International Employment Relations Network List
(IERN-L)
A Miscellany of International Employment Relations News
Miscellany 23, August 2012
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Contents
Main Stories
Australia: Wanted: 800,000 workers in five years
Australia: ACTU is up in arms against Fair Work review proposals
China: Worker protests on the rise in July
ILO: On course for decent shipping
Korea: Umbrella union claims Japanese firm violated OECD guidelines
Singapore: Prima affirms support for progressive wages
South Africa: COSATU Statement on SATAWU President`s Resignation
South Africa: COSATU condemns violence at Lonmin and breakaway
‘union’NATAWU
South Africa: Wives rage at brutality of Zuma’s police after ‘massacre’ of miners
UK: Tesco faces fines over migrant visa breaches
1
UK: Number of strike days hits 20-year high
In Brief
Australia: Business push to remove weekend penalty rates would cut take-home
pay of working Australians
Australia: TWU supports bid to oust FAAA chiefs
Italy: FIAT: respinto ricorso. FIOM CGIL, ora riassumere i 145 operai Pomigliano
Korea: Unionists at Kumho Tire stage strike for higher wages
Philippines: Improving Working Conditions in Philippines EPZs
Singapore: Pay more for Indonesian maids from November
UK: Historic Trades Union Congress Library collection secured
USA: Houston janitors’ victory shows importance of collective bargaining
Opinion Pieces
Australia: Not too early to fix holes in Fair Work Act
Research
Publications
Calls for Papers, Conferences, Seminars, Symposia
Labour History
Other Sites
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Main Stories
AUSTRALIA
Australia: Wanted: 800,000 workers in five years
ER/Australia/Labour Market
The Australian, 13 August 2012 at
2
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/wanted-800000-workers-in-five-years/storyfn59niix-1226448737525
The Gillard government has been warned of a coming structural shift in the jobs market as
demand grows for professional skills, offsetting the expected loss of another 85,000
manufacturing positions.
The government analysis, obtained by The Australian, is being taken to business executives
to shape new policies aimed at increasing the labour supply in key service industries that
show the strongest growth.
In a danger sign for workers with no training, the number of low-skill jobs is tipped to rise by
barely 10,000 a year over the forecast period, making up just 7 per cent of all new jobs
created.
A regional shift is forecast as Queensland outstrips other parts of the country in job-creation,
adding 220,000 positions compared with about 190,000 in NSW, 180,000 in Victoria,
150,000 in Western Australia and 50,000 in South Australia.
Federal Employment Minister Bill Shorten received the analysis from his department last
week, and is using it to start policy talks with executives in service industries, where demand
for workers is greatest.
Mr Shorten is citing the figures to take aim at critics of the Fair Work Act, warning that
employers will have to do more to attract the best staff.
"If the demand for skilled workers increases, the person with the skills is going to be able to
choose the job they want," Mr Shorten told The Australian. "It makes the IR debate look very
old-fashioned."
The forecasts lend weight to calls for education reforms to improve skills and boost
productivity, as the Gillard government considers its response to the Gonski review of school
funding, which suggests an extra $5 billion in public spending.
Countering assumptions about the source of new jobs, the findings show the service
industries will need more workers than any other part of the economy, even as the resources
sector continues to grow.
While mine companies will need about 100,000 new workers over the next five years,
healthcare and social assistance employers will need 240,000 staff and professional services
companies will require 110,000.
3
Education, tourism, retail and financial services will all create new jobs as the manufacturing
sector shrinks.
"Employment growth for most states will be dominated by healthcare and social assistance,
construction and professional, scientific and technical services industries," the report says. "In
Western Australia, not surprisingly, mining is projected to provide the most new jobs."
The forecasts come with danger signs, as 19 of the 20 strongest job categories require
qualifications higher than secondary school.
"The structural change in the Australian labour market and the significant shift towards
higher skills occupations will limit the opportunities available to job-seekers without
appropriate levels of qualification, work experience and employability skills," the analysis
says.
Labor is hoping to turn the workforce debate to its advantage as it considers the first tranche
of changes to the Fair Work Act in response to the review handed down earlier this month.
While business groups attacked the review for failing to address employer concerns about
lost flexibility under the industrial relations regime, the government is planning to focus
initially on technical amendments rather than the wider complaints.
One option is to introduce the first tranche of amendments in the spring session of parliament.
Mr Shorten commissioned the employment report from his department to start work on
policies that would capitalise on the economic shift towards the services sector.
Factors behind the jobs trend include the ageing of the population, which is increasing the
number of older people spending on services such as social assistance and healthcare.
The report attributes the shift to a change in consumer behaviour as a result of the global
financial crisis, with household spending on consumer goods now offset by outlays on
services.
"We're outsourcing the kitchen, we're outsourcing health services - so services are the
brightest part of the future," Mr Shorten said.
