Workers Struggles Around the World
Germany: IG Metall union announces further attacks on Daimler workers
By K. Nesan, 10 December 2019
With the help of the unions and their works council representative, the auto manufacturer wants to destroy 10,000 jobs by 2022.
“They are jamming this down our throats:” Fiat Chrysler workers denounce UAW for rushing vote on sellout contract
By Jerry White, 10 December 2019
Just days after dumping the thousand-page contract on its web site, the UAW is holding a series of snap votes which it plans to conclude by Wednesday.
Harvard grad student strike in second week
By Kate Randall, 10 December 2019
The UAW’s isolation of the strike is part of a deliberate strategy to defeat the struggle of graduate students.
Ontario teachers plan new work stoppage
Workers Struggles: The Americas
10 December 2019
The walkout by Ontario public high school teachers and school support staff set for December 11 follows the first province-wide teachers strike held last week.
Indian oil workers strike against privatisation: Auto workers in Haryana protest in solidarity with striking Honda contract workers
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
7 December 2019
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
German Amazon workers walk out; Zimbabwe doctors and public sector continue 13-week stoppage
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
7 December 2019
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Colombian trade unions working with President Duque to shut down national strike movement
By Evan Blake, 6 December 2019
Despite brutal police repression, tens of thousands carried out a third national strike on Wednesday in Colombia.
Indian auto parts workers demand union rights; Bangladesh cargo workers on indefinite strike; French Polynesia hotel workers expand walkout
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
30 November 2019
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Calls grow for mass December 5 protest strike against French pension cuts
By Anthony Torres, 29 November 2019
Amid an international resurgence of class struggle, it is critical for workers to take control of their struggles from the hands of the corrupt union bureaucracies.
Some production resumes as US copper miners’ strike drags on
By Samuel Davidson, 29 November 2019
The USW, which leads the nine different unions that represent workers in the mines, has downplayed the company’s efforts to break the strike.
A socialist response to the global jobs massacre in the auto industry
By Peter Schwarz, 29 November 2019
The announcement of 9,500 job cuts by the German automaker Audi is part of a global offensive against the jobs and living standards of autoworkers all over the world.
Croatian teachers’ strikes; healthcare workers’ stoppage in Northern Ireland; Zimbabwe unrest over runaway inflation continues
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
29 November 2019
Thousands of Croatian teachers are continuing strikes over pay while 25,000 health staff in Northern Ireland have taken industrial action and Zimbabwe unions have called a mass demonstration over deteriorating economic conditions.
In defiance of repression, Colombian workers mount second national strike in the past week
By Evan Blake, 28 November 2019
In the face of intense police repression that has already killed four protesters, workers and youth took to the streets to voice their hostility to the right-wing Duque administration.
German autoworkers protest as unions sanction wave of jobs cuts
By K. Nesan, 28 November 2019
Hardly a day passes without a large or small company announcing redundancies and savings measures in highly industrialize state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany.
UAW keeps FCA workers in the dark on contract talks, painting corruption exposures as “outside distractions”
By Marcus Day, 28 November 2019
In a letter to FCA workers Monday, UAW-FCA Vice President Cindy Estrada attempted to pretend as if the corruption scandal had no bearing on otherwise pristine negotiations.
Teamsters for a Democratic Union endorses ex-Hoffa lieutenant for union president
By Steve Filips and Tom Hall, 28 November 2019
TDU’s 180-degree turn behind the thuggish Sean O’Brien exposes the critical role it plays in propping up the authority the Teamsters bureaucracy.
After union surrenders, Telangana mobilizes police to bar “fired” TSRTC workers’ return
By Kranti Kumara, 28 November 2019
The unions instructed the 48,000 TSRTC workers to end their courageous anti-privatization strike and report for work Tuesday. But the government, intent on purging the workforce, barred their way.
