China Labor Watch reports more labor violatio... - Taiwan News

File photo (By Associated Press)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The labor rights group China Labor Watch (CLW) published a report on Sunday (Sept. 8) detailing labor violations at a Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou that manufactures products for the Apple corporation.

The facility is called “iPhone City” and is reportedly the largest iPhone factory in the world, supplying half of the iPhones sold worldwide. CLW conducted an investigation of labor conditions at the factory over a four year period and found that Foxconn and Apple are responsible for some significant abuses of the Chinese laborers.

According to the CLW report, the factory has used dispatch workers as well as student workers in excess of the legal limit to ensure orders are met during peak season. The company has also allegedly withheld promised bonuses and made use of overtime work opportunities in an illegal reward/ punishment scheme as a means to entice employees into recruiting new workers.

The report says that Foxconn has become increasingly reliant on dispatch labor to make up for a diminished labor force. The Zhengzhou factory workforce is made up of nearly 50 percent dispatch laborers. The report also accuses the Apple Corporation of transferring its increasing costs as a result of the U.S. –China trade war onto the factory laborers in China. From the report’s Executive Summary:

“Recent findings on working conditions at Zhengzhou Foxconn highlights several issues which are in violation of Apple’s own code of conduct. Apple has the responsibility and capacity to make fundamental improvements to the working conditions along its supply chain, however, Apple is now transferring costs from the trade war through their suppliers to workers and profiting from the exploitation of Chinese workers.”

Foxconn was recently criticized by CLW for labor rights violations at a factory in Hengyang, China which manufactures products for Amazon. A list of reported labor rights violations perpetrated by managers at the Zhengzhou factory and the Apple Corporation, along with the complete report, can be found at China Labor Watch’s website.

Update: Foxconn and Apple have reportedly acknowledged some of the violations outlined by CLW.

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https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3773307

2019-09-09 07:48:00Z
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Nearly all British Airways flights canceled as pilots go on strike - CNN

The strike was called for by the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) amid a heated dispute over pay with the airline.

BALPA said Sunday on Twitter that it put forward a proposal to the carrier's management Wednesday, but had yet to receive a reply.

British Airways said in a statement posted Monday it remains "ready and willing to return to talks with BALPA."

The airline said it was forced to cancel so many flights because "with no detail from BALPA on which pilots would strike, we had no way of predicting how many would come to work or which aircraft they are qualified to fly."

Customers who had flights booked for Monday and Tuesday will likely "not be able to travel as planned," British Airways said. The airline also advised customers not to go to the airport.

Members of the pilots union voted 93% in favor of a strike in July. BALPA said last week that it would be willing to call it off if British Airways returned to the negotiating table.

According to its website, BALPA represents more than 10,000 pilots in the United Kingdom — more than 85% of all commercial pilots who fly there.

The pilot's union also intends to strike September 27. British Airways said Monday that it will be in contact "in the next few weeks" to let customers who are traveling on or around that date know if they are affected.

While the union is calling for higher wages, British Airways has said its offer of an 11.5% increase over three years "fair" and above the United Kingdom's current rate of inflation. In a statement released last month, it said the strike could "destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of our customers." It called the strike "a reckless course of action."

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/09/business/ba-british-airways-strike-intl-hnk/index.html

2019-09-09 07:41:00Z
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Nearly all British Airways flights canceled as pilots go on strike - CNN

The strike was called for by the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) amid a heated dispute over pay with the airline.

BALPA said Sunday on Twitter that it put forward a proposal to the carrier's management Wednesday, but had yet to receive a reply.

British Airways said in a statement posted Monday it remains "ready and willing to return to talks with BALPA."

The airline said it was forced to cancel so many flights because "with no detail from BALPA on which pilots would strike, we had no way of predicting how many would come to work or which aircraft they are qualified to fly."

Customers who had flights booked for Monday and Tuesday will likely "not be able to travel as planned," British Airways said. The airline also advised customers not to go to the airport.

Members of the pilots union voted 93% in favor of a strike in July. BALPA said last week that it would be willing to call it off if British Airways returned to the negotiating table.

According to its website, BALPA represents more than 10,000 pilots in the United Kingdom — more than 85% of all commercial pilots who fly there.

The pilot's union also intends to strike September 27. British Airways said Monday that it will be in contact "in the next few weeks" to let customers who are traveling on or around that date know if they are affected.

While the union is calling for higher wages, British Airways has said its offer of an 11.5% increase over three years "fair" and above the United Kingdom's current rate of inflation. In a statement released last month, it said the strike could "destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of our customers." It called the strike "a reckless course of action."

