IndustriALL Global Union affiliates organizing over 25,000 workers in the textile, garment, leather and shoe, cement manufacturing, mining, chemicals, energy, and other industrial sectors met in Lilongwe 22-25 March to discuss sustainability, building union power, and strengthening the capacity development of organizers and shop stewards through training and online learning.

The Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) approved the report of the Committee on Freedom of Association and its recommendations to the Government of Belarus, urging the government to take measures to release all trade unionists in detention and drop all charges related to participation in peaceful protests and industrial actions.

35-year old trade union leader Dandy Miguel was killed on 28 March in Calamba city, after taking cases of extrajudicial killings to the Commission of Human Rights. His death adds to the more than 50 trade unionists that have been killed since Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte came to power in 2016.

Workers and their unions note with horror that health and safety conditions at ArcelorMittal operations are getting worse with an increasing number of fatalities.

More than two decades after the first meeting of the Goodyear global trade union network in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1999, unions working for the tyre multinational continue to demonstrate the benefits of mutual aid and practical solidarity.

With solid support from IndustriALL, Union Marocaine du Travail (UMT), has succeeded in organizing the Stellantis, former Peugeot Citroën (PSA), factory in Kenitra.

At the OECD steel committee on 19, 22-23 March, TUAC, in partnership with IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll Europe, raised workers’ concerns over the issue of overcapacity, as well as the health and safety situation and its effects on workers.

A 20 per cent income increase for Ksani glass container factory workers has been achieved in the new four-year collective agreement.

Nexperia Philippines Workers’ Union has launched a campaign for the reinstatement of its vice president Emily Barrey, whose dismissal the union claims is union busting under the guise of violating the Covid-19 health protocol.

Hungarian union Vasas is renegotiating the collective agreement at German-owned B Braun, demanding a wage increase for its members who worked hard to maintain the plant’s level of production of medical devices throughout the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

One month after promises to conduct collective bargaining, the Finnish forest industry company UPM, announced in the beginning of February 2021 that it would no longer negotiate collectively on wages, bonuses, sick leave pay, maternity or paternity leaves thus violating its workers fundamental rights at work. The company employees demand that the terms of their work should be negotiated collectively with the representing them unions.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced workers around the world to find alternative ways to communicate, interact and work, becoming more reliant on digital solutions. As we have had to socially distance, union work and organizing have also become increasingly digital. To that end, IndustriALL has been active in strengthening affiliates’ digital capacity.

434 outsourced paper workers at PT Tanjung Enim Lestari Pulp & Paper (PTTEL) are striking in protest of poverty wages.

In a virtual meeting held on 11 March, the IndustriALL Global Union network on diamonds, gems, ornaments and jewellery production (DGOJP) called for employers’ responsibility across the global supply chain to protect their workforce and underlined the importance of defending workers’ rights amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is IndustriALL's guide to virtual meetings. We may not be able to see each other in person anymore but at least we can make the best of our virtual meetings.

A Thai factory making lingerie for Victoria’s Secret, Triumph and other global brands has shut down without notice and locked out 1,388 workers, using the coronavirus pandemic as a pretext.

The ongoing pandemic is putting enormous pressure on the global garment industry. IndustriALL Global Union and Swedish fashion giant H&M Group (H&M) are re-affirming their commitment to work together to support the economic and social recovery of the industry through the Covid-19 crisis.

When migrant workers are recruited to work in Mauritius, they are often told that they will earn lots of money by recruiting agents in their countries of origin that include India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and others. However, this is not the case.

The civil disobedience movement continues in Myanmar as the military refuses to respect democracy and hand back power. As the military’s use of violence towards the peaceful protestors is escalating, unions in Myanmar are reiterating the urgent need for economic sanctions.

Unions in Haiti, the most unequal country in Latin America, are demanding a return to democracy and an end to human rights violations and union repression.