Global Unions Sponsor 'World Day for Decent Work'

Unions around the world have been called on to participate in the "World Day for Decent Work" on Oct. 7, 2008, with special events to dramatize the themes of the campaign: Rights at Work, Solidarity and Ending Poverty and Inequality. The two global unions that sponsored the "World Day" are the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Public Service International (PSI).

Early returns show that unions in a number of countries have responded to the call. Reports have come in from Norway, Australia, Bangladesh, Colombia, France, Albania, Senegal and the Fiji Islands. The web site for the campaign is: www.wddw,org.

While there may still be dozens of responses, the overall results are disappointing. Of course, unions and their members regard access to a decent job as an issue of prime importance, but the "world day" campaign is too abstract and disjointed and not designed to produce tangible results.

Two Global Agreements Signed in Brazil

UNI, the global union, has signed its first two worldwide agreements with Latin American-based companies On Oct. 2 in Sao Paulo. UNI and Brazilian communications affiliate SINTETEL signed agreements with Ability and Icomon - two providers of outsourced telecom technical services. More than 1,000 workers are covered by the agreement, which is based on UNI's very first agreement with Spain-based Telefonica, that is big in Europe and America.

The Brazilian agreements guarantee the core labor rights of the International Labor Organization (ILO) that provide workers with freedom to join unions and to bargain collectively to improve their conditions. It also requires freedom from discrimination wherever the companies operate, bans child labor and calls for joint resolution of difficulties should they arise.

SINTETEL has just finished restoring three 19th century houses adjacent to their downtown Sao Paulo headquarters to create a modern training college. There is also a call center that helps find jobs for members. It also features a course to help people with disabilities to complete their formal education, paid for by the employers.

Russian Trade Unions See Economy on Brink of Crisis

Declaring that the country's economy was on the brink of a crisis, Russian unions joined with opposition parties in criticizing the government and calling for urgent action. Russia's financial system has been badly affected by the global economic crisis, with record losses in its financial markets, rising interest rates and a liquidity shortage.

Mikhail Shmakov, head of the Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FITUR), said that "street protests" will increase: following job losses, which will be caused by investment cuts. "Today, we demand that the government, first of all the Finance Ministry, take urgent measures," Shmakov said.

At a Kremlin meeting on Oct. 7, Russian President Dmitry Midvale pledged to give banks an extra 950 billion rubles ($36 billion) credit for terms of at least five years to support the financial sector. The move followed an almost 20 percent plunge on the Russian stock market.

Belgium Strike Halts All International Trains; Ports Hit

A nationwide strike over rising prices severely disrupted public transport in Belgium the past week, forcing the cancellation of all high-speed international rail services in and out of the country. Picketing outside the port of Antwerp restricted access, although workers at the port itself did not join the strike.

Unions are protesting at what they say is the government's failure to respond to rising prices and are urging it to take steps to alleviate the impact of inflation. They say they want to send a clear signal to the government before it presents its 2009 budget to Parliament on Oct. 14.

In Brussels, all train services were scrapped and only a fraction of underground rail and bus services were running, a spokesman for public transport STIB said. Provincial train services were also hit, and the two main rail stations in the capital were closed.

German Musicians Unions Strike over Pay

Concert halls and opera houses across Germany may fall silent because thousands of the country's top musicians have gone on strike for a pay increase. The work stoppage is spreading to more than 70 orchestras, causing many to cancel rehearsals and performances, said the German Orchestra Association (DOV).

"Everybody employed by federal and state theaters had a substantial pay raise at the beginning of the year," said DOV president Gerald Mertens. "The 13,000 members of DOV are the only ones who didn't. We just won't let this go unnoticed."

The musicians have contracts with the Deutscher Buehnenverein, an employers' group representing some 430 operas, theaters and concert halls around the country.

Argentine Union Suspends Wage Demands Amid Crisis

Argentine's main trade union group is suspending requests for wage increases through December because of the world financial crisis. Hugo Moyano, head of the country's labor federation, said it's not the time to demand higher salaries as economic turmoil rattles the globe.

The labor group began working with business and government representatives this week to craft plans to boost production and consumption to avoid recession and job losses.

Nearly 1,000 Argentine autoworkers were sent home from a Fiat truck factory last week, sparking fears that mass firings would follow. Huge currency losses in neighboring Brazil had complicated the factory's efforts to export its trucks.

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