In 2004, a number of labour strikes, labour disputes, and other industrial actions occurred.
Background
editA labour strike is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. This can include wildcat strikes, which are done without union authorisation, and slowdown strikes, where workers reduce their productivity while still carrying out minimal working duties. It is usually a response to employee grievances, such as low pay or poor working conditions. Strikes can also occur to demonstrate solidarity with workers in other workplaces or pressure governments to change policies.
Timeline
editContinuing strikes from 2003
edit- Bolivian gas conflict
- 2003–04 Hazara asylum seekers hunger strike on Nauru. Hunger strike by Hazara asylum seekers from Afghanistan detained by Australia in Nauru.[1][2]
- 2003–04 Kenyan universities strike. 2-month strike by university staff in Kenya over wages.[3][4]
- Nursery nurses strike, in Scotland.
- Southern California supermarket strike of 2003–2004
- 2003–04 Tyson Foods strike. Year-long strike by Tyson Foods meatpackers in Jefferson, Wisconsin, United States.[5][6][7]
- Vatukoula mine strike. 33-year strike by gold miners at the Vatukoula mine in Fiji between 1991 and 2024.
January
edit- Let's Save Research. Protest movement, including strike action, by scientific staff and researchers in France against research funding cuts.[8][9]
- 2004 Radio France strike.[10]
- 2004–05 Terni steelworkers strike. Strike by ThyssenKrupp steelworkers in Terni, Italy, against relocation of production facilities to Germany.[11][12][13]
February
edit- 2004 Galápagos strikes. Two related strikes in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, the first in February by shark fishermen demanding that the government relax fishing regulations and the second in September by park rangers after the government fired the pro-conservationist park director.[14][15][16]
- 2004 Zambia general strike. One-day general strike led by the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions in protest over austerity measures presented by Minister of Finance Ng'andu Peter Magande.[17][18]
March
editApril
edit- 2004 Aliant strike. 5-month strike by Aliant call centre workers in Canada.[19][20]
- 2004 British Columbia hospital strike. Illegal strike by hospital workers in British Columbia, Canada, against privatisation.[21][22][23]
- 2004 Fiat strike. 3-week strike by Fiat autoworkers in Melfi, Italy.[24][25]
May
editJune
edit- 2004 Aura-Misr strike. Strike by Aura-Misr workers in Egypt over health benefits for asbestos-related disease.[26][27]
- 2004 KorAm strike. Strike by KorAm Bank workers in South Korea in response to the takeover of the bank by Citigroup, the longest in the history of the South Korean financial sector at that point.[28][29]
- 2004 Norwegian oil strike[30][31]
July
edit- 2004 Bécancour strike. Strike by Alcoa aluminium workers in Bécancour, Quebec.[32][33]
- 2004 LG-Caltex strike. 18-day strike by LG-Caltex Oil Corporation workers in South Korea.[34][35]
August
edit- 2004 Danish football strike. Strike by professional football players in Denmark, the first of the kind in Danish history.[36]
- 2004 Indian truckers strike. 1-week strike by truckers in India against the introduction of a 10% service tax.[37]
- 2004 Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike. 18-day hunger strike by Palestinians in Israeli custody.[38]
- 2004 Parks Canada strike[39]
September
edit- 2004 Brazilian bank strike. 1-month strike by bank workers in Brazil.[40]
- 2004 Estonian train strike. Strike by Eesti Raudtee workers over wages, the longest strike in Estonian history at that point since the Estonian Restoration of Independence in 1991.[41]
- 2004–05 NHL lockout
- 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment, including strike action taken by players.
- September 2004 South Africa public sector strike. One-day strike by public sector workers in South Africa. One of the biggest strikes in South African history.[42][43]
October
edit- 2004 Benin general strike. 3-day general strike in Benin for higher wages and lower university fees.[44]
- 2004 PSAC strike. 1-week strike by federal public workers in Canada, represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada.[45]
November
edit- 2004 El Abra strike. 22-day strike by miners at the El Abra mine in Chile over wages and benefits.[46]
- Hacienda Luisita massacre.
