Uncertain Stakes Of Vodacom To Vodafone

The Communication Workers’ Union is seeking to stop Telkom South Africa Ltd. from disposing of its Vodacom Group Ltd. stake, saying workers weren’t consulted on the transaction.

The labor union has served notices to Telkom, Vodacom, Vodafone Group Plc and South Africa’s Department of Communications that it will file an urgent court application to halt the transaction, the Johannesburg-based union said in a statement dated April 17. The CWU, as its known, has 29,000 members in the telecommunications industry in South Africa, according to the e-mail.

“CWU’s main bone of contention is the fact that the organization was not properly consulted” in breach of an agreement between the union and Telkom, the CWU said. Telkom will oppose the application, the Pretoria-based company said in an e-mailed response today. Spokespeople at Vodacom, Vodafone and the communications ministry weren’t immediately able to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

Telkom, Africa’s largest fixed line operator, is selling a 15 percent stake in Vodacom to Vodafone, which already holds 50 percent of the largest provider of mobile-phone services to South Africans. Telkom’s remaining 35 percent will be spun off to shareholders by way of a Vodacom listing on the Johannesburg stock exchange. The listing date was moved to May 18 from May 3, Telkom said April 17, without giving reasons for the delay.

Nicky Smith
nsmith38@bloomberg.net

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Truckers From South Africa To Raise Arms

The South African main transport union, SATAWU, has dimissed reports that it had suspended its strike following an agreement reached last night with the Road Freight Employers Association (RFEA) of and 11 percent across the board increase.

"We categorically state that there was no agreement reached or signed by SATAWU negotiators. We believe that the reports are intended to create confusion and mislead our members on the ground," said the union in an angry statement today, further saying any draft agreement be reached will be brought back to members for mandating purposes.

"Therefore the strike continues and SATAWU calls for maximum unity and discipline from all its members in pursuit of our legitimate demands," the union declared.

The strike which entered its thrid day today has already crippled some fuel stations across South Africa which reported to have ran dry, with trucks said to be standing still while the workers push for an increase.

SATAWU, South Africa's main truckers' union, went on strike over wages on Tuesday and with no agreement reached, there were already fears that the action could cost the Easter holidays in South Africa and some of its neibouring countries, with deliveries of goods and supplies most hit.

Apart from gasoline stations, other secotrs such as the medical supplies, small agriculture markets and food supply chains in general have been said to have been directly affected by the strike.

http://www.afrol.com/

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Fewer Sick Leave From Sweedes

Fewer Swedes are claiming sick leave benefits than at any point since 1982, according to new figures from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency

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In January this year, the agency paid benefits to some 112,000 people who had spent at least the previous 30 days on sick leave. In December 2003 this figure was more than twice as high.

The sharp drop is reflected across all counties, both sexes and among both native Swedes and people born outside the country.

"The number of cases of people out sick for over 30 days is now at its lowest level since the early 1980s. It is our view that sick leave cases will settle at historically low levels in 2010," said the agency's director-general, Adriana Lender, in a statement.

The number of people on sickness-related early retirement schemes has also plummeted, with 35,000 people granted access to early retirement benefits in the last twelve months, the lowest level since the 1970s.

In total, 520,000 people in Sweden receive early retirement benefits, corresponding to one in every ten people between the ages of 19 and 64.

In the twelve months leading up to April 2009 the Social Insurance Agency paid out benefits amounting to an an average of 35.1 work days per person aged 19 to 64. In 2003 the corresponding figure soared to a record 43 work days per person.

The agency has introduced tighter checks on benefit recipients in recent years to combat a situation in which Sweden's sick leave statistics had strayed way beyond the European average.

http://www.thelocal.se/

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New Wages For Workers

Donor dependent budget and balancing between social services and minimum wage are among major constraints that hinder government to decide on minimum surviving wage for its workers.

Minister for Labour, Employment and Youth Development, Prof Juma Kapuya told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the government wishes to pay its workers living wage recommended by various stakeholders but it needs to work out on modalities to effect such payment.

"We have a problem here, we could decide that all taxes we collect from wananchi be used to pay our workers, but what about the social services that people need from the government?" asked the minister.

He said working on the donor dependent budget; the Government has to balance between paying its worker handsomely and its ability to provide social services to Tanzanians.

The minister said that the donor dependent budget denies and threatens the Government independence on many things including setting a sound minimum wage for its workers.

The Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA) recommended that the government should pay Sh318,000 as the minimum wage while the opposition parties recommended Sh210,000.

He was talking on International Labour Organisation's, (ILO) 90th anniversary to be celebrated on Monday.

He commended the organisation for various initiatives that led to the promotion of labour standards, employment creation, social protection and social dialogue.

The minister said ILO leads other United Nations (UN) organisations in implementing democracy in the country by incorporating the Government and other labour stakeholders before making decisions on any matter.

Speaking during the meeting the ILO director for East Africa and Somalia, Mr Alexio Musindo, said the organisation was dedicated to promoting social justice and decent work agenda through implementation of its four objectives.

http://thecitizen.co.tz/index.php

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Canadians Holds Hands Together

Supporters of the Venezuelan revolution gathered in front of the Venezuelan consulate in Montreal on Sunday 15th of February at 11:00 am, in a demonstration called by Hands Off Venezuela/Société Bolivarienne du Québec. This was a cross-Canada event, as activists from Hands Off Venezuela Toronto, and the Mohawk community also traveled to increase the spirit of solidarity. All were united in solidarity with the revolution and the yes vote in the referendum abolishing term limits.

Morale was high despite bitter cold, and intimidation attempts by opposition supporters, who called Montreal police to have the demonstrators removed. The supporters of the oligarchy became aggressive, assaulted the demonstration to take away a megaphone, and themselves were pushed back by the police instead.

Alex Grant of HOV Toronto spoke to the demonstration and clearly pointed out the reason why the opposition supporters were so infuriated by our presence: the Venezuelan revolution is an example to the working class of the entire world, it shows that the capitalists and the oligarchs can be fought and overthrown by the mobilization of the toiling masses. Chavez has enraged the capitalists in Venezuela and internationally, as he has time and again come down on the side of the masses in their struggles against the few who previously concentrated enormous wealth and power in their hands.

The Venezuelan Revolution has become the focal point of the hopes of millions, not just in Venezuela, but in every country on earth. In all the demonstrations in the Arab world against the imperialist slaughter perpetrated by the Israeli ruling class, Chavez’s picture was held high. From the perspective of the bourgeoisie, the message is clear: the masses must not be allowed to elect Chavez again. This is why the oligarchy, and the bourgeois press across the world, mobilized to prevent the people of Venezuela from freely deciding who they want as their president without restriction. The oligarchy cannot defeat Chavez in elections, so they must prevent him from running again.

At noon, the demonstration marched to McGill University, where HOV/SBQ Montreal and visiting members of HOV Toronto held a public forum entitled “The Financial Crisis and the Bolivarian Revolution”. Joel Bergman, of HOV/SBQ Montreal, reminded the audience of the importance of the Venezuelan revolution, which has implemented massive social programs, raised living standards and nationalized whole industries. Joel emphasized the need to defend these gains against the attacks of the oligarchy.

Camilo Cahis from HOV Toronto also spoke and pointed to governorships and mayoralties where the opposition has recently taken power, only to turn around and use these institutions to launch attacks against the communal councils, the social missions and the working class. They have even used these bases of power to organize armed fascist gangs, which have been roaming the streets with impunity.

Both speakers underlined that this would pale in comparison to the bloody counter-revolution that would ensue if the opposition ever took hold of the presidency, and this is the practical reality which the masses took into account when voting yes for the referendum.

However, the speakers pointed out that the oil boom which made all these reforms possible for a period under capitalism is now over, and the global economic crisis will force a resolution of the struggle in Venezuela one way or the other. If the revolution falters, the Venezuelan people face the prospect of inflation, mass unemployment and widespread lockouts to remove hard-won gains for the workers. This will be fertile ground for fascist gangs, who will not hesitate to settle their score with the masses, as they did in the massacres in Chile in 1973.

There is another option. Comrades from Montreal and Toronto were united in calling for the revolution to move forward after the referendum, towards expropriating the oligarchs completely, taking away their power over the factories and the banks, and submitting them to the democratic control of the working class and the Venezuelan masses. So long as the oligarchs can still use these levers to attack the revolution, then the revolution is not irreversible.

Already, the example of the occupied factories movement in Venezuela, placing factories under the control of workers’ councils, has inspired the first factory occupation since the 1930’s in the USA. Across the world, the exploited and oppressed are facing towards the fires of revolutionary struggle that are burning in Venezuela, and across Latin America. The demonstration and this forum were yet more proof that the Venezuelan people can count on their example being paid back in solidarity the world over. We gathered together for one reason, to call out: HANDS OFF VENEZUELA!

http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/

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Chavez Absence In Summit

The much awaited arrival of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ended in disappointment for many when he failed to turn up yesterday, at the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGO’s (FITUN’s) hosting of the Fourth Summit of the People.

