2249개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
END THE EXPLOITATION!
That's the main slogan of thousands of workers in the Romanian town Pitesi where they were producing the Dacia, Europe's cheapest car. But now, since almost two weeks, nothing is going on anymore because 9,500 workers are in strike.
While Dacia, a part of the French Renault Group, makes every year massive profits (in 2007: 150 Million Euro), the workers and their families must struggle to survive with only 160 to 280 Euro per month. But the price for the average monthly live in Romania is at least 300 Euro.. and the prices are increasing monthly!
That's the reason why the Dacia workers are striking. They are demanding an increase of 550 lei (€150) per month (the management is offering only 67 Euro), a share of company profits, higher bonuses at Christmas and a discount on cars produced at the factory.
The management of Dacia/Renault is offering now 67 Euro more per month. But for the striking workers - of course - that's just a provocation...
But while the Dacia workers are in strike - and many people in Romania call it a small revolution (the strike is the first main walkout in Romania since 20 years) Dacia has nothing better to do as to broadcast following strange advertisement in the TV:
"Revolution - The New Dacia Logan.."
Related:
☞ Video: Dacia Strike, Demo in Pitesti (EuroNews, 3.27)
☞ Strike at Dacia Renault factory ("socialist" world, 3.29)
☞ Auf der Aufholspur (Tagesspiegel, 4.05)
이명박정권이 들어서면서 가속도가 붙은 개발로 인해
가난한 노동자들이 길바닥으로 내쫒겨나는 일이 더욱 비일비재해진
현시점에서 "용산4철거민대책위원회"는
"투쟁만이 살길이다! 투쟁으로 주거생존권 쟁취하자"는 결의로
..4월 3일 용산4구역내에서 시민들에게 알려내는
거리행진과 선전전을 시작으로 주거의 권리와 생존의 권리를 위해
투쟁을 선포하는 현판식을 진행하였습니다.
함께 해주신 전국빈민연합, 이랜드 일반노조, 이주노조,
들꽃, 지민주, 고대 돌개바람동지 등 많은 연대단위동지들과
전국의 철거민동지들께 감사드립니다.
반드시 개발악법 박살내고 민중주거생존권쟁취를 위해
끝까지 투쟁하겠습니다. 투쟁!!
-투쟁하는 철거민이 철거에서 해방된다!!
-투쟁없이 쟁취없다 투쟁으로 쟁취하자!!
-용산4철대위 선봉투쟁 전철연 연대투쟁 자본가정권 박살내자!!
용산4철거민대책위
Related contributions:
☞ 용산4철대위 현판식을 시작으로 강고한 투쟁 결의 (전철연)
☞ 전철연 용산4가 철대위 발대식에서 (이주노조)
In ancient East Asia almost every new ruler had his own motto for the period of his governance. The motto of the current Lee Myung-bak gov't in S. Korea must - likely - be called: "Achieve the intensified bourgeois (i.e. capitalist) dictatorship!!"
Police to toughen protest rules (Korea Herald, 3.31)
The police agency is seeking to ban demonstrators from carrying steel pipes, bamboo spears and other items that can be used to attack policemen.
They are also looking to prohibit demonstrators from wearing facial masks and to restrict the level of noise made at protests.
The National Police Agency said yesterday it will submit a revised bill on illegal street protests to the National Assembly after the April 9 elections.
The move comes amid President Lee Myung-bak's vow to crack down on illegal collective action, include militant labor activities.
Lee had personally asked Commissioner General Eo Cheong-soo to look into the issue, according to local reports.
To stem violence from walkouts and strikes, the police are looking to legally punish and arrest demonstrators who carry or use weapons during collective action.
The police have also proposed tougher jail sentences and fines for anyone participating in illegal labor activities despite police warnings. The current penalty is a maximum sentence of two years, or a maximum fine of 2 million won ($2,019).
The new bill will call for an agreement to be signed between demonstration organizers and local police when notice of a rally is filed, police said.
Prosecutors recently indicted 60 workers from Koscom, an electronic stock information provider, for participating in an illegal demonstration, and asked the court to impose a 1 million won fine on each party.
Government-hired security personnel raided their nearly 200-day sit-in near the company's building in Yeouido earlier last month. The unionized workers were demanding regular working status for some unionized members.
