German Union to Fight Massive Transfer Plan by Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom, the largest phone company in Europe, said it would ask about 8,000 employees to work from different locations. The company also said it would modernize its centers in 24 cities as part of a plan to increase the average number of employees per call center to 700 from 190.

The German trade union, ver.di, said on Aug. 28 that it would “do what it takes” to prevent the company from closing cell enters in 39 German cities. Ado Wilhelm, a negotiator for ver.di, said the company was deserting regional areas where there would be no adequate job alternatives for those concerned. “This policy of structural razing is against the people,” Wilhelm said.

Last year, Deutsche Telekom moved 50,000 service workers to jobs with lower pay, setting off the biggest strike against the company in a decade. Lother Schrader, a union leader who is also chairman of Telekom’s supervisory board, said: “A company that alienates its employees won’t be able to stop customer losses.”

20 Killed in Chemical Plant Explosion in China

The death toll from explosions that ripped through a chemical plant in southwet China rose to 20 on Aug. 26. The victims were employees of the plant inYizhou city in Guangxi province. Another 60 people were injured in the blasts that started at about 6 a.m. and continued until 1 p.m., the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The blaze started in a workshop and spread through the plant as containers with flammable chemicals, including formaldehyde and acetylene, caught fire, Zinhua reported. The government evacuated 11,500 residents in case of further blasts and chemical leaks.

The explosions did not seriously pollute air or water in the area, Xinhua said. Rescuers set up four dams at the point where pollutants are discharged from the factory to prevent any from flowing into the nearby Longjiang River, Samples taken from the river show it is safe for drinking, Xinhua said.

Czech Public Sector Unions Ready to Strike over Wages

Czech unions are preparing new protests in support of higher wages for 450,000 public service employees. They say the latest version of the state budget that is now being completed calls for giving civil servants a 1.5 percent pay increase, which is less than the projected inflation rate of 3 percent.

Salaries for civil servants have dropped by 4 percent because of a wage freeze and rising inflation. The only exceptions are the nation’s teachers, who went on strike the past year and were able to win an additional four billion crowns (about $200,000)

“It is a shame of the government that the pay of public employees is decreasing at a time when the economy is growing,” Milan Stech, chairman of the largest umbrella union organization, CMOKOS, said. “I called on all public administration unions yesterday to unite themselves and use all means to fight for their demands. The situation is again ripe for strike,” he said.

Thai Woman Union Leader Fired for Wearing a T-Shirt Off the Job

Body Fashion Thailand, a subsidiary of Triumph International, fired a woman union president for wearing a political T-shirt in a private setting with no connection to the company. Jitra Kotshadej was dismissed on July 30 for wearing the shirt while participating in a late night TV debate on women’s reproductive rights. Management claimed that by wearing a T-shirt in public, she had defamed the company’s brand name for high quality undergarments.

Kotshadej’s dismissal brought strong protests from her 3,000 co-workers, who walked out of the plant in a show of solidarity, demanding her immediate reinstatement and a guarantee that the company won’t take any disciplinary action against workers participating in the strike.

Despite several meetings between the union, factory management and government officials, no agreement has been reached. The Swiss headquarters of Triumph International has reportedly refused to accept any agreement that included the reinstatement of the union president. Triumph International is one of the world’s largest makers of women’s intimate apparel.

Histadrut Declares a ‘Labor Dispute’ at Israel’s Ports

Histadrut Labor Federation declared a “labor dispute” in all of Israel’s ports in reaction to the Treasury’s plan to bring in private contractors for the operation of the ports. In declaring a work dispute, Histadrut, under Israeli law, is entitled to launch a general strike at the ports in two weeks’ time.

“The Finance Minister is trying to damage unionized labor at the ports in a sophisticated manner, which involves the entry of a company that can swap port workers by contractors,” said Avi Edri, chairman of the Histadrut Transportation Union. Edri noted that the Finance Minister wants to bring in a company to operate the ports that has no labor relations with the workers. “In practice, it means that the Israel Ports Company could decide at any point in time to use contractor companies,” he said.

Traffic at the Ashdod port slowed down last Monday morning, reducing activity by 40 to 50 percent during the course of the day. Employees at the Haifa port took part in a workers’ committee meeting and started to work only after lunch at reduced capacity. If Histadrut fails to reach an agreement with the Finance Minister about the operation of the ports, a strike will probably take place in two weeks.

South African Miners Take Day Off to Mourn Death of Co-Worker

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said that more than 5,000 at the Anglogold TauTona mine would observe a day of mourning after a rockfall left one miner dead and two critically injured at the site two weeks ago. “The NUM calls all its members to observe a day of mourning each time an accident happens,” a union statement said.

Anglogold, the world’s No. 3 gold producer, halted production at its Mponeng mine last week after workers held a similar memorial for a colleague who died at that mine only days before the TauTona mine accident.

South Africa, the world’s top source of platinum and a major gold producer, has a poor mine safety record. By the end of June of this year, 85 mine workers had died in the country’s mines. The government has routinely shut mines temporarily after fatalities in order to investigate and make safety repairs.

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