However, people from across the Americas and the Caribbean were present in numbers to show solidarity for the forum aimed at discussing issues affecting the hemisphere.

President Chavez, identified by his countrymen as a “president of the people,” was invited to the three-day People’s Summit, to bring solidarity to the movement.

Among the attendees, were Brazilian national Luis Bassegio and Puerto Ricans Linda Alonso Lebran and Fernando Quiles, who were reportedly detained for several hours on their arrival at the Piarco International Airport, last Wednesday.

In his address yesterday, at the University of the West Indies’ Spec Centre, Bassegio said they were greeted by Police moments after landing on the tarmac at the airport.

But while he and his entourage were dubbed by Police as “professional protestors”, Bassegio said they had gone only to discuss the crises facing the people of the region.

Interviewed afterwards, Lebran said “it was an awful experience.”

“We are just peaceful political activists,” she added.

And as she spoke, a group of Police officers who had been posted at the Centre stood watch behind.

The officers together with Army soldiers had reportedly set up camp at the Centre in anticipation of the event.

Lebran recalled that her colleague identified as “Tito” was also detained by Police, but was sent back to his homeland on the following morning.

The forum was chaired by FITUN head, David Abulah, in which labour activists from around the Caribbean spoke and identified the problems plaguing the region. Following discussions yesterday, a draft declaration is expected to be submitted to the heads attending the Fifth Summit of the Americas.

http://www.newsday.co.tt

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Welsh Workers Goodwill

WELSH workers are the most flexible in the UK when it comes to accepting pay cuts to save their colleagues’ jobs.

That is the finding of a major survey of more than 2,500 people by the independent campaign Keep Britain Working.

The research found that 93% of workers in Wales would accept changes in their working conditions to help colleagues keep their jobs and 37% would accept a cut in pay.

It also found a staggering 61% would accept a reduction in hours.

All three figures are higher than any other part of Britain.

The poll is published in advance of Wednesday’s Budget statement, which Gordon Brown has acknowledged needs to be “a Budget for jobs”.

Yesterday veteran Corus blast furnace worker and former Neath Port Talbot mayor Tony Taylor said the poll’s findings came as no surprise.

He said: “We in Wales have undergone a dramatic shift from heavy industry to lighter industries and have had to accept wholesale change in a relatively short time period.

“The inward investment we have enjoyed in Wales in recent years, for instance, is partly a result of the fact employers know they have a flexible workforce in Wales, willing to change and willing to get on with the job.

“The changes in the steel industry, as just one example, have been really, really drastic in the past 10 years alone and changes over 30 to 40 years have been huge.

“But like in other industries in Wales where there have been big changes, Corus workers have got on with it.

“But we are used to changes here now, both demographically and in terms of working practice.

“And the stark truth is we have had to get on with things because the changes have been coming so thick and fast.”

Mr Taylor, of Aberavon, Port Talbot, who works at the town’s Corus steel plant, added: “I really think the attitude of the workforce here puts us at a big advantage when it comes to winning inward investment projects and new jobs.

“It’s still sad of course to see heavy industries steadily declining but that is something we have to come to terms with.”

The survey also found that, across the UK, 31% would agree to lose certain benefits to keep their jobs, 6% would accept a three-month unpaid sabbatical, and 19% would accept a sabbatical on 30% pay.

Three out of five would take on extra responsibilities, while 48% would change their role entirely if it kept their colleagues in work.

However, the survey found such measures needed to “feel fair” to retain support.

If employers asked for sacrifices without making any themselves, 49% of those polled in the UK said they would challenge their managers, while more than one in 10 would take more direct action.

And 3% would go slow at work, 4% would walk off the job or seek redundancy, and a further 3% would consider strike action.

Also, in a separate poll on the Keep Britain Working campaign’s website (www.keepbritainworking.com) more than two in five (46%) said they would consider following the recent Belfast example and occupy a factory rather than accept wholesale redundancies.

James Reed, founder of Keep Britain Working, said: “There seems to be a new altruism at work. If people believe that being flexible about their own employment conditions will help stem job losses, they will take on change and make personal sacrifices – especially if bosses do their bit.

“Indeed people are full of innovative and effective ways to help employers cope with the downturn other than by simply cutting jobs.”


http://www.walesonline.co.uk/authors/robin-turner/

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Chicago New Fashion

When the United Electrical union workers at Chicago’s Republic Windows and Doors occupied their factory in the cold, early days of December last year, they were not alone. Hundreds of activists and community members turned out in solidarity, standing out front with picket signs and providing food for the workers inside. Many of these supporters were organized by a local group called Arise Chicago (formerly Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues), an example of a labor organizing model that is growing in cities across the country.

Beyond the coordinated organizing of local religious leaders and their communities, Arise’s pro-labor efforts include an arm dedicated to providing legal support and training to low-wage workers, particularly immigrant workers. This initiative is one among well over 200 functional “Worker Centers” that serve under-representad laborers in the United States. Arise Chicago’s director, Adam Kader, explains, “we’re a community resource … a place for workers to get educated about rights to learn about strategies for improving their workplace.”

The Arise Worker Center, like other organizations of its kind, began as a multi-faith religious advocacy group in 1991. The original members - among them Monsignor Jack Egan, Rabbi Robert Marx, and United Methodist Bishop Jesse De Witt - organized their varied religious communities to support labor initiatives on the north side of Chicago. When they published a comprehensive Workers Rights Manual in 2001, the group received a wide response as individual workers began calling with questions about their rights in the workplace. In 2002 the group added a Worker Center initiative specifically to respond to worker concerns about their workplace rights. Kader describes the early years of the Worker Center as a “rapid response” model, where workers’ calls were responded to as they came in - something the organization has tried to structure differently in recent years. Today, the Arise Worker Center is a member organization that somewhat resembles an actual union. Constituents are encouraged to “commit to other members” by contributing monthly dues (in any amount), attending and teaching workshops, and leading advocacy campaigns. With 215 members - primarily immigrants from Latin America and Eastern Europe, working in several industries - Arise’s Worker Center members have been able to take advantage of the broader network of Worker Centers to share stories and strategies.

In a 2006 Economic Policy Institute study of Worker Centers, Janice Fine described these organizations as “suggestive of earlier U.S. civic institutions” such as “fraternal organizations, political parties, settlement houses, and urban churches…” These early groups were places where immigrants found support and modern unions saw their beginnings. However, the organized unions that formed as a result - which provided job stability and secure wages to families in the 50s and 60s (when 1 in 3 workers was a member of a union) - have seen a steady decline over the past 50 years. The globalization of labor forces in manufacturing, and the nationwide expansion of unprotected job sectors (service industries such as food and janitorial services), has led to a modern economy in which few professions are protected against labor market competition.

http://isgreaterthan.net/

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Fascist Assault On Mitsubishi Workers In Barcelona

In the afternoon of Thursday, February 12, a car in which three workers of the Mitsubishi (MMC) factory in Barcelona, Anzoategui State, were travelling was shot at with live ammunition. The workers were Luís López, Luís Guaregua and Alexander Rojas. The car received seven gunshots when it was on its way from Bolivar Street towards the "March 29" neighbourhood in central Barcelona. None of the workers were injured.

This new act of aggression shows how the war declared against the MMC workers by the right wing and its hired assassins and corrupt police is continuing. The enormous support for the cause of the workers shown by the Communal Councils in the area of Barcelona, from the trade unions and the working class have made the MMC workers a point of reference in the revolutionary struggle in Anzoategui State and in the whole auto industry of Venezuela.

This new attack also shows that the people behind the assassinations are still running free and are conspiring against the workers. The arrest of corrupt police elements who took part in the massacre is only the tip of the iceberg of a much wider drama, which involves directors of the MMC, judges, policemen and the opposition. We demand therefore the arrest of both the intellectual and material authors of these crimes and fascist acts of aggression.

The regional government of Anzoátegui quickly spoke out against these attacks. Rafael Vega, general secretary of the regional government of Anzoátegui, condemned these attacks, saying that: "The regional government of Anzoátegui condemns these acts of hostility and aggression against the workers and we side with the labouring masses." He continued: "We will not permit any violent attacks that intimidate the struggle of the 135 workers who were unjustly sacked through a cowardly action that the company made against the labour rights of these workers."

We welcome this change of attitude on the part of Rafael Vega. After the assassination of two MMC workers on Thursday, January 29, by the Anzoategui police, the same Rafael Vega made declarations on the TVO-TV station, trying to put the responsibility for these killings on the MMC workers themselves, thus echoing the version promoted by the multinational. It was therefore the workers of MMC that demanded his resignation.

