strike

Definition
A work stoppage undertaken in support of a bargaining position or in protest of some aspect of a previous agreement or proposed agreement between labor and management.

Greek officials strike over cuts

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Greek tax officials demonstrate against cuts in Athens<p

Customs officials and tax inspectors in Greece are holding a two-day strike to protest against government austerity measures, including wage cuts. The strike is disrupting Greece's import market, with lines of trucks being held at the country's borders. The austerity measures have been introduced to try and tackle Greece's huge budget deficit and national debt. The EU approved the plan on Wednesday, but insisted on inspecting Greece's notoriously unreliable accounts. Part of the government's plan relies on tax collectors recovering billions of euros lost to tax evasion. The BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens says the tax inspectors are the

most feared people in Greece, with the power to descend on any business without warning and go through the books. They have a vital role in Greece's economic recovery, which is contingent on clawing Threat to euro On Tuesday, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced a public sector salary freeze, a higher Other measures already announced include the nonreplacement of departing civil servants and the tax crackdown. Greece is one of several EU countries struggling with a gaping deficit and heavy debt,
Greeks respond to tough measures

Greece has been the black sheep of Europe. We need to change

preventing them from spending their way out of recession. Greece's deficit is, at 12.7%, more than four times higher than eurozone rules allow. Its debt is about 300bn euros ($419bn, 259bn). The possibility of Greece or one of the other stricken countries being unable to pay its debts - and either needing an EU bailout or being forced to abandon the euro - has been called the biggest threat yet to the single currency. But union members complain that the Greek government has bowed to the markets and pressure from the EU. Farmers have already been protesting for weeks, demanding more government assistance. Civil servants are planning a strike next week and the country's biggest union, GSEE, voted on Thursday to hold a mass walk-out on 24 February. Are you in Greece? What is your reaction to the planned austerity measures? Do you support the programme? Do you work in the public sector? Will the cuts affect you? You can send us your views using the form below: A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. LOCKOUT:

Definition
Industrial action during which an employer withholds work, and denies employees access to the place of work. In effect, it is a strike by the management to compel a settlement to a labor dispute on terms favorable to the employer. When lock out action is taken by several employers in concert, it is called a joint lockout. Also called shut out.
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2011 NFL Lockout: Summary Of Proposal Voted On By Owners

by smileyman on Jul 23, 2011 6:01 AM PDT in NFL Labor Issues

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Dilip Vishwanat - Getty Images I can't wait for the day when I can stop seeing this sight. View full size photo A couple of quick things to clear up about the madness that was yesterday (almost as crazy as the Harbaughcalypse). Initially news broke that the NFLPA reps had been sent an email stating that no work was going to be done over the weekend and they wouldn't meet again until Monday. This got

many fans riled up, until clarification was issued saying that the players and the owners are still meeting and will continue to meet through the weekend. According to Jason LaConfora of the NFL Network Clearing up some stuff from earlier - was a false report about the nature of an alleged email from the NFLPA to player reps that quickly Spread to the point where reps and players believed it to be true, including several I spoke to. Turned out to be erroneous and the NFLPA...In fact sent out nothing. PA got word to players it was not true and there is no conference call or meeting set for Monday. George Atallah of the NFLPA told me "there is no timetable" for any conference or vote and lawyers continue to work out remaining issues As Chris Mortensen pointed out on his Twitter feed: There's never been a 10-year agreement that I can remember. And, again, no loss of NFL games since 1987. The lesson to be learned from this? Just like with the whole Harbaugh thing take everything you read and see with several grains of salt and be patient with the process. There's been incredibly significant progress on this thing, and the revenue split has been settled, which is by far the most serious thing left. The rest of this stuff is incidental. I've bounced back from my pessimism of earlier in the summer and I fully expect that at most we'll miss 1 pre-season game and no regular season games will be lost. Chris Mortensen sent out a 25 page pdf document summarizing the document that the owners voted on. I know there's been a huge amount of information sent out, but I think this information is both useful and new.

Player's Share of Revenues

All Revenues are considered for cap purposes. From that pool of money 1.5% will be designated for stadium credit to encourage owners to expand and build new stadiums. (This is good news for the 49ers.) Revenue sharing is broken down in the following way: 55% of any tv revenue (by far the lion's share of all revenue), 45% of the NFL Joint Ventures/Post Season Revenues, (The Joint Ventures it the name under which the NFL sells all it's memorabilia), and 40% of the local club revenues (i.e. whatever each team makes via tickets and such) The players won't make more than 48.5% of total revenues or less than 47% League wide spending must be at least 99% of the cap in 2011 and 2012 The rest of the CBA mandates league wide minimum spending of 95% Individually each team must spend a minimum of 89% over a four year average. (I'm not sure how this is actually going to work in practice. Does this mean one team can spend at 89% for four years, thus screwing over the rest of the teams?) Salary cap is set at $120.75 million An additional $3 million in cap space is created by designated 3 players with at least 5 accrued seasons. Same rule for 2012 but with players with salaries of up to $500,000

