Truckers’ strike paralyzes cement industry

Government officials warn that Korea’s cement industry faces severe financial damage if the strike by bulk cement cargo workers continues to cripple Korea’s logistics network. The losses are ballooning as non-union truck drivers increasingly stop working, worried they will cause complications with unionized drivers.

The strike is expected to continue through the weekend as strikers vow to continue to press for their demands. The union demands a 30 percent increase in transport fees for both bulk cement and container transportation firms. Managers are asking the drivers to halt the stoppage first and start negotiations with individual companies.

The government threatened strikers with legal action if they did not return to work by last Sunday due to the strike costing Korea millions of dollars in lost production. (Korea Times)

Personal bankruptcies hit record

In the 12 months leading up to June 30, more than 1.6 million bankruptcy petitions were filed in the US. It was the most ever in one year and a 9.6 percent spike compared with the previous year’s record-setting numbers, according to newly released federal data.

The vast majority of filings were non-business, or personal, bankruptcies that ended in Chapter 7 protection which erases most credit card, medical, and other unsecured debt. It also allows people to keep their homes and cars in some cases, usually if there isn’t enough equity to pay down the debt.

Experts trace the record numbers of bankruptcies to easier access to credit, fading social stigma, more layoffs, and small-business failures as the recession continues, and crushing dept from the free-spending 1990’s. (Chicago Sun Times)

UAW seeks abortion coverage

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is asking automakers and parts suppliers to extend health care benefits to cover voluntary abortions. The outcome of the abortions negotiations will help set the agenda for smaller unions, many of which do not have the coverage and use the UAW contract as a bench mark.

The union’s request has already stirred protest as anti-choice groups plan to protest at UAW headquarters in Detroit.

Abortion-rights activists praise the union’s step. The move “reflects thinking that reproductive healthcare for women is not a luxury; it’s basic health care,” said the president of NARAL, a pro-choice organization.

Labor experts question whether UAW will get the benefit in current contract talks but say seeking it now would make it easier to win next time, just as dental and eye coverage weren’t won the first time. UAW is also seeking to win coverage of prescription birth control from General Motors, the one automaker not providing it.

The current UAW four-year contract expires next month. About 25 percent of UAW active members are women. (USA Today)

Fiji chiefs intervene in cannery strike

Traditional chiefs from the Fiji island of Ovalau have intervened in a strike at a state-owned fish cannery and demanded the dismissal of its top executives. Twenty Fiji chiefs handed a petition — demanding the dismissal of the chief executive of the Pacific Fishing Company and his assistant—to the prime minister and the vice president of the Fiji Islands.

Several hundred cannery workers have been on strike over pay and working conditions handed down in an arbitration award this year but not yet honored by the company.

The strike has been declared illegal by the minister for labor.

A spokesperson for the chiefs says people on the island are facing many problems because of the unresolved dispute and they have no confidence left in the top management of the company. The president of the company says the chiefs should not be involved in industrial disputes. (Radio New Zealand International)

Nestle closes office; strike cited

A Korean operation of the Swiss food company Nestle will shut down its Seoul office Monday due to labor disputes. Workers at Nestle Korea went on strike July 7, asking for an 11.7 percent wage increase and demanding management seek the union’s agreement before outsourcing certain businesses or transferring union members. The management offered a 5.25 percent wage increase.

Nestle reasoned the lockout was necessary due to the “significant losses because of illegal labor activities such as direct disturbance of work,” “distrust among workers,” that “labor is making extreme demands,” and that running the plant is too costly compared to other Nestle plants.

The vice chairperson of the union said Nestle “gave up dialogue and negotiations and opted for extreme measures” and is also disrupting the union and has engaged in unfair labor activities.

Nestle, founded in 1987, is the world’s largest general food company. It generated $65 billion in revenues last year through 500 operations in 85 countries. (Joong Ang Daily)