Country South Korea

Issue Regularisation illegally temporary workers

Method adopted

Result

of Sacked Hyundai contract worker Hyundai has about 8,200 contract bong, a temporary workers union workforce, who are paid at least half official, occupation are of a continuing 30-metre the the rate of regular workers with high reduced entitlements. Over 1,900

dispatched Choe Byeong-seung and Cheon Ui- workers, or 22 percent of its total

electricity pylon at Hyundai Motors contract workers have filed a suit Ulsan factory that they began in mid- demanding they be recognised as October. The protest, which has won Hyundai employees. wide working-class support nationall This week Hyundai offered 37-yearold Choe full-time regular employment in a bid to end the protest. Dismissed in 2005 as an inhouse subcontractor worker after

demanding his position be regularised, he immediately rejected the offer. The temporary workers union, which is affiliated with the Korean Metal Workers Union, has not called any industrial action over the issue since December 2010 when it ended a 25day strike and occupation of 500 temporary workers at the Ulsan plant after management agreed to negotiate. Hyundai, however, has only transferred subcontract workers to full-time employees as their individual appeals are upheld in the courts. They are then hired on inferior wages and conditions than those of current permanent employees.

Bangladesh

pay

increase.

The crew commuter ferries and cargo

transport for

labourers vessels on inland waterways, began a India-bound demands

want landing passes national strike on January 9 over 16

labourers, security in waterways, an end to harassment marine increasing navigability implementation includes by courts, the of of

waterways and full maritime laws that proper safety certification of all motor vessels. Bangladesh Garment several related Tazreen factory Workers- Several hundred garment workers demands rallied outside the National Press to fire the Club Fashion The protest was organised by the that National Garment Workers

killed 112 garment Federation in an attempt to divert workers over jobs. demands trial of 900 in attention from its long record of without unsafe and poor working conditions Workers and allowing factory owners to included falsify current limited safety checks. Tazreen November and left ignoring workers complaints over

immediate arrest and Fashions owner and negligent managers, payment of wages and allowances and compensation to 15,000 workers of the Hallmark Group. Protesters also called for amendments to the Labour Welfare Foundation Act and

Labour establishment

Law, of

safe workplaces in the garment sector and free trade union rights. Bangladesh Airline Workers- The The union ended the strike after airline workers want seven hours when the civil aviation better coverage, medical minister and Biman authorities held a meal three-hour meeting, assuring the

allowances increased union that workers demands would to 50 taka (62 US be met. While Bimans managing cents), uniforms proper director made an agreement in and the writing, workers were sceptical,

withdrawal of two complaining that earlier management legal cases against promises had proven false. the president of their union, the Biman

Sramik League. Pakistan Thousands of protested on January 7 to demand payment and other of salaries, outstanding

Karachi Metropolitan immediate Corporation (KMC) pensions employees---

allowances. Teachers have not been paid for two months and 1,600 fire fighters salaries are three months in arrears. It is the fourth time in six months that KMC employees have downed tools over non-payment of what is due.

India

Kerala operators had

Pvt

Bus Thousands of private buses were Strikers grounded during the

Thozhilali

Samyuktha

Samara

walkout, Samithi members was called off on its

demanded

an causing massive traffic jams in all second day on January 8, following a

immediate 50 percent major cities in Indias south-west decision by the Labour Ministry to interim increase in coastal state of Kerala. The strike increase the private bus workers daily salary. Most workers was sparked after bus owners failed wage by 60 rupees ($US1.10). have not had a pay to honour their commitment on a pay

increase since 2008. increase made during a tripartite The basic wage of a negotiation three months ago. private bus driver is 6,070 conductors workers rupees. India Karnataka State outside the deputy commissioners Chikkaballapur against of women in to the a According rupees 6,000 5,970 ($US121) per month, rupees and ancillary

Anganwadi Workers office in Association members harassment protested workplace.

spokesman for the Trade Union Coordination Committee, which led the demonstration, the women are threatened with dismissal if they complain about being mistreated. Other union demands included the upgrade of mini centres to full time centres, provision of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in all cooking centres, and for anganwadi workers and assistants to be regularised and included in the government employment scheme.

