South American countries recall ambassadors and cut ties with Israel / Belgian workers refuse to handle arms shipments for Israel

A number of South American countries have registered diplomatic protests against Israel, in response to its latest conflict with Hamas, with Bolivia’s leftwing government cutting ties entirely and attributing its decision to alleged war crimes and human rights abuses being committed in the Gaza Strip. The decision by Bolivia was announced at a press conference on… Read More South American countries recall ambassadors and cut ties with Israel / Belgian workers refuse to handle arms shipments for Israel

Iceland’s first full-day women’s strike in 48 years aims to close pay gap

Miranda Bryant in Reykjavík Tens of thousands of women and non-binary people across Iceland, including the prime minister, are expected to stop work – both paid and unpaid – on Tuesday in the first strike of its kind in nearly half a century. Organisers hope the women’s strike – whose confirmed participants include fishing industry workers, teachers,… Read More Iceland’s first full-day women’s strike in 48 years aims to close pay gap

Report Reveals Stark Disparities in India’s Labour Market Based on Caste, Gender, and Religion

The largest earnings gap is based on gender, with women reporting earnings at only 40% of those of men in self-employment, followed by 64% of men in casual wage jobs, and 76% of men in regular wage jobs. Social identity plays a significant role in determining the type of employment a person is likely to… Read More Report Reveals Stark Disparities in India’s Labour Market Based on Caste, Gender, and Religion

India, voice for the poor, clears slums as G20 draws near

The government justified the demolitions by saying the structures are “illegal” and has said it intends to rehome some of the affected communities. But activists have questioned the timing, claiming instead that the demolitions are part of a “beautification” project – a campaign to rid the city of its beggars and slums – to impress… Read More India, voice for the poor, clears slums as G20 draws near

How did Australia’s university system get so broken?

Widespread precarity has facilitated a culture of illegal underpayment, with more than $80m in underpayments since 2020 across public universities, according to the National Tertiary Education Union’s wage theft report Jeff Sparrow On Monday, unionised workers at the University of Melbourne (where I teach) will go on strike. In the faculty of arts, the Melbourne law school, student… Read More How did Australia’s university system get so broken?

China’s recent economic woes suggest there is something seriously amiss

Underlying longer-term weaknesses in the economy are bound up with Beijing’s repressive political system George Magnus At a Politburo meeting last month, China’s leaders referred to the economic recovery this year as “torturous”. You won’t often hear such candour coming from a Chinese Communist party institution, let alone such an elevated body. They were referring… Read More China’s recent economic woes suggest there is something seriously amiss

The deadly intersection of labor exploitation and climate change

Neither the corporate media nor our politicians who are beholden to corporate lobbyists honestly address the common root causes of (and solutions to) worker exploitation and climate change. Sonali Kolhatkar As temperatures soar in the United States this summer, some among us are lucky enough to be able to remain in air-conditioned interior spaces, ordering… Read More The deadly intersection of labor exploitation and climate change

MKSS Statement on Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare Act), 2023

After the passage of the historic Rajasthan Minimum Guaranteed Income Law on 22nd July 2023, we write to you to share yet another significant development from the State. The Rajasthan Assembly has passed the Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare Act), 2023. In yet another series of firsts, this has become the first… Read More MKSS Statement on Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare Act), 2023

CADTM-Newsletter: Indian labourers, France’s mobilisations, Illegitimate debts, Vulture funds…

NB: This is an excellent portal for regular political/economic commentary on world affairs. This one has many essays on South Asia. The generalised implosion of political institutions is a symptom of the endemic unsustainability of global capitalism. Unfortunately this state of affairs will continue (ie the ruling establishments will carry on with their ‘austerity economics’; violent… Read More CADTM-Newsletter: Indian labourers, France’s mobilisations, Illegitimate debts, Vulture funds…