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(IERN-L) A Miscellany of International Employment Relations News Miscellany 12, 2013 ________________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________ Contents Main Stories

Australia: ACTU fears David Cameron's 'big society' idea will be imported to Australia Germany: German Amazon workers strike in long-running dispute over pay UK: Unionised enterprises less likely to be hit by the recession UK: Amazon workers at risk of mental illness

In Brief
Australia: Craig Thomson to face more charges China: Thousands of workers continue protest at Nokia factory in Dongguan France: EasyJet profits triggers pilots strike in France

Nigeria: TUC urges FG to End ASUU Strike; Advocates Pay Rise for Workers Russia: Justice for Imprisoned Aeroflot Pilots

What the Unions Say

International: WFTU and ICATU Europe: Europe Must Be Rebuilt For ''Citizens and Workers" Says TUC's Frances O'Grady Korea: FKTU organizes 2013 National Workers' Rally South Africa: COSATU statement on the 16 Days of Activism against violence against women and children USA: Boston Wobs & Allies Hold Two Rallies to Protest Brutality by Cambridge Police Zimbabwe: ITUC-Africa condemns polices attack on striking Hwange Colliery mine workers wives

Publications Journals, Conferences, Seminars, Symposia Other Sites ________________________________________________________________ Main Stories Australia: ACTU fears David Cameron's 'big society' idea will be imported to Australia
ER/Australia/Public Sector/Downsizing The Age, 26 November 2013 at http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/politicalnews/actu-fears-david-camerons-big-society-idea-will-be-imported-to-australia-201311262y6jz.html Prime Minister Tony Abbott is preparing to mimic the British Conservative Party's ''Big Society'' model of outsourcing public services to the private and not-for-profit sector, the ACTU has predicted.
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The union body's executive will meet in Melbourne on Tuesday, in its first gathering since the election of the Abbott government, to finalise its response to Treasurer Joe Hockey's Commission of Audit. The audit, chaired by Business Council of Australia president Tony Shepherd, will consider issues such as dropping some federal government activities and the further privatisation of Commonwealth assets. Advertisement ''The government is intent on following the failed British 'Big Society' concept that caused a massive rise in unemployment, privatisation, outsourcing and drastically pareddown public services,'' ACTU president Ged Kearney said. British Prime Minister David Cameron used his ''big society'' concept to encourage businesses and charities to play a part in welfare provision; critics believed it was aimed at hiding huge cuts to public services. The ACTU argues the process of establishing the government's audit commission has been ''deliberately secretive'', because there will not be a chance to comment on a first phase of the report in January before it is finalised in March, ahead of the budget. Mr Hockey in October told the ABC the first report out of the audit process would only be released ''within the budget context''. A spokeswoman on Monday confirmed this meant it would not be made public. The commissioners who will oversee the Australian audit along with Mr Shephered are NSW pricing regulator Peter Boxall, ex-treasury secretary Tony Cole, former Western Australian agent-general Robert Fisher, and Howard government minister Amanda Vanstone. The ACTU will argue the commissioners are not broadly representative of Australian society, and more likely to act in the interests of the business community. Ms Kearney said the commission was ''out to cut jobs, cut services and hand it all over to their big business mates. We've already seen it in Queensland''. After winning office Queensland Premier Campbell Newman held a similar review of government services, chaired by former treasurer Peter Costello, in 2012. It resulted in more than 10,000 public servants taking redundancy packages. The union body will attack the commission's terms of reference, which imply the Commonwealth is not living within its means; arguing that Australia's net public debt is far smaller than most western economies.
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The ACTU will also argue that there is scant evidence privatised or outsourced government services are more efficiently or cost-effectively delivered than public sector operation.

______________________________________________________________ Germany: German Amazon workers strike in long-running dispute over pay
IR/Germany/ MNC/ Industrial Action The Guardian, 26 November 2013 at http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/25/german-amazon-employees-strike-pay German Amazon employees went on strike on Monday in a long-running pay dispute with the internet retailer. Employees of two Amazon distribution centres in Leipzig and Bad Hersfeld stopped work in the latest in a series of strikes co-ordinated by the Verdi union. Workers are demanding a collective wage agreement to meet pay standards in the German retail sector. "We can't rule out further strikes over the next weeks," Verdi spokeswoman Christiane Scheller told the Guardian. The union is talking to employees at eight further centres across the country, where the higher number of workers on temporary contracts meant fewer were prepared to go on strike, she said. "We are informing the other employees about what their colleagues in Leipzig and Bad Hersfeld are doing and why," said Scheller. "The conditions are very similar at the other centres and I imagine things will continue to develop there too." "Whether it comes to further strikes during the upcoming Christmas period lies entirely in Amazon's hands," said Verdi union secretary Mechthild Middecke in a statement. "The second Amazon agrees to negotiations, we'll sit down at the table." "A lot is demanded of the employees [at Christmas], including overtime and weekend work. That's where it becomes even more apparent when the relationship between work done and pay is not right," she added. Since the launch of the sporadic industrial action this summer, the union has celebrated only one small victory over Amazon, when the company agreed to pay one-off Christmas bonuses to long-term staff of up to 500 each.

