Brussels, 20 February 2006 (ICFTU online): Jean Apollinaire Kafando, national secretary in charge of training, education and research at the ONSL, one of the national trade union centres affiliated to the ICFTU, retraces the early stages of the campaign to organise the informal economy in Burkina Faso, and points to the main obstacles, including lack
Read moreBrussels, 20 February 2006 (ICFTU online): Backed by the ILO and Danida, joint trade union action across the country has led to the creation of five informal economy unions in Burkina Faso. Mamadou Nama, general secretary of the USTB (Burkina Workers’ Union) draws the first lessons from this experience and charts the strategy for extending
Read moreBrussels, 20 February 2006 (ICFTU online): The trade union movement in Guinea-Bissau is having a tough time. The unions are apparently being subjected to systematic harassment. The ICFTU was concerned to learn of the repressive measures by the management of the national Water and Electricity Company (Electricidades e Águas, EAGB) against the leaders of the
Read moreBrussels, 20 February 2006 (ICFTU OnLine): The publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, initially in a Danish newspaper, has caused deep offence to many Muslim people around the world. Freedom of the press is a principle of fundamental importance. It should be respected in full, and be exercised with responsibility and sensitivity. The ICFTU
Read moreBrussels, 16 February 2006 (ICFTU online): The decision on 15 February by French President Jacques Chirac to recall the toxic warship Clemenceau back to France underlines the depth of the crisis in the global ship-breaking industry. The aircraft carrier, containing tonnes of asbestos and many other hazardous substances, was due to have been broken at
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