Monthly Archives: April 2012

Tuesday 1 May Rally and March March in solidarity with workers in struggle everywhere 5:30pm, State Library, Cnr Latrobe and Swanston Sts, Melbourne Join Facebook event Download leaflet   Sunday 6 May Rally 1pm, Assemble Victorian Trades Hall, Cnr Victoria and Lygon Sts, Melbourne

Earlier this week, a 14 and an 18 year old were shot by police in Sydney as they were driving a stolen car. The shooting of the occupants of the car and the subsequent bashing of the shot driver by the police has reignited the debate about racism in Australia. […]

Ebrahim Madadi, vice-president of the ITF-affiliated Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company was recently released from prison. Ebrahim has been in and out of jail since August 2007 charged with crimes against ‘national security’. At the same time, Reza Shahabi, the treasurer of the abovementioned union, […]

On 20 April 2012, AAWL mini news reported that the Korean Government awarded compensation for the death of Ms. Jisook Kim after having contracted aplastic anaemia.  AAWL was contacted by one of the advocate activists of SHARPs (Supporters for Health and Rights of People in the semiconductor industry) who has […]

AAWL Public meeting Wednesday 2 May at 6pm Discussion with local and international activists involved in current airline disputes. Who flies the planes? Who loads the food onto aircraft?  Who does the maintenance? Where are we weakest?  Where are we strongest?  What’s the best strategy?  Where should we apply pressure? Evatt […]

Thousands of workers at two Holcim cement factories in India have been fighting against contractualisation and the right to permanent jobs. A delegation recently travelled to Switzerland to the company’s headquarters to highlight their fight. While the workers won no concession, Holcim has agreed to reopen negotiations with the workers.

Following the sacking of 350 of its workers, the Australian Manufacturing Union of Australia staged a protest rally outside Toyota factory. In addition, the union has filed a civil case against the company claiming that a number of the dismissed workers were targeted because they were unionists. Read AAWL’s statement.

The trial for Somyot Pruksakasemsuk began this week in Bangkok, Thailand. Somyot is a labour journalist who has been arrested under Thailand’s draconian Lèse Majesté law. The IFJ has released a statement in support of Somyot.  At a recent conference in Melbourne, Australia, a facebook flashmob demonstration was held to call […]

Aminul Islam was an organiser with the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity and the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation. In the huge wage protest movement of mid 2010, Mr. Islam had been arrested and tortured by the National Intelligence Service. On the evening of the 4th of April of […]

On April 16 2012 the Toyota plant in Altona Melbourne laid off 350 workers, the majority of whom are union activists. Toyota claims that the lay offs were part of a restructuring process and that “performance” based selection criteria was used to decide who was to be made redundant but […]