China: Just one step away from the right to strike

Workers in China do not have the constitutional right to strike. Yet, every day in the Pearl River Delta alone there is at least one major strike involving over a thousand employees and dozens of smaller strikes and stoppages.

Europe: Calling for humane migration policy

The ITUC has joined the European Trade Union Confederation in calling on the European Union to respect the fundamental rights of migrants. The ETUC has written to the members of the European Parliament in the lead up to a vote on 18 June on the so-called “Returns Directive” which, if adopted, would introduce a number of measures which the trade union organisations deem unacceptable.

US: Is Obama flipflopping on so-called “Free Trade”?

by Jonathan Tasini

Yesterday, Sen. Obama made comments to a business reporter that leave the impression that he is already shifting his stated position on NAFTA and, by extension, so-called “free trade”. It is worth looking at as a sign where Sen. Obama really intends to lead us on trade if he wins the White House.

US: Obama looks to woo blue-collar workers

By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
AP Political Writer

Joe Heston tends to vote Republican, but after listening to Barack Obama speak on Monday, he may vote for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. “I like his ideas, especially on the economy and education,” said Heston, a 23-year-old Kettering University senior from Monterey, Calif., who attended Obama’s speech at the Flint school. “I’m going to take a long look in this election.”

US: Domestic workers demonstrate against violence

By Cara Buckley and Annie Correal

The women’s stories seemed to come from a backward country, or from a shameful time in the United States that many would sooner forget. One woman, too scared to give her name, told of being struck by her employer in Bethesda, Md., as she scrubbed her hands raw polishing the floor. Another woman, Violet Anthony, who is 29 and from Mumbai, said her face became marbled with bruises after her employer in Queens slammed her into a wall and slapped her.

World day against child labour: the response is education

This year the World Day against Child Labour, June 12, will be marked around the world with activities to raise awareness that Education is the right response to child labour. The ILO has estimated that some 165 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are involved in child labour. Many of these children work long hours, often in dangerous conditions.

UK: London’s jobless rate climbs

By Hank Daniszewski

The unemployment rate in the London area climbed to 7.2 per cent in May from seven per cent the previous month – matching the highest level in five years.  It hasn’t been higher since July 1997. That’s no surprise to the people at the Goodwill Career Centre in London who have witnessed first-hand the impact of a steady stream of layoffs and plant closings.

US: Proponents of immigrant workers want reform

By Ryan Ori

Legislation is unlikely to move quickly enough in 2008 to help landscaping companies and other employers who depend on workers from outside the United States. For the Illinois Green Industry Association and the American Nursery and Landscape Association, the larger hope is for long-term reform in policies affecting immigration and the employment of legal foreign workers.

ILO Conference: Dying from overwork in “the Land of Karoshi”

Can overwork kill you by driving you to suicide? It can in the land of Karoshi. By the word “Karoshi”, the Japanese mean “death from overwork,” a serious and profound issue in a country where more than 5,000 suicides per year are the result of depression caused by overwork.

ILO Conference: Decent Work in rural areas

Some 3.4 billion people, slightly under half of the world’s population, now live in rural areas. Though the great majority live in developing countries and are poor, their situation, along with the impact of climate change, food price rises and other factors are visibly in the news.