U.S. Economy Is Still Weakening, with No End in Sight

A new report by noted economist Charles McMillion outlines the gathering storm facing the American economy. Industrial output is plunging, producer prices are soaring and the housing industry continues to worsen. According to Federal Reserve reports, industrial output fell another 2 percent in May after plunging 7 percent in April. The incentive for business to add new capacity (jobs, equipment or buildings) is rapidly disappearing as 20 percent of existing capacity is presently sitting idle.

Unprecedented since 1933 is the fact that households have no savings to fall back on, even with federal deficit spending and the economy dependent on foreign borrowing and asset sales. The U.S. continues to borrow or sell assets to foreign interests worth $2 billion each day. According to May's consumer price index, gasoline prices increased 15.5 percent the past year. Food and beverage prices rose 4.9 percent and overall consumer prices increased 3.7 percent in the past 12 months. Construction starts of new homes fell another 3.3 percent in May, down 32.1 percent from a year ago.

From all the reports and statistics, it appears we're moving deeper and deeper toward an economic recession that will victimize American workers, as well as those in countries around the world. Labor leaders are still uncertain about what role they can play to defend working people from the worst effects of a dysfunctional economy.

Yamaha's 600 Workers in Vietnam End 4-Day Strike

Yamaha Motor Co., the world's second largest maker of motorcycles, said that all the workers at a plant in Vietnam have returned to work after a four-day strike. More than 800 workers, employed at the company's plant in an industrial park 15 kilometers north of Hanoi, came back on June 14 after striking for higher pay in line with the country's current inflation.

Rises in consumer prices reached 25.2 percent in May, the fastest pace since at least 1992, amid a surge of food and energy costs. The workers, who get a monthly salary of about VND 1.05 million (U.S. $63) demanded that the company raise their salaries by 20 percent and to increase their daily lunch allowance to VND15,000 (90 cents) from VND`10,000 (60 cents.).

Yamaha's board of directors in Vietnam is considering the workers' proposals and will respond to them soon. Company policy is that after five days of striking, if workers don't return to work, their labor contracts are terminated. That is probably why the strike lasted four days.

Shell Oil Offers U.K.'s Fuel Drivers 14 Percent Pay Raise

Tanker drivers delivering fuel for Shell have been offered a 14 percent pay increase. over two years after their four-day strike hit U.K. fuel supplies. The increase will be worth 9 percent in the first year and 5 percent in t he second, taking average annual earnings to £41,750. ($82,369). Drivers and union officials rejected an earlier offer of about £36,000 ($ 71,042). The strike affected petrol stations and oil depots across the U.K. this week.

The stoppage by about 600 drivers led to hundreds of petrol stations running out of fuel. The drivers had threatened to hold a second round of strikes had an agreement not been reached. They will be voting on the tentative agreement and are expected to give their verdict by the end of this month.

The government has warned about inflationary pay rises, but said this deal was "particular" to the oil industry The government's Business Secretary, John Hutton, said: "There needs to be discipline in public and private sector pay if we are to keep inflation under control."

Workers at Russian Metals Plant on Hunger Strike for Unpaid Wages

A total of 23 workers, who have not been paid for three months, are now on a hunger strike at a tungsten production plant in Russia's Far East, a regional trade union official said on June 18. The strikers are demanding 2.7 million rubles (about $120,000) in back wages. The plant employs 300 workers, which is about half the town's population.

With workers receiving their last pay packet in February, people have been struggling to buy basic food and medicine. Medics are closely monitoring the health of the 23 protesters. Last week, one of the workers was hospitalized with high blood pressure, while two women, who also have health problems, refused to be admitted to a hospital.

An official from the plant's owner, Ruskin Volfram, said wages are unlikely to be paid until August. Prosecutors have launched a probe into the strike. The regional governor, Serge Darkin, is expected to arrive at the plant to meet with the protesters.

Dutch Government Puts Up Big Money for Bus Drivers' Pay

The Netherland's government is to put up 16 million euros ($ 25 million) into regional bus services to fund a pay increase for drivers and end the ongoing bus strike, junior transport minister Tineke Huizinga announced June 18. Transport unions said bus services would return to normal the next day, ending weeks of industrial action. The money will be split among 12 Dutch provisional governments who are responsible for contracting out and subsidizing bus services.

Last week, striking bus drivers and the private bus companies agreed to a 3.5 percent pay deal, but failed to work out how to fund the increase. Leaving drivers to continue their strike. The bus companies - Connexion, Arriva and Veolis - say they cannot fund the increase because of the sharp rise in petrol prices. Ticket prices are pegged by the government, giving bus companies few options to boost their income.

Huizinga is also giving bus firms the green light to introduce fuel and inflation surcharges on tickets to compensate them for soaring petrol prices for next year. Details of how the fuel surcharge would work were still sketchy. It's possible passengers will face a surcharge based on the number of kilometers they travel.

330 Illegal Strikes Recorded in Vietnam in Six Months

Vietnam workers participated in 330 illegal strikes so far this year that were not led by a trade union and didn't follow government regulations, it was reported at a conference of the Vietnam National Confederation of Labour on June 16-17 in Hanoi.

Mai Duc Chinh, the confederation's vice chairman, said that under current regulations, only grass-roots trade unions have the right to organize strikes, but there is no mechanism to protect trade union leaders, and most employers won't cooperate with trade unions. Most leaders of grass-roots trade unions have many jobs, so they don't spend much time on their union responsibilities. Besides, Chinh said, many of these leaders have poor union skills.

Under the current law, laborers are not allowed to go on strike but must take their complaints to court. They can strike if conflicts of interest are not resolved through negotiations. Laborers must compensate their employers if the court finds their strikes were illegal.

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