Colombia is one of the 10 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean with the largest number of claims filed by foreign investors, amounting to billions of dollars.

The passing of the new labour code embracing the principle of freedom of association in Vietnam is a decisive step welcomed by IndustriALL Global Union’s Vietnamese affiliates, however the struggle for workers’ rights is to be continued.

Unions are determined to organize and fight precarious working conditions of low wages, contract and temporary work, and dangerous working conditions that are prevalent in the transport value chain.

On 25 February, the global union movement took solidarity action, supporting a global union federation mission to Kiev, as well as the Ukrainian unions struggling against draft labour and trade union laws in violation of core ILO conventions, national and European law.

Being organized and working together is how we make the biggest impact, said IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches at a transport symposium in Johannesburg, South Africa, focusing on how to appeal to the 76 percent of transport workers in the country that are unorganized.

The campaign for living wages in Ethiopia is at the point where the question is not when the low wages will be increased but how soon this can be done.

8 March, International Women’s Day, provides an important moment to promote the new ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work, and to call for its ratification.

For the first time in six years, the President of Ukraine participated in the All-Ukrainian coal miners meeting on 25 February in Kiev, and promised to pay all wages owed to coal miners in state-owned enterprises within two months. 

At least ten people were killed and 30 were trapped after a rock slide at a marble quarry in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on 22 February. The horrific accident highlights the ongoing slaughter in Pakistan’s mines, which kill 200 workers each year.

What will it take mining companies to meet the expectations of society? Responsible Mining Index Report 2020 has found that mining companies are failing in their environmental, social and corporate governance commitments that would put them on the path to meeting society’s expectations.

IndustriALL affiliate Sintracarbón and mining company Cerrejón have agreed to extend the collective bargaining period until 6 March. If no agreement is reached by then, the union will vote whether to go on strike.

After an eight-year struggle, Sitraternium signed an collective agreement with Ternium Guatemala on 29 January.

Following a period of uncertainty, when the Obuasi mine was put on limited operations, and then on care and maintenance in 2016, the mine is up and running again.

Unions in the oil and gas sector are furious over the refusal of General Electric International Operations in Nigeria (GEION) to pay millions of US dollars allegedly owed to its Nigerian sub-contractor, the Arco Group, which is prejudicing outstanding gratuities and allowances of 150 workers.

Unions in the Philippines are calling on the government to include trade union representatives in the technical working group for International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) inquiry into the killings of labour activists in Philippines.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliates from India, Pakistan and Nepal met in Kathmandu on 18-19 February 2020 to evaluate the progress made by the South Asia union building and multinational supply chain project and plan activity for the following years.

On 24 October 2013, the Rana Plaza disaster in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, triggered a huge outcry. Over a thousand people were killed when the building, which housed garment factories, collapsed. The tragedy drew attention to the conditions widely endured by workers employed by the subcontractors of major brands and European companies, such as Carrefour, Mango, Auchan and Primark. None of these multinationals have since been brought to justice. The obstacle lies with the buyer relationship and the difficulty, if not impossibility, of proving that the parent companies were aware of the working conditions of their suppliers’ employees.

IndustriALL Global Union and several of its affiliates ensured that workers’ rights were central at the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Textile and Footwear Sector on 11–13 February in Paris, France.  The Forum convenes over 500 representatives from government, business, trade unions and civil society to discuss key issues and risks related to due diligence in the global garment and footwear supply chain.

Together with senior leaders of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC) and the IBC Women’s Committee, 115 youth representatives participated at the convention which resulted in the launch of a youth committee.

On 19 February 2006, 65 workers died following a methane gas explosion at the Grupo Mexico mine in Pasta de Conchos, Mexico. Only two bodies were recovered before the company sealed the mine. As the 14th anniversary of the mining tragedy approaches, IndustriALL is calling on the Mexican government to ratify ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines.