Ten years after Zhanaozen, Kazakh unions still under pressure16 December, 202116 December marks the ten-year anniversary of the tragedy in Zhanaozen, Kazakhstan, where police opened fire on protestors, killing 17 and injuring more than 100 workers. The violence ended a seven-month long strike, involving more than 3,000 workers demanding a wage increase.
“Working in Myanmar is like modern slavery”9 December, 2021Nearly eleven months into military rule in Myanmar, trade unions in the country say that the dictatorship must end immediately, as democratic rule is essential for protecting workers’ rights.
One worker killed and six injured at Holcim in India1 December, 2021One worker was killed and five other injured at Marwar cement plant in Nagaur district of Rajasthan, India on 18 November 2021. Another worker was seriously injured in Maratha Cement Works in Maharashtra on 11 November 2021. Both plants are owned by Holcim subsidiary, Ambuja cement.
Stop union busting in Belarus1 December, 2021Independent unions in Belarus are under threat, as employers and state authorities use every chance to intimidate and dismiss independent union members, thus decreasing membership.
51 killed in coal mine accident in Russia29 November, 2021On 25 November, 46 miners and five rescuers died at the Listvyazhnaya mine in Russia’s worst coal mining accident in more than ten years. According to reports, as the mine filled with smoke after a methane gas explosion, workers died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Kyrgyz unions struggle for compliance with core labour standards26 November, 2021During an online solidarity meeting on 25 November, IndustriALL and its affiliates in the CIS region reiterated support to the struggle of Kyrgyz unions for fundamental workers’ rights and democratic unions.
Union intensifies calls for urgent dialogue on multiparty democracy in Eswatini18 November, 2021IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA), reiterated its calls for a multiparty democracy in Eswatini during its 2nd congress at Sidvokodvo on 13 November.
Algeria: Release jailed unionist Ramzi Dardar8 November, 2021IndustriALL, together with global unions PSI and IUF, has launched a LabourStart campaign calling for the release trade unionist Ramzi Dardar, jailed on made-up terrorist charges.
No return on copper for BHP workers in Chile4 November, 2021Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, yet the country’s laws and policies have for decades been at the service of multinational corporations, resulting in high levels of inequality. Moreover, at BHP a staggering 61 per cent of workers are contract workers, which in Chile means being treated as a second-class worker.
Myanmar: Trade unions call for immediate withdrawal of EU trade preferences in light of labour and human rights abuses26 October, 2021IndustriALL Global Union and IndustriAll European Trade Union are demanding urgent EU action in response to the horrendous human rights abuses against workers, human rights defenders, and trade unionists in Myanmar. Trade unions insist that the EU immediately revokes Myanmar’s trade preferences under the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) arrangement.
