The issue of trade unionists being jailed in Iran has been covered many times previously (see here, here, here and here). These arrests are a reflection of the Iranian government’s unrelenting campaign against labour activists in order to prevent workers improving their wages and conditions. This week, Shahrokh Zamani died […]
Monthly Archives: September 2015
30 posts
The shipbreaking business around the world is a global industry where costs are pared to the bare minimum at the expense of workers’ health and safety. This week another 4 workers were killed at the shipyards in Chittagong, Bangladesh when a gas cylinder exploded. Many others were left badly injured. These deaths […]
In South Korea there are two main trade union federations that represent workers, the Korean Federation of Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). This week, in a tripartite committee comprising representatives from the FKTU, the Korea Employers' Federation and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, […]
In the last few weeks we reported that Philippine Airlines (PAL) was once again laying off staff contrary to an agreement that it had reached with PALEA, the union representing PAL workers, a couple of years ago. The workers have not accepted this and are involved in pickets and demonstrations […]
The continued repression by Israel and the resistance by Palestinians has been reported previously (see here and here) but in the last week tensions in Jerusalem have escalated greatly. The flashpoint is the al-Aqsa mosque where Israeli far right activists and settlers are trying to gain more access to the […]
Facing widespread calls by the Australian public to accept more refugees from the wars in West Asia, the Australian government announced that it would take an additional 13,500 refugees from Syria. This intake will concentrate on bringing in the ‘most oppressed communities’, a sentence that for many refugee advocates means […]
As reported previously, the mass exodus of people from Syria and neighbouring countries is a reflection of the intensifying cycle of repression, war and exploitation in that region. The announcement by Australia that it will now target Islamic State in Syria will only intensify the suffering of ordinary Syrians without […]
This year has seen continued industrial activity by teachers in Iran (see here and here) with many of the main activists arrested. This week news has come out that Mahmoud Langroodi, a board member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association (Tehran) was arrested at his home while another two unionists, […]
When almost 200 employees of SF Leather decided to organise and join the union Deriteks, the company sacked 14 of the main labour activists in March of this year. The company also sought to crush the workers’ effort to organise. Unfortunately, such anti union tactics in Turkey are not isolated […]
The continuing global economic crisis is affecting the large shipbuilding sector in South Korea, with workers under pressure to pay for this crisis. The main companies affected are Hyundai, Daewoo and Samsung. This week, 25,000 workers at Hyundai and Daewoo shipyards staged a 4 hour strike against a continuing wage […]