The labour force would need to expand by making greater use of the existing population as
well as relying on immigration, he said.
4
"We can cope with the demands, but we're going to have to rethink attitudes to hiring older
people, we're going to need to encourage more women to work, we're going to need more
people with disabilities in the workforce."
Mr Shorten said employers would have to overcome attitudes that discouraged some people
from hiring workers from ethnic minorities.
"We're going to have to get more of our cab drivers into the office," he said. "Migration is
part of the solution, but it's also about the under-utilisation of the migrants who are already
here."
Labor has made technical education a major theme of its past two budgets, but has funded
some of its initiatives by cutting outlays in other parts of the education portfolio, raising
doubts about the net increase in funding for the sector.
Mr Shorten took aim at the Victorian government for slashing its TAFE budget.
"Cutting TAFE training is to productivity what burning books is to literacy," he said.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Australia: ACTU is up in arms against Fair Work review proposals
IR/Australia/Fair Work Act/ strike ballot/greenfield arbitration/flexibility agreements/
The Australian, 13 August 2012 at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/actu-isup-in-arms-against-fair-work-review-proposals/story-fn59niix-1226448747618
ACTU assistant secretary Tim Lyons has nominated four recommendations of the panel that
unions will oppose in discussions with the Gillard government in coming weeks.
He said unions did not favour a panel recommendation that the Fair Work Act be changed to
require that strike ballots only be issued after bargaining had started.
The panel acted in response to the long-running JJ Richards case, dubbed the "strike first, talk
later" ruling after employers claimed the Transport Workers Union was able to apply to go on
strike before bargaining had commenced.
But Mr Lyons said the strike action has occurred because the employer had refused to begin
talks and changing the law would give employers a "strong incentive not to bargain".
5
Unions are also opposed to the panel push for arbitration of greenfield agreements, saying it
was ironic that the proposal would benefit resource employers that had been strongly opposed
to arbitration.
Mr Lyons said the proposal would result in big companies only, such as Qantas and Chevron,
being able to access arbitration, not workers.
Unions supported a number of recommendations by the panel, including the move to stop
workers being able to opt out of enterprise deals.
However, the ACTU will oppose the mandatory inclusion of a model clause providing for
individual flexibility arrangements in agreements.
Mr Lyons said employers had proposed changes to the flexibility arrangements, including
binding four-year terms, the right to offer them as a condition of employment, broad subject
matter, and the ability for them to displace an award or collective agreements.
He said the employer pitch represented a return to John Howard's Australian workplace
agreements.
The Australian Industry Group has also opposed a number of panel recommendations,
including giving Fair Work Australia the power to arbitrate, at the request of unions or
employers, over greenfield agreements.
It says employers incurred the cost risks on a project and it would be a retrograde step to
allow the tribunal to set labour costs on application by unions.
Meanwhile, a dispute that threatened to lead to stand-downs in the car industry appeared
close to settlement last night after conciliation talks before Fair Work Australia. DAIR
Industries made an offer to workers that their union said was reasonable.
__________________________________________________________________________
China: Worker protests on the rise in July
IR/China/Strikes and protests
China Labour Bulletin, 7 August 2012 at http://www.clb.org.hk/en/node/110106
The number of collective worker protests recorded by China Labour Bulletin in July
increased by more than 40 per cent over the previous month. Against the backdrop of a
6
slowly rebounding but still uncertain Chinese economy, workers in different sectors
demanded pay increases, the payment of wage arrears, as well as compensation for factory
relocations and closures.
Of the 37 strikes and protests added to CLB’s strike map in July, just about half (18 in total)
occurred in the manufacturing sector and seven (all wage arrears cases) were in the
construction sector.
Although 15 provinces and municipalities have increased their minimum wage this year, and
consumer price inflation is gradually falling, workers’ demands for higher wages continue to
be voiced through collective action. Workers in seven factories in Guangdong, Hubei, Hebei
and Liaoning demanded pay increases, including around 1,000 workers at a Hong Kongowned electronics factory in Foshan who successfully won a 200 yuan monthly bonus after
staging a half-day strike. Workers pointed out that the monthly minimum wage in Foshan
was only 1,100 yuan, compared with 1,500 yuan in nearby Shenzhen. Also, Hundreds of
workers at Japanese-owned Hirose Electric blocked the factory gate while others staged a
street demonstration in mid-July demanding a promised increase in their basic salary from
1,160 yuan to 1,300 yuan per month.
Wage arrears cases continued to be prominent in July despite some improvements in the
property market and construction industry. Construction companies reportedly postponed or
withdrew from projects due to a lack of financing or disputes with developers on project
progress and material costs. Out of the seven wage arrears cases in the construction industry
noted last month, five were related to state-owned construction companies. In particular,
China Railways 15th Bureau Group was cited in two protests by workers at a train station
construction project in Henan and a property development in Shaanxi.
