International Unions Reach Out to Japan Quake Survivors
Global unions are reaching out to Japanese workers and their families following the massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan, likely claimed more than 10,000 lives and left half a million people homeless.
In a statement, David Cockroft, general secretary of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), said:
The people of Japan are well prepared for these events but the sheer size of this one could have overwhelmed all preparations. Thankfully there has been great bravery shown in saving lives, and maybe we can allow ourselves to feel some pride that transport workers have figured widely in reports of passengers being safely evacuated from trains, and cared for at the affected airports. The news of our members in the seaports is likely to be grimmer.
Click here to read Cockroft’s letter to ITF affiliates.
You can send a message of support and solidarity here and click here to see other messages from workers around the world. Updates from Japanese trade unions the quake and tsunami areas are available here.
Global Unions Unite to Help Workers at Multinationals
The global union movement came together in Washington, D.C., last week to kick off a joint initiative to help workers at multinational companies join unions.
Members of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Council of Global Unions met with U.S. union leaders to discuss support for international organizing campaigns. Much of their help is directed at the United States, where workers’ rights now lag far behind other industrialized nations. They also met with senior officials of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The two-day meeting featured a presentation on Deutsche Telekom and subsidiary T-Mobile. While Deutsche Telekom respects workers’ rights in its home country of Germany, T-Mobile workers in the United States and other countries face management campaigns of intimidation and harassment because they want to form a union and gain collective bargaining rights.
Participants also discussed organizing initiatives at various companies, including Saint-Gobain, DHL, IKEA, Wal-Mart and Securitas.
AIDS Is a Global Human Rights Issue
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Today is World AIDS Day, and union members around the world are calling for increased workplace efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and a renewed commitment by world leaders to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
While funding for HIV and AIDS prevention has been hit hard by the global recession, we need to remember that AIDS itself is not in recession, says Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Governments have committed to reverse the spread of this disease by 2015, and action in the workplace and union work in the broader social context is critically important to achieving this aim.
Shailor Named to State Department Post
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Barbara Shailor, former international affairs director of the AFL-CIO, has been named U.S. State Department’s new special representative for international labor affairs.
Shailor will lead State’s efforts to promote worker rights, conduct liaison with the global labor movement and focus on strengthening the labor officer operations in U.S. embassies around the world.
Shailor led the AFL-CIO International Department for nearly 15 years, serving as senior adviser to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and AFL-CIO President Emeritus John Sweeney on foreign and international policy issues. Prior to joining the AFL-CIO staff, Shailor served as international affairs director for the Machinists (IAM).
A State Department announcement says Shailor is
internationally recognized for her lifelong work to secure economic, social, and political rights for workers in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Unions Pushing for Global Jobs Policy
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The global union movement is pushing hard to make sure the issue of jobs is high on the agenda when leaders of the G-20 governments meet in Pittsburgh in September.
Around the world, unemployment and lack of decent work are devastating economies. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that another 20 million women and men soon could be out of work.
A plan developed by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) at the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) calls for G-20 governments to spend at least 2 percent of their nation’s gross domestic product on solving the crisis. Currently, European nations are spending no more than 1 percent. The plan urges a coordinated international recovery and sustainable growth plan to create jobs.
Workers Around the World Back Employee Free Choice
Workers around the world understand the freedom to freely join a union is a human right and one of the key marks of a free society. That’s why the global union movement is solidly behind the Employee Free Choice Act.
The most recent examples of that strong support come from Thailand and Indonesia. In a letter to United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard, Saman Pronprachathum, general secretary of the Petroleum & Chemical Worker’s Federation of Thailand, says “a strong economy depends on workers [being] given the opportunity to join a trade union and to bargain collectively so that fair wages and social benefits are lifted for all in a society.”
