International Employment Relations Network List
(IERN-L)
A Miscellany of International Employment Relations News
3 February 2012
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Contents
Nepal: Child Labour and Forced Labour Remain Problems
Bahrain: ITUC Denounces the Ongoing Failure to Reinstate Workers
Egypt’s New Labor Movement Comes of Age
Australia: Fair Work's gender-bender
Australia: FWA chief calls in police over HSU row
Australia: Fair Work laws turn firms off hiring workers: survey
New Zealand: $15 Minimum Wage
USA: Workers at Kosher Food Producer Score Legal Victory for Equal Rights:
Labor Board Prohibits Employers from Engaging in Discriminatory 'Fishing
Expeditions'
USA: More than 1,500 Workers Join AFL-CIO Unions
South Africa: COSATU NW condemns Impala platinum
South Africa: Racism at Terre’ Blanche trial and Game stores
In Brief
ILO: Somavia puts the accent on youth employment in Davos
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Singapore: Jobless rate falls to 14-year low
Singapore: First Unlicensed Agent Convicted under the Revised Employment
Agencies Act (EAA)
Singapore: TriCom for Low-Wage Workers Calls on Companies to Balance Price
Considerations with Quality Factors Such As Accreditation
Australia: Union boss Kim Sattler to face questions over her role in the tent
embassy riot
UK/Davos: UNI in solidarity with UK Unilever workers fighting pension cuts
Netherlands: Dutch Cleaners' strike gets global support
Brazil: Victory for Brazilian security guards after four-day strike
Nigerian Unions Suspend Strike
Russia: 41% increase in the minimum wage
Switzerland: Referendum on the world’s highest minimum wage
ASEAN: What They Say About ATUC
Egypt: Workers hold governor hostage
Publications
The TUC Workplace Manual
Calls for Papers
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Special Issue IJHRM
Study Group (Flexible Work Patterns) Meeting ILERA Congress
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Study Group #9 (Pay Systems), July 2, 2012 at ILERA Congress
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Transnational industrial relations, Greewich University
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The Korean Journal of Industrial Relations (CALL FOR PAPERS)
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Conferences , Seminars, Symposia
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Australia: AIRAANZ Conference
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Australia: Symposium on labour disputes in Asia
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UK: Critical Labour Studies Symposium
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Australia: Joe Isaac Symposium
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UK: Transnational Iindustrial relations
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Ireland: IFSAM Conference
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UK: BUIRA Conference
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USA: ILERA World Congress
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Nepal: Child Labour and Forced Labour Remain Problems
ER/Nepal/ Labour Standards/Workers’ Rights
Source: ITUC, 1 February 2012. Web/URL: http://www.ituc-csi.org/nepal-child-labour-andforced.html
A new report by the ITUC on core labour standards in Nepal, published to coincide with the
World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) review of its trade policies, reveals some serious
violations of fundamental workers’ rights including a high degree of prevalence of forced and
child labour.
The report finds that members of democratic unions have often been victims of attacks by
Maoist groups and sometimes police. The laws allow for the rights to organise, collectively
bargain and strike but with several restrictions. In addition, fundamental rights are not
respected in “essential services” sectors or ones the authorities consider essential for national
economic development, which even includes hotels and banking. The Special Economic
Zone Bill currently before the parliament for approval would deny trade union representation
to workers in export processing zones.
Factory inspectors fail to enforce the law in the informal economic activities that comprise 90
per cent of the total. The fact that 1.6 million children are engaged in child labour, the
majority of them girls, is one consequence. Furthermore, some forms of traditional slavery
persist despite the abolition of one system (Kamaiya) in 2000. Many Nepalese workers fall
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victims to deceptive and fraudulent practices by labour brokers, recruiters and traffickers, and
trafficking-related complicity by state officials is also reported
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Bahrain: ITUC Denounces the Ongoing Failure to Reinstate Workers
IR/Mid-East/Bahrain/Victimisation
Source: ITUC, 31 January 2012. Web/URL: http://www.ituc-csi.org/bahrain-ituc-denouncesthe-ongoing,10546.html?lang=en
In November 2011, the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
agreed to a proposal to establish a tripartite committee to review the mass dismissal of
Bahraini workers referred to in the complaint concerning the Non-Observance by Bahrain of
the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958.
. In a letter to the chair of that commission, the ITUC acknowledged progress in the public
sector but expressed its serious concerns regarding the failure of employers, largely in stateowned companies, to reinstate many wrongfully dismissed workers or to rehire the workers
only under completely unacceptable conditions. The very few trade union leaders reinstated
had to agree not to carry out any further union activity.
“It is time for the committee to redouble its efforts and take all necessary measures in order to
secure reinstatement of all illegally dismissed workers by the March 2012 Governing Body
meeting,” said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary. “It is also unacceptable that many of
the workers who have been reinstated were brought back to inferior posts or have been forced
in many cases to agree to unacceptable conditions,” she added.
In addition, the ITUC points out that many trade unionists continue to face criminal
prosecution for participating in strikes and demonstrations last year.