Indonesia

Tens of thousands of They want revisions to a law that Indonesian factory allows companies to hire temporary than two million factory workers have gone workers for a year without benefits. on a one-day strike to More demand wages and higher workers joined the strike in 24 cities, better labour union leaders say. More than 700 companies were affected by the protests, police spokesman Col Agus Rianto told the

working conditions.

Associated Press news agency. In January a court ruled that hiring contract workers without benefits was unconstitutional. A government spokesman said on Wednesday that the labour law was still being revised. Although the minimum wage in Indonesia varies depending on the province and sector, the average is still significantly lower than China's a comparison many businessmen in Indonesia often make. The standard minimum wage in Jakarta is about $170 (105) a month. Employer associations have warned that foreign investors will stay away from Indonesia or relocate their businesses because of the recent increase in industrial action in South East Asia's largest economy, says the BBC's Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta.

Cambodia

round 300 garment Two hundred strikers travelled from workers Master district at and on the their Kandal factory to the ministry Frank of social affairs in Phnom Penh to the dispute..... ave defied a court order to

factory in Ang Snuol demand the government resolve the outskirts of Phnom return to work and are maintaining Penh ..... They are strike action begun on December 19. demanding reinstatement of 11 union members fired over the past four months and payment

of

overdue

lunch

wages.

Singapore

171 drivers

SMRT from

bus

In his first press conference on the After negotiating for the afternoon, the management that their

the incident on 27 November, Minister bus drivers obtained reassurance from

Peoples Republic of Tan declared that the strike was senior a strike at

China (PRC) staged illegal because the drivers flouted the grievances would be addressed within their law by not giving 14 days of notice a week, and they would return to work to their employers. This, he said, in the meantime. However, on the first matters into their own hands. He PRC again staged a strike. Some of were repeat strikers from

Woodlands Singapores

dormitory. This was meant that the drivers were taking following day, 88 bus drivers from the industrial strike in 26 also mentioned that regardless of them the strike because ways and wrong ways to handle these

years. They initiated their grievances, there are right Monday whereas others were new. they were unhappy concerns, and that taking the law over the lower wages into your own hands is wrong. It they were receiving seems that the neat division between when compared to right and wrong mirrors the Malaysian bus consistent rhetoric in other mainland drivers, as well as the Southeast Asian countries. poor conditions of Subsequently, on 1 December, the their bed bugs. dormitories, Ministry of Manpower further some of which had revealed that they were to charge 5 bus drivers for instigating the strike (at this time of writing, one has already been sentenced to six weeks jail), and had revoked the work permits of another 29 bus drivers who were repatriated back to China over the weekend. Three observations from these developments are worthy to note. First, the speed at which the alleged trouble makers were identified, arrested, charged and repatriated suggests that the Singapore states

capacity for coercive action against mass mobilization is still very much alive. Second, the manner in which the mainstream media parroted the Ministrys stance on the illegality of the workers actions, disregarding the injustice of the law at stake, signals to other foreign and local workers in Singapore that they were clearly and rightfully emancipated of their rights to strike, and that they should stay in their rightful place. Third, the majority of Singaporeans continue to express their agreement with the system of suppressed rights to mobilize and strike, judging by the snap poll conducted by a government feedback agency, as well as their generally muted response to the incident.

India

Close Tyres plant

to

1,000 Workers walked off the job on While the tyre workers signed a of understanding

workers at Apollo October 23 to demand recognition of memorandum in

Waghodia their newly-formed union, Bharatiya (MOU) with management the deal Gujarat Majdoor Sangh (BMS), and for fails to fully address their demands. of two suspended

agreed to end a 19- reinstatement day strike

on employees. The company, however, has only agreed to pay 50 percent of salaries lost during the strike, only reinstate take up some the of the of workers union suspended during the strike, and issue recognition within three months. Apollo employs over 7,000 people at two plants and recognises three other unions. Waghodia workers told the

November 9

media

that

despite

attending

numerous committee meetings the unions had failed to address their concerns.

