The three global unions today signed a global framework agreement (GFA) with the renewable materials company Stora Enso at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, in the presence of ILO Director General Guy Ryder. Observer signatures were made by the presidents of the Swedish Paper Workers’ Union, the Swedish Union of Forestry, Wood and Graphical Workers’, and the Finnish Paper Workers’ Union.

After 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.

Trinidad and Tobago’s government recently announced a restructuring of state-owned oil company Petrotrin, which is in debt due to the fall in oil prices and unpaid taxes. In response, IndustriALL affiliate OWTU is organizing protests at Petrotrin’s Trinmar offshore operations at Point Fortin.

Mining 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.

Trade unions and civil society in Taiwan are preparing to mitigate the effects of a recent amendment to the country’s labour legislation, which they describe as the worst in history.

IndustriALL 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.

Hundreds of workers from IndustriALL affiliate, the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), from the Rosh Pinah branch, demonstrated against worsening health and safety standards at the Skorpion Zinc Mine, about 600 km from Windhoek, earlier this month.

Workers 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 union at their workplace.

IndustriALL Global Union is supporting its Finnish affiliate Pro as it fights aggressive attempts by employers to make cuts to employment conditions across the industry.

11 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.

IG Metall commences mass strikes ahead of bargaining round with employers’ federation Gesamtmetall.

Indian-owned Griffin Coal is involved in a two-year long dispute with IndustriALL Australian affiliate AMWU at the Collie coal mine in Perth. The maintenance workforce has been on strike for 20 weeks, in response to Griffin Coal’s complete opposition to negotiate an agreement.

Global and national unions representing LafargeHolcim workers worldwide express their outrage over the company’s unilateral decision to back down from its signature of a global framework agreement designed to build positive industrial relations throughout the company.

IndustriALL Global Union has written to the Korean government to protest the arrest of former Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) general secretary Lee Yeong-Ju.

With the demonstrations starting on 28 December 2017, Iran faces widespread protests against the rising cost of living. The protests quickly spread to many cities as people raised their voices against poverty, corruption and embezzlement by officials, and brutal political repression.

Workers at an oil refinery in Ballsh in southwest Albania took action to demand two months of unpaid wages and insurance, as well as 13 months of wages missing from previous years’ settlements.

Workers at Posco Assan in Turkey, together with leaders of IndustriALL’s affiliate Birlesik Metal-Is, were detained on 26 December. They had started a march to demand that the Ministry of Labour issue a legal certificate that the union had already waited 42 days for, contrary to the usual practice of a couple of days.

Solidarity comes in all shapes and sizes. A year which started with a crackdown on labour rights in Bangladesh also saw action taken around the world to fight for workers’ rights in a sustainable garment industry.

Much 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.

263 workers of the CLASSIC KNITWEAR in Antananarivo, Madagascar are fighting against arbitrary technical unemployment, which is a type of forced three-month unpaid leave imposed on workers by the company, during which a worker cannot change employer.