Friday, June 07, 2024

INFLATION

Average asking rents in Canada reach record $2,202 in May, says new report

The Canadian Press

A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada hit a record $2,202 in May, up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago and 0.6 per cent from the previous month.

The report by Urbanation and Rentals.ca, which analyzes monthly listings from the latter's network, said it marks the first time average asking rents surpassed the $2,200 level.

Based on the report, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom unit in Canada was $1,927 in May, up 10.7 per cent from a year ago, while the average asking price for a two-bedroom unit was $2,334, up 12.1 per cent.

Overall, asking rents for purpose-built rental apartments in May increased 13.7 per cent compared with a year earlier to reach an average of $2,146.

That was four times the rate of growth for condominium apartment rents, which averaged $2,312, up 3.4 per cent.

All provinces recorded year-over-year increases in asking rents for purpose-built and condo rentals, led by Saskatchewan with a 21.4 per cent gain to reach $1,334.

That was followed by Alberta, where average rents rose 17.5 per cent to $1,787, and Nova Scotia, which saw a 17.1 per cent increase to $2,238. Rents in those three provinces drove the majority of annual rent inflation for apartments in Canada, the report said.

B.C. maintained the highest asking rents at an average of $2,526 in May, increasing 2.3 per cent from May 2023, followed by Ontario at $2,423, which was 0.6 per cent higher year-over-year.

Average asking rents in Quebec rose 6.7 per cent to reach $1,999, while Manitoba's 10.3 per cent increase brought its average to $1,623.

On a municipal basis, average asking rents in Vancouver and Toronto — Canada's two most expensive major cities — continued to decline but by lesser amounts than in April.

Vancouver rents were down 4.1 per cent from a year ago to an average of $3,008 in May, while Toronto rents decreased 0.9 per cent to an average of $2,784.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2024.

Average employee wage now almost $35 in Canada

(Alex Green / Pexels.com)

Reuters
June 7, 2024

The Canadian economy added more jobs than expected in May, the jobless rate ticked up to 6.2 per cent, and the growth rate of wages accelerated to a four-month high, data showed on Friday.

The economy added a net 26,700 jobs, more than the 22,500 job gain forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Canada's unemployment rate rises to 6.2% in May, economy adds 27,000 jobs

The Canadian Press

A "Now Hiring," sign is displayed on a business Tuesday, May 30, 2023 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Canada’s unemployment rate ticked up to 6.2 per cent in May as the job market continued to show signs of weakness.

Statistics Canada’s latest labour force survey showed the economy added 27,000 jobs last month – too modest of a gain to keep the unemployment rate from rising by a tenth of a percentage point.

The report suggests the Canadian job market continues to soften as high interest rates weigh on consumers and businesses.

Of those who were unemployed in April, just under a quarter found work the next month, the report said. That’s below the pre-pandemic average of 31.5 per cent for the same months in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

“A lower proportion of unemployed people transitioning into employment may indicate that people are facing greater difficulties finding work in the current labour market,” the report said.

More Canadians are also finding themselves working part-time because they don’t have better options.

Statistics Canada says the involuntary part-time rate, which refers to the proportion of part-time workers who could not find full-time work or worked part-time because of weak business conditions – was 18.2 per cent in May. That’s up from 15.4 per cent a year prior.

Young people have also felt the consequences of job market slowdown. The report notes that for returning students aged 20 to 24, their employment rate was down 2.9 per cent from a year ago.

Meanwhile, wage growth remained strong in May as average hourly wages rose 5.1 per cent from a year ago, reaching $34.94.

Employment was up in health care and social assistance, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, business, building and other support services as well as accommodation and food services.

Meanwhile, employment fell in construction, transportation and warehousing and utilities.

The data release comes two days after the Bank of Canada opted to lower interest rates for the first time in four years, citing easing inflation and the weakening economy.

The central bank lowered its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 per cent and signalled that more rate cuts would be on the way, so long as inflation continues to slow.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2024.

Canadian border guards could strike

Friday 4 PM, most required to work

Reuters
Detroit Free Press

Thousands of Canadian border guards at airports and land crossings with the U.S. were poised to strike Friday as they worked to reach an agreement with their employer, the federal government.

But with 90% of frontline border officers with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) designated essential workers, according to the government, it was not clear what form that strike could take.

The U.S. is Canada's biggest trading partner, with an average of $2.63 billion worth of goods and services crossing the border in both directions combined in 2023, according to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

The two sides have been negotiating with the assistance of a mediator this week and talks were ongoing Thursday morning, a Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) spokesperson said, with a strike deadline of 4 p.m. Friday.

Sticking points include wages, remote work, retirement benefits and workplace protections, according to the union.

