9 February, 2012The European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers' Federation (EMCEF), European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) and the European Trade Union Federation for textiles, Clothing, Leather and Footwear (ETUF-TCL) will formally merge in Brussels on May 16, 2012.
6 February, 2012February Global Days of Action 2012 kicks off on February 19, in memory of the 63 miners killed in the Pasta de Conchos mine explosion of 2006. The initiative has been approved by the Council of Global Unions (CGU), as last year the affiliates are encouraged to act in co-ordination with sister organizations and their National Centres.
22 February, 2012Labour rights violations continue at Trexta, a manufacturing company in Turkey. Nine workers were dismissed because of their membership of Deri-Is, a local union affiliated to the Textile Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) in Turkey.
7 March, 2012On March 5 members of the IMF and ICEM UK affiliate Unite the Union rejected a redundancy proposal from the Austrian packaging company Mayr-Melnhof that would have ended a 19-day lockout at a plant in Merseyside, near Liverpool. Workers rejected it largely because management still insists on its own discretionary powers in disbursing redundancy packages to 49 workers.
7 March, 2012In response to evidence of exploitation of workers producing goods for London 2012 Olympics, detailed in the new Playfair report "Toying with Workers' Rights", the organizers of the London 2012 Olympics signed an agreement with the Playfair 2012 campaign to protect the rights of workers in its supply chains.
7 March, 2012In October 2011 miners and metalworkers at ArcelorMittal Temirtau (Kazakhstan) demanded a 30 per cent wage increase. Their demands are still not met. On February 25 the workers held a conference and decided to hold a rally on March 10. They will also push for the changes in Kazakhstan laws, which prohibit strikes at plants with continuous working cycle.
6 February, 2012PKC workers want the National Miners' and Metalworkers Union (SNTMMSRM) to represent them but the company is imposing its own choice of union
14 June, 2012G20 leaders must urgently rethink policies and back job-centred growth, demands unions, after a new poll commissioned by the ITUC shows that only one in ten in G20 countries believe austerity will work.
13 June, 2012Panel discussion on Protection Contracts and Freedom of Association in Mexico packs a full house at the International Labour Organization. Union representatives call for union building, solidarity, and direct action against the government and employers.
11 June, 2012Addressing the plenary of the International Labour Conference, Said Iqbal, the leader of IMF affiliate FSPMI, proposed that the ILC take action to improve wages and reduce precarious work.
