Industrial Workers of the World

Bangladesh International Human Rights Day rallies

The National Garment Workers Federation organized a rally of garment workers named "Garment Workers Human Rights Protection Rally" in the capital city Dhaka. Several hundred garment workers participated in this with red flags. It was led by the president and general secretary of the NGWF, Amirul Haque Amin and Miss Safia Pervin. From the rally it urged the government and employers to protect trade union rights in the garment sector because this is a human right. Also mentioned though according to the law garment workers have the right to organize and bargain but that is not the reality. And it happens because of the weakness of the labour laws, absence of commitment of the government and anti-union attitude of the employers.

The Bangladesh EPZ (Export Processing Zone) Workers Center, an organization initiated by the National Garment Workers Federation in 2000, also organized a Rally of EPZ workers in Dhaka. More than a hundred EPZ workers participated in this rally. It was called the "Trade Union Rights - Human Rights Rally". It was led by the Workers Centre co-ordinator and member secretary - Amirul Haque Amin and Mrs Jessmin Begum. The rally raised the issue that, ignoring international law, Human Rights and the country's constitution, EPZ workers are deprived of trade union rights - that is a violation of human rights. Pakistan day of protest In Pakistan on Thursday 10 December the Labour Unity Alliance ( APFUTU, APFOL, PNFTU, GFTU ) organised a countrywide day of protest against the recent hike in fuel prices, the gradual takeover of the country by US forces with the presence of US marines in Islamabad and other strategic locations and growing unemployment and lawlessness.

As part of the day of action the All Pakistan Federation of United Trade Unions (APFUTU) Transport, Public & Commercial workers staged a protest demonstration in Lahore against the hike in oil prices, privatisation, unemployment, inflation and low increase in salaries of labourers.During the protest demonstration traffic on Mall Road was suspended for hours. Protesters were carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands. Speakers on the occasion said that the government should pay immediate attention towards the demands of labourers who are compelled to live under inhuman conditions. They also demanded of the government, semi-government and private organisations and institutes that they should provide all the facilities according to the pay scale of labourers. • Read more

Korean Government repression against migrant workers

The South Korean government has declared a concentrated crackdown on undocumented migrant workers from October to December 2009. During this time the government will conduct raids throughout the country, arresting and deporting as many undocumented migrants as possible. This is not only an attack on undocumented migrants but on all migrants in South Korea. Among documented migrant workers there is no one without a friend or relative who is undocumented. The government's measures provide an excuse to the police to increase surveillance, investigation and attacks on these and other migrants, irrespective of their status. Read the full story here.

PSI campaign for migrant workers' rights Low and unequal pay, heavy workloads, poor working conditions and a lack of opportunities have pressured many health workers, a majority of them women, to leave their jobs in the health care sector to find other employment opportunities or to migrate abroad. The situation is true in both developing and industrialized countries. What is most alarming is the massive migration of health workers from developing countries where the public health situation is already critical. Often, such migration is driven by the desperation of health workers seeking to escape poverty and by active recruitment policies that do not take into account the situation of poorer countries and further exacerbated by illegal practices of private recruitment agencies that victimise migrant workers. Find out more about the campaign here.

news from Iran

The IUF and ITUC have together lodged a formal complaint against the government of Iran with the ILO's Committee on Freedom of Association in response to the recent imprisonment of 5 leaders of the independent Haft Tapeh Sugar Workers Union, an IUF affiliate. The complaint reviews the serial violations of basic rights at Haft Tapeh, where worker efforts to take collective action in response to non-payment of wages and other abuses have repeatedly met with repression, in the light of ILO Conventions setting out the rights of workers to freedom of association, the right to organize and to the right to collective bargaining. The complaint calls on the government of Iran to release the jailed leaders, to reinstate them at their jobs (all were officially fired on December 1 for "failure to report to work" while in prison) and to revoke the bans prohibiting them from trade union work. Send a message to the Iranian state and judicial authorities.

Mansour Osanloo, the leader of the Steering Committee of the Trade Union of the Vahed Bus Company of Tehran and Suburbs, has been sacked from work. Mr Osanloo, who is currently serving his jail sentence in Evin prison, was sentenced by Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Court to five years in custody and had earlier been sacked by a lower court. Now his appeal to the Court of Administrative Justice has failed after this court upheld the ruling of the lower court made on October 21, 2009. Branch 21 of the Court of Administrative Justice has approved the decision that is one of the government’s methods of putting pressure on labour activists and their families. Read more here.

On Monday December 7 Pedram Nasrollahi, a labour movement and women’s movement activist, was released on 30 million tomans ($30,369) bail. Pedram Nasrollahi was arrested by the security force on Thursday, November 12, 2009 while returning from work. Read more here.

And on Tuesday December 1 Farzad Ahmadi, a labour activist and tailor, was released from Sanandaj prison on a bail of 30 million tomans ($30,369). Read more here.

Australian postal workers industrial action

Postal workers are ready to halt all industrial action planned for Friday 18 December through to Monday evening if Australia Post senior management agrees to meet to resolve outstanding issues in the postal dispute.“We’ve been asking for a meeting with senior management for some time. Chief Operating Officer Jim Marshall has said he is now willing to meet us on the enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA7)”, said CEPU National President Ed Husic. “What is at stake for postal workers is security in full-time jobs, protection of penalty shifts and rosters, an end to Facility Nominated Doctors (company doctors) who force employees back to work even when they are sick or injured, and access to an independent umpire in any future disputes," said Mr Husic. Read more here. http://www.cepuconnects.org/postal/australia-post-eba7/offer-to-talk/index.cfm

Unions fight against Triumph dismissals

In the weeks before Christmas, Triumph International keeps its doors shut for representatives of Thai and Philippine unions that are fighting against mass-dismissals at three Triumph subsidiaries. The unions have come to Europe to put pressure on Triumph International to stop their global restructuring plan at the cost of union jobs. Send a protest Christmas card from here. Since July this year, when Triumph announced the retrenchments of 1935 workers in Thailand and 1660 workers in the Philippines, more than a thousand workers in both countries have been picketing the factories and the Ministry of Labour in Thailand. Read more here.

Indonesia factory occupation Textile workers from the Istana Magnoliatama factory in north Jakarta have been occupying their workplace for more than 2 years. Kiswoyo, a member of KASBI and the union Chairman at the plant, says that in July 2007 the management of the factory told the workers that they wanted to close the business. “The union believed that this was an attempt by the company to get rid of all of the permanent staff and replace them with contract workers. Currently it is forbidden by law for companies to employ contract workers to replace permanent staff. We saw this as an attempt to get around the laws.” “The union was not about to see hundreds of permanent jobs be thrown away. It was clear that the company was just trying to increase its profits and put the workforce in an even more precarious position. We refused to let the management get away with this so when they closed the factory we decided to stay and occupy the plant.” Read more of this interview here.

Indigenous Rights in the news ANTaR Qld has produced a "Year in Review via the Headlines" which collates a year's worth of interesting news stories from 2009.

Asian Workers Organising - December 2009 Click here for your latest Asian Workers Organising newsletter December 2009

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