Wednesday, September 29, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR SPAIN:
SPANISH GENERAL STRIKE LARGER THAN EXPECTED:
The first general strike in Spain since 2002 was much larger than previously expected. Union sources claimed up to 10 million strikers or over 70% of the workforce, making this strike far more 'general' than previous ones held in France. While such estimates have to be taken with a grain of salt, particularly as one of the claimants is the CCOO led by "ex" communists with a very touchy relation with such a thing as truth, there is little doubt that Spanish workers turned out in numbers far exceeding anything that anyone expected. The government was reduced to mumbling about "partial and minimal disruption" instead of doing the usual thing and offering its own (far lower) numbers. This turnout occurred despite persistent scepticism about the efficacy of the strike in forcing the government to retreat and also widespread cynicism about the connections of the two larger union federations, the UGT and the CCOO, with the politicians who have concocted the austerity measures.
It is possible that a large number of Spaniards went out on strike despite rather than because of the call of the UGT and CCOO. There were clashes with the police in both Barcelona and Madrid. 38 people were arrested in Madrid and 43 in Barcelona. 58 people were injured in clashes in Barcelona, and by some miracle of balance 30 of those were police officers. One thing that struck me in viewing television coverage of the events in Madrid was that those who clashed with the police and tried to 'enforce' the strike on non-strikers seemed to be all CCOO members. NO CCOO bureaucrat were ever endorse such a thing in public, and it is highly doubtful they would even encourage such a thing in private, even by the old "wink, wink, nudge, nudge". It is entirely possible that the membership of the CCOO has at least partially escaped the control of the union bureaucrats.
SGSSGSSGSSGS
Spain's unions claim 70% support for strike
JANE WALKER in Madrid
SPANISH TRADE unions claimed 70 per cent of workers had supported the general strike yesterday and while the action had some impact, it failed to bring the country to a total standstill.
With a 20 per cent unemployment rate, many of those who had jobs were reluctant to jeopardise them by supporting the strike. Others had been warned they would have their pay docked if they failed to report for work.
One of the worst affected sectors with cancellations and delays was transport. Minimum services, previously agreed with the unions, kept major cities moving. Half of Madrid’s metro and local commuter trains ran during peak hours, but violent picketing forced many buses off the roads and long-distance train services were severely restricted.
Airlines cancelled many flights to and from Spain, although fewer than had been feared. But dozens of disappointed Manchester United fans were unable to travel to see their team face Valencia in the Champions League match on last night.
Madrileños were left in no doubt about the strike when they left home in the morning and were greeted by piles garbage and overflowing rubbish bins on the streets. The Spanish capital is fortunate in that it enjoys rubbish collection seven nights a week. But on the stroke of midnight the garbage collectors downed brooms and left their trucks in their depots to join the protesters.
Wholesale food markets around the country were closed, leaving many local shops without fresh supplies. Moreover, much of the country’s industrial sector, including motor manufacturing, shipbuilding and factories were at a standstill.
The day passed peacefully although there were clashes with police in some parts of the country. Red-shirted and flagwaving pickets persuaded many smaller shops, bars and restaurants around the country to remain closed but a heavy police presence enabled department stores and other shops to open their doors. “We voted for a left-wing government, but we are facing a government of the right,” said one angry protester.
Most hospitals and medical centres worked as normal although staff said they said patient numbers were down. The majority of schools opened although in some there were more teachers than pupils because school bus services had been cancelled.
The strike was called to protest against the government’s austerity measures, approved by the parliament, which cut the wages of public sector workers by 5 per cent, froze state pensions and introduced new labour laws which will make it easier and cheaper to fire workers and raise retirement age from 65 to 67.
On Friday prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will present his budget to the parliament when he is expected to announce even more draconian cuts and tax increases. But Spain’s economic crisis is so grave that he has little room for manoeuvre. He is trying to reduce the 11 per cent budget deficit to 6 per cent in 2011.
“It is well known that I didn’t want this strike, but I respect the right to strike and also the right to work,” he said yesterday, adding that he was ready to meet the unions whenever they wanted but could not go back on the austerity measures.
Spain's unions claim 70% support for strike
JANE WALKER in Madrid
SPANISH TRADE unions claimed 70 per cent of workers had supported the general strike yesterday and while the action had some impact, it failed to bring the country to a total standstill.
With a 20 per cent unemployment rate, many of those who had jobs were reluctant to jeopardise them by supporting the strike. Others had been warned they would have their pay docked if they failed to report for work.
One of the worst affected sectors with cancellations and delays was transport. Minimum services, previously agreed with the unions, kept major cities moving. Half of Madrid’s metro and local commuter trains ran during peak hours, but violent picketing forced many buses off the roads and long-distance train services were severely restricted.
Airlines cancelled many flights to and from Spain, although fewer than had been feared. But dozens of disappointed Manchester United fans were unable to travel to see their team face Valencia in the Champions League match on last night.
Madrileños were left in no doubt about the strike when they left home in the morning and were greeted by piles garbage and overflowing rubbish bins on the streets. The Spanish capital is fortunate in that it enjoys rubbish collection seven nights a week. But on the stroke of midnight the garbage collectors downed brooms and left their trucks in their depots to join the protesters.
Wholesale food markets around the country were closed, leaving many local shops without fresh supplies. Moreover, much of the country’s industrial sector, including motor manufacturing, shipbuilding and factories were at a standstill.
The day passed peacefully although there were clashes with police in some parts of the country. Red-shirted and flagwaving pickets persuaded many smaller shops, bars and restaurants around the country to remain closed but a heavy police presence enabled department stores and other shops to open their doors. “We voted for a left-wing government, but we are facing a government of the right,” said one angry protester.
Most hospitals and medical centres worked as normal although staff said they said patient numbers were down. The majority of schools opened although in some there were more teachers than pupils because school bus services had been cancelled.
The strike was called to protest against the government’s austerity measures, approved by the parliament, which cut the wages of public sector workers by 5 per cent, froze state pensions and introduced new labour laws which will make it easier and cheaper to fire workers and raise retirement age from 65 to 67.
On Friday prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will present his budget to the parliament when he is expected to announce even more draconian cuts and tax increases. But Spain’s economic crisis is so grave that he has little room for manoeuvre. He is trying to reduce the 11 per cent budget deficit to 6 per cent in 2011.
“It is well known that I didn’t want this strike, but I respect the right to strike and also the right to work,” he said yesterday, adding that he was ready to meet the unions whenever they wanted but could not go back on the austerity measures.
SGSSGSSGSSGS
There were, of course, demonstrations across Europe on September 29, the most notable being that held in Brussels and supported by the mainstream European unions. Estimates for the crowd there range at about 100,000. There were also clashes with the police who attacked demonstrators in Brussels, but these were minor.
The Spanish CGT considers the general strike very successful, and I hope to present their assessment tomorrow. The difference between what is happening in Spain and elsewhere is that only in Spain does the libertarian left "have a serious dog in the fight". The libertarian cohort in Barcelona numbered about 10,000 people. Even in Vallodolid it was 5,000. In Madrid Solidaridad Obrera, the CGT and various libertarian social organizations brought out about 15,000 people. In the Basque countries even the isolationist CNT-AIT joined the CGT and the local Basque union the ESK in marches separate from those of the UGT and CCOO. The number at demonstrations actually underestimates the CGT's effect as many of their members were involved in dispersed picket duties. Whether the Spanish libertarians can translate the militancy of the Spanish workers and their distrust of the major union federations into something still bigger and more sustained is still an open question, but the beginning looks good.
Labels: CGT, current events, general strike, international labour, labour., Spain, Spanish general strike, strike.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
AMERICAN LABOUR:
MOTTS STRIKE ENDS VICTORY OR DEFEAT ?:
Well the strike at the Motts plant in Williamson New York has finally ended after a vigorous continent wide solidarity campaign. Now Molly can go back to buying Clamato juice by the case. Yum ! The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) who are the parent union of the RWDSU who represent the Motts workers are 'declaring victory". Here is their statement from the Canadian website.
MWMWMWMWMW
Mott’s strike ends in victory
The four-month strike by three hundred RWDSU-UFCW Local 220 members at a Mott’s bottling plant in upstate New York has come to a successful conclusion.
Workers at the plant, owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement by a margin of 3 to 1.
“This is a very important victory for our Local 220 brothers and sisters,” said UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley. “Their resolve was reinforced by the solidarity and support of UFCW International and UFCW Canada members and local unions across North America through their letters, petitions and boycott of DPS products.”
More than 300 members work at the Mott’s plant in Williamson, New York. With the successful conclusion of the strike, the campaign to boycott DPS products has also come to an end. The conclusion of the work stoppage also marked the end of UFCW Canada's very successful No to Clamato/Down with Caesar campaign, which was widely received by Canadians across the country.
