2024-12-22 18:58
Dec 22 (Reuters) - Unifor said on Sunday that its members at Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) , opens new tab have ratified , opens new tab a new four-year collective agreement, averting a potential strike action. Unifor, which represents more than 3,000 members at the railroad's Council 4000 and Local 100 committees, said the agreement includes improvements to wages and benefits as well as job protections for members working in CN terminals and headquarters across Canada. The railroad earlier this month had reached , opens new tab a new tentative four-year collective agreement with the union. "This agreement secures important gains that reflect the critical contributions of Unifor members to CN's operations," Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a statement. CN did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. The ratification comes after Unifor members last month authorized a strike action if the parties failed to reach an agreement by Jan. 1. The union had initiated negotiations with CN Rail in September, with bargaining priorities that included higher wages, addressing concerns about the pension plan and job security for its members. Canada, the world's second-largest country by area, relies heavily on trains to transport a wide range of commodities and goods. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/unifor-members-ratify-new-agreement-with-canadian-national-railway-2024-12-22/
2024-12-22 15:59
MILAN, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Italian state railways Ferrovie dello Stato plans to invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in a photovoltaic plant with an initial 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity that would cover 19% of its energy needs by 2029, the CEO said in a newspaper interview. Chief Executive Stefano Donnarumma told Il Sole 24 Ore on Sunday the project could draw interest from industrial or financial players that develop and run such plants. "We are not interested in running them. But we could sign contracts to use them for a set period, or we could also buy existing plants, maybe with a partner," he said. Asked if there were any contacts with potential co-investors, Donnarumma said the project still had to be refined, but discussions with banks had started to secure financing. Given that energy is not part of Ferrovie's core business, Donnarumma said a likely option was to create a dedicated corporate vehicle to carry out the investment, and potential partners could buy a stake. The idea, he said, would be to double the project's installed capacity to 2.2 GW by 2034 and cover 35-40% of Ferrovie's energy needs by then. ($1 = 0.9589 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/italian-state-railways-plans-13-bln-euro-investment-solar-plant-2024-12-22/
2024-12-22 13:33
KYIV, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Russian forces executed five Ukrainian prisoners of war, Ukraine's Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said on Sunday. Lubinets said on the Telegram messenger app that Russian troops shot the five unarmed soldiers after capturing them. He gave no details, but will report this fact to the UN. "Russian war criminals who shoot Ukrainian prisoners of war should be brought before an international tribunal and punished with the most severe punishment provided for by law," Lubinets said. Russia did not immediately comment on the incident, but has previous denied committing war crimes. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-russian-forces-executed-five-pows-2024-12-22/
2024-12-22 13:09
KYIV, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine's membership of NATO is "achievable", but Kyiv will have to fight to persuade allies to make it happen, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainian diplomats in a speech on Sunday. Ukraine has repeatedly urged NATO to invite Kyiv to become a member. The Western military alliance has said Ukraine will join its ranks one day but has not set a date or issued an invitation. Moscow has cited the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO as one of the principal justifications for its 2022 invasion. Kyiv says membership in the Western alliance's mutual defence pact, or an equivalent form of security guarantee, would be crucial to any peace plan to ensure that Russia does not attack again. "We all understand that Ukraine's invitation to NATO and membership in the alliance can only be a political decision," Zelenskiy told diplomats at a gathering in Kyiv. "Alliance for Ukraine is achievable, but it is achievable only if we fight for this decision at all the necessary levels." Zelenskiy said allies needed to know what Ukraine can bring to NATO and how its membership in the alliance would stabilise global relations. Last week Zelenskiy urged European countries to provide guarantees to protect Ukraine after the war with Russia ends and said Ukraine would ultimately need more protection through membership of the alliance. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-says-ukraines-membership-nato-is-achievable-2024-12-22/
2024-12-22 12:47
Dec 22 (Reuters) - Mozambique's death toll from Cyclone Chido has risen to 94, news agency AFP said on Sunday, citing the country's disaster management agency. The cyclone had made landfall in northern Mozambique a week ago and Mozambique's institute for natural disasters on Thursday had given the death toll at 73. The Indian Ocean archipelago Mayotte bore the brunt of the storm. Officials in Mayotte, which is one of France's poorest overseas territories, have only been able to confirm 35 fatalities from Chido, but some have said they fear thousands could have been killed. Olamide Harrison, the International Monetary Fund's Mozambique resident representative, said on Wednesday that the country's 2024 economic growth is likely to be revised down from a previous forecast of 4.3% due to the impact of the cyclone and post-election civil unrest. In October, Daniel Chapo, the candidate of Mozambique's ruling party Frelimo, was declared winner of the presidential election. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mozambiques-death-toll-cyclone-chido-rises-94-afp-reports-2024-12-22/