Minimum Spending Requirements

2011 Transition

No performance based bay in 2011 with money going to cap instead Workout and roster bonuses will still be paid Total rookie compensation in 2011 of 874 million. This number to increase as the cap increases. First year rookie compensation of no more than $159 million, which will increase as the cap increases. Contract length of 4 years with an optional 5th for first round players, 4 years for rounds 2-7, and 3 years for UDFA. Rounds 3-7 get performance bonuses in their 4th year based on playing time 5th year escalator for first round picks will be based on the overall compensation of the players at their position. Picks 1-10 will get an average of the top 10 salaries, 11-32 will get an average of the 3rd through 25th players. This 5th year option has to be exercised in the 3rd year of the deal. There's no limit on the amount of guaranteed money given to a rookie, but the money can't skip years (i.e. guaranteed money in 1st and 3rd years) 9 weeks only for off-season First phase is two weeks and is only conditioning--no coaches allowed. Second phase is three weeks where individual drills and "perfect play" drills are allowed. No offense vs defense. Phase three is four weeks. Three OTAs in the first two weeks, 4 in the 3rd or 4th week, with the other week being minicamp. Fines: Coaches--$100k for first violation, $250k for 2nd. Teams--$250k for 1st violation, $500k for 2nd, plus loss of workout time. Minicamps--3 1/2 hour maximum on field time during practices Pre-season--4 hour practice maximum. Only one padded practice per day, which is limited to 3 hours. Regular/Post-Season--14 total padded practices. 11 to be held in the first 11 weeks, remaining 3 last six weeks. One padded practice per week during post-season. 3 hour limits to padded practices. Bye weeks--players get 5 consecutive days off If a player is injured their salary is guaranteed for up to $3 million per year for the 2nd and 3rd year after injury Minimum salary has increased by $55,000 Disputes to be heard by a 3 person appeals panel, at least one of which will be a former judge. Three year statue of limitations. $620 million to go to former players. Owners will pay for 51% of that, players will pay for 49% out of their share of revenue

Rookie Compensation

Workouts (This is where things really start changing.)

Miscellaneous

Brady vs. NFL: A court case no more Aug 26, 1:54 pm EDT

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)The legal fight between the NFL and its players is officially over. U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson in St. Paul, Minn., issued an order Friday that formally dismissed the antitrust lawsuit brought against the league on March 11 by a group of players headlined by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady(notes). The lockout began the next day and lasted 4 1/2 months. The new collective bargaining agreement was signed on Aug. 5. Nelson wrote Friday that the owners and the players have at all times acted with the utmost integrity and in the best interests of football.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft (L) is hugged by the Colts' Jeff Saturday at Monday's news conference. (AP) The regular season starts on Sept. 8 when the defending champion Green Bay Packers host the New Orleans Saints.

layoff
Definition
Suspension or termination of employment (with or without notice) by the employer or management. Layoffs are not caused by any fault of the employees but by reasons such as lack of work, cash, or material. Permanent layoff is called redundancy.

Cisco's Coming Layoffs Will Be Huge, Analysts Predict

May 13, 2011 at 5:30 am PT

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The layoffs expected at networking giant Cisco Systems before July is over are predicted to number in the thousands and could easily eclipse the 2,000-job cut the company took in 2002, according to four analysts surveyed by Reuters. Cisco COO Gary Moore confirmed on a conference call with analysts Wednesday that job cuts are coming, and CEO John Chambers made repeated references to plans for Cisco to exit businesses where it is not already a number 1 or number 2 player in the marketplace and to take $1 billion out of annual operating expenses. During the conference call, CFO Frank Calderoni said that Ciscos headcount as of the close of the quarter was 73,408 and that 40 percent of that number constituted jobs added through acquisitions of other companies. The four analysts that Reuters asked said the company could cut up to 4,000 jobs, with an average forecast of 3,000. That would amount to 4 or 5 percent of Ciscos workforce. That number could be mitigated a bit by the early retirement program that Cisco has initiated. Chambers mentioned it a few times during the conference call, and as yet its unknown how many Cisco employees will take advantage of it. Calderoni said to expect a one-time charge in Q4the current quarterranging from $500 million to $1.1 billion depending on how many employees decide to jump. They have several more weeks to decide. Weve already seen a lot of early departures within the ranks of its upper management. And given its 26-year history, there are probably many people who are in a place where they can double dip, taking a severance or retirement package from Cisco and then move straight into another job. Analysts have been all over the map in their critique of Ciscos attempt to turn things around. Generally theyre positive on the resolve of Chambers and the rest of his team to cut back on operating expenses and exit businesses that Cisco cant dominate, but that leads to bigger long term questions. Will the cuts be enough? And will Cisco be able to properly defend its traditional turf in the

