South Africa Public Services Strike Enters Second Week, May Expand

Original News, VOA
29 August 2010 

The spokesman for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) told VOA public sector workers will continue to strike Monday to press their demand higher pay and housing allowance increases than the government has offered.

Patrick Craven said, despite promises, the government of President Jacob Zuma has done very little to begin another round of negotiations to resolve the dispute.

“We haven’t heard anything definite from the government. They say that they want to reach a settlement as quickly as possible, but they haven’t yet come forward with concrete proposals for meetings, for which (we) put in a new offer on the table.  And, on the contrary, unfortunately, they are making a lot of quite provocative remarks about trying to force people back to work, which is obviously not helpful at all,” he said.

Craven also said that there is need for the government to present an urgent new offer which he said could be negotiated to enable workers to get back to work.

Last Wednesday, an estimated one million public service workers went on a one-day strike to press their demand for a wage increase.

The workers want an 8.6 percent pay rise, about double the current inflation rate of 4.2 per cent, as well as a 1,000 rand ($137.22) monthly housing allowance.
But, the South African government offered the workers a 7 percent increase and 630 rand ($86.44) monthly housing allowance.

Analysts say the government wants to avert a prolonged nationwide strike that could potentially impede South Africa’s burgeoning economy.

Observers say the ruling African National Congress Party (ANC), which draws considerable support from COSATU, will want to resolve the stalemate ahead of the party’s policy-setting meeting which is scheduled for next month.

Local media reports that one of the unions representing tire makers will also begin their strike Monday to demand higher wages.

Analysts say the strikes are putting pressure on President Zuma’s administration to deliver on promises of improved living conditions.

COSATU spokesman Craven the unions are open to positively engage the government to end the impasse over their pay increase demand.

“The unions have made it clear throughout this dispute that they are always ready to re-open negotiations and look at new proposals. But, this has not been yet forthcoming from the government, and so it is very frustrating for the union leaders. But, obviously, we will keep putting the pressure on behind the scenes to try to get some progress,” he said.

Demand to Reinstate Trade Union Leaders and Members of Cambodian National Federation of Building and Wood Workers Unions

E RIGHT TO ORGANIZE UNIONS & THE RIGHT TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Mr. Kim Chhean

KC Gecin Enterprises

500 Norodom Boulevard, National Road # 2)

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Fax : +855 23 360 638

Demand to Reinstate Trade Union Leaders and Members of Cambodian National Federation of Building and Wood Workers Unions 

Union Network International-Global Union (UNI) representing 1000 affiliated Unions with more than 15 million members worldwide is well aware of the on-going Industrial dispute between your company and the Building & Wood Workers Federation of Cambodia (BWTUC). 

I am happy to note that the government of Cambodia has ratified ILO-Convention 87 and 98 which guarantees the right workers to organize Unions and to negotiate for Collective Agreements.

The terminations of Union Officials and Members is unconstitutional and against the spirit of ILO Conventions that the Cambodian Government has ratified. 

Therefore, we join the Building Workers International (BWI) to urge your good self to have a meaningful and democratic talks with the Union and reinstate all workers, recognize the Union (BWTUC) and immediately enter into Collective Bargaining. 

UNI-Global Union believes that the Company (KC Gecin Enterprises) will be able to resolve the dispute by going back to the negotiating table.

Please do justice to the democratic process.

Thank you.

MOHAMED SHAFIE BP MAMMAL 
General Secretary ASETUC & 
President UNI Global Union-Malaysia

Urgent Appeal: ACT NOW! Support Workers' Strike at KC GECIN Enterprise in Cambodia

Dear Comrades and Colleagues,

The Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) and Building and Wood Workers Trade Union of Cambodia (BWTUC) URGENTLY request for your support for the workers of KC Gecin Enterprises in Cambodia:

On August 12, 2010, the workers of KC Gecin Enterprise (Cambodia) notified the management that they had formed a union and requested a meeting to negotiate; however, the next day, the management immediately terminated 29 workers who were officers and key members of the union.  This was the second dismissal, as the management had previously fired 25 workers ten days earlier for attending a trade union training.  As a response, The members of the union agreed on August 16, 2010 to go on strike to protest the company’s continuous harassment and termination of union leaders and members.  In addition, the company has used its influence with the local authority, police, and government to further intimidate union members.  These actions are clearly violations of international labour standards. 

The mediation effort initiated by the officials from The Ministry of Labour yesterday (17/08) failed due to the management’s recalcitrant behaviour. Through security personnel and police, the management is harassing and intimidating workers who are on strike.

