eSwatini: Workers protest textile companies’ refusal to increase wages5 September, 2018Over 10,000 workers from five factories in Nhlangano took mass action to vent their anger over low wages last week. At Zheng Yong, workers were locked in the factory when the employers ran away.
South Africa: CEPPWAWU congress agrees on roadmap for union revival4 September, 2018For seven years, IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the Chemicals, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) has been in a crisis. However, the convening of its 5th national congress is seen as an opportunity to mend the union.
Liberian unions demand better working conditions at Firestone rubber plantations23 August, 2018Unions representing over 10,000 agricultural and industrial workers from the rubber plantations owned by Firestone-Liberia are demanding living wages, better housing, safe drinking water, access to electricity, and an end to discrimination and unfair labour practices.
Strengthening union organizing as Ethiopia industrializes12 August, 2018With more industrial parks being opened in Ethiopia as part of government’s industrialization strategies, unions are taking the opportunity to recruit, organize and build their capacity for effective collective bargaining.
BRICS unions discuss decent work and sustainable development31 July, 2018The BRICS Trade Union Forum (BTUF), an alliance of union federations from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is demanding a developmental and democratic model as an alternative to the dominant global financial institutions, especially the IMF and the World Bank.
South Africa: Mine responsibly and improve working conditions, recommends report30 July, 2018If public statements on working conditions by mining companies are to be believed, the demands by trade unions on health and safety, workers’ rights, and the ending of unethical labour practices would have been met.
South Africa: union in historic court victory against precarious work26 July, 2018The Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa, has ruled that an employer cannot employ a worker for more than three months without a permanent contract.
Benin unions agree to cooperate20 July, 2018Defending the right to strike, signing up more members, promoting participatory democracy, forming a women’s committee, and building solidarity among the unions are some of the commitments agreed upon at a recent meeting in Cotonou, Benin.
South Africa: Six workers die in underground fire at copper mine18 July, 2018With six mineworkers killed and 48 injured in an underground fire at Palabora Copper Mine in the Limpopo Province caused by a burning conveyor belt, increasingly South African mines are becoming death-traps for mine workers.
South Africa: Footwear strike for a living wage enters second week17 July, 2018Thousands of workers in the footwear sector are on strike for a second week demanding a wage increase of 9.5 per cent while the employers are offering 6.25 per cent.