IWS Documented News INTERNATIONAL: December 2004

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

NO MESSAGES will be sent until 5 JANUARY 2005

Have a wonderful holiday season!
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 6:33 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

WORLD EMPLOYMENT REPORT 2004-05
EMPLOYMENT, PRODUCTIVITY AND POVERTY REDUCTION [7 December 2004]
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/wer2004.htm

Â» Download interactive software [downloads very slowly]
http://kilm.ilo.org/wer2004/temp/setupwer2004b.exe
This software package contains the full manuscript in English, background papers, and supporting data sets. The software will automatically download the manuscripts in French and Spanish when they become available.
Download the file and run it to install the software.
(Documents are in PDF format. Adobe reader required.)

View individual sections of the report:

Â» Preface, Acknowledgments and Contents
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/download/wr04p1en.pdf
[full-text, 14 pages]

Â» Overview and main policy messages
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/download/wr04oven.pdf
[full-text, 22 pages]

Â» Chapter 1. Global trends in employment, productivity and poverty
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/download/wr04c1en.pdf
[full-text, 54 pages]

Â» Chapter 2. Does productivity help or harm employment growth?
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/download/wr04c2en.pdf
[full-text, 50 pages]

Â» Chapter 3. Why agriculture still matters
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/download/wr04c3en.pdf
[full-text, 56 pages]

Â» Chapter 4. A stable workplace? A mobile workforce? What is best for increasing productivity?
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/download/wr04c4en.pdf
[full-text, 38 pages]

Â» Chapter 5. Small-scale activities and the productivity divide
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/download/wr04c5en.pdf
[full-text, 38 pages]

See Press Release at - http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2004/54.htm

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 5:53 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

European Monitoring Centre on Change (EMCC)

EMCC dossier on the European textiles and leather sector [9 December 2004]
http://www.emcc.eurofound.eu.int/content/source/tn04007a.html?p1=emcc_updates&p2=emcc%20updates

Like many other mature industrial sectors, Europes leather and textiles sector, has undergone dramatic change over the past 20 years. This EMCC dossier provides an in-depth analysis of the trends and forces driving change in the sector, using a compilation of relevant reports, company case studies and scenarios to give a comprehensive insight into an industry in transition

INCLUDES NUMEROUS FULL-TEXT REPORTS

AND CASE STUDIES
http://www.emcc.eurofound.eu.int/content/source/eu04013a.html
   * Hennes & Mauritz Sweden, is a multinational fashion clothing retailer. Its core strategy consists of a mix of super-efficient supply chain management, logistics, and branding -successfully using new emerging technologies, especially ICT. The company is able to keep the balance of cost and quality while at the same time meeting rapidly changing consumer preferences.
   * Karstadt Warenhaus AG , Germany, is also a clothing and leather retailer. The company follows the same strategy as H&M, a mix of efficient supply chain management, logistics, and branding, in order to satisfy rapidly changing consumer demands.
   * Kvadrat A/S , Denmark, produces high-end interior textiles for a global market. The company has looked to the Far East to enter into strategic collaboration with firms in Japan, notably with one firm that has patented a new environmentally correct way of producing plastic-coated materials.
   * LiolÃ S.p.A. , Italy, is a 150 year-old company and part of the LiolÃ group. Its strategy is based on local, vertical integration of all phases from production to sales, producing high-quality knitwear for different market segments. ICT play a key role for LiolÃ to successfully implement its advanced form of the supply chain.
   * LiolÃ print S.r.l. , Italy, is another LiolÃ group company, which specialises in printing and dyeing of fabrics for production.
   * Randers Handskefabrik , Denmark, is a small glove-manufacturing company, which has found its market niche through a combination of traditional craftsmanship and the wholesale import of semi-manufactured goods for finishing.
   * Redgreen A/S , Denmark, produces nautically-inspired fashion clothing. The company has begun to outsource design and creative processes to its Chinese suppliers, allowing itself to focus on its core competence: brand management.
   * Skillfast-UK , United Kingdom, is a skills service provider, which aims at reducing skills gaps and shortages and anticipating future needs through leverage on the supply side of education and training. The right skills as a road to competition in a global marketprovide the basis to face the challenges of increasing demand for specialised skills in the textiles and clothing industry.

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 2:14 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

International Symposium/Workshop
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/041202_report.htm

JILPT/ILO Networking of National Institutes for Labour Studies: Meeting on Joint Investigative Studies for
"Determining the Impact of Information and Communications Technology on Decent Work in the Asia and Pacific Region"
December 2-3, 2004, Bangkok

Background

    The Asian Network of National Institutes of Labour Studies was set up in March 1994 by the Japan Institute of Labour (now JILPT), <http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/index.htm>ILO's Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ILO/RO) and International Institute of Labour Studies (IILS).
    The main objective of the Network is to enhance the capacity of member institutes of labour studies to significantly contribute to the formulation of labour policies and programmes by national policy makers and socio-economic development planners.The activities of the Network involve investigative studies, organisation of regional conferences and national workshops to discuss and disseminate the results of the investigative work, and to facilitate to sharing of information amongst member institutes on their research and training activities.
     For the fourth round of the investigative studies (2002-04), the topic was decided as "Determining the Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Decent Work in the Asia Pacific Region", with which each member institute has been conducting domestic research on for the past period. And in this context, the said meeting was held in its final year with the aim of discussing and consolidating the research results by each member institute. Following are the papers submitted to the meeting.

Country Papers and Authors

Japan
Effect of the Diffusion of ICT on White-Collar Workers' Workplaces in Japan
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_japan.pdf
[full-text, 19 pages]
Makoto Fujimoto Researcher of Human Resource Management, Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

Australia
Determining the Impact of ICT on Decent Work: Australia
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_australia.pdf
[full-text, 34 pages]
Mark Cole Senior Researcher, Australian Centre for Industrial Relation Research and Teaching (ACIRRT)

China
Determining the Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Decent Work in China
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_china.pdf
[full-text, 34]
Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security, Ministry of Labour and Social Security

Fiji
THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION/COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ON DECENT WORK IN FIJI
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_fiji.pdf
[full-text, 50 pages]
Ashla Singh Assistant Lecturer, The University of South Pacific, School of Social and Economic Development Department of Sociology

India
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND DECENT WORK: STUDY OF INDIA'S EXPERIENCE
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_india.pdf
[full-text, 79 pages]
Uday Kumar Varma, S.K. Sasikumar Director, V.V. Giri National Labour Institute

Indonesia
Determining the Impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on Decent Work in Indonesia
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_indonesia.pdf
[full-text, 39 pages]
Dr Suahasil Nazara,I Dewa Gede Karma Wisana, Deni Friawan Demographic Institute, Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia

Korea
Impact of Information and Communication Technology(ICT) on Decent Work in Korea
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_korea.pdf
[full-text, 89 pages]
Dr Junwook Hwang, Jai-joon Hur, Kang-shik Choi Research Fellow, Korea Labour Institute

Nepal
Determining the Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Decent Work in Nepal
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_nepal.pdf
[full-text, 85 pages]
Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies (NEFAS)

New Zealand
Determining the Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Decent Work in the Asia and Pacific Region: New Zealand
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_new_zealand.pdf
[full-text, 61 pages]
Dr. Stephen Blumenfeld Senior Lecturer, Industrial Relations Center, Victoria Management School, Victoria University of Wellington

Pakistan
Study on IMPACT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ON DECENT WORK IN PAKISTAN
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_pakistan.pdf
[full-text, 47 pages]
Athar Mahmood Khan, Qamar Ali Shah Head Department, Pakistan Manpower Institute, Government of Pakistan Labour, Manpower and Overseas

Philippines
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND DECENT WORK: LESSONS FROM THE GARMENTS, CALL CENTERS, AND BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING ESTABLISHMENTS
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_philippines.pdf
[full-text, 51 pages]
Jeanette Tana Deputy Executive Director (OIC), Chief Labor and Employment Officer, Institute for Labor Studies, Department of Labour and Employment

Sri Lanka
ICT and Decent Work: An Assessment of the Labour Market Impacts of the Advent of Information and Communication Technology in Sri Lanka
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_sri_lanka.pdf
[full-text, 61 pages]
M.D.A.L Ranasinghe Senior Lecturer in Economics, Department of Economics, University of Colombo

Thailand
Final Report "Determining the Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Decent Work in Thailand"
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/events_and_information/documents/ann04_thailand.pdf
[full-text, 108 pages]
Mallika Kunavarana Member of Sub-committee on the Consideration of National Labour Administration Policies, National Advisory Council for Labour Development, Ministry of Labour
Viet Nam Vinh Dao Quang Deputy Director, Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 1:35 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Japan Labor Review
Volume 1, Number 4,
Autumn 2004
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/documents/JLR04.pdf
[full-text, 106 pages]

CONTENTS
Legal and Policy Issues Concerning Labor Market

Articles
6 Recent Trends in Labour Market Regulations
Ikuko Mizushima
27 Career Formation and Balanced Treatment of Part-time Workers: An Examination Focusing on Legal Policy
Michio Tsuchida
48 Working Hour Schemes for White-collar Employees in Japan
Yoichi Shimada
70 Law and Economics of Labor in Japan: Review of Kaiko Hosei wo Kangaeru: Hogaku to Keizaigaku no Shiten (Examining Dismissal Law: From the Perspective of Legal and Economic Studies) Fumio, Ohtale,
Shinya Ouchi and Ryuichi Yamakawa, eds.
Ryo Kambayashi
98 JILPT Research Activities
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 1:02 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training -- JILPT Report
     JILPT Report is one of our publications in English, mainly to provide study results of our international seminars and workshops, by compiling papers that are submitted from domestic and foreign researchers on the occasion.