All these fascist attacks show that the national and international campaign must be stepped up. Support the workers of MMC, Vivex and the other factories in struggle! First and foremost, we must address the rank and file of the PSUV who must organize against these right-wing attacks against the people and the workers. We must collect signatures against these attacks and organize solidarity meetings.

We appeal to all our readers and supporters throughout the world to step up the campaign. Please keep sending protest messages, spreading the word about these attacks and rally the maximum support for the cause of the MMC workers.

This attack is part of the violent attacks of the right wing against the revolution. The purpose is ultimately to get rid of president Chavez and destroy the organizations of the working class who are fighting for Socialism and for the YES-vote on February 15. The people and the workers must stay alert in order to mobilize in case this Fascist campaign of terror continues.

We ask all trade union, youth and solidarity activists around the world to:

1) Send messages of support to the workers at:
Freteco:
frentecontrolobrero@gmail.com
Sindicato Nueva Generación, MMC:
sindicatonuevageneracion@gmail.com

2) Send messages the Anzoategui governor demanding an immediate stop of all violence against workers and that those responsible for the killing of the two workers and the latest shotings be brought to justice immediately, email the following addresses: despacho@tarekrindecuentas.com
rima.saab@tarekrindecuentas.com vega@tarekrindecuentas.com despacho@gobernaciondeanzoategui.com info@gobernaciondeanzoategui.com and those who can speak Spanish to call Dalia Vega, head of the governor's office on
+ 58 281 2701405-2701406


3) Send messages to the Venezuelan Bolivarian government, embassies and consulates asking for an immediate and full investigation of these events, the nationalisation of Vivex and the satisfaction of the demands of the MMC workers (contact the Office of the President at dggcomunicacional@presidencia.gob.

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Ukranian Miners On A Plain

Seventy-four mine workers at Kommunarskaya Coal mine No22 in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, took the decision to stay underground after having finished their first shift today in protest over wage debts, the Ukrainian information agency UNIAN reports.

A Donetsk department for the Central state paramilitary rescue sevice headquaters say workers from two units refused to go up to the surface and remained at K3 diagonal pit shaft. “All the miners are feeling well at present, with on-site physicians watching over their health condition,” the mine-rescue workers report.

With their wages still unpaid and their financial tense situation remaining unresolved, workers from of two other mines in the region have resorted to similar industrial action recently, Ukrainian informantion agencies report. On 12 April miners at the Makeevka mine plant refused to leave the pits and stayed underground after the second shift and on 17 April, over 60 miners from the Donetsks mine construction public corporation protested against their unpaid wages by staying underground after their second shift on 17 April, Ura-Inform Donetsk news agency reports.

http://www.mosnews.com/

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Give Up The Mining In Zambia

ROAN Member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili has advised National Energy Sector and Allied Workers' Union (Nesawu) general secretary, Yotam Mtayachalo to concentrate on resolving issues affecting the energy sector.

Mr Kambwili charged that instead of Mr Mtayachalo commenting on matters affecting the mining sector, he should concentrate on resolving issues such as the pending 66 per cent electricity tariff hike as well as improving the working conditions for employees in Zesco.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Mr Kambwili said he would continue speaking for miners, particularly the plight of former Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM) and the issue of a new investor for the mine.

"What he (Mr Mtayachalo) needs to concentrate on are issues of Zesco and the impact that electricity tariff increase will have on the citizens, and let me tell him that I will continue speaking for the miners.

"If the Mine Unions of Zambia is going to support Chinese investors, I am not going to support them. LCM is in my constituency and I will not stop talking for the miners," Mr Kambwili said.

Mr Kambwili said that with Mr Mtayachalo concentrating on issues that did not fall within his jurisdiction, it was only logical that he stepped down and concentrated on commenting on matters outside his ambit.

He alleged that Mr Mtayachalo was not representing the interests of Nesawu members but those from other sectors like mining.

"I will continue speaking against the Chinese running the mines unless they change, and I do not know why Mtayachalo is condemning an innocent man doing an innocent cause," Mr Kambwili said.

On Tuesday, Mr Mtayachalo urged Mr Kambwili not to take an antagonistic approach over the issue surrounding the new investor for LCM but work in unison with the Government to find an amicable solution to the suffering of the people in Luanshya.

http://allafrica.com/

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Opposed The Exclusion Of Asbestos And Endosulfan

The ITUC has condemned the decision to exclude chrysotile asbestos and the pesticide endosulfan from the list of dangerous products under the Rotterdam Convention, the international agreement which regulates exports of hazardous chemicals. “Industry lobbies and the profit motive have tragically prevailed over the safety of workers and consumers with the refusal to include these two highly dangerous substances from the coverage of this Convention” said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder, adding that “Governments must move urgently to correct this mistake, which leaves the health of many thousands of workers in mining, construction, agriculture and other sectors at grave risk”.

Under the Rotterdam Convention, governments maintain a list of dangerous substances which may only be exported according to the principle of “Prior Informed Consent” (PIC) – exporting countries must get specific permission from potential importing countries before the substances can be shipped. According to the rules of procedure of the Rotterdam Convention, chemicals can only be added to the PIC list if signatories to the 1998 convention reach consensus

At the most recent meeting on the Convention, seven asbestos-importing countries (India, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Ukraine and Vietnam) supported asbestos-exporting Kazakhstan in opposing the PIC-listing. Other exporters (Brazil, Canada, Russia and Zimbabwe) are known to oppose restrictions on the trade in asbestos, despite the huge toll of death and disease it is known to cause.

Endosulfan, a neurotoxin which is poisonous to the human nervous system and is also believed to affect reproduction, is used as a pesticide in production of cotton, food crops and animal feed. As one of the more toxic pesticides available, its dangers to agricultural workers in particular and to consumers in general, are well documented. Alternative chemicals exist for all of its uses, but endosulfan is often preferred by producers because it is cheaper.

If you want more information, you can visit ITUC website.


http://www.sustainlabour.org/index.php

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Global New Deal

The launch of the call took place at the Global Progressive Forum, a huge gathering of over 2,000 politicians, trades unionists, NGOs, representatives of progressive international organizations and grassroots activists in the European Parliament, and timed to coincide with the end of the G20. ITUC affiliates from every region also took part in the event. The declaration states “Together it is possible to change the face of globalization”

“Over recent decades, progressive forces have been warning about the accumulation of risks and injustices for people and the planet. Now, the fundamental and systemic failures of the current economic system are undeniable: the time has come to restate our values, our vision and our proposals for a new direction, transforming our societies, improving the lives of our and future generations”, said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder

1.The biggest coordinated fiscal stimulus in modern history to stop unemployment and poverty

2.Financial market regulation, including an end to tax avoidance by the elite by abolishing tax havens

3.Supporting the transition to a renewable and energy efficient economy

4.Promoting fair trade

5.Pushing decent work up the global agenda

6.A more equitable sharing of revenue between capital and labour

7.Ensuring women’s rights

8.Massive new resources to secure development in the world’s poorest countries

If you are interested in the Forum and its launch, please click
here.

http://www.sustainlabour.org/index.php

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Venepal Workers Fighting Spirit

On September 7, 2004, the owners of Venepal, a paper mill in Morón, Carabobo, in Venezuela, decided to cease their operations and not pay their 400 workers their wages. This is not the first time something like this has happened. A year ago the company took the same decision alleging financial difficulties. At that time the workers decided to occupy the premises in a bitter eleven-week struggle. Now they are demanding that the government nationalises the company and puts it under workers’ control and management. This is an extremely important struggle which could be crucial for the future of the labour movement and the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela.

Venepal is one of the main producers of paper and cardboard in Venezuela and its installations are located in Morón, in the industrial state of Carabobo. At one point it employed a total of 1,600 workers, controlled 40% of the national market and was one of the main producers of Latin America in this sector. But the company’s management allowed the paper mill to slowly lose market shares and revenues. In April 2002, at the time of the short lived military coup against Chávez, some of its main shareholders were present at the swearing in ceremony for the new, illegitimate, “president” Pedro Carmona. During the bosses’ lockout against the Chávez government in December-January 2002-03 the workers resisted attempts by the employers to paralyse the installations.

Finally, on July 4, 2003, the company declared bankruptcy and left 600 workers without jobs and owing them large amounts in back wages. The company had accumulated debts of $100million with the banks (60% with international banks, Citybank and Chase Manhattan Bank, and 40% with national banks), and a further $30 million with the Venezuelan state in unpaid taxes, national insurance contributions, gas and electricity bills, etc.

Read more...

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Production Without Paraquat

A new report by the IUF and Berne Declaration, a Swiss-based NGO, shows that production without paraquat is entirely feasible and is already happening in important crops. The report “Goodbye Paraquat” emphasizes that 50 major producers of bananas and tea, which traditionally have been big users of paraquat in their crops, have moved away from reliance in this substance.

