Yearly Archives: 2015

Foxconn is the world's largest electronics contractor manufacturer and is globally integrated. While it has factories in many countries, in China alone, it employs over one million workers. Three years ago, a spate of suicides among its workers brought world attention to the inhumane conditions that workers laboured under. While […]

The terrible working conditions that migrant workers have to endure when working in some West Asian countries has been well documented (see here, here, and here.) There has been a constant struggle by workers to organise independent unions so as to be able to fight for better wages and conditions. […]

Fast food is a major industry around the world and it is one that is dominated by a few huge global companies. Following on from last year’s global day of action against McDonald’s, workers employed at Wendy’s have walked off the job at multiple sites to fight against rostering arrangements […]

The ship breaking yards of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh receive with most of the worlds’ large ships. The reasons that most of the world’s ships end up in these shipyards is that the wages for workers are incredibly low, working days very long and have almost non-existing health and safety […]

On the 31st of January this year, at least 13 workers died in a fire at the Nappco plastic factory located in a building complex in a crowded market area in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka (see video). Early reports indicate that fire precautions and exits were substandard with many workers trapped […]

At the end of January, an estimated 15,000 metalworkers in Turkey began a campaign to achieve a better agreement than what has been offered by employers and the government in terms of wages and conditions. The campaign involves a series of industrial actions during the month of February in factories […]

As reported in previous items, the situation for workers in Iran is very serious with increasing cost of living pressures, stagnating wages and harsh repressive conditions hindering any independent organising. Nevertheless, recent events such as the strike by thousands of workers at an ore mine in the Bafgh region against […]

Meatworkers and truck drivers in the state of Victoria are taking on the Coles supermarket chain, which is part of one of Australia’s biggest companies, over a new proposed agreement that would slash wages and destroy hard won conditions. Coles, in co-operation with the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees' Association […]

The coal mining industry in China has one of the worst health and safety records in the world with thousands of workers dying each year , as a result of industrial accidents. The ongoing global economic crisis has seen a recent downturn in the total production of coal. This has […]

The situation for workers in Thailand has continued to deteriorate over the last few months with further clamping down on civil liberties under the Lese Majeste law (see here and here). In addition, the military is intimidating opposition politicians by ordering them to attend military barracks where they will be educated […]