work
Tehran: a letter from the bus workers' union
The following letter, addressing world labour organisations, was issued in Tehran on Monday by the Tehran bus workers’ union Syndica Vahed.
The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat e Vahed) is most grateful to all the world’s labour organisations for their unsparing support for our newly-formed organisation.
South Korea: Hundreds of rail workers arrested
231 railway workers were arrested and 2,244 workers were suspended during the third day of a mass strike in South Korea.
The strike appears to be waning as a quarter of strikers returned to work in the face of threats, and an umbrella union called off the separate general strike reported by libcom.org/news earlier this week.
UK: Cottam power station wildcat strike
Fifteen men have been sacked due to a wildcat strike last week at Cottam power station near Lincoln.
Fifty-one British engineers, electricians and welders walked out last week on wildcat due to underpayment of Hungarian workers employed on a desulphurisation project at the plant. Amicus' regional officer Bernard McAulay said the workers had been underpaid £1m by Austrian subcontractor SFL.
Joanne Delaney wins reinstatement
Confirmation has just been recieved by Organise! and the Belfast Joanne Delaney Support Group that Joanne has been reinstated.
This is a victory for workers everywhere facing harassment and intimidation at work. It is a victory that defends and reasserts the right of workers to organise free from bullying, intimidation and harassment.
Belfast postal workers wildcat strike - news archive, 2006
Archive of the day-by-day reports and updates, as well as background information on the victorious wildcat strike action of Belfast postal workers from 31 January to 17 February 2006.
Belfast postal strike image archive on libcom.org galleryUpdates and stories on libcom.org news
Building the campaign to reinstate Joanne Delaney
Joanne Delaney was sacked by Dunnes stores in November 2005 for wearing her union badge on her uniform.
With more than four years service in the Ashleaf store in Crumlin on the south side of Dublin, the 22 year–old MANDATE recently elected shop steward received a letter on the 29th of November 2005 informing her that she had been dismissed by the company.
Belfast postal workers on wildcat strike
Two hundred postal workers in Belfast walked out earlier today apparently over the sacking of some of their colleagues. The unofficial action shut down deliveries for most of the city.
BBC news reported:
Postal workers have gone on unofficial strike
Postal deliveries in Belfast have been disrupted after workers at Royal Mail's main delivery office in the city staged a walk-out.
More than 200 employees who work at Royal Mail's Tomb Street depot went on unofficial strike on Tuesday morning.
Union steward sacked for wearing a union badge
Retail outlet Dunnes has achieved a new low in union-bashing by sacking shop steward Joanne Delaney in November 2005 for wearing a union badge.
Many trade unionists around the world will remember the Dunnes Stores Strike against Apartheid which ran for almost three years from June 1984 to April 1987. In the face of an intransigent employer, the union eventually persuaded the Irish government of the day to implement economic sanctions against the old Apartheid regime in South Africa.
South Korea: General strike
Unions in South Korea launched a general strike today after the passage of a temporary workers bill by the National Assembly.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions began a full nationwide strike at 1 p.m., protesting parliament’s approval of the non-regular workers bill that unionists claim will increase the number of temporary laborers.
It said that a total of 150,000 unionists at over 150 workplaces, including 40,000 workers at Hyundai/Kia Motors, took part in strikes across the country.
5 million Britons work a day a week for free
Nearly five million employees (4,759,000) worked on average an extra day a week in unpaid overtime in 2005 (7 hours 24 minutes) according to a Trades Union Congress analysis of official figures published today.
If each employee worked all their unpaid overtime at the beginning of the year, the TUC estimates that they would have worked for free and would not start to get paid until Friday 24 February 2006. That is why the TUC has dedicated Friday 24 February as their third 'Work Your Proper Hours Day'.
