STOP Precarious Work

On 7 October, the World Day for Decent Work, IndustriALL Global Union calls on affiliates to mobilize their members and join the global fight to STOP Precarious Work.

Unions are pushing against this tide by organizing precarious workers, fighting laws that expand precarious work and mobilizing in support of secure employment with good pay and working conditions.

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Actions 2016

South-East Asia

Pakistan: Seven workers injured in a fire at shipbreaking yard

17 October 2018 at 10:30

The fire started on 14 October as workers were breaking the oil tanker Kriti in the plot number 10 in the Gadani shipbreaking yard located in Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. The tanker is owned by an individual Alam Khan. Initial reports suggest that seven workers were injured as result of a fire, three of them are in critical condition due to severe burns.

What is precarious work?

4 October 2018 at 12:22

Casual, temporary, indirect, zero-hours contracts, are all terms that describe precarious work. This type of work is increasingly being used to replace direct, permanent jobs, allowing employers to reduce or even abandon their responsibility to workers.

Precarious work destroying workers’ lives in Nigerian oil and gas industry

27 September 2018 at 09:07

Contract work and casualization of the oil and gas industry is having a dire impact on trade unions and the lives of workers in Nigeria, according to IndustriALL Global Union’s affiliates in African’s largest oil producing country.

L20 unionists call on the G20 to fight inequality and precarious work

12 September 2018 at 11:28

Representatives of international trade-union organizations attended the Labour 20 Summit (L20) in Mendoza, Argentina, on 4 and 5 September 2018. They called on the G20 to take steps to reduce inequalities, combat precarious work and ensure a fair transition to a low-carbon economy.

Interview: Napoleón Gómez Urrutia’s return to Mexico a triumph for freedom of association

11 September 2018 at 12:06

After 12 years of self-imposed exile in Canada, the leader of the Los Mineros union, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, has finally returned to Mexico, where he will take on a new role as senator for the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party led by President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

South Africa: union in historic court victory against precarious work

26 July 2018 at 17:48

The Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa, has ruled that an employer cannot employ a worker for more than three months without a permanent contract.

Brazil's trade union centres seek to further the country's development

26 July 2018 at 16:33

Brazil's seven trade union centres have come together to launch a "Priority Agenda for the Working Class", which includes recommendations on how to further the country's development. They are also organizing a national day against unemployment on 10 August.

Victory for Indonesian pulp and paper workers

19 June 2018 at 16:33

A strike on 13 June by IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, FSP2KI, involving 500 outsourcing workers at one of Indonesia’s biggest pulp and paper companies, has led to significant gains for workers.

Peru: Workers protest against abuses at Protisa

14 June 2018 at 12:56

On 11 June, workers at Protisa Peru mobilised to protest against job discrimination and the company’s systematic persecution of trade unionists.

Shell unable to answer worker questions at AGM

24 May 2018 at 16:51

Royal Dutch Shell’s executive board failed to give adequate responses to questions on serious violations of workers’ rights at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday.

Latin America and the Caribbean activates its strategic plan for the region

24 May 2018 at 09:40

90 trade union representatives from Latin America and the Caribbean participated in the Second Regional Conference of IndustriALL in Panama, to redefine its strategic plan and promote the participation of the affiliates in its implementation.

Indian auto unions resolve to fight precarious work

9 May 2018 at 10:47

Precarious work is deeply rooted in India’s automotive industry. Almost every major auto company in the country employs large numbers of precarious workers with low wages, poor working conditions and workers lack job security.

IndustriALL condemns Ghana Gold Fields retrenchments

19 April 2018 at 16:06

During a recent mission to Ghana, IndustriALL Global Union called for dialogue with Ghana Gold Fields to reverse the decision to retrench 2,150 workers at Tarkwa mine and give notice to a further 340 workers at Damang Mine.

Iraqi electricity workers fight precarious work

11 April 2018 at 12:27

IndustriALL affiliate the General Trade Union of Electricity Sector Employees of Iraq (GTUESE) is fighting temporary work in the Iraqi electricity sector. They have staged a series of protests in front of government ministries and opened negotiations by meeting high level government officials.

Zambia: Dangote confronted over union busting

22 March 2018 at 04:03

IndustriALL affiliates, the National Union of Commercial and Industrial Workers and the Mineworkers Union of Zambia are fighting against African multinational cement company, Dangote, for violating workers’ rights to organize, freedom of association, and for failing to recognize collective bargaining rights.

Union in Ghana calls for strike against retrenchment of 2,150 mineworkers

8 March 2018 at 14:03

The Ghana Mineworkers Union (GMWU) has announced a series of strikes in solidarity with 2,150 mineworkers who face retrenchments at Gold Fields Ghana Limited Tarkwa mine – about 200km from Accra. There will be strikes on 13 March at Tarkwa and Damang, a sympathy strike by mining workers on 20 March, and a general strike on 27 March.

South Africa: Metalworkers' fight against precarious work goes to the Constitutional Court

27 February 2018 at 14:27

On 22 February, hundreds of members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), with support from the Casual Workers Advice Office, picketed outside the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg to defend the rights of temporary and contract workers against working under harsh precarious conditions of labour brokers. Singing and dancing outside the courts, the workers denounced the labour brokers.

IndustriALL and Rio Tinto make joint mission to Madagascar

9 February 2018 at 20:22

In a first for the mining industry, IndustriALL Global Union undertook a joint mission with Rio Tinto to the company’s QMM Ilmenite operation in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar from 30 to 31 January 2018.

Shell contract workers to lose out in profits bonanza

1 February 2018 at 15:47

As Royal Dutch Shell Plc announces its biggest profits since the oil market collapse, IndustriALL Global Union is calling on the company to create permanent jobs for its workforce, the majority of which are contract workers.

Cement union in India fights for contract workers’ wages

25 January 2018 at 07:54

IndustriALL Indian affiliate Chanda Cement Works Employees Union have signed a wage agreement covering over 1,000 contract workers at a Lafarge Holcim plant.

Ivory Coast: Continued fight for workers’ rights in the oil sector

19 December 2017 at 07:59

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate in the Ivory Coast, SYNTEPCI, is continuing to fight violations against workers’ rights at Klenzi Distribution SA, Libya Oil, and Petroci, giving a strike notice on 3 November.

Mexican labour reform proposals respond to employers' interests

18 December 2017 at 16:45

Two new labour reform proposals have been recently presented to the Senate in Mexico. Both seek to amend the constitutional labour reform approved in February and introduce rules that respond to the interests of employers and business unions.

Iran: workers in South Pars oil and gas fields submit petition to state broadcaster

6 December 2017 at 11:37

More than 1,000 workers added their names to a petition to the public broadcaster, calling on the organization to send an investigative team to report on terrible working conditions and unpaid wages.

IndustriALL affiliates protest against precarious work in Sri Lanka

9 November 2017 at 09:13

Trade union leaders from near 50 countries joined IndustriALL affiliates in Sri Lanka on 8 November to demonstrate against precarious work, showing the full force of the global union movement.

Cleaners in Mauritius gain hard-earned victory

3 November 2017 at 15:00

Eight people on hunger strike in Mauritius shone a light on the starvation wages earned by cleaners of public schools in the country. Backed by massive local and international support, the union has managed to secure permanent employment for the workers in question.