The World of Labor - August 23, 2008



	THE WORLD OF LABOR — August 23, 2008 By Harry Kelber Pakistan’s Home-Based Women Workers to Launch Union To claim and advocate for their rights more effectively, Pakistan’s home-based women workers plan to launch a registered union at the national level on Aug. 22. The union will be the first of its kind in the country. According to research conducted by the World Bank, more than 10 million women in Pakistan are engaged in home-based work in sectors like garments, shoe-stitching, embroidery, carpet-weaving and other crafts. Aqsa Khan, manager of the Social and Women’s Rights for ActionAid, said: “These women are the most underprivileged of the society and have no social or legal recognition of their work.” The union, she said, would also strengthen the ability of home-based women workers to bargain collectively with middle agents and investors. “Representation from all four provinces in local, provincial and national structures would convert the union into a strong voice against unjust and exploitive market trends,” she added. In the past three years, women’s organizations have established 11 cooperatives to increase their effectiveness and gain health benefits. The cooperatives provided the momentum for building the union, which will be formerly launched at a national congress in Lahore at which more than 500 home-based workers will participate, and later in Islamabad in the first week of September. Employees of Chile’s International Revenue Service Begin Strike Employees of the Chilean International Revenue Service (SII) began a national strike Aug. 21, after the announcement by the Minister of Finance that the modernization process for the SII would be halted. A group of SII employees are currently protesting outside the office located in downtown Santiago, wielding signs that: read: “Minister Velasco defends the rich.” “Tax reform is at risk if this project does not move forward,” stated Carlos Insunza, of the Chilean Association of Tax Officials. Insunza said that ”starting on Wednesday, procedures will resume as normal.” Seventy Days of Hunger Strike by Korean Woman Union Leader Sixty-seven days into a hunger strike in a shoddy tent pitched atop a guardhouse at the gate of her company, Kim So-yeon, 39, the union leader of Kiryung Electronics, was transferred to a hospital. Even lying on a hospital bed in northern Seoul, she refused to stop her fast, which reached 70 days Aug. 20. “The issue of temporary workers is not only about employment but also human rights,” Kim told The Korean Times from her hospital bed. “You cannot easily understand the feeling of being treated like a disposable item. It’s so miserable and painful. It’s hard to describe that feeling.” Non-permanent employees of Kiryung formed a union and went on strike as far back as August 20003, but had little success until this year when the company president, on June 7, met with union officials and agreed to give permanent status to temporary workers after a year of training. However, the next day, mid-level managers rejected the deal. The union says employers take advantage of loopholes in the labor law that requires them to promote temporary workers to permanent status after two years of employment. Most employers, however, simply terminate the contracts before the two-year term expires. A 24-Hour Nationwide Strike in Uruguay Uruguayans staged a 24-hour strike, on Aug. 19, called by the Inter-Union Plenary-National Convention of Workers (PIT-CNT). The union is demanding changes in the government’s economic policy, better wealth distribution and salary increases. Protesters are also requesting that the 1986 Expiry Act be revoked. That law prevented legal proceedings against military people who were involved in human rights violations during the period of military government (1973-1985). They also demand that more workers and retired people be exempted from the Personal Income Tax and that the state allocate 4.5 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product to education. The last 24-hour general strike in Uruguay took place in August 2003, during the Jorge Battle administration. At that time, the country was recovering from the worst financial crisis in its history. Poland’s Shipyard Workers Threaten to Picket Global Union Shipyard workers from Gdynia and Sczcecin announced on Aug. 21 that they will picket the headquarters of global unions in Brussels if the actions of the Polish government and negotiations with the European Commission on restructuring the shipyards end in failure. Last week, trade union representatives met with Treasury Minister Alexander Grad, who told them that the restructuring scheme for the Gdynia shipyard will reach the European Commission next week. Polska, the Ukranian company that also owns the Gdansk shipyard, is negotiating exclusively with the Polish government until the end of August. Trade union officials think there is reason to hope that the privatization deals will be successful. But if the talks go badly, trade union members are ready to stage protests. They feel that Prime Minister Donald Tusk should get personally involved in the negotiations. Poland has until September12 to present restructuring plans for Gdynia and Szczecin to the European Commission. If the commission does not accept them, the shipyards will have to return the millions of dollars in public aid since Poland entered the EU, which would be tantamount to their bankruptcy. Nigerian Labor Condemns Jumbo Pay Rise for Political Officeholders The Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) has denounced the recent 100 percent increase in the allowances of political officeholders, including legislators, local government chairpersons and councilors. The congress warned that the nation could no longer afford the massive cost of running the government, much of which goes into the allowances of officeholders. Comrada Abdulwaheed Omar, NLC president, lamented that the latest increase would add significantly to the bloated government budget. In his statement, Omar said: “In advance and emerging democracy, selfless service is the operative in the compensation of parliamentarians and other political officeholders. The reverse is unfortunately the case in Nigeria,” he said. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Local Governments resumed its strike in the state of Imo, accusing the government of failing to meet its demand to withdraw the 27 civil servants it posted to local governments to replace strikers. Check our web site: http://www.laboreducator.org

THE WORLD OF LABOR — August 23, 2008

By Harry Kelber

Pakistan’s Home-Based Women Workers to Launch Union

To claim and advocate for their rights more effectively, Pakistan’s home-based women workers plan to launch a registered union at the national level on Aug. 22. The union will be the first of its kind in the country. According to research conducted by the World Bank, more than 10 million women in Pakistan are engaged in home-based work in sectors like garments, shoe-stitching, embroidery, carpet-weaving and other crafts.

