15 May, 2012The Argentinean metalworkers' union organises a 24 hour strike in support of its demands for a pay rise.

17 May, 2012Three federations merge to become IndustriAll European trade union, demanding industrial growth and more jobs.

30 January, 2012"After three years of continuous crisis conditions in global labour markets and against the prospect of a further deterioration of economic activity, there is a backlog of global unemployment of 200 million," says ILO in its annual report, "Global Employment Trends 2012: Preventing a deeper jobs crisis".

24 January, 2012Over 150,000 workers came out on the streets of Norway to protest against the imposition of a new EU directive on temporary agency workers. The directive can undermine collective agreements by permitting temporary contracts which currently have to be agreed with the unions.

24 January, 2012In January Fair Labor Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending sweatshop conditions in factories worldwide, announced Apple was admitted as a "Participating Company". That means that Apple promises to clean its supply chains from labour abuses during the coming two years. While welcoming this move GoodElectronics promises to watch closely whether the membership means Apple takes action on key problems.

24 January, 2012Italian metalworkers' unions Fim-Cisl and Fiom-Cgil say the official EU report on arms exports is flawed, incomplete and too late. They are among the promoters of the Arms Control Network Rete Italiana per il Disarmo, one of the signatories of a critical appeal against lax European arms export control.

19 January, 2012Workers fired for joining the Turkish metal union, Birlesik Metal-IS finally won justice after a three year long, bitter and intense struggle that exposed the country's debilitated legal system as much as the company's anti-union behavior.

19 January, 2012Twenty trade unions and labour rights organisations have submitted a complaint against the Local Conciliation and Arbitration Board of the Federal District of Mexico.

19 January, 2012LabourStart launches an online solidarity campaign in support of the Mexican Electrical Workers' Union. Affiliates are requested to support the campaign by signing the online protest letter.

18 January, 2012Following discussions between BMW and IMF's british affiliate Unite, BMW has agreed not to proceed with its plan to close it's current pension scheme to new entrants, and that it will not use the "Swedish derogation" to avoid equal pay for agency workers.