France: Workers register big win, government retracts proposal to amend pension laws

Brazil: Petrobras workers go on strike against proposed mass lay-offs

29 January 2020: The Oil Workers Federation (FUP) a confederation of 13 unions representing workers employed by Brazilian oil giant Petrobras has gone on strike against company’s plan to shut the Parana Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant and fire its 396 workers. FUP has said that the retrenchments are a violation of collective bargaining agreement signed between the company and the confederation which binds the company to negotiate with the union before proposing any job cuts.

Kenya: Oil Company fires workers for unionising

22 January 2020: Petro Oil Kenya Limited (POKL) has fired 30 workers including union leaders of Kenya Petroleum Oil Workers Union (KPOWU) and outsourced the service operations at diesel and petrol stations to crush workers’ right to form a union. The recent firing is in continuation of POKL’s aggressive attack on workers Right to Freedom of Association since the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Mombusa ruled on 13 December 2019 that the company must recognize the union within 30 days. Instead of complying with the court’s order the company has unleashed an attack on union leaders.

France: Workers register big win, government retracts proposal to amend pension laws

11 January 2020: Over 2 month long unwavering protest of workers across France has forced the Macron government to retract its proposal to amend existing pension rules. The government has proposed amendments to pension laws which would raise the age for availing full pension from existing 62 to 64 years and do away with different pension norms for different trades. Workers across sectors from all over France had come together to oppose the changes being peddled as pension reform.

USA: Tech workers refuse to develop software for immigration enforcement

9 January 2020: Workers of software development companies have come together under the banner of Tableau Employee Alliance to oppose their companies’ engagement with government agencies working for immigration enforcement like the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Workers have been organising protests and walk outs since October, 2019 demanding that company to create a human rights policy clearly stating out who the company does business with. Workers have refused to work on projects liked to the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Workers’ protest had forced Chef a start-up working for ICE and CBP to end its contract in September, 2019.

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