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Egypt’s New Labor Movement Comes of Age
IR/Middle East/Egypt/Labour Movement/EFITU
Source: AFL/CIO, (accessed 3 February 2012). Web/URL: http://blog.aflcio.org/2012/02/01/egypts-newlabor-movement-comes-of-age/
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This is a cross-post by Ben Moxham of Stronger Unions, the blog from the United
Kingdom’s Trade Union Congress (TUC) on the new Egyptian trade union movement
that has its roots in last year’s incredible uprising that toppled the Mubarak
government.
Shawna Bader-Blau, executive director of the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center, and Lisa
McGowan, acting director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the
Solidarity Center, participated in the historic founding Congress of the Egyptian
Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU). The Congress represented an
important step forward in the struggle by Egyptian workers to form free and
independent unions.
On the desert-battered outskirts of Cairo, in a kitsch marble convention center, the Egyptian
Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU) has just announced to Egypt and the world
that it has come of age. EFITU was born in the inspiration and chaos of Tahrir square, exactly
12 months to the day. Since then they have been organizing, organizing and organizing.
Today was a chance to show the results and I was blown away.
The federation claims to have organized a phenomenal 2 million workers into 200 unions in
barely a year. Of course, many of the new independent unions have their roots in the
underground workers’ struggles throughout the past decade. And without clear ways to keep
membership records, the total figure may be in doubt, but as an accurate figure emerges it
will still be the single most impressive organizing effort I’ve ever come across (and this is
just one of the two new independent federations: the Egyptian Democratic Labor Congress
[EDLC] claims to have signed up 214 unions with a seven figure combined membership
also).
Legitimacy means everything to this nascent movement. So long denied a voice in the
workplace and a voice in society, they are determined to be democratic and everywhere. “We
bid farewell to land-lord run unions” of Mubarak, said Kamal Abou Aita, the acting president
of EFITU.
And they did so in meticulous-style: each of the 264 delegates would vote, one-by-one,
walking up onto the congress stage, showing their ID, filing out their ballot and putting it in a
large glass box for the entire hall to see. “How powerful is that?” I thought after the first few
votes. “How long will this take?” I thought after three hours and only 140 delegates in. More
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hours passed and I realized that these guys have pyramid-building patience and that I’d
nodded off and drooled a bit.
But by then the party had set in. Us international guests filed some dead air time by firing off
our best platitudes from the podium. I took the liberty to pass on your solidarity, and then
joined in a few chants that I didn’t understand. By the time I left the congress in the wee
hours the votes for the finance committee were only just rolling in.
What about the role of women in this new Egyptian union movement I hear you ask? Sure
they were at the forefront of the revolution but early photos I saw of this new union
movement showed a room full of men, straining the definition of middle-aged.
But today’s congress showed progress and promise. “It fills us with pride that the youth
represent the vast majority of our union organization, and that women play a pivotal role in
our union,” said Abou Aita. And I could see that he wasn’t wrong. Further, it was these
delegates that moved an amendment to EFITU’s constitution to put in place a 25 per cent
quota for women. No mean feat in this part of the world.
But the journey for women’s empowerment in Egypt will be a long one. Take this sobering
passage from the ILO’s latest global employment trends report on Egypt, Libya and Tunisia
(page 75):
The unemployment rate for young people in the region was 27.1 per cent in 2011, the rate for
women stood at 19.0 per cent and young women faced an unemployment rate of 41.0 per
cent.
Even where they have a job, “female workers and those in the private sector work in slavelike conditions”, concluded Kamal Abbass, the acting leader of the EDLC, after describing
the extreme overtime, poverty wages and high levels of harassment they face. With British
business sourcing from these export zones of “slave-like conditions”, we need to play our
role.
The new unions are still very much workplace based, yet to make connections with those in
the same sector, or region, but the links are emerging. But workshop sessions throughout the
week are pulling together key workers in the same sector, their respective global sectorial
union federations helping with the speed-merger-dating.
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And bizarrely, it got exciting: “We have formed 23 committees! And I’m on the fishing
committee!” yelled out one speaker to thunderous applause and more infectious chants that I
didn’t understand. I wished I was on the fishing committee.
These workers are from workplaces across Egypt. I spoke with welders, justice ministry
workers, bus drivers, teachers, farmers, postal workers, and nurses. Abou Aita also spoke
proudly of the vulnerable – “peasants, casual workers, informal economy workers and street
vendors” – swelling their ranks.
What impressed me greatly is that these folks aren’t waiting for some legislative silver bullet
to deliver a union movement to them. They are going out there and making it under laws that
haven’t changed since Hosni Mubarak owned the country.
And it’s tough. Most of them don’t have offices, and are barred from opening bank accounts.
All of them face workplaces where the official stooge unions of the old regime are still
collecting compulsory dues against the wishes of the workforce. To join a real union in Egypt
you have to pay double.
Further, the new government may be dominated by Islamic parties that swept the recent
elections, and a new law on trade union freedoms is yet to be enacted. But these won’t stop
this chanting hall of workers whose time has come. They’ve already sunk their roots too
deep.
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Australia: Fair Work's gender-bender
IR/ER/ Australia/ Equal Pay/ Collective Bargaining/ Fair Work Australia
Source: The Australian, Editorial, 3 February 2012 . Website/URL:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/fair-works-gender-bender/story-e6frg71x1226261255980
THERE is a strong case to make that community sector workers should be better paid,
and that the amount they receive in their pay packets does not reflect the community's
esteem.
