Vermont: strike wins key demands

On 3 April, bus drivers for the Chittenden County Transportation Authority in Vermont, USA, ended a three-and-a-half week strike with a 53-6 vote to ratify a new contract.
The agreement holds the line and more on the most important demands of the drivers, members of Teamsters Local 597. It also serves as a powerful demonstration that strikes can win when union members are united and strong – and when they have the support of community members who connect the strikers' issues to their own concerns.
The contract contains a 2 percent raise per year over the three-year contract. But drivers were most intent on pushing back management demands that would have created unsafe conditions on the job, shifted in the direction of a part-time labor force and handed over new tools to spy on and harass the drivers. On these questions, the drivers believe they won.
http://socialistworker.org

Cambodia: strike wins concessions and inspires workers to form a union

All but two of 40 striking workers at Phnom Penh Sorya Transportation bus service are back on the job, workers and a company representative said on Monday.
Workers began striking last Thursday with a litany of demands, including a $60 monthly wage increase and an end to a company policy requiring employees to shoulder a fine of about $750 if caught transporting people or goods without a ticket.
During a three-hour negotiation session on Thursday, company manager Chan Sophanna agreed to end the $750 fine policy, leading all but two drivers to return to work on Saturday, said Sambath Vorn, one of the two remaining drivers on strike.
“Everyone went back to work on Saturday after the company promised to review our base salary every year,” said Vorn, adding that he and one other driver had yet to return because they were preparing documents to form a bus union.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com