Labor issues and labor actions 2023

Citing last-minute progress in talks, the head of the US auto workers' union says the labor group would maintain its current strike but not expand it to other plants this week.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain hailed a "breakthrough" concession from General Motors in response to another threatened expansion of the three-week partial stoppage. 

Fain maintained the possibility of escalating the strike further down the road, but did not add any new plants to the target list after announcing prior expansions the last two Fridays following the initial stoppage on September 15. — AFP

Canadian dock workers on the country's west coast went back on strike on Tuesday, after rejecting a tentative deal reached last week following a 13-day work stoppage, their union says.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) of Canada and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) had reached a tentative agreement on a four-year deal on Thursday.

But members of the ILWU, representing some 7,000 workers in 30 Canadian ports, voted down the deal, saying they lacked confidence it would "protect our jobs now or into the future."

Among the ports affected by the strike is the country's largest, in Vancouver. — AFP

Some 59 flights were cancelled at Geneva's international airport on Friday, it says, after operations were halted for four hours because of a strike by workers at the start of the busy summer travel season.

"Because of the social action... the direction decided a temporary halt of operations from 6:00 am to 10:00 am (0400 GMT and 0800 GMT)," the airport said in a tweet early on Friday. "59 flights -- arrivals and departures -- cancelled."

An airport spokesman said on Thursday that some 8,000 passengers were estimated to be affected by the cancellations at Switzerland's second airport, a key hub for the EasyJet budget carrier.

The strike was called after the airport's board approved on Thursday a new wage policy contested by staff. — AFP

Commuting to and from the office five times a week?

"It's just not what I want for my life," said Claire, a consultant in her thirties living in Washington. 

Like Claire, millions of employees across the United States have grown fond of telework since the Covid-19 lockdown and now companies are struggling to bring them back to the office.

Before Covid-19, Americans workers had grown used to less-than-friendly job conditions, such as short vacations and little or no maternity leave, but the experience of working from home left them wanting more. 

"All of these practices that workers had become accustomed to in the US before have now then kind of disrupted by the pandemic," chief economist Nela Richardson with the ADP Research Institute told AFP.

American offices are still half-empty compared to February 2020, according to a weekly average calculated by Kastle, which manages the entry badges of 40,000 companies around the country. — AFP

The Wyeth Philippines Progressive Workers Union and its supporters hold a protest in front of the Wyeth Nutrition factory in Laguna over the sudden layoff of 140 workers last week, including 10 union officers.

Among the organizations joining WPPWU at the protest is youth group Anakbayan, which also joins the call to reinstate the laid-off workers and for Wyeth to honor the Collective Bargaining Agreement it signed with the union.

Canadian airline WestJet cancels nearly 100 flights, the day before its pilots were set to go on strike over salary demands.

The Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l (ALPA) had notified WestJet Monday that 1,800 pilots would stop work starting early Friday morning — ahead of a long weekend in Canada — if the union could not reach an agreement with company executives by Thursday evening. 

Canceling flights "ensures the airline can avoid abandoning aircraft in remote locations without support and enables the proactive communication with guests and crew to minimize the potential for being stranded," WestJet said in a statement. 

According to the carrier's website, 98 trips were scrapped. — AFP

Senate President Migz Zubiri says the Senate labor panel has approved his proposal for a P150 across-the-board daily minimum wage hike.

He says a committee report on the measure will come out in around two weeks. He hopes to pass the measure before Congress adjourns. — Xave Gregorio 

Airlines and unions disagree on many aspects relating to today's tight labor market, but concur on at least one thing: the need to diversify the pilot workforce pool.

At a recent congressional hearing, Regional Airline Association (RAA) President Faye Malarkey Black rued the "very limited diversity" within airline cockpits, echoing remarks from the Air Line Pilots Association's (ALPA) Jason Ambrosi who noted a dearth of pilots who are women and people of color, saying "that must change."

The alignment stood out because Ambrosi and Black disagreed about key elements in today's employment market, including whether a pilot shortage exists.

The population of US airline pilots and engineers is currently 95.7 percent white and 9.2 percent female, according to US data. — AFP

Television and film writers, on strike over the "existential crisis" of a Hollywood dream factory that mistreats the source of its stories, are fed up with seeing their profession become more precarious in the age of streaming.

