· October, 2010

Stories about Labor from October, 2010

Bahamas: Set a Better Example

  28 October 2010

The last time Weblog Bahamas‘ Jerome Pinder checked, things were “pretty grim” in the Bahamas: “If the behavior of our Parliamentarians is any reflection on us as a people, then you don't have to wonder why social values are crumbling around us.”

France: Youth against Pension Reform

  26 October 2010

October 19 was the seventh consecutive day of nationwide demonstrations in France against the pension reform bill. As the foreign press is reporting the protests mainyl as a social conflict, broadcasting images of urban guerilla warfare and giving very little press to the reasons, bloggers go in depth about the motivation of the youth and its implications

Argentina: Protester killed in confrontation between labor unions

  22 October 2010

Mariano Ferreyra, a student at the University of Buenos Aires and member of the Worker's Party, was shot during a confrontation between members of the Railroad workers union and workers that were protesting layoffs along with militants of left-leaning parties. Demonstrations condemning the killing were quickly organized.

Cameroon: Cameroonian Blogs Roundup

  22 October 2010

We begin our roundup of Cameroonian blogs with Dibussi Tande who takes us the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. He discusses the myriad challenges facing the tribunal- specifically the charge that the court dispenses winners’ justice. The ICTR, he argues, means different things to different people: The...

China: Maoist worker activist in jail

  21 October 2010

JJ from China Study Group looks into the significance of Zhao Dongmin's arrest and imprisonment. Zhao is a lawyer, labor activist and Maoist. He has been put in jail more than a year after his arrest for trying to setup a workers’ watchdog group to combat corrupt and illegal SOE...

Mexico: Poster Child for Child Labor Still Working on the Street

  20 October 2010

Burro Hall posted a picture of Jesús, a boy that plays the accordion in the street, next to a newspaper article on child exploitation that shows a picture of him: “[he] is still sitting right outside the Governor's office playing the accordion for money rather than attending school so he...

China: Afterthoughts of Foxconn tragedies

  19 October 2010

Foxconn, a Taiwanese company and the world's largest maker of electronic components, has become one of the most notorious corporations in China after 13 consecutive suicides of its workers in 2010. However, given the fact that Foxconn's salary and working environment is not the worst of its kind, no one has...

Chile: 33 Miners Rescued Successfully

  16 October 2010

In northern Chile, efforts to free 33 miners trapped inside the San Jose copper and gold mine concluded successfully. All the men, including rescue workers, were brought back to the surface using a small capsule. Chileans have not only used blogs and social media to react to the accident and the rescue, but also to discuss related issues, like miner's working conditions.

Big Corporations, South Korea's Human Rights Blind Spot

  16 October 2010

Hospitals, prisons and the army are three places spots where absolute authority is held by one side. In Korea, there's another human rights blind spot: big corporatations. Lots of information that handed over them are treated with inconsideration and direct insults are the norm during the interview process.

Greece: Teargas under the Acropolis

  15 October 2010

The financial crisis gripping Greece has led to new clashes between protesting workers and police, most recently at the foot of the Acropolis of Athens on October 13 when riot police teargassed contract employees of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, who were protesting against unpaid wages and demanding permanent contracts.