"Our brothers and sisters in Canada were a key part of this fight," says RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum. "The donations to the hardship fund we received from Canadians, the support of Members of Parliament, and innovative campaigns like UFCW Canada's "No to Clamato/Down with Caesar" petition drive - all of these things helped Local 220 members know that they were not alone as they fought for good middle class jobs. We are grateful to our brothers and sisters in the UFCW."
MWMWMWMWMW
All, however, is not wine and roses in this agreement. It is, I guess, expected that the unions involved would blow their own horns about "victory". Expected yes, but is it either useful or desirable ? This fault called in old-fashioned language "triumphalism" is hardly restricted to unions or the business world in general. It is a widely spread human tendency. Where it becomes harmful is where the disconnect from reality is so great that pretty well anyone other than a protagonist can see the discrepancy. In such cases the claims do little other than discredit the claimant. This is where it becomes undesirable. It becomes a hindrance ie not useful when it prevents the protagonist from dispassionately analyzing what went wrong and what went right and making future plans. be my guest to judge where the union proclamations of "victory" fall in this case.
Many others outside of those immediately involved have opined that the strike was less than a clear victory. I could quote many sources, but here is a particularly good one from Mike Elk in the Huffington Post. This has been a long running theme on this blog. Truth is usually a messy affair in which one side is never always either right or good. After many years of being "on one side" I have come to accept it as a truism that many on my own side may exaggerate, lie or even be simply out to lunch. In this case I would personally definitely support the Motts strikers, but I don't see the usefulness of lieing and pretending that they achieved an unsullied victory.
MWMWMWMWMW
Was the Mott's Strike "Victory" Really a Victory?
While organized labor spends close to $100 million to propel Democrats to victory in November, members of the Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union/UFCW (RWDSU/UFCW) Local 220 on Monday won perhaps labor's most important victory of the fall.
The Mott's applesauce plant workers went on strike in Williamson, N.Y., on May 23, after Mott's parent company, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, demanded what amounted to a $3,000 per year wage cut for every worker across the board, as well as cuts in pension and healthcare. Companies and unions across the country were watching the Mott Applesauce Strike as a sign of bargaining trends to come. So Monday's settlement is being seen as a "victory" because it stopped profitable companies from demanding wage cuts.
But was the "victory" at Mott's really a victory? For the first time, Mott's workers were forced to accept a two-tier employee structure -- a system that breaks union solidarity over the long run by pitting new hires against older employees. Under the new system, new hires will not have guaranteed pension plans like current workers, but instead have riskier 401(k) plans. Likewise, the company will decrease its matching payments to all retirement plans as well as force employees to pay health care contributions of 20 percent.
As Stephen Franklin reported last week, Snapple argued that because the average worker in the Williamson area was making $14 an hour, while Mott's workers were averaging $21 an hour, Mott's workers should accept wage cuts because the local area contained so many workers who would work for less. Mott's demanded this despite boasting one of its best annual profits on record last year--$550 million, up from $312 million the year before.
As Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), an affiliate of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, said, "This is the first time a very profitable company has come to us and asked for concessions, and I've been with the union for 23 years."
Yes, the new agreement does "restore" wage levels for current employees. But it also freezes them for three years.
One has to wonder how much of a victory this truly is for labor. At a time when Mott's overall profits are increasing, workers wages' should be increasing. By threatening massive wage cuts, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group was able to force the union to accept small benefit concessions and a two-tier employee system that saves Dr Pepper Snapple money.
The fact that a corporation was able to force these concessions on workers while making record profits is a testament to the weakened state of organized labor, and the desperation of American workers.
Follow Mike Elk on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MikeElk
Labels: American labour, labour., Mott's, New York, RWDSU, strike., triumphalism, truth., UFCW, USA
Monday, September 13, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR TORONTO:
MORE DRAMA OUTSIDE THAN IN THE FILMS:
As the glitterati gather for the Toronto International Film Festival hotel workers represented by UniteHere continue rotating one day strikes to pressure the hotel management to see reason and negotiate. Ten Toronto hotels are in strike position, and as of this writing three have already seen strike action. Here's the story from the UniteHere website.
TLTLTLTLTL
Local 75 Workers Strike Three Hotels During Toronto Film Festival
September 12, 2010
Hotel workers at the Hyatt Regency have staged another one-day walkout Sunday, September 12, bringing to three the number of hotels experiencing strikes during this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
Hotel workers, who also staged a one-day strike at the Westmont-owned Fairmont Royal York last Friday and the Holiday in on Bloor St. on Saturday, have earned the full support of the film sector including ACTRA Toronto, IATSE Local 873 and film celebrities including Martin Sheen. "The film industry relies on the hotel sector, and we're not going to stand by and let these hotel workers be exploited," said Heather Allin, Toronto president of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists.
"As TIFF celebrates the new Bell Lightbox with a street party for Torontonians, and the Hyatt boosts its profits with film guests this week, we continue to be treated like second-class citizens by the Hyatt owners," said Althea Porter-Harvey, a Room Attendant at the Hyatt Regency. "We deserve better than that. We're joining the street party today."
Local 75 spokesperson Cruz-Haicken explained that all of the hotels being targeted for these demonstrations are owned by the same company, which is engaged in contract talks with UNITE HERE.
"We exercised restraint and have provided quality service at Toronto hotels owned by Westmont through the G20, the Queen's visit, Pride Week and Caribana," added Porter-Harvey. "Westmont has had ample time to sit down and negotiate with us as contracts have expired, but they've chosen to ignore us and treat us with disrespect."
Striking workers contend hotel management is trying to lock them into cutbacks and new shift schedules imposed during the recession.
Labels: Canadian labour, labour., strike., Toronto, Toronto International Film Festival, Unite Here
Thursday, September 09, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR BRANTFORD ONTARIO:
SOLIDARITY PICKET WITH ECP WORKERS:
The following call for a solidarity anti-scab picket in Brantford Ontario comes from the Ontario Federation of Labour and its President Sid Ryan. Workers at Engineering Coated Products (ECP) in Brantford have been on strike for over two years, but the company continues to operate due to scab labour. You can read more about this strike in this article from the Brantford Expositor. For further information about how you can help the strikers see the website of the Brantford Labour Council.
ECPECPECPECP
ANTI-SCAB RALLY SEPTEMBER 15, 16, 17, 2010
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
In the City of Brantford, less than two hours from Toronto, 84 brave workers have been on strike against their employer for the past two years. The employer has managed to keep these workers out on strike for two long years because they have been busing scabs across the picket lines. The employer, ECP, has demanded a 25% rollback in wages and benefits which the membership of USW Local 1-500 have bravely resisted. Not one striker out of the 84 has crossed the picket line.
I am asking you to join me in support of these brave workers for a massive three-day anti-scab solidarity rally at the picket line. We will also be demanding that the Liberal government enact legislation in Ontario that prevents employers from exploiting workers by using scabs during labour disputes.
The Local and the Brantford Labour Council will open the Labour Centre forany activists that wish to billet over night. As well, there will be areas to pitch a tent or spaces to park camper trailers. We cannot allow this employer and - by extension any other employer in Ontario - to take advantage of workers in this fashion. What’s happening in Brantford to these workers can only be described as abusive. We can and we must stop this abuse.
I urge you to debate this vital matter in your locals and get your members out to Brantford. Let’s draw a line in the sand in Brantford and say loud and clear to employers and to the Liberal government that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We demand ANTI-SCAB legislation in Ontario. If it’s good enough for BRITISH COLUMBIA and QUEBEC it’s good enough for ONTARIO.
In solidarity,
Sid Ryan
President
Ontario Federation of Labour
Anti-Scab Letter (PDF)
Anti-Scab Flyer (PDF)
ANTI-SCAB RALLY SEPTEMBER 15, 16, 17, 2010
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
In the City of Brantford, less than two hours from Toronto, 84 brave workers have been on strike against their employer for the past two years. The employer has managed to keep these workers out on strike for two long years because they have been busing scabs across the picket lines. The employer, ECP, has demanded a 25% rollback in wages and benefits which the membership of USW Local 1-500 have bravely resisted. Not one striker out of the 84 has crossed the picket line.
I am asking you to join me in support of these brave workers for a massive three-day anti-scab solidarity rally at the picket line. We will also be demanding that the Liberal government enact legislation in Ontario that prevents employers from exploiting workers by using scabs during labour disputes.
The Local and the Brantford Labour Council will open the Labour Centre forany activists that wish to billet over night. As well, there will be areas to pitch a tent or spaces to park camper trailers. We cannot allow this employer and - by extension any other employer in Ontario - to take advantage of workers in this fashion. What’s happening in Brantford to these workers can only be described as abusive. We can and we must stop this abuse.
