casualisation
Workers strike at Iran's largest shipbuilding company
On January 30, 2007, the entrance to the Iran Sadra (SADRA- Iran Marine Industrial Co.) in its Bushehr Yards Ship Building was shut down by about 150 workers of the company in the City of Bushehr who were protesting the sacking of 38 of their colleagues as well as the short temporary contracts.
According to one of the representatives of workers, Ranjbarian, the strike was spontaneous. Workers are sacked by the employer despite previous protests as well as meetings in the governor's office to create employment opportunities for laid off employees.
A lovely spring in France - CPE report by Mouvement Communiste
A report on the unrest and struggle agains the CPE employment law by Mouvement Communiste, a Paris based collective.
The struggle against the CPE has mobilised youth in the education system, starting in higher education and then followed by the high schools, with the principal objective of forcing the withdrawal of Article 8 of the 'Equal Opportunities Law'. This article introduced a new punitive employment contract reserved for young workers. The objective of the struggle has been fully achieved.
Study on temp-work in German car industry, 2006
A recent study on temp work in the German automobile industry reveals that the companies in this sector try to hide the fact that they employ temp-workers.
Casual workers strike in the schools of Marseilles, 2003
This text is an account of one week of strikes among casual workers in schools in Marseilles, within the context of a small movement of casual workers in education.
2006: The French movement against the CPE
libcom.org’s brief summary of the mass movement which swept France in early 2006 against the further casualisation of labour which forced the government into a humiliating defeat.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin unveiled his labour law liberalisation package the CPE (’first employment contract’) on 16th January. He said that “urgent” action was needed to “bring the French labour market into the modern era”. The law would see employers hire 18-26 year-olds on two year contracts that would allow them to fire the youths without notice, and without explanation.
1889: The Great London Dock Strike
A huge and powerful strike of British dockers against low pay, unsafe conditions and casual, precarious employment contracts which, with international solidarity, won nearly all its demands and marked a turning point in UK working class history.
Introduction
The dangerous nature of port work, combined with low pay, poor working conditions and widespread social deprivation ensured that the workforce looked to their trade unions for protection. As a result, industrial relations were strained throughout the history of the port.
Casual labour
World Bank says: work 24/7 with no rights
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A new World Bank report calls for the wholesale elimination of workers' rights.
The 2007 edition of the ‘Doing Business’ report has declared the Marshall Islands to be the world’s “Best Performer” for its almost total absence of labour regulation, displacing last year’s champion, Palau.
France: CPE employment law scrapped after mass protests
Following weeks of mass protest which have swept the country Jacques Chirac has announced the replacement of the CPE with a device in favour of getting disadvantaged young people into work.
THE RESPONSES:
* “A historical victory after a historical mobilisation”, said the president of the UNL Karl Stoeckel.
* François Chérèque of the CFDT trade union believes that “the objective is achieved”.
* Bruno Julliard of student union UNEF now looks to “Maintain the pressure” after this “first victory”.
EARLIER TODAY
Spain: Thousands march against new labour laws
As millions fight new employment laws in France, last week 5,000 people marched in Madrid against new proposed labour reforms in Spain.
On Saturday 1st April the Spanish anarcho-syndicalist trade union, the CNT, held a demonstration and workers arrived in buses from all over the country to attend.
France: Protests take international turn
As the protests agains the First Employment Contract (CPE) continue in France, young workers and students across the world have begun to show support for the French movement or take similar action themselves.
http://libcom.org/blog has received reports from Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Brazil, the USA, New Zealand, Ireland and Turkey so far, with actions ranging from university occupations and school walkouts to protests against French consulates and businesses.
See also French version below.
