• Interview with Tamar Ansiani, one of the striking workers at Evolution Gaming, Georgia
    Nov 13 2024

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    This week we interviewed Tamar Ansiani, who in addition to being a striker (one of over 4,000) at the Swedish-owned Evolution Gaming in Georgia, is also a vice president of LABOR, a Georgian trade union. Tamar spoke about the reasons for the strike, the importance of international solidarity and much more in this short interview.

    To learn more about the struggle at Evolution Gaming -- and to show your solidarity with the workers -- click here.

    To donate money to the strikers (via UNI Global Union), click here.

    To follow all the latest labour news from Georgia, including latest developments with the Evolution strike, click here.

    To help build support for the striking workers, please share this podcast widely in your union. Thank you!

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    9 mins
  • Interview with Sultana Hossain from the Amazon Labor Union in the USA
    Oct 19 2024

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    "We were dying," says Sultana Hossain, describing the conditions that led thousands of Amazon employees in New York City to begin organising into a trade union. Initially, their union was independent and had no backing from anyone else -- and yet the workers were able to force an election in the workplace, win a majority and inspire millions of workers with their story. Click here to learn more about that union and its amazing story.

    For full coverage of workers' struggles at Amazon around the world, check out LabourStart's Amazon stories.

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    13 mins
  • Interview with Carlos Ching-Hung Wang, the president of the China Steel Express Union (Taiwan)
    Sep 25 2024

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    China Steel Express (CSE), the most profitable subsidiary of Taiwan's largest state-owned enterprise, China Steel Corporation (CSC), has long exploited Taiwanese seafarers through illegal fixed-term contracts. Recently, CSE replaced Taiwanese seafarers with Chinese crew. As a result, more than 300 seafarers lost their jobs. In July, CSE abruptly cut the insurance of over 100 seafarers to force more of the workers out of jobs. To defend their labour rights, the CSE Union held a strike vote. Out of 487 members, 371 (76%) supported the strike. This strong support shows their determination to protect their right to work and marks the first strike in Taiwan's maritime history.

    We interviewed Carlos Ching-Hung Wang, the president of the CSE Union, who explained to us why the workers are on strike -- and what you can do to help. The interview is in Chinese and English and is very short.

    To support the campaign, click here.

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    7 mins
  • The struggle for jobs and dignity at Liberty Steel
    Aug 13 2024

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    An interview with Judith Kirton-Darling, general secretary of IndustriAll Europe, about the ongoing fight of Liberty Steel workers in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in the face of catastrophic job losses. Judith talks about the background to the struggle, including latest developments, including a walk out this morning by Liberty Steel workers in Hungary, and the importance of solidarity messages sent through the LabourStart online campaign.

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    15 mins
  • Interview with Srđan from Radnicki Glas (Workers Voice) in Serbia
    Jul 30 2024

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    This week we interviewed Srđan from Radnicki Glas (Workers Voice) in Serbia. The group is very involved with the ongoing campaign at the Yura factories in Serbia -- which is the subject of a LabourStart ActNOW campaign. (Click here to learn more.) We talked about unions and workers in general in Serbia and the specific issues faced by workers at the South Korean-owned Yura factories, which are suppliers to major European auto companies. Srđan explained the background to strikes that took place in June, what the union is doing now, and how listeners to the podcast can help.

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    15 mins
  • Interview with David Edwards, General Secretary of the Education International
    Jul 10 2024

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    We spoke with David Edwards just three weeks before the opening of the congress of the Education International, which unites trade unions of teachers and other educational professionals. The EI is one of the biggest global unions -- it has 383 member organisations, representing more than 32 million people in 178 countries and territories -- and faces immense challenges. We spoke about the EI's current Go Public! campaign which has been fighting to get governments to invest in public education and hire more teachers. But we also discussed the challenges teachers and their unions face every day in countries like Iran and Afghanistan. We concluded with a discussion about the rise of the far Right, which is a concern for all teachers' unions. And at the end of the interview -- this was unscripted, really -- David spoke briefly about the work the EI has done with LabourStart.

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    11 mins
  • Interview with Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary of IndustriAll Europe
    Jul 2 2024

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    Less than 24 hours after the results of the first round of the French legislative elections were known, and with the threat of a far Right government for the first time since Vichy, we interviewed Judith Kirton-Darling. Judith is General Secretary of IndustriAll Europe, which represents 7 million working men and women united within 200 national trade union affiliates in 39 European countries. We discussed a range of issues including the threat of the far Right, what Europe's unions are expecting from the newly-elected European Parliament, and IndustriAll's campaign for good industrial jobs. Learn more about IndustriAll Europe on their website, here.

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    11 mins
  • Interview with Macarena Grimalt Fernandes, Argentinian trade unionist
    May 22 2024

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    Earlier this month there were giant protests across Argentina following the attempts by the country's new president, Javier Gerardo Milei, to impose his dystopian vision on the country. Milei's government is cracking down on workers' rights, downsizing and privatising much of the public sector, and triggering a huge increase in unemployment and poverty -- especially child poverty. This statement by the International Trade Union Confederation paints a bleak picture of Argentina under Milei.

    This week, we spoke with Macarena Grimalt Fernandes, the international secretary of APOC (La Asociación del Personal de los Organismos de Control), which is affiliated to Public Services International (PSI). Macarena explained the proposed new legislation -- which has not yet passed -- and how unions across Argentina have united to fight it. When asked to tell us about international solidarity, she talked about the demonstrations that took place in Latin America and elsewhere at the same time as the protests in Argentina.

    When asked if she was optimistic or pessimistic about her country's future, Macarena insisted she needed to be an optimist -- otherwise she'd never get out of bed in the morning. That's a sentiment that we can all understand.

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    11 mins