Blog entry

On the 1 May, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, an Iranian labour and children’s rights activist, was finally released from Rajee Shahr prison. Benham spent almost 7 years in jail for the ‘crime’ of attempting to form independent labour organisations. The day before, another long-time imprisoned labour activist, Esmail Abdi, began a hunger […]

Workers all around the world marched again for workers’ rights on May Day (see here, here and here). In Sweden, May Day specifically targeted the issue of Islamophobia and how this is impacting negatively on women workers. In the Asia Pacific region, workers had to survive police repression in Turkey, […]

During 2016 workers in all industries once again continued to face pressure from the ongoing crisis of capitalism. Companies everywhere tried to increase profits by making workers work harder for less, and by spending less on health and safety. This relentless ‘Race to the Bottom’ was coupled with repression against […]

The recent referendum in Turkey on whether or not to expand the powers of the president, once again exposed the deep class rifts in Turkish society. The results highlighted the opposition’s strongholds in the industrialised and urbanised areas of Turkey, as well as the Kurdish south east. In addition, accusations […]

World Press freedom day falls every year on the 3 May and it is a time to remember those who have been killed for doing their job and to call for greater protections. So far this year, 14 journalists have been killed around the world. The International Federation of Journalists […]

This week, the Basrah Gas Company, a joint venture with Shell, Southern Gas and Mitsubishi, agreed that its 6,000 strong workforce could be represented by the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU). This is a great win by workers to have their power to collective bargain recognised, in such a […]

Last year, a number of beer promotion workers, all women, were dismissed by Cambrew for fighting changes to their employment contract that would have worsened their working conditions. The Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation (CFSWF) has been supporting these workers in their fight against Cambrew. In retaliation the company […]

The discovery of a hidden room inside a Manila police station that was used to keep accused suspects without charge, is only the latest revelation of the continuing brutal War on Drugs that President Duterte has unleashed. Earlier this month, Arturo Lascanas, an ex-police officer from Davao offered evidence of […]

The removal of a small brass plaque, no larger than a dinner plate, embedded in the tarmac in front of Bangkok's Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, has become a symbol of the continuing military repression in Thailand. The plaque commemorates the 1932 overthrow of the rule of absolute monarchy and a […]

This week, the international labour movement received a letter from Han Sang-gyun, the imprisoned leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. In the letter, Sang-gyun thanks all of his supporters, both locally and internationally, and restated his commitment to keep fighting the anti-worker offensive of the last couple of […]