02 Saturday Jun 2018
Posted in WFTU
The WFTU President comrade Mzwandile Michael Makwayiba will address the plenary session of 107th International Labour Conference on Monday 4 June 2018 at 12.00-12.30 pm.
Immediately after his speech the WFTU Presidential Council meeting and Meeting of friends will take place, under the theme: “The WFTU position on the future of work”. During this event the WFTU will honor Cuban comrade Ramón Cardona for his contribution to the international class trade union movement.
15 Thursday Jun 2017
Posted in WFTU
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The WFTU General Secretary addressed the 106th ILC Plenary Session today on June 12th, 2017
12 Jun 2017106th ILC, GS SPEECHES, ILO
106ILC – Plenary – June 12,2017
Speech of the World Federation of Trade Unions General Secretary Mr. George Mavrikos
Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the World Federation of Trade Unions, we would like to extend our warm greetings to all representatives of trade union organizations of workers.
We live in a time period in which life, life quality, work and working conditions for the working class and the poor farmers are getting worse and worse day-by-day in all capitalist world.
The situation for all workers is crucial; the younger generations, the young workers, the young scientists and the young farmers are living in uncertainty and insecurity about the future.
The WFTU tries to organize the resistance and the struggles of trade unions in every corner of the planet, with the aim of defending the rights acquired by workers in every country and sector.
From this podium, we condemn the trade union persecutions in Kazakhstan; we express our solidarity with trade unionists in Colombia who suffer from the violence of paramilitary groups; especially we stand by the side of Colombian trade unionists who struggle against the efforts for dismantling of their trade unions. By the side of the workers in Honduras who struggle for collective bargaining agreements, by the side of Teachers in Mexico in their struggles against the education reforms, we express our solidarity with the ex-Braceros and with our brothers in Angola. We express our solidarity with the teachers and the working class in Turkey who suffer the consequences of the anti-democratic policies of the government of Turkey. We condemn the anti-labor policy of SAMSUNG multinational and we support the Samsung General Labor Union and its General Secretary Kim Sung Hwan who was in prison for 3 years because of his trade union activity.
The situation is complex and uncertain. The severe poverty and high unemployment generate a lot of difficulties in the development of struggles.
But we have no alternative. It is our duty to unite all workers according to the social class they belong to and to organize our resistance, sometimes through the defense, sometimes through the attack; with a flexible and clever strategy so as to have concrete positive results for the benefit of workers.
Along with the struggle for our financial, social, democratic and trade union rights that we must carry-out, we must also strengthen our action against the strategies of imperialism, of multinationals and transnationals that cause bloodshed to many peoples and force millions of people to abandon their country, region and home.
As WFTU, within the international trade union movement, we have at the forefront of our struggles our solidarity and internationalism with the peoples and the countries that are suffering imperialists interventions.
– Venezuela is today the target of the policies of the US and their allies.
– Cuba continues to suffer from the criminal US blockade that lasts more than 55 years.
-The Palestinian people still live without having their own country, while thousands of Palestinian children are imprisoned in the jails of Israel.
– The Syrian people suffer from the attacks of thousands of mercenaries who have been recruited and supported by imperialists.
– The peoples of Iraq, of Mali, of Libya, of Afghanistan, are suffering from undemocratic policies.
-The Gulf region is on fire because of the economic rivalries and intra-imperialistic antagonisms.
-The people of Mexico experience racism and the threats of the US President, who threatens to build a wall and persecute all economic immigrants.
This is the outline of the dark reality of today’s capitalism.
Under these circumstances the world working class, all workers, we need a militant, efficient and active trade union movement. We need trade unions that will have courage, that will withstand, that will be democratic; that they will pay attention to the base of their members and that will unite all workers irrespective of religion, color, gender and language.
In today’s framework the theme of “Building a future with decent work” is more accurate than ever and can be achieved only through class oriented struggles having in their center the satisfaction of workers contemporary needs.
The trade union movement also needs a representative ILO, without exclusions and discriminations; with equal treatment of its members trade unions, with democracy and transparency.
In this direction the WFTU has composed and distributed a text of general principles. We will continue our fight until the current unilateral picture of the Governing Body comes to an end. Proportional representation, equality and transparency are the preconditions for decent work and decent relations.
Thank you.
09 Sunday Apr 2017
Posted in General
International Labour Organisation (ILO) has ranked India at 121 out of 131 countries in Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP) with an abysmal 27%, which means out of 100 jobs, only 27 jobs are with women. Nepal has got FLFP of 79.9%, China 63.9%, Bangladesh 57.4%, 56.3% in US, 50.8% in European countries and 35.1% in Sri Lanka. The few countries which are below India include Pakistan 24.6% and Arab countries 23.3%.
The jobless women in India are mainly in rural area. It is also reported that the FLFP is continuously reducing in India. In the Central government, as reported in this blog yesterday, the ratio between men and women workers were 9.15 : 1. Lack of education among women in backward rural areas is one reason.
