IN T E R N A T I O N A L

PUBLISHED BY THE
WEST MIDLANDS
INTERNATIONAL
FORUM SPRING 2011

Cheryl Pidgeon (secretary midlands TUC),

Linking the challenges faced in this country with
the international struggle of women and trade
unions.
Other speakers were Ligia Lamach (from the
Costa Rican trade union SITAGAH)
accompanied by Anna Cooper from banana link.
Mary Hla and Moe Bu(Burma Campaign UK) ,
Meita Ledesma (Campaign for Human Rights in
the Philippines)
Thurya Alaan and Najwan abu Nejem (from
Ramallah Palestine)
All of whom gave informative talks and work-
shops on their particular area, but perhaps more
importantly From a woman's perspective.
It was an aim of the day to ensure that actions
that we in the region could commit to which
would practically aid the various campaigns were
also established , and this aim was met, With
many signing upto the various campaigns and a
commitment for the various SOGs in the region
to plan joint work around the issues.
£50 was raised from a raffle and it was agreed to
pass this onto CHRP.

The Seminar held on March 5th , celebrating

International women's day proved a great
success .
The event (jointly organised by the
International Forum and the regional Wom-
en's committee attracted over 35 delegates.
The seminar consisting of a variety of
speeches and workshops , aimed to both
celebrate Women's day and to recognise the
on-going struggle of women across the globe.
The seminar kicked off with a speech by
Burma has been ruled by military dictatorship since from Rangoon. Most of the women has been suffering
1962. It’s tortured, raped; arbitrary executed and use from
of force labours against their own civilian. Military
broke every single ar cle of declara on of human human rights abuses in our country. They are the vic m of
rights and ILO has accused crimes against humanity for the military rule such as harassment, tutored, discriminate,
sexual abuses and rape. Since the military coped in 1988,
it’s used of forced labour. When everyone think of
Burmese women I am sure that most of you will re- they have been recruited half million of soldiers which in-
member the face of Burmese resistance, Aung San Suu cluding more than 70000 child soldiers. In our country we
Kyi. don’t have outside enemy, the military strengthen their
power just to oppress their own people. They used nearly
She was the imprisoned Nobel Peace award winner. 50% of country’s budget in military and 1.3% of GDP on
She spent many of her Birthdays under house arrest, health and educa on. 90% of the people are living in
she didn’t have a chance to see her husband when he
died from cancer. Although the military offered to al- poverty line and mostly effected to the women and chil-
dren. In this country if you pay tax to the government, you
low her to see her dying husband in UK, she refused as
she knew that she would not have the chance to re- have a social welfare care such as health and educa on. In
turn back to Burma. our country we have to pay our educa on cost and health
care cost. Due to the higher cost of educa on and poverty
She stands for our freedom, democracy and human in life 50% of the children didn’t finish their primary
rights. She is our star, our hope and everything. We
are very proud to have her as our leader. educa on and ending up
their life with working in
Everyone knows that she was released from under dangerous place,
house arrested last November. We were delighted to
see her release and follow her poli cal movement prosecu on and begging.
a er her release. But some countries interpret her re- When I gave- birth my son
lease as a sign of poli cal progress in Burma. Actually in Burma, I was le alone in
she should not have been in deten on in the first labour room for many hours
place. The United Na ons ruled that her deten on was without care because my
in viola on of interna onal law. Although she had family didn’t pay the
been released the military dictator threatened her life
would be tragic for calling for Sanc ons to hospital fees. Since I was
pregnant I have to pay for the doctor and mid wife fees for
interna onal community. We also should not forget regular check up. Although I pay tax to government, I
about more than 2200 poli cal prisoners in jail.
didn’t receive anything in return except harassment and
A er 2007 uprising led by the Buddhist monk, the mili- oppression.
tary killed many people on the road and arrested more
than hundreds of ac vist. Since then the number po- I want to explain you another part of Burma. We have two
li cal prisoners has doubled in Burma. Among those Burma which is the city Burma and ethnic Burma where
poli cal prisoners more than hundred of prisoners are ethnic people living in the area like Eastern, Northern,
women, they are the unionist like Su Su Nway and po- Western. In our country we have more than 100 ethnic
li cal ac vist like Nilar Thein. minori es.