South Korea

50,000 over

short-term Alliance

of

Unionized

Irregular

contract workers at Workers members rallied outside 16 3,400 education offices and the ruling

government schools Saenuri Partys headquarters. throughout day to South Workers want the same pay system demand education officers to be included in are currently required to renew a contract individual every year with each them school, making Korea struck for the as regular workers and for local improved pay and collective negotiations. Most workers employment status

vulnerable to pressure by the school management. There workers, are 150,000 non-regular administrative including

staff and food service employees, at public schools. Only 35,000 are union members.

Burma

Around 300 daily- have not been allowed back to work Daily wage workers are paid as little wage workers from despite officially ending an almost as 2,000 kyat ($US2.30) per day for Taw Win carpentry three-week strike on November 11 women and 2,500 kyat for men. factory in Rangoons and accepting a Labor Dispute Shwepyitha Industrial Zone Arbitration Court decision. The court ruled in favour of four of the strikers demands. Workers said they planned to resume industrial action until the company accepted the courts ruling. Daily-wage workers at Taw Win walked out on October 25, after the factory owner refused to provide an

employment

contract.

Workers

complained that they remained dailywage employees and received no benefits after a decade of continuous employment for the company

Vietnam

Around employees garment manufacturer

1,400

15-day strike to demand better

In a deal negotiated with the citys official union and the labour

of salaries and allowances.

department Flexcom agreed to ensure wages in the meet the state regulated minimum monthly salary of $US50.50 by January 2013. Management also agreed to limit the working day to eight hours, with 150 percent overtime payment rates on weekdays, 200 percent on Sundays and 300 percent on national holidays. Free meals will be provided to those working more than four hours overtime per a day.

Flexcom in Dinh Ke commune, Bac Giang northern province of

Bangladesh

1,500 striking cargo border ended a three-day strike on port officials agreed to pay dues for loaders at the November 12 after port officials October Workers are employed by contract companies and are paid just 13 taka (or 15 US cents) per tonne of goods unloaded. Benapole is a major land port that handles 80 percent of raw materials for Bangladeshs garment industry. The strike was called by the Benapole Port Handling Workers Union. Benapole land port agreed to pay dues for October. on the Indian border

Noriyuki Suzuki, General Secretary of ITUC-AP Throughout the Asia-Pacific region, workers are facing alarming levels of precarious work a term used to describe work that is not-permanent, indirect, informal and/or otherwise insecure. Many workers in these jobs are often not fully covered by labour law and social security protections. Common employment associated with precarious work include: temporary labour contracts, hiring through employment agencies or labour

brokers, outsourcing, individual contracts as a self-employed independent contractor, abuse of apprenticeship and intern programs and the like. The rise in precarious work is the result of employment practices meant to maximize shortterm profitability and flexibility at the expense of the worker who now bears most if not all of the risks of health, welfare and employment. While informal employment has always been a serious problem in much of the developing world, it is becoming a serious problem in highly-industrialised countries where well-paying, full-time jobs are being replaced by precarious jobs. Almost no sector is being spared. The use of precarious work strikes at the core of trade union rights, as workers under such employment relationships find it difficult if not impossible to organise with fellowworkers to form or join a union at the same enterprise (in some cases they will not have the same employer where subcontracting is employed) or in the same sector. In 2006, the ILO promulgated Recommendation 198 on the Employment Relationship, which sets forth policy guidelines on protections forworkers in the employment relationship and for determining the existence of an employment relationship. While generally useful concepts, these are unfortunately generally ignored.