- 2004 Northeastern Illinois University strike. 18-day strike by Northeastern Illinois University faculty members in the United States over wages.[47]
- November 2004 Paraguayan National Civil Strike. 8-day strike movement in Paraguay demanding land redistribution.[48][49]
- 2004–05 SAQ strike. 2-month strike by Société des alcools du Québec workers.[50][51]
- 2004–05 Uniden strikes. Strikes by Uniden workers in Shenzhen, China, demanding the right to form a union.[52][53]
December
editStatistics
editAfrica
editAccording to Toughedah Jacobs and Derek Yuand of the Development Policy Research Unit of the University of Cape Town, there were 1,29 million working days lost to work stoppages in South Africa in 2004, the most since the year 2000.[54]
Europe
editAccording to the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), there were 19 work stoppages in Sweden in 2004, involving 2449 workers and 15 282 working days lost.[55]
References
edit- ↑ King, Hannah (16 February 2011). "Hazara asylum seekers hunger strike on Nauru, 2003-2004". Global NonViolent Action Database. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Nauru hunger strike over". ABC News. 8 January 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Kenya: Students Riot Over University Closure". AllAfrica. 13 January 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Pay strike closes Kenyan universities". Mail & Guardian. 11 November 2003. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Tiny Town Fights Tyson Foods". CBS News. 23 July 2003. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Freedom of Association in the Meat and Poultry Industry". Human Rights Watch. 2005. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Tyson Workers End Strike". The New York Times. 30 January 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "La révolte des chercheurs contre le gouvernement". Le Monde. 11 January 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ "Why are French scientists striking?". The Lancet. 20 March 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ Braud, Maurice (10 March 2004). "Strike at Radio France". European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ Portelli, Alessandro (2004). "Terni en huelga: 2004". Historia, Antropología y Fuentes Orales (32): 49–60. JSTOR 27753172. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Portelli, Alessandro (27 September 2017). "David and Goliath: The Town, the Factory, and the Strike". Biography of an Industrial Town: Terni, Italy, 1831–2014. Palgrave Studies in Oral History: 279–308. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-50898-6_12. ISBN 978-3-319-50897-9. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Muratore, Livio (3 February 2005). "Dispute over restructuring of Terni steelworks". European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Pact on Galápagos Fishing". The New York Times. 28 February 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Brown, Paul (2 March 2004). "Shark fishers hold scientists hostage". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Strike forces Galapagos boss out". BBC News. 28 September 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Africa: Zambia: Strike Over Fiscal Austerity". The New York Times. 19 February 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Geloo, Zarina (16 February 2004). "Labour trouble brewing in Zambia". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Aliant workers vote to end lengthy strike". The Globe and Mail. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Brophy, Enda (Summer 2009). "Resisting Call Centre Work: The Aliant Strike and Convergent Unionism in Canada". Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation. 3 (1): 80–99. doi:10.13169/workorgalaboglob.3.1.0080. JSTOR 10.13169/workorgalaboglob.3.1.0080. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Unions Narrowly Avert General Strike In B.C., Canada". LibCom. Autumn 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Neoliberalism and Working-Class Resistance in British Columbia: The Hospital Employees' Union Struggle, 2002–2004". History Cooperative. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Isitt, Benjamin (Spring 2007). "The Hospital Employees' Union Strike and the Privatization of Medicare in British Columbia, Canada". International Labor and Working-Class History (71): 91–111. JSTOR 27673072. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Unions demand end to Fiat strike". BBC News. 27 April 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ "Fiat, Labor Reach a Tentative Accord". The Los Angeles Times. 10 May 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ Kazan-Allen, Laurie (3 September 2005). "Victory for Egyptian Asbestos Workers". International Ban Asbestos Secretariat. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Glantz, Aaron (13 January 2005). "Egyptian Asbestos Workers Dying of Cancer". CorpWatch. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Kim, Jong-yoon (1 July 2004). "Economy minister says force is option to end KorAm strike". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific". World Socialist Web Site. 17 July 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Norway PM: Oil strike is serious". CNN. 24 June 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Lismoen, Håvard (5 July 2004). "Government intervenes to halt offshore oil strike". European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Alcoa obtient une injonction contre ses employés". TVA Nouvelles. 10 July 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Desjardins, François (29 December 2004). "L'aluminerie de Bécancour met sur pied une médiation post-grève". Le Devoir. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "LG-Caltex oil workers end strike amid scant support". The New York Times. 7 August 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ Choi, Ik-jae (24 December 2004). "LG-Caltex punishes over 600 ex-strikers". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ Jørgensen, Carsten (25 August 2004). "Footballers go on strike". European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "India's truckers' strike costing millions". UPI. 24 August 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ "Palestinians end hunger strike". Al Jazeera. 3 September 2004. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ↑ "Parks Canada workers all on strike". UPI. 3 September 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Brazilian bank workers end strike". UPI. 14 October 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ Lauringson, Anne (4 October 2004). "Train drivers hold Estonia's longest strike". European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ "South African public service strike - September 2004". LibCom. 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "'Biggest strike' in South African history". Mail & Guardian. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "General strike for higher pay shuts down country". The New Humanitarian. 19 October 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "10,000 striking PSAC workers reach deal, strike continues for 90,000". CBC News. 12 October 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "Americas: Chile: Copper Strike Ends". The New York Times. 30 November 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "$400,000 gift may end professors' strike". UPI. 8 December 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Jorquera, Jorge (1 December 2004). "PARAGUAY: Land battles a forerunner of crisis". GreenLeft. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "PARAGUAY: LANDLESS PROTESTS, NATIONAL STRIKE, AND HIGH-PROFILE KIDNAPPINGS MARK END OF YEAR". NotiSur - South American Political and Economic Affairs. 4 February 2005. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ "L'image de l'entreprise fortement ternie". TVA Nouvelles. 26 February 2005. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ "Bilan de la grève à la SAQ". Centre des médias alternatifs du Québec. 25 April 2005. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
- ↑ "Striking Shenzhen Workers at Japanese-owned Wal-Mart Supplier Firm Demand Right to Unionize" (PDF). China Labour Bulletin. 27 April 2005. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Chan, Chris King-Chi (Spring 2013). "Contesting Class Organization: Migrant Workers' Strikes in China's Pearl River Delta, 1978-2010". International Labor and Working-Class History. 83 (83): 112–136. doi:10.1017/S0147547913000082. JSTOR 43302711. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Jacobs, Toughedah (July 2013). "An Overview of Strike activities in South Africa, 1999-2011". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
- ↑ Berg, Annika (21 July 2005). "2004 Annual Review for Sweden". European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Retrieved 16 March 2026.