Stories about Labor from December, 2008
Fiji: Dispute over local jobs
A government infrastructure project in Fiji was delayed after local residents demanded that workers in the project should come from the local community.
Russia: A Muslim Trade Union?
Window on Eurasia writes that Central Asian migrant workers in the Urals are considering forming a “Muslim trade union.”
Egypt: Down sizing Car factory
In the middle of everybody's talk about Gaza's siege and Israeli brutal attack on Palestinians, Egyptian blogger Zeinobia is asking people not to forget Egyptian internal affairs. In her new post, “Don't forget the inner line” , she highlights the Government's new decision to downsize the Nasr Car Factory as...
Cuba: Subsidies
As “Raúl Castro reaffirmed the idea of ending subsidies”, Generation Y observes: “Between the symbolic price of a pound of rationed rice, and the enormous ‘slice’ of our salaries taken by those who govern us, we are more the givers than the receivers of subsidies.”
Southeast Asia: Controversies and tragedies of 2008
In the previous post (Southeast Asia: Newsmakers of 2008), I wrote about the major events that took place in Southeast Asia. In this article, I will highlight other stories which became controversial as well.
Haiti: Restavek
“In the truest definition of the word it means ‘one who stays with'”: Tara at The Livesay Haiti Weblog says that the Restavek system “might be one of the most frustrating ones of all for me to accept. The fact that children are used for labor and for the benefit...
Senegal: Domestic workers’ exploitation
Faty Dieng at Dakar Bondy Blog [Fr] denounces about the working conditions of domestic workers in Senegal, some of them as young as 16, which she describes “a form of slavery and exploitation in disguise”.
Japan: Un-hiring fresh graduates
Job hunting for fresh graduates in Japan is an intense trial called shushoku katsudo or shukatsu for short. University students in their third year start shukatsu during the winter in hopes of receiving several naitei (informal job offer/promise of employment) in May at the earliest, to start their new jobs on April 1st of the following year.
Southeast Asia: Newsmakers of 2008
For Southeast Asia, 2008 was a year of terrible disasters, both natural and man-made. Rice consumption was reduced, milk products were contaminated with melamine, jobs were lost, bloggers were arrested, and homes were destroyed. But the situation is not hopeless.
Bahrain: Comparing the Bahraini and Japanese work ethic
Bahraini blogger Yagoob is currently studying in Japan - and has seen firsthand the legendary Japanese work ethic. In this post he compares the attitude of many Bahrainis towards work with that of the Japanese.
Jamaica: Bailout Plan?
“It is indeed a sorry state of affairs. Usually in times of downturn, alcohol sales increase as people look to drown their sorrows!”: As employees of a rum manufacturer are laid off, Jamaica Salt wonders whether “the government of Jamaica should be considering a bailout plan.”
Russia: The Crisis and The Potential For Unrest
In mid-October, Global Voices published a roundup of Anglophone bloggers' views on the financial crisis in Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia and Ukraine. Below is another installment on the effects and the likely consequences of the crisis in Russia.
Japan, Brazil: A centenary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil.
In June 1908, the Japanese ship Kasato Maru docked in the Port of Santos after a 52-day voyage, bringing the first Japanese families to Brazil. A hundred years later and after a hard period of adaptation, Japanese and Japanese-Brazilians reflect on the history and cultural heritage of this cross ocean cultural mix.
Cambodia: Situation of restaurant workers
Nguon Serath writes about the grim situation of restaurant workers in Cambodia.
Singapore: Discrimination against construction workers
After four months of staying in Singapore, electricstars observes: “The Bangladeshi and/or Indonesian construction workers are some of the most shunned and disfavoured people on this island.”
Estonia: Deportations, Artificial Hills, Gray Passports, and Layoffs
Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonian women who survived the deportations of the 1940s, but whose tragic stories never found a reflection in the Soviet-time Estonian women's magazine, Nõukogude Naine. This and a few other recent posts from the Estonian blogosphere - in the roundup below.
Russia: Ethnicity, Labor Migration, Human Rights
A roundup on ethnicity, labor migration and human rights in Russia: IZO cites death statistics for Tajik labor migrants in Moscow. Moscow Through Brown Eyes writes about an attack on Stanley Robinson, an 18-year-old African-American student in Volgograd – here and here. Window on Eurasia writes about a strike by...
Bahamas: Sour Santa
Simon, blogging at Bahama Pundit, is convinced that Santa Claus is vex.
Brunei: The ‘Ali Baba’ syndrome
Brunei has the potential to achieve economic diversity. However, development is hampered by little or lack of productivity. The Bruneian Malay culture may in fact be one of the reasons as to why progress is slow.
Migrant Workers in the Gulf
Nimr, from America-Palestinian Kabobfest, discusses the issue of migrant workers in the Gulf – and how their governments are not fending for their rights thanks to the millions of remittance payments they send back home every month.
South Asian Laborers Duped Again in Iraq
After 12 Nepalese laborers had been kidnapped and murdered by Iraqi terrorist group Ansar al-Sunna in 2004, there was hope that officials in Iraq, United States and in Nepal would take steps to ensure the safety and security of those traveling to Iraq in search of work. Unfortunately, reports suggest...
