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Workers and their unions around the world are marking International Justice Day with celebrations and actions which started last Friday, over the weekend and will continue into this week. This year, unions are focusing on the issues of working hours and overtime pay.



“Many security guards in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, work 72 or more hours every week. Despite such long hours, we’ve met guards in Africa who walk an hour and half each way to work because they can’t afford bus fare. Believe it or not, the wage rate for some guards even goes down for overtime hours,” according to Tom Balanoff, President of UNI Property Services.

Philip Jennings, General-Secretary of UNI Global Union, says “Meanwhile, cleaners are patching 2 and 3 jobs together just to put a meal on the table. Whatever happened to a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay?”



Activities around the world for International Justice Day

On International Justice Day, cleaning and security workers and their unions are standing up to demand reasonable working hours and wages they can live on. Some of the actions planned include …



In 5 cities across Australia and New Zealand, the LHMU and the SFWU demonstrated on 13 June and will continue over the weekend and on Monday 16 June with picnics, leafleting and workplace actions.



The German cleaners’ union, IG BAU, will run events on June 14, 15 and 16 all around the country. These will include social events / celebrations, press conferences and political discussions about working conditions and hours for cleaners.



FNV Bondgenoten will organise a press conference at the trade union museum in Amsterdam on Sunday 15 June. On Monday 16 June, the union will hold demonstrations around the Netherlands to highlight cleaners’ and security guards' struggle for workplace justice.



Spanish union FES-UGT will take action to advance its struggle for workplace justice in the cleaning sector, including demands for an 8 hour day, reducing overtime hours without a reduction in pay, lowering health and safety risks and decent wages.



In the Congo, cleaning and security workers will meet with the press to publicise International Justice Day, to highlight the challenges workers face in the sector and their union’s campaigns to address these issues.



The Textile, Garment, Leather and Security Service Workers’ Union (TGLSSWU) will take to the streets in Malawi to raise awareness of the plight of security guards across the country and the union’s campaign for change.



Unions and their activists will take action in numerous cities across India on 13 and 15 June including Kolkata, Bangalore and Kochi, in support of the Security for Security Workers campaign to build unions and raise standards.



Union leaders in Denmark will meet with representatives of the two largest global security services employers - G4S and Securitas - to discuss respect for trade union rights globally.



In Buenos Aires, Argentinean unions will take action on 15 June in to advance the struggle for workplace justice in the sector.



Unions in Ireland, Belgium and Hong Kong will be focusing their efforts towards on-going campaigns for decent work in the sector. In Belgium, unions FGTB and the CSC will continue their demands for full time work, workplace training, better job security, dignity and respect in the workplace. In Ireland, SIPTU continues its organising drive, whilst the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) has recently launched campaigns in both cleaning and security. In cleaning, the HKCTU is defending the interests of workers on the railways, and in security has launched a campaign to organise guards in shopping malls.



South African union SATAWU planned a march against ADT Security on 17 June 2008. The company obtained a court injunction against the union to prevent any marching or picketing, which the union is now appealing.



UNI’s email campaign to the Malawian government

Workers around the world are joining UNI’s email campaign, sending messages to the Malawian Minister of Labour to demand that his government changes the law. Malawian labour law currently discriminates against security guards by cutting their pay in half for overtime hours. These guards are typically required to work more than 70 hours a week. So far the Minister has received more than 500 messages. To send your own message, go to the Take Action page at: www.internationaljusticeday.org

About International Justice Day

June 15 is International Justice Day. It is a day that cleaners and security workers mark each year as a reminder of our global connections. First celebrated in the United States in 1990, it was established after cleaners in Los Angeles were beaten during a peaceful demonstration against a multinational cleaning firm. Pressure from cleaners who belonged to unions in other countries helped the Los Angeles cleaners eventually win justice.

For more information: www.internationaljusticeday.org