"The border will remain open and safe," CBSA spokesperson Luke Reimer said in an email Tuesday.

He said about 4,870 of the agency's 5,400 frontline officers are designated essential, meaning they cannot legally stop working.

"Border services officers occupying essential services positions cannot work to rule and cannot intentionally slow down border processing," Canada's Treasury Board said in a statement Wednesday, adding that the CBSA "will take progressive disciplinary action or other measures" against essential workers "who engage in illegal job action."

But the discretion border officers have to stop, question and search travelers could slow cross-border traffic, said Carleton University associate professor of management Ian Lee.

"A slowdown where they really did work to rule would be just catastrophic at Pearson (Airport in Toronto) and Vancouver and Montreal," he said.

"The pressure that would be brought to bear on the government … will be so great they will have to intervene," forexample through binding arbitration or, as a last resort, back-to-work legislation, Lee said.

What it means for Detroit automakers

The Free Press reached out to several automakers for comment on the situation at the border.

Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson provided a statement noting that the company, which owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands, is aware of a possible labor stoppage by border agents.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and working with our transportation providers to mitigate any production impact,” the statement said.

General Motors spokesman Kevin Kelly declined to comment on the situation.

"Contingency plans are in place to minimize any impact," said Lars Weborg, Ford manufacturing spokesman.

Laurie Harbour-Felax, president and CEO of the Southfield-based consulting firm Harbour Results, said a strike by border workers would be “very problematic” for the auto industry for a couple of reasons.

One issue, she said, is that much of the automotive industry’s mold building is done in the Windsor, Ontario, area.

“There’s a whole tool industry in Canada that makes injection molds, door molds and instrument panel molds. There’s very little left here in the States,” she said. “Most of the big automotive molds are coming out of Windsor.”

It would be especially problematic for any automakers trying to manage a major product launch, she said.

Automakers, including Ford, Stellantis, GM, Honda and Toyota, as well as Tier 1 suppliers also have major operations in Canada. And lots of parts cross the border daily. In some cases, parts on the same vehicle come from plants on either side of the border, Harbour-Felax said.

Although automakers have contingency plans for dealing with bottlenecks overseas, “there’s probably not a lot of contingency plans” connected to issues related to Canada, she said.

Michael Belzer, an economics professor at Wayne State University, studied the potential impact of a shutdown of commerce in Detroit in 2003. He said that shows how long concerns about these types of issues have been percolating. More recently, they arose in connection with a 2022 shutdown of the Ambassador Bridge by truckers said to be upset in part by vaccine mandates.

That situation had swift consequences for the auto industry, with reports of GM chartering cargo planes to move parts over the border.

Belzer’s work, following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, involved thinking about a “bad actor” targeting the bridge, one of the most important crossings in North America. That work didn’t anticipate a shutdown or slowdown of all crossings, however.

“The bottom line … for Detroit, there would really be a huge disruption for the auto industry,” he said of a shutdown or significant slowdown. “It would be a major economic disruption for the U.S. and Canada.”

Notably, Wayne State in Detroit has 350 Canadian students, according to spokesman Bill Roose.

The Free Press also reached out to several hospital systems in the area, including the Detroit Medical Center, Henry Ford Health and Corewell Health, seeking comment. A couple of spokespeople said they were checking into the situation.

Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny; Editing by Rod Nickel.

Free Press reporters Eric Lawrence and Jamie LaReau contributed.

Planning to cross the border? Here's what to know about the possible strike

A Canada Border Services Agency officer speaks to a motorist entering Canada at the Douglas-Peace Arch border crossing, in Surrey, B.C., on Monday, August 9, 2021. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

Christl Dabu
CTVNews.ca National Affairs Writer

Luca Caruso-Moro
CTVNews.ca Breaking Digital Assignment Editor

June 6, 2024 11

As the clock ticks on toward a strike at the Canadian border, a union spokesperson says the group remains in negotiations with the government.

They have until 4 p.m. Friday to make a deal.

"If a deal is not reached, a strike will take place." Pierre St-Jacques, spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) union, wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca on Thursday.

More than 9,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members who work for the CBSA, including border guards, secured a strike mandate(opens in a new tab) at the end of May, threatening to slow traffic through Canada's national entry points.

The union says it wants "fair" wages comparable to other law enforcement agencies in Canada, changes to its workers' retirement plans, and "flexible" online and remote work options.

"We are still hopeful that we can reach an agreement to avoid strike action, but the window is closing if the government wants to avoid any potential delays at Canada’s borders," wrote St-Jacques.

