Labor Unions

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• UPDATE 1-Indonesia union urges completion of probes into Freeport tunnel collapse Thursday, 23 May 2013 | 4:01 AM ET

  JAKARTA, May 23- All investigations into a tunnel collapse that killed 28 people at the world's No.2 copper mine, run by Freeport McMoRan Copper& Gold Inc in Indonesia, must be completed before workers return, a trade union official said on Thursday.

• A Low-Wage US Contractor Just Cooked Your Burger Wednesday, 22 May 2013 | 4:47 PM ET

  

  Workers demanding a minimum wage increase have staged walkouts across the country, saying they can't survive on the money they make. Can they get anything done?

• UPDATE 2-Mercedes S.Africa strike ends, union demands sector pay hike Tuesday, 21 May 2013 | 5:50 AM ET

  CAPE TOWN, May 21- A two-day wildcat strike at a Mercedes Benz plant in South Africa ended on Tuesday but industrial union NUMSA demanded a hefty pay hike for the sector, raising the prospect of labour unrest in factories alongside turmoil in the mines.

• UPDATE 1-South African mine wage demands roil shares, rand Monday, 20 May 2013 | 9:02 AM ET

  *Gold companies' shares drop, rand also under pressure. JOHANNESBURG, May 20- Big wage hikes demanded by the government-allied trade union in South Africa's coal and gold industries helped push the rand to a four-year low on Monday, highlighting the ripple effect of the prospect of more turmoil in the industry.

• South African wage demands send rand to four year low Monday, 20 May 2013 | 7:27 AM ET

  *Gold companies' shares drop, rand also under pressure. JOHANNESBURG, May 20- Big wage hikes demanded by the government-allied trade union in South Africa's coal and gold industries helped push the rand to a four year low on Monday, highlighting the ripple effect of the prospect of more turmoil in the industry.

• Could Unrest Prompt Downgrade for South Africa?   Monday, 20 May 2013 | 2:10 AM ET

  

  Peter Attard Montalto, emerging market economist at Nomura International, talks about the South African mining sector, the potential rise of further union unrest and the impact it would have on the country's economy.

• Freeport Indonesia mine should stay shut to probe tunnel collapse -union Friday, 17 May 2013 | 4:57 AM ET

  *Tension between union, Freeport could spook investors. JAKARTA, May 17- Freeport McMoRan Copper& Gold Inc's Indonesian copper mine should remain closed for an investigation into a tunnel collapse that has left five dead and 23 missing, a trade union leader said on Friday.

• UPDATE 1-At least 6 dead after Cambodian factory collapses - union member Wednesday, 15 May 2013 | 11:24 PM ET

  PHNOM PENH, May 16- At least six people died when a shoe factory collapsed in Cambodia on Thursday and many others were injured, a member of the trade union at the plant said, amid concerns about safety standards at some Asian factories producing cheap clothing.

• ILO: Bangladesh Safety Pact A Good Start  Wednesday, 15 May 2013 | 8:15 PM ET

  

  Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) welcomes the recent safety pact signed by international retailers, but says more needs to be done.

• Cuomo, ex-wife Kennedy push farm workers' rights Tuesday, 14 May 2013 | 10:36 AM ET

  ALBANY, N.Y.-- New York Gov. The issue has long been a favorite of New York City Democrats and allied labor unions and activists, some of whom demonstrated in Albany on Monday.

• We Have the Greatest Inequality since the Great Depression: Expert   Tuesday, 14 May 2013 | 4:45 AM ET

  

  Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union, tells CNBC that five years in to the economic crisis, austerity has failed, international institutions have failed and there's a humanitarian crisis.

• Wal-Mart vs. the Feds: Who's the Low-Wage Job King? Monday, 13 May 2013 | 9:51 AM ET

  

  The federal government is better at creating low-paying jobs than Wal-Mart and McDonald's combined, says a new report.

• Hong Kong Dockworkers Deal a 'Half Victory'  Monday, 6 May 2013 | 9:35 PM ET

  

  Lee Cheuk-Yan, Hong Kong Legislator and Chairman of the Labour Party, calls the agreed wage increase for Hong Kong port workers a "half win", saying the union will continue to work for a collective bargaining agreement.

• France On Route to a Flexible Labour Market: Expert   Monday, 6 May 2013 | 3:20 AM ET

  

  Laurence Parisot, chairwoman of MEDEF, tells CNBC that in a few weeks from now France will have a less rigid labour market, following a deal with the trade unions.

• German engineering workers go on strike seeking higher pay Thursday, 2 May 2013 | 9:37 AM ET

  FRANKFURT, May 2- Thousands of German metal and electrical workers went on strike on Thursday to press employers to raise their pay offer and engineering union IG Metall said there would be more industrial action on Friday. Germany's biggest industrial union is calling for wage hikes of up to 5.5 percent for some 3.7 million workers from May.

• Assessing the Damage Behind Hong Kong's Labor Uprisings   Wednesday, 1 May 2013 | 7:40 PM ET

  

  As Hong Kong dock workers enter their fifth week of protests, Willy Lin, Chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council evaluates the potential damage and impact arising from the strike.

• UPDATE 1-Lufthansa and workers' union settle pay dispute Wednesday, 1 May 2013 | 8:47 AM ET

  *Deal sees pay rise in Aug. 2013 and Aug. 2014. FRANKFURT, May 1- German trade union Verdi has agreed a pay deal with Lufthansa for 33,000 cabin crew and ground staff across the airline group, it said on Wednesday, averting another round of strikes that the union had threatened.

• German union says reached pay deal with Lufthansa Wednesday, 1 May 2013 | 7:32 AM ET

  FRANKFURT, May 1- German trade union Verdi said it had reached agreement with Lufthansa on wage increases for 33,000 workers, averting another round of strikes that the union had threatened.

• Have Twinkies Killed the Union Movement? Friday, 26 Apr 2013 | 4:00 PM ET

  

  Months after Hostess shut down over a standoff with its unions, the re-formed cupcake maker is expecting to put its snacks back on store shelves—using nonunion workers.

• Union threatens Lufthansa with further strikes in wage dispute Friday, 26 Apr 2013 | 10:38 AM ET

  FRANKFURT, April 26- A German trade union has threatened Lufthansa with another round of strikes if the airline fails to present a better pay offer when wage talks resume next week.