni Industriali, rivista trimestrale fondata nel 1991 da Luciano Spagnuolo
Vigorita, già diretta da Marco Biagi, nell’ambito della materia del diritto del lavoro dedica
particolare attenzione alle relazioni industriali, soprattutto nella dimensione comparata e
comunitaria, ed alle esperienze più innovative in una prospettiva interdisciplinare.
Dal 2005 la Rivista è stata arricchita di Osservatori di aggiornamento e monitoraggio attenti
ai profili immediatamente applicativi del diritto del lavoro, relativamente a diverse aree, dalla
giurisprudenza italiana, costituzionale, di cassazione e merito, alla giurisprudenza
comunitaria e internazionale; dalla contrattazione collettiva alla legislazione e prassi
amministrativa italiane e straniere, nonché alla materia previdenziale.
Tutte le pubblicazioni sono completate ed integrate da una proiezione informatica, quale
strumento non solo di documentazione ma anche di sviluppo e costante aggiornamento.
Un motore di ricerca e un rinnovato Indice A-Z – che ricalca l’indice analitico delle
Istituzioni di diritto del lavoro di Marco Biagi (edito da Giuffrè) – consentono di reperire i
documenti citati nei testi cartacei.
Tutto il materiale viene inoltre costantemente e tempestivamente aggiornato mediante il
Bollettino Adapt.
___________________________________________________________________________
Korea: The Korean Labor Review, 43, Summer, visit
http://www.koilaf.org/KFeng/engPublication/bbs_read_dis.php?board_no=141
__________________________________________________________________________
Gardawski, J. and Mrozowicki, A. (2012) Trade Unions In Poland, European Trade Union
Institute . Details at http://www.etui.org/Publications2/Reports/Trade-unions-in-Poland
This report on the trade union landscape in Poland forms part of a wide-ranging project,
initiated and coordinated by the ETUI, which aims to map changes in unionisation and the
34
varying organisational structures of unions in the ‘new member states’ of the European
Union. The current report on the trade union movement in Poland is a real tour de force,
especially given the vast number of union organisations entailed. The fruit of this tremendous
effort on the part of the country experts is a report that is simultaneously comprehensive and
extremely rich in detail. In mapping the full broad gamut of Polish trade unions, they
compellingly expose how much the trade union movement in this country is handicapped by
its excessively decentralised structures; its chronic fragmentation and rivalry at the company
level and above; and the dramatic decline in membership levels, particularly in absolute
terms.
___________________________________________________________________________
ILO (2012) Confronting Finance: Mobilizing the 99% for economic and social progress
(Geneva, June 2012) available at http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/ilo-bookstore/orderonline/books/WCMS_176189/lang--en/index.htm
___________________________________________________________________________
ILO (2012) Effective Protection for Domestic Workers: A guide to designing labour laws
(Geneva, May 2012) available at http://www.ilo.org/travail/areasofwork/domesticworkers/WCMS_173365/lang--en/index.htm
___________________________________________________________________________
ITUC (2012) Report for the WTO General Council Review of the Trade Policies of the
People’s Republic of China (Geneva, 12 and 14 June, 2012) available at http://www.ituccsi.org/report-for-the-wto-general-council,11476.html
_________________________________________________________________________
Employment Trends unit of the ILO Employment Sector (2012) Global Employment Trends,
Download at http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/global-employmenttrends/WCMS_171571/lang--en/index.htm ISBN 978-92-2-124924-5
The annual Global Employment Trends report offers the latest global and regional
information and projections on several indicators of the labour market, including
employment, unemployment, working poverty and vulnerable employment. It also presents a
number of policy considerations in light of the new challenges facing policy makers in the
coming year.
___________________________________________________________________________
35
Pierluigi Rausei, Michele Tiraboschi Work: a reform in midstream (ADAPT 2012 @
University Press) access at http://www.bollettinoadapt.it/acm-on-line/Home.html
________________________________________________________________
26th AIRAANZ Conference 2012: Re-Organising Work, Association of Industrial Relations
Academics of Australia and New Zealand, published papers, ed. Robin Price, Brisbane,
Queensland University of Technology.
_________________________________________________________________________
Baird, M., Hancock, K. and Isaac, J. eds. (2012) Work and Employment Relations: An Era
of Change, The Federation Press, ISBN: 9781862878501 may be ordered at www.federation
press.com.au
__________________________________________________________________________
Bamber, G. J., Lansbury, R. D. and Wailes, N. (2012) International and Comparative
Employment Relations: Globalisation and Change, Allen and Unwin, ISBN:
9781742370651 may be ordered from academic@allenandunwin.com
___________________________________________________________________________
European Commission (2012) White Paper on Pensions (16/02/2012). White Paper on
Pensions .
