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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.

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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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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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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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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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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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This week, we spoke with Esther Lynch, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). The ETUC represents 45 million members from 93 trade union organisations in 41 European countries, plus 10 European Trade Union Federations.

In a wide-ranging discussion, we spoke about the upcoming European elections and why they matter for unions and working people. The European unions have come up with a joint list of 12 key commitments and they have gotten some -- but not all -- of the party groups across Europe to support them. (You can download a copy of the ETUC's election manifesto in dozens of European languages here.)

Esther spoke about what unions want, including changing the European Union's rules to make things work better for workers. She emphasised that working people have nothing to gain by voting for the far Right -- which is expected to do well in the June elections.

"Everywhere I go I get pushback," she said when I asked her about her recent meetings in Ukraine, and whether all European trade unionists shared the same view. While not uncritical of the Ukrainian government, she emphasised union solidarity with the trade unions in that embattled country.

The interview concluded with what Esther sees as the biggest challenge for European unions: building union power. She spoke about a Trade Union Renewal Group which she set up when she first took up her current role. She wants to improve the quality of public debate, especially for young people, and to move beyond sound bites and half sentences.

The interview ended with Esther's concerns about cyber-social risks -- including the right to disconnect, the problem with "ethical stress", and much more.

To learn more about the ETUC and its work, visit their website.

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Khaing Zar is President of the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) and Treasurer of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM). Forced into exile following the military coup d'etat in February 2021, she is a leading spokesperson for the embattled trade unions of her country, which have now been effectively banned and driven underground.

In this interview, we discussed what's currently happening with workers and their unions in Myanmar, the Arthur Svennsson prize for trade union rights which she was recently awarded, and what we can all do to help the workers and trade unions of Myanmar in their fight for democracy.