On palm oil, there are some producers who are paraquat users, but there is a preference amongst palm oil buyers from palm produced without paraquat. As IUF General Secretary,Ron Oswald says, paraquat is a health hazard for agriculture workers. Now, we know that some leading food producers are opting out of using pesticides like paraquat, but it would be better if governments support this attitude by banning paraquat.

The results of the survey show that in palm oil, banana, and tea sectors Paraquat-free production is not only desirable but also economically viable and thus possible. Consequenty, statements by Syngenta, the leading producer of Paraquat, to the effect that the highly-toxic herbicide is indispensable are clearly untenable.

In Switzerland, Paraquat has been banned for twenty years and in Europe it lost approval in 2007. But on many developing countries the product is still sold in great quantities despite the lack of sufficient protection for users. We can not stop here. We need more progresses in occupation health!

http://www.iuf.org/

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BATTLE lines have been drawn against the inclusive government in general and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in particular, as his allies in the civic society mounted an attack this week to derail the constitution making process.

The Financial Gazette can reveal that the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) this week started canvassing for support from members of the Broad Alliance, including the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), to reject the proposed new constitution at a referendum expected early next year.

There is concern within the civic society that ZANU-PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations want to impose the Kariba draft, albeit with minor adjustments, on the people through a 25-member Select Committee appointed on Sunday to steer the constitution making process.

Since its formation in 1997 the NCA has been pressing for a people-driven constitution, joining forces with other civic allies to denounce previous amendments to the country's supreme law.

The Broad Alliance comprises the ZCTU, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and the Zimbabwe National Students Union.

Its partners played a part in campaigning for the MDC-T and ensuring that President Robert Mugabe did not succeed in his re-election bid during the synchronised polls in March last year.

In the run-up to the March 2008 polls, Tsvangirai campaigned on the promise of delivering a people-driven constitution, among a catalogue of other populist policies that resonated with members of the Broad Alliance.

The Prime Minister outpolled President Mugabe in the harmonised polls but did not garner enough votes to be declared winner leading to a blood-letting presidential election run-off boycotted by the former trade unionist due to violence.

President Mugabe won the one-man race roundly condemned as a sham. For the first time in the history of the country, ZANU-PF lost its majority in the august house, creating a hung Parliament.

But the inclusive government has created fresh challenges for the MDC-T and its partners in the Broad Alliance.

Eric Matinenga, the Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister recently told civil society representatives that the Kariba draft document will not determine the outcome of a new constitution.

The Kariba draft was authored by ZANU-PF's Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche, MDC-T's Tendai Biti and MDC-M's Welshman Ncube in the resort town as the negotiating parties sought to find a solution to the political crisis.

"The Kariba draft is not and will not determine the final constitution", Matinenga was quoted saying. "That draft is on the same footing as the 1979 Lancaster House constitution and the 2000 (draft) constitution which was rejected by the people."

The civic society is however, not convinced.

The alliance met in Harare last Thursday at a consultative meeting boycotted by MDC-T legislators where it was agreed that the new constitution be rejected once it is put to vote at the referendum.

Critics of the NCA and its allies campaigning for the "No Vote" doubt Madhuku and company would succeed, considering that when they rejected the draft constitution in 2000 they were riding on the back of the newly formed MDC.

To succeed, the alliance would need to win the support of the electorate that has so far thrown its full weight behind the inclusive government despite the continued bickering over a number of outstanding issues.

The Financial Gazette established this week that there was consensus within the Broad Alliance not to embrace the constitution making process.

NCA chairman Lovemore Madhuku, whose organisation is fiercely opposed to the political party-driven constitution making initiative, did not mince his words in an interview with The Financial Gazette yesterday, blaming the premier for what he described as a "flawed and defective partisan constitution making process."

Tsvangirai last Thur-sday held a caucus meeting with his legislators where he ordered them not to entertain the NCA and other groupings opposed to the process brought about by the Global Political Agree-ment (GPA) under Article 6 of the September 15 2008 unity pact.

A few days after the premier's meeting, Spea-ker of Parliament Love-more Moyo unveiled the Constitutional Select Committee comprising legislators from ZANU-PF and the two MDC political formations, setting the stage for the political parties driven constitution making process.

The Select Committee would be charged with producing a Draft Constitution for Zimba-bwe to be debated in Parliament before a final draft is subjected to a referendum.

Madhuku said the NCA and like-minded organisations want Zimbabweans to reject for the second time another defective constitution making process.

This was in reference to the 2000 constitutional referendum rejected by the majority of Zimba-bweans.

"This will be a second rejection specifically for (Prime Minister) Morgan Tsvangirai who believes that popularity is all that matters. The second rejection will be his because (President) Mugabe already knows that popular support is not enough to impose a constitution."

Madhuku said the current constitution making process was so defective that the only hope for the inclusive government to succeed was to abuse Prime Minister Tsvangi-rai's current popularity.

"Tsvangirai was able to stop his legislators from coming to our function to eat our food but he will not be able to stop the ordinary people who are suffering during the present equally defective constitution. Let him try and test his popularity using this defective process and he will be surely embarrassed," said Madhuku.

Wurayayi Zembe, the president of the little known Democratic Party added his party's voice to the growing disgruntlement over the constitution making process.

"The ZANU-PF, MDC-T and MDC-M parliamentary route of constitutional making is oppressive, clandestine, and anti-people. We remind those of short memories that at the February 2000 constitutional referendum the people of Zimbabwe rejected a draft constitution that was imposed by the ZANU-PF commission," said Zembe.

"If a ZANU-PF commission of 400 individuals was rejected and dismissed by the people in 1999, it is baffling to see how a tiny committee of 25 can succeed."

Matinenga said yesterday it was unfortunate that there were some people such as the NCA campaigning against the parliamentary process.

"The fact that someone outside Parliament has a different view does not mean that the person will make the process people-driven," said Matinenga in an interview.

"Also the fact that the process has been started by Parliament does not make it less people driven. If there are areas of concern let's talk and we can reach some form of agreement," he said.

"This business of wanting to spoil or start a fight we don't buy it and it will not deter us to produce a new constitution under the inclusive government in a decent manner."

http://allafrica.com/

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Polls fray enter for trade union leaders

MANGALORE: After a gap of 18 years, a trade union leader has entered poll fray in Dakshina Kannada parliamentary constituency. Senior trade union
leader and CITU state president B Madhava filed the nomination paper as CPM candidate here on Monday.

CPM last contested from Mangalore parliamentary constituency in 1991 with P Ramachandra Rao as its candidate. Speaking to reporters, Madhava said he was contesting as the candidate of Third Front with support of JD(S) and CPI. He said CPM would contest elections based on pro-people movement that the party had organized in the region. Both Congress and BJP-led fronts have lost confidence of the people who were looking for a change, which will be provided by the Third Front, he said.

B Madhava is a familiar name in worker's movement of the district. He joined CPM in 1972 and worked with CITU. He had organized several labour movements of beedi, construction and tile factory workers and was instrumental in forming the transport and engineering workers union. JD(S) district president K B Balaraj Rai said his party would extend full support to Madhava.

Assets over Rs 17 lakh
CPM candidate B Madhava has declared assets worth Rs 17,09,214 including fixed deposits, amount in SB accounts, property and cash on hand. His wife Veda Madhava possesses assets worth Rs 3,53,519. Details of the assets are as follows: An amount of Rs 1,01,000 fixed deposits in various banks and cooperative society, Rs 1,05,714 in SB accounts in scheduled and cooperative banks, non-agricultural land worth Rs 10 lakh and a house worth Rs 5 lakh. Veda has Rs 60,000 in a cooperative society, Rs 5,519 in SB accounts in a scheduled and cooperative banks and jewellery worth Rs 2,88,000.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

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Claimed membership by ship trade union

Port workers are being questioned in confidence on whether they are a member of a trade union and if yes, which trade union, the Ministry of Social Policy said today.

The process is being held by the Director of Employment and Industrial Relations to verify which trade union enjoys the biggest membership among the port workers.

The ministry said this process was established practice whenever more than one trade union demanded recognition.

It was reacting to statements by the GWU which criticised the director for the way the verification is being carried out. The union last week commissioned a ballot which, it said, found that the majority of port workers want it to represent them.

The Malta Dockers' Union is insisting it is the port workers' representative.

“The only certain manner to ascertain whether an employee is a member of a trade union or not is by direct interview. This system has been in place for every verification carried out last year. Indeed 18 such verifications were performed last year involving various unions including the GWU. Indeed in a particular exercise held last year, three unions were involved with two of them being the General Workers Union and the Malta Dockers’ Union,” the ministry said.

GWU REACTION

The GWU in a reaction to the government's statement said the legitimacy of such any exercise was wholly dependent on the methodology used by the director, and an undemocratic exercise could form no basis for recognition.

"The exercise proposed and currently being executed by Dr. Noel Vella (the Director of Employment and Industrial Relations) is flawed in that:

"The 'verification exercise' is not itself verifiable by anyone. Neither the two unions nor the employers have been given access to the records of the so-called verification and no party has been allowed to monitor the proceedings.

