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International Employment Relations Network List

(IERN-L)

A Miscellany of International Employment Relations News

Miscellany 3/2013: 4 February 2013

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Contents

Main Stories

Australia: Unions push for apprentices to be paid a living wage

China: Reforms promised after street cleaners stage strikes across Guangzhou

Kenya: Nurses’ strike enters third month

Korea: Key Changes to Korea’s Labor Policies in 2013 (LABOR TODAY 840)

Sweden: Forced Labour for Cameroonian Migrant Workers

Turkey: Luxury brand fails on union rights in Turkey

USA: Robert Reich calls for massive Wal-Mart, McDonalds and hospital labor

unions

__________________________________________________________________

In Brief

Australia: Unions planning new push on jobs

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Australia: Decision to shelve review on building costs disappoints

Australia: Wages of sin

Cambodia: Cambodian Garment Workers seek support from Walmart, H&M

shoppers.

Canada: Corporate Tax Freedom Day is January 30 - Big businesses hoard cash

from tax giveaways, not investing in jobs

Hong Kong: Company directors sentenced to community service for wage

offences and Labour Tribunal award payment defaults

India: Bank employees to join central trade unions strike

Korea: Hwanwha to turn 2,000 temps into full-time workers

Maldives: Police break strike at Alimatha Resort, arrest two workers

Netherlands: Strike at SABIC plant in the Netherlands hits production

New Zealand: Hope in Ports of Auckland dispute

Palestine: PA employees to end strike

Singapore: Construction Company Owner Faces 85 EFMA Charges

Sudan: Al Bashir to Address African Trade Union Tomorrow

USA: Longshoremen Reach East Coast Port Deal

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Opinion

Nigeria: Convicted Pension Thief Must be Retried

South Africa: COSATU Gauteng Press Statement on Court Challenge by

Employers to extension of Bargaining Council Agreement in Textile and Clothing

Sector to Non-Parties

USA: The Decline of Unions Is Your Problem Too

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People

Singapore: Mdm Halimah Yacob appointed NTUC Advisor for Int'l Affairs

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Labour History

USA: Seattle workers general strike for fair wages, 1919

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Publications

Calls for Papers, Conferences, Seminars, Symposia

Other Sites

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Main Stories

Australia: Unions push for apprentices to be paid a living wage

Australia/IR/Apprentice Wages

ACTU, 31 January 2013 at

http://www.actu.org.au/Media/Mediareleases/Unionspushforapprenticestobepaidalivingwage.

aspx

Unions will push for a wage rise for apprentices to allow them to cope with the cost of living

and ease future shortages in skilled trades.

The ACTU today lodged a submission with the Fair Work Commission calling for wages for

all apprentices aged under 20 to be a minimum of 60 per cent of the trades rate, or $11.15 an

hour. Older apprentices would be required to be paid at the minimum award classification for

their job.

The measure would help turn around apprenticeship completion rates which have dropped to

a worrying 55 per cent. One in three apprentices do not even make it through the first year.

ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said that the apprenticeship system was failing to keep up with

changes in society and apprentices could not meet basic living costs on their current pay.

“The make-up of Australia’s apprentice workforce has changed dramatically in the past three

decades, but pay rates are stuck in a time warp.

“Apprentices today are no longer 15 or 16 years old - more than half of them are in their 20s

and many have mortgages or children to support.

“While they recognise the long-term value of completing an apprenticeship, severe financial

pressures often leave them no choice but to delay or drop out.”

“In some cases apprentices earn barely more than the Newstart allowance.

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“For example, a first year electrical apprentice will earn $288.37 a week under their Award,

while an 18-year-old trainee at McDonald’s is earning $540 a week – a difference of

$251.63.”

Mr Oliver said research showed that low pay was discouraging school leavers from taking up

apprenticeships in the first place.

He warned that unless pay was increased the drop in both start and completion rates would

increase and damage Australia’s economic future.

“Apprenticeships have been a cornerstone of the training system in Australia and we want

them to stay that way,” Mr Oliver said.

“They provide young people with a combination of work and training that prepares them for

a secure job and a career for life.

“They also ensure that Australia’s productivity is not damaged by shortages of important

trades.”

The full bench of the Fair Work Commission will begin hearings into the review of wages

and conditions for apprentices, trainees and juniors at the start of March. The case is being

heard as part of the two-yearly review of the Modern Awards system which came into being

in 2010.

___________________________________________________________________________

China: Reforms promised after street cleaners stage strikes across

Guangzhou

IR/China/ Guangzhou/Street Cleaners

CLB, 3 February 2013 at http://www.clb.org.hk/en/node/110207

The annual meeting of the Guangdong People’s Congress this year was marked by garbage

piled up in the streets of the provincial capital Guangzhou as hundreds of sanitation workers

in more than five districts around city went on strike for higher pay and social insurance

payments.

Cleaners complained they were not properly compensated for their work during public

holidays and that, for some, their actual take-home pay after deductions was less than 1,000

yuan a month, basically the same as it was ten years ago.

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After one strike in Yuexiu district, the employer did promise an additional monthly subsidy

of 200 yuan and another 200 yuan as a Spring Festival bonus. But the workers were still not

happy and demanded that their monthly salary be doubled from the current level of 1,600

yuan to 3,000 yuan per month.

Experts say the long-standing problem of low pay stems primarily from the contract system

adopted by the city government in 2001. Zhao Dongping, secretary of Guangzhou Sanitation

Industry Association claimed that the government doesn’t have sufficient funds for cleaners,

and doesn’t factor in normal benefits when it comes to public bidding. “That is the primary

reason why it’s difficult for cleaners to have a pay increase,” he said.

In order to win a bid from the Guangzhou City Administration Committee, the government

department responsible for the city’s sanitation contractors, bidding companies are inclined to

set their budget closely in line with the minimum wage. A public tender published in 2011

inviting bids for a five-year cleaning services contract for the streets around the Pazhou

International Exhibition Centre, for example, only mentioned the cap price without setting a

minimum price for bidders.

In response to the cleaners’ protests, Huang Xiaojin, deputy secretary of Guangzhou City

Administration Committee, promised that cleaners’ remuneration would be significantly

improved. Huang claimed the committee was soliciting opinions and that this may take some

time. But the local media pointed out this was only an inter-departmental consultation that

would not solicit opinions from the cleaners themselves.

Guangzhou has nearly 40,000 street cleaners; 65 percent of them work for contracted

sanitation companies, and 70 percent are migrant workers, the city’s Mayor Chen Jianhua,

told the media last week.

While the city government drags it feet, some of the sanitation workers have already

managed to negotiate a better deal for themselves. In an agreement reached late last year,

about 40 cleaners in Panyu district demanded and got the payment of social security benefits

dating back 16 years. The sanitation workers were assisted in their efforts by a local labour

rights group and the Laowei law firm in Shenzhen but as a member of the Panyu labour rights

group said: “It was the workers’ representatives themselves who did the actual collective

bargaining with management.”

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Following this success, around 50 cleaners from the same district demanded a pay increase

from their employer, a local community centre. The filed a request for collective bargaining

and said they would go out on strike again if they didn’t receive a reply by 4 February.

“During my 18 year’s employment, I have never been paid for my overtime work, and it’s

very difficult for me to take leave to visit my mother at home,” one workers’ representative

said. They demanded an increase in their monthly salary from the current level of 1,100 yuan

to 2,000 yuan per month.

And the sanitation workers also have the very public support of Chen Weixiang, a student

from Sun Yat-sen University, who issued an open letter on 30 January, urging the city

administration committee to conduct a comprehensive survey of the compensation package

offered to Guangzhou’s street cleaners, saying that: “The cleaners’ salary is a test of the city’s

conscience.”

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Kenya: Nurses’ strike enters third month

IR/Kenya/Public Sector/Nurses/Strike

Daily Nation, 4 February 2013 at http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Nurses-strike-enters-third-

month/-/1056/1682970/-/1x8945z/-/index.html

Services in public health facilities remain paralysed as the nurses’ strike enters its third month

with no breakthrough in sight.

The government has in turn blocked their salaries since December even as it seeks ways out

of the quagmire that has injured healthcare countrywide.

Chief Nursing Officer Chris Rakuom now says the government is doing all it can to ensure

nurses resume duty this week.