The Chinese government made the malicious non-payment of wages a criminal offence last
year but wage arrears remain rampant with only a small number of high-profile run-away
bosses actually being charged so far. Indeed, there were three cases last month of small
factory bosses in Guangdong and Shandong leaving town without paying workers’ salaries
for several months.
As manufacturers continue to relocate part or all of their operations to inland provinces,
conflicts with workers who prefer to remain in the coastal regions have gradually escalated.
For example, about 100 young women workers at a Shenzhen subsidiary of American
7
conglomerate Amphenol producing flash memory card sockets and adapters, demanded
compensation after the company began to relocate production.
In other sectors too there were sporadic protests in transportation, logistics and catering,
mainly related to wage arrears and retirement payments. Nearly 38 per cent of the worker
protests last month led to negotiations with management, mostly after mediation or
intervention by local government officials.
___________________________________________________________________________
ILO: On course for decent shipping
IR/Seafarers/Labour Standards
ILO, 20 August 2012 at http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/press-and-mediacentre/insight/WCMS_187659/lang--en/index.htm
Four years ago, when the ILO photographer visited the Port of Genoa in Italy, he also met a
young seafarer, Ms Wang Chung-Hai. The young cadet broke many stereotypes.
Not only because she was one of the world’s 1-2 per cent female seafarers hoping to become
one of the even rarer women officers or captains one day. Or because Chung-Hai’s pay is
about five times the ILO minimum wage for seafarers.
She proudly showed the photographer her tidy and spacious cabin which she is allowed to
share with her partner when she goes on shorter voyages in the Asian region. When her ship,
the “Y M Orchid”, a 275 metre long recently built cargo ship operating under the flag of
Panama, was inspected by the Italian port state control officer, it was found to be in perfect
condition.
Not all seafarers are so lucky, as not all ships are so well-kept. Many seafarers face a more
difficult, dangerous and dirty reality, working on unsafe ships that are not fit to sail.
In the same port of Genoa, the ILO photographer saw a ship that had been abandoned with its
crew by the owner. Their salaries had not been paid for months and they did not know how to
pay their trip back home. Although this was an extreme case, the ILO Database on
Abandonment of Seafarers reports more than 100 similar cases since it was established in
2004.
The ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) states that shipowners must
continue to pay seafarers’ wages until they are repatriated.
8
A seafarers’ bill of rights
The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), goes far beyond addressing the issue
of wages at sea. It sets out seafarers’ rights to decent conditions of work on a wide range of
subjects, including basic employment rights, improved enforcement of minimum working
and living conditions and the right to make complaints both on board and ashore.
As the Convention applies to all ships, including those of non-ratifying Member States, it will
be globally applicable and can be uniformly enforced.
The MLC, 2006, will come into force 12 months after ratification by 30 ILO member States,
representing a total share of at least 33 percent of the world’s gross tonnage (gt) of ships.
With the ratification of the Philippines and Russia, both conditions have now been met and
even exceeded.
Often described as a “Bill of Rights” for seafarers, the Convention also helps to achieve a
“level-playing field” for quality shipowners, ensuring fair competition while marginalizing
sub-standard ship operations.
The Convention promotes a strong enforcement regime to ensure that labour standards are
enforced as effectively as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions on ship
safety, security and environmental protection (SOLAS/MARPOL) by both flag and port
States.
More power for regulation
Under the MLC, 2006, States must inspect all ships flying their flag and also issue those ships
with a maritime labour certificate and a declaration of maritime labour compliance if ships
are 500 gt or over and go on international voyages.
If a ship that has undergone a flag state inspection does not meet the requirements, the
inspector reserves the right not to issue the certificate, can refuse to endorse it or, in
especially serious cases, may even withdraw it.
The reasons for which a ship may be detained will also change once the MLC, 2006 comes
into force.
Nowadays detention is limited to safety-related matters. The MLC, 2006 however goes
beyond this and also covers the social welfare of seafarers. That means an inspector will be
able to detain a vessel or prevent it from going to sea if the social or labour rights of the crew
9
are being violated, for example, if wages are not being paid or employment records are not in
order.
“We can still see seafarers sailing on sub-standard ships, with working and living conditions
which are substantially below minimum international standards. I am confident that the ILO’s
Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 can address these challenges and set a safe and decent
course to the future”, concludes Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director of the ILO’s
International Labour Standards Department.
________________________________________________________________________
Korea: Umbrella union claims Japanese firm violated OECD guidelines
IR/Korea/Japanese MNCs/ Anti-Unionism
KILF, 17 August 2012 at
http://www.koilaf.org/KFeng/engLabornews/bbs_read_dis.php?board_no=7721
South Korea's largest umbrella labor union on Thursday claimed that a Japanese
multinational firm has threatened its local workers with dire consequences for their union
activities in violation of international guidelines on labor rights.
