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Written by Abdoulaye Bah · Translated by Abdoulaye Bah · View original post [fr] · comments (0)
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The many protest movements that followed the implementation of austerity measures in a number of European countries dealing with the sovereign debt crisis, should have taught us that when a national economy is left at the mercy of interest rates and financial markets, sooner or later you can expect its people to express their discontent. Especially in a country, like Italy, already strained by years of government mismanagement, and where to the budget and democratic deficits, an information deficit needs to be added to the equation.

Since mid-January, Italy has been swept by a wave of protests, which began in Sicily with the mobilisation of farmers, truck drivers and fishermen, mostly small business owners, later joined by the Sicilian population at large, including waged workers, students and the unemployed. The movement goes by the name of Forza d'Urto [it] (”shock force”), better known as “the Pitchforks Movement”.

The Pitchforks Movement, image from Facebook.

From January 16, trucks brought the island's roads and motorways to a standstillfor six days through at least 26 blockades, disrupting the circulation of goods and bringing business to a halt, with long cues for petrol and empty supermarket shelves.

The protests later spread to other regions [it], with strikes and blockades all over Italy. In Rome, during a fishermen demonstration in front of the Chamber of Deputies, three demonstrators were reported injured. A mass mobilisation against the austerity package implemented by Prime Minister Mario Monti and his cabinet, lamenting especially the steep rise in the price of petrol. However, during the first few days of the protests, the Italian media was largely silent, except for a few local newspapers, as Marco Cedolin points out in his blog Il Corrosivo [it]:

I media mainstream in queste stesse ore tacciono, reputando (e lasciando intendere) che in Sicilia non stia accadendo nulla che meriti attenzione, tutto tranquillo e nessun problema.
Davvero la protesta in questione è una vicenda d’importanza ed incidenza così minimale da non meritare neppure un servizietto di 50 secondi, di quelli che comunemente vengono dedicati perfino al nuovo tatuaggio sfoggiato dal vip di turno?

The sectors on strike are protesting against the government liberalisation package, but are also united by a sense of disenfranchisement from the whole of the “political caste”: fishermen who claim to be no longer able to sustain the costs of running their business because of excise tax; truckers who can't afford to transport goods at the low fee determined by open market competition because of rising petrol costs. Because of this, the mobilisation was met with a lot of skepticism and accusations that it merely represents a set of narrow interests.

On Fuori Onda Blog [it] David Incamicia reflects this position, which tends to criticise the movement for putting all the blame on the current government, which last November inherited from Berlusconi a country with a broken economy and a shattered international reputation:

Le piazze in rivolta avevano certamente motivo d'essere fino a qualche settimana fa, quando l'irresponsabilità di “un sol uomo al comando” e la sua ostinata resistenza al potere hanno finito per rendere ancor più dura e di difficile risoluzione la pesante situazione sociale del Paese (…)

Ma oggi, proprio per evitare il tracollo definitivo, occorre che tutti giochino nella stessa squadra (…) Gli egoismi vanno rimossi senza se e senza ma. Così come l'ancora poderosa demagogia che arringa a destra e a manca.

While those keen to seize the opportunity to voice criticism of the current government (like the far-right party Lega Nord, now at the opposition) seem to ignore that the farmers movement (or Pitchforks Movement) was actually born last summer [it], and that fishermen have been organising strikes since 2008, there persists an inability (or lack of willpower?) to define the nature of the movement, which paves the way to confusion and exploitation for different political ends.

During the strikes, mainstream media focused on alleged mafia infiltrations [it] and the death of a trucker in Asti [it], while on Facebook the pages devoted to or associated with the movement proliferated, revealing, among other things, a number of links [it] with the neofascist movement Forza Nuova, which supports the Pitchforks. Commonly used hash tags on Twitter were #fermosicilia, #forzadurto e #forconi.

The following comment by Veneti stufi [it] on what labels itself the movement's official Facebook page [it] is representative of this confusion:

Non capisco più nulla, pagine colme di rabbia e non di vera indignazione/protesta, ma quali sono i VERI FORCONI? Il sito non è attivo, ognuno in rete dice tutto ed il contrario di tutto, USATE la rete e coinvolgete le persone, non date modo di strumentalizzarvi.

However, at the various marches organised in various cities around Sicily, including Gela (in the video) and Palermo, there were students, the unemployed and young people with all kinds of political affiliations, as demonstrated by the following press release [it] signed by the Studentato Autogestito Anomalia [it] (Anomaly autonomous student centre) e dal Laboratorio Vittorio Arrigoni [it] (Workshop Vittorio Arrigoni), two of the city's main social centres:

La protesta popolare che si sta diffondendo in Sicilia come tutte le proteste di questo tipo sono complesse, di massa e contradditorie, ma di sicuro parlano il linguaggio della lotta contro la globalizzazione, contro equitalia e lo strozzinaggio legalizzato che sta mettendo in miseria larghe fasce della societa' siciliana , contro la casta politica di destra e di sinistra (…)
Noi, militanti di centri sociali e di spazi occupati della citta' di Palermo, sosterremo la lotta di “forconi” e autotrasportatori perchè frutto di una giusta battaglia e perchè ricca di positive e “incompatibili” energie; per questo, come sempre, saremo al fianco di chi lotta contro la crisi e questo intollerabile sistema.

According to Marco Cedolin [it], the protest deserves attention because it tries to go beyond the ideological divide:

Non so quanta “fortuna” avrà la protesta dei Forconi che sta paralizzando la Sicilia, così come non conosco le prospettive di una movimentazione che sembra manifestarsi (per la prima volta in Italia) realmente trasversale, abiurando i partiti e tentando di mettere nel cassetto le divisioni settarie fra “rossi e neri” che da sempre minano alla radice qualsiasi battaglia in questo disgraziato paese, conducendola ogni volta sul binario morto della diffidenza e dei distinguo.

The failure of public opinion to comprehend the nature of the protests is also, and perhaps especially, the failure of the mass media to tell the story, another legacy of the Berlusconi years (Italy is 61st in Reporters Without Borders' world press freedom index 2011-12, and one which politicians still hesitate dealing with [it]. For Davide Grasso, writing on the blog Quiete o Tempesta [it], the Pitchfork protest was:

l’ennesimo successo a metà del sistema italiano dell’informazione. Successo nel combattere le aspirazioni dei soggetti sociali che scelgono la strada della protesta ma fallimento (opposto e speculare) nel comprendere e riportare un rilevante fenomeno sociale.