For further details, please  check the following link:

http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?Index=2880&Language=EN

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Please IMMEDIATELY send as many emails as possible to KC Gecin Enterprises Email addresses below:

kc_gecin_enterprises@camnet.com.kh

kcge@angkornet.com.kh

This will be the initial step of the regional campaign organized to support our comrades in Cambodia, We will update you immediately for further news!

Please feel free to circulate this appeal to your networks.

In Solidarity,

Shelly Woyla

Education Officer

BWI Asia Pacific

Demand to reinstate union leaders and activists and recognize the union

Respect Workers’ Right to Self Organization

Mr Kim Chhean

KC Gecin Enterprises

500 Norodom Boulevard, National Road # 2)

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Fax: +855 23 360 638

RE: Demand to reinstate union leaders and activists and recognize the union

The Building and Wood Workers International (BWI), representing more than 12 million members from 328 trade union organizations in 130 countries, is well aware of the on-going industrial dispute between your company and the Building and Wood Workers Federation of Cambodia (BWTUC) which is affiliated to us.

Guaranteed both by the Cambodian Constitution and Labor Code as well as the International Conventions 87 (The Right to Self-Organization) and 98 (The Right to Collective Bargaining) which are ratified by the Cambodian government and bound to enforce it, workers had exercised their rights to form union and had duly notified the company management for recognition and initiation of the process towards collective bargaining.

However, instead of recognizing the union for collective bargaining negotiation purposes, your company had resulted in drastic and discriminatory acts by illegally terminating 29 union leaders and activists last 13th August and another 25 union members who participated in a legitimate trade union seminar.

Despite these unfair labor practices the union persisted to bring you to negotiating table through the mediation of officials from Ministry of Labor. Yet, you responded with another discriminatory act by terminating another 10 workers who participated in this collective action last 15th August. You even junked the mediation provided by the Ministry of Labor and solicited the support of security and police personnel to intimate the workers who decided to launch a strike last 16th August.

These are absolutely violation of the Cambodia constitution article 36, Cambodia Labor Law, Chapter XI, Trade union freedom and workers representation in the enterprise, Proclamation (Prakass) No. 305 on representation of professional organization of workers at the enterprise level and on the right to have collective bargaining for collective bargaining agreement at enterprise or establishment level and ILO convention No, 87, 98.

As an affiliate of BWI, we enjoin you to reinstate the dismissed union leaders and members without preconditions, refrain from intimidating the workers on strike, recognize the union as a primary step that would lead to normalcy in the employee-employer relationship towards settle of the industrial disputes through collective bargaining agreement; lest we launch a major international campaign to expose your rogue corporate behavior.

Yours truly,

Name of President/General Secretary

Name of Union

Ly Yung Phat

Unidentified plain-clothes officials forcibly carried a villager to a bus

Chief Judge Says Judge Scared in Kolney Case

Article from The Cambodia Daily, August 4, 2010
Volume 46, Issue 23, page 24

By Neou Vanarin,
The Cambodia Daily

The President of Ratanakiri Provincial Court, Lu Sou Sambath said yesterday that judges were too scared to investigated complaints by Jarai ethnic minority villagers in a land dispute with Keat Kolney, the sister of Finance Minister Keat Chhon.

"Every judge is scared because the villagers did not allow [the previous] judge to measure the disputed land," Judge Sambath said, referring to an incident last year during which a judge visited the village to measure the land without consulting villagers, leading them to object to his visit.

Villagers in Kong Yu village, O'Yadaw district, have complained that since 2007 the court has not taken any action in their case against Ms Keat Kolney, whom they accuse of defrauding them of 450 hectares of village land.

Three judges have been assigned to the case in succession, and villagers are still waiting for a fourth judge to be assigned to investigate their complaint.

Judge Sambath said judges also declined to take up the case because it entailed a lot of work.

"Judges do not dare to handle this case, because it is very complicated. And now the villagers' lawyer wants the judge to review all villagers' thumbprints [on legal documents], which are more than 100," he said.

The villagers's defense lawyer, Yin Savat, said Mr. Sambath was disregarding legal procedure, as judges would hav to provide argumnts for not taking up a legal case and the court president would have to communicate these arguments to the plaintiff.

"We are considering to file a complaint with the Supreme Council because [Mr Sambath ] has not done anything in the case," he said.

Last Thursday Kong Yu villagers installed a billboard along National Road 78 to call attention to the lack of progress in their legal case. Unidentified vandals tore down the board in the night and police said they are investigating the incident.

Integrity seems to be in decline

There was a man thrown off a train in South Africa because he had a first-class ticket but refused to move to a third-class coach; beaten by a stagecoach driver for refusing to travel on the foot board to make room for a European passenger; barred from hotels; ordered by a court magistrate to remove his turban. And on and on. Read more....