The World of Labor - December 29, 2007

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	THE WORLD OF LABOR — December 29, 2007 By Harry Kelber Contents (Click on the title to read the report.) British Union Settles 25,000 Equal Pay Claims for Women Workers Qantas Airways Plans to Hire Scabs to Replace Striking Engineers Mine Company Challenges Chile’s Subcontracting Hiring Laws Bahrein Oil Workers Threaten Action for Pay Increase Pakistani Labor Mourns Death of Benazir Bhutto Polish Miners Will Spend Christmas Underground in Protest # # # British Union Settles 25,000 Equal Pay Claims for Women Workers A major British union, GMB, has settled its 25,000th equal pay claim against employers in local government and the National Health Service (NHS), worth an estimated Ł250 million (U.S. $499 million) for women workers, the union announced. The GMB said the cases covered women cleaners, clerical employees, catering employees and school support staff were found to be earning less than men. The union has also negotiated tens of thousands of other claims in the past few years as part of its drive. Brian Strutton, a GMB officer, said: “Our low-paid women members are often unwilling to make a claim for equal pay, which is a shame because it is their legal right. We hope that by showing the scale and size of our work in this area that we can encourage more women to let GMB fight for their right to equal pay.” Strutton said that a GMB study of pay rates in 240 occupations showed there was still much more to be done to close the gender pay gap. The study showed that male financial managers earned almost Ł50,000 (US $99.000) a year more than women in the profession while the gap was more than Ł20,000 in other management positions. Some women actually earned more than men in the public relations sector, while in 23 professions there was pay equality, according to the study. Back to top Qantas Airways Plans to Hire Scabs to Replace Striking Engineers Facing charges of illegally fixing air freight rates and a series of costly class action suits, Qantas, Australia’s national airline, is planning to hire a workforce of strikebreakers to replace its licensed engineers, who are threatening a work stoppage, starting Jan. 9. “Qantas has commissioned an external Australian company to provide qualified engineers to support our operations,” the airline said in a memo to its staff Dec. 27. It declined to name the recruiting firm. The airline is offering some of the engineers it laid off last year a six-month, $60,000 contract plus a $40,000 bonus to scab on their former co-workers. This is more than double the salaries of existing staff. The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association has asked for a 5 percent pay raise and rejected the airline’s 3 percent wage offer. One month after Qantas paid a whopping $61 million in admitting guilt for illegal practices to U.S. authorities, it has been given until March 3 to respond to a “statement of objections” issued by the European Union (EU) last week. The EU is investigating Qantas for its involvement in fixing air freight rates with a rival airline. Qantas also faces claims for hundreds of millions of dollars from class action suits. Back to top Mine Company Challenges Chile’s Subcontracting Hiring Laws In a review of Chile’s subcontracting hiring laws, the Labor Ministry ruled that the subterfuge to avoid paying full salaries to its workforce. The Ministry ordered Codelco to directly hire 5,000 currently subcontracted workers. The decree also applies to most of the privately-owned mines. Codelco is fighting the Ministry’s decision in the courts. It has signed up some of the most prestigious teams in the business. It is also getting strong support from private mine owners. But even more important, it has powerful supporters within the government, which is split over the Ministry decree. One of the reasons that Chile President Michelle Bachelet has tended to favor the Codelco position is the high cost of upgrading 5,000 workers in the state-owned enterprise. Some experts estimate the cost of compliance with the Ministry’s decision at about 150 to 200 million U.S. dollars, a marginal expenditure, given Codelco’s structure and today’s world market prices. The company’s appeal is winding through the courts but the final decision will be made by Chile’s Supreme Court. Back to top Bahrein Oil Workers Threaten Action for Pay Increase More than 2,000 Bahrein Petroleum Company (Bapco) workers will be joined by fellow unionists from the government and private sector when they stage a demonstration on Sunday, Dec. 30 to demand better pay and improvements in working conditions. The protest will take place at Bapco’s Sitra refinery and is aimed at sending out a “clear signal” to management that employees are serious about their demands. A union spokesman, Hameet Rashid, said if employees’ demands were not taken seriously, “appropriate action” would be taken. Employees of the state-owned oil firm are calling for a for a 15 percent wage increase and such benefits as better health insurance and more housing, shift and risk allowances. The union delivered its demands to management at the beginning of December, but has had no reply, Al Rashid said. A one-month salary bonus was rejected by the union earlier this month with workers claiming they were entitled to at least double that amount. Sunday’s protest will be just the latest in a string of demonstrations by Bapco employees. The last protest was held at the company’s headquarters in Awali. Back to top Pakistani Labor Mourns Death of Benazir Bhutto Impassioned tributes to former prime minister Benizar Bhutto came from Pakistanis from all walks of life after the sudden shock of her assassination became known. The emotional responses were a mix of love, anger, disbelief and uncertainty about the future. Habibuddin Junaidi, president of the All Pakistan Trade Union Organization, said that Benazir was a challenge for the fascist forces in the country. “After her death, the labourers and working class have become orphans,” he said. “Look at all the political parties of the country and you will find no one else except Bhutto who always talked about resolving the problems of the labourers. She was like a sister to the labour class,” Junaidi said. Liaquat Sahi, Secretary General of the State Bank of Pakistan of the Democratic Workers Union, demanded the resignation of the current government. He said that President Pervez Musharraf was morally bound to step down because he had failed to provide the necessary security to protect Bhutto. Like all Pakistanis, workers and their leaders are uncertain whether there will be an election, when it will be held, who will be the candidates and what will be the issues. With Benita Bhutto’s voice forever stilled, no one is sure where the country is heading. Back to top Polish Miners Will Spend Christmas Underground in Protest Hundreds of Polish coal miners intend to spend Christmas underground to press their protest against a mine merger, a union official said. Miners working for the Budryk mine in the Silesian city of Omontowice are demanding wage increases, as well as protesting the decision of the new pro-market government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk to merge their small but profitable operation with a larger one, JSW. Both mines are state-owned, A union spokesman, Wieslaw Wojtowicz, said the miners had originally intended to suspend their sit-in over the holiday and continue it later, but at a union meeting on Dec. 24, they voted to spend Christmas underground. Television footage showed many of the miners wearing helmets and setting up a long underground table where they planned to celebrate the traditional holiday dinner. Back to top Check our web site: http://www.laboreducator.org