Ladies and gentleman, I am an ethnic Karen woman Military deliberately targeted to the ethnic minority with
with the systema c human right viola ons. In eastern
Burma Karen state alone more than 3500 villages have
been destroyed by the military dictatorship. Ethnic
women and children have been forced to work as forced
labour and forced to flee from their home. Because of
the military a acked in ethnic area there are hundreds
of thousands of people are fleeing to neighbour country
and refugee camp. According to the survey on mid of
2010, there are more than 200,000 refugee in refugee
camp and more than 470,000 internally displace person
who are running and hiding in the mountain forest. As a
result of this, Over 40% of children suffer from malnutri-
on and 60% die of preventable and treatable diseases.
Women have been suffering from land mine and lost
their body parts and their family members. Women
have been raped and sexual violence by the military
solider. Women as young as five years old was raped
and killed by military soldiers. It has happened and s ll
happening un l today. Those discrimina ons will not
end un l the military rule ends in Burma.
Mary Hla from Burma
speaking to the seminar
Although we have been suffering from various way of
oppression, we have many women leaders and ac vist
in Burma now a day, such as Naw Zipporah Sein , she is
the general Secretary of the Karen Na onal Union,
Dr. Cynthia Maung who founded the Mae Toe Clinic
which treats thousands of civilians affected by conflict
area in eastern Burma.
Zoya Phan, who is the high profile poli cal ac vist,
Charm Torn who is from Shan women ac on Net work
and Moe Bu, Campaigner, from Burma Campaign UK,
who is going to speak her personal experience in this
a ernoon.
All of them have same belief, same dream and hope.
They want a guaranteed for women in the future federal
democra c government in Burma.
Ladies and gentleman, I have been living under the rule
of One Race, One command, One voice. When I was in
Burma, I was treated as second class people. I didn’t have
chance to study our own cultural, language and tradi on.
Even though my grandfather was the Karen historian, I
didn’t know about Karen history when I was in Burma.
Military banned our family to publish his historian book
and we are not allowed to publish the Karen history. I
didn’t know what has happened in ethnic area un l I
came to UK, military cut down all the news to the people
of Burma. When I arrived to UK then I have a chance to
study poli c, human rights, the real situa on of Burma. I
believe by working in the Burma Camping UK, I can pro-
mote the women life in Burma and I can help to improve
their life. But I can’t do it without your help.
The women of Burma can’t speak out without risking
their life imprisonment, tortured and even death, But You
can. Please join Burma Campaign UK to support our
struggle to free Burma and spread the news of Burma. As
you can live here peacefully with hope and future, the
women of Burma need their freedom and peacefully life.
Please help them as much as you can.
Our lady ASSK said please use your liberty to promote
ours. Thank you very much.
“The struggle for democracy
and human rights in Burma is a
struggle for life and dignity. It
is a struggle that encompasses
our political, social and
economic aspirations”
Aung San Suu Kyi

