International Employment Relations Network List

(IERN-L)

A Miscellany of International Employment Relations News

Miscellany 11, 12 April 2012

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Contents

Main Stories

Australia: Bargain in good faith or beware, firms told

China/UK: Suppliers in China shouldn’t be out of sight, out of mind

China’s workers emboldened: Strikes escalate in March

 Italy's jobs minister fears for life as labour market shaken up

Nigeria: Lagos government alleges sabotage as doctors begin a strike

In Brief

Benin: Return to work or face sanction, striking hospital workers warned

Guinea: trade union leaders targets of armed attacks and intimidation

Ireland: Congress Calls for Postponement of Pension Changes

Italy: Camusso, well on Article 18 of insecurity and hurt growth

New Zealand: CTU Contacts Talley’s Customers over Lockout

1

Singapore: Onus on bosses to ensure safety of maids

Swaziland: Statement by the Trade Unions Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA)

on its purported de-registration

UK: Tanker drivers vote for strike over terms and conditions

UK: Baggage handlers at Stansted Airport vote to strike

USA: Panera Workers Vote for Representation by Bakery Workers Union

USA: Trumka Calls for NLRB’s Flynn to Resign Immediately

USA: Branson Promotes Anti-Union Vote in Virgin America Video

Publications

Calls for Papers, Conferences , Seminars, Symposia

Other Sites

Awards  

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Main Stories

Australia: Bargain in good faith or beware, firms told

IR/Australia/Enterprise Bargaining/Good Faith

The Australian, 23 March 2012 at

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/industrial-relations/bargain-in-good-faith-

or-beware-firms-told/story-fn59noo3-1226307678519

COMPANIES that do not want to deal with unions have been dealt a significant blow after a

landmark ruling that a BHP subsidiary was not complying with Labor's workplace laws

because it was not genuinely considering union proposals.

Union leaders last night hailed the Fair Work Australia ruling, saying it was a major setback

to employers unwilling to engage in proper negotiations with unions representing employees.

2

Workplace experts said the decision was significant as it was the first time a tribunal full

bench had addressed at length what it meant for employers and unions to bargain in good

faith under Labor's Fair Work Act.

The ruling confirmed that Endeavour Coal had not bargained in good faith with employees at

the Appin mine in NSW. An estimated 70 supervisory, administrative and technical

employees were represented by the Association of Professional Engineers Scientists and

Managers Australia

Catherine Bolger, the director of APESMA's collieries division, said the union originally

sought to negotiate an enterprise agreement with the Appin mine in April 2010.

Three months later, the tribunal made a majority support determination that acknowledged

that Appin employees wanted to bargain collectively. Under the act, once a majority support

determination is made the employer is required to bargain in good faith.

After 12 meetings, an impasse was reached and the union subsequently succeeded in having

Fair Work Australia rule that the company must adhere to bargaining orders. The company

appealed to a full bench.

Where a majority support determination is made, the full bench said, there is an expectation

that the employer will recognise the wishes of its employees to bargain collectively for an

agreement, and enter into negotiations in an endeavour to reach an agreement.

Where this does not happen, a bargaining order may be sought to ensure that the obligation to

bargain is fulfilled.

The full bench found that in many respects the company complied with its formal

requirements by participating in meetings and responding to union proposals.

But it said it was open to the tribunal to find that the company was not showing a genuine

endeavour to negotiate an agreement with the union.

It said the company had not had a collective agreement and would prefer not to have a deal.

While participating in the bargaining process, it did not make any substantive contribution to

the possible content of an enterprise agreement, or put up proposals.

"In these circumstances it was open to the commissioner, and appropriate on the evidence, to

conclude that the good faith bargaining requirements envisioned by (the act) were not being

met by the company, in that it was not giving genuine consideration to the proposals being

put by APESMA," the full bench said.

3

Ms Bolger said the ruling was a "major blow for companies who think it is OK to simply go

through the motions, with little interest in proper negotiations".

"This is a win for the idea of the fair go and will give millions of Australians reassurance that

when they need to have a conversation with their employer about their pay and conditions, it

will be in good faith," she said. Ms Bolger said the ruling recognised that companies needed

to give genuine consideration to proposals, be clear about their position and conduct

bargaining fairly.

A BHP spokeswoman said the company was examining the ruling and was not prepared to

comment last night.

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Australia: Unions, bosses opt for super overhaul

IR/Australia/ER/Unions/ Superannuation

The Australian 12 April 2012 at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/industrial-

relations/unions-bosses

UNION and employer groups have backed an ambitious overhaul of the superannuation

system that could increase savings for millions of workers by putting more pressure on funds

to lift their performance.

The ACTU and the Australian Industry Group endorsed the approach yesterday, adding

momentum to proposals that could exclude poor-performing funds from the system that sets

the default savings for about 1.7 million workers under industrial awards.

The reform plan is being resisted by some funds and unions that question whether a super

fund's past returns can be used to predict its future performance.

The emerging proposals set the scene for a policy tussle when Financial Services Minister

Bill Shorten considers the recommendations of a Productivity Commission inquiry currently

taking public submissions.

The Australian revealed yesterday that Industry Super Network, which represents industry

funds holding about $250 billion, was proposing a sweeping change to choose default funds

by their performance.

4

Coalition superannuation spokesman Mathias Cormann welcomed the ISN proposal, but

cautioned that there was a shortage of reliable data to decide the benchmarks.

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, NGS Super and Legal Super have

argued for performance benchmarks to be applied to funds that want to be named in industrial

awards.

AI Group's submission released yesterday urged the commission to adopt a new approach to

weed out the lowest quarter of funds in the system when ranked by performance over five

years.

The ACTU argued that industrial awards should only set default funds from among the 100

top performers over an extended period such as 10 years.

