In January 2013, a 16 year old engineering apprentice, Cameron Minshull, tragically lost his life after becoming entangled in a lathe. Prosecutors in Cameron’s case alleged that his employer used…Read more…
Swaziland: is the pressure working?
We’ve been pressing for a change of course in Swaziland for many years. It’s Africa’s last feudal dictatorship. It has the world’s highest rate of HIV-AIDS infection. And…Read more…
Common priorities for Europe in Britain & Ireland
Yesterday I had the honour of addressing the Congress of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), and a large part of my speech focused on the challenges facing the European Union. Including, of…Read more…
Take action on Iran’s crackdowns on teachers & journalists
Perhaps upset that it somehow missed out on inclusion in the ITUC list of the ten worst countries to be a trade unionist last month, Iran has made a strong early bid to be included next year by…Read more…
Greece after the referendum
I was pleased to be able to sponsor and speak at the Greece Solidarity Campaign/Jubilee Debt Campaign rally in solidarity with Greece at Congress House last night. Here’s what I said: Greece is…Read more…
Tolpuddle in Tuscany: talking Brexit & Grexit
Last night I was sat in a tent for a couple of hours on top of a hill in Tuscany, alongside the current and future Presidents of the European Trade Union Confederation (Ignacio Toxo from…Read more…
Solidarity with Greek workers
On Monday evening, I addressed a rally in Trafalgar Square in solidarity with the people of Greece. Here’s what I said. I am proud to be here tonight to bring you best wishes on behalf of the…Read more…
UAE: one of the terrible ten worst countries for workers’ rights
The United Arab Emirates has made the ITUC’s list of the ten worst countries for workers’ rights abuses, and it’s not hard to see why when you look at the plight of the…Read more…
Swaziland: one of the terrible ten worst countries for workers’ rights
Swaziland makes the top ten worst places for workers because of its repressive regime of intimidation, police violence and imprisonment. Trade unions are also banned and authorities have used…Read more…
Saudi Arabia: one of the terrible ten worst countries for workers’ rights
Saudi Arabia employs a staggering 8.3 million migrants. Migrants make up 90 to 95 per cent of the private sector workforce but are excluded from labour law and endure forced labour akin to slavery….Read more…
Qatar: one of the terrible ten worst countries for workers’ rights
As a Gulf State with its infamous kafala system, Qatar can be a living hell for migrant labourers, excluded from labour law and under a forced labour system akin to a modern slavery. Once in Qatar,…Read more…
Pakistan: one of the terrible ten worst countries for workers’ rights
Pakistani workers face large-scale exclusions from labour law, arrests and violence. Last year protests were held condemning the murder of eight labourers in Balochistan. Earlier this year, trainee…Read more…
Guatemala: one of the terrible ten worst countries for workers’ rights
Murder, armed attacks and a lack of due process is the reality for Guatemalan unionists and their leaders. Throughout the last 12 months, leaders of the country’s various transport, municipal…Read more…
Egypt: one of the terrible ten worst countries for workers’ rights
Egypt can be a tough place for workers with its cases of police brutality, mass arrests, abductions and attempted assassinations. In June last year, 500 workers of a national steel company protested…Read more…
Colombia: one of the terrible ten worst countries for workers’ rights
Colombia is the world’s capital for murders of unionists. Despite fitful progress in the ongoing peace process between the government and the FARC guerrillas, Colombia’s trade unionists are…Read more…
China: one of the terrible ten worst countries for workers’ rights (2)
At the ILO conference earlier this month, the International Trade Union Confederation launched its 2015 Global Rights Index, detailing the ten worst countries for workers’ rights abuses in the…Read more…
Why we’d find it difficult repeating Better Together for Europe
We’re being asked quite a lot if the trade union movement would join a broad-based campaign to stay in the European Union, working with employers, political parties and others. The example of…Read more…
Belarus: one of the terrible ten worst countries for workers’ rights (1)
At the ILO conference earlier this month, the International Trade Union Confederation launched its 2015 Global Rights Index, detailing the ten worst countries for workers’ rights abuses in the…Read more…
Ten countries not to go to, if you’re a trade unionist
Although holiday season is almost upon us, this isn’t really the TUC Holiday Show. Over the last fortnight, trade unionists, employers and governments from all over the world have been in…Read more…
‘Fast track’ defeated – for now! US unions at forefront of campaign
The legislation President Obama needs so that he can drive through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement being negotiated by the US and twelve Pacific Rim countries is stalled –…Read more…