IWS Documented News INTERNATIONAL

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
BRIEFING PAPER
trade and investment series
Volume 6, Number 3 • October 31, 2005

Losing Canadian Culture: The Danger of Foreign Ownership of Telecom
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/Reports/2005/10/LosingCdnCulture/index.cfm?pa=BB736455
or
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/National_Office_Pubs/2005/brief6_3_Losing_Canadian_Culture.pdf
[full-text, 9 pages]

[excerpt]
This paper considers the danger posed to Canadian culture by foreign ownership of the telecommunications industry. These two services, culture and telecom, are being handled very differently in the international negotiations taking place through the World Trade Organization (WTO). Member countries of the WTO are attempting to expand an agreement to increase international trade in services, called the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

Press Release
Foreign ownership of telecom puts Canadian culture at risk­report
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&call=1221&pa=BB736455&do=Article
October 31, 2005

OTTAWA­The federal government will jeopardize Canadian culture by allowing foreign ownership of our telecommunications industry, says a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Authored by Julie White, a researcher with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, the study makes the case that common ownership and technological convergence in telecommunications and broadcasting have created a single industry.

“Lifting foreign ownership restrictions on telephone companies puts our broadcasting sector immediately at risk,” White commented. “The carriers (telephone and cable companies) are now also the content creators.” Bell Canada Enterprises, for instance, owns CTV television and the Globe and Mail.

“If Time Warner or any other giant multi-national were to buy any one of our telephone or cable companies, it would only make economic sense, from their standpoint, to use their foreign produced programming in Canada.”

The threat, she added, is very immediate with the Hong Kong round of international trade talks scheduled to take place in December, and the Industry Minister’s recent statement that he is open to relaxing foreign ownership restrictions.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 1:44 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Work and Occupations: An International Sociological Journal, Volume 32, Number 4, November 2005
http://wox.sagepub.com/content/vol32/issue4/

SPECIAL ISSUE: Labor and Social Justice: Union Renewal in a Contested Global Economy
GUEST EDITORS: Lowell Turner and Kate Bronfenbrenner, Cornell University

Lowell Turner
From Transformation to Revitalization: A New Research Agenda for a Contested Global Economy
Work and Occupations 2005 32: 383-399.
[Abstract]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/383
[PDF]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/32/4/383.pdf
[References]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/32/4/383

Christian Lévesque, Gregor Murray, and Stéphane Le Queux
Union Disaffection and Social Identity: Democracy as a Source of Union Revitalization
Work and Occupations 2005 32: 400-422.
[Abstract]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/400
[PDF}
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/32/4/400.pdf
[References]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/32/4/400


Stephanie Luce
Lessons From Living-Wage Campaigns
Work and Occupations 2005 32: 423-440.
[Abstract]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/423
[PDF]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/32/4/423.pdf
[References]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/32/4/423


Kate Bronfenbrenner
Organizing Women: The Nature and Process of Union-Organizing Efforts Among U.S. Women Workers Since the mid-1990s
Work and Occupations 2005 32: 441-463.
[Abstract]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/441
[PDF]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/32/4/441.pdf
[References]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/32/4/441


Ralph Armbruster-Sandoval
Workers of the World Unite? The Contemporary Anti-Sweatshop Movement and the Struggle for Social Justice in the Americas
Work and Occupations 2005 32: 464-485.
[Abstract]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/464
[PDF]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/32/4/464.pdf
[References]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/32/4/464


Jennifer Jihye Chun
Public Dramas and the Politics of Justice: Comparison of Janitors’ Union Struggles in South Korea and the United States
Work and Occupations 2005 32: 486-503.
[Abstract]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/486
[PDF]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/32/4/486.pdf
[References]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/32/4/486


Index to Work and Occupations Volume 32
Work and Occupations 2005 32: 504-507.
[PDF]
http://wox.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/32/4/504.pdf


_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 12:35 PM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies                   Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations           Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor                    Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016                        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Small Business Administration (SBA)

Global Perspectives on Entrepreneurship Policy Agenda
http://www.sba.gov/advo/conferences.html
or
Summary
http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/conf_summary05.pdf

Part 1
http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/proceedings_a05.pdf

for example:
Panel 3: SME Labor Challenges:
Workforce and Knowledge . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Labor Protection Regulations and Small Businesses, Adriana D. Kugler . . . . . . . .37
The Policy Implications of the Aging Workforce in Developed Countries,Jane M. Lommel . .  . . . . . .40
An Educational Policy for Teaching Entrepreneurship to Pre-University Students,Francis W. Rushing . .47

Part II
http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/proceedings_b05.pdf

Part III
http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/proceedings_c05.pdf

Proceedings from the June conference include, summaries of presentations, powerpoint presentations, and biographies of speakers.

