Australia Asia Worker Links

As previously reported, international unions took up the call for a Global Day of Action in support of comrades in Cambodia who were violently repressed by forces of the state during demonstrations in January 2014.  23 comrades were detained since the start of January and there have been calls for their release. Demonstrations took place in Brussels, Canberra, Dhaka, Geneva, Honduras, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Seoul, Sri Lanka, Tokyo and Washington D.C. In the past few days, two workers have been released. Of the remaining 21 detainees, bail has been denied and 16 began a hunger strike on Sunday.  Strikes and protests will continue, with some scheduled for March 2014.

Despite the international outcry at the collapse of Rana Plaza in April 2013 that killed more than 1000 workers, and the factory fire at Tazreen garment factory in November 2012 that killed over 100, workers that try to unionise in Bangladesh’s garment industry face serious repression.  We previously reported on the crack down on demonstrations by garment workers held in Dhaka (see here).  Most recently, the Bangladeshi government is investigating sixteen garment factories that have sacked union leaders because of their union activity.  Workers must keep fighting in the face of this repression, because if you don’t fight, you lose!

Over 20,000 workers are currently striking at Egypt’s largest state-owned textile company in Mahalla. Strikers at the Spinning and Weaving Company in Mahalla are demanding the payment of promised bonuses from 2013; the implementation of the minimum wage; and the dismissal of Fouad Abdel-Alim, head of the Holding Company which oversees all public sector textile firms. The Egyptian cabinet tried to placate the workers by offering the bonuses, but the workers have vowed to continue their protests until all their demands are met.  The workers of Malhalla were instrumental in bringing down the Mubarak regime in 2011.

In 2009, workers at the Ssangyong vehicle manufacturing plant in Korea went on a 77 day strike in protest against mass sackings. The strike ended in August 2009 and union leader, Han Sang Kyun was arrested and jailed. More information about the strike can be found here and here and about Han Sang Kyun’s release in 2012 here.  Some four years later, the Korean court of appeals has now ruled that the sackings were illegitimate. While Ssangyong may still appeal this decision to a higher court, this is still a victory for the Ssangyong workers who fought bravely and heroically.

After a bitter strike lasting 59 days, the workers at Autofit factory, Dharuhera, Haryana state have won their fight against union busting. The company has agreed to take back all 17 sacked union activists as well as agreeing to a wage rise. The important character of the strike was the unity between contract and permanent workers. Many similar strikes are happening in the Gurgaon industrial region near New Delhi. This area came to prominence with the major struggle of the Maruti Suzuki workers of a couple of years ago. Over 100 workers are still in jail from this dispute, but the fight for justice and their release has not finished. Internationally, the car industry is experiencing many struggles and disputes.

On the 9th of January, six union leaders from the National Union of Hospitality Catering and Tourism Industries were arrested for an illegal strike.  The strike was at the Sheraton Fiji Resort and Westin Denarau Island Resort and Spa (both owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.) in Narewa village, Fiji. Workers were protesting against the removal of their benefits. This is not the first time that unions have been targeted in Fiji. Fortunately, this time, on the 2nd of February the charges against all defendants were dropped.

As reported previously, Iraqi oil workers have been at the forefront of the fight by workers in Iraq against repression and exploitation. With the ongoing armed conflict in the country, it is workers who often pay the price. Nevertheless, the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, in conjunction with other Iraqi trade unions, is pressuring the government to legislate for the right to bargain collectively.