Thousands End Strike at Nike Plant in Vietnam

More than 15,000 workers at a Vietnam factory that makes shoes for Nike ended a two-day strike on April 2 at the Ching Luh factory in southern Long An province to accept management’s offer of a monthly pay raise of VND100,000 ($ 6.31), after demanding twice that amount, a union official, Nguyen Thi Dung, reported. He said the workers at the Taiwanese-owned factory needed the extra money “because of the increase in prices, which has hit people hard recently.”

Strikes are becoming more frequent in communist Vietnam, where consumer prices have risen as much as 16 percent, including such essential staples as rice. In December 10,000 workers walked off the job at another Vietnamese plant, where goods are made for Nike.

Nike said the workers at the Ching Luh factory were already being paid more than the government-set minimum wage of between VND800,000 and VND1 million. Nike said it works with 50 different factories in the country, where about a third of its shoes are produced.

A Strike by Brazil’s Tax Auditors Causes Factory Delays

At least 7,000 employees of the Amazon city of Manaus, Brazil’s electronics manufacturing hub, have stopped work as a strike by federal tax auditors prevents parts from reaching factories.

Workers in the region say the strike by auditors of the Federal Revenue Agency, that began March 18, is preventing them from doing their jobs, according to Valdemir Santana, president of the metalworkers’ union.

Santana said production lines at four factories are paralyzed because parts needed for manufacturing are delayed at customs until auditors return to work. Many electronics companies set up factories in the so-called Zona Franca region in Manaus because of the tax breaks given by the government.

Norway’s Unions Win Victories on Pensions and Wages

Norwegian labor organizations scored major victories when the country’s left-center government allocated more money to fund pensions, and thereby end the threat of a massive strike. More than 40,000 workers were poised to walk off their jobs on April 2 if their labor leaders failed to win assurances that that would preserve, and even improve, pension benefits. They won the battle five hours after the deadline for a settlement had passed.

Norway’s trade union federation, LO, also won pay raises amounting to 5.6 percent for most of their members and more for low-paid workers. Observers said that nearly all of LO’s demands were met through a settlement that opposition politicians in Parliament already are calling “expensive, terribly expensive.”

The organization representing employers, NHO, was pleased as well, with NHO chief negotiator, Finn Bergesen, calling it “reasonable.” And even noting that some workers may have expected wage hikes to be even higher.

Finnish Construction Unions Win Social Benefits in New National Pact

The Finnish Construction Union, Rakennusliitto, has signed new collective agreements with employers that, in addition to wage increases, includes such social benefits as full maternity leave of 56 days and a paid paternity leave of six days. The agreement will affect about 75,000 workers and will run until February 2010.

The contract covers eight construction-related industries: housing construction, building products, earth and water construction, painting, building engineering, asphalting, water-proofing and floor covering.

The accord provides that the minimum duration of work carried out by hired labor is one week, and the maximum duration is two months. The effective cost of the new agreement is 5.96 percent for 2008 and 6.20 percent for 2009.

Postal Service in Seven German States Is Hit by Strikes

The German public sector union, Verdi, estimates that six of the seven main letter hubs in Baden-Württemberg would be shut down as part of a dispute with the Deutsche Post. Only Stuttgart, which was hit by a strike on April 1, will remain open. Union officials estimated that some eight million letters would not make it to their destination.

Verdi wants job guarantees for the 130,000 employees covered by the public sector wage agreements at Deutsche Post that stipulate ten shortened work days annually to make up for an increase in the work week from 38 to 41 hours for 55,000 postal employees.

Deutsche Post has offered to extend job guarantees until June 30 so that further negotiations can take place, and has agreed to some flexibility on the working hours issue, as long as Verdi’s behavior remains “constructive." Verdi has rejected the offer.

Lebanon Teachers’ Strike Is Among ‘Most Successful’ for Union

Private and public school teachers, as well as Lebanese university professors and instructors, called a strike on April 3 to reinforce their demand for an increase in salaries, which have remained flat since 1996. Nehme Mahfoud, who heads the teachers union for private schools, said the strike was being carried out throughout Lebanon and across all educational fields, adding that “this is one of the most successful strikes in the union’s history.”

Although the cost of living in Lebanon has steadily increased each year since the end of the civil war in 1991, salaries across the country have remained fixed for more than a decade. The 2006 summer war derailed Lebanon’s nascent economic recovery by undermining public confidence, chasing away investment and halting projects already under development.

Mahfoud also said that Education Minister Khaled Qabbani had informed union members that the Cabinet would discuss the teachers’ demands during the regular session next week.

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