Claire Fan, an economist with the Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto, said in an interview with CTV's News Channel on Thursday that she expects the potential strike to have a spillover impact. She says auto manufacturers could see the biggest economic hit. Tourism and restaurants could also be hurt if travellers call off their trips as the travel season starts to ramp up.

Up to 60 per cent of goods trade across the border between Canada and the United States was done with trucks in 2023, she noted.

Despite the potential economic impact of a strike, it wouldn't be a full shutdown of the border since 90 per cent of front-line border officers are considered essential workers and can't stop working during a strike. "That in itself is good news," Fan said. "It means goods will still be able to move across borders for the most part."

Instead, border workers may implement work-to-rule efforts, which could cause delays with vehicles taking longer to pass through the border, Fan said.
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In 2021, the union carried out a work-to-rule effort, slowing traffic into long lines of tourist and commercial vehicles waiting to cross. A deal was reached after an extended 36-hour negotiation.

"While the government fully respects the right of employees to gather and demonstrate lawfully, unlawful job action(opens in a new tab) will not be tolerated," reads a Wednesday release from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

"Negotiation is a process of give and take. The government is prepared to make concessions, but there needs to be movement on both sides," it reads.

The latest GDP numbers(opens in a new tab) indicate many businesses are holding more inventories in anticipation of potential disruptions to supply chains, among lessons they learned over the last few years, Fan added.

"Businesses are precautionarily holding inventories so potentially that could offset some of the impact," she said.Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips

Jim Cooper, CEO of Canarm Limited(opens in a new tab), a ventilation company with its headquarters in Brockville, Ont., is worried about the impact of a strike. "The border is a critical link to us being successful as a manufacturer in Canada," Cooper said in an interview with CTV News. "We've got product crossing the border every single day of week.

The association of Canadian Manufactures and Exporters (CME) estimates that about $3.1 billion in goods cross the Canadian border each day. Last year, cross border trade totalled $1.6 trillion, it says.

“We need the federal government to take a proactive approach to preventing these disruptions,” wrote CME president Denis Darby in a Wednesday news release.

More than 9,000 Canada Border Services Agency workers begin job action Friday if agreement not reached

PSAC
June 4, 2024

The clock is ticking to avoid a nationwide strike at Canada’s borders by more than 9,000 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) employees. Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) will begin job action across the country starting June 7 at 4 p.m. ET if an agreement is not reached at the table with CBSA and Treasury Board this week.

“We are still hopeful that we can reach an agreement to avoid strike action and any potential delays at Canada’s borders," said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC National President. “But the clock is ticking for Trudeau’s Liberal government to get to work on a fair contract for our members.”

PSAC members in the FB bargaining group have been without a contract for over two years. Key issues in this round of bargaining include fair wages that are aligned with other law enforcement agencies across the country, flexible telework and remote work options, equitable retirement benefits for CBSA law enforcement personnel and stronger workplace protections.

Job action by CBSA personnel in 2021 nearly brought commercial cross-border traffic to a standstill, causing major delays at airports and borders across the country and a marathon 36-hour bargaining session to reach an agreement.

“Our members have overwhelmingly told us they are prepared to fight for fair wages, equitable retirement and to make CBSA a better place to work,” said Mark Weber, CIU National President. “It’s time for the government to step up for CBSA employees.”

The two sides remain in negotiations this week with the assistance of a mediator in a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement.

UNICEF: One in four children worldwide live in severe food poverty

By Rédaction Africanews
with AP

MALNUTRITION

Around 181 million children worldwide under the age of five – or one in four – are experiencing severe child food poverty, according to a new report by the UN children’s organisation, UNICEF.

In a new report, it says one in four children are experiencing severe food poverty, with 65 per cent of them live in just 20 countries of which about 59 million are in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Child Food Poverty: Nutrition Deprivation in Early Childhood” analyses the impacts and causes of dietary deprivation among the world’s youngest people in nearly 100 countries, and across income groups.

It warns that millions of children under the age of five are unable to access and consume a nutritious and diverse diet to sustain optimal growth and development in early childhood and beyond.

Children who consume, at most, two of eight defined food groups are considered to be in severe child food poverty.

Four out of five children in this situation are fed only breastmilk/milk and/or a starchy staple, such as rice, maize, or wheat.

UNICEF says meals for young children should include not only fresh fruits and vegetables, but also nutrient-dense foods such as eggs, fish, poultry, or meat.

Without a nutritious and diverse diet, they are 50 per cent more likely to experiencing wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition.

“Children living in severe food poverty are children living on the brink. This can have an irreversible negative impact on their survival, growth, and brain development,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

The report warns that the effects of growing inequities, conflicts, and the climate crisis have pushed food prices and the cost of living to record high levels.

Nearly half of all cases of severe child food poverty are among poor households where income poverty is likely to be a major driver.