The continued governments at the centre have not paid any serious attention to this matter. Government of India and State governments have to seriously tackle the issue.
13 Saturday Jun 2015
Posted in WFTU, WORLD NEWS
| A week ago, the World Federation of Trade Unions held in Brussels, inside the European Parliament, an important International Trade Union Conference about the consequences on the workers and trade union movement of the policies of embargoes,blockades and discrimination imposed by the EU, the NATO, the USA and their allies.The participants of the Conference proved with evidence that these policies of the imperialists against peoples and countries have always the workers, the youth, the women and the pensioners as their final victims, depriving from millions of workers the hope that they can build their future with dignified work.
It was also proved that the embargoes, blockades and discrimination have nothing to do with democracy and freedom. These words are used as an excuse. They use them hypocritically. In reality, we are talking about competition within the capitalist system, for rivalries and contradiction within the imperialist system, which happen for the control of the markets, the definition of new borders between countries, for new energy pipelines, for the profits of transnational corporations and of the monopolies.
Another thing that proves the hypocrisy of the imperialists is that from the ILO list of countries whose governments are accused, Colombia, Israel and the USA are missing. In these countries, governments violate basic human rights, since trade unionists are assassinated, there is discrimination even concerning who will enter a public transport bus, policemen who kill African Americans, firing without any reason, are acquitted. The World Federation of Trade Unions, that celebrates this year its 70th anniversary, will steadily continue in all international forums intervening based on its principles, its internationalism, the values of international solidarity. It will continue standing by the side of the People of Venezuela and the efforts of the government of President Nicolas Maduro Moros until the final defeat of the imperialist efforts. It will support the right of the Syrian people to decide democratically for themselves on their present and future, without external intervention of thousands of foreign mercenaries from the five continents. We will continue to demand the punishment of those responsible for the death of 48 innocent people in Odessa, Ukraine, when neofascists set the building of the Trade Unions on fire. We will continue to express our solidarity in practice with the imprisoned trade unionists in the prisons of Asuncion in Paraguay. We demand the immediate release of Colombian trade union leader Huber Ballesteros, who is still imprisoned in the Colombian prisons. We are ready to cooperate, coordinate and support Peoples and unions who are victims of blockades. We must fight together to stop the blockades, embargoes that aim to plunder the natural and economic resources. We must uncover the geostrategic games that generate unjust wars and millions of refugees. We must steadily promote the position of the class oriented trade union movement that the natural resources must belong to the peoples, be social property and function for the improvement of the live of the simple peoples. Only through the struggles of all of us, we will be able to build a future with dignified work for all. The WFTU stays loyal to these principles for 70 years now, and based on those principles that today have a more timely and rich content, we call upon all militant trade unions to fight together.
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23 Saturday May 2015
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The capitalist way of converting full time work in to contract, casual and part-time has been on the increase. According to a report of the ‘World Employment and Social Outlook 2015’, a ILO body, more than 60% of the global work force are on short term contracts, informal jobs without any contract, self employed or in unpaid family jobs.
In India, both the earlier UPA Government and the present NDA government are also in the same tract. Almost 90% of the workers are in unorganised sector and the contract system is increasing instead of regular jobs in India. These workers are maximum exploited and even the existing labour laws are violated in their case.
The Central trade Unions have demanded that the contract workers should be paid a minimum wage of Rs. 15,000 a month. But the government has so far not accepted the same. It has got sufficient funds to waive taxes and penalties to the corporates coming to lakhs of crores of rupees. But in the case of the contract workers, they are silent. Of course, this is the government of the rich, for the rich and by the rich.
08 Sunday Mar 2015
Posted in General
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United Nations, Mar 8 : It will take at least 70 more years to achieve pay equity between women and men, the ILO said today noting that women earn on average 77 per cent of what men earn.
On the occasion of International Women’s day, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said a gender pay gap persists, both for women with and without children. In general, women earn on average 77 per cent of what men earn, with the absolute gap widening for higher-earning women. (PTI)
Justice Delayed is Justice Denied.
22 Thursday May 2014
Posted in General
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The exploitation of the forced labour, whether in domestic chores, sex or other occupations has exceeded 21 million ( 2.1 crore) worldwide according to a report of the International Labour organisation (ILO). The same report by the UN organisation also points out that through this brutal exploitation, the employers are getting profits of more than $150 billions. It is also stated that nearly two-thirds of the profits are from the sexual exploitation.
In India also, it may not be much different. There have been many such reports in the media.
Forced labour is a stigma on the civilised society. There should be no place for it anywhere. Instead of reducing or putting an end to the same, more and more such practices are taking place. The neo-liberal policies, the greed for maximisation of profits and the backwardness of the people are the main reasons for this state of affairs.
There should be an end to this brutal exploitation.
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