Yearly Archives: 2012

This week, after more than 12 weeks either on strike or locked out, over 1,000 AFFCO meat workers returned to work. With the assistance of Maori leaders and of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, the union signed a collective agreement which included a pay increase of 4.3% and […]

With the uprising against the Syrian government now well into its second year, the situation is becoming ever more critical for workers and their families. With various imperialist powers using the UN mission to further their own interests, there are increasing signs of fracturing of the anti government opposition. In […]

During the month of May, the Australian government has given some of the richest mining companies in the world the right to apply to bring more temporary guest workers to Australia on temporary work visas (457 visas). This arrangement will place these contract workers in an extremely vulnerable position in […]

Shahrokh Zamani and Mohammad Jarrahi, members of the Painters’ Union, and The Committee to Defend Labour Rights, were sentenced to 16 years jail for their trade union activities. Following intimidation and harassment while in the Tabriz Central Prison, Mr. Jarrahi and three of his fellow inmates have began a hunger […]

The International Transport Federation (ITF) this week came out in support of Turkish airline workers, who are members of the Hava-Is union, and are resisting the government’s move to outlaw strikes. The Turkish government is attempting to introduce legislation that would ban go-slows, solidarity strikes, general strikes and workplace occupations, […]

Qantas is the latest aviation company that is seeking to increase its profits by shifting its operations to countries that have weaker unions and cheaper wages. Outsourcing internationally allows companies to exploit the regions where workers are not as well organised. International trade union organising is the best way to […]

The IUF, the international union that represents food, farm and hotel workers, has launched a new phase in the campaign to get 53 workers reinstated at the Panjang Nestle factory in Indonesia. The 53 workers were members of the IUF-affiliated SBNIP, and were arbitrarily dismissed in October 2011 after the […]

A fact finding report on the Regency Ceramics Workers’ Struggle in Yanam has been released by the Trade Union Solidarity Committee in Mumbai India. On 28 January 2012, police charged a non-violent union demonstration of locked out Ceramic Workers in Yanam, Pondicherry, killing the Union Leader, M.S Murali Mohan and […]

Around 1,400 workers employed by the garment manufacturer PT SC Enterprises, located in Klaten, Central Java, have been in a bitter dispute in the last two months as they try to organise into a trade union. The Italian owned company has now sacked over 40 workers this month and has […]

In the last decade, some regions of India, like Gurgaon near New Delhi, have experienced a wave of massive industrialisation. This has created a whole new population of workers, many of whom have limited trade union experience. Following on from major industrial disputes, (which you can read about here and […]