Lastly, Nicola Spinella writes on Agoravox [it]:

Il celebre motto “divide et impera” rivela ancora oggi, dopo due millenni, la propria immortalità: è bastato agitare davanti al popolo il fantasma della mafia infiltrata nelle fila degli autotrasportatori, assimilarli a sigle dell'estrema destra, per ridurre la protesta ad un fuoco di paglia. Difficile pronosticare uno scenario futuro per tutta un'Italia scossa dal salasso Monti e da un ventennio di malgoverno berlusconiano.

The dialogue between the government and the movement appears to have reached a standstill, and a new wave of protests was due to start on Monday 6 February, with sit-ins in a number of sicilian towns and cities. A few of these have been reported, but it looks like the planned occupation of seaports and oil refineries has been postponed. Long queues at petrol stations in Messina were reported on Saturday 4 February, allegedly in preparation for the strikes.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

Written by Ylenia Gostoli · Translated by Ylenia Gostoli · View original post [it] · comments (0)
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Kambwili who served as Foreign Minister in the first ruling Patriotic Front government cabinet before he was transferred to the Labour Ministry, ordered the revocation of the Chief Medical Officer Xisheng Quing’s work permit for allegedly mistreating workers at the hospital and exhibiting rude behaviour to the minister. The Chief Medical Officer complained that the minister was rude for pointing a finger at him while talking.

Chishimba Kambwili. Photo source: Chishimba Kambwili Facebook page.

Kambwili is now Minister of Sports, Youth and Gender after President Sata moved the Labour portfolio to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Ambassador Zhou Yuxiao was quoted as saying that Kambwili must be moderate in handling labour-related matters concerning foreign investors in Zambia, further saying that there was only one party in Africa, Zambia’s Patriotic Front, that made China an issue.

Ambassador Zhou said:

I do not know why this is so, because Chinese input in Africa is the largest among all African countries but the approval rate of China by Zambia is the lowest among all African countries. That doesn't mean China is doing the worst in Zambia. There is only one political party (PF) in Africa that makes China an issue.

Netizens on various online platforms were divided in their reaction to Kambwili’s behaviour at the hospital with some supporting his actions and others disapproving.

Samfya Mafia, in a rather lengthy comment on Lusaka Times, had this to say:

Dear Minister of Labor,

May I begin by congratulating you on your recent appointment and your gallant effort in trying to restore normal work conditions in the mining industry.

In light of the recent events at Sinozam Friendly Hospital, I have a few concerns, which I would like to bring to your attention.
It is possible, for anyone to write a letter to you making allegations against their employers. Did, the authors of the letters you received append their names, so you could be able to properly verify these allegations? If they did not indicate their names, which is comprehensible, did you then give the alleged contraveners of Labor law an opportunity to explain themselves? Our Employment Act gives heavy emphasis on the observance of natural Justice when dealing with a person against whom allegations have been made. If you did indeed give the other party an opportunity to be heard was it in a free and fair environment, furthermore, did you actually give them a chance to speak and on your part listen to their explanation?

Sir, you have a great task ahead of you. Being one of the people who were present at the Hospital on the fateful day, I could see that the environment was emotionally charged, and it appears that it was very easy for you to fall for playing to the Gallery. However, as a leader you have to hold your calm and not allow yourself to be influenced by only the emotions of the people, you will have to more importantly ensure that the allegations when made are substantiated.

In a Facebook post, Musamba Chama Mumba wrote:

Well, well now the Chinese Ambassador Zhou challenges Hon Chishimba Kambwili to pick 10 Zambian Companies and 10 Chinese owned, then compare the wages paid to workers. Sort your house first before you point fingers at others? My question is why then do you come into our country disguised as investors and excepted to certain taxes when in fact you are nothing but ordinary locals? And please learn when to open your mouth, because Hon Kambwili Chishimba has the backing of many Zambians on this one.

In a response to Mumba’s post, Milimo Mutale wrote:

I remember so many delegations going to China wooing these investors and granting them the incentives. We invite them because we want their money. We sell our companies for a song and benefit personally so our hands are tied. We need to sort out our mess for sure. Fire non performing civil servants. Begin to enforce all laws across the board. Scrutinize so called investors and give them the talk before while and after they set up- that we will not tolerate labour abuse or shoddy work. That their work is subject to regulation and inspection. Its time to act! And act by permanent solutions and when the investors still violates enter the minister on a white steed . To the rescue! Lol

Joe Chilaizya  - if his is a genuine profile, he is Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation director-general - wrote:

How much do we pay our own workers??? Look at how abused domestic workers, farm laborers are in Zambia at the hands of fellow Zambians….We must be THE standard ourselves because foreigners will only pay according to the standard they find….Its so easy to blame chinese investors on this matter, but they are only doing what the “romans” (in Zambia) do - abuse workers!…..for instance how many Zambians employed by zambians on this forum can say they are adequately paid? Almost none!!!!…..Thats the tragic tale! We cheapen our own skilled labour when we offer it low salaries and wages. Foreign investors only pay what WE ZAMBIANS pay our fellow citizens.

On Twitter, @missbwalya wrote:

@missbwalya: Nice to know that Kambwili is willing to die for Zambian workers. This guy is an attention seeking clown. #Zambia

BradleysEvents wrote:

@BradleysEvents: #Kambwili had the interests of the Zambians at heart but his work methods were tottally wrong. He was not diplomatic & lacked ettiquett

@BradleysEvents added:

@BradleysEvents: #Kambwili works thru militancy & forcefulness. He won't change, he will take those ills with him to the ministry of sport & youth

@ssepiso tweeted:

@ssepiso: Things not looking pretty for Chishimba Kambwili. Trying too hard to impress as Labour Minister and ends up misrepresenting #Sata. #Zambia

On the issue of the minister pointing finger at the medical officer, @zadama24 said:

@zadama24: “Mr Kambwili the Chinese may mistake the finger pointing for a Karate or Kungfu move!” bit.ly/ziViIB

President Sata later cautioned ministers to stick to procedure and respect investors as well. Ironically, the PF issued the most anti-Chinese rhetoric among opposition parties before last year’s elections which ousted the MMD after 20 years in power.

Written by Gershom Ndhlovu · comments (2)
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The garment industry in Cambodia represents 90% of all exports. However, despite its relative economic importance, workers receive only half of what is needed to safely support their families and the statutory minimum wage is currently the lowest in the Mekong region.

One of the major issues which will be discussed is the poor working conditions in factories which resulted in fainting incidents in numerous workplaces:

Another issue of concern currently facing garment factories and their workers has been mass fainting. In 2011 year alone, the Free Trade Union has reported some 2,300 workers fainting in 5 Cambodian factories… Investigations and company statements have varied in their conclusions on contributing factors, but many have highlighted physiological causes such as low blood sugar, malnutrition, dehydration, food poisoning and over-exertion.