Yet Amazon has confirmed it will soon be opening three new distribution centres in Poland, leaving German employees nervous that their jobs will go to Polish workers across the border if industrial action continues to disrupt business. Verdi says the company, which was unavailable for comment on Monday, is unwilling to enter wage talks aimed at hammering out a deal. Head of Amazon Germany Ralf Kleber told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper he would not be seeking to negotiate. "Why should we start wage negotiations?" said Kleber. "Amazon already pays [workers] above average for the logistics sector and we are in a direct dialogue with our workers we don't need Verdi for that." The union said it will not let up pressure on the global internet giant, with the vital Christmas trade period looming. "We're prepared to continue this wage fight over a long period," said Bernhard Schiederig of Verdi's Hesse branch. "[Amazon] cannot expect any peace until we've set up a wage agreement." ___________________________________________________________________________

UK: Unionised enterprises less likely to be hit by the recession

IR/UK/Unionism/WERS TUC, 25 November 2013 at http://www.tuc.org.uk/union-issues/unionised-enterprises-lesslikely-be-hit-recession Employees in workplaces which recognise unions were significantly less likely to have been adversely effected by the recession, says an authoritative new survey published today The Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) conducted for government by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research also found that one in five companies not adversely affected by the recession still froze or cut pay. Its findings also noted that redundancies and pay freezes in the public sector have led to perceptions of job security plummeting, along with trust in managers. But the good news for unions is that WERS finds that they are generally holding their own across the economy, with the percentage of union members and the extent of their coverage virtually unchanged since 2004. WERS also states that unions have improved their membership in larger firms, increasing from 44 per cent (2004) to 50 per cent of employees, which is significant as larger firms account for more than half of all employees in the private sector.
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TUC General Secretary Frances OGrady said: This survey reveals the degree to which opportunistic employers used the recession as an excuse to hold back pay. This kind of behaviour deepened the recession and pushed working people into poverty unnecessarily. A swift return to real pay growth is now urgently needed if the emerging signs of growth are to be shared by everyone. Its reassuring to learn that unions have held their own and were able to help working people get through the worst economic storm in living memory. The challenge in the months ahead will be to take unions into new workplaces and parts of the economy where union membership is rare. We need to make life fairer at work and ensure that top earners do not leave ordinary families behind. We can only do that if we have a strong and vibrant union movement which gives a voice to the interests of working people. ___________________________________________________________________________

UK: Amazon workers at risk of mental illness

ER/UK/Online Retailing/Taylorism/OH&S 9 News World, 26 November 2013 at http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2013/11/26/11/34/amazon-workers-at-risk-of-mentalillness Shoppers all over the world have taken advantage of the bargains offered online but the cheap good comes may at a hefty social cost with a BBC investigation revealing that workers at Amazon's UK warehouses are under levels of stress that could cause "mental and physical illness". Secret video recordings made by investigative journalism program Panorama show that warehouse employees were expected to cover almost 18km each shift and retrieve a parcel every 33 seconds, the BBC reports. The revelations come as the online book and DVD retailer enters its busiest period of the year, with an additional 15,000 staff hired to help over Christmas. Panorama reporter Adam Littler, who worked undercover as a 'picker' at Amazon's Swansea warehouse, said he and other staffers were effectively "machines".

Mr Littler said he carried around a handset that told him which items to put on his trolley, only allowing him a certain amount of time to make each collection and beeping when he took too long. The data collected was sent to employees' managers, who could subject workers to disciplinary action for poor performance. "We are robots, we plug our scanner in, we're holding it, but we might as well be plugging it into ourselves", Mr Littler said. "We don't think for ourselves, maybe they don't trust us to think for ourselves as human beings, I don't know." Footage shot at the warehouse was shown to Professor Michael Marmont, an expert on workplace stress, who was critical of the conditions at the Amazon facility. "The characteristics of this type of job, the evidence shows increased risk of mental illness and physical illness," he said. "There are always going to be menial jobs, but we can make them better or worse. And it seems to me the demands of efficiency at the cost of individual's health and wellbeing - it's got to be balanced." Amazon said that safety inspectors had not raised concerns about the conditions at their warehouse adding that the "picker" role is "similar to jobs in many other industries and does not increase the risk of mental and physical illness". Source: BBC

________________________________________________________________ In Brief Australia: Craig Thomson to face more charges

IR/Australia/ Trade Unions/Corruption The Australian, 26 November 2013 at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/craigthomson-to-face-more-charges/story-e6frg6nf-1226768560028

FORMER federal MP Craig Thomson will face more than 50 additional charges relating to his alleged misuse of union credit cards. Mr Thomson, 49, is accused of misusing credit cards while he was national secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU) and a Labor MP. He
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now faces more than 220 charges. Previously Mr Thomson faced 11 counts of theft, 31 counts of obtaining property by deception and 131 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception. There are no new allegations of criminality against the former MP, who is accused of misusing the HSU credit cards 49 times over a five-year period, spending a total of $28,000. __________________________________________________________________________

