Kymbat Sherimbayeva was born in Naryn Oblast, a mountainous and very cold region of Kyrgyzstan where most people support themselves through cattle breeding. Seven years ago, 18-year-old Sherimbayeva left her village for Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, seeking work. Youth un- and underemployment stands at 55 percent in Kyrgyzstan. Most young people feel forced to migrate to… [READ MORE]
A Taiwanese activist fighting for the rights of migrant fisherman received the “Hero Acting to End Modern Slavery Award” from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during the annual release of the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report this week. Allison Lee founded Yilan Migrant Fisherman Union (YMFU) in 2013, after years working at a counseling center… [READ MORE]
Workers around the world experienced rising physical violence and threats over the last year—and in more countries–according to this year’s ITUC Global Rights Index. The report documents attacks on union members in 59 countries and shows that 60 percent of countries are now excluding entire groups of workers from labor law. “We need to look… [READ MORE]
The World Bank is funding half a billion dollars in agricultural projects linked to forced and child labor in Uzbekistan, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights (UGF) in a report released today. Even though the Uzbek government promised the Bank that it would not use forced or child labor linked to… [READ MORE]
Nearly 200 railway construction workers in three villages in west Georgia won significant health and safety gains through two agreements with state-owned company China Railway 23rd Bureau Group, according to interviews with several workers in a new Georgian-language video. The company is under contract with the government to modernize Georgia’s Tbilisi-Rikoti railway route, including construction… [READ MORE]
After 22 days of peaceful protests, workers, unions and other civil society groups in Buenaventura, the country’s largest port city, won a landmark agreement with the Colombian government. On June 6, the government agreed to invest more than $500 million in the long-neglected city over the next decade. United Nations officials, senators and local politicians… [READ MORE]
A free press is a hallmark of democracy. Yet around the world, journalists are under threat for doing their job, risking their lives to report the news, ask difficult questions and hold the corrupt to account. According to an International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) study released for World Press Freedom Day, “journalists face killings, attacks,… [READ MORE]
From Cambodia to Zimbabwe, in Serbia and Honduras, hundreds of thousands of workers and their families celebrated International Workers Day, honoring the dignity of work and the accomplishments of the labor movement in defending human rights, job stability, fair wages and safe workplaces. Together, workers and their unions are demonstrating their commitment to sustaining and… [READ MORE]
Two years after Nepal’s powerful earthquake, slow pace of reconstruction offers an opportunity for the nation to change its economic model, which leans heavily on remittances from Nepali migrant workers. It is a “unique moment” to create jobs that protect workers’ rights, pay fair wages and boost the economic status of its citizens, according to… [READ MORE]
According to AKM Nasim, senior legal counselor, Solidarity Center, cases under The Fatal Accidents Act of 1855 take a long time to be resolved, and the court fee is unaffordable for a Bangladeshi laborer. “In fact, a case was filed demanding compensation by the wife of a road accident victim named Mozammel Hossain under this… [READ MORE]