Workers Struggles Around the World
Indian aeronautic workers threaten national walkout; Pakistan power workers demand safe, permanent jobs; Taiwan union ends flight attendants’ strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
13 July 2019
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17,000 Walmart workers strike in Chile
By Andrea Lobo, 11 July 2019
The walkout is in response to mass firings and the expansion of a “multifunctional” work regime for the remaining workers.
As industry analyst calls UAW-automaker negotiations “Kabuki theatre”
Autoworkers demand substantial improvement in wages and conditions on eve of contract talks
By Jerry White, 9 July 2019
With negotiations set to begin on July 15, workers are determined to overturn decades of givebacks accepted by the United Auto Workers.
Hong Kong protesters appeal to mainland Chinese for support
By Ben McGrath, 9 July 2019
The unity of the Chinese working class as a whole is a prerequisite for the struggle for democratic rights and social equality.
Australian retail giant to cut jobs, wages
By Eric Ludlow, 9 July 2019
Woolworths, one of Australia’s two major supermarket chains, last month announced a restructure that endangers thousands of jobs across the country.
Germany: Riva steelworkers in Trier and Horath on strike for four weeks
By Marianne Arens, 9 July 2019
Workers are fighting against the wage dumping of parent company Riva Stahl, which is trying to pit them against the rest of the workforce to force down wages.
Strong support for Julian Assange at Sri Lanka’s Jaffna University
By our reporters, 9 July 2019
SEP and IYSSE campaigners campaigned for a July 10 picket that will be held in defence of the WikiLeaks founder in the war-ravaged city.
Costa Rican public health workers strike over pay cut, government policies; truckers block highways
Workers Struggles: the Americas
9 July 2019
Three Costa Rican public health unions began strike action July 4 against government policies while Costa Rican truckers blockaded highways over imposition of a value added tax.
Punjab Roadways workers strike for three days; thousands of Bangladesh municipal workers strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
6 July 2019
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Amazon’s meat grinder in the Dallas, Texas suburbs
By Tom Carter, 2 July 2019
Over a two-year period, 567 workers were injured at Amazon’s DFW7 fulfillment center in Fort Worth, Texas.
Chilean unions scramble to quell mass strike movement
By Andrea Lobo, 2 July 2019
The trade union bureaucracy led by the Chilean Workers United Center and its pseudo-left apologists are working to divide and end the strike movement.
Quebec: Alcoa issues ultimatum to locked-out ABI workers
By Keith Jones, 2 July 2019
The United Steelworkers Union has refused to make any public comment on Alcoa’s ultimatum, let alone coupled an emphatic call for it to be rejected with an appeal for workers across North America to come to the ABI workers’ defence.
2,000 workers to lose jobs as Philadelphia refinery shuts down
By Samuel Davidson, 2 July 2019
Blaming high costs from fire damage, Philadelphia Energy Solutions announced the closure of the largest oil refinery on the US East Coast.
Uruguay workers in one-day national strike
Workers Struggles: The Americas
2 July 2019
A June 24 strike called by the PIT-CNT trade union federation took place in the context of a worsening economic crisis that has seen continuing attacks on workers.
Sri Lankan railway unions cave in to government’s strike ban
By Saman Gunadasa, 1 July 2019
The RTUA’s betrayal has once again demonstrated that workers cannot defend their democratic rights and fight for jobs and decent working conditions through the trade unions.
Assam tea workers on strike; 3,000 Sri Lankan railway workers walk out again; Tasmanian and South Australian teachers fight for better pay
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
29 June 2019
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Ford announces 12,000 layoffs, five plant closures across Europe
By Will Morrow, 28 June 2019
A global restructuring is underway, with all the automakers relying on the trade unions to seek to suppress the seething and growing opposition of autoworkers.
UAW rams through sellout deal at Saline, Michigan Faurecia factory
By Shannon Jones, 28 June 2019
While UAW officials claim the agreement passed by a wide margin, many workers told the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter they had deep reservations about the deal, which failed to address critical issues related to wages and working conditions.