No.1
The Mechanism for Establishing and Changing Terms and Conditions of Employment/ The Scope of Labor Law and the Notion of Employees (June 2004)
2004 JILPT Comparative Labor Law Seminar
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/documents/JILPTRNo1.pdf
[full-text, 182 pages]

This is a compilation of papers presented at-

Comparative Labor Law Seminar

9th-10th March, 2004
    JILPT held a 7th Comparative Labor Law Seminar, in aim of having cross-national discussion and comparative analyses on critical issues in the field of labor law, by inviting researchers from abroad. The Seminar consisted of two themes, namely:

   * The Mechanism for Establishing and Changing Terms and Conditions of Employment
   * Diversifying Employment Patterns and the Scope of Labor Law and the Notion of Employees
    Following are the list of participants and the papers submitted for the seminar.

Discussants:
Catherine Barnard Dr. Senior Lecturer of Law, TrinityCollege, Cambridge (UK)
Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt Dr. Professor, School of Law, Indiana University (USA)
Maurizio Del Conte Professorof Labour Law, UniversitÃ¡ Bocconi, (Italy)
Pascal Lokiec

Professor, Maetre de Conferences, University Paris X-Nanterre (France)
Mia RÃ¶nnmar LL.M., doctoral candidate in Labour Law, Faculty of Law, Lund University (Sweden)
Joo-Cheong Tham

Associate Lecturer, School of Law and Legal Studies, La Trobe University (Australia)
Rolf Wank Dr. Professor of Law, Ruhr-UniversitÃ¤t Bochum (Germany)
Coordinators
Takashi Araki Professor, University of Tokyo
Shinya Ouchi Professor, Kobe University

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 12:59 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

OECD Standardised Unemployment Rates
Paris, 10 December 2004

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/30/0/34038617.pdf
[full-text, 4 pages]

For additional information, see-
http://www.oecd.org/document/35/0,2340,en_2649_201185_34033891_1_1_1_1,00.html

The standardised unemployment rate for the OECD area remained at 6.8% in October 2004,
0.3 percentage point lower than a year earlier.

In the Euro area, the standardised unemployment rate remained at 8.9% in October 2004, the
same rate as a year earlier. The United States' standardised unemployment rate for November 2004 fell to
5.4%, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month and 0.5 percentage point lower than a year
earlier. For Japan, the rate was 4.7% in October 2004, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous
month but 0.5 percentage point lower than in October 2003.

In October 2004, the standardised unemployment rate in France fell to 9.5%, 0.1 percentage
point lower than the previous month and 0.1 percentage point lower than a year earlier. In Germany, the
rate remained at 9.9% in October 2004, 0.2 percentage point higher than in October 2003. In Canada, the
standardised unemployment rate was 7.3% in November 2004, 0.2 percentage point higher than the
previous month but 0.2 percentage point lower than a year earlier. In August 2004, the rate in the United
Kingdom was 4.5%, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month and 0.4 percentage point lower
than in August 2003. In January 2004, the standardised unemployment rate in Italy was 8.5%, 0.4
percentage point lower than a year earlier.

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 2:14 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

(The following is courtesy of the Centre for Industrial Relations, University of Toronto).

Weekly Work Report for the Week of December 13, 2004

These highlights of the week's HR/IR news are prepared by the Librarians at the Centre for Industrial Relations for our subscribers, alumni, faculty and students, and are intended for their individual use only. Please visit the CIR website for terms of use and information about organizational subscriptions. This message is composed in MS Outlook Express and contains hyperlinks that require an HTML-enabled email program.

The WWR is protected by Canadian copyright law and should not be reproduced or forwarded without permission.   For inquiries or comments, please contact the Editor, elizabeth.perry@utoronto.ca.

----------
ONTARIO AMENDS LEGISLATION GOVERNING OVERTIME: On December 9th, the Ontario government introduced and passed Bill 63, the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Hours of Work and Other Matters), 2004. The legislation comes into effect on March 1, 2005. After that date, an employer who wants employees to work more than 48 hours in a week will be required to provide employees an information sheet published by the Ministry of Labour , detailing employee rights and responsibilities about hours of work and overtime pay. In addition, the employer must obtain written agreement from the employee, or from the union if the workplace is unionized, and   receive approval from the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry has already made available online the information sheet, forms, and an employers guide.

LINKS:

Ontario Ministry of Labour press release <http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/news/2004/04-128.html>

Employers guide to the application process at <http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/es/hours/guide_toc.html>

Bill 63, an Act to amend the Employment Standards Act 2000 (15 pages, HTML) at <http://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/Bills/38_Parliament/Session1/b063_e.htm>

----------
MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR MANITOBA PENSIONS : The Manitoba government introduced amendments to the Pension Benefit Act on December 6, focusing on four key areas: clarification of pensions as Âfamily assetsÂ, protection of the Âpension promiseÂ of an income for life, provision of increased flexibility and updated requirements for the governance and management of pension plans. Among the changes: allowing phased-in retirement so that older workers (with employer agreement) could choose to work part-time and receive pension benefits.   The amendments follow recommendations made by a provincial Pension Commission review committee in March 2003.

LINKS:

Bill 10,   Pension Benefits Amendment Act   (29 pages, HTML) at <http://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/sess/b010e.php>

Manitoba government press release at <http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2004/12/2004-12-06-03.html>

Manitoba Pension Commission at <http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/pension/index.html>http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/pension/index.html

----------
CANADA POST LAUNCHES ROTATING STRIKES: Postal workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada began a series of rotating strikes on December 9, targetting Fredericton, Antigonish, Ottawa, Edmonton, and most recently, Halifax , St. John's , Scarborough and Vancouver. According to the union, the current contract proposals from the employer contain unacceptable rollbacks on health benefits, severance pay, and leaves, but the dispute is also being characterized as a battle for equality because two-thirds of the workers are women. The employer reports that it has offered a forty-two month contract with wage increases of 2.25%, 2.25%, 2.4% and 2.4%, job security for all regular employees, and has accepted the union's proposal to allow part-time employees to accrue pension benefits based on actual hours worked.

LINKS:

<http://www.psac.com/news/releases/2004/111-091204-e.shtml>

PSAC poster (1 page, PDF) <http://www.psac.com/bargaining/others/CanadaPost/documents/leaflet-1204-e.pdf>

Canada Post press release at <http://www.canadapost.ca/business/corporate/about/newsroom/pr/default-e.asp?prid=1035>

----------
ONTARIO TEACHERSÂ BARGAINING : The Ontario Minister of Education, Gerard Kennedy, has offered teachers incentives to sign four-year contracts, instead of the two-year contracts they are currently negotiating. Those who agree to four-year contracts will receive a 2.5 % increase in year three and 3.0 %   in year four. The negotiations could be reopened after year two. There will be additional funding for out-of-pocket training for teachers covered by the four-year contracts. The Ontario Secondary School TeachersÂ Federation (OSSTF) has accused the minister of interfering in the bargaining process.

LINKS:

Press release by the Ministry of Education   (Dec. 7) at http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GPOE/2004/12/07/c2487.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html

Press release by OSSTF at <http://www.osstf.on.ca/www/pub/pressrel/sept04_aug05/dec07-104.htm>

ÂTeachers offered richer deal to sign long-termÂ in the Globe and Mail (Dec. 8) at: <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041208/ONTTEACHERS08/TPNational/?query=teachers+offered>

ÂTeachers are running out of friendsÂ in the Toronto Star   (Dec. 11 ) at <http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1102632616015>

----------
PAY FREEZE TO LIFT FOR B.C. GOVERNMENT WORKERS: British ColumbiaÂs Minister of Finance announced on December 8th that he will lift the public-sector wage freeze for the fiscal year 2005-2006. Many public sector agreements expire in 2006. On December 3, the minister had released an optimistic forecast of 3.3% growth for 2005, based on the work of the provincial Economic Forecast Council.

LINKS:

ÂB.C. finance minister says heÂs ready to end public sector wage freezeÂ at Canada.com website: <http://www.canada.com/search/story.html?id=1775edf3-67b5-458e-a2aa-b4b1758b10ff>

Economic Forecast at <http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/nrm_news_releases/2004FIN0040-001030.htm>

Press release by the British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union at <http://www.bcgeu.ca/2602>

----------
B.C. WOMEN LOSING JOBS AND SERVICES: On December 9th, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a study of the effects on women of recent government downsizing and policy changes in British Columbia. Nearly three quarters of the public sector jobs lost since 2001 were held by women. Cuts to child care, long-term care, the weakening of employment standards and other policy changes have also had a disproportionate impact on women.

LINKS:

Press release at the CCPA website at <http://www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&call=977&pa=BB736455&do=Article>

WomenÂs employment in B.C.: Effects of government downsizing and employment policy changes 2001 Â 2004 (48 pages, PDF) at <http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/BC_Office_Pubs/women_employment_bc.pdf>

----------
CANADIAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT NEEDED: A recent report by the C.D. Howe Institute compares the investment in physical capital in the Canadian provinces to that of the United States and other OECD countries. The report, titled Tools for Workers: How Canada is Faring in the Competition for Capital Investment, notes that spending on physical capital in Canada has not kept pace with that of many other OECD countries and fallen notably behind that of the United States. With greater capital mobility and the increase in economic development in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, competition for investment has increased. The report suggests some policy reforms to close the gap.