UAW Region 5 Director Vance Pearson resigns after embezzlement charges
By Jerry White, 25 November 2019
The resignation of Pearson follows last week’s departure of union president Gary Jones and the explosive lawsuit by GM, which described the UAW as an “FCA-controlled enterprise.”
Eight-day strike by 40,000 UK university workers begins
By Robert Stevens, 25 November 2019
More than 40,000 lecturers and other staff are striking for eight days at 60 higher education institutions from today against an onslaught on their pay, conditions and pensions.
German bus drivers in state of Hesse on strike
By Marianne Arens, 25 November 2019
The strike has once again brought to light the grueling working conditions faced by around 130,000 bus drivers across the country.
“It’s bordering on slavery how they treat us”
Bus drivers in Hesse, Germany, discuss their strike
By Marianne Arens, 25 November 2019
Striking bus drivers employed by private companies in the German state of Hesse are resisting scandalously low wages and exploitative working conditions.
Indian government uses police, paramilitaries to repress protests at Jawaharlal Nehru University
By Kranti Kumara, 25 November 2019
The Modi government has vilified JNU students as “anti-national” and “urban Naxals” for opposing its relentless promotion of Hindu supremacism and imposition of pro-investor measures.
Strike wave in Peru stokes ruling class fears of Chilean “contagion”
By Cesar Uco and Bill Van Auken, 25 November 2019
In the midst of its deepest political crisis, Peru’s economic indicators have dropped sharply and the class struggle is heating up.
An open letter from doctors: Julian Assange “could die in prison”
24 November 2019
“Were such urgent assessment and treatment not to take place, we have real concerns, on the evidence currently available, that Mr Assange could die in prison.”
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the South Pacific
23 November 2019
Workers in the Punjab rallied and blocked traffic after a 15-year-old labourer was brutally beaten to death at a plywood factory.
India: The indefinite strike by 48,000 Telangana transport workers at crossroads
By Kranti Kumara, 19 November 2019
Despite the immense courage displayed by the workers for over six weeks into their indefinite strike, the struggle is in imminent danger because of the rotten strategy adopted by the union.
Chinese soldiers appear on Hong Kong streets for first time since protests began
By Ben McGrath, 18 November 2019
The use of PLA troops to clear roadblocks in Hong Kong is a thinly veiled threat that the Chinese military could be used to violently suppress the protest movement.
Fiat Chrysler workers face battle as FCA and UAW seek to maintain lowest labor costs
By Jerry White, 18 November 2019
After barely navigating past the opposition of GM and Ford workers, the UAW is now colluding with Fiat Chrysler executives to maintain the company’s cost advantage over its industry rivals.
Indian Honda contract workers still on strike; West Bengal teachers demand pay rise; maintenance workers take industrial action at Australian paper mill
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
16 November 2019
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Over 5,000 arrests, police violence against transport strikers in India’s Telangana state
By Kranti Kumara, 11 November 2019
Despite the transport workers' courage and resiliency, the strike is in great danger, due to the treacherous union leadership's appeal to the right-wing, Hindu chauvinist BJP national government to intervene.
Chicago Ford workers denounce UAW contract: “They want to monitor you every minute, every second”
By Marcus Day, 11 November 2019
Anger is growing since workers have learned that the deal would allow Ford to deploy the high-tech surveillance methods increasingly perfected by Amazon.
Steel layoffs in US mount due to falling production and trade war
By Samuel Davidson, 11 November 2019
Growing layoffs at US Steel and other major US steel producers over the past three months, point to a further slowdown in manufacturing and the impact of Trump’s trade war.
Honda motorcycle and Kerala state transport workers strike in India; Pakistan health workers oppose privatisation
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
9 November 2019
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Chicago Ford workers reject UAW agreement
By Jerry White, 7 November 2019
In the first major Ford assembly plant to vote, 1,497 workers (62 percent) voted “no” on the deal and 913 (38 percent) voted “yes,” according to figures released by UAW Local 551.
