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A new philosoFiat at Pomigliano factory, Italy

If eight hours don't seem enough for you (original title of the article), try to work at an assembly line from ten o'clock at night till six o'clock in the morning with three breaks of ten minutes. With the lunch break taking place during the last half an hour of your shift, unless productive recoveries are needed.

In 11 minutes you cook a plate of spaghetti. In the same time eight Fiata Panda need to be produced. During the day, at night, from Sunday evening at ten o'clock till the same hour on Saturday, so to produce 120 thousands cars by the end of the year.

Interview: beneficiaries burn Bennett in Rotorua, New Zealand

Just like in 1991, New Zealand's governing National Party is attacking both the waged and unwaged wings of the working class at the same time. The Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement interviewed Paul Blair of the Rotorua Welfare Action Group about their response to National’s assault on beneficiaries (for example, by cutting emergency benefits and forcing many sickness and domestic purposes beneficiaries to work). They held an incendiary protest on July 12 in Rotorua.

What is your personal and political background?

Truck Drivers defiant despite conscription orders in Greece

Truck drivers carrying fuel stand their ground and continue their strike against the austerity measures despite the government calling a civil conscription on them

The fuel carrying truck drivers strike which started on Monday in response to a special "reform", part and parcel of the austerity measures, that will see individual ownership abolished and replaced by large firms, has been the first strike crisis facing the greek government after the signing of the EU-IMF structural adjustment agreement.

Anti-austerity strikes hamper tourism in Greece

Strikes by airspace control officers and petrol-carrying truck drivers are causing long delays and serious lack of fuel across Greece.

Last Sunday after their announced strike was ruled illegal by the high court, airspace control officers shifted their industrial action against austerity measures to a white strike which meant allowing airspace traffic according to the book. This has in turn led to long delays across greek airports with thousands of tourists stranded.

New Zealand Workers Set To Face More Attacks

The National Government recently announced a series of new attacks on workers across New Zealand. The raft of proposed changes to the anti-worker Employment Relations Act (ERA, brought in by the previous Labour Government in 2000) and the Holidays Act will serve to further cut job security, wages and conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers in both the public and private sectors.

What are the changes?

Iraqi government forcibly closes trade union offices, prohibits union activity

The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity has issued an edict that "all trade union activities at the ministry and its departments and sites" and authorizes the police "to close all trade union offices and bases and to take control of unions' assets properties and documents, furniture and computers."

Police raided and shut down electricity unions across Iraq in mid-July, carrying out an order from the Minister of Electricity that could have been lifted from Saddam Hussein’s rule book.

Ukrainian firm Aerobud cheats workers, hires strikebreakers

A group of construction workers downed tools this week after company fails to pay them or provide them with contracts.

The firm Aerobud from Kiev became the subcontractor at a building site in the Polish city of Leszno. The winner of the tender, Karmar SA decided to use this firm, which would bring workers from Ukraine. The people were offered 2500 zloties a month and started work in June.

Atsumitec Workers Get Pay Raise

Today the strike of Atsumitec workers in China came to an end.

The workers wlll get a raise of 47% - monthly salaries start at 1,070 yuan (122 euro). The strike started on July 12 and was triggered by changes in work regulations that would cut overtime pay.

They will also get additional payments totally 250 yuan a month and a bonus if the company makes a profit.

About 200 people are employed at the factory in Foshan which supplies Honda motors.

When Royal Mail modernisation means a worse service - Roy Mayall

Postal worker Roy Mayall describes the reality of Royal Mail's much-heralded 'modernisation', and the upcoming further 'deregulation' of the postal sector.

Last week we had our first batch of walk-sequenced letters through. These are the letters sorted by the new multimillion-pound walk-sequencing machines that the Royal Mail has brought in as part of their new modernisation and investment programme.

Natural Monopoly - Roy Mayall

Self-described 'overworked postie' Roy Mayall discusses the coalition government's plans to privatise the postal service.

It appears that the Royal Mail is to be sold off. According to the Daily Mail, it will be transformed into a ‘John Lewis-style trust’ by the autumn. John Lewis is a chain of department stores whose employees are also partners. The employees own shares, but these are held in trust, so cannot be sold off when the employee leaves the company.

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