#labour start

[peterwk]

Tell the Chinese Government to stop the oppression of labor activists! What a joke of "socialist" country. The Chinese state controlled unions do nothing for workers, and when workers try to actually better the conditions of their fellow human, they suddenly "commit suicide" and their bodies are rushed away. It's defacto support for countries like these that is part of the reason I no longer associate with certain groups on the left (*cough*CPUSA*cough*).

"We are convinced that liberty without socialism is privilege, injustice; and that socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality." -Bakunin

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Two days after the 23rd anniversary of the June 4th Massacre, Li Wangyang, a labour activist since the 1980s, was found dead in a hospital in which he was being detained, in Shaoyang City of Hunan Province. The police claimed that it was a suicide and forcibly took his body away. Li's family is not convinced by the police version and requests an investigation into his death. However, the Chinese Government disregarded the public concern and cremated Li's body. Just a few days before his mysterious death, Li gave an interview to a Hong Kong television station, publicly criticizing the Chinese government for oppressing dissidents. Many believe that his death could be retaliation by the authorities. Li Wangyang's fate is shared by many dissidents in China. The Chinese government has a long tradition of outlawing labour activists and brutally cracking down on their actions. According to the ITUC/GUF Hong Kong Liaison Office's information, at least 36 labour activists are imprisoned, due to their involvement in organising strikes, protests or independent workers' organisations. This figure is just the tip of the iceberg, as many of them are detained without any legal proceeding or simply cracked down by the police. Very often, their stories are never heard. We call upon the international labour unions and civil society to show us solidarity, by joining us in sending this message to the Chinese government.

[peterwk]

From Labour Start:

Ten union leaders - eight of them women - have been fired because they dared to organize.  

  They work for Euro S.A. in Ica, Peru, a profitable agricultural export plantation.  Euro S.A. is owned by Agricola Athos, which operates in five different regions in Peru and supplies produce to countries in Europe, Asia, and North America.  

  The firings of these workers is part of a pattern of union-busting in Peru.

  We've been asked by the  Confederación General de Trabajadores del Perú (CGTP), the largest national trade union center in the country, help get these workers their jobs back and to get their union recognized.

  Please take a moment to send off your message - click here:

  Peru: Stop union-busting, reinstate sacked union leaders 

  And please spread the word in your union.

  In brief ...

  Last week we announced preliminary results of the Second Annual Survey of Trade Union Use of the Net -- results which we'd like to share with you and your union.  I think we learned some interesting things which will help us as trade unionists make better use of the new technology.  Read our report here.

And here's a book we think many of you will want to own and read: Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest, from Madison to Wall Street.  In it, author John Nichols recounts the gripping story of the more than 100,000 public employees, teachers, students, and their allies who descended on the capital in Madison, Wisconsin in 2011 after Republican Gov. Scott Walker announced his plan to eliminate the right of public sector employees to unionize.   If you buy the book through our unionised partner bookshop, you help support LabourStart as well.  Click here to learn more.

Have a great weekend.

  Eric Lee

[peterwk]

Brothers and sisters, please sign the petition and tell Turkey that jailing teachers for being union activists is not only wrong, but illegal!

Education International (EI) calls on you to condemn the prison sentences imposed on 25 Turkish trade unionists from the teacher union Egitim Sen and the Confederation of Public Employees’ Unions (KESK). The 25 members of Egitim Sen and KESK were condemned to 6 years and 5 months prison by the Izmir High Court for engaging in what would be regarded elsewhere as legitimate trade union activities. Egitim Sen lawyers are going to appeal to the upper court. 6 other defendants have been acquitted. The 25 trade unionists were amongst the 31 unionists charged since November 2009 for allegedly belonging to an “illegal” Kurdish organisation. They have been labelled as “terrorists” based on possession of books that can be found in any bookstore in Turkey, participation in union meetings and other things which have nothing whatsoever to do with criminal activity. In a report on the trial issued in November at the request of EI, the International Centre for Trade Union Rights (ICTUR) expressed “significant concerns regarding the procedural aspects of the prosecution, both in terms of delay, and the failure of the prosecution to shape the evidence given to it by the police into any meaningful set of allegations or charges”. The report concludes that freedom of association in Turkey is being severely undermined and recommends that the Court acquit the defendants in the event that the prosecution fails to specifically detail its case against the defendants, in accordance with the interpretation of Convention rights by the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association. Gabriela Knaul, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, declared recently that “the far too close relationship between judges and prosecutors [in Turkey] raises concerns about the respect of the principles of impartiality and equality of arms”. International observers noted this proximity between the court and the prosecution on several occasions during the Egitim Sen/KESK trial. Furthermore, after it appeared as if judges were going to give the defendants favourable decisions, two of the judges were unjustifiably replaced just before the final hearing. According to Egitim Sen, this provided a majority against the trade unionists in spite of the opposition of the lead judge. This fact raises serious concerns about the independence and objectivity of the court.

[peterwk]

In partnership with the Education International, the world’s largest federation of unions, representing thirty million education employees in about four hundred organisations in one hundred and seventy countries and territories, across the globe.

Education International (EI) calls on you to urge the Bahraini authorities to review the charges and convictions and commute sentences of all teachers, teacher unionists and students charged with offences related to exercise of freedom of speech and right to assemble. The appeals of the Vice-President and President of the Bahraini Teachers Association (BTA) , on Sunday 11 December, are amongst EI’s concerns. Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi 'Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb are appealing of the sentences issued in September by the military National Safety Court of First Instance to three and ten years’ imprisonment, for their involvement in peaceful protests last March. Seven other BTA board members are also on trial and 76 teachers have been sacked for similar baseless reasons. A larger number of teachers are still suspended. Most BTA Board members and sacked and suspended teachers have had the opportunity to share their experience with Fred van Leeuwen, EI General Secretary, during his mission to Bahrain in November. All reported on the unjust treatment they suffered. The revision of the convictions is also highlighted in the strong recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) . On 23 November, it recommended the Bahraini authorities “to review convictions and commute sentences of all persons charged with offences involving political expression, not consisting of advocacy of violence, or, as the case may be, to drop outstanding charges against them.” International Labour Organisation jurisprudence stresses the importance of the “principle of prompt and fair trial by an independent and impartial judiciary in all cases, including cases in which trade unionists are charged with political or criminal offences.”

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It takes literally less than 2 minutes to sign this petition.  Do it!

[peterwk]

Sign the petition: http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1167

62 workers, all members of the Turkish metal union, Birlesik Metal-IS, have been locked-out since July at a Turkish subsidiary of German-owned GEA Group located in Gebze, Turkey. The company, which professes to respect fundamental labour rights and freedom of association and has an International Framework Agreement with the International Metalworkers’ Federation, is claiming that workers took illegal strike action during 10:00-10:15; 12:00-12:30; and 15:00-15:15, which are also designated times for tea breaks and lunch. A collective bargaining agreement, hard won by workers three years ago, will be up for renegotiation on December 31. An expert’s report petitioned by GEA found there was no strike action taken. A separate investigation petitioned by Birlesik Metal found that workers were denied access to the workplace. In late November the Gebze court ruled that four workers dismissed on May 31 must be reinstated, a clear indication that the Turkish courts have found GEA to be acting unlawfully. There is a heavy police presence inside of the company yet GEA continues to refuse to meet with Birlesik Metal. The IMF, ITUC, IUF, ITF, ICEM and its global partners in partnership with LabourStart are calling on GEA to immediately meet with the union, end the lockout and reinstate all of the workers.