China: Thousands of workers continue protest at Nokia factory in Dongguan

IR/China/MNCs China Labour Bulletin, 22 November 2013 at http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/thousandsworkers-continue-protest-nokia-factory-dongguan Nearly 3,000 workers at the Nokia factory in Dongguan, southern Guangdong, have initiated a series of rolling strikes and sit-ins in protest at a strict management regime that has already forced more than a hundred workers to leave the company. When Nokia agreed to offload its global mobile phone business to Microsoft in September, the management in Dongguan unilaterally changed the Workers Handbook which outlines workplace regulations and stipulates the punishments incurred in case of violations. Many workers believed this was a move by the company to force them to resign and thereby avoid paying out compensation. ___________________________________________________________________________

France: EasyJet profits triggers pilots strike in France

IR/France/Aviation/Low Cost Airlines The Telegraph, 26 November 2013 at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10470350/EasyJet-profitstriggers-pilots-strike-in-France.html

The French pilots' union SNPL has called a one-day strike against easyJet for Monday, accusing the British budget airline of not adequately sharing with employees record profits it announced earlier in the week. EasyJet said it did not plan to cancel flights, but warned of possible delays. Ninety percent of easyJet pilots in France belong to SNPL and easyJet operates out of 16 French airports.
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EasyJet, Europe's second-largest low-cost carrier after Ryanair Holdings, announced on Tuesday that pretax profit rose 51pc in the financial year ended September. It said it would pay a 175m special dividend to shareholders. Shares of easyJet have doubled over the last year. In a statement issued the same day, SNPL said its pilots would receive "no profit-sharing agreement, no company share plan, no improved working conditions", and warned of protest walkouts in coming months ___________________________________________________________________________ Nigeria: TUC urges FG to End ASUU Strike; Advocates Pay Rise for Workers IR/Nigeria/TUCN/Academics/Strike OsunDefender, 26 November 2013 at http://www.osundefender.org/?p=133360

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) reiterated their call for the Federal Government to apply measures that would immediately end the five-month old strike embarked upon by the university lecturers. The strike has been too costly for Nigeria, especially the death of Comrade Festus Iyayi, less than two weeks ago as he journeyed to Kano for ASUUs National Executive Council meeting that was meant to resolve the on-going crisis. The labour leaders in a statement signed by its President, Mr Bobboi Kaigama and the Secretary General, Mr Musa Lawal on Monday has requested the Federal Government to revisit the issue of pay rise for its workers. Investigations have revealed that Nigerian workers are among the least paid in the subSaharan Africa, and this ought not to be so, the statement said. The statement noted that there was also the need to readdress the failure of the Federal Government and some state governments in the payment of salaries to civil servants as and when due. The congress also urged the president to promptly present the 2014 budget to the National Assembly. ___________________________________________________________________________

Russia: Justice for Imprisoned Aeroflot Pilots

IR/Russia/Aviation/Victimization ITUC, 22 November 2013 at http://www.ituc-csi.org/?lang=en

A Russian court recently ordered Aeroflot to pay more than 1bn Roubles as compensation for overtime and night-work already done by pilots. According to their union, two of the three pilots were misled into opening an Aeroflot safety deposit box at an airport bank, where they were told by the company to collect documents concerning another case. On opening the box, the pilots saw a sum of money in it and phoned the airline to inform the management of what they had found. They were told the money was compensation for a previously dismissed pilot, but nevertheless left the money in the box and closed it. The bank then informed the pilots that the rent on the box was ending that day and that they should empty it. On doing so, the two pilots were immediately arrested by police who were waiting outside the bank and the third was arrested subsequently. The three pilots are now in prison charged with seeking bribes. Both ITUC Russian affiliates FNPR and KTR have expressed their support for the pilots. The behaviour of Aeroflot management in this case is very suspicious, and we are asking Mr Putin to look into it, to guarantee the rights of the pilots under the Russian Constitution and to confront Aeroflot on its long record of anti-union activity. These pilots appear to be the victim of a set-up, and they should be released from prison immediately and a full and open investigation carried out, said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow. On 14 November, more than 100 members of the union demonstrated in Moscow in support of the pilots. __________________________________________________________________________