None the less, Wednesday's ruling by Fair Work Australia granting pay rises of between 23
per cent and 45 per cent to 153,000 community workers is poorly argued and clumsily
executed. To justify the pay rise on the grounds of gender equity requires tortured logic and
sets a dangerous precedent.
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The argument that women should be paid as much as men for the same work was settled
more than 40 years ago. The equal-pay argument was stretched further in the early 1970s to
ensure that women were not disadvantaged for performing work of equal value. This decision
takes the equal pay argument to a new level, suggesting that gender-equity comparisons could
be made between entire sectors. This will lead some to seek pay rises regardless of the merits
of an individual case or the concerns of a particular sector.
There are glaring flaws in the argument. For a start, no one claims that community sector
employers have been deliberately exploiting women. Indeed, about 30,000 men in the sector
are in line to receive gender-equity pay rises. The public sector wage levels used to set a
benchmark for the not-for-profit sector is a dubious comparison. That a wage gap exists is
incontrovertible, but to isolate what Fair Work Australia calls "gender-based undervaluation"
is a stretch.
It could be argued the end justifies the means and, since a group of workers universally
regarded as poorly paid will now be better off, it is nit-picking to argue against the ruling.
Muddled public policy decisions, however, almost always come back to haunt and it is far
from clear what impact this decision will have on the sector. It is possible it may mean fewer
jobs, which would be bad news for the workers, but even worse news for those who require
their help to maintain a reasonable quality of life. Furthermore, this sector-wide edict erodes
the integrity of the enterprise bargaining system and invites copycat claims and flow-on wage
claims. Nurses, aged-care workers, teachers and shop assistants may see the gender-gap
argument as a way to bypass normal pay negotiations. Comparative wage justice and gender
equality are two very different things.
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Australia: FWA chief calls in police over HSU row
IR/Australia/Union Leadership/ Health Services Union
Source: The Australian, 3 February 2012. Web/URL:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/industrial-relations/fwa-chief-calls-inpolice-over-hsu-row/story-fn59noo3-1226261316028
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FAIR Work Australia vice-president Michael Lawler has made sensational allegations
to NSW police that two senior officials of the Health Services Union may have engaged
in serious criminal activity.
Mr Lawler, whose partner is HSU national secretary Kathy Jackson, has written to the head
of Strike Force Carnarvon, Detective Inspector Dave Christie, making allegations against
HSU East acting assistant general secretary Gerard Hayes and the union's former Victorian
divisional secretary, Carol Glen.
The letter, dated in December, a copy of which has been obtained by The Australian, claims
Mr Hayes and Ms Glen may "have attempted and are attempting to pervert the course of
justice in relation to Strike Force Carnarvon".
NSW police established Strike Force Carnarvon to investigate allegations raised by Ms
Jackson and other union officials claiming HSU East general secretary Michael Williamson
and former HSU official and now Labor MP Craig Thomson engaged in corrupt activity
including taking secret commissions. Mr Williamson and Mr Thomson both strenuously deny
the allegations.
In his letter, Mr Lawler says he is writing in his personal capacity and on behalf of Ms
Jackson.
Mr Lawler's letter to Inspector Christie also claims that Mr Hayes and Ms Glen may be
"accessories after the fact to criminal offences committed by Michael Williamson". Mr Hayes
and Ms Glen last night strenuously denied engaging in any wrongdoing and said that they
were happy to co-operate with police.
They said they believed Mr Lawler's motivation was payback for their complaints to FWA
president Geoffrey Giudice about conversations that Mr Lawler had engaged them in.
The developments come as FWA is close to completing its probe into the HSU and
allegations Mr Thomson misused his union credit card for more than $100,000 of private
spending, including on prostitutes. Mr Thomson denies those allegations.
As revealed by The Australian yesterday, in December Mr Hayes and Ms Glen, in separate
complaints, wrote to Mr Giudice claiming Mr Lawler had separately engaged them about
HSU factional politics.
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Before submitting her complaint to FWA, Ms Glen sent a draft by email to Mr Hayes, a move
Mr Lawler says in his letter "affords, I submit, compelling evidence to suggest that an
investigation of an attempt to procure false evidence from Carol Glen is warranted".
Ms Glen last night told The Australian she had been naive in sending the draft to Mr Hayes,
but said she had done so because she had been stressed at the time of her resignation from the
union.
Mr Lawler did not respond to calls or emails, but his associate issued a statement to The
Australian on Wednesday saying that as the second most senior industrial judge it would be
inappropriate for him to comment.
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Australia: Fair Work laws turn firms off hiring workers: survey
IR/Australia/Fair Work Act/HRM
Source: The Australian, 3 February 2012. Web/URL:
LABOR'S federal workplace laws have led to increased labour costs, a rise in employee
absenteeism and declining or flatlining productivity, according to a national survey of
senior managers charged with implementing the new rules in their workplaces.
The annual survey of the nation's human resource managers found that 47 per cent believed
operating under the Fair Work Act would decrease the willingness of their organisation to
employ people over the next three years. Only 6 per cent said it made them more willing to
hire people.
An estimated 690 human resource professionals participated in the Australian Human
Resources Institute survey, with 30 per cent of those surveyed engaged by companies
employing more than 1000 workers and one-third engaging between 100 and 499 workers.
The institute previously surveyed members about the legislation in 2010 and the latest results
show managers are increasingly negative about the impact of the laws.
