This
week’s international news.
US-based
Cisco Systems has put a temporary freeze on recruiting staff, a sign that the
US economy’s slowdown is hitting businesses. In contrast, Cisco nearly tripled
its workforce in the past two years, adding 30,000 employees worldwide. John
Chambers, chief executive of the manufacturer of switches and routers to direct
traffic for telecoms and Internet providers, admitted a temporary recruitment
freeze has been in place since the beginning of the year. http://www.cisco.com/
Police
smash into car firm to break up staff sit-in
Thousands
of police stormed bankrupt Korean car giant Daewoo’s main plant, ending a
four-day sit-in by 300 workers. Officers used excavators to demolish the gate
after clashing with staff, who hurled firebombs before fleeing inside the
Bupyong factory, near the South Korean capital Seoul. Unions were protesting at
Daewoo’s decision to issue 1,700 redundancy notices. A Korean court ordered the
firm to cut 12,800 jobs worldwide after it collapsed with debts of £55bn. http://www.daewoo.com/
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Nike
‘disturbed’ by allegations at factories
A
survey into conditions at Indonesian contract factories used by sports clothing
company Nike has uncovered allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse.
Interviewees also claim that two employees, in different plants, had died at
work having been denied medical attention. Workers in one factory claimed that
female recruits were encouraged to date managers to ensure promotion. Nike,
which released the report last week, has promised to implement a “remediation
plan” due to the “disturbing” findings.
www.theglobalalliance.com/content/news.cfm
