Southern Cone
Chile: wildcat strike paralyzes ports
A wildcat strike has shut down several Chilean ports for the past three weeks, with the fruit and mineral industries claiming $100 million in losses.
Tag: labor
Africa
South Africa: two dead in water riots
Two were killed as South African police fired on protesters at the townships of Mothotlung and Damonsville, where residents are angry at having been without water for a week.
The Caribbean
Haiti: union leaders fired over wage protests
Haitian factory owners have fired some 26 union supporters since workers marched out to demand a higher minimum wage a month ago.
The Caribbean
Puerto Rico: teachers to strike over pensions
Wall Street objects to teachers’ pensions in Puerto Rico—just as it does in the US itself.
Inner Asia
France to extradite ex-Kazakh energy minsiter
France agreed to exradite the ex-Kazakh energy minister to Russia on corruption charges—despite fears that he will be turned over to Kazakhstan, to face torture.
Southeast Asia
Occupy Phnom Penh dispersed
Cambodian military police opened fire on striking garment factory workers, killing four, and then dispersed a protest encampment from a central square in Phnom Penh.
Colombia: intensified violence against labor leaders
The campaign of violence against organized labor in Colombia intensified in 2013, with 26 unionists assassinated—a 15% jump over the figure for 2012.
The Caribbean
Haiti: maquila workers take to the streets —again
Assembly plant workers marked Human Rights Day by marching through the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince to push their demand for a minimum wage of $12 a day.
The Caribbean
Haiti: wage council proposes eight-cent raise
Haiti’s new council on wages issued its minimum wage levels for 2014, offering assembly plant workers a raise of eight cents an hour.
North Africa
Beyond Benghazi: Libya faces converging crises
The death of a US national in Benghazi thrust Libya briefly into the news—as lawless militias, ethnic conflicts and labor strife daily claim lives across the country.
Mexico
Mexico: protesters pledge to resist energy ‘reform’
In a 40,000-strong Mexico City demonstration, union members and opposition activists pledged civil disobedience to halt President Enrique Peña Nieto’s energy sector reform.
The Caribbean
Haiti: support grows for minimum wage increase
After a year of struggle by Haitian workers supported by North American activists, two major garment companies have agreed to honor the legal minimum wage.