Brisbane 2011 International Workers' Day

Bobby Anderson celebrates 60 years of union membership

The history of May Day is one of great celebration and events of significance for those committed to a vision of a fairer, just and more sustainable world.

This year SPAN member Bobby Anderson celebrated his 60th year as a union member. He joined the BWIU (Building Workers’ Industrial Union) in 1951. The BWIU in Queensland later amalgamated with the CFMEU (Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union). Bob became the first Aboriginal union organiser in Queensland. His many contributions were recognised in 2000 when he received an honorary doctorate from Queensland University of Technology.

Why Domestic Violence is a Workplace Issue

The Domestic Violence and Workplace Rights and Entitlements Project: a project of the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse (ADFVC), funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Being in employment is a key pathway for women leaving a violent relationship. Employment is critical to women’s financial security, preventing them from becoming trapped and isolated in violent and abusive relationships, and allowing them to maintain, as far as possible, their home and standard of living.

AWU–MUA Offshore Alliance campaign for four OFW oil rig workers results in major prosecutions

Fair Work Ombudsman Media release — 27 June 2011. Fair Work Ombudsman alleges four oil rig workers underpaid more than $120,000

Akbayan Statement on the 108th Celebration in the Philippines of International Workers’ Day

Press Release: Rep. Walden Bello on Wages, Non–Wage Benefits and Job Security
Monday, 2 May 2011, Manila, Philippines

Today, the Filipino working class celebrates the international workers’ day against a backdrop of growing inequalities and economic turmoil. This economic lack of correspondence between “economic growth” statistics and poverty incidence have persisted as economic development failed to lead to the optimal employment of human resources, reduction of inequity, and the substantial improvement of the opportunities and lives of the poor.

Akbayan to Chinese Gov’t: Stop military bullying in Spratlys

08 June 2011 — http://www.akbayan.org.ph/

Akbayan Party today stormed the Chinese Consulate Office in Makati in response to the series of military incursions by the Chinese government in territories claimed by the Philippines in the Western Philippine Sea in the past few months.

On Mothering Sunday: A Migrant Mother’s Story

By Percy Pamo Lawrence

Imagine the pain of a mother denying that she has children, when in fact she has two little ones and missing them terribly … and they, her. Imagine the joy in a mother’s heart upon seeing her children slowly grow up into young adults, and the agony of acceptance knowing that she only has four weeks of every four years to bond with them. Imagine a mother’s humble pride seeing her children mature into responsible adults knowing she did all she could for them to reach such a gifted stage, and yet, the nagging guilt that all this transformation occurred in her absence. Imagine the slight when her child releases the careless words “You just don’t understand!”

ILO Convention 189: A New Era for Domestic Workers
Victory Statement on Adoption of ILO DW Convention

Migrant Forum in Asia
by Rex Varona — 16 June 2011

On June 16th at 11:43am Geneva time, history was made at the 100th International Labour Conference, as the International Labour Organization adopted Convention 189: Decent Work for Domestic Workers with 396 voting in favour, 16 against and 63 abstentions. This is a turning point in the history of the world of work, and will change the lives of at least 100 million workers globally.

SOS SMS HELPLINE saves OFWs in distress

by Center for Migrant Advocacy

AFTER years of languishing in jail, some 150 overseas Filipino workers have been granted amnesty by Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdul–Aziz and may finally be repatriated by the government.

“Closer Than Ever : A guide for social change organisations who want to start working online”

by Margarita Salas and Sulá Batsú

The Association for Progressive Communications has been working online since the late 1980s so it’s no wonder that a wealth of experience has been captured regarding how to best do social justice work online.

Out of the shadows: Filipino youth survivors of violence transform the personal into the digital

by AVA VIVIAN GONZALES for APC Manila, Philippines, 13 June 2011

Regardless of whether one is a beginning writer or an experienced one, writers all face the same obstacle — that of filling up a blank page. The process begins long before a writer puts pen to paper or types away at a keyboard. After all, stories do not come pre–packed and ready made, but first take shape in a writer’s mind. However, the adage “write what you know” is easier said than done, especially when the stories that need to be told deal with sexual abuse, domestic violence, and trafficking.

“Strategising Online Activism: A Toolkit”

Violence is Not our Culture (VNC)


“Strategising Online Activism: A Toolkit” was inspired by workshops held in Asia and Africa for the partners and members of the VNC campaign.

Women Must Be Part of the Peace Equation

Rousbeh Legatis interviews MAVIC CABRERA–BALLEZA, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders

UNITED NATIONS, 21 March 2011 (IPS) - Eleven years ago, 192 countries – all the United Nations member states – agreed to step up the integration of women in international peacebuilding and security processes, a promise that has remained largely unmet.

First Asia–Pacific Meeting of Prostitution Survivors!

Statement of Asia–Pacific Meeting of Sex Trafficking and Prostitution Survivors by Coalition Against Trafficking In Women – Asia Pacific (CATW–AP)

In this meeting, we have shared stories of resistance, survival, healing, recovery, accessing education, self–organizing and mobilization.

Women and Children in Manila’s Piracy Trade

by Shirlita Espinosa

A cursory glance in a map of Quiapo from Google maps elicits streets perpendicular to each other, Elizondo and Hidalgo, where a block of infrastructure is named ‘Quiapo DVD’. Any visitor who has been to the place has an idea of the plethora of choices—from the Hitchcocks, Godards, Wong Kar Wais and Kurosawas to the newest Hollywood ‘fastfilm’—a film fan has at the prices that range from fifty US cents to two dollars, depending on the quality of the pirated copy. That said, Quiapo may not be special at all in the business of media piracy as the practice has gained grounds in most developing economies.

FPIC – What is it?

[P]oor communities often do not initiate the large–scale resource development projects — such as mines, oil and gas development, or major forest concessions — that account for most natural resource wealth. More often, they are bystanders or second–class participants in these negotiations, inheriting the ecosystem costs of these projects with little gain.

The practice of “free, prior, and informed consent” — or FPIC — is designed as an antidote to this state of affairs.

Fr Brian Gore is back in the Philippines working with the Negros Nine Foundation

by Anne Lanyon

Last year I visited Fr Brian Gore who has recently returned to Bantollinao, in the mountains of Negros Occidental where he is implementing the work of the Negros Nine Human Development Foundation (NNHDF).

The Negros Nine were three priests and six lay workers who were imprisoned in 1983 during the Marcos regime and sentenced to death on trumped up murder charges. Brian and Lydio (Boy) Mangao are two of the nine who have helped begin the NNHDF.

Thousands of Voices for Justice

Surface James Balao Campaign

James Moy Balao’s 1,000 Days of Enforced Disappearance

Cordillera Human Rights Alliance and Cordillera Peoples Alliance