LABOUR: Trade Unions Must Become More Flexible in Changing World

Labour unions need to become more flexible in their struggle and forge stronger ties with social movements in Latin America, where informal economy workers virtually outnumber the formally employed, said speakers at this week's World Social Thematic Forum (WSTF) in Colombia.

ECONOMY: Near Agreement against Washington Consensus

The so-called Washington Consensus on market-oriented policy measures has failed Latin America and other countries of the South, a group of experts and analysts agreed at an international meeting this week.

EL SALVADOR: Nine-Month Health Strike to End, Privatisation Blocked

Doctors and other public health employees in El Salvador will return Monday to their jobs, after signing an agreement Friday which put an end to a nine-month strike.
   Although the walkout had a dire impact on health care in the country, it successfully blocked the partial privatisation of the social security system, and dealt the government a harsh blow.

HEALTH-BRAZIL: Precarious Sanitation Fuels Concern over SARS

The possibility of a direct correlation between precarious sanitation services and the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has generated fears of a disaster in Brazil if the epidemic were to reach this country.

PERU: Toledo Government at a Crossroads

Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo is facing a serious political dilemma after a failed attempt to use force to quell a wave of protests and social unrest, and in the midst of the most profound crisis since he took office in July 2001.

ECONOMY-MALAWI: Workers Stand Up to the Manipulations of Investors

The sale of Malawi's state-owned firms has run into problem following protests from workers and civil society that it smacks of fraud.

ECONOMY-ZAMBIA: Donors Withhold Aid over Slow Privatisation

In a show of arm-twisting, western donors are withholding financial support to Zambia over Lusaka's reluctance to privatise the remaining three state-owned firms considered strategic to the southern African country.

OIL-ECUADOR: Fate of State Enterprise Up for Bid

The debate in Ecuador about the future of the state-run oil company Petroecuador heats up apace with government efforts to attract private investment to the country's petroleum industry.

/MAY DAY/LABOUR: A Drop in the Membership of South Africa’s Largest Federation

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the largest labour federation in the country, has been weakened by a financial crises and a drop in its membership ahead of a showdown with the government over the country's economic policy.

/MAY DAY/IRAN: Labour Week After a Year Without Pay

Karamat Aqaee was laid off work as an accountant from the Ahvaz Steel Company in Khozestan in the south of Iran eight years ago. His views were found to be incompatible with the ideology of the Islamic government.

DEVELOPMENT: Sri Lankan Activist Fails to Sway IMF, Bank

When Sri Lankan Sarath Fernando failed to stop his government from presenting a controversial economic roadmap to the World Bank and International Monetary (IMF) that would further "liberalise" the economy in return for loans, he decided to take his case to the two institutions themselves here last week.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: NGO Proposal for World Bank Funding Sparks Row

A leaked memo by the environmental group the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has revealed that it hoped to obtain - but not publicly disclose - World Bank funding for a high-level summit on forest conservation in the New Guinea islands.

DEVELOPMENT: Bank Prescribes More Free Market for Latin America

Joining others that have predicted Latin American economies will fare better in 2003, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said Monday the region will rebound this year after two years of recession and slow growth, but also warned of possible dangers ahead.

ENVIRONMENT: South Could Become Scenario of Wars over Water

Developing countries rich in water resources could become scenarios of war similar to what is happening today in Iraq if water continues to be privatised and sold like any other merchandise or ''good'', warned Leonardo Morelli, the organiser of the Social Water Forum, taking place in Brazil.

ENVIRONMENT: Critics Accuse Water Forum of Sidestepping U.N.

Just as the U.S.-led war on Iraq has undermined the significance of the United Nations, an international conference on water here may soon be fighting the same charge.

ENVIRONMENT: Privatisation Dispute Surfaces in Kyoto

A new World Bank report calls for a doubled investment in water "from public or private sector sources."

DEVELOPMENT: Japan Urges Doubling Spending on Water

Japan, host to the upcoming Third World Water Forum, will urge a doubling of global investment in water services and infrastructure to achieve the goal set at the World Summit on Sustainable Development last year: cut in half the number of people who lack access to clean water by 2015.

DEVELOPMENT: Water Privatisation Stirs Up Access Problem

Privatisation of water services has had negative consequences in many countries, says the environmental network Friends of the Earth International, which urges global resistance to the commercialisation and commodification of this essential resource.

DEVELOPMENT-INDIA: Support for Public Health Still Weak

India's continued lack of commitment toward public health is reflected in the government's latest budget, which public health experts and funders say is pushing it deeper into the privatisation of services that overlook the needs of the most needy.

FINANCE-CARIB.: Guyana Re-thinking Power Privatisation

When the labour movement, opposition parties and consumer groups opposed moves by government here to sell a 50 percent stake in the ailing national power company and hand over management to a U.K.-Irish consortium, they were dismissed as unpatriotic troublemakers.

CUBA: Foreign Investment Upgrades Water Pipes, Boosts Supplies

Access to reliable water supplies has improved significantly in the Cuban capital over the past three years, thanks to investment from Spain that has helped this Caribbean island nation overcome severe shortfalls.