THE WORLD OF LABOR — December 29, 2007

By Harry Kelber

Contents (Click on the title to read the report.)
British Union Settles 25,000 Equal Pay Claims for Women Workers
Qantas Airways Plans to Hire Scabs to Replace Striking Engineers
Mine Company Challenges Chile’s Subcontracting Hiring Laws
Bahrein Oil Workers Threaten Action for Pay Increase
Pakistani Labor Mourns Death of Benazir Bhutto
Polish Miners Will Spend Christmas Underground in Protest

# # #

British Union Settles 25,000 Equal Pay Claims for Women Workers

A major British union, GMB, has settled its 25,000th equal pay claim against employers in local government and the National Health Service (NHS), worth an estimated Ł250 million (U.S. $499 million) for women workers, the union announced. The GMB said the cases covered women cleaners, clerical employees, catering employees and school support staff were found to be earning less than men. The union has also negotiated tens of thousands of other claims in the past few years as part of its drive.

Brian Strutton, a GMB officer, said: “Our low-paid women members are often unwilling to make a claim for equal pay, which is a shame because it is their legal right. We hope that by showing the scale and size of our work in this area that we can encourage more women to let GMB fight for their right to equal pay.” Strutton said that a GMB study of pay rates in 240 occupations showed there was still much more to be done to close the gender pay gap.

The study showed that male financial managers earned almost Ł50,000 (US $99.000) a year more than women in the profession while the gap was more than Ł20,000 in other management positions. Some women actually earned more than men in the public relations sector, while in 23 professions there was pay equality, according to the study.

Qantas Airways Plans to Hire Scabs to Replace Striking Engineers

Facing charges of illegally fixing air freight rates and a series of costly class action suits, Qantas, Australia’s national airline, is planning to hire a workforce of strikebreakers to replace its licensed engineers, who are threatening a work stoppage, starting Jan. 9. “Qantas has commissioned an external Australian company to provide qualified engineers to support our operations,” the airline said in a memo to its staff Dec. 27. It declined to name the recruiting firm.