An executive director of Adeka Corporation, a chemical company headquartered in Tokyo,
threatened several local employees that they could face personal disadvantages and even
relocation of the company's factories out of Korea should they take any collective action,
according to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).
Adeka, an affiliate of the Furukawa Group, currently runs two factories and one research lab
in South Korea.
The executive director, whose identity was withheld, also allegedly said that he will never
listen to the union's demands for local workers and will do anything to incur damages to the
unionists.
His remarks are a breach of the guidelines of the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) for multinational companies, the KCTU claimed.
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises clearly stipulates that the management
cannot blackmail the union by saying that it will relocate or reorganize the company, in an
10
aim to interfere with the union," the umbrella union said during a news conference held in
front of the Japanese Embassy in central Seoul.
After the press conference, the KCTU submitted a letter of complaint to the Japanese
Embassy, demanding that Adeka's business be regulated.
Also, the KCTU said it plans to refer the case to a Seoul branch of the OECD and the South
Korean labor ministry for wrongful labor activities.
The executive director flatly denied wrongdoing in a phone interview with Yonhap News
Agency, saying that the KCTU's claims are fabricated.
________________________________________________________________
Singapore: Prima affirms support for progressive wages
IR/ER/Singapore/NTUC/Wages/ Minimum Wage/’Progressive Wage’
NTUC, 15 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/fcae2b004c59f947a4a8e5074f8
91cc1
Prima Limited has affirmed its support for progressive wages, a model the Labour Movement
advocates in its bid to help level up the wages of low-wage workers.
With a tight labour market at work, Minister of State for the Ministry of Finance and Ministry
of Transport Josephine Teo noted and commended the company’s move in looking into
further salary benchmarking as well as creating career and salary milestones.
She said: “The Government recognises that to put all the burden on businesses will make it
very difficult for them, and in the end could actually end up hurting our own Singaporeans.
“That is why, we have not through legislation insisted on a minimum wage, but instead the
Labour Movement has put forward a better idea, which is the progressive wage… an
approach of letting people with skills upgrading and productivity improvement earn wage
increases.”
She was speaking at the National Day Observance Ceremony held at Prima’s premises on 14
August 2012, jointly organised by the company and Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union
(FDAWU).
11
She pointed out that the challenge of productivity “has come at a time when there is also a
need to find a way to tackle the growing income gap”.
In response, Prima Limited Chief Executive Officer and Founder Primus Cheng
acknowledged that many low-wage workers have not benefitted proportionately from the
wealth creation in Singapore.
He added: “I believe the real sustainable solution to income disparity is escalated productivity
growth. On Prima’s part, management has already over the past two years set clear and
comprehensive directions for greater productivity. These include process improvement, work
efficiency and job enlargement.
“This is to maintain a healthy organisation, inculcating in our staff the desire to better one
self and subsequently providing the right training. I am happy to say that our staff have taken
this to heart and are continuously making the effort... this will make Prima more future-ready.
Being future-ready is the new ace card to ensure that we survive and grow.”
___________________________________________________________________________
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa: COSATU Statement on SATAWU President`s Resignation
IR/South Africa/ Splinter Union/SATAWU
COSATU, 15 August 2012 at http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=6410
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) notes with shock and disgust the
SATAWU President Emphraim Mphahlele’s resignation.
COSATU is surprised that Comrade Mphahlele cites reasons relating to corruption for his
resignation as a National Office Bearer and as a member of SATAWU.
The federation has held several meetings with the SATAWU National Office Bearers in an
attempt to iron out differences amongst the leadership. One such a meeting occurred on the
6th June 2012. This meeting has absolutely no record of Comrade Mphahlele raising the
issues contained in his resignation letter and in the briefing he gave to the media.
The only corruption matter which was earlier tabled with the General Secretary of COSATU
is concerning the corruption allegations against PRASA management. The federation has
since forwarded the union’s complaint and files regarding this to Corruption Watch.
12
COSATU subscribes to the principle of “one industry, one union” and believes that workers’
unity is sacrosanct. Because of this principle, COSATU does not and will not support any
attempt to divide the loyalties of the workers by forming splinter unions.
SATAWU organises in one of the most vulnerable sectors where the rights of workers such
as cleaners and security guards are daily trampled upon by the bosses.
We therefore appeal to Comrade Mphahlele to reconsider his decision, in the interest of
strengthening the might of the workers as a united force.
COSATU is by no means suggesting that the allegations that Comrade Mphahlele is making
should be swept under the carpet but rather that SATAWU as a union governed by worker
control and internal democracy is the best platform through which to address these issues.
