Solidarity.

           An appeal for solidarity and support for arrested union representatives. In certain circumstances, under this economic system of corporate capitalism, organising to get your employer to negotiate with you can be extremely dangerous. You could face harassment, beatings, arrest, imprisonment and sometimes death, as the state will always take the side of the business brigade. We can't rely on the so called laws of the land and justice, these two prongs of the state are there to protect power, wealth and privilege for the parasitical few.

 

The following from Labour Start:

A month ago, workers at NagaWorld casino hotel in Cambodia went on strike. They demanded that the management engage in good faith negotiations over the forced mass redundancy of over 1,300 workers.  Many of those workers were left destitute. Instead of talking to the union, police began arresting workers and union leaders. Two weeks ago, the union president was violently arrested on the picket line by plain clothes police.          Other union leaders were also arrested. At the moment, 8 union leaders are currently in detention.  They are all charged with incitement offences under the Criminal Code, which carry a sentence of up to 5 years imprisonment.         They are being denied access to legal representation.         The Director General of the International Labour Organisation has already expressed deep concern over the arrests and has called for the immediate release of those arrested. And now the International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) has launched an online campaign demanding that the union leaders be released from jail and the charges dropped.        Please take a moment to show your support for these brave workers, and to demand justice - click here. And please share this message with your friends, family and fellow union members. Thank you! Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

3 Years unpaid!!

       This is a strange one, but comes from a reliable source, can't understand why the workers have not pulled the workplace down by now. Working for a state entity and not having been paid for three years. This is totally and utterly unreservedly beyond any realms of tolerance. These people deserve our full support and solidarity, pressure must be brought to bear to end this act of modern slavery. 

The following appeal from Labour Start:

        I'm not sure if you saw this message which we sent out last week. This campaign has 4,018 supporters - but we need many more of you to sign up in order to support these workers in Ukraine who have not been paid for three years.
        If you have supported the campaign - thank you!
 If you haven't yet, please read on ...
        All over the world, working people are suffering due to the global pandemic and economic crisis. Many have lost their jobs. Many businesses are failing. But not all these problems are being caused by Covid.
        We've received an appeal for help from workers in Ukraine who have not received their wages for more than three YEARS. And the business that employs them - KVARSYT - is state-owned.
       According to Ukraine's constitution, every worker must be paid for their work. The decision of the management to not pay these workers is also in breach of ILO Convention 95, entitled 'Protection of Wages' (1949), which was ratified in 1961 by the Ukrainian government.
         Please take a moment to protest to the Ukrainian government - and to show your solidarity with these workers.

Click here to support the campaign.

And please spread the word to your friends, family and fellow union members.

Thank you.
Eric Lee

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk   

True Caspitalism.

        Across the world in developing countries we hear of brutal and draconian actions against workers who organise and act in solidarity to try to better their conditions. However here in civilised Europe we do it differently, (oops I forgot, according to our lords and masters, we are no longer Europeans) We do have dialogue and in most cases if the workers are organised enough, we get a compromise, occasionally a victory. In Germany, that so called democratic country, in one particular dispute with workers who are being treated unfairly, the gloves are off. Instead of trying to reach a compromise the bosses have decided to sack a group of workers and threatened 800 more with lay-off, if the struggle continues. Obviously the bosses feel strong enough to take on the union and confident enough to know that they will get the backing of the state if this struggle escalates. At times like this it is incumbent on all workers to stand up and show their support and solidarity with the workers at the receiving end of this brutal profit before people policy, of this capitalism with the gloves off. We surely can also stand up and take our gloves off in defence of our living conditions. When bargaining ends, real struggle begins.

This from Labour Start:

      Workers at Ameos in Germany, a private for-profit hospital corporation, are demanding fair wages, secured by a collective bargaining agreement. In the federal country of Sachsen-Anhalt in the east of Germany, for example nurses receive up to 500 EUR less than comparable employees in other hospitals. But Ameos refuses to sign a collective bargaining agreement with the union, ver.di. After massive short-term strike action in November Ameos has fired 14 workers without previous notice and has threatened 800 lay-offs should industrial action continue. The workers have now started an open-ended strike. They are fighting for better wages. Adequate payment will also help to find more people for the health professions. Adequate health care services for the region must be the priority, not ever higher profits. The workers need your support in their struggle. Please join us in sending protest emails to the regional CEO Frank-Ulrich Wiener and the Chairman of the Ameos board, Dr. Axel Paeger.

