After more than a year of negotiations, Italian metalworker unions successfully renewed their national collective agreement on 5 February. The agreement covers around 1.6 million workers.

75 workers and engineers, union activists and shop stewards from 20 countries from the lifts and escalators industry met online on 3 February.

In December last year, IndustriALL affiliates Filctem Cgil, Femca Cisl, Uiltec Uil, signed an agreement with oil company ENI to face the energy transition ahead together.

28 workers were killed when a clandestine garment factory in Tangiers, Morocco, was flooded by rainwater. The factory, located in the basement of a residential building, did not meet the necessary health and safety conditions, and unions are calling for those responsible to be held accountable.

Ten global unions representing more than 200 million workers from across the world call on unions globally to ramp up pressure on governments and corporations to target the commercial interests of the Myanmar military junta.

Workers in the chemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceutical and plastics sector in Latin America and the Caribbean highlighted the importance of strengthening union networks to ensure that companies respect the rights of workers in all countries where they operate.

After an eight-month struggle and international solidarity campaign, the Garment and Textile Workers’ Union (GATWU) has signed an agreement with H&M supplier Gokaldas Exports that recognizes the union and reinstates all the 1,257 workers – mostly women - who were fired.

Since the start of 2021, three countries have voted in favor of authorizing the ratification of Convention 190 on the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work.

Another independent union is under threat in Kazakhstan, a country notorious for its anti-union policies and persecution of union leaders. Sign our LabourStart campaign to demand an immediate end to the pressure on unions in Kazakhstan.

A significant landmark was achieved on 1 February, at an agreement signing ceremony in Tangier, Morocco, that ended a year-long strike and set the roadmap for a new relationship between 500 workers and management of Veolia subsidiary Amanor.

IndustriALL Global Union condemns the coup d’etat by the military in Myanmar and the detention of democratically elected leaders of National League for Democracy (NLD) Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi, hours before the swearing-in ceremony of new parliamentarians and formation of a new cabinet.

More than a year into the health, social and economic crisis brought about by Covid-19, the pandemic has become an existential crisis for humankind. The universal right of access to medical supplies, especially vaccines and potential medicines to treat Covid-19, should not depend on the purchasing power of governments and other market dynamics. We believe that there should not be first- and second-class citizens and no-one should be left behind.

State-owned Petroleum and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA) has announced the retrenchment of 500 out of 1,400 workers. IndustriALL affiliate CEPPWAWU says the retrenchment notice was issued with no reference to union proposals to save the jobs, and is urging the company to consider other options.

Listen to the debate on trade and industrial policy and its implications for development and international labour standards with researchers and union representatives from Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

A number of IndustriALL affiliates in Zambia and Zimbabwe are implementing recommendations from gender audits that took place in November and December 2020. The gender audits are a response to reports of increased violence against women during the Covid-19 lockdowns in most countries in Sub Saharan Africa.

Turkish union Birleşik Metal İş has filed a complaint with the OECD over labour relations concerns against Swedish multinational Systemair, after attempts to peacefully resolve a conflict have failed.

Two years after Brazil’s worst environmental and industrial disaster, subcontractors at mining company Vale are still raising concerns over health and safety and bullying by management.

Union activists and workers in Belarus are receiving harsh court sentences for peaceful protests, fighting for democracy and freedom.

IndustriALL UK affiliate GMB has launched a series of seven one-day strikes to protest against British Gas’ plans to fire and rehire and cut workers’ pay and terms. This follows on a five-day strike earlier this month.

Listen to the debate on energy companies' commitment to transition with researchers and union representatives from Germany, Australia, Colombia, Spain and South Africa.