Press Release [27 October 2005]
Conference Proceedings Examine The Effects Of International Entrepreneurship Policy On Small Business
Conference Co-Sponsored By The NFIB Research Foundation And The United States Association For Small Business Entrepreneurship
http://www.sba.gov/advo/press/05-48.html


WASHINGTON, D.C. - Public policy towards small business varies dramatically around the globe, yet the results of similar policies are consistent across economies. These findings are at the heart of Global Perspectives on Entrepreneurship Policy, issued today by the Office of Advocacy.

Releasing the report during a lecture at Cornell University, Advocacy Chief Economist Chad Moutray said, "Countries around the global are discovering how important small business is for their growth and long-term economic health. Their policies toward entrepreneurship differ, but the results of similar policies are consistent. Low taxes, low barriers to entry, and light regulation lead to economic growth and job creation."
The report compiles the proceedings of the Global Perspectives on Entrepreneurship Policy conference session of the International Council for Small Business annual meeting, held in June. The conference was co-sponsored by the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation and the United States Association for Small Business Entrepreneurship.

Scholars from across the world addressed the conference on such topics as regulations as an impediment to entry in developing countries, the role of economic freedom and GDP, comparisons of the effects of banking deregulation on small business lending, and the policy implications of an aging workforce in developed countries.

The Office of Advocacy, the "small business watchdog" of the government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues.
For more information and a complete copy of the report, visit the Office of Advocacy website at < http://www.sba.gov/advo > www.sba.gov/advo.

###
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   *
Director, IWS News Bureau                *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                        *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             *
New York, NY 10016                        *
                                            *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  *
****************************************

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services: Detailed Tables by Service Category, 1994-2003, 2005 Edition
http://www.oecd.org/document/43/0,2340,en_2649_34243_1898539_1_1_1_1,00.html

[excerpt]
This statistical publication is divided into an introduction and three main parts.

In the < http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/58/59/1898692.pdf> Introduction, general explanatory notes, and the definitions and coverage of service categories are presented. The definitions provided are the standard components of the < http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/bop/bop.htm> BPM5 which are supplemented, where appropriate, with details on the coverage of sub-items specific to the EBOPS classification.

Part I, Main categories of services, contains tables showing international transactions of services by country and type of service as well as analytical tables with a commentary on trends for the main categories of services. The tables show current values (net, credits, debits) of international transactions of total services by country and data for the individual standard components of the BPM5 by country and by zones (EU, NAFTA, OECD - Asia and Pacific, OECD - Europe, G7 and total OECD) at the one digit level of the classification.

A < http://www.oecd.org/document/43//dataoecd/39/40/31710078.pdf> summary table on compensation of employees and worker's remittances, as indicators of mode 4 supply of services is also presented.

The second and main part (Part II, Country Tables), provides data for 30 OECD Member countries. Countries are requested to submit data at the most detailed level possible according to the < http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/34/2507956.pdf> EBOPS. For analytical purposes, the tables also include non-service items: total trade in goods, total trade in goods and services, income, current transfers, total current account, capital account and financial account, and net errors and omissions. Percentage shares of services in trade in goods and services and in the current account are calculated. Data are provided for as many years as possible.

The third part contains additional data:
* Additional EBOPS items not presented in the standard country tables for the OECD countries able to provide data;
* Additional national data (i.e. according to the national classification) for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

This publication is released once a year.


OECD
Total Trade in Services by Partner Country (2004 Edition)
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/56/35/1945964.xls
[spreadsheet]

For additional information, see--
OECD Statistics on International Trade in Services, Detailed Tables by Partner Country 1999-2002
http://www.oecd.org/document/18/0,2340,en_2649_34243_1945746_1_1_1_1,00.html

[excerpt]
This is the second publication by OECD on statistics of trade in services broken down by partner country. It provides a picture of the pattern of flows of trade in services in the world. Information of these trade flows can be of interest for analysts and trade negotiators.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 11:36 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) Online
EIRO thematic feature:

Industrial Relations and Undeclared Work [27 October 2005]
http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/thematicfeature11.html
or
http://www.eurofound.eu.int/publications/files/EF05135EN.pdf
[full-text, 19 pages]
Author: Biletta, Isabella and Meixner, Marie