Peter Wilson, the institute's national president, said while many managers had expressed
optimism and goodwill about the Fair Work Act in 2010, the "prevailing impression a year
later is that the legislation needs fixing".
The Gillard government is undertaking a review of the act, with many employers pushing for
substantial changes.
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"The findings demonstrate that the people in the workforce with responsibility for
implementing its provisions are experiencing difficulties that are costly, and negatively affect
the capacity of businesses to operate productively for the benefit of all stakeholders," Mr
Wilson said.
"At a time when the global outlook is very uncertain and international competition is
extremely tough, the current act is not serving the Australian workplaces very well at all."
Professionals participating in the survey were asked whether their organisations had
experienced an increase or decrease in a series of outcomes that they believed were directly
due to the introduction of the legislation.
An estimated 58 per cent said their labour costs had increased, while 26 per cent said the
level of absenteeism had risen, compared with 13 per cent who expressed that concern in
2010.
Just 5.6 per cent believed productivity had increased as a result of the laws, compared with
29.3 per cent who said it had decreased and 61 per cent who said there had been no change.
Forty-one per cent said union visits to work sites had increased compared with 29 per cent in
2010, while more than one-third complained that Labor's unfair dismissal laws made it harder
to make employees redundant.
Almost two-thirds of those surveyed provided commentary with their responses, with much
of the negative comments focused on increases in vexatious unfair dismissal claims and how
the laws had reduced employer flexibility to hire casuals, vary hours, negotiate contracts and
manage underperforming employees.
There were also complaints about the time required to be spent on workplace bargaining and
the increased need for legal advice and record keeping.
"The unions have become bullish . . . Bully-boy tactics abound," one respondent said.
Another said: "You can't terminate underperforming employees and they know it.
"Management and other employees look at it and say, 'HR does not have the balls to do
anything.' However, we are unable to."
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New Zealand: $15 Minimum Wage
IR/ER/New Zealand/Minimum Wage
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Source: NZCTU (accessed 3 February, 2012). Web/URL: http://union.org.nz/news/2012/15minimum-wage-would-help-inequality-and-stimulate-economy
CTU Secretary, Peter Conway today said that the government has a golden opportunity in the
next few weeks to make New Zealand a fairer place, to help low income families cope with
increases in the cost of living and to stimulate the economy, by increasing the minimum wage
to $15 an hour when it announces its decision on the annual minimum wage review.
“A small inflation adjustment to the minimum wage is not enough. We are asking that the
government raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Doing so would be a very significant
step in addressing income disparity by raising the income of those most vulnerable to low
pay, and the easiest way to compensate low income workers for increases in the cost of
living.”
“Further, increasing the minimum wage to $15 would give low income earners a much
needed boost that they missed out on in the tax cuts of last year that greatly favoured high
income earners. We should remember that tax cuts last year increased the difference in take
home pay between someone on $30,000 a year and someone on $150,000 a year by $135 per
week, and had an even worse effect on low income earners when coupled with the GST
hike,” said Peter Conway.
“Low income households were hit harder than higher income people by the increase in GST
by having to pay a greater proportion of their income in GST. Increasing the minimum wage
to an appropriate level would help rebalance this equation and put more money in the pockets
of low income families who are more likely to spend it creating much needed economic
stimulus.”
“Any number of measures of living standards show that a significant proportion of New
Zealanders experience hardship on a daily basis and are evidence of the widening gap
between rich and poor. The CTU believes the government can make New Zealand a fairer
place by increasing the minimum wage to $15, doing so will improve the relativity of the
minimum wage to the average wage and provide a more equitable distribution of income,”
said Peter Conway.
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Peter Conway said that lifting wages overall in New Zealand is vitally important – the
minimum wage is one tool, but so is improved innovation and productivity provided the
benefits are shared, and extended availability of collective bargaining through industry
standards.
___________________________________________________________________________
USA: Workers at Kosher Food Producer Score Legal Victory for Equal
Rights: Labor Board Prohibits Employers from Engaging in
Discriminatory 'Fishing Expeditions'
IR/ER/USA/ Immigrant Workers/Discrimination
Source; IWW, 21 January 2012. Web/URL: http://www.iww.org/
Immigrant workers organizing for justice at a Brooklyn-based producer and distributor of
kosher food products have taken a big step forward in their campaign and achieved a legal
victory for workers around the country. Using discriminatory allegations about workers'
immigration status, Flaum Appetizing has been resisting compliance with a 2009 trial
decision that found the company illegally fired employees who came together seeking
dignified working conditions. The National Labor Relations Board holding precludes Flaum
from continuing to raise baseless immigration status defenses against at least eleven of the
workers, and potentially as many as fifteen. By prohibiting employers from engaging in
discriminatory 'fishing expeditions' against immigrants or perceived immigrants, the Board
clarified important procedural safeguards in cases governed by the landmark anti-immigrant
Supreme Court case, Hoffman Plastic.
"Companies that discriminate and undermine labor rights drive down economic standards for
every working person, native-born and immigrant alike," said Daniel Gross, the director of
non-profit organization Brandworkers, which, along with the Industrial Workers of the World
labor union is campaigning for justice at Flaum as part of the Focus on the Food Chain
campaign. "Worker organizing helps create the type of quality jobs that support a dynamic
economy and healthy communities. The Labor Board's decision is an important step toward
ensuring that Flaum and companies like it will not escape accountability through unfounded
and discriminatory inquiries into immigration status."