Mr Rakuom told the Sunday Nation that they have held meetings with the nurses to discuss

their return-to-work demands.

“We have held a meeting with the officials and so far we are heading in the right direction.

We want to ensure that nurses are back to their stations by next [this] week,” said Mr

Rakuom.

Some of the areas highly affected by the strike are Coast, Western and Kajiado regions.

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“The process to ensure they go back to work is moving on well; most of the nurses who are

resuming duty are being put back on the payroll immediately. We will reinstate them

immediately if they go back to work,” he said.

But the Secretary General of the unregistered Kenya National Union of Nurses Seth Panyako

said they do not agree with the Chief Nursing Officer’s demands.

“Mr Rakuom wants to victimise nurses. How does he issue orders that have no head or tail?

You cannot deny us our December and January salary nor can you demote an individual

because they went on strike, that is unacceptable,” said Mr Panyako.

Last month, the nurses obtained orders directing the government to give them an audience.

“The orders we obtained are that the government was supposed to engage the nurses union as

presently constituted, so far only the Public Service Commission has been receptive. Other

ministries we are meeting have treated us with arrogance and little regard for our profession”.

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Korea: Key Changes to Korea’s Labor Policies in 2013 (LABOR TODAY

840)

IR/Korea/ 2013 Policies

Korea Labor Foundation, 25 January 2013 at

http://www.koilaf.org/KFeng/engLabornews/bbs_read_dis.php?board_no=7908

Career and Outplacement Center Opens

ㅇ The Korea Labor Management Foundation’s “Outplacement Support Centers” and

“Career Assistance Centers for Elderly Professionals” have been merged to become a larger

nationwide employment assistance service called “Career and Outplacement Centers.” This

service helps job seekers aged 40 or over find new career opportunities through a variety of

counseling programs relating to career, finance and lifetime planning.

* What is the outplacement service for?

The service helps job seekers 1) make a smoother transition to another job with IAP support,

psychological consultations, lifetime planning, and health and leisure management 2) become

reemployed by providing advice on writing a resume, on becoming an effective interviewee,

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and on starting a business, and 3), start a business by offering relevant information, on-site

experience programs and support for one-person creativity-driven small businesses.

□ Reemployment Support Programs for Elderly Workers Launched

ㅇ The Ministry of Employment and Labor will launch a program in 2013 to help the

unemployed aged 50 or over participate in internships in small and mid-sized enterprises to

give them more opportunities for reemployment.

ㅇ Employers who employ an elderly job seeker aged 50 or older as an intern will be granted

50% of their contracted monthly wage or 800,000 won, whichever is lower, for up to four

months. If the intern is converted into a regular worker, the employer will receive an

additional 650,000 won per month for six months.

□ Eligibility Requirements for Employment Promotion Subsidy Eased

ㅇ The employment promotion subsidy granted to employers employing disadvantaged

people, such as people with disabilities and women who are breadwinners, will be raised

from 6.5 million won to 8.6 million won per year, and the frequency of payment will be

increased from twice every six months to four times every three months.

ㅇ Until now, the employment promotion subsidy has only been granted to employers hiring

workers who have changed jobs involuntarily, but from this year the subsidy will be extended

to employers employing those who have switched jobs voluntarily. In either case, employers

can only receive the subsidy when employees meet the eligibility requirements.

□ Requirements for Wage Peak Subsidies for Shorter Working Hours Revised

ㅇ The eligibility requirements for the subsidies granted to workers under the wage peak

scheme will be eased so that the subsidies can be paid when working hours are cut by 15-30

hours and wage is cut by 30 percent or more. This will help more young job seekers become

employed at the expense of elderly workers’ working hours.

□ Minimum Wage Raised

ㅇ The minimum wage will be raised to 4,860 Won per hour from January 1, 2013. As a

result, the minimum daily wage for eight hours will be raised to 38,880 Won, the minimum

monthly wage to 1,015,740 Won (4,860 Won × 209 hours) for 40-hour-working-week

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companies and to 1,098,360 Won (4,860 Won × 226 hours) for 44-hour-working-week

companies.

ㅇ The workers identified in the Labor Standards Act are affected by the minimum wage. The

minimum wage applies to all kinds of workers, including temporary workers, daily workers,

part-time workers, and foreign workers, regardless of nationality and type of employment.

However there are exceptions, although approval for them must be received from the

Minister of Employment and Labor.

□ Retirement Allowance Raised to the Level of Legal Retirement Pay Regardless of Size

of Business

ㅇ Businesses with four or fewer regular workers used to have to pay 50% or more of the

legal retirement allowance to retired workers from December 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012.

From January 1, 2013, however, retired workers with a continuous length of service of one

year or longer will be entitled to at least the full amount of the legal retirement pay, which is

calculated based on thirty or more days of the one-year service period, regardless of the size

of the business.

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Sweden: Forced Labour for Cameroonian Migrant Workers

IR/ER/Sweden/Migrant Labour

ITUC, 23 January 2013 at http://www.ituc-csi.org/sweden-forced-labour-for

Before arriving in Sweden, the migrant workers had been promised a monthly salary of 18

500 SEK, plus 6000 SEK in per diems. Upon arrival the deal changed and it was no longer a

monthly salary but instead paid at a piece rate of 0.22 SEK. To get close to the monthly pay

that they had been promised, they then had to work day and night and plant about 3500 new

trees a day – which is about double the amount of trees that an experienced worker is capable

of planting a day.

“These contracts are pure forced labour contracts,” wrote LO Sweden in their statement from

last Friday.

“We are now in negotiations with the employers, and SLA (the employer) has promised to

pay according to the contracts. We are hopeful this will be resolved within a few weeks,” said

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Per-Olof Sjöö, the President of the union GS who is representing the forestry workers in

Sweden.

“It is wrong to let employers handle the system of migration on their own,” said Torbjörn

Johansson of LO Sweden. “The deregulations from four years ago are a miserable muck-up.

During these years we have been able to note upsetting cases of exploitation, falsifying and

bad conditions while the minister in charge of migration, Tobias Billström, keeps stating that

no adjustments to the law are needed.”

Forced labour takes places all over the world – in developed as well as developing countries.

Forced labour is any work or service performed against a person’s will under the threat of

punishment. More than 12.3 million people are in forced labour today.

___________________________________________________________________________

Turkey: Luxury brand fails on union rights in Turkey

IR/Turkey/MNCs/Free Zones/ anti-unionism

Industriall, 31 January 2013 at http://www.industriall-union.org/luxury-brand-fails-on-union-

rights-in-turkey

Ismaco Amsterdam B.V. is a Dutch-based company producing luxury shirts for worldwide-

known brand Ermenegildo Zegna. The company has production facilities in Spain,

Switzerland, Mexico, China and Turkey, which is located at a Free Zone in Tuzla, Istanbul

with around 370 employees. The Turkish plant of Ismaco produces 600,000 pieces annually

which corresponds to 65 per cent of the shirts of Ermenegildo Zegna.

Towards the end of 2012, workers at Ismaco decided to joint IndustriALL Global Union’s

Turkish affiliate Deri-Is because the company did not increase wages over last three years,

worsened working conditions, and used policies of discrimination and violence against the

workforce.

When the company management heard of the unionization efforts at the plant, managers

started to call workers to individual meetings to force them to resign or not to join Deri-Is.

Ismaco management then targeted pioneering members with threats and intimidations, and

finally dismissed union members Cengiz Taşkesen, Fikriye Akgül and Öznur Fazlıoğlu on 18

December 2013 and Munevver Uyar on 8 January 2013.

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Send your letter of protest the company here and support the dismissed union members who

have been picketing outside of the Free Zone in a tent in freezing winter conditions, as they

are not allowed to enter. Three out of four dismissed workers are female while one is a

disabled man.

Factory manager Francesco Lasorte gathered all the workers on 19 December announcing

that the workers do not need a union, and declared some wage increases, granting a one off

lump-sum bonus, organizing social events, as well as the establishment of a fake employee

representation system to try and prevent the organizing drive inside the company.

On 25 December, Ismaco managers forced all workers to sign a paper saying “we do not

want a trade union at our factory”. Company managers attempted to discredit the union by

spreading rumors that Deri-Is is linked with illegal groups, and anyone joining the union

would be considered as terrorist.

