Monthly Archives: October 2011

With the uprising in Syria in its 8th month, the class divisions that are affecting the situation have become quite clear. General strikes are now very common in working class cities like Homs, Hama, Baniyas and Daraa, as well as in the working class suburbs of Damascus. In addition, the […]

International industrial action and solidarity workshop  International solidarity is built through solidarity messages, connecting struggles and joint industrial action  We have been asked by the workers at Maruti-Suzuki in India, Hanjin in Korea and Freeport in West Papua for solidarity. We have been asked by the workers at Philippine Airlines to organise […]

As the All Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI) Freeport division and Freeport management were in another round of negotiations, three people were killed nearby. The negotiation, earlier this week, lasted nine hours ending without agreement. Freeport Vice Executive, Sinta Sirait, rejected a call by SPSI chief negotiator, Sudiro, for striking workers to be fully […]

A recent campaign by a number of migrant worker organisations to support migrant workers in Jordan has once again highlighted the terrible situation that thousands of workers face. Workers have reported that they have been raped, beaten, forced to work in intolerable and degrading conditions, and subjected to deportations at […]

It is now over a month that almost 3,000 workers have been in a struggle with Philippine Airlines over the issue of outsourcing their jobs. They are staying strong and have received international solidarity. Actions in support of their stance are continuing, see here and here. While action has been […]

Over fifty workers at the Nescafé factory in Panjang, Indonesia were recently dismissed after the workers took industrial action in support of their collective bargaining demands. All these workers were members of the SBNIP. The workers have organised for five years to win their better conditions via a collective agreement. […]

At two of the Kampana-Savranoğlu factories, makers of leather for the shoe industry, over a 100 workers have been fighting a hard battle for trade union rights. These workers, in Izmir and Istanbul, tried to organise a union with the support of the Turkish union DERİ-İş. They were met with intimidation […]

The Progress Union this week announced that ten workers sacked in 2010 by the Everest Industries (P) Ltd., in the Katunayake export processing zone will be reinstated at the start of November. These workers will also receive six months back wages. The Progress Union, with other unions such as the […]

Amid a widely publicised release of prisoners from Burmese jails, news has reached us that seven trade unionists have also been released. Unfortunately many more still remain in jail. Burma has a very bad human rights record where independent labour organising is virtually impossible. Independent trade unions organise at the […]

Workers in every country face the same pressures to work longer, produce more, for less. In our increasingly globalised economies, not only do we work in the same industries, but often for the same company. What is the best way to fight together? How do we make our actions more […]