The peak union group warned that more than 90 per cent of workers used only the default

fund and made no decision over where their savings were held, heightening the need for a fair

system to decide which funds deserved to collect contributions.

But there are strong objections from big retail funds, represented by the Financial Services

Council, to the idea of adding more in the workplace relations regime. The FSC is urging

Canberra to allow all funds to apply to be default options provided they meet the

government's new My Super standard, which is meant to simplify the system and reduce fees.

The row over the award system is especially heated because funds already in the system fear

the removal of barriers that keep retail funds from being added to awards and picking up

business.

Some union leaders dislike retail funds for using a commercial model that generates a profit

from managing money. "It is incontestable that the large-scale entry of retail, for-profit

superannuation products into this sector of the economy will result in the transfer of wealth

from workers generally to investors specifically and all those lined up on the way through,"

said the Community and Public Sector Union.

Others warn against making performance the main criteria for selection, with the Law

Council of Australia arguing that Fair Work Australia would be subject to judicial appeal and

other challenges over the decisions.

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"The viability of a fund may very well depend on whether it is named as a default fund in a

modern award," said the council's superannuation committee."

REI Super said past performance was an "imperfect guide" while the Shop Distributive and

Allied Employees Association warned a "lot of energy could be wasted" setting criteria that

would not work. Investment performance was a difficult area to measure and explain, it said.

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China/UK: Suppliers in China shouldn’t be out of sight, out of mind

ER/UK/China/Working Conditions/Ethics

CIPD, Claire Churchyard, 2 April 2012 at

http://blog.peoplemanagement.co.uk/2012/04/suppliers-in-china-shouldnt-be-out-of-sight-

out-of-mind/?

wa_src=email&wa_pub=cipd&wa_crt=comment_1&wa_cmp=pmdaily_030412

Why has it taken the best part of two years for Apple to address the mass of damning media

reports on working conditions at Foxconn factories in China? The supplier, which churns out

iPads and iPods for export, has become notorious for the number of employee suicides and

injuries at its factories.

Perhaps employees in a factory in China are just far enough away from consumers and

company leaders in the West to worry about. For too long it has been a case of ‘out of sight,

out of mind’.

Then, last week, it all changed.

An independent report, commissioned by Apple to investigate the allegation that workers

were being exploited, confirmed that, yes, workers were being exploited.

Investigators from the Fair Labor Association (FLA), a corporate collective that “aims to

protect workers’ rights around the globe”, found that Foxconn employees worked excessive

overtime, were underpaid and subjected to health and safety risks.

In fact, the Taiwanese-owned employer was flagrantly breaking Chinese labour laws. The

FLA found that in the past 12 months the employer had exceeded China’s working hours

limit of 40 hours a week and 36 hours’ maximum overtime a month: during peak production

periods, the average number of hours worked each week exceeded 60 hours per worker.

6

There were instances where some employees worked more than seven days in a row without

the required 24 hours off.

The FLA also found that 14 per cent of employees “may not receive fair compensation for

unscheduled overtime”, ie, they were not being properly paid for all the overtime they were

doing. And that’s not to mention the missing safety equipment, inadequate records of

employee injuries at work and an explosion at one factory that killed three workers.

We are told that things are now set to improve because, after the report was published and

following a visit from Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, Foxconn announced it would

address these issues. Pay will increase to above subsistence levels, overtime will be capped

and workers compensated for lost earnings, while the serious issue of health and safety will

be, well, taken more seriously.

But given that the company was breaking Chinese employment law, why will it take them

until July 2013 to comply? To the external observer, it’s hard to see why allegations

originally published in 2010 were disregarded for so long, and even harder to see why putting

things right will take over a year. Is this an example of a culture of western corporate leaders

disassociating themselves from the Chinese workers that make their products?

That may sound like a leap. But I came across this exact attitude recently when attending an

HR event. A seemingly charming consultant told me during a discussion about Foxconn’s

treatment of workers that I should not judge the way workers in China are treated by western

standards. He continued to smile as he explained that the West and East had different cultures

(for ‘cultures’, read ‘standards’) and that I obviously didn’t appreciate that. It sounded like an

excuse for exploiting cheap labour and potential human rights abuses to me. That can’t be

why Apple left it so long to hold their supplier to account, can it?

As an eminent professor of ethics told me recently, when employees and managers

disassociate themselves from what they do at work, it is a recipe for major disaster: such

attitudes may have contributed to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill or the News of the

World phone-hacking scandal.

So, if you’re a company about to outsource work or production to China, or anywhere else in

the world, ask yourself how closely you have looked at the way workers are treated? Does it

meet the same standards you would apply to British workers? Do you even care? Well, you

should, or someone else will eventually highlight those shortcomings for you.

7

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China’s workers emboldened: Strikes escalate in March

IR/China/Strikes/March2012

China Labour Bulletin, 8 April 2012 at http://www.clb.org.hk/en/node/110033

The number of strikes recorded by China Labour Bulletin in March 2012 reached its highest

monthly total since we started monitoring worker protests on a day to day basis 15 months

ago. A total of 38 strikes were logged across China, primarily in the manufacturing and

transportation sectors. Half of the strikes, 19 in all, were related to pay demands, three

concerned factory relocations, three strikes were in protest at merger or restructuring plans,

and four were related to the payment of overtime. Reports indicate that police were present at

13 of the protests and detained workers in two of them. Eleven protests led to collective

bargaining or negotiations with management and in two of those cases the workers’ demands

were fulfilled.

There were 17 strikes in the manufacturing sector, five more than in February. Quite a few of

these factory strikes occurred in foreign or Hong Kong or Taiwan-owned manufacturers in

the Pearl River Delta, and normally involved at least 1,000 workers blocking factory gates or

public roads.