Related:
☞ Megaphone Use in Rally Faces Restrictions (K. Times, 3.31)
☞ Professors Protest `Political Censorship' (3.31)
Allianz set to fire 106 unionists (K. Herald, 3.28)
A foreign life insurance company(*) here is set to layoff up to 40 percent of its branch heads, or 106 unionized workers, who have been on strike for over two months in protest of a new wage system.
Allianz Life Insurance Korea, the second-largest foreign life insurer in assets, said it will dismiss all 106 out of 267 branch chiefs involved in the "illegal strike," if the unionized workers fail to return to work by Monday. However, the strikers were requested to report of their possible return to the company by yesterday.
A management committee meeting will be held on Tuesday to finalize the decision on the dismissal, company officials said.
The company's labor union said it is bracing to take legal actions against the management if the company proceeds with the firings. The branch chiefs have been on a strike since Jan. 23.
In Korea, it is unprecedented for a company in the financial sector to go forward with such a massive layoff.
The unionized workers are against the company's unilateral decision to introduce a new performance-based wage system, which values one's performance over seniority.
"The reason for this walkout lies in the fact that the management did not inform or negotiate with its workers and labor union on the new salary system in advance," the company's labor union said.
"For the branch chiefs, taking part in the strike is more like self-defense, something similar to emergency evacuation."
So far, two committee meetings have been launched to determine the level of disciplinary punishment on the unionized employees and 52 are already on the layoff list, according to Allianz officials.
"Currently, all of them are taking collective action, heading to Jeju Island by boat, and it seems difficult to expect their return on time," a company official said.
On March 21, Allianz President Cheong Mun-kuk issued a stern warning that the company would punish the striking workers if they fail to return to work by 9 a.m., March 24.
Cheong again released a statement on March 24, saying the company will grant leniency to those who came back to work by yesterday. Only 53 workers have returned as of 3 p.m. Friday, still short of 106 branch heads.
Under a company rule, the company is allowed to dismiss a non-unionized worker who has been absent from work for 15 days or more.
Although the labor union claims the strike is legal, its management said it will not hold any negotiations with the union until they come back to work.
Related stuff:
☞ 알리안츠생명보험 노동조합 파업 (3.28, video docu)
☞ Allianz Korea Union on strike.. (uni global union, 1.25)
☞ Allianz refuses dialogue with its striking workers (uni g.u., 3.24)
* For more informations about..
☞ Allianz (Wikipedia)
Lidl is a German discount supermarket chain that operates 7,000 stores in at least 17 European countries. Since many years Lidl is "well known" - famous-notorious - for the massive exploitation of its employees in general and the excessive oppression of any trade union activities in its stores.
But yesterday the German bourgeois magazine Der Spiegel published following almost incredible (..not really, if you know the capitalist reality!!) article, based on a story by the magazine Stern (3.26):
Discount Chain Accused of Spying on Workers
It's not the first time that the discount supermarket chain Lidl has been accused of maltreating its employees. But observing them on the toilet? Listening in on their private phone calls? An explosive report published this week by a German newsmagazine has triggered an investigation into the retailer.
The European discount supermarket chain Lidl sells itself with the slogan "Where quality is cheaper." And when it comes to its employee practices, it certainly appears to be cheap, if new allegations turn out to be true.
According to a report by the German weekly magazine Stern, Lidl has been spying for months on employees in several of its outlets. The company has allegedly been hiring detectives to investigate workers, both on the job, on cigarette and coffee breaks -- and even on the toilet.
The explosive report triggered a government probe into the allegations on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry of the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg described the claims as "unparalleled," telling SPIEGEL ONLINE: "The supervisory authority has launched an investigation into possible violations of privacy protection rules." The ministry has jurisdiction because Lidl's corporate headquarters are located in the city of Neckarsulm in that state. The spokesperson said investigations could take several weeks and wanted to make no predictions about their possible outcome or consequences.
The bulk of the reports cited by Stern come from Lidl outlets in the state of Lower Saxony, plus individual ones from the states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Berlin and Schleswig-Holstein. The observation practices were routine, the report alleges: A detective would install between five and 10 miniature cameras in the store, telling the manager it was an anti-theft measure, and then use the technology to observe employees' behavior.
