Posts from the ‘Solidarity, Spring 2010’ Category

  • Solidarity, Spring 2010

    Solidarity, Spring 2010

    September 9th, 2010 | Solidarity, Spring 2010 | UnionAID | Comments Off

    The third issue of Solidarity, the newsletter of the Unions Aotearoa International Development Trust, is available below. Minister asked to look closer Skills training for migrant workers Faceless factories mask illegal practices Film screenings a hit Dark age conditions Workers’ co-operatives: building a brighter economic future Burmese migrant workers in Thailand Comment, Solidarity Spring 2010 Hot [...]

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  • Minister asked to look closer

    Minister asked to look closer

    September 9th, 2010 | Solidarity, Spring 2010 | UnionAID | Comments Off

    “I hope a discussion with the Minister will persuade him of the huge benefit our projects bring to some of the most vulnerable groups of people in our region”. UnionAID Executive Chair Ross Wilson was responding to Minister McCully’s comments that “too many programmes are focused on trade union rights in obscure parts of the [...]

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  • Skills training for migrant workers

    Skills training for migrant workers

    September 9th, 2010 | Mae Sot, Solidarity, Spring 2010 | UnionAID | Comments Off

    The UnionAID project in Mae Sot is planning to establish an occupational training centre for Burmese migrant workers over the next year, with the first workshop/classroom being built over the next few months. Our local project leader, Min Lwin, has recently reported that there is an urgent need for skills training as young Burmese women [...]

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  • Faceless factories mask illegal practices

    Faceless factories mask illegal practices

    September 9th, 2010 | Mae Sot, Solidarity, Spring 2010 | UnionAID | Comments Off

    It may seem strange, but young Burmese migrant workers on the Thai-Burma border often don’t know the names of the Thai factories where they work. The failure to have signs and names on their factories is often a deliberate ploy by the owners of small factories in Mae Sot. These employers are not always operating [...]

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  • Film screenings a hit

    Film screenings a hit

    September 9th, 2010 | Mae Sot, Solidarity, Spring 2010 | UnionAID | Comments Off

    Nearly 1000 New Zealanders now have a better understanding of the situation in Burma after attending the fund-raising screenings of Breaking the Silence in Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin and Nelson. Thanks to the enthusiasm of the Multi-Cultural Centre who sold tickets for us in Nelson, we had a packed house there, and had to turn people [...]

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  • Dark age conditions

    Dark age conditions

    September 9th, 2010 | Mae Sot, Solidarity, Spring 2010 | UnionAID | Comments Off

    Although a legal Burmese migrant worker in Thailand is covered by all aspects of Thai labour laws, in practice, they are rarely enforced.  Factory work normally starts at 8am and finishes at 9pm, seldom with overtime pay.  Most migrants work 7 days a week with 1 day off a month if they are lucky.  Sometimes [...]

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  • Workers’ co-operatives: building a brighter economic future

    Workers’ co-operatives: building a brighter economic future

    September 9th, 2010 | Solidarity, Spring 2010, Tamil Nadu | UnionAID | Comments Off

    Encouraging economic development and the independence of workers through co-operatives is an important strategy for the Tamil Nadu Labour Union (TNLU). Credit unions encourage members to save for the establishment of small businesses, providing low interest loans. Other co-operatives focus on the production and marketing of local products, such as the Madurai Women’s Handloom Weavers [...]

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  • Burmese migrant workers in Thailand

    Burmese migrant workers in Thailand

    September 9th, 2010 | Mae Sot, Solidarity, Spring 2010 | UnionAID | Comments Off

    The oppression of people in Burma, as well as economic hardship, has caused a major migration of people to surrounding countries, particularly along the Thai border. It is estimated that there are more than 2 million Burmese refugees and migrant workers in Thailand. Migrant workers are effectively bonded to their employers and at risk of [...]

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  • Comment, Solidarity Spring 2010

    Comment, Solidarity Spring 2010

    September 9th, 2010 | Solidarity, Spring 2010 | UnionAID | Comments Off

    It has been a busy year and one of solid progress for UnionAID as we work to establish ourselves as a credible organisation. For a number of reasons there is a public scepticism about charities and aid organisations, not helped by bad publicity, such as the recent ‘double dipping” fraud case against an ex- cabinet [...]

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  • Hot off the press

    Hot off the press

    September 9th, 2010 | Solidarity, Spring 2010 | UnionAID | Comments Off

    What’s the story about international development work? Does giving money to groups working in poor countries do good or harm? Why should we care about workers overseas? UnionAID has produced an education kit with activities for small groups, workshops and conferences. Aimed specifically at New Zealand trade unionists, it provides material to provoke thoughtful discussion [...]

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