By Paul Hunt, shop steward and Coventry
branch International Officer
Trade unionists in Coventry were recently very
proud to host a meeting for a leading trade union
organiser from Pakistan. Khalid Bhatti, who is
finance secretary of the Progressive Workers
Federation and a leading activist of the Trade
Union Rights Campaign in Pakistan, Khalid spoke
about the situation in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka
and
Bangladesh.
Khalid spoke
inspirationally about
how trade
unionists overcome
the many difficulties
and
obstacles that exist in
these countries, and
how working class
people are fighting
back.
South East Asia has a population of around 1.8
billion, yet a majority of these live below the pov-
erty line. India has more billionaires and million-
aires than Japan, yet it is a daily struggle to survive
for huge numbers of people. In a population of 1
billion in that country, 900 million live below
In Pakistan in many cities electricity is only
available for between 5 and 7 hours. The
population has been hit by the rise in food prices – the PWF can also play a key role in uniting the
60 per cent can't afford to buy meat and around 45 working class and poor across ethnic and religious
per cent can't buy milk on a daily basis. Today, on backgrounds.
average people spend 60-70 per cent of their
monthly income on food, whereas 5 years ago this
figure was around 30-40 per cent.
As is the case around the world, it is not the case
that these countries are destined to be poor – the
problem is the wealth is concentrated in the hands of
a tiny minority. In Pakistan 250 families effectively
own 80 per cent of the economy.
Despite all these difficulties just to survive, and
horrendous obstacles, the trade union movement is
building its organisations and fighting back. In recent
months in India, 100 million workers have taken part
in a general strike. In Bangladesh the garment
workers have shown that they will not continue to
accept these horrific working conditions.The
potential for working class unity in Pakistan was
realised recently where in Karachi (Sindh province),
workers from different ethnic and religious
background struck together.
The Pakistan government is determined to weaken
the collective strength of the workforce, encouraged
by the International Monetary Fund who in return for
massive loans via its 'Structural Adjustment
Programmes' forces governments to privatise,
weaken collective organisation of the unions etc. The
government is trying to destroy national collective
bargaining in favour of local and provincial
bargaining units – it is in this situation that the role of
the Trade Union Rights Campaign (TURC) and
Progressive Workers Federation (PWF) is vital.
The PWF was formed to create an independent,
democratic trade union body, free from the influence
of the government and the corporations. Already it
currently organises over 500,000 workers, from 33
national trade unions, mostly from the public sector.
As well as fighting for better working conditions,
wages, defending jobs, being against privatisations,
For further info on international issues Contact
Dave Auger 01902554093
The TURC has a proud history of organising
concrete solidarity and assistance – both in the
earthquakes and floods that have hit the country.
Aid, raised and organised by the TURC, was taken
to areas of Pakistan that the government could not /
would not help, saving lives, and helping communi-
ties and trade union activists rebuild their lives.
This was a truly inspiring meeting hearing first hand
from someone on the ground what is happening in
Asia. It also showed the differences we face, but
more importantly the similar issues; governments
acting in the interests of the rich and wealthy at the
expense of the mass of the population, and the
desperate need to change the way society is
organised; the present economic system is incapa-
ble of providing even the basics for billions of peo-
ple across the planet.
As trade union members in the UK, there are
several ways we can look at providing concrete
solidarity to our brothers and sisters across the
world. For example, Unison members in Revenues
and Benefits held a collection for the TURC to
support their flood relief appeal – members
generously donated £100 which was sent to Paki-
stan. Would you like to do this in your workplace or
office to help the work of trade union activists in Pa-
kistan? Even what we consider relatively small
amounts of money go a long way.
The branch can also look at twinning and linking
with unions and branches in Pakistan exchange
experiences and solidarity.
If you would like advice and assistance on how to
do this contact us asap .
paul.hunt@coventry.gov.uk Or if you have any
questions or comments.

LIGIA LAMICH
MELENDEZ
Women's Secretary for SITAGAH (union of Agri-
cultural and cattle workers of Costa Rica) and
Women's committee of COSIBA-CR (co-
ordinating body of Costa Rica Banana workers
unions) was also a guest at the seminar.
Accompanied by Anna Cooper of Banana link,
Ligia had two stories to tell , Her own which cap-
tures the difficulties women must overcome in
order to take an active role in the trade move-
ment and the struggle Banana workers face in
Central and Latin America.
Ligia told of being born in 1957, the oldest of 10
children. She spoke of having a difficult and trou-
bled childhood and by the time she was 17 she
had 6 children and was therefore only able to at-
tend school for 3 years.
After 4 years working on a plantation she joined
SITGAH, 3 days later she was sacked! She was
also pregnant at the time.
Despite all these set backs she continued to be in-
volved in the trade union struggle and working
with SITGAH as an organiser. She now has 13
grandchildren and one great grandchild.
As an organiser she said ;” I organise workers in
the banana and pineapple industries and train
them about their labour rights and the interna-
tional conventions of the ILO.
She hoped to raise awareness of the challenges
facing women workers in the tropical fruit indus-
tries of Latin America, and develop solidarity rela-
tions with European unions.
Banana Link is a non-profit co-operative , founded
in 1996, it works in close partnership with Latin
American and west African banana workers and
building links between them and European trade
unions
To find out more
www.bananalink.org.uk
 The women of Zimbabwe forced to live without sanitary protection.

