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Esmail Abdi was transferred from prison to a Tehran hospital late last week due to his deteriorating conditions. Esmail has been on a hunger strike since the 30 April in protest against his treatment in jail and his arrest. Esmail is a leading member of the Teachers’ Trade Association of Tehran who, during 2015, staged a series of industrial actions across Iran to demand better conditions and wages. Unfortunately, the Iranian Government has met such protests with repression with many activists currently in jail. There is an urgent international campaign calling for the release of Esmail Abdi.

This week, around 6,000 workers employed by the Şişecam company, the biggest glass manufacturer in Europe, staged a series of industrial actions in support of their demands (see here and here). These protests are in direct response to the Turkish Government’s attempt to stop their organising efforts by banning strike action for reasons of ‘national security’. This is not the first time that these workers have had to take on both the employers and the state, as their win in 2014 demonstrates. Given the repressive political climate in Turkey and the President’s expanded powers, these protests might have far reaching political consequences. 

The Khaadi company in Pakistan is one of the country’s largest textile and garment brands and owns many factories. There is an escalating campaign by both workers and labour activists against the company’s treatment of its workers and the repression of union activists. Most of its workforce is employed by sub-contracting companies, working under brutal conditions of 12 hours and more a day, having limited break times, unsafe and unsanitary conditions, and being locked inside the factory. Workers are organising to defend and advance their rights while supporters are calling for a boycott of Khaadi products.

The brutal war that has been waged by both the internal ruling elites and external imperialist powers is continuing to have a devastating effect on working class communities in Yemen. This war was a response to the working class uprisings that began in Yemen in 2011.  Millions of people in Yemen are now at risk of starvation while a cholera epidemic has killed hundreds due to the breakdown in the water and sewerage systems in that country. Even amid this devastation, the social struggles that led to the original uprisings are still ongoing. In the last few weeks, a newly reformed Southern Alliance is contesting the ongoing war and the involvement of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Hundreds of workers in the onshore and offshore oil and gas sector in south eastern Australia are facing a major assault on their conditions via the use of sub-contracting companies. Exxon-Mobil-Esso and its contractor UGL have set up a sub-contracting company that will now employ the workers. This company is trying to impose an enterprise agreement that cuts workers’ wages by 30% as well as taking control of the shift rostering away from workers. 

The ongoing heroic struggle by Maruti Suzuki workers in the Manesar region of northern India is the subject of a new documentary – ‘The Factory’. The documentary focuses on the 3 year criminal prosecution of hundreds of workers, exposing the structural injustice of the law in India that protects the profits of the Global Auto Industry. The film will be screened in Melbourne as an AAWL fundraiser.

President Duterte has declared martial law in the southern Filipino island of Mindanao, supposedly in response to the ongoing conflict by armed groups there. The spark was the offensive by the Maute group in the city of Marawi where many people were killed. The Filipino army response has led to many more deaths as fighting continues in the densely populated urban areas of Marawi. Pres Duterte announced in crude and sexist language that he will not hesitate to unleash mass killings on the scale of his ongoing War on Drugs campaign. Many labour and human rights activists fear that this is just the beginning of a more generalised climate of repression in the Philippines.

For 41years 3CR Community Radio in Melbourne, Australia has featured union, worker, indigenous, women’s, ethnic, environmental, music and other community programs that are not heard elsewhere. As a community radio station, 3CR Radio funding comes from its listeners. Every year, a Radiothon is held to raise funds for the radio station. Asia Pacific Currents is AAWL’s weekly radio program on 3CR Community Radio. Support labour struggles, support 3CR Radio.

The hunger strike by 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, has ended after marathon talks on the weekend between Palestinian leaders in jail and Israeli officials. The deal struck saw the prisoners win many of their demands. In the last week, the health of many prisoners had deteriorated markedly with real fears that some may die. Last Monday, there was a huge strike throughout the Occupied Territories by Palestinian workers and communities in support of the hunger strikers. Labour groups all around the world (see here, here and here) had called on Israel to meet the demands of the hunger strikers. Solidarity actions have been continuing daily around the world. The situation in Palestine had become very tense.

Following his successful constitutional referendum on gaining more powers for the post of President, President Erdogan, last Sunday wasted no time in promising to fight mercilessly against all his enemies. With the situation for workers already very serious such calls only promise more hard times. This week, two teachers who had been on an extended hunger strike in protest against their dismissals were arrested, as were some of their supporters the day after. In addition, the Government has once again invoked ‘National Security’ reasons to stop workers taking industrial action.