Confronting global capital

How Next abandons its workers

24 June 2025 at 09:16

Next is proving not to live up to its fundamental promises when it comes to workers’ rights. From refusing to sign a landmark agreement to improve wages in Cambodia, to abandoning Sri Lankan workers by text and continuing business in Myanmar despite documented risks of grave human rights abuses under the military junta, Next consistently puts profit over people. Even its UK retail staff are denied a living wage, dismissed as “not breadwinners” by the company’s CEO.

Unions chart course for aerospace transformation at global conference

19 June 2025 at 14:00

At IndustriALL’s aerospace world conference in Montreal, Canada, from 11–13 June, trade unionists from around the world came together to confront the aerospace industry’s rapidly evolving challenges, from AI and supply chain shifts to the need for inclusive organizing. Hosted by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers IAMAW and UNIFOR Canada, the conference focused on setting a clear path forward, with a strong mandate for action ahead of IndustriALL’s Congress in Sydney

India: garment workers defy illegal closure

17 June 2025 at 12:59

On 9 June, Celebrity Fashions Limited (CFL), a garment manufacturing company in India, illegally shut down its factory in Avadi, Tamil Nadu, unlawfully terminating 560 workers overnight. After several rounds of negotiations, managements and workers have reached an agreement, but the struggle for closure compensation continues.

Digel workers in Türkiye fight union busting

17 June 2025 at 07:35

For more than 150 days, workers sacked from Digel, a German menswear company operating in the Aegean Free Zone in Gaziemir, Izmir, have picketed against union busting.

UGT, CCOO and ELA call for historic strike at Iberdrola tomorrow

5 June 2025 at 17:41

Tomorrow, on 6 June, more than 9,500 Iberdrola employees across Spain are set to join the first-ever strike in 126 years in the company. IndustriALL affiliates UGT, CCOO and ELA have called the strike in response to the stalled collective bargaining negotiations and the company's refusal to guarantee workers' purchasing power.

Health, safety, and Just Transition top the agenda at MENA oil and gas trade union meeting

27 May 2025 at 15:58

On 27-29 April, the IndustriALL Global Union MENA oil and gas union network met in Istanbul, Türkiye, with the participation of unions from Iraq, Bahrain, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Palestine and Türkiye.

When local struggles go global: how GFAs win real change for workers

15 May 2025 at 15:31

When a local problem meets a global solution, it can transform lives. That’s what global framework agreements (GFAs) are designed to do: protect workers’ rights across borders by holding multinational companies accountable, wherever they operate.

Legally binding Accord delivers safer workplaces

23 April 2025 at 15:10

24 April marks the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, one of the deadliest industrial disasters in history. Over 1,100 workers, most of them women, lost their lives when the building housing several garment factories collapsed in 2013.

ICT and electronics unions debate the way forward in uncertain times

17 April 2025 at 16:10

The sector is going through turbulent times with growing global instability, technological disruption and increasing corporate consolidation. This was discussed by over 30 trade union representatives attending the online steering committee meeting of the ICT, electrical and electronics sector, organized by IndustriALL Global Union.

Anglo American commits to dialogue with trade unions during demergers

16 April 2025 at 13:20

As Anglo American restructures and spins off major assets, unions are demanding firm guarantees: no rollback on workers’ rights. With demergers underway, unions from Australia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe met the company in Johannesburg to push for continued commitment to dialogue, a Just Transition, and protection under the existing global agreement.

Unions urge strong action to protect steel industry jobs amid economic uncertainty and trade tensions

1 April 2025 at 11:14

Rising economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions are exacerbating long-standing challenges in the steel industry. IndustriALL Global Union, IndustriAll Europe, and TUAC call on governments at the 97th OECD Steel Committee to ensure that workers do not bear the brunt of these pressures through declining real wages, worsening working conditions, and job losses.

Belgian unions demand end to military uniform production in Myanmar

27 March 2025 at 13:58

Trade unions in Belgium are calling on Sioen, who manufactures military uniforms, to immediately stop production in Myanmar, given the serious human and labour rights violations under the country’s military regime.

HRDD laws – a game changer for workers’ rights

20 March 2025 at 12:17

“For years, corporations have used voluntary codes of conduct to appear ethical while continuing to exploit workers. Past regulations lacked enforcement, leaving workers without real protection. Human rights due diligence (HRDD) laws could finally change this—if done right,” says IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie, reflecting on why binding HRDD laws, backed by trade union involvement, are essential for corporate accountability, fair competition and stronger workers' rights worldwide.

