May Day 2022
With UnionAID’s support, Mylene Cabalona leads a union of courageous young activists organising call centre workers and campaigning for better work against incredible odds. They face a hostile response from powerful employers and politicians and risk imprisonment and even death.
Over 1.8 million people are employed in the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry providing call centre and digital services to some of the biggest multinationals in the world. Despite earning the Philippines billions, workers in the sector don’t have a single union to protect their rights and ensure decent pay and conditions. Gruelling hours, harassment, impossible targets and job insecurity are facts of life for most BPO workers. And these challenges have been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected countless workers and led to tens of thousands of job losses in the Philippines.
How you can help:
Become a Kiwi Solidarity Donor. A regular donation to UnionAID means we can plan ahead and our partners can continue their fight for decent work and dignity.
Give once. A one-off donation makes a difference: your small change can make a difference to our union and community partners. Your morning coffee can make a difference: This May Day we are launching Good Fortune x UnionAID “Solidarity” organic, free-trade Living Wage blend from the Cooperativa Café Timor. It is available for a limited time from the Good Fortune Website.

Fight Back Together: Global solidarity as Aotearoa unites against workers’ rights attacks
Read More »Why UnionAID
UnionAID is the international development agency of the Aotearoa New Zealand union movement . We have a unique focus on helping workers in neighbouring countries in Asia and the Pacific build unions and cooperative ventures. With your help workers can organise to bring about real change and strengthen workers rights in practice.
Our projects are identified, developed and implemented by grassroots partner organisations who understand the context and needs of their communities.
You are supporting democratic, worker-led organisations that help empower working people to take collective action to improve their work and livelihoods.
Our partners also grow the capacity and skills of their communities for sustainable, long lasting impacts.
Most of our administration costs are met by supporting Unions, meaning your more of your donation goes directly to working people in Asia and the Pacific.

Integrating Myanmar migrant workers into RLUG’s union structure
Kronkanok (Pla) Korwong from the UnionAID project partner in Thailand, the Rangsit Labour Union Group (RLUG), explaining the union structure which is now part of the RLUG constitution for migrant

Building solidarity with migrant workers through social activities
Strengthening the relationship between Thai and Burmese factory workers is central to the work of the Rangsit and Area Labour Union Group (RLUG). And they use a range of interactive