· March, 2010

Stories about Labor from March, 2010

Japan Government: On the Fall of the Employment System

A think tank for Japan's Cabinet, the Economic and Social Research Institute (内閣府 経済社会総合研究所) (ESRI) published a study that quantified the present status of lifetime employment and seniority-based wage (i.e....

28 March 2010

Japan: Foreign trainees’ sad stories

A photo-reportage by Buddhika on five Chinese female trainees who reportedly escaped from the fabric factory of Tode Bussan (in Toyama prefecture) where they were underpaid and exploited.

22 March 2010

Lebanon: Runaway Maids

“When a maid runs away from her employer's house, the police station is unable to act because there's no law criminalizing runaway maids. So the police station officer tells the...

21 March 2010

China: Confession of a ‘Second Generation Migrant Worker’

China’s hukou system, adopted in 1958 to control population movement, has long been criticized for tying the population to their place of origin. With the mass migration of rural workers to China’s cities and coastal regions, the system is under the spotlight. One blogger airs his grievances.

18 March 2010

Egypt: And the IslamOnline strike continues

The IslamOnline employees sit-in continues in Cairo, Egypt, after 250 employees were given their notice. The disgruntled employees are livestreaming, blogging and using Twitter to broadcast their plight. Mohamed El Gohary brings us the latest update.

18 March 2010

Egypt: IslamOnline Employees Strike

Hundreds of employees, editors, and journalists started an angry sit-in in the widely read Cairo-based IslamOnline news website after 250 employees were sacked. For the first time, strikers are using new media efficiently and effectively to draw all the attention needed to support their cause, from continuous Twitter updates to live streaming.

16 March 2010

China: Debating hukou reform

Earlier this month, 13 Chinese newspapers appealed to the National People's Congress' 3,000 delegates for social reforms. They attacked China's hukou (household registration system), which severely limits the access of rural migrant workers to basic services in China’s metropolises.

15 March 2010

Jamaica: Consumer Win

“Thank you OUR (Office of Utility Regulations) for standing up for the Jamaican consumers by telling the JPS (Jamaica Public Service) no to their latest attempt of robbery!”: Stunner lets...

5 March 2010

Bermuda: Stinking Budget

Vexed Bermoothes says that Bermuda's most recent budget “seeks to live on debt and on increased taxes on both businesses and workers…but beyond that, something else stinks.”

3 March 2010