An International Labor Organization report reveals that one in three workers in the world is either unemployed or earns less than the equivalent of $2 a day. The ILO report, which was released on Labor Day, shows 195.7 million people are unemployed and nearly 1.3 billion people earn less than $2 a day per family member.

The ILO estimates that half of all working people worldwide work in jobs that carry a higher risk of being unprotected, without health care or retirement security and without a voice at work. Over 70 percent of workers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa are in such vulnerable employment.

The ILO defines decent work as work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, as well as allowing people to express their concerns, form and join unions. Hundreds of millions of women and men are working hard and long but without the conditions they need to lift themselves and their families out of poverty or the risk of falling into poverty.

Moscow’s McDonald’s Officially Recognizes a Russian Trade Union

Khamzai Khasmulatov, director of Moscow McDonald’s, has recognized that the union in the company’s food processing plant is authorized to carry on collective bargaining on behalf of its members. The company’s recognition of the union came in a written statement to the Commission on Labor Disputes of the State Duma, that considered the dispute between the union and McDonald’s.

Before the Commission meeting, about a hundred activists of Moscow’s Commerce and Catering Workers’ Union held a picket line in front of the State Duma to protest McDonald’s anti-union policy. The Commission recommended that McDonald’s enter into collective bargaining with the union in a week It ordered an audit of company facilities to determine whether they are in compliance with international labor standards.

McDonald’s still rejects the union’s intention to sign an agreement for all McDonald’s workers in Moscow. The company claims that a majority of its employees don’t want a union. A good contract for workers at the food processing plant could lead to organizational progress at company restaurants and other facilities.

Hyundai Motor and Korean Union Reach Wage Agreement

The labor union and management of Hyundai Motor Co. on Sept. 4 agreed on wages and worming conditions, marking the first time in 10 years for South Korea’s biggest carmaker to reach a deal without a strike. The provisional agreement, which needs approval from union members, calls for an 84,000 won (US $88) raise in monthly salary and an extension of the retirement age by one year to 59, among other concessions.

Both sides agreed that the company will pay performance bonuses of 300 percent of the monthly salary, plus an additional I million won ($1,066) as a reward for meeting the second half-year target and another one million won to encourage workers to improve the quality of company products. The union’s 44,000 members are expected to approve the contract later in the week.

The union has conducted walkouts every year except 1994 since its founding in 1987. In the past 10 years, the union has gone on strike for a total of 313 days, costing the company a total of 8.9 trillion won ($9.53 billion) in lost sales, according to the automaker.

Iraq’s Education System in Shambles

Iraq’s school system, reportedly once one of the finest in the Middle East, is wracked with violence and disrepair, following the sanctions imposed under Saddam Hussein’s regime and the sectarian violence that followed his downfall. Children are regularly kidnapped for ransom and about 600 teachers were killed last year, according to the Ministry of Education.

In Baghdad, daily violence disrupts classes. Parents are pulling their children out of school to be tutored at home. UNICEF estimates that 800,000 students, 63 percent of them girls, did not attend school in 2005-2006. Sectarian graffiti cover school walls. Classrooms have been divided by sect, with Sunni teachers separated from Shia teachers.

Students no longer respect authority, but teachers are afraid to discipline those who misbehave because of fears that their parents might “come after them.”

Chilean Trade Union Demonstrators Brutally Attacked

Thousands of Chileans took to the streets on Aug. 29 to demand more equal distribution of the country’s wealth and welfare assistance for the least advantaged. Despite the government’s promise to respect the right to protest, the demonstration was violently repressed. More than 260 demonstrators were arrested.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), representing 168 million workers in 153 countries, has called on Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and her government to take every measure to ensure that violent acts of repression are not repeated and to provide all its citizens with a share of the benefits of the country’s economic success,

Employment in Chile is highly unstable; inequality and lack of opportunity are a growing source of discontent. The Aug. 29 demonstration, sponsored by two major union confederations, are demanding social security, decent wages and respect for collective bargaining.

Swedish Unions Keep Losing Members

More than 80,000 blue collar workers have quit their unions this year, according to figures revealed by LO-Tidningen, the LO’s in-house journal. If the decline in union membership continues at the same pace, LO will have lost 100,000 members by the end of the year. The total cost to the confederation¹s 15 unions is expected to top 300 million kroner ($44.18 million).

Union leaders blame the government for the sharp decline. Since coming to power last September, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s center-right coalition has abolished tax deductions on union membership fees. It has also forced up the fees in the union-run, taxpayer-funded unemployment insurance plans. A large number of members have quit the unions as a result of the increased costs, leaders say.

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