How We Present the News
WORLD NEWS
Positive Trends
Success Stories
Flops
Agriculture
Business
Culture
Education
Government
Health
Science
World Peace
News by
Country
Maharishi in the World Today
Excellence in Action
Consciousness Based Education
Ideal Society
Index
Invincible World
Action for
Achievement
Announcements
WATCH LIVE
Maharishi® Channel
Maharishi TV
Maharishi Darshan Hindi Press Conferences
Maharishi's Press Conferences and Great Global Events
ULTIMATE GIFTS
Maharishi's
Programmes
Maharishi's
Courses
Maharishi's
Publications
Scintillating
Intelligence
Worldwide Links
Transcendental
Meditation
RESEARCH
Album of Events
Celebration
Calendars
Musicmall ♬
Search
|
Greenland passes mining projects bill, opens for cheap labour
Reuters Translate This Article
7 December 2012
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Greenland on Friday passed a bill setting the framework for foreign mining and exploration companies to take advantage of the natural resources of the Arctic island and opening up for cheaper labour, including staff from China.
The legislation defines the size of what is determined a large scale project and regulates minimum salary levels for foreign workers.
The law has been criticised for paving the way for companies to employ foreign workers at a lower salary than what the companies would be paying Greenlandic workers.
With global warming thawing its Arctic sea lanes and global industry eyeing its minerals, Greenland, population 57,000, is wrestling with opportunities that offer rich rewards but risk harming a pristine environment and a traditional society that is trying to make its own way in the world after centuries of European rule.
Greenland, semi-autonomous from Denmark, wants to encourage foreign companies to come in with workers to set up exploration while unions fear the move will undercut the Greelandic workers.
Whether in iron, zinc or rare earth minerals vital for 21st-century technology like smartphones, China has been eyeing investments in Greenland, whose increasingly autonomous national government is looking further afield for investors.
All parties except the biggest opposition party, which abstained and said the bill needed more work, voted in favour of the legislation.
Kaj Kleist, spokesman at British company London Mining Plc , which plans a large iron ore mine near the capital of Nuuk, said the company was pleased with the bill.
'Several issues around the big scale projects, such as salaries, are quite heavy politically. With the legislation in place that we can follow, we will be able to have less debate,' he said.
'Greenland never had a big work force from abroad before, that's why we need to regulate this,' Kleist said.
He said the new legislation sets the minimum hourly wage for foreign workers in large scale projects at 80.40 Danish crowns, less than what most Greenlandic workers earned.
London Mining's $2.3 billion project stands to increase Greenland's population by 4 percent by hiring Chinese workers and would supply China with iron.
Greenland has awarded overall some 150 licences for mineral exploration compared with only a handful in existence a decade ago, with around $100 million spent by companies last year alone. Oil companies have spent more than $1 billion in exploring offshore.
Copyright © 2012 Reuters
Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. 'Reuters' and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies. For additional information on other Reuters media services please visit reuters.com/newsagency.
Global Good News comment:
For Maharishi's Vedic Approach to solving the problems of today's news, please visit: http://maharishi-programmes.globalgoodnews.com/
Translation software is not perfect; however if you would like to try it, you can translate this page using:
|
|