Solidarity picket in Moscow, 9 February 2009

A delegation of IUF activists visited the Unilever-sponsored Moscow International Tea Symposium to raise a scandal about the unjust labour practices being spread around the globe by this company. Unilever is one of the largest producers of tea bags (brands Brooke Bond and Lipton) and is becoming more and more the focus of criticism for destruction of permanent jobs.

No one can accuse EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Charlie McCreevy of excessive subtlety, but his current escapades set new benchmarks. "Commissioner McCreevy and the European private equity funds are engaged in an orchestrated maneuver to undercut a clear call for binding regulation of the buyout industry adopted by a huge majority of the European Parliament last year", according to IUF General Secretary Ron Oswald. "McCreevy and the funds want to smuggle in toothless 'Codes of Conduct' in place of binding legislation.

New study shows crop production not affected

A new report by the IUF and a Swiss-based NGO, Berne Declaration, shows that production without paraquat is entirely feasible and is already happening in important crops.

"Goodbye Paraquat" is based on responses to a questionnaire by more then 40 major food producers in bananas, tea and palm oil, crops which traditionally have been big users of paraquat.

The report shows that producers of bananas and tea have moved away from reliance on Paraquat. On palm oil it found that producers were equally divided into Paraquat users and non-users but that there was also a clear preference amongst palm oil buyers for palm oil produced without Paraquat.

Supported by the IUF-affiliated National Federation of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Workers of Pakistan, over 700 contract agency workers at Unilever's last directly-owned and operated Lipton tea factory in Pakistan are stepping up their campaign for permanent job status. The workers will be launching a series of national and local actions, and urgently need your support.

Earlier this year, IUF members around the world gave vital support to an organizing drive by the T&G section of the IUF's UK affiliate Unite. The union fought a determined campaign to win equal treatment for agency workers employed at meat producers supplying the UK-based retailer Marks & Spencer. In solidarity with the UK organizing, IUF unions demonstrated - sometimes repeatedly - at M&S outlets in Croatia, Hong Kong, Hungary, Korea, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland Thailand and Turkey.

On December 20, the BBC announced that the 2008 "World Challenge" prize had been awarded to the Hashoo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Hashoo Group which owns the Pearl Continental Karachi Hotel, where workers have been fighting for over 7 years against sackings, harassment, violence and imprisonment to have their union recognized. December 9, 2008 – Pearl Continental Karachi workers, their children and fraternal union and labour organizations rally in support of the embattled union and call on the government to act to secure union recognition.

Workers show undiminished support for their union at Yörsan dairy, where management has sacked all 400 union workers in a brutal attack on trade union rights.