[mobglob-discuss] The World of Labor (March 2, 2007)

[Gordon Flett]

The World of Labor (March 2, 2007)
By Harry Kelber

New Iraqi Law Gives Long-Term Contracts to Foreign Oil Companies

The U.S, -backed Iraqi cabinet approved a new oil law Feb. 26 that is set
to give foreign companies the long-term contracts and safe legal framework
they have been waiting for, but which has rattled labor unions and
international campaigners who say that oil production should remain in the
hands of Iraqis.

Independent analysts and labor groups have also criticized the process of
drafting the law and warned that the bill is so skewed in favor of foreign
firms that it could end up heightening political tensions in Iraq and
spreading instability. The head of Iraq's Federation of Oil Unions, Hassan
Jum'ah Awwad Al Aside, says he intends to mobilize his 23,000 members
against the draft law. "We want a new, different law, which will be in the
interests of Iraqis," he said. "If there is no solution, we can stop
production, stop exports," he warned..

Under the new law, foreign oil companies will have a stake in Iraq's vast
oil wealth for the first time since 1972, when Iraq nationalized the
industry. The law specifies that two-thirds of Iraq's known reserves would
be developed by multinationals under contracts lasting 15 or 20 years and
renewable for five more years.

German, French and British Unions Protest Huge Airbus Layoffs

The announcement by Airbus that it will eliminate between 8,000 and 10,000
jobs by 2010 in a structuring plan to make its business more productive,
lower labor costs and create savings of £1.35 billion ($2.62 billion) has
aroused a stormy reaction from workers in Germany, France and Britain, where
the giant airplane manufacturer has its plants

The most powerful French union inside Airbus, Force Ouvrière, said that the
sell-off of plants inside France would be taken as a "declaration of war"
and it promised concerted industrial action across the continent to sink the
plan. German workers at two plants, scheduled for closing, walked off their
jobs in protest.

Troubles at Airbus, which is struggling to compete with Boeing, stem
largely from a two-year delay in the production of the double-decker A380
superjumbo. After months of wrangling over the cuts, French President
Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed last week that
cutbacks should be balanced between the two countries.

Argentine Strikers Cut Gas Supply to World's Top Methanol Supplier

The Canadian-owned Methanex plant in Chile's southern region of Megallanes
has seen natural gas supply fall 10 percent, following an indefinite strike
by oil and gas workers in neighboring Argentina. The strike, involving three
oil plants in Argentina, is seriously jeopardizing Methanex's output, which
was already limited because of maintenance work on gas pipelines. . Methanex
is the world's leading producer of methanol.

Luis Soza, general secretary of Argentina's oil and gas union, said the
decision to strike was taken after the nation's authorities failed to
satisfy their demand for a $325 increase in their monthly wage after several
weeks of negotiations. "We have dialogued more than three months with both
businessmen and the Labor Ministry without any satisfactory response or a
tangible measure concerning our situation. This motivated us to reject
further dialog," Soza said.

The dispute arises at a time when Chile is re-evaluating energy policies as
a result of maintenance difficulties in securing an adequate gas supply from
its neighbor. Argentina threatened to cut all gas supplies to Chile, given
its own problems with gas workers' unions earlier last month.

Hilton Hotels Lift European Ban on Cubans

The Hilton Hotel chain reversed its ban on Cuban delegations staying at its
hotels in Europe and called on Britain and the U.S. to resolve the
contentious issue, which arises from the American embargo on the Caribbean
island. The action came after unions and parliamentary groups in Europe
announced plans to boycott the Hilton chain after a Cuban delegation was
banned from a Hilton hotel in Oslo, Sweden, and excluded from the group's
hotels throughout Europe.

In a letter sent to the British prime minister and foreign secretary and the
U.S. State Department, the Hilton Hotel Corporation said: "As a U.S.-based
company, we face a legal dilemma, with a strict ban on trading with Cuba
imposed by the U.S. government and contradictory legislation in the U.K.
making it illegal to discriminate on the basis of nationality."

The Hilton group has now called for a "U.S.-U.K. bilateral agreement to
reform and ease the trade sanctions within the tourism industry . . . so
that this contradiction between our laws is annulled."

Nigeria's Medical Doctors Begin 7-Day Warning Strike

Demanding higher wages and improvements in working conditions, the nation's
medical doctors, led by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), began a
seven-day work-to-rule action. Their "warning strike" is to protest
irregularities in the new salary structure for all civil servants, which,
they claim, has slashed their pay instead of increasing it.

The strike, which came on the heels of the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum
from the NMA that the government scrap the new salary structure, went into
effect in all federal government-owned health establishments, but
contingency measures are in place to handle a variety of emergencies.
Hospital management has given assurances that patients already on admission
in the wards will continue to receive full care

A few months ago, the doctors were informed that their salaries would be
increased by 15 percent, but when the circular announcing the new salary
structure was published, they leaned that their wages were actually
"downscaled." An NMA spokesman said that if the government fails to respond
favorably to the 7-day work stoppage, scheduled to end March 4, further
strike actions will be taken.

Guineans Return to Work after Unions Reach Deal with Government

After weeks of unrest and a damaging strike, Guineans are back on their jobs
as a result of an agreement between their unions and President Lansana Conte
ending the conflict.

On Feb. 26, commemoration services were held for the 110 people who died in
the strike-related violence. The BBC reporter said that the mood on the
streets was definitely "upbeat." People feel as if all their demands have
been met, now that they have a new prime minister with more power," he said.

A key issue that led to the strike was the choice of a prime minister that
would satisfy the unions. The rebellion was triggered by Conte taking on the
roles of both president and prime minister. The unions continued their
strike when Conte retreated but appointed one of his close aides, Eugene
Camara, as prime minister. A settlement was finally reached when a new prime
minister, ex-diplomat Lansana Kouyate, was chosen from a list supplied by
the unions.

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