https://sagire.online/topic/labor/ Rolling analysis and coverage of geopolitics, energy, security and supply chains. en Thu, 05 Nov 2026 02:48:00 -0300 https://sagire.online/wire/20d91a5a/https://sagire.online/wire/20d91a5a/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 09:22:00 -0300Bangladesh’s garment wage board, set up by the government on Sunday, agreed to raise workers’ pay, without specifying the size of the increase. Workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka (about $240), a 140 percent increase on the current 12,500 taka, citing rising food, housing, transport and healthcare costs in a country with eight percent inflation. Babul Akter, the workers’ representative on the board, said the board will conclude its work by December so that revised salaries can be paid in January, and that the factory owners’ representative agreed on this point. Protests continued on Wednesday morning in industrial hubs including Gazipur, Mirpur, Narayanganj and Savar, with reports of factories being vandalized. According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the unrest has forced 529 garment factories to shut down and left 987,190 workers out of work.BangladeshLaborProtestsSouth Asia https://sagire.online/wire/6070883c/https://sagire.online/wire/6070883c/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 08:21:00 -0300Paramilitary forces were deployed to Gazipur and Narayanganj, where garment workers demanding a 30,000-taka minimum wage are staying on the streets for a fourth day, with 58 police officers injured, according to police and to Agence France-Presse (AFP), in a text republished by The Hindu. The protests continue despite the government's announcement of a board to review the minimum wage.BangladeshLaborProtests https://sagire.online/wire/16f46e51/https://sagire.online/wire/16f46e51/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 07:22:00 -0300German auto supplier Schaeffler will cut 3,460 jobs and close five sites in Europe, the company said on Tuesday, citing weakening demand for combustion-engine vehicles, slower-than-expected electric-vehicle adoption and intense competition. The cuts affect 16 sites, including four plants in Germany and one in Belgium, with about 2,660 jobs eliminated in Germany by 2028, roughly 9% of the company's core German workforce. Schaeffler expects annual savings of about 300 million euros by 2030, with one-off costs of roughly 480 million euros, most of which will be booked in 2026.GermanyEconomyLaborBelgium https://sagire.online/wire/0699f934/https://sagire.online/wire/0699f934/Mon, 02 Nov 2026 08:22:00 -0300Bangladesh’s garment factories reopened on Monday, November 2, 2026, after widespread closures and production disruptions a day earlier, and manufacturers remain concerned about further unrest over workers’ demands for higher wages. Workers are asking for a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka ($243), up from 12,500 taka, according to Reuters, in a text republished by WHTC.BangladeshLaborProtestsEconomy https://sagire.online/wire/a3af918a/https://sagire.online/wire/a3af918a/Sun, 01 Nov 2026 12:23:00 -0300Bangladesh formed a new board on Sunday, November 1, 2026, to review the minimum wage for garment workers as authorities sought to quell protests that have disrupted key industrial hubs around Dhaka, according to The Hindu. Despite the announcement, thousands of workers demanding higher wages continued protesting around the capital, Dhaka, and clashes were reported with police, who fired tear gas and sound grenades, according to Al Jazeera.BangladeshLaborProtests https://sagire.online/wire/614683ce/https://sagire.online/wire/614683ce/Sun, 01 Nov 2026 11:22:00 -0300Garment factory workers in Dhaka and Gazipur protested on Sunday for better wages and blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway to demand a monthly minimum wage of 30,000 takas, according to the Hindustan Times. In Dhaka’s Mirpur area, protesters torched a police vehicle after a clash with police, and at least 80 factories were shut in the two cities during the unrest, according to Prothom Alo, cited by the Hindustan Times. Nineteen people were detained in Dhaka in connection with the violence, according to the Daily Star, also cited by the Indian newspaper.BangladeshLaborProtestsSouth Asia https://sagire.online/wire/acf0274e/https://sagire.online/wire/acf0274e/Sun, 01 Nov 2026 07:21:00 -0300Tens of thousands of people protested in more than 50 cities across Italy on Friday, October 30, 2026, against soaring living costs and the poor state of public services such as healthcare and education, CNN reported. The nationwide general strike, called by the anti-capitalist union Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), brought together teachers and workers from the agricultural and healthcare sectors, among others, and farmers dumped manure on the streets of Turin. The largest rallies took place in Milan, Turin and Rome, where young and old criticized Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing government.ItalyEuropeProtestsLabor