Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Labour day news

A lot of the problems people face in the USA are being faced elsewhere...

Iranian workers demonstrate...LINK
Problem: temporary contracts that allow employers to fire them at will.

China worker problems: LINK
Around 1.7 million migrant workers in the region who took annual leave in January during the Chinese New Year holiday didn't return afterward, preferring to look for jobs closer to home or in other coastal cities says Liu Kaiming, who runs a labor-rights group in Shenzhen.

In an effort to retain workers at her small shoe factory, Maria Ma raised salaries last year by 10 percent and added more vacation time, but she still worries about losing out to rivals elsewhere in China offering better wages.

She's not alone. A survey of members by the Asia Footwear Association in Hong Kong found earlier this year that many Chinese shoemakers were understaffed, some by as much as 60 percent. Newly built plants in Dongguan are idle for lack of workers, says Percy Lan, an entrepreneur who publishes a footwear industry magazine. He says the industry employs around 1 million laborers in Dongguan, but needs 100,000 mor
e.

Philippine labour marches:

The rallyists said that in Metro Manila where the workers reputedly receive the highest wage rates, the minimum wage is R325 a day, way below the P600 daily income needed for a decent living for a family of three.

The labor groups lamented that President did not endorse the bill pending in the House of Representatives providing for a R125 daily wage legislated across-the board increase for all workers.

"The President’s endorsement of this bill could have been her greatest gift on Labor Day to the workers who are reeling from the impact of the exorbitant prices of basic commodities not only because of high oil prices but also because of the imposition of 12 percent expanded value added tax (EVAT) and other revenue measures," ILOP president Florante G. Reyes said.

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