Workers of King First Factory rushed to hospital after fainting. Photo from Community Legal Education Center on Facebook.

Joel Preston identifies the prominent global customers of King First Factory:

In the same year, King First Industrial confirmed their list of major customers and customer base to include:

“Wal-Mart, Target, Reebok, JC Penny, Urban Outfitters, Simply Vera, Abercrombie & Fitch, Anthropology, Cold Water Creek, Chico's, Catherines, Express, Federated/May Department Store, P.V.H, Hollister, Ruehl, L&T, Cato, George, Bisou Bisou, Greendog, Lane Bryant, Alfant, Charter Club, Metro 7, East 5th and American Rag.”

Despite the gargantuan profits being reaped by Cambodian garment factories, their parent companies and international buyers alike, King First Industrial Co. Ltd seems unable to provide their workers with a safe and healthful working environment. Contraventions of occupational health and safety expectations are interrelated to the pitiful wages that these workers receive.

The Community Legal Education Center also posted photos of workers who fainted in factories owned by Hung Wah (Cambodia) Garment Mfg. and Huey Chuen. The Fair Labor Association investigated the fainting cases in Huey Chuen and discovered that workers were compelled to work for very long hours:

Management and workers indicated that for the period March 27 to April 9, workers completed four hours of overtime on weekdays as well as on March 25, April 1, and April 8. Workers on the second floor indicated they felt compelled to work all night starting at 7 a.m. on Friday morning and finishing at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. They also indicated they worked on Sunday 27 and April 3. Workers on the first and fifth floor did not work overnight but did work four hours of overtime on weekdays and Saturdays and Sundays.

LTO Cambodia thinks the mass faintings could be a case of mass hysteria:

The mass fainting are, for lack of a better term, ‘mass-hysteria,’ but by that I don't mean to diminish their significance. These factory workers are largely poor young women, often country girls, working in gray, stuffy, unpleasant conditions, homesick, pressured by family and harsh supervisors and doing mind-numbingly repetitive work for very little money (averaging $55-$61/month,) often for long hours.

Campaign to improve conditions of garment workers. Photo from Clean Clothes group.

Aside from the fainting issue, the tribunal hopes to address the complaints raised by 200,000 garment workers in Cambodia who went on strike last year. Below are the other goals of the tribunal:

- Establish the State of Decent Labour Standards, specifically focusing on Women Workers, in the global garment industry including the issue of fair pricing for manufacturers
- Present the impact of gender as a factor in determining the political economy of the global supply chain
- Provide leverage for building worker collectivity with bargaining power within the global supply chain and contribute to strengthening grassroots mobilization
- Contribute to strengthening the conditions of workers, in particular women workers, in the garment global supply chain

A petition was initiated urging H&M clothing company to join the tribunal:

H&M decided when cotton prices rose during 2010 and 2011 that they would kindly cover the costs so their customers wouldn’t suffer higher prices. Unfortunately, the courtesy doesn't extend to their suppliers working in Cambodian garment factories, 90% of whom are women.

Written by Mong Palatino · comments (2)
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Inés Pérez interviewed on Chilevision television

“Can you imagine here, in this gated community, domestic workers [nanas] walking outside? All the workers walking on the street, and your children there, on their bikes?”

With this phrase, aired in an interview on national television in Chile on Sunday, January 15, neighborhood resident Inés Pérez became the subject of online scorn. Pérez was commenting on the policy of a gated community, El Algarrobal II, in Chicureo that prohibits the entry of maids and other workers by foot.

The tension around discrimination against domestic workers in the area had been mounting since December 2011 when an instruction letter [es] distributed to the members of the Breezes of Chicureo Golf Club [es] went viral. The letter said maids must wear their uniforms in the club and never use the swimming pool. With this controversy fresh in their minds, social media users immediately reacted to the statement by Pérez.

Sentidos Comunies published a Storify post [es] collecting Twitter reactions. On Facebook, on the page “Ines Perez Concha” [es] people left numerous comments condemning her words and even insulting her. Some Chileans also took to blogging to express their outrage.

Marcela Arellano [es] defended domestic workers and spoke against discrimination in a post that was published in several online citizen newspapers of the Mi Voz network.

Yo no sabía que en este pequeño país existían imperios (a menos que sean descendientes de reyes Incas) en donde los infantes herederos deben ser protegidos de presenciar a las seis de la tarde una horda de gente de clase trabajadora, osando pisar las mismas veredas donde juegan inocentes los principitos que no conocen un mundo distinto.

Meanwhile, in El Quinto Poder [es], Ximena Jara wrote about the word “nana” as a discriminatory term, and added:

Nos llenamos la boca de furia sagrada […] nos hemos dedicado a buscar, una por una, las normativas discriminatorias que atentan contra la dignidad del quehacer de estas trabajadoras. Esto está muy bien, pero no pasa de ser un berrinche. No, mientras no comprendamos que el compromiso parte, literalmente, por casa. Que si somos medios responsables, ciudadanos responsables, vamos a asumir que los abusos a las trabajadoras de casa particular son mucho más extensos que estos casos extremos que hoy nos sulfuran.

On January 17, however, rumors of a transcript [es] of the full interview began to spread on social networks. Chilevisión finally published the whole interview [es], which shows that Inés Pérez's statement had been taken out of context.

In the full interview, among other things, she says her maid freely goes outside with her daughter, with or without her uniform. Pérez explains that she asks her maid to arrive and leave the neighborhood in a minibus, and that she lives half an hour from the neighborhood entrance. She asks: “Can you imagine during the winter with rain and thunder, all the maids walking in the neighborhood?”

On the same Facebook page [es] where she had been heavily criticized, some [es] users are now apologizing, although several [es] still believe that no matter the context, her declarations are still insulting, especially the phrase about maids and workers walking on the street while children are “on their bikes”.

Journalism Ethics and Social Media

The discussion about discrimination quickly turned into a debate on journalism ethics and social media.

Journalist Gianitsa Corral touched on the subject of ethics in a post for Sentidos Comunes [es]. She lists some of her thoughts on the full interview and the way Chilevisión handled the editing. Later, she discusses the responsibility of media consumers, concluding that:

Los medios se equivocan, manipulan, juegan, transforman, indagan, verifican y nos estructuran la información que todos tenemos derecho a saber. Pero somos nosotros los que decidimos qué hacer con ella. No podemos justificar nuestra pereza con un 100% de credulidad a todo lo que vemos y oímos. También somos responsables de capturar esa realidad.

