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E-news Bulletin
Friday 22 May 2015
Labour news you cannot afford to miss!!
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POLITICS
◘ SOUTH AFRICA
“30 Days to Release the Farlam Commission Report”
◘ INTERNATIONAL
“Western elite wary of India moving closer to China”
“Cuban social justice will survive American reconciliation”
LABOUR
◘ SOUTH AFRICA
“The crisis in COSATU how should we respond?”
“Tough Municipal Pay Talks in Pipeline”
“NUM faces R15m lawsuit for damages and loss of income in Good Hope Construction dispute”
“Sadtu wants Minister to end probe into ‘goats for jobs’ scam”
◘ INTERNATIONAL
“Thousands of Renault Metal Workers Strike in Turkey”
“Justice for the 72 workers killed at the Kentex fire”
MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION
“Africa’s Worst New Internet Censorship Law Could be Coming to South Africa”
“Alex Garland’s Ex Machina: Will artificial intelligence replace human efforts?”
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◘ “30 Days to Release the Farlam Commission Report”
The Marikana Support Campaign (MSC), the Right2Know Campaign (R2K) and the South African History Archive (SAHA) have taken the next step in demanding the release of the Farlam Commission Report on the Marikana massacre. SAHA, in consultation with MSC and R2K, submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request to the Presidency for the release of the report.
▶ read more http://www.r2k.org.za/2015/05/22/statement-30-days-to-release-the-farlam-commission-report/
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◘ “Cuban social justice will survive American reconciliation”
By JOHN WRIGHT
Cuba’s detractors have long been guilty of dismissing the achievements of the Cuban Revolution, while some of its supporters have lapsed into romanticizing the hardship its people have endured as a consequence of its isolation.
By rights, Cuba should not have the enormous global profile it enjoys, and has enjoyed going back many decades. A small island nation with a population of just over 11 million people, in a region of the world associated with underdevelopment, Cuba’s international status belies its size to an extent to which no other nation comes close.
▶ read more http://rt.com/op-edge/260421-cuba-revolution-economy-us/
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◘ “The crisis in COSATU how should we respond?”
By MARTIN JANSEN
Cosatu’s biggest union, Numsa with 340,000 members, has been expelled from the federation. Half of Cosatu’s affiliates have allied themselves with Numsa and are operating outside Cosatu’s fold. But does the crisis in Cosatu matter? Does it make any difference to class struggle in defending and promoting working class interests?
▶ read more http://groundup.org.za/article/crisis-cosatu-how-should-we-respond_2892
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◘ “Tough Municipal Pay Talks in Pipeline”
By TERRY BELL
As the saying goes, the public sector pay and conditions negotiations are all over bar the shouting. With only a few more union branches to report, it seems clear that a three-year deal has been struck.
However, the situation regarding local government employees is still deadlocked, with a third round of talks scheduled for three days to start on Tuesday next week.
▶ read more http://allafrica.com/stories/201505201629.html
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◘ “NUM faces R15m lawsuit for damages and loss of income in Good Hope Construction dispute”
By CARLO PETERSEN
A violent labour dispute involving alleged kidnappings, a sjambok attack, malicious damage to property and a murder could see the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) sued for R15 million.
On Monday, the Labour Court ordered the NUM to pay R300 000 to compensate Good Hope Construction (GHC) for legal fees incurred during a court battle related to an ongoing spat between workers and the construction company.
▶ read more http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/union-faces-r15m-lawsuit-1.1860812#.VV3fBUYpqLY
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◘ “Sadtu wants Minister to end probe into ‘goats for jobs’ scam”
By MASHEGO RAHLAGA
The union has been accused of selling posts in exchange for cash, cows and goats
The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) has called on Education Minister Angie Motshekga to conclude her investigation into allegations that its members have been soliciting bribes in exchange for principal posts in various provinces.
The union which has been accused of selling posts in exchange for cash, cows and goats, said it believes it will be cleared of any wrongdoing.
▶ read more http://ewn.co.za/2015/05/20/Sadtu-calls-on-Angie-Motshekga-to-conclude-her-probe-on-bribe-allegations?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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◘ “Thousands of Renault Metal Workers Strike in Turkey”
Around 5,000 workers at Oyak Renault’s factory in Bursa halted production activities during their midnight shift on May 14 and have refused to return to work since. Thousands of metal workers from other factories, including Tofaş, a joint venture of Turkey’s top industrial conglomerate Koç Holding, Coşkunöz and FIAT have gone on strike to support Renault workers on late Friday.
The Renault factory in Bursa normally produces nearly 400 cars each shift.
▶ read more http://revolution-news.com/thousands-of-renault-metal-workers-strike-in-turkey/
Click here to view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=657f8dc3Q6k
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◘ “Justice for the 72 workers killed at the Kentex fire”
By JOSUA MATA
Workers in the Philippines have a myriad of problems and struggles to overcome: low or unstable wages, meagre or unreliable benefits, abusive or insensitive employers or management, no job security or contracts, anti-worker and anti-union laws and policies, union-busting, unjust terms and conditions of employment, which may include inhumane working environment or a workplace that blatantly violates the mandated occupational safety and health standards (OSHS).
▶ read more http://www.equaltimes.org/justice-for-the-72-workers-killed#.VV8vtkYpqLY
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◘ “Africa’s Worst New Internet Censorship Law Could be Coming to South Africa”
Only once in a while does an Internet censorship law or regulation come along that is so audacious in its scope, so misguided in its premises, and so poorly thought out in its execution, that you have to check your calendar to make sure April 1 hasn’t come around again. The Draft Online Regulation Policy recently issued by the Film and Publication Board (FPB) of South Africa is such a regulation. It’s as if the fabled prude Mrs. Grundy had been brought forward from the 18th century, stumbled across hustler.com on her first excursion online, and promptly cobbled together a law to shut the Internet down. Yes, it’s that bad.
▶ read more https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/05/africas-worst-new-internet-censorship-law-could-be-coming-south-africa
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◘ “Alex Garland’s Ex Machina: Will artificial intelligence replace human efforts?”
By DOROTA NIEMITZ
Written and directed by Alex Garland, Ex Machina is a breath of fresh air in the midst of so much recycled science fiction recently displayed on movie theatre screens. Alex Garland’s directorial debut does not disappoint: his futuristic thriller manages to explore seemingly familiar territory—new developments in artificial intelligence [AI] technology—with a high dose of scientific knowledge, vivid imagination and artistic beauty.
▶ read more https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/05/20/exma-m20.html
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