Trade union rights

Health workers in Chad commenced an indefinite strike last week. The workers who are members of L’Union des Syndicats du Tchad, le Syndicat National des Enseignants et Chercheurs du Supérieur and la Confédération Indépendante des Syndicats du Tchad are demanding the payment of backlogs of salaries, and suspension of public finance recovery measures in the health sector.

The government of Fiji initiated a series of unprecedented attacks to take away firefighters’ right to freedom of association. These developments are not only a concern regarding the rights of fire fighters to join an independent union, but also for their occupational safety and the safety of the wider community.

On 17 October a platform calling for EU-wide whistleblower protection is launched by the first 44 signatories of a joint statement. It will be open for additional organisations and individuals to sign after the launch. The LuxLeaks trial and others have brought the lack of protection of whistleblowers at EU-level into sharp focus.

In a letter sent to Antonio Guterres of Portugal, who was elected on 7 October as secretary-general of the United Nations, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten noted his humanitarian work as the U.N. high commissioner for refugees and his support for Portuguese workers and their labor rights as prime minister of Portugal.

On 7th October, Ukrainian trade unions, along with their counterparts from other countries, celebrated the World Day for Decent Work. The Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FPU) marked this day by picketing the buildings of the central authorities in Kiev.