I urge you to debate this vital matter in your locals and get your members out to Brantford. Let’s draw a line in the sand in Brantford and say loud and clear to employers and to the Liberal government that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We demand ANTI-SCAB legislation in Ontario. If it’s good enough for BRITISH COLUMBIA and QUEBEC it’s good enough for ONTARIO.
In solidarity,
Sid Ryan
President
Ontario Federation of Labour
Anti-Scab Letter (PDF)
Anti-Scab Flyer (PDF)
Labels: Brantford Labour Council, Brantford Ontario, Canadian labour, Engineering Coated Products, labour, Ontario Federation of Labour, pickets, rallies, solidarity., strike.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR FRANCE:
GENERAL STRIKE IN FRANCE DRAWS OVER TWO MILLION:
Today's one day general strike in France in protest over the government's proposed pension "reforms" drew considerably larger crowds in the demonstrations than the previous effort in June. Once more there are considerably different estimates from different people, with numbers ranging from 1.1 million (government figures) to close to three million (union sources). Even if you take the lower figure this is a considerable increase from the about 800,000 who took part in June. What this means, however, for either the workers or the Sarkozy government is unclear. Here's a brief report of the demonstration from the BBC.
FSFSFSFSFS
PENSION RALLIES HIT FRENCH CITIES
More than one million French workers have taken to the streets to protest against austerity measures planned by President Nicolas Sarkozy's government.
The rallies came as a 24-hour national strike disrupted flight and rail services, and closed schools.
Activists are angry at government plans to overhaul pensions and raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.
Union leaders say more strikes and protests are possible if the government fails to give an adequate response.
"If they don't respond and they don't pay heed, there'll be a follow up, and nothing is ruled out at this stage," Bernard Thibault, leader of the large CGT union, told a rally in Paris.
France's retirement age is lower than many countries in Europe, but analysts say the issue is polarising politics in the country.
Labour Minister Eric Woerth introduced the pensions bill to the National Assembly, warning of dire consequences if it did not pass.
"If we don't modify our pension plan, then tomorrow there will be no money left to pay the French pensions," he told parliamentarians.
Commuter woe
Under current rules, both men and women in France can retire at 60, providing they have paid social security contributions for 40.5 years - although they are not entitled to a full pension until they are 65.
The government says it will save 70bn euros (£58bn) by raising the retirement age to 62 by 2018, the qualification to 41.5 years, and the pension age to 67.
President Nicolas Sarkozy says reforms are needed to cope with an ageing population and the country's budget deficit.
EUROPE'S RETIREMENT AGES
France - 60
UK, Italy - 65 for men, 60 for women
Germany, Netherlands, Spain - 65
Greece - 65 for men, 62 for women
The government is also looking to find 100bn euros of savings in three years, and is planning cuts in the civil sector.
Some secondary-school teachers went on strike on Monday, protesting against plans to cut 7,000 jobs in education.
State railway operator SNCF said fewer than half of its TGV high-speed services were running, and there was a greatly reduced service on many other lines.
Eurostar said its trains between France and London would operate normally.
Some air-traffic controllers walked out, forcing the cancellation or delay of about a quarter of flights from Paris airports.
Air France said it was operating all of its long-haul flights as planned, but short and medium-haul flights had been affected.
Migrant laws
Amid the disruption caused by strikes, the Interior Ministry said 1.1 million people had joined Tuesday's protests but unions claimed the figure was more than double official estimates.
The figures make Tuesday's protest bigger than a previous one in June, where more than 800,000 people took part.
Huge crowds braved stormy weather across southern parts of France, while demonstrators in Paris and the north enjoyed autumn sunshine.
In Paris, protesters shouted through loud-hailers: "Slave-driving? No, no, no. Working more? No, no, no. Fair reforms? Yes, yes, yes."
Protester Michel Prouvier told AFP news agency: "We're going to have old people living in the street."
Activists were also keen to maker a wider point, angry at the recent deportation of about 1,000 Roma (Gypsies) and a host of proposed laws which they say unfairly target immigrants and minorities.
"Pensions are a pretext for protesting against the Sarkozy system," said Adji Ahoudian, a Socialist Party activist.
Among those concerns is a proposal banning the full face veil worn by Muslim women, which was passed by the lower house in July but is now up for debate in the Senate.
Senators are also expected to debate a controversial new security law which would see recent immigrants stripped of French citizenship if they committed serious crimes such as killing a police officer.
The law would also allow electronic tagging for foreign criminals facing deportation.
FSFSFSFSFS
Here's how this strike was seen by the British Lib Com site.
FSFSFSFSFS
Mass strikes in France over proposed increase to retirement age
7th September 2010 - In response to the government's proposal to raise the pension age from 60 to 62, French workers have held widespread strikes that brought severe disruption to the French economy.
French unions have claimed that up to three million people have taken part in street protests amid a national strike against France's economic policies.
Police gave an estimate of 1.2 million people at rallies nationwide.
Schools have been closed and public transport disrupted, with demonstrations held in about 200 towns.
Unions are demanding more is spent to protect workers in the recession. Unemployment has reached two million and is expected to rise further.
Union members marched towards the Place de la Nation in Paris behind a banner that read: "United against the crisis, defend employment, spending power and public services."
"They have a profound sense of social injustice," said Jean-Claude Mailly, head of the large Force Ouvriere union, "and that, I think, is something that neither the government nor the employers have understood."
Benoit Hamon, a spokesman for the French Socialist Party spokesman said France was experiencing similar problems to other countries, but that the situation was being made worse by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"We have a president who aggravates the crisis by making the wrong economic and social choices, by his deafness regarding the general dissatisfaction," said Mr Hamom.
"He refuses to give answers regarding layoffs, regarding the cost of living, regarding the way to objectively avoid the rise in job losses in the public sector or in the public health system."
Marches were also being held in Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble and many other towns and cities.
Noel Kouici, demonstrating in Marseilles, said protesters had a "grudge" against the government.
"Of course we are angry against the government when you see the way they serve the banks and leave the people starving and losing their jobs," he said.
But the deputy mayor of Marseille, Roland Blum, told the BBC the government had done a lot to help people.
"Of course I understand the distress of people who've lost or are going to lose their jobs, but what I think is necessary is that we all work together," he said.
There protests were largely peaceful but minor scuffles were reported in several cities later in the evening.
In Paris, police used tear gas to disperse small groups of youths who were setting fire to rubbish bins and throwing bottles.
It is the second time in two months that major demonstrations have been held, following a similar display in January which drew about a million protesters.
Beleaguered industries
The strikes began on Wednesday evening on transport networks.
An employee assists commuters at Gare Saint-Lazare train in Paris (19 March 2009)
French commuters face a limited rail service because of the strike
The national rail operator, SNCF, cancelled 40% of high-speed trains and half of regional services.
A third of flights out of Paris's Orly airport have been cancelled, while a tenth of France's electricity output has been shut down with workers on strike.
However, buses and the Metro rail system in Paris were running normally, thanks to a new law enforcing a minimum transport service during strikes,.
But with many schools and public buildings shut for the day, the number of workers travelling into the capital was reduced.
Private-sector firms were also expecting a depleted workforce, with staff from the beleaguered car industry, oil and retail sectors taking part in the strike.
FSFSFSFSFS
It is, of course, easy to expect too much from such ephemeral wonders. A one day general strike is, after all, nothing but a do it yourself opinion poll with a lot of noise. It has exactly zero immediate effect other than a brief loss of production which, in the case of public enterprise, is often a gain rather than a loss of revenue. As the following article from The Economist points out such symbolic actions have forced the government to back down on the issue of pensions at least once in the past (1995). Whether that will be the case this time is uncertain. President Sarkozy has sunk to record levels of unpopularity, but the reasons are not confined to this one issue or even to a collection of issues related to his neo-liberal agenda. Like most conservative ideologues who preach "morality for the masses" his government has more than its fair share of sleaze and scandal, and this has weighed heavily on his administration.
On the other hand, as the following points out, Sarkozy is constrained by political considerations to at least appear to "give a little". In this he has unlikely allies in the form of the larger union federations, the CFDT and the CGT, both of which are quite happy with their present position in French society and who are unlikely to want to toss the dice in the air in terms of a fundamental rearrangement of same. All the ingredients are there for a compromise whereby both sides declare victory while hoping for electoral gains in 2012. Talk of further general strikes are merely bargaining chips for these unions to "appear" to be useful for their members and in the case of the CFDT for its bedfellow the Socialist party. If the unions were serious about pushing their advantage they would definitely set a general strike for September 29 to coincide with the one planned in Spain and lobby their fellow continental unions for a European wide general strike on that day. Not just talk about it and bluster.