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What the Unions Say Europe: Europe Must Be Rebuilt For ''Citizens and Workers" Says TUC's Frances O'Grady
ICTU, 26 November 2013 at http://www.ictu.ie/press/2013/10/26/europe-must-be-rebuiltfor-citizens-and-workers-says-tucs-frances-ogrady/ Revitalising Social Europe Friends, colleagues, distinguished guests . . . comrades. Good afternoon. Its great to be here in Dublin.
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Doubly so in a year when the city and indeed the whole of Ireland has been commemorating the centenary of the lock-out. A seminal moment not just in Irish history, but in the industrial and social history of the twentieth century. When ordinary people refused to bend the knee to a reactionary establishment, joining together to fight for elemental human rights. The right to organise. The right to a fair wage.The right to basic standards of decency at work and in society. Fast forward a century, and I believe we are at another such crossroads. Right across Europe from Dublin to Athens, Madrid to Paris working people are increasingly questioning the legitimacy of a European political elite that seems out of touch with reality, semi-detached from the lives of ordinary Europeans, in hock to the interests of global finance. A year ago, Eurobarometer which measures public attitudes across the continent found that for the first time ever more European citizens considered the EU to be undemocratic than democratic.A deeply worrying development. And I would contend a product not just of Europes obvious democratic deficit; but also of the way in which EU-sponsored austerity, privatisation and liberalisation programmes have been foisted onto member states. In Britain, our complex relationship with Europe is entering a new and dangerous phase. Earlier this year, David Cameron promised an in-out referendum on our membership of the EU if he is re-elected in 2015. A stance that frankly owes more to party management, a desire to repatriate social and employment rights, and alarm at the threat posed by the UK Independence Party than it does to the national interest. But indicative nonetheless of a rising tide of anti-EU sentiment on the other side of the Irish Sea. Whichever way you look at it, the reality we face is this. The European project as we know it a dynamic single market counterbalanced by good public services and generous workplace rights is fraying around the edges. The bargain that has held our continent together since the 1950s is in grave danger of unwinding. At stake: one of Europes crowning achievements, its distinct and popular social model.
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And the argument I want to put to you today is this. Europe cannot afford to turn its back on social democracy. We need a Europe run not for the bankers and bond market vigilantes, but for its citizens and workers. And that demands bold, radical, imaginative thinking. Not more navel gazing about EU structures, but a fundamental change of mindset. We need to rethink and re-imagine the European social and economic model for a new age. Those of us on the left cannot afford to retreat into an ideological comfort zone. Rather than nostalgia for the past, we need to look forward. Defining the contours of a post-crash settlement for Europe: greener, stronger, fairer. A new model that is attuned to the central challenges facing us: climate change; energy scarcity; rising inequality; social and demographic change; an industrial landscape that is being reshaped at huge speed. And built with the democratic consent of ordinary citizens. Before I describe the political and economic journey we need to take, I want to put the debate about social Europe in its proper context. And I want to begin by highlighting the scale of the problems now staring us in the face. Quite simply, Europe is facing its gravest crisis since World War Two. Its now five years since Lehman Brothers collapsed, and were still grappling with the fall out. The crash, the recession, the eurozone crisis, the sense that economic power is shifting inexorably from west to east all have rattled the European body politic to the core. And our ageing societies, the challenges of mass migration and rise of political extremism notably on the right have further accentuated our collective feeling of profound insecurity.The narrative we increasingly hear about Europe is one of soup kitchens, young couples moving back in with their parents, the poor going without medicine, horrific murders committed by fascist thugs. Be in no doubt: a huge social crisis is engulfing Europe. Two weeks ago, the Red Cross published a major report underling the scale of the poverty, inequality, social exclusion and mass unemployment afflicting many EU countries. The headline statistics spoke for themselves.

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A 75 per cent increase in the number of Europeans using food banks since 2009. The suicide rate among Greek women more than doubling.And even in Germany, more than five million people losing their middle-class status. Equally disturbing are the facts about Europes jobs crisis. Across the continent, the jobless rate is 12 per cent. More than 26 million people are now without work. Some 11 million have been unemployed for more than a year. And nearly 6 million under-25s are without a job. In Spain, well over half of all young people are unemployed. An unthinkable situation in a modern industrial democracy. Friends, what we are up against is a ticking time bomb. A social disaster that will explode for years to come. Indeed, as the Red Cross report suggested, the really frightening thing is it could get worse. Allow me to quote: The long-term consequences of this crisis have yet to surface. The problems could be felt for decades . . . the economic crisis is creating the conditions for a widespread social crisis. The Red Cross also talks of: a growing gap in the distribution of resources the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer and how the competition for shrinking resources could bring about growing xenophobia, discrimination and social exclusion, as well as abuse and domestic problems. Clearly, this is not a European future any of us want to see. As a continent with so many strengths good healthcare and education; a skilled workforce; some of the best companies in the world; a tradition of social solidarity we can do better than this. But heres the rub. The EUs response to the economic and social crisis has been completely wrong-headed. Instead of addressing the root causes of our economic malaise, rather than getting to grips with worsening social conditions, Europes policy elite is simply making matters worse. Their response to the crash based on the fallacy that decent social protections are a luxury we can no longer afford has been straight out of the 1980s free-market textbook.

