IPS Inter Press Service - LabourIPS, civil society's leading news agency, is an independent voice from the South and for development, delving into globalisation for the stories underneath.EAST TIMOR: Outsourcing Sugar Cane- (Found June 19, 2008 ) DILI, Jun 17 (IPS) - The East Timor governments recent decision to grant vast lands to an Indonesian company to plant sugar cane has been heavily criticised by Timorese society, who are demanding that the government immediately revoke the contract with the foreign company.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42837 CAPE VERDE-EU: Oiling the Wheels of Temporary Migration- (Found June 19, 2008 ) LISBON, Jun 12 (IPS) - Under the watchful eye of "Fortress Europe", the EU has entered into a pilot partnership with Cape Verde based on the "circular migration" model, under which legal migrants are able to move back and forth without major restrictions.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42769 SPAIN: Truck Strike Continues, Despite Deal- (Found June 19, 2008 ) MADRID, Jun 12 (IPS) - Although the Spanish government reached an agreement with the main truckers unions, around 10 percent of drivers continued blocking roads Thursday on the fourth day of a strike over soaring oil prices.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42770 LABOUR-SRI LANKA: Working Children Get Second Chance- (Found June 19, 2008 ) COLOMBO, Jun 13 (IPS) - Sujit is 22-years-old and studying hard to graduate in 2010 as a professional electrician. The handsome young man, speaking at a workshop on eliminating child labour, talked proudly of how his life changed dramatically when he was given the opportunity to enter an electrical course and re-start his life again.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42771 BOLIVIA: Domestics to Gain Healthcare Coverage- (Found June 19, 2008 ) LA PAZ, Jun 12 (IPS) - Domestic workers in Bolivia, most of whom are young indigenous women from the highlands region, are about to gain access to healthcare coverage.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42775 DEVELOPMENT: Brazilians Resist Finnish Plantations- (Found June 19, 2008 ) HELSINKI, Jun 13 (IPS) - Displaced Finnish factory workers and landless peasants in Brazil have become unlikely allies in a struggle for livelihoods. They are both fighting the Finnish-Swedish forestry giant Stora Enso.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42794 COLOMBIA: ILO to Keep an Eye on Labour Rights- (Found June 19, 2008 ) GENEVA, Jun 13 (IPS) - Cases of violence against trade unionists and violations of labour standards committed in Colombia were presented to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) panel of legal experts, which will instruct the Colombian state to modify its policies and will hold the government accountable, said labour representatives from that country.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42806 FINANCE: World Bank Watchdog Thrashes 'Doing Business' Index- (Found June 19, 2008 ) WASHINGTON, Jun 14 (IPS) - The World Bank's flagship effort to promote business-led economic growth is ideologically stilted and of little practical use, says the lending agency's in-house watchdog.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42809 ASIA: Civil Society Uniting Against Corruption- (Found June 19, 2008 ) BANGKOK, Jun 16 (IPS) - Cambodian lawmakers are still to offer unanimous support for a petition aimed at combating corruption that was presented to the National Assembly in mid- May. The call was a cry from ordinary people -- over a million of them.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42814 GREECE: And What an 18th Birthday Gift- (Found June 19, 2008 ) ATHENS, Jun 16 (IPS) - Eighteen years after their birth in Greece, children of immigrants are suddenly made migrants, and asked to prove their right to live in a country where they were born and raised.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42819 |