The recent suicide of Keshav Shrestha, a young Nepali migrant worker in South Korea, has once again highlighted the repressive regulations that migrant workers face in South Korea. The law in question is the Employment Permit System (EPS) which legalises migrant workers’ stay in South Korea but puts incredible restrictions […]
Monthly Archives: August 2017
30 posts
In handing down jail sentences of up to 12 months to 13 human rights activists, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal has sent a clear political message to all human rights and labour activists in Hong Kong. The sentences relate to a protest in the Legislative Council in 2014, at […]
In an important victory, over 600 workers employed at JK Tyres in Kanchipuram district in southern India, won the right to be represented by the union of their choice. The workers had to strike for more than two weeks, but in the end were also able to win the reinstatement […]
The latest mapping of the number of strikes and industrial actions in China confirms that while workers in the construction sector are the ones most likely to take action, workers in the retail and service sectors are also continuing to flex their industrial muscle. Within this industrial political landscape, the […]
This week saw an increase in the threats between the United States and the North Korean governments with both sides threatening military strikes. The peninsula has already witnessed a devastating conflict between 1950-53, that saw North Korea practically levelled by USA bombing. This tension comes at a time of National […]
Hamed Shamshiripour killed himself last Monday, just outside Australia’s concentration camp in Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Hamed was experiencing worsening mental health issues due to his ongoing detention but received minimal care. He is the seventh person who has died in the last few years in Australia’s overseas concentration […]
Reza Shahabi is a long time member and activist with the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Vahed Syndicate). Earlier this week Reza was forced to return to prison, though there have been conflicting accounts of what his status now is or where he is going to […]
The ship breaking workers at the Gadani yards in Pakistan, won a 10% wage increase last week. While this increase is less than what they were demanding, it is still an important step forward considering the level of union repression in the past. There are now competing unions who are […]
This week, Thara Wanichpongpan, a 59 year old man was found guilty of Lese Majeste and sentenced to 20 years in jail. His crime was to upload podcasts that were allegedly critical of the monarchy. In a separate case, Pravit Rojanaphruk, a journalist with Khaosod was formally accused of sedition […]
This week, another nine journalists were arrested as part of a larger group of 35 media workers. All have been accused of ‘membership of an armed terrorist organisation’. These arrests are just the latest in a continuing campaign that has seen around 150,000 workers suspended or sacked from their jobs […]