The airline is offering some of the engineers it laid off last year a six-month, $60,000 contract plus a $40,000 bonus to scab on their former co-workers. This is more than double the salaries of existing staff. The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association has asked for a 5 percent pay raise and rejected the airline’s 3 percent wage offer.

One month after Qantas paid a whopping $61 million in admitting guilt for illegal practices to U.S. authorities, it has been given until March 3 to respond to a “statement of objections” issued by the European Union (EU) last week. The EU is investigating Qantas for its involvement in fixing air freight rates with a rival airline. Qantas also faces claims for hundreds of millions of dollars from class action suits.

Mine Company Challenges Chile’s Subcontracting Hiring Laws

In a review of Chile’s subcontracting hiring laws, the Labor Ministry ruled that the subterfuge to avoid paying full salaries to its workforce. The Ministry ordered Codelco to directly hire 5,000 currently subcontracted workers. The decree also applies to most of the privately-owned mines.

Codelco is fighting the Ministry’s decision in the courts. It has signed up some of the most prestigious teams in the business. It is also getting strong support from private mine owners. But even more important, it has powerful supporters within the government, which is split over the Ministry decree. One of the reasons that Chile President Michelle Bachelet has tended to favor the Codelco position is the high cost of upgrading 5,000 workers in the state-owned enterprise.

Some experts estimate the cost of compliance with the Ministry’s decision at about 150 to 200 million U.S. dollars, a marginal expenditure, given Codelco’s structure and today’s world market prices. The company’s appeal is winding through the courts but the final decision will be made by Chile’s Supreme Court.

Bahrein Oil Workers Threaten Action for Pay Increase

More than 2,000 Bahrein Petroleum Company (Bapco) workers will be joined by fellow unionists from the government and private sector when they stage a demonstration on Sunday, Dec. 30 to demand better pay and improvements in working conditions.

The protest will take place at Bapco’s Sitra refinery and is aimed at sending out a “clear signal” to management that employees are serious about their demands. A union spokesman, Hameet Rashid, said if employees’ demands were not taken seriously, “appropriate action” would be taken.

Employees of the state-owned oil firm are calling for a for a 15 percent wage increase and such benefits as better health insurance and more housing, shift and risk allowances. The union delivered its demands to management at the beginning of December, but has had no reply, Al Rashid said.

A one-month salary bonus was rejected by the union earlier this month with workers claiming they were entitled to at least double that amount. Sunday’s protest will be just the latest in a string of demonstrations by Bapco employees. The last protest was held at the company’s headquarters in Awali.

Pakistani Labor Mourns Death of Benazir Bhutto

Impassioned tributes to former prime minister Benizar Bhutto came from Pakistanis from all walks of life after the sudden shock of her assassination became known. The emotional responses were a mix of love, anger, disbelief and uncertainty about the future. Habibuddin Junaidi, president of the All Pakistan Trade Union Organization, said that Benazir was a challenge for the fascist forces in the country. “After her death, the labourers and working class have become orphans,” he said.

“Look at all the political parties of the country and you will find no one else except Bhutto who always talked about resolving the problems of the labourers. She was like a sister to the labour class,” Junaidi said. Liaquat Sahi, Secretary General of the State Bank of Pakistan of the Democratic Workers Union, demanded the resignation of the current government. He said that President Pervez Musharraf was morally bound to step down because he had failed to provide the necessary security to protect Bhutto.

Like all Pakistanis, workers and their leaders are uncertain whether there will be an election, when it will be held, who will be the candidates and what will be the issues. With Benita Bhutto’s voice forever stilled, no one is sure where the country is heading.

Polish Miners Will Spend Christmas Underground in Protest

Hundreds of Polish coal miners intend to spend Christmas underground to press their protest against a mine merger, a union official said. Miners working for the Budryk mine in the Silesian city of Omontowice are demanding wage increases, as well as protesting the decision of the new pro-market government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk to merge their small but profitable operation with a larger one, JSW. Both mines are state-owned,

A union spokesman, Wieslaw Wojtowicz, said the miners had originally intended to suspend their sit-in over the holiday and continue it later, but at a union meeting on Dec. 24, they voted to spend Christmas underground. Television footage showed many of the miners wearing helmets and setting up a long underground table where they planned to celebrate the traditional holiday dinner.

Check our web site: http://www.laboreducator.org