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New York grocery stores and restaurants rely on an industrial corridor of food processing
factories and distribution warehouses like Flaum that hold down wages and safety standards
by exploiting recent immigrant workers. Wage theft, discrimination, and abuse is common in
the sector and efforts for change are almost always met with determined and unlawful
retaliation. Overcoming these challenges, the Flaum workers are waging a powerful
campaign to bring the company into compliance with fundamental workplace protections.
The workers have shared their story and persuaded over 120 of NYC's most prominent
supermarket locations to discontinue selling Flaum products, including it's Sonny & Joe's
hummus, until the company comports with the rule of law. The global kosher cheese giant
Tnuva refused to renew its distribution contract with Flaum after spirited worker
campaigning and support from Jewish organizations including Uri L'Tzedek, the Orthodox
social justice organization.
"We're glad Flaum didn't get away with avoiding its responsibilities under the law," said
Maria Corona, one of the victorious workers and a Focus on the Food Chain member.
"There's power in coming together with your co-workers and we are well on our way to
winning the justice we have been seeking."
The NLRB's Office of the General Counsel is prosecuting the case against Flaum. The Flaum
workers are represented by Eisner & Mirer, a New York labor & employment law firm.
Focus on the Food Chain promotes sustainable jobs and a thriving local food industry in the
City of New York. Through organizing, grassroots advocacy, and legal action, the campaign
challenges and overcomes unlawful conditions in food processing and distribution
warehouses. The Focus campaign is a collaboration of non-profit organization Brandworkers
and the NYC Industrial Workers of the World labor union.
___________________________________________________________________________
USA: More than 1,500 Workers Join AFL-CIO Unions
IR/USA/Union Organising/ Membership
Source: AFL-CIO, (accessed 3 February 2012). Web/URL:
http://blog.aflcio.org/2012/02/02/more-than-1200-workers-join-afl-cio-unions/
Warehouse workers, school, bus drivers, teachers, mechanics, telecommunication and
manufacturing worker all have recently won a voice at work with AFL-CIO unions.
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More than 350 employees at IKEA Distribution Center in Perryville, Md., voted by an
overwhelming margin to join the Machinists (IAM ) despite opposition from IKEA managers
who hired Jackson-Lewis, the well-known union-busting law firm. District 4 Business
Representative Joe Flanders says the workers, “were able to see through the scare tactics.”
Last year, the Danville, Va.-based employees at Swedwood, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
IKEA, voted to join the IAM.
In DuPont, Wash., more than some 350 workers who repair military helicopters and do site
maintenance site maintenance and repair work for defense contractor URS Corp. Wash.,
voted to join IAM District Lodge 751. The workers have been without a pay or cost of living
increase for more than four years, says new IAM member John Davis, and “a bunch of people
got fed up.”
In Avon, Ky., 219 workers (see photo) at Allsource Global Management at the Bluegrass
Station base voted to join the IAM. They are material coordinators for the distribution of
military equipment.
Workers at former Alltel facilities—acquired in 2009 by AT&T—continue to choose the
Communications Workers of America (CWA), through a majority sign-up agreement
between CWA and AT&T. In a majority sign-up, the company agrees to remain neutral and
recognize the union after a majority of employees signs authorization cards. Recently in New
Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota and Montana more than 150 workers joined CWA.
Late last, month 282 Cablevision technicians and dispatchers in Brooklyn voted to join CWA
Local 1109. Click here for an in-depth look at the workers’ victory.
Workers at a GE Transportation plant in Kansas City, Mo., fought back against back against a
hired gun, anti-union campaign and voted to join the Electrical Workers (IBEW). Workplace
safety concerns following the 2010 on-the-job death of a co-worker and a long-list of broken
promises by management spurred the nearly 100 workers to fight for a voice at work. Click
here for a detailed look at the struggle from the IBEW Now News blog.
More than 70 bus operators, mechanics, maintenance and other workers at Colonial
Intermediate Unit 20 at several locations in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley voted to join the
Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 282. Colonial provides various school services,
including transportation to 13 school districts.
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Twenty teachers at the Evergreen Charter School in Hempstead, N.Y., won representation
with AFT affiliate New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). But the fight is not over.
NYSUT is seeking reinstatement of special education teacher Jill Haag who was fired Dec. 2
when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant. The union says she was illegally fired for her for her
work organizing the union. Haag regularly wore a lanyard stating, “Unions and Charters
Working Together,” and urged parents to sign the petition in support of the union. Click here
for more from AFT.
In Fraser, Mich., the teachers and staff at the Arts Academy in the Woods, a charter school
voted 20-to-1 to join Michigan Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, an affiliate of AFT
Michigan.
___________________________________________________________________________
South Africa: COSATU NW condemns Impala platinum
IR/South Africa/Sole Bragaining Agency/Rogue Union
Source: COSATU, 2 February 2012
The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the North West is disturbed by the prevailing
situation at the Impala platinum mine in Rustenburg.
People who are not the employees of the mine, and who do not have a recognition agreement
with the mine, are allowed to convene meetings in the mine and address workers, while our
affiliated union, the NUM, a recognised trade union in the mine, has to get permission before
it can do so.
