Faced with Heavy Job Losses, European Unions Seek a New Social Deal

With millions of Europeans set to lose their jobs as a result of the worst recession in 60 years, unions are campaigning for a coordinated response at the EU level. Some 8.5 million Europeans will lose their jobs over the next two years, with unemployment hitting 10.9 percent in the euro zone, according to the European Commission’s latest estimates. Social unrest could increase as workers meet the crisis with strikes and protests. Some say it’s a potentially explosive situation.

To raise the awareness of the issues facing European workers, trade union representatives are holding a series of demonstrations from May 14-16, Up to 200,000 people are expected to take to the streets of Madrid, Brussels, Prague and Berlin, said Reiner Hoffman. Deputy secretary general of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which is sponsoring the “Action Days.”

The ETUC is campaigning for a new social deal for the continent, the backbone of which would be an agreement from the EU to commit one percent of its economic output to job creation, research and innovation, and to guarantee stronger workers’ rights, better pay and a major increase in government welfare spending. “The EU needs to take the lead on the macroeconomic level,” Hoffmann said. “ We are a single market, we have a joint currency, and that means there should be a proper joint response.”

34-City Bus Tour Calls for Rebuilding Nation’s Manufacturing Industries

A “Keep It in America” bus rolled through 34 cities in 11 states in a four-day tour, with the same stirring message: to the public and elected officials: “7.2 million jobs are connected to the domestic auto industry, and the nation can’t afford to see the industry fail. “

The main speakers at each bus stop were Leo W. Gerard, president of the United Steel Workers, and Reverend Jesse Jackson, with comments from steelworkers and elected politicians, all of whom struck the same theme: Rebuilding our manufacturing industries is the basis for guaranteeing a strong middle class and achieving the American Dream.

At every stop, Gerard and Jackson fired up the crowds to cheer the call for strong action to regain the jobs that were lost in the auto and other industries. Gerard, in an impassioned speech, told his receptive listeners: “The reality is this; if we’re silent, we will be crushed. If we don’t stand up and fight, we will be crushed.”

Girard added: “I’m not going to tell you today that if we fight, we’re guaranteed to win, but I will tell you this: if we don’t fight for our kids’ futures and our grandkids’ futures, we’re going to lose. We’ve been silent too long. Manufacturing is the backbone of our country.”

Union Gains as Hyundai India Strike Ends

The work stoppage and hunger strike of the 1,300 employees of Hyundai Motor India ended after the auto company agreed to meet most of the union demands. The strike had been called on April 20 to demand improved wages and working conditions and the refusal of the company to recognize the workers’ union and to bargain collectively. Hyundai has a pattern of victimizing union leaders and supporters, and has attempted to sidestep the union through a company-appointed works committee.

Under the agreement to end the walkout, jailed strikers were released and allowed to return to work, and disciplinary action against 20 union organizers were withdrawn. Also, the company agreed to enter into collective bargaining under the auspices of the District Commissioner of Labor.

Still unresolved is the issue of reinstatement for 72 workers who have faced unfair dismissals, suspensions and involuntary transfers because of their union activities. They were not directly associated with the recent strike. A large number of those supporting the strike make up a majority of the workforce of Hyundai’s operations in India.

Puerto Rico Plans to Slash Thousands of Jobs and Ban Bargaining

The Puerto Rican government plans to dismiss up to 45,000 public employees and suspend public sector collective bargaining rights for at least two years. The government justifies these actions as part of its economic recovery plan to reduce its huge budgetary deficit and as a necessary response to the global crisis.

Public Services International (PSI), which is opposing the government’s actions, insists that workers should not be made to pay the price for a crisis they did not create. The new law suspends all clauses in the collective bargaining agreement for public employees for two years and enacts a drastic austerity plan, mandating thousands of public sector job cuts. The dismissals will begin July 1, the start of Puerto Rico’s new fiscal year. This means a freeze on wage increases and benefits, plans for training and development, paid leave and other matters.

PSI is requesting that the government hold discussions with the public sector unions and with civil society organizations, concerning viable and sustainable alternatives to solve Puerto Rico’s budgetary problems and ensure a lasting economic recovery, while supporting workers’ rights and t he delivery of quality services to the whole population.

Germany’s Day-Care Workers Begin Nationwide Strike

Public day-care workers began an open-ended strike in five German states on May 15 in an ongoing wage dispute. Twenty-six cities in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia went without state-run child-care, while 60 day day-care centers closed in the city of Bremen, said Verdi, the public workers’ union. Parents were forced to find last-minute alternatives or stay home from work.

A top Verdi official, Achim Meerkamp, said that the union, which represents some 130,000 day-care workers, is prepared to dig in for a long strike. Depending on how employers react, the union could call on other workers to strike, he said, The workers want more pay and better health protection, he added, citing a Verdi study that showed that 25 percent of these workers do not retire in good health.

“The illnesses are increasing and the psychological pressures have already increased,” Meerkamp said. Another source of complaint by Verdi is the large inconsistencies in pay between workers hired before 2006 and those hired today, a gap that can be as large as 700 euros ($ 946) a month,

U.K. to Outlaw Blacklisting of Union Members by Companies

The British government is to outlaw the use by companies of covert blacklists that have prevented trade unionists from getting work. Ministers have been forced to act after a watchdog investigation exposed widespread blacklisting in the construction industry this year. The move, to be announced May 18, follows pressure from trade unions and 100 Labor MPs.

Blacklisting r e-emerged as a political issue in March when the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, closed down a private investigator who had compiled an ”extensive intelligence database” of 3,000 workers. Thomas accused 40 construction firms of buying personal data about workers they wanted to vet before employing them.

The proposed law has been welcomed by Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, who said: “ It is outrageous that unscrupulous employers have been victimizing trade unionists through shady blacklisting practices that have no place in a democratic society.“ The government was criticized for a law banning blacklisting in 1999, but then decided not to take the last step of enforcing that law.

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