LINK:

Tools for Workers: How Canada is Faring in the Competition for Capital Investment (15 pages, PDF ) at <http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/backgrounder_87.pdf>

----------
GRAPHICS COMMUNICATIONS UNION MERGES WITH TEAMSTERS: Results of voting were announced on December 8th, showing that 7000 members of the Graphics Communications International Union in Ontario and Quebec have voted to merge with the Teamsters in Canada. Effective January 1, 2005, the GCIU will become a conference within the Teamsters union structure; the GCIU and its locals will maintain their autonomy and authority over their contracts. GCIU President George Tedeschi and the other executive officers will continue in their existing positions.

LINKS:

Press release at Teamsters website at <http://news.teamsters-canada.org/news.php?id=341>

Press release at the GCIU website at <http://www.gciu.org/highlights/mergervote041207.shtml>

----------
WHEN DO PEOPLE WANT TO RETIRE? An article released on Dec. 7   builds on the results of the Statistics CanadaÂs 2002 General Social Survey to examine the match between retirement preferences and experiences. The survey asked   approximately 25,000 people 45 years of age and older if they would have preferred to retire or to continue to work Â about one quarter wanted to work. The survey also asked under what circumstances people would have chosen to continue working Â for example, if their health had been better, if mandatory retirement policies had not existed, or if they could have worked part-time without affecting their pensions.

LINKS:

ÂYou canÂt always get what you wantÂ(6 pages, PDF) in Winter 2004 issue of Canadian Social Trends at <http://www.statcan.ca/english/studies/11-008/feature/11-008-XIE20040037731.pdf>

----------
U.S. HEALTH, HEALTH INSURANCE, AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: The U.S. National Center on Health Statistics has published the 2004 edition of its annual review of health statistics, covering a wide range of health conditions and the expenditures related to them. Prescription drugs are prominent in the report; between 1995 and 2002, the average annual rate of increase for prescription drug expenditures was 15%, higher than any other type of health expenditure. In 2002, 48% of these costs were paid by private health insurance. Table 124 of the Highlights report states that private employersÂ health insurance costs per employee-hour worked were $1.41 in 2003, and the share of total compensation devoted to health insurance was 5.9% in 2001 and 6.3% in 2003.

LINKS:

Overview of Health, United States introductory webpage at <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm>

Highlights (427 pages, PDF) at <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus04trend.pdf#hi>

----------
RETIREE BENEFITS COSTS IN THE U.S.: On December 13, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates released the results of a survey of employer-sponsored retiree health plans in the U.S.. The survey documents the increasing costs of retiree benefits for large private-sector employers and their retirees in the U.S., projects changes for 2005, and considers how employers will respond in January 2006 when the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA) takes effect.

LINKS:

Current Trends and Future Outlook for Retiree Health Benefits at the Kaiser Family Foundation website at <http://www.kff.org/medicare/7194/index.cfm>

----------
MANITOBAÂS LABOUR SPONSORED INVESTMENT FUND UNDER REVIEW: Crocus, the Manitoba labour-sponsored investment fund, announced on December 10th that it has initiated an organizational review and comprehensive assessment of the value of its portfolio. In the meantime, trading of shares has been halted and the price frozen at $10.45 per share.   Established in 1992, the goals of the Crocus fund included, Âto be the pre-eminent private sector economic development organization in Manitoba , by maintaining continuity of local ownership, bolstering job growth, and modeling and fostering social responsibility in Manitoba businesses and fostering economic democracy .

LINKS:

Press release at Crocus website at <http://www.crocusfund.com/about/news.asp>

ÂCrocus investors wait, worryÂ at the Winnipeg CBC website at <http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/mb_crocus-fund20041214.html>

----------
IMMIGRATION AND SKILLS SHORTAGES: A new handbook released on December 14 by the Canadian Labour and Business Centre summarizes Statistics Canada data to provide a general overview of the trends in immigration in Canada and the challenges for new immigrants who are trying to integrate into the Canadian labour market.

LINK:

Handbook Â Immigration and Skills shortages (36 pages, PDF or in 4 sections, PDF ) at the Canadian Labour and Business Centre <http://www.clbc.ca/Research_and_Reports/Archive/report11230401.asp>

----------
ILO REPORTS ON GLOBAL POVERTY: The 2004-2005 edition of the annual World Employment Report, was released by the International Labor Organization on December 7. According to the report, nearly 1.4 billion people are living on less than the equivalent of US$2 a day. The report provides statistical tables, analysis of the linkages between employment, productivity and poverty reduction, and makes recommendations for policy improvements, especially for the agricultural sector.

LINK:

Press   release at the ILO website   at <http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2004/54.htm>

Links to the text of the full 2004 World Employment Report and past issues at <http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/wer2004.htm>

----------
121 St. George St., Toronto Canada M5S 2E8 <http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/cir>
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 1:40 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)

Development of the global trade union network within the NestlÃ© corporation : can trade unions square up the power of transnational companies? / Stefan RÃ¼b. - Bonn : Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Division for Internat. Development Cooperation, Global Trade Union Program, 2004. - 46 S.. -
Dt. Ausg. u.d.T.: Die Entwicklung des globalen Gewerkschaftsnetzwerks im NestlÃ©-Konzern. - Span. Ausg. u.d.T.: Desarrollo de la red sindical global en la compaÃ±ia NestlÃ©. - Electronic ed.: Bonn : FES, 2004
ISBN 3-89892-323-1
http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/02565.pdf
[full-text, 46 pages]

[excerpt]
When setting up global company trade union networks, the Global
Union Federations cannot rely on any political / legal safeguards akin
to those created within the European Union by the EU directive on the
establishment of European Works Councils; instead, they are left to
their own devices. Meanwhile their resources are sufficient at best to
foster trade union networking within companies in a highly pragmatic,
unsystematic fashion.

The IUF2 trade union network within the NestlÃ© corporation, described
in more detail below, is an exception on account of its relatively high
and sustained level of activity; it is underpinned on the one hand by
the commitment of the IUF, which has chosen NestlÃ© as a focus of its
company activities, and on the other by financial support from the
Norwegian trade union confederation LO (Landsorganisasjonen i
Norge) and the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), since such
extensive network activities can - and could - only be achieved by
these means.
It is possible to identify five phases in the development of the global
IUF network within the NestlÃ© corporation:
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 9:46 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)

Policy Making in the European Union: Is There a Social Democratic Space?
Wolfgang Merkel & Tobias Ostheim *
- Bonn : Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Internat. Politikanalyse, 2004.
Electronic ed.: Bonn : FES, 2004
ISBN 3-89892-252-9
http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id/02605.pdf
[full-text, 15 pages]
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 9:40 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

From the Korea Labor Institute (KLI)

Reasons for Retirement and Sources of Retirement Income
http://www.kli.re.kr/kli_eng/elabor/37/papers/paper1.pdf
[full-text, 17 pages]
Ji Kyung Kim, Senior Researcher, Korea Labor Institute
e-mail: <mailto:jkkim@kli.re.kr>j
November 2004

Abstract
http://www.kli.re.kr/kli_eng/elabor/37/elabr_Frameset3.htm
In this paper we will define retirees in broader age brackets and analyze reasons for retirement and sources of retirement income based on survey on aging and aged adults, conducted by the 6th Korea Labor and Income Panel Study (2003).
The survey results show that 46.9% of 1,023 retirees who responded to survey stated health for a major retirement reason. Five different answers were offered for the question of retirement reason and the answer was subject to gender. Men answered legal retirement or involuntary/forced retirement as the second major reason for retirement whereas women pointed at caring for family members as the major reason second to health. Men retired at an average age of 58.3 while women did at an average of 55.2. Female workers who left workplace for family did so even earlier at age 46.5.
Relative to retiree income, analysis was primarily done on 776 retirees who have verified income sources and amount. The analysis revealed a monthly average of KRW 801,000 of retirement income. There was a significant gender gap where male retirees have KRW 947,000 for retirement income whereas their female counterparts have KRW 610,000. A gap in economic benefit is also created from why they retired. Those who retired due to health issues earn only KRW 548,000, which is less than half of KRW 1,162,000 of legal retirees' average income.

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 5:55 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

European Monitoring Centre on Change (EMCC)

Outsourcing of ICT and related services in the EU (report)
http://www.eurofound.eu.int/publications/files/EF04137EN.pdf
[full-text, 39 pages]
Author: Dahlmann, S., Flecker, J. and Huws, U.
Summary: Based primarily on an analysis of a body of research covering more than two decades, this report defines the scope of offshore outsourcingand the services involved. It also covers issues such as the distribution of ICT service employment in Europe, driving factors of ICT service outsourcing and current trends in offshore outsourcing. dff550a.jpg
617 kb
Pages: 39
ISBN: 92-897-0906-5

Published: 2004

From Press Release [13 December 2004]
Outsourcing of ict and related services in the EU:
EU jobs not at risk from outsourcing of ICT services

Europe is not losing jobs in the information and communication technologies services sector (ICT) due to outsourcing, according to the Foundations European Monitoring Centre on Change (EMCC) in its new report Outsourcing of ICT and related services in the EU.

