Stories about Labor from July, 2006
Zimbabwe: Morgan Tsvangirai speech
Eddie Cross on Zimpundit posts in its entirety the speech given by former union leader and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to a National Convention held by Churches in Zimbabwe Saturday to debate the crisis in the country, and the way forward.
South Africa: Trade union
Writes Farrel Lifson at politics.za, South Africa's largest trade union COSATU gets a lot of media exposure, but still has fewer than two million members.
China: reticence: would-be lesbians, corporate executives and urban journalists
Ever wonder why there was no male version of 2004's smash television phenomenon Super Girl? While a lesbian conspiracy might have made for better Communist Party PR positioning than news of yet another great initiative cut down by state censorship, super-adrogynous and super-popular Super Girl winner Li Yuchun‘s queer image...
Liberia: Firestone under fire
In honor of Liberian independence day, Black Looks highlights a campaign to persuade U.S. tyre maker Firestone to clean up its operations in Liberia, spearheaded by the Friends of the Earth.
Serbia: Macedonian Gastarbeiters
Dictionary of the Serbian Mess writes about Macedonian miners working at Serbian mines.
Sri Lanka: Trade Unions and Development
Land Like No Other discusses trade unions in Sri LankaS, and if the comparison with developed countries accurately presents the case of trade unions and development. “Privatization is not a devil as these labour unions trying to emphasize. All they worry is, that they can't misuse the properties of these...
Sri Lanka: The implications of leaving Lebanon
Even as evacuation drives intensify in Lebanon, Moju explores the implications of Sri Lankans who will find themselves jobless and will need financial assistance. “This sudden stoppage of the funds could economically weaken many families making them vulnerable. Secondly these workers will be literally ‘jobless’ in Sri Lanka.”
Kenya: Job loss
“It's odd to quit a job,” writes Kenyan Musings, who just quit hers. “People think you are nuts…but it gets to the point where if you allow yourself to be depleted to the point where your professional tank is empty and you are running on fumes of habit, everybody loses....
Belarus: Economic Sanctions Looming
TOL's Belarus Blog and Andrei Khrapavitski write that “Belarus is soon to be expelled from the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) due to its non-compliance with trade union legislature (mostly when it comes to the rights of the workers).”
Philippines: Exporting nurses to the world
The most popular college degree in the Philippines today is nursing. More than 100,000 Filipino nurses have left the country to seek better opportunities.
African Migrants in Australia
African Migrants takes note of a report that says African migrants who held a job before leaving their homeland in search of work are more likely to find employment on arrival in Australia.
African Women: Call for Nominations
African Women posts a call for nominations for the African Women of Distinction book and video exhibition scheduled for December 2006. The aim, the announcement says, is to profile the stories and work of 20 women in Africa who embody the essence of leadership, determination, and innovation in addressing social,...
French-Speaking Bloggers on Rabat Conference on Migration
What Will the Conference Bring? Says France-based African blogger Le Pangolin, Du 10 au 11 juillet 2006, s'est tenue à Rabat au Maroc, la première rencontre interministérielle euro-africaine sur les problèmes des migrations entre ces deux continents.Elle a regroupé 57 pays africains et européens et certaines organisations humanitaires qui se...
Cuba: How many Cubans does it take to…?
Pac MacLaurin posts a photo of three Cuban store clerks and comments on the country's labour inefficiencies: “A friend of mine once told me that when he was working in Havana as a press photographer there were two people in the elevator of his hotel at all times. One person...
Taiwan: human trafficking
David discusses about the US State Department downgraded Taiwan to its “tier two” watch list in its latest Trafficking in Persons Report in jujuflop. He hopes that the report can give pressure to improve the human rights of overseas migrants (brides, workers and maids).
Caribbean: New HR aggregator and T&T labour shortage
Chronicles from a Caribbean Cubicle announces the arrival of “CaribHRNews, a Squidoo-hosted aggregator of the most recent internet-based news related to the Human Resources profession,” and takes note of an article in a Trinidad and Tobago newspaper reporting a labour shortage in that country.
South Korea: Anti-FTA protest
Kotaji blogs about the anti FTA protest in Seoul on July 12. Jamie in Two Koreas has a very detailed account of the raining day demonstration. Another witness report is written by SJ. At Frog in a Well, Pak Noja posted some thoughts on the economics of Korean agriculture and...
Poland: Miss World Contest in Warsaw
Unlike the Polish media, the beatroot isn't excited about the Miss World 2006 contest to be held in Warsaw in September: “It’s a boring event watched only by men with a very, very small…circle of freinds.”
Outsourcing the war in Iraq and Afghanistan
Now, another job that is “outsourced” in the Philippines is private security operator or independent contractor ( read: mercenaries) in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Iran: Syndicates & Socialist Revolution
Several Shargh newspaper journalists have launched Zangeh Tafrih, a collective blog to write about economic issues. In Zange Tafrih they explain why Marx prophecy about Socialist Revolution in industrial countries such as England failed. According to Zangeh Tafrih strong presence of workers unions/syndicates was main reason to save England from...
Senegal: Migrant workers
Black Looks posts a poem about the lives of African migrants looking for work and a better life, and Nigeria, What's New? picks it up with a link to a photo-essay on the same subject.