India’s Telangana state government gives fresh ultimatum to 48,000 fired strikers
By Kranti Kumara, 5 November 2019
A call to make the defence of the victimized TSRTC workers the spearhead of a working class counter-offensive against privatization and the casualization of work would resonate across India.
Ford autoworkers denounce tentative deal as corruption scandal engulfs UAW leadership
By Marcus Day, 4 November 2019
The UAW-Ford deal allows for an unlimited number of buyouts of older production workers, facilitating a vast expansion of lower-paid temporary workers.
Wildcat strike by sanitation workers against CHP administration in Maltepe, Turkey
By Ulas Atesci, 4 November 2019
Simultaneous with the Maltepe municipal workers’ strike, workers in other municipalities, including Üsküdar, Ataşehir, İstanbul, Aliağa, İzmir, Aydın, and elsewhere are protesting against austerity and layoffs.
Protests erupt after Peruvian government approves controversial Tía María mining project
By Cesar Uco, 4 November 2019
Peasant farmers have blocked roads and confronted police after Peru’s government approved construction of the mine, which will harm the fragile ecosystem of the Tambo Valley in the southern Andes.
Unifor’s attempt to impose concessions contracts on Saskatchewan workers meeting widespread opposition
By Carl Bronski, 4 November 2019
On learning that Unifor had accepted a two-year wage freeze in order to scuttle a 17-day strike, Saskatchewan Crown corporation workers denounced the union leadership from the floor of ratification meetings.
Thousands of doctors strike in Tamil Nadu, India
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
2 November 2019
While 16,000 Tamil Nadu doctors walked-out to demand salary increases and promotions, thousands of the state’s railway workers struck against privatisation measures.
GM refuses to rehire victimized Mexican workers who supported US strike
By Andrea Lobo, 29 October 2019
GM is continuing its vendetta against nine courageous workers at the Silao plant fired for refusing GM’s demands that they increase production and undermine the US strike.
Washington DC: Private metro contract workers launch first transit strike in over 40 years
By Nick Barrickman, 28 October 2019
The strike against the assault on wages and living standards must be expanded to public sector workers and beyond against the efforts to exploit the population.
400,000 bank workers strike across India
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
26 October 2019
While almost half a million Indian bank employees walked off the job, tens of thousands of teachers and healthcare workers across the sub-continent have engaged in strikes and protests.
From Chile to Lebanon: Working class offensive sweeps the globe
By Bill Van Auken, 25 October 2019
The past week has seen a new stage in the eruption of the global class struggle, with mass protests bringing two seemingly disparate countries to a halt over what are undeniably similar grievances that are rooted in the historic and systemic crisis of the global capitalist system.
The GM strike and the global class struggle
By Marcus Day, 21 October 2019
The strike by 48,000 US General Motors is part of an eruption of social struggle throughout the United States and the world.
Algerian junta to slash energy subsidies amid mass protests
By Kumaran Ira, 19 October 2019
Ahmed Gaid Salah’s military regime has approved a bill to pay off global oil and gas firms by slashing billions of dollars in subsidies for Algerian workers.
Tens of thousands of Indian transport and aircraft manufacturing workers strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
19 October 2019
Some 49,000 transport workers in the state of Telangana walked-out in defiance of government threats to their jobs, while more than 20,000 employees of a state-owned defence company took strike action.
Zimbabwe doctors’ six-week strike continues in defiance of courts; German airline cabin crew to walk out Saturday
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
19 October 2019
Doctors in Zimbabwe are demanding their wages be pegged to the US dollar in the face of runaway inflation while Lufthansa cabin crew plan to strike Saturday over wages.
Mack Truck, copper miners, Chicago teachers, gig economy workers
Spreading strike wave shows potential for GM workers to expand struggle to Ford and Fiat-Chrysler
By Jerry White, 14 October 2019
If the month-long strike is to be won, autoworkers must take the fight into their own hands, end the isolation imposed by the UAW, and fight for an industry-wide shutdown.
