Yearly Archives: 2016

On Wednesday this week, the Seoul High Court upheld the jailing of Han Sang gyun, the president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) for the ‘crime’ of organising demonstrations. The court sentenced Han to 3 years' imprisonment with a fine, which is a reduced penalty from the one […]

Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, a labour activist with the Committee to Pursue the Establishment of Workers’ Organisations in Iran and a Children's Rights advocate, is facing a new round of interrogations and harassment. Behnam has been in jail since 2010. He was originally given a 5 year sentence for the ‘crime’ of […]

Earlier this month, Shah Jahan was killed while working on a container ship in Chittagong, Bangladesh, when he was struck in the head by a large piece of iron. As with many other workers, Shah was not provided with any safety gear or heavy lifting equipment. Unfortunately this is only […]

Following the bloody attack against police in Istanbul by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) which killed 44 people, the Turkish government has continued its ‘scorched earth policy’ of using any pretence to go after any real or potential political opposition. In the aftermath of this bombing, the Turkish government conducted […]

The Lebanese government marked International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2016, by deporting Sujana Rana, a Nepalese migrant domestic worker involved in the struggle for the rights of migrant domestic workers. A fellow labour worker activist, Rosie Limbaugh, remains in custody, also facing deportation. An international campaign has been launched […]

In early November, the Government of Narendra Modi announced that it was withdrawing from circulation the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes and people had 50 days to exchange them with the banks. The stated intention by the government was to stop the informal economy and raise revenue. What is […]

The fishing industry in much of South East Asia is controlled by large companies that rely on a migrant and un-organised workforce to reap huge profits. Filipino workers make up a large part of the workforce. Captain Wilfredo died from an untreated illness while being held in detention in Indonesia […]

This week, after years of lobbying and campaign by labour and health groups, the Canadian government announced that it will ban the use of asbestos in Canada within 12 months. While this is a great win for Canadian workers, their families and communities, the government only recommended that a panel […]

This week, after a hard fought six month campaign that spanned the globe, 55 maintenance workers in Melbourne, Australia, won their dispute against the CUB brewery, part of the global empire of the AB InBev company. The company had tried to destroy the union by sacking these workers and wanting […]

Last Sunday, hundreds of Tehran bus drivers evaded police check points to rally in front of Tehran City Hall to demand better social services. Police and security forces attacked this protest severely injuring a number of workers and arresting a number of others. Heroically, the workers kept up their protests […]