In our view Impala platinum is violating the labour laws of this country and negotiating in
bad faith. COSATU shares the same sentiment as the NUM that this might be happening as a
way of restructuring, due to the current performance of platinum in the market. We want to
make it clear that we are not opposed to restructuring but this must happen in a correct way as
outlined by the law.
The increase of wages of some categories of workers for us is unfair discrimination, as
production relies on all the workers in the mine; and we believe that Impala did this
deliberately to incite workers so that it would be easy for them to restructure.
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COSATU calls on Impala to stop allowing people or organisations which do not have
agreements to come and operate in the mine and give space to NUM as it is the majority
union organised in that mine.
The federation calls on the Impala mine bosses to reinstate all workers who are currently
dismissed, and that all workers be treated the same.
We call on our members to give the union [NUM] a space to deal with the matter and report
back to the federation for political intervention. We call on our members not to be fooled by
any unregistered union taking advantage of the situation and promising workers things they
know that it will not do.
We want to remind all workers that if they have a problem with its union, which is a
COSATU affiliate, they must report it to the federation before they jump to the criminals’
union that will take their money and go.
COSATU, like its affiliate NUM, fears that more people might lose their lives as has already
happened.
COSATU also calls on Impala to go back to the negotiations and be frank and open about
their intention, in order for both parties to reach a mutual agreement.
___________________________________________________________________________
South Africa: Racism at Terre’ Blanche trial and Game stores
ER/South Africa/ Racism/ Labour Standards
Source; COSATU, 2 February 2012. Web/URL:
The Congress of South African Trade Unions in the North West has several times spoken
about the racism and the refusal of white South Africans to transform, and accept and respect
the new democratic order which was installed in South Africa in 1994.
The incident in Ventersdorp during the murder trial on the slain AWB leader Eugene Terre
Blanche is one example.
17
The non transformative verkrampte Afrikaners continue to hoist their old apartheid flag at the
court and refuse to accept the new order. During this trial our people who are outside the
court continue to be called kaffirs and baboons.
In the court the wife of Eugene tells the court that workers were sometimes paid by getting
credit for them in the shops and this credit included alcohol, which in our view is like the tot
system which was used during the apartheid era.
The submission to the court by ET’s wife confirmed that workers were treated very badly by
her husband and herself, paying less than what is laid down in the sectoral determination for
farm workers and employing child labour. This is real super-exploitation of the poor farm
workers.
The police still continue to protect this racist by not collecting all the evidence, as was done
in this Eugene murder trial.
The Game store, which is part of Walmart, is currently exploiting workers, in particular the
casual workers who work as slaves. They are being insulted by both black African managers
and the white sale manager, calling them “skroplap and koeksisters”
This is taking place in almost all the Game stores in the province but it is very rife in
Rustenburg and Klerksdorp. Workers are being dismissed for taking part in legal union
activities and for fighting for their rights. During December 2011 the toilets and the canteen
were closed, so that workers would not go out for lunch so that they could make more profit.
Most of the workers in these stores are temporary and some have to give sexual favours to the
managers in order for them to be employed permanently.
As part our campaigns for 2012 we are going to embark on protest action to fight against
these undemocratic tendencies wherever it appears in the community and the society at large.
As COSATU we are saying enough is enough; all this has to stop.
___________________________________________________________________________
In Brief
ILO: Somavia puts the accent on youth employment in Davos
ER/Int/Labour Markets/ Youth Unemployment
Source: ILO (accessed 31 January 2012. Web/URL: http://www.ilo.org/global/about-theilo/press-and-media-centre/news/WCMS_172255/lang--en/index.htm
18
ILO Director-General Juan Somavia has called for a new policy paradigm to promote
inclusive job-rich growth for the almost 75 million unemployed youth aged 15-24
worldwide.
__________________________________________________________________________
Singapore: Jobless rate falls to 14-year low
ER/Singapore/Labour Market/Foreign Workers
Source: Straits Times Newsletter 2 February 2012. Web/URL:
http://www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNews/Story/STIStory_761625.html
Singapore created 121,300 jobs last year and it caused the unemployment rate to fall to 2 per
cent, a 14-year low. This put a further squeeze on the already-tight labour market and as a
result, two out of every three new jobs went to foreigners.
__________________________________________________________________________
Singapore: First Unlicensed Agent Convicted under the Revised
Employment Agencies Act (EAA)
ER/Singapore/Migrant Workers
Source: Ministry of Manpower, 31 January 2012. Web/URL:
http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Pages/PressReleasesDetail.aspx?listid=405
A 30-year-old Singapore Permanent Resident, De Luna Noriza Dancel (“De Luna”), was
fined $50,000 today for operating as an unlicensed employment agent (EA), among other
offences as listed in Table A below. She is the first unlicensed EA to be convicted as a
principal offender under the revised Employment Agencies Act (EAA), which came into
effect in April last year. She was also convicted for employing her Filipino husband,
Caladiao William Tolentino (“William”), without a valid work pass. Under the Employment
of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA), for employing a foreign employee without a valid work
pass, she was fined $2,500.
