Irish Workers Stage Biggest Strike in 30-Year History

Ireland’s government employees staged the biggest strike in at least three decades on Nov. 26 with about 250,000 workers protesting against plans to cut pay to reduce the budget deficit. Nurses, teachers and tax officials are those taking part in the 24-hour nationwide stoppage over what labor unions have said are “vicious” cost-cutting plans by the government. Union officials have threatened further strikes if talks with the government on an alternative savings plan fail.

Ireland, once Europe’s most dynamic economy, has been hit by a property crash and the global recession, eroding tax income and pushing the shortfall to 26 billion euros ($38.9 billion) this year. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan wants to cut about 4 billion euros from the Dec. 9 budget to rebuild investors’ confidence after borrowing costs soared.

The government has already raised taxes and imposed a levy on public workers as it grapples with a deficit amounting to about 12 percent of the country’s gross national product. The stoppage had been partially scaled back due to flooding in the south and west of the country, with hospital and emergency workers maintaining services in those areas. The strike closed social welfare, passport and state tax offices.

Russian Postal Service Slashes 33,000 Jobs

The elimination of more than 33,000 jobs in the country’s postal system was announced on Nov. 23 by Russia Post. The job cuts, which will go into effect in 2010, represent eight percent of the state-owned company. Russian Post, or PochtaRussii, which currently employs 415,000 workers, said its plan to restructure the company was aimed at cutting costs and improving financial performance.

Vladimir Osakovsky, economist at Unicredit Securities, said the job losses had come as part of a modernization program, and were not a direct result of the economic crisis. “Of course, it’s possible that the economic situation triggered these layoffs now, but it was bound to happen,” Osakovsky said.

According to Natalya Pavlova, a senior account manager of Coleman Services, the job seekers have a very hard time finding work. “If an employer publishes a vacancy in any open source, the company will receive at least 100 résumés within the first couple of days,” she said. “The job market is saturated with good but unemployed professionals who compete in the search for a job.”

Brazilian Petrobras Workers Plan Surprise Attacks

Petroleo Brasiliero workers plan to hold “surprise” work stoppages almost daily at units of the Brazilian state-controlled oil producer after disagreements on the suspension of striking workers led wage talks to stall. The labor union, known as FUP, recommended that workers hold an average of six unannounced and isolated stoppages a week at Petrobras refineries, oil platforms and terminals. The demonstrations may last from 2 to 24 hours, the union said.

FUP represents 40,000 oil workers at Petrobras, including employees at 38 Campos Basin platforms, where 86 percent of Brazil’s oil was produced in October. Union leaders voted to reject the company wage proposal at a meeting on Nov. 27 because the Rio de Janeiro-based company refused to cancel the suspensions of employees who took part in a strike in March.

Petrobras’s proposal to renew a contract that expired in September included a 7.8 percent wage increase. “Since Brazilian Petrobras maintained the punishment of employees, we didn’t even assess the financial terms of the proposal,” an FUP spokesman said.

French Unions Threaten to Close Paris Museums over Pay Cuts

Unions representing French museum workers are threatening to extend and widen a strike that has kept Paris’s Pompadou Center of Modern Art shut all week. Seven unions sent a joint letter to the Culture Ministry, warning that they will start a strike on Dec. 2 at tourist attractions, including the Louvre and Versailles Palace if the government proceeds with planned job cuts.

The government plan is not to replace one of every two museum employees who retire, a move that is designed to cut the budget deficit, a campaign promise of President Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2007 election. But it could hurt hundreds of businesses, stores and restaurants that depend on tourists to French cities, including Paris, the world’s most-visited city.

A union press release said that the museum workers had voted on Nov. 24 to continue their strike for at least another 24 hours in the hope that a fair settlement of the dispute could be reached to prevent further financial and cultural damage.

World’s Largest Zlnc and Copper Producer Signs with Peru Union

The Antamina Mining Company signed a three-year labor agreement with its union workers, putting an end to four months of tense negotiations, including the threat of a strike at the largest zinc and copper producer in the world. The new agreement provides for a pay increase of between 4.4 percent and 4.7 percent, and an extraordinary bonus of $15,000 for each worker.

This agreement is one of the first in an important mine in Peru since the international financial crisis began, and it is likely to be used as a reference for similar situations with other mining companies operating in the region.

Antamina, under the control of BHP Billion Ltd., Xstrata Copper, Tack Cominco Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corp., confirmed the deal, but refused to make any comment on the matter.

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