The French anarcho-syndicalist union the CNT (CNT Vignoles) participated in the general strike, but they see the limitations of such actions. Recognizing the ephemeral nature of such protests they have recommended a gradual build up of general assemblies at workplaces. Such general assemblies, independent from the union bureaucracies, would not be tied to any institutional benefits from the state and would be much more effective organs of resistance. They lack the flash and noise of one day demonstrations but unlike the mayfly-like lifespan of such protests they are enduring methods for people to resist the government and its corporate masters.
Something to consider. In any case here is The Economist article.
FSFSFSFSFS
French politics
The retiring type
Sep 8th 2010, 9:27 by The Economist PARIS
FRANCE is bracing itself for more disruption after 1.1m-2.7m demonstrators took to the streets, in hundreds of towns across the country, as part of a 24-hour national strike against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s pension reform. The turn-out was better than trade-union leaders had hoped for, and far higher than a previous day of action in June. Train drivers, teachers, post-office staff, air-traffic controllers, and other mostly public-sector workers, some wheeling children’s buggies, others banging festive drums, took part. Flush with their success, union leaders are now hoping to press the government for further concessions.
Mr Sarkozy wants to raise the minimum legal pension age from 60 to 62 years. This is a relatively modest change by the standards of some other European countries, which are pushing the retirement age up to 65 or even 67. The government forecasts that retirement at 62 will reduce by €18.6 billion the €42 billion state pension-fund shortfall expected by 2018. Tax increases, including a raise in the top income-tax rate from 40% to 41%, will make up a further €4 billion; the rest will come from general government spending.
Yet the reform is symbolically important. France has not touched the legal retirement age since the early 1980s, when it was cut to 60 years. Previous governments have tinkered with contribution rules to try to make the numbers add up, but never dared to meddle with retirement at 60. Back in 1995 Alain Juppé, prime minister under President Jacques Chirac, was forced to withdraw a more modest pension reform after weeks of chaos on French streets.
Union leaders and the opposition Socialist Party, which is also against the reform, argue that the government cannot afford to appear deaf to such this week's show of public opposition. Martine Aubry, the Socialist boss, called the reform “unfair”, and called on the government to “go back to square one”, and withdraw the legislation, which is currently going through parliament. “If we are not listened to, there will be further protests,” declared Bernard Thibault, leader of the powerful Confédération Générale du Travail. Union chiefs now need to decide whether to call another national strike this month. Some are talking about another one-day strike later this month, when parliament is due to vote on the reform.
Mr Sarkozy is in an awkward corner. His popularity has dropped to record lows. His own political camp is restless, and some deputies fear he has lost his political touch. The Socialist Party is freshly confident, and has started to believe in its chances of election at the next presidential poll in 2012. Mr Sarkozy says he will not budge on the retirement age. But he will be tempted to give some ground, in order to thwart further disruption. Certain concessions at the margin, over issues such as special rules for those who have done hard labour (pénibilité), would not necessarily make for a bad deal. But to go too far would only save him trouble in the short run. It would do nothing to restore his credibility as a reformer and a leader ready to take unpopular decisions, without which he has no chances of re-election in 2012.
Labels: anarcho-syndicalism, CNT-F, current events, France, French unions, general strike, international labour, labour, Sarkozy, social democracy, strike., tactics, unions...
Sunday, September 05, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR TORONTO:
FANTASY MEETS REALITY AT THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:
The Toronto International Film Festival opened on Friday, and delegates were treated to a demonstration of the frustration of the workers employed by the host hotel. The workers of the Hyatt Regency, represented by Unite Here Local 75, staged a one day walkout to protest management intransigence in contract talks. Here's the story from a union press release.
OLOLOLOLOL
Hotel workers forced to take one-day strike at Hyatt Regency Toronto
Film industry unions support workers striking against TIFF hotel headquarters
TORONTO--Hotel workers at the Hyatt Regency, home of this year's Toronto International Film Festival, have begun a one-day walkout after they bargained past a midnight deadline without reaching a new agreement.
Picketing is to begin at 7:30 a.m. this morning. A massive rally of hotel workers and others from across the city will take place at 5:30 p.m. today in front of the hotel. Unions from the film sector will rally in support of the hotel workers, saying that good hotel jobs, like good film jobs, are vital for the economic health of the city.
"We will be holding one day of action on Friday and will be back to work on Saturday," explained Althea Porter-Harvey, a Hyatt employee and member of UNITE HERE Local 75 which represents the workers. "We are still hopeful we can reach an agreement."
"While we're struggling to make hotel jobs good jobs, these wealthy owners keep buying and selling properties and treating us as if we still in a recession," Porter-Harvey continued. "The Mangalji and Pritzker families, who own and operate these hotels, need to have more regard for hotel workers. All we are asking is that they not lock in the recession for their workers, because the recession is over in the hotel sector."
The Hyatt, the host hotel for the Toronto International Film Festival opening next Thursday, is owned by the little-known Mangalji family and operated by the Pritzker family, which cashed out over $900 million in their sale of Hyatt shares in late 2009.
"Our industry spends a lot of money on hotels and it's frankly shocking to discover that the people who work so hard to make up the rooms we're paying for are being treated so poorly," said Heather Allin, President of ACTRA Toronto. "If Toronto's hotel workers cannot resolve relations with Hyatt to ensure workers are treated with respect, then my union will support Hyatt workers in this city and across the continent. They deserve to make a decent living from the work they do. Hyatt will face a determined boycott if they aren't fair to the hard working people who make their hotels possible."
The hotel workers have sent a public statement to TIFF Festival chief Piers Handling stating that despite the fact most contracts expired on 1/31/2010,
We exercised restraint, had a limited strike at the Novotel Toronto Centre, and did not strike during the G20. We have continued to work through Caribana and Pride and the busy summer tourist season. All the while we have been bargaining with some of the biggest hotel chains in an attempt to get a decent new contract. To no avail. At not a single hotel has management attempted to get a decent new contract… We are aware that [the Hyatt] is a central hotel to the Toronto International Film Festival. There is a legal strike/lockout deadline of September 3, 2010. It is also a hotel chain with examples of shameful treatment of its workers both here and around North America.
In both Canada and the U.S., the hotel industry is rebounding faster and stronger than expected but hotel workers are not sharing in that improved fortune. During the first quarter of 2010, occupancy and average daily hotel rates increased nationwide, leading to a 2.77% increase in RevPAR, or Revenue per Available Room, nationwide, according to Smith Travel Research and Hospitality Valuation Services data.
Local 75 represents over 7,000 hotel, hospitality and gaming workers in the Greater Toronto Area. For more information, please visit www.uniteherelocal75.org .
Hotel workers forced to take one-day strike at Hyatt Regency Toronto
Film industry unions support workers striking against TIFF hotel headquarters
TORONTO--Hotel workers at the Hyatt Regency, home of this year's Toronto International Film Festival, have begun a one-day walkout after they bargained past a midnight deadline without reaching a new agreement.
Picketing is to begin at 7:30 a.m. this morning. A massive rally of hotel workers and others from across the city will take place at 5:30 p.m. today in front of the hotel. Unions from the film sector will rally in support of the hotel workers, saying that good hotel jobs, like good film jobs, are vital for the economic health of the city.
"We will be holding one day of action on Friday and will be back to work on Saturday," explained Althea Porter-Harvey, a Hyatt employee and member of UNITE HERE Local 75 which represents the workers. "We are still hopeful we can reach an agreement."
"While we're struggling to make hotel jobs good jobs, these wealthy owners keep buying and selling properties and treating us as if we still in a recession," Porter-Harvey continued. "The Mangalji and Pritzker families, who own and operate these hotels, need to have more regard for hotel workers. All we are asking is that they not lock in the recession for their workers, because the recession is over in the hotel sector."
The Hyatt, the host hotel for the Toronto International Film Festival opening next Thursday, is owned by the little-known Mangalji family and operated by the Pritzker family, which cashed out over $900 million in their sale of Hyatt shares in late 2009.
"Our industry spends a lot of money on hotels and it's frankly shocking to discover that the people who work so hard to make up the rooms we're paying for are being treated so poorly," said Heather Allin, President of ACTRA Toronto. "If Toronto's hotel workers cannot resolve relations with Hyatt to ensure workers are treated with respect, then my union will support Hyatt workers in this city and across the continent. They deserve to make a decent living from the work they do. Hyatt will face a determined boycott if they aren't fair to the hard working people who make their hotels possible."
The hotel workers have sent a public statement to TIFF Festival chief Piers Handling stating that despite the fact most contracts expired on 1/31/2010,
We exercised restraint, had a limited strike at the Novotel Toronto Centre, and did not strike during the G20. We have continued to work through Caribana and Pride and the busy summer tourist season. All the while we have been bargaining with some of the biggest hotel chains in an attempt to get a decent new contract. To no avail. At not a single hotel has management attempted to get a decent new contract… We are aware that [the Hyatt] is a central hotel to the Toronto International Film Festival. There is a legal strike/lockout deadline of September 3, 2010. It is also a hotel chain with examples of shameful treatment of its workers both here and around North America.
