Workers continue to fight after Next’s Sri Lanka factory closure 15 July, 2025In May, more than 1,400 workers were reportedly dismissed via a WhatsApp message when UK retailer Next closed its wholly owned factory in Sri Lanka without proper notice. Two months on, the affected workers and their union remain determined to challenge what they call an unlawful and irresponsible closure. Those who refused to sign resignation letters are now unemployed while their case is heard by the Department of Labour’s Employment Unit. Many face severe hardship during Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, with some skipping meals daily.
How Next abandons its workers 24 June, 2025Next is proving not to live up to its fundamental promises when it comes to workers’ rights. From refusing to sign a landmark agreement to improve wages in Cambodia, to abandoning Sri Lankan workers by text and continuing business in Myanmar despite documented risks of grave human rights abuses under the military junta, Next consistently puts profit over people. Even its UK retail staff are denied a living wage, dismissed as “not breadwinners” by the company’s CEO.
India: garment workers defy illegal closure 17 June, 2025On 9 June, Celebrity Fashions Limited (CFL), a garment manufacturing company in India, illegally shut down its factory in Avadi, Tamil Nadu, unlawfully terminating 560 workers overnight. After several rounds of negotiations, managements and workers have reached an agreement, but the struggle for closure compensation continues.
Digel workers in Türkiye fight union busting 17 June, 2025For more than 150 days, workers sacked from Digel, a German menswear company operating in the Aegean Free Zone in Gaziemir, Izmir, have picketed against union busting.
UGT, CCOO and ELA call for historic strike at Iberdrola tomorrow 5 June, 2025Tomorrow, on 6 June, more than 9,500 Iberdrola employees across Spain are set to join the first-ever strike in 126 years in the company. IndustriALL affiliates UGT, CCOO and ELA have called the strike in response to the stalled collective bargaining negotiations and the company's refusal to guarantee workers' purchasing power.
Health, safety, and Just Transition top the agenda at MENA oil and gas trade union meeting27 May, 2025On 27-29 April, the IndustriALL Global Union MENA oil and gas union network met in Istanbul, Türkiye, with the participation of unions from Iraq, Bahrain, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Palestine and Türkiye.
Legally binding Accord delivers safer workplaces 23 April, 202524 April marks the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, one of the deadliest industrial disasters in history. Over 1,100 workers, most of them women, lost their lives when the building housing several garment factories collapsed in 2013.
ICT and electronics unions debate the way forward in uncertain times 17 April, 2025The sector is going through turbulent times with growing global instability, technological disruption and increasing corporate consolidation. This was discussed by over 30 trade union representatives attending the online steering committee meeting of the ICT, electrical and electronics sector, organized by IndustriALL Global Union.
Anglo American commits to dialogue with trade unions during demergers 16 April, 2025As Anglo American restructures and spins off major assets, unions are demanding firm guarantees: no rollback on workers’ rights. With demergers underway, unions from Australia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe met the company in Johannesburg to push for continued commitment to dialogue, a Just Transition, and protection under the existing global agreement.
Unions urge strong action to protect steel industry jobs amid economic uncertainty and trade tensions1 April, 2025Rising economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions are exacerbating long-standing challenges in the steel industry. IndustriALL Global Union, IndustriAll Europe, and TUAC call on governments at the 97th OECD Steel Committee to ensure that workers do not bear the brunt of these pressures through declining real wages, worsening working conditions, and job losses.
