Clive Tillman

Striking worker holding a sign

Tesla mechanics have been on strike since October 2023, after the company refused to sign a collective agreement with the union — behaviour prompted by CEO Elon Musk’s anti-unionism, reports Clive Tillman.

Workers at the Nexperia semiconductor factory in Cabuyao, the Philippines, are in a protracted struggle for better wages and against union busting. Clive Tillman reports.

two workers at a protest

A coordinated string of political strikes brought Finland to a standstill from February 12‒16, when more than 130,000 workers took rolling strike action in response to an array of neoliberal reforms proposed by conservative prime minister Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition government, reports Clive Tillman.

people with signs, airplane tail

The union representing pilots and cabin crew at budget airline Jetstar Japan began coordinated strike action ahead of Christmas, after a breakdown in collective bargaining negotiations with management, reports Clive Tillman.

protesters holding signs

Aotearoa/New Zealand's Fair Pay Agreements Act was repealed by the newly-elected conservative National Party government on December 20, reports Clive Tillman.

man faces a factory

Tesla mechanics and service workers in Sweden walked out on strike on October 27, after Tesla management refused to negotiate a collective agreement with their union, reports Clive Tillman.

South Korean labour struggle

South Korea unions are fighting back against the right-wing Yoon Suk-yeol government, reports Clive Tillman. Strikes are planned for July on the back of record-breaking May Day mobilisations.

The Korean Supreme Court appeal ruled on November 13 in favour of Ssangyong Motor Company management and against the reinstatement of laid-off workers. The workers were laid off in 2009 after a bitter stand-off with police and 77 day factory occupation. The November 13 decision overturned an earlier decision in February 7, in which the Seoul High Court ruled the sackings violated Korean labour laws. The case has now been sent back to the Seoul High Court for the rehearing on remand.
Striking workers from Ssangyong Motor Co., hold up banners reading. “Layoff is murder.”

Seoul's High Court ruled on February 7 in favour of the 153 members of the SsangYong Motor Company branch of the Korean Metal Workers Union who were unlawfully laid-off in 2009.

Thousands of railway workers returned to work on December 31 after a three-week strike. The workers were striking against government plans to set up a subsidiary company to operate a KTX bullet train service in competition with the state-run carrier Korail. The 22-day strike was the longest railway strike in South Korean history. Workers across the world held solidarity actions in support of the workers.
Samsung service worker Choi Jong-beom committed suicide on October 31 in protest against poverty wages and harsh working conditions at the company's operations in South Korea. The 31-year-old was found dead in his car the following morning. He left behind a wife and a 10-month-old daughter. Choi was a contract worker employed at a Samsung after-sale service centre that provided repair and maintenance services to customers. The service centre was owned and operated by an outsourced contractor.
Outsourced truck drivers contracted to perform work for the Australian multinational company Boral have been on an indefinite strike since June 25 in Dangjin in South Korea’s South Chungcheong province. Boral specialises in the supply of building materials. Its headquarters are in Sydney and it employs more than 15,000 people in Australia, the United States and across Asia.