Philip Jennings, General Secretary of UNI Global Union, wrote to the Prime Minister of the DRC urging him to personally involve himself as the Head of State, in order to rapidly resolve the situation and to “immediately and unconditionally afford Professor Kibiswa all of the fundamental human rights under the basic law of your country."
In a recent Huffington Post article, Ariela M. Migda, Staff Attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union Women's Rights Project has set out the reasons she believes home care workers are not guaranteed minimum wages or overtime pay. It's time for this to change. Read the full article below.
In a joint press release, Italian unions Filcams Cgil, Cisl and Fisacat Uiltucs UIL united last week to announce a national day of strike action on the 9th of May after Auchan Italy’s unilateral decision to push through collective redundancies, expected to cost around 1500 workers their their jobs. They also condemned Auchan Italy for withdrawing from the company collective agreement and for their refusal to consult with the unions, despite repeated efforts by unions to engage in constructive dialogue.
With today’s (6 May) publication of the ‘Digital Single Market Package’, the European Commission is presenting a bundle of measures aimed at following up on the goals and priorities set by the EU’s Digital Agenda for Europe. Digitalisation constitutes huge opportunities to enhance EU growth and productivity and to create quality employment. At the same time, however, digitalisation may also lead to further rises in inequality, job losses, and unjust societies. Digital innovation is therefore a double-edged sword that should be regulated wisely.
We are excited to announce International Justice Day for Cleaners and Security Guards for 2015. This year it will take place on Monday 15th June and actually marks the 25th anniversary of the event in Los Angeles where cleaners and their supporters demanding justice and respect were attacked by the police. Last year we delivered a strong global message about the need for respect for cleaners and security guards with a vibrant and successful day of protests and actions as well as the ‘yellow glove’ selfie on our Facebook page.
On Tuesday, May 5th, colleagues from our UNI Europa offices stood outside the European Parliament to ask the European MEP's to take action in order to save the proposal for a revised maternity leave, bringing maternity leave up to 18 weeks, the standard of the UN International Labour Organisation.
The proposal has been on the table since 2008, but no agreement has been reached – putting the proposal at threat of being withdrawn by the European Commission which has described it as “red tape”.
SIPTU Health Division members called on the Government to honour its commitment to restore their pay in line with national agreements at a rally last week outside the Department of Health in Dublin.
At the rally, frontline health workers and support staff heard speeches stating that as workers had fulfilled their commitments under the Haddington Road Agreement it was now time for the Government to meet its obligation to restore their pay.
The May Day Rally in Korea gathered a record number of participants from the KFIU(Korea Finance Industry Union) , with the presence of 50,000 bank union members on the Yoido Plaza in Seoul. Bro Kim Moon-Ho, KFIU president invited Bro. Kim Dong-Man, FKTU President and Bro. Han Sang-Kyun, KCTU President at the pre-rally for the solidarity speeches.
Bro. Kim Moon-Ho challenged the government policies and practicies in the finance sector which resulted in higher debts and several cases of corruption.
On Wednesday, April 29, ver.di Chairman Frank Bsirske submitted a petition to the German Bundestag, urging the government to ensure that Deutsche Telekom enforce global labor rights standards at its US subsidiary T-Mobile US. The German government has a special responsibility for DT’s domestic and global conduct, since it owns 31.7% of Deutsche Telekom. (DT, in turn, owns 64% of T-Mobile)
UNI has begun delivering emergency food aid to survivors of the devastating earthquake in Nepal following a recent fundraising appeal. A new free healthcare centre is also set to open with money from the appeal. Click here to donate.
Thanks to the generosity of UNI affiliates and donors, the UNI Nepal Liaison Council has carried out two food relief distributions to the affected people of Lalipur District, Godwary, Patlechhap, Kavre Distirct, Thulagaun and Tinghare.