networking businesses from persistent attack by Juniper Networks, and other upstart players like F5 and Hewlett-Packard, which has been winning new accounts by offering a 20 percent discount to customers who trade in old Cisco gear. While its never a good time to lose ones job, the timing could certainly be worse. Hiring at tech companies, especially in and around Silicon Valley, is surging both at established companies like LinkedIn and at start-ups. A recent survey by Silicon Valley Bank found that 83 percent of start-ups expect to add jobs during the year. Time at an industry titan like Cisco has to count for something.

retrenchment
Definition
Forced lay-off of employees by a firm, usually to cut down its payroll.

Retrenchment wave hits South Africa - 310 000 jobs on the line
uploaded by anamika.mis15 December 9, 2008 at 03:03 am 1760 views | 1 comment | 1 recommendation

"If you have a job, cling onto it for dear life and don't let go" seems to be today's motto in South Africa. According to a new report by the labour union Solidarity, about 310 000 workers in the Africa's economic powerhouse face retrenchment. According to Solidarity's figures, 32 companies were already retrenching about 22 000 employees. This is among other a result of the global economic crisis. The hardest-hit sectors in South Africa are were mining and manufacturing industries. It is expected that about 13 000 mining jobs will be shed over the next couple of months. The current developments will have a tremendous impact on South Africa's unemployment rate. In the second quarter of this year, the rate stood at 23 percent. As a result of the mass retrenchments, unemployment is expected to climb to 25 percent in the first three months of next year. In addition, the developments will not only have an impact on those who lost their jobs. "Every employee supports between seven and 11 dependants, it means that between 150 000 and 200 000 people will be affected by the retrenchments," said the union in a media release.

Continue reading at NowPublic.com: Retrenchment wave hits South Africa - 310 000 jobs on the line | NowPublic Photo Archives http://www.nowpublic.com/world/retrenchment-wave-hits-south-africa-310-000jobs-line-0#ixzz1WQ2Iflea

closure

(kl zh r) n. 1. The act of closing or the state of being closed: closure of an incision. 2. Something that closes or shuts. 3. a. A bringing to an end; a conclusion: finally brought the project to closure. b. A feeling of finality or resolution, especially after a traumatic experience. 4. See cloture. 5. The property of being mathematically closed. tr.v. closured, closuring, closures To cloture (a debate).

Protests Force Chemical Plant Closure In China

Environment: Authorities to shut independent aromatics producer

Jean-Franois Tremblay

Lu Hai/Featurechina/Newscom

Citizens gather to demand the relocation of a chemical plant after a pollution scare in Dalian, China. Email this article to a friend Print this article Email the editor Share... Share on Facebook Tweet This Story Save To del.icio.us Digg This Story Save to Reddit Stumble it

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Topics Covered

Dalian, p-xylene, petrochemical, China

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August 29, 2011

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Municipal authorities in Dalian, a city in northeast China, have ordered the closure of a recently built p-xylene plant after protests by local residents. The protests erupted a few days after waves from a tropical storm nearly swept through the facility, raising fears of an environmental disaster. In an Aug. 17 statement, the municipal government of Dalian said work to permanently close the p-xylene plant has already begun. The statement quotes the citys mayor as saying that the safety of local citizens is paramount. The $1.5 billion plant belongs to Dalian-based Fujia Group. The company says the facility can produce up to 700,000 metric tons per year of p-xylene, a key raw material in polyester production. The plant, located about 20 miles from Dalians center, started operating in June 2009. Earlier this month, about 1,000 firefighters and Chinese army troops frantically worked to rebuild a dike around the plant after waves from tropical storm Muifa breached the barrier, Chinese state media reported. This close call with an environmental mishap prompted thousands of Dalian residents to take to the streets and demand the immediate closure of the plant. Authorities in China are keen to prevent civil disturbances, says David S. Jiang, president of Sinodata Consulting, a Beijing-based chemical market research firm. Jiang, who has no firsthand knowledge of the Fujia case, says he expects intense negotiations over financial compensation will now take place between Fujia and the Dalian government. Dalian [officials] authorized this plant, he says.

Chinese newspapers have reported that the Fujia plant will be relocated, although Jiang says such an operation would be extremely costly. The Dalian protests are not without precedent in China. In 2007, middle-class protesters in the southern city of Xiamen prevented the construction of a p-xylene plant near the city center.
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