This document is the follow up of the Green Paper 'Towards adequate, sustainable and safe
European pension systems' published in July 2010. Its purpose was to initiate a European
debate on the key challenges concerning pensions, the main question being: how can the EU
best support the efforts of Member States to ensure adequate, sustainable and safe pensions
for their citizens both now and in the future. On the basis of the responses to the open
consultation launched by the Green Paper, the White Paper identifies the most important
measures to be taken forward in this respect at the European level.
___________________________________________________________________________
ILO “World of Work Report 2012: Better Jobs for a Better Economy” Access at:
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inst/download/eswow12_e.pdf
___________________________________________________________________________
ETUI ‘Social dumping: political catchphrase or threat to labour standards?’ By Magdalena
36
Bernaciak. Working Paper 2012.06. Access at http://www.etui.org/News/The-complex-realityof-social-dumping
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Pocock, B., Skinner, N and Williams, P. (2012) Time Bomb: Work, Rest and Play in
Australia Today, NewSouth Books, may be ordered at
http://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/isbn/9781742232959.htm
__________________________________________________________________________________
Rogowski, R. , Salais, R. and Whiteside, N. (2012) Transforming European Employment
Policy, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, Orders at www.marston.co.uk
___________________________________________________________________________
Unison (2012) The Hidden Workforce: Final Project Report. Download at
http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/20611.pdf
___________________________________________________________________________
ILO (2012) Working towards sustainable development: Opportunities for decent work and
social inclusion in a green economy. Downloads/orders at
http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_181836/lang--en/index.htm
___________________________________________________________________________
International Labour Review, Vol. 151 (1-2)
Mapping anti-discrimination law onto inequality at work: Expanding the meaning of equality
in international labour law, by C. SHEPPARD
37
Employment and real macroeconomic stability: The regressive role of financial flows in Latin
America, by R. FFRENCH-DAVIS
Wage differentials and disability across Europe: Discrimination and/or lower productivity?,
by M. MALO and R. PAGÁN
Job quality in Quebec and the United Kingdom: Trends by sex and family status, 1998–2008,
by L. CLOUTIER-VILLENEUVE
Part-time work and gender: Worker versus job explanations, by R. KJELDSTAD and E. H.
NYMOEN
Notes and debates
Documents and communications
Book reviews
___________________________________________________________________________
Japan Labor Review, Vol. 9 (3) Summer 2012
Special Edition: ‘Non-Regular Employment and Vocational Career’
Access at http://www.jil.go.jp/english/JLR.htm
Introduction
Articles
Part-Time Experience of University Students and their Career Development
Job Security Concern among Temporary Agency Workers in Japan
Is Temporary Work "Dead End" in Japan?: Labor Market Regulation and Transition to
Regular Employment
Career Development Process, Starting with Non-Regular Workers: Based on an Analysis of
Factors Determining the Transition from Non-Regular to Regular Employment, Including
Promotion to Regular Employment within the Same Firm
Conversion of Non-Regular Employees into Regular Employees and Working Experiences
and Skills Development of Non-Regular Employees at Japanese Companies
Article Based on Research Report
The Ways of Working and Consciousness of Keiyaku-ShainJILPT Research Activities
_________________________________________________________________________
38
Labor Situation in Japan and Its Analysis
This publication is a compilation of write-ups describing individual themes related to the
current status of labor issues in Japan. In principle, it is issued every year alternately as
"General Overview" and "Detailed Exposition" editions. The former is aimed at providing
basic information on the whole picture of labor issues and relevant labor policies in Japan,
while the latter takes up contemporary topics and provides detailed exposition and analyses
of their current trends. Available at: http://www.jil.go.jp/english/lsj.html
___________________________________________________________________________
Economic & Labour Relations Review (ELRR)
The Economic & Labour Relations Review (ELRR) is a double-blind, refereed journal of
original articles which are concerned with contemporary issues, developments and policy
making may be submitted via the ScholarOne™ Manuscripts website for consideration for
publication, provided they have not been published elsewhere, or are under consideration for
publication elsewhere. The journal accepts three types of submission for refereeing: Scholarly
/ research-based Articles (8,000 words max); Review Articles discussing a number of
significant recent publications in context (6,000 words max); Substantial scholarly Replies
(6,000 words max). It also welcomes shorter non-refereed Book Reviews and Comments
(2000-4000 words).
