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Earlier this week, Tunisian trade union leader Mongi Abderrahim, General Secretary of the Fédération Générale des Professions et Services (FGPS), came to the UNI head office in Nyon, Switzerland to share the successes of the new democracy and social movement that trade unions and other groups are building in Tunisia. The union won a huge victory in new rules that forbid outsourced work in the public sector. The union has also organised hundreds of new women members in the cleaning sector.



Last week UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings spoke to the Jellali Abdelhamid, General Secretary of the Fédération Générale des Banques et Etablissements Financiers, at the UNI Finance Global Conference in Portugal. Abdelhamid said the union signed 14 new collective agreements that cover 2000 new workers



Jennings will be in Tunis on May Day to further develop solidarity support.



Abderrahim also visited trade union leaders in Egypt and Bahrain to support their work for democracy and justice. UNI will send missions to Algeria, Egypt and Morocco in the next few weeks.



In May, Jennings will present an action plan to supporting unions in the MENA region to the UNI Management Committee.



Work in the region includes a new UNI Post & Logistics project, supported by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, to strength postal unions in the regions’ new political environment. In May unions in the postal sector from Palestine, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Bahrain and Egypt will attend the first meeting.



A new Palestinian union, PATEL, that represents workers in the ICTS and commerce sectors, has put in an application for affiliation.



UNI is closely following the situation in Bahrain with information from its affiliate the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU). The Al Khalifa regime has violently rejected the people’s demands for reforms that would create a representative government for the Shia and Sunni population.



“We are supporting our colleagues in Bahrain who are demanding reforms and a government that represents all citizens,” said UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings. “We condemn regime’s violent response to protests and the imposition of martial law in the country.”



The Bahrain union movement has worked hard to promote solidarity and unity among its Sunni and Shia members and the general public. The union is particularly concerned with the safety of migrant workers, who have been targeted for violence going to and from work. A general strike was called off after the regime said it would ensure the migrant workers’ safety.



UNI has been in regular communication with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on developments in the region, including in Libya.



UNI supports the statement of ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow on the situation there:



23 March 2011: The ITUC is deeply concerned over the mounting civilian death and injury toll in Libya, with the continued refusal of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi to enter any form of negotiation with the opposition precipitating international military intervention under a United Nations mandate.

UN Security Council Resolution No 1973, adopted last week following a March 12 appeal from the Arab league for the UN to implement a no-fly zone, provides clear guidance to all UN member states on the actions that they can take in implementing the Resolution. The ITUC respects the authority of the UN, and stresses that any and all action taken by any country must be in full compliance with that Resolution, which was adopted with the explicit purpose of “protecting civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack”.

“The Gaddafi regime turned against its own people in the most violent and murderous manner when it felt that its absolute control over them, and Libya’s immense natural wealth, was under threat. The only acceptable way forward is for an immediate ceasefire, and real negotiations to open the way for a new, democratic Libya where human rights are respected. Many countries have been complicit in sustaining the Gaddafi regime in the past, and many multinational companies have made huge profits out of their dealing with the regime. The primary responsibility of the international community at this time is to act for the welfare, safety and rights of the people of Libya,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.