Stories about Labor from March, 2009
Liberia: Unfair Labor Practices at Guthrie Rubber Plantations
Nat blogs about unfair labor practices at the Guthrie Rubber Plantations in Liberia.
Hong Kong and the Philippines: Satire or racism?
A Senate leader in the Philippines just filed a resolution condemning a Hong Kong writer Chip Tsao for his article “The War at Home” in HK Magazine (originally published on 27 of March). Now the article has been taken down in the website but the Senate Resolution also asked the...
Japan: Two-man union on strike at Kyoto University
Adamu from Mutantfrog blogs about a two-man strike at Kyoto University against the exploitation of irregular work contract.
Global Recession Survey: Survival Tips and Business Opportunities
Everybody is trying hard to cope with the global economic crisis. Bloggers are offering survival tips to their readers. Businesses around the world are adjusting. Some are even profiting from the crisis. In this post, I will feature individuals and companies exerting their very best to overcome the recession.
Russia: Dealing with demographic decline
Eternal Remont reports on how Russia tries to lure back emigrants to avert the country's seemingly unavoidable demographic decline.
Egypt: Waves of Workers’ Strikes
Like in 2008, this year is witnessing waves of strikes and demonstrations by Egyptian workers in various sectors and organizations. Students, pharmacists, lawyers [Ar], railway drivers, media people and, last but not least, Egyptian street cleaners have all been demanding more just rights, protesting against their decreasing incentives or trying to rebel against their poor economic status. Eman AbdElRahman gives us a snap shot of what's happening on the ground and how bloggers are giving those workers a voice in their struggle.
South Asia: Migrant Workers Coming Home
South Asia is a populous region. Many South Asian immigrants or migrant workers travel to distant places around the world in search of a better education, job or better living conditions. However they have close ties to families and friends back home and their remittances play a major role in...
Ukraine, Russia: Social Networking vs Work
Svetlana Gladkova writes on Profy about how social networking often interferes with work being done in Ukraine and Russia: “In fact, as many as 69% of Russian companies already block access to social networks from office computers which seems to be the only option to make employees stop wasting time...
Egypt: Helwan telecom equipment makers on strike
From Egypt, Hossam El Hamalawy reports: “Around 1000 workers at the Telephone Equipment Manufacturing Company in Helwan are on strike since yesterday, demanding their annual shares of profits. The strikers took a number of the management’s engineers hostages on Sunday and released them at night.”
China: Female Worker Mock Ad
Jeremy Goldkorn from DANWEI picked up a Mock Ad poster from local forum Xici Hutong on how workers are dealing with the financial crisis.
Vietnam: Kidnapping children
Are child traffickers now kidnapping children in Vietnam provinces? Some children who were reported as missing were found later working in garment factories in Saigon.
Lebanon: Demonstrating for Migrant Workers rights
“I worked for three years and never received my salary” and “The Mister Beats Madame Everyday” are some of the slogans raised during a demonstration to support migrant workers in Lebanon on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
Ukraine: Dnipropetrovsk
An account of a trip to Dnipropetrovsk – at Petro's Jotter.
Global recession and its discontents
Today the world seems flat. From Asia and Africa to Europe and the Americas, the people of the world are experiencing the traumatic effects of a global economic recession. This post is an attempt to describe the social impact of the great financial crisis as seen and felt by ordinary citizens around the world.
Russia: “Diary of an Uzbek Gastarbeiter”
At Sean's Russia Blog, a discussion of “Diary of an Uzbek Gastarbeiter” – “a harrowing story of an Uzbek migrant named Shukhrat Berdyev, 48, experience as a migrant laborer in Russia over a ten year period,” posted on Opendemocracy.net.
Estonia: Mart Laar's Plan
AnTyx writes about Mart Laar's “ten-point plan to fix the economy and, in particular, the unemployment situation in Estonia.”
Qatar: The Job Interview
Qatari blogger Aisha describes her experience at a job interview – where she was offered the job, turned it down, then changed her mind.
International Women's Day in Tunisian Blogs
Tunisia celebrates its National Day for Women on August 13. Calls are now being echoed in the blogosphere to join international women in their celebration and mark the day with the rest of the world on March 8, reports Lina Ben Mhenni.
Japan, Brazil: Crisis puts an end to the dream of a better life
After 30 years of a strong immigration trend from Brazil to Japan, young Brazilians who have crossed the ocean in search of a better life are now leaving their adopted country. It is estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 Brazilians have lost their jobs and, unable to compete in the shrinking Japanese job market, have decided it is time to make the journey back home.
Russia: “Unsent Letter” on Health Care
Below is a partial translation of a post on health care in Russia - a caustic "unsent letter" to the Russian president, written by LJ user sobe-panek on Feb. 22. The post has made it into the Top 30 at Yandex Blogs portal and was picked up by some Russian media.
Taiwan: Women still seeking labor rights
On International Women's Day Letters from Taiwan notes the gap between government rhetoric and actual practice on women's rights.
