LabourStart: Where trade unionists start their day on the net.

China Steel Express (CSE), the most profitable subsidiary of Taiwan's largest state-owned enterprise, China Steel Corporation (CSC), has long exploited Taiwanese seafarers through illegal fixed-term contracts. Recently, CSE replaced Taiwanese seafarers with Chinese crew. As a result, more than 300 seafarers lost their jobs. In July, CSE abruptly cut the insurance of over 100 seafarers to forc...

An interview with Judith Kirton-Darling, general secretary of IndustriAll Europe, about the ongoing fight of Liberty Steel workers in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in the face of catastrophic job losses.  Judith talks about the background to the struggle, including latest developments, including a walk out this morning by Liberty Steel workers in Hungary, and the importance of solidarity...

This week we interviewed Srđan from Radnicki Glas (Workers Voice) in Serbia.  The group is very involved with the ongoing campaign at the Yura factories in Serbia -- which is the subject of a LabourStart ActNOW campaign.  ( Click here to learn more. )  We talked about unions and workers in general in Serbia and the specific issues faced by workers at the South Korean-owned Yura factories, which ar...

We spoke with David Edwards just three weeks before the opening of the congress of the Education International, which unites trade unions of teachers and other educational professionals.  The EI is one of the biggest global unions -- it has 383 member organisations, representing more than 32 million people in 178 countries and territories -- and faces immense challenges.  We spoke about the EI&apo...

Less than 24 hours after the results of the first round of the French legislative elections were known, and with the threat of a far Right government for the first time since Vichy, we interviewed Judith Kirton-Darling.  Judith is General Secretary of IndustriAll Europe, which represents 7 million working men and women united within 200 national trade union affiliates in 39 European countries. We...

Earlier this month there were giant protests across Argentina following the attempts by the country's new president, Javier Gerardo Milei, to impose his dystopian vision on the country.  Milei's government is cracking down on workers' rights, downsizing and privatising much of the public sector, and triggering a huge increase in unemployment and poverty -- especially child poverty. ...

This week, we spoke with Esther Lynch, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).  The ETUC represents 45 million members from 93 trade union organisations in 41 European countries, plus 10 European Trade Union Federations. In a wide-ranging discussion, we spoke about the upcoming European elections and why they matter for unions and working people.  The European union...

Khaing Zar is President of the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) and Treasurer of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM).  Forced into exile following the military coup d'etat in February 2021, she is a leading spokesperson for the embattled trade unions of her country, which have now been effectively banned and driven underground. In this interview, we discussed wh...

This week we interviewed Jan Willem Goudriaan, General Secretary of the European Public Service Union (EPSU).   EPSU brings together trade unions from across Europe. It influences the policies and decisions of employers, governments and European institutions that affect public service workers, their families and communities. It mobilises for action and change and is committed to achieving another,...

Luc Triangle is the new general secretary of the global labour movement's peak body, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).  The ITUC represents 191 million workers united in 340 affiliated national trade union centres around the globe. We spoke with Luc about the ITUC's new "For Democracy" campaign, about the globally-recognised "right to strike" which i...

Rebecca Owens is a proud flight attendant and active member of AFA (Association of Flight Attendants)-CWA Council 30 in Anchorage, Alaska. She has stepped up as her union is in contract negotiations at Alaska Airlines by helping to organize informational pickets, volunteering to go on camera to share the stories of her union brothers, sisters and siblings and making sure her colleagues participate...

Darren is an Amazon worker and Amanda is a senior organiser for the GMB union in the UK.  Together, they tell a story of low pay, union busting and an atmosphere of fear at Amazon -- but also a story of courage, solidarity and hope as workers unite and take on one of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world.  Learn more about the fight of Amazon's workers in the UK on LabourSta...

When Bea Bruske was a teenager she found herself walking a picket line for many months -- a strike prolonged unnecessarily because her employer had hired scabs.  Today she's the President of the Canadian Labour Congress and is leading the fight for anti-scab legislation.  A bill now making its way through the Canadian federal parliament will ban scabs in the federal sector, covering a million...

The textile workers at Egypt's state-owned Mahalla factory have a history they can be proud of -- their strikes helped to bring down the Mubarak dictatorship.  In March 2024, when the Egyptian government decided to exclude them from a minimum wage equal to US $120 (per month - before taxes), they rose up in protest, led by women workers.  Having won some of their demands, they returned to wor...

Australia under its new Labor government is seeing a huge revival of the trade union movement with new "closing loopholes" laws that strengthen workers' rights.  At the centre of the struggle is Sally McManus and the Australian trade union movement.  Sally is a fighter and is often quoted saying: "I believe in the rule of law where the law is fair and the law is right, but when...

Colombia used to be described as the most dangerous place on earth to be a trade unionist.  Sadly, that is still the case.  But as Nick MacWilliam from the UK-based, trade union-backed Justice for Colombia explains, things are getting better.  Colombia now has a progressive president, supported by the unions, and Nick -- who has just returned form Colombia  -- brings us a message of hope.  For muc...

Kazem is in charge of international relations at Free Them Now , which was set up in 2005 to build international support for jailed workers in Iran.  News from Free Them Now can be found on LabourStart's Iran page . Support the show

Marc Belanger was doing labour education and union organising online back in the 1980s.  That's NOT a typo -- he established SoliNet (Solidarity Network) for Canada's largest union, CUPE, nearly 40 years ago.  He went on to run the International Labour Organisation's training centre in Turin, Italy and now is back in Canada, where he founded and runs Radio Labour .  In this intervie...

We spoke with Carolina about the situation in Panama where the government has been attacking the construction workers' union, accusing the union leaders of 'terrorism' and closing off their bank accounts.  The union and BWI have mobilised global support, including a LabourStart campaign -- and the government is feeling the pressure.  For details, visit https://www.labourstartcampaig...

We interviewed Olesia about the situation of Ukraine's workers and their unions.  While she was speaking to us in Kyiv, she reported that a Russian missile attack was taking place at the same time.  Olesia's message to the workers and trade unions of the world is essential listening - please share this widely! To learn more about the situation of workers and their unions in Ukraine, chec...

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In this conversation with LabourStart's Eric Lee, Liza talks about the past, present and future of the trade unions in Belarus. Support the show