The World of Labor - January 5, 2008



	THE WORLD OF LABOR — January 5, 2008 By Harry Kelber Contents (Click on the title to read the report.) Obama Wins Democratic Presidential Race in Iowa’s Caucus British Bus Drivers Stage 24-Hour Strike over Working Hours Bumpy Road for Canada’s Ailing Auto Industry Law Gives Chinese Workers New Rights Teachers at India’s Medical Colleges Plan a Relay Hunger Strike 500 Zambian Copper Smelter Workers Strike to Air Their Complaints # # # Obama Wins Democratic Presidential Race in Iowa’s Caucus Barack Obama, Senator from Illinois, was the clear winner in the Iowa Caucus on Jan 3, defeating front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator from New York, who came in third, slightly behind John Edwards, former Senator from North Carolina. In this first voter contest for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, Iowans gave Obama 38% of the vote, while Edwards received 30% and Mrs. Clinton, 29%. The candidates will meet again in New Hampshire, the first state to hold a primary contest, on Jan. 8. Obama’s stunning Iowa victory marked a historic milestone: a black man defeating six, well-qualified white candidates in an overwhelmingly white state. His “Time for Change” resonated among young people, independents, first-time voters and disenchanted Democrats. His impressive victory is bound to encourage a larger voter turnout among African-Americans. Both the AFL-CIO and Change to Win spent millions on the Clinton and Edwards campaigns and sent thousands of union volunteers to Iowa to aid their preferred candidates, but not a single union had endorsed Obama or officially contributed to his candidacy. Michael Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, defeated Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor. Huckabee’s candidacy surged in recent months when he received the support of evangelical organizations. Romney, spending heavily from his own fortune, ended up trailing Huckabee by 9 points (34% to 25%).. Two other Republican candidates, Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, did not campaign in the Iowa voting. Back to top British Bus Drivers Stage 24-Hour Strike over Working Hours Hundreds of bus drivers are staging their first in a series of work stoppages in a long-running dispute over “excessive working hours.” Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) will conduct a 24-hour strike at several bus depots, to be repeated on Jan. 8, 16 and 21, if their demands are not seriously considered. RMT said drivers should not be required to do more than 4.5 hours of continuous driving, but the bus company, Wilts & Dorset, disagrees. Andrew Wickham, the company’s operation director, said: “Currently, drivers could be asked to drive for up to 5.5 hours, which is the legal and industry standard, without a break.” Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said the union had done everything it could to try to negotiate a settlement. “Our members have voted twice, by ten-to-one margins, to take action over what is a simple issue of their health and safety,” Crow said. Back to top Bumpy Road for Canada’s Ailing Auto Industry The auto sector, a key engine driving the Canadian economy, will be “on the bubble” in 2008, according to industry watcher Dennis DesRosier. If a slowing U.S. economy side-swipes auto sales, the Canadian auto industry will be in big trouble, because domestic auto and parts makers export more than 85 percent of their production south of the border, said DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. If the U.S. slows sharply amid a weakening of the housing market and the credit crunch, the impact on Canada’s auto sector will be severe for many Canadian companies already on shaky ground. Maxtech Manufacturing’s annual revenue plunged from about $100 million to $50 million since the start of the decade, the result of rising commodity costs and energy bills, stiffer competition from offshore rivals and a soaring Canadian dollar. Meanwhile, the “Big Three” automakers have indicated they will be pushing to cut labor costs when contract talks with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) start next summer, in a bid to match the concessions they won in the U.S. last fall. This year “will be the most challenging for us,” said CAW president Buzz Hargrove, who has emphasized that the union will reject demands for major concessions. Back to top Law Gives Chinese Workers New Rights Starting Jan. 1, 2008, the new labor contract law will give Chinese workers new rights, especially when it comes to long-term job security. Employees with ten consecutive years at a company will be entitled to a contract without a fixed end date, essentially giving them lifetime employment. Severance payments will be mandatory for anyone whose contract expires or who leaves after giving 30 days’ notice or is laid off. Analysts say that China’s overhaul of employment regulations was needed in the face of China’s rampant industrial development on the backs of largely unprotected laborers. Stories abound of workers toiling under inhumane conditions, being fired summarily and struggling for years to collect unpaid wages from unscrupulous employers. Most provinces in China require labor contracts between employers and their workers, but contracts are typically for one or two years. Many companies have been ignoring labor agreements altogether. Foreign multinational corporations, generally regard the law as too restrictive. They have warned that it will add labor costs and could hurt foreign investments in China. Back to top Teachers at India’s Medical Colleges Plan a Relay Hunger Strike Teachers responded to the call by the Maharashira state medical teachers’ association (MSMTA) for an attention-getting strike over the issue of revision of their salaries to equal those paid medical teachers by the neighboring Kamataka government. The BJMC has close to 200 teachers, including lecturers, associate professors and full professors. Of these, 60 are engaged on an ad hoc basis, which means their services are renewed at the beginning of each academic year. If their members’ demands for pay parity are not met, MSMTA plans to launch a “stir.” A group of five teachers will go on a hunger strike every day for one week at each of the 13 medical colleges in the state. This process could be repeated by other groups of five, if the union so decides. A lecturer at the Kamataka government medical colleges takes home a gross salary of Rs 45,000 a month (U.S.$ 1,145), while an associate professor and professor draw Rs 30,000 and Rs 75,000, respectively. This compares far better with the medical teachers in Maharashira, where lecturers earn Rs 20,000 a month (U.S.$509), while an associate professor and professor earn Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000, respectively. Back to top 500 Zambian Copper Smelter Workers Strike to Air Their Complaints Production came to a halt at the Chambishi Copper Smelter Company on Jan. 3, as about 500 employees staged a work stoppage to protest low salaries and poor working conditions. The workers said that management was. Insensitive to their problems and intimidated them whenever they complained. Lesswell Maluma, one of the employees, said that whenever they complained about their low salaries of K300.000 (US $78) per month, they were told to quit if they were unhappy with their salaries and working conditions. But the company secretary, Sun Chuanqui, gave an entirely different view of the relationship. He said it was unfortunate that the employees should resort to a work stoppage before they could finish discussing their problems with the management. While failing to talk specifically about employee grievances, Sun, presumably speaking for the company, said: “We are ready to dialogue, and workers should feel free to talk to us.” Government labor officers are planning to meet with representatives of the workers and management with the aim of mediating the dispute. Back to top Check our web site: https://www.laboreducator.org

