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aawl mini news
Earlier
this week, six
workers were killed at the Bhilai Steel Plant in Kolkatha following an
explosion at a blast furnace. In another incident, Rakhi Sonkar, a worker at
Swiss Auto, took
her own life after being dismissed for being a few minutes late. Sonkar
was an outspoken labour activist who was active in fighting for workers
rights. Her fellow workers protested about her death, while in another area
of Wazirpur, near New Delhi, thousands
of steel workers are involved in a prolonged strike over low wages and
unsafe working conditions.
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 While a small
group of unionists employed at KFC
Thailand have managed to improve their position, for most workers the
situation is getting worse. A new report has just highlighted the slavery-like
conditions for migrant workers in Thailand’s fishing industry. Since
coming to power the junta has unleashed a nationalist tirade against foreign
workers, deporting
tens of thousands of workers. At the same time, the crackdown against
activists continues with more arrests, click here
and here. Workers
internationally need
to act against the military junta. |
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 As
reported
previously, the suicide of Ho-seok Yeom, the chair of the local Samsung Electronics Service union, was a
huge shock and highlighted the repressive nature of the giant Samsung
Corporation. Samsung unionists have been on an indefinite
strike against the company, click here
for photos. This year South Korean workers have seen an increase in
repression towards unionists
and labour activists. South Korean workers have a proud
history of organising and fighting back against huge odds. |
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 What
the massacres of thousands
of workers at Rana Plaza, Tazreen and Karachi, in the last two years
show, is that these deaths are not an unfortunate by-product, but an
essential part of the global
exploitation of our class. A new report once again highlights how the
garment outsourcing model has essentially been structured to exploit
workers as much as possible. To win we need to scale up our organisations
to organise
and figh t at a global level. |
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 In
an impressive
show of force, up to 40,000 workers defied anti strike laws to march in
Melbourne against the massive cutbacks against workers’ living standards
detailed in the latest government budget, see photos
and video. These
attacks by the conservative government are part of the ongoing offensive by
governments and capitalists all around the world to make us pay for this
latest crisis in the capitalist system. They want to make us work harder for
less money so they can inc rease profits. We need to organise and take action
together as a class. |
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 As
reported
recently, hundreds of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails are on
protracted hunger strike against their unlawful imprisonment. Unfortunately,
their plight is mostly
overlooked amid the many other crises of the region. In an attempt to
press their case, support activists organised
a strike in East Jerusalem earlier this week. For solidarity and updates
on Palestinian political prisoners, click here. |
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 As
previously reported, workers at the giant Dutch corporation of NXP
semiconductors are continuing to fight against the company’s union busting
activities. It has been just over a month since 24 union officials were
sacked by the company for their union activities. The company is located in a
Special Economic Zones where union activities are often curtailed. The
workers’ cause is backed up by global
unions. For updates and solidarity, click here. |
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 Hot
on the heels of the Soma
mine massacre, the situation for workers in Turkey is becoming harder
with more
companies trying to destroy our organisations. This week, 45 workers at
M&T Reklam, a large Turkish media company, were dismissed after they
tried to organise a union presence to represent them in contract
negotiations. This is a direct attack on all workers and our right
to organise. The workers are taking action against the company.
Advice from aawl@aawl.org.au
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