Finland: Protest massive attack on trade union rights

Finland's unions are taking to the streets on Friday.

Finland's new right-wing coalition government has announced plans to unilaterally cut pay and benefits negotiated through collective bargaining. The proposed legislation violates basic trade union rights, conventions of the ILO and international and European human rights instruments. The changes include substantial reductions in compensation for overtime, weekend and night work, sick pay, the elimination of two paid national holidays and a significant reduction in annual leave. Unions estimate that the impact would be a 4-6% reduction in pay, with the impact falling hardest on the most vulnerable, including part-time and women workers. The national trade union centers SAK, STTK and Akava have called for a mass demonstration on Friday, September 18 as the first stage in a fight to defeat these laws. The IUF's Finnish affiliates, on behalf of the country's labour movement, have called for messages to be sent to the country's Prime Minister and Minister of labour in the run-up to the demonstration.  The IUF has therefore launched an online campaign. Please take a moment to show your support: Click here to send your message. And please spread the word to your fellow union members. Eric Lee Forward Share Tweet Share Want to do more? Which campaigns have I missed?  Click here to find out. LabourStart needs your support to continue with our campaigning activities - please click here to donate. Like buying books online? Don't use Amazon.  LabourStart is proud to be a Powells.com Partner -click here to buy books from a unionized bookshop, and help support LabourStart.

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Stop the government of Finland's massive attack on trade union rights! Finland's new right-wing coalition government has announced plans to unilaterally cut pay and benefits negotiated through collective bargaining through legislation which violates basic trade union rights, Conventions of the ILO and international and European human rights instruments. They are asking for solidarity and support. On September 9, after unions refused to agree to the proposals, the government announced a series of measures to be legislated and imposed as collective agreements begin to expire next year. These include substantial reductions in compensation for overtime, weekend and night work and sick pay, the elimination of two paid national holidays and a substantial reduction in annual leave. Unions estimate that the impact would be a 4-6% reduction in pay, with the impact falling hardest on the most vulnerable, including part-time and women workers. The national trade union centers SAK, STTK and Akava have called for a mass demonstration on September 18 as the first stage in a fight to defeat these laws. The IUF's Finnish affiliates, on behalf of the country's labour movement, have called for messages to be sent to the country's Prime Minister and Minister of labour in the run-up to the demonstration. You can support them - CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE!

E-mail: iuf@iuf.org Rampe du Pont-Rouge, 8, CH-1213, Petit-Lancy (Switzerland) www.iuf.org  Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

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US Fast Food workers win wage increase in Los Angeles and New York

US Fast Food workers win wage increase in Los Angeles and New York Fast Food workers have won two important victories in their fight for better wages as both Los Angeles County and New York State voted to raise minimum wages. These are important steps for the Fight For 15 campaign  for better wages and the right to join a union for US fast food workers. Continue reading here   The WTO's Doha Development Round: bad news from start to… finish? Nearly 10 years ago, the IUF, together with two of our sister international union federations and a coalition of international civil society organizations, warned of the likely consequences of the WTO's stalled Doha Round of trade negotiations, calling it "a recipe for the massive destruction of livelihoods, mass unemployment and the degradation of work". That was after 4 years of negotiations which showed the exercise to be a thinly-disguised effort by wealthy countries to extract major concessions from developing countries on goods and services with agriculture being employed as a 'bargaining chip'.  Now there is a new threat coming from the WTO - the way in which the Doha Round may be formally wound up or suspended in the months preceding the Nairobi WTO ministerial in December. The full story is here Urgent Action Myanmar (Burma) In response to the international campaign launched by the IUF to defend basic trade union rights at the upscale Bagan Hotel River View in Myanmar (Burma), management is now screening job applicants to identify potential union supporters. Earlier this year, management attempted to crush the legally registered trade union by compelling the elected officers to sign resignation letters in a closed meeting guarded by hotel security. If you have not yet been able to send a message in support of this important struggle for trade union rights for hotel workers in Myanmar,CLICK HERE

E-mail: iuf@iuf.org Rampe du Pont-Rouge, 8, CH-1213, Petit-Lancy (Switzerland) www.iuf.org

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

We asked you to show support for the unions on strike

Last week we asked you to show support for the unions on strike for bargaining rights at global brewery giant SABMillers' subsidiary in Panama, Cervecería Nacional. Thousands of you quickly responded, and your support has been conveyed to the workers. SABMiller management in Panama responded to this show of solidarity by blocking these messages on July 18. But the strike continues, and you can still show your support - your messages to the company are now being collected by the IUF for presentation to SABMiller as a petition. Your voice will be heard! If you have not yet been able to send a message, please take a moment to do - CLICK HERE to sign the petition to SABMiller! E-mail: iuf@iuf.org Rampe du Pont-Rouge, 8, CH-1213, Petit-Lancy (Switzerland) www.iuf.org  Follow us on Facebook and Twitter Subscribe to IUF NEWS by e-mail    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences    View it in your browser

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What is at stake in the Greek crisis The 'institutions' have taken new measures to sink the Greek economy in response to the government's decision to call a July 5 referendum on the bailout terms. The goal is to reinforce rule by banks and so-called technocrats (who are in fact highly political) and remind the citizens of Greece they must never imagine they might challenge the power of finance. The simple truth is that the social savagery called austerity could never produce the result it was ostensibly intended to deliver. The negotiations were never about economics, but about regime change - and eliminating possible political contagion elsewhere in Europe. Continue reading here