THE WORLD OF LABOR — January 5, 2008

By Harry Kelber

Contents (Click on the title to read the report.)
Obama Wins Democratic Presidential Race in Iowa’s Caucus
British Bus Drivers Stage 24-Hour Strike over Working Hours
Bumpy Road for Canada’s Ailing Auto Industry
Law Gives Chinese Workers New Rights
Teachers at India’s Medical Colleges Plan a Relay Hunger Strike
500 Zambian Copper Smelter Workers Strike to Air Their Complaints

# # #

Obama Wins Democratic Presidential Race in Iowa’s Caucus

Barack Obama, Senator from Illinois, was the clear winner in the Iowa Caucus on Jan 3, defeating front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator from New York, who came in third, slightly behind John Edwards, former Senator from North Carolina. In this first voter contest for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, Iowans gave Obama 38% of the vote, while Edwards received 30% and Mrs. Clinton, 29%. The candidates will meet again in New Hampshire, the first state to hold a primary contest, on Jan. 8.

Obama’s stunning Iowa victory marked a historic milestone: a black man defeating six, well-qualified white candidates in an overwhelmingly white state. His “Time for Change” resonated among young people, independents, first-time voters and disenchanted Democrats. His impressive victory is bound to encourage a larger voter turnout among African-Americans.

Both the AFL-CIO and Change to Win spent millions on the Clinton and Edwards campaigns and sent thousands of union volunteers to Iowa to aid their preferred candidates, but not a single union had endorsed Obama or officially contributed to his candidacy.

Michael Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, defeated Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor. Huckabee’s candidacy surged in recent months when he received the support of evangelical organizations. Romney, spending heavily from his own fortune, ended up trailing Huckabee by 9 points (34% to 25%).. Two other Republican candidates, Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, did not campaign in the Iowa voting.

British Bus Drivers Stage 24-Hour Strike over Working Hours

Hundreds of bus drivers are staging their first in a series of work stoppages in a long-running dispute over “excessive working hours.” Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) will conduct a 24-hour strike at several bus depots, to be repeated on Jan. 8, 16 and 21, if their demands are not seriously considered.