Click HERE to send email: 

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Solidarity Wins Again.

 

        One of the best weapons the ordinary people have against this repressive and exploitative capitalist system is solidarity. Time and time again solidarity wins battles, we may lose a few but we also win some and solidarity is the weapon that can deliver.

This victory from Labour Start:

         Erlan - now free. A little more than two weeks ago, I wrote to tell you about the sentencing of Erlan Baltabay, a trade union leader in Kazakhstan, to seven years in prison. Over 7,000 of you responded and sent off messages to the government of Kazakhstan demanding Erlan's release. Yesterday, we got the good news that the LabourStart global campaign launched by the International Trade Union Confederation and IndustriALL Global Union worked.
      Erlan was pardoned, and released from jail. Here is more information about his release from IndustriALL Global Union. And here is the statement from the Confederation of Labour of Russia (KTR) which first broke the news.
       Thank you very much to everyone who sent off a message, who shared news of this campaign by email and across social media, and to our volunteer translators who very quickly made this campaign available to trade unionists around the world in 18 languages.
        We don't always win these campaigns, but when we do it's a cause for celebration. But it's also a reminder of the five other campaigns we're currently running in support of trade unionists in Cambodia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland and Turkey. If you've not yet done so, please make sure to support these today:

Turkey: Reinstate municipal workers in Aliağa
Cambodia: Solidarity with workers at the West Mebun temple
Poland: Hutchison Ports must reinstate union activist Marek Szymczak
Philippines: Holcim workers demand justice
Pakistan: Reinstate the Karachi 8

        And please share this message -- and this good news -- with your friends, family and fellow union members.

Eric Lee

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Workers Rights Under Attack, As Usual.

 

       In this world awash with countries that call themselves "democracies", Labour Start comes up with some information that those at the front line of protecting and/or furthering workers rights are well aware, but perhaps facts with which the public at large are less familiar. A system that puts profit and continuous growth as its priority and only object for its existence, can never put workers rights on its agenda. Unless to find ways to whittle down the cost of that labour. The system and workers rights are incompatible, what ever rights we have as workers has been fought for and wrestled from the system, at a cost to those involved, sometimes the ultimate cost, their lives. Our rights have never been give, we have wrenched them from the system. Nothing will change until we change the system we live under.

      This from Labour Start:

 Today in Geneva the International Trade Union Confederation is releasing to the world the results of its annual Global Rights Index.

The picture it paints is not a pretty one:   

• Trade unionists were murdered in ten countries - Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and Zimbabwe. 
• 85% of countries have violated the right to strike. 
• 80% of countries deny some or all workers collective bargaining.
• The number of countries which exclude workers from the right to establish or join a trade union increased from 92 in 2018 to 107 in 2019.
• Workers had no or restricted access to justice in 72% of countries.
• The number of countries where workers are arrested and detained increased from 59 in 2018 to 64 in 2019.
• Out of 145 countries surveyed, 54 deny or constrain free speech and freedom of assembly.
• Authorities impeded the registration of unions in 59% of countries.
• Workers experienced violence in 52 countries. 

You can now download the full report here.

What can we do about this?

First of all, let's make sure that every single member of our unions knows about this report.  We cannot guarantee that the mainstream media will give it the publicity it needs.  But if every single person who gets this email message shares it with others, the impact will be enormous.

Please -- share this email, share the link to the ITUC Global Rights Index, post it on Facebook and Twitter.  

Together, there are millions of us.  Together, we can reverse these trends and ensure that the rights of all workers are respected, no matter where they live.

Thank you.



Eric Lee

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

A Worker Is A Worker, Is A Worker, Is A Worker!!

