Strikers, defying President Nicolas Sarcoxie’s push to reform France, crippled the country’s public transport system on Oct. 18, forcing commuters to drive, pedal or walk to work‹or stay home. The strike was the first major showdown between Sarkozy and powerful unions, who have in the past forced the government to back down from its reform plans.

Bus, train and subway service ground to a halt across France. More than 90 percent of high speed TGV trains weren’t running; only one Paris subway line — which is automatic with no drivers — was running as usual. International trains were affected, but spared the worst. Unions have been in a staring match with the Sarkozy government elected in May with a strong mandate for reform over the last few months. Thursday’s walkout amounted to the first exchange of shots.

The dispute centers on Sarkozy’s plans to eliminate a special pension benefit devised to give advantages to those in physically demanding jobs, such as miners and train drivers. Workers covered by these pensions are able to retire earlier — and on more generous terms — than the vast majority of France’s working population.

Five Guatemalan Union Leaders Murdered Despite U.S. Trade Deal

Masked gunmen dumped a Guatemalan banana picker’s bullet-ridden corpse, yards from fields of fruit bound for the United States, a grim reminder of the risks of organizing workers in this Central American country. Marco Tulio Ramirez, killed last month, was the fifth Guatemalan labor leader murdered this year.

Activists say the deaths show that U.S. promises to protect labor rights under new international trade agreements have changed little. At a time when President George W. Bush is pressing for similar deals in other Latin American nations with bad labor records. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) was approved by the U.S, Congress in 2005 after a tough battle, with Democrats who argued that worker safeguards in the agreement were too weak.

Guatemala, which began implementing the trade past last year, was notorious for abuses during its 36-year-long civil war, and the government’s enforcement of civil rights is still weak. The U.S. Trade Representative gave $40 million to spend in Guatemala on strengthening the labor ministry, resolving industrial disputes and monitoring worker-related abuses, but little has changed.

Korean Metalworkers Union Embraces Migrant Workers into Its Ranks

The Metalworkers Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions their application. The (KCTU) has decided to include migrant laborers as union members. The union has already changed its organizational rules to allow migrant workers to join as full members and has allotted a certain ratio of union positions to them.

Migrant workers in Korea still do not have the right to form their own labor unions. In 2005, about 100 migrant workers in the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon region filed the paperwork to form a regional union, but the Ministry of Labor rejected it. The court later sided with the workers, but the ministry has appealed, and the case is awaiting a final decision from the Supreme Court.

There are 480,000 migrant laborers working in South Korea right now, 3.2 percent of all laborers. Their numbers have grown to a point where they are a pillar of the country’s economy. Treating them in a manner consistent with internationally established norms is important, not only in terms of civil rights, but also in labor’s effectiveness, union leaders say.

Foot-Dragging in Israeli Teachers’ Strike

Some 10 days after middle and high school teachers began their strike, negotiations between the Secondary School Teachers Organization (SSTO) and the Finance and Education Ministries are being conducted by relatively junior officials, and according to a predictable script whereby each side simply entrenches itself in its known positions. There seems to be no hurry to end the strike, which is disrupting the learning of some 600,000 students.

The dispute over wages and working conditions became complicated when the government held separate negotiations with the two teachers’ organizations this year, but signed an agreement with only one of them. While Education Ministry officials tried to convince SSTO chairman Ran Erez to formulate a new work agreement, Finance Ministry officials preferred to focus on the Teachers Union, which is larger and can cause more difficulties by shutting down kindergartens and elementary schools.

An agreement was reached with the Teachers Union, whose key provision is a 26 percent pay raise in exchange for a longer work week, while the government was asking SSTO members to work more extra hours than the Teachers Union had promised. In 1978, the teachers struck for 45 days but did not manage to secure a real and lasting improvement in their salaries.

Strike over Safety at Italy DHL Wins Airline Pledge to Negotiate

Managers at DHL’s air cargo fleet operations in Italy have promised to enter into talks with unions after their hand was forced by strike action. Workers at DHL’s Bergamo hub went on strike on Oct. 10, prompted by managers’ refusal to discuss safety concerns following an accident that seriously injured a worker who was crushed by a heavy pallet that fell from a forklift truck.

The Italian transportation union, Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Transporti, affiliated with the International Transportation Federation (ITF), believes the accident was caused because safety measures were not being properly implemented. The union called for a meeting with management over the issue, but they refused to attend.

Marco Sala, a union official, commented: “The management has been trying to destroy the strength of t he unions in DHL in Bergamo, which has been built up over the years. Their policy has been to stop union meetings from taking place and to undermine trade unionism. DHL has also been cutting corners on safety. That’s why we decided to go out on strike. The strike was a big success, and DHL will now meet with us to talk about safety and other issues that we are concerned about.”

New German Rail Strike Causes Chaos for 10 Million Passengers

A third German train drivers’ strike caused fresh havoc Oct. 18, particularly in the eastern parts of the country, the national railway, Deutsche Bahn, said. Such industrial action used to be rare in a country where unions and companies normally work to reach agreements that keep the eurozone’s biggest economy humming, while providing workers with a high level of job protection.

“The strikes are off to a good start,” said Gerda Seibert. spokeswomen for the GDL union, which is pressing for a collective bargaing agreement and higher wages from Deutsche Bahn. More strikes could follow next week if a deal is not found, disrupting service to 10 million people who use the train each day in Germany, the highest passenger level in Europe.

It was the third day of strikes in the past two weeks by GDL members, who want pay increases of up to 31 percent and a separate contract from other rail workers. Deutsche Bahn has refused to negotiate separately, while offering a better deal than one agreed to earlier this year with the Transnet and GDBA unions.

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