New national industrial union takes shape in Chile3 December, 2013At the eighth national conference of the Chilean metalworkers’ confederation (CONSTRAMET) on 21-23 November, delegates made progress in discussions on the organization of a new national industrial union. This was a significant step forward in the task of creating a union that will negotiate at sector level and cover all manufacturing and extractive industries where Industriall represents workers at the global level.
Fire kills seven and injures three in Italy5 December, 2013At least seven migrant garment workers of Chinese origin died and three were injured in the blaze on 1 December 2013 in an industrial zone of the town of Prato in Tuscany region of Italy.
FirstEnergy Locks Out Utility Workers in U.S.28 November, 2013FirstEnergy Corp. – one of the largest electric power corporations in the United States – locked out 150 members of the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) in the early morning hours of November 25, three days before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
India: workers’ massive march to Parliament 19 December, 2013On 12 December, 200 000 workers rallied in Delhi, demanding, among other things, ratification of ILO Conventions 87 and 98.
Agreement ends SL Garment strike in Cambodia19 December, 2013IndustriALL affiliate C.CAWDU and SL Garment Processing sign an agreement to end a three-month long strike in Cambodia, including the re-hiring of 19 dismissed union representatives, payment of half of the lost wages and the removal of a newly appointed manager.
We demand guarantees for USO’s trade union activities in Colombia20 December, 2013The Coordinating Committee for Unity in the Mining and Energy Sector (Coordinadora para la Unidad del Sector Minero Energético, CUSME) is calling for the government to guarantee that the oil workers’ union (Unión Sindical Obrera, USO) will be able to carry out its trade union activities free from interference; release detained workers; withdraw arrest warrants; and close the files on 39 legal cases brought against USO members, 34 of which concern protests by workers and the community in the Pacific Rubiales “Banana Republic” in Meta.
Global union bodies demand justice for Cambodian workers6 January, 2014IndustriALL Global Union, UNI Global Union and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) have expressed horror at the violent repression of garment worker strikes by security forces and government-backed vigilantes.
Violence and persecution of Colombian trade unionists must end!15 January, 20142014 has started with fear and sadness in Colombia as attacks and criminalization of social protests continue. With yet another trade union leader viciously attacked, IndustriALL Global Union joins Colombian unions in denouncing the violence.
Locked-out United Steelworkers rally at Neville Chemical12 December, 2013USW Local 5032 rallied with their families and community supporters yesterday 11 December, denouncing the belligerence of employer Neville Chemical in locking out 105 workers and freezing their pensions.
“Time to consign old Iraqi labour laws to the dustbin of history”9 December, 2013IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina delivered this message to the Iraqi Ambassador to the UN in Geneva today. It is the latest stage of on-going dialogue with the Iraqi authorities to ensure an urgent passing of ILO-compliant labour and trade union legislation in the country.