Summary:
The aim of this overview, which is based on the national contributions of 23 European countries, is to create a picture of undeclared work in Europe, taking into account the regulatory framework, as well as the impacts, role and actions of public authorities and social partners. Thus, the focus is on a qualitative rather than a quantitative approach to the phenomenon of undeclared work.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 8:49 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) online
EIRO thematic feature

Redundancies and Redundancy Costs [27 October 2005]
http://www.eurofound.eu.int/publications/files/EF0575EN.pdf
[full-text, 15 pages]
Author: Kauppinen, Timo and Meixner, Marie

Summary: This comparative study aims at giving an overview of existing national legislation on redundancy, focusing particularly on compensation payment provisions. It further seeks to reflect current debate on the issue and outline new approaches to dealing with redundancies.


[excerpt]
According to legislation in most of the EU15 Member States, collective redundancies are understood as dismissals for
'economic reasons', i.e. effected by an employer for reasons unconnected with the individual employee concerned. Such
dismissals are also referred to as 'collective redundancies'. Furthermore, national legislation set up criteria defining
precisely the circumstances in which redundancy legislation applies, such as, for example, specifying thresholds
according to the number of employees made redundant and/or the size of the company where the redundancies occur.
Thresholds, however, can vary widely from country to country.


[excerpt]
Introduction
The issue of redundancy, and of the financial, social and moral costs it involves, has been the subject of widespread
public debate over the last two decades. Governments, employers and trade unions agree that growing unemployment
resulting from collective dismissals has become a serious economic problem.

Against the background of the social costs of redundancies, rules to limit and mitigate collective redundancies have been
introduced in all the countries examined. Efforts to minimise the negative impact of redundancy have focused on three
kinds of measures: active employment policy, employee participation in the redundancy process, and severance pay. For
many years, the latter measure has been the most important one. Aimed at creating an incentive for employers not to
dismiss employees, statutory compensation payments have been introduced in many countries. On the other hand,
severance pay has been used as an inducement to employees to abandon jobs in the face of declining demand for their
labour.

Thus, this comparative study aims at giving an overview of existing national legislation on redundancy, focusing
particularly on compensation payment provisions. It further seeks to reflect current debate on the issue and outline new
approaches to dealing with redundancies.


AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************

# posted by SBasefsky : 8:47 AM

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies                   Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations           Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor                    Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016                        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS OF MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY AND UNIT LABOR COST TRENDS, 2004 [27 October 2005]
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod4.toc.htm
or
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod4.nr0.htm
or
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/prod4.pdf
[full-text, 18 pages]

Among fourteen countries under comparison, seven, including the
United States, had manufacturing productivity gains of over 4.5 percent
in 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor
Statistics.  Korea registered the largest gain (+12.1 percent), followed
by Sweden (+9.3 percent).  Manufacturing productivity increased in all
of the compared economies except Italy and Australia.  (See chart 1.)

   U.S. productivity growth in manufacturing in 2004 was 4.7 percent,
about half the increase of 2003, and less than the average yearly
increases over the last decade.  It was greater, however, than the
average annual growth rate since 1979.  Six of the other 13 economies
for which comparisons are available also had productivity growth in 2004
that exceeded their annual average increases over the 1979-2004 period.
(Average annual growth rates for selected measures over various time
periods are found in tables A and B.)

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....


_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   *
Director, IWS News Bureau                *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                        *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             *
New York, NY 10016                        *
                                            *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  *
****************************************

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies                   Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations           Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor                    Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016                        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Social Security Programs Throughout the World: Africa, 2005 (September 2005)
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/2004-2005/africa/index.html
or
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/2004-2005/africa/ssptw05africa.pdf
[full-text, 185 pages]


This third issue in the current four-volume series of Social Security Programs Throughout the World reports on the countries of Africa. The combined findings of this series, which also includes volumes on Europe, Asia and the Pacific, and the Americas, are published at 6-month intervals over a 2-year period. Each volume highlights features of social security programs in the particular region.

The information contained in these volumes is crucial to our efforts, and those of researchers in other countries, to review different ways of approaching social security challenges that will enable us to adapt our social security systems to the evolving needs of individuals, households, and families. These efforts are particularly important as each nation faces major demographic changes, especially the increasing number of aged persons, as well as economic and fiscal issues.