"Such exercise is potentially inconclusive and could coerce the parties to escalate the dispute.

"The exercise is spread over three days with the clear possibility for a union to put pressure on those workers who did not indicate their preference early in the verification process. It is inconceivable for a verification of less than 400 preferences to take more than a single day," the GWU said.

It said its own secret ballot was completed within a day by an independent law firm led by Professor Ian Refalo. Dr Vella had so far failed to explain why his own "verification" was to take so long.

The GWU said the allegation that the verification exercise is "the only certain manner to ascertain whether an employee is a member of trade union or not is by direct interview" is baseless.

"The method is far from certain in that a worker may opt or may be coerced to declare membership in a union when that is untrue. What the exercise would be recording is the worker's declaration at that point in time, which is equivalent to a vote. The only safe way to establish a free vote is through a secret ballot and not an open declaration which exposes workers to recriminations," the GWU said, adding that the director had repeatedly refused to organise or oversee a secret ballot of port workers' preferences.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/

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Richland County Sheriff's Office Prepares For Layoffs

The Richland County Sheriff's Office is preparing for the layoff of potentially one dozen deputies and Sheriff Steve Sheldon has served 12 deputies layoff notices effective March 19.

Mark Drum, Fraternal Order of Police and Ohio Labor Council Staff Representative for the collective bargaining units of the sheriff's office, sent a letter to Sheldon requesting he address some issues on the end of administration personnel.

The supervisor's collective bargaining unit is willing to work with the sheriff on concessions to help with the budget, providing there is a guarantee it will help save deputies from being laid off.

The sheriff is funded by the Board of Richland County Commissioners from the general fund.

The union feels the current strain on the sheriff's budget is a direct result of the requirement to hire more correction officers to operate the jail than was originally planned for.


http://www.wmfd.com/

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Pereira Coutinho hands in new trade union bill

Local lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho yesterday handed a new trade union bill proposal to the Legislative Assembly as an intent to fill a gap in Macau's legal system.
A total of 39 articles divided into 5 chapters were presented by the lawmaker. Coutinho also said he believes it will regulate article 27 of the Macau Basic Law.
“During the last three years we have presented it twice, and I don't think it's [asking] too much. Now seams to be just the right time because since January, when the new labour relations law was enforced, a multiple number of [work] situations [has] happened and workers have tried to reach an agreement in order to safeguard their rights, namely the right to enjoy 10 official holidays. In most of the situations they don't dare to challenge the rules because they are afraid to loose their jobs,” he said.
“Last time with the diploma that covered the problem with collective negotiation, we had eight votes in favour,” Coutinho said, adding that “the fundamental fact is the government's responsibility through lawmakers, who have the social responsibility, to understand the weaker link in the labour relationship.”
Pereira Coutinho also defends in the bill a mixed system for workers to have both an internal and external representation and the setting up of social unions. The proposal, he argued, “allows employees to have a strong defence in making sure they are rightfully represented in their own departmental structures as well as exercise their right to collective consult.”
“ The bill we presented describes the associations capacity for the future, as unions, can represent workers not only in courts but also in the public administration.”


http://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/

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Police officers ‘buried’ the Ministry of Interior

Sofia. - Hundreds of police officers and their relatives have gathered in a park close to the embassy of the Czech Republic in Sofia.
Some of them were waving Bulgarian flags. There were many women and children.
A scene has been fixed in the park to host a concern.
Police officers staged a protest on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. outside the embassy of the Czech Republic.
Ivan Pavlov, police officer with District Police Directorate – Lovech and member of the new police trade union, said that not a single demand announced a month ago at a meeting with Interior Ministry leadership had been fulfilled and that’s why police officers would protest outside the embassy of the Czech Republic, holder of the EU Presidency.
The police officers insist on higher payment, better equipment and social status.
After the concert a declaration should be submitted in the embassy of the Czech Republic, holder of the EU rotating Presidency. The police officers want the document to reach the Union leaders, said Ivan Savov.
Later a rally was held along major streets in downtown Sofia.
Police officers will not give their demands up; they will stand up for them till the end, chairman of the new police trade union Ivan Pavlov told journalists, cited by Focus News Agency.
“We expect that finally someone will fulfill our six demands. We submitted them in the Ministry of Interior. We will insist on their fulfillment,” he added.
Asked whether political forces were behind Sunday’s protest of police officers, he asked rhetorically: “Do you see representatives of political parties here? I do not.”
Some 5,000 police officers have gathered in a park close to the embassy of the Czech Republic in Sofia.
On behalf of the police officers Dimitar Manolov, vice president of Confederation of Labor Podkrepa, submitted their declaration in the Czech embassy. The embassy official said he would hand the document to its addressees. The consul of the Czech Republic said ambassador Martin Klepetko was not able to meet with the police officers due to appointments. The declaration expresses discontent about the talks between Interior Ministry and contact group, which proved futile. The major demands of the police officers are: amendments to Interior Ministry Act concerning the trade union activity, amendments to the Penal Code that provide for tougher punishments for people who attack police officers, a 50% pay rise backdated to January 1st 2009, better equipment and payment for overtime and night work.
Police officers had already staged a series of similar sit-ins outside the interior ministry building here in recent months, demanding a salary increase, better working conditions and legislative reforms.
The interior ministry offered them a 5-percent rise in pay this past week, with minister Mihail Mikov saying the officers' demands for a 50-percent rise sounded "insolent" at a time of global crisis.
Mikov also told the national radio on Sunday that higher pay would come only with better results on the ground and there would also be personnel cuts.
Public discontent has mounted over the past months in Bulgaria, fed by fears of rising unemployment and deepening poverty amidst the global financial and economic crisis.



http://www.focus-fen.net/

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WASA Slams Trade Unionist Robert Giuseppi For Intervening In Workers Affairs.

Third vice president of the National Trade Union Centre Robert Giuseppe has come under heavy fire from the (WASA) water and sewerage authority.

A statement from WASA, says the board strongly condemns the action of Mr. Giuseppe for organizing what it calls an unauthorized meeting at the utility’s head office on Wednesday.

The board also slams the employees who participated in the exercise describing them as misguided.

It accuses the employees of violating the terms of the industrial relations act through their actions, and vows to treat with them very firmly.

The board also accuses Mr. Giuseppe of invading the utility’s premises, and describes his behavior and conduct as most disturbing for an executive member of NATUC.

The board says it is not in a legal or other position to treat with Mr. Giuseppe on any matter whatsoever including the transition of waste water services as he has neither locus standing nor is recognized in law to represent employees of WASA.


http://www.i955fm.com/Default.aspx

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Swedish trade union delegation barred from Gaza

Gaza – Ma’an – Israel prevented a Swedish trade union delegation from entering the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening.

Tareq Al-Hindi, the secretary of the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions, said that the delegation organized the visit in advance and received permits from Israel that would allow them to enter Gaza. When the delegation reached the Erez crossing, they were told that they would not be allowed into the Strip.

Al-Hindi said they had planned to meet with the Swedish union activists to discuss cooperation between unions in Palestine and Sweden, labor law, safety, and women’s involvement in the union movement.


http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php

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Zimbabwe's Main Trade Union Sets Out Hard-Currency Pay Demand

An official of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the country's largest organized labor federation, said its members should be paid a minimum $US454 a month.

ZCTU Deputy Secretary General Japhet Moyo told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that this amount is what a family of six needs to survive.

But he said there has been resistance from employers who say private-sector workers should get the same US$100 allowance the government is giving public employees such as teachers, hospital workers, police officers and government clerical workers.

http://www.voanews.com/

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VenEconomy: Unions Create a Détente Zone in Venezuela

The Chávez administration, with its totalitarian appetites run riot since February 15, has wanted to lay everything waste, from constitutional rights to citizen freedoms. Among the rights and freedoms that the President has sought to abolish are having a decent job that does not depend on party membership or supporting a given ideology and the right to independent trade union representation that fights for workers’ rights.

This Thursday, for the first time in more than seven years, leaders of trade union groups sympathetic to both the government and the opposition joined forces in what could be interpreted as a détente in the conflictive labor situation that is brewing in the country, and the Labor Solidarity Movement or MSL was formed. This movement seeks to create a united front to defend the rights of workers in both the public and private sectors. And while it does not include the majority of the country’s trade unions, for the moment, it is a starting point for achieving a united front while allowing for diversity.

Given the climate of labor conflict that is brewing, it is most timely that trade union leaders of all political stripes are sitting down at the same table to discuss which is the best path to take to achieve a true defense of the working class, setting aside political interests, desires to hold on to office or indulgence towards individualistic hegemonic projects.

According to some members of the MSL, this movement has come about as a result of pressure from the grassroots trade unions, which are seeing how the benefits they have won for their members are being eroded.