Issued by:
Phindile Kunene (Shopsteward Magazine Editor)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
South Africa: COSATU condemns violence at Lonmin and breakaway
‘union’ NATAWU
IR/South Africa/Splinter Union/Strike/Violence
COSATU, 16 August 2012 at http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=6421
A special meeting of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Congress of South
African Trade Unions was today given a briefing by its affiliates NUM and SATAWU on
serious developments within the trade union movement.
COSATU is appalled at the latest violence at the Lonmin Mine and surrounding areas, which
today claimed a further 18 lives at the Wonderkop squatter camp.
According to a SAPA report, police tried to disperse striking workers gathered on top of a
hill, wielding pangas and chanting war songs. It ended in a three-minute shootout between the
two groups, after police fired teargas and then used a water cannon to disperse the strikers,
who retaliated by firing live ammunition at the police. A reporter at the scene said he counted
18 bodies
The federation extends its condolences to the families and friends of all those who have lost
their lives in this latest violence and reiterates its call for workers to observe maximum
13
discipline and unity in the face of a ruthless attempt to divide and weaken them. The CEC
pledged its full support the National Union of Mineworkers’ efforts to resolve this situation.
The CEC also strongly condemned the breakaway ‘union’, NATAWU, led by the former
President of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) Ephraim
Mphahlele.
In particular the CEC condemned its use of violence and intimidation, and the illegal use of
the COSATU logo, to give the entirely false impression that they are linked in some way with
the federation. We will seek an urgent interdict to stop this use of COSATU’s logo.
COSATU confirms that SATAWU is its only affiliate in the transport, security and service
sectors. The federation has no connection at all with NATAWU and urges all workers in the
workplaces organised by SATAWU to remain loyal to their union.
The CEC agreed to convene an urgent meeting of the unions’ leaderships to discuss what is
emerging as a co-ordinated political strategy to use intimidation and violence, manipulated by
disgruntled former union leaders, in a concerted drive to create breakaway ‘unions’ and
divide and weaken the trade union movement.
COSATU calls upon all workers to remain vigilant but calm in the face of the most serious
challenge to workers’ unite and strength for many years.
Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)
___________________________________________________________________________
South Africa: Wives rage at brutality of Zuma’s police after ‘massacre’ of
miners
IR/South Africa/Splinter Union/Strike /Violence
The Guardian Weekly, 24 August 2012 at http://edition.pagesuiteprofessional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=j09QA2g17n0E&PBID=9cc33fb9de8c-4e90-b6ba-545475feb862&skip=
Nosisieko Jali’s husband was missing.She had heard a rumour that a bullet hit him in the
head, yet he survived. One witness said all his clothes were torn. “I don’t know where he is,”
saidJali. “The hospital wouldn’t let me come inside. I am hurting.”
14
Jali was among scores of wives at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana waiting last week
to discover if their husband is in a jail, hospital or mortuary after one of the bloodiest days in
South Africa since apartheid.
Thirty-four people were killed and 78 injured last Thursday when police with automatic
rifles, pistols and shotguns opened fire on the strikers, many of whom were armed with
spears, machetes and clubs as they demonstrated for higher wages. The shocking images
provoked comparisons with massacres by the apartheid regime.
Last Friday, next to the killing field, wives took the place of their dead and wounded
husbands to stage an angry demonstration against police brutality ,mine exploitation and a
lack of official information that has left them in the dark. Waving sticks, whistling and
ululating, the women performed the apartheid-era toyi-toyi dance. They sang songs, warning:
“When you strike a woman, you strike a rock” and invoking the memory of heroes of the
anti-apartheid struggle such as Oliver Tambo. They joined hands in a circle to sing Nkosi
Sikelel’ iAfrika, the national anthem and originally a hymn. They kneeled before police
armed with shotguns and sang “What have we done?” in the Xhosa language.
The group of about 100 women brandished homemade cardboard placards with handwritten
slogans condemning the police. One, referring to the new national police commissioner, Riah
Phiyega, read: “You celebrating your position by blood of our families.”
The women deny that the workers had opened fi re first and said a turf war between rival
unions was a sideshow to the dispute over pay. The unions are scrapping for members. The
National Union of Mineworkers, a supporter of the ANC, had signed a pay deal with Lonmin.
But the militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) pushed for
wages to be trebled. This comes amid a wider debate on whether the governing African
National Congress (ANC) should curb mine owners’ power.
The youth league of the ANC argues that nationalisation of mines and farms is the only way
to redress the injustices of the past. For its part, Lonmin announced that it would provide
support to all the families that have suffered loss . The South African Institute of Race
Relations called for the suspension of all police officers involved in the shootings. It said:
“There is clear evidence that policemen randomly shot into the crowd with rifles and
handguns … This is reminiscent of the Sharpeville massacre in 1960.”
