LABOUR-ARGENTINA: Working Without Bosses

Women are playing a major role in the revolutionary Argentine workers' initiative of taking over factories that have been abandoned by their owners, and in so doing, rescuing jobs and salaries that seemed to have been lost forever.

CHILE: Paternity Leave – Five Short Days Represent a Huge Step Forward

Mauricio Muñoz's second child will be born in October. But this time around, he will be able to stay home with his wife during the first five days after the birth, thanks to a new paternity leave law that just went into effect in Chile.

AMERICAS: Civil Society Forum – a Sham?

Indigenous people, women, environmentalists, young people and human rights activists hope their participation in the debate prior to the fourth Summit of the Americas will not be sterile, and that their concerns will be reflected in the documents to be signed by the hemisphere's presidents.

LABOUR-MEXICO: A Step Away from Slavery

Angélica came to the Mexican capital five years ago to work as a domestic. Although her employer says the young indigenous woman is like a "daughter," she was not able to go to school, is given no vacation, earns less than two dollars a day, and is the first to get up in the household and the last to go to bed.

RIGHTS: Will World Leaders Face the “Pink Collar” Underclass?

Even as the global marketplace has brought new opportunities and jobs for some, much of the world's working poor remains ensnared in an informal economy where low-paying and unreliable jobs perpetuate poverty.

/CORRECTED REPEAT/LABOUR: Detroit Catches Cold, Canada Sneezes

Twenty years ago, the Canadian Auto Workers split from the U.S.-based United Auto Workers over disagreements about Canadian autonomy and concessions to employers.

LABOUR-TRINIDAD: Outdated Law Costs Lives, Unions Charge

In late June, routine repairs aboard a Panamanian-registered tanker called Tradewind Sunrise went horribly wrong when sparks from a welder's torch ignited gas fumes, killing four Trinidadian workers.

DEVELOPMENT: Globalisation Driving Inequality, UN Warns

Despite unprecedented economic growth in recent years, the rich have become richer and the poor even poorer, says a new U.N. report that also shows women facing more hardship than men in all walks of life.

RIGHTS: Seeking Work, Finding Violent Exploitation

A new report by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says that despite voicing concern at the General Assembly two years ago, most governments have failed to take any concrete or meaningful steps to protect women migrant workers who suffer from violence at home and in the workplace every day.

CHILE: Working With the Enemy

Psychological harassment in the workplace is a growing problem in Chile owing partly to the limited availability of decent work, a global phenomenon that has been highlighted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

LABOUR-BRAZIL: Night-time Brings Relief for Street Vendors

At night on the streets of downtown Rio de Janeiro, Carlos Alberto is finally able to let down his guard when he spreads his toys on a piece of canvas alongside dozens of other street vendors hawking their goods on a 200-metre stretch of sidewalk.

ARGENTINA: Chronic Lack of Labour Protection

Although Elba Gómez has worked as a domestic for nine years, she is not enrolled in the social security system. "I can't complain," she says nevertheless, noting that she has a stable job, unlike the thousands and thousands of Argentines who are unemployed, and have been out of work for years in many cases.

LABOUR-US: Union Rift Leaves Rank-and-File in the Dark

The worst schism in the U.S. labour movement since the 1930s has come largely from the top down, with little input from the millions of workers who make up the rank-and-file membership, say sources both inside and outside the debate.

LABOUR-US: What Would Pope Leo Do?

It's a church-state conflict of a different kind, pitting one of the more militant labour unions in the United States against the Catholic Church hierarchy.

TRADE: US Public Backs Tougher Labour Standards for CAFTA

A majority of the U.S. people say they would support a controversial trade deal between the United States and six Latin American nations if its labour provisions are amended to allow greater protection of U.S. workers and better standards for Latin workers, a new poll found Monday.

LABOUR-U.S.: Hispanics See Job Gains but Suffer Wage Setbacks

Hispanic workers saw their employment rate rise in 2004 but the growth took place in low-skill, low-income jobs that dragged down their average wages, making them the only U.S. ethnic group to suffer a two-year decline in wages, says a new report citing official data.

ARGENTINA: Multiple Social Assistance Plans Still Fall Short

The Argentine government has a number of public assistance plans to battle the poverty into which an unprecedented proportion of the population fell in the wake of the late 2001 economic and social collapse. But the coverage still falls far short of reaching everyone who needs it.

AMERICAS: Fighting to Get Gender on the Agenda

Women from throughout the hemisphere are mobilising to make sure their voices are heard at this year's 4th Summit of the Americas in Argentina, but while some place emphasis on the negative impact of trade liberalisation, others are striving for the inclusion of a much broader range of issues on the agenda.

INT’L LABOUR DAY-CHILE: Tackling the Challenge of AIDS

Chile's Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) trade union federation has launched a campaign aimed at the prevention of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, based on the philosophy that the labour movement should also take on emerging challenges, such as awareness-raising and education on health issues.

POLITICS: U.N. Paints Gloomy Picture of Afghanistan War Threat

The United Nations says the humanitarian situation is dire in Afghanistan, already war-ravaged and facing possible military attacks by the United States.