According to comments made by many of its most conspicuous spokesmen, as far as the Chávez administration is concerned, the importance of the trade union struggle is not simply socioeconomic benefits or labor rights or even people’s legitimate aspirations to a better standard of living. What is essential for Chávez and his cohorts is the ideologizing and indoctrination of the worker (read deadening of awareness) so that he blindly follows the orders of the “commander” and supports his project; in other words, a worker and a trade unionism as styled in Fidel’s Cuba.

However, there are incipient signs that Chávez has taken the wrong path this time. His eagerness to control did not take account of Venezuelans’ idiosyncrasies. The majority of the opinion polls agree that the aspirations of the Venezuelan worker is to have an equal opportunity to get a job, to have a decent job with fair pay, and that this job will allow him to improve his social status and the standard of living of his family. The majority are against donning a uniform, joining a party or voting for candidates imposed by the powers that be as a prerequisite to getting a job.

There is still much to be done and the acid test will be in the discussions over the innumerable labor contracts to come.

There are also many barriers to overcome, the most important being the renewal of an obsolete, tired leadership that is clinging on to posts in the highest echelons of the trade union movement and surviving the attacks that the government will eventually make on any trade union leaders who act independently, trying to criminalize them and put them out of commission.

VenEconomy has been a leading provider of consultancy on financial, political and economic data in Venezuela since 1982.
http://www.laht.com/index.asp

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Union movement urges intervention over escalating repression in Iran

The global trade union movement is pressing the International Labour Organization (ILO) for action in response to a growing tide of oppression against trade unionists in Iran.

Representatives of the ITF, Education International, the International Union of Food Workers and the International Trade Union Confederation made the appeal in a letter to the ILO’s director-general, Juan Somavia, on 9 March. In it they expressed concern over “an escalating pattern of arrests and intimidation of trade unionists in Iran”. They had “reason to fear for the physical and the psychological wellbeing and even the lives of the latest victims of state repression.” That was why they believed the ILO’s intervention was necessary.

The group referred to the latest wave of repression against the Haft Tapeh union, which represents some 5000 sugar cane plantation workers. Five of the union’s elected members had been charged with acting against national security following a strike over unpaid wages and were awaiting a verdict. Three others including the union’s president, Ali Nejati, had also been arrested. All except Nejati had been released.

The unionists also highlighted how teacher, Farzad Kamangar, currently in Evin Prison had received the death penalty and expressed alarm over reports that two executive board members of the Tehran bus workers’ union, the Vahed Syndicate, had last month been summoned by the secret police. They reminded Somavia that the union’s president, Mansour Osanloo and vice-president Ebrahim Madadi were both still in prison.

New incidences of harassment of other labour and human rights activists were regularly being reported, they said.

They urged the ILO to intervene to secure the release of Ali Nejati, Mansour Osanloo, Ebrahim Madadi and others. They also asked the organization to impress on the Iranian authorities that Kamangar’s case should be revisited and that any plans for an execution should be called off. It should, in addition, demand that charges against the Haft Tapeh workers be dropped and full legal guarantees ensured.


http://www.itfglobal.org/index.cfm

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Bus strike hope after deal struck

Dublin,Ireland - Dublin Bus has threatened a strike action that may be averted after the deal that has hammered out between trade unions and management

The two sides were locked in talks by the Labour Relations Commission consecutively about the planned of layoff about 60 workers as part of to cut cost.

But compulsory lay-off proposals have now been scrapped and all drivers are being guaranteed a minimum five days pay under a new agreement, according to trade union Siptu.

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Single Combined Union for Francheshini

(AGI) - Rome, 11 Mar. - "Trade union unity will inevitably come into being. How long it takes us to get there depends on the will of the union leaders and the calls of their membership. I think that today in Italy, as in an all modern democracies, there is a call for a united trade union front, strong, which defends the rights of workers and those who have lost their jobs, and pensioners, rather than suffering internal divisions.'' These were the words of Dario Franceschini on the topic of union unity. The PD (Democratic party) leader was interviewed from the Rai studios on 'Unomattina', added that ''history will undoubtedly lead in that direction, and for all that we are able to do, in our fully independent roles and with respect for reciprocal independence, we are headed towards a single combined union.''

http://www.agi.it/home

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FICTU General Secretary’s house stoned

The House of Fiji Islands Council Trade Union General Secretary Attar Singh was stoned at around 3 this morning while the family was asleep.

The house located at Kula Street in Samabula, was attacked by a group of unidentified men who threw large stones which damaged the front side of the house and the two rear windows of his car.
Singh believes this morning's stoning incident which damaged the glass of his vehicles and a window of his house is the work of those people who do not like what he is doing.

Singh, who is still waiting for the police investigation report into the matter, said the incident was planned as they struck at a time when no-one would see them.

There is an audio file attached to this story. Please login to listen.

Police have taken the statements of the neighbors and an investigation is currently underway.

Meanwhile, the National Federation Party (NFP) has labeled the stoning of FICTU General Secretary Attar Singh's house as an act of cowardice.

General Secretary Pramod Rae said the fact that Lovo stones were used is the work of cowards who resort to violence when faced with the truth.

Rae goes on to add that this is the latest of scares given to those who speak out publicly, citing the case of where Singh was attacked in 2006 and another being the case of Kenneth Zinck whose car was smashed outside his home early this year.

The Party added that people should realize that such actions do not act a deterrent but only strengthens their resolve to continue with their work.


http://www.fijivillage.com

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Silence of majority speaks volumes: no more murders

After the violence, finally the peace. They came in their thousands to rallies across Northern Ireland yesterday to protest against the murders of three members of the security forces by republican terrorists.

They were ordinary citizens for the most part – what you might call Ulster’s silent majority. Housewives, firefighters, office workers, teachers and carers. Catholics and Protestants and people of other faiths and no faith. These were the voices that you rarely, if ever, hear, because they have been drowned out by the guns, the marching feet, the jeering sectarian chants of decades of conflict.

So they stood together in silence, a great wall of silence pushing back at the 48 hours of mayhem that killed two soldiers and a police officer, a spasm of violence that left Northern Ireland staring back into its dark past.

The largest rally was in Belfast, but others were held across the Province, in Londonderry, Newry, Downpatrick and Lisburn. Ordinary people in extraordinary times were, yet again, staring down the violence and challenging it with their silence.

Belfast has seen many rallies down the years. Not all of them were about peace, but this was one of the most affecting. It was from here that Ian Paisley, the Big Man of Intransigent Unionism, bellowed out his message of “Never, never, never” to a united Ireland in the mid1980s.

With the Union of Northern Ireland and Great Britain probably never more secure in its history – Sinn Féin operating British ministerial posts and urging its supporters to give any information on republican “traitors” to the police – silence was perhaps a more appropriate response to this week’s killings and a deadlier weapon.

Peter Bunting, the assistant general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which helped to organ-ise the protests, said people were delivering a strong message that they did not want a return to bloodshed.

“This lunchtime, thousands of citizens are gathering to collectively share moments of silence,” he said.

“The trade union movement stands together with all citizens in solidarity to prevent any derailment of the peace process. The callous attacks of the past few days were an assault on every citizen who supports peace.

“Here in Belfast, and in Newry, and in Londonderry, and at spontaneous gatherings across our land, workers and their families are making clear their abhorrence at these murders and the direct threat to the peace process.”

A Scottish piper played a lament and then the crowds, stretching back down Royal Avenue, fell silent.

A few people wept soundlessly. Others clutched one another. Fathers jigged toddlers sitting astride their shoulders, gently urging them to join the silence.

Among the banners and placards were the messages: “A Better Life Together”, “An Injury to One is An Injury to All” and “Our Peace Our Future”. A couple of hard-looking men unfurled a simple message: “Combined Loyalists For Peace – Any Chance Lads?”.

“I am here today because I don’t want my teenage sons to have to grow up in the same Northern Ireland that I grew up in,” said Carroll Black, who recalled the battle-scarred city that she had to cross every day as a schoolgirl studying in the Falls Road.

“I grew up in an area where the police were the enemy,” said Aidan Kane, who was with his six-year-old son. “Now things have changed so completely for the better.

“If my wee lad here wants to be a policeman when he grows up, I’d be proud. I shouldn’t have to worry that some nut might shoot him for serving his community.”

The demonstrators received support from about 40 MPs and peers in London who gathered at St Stephen’s Gate at Westminster for a moment of silence.

The impromptu vigil, organised by the Labour MP for Blaydon, David Anderson, followed a series of tributes made in the Commons and attracted politicians from across the political spectrum, including former Northern Ireland secretaries Peter Hain and John Reid.

MPs and peers stood, eyes forward, resolute and silent, as Big Ben struck in the background.

“We are here to send a very, very clear message,” Mr Anderson said afterwards. “We are united and we will never ever give in.”

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Gordon Brown said that the vigils showed “the unyielding resolution to say with one voice that the peace that the people of Northern Ireland are building no murderers should ever be allowed to destroy”.