Stern claims to have obtained hundreds of pages of transcripts that document the movements and conversations of employees, for example: "Wednesday, 4:45 p.m.: Although Ms. N. has not accomplished much in the food and reduced wares department, she takes her break right on time. She sits together with Ms. L.; they talk about their wages, bonuses and paid overtime. Ms. N. hopes that her pay has been transferred already because she desperately needs money for this evening (reason = ?)".
The transcripts also get into employees' private lives ("Her circle of friends consists mainly of junkies") and appearances ("Ms. M. has tattoos on both lower arms"). In their tone and detail, the observation logs invite comparison to those of the Stasi, the East German secret police.
Particularly controversial is a report from the Czech Republic where, according to Stern, female employees were allegedly prohibited from going to the bathroom during work hours -- unless they had their period, which they were to indicate outwardly by wearing a headband. While Lidl denies the report, it has yet to issue an injunction on a citizen's group or a newspaper that are publicizing the case widely.
Although Lidl has not denied the existence of the transcripts, Lidl spokesperson Petra Trabert told Stern they were not intended as "employee observation but rather to detect possible misconduct."
"..and bacause you are a so cherished costumer, Mr Schaeuble (*),
here, for you we have a small gratitude: the collected phone call
and e-mail data" (Berliner Zeitung, 3.27)
Achim Neumann, retail expert at the service employees union Ver.di, told SPIEGEL ONLINE the dimensions of the allegations were "completely new to me." He said his union would provide support to any Lidl employees who sought to take legal action against the retailer and called Lidl's alleged behavior "a mess beyond compare."
According to Ver.di, the observation logs respresent a violation of both data protection laws and human dignity, as it is defined and protected by the constitution.
In 2004, Verdi published "Das Schwarz-Buch Lidl Europa" ("The Black Book on Lidl in Europe"), documenting what it claimed to be the chain's systematic abuse of its employees' rights. An updated version appeared in an English translation in 2006. It contains allegations of breaches of working-time directives, withheld salary payments and threats against union members, as well as spying and eavesdropping on workers.
With 7,000 stores in Germany, Lidl rivals competitor Aldi as Germany's leading discount supermarket. It operates in over 17 countries across Europe and has an annual sales volume of over €43 billion ($68 billion).
http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,543485,00.html
Related:
☞ Lidl accused of snooping on staff (Guardian/UK, 3.27)
☞ EXTRA: Der Lidl-Skandal (Stern, 3.27, collection of articles, videos..)
* Schaeuble is the notoriuosly Minister of the Interior in the current German gov't
3.11: The bloody attack against the Koscom strike..
STATE TERROR & CENSORSHIP
As I wrote y'day, the new Lee administration promised a policy of "law and order" (in connection with the struggle of the working class)..
But includes this promise also the new kind of freedom of the press?
Not even 24 hour ago the Internet edition of Korea Herald published the article "Raid on Koscom union sit-in may spur spring labor strife". And in my opinion it was a (at least) somewhat objective report about what was happen yesterday morning (the bloody attack against the striking Koscom workers).
But now - surprise, surprise - the content of the article disapeared! Only the headline "Raid on Koscom union sit-in may spur spring labor strife" remained(*).. And instead of the original content of the article we've now to learn that "Police suspect a debt-ridden former pro-baseball player killed his lover and her daughters after taking 170 million won.."
Once again: What a surprise!(??)
BTW.. we should believe Lee MB's promise for a new "law and order" policy! I think that he - definetely - will carry out what he was/is promising!
* Just check out:
-> Korea Herald
-> National
-> Raid on Koscom union sit-in may.. (2008.03.12)
*****
Finaly only one S.K. newspaper (published in English) reported about the brutal attack against the Koscom strike - the "left"-liberal Hankyoreh:
☞ District officials forcibly remove union members from demonstration site
Well, already before his election as the S.K. president Lee Myung-bak promised a policy of "law and order" in connection with the struggle of the working class..
Today, for the first time since Lee MB is in "power", the ruling class gave an impressive - but not really surprising - example how they want to "solve" problems between the exploited class and expoliting class.
Since 182 days irregular workers of KOSCOM are in strike to achieve better working conditions, payment and - most important - the status of regular contracted workers.