About 97 million children, or 54 per cent, live in relatively wealthier households, among whom poor food environments and feeding practices are the main drivers of food poverty in early childhood.

Several factors are fuelling the crisis, including food systems that fail to provide children with nutritious, safe, and accessible options, families’ inability to afford nutritious foods, and parent’s inability to adopt and sustain positive child feeding practices.

In many contexts, cheap, nutrient-poor, and unhealthy ultra-processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages are aggressively marketed to parents and families and are the new normal for feeding children.

These unhealthy foods and beverages are consumed by an alarming proportion of young children experiencing food poverty, displacing more nutritious and healthier foods from their daily diets.

UNICEF is calling on governments, development and humanitarian organisations, donors, civil society, and the food and beverage industry to take urgent action to end child food poverty.

It wants them to transform food systems so that nutritious, diverse, and healthy foods are the most accessible, affordable, and desirable option for caregivers.

UNICEF also urges them to leverage health systems to deliver essential nutrition services to prevent and treat malnutrition in early childhood, including support for community health and nutrition workers to counsel parents and families on child feeding and care practices.

It also wants them to activate social protection systems to address income poverty through social transfers (cash, food and vouchers), in ways that are responsive to the food and nutrition needs of vulnerable children and their families.

Why a weakened Modi is good news for India's democracy

A stellar show by the opposition has forced the BJP into a coalition government. This means the party will have to curb its agenda of Hindu majoritarianism.

SMITA GUPTA

AP ARCHIVE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks to Rahul Gandhi, leader of India's main opposition Congress party. / Photo: AP Archive

India’s Narendra Modi will be sworn in as prime minister on June 8 for a record third time, but this time, his government will have to depend on two regional parties opposed to his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Hindu majoritarian ideology to make up the numbers.

With the return of coalition politics, Modi will no longer wield absolute power, or be able to disregard the Constitution and other democratic institutions in the way he has for the last decade.

The famed Modi magic, clearly, has not worked this time–the magic that had, in the past, mesmerised unhappy voters into setting aside their own grievances, converting losing candidates into winners.

Modi’s BJP lost more than a fifth of the seats it had won in 2019, and though he was re-elected from his own constituency of Varanasi, his vote share dropped dramatically by around nine percentage points.

Across the country, the BJP won 240 seats, 32 short of the halfway mark of 272. With its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies, it touched 291, a far cry from the 400-plus that it had set its sights on.

And this was an election in which the Election Commission of India (ECI) was seen to have played an actively partisan role.

Not only that, the BJP had more resources than all other political parties combined, and it used all the instruments of the state against the opposition.

The opposition alliance, INDIA, won 234 seats, while the Congress virtually doubled its strength from 2019 by winning 99 seats in the lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha.

These numbers mean that the face-off in the next Parliament will be far more equal than it has been in the previous two Lok Sabhas in which the BJP-led NDA had an overwhelming majority. The BJP will now find it much harder to push through any legislation or amendments to the Constitution that it may have had in the pipeline.

Modi will no longer be able to ride roughshod over his cabinet colleagues, chief ministers, party members, and indeed, the opposition.

He will have to adopt a more consensual approach towards everyone, and he will not, hopefully, be able to browbeat the bureaucracy or arm-twist those who head critical institutions, such as the investigative agencies, the judiciary and the Election Commission.

Modi will also have to heed the wishes of his allies from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Janata Dal-United, and the two splinter groups of the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party, which have also aligned with the NDA.

Indeed, on June 5, less than 24 hours after the results had come in, reports of the first post-election NDA meeting indicated that the allies had given their wish lists to Modi – the number of ministerial berths as well as the portfolios they expected to be given.

In addition, the TDP has demanded the post of Lok Sabha Speaker, a powerful constitutional functionary tasked with ensuring the smooth conduct of the lower House.

If the last goes through, there will be a sea change in the way the Lower House is run, with the BJP no longer able to silence opposition voices.

Modi will also have to make peace with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), from which it draws ideological inspiration.

Its members traditionally work for the BJP elections, but this time, reports suggest that they have stayed aloof in many places. BJP president JP Nadda made things worse when he said in a recent interview: “In the beginning, we would have been less capable, smaller and needed the RSS. Today, we have grown and we are capable. The BJP runs itself.”

For the Congress that–after leading a United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for a decade (2004-2014)–shrank to a paltry 44 seats in 2014 and climbing to a mere 52 in 2019, winning 99 seats this time is a sign of a revival.

Ahead of the elections, the Congress’s Rahul Gandhi undertook two yatras – journeys – on foot across the length and breadth of the country. This helped to revive the base of an increasingly defunct party and gave Gandhi the opportunity to personally convey his message to thousands of people.

