In The News

In Khartoum, the Refrain of Arab Failure

Rami G. Khouri March 31, 2006
The Arab League summit in Khartoum, poorly attended by Arab leaders, coincided with the revolt of several hundred workers in Dubai – and the two events expose problems in the Arab world. The workers, primarily from South Asia for construction projects, protested poor working and living conditions, low and delayed pay, as well as a general lack of basic rights. The leaders in Khartoum and...

Capitalism Under Fire

William Pfaff March 30, 2006
Mass demonstrations in France over a relatively minor change in employment policy reflect a deeper and unrealized anxiety about changes occurring over several generations in the international model of capitalism. A recent international opinion poll reports that 74% of Chinese believe the free-enterprise, free-market system is the outstanding option among economic models, while only 36% of French...

Help Wanted as Immigration Faces Overhaul

S. Mitra Kalita March 27, 2006
Some landscapers, restaurants and amusement parks insist that affluent Americans no longer want to do certain types of jobs, tedious seasonal work that was once the province of high school and college students – despite increasing wages for low-skilled work and finder fees. Employers run ads to find low-skilled help, but to no avail. So the business owners resort to hiring seasonal guest workers...

Is Globalization Stealing EU Jobs?

March 23, 2006
Increasingly, Europe finds itself struggling to answer the question of how it can simultaneously endorse free trade and preserve traditional industries and the jobs associated with them. In an age of inexpensive Asian imports, outsourcing, and bids for corporate takeovers from foreign entities, Europe is understandably worried about the effects of globalization on its job base. Europe’s...

Dole Blues

David Gow March 23, 2006
About one out of every four young adults in France – and one out of two in some parts of France – can’t find a job, and so the government has attempted reforms that would make youth more attractive for employers and decrease unemployment rates. The proposal would allow large companies to fire young workers, without question, within two years. A similar plan for small- and mid-sized companies went...

Immigration Debate Heats Up

Darryl Fears March 22, 2006
About 12 million immigrants live and work illegally in the United States, according to a recent study by the Pew Hispanic Center. As the US Senate debates tough new laws restricting illegal immigration, a coalition of activists who support immigration – including unions like the AFL-CIO, religious groups like Catholic Bishops and business organizations like the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce –...

Spain Scrambles to Cope With Tide of African Migrants

Renwick Mclean March 21, 2006
As thousands of Africans gather in Mauritania, seeking eventual passage to the EU, Spain is taking an active role in preventing the migrant job-seekers from reaching its shores. Spain’s deputy prime minister paid an emergency visit to the Canary Islands to discuss controls on the record flow of African migrants reaching there from Africa’s Atlantic seaboard. Many of the Africans, who are...