Stories about Labor from November, 2010
Fiji Water closes the tap and leaves Fiji
After squabbling with Fiji's government, the US-based premium water company Fiji Water closed its bottling plant and canceled its contracts. While the company's leaders hope to strike a deal with Fiji's military government, an estimated 4,000 people are affected by the closure. Fiji's bloggers and commenters provide their take on the matter.
Portugal: Citizen Videos Promoting 24/11 General Strike
Youtube profile GreveGeral2010 [General Strike 2010, pt] gathers several one minute videos promoting today's mobilisation of Portuguese citizens against the austerity budget to be voted this week in the Parliament, following 2010 European sovereign debt crisis.
Japan: Young voices against job-hunting system
Students who are obsessed with job hunting [en] and cannot find a job, young workers who had to give up on the job of their dreams because their hunt wasn't successful, graduate students who had to enroll in a master's to have a chance to be hired by companies who...
China: bridge-blog posts original documentary of rural life
C. Custer, of bridge-blog ChinaGeeks, has posted his first original documentary of life in China's rural northeast. Plans are also underway for a second project, entitled Finding Home, which will look at the kidnapping and selling of children in the People's Republic.
China: Messages behind the flowers to the Shanghai fire victims
Yesterday, thousands of mourners in Shanghai flocked to the 28-storey apartment block that was gutted by a tragic fire on November 15 to pay their respects for the 58 residents who perished. Much of China's headlines today focus on the collective mourning, but few have highlighted the messages behind citizens' insistence in offering flowers at the disaster site.
China: Educated youth face a tough future
China Media Project translates an article by Yu Jianrong about educated youth in China, which can be divided into two groups. The first one are privileged by their access to wealth and power. The second, and much larger, group lack this privilege. It is the latter group which face a...
Chile: Protests Against Mining Industry
The Latin Americanist writes about recent protests targeting the government and the mining industry: “Chile’s mining industry has come under increased scrutiny since the mine collapse that left the 33 miners trapped underground for about seventy days. Unfortunately the reform promised by President Sebastian Pinera has been slow to materialize.”
USA: Hunger Strike of Border Women at White House Ends
Eleven women from the organization La Mujer Obrera (Working Women) who advocate for community-led economic development along the United States-Mexico border, ended a ten-day hunger strike in front of the White House in Washington, D.C today.
China: Sanyo workers in Shenzhen stage strike
China Labour Bulletin reports that more than a thousand workers at Sanyo Huaqiang Laser Electronics in Shenzhen’s Longhua district staged a one day strike last week over working conditions and a planned merger with a factory in another district in downtown Shenzhen.
Slovakia: Netizens Discuss Chinese Highway Construction Offer
The Slovak minister of transport is reluctant to let the Chinese companies, which offer extremely low prices, enter Slovakia's highway construction market. Tibor Blazko reviews the Slovak netizens' reactions.
Czech Republic: Russian Presence in Karlovy Vary
The Czech Daily Word writes about Karlovy Vary, a famous Czech resort town popular with tourists from the former Soviet states: “And one can see the Russian presence on almost every main street in downtown Karlovy Vary, where even hair salons, post offices, hardware stores etc. have signs in four...
South Korea: The Super-Supermarkets Twitter shootout
As mega-markets arrive to devour small businesses, serious discussions have been rekindled in Korea in both online and offline venues. On the night of October 28, two formidable opponents, one representing big corporations and the other standing the small business owners, engaged in a battle on in Twitter.