Pg 2 LABOR LETTER
Otago commemorating the Rev Rutherford
Waddell, the 19th century Dunedin Presby-
terian minister who inspired social and la-
bor reforms. Kelly told the audience of 200
that conditions have improved for workers
since Waddell’s time, but those conditions
were on the decline today for many workers.
She noted workplace deaths are on the rise,
300,000 workers are at or near the mini-
mum wage and permanent jobs are under-
mined by contracting-out and casualization.
She said attacks on workers are increasing,
and she predicted public sector workers will
be the next to be portrayed as “overpaid,
lazy and incompetent.”
Nine seafarers from Eastern
Europe last month received $102,735 in
back wages due since May with the support
of the Irish union, Services, Industrial, Pro-
fessional and Technical Union (SIPTU).
In response to a call from the International
Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), SIP-
TU officials boarded the Dutch-Antilles
registered vessel, the MV Julia, while it was
docked in the port of Drogheda where it
was taking on board a 5,000 ton consign-
ment of cement for Belgium. e union
found that the men had not been paid for
four months and were dependent on a daily
food allowance controlled by the Captain.
e union threatened the company, Trans-
ship Management, with arrest and seizure
of the vessel if the men were not paid. After
the company failed to make payment, the
crew struck with the support of SIPTU un-
til management relented. “is was a great
example of the worker solidarity we have
been building gradually in the port,” said
ITF coordinator for Ireland and Britain
Ken Fleming.
The Tunisian Industry, Trade
and Handicrafts Union (UTICA) “firmly”
condemned acts of violence perpetrated
against the U.S. diplomatic mission to Tu-
nisia last month after hundreds of protes-
tors attacked the U.S. Embassy in Tunis
and stormed the grounds on September 14.
Violent clashes between the security forces
and the mob resulted in four deaths and
50 persons wounded. “ese acts of vio-
lence perpetrated against public and private
properties and foreign residents in Tunisia
are unacceptable and will harm Tunisia’s
The AFL-CIO Sept. 13 awarded
the 2012 George Meany-Lane Kirkland
Human Rights Award to Hassine Abassi,
General Secretary, Tunisian General Union
of Labor (UGTT) and S. Salman Jaddar Al
Mahfoodh, General Secretary, General Fed-
eration of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU)
during a ceremony at federation headquar-
ters in Washington, D.C. ey were rec-
ognized “on behalf of their respective labor
movements, as emblematic of the labor
movements across the Middle East working
to preserve democracy, justice and freedom,”
the federation said. During the Tunisian up-
rising in January 2011, the Tunisian General
Union Labor (UGTT) was at the forefront
of the protests, coordinating actions across
the country and demanding political change
and a more equitable society. In Bahrain,
the General Federation of Bahrain Trade
Unions (GFBTU) led strikes and protests
in the face of violent repression. e annual
Meany-Kirkland Award, created in 1980
and named for the first two presidents of the
AFL-CIO, recognizes outstanding exam-
ples of the international struggle for human
rights through trade unions.
INTERNATIONAL
LABOR NEWS
The current decline in New
Zealand workers’ rights and conditions will
only change when people’s “deference” to
employers and the state is overcome, de-
clared NZ Council of Trade Union presi-
dent Helen Kelly. Kelly spoke at a lecture in
image,” said UTICA in a statement. “e
Union advocates the freedom of expression
and respects peaceful protest staged under
the law, but condemns all form of violence
as a means of protest,” UTICA asserted. e
union also denounced the attack on Islam
and the Prophet Muhammad following the
release on-line of trailers of the anti-Islam
film “e Innocence of Muslims.”
The Public Service Alliance of
Canada (PSAC) held a National Day of
Action September 16 with rallies and events
across the nation to raise public awareness
of the cuts to public services proposed by
the Conservative government. “Canadians
from all walks of life are feeling the impact
of federal cuts; we’ll be sharing their stories
and protesting these cuts,” the union said in
a statement. e Conservatives recently an-
nounced that about 19,200 federal jobs will
be cut in the public service sector over three
years as part of their austerity measures. e
PSAC said that thousands of jobs could be
lost and services drastically reduced. In St.
John’s, Newfoundland, for example, a rally
and march started at the Murray Prem-
ises. In Toronto, union activists held “e
People’s Court,” which placed the austerity
agenda and political leaders “on trial” for
sweeping budget cuts.
NATIONAL &
POLITICAL EVENTS
New 2011 census data recently
released indicates the U.S. economy is show-
ing signs of bottoming out and improving.
Although the jobless rate remains high at
8.1 percent, the annual survey revealed that
more young adults are leaving their par-
ents’ homes for college or the job market,
once-sharp declines in births are leveling
off, poverty is slowing and Americans are
more able to move around again to get new
jobs. “ere are signs among all these mea-
sures that the multiple downsides of the
Great Recession have bottomed out, which
is good news, especially for young people
who have seen their lives put on hold,” said
William H. Frey, a demographer at Brook-
ings Institution. “ere is some light at the
end of the tunnel.” Data also shows a slow-
ing growth in the foreign-born population,
NZTEU President Helen Kelly. Flickr.com photo
used under Creative Commons from Tertiary
Education Union (NZTEU).