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It’s all about workers’ rights in today’s newsletter, as rising living costs spur a growing chorus of demands from around the world for better pay and conditions.
In the United States, President Joe Biden's administration seeks to end a two-year long contract negotiation stalemate with railway workers, providing them with annual wage increases of between 4% and 7% through 2024. Workers at an Amazon warehouse near Albany, New York, meanwhile are seeking to unionize.
Elsewhere, the main food delivery platforms in Singapore are forming an association to draft welfare guidelines for gig workers. And Britain faces months of disruption as workers across the economy resort to strike action in disputes over low wages and poor working conditions.
According to a report seen by Reuters, Biden’s emergency board tasked with helping major freight railroads and unions also recommended a 3% retroactive increase for 2020 and 3.5% for 2021, when the rail workers did not have a contract, along with five $1,000 annual bonuses and an additional paid day off. The over two-year talks have finally ended between major freight railroads, including Union Pacific, Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF, CSX, and unions representing 115,000 workers.
The Amazon Labor Union - the same independent group that organized a historic union win at another warehouse on New York's Staten Island in April - petitioned the federal labor board to hold an election at the warehouse near Albany and represent about 400 workers. Employees at dozens of Amazon warehouses across the United States are considering joining unions as the online retailer faces claims that it prioritizes profit over worker safety and has unlawfully discouraged union organizing.
Asked for comment on the Albany area warehouse, Amazon spokesperson Paul Flanagan said: “Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union. They always have. As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees. Our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work.”
Over in Singapore, Grab Holdings, Delivery Hero's, Foodpanda and Deliveroo, have formed the Digital Platforms Industry Association to draft industry guidelines for the welfare of their workers. The new association will develop a code of practice to improve health and safety standards of their delivery riders and merchants.
In Britain, over 12 industries are organizing – or threatening to organize – strike action later this month over the cost-of-living and energy crisis as inflation hit 10.01% in July, the highest since February 1982, whilst a cap on domestic energy prices is expected to rise by 70% in October. Railroad workers, lawyers, teachers, nurses and doctors are some of the many workers seeking to strike over their salaries as surging food costs intensified a squeeze on household budgets. | | | | | |  | | | | A view of the Qiansimen bridge that runs over the partially dried-up riverbed of the Jialing river, a tributary of the Yangtze, that is approaching record low water levels in Chongqing, China, August 18, 2022. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Thomas Peter | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rebecca McDonald, chief economist at UK charity, Joseph Rowntree Foundation | | | | “Inflation, which has risen to 10.1%, is eating away at people’s pay and leaving millions adrift in a cost of living crisis. No one can disagree that this is a national emergency. People are looking for a sign that help is on the way. Yet the government doesn’t seem to have grasped the full scale and urgency of this situation.
"Energy bills for low-income households are expected to be £1,800 ($2172.76) higher this year than last, and other costs such as food are expected to rise by £1,000 at the same period.
“It’s not just rising energy bills that are squeezing low-income families. Food prices have risen by 12.6% over the last year. So while yesterday’s double digit analysis may come as a shock, it’s no surprise to people who can’t afford the same essentials they could a year ago.
“Planning for a substantial support package, at least double what’s been offered, needs to start immediately. Without one, vulnerable people will face a catastrophe on a vast scale when winter sets in.” | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | How do you like Sustainable Switch? Take a quick survey to let us know! | | | | We're always working to make sure our newsletters meet your expectations. Please take two minutes to answer eight questions that will help us make improvements. | | | | Take the Survey | | | | | | | | | | | | | | U.N. secretary general Antonio Guterres has appointed Simon Stiell as the new executive secretary of the organization's climate change secretariat. Stiell's appointment has been endorsed by the U.N. framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC). He replaces Patricia Espinosa, who took on the role in 2016 and finished her second three-year term in July. Stiell was a government minister in Grenada from March 2013 to June 2022, including holding the role of minister for climate resilience and environment.
James Purcell has joined global investment bank Credit Suisse as head of sustainability frameworks within global sustainability. He will join the global sustainability management committee, the bank’s sustainability leadership committee, and will co-head the Center for Sustainability. Purcell has more than 14 years’ experience in financial services, having most recently served as group head of sustainable, thematic and impact investments at wealth manager Quintet Private Bank. Prior to that, he served in a number of senior roles at UBS Wealth Management. | | | | Alex Bibani joins German multinational financial services firm Allianz Global Investors’ (Allianz GI) Thematic Equity team. Based in London, he will focus on managing thematic equity strategies aligned with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and broader sustainability strategies. He joins AllianzGI from Sarasin & Partners, where he has managed a range of ESG & sustainability-focused global equity funds for institutional clients since October 2015. Previous positions include IFM Investors and Ratio Asset Management, where he started his professional career as a European small & mid-cap analyst in 2006.
U.S-based gold mining company Newmont Corporation has hired Peter Toth as chief strategy and sustainability officer and executive vice president, strategic development. Toth, a 25-year veteran of the industry, has led the development of Rio Tinto’s 10-year climate strategy. Its current chief sustainability & external affairs officer Stephen Gottesfeld will be retiring after 25 years of service to the company. | | | | | | | | “There was no difference to using our gas when it contained hydrogen. I am the sheltered scheme officer for some housing in the pilot area and everyone here was enthusiastic about doing their bit to reverse the effects of climate change and agreed that it was great that our small village in the North East was chosen for such a ground-breaking pilot.” | | | | Biba Thompson, Winlaton, Gateshead, UK. Winlaton became first UK community to receive hydrogen blended with natural gas via the public natural gas network | | | | | | | • | Read our Reuters report tomorrow about the Belgian energy cooperatives which have seen a spike in demand from people looking for cheap and stable supplies of electricity and heating, investment in renewables and advice on insulating their homes amid an acute energy crunch combined with intensifying signs of climate change. | | | | | • | German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to answer Hamburg parliamentarians' questions on the ‘Cum-Ex’ dividends affair on Friday. | | | | | • | Tune in to our Reuters Newsmaker event on Aug. 25 featuring Tuvalu Minister for Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs Simon Kofe, who’ll be discussing how Tuvalu is coping with being at the frontline of both climate change and rising geopolitical tensions in the South Pacific. | | | | | • | A Dutch government adviser will publish a report on Sept. 7 on the prospects for building two new nuclear reactors in the Netherlands, as part of the country's energy transition. | | | | | | | | | We think you may like these: | | |
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