Under New British Law, Tips Can't Count as Part of Workers' Wages

British employers are to be prohibited from using tips and service charges as part of their workers' pay to meet minimum wage standards. The changes, set to come into force next year, will benefit those working in service industries, such as restaurants, where tipping is commonplace.

Unions have welcomed the move, saying that not allowing employees to have tips in addition to pay is an "abuse." The national minimum wage, currently £5.52 (US $10.90) an hour, rises to £5.73 (US $11.31) in October. John Hutton, a union official, said there needed to be more transparency to tipping. He called on employers to make it clear how tips were distributed so that customers knew where their money was going and whether the establishment operated a fair tipping policy.

"Waiters and waitresses across the country have been hungry for the tips loophole to be closed and the announcement today [July 31] will satisfy their appetites," said Derek Simpson, joint leader of the Unite union.

A 3-Day Strike by Nestlé's Hong Kong Workers Ends in Victory

Some 200 Hong Kong workers have won a three-day strike at Nestlé's ice cream and chilled products factory, as management finally agreed to workers' demands on wages and working conditions. The striking workers include drivers, deliverymen, sales force people, and production staffs. They are members of the IUF-affiliated Catering & Hotel Industries Employees General Union.

In their strike on July 27-29, they demanded a 12-hour limit on daily working hours, permanent employment for casual workers, a 7 percent wage increase and a 6 percent increase in commissions, above "incentive pay." Over the past 12 years, earnings from commissions have been cut by 12 percent, despite a significant increase in workload and working hours, which had now reached 17-hour workdays.

In the second round of negotiations on July 29, the union succeeded in winning major improvements in wages and working conditions and an agreement that was approved by all 200 strikers, who formally voted to end the walkout. The strike had brought production to a halt at the peak of the season and shocked the Hong Kong public by exposing the appalling working conditions in the world's largest food manufacturing company.

Argentina's Rubber Workers Target Three Global Tire Companies

Some 4,000 union members of Sindicatos Unico Trabajores del Neumático Argentina conducted a 48-hour strike on July 25 against three tire manufacturing companies - Bridgestone-Firestone, Pirelli and Argentina-based FATA. The union has been deadlocked since April of this year in wage negotiations with the major rubber companies. The union has been conducting protests in recent weeks in the cities where the three factories are located. With tire production growing in Argentina due to a boom in auto manufacturing, the union is seeking a salary increase of 35 percent.

"After the employers refused our demands, workers through their assemblies at the factories decided to begin job actions," said Pedro Wasiejko, SUTNA general secretary. He added that the employers offered a two-phase increase of 28 percent, with 13 percent at present and a non-cumulative 15 percent in January 2009.

Union members refused to accept the company offer. They said the increase would amount to only 1,800 pesos ($600). Japanese-based Bridgestone-Firestone and Pirelli of Italy each employ 1,400 workers in factories near Buenos Aires, while FATE employs 1,200 in its plant in San Fernando.

Germany's Lufthansa Reaches Deal with Ground Crew to End Strike

Lufthansa, Germany's biggest airline, struck a pay deal with its ground crews that will end a costly strike during the peak summer holiday season, but a wage dispute with cabin crews looms. The accord with Verdi, the powerful service sector union, foresees a 5.1 percent wage increase for 34,000 employees, backdated to July 1, and another 2.3 percent rise from July 2009, plus a one-off payment linked to profits. The contract will cover a 21-month period, ending February 2010.

Despite the wage agreement, it will take up to two more weeks before flight service is "normalized" because a number of maintenance checks had not been carried out during the strike, said Lufthansa spokesman, Peter Schneckenleitner. About 130 flights will have to be grounded each day until Monday, Aug. 4.

But a new salary conflict surfaced as the UFO flight attendants union rejected the Verdi deal for the ground crews, which it called "unacceptable." The union seeks a 15 percent wage increase. Lufthansa transports 150,000 people daily. July is one of its busiest months.

Greek Unions Vow to Fight New Wage Law with Nationwide Strikes

Greek's powerful unions pledged nationwide strikes to protest against a new public sector wage law, which ends employees' right to collective wage contracts. The conservative government, which has only a two-seat parliamentary majority, wants to clean up debt-ridden state companies and has vowed to overhaul Greece's protective labor laws to attract more foreign investment.

"We plan a nationwide strike in September and will also appeal to a European court," said Stathis Anestis, spokesman for Greece's largest union, the GSEE. GSEE and its public sector sister union, ADEDY, have urged their 2,5 union members to strike on Sept. 6, when Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is scheduled to unveil the government's economic targets.

The government has pushed through unpopular pension reforms and aims to cut its budget deficit from 2.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2007 to 1.6 percent this year, It claims that high wages, particularly in public sector jobs, have hurt the country's global competitiveness.

Thousands on Strike at Footwear Plant in Vietnam

About 14,000 workers at a South Korean footwear company in Vietnam have gone on strike to demand higher pay, blaming the action on rising consumer prices. The workers of Hwa Seung Vina in southern Dong Nai province stopped work July 26, asking company officials to raise their incomes by at least 300,000 dong ($18).

The company, which produces shoes for export, offered to raise workers' wages by 200,000 dong ($12), but the compromise was not acceptable.

Communist Vietnam is now fighting spiraling inflation, with consumer prices topping 27 percent a year in July. The government last week surprisingly raised petroleum prices by 30 percent.

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