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28 April, 2006
In Finland on 1 May, a new policy takes effect that will no longer restrict the free movement of labour from the new EU Member States. Over the past two years, since the addition of ten new countries into the EU, Finnish control mechanisms have been put in place through a subscriber liability law. The legislation now makes it harder to abuse foreign workers, and also puts meaningful stops to the grey economy.
Companies are now obligated to investigate the handling of taxation, social security payments and work practices of their subcontractors. The Finnish government will also seek to tighten control over foreign agency labour through a new policy that requires foreign workers from EU states to register at an employment bureau within two weeks of arrival. Finnish trade unions have fully endorsed the policy changes.
In the United States on May Day, a day that bosses in the late 19th century stripped of significance so that American workers would not have the same Labour Day, immigrant workers will wage a general strike as well as a consumer strike. The strikes are further protests against restrictive measures against immigrants that have surfaced in the US Congress.
The day will vividly illustrate not only the jobs that immigrants fill in America, but also the purchasing power they have in the marketplace. Leading up to the twin strikes, businesses and companies in several large US cities have fired thousands of migrant workers who participated in marches in March and April.
In Belgium on 1 May, trade unionist Paul Lootens and historians Marie-Louise De Roeck and Julie Urbain will unveil their new book, Tutti Cadaveri: The Trial of the Catastrophe at the Bois du Cazier in Marcinelle. The book depicts the aftermath of Belgium’s worst mining tragedy in history, a fire that raged inside a coal mine near the Wallonian town of Marcinelle, killing 262 miners.
The tragedy occurred on 8 August 1956 and the book marks the 50th anniversary of the devastating loss of so many lives. The book’s title, Tutti Cadaveri, comes from an Italian rescuer who, after surfacing from the mine, said, “All corpses.”
The book is available from Aden Publishers for €22 and can be ordered from Aden by contacting [email protected], or calling +32 2534 46 61. The ICEM will bring further attention to the 50th Anniversary events as the August date draws closer.
On Monday, 1 May, German IGBCE President Hubertus Schmoldt will deliver a major speech in Osnabrück on some fundamental issues affecting Germany and its trade unions, including joblessness, health reform and an energy policy.
The trade union leader will warn against the notion that the German economy can be strengthened by lowering wages, or through increasing the number of hours in the work week. IGBCE also calls for minimum standards, including wage levels, to be maintained for all sectors of the economy.
From Argentina on May Day comes a greeting from ICEM affiliate SUTNA. The union reminds us of the origins of International Workers’ Day—the fight for an eight-hour workday in the US city of Chicago, which produced a mass general strike that was met by brutal repression and then execution of those leading the strike by the state. “SUTNA salutes, on the occasion of this International Workers’ Day, all workers who continue the excellent work that was started by the martyrs of Chicago.”
The All Pakistan Trade Union Federation, which has organised huge May Day rallies for Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi/Islamabad and Quetta, sends this message: “The growing economic might of multinationals and transnational corporations, and the imposition of policies of globalisation, have led to an unprecedented large-scale offensive against the democratic and social achievements of working people, and against the trade union movement.”
And from Azerbaijan, Jahangir Aliyev, chairman of the Oil and Gas Industry Workers Trade Union (OGWU), expresses “health, happiness and great progress for the welfare of all labour people.”