Melon Workers Organize For Their Rights in Honduras
Honduran farm workers, who harvest melons for agriculture giant Fyffes and are members of independent union El Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares (STAS), mobilized todemand labor rightslast season. This season, five women leaders were not put on the hire list. The workers and STAS raised the issue with company executives who did the right thing: the workers were rehired. Their organizing for their international labor rights continues.Read More
Fishers Hold Historic Meeting With Taiwan's Premier
Migrant fishers, the Indonesian Seafarers Gathering Forum, GLJ-ILRF,and allies in the “Wi-Fi NOW for Fishers’ Rights” campaign met with Taiwan’s Premier to share fishers’ experiences working in Taiwan’s fishing fleet and to present their demand for mandatory Wi-Fi on board all distant-water fishing vessels and a grievance mechanism so workers can protect their fundamental labor rights. The campaign is growing internationally– with recent visits with officials and allies in Japan and the European Union.
Onomo Hotel workers in Conakry are fighting to unionize amidst management’s fierce anti-union campaign. Onomo is partially financed by development bank British International Investment (BII). GLJ-ILRF and theInternational Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF)filed complaints with BII concerning violations of national law, international conventions and BII’s own Policy on Responsible Investing. They are urging BII to press its client to schedule elections as soon as possible.
GLJ-ILRF Welcomes Biden Administration’s New Global Labor Strategy
In November the Biden Administration released theExecutive Memorandum on Advancing Worker Empowerment, Rights, and High Labor Standards Globally(Global Labor Strategy), which brings a “whole-of-government approach to advancing worker empowerment and organizing, workers’ rights, and labor standards globally.” At a time when labor rights defenders are under attack in countries around the world, the Global Labor Strategy recognizes the foundational importance of the right to organize.
Workers Call Out Nike for Stock Buybacks at Their Expense
Over 150 workers and allies around the globe joined the Fighting for Our Shareforum to push major companies to end stock buybacks and reinvest in workers. Garment worker leaders from Indonesia and Sri Lanka shared their experiences making clothing for Nike, which authorized $18 billion in buybacks as it emerged from the pandemic, while many of its 1.2 million supply chain workers suffered massive income loss.
Expanding on Dindigul Agreement’s Powerful Results
After the one-year anniversary report detailed how the Dindigul Agreement to End Gender Based Violence (GBVH) and Harassment has enabledTamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union(TTCU), Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), and GLJ-ILRF to build a worker and union-led model to remediate and prevent GBVH, members of the Agreement’s Oversight Committee traveled to India to plan how to further advance the goals of the agreement in person.
Thank you to everyone who joined us at our annual Global Labor Rights Defenders event in Washington D.C. in October. At a time when labor rights defenders are under attack around the world, it was incredible to have so many allies in the room celebrating workers. We felt the solidarity. Let's continue to build community in support of workers around the world!
.png)