The report shows that employment in other business services is growing consistently across all the countries studied and, in some cases, such as the Czech Republic, this growth is quite spectacular. With the single exception of Denmark, any decline in computer and related employment was more than compensated, numerically speaking, by growth in another business services sector.

The strongest growth has taken place in precisely those countries where employment levels in these sectors are at their lowest. In other words, whilst the new Member States may be behind the rest of Europe in the proportion of their economies devoted to ICT services, they are catching up fast. The lowest growth rates are, by and large, in the most developed economies.

The reasons for this continuing growth in ICT service employment in Europe are several. First, it is a reflection of economic and linguistic diversity, giving a large range of alternative sites for offshore outsourcing within the EU. Second, it reflects the fact that the EU is a recipient of outsourced employment from other parts of the world, notably the US. Finally, it highlights the increasing propensity to outsource ICT and ICT-enabled functions, resulting in a shift to these sectors from other parts of the economy, including the public sector.

The report pieces together, impartially, the available evidence on outsourcing of ICT and related services in the European Union with the goal of informing the EU policymaking process. It draws on a body of market research and anecdotal data, in the absence of reliable data, statistics or research, which has been carried out over the past two decades on offshore information processing, trans-border teleworking, and new global division of labour in information services.

Three major trends have been identified.
Outsourcing of ICT services is moving from an experimental to a consolidation phase.
There is continuing growth in the importance of intermediaries.
The extension of offshore outsourcing into increasingly skilled fields.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 7:14 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

From the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) Online

The following is a selection of items from EIROnline concerning Union Mergers. Much more can be found through the SEARCH mechanism for EIRO at -
Search
http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/search/search.php

UK
Union merger momentum continues [21 October 2004]
http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/2004/10/feature/uk0410105f.html

Several major UK unions have been involved in mergers in 2004, continuing a trend established in the 1990s. The mergers go beyond industry consolidation and demonstrate further membership concentration in large, general 'super-unions'.

Austria
Union merger plans dropped [5 October 2004]
http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/2004/10/inbrief/at0410201n.html

In September 2004, it was announced that plans for a large-scale trade union merger among affiliates of the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÃGB), initially launched in 2001, had been dropped. Differing 'corporate cultures' among the unions and inter-union conflicts over the distribution of power and posts are thought to have been among the key factors in the merger's failure.

Denmark
New union holds first congress [5 October 2004]
http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/2004/10/inbrief/dk0410103n.html

In September 2004, a merger between the General WorkersUnion (SiD) and the National Union of Female Workers (KAD) became a reality when the new organisation, known as 3F, held its inaugural congress. The new union has 375,000 members and is Denmark's largest.

Norway
Scope of YS union merger reduced [11 August 2004]
http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/2004/08/inbrief/no0408101n.html

Four trade unions affiliated to Norway's Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS) had been planning a merger since 2002, but two of them pulled out, at least for the present, in late June 2004. The two remaining unions, PRIFO and 2fo, will continue the merger process. However, the merged union, due to be established on 1 January 2005, will now have 30,000 members rather than 90,000, as originally envisaged

Norway
Major union merger in municipal sector [21 November 2002]
http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/2002/11/feature/no0211106f.html

A new public sector trade union will be established in summer 2003 when the Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees (NKF) and the Norwegian Association of Health and Social Care Personnel (NHS) merge. The new organisation will have some 280,000 members, making it Norway's largest trade union.

Netherlands
Large-scale merger leads to formation of Dutch super union [28 November 1997]
http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/1997/11/feature/nl9711145f.html

Four large Dutch trade unions, which already cooperate in the FNV confederation, have recently decided to merge. The merger is to be finalised in January 1998, resulting in a union with almost half a million members. For the first time, those receiving social benefits and older people will be incorporated into the organisation as a distinct industrial group. This merger has also prompted more intensive cooperation between other Dutch unions.

Germany
A wave of trade union mergers [28 October 1997]
http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/1997/10/feature/de9710233f.html

October 1997 saw a wave of trade union mergers in Germany, reducing the number of affiliates of the DGB confederation from 15 to 11 unions. The mining, leather and chemicals workers' unions have founded a new joint union, while the textiles and clothing workers' union and the union for workers in wood and plastics have decided to integrate themselves into the metalworkers' union, IG Metall. Furthermore, six unions in the service sector have signed a joint declaration pointing out the need for further restructuring among union organisations, which may finally lead to further mergers.

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 6:16 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

(The following is courtesy of the Centre for Industrial Relations, University of Toronto).

Weekly Work Report for the Week of December 6, 2004

These highlights of the week's HR/IR news are prepared by the Librarians at the Centre for Industrial Relations for our subscribers, alumni, faculty and students, and are intended for their individual use only. Please visit the CIR website for terms of use and information about organizational subscriptions. This message is composed in MS Outlook Express and contains hyperlinks that require an HTML-enabled email program.

The WWR is protected by Canadian copyright law and should not be reproduced or forwarded without permission.   For inquiries or comments, please contact the Editor, elizabeth.perry@utoronto.ca.

----------

HARRY ARTHURS TO LEAD THE REVIEW OF CANADAÂS LABOUR CODE: On December 2, CanadaÂs Minister of Labour and Housing announced the appointment of Harry Arthurs as the commissioner of a review of federal labour standards contained in Part III of the Canada Labour Code. The advisory panel that will support the commission will include business and labour representatives, as well as experts Sherry Liang, an adjudicator with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario; Daphne Taras, Associate Dean of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary; and Gilles Trudeau, Professor at the UniversitÃ© de MontrÃ©al's Faculty of Law. The final report and recommendations are to be submitted to the Minister   by January 2006.

Professor Arthurs is President Emeritus and University Professor at York University, and a former Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School. Professor Arthurs will deliver the 2005 Sefton Lecture on January 19, 2005 at the University of Toronto Faculty Club. The Sefton Lecture is sponsored by the Centre for Industrial Relations and Woodsworth College, and is open to the public.

LINKS:

Press release from HRSDC at <http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/cs/comm/hrsd/news/2004/041202.shtml>

Brief biography of Harry Arthurs in honour of his 2003 Bora Laskin Award at <http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/cir/aboutcir/borlaskinawardwinners/arthurs2003.html>

----------
AMENDMENTS TO SASKATCHEWAN TRADE UNION ACT: On November 19th the Saskatchewan government introduced amendments to the Trade Union Act. The most significant change is aimed at ensuring that first collective agreements are settled within a reasonable time. Under the new legislation the parties must begin bargaining within 20 days of certification of the bargaining unit, and either party can request assistance in reaching an agreement 90 days after the date of certification.

LINKS:

Saskatchewan government   press release at <http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/releases/2004/11/19-729.html>
and Backgrounder (2 pages, PDF) at <http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/releases/2004/11/19-729-attachment.pdf>

Bill 87, an Act to amend the Trade Union Act (8 pages, PDF) at <http://www.legassembly.sk.ca/bills/PDFs/bill-87.pdf>

----------
COMPASSIONATE CARE BENEFITS FOR NEWFOUNDLANDERS: On November 23rd the Newfoundland government introduced Bill 38, an amendment to the Labour Standards Act, to incorporate a system of compassionate care leave for an employee to provide care or support to a family member who has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks. The Bill would introduce the same employment protection for as exists in Newfoundland for pregnancy, adoption and parental leave.

LINKS:

Bill 38, An act to amend the Labour Standards Act (5 pages, HTML) at the Newfoundland government website at <http://www.gov.nf.ca/hoa/bills/Bill0438.htm>

----------
UPDATE ON MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES: Minimum wage levels will increase as of January 1, 2005 in New Brunswick (from $6.20 to $6.30 per hour) and Prince Edward Island (from $6.50 to $6.80 per hour). OntarioÂs minimum wages will increase on February 1, following a schedule of annual increases until 2007. The general minimum wage in Ontario moves from $7.15 to $7.45 per hour in 2005, with other increases in all categories.   In Quebec, the general minimum wage increases from $7.45 to $7.60 on May 1, 2005. In Manitoba, December 1 was the deadline for stakeholder input to the Minister on changes to the minimum wage for 2006 and beyond; annual increases are scheduled each April in Manitoba, with the current level of $7 per hour reached in April 2004.

LINKS:

Ontario FAQÂs about the Employment Standards Act <http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/es/factsheets/fs_faq.html>

Quebec Labour Standards at <http://www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca/en/normes/salaire.asp>

----------
REDUCTION IN EI CONTRIBUTION RATE EFFECTIVE JAN. 1, 2005:

On December 6, the federal government announced a reduction in the employment insurance contribution rate, effective January 1, 2005. For employees at the maximum insurable earnings level, contributions will drop from the 2004 level of $1.98 per $100 of insurable earnings to $1.95. For employers, the change will be from $2.77 to $2.73 per $100 of insurable earnings. Maximum insurable earnings will remain at $39,000 for 2005. This is the smallest decrease in premiums in the last 11 years, when the government began the practice of annual reductions.

CanadaÂs Auditor General reported to a House subcommittee on November 4, 2004 that the surplus in the Employment Insurance Account stood at $46 billion on March 31, 2004, which exceeds by three times the maximum reserve considered sufficient by the chief actuary of Human Resources Development Canada in 2001.