In the process, his personal popularity has risen. This was evident in his convincing victories in both the seats he contested – Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad in Kerala.

Indeed, he has earned his spurs in this election and now has the stature of a national leader.

The Congress and the regional parties that comprised the opposition INDIA bloc campaigned on a range of issues: they flagged economic distress, caused by high unemployment and rising prices, and the agricultural crisis; they simultaneously highlighted the possibility that if the BJP and its allies crossed 400, as the party had boasted, they might amend the Constitution to end the system of quotas for the Scheduled Castes, Tribes and Other Backward Castes.

Finally, they spoke of the dangers of authoritarianism, hate speech and anti-minority actions. The opposition–disparate and disorganised as it was–managed to make its narrative resonate with the people, if not everywhere, certainly in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, which together account for 195 seats out of 542.

The biggest shock for the BJP came in Uttar Pradesh where it had hoped to better its 2019 record of 64 out of 80 seats; instead, it ended up with just 33 seats.

The Congress-Samajwadi Party (SP) combine played their cards well to win 42 seats. The SP, often viewed as a party that derives its strength from Muslims and the backward community of Yadavs, acquired a new look this time, with party president Akhilesh Yadav’s caste arithmetic in candidate selection giving his party the inclusive look it needed.

It paid off, with the SP winning 37 seats, making it the third-largest party in Parliament.

The message of 2024 is clear: the Modi citadel can be breached. The numbers may still favour the BJP-led NDA but the way they eventually panned out, has given the opposition the air of the victor as the heroic defenders of democracy.

Political competition is back, and the BJP can no longer take the liberties it has been taking with democratic institutions.

SOURCE: TRT WORLD

Smita Gupta
Smita Gupta, a prize-winning journalist and political commentator, was, till recently, Senior Fellow, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy and, before that, Associate Editor at The Hindu. She has also worked for other mainstream newspapers, including the Hindustan Times, Indian Express and The Times of India.
@g_smita

The Indian Election and the Country’s Economic Future
RAGHURAM G. RAJAN worries that the country will squander its massive potential by trying to emulate China's growth strategy.

ONLY DAYS AFTER THE ELECTION

Indian court grants bail to Rahul Gandhi in latest defamation case

The case arises from advertisements published by Gandhi's Congress party alleging the BJP's corrupt involvement in infrastructure projects in Karnataka state.

Critics have accused Modi and his party of using the justice system to target political rivals.

US think tank Freedom House said the BJP had "increasingly used government institutions to target political opponents."

REUTERS

Gandhi is one of several top opposition leaders to face criminal proceedings in cases they claim are politically driven by Modi's government. / Photo: Reuters

An Indian court has granted bail to opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in the latest of several defamation cases brought against him for accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his party of corruption.

Gandhi, 53, has faced numerous legal cases brought by members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was last year briefly disqualified from parliament after a criminal libel conviction.

He is one of several top opposition leaders to face criminal proceedings in cases they claim are politically driven by Modi's government.

The latest case stems from advertisements published by Gandhi's Congress party accusing the BJP of corruptly taking commissions from infrastructure projects in southern Karnataka state.

Gandhi, 53, has not spent any time in custody over the charge.

He was granted bail in a five-minute procedural hearing held to determine if he should remain at liberty, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala confirmed.

Two other senior Congress figures in Karnataka state had already been bailed last week, neither of whom were in custody beforehand.

Gandhi was sentenced to two years imprisonment last year in 2023 in a separate case in Gujarat but was not jailed after appealing with India's top court.

The sentence did, however, force his brief disqualification from parliament until the Supreme Court suspended his conviction.

Targeting political rivals

Friday's case came days after Modi and the BJP won nationwide elections, albeit with a reduced majority forcing them to rely on coalition partners to govern.

Critics have accused Modi and his party of using the justice system to target political rivals.

US think tank Freedom House said the BJP had "increasingly used government institutions to target political opponents."

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose party is a member of a broad opposition alliance led by Congress, was jailed this year in connection with an ongoing graft investigation.

Kejriwal was briefly bailed last month, allowing him to campaign in the election, but returned to custody once voting concluded.

SEE

HINDUTVA IS FASCISM

Dozens remain trapped after a gold mine collapses in northcentral Nigeria

Miners work at an illegal tin mining site in Jos, Nigeria, Wednesday, April 3, 2024. -
Copyright

By Rédaction Africanews

NIGERIA

Rescuers searched Thursday for dozens of workers who were trapped when a gold mine collapsed in northcentral Nigeria, authorities and residents said.