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More labour market deregulation. Structural reforms that erode workers terms and conditions. Liberalisation of markets. Privatisation of services. And for southern Europe, near permanent austerity. Workers forced to swallow pay and pensions cuts to make their economies more competitive within the straightjacket of monetary union. All this as hundreds of billions of euros are lavished on bailout funds for the banks. Its as if theres one rule for us and no rules for them. The harsh medicine administered by the so-called Troika the Commission, the ECB and IMF is slowly killing the patient. Stable bond yields and debt sustainability are important, for sure.But trying telling that to the unemployed youngster in Madrid, the zero hours worker in London or the middle-class professional in Athens now living on the streets. The worst of the eurozone turbulence may have passed, but growth is anaemic, demand has collapsed, and living standards are in freefall. And not surprisingly, ordinary Europeans are getting pretty fed up. Not just with the Troikas economic masochism. Not just with faceless technocrats administering structural reform without the consent of national electorates. But with the idea of Europe itself. As I suggested at the beginning, the EU increasingly faces a crisis of legitimacy. Those in the corridors of power especially in Brussels need to understand this. If the EU is about little more than protecting the single currency at all costs, privatising services and keeping a tight lid on public spending, then popular support for European integration and the European ideal will diminish as surely as night follows day. From the trade union movements perspective, Europe needs to rediscover the values that served it so well not just during the long post-war boom, but also through challenges posed by the Oil Crisis and the economic counter-revolution of the 1980s. Now is not the time to reject European social democracy, but to reinvent it for a new age. For us on the centre left, decent working conditions, decent services and decent welfare arent part of the problem, but part of the solution.

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Of course we recognise that the world has changed. We know about the rise of China, India, Brazil and other emerging economic superpowers. We understand the rising health, pension and social care costs of our ageing population. And we know the EU cannot duck reform. But if Europe is to prosper in the decades ahead, we surely need to play to our strengths rather than seek to emulate American-style capitalism. I see three central priorities for us. First, we need to rediscover our collective confidence in social democracy. Self-evidently, this is a huge challenge for the European left. The advance of US-style neoliberalism, the spread of non-productive financial capitalism, downward pressure on workers wages all have taken their toll since the turn of the millennium. Indeed social democracy hasnt exactly been an electorally attractive proposition of late. In Germany, the SPD scored just 26 per cent in the recent election, a consequence perhaps of the structural reforms that took place during the 2000s. In Norway, the right was triumphant two months ago, despite the vast reserves built up in the countrys sovereign wealth fund. And in Spain and Greece as in Britain conservatives now hold power. Despite the financial crash, the left seems to have lost its self confidence: to intervene in global markets, to defend welfare systems, to stand up to overweening corporate power.But there are glimmers of hope. In France, a socialist President was elected last year on an explicitly anti-austerity platform.And in Britain, where we are now less than 18 months away from the most important election in a generation, the Labour Party is beginning to change the terms of the political debate. Ed Miliband has certainly made a number of brave and correct calls. To put responsible capitalism on the agenda. To make the case for predistribution, or in plain English, decent wages and a fair labour market. And in his recent conference speech, to promise a 20-month freeze on energy bills if he is elected. Not just popular with the voters, but a signal that Labour will intervene in failing markets and challenge the primacy of big corporations. A huge political step forward from the neoliberalism-lite of the New Labour years.
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So to what must be our second priority. Thats to level the playing field for all European workers. Ensuring that there is no undercutting, that people are paid the rate for the job in the country in which they work, and that we keep rules up to date to stop workers falling through legal loopholes. If you have a single market, then the logical corollary is you need a single set of labour rules. And these should be based not around the lowest common denominator as some on the right would have it but on decent standards applicable to all workers. To me, thats just plain common sense. It would stop good employers being undercut by bad ones. Prevent a race to the bottom and boost wages for low and middle earners. And mean workers having more money to buy goods and services from European firms. Self-evidently, theres a huge role for trade unions here. And that underlines the need for policy change to promote collective bargaining, worker representation on company remuneration committees and boards, and modern wages councils. Its also vital that social protections once again inform policymaking at the highest levels. Thats why EU Treaties need to include a social protocol to guarantee respect for welfare and labour rights. Our third priority must be to change the collective European mindset on how we get ourselves out of the current mess. With even the IMF warning against further austerity, we need to think about more durable solutions for the long term. The EUs priorities must be the priorities of ordinary Europeans: growth, jobs and living standards. Now Germany is often accused of imposing austerity on other nations, but its my trade union colleagues in the German DGB who have led the way in calling for a Peoples Plan for Europe.A 21st century Marshall Plan to renew the continents infrastructure, decarbonise our economies and get people back to work. Its a great idea breaking the vicious circle of economic decline, shrinking demand and falling living standards. Unions believe such a plan could deliver huge improvements in critical areas. Energy transformation and sustainable water management. Transport schemes, such as the Trans-European Transport Network.
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Education and training. Expansion of broadband. Economic regeneration, from support for SMEs to low interest loans to microcredit programmes. And investment in public services such as health, welfare, eldercare, childcare and social housing. To those who say this is political daydreaming, fantasy economics that will saddle Europe with yet more debt, I simply say this. There are plenty of ways in which funds can be found without creating difficulties for countries balance sheets. Theres certainly a strong case for Eurobonds and we in the trade union movement have long championed the case for an international financial transactions tax on the trillions of euros traded daily in the equity and derivatives markets. One things for sure.