Mauricio Tolosa, in Sitiocero [es], blogs about online behavior in reactions to the video, and says the whole incident shows that Chile suffers from a “coexistence disease”:

El problema de fondo, la enfermedad de convivencia de Chile, que genera segregación y linchamientos, no se resuelva con explosiones en las redes sociales. El problema de fondo requiere aprender a conversar, a preguntar, a escuchar, a respetar hasta reconstruir la comunidad dañada. Son conductas que no surgen espontáneamente en este sistema comunicativo, es un esfuerzo de consciencia, una atención y un aprendizaje cotidianos.

Clases de Periodismo [es], a blog that focuses on journalism and media, declared their stance on Chilevisón’s editing:

Desde este espacio, rechazamos la falta de criterio de Chilevisión para editar las declaraciones de sus entrevistados. Además, nos sumamos al pedido de una rectificación (que no basta con la publicación del video para que los usuarios saquen sus propias conclusiones).

The public statement [es] on the Chilevisión website counters:

el segmento seleccionado es una idea completa expresada por la entrevistada, unidad de contenido  que no ha sido manipulada en modo alguno y que no altera el sentido final de sus declaraciones.

According to the latest reports on the incident, Chilevisión fired [es] Fernando Leal Quinteros, the production assistant that filtered the text of the full interview.

Written by Silvia Viñas · comments (0)
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Sugar Cane Pieces by Chris McBrien CCBy

In the article Child labor and exploitation in Guatemala's sugar Alberto Arce and Martín Rodríguez Pellecer explain how children work in the sugar fields where workers are paid by tonnage cut. While most adult workers cut two to three tons, that doesn't even add up to minimum wage, about 7.5 USD per day. One of the families interviewed, where the father works with his two sons, one 12 and the other 13, don't even make minimum wage between the three of them.

Para llegar al salario mínimo, con un salario de Q20 por tonelada es necesario superar las tres toneladas diarias. Para el finquero, la media normal que un cortador puede extraer es de seis toneladas. Los cortadores dicen que a partir de dos o tres es inhumano.

At Flamenco, Picture by Alberto Arce, CC BY

Following is the short video they shot as they went into a sugar cane plantation to take photographs using an antique wooden camera. From the article:

Plaza Pública ingresó sin pedir permiso a la propiedad privada de Kuhsiek para hacer unas fotografías artísticas sobre trabajadores de la caña. En ese momento, no se sabía quién era el dueño de la finca. Ya dentro se descubrió el trabajo infantil. Allí, en una conversación informal entre el empresario agrícola, uno de los reporteros que escriben esta nota y el fotógrafo Rodrigo Abd, se acordó una entrevista formal en su oficina de la capital.

The greatest irony is perhaps that the owner of the Flamenco plantation is no other than Otto Kuhsiek, the president of the Guatemalan Chamber of Agriculture.  In the interview, he didn't deny that children may go to the fields, but suggested that they don't actually work there:

El presidente de la Cámara del Agro se define como una persona que trata de cumplir con la Ley: “No conozco las edades de los niños que se encontraban en mi finca, que estaban, en todo caso, en su período vacacional. Usted vio que había una escuela en frente de donde estaban. Y esos niños no son trabajadores, sino que vienen acompañando a sus padres. Son sus ayudantes (…) .

He went on to explain that workers are not exploited since they are free to go when they are tired. However, the journalists point out that at 5 pm workers can still be seen in the fields and because they are paid for what they can cut, they may be forced to chosing between feeding their families or getting some rest.

On twitter, under the hashtag #11deazucar, Guatemanal journalist Alejandra Gutierrez tries to take the focus from placing blame into the lives of these children:

¿Los cañeros? ¿los azucareros? ¿los compradores? ¿los padres? ¿el Estado? La tragedia es que esos niños tengan que trabajar. #11deazucar

Child labor in the sugar cane fields is not new: back in 2007, this video with pictures of sugar cane workers in Guatemala, including children was uploaded on YouTube.

Although the sugar industry in Guatemala is one of the fastest growing and highest grossing in Guatemala, this growth and wealth is not passed on to the people farther down in the chain. In fact, the sugar association that brings together the 13 sugar processing plants in Guatemala, Asazgua, only guarantees a minimum wage for those who work processing the sugar, not those who cut it and believes the problems of the cane workers exposed are neither examples of child labor or, in fact, their problem, since they are cutters and not sugar workers: since they are providers they are not part of Asazgua and it is not up to them to stop this from happening.

At Flamenco, by Alberto Arce, CC BY

In the Plaza Publica article, Arce and Rodriguez tell of how the plantation owners and Asazgua show themselves as victims,  suggesting that child work at the plantations is the farmers' choice, and that not allowing children to work at the fields might lead to the farmers or their children burning down the fields and sabotage the production.

The article and investigation had results, but sadly, not as expected. Journalist Alberto Arce posted on twitter that althought the Finca Flamenco farm ceased operations as a consequence of the article on sugar in @PlazaPublicaGT, there are cane workers who lost their jobs in Retalhuleu.

Written by Juliana Rincón Parra · comments (3)
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Liu wrote about her day of prostitution on her Sina Weibo account on January 12 and while her posts were removed by Sina employees, Liu has a backup of her writings on Tencent's Qzone personal diary site. Her account illustrates the lives of the lowest strata sex workers in China. Below is a reconstruction of her deleted Sina microblog posts taken from Qzone:

我今天在十元店潜伏做调查，正好遇上一个姐妹被警察抓走。这些姐妹与顾客一次性交的价格在10元至20元之间，属于低价交易，年关难过。希望警察按照中国法律的要求，酌情，从轻处罚，不要为了从中捞取好处，而选择最高量刑。也希望大家帮忙呼吁，使姐妹们免受合法抢劫。事发地，广西博白。

这个姐妹十分热心，她辛苦赚钱，交完房租，准备回家过年。刚刚打好了洗头水，说洗完头就回家，结果就被警察抓了。 我想看看，中国政府，是以罚款为目的，还是为了解决民生治安为目的。性工作者在隐蔽的场所，解决了农民工的性需求，也解决了自己的生存问题，而中国政府在做什么？

孟建柱老师：希望您能体谅民间的疾苦，不要从性工作者身上，谋取行政经费。特别是贫困的性工作者。希望公安部能在内部发个通知，对于贫困性工作者，在年关之际，少下黑手。 中国民间女权工作室叶海燕，深切恳求。

Ye Haiyan in a 10 dollar sexshop

我从现在开始，对来这里的农民工提供免费的性服务，一是以免他们被警察抓，处以高额经济处罚，被合法抢劫，二是为解决基层百姓的性需求，缓解社会压力做出努力。三是用我的高风亮节对比政府的麻木无情。希望对他们有所触动。活动明天结束。

