Around the Globe brings you international news about injustices and workers’ rights. If injustice exists anywhere, it exists everywhere.
Around the Globe: Croatia, Mongolia, Fiji and more
Croatia: Staff in the early childhood education and care sector took to the streets on 27 May in support of 19 workers from the Ivana Brli Mažurani Kindergarten who have been on strike for seven weeks. The staff are demanding the right to unionise and engage in collective bargaining after the local mayor announced Croatia’s labour laws do not apply to them. They vow to continue their strike until their legally and constitutionally guaranteed rights to unionise and bargain are upheld.
Fiji: Talks between unions and the government reached a stalemate in June as unions continued to demand a 30% pay increase. Teachers have not had a pay rise in 17 years. The Fiji Teachers Union (FTU) and the Fijian Teachers Association (FTA) are now considering industrial action. The Ministry of Finance has approved a 66% pay rise for parliamentarians. Meanwhile, the offer for teachers is around 7%. FTU General Secretary Muniappa Goundar said a pay rise would address the exodus of teachers. “The state must ensure that we are able to retain teachers, otherwise a day is going to come when we will be having students in classrooms without teachers,” he said.
Mongolia: Teachers have secured salary increases after a series of campaigns led by the Federation of Mongolian Education and Science Unions (FMESU). The union is attempting to address teacher shortages through its focus on salary increases. In the capital, Ulaanbaatar, teachers received an increase of 12-15%. In provinces, the increase was 20% while teachers in SUMS (secondary subdivisions outside Ulaanbaatar) received 40%. FMESU President Tsogtgerel Zambal said, “We managed to ensure an overall increase of 50% in the salaries of our teachers by 2026. However, it is not sufficient in comparison to the cost of living in Mongolia. Our fight continues!”
Global: The global teacher shortage crisis was on the agenda at the 112th session of the International Labour Conference held in Geneva between 3-14 June. An Education International (EI) delegation of 69 teachers and education workers representing 35 countries made sure the voice of the teaching profession was heard. EI Deputy General Secretary Haldis Holst called for better salaries and conditions to address the teacher shortage crisis. “Overworked and underpaid teachers are leaving the profession in droves, and young people are attracted to other professions with better salaries and working conditions,” Holst said.
The annual Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) is held under the auspices of the United Nations and brings together representatives of governments, workers’ and employers’ organisations.
Myanmar: Global unions came together at the International Labour Conference in Geneva from 3-14 June to call on the ILO to invoke Article 33 on Myanmar. Article 33 of the ILO Constitution empowers the ILO to act when a member state fails to comply with recommendations from a Commission of Inquiry report.
The Commission’s 2023 report recommended firm action be taken by the ILO on Myanmar. Among its recommendations, it urges the military regime to:
- Cease all forms of violence, torture and other inhumane treatment against trade union leaders and members.
- Release and withdraw all criminal charges against trade unionists detained in relation to the exercise of their civil liberties and legitimate trade union activities.
- Fully restore the protection of basic civil liberties suspended since the coup d’état.
The report could also lead to Myanmar’s dictators being taken to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Myanmar has been under military rule since February 2021. The regime is responsible for killing more than 4000 people, arresting 26,000 and suspending civil society organisations (including trade unions). State employees – including 200,000 teachers – joined the Civil Disobedience Movement after the coup.
Australian Professor Sean Turnell was one of several foreigners arrested. He spent 650 days in prison which inspired his book, An Unlikely Prisoner. See Giveaways for your chance to win a copy.
References
Croatia: bit.ly/4eLV0JV
Fiji: bit.ly/4eMCykA
Mongolia: bit.ly/4eLV0JV
Myanmar: bit.ly/4cnArC6
Global: bit.ly/4cnArC6