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By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

Hello!

Happy belated Labor Day! Workers in Europe were out on Monday to protest for better wages and living conditions, most notably in France again, while strike action is also stepping up across the Atlantic with Hollywood studios at the forefront. And check out today’s ESG Spotlight where a Ukrainian farmer has come up with a novel way to remove mines left in his fields after Russia’s invasion.

A union representing American Airlines Group pilots said its members had approved a strike mandate ahead of the busy summer travel season.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents 15,000 American Airlines pilots, held a strike authorization vote in April to put pressure on the Texas-based carrier for higher salary and better working conditions, even as the two sides closed in on an agreement in principle.

The airline’s pilots received their last pay increase in 2019. Despite the vote, it would be hard for pilots to walk off their jobs because of a complex labor process in the United States that makes it difficult for airline workers to strike.

People attend the traditional May Day labor march, mobilisation against the French pension reform law and for social justice, in Nantes, France May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Meanwhile, thousands of film and television writers will go on strike, throwing Hollywood into turmoil as the entertainment business grapples with seismic changes triggered by the global streaming TV boom.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) called its first work stoppage in 15 years after failing to reach an agreement for higher pay from studios such as Walt and Netflix. The last strike lasted 100 days and cost the California economy more than $2 billion.

“The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing,” the WGA said in a statement on its website.

The Guild represents roughly 11,500 writers in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere. Members were scheduled to start picketing outside of Hollywood studios starting Tuesday afternoon.

Over in France, workers took to the streets of Paris and other big cities during trade union-organized protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s increase in the retirement age, as they joined Labor Day rallies across Europe.

Elsewhere, employees of the largest labor union in the Netherlands, FNV, said they will go on strike to force the union itself to pay them higher wages. 

The union workers said their employer had missed a May 1 ultimatum to increase its wage offer for the coming years. They said this would result in a general strike by FNV staff, with more strike action to follow if demands are not met.

And in Italy, the three main unions held a rally in the southern city of Potenza protesting against a labor package approved by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s rightist government.

Then-Barclays’ CEO Jes Staley arrives at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain january 11, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

The global union federation, IndustriALL, shares its thoughts on the week of the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh when more than 1,100 people were killed when an eight-story building housing five garment factories collapsed:

“The tragedy of Rana Plaza served as a turning point for the textile and garment industry as the Bangladesh Accord was created. Unions were able to turn the tragedy into a historic agreement to make garment factories safer.

“The legally binding agreement has transformed factory safety in Bangladesh’ garment industry, given workers the right to refuse unsafe work, saved lives, supported freedom of association and increased collective bargaining. Workers in Accord factories in Bangladesh are undeniably safer 10 years on. They no longer go to work each day, not knowing if they will live or die.

“Towards the end of last year, the Accord was extended to Pakistan. To date, 46 brands have signed the Pakistan Accord.

“But safe factories for garment workers still need to be fought for. More brands need to join the Accord, especially in North America, to gain the leverage needed to make this a truly global Accord.

“Workers who produce the clothes that we wear deserve a workplace that provides them with a living wage and decent working conditions, not a workplace that threatens to take their lives. Help us expand the Accord even further and save lives.” 

Poland’s rejection of last week’s reform of the European carbon market was widely expected as the country is by far the region’s most coal-dependent major economy and stands to see business costs climb under the revamped climate laws.

But as a major supplier of vehicles, electric batteries, machinery, furniture and metals to Germany, France and other European nations, Poland is also a fast-growing and important driver of the overall regional economy.

A remote controlled demining machine, created by local farmer Oleksandr Kryvtsov near the village of Hrakove, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Vitalii Hnidyi

Meet the Ukrainian farmer who has come up with a novel way to demine his fields on today’s ESG Spotlight. Elsewhere, Mercedes has tapped a Formula One team to build more efficient electric vehicles.

Oleksandr Kryvtsov, a general manager at his agricultural company, decided he couldn’t wait for help from overworked official deminers to clear his field after Russia’s invasion. Instead, he kitted out his tractor with protective panels stripped from Russian tanks and operates it by remote control.

After Russian forces were driven back from parts of eastern Ukraine by a Ukrainian counteroffensive last year, mines remained in many fields, making it perilous for farmers to sow grain for the next harvest.

Employees work at the production site of Mercedes Benz Ludwigsfelde GmbH in Ludwigsfelde in the south of Berlin, Germany, April 28, 2023. REUTERS/Christian Mang

Mercedes-Benz has plugged its Formula One team into the engineering process to build vastly more efficient mass-market electric vehicles (EVs), slashing development times by a quarter or more as it jump-starts efforts to keep pace with Tesla.

F1 technology has always eventually bled over into mass-market vehicles. But Mercedes’ F1 collaboration to build more efficient EVs faster is unprecedented because it embeds that racing mindset and technological expertise directly in product development.

“Workers around the world have shown a growing desire to exercise their fundamental labor rights in response to the dual crises of a lingering pandemic and a spike to the cost of living, but too often companies fail to respect their rights to join a union or collectively bargain.”

Lisa Nathan, senior investor engagement advisor at Swiss-based union federation, UNI Global Union 

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