__________________________________________________________________________
19
Singapore: TriCom for Low-Wage Workers Calls on Companies to
Balance Price Considerations with Quality Factors Such As Accreditation
ER/ Singapore/Low Wage Workers/Outsourcing
Source: Ministry of Manpower, 30 January 2012. Web/URL:
http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Pages/PressReleasesDetail.aspx?listid=403
The updated Tripartite Advisory on Best Sourcing Practices incorporates feedback gathered
on outsourcing practices, and provides greater clarity on how workers, service buyers and
service providers can benefit from adopting the suggested practices. Specifically, service
buyers are encouraged to consider the following five principles when outsourcing: Safeguard
the basic employment rights of workers; Specify service contracts on the basis of servicelevel requirements rather than headcount; Recognise factors that contribute to service quality;
Seek to establish a long-term collaborative partnership with service provider; and Provide a
decent work environment for workers .
_________________________________________________________________________
Australia: Union boss Kim Sattler to face questions over her role in the tent
embassy riot
IR/Australia/Union Officials
Source: The Australian 31 January 2012. Web/URL:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/union-boss-kim-sattler-to-face-questionsover-her-role-in-the-tent-embassy-riot/story-fn59niix-1226258107753
Ms Sattler will face questioning by the ACT union hierarchy when she fronts her
organisation's governing executive on February 16. A member of the organisation's executive
told The Australian Online that some executive members would seize on Ms Sattler's actions
in the lead up to the riot, forcing her to show why she has not brought the union into
disrepute.
_______________________________________________________________________
UK/Davos: UNI in solidarity with UK Unilever workers fighting pension
cuts
20
IR/UK/Pensions/Unilever
Source: UNI, 27 January 2012. Web/URL:
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf/pages/homepageEn?Opendocument&exURL=ht
tp://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/vwLkpByIdHome/4D5804EDE0E00606C
12579920058A922?OpenDocument
A group of Unilever workers came to Davos to remind Unilever CEO Paul Polman not forget
his staff back in the UK facing cuts to their pensions of 40%. Polman is one of the co-chairs
of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos this week.
___________________________________________________________________________
Netherlands: Dutch Cleaners' strike gets global support
IR/Netherlands/ Collective Bargaining/ Cleaners
Source: UNI, 2 February 2012. Web/URL:
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf/pages/homepageEn?Opendocument&exURL=ht
tp://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/vwLkpByIdHome/7E9EBE4630E30724C1
257984002F0EE6?OpenDocumentners
Thousands of Dutch cleaners continue their strike in key cities in The Netherlands. Their
demands center around respect and fair treatment on the job. Their employers have still not
adequately responded on the issues that keep the parties from reaching an agreement such as
sick pay, enough time to do the job properly and more respect and appreciation on the job.
Salary negotiations are also at a standstill. The cleaners have concluded that the employers
are not serious about salary negotiations. The cleaners' fight-back began on January 2. They
will continue to march from city to city until the employers offer them a reasonable contract
settlement.
___________________________________________________________________________
Brazil: Victory for Brazilian security guards after four-day strike
IR/Brazil/ Collective Bargaining/ Security Guards
Source: UNI, 2 February 2012, Web/URL:
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf/pages/homepageEn?Opendocument&exURL=ht
tp://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/vwLkpByIdHome/10248B0501F9FE4CC1
257998005DEF32?OpenDocument
21
After an historic four-day strike, which was supported by over 90 percent of workers and
closed 80 percent of banks in the city, security guards in Brasilia, Brazil, won a 20 percent
pay increase, which represents a real wage increase of 15 percent, high-risk pay and an
increase to their meal money to 17 Brazilian reals per day.
___________________________________________________________________________
Nigerian Unions Suspend Strike
IR/Africa/Nigeria/General Strike
Source: TUC (accessed 3 February, 2012). Web/URL:
http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/index.cfm?mins=28&minors=28&majorsubjectID=7
Nigerian Labour Congress (accessed 3 February, 2012):
http://www.nlcng.org/search_details.php?id=318
The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Nigeria Trades Union Congress have suspended
industrial action following the Federal Government's decision to reduce the price of petrol
from N141 to N97 and agree to some other demands.
The [Nigerian] Labour Movement commend Nigerians for their resolve to change the country
for the better and we shall take advantage of the Government’s invitation to further engage on
these issues. This is in line with Labour’s resolve that the oil industry is too important to be
left in the hands of bureaucrats, and that we have the patriotic duty to ensure that Nigerians
get the best from this natural resource.
_______________________________________________________________________
Russia: 41% increase in the minimum wage
Russia/ER/ Minimum Wage
Source: Federation of European Employers, 2 February 2012. Web/URL:
http://www.fedee.com/newsflash/
Russia’s ruling “United Russia” party is planning to introduce substantial increases in the
national minimum wage in order to bring it more into line with the official subsistence level.
Parliament plans to follow a three-step schedule this year with the monthly minimum wage
increased from the current 4,600 rubles (115 euros) to 5,000 rubles (125 euros) in March
2012. On June 1st it will be increased to 5,500 rubles (138 euros), and finally to 6,500 (163
euros) by October 1st.
___________________________________________________________________________
22
Switzerland: Referendum on the world’s highest minimum wage
ER/Switzerland/Minimum Wage
Source: Federation of European Employers 27 January, 2012. Web/URL:
http://www.fedee.com/newsflash/
Swiss trade unions have gained the necessary 100,000+ signatures to require the Federal
Chancery to call a referendum on a national minimum wage of 22 francs (18.2 euros) per
hour. If supported by the Swiss population, this measure would raise gross monthly earnings
to 4,000 francs (3,313 euros) for those in the lowest paid jobs. It is estimated that
approximately 400,000 workers would be affected by such a statutory increase.