The ELRR is produced jointly by the Centre for Applied Economic Research (CAER) and the
Industrial Relations Research Centre (IRRC) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
four times a year. Current issue: Volume 23 (2), June 2012, Symposium: Sport Economics, is
now available at www.asb.unsw.edu.au/elrr
___________________________________________________________________________
Report for the WTO General Council review of the trade policies of Singapore:
Internationally recognised core labour standards in Singapore
________________________________________________________________
39
Aris Chan (2011) Hired on Sufferance, China’s Migrant Workers in Singapore, China
Labour Bulletin at
http://www.clb.org.hk/en/files/share/File/research_reports/Hired_on_Sufferance_ebook.
pdf
__________________________________________________________________________
ILO: EuroZone job crisis: trends and policy responses
The study provides the latest trends on the employment situation in EU countries and
examines the labour market reforms adopted by various governments. Download at
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_184965.pdf
__________________________________________________________________________
Singapore: Public Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Employment of
Foreign Manpower Act.
Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) invited members of the public to give feedback
on the proposed amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower (EFMA) Act in May
this year. You can access the summary of MOM’s responses to the key feedback received
from the consultation sessions at
http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Pages/HighlightsDetails.aspx?listid=128
________________________________________________________________
Calls for Papers, Conferences, Seminars, Symposia, Meetings
_________________________________________________________________________
International Labour Review
Full details at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/revue/m_scripts/index.htm
Unsolicited articles are welcome and are considered on their merits and in the light of the
overall programme of the Review. All manuscripts are subject to scholarly review and, if
accepted, to editorial revision.
Manuscripts may be submitted as email attachments in English, French or Spanish (if
translated from another language the original should also be provided). They should be
between 7 000 and 10 000 words, with a 100-word abstract.
40
Manuscripts should be addressed to: the Managing Editor, International Labour Review,
International Labour Office, 4, route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Tel.
+41-22 799 79 03; Fax +41-22 799 61 17; Email: revue@ilo.org.
__________________________________________________________________________
International: The E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies
The following is a list of indicative, but far from exhaustive, topic areas: - collective and
individual labour issues; - equality and discrimination; - school-to-work transition; industrial relations; - vulnerable workers and precarious working; - employment productivity;
- role of skills and human capital in a global context – immigration issues, labour law. Find
the current issue (Vol.1, No. 1-2 March-June 2012) at http://www.adapt.it/currentissue
___________________________________________________________________________
Korea: The Korean Journal of Industrial Relations
The Korean Journal of Industrial Relations (KJIR) is published by the Korean Industrial
Relations Association. There is no due date for the submission. We receive articles around a
year. Web/URL:
http://www.lera.uiuc.edu/news/Calls/2007/Korean%20Journal%20of%20Industrial%20Relati
ons.htm
___________________________________________________________________________
Australia: Special Issue of Labour and Industry
Governance and CSR: Implications for Labour.
Papers are due to s.h.young@latrobe.edu.au by end of August 2012
___________________________________________________________________________
Portugal: IREC 2012: Challenges for Public and Private Sector Industrial Relations and
Unions in times of Crisis and Austerity
5-7 September 2012, CIES-ISCTE/IUL, Lisbon, Portugal
For full details, visit the conference web site at
http://conferencias.cies.iscte.pt/index.php/IREC2012/irec2012
__________________________________________________________________________
41
UK: 2nd International Conference on Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work in a
Changing World
Date:
10-11 September 2012
Venue:
Middlesex University Business School, Hendon campus, The
Burroughs, NW4 4BT, London.
___________________________________________________________________________
South Africa: The COSATU National Congress, from 17-20 September 2012, is the last
such national gathering before 2015, when COSATU will have to assess whether it reached
the targets and objectives it set itself in its ambitious 2015 Plan, adopted in 2003. More at
http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=6450
___________________________________________________________________________
Venezuela: World Teachers Congress of FISE. The World Federation of Trade Unions, the
World Federation of Teachers Unions (FISE) and Sindicato Nacional Fuerza Unitaria
Magisterial - National Union of Teachers Unitary Force (SINAFUM) are pleased to address
an invitation to all the trade union organizations of teachers of all the countries of all the
continents for the participation in an open, democratic, class-oriented World Teachers
Congress of the FISE which will take place in Caracas, Venezuela on September 19-20,
2012. Details at http://www.wftucentral.org/?p=5492&language=en
__________________________________________________________________________
Germany: Call for Papers "Temporary Organization and Workers’ Representation"
Special Issue of Industrielle Beziehungen - The German Journal of Industrial Relations.Guest
editors: Michael Fichter & Jörg Sydow, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Deadline for
submission is September 30, 2012. For more information please visit www.hamppverlag.de/hampp_e-journals_IndB.htm or contact
Prof. Dr. Jörg Sydow, Freie Universität Berlin, School of Business & Economics, Dept of
Management, Boltzmannstraße 20, D-14195 Berlin, Germany.
