The ITUC has called for a massive international humanitarian relief effort following the devastation caused by tropical cyclone Nargis which hit Burma on Friday night. The call follows a humanitarian appeal immediately after the cyclone by the independent Federation of Trade Unions – Burma, an Associated Organisation of the ITUC. At least 22,000 people are believed to have been killed, with hundreds of thousands more made homeless and tens of thousands still missing and feared dead. Initial aid pledges have been made by several countries, with neighbouring countries and UN agencies already mobilising emergency relief.