Yearly Archives: 2016

In the last few weeks, four workers were killed and others injured in a series of incidents at the Seiko Steel and Laskar shipbreaking yards. These horrific statistics are the direct results of the criminal neglect by employers of safe working conditions and the repression of independent trade unions. Unfortunately, […]

The health and safety of workers in South Korea took a step forward last week with the recognition that Malignant Lymphoma is a disease caused by occupational exposure. This small win was the result of hard struggle by labour activists who have been campaigning for years against the practices of […]

The situation for refugees in Australia remains mired in the policy of repression from the two main political parties. A local artist’s exhibition vividly portrays this inhumanity, while a group of refugees have produced a video condemning the actions of the current immigration minister, Peter Dutton. In the offshore concentration […]

At the start of this month, Khalida Jarrar, was released from jail after 14 months of administrative detention. At her release, Khalida's message was that internationally, the Palestinian solidarity movement needs to devote more energy and campaigning on the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. At the same time Khalida […]

Last week, workers and unions in Melbourne, Australia had a victory for workers to hold political views when Roz Ward, an academic at La Trobe University was reinstated after a short suspension. Ms. Ward is one of the co-founders of the Safe School curriculum which aims to promote acceptance of […]

This week a fire engulfed a housing complex for migrant workers in Qatar, killing 11  and injuring at least another 12 workers. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident as countries in West Asia, like Qatar, are renowned for their brutal exploitation of migrant workers and their anti-union practices (see […]

In a barbaric display of repression and intimidation, the Iranian Government carried out public floggings against 17 mine workers as punishment for them taking industrial action. The workers were employed at the Agh Dareh Gold Mine in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province. They had been protesting against the layoff of 350 […]

In conjunction with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting in Dublin, Ireland, held at the start of June, airport workers in many countries (see here and here) staged protests in a co-ordinated Global Day of Action, (see here for pictures). In a globalised industry like aviation, workers […]

Workers at Bitzer have now been on strike for nine weeks. They are fighting for a contract that will not cut their wages and conditions. They want to stop the attempt to introduce different rates of pay for workers doing the same job. The workers are maintaining a 24-hour picket […]

Earlier this week, in an example of the health and safety issues that garment workers in Cambodia face, over 100 workers were badly affected by chemicals in their factory. The company, Orient International Enterprise factory, situated in the Kampong Speu’s Samrong Tong area, admitted that it had sprayed pesticides throughout […]