The Prime Minister sent his condolences to the families and friends of Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, who were shot dead on Saturday by the Real IRA, and PC Stephen Carroll, 48, who was killed on Monday by the Continuity IRA.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, said that the most important thing was that everyone in the Province worked with the Police Service of Northern Ireland to ensure the “callous killers” were caught, charged and convicted.

The Pope joined in the condemnation of the killings, describing them as “abominable acts of terrorism” during an address to pilgrims in St Peter’s Square, Vatican City.

Away from the rallies, an even quieter gesture was taking place. The parents of Sapper Azimkar and his girlfriend visited the scene of his murder at Massereene Barracks, An-trim, to lay flowers and tributes. One from his girlfriend said: “Never have I met someone as wonderful as you. This doesn’t seem real, it can’t be. You’ re my best friend, my soulmate.”


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/

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Women start legal fight to get equal pay

WOMEN council workers fighting for equal pay will start their legal battle before an employment tribunal in Glasgow next week.

Six staff with Glasgow City Council are to fight a test case on behalf of 40-50 other claimants, which could determine the outcome of thousands of women's equal pay cases against the authority.

Some 35,000 equal pay claims had been made against public authorities in Scotland, which could end up costing councils more than £1billion.

The test case, being brought on behalf of cleaners, home carers, dinner ladies, bus escorts, special needs drivers and other predominantly low-paid manual jobs, is the first to reach this stage of an employment tribunal after several preliminary hearings.
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The women will argue they are entitled to be paid the same as men employed in comparable jobs that the council's job evaluation scheme has rated as equivalent.

Carol Fox, head of litigation (Scotland) with Stefan Cross Solicitors, who is representing the six women, said "This hearing is of significant importance for 5000 Glasgow City Council women employees with similar claims."

It will be argued that additional bonus payments to some men mean they can be earning up to 50% or even more, per hour, than women.

If successful, the women can be awarded compensation for the pay shortfall dating back five years from the date they complained and up to the time the matter is determined.

A number of cases date back to 2005, meaning in the event of success, compensation could be awarded for nine years' of pay shortages.

The case will start on Monday and is scheduled to last two weeks.


http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/

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Begg says his call to nationalise banks is Ictu position

SENIOR UNION official David Begg has said his call to nationalise the banks was the position of the trade union movement and had nothing to do with his membership of the board of directors at the Central Bank.

In a speech at the protest march in Dublin on Saturday, Mr Begg, who is general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), said he believed that, sooner rather than later, the whole Irish banking system would have to be nationalised.

“There is no other route to ensuring that we have an effective banking system in place, and we cannot put off that decision indefinitely.”

Reiterating his views yesterday on RTÉ radio’s This Week , he said Bank of America and Citigroup in the US were being nationalised.

“The problem of our own banking sector is that we can’t get money flowing into the economy, into the businesses that need it as their life’s blood in order to keep economic activity going.

“The difficulty with what the Government have been doing in trying to recapitalise the banks is that the banks’ first priority is to shore up their capital base and, in doing that, they are saving money.

“It is the direct opposite of a Keynesian approach where you want to try to put money into the economy to have it spent.”

He continued: “I guarantee you that within three months all of the Irish banks will be nationalised.”

The remarks gave rise to some initial concern in Government circles, but Mr Begg told The Irish Times he was simply expressing a view that the Ictu had formed. “It has nothing to do with my role in the Central Bank.”

The Ictu judgment was “based more on the experience of other countries than any assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of Irish banks”.

“The Central Bank and the Department of Finance wouldn’t be of that view. It’s completely a David Begg view.”

He pointed out that any move to nationalise the banks here would be “pretty exclusively a Government decision”, although he was sure the views of the governor of the Central Bank would be taken into account.

Mr Begg added that the Ictu position was “not at all informed by anything I have heard in the Central Bank”.

He doubted that his remarks would have any effect on the banks’ share prices, and the Government had made no contact with him about his comments.

Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton said his party opposed nationalisation. “It doesn’t equip the banks any better to deal with their problems.”

Nationalisation would mean “the State’s exposure would become greater”. Fine Gael favoured “a new, good bank” with “a clean balance sheet”.


http://www.irishtimes.com/

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ArcelorMittal Roman shuts down all production facilities for three weeks

ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Roman’s manufacturing facilities will begin a three-week shutdown, while the product processing unit will be the only one to remain in function, said the leader of the trade union, Gheorghe Ciobanu.

“The 16 and 18-inches steel mill will be idled until it receives enough orders to secure the activity of the plant. The processing unit will run, as the third production facility, the 20-inches mill is closed for repair and will be opened at the end of March. 80% of the steelmaker’s workforce (1,849) will remain in the unit, while the rest will take a temporary leave”, said the leader of the trade union, Gheorghe Ciobanu.
He said some 380 workers out of 1,849 signed up for voluntary layoff, as 24 workers have already been discharged being compensated with severance pay packages. “Majority of the workers who signed up meet the requirements for retirement”, Ciobanu added.

On the other hand, Arcelor Mittal Iasi plant is operating at full capacity, the leader of the trade union saying there is the likelihood for workers to take a new temporary layoff as of next week.

“74 workers have left so far, half of which working in production, and the rest in the indirectly productive units. 200 persons are signed up on the layoff list of 561overall workforce”, Constantin Rotaru, leader of the trade union at Arcelor Mittal Iasi continued.


http://www.wall-street.ro/

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'Involve Trade Unions in negotiations of the Economic Partnership for Africa'

The National Organization of Trade Unions, NOTU has appealed to Government to involve them in the negotiations of the Economic Partnership for Africa.

The President of NOTU Wilson Owere says involving the trade unions would benefit workers.

He says unlike the politicians, workers know issues affecting them that need to be addressed.

Owere suggests that the out come of the negotiations should be backed with enabling laws.


http://www.newvision.co.ug/

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State Offices to Close First and Third Fridays

SACRAMENTO (AP) – Californians – and their state government employees – will start feeling the pain of the state’s fiscal crisis in February when offices will be closed two days a month.

The recurring shutdown of state government is the first time budget problems have forced California officials to take such a step, according to the Department of Personnel Administration.

The Schwarzenegger administration announced the move on Jan. 9, revealing how it planned to implement the executive order the governor signed last month mandating furloughs for state workers.

State offices will close the first and third Fridays of each month starting Feb. 6. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the step is needed to start addressing a budget deficit projected at $42 billion through June 2010.

The two-day-a-month furloughs are expected to save $1.3 billion over that period.

Exceptions to the alternating Friday schedule will be made for prisons, hospitals, parks and some other agencies, mostly if they generate money for the state, Department of Personnel Administration spokeswoman Lynelle Jolley said. Employees at those agencies will be furloughed on a rotating schedule.

“Typically, state government is less active on the whole on Fridays,” said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger. “Secondly, by shutting down entire buildings, we will realize savings by not having facilities open. Lastly, we understand how difficult this is for state workers. Hopefully, having a three-day weekend will help soften the blow.”

McLear said the order could be amended before it takes effect if the administration finds other ways to run government offices more efficiently with less inconvenience to citizens and employees.

Workers Seek to Stop Changes
The furlough program also could be stopped before it begins.

State employee unions have sued to prevent it, saying the administration acted illegally. They argue the furloughs must be agreed to by the unions or enacted by the Legislature.

Last week, a Sacramento County Superior Court judge scheduled a hearing on the challenge for Jan. 29, a week before the first scheduled furlough day. While Judge Patrick Marlette might not rule that day, he could issue an injunction preventing Schwarzenegger’s executive order from taking effect.

“We respect that they are trying to make this easier on state workers. But the bottom line is they’re not doing us any favors,” said Jim Zamora, spokesman for Service Employees International Union Local 1000, the largest state employees’ union.

He said closing state offices twice a month will affect taxpayers—meaning longer lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles and more frustration for those seeking unemployment benefits.

“If they’re shut two days a month, that’s just more Californians who are going to be denied services, who are going to have to wait longer for services,” Zamora said.

Many prison and health care employees already work mandatory overtime to cover vacant shifts, so it is unclear how they can cover two additional open days a month, he said.

Some employees who are not on the alternating Friday schedule, including those at prisons and hospitals, will be able to save their furlough days and use them within two years after the mandatory program ends.

Schwarzenegger’s order does not affect employees of the Legislature, judiciary, university systems or constitutional offices such as treasurer, attorney general or secretary of state, who are outside the governor’s control.

The Friday closures are an effort to cut spending while ensuring that essential services are not jeopardized, said David Gilb, director of the Department of Personnel Administration.

He said the department is consulting with state labor unions, despite their lawsuits to stop the furloughs.

Three state employee unions have filed separate lawsuits, each alleging that Schwarzenegger exceeded his authority and violated the collective bargaining process when he announced the furloughs.