"What the studios are trying to do is basically turn our work into gig work, and make it impossible for writers to have a career," said Sarah Fischer, on the picket line Wednesday outside major studio Warner Bros.

After 10 years working as an assistant on major series such as Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," the 30-year-old scribe was only recently admitted into the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

The powerful union represents 11,500 screenwriters and ordered a strike this week after talks with Hollywood studios and streaming services over better pay and conditions collapsed. — AFP

Hollywood television and movie writers will go on strike, their union says, after talks with studios and streamers on pay and other conditions ended without a deal.

Writers Guild of America board members "acting upon the authority granted to them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike," effective after midnight Tuesday, the organization tweeted. — AFP

France's President Emmanuel Macron faces more nationwide protests on Monday as he seeks to steer the country on from a divisive pension law that has sparked anger, pan-bashing and social unrest.

Last month he signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes against the bill.

He and his government have since tried to turn the page on the episode of popular discontent, one of the biggest challenges to his second mandate.

But protesters have booed and banged pots and pans at him on his forays into provincial France to meet members of the public.

When Macron attended a football match on Saturday, he was met with activists waving red cards.

Unions and the opposition are hoping for a mass turnout at the May Day rallies to let Macron know they continue to oppose the pension overhaul. — AFP

Barack Obama will be back in the public view next month in a Netflix-produced documentary series in which the former US president explores the role of work in American lives.

"I'm excited to share the trailer for 'Working,'" Obama tweeted.

"In this series, I talk to American workers across various industries – from hospitality and technology to home care – to understand their jobs and hopes for the future," he added.

In the series entitled "Working: What We Do All Day," Obama takes on hot topics such as the appeal of certain jobs, repercussions of the development of artificial intelligence and even the quest for finding meaning at work.

The trailer for the documentary was released Thursday. — AFP

German public sector workers have won a 5.5% pay increase to help offset inflation following late-night talks on Saturday, easing the prospect of further strikes.

Employers and unions have reached a "good and fair wage agreement", Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement.

The deal comes after several weeks of stalemate and repeated strikes among postal, transport and health workers demanding more money to cope with the rising cost of living.

Under the agreement, some 2.5 million public sector workers will see their wages increase by 5.5 percent or at least 340 euros ($377) per month from March 2024.  — AFP

More than 155,000 Canadian public servants will go on strike Wednesday to demand raises, with disruptions expected to tax, immigration and passport services, their union announced.

After months of negotiating with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, the Public Service Alliance of Canada said they had failed to reach an agreement over cost-of-living raises to keep up with inflation.

Nearly one-third of Canadian public servants are expected to hit picket lines at more than 250 locations, according to PSAC. 

Canada last saw a strike of this size in 1991.

"We are at the beginning of a historic strike (to reach) an agreement that takes into account the cost of living," Chris Aylward, PSAC president, told reporters on Tuesday night. — AFP

German transport union EVG on Wednesday called for a strike as workers demand higher wages to cope with high rates of inflation, the latest industrial action in Europe's largest economy.

Rail workers across the country will walk out on Friday between 3:00 am (0100 GMT) and 11:00 am, the EVG said in a statement.

Management "alone" were responsible for the new strike action for failing to engage in "constructive" wage negotiations, EVG's deputy chairwoman Cosima Ingenschay said in the statement.  

The union represents 230,000 workers across some 50 transport companies, including national rail operator Deutsche Bahn. — AFP

Hundreds of thousands of people are set to take to the streets across France again on Thursday to protest against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform in a final day of demonstrations before a crucial court decision on the legislation.

Police expect around 400,000-600,000 people to take part nationwide, less than half of the peak of nearly 1.3 million reached in March at the height of the protests against the bid to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62. 

Security forces are on alert for troublemakers, with around 1,500 anarchist and radical protesters expected in Paris, while regional towns such as Nantes and Rennes are again seen as being at risk of clashes. — AFP

Radical protesters clashed with French security forces Thursday in a new show of anger against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms, with dozens arrested and some starting a fire at one of his favourite restaurants.