Taxi and bus drivers in at least ten cities went on strike in March, with a spate of strikes

between 26 and 27 March primarily due to the government’s 19 March fuel price hike.

Surveys estimate that taxi drivers will have to pay an extra 400 yuan every month and bus

drivers an extra 1,000 yuan per month as a result of the price rise. The Chinese government

has pledged to help transport workers cope with rising oil prices by providing subsidies,

promoting collective bargaining in taxi companies and regulating the taxi leasing fees that

usually take up nearly one half of drivers’ monthly income.

In the education sector, middle school and kindergarten teachers in three cities demanded pay

increases in March by staging one-day or half-day strikes. One junior middle school teacher

in Zhongshan, Guangdong, for example, claimed her salary was even lower than that of her

school’s security guards.

There were two strikes at Foxconn factories in Jiangsu and Shanxi last month, involving a

few hundred workers each. Workers reportedly protested against changes in the calculation of

overtime pay and unfair wage structures in these two factories.

8

The Fair Labor Association identified “excessive overtime and problems with overtime

compensation” as one the key issues at Foxconn. And in response, the report said, Foxconn

has agreed to enhance workers’ participation in committees and other union structures, and

has agreed to ensure elections of worker representatives without management interference.

“All workers will receive a copy of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and new employees

will receive information about union activities during their orientation process.”

China’s economic indicators may be mixed at present but it seems clear that, given factory

workers’ increasing awareness of using strikes and protests to bargain for more pay and

compensation, it is likely that we are going to see more strikes in the manufacturing sector in

the foreseeable future.

___________________________________________________________________________

 Italy's jobs minister fears for life as labour market shaken up

IR/Italy/Labour Market Reform/Government

The Guardian, 23 March 2012 at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/23/italy-jobs-

minister-elsa-fornero?INTCMP=SRCH

There must be times when Elsa Fornero feels she has the world's worst job.

When the 63-year-old stepped out to buy a new pair of shoes last weekend, she was

accompanied by no fewer than 10 police officers: six plainclothes bodyguards and another

four to close off the pedestrian precinct in Turin where she went shopping. There are anti-

mafia prosecutors who get less protection.

But then Fornero is Italy's welfare and employment minister, and the architect of labour

reform laws that were approved by the cabinet on Friday. Among other things, it will now be

easier for bosses to axe workers in an economic downturn.

The last full-scale attempt to free up Italy's labour market was 10 years ago. The man behind

that reform was Marco Biagi who was shot dead by the self-styled New Red Brigades.

Three years earlier, the same group murdered Massimo D'Antona, another academic who was

the adviser on employment law reform to the then centre-left government. Clearly, some

people feel Fornero, an economics professor at the University of Turin, should meet the same

fate: a demonstrator was photographed earlier this week outside parliament in Rome wearing

a T-shirt with the slogan "Fornero for the cemetery".

9

The New Red Brigades, several of whose members had links with the most extreme wing of

the trade union movement, have since been dismantled. But labour law reform remains Italy's

hottest political potato.

A two-tier labour market divides virtually un-sackable, mainly older workers in indefinite

employment from younger ones hired on an endless succession of short-term contracts that

offer them almost nothing in the way of welfare benefits. The Fornero reform also includes

measures to encourage bosses to give younger people apprenticeships, which guarantee

modest welfare benefits and offer the chance of a long-term engagement.

The minister behind it has shown a rare - but seemingly unwished for - ability to attract

attention. In December, she broke down in tears at a press conference as she announced an

end to inflation-indexing for all but the lowest pension bands. The move was later reversed.

An overhaul of the employment laws was among the undertakings made to the EU

institutions last year by Silvio Berlusconi's government in return for ECB intervention in

support of Italy's then-beleaguered government bonds.

___________________________________________________________________________

Nigeria: Lagos government alleges sabotage as doctors begin a strike

IR/Nigeria/Lagos/Doctors/Strike

The Guardian [Nigeria], 12 April 2012 at http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?

option=com_content&view=article&id=83042:lagos-govt-alleges-sabotage-as-doctors-begin-

strike-&catid=1:national&Itemid=559#

DOCTORS in Lagos State-owned hospitals yesterday made good their threat to down tools in

a three-day warning strike.

But alleging selfishness and sabotage, the state government yesterday said the doctors’ action

was a blackmail aimed at protecting their personal investments in private hospitals which

they want to force on the populace.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Raji, in an

interview with newsmen, described their demands as unfounded, pointing out that it was the

first state government to implement the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS),

which the doctors are now complaining about.

10

Raji said the doctors were also demanding that House Officers on Grade Levels 10 and 12

should be paid teaching allowances, a provision which, according to him, is not part of

CONMESS. He added, however, that government told them that if they could provide the

evidence that it was part of CONMESS provisions, it would pay.

“The doctors, from our findings, are just bent on going on strike probably to protect personal

investments in their poorly-equipped private hospitals, and that is what Lagosians should

brace up for. When you complain that somebody who is on Grade Level 15, is not on step 04,

that his entry point should be Grade Level 15 step 04, I mean Lagosians are wiser,” he said.

On his part, the Health Commissioner, Dr. Jide Idris, said: “The Lagos State government has

a health work-force that is among the largest for any state in the federation. A significant

proportion of the state’s budget is expended on health and health-related issues every year,

including the urgent need to upgrade infrastructure at all levels.

“In-house and out-of-station training and retraining programmes are encouraged both for

task-related and self-improvement purposes. Continuing Medical Education is encouraged

and funded in all its aspects. International partnerships are also being explored and used as

vehicles for sending workers to acquire new skills and international exposure.

