The shrimp and seafood processing industry in Thailand employs many thousands of migrant Burmese workers. The industry has a reputation for being anti union with low pay and bad working conditions. But workers in the industry are fighting back. Last Sunday, thousands of workers staged a snap strike to demand […]
Yearly Archives: 2013
328 posts
In Australia the number of workers on short term visas has generated a lot of media discussion. ‘Guest workers’ are found in many countries around the world. Many of these workers are very vulnerable because of their precarious residency and legal status. What are the best ways to organise and […]
In the last 12 months we’ve seen a number of horrific cases of mass murder of workers around the world. In each case, whether it was in Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Bangladesh again, we see how workers lives are expendable in the race for profits and the need to cut […]
As reported previously, journalist and activist Andy Hall, uncovered massive exploitative practices among migrant workers in a fruit processing plant in central Thailand. The company, the Natural Fruit Company Ltd has proceeded with its threat to sue Mr. Hall for defamation. This is an attempt to stifle union organising by […]
In South Korea there are around 250,000 workers in the education sector who perform vital support functions but are not recognised as part of the mainstream teaching staff. This means that they do not have a collective agreement and are employed on contract, short term or casual bases. Following on […]
Reza Shahabi is a founding member and treasurer of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, an independent trade union that has been targeted repeatedly by the Iranian government. He was arrested in 2010 and sentenced to six years in prison on charges of “collusion against national […]
Following the announcement of the planned closures of Ford’s car factories in Australia, Holden recently announced that it wants its workforce to take substantial wage cuts and increase flexible working arrangements. The automotive industry operates on a global scale and these latest announcements in Australia are another indication of how […]
With greater scrutiny on the garment industry in Bangladesh following the collapse of the Rana Plaza, which caused the death of over 1,100 workers, more examples of the terrible working conditions are being highlighted. In the last week, another two factories had reports of workers being poisoned by contaminated water, […]
It has been over three weeks since the first protests against the redevelopment of Gezi Park in central Istanbul. The protests sparked mass demonstrations against growing authoritarianism and inequality in Turkey. The response of the government has been to unleash wave after wave of police baton charges, backed up with […]
Samsung Electronics has a fearsome union busting reputation throughout its global stable of companies. A Korean labour committee is now accusing the government of using a sham sub-contracting system to keep at least 10,000 workers employed as non- regular employees. They would not be the only major company adopting this […]