As GM strike enters fifth week, Mack Truck-Volvo workers launch first strike in more than 35 years
By Nick Barrickman, 14 October 2019
The two American automotive strikes are part of an international movement of the working class against austerity, including 70,000 auto parts workers in Mexico and rolling strikes at GM’s South Korean plants.
Trump backs China’s handling of Hong Kong protests
By Peter Symonds, 14 October 2019
Trump’s comments demonstrate that US imperialism, far from defending democratic rights, cynically and selectively exploits “human rights” as the means for prosecuting its own interests.
Chicago Teachers Union announces “path” to block strike and impose austerity settlement
By Kristina Betinis, 14 October 2019
CTU leaders announced on Saturday a proposal that will allow the district to “phase in” resources in a school system that has been denied the basics for decades.
India: Thousands of Telangana transport workers strike; Darjeeling tea estate workers demand higher pay; New Zealand medical laboratory workers strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
12 October 2019
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As strike enters fourth week, UAW says talks with GM have “taken turn for the worse”
By Jerry White, 7 October 2019
The hard line by GM proves that the UAW is leading the strike to defeat and makes clear that workers must respond by expanding the struggle to Ford and Fiat Chrysler.
“Capitalism is the core of the problem:” Striking GM workers call for global struggle against auto companies
By Tim Rivers and Tom Hall, 7 October 2019
GM workers on the picket discussed the need for an international strategy for the expansion of their strike with the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter this weekend.
Canada: Five thousand public sector workers strike in Saskatchewan
By Carl Bronski, 7 October 2019
The strike, involving workers at SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskWater, SaskEnergy, the Water Security Agency and two SaskTel subsidiaries, is the largest in Saskatchewan for decades.
Thousands of Assam tea workers strike over bonus payments; 17,000 non-academic university workers remain on strike in Sri Lanka
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
5 October 2019
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GM shuts down Silao complex in Mexico as workers’ rebellion brews
By Andrea Lobo, 4 October 2019
The decision to close Silao was likely aimed at preempting a simmering rebellion by workers who are making appeals for a joint struggle with US strikers.
“The UAW is allowing GM to take us back to before the sit-down strikes”
Striking GM workers on picket line discuss what is at stake in their battle
By our reporters, 30 September 2019
GM workers discussed their fight to overturn decades of UAW-backed concessions, end the exploitation of temporary workers, and support the victimized Mexican GM workers.
Wall Street gives GM and UAW time to wear down strikers and impose concessions
By Tom Hall, 30 September 2019
Investors are giving GM and the UAW the time they need to wear down strikers and enforce a defeat that would shape the future of global auto industry.
As US GM strike continues
Layoffs mount in Canadian auto industry
By Carl Bronski, 30 September 2019
Over 6,000 Canadian auto assembly and parts workers have been temporarily laid off as a result of the ongoing strike by 48,000 American UAW members against GM.
Half a million people join Montreal climate change protest
By our reporters, 30 September 2019
The scale of Friday’s protest attests to mounting popular anger at the failure of the world’s corporate-controlled governments to address this social and ecological crisis.
Striking Baltimore Symphony Orchestra musicians return to work, ending three-month work stoppage
By Dmitri Church, 30 September 2019
The one-year contract signed last week accedes to management’s demands to cut the symphony’s summer season, while doing nothing to guarantee salaries.
Half a million Indian coal workers strike; New South Wales coal miners fight for higher pay; Fenner Dunlop strike continues in Australia
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
28 September 2019
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South Korean autoworkers join global fight against GM
By Ben McGrath, 26 September 2019
Workers in South Korea, the United States, and around the world face the same fight against GM and other corporations.
Protests in Egypt shake al-Sisi’s bloody military dictatorship
By Johannes Stern, 23 September 2019
The demonstrations in Egypt evoke memories of the revolutionary mass protests that brought down long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak in the winter of 2011.