“Despite its limited resources and liberty to fix the wages of its members of staff at levels that

it can afford within its resources, the state has made every effort to maintain a reasonable

level of parity for its medical doctors with their peers in other parts of the federation,

including those employed by the Federal Government.

“A number of additional welfare benefits have been made available to the health work-force

in Lagos. These include the provision of personalised official cars for heads of clinical

departments and some other senior officers, most of whom are doctors, provision of official

quarters for many members of staff, and provision of government land with generous rebate.”

Idris said chief medical directors have been directed to attend to emergency while

government has concluded arrangement to appoint interim doctors, volunteers to take over

the vacant positions of the striking doctors.

He urged residents in the state to visit private hospitals while advertisements would soon be

placed in the media for the appointment of interim doctors while the government would also

explore all other avenues for dialogue.

11

Idris said the union had failed to explore all avenues to resolve the issues. He emphasised that

a notice of strike by the union was brought to his office on Tuesday, a day before the strike,

which he said negated all Labour laws that stipulate 15 days notice

While services were skeletal at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH),

Ikeja, General Hospital (GH) Gbagada and General Hospital, Isolo, among others, fears are

that the plight of patients might worsen as the industrial action enters the second day.

When The Guardian visited the hospitals yesterday, consultants and nurses were attending to

some cases, including emergencies.

Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote at a congress held yesterday, urged

his colleagues to give in-house patients that are in unstable condition referral letters to Lagos

University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for further care.

The congress was held at a car park, following an alleged closure of the venue by the Lagos

State government.

The doctors under the aegis of Medical Guild are on three-day warning strike in protest of

non-implementation of agreed Consolidated Salary Scale (CONMESS) by the Lagos State

Government.

Odusote said their consensus at the congress was to go on with the warning strike till 8.00

a.m. on Saturday, and start an indefinite strike at the end of the month if the state government

failed to implement the CONMESS agreement and reverse excessive taxation levied on the

doctors.

Chairman, Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) LASUTH, Dr. Saheed Babajide, said that

the warning strike was unavoidable because they have waited for the implementation of

CONMESS for 13 months.

“We are going on warning strike just because of the patients. We have declared this warning

strike about a week ago to give the government an ample time to re-think and do the right

thing. We also appealed to the people to talk to the government, knowing that an indefinite

strike action will be so unfortunate on the patients.”

He said that though they have had a meeting with the government, with promises made again,

“but the next thing we saw was their coming to lock up the venue of our congress.”

___________________________________________________________________________

12

In Brief

Australia: ACTU Executive endorses recommendation to suspend Health

Services Union

IR/Australia/ Unions/Financial Mismanagement/HSU/suspension

ACTU, 5 April 2012 at http://www.actu.org.au/Media/Mediareleases/default.aspx

The Executive of the ACTU has today met in Melbourne and voted to suspend the Health

Services Union from the ACTU until it can resolve serious issues of governance and financial

management.

________________________________________________________________

Benin: Return to work or face sanction, striking hospital workers warned

IR/Benin/Hospital Workers/Strike

Vanguard [Nigeria] 12 April 2012 at http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/return-to-work-

or-face-sanction-striking-hospital-workers-warned

STRIKING workers of Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Uselu-Benin City, have been warned to

resume work immediately or face sanctions of no-work-pay.

But the workers have vowed to continue the strike action due to what they described as the

anomalies in the appointment of new Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Osasu Olotu.

Olotu, who handed down the warning, while receiving elders and youths of the community,

who visited him in his office, observed that the striking workers have no valid reason for their

action.

___________________________________________________________________________

Guinea: trade union leaders targets of armed attacks and intimidation

IR/Guinea/anti-unionism

ITUC, 29 March 2012 at http://www.ituc-csi.org/guinea-trade-union-leaders-targets.html

Leaders of the Confédération nationale des travailleurs de la Guinée (CNTG) have been the

targets of repeated armed attacks and acts of intimidation over recent months. The situation

has seriously deteriorated since October 2011. The CNTG general secretary, Amadou Diallo,

the assistant general secretaries, Mamadou Mansaré and Kader Aziz Camara, and other

13

leaders have been the victims of threats, armed attacks and intimidation. The governor of

Conakry has, in addition, ordered the closure of the CNTG offices. The labour court has been

repeatedly denounced for its interference in the CNTG’s internal affairs, and lastly, on 27

March, the two deputy general secretaries, Kader Aziz Camara and Mamadou Mansaré, were

called in by the police.

________________________________________________________________

Ireland: Congress Calls for Postponement of Pension Changes

IR/Ireland/ICTU/Government/Pensions

ICTU, 5 Apr 2012 at http://www.ictu.ie/press/2012/04/05/congress-calls-for-postponement-of-pension-changes/

Congress General Secretary David Begg has called on Government to postpone changes to

the state pension in order to properly assess their impact and ensure they do not "contribute to

and deepen inequality."

___________________________________________________________________________

Italy: Camusso, well on Article 18 of insecurity and hurt growth [Trans. sic]

IR/Italy/Job Security

CGIL at http://www.cgil.it/dettagliodocumento.aspx?ID=18823

Dopo le prime valutazioni di ordine generale al testo ufficiale del Ddl sul Mercato del Lavoro

espresse dalla CGIL, Susanna Camusso commenta positivamente la riconquista dello

strumento del reintegro nel caso di licenziamenti economici insussistenti, ed esprime

preoccupazione sui temi del precariato, della crescita e degli ammortizzatori sociali

___________________________________________________________________________

New Zealand: CTU Contacts Talley’s Customers Over Lockout

IR/New Zealand/Lockout

CTU. 11 April 2012 at http://union.org.nz/news/2012/ctu-contacts-talley%E2%80%99s-customers-over-lockout

The Council of Trade Unions is writing to major New Zealand customers of Talley’s which owns 100% of AFFCO seeking their support for workers currently being locked out by the company.

