Unfortunately, all too often, governments and the global corporations they support do not respect the rights of workers and unions. Many times they act against workers in violation of their own domestic and international laws. Through our relationship with LabourStart and other global solidarity organizations, the CCU supports the right of workers to participate in and form unions without fear of intimidation, interference or loss of liberty.
We encourage our members and guests to our website to make use of this page to review the daily labour news from Canada and around the world. We ask you to take a few moments to support the global solidarity campaigns that appear here. Add your voice to the struggle for workers rights at home and abroad.
International Workers’ Day, held every year on May 1, is a celebration of workers’ rights, social justice, equity and democracy. Founded by socialists in the late 19th century, the date was chosen to commemorate the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when police fired on workers who were striking to establish the eight hour work […]
In 2013, the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh killed over 1,100 factory workers in the garment sector. Since then, Bangladeshi unions and the global labour movement have fought even harder for stronger health and safety protections and a fair living wage in the country’s garment sector. And for an all too brief period, some […]
Turkey now has more journalists in jail than any other country in the world. Since the failed coup in July of this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used his extended powers to stifle opposition and free speech. Part of this purge of the government’s opponents has been the arrest, detention and harassment of […]
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 21 million people worldwide are currently victims of forced labour. These ongoing human rights violations generate illegal profits of $150 billion (US) per year. Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to becoming victims of forced labour. In November 2014, the Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU) released the position paper […]
In recent weeks, the hardline, conservative government of President Park Guen-hye in South Korea has been openly attacking union rights through regressive labour legislation, violence, the arrest of trade unionists, and the criminalization of legitimist democratic protest. On November 14, police used water cannons and tear gas as tens of thousands rallied against the Trans-Pacific […]
By CCU President John Hanrahan On Saturday October 10, bombs exploded in Ankara, Turkey at a peaceful demonstration organized by unions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The message of the protesters was a call for peace. The CCU’s best sources report that 86 protesters were killed and hundreds wounded. The Confederation of Canadian Unions calls on […]
Esmail Abidi, a union activist with the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association, was arrested by the Iranian government on June 17, 2015. His travel ban and subsequent arrest came after he sought permission to attend Education International’s world congress in Ottawa later this month. There have been recent actions calling for better working conditions for teachers […]
Columbia is the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist. Between January 1, 1986 and April 30, 2010, there were 2,832 murders of unionists within the country. The average for that 20-year period was one murdered trade unionist every three days. As of 2009, trade union membership for the country stood […]
The Confederation of Canadian Unions stands in solidarity with the working people and students of Hong Kong, as well as the HKCTU (Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions), in their struggle for democracy. CCU President John Hanrahan has written to the General Secretary of the HKCTU, Brother Lee Cheuk Yan, who has published an open […]
On February 25, 2014, a general strike was held in South Korea to protest the anti-union attacks of the Park Guen-hye government. In the past year alone, the Korean government has engaged in the following attacks against the country’s union movement: • The de-registering of the teachers union • The prohibiting of the registration of […]