LINKS:

Department of Finance press release at <http://www.fin.gc.ca/news04/04-074e.html>

Opening statement to the Subcommittee on the Employment Insurance Funds of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development Canada   at <http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/other.nsf/html/04hrsub01_e.html>

EmployersÂ premiums cut by 4 cents in 2005 (Dec. 7) at Workopolis at <http://www.workopolis.com/servlet/Content/fasttrack/20041207/REIRATE07?section=Insurance>

----------
88% OF CANADIAN EMPLOYERS HOSTING HOLIDAY PARTIES: Hewitt Associates has recently published a survey of holiday season human resource practices. The 2004 Holiday Bonuses and Gifts Survey found that 33 % of organizations will be providing holiday bonuses of some sort. Of these organizations, 45 % will be giving gift certificates, 32 % cash and 21% a food item. Corporate parties remain popular: 88 % of employers will be hosting a party for their employees and 69 % will be hosting a childrenÂs party for families of their employees. 117 employers were included in the survey.

LINKS:

Press release and summary at the Hewitt website: <http://was4.hewitt.com/hewitt/resource/newsroom/pressrel/2004/12-01-04_eng.htm>

----------
BOMBARDIER LAYOFFS IN RAIL DIVISION: On December 1, Bombardier announced that it will eliminate 2,200 jobs at its rail division; 500 jobs will be cut in Canada, including 350 in La Pocatiere, Que., and 150 in Thunder Bay, Ont. The other job cuts will be concentrated in Germany and the United Kingdom, although 14 countries will be affected, according to the Bombardier press release. The latest restructuring news will bring the total job reductions worldwide to 7,600 (21% of its workforce) by April 2006. 7,300 of these are permanent jobs.

No job cuts were announced in the aerospace division this time around, although 2,000 jobs were cut there in October 2004. On November 30th, the CAW released a number of proposals for a industrial strategy for CanadaÂs aerospace industry, including an integrated Canadian industrial plan for the Bombardier C-series jet project, modeled on the European experience with Airbus. The report also proposed the creation of a Canadian Aerospace Development Council to bring together the industryÂs stakeholders.

LINKS:

Bombardier Transportation division press release at <http://www.bombardier.com/index.jsp?id=0_0&lang=en&file=/en/0_0/0_0_1_7/0_0_1_7.html>

ÂBombardier turnaround still on track, Tellier insistsÂ in the Globe and Mail (Dec. 2) at <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041202/RBOMBARDIER02/TPBusiness/?query=bombardier>

Staying aloft: a sector strategy for CanadaÂs aerospace industry (54 pages, PDF) <http://www.caw.ca/whoweare/CAWpoliciesandstatements/discussionpapers/pdf/StayingAloft.pdf>

----------
HOW IS THE HIGH CANADIAN DOLLAR AFFECTING THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR? : A new report by CAW economist Jim Stanford projects that CanadaÂs manufacturing industry will lose over 400,000 jobs by 2007 if the Canadian dollar remains at 85 cents (U.S.) The study compares the impact of the current appreciation of the Canadian dollar to what happened from 1986 to 1991 and argues: ÂIf anything, the evidence to date suggests that the fallout of this appreciation will be worse than what we experienced in the early 1990s.Â

The Labour Force survey for November 2004, released by Statistics Canada on December 3, shows a national unemployment rate of   7.3%, up by 0 .2 percentage points. Manufacturing employment fell by 18,000 in November and has lost 52,000 jobs since July (mostly in Ontario). The Statistics Canada explanation: ÂCanadian manufacturers are facing challenges as the Canadian dollar has strengthened relative to the US dollar and is at its highest value in over a decade. Also a concern to manufacturers is the soaring price of crude oil and its impact on production costs.Â

The annual wage and salary survey conducted in 2004 for the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters association by Mercer Human Resource consulting also acknowledges the impact of the high dollar on labour costs. The survey found marked geographic salary differentials, with gaps as wide as 25% between the highest paying areas such as Fort McMurray, Alberta and the lowest paying areas in the Maritimes. Salaries in the GTA were 5% above the national average.

LINKS:

DollarÂs rise will exact painful toll on Canadian manufacturing (12 pages, PDF) at the CAW website at <http://www.caw.ca/whatwedo/research/pdf/Dollarsrisepainfultolldec04.pdf>

Labour Force Survey, November 2004 at the Statistics Canada website at <http://www.statcan.ca/english/Subjects/Labour/LFS/lfs-en.htm>

ÂJob growth curtailed by factory layoffsÂ in the Globe and Mail (Dec. 4) at <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041204/RECONO04/TPBusiness/?query=unemployment>

Manufacturing sector salaries reflect disparity of regional economies (news release) (3 pages, PDF) at the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters website at <http://www.cme-mec.ca/pdf/mercer_e.pdf>

Bank of Canada leaves interest rate unchanged at the CBC website at <http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2004/12/07/bankrate-041207.html>

Bank of Montreal North American Outlook December 2004 (11 pages, PDF) at <http://www.bmo.com/economic/regular/month.html>

----------
121 St. George St., Toronto, Canada   M5S 2E8 <http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/cir>

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 10:58 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

International Labour Organization (ILO)--Social Dialogue, Labour Law and Labour Administration Department (DIALOGUE)

International Observatory of Labour Law

National Labour Law Profiles
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ifpdial/ll/observatory/profiles/index.htm

Introduction to the National Labour Law Profiles

The National Labour Law Profiles that you will find on this site intend to provide a rapid overview of the labour law in a number of ILO member States. Their purpose is to facilitate a general understanding of how the labour law works in each country, and to provide the reader with easy access to information on a number of topics. However, the profiles do not intend to give a comprehensive description of the labour law in any country. Where appropriate, a bibliography and a list of links is given, directing the reader towards more in-depth information.

While some National Labour Law Profiles have been prepared by serving ILO officials, others have been contributed by scholars, practitioners or magistrates from different countries; the ILO would like to extend its deepest thanks to these individuals.

Furthermore, while it is our intention to update the information contained in these pages as often as possible, there will undoubtedly be lapses and we apologize for any dated information.

What information can be found in the National Labour Law Profiles:

   * Constitutional framework
   * Labour regulation
   * Contract of employment
   * Hours of works
   * Paid leave
   * Maternity protection and maternity leave
   * Other leave entitlements
   * Minimum age and protection of young workers
   * Equality
   * Pay issues
   * Trade union and employers' association regulation
   * Collective bargaining and agreements
   * Workers' representation in the enterprise
   * Disputes settlements
   * Strikes and lock outs
   * Labour courts
   * Official gazette
   * Links
   * Selected Publications

_____Countries_____

Argentina
Czech Republic
Ethiopia
Finland
Germany
Guyana
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
New Zealand
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Russian Federation
Republic of Korea
South Africa
Switzerland
Trinidad and Tobago
Venezuela
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 10:04 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

[Japan] National Institute of Industrial Health

Action Checkpoints for Comfortable Computer Work
http://www.niih.go.jp/en/gyouseki/result/pc_check/index.html
or
http://www.niih.go.jp/en/gyouseki/result/pc_check/pdf/pasokonriyouno_e.pdf
[full-text, 8 pages]

Do you feel aches or pains when working with the computer?
Take a few moments to evaluate your computer workstation and work habits.
These Action Checkpoints will help you assess your office and find solutions to create a comfortable work environment.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 7:23 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

Japan-EU Website [8 December 2004]
http://www.eujposh.org/

Press releases [8 December 2004]
The European Union and Japan have taken an important step towards co-operation on occupational safety and health (OSH) information
http://agency.osha.eu.int/news/press_releases/en/09_12_2004/index.htm

The <http://www.jicosh.gr.jp/english/index.html>Japan International Center for Occupational Safety and Health (JICOSH), a division of the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association (JISHA), and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Bilbao (Spain) have today launched a new joint OSH website.

The site follows the structure and presentation of the Agency's website network and represents a significant contribution to the creation of a global portal to workplace safety and health information.

As well as linking directly to EU information, the site is a rich source of Japanese OSH information.

Mr. Kazuo Hiromi, the president of the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association, JISHA, comments: I am very pleased to launch this new website in cooperation with the European Agency. At the same time as JICOSH has been disseminating Japanese information across the world, Japanese industries have also been learning a lot from information provided by the Agency and other countries. In the new website we have agreed with the Agency to put the emphasis mainly on good practice. In doing so, I hope we can further contribute to improving occupational safety and health in the world.

This link between Japan and Europe provides valuable information on workplace health and safety standards in our respective economies. We can share our successful strategies to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses. Good OSH practice benefits society and makes sound business sense."

The Director of the European Agency, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, said: "The launch of the Japanese website adds a significant dimension to the Agency's network. It allows business, workers and experts alike to be better informed about regulatory demands, OSH systems and best practices in Japan and in the European Union and thus to meet the challenges of globalisation."

The EU/Japanese website is available at: <http://www.eujposh.org/>

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 5:54 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

HONG KONG Labour Department:

The Outstanding Disabled Employees Award and Enlightened Employers Award Presentation Ceremony 2004
http://www.jobs.gov.hk/iSPS/gen/promotion/Event_ODEA_EEAPC2004.asp?RunMode=English

The Selective Placement Division of Labour Department organizes the Outstanding Disabled Employees Award and Enlightened Employers Award Presentation Ceremony 2004 to commend those disabled employees who have demonstrated outstanding performance in their jobs despite their disabilities and to give public recognition to employers who have made special efforts in the employment of people with disabilities. This year, twelve disabled employees and ten employers are presented with the " Outstanding Disabled Employees Award" and the " Enlightened Employers Award" respectively. Mr IP Shu-kwan, GBS, JP, the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour and Mr CHEUNG Kin-chung, JP, the Permanent Secretary for Economic Development and Labour officiate at the ceremony.

