INTERVIEW: Chile: transforming the Labour Code18 mayo, 2015Determined, strong and with the courage of her convictions, Barbara Figueroa is a woman who doesn’t hesitate to say what she thinks. President of the Chilean trade union centre, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Chile (CUT), she sees herself as “the leading spokesperson for the most important workers’ organization” in Chile.Increasing inequalities in pay, job security and social stability have led Michelle Bachelet’s government to send a bill to Congress to reform the Labour Code introduced under Pinochet’s dictatorship which ended in 1990. The new act aims to strengthen the collective rights of workers and promote a fairer system of labour relations. Figueroa is one of the main figures driving the change.
PROFILE: Nigerian unions get creative and organize informal workers19 mayo, 2015With the collapse of many traditional industries, Nigeria has seen a rapid growth of workers in the informal sector. Statistics indicate that over 60 per cent of the Nigerian workforce is found in the informal economy.
IndustriALL affiliates fight redundancies at Whirlpool in Italy28 mayo, 2015IndustriALL Italian affiliates FIM-CISL, FIOM-CGIL and UILM responded on 22 and 25 May with a series of joint protests against 480 layoffs announced by Whirlpool.
Morocco: Electricity workers strike against privatization28 mayo, 2015On 25 May, thousands of electricity workers from Fédération nationale des travailleurs de l'énergie (FNTE) in Morocco took action following the government’s decision to halt social dialogue on their unilateral privatization program in the Casablanca region. Around 9,000 workers went on strike at production, transmission and distribution sites across the country.
Mines in Colombia still unsafe19 mayo, 2015On 13 May, 15 miners died after being trapped in a flooded gold mine in Riosucio, Colombia. After either an explosion inside the mine or cut-off the electricity supply, the pumps stopped working and the mine was flooded. Mine owner, Leonardo Mejía, said that 15 of the 80 miners working in the mine were killed.
Dialogue needed to save diamond polishing jobs in Botswana21 mayo, 2015IndustriALL affiliate Botswana Diamond Workers Union (BDWU) calls for social dialogue after worrying job losses in the in the diamond cutting and polishing sector.
PROFILE: Myanmar the new union frontier18 mayo, 2015As of January 2015, IndustriALL counts two trade unions from Myanmar among its members. In a country where unions have only been legal since 2012, organizing and training are crucial in building worker power.
Mexico - important legal victory for autoworkers14 mayo, 2015The Special Board 15 of the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board (JFCA) has ruled that Arneses y Accesorios de México must reinstate and provide back pay to four workers unfairly dismissed in December 2012. They were dismissed for denouncing the CTM collective bargaining agreement made behind the backs of the workers.
Finland - demonstrations to counter government attack on collective bargaining15 septiembre, 2015Three Finnish confederations of workers, SAK, STTK and AKAVA, have decided to organize a mass demonstration on 18 September to protest against measures proposed by the Finnish government.
Japanese union leaders reiterate government demand to ratify Hong Kong Convention9 septiembre, 2015On 9 September, the Japan Federation of Basic Industry Workers' Unions, JBU, met with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, MILT.
