The campaign to clean up ship breaking – the most dangerous job in the world - has received a major boost as Japan becomes the first Asian country to ratify the Hong Kong Convention.

Twenty-two young trade unionists, including ten women from IndustriALL Global Union Nepali affiliates, met in Hetauda, Nepal, on 26 and 27 March 2019 to strengthen the voice of youth in the union movement. 

Some 30 union representatives and activists from all over Europe came to Dublin, Ireland, on 26 and 27 March 2019, and formed a trade union network to improve social dialogue at the Irish building materials and cement multinational company, CRH. Global unions IndustriALL and Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) also participated.

The textile, clothing, leather and shoe industries in Albania employ 51,000 workers, to which tens of thousands of informal workers can be added. Living wages and a unionised workforce are needed for a sustainable future for the country’s garment sector.

Last week 28 and 29 March LafargeHolcim subsidiary Apasco fired other six workers in Hermosillo, Mexico for their affiliation to Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros Metalúrgicos, Siderúrgicos y Similares de la República Mexicana, Los Mineros, an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union. They were all permanent workers.

***UPDATE 3 APRIL 2019*** Workers in Algeria still plan to hold a three-day general strike starting 7 April unless a transitional government is put in place. Although President Bouteflika’s resignation is a victory for protestors, IndustriALL’s affiliate, SNATEG, is demanding a transitional government, which includes members of the opposition, in order to prepare for transparent presidential elections. SNATEG is also calling for the resignation of interim president and leader of the Senate, Abdelkader Bensalah. “The Algerian people do not have confidence in the present government installed by Bouteflika,” says SNATEG president, Raouf Mellal.

In a vibrant picket punctuated by struggle songs, dancing and chanting, over a hundred women from the IndustriALL Global Union National Women’s Council of South Africa (INWC-SA) came from Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg to demand justice for Gugu Ncube.

The textile, clothing, leather and shoe industries in Albania employ 51,000 workers, to which tens of thousands of informal workers can be added. Living wages and a unionised workforce are needed for a sustainable future for the country’s garment sector.

In a vibrant picket punctuated by struggle songs, dancing and chanting, over a hundred women from the IndustriALL Global Union National Women’s Council of South Africa (INWC-SA) came from Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg to demand justice for Gugu Ncube.

Workers in Algeria will hold a three-day general strike starting on 7 April to demand the immediate departure of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and a transition government that includes the opposition.  

Mining companies in Zambia are increasingly employing workers through contractors instead of offering direct employment. Unions are recruiting and organizing to fight back this promotion of precarious work.

Mining companies in Zambia are increasingly employing workers through contractors instead of offering direct employment. Unions are recruiting and organizing to fight back this promotion of precarious work.

With no commitment towards addressing their grievances, thousands of textile and garment workers at Ethiopia’s biggest industrial park, Hawassa, went on strike 13-15 March demanding that the employers act on sexual harassment, improve health and safety and increase wages.

With no commitment towards addressing their grievances, thousands of textile and garment workers at Ethiopia’s biggest industrial park, Hawassa, went on strike 13-15 March demanding that the employers act on sexual harassment, improve health and safety and increase wages.

Workers at Kale Conveyor in Turkey stopped production on 6 March 2019 demanding better working conditions, union recognition and the reinstatement of two dismissed union activists.

IndustriALL affiliate, the Alang Sosiya Ship Recycling General Workers’ Union (ASSRGWA) opened the second phase of its training centre and organized a training of trainers programme from 13 – 16 March 2019 with the support of IndustriALL and Dutch union, FNV.

The longest strike in the 116-year history of the VDSz was settled in the evening of 21 March at Hankook Tire. IndustriALL Global Union’s Hungarian affiliate VDSz negotiated a range of improvements for members after the walkout by 1,700 workers  cut the plant’s production by 75 per cent. The average financial gain achieved in the settlement is 18.5% per employee.

The Sub Sahara Africa Energy Network is demanding that governments and multinational companies must develop plans to deal with the impact of the transition to renewable energy without sacrificing jobs or creating precarious working conditions.

Representatives from unions, employers and the government in Bangladesh called for sustainable shipbreaking and effective social dialogue, at a meeting organized by IndustriALL Global Union in Chattogram on 11 March 2019.

More than 200 workers from a garment factory producing for global brands such as K-Mart, Target and Disney, demonstrated in front of the Indonesia Ministry of Manpower Office and the Embassy of South Korea in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 14 March, demanding six-months unpaid wages and benefits.