______________________________________________________________________________

14

Singapore: Onus on bosses to ensure safety of maids ER/Singapore/Foreign Domestic Workers/Health and Safety

Straits Times Newsletter , 3 April 2012

WHEN a maid plunged 30 storeys to her death last Thursday, she became at least the third

Indonesian domestic worker to die this way since the start of the year. The three women had

something else in common - they are all believed to have slipped while cleaning their

employers' windows or putting out laundry.

___________________________________________________________________________

Swaziland: Statement by the Trade Unions Congress of Swaziland

(TUCOSWA) on its purported de-registration

IR/Swaziland/Trade Unions/Peak Body/Deregistration

ITUC-Africa, 10 April, 2012. Statement at http://www.ituc-africa.org/Statement-by-the-

Trade-Unions.html

The Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), the only trade union National Centre

in Swaziland has finally and formally received a letter dated 5th April, 2012 from the

Swaziland Government through the Commissioner of Labour purporting to de-register the

Federation from the list, of organisations registered in terms of the Industrial Relations Act.

_______________________________________________________________

UK: Tanker drivers vote for strike over terms and conditions

IR/UK/Industry wide /Tanker drivers/Unite

CIPD, 27 March 2012 at http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2012/03/tanker-

drivers-vote-for-strike-over-terms-and-conditions.htm?

wa_src=email&wa_pub=cipd&wa_crt=news_2&wa_cmp=pmdaily_270312

Two-thirds of tanker drivers have voted to strike in a row over staff terms and conditions in

the fuel delivery industry.

In the ballot of 2,000 Unite union members at seven major supply firms, 69 per cent backed

strike action, raising fears of petrol forecourt shortages at retailers including Tesco,

Sainsbury’s, BP, Shell and Esso.

15

The dispute centres on union demands for an industry-wide bargaining forum to determine

minimum standards on terms and conditions.

___________________________________________________________________________

UK: Baggage handlers at Stansted Airport vote to strike

IR/UK/Airport workers/GMB/Strike

CIPD, 30 March 2012 at http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2012/03/baggage-

handlers-at-stansted-airport-vote-to-strike.htm?

wa_src=email&wa_pub=cipd&wa_crt=news_4&wa_cmp=pmdaily_300312

Baggage handlers at Stansted Airport have voted for a three-day strike over shift changes

they say will reduce their pay, prompting fears of travel disruption over the Easter Bank

holidays.

___________________________________________________________________________

USA: Panera Workers Vote for Representation by Bakery Workers Union

IR/USA/Union Recognition/NLRB/Bakers

AFL-CIO, 23 March 2012 at http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Organizing-Bargaining/Panera-

Workers-Vote-for-Representation-by-Bakery-Workers-Union

The owners of the Michigan Panera franchise, Bread of Life (a franchise of Panera Bread

owned by Manna Development located in Encinitas, Calif.), hired a law-firm to delay a union

vote by claiming the I-94 Division was not an appropriate unit. The National Labor Relations

Board (NLRB) ruled these bakers were indeed an appropriate unit and directed a secret ballot

election be held on Thursday, March 22. The workers held together through eight weeks of

threats, intimidation and other tactics used by management in an attempt to pressure the

workers to vote against the union. Following the NLRB election on Thursday morning, which

had voting at each of the six Panera café locations in Southwestern Michigan, the NLRB

agents counted the ballots and announced the bakers had won by a two-to-one margin to be

represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM)

union.

________________________________________________________________

USA: Trumka Calls for NLRB’s Flynn to Resign Immediately

16

IR/USA/NLRB/

AFL-CIO, 26 March 2012 at http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Organizing-Bargaining/Trumka-

Calls-for-NLRB-s-Flynn-to-Resign-Immediately

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the report of the National Labor Relations Board’s

inspector general into allegations of improper conduct by NLRB member Terence Flynn

“confirms a pattern of ethical violations that are nothing less than shocking.” Flynn should

resign immediately and possibly face criminal charges, he said. The report also indicates an

adviser to presidential candidate Mitt Romney used his connections to Flynn to obtain

information to fuel attacks on the NLRB.

___________________________________________________________________________

USA: Branson Promotes Anti-Union Vote in Virgin America Video

USA/IR/Airlines/Anti-unionism

AFL-CIO, 11 April 2012 at http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Organizing-Bargaining/Branson-Promotes-Anti-Union-Vote-in

U.S. law requires that the “actual control” of U.S. airlines is in the hands of American

citizens. So, why is mega-billionaire and United Kingdom citizen Richard Branson preaching

the evils of unionization in a video message to the flight attendants at the supposedly U.S.-

owned and -controlled Virgin America?

___________________________________________________________________________

Publications 2012

26th AIRAANZ Conference 2012: Re-Organising Work, Association of Industrial Relations

Academics of Australia and New Zealand, published papers, ed. Robin Price, Brisbane,

Queensland University of Technology.

________________________________________________________________________

Pocock, B., Skinner, N and Williams, P. (2012) Time Bomb: Work, Rest and Play in

Australia Today, NewSouth Books, may be ordered at

http://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/isbn/9781742232959.htm

_________________________________________________________________________

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Baird, M., Hancock, K. and Isaac, J. eds. (2012) Work and Employment Relations: An Era

of Change, The Federation Press, ISBN: 9781862878501 may be ordered at www.federation

press.com.au

__________________________________________________________________________

Bamber, G. J., Lansbury, R. D. and Wailes, N. (2012) International and Comparative

Employment Relations: Globalisation and Change, Allen and Unwin, ISBN:

9781742370651 may be ordered from academic@allenandunwin.com

_______________________________________________________________

Working Lives Research Institute (2012) Working Lives News, March 2012,

___________________________________________________________________________

European Commission (2012) White Paper on Pensions (16/02/2012). White Paper on

Pensions .

