20 May, 2019This issue of Global Worker is published at a time when the global political and economic climate continues to deteriorate.
A slowing economy has led to an even greater concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few. Around the world, corporate greed, combined with weak regulation and legislation, is fuelling workers’ rights violations, abusive low wages and precarious working conditions. But as always, unions are on the frontline, defending working conditions.
In a profile, two of IndustriALL’s affiliated unions in India are featured, with the AICEF and Unions United fighting back against precarious work in their sectors.
In the special report, we take a closer look at why, in the wake of numerous tragic accidents, mining is still so dangerous. Despite safety regulations and the efforts of unions, mining accidents take the lives of thousands of workers every year and seriously damage the environment.
Responding to these tragedies, IndustriALL is continuing the campaign for countries to ratify and implement ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines.
In January, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released a report on the Future of Work. The report itself has some limitations, but could be a positive influence for the approval of an ILO declaration at the International Labor Conference in June. It calls for a new approach that puts people and the work they do at the centre of public policy and business practice. IndustriALL has sought the same goals outlined in the report for many years; read more about our position in the special report.
To end violence against women in the workplace we need a strong, binding ILO Convention. Affiliates took to the streets on this year’s International Women’s Day on 8 March to mobilize in support of an ILO convention addressing gender-based violence, see more here.
Natalia Marynyuk from IndustriALL affiliate Metalworkers and Miners of Ukraine says that in the face of union busting, protecting their members is the goal of the union. Read the full interview, where she says that international solidarity and support was important in finding a solution to a conflict which lasted for many years.
Together with our affiliates, we continue to mobilize international solidarity and we achieve major victories along the way. A world in crisis needs a pathway to a better future, and unions can provide it. Why we need international union solidarity now more than ever is discussed in the feature.
Valter Sanches
General Secretary