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/

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/

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/

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/

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

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

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/