The pit collapsed on Monday in Niger state’s remote Shiroro district after heavy rains softened the soil. State emergency services said one person was confirmed dead and at least 30 others were missing. Residents, however, said as many as 44 remained trapped.

Much of northern Nigeria is rich in minerals, but corruption, illegal operations and poor working conditions are common in mining operations because the deposits are mostly in remote areas with a minimal government presence.

First responders “had to run for their lives as the mine kept falling inside,” Abdullahi Arah, head of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said in a preliminary report.

Rescue operations soon resumed, but expanding the deep pit to locate the trapped workers has been challenging, emergency services spokesperson Ibrahim Hussaini said.

“When you have something almost as tall as a three-story building down into the ground, how will an excavator get to that place?” he said.

On Thursday, distraught families watched as rescuers worked to remove the remaining debris.

The mine collapsed on Yakubu Galkogo’s first day of work, and his wife and two children are very worried, his brother, Auwal Suleiman, said.

Suleiman urged the government to deploy more workers and equipment for the rescue. “There is a lot of tension here,” he said.

Sugar mill strikes put Australia's cane harvest at risk

Sugar cane and other crops can be seen on farms near the town of Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia,

JUNE 07, 2024

CANBERRA — Industrial disputes at factories that produce more than half of Australia's sugar could cause cane to be left unharvested if they are not resolved soon, threatening production and exports, people in the industry said.

Strikes over pay at eight mills owned by Singapore's Wilmar International that produce over two million metric tons — worth around US$1 billion (S$1.34 billion)— of sugar a year have delayed the start of cane crushing operations by between two and 13 days, the company's Australian subsidiary said.

A ninth mill, owned by Chinese conglomerate COFCO said it had also delayed its start due to strikes and adverse weather.

Australia is the world's fourth-largest sugar exporter, shipping around 3.5 million tons a year to markets mostly in Asia. A small reduction in Australian production would tighten supply in Asia but likely have little impact on global prices.

But the hold-ups are worrying growers who lined up labour to deliver cane but do not yet threaten overall sugar production in a crushing season that lasts from June to around November, when rains dilute the cane's sugar and make it difficult to harvest.

However, longer delays could shorten the processing season and the time available to bring cane from fields.

"Everyone's worried about it," said Greg Beashel, CEO of exporter Queensland Sugar. "The cane has to be crushed in a fixed window otherwise you lose sugar content and have weather risk at the end of the year," he said.

Start-of-season delays are not unusual and buyers should not yet be alarmed, Beashel said. "But it needs to get resolved pretty soon," he added.

Spokespeople for Wilmar Sugar and Renewables, also a major generator of renewable energy from biomass, and for COFCO's Tully Sugar said long strikes would disrupt the crush but hoped pay deals could be struck before that happened.

"I am hopeful," a Tully spokesman said. "We need to kick off as soon as possible."

Unions at Wilmar are asking for an 18 per cent pay rise over three years and those at Tully want 21 per cent, union officials said.

They said they had lowered their requests to help reach deals without disrupting the crush and workers deserved the rises after a period of high inflation and high sugar prices.

A former Wilmar worker employed for decades at a mill just south of Townsville said many mill workers did 12-hour shifts in a hot and humid environment, where boilers ran 24 hours a day for most of the crushing season feeding heat and energy to machinery.

"There's hot water everywhere. It's hot, noisy and steamy," he said, adding that workers would hold out for higher pay. "People have had enough," he said.

Wilmar has offered its workers 14.25 per cent over three and a half years with a signing bonus and Tully 14.25 per cent over three years, the companies said.

Unions at Wilmar have suspended industrial action until a vote on June 10-11, when they say the offer will be rejected. Wilmar said it has been informed that strikes will resume after the ballot.

Tully said its workers would ballot in the week of June 17. The unions, which oppose Tully's offer, have announced work bans next week, the company said, adding that it intended to suspend employment of any worker who takes part in such actions.

Tully plans to start crushing next week and Wilmar will start its first mill on Monday, the companies said.

Meanwhile, the sugar industry watches and waits.

"It's a headache," said Owen Menkens, a farmer and chairman of the Canegrowers industry association. Every mill around Menkens' farm near Townsville is owned by Wilmar.

"We've got harvesting crews, casual labour coming in," he said. "The whole community revolves around the mills."

"If the delay gets any longer, it's going to be difficult. When the harvest isn't happening, there's no money coming into the district. Every day is crucial."

Samsung Electronics union in South Korea stages first walkout

A member of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) holds a placard that reads "Respect labour" in front of the Samsung Electronics Seocho Building in Seoul, South Korea, May 24, 2024.
PHOTO: Reuters file

PUBLISHED ON JUNE 06, 2024

SEOUL — A Samsung Electronics union staged its first walkout on Friday (June 7), signalling more assertiveness among workers just as South Korea's most powerful conglomerate races to catch up in chips used in artificial intelligence (AI).

