Our Stories
Every day our courageous union partners are working hard to create real change. By building unions, forming cooperatives and fighting for their rights, tens of thousands of working men and women have achieved long lasting improvements to their incomes and working conditions.
Their stories show the power of collective action and solidarity to change lives and make a better world.
Stories from Our Union Partners
Funds Urgently Needed to Pay Myanmar Medics, Teachers
Money is needed urgently to pay nurses, doctors and teachers working in the jungle with families fleeing the conflict in Myanmar. By refusing to work for the military regime these
NZEI Expands Horizons for Dalit and Tribal Children
Since attending one of the sixteen village education centres for Dalit and Tribal children in Tamil Nadu, twelve year old Subiksha says she hopes eventually to get a government job – with the security that would bring.
UnionAID Funding for Two New Union Projects
Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union (FTZGSE) has been funded to build union membership campaigns around two objectives: awareness and action to end workplace violence and harassment using
Go BIEN: Catchy Campaigns Attract Members
Who would have thought serenading the government with a Christmas carol about pay and conditions for call centre members would be a useful campaigning tool? But this has been just
Promoting education for children of unionists: NZEI project
The child of impoverished parents working as agricultural labourers, 14 year old Sharadha (left) has blossomed at the evening tuition centre in her Puliyankulam. Previously, Sharadha struggled at school and
Small project reaps real benefits for Nepalese workers
Nepalese workers from the Top Glove factory in Malaysia are better off today thanks to UnionAID and our project partner in Nepal, Yubraj Khadka. After an international campaign forced Top
Pregnant workers prioritised for COVID vaccinations
The Thai Ministry of Health has agreed to prioritise pregnant workers for COVID vaccinations thanks to a recent union campaign. The death of a pregnant woman at an aluminium factory,
Claims of Modern Slavery Prompt First Project in Nepal
Demand for rubber gloves because of Covid-19 saw profits soar at Top Glove, the world’s largest rubber glove maker. But this drew attention to labour abuses in their Malaysian factories,
Social Media Attracts Young Union Activists
Social media has been a driving force attracting a new generation of younger workers into union activities in Thailand. One effective strategy the Rangsit and Area Labour Union Group (RLUG)
Stories from our Young LEaders
Football tournament wins new union members in Indonesia
Holding a football tournament to recruit new union members was just one of the ideas emerging from a recent workshop run by Alfian Pelu, from the 2019 Indonesian Young Leaders
Online learning a hit with Young Leaders
Positive feedback from participants of the Indonesia and Mindanao Young Leader Programmes reflected how relevant and enjoyable online learning has been made by the programme managers, Caroline Novak, Laila Harre
Youth voice brings changes in Myanmar border camps
Songs, poems, and video clips have illustrated the experiences of young people from Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camps in northern Myanmar. Working in pairs, these 154 young men and women
Hsai Wan freed at last
Two weeks ago, after 225 days in prison, Hsai Wan, from our 2020 Myanmar Young Leaders Programme (MYLP), was released along with over five thousand other political prisoners. He was
Latest News From our Young Leaders Programmes
Inspirasi (Indonesia) and Mindanao: Both these programmes have recruited ten and eight participants respectively from a wide range of civil society organisations, with completely revamped sustainable development courses for each.
Alumni Changemakers in Myanmar
On their return home, MYLP alumni have been active in bringing about positive change and assisting development in Myanmar, according to an independent evaluation done late last year. This was