今天我提供第一个免费性服务的是一个18岁的农村孩子。他在门口转悠，问我多少钱？我说，你给多少钱？他说，十块钱可以吗？我问他多大，他说18岁，为什么来这种地方，是不是处男？他似乎听不懂，扭头要走。我说，来吧，我跟你做，不要钱。然后帮他带上套子，告诉他出门去玩一定要带安全套。

我为四个人提供了免费的性服务。其中一个老人五十多岁，他穿着很破旧，因为在下雨，他穿着雨衣，雨鞋，脸上满是皱纹，我说不要钱，他问为什么？当他看到我白嫩的身体，我相信他不理解这是怎么回事，我说我是北京派来的。这个社会有许多的不平等。起步，机会，权利,发展不平等，…性，居然也不平等。

老百姓，只是打个炮而已。他打一次炮，只花十块钱,他开支得起。这对他的生活，不会有任何影响，对社会也没影响。他也许娶不起老婆，娶不到老婆，可去找个小姐，满足一下生理需求，你们却要在他身上抢劫三千，你们这些流氓强盗已经把他们逼到这样的角落，你们还要在暗地里，敲诈一笔，会不会太狠了点！

那个准备回家的姐妹今天出来了，罚了三千。她必须接150个客人。才能还清罚款。我觉得自己帮不上她，心里难过，不敢见她。我觉得自己很没用。看着这些姐妹被警察打劫，我却一点办法没有。

大家可以将心比心，回想一下，一个人，因为生存，而天天担心受怕的心情。她想要这20块钱，可在角落里，有一双眼睛却虎视耽耽盯着她的钱包，想要她的三千。她会快乐吗？最可恨的是，钓鱼执法，谁知道面对的这个男人是真正的嫖客，还是警察的线人。到底是会赚到20，还是会损失三千？

是什么人在消费十元店的姐妹？达官贵人会去十元店找那些老妈子吗？他们永远不会踏入他们认为肮脏，低级的地方！他们视这里面的人为猪狗。只有农民工会走进这里与大姐们平等相处。我的农民工客人，衣服里三层，外三层，件件都破了，我抱着他，心里充满了悲哀，难道生活紧迫到连补衣服的时间也没有吗？

那里的男人说，我是最温柔的小姐。其实我不是温柔，是我懂得尊重他们，把他们当成自己的兄弟，亲人，没有看不起他们，把他们当成像“大老板”一样的男人。不管他的衣服多么破旧，身上多少泥水，我把他抱进怀里，安慰他。让他感觉到自己是有人喜欢的。

Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (2)
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Occupy Nigeria is a national protest which began in Nigeria on Monday, January 2, 2012. The civil outrage is organized by trade unions who are incensed by the removal of fuel subsidy by the government. The protest has been fueled by the democratization of information as personified by young Nigerians through their use of social media. For days, the nation had been shut down: no one worked, earned or learned.

The synergy between online and real time protest was articulated by African Urbanism:

 

Occupy Nigeria Logo (Courtsey: Nigerianstalk.com)

As a lover of communications, media and especially social media, there are two things about this movement that make me especially excited: 1) First, the impressive role that social media is playing in terms of documenting and for coordinating activities and 2) the astounding amount of people that are making use of this medium to make their voiced heard… “Follow #occupynigeria #fuelsubsidy for just a couple minutes and you'll see precisely what I'm talking about — in a highly mobile country of more than 150 million, tweets are coming in so fast at times its almost impossible to keep up with the conversation. 

The Nigerian government insists that the deregulation of the petroleum sector is not only a panacea for development but also a means of strangulating corruption in the industry. This is part of economic reforms spearheaded by the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan with the support of Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealla (@NOIweala) and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (Governor of the Central Bank).

The position of the government in ending the fuel subsidy was articulated in this article by Sanusi:

Fraud like theft thrives not only because of the existence of greed and benefit but of opportunity… 1. You can off load 5,000 MT and bribe customs and other officials to sign papers confirming u offloaded 20k MT. Then do the same across the chain with a paper trail showing you delivered 20k MT to a tank farm, and maybe even that u transported it to Maiduguri entitling you to a share of the price equalization fund. Maybe for N20-N30 per litre u bribe all those who sign the papers. The 15k MT you take to Benin or Ghana or Cameroun and sell at market price thus making an additional “profit” of N55/ltr on 15,000MT! 2 you can just forge documents and have them stamped without bringing in anything and collect the subsidy-PPPRA pays based on DOCUMENTS. 3 you can bring in the fuel, load on tankers, sell some at N65N some at 80 some at 100 some across the land borders. You can do all this and no one can catch it or prove it because somebody was paid to sign off on docs. And with a high enough margin there is too much temptation to be resisted and firepower for bribing officials.

In effect, the Nigerian state has been subsidizing fuel, not for the common man/woman in the street but for some rent-seeking parasites. Nonetheless, Sanusi frankly explained that in addition to removal of subsidy, corruption and wasteful government expenditure has to be curtailed:

Finally: removing subsidy is not a silver bullet that solves our economic problems. And there is a huge trust deficit that government has to address. Government needs to investigate subsidy payments and punish any violations of extant guidelines. It needs to cut on unnecessary and wasteful expenditure. It needs to fight corruption and show seriousness in that. It needs to deliver on capital projects, power and infrastructure including irrigation, farm-level storage and agri-processing. These are all valid issues that are to be taken IN ADDITION to and not in place of subsidy removal.

However, this stance of the government has neither convinced labour nor civil society. @ toluogunlesi asserts here that:

But over time corruption has crept into the system, and dubious importers have found ways of inflating their receipts. Between January and October 2011, the government claims to have spent 1.3 trillion naira (about $8bn) on subsidies, instead of the budgeted N248bn. The government has admitted the existence of a cartel, but has done nothing to confront or expose it. The only solution, they've argued, is to scrap the entire subsidy, the only thing that resembles welfare in a land teeming with poor people.

As @toluogunlesi maintains, it’s a matter of trust:

At the root of the opposition is a trust deficit. So for Enough is Enough Nigeria and most Nigerians, the conversation is not merely about the fuel subsidy, but about a wasteful and corrupt leadership, given to making false promises and asking citizens to sacrifice for a better future. The message to President Jonathan and his government is simple: earn our trust with the trillions you already have in your possession, then we can, and will, wholeheartedly hand over this subsidy trillion to you.

Nigerians have always mistrusted their leaders due to many years of broken promises. In a blog post, @feathersproject concurs with @toluogunlesi that government wasteful spending has changed the conversation about the protest:

Occupy Nigeria … is certainly no longer about fuel subsidy but about the basic tenets of democracy and good governance. He who seeks equity must do so with clean hands. If government prescribes austerity for her citizens, then our leaders must also feel the pinch. Anything else is scandalous hypocrisy!