Aqsa Khan, manager of the Social and Women’s Rights for ActionAid, said: “These women are the most underprivileged of the society and have no social or legal recognition of their work.” The union, she said, would also strengthen the ability of home-based women workers to bargain collectively with middle agents and investors. “Representation from all four provinces in local, provincial and national structures would convert the union into a strong voice against unjust and exploitive market trends,” she added.

In the past three years, women’s organizations have established 11 cooperatives to increase their effectiveness and gain health benefits. The cooperatives provided the momentum for building the union, which will be formerly launched at a national congress in Lahore at which more than 500 home-based workers will participate, and later in Islamabad in the first week of September.

Employees of Chile’s International Revenue Service Begin Strike

Employees of the Chilean International Revenue Service (SII) began a national strike Aug. 21, after the announcement by the Minister of Finance that the modernization process for the SII would be halted.

A group of SII employees are currently protesting outside the office located in downtown Santiago, wielding signs that: read: “Minister Velasco defends the rich.”

“Tax reform is at risk if this project does not move forward,” stated Carlos Insunza, of the Chilean Association of Tax Officials. Insunza said that ”starting on Wednesday, procedures will resume as normal.”

Seventy Days of Hunger Strike by Korean Woman Union Leader

Sixty-seven days into a hunger strike in a shoddy tent pitched atop a guardhouse at the gate of her company, Kim So-yeon, 39, the union leader of Kiryung Electronics, was transferred to a hospital. Even lying on a hospital bed in northern Seoul, she refused to stop her fast, which reached 70 days Aug. 20.

“The issue of temporary workers is not only about employment but also human rights,” Kim told The Korean Times from her hospital bed. “You cannot easily understand the feeling of being treated like a disposable item. It’s so miserable and painful. It’s hard to describe that feeling.”

Non-permanent employees of Kiryung formed a union and went on strike as far back as August 20003, but had little success until this year when the company president, on June 7, met with union officials and agreed to give permanent status to temporary workers after a year of training. However, the next day, mid-level managers rejected the deal. The union says employers take advantage of loopholes in the labor law that requires them to promote temporary workers to permanent status after two years of employment. Most employers, however, simply terminate the contracts before the two-year term expires.

A 24-Hour Nationwide Strike in Uruguay

Uruguayans staged a 24-hour strike, on Aug. 19, called by the Inter-Union Plenary-National Convention of Workers (PIT-CNT). The union is demanding changes in the government’s economic policy, better wealth distribution and salary increases. Protesters are also requesting that the 1986 Expiry Act be revoked. That law prevented legal proceedings against military people who were involved in human rights violations during the period of military government (1973-1985). They also demand that more workers and retired people be exempted from the Personal Income Tax and that the state allocate 4.5 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product to education.

The last 24-hour general strike in Uruguay took place in August 2003, during the Jorge Battle administration. At that time, the country was recovering from the worst financial crisis in its history.

Poland’s Shipyard Workers Threaten to Picket Global Union

Shipyard workers from Gdynia and Sczcecin announced on Aug. 21 that they will picket the headquarters of global unions in Brussels if the actions of the Polish government and negotiations with the European Commission on restructuring the shipyards end in failure. Last week, trade union representatives met with Treasury Minister Alexander Grad, who told them that the restructuring scheme for the Gdynia shipyard will reach the European Commission next week.

Polska, the Ukranian company that also owns the Gdansk shipyard, is negotiating exclusively with the Polish government until the end of August. Trade union officials think there is reason to hope that the privatization deals will be successful. But if the talks go badly, trade union members are ready to stage protests. They feel that Prime Minister Donald Tusk should get personally involved in the negotiations.

Poland has until September12 to present restructuring plans for Gdynia and Szczecin to the European Commission. If the commission does not accept them, the shipyards will have to return the millions of dollars in public aid since Poland entered the EU, which would be tantamount to their bankruptcy.

Nigerian Labor Condemns Jumbo Pay Rise for Political Officeholders

The Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) has denounced the recent 100 percent increase in the allowances of political officeholders, including legislators, local government chairpersons and councilors. The congress warned that the nation could no longer afford the massive cost of running the government, much of which goes into the allowances of officeholders.

Comrada Abdulwaheed Omar, NLC president, lamented that the latest increase would add significantly to the bloated government budget. In his statement, Omar said: “In advance and emerging democracy, selfless service is the operative in the compensation of parliamentarians and other political officeholders. The reverse is unfortunately the case in Nigeria,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Local Governments resumed its strike in the state of Imo, accusing the government of failing to meet its demand to withdraw the 27 civil servants it posted to local governments to replace strikers.

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