18 May, 2010In a "David versus Goliath" struggle, braving a 15-week lock-out, scabs, and attacks by Rio Tinto's union-busting firm, ILWU members at Rio Tinto borate mine secure new contract resisting job outsourcing and attacks on union rights.
18 May, 2010Aiming for a trade agreement that breaks with the past, trade union leaders call on governments to consult and work openly during talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement.
19 May, 2010Organizing the electronics industry has long proven to be a difficult challenge for trade unions. Unionization rates remain extremely low in an industry where precarious employment is rife and labour abuses abound. To make matters worse, the electronics industry has been one of the hardest hit by the economic crisis, bringing job losses and additional downward pressure on pay and conditions. But at IMF's recent conference for the ICT, Electrical and Electronics industries on 'Organizing, Trade Union Rights and Sustainability', IMF affiliates reasserted their commitment to organizing electronics workers and improving their working conditions.
19 May, 2010According to official data, in Russia, a country with a population of over 140 million, in 2009 there was a grand total of one strike. Of course, this reflects not the actual situation, but rather the unjustifiably strict legal requirements for holding strikes. The unconvincing figures from the Russian Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) conceal the real story of labour conflicts: hundreds of collective disputes, a multitude of clashes with management and government, which both are often prepared to go to any lengths to destroy active and combative unions.
20 May, 2010Workers at Renault, Bosch, Volvo and Volkswagen assembly plants in Greater Curitiba demand a bigger share of company profits.
20 May, 2010USW and AFL-CIO denounce President Felipe Calderon's repression of workers' rights during his visit to Washington, D.C. and call on the U.S. Government to raise the issue with the Mexican President.
11 June, 2009Employers were slow to reward employees during peak demand but have quickly tried to claw back benefits as a result of the current crisis, states IMF.
11 June, 2009ITUC Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights Violations reports on worsening situation for workers.