Unionised workforces cannot be enslaved. This is because of the simple fact that a unionised workforce is harder to exploit by even the most unscrupulous employers. But that self-evident truth is one that many who profess themselves concerned with the …Read more…
Sad news from Mogadishu, but Somalian unions will survive
Yesterday we received the awful news that another Somalian trade unionist had been murdered. Our colleagues in Mogadishu, from the ITUC-affiliated FESTU, reported that Brother Abdiasis Mohamed Ali, a…Read more…
TUC joins May Day protests for jailed Iranian teachers
The TUC has supported a letter this 1 May calling on the Iranian government to release two Iranian teacher union leaders and scores of other jailed trade unionists as part of a general call “to…Read more…
Unions & brands press Cambodia over union law
A global union campaign to ensure fair labour laws in Cambodia has won the support of multinational brands and NGOs. IndustriALL and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) are supporting…Read more…
Government pledges to reverse anti-union laws
No, it’s not April Fool’s Day yet, not a prediction for a future Britain. It’s the new Canadian Liberal Government of Justin Trudeau, and the new Minister of Employment, Workforce…Read more…
Qatar World Cup dream is a nightmare for workers
I had heard a lot about the exploitation of the migrant workers building Qatar’s World Cup dream. But nothing prepared me for the shock of seeing it first hand on a UNITE delegation last week…Read more…
Global poverty: our part in its downfall
This week the World Economic Forum (WEF) meets in Davos, and in recognition of the leading role of trade unions, Sharan Burrow, the world’s top trade unionist, is one of the co-chairs this year. So it’s particularly apt that yesterday, Oxfam issued a pre-Davos report showing that trade…Read more…
Unions pressing Cambodia for decent workers’ rights
The TUC is joining Cambodian and global unions to press the Cambodian government to give workers the rights they are due under ILO conventions. And in particular, we want the Cambodian government to…Read more…
Unions face increasing harassment in Iran
Despite the recent thaw in relations between the Iranian regime and western countries, the situation facing trade unionists in the country has worsened alarmingly this month. While we were in…Read more…
Iraq’s new labour law: positive but ‘clipped’
Iraq has finally issued a labour law that complies with ILO conventions, up to a point. It is a good day for global justice. The law provides legal protection for organised workers in the private and…Read more…
Amnesty makes jailed Iranian teacher union leader a prisoner of conscience
I blogged about the arrest of Iranian teacher union leader Ismail Abdi a month ago, and the bad news is that he’s still in jail (although no longer in solitary confinement for interrogation)….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…
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…
Doing our bit in Swaziland from Brussels
The Swazi people experience some of the most horrid living conditions on the planet. Under King Mswati II’s absolute rule, very low living standards have become even lower, very high AIDS/HIV prevalence has become even higher. Poverty is widespread, and the rule of law a distant ideal. We…Read more…
ACT NOW! Iranian regime persecutes trade unionists … again!
Last week, labour activists in Iran once again found themselves the target of persecution for exercising their legal and rightful trade union activities. The incidents include the reported arrest and…Read more…
Nissan reject mediation over harassment of US trade unionists
Nissan, the global automotive company, has refused an offer by the US government to mediate in the long standing union recognition dispute in Canton, Mississippi, issuing blanket denials of…Read more…
“You Cannot Pick & Mix Which Human Rights to Respect” National Express LAPFF14
The President of the USA Teamsters Union, James Hoffa, sent a video message to the LAPFF conference to thank them for our support in their campaign to stop the North American arm of British company National Express’s union busting.
Teamster Louis Mali…Read more…
The United Nations 10 Principles of Human Rights (“Nothing to do with us Guv” says Catalyst Housing)
These are “The 10 Principles of Human Rights”. It is disgraceful that the senior management and board of British Charities such as Catalyst Housing Association do not believe in basic human rights.
Principal 3 “Businesses should uphold the freedom …Read more…