Stories about Labor from January, 2007
Poland: Clothing for the Pope vs G-Strings
A small Polish town is divided: is it a sin to make sexy underwear for a company that used to make ceremonial clothing for Pope John Paul II? The beatroot has more on it.
China: Out of Libya
It‘s [zh] since been disabled, but there was one especially eye-catching post on Tianya, one of China's most widely-read bbs forum sites last month. ‘Save us!’ it read. ‘We've been stuck in Libya for over a year and we're about to go crazy here!’ Racist attitude, seen further down, might...
South Korea: alternative fashion show
Jamie from interlocals.net reports on an interesting alternative fashion show in Seoul: The clothes were made and modeled by the women who made them as well as by a number of prominent figures from Korean civil society. The participants from civil society included labour union activists from the largest and...
Iran:Bus Drivers under Pressure
According to Otoobos2,Fazl Mazaheri,a bus driver was fired because of his participation in bus strike [Fa].
Ghana: It's Harmattan again, Re-denomination of Ghanian Currency Looms Large, Why the Ghanian Worker Wants to Leave, and 82 Steps to Renew a Visa
Ghana is currently experiencing a harmattan, and this state of play evidently does not escape the comment of Leanne, of An American in Africa, who explains how the harmattan, which she defines as: a dry dusty wind that blows along the northwest coast of Africa. Its time-frame, she describes as...
Senegal: Flooded by Chinese Products
Blog Politique du Senegal is worried (Fr)about imports from China “flooding” local markets: “China has extremely low production costs … By opening its doors wide to Chinese products, Senegal is preventing itself from developing a national production. Meanwhile, the country's industrialization is the only means of providing work to thousands...
Cambodia: Paying Fair Wages
Diana at Cambodia Calling compares her life in her former home Singapore to her current home Cambodia. The blogger also describes why her company, a garment manufacturing unit, believes in paying fare wages to the workers.
Europe: Migration
The Economist‘s Edward Lucas writes about migration within the EU.
South Korea: labour movement
Jamie in Two Koreas updates his readers about the recent labour movement activities in South Korea, including 20th anniversary of the June 1987 Democratic Uprising, anti FTA protest, etc.
Japan: white collar exemption
Adamu in Mutant frog has a nice article discussing the recent debate on white collar exemption, which means office workers who earn 4 million yen or more annually could no longer be eligible for overtime.
Slovenia: Public Holidays
The Glory of Carniola rejoices: “…Slovenian workers will hit the jackpot in 2007: All public holidays this year fall on weekdays.”
Guadeloupe: No Correlation Between Earthquake and Smooth Abolition of Slavery
Guadeloupe Attitude reposts an article by Claude Thiebaut concluding that (Fr) contrary to a prior theory, an 1843 earthquake in Guadeloupe did not contribute (through what was thought to be newfound solidarity in the face of the disaster) to the relatively smooth abolition of slavery in 1848.
Cambodia: Life of a Child Vendor
Vutha introduces us to a ten year old girl who sells bracelets to tourists to support her family and her education.
Guinea: unlimited national strike
Black Star Journal reports about the national strike organized by Guinea's main trade union, “Guinea's main trade union collective, CNTG-USTG, has announced that it will launch an unlimited national general strike starting on Jaunary 10.”
Malaysia: North Korean Workers Found Dead
DPRK studies links to a Malaysian news story about two North Koreans found dead in Sibu, East Malaysia. This is the first time that we have news of North Korean labour being used in South East Asia.
Anguilla: What's wrong with the public service
The Corruption-free Anguilla blog is devoting a series of posts — one, two, three, four — to a detailed analysis of the country's public service and its discontents.
Barbados: Caribbean Direct Recruitment Scheme
Titilayo supplements what she knew previously about the Caribbean Direct Recruitment scheme, through which London Transport recruited Caribbean migrants to the UK, with information from an exhibition currently on at the London Transport Museum.
Europe: Migration
Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar posts some “more migrating piffle.”
Ukraine: Thoughts on Staying and Leaving
LJ user chio – of Simferopol, Crimea – writes (RUS): On life A friend came for a visit recently – he had emigrated to New Zealand some five years ago as an already established businessman. He was shocked by what he saw around him. He was genuinely surprised by the...
China: Teacher strike
Teachers in Huadu, an outlying suburb of Southern China metropolis Guangzhou went on strike yesterday in front of the local district government building yesterday, calling for higher wages. A thorough look through Google search results for “Huadu” “teacher” and “protest” suggests a media blackout, which the teachers seem to have...
Jamaica: Earning a quick dollar in the ghetto makeover
Ria Bacon photographed these young women in December 2006 on Barbican Road in Kingston, Jamaica. As she explains on her blog: In the week before Christmas, many of the poorer areas of Kingston get a quick makeover, as hundreds of local residents hack at overgrown pavements and daub the kerbs...