E-mail: iuf@iuf.org Rampe du Pont-Rouge, 8, CH-1213, Petit-Lancy (Switzerland) www.iuf.org  Follow us on Facebook and Twitter Subscribe to IUF NEWS by e-mail

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No room for trade union rights at upscale Myanmar hotel Tourism is booming in Myanmar, but workers are still denied their basic rights after decades of dictatorship. In 2013 workers at the upscale Bagan Hotel River View formed a union n response to longstanding grievances and legally registered the union in June that year. Workers had gone years without a pay raise and distribution of the important service charges was not enforced. On March 7 this year, management summoned the union executive to a closed meeting in a private hotel room guarded by hotel security and instructed them to disband the union and to sign resignation letters. Five union leaders who refused were immediately terminated. With the support of the IUF, the union is fighting for their immediate reinstatement. You can support this important struggle for trade union rights - CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE to the owners and management of the Bagan Hotel River View, telling them to immediately reinstate the 5 dismissed trade union leaders to their jobs, respect union rights and negotiate with the union in good faith.

E-mail: iuf@iuf.org Rampe du Pont-Rouge, 8, CH-1213, Petit-Lancy (Switzerland) www.iuf.org

TRUTH will set you FREE.

Tell airline caterer Flying Food to pay a living wage now! In Los Angeles, employees of airline caterer Flying Food Group work to ensure that passengers flying internationally from LAX have food and drink on their flights. They cater to an airline industry that continues to report record profit, but Flying Food Group refuses to pay its workers the City of Los Angeles Living Wage. Some workers earn a full $6 an hour less than the Los Angeles living wage for airport workers.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

April 18 - global protests against trade deals that threaten democracy

April 18 - global protests against trade deals that threaten democracy Unions including IUF affiliates will be joining with civil society organizations in many parts of the world in the actions planned for April 18 to oppose the cluster of giant trade and investment treaties currently being negotiated which would grant vast new powers to transnational corporations and investors. The US-EU TTIP, Canada-EU CETA, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPPA) between the United States and eleven Pacific Rim countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam) and the secretive Trade In Services Agreement (TISA) being driven by the US, EU, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and South Korea pursue the common goal of strengthening corporate power at the expense of governments' capacity to regulate in the defense of worker and consumer health and safety, protect the environment, limit financial risk and volatility and pursue democratic public policy objectives. The recently leaked investment chapter of the TPPA exposes the corporate power grab at the heart of these treaties, which are deliberately and misleadingly packaged as 'trade agreements'. They are all Trade Deals that threaten Democracy  A full list of events around the world organized for the global day of action is available here - contact the organizers to learn more and take part!   April 18 - global protests against trade deals that threaten democracy Unions including IUF affiliates will be joining with civil society organizations in many parts of the world in the actions planned for April 18 to oppose the cluster of giant trade and investment treaties currently being negotiated which would grant vast new powers to transnational corporations and investors. The US-EU TTIP, Canada-EU CETA, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPPA) between the United States and eleven Pacific Rim countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam) and the secretive Trade In Services Agreement (TISA) being driven by the US, EU, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and South Korea pursue the common goal of strengthening corporate power at the expense of governments' capacity to regulate in the defense of worker and consumer health and safety, protect the environment, limit financial risk and volatility and pursue democratic public policy objectives. The recently leaked investment chapter of the TPPA exposes the corporate power grab at the heart of these treaties, which are deliberately and misleadingly packaged as 'trade agreements'. They are all Trade Deals that threaten Democracy  A full list of events around the world organized for the global day of action is available here - contact the organizers to learn more and take part!

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Democracy protests grow in the face of repression and threats

Hong Kong democracy protests grow in the face of repression and threats - Support the HKCTU! Mass actions for democracy in Hong Kong continue to gather force as hundreds of thousands of people demanding genuine universal suffrage again fill the streets. Coca-Cola workers, education workers and dockers affiliated to the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, the only independent union in China, held a one-day solidarity strike on September 29, and the confederation is actively supporting the protests. The HKCTU is requesting international union support. If you have not yet had a chance to show your support, please take a moment to CLICK HERE to send a message to Hong Kong's Chief Executive. You can also sign the HKCTU online petition here

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Frito-Lay's rights-busters on duty in India! Earlier this year 162 workers out of 170 employed in three warehouses exclusively contracted by PepsiCo in West Bengal organized a union and submitted their demands. They were harassed, assaulted by company goons and then brutally fired. In May 2013, they were allowed to return to work, but under conditions that strip them of their human rights. They were told they can return to work if they declare they will never again join a union, made to sign false statements which they were told were legally binding, and told to cut up their union cards and step on them as they walked into the warehouses. Those who refused were told they will never work again and that they will be blacklisted by all local employers. Despite threats, harassment, home visits by management and economic hardship, 28 of these unfairly dismissed workers have refused to surrender their rights. In August they formed the PepsiCo (Frito-Lays) Workers Action Committee and escalated the campaign.   CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO PEPSICOdemanding unconditional reinstatement of the 28 workers with full back pay and full recognition of their trade union rights. E-mail: iuf@iuf.org Rampe du Pont-Rouge, 8, CH-1213, Petit-Lancy (Switzerland) www.iuf.org  Follow us on Facebook and Twitter Subscribe to IUF NEWS by e-mail

The TRUTH will set you FREE.