This document is the follow up of the Green Paper 'Towards adequate, sustainable and safe

European pension systems' published in July 2010. Its purpose was to initiate a European

debate on the key challenges concerning pensions, the main question being: how can the EU

best support the efforts of Member States to ensure adequate, sustainable and safe pensions

for their citizens both now and in the future. On the basis of the responses to the open

consultation launched by the Green Paper, the White Paper identifies the most important

measures to be taken forward in this respect at the European level.

___________________________________________________________________________

International Labour Review, Vol. 150 (3-4)

Posting of workers, EU enlargement and the globalization of trade in services, by S.

LALANNE

Job attitudes, behaviours and well-being among different types of temporary workers in

Europe and Israel, by E.J. GRACIA, J. RAMOS, J. M. PEIRÓ, A. CABALLER and B.

SORA

Primary school student employment and academic achievement in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador

and Peru, by D. POST

Trade union influence in Spanish manufacturing firms, by C. GARCÍA-OLAVERRI and

E.HUERTA

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Special feature: DECENT WORK IN GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS

Decent work in global production networks: Framing the policy debate, by S.

BARRIENTOS, F. MAYER, J. PICKLES and A. POSTHUMA

Economic and social upgrading in global production networks: A new paradigm for a

changing world, by S. BARRIENTOS, G. GEREFFI and A. ROSSI

Economic and social upgrading in global production networks: Problems of theory and

measurement, by W. MILBERG and D. WINKLER

Further reading

Notes and debates

Documents and communications

Book reviews

________________________________________________________________

Calls for Papers, Conferences, Seminars, Symposia

 The E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies

The following is a list of indicative, but far from exhaustive, topic areas: - collective and

individual labour issues; - equality and discrimination; - school-to-work transition; -

industrial relations; - vulnerable workers and precarious working; - employment productivity;

- role of skills and human capital in a global context – immigration issues, labour law.  For

more information http://www.adaptbulletin.eu/docs/e_journal_cfp.pdf

___________________________________________________________________________

The Korean Journal of Industrial Relations

The Korean Journal of Industrial Relations (KJIR) is published by the Korean Industrial

Relations Association. There is no due date for the submission. We receive articles around a

year. Web/URL: http://www.lera.uiuc.edu/news/Calls/2007/Korean%20Journal%20of

%20Industrial%20Relations.htm

__________________________________________________________________________

UK: 2nd International Conference on Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work in a

Changing World

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Date:                                      10-11 September 2012

Venue:                                   Middlesex University Business School, Hendon campus, The

Burroughs, NW4 4BT, London. 

___________________________________________________________________________

Human Resource Management Journal (US)

Special Issue "Balancing Employment Relations in the 21st Century". http://api.ning.com/files/e7lRYBcDXMDbQxuTv20e9RD3pF9CAop9bIHSYGOVw9s4obHzhr1qZPLozaDT2T

2wLFa7rTlbEhG5gcStrIgBaMLSgM134Sk2/EmploymentRelationsFINAL.pdf

Submissions close on 15 April, 2012. Please direct any queries to Keith Townsend

(k.townsend at griffith.edu.au) or Adrian Wilkinson (adrian.wilkinson at griffith.edu.au).

___________________________________________________________________________

UK: ESRC Seminar Series: Employee Engagement, Organisational Performance and

Individual Wellbeing: Exploring the Evidence, Developing the Theory

Seminar and Doctoral Symposium, 16 & 17 April 2012, University of Kent, Medway

Campus, Chatham Maritime.

Confirmed Seminar speakers: Professor Paul Sparrow, Lancaster University; Professor Rob

Briner, University of Bath; Professor John Purcell, Warwick University; Dr Amanda Shantz,

University of York, Toronto; Dr Brad Shuck, University of Louisville; Dr Tom Reio, Florida

International University.

For further information please visit: http://www.kent.ac.uk/kbs/ecg/news-events/esrc-

employee-engagement.html.  Places can be booked with Margaret Sargeant:

m.j.sargeant@kent.ac.uk - places are FREE but it is essential to book.  For further

information about the Doctoral Symposium please contact Dr Amanda Shantz:

amandashantz100@hotmail.com

___________________________________________________________________________

UK: BUIRA 2012 Conference, University of Bradford, 28 - 30 June 2012. Calls for

abstracts have now closed, however if you have submitted an abstract to the conference

please check that your submission was successfully submitted.  As this is the first time we

have used this electronic submission system you may not have been aware that you should

have received this confirmation.  If you did not receive confirmation of your submission

please contact k.gilbert@strath.ac.uk attaching a copy of your abstract this week.

20

__________________________________________________________________________

USA: ILERA Study Group (Public Sector)

Leading Public Service Organisations in Challenging Times, July 2-5, 2012 in Philadelphia at

ILERA.

 Governments are looking towards their senior civil servants and top managers to implement

challenging programmes of organisational and workforce restructuring and routinely include

leadership as a core competency for top level positions. The study group is interested in

papers that address a number of issues in relation to leadership in a period of restructuring,

not only relating to central government but also in other public services such as health,

education and municipal services.  Abstracts and papers are invited on this topic. We are also

interested in receiving shorter papers from policy makers and practitioners that contributes to

our understanding of current developments. The abstract should be around 500-750 words

and submitted to Stephen.bach@kcl.ac.uk or lorenzo.bordogna@unimi.it  no later than 16th

March 2012. Acceptance decisions will be communicated by the 30 March 2012. Accepted

papers should be submitted by 15 June 2012.Full call for papers:

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/iira/study/publicsector.htm

___________________________________________________________________________

USA: ILERA Study Group #9 (Pay Systems)

If you are interested in making a presentation at Study Group #9 the 16th World Congress of

the ILERA in Philadelphia, please send an email with the title and brief description to

daniel.j.b.mitchell@anderson.ucla.edu.

__________________________________________________________________

USA: ILERA Study Group (Research Methods)

The study group will meet during, USA, 2–5 July 2012 (http://www.ilera2012.com/).  The

focus of the meeting will be on Partisanship in Industrial Relations Research. The aim of

this study group is to examine issues around the topic of whether IR can be truly objective.

Please send abstracts or papers as a Word or 'rtf' file by e-mail to both coordinators: Professor

Keith Whitfield whitfield@cardiff.ac.uk and Professor Ralph Darlington

r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk no later than Friday 30 March 2012. Acceptance decisions will

be communicated by 15 April 2012. Accepted papers should be submitted by 15 June 2012.

__________________________________________________________________________

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UK: Rethinking Retirement: Changing Realities for Older Workers and Employee

Relations

 Deadline: 30 April 2012

 Special Issue of Employee Relations Guest edited by Wendy Loretto (Edinburgh) Sarah

Vickerstaff (Kent) and David Lain (Brighton), see for full call:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/authors/writing/calls.htm?id=3854

___________________________________________________________________________

Portugal: IREC 2012: Challenges for Public and Private Sector Industrial Relations and

Unions in times of Crisis and Austerity

 5-7 September 2012, CIES-ISCTE/IUL, Lisbon, Portugal

 This year the conference is organised jointly with the Research Network on Work,

Employment and Industrial Relations of the European Sociological Association, but

participants are not required to be ESA members.

 The conference will consist of plenary and workshop sessions focusing on the impacts of

crisis and austerity upon the institutions and actors of European industrial relations systems in

both the private and public sectors, and the methodological issues involved in their study.

•  What is the concrete impact of the crisis upon industrial relations systems in Europe, and

what are the comparative implications of these transformations?

•  What are the differential impacts of austerity upon private and public sector employment

and labour relations?

•  To what extent have the crises accelerated transformations already in progress in European

industrial relations, and to what extent have they spawned qualitatively new challenges?

•  Have the crises accentuated the complex trends towards both convergence and divergence

across European industrial relations? 

•  How are unions and employers’ associations in the private and public sectors facing up to

the varied challenges of current transformations?

•  Are new forms of social movements and collective action around labour issues emerging in

these crises? If so, which; and what, if any, are the emergent relationships between old and

new forms of collective action?  

22

 Papers may be theoretical and/or empirical (both qualitative and quantitative). As in previous

conferences, cross-national papers are especially welcome.  The conference will be hosted at

ISCTE-Lisbon University Institute by the Centro de Investigação e de Estudos em

Sociologia.

 Deadlines:

April 30  submission of abstract proposals ; May 30  acceptance of papers; June 15  early bird

registration; August 1  submission of papers

 For full details, visit the conference web site at

http://conferencias.cies.iscte.pt/index.php/IREC2012/irec2012  

 __________________________________________________________________________

Canada: International Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work

(CRIMT) Conference, on Union Futures: Innovations, Transformations, Strategies,

October 25th to 27th 2012, HEC Montréal, Montral, Canada.

Original academic and actor contributions are invited on one or more of the following

themes. 1. What do Unions Stand For? 2. Who do Unions Represent? 3. What are the

Dynamics of Union Activism? 4. What are the Strategies for Union Power? 5. How do

Unions Innovate? For details on each of these themes and on how to submit proposals, see

the full call for papers at http://www.crimt.org/UnionFutures.html . The deadline for

submission of proposals is April 30th, 2012. They must be sent to Nicolas Roby, CRIMT

Scientific Coordinator at nicolas.roby at umontreal.ca.

___________________________________________________________________________

Cuba: 2nd International Conference of Labour Youth 29-30 April 2012 – Havana Cuba,

29-30 April 2012. WFTU at http://www.wftucentral.org/?language=en

_________________________________________________________________________________________

 UK: Transnational Industrial Relations and the Search for Alternatives, Greenwich

University, 31 May 2012 to 1 June 2012. For abstract submission or more information,

contact Lefteris Kretsos (l.kretsos@greenwich.ac.uk).

___________________________________________________________________________

Ireland: IFSAM 2012 Conference, Limerick, Ireland, 26-29 June 2012. Website:

http://www.ifsam.org/

23

__________________________________________________________________________________

USA: 16th World Congress of ILERA, 16th World Congress of ILERA, 2-5 July 2012,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Website: http://www.ilera2012.com/

Register at: http://www.ilera2012.com/Registration/default.asp

Reserve accommodation at:

http://www.ilera2012.com/Accommodations/default.asp

Review program at:

http://www.ilera2012.com/Congress-Program/default.asp

Arrange travel at:

http://www.ilera2012.com/General-Information/default.asp

__________________________________________________________________________________

Australia: Special Issue of Labour and Industry

Governance and CSR: Implications for Labour.

Papers are due to s.h.young@latrobe.edu.au by end of August 2012

_________________________________________________________________________________

Singapore's principal event focusing on diversity and inclusion is back for the fourth

year!

Singapore Tripartite Forum

This year, the Conference on Fair Employment Practices themed "Strengthening Fair and

Responsible Employment - for Inclusive Growth in Challenging Times" will engage local

and international experts, leading employers, academics as well as tripartite leaders.

Find out how being a fair and responsible employer can help you and your company

capitalise on human resources and contribute to your organisation's growth in preparation for

the challenging times ahead. The conference will help participants learn and understand more

about strengthening and managing diversity and inclusion in workplaces.