GM fires Mexican workers for aiding US strikers and calling for cross-border fight against automaker
By the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, 23 September 2019
The victimization exposes the weak underbelly of the transnational corporations, which fear that workers will defy the nationalist unions and unite internationally to defend jobs and living standards.
Daimler-Benz workers in Germany support GM strikers
By Gregor Link and K. Nesan, 23 September 2019
German autoworkers in the city of Stuttgart support the strike of their American counterparts, against the auto companies and the union, as a model for their own upcoming struggles.
The GM strike is in danger
By Marcus Day, 23 September 2019
While the weeklong strike by General Motors workers in the US has won the support of workers throughout the world, the UAW is working out a strategy to strangle it as quickly as possible.
“Take control of the struggle!” Logistics workers at UPS and FedEx support GM strike, warn of union treachery
By George Marlowe, 21 September 2019
Workers at UPS, where the Teamsters union forced through a sellout last year, and at FedEx are closely watching the GM strike and support a unified struggle of the working class.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
GM workers in South Korea strike over wages; Pakistan higher education teachers walkout; Psychologists continue industrial action in New Zealand
21 September 2019
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Autoworkers at GM, Fiat Chrysler and Ford react to UAW’s starvation strike pay
By Tom Hall, 20 September 2019
Yesterday’s article detailing how the union has used the strike fund as a slush fund for UAW officials elicited a strong response from autoworkers.
India: Motherson auto parts company in Chennai victimises strikers
By Arun Kumar, 20 September 2019
The company is the largest supplier of moulded parts, assemblies and modules to India’s domestic automotive industry.
Thousands of Sri Lankan university workers demonstrate in Colombo
By our correspondents, 19 September 2019
In contrast to the efforts of the unions to shut down the strike, workers’ opposition is growing, not only to the government but also to the unions and capitalist parties.
Video: GM workers speak out on strike
By our reporters, 16 September 2019
GM workers from the Flint Assembly and Romulus Engine plant spoke to the World Socialist Web Site on the issues behind the walkout of 46,000 GM workers.
“The rank and file have to take control!”
Ford, Fiat-Chrysler workers call for all-out strike alongside GM workers
By WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, 16 September 2019
Workers are demanding an all-out fight against the companies and the corrupt UAW, which only called a strike after forcing GM workers to cross picket lines against striking janitors.
“The rank and file have to take control!”
Ford, Fiat-Chrysler workers call for all-out strike alongside GM workers
By WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, 16 September 2019
Workers are demanding an all-out fight against the companies and the corrupt UAW, which only called a strike after forcing GM workers to cross picket lines against striking janitors.
Germany: IG Metall union concludes pact with corporate bosses and government against workers
By Ulrich Rippert, 16 September 2019
The union is offering to cooperate in “structural changes” that will boost the profits of the auto companies.
US autoworkers shut down General Motors
By The WSWS Editorial Board, 16 September 2019
The strike by 46,000 GM auto workers marks a major escalation of class struggle in the United States and internationally.
Jammu & Kashmir power workers demand outstanding salaries; Pakistan tourism workers oppose job cuts
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
14 September 2019
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The struggle of autoworkers against GM, Ford, and Chrysler requires a global strategy
By Jerry White, 11 September 2019
Just days before 158,000 US autoworkers face a contract deadline, GM workers in Korea and Mexico have entered the battle, underscoring the need to unify autoworkers across national borders.
As contract deadline looms in US, 8,000 GM autoworkers strike in South Korea
By James Cogan, 10 September 2019
The issues over which the Korean workers are striking are ones that their American co-workers will readily identify with.
Build action committees! Expand the strike!
A socialist perspective for the Sri Lankan university employees’ struggle
By the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), 10 September 2019
Non-academic university staff, who are beginning an indefinite strike today, should expand their struggle by appealing to other sections of the working class.
