19 December, 2008Barack Obama's decisive victory as the next president of the United States inspired hope among working people both in America and abroad. In battleground states, such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, more than 100,000 trade union volunteers took time off work to help convince Americans to vote for change.

5 December, 2008In the Fifth March of the Working Class, the country's trade union centrals brought together 35,000 workers and presented their proposals to combat the financial crisis to the Chamber of Deputies and Senate of the Brazilian Congress.

3 December, 2008Police raid homes, abduct, arrest and beat union leaders and workers protesting the government's refusal to allow workers to withdraw their full paychecks from the banks.

1 December, 2008Six executives from the Italian unit of German steel maker ThyssenKrupp were indicted on charges ranging from manslaughter to murder for their involvement in the December 2007 steel plant fire that killed seven workers.

19 November, 2008Executive Committee adopts concrete proposals to address global financial crisis and its impact on metalworkers and their families.

22 January, 2009Labour leaders meet with Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to urge immediate action in wake of increasing violence and repression against miners' union in Mexico.

14 January, 2009The International Metalworkers' Federation welcomes the Resolution of the UN Security Council calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza

14 January, 2009No satisfactory solution has yet been found to the situation of the Siderperu workers sacked at the end of last year, despite the efforts of the union, the IMF's Gerdau Group Global Committee and other sister organisations.

14 January, 2009Around 3,000 miners have been sacked. The unions have been organising their response and demanding a solution to the situation.

12 November, 2008IMF affiliates lead fight for international solutions to climate change in the steel industry.