The following are just a few examples: In Korea, the situation is particularly acute. The growth of precarious work accelerated rapidly following the Asian financial crisis of the 1990s. Korea now has very high levels (by some estimates over 50% of the workforce) of labour casualisation. 2011 statistics show that the employment conditions of irregular workers are even worse than before, with average pay almost half that of those employed on regular contracts. The labour market is now essentially bifurcated, with workers on regular contracts (more often university-educated, professional employees) and some degree of employment security and everyone else, with apparently limited mobility between the two. According to Korean unions, the new National Employment Strategy 2020, a government initiative to increase employment, includes provisions that will further deregulate private employment agencies, expand indirect employment, and increase precarious employment. In Japan, the situation is similar with a growing precariat and ever deepening inequality between regular and non-regular workers. Latest statistics show that non-

regular workers account for over one-third of the employed population. According to Evans and Gibb, The combination of a prolonged recession driving corporate restructuring towards a more western model; a clearly articulated and implemented deregulation on the part of government, an active push from the employers side to popularise and implement differential statuses for workers; a pre-existing insider/outsider division at the level of the workplace and an employer-based system of social protection have offered a recipe for severe negative consequences resulting from the rise in precarious work in Japan. In Malaysia, the MTUC and a broad array of civil society organisations banded together to oppose, ultimately unsuccessfully, the Act to Amend the Employment Act of 1955, which further entrenched precarious work through labour subcontracting. The practice frustrates the full exercise of freedom of association and collective bargaining and has otherwise led to exploitation of workers, including migrant workers. However, following a nationwide protest by the MTUC, the government offered to draw up binding regulations to prevent the use of outsourced workers to carry out work of regular or permanent nature. On February 14, 2011, Malaysian human rights activist Charles Hector was sued for over $3.2 million by electronic firm Asahi Kosei (M) Sdn Bhd for defamation after he posted on his blog reports he received from Burmese migrant workers detailing violations of labour and human rights. The facts of the case were not in contention; rather, Mr Hector was found liable and was forced to issue a

retraction because he had associated the abuses with Asahi Kosei rather than its subcontractor, even though Asahi Kosei directed and supervised the labour of the migrant workers. In Indonesia, workers have seen been outsourcing and contract work increase dramatically in recent years. The number of permanentworkers in the formal labour force fell from 67 per cent in 2005 to only 35 per cent in 2011. Trade unions are waging a campaign to revise Labour Law 13/2003 to improve regulation of contract and agency labour. Precarious work is particularly acute in the nations numerous export processing zones (EPZs). It is estimated that 98 per cent of workers in the EPZs on the island of Batam (home to 25EPZs hosting 800 multinationals mostly electronic manufacturing) are on contract or agency work. Some workers describe working on repeated 3-month contracts, then working for an agency and then brought back on a new short term contract all to avoid workersfrom ever becoming permanent workers (workers employed for 3 years at the same company are entitled to permanent work). Workersface low wages ($100 per month), long hours and in hazardous working conditions. Trade unions are fortunately making important inroads, bringing hope to the tens of thousands of workers in the Batam EPZs. In Australia, precarious work has also been on the rise. According to the ACTU, around 40% of workers are engaged in insecure work arrangements such as casual work, fixed term work, contracting or labour hire. The Australian labour movement recently commissioned an independent inquiry to examine the extent of the insecure work and its impact on workers, their families and the community, and to provide recommendations on measures that can be taken to address any problems that are identified. Over 500 submissions were sent in by workers, unions and academics on the nature of precarious work in Australia. The inquiry will be undertaken in 2012. However, unions are fighting back hard and winning throughout the Asia-Pacific Region. In the courts, workers are advancing new legal theories to limit the abuse of

precarious contracts. In the field, unions are organising workers, including migrant workers, in innovative ways, having to take into account complex employment structures. Internally, unions are restructuring to integrate precarious workersinto their ranks, and elevating the issue within their organisations. And at the bargaining table, unions are using bargaining clout to try to ensure that workers in the same enterprise are treated equally, regardless of the contractual employer. The road ahead is long, but unions are making a difference.