Union Concern at APEC Hawaii Summit Outcome
While this year’s APEC Leaders’ Meeting in Hawaii lauded their region as providing “the vanguard for global growth…. performing beyond even the most optimistic expectations” it said nothing about the need for strong government measures to achieve economic recovery, establish a fairer trading system, invest in decent jobs or strengthen social protection.
Ecuador: New ITUC Report Reveals Discrimination and Labour Rights Abuses
A new ITUC report on core labour standards in Ecuador, published on the occasion of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s review of Ecuador’s trade policies, reveals grave problems with trade union rights and discrimination and several other violations of labour rights.
Syria: Regime’s Continued Violence Risks Spread of Conflict
With more than 3,000 people killed to date, the Syrian authorities show no sign of seeking a peaceful end to the violent repression engulfing the country. Despite mediation efforts by Turkey, and an agreement with the Assad regime brokered by the Arab League, the President’s security forces are continuing to kill innocent civilians engaged in peaceful protest.
Progress on Jobs As G20 Puts Real Economy Back in the Race
The international trade union movement said “the G20 is back”. Leaders have engaged again with the tensions in their own constituencies. The progress came after union delegations met with 14 heads of government before and during the summit and the heads of all the major multilateral bodies including the UN, ILO, World Bank, OECD, WTO and IMF.
Bahrain: the ITUC Reaffirms Its Solidarity with the Union under Media Attack
For months, pro-government press has demonized trade unionists and pro-democracy activists, falsely accusing them of any number of crimes against the state. A November 1 article in ALWATAN goes one step further, in actually declaring the dissolution of the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU), an affiliate of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). Fortunately, the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated. Despite the sacking of dozens of union leaders and nearly 3,000 workers, most of whom are union members, as well as a scurrilous media campaign meant to discredit the union, the GFBTU remains a vital, democratic and non-sectarian force in Bahrain today.