Earlier this month, the arrest and detention of Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, highlighted the continuing level of repression that exists in the country. Since the government moved against the popular uprising in early 2011, working class people and organisations have borne the brunt of […]
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Last week, another massive demonstration was held in the southern Japanese island of Okinawa against the presence of USA military bases. While the catalyst for this latest protest was the rape and killing of a local woman by a US servicemen, there are deeper issues. Many Okinawans feel that the […]
Earlier this month, the Turkish police detained Arzu Cerkezoglu, general secretary of the national trade union centre DISK, on charges of 'insulting the President’. This law of ‘insult’ was only introduced in 2014, but already around 1,850 people have been charged under this Act. It carries a jail term of […]
Last week, an estimated 6,000 labour and human rights activists marched in the streets of Hong Kong in support of Lam wing-kee. Lam was one of the five workers that were employed in bookshops and printers and mysteriously disappeared for months. They later reappeared in mainland China. Lam said that […]
In a stark reminder of the offensive that South Korean workers are facing, a state prosecutor has asked for an 8 year prison sentence to be given to Han Sang-gyun, the president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). Sang-gyun was involved in a number of large demonstrations last […]
This week, Baba Jan and 11 of his fellow activist were sentenced to 40 years jail by the regional Gilgit Baltistan Supreme Court. They were tried under Pakistan’s draconian anti terrorism laws. Their ‘crime’ was to organise working class people against exploitation and corruption. Baba Jan and his comrades were […]
Jafar Azmimzadeh, the Chairperson of the Free Union of Iranian Workers, has been on a hunger strike for almost 50 days. Jafar has been on a hunger strike to protest against his 6 year jail sentence on fabricated political charges aimed at stopping his labour activities. He smuggled a recorded […]
In continuing efforts to stifle any dissent in Thailand, the Thai military has charged three human rights defenders under the draconian Computer Crimes Act. The three activists, Somchai Homlaor, Pornpen Khongkachonkie, and Anchana Heemmina, are all part of the Cross Cultural Foundation. They had produced a report detailing torture practiced […]
Since the start of 2015, a number of new far right parties have tried to exploit the current economic and political climate to their advantage. They have organised a number of rallies in cities around Australia trying to fuel people’s anxiety of Muslims, refugees and foreigners in general. Labour and […]
The China Labour Bulletin has recently released a report, examining the increasing number of struggles by teachers and their political ramifications. The article presents a compelling portrait of swelling teacher anger and frustration in a country whose economy is weakening, whose middle class is trying to come to grips with […]