International Development Matters - Issue 173 March 2018

TUC NEWS

TUC solidarity with jailed Korean trade unionists

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

ITUC Mourns the Passing of Morgan Tsvangirai

Yemen: IFJ urges release of brave journalist and union activist

Kazakhstan: Global and European Trade Unions call on EU to Defend Fundamental Rights

The ITUC Deplores the Lack of Progress on Reinstatement of Workers in Bahrain after Seven Years

IFI NEWS

The Bank and IMF in 2017: Year in Review

Not just lip service: advancing women’s economic justice in industrialisation

CALLS TO ACTION

ACT NOW! Iran: Esmail Abdi back in prison - free him now!

ACT NOW! Algeria: New government attack on independent energy union

FOCUS ON TRADE UNIONISTS

IndustriAll interview: Chidi King, Equality Director, ITUC

RadioLabour: Condemnation for Bridge International in Uganda

EVENTS

NSC: Celebrating International Women’s Day Nicaraguan style

XIII GLU Conference on “The Future of Work: Democracy, Development and the Role of Labour”

TUC NEWS

TUC solidarity with jailed Korean trade unionists

On the opening day (9 February) of the Winter Olympics in South Korea, the TUC took part in the ITUC’s global call to action and sent a delegation to the South Korean embassy in London, led by the TUC President Sally Hunt, to highlight concerns around the ongoing violation of workers’ rights and repression of trade unionism in South Korea. The TUC handed in a copy of this letter addressed to the Korean Ambassador to the UK, calling for an end to the imprisonment of Korean union leaders Mr Han Sang-gyun, ex-President of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and charges dropped against the ex-General Secretary of KCTU, Lee Young-joo. 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

ITUC Mourns the Passing of Morgan Tsvangirai

The international trade union movement has paid tribute to Morgan Tsvangirai, President of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who has died aged 65 from colon cancer. As the main opposition to the authoritarianism of the former President, Robert Mugabe, his commitment to democratic rights and freedoms included the rights of workers and the role of independent unions.

Read more here

Yemen: IFJ urges release of brave journalist and union activist

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined its affiliate, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS), in urging the release of journalist and union activist Awad Kashmeem, who was arrested by local authorities on 21 February in Mokalla, Hadramout Province in Yemen. His arrest follows criticisms he made of local authorities and the services provided to citizens and also the lack of financial resources to the Foundation following the offices´ destruction by Al-Qaida in 2015.

Read more here

Kazakhstan: Global and European Trade Unions call on EU to Defend Fundamental Rights

The ITUC and the European Trade Union Confederation are calling on the European Commission to take up concerns about Kazakhstan’s violations of freedom of association during a meeting of the EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council meeting on 26 February.

Read more here

The ITUC Deplores the Lack of Progress on Reinstatement of Workers in Bahrain after Seven Years

14 February marked the seventh anniversary of Bahrain’s peaceful uprising brutally repressed by the authorities. Since then, the government of Bahrain has been increasingly backtracking on the promises of reform it made following the 2011 report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), which revealed systematic torture, arbitrary detentions, and extrajudicial killings. It is estimated that around 4,500 workers from both the public and private sectors were fired on the basis of their political opinions and for attending strike calls. Read more here

IFI NEWS

The Bank and IMF in 2017: Year in Review

The World Bank and the IMF continue to push for privatisation and conditionality, despite rhetoric on inequality and inclusive growth. Read the Bretton Woods Project’s 2017 review which includes civil society highlighting divergence between Fund's rhetoric on inequality and its policies.

Read more here

Not just lip service: advancing women’s economic justice in industrialisation

This report is the latest in ActionAid’s series on how industrial policy can create more and better jobs. It reflects on the need for developing countries embarking on industrialisation and economic transformation strategies to ensure these interventions are gender just from design to implementation. ActionAid hope the report provides an accessible discussion of some of the key debates on industrial policy through a gender lens.

CALLS TO ACTION

ACT NOW! Iran: Esmail Abdi back in prison - free him now!

Please continue to support and share widely this LabourStart campaign for Iranian teacher union leader Esmail Abdi was taken back to the notorious Evin prison on Saturday 20 January. He was released on 9 January, but this was only a temporary reprieve from his six-year sentence, which started in 2016. The authorities refused to extend his furlough, despite his poor health which resulted from harsh detention conditions. Esmail Abdi has been targeted for his union activism and campaigns for teachers' rights and for free public education.

Read the TUC blog for more information and take action here

ACT NOW! Algeria: New government attack on independent energy union

Please continue to share widely and support this LabourStart campaign urging the government of Algeria to stop its war on the independent union of electricity and gas workers SNATEGS, which organises workers at the state energy company SONELGAZ. Hundreds of union members, delegates and officers have been dismissed, harassed and persecuted on bogus legal charges for exercising their fundamental rights.

Read more and take action here

FOCUS ON TRADE UNIONISTS

IndustriAll interview: Chidi King, Equality Director, ITUC

Read the IndustriAll interview with Chidi King, Equality Director at the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), who says that the time to call for a convention on gender-based violence in the workplace is now. Read more about the ITUC’s campaign to support an ILO Convention to stop gender based violence at work.

RadioLabour: Condemnation for Bridge International in Uganda

Listen to the RadioLabour’s 1 March news report about the private education corporation, Bridge International, who is continuing to provide below-standard schooling for students in Uganda despite being told to improve its practices or close its operations in the country by the government and teacher unions.

EVENTS

NSC: Celebrating International Women’s Day Nicaraguan style

Thursday 8 March, 6.30 - 9pm.

Calthorpe Arms, 252 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1X 8JR

Join Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign (NSC) in celebrating International Women’s Day Nicaraguan style. Everyone welcome! Nicaraguan music, snacks, film clips and discussions with women who have visited and volunteered in Nicaragua. Guest speaker: Guisell Morales, Nicaraguan Ambassador to the UK and Ireland. 

Click here for registration details.

XIII GLU Conference on “The Future of Work: Democracy, Development and the Role of Labour”

7-9 August 2018, Brazil

The Global Labour University (GLU) invites trade unionists to participate and make inputs to the XIII GLU Conference on “The Future of Work: Democracy, Development and the Role of Labour” 7-9 August 2018, Brazil. They would like to invite trade unionists to join this Conference to share reflections, experiences and good practices regarding how trade unions are responding to the challenges imposed to workers focusing on the four sub-themes of the Conference: 1. Structural Changes and Impacts on Labour; 2. Trade Union Organization and Strategies; 3. Labour Regulation; 4. Development

Click here for more information