In a rejoinder to Sanusi's write-up, Tunji Olatunji advocates a more humane solution:

 

A protestor holding a placard that reads: 'NIGERIANS SAY NO TO REMOVAL OF SUBSIDY.' Photo courtesy of starafrica.com (via myweku.com).

Like the Yorubas would say “ori bibe ko ni oogun ori fifo”. This means that you cannot recommend beheading a man as a prescription for his headache. Yes we know that beheading a man would end the headache, but the cost to the man is the ultimate price. This is why it is my view that further impoverishing Nigerians with the domino impact of the oil subsidy removal at a time when the nation is grappling with the menace of religious and politically motivated mass killings is an exercise that suggest that those in charge of national policy decisions are too far detached from the reality on our streets and have sanity that leans towards cruelty. Their choice of time to introduce their volatile and controversial economic policy, which coincided with a time hundreds are being slaughtered in a part of the country while other parts are threatening reprisal attacks indicates that they lack any scintilla of patriotism in them. The real opportunity cost of a reform in that sector at this time should be the denial of further opportunities for those who abused or took advantage of the system via a change in processes empowered by appropriate relevant modern technology. 

Occupy Nigeria movement has also spread as far as the United Kingdom. MyWeku interviewed one of the main organizers of Occupy Nigeria (UK), Nicholas Ibekwe:

Q:The Occupy movement is now synonymous with protests that relate to social and economic injustice worldwide. The “Occupy” tag, however, especially for a distinctly Nigerian or African movement seems unoriginal. Were there discussions amongst organisers to come up with a more African name or slogan?

A: Like you acknowledge in one of your questions, the Occupy movement is synonymous with protests around the world. So, it was only normal for the popular revolt in Nigeria to be christened after the Occupy trend. This inevitably has helped to attract attention to the protest back home even as the government is doing everything to silent the Nigerian media (electronic) from broadcasting it to the world. But with the help of social media and the Occupy tag attached to the struggle young Nigerians who have always yearned for a change of the evil status quo in the country have been able to identify with the movement. In fact the London protest wasn’t even called Occupy Nigeria protest. The London protest was organised by a group of mostly Nigerian student from across the United Kingdom. 

Should Nigerians have chosen a different name to describe the protests?:

The “Occupy blah blah” tag helps protesters whatever their gripe is to rally around a tag that has now become synonymous with protests. However, it is clear that to date unlike “real” revolutions in North Africa, the Occupy this and that protests have achived little if anything. It is, therefore, a surprise that Nigerians are increasingly using the “Occupy” tag to kickstart their campaign against the removal of fuel subsidy . With every “Occupy” protest these days a detailed and stylish wikepedia Page is necessary and that has been set up for Occupy Nigeria in the last couple of days. There is even an Occupy Nigeria petition and a Facebook Page or two named “Occupy Nigeria”. There is also a rallying point on this website - with the twitter hashtag #OccupyNigeria.

Nonetheless, what seems to be in everybody's mind is the speedy resolution of the conflict. However, opinions differ on the best solution. In addition, with each passing day there are options: government either backs down and assents to the demands of labour/civil society or that the protest fizzles out and it's back to business as usual. Reaching a compromise between both parties is not impossible.

This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.

Written by Nwachukwu Egbunike · comments (3)
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The city calculated monthly budgets for local families with seven members - one where the husband accepted employment in the public sector, and the other where the husband was unemployed. They found that, because of losing some unemployment benefits and due to higher transportation expenditures, the employed man had 140 euros less than the unemployed one.

“And why do I have to work? To wake up every morning to go to work? They will take away the money [benefits] for child food, for housing and it is not a small amount. I prefer to not work and this way I will even save a few bucks,” Gejza, a father of four children, is quoted in the newspaper.

What is left unsaid in the original newspaper article is that many Slovaks would assume that someone unemployed, father of many children, with a Hungarian given name and living in East Slovakia is likely a member of the Roma ethnic group.

Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family said for the newspaper that “the Ministry knows about the badly tuned system of allowances for those in material need. Because of this, [the Ministry] has already made an effort to introduce changes, so that the recipient of state benefits had to deserve them. Unfortunately, the proposal encountered opposition and did not make it to the negotiation stage. Anyway, we continue to look for an adequate system change.”

Below are some comments from the article's discussion.

Element:

Even if it's 140 euro more for a working person, it will not help too much. Because for a man who has never been working in his life such a difference will not make him work.

Mrmr:

An extremely […] misleading article. It's not the social benefits that are high, but the wages - incomes - are low. If they said that payment for flood protection work would be 1,000 euros per month, then the numbers and comparisons would look different…

Smeckar:

Parental allowances should not be paid as a standard, but just like a deductible item from the wage. Those who do not work will get no allowances … otherwise you can't make people work…

buster234:

Why would they go to work when we are working for them! And when there is a lack of money, they will have our social contributions increased!

addis pareba:

Badly tuned is not the system of allowances and social benefits. Badly tuned is the system of work remuneration.

Tress:

Who is writing that social allowances are too high? They are not. Do you want to tell me that about 450 euros for a family with six members is [too] much? It is not. It is necessary to increase wages and not to lower small benefits!

djmaros (in reply):

Someone is standing in your way? Just ask your boss to add you 500 euros per month. Will he?

treke:

For a parasite it is [too] much. For a person who cares about himself alone and is intentionally overeating and overdrinking the results of someone else's work, it is 100% more than necessary.

racional:

They encountered opposition? Who are those opponents to lowering of the benefits for useless mouths?

mudla (in reply):

The opponents see it realistically. Where does that minister want to employ that unemployed to create merit? How many unemployed do we have for one free job position?

zeta reticuli (in reply):

Where to employ them? Public works. […] All the streets are shining […]. At least they will not steal and make children.

econoir.sk:

Don't be naive. It's 400,000 of voters.

zeta reticuli:

The solution is … when an unemployed person starts to work, he should not lose the whole allowance, it will just be lowered … This way it can't happen that a working person has less than a non-working one, however low his wages are.

prdola:

“Ministry: change is necessary”
White people will work more and for less money.

Lionluck1971:

I have just one question: how many officials our state needed to calculate what one unqualified Roma has been able to calculate?

Written by Tibor Blazko · comments (0)
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Jasmine crackdowns

The Jasmine uprising in the Arab world has reminded the Chinese people of their own political history in fighting against authoritarian rule. The downfall of Mubarak in Egypt has of course alerted the illegitimate authoritarian regime in China.

