Union Partners
UnionAID partners with grassroots organisations like unions and cooperatives so that working people can make democratic decisions for themselves and their communities. The projects we fund are driven by community for community.
Who are our Union Partners?

Free Trade Zones and General Service Employees Union
Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union (FTZ & GSEU) Sri Lanka The Free Trade Zones and General Service Employees Union (FTZ & GSEU) represents worker in Sri Lanka’s

Tamil Nadu Labour Union
Tamil Nadu Labour Union (TNLU) Tamil Nadu – India The Tamil Nadu Labour Union (TNLU) in southern India is UnionAID’s longest running partnership. The TNLU team, led by Manohari Doss,

National Garment Workers Federation
National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) Bangladesh The National Garment Workers Federation is the oldest and largest trade union group in Bangladesh, representing over 90,000 garment workers. Over 4.5 million people

Rangsit and Area Labour Union Group
Rangsit and Area Labour Union (RLUG) Thailand The Rangsit and Area Labour Union Group (RLUG) was established over 40 years ago and is a collective of enterprise level trade unions

BPO Industry Employees Network
BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN) The Philippines Over 1.8 million people in the Philippines are employed in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, providing call centre and digital services to
Read more about our partners here...

Unions together to stop exploitation
A new UnionAID project in Thailand aims to ensure the low prices of plasterboard are not at the expense of exploitation of workers in the factories in-country. As the cost

Migrant workers’ rights championed in Thailand
Our partners in Thailand, the Rangsit and Area Labour Union Group (RLUG), have been championing the rights of migrant and informal workers, like food delivery bike riders and home workers.

“Beautiful Flowers” – Women’s group formed in rural Myanmar
In the far north of Myanmar below the Himalayas, ten women in Putao have established a sewing cooperative and set up a women’s association called “Vnap Nampan Wat” roughly meaning

Solidarity kitchens on the move in Sri Lanka
Garment workers who have lost jobs as a result of the economic and political crisis in Sri Lanka can now gather together over free meals and discuss their issues. The

Thailand: Government officials attending union meetings
Government officials in Thailand have been attending union meetings, increasingly since the military coup in in 2014. At a Rangsit Labour Unions Group (RLUG) AGM in November, three officials from Thailand’s Department

RLUG represent workers at Thai protests
UnionAID partners, The Rangsit Labour Unions Group was represented at the rallies, protests and marches at APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Community) in Bangkok Thailand this month. The concerns of a

Thai Union Organiser Not Guilty!
UnionAID Aotearoa NZ/Rangsit Labour Union Group Thailand project co-coordinator Sriprai Nonsee found not guilty of sedition Rangsit Labour Union Group organiser Sriprai Nonsee has been found found not guilty of

New Project to Raise Wages for Thai Plasterboard Workers
A new UnionAID project will focus on preventing exploitation of migrant workers in Thailand who produce plasterboard now being sold very cheaply in Aotearoa-New Zealand. While Thai plasterboard will be

Solidarity Kitchens Support Sri Lankan Garment Workers
Every Sunday garment workers in Sri Lanka who have lost jobs because of the political and economic crisis come together to cook, talk, share experiences, and engage in morale boosting

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