Philippines: Unions oppose President’s vetoing of the Security of Tenure Bill
26 July 2019: President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the Security of Tenure Bill on 26 July 2019 also known as anti-endo (end of contract bill). The Bill would have put an end to labour contracting by companies. The veto has come in the light of demands placed by industry bodies like the American Chamber of Commerce of Philippines, Makati Business Club and European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. Anti-endo was being pushed by the unions as it would have led to the end of precarious jobs and stopped companies from outsourcing core jobs to contractors.
Spain: Court rules in favour of Deliveroo workers, holds them as employees
23 July 2019: A Madrid Court has held that workers of the delivery company Deliveroo are employees and not ‘freelancers’ or ‘independent contractors’. The Court held that workers were held to specific instructions and lacked the autonomy enjoyed by independent contractors. The order will enable over 1,500 Deliveroo workers across Spain to claim worker rights such as paid leave, social security and medical cover.
South Korea: Trade Unions step down from Minimum Wage Committee opposing lowest wage hike in a decade
15 July 2019: 4 representatives of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions stepped down from the Minimum Wage Committee after it decided to raise the minimum wage by mere 2.9% to $7.32 per hour, lowest hike in over a decade. The trade union confederation also called upon 9 experts to step down for ‘wrongfully leading the wage discussions’. The union has been demanding 10,000 Won per hour as minimum wages as promised by President Moon Jae in in his vision 2020. Under pressure from workers and their unions the President issued a public apology for backtracking from the promised wage.
Amazon workers across Germany and US strike work on Prime Day
8 July 2019: Amazon workers across several locations in Germany including Werne, Rheinberg, Leipzig, Graben, Koblenz and Bad Hersfeld, and in Shakopee, Minnesota in the United States went on strike on Amazon’s prime day sale demanding better working conditions and work hours. White collar engineers joined their colleagues in the strike and raised slogans like ‘Stop Bezos’ and ‘We are not Robots.’ Amazon’s warehouses are infamous for exploitation of workers and starvation wages.