Without confronting any real threat, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started off the year with a heavy-handed crackdown, targeting online opinion leaders and human rights activists in February 2011. Amongst them are blogger-activist Liu Di, prominent artist-activist Ai Weiwei, Sichuan writer Ran Yunfei, Shanghai lawyer Li Tiantian, Sichuan legal activist Li Shuangde and Beijing activist Wang Lihong.

Christian Bale, image from Weibo

Even though the atmosphere has been tense, info-activists continued to campaign for all the political detainees. The Free Chen Guangcheng campaign has been ongoing for months since September 2011, and the most recent development was actor-activist Christian Bale's rough encounter with village guards when he attempted to pay Chen a visit.

Grassroots conflicts

Social conflicts kept bursting in on the grassroots communities throughout 2011. The first case at the beginning of the year was the citizen investigation of the suspected murder of Qian Yunhui, a village head in Zhejiang province who opposed forced land acquisitions in Yueqing county. While official investigation concluded it as an accident, many netizens believed that it was a murder as the county government has too much embedded interests in the developmental projects.

While rural areas were ruined by land seizure, urban areas were threatened by property bubbles. The majority of city dwellers believed that the government should introduce policy to cool down the property market. They displayed their anger towards the unrealistic Communist Party propaganda, which claimed that generous rental subsidies are available to help low-income families in Beijing.

Instead of helping the poor, many cities have adopted the policy to clear the “unwanted” people. The income disparity and social injustice has resulted in bitter resentment among the “unwanted” poor towards the rich and the government officials.

Netizens' reactions on the murder case of Yao Jiaxin reflected the popular feeling. Taxi drivers were among the first social groups to taste the effect of inflation on their living. On the other hand, as the society became more unstable and the economy was taking a downturn, the rich fled, bosses run away and civil servants committed suicides.

Children are the most vulnerable social group in such an unjust society. In the rural areas, 58 million children have been left behind by their parents, who went to the cities in search of jobs. Many became the victims of kidnapping. Most terribly, child rapists are protected by the “underage prostitution law”.

Food safety remains an unresolved problem. Poisonous milk scandals kept popping up throughout the year. Mainland Chinese crossing the border for milk powder has resulted in a shortage in Hong Kong. When Japan was facing a nuclear radiation crisis after the earthquake, Chinese people's immediate response was the panic buying of sea salt. However, the impact of radiation is probably less than that of the chemicals found in watermelons and vinegar.

Overdevelopment and uprisings

Many of the grassroots conflicts were the results of unrestrained development. The impact of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the country's environment is yet to be evaluated.

Thousands of people blocked the entrance of an express road. Photos widely circulated in Weibo.

In August, a large scale not-in-my-backyard mobilization took place in Dalian and the local government was forced to accept residents' demand to relocate a chemical factory. The year ended with two successful uprisings in Guangdong province at Wukan and Haimen. Both were against major developmental projects which generated profit by seizing people's land.

China Model

On one hand, the Chinese authority is very proud of the rise of China as a strong nation. A number of movies, such as Beginning of the Great Revival, have been produced to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the CCP.

On the other hand, in order to confront social and political discontents without harsh repressions, the CCP tries to explore different governance models to solve its legitimacy crisis. Some scholars advocated the restoration of Confucianism as the state ideology.

The CCP is unwilling to give up its one-party dictatorship model and introduce political reform. It prefers brainwashing education and red propaganda rather than rational change of the political process, and depends on the stability machine for maintaining social and political order. Thus, rights defense actions were taken as insane, independent candidates' campaigns in local elections were suppressed, micro-blogging platforms were under attack, and activists were subject to daily monitoring.

The China Model seemed to have entered Hong Kong with the visit of China's future premier Li Keqiang in August 2011. It is the first time in the city's history that a citizen was arrested for wearing a political T-shirt.

Geopolitics

The costly space race tells Chinese people and the world that the nation is on the rise. Yet in terms of international politics, some scholars believe that China is being boxed-in geopolitically. The Mekong river massacre and the U.S diplomatic strategy in Asia Pacific have alerted the nationalists of China's marginalized diplomatic position in the world.

However, the imaginary enemy game can never solve the internal social conflicts. Even though some intellectuals may find another revolution too remote and unrealistic, democracy and freedom have definitely become an aspiration of the commons in the year of the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution.

Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (2)
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One such example is domestic work. During 2011, the subject came up as a debate around social inclusion, bad work conditions, social hierarchies, gender issues and empowerment.

New trends

Social inclusion seems to be a key element to many of the changes. Research [pt] by Instituto Data Popular has put into perspective the rise of the ‘C Class', “the new middle class” - a social group that has taken advantage of more access to education, revenue increase and social programs. Now finally seen as a relevant market niche, this is the reason why many companies are interested in understanding this group's characteristics.

Untitled (Performance documentation). Painting by Ana Teresa Fernandez, used with permission.

The research has identified empowerment trends in women's career profiles; in comparison with the previous generation, the number of women involved with domestic work has decreased by a half as they pursue other employment options concerning their own career development.

Marketing consultant Luiz Marinho, on his blog presented [pt] some data that reflects this process: in the last nine years, the number of domestic workers has only increased 9% while the population has had a 13.5% growth. Domestic workers' rising wages are also influenced by this fact.

To put that in numbers, Espinho no dedo (Thorn in the finger) [pt], a blog on philoshphy and politics, has replicated data published in an article on the matter by BBC Brasil: while the Brazilian average went up by 25%, the domestic worker got a 43.5% wage increase in the same period.

It is important to take into consideration that the issue of domestic work in Brazil goes far beyond a market approach to the matter. There are many social and cultural traits linked to the role of domestic workers, their self-esteem, their rights as workers, and also prejudice and gender issues.

Social transformation

Cristina P. Rodrigues, on the blog Somos Andando (We are walking) [pt], wrote some reflections about a recent article by The Economist, regarding domestic work in Brazil, saying that Brazil, in a way, is freeing its domestic workers as part of a process of social transformation in which the poor will not abide by the rich's rules anymore.

Comba Marques Porto, on Consciência feminista (Feminist conscience) [pt], argues that the home, where the most intimate interpersonal relations take place, is also the stage where subtle gender discrimination occurs. Since the beginning of Brazilian history, domestic duties were always responsibility of women, “a patriarchal heritage that made its way into modern times, setting inequalities incompatible with the new democratic ways”:

A figura da criada chega aos meados do século XX pela permanência do modelo de desmedida exploração da força de trabalho no âmbito doméstico. Segue-se, assim, uma constante de tratamentos desiguais, de descumprimento das leis, fatos somente explicáveis pelo desvalor conferido ao trabalho nos setores do mercado em que há concentração da mão de obra feminina.