If we can keep pouring vast fortunes into the black hole that is the continents banking system, then we can surely find a fraction of that to finance the stimulus much of Europe is crying out for. Friends, renewed confidence in social democracy; a level playing field for all European workers; a Peoples Plan for jobs and growth. This is the positive, progressive agenda European trade unions want to see. Getting our economy back on track, tackling mass unemployment, restoring the spending power of ordinary citizens. In the long run, thats not just the best way to deal with our debts and fund our unique social model. Its also the best way of rebuilding democratic support for the European ideal. Im an optimist, and I believe we can revitalise social Europe. As I said at the beginning, Europe has historically balanced the interests of free trade, open markets and companies with those of citizens, workers and trade unions. Thats the vision with which Jacque Delors famously seduced the TUC when he addressed our Congress a quarter of a century ago. Its a deal that has served our continent well, through good times and bad. And its a bargain we urgently need to reactivate now, to help us meet the complex challenges of the 21st century. Ill finish by saying this. Europe has been tested before. After the destruction of the Second World War.

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After the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. And after enlargement to the East almost a decade ago. But each time our continent succeeded in rising to these challenges because we had the courage to take the high road. Because collectively we refused to walk away from the social solidarity that has brought the diverse peoples of Europe together. Today, in the midst of crisis, we must remain true to those same values that core belief in a social Europe as well as an economic Europe. Theyve served us well in the past and they can serve us well in the future too. Thank you. INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL & EUROPEAN AFFAIRS, DUBLIN 25 OCTOBER 2013 __________________________________________________________________________

International: WFTU and ICATU

WFTU, 25 November 2013 at http://www.wftucentral.org/?language=en A high-level meeting between the leadership of the WFTU and the leadership of ICATU was held on November 24th, 2013 in the Athens, Greece which concluded to the birth of a new stable and strong alliance between the two Organizations for the strengthening of the Arab and international trade union movement. ___________________________________________________________________________

Korea: FKTU organizes 2013 National Workers' Rally

FKTU, accessed 26 November 2013 at http://www.efktu.or.kr/~fktueng/ The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) organized a 2013 National Workers' Rally under the slogan of "Secure Fundamental Workers' Rights! Stop retrogressive Labour Law Revision! Eliminate Discrimination against Precarious Workers!" in front of the City Hall, downtown Seoul on 16 Nov 2013. MOON Jin-kook, President of the FKTU, raised concerns in his opening speech, that the livelihood of workers and ordinary people is still in jeopardy despite President PARK Geunhye's election pledges on welfare and economic democratization, urging the government to fully implement its pledges.
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He went on to say, "The FKTU agreed on the tripartite consensus on the achievement of 70% employment rate by promoting decent jobs on 30 May this year. However, the government is merely attempting to increase non-regular part-time jobs by splitting full-time jobs without trying to expand decent regular jobs which continued to decrease due to restructuring, long-working hours and layoffs. This kind of government policy is never acceptable." He also stressed, "The current Trade Unions and Labour Relations Adjustment Act (TULRAA) continues to drive industrial relations into conflicts and confrontations and withdraw trade union activities. The law should be amended without delay." With regard to the current tasks of trade union movement, he highlighted the revision of the TULRAA and the promotion of fundamental workers' rights, the reduction of actual working hours, the restriction of abusive layoffs, the elimination of discrimination against precarious workers and the raise of minimum wage. The FKTU announced that it would judge without fail those political parties and politicians who refuse the demands or show passive attitudes, urging the PARK administration to completely implement her election pledges. The rally in which 50,000 workers participated officially finished with an adoption of a resolution containing these demands. ___________________________________________________________________________

South Africa: COSATU statement on the 16 Days of Activism against violence against women and children
COSATU, 22 November 2013 at http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=8158 COSATU is appalled by the rising levels of violence and the increasingly heinous acts that are unleashed on women and girls in our society. This scourge has been concentrated in the working class communities; but we note how all classes are affected by gender-based violence, including celebrities. We call on all our members to participate in the activities that are planned to increase awareness and knowledge on this kind of violence and to actively address such events when they occur in their families, in their communities, in their workplaces and in all their spaces. COSATU urges its members and all caring individuals to not turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to incidents of violence against women and children, including:

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* Beatings and rapes of women, * Rape and murder of children, * Sexual molestation of children, * Pornography, * Incest, * Sexual harassment in the workplace, * Brutal killings of women by their intimate partners, * Victimization in the community and in the workplace, * Intimidation, rapes and brutal slayings of lesbian women. We call on the safety and security cluster to step up its interventions to deal with such crimes. South Africa is the leading country in gender-based violence (GBV) cases. This situation needs to be reversed and this kind of violence must be stamped out of our society. For this to happen, we need a concerted effort from faith-based organizations, NGOs, CBOs, political parties, women`s organizations, trade unions, business organizations and government institutions and agencies. All of us need to educate our members about the rights of women and children as well as how to deal with these incidents and how to ultimately eradicate them from our society. We pledge to continue educating our members on dealing with these incidents and to become activists for the eradication of GBV in our society. We pledge to continue educating our members about the rights of gay people and all those of a different sexual orientation (LGBTI) and we appeal to all sectors of our society do the same. Some of these problems are linked to the socio-economic conditions of people where the dogeat-dog ethos of capitalism foments violent behaviour. Patriarchy and capitalism are bed fellows and in a capitalist society; inequality and discrimination of certain groups and women are the order of the day. COSATU calls for a speedier transition to an egalitarian society where all individuals and groups will have rights and be respected and we can live in peace. Down with the oppression of women and children! Forward to a socialist and egalitarian society! Gertrude Mtsweni (National Gender Co-ordinator)
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_______________________________________________________________________