15
The police insist they acted in self-defence. At least 10 other people were killed during the
strike at the mine, 130km north-west of Johannesburg, including two police officers and two
mine security guards. President Jacob Zuma has said that a commission would be held.
___________________________________________________________________________
UK: Tesco faces fines over migrant visa breaches
ER/UK/Labour Market/Migrant Student Labour/Work Visas
CIPD, 21 August 2012 at http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2012/08/tescofaces-fines-over-migrant-visabreaches.htm?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cipd&utm_campaign=pmdaily_210812&ut
m_content=news_1
Tesco, one of the country’s big four supermarket chains, faces fines of up to £200,000 after
UK Border Agency officers found its staff were breaching the terms of their work visas.
An investigation by the UKBA found that foreign students were working longer hours than
their visas allowed at the firm’s Croydon warehouse, which supplies groceries for online
customers.
Agency officers arrested 20 employees of mostly Indian and Bangladeshi nationality and it
has been reported that seven of them have been deported.
This group of foreign students had the right to work in the UK but only for 20 hours a week.
However, officers found the students had been working between 50 and 70 hours, supposedly
in tandem with studying an educational course.
Tesco has been issued with a ‘notice of potential liability’ by the agency and fines could be as
much as £10,000 per worker.
In a statement Tesco said: “In co-operation with Tesco, the UK Border Agency visited our
dot com store in Croydon in July.
“As a result of this visit, a small number of staff were found to have breached the terms of
their working visas. We continue to co-operate fully with the UK Border Agency as they look
into this issue.
“We take our responsibilities as an employer very seriously and do not condone illegal
working of any kind.”
16
The employer said it has “a comprehensive system” for ensuring all the correct procedures
are followed in this area which is externally audited.
The statement also said Tesco has taken “additional steps” to prevent a further incident of this
kind.
A spokesman for UKBA said: “We received information that some staff members were
working in the UK illegally at Tesco.com on Factory Lane, Croydon.
“In response officers carried out an operation in full cooperation with the company shortly
after 3am on Saturday 21 July 2012. Twenty individuals have been arrested and now face
removal from the UK.”
“The operation was part of an ongoing campaign to tackle visa abuse which has seen over
2,000 offenders removed since the beginning of May.
"The employer now needs to provide evidence that it was carrying out the legally required
checks to avoid a fine.”
___________________________________________________________________________
UK: Number of strike days hits 20-year high
IR/UK/Strike Record
CIPD, 16 August 2012 at http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2012/08/numberof-strike-days-hits-20-yearhigh.htm?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cipd&utm_campaign=pmdaily_160812&utm_c
ontent=news_3
A total of 1.39 million working days were lost to strike action and other industrial disputes
last year, the most for 20 years, a report from the Office for National Statistics has shown.
The figure was made up of 149 separate labour disputes, up from 92 in 2010 and 98 in 2009.
The overall number of days lost was the most since 1990, when 1.9 million were lost to
industrial action in the midst of a previous recession.
Public sector walkouts were responsible for 92 per cent of lost working days, with the
national dispute over pensions in November the largest individual example accounting for the
lion’s share of the disruption. In all, 1.5 million workers were involved in action, 12 times
more than in 2010.
17
However, the private sector was not untouched, with 41 per cent of individual disputes being
in private firms, or a total of 110,000 days, the highest since 2004. Just over half of the
stoppages lasted only one day.
Pay was by far the biggest cause of unrest, with 95 per cent of disputes involving a pay
element.
Long-term statistics in the report showed that days lost to action had reduced every year from
2007 to 2010 and had been generally in decline since a previous spike of 1.3 million in 2002.
The finding for last year therefore represents a reversal.
___________________________________________________________________________
In Brief
Australia: Business push to remove weekend penalty rates would cut takehome pay of working Australians
IR/Australia/Penalty Rates
ACTU, 14 August 2012 at
http://www.actu.org.au/Media/Mediareleases/Businesspushtoremoveweekendpenaltyrateswo
uldcuttakehomepayofworkingAustralians.aspx
Moves by employers to strip workers of penalty rates on weekends would cut take-home pay
and will be strongly resisted by unions. ACTU President Ged Kearney said hundreds of
thousands of workers in the retail and hospitality sectors depend on weekend penalty rates as
a bedrock of their take-home pay and a campaign by employers to remove them would result
in a less fair Australia.
___________________________________________________________________________
Australia: TWU supports bid to oust FAAA chiefs
IR/Australia/Inter-union politics
The Australian, 22 August 2012 at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/twusupports-bid-to-oust-faaa-chiefs/story-e6frg6nf-1226455279350
THE Transport Workers Union is supporting a bid to oust the leaders of the Flight Attendants
Association international division after they refused demands to join the militant industrial
campaign against Qantas.
