International unions

Trade union struggles outside the UK

Iran

On 16 September Iranian riot police attacked a gathering of carpet makers in the northern coastal city of Babolsar. They arrested around 40 and injured a number of others. According to reports from the Worker-communist Party of Iran, workers of Farsh e Alborz (“Alborz Carpet”) had gathered in front of the factory when the police arrived, firing tear gas and shots into the air and beating up the workers in baton charges. Several hundred workers of this factory lost their jobs, following the company’s closure last winter. Despite promises by employers and the local government, the factory has...

Appeal from Tehran bus workers

The following letter, addressing world labour organisations, was issued in Tehran on Monday 27 February by the Tehran bus workers' union. The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat e Vahed) is most grateful to all the world's labour organisations for their unsparing support for our newly-formed organisation. The efforts and protests of Tehran Vahed Bus Company drivers and workers for their lawful, welfare [trade-union] demands, which have continued without let-up to this day, have included repeated visits to the Labour Ministry and [Tehran] Municipality, many rounds of...

A factory without bosses

The Zanon factory in Neuquén province in Argentina has operated under workers’ control for four years. It is a great example of the creativity of working class people. Julian Pununuri from Zanon spoke to Paul Hampton during his recent UK tour, organised by No Sweat and the Argentina Solidarity Campaign. PH: Zanon is an inspiration to socialists and activists across the globe. What’s going on there now? JP: The struggle continues, supported by the local community, the unemployed organisations (MTD), the left and of course the workers in the factory. The factory’s former owners decided to shut...

With the Iranian bus workers, against the Islamic Republic

by Amina Saddiq In a solid display of working-class solidarity, an international day of trade union action was organised on 15 February in support of the Iranian bus workers. Road transport unions in Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia, the Tunisian rail workers’ and maritime unions and the petrochemical union in Jordan all held actions. In Iraq, members of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (formerly the IFTU) delivered a letter of protest and demonstrated in front of the Iranian embassy in Baghdad. Actions were organised by unions in Austria, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand...

The right to pee!

Women truck drivers who use the port of Folkestone are celebrating a breakthrough this week in their world-wide “Right to Pee” campaign. Following pressure from the TGWU the Harbour Master at the cross channel port has announced the opening of a women’s toilet. The new facility at the HGV parking area will also be protected for women’s use by a special key system. Local T&G branch secretary Rachael Webb, said the inspiration had come from women bus workers in Bristol who started the campaign with a resolution to the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF). “It comes to something when...

Korean unions call general strike

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions called a general strike on 28 February against Korean government moves to impose greater "flexibility" on Korean workers. Jo Jun-Ho, the President of the KCTU, has sent the following message: On behalf of the KCTU, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, with its 800,000 grass-root members, I'm appreciating to deliver to all of you, the fact that the KCTU has called on a general strike from February 28th protesting the passage of a irregular workers legislation by the Parliament environment and labour committee. Over the participation of the...

New Zealand: Unions show how to rebuild

By Bryan Sketchley After years of union decline in New Zealand, at the hands of anti union labour governments and a concerted effort by the big business Round Table to take advantage of business friendly legislation, a recently formed union has made impressive headway in organising low paid and previously non unionised workers. Unite has taken advantage of legislative changes and have refused to limit themselves to organising workers in a particular sector of the workforce, instead have signed up members regardless of occupation, full, part time or casual status. To date Unite has had most...

Zanon tour: Factories without bosses

The Zanon tile factory in Neuquen is one of many “recovered” factories in Argentina – factories taken over and run by the workers. Faced with pay cuts and redundancies – and then no pay at all – the Zanon workers occupied and began to run the factory. They are coming to Britain to discuss their experience with activists here. Despite several attempted evictions, the workers, supported by their local community and allies have held out and even managed to dramatically increase production, sales and jobs. Alongside all this they publish Nuestra Lucha (Our Struggle) – a newspaper of the occupied...

Zanon: a factory without bosses

The Zanon tile factory in Neuquen is one of many “recovered’ factories in Argentina – factories taken over and run by the workers in the last five years, in the wake of capitalist economic collapse in the that country. Here the workers tell their story. In 2000 when the Zanon company announced that it had operational and commercial difficulties. And in that year one of the workers, 22-year-old Daniel Ferrás, was taken ill while working in the plant. The company did not have the necessary health facilities and Daniel died on his way to hospital. We workers took to the streets for the first time...

Challenging Australia's anti-union laws

By Colin Foster "Employees engaged on the Portside Wharf Development construction site at Hamilton [Brisbane] attended a stop work meeting. The meeting commenced at about 6.30am and concluded at about 7.00am... "This meeting took place during working hours and may amount to Unlawful Industrial Action contrary to the provisions of the Building And Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005... Individual workers... fines up to $22,000. Corporations [employers and unions]... fines up to $110,000. "Further, should any worker who took part in this stoppage receive wages for that period, the worker...

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