In both Canada and the U.S., the hotel industry is rebounding faster and stronger than expected but hotel workers are not sharing in that improved fortune. During the first quarter of 2010, occupancy and average daily hotel rates increased nationwide, leading to a 2.77% increase in RevPAR, or Revenue per Available Room, nationwide, according to Smith Travel Research and Hospitality Valuation Services data.
Local 75 represents over 7,000 hotel, hospitality and gaming workers in the Greater Toronto Area. For more information, please visit www.uniteherelocal75.org .
Labels: Canadian labour, labour, strike., Toronto, Toronto International Film Festival, Unite Here
Thursday, August 19, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CAMBODIA:
SOLIDARITY WITH CAMBODIAN CONSTRUCTION WORKERS:
Molly first saw this appeal at the online labour solidarity site Labour Start. It comes originally from the Building and Woodworkers International union where more information on this struggle can be found. Interested readers might also like to check out the independent Cambodian news site KI Media.
CLCLCLCLCL
Cambodia: Reinstate sacked construction workers
The Building and Wood Workers Trade Union of Cambodia (BWTUC, an affiliate of BWI, has been struggling to organise the KC GECIN Enterprise, located at No.500, National Road 2, Sangkhat Chak Angre Loe, Khann Meanchey, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. KC GECIN Enterprises is a local construction company, owned by Mr. Kim Chhean, a Cambodian national. This company has two main construction producing sites - one located in Prekho, Kandal District and another main site is located in Kilo 10, Khann Russei Keo, Phnom Penh. It employs around 160 workers all in main headquarter and in the two main sites. However, instead of recognising the union and starting a process to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, the company has resorted to drastic and discriminatory measures as evident by the illegal termination of 25 union leaders and activists on August 13th and another 25 members who had participated in a legitimate trade union seminar.
Cambodia: Reinstate sacked construction workers
The Building and Wood Workers Trade Union of Cambodia (BWTUC, an affiliate of BWI, has been struggling to organise the KC GECIN Enterprise, located at No.500, National Road 2, Sangkhat Chak Angre Loe, Khann Meanchey, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. KC GECIN Enterprises is a local construction company, owned by Mr. Kim Chhean, a Cambodian national. This company has two main construction producing sites - one located in Prekho, Kandal District and another main site is located in Kilo 10, Khann Russei Keo, Phnom Penh. It employs around 160 workers all in main headquarter and in the two main sites. However, instead of recognising the union and starting a process to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, the company has resorted to drastic and discriminatory measures as evident by the illegal termination of 25 union leaders and activists on August 13th and another 25 members who had participated in a legitimate trade union seminar.
CLCLCLCLCL
THE LETTER:
Please go to this link to send the following letter to the management of the KC GECIN Enterprises in Cambodia.
Please go to this link to send the following letter to the management of the KC GECIN Enterprises in Cambodia.
CLCLCLCLCL
We strongly urge you to immediately reinstate the dismissed union leaders and members without preconditions, refrain from intimidating the workers on strike, recognise the union as a primary step that would lead to normalcy in the employee-employer relationship towards settling the industrial dispute through a collective bargaining agreement.
We strongly urge you to immediately reinstate the dismissed union leaders and members without preconditions, refrain from intimidating the workers on strike, recognise the union as a primary step that would lead to normalcy in the employee-employer relationship towards settling the industrial dispute through a collective bargaining agreement.
Labels: Cambodia, international labour, KC GECIN, labour, Labour Start, lockouts, solidarity., strike.
Friday, August 13, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR AMERICAN LABOUR:
NO TO MOTTS:
Seems that the Mott's company is waging a campaign to have the Caesar declared the "national cocktail" of Canada. I never knew that countries had "national cocktails", and I'm sure that this would be an occasion for endless puns. If the idea ever takes off, however, Mott's behavior would probably fit it to be the 'national cocktail' of a place like North Korea. Molly has blogged before on the long standing strike at the Mott's plant in Williamson New York. In response to this latest Canadian campaign the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada have opened a petition in solidarity with their American fellow workers and against the Motts campaign. Here's the story >>>>
MPMPMPMPMP
No to Clamato! Down with Caesar!
Mix one part greed with a big dash of corporate bullying, and what you get is the company behind Mott’s Clamato beverage.
Doesn’t sound very Canadian does it? Well, Mott’s isn’t Canadian, and Clamato isn’t made in Canada — so don’t be fooled by a new campaign to have the Clamato Caesar named the national cocktail of Canada!
Mott’s Clamato is a brand owned by Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) Group — the hugely successful multinational which has tried to force a bitter and malicious cocktail of wage and pension cuts on 300 workers at a very profitable Mott’s plant in Williamson, New York.
That’s why tens of thousands of activists across Canada and the USA have said NO to buying Mott’s products — including Clamato — to show their support for the UFCW/RWDSU Local 220 workers in Williamson, New York.
So add your name to the petition and say “NO to Clamato" and "Down with Caesar” until the DPS/Motts empire stops acting like a bunch of dictators.
No to Clamato! Down with Caesar!
Mix one part greed with a big dash of corporate bullying, and what you get is the company behind Mott’s Clamato beverage.
Doesn’t sound very Canadian does it? Well, Mott’s isn’t Canadian, and Clamato isn’t made in Canada — so don’t be fooled by a new campaign to have the Clamato Caesar named the national cocktail of Canada!
Mott’s Clamato is a brand owned by Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) Group — the hugely successful multinational which has tried to force a bitter and malicious cocktail of wage and pension cuts on 300 workers at a very profitable Mott’s plant in Williamson, New York.
That’s why tens of thousands of activists across Canada and the USA have said NO to buying Mott’s products — including Clamato — to show their support for the UFCW/RWDSU Local 220 workers in Williamson, New York.
So add your name to the petition and say “NO to Clamato" and "Down with Caesar” until the DPS/Motts empire stops acting like a bunch of dictators.
MPMPMPMPMP
THE PETITION
Please go to the UFCW.CA website to see and sign the following petition and also to play their exciting online game of 'bean the Mott's executive'.
MPMPMPMPMP
I say NO to Clamato and Down with Caesar because of DPS/Mott’s shameful treatment of UFCW/RWDSU Local 220 workers in Williamson, New York. Canadians believe in justice, fairness and honesty — not the malice now being served up by Clamato headquarters.
Labels: American labour, Canadian labour, labour, Mott's, Mott's strike, solidarity., strike., UFCW
Thursday, August 05, 2010
AMERICAN LABOUR NEBRASKA:
BARISTAS SHUT DOWN OMAHA OUTLET:
The following news item is from the IWW Starbucks Union, organizing here there and everywhere for a fair deal for baristas at the Starbucks chain.
IWWIWWIWW
Squeezed Baristas Shut Down 15th and Douglas Starbucks to Protest Cutbacks
For Immediate Release:
Starbucks Workers Union/Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
Contact: Tyler Swain, 402-320-2002
August 5, 2010
Squeezed Baristas Shut Down 15th and Douglas Starbucks to Protest Cutbacks
Workers Demand Reversal of Recession Labor Cuts as Starbucks Returns to Profitability
Press Conference: 4:30 August 5, 15th and Douglas, W. Entrance to Omaha Public Library
Omaha, NE- Baristas and community supporters shut down the 15th and Douglas Starbucks (SBUX) this morning demanding that management reverse all cuts to healthcare, staffing, and benefits that have been imposed during the recession. The baristas claim that executives have no justification to squeeze working families with Starbucks raking in profits of $977.2 million in the past four fiscal quarters.
“We are being squeezed, and we can't take it any more. Since the recession began, Starbucks executives have ruthlessly gutted our standard of living. They doubled the cost of our health insurance, reduced staffing levels, cut our hours, all while demanding more work from us. Starbucks is now more than profitable again. It's time for management to give back what they took from us,” said Sasha McCoy, a shift supervisor at the store.
Since the onset of the recession, Starbucks imposed a series of deep cuts on its workforce. Starting in 2008 as the economic downturn began, the coffee giant shuttered over 800 stores and slashed over 18000 jobs. The remaining skeleton crew workforce was stretched out, forced to push VIA and other promotional products while keeping the stores running with insufficient staffing levels. CEO Howard Schultz then doubled the cost of the company health insurance plan in September 2009, leaving many workers unable to afford medical treatment because of sky-high deductibles and premiums. While the cuts continue, Starbucks made a record profit of $207.9 million in the last quarter according to company figures.
The protesting baristas are members of the Starbucks Workers Union, which is an international campaign of the Industrial Workers of the World labor union. The store action makes the 15th and Douglas location the first Starbucks in Nebraska to have a public union presence. The workers decided to move to unionize after watching their standard of living be whittled away while top executives chose to reward investors with dividends.