The female trade unionists in Colombia risking life and limb for what
Below is the speech made by the Secretary of the midlands TUC at they believe in.
our recent seminar . Whilst the day has gone , the message re-
So to all those women in far-flung corners of the world facing exploi-
mains relevant for every day of the continuing struggle
tation, persecution and violence, let us say: your struggle is our
“This year we are celebrating 100 years of solidarity, remembering struggle, and we will never walk on by.
the generations of women before us who struggled so that we
As we say in the trade union movement, an injury to one is an injury
could have a better life, and reaffirming our commitment to deliver
to all.
for our daughters the same progress that so inspired our forebears
a century ago.
Friends, I want our movement to be right at the forefront of the strug-
gle for women’s equality. For us, this has to be a top priority: part
For while we travelled a long way since 1911, our struggle for
and parcel of everything we do as trade unionists- men and women.
equality, justice and freedom is far from won.
No less than a moral crusade.
As we meet so many of our sisters are in peril – the victims not just
of a crisis manufactured by male bankers, but of a global economy With trade union density higher among women than men, now is the
that has always systematically undervalued women’s work, of patri-
time for us to seize the moment, to deliver equal representation for
archal societies rooted in discrimination, and of political systems so women at every level of our movement, to ensure that never again
often run by rich men for rich men. will anybody be able to label us pale, male and stale. I want the fu-
ture to be bright – and I want the future to be female.
Here in Britain, our government of wealthy public school boys is
making the fastest, deepest, most vicious cuts to public spending
So my message today is this: get involved, become active, discover
since the 1920s.
what we can achieve when we join together to speak with one voice.
And remember: together we can make a difference.
Not so much an economic necessity, more a political choice to
shrink the state and privatise our public domain. As we all know it Let us never forget that so much of the progress we take for granted
will be women – who disproportionately use and provide our was not gifted to us by the great and the good.
public services – who will be hit hardest.
No, it was won by the tireless, selfless struggles of our predeces-
Let us be clear: that is simply not acceptable. sors: women who refused to kow-tow to reactionary elites, who be-
lieved that the only route to individual empowerment was collective
If the coalition gets its way, we risk undoing the huge progress we
made on women’s equality under our previous government – from action, who organised, mobilised and sometimes died for the causes
stronger maternity rights to Sure Start. It is no exaggeration to de- they believed in.
scribe this government as the most anti-women in living memory.
Over 70 per cent of the tax and benefit changes announced in the So today, as we mark International Women’s Day, let us remember
Spending Review fall on women and families. all those brave pioneers: the suffragettes and the matchmakers; the
A staggeringly large proportion: and an appalling reflection of chainmakers of Cradley Heath and the machinists at Dagenham; the
where the coalition’s priorities lie. ordinary women who through the extraordinary strength of their con-
victions changed the course of history.
The phrase “women and children first” clearly has a completely
different meaning for the Tories. And today, as we celebrate a century of solidarity, let us commit
ourselves to continue the struggle they began. In a hundred years’
Sisters, the situation we are facing in this country may be dire, but time, I want the daughters of our daughters to stand here and reflect
it almost pales into insignificance when compared to the depriva- on what our generation achieved for them.
tions suffered by women in the most disadvantaged parts of the
world. So proud of our past, confident in our values, and hopeful about our
future, let us write the next chapter in our story as women and as
We know that 70 per cent of the people living on a dollar a day or trade unionists.
less are women, and as basic services are cut and unemployment
rises, ever more women will be trapped in the most unimaginable Where there is inequality, let us fight it.
poverty.
Where there is intolerance, let us defeat it.
But the problems facing women are not just economic – they are
And where there is injustice, let us wage war on it.
political, social and cultural too.
Today, tomorrow, always.
Millions of our sisters are living lives of almost unbearable suffer-
ing. Cheryl Pidgeon Regional Secretary Midlands TUC.

The girls in Afghanistan mutilated for seeking an education.