Protesting nurses speak out in Long Beach, California
By Rafael Azul and Kimie Saito, 28 June 2019
“Patients are not numbers! Maximum patients + minimum nurses = maximum profits. And the costs are passed on to the consumers and us.”
Union works to sabotage unity of Minnesota nurses’ struggle
By Matt Rigel, 28 June 2019
The Minnesota Nurses Association is working to sell out nurses in Minneapolis-St. Paul metro region by negotiating contracts at some hospitals while others remain unsettled.
New petrochemical complex could create a “cancer alley” on Ohio River
By John Ashbrook, 28 June 2019
The Trump administration is backing a tri-state effort to build a huge fossil fuel processing facility that threatens public health and the environment.
Greek dockers plan 24-hour strike; Irish health workers strike; sit-in strike at South African chrome mine
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
28 June 2019
Greek dock workers have announced a 24-hour strike on Wednesday July 3, which is expected to heavily impact ferry services in the busy tourist season.
National strike by Indian doctors; Taiwanese flight attendants launch indefinite strike; Sydney Harbour ferry crews walk out again
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
22 June 2019
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Striking Chilean copper miners defy police violence
By Rafael Azul, 21 June 2019
Last Tuesday, police attacked striking copper miners at the Chuquicamata mine in Chile.
Australian workers and youth support SEP rallies defending Assange
By our reporters, 21 June 2019
The hostility of ordinary people to the US attempts to prosecute Assange stands in stark contrast to the complicity of the political and media establishment.
Italian and French dockers refuse to load ship to protest Saudi Arabia war in the Yemen; UK Bridgend Ford workers strike vote against closure
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
21 June 2019
Protests against the Saudi war in Yemen continued by French and Italian dockworkers, while Ford workers in Britain voted 83 percent for strike action against threats to shutter the facility.
Vote no to union sellout of New Zealand teachers! Mobilise the working class against the Ardern Labour government!
By the Socialist Equality Group (New Zealand), 18 June 2019
Following last month’s historic strike, the primary and secondary teacher unions are seeking to impose a sellout deal and shut down the teachers’ struggle.
On eve of auto contract talks, VW workers in Tennessee reject UAW again
By Jerry White, 17 June 2019
Workers in Chattanooga were correct to reject, for the second time, “representation” by the United Auto Workers, a corrupt agent of corporate management.
Millions march in Hong Kong against extradition law
By Ben McGrath, 17 June 2019
The huge demonstration on Sunday is an indication of widespread anger in Hong Kong, not only over democratic rights, but the city’s worsening social crisis.
As UAW stonewalls about contract talks
Faurecia workers voice their anger and determination to fight
By George Kirby and Tim Rivers, 17 June 2019
Faurecia workers face near-poverty level wages that force many workers to work two full-time jobs, for a total of at least 80 hours a week, just to make ends meet.
Minnesota Nurses Association announces sellout tentative deal at Children’s Hospitals in Minneapolis-St. Paul
By Jonas Boquist, 17 June 2019
It has been many decades since the unions have launched a nationwide strike in any industry. In its place they have adopted the program of union-management collaboration."
Indian health workers demand fixed salaries; Bangladesh fishermen demonstrate; NZ disability care workers strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
15 June 2019
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Mexican teachers hold vigil over pay issues
Workers Struggles: The Americas
11 June 2019
Teachers in the state of Michoacán have begun a protest over millions of pesos in back pay, blockading streets around the Finance Secretariat in the capital Morelia.
Thousands of Bangladesh bidi cigarette workers demonstrate; Taiwanese flight attendants protest harsh conditions; New Zealand hospital workers strike at Waikato
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
8 June 2019
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French Nutella workers strike, Tram and metro workers’ stoppage in Greek capital
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
7 June 2019
Workers at the Nutella factory in Normandy have been blockading the plant over demands for a wage increase while Greek tram workers stopped work Monday to protest the Syriza government’s attacks on public transportation.
