Monthly Archives: August 2012

Mr. Alireza Asgari and Mr. Jalil Mohammadi have been put on trial for ‘acting against national security through formation of an illegal group’. Their crime was to attempt to organise a trade union. They were arrested with sixty others in the city of Karaj on the 15 June of this […]

Wages Council chairman Father Kevin Barr resigned last week after the government once again deferred a wage rise for Fijian workers. This move is a continuation of the policy to destroy the workers movement. Last year, Daniel Urai, President of the Fiji Trade Union Congress, was arrested while the government […]

Workers in Bangladesh often face harsh repression as they attempt to organise and demand better wages and conditions. A couple of months ago, tobacco workers were demonstrating outside their factory when security guards opened fire, killing Mintu Hossain and Rokibul Islam, and injuring another 35. It is thought that the […]

In September 2011 Philippine Airlines locked out 2600 workers and then sacked them. The workers had refused to accept their jobs being outsourced leading to a 50% cut in wages, loss of benefits including health insurance, longer working hours and loss of union coverage. QANTAS grounded all of their fleet in […]

Workers in Turkey are facing increasing pressure from both companies and the Turkish government. Workers employed at the Turkish arm of the global logistics firm, DHL, have faced dismissal and continued harassment for having joined Tumtis, their local union. Join the international campaign to support them.   Meanwhile at Turkish […]

Following on from the mid July incidents at the car factory, workers are being arrested in large numbers with over 110 in jail already. The police have released a list of another 160 workers that it wants to arrest. Family members of the workers in this list have been intimidated […]

With the population of Israeli settlers in the West Bank over half a million strong, the pressures on Palestinians are ever increasing. In the month of July, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (check out the English and Arabic websites) has been targeted by the occupying Israeli forces. Dr. Moayad […]

While much of the mainstream media and governments portray migrant workers as a problem to be managed, the reality is very different. Migrant workers in most countries of the world live in fear of deportation, have less bargaining and organising rights than other workers, and subsequently have to endure lower […]

In the last two years, textile workers in and around the Indian city of Ludhiana, in Punjab state, have kept up a series of disputes in order to win better wages and conditions. This week, their newly formed union, the Textile Mazdoor Union (TMU), held its founding conference. Around 200 […]

With the recently formed ‘Network of Family members and People affected by the Article 112’ (the Lese Majeste law), activists are continuing to campaign for the release of arrested people. Last month, charges were dropped against Chotisak Onsoong and his friend who were arrested for not standing up for the […]