18
___________________________________________________________________________
Italy: FIAT: respinto ricorso. FIOM CGIL, ora riassumere i 145 operai
Pomigliano
IR/Italy/Fiat/Hiering/Union affiliation
GGIL, 13 August 2012 at http://www.cgil.it/dettagliodocumento.aspx?ID=19651
La Corte d'appello di Roma ha dichiarato inammissibile il ricorso della FIAT che chiedeva la
sospensione della sentenza che decideva la riassunzione di 145 operai FIOM nel sito di
Pomigliano. Lo rende noto il segretario nazionale della FIOM CGIL, Giorgio Airaudo.
“E' normale che questo avvenisse - commenta il dirigente sindacale - perchè una
discriminazione si sana non si sospende. Ci aspettiamo che la FIAT proceda all'assunzione
dei lavoratori iscritti alla CGIL. Se così non sarà ricorreremo ai giudici dell'esecuzione”.
___________________________________________________________________________
Korea: Unionists at Kumho Tire stage strike for higher wages
IR/Korea/Wages/Strike
KILF, 16 August 2008 at
http://www.koilaf.org/KFeng/engLabornews/bbs_read_dis.php?board_no=7716
Unionized workers at Kumho Tire Co., South Korea's second-biggest tire maker, began a
general strike on Thursday, demanding a wage hike, the company's union said.
___________________________________________________________________________
Philippines: Improving Working Conditions in Philippines EPZs
ER/Philippines/ EPZs/Working Conditions
ITUC, 21 August 2012 at http://www.ituc-csi.org/improving-working-conditions-in.html
On Friday 17th August, IndustriALL and ITUC affiliates met with sportswear brands and
suppliers in Cebu, the Philippines, to discuss the barriers to workers’ rights in the Mactan
Processing Zone, and to explore possibilities for working together to improve working
conditions in the Zone.
___________________________________________________________________________
19
Singapore: Pay more for Indonesian maids from November
ER/Singapore/Domestic Migrant Workers
Straits Times, 13 August 2012 at http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/singapore/story/paymore-indonesian-maids-november
Pay more for Indonesian maids from November HIRING an Indonesian maid will be more
expensive by year's end. Employers hiring such maids from November will have to sign a
contract with a clause stipulating that the maid must be paid at least $450. Another clause
will state that if she works on all her four weekly rest days each month, she has to be paid
another $70, or $17.50 for each day off she works.
___________________________________________________________________________
UK: Historic Trades Union Congress Library collection secured
IR/UK/Labour History/Archives
Working Lives Research Institute, accessed 22 August 2012 at
http://www.workinglives.org/news/archive/2012/historic-trades-union-congress-library-collectionsecured.cfm .Visit the TUC library online: http://www.unionhistory.info/
Working Lives affiliate, the Trades Union Congress Library Collections (TUC), housed at London
Metropolitan University, has been safeguarded after successfully securing further funding. The
Collections’ future was under threat due to a shortfall in funding, but successful talks over a proposed
a joint-funding initiative with the Trades Union Congress was agreed in June.
__________________________________________________________________________________
USA: Houston janitors’ victory shows importance of collective bargaining
IR/USA/ Collective Bargaining/ Janitors
UNI, accessed 22 August 2012 at http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf/pages/homepageEn
An editorial in the Houston Chronicle says the success of the Houston janitors’ strike has valuable
lessons on how low wage workers can win decent pay and the central role of unionisation
________________________________________________________________
Opinion Pieces
Australia: Not too early to fix holes in Fair Work Act
IR/Australia/Labour Law/Fair Work Act
20
Judith Sloan, The Australian, 21 August 2012 at
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/not-too-early-to-fix-holes-in-fair-workact/story-fnbkvnk7-1226454443426
ONE of my favourite quotes of all time comes from the first premier of the People's Republic
of China, Zhou Enlai. When asked in the early 1970s about the historical impact of the
French Revolution, he replied that it was too early to tell.
I was reminded of this quote last week by remarks made by one of the panel members of the
Fair Work Act review, Ron McCallum.
"We were doing a post-implementation review. I think this act should be under scrutiny for a
longer time." Now, while this may be a completely defensible position, this thinking
apparently did not inform McCallum's reaction to Work Choices.
Speaking in May 2006 - two months after Work Choices had come into effect - McCallum
had no qualms about drawing definitive conclusions about the new legislation.
"The Work Choices legislation places all the levers in the hands of employers and diminishes
the rights of working people and is one of the most anti-trade union pieces of legislation I
have read in the Anglo-Saxon world in the last 100 years," McCallum said. He went on to
criticise in the strongest possible way the fact Work Choices was enacted under the
corporations power of the Constitution. McCallum argued that "corporations have enormous
power in this country and what we have done in this law is give them extraordinary unilateral
power over our workforce in the hope that it will make our workforce docile and bring in a
neo-liberal hegemony into this country. Isn't there something wrong about using a
corporation's power to govern workers on the one hand and on the other hand not using the
labour power in the Constitution which was designed to help workers?"