The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), whose roughly 28,000 members make up over a fifth of the firm's workforce, said it will stop work for a day to demand better pay.

The walkout is unlikely to immediately impact semiconductor production or shipments but will add pressure on Samsung Electronics as it chases AI and narrows a gap in contract chip manufacturing with Taiwan's TSMC, analysts said.

"The purpose of today's strike action is to have meaningful conversation with management," NSEU official Lee Hyun-kuk told Reuters. He said the union was preparing further action on Friday, without providing details.

Samsung Electronics said there was no impact on production or business activity. The strike fell a day after a public holiday and the number of employees on annual leave was fewer than on the equivalent day last year, the firm said.

The union did not disclose how many members participated in the strike through annual leave.

"We have sincerely engaged with the union and will continue talks with them," said a company official.

Samsung Electronics' share price was up 0.1 per cent versus 0.7 per cent in the benchmark KOSPI as of 0234 GMT.

The walkout is unlikely to impact DRAM or NAND flash memory production or lead to shipment shortages as manufacturing is highly automated, said market researcher TrendForce.

Moreover, the walkout appears to involve more workers from the firm's Seoul headquarters than in production and is planned for a single day after a public holiday which some staff had likely already applied to take off, TrendForce said.

The strike follows other worker protests in recent weeks outside offices in Seoul as well as outside a chip production site in Hwaseong, south of the capital.

They started after Samsung Electronics decided to increase wages this year by 5.1 per cent. The NSEU, the biggest of five unions at the firm, want further commitments such as improvement to the performance-based bonus system and an extra day of annual leave.

Last week, a coalition of five unions at Samsung affiliates including another smaller Samsung Electronics union called on the NSEU to pursue negotiation rather than confrontation, indicating they would not join the strike.

Samsung Electronics' run of success is being challenged in some areas, including in some cutting-edge chips. It recently replaced the head of its semiconductor unit to navigate what it called a "crisis" affecting the industry.

Union membership increased rapidly after the firm in 2020 pledged to end to its practise of discouraging the growth of organised labour.

Union officials said, among younger employees, there is growing perception that unions can help create a fairer workplace, whereas older generations felt unions could disrupt productivity.

Overall, South Korea's union membership rate has hovered around 10 per cent since 2004, labour ministry data showed.

Tiger shark vomits echidna, shocking Australian scientists

LIKE EATING A PORCUPINE

A tiger shark vomited a dead echidna whole in front of members of an ocean research trip from James Cook University.

PHOTO: JCU: DISCOVER/FACEBOOK

JUN 07, 2024

SYDNEY – A tiger shark has surprised Australian scientists on an ocean research trip by regurgitating a spiky land-loving echidna in front of them.

Researchers from James Cook University were tagging marine life on the north-east coast when the 3m tiger shark they caught vomited a dead echidna – a spiny creature similar to a hedgehog.

Mr Nicolas Lubitz said he could only assume the shark gobbled up the echidna while it was swimming in the shallows off the island, or travelling between islands, which the animals are known to do.

“We were quite shocked at what we saw. We really didn’t know what was going on,” he said on June 6.

“When it spat it out, I looked at it and remarked ‘What the hell is that?’”

Mr Lubitz said the dead echidna was whole when it was regurgitated in May 2022, leading scientists to assume the shark had only recently eaten it.

Echidnas – which are found only in Australia and New Guinea – are egg-laying mammals, have spines protruding from their bodies and use a beak-like snout to eat ants.

It is unclear how many of these animals are in the wild, but they are not considered endangered.

“Tiger sharks will eat anything. They’re just scavengers. I’ve seen videos of them eating a rock for no reason,” Mr Lubitz said.

“I think the echidna must have just felt a bit funny in its throat.”

The tiger shark was unharmed after its spiky snack and scientists fitted it with an acoustic tracker before releasing it back into the water.

As part of the research project, which ran from 2020 to 2023, scientists tagged 812 fish, rays and sharks with 10-year trackers to understand more about their movement and behaviour.

AFP

A clash of royalty: King cobra cannibalism documented for the first time in Singapore

King cobras are a rare sight in Singapore, and are even harder to find with their prey.

PHOTO: DARYL TAN

Ian Cheng
Correspondent
ST
JUN 07, 2024, 04:14 PM

SINGAPORE – “Huge snake!!!” read the caption of a video that snake photographer Daryl Tan’s father sent him in the afternoon on June 6.

At that point, the elder Mr Tan did not realise that he was possibly the first person here to have recorded on camera a king cobra cannibalising another member of its species, swallowing it whole while it was still alive.