USA: Boston Wobs & Allies Hold Two Rallies to Protest Brutality by Cambridge Police
IWW, 25 November 2013 at http://www.iww.org/content/boston-wobs-allies-hold-tworallies-protest-brutality-cambridge-police

On the weekend of Nov. 16-17, the Boston IWW held two separate actions in Harvard Square to protest the Cambridge Polices Nov. 14th attack on our legal picket at Insomnia Cookies, where the union is conducting an organizing drive. Cambridge cops swarmed our picket, assaulted and then arrested a Wobbly supposedly for assaulting them! Our Fellow Worker was punched, thrown on a car trunk and then the ground, and pinned partially under a car before being dragged away. This was a totally unprovoked attack on a legal picket on a public sidewalk. IWW members and allies protested in Harvard Square on Friday Nov. 15, and returned on Saturday, Nov. 16, making the streets of Cambridge ring with our chants (Cambridge PD / Stop the brutality!), and letting community members know what local cops have been doing to suppress labor rights, civil liberties and free speech. __________________________________________________________________________

Zimbabwe: ITUC-Africa condemns polices attack on striking Hwange Colliery mine workers wives
IR/Zimbabwe/Miners/Police Brutality ITUC-Africa, accessed 26 November 2013 at http://www.ituc-africa.org/ITUC-Africacondemns-police-s,708.html We learnt with disbelief, the cynical manner in which the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) handled a peaceful demonstration by the wives of miners at Hwange Colliery Company who were demonstrating on behalf of their husbands who have not been paid their salaries for the past five months. ITUC-Africa is informed that the wives had walked for 20 km to the General Managers office demanding their husbands salaries but were met with the police who harassed and assaulted them leaving many injured in the process. Some had to be ferried to Hwange Colliery Hospital for treatment.
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We strongly condemn the use of force and violence on unarmed civilians and ask that the government brings the perpetrators to book. It is our considered opinion that the women should have been offered protection by the police in the cause of their non-violent action which was meant to draw the attention of their spouses employers to the economic and psychological difficulties and pains they and their children are subjected to as a result of the non-payment of their spouses salaries. ITUC-Africa implores the Ministry of Labor to support the Zimbabwean Trades Union Congress intervention on behalf of the miners who are facing unjust treatment by their employers through the non-payment of wages. Every worker deserves a fair wage and the right to protest and proceed to an industrial strike action where employers fail in their duty. ITUC-Africa represents 16 million workers in 48 African countries and has 94 national affiliates. The headquarters of ITUC-Africa is based in Lom, Togo. Kwasi Adu-Amankwah General Secretary

________________________________________________________________ Publications 2013

The Transformation of Employment Relations in Europe: Institutions and Outcomes in the Age of Globalization (2013) edited by James Arrowsmith and Valeria Pulignano, Routledge ___________________________________________________________________________ Comparative Employment Relations in the Global Economy (2013) edited by Carola Frege and John Kelly, Routledge __________________________________________________________________________ Trade Unions in Western Europe: Hard Times, Hard Choices (2013) by Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick and Richard Hyman, Oxford University Press. __________________________________________________________________________ Workforce Development and Skill Formation in Asia (2013) Edited by John Benson, Howard Gospel and Ying Zhu at http://www.routledge.com/catalogs/asianstudies/1/3/ ___________________________________________________________________________

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Older Workers In An Ageing Society: Critical Topics in Research and Policy, (2013) edited by Philip Taylor, 288 pp. Hardback 978 1 78254 009 0, Edward Elgar. ___________________________________________________________________________ Reflexive Labour Law In The World Society (2013) by Ralf Rogowski, 352 pp. Hardback 978 0 85793 658 5, Edward Elgar __________________________________________________________________________ Social Capital in Europe: A Comparative and Regional Analysis by Emanuele Ferragina Edward Elgar, 2012. ISBN 978-178100-021-2. ___________________________________________________________________________ Henrik Lindberg and Nils Karlson (2012) eds. Labour Markets at a Crossroads: Causes of Change, Challenges and Need to Reform at http://www.c-s-p.org/ . ___________________________________________________________________________ ILO (2013) World of Work Report 2013: Repairing the economic and social fabric at http://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/world-of-work/lang--en/index.htm ___________________________________________________________________________ International Labour Review Vol. 152 (S2) European labour markets in economic crisis at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/revue/ __________________________________________________________________________ International Labour Review Special Supplement The International Labour Review and the ILO: Milestones in a Shared History at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/revue/index.htm As the ILO is approaching its 100th anniversary, so is the International Labour Review. By way of introduction to this retrospective Special Supplement, which reproduces a number of articles written for the Review by winners of the Nobel Peace Prize or the Nobel Prize for economics, the author looks back at the journals history, recalling its early days since the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, its subsequent development, broadening international readership and adaptation to the digital age. _________________________________________________________________________