Deri-Is is actively campaigning on behalf of the workers and is getting support from

community, trade unions and NGOs. Their demands are:

Reinstatement of the dismissed workers;

An end to the hostile attitudes of managers against union members and workers

wanting to join the union;

Recognition of Deri-Is as the union representing workers to negotiate problems at the

factory;

Creation of an environment inside the plant that respects freedom of association as a

basic right and ensures that workers can freely become and remain a union member

and execute union activities.

Kemal Özkan, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, said, “Ermenegildo

shirts are sold with very high prices in big shopping malls, but the company is a long way

from respecting fundamental rights for its employees. This is not acceptable and our global

union family will continue to campaign until the situation at Ismaco plant in Turkey is

improved

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USA: Robert Reich calls for massive Wal-Mart, McDonalds and hospital

labor unions

IR/USA/Unionism

The Global Dispatch, 31 January 2013 at http://www.theglobaldispatch.com/robert-reich-

calls-for-massive-wal-mart-mcdonalds-and-hospital-labor-unions-75470/

Robert Reich, the former Clinton labor secretary turned MSNBC contributor, targeted some

of America’s largest companies calling for a massive union of their forces and argues that

these companies should embrace a labor union.

In the Jan. 29 Huff Po piece, Reich writes:

“Almost a quarter of all jobs in America now pay wages below the poverty line for a family

of four,” wrote Reich. “The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 7 out of 10 growth

occupations over the next decade will be low-wage — like serving customers at big-box

retailers and fast-food chains.”

“Wealthy Americans,” he continued, “would do better with smaller shares of a rapidly-

growing economy than with the large shares they now possess of an economy that’s barely

moving.”

As a result, they should “support public investments in education and job-training, a world-

class infrastructure (transportation, water and sewage, energy, internet), and basic research —

all of which would make the American workforce more productive.”

Reich continues.

“If they were rational they’d even support labor unions.”

In Reich’s view, employers should support unions coming in and assisting or coordinating

how much they should pay their employees.

After discussing how union membership has plummeted in this country in recent years, Reich

made a bold request.

“Walmart is a microcosm of the American economy,” he said. “It has brazenly fought off

unions. But it could easily afford to pay its workers more. It earned $16 billion last year.

Much of that sum went to Walmart’s shareholders, including the family of its founder, Sam

Walton.”

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The Clinton aide points out that “the wealth of the Walton family now exceeds the wealth of

the bottom 40 per cent of American families combined.”

In Reich’s view, this is at risk due to the condition of today’s economy and he has this

solution.

“Walmart should be unionized. So should McDonalds. So should every major big-box retailer

and fast-food outlet in the nation. So should every hospital in America.”

___________________________________________________________________________

In Brief

Australia: Unions planning new push on jobs

IR/Australia/migrant workers

The Australian, 4 February 2013 at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-

affairs/industrial-relations/unions-planning-new-push-on-jobs/story-fn59noo3-

1226568210637

UNION leaders are seizing on Julia Gillard's reshuffle to seek major changes to skills and

migration policy amid claims that Australians are missing out on well-paid resource industry

jobs that are going to thousands of foreign workers.

The labour movement will press incoming immigration minister Brendan O'Connor to tighten

the rules on vast resource projects as part of a new agenda that also includes rethinking

policies on skilled migration and apprenticeships. The union push comes as federal Labor

MPs are expected to step up their support for tougher migration rules at a meeting tomorrow

of a key caucus committee aimed at "spreading the benefits" of the resources boom

_____________________________________________________________________

Australia: Decision to shelve review on building costs disappoints

IR/Australia/Construction Industry

The Australian, 1 February 2013 at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-

affairs/industrial-relations/decision-to-shelve-review-on-building-costs-disappoints/story-

fn59noo3-1226566287148

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INDUSTRY has savaged the Gillard government's decision to dump the inquiry into

construction costs and productivity, warning that unions have been exploiting the existing

framework at the cost of the private sector.

"The Australian Industry Group has been expressing concern for some time about the impact

of the industrial relations environment on construction costs," a spokesman said. "For the past

few years, unions have been pursuing unsustainable improvements in wages and conditions

and there has been a marked increase in industrial action, including unlawful action.

___________________________________________________________________________

Australia: Wages of sin

IR/Australia/Underpayment/Hospitality

ILO/Sydney Morning Herald, 23 January 2013 at http://apirnet.ilo.org/news/wages-of-sin

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, 750,000 Australians work in the countries 80,000

restaurants and cafes. In an investigation undertaken by Fairfax Media, over 40 restaurants in

Sydney were found to be paying their staff below the minimum wage of AUD 15.96 per hour,

with some restaurants paying as low as AUD 8 per hour. Such activities mean that they could

face fines of up to AUD 32,000 by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

___________________________________________________________________________

Cambodia: Cambodian Garment Workers seek support from Walmart,

H&M shoppers

IR/ER/ Cambodia

United Sisterhood, 2 February 2013 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD71SHK-X6E

Garment workers making underwear for Walmart and H&M have been left homeless and

unpaid after Kingsland Factory bosses shut the factory in September 2012 and fled

Cambodia.

About 400 workers say Kingsland Garment Factory, supplier to Walmart and H&M, owes

them thousands of dollars in severance and back wages.

________________________________________________________________

Canada: Corporate Tax Freedom Day is January 30 - Big businesses hoard

cash from tax giveaways, not investing in jobs

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Canada/ER/ Economy/Labour Market

CLC, 29 January 2013 at http://www.canadianlabour.ca/national/news/clc-report-corporate-

tax-freedom-day-january-30-big-businesses-hoard-cash-tax-giveaway

A research study by the Canadian Labour Congress shows that CEOs in Canada could be

dancing in their suites to celebrate Corporate Tax Freedom Day on January 30. Their

companies will by then have paid their share of taxes to all levels of government for the

entire year.

“Corporate income taxes amounted to only 8.3% of all government revenues in 2011, down

from 8.8% in 2010 and from an average of 11% in the 1960s and 70s,” says CLC Secretary-

Treasurer Hassan Yussuff. “In return for tax breaks companies are supposed to be investing

their windfall to create good jobs in Canada but instead they are hoarding cash and paying fat

compensation to their CEOs.”

___________________________________________________________________________

Hong Kong: Company directors sentenced to community service for wage

offences and Labour Tribunal award payment defaults

IR/Hong Kong/Tribunal/Wage Payments

Hong Kong Department of Labour, 23 January 2013 at

http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201301/23/P201301230407.htm

Two directors of Fairtol Industrial Limited committed offences relating to wage payment and

defaulting on payment of an award by the Labour Tribunal under the Employment Ordinance.

The two directors were each sentenced today (January 23) at Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Courts

to 150 hours of community service. The two directors were also ordered to clear the sum

awarded by the Labour Tribunal via the court. The prosecution was launched by the Labour

Department.

The company failed to pay wages and wages in lieu of notice to one employee within seven

days after the expiry of wage periods and termination of employment as required by the

Employment Ordinance. The Labour Tribunal issued an award on June 13, 2012 and ordered

the company to pay the outstanding wages and other sums to the employee. The company

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defaulted on payment of the award. The outstanding sum awarded was about $280,000. The

two directors were convicted for their consent, connivance or neglect in the offences.

__________________________________________________________________________

India: Bank employees to join central trade unions strike

IR/India/Bank Workers/ Strike

The Economic Times, 3 February 2013 at http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-

by-industry/jobs/bank-employees-to-join-central-trade-unions-

strike/articleshow/18315731.cms#write

Bank employees' unions have decided to support the two-day strike by central trade unions

beginning February 20 to press for wage hike in the backdrop of rising inflation.

Nine bank unions under the banner of United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) have decided

to go on a nation-wide strike on February 20 and 21, National Organisation of Bank Workers'

(NOBW) said in a statement.

All 11 central trade unions including Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), All

India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), Centre of Indian

Trade Unions (CITU) and All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) have already

threatened to go on strike.

Bank unions are pressing for early wage revision of employees, which is due from November

2012, NOBW said.

Besides, bank unions are opposing banking sector reforms and any plan for merger of banks.

Last month, four bank unions went on strike in opposition to amendments carried out in

Banking Regulation Act and Banking Companies Act that enable foreign equity in public

sector banks.

