Global Labor Greets Obama’s Election as ‘Progressive Change’

In a statement to affiliated unions around the world, David Cockroft, general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), said Obama’s election promises to bring important policy changes on trade union rights. It also brought new hope for international relations and for a progressive response to the global economic crisis.

Focusing on the financial crisis, Cockroft announced that a meeting of labor leaders from the G20 countries would convene in Washington on Nov. 14 to press world leaders to adopt policies that would protect working people. The meeting would take place a day before the summit of government leaders. Further discussions are also scheduled at a meeting of the general council of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in Brussels in December.

“While the crisis will put workers and their unions everywhere under severe pressure, it also provides us with an opportunity to establish a system of global governance, which is more in the interests of working people. The election of a new U.S. President who shares many of the values of the global labor movement can only be a ‘positive factor’ in this," Cockroft said.

Burmese Factory Workers Boycott and Strike Employer Restrictions

About 200 workers in Sittwa, Burma, boycotted a shrimp factory to demand the removal of restrictions that had been imposed on them by the company’s owners. Their protests surfaced when the company, Yamin Dawda, began to cut 1,500 kyat ($240) a day from a worker’s pay, if he or she were absent from work, even for sickness or other legitimate reasons, one of the workers said. Another grievance was the cancellation of the bus ferry that normally carried them to and from their jobs.

On Oct. 27, the workers went to the factory demanding that the owners withdraw the pay cuts for missed days and to restore ferry service. “We went to the factory but we did not join in work that day, and we demanded that the factory owners fulfill our basic rights. We boycotted the factory by standing firm outside the compound,” the worker said. Afterwards, the workers stayed home on strike for three days, he said.

The factory owners eventually compromised with the workers by agreeing to rescind the pay-cut rule, but refused to maintain the ferry bus service because of the high cost of fuel. The average wage at the shrimp factory is 18,000 kyat ($2,874) a month.

Spanish Jobless Hits 11.3 percent — a 12-Year High

The number of unemployed people in Spain has reached a 12-year high of 11.3 percent, the highest level in Europe, according to the Labor Ministry. As recession looms in Spain, European Union statistics put the jobless figure even higher, at 11.9 percent.

The number claiming unemployment benefits rose by 192,658 to 2,818,026 — the highest level since April 1996. Since October 2007, the number of those claiming jobless benefits has risen 37.5 percent. A severe slowdown in the construction industry has been one of the main causes of the economic slowdown.

On Nov. 3, the government set out a plan to help unemployed people who had difficulty in keeping up with their mortgage payments. The new measures are intended to favor families with extreme difficulties by providing jobs and other assistance. The government’s initiatives, which are designed to guarantee the operation of the financial sector, are expected to be approved at a meeting of the Council of Ministers next week.

Argentina Creates New Movement to Combat Poverty.

A new movement, formed by a host of political, social, labor and cultural organizations of Argentina, launched an action plan on Oct. 17 to reduce poverty and child mortality and to promote more equal distribution of wealth. Seven thousand delegates from 610 0rganizations and 23 provinces had confirmed their participation. The action plan was presented at a three-day meeting organized by the Central Federation of Argentine Workers (CTA) in the city of Jujuy, one of the most impoverished areas of the country.

The CTA, founded 16 years ago, is a trade union federation of one million members that includes civil servants, teachers, health care and judicial workers, as well as retired and unemployed people and those who work in cooperatives or bankrupt companies salvaged by employees. Years ago, the CTA called for the formation of a National Front Against Poverty.

The CTA is now arguing that the current global financial crisis must not be used as a pretext for abandoning the fight against poverty and inequality. It is renewing the struggle with a broader movement that will put social issues back at the top of the peoples’ agenda. “Our strength will be in the diversity of organizations represented, coming from 720 cities in the country,” a CTA spokesperson said. There are 13 million people living in poverty in Argentina

Pensioners in Egypt Demand Back Pay and Raises

Some 250 Egyptian pensioners protested outside the National Organization for Social Insurance on Nov. 3 against what they described as the failure of the Ministry of Social Security to implement a court ruling that those under 60 had the same rights as those above the age of 60. The protest was organized by the Federation of Pension Holders, a body formed in August 2008 to represent pensioners’ interests.

But those over 60 received a 5 percent increase in their pensions, while those under 60 were denied any increase, said Hamdy Hussein, a pension activist. “The Constitutional Court found for us that that those on a pension under age 60 had equal rights to those over 60, Hussein said. Two to three months ago, the minister began giving us the money we are entitled to, following the court decision. However, we have not received the back payments we are entitled to,” Hussein complained.

The pensioners are demanding that they receive the same rate of pay increase as state employees. They say they are being made to pay for hospital treatment, despite being members of the national health insurance plan, which covers 30 percent of the population and entitles them to free health treatment. They feel that “Egypt was built on the shoulders of [these] pensioners. It is their right, when they stop working, to be able to live, to receive medical treatment.

Australian Government Urged to Use Infrastructure to Offset Job Loss

With a $10 billion fiscal stimulus package in place, the Australian government is using infrastructure projects to cushion some of the impact of growing unemployment. The jobless rate expected to reach 5.7 percent in the next 18 months. Federal Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner says he is hopeful that, despite the heavy expenditures, he can keep the national budget in surplus.

Jeff Lawrence, president of the Australian Confederation of Trade Unions (ACTU), says the government might avert some job losses by funding major infrastructure projects, “There is scope in Australia, certainly more scope than in other countries, to ensure appropriate investment.”

But Lawrence also says it’s important for the government to get its new workplace relations in place as soon as possible. “In a time of economic insecurity, what we need is an industrial system that provides protection for people and a safety net, and protection for rights at work and collective bargaining,” Lawrence said.

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