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Japanese Working Life Profile, January 2013, The Japan Institute for Policy and Training at http://www.jil.go.jp/english/jwl.htm ___________________________________________________________________________ Workplace Bullying and Harassment, 2013 The Japan Institute for Policy and Training Seminar on Workplace Bullying and Harassment JILPT REPORT No. 12 at http://www.jil.go.jp/english/reports/documents/jilpt-reports/no.12.pdf ___________________________________________________________________________ JIL (2013) Labor Situation in Japan and its Analysis at http://www.jil.go.jp/english/lsj.html __________________________________________________________________________ International Labour Review and the ILO: Milestones in a shared history, Special Supplement at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/revue/index.htm ___________________________________________________________________________ ILO: EuroZone job crisis: trends and policy responses at http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/--dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_184965.pdf __________________________________________________________________________ Singapore: SNEF Employment Practices of Foreign Employees, 2013 Details at http://www.sgemployers.com/public/publication/publication.jsp ___________________________________________________________________________

Journals, Conferences, Seminars, Symposia, Meetings

CRIMT 2014 International Conference - New Frontiers for Citizenship at Work - Call for Papers at https://lists.unisa.edu.au/mailman/private/iern-l/2013-November/000834.html ___________________________________________________________________________

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Call for abstracts: Gender Equality and CSR theme at CR3+ conference at https://lists.unisa.edu.au/mailman/private/iern-l/2013-October/000817.html __________________________________________________________________________ Call for papers - International workshop on Labour and transnational action in times of crisis: from case studies to theory at https://lists.unisa.edu.au/mailman/private/iern-l/2013October/000827.html ___________________________________________________________________________ Call for Proposals/Papers for the LERA 66th Annual Meeting, May 29-June 1, 2014, Portland, Oregon, USA at https://lists.unisa.edu.au/mailman/private/iern-l/2013October/000829.html
______________________________________________________________________________ E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies at http://adapt.it/EJCLS/index.php/ejcls_adapt __________________________________________________________________________________ Associazione per gli Studi Internazionali e Comparati sul Diritto del lavoro e sulle Relazioni industriali (ADAPT) Bulletin at http://www.adapt.it/englishbulletin/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32

___________________________________________________________________________ Economic & Labour Relations Review (ELRR) at www.asb.unsw.edu.au/elrr ___________________________________________________________________________ Indian Journal of Industrial Relations (IJIR) at http://www.srcirhr.com/ijir.php ___________________________________________________________________________ International Labour Review (ILR) at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/revue/m_scripts/index.htm Manuscripts to: the Managing Editor, International Labour Review, International Labour Office, 4, route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Email: revue@ilo.org __________________________________________________________________________ International: The E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies

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Find the current issue at http://www.adapt.it/currentissue ___________________________________________________________________________ Japanese Journal of Labour Studies 2013 at http://www.jil.go.jp/english/lsj.html ___________________________________________________________________________ Japan Labor Review at http://www.jil.go.jp/english/JLR.htm ___________________________________________________________________________ Korea: The Korean Journal of Industrial Relations (KJIR) Korean Industrial Relations Association at http://www.lera.uiuc.edu/news/Calls/2007/Korean%20Journal%20of%20Industrial%20Relati ons.htm ___________________________________________________________________________ Korea Labor Review (KLR) at http://www.koilaf.org/KFeng/engPublication/bbs_read_dis.php?board_no=144 __________________________________________________________________________ Labour and Industry at http://www.airaanz.org/labour--industry.html , Correspondence to: Editors, Labour & Industry, Department of Management, La Trobe University, Bundoora 3086, Australia, or e-mail: s.h.young@latrobe.edu.au ___________________________________________________________________________ Australia: Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ) Conference at http://www.airaanzconference2014.com ___________________________________________________________________________ Australia: CR3+ New Horizons Conference. Call for abstracts: Gender Equality and CSR, Melbourne, 26-28 March 2014. Theme Organisers: Kate Grosser, Rosaria Burchielli, La Trobe University mailto:R.Burchielli@latrobe.edu.au ___________________________________________________________________________
Canada: CIRA 2014 in conjunction with the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Theme Borders Without Boundaries.

2014_CIRA_ACRI_C all for Papers_Appel de communications.pdf

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___________________________________________________________________________ UK: International Labour Process Conference at http://www.ilpc.org.uk/NewsFeed/tabid/7008/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1147/ILPC2014-Call-for-Streams-Papers.aspx ___________________________________________________________________________

Other Sites
The International Institute for Labour Studies (IILS) at http://www.ilo.org/ ___________________________________________________________________________ International Labour and Employment Relations Association at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/iira/ ___________________________________________________________________________ UK: Working Lives Research Institute at Subscribe to the WLRI mailing list for regular news updates, WLRI electronic-newsletter, and WLRI press release mailing list

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