17 abril, 2012Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh (PCSS), an ICEM affiliate, conducted a two-week tour of activities in Switzerland in April, educating trade union colleagues on the grave violations of work rights abuses by Holcim Cement of contract workers in India's Chhattisgarh region.

16 abril, 2012These contracts deny workers the internationally recognised rights to the freedom of association and collective bargaining, impose long working hours, low pay, poor working conditions, abusive treatment and little access to health and maternity benefits and pensions because they are not permanent employment contracts.

28 marzo, 2012On March 23 trade unions of Kyrgyzstan held a meeting against the hasty adoption of the new Labour Code, undermining workers' rights. Thanks to the unions resolute position, backed by international pressure, adoption of the new Labour Code of Kyrgyzstan is postponed unitl June 1.

27 marzo, 2012General Motors workers in Shushary (Saint-Petersburg area, Russia) secured a wage raise of 10.5 per cent starting from April 1, partly meeting the demands of the Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA).

22 marzo, 2012Six Zimbabwean activists were found guilty of charges of inciting public violence on March 19, causing uproar among labour and civil society organizations. Regional and international calls for the charges to be dropped swiftly shifted focus to put pressure on key government officials through a sms campaign to ensure that the lightest possible sentence would be handed down.

22 marzo, 2012The network Steering Group met and approved a work plan in Belgium shortly after the closure of Caterpillar's EMD plant in Canada.

3 abril, 2012Italian workers reach an agreement with Alcoa to keep their enterprise in Sardinia open for one more year. Workers hope that a new owner will acquire and re-launch the site.

3 abril, 2012IMF affiliates UTRAMMICOL and FETRAMECOL and unions affiliated to the ICEM have agreed to create a single National Manufacturing Industry Union in Colombia.

3 abril, 2012Benteler workers in Russia win the strike over recognition of their union. On April 2 the administration of the plant issued an official statement accepting negotiations with the Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA).

3 abril, 2012Despite a ban on sandblasting announced by many brands some time ago, according to a recent report, sandblasting is still used in the production of artificially worn-out jeans. Large factories in poor countries continue using the deadly technique notorious for its health risks to workers.