Social Security Programs Throughout the World is the product of a cooperative effort between the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the < http://www.issa.int/>International Social Security Association (ISSA). Founded in 1927, the ISSA is a nonprofit organization bringing together institutions and administrative bodies from countries throughout the world. The ISSA deals with all forms of compulsory social protection that by legislation or national practice are an integral part of a country's social security system.

Previous editions of this report, which date back to 1937, were issued as one volume and were prepared by SSA staff. With the introduction of the four-volume format, however, the research and writing has been contracted out to the ISSA. The ISSA has conducted the research largely through its numerous country-based correspondents, as well as its Social Security Worldwide Database and a myriad of other types of data that must be drawn together to update this report. Members of the ISSA's Information System and Databases Unit analyzed the information and revised the publication to reflect detailed changes to each social security program. Social Security Programs Throughout the World is based on information available to the ISSA and SSA with regard to legislation in effect in January 2005, or the last date for which information has been received.

SSA staff members were responsible for technical and editorial assistance and production. Barbara Kritzer served as technical consultant and provided overall project management. Staff of the Division of Information Resources edited and produced the report and prepared the electronic versions for the Web.

   * Social Security Programs Throughout the World, 2004-2005

       * Europe, 2004 (released September 2004)
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/2004-2005/europe/index.html

       * Asia and the Pacific, 2004 (released March 2005)
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/2004-2005/asia/index.html

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   *
Director, IWS News Bureau                *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                        *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             *
New York, NY 10016                        *
                                            *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  *
****************************************

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies                   Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations           Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor                    Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016                        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

(The following is courtesy of the Centre for Industrial Relations, University of Toronto).

Weekly Work Report for the Week of October 24, 2005

These highlights of the week's HR/IR news are prepared by the Librarians at the Centre for Industrial Relations for our subscribers, alumni, faculty and students, and are intended for their individual use only.  Please visit the CIR website for terms of use and information about organizational subscriptions.  This message is composed in MS Outlook Express and contains hyperlinks that require an HTML-enabled email program.

The WWR is protected by Canadian copyright law and should not be reproduced or forwarded without permission.   For inquiries or comments,  please contact the Editor,  elizabeth.perry@utoronto.ca.

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BC TEACHERS RETURN TO WORK AFTER $500,000 FINE FOR CIVIL CONTEMPT:  Members of the BC Teachers Federation voted by a margin of 77%   to accept facilitator Vince Ready’s proposals to end their 10 day illegal strike and to return to the classrooms across B.C..  Ready’s report recommended $85 million for teachers’ salaries and benefits, an extra $20 million in 2005/06 to improve learning conditions, and a greater role for teachers on a new education roundtable. Although the union initially demanded a written guarantee that the government would amend the School Act to include specific limits on class sizes, teachers returned to work on October 24th with only verbal assurance. 

In a decision on October 21, Madam Justice Brown of the Supreme Court of B.C. considered the differences between civil and criminal contempt and fined the union $500,000 for civil contempt for its failure to comply with her earlier orders of October 9 and 13.  The Justice also reminded the union that “as a result of my order of October 13, 2005, individual teachers will not be reimbursed for pay lost while in contempt of court”.

LINKS:

“Teachers return to work in BC after illegal strike” in the Toronto Star (Oct. 24) at < http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1130147341978 >

Recommendations  by Facilitator Vincent Ready (October 20, 2005) (7 pages, PDF) at < http://www.bctf.ca/FacilitatorsReportVinceReady.pdf>

BC Supreme Court decision  BC Public School Employers Assoc. v BC Teachers Federation, 2005 BCSC 1490   (October 21, 2005) (8 pages, HTML)  at < http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/Jdb-txt/SC/05/14/2005BCSC1490.htm>

“BC Teachers and contempt” update posted October 22 on the Thoughts from a Management Lawyer Blog at < http://labourlawblog.typepad.com/managementupdates/>

“The first skirmish in a long war with labour” in the Toronto Star  (Oct. 22) at < http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1129931410361 >

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EMPLOYER MUST PAY ONTARIO’S HEALTH PREMIUM TAX ACCORDING TO DIVISIONAL COURT: In the first court decision regarding Ontario’s Health Premium tax (introduced in May 2004) , the  Ontario’s Divisional Court has ruled  that Arbitrator Anne Barrett's award of October 6, 2004 was "not patently unreasonable" , and has upheld the arbitrator’s order that the  LaPointe Fisher  nursing home must  pay the provincial health premium tax on behalf of its employees.  The judgment in the case is based on the particular wording of the collective agreement between the nursing home and the U.F.C.W. Local 175/633 and uses the standard of review of “patent unreasonableness”.   The issue of who should pay the tax has been controversial; a Fasken   Martineau Alert on the topic lists 17 arbitration awards that concluded that employers were NOT responsible to pay the health tax.

