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A global labour movement meeting

At the Australia Asia Worker Links Annual General Meeting held on 3 March in Melbourne it was decided that AAWL will consult with solidarity partners and affiliates on the feasibility of jointly organising a global labour movement meeting.

The purpose of such a meeting would be to:
Discuss a global labour movement charter of industrial and social demands;
Discuss strategies to coordinate international industrial action and solidarity to achieve workers' industrial and social demands.

We will publish more on this soon.

Stop the deportation of Burmese workers

Over 2 million migrants have been threatened by the Thai Government with deportation after February 28 if they fail to enter a complex "nationality verification" process. Over 80 per cent of these migrants are from Burma and face discrimination as well as continuing economic deterioration in their homeland, which is controlled by a military government.

Migrants from Burma left their country as refugees. They are being pressured by the Thai government to submit their details, return to Burma to complete verification and then supposedly return to work "legally" in Thailand with temporary Burmese passports.

This is a policy of mass deportation of Burmese refugee workers to put them at the mercy of the military government in Burma, which has a terrible record of oppression and murder.

Last chance for the May Day survey !

Have you filled in the May Day Survey ?

We writing a joint May Day message together with comrades around the world

To help with this we have a May Day survey

It takes three minutes to complete.

Click here to fill in the survey

The proposed statement will be in the next mini news

Workers at Xstrata mine continue to fight back

It’s hot, there are flies, and we’re all sick of sausages – but morale amongst the coalminers here at Tahmoor is higher than ever.

Workers at Xstrata coal mine in New South Wales, Australia have been locked out in a bitter dispute over sackings but they are determined to keep fighting until Xstrata managers sit down with unions and negotiate a fair agreement.

Stop the Racist Intervention in the Northern Territory

Support the Ampiltawatja walk-off.

Come to hear a report from CFMEU unionists who have returned from a solidarity visit to help the Alyawarr community build a new community house.

Monday 1 March at 6:30 pm
Trades Hall, Lygon Street
Carlton South, Melbourne

CFMEU Construction National Secretary Dave Noonan said that the union was more than willing to do what they can to lend a hand to communities in need. “Our members are proud to pitch in and do what they can to help,” Dave Noonan said. “The community asked for assistance from the union to help tackle some of their housing needs, so that’s what we’re doing.”

AAWL Annual General Meeting

You are invited to the Australia Asia Worker Links
Annual General Meeting

Wednesday 3 March 2010 at 6 pm
Evatt Room, Trades Hall, 54 Victoria Street, Carlton South

Speaker on Women Workers in 2010

Elections for Executive
Elections for other positions in AAWL

All are welcome. Only AAWL members and affliates may vote

Download leaflet

Asian Workers Organising - February 2010

Click here for your latest
Asian Workers Organising newsletter

February 2010

indigenous issues are union issues

Valentine's Day massacre

Where do the Valentin's Day gifts made of gems and semi-precious stones come from?

Mostly they come from India. In small home-based workshops workers, including children, are paid just 17 to 33 US cents an hour to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: Squatting in front of primitive grinding wheels, using their fingers to press agate and other semi-precious stones against the wheels to shape them. In the process they are covered with silica dust.

Thousands of men, women and children in India have died miserable deaths due to silicosis, while polishing gemstones for export to the US.

May Day 2010 Survey

May 1st is international labour day.

AAWL will join workers all around the world on the 1st of May to celebrate May Day.

AAWL would like to write a joint May Day message together with comrades around the world, suitable for presentation at workers' rallies and meetings on 1 May 2010.

We would like the joint May Day message to be able to be published with the names of the endorsing organisations.

A number of unions and organisations have informed us that they would like to participate, so we have prepared this survey to help us in preparing a draft statement.

Please fill in the survey, or contact us at mayday@aawl.org.au

We will circulate an initial draft at the end of February 2010.