FMicrosoft is developing Big Brother-style software capable of remotely monitoring a worker’s productivity, physical well-being and competence. A British newspaper has seen a patent application filed by Microsoft for a computer system that links workers to their computers via wireless censors that measure their metabolism. The system would allow managers to monitor employee performance by measuring their heart rate, body temperature, movement, facial expression and blood pressure.

Technology allowing constant monitoring of workers was previously limited to pilots, firefighters and NASA astronauts. This is believed to be the first time a company has proposed developing such software for mainstream workplaces. Physical changes in an employee would be matched to an individual psychological profile based on a worker¹s weight, age and health.

British unions fear that employees could be dismissed on the basis of a computer’s assessment of their psychological state. Peter Skyte, a national officer for the union Unite, said: “This system takes the idea of monitoring people at work to a new level, with a new level of invasiveness but in a very old-fashioned way because it monitors what is going in rather than the results.” The Information Commissioner’s Office said: “Imposing this level of intrusion on employees could only be justified in exceptional circumstances.”

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New ‘VW Law’ Gives Workers a Veto over Many Company Decisions

The German government presented a new “VW law” on Jan. 16 that would preserve workers’ rights to veto plant construction and relocations. The legislation is “good news for staff,” noted Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries as automaker Volkswagen faced an expected takeover bid by the luxury sports carmaker Porsche. In addition, “important” decisions would require approval by 80 percent plus one share of investors during general assemblies.

Because the northern German state of Lower Saxony (where VW is based) holds 20 percent of the voting rights in Europe’s biggest carmaker, the law would also preserve its effective veto over VW strategy. A prior “VW law” adopted in 1960 to protect the auto giant from a takeover was rejected in part by the European Court of Justice in October.

Meanwhile, Bernd Osterlow, VW Workers Council president, said he sought to reach an “amicable solution” to a dispute with Porsche over future representation of Volkswagen workers. VW workers want to avoid losing influence if their group is taken over by Porsche. A parity with Porsche workers on the company board is deemed unfair, given that VW employs 320,000 workers while Porsche has a work force just under 11,000.

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600 Strike at Guyana Electric Power Company

About 600 union workers from the state-run power company went on strike Jan. 14 to protest a downsizing effort by the utility, which provides nearly all the electricity to this South American country.

The workers walked out of generating plants after the Guyana Power and Light Company let go nearly 50 employees without first notifying union leaders, according to Kenneth Joseph, chief of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees.

Guyana’s Ministry of Labour called both sides to an emergency negotiation meeting to avoid blackouts. No power shortages were reported in Georgetown, the country’s capital, but officials said service would likely be interrupted if negotiations failed to produce an agreement.

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Strike at Spain’s Abortion Clinics for Better Legal Protection

The private clinics that carry out more than 90 percent of legal abortions in Spain have begun a week-long strike calling for changes in the abortion law. They say women and doctors should have better legal protection. Police raided abortion clinics in Barcelona and Madrid last year.

Most abortions in Spain are carried out under a law requiring a doctor’s diagnosis that the pregnancy poses a risk to the women’s mental health. Spanish doctors, who began their strike on Jan. 15, want the law changed in line with many European countries, where a woman can choose to have a termination within the first three months of pregnancy.

At present, the doctor’s judgment can be called into question by the authorities. In recent months, more than a dozen medical staff have been arrested on suspicion of carrying out illegal abortions. In the past decade, the number of legal abortions has doubled to more than 100,000 a year.

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Bulgarian Unions Want Departure of Indian Steel Owner

Bulgaria’s two biggest trade unions threatened to hold protests if the Socialist-led cabinet did not take measures to protect the Balkan country’s biggest steel mill, Kremikovtsi, which employs 8,000 workers and affects the livelihood of 100,000 citizens. The unions urged the Bulgarian government on Jan. 15 to force out the owner of Kremikovtsi, India’s Global Steel Holdings Ltd (GSHL), which they accuse of poor management that may lead to the steel mills closure.

Speculation in the local media that the plant, which accounts for about 10 percent of Bulgaria’s exports would be shut down have mounted in recent months, forcing the owners to issue frequent denials. Shares in Kremikovtsi have tumbled 67 percent since November. It lost another 3.45 percent the past week.

GSHL is owned by Pramod and Vinod Mittal, the younger brothers of Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal. The trade unions accuse GHSL of failing to keep the steel plant — once known as the industrial glory of the former communist regime — financially viable.

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Latin American Youth Who Neither Work or Study

Seven million young Brazilians and nearly 800,000 youngsters in Argentina swell the ranks of a veritable army of Latin American youth who neither work nor study — a phenomenon that threatens to continue producing poverty unless effective measures are urgently taken to integrate them into society, new studies reveal. In Brazil, those who do not work or attend school make up nearly 20 percent of young people between the ages of 15 and 24, according to a study on youth development drawn up by sociologist Julio Jacobo Waiselfisz

Jorge Werthein, director of the Latin American Technological Information Network (RITLA), which commissioned the report, said the cause of the situation is “structural and historical inequality” which is “a reality throughout Latin America.” The problem is reflected in limited access to the labor market, education, health services and mortality rates, Werthein said.

He also said the increase in t he high-risk population generates greater violence. In countries like Germany, Spain and France, there is one homicide for every 100,000 young people, while in Latin American nations like Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, the proportion is 50 murders per 100,000 youngsters.

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