The last two weeks have seen more attacks against the workers movement in Pakistan with the assassination of human rights advocate Rashid Rahman in his office in Multan, and the brutal beating of labour leader Aslam Miraj in Faisalabad. Rahman was renowned for defending people against state sanctioned injustices, Miraj […]
Monthly Archives: May 2014
31 posts
This year was the 66th commemoration of Al Nakba which marks the dispossession of Palestinians from their lands by Zionist colonisers. Over 500 Palestinian villages were affected and 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. Demonstrations and events were held in both the Gaza strip and the West Bank. Unfortunately, at a protest […]
The new conservative government has used its first budget to deliver a stinging attack against workers in Australia. Using the language of needing to repair a budget deficit, the Liberal government has proposed to cut welfare payments to young people, raise the pension age to 70 years of age, reduce […]
Following a wave of protests and actions by other workers, especially garment workers, in Cambodia for wage rises, it is now the turn of gas station workers employed by Caltex to fight for better wages. Their demand is for the monthly minimum wage to be increased from the present US […]
Women rights are attacked all over the world in many ways. Whether for cultural, religious, family or other reasons, there are attempts to restrict the ability of women to have control over their lives. In Melbourne, Australia there is a concerted campaign to make abortion illegal again. A local parliamentarian, […]
After years of fighting, and more workers getting sick and dying, labour activists have finally managed to get Samsung to accept some responsibility. This week, the Vice Chair and CEO of Samsung Electronics Mr. Kwon Oh-hyun, apologised to the families of the dead workers and promised some compensation. Nevertheless, Mr […]
For the third time in a decade, Thailand’s constitutional court has removed an elected government leader. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been ordered to step down on trivial charges of improperly transferring a bureaucrat. Thailand has a long history of military coups and the judiciary overriding the elected government. The […]
Twenty three bus workers were arrested at a demonstration in Azadi square, Tehran, and were immediately imprisoned. 1,000 protesters also managed to reach the Ministry of Labour, but several were arrested upon arrival. Even prior to May Day itself, Iranian intelligence broke into the homes of trade union activists and […]
Twenty four officials of the Metal Workers Alliance of the Philippines were sacked on 5 May from NXP Semiconductors in Cabuyao, Laguna, for refusing to work overtime on public holidays, including Easter and 1 May. The union alleges that management fired the workers in an effort to thwart ongoing negotiations […]
The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) is calling for improvements in mine safety after the death of three workers in only three weeks. On 16 April two workers were killed when a mine wall collapsed 500 metres underground at a coal mine owned by Yancoal in the Hunter […]