carpenters
News and articles about work, policy and workers' struggles in building, construction and materials around the world.
Giardini workers led to another defeat by the union in the Philippines
After two days strike of Giardini[1] workers led by the union last February 3-4, the union and the leftist party[2] that control them agreed with the management and local government of Mandaue City to lift the strike and accept the retrenchment package.
This is another defeat for the workers who are united to fight and defy capitalist laws to defend their jobs in the midst of crisis of over-production. Furthermore, the pay and back-wages that has been promised will depend on the capacity of the company to recover from the crisis[3].
Leftist union in the Philippines collude with management against workers
In a press release of the leftist Partido ng Manggagawa (Labor Party) published on Manila Indymedia last January 9, they claimed that “Furniture workers win major concessions as dispute settled”.
According to the press release, “The workers of Giardini del Sole,....one of the biggest furniture exporting company in the country, won major concessions in negotiations at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) Region 7...”
What are these “victories” that the union claimed?
Quote:
“Management and the union agreed on the following points:
Pay strikes brewing in education and construction
The past few days have seen teachers set to vote again on strike action in an ongoing dispute over a sub-inflation pay offer while thousands of carpenters, bricklayers, painters, joiners and labourers employed by local authorities voted in favour of industrial action for the same reason.
Executive members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) unanimously voted to proceed with a formal ballot at a meeting on Friday 5th September.
Canada: carpenter's wildcat spreads to other workers
250 carpenters at the Petro-Canada site launched the wildcat strike after their planned strike was banned by anti-union laws.
The region's 4000 carpenters are asking for a rise equal to that earned by metal-workers earlier in the summer. According to Martyn Piper of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (UBCJ) some 20 issues have been resolved during negotiations and that the only disagreement is over a wage increase.