Winners' Profiles of the Outstanding Disabled Employees Award 2004
http://www.jobs.gov.hk/iSPS/gen/promotion/Event_ODEA.asp?RunMode=English

Winners' Profiles of the Enlightened Employers Award 2004
http://www.jobs.gov.hk/iSPS/gen/promotion/Event_EEAPC2004.asp?RunMode=English
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 1:04 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

International Forum Sports and Development
http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?z=16

International Forum Sports and Development - Economy, Culture, Ethics February 13th - February 15th, 2005 at the Evangelische Akademie Bad Boll

Context
2005 has been declared the International Year for Sport and Physical Education by the United Nations. In light of this, the Akademie Bad Boll, in co-operation with ICSSPE, wants to further promote the discussion process commenced in February 2003 at the Sport and Development Conference held in Magglingen, Switzerland, by asking what the global role of sport is, within ethical reflections.

Main Issues
Issues to be investigated are questions such as whether there is a mainstream understanding of sports, meaning a universal culture standard, and if so, where do the traditional/cultural sports and games belong within this understanding? Comparisons between global economic cycles and global sports development will be made and it will also be discussed whether sport should take social responsbility for global proceedings. How could this look and what are the development possibilities for sport? Another question will be to what extend the "western model" of sport can contribute to education, peace and development, globally. Where are the boundaries? Finally the question will be raised whether sport-ethics agreements can be made in a global context. What could these agreements look like?

Aim
The Akademie Bad Boll and ICSSPE intend to engage representatives from different areas of sport, science, politics and economy, also global acting human rights and non-government-organisations (NGOs), who would usually not come together. This will allow participants to take advantage of competence, knowledge and experiences to closely and objectively contribute to the current international debate on the global role of sport. The organisers also strive to continue the discussion process established by the Development Conference in Magglingen, Switzerland, 2003, for stronger ties within sport in the global development programme. The main themes of Economy, Culture and Ethics will support the second Magglingen Conference, planned for December 2005.

Target group
This conference aims to engage those responsible for sport in a global context. This includes sport and sport science organisations and sports politicians, economical and educational decision makers. Invitation will be extended to these participants via distribution lists of the Akademie Bad Boll, ICSSPE, public media and other partners and associates of the conference.

Honorary Guests and Keynote Speakers

Mr. Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary General on Sport for Development and Peace

Ms. Ute Vogt, Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior

Dr. Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee

----------------

Ms. Aneesa Al Hitmi, President of the Women and Sport Committee of the National Olympic Committee of Qatar will speak on the topic Global Sport and its Impact on Local Development.

Prof. Dr. Joseph Maguire, Loughborough University, United Kingdom, will present Economic Aspects of Development through Sport.

Prof. Dr. Roland Renson, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, will discuss Cultural Aspects on Development through Sport

Further information can be obtained by contacting
Evangelische Akademie Bad Boll
Mr. Volker Steinbrecher
Akademieweg 11
73087 Bad Boll
Germany
Fax: +49 7164 / 79-5233
gabriele.barnhill@ev-akademie-boll.de

- or -

International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE)
Mr. Detlef Dumon
Hanns-Braun-StraÃe
Friesenhaus II
14053 Berlin
Germany
www.icsspe.org
ddumon@icsspe.org
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************<

# posted by SBasefsky : 5:54 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Biometric ID for seafarers ready to be issued New ILO Convention for maritime workers will come into force in February [3 December 2004]
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/index.htm
[This will appear at the above URL soon]

See convention -- C185 Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003:
www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C185

GENEVA (ILO News) - The International Labour Office (ILO) today
announced that the new biometric system for issuing secure identity
documents to the world's 1.2 million seafarers is ready for
implementation, following successful testing of products that met the
challenging requirement of "global interoperability" for such documents.

The new system, mandated under the Seafarers' Identity Documents
Convention, 2003 (No. 185)*/ adopted by the Government, Employer and
Worker delegates to the International Labour Conference in June 2003,
represents a comprehensive response to the need for greater global
security while guaranteeing the rights of workers in the global shipping
fleet, which handles 90 percent of world trade.

Convention No. 185 is the first international binding instrument for an
identification system. Its biometric feature, the fingerprint, is based
upon "global interoperability", meaning that it must be possible for the
fingerprint information on the Seafarer Identity Document (SID) issued
in one country to be read correctly by equipment used in another.

To enable this, the ILO Governing Body adopted in March 2004 a single
standard with specifications to be followed in national systems and
products for generating the biometric representation of fingerprints on
the SID, and for verifying that the seafarer's fingerprint corresponds
to the fingerprint on the SID.

With the cooperation of organizations representing seafarers and
shipowners, the ILO has just completed a six-week test involving 126
volunteer seafarers on the M.V. Crystal Harmony, a vessel operated by
Crystal Cruises. The seafarers included men and women from 30 countries
and covered a broad distribution of ages and a diverse set of seafaring
job categories.

The testing exercise involved seven biometric products submitted by
various manufacturers. The ILO has found that two of them met the
requirement of global interoperability.

"This announcement paves the way for countries to start issuing the
secure identity documents," says Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director of
the Standards Department of the ILO. "We are expecting that future
testing will allow us to bring other providers to the list of products
that meet the requirements and that can be used by countries to issue
the new identification cards."

Convention No. 185 was adopted to replace the Seafarers' Identity
Documents Convention No. 108 (1958), which has been ratified by 61 ILO
Member States representing 60.7 per cent of the world's fleet.

The new instrument will come into force in February 2005 following
early ratification by France, Jordan and Nigeria. Several other
countries have already started the process to complete ratification,
according to information provided to the ILO. Among these are the
Philippines, Indonesia and India, countries that provide the largest
number of sea-going maritime personnel.

"Ensuring the security of seafarers and the ships they work on is
crucial," says Ms. Doumbia-Henry.

For more information please visit the ILO website at
www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/sectors/mariti.htm

___________

*/ C185 Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003:
www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C185

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 6:47 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

OECD Economic Outlook No. 76 - Country summaries [30 November 2004]
http://www.oecd.org/document/52/0,2340,en_2649_201185_19726196_1_1_1_1,00.html

Click on the country name. Each summary is in the form of a PDF file (approximately 9 Kb per file).

See related document
OECD Economic Outlook No. 76
Preliminary Edition
November 2004
http://www.oecd.org/document/18/0,2340,en_2649_201185_20347538_1_1_1_1,00.html

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 6:15 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

141/2004 - 1 December 2004
October 2004
Euro-zone unemployment stable at 8.9%
EU25 down to 8.9%
http://epp.eurostat.cec.eu.int/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-01122004-AP/EN/3-01122004-AP-EN.PDF
[full-text, 5 pages]

Euro-zone seasonally -adjusted unemployment stood at 8.9% in October 200 4, unchanged compared to
September, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, reports today. It was also 8.9% in
October 2003. The EU254 unemployment rate was 8.9% in October 2004, down from 9.0% in September. It was
9.1% in October 2003.

In October 2004 , the lowest rates were registered in Luxembourg (4.3%), Ireland (4.4%), Austria (4.5%), the
United Kingdom (4.5% in August) and the Netherlands (4.7% in September). Unemployment rates were highest
in Poland (18.6%), Slovakia (17.7%), Spain (10.5%) and Lithuania (10.1%).

Amongst the Member States for which recent data are available, ten recorded an increase in their unemployment
rate over a year, twelve a decrease and one remained the same. The Netherlands (3.9% in September 2003 to
4.7% in September 2004), Luxembourg ( 3.9% to 4.3%), Cyprus (4.7% to 5.0%) and Hungary (5.7% to 6.0%)
registered the most important relative increases, while the largest relative decreases were observed in Lithuania
(12.2% to 10.1%), Estonia (10.1% to 8.5%) and Malta (8.0% to 7.0%).

In October 2004 compared to October 2003, the unemployment rate for males was unchanged at 7.9% in the eurozone
and decreased from 8.3% to 8.2% in the EU25. The female unemployment rate was unchanged at 10.2% in
the euro-zone, and fell from 10.0% to 9.9% in the EU25.

In October 2004 , the unemployment rate for under-25s was 17.4% in the euro-zone and 18.2% in the EU25. In
October 2003 it was 1 7.3% and 18.4% respectively. The lowest rates for under-25s were observed in the
Netherlands (7.8% in September 2004), Denmark (7.9% in September 2004) and Ireland (8.1%), and the highest
in Poland (39.0%), Slovakia (31.4%), Greece (27.1% in December 2003) and Italy (27.1% in January 2004).
Eurostat estimates that, in October 2004, 12.7 million men and women were unemployed in the euro-zone and
19.1 million in the EU25. These are seasonally-adjusted figures in line with ILO criteria.

In October 2004, the US unemployment rate was 5.5% and the Japanese rate was 4.7%.

AND MORE...including TABLES....