In a post for a blogging carnival on domestic work, journalist Luka adds that [pt] domestic work is invisible and somewhat marginalized, usually performed by women due to a gender division of work in which it's the role of women to care for the private space and the families. She wonders if that is not a reason why this type of employment is so precarious.

Michell Niero, in O Patifúndio [pt], comments on the “maid´s little room”, still present in modern residential buildings.

A presença do “quartinho de empregada” nas plantas residenciais, longe de ser tratada como um aspecto “atrasado” da sociedade do país, representa um dentre tantos elementos formadores da modernidade brasileira, avessa a rupturas e adepta a repaginações de processos que se mantém inalterados na sua essência.

Untitled (Performance documentation at San Diego/Tijuana border). Painting by Ana Teresa Fernandez, used with permission.

Even today, there is much evidence of a persistent clash in the relations between domestic workers and those who hire them. Michell Niero, in O Patifúndio [pt] talks about the multitasking nature of domestic work, one that leads to the incorporation of extra activities with no concern about the limits of the worker's contract, because usually such a contract doesn't formally exist. So, taking care of the children, educating and entertaining them, all become part of the daily routine.

Na ausência da mãe, a empregada se ocupa de tarefas maternas (…)

That is apparently the case of the blogger behind Sem Empregada (Living without a maid) [pt], who explains why she misses her maid:

Às vésperas de completar quatro anos sem empregada, pela primeira vez, estou cogitando voltar a ter uma na minha vida… as meninas estão em recuperação no colégio, com perigo real de repetir de ano (…). Um absurdo. Eu e meu marido estamos nos perguntando se isso tudo não está acontecendo porque não tem ninguém dentro de casa para cobrar horário de estudo, fiscalizar se estão na internet ou vendo televisão.

Revelar-se (Unfold) [pt] complains:

E então que, logo que me mudei, minha querida funcionária me pediu demissão com um bilhete na geladeira. Sim, um bilhete!!! E ela saiu da minha casa em uma 2a feira à tarde deixando louça na pia, uma pilha de roupa pra lavar e passar.

Writer and translator Maria do Sol, on the blog Família Floresta (Forest family) [pt] says that counting on the services of a domestic worker holds an element of glamour, the idea of being free to enjoy life and family without getting too involved with routine tasks. But she reminds herself and the readers that is an ideal and far from reality.

Jeanne Callegari on the blog Blogueiras Feministas (Feminist bloggers) [pt] presents an alternative approach to a future without domestic workers: acknowledge that counting on a domestic worker is a privilege that tends to disappear and start taking care of your stuff, “and it's good that it goes that way”.

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In 2009, too, doctors were not satisfied with their wages. But the head of their trade union declared that in the time of crisis they wanted to be with the rest of the society. At the time of the emerging euro crisis of 2011 this solidarity was no longer there. That's why some people labeled their protest as political, even also the former Prime Minister asked them to not desert their patients.

Demanding 1.5-3 times of the country's average wage and adhering to labor laws to eliminate overtime work, doctors again requested to stop transforming hospitals: in their understanding, the transformation was a preparation for an imminent privatization. They were also afraid that it could harm professional training of medical students and young doctors.

The government offered them a smaller wage raise (300 euro per month on the average, which is comparable to the local minimal wage) and refused to stop the hospital reform, naming it a crucial step towards higher efficiency.

Katarína Ragáčová wrote an text [sk] about how she had lost her child during the 2006 protest, because of the inactivity of the hospital staff, noting that hers was the third child lost during that day.

According to some sources, over 20 percent of the country's doctors hold a second job in the private sector, which weakens the overtime claim of their protest. Also, 25 percent of the Slovak households have had experience with medical corruption, which means that the doctors' actual income is often bigger than their official income. Asking for even more may appear immoral if you compare the doctors' official monthly average salary of 1500 euro with the 770 euro a month that Slovakia's teachers are paid.

So it was not so surprising that the majority of the population interpreted the protesters' demands as private interest and did not support the doctors' protest.

At the beginning of December, the most radical group of some 1,200 doctors actually did quit their jobs. A state of emergency was declared in the affected hospitals, which temporarily made it possible to call the doctors back to work, against their will.

The trade unions recommended these doctors to visit their own doctors and declare inability to work because of tiredness and stress. The head of the union compared the help of 25 Czech army doctors to the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact forces in 1968.

After a few days, the government and the trade union came to an agreement, which, among other things, allowed the doctors who had quit - and who immediately became healthy again - to return to their jobs.

The head of the union said that the lower negotiated wage growth (1.25-2.3 times the average wage) was proof that their requests were not just about the money. The PM claimed, however, that nearly all of the negotiations were about the wages.

The Association of Slovak Hospitals expressed its opinion that higher wages would bring collapse to the country's smaller hospitals. They believe it might happen a few weeks after the March 10 early parliamentary elections.

Below are some views [sk] translated from the discussion under the article on the outcome of the negotiations:

vlasok:

Congratulations to those doctors who held out until the end, despite the massive anti-campaign in the media, the incompetent minister and his strikebreakers

GeoRW:

It is especially necessary to say thank you to those unknown doctors who stayed with the patients. Probably the society will never know their names, but these are the noble heroes, not those who, despite the government's concessions, were willing to let patients die and achieved nothing but frustration and aversion to the medical profession in the society.

morgul2:

and now it's time for the teachers [to protest]

Yoishi Snipo:

And healthcare [quality] will further go down … and doctors will receive salaries that most of them do not deserve and patients will continue to die in hospitals, because doctors … did not receive [bribes] from them

praxon:

Doctors did not quit their jobs because their families are starving, but because they want more.

Kvantový mechanik:

I want some government to finally restore order in healthcare. It's clear that doctors will really squeal. The better measures for the patient, the more squealing by the Slovak physicians.

maico123:

The best would be to publish [the names of] the doctors who did not accept the previous government's compromise 300€ and who in the state of emergency declared [their] illness! I do not want such filth to treat people, because they do not care about patients but just about the money.

gomezbandido:

The government has been defeated and the taxpayers are losing with it … It is just a question of time until doctors do it again - they already know that the government and the public are weak.

nikonus:

Everything bad is good for something. I believe that most people will change their view on doctors and will stop perceiving them as some sort of a special caste. Pity that this will also affect the doctors who deserve the highest respect.

noreplay:

they will miraculously recover - it's enough to put 200 or 500 euro banknotes on their foreheads and all illnesses would be gone!

ufffffo:

I congratulate citizens of Slovakia. Doctors have saved their hospitals. Many citizens already understand this, many will understand later.

Written by Tibor Blazko · comments (1)
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