13 marzo, 2012Crowds of protesters were in the streets in Spain to protest new labour laws making it easier for employers to get rid of employees and block their demands for wage increases. Union organized demonstrations pave the way to the all-national strike planned for March 29.

13 marzo, 2012On 23 February NUMSA held its first ever Political Commission attended by President Jacob Zuma, COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi and SACP CC Member Charles Setsebi. Whilst President Zuma was received with a rousing welcome, with song and dance in a beautiful marquee draped in red and yellow at the NUMSA building in Johannesburg's Bree Street, this was a very serious affair.

11 enero, 2012Workers at the Caterpillar-owned Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) plant in Ontario, Canada were locked out on New Year's Eve when the union contract expired, after they overwhelmingly voted to authorize strike action unless management withdrew drastic concession demands.

11 enero, 2012At the end of December 170 IF Metall union reps from working sites across Sweden agreed to a new 14 month contract with employers' associations, starting February 1, 2012, and running up to March 31, 2013. Salaries will be increased by 3 per cent.

28 marzo, 2012On March 23 trade unions of Kyrgyzstan held a meeting against the hasty adoption of the new Labour Code, undermining workers' rights. Thanks to the unions resolute position, backed by international pressure, adoption of the new Labour Code of Kyrgyzstan is postponed unitl June 1.

27 marzo, 2012General Motors workers in Shushary (Saint-Petersburg area, Russia) secured a wage raise of 10.5 per cent starting from April 1, partly meeting the demands of the Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA).

22 marzo, 2012Six Zimbabwean activists were found guilty of charges of inciting public violence on March 19, causing uproar among labour and civil society organizations. Regional and international calls for the charges to be dropped swiftly shifted focus to put pressure on key government officials through a sms campaign to ensure that the lightest possible sentence would be handed down.

22 marzo, 2012The network Steering Group met and approved a work plan in Belgium shortly after the closure of Caterpillar's EMD plant in Canada.

17 enero, 2012Thanks to national and international trade union solidarity, the Ecopetrol president has reinstated USO president Rodolfo Vecino and revoked the ten-year ban on holding office also placed on him by the company.

17 enero, 2012As UK industrial production fell 3.1 per cent on the year up to November 2011 -- and clocked up the ninth consecutive monthly fall, Unite the union relaunches its strategy to help rebuild and revive UK manufacturing, called "2020 Vision".