Thousands of workers in Bangladesh’ garment industry have lost their jobs and are denied wages as the country is under lockdown until 14 April. On 6 April, two workers were killed in an accident during protests.

There is no time to waste. Global Unions urge IFI leadership, the Development Committee, and the International Monetary and Finance Committee to agree on specific commitments for coordinated fiscal and monetary stimulus, urgent public health measures and support to developing countries.

GARTEKS and SPN, IndustriALL Indonesian affiliates in the textile sector, are fighting to keep workers’ wages and are demanding that factories are shut down, as the COVID19 pandemic begins to impact production in Indonesia.

IndustriALL Colombian affiliate Sintracarbón has withdrawn its list of demands from Cerrejón, ending the collective bargaining dispute and cancelling the strike approved by union members.

Skorpion Zinc mine has announced a suspension of operations on safety grounds and put the mine on “care and maintenance”, which risks turning the nearby community which depends on the mine for employment into a ghost town.

Trade unions in Malaysia have lodged complaints over factories remaining open during the lockdown, jeopardizing workers’ health and safety.

The lacklustre approach on COVID-19 by the Zimbabwean government can lead to a disaster in a country battling with widespread hunger, high unemployment, water shortages, and an economic crisis, says IndustriALL Global Union affiliate the Zimbabwe Energy Workers Union (ZEWU).

Through the JCM’s  Shunto (spring labour offensive), many unions at large companies in the Japanese metal industry have secured wage increases.

According to IndustriALL affiliate Asociación Obrera Minera Argentina (AOMA) Holcim (of the LafargeHolcim group) is demanding that employees continue work as normal, in violation of the emergency decrees adopted by the Argentinian government to protect against the corona virus.

Mikalaj Valadzko’s work contract was terminated by German-based Redpath Deilmann over his activities in IndustriALL affiliate Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BITU).

ACT signatory brands have expressed their commitment to maintain responsible business practices and social dialogue with union representatives from IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC) and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), amid the corona virus outbreak.

The Sri Lankan government took action as IndustriALL affiliate FTZ&GSEU’s called to transport workers stranded in boarding houses in free trade zones back to their homes. Now the union is urging the government to ensure due wages are paid. 

Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) is calling on employers to accept a one-month shutdown of factories to help prevent an outbreak of the corona virus, while workers are paid the minimum wage.

IndustriALL Global Union views occupational health and safety as a matter of workers’ rights and employers’ responsibilities. The extraordinary situation created by the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, does not change these fundamentals. In fact, they are now more important than ever.

In the wake of the Corona epidemic, workplaces are changing production to join the fight against the virus.

Metalworkers took a high participation in the eight-hour general strike called on 25 March by the Italian unions Fiom, Fim and Uilm in Lombardy, the heaviest COVID-19 affected region in northern Italy. Local unions report about work abstention levels as high as 60 to 90 percent in all the provinces of the region.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate the South African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) has reached an agreement to guarantee six weeks of full pay for 80,000 workers as the country goes into lockdown.

The continued slowdown of tyre production due to COVID-19 is affecting IndustriALL Global Union members. Measures are taken to protect staff and to respond to a severe drop in demand. All companies suspending production report that they will continue to be able to fill customers’ needs from existing stock.

Mining unions in Sub Saharan Africa are calling for due diligence and adherence to health and safety standards, and national and supranational protocols to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). These calls come amidst national states of disasters and lockdowns in most countries.

IndustriALL Global Union and its affiliates in Madagascar are intensifying demands for the ratification of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 176 on safety and health in mines.