[mobglob-discuss] The World of Labor (January 13, 2006)

[Gordon Flett]

The World of Labor  (January 13, 2006)
By Harry Kelber

Japanese Labor and Employers Start "Shunto" Negotiations

Leaders from Japan's top umbrella labor organization, Rengo, met with
executives of the largest business association in Tokyo on Jan. 11, kicking
off the nation's annual spring "shunto" negotiations.  Rengo is encouraging
affiliated unions to seek wage increases on the basis of last year's
business performance.

Rengo called on management to increase monthly salaries rather than through
bonuses. Unions in many large companies have decided to ask for an increase
in monthly salaries, rather than in bonuses, for the first time in several
years.

Corporate executives have warned against excessive expectations by unions.
"For this year, we cannot--and should not--expect a sharp improvement in
corporate earnings, as we saw last year," said Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of
Toyota Motor Corp. Most  companies expect to reach an agreement with their
unions by March 15.

1,000 Workers Stage Walkout at New Guinea Gold Mine

Production at the world class Porgera gold mine was disrupted Jan. 10 as
about 1,000 miners went on strike. Company security officers were busy
protecting the mine while management attempted to address the disgruntled
strikers.

The strike was the result of concerns by the workers that there may be
changes in the existing contracts, employee benefits and other  arrangements
relating to the operation of the mine, after Placer Dome was replaced by
Barrick Gold Corp.

The Placer Dome management has assured strikers that all current provisions
of the contract will be maintained. "It will be business as usual and there
will be little, if any, impact on the day-to-day operations of the mine," a
company statement said. The Porgera mine produced more than one million
ounces of gold last year, making it one of the largest gold mining
operations in the Pacific Islands.

Italian Unions Sign Strike Truce for Turin Olympic Games

A nationwide strike truce was signed by Italian unions on Jan. 11 for the
period covering the Winter Olympics in Turin. The agreement will force the
postponement of an Alitalia airline strike scheduled for the day of the
opening ceremony. All major unions signed the accord, including
representatives from the country's three big labor confederations.

The Turin Winter Games will take place Feb.10-26, to be followed by the
Paralympics, March 10-19. The truce will expire four days later.  Sergio
Betti, a national union official, said that  the strike truce is necessary
to ensure a smooth Olympics and "to present a good image of the country."
The truce will also ban telecommunications and railroad protests.

Local protests outside the Turin area in labor disputes that have no impact
on the Olympics will be allowed, Betti said, offering a bus strike in Rome
as an example. A strike by a small Milan TV workers' union caused the
postponement of the giant slalom at last season's Alpine skiing world
championships in Bonnio.

Thai Workers Rally to Protest U.S. Trade Policies

Members of trade unions from various cities in Thailand staged a rally in
front of the U.S. Embassy on Jan. 10 to Stop FTA. Stop selling Thailand."
Globalized free trade has impacted workers all over the country,
particularly on the issue of wages and benefits. They are not sufficient for
living since the government has been trying to keep them down to the bottom
line to attract investment," said Sukarnta Sookpalta, president of the Women
Workers Unity Group.

"We have met with the U.S. government representative several times and we
insist that the Thai government has to strictly comply with the basic labor
rights under the core International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions,"
said Somsak Kosalsook, general secretary of the Labor Coordinating Center.
"Labor organizations have sent a letter to the U.S. President George Bush to
stop the negotiations since the FTA would benefit only capitalists, while
the majority of Thais, including workers and farmers, would not gain
anything," he added.

The letter to President Bush, signed by 15 organizations, was submitted
through the U.S. Embassy.  It declared: "We protest against U.S.-Thai FTA,
because Thailand is not for sale."

India's Domestic Workers Want Their Rights NOW

Today, Jan. 13, is Domestic Workers   Day. To commemorate the occasion,
10,000 maidservants, ayahs, cooks and their supporters will gather at Azad
Maidan, in a one-day token strike.  The strike will highlight basic rights
like dignity and justice from the government of Maharashtra, and is expected
to be held simultaneously in 21 states across India.

Mary Selvin, the Maharashtra coordinator, whose organization has over
500,000 members from all over India and 10,000 in Mumbai, says "Our
organization is trying to make the government guarantee their rights through
dhamas, rallies, satyagraha, meetings, and so on."  In 1998, the Maharashtra
government tabled the Domestic Workers Bill, which is still pending. They
want the government to recognize them as laborers, so they can get their
basic rights, Selvin said.

Selvin warned that if the pending bill wasn't passed soon, her organization
would start a series of actions that would paralyze Mumbai.  The city
employs more than 45,000 children and 800,000 adults as domestic help.

Brazil Government and Unions Fail to Agree on Minimum Wage

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government and the country's
trade unions failed to agree on a minimum wage increase for 2006, Labor
Minister Luiz Marinho said.

The government refused to grant the 20% increase sought by the unions to 360
reals ($158) a month, from the current 300 reals per month. The union then
came up with a compromise: a 17% increase to 350 reals a month, but starting
in March, rather than May.

Marino, who said the new proposal is more likely to be accepted by the
government, will present it to LuLa and meet union leaders again Jan. 19.

Our weekly "LaborTalk" and "The World of Labor" columns can be viewed at our
Web site: http://www.laboreducator.org/

Harry Kelber's e-mail address is: hkelber at igc.org