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 2:40 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

European Commission

Employing people with disabilities [30 November 2004]
http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/news/2004/nov/disabilities_en.html

See also BACKGROUND INFORMATION at-
http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/disability/index_en.html

Brussels, 30 November 2004. The European Commission is focusing this week on how to help people with disabilities find and keep jobs at a major conference in Brussels to mark the European Day of Disabled People on 3 December.

The two-day conference, to be addressed by Vladimir Spidla, the new European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, will look at the needs of disabled workers and the obstacles they face when looking for employment.

Disabled people from across the 25 Member States will join Commission officials, decision makers and experts to discuss ways of boosting the employment of disabled people under the Commission's action plan on equal opportunities for people with disabilities. They will look at issues including access to the built environment, new technologies that can empower disabled workers and life-long learning.

The conference, which the Commission is organising in cooperation with the European Disability Forum and which will be an annual event, follows last year's European Year of People with Disabilities, sponsored by the Commission, which showed that finding a job was not a direct option for most disabled people.

Figures show that 15.7 per cent of 16-64 year-olds in the EU-15 in 2002 had a long-term disability or health problem. This week's conference, on 2 and 3 December, will look at the conditions that must be created to help people with disabilities get onto the open labour market and stay in employment. The key to this is to combat discrimination against disabled people in employment and training under a new directive which was adopted in 2000 and was due to enter into force in the Member States by the end of last year.

AND MORE....

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 2:26 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

(The following is courtesy of the Centre for Industrial Relations, University of Toronto).

Weekly Work Report for the Week of November 29, 2004

These highlights of the week's HR/IR news are prepared by the Librarians at the Centre for Industrial Relations for our subscribers, alumni, faculty and students, and are intended for their individual use only. Please visit the CIR website for terms of use and information about organizational subscriptions. This message is composed in MS Outlook Express and contains hyperlinks that require an HTML-enabled email program.

The WWR is protected by Canadian copyright law and should not be reproduced or forwarded without permission.   For inquiries or comments, please contact the Editor, elizabeth.perry@utoronto.ca.

----------
WHO IS THE GREATEST CANADIAN? The answer: Tommy Douglas, according to the 1.2 million Canadians who voted in the 6-week CBC contest that ended on November 29. For those too young to remember him, T.C. (Tommy) Douglas is generally known as the father of Canadian medicare, which was established in Saskatchewan during his 18-year tenure as Premier of that province. DouglasÂ government also enacted the Saskatchewan Trade Union Act, which made collective bargaining mandatory and extended the rights of civil servants. The Act was described by Walter Reuther as "the most progressive piece of labour legislation on the continent," according to the website of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party.   Douglas was the leader of the Saskatchewan Canadian Commonwealth Federation (CCF) Party, and the leader of the national New Democratic Party when it was founded in 1961. He died in 1986.

LINKS:

CBC Greatest Canadian website at <http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/>

Saskatchewan New Democratic Party history at <http://www.saskndp.com/history/>http://www.saskndp.com/history/

----------
COURT OF APPEAL RULES ON SAME SEX PENSION BENEFITS UNDER THE CHARTER: On November 26th the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the federal government violated the rights of gays and lesbians by denying them survivor pension benefits under the Canada Pension Plan. The federal government, in legislation enacted in 2000, limited survivor benefits to those whose partners had died on or after January 1st, 1998, and allowed benefits to begin only in July of 2000. The Court of Appeal upheld the claim that benefits should begin on the day the Charter of Rights and FreedomÂs equality clause came into effect (April 15th, 1985).

LINKS:

Ontario Court of Appeal decision summary (5 pages, PDF) at <http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2004/november/C41224synopsis.pdf>
and the complete decision (38 pages, PDF) <http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2004/november/C41224.pdf>

Press release from Egale, an advocacy group for gays and lesbians at <http://www.egale.ca/index.asp?lang=E&menu=1&item=1115>

ÂSame-sex couples win pension fightÂ in the Globe and Mail (Nov. 27) at <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041127/SAMESEX27/TPNational/?query=kirk+makin>

----------
MANITOBA HEALTH CARE WORKERS FIGHT PENSION REDUCTIONS: On November 29, ManitobaÂs Health Minister was presented with a petition signed by 2,400 health care workers who are concerned about upcoming reductions to their pension benefits. Although the member unions of the Manitoba Council of Health Care Unions (MCHCU) indicated last year that they were willing to increase their contributions to the Health Employees Pension Plan (HEPP), the required unanimous consent of all signatories to the Plan has not been reached. As a result, workers are facing reduced pension payouts and a minimum retirement age of 55, effective July 1, 2005. These actions were authorized by the HEPP Board of Trustees in the summer of 2004, in an attempt to deal with a shortfall in the pension plan.

LINKS:

ÂLooming pension shortfall upsets health workersÂ at the CBC Manitoba website at <http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/mb_pension-shortfall20041130.html>

Manitoba Nurses Union (2 pages, PDF) at <http://www.nursesunion.mb.ca/pdf files/October 2004 Dear Member.pdf>

Board of trustees announces changes to health care EmployeesÂ Pension Plan Benefits for 2005 (2 pages, PDF) at the Health Care Employees Pension Plan (HEPP) website at <http://www.hepp.mb.ca/release_agm.pdf>

----------
DEUTSCHE BANK BID FOR STELCO APPROVED: Mr. Justice James Farley of the Ontario Superior Court approved the Deutsche Bank bid for Stelco on November 29, but noted that the bid and the restructuring process are far from final. With Stelco now showing a profit, other bids are expected, including from giant steel companies OAO Severstal and United States Steel Corporation. The Court extended Stelco's creditor protection to February 11, 2005. In an ÂOpen Letter to Courtney PrattÂ, the United Steelworkers union served notice to Stelco management that they will oppose the Deutsche Bank bid.

LINKS:

ÂDeutsche Bank's takeover bid for Stelco gets court's approvalÂ in the Globe and Mail (Nov. 30) at <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041130/RSTELCO30/TPBusiness/Canadian>

ÂOpen Letter to Courtney PrattÂ and an archive of United Steelworkers of America documents re Stelco at the new USWA website at <http://www.uswa.ca/program/content/overview_sub.php?modules2_ID=283&modules_ID=283>

----------
NEW YEARÂS HOLIDAY CONFUSION: Results of the annual Holiday Closings Survey by the Toronto Board of Trade reveal that employers are divided on how to handle the holiday situation this year.   With Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New YearÂs Day all falling on weekends, employers in Ontario can designate alternate days to provide employees with their statutory holiday. 70% of employers are designating Monday, Dec. 27 and Tuesday, Dec. 28th as holidays for Christmas and Boxing Day. Practice is more divided over New YearÂs Day, with 49% of businesses planning to close on Monday, January 3rd and 43% closing on Friday, December 31st.

LINKS:

2004-2005 Holiday Closings Survey (3 pages, PDF) at <http://www.bot.com/assets/StaticAssets/Documents/PDF/compSurvey/2004-2005 Holiday Closings Results.pdf>

----------
WHO WORKS THE LONGEST HOURS OUTSIDE THE HOME? The Bank of Montreal conducted a telephone survey of 1035 people aged 18 or older in CanadaÂs five largest cities. Released on November 30, the survey reports that the average work week in CanadaÂs five largest cities was around 41 hours a week, with some people working 50 hours or more. Tops were workers in Edmonton, where 28% worked outside the home 50 or more hours; in Calgary, 24% worked as many hours. Toronto ranked third, with 20%, followed by Vancouver at 16%. In Montreal, only 7% of workers reported that they worked 50 hours or more.

LINKS:

BMO press release at <http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2004/30/c9310.html>

----------
TURNOVER COSTS AVERAGES $13,355 U.S.: The Employment Policy Foundation in Washington, D.C. has released the results of a study that claims that the average turnover costs for a full-time private-sector employee were $13,355 (U.S.) in 2004. The cost includes recruiting, selection, training, and lost productivity, and generally amounts to about 25 % of the employeeÂs annual salary. The study found that turnover rates varied from 46.4 % in the leisure and hospitality industry to 16.5 % in manufacturing.

LINKS:

A summary of the study on the EPF website at <http://www.epf.org/news/nrelease.asp?nrid=1176>http://www.epf.org/news/nrelease.asp?nrid=1176

Employee turnover is expensive Fact Sheet (2 pages, PDF) at <http://www.epf.org/pubs/newsletters/2004/fs20041022.pdf>

----------
ONTARIO RANKS 13TH IN COMPETITIVENESS STUDY: The Ontario Task Force on Competitiveness, Prosperity and Economic Progress has released its third annual report. The report, which compares Ontario to jurisdictions with similar economies (15 American states and Quebec) found that Ontario ranked 13th in terms of GDP per capita, 7.1 % below the median. Ontario can close the gap by raising productivity; this would involve, among other things, increased investment in equipment and software, integrating new immigrants into the economy more quickly and increasing funding of post secondary education.

LINK:

Summary and the complete report (64 pages, PDF) are linked from <http://www.competeprosper.ca/institute/index.html>

----------
CANADIAN MANUFACTURERS LOOK TO THE FUTURE: Results of the Management Issues Survey for 2004-2005 is now available from the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), documenting the concerns expressed during the associationÂs Manufacturing 20/20 discussions. Generally optimistic, the CME members see the growing industrial strength of China as a powerful influence on Canadian business Â both as a competitor and as a promising market. Lack of qualified personnel in Canada emerges as one of the most important constraints identified; with colleges, apprenticeships and in-house training programs seen as most effective in meeting skills requirements. Immigration, collaborative training and on-line learning were not seen to be very effective in meeting skills needs.