       You have got to hand it to our corporate lords and masters, they never give up on their policy of trying to eliminate all workers organisations. The last thing they want is for the workers to be organised to defend their wages and conditions. Of course they get the backing of the babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, who crap on about the evil unions destroying everybody’s day by calling a strike, and the government responding with legislation to “limit the power of the unions”. One other the trend, is to get the workers “self-employed”, you do our work, but you are not one of our workers, you’re on you own buddy. Uber is probably the best known, but there are others. At the moment the people who “work” for Deliveroo are classified by the company as individual contractors, so the company refuses to recognise the union. With ”self-employed”, zero hours contracts, and part time work, the workforce is fragmented, apart from losing out on all the normally accept conditions, that were won by unionised struggle, and go with a “job”, such as holiday pay etc., it makes it more difficult to be organised to protect you pay and conditions, let alone fight for improvements. The bosses are well organised, they know the need to be organised, as they see the true position, bosses and workers are on opposite sides. The workers have to take a leaf out of that book, and realise the need for all “workers”, no matter the label that the bosses put on them, to be organised. The bosses know and accept that it is a struggle of opposites and they will pull out every dirty trick to get the advantage for their side of the battle. We have to do the same, come together, organise to support each other, and see the boss class as the enemy of our desire for that better life for all.

This appeal from Labour Start:

        Since November, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has been attempting to gain recognition (a collective bargaining agreement) from Deliveroo in London.
        If the IWGB is successful, it will be the first collective bargaining agreement in the UK's so called "gig economy" and will force Deliveroo to recognise their riders as workers.
        This will give them the right to the minimum wage, paid holidays, legal protection against discrimination and more.
        Deliveroo has rejected the initial request, but the union remains determined to succeed and a tribunal case is currently pending. But it shouldn't take a tribunal case to compel Deliveroo to do the right thing. They should recognise their drivers as "workers" and should recognise the union for the purposes of collective bargaining now.

Please click here to send a message to Deliveroo telling them to recognise the union now.

       And please share this message with your friends, family and fellow trade union members.

Thank you!



Eric Lee

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Union Official, A Dangerous Occupation!!!

        Most of us take it for granted that we can join a union and even be an official without fearing for our life. It is as it should be, but it is not like that in certain parts of this insane world. To actively participate in union affairs for the betterment of your fellow worker, can at times, be very dangerous, this should not be tolerated. The state will always protect its corporate bosses and their profits, at the expense of the workers, even to the point of death.

An appeal from Labour Start:

     Last month, the president of Gambia responded to trade union protests against customs tax increases and fuel prices by banning union activities. Three union leaders were arrested.
        One of them, Sheriff Diba of the Gambian National Transport Control Association, died in prison. This followed reports of brutal treatment at the hands of the National Intelligence Agency.
          At the request of the International Transport Workers Federation, we have launched an online campaign demanding justice for Sheriff and an end to repression.

Please support it by clicking here:

http://www.labourstart.org/go/gambia

Please share this message with your friends, family, and fellow trade union members.

Thank you!



Eric Lee

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

   

The State Is Brutal, Authoritarian And Repressive.

        All states are brutal, authoritarian and repressive, some more brutal, authoritarian and repressive than others. However they all must be challenged when ever and where ever they exercise these inhumane traits, borders should not stop our solidarity with victims of any of these brutal, authoritarian and repressive state actions.

  This from Labour Start: 

      People all over the world were shocked and saddened to learn of the torture and murder of Giulio Regeni, a young academic who was in Egypt to research the situation of independent trade unions. 
      As Kamal Abbas, an Egyptian labour leader, has written: "The announcement of Giulio's death came after 10 days of his disappearance. The condition in which the body was found reveals that Giulio was murdered viciously and was subjected to monstrous torture before his death. This caused international outrage."
      There have been open letters and online campaigns from Giulio's academic colleagues.
      We in the trade union movement are also demanding answers from the Egyptian government, and the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for this horrific crime.
Please take a moment to support the LabourStart campaign:
http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=2953
http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=2953
      After you've sent off your message, please share this with you friends, family and fellow union members.
Thank you!

Eric Lee

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Workers' Rights.