LINKS:

Ontario Division Court decision LaPointe-Fisher Nursing Home v. United Food and Commercial Workers' International Union, Local 175/633 (October 17, 2005) (12 pages, HTML)  at < http://www.canlii.org/on/cas/onscdc/2005/2005onscdc10205.html>

Ontario Health Premium - Court decision upholds union claim at the Lancaster House website at < http://www.lancasterhouse.com/about/headlines_1.asp>

Court upholds employer liability to pay Ontario Health Premium Tax (6 pages, PDF) at the Fasken Martineau website at < http://www.fasken.com/web/fmdwebsite.nsf/AllDoc/1AF0256DF81AF15B882570A1004C5A17/$File/FMALERT21OCT05.PDF >

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CONFERENCE BOARD COMPENSATION PROJECTS NON-UNION PAY INCREASES OF 3.4% FOR 2006:  The Conference Board of Canada forecasts that non-union pay increases  will average 3.4 %  in 2006, driven mainly by a tightening labour market that makes recruitment and retention top priorities. The forecast for unionized employees in both public and private sectors is for average wage increases of 2.5 %.  The Conference Board conducted its annual survey among 347 large and medium-sized Canadian organizations in July and August 2005 and released its findings on October 24 at the annual Compensation Outlook conference in Toronto.  The publication, Compensation Planning Outlook 2006: Pay Pressure Builds as Labour Markets Tighten, includes information on base pay, collectively bargaining wage increases, variable pay, long-term incentives, HR priorities, recruitment and retention, performance management, turnover, absenteeism, benefits, and collective bargaining issues.

LINKS:

Press release at the Conference Board of Canada website  at < http://www.conferenceboard.ca/press/2005/CompHR.asp>. (The full 26-page document can be ordered for $950 Cdn.)

----------
GENDER STEREOTYPES AND LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS:  The research organization Catalyst has released a study on gender stereotyping in organizations. Entitled Women “Take Care,” Men “Take Charge:” Stereotyping of U.S. Business Leaders Exposed, the study considers 10 essential behaviours required of corporate leaders, “pinpoints” where women leaders are vulnerable to stereotyping, and makes recommendations to overcome the stereotypes.  It also examines the costs that organizations incur because of the barriers to advancement into leadership positions that women face due to stereotyping.

LINK:

Women “Take Care,” Men “Take Charge:” Stereotyping of U.S. Business Leaders Exposed, (45 pages, PDF) at the Catalyst website at < http://www.catalyst.org/files/full/Women Take Care Men Take Charge.pdf>

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MACLEAN’S IDENTIFIES 100 EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE FOR JOB SEEKERS:   The Maclean’s list of top 100 employers in Canada has been released,  compiled for the benefit of job seekers.   To be invited to participate in the annual list, organizations ­ including not-for-profit groups, government agencies and private-sector companies ­ must be fast-growing, in hiring mode, and must offer employees a superior work environment through compensation, benefits, work-family provisions, or community involvement.  The Macleans website overview highlights a few case studies and provides an alphabetical list; a full-book edition of Canada's Top 100 Employers will be released by Mediacorp Canada publishers in early November.

LINKS:

Top 100 employers at the Macleans.ca website at < http://www.macleans.ca/webspecials/article.jsp?content=20031020_67488_67488 >

Top 100 employers List (3 pages, PDF) at < http://www.macleans.ca/pdf/top100list.pdf>

----------
GTA WORKERS WORK LONG   HOURS:   A recent survey by the polling firm Leger Marketing examined the working life of residents of the Greater Toronto Area. The survey revealed that on average employed residents work 41.2 hours per week at work and an additional 13 hours at home for their employer. They also spend on average 3.2 hours per week on personal activities at work. Other findings:  92 % of the respondents liked their co-workers and 70% said they liked them very much.

LINK:

Summary of Work Life in the GTA  (6 pages, PDF) at the Leger Marketing website at < http://legermarketing.com/documents/spclm/051020ENG.pdf>

----------
OFL CAMPAIGNS FOR ONTARIO HEALTH CARE SECTOR WORKERS:   The Ontario Federation of Labour has released a new report, Understaffed & Under Pressure: A reality check by Ontario health care workers, as part of a province-wide campaign in October and November to draw attention to working conditions for health care workers.  The report is the result of an OFL fact-finding tour of 17 cities in 2005, giving voice to health care workers in all sectors of the health care system: emergency services, homecare, hospitals, long-term care, retirement homes, mental health and public health.   The report calls on the government to impose an immediate moratorium on layoffs in hospitals, establish a required minimum standard of 3.5 hours per day of nursing and personal care for residents in nursing homes and homes for the aged, and minimum full-time staffing standards in all health care sectors.

