19 Thursday Mar 2015
Posted in General, WORLD NEWS
Chinese government has called for observance of 2015 as Visit India Year. This is to be appreciated as more Chinese will be visiting India which will benefit tourism in India. The information was given in the Parliament by Tourism Minister Manesh Sharma.
10 Tuesday Mar 2015
Posted in TU News - International, WFTU, WORLD NEWS
A massive rally was organized on March 4th, 2015 in Cyprus by trade union Confederations against the European Union, Troika and their policies of austerity and poverty for the people.
“Society resists and demands” was they main slogan of the rally attended by more than 10,000 protestors.
Unemployed, Workers, Farmers, Students and Self-Employed joined forces in the rally which took place outside the Conference Center in which the European Central Bank was holding its meeting.
The General Secretary, George Mavrikos joined and addressed the rally expressing the solidarity of the international class-oriented trade union movement in the struggle of the Cypriot people. (WFTU Report)
08 Sunday Mar 2015
Posted in WFTU, WORLD NEWS
8th March is being celebrated as International Women’s Day since 1911. It is being observed in most of the countries.
Women have been discriminated and are being denied equal opportunity and equal justice in the society. They are discriminated in jobs,wages, society, home, schools, worship places – every where. Thousands of years of male dominance has relegated the women to a second position. This still continues and some times is increased.
All the religions have given prominence to men at the cost of women. The fundamentalists of each and every religion are targeting women. Attacks are on women world wide. They are molested, harassed, raped and killed. The recent statement of a convict in the Nirbhaya case, clearly shows the mindset of many in the society.
There have been many women Presidents and Prime Ministers in several countries, including India. But the condition of women has not improved as required. The mindset of the society has to be changed.
It is not a small fight. It is a very very long fight. It is not the fight of women only, it is a fight by the men and women. The progressive forces and the working class have a great responsibility in the matter.
The society can not move forward with one leg, the women, tied to a post. Both legs have to move equally, freely and in cohesion. In the socialist society, there will be no discrimination between men and women. They will have equal rights and equal responsibility.
Let us all pledge to day, to make all out efforts to bring gender equality, equality for men and women.
05 Thursday Mar 2015
Posted in General, TU News - International, WFTU, WORLD NEWS
04 Mar 2015
WOMEN’S DAY, WOMEN’S RIGHTS – WFTU MESSAGE
The World Federation of Trade Unions salutes the working women worldwide and reaffirms its commitment in the struggle for the real equality against exploitation and capitalist barbarity. A struggle which unites working men and women under the banners of the class-oriented trade unions.
We pick up the struggle from the seamstresses and weavers of New York in 1857 demanding fewer working hours, equal pay for equal work, safer and better working conditions, complete liberation from the chains of exploitation.
We pick up the struggle from the labor leader Clara Zetkin and the militant women in the Copenhagen Conference in 1910 who dedicated this day to all working women in honor of the US women workers struggles.
We pick up the struggles of all working women in the 70 years of the militant and internationalist struggle of the World Federation of Trade Unions who with their strength and determination contributed for the betterment of the working women and men worldwide.
The struggle of the workers movement and the women workers movement has brought important results and gained significant rights through the decades.
We continue today 158 years after 1857 while the same rights are under attack.
We continue today because one and a half century later, the working hours are increasing contrary to the rate of scientific and technological progress. We continue today because workers and working women’s salaries are decreasing contrary to the tremendous wealth being produced by us. We continue today because still in the 21st century the right to employment, education, healthcare, social security, maternity protection, proper social services, freedom of association, collective bargaining and to real equality are yet not fulfilled.
We continue because the right to peaceful, prosperous and secure life for our families and our children is continuously under threat by imperialist mechanisms and monopolies.
We continue side by side, working women and working men, in the same struggle for all we deserve.
We fight for the lives we deserve not the lives the IMF, the World Bank, the imperialists, the monopolies and the employers want to form for us.
We fight on the side of women and men farmers and self-employed to build the social alliance against exploitation and capitalist barbarity.
International Women’s Day Zindabad!
03 Tuesday Mar 2015
Posted in TU News - International, WFTU, WORLD NEWS
| The Workers of Forthnet Company(the second largest internet provider company in Greece) decided unanimously in their General Assembly to go on Strike on March 5.
The strike follows the lay off of a member of the Trade Union’s leadership, the tactics of the company to lay off older workers with established rights so as to replace them through outsourcing, health and safety problems and more issues. The Trade Union of Workers in Forthnet has been in continuous struggle since its foundation, 2 years ago, to better the working conditions and to stop the daily lay offs. The demands of the strike are
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We express our solidarity and support to the struggle!
