United Steelworkers files ILO complaint against Quebec government17 June, 2019USW Métallos in Canada, whose 1,000 members in Bécancour, Québec, have been locked out from work at the Alcoa plant for nearly 17 months after the company refused to negotiate, has filed a complaint with the International Labour Organization.
Global unions challenge LafargeHolcim shareholders16 May, 2019IndustriALL Global Union, Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) and the Belgian trade union Centrale Générale / Fédération Générale des Travailleurs de Belgique (CG-FGTB) informed shareholders of the cement multinational LafargeHolcim at their annual general meeting held on 15 May 2019 in Switzerland about the misbehaviour of the company and demanded respect for the workers worldwide.
Colombian union leaders receive death threats16 May, 2019Leaders of Colombian mining unions Sintracarbón, which is an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union, and Sintramienergética received death threats after they met with Dutch members of parliament and representatives of Glencore, Cerrejon and Drummond.
IndustriALL condemns brutal arrest of Algerian union leader 25 April, 2019IndustriALL Global Union strongly condemns the brutal and inhumane treatment of the president of its Algerian affiliate by police and demands that bogus charges against the union leader are dropped.
Living under the threat of bursting mining dams 10 April, 2019Barely 500 metres separates the first houses in the Rio do Peixe neighbourhood of Itabira and the fifth largest mining dam in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. “If anything happens to the dam, we won’t have time for anything. We have been told it is a matter of seconds. We are risking our lives by staying here. If I could I would leave here immediately,” says Claudinei Ferreira, a 32-year-old mechanic who has lived in this town of 120,000 inhabitants for five years.
LafargeHolcim fires workers for organizing union in Mexico2 April, 2019On 28 and 29 March, LafargeHolcim subsidiary Apasco fired six more workers in Hermosillo, Mexico for joining the miners’ union, Los Mineros, an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union. They were all permanent workers.
Rubber workers in Turkey picket for union recognition25 March, 2019Workers at Kale Conveyor in Turkey stopped production on 6 March 2019 demanding better working conditions, union recognition and the reinstatement of two dismissed union activists.
IndustriALL National Women’s Council of South Africa is founded21 March, 2019On 14 March, women representatives from IndustriALL affiliates formed the IndustriALL National Women’s Council of South Africa (INWC-SA). The committee immediately released a statement in support of Gugu Ncube, a young woman who has had to endure harsh treatment of both the police and her employer after putting forward accusations of sexual harassment of her boss.
Activists in Kazakhstan face continued repression15 March, 2019Workers in Zhanaozen, Kazakhstan, have been holding rallies since 22 February, demanding increased wages for low-paid categories of workers to 150 thousand tenge (US$395), jobs for the unemployed, and full freedom to exercise trade union activities. Kazakh authorities have responded by arresting 19 people.
Bangladesh unions call to reinstate over 12,000 retrenched garment workers8 March, 2019In a letter to the minister of labour and employment on 5 March, the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC) demanded immediate intervention of the government to withdraw false cases, free the imprisoned and reinstate all dismissed workers in the backdrop of mass protests for wage hike across readymade garment manufacturing units.
