Stories written by Ivar Andersen

Farm Workers Paying the Price for Cheap South African Wine

Systembolaget, the Swedish government-owned alcohol monopoly, promises fair conditions – but it also uses its purchasing power to put a downward pressure on prices. At the major South African wine producer Leeuwenkuil, workers suffer as the company tries to cut costs. So far, none of the South African suppliers have been stopped due to violations against Systembolaget’s code of conduct.

“We Move from Job to Job and Earn from Feast to Famine”

The fast-growing motion picture industry of South Africa is aiming for the stars. But the boom has a flipside. The South African Guild of Actors (SAGA) is fighting against precarious working conditions, being shut out of social security systems, and unfair copyright laws. This, and the legacy of apartheid.

“In Venezuela, Union Organising is Illegal”

Maduro or Guaidó? Neither, according to José Bodas. He is the former General Secretary of the FUTPV, Venezuela’s main oil workers trade union, and according to him, neither the president nor the challenger from the opposition has the people’s best interests in mind.

“A Question of Life or Death”

The mining industry is one of the world's most dangerous industries. Globally, the death toll is at least 14,000 workers per year. But how many lives are actually lost is something that neither trade unions, national governments or the United Nations know.

International Trade Unions Condemn Recognition of Guaidó

More than 60 countries have recognized Juan Guaidó as legitimate interim president. But among international trade unions, support for Venezuelan self-determination is resolute.

ITUC at a Crossroads as Sharan Burrow is Challenged

A fight for the position of Secretary-General divides the ITUC ahead of the World Congress in December. Where some see a choice between diplomacy and activism, others say it’s a question of internal democracy.

”Like a TripAdvisor for migrant workers”

“The idea is to integrate technology into the fight for workers’ rights,” says Ira Rachmawati.  As project manager with ITUC’s division for human and workers’ rights, she has led the development of the digital tool Recruitment Advisor, which the global trade union confederation hopes will improve conditions for the world’s 150 million migrant workers.

“In Two Years, Duterte Has Crushed All the Progress We’ve Made”

“Isn’t it cool? I get some hostile looks when I walk around in it, but other people come up asking where they can buy one,”  Josua Mata says of his T-shirt, which reads “Resist dictatorship”.  He is the Secretary General of the labour union umbrella organisation Sentro and does not hold back when he speaks about the Philippines’ hard-line president, Rodrigo Duterte.

Ex-President Leaves ILO after Corruption Scandal

There is a compact silence surrounding how the corruption scandal affects ILO’s work on developing a plan to change the UN body.

Five Years After the Disaster: Rana Plaza Victims Still Hurting

BANGLADESH. Garment factories lie side by side along the freeway leading into the capital, Dhaka. But between the concrete blocks, a square, uninhabited piece of land is overgrown with greenery. This is where Rana Plaza used to be. Shirin Akhter, 18, turns her eyes away.



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