While the number of protesters has diminished, unions are keen to maintain almost three months of pressure ahead of a key court ruling next week on the retirement overhaul.

The controversial reforms seek to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, while requiring people to work longer for a full pay-out.

Macron, currently visiting China, is facing the biggest challenge of his second term over the changes, defiantly refusing to budge despite sliding personal popularity ratings. — AFP

French unions say a last-ditch meeting with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne seeking to ease tensions over a divisive pension reform was a "failure" after she refused to revoke the changes.

President Emmanuel Macron is facing the biggest challenge of his second term over his flagship pension overhaul, which includes hiking the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.

Unrest erupted across the country after Borne on March 16 invoked a controversial executive order to ram the bill through parliament without a vote despite months of mass protests against it.

Unions warned ahead of Wednesday's meeting with Borne that they would storm out if she refused to discuss going back on a minimum retirement age of 64.

"It's clearly a failure when the prime minister won't even allow a way in to that discussion," says Cyril Chabanier, speaking on behalf of the country's eight main unions after barely an hour-long meeting.

"We again told the prime minister that the only democratic outcome could be the text's withdrawal. The prime minister replied that she wished to maintain the text, a grave decision," he adds. — AFP

For nearly eight years, driving for a ride-hailing platform and making deliveries helped Laine Carolyn pay her bills — but a sudden deterioration in health forced her to stop work and fall behind on rent.

Carolyn, 32, is among an increased number of US tenants confronting eviction risks in the face of high inflation, elevated rents and with the end of pandemic-era aid.

The country sees 3.6 million eviction cases filed in a typical year, said Peter Hepburn, associate director of Eviction Lab at Princeton University. But that number slowed to a trickle during the pandemic.

Now, with Covid-era legal protections and assistance lifted, it is surging again, Eviction Lab's figures show. — AFP

France faced another day of strikes and protests on Tuesday with a record number of police deployed as President Emmanuel Macron remained defiant over a pensions reform that is sparking turmoil in the country.

The day of action is the tenth such mobilisation since protests started in mid-January against the law, which includes raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Last Thursday saw the most violent clashes yet between protesters and security forces as tensions erupted into pitched battles on the streets of Paris and police reported 457 arrests across France and injuries to 441 police officers.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 13,000 members of the security forces -- including 5,500 in Paris alone -- would be deployed on Tuesday. The number, a record, was justified by "a major risk to public order", he said Monday.

Nearly two weeks after Macron rammed the new pensions law through parliament using a special provision sidestepping a vote in the lower house, unions have vowed no let-up in mass protests to get the government to back down. — AFP

Transport staff across Germany are set to stage a major strike on Monday to push for wage hikes in the face of brisk inflation, as passengers brace for serious disruptions.

Workers at airports, ports, railways, buses and metro lines throughout much of Europe's top economy are expected to heed a call by the Verdi and EVG unions to the 24-hour walkout.

"A labour struggle that has no impact is toothless," Verdi chief Frank Werneke told public broadcaster Phoenix.

He acknowledged that it would inflict pain on many commuters and holidaymakers, "but better one day of strain with the prospect of reaching a wage agreement than weeks of industrial action". — AFP

Trains were disrupted and a new day of nationwide protests expected in France on Thursday after a defiant President Emmanuel Macron pledged to implement a contentious pensions overhaul by year-end.

The 45-year-old leader on Wednesday said he was prepared to accept unpopularity because the bill raising the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 was "necessary" and "in the general interest of the country".

Protests were planned across the country on Thursday in the latest day of nationwide stoppages that began in mid-January against the pension changes.

Half of all high-speed trains were cancelled, national railway operator SNCF said, after union sources reported around a third of staff would be striking.

At least half the trains into Paris from the suburbs were not running. — AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron appeared defiant on Tuesday after his government narrowly survived no-confidence votes over an increase in the retirement age, but urged calm as furious protesters kept up the pressure on the streets.

Ignoring calls from opponents, Macron said there would be no government reshuffle, no fresh parliamentary elections and no referendum on his controversial pension reform, even in the face of widespread protests that have brought millions into the streets.

"We are facing a moment in which we must appease, calm, go on the ground and listen to people's anger," he told a meeting of politicians, according to participants.

