Independent unions in Belarus are under threat, as employers and state authorities use every chance to intimidate and dismiss independent union members, thus decreasing membership.

The Global Council of Unions, representing 200 million workers, is calling for urgent action by governments. It has been nearly two years since the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Workers have stepped up, putting themselves at risk to safeguard people's lives, liveliehoods, and the global economy, and driven outstanding advances in science and medicine with the rapid development of Covid-19 tests, treatments, drugs, medical devices, personal protective equipment and, most importantly, vaccines.

On 25 November, 46 miners and five rescuers died at the Listvyazhnaya mine in Russia’s worst coal mining accident in more than ten years. According to reports, as the mine filled with smoke after a methane gas explosion, workers died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Some 30 delegates from the USA, Colombia, Chile, Peru, the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, Indonesia and France joined the O-I Glass global union network meeting on 23 November 2021, to discuss problems related to health and safety, the extreme use of precarious employment, the introduction of MAGMA modular technology and its impact on workers, as well as the prospects of social dialogue with the company.

During an online solidarity meeting on 25 November, IndustriALL and its affiliates in the CIS region reiterated support to the struggle of Kyrgyz unions for fundamental workers’ rights and democratic unions.

Countless strategies to industrialize Africa have been adopted; from the African Union’s Agenda 2063, Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa strategies and the African Mining Vision at continental level to national industrial policies. Yet the take-off is not happening, while the obstacles are well documented.

Women in our industries and unions have the right to an environment free from gender-based violence, and it is the responsibility of each and every trade union leader to take necessary action in this direction. Today, 25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls and the start of 16 days of activism violence. Let’s mobilize now, as well as all other days of the year, to put an end to gender-based violence and harassment.

Less than a month after COP26, IndustriALL Global Union is hosting a webinar on 9 December on the renewable energy supply chain and the key objective of increasing union power to ensure a Just Transition for workers. 

Having been locked out since May this year, more than a hundred workers are fighting to get their jobs back at Cimenterie Ash Grove, Canada owned by CRH, construction materials multinational of Irish origin.

A new collective agreement for workers at the AcelorMittal plant in Zenica has finally been reached after many months of long, fraught and postponed negotiations. The agreement was reached a mere 24-hours before a strike had been called by the unions. The conflict culminated when two days before the announced strike, the management tried to turn public opinion against the workers, stating that a knock-on effect of a strike would be that heating for the city of Zenica could not be guaranteed.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA), reiterated its calls for a multiparty democracy in Eswatini during its 2nd congress at Sidvokodvo on 13 November.

Trade union delegates, including representatives from IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll Europe, spent two intense weeks lobbying and organizing at COP26 in Glasgow to make sure that workers’ issues were on the agenda at the climate conference.

IndustriALL affiliates in South Asia’s mine sector vow to continue engaging governments in social dialogue and call for ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines to be implemented.

IndustriALL is looking for a full-time regional research, communications and campaigns officer based in New Delhi, India, one of the five regional offices. The regional office in Delhi covers India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The position will require some travel in the countries covered by the office.

The 26th Conference of the Parties concluded on Saturday, 13 November. Union representatives who attended the conference believe that the final agreement struck on Saturday evening, the so-called Glasgow Climate Pact, lacks the ambition needed to limit global warming to 1.5° C compared to pre-industrial levels as defined in the Paris Agreement.

Within the space of one week, three serious accidents have occurred in coal mines in India, claiming the lives of four workers.

With the African continent being the lowest in terms of Covid-19 vaccinated populations globally, the countries are also facing increased vaccine hesitancy with the few available doses having no takers in some countries, say trade unions from Sub Saharan Africa who are affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union.

The provincial government in Sindh, Pakistan, increased the minimum wage for unskilled workers above the set national increase. Employers went to court, but a judgement last month ruled that the Sindh government’s minimum wage should not be interfered with.

At the end of last month, the 7th round of discussions on the UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights took place in Geneva. IndustriALL, together with the ITUC and other global unions, are calling on all governments to step up and fully support negotiations which will continue next year.

Building strong networks among workers in multinational companies to provide platforms for exchange and support is essential in building workers’ power. The Caterpillar global union network met online to discuss collective bargaining and industrial developments towards green tech and digitalization.