What we do
Projects
UnionAID is currently supporting union partners working with:
Burmese migrants in Mae Sot, Thailand
The Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB) provides training and support for Burmese migrant workers in Mae Sot on the Burma-Thailand border. The FTUB was formed by Burmese workers, who with their families, have fled the military regime in Burma by crossing the border into Thailand. Learning about local labour rights and how to organise gives the workers a chance to move beyond poverty and become self-reliant in their dealings with local employers.
Dalit workers in Tamil Nadu, India
The Tamil Nadu Labour Union in South India organises dalit* men and women, who are employed in poorly paid jobs such as scavengers, sweepers, quarry workers, and graveyard workers. Traditionally these groups have not been organised and they are highly vulnerable to exploitation. Your support helps provide them with training and education on labour and human rights and gender equality. Hundreds of local leaders have been trained and union membership has built to more than 30,000. Collective action has achieved respect for workers as well as tangible benefits.
Building bridges in Sri Lanka
A new UnionAID project is currently being piloted in Sri Lanka which seeks to build relationships, and community activity, across ethnic groups who have been divided by the bitter civil war.
UnionAID has forged a new partnership with the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union which has a record of effectiveness in a very difficult environment. [Read more...]
Others
The UnionAID Strategic Plan aims to work with other agencies (such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) aid agency (APHEDA) and local partners to develop other projects in our Asia–Pacific region. Planning has already begun on options which include:
- A training programme for women leaders of Burmese migrant workers on the Thai border
- A work skills training programme for Agent Orange disabled youth in Vietnam.
- Occupational safety and health training in Vietnam and Laos.
- A joint Pacific programme with ACTU and SPOCTU (South Pacific Council of Trade Unions).
- Trade union development and capacity building in Timor-Leste.