The government's decision to invoke constitutional power to force the pensions reform through the National Assembly without a vote last week has dismayed political allies and caused fury on the streets. — AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron will give a televised interview, his office said Tuesday, after his government fended off two no-confidence votes in parliament over a controversial pensions overhaul that has sparked mass protests.

Macron's government used a constitutional measure to adopt the reform, which pushes back the retirement age to 64 from 62, without a vote in the lower-house National Assembly, sparking claims of a "denial of democracy" by angry demonstrators.

His office said he would go live to answer questions by journalists from broadcasters TF1 and France 2 at 1:00 pm (1200 GMT) on Wednesday, having largely remained silent on the pension changes in the weeks leading up to the stormy parliament session where it was pushed through last week. 

On Monday, the government survived two no-confidence motions lodged by opposition groups, with one failing by just nine votes in the 577-seat National Assembly. — AFP

Teachers, London Underground train drivers and civil servants join striking doctors in a mass stoppage as Britain's finance minister was due to unveil his tax and spending plan.

With hundreds of thousands of people due to walk out, it threatens to be the biggest single day of industrial action since a wave of unrest began last year.

Workers hit by the cost of living crisis have been striking across the economy from nurses to lawyers, pitting unions against the government which says big pay hikes are unaffordable and will only fuel inflation.

As well as pay, which workers say has not kept up with inflation, other issues include conditions, job security and pensions. — AFP

Citing the urgency to ease the effects of wage erosion due to inflation, Senate President Migz Zubiri files a bill seeking a nationwide across-the-board P150 wage hike.

He says in the exploratory note of the propose measure that the wage hike seeks to cover food, water, fuel, electricity, clothing, transportation, rent, communications and other personal needs. — Xave Gregorio

Developing story: California court upholds law making Uber drivers independent contractors

UK hospital doctors begin a three-day strike over pay at the start of a week that will also see teachers, train staff and civil servants walk out, in the latest wave of industrial action.

The doctors say years of below-inflation pay increases mean they have effectively had a 26 percent pay cut since 2008.

Ahead of the stoppage, the body that represents them, British Medical Association (BMA), launched an advertising campaign claiming a newly qualified doctor earned less than some coffee shop staff.

"Pret a Manger has announced it will pay up to £14.10 ($17.13) per hour," the ad says. 

"A junior doctor makes just £14.09. Thanks to this Government you can make more serving coffee than saving patients. This week junior doctors will take strike action so they are paid what they are worth." — AFP

Migrante International rejects House Bill 7325 that the House of Representatives has recently approved, saying it is a “watered-down version of the Magna Carta for Seafarers.”

“The bill is travesty on the rights of seafarers. It excludes fishers, does not provide tenure, excludes domestic seafarers in many important provisions and, worse, includes an anti-seafarer provision on Escrow,” Migrante adds.

The group adds that the bill that the HOR passed was a far cry from the original proposed measure filed by Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party).

They noted that the Escrow part of the house bill “mandates that money awards won by seafarers in the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) or the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) will not be released to them in full.”

Instead, the money will be deposited in Escrow and will only be released after the Supreme Court finally decides that they money shall be given to the seafarer. This means a wait of many years for the seafarer.

“This is a discrimination against seafarers violative of the equal protection clause of the Constitution… This would add at least four to six years for seafarers to wait, if they can still wait for justice to be served,” Migrante adds. — with Kaycee Valmonte

Fuel deliveries and train traffic remain disrupted across France for a second day, after more than a million people protested against a controversial pensions overhaul.

President Emmanuel Macron and his government say raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 and stiffening the requirements for a full pension are essential to keep the system from sinking into deficit.

France lags behind most of its European neighbours, which have pushed back the retirement age to 65 or above.

But the changes have faced stiff resistance in parliament and in the street since mid-January, with the opposition and unions arguing the changes are unfair, especially for low-skilled workers and women.

Unions on Tuesday night called for an urgent meeting with the president after strikes hobbled the country and 1.28 million people took to the streets, according to official figures. — AFP

Sri Lankan workers went on strike in defiance of a government ban to protest a rescue plan for the bankrupt island nation, forcing the closure of hospitals, banks and ports.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is facing a public backlash over steep tax hikes and spending cuts imposed to secure a sorely needed International Monetary Fund bailout.

