· February, 2009

Stories about Labor from February, 2009

Hong Kong: Budget report: university students on sale!

  28 February 2009

Financial Secretary of Hong Kong John Tsang made the budget speech for the fiscal year 2009-2010 at the Legislative Council on 25 of February. This is the first budget report after Hong Kong felt the pain from the downturn of global financial crisis. Unlike other areas, our government's finance remains...

Nepal: Strike Culture

  26 February 2009

Freedom In Bhutan discusses the strike cultures of Nepal and comments:”I wonder how illogical, non sensible and irresponsible have Nepalese grown to. I pray my countrymen Bhutanese will never call strike in any circumstances to put pressure on administration.”

Taiwan: The cost of investment

  23 February 2009

There has been a huge amount of Taiwanese investment in China over the past two decades. Michael Turton discusses the human cost of that investment.

Ukraine: Obstacles and Hope for Museums

  23 February 2009

Linda Norris of The Uncataloged Museum lists legal and other obstacles that Ukrainian museums are facing, but concludes her post on a positive note, writing about some of the museum employees she has met: “They make minimal salaries, work in conditions that are hard to imagine (no heat, for instance,...

Russia: Cherkizovsky Market in Moscow

  23 February 2009

Moscow Through Brown Eyes writes about an article (RUS) on Moscow's Cherkizovsky Market that appeared in the latest issue of Bolshoi Gorod: “Each of these bewilderingly diverse stories could be the subject of its own article, if not an entire book. Taken together, however, these portraits add up to something...

Japan: Agriculture the latest trend among celebrities

  22 February 2009

The Japanese economy is facing one of the worse slowdowns in its modern history, with a GDP that has declined at a rate of 12,7%. Nonetheless, TV programs and lifestyle magazines are doing their best to inspire hope among their viewers and readers that not everything is lost. Recently, a new trend has been spreading among Japanese celebrities: farm work.

Vietnam: Only Nine Public Holidays

  21 February 2009

There are only nine public holidays in Vietnam. That is why blackouts are not regarded as nuisance by some workers since they can rest during these days.

Fiji: Minimum wage increase postponed

  19 February 2009

At the beginning of February, Fiji’s workers and trade unions were preparing to receive a roughly 20 percent increase in the country’s minimum wage. Business leaders won a reprieve when Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama postponed the wage increase until July 1.

Bangladesh: Exploring New Markets For Manpower

  12 February 2009

Bangladesh Corporate Blog is in favor of the Bangladesh government's decision to explore new markets for the Bangladeshi manpower, “why should we remain squeezed back to back against each other in (…) one of the smallest countries of the world?”

Ukraine: Profile of a Chernobyl Employee

  11 February 2009

Michael Forster Rothbart writes about one of control room shift supervisor at Chernobyl Power Plant, whom he photographed for “a series of panoramic portraits of Chernobyl employees en milieu“: “The photos are equally about the people and the places they inhabit. Daily lives in this unique environment.”

Oman: New Job

  11 February 2009

Paradise in Me, from Oman, writes about her first few days in her new job in this post. “A lot of fainting, morning sickness, food, weird craving absent minded pregnant women is what I surround myself with for average 8 hours a day,” she explains.