Asia Pacific Currents

The trade union movement in Malaysia was destroyed decades ago in a combination of outright repression and slow strangulation by restrictive laws. While workers have continued to organise in this period, it has been difficult to develop strong militant unions. In the last couple of years, a new leadership team has revitalised the hospital cleaners union. It still faces lots of challenges. Jiselle...

The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both devastated in August 1945 by atomic bombs dropped by the USA military. The devastation these bombs caused shocked the world. In the decades after 1945, millions of people campaigned to limit and abolish atomic weapons. Unfortunately they are still around and these bombs, and the industry and research that develops them, are a serious threat t...

Low wages, outsourcing and sub contracting are a scourge for workers all around the world with companies using these methods to 1) increase profits and 2) cut costs by shifting responsibity and dangers to workers. South Korea is no different in a part of the world where governments like Japan, China and Taiwan are trying to help their respective capitalists by keeping workers as un-organised as po...

President Rodrigo Duterte's 'War on Drugs' has been going on for more than three years. During this time there has been a normalisation of extra judicial killings, impunity for death squads, vilification of human rights defenders and arrests of activists. His death squads have murdered over 25,000 people. These massacres has had a terrorising effect on on urban, working class communities in the Ph...

Yemen is often described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The country was already one of the poorest in the region and years of war have ravaged the countryThe origings of the current situation can be traced back to the Houthi movement, an Islamic religious-political-armed movement that emerged from Sa'dah in northern Yemen in the 1990s as a response to local grievances. It overcame...

The recent tensions and threats of war between the USA and Iran have roots to the origins of the Islamic Republic following the 1979 Revolution that overthrew the despotic dictatorship of the Shah. Since then, Iran has continued to remain a regional power, especially after surviving the 10 year long war with Iraq. The current tensions are different front the past in that they come after years of p...

India is the world's biggest democracies and its elections campaings are huge undertakings. This year's election saw the chrismatic leader, Narendra Modhi, of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claim a landslide victory. This victory cements the Hindu nationalist leader as the country’s most formidable politician in decades. Modhi's first tenure as Prime Minister has seen a wave of intolerance and v...

Hong Kong is a special administrative of China with its own set of laws and regulations separate from most of mainland China. Hong Kong is in a transition period following the withdrawal of the UK as its colonial power in 1997.Since then, the city state has seen spikes in political activities and protests when major changes to its laws have been proposed. In the last few months, the Hong Kong gove...

3CR Radio was started in 1976 by working class communities to provide an avenue for workers, their families and their communities to tell their stories and struggles in their own voices. The radio is run by the broadcasters, members and listerners. 3CR Radio self funds and relies on its listerners to fund the station. Today is Radiothon time for 2019, so donate to keep us on the air. You can donat...

As Indonesia is the largest country in South East Asia and the most populous Islamic country in the world, elections are closely followed. The recent elections saw the incumbent Jokowi defeat the ex General Prabowo. Economic and social issues where the main issues of this election. Given the widespread poverty in Indonesia, there are a lot of expectations for what President Jokowi can deliver to w...

The mid term elections in mid May were seen by everyone as a test for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his authoritarian rule and policies. Human rights and labour activists were hoping that by exposing Pres. Duterte's corruption, lies and murderous campaings in the War on Drugs and martial law in Mindanao, it would weaken his allies and elect senators, governors and mayors that would beco...

The APC team apologises for the recent 6 weeks interruption of APC podcasts This was due to issues beyond our control. We are now back :-) It has been 71 years since the founding of the state of Israel in West Asia and the problems arising from the dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian from their lands have not been resolved. The struggle by the Palestinian for their land, their ri...

The massive Tianjiayi Chemical factory explosion in eastern Jiangsu province in late March, where at least 78 workers were killed, and many hundreds injured, is another tragic example of the weak Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) laws in China. One of the main problems in achieving safer workplaces is the weal bargaining power of the great majority of Chinese workers. APC was able to interview...

Hutchinson is a Hong Kong based global stevedoring giant with a network of port operations that comprise 319 berths in 52 ports, spanning 26 countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia. Hutchinson is also renowned as a union busting company. Whether in Australia, INdonesia, Malaysia or Pakistan, it directly works to target, victimise and isolate labour...

The BJP government of India, headed by President Modi is the most right wing Indian government since Independence. It has quite clear fascist expressions and has unleashed an unrelenting attack on workers wages and conditions under the guise of making 'India great'There are constant actions and strikes by workers against these attacks. On the 3rd of March there was a big rally in the capital New D...

The modern history of Thailand has seen a constant struggle by civil forces of society to try and break the power and wealth of the established ruling elites and the Monarchy. This struggle has seen the military carry out a number of military coups in an effort to repress and destroy these anti autocratic movements. Its now 5 years since the last coup and the military is allowing a national vote t...

The origins of International Women's Day (IWD) go back to 1909 when tens of thousands of women garment workers, the majority of whom were migrants, went out on strike in New York, USA demanding equal pay. The fight for justice and equality is still being fought all around the world with working class women at the forefront of the battle against exploitation, inequality and repression. APC was at t...

India is fast becoming a global industrial power as it intergrates further into the global economy. Attracted by a low wage, educated workforce and lax environmental regulations companies are keen to invest in India. In the Tamil Nadu town of Tuticorin a copper smelter owned by Sterlite, a subsidiary of the giant Vedana Group, has generated massive opposition among the population due to the pollut...

The last two and a half year of the Presidency of Rodrigo Duterte has seen massive violations of human rights in the Philippines. While the most publicised issue has been his murderous War on Drugs, many other sectors and organisations have felt under pressure from his administration. The Philippines is now regarded as one of the most dangerous places for journalists. APC interviewed Maria Ressa,...

Due to a last minute technical problem, we are replaying an interview from last year about OHS in South Korea. Labour updates from the region are current news.(Supporters for the Health And Rights of People in the Semiconductor) SHARPS has recently forced Samsung Electronics to commit to pay compensation to its workers as well as a commitment to improve its workplaces. APC interviewed Jeong-ok Kon...

Outsourcing and sub contracting is a scourge for workers all around the world with companies using these methods to increase profits and cutting costs by shifting responsibity and dangers to workers. In mid December 2018, a young worker in South Korea, Kim Yong-gyun, was killed by a conveyor belt at the thermal power plant where he had been recently employed at. Yong-gyun was employed on an insecu...

Welcome to all APC listerners to the first program of 2019.The 26th of January in Australia is a public holiday marking Australia Day. It celebrates the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Phillip. To the Indigenous people of Australia this day marks the...

Samsung Corporation is one of the biggest companies in South Korea. It has a vicious anti union stance and of repressing any independent worker activity at its factoriesFor over ten years, OHS activists grouped around the organisation SHARPS (Supporters for the Health And Rights of People in the Semiconductor) have conducted a campaign against Samsung Electronics about its unsafe workplaces that h...

While China is still the world's factory, it is also increasing its labour force in areas of health, education and welfare. Since the Tiananmen protest of 1989, workers have been tightly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party of (CCP). While over the last decade, there has been upsurges in workers action, the last couple of years has seen the CCP tighten its control of workers and repress any a...

Turkish workers have a proud history of organising and fighting for better conditions. Unfortunately, the last few years under the Presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have seen conditions deteriorate with workers coming increasingly under more pressure. The huge new airport being built just outside Istanbul examplifies this new reality with workers continually facing insscure and dangerous workplac...