 LINKS:

Understaffed & Under Pressure: A reality check by Ontario health care workers  (74 pages, PDF) at < http://www.ofl.ca/uploads/misc/US-UNDERSTAFF.PDF>

----------
RETENTION OF OLDER WORKERS:  The Policy Research Initiative, established by the federal government, has recently published another study in its Population Aging and Life-Course Flexibility project. Encouraging Choice in Work and Retirement  looks at the economic implications of the aging workforce and how the labour supply might be increased by encouraging individuals to remain in the workforce. It discusses both employer policies that might retain older workers and public policies to remove barriers and disincentives to continue working.

LINKS:

Encouraging Choice in Work and Retirement (57 pages, PDF) at the PRI website at < http://www.policyresearch.gc.ca/doclib/Encour_Choice_E.pdf>

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JEAN PIERRE BRUN WINS PIONEER AWARD DURING NATIONAL HEALTHY WORKPLACE WEEK:  National Healthy Workplace Week, October 24 to 28, is an  annual promotion of health workplace practices, begun in 2001 and  led by the Canadian Healthy Workplace Council.  The Council serves as an advisory body to the National Quality Institute (NQI) on workplace health issues and adjudicates the annual Canadian Workplace Wellness Pioneer Award that is presented at the Health, Work & Wellness Conference.  That conference was held in Montreal from October 20 to 22; winner of the Pioneer Award for 2005 is Jean Pierre Brun, a professor at the Faculty of Business Administration of the Universite Laval and  a leading expert on mental health issues in Canada, particularly mental health in the workplace.

LINKS:

Healthy Workplace website at < http://www.healthyworkplaceweek.ca/index.php>

Health Work and Wellness Conference website at < http://conferences.healthworkandwellness.com/>

Quebec mental health expert wins Canadian workplace Pioneer Award   (1 page, PDF) at < http://conferences.healthworkandwellness.com/pics/pioneer_award_news_release_eng.pdf >

----------
IMPLICATIONS OF DELPHI BANKRUPTCY FOR THE AUTO INDUSTRY:  An article from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania considers the impact the Chapter 11 filing by auto parts giant Delphi on the October 8  and the subsequent agreement between GM and the UAW to cut healthcare benefits for retirees on October 17.  According to experts at the Wharton School, “The Delphi filing and the tentative GM-UAW accord set in motion a chain of events that may forever alter the relationship between America’s Big Three carmakers and the UAW, and they underscore the degree to which globalization is exerting downward pressure on the wages and benefits paid to U.S. workers.”

LINKS:

A bumpy road for Delphi, GM and U.S. Auto Workers (5 pages, PDF) at the Strategic Management Wharton website at
< http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1301.cfm>

Auto industry rocked by Delphi bankruptcy ( 4 pages,  HTML)  at the MSNBC News website at < http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9644882/>

UAW statement on tentative agreement with GM at the UAW website at < http://www.uaw.org/news/newsarticle.cfm?ArtId=359>

----------
SOME SECOND GENERATION CANADIANS EARN MORE THAN NATIVE BORN PEERS:  A new study released by Statistics Canada on October 25   investigates the link between the socio-economic status of immigrant fathers and their Canadian- born sons and daughters.  Except for those whose fathers were from the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Oceania, children had higher weekly earnings than native-born Canadians.  The earnings advantage was about 6%, except for those from the traditional source countries, where it was 14%.  This research uses new information from the 2001 Census, the first to ask Canadians which country their mothers and fathers were born.; it focuses on  young adults aged 25 to 37 years whose parents were both born in a country other than Canada and immigrated here before 1981.

LINKS:

Intergenerational earnings mobility among the children of Canadian immigrants  ( Catalogue #11F0019MIE2005267)  (44 pages, PDF) at < http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/11F0019MIE/11F0019MIE2005267.pdf >

----------
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX RISES DUE TO HIGH GASOLINE PRICES:  The Consumer Price Index for September 2005 was released by Statistics Canada on October 25, showing a large jump of 3.4%  for the 12-month All-items index (CPI).  Not surprisingly, the rise is attributed mainly to substantial increases in gasoline prices. In addition, Canadians paid 13.7% more for fuel oil and 7.4% more for natural gas prices in September.

