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.
Anti-union law and legislation
Canadian dockworkers in British Columbia voted on August 3‒4 to accept a new tentative agreement with employers, reports Jeff Shantz.
May Day marches were organised in Boorloo/Perth, Gadi/Sydney, Meanjin/Brisbane, Muloobinba/Newcastle, Kombumerri/Gold Coast, Walyalup/Fremantle and Tarndanya/Adelaide. Susan Price, Jim McIlroy, Alex Salmon and Renfrey Clarke report.
Thousands of workers took to the streets in a national day of action to demand wage rises and protest anti-union laws, report Jacob Andrewartha, Sue Bolton, Alex Bainbridge and Jim McIlroy.
The NSW government enacted new anti-protest laws with Labor's support, but it is having difficulty getting its new anti-union laws through. Jim McIlroy reports.
Almost a month after Ukraine’s parliament adopted two anti-worker bills, President Volodymyr Zelensky finally ratified Draft Law 5371, removing union rights for most of the country’s workers, reports Federico Fuentes.
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, social conflict inside the country was not put on hold: any illusion that its defence needs might produce a truce in the class struggle soon vanished, reports Dick Nichols.
Beware those who tell you federal Labor's small target strategy is just a tactic. Alex Bainbridge argues we can kick Morrison out and reject Labor's narrow vision that agrees with key planks of Coalition's policy.
More than 60 unionists and supporters of the labour movement met after the Sydney May Day march on May 6 to discuss the next steps of the Right to Strike campaign.
The meeting, which built on the success of a previous meeting held on April 14, called for the critical addition of the right to strike as a core demand of the Australian Council of Trade Unions' (ACTU) Change the Rules campaign.
It is a basic right of working people to organise collectively through our unions
We own our own labour and should have the right to control our labour by organising collectively through our unions. Workers and our unions should not be prosecuted or penalised for organising our labour.
Our current industrial laws are anti worker, anti union and simply unjust and make it harder for workers to organise to defend our wages, conditions and living standards.
The historical and current injustices following the establishment of industry superannuation and the subsequent undermining of this important social policy initiative needs to be scrutinised.
Derryn Hinch and the three Nick Xenophon Team Senators voted with the government on February 15 to pass a bill fast-tracking the new federal building code that outlaws union-friendly agreements on Commonwealth-funded building sites, such as schools, hospitals and roads.
The clauses include union consultation provisions, restrictions on the use of labour hire staff, and requirements for non-working site delegates.
Up to 3000 construction companies will now have to replace their union-friendly agreements before they can become eligible to win lucrative federal contracts.