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Trade union rights news

All work has dignity, and all workers deserve to be treated with respect by their employers. Trade unions play a decisive role in improving working conditions, safety and wages – yet some governments and employers systematically abuse the right of workers to join existing unions or form new ones. PSI works actively to support the right of workers to free collective bargaining, and to help stop abuses when they occur.

A new session of the UN Human Rights Council starts and there’s something not quite right

29 February 2016
Korean police dragging away a female protestor

The 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council started on 29 February 2016. For a period of four weeks, the representatives of its 47 member States, elected by the UN General Assembly, will deliberate on the human rights violations in a number of countries and make their recommendations.

On the 75th Anniversary of the February Strike - Yes to Asylum, Yes to Public Services

25 February 2016
Jasper Goss/Photo: Leo Hyde

In 2016, we should honour the February Strike, not just because those who took action were later tortured and even executed. Rather, we must ask ourselves, as trade unions, as members of the labour movement: what are we doing? Are we ready to take the risks necessary to confront the austerity-fueled resurgence of racism and national chauvinism across Europe and other parts of the world?

General strike in Morocco on 24 February

23 February 2016
Strikers in Morocco

The Moroccan trade union movement has decided to hold a general strike on 24 February because of the non-compliance of the government to its commitments on social dialogue and its violations of freedom of association.

Pakistan Supreme Court confirms workers’ rights to form unions and carry out protest action

18 February 2016
Pakistan Supreme Court

Following a ruling by the Pakistan Supreme Court on 8 February 2016, government workers in Pakistan can now form unions and carry out protest actions without fear of punitive action by the government.

In India, 10,000 unionists from TGOU participated in one-day hunger strike

15 February 2016
hunger strike in India

Workers from PSI affiliate Tamilnadu Government Officials Union (TGOU) put together a list of 35 demands to the government; the hunger strike took place in Chennai on the 8th of February.

Guinea: trade unions call for general strike on 15 February

12 February 2016
Map of Africa showing Guinea

The two national unions CNTG and USTG in Guinea have called for a general strike on 15 February following the rupture of tripartite negotiations between the unions, management and government.

Trade Unions’ Joint Representative Body to the Ukrainian Parliament urges Government to adopt legislation in consultation with social partners

09 February 2016
Ukraine flag

The Joint Representative Body of the Representative All-Ukrainian Trade Unions at the National Level held a meeting on 4 February 2016, where they adopted the following statement.

Arrests and detention of trade unionists and human rights activists in Algeria

08 February 2016
Flag of Algeria

On the morning of Saturday 6th February, more than 400 police surrounded Trade Union House in Bab Ezouar, to the East of Algiers and detained trade unionists and human rights activists who had met to prepare a civil society gathering to mobilise against the 2016 Finance Act.

ADEDY and GSEE stage nationwide strike in Greece against pension reform

04 February 2016
ADEDY and GSEE demonstrate

PSI Greek affiliate ADEDY, together with the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) began a 24-hour nationwide strike on 4 February, in protest against the planned overhaul of the pensions system in Greece.

Trade unionists killed and arrested in Turkey

21 January 2016

Sanitation worker Mehmet Kaplan, father of three children and member of PSI affiliate DİSK/Genel-İş Union in Cizre Municipality (Şırnak), was shot dead on 17 January in front of his house while another worker was seriously injured and a further three arrested in separate incidents.

Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet receives Nobel Prize at celebration in Oslo

10 December 2015
The Nobel ceremony - Photo: M.B. Haga, MFA

At a celebration in Oslo, Norway, on 10 December 2015, the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Solidarity with trade unionists in Korea

10 December 2015

UPDATE 10 December 2015: KCTU President Han Sang-gyun is in detention after handing himself over to the police.
Trade unions in South Korea are facing a barrage of restrictions and repression from the government of President Park, Geun-hye. Please write a protest letter to President Park and to the Korean embassy in your country, denouncing the crackdown on trade unions and disregard for freedom of peaceful assembly and association in Korea.

Trade unions key to human rights and global stability

09 December 2015
Photo: Catching Light - Creative Commons

This year, International Human Rights Day falls in a time of serious threats to social cohesion, environmental sustainability and democracy. Only weeks after a series of dreadful acts of terrorism, and while the UN Conference on Climate is ongoing, PSI reaffirms its commitment to the defence of human rights, core elements of fair and prosperous societies.

Workers' Rights are Human Rights - 'Route of Shame' 10 December London

08 December 2015

To mark Human Rights Day on 10 December, UNISON, PSI affiliate in the UK, will take part in a ‘route of shame’ in London by visiting a number of embassies and high commissions with poor records on workers’ rights. A letter will be delivered by hand to the residing ambassador/high commissioner protesting their country’s abysmal record in promoting and protecting rights.

PSI stands in solidarity with South Korean unions after government carries out punitive raids

25 November 2015
Police raid on the KPTU offices

PSI condemns police raids on 6 and 21 November 2015 on the Korean Federation of Public Service and Transport workers’ Union (KPTU), which the government carried out in an attempt to discourage workers from standing up for their rights.