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Vol. 72/No. 41      October 20, 2008

 
On the Picket Line
 
Thousands of striking teachers
in Honduras rally for back pay
Thousands of teachers and their supporters rallied in Tegulcigalpa, the capital of Honduras, September 29 to demand pay for some 5,000 teachers who have not received wages since February. They took over six bridges in the downtown area of the capital as well as blocking transit in several other cities to press their demands. The teachers are on strike demanding that the National Congress authorize payment of their wages. Some 2.5 million students in public schools are affected by the walkout.

Also in Honduras, some 400 doctors have been on strike for the past month to protest deteriorating conditions in the country’s public hospitals. Some 800 nursing assistants have also vowed to join the action with demands for increased monthly pay from 3,229 lempiras (US$170) to 5,800 lempiras (US$307).

—Brian Williams

Municipal workers carry out
second day of strike action
EDINBURGH, Scotland—Some 150,000 municipal workers in Scotland carried out their second day of strike action September 23. Members of trade unions Unison; Unite; and the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union previously struck August 20 to protest a 2.5 percent pay raise each year for the next three years. In response, the bosses had revised their offer to a 2.5 percent increase for one year only.

At least 1,000 strikers and supporters marched through the center of Edinburgh to a rally. Glyn Hawker, head of bargaining at Unison, reported to that rally that bosses had reneged on their promise to “work at a settlement that takes account of the rate of inflation.” The official “retail price inflation” rate is 4.8 percent. “Our members are not the cause of inflation or the credit crunch and are looking to be treated fairly,” Hawker said. Unison Scotland secretary Mark Smith said, “Until Cosla [the government employer] makes a better offer, strike action will continue.” Indeed the unions have set October 6 as the next strike day.

—Hugh Robertson

California longshore workers
help seafarers win strike
Solidarity actions by members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) helped striking seafarers docked on a ship in Long Beach, California, win their demands September 23. The seafarers called a strike that day against poor working conditions and pay. Upon seeing the crew members holding up signs saying, “On Strike” and “Low Wages and Conditions,” ILWU members ceased work and disembarked from the vessel. Later that day the bosses signed a new agreement that included giving the workers back pay.

“Longshoremen from the ILWU well know that solidarity between seafarers and dockworkers is the way to stamp out union busting on the docks and the ships that seafarers work on,” commented ILWU International Affairs Director Ray Familathe on the successful conclusion of the strike action.

—Brian Williams  
 
 
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