LINKS:

Conquering challenges: the Management Issues Survey 2004/2005 (56 pages, PDF) at <http://www.cme-mec.ca/pdf/SURVEY FINAL.pdf>

----------
GROWING POLARIZATION OF SKILLED OCCUPATIONS BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS: A recent study by Statistics Canada shows that workers in rural areas have different skills from urban workers, even in the same industry. Overall, between 1991 and 2001, the concentration of unskilled workers has increased in rural areas, which results in lower incomes the lower job growth in these areas.

LINKS:

Occupational patterns within industry groups: a rural-urban comparison (Catalogue #21-006-XIE2004006) (16 pages, PDF) at <http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/21-006-XIE/21-006-XIE2004006.pdf>

----------
121 St. George St., Toronto Canada M5S 2E8   http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/cir

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 1:21 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies

        Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations          Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor

Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016

Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

From the International Institute for Labour Studies (IILS - at the ILO)

WORK IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Papers and proceedings of an international symposium
Tokyo, 1-3 December 2003
edited by Jean-Pierre Laviec, Mitsuko Horiuchi and Kazuo Sugenoby.
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inst/download/global.pdf
[full-text, 231 pages]

The present volume includes the text of the lectures and proceedings of a symposium held in connection with the Sixth Nobel Peace Prize Social Policy Lectures held in the University of Tokyo from 1 to 3 December
2003. The theme of the lectures and the symposium was "New forms and meanings of work in an increasingly globalized world". This volume is brought out as a joint publication of the University of Tokyo, the
International Institute for Labour Studies in Geneva and the ILO Office in Tokyo.
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Chapter I.
Lecture 1: The pains and rewards of work in the twenty-first century Ronald Dore . . . . . . . . . . 1
Various Utopias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Work intensification . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The shift in priorities: Managers . . . . . 9
The shift in priorities: Governments . . . 12
Competition intensified . . . . . . . . . . 14
The multiple forms of job satisfaction . . 17
Social usefulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Justice and the reward system: Software
engineers and office cleaners . . . . . . . 21
Chapter II.
Lecture 2: The concrete meanings of labour market
flexibility Ronald Dore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Productive efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Speed of adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Two kinds of flexibility: Two kinds of efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Core and periphery . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Contrasting mindsets . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Why all the emphasis on market mobility? 29
The end of jobs for life? . . . . . . . . . . 32
And inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Technological sophistication and learning ability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The drive for flexibility and the growth of ÂflexibleÂ
staffing arrangements Susan Houseman . . . . . . 39
Trends in flexible staffing arrangements . 40
Supply-side considerations: Have flexible staffing arrangements grown because workers want them? . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
The demand side: What advantages do flexible staffing arrangements offer employers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Numerical flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Flexibility to dismiss individuals and the
role of screening . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Wage flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Flexibility in benefits and other non-wage labour costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Deregulation and labour law FranÃ§ois Gaudu . . . . 51
Diversity of situations . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Changes affecting flexibility . . . . . . . 53
New needs for manpower give rise to new issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Work in the global economy
Converging trends: Work intensification . 54
Growing internal flexibility . . . . . . . . 54
End of the job for life: Atypical work . . . 56
The reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
New career patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Taking gender seriously: The feminization of non-standard work in the Republic of Korea and in Japan Johee Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Explaining variations in non-standard
work: A gender perspective . . . . . . . . 65
Women part-timers in Japan: Are they really ÂhappyÂ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Equalizing misery: The rise of temporary
work in the Republic of Korea . . . . . . 73
Conclusion: Towards a new employment relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Comment by Hiroya Nakakubo . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Chapter III.
Lecture 3: The direction of social change
Ronald Dore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Norms of fairness: The power dimension . 87
Norms of fairness: The ethical dimension 88
The mid-century consensus . . . . . . . . 90
The new consensus . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Whence the change? . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Deeper roots: Ideological and political . . 95
Deeper roots: History, family, school, affluence, migration and demography . . 96
Contents
A possible change of heart? . . . . . . . 99
A basic income? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Balancing values to build a legitimate society
Ann Numhauser-Henning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
The theory of legal development as a
normative pattern in a normative field . . 106
Developments in labour law . . . . . . . 108
Developments in social security law . . . 114
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Rethinking social change Fumiko Obata . . . . . . 121
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
What are the possible sources of a rethink? 122
Customer choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Karoshi and karo-jisatsu . . . . . . . . . 124
Human capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Can Japanese families change their lifestyle?
Masakazu Yano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Introduction: The sleepless society . . . . 129
Uniqueness of Japanese lifestyle and gender gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
What has changed and what has not changed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
The paradox of the five-day week . . . . . 135
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Comment by Yuji Genda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Comment by Mizumachi Yuichiro . . . . . . . . . . 143
What is the key to changing the situation? 143
What is a desirable legal framework? . . . 144
Work in the global economy

Chapter IV.
Lecture 4: Global markets and national employment
systems Ronald Dore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Imposing standards . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
The cosmopolitan Ã©lite . . . . . . . . . . 150
Fear, sympathy and solidarity . . . . . . . 152
Cultural hegemony . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Ideologies and markets . . . . . . . . . . 154
Possibilities for the future . . . . . . . . 156
The diversities of capitalism . . . . . . . 157
Final words: Final questions . . . . . . . 159
The dynamic of the European social model
Manfred Weiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Labour law and policy in an era of globalization: A Japanese report
Ryuichi Yamakawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Present state of globalization:
The Japanese situation . . . . . . . . . . 172
Foreign direct investment: Movement of
enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Free trade: Movement of products . . . . 173
Global financial market: Movement of
capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Policy issues arising from globalization . 175
Domestic labour policy in a global
economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Comments on policy issues . . . . . . . . 180
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Contents
xv
Comment by Keisuke Nakamura . . . . . . . . . . 185
Chapter V.
Summary of the discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Comment by Susan Houseman, summarizing
Session II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Concepts of flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . 189
The increase in flexibility and changing
industrial relations practices . . . . . . . 190
Why are these changes occurring? . . . . 191
Are the growth in flexibility and related
changes to industrial relations practices
desirable? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Comment by Ann Numhauser-Henning summarizing
Session III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Comment by Manfred Weiss summarizing Session IV 199
Concluding remarks by Kazuo Sugeno . . . . . . . 203
Appendix I Agenda of the meeting . . . . . . . . 207
Appendix II Profiles of panellists and commentators 211
Work in the global economy

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                 *
Director, IWS News Bureau               *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                      *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor            *
New York, NY 10016                      *
                                        *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703               *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                     *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 7:29 AM

IWS Documented News INTERNATIONAL

Friday, December 17, 2004

[IWS] NO MESSAGES until 5 JANUARY 2005

Thursday, December 16, 2004

[IWS] ILO: WORLD EMPLOYMENT REPORT 2004-05 [7 December 2004]

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

[IWS] EMCC: EUROPEAN TEXTILES & LEATHER SECTOR [9 December 2004]

[IWS] JILPT/ILO: IMPACT of ICT on 13 ASIA/PACIFIC Countries on DECENT WORK [December 2004]

[IWS] JAPAN LABOR REVIEW, Vol. 1, No. 4, Autumn 2004 on Legal and Policy Issues Concerning Labor Market

[IWS] JILPT: COMPARATIVE LABOR LAW on Conditions of WORK & Notions of EMPLOYEES

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

[IWS] OECD Standardised Unemployment Rate Remained at 6.8% in October 2004 [10 ecember 2004]

[IWS] CANADA: Weekly Work Report 13 December 2004

[IWS] FES: TRADE UNIONS & TRANSNATIONAL COMPANIES-NESTLE Example [2004]

[IWS] FES: Policy Making in the European Union: Is There a Social Democratic Space? [2004]

[IWS] KOREA: Reasons for Retirement and Sources of Retirement Income [November 2004]

Monday, December 13, 2004

[IWS] EMCC: OUTSOURCING of ICT & Related Service in the EU [13 December 2004]

[IWS] EIROnline: UNION MERGERS a selection [13 December 2004]

Friday, December 10, 2004

[IWS] CANADA: Weekly Work Report 6 December 2004

[IWS] ILO: NATIONAL LABOUR LAW PROFILES web site

[IWS] JAPAN: Comfortable COMPUTER WORK Action Checkpoints

[IWS] JAPAN-EU Website on Occupational Safety & Health [8 December 2004]

Thursday, December 09, 2004

[IWS] Hong Kong: DISABLED EMPLOYEES & ENLIGHTENED EMPLOYERS AWARDS 2004 [November 2004]

[IWS] SPORTS & DEVELOPMENT Forum [Issues of global economic development & work are an element]

Friday, December 03, 2004

[IWS] ILO: BIOMETRIC ID for SEAFARERS ready NEW ILO CONVENTION in force FEBRUARY 2005 [3 December 2004]

Thursday, December 02, 2004

[IWS] OECD Economic Outlook No. 76 - Country summaries [30 November 2004]

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

[IWS] EuroStat: Euro-zone unemployment stable at 8.9% [1 December 2004]

[IWS] EC: Employing People with Disabilities [30 November 2004]

[IWS] CANADA: Weekly Work Report 29 November 2004

[IWS] IILS: WORK IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY (online 30 November 2004)

About Me

Links

Archives