Hong Kong protesters: Turn to the Chinese working class, not US imperialism
By Peter Symonds, 9 September 2019
Any turn to the United States plays directly into the hands of Beijing, which seeks to malign the Hong Kong protests as the work of radical agitators and the “black hand” of Washington.
Countdown to contract fight: In final week before contract expires, autoworkers gear up for struggle against companies and UAW
By Tom Hall, 9 September 2019
A ferment is taking hold among autoworkers, who are determined to win back everything that has been taken from them.
Sri Lankan university unions threaten indefinite national strike over wages and benefits
By our correspondents, 4 September 2019
Following last week’s two-day strike by non-academic workers, unions covering all university employees have threatened an indefinite national walkout on September 10.
Tens of thousands join first day of Hong Kong protest strike
By Peter Symonds, 3 September 2019
The union confederation is doing all it can to limit action by workers and confine their demands to those of the official pro-capitalist opposition in Hong Kong.
Indian chemical workers oppose privatisation; Bangladesh garment workers protest for unpaid wages; Australian rail and tram workers to take industrial action
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
17 August 2019
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Threat of Ryanair strikes across Europe; Kenyan public workers in 15 counties are set to walk out
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
16 August 2019
More workers at Ryanair have voted to strike as the job action by Portuguese delivery drivers continues and Kenyan public sector workers are set to walk out Tuesday.
“We can come together as a force:” Nashville resident who saw neighbors stop ICE speaks out
By our reporters, 13 August 2019
Rosheda Martin lives in the Hermitage neighborhood, where residents physically prevented ICE from snatching their neighbors.
Costa Rican public health workers strike against tax changes, privatization plans
Workers Struggles: The Americas
13 August 2019
Thousands of hospital and clinic workers across Costa Rica carried out a two-day strike last week to protest a tax reform bill that has imposed additional burdens on workers and led to underfunding of services.
Bangladesh municipal workers still on strike; Indian telecommunication workers demand salaries; New Zealand vehicle testing workers strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
10 August 2019
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Bangladesh primary school teachers demand government nationalise schools
By Wimal Perera, 5 August 2019
Even if non-government primary schools are taken over by the Hasina government there is no guarantee that teachers and school staff will be regularly paid.
Kentucky miners block train tracks for sixth day demanding back pay
By Samuel Davidson, 3 August 2019
Out-of-work coal miners are now in their sixth day of blocking railroad tracks, preventing the bankrupt Blackjewel LLC from moving coal out of the Harlan County, Kentucky, mine where they worked.
Indian doctors hold national 24-hour walkout; Chinese auto workers strike; Australian railway workers vote for industrial action
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
3 August 2019
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“GM has made all of these profits and we’re getting shafted”
Autoworkers speak out as GM Warren Transmission plant closes after 78 years of operation
By our reporters, 2 August 2019
The closure of the facility, which once employed upwards of 4,000, is the latest economic blow to workers in the Detroit area, once the center of global auto manufacturing.
Indian protest marks seven years of legal vendetta against jailed Maruti Suzuki workers
By Kranti Kumara and Keith Jones, 31 July 2019
The sole “crime” of the 13 jailed auto workers was to challenge the poverty-wages and repressive sweatshop conditions at Maruti Suzuki.
UAW, Ford enforce punitive attendance policies at Chicago Assembly Plant ahead of September contract expiration
By Jessica Goldstein, 31 July 2019
The UAW is now playing a critical role in disciplining workers at the behest of Ford in advance of the September expiration of the national auto contract agreement.
Retired teachers on hunger strike across Ecuador
Workers Struggles: The Americas
31 July 2019
The government of Lenin Moreno has asked thousands of retired teachers to accept payment in government bonds, rather than cash, in an effort to rob retirees of their pensions.
Indian doctors and health workers strike for higher pay; Sri Lankan postal workers hold nationwide walkout
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
27 July 2019
Hundreds of doctors refused to work for two hours in outpatient services at government health services and hospitals in the city of Trichy on July 18.
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