The unions say Schwarzenegger’s order amounts to a nearly 10 percent pay cut for the 235,000 affected state workers. California Highway Patrol officers are exempt because their union is the only one with a contract still in effect.

Contracts covering the state’s other employee groups have expired and are being negotiated.

Schwarzenegger’s lawyers are seeking to have the lawsuits challenging his furlough order dismissed on technical grounds. They say the issue should be decided by the Public Employment Relations Board, whose five members are appointed by the governor.

If the judge decides he has jurisdiction, he will consider whether the governor can act unilaterally.

The Professional Engineers in California Government are joined in their lawsuit by the California Association of Professional Scientists.

Similar lawsuits were filed by the Service Employees International Union Local 1000, and by California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment.

Attorneys agreed during last week’s court hearing to have the lawsuits considered jointly.

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Miners push for right to use strike breakers

Australia ’s mining industry has pushed for the right to use strikebreakers in disputes so unions cannot cause maximum financial damage to employers under the Rudd Government ’s proposed workplace laws.

The Australian Mines and Metals Association asked for changes to the Government ’s Fair Work Bill in its submission to a Senate inquiry It says Labor has gone too far in giving extra powers to unions.

The submission, to be delivered today, also urges changes to what the AMMA says is the wholesale expansion of unions ’ right of entry to workplaces, their ability to hold up projects worth billions of dollars and for compulsory inclusion in enterprise deals.

The mining employers ’ group says preventing companies from using replacement labour during strikes, which are protected by the legislation during award negotiations leaves them at the mercy of unions.

Under the proposed laws, which face a difficult passage through the Senate, the only option for employers would be to lock out workers once they took industrial action but, according to AMMA, it could not be done pre-emptively Government workplace department officials told a Senate committee last year that using strike-breakers would be "capricious or unfair conduct" and banned under the laws.

"Employers are now prevented from taking pre-emptive action against employees and unions, yet employees and unions will control the time at which action is taken to inflict maximum harm on the employer," the AMMA submission says.

It calls for the Bill to exclude strikebreakers specifically from its definition of capricious or unfair conduct.

The AMMA says proposed union entry to inspect employees ’ records after suspected award breaches even if union members were not involved went beyond the pre-Work Choices era by failing to set adequate limits.

"Union access will not be limited only to time and wages records," it says. "It includes records of any employee (including the CEO) which may be relevant to the breach." The Government has said such access would be restricted to employees doing similar work and union officials would be fined for misusing the information.

On greenfields agreements for new worksites, AMMA says WA ’s proposed multi-billion dollar LNG developments would be among 262 minerals and energy projects potentially put in jeopardy.

Mining and construction companies object to a requirement to notify all relevant unions about enterprise bargaining for new worksites.

The AMMA says one union could bring a new billion dollar project to a halt by refusing to sign off on an agreement. The association wants the existing system under which more than one union can reached a deal.

The Government has dismissed such concerns, saying employers could get approval for a greenfields agreement from only one union.

Other amendments the AMMA wants include removing a rule for unions to be the default bargainers and keeping flexible working hours.

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Union ratifies state pay plan

HELENA, Mont. (AP) The state employee labor unions say their members have ratified a proposed pay plan negotiated with the governor's office.

The plan calls for a general pay freeze for state workers.

The state will, however, increase its payment toward the cost of health insurance. And full-time employees paid under $45,000 a year would get a one-time bonus of $450. Those earning more would not receive the payment.

The agreement covers the next two years, and covers employees in the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the Montana Public Employees Association, and the MEA-MFT unions.

The proposal now must be approved by the Legislature.

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Fair Work is a farce that panders to unions

The Prime Minister and the Opposition must step in to prevent Julia Gillard from threatening jobs at a time when the economy is almost certainly moving into recession, maintains Des Moore

HE ACTU ’s submission to the Senate inquiry into the Fair Work Bill reportedly demands wide-ranging changes, including a return to pattern bargaining.

Those changes would further increase the power of the union movement in legislation that already enhances its role, even though unions represent only about 15 per cent of the private sector workforce.

At the same time, reinforced by emerging large union wage claims and a growing realisation that the legislation is already far from balancing the interests of employers and employees, employer groups are making submissions arguing in effect that there is no justification for giving unions relatively favourable treatment The test for Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard, who hopes to present herself as the Dame of Fair Work, is whether she will continue to repeat previous assertions that the Government has struck the right balance between two opposing groups. And will our conservative Prime Minister emerge from the shadows and involve himself in a matter in which he has so far given Labor ’s Left relatively free rein, but which has significant implications for the national interest and the future of his Government? The Opposition will also have to decide whether it is prepared to abandon the pusillanimous attitude it has taken so far and at least oppose provisions in the legislation that will threaten employment levels at a time when the economy is almost certainly moving into recession. It also has an opportunity to challenge the nonsensical claim that the legislation bases itself on "the enduring principle of fairness" and meets "the needs of the modern age" when, in reality, it is a big step back in time to cope with circumstances that no longer exist.

The enhanced role given the union movement in the draft legislation would already involve a substantial increase in power with regard to such issues as unfair dismissals, entry into workplaces, the right to force employers to bargain on certain mailers, and even a return to compulsory arbitration in certain circumstances. But additions are apparently sought to the outrageous provisions already in the draft allowing unions to enter private workplaces and examine union as well as non-union pay records.

Similarly, the provisions allowing unions to bargain with more than one employer where low-paid (not defined) workers are involved, and for compulsory collective bargaining, are claimed to be inadequate even though they imply a return to union-employer battles of yore.

So far, very liille attention has been given to the return of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in the guise of Fair Work Australia. But a change of appearance is unlikely to affect its one-sided approach.

FWA constitutes a significant change that threatens to take Australia back to the day when decisions on employer-employee relations paid little heed to the economic situation facing employers.

If passed as now drafted, the legislation would act as a deterrent to employment and undermine job security, just as the then highly regulated labour market did in the early 199Us, when unemployment jumped to about 11 per cent. Nor would the legislation, as claimed by Gillard but without any analytical back-up, likely stimulate any substantive increase in productivity.

To date, the Coalition has adopted the ridiculous position that the Government has a mandate for every measure proposed before the election.

But as the Coalition opposed the Government ’s workplace relations policies in the election, it should surely not limit itself to opposing measures added since. The Government should be pressed to hold an independent public inquiry into the basis for regulating employer-employee relations in a modern economy.

The basic rationale behind the extensive proposed regulation is that a serious imbalance in bargaining power exists between employers and workers. However, in modern-day economies employers operate in a competitive environment; employees normally have alternative job options; and protection is already provided to employees under the common law and in ordinary contracts and criminal legislation.

Australia has more than 800,000 businesses competing with each other and bargaining with a workforce of more than 10 million employees.

Moreover, 90 per cent of those businesses have workforces that have judged it unnecessary to seek protection through union membership.

No valid argument can be mounted that today ’s employers as a group would force wages down or impose unfair conditions. When working conditions are unacceptable to either party, each side has alternatives, albeit not necessarily their first best option.

Employees have the capacity to readily quit jobs and more than two-thirds of the nearly two million employees who left their jobs in 2005-06 did so voluntarily. Suggestions of potential extensive exploitation overlook that businesses need competent staff.

Nor is there any basis for giving unions the proposed relatively favourable treatment. During the period of reduced regulation and union activity in recent years, average hours of work and industrial disputation fell while real wages increased, which scarcely suggests employees ’ bargaining power was weakened in the less regulated labour market.

Although a small minority of work
ers employed under Australian Workplace Agreements did experience reduced working conditions, those conditions reflected awards by the AIRC. But that body created more than 4000 awards that now require modernisation. The AIRC was a poor judge of the economic and employment basis for awards and the reduced conditions under AWAs may well have been fully justified. The Government ’s proposed continued resort to awards is thus archaic in Australia ’s economy of frequently changing conditions, market forces rather than regulators should determine wages and conditions.

The attempt to assist workers through protective workplace relations legislation also reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the respective roles of employment and social welfare policies. By contrast with circumstances faced by disadvantaged workers in earlier times, Australia ’s now extensive social security system provides a protective bulwark for those at the bottom end of the social spectrum.

Accordingly, with more than half of low-wage earners in the top half of household incomes, it is absurd for the Government to (in effect) prescribe minimum (and other) wages as a protective mechanism. These unfairly limit the job opportunities for about one million unemployed and underutilised workers with lower skills. In short, Gillard ’s thesis that the legislation would ensure fairness is fundamentally flawed.

Australia ’s existing economic and social framework, along with ordinary law, already provides protection for workers and the proposed legislation is both unnecessary and counterproductive. It is in the Government ’s own interests to rethink the whole exercise by instituting an independent inquiry into the need for regulatory legislation that can only add to unemployment levels.

Des Moore, a former deputy secretary of the Treasury, is director of the Melbourne-based Institute for Private Enterprise.

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