Stories about Labor from August, 2012
Guyana: Social Media Plays Role in Linden Solidarity Protests
The protests in Linden have spawned other protests in solidarity, both in Guyana and overseas - and social media, in the form of blogs, online videos and Facebook - have been helping to spread the message.
South Africa: ‘Apartheid Era’ Police Brutality at Mine Massacre
"16th of August 2012 will go down in South African history as the new Sharpeville. 45 dead because police and the South African government cannot handle an independent union movement." - Police used lethal force on mine workers who were striking at a Lonmin mine in Marikana.
Italy: Uncertain Future for Polluting Ilva Steel Plant – and its 12,000 Employees
Europe's biggest steel plant in Taranto, Italy, has been put under judicial seizure: the last chapter of a complex struggle involving high environmental risks and occupational issues. Along with street protests, a broader debate has ensued online.
China: International Scholars Call on Guangdong Government to Stop Repression against Labor NGOs
SACOM posts an open letter jointly signed by a group of international scholars, urging the Guangdong government to stop suppressing labour NGOs.
Is China's Africa Policy Failing?
The news of a Chinese mining boss being allegedly killed by striking workers in Zambia has caught Chinese netizens' attention, prompting them to compare the working conditions in both countries and question China's policy of 'development-aid diplomacy' in Africa.
Sri Lanka: Time To Rethink The School Examination System
Serendipity questions the lack of credibility of the School Examination System in Sri Lanka and relates how that is contributing to the growing unemployment in the country.
Nepal: Saving Migrant Workers In The Gulf
In reaction to the recent ban on Nepali female workers to the Gulf, Guffadi thinks that it is just a symbolic ban while the real culprits, the manpower agencies, roam free.
Bangladesh: The Yard & The Manimals
Atik Ullah Sayeed posts a photo essay on the Shipbreaking industry in Bangladesh.
Bulgaria: Don't Dismantle the Train Services!
Bulgarian blog “Работнически глас” (Worker's Voice) publishes [bg] a few photographs of a protest on Sofia's Central Railway Station. Held on August 9, this flashmob gathered around 100 people who chained a “human train” by standing one behind another. This “train” travelled inside the station while the protesters were calling...
Zambia: Chinese Mining Boss Allegedly Killed by Striking Workers
The tragic death of a Chinese supervisor at a coal mine in southern Zambia allegedly at the hands of striking workers demanding the implementation of the new minimum wage policy has reached all corners of the globe from the New York Times to the China Digital Times.
Mauritania: Bribery and String-Pulling, Made in China
"The Chinese accused of bribing escaped any legal pursuit. What matters is, as far as I know, that he is the first civil servant to report a bribery case in Mauritania." After three Chinese investors tried to bribe him, Mauritania's General Director of Taxation locked them in his office and called the police.
Egypt: Social Justice for All
The Egyptian non-profit media collective Mosireen [en, ar] is “born out of the explosion of citizen journalism and cultural activism in Egypt during the revolution”. The group of filmmakers and citizen journalists collects footage and video testimonies from protests in Egypt. Their YouTube channel was the most viewed non-profit channel...
South Korea: Mass Firing of TV Writers from Investigative Program
Although an unprecedentedly long strike by workers from South Korea's largest TV network, MBC, officially ended in mid-July, complaints and anger has yet again resurfaced after the network fired every single writer from its signature investigative program.
Singapore: ‘Transient Workers Count Too’ Website
The ‘Transient Workers Count Too’ website provides research and direct assistance to low-wage migrant workers in Singapore. Their recent initiative was to raise funds for two Chinese workers who were killed in an accident.
Tanzania: Teachers’ Strike De-stabilizes the Nation
Teachers in Tannzania have been on a strike to urge the government to pay their unpaid dues and to improve their benefit and salaries. The strike followed, after the Teacher's union (Chama Cha Walimu-CWT),through their president Mr.Gratian Mukoba, gave the g0vernment a 48 hours notice on 28thJuly,2012
Mauritania: Mining Workers Protest ‘New Kind of Slavery’
More than 2,300 laborers are protesting in the Mauritanian northern mining city of Zouerat, which has led to complete paralysis at some ten National Mining and Industrial Company sites, in addition to disrupting work in other locations. The demands centre around a pay dispute.