The global assault on jobs
By Jerry White, 5 June 2019
Job cuts by the Australian telecommunications company Telstra are part of a wave of international layoffs that urgently point to the need for a globally coordinated response by the working class.
Thousands of childcare workers demonstrate in Karnataka; South Korean shipyard workers protest downsizing; NZ secondary teachers maintain industrial action
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
1 June 2019
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Russian health care workers protest over wages and staffing
By Andrea Peters, 31 May 2019
Part of a wave of ongoing protests against the deplorable state of public health services in Russia, workers in Penza oblast staged a “work-to-rule” strike in late May.
Chowel India auto-parts workers arrested; Chinese teachers protest over pay; Fast food workers strike in New Zealand
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
25 May 2019
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Thousands of powerloom workers strike in Tamil Nadu; Migrant workers strike and protest in Taiwan; New Zealand teachers voting on national walkout
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
11 May 2019
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South African municipal strikers defy unions; strike continues by South African workers at Cell C phones
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
10 May 2019
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Workers at Airbus’ Montreal facility repudiate union-backed, concessionary contract
Workers Struggles: The Americas
7 May 2019
Some 1,000 workers at Bombardier voted by a 73 percent margin to vote a union-backed concessions deal and then voted overwhelmingly to grant strike authorization.
Workers march and protest across Asia on May Day
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
4 May 2019
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Call to free Julian Assange raised in Taiwan on Labor Day
By a correspondent, 3 May 2019
The Free Assange Group explained to Taiwan workers that WikiLeaks served as a deterrent to war and was a tool for peace.
UK rail union calls off strikes against driver-only-operated trains
By Michael Barnes, 3 May 2019
The Conservative government is behind the plot to impose a huge cost-cutting and de-staffing operation on the railways
Brazilian unions defend reactionary pension “reform” at May Day rally
By Miguel Andrade, 3 May 2019
With economic figures showing no sign of economic recovery, the PT and the unions are working to quell any working class movement against Bolsonaro.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
3 May 2019
Tunisian unions called a regional general strike Monday over worker deaths while telecom and water workers are continuing strikes in South Africa.
Tea plantation workers need a global strategy
By Saman Gunadasa, 1 May 2019
Tea plantation workers in India, Kenya and Sri Lanka can end their brutal exploitation only by breaking from the unions and fighting for a unified socialist and internationalist strategy.
In naked sellout, union announces end to strike by 300,000 Polish teachers
By Will Morrow and Clara Weiss, 27 April 2019
The union is covering up the fact that it is ending the strike without meeting any of the teachers’ demands by claiming the strike is being “suspended.”
Indian rail workers protest; Bangladeshi food workers demand pay rise; New Zealand doctors to strike for five days
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
27 April 2019
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Mayor Emanuel intervenes to shut down Chicago Symphony Orchestra strike
By George Marlowe, 26 April 2019
As part of his final act on behalf of the city’s financial elite, outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel has offered to intervene to end the nearly two-month strike by Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) musicians
GM continues tax avoidance schemes while it slashes thousands of jobs
By George Kirby, 26 April 2019
General Motors has received billions of dollars in government tax benefits over the past decade even as it continues to cut jobs and extract concessions from workers.
University of Illinois at Chicago faculty announces deal on eve of strike
By George Gallanis, 26 April 2019
More than 1,100 professors, lecturers, instructors and assistant professors are voting on a concessionary contract being pushed by the UIC United Faculty union, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers.
Ontario Tory government intensifies assault on workers’ rights
By Penny Smith, 26 April 2019
Ford’s thinly veiled threat to criminalize teachers’ strikes must be taken as a serious warning: emboldened by the unions’ complicity, the Tories are escalating their class-war assault.
Australian construction workers facing massive fines for striking
By Terry Cook, 26 April 2019
The Australian Building and Construction Commission has launched legal action against workers involved in a short work-stoppage last year.
Miners’ union sells out five-month long strike at Sibanye Stillwater in South Africa
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
26 April 2019
The South African Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union agreed to a deal ending the five-month strike by gold miners on the same terms as the “slave labour” agreement signed with three other unions.