Mr Tan leapt when he saw his father’s video, shot at a mangrove forest in the western part of the island.

“He often sends me pictures and videos of snakes as he knows I get excited at every sighting, and also asks me to identify the species,” the 35-year-old educator told The Straits Times.

“Often, they are just common snakes, like painted bronzebacks and paradise tree snakes, but this time he struck gold within even realising it.”

King cobras are a rare sight in Singapore, and are even harder to find with their prey.

The species is classified as vulnerable in the Singapore Red Data book, which provides information such as the scientific and common names along with descriptions of each plant and animal species here.

There was only one other recorded sighting of a king cobra attacking another member of its species in April 2019, but the observer did not stay to view the rest of the event, so it is unclear if the smaller snake was eventually killed or eaten.

Mr Daryl Tan said: “Any sighting of predation, regardless of the species, is always significant.”

In his 19 years of photographing wildlife, he had encountered only one other case of reptile cannibalism, with a gecko preying on another.

While king cobras are occasionally spotted in nature areas like Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, a cannibalistic feeding encounter like this is a rare and unique occurrence.

PHOTO: REMY SHEK

“The moment I saw the video and recognised that it was a king cobra cannibalising a smaller one, I knew I had to see it for myself even if it meant taking a leap of faith and possibly ending up disappointed if the trip was for naught.”

After verifying the contents of the video with his fellow enthusiasts, Mr Tan rushed down to the scene with one of them, Mr Remy Shek, 16.
“A clash of true royalty”

For the duo, there was no way of knowing how far along the battle of the kings was, or whether they were even still in the area they were spotted in. If the fight had just started, it would take a while.

A previous encounter where a king cobra was seen battling and eventually consuming a reticulated python in 2023 lasted over seven hours.

King cobras are also somewhat resistant to the venom of their own kind, so it may take a while for one party to be subdued.

Having witnessed the 2023 confrontation, Mr Tan said the latest encounter is still “the ultimate prize”.

“We thought the battle between the king cobra and the reticulated python was a royal rumble because it was between the longest venomous snake in the world and the longest snake in the world – but this is a clash of true royalty,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it was checkmate for one of them.”

King cobras are somewhat resistant to the venom of their own kind, so it may take a while for one party to be subdued.

PHOTO: DARYL TAN

Arriving at the scene about an hour later, Mr Tan and Mr Shek located both king cobras.

They observed that the larger one is more than 3m in length. The smaller one is estimated to be more than 2m long, but the two are otherwise similar in girth.

The larger cobra had already dragged the smaller one out from where they were first spotted, and was consuming it on a footpath.

However, the smaller cobra was not dead yet. “It would from time to time resist and put up a fight even when half its body was already in the mouth of the larger one,” said Mr Tan.

Rain started at one point, so both enthusiasts had to keep their cameras. They continued observing the phenomenon from afar for about 1½ hours in the rain, until the larger snake had completely consumed its prey and slithered away, said Mr Shek.

The larger snake is more than 3m in length. The smaller one is estimated to be more than 2m long, but the two are otherwise similar in girth.

PHOTO: REMY SHEK

Mr Tan said they had to keep their distance throughout the encounter for their own safety. After all, they were photographing two highly venomous snakes.

They also did not want to cause any stress to the animal as snakes are known to regurgitate and abandon their meals as an escape tactic.

“The wildlife is always more important than the photography,” said Mr Tan.

Mr Shivaram Rasu, scientific officer of the Herpetological Society of Singapore, confirmed that both snakes were indeed king cobras, and said that the finding appeared to be the first reliable documentation of king cobra cannibalism in the wild in Singapore.

“While king cobras are occasionally spotted in nature areas like Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, a cannibalistic feeding encounter like this is a rare and unique occurrence,” he said.

“This sighting is particularly intriguing as it provides us with valuable insights into the dietary habits of king cobras. While cannibalism within a species has been observed in various snake species worldwide, it remains a relatively uncommon occurrence, making this observation all the more significant,” he added

The larger snake completely consumed its prey before it slithered away.

PHOTO: DARYL TAN

The 30-year-old environmental consultant added that it is crucial to report such encounters on scientific platforms like the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum’s Nature in Singapore Biodiversity Records, contributing to collective knowledge and conservation efforts.

Mr Tan said he intends to do just that.

Should members of the public encounter such incidents, Mr Shivaram advised them to give the animals a wide berth as those hunting or feeding can be more susceptible to stress and interference.

“It’s important to remember that these are wild animals, and our presence can cause them stress or disrupt their natural behaviour,” he said.

“Respecting their space is not only for our safety but also for their well-being.”

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