LINKS:

Latest release from the Consumer Price Index at the Statistics Canada website at < http://www.statcan.ca/english/Subjects/Cpi/cpi-en.htm>

----------
Book of the Week :
Proving the Value of HR: How and Why to Measure ROI
by Jack J. Phillips and Patricia Pulliam Phillips. Alexandria, Virginia: Society for Human Resource Management. 256p. ISBN: 1586440497

The authors argue that measuring the return on investment (ROI) of human resources is critical for success in today's business world and is a requirement for HR professionals who are part of the senior executive team. HR managers and executives must show HR's contribution and prove that HR policies, practices, and solutions add directly to the organization's bottom line.

They provide basic, step-by-step instructions to develop the ROI of HR and show how the ROI methodology is a communication tool to strengthen the relationship with senior management as well as a process-improvement tool to enhance and improve HR's contribution.

About the Authors:

Jack J. Phillips is the chairman of the ROI Institute and is the author of Accountability in Human Resource Management, The Human Resources Scorecard, and Managing Employee Retention.

Patricia Pulliam Phillips is president and CEO of the ROI Institute.

----------
  121 St. George Street, Toronto Canada  M5S 2E8              http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/cir
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   *
Director, IWS News Bureau                *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                        *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             *
New York, NY 10016                        *
                                            *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  *
****************************************

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies                   Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations           Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor                    Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016                        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

AARP Public Policy Institute

Rethinking the Role of Older Workers: Promoting Older Worker Employment in Europe and Japan
Research Report, October 2005
http://www.aarp.org/research/work/retirement/ib77_workers.html
or
http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/econ/ib77_workers.pdf
[full-text, 32 pages]

Older worker employment and retirement trends in the European Union (EU) and Japan as well as the United States are examined in this Issue Brief by Sara E. Rix of the AARP Public Policy Institute. The brief presents responses by the EU and Japan to the aging of their populations and the soaring costs of pensions, with an analysis of their goals and initiatives to foster older worker employment.

In Japan, worklife extension is encouraged by raising the pensionable age and providing subsidies for employers to hire and retain older workers.

In Europe, efforts to prolong working life include
   * removing incentives to retire early
   * reforming pension policies to reward later retirement
   * providing more flexible work and retirement options
   * banning age discrimination
   * educating employers about potential labor shortages

The EU has set ambitious older worker employment goals for its member countries and has put pressure on these countries to reach the established targets. Older workers in the United States, in contrast, have not been the focus of this kind of sustained high-level attention, and there are no official goals or objectives regarding their employment or retirement age. (32 pages)

Pub ID: IB77
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   *
Director, IWS News Bureau                *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                        *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             *
New York, NY 10016                        *
                                            *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  *
****************************************

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies                   Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations           Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor                    Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016                        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) for Research, Education, Health and Safety (REHS)
and the
Hans Boeckler Stiftung's
The Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK)
http://www.boeckler.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-3D0AB75D-972DD24B/hbs/hs.xsl/36176.html
was founded in January 2005. The institute's objective is to strengthen the macroeconomic focus in economic analysis and policy advice. The IMK analyses the business cycle on the basis of a coherent macroeconomic modelling framework. In their empirical research the IMK's researchers rely on modern Keynesian economic theory as well as state-of-the-art econometric methods.


Euro Area Economic Trends 2006: Time for a New Economic Policy Approach [25 October 2005]
http://www.etui-rehs.org/media/files/imk/time_for_a_new_economic_policy_approach
[full-text, 26 pages]

Abstract:
This is the first twice-yearly forecast produced by the Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK) in collaboration with the ETUI-REHS. The report provides a detailed economic forecast for the euro area: for the current year growth of just 1.2% is expected, rising only slightly to 1.5% in 2006. It also contains a study of the economic effects of the oil-price rise, which has seriously depressed the economy. In addition the report makes a number of concrete policy recommendations. In particular it calls on the ECB to cut interest rates by half a percentage point, and urges governments to make use of the scope created by the revisions to the implementation rules for the Stability and Growth Pact in order to ensure that fiscal consolidation does not weaken economic growth further. A proposal is made to set for each country a longer-run cap on non-cyclical government spending that ensures consolidation in the medium run.  Finally wage setters are called upon to avoid beggar-thy-neighbour strategies of excessive wage moderation, which are a zero-sum game in the context of the euro area, and instead to anchor price and demand expectations by orienting wage settlements to the medium-rate of national productivity growth plus the inflation target of the ECB.

