This week many workers were injured at the giant Grasberg copper and gold mine in West Papua, owned by Freeport McMoran when police and security guards dispersed workers’ picket lines. This represents a further escalation of the current dispute that began in early May over possible job losses. In this time, the company has dismissed over 4,000 workers in an attempt to break workers’ commitment and solidarity. In industrial disputes involving global giants like Freeport McMoran, industrial action by workers in other Freeport McMoran mines around the world would be the most powerful actions to take.

Earlier this week, more than 50 garment workers were injured when their demonstration was attacked by hired thugs. One of their activists was also kidnapped and only released hours later. The workers, employed by the Haesong company, had been taking action in support of their demands for the payment of leave entitlements from earlier in the year. Unfortunately, this violence was not a random event, as many companies pay for thugs to harass, intimidate and attack workers. The employers’ aim is to suppress workers’ ability to achieve a living wage and a safe working environment.

The western Syrian town of Raqqa is the latest urban settlement to face massive bombardment after Aleppo and Mosul in Iraq. Amid ongoing calls for civilian evacuations from international human rights agencies and the United Nations, and media reports on the war, the working class communities of Raqqa are now trapped amid bombardments from all sides. The situation inside Raqqa is becoming increasingly desperate with the city slowly being pulverised. As always, working class women, children and men are the main victims of intra imperialist wars.

The ice cream manufacturer, Peters, a subsidiary of the global giant Unilever, is trying to terminate an existing enterprise agreement at one of its factories in western Sydney. The hundreds of workers employed at this factory stand to lose up to 46% of their current wages, as well as other conditions, if the company is successful in terminating the current agreement. The terminating of enterprise agreements is a new tactic by companies in Australia (see here and here), to try to drastically slash the pay and conditions of workers at what had been strongly unionised workplaces. 

August 8 was the 29^th anniversary of the uprising in 1988 against the military dictatorship in Myanmar. While that uprising was repressed, the fight against repression has continued. The new democratically elected government has not fulfilled people’s expectations with human rights abuses still widespread in the country. These can be seen in the continuation of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohinga people, the various wars against ethnic minorities, and the targeting of workers. The military’s ability to use its political and economic influence is seen as the main problem facing human rights and labour activists.

Over 200 workers from the Chung Fai Knitwear factory in Cambodia have been fighting for over a year to get their wages and entitlements after the factory unexpectedly closed down. The mainly female workers have remain steadfast in their quest for justice. Their campaign has become international with progressively more labour groups supporting their demands. There is an international petition to sign on while the group Clean Clothes Campaign is also co-ordinating an international response.

Lee Jae-yong, the acting chairman of the global giant Samsung, was been sentenced to five years' jail for bribes and perjury offences. Jae-yong’s charges relate to his dealings with the disgraced former South Korean President, Park Geun-hye, who is currently facing up to ten years' jail. The Samsung corporation has always been very close to government circles and this verdict exposes corrupt practices at the highest levels of government. Samsung is also viciously anti-worker and anti-union. These trials have only come about because of the massive mobilisations of workers over the last couple of years (see here & here).

The murder of 32 people in one night last week, once again highlights the murderous rampage that President Duterte has unleashed in the Philippines with his ‘War on Drugs’. It is estimated that close to 10,000 people have been killed so far, with bodies being dumped in the sea and children also being targeted. While there is growing opposition, most poor urban working class communities are totally defenceless against these death squads. A new film, Duterte’s Hell, portrays the horror of these killings.

In a new development, Israel is trying to stop its reliance on Palestinian workers by importing large numbers of Chinese migrant workers. While the Israel economy benefitted from the dispossession of Palestinian lands and the super exploitation of Palestinian workers, it nevertheless left it vulnerable to Palestinians’ organising efforts and resistance. In addition, however low the wages were, it still allowed the Palestinians to create an economy in the Occupied areas. By importing a new group of vulnerable workers, Israel is trying to preserve the exploitation of workers, but separate itself economically and politically from Palestinian resistance.

The Iranian labour activist Reza Shahabi has been on a hunger strike since August 9 in protest against his renewed detention and extension of his prison sentence. Reza is a long time member and activist with the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Vahed Syndicate) with a proud history of fighting for the rights of his fellow workers. Iranian labour activists around the world are campaigning for his release and against the ongoing repression of labour activists by the Iranian government. A sample protest letter calling for Reza’s release is available.