· August, 2007

Stories about Labor from August, 2007

Kuwait: Jailed Blogger Released

Following a local and regional outcry, jailed Kuwaiti blogger Bashar Al-Sayegh was released in Kuwait earlier today. While some bloggers celebrated the release, others warned that it could be a...

22 August 2007

The Balkans: Youth Activism

Balkanizer believes that in the Balkans, “it is the youth that should be at the vanguard of social revival and instead they are the most passive part of the society.”

20 August 2007

Bahrain: Poetry Slammed!

This week Bahraini bloggers express their concerns about the country's electronic identity cards. With the school year about to begin, education is a hot topic. Be careful what you write when you send a job application – you might unwittingly become one of the new superheroes, The Employables! We finish with some strong opinions regarding the literary scene in Bahrain.

17 August 2007

South Asia: Slaving in the Middle East

South Asian migrant workers (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal) have a notable contribution in the developments of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf region. But the abuse and exploitation...

17 August 2007

Japan: New Labour Contract Law

Japan Law Blog summarized the new labour contract law, which was called “A ‘Contract Law’ that Enslaves Japanese Working People” by Japan Focus.

17 August 2007

Moldova: Migrant Workers & Economy

According to TOL's Moldova Matters, “Moldova is ranked second in the world after Togo, in the list of countries with economies that depend on money sent from abroad” by Moldovan...

16 August 2007

China: Manpower Parallel Rail

Kanchai pointed out that the labour market in China is now in parallel rail, which means two different salary system for same the same job, people coming from rural areas...

14 August 2007

Estonia: Eternal Remont

Itching for Eestimaa writes about remont in Estonia: “…the point of remont is not to finish it, but to keep doing it. This is Estonia, and in Estonia, remont is...

10 August 2007

China: Cultural Revolution

Zhao Si-long recommended an article about the economic background of Cultural Revolution (zh) with some class and social grouping analysis.

10 August 2007

Iran:More worker activists arrested

Kaargar says [Fa] that several members of Tehran Bus Drivers Union were arrested today in Tehran.They were planning to hold a protest outside the house of Mansour Osanlu,their jailed leader.They...

9 August 2007

Syria: Lebanese Border and Toilet Etiquette

Yazan Badran takes us on a tour of Syrian blogs where bloggers are discussing the worsening of conditions of Syrian workers and families at the Lebanese-Syrian border, calls for the return of the Golan Heights occupied by Israel to Syria, the Czech machine gun and toilet etiquette.

9 August 2007

Russia: Notes From Irkutsk and Poronaysk

Two more sketches from Oleg Klimov, Siberia-born photographer and blogger who has been traveling across Russia since June 23: the first excerpt is about Siberia and its people; the second one is about the fish-smelling town of Poronaysk, located on the island of Sakhalin.

4 August 2007

China: Motorbikes banned in Dongguan

“Today is the last first day of a month that motorcycles can legally ride the streets of Dongguan,” wrote manufacturing executive and blogger A. Bryson on August first. “Come September...

3 August 2007

Israel: Child Slaves

Yudit from Israel writes about child slavery in the country here. “Who are those children? Whose children are they?” asks the blogger.

2 August 2007