RMT said drivers should not be required to do more than 4.5 hours of continuous driving, but the bus company, Wilts & Dorset, disagrees. Andrew Wickham, the company’s operation director, said: “Currently, drivers could be asked to drive for up to 5.5 hours, which is the legal and industry standard, without a break.”

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said the union had done everything it could to try to negotiate a settlement. “Our members have voted twice, by ten-to-one margins, to take action over what is a simple issue of their health and safety,” Crow said.

Bumpy Road for Canada’s Ailing Auto Industry

The auto sector, a key engine driving the Canadian economy, will be “on the bubble” in 2008, according to industry watcher Dennis DesRosier. If a slowing U.S. economy side-swipes auto sales, the Canadian auto industry will be in big trouble, because domestic auto and parts makers export more than 85 percent of their production south of the border, said DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

If the U.S. slows sharply amid a weakening of the housing market and the credit crunch, the impact on Canada’s auto sector will be severe for many Canadian companies already on shaky ground. Maxtech Manufacturing’s annual revenue plunged from about $100 million to $50 million since the start of the decade, the result of rising commodity costs and energy bills, stiffer competition from offshore rivals and a soaring Canadian dollar.

Meanwhile, the “Big Three” automakers have indicated they will be pushing to cut labor costs when contract talks with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) start next summer, in a bid to match the concessions they won in the U.S. last fall. This year “will be the most challenging for us,” said CAW president Buzz Hargrove, who has emphasized that the union will reject demands for major concessions.

Law Gives Chinese Workers New Rights

Starting Jan. 1, 2008, the new labor contract law will give Chinese workers new rights, especially when it comes to long-term job security. Employees with ten consecutive years at a company will be entitled to a contract without a fixed end date, essentially giving them lifetime employment. Severance payments will be mandatory for anyone whose contract expires or who leaves after giving 30 days’ notice or is laid off.

Analysts say that China’s overhaul of employment regulations was needed in the face of China’s rampant industrial development on the backs of largely unprotected laborers. Stories abound of workers toiling under inhumane conditions, being fired summarily and struggling for years to collect unpaid wages from unscrupulous employers.

Most provinces in China require labor contracts between employers and their workers, but contracts are typically for one or two years. Many companies have been ignoring labor agreements altogether. Foreign multinational corporations, generally regard the law as too restrictive. They have warned that it will add labor costs and could hurt foreign investments in China.

Teachers at India’s Medical Colleges Plan a Relay Hunger Strike

Teachers responded to the call by the Maharashira state medical teachers’ association (MSMTA) for an attention-getting strike over the issue of revision of their salaries to equal those paid medical teachers by the neighboring Kamataka government. The BJMC has close to 200 teachers, including lecturers, associate professors and full professors. Of these, 60 are engaged on an ad hoc basis, which means their services are renewed at the beginning of each academic year.

If their members’ demands for pay parity are not met, MSMTA plans to launch a “stir.” A group of five teachers will go on a hunger strike every day for one week at each of the 13 medical colleges in the state. This process could be repeated by other groups of five, if the union so decides.

A lecturer at the Kamataka government medical colleges takes home a gross salary of Rs 45,000 a month (U.S.$ 1,145), while an associate professor and professor draw Rs 30,000 and Rs 75,000, respectively. This compares far better with the medical teachers in Maharashira, where lecturers earn Rs 20,000 a month (U.S.$509), while an associate professor and professor earn Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000, respectively.

500 Zambian Copper Smelter Workers Strike to Air Their Complaints

Production came to a halt at the Chambishi Copper Smelter Company on Jan. 3, as about 500 employees staged a work stoppage to protest low salaries and poor working conditions. The workers said that management was. Insensitive to their problems and intimidated them whenever they complained.

Lesswell Maluma, one of the employees, said that whenever they complained about their low salaries of K300.000 (US $78) per month, they were told to quit if they were unhappy with their salaries and working conditions. But the company secretary, Sun Chuanqui, gave an entirely different view of the relationship. He said it was unfortunate that the employees should resort to a work stoppage before they could finish discussing their problems with the management.

While failing to talk specifically about employee grievances, Sun, presumably speaking for the company, said: “We are ready to dialogue, and workers should feel free to talk to us.” Government labor officers are planning to meet with representatives of the workers and management with the aim of mediating the dispute.

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