_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   *
Director, IWS News Bureau                *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                        *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             *
New York, NY 10016                        *
                                            *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  *
****************************************

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies                   Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations           Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor                    Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016                        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

European Comission

Press Release [20 October 2005]
NANOTECHNOLOGY: COMMISSION LAUCHES A CONSULTATION ON HOW BEST TO ASSESS THE RISKS
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/health_consumer/dyna/enews/enews.cfm?al_id=89

The Commission is launching a public consultation on risk assessment methods for nanotechnologies. Nanotechnology involves the controlled production of new materials which have one or more dimensions thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Industry is increasingly using nanotechnology for a wide variety of sectors, including healthcare, consumer products, information technology and the environment. The online consultation, which will run until 16th December 2005, aims to gather feedback on the appropriateness of current risk assessment methods for nanotechnology products and how they can be improved.

AND MORE....

see-
Public consultation SCENIHR Opinion on
How to Assess the Potential Risks of Nanotechnologies
http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/scenihr_cons_01_en.htm

Nanotechnologies are expected to make a major contribution to improving the quality of the life of European citizens, in particular in sectors such as material sciences, health care, information technology, and the environment. In view of their growing importance, the < ftp://ftp.cordis.lu/pub/nanotechnology/docs/nano_com_en.pdf> Commissions strategy for nanotechnologies, which was endorsed in the < http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/intm/82067.pdf> Conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 24 September 2004, and the Commission's action plan "< ftp://ftp.cordis.lu/pub/nanotechnology/docs/nano_action_plan2005_en.pdf > Nanosciences and nanotechnologies: An action plan for Europe 2005-2009" recognized the need for a safe, integrated and responsible approach to the development of nanotechnologies.

Nanotechnologies involve the controlled production of new materials, structures, and devices of a size which is typically eighty thousand times smaller then the diameter of a human hair. The nanoscale confers new, interesting technological properties which may however have potential implications for safety and therefore need to be assessed in advance.

In response to a request from the Commission, the independent experts of the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) recently adopted an opinion on "< http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_o_003.pdf > the appropriateness of existing methodologies to assess the potential risks associated with engineered and adventitious products of nanotechnologies."

The Commission, in consultation with the Committee, invites interested stakeholders to submit their views on the opinion by Friday, 16 December 2005 < http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=nanotechnology > via this website.

Following the consultation, the SCENIHR and Commission services will carefully examine all the comments, in order to further refine approaches to risk assessment of the products of nanotechnologies. The outcome of the consultation will be published on this page.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   *
Director, IWS News Bureau                *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                        *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             *
New York, NY 10016                        *
                                            *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  *
****************************************

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies                   Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations           Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor                    Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016                        Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Human Resources Institute of New Zealand

17 October 2005

Unions go from strength to strength
http://www.hrinz.org.nz/SITE_Default/SITE_HR_Info/SITE_Hot_Stuff/x-files/14052.doc

A Victoria University survey has found that union membership in New Zealand in 2004 increased by 12,427 over the previous year. This builds on five years of strong growth with an overall 17% rise in union membership since 1999.

The survey of trade union membership by the Industrial Relations Centre at Victoria University found 354,058 union members at December 31, 2004.

Centre Director, Professor George Lafferty, attributes the rise in union membership to a number of variables.

"Unions are achieving a high profile with campaigns such as New Zealand's Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union's '5 in 05' push. Such campaigns have helped create an environment in which employees feel more inclined to join unions," he says.

"In addition, unions have been organising better and making themselves more attractive in the workplace. The highly successful Fair Pay campaign by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation is an excellent example of this."

The bulk of the increase in union membership continues to be in established unions affiliated with the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (CTU). Membership of CTU-affiliated unions has risen by 13,000.

Strong labour force growth and high levels of natural attrition continue to present a challenge to unions, which need to be continually recruiting just to stand still. As a mark of their success, union density - now 21.1 percent, has hovered between 21 and 22 percent since 1998.

The Industrial Relations Centre will be publishing the data in its Unions & Union Membership in New Zealand: Annual Review for 2004 working paper.

For further information please contact Professor George Lafferty 04-463-6923 (work) 06-308-8167 (ah).
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   *
Director, IWS News Bureau                *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School                        *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             *
New York, NY 10016                        *
                                            *
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                *
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  *
****************************************