But today in the early morning, despite the labour unions' repeated demand for dialog KOSCOM's leadership decided to use violence to break up the strike. 150 contracted gang members, hired by KOSCOM and supported by at least 600 (!!) riot cops raided the strikers struggle place (opposite of KOSCOM's headquarter in Yeouido/Seoul). Several labour activists were bloody beaten up and the strike tents complete destoyed...
More about today's bloody attack:
☞ 코스콤 농성장, 새벽 6시 강제 철거 (VoP)
☞ 누가 철거의 대상입니까! (참세상TV)
☞ 코스콤 비정규직 노조 농성장 강제철거 (OhmyTV)
Related articles:
☞ “..Koscom union’s joint rally swept Yoido area all day” (global union, 2.11)
☞ 2008: "Law and Order" Against Labour Rights (1.07)
For more about the struggle:
Last Saturday on the occesion of the Int'l Women's Day hundreds(*) of female activists, mainly members of different labour unions(organized in the KCTU), progressive civic groups and resistance organisations gathered in the center of the S.Korean capital Seoul to protest against the - still - terrible conditions for a majority of female workers.
And - of course - MTU activists joined actively the event!!
For some more impressions(pics/report) of the event, please check out:
☞ [3.8] Int'l Women's Day (MTU, 3.10)
☞ [3월 8일] 국제 여성의 날.. (다함께)
Related article:
☞ Gender Equality Still Has Far to Go in Korea (K. Times, 3.07)
* That's (unfortunately) not a lot of people, compared to the huge number - likely some millions - of affected female workers..
Well, we should keep in mind that the DLP is the "sole legitimate child" of KCTU (DLP was created by KCTU for to have a political "representative" in election campaigns/if possible in the S.K. parliament)! But now.. (surprise, surprise!!) the "revolution" is - likely - disowning its child..
Members Require KCTU to Withdraw Exclusive Support for the DLP (newscham, 2.13/26)
As the outlook for a split of the DLP has become a reality, some unions under the KCTU are starting officially to criticize the political line of exclusive support for the DLP.
Korean Federation of Clerical & Financial Labor Unions (KFCFLU) Political Bureau had a meeting on the 12th February to decide that the union would not follow the KCTU’s official line of exclusive support for the DLP. In addition to that the political bureau members unanimously decided to defect from the DLP, if the KCTU does not change the policy.
The decision seems to have some influences, because it is the first official resolution ever made among political bureaus of unions under the KCTU and, moreover, threatening collective defection. The political bureau’s resolution would be ratified and activated by central board and representatives’ conference. The bureau is also known to prepare for discussion with the KCTU.
Lee Doo-hun, the director of KFCFLU‘s political bureau said “The resolution is not necessarily linked to the process that will divide the DLP, but it’s intended to make the KCTU admit a variety of political opinions within the union,” and “plethora of those orienting toward labor politics (parties, groups and individuals) should have right to serve the front.”
Pouring out Claims to Abandon the Policy
When, late January, the prospect over split of the DLP became concrete, Lee Suk-hang, the President of KCTU, declared in a press conference that the KCTU would deal with the general election in partnership with the DLP, and try to achieve the goal of labor politics only through the party.
“The KCTU has only coerced members into obeying its unilateral policy, rather than harmonizing various opinions to play the role of locomotive in handling the party,” added Lee Doo-hun and “if the KCTU is to make truly progressive party, it should be opened to different opinions.”
The exclusive support policy has been caught in a political crossfire.
Some candidates running for the president of KCTU last year even promised withdrawal of the policy as a main campaign pledge. Last May Hyundai Motors union political bureau demand abandonment, saying “If the KCTU remains unchanged in forcing its affiliates to be rubber-stamp, the official presidential election strategy, organizing votes based on the cause of the labor class, will lose its meaning.”
http://www.newscham.net/news/view.php?board=news_E&nid=46512
And in the occasion of the - likely - next important change in the KCTU - now in the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union - the S.K. (bourgeois) media reported today (with great satisfaction) following:
☞ Teachers Union to Shed Radical Image (K. Times)
☞ Teachers' union is taking a hit (JoongAng Ilbo)
☞ No wage demands, labor boss promises (JoongAng Ilbo)
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