Jet Airways employees demonstrate in India; Pakistan doctors protest privatisation; Queensland bulk haulage train and maintenance workers to strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
20 April 2019
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Police attack teachers in Kolkata; thousands of Bangladesh jute mill workers protest
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
13 April 2019
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Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
6 April 2019
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
5 April 2019
Gold miners have voted to continue their four-month strike after management rejected a deal proposed by mediators.
Engineering department workers strike in India’s Jammu state; Sri Lankan nurses strike; Tasmanian teachers to strike for higher pay
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
30 March 2019
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Hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers strike in Los Angeles
By Dan Conway, 27 March 2019
The strike was triggered by Uber’s recent announcement to cut drivers’ per-mile compensation in Los Angeles and part of nearby Orange County by 25 percent.
Goodyear-Dunlop plans 1,100 job cuts in Germany
By Marianne Arens, 27 March 2019
The latest measure will cut over one-third of the workforce at two factories in the state of Hesse.
Midday meal workers protest in Telangana, India; Telstra technicians implement work bans across Australia
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
23 March 2019
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Macron sends the French army against anti-austerity protests
By Alex Lantier, 22 March 2019
The move is a major step toward the implementation of police-state forms of rule in France, as part of a global onslaught against democratic rights.
Unifor announces bogus ‘job saving’ plan as GM moves to close Oshawa plant
By Carl Bronski, 22 March 2019
Unifor will suspend its Save Oshawa GM publicity campaign on the basis of nothing more than the possibility of a slight adjustment in the plant’s closing schedule.
French public sector strikes; further protests in Algeria; union ends wage strike at South Africa’s Sibanye Gold without an agreement
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
22 March 2019
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Over 35,000 jute mill workers strike in Bangladesh; 200,000 Sri Lankan teachers and principals walk out for higher pay; Telstra technicians strike in Australia
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
16 March 2019
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Thousands of Sri Lankan teachers protest for higher pay; Pakistan sanitary workers strike over non-payment of wages; Telstra workers to strike in Australia
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
9 March 2019
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India: Pricol autoparts workers continue strike in Tamil Nadu; Chinese food delivery workers protest pay cuts; 3,000 New Zealand doctors hold two-day strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
2 March 2019
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Indian telecommunication workers strike; Bangladesh teachers and education workers protest pay cuts; New Zealand anaesthetic technicians strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
23 February 2019
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Irish nurses’ union seeks to impose settlement after calling off strike
By Dermot Byrne, 20 February 2019
The INMO nurses’ union is betraying the struggle for a decent pay rise and better working conditions.
Striking midwives rally outside New Zealand parliament
By Tom Peters, 20 February 2019
Midwives, doctors and other health workers face a common fight but their strikes are being divided and isolated by the union bureaucracy.
Sri Lankan tea plantation workers protest victimisations
By our reporters, 19 February 2019
Demonstrators denounced the unions’ betrayal of recent wage strikes and demanded management immediately end the frame-up of militant Annfield Estate workers.
Bangladesh steel workers demand wage rise; Australian coal haulage workers continue strike action; New Zealand bus drivers hold wildcat strikes
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
16 February 2019
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The international upsurge of working class struggle in 2019
By Niles Niemuth, 12 February 2019
This year is witnessing a resurgence of class struggle that expresses the objective unity of workers in every part of the world.
The way forward to win wages and social rights
Workers Action Committee in Sri Lanka calls plantation workers’ conference
By the Abbotsleigh Estate Workers Action Committee, 12 February 2019
The conference will discuss the lessons of the recent plantation workers’ struggle and the political strategy needed to win their demands.
Cascade of plant closings in New York state
Social costs mount
By Steve Filips, 9 February 2019
In recent months there have been a spate of plant closings throughout Upstate New York, including the Rochester and Buffalo areas.
Committee for Public Education (Australia): Support the fight against GM layoffs!
By the Committee for Public Education (CFPE), 9 February 2019
The February 9 demonstration, organised independently of the unions, provides a lead for all workers internationally, including teachers.