Around 40 trade unions, including government hospital staff and bank employees, called work stoppages.

Doctors at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka in Colombo said only emergency cases were being treated, while appointments were cancelled at private clinics and hospitals.

Electricity workers and bank tellers were also on strike while dock workers staged lunchtime protests at the capital's port. — AFP

Thousands of teachers from across Portugal marched through the streets of Lisbon on Saturday in the latest round of protests demanding higher pay and better working conditions. 

More than 150,000 people took part in the rally, according to the National Federation of Teachers (FENPROF), the profession's main union. 

"This is probably the biggest demonstration of teachers" in Portugal, said FENPROF secretary general Mario Nogueira.

"We are outraged," Augusto Figueiredo, a technology teacher from Rio Maior, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Lisbon, told AFP.

"Miserable salaries, discriminatory appraisals, inhuman schedules... this is the reality of our profession today," added the 64-year-old.

"We're really tired, no one is listening to us, this government needs to listen to us," Joao Tristao, a sports teacher, told AFPTV.

Teachers are calling for an improvement in the terms of tenure and career progression, and salaries to keep pace with inflation. -- AFP

A US administrative judge has ruled that Amazon broke labor laws by threatening to withhold wage and benefits increases from employees at two New York warehouses if they voted to unionize.

The judge, in his decision dated Monday, found that company officials had illegally suggested that unionized employees would have their pay frozen during labor talks while non-unionized employees would receive raises and new benefits. 

He ordered Amazon to post signs in the warehouses reminding employees that they have the right to engage in collective bargaining and stating that the company would not make similar threats again. — AFP

France braces for another day of mass protests and strikes over proposed pension overhauls being pushed by President Emmanuel Macron, with the government and its left-wing opponents trading blame for the expected disruptions.

Around 1.1 million people took to the streets for the first strike day on January 19, according to official statistics, the biggest demonstrations since the last major round of pension reform under right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010.

A police source told AFP that security forces were expecting similarly sized crowds on Tuesday in 240 demonstrations around the country, in addition to strike disruptions to transport, schools and other services.

With unions warning that more stoppages are to come, the strikes represent a major test for Macron as he seeks to implement a showcase policy of his second term in office. -- AFP

France's prime minister on Sunday ruled out backtracking on a plan to raise the retirement age as unions prepared for another day of mass protests and strikes against the contested reform.

An increase in the minimum retirement age to 64 from the current 62 is part of a flagship reform package pushed by President Emmanuel Macron to ensure the future financing of France's pensions system.

After union protests against the change brought out more than a million people into the streets across France on January 19, the government signalled there was wiggle room on some measures.

They included special deals for people who started working very young, and provisions for mothers who interrupted their careers to look after their children and for people who invested in further education.

But the headline age limit of 64 is not up for discussion, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Sunday.

"This is now non-negotiable," she told the FranceInfo broadcaster. -- AFP

Thousands of ambulance workers held another strike across England and Wales on Monday, in escalating industrial action as unions called the government to hold talks on improving pay and conditions. 

Ambulance workers began strike action on December 21 last year and further dates are planned for February. 

Nurses have also launched unprecedented strike action, reflecting widespread discontent in the state-funded National Health Service whose staff are struggling with soaring living costs.

Monday's industrial action comes ahead of mass simultaneous strikes planned for February 6 by unions representing both nurses and ambulance staff.

Monday's strike involves members of three unions -- Unison, Unite and GMB -- in England and Wales.

Unison, the UK's largest trade union, said up to 15,000 ambulance staff in England would be striking along with 5,000 members at hospitals in Liverpool in northwest England. -- AFP

The pandemic years has seen a wave of unionization and labor organization in the US and Europe as workers struggle to make ends meet in the face of inflation and low pay. Meanwhile, workers in the Philippines are increasingly working together to demand better conditions in a system that teaches them to just be grateful to even have a job.

Follow this thread for workers' issues and their collective actions for their welfare.

Photo: Workers hold a protest against labor contractualization in 2019. The promise to end contract labor has been a hot topic since the 2016 elections. The STAR/Edd Gumban