General strike paralyses Greece22 December, 2017Much of Greece ground to a halt on 14 December as workers took part in a 24-hour general strike demanding the government ends austerity measures.
Turkey: 130,000 metalworkers determined to strike17 January, 2018After unions rejected the employers’ final offer, Turkish metalworkers are preparing to strike in around 180 workplaces, including major multinational companies such as Renault, Bosch, Fiat.
370 Kyrgyz miners reinstated after mass layoffs17 January, 2018Mining and Metallurgical Trade Union of Kyrgyzstan (MMTUK), an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union, managed to safeguard labour contracts with 370 employees of the Chinese mining company Full Gold Mining in the Jalal-Abad region of Kyrgyzstan. The employer agreed not to conduct mass layoffs and transfer all the benefits from the previous labour contracts.
Russia: Court rules to dissolve ITUWA16 January, 2018IndustriALL Global Union strongly contests a court verdict to dissolve its Russian affiliate, the Interregional Trade Union Workers’ Association (ITUWA) for their alleged involvement in political activities and international work.
Workers win recognition at Furukawa company in the Philippines12 January, 2018Workers at Furukawa Automotive System Incorporated have won a major victory as the certification election held 9-10 January this year resulted in a landslide in favour of having a union at their workplace.
3,000 white-collar paper workers in Finland to strike12 January, 2018***UPDATE*** On Monday 15 January, IndustriALL Global Union's Finnish affilaite, Pro, scored a victory after steadfast resistance from its members. Both trade union Pro and employers’ association, Finnish Forest Industries, approved the mediation proposal of the National Conciliator for the paper sector’s white-collar employees to increase salaries, and all strike actions were immediately cancelled. Pro succeeded in securing a pay rise for workers and resisted employers' demands to weaken the industry-wide collective agreement.
Hunger strike at Volkswagen plant in India 12 January, 201811 union representatives of the Volkswagen Employees’ Union in Pune, India, have gone on hunger strike, protesting against the employer's plans to introduce a new remuneration scheme that includes a performance-related wage component.
International and Russian trade union movement opposes the dissolution of ITUWA30 January, 2018IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in Russia issued a joint statement against the dissolution of the Interregional Trade Union "Workers Association" (ITUWA). The Russian trade union centres the Confederation of Labour of Russia (KTR) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR), IndustriALL affiliates in the CIS region and global unions strongly oppose the court decision to dissolve ITUWA.
Another worker killed at LafargeHolcim operation in India29 January, 2018***UPDATE*** On 30 January, just few days after the killing of the contract worker Arun Singh at LafargeHolcim another similar incident happened again at the same factory. According to the union representative Vijay Thakre this time fortunately no worker was injured, but the incident poses serious doubts about effectiveness of health and safety policies of the company.
German metalworkers’ union launches mass strikes for wage rise and reduced hours11 January, 2018IG Metall commences mass strikes ahead of bargaining round with employers’ federation Gesamtmetall.