Samantha Cole, a Barista at the store said, “I work hard for every dollar I make in order to put food on the table for my family; Starbucks rewards workers with a poverty wage while they give their Wall Street pals dividends. I'm not doing this for myself so much as for the next generation that will grow up in this country. These are the only jobs that are left here- we need to make sure they are good jobs for working families.”
While portraying itself as a ‘socially-responsible’ employer, Starbucks pays Nebraska baristas a poverty wage of $7.35/hr. In addition, all retail hourly workers at Starbucks in the United States are part-time employees with no guaranteed number of work hours per week. According to Starbucks figures released to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 40.9% of its employees (including managers) are covered by the company health care package, a lower percentage than the oft-criticized Wal-Mart, which insures 47% of its workforce.
Since the launch of the IWW campaign at Starbucks on May 17, 2004, the company has been cited multiple times for illegal union-busting by the National Labor Relations Board. The company settled numerous complaints against it and was recently found guilty by a judge in New York on more than 30 additional rights’ violations. Starbucks’ large anti-union operation is operated in conjunction with the Akin Gump law firm and the Edelman public relations firm.
The IWW Starbucks Workers Union is a grassroots organization of over 300 current and former employees at the world's largest coffee chain united for secure work hours and a living wage. The union has members throughout the United States and Canada fighting for systemic change at the company and remedying individual grievances with management.
Union baristas, bussers, and shift supervisors have fought successfully toward improved scheduling and staffing levels, increased wages, and workplace safety. Workers who join the union have immediate access to co-workers and members of the community who will struggle with them for a better life on the job.
###
http://www.facebook.com/l/a781akQD1JUteiOx1cBsGLffhLA;www.StarbucksUnion.org
Labels: American labour, IWW, labour, Nebraska, Starbucks, Starbucks Union, strike., syndicalism, USA
Monday, August 02, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR BANGLADESH:
GARMENT WORKERS CONTINUE STRIKE IN BANGLADESH:
Garment workers in Bangladesh are continuing their strike and demonstrations against the recent desultory rise in the minimum wage, demanding that the government set the bar far higher. The garment industry in Bangladesh accounts for about 80% of that countries foreign trade income. This when workers move in that industry the state sits up and takes notice. Even though the garment workers are split between a multiplicity of unions they have acted on their own initiative. The function of the unions so far has been little more than cheering from the sidelines and being a body that the bosses and state can eventually negotiate with when the latter see reason. Here's an item from Sky News about the third day of the recent strike.
ILILILILIL
Bangladesh Garment Workers In Wage Protest
Katie Cassidy, Sky News Online
Garment makers in Bangladesh who produce clothing for companies such as Marks and Spencer have clashed with police for a third day over a new minimum wage they say is too low.
Bangladesh Garment Workers In Wage Protest
Katie Cassidy, Sky News Online
Garment makers in Bangladesh who produce clothing for companies such as Marks and Spencer have clashed with police for a third day over a new minimum wage they say is too low.
Unions have rejected a government offer of 3,000 taka (£27) a month, which is nearly double the previous minimum, but far less than the 5,000 taka (£45) the workers asked for.
The garment industry is Bangladesh's second largest employer, with more than 3.5 million people - mostly women - working in thousands of factories all over the country.
International companies such as Wal-Mart, H&M, Zara and Marks and Spencer have their clothing made in Bangladesh.
Thousands of angry workers took to the streets of Dhaka in protest over their pay after union leaders said the rise did not match the cost of living.
Some 80 people were injured in the latest clashes with police, who fired rubber bullets and used their batons to clear away demonstrators.
Officials said a mob blocked a highway in the city's north for several hours, jeering at officers and pelting them with bricks.
In another part of the capital, protesters attacked vehicles and looted shops.
Nearly 250 people, including officers, have been hurt in similar violence over the past two days.
The Bangladeshi Prime Minister called on the workers to accept the new minimum wage and stop hurting the sector, which is worth some 80% of the country's annual £10bn export income.
Sheikh Hasina said the continuing unrest, which has forced the closure of 20 factories in Dhaka's textile hub, could threaten employees' livelihoods.
She asked workers to return to work peacefully while factory owners said they would reopen if order was restored.
The garment industry is Bangladesh's second largest employer, with more than 3.5 million people - mostly women - working in thousands of factories all over the country.
International companies such as Wal-Mart, H&M, Zara and Marks and Spencer have their clothing made in Bangladesh.
Thousands of angry workers took to the streets of Dhaka in protest over their pay after union leaders said the rise did not match the cost of living.
Some 80 people were injured in the latest clashes with police, who fired rubber bullets and used their batons to clear away demonstrators.
Officials said a mob blocked a highway in the city's north for several hours, jeering at officers and pelting them with bricks.
In another part of the capital, protesters attacked vehicles and looted shops.
Nearly 250 people, including officers, have been hurt in similar violence over the past two days.
The Bangladeshi Prime Minister called on the workers to accept the new minimum wage and stop hurting the sector, which is worth some 80% of the country's annual £10bn export income.
Sheikh Hasina said the continuing unrest, which has forced the closure of 20 factories in Dhaka's textile hub, could threaten employees' livelihoods.
She asked workers to return to work peacefully while factory owners said they would reopen if order was restored.
ILILILILIL
As I mentioned the union movement in Bangladesh is severely fractured. Some unions have decided to accept the government's offer. Read the following from the Bangladesh News site, and for "the labour leaders" read "some of the labour leaders. Notice also how the workers are bypassing such "leaders".
ILILILILIL
Workers again protest,
Workers again protest,
12 units closed in Ashulia
Savar, Aug 2 (bdnews24.com )—Readymade garment workers have again taken to the streets in Savar, blocking a key highway and forcing factories to shut for the day, barely a day after the labour leaders accepted the government's wage scale.
Savar, Aug 2 (bdnews24.com )—Readymade garment workers have again taken to the streets in Savar, blocking a key highway and forcing factories to shut for the day, barely a day after the labour leaders accepted the government's wage scale.
Day-long closure was declared at 12 factories in Savar as two separate incidents of workers agitation at Ashulia's Jirabo area and Ulail area took place on Monday morning.
Dhaka district's additional police superintendent Mozammel Haque told bdnews24.com: "A number of factories were shut down for the day. Work is continuing normally at other factories."
Witnesses said work started normally at the Ashulia Industrial Zone with most workers joining work on time. However, some 3,500 workers of Iris Fashions located in Ashulia's Jirabo area skipped work and started demonstrating from 9am outside the factory
They vandalised nearby Arunima Sportswear Ltd of Rising Group. Chairman Syed Kamrul Huda of Arunima Sports said: "Workers of my factory joined work as usual. But the factory was attacked around 9:30am by outsiders."
The demonstrators marched on the link road between Jirabo and CMP areas on route to the Dhaka-Tangail highway. The police tried to stop them but the workers pushed through.
Around 9.15am the workers reached the Dhaka-Tangail highway and laid siege on the road halting traffic. The police charged baton on them and managed to free the road around 9.30am. A tense atmosphere was hanging heavy prevalent in the area with the workers and the police facing off in the area.
A case has been filed at Ashulia Police Station by sub-inspector Abul Bashar accusing 700 unnamed workers of attacking and obstructing police duty, and vandalising private property.
Ten factories of the area, including Iris Fashions, declared closed for the day. Meanwhile, workers of HR Textiles, a concern of Pride Group, in Ulail bus-stand area on the Dhaka-Aricha highway took to the streets, as well.
Nearly 2,000 workers of the factory attempted to block the highway around 9am. The police immediately clubbed and dispersed them. The workers took position a little off the road and continued their demonstration.
Around 11:15am the demonstrators pelted the adjoining factory of Doyel Group of Industries with brickbats.
Savar Police Station' acting officer in charge Mahabubur Rahman told bdnews24.com: "The two factories were declared closed for the day after the incident. The workers left."
"Additional police have been deployed in front of the factories," the police official added.
Following the massive workers agitation on Sunday and Saturday, Jamgara remained calm on Monday.
http://bdnews24.com/corr/rn/bd/1121h
ILILILILIL
Whatever the ins and outs of the multiple labour unions involved in the present unrest in Bangladesh and how little control they have over their members the simple fact is that the managers of the Bangladeshi factories can easily grant the demands that the most intransigent workers are making and still be more than competitive on the world market. Here's a final item from the Bangladeshi Daily Star about the events. Note the government's response of blaming what the workers have done on "outside agitators". Even the compliant local unions have been unable to hold the workers in check in the interest of the government and the bosses. People from outside of Bangladesh have little to do with this spontaneous revolt.
ILILILILIL
RMG sector still in grip of violence
80 injured in clashes in Ashulia, Narayanganj, Chittagong a day after 'understanding'
Star ReportRMG
RMG sector still in grip of violence
80 injured in clashes in Ashulia, Narayanganj, Chittagong a day after 'understanding'
Star ReportRMG
Workers continued demonstrations in Ashulia and Narayanganj yesterday even though labour representatives agreed to the new pay scale the previous day with a pledge to help maintain normal work environment in industrial areas.
At least 80 people were injured as labourers clashed with police in Ashulia and Narayanganj for the third consecutive day.
Production in several factories was suspended after the workers resorted to violent protests demanding a minimum wage of Tk 5,000 with effect from August 1.
Meanwhile, workers of two garment units of Azim Group in Kalurghat BSCIC Industrial Area in Chittagong went on the rampage on Sunday night and yesterday bringing production to a halt, reports our staff correspondent from Chittagong.
The labour representatives at a meeting with ministers, chamber leaders and garment owners on Sunday agreed to the new pay structure for garment sector and promised to help keep normal work environment in industrial areas.
Agitating workers got involved in a series of clashes with police at Katherpool of Fatulla and adjoining areas in Narayanganj leaving 50 people injured.
They demanded Tk 5,000 as minimum wage with effect from August 1 and immediate release of Montu Ghosh, adviser of Garment Sramik Trade Union Kendra and district CPB unit president.
They pelted the law enforcers with brickbats and attacked two garment factories, over 50 shops and houses on the post office road. They also damaged five vehicles, reports our Narayanganj correspondent.
Ten policemen including Assistant Superintendent of Police Reazul Kabir, SI Shahidul Islam, constable Harun and Shahidul Islam were wounded in the clash.
About 40 others including ATN Bangla Narayanganj correspondent Abdus Salam, BTV correspondent Mahfuzur Rahman, and garment workers Rehana, Zarina, Raja Mia, Kalam Mia, Asma, Sakila, Jobeda and Rehena Begum were also injured in the clashes.
Police lobbed 50 teargas canisters to bring the situation under control.
The angry labourers put barricades on the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road in Shibu Market area shortly after 11:00am bringing the traffic to a halt for three hours.
The authorities of nine export-oriented garment factories at Fatulla wrote to the deputy commissioner and the police super urging them to ensure proper security at the factories.
Witnesses said, about 20,000 workers of Pall Mall, Mircrofibre, Liberty, Midland and Cadtrex Garments turned up at the factories. They demonstrated inside the factories instead of joining work.
They hurled brickbats at police from the rooftops.
Nearly 12,000 workers from different garment factories in Katherpool area took to the streets at around 10:30am defying police obstruction.
The labourers and law enforcers got involved in chase and counter chase prompting the police to lob 50 teargas shells.
Meantime, 30 RMG workers were injured in Ashulia after they clashed with police protesting the new pay hike, which they say is still too low, adds a correspondent from Ashulia.
Five workers were arrested on the Bishmile-Jirabo road, the scene of violence.
Police filed a case accusing 700 workers of vandalism on Sunday.
Authorities of 12 garment factories in the area announced holiday yesterday fearing clash.
The workers attacked three garment factories and made a fire in front of one of the factories. They also blocked the Bishmile-Jirabo road shortly after 10:00am.
The labourers got involved in chase and counter chase with police when the law enforcers tried to restore vehicular movement on the road.
They pelted the policemen with brick chips prompting them to fire rubber bullets and teargas canisters.
Fire fighters doused the flame in front of the factory gate.
Meanwhile, production in two garment units -- Orchid Knitwear and Global Knitting in the port city -- was halted after the workers demonstrated in the morning demanding a pay hike.
They agreed to join work as the factory authorities agreed to increase "piece-rate" after a meeting at about 2:00pm, said Md Moyeen Uddin, deputy secretary of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
The workers of the two garment units had also staged demonstrations on Sunday night demanding a raise in wage.
The workers attacked two factories of Azim Group and three other factories nearby.
Police swung into action swiftly and brought the situation under control.
RESTRICTION ON FOREIGNERS' INVOLVEMENT WITH TU
The cabinet has decided not to allow any foreign national with tourist visa to get involved with trade unions in Bangladesh.
The decision came at a weekly meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The cabinet expressed concern over the recent labour unrest in the garment sector.
Many foreign nationals with tourist visa have been involved with trade unions and are causing unrest in the sector for the interests of their nations, the meeting was told.
"It will be strictly overseen from now on so that no foreign national can come to Bangladesh with tourist visa to get involved with trade unions. If they want to come here for this purpose, they must get visas under a special category from the Bangladesh government," a senior minister told The Daily Star wishing anonymity.
The government has a list of foreign nationals, who came to Bangladesh with tourist visa and got involved with trade unions with the help of many NGOs, said sources close to the meeting.
Many of them are staying in Bangladesh although their visas have already expired, added the sources.
At least 80 people were injured as labourers clashed with police in Ashulia and Narayanganj for the third consecutive day.
Production in several factories was suspended after the workers resorted to violent protests demanding a minimum wage of Tk 5,000 with effect from August 1.
Meanwhile, workers of two garment units of Azim Group in Kalurghat BSCIC Industrial Area in Chittagong went on the rampage on Sunday night and yesterday bringing production to a halt, reports our staff correspondent from Chittagong.
The labour representatives at a meeting with ministers, chamber leaders and garment owners on Sunday agreed to the new pay structure for garment sector and promised to help keep normal work environment in industrial areas.
Agitating workers got involved in a series of clashes with police at Katherpool of Fatulla and adjoining areas in Narayanganj leaving 50 people injured.
They demanded Tk 5,000 as minimum wage with effect from August 1 and immediate release of Montu Ghosh, adviser of Garment Sramik Trade Union Kendra and district CPB unit president.
They pelted the law enforcers with brickbats and attacked two garment factories, over 50 shops and houses on the post office road. They also damaged five vehicles, reports our Narayanganj correspondent.
Ten policemen including Assistant Superintendent of Police Reazul Kabir, SI Shahidul Islam, constable Harun and Shahidul Islam were wounded in the clash.
About 40 others including ATN Bangla Narayanganj correspondent Abdus Salam, BTV correspondent Mahfuzur Rahman, and garment workers Rehana, Zarina, Raja Mia, Kalam Mia, Asma, Sakila, Jobeda and Rehena Begum were also injured in the clashes.
Police lobbed 50 teargas canisters to bring the situation under control.
The angry labourers put barricades on the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road in Shibu Market area shortly after 11:00am bringing the traffic to a halt for three hours.
The authorities of nine export-oriented garment factories at Fatulla wrote to the deputy commissioner and the police super urging them to ensure proper security at the factories.
Witnesses said, about 20,000 workers of Pall Mall, Mircrofibre, Liberty, Midland and Cadtrex Garments turned up at the factories. They demonstrated inside the factories instead of joining work.
They hurled brickbats at police from the rooftops.
Nearly 12,000 workers from different garment factories in Katherpool area took to the streets at around 10:30am defying police obstruction.
The labourers and law enforcers got involved in chase and counter chase prompting the police to lob 50 teargas shells.
Meantime, 30 RMG workers were injured in Ashulia after they clashed with police protesting the new pay hike, which they say is still too low, adds a correspondent from Ashulia.
Five workers were arrested on the Bishmile-Jirabo road, the scene of violence.
Police filed a case accusing 700 workers of vandalism on Sunday.
Authorities of 12 garment factories in the area announced holiday yesterday fearing clash.
The workers attacked three garment factories and made a fire in front of one of the factories. They also blocked the Bishmile-Jirabo road shortly after 10:00am.
The labourers got involved in chase and counter chase with police when the law enforcers tried to restore vehicular movement on the road.
They pelted the policemen with brick chips prompting them to fire rubber bullets and teargas canisters.
Fire fighters doused the flame in front of the factory gate.
Meanwhile, production in two garment units -- Orchid Knitwear and Global Knitting in the port city -- was halted after the workers demonstrated in the morning demanding a pay hike.
They agreed to join work as the factory authorities agreed to increase "piece-rate" after a meeting at about 2:00pm, said Md Moyeen Uddin, deputy secretary of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
The workers of the two garment units had also staged demonstrations on Sunday night demanding a raise in wage.
The workers attacked two factories of Azim Group and three other factories nearby.
Police swung into action swiftly and brought the situation under control.
RESTRICTION ON FOREIGNERS' INVOLVEMENT WITH TU
The cabinet has decided not to allow any foreign national with tourist visa to get involved with trade unions in Bangladesh.
The decision came at a weekly meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The cabinet expressed concern over the recent labour unrest in the garment sector.
Many foreign nationals with tourist visa have been involved with trade unions and are causing unrest in the sector for the interests of their nations, the meeting was told.
