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, whose baby was delivered by Caesarean section just before she died from Covid, prompted swift and effective action by union members who discussed the situation …
Pregnant workers prioritised for COVID vaccinations Read More »
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) identified was to ask for volunteers to help make short video clips providing union information for young factory workers. Four new women members, Bow, Patty, …
Bangladesh: Bolstered by labour rights training workshops for National Garment Workers Federation delegates during Covid-19, union members from eight factories submitted collective demands to owners to enforce maternity leave provisions, to ensure safe workplaces and protect jobs. These new skills were also used at Masud Apparels to successfully fight off an attempt by the employer …
Travel around the islands is just one of the many challenges facing the only private sector union in the Solomon Islands, the Workers Union of Solomon Islands (WUSI), which has struggled for recognition by the sector. So transport and pay for two organisers were key items UnionAID funded to ensure the union could continue to …
When UnionAID was established in 2009 trade unions were illegal in Myanmar. Our friends in the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB) like Min Lwin and Htwe Nge lived in exile on the Thai border, unable to return to their homes from fear of imprisonment by the military junta. Since 2012, when Myanmar moved …
The lockdown in Thailand has not prevented union leaders from starting a new ambitious UnionAID funded project. Trialling a video link, they have run their first of twenty study groups, in this case to prepare factory workers for their upcoming negotiations with their medical supplies company. Other planned topics include how to engage youth and …
Rangsit and Area Labour Union Activity Not Stopped by COVID-19 Read More »
In February UnionAID supported the National Union of Factory and Commercial Workers to hold its first ever two-day Women’s Conference. On day one 40 NUFCW members heard from some of Fiji’s leading women’s rights advocates on topics including violence against women, CEDAW and pay equality. Over day two the participants planned actions for their local …
By using a wide range of thoughtful strategies, the Rangsit and Area Labour Union Group (RLUG) can boast significant successes in building the union and improving lives. Over the past year under the UnionAID funded project in Thailand, RLUG has: signed up three new unions increased membership to 60% in five of their nineteen unions …