___________________________________________________________________________

Korea: Hwanwha to turn 2,000 temps into full-time workers

ER/Korea/Chaebol/ temporary/fulltime workers status

Korea Labor Foundation International, 28 January 2013 at

http://www.koilaf.org/KFeng/engLabornews/bbs_read_dis.php?board_no=7913

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Hanwha Group, one of South Korea's top 10 family-controlled conglomerates, said Sunday it

plans to promote a total of 2,043 temporary workers into full-time employees starting in

March.

The planned transition, the first of its kind among the leading conglomerates, would lower the

ratio of non-regular workers to Hanwha's workforce to 10.4 per cent from the current 17 per

cent, the group said.

Of the total, 1,200 female temporary workers will gain full-time status, it added.

The move comes after a Seoul court early this month suspended the imprisonment of group

chairman Kim Seung-youn for health reasons for three months, who was behind bars for

inflicting massive financial losses on the group.

The 61-year-old tycoon was sentenced in August of last year to four years in prison and 5.1

billion won (US$4.8 million) in fines for using his status as the group's controlling

shareholder to illegally use company money to pay for debts of firms he ran under borrowed

names.

According to Statistics Korea, 33.8 per cent of employees hired by local companies were

temporary workers as of August last year.

________________________________________________________________

Maldives: Police break strike at Alimatha Resort, arrest two workers

IR/Maldives/Hospitality/Strike

Minivan News, 3 February 2013 at http://minivannews.com/travelandarts/police-break-strike-

at-alimatha-resort-arrest-two-workers-52265

A strike by Maldivian employees at Alimatha Resort in Vaavu Atoll ended on Friday after

30 police descended on the resort.

Two resort staff were arrested, while 27 were subsequently dismissed. The workers were

striking over a demand for an increase in their service charge compensation.

___________________________________________________________________________

Netherlands: Strike at SABIC plant in the Netherlands hits production

IR/Netherlands/MNC/Strike

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Saudi Gazette, 3 February 2013 at

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=201302031516

53

A strike by workers at the SABIC Europe Chemicals Geleen plant in the Netherlands has cut

production, Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) said in a bourse statement Saturday.

It said talks with a union over working conditions had not yet been successful and that it did

not know what impact the strike would have on profits or production.

“The decrease in production begins Jany. 31, 2013 due to the proactive measure taken by the

union workforce as a consequence of no finalized agreement regarding work conditions,” it

said in the statement.

In Geleen, SABIC has two naphtha crackers and several polymerization plants to produce

polyethylene and polypropylene. Galeen produces 1.25 million tons per year of ethylene,

725,000 tons per year of propylene, 940,000 tons per year of polyethylene, and 620,000 tons

per year of polypropylene.

“It is not possible to determine the financial effect or the effect on production capacity, at this

time, because the affected plants are not yet known,” SABIC added in the statement.

A SABIC spokesman in Europe said the disagreement was over payments to staff who might

become redundant.

De Unie, one of the unions involved in the strike action, said SABIC wanted to cut back

sharply on the support offered to laid-off workers to help them find new jobs.

___________________________________________________________________________

New Zealand: Hope in Ports of Auckland dispute

IR/New Zealand/ Stevadores/ Dispute/ Collective Bargaining

ILO/Stuff 29 January 2013 at http://apirnet.ilo.org/news/hope-in-ports-of-auckland-dispute

Since September 2011, a dispute has been underway which stems from Port’s plan to

introduce flexible working conditions. According to Ports of Auckland, the rationale for this

is to increase productivity and competitiveness.

The Port company and the Maritime Union have been seeking a collective agreement to this

dispute which has seen rolling strikes, lock-outs and mass protests. The dispute has also been

19

blamed for inconveniencing retailers and the public. ERA, the Employment Relations

Authority, has been facilitating discussions between the two parties, and at one point the

Government of New Zealand was also participating in the collective bargaining exercise.

Over the next two days, the Maritime Union will meets its members and the facilitator to

discuss the options being put them.

__________________________________________________________________________

Palestine: PA employees to end strike

IR/Palestine/Public Sector/Israel-Palestine

Ma”an News Agency, 4 February 2012 at

http://maannews.net/ENG/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=561089

Government employees in the West Bank will end their strike against salary delays on

Sunday, their union chief said late Thursday.

Bassam Zakarneh said the union leadership had met with Palestinian Authority

representatives, and were satisfied with their pledge to meet employees' demands.

Israel said on Wednesday it would give the PA around $100 million in tax revenues that had

been withheld in retaliation for Palestine's statehood vote at the United Nations in November.

The tax seizure compounded the government's worsening financial crisis.

Full salaries for public sector workers have not been paid in almost three months and

government initiatives to increase revenue by collecting years worth of electricity and water

bills from the public have been hampered by street protests.

___________________________________________________________________________

Singapore: Construction Company Owner Faces 85 EFMA Charges

ER/Singapore/ Foreign Workers

Ministry of Manpower, 29 January 2013 at

http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Pages/PressReleasesDetail.aspx?listid=482

In the Subordinate Courts today, a 29-year-old Singaporean, Umarul Farouk Bin Mohamed

Ibrahim, was charged with 85 counts under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act

(EFMA) of making false declarations in Work Permit applications and recovering levies and

20

receiving prohibited payments as consideration for employment amounting to $250,000 from

46 foreign employees.

___________________________________________________________________________

Sudan: Al Bashir to Address African Trade Union Tomorrow

IR/Sudan/ Incorporated Unionism

Sudan Vision Daily, 4 February 2013 at

http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=219010 (abridged)

President Omar Al-Bashir will address the opening session of the second African trade union

forum of the World Federation of Trade Unions tomorrow morning. The deputy president of

the federation and chairman of the high committee of the forum, Al-Jenaid Ahmed

Mohammed, said that the forum comes at an important stage and is a gain to Sudan and a real

opportunity to promote trade union cooperation.

Mohammed said that the forum aims to discuss several urgent issues of trade in Africa and is

a chance for Sudan to present its issues and its developments. He said it is a chance for Sudan

to clarify its true face, complaining that Sudan has been targeted by foreign media which

seeks to tarnish its image.

Mohammed praised the world union's role in supporting various issues of Sudan

internationally. He said the policy has been managed through civil society organisations,

adding, "We will not become an isolated island." He referred to the participation of the

Sudanese trade union in all the union’s issues.

The secretary for external relations and the secretary-general of the world federation, Dr. Abu

Bakr Al-Siddiq, stressed the importance of the forum as an important gathering. He talked

about Sudan’s role in the African trade union federations.

___________________________________________________________________________

USA: Longshoremen Reach East Coast Port Deal

IR/USA/Collective Bargaining/Stevadores

AFL-CIO, 2 February 2013 http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Organizing-

Bargaining/Longshoremen-Reach-East-Coast-Port-Deal

21

The Longshoremen (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance have reached a tentative

agreement covering some 14,000 workers in 15 East Coast ports, the Federal Mediation

Service and Conciliation (FMCS) announced late Friday. The two sides had faced a Feb. 6

strike deadline.

FMCS Director George H. Cohen says the tentative agreement must still be ratified and

several negotiations over local issues must be completed. He did not release details of the

tentative agreement, but says:

The tentative agreement reflects the culmination of good faith negotiations in which the

parties successfully accommodated strongly held competing positions because of their

commitment to problem solving.

The previous contract ended in September and several extensions were agreed to, including

one last month that set a Feb. 6 deadline.

___________________________________________________________________________

Opinion

ILO: “The prescribed cure is killing the patient”, analysis by Raymond

Torres

Nigeria: Convicted Pension Thief Must be Retried

Nigerian Labour Congress, 29 January 2013 at

http://www.nlcng.org/search_details.php?id=364

We are startled at the judgement by an Abuja High court yesterday which convicted a man

who already admitted stealing N23billion out of over N40billion found to have been stolen

from the coffers of the Nigeria Police Pension Fund between January 2008 and June 2011 to

just two years in prison with an option of fine in the sum of N750,000.