__________________________________________________________________________
ASEAN: What They Say About ATUC
IR/Asia/ASEAN
Source: Asean Trade Union Council (accessed 3 February, 2012): Web/URL:
http://aseantuc.org/affiliates/
Working through the ASEAN Trade Union Council (ATUC), a number of labor
groups from Southeast Asia have proposed the ASEAN Social Charter, which
they see …
Labour rights do not feature prominently on ASEAN’s agenda, but the ASEAN
Trade Union Council (ATUC) is pushing for a social charter and a framework for
the protection of migrant workers.
ASEAN22 : The ASEAN Social Charter was designed by the ASEAN Trade
Union Council (ATUC) and labour-friendly NGOs as a social counterpart to
ASEAN’s economic
In this regard, the ASEAN Trade Union Council’s (ATUC) initiative of seeking
consultative status in the ASEAN Labor Ministers Meeting deserves substantial
support.
___________________________________________________________________________
Egypt: Workers hold governor hostage
IR/Egypt/Wages/Cleaners
Source ITUC-Africa (accessed 3 February 2012), Web/URL: http://www.ituc-africa.org/Actualites-
23
On 31 January 2012, hundreds of Luxor Cleaning Authority workers held Luxor’s governor
hostage in his office to demand better wages.
___________________________________________________________________________
Publications
The TUC Workplace Manual
Order your copy from https://www.tuc.org.uk/publications/viewPub.cfm?frmPubID=641
‘It will be of use not only to stewards but also to anyone who represents, advises or supports
members in the workplace, including learning, equality, green and health and safety
representatives’.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Calls for Papers
Special Issue IJHRM: Partnership, Collaboration and Mutual Gains, submission deadline 24
February 2012. Website: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rijh
_________________________________________________________________
Flexible Work Patterns Study Group Meeting ILERA Congress Philadelphia USA
The Flexible Work Patterns Study Group will meet at the ILERA (formerly the IRRA) 16th
World Congress in Philadelphia USA on Monday, July 2, before the official opening of the
congress on July 3 2012. Abstract to: clare.kelliher@cranfield.ac.uk R.Croucher@mdx.ac.uk
c.edwards@kingston.ac.uk by Friday 24th February 2012.
___________________________________________________________________________
Study Group #9 (Pay Systems), July 2, 2012 in Philadelphia at ILERA
If you are interested in making a presentation at Study Group #9, please send an email with
the title and brief description to daniel.j.b.mitchell@anderson.ucla.edu.
___________________________________________________________________
Transnational industrial relations and the search for alternatives
A workshop at Greenwich University May 31-June 1, 2012. Call for abstracts
by 1 March 2012 to Lefteris Kretsos (l.kretsos@greenwich.ac.uk).
___________________________________________________________________________
The Korean Journal of Industrial Relations (CALL FOR PAPERS)
24
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
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conferences, Seminars, Symposia
Australia: 28th AIRAANZ Conference, 8-10 February, 2012, Grand Chancellor Hotel,
Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Website:
http://airaanzweb.weebly.com/3/post/2011/03/2012-airaanz-conference.html
__________________________________________________________________________________
Australia: New Dynamics of Industrial Conflicts in Asia: Causes, Expressions and
Resolution Alternatives, Friday 17th February 2012, Time: 9:00am-5:00pm Venue: N1.08,
Caulfield Campus, Monash University, Melbourne. RSVP: Ms Cynthia Kumar
Cynthia.kumar@monash.edu no later than 10February 2012 for catering.
_________________________________________________________________________
UK: Critical Labour Studies 8th Symposium, 18 & 19 February 2012. Venue: Old Fire
Station, University of Salford. Criticallabourstudies.org.uk. Contact Phoebe Moore
p.moore@salford.ac.uk for more information.
___________________________________________________________________________
Australia: Jo Isaac Symposium, Using the Power of Working Relationships to Achieve
Organisational Resilience and Sustainability: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach Professor
Jody Hoffer Gittell, 2.00pm - 4.30pm, Friday 24 February, 2012, ICT Theatre 1, Ground Floor, ICT
Building, 111 Barry Street, Carlton. RSVP: To reserve your place at this free event please email: isaac-
25
workshop@unimelb.edu.au by 19 February, 2012. Please include Isaac Symposium in the subject
line.
___________________________________________________________________________
UK: Transnational Industrial Relations and the Search for Alternatives, Greenwich
University, 31 May 2012 to 1 June 2012. For abstract submission or more information,
contact Lefteris Kretsos (l.kretsos@greenwich.ac.uk).
___________________________________________________________________________
Ireland: IFSAM 2012 Conference, Limerick, Ireland, 26-29 June 2012. Website:
http://www.ifsam.org/
__________________________________________________________________________________
UK: BUIRA 2012 Conference University of Bradford, 28 - 30 June 2012. Members submit
your abstact here.
___________________________________________________________________________
USA: 16th World Congress of ILERA, 16th World Congress of ILERA, 2-5 July 2012,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Website: http://www.ilera2012.com/
26