Over 200,000 Uttar Pradesh government employees strike; Bangladesh garment workers occupy factory; New Caledonia miners still on strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
9 February 2019
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Wave of walkouts in Matamoros, Mexico builds toward general strike
By Alex González, 7 February 2019
An additional 15,000 workers have gone on strike across multiple industries, threatening to bring the city to a standstill.
Strike wave hits Kosovo
By Paul Mitchell, 6 February 2019
The Kosovan government is determined to prevent workers overturning years of stagnant or declining wages.
Bangladesh garment workers demonstrate for unpaid wages; New Caledonia nickel miners’ strike enters second month
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
2 February 2019
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Indian state government fires hundreds of teachers as Tamil Nadu strike faces a crossroads
By Arun Kumar, 30 January 2019
By isolating striking teachers and government workers, the JACTTO-GEO, which has hundreds of thousands of members, has allowed the state government to intensify its anti-democratic attacks.
Sri Lankan plantation workers protest unions’ sellout wage deal
By M. Thevarajah and W.A. Sunil, 29 January 2019
The unions, having suppressed an indefinite strike last month, are imposing an agreement in line with the demands of the plantation companies and the government.
India: Striking Tamil Nadu teachers and government employees defy state repression
By Arun Kumar, 28 January 2019
In an attempt to break the strike, the state government has arrested hundreds of teachers who face charges of unlawful assembly and other bogus allegations.
New Zealand doctors to hold second nationwide strike
By Tom Peters, 28 January 2019
Some 3,300 doctors will strike in public hospitals for the second time this year in opposition to major attacks on working conditions overseen by the Labour Party-led government.
Two hundred thousand Indian midday meal workers still on strike; Tamil Nadu data entry workers protest: Tigerair pilots walkout in Australia
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
26 January 2019
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Following strike, Bangladesh employers sack hundreds of garment workers
By Rohantha De Silva, 22 January 2019
The workers were not given any warnings and have not been paid outstanding wages and benefits in direct violation of Bangladesh’s limited labour laws.
Hyundai and Samsung workers protest in India; Cambodian garment workers strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
19 January 2019
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General strike of 700,000 public sector workers shakes Tunisia
By Johannes Stern, 18 January 2019
Eight years after the ouster of Tunisian dictator Ben Ali in 2011, renewed mass struggles are erupting.
Mexican strikers show working class answer to capitalist reaction at US-Mexico border
By Eric London, 17 January 2019
At the US-Mexico border, the two chief social classes under capitalism—the capitalist class and the working class—are demonstrating the two alternatives for the future of mankind.
Indian fireworks workers protest over layoffs, Pakistan water treatment workers walkout; New Caledonia nickel miners extend strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
12 January 2019
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Foxconn workers stage protest in Zhengzhou, China
By Navin Dewage, 8 January 2019
Police violently suppressed a protest by hundreds of temporary workers over the non-payment of bonuses.
Sri Lankan plantation workers oppose company-union attempts to impose sell-out
By our reporters, 8 January 2019
There is widespread hostility to the plans for a new collective agreement that would reject workers’ demand for a 100 percent wage rise.
Indian workers need revolutionary socialist program to combat social devastation and political reaction
By Deepal Jayesekera and Keith Jones, 8 January 2019
Tens of millions of workers and young people will participate in this week’s 48-hour, all-India strike against the socially incendiary “pro-investor” economic policies of the BJP-led government.
India’s unions to hold two-day “general strike” next week
By Deepal Jayasekera, 5 January 2019
While millions of workers will join the protest strike to oppose Modi and his class-war policies, the Stalinists and their union allies are intent on channelling social opposition behind the Congress and other rightwing parties.
Sri Lankan plantation union discussing sellout deal with companies
By Pani Wijesiriwardena, 3 January 2019
The back-room negotiations between the unions and employers are part of a broader attack on the living conditions of all workers.
One million Indian bank workers strike; tens of thousands of Korean taxi drivers protest
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
29 December 2018
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
Fight by rail guards at UK rail franchises continues
28 December 2018
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