All well and good; we are all entitled to our opinions. But when it came to reviewing the Fair
Work Act, which is also enacted under the corporations power, not a squeak from the panel,
including McCallum. Just a bland statement that: "The Fair Work Act continued to rely on
commonwealth constitutional powers, including the corporations power, to extend the
operation of the laws as far as possible."
Now, it is always possible that McCallum's strident objection to the use of the corporations
power was overruled by the other two members of the panel. But it does seem rather strange
21
that enacting federal industrial relations laws under the corporations power was seen in 2006
as the equivalent of the sky falling in, but by this year it was neither here nor there.
Now, making predictions is always a tricky game, made worse by stickybeaks keen to
compare predictions with what actually happened. But in 2006 McCallum - who is not an
economist - was absolutely sure about the impact of Work Choices.
He mourned that: "I fear for this country; I fear for the fact that workers are going to be in a
perilous position. We are going to see, I think within a very short time, 30 per cent of
working women in part-time employment becoming part of the working poor."
The good news, Ron, is none of your dire predictions came true. In fact, playing the same
macro-game that your review does, it is easy to demonstrate that Work Choices was actually
associated with much better outcomes than your beloved Fair Work Act.
Employment growth was exceptionally strong, particularly full-time employment; real wages
grew; unemployment was lower than it is now; and the incidence of industrial stoppages was
significantly lower under Work Choices than under the Fair Work Act.
I particularly like McCallum's predictions about the operation of the Australian Fair Pay
Commission, of which I was a member.
According to the good professor: "This body is full of what I would call neo-classical and
neo-liberal economists who argue that in looking at minimum wages we must take account of
the needs of the unemployed, even if that means dropping minimum wages.
"There will not be an open, transparent process, I believe, as there is when the Industrial
Relations Commission determines the minimum wage. Instead it's likely to be done merely
'on the papers' and it is likely over time to see the minimum wage drop."
So here are the facts: the five-person panel of the Australian Fair Pay Commission was made
up of two economists, one businessman, one trade unionist and a leader from the community
welfare sector. The reference to the unemployed was in the legislation and a good thing too.
Setting minimum wages too high not only reduces the chances the unemployed will secure
jobs; it also increases the likelihood that workers will lose their jobs or have their hours
reduced.
Apart from the one decision in the midst of the global financial crisis in which minimum
wages were frozen - a decision that the vast majority of economists would endorse - the
22
adjustment of minimum wages continued along similar lines to those established under the
previous legislation.
But rather than continue the faux adversarial processes and court-like hearings of the
Industrial Relations Commission, the Fair Pay Commission opted for open and transparent
procedures, which included the chairman explaining each decision to interested parties and
the press.
If there is one piece of evidence that points to the value of flexible labour market regulations,
it is the form of labour market adjustment that occurred in Australia when the full force of the
GFC hit in 2008-09. The brunt of the adjustment was borne by reductions in working hours
rather than reductions in the number of employed people. This is in contrast with the
recession of the early 1990s, when the falls in working hours and employed people tracked
each other.
But here's the kicker - this efficient and equitable form of adjustment to the GFC occurred
under Work Choices, which was still operational at the time, including the individual
agreements made under that legislation that were allowed to run on.
So, Ron, I am surprised that you are surprised by the hostility that greeted the release of the
Fair Work Act review.
Saying it is too early to tell and coming up with 53 technical and mainly pointless
recommendations was always likely to lead to accusations that the panel had missed an
important opportunity to rectify the many obvious and economically damaging faults in the
legislation.
Judith Sloan, is a Contributing Economics Editor of The Australian
___________________________________________________________________________
Publications 2011-2012
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
23
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
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
24
number of policy considerations in light of the new challenges facing policy makers in the
coming year.
___________________________________________________________________________
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
25
___________________________________________________________________________
ETUI ‘Social dumping: political catchphrase or threat to labour standards?’ By Magdalena
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)
26
Mapping anti-discrimination law onto inequality at work: Expanding the meaning of equality
in international labour law, by C. SHEPPARD
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
27
_________________________________________________________________________
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
________________________________________________________________
28
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
________________________________________________________________
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.
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;
29
- 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
__________________________________________________________________________
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.
___________________________________________________________________________
Venezuela: World Teachers Congress of FISE. The World Federation of Trade Unions, the
World Federation of Teachers Unions (FISE) and Sindicato Nacional Fuerza Unitaria
30
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
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;
31
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.
__________________________________________________________________________
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.
32
__________________________________________________________________________
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.
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
33