From law to action: New centre to strengthen workers’ rights through human rights due diligence laws

19 March 2025 at 09:48

On 20 March 2025, global trade unions and representatives of the German government will formally announce the creation of the Human Rights Due Diligence Competence Centre, set to open later this year. The Centre will support trade unions in leveraging national and EU legislation – like the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains and EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) – to secure workers’ rights across global value chains and corporate operations.

Binding agreements are key to progress

20 February 2025 at 11:54

IndustriALL’s delegation at the 2025 OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector in Paris earlier this month underscored the growing consensus that voluntary commitments are failing workers; legally binding agreements are the way forward. Trade unions at the forum, brand representatives and other stakeholders discussed the pressing need for accountability, mandatory due diligence and the role of collective action in ensuring responsible business practices.

Stellantis dismisses alternatives in determination to close Luton van plant to increase profits

13 February 2025 at 12:46

Stellantis has announced that the van plant in Luton near London will close its doors in the second quarter of 2025, leaving more than 1,000 workers without a job.

EDF Global Framework Agreement renews with stronger worker protections

30 January 2025 at 08:25

IndustriALL Global Union, together with Public Services International (PSI) and EDF Group, have successfully renegotiated and renewed the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) on Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility for the period 2025-2030. The GFA reinforces commitments to workers’ rights, social responsibility, and sustainability across EDF’s global operations.

Türkiye: metalworkers’ strike banned again

17 December 2024 at 15:05

Strike actions by Turkish metalworkers at major companies, including GE Grid Solutions, Hitachi Electric, Schneider Electric and Arıtaş, have been brought to a halt following a Presidential decree banning the strikes on the grounds of national security. IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll Europe condemn the ban which affects ten factories in four companies and urge the employers to not honour this attack on democracy and workers' fundamental rights.

Unions push for a Just Transition in the textile and garment sector

16 December 2024 at 10:12

Last month, together with the ITUC Just Transition Centre and industriAll Europe, IndustriALL Global Union hosted a workshop to discuss strategies for ensuring decent work and social protection in the global textile and garment sector, as it faces disruptions from economic and environmental shifts under the green transition. The event brought together union leaders to address the sector’s challenges amidst the green transition and economic transformations.

Heidelberg materials workers call for a Just Transition and decent work

3 December 2024 at 12:02

Trade unions and experts unite to demand social dialogue and improved worker protection at Heidelberg Materials.

Global collaboration for workers' rights

29 November 2024 at 08:28

Trade union leaders from Coats factories worldwide convened for the 5th annual meeting of the Coats trade union network in Mudanya, Turkey, on 24–25 November. The meeting focused on working conditions, challenges in the supply chain and finalizing a draft global framework agreement (GFA) with Coats to ensure consistent labour standards across all its operations.

Myanmar's garment workers under siege

31 October 2024 at 10:25

A pillar of Myanmar’s economy even before the coup, the textile and garment industry has become an important way for the country’s military rulers to inject foreign money into a collapsing economy. And workers are paying the price.

The strike against Tesla

24 October 2024 at 16:09

It’s been a year since Swedish union IF Metall called for a strike against Tesla, as the US car manufacturer refuses to negotiate a collective agreement. In a labour market governed by dialogue between employers and unions for the last 100 years, going on strike represents a rare breakdown in a country where nearly 90 per cent of the workforce is covered by a collective agreement.

Global union committee advances workers' rights in Inditex' supply chain

17 October 2024 at 19:15

The Inditex global union committee was established following provisions in the global framework agreement signed in 2019. The committee is empowered to implement the GFA, to share best practices in promoting the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, and to increase local unions’ involvement in the application of the GFA.

Unions push for stronger human rights protections in the base metals sector

4 October 2024 at 12:08

Trade unions are intensifying efforts to ensure that human rights due diligence (HRDD) frameworks lead to meaningful improvements in workers' conditions within the base metals sector. At a workshop held in Prague on 3-4 October, IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll Europe gathered union representatives from around the globe to address the industry's notorious risks to workers' rights and safety. Supported by the European Commission, the event focused on how unions can actively shape HRDD processes and hold companies accountable.

Confronting Global Capital

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