Thought some of you may be interested in this: 

      You are invited to join the online course entitled "Workers' Rights in a Global Economy" which starts on 3 March 2016.
        This is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), offered as cost-free and as a certificate course, by the Global Labour University.  It aims to connect union members and labour activists around the world.
      Learn and debate about strategies for implementing workers' rights nationally and along global supply chains.
Click here to learn more and sign up.
Please spread the word in your unions.
Thanks very much. Eric Lee

Labourstart.org

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Join A Union, Get Sacked!!

         Some good news and some bad news, that's the way of workers lives. The good news usually comes from solidarity between workers across the globe, the bad news invariably comes from the state and/or big business.

This from Labour Start:

2016 begins with news of yet another company responding to workers' attempts to organize themselves with mass dismissals. 

In this case, it's a company in Turkey that's sacked 30 workers who dared to join a trade union.  The International Union of Food Workers (IUF) has launched an online campaign demanding their reinstatement and a recognition of union rights.  Please take a minute and add your name here.
Meanwhile, two of our campaigns launched in December closed down fairly quickly -- and for good reason.
A campaign we launched on December 14th demanding the release of Iranian teacher trade unionist Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi closed within a day after we learned that he had been freed. Mahmoud's hunger strike captured the attention of many human rights activists and trade unionists, and the more than 4,500 of you who sent off messages in that short time helped send a clear message to the Iranian government.
And just one day before that we learned that the deal between the Israeli and Chinese governments -- which would have led to the importation of 20,000 Chinese workers as bonded labour -- failed.  The collapse of the deal came after more than 6,300 of you supported the online campaign we launched with our partners in the Israeli and Hong Kong labour movements.  Full details are here.

These are both good news stories, and again I want to thank you for supporting our campaigns in 2015 -- as I hope you will do this year as well.



Eric Lee

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Labour Rights Activists Arrested.

An appeal from Labour Start  

        Nearly 5,000 trade unionists have already sent off protest messages - will you join them?  Please share it with others. Thank you.
       Dozens of labour rights activists in China have been arrested and need our help right now.
      Since early December, the authorities in the southern province of Guangdong have carried out a coordinated and wide-ranging crackdown on labour rights activists and labour organizations.
      More than 25 people from at least four labour organizations have been taken away and questioned by the police. At least seven of them have been criminally detained.
     The police have continued to harass and intimidate the family members and friends of the detained activists and prevented them from giving media interviews.
     The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions and Globalization Monitor have launched a campaign on LabourStart calling on the Chinese authorities to release the activists and to stop suppressing labour organizations.
       We need your support today - please click here to add your name to the online campaign:

http://www.labourstart.org/go/china2015

Thank you -- and have a great new year!



Eric Lee 

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Sacked For Speaking Out.

         States across the globe keep moving to the right, it is their natural direction and the only way they can keep control of the people. It takes many shapes from intrusive surveillance, to an avalanche of propaganda. They will always come down hard on any group that organises to protect and/or further the interests of the ordinary people. Here in the UK we are seeing some of the most draconian anti-union laws being forced down our throats, after being given the fake stamp of legitimacy by the corrupt cabal sitting in the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption. Of course employers will always take advantage of the states anti-people structure, as in the case of, (often repeated across the globe) the sacked union rep, Sergey Mastepan.

An appeal from Labour Start:

   Union reps are there to speak out in defense of union members. That seems obvious to us.  But not to every employer.
        For example, a company called Transiidikeskus AS has decided to sack Sergey Mastepan, a shop steward for the Estonian Seamen's Independent Union (ESIU), because he spoke out on a picket line and to media about conditions in the company.
        Sergey needs our help today to get his job back.  And to establish the principle that unions are there to defend working people. Please take a moment to sign up to support the International Transport Workers Federation appeal here on LabourStart:
http://www.labourstart.org/go/sergey
       And please share this message with your family, friends and fellow union members.
       And one more thing: the International Union of Foodworkers campaign focussing on PepsiCo's squeezing of human rights in India, needs our support.  They're just 380 messages short of 10,000 -- can you help?  Please go here:
http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/campaigns/show_campaign.cgi?c=952
Solidarity forever!

Eric Lee

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk