Human rights

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has taken steps to formally file a complaint with the United Nations. The zero tolerance policy that separates children from their families violates international law. PSI urges affiliates to join the AFT campaign calling on the United Nation Human Rights Council to take immediate action.

Imagine if, practically overnight, your country had to absorb an extra 40% of its own population in refugees. How would you provide accommodation, water, electricity, health, jobs or schools to all these people? What would you do to minimize rising tensions between the local population and the newcomers, considering that many of the former are also struggling to obtain these basic services?

Worker delegates at the International Labour Conference (ILC) Call for decent work for all in the UN Global Compact on Migration.

PSI carried out a mission in Lebanon on 29-31 May 2018 under the PSI Project on “Trade Unions, Human Rights and Quality Public Services for Refugees and Migrants in the MENA,” covering Lebanon, Tunisia and Algeria for the two-year period (2018-2019). Implemented in partnership with U2U and the PSI Swedish Affiliates (Vårdförbundet, Vision, Fackförbundet ST, Akademikerförbundet SSR and Kommunal) the project aims to develop the capacity of public sector trade unions to address migration and refugee issues from the rights-based perspective.

Services Employees International Union (SEIU), a PSI affiliate in the US, is joining the "Poor People's Campaign" pushing for better wages and union rights for the working poor. Originally led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr 50 years ago, this campaign is as important today as it was back then.

Han Sang-gyun, former President of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions was released from prison on May 21. PSI warmly welcome the jailed ex-president back to the movement as an organizer.

On Thursday 5 April, federal judge, Sergio Moro, decreed the imprisonment of former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Convicted without evidence on two charges of corruption, Lula leads the polls for the presidential elections this October.

In the lead-up to the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December 2018, join us in fighting racism and standing up for human rights!

Dave Prentis had already shown his concern about the attacks on Brazil's democracy in his speech at the 30th World Congress of PSI, held between October 30 and November 3, 2017.