This week saw two major accidents at Chinese coal mines. The first one was at a State-owned coal mine of the Hengda Mining Company, in Liaoning province. Accumulated coal dust ignited a fire in which 24 miners were killed and more than 50 injured. A day later, an explosion at […]
Monthly Archives: November 2014
24 posts
Thirty years ago in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh – India, the worst single industrial accident in the world happened at the Union Carbide chemical plant. A chemical explosion and leak, caused by inadequate maintenance, bad health and safety procedures, and inept emergency procedures, led to an immediate death toll of around […]
Last Monday the 24th of November was the second anniversary of the fire at the Tazreen factory where 119 workers were killed. While some compensation has been paid, and more is still being sought, the reality is that the owner of that factory is still to face justice. Apart from […]
On Monday 1 December, Thailand’s military ruler, Prayuth Chan-ocha, will visit Malaysia on an official state visit. After seizing power in a military coup in May of this year, Prayuth installed himself as the new Prime Minister of Thailand. His military junta has created a climate of fear and repression, […]
As previously reported, the issue of job security and the struggle against casualisation and contracting out has become a major issue for all workers in South Korea. Last week, over 20,000 support workers in schools went on strike in a long running battle to be classified as regular workers. They […]
The appalling conditions that migrant workers face in many countries in West Asia have been well documented before (see here, here and here). Following a recent delegation to Qatar, the Building and Wood Worker's International (BWI) global union has come up with a new initiative to overcome government bans on […]
The 25th of November was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Globally, 35% of women and girls experience some physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, while in some countries this figure is as high as 70%. Women workers and unions are fully involved in this […]
The Tokyo Disneyland theme park employs approximately 20,000 workers. It attracts millions of visitors per year. Unfortunately for its workforce, it is anything but a fantasy land. Around 90% of these workers are employed on a casual basis and receive a flat rate of US $9/hr. In addition, working hours […]
On the morning of 16 November 2014 Laurie Burley passed away after a year-long battle with cancer. He will be sadly missed by the union movement and particularly the meatworkers in the retail sector. Since 1989 Laurie was an Organiser with the AMIEU. On behalf of meatworkers in the retail […]
As previously reported, Cambodian workers have been organising under very difficult and repressive conditions. In an important win, the SL Garment Company earlier this week agreed to drop all charges against union leaders and activists. This agreement also included the back paying of US$ 300,000 to all workers who took […]