Guest-of-Honour, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister of State for Manpower and National

Development, will deliver the welcome address. The conference keynote speakers include Mr

Stephen Frost, Vice President and Ms Dianah Worman, Advisor, Diversity & Inclusion; both

from Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The UK experts will share their

24

insights and discuss details of how employers can better manage their diverse employees in

challenging times. Following that, hear from a diverse pool of panellists on key business

trends, issues and best employment practices on achieving inclusive growth within the

organisation.

In the afternoon, participants can select and attend topical session to suit their organisations'

needs. These breakout sessions include:

Session 1A : Developing Cross-Cultural Competence - A Talent Management Imperative

Session 1B : Harnessing Female Talent in the Workplace

Session 2A : Building and Leading High Performance Teams - D&I Perspective

Session 2B : Synergising A Multi-Generational Workforce - Issues & Strategies

Registration is open now! For more information, visit www.fairemployment.sg/conference

today.

___________________________________________________________________________

27th AIRAANZ Conference, 6-8 February 2013, Freemantle, Western Australia. Information

from www.conferencewa.com.au/airaanz2013; email trish.todd@uwa.edu.au;

email al.rainnie@gbs.curtin.edu.au . Submission deadline for refereed papers 21 September

2012.

___________________________________________________________________________

8th Asian Regional Congress of the International Labour and Employment Relations

Association, 9-12 April 2013, Melbourne, Victoria.

Theme: Work and Employment in the Asian Century

The program will be organised around four track themes:

1. The changing contours of employment relations and labour market regulation.

2. Human Resource management – trends and challenges.

3. The future of worker voice and representation, and

4. Globalisation, corporate social responsibility and decent work.

Call for Abstracts Open, February 2012; Deadline for Special Interest Symposia,

27 July 2012; Deadline for Abstract Submissions, 28 September 2012; Registration Open

11 April 2012.

For more details about the program, please click here:

25

___________________________________________________________________________

 Australia: Fifth International Community, Work and Family Conference, The fifth

international Community, Work and Family Conference will take place at the University of

Sydney, 15-17 July 2013. Information at www.CWF2013.aifs.gov.au

___________________________________________________________________________

The Netherlands: 10th European Conference of the International Labour and

Employment Relations Association, Imagining new employment relations and new

solidarities. Amsterdam, 20 - 22 June 2013

Call for Papers and Submission of Abstracts

Abstracts must be 350-500 words in length and can be submitted on the conference website

as of 1 May 2012.

Over the last two decades employment and labour relations in Europe have undergone

important changes. Manufacturing employment is decreasing and various types of service

employment are rising, together with female participation levels. The standard employment

relationship is losing its dominant position with the growing use of flexible and part-time

contracts, temporary agency work and (dependent) self-employment. Segmentation between

stronger and weaker groups is increasing. Social solidarity is under pressure in many

countries as a consequence of the increasing diversity of populations and of the labour force.

Collective bargaining is decentralizing but there are also attempts to transnationalise

bargaining within multinationals or within certain sectors. Trade unions are slowly losing

membership and power but worker involvement in social innovation is wanted more than

ever. The role of the EU is getting more important and new forms of governance are being

experimented with. Change is accelerating as a result of the crisis and austerity is leading to

profound restructuring of the public sector, affecting employment conditions and service

provision.

Within this context, we want to foster a reflection and debate on the future of employment

relations and new forms of solidarity. Such questions include: What can or should

employment relations look like in the future? What is the future of the public sector? Can or

should growing segmentation and polarization be countered? What new types of governance

support collaborative efforts to tackle today’s collective problems? What new types of

solidarity can we foresee between group of workers or workers in different countries? What

new types of cooperation or conflict can we foresee between workers and employers?

26

Papers presented at the Conference will be organised around five broad tracks (for more

detailed descriptions, see conference website):

Track 1: Industrial relations actors in a changing labour market. Track 2: Europeanisation of

social and employment policies. Track 3: Public sector restructuring: consequences for

employment relations and public services. Track 4: New forms of regulation and governance.

Track 5: HRM and Social Innovation.

Abstract submission deadline: 31 December 2012. Acceptance decisions will be

communicated by: 1 February 2013.

Apart from regular sessions with paper presentations there will be interactive sessions with

short presentations.

Symposia

We welcome proposals for special symposia. Symposia are self-contained sessions of one

and a half hour. They can be on the general theme of the conference or on one of the track

themes. The convenor of a symposium is requested to submit a proposal of about 1000

words, including the theme of the symposium, the details of speakers and the abstracts of

their papers. Proposals can be submitted at the Conference website as of 1 May 2013.

Conference Venue

The conference will be held at the historic Oudemanhuispoort building of the University of

Amsterdam, located in the city centre.

The 10th European ILERA Conference is organized by a consortium of universities in the

Netherlands which are home to research groups studying labour and employment relations, in

collaboration with the Dutch Labour and Employment Relations Association (DLERA).

Contact

For more information please visit: www.ilera-europe2013.eu as of 1 May 2012 or contact the

conference management at: Amsterdam Institute for Advanced labour Studies (AIAS),

Plantage Muidergracht 12, 1018 TV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.info@ilera-europe2013.eu

www.ilera-europe2013.eu

___________________________________________________________________________

Other Sites

27

ILO: The International Institute for Labour Studies (IILS) was established by the

International Labour Organization in 1960 as a centre for advanced studies in the social and

labour fields. It produces the annual "World of Work Report". The International Labour

Review, a global multidisciplinary journal of labour and social policies is also published

under the aegis of the IILS.

http://www.ilo.org/

___________________________________________________________________________

UK: Working Lives Research Institute

Subscribe to the WLRI mailing list for regular news updates, including our regular WLRI

electronic-newsletter, and subscribe to our WLRI press release mailing list.

___________________________________________________________________________

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