USA: ITUC Calls on Verizon to Negotiate with Unions As 45,000 Workers Strike
The ITUC has called on US communications giant Verizon to negotiate in good faith with the unions representing 45,000 striking workers to resolve the largest strike in the USA for several years.
Nine Somali Workers Killed by Al-Shabaab Islamic Militants
On 14 August 2011, nine Somali workers from the public transport sector were killed by Al-Shabaab Islamist fighters in the town of Afgoye, 30 kilometres south of Mogadishu, after refusing to pay the sums the militants were trying to extort from them.
Colombia: Mineworkers’ Leader Murdered
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has joined with its Colombian affiliates, CUT, CGT and CTC, in firmly condemning the killing, on Tuesday 26 July in El Campo district, of Rafael Tobón Zea, a founding member of the Segovia branch of the mine and fuel workers’ union SINTRAMIENERGETICA.
Yemen: ITUC Calls for Urgent Humanitarian Aid
The ITUC is calling on the international community to respond to the humanitarian emergency in Yemen, where shortages of food, water, electricity, fuel and other essential goods are worsening by the day. Many companies and factories have closed down, leaving tens of thousands of workers on the street.
Malaysia: Japanese Firm Must Drop Defamation Charges Against Human Rights Defender
On February 14, 2011, the Malaysian subsidiary of Japanese electronics firm Asahi Kosei filed a $3.2 million defamation suit against human rights defender Charles Hector after he posted on his blog reports he received from Burmese migrant workers detailing violations of their labour and human rights at the company.