That Justice Abubakar Talba could only convict such a high profile thief who has enriched

himself with money reserved for people who have served this country honestly and have

retired into abject poverty and penury to a scandalous two years imprisonment with an option

of fine in the ridiculous sum of N750, 000, shows clearly that the Nigerian judiciary is being

compromised and obviously encouraging corruption in a country that has lost most of her

earnings to a few individuals who have used their public offices to corruptly enrich

themselves.

22

It becomes more alarming that the pension thief's counsel had urged the court to be lenient on

his client as he has ailing aged parents and responsibility to pay the school fees of his

children.

These reasons are as irresponsible, callous just as the offence he committed in the first place.

The money he stole has left thousands of families in hunger, perpetual pains and in some

cases, even death. This thief didn't deserve any leniency.

This judgment is not in the public interest and cannot be acceptable to Nigerians who are

continuously worried about their future in retirement should the judiciary continue to

encourage those caught with public funds with convictions that are clearly not punitive

enough for the convict to be remorseful, the judiciary will be encouraging the Nigerian

people to opt for jungle justice and treat these high profile criminals the same way pick

pockets are treated.

This particular judgement is not only unpatriotic but clearly against national interest as our

people are united against corruption which has brought our collective image to global ridicule

and our national economy to near collapse.

We urge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately appeal against this

judgement or call for a retrial, while we call on the National Judicial Council to investigate

both the judge and the entire case.

Given our commitment to the anti corruption crusade, which we believe members of the

National Assembly must also be committed to, we urge the National Assembly to review our

judicial system to make it more patriotic and function in the interest of democracy which will

be threatened should this type of ridiculous judgement be allowed.

This judgement lacks moral values and has not demonstrated that laws and judicial

institutions are capable of protecting the interest of ordinary people as well as safeguard

national interests. And this portends danger for democracy anywhere in the world.This

judgement, if allowed to stay will be a direct encouragement to corruption and corrupt

officials who will not mind deepening their stealing zeal knowing that the punishment they

will face would be soft and harmless.

Kiri Mohammed, Acting President, Nigerian Labour Congress

___________________________________________________________________________

23

South Africa: COSATU Gauteng Press Statement on Court Challenge by

Employers to extension of Bargaining Council Agreement in Textile and

Clothing Sector to Non-Parties

COSATU, 1 February 2013 at http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=6900

Cosatu in Gauteng note with anger the Court challenge by some frivolous employers to the

collective agreement reached in the Bargaining Council by unions and employers in the

textile sector.

We welcome the extension of the agreement by the Minister of Labour as such is within her

powers as provided by the South African Labour Law and in particular the Labour Relation

Act and Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

We condemn these minority employers who intend to subject workers to poverty and slave

wages. We know for the fact that there are some bigger political forces behind them that

support them both financially and morally to wage a political campaign against our

government and to the collective bargaining frame work. Their challenge smells of apartheid

tendencies which think that to subject workers and black workers in particular to slave wages.

We call upon the Department of Labour to defend the workers’ rights to engage in the

collective bargaining forum with the employers and for the right of the minister to extend the

collective agreements reached by majority parties to none parties to the collective agreement

which they have do so out of their choice by failing to associate and participate in the

collective bargaining processes.

We hope Eskom and Nersa are taking note of these developments in the current process by

the employers to challenge workers increases and also for Nersa to note that currently Putco

is intending to increase transport cost by 15%.

Dumisani Dakile (Provincial Secretary)

COSATU Gauteng Province

110 Jorissen Cnr Simmonds Streets

Braamfontein

___________________________________________________________________________

24

USA: The Decline of Unions Is Your Problem Too

Change to Win, 30 January 2013 at http://www.changetowin.org/news/%E2%80%9C-

decline-unions-your-problem-too%E2%80%9D

It’s a vicious cycle: as unions decline, fewer people see their fates as bound up with unions,

which just accelerates the decline.” This is a tragedy when you consider two facts. First,

“when unions are stronger the economy as a whole does better…and unions lift wages for

non-union members too by creating a higher prevailing wage.” It’s ironic that the very

corporate leaders who are so against workers organizing have spent billions organizing

themselves to rig policy in order to inhibit union growth.

Viewpoint: The Decline of Unions Is Your Problem Too - Time

Unions are also instrumental in stabilizing the economy. If you look throughout America’s

history, our economy (and everyone who was a part of it) did better when labor unions were

at their strongest. “Once union membership started falling, the income divide grew. Since

1973 the drop in union membership accounts for a full third of the growth of wage inequality

among men.” If unions disappear, who will act to defend the rights of workers?

If not unions, then what? - Baltimore Sun

Matt Vidal, a labor sociologist at King’s College London, said that his research clearly

showed the most efficient, productive factories in the U.S. were union factories. Judging by

this article, it’s clear that a unionless future only means an increase in (an already absurd)

income inequality.

Workers of the World, Sit Tight - New York Times Magazine

_______________________________________________________________

People

Singapore: Mdm Halimah Yacob appointed NTUC Advisor for Int'l

Affairs

National Trades Union Congress at

http://www.ntuc.org.sg/wps/portal/up2/home/aboutntuc/newsroom/newshighlights/newshighl

ightsdetails?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/content_library/ntuc/home/about+ntuc/newsroo

m/news+highlights/8b17ed004e305342acf3aec7b9d67807

25

The National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) Central Committee has unanimously decided

to appoint Madam Halimah Yacob as NTUC Advisor for International Affairs.

Madam Halimah’s appointment takes immediate effect from 14 January 2013.

The Labour Movement recognises that Singapore needs to continue to be effective in

advancing its cause and protecting core interests in the global labour arena, said NTUC’s

President Diana Chia and Secretary-General Lim Swee Say in a joint media statement.

“Mdm Halimah is well recognised and respected by the international community. She has

represented Singapore at various key international platforms during her tenure with the

Labour Movement,” they added.

Madam Halimah had served as International Labour Organisation (ILO) Governing Body

Workers’ Group Deputy Member from 1999 – 2011; was elected as the Workers' Vice-

Chairperson of the Standards Committee of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in

Geneva in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005; elected as the Workers’ Spokesperson for the ILC

Committee on Human Resources Development and Training in 2003 and 2004; and elected

as Workers’ Spokesperson for the ILC Committee on Decent Work on Domestic Workers

when it was first formed in 2010.

NTUC added that in appointing Mdm Halimah as NTUC Advisor for International Affairs,

the Labour Movement will be able to draw on her expertise, experience and high standing in

the international arena to advance its positions on international labour issues.

She will also be able to help the Labour Movement to nurture a stronger knowledge base with

her insights on the workings of the ILO.

________________________________________________________________________

Labour History

Seattle workers general strike for fair wages, 1919

Global Nonviolent Action Base at http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/seattle-workers-

general-strike-fair-wages-1919

The Seattle General Strike was the first general strike in the U.S. and marked the beginning

of a post-WWI era of labor conflict.

26

Conditions for a general strike in Seattle had been building for decades. Seattle had a strong

labor history with much emphasis on workplace democracy. Also, the Knights of Labor had

been active in the area in the late 1800’s, and by the early 1900’s there were radical labor

factions within the mining and lumber workforce, many of whom were members of the

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a radical labor union that advocated the abolition of

the wage labor system. By 1910, the IWW had a strong presence in the Seattle area. In 1915,

the U.S. Employment Service even encouraged unionization in exchange for the agreement

that they would not strike during wartime. Hence, by 1919, there were over 60,000 unionized

workers in Seattle. Shipbuilding and other wartime industries were exempt from getting

drafted into fighting in World War One (WWI), so their unions attracted many radicals who

opposed the war. The lasting influence of the Knights of Labor, the IWW, swift wartime

industrialization, and a high density of workers allowed for a strong culture advocating

workplace democracy and, for some, creating worker owned industries. Some moved toward

this vision through creating worker-owned cooperatives such as workers colleges, meeting

houses, and food markets.

Although there was much solidarity within the labor community, there were three main

factions within the movement: moderates, progressives, and radicals. The moderates

conceded the right of the non-laboring class to profit from their work, but they wanted a fair

wage for it. The progressives were reform socialists who advocated projects like the

cooperatives. Radicals were mostly metal workers and shipbuilders who wanted to use direct

action to take control of industry.

The combination of growing radicalism within the city, as well as the successful Bolshevik

revolution in the USSR two years earlier alarmed the middle and owning classes.

Additionally, reactionary patriotism was on the rise due to the polarization following WWI.

Hence, the city was primed for conflict.

Once the war ended, the Macy Board and the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) decided to

raise wages in shipyards across the country, except in the Seattle area, where some wages

were lowered. The labor community saw this as an effort to undermine the power of unions

by making their wages the same as non-union shipyards in other areas. The Metal Trades

Council (the union of shipyard workers) approved a strike vote on December 10, 1918. After

failed negotiations with employers, the metal workers began a strike on January 21, 1919.

35,000 metal trades employees participated. Most of the press on the strike portrayed the

27

strikers negatively, and some claimed that the workers were coerced to go on strike by a

minority of radicals.

On January 22, 1919, the Seattle Central Labor Council (SCLC), the presiding union body in

Seattle, voted to hold a referendum, allowing affiliated unions to vote on whether or not to

join in a general strike. This would be 130 locals, representing over 30,000 workers. The

motion was passed, and support for the general strike grew amongst labor groups throughout

the city. Only the Gas Workers and Federal Employees opposed the strike (on the grounds

that it was too radical). The SCLC did make it clear that it was a “sympathetic strike,” not a

“mass strike” in which each union lists its grievances and stays on strike until all demands are

met.

The SCLC called for another mass meeting on January 26. The motion to endorse the strike

was carried by a unanimous vote. The SCLC used the Seattle Union Record, a labor

publication, to appeal to the public based on arguments about the benefits that high wages

give to the community (particularly small businesses), and the injustice of exorbitant profits

made by shipowners.

As union after union voted to join, the city began to worry. Newspapers began picking up on

the developments, warning about the pending difficulties of obtaining “the necessities of life”

like food, heat, and electricity. A local citizens committee attempted to facilitate arbitration,

but the government refused to settle. They argued that if they made exceptions for some

workers, no contract would ever be respected again. Rumors also began spreading that

radicals and Bolsheviks were planning on taking over the city. The Seattle Chief of Police

temporarily deputized 3000 soldiers, sailors, guards, and a machinegun squad, while urging

civilians to stay out of the streets. Union publications, on the other hand, did not advocate a

revolutionary agenda, though they did call for a democratic management of their own labor.

February 4, 1919, was the first meeting of the General Strike Committee. Power to make

decisions were passed from the SCLC to a committee of more than 300 members elected by

110 unions. This group decided to delegate power to 15 individuals in order to keep the

decision making process efficient, as well as to put the decision making power in the hands of

a body that was not affiliated with national organizations that might disapprove of the general

strike.

On the morning of February 6, 1919, Seattle, a city of 315,00 people, was shut down. 25,000

union members joined 35,000 already on strike. Most of the remaining workforce was idled

28

as stores closed and streetcars stopped. The General Strike Committee ensured that vital

services were available. No one went without food, lights, or heat, and there was no violence

throughout the strike.

Even from before the strike began, newspapers, politicians, and the AFL denounced the

radicals and said that the strike was a Bolshevik revolutionary plot. Mayor Ole Hanson, who

had won the election on a hyperpatriotic platform, armed new police and brought in the

army’s First Infantry Division. There were also groups of vigilantes running around rounding

up “reds.” International officers of the AFL began flocking to the city to try to end the strike.

Despite threats of repression, the strikers remained orderly. The SCLC published a bulletin

that said “The Workers Can Only Win Through Order.” However, it swiftly became clear that

there was not enough revolutionary intent and action to push the general strike into a spark

for sweeping political change. Enthusiasm quickly waned, largely due to the orderly nature of

the strike. The sense of solidarity and camaraderie that was so vibrant before the strike was

crushed, largely due to the lack of activity and gatherings during the strike itself. By the

morning of the third day (February 8), some streetcar drivers went back to work, as well as

some restaurant and shop workers. There was also tension between the progressives and the

radicals as to whether or not the strike should keep going.

That evening, the Committee of Fifteen presented a resolution to the General Strike

Committee calling off the strike, but this was voted down.

By the fourth day (February 9), only longshoremen and cooks continued the sympathy strike

with the metal workers. The next day a resolution was presented by the SCLC to suspend the

strike, but the metal workers voted it down. Finally, on February 11, the SCLC declared an

end to the strike. Their demands had not been met, but the mayor had continued to increase

military presence in the city, and union leaders questioned the effectiveness of the general

strike in the face of such repressive measures. Union confidence and solidarity waned,

ushering in the end of the strike.

After the strike ended, reactionary responses grew and spread. National headlines declared

that Seattle had been saved from revolution. The mayor said that “Americanism” had won out

over “Bolshevism.”

Anti-syndicalism legislation that had passed earlier that year in the state legislature was used

as the basis for numerous raids on Socialist and IWW headquarters, police disruption of

meetings, and arrests of suspected revolutionaries. Mayor Hanson capitalized on the

29

repression, declaring that “anarchists in this community shall not rule its affairs,” and

immediately resigned and launched a speaking tour in the hope of getting a Republican

presidential nomination.

Research Notes

Influences:

Influenced by the Bolshevik revolution in the USSR, and general strikes in Peru, Chile, and

Argentina. (1)

This campaign influenced the San Francisco General Strike (see U.S. west coast

longshoremen strike for union recognition and San Francisco general strike, 1934), as well as

numerous other strikes across the country. (2)

Notes: Although this case did not achieve its goals, it did mark the beginning of an era of

radical labor conflict that influenced unions across the country.

Sources:

Boswell, Sharon and Lorraine McConaghy. “Strike! Labor Unites for Rights.” 21 March,

1996. The Seattle Times. 14 April 2010.

<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/centennial/march/labor.html>.

Johnson, Victoria. How Many Machine Guns Does it Take to Cook One Meal?: The Seattle

and San Francisco General Strikes. University of Washington Press: Seattle, 2008.

“Strike: Seattle General Strike Project.” 1999. Pacific Northwest Labor and Civil Rights

History Project. <http://depts.washington.edu/labhist/strike/>.

Researcher: Hannah Jones, 16/04/2010

_______________________________________________________________________

Publications 2012

Markovitz, Y. (2012) The Committed Workforce: Evidence from the Field, Newcastle Upon

Tyne, Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-4084-2. 216 pages.

__________________________________________________________________________

Toms, S. (2012) The Impact of the UK Temporary Employment Industry in Assisting

Agency Workers since the Year 2000, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Cambridge Scholars

Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-3747-7. 300 pages.

30

___________________________________________________________________________

Applebaum, L. D. (2012) ed. Reconnecting to Work: Policies to Mitigate Long-Term

Unemployment and its Consequences, Kalamazoo, Upjohn Institute. ISBN 978-0-88099-

406-4. 177 pages.

___________________________________________________________________________

ILO (2012) EuroZone job crisis: trends and policy responses at

http://www.ilo.org/global/research/publications/WCMS_184965/lang--en/index.htm

The study provides the latest trends on the employment situation in EU countries and

examines the labour market reforms adopted by various governments.

__________________________________________________________________________

Pubblicazioni BolletinoAdapt.it @ http://www.bollettinoadapt.it/acm-on-

line/Home/Pubblicazioni.html

In questa sezione è possibile consultare la lista completa delle linee editoriali promosse da

Adapt e dalla Fondazione Marco Biagi:

- Collana Adapt - Centro Studi Marco Biagi

- Diritto delle Relazioni Industriali

- Dossier Adapt

- Working Paper Adapt

- Altre pubblicazioni

Nella Collana Adapt – Centro Studi Marco Biagi, istituita nel corso del 2003, sono pubblicati

commentari su differenti istituti introdotti o riformati dalla Legge Biagi, nonché diverse

monografie su tematiche specifiche nell’ambito del diritto del lavoro e delle relazioni

industriali.

Diritto delle Relazioni Industriali, rivista trimestrale fondata nel 1991 da Luciano Spagnuolo

Vigorita, già diretta da Marco Biagi, nell’ambito della materia del diritto del lavoro dedica

particolare attenzione alle relazioni industriali, soprattutto nella dimensione comparata e

comunitaria, ed alle esperienze più innovative in una prospettiva interdisciplinare.

Dal 2005 la Rivista è stata arricchita di Osservatori di aggiornamento e monitoraggio attenti

ai profili immediatamente applicativi del diritto del lavoro, relativamente a diverse aree, dalla

31

giurisprudenza italiana, costituzionale, di cassazione e merito, alla giurisprudenza

comunitaria e internazionale; dalla contrattazione collettiva alla legislazione e prassi

amministrativa italiane e straniere, nonché alla materia previdenziale.

Tutte le pubblicazioni sono completate ed integrate da una proiezione informatica, quale

strumento non solo di documentazione ma anche di sviluppo e costante aggiornamento.

Un motore di ricerca e un rinnovato Indice A-Z – che ricalca l’indice analitico delle

Istituzioni di diritto del lavoro di Marco Biagi (edito da Giuffrè) – consentono di reperire i

documenti citati nei testi cartacei.

Tutto il materiale viene inoltre costantemente e tempestivamente aggiornato mediante il

Bollettino Adapt.

___________________________________________________________________________

ADAPT E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies

Volume 1, No. 3-4 October-December 2012

___________________________________________________________________________

Korea: The Korean Labor Review, 45, Winter, visit

http://www.koilaf.org/KFeng/engPublication/bbs.php?code1=3

__________________________________________________________________________

Gardawski, J. and Mrozowicki, A. (2012) Trade Unions In Poland, European Trade Union

Institute . Details at http://www.etui.org/Publications2/Reports/Trade-unions-in-Poland

This report on the trade union landscape in Poland forms part of a wide-ranging project,

initiated and coordinated by the ETUI, which aims to map changes in unionisation and the

varying organisational structures of unions in the ‘new member states’ of the European

Union. The current report on the trade union movement in Poland is a real tour de force,

especially given the vast number of union organisations entailed. The fruit of this tremendous

effort on the part of the country experts is a report that is simultaneously comprehensive and

extremely rich in detail. In mapping the full broad gamut of Polish trade unions, they

compellingly expose how much the trade union movement in this country is handicapped by

its excessively decentralised structures; its chronic fragmentation and rivalry at the company

level and above; and the dramatic decline in membership levels, particularly in absolute

terms.

32

___________________________________________________________________________

ILO (2012) Confronting Finance: Mobilizing the 99% for economic and social progress

(Geneva, June 2012) available at http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/ilo-bookstore/order-

online/books/WCMS_176189/lang--en/index.htm

___________________________________________________________________________

ILO (2012) Effective Protection for Domestic Workers: A guide to designing labour laws

(Geneva, May 2012) available at http://www.ilo.org/travail/areasofwork/domestic-

workers/WCMS_173365/lang--en/index.htm

___________________________________________________________________________

ILO (2013) World of Work Report 2012 'Better Jobs for a Better Economy'

The new study examines the performance of different countries since the start of the global

crisis through the prism of the quantity and quality of jobs. Available at

http://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/world-of-work/WCMS_179453/lang--

en/index.htm

___________________________________________________________________________

ITUC (2012) Report for the WTO General Council Review of the Trade Policies of the

People’s Republic of China (Geneva, 12 and 14 June, 2012) available at http://www.ituc-

csi.org/report-for-the-wto-general-council,11476.html

_________________________________________________________________________

Employment Trends unit of the ILO Employment Sector (2012) Global Employment Trends,

Download at http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/global-employment-

trends/WCMS_171571/lang--en/index.htm ISBN 978-92-2-124924-5

The annual Global Employment Trends report offers the latest global and regional

information and projections on several indicators of the labour market, including

employment, unemployment, working poverty and vulnerable employment. It also presents a

number of policy considerations in light of the new challenges facing policy makers in the

coming year.

___________________________________________________________________________

Pierluigi Rausei, Michele Tiraboschi Work: a reform in midstream (ADAPT 2012 @

University Press) access at http://www.bollettinoadapt.it/acm-on-line/Home.html

33

________________________________________________________________

26th

AIRAANZ Conference 2012: Re-Organising Work, Association of Industrial Relations

Academics of Australia and New Zealand, published papers, ed. Robin Price, Brisbane,

Queensland University of Technology.

_________________________________________________________________________

Baird, M., Hancock, K. and Isaac, J. eds. (2012) Work and Employment Relations: An Era

of Change, The Federation Press, ISBN: 9781862878501 may be ordered at

www.federation.press.com.au

__________________________________________________________________________

ETUI ‘Social dumping: political catchphrase or threat to labour standards?’ By Magdalena

Bernaciak. Working Paper 2012.06. Access at http://www.etui.org/News/The-complex-reality-

of-social-dumping

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Rogowski, R , Salais, R. and Whiteside, N. (2012) Transforming European Employment

Policy, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, Orders at www.marston.co.uk

___________________________________________________________________________

Unison (2012) The Hidden Workforce: Final Project Report. Download at

http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/20611.pdf

___________________________________________________________________________

34

ILO (2012) Working towards sustainable development: Opportunities for decent work and

social inclusion in a green economy. Downloads/orders at

http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_181836/lang--en/index.htm

__________________________________________________________________________

ILO (2012) EuroZone job crisis: trends and policy responses. Download at

http://www.ilo.org/global/research/publications/WCMS_184965/lang--en/index.htm

___________________________________________________________________________

International Labour Review, Vol. 151 (4)

at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/revue/index.htm

Introduction: Crisis, policy responses and widening inequalities in the EU, by J. LESCHKE

and M. JEPSEN

Earnings and income inequality in the EU during the crisis, by P. de BEER

Financing social security in the EU: Business as usual?, by N. WAGNER

The crisis and social policy: The role of collective agreements, by V. GLASSNER, with M.

KEUNE

Tracing the fate of EU “social policy”: Changes in political

___________________________________________________________________________

Japan Labor Review, Vol. 10 (1) Winter 2013

Special Edition: ‘Has the Japanese Employment System Changed?’

Introduction: Has the Japanese Employment System Changed? (34KB), Mitsutoshi Hirano

Articles:

— Corporate Leaders in Japan: Fact and Folklore, Kazuhiro Mishina, Emiko Hino

— Selection and Promotion of Managers in Japanese Companies: Present and

Future Perspectives, Atsushi Yashiro

— How Did Intellectual Skills on the Shop Floor Change in the 2000s? Kuramitsu

Muramatsu

— Japan's New Recruits: Victims of the Japanese-Style Family and

Japanese-Style Employment, Masakazu Yano

— Human Resources Departments of Japanese Corporations: Have their Roles Changed?

Mitsutoshi Hirano

Article Based on Research Report:

The Development of Labor Policy on Women: From the Perspectives of Justice, Effective

Use, and Welfare, Noriko Iki

35

JILPT Research Activities

_________________________________________________________________________

Labor Situation in Japan and Its Analysis

This publication is a compilation of write-ups describing individual themes related to the

current status of labor issues in Japan. In principle, it is issued every year alternately as

"General Overview" and "Detailed Exposition" editions. The former is aimed at providing

basic information on the whole picture of labor issues and relevant labor policies in Japan,

while the latter takes up contemporary topics and provides detailed exposition and analyses

of their current trends. Available at: http://www.jil.go.jp/english/lsj.html

___________________________________________________________________________

Korea Labor Review

No. 45 Winter 2012 at

http://www.koilaf.org/KFeng/engPublication/bbs_read_dis.php?board_no=144

Editor’s Column

■ Photo Gallery

■ Specia: Top 10 labor news in 2012

■ People: The 24th FKTU President, Moon Jin-koo

■ Focus: Baby-boomers’ Employment

■ Policy: Basic Direction of the Korean Government’s 2013 Employment Budget

■ Labor law: The directions for Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance coverage

extension for workers in special types of employment

How to expand the coverage of industrial accident compensation insurance for workers of

special-type employment

■ Best Practice: 2012 Best Labor-Management Culture Award

___________________________________________________________________________

Economic & Labour Relations Review (ELRR)

The Economic & Labour Relations Review (ELRR) is a double-blind, refereed journal of

original articles which are concerned with contemporary issues, developments and policy

36

making may be submitted via the ScholarOne™ Manuscripts website for consideration for

publication, provided they have not been published elsewhere, or are under consideration for

publication elsewhere. The journal accepts three types of submission for refereeing: Scholarly

/ research-based Articles (8,000 words max); Review Articles discussing a number of

significant recent publications in context (6,000 words max); Substantial scholarly Replies

(6,000 words max). It also welcomes shorter non-refereed Book Reviews and Comments

(2000-4000 words).

The ELRR is produced jointly by the Centre for Applied Economic Research (CAER) and the

Industrial Relations Research Centre (IRRC) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

four times a year. Current issue: Volume 23 (4), November 2012, is now available at

www.asb.unsw.edu.au/elrr

Articles

The ‘Pre-Invention’ of Precarious Employment: The Changing World of Work in Context

Michael Quinlan

The Break-Up of the Eurozone? Bill Lucarelli

Industry Policy under Economic Liberalism: Policy Development in the Prime Minister’s

Manufacturing Task Force Ian Hampson

Malaysian Firms’ Role in Retaining Engineers Rabeatul Husna Abdull Rahman

The Effects of District-Level Union Status on the Job Satisfaction of Teachers Mark Gius

‘Low-Skilled’ Work in Canada Samir Amine

Refereed Review Article

Marshall, Marshallians and Industry Economics Neil Hart

Current Issues

Her Rights at Work: The Political Persecution of Australia’s First Female Prime Minister

Anne Summers

__________________________________________________________________________

International Labour Review and the ILO: Milestones in a shared history, Special

Supplement

Available at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/revue/index.htm

37

As the ILO is approaching its 100th anniversary, so is the International Labour Review. By

way of introduction to this retrospective Special Supplement, which reproduces a number of

articles written for the Review by winners of the Nobel Peace Prize or the Nobel Prize for

economics, the author looks back at the journal’s history, recalling its early days since the

1919 Treaty of Versailles, its subsequent development, broadening international readership

and adaptation to the digital age.

___________________________________________________________________________

ILO: EuroZone job crisis: trends and policy responses

The study provides the latest trends on the employment situation in EU countries and

examines the labour market reforms adopted by various governments. Download at

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---

dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_184965.pdf

__________________________________________________________________________

Australia: Labour and Industry 22 (4) August-December 2012 available at

http://www.airaanz.org/index.html

A Journal of the Social and Economic Relations of Work

Labour and Industry offers a multi-disciplinary perspective on all aspects of the social,

organizational and institutional aspects of work and industrial relations. The journal publishes

original, high quality research and policy papers that investigate the implications of changing

work relations for employers, employees, unions, government and other social actors with a

stake in industrial relations. The aims of the journal are to encourage debate and the exchange

of views between researchers, to challenge the conceptual boundaries of work and industrial

relations, and to contribute to the generation of new ideas by drawing on insights from

diverse disciplines. These disciplines include: industrial/employment relations, human

resource management, labour and business history, labour and employment law, management

and organisational studies, political science and public policy, psychology, sociology and

related disciplines.

________________________________________________________________

Calls for Papers, Conferences, Seminars, Symposia, Meetings

International Labour Review

Full details at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/revue/m_scripts/index.htm

38

Unsolicited articles are welcome and are considered on their merits and in the light of the

overall programme of the Review. All manuscripts are subject to scholarly review and, if

accepted, to editorial revision.

Manuscripts may be submitted as email attachments in English, French or Spanish (if

translated from another language the original should also be provided). They should be

between 7 000 and 10 000 words, with a 100-word abstract.

Manuscripts should be addressed to: the Managing Editor, International Labour Review,

International Labour Office, 4, route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Tel.

+41-22 799 79 03; Fax +41-22 799 61 17; Email: revue@ilo.org.

__________________________________________________________________________

International: The E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies

The following is a list of indicative, but far from exhaustive, topic areas: - collective and

individual labour issues; - equality and discrimination; - school-to-work transition; -

industrial relations; - vulnerable workers and precarious working; - employment productivity;

- role of skills and human capital in a global context – immigration issues, labour law. Find

the current issue (Vol.1, No. 3-4 October-December 2012) at http://www.adapt.it/currentissue

___________________________________________________________________________

Korea: The Korean Journal of Industrial Relations

The Korean Journal of Industrial Relations (KJIR) is published by the Korean Industrial

Relations Association. There is no due date for the submission. We receive articles around a

year. Web/URL:

http://www.lera.uiuc.edu/news/Calls/2007/Korean%20Journal%20of%20Industrial%20Relati

ons.htm

__________________________________________________________________________

UK: Asia Pacific Business Review Special Issue: Mutual, Co-operative and Employee-

owned Business in the Asia Pacific 1) Abstracts (maximum 500 words to include: title;

aim/rationale; methodology if appropriate; findings; implications for theory and practice,

conclusions) by 1st January 2013. The editors will review the Abstracts and following this,

process invitations to submit full papers will be sent by 1st February 2013. Full papers due by

1st June 2013. Full papers will be double blind refereed. Authors must submit their

39

manuscript as a word file via email attachment to the Guest Editors (contact details below).

Please see the Asia Pacific Business Review website for style requirements:

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13602381.asp Editors:

Professor Jonathan Michie, University of Oxford: jonathan.michie@kellogg.ox.ac.uk

Professor Chris Rowley, City University: apbr@city.ac.uk

___________________________________________________________________________

Australia: 8th Asian Regional Congress of the International Labour and Employment

Relations Association, 9-12 April 2013, Melbourne, Victoria.

For more details about the program, please click here or go to

http://www.airaanz.org/news.html where you can download a pdf file

_______________________________________________________________________________

The Netherlands: 10th European Conference of the International Labour and

Employment Relations Association, Imagining new employment relations and new

http://www.airaanz.org/uploads/2/1/6/3/2163987/ilera_2013_-

_have_you_submitted_an_abstract.pdfsolidarities. Amsterdam, 20 - 22 June 2013. Details at

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/iira/pdf/10theuro.pdf

___________________________________________________________________________

Australia: Fifth International Community, Work and Family Conference, The fifth

international Community, Work and Family Conference will take place at the University of

Sydney, 15-17 July 2013. Information at www.CWF2013.aifs.gov.au

___________________________________________________________________________

UK: British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA)

Conference 2013 at the University of Strathclyde, 27-29 June 2013. Notification at

http://www.buira.org/Conference/Conference2013/tabid/285/Default.aspx

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Australia: Fifth International Community, Work and Family Conference, The fifth

international Community, Work and Family Conference will take place at the University of

Sydney, 15-17 July 2013. Information at www.CWF2013.aifs.gov.au

___________________________________________________________________________

40

USA: ILPC Rutgers 2013. The Missing Link – Integrating Labour with Global Value

Chains

Kirsty Newsome and Phil Taylor (University of Strathclyde), Al Rainnie (Curtin University)

and Jennifer Bair (University of Colorado) invite contributions from scholars working in

diverse disciplines and fields of study, including human and economic geography,

development studies, comparative political economy, gender studies, labour market research,

the sociology of work and industrial/ employment relations. Our goal is to encourage a

critical engagement between those who acknowledge the salience of core labour process

theory and others for whom participation at the ILPC may be a new experience. We

anticipate publishing an edited book in the International Labour Process series based on a

selection of papers presented at Rutgers.

_______________________________________________________________

Other Sites

ILO: The International Institute for Labour Studies (IILS) was established by the

International Labour Organization in 1960 as a centre for advanced studies in the social and

labour fields. It produces the annual "World of Work Report". The International Labour

Review, a global multidisciplinary journal of labour and social policies is also published

under the aegis of the IILS.

http://www.ilo.org/

___________________________________________________________________________

ILERA

President: Prof. Evance R. Kalula, Institute of Development and Labour Law, Faculty of

Law, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Prof. Evance Rabban KALULA was born in Zambia in 1952. He has a PhD in Law, from the

University of Warwick, UK. Professor Kalula is Professor of Law (Employment Law and

Social Security), Deputy Dean (Postgraduate Studies) and Director of the Institute of

Development and Labour Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Cape Town. He is

also Chair of the South African Employment Conditions Commission. His academic and

research interests are in international and comparative labour law, social security and

occupational health and safety.

41

Prof. Kalula will be the ILERA President from 2012 to 2015. He will be responsible for the

organization of the 17th ILERA World Congress in 2015.

___________________________________________________________________________

UK: Working Lives Research Institute

Subscribe to the WLRI mailing list for regular news updates, including our regular WLRI

electronic-newsletter, and subscribe to our WLRI press release mailing list

___________________________________________________________________________