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/09/business/ba-british-airways-strike-intl-hnk/index.html

2019-09-09 06:48:00Z
CAIiEHTebVk5io7S0PnUub7u8mcqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowocv1CjCSptoCMPrTpgU

Twice laid off due to sawmill closures, B.C. worker ready for new career - CBC.ca

Oil rises as Saudi Arabia signals OPEC cuts to continue under new energy minister - CNBC

Jerome Favre | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Oil rose on Monday on expectations that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, will continue to support output cuts by OPEC and other producers to prop up prices under new Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

Prices climbed for a fourth day and were also supported by comments from the United Arab Emirates' energy minister that OPEC and its allies are committed to balancing the crude market.

Global benchmark Brent was up 53 cents, or 0.9%, at $62.07 a barrel by 0425 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 57 cents, or 1%, higher at $57.09 a barrel.

Salman, a long-time member of the Saudi delegation to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was named to the position on Sunday, replacing Khalid al-Falih. He is the son of Saudi King Salman and this is the first time the energy portfolio has been handed to a member of the royal family.

He helped to negotiate the current agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC countries including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, to cut global crude supply to support prices and balance the market.

A Saudi official said on Sunday that there would be no shift in Saudi and OPEC policy on the cuts and that Prince Abdulaziz would work to strengthen OPEC and non-OPEC cooperation.  

"The change at the top doesn't necessarily mean a shift in policy as much as it's being viewed as a move to improve relations within OPEC and with non-OPEC producers in the wake of the latest Russian compliance fissures," said Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific market strategist at Axi Trader.

Russia's oil output in August exceeded its quota under the OPEC+ agreements.

UAE's Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Sunday that members of OPEC and non-OPEC producers are "committed" to achieving oil market balance.  

Asked about possible deeper production cuts, the minister told a news conference in Abu Dhabi that he was not concerned about current oil prices, rather the level of oil inventories.

Trade and geopolitical tensions are affecting the market more than demand and supply, Mazrouei said, but he was quick to rule out hasty steps influenced by the trade war between the United States and China.

"The fear of slower (oil) demand is only going to happen if that tension is escalating and I am personally hopeful that is not the case," Mazrouei told Reuters on Sunday.

Prices on Monday were also supported by a rise in oil imports in China in August, with shipments to the world's biggest importer up 3% from July and nearly 10% higher in the first eight months of 2019 from a year earlier.

"With (refinery) maintenance season wrapping up, oil imports stayed buoyant. Attractive profit margins continues to favour higher imports; despite the industry burdened by higher products inventories," ANZ Research said in a note.

In the U.S., drilling companies cut the number of operating oil rigs for a third week in a row last week.

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September 09, 2019 at 08:20AM

Nissan boss set to resign after bonus overpayments - The Times

This is the new Ferrari F8 Spider - Top Gear

What the Ferrari F8 Tributo does, rather cleverly, is fuse the feral 711bhp twin-turbo V8 engine of the Ferrari 488 Pista with an updated version of the 488 GTB’s more comfortable chassis.

And now, you can combine those ingredients with a whole load more headroom. Because, like the 458 Spider and 488 Spider before it, the F8 has swapped its fixed-in-place roof for an electrically retractable one. This, predictably, is the Ferrari F8 Spider.

It’s 20kg lighter than the old 488 Spider, not to mention 50bhp more powerful, but it’s also almost 40kg heavier than the McLaren 720S Spider. The McLaren is built around a carbon tub too, whereas Ferrari prefers a metal chassis for its V8 supercar. So, the 720S needs no stiffening when it goes topless. And the Ferrari ends up just the wrong side of 1500kg.

Still, it’s hardly hardy. North of 700 horsepower means it’ll canter past 62mph in 2.9 seconds. 0-124mph takes 8.2 seconds. And the top speed is 211mph. So no, not a slow car. It’ll keep up with a 720S just fine.

As usual, Ferrari says it’s reworked all the aerodynamic bits and bobs to keep the cabin free of gale-force winds while preserving the correct cooling demands and downforce priorities of the bodywork. The roof motors away in 24 seconds and so long as you’re not above 28 miles an hour, that’ll happen on the move too.

It’ll cost around £210,000, before many carbon fibre lightweight options have been selected. And you’ll need them, plus a suitably eye-catching cabin leather hue. This is a cabrio after all – you’ve got to make the cockpit spec a winner. Keep an eye on the configurator…

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September 09, 2019 at 05:01AM