https://sagire.online/wire/f0731724/https://sagire.online/wire/f0731724/Sun, 01 Nov 2026 01:23:00 -0300Bangladesh will set up a wage board on Sunday to review garment workers’ pay after protests shut dozens of factories and triggered clashes with police, Reuters reported. Workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka ($245), more than double the current 12,500 taka.BangladeshLaborSouth Asia https://sagire.online/wire/4d6aea57/https://sagire.online/wire/4d6aea57/Sat, 31 Oct 2026 17:23:00 -0300China’s State Council ruled that artificial intelligence application projects in the area of market access with a possible significant impact on employment must undergo an employment risk assessment during review, according to the text published by the Chinese government. The guidelines also urge employers to notify employees affected by automation in advance and provide support for training, redeployment and other employment transitions, according to IBTimes. The country created 10.52 million new urban jobs in the first nine months of 2026, 87.7 percent of the annual target, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged 5.2 percent in the first eight months, according to figures released at Saturday’s press conference.ChinaLaborArtificial intelligenceTechnologyEconomy https://sagire.online/wire/263471d6/https://sagire.online/wire/263471d6/Sat, 31 Oct 2026 07:22:00 -0300IG Metall, Germany's largest industrial union, announced on Saturday nationwide warning strikes in the metal and electrical sectors after rejecting the employers' wage offer, a move affecting about 3.7 million workers, according to TRT World. The first work stoppages are scheduled to begin overnight into Sunday. The employers' proposal includes a permanent 1.3 percent increase starting in July 2028 under a 26-month agreement, according to the outlet.GermanyLaborEconomy https://sagire.online/wire/7982d3bd/https://sagire.online/wire/7982d3bd/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 18:23:00 -0300Dockworkers in 22 countries went on strike on Friday against the war and the use of ports for arms exports, an action organizers say could disrupt more than 40% of Mediterranean cargo and over $2 billion worth of freight, according to Reuters. The strike was originally called by unions in Italy, France, Greece, Spain's Basque Country, Turkey and Morocco and now has the backing of more than 25 unions in 113 ports. Protesters at more than 100 ports in 22 countries called on dock workers to disrupt arms shipments to Israel, according to Middle East Eye.LaborIsraelTradeEurope https://sagire.online/wire/2a657bd3/https://sagire.online/wire/2a657bd3/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 18:23:00 -0300Tens of thousands of people, mostly students and workers, took to the streets across Italy on Friday to demand higher wages and stronger public services, protest against the rising cost of living and oppose increased military spending, according to Reuters, in an article republished by U.S. News. In Genoa, around 15,000 port workers, students and other demonstrators entered the port, joining similar protests in Europe and elsewhere against the use of ports for arms shipments.ItalyProtestsEuropeLaborEconomyDefense https://sagire.online/wire/b95f8f4f/https://sagire.online/wire/b95f8f4f/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 17:22:00 -0300The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) voted in support of a resolution calling on workers to refuse to handle weapons and military equipment destined for Israel, the union said. The union also calls on the Government of Canada to end all direct and indirect transfers of arms and military equipment to Israel. Canada’s central labor union says workers will not handle military cargo going to Israel, according to the Middle East Eye.CanadaIsraelLaborHuman rights https://sagire.online/wire/4f0e3ade/https://sagire.online/wire/4f0e3ade/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 10:23:00 -0300Thousands of students and workers took to the streets across Italy on Friday to demand more school funding and relief from the cost of living, with a heavy police presence to avert possible clashes, according to the Times of Israel. Marches were held in dozens of cities, including Bologna, Genoa, Naples and Turin, where a few minor skirmishes between protesters and riot police occurred at the start of the protest.ItalyEuropeProtestsEconomyLabor https://sagire.online/wire/a09c71e3/https://sagire.online/wire/a09c71e3/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 08:22:00 -0300More than 25 dockworkers’ unions across at least 110 ports in 22 countries went on strike on Friday (October 30), according to Al Jazeera. The stoppage is part of an international campaign against arms shipments and for better working conditions, the unions said. Unions in France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Turkey and Morocco issued a joint call for an end to the wars in the Middle East, including the war in Gaza.LaborProtestsMiddle EastConflict