It is a bitter irony that given Colombia is engaged in a peace process the number of politically motivated killings has increased of late In the period 21 February 2016 to 18 March 2016 a total of 30 people were killed. Of these 30 ,14 were community and political activists. The other 16 assassinated in the context of…
The violence in Ankara on Saturday marks yet another step in Turkey’s descent into the mayhem that engulfs many of her neighbours. It would seem that there were two suicide bombers responsible for the resulting deaths of at least 128 people and the injury to a further 200. Who is behind the attack is unclear,…
In May last year I blogged about the disgraceful treatment of trade union activist, Mahdi Abu Dheeb, by the Bahraini authorities. Sadly the only developments since then have been negative. Mahdi remains in a Bahraini jail but his health continues to deteriorate. Mahdi suffers from diabetes and hypertension, for which he needs regular medication. He also has…
For a number of years now I have covered Turkey as a member of the TUC’s European Union and International Department. During those years I have written protest letter after protest letter to the Turkish Embassy, Turkish government and our own government complaining about the treatment of Turkish trade unionist. A non-stop tale of trade…
It has been a year since I blogged on the arrest of a staggering 502 people in Turkey, many of whom are trade unionists, for basically voicing their dissent. More like a year and a half since my blog on the protest which was sparked by the destruction of Gezi Park and spread across Turkey…
Before last year’s conflict, our charity arm TUC Aid had supported a project in Gaza at the Beit Lahia Plant Nursery. The idea behind the initiative was to help local people grow fresh food – both to enhance the diet of people in Gaza – which has been badly affected by the long Israeli blockade…
Last week, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the adoption of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC),the Global March Against Child Labour along with International Trade Union Confederation, Education International, Anti-Slavery International, Kids Rights International and Thomson Reuters Foundation launched the first End Child Slavery Week – which will be an annual…