2024-12-22 07:06
Union workers demand better pay, more staff, better schedules Strike could reach 'hundreds of stores' by Dec. 24, union says Starbucks says ready to return to bargaining table Dec 21 (Reuters) - (This Dec. 21 story has been corrected to remove the word 'contract', in paragraph 14) Some members of the Starbucks (SBUX.O) , opens new tab workers' union that represents more than 10,000 baristas walked off their jobs in multiple U.S. cities on Friday, citing unresolved issues over wages, staffing and schedules. The five-day strike, which began on Friday and closed Starbucks cafes in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, will expand to Columbus, Denver, and Pittsburgh through Saturday, the union said in a statement. This is the latest in a series of labor actions that have picked up pace across service industries following a period when workers at manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace and rail industries won substantial concessions from employers. At Starbucks, the Workers United union, which represents employees at 525 stores across the U.S., said late on Thursday that walkouts would escalate daily, and could reach "hundreds of stores" nationwide by Christmas Eve. "It's estimated that 10 stores out of 10,000 company-operated stores did not open today," Starbucks said, adding that there was no significant impact to store operations on Friday. Around 20 people joined a picket line at a Starbucks location on Chicago's north side, buffeted by snow and wind, but cheering in response to the honking horns of passing cars. A few confused customers tried to walk into the closed store before strikers began chanting, but union member Shep Searl said the reaction had been mostly positive. Searl said 100% of the unionized workers at the Starbucks location in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood were participating in the strike, and according to the workers, they have been subject to numerous unfair labor practices including write-ups, "captive-audience" meetings and firings. The union member said they made about $21 an hour and added, "that would have been a great wage in 2013." It is an inadequate wage, the baristas said, given inflation and the high cost of living in a large city, especially since they rarely get 40-hour work weeks. WORKERS SNUB OFFER Negotiations between the company and Workers United began in April, based on an established framework agreed upon in February, which could also help resolve numerous pending legal disputes. The company said on Thursday it has held more than nine bargaining sessions with the union since April, and reached more than 30 agreements on "hundreds of topics," including economic issues. The Seattle-headquartered firm said it is ready to continue negotiations, claiming the union delegates prematurely ended the bargaining session this week. The union, however, said in a Facebook post on Friday that Starbucks had yet to present a serious economic proposal with less than two weeks remaining until a year-end deadline. The workers' group also snubbed an offer of no immediate wage hike and a guarantee of a 1.5% increase in future years. "Workers United proposals call for an immediate increase in the minimum wage of hourly partners by 64%, and by 77% over the life of a three-year contract. This is not sustainable," Starbucks said on Friday. In response to Starbucks' statement on the proposals, Michelle Eisen, a Starbucks barista and bargaining delegate, said, "Starbucks' characterization of our proposals is misleading and they know it. We are ready to finalize a framework that includes new investments in baristas in the first year of contracts." Separately, the baristas' union said on Friday that it filed a new labor practice charge against the coffee house, alleging Starbucks "refused to bargain and engaged in bad faith bargaining" over economic issues. Hundreds of complaints have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing Starbucks of unlawful labor practices such as firing union supporters and closing stores during labor campaigns. Starbucks has denied wrongdoing and said it respects the right of workers to choose whether to unionize. WORKING ON A TURNAROUND Last month, the NLRB said that Starbucks broke the law by telling workers at its flagship Seattle cafe that they would lose benefits if they joined a union. "It's (the strike) taking place during one of the busiest times of the year for Starbucks, which could magnify its impact while bringing unwanted public scrutiny into the company's labor practices," Emarketer analyst Rachel Wolff said. The coffee chain is working on a turnaround under its newly appointed top boss, Brian Niccol, who aims to restore "coffee house culture" by overhauling cafes and simplifying its menu among other measures. "Given how much Starbucks is already struggling to win over customers, it can ill afford any negative publicity - or impact to sales - that the strike could bring," Wolff said. The Starbucks workers' strike comes in the same week as Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab workers at seven U.S. facilities walking off the job on Thursday, during the holiday shopping rush. There were 33 work stoppages in 2023, the most since 2000, though far lower than in past decades, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed , opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/starbucks-workers-union-strike-friday-la-chicago-seattle-2024-12-20/