"It will be strictly overseen from now on so that no foreign national can come to Bangladesh with tourist visa to get involved with trade unions. If they want to come here for this purpose, they must get visas under a special category from the Bangladesh government," a senior minister told The Daily Star wishing anonymity.
The government has a list of foreign nationals, who came to Bangladesh with tourist visa and got involved with trade unions with the help of many NGOs, said sources close to the meeting.
Many of them are staying in Bangladesh although their visas have already expired, added the sources.
Labels: Bangladesh, international labour, labour, strike.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR GREECE:
GREEK TRUCKERS END STRIKE:
Striking truck drivers in Greece voted late yesterday to end their week long walkout, and they are expected to resume normal work on Monday. While many drivers refused to obey the "civil mobilization" order (a back-to-work order with military draft provisions) the government managed to commandeer enough trucks that, with their own vehicles, they were well on the way to restocking fuel supplies across the country. It 9is doubtful if this would have been a long term viable solution, but it was enough to force the truckers back to work.
A few comments are in order. The first is that this strike, unlike the symbolic general strikes of the opposition to the government's austerity program (or the even more ineffective aimless rioting of the left wing of the opposition), actually posed a real economic threat, and it prompted the state into action that it has usually held back from during the course of the present crisis. It also showed coincidentally the futility of any dreams of overthrowing the government. It would be a simple "turn of the tap", and a revolutionary Greece would rapidly become a collapsed revolutionary Greece being as all Greece's energy needs are supplied from abroad.
This may highlight the essential nature of the government/population confrontation ie stalemate with time on the side of the government. The opposition cannot play the 'ultimate threat' card. They know it. The government knows it. The general population knows it. The only ones who don't know it are a small number of romantic revolutionaries. The nature of the Greek crisis is also such that any alternative to the present socialist government would inevitably end up acting just as it does today, the conservatives because they would want to, and the communists and left-socialists because they would have to. A Greek government of any stripe would be severely constrained in its options. This situation presents the classic dilemma whereby politics, of the governmental variety, is absolutely futile. Yet it is also a situation where revolution would be equally futile.
Of course only a tiny minority of Greeks would dream of trying to go beyond the present system. The most overwhelming thing to notice about the opposition to the government's plan is how incredibly conservative, in the sense of trying to avoid any change, that it is. The struggles against the government are not for some new dispensation but rather to preserve a system of "entitlements" that various sectors of the working population see as in their interest or perhaps even vital to their interests. In the case of the truckers one can feel some sympathy for them because they have forked out huge amounts of money for exclusive licences in a sector which the government now intends to throw totally open. See the article below. This leaves the present truckers with huge debts and lower revenue.
So where does this leave the opposition to the Greek version of neoliberalism ? We can speak of rocks and hard places. For the left socialist and communist opponents it means keeping up the level of visible militancy in hopes of leaving a lasting memory that can be used for later political gain. In the case of the workers it means very much the same thing except that the goal is not any future political gain but rather the softening of the impact of the measures in the near future by a protracted period of bargaining with their enemy the state.
The anarchist opposition, small as it is (though far bigger than in most countries) ? The "concentration of mind" that the present crisis is forcing people to go through is hardly likely to result in a flow of public opinion to revolutionary strategies, anarchist or otherwise. The precise opposite is the likely result, and clinging to the old romantic shibboleths cannot make the anarchist alternative seem desirable in the public mind. Whether Greek anarchists can find their way through to a long term strategy that gradually builds the libertarian alternative without the deus-ex-machina of revolution is very much in question. It is, however, the only way to escape from the ghettoization that they presently suffer.
Here's the story of the end of the strike from the Sydney Morning Herald , bright and early on the other side of the world.
GSGSGSGSGS
Greek truckers end week-long strike
Greek truckers end week-long strike
JOHN HADOULIS
Greek truckers have called off a week-long strike that stranded thousands of travellers and nearly dried up fuel around the country at the peak of the busy tourism season.
"We have decided, by narrow majority, to suspend the strike," the head of the Greek truck owners confederation, George Tzortzatos, told reporters on Sunday after a union meeting that lasted over three hours.
"Transporters will be back at the steering wheel as of tomorrow," he said.
The strikers backed down after the government sent out military and private trucks under police escort to bypass the protest and resupply hospitals, electricity plants and petrol stations in main cities.
Businesses ranging from hotels and car rentals to peach exporters have been badly hit by the strike, which began last Sunday over plans to reform the tightly-controlled freight sector for the first time in four decades.
Thousands of Greek and foreign travellers had to put their plans on hold or were stranded as fuel supplies dwindled to a trickle in main cities and holiday destinations such as Crete and the northern Halkidiki peninsula, with conditions only starting to improve on Saturday.
The truckers on Sunday said they would hold talks with the government over the reform which is designed to open the sector to full competition within three years, as part of efforts to revive the recession-mired Greek economy.
After talks with trucker unions collapsed, the authorities on Wednesday moved to requisition vehicles, but fuel all but ran out at major cities and travel destinations during the two days it took to implement the measure.
Meanwhile many drivers flouted the civil mobilisation order, tearing up their summons and refusing to turn up for work despite threats of prosecution.
At the main Greek port of Piraeus, the local trader association said many of the islands popular with holidaymakers had not been resupplied for days.
"The resupply of islands has been non-existent,"Piraeus trader association chairman George Zissimatos told Mega television.
"A lot of goods remained in warehouses, ten days were lost and now wholesalers are about to go on holiday themselves," he said.
A breakthrough finally came late on Saturday after the government said it would lift the civil mobilisation if the truckers closed down their protest.
No new trucking licenses have been issued in Greece for years, meaning that would-be operators can only purchase existing permits at high cost.
But the truckers complain that inviting competition into the freight sector by reducing new licence charges is unfair to existing operators who have already paid high start-up fees running up to 300,000 euros ($A436,047).
Greece has suffered waves of strikes and protests over unprecedented budget cuts and reforms the government had to agree to in order to tap a rescue package it desperately needed to stave off bankruptcy.
A debt default was narrowly averted in May after Greece received a huge bailout loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Faced with nearly 300 billion euros ($A436.05 billion) of debt, it found itself unable to raise money on international markets in April as concerns mounted about the ability of the Greek economy to stay afloat.
Greek truckers have called off a week-long strike that stranded thousands of travellers and nearly dried up fuel around the country at the peak of the busy tourism season.
"We have decided, by narrow majority, to suspend the strike," the head of the Greek truck owners confederation, George Tzortzatos, told reporters on Sunday after a union meeting that lasted over three hours.
"Transporters will be back at the steering wheel as of tomorrow," he said.
The strikers backed down after the government sent out military and private trucks under police escort to bypass the protest and resupply hospitals, electricity plants and petrol stations in main cities.
Businesses ranging from hotels and car rentals to peach exporters have been badly hit by the strike, which began last Sunday over plans to reform the tightly-controlled freight sector for the first time in four decades.
Thousands of Greek and foreign travellers had to put their plans on hold or were stranded as fuel supplies dwindled to a trickle in main cities and holiday destinations such as Crete and the northern Halkidiki peninsula, with conditions only starting to improve on Saturday.
The truckers on Sunday said they would hold talks with the government over the reform which is designed to open the sector to full competition within three years, as part of efforts to revive the recession-mired Greek economy.
After talks with trucker unions collapsed, the authorities on Wednesday moved to requisition vehicles, but fuel all but ran out at major cities and travel destinations during the two days it took to implement the measure.
Meanwhile many drivers flouted the civil mobilisation order, tearing up their summons and refusing to turn up for work despite threats of prosecution.
At the main Greek port of Piraeus, the local trader association said many of the islands popular with holidaymakers had not been resupplied for days.
"The resupply of islands has been non-existent,"Piraeus trader association chairman George Zissimatos told Mega television.
"A lot of goods remained in warehouses, ten days were lost and now wholesalers are about to go on holiday themselves," he said.
A breakthrough finally came late on Saturday after the government said it would lift the civil mobilisation if the truckers closed down their protest.
No new trucking licenses have been issued in Greece for years, meaning that would-be operators can only purchase existing permits at high cost.
But the truckers complain that inviting competition into the freight sector by reducing new licence charges is unfair to existing operators who have already paid high start-up fees running up to 300,000 euros ($A436,047).
Greece has suffered waves of strikes and protests over unprecedented budget cuts and reforms the government had to agree to in order to tap a rescue package it desperately needed to stave off bankruptcy.
A debt default was narrowly averted in May after Greece received a huge bailout loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Faced with nearly 300 billion euros ($A436.05 billion) of debt, it found itself unable to raise money on international markets in April as concerns mounted about the ability of the Greek economy to stay afloat.
Labels: gradualism, Greece, Greek strikes, Greek truckers strike, international labour, labour, revolution, statism, strike., tactics