02 Monday Feb 2015
Posted in TU News - International, WFTU, WORLD NEWS
After the election of an anti- austerity government in Greece, the anti-austerity movement in Spain is strengthening. A report on the massive mobilisation in support of the anti-austerity measures is given below:
MADRID, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Tens of thousands marched in Madrid on Saturday in the biggest show of support yet for Spanish anti-austerity party Podemos, whose policies and surging pre-election popularity have drawn comparisons with Greece’s new Syriza rulers. Crowds chanted “yes we can” or “tic tac tic tac” to suggest the clock was ticking for Spain’s scandal-ridden political elite. Many waved Greek and Republican flags and banners reading “the change is now” or “Pablo president.” Podemos (“We Can”) was formed just a year ago by university professor Pablo Iglesias, but produced a major shock by winning five seats in elections for the European Parliament in May. Tapping into Spaniards’ austerity fatigue and widespread anger at “la casta,” as it calls the country’s business and political elites, it is currently topping opinion polls in the run-up to local, regional and national elections this year.
27 Tuesday Jan 2015
Posted in WORLD NEWS
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The people of Greece has given a fitting rebuff to the ruling New Democracy Party and the incumbent Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who was imposing austerity and more hardship on the people. They have elected the leftist party Syriza, which got 149 seats out of 300. Its leader, Alexis Tsipras has been appointed as the Prime Minister. Another party, Independent Greeks, is supporting the new government. The people were fed up with austerity measures, which reduced salaries, pension etc. as also jobs and increased unemployment. Continuous agitations and strikes were organised by the working class against austerity.
How the new government will deal with the huge debt and other issues will have to be seen. The Euro countries like Germany had already started stating that the debts can not be waived, which ill be one of the demands of the new government.
Hearty Congratulations to the victory of Syriza and the new Left Government in Greece.
16 Friday Jan 2015
Posted in WORLD NEWS
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LONDON: People born in India have overtaken the Irish to become the largest immigrant group in the UK.
According to latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), India-born migrants now living permanently in the UK has risen by 232,000 since 2004 to total 734,000 in 2013. This is the biggest number of migrants from any other country to UK; more than 7 lakhs. (Courtesy: ET)
16 Friday Jan 2015
Posted in WORLD NEWS
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In preparation for the restoration of the diplomatic relations between Cuba and US, new travel and trade rules between the US and Cuba will take effect from today, 16th January 2015 according to US and Cuban officials.
Measures include allowing US citizens to use credit cards in Cuba and for US businesses to export some technologies.
Americans will be able to take home up to $100 (£66) in alcohol and tobacco from Cuba. Correspondents say it means the US ban on Cuban cigars is over. this will certainly help Cuban economy.
Along with this all the US prisoners in Cuba also are released. The move implements last month’s agreement to re-establish ties severed since 1961.
Let us hope that the diplomatic relations will be restored soon.
03 Saturday Jan 2015
Posted in Neo-liberal policy, TU News - India, WORLD NEWS
| Press Statement
Six Left parties, the CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML)-Liberation, AIFB, SUCI(C) and RSP have issued the following statement: Obama Visit: Observe Protest Day on January 24 The Modi government and the BJP have unleashed the forces of Hindutva which threatens the secular and democratic values of the Indian Republic. It is at such a juncture that the Government has invited President Obama of the United States of America to be the Chief Guest of the Republic Day on January 26. It is a supreme irony that the day which symbolizes India’s independence and sovereignty is being graced by the head of a country which has done the most to assault and destroy the sovereignty of many countries around the world. President Obama himself is responsible for the aggression in Libya and for the rerun of bombing and sending troops back to Iraq. The US is doing everything to destroy Syria as a national entity. The Left parties protest the visit of President Obama because: 1. The United States is targeting and destabilizing governments andcountries in West Asia by military interventions like in Iraq, Libya and Syria. 2. The United States is the patron and staunch supporter of Israel which occupies Palestinian land and Arab territories and subjects the Palestinian people to colonial oppression. 3. The United States has shifted a substantial part of its naval and military resources to Asia as part of the pivot of Asia and is creating new military bases and tensions in the Asia-Pacific region. 4. US intervention in Afghanistan and role inPakistan have nurtured fundamentalist forces, the disastrous consequences of which serve as a warning to India. 5. US which wages wars in the name of defending democracy, is facing massive protests at home against racial murders by its police force. Further the terrible record of torture and Islamophobic profiling by the CIA with the approval of the US government has recently exposed the US as amongst the worst violator of human rights and democracy in the world. The BJP government is pursuing a pro-US foreign policy which is contrary to an independent non-aligned foreign policy. This is being done in the interests of Indian and foreign monopoly capital. The Left parties strongly protest: The decision to renew the India-US Defence Framework Agreement for another ten years. This is a pact which will yoke India to American military strategy in Asia Seeking to pressurise India to change its foreign policy orientation vis a vis Palestine, Israel and Iran to suit US interests The relentless pressures exercised by the Obama administration on India to open up the financial sector to US capital, as a result of which the Modi government has promulgated an ordinance to allow 49 per cent FDI in the insurance sector.The strong pressure of the US to weaken the patents regime in India to benefit the US drug companies, so that they can sell drugs in India at high prices. America’s pressures that India to give up its food security programme by undermining public procurement and the public distribution system. US pressuring India to weaken laws that protect labour rights and environment, to benefit US corporations. The Obama-Modi efforts to dilute the civil nuclear liability law to favour US nuclear. The Left parties call for a Protest Day against the visit of President Obama on January 24. Halt US aggression Stop interference in India’s domestic matters Stop US-India strategic collaboration
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