E-Mail: joerg.sydow@fu-berlin.de
Web: http://www.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/institute/management/sydow/index.html
___________________________________________________________________________
USA: Call for Proposals, LERA 65th Annual Meeting, The Future of Work. Session
proposals and individual papers, deadline 5 October 2012 from different disciplines. For
42
details go to: http://leraweb.org/call-proposals-lera-65th-annual-meeting or contact
LERAoffice@illinois.edu with questions. Announced by Bill Canak, Middle Tennessee
State University at william.canak@mtsu.edu wcanak@comcast.net
_________________________________________________________________________
Australia: Call for papers: Skills and the role of HRM – Change, Challenges and
Competition in the Asia Pacific Region
Special issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources
Abstracts (maximum 500 words) to be submitted by 30 October 2012.
Papers may address the following themes although other relevant themes will be welcome:
1.
The impact of competitive labour markets in the Asia Pacific region;
2.
Identification of major future skills issues and possibilities for capacity building,
promotion and realisation;
3.
The development of frameworks for the creation of these future skills, and the
accordant responsibilities of governments, industry, unions and universities; and
4.
Proposals for research and industry agendas/partnerships to address the changes,
challenges and competition.
Contacts: Professor Julia Connell, Curtin University: julia.connell@curtin.edu.au or
Professor Pauline Stanton, Victoria University: pauline.stanton@vu.edu.au
________________________________________________________________________
Canada: International Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work
(CRIMT) Conference, on Union Futures: Innovations, Transformations, Strategies,
October 25th to 27th 2012, HEC Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
Original academic and actor contributions are invited on one or more of the following
themes. 1. What do Unions Stand For? 2. Who do Unions Represent? 3. What are the
Dynamics of Union Activism? 4. What are the Strategies for Union Power? 5. How do
Unions Innovate? For details on each of these themes and on how to submit proposals, see
the full call for papers at http://www.crimt.org/UnionFutures.html . The deadline for
submission of proposals is April 30th, 2012. They must be sent to Nicolas Roby, CRIMT
Scientific Coordinator at nicolas.roby at umontreal.ca.
__________________________________________________________________________
43
Australia: Pacific Employment Relations Association Conference, Hervey Bay,
Queensland, Australia, 19 to 21 November, 2012. Information at http://www.pera.net.au.
Theme: People, Management and Employment Issues: Sustainability, Inclusiveness and
Knowledge Management. Full paper 13 September 2012.
___________________________________________________________________________
Australia: 27th AIRAANZ Conference, 6-8 February 2013, Freemantle, Western Australia.
Information from www.conferencewa.com.au/airaanz2013; email trish.todd@uwa.edu.au;
email al.rainnie@gbs.curtin.edu.au . Submission deadline for refereed papers 21 September
2012.
__________________________________________________________________________
Australia: 8th Asian Regional Congress of the International Labour and Employment
Relations Association, 9-12 April 2013, Melbourne, Victoria.
For more details about the program, please click here:
_______________________________________________________________________________
The Netherlands: 10th European Conference of the International Labour and
Employment Relations Association, Imagining new employment relations and new
solidarities. Amsterdam, 20 - 22 June 2013. Details at
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/iira/pdf/10theuro.pdf
___________________________________________________________________________
Australia: Fifth International Community, Work and Family Conference, The fifth
international Community, Work and Family Conference will take place at the University of
Sydney, 15-17 July 2013. Information at www.CWF2013.aifs.gov.au
___________________________________________________________________________
Other Sites
ILO: The International Institute for Labour Studies (IILS) was established by the
International Labour Organization in 1960 as a centre for advanced studies in the social and
labour fields. It produces the annual "World of Work Report". The International Labour
Review, a global multidisciplinary journal of labour and social policies is also published
under the aegis of the IILS.
44
http://www.ilo.org/
___________________________________________________________________________
UK: Working Lives Research Institute
Subscribe to the WLRI mailing list for regular news updates, including our regular WLRI
electronic-newsletter, and subscribe to our WLRI press release mailing list
45