In the first half of 2008, there were 330 'illegal strikes' in Vietnam (see more here). And now comes news that up to 10,000 workers "have walked off the job to protest low salaries and lousy meals" a shoe factory in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province. The factory is owned by Pou Chen Vietnam, which is in turn owned by the Taiwanese-based Pou Chen Group (whose subsidiary Yue Yuen is the world's largest branded footwear manufacturer). According to the report linked above, workers on the "the picket line threw mam tom (shrimp paste) and pig blood pudding on other workers for not joining the strike". Pou Chen has agreed to raise wages by 5%, but workers have rejected the offer saying that the US$70 per month they earn is not enough to meet rapidly rising living costs.

It's been a steep learning curve for Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). In 2004, it paid US$500 million for a 49 percent stake in South Korean automaker Ssangyong, and ever since it's been on the back foot with the Korean trade unions. Things heated up this year, when Ssangyong unionists and others protested in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul over allegations that SAIC was involved in 'technology theft' (a story that made it into the Chinese press - see more here). Then in June, workers occupied the factory, which culminated in the end to a marathon and violent standoff between workers and the South Korean police over the weekend. More than 100 people were hurt last week as strikers battled riot police with giant catapults, firebombs and steel pipes. See more here.

Earlier this month, the ITUC released its Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, in which it denounces hundreds of cases of harassment, arrests, attacks and assassinations targeting trade unionists in 2008. According to the Survey, many governments in the region make themselves a party to the trade union rights violations committed by employers by tolerating a range of practices such as the massive use of temporary contracts, recourse to legal provisions prohibiting ‘the obstruction of business’ as a means of attacking unions, and the use of hired thugs or private security guards to intimidate trade unionists, etc. In several countries the procedures to be followed before strike action can be taken are so laborious that they render it virtually impossible. The Survey reveals that migrant workers are amongst the most frequent victims of fundamental rights violations. In South Korea, two leaders of the Migrant Workers’ Union were arrested and deported in 2008. In Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan, migrants are barred from holding trade union office. In Malaysia, the authorities are aided by a civilian volunteer corps to instil terror in migrant workers. Many of these migrants are domestic workers, who rarely have the chance to organise in order to defend their rights. You can see more here.

The latest issue of Asian Food Worker has been uploaded and contains an excellent article on milk and melamine, but also covers work-life balance in Japan, Tamil Nadu tea workers and much more. Well worth a read. Click here to download the pdf [400 KB]. See here to access past issues.

The Korea Times reports that the labour union of MBC, the nation's second largest broadcaster, is promoting their protest against the controversial media-related bills through a video clip on YouTube. The union, which is staging a walkout against the bill on cross-media ownership, claims that the footage was designed to promote the justice of their collective action, while some criticize it for "trying to justify the union's selfishness globally.'' You can see the YouTube video here.