9 December, 2011In a unanimous vote, IMF Central Committee decides to convene an extraordinary Congress in June 2012 to create a new global union for industrial workers.

8 December, 2011On December 7 the mobilization launched by the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) was answered at all of ArcelorMittal's European sites. Tens of thousands of workers in ten European countries protested against the company's industrial strategy and job cuts.

12 January, 2012Berne Declaration and Greenpeace launch the Public Eye Awards, a project where the public votes for the companies with the worst corporate practices in 2011.

12 January, 2012A delegation of locked-out workers from Cooper Tire in the USA meets Serbian union leaders to discuss common approaches and mutual support when dealing with the company.

9 May, 2011IMF joins Mexican Miners' Union's call for better health and safety at mines in Mexico and punishment of companies and government authorities after 14 die in a coal mine explosion in Mexico on May 3.

23 May, 2011Russian Duma passes the bill banning precarious work in the first reading. Second and third readings are to follow.

23 May, 2011IMF participates in an International Seminar on Health and Safety for the Mining sector held in TACNA-Perú.

23 May, 2011Mechanical engineering conference identifies sub-sectors as area for future work, starting with machinery for construction and mining, and agricultural machinery.

20 May, 2011The United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is to hold its 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) in Durban, South Africa from 28 November to 9 December 2011. This is a government negotiations space where there is limited room for engagement by civil society. However, civil society and organised labour is working hard to raise awareness on climate change issues and ensure that their voices are heard not only at COP 17 but at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012. The 2012 conference is known as Rio+20, as it is to take place 20 years after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio where the concept of sustainable development was adopted by governments for the first time and which launched key political processes on sustainable development like the COP climate negotiations.

18 May, 2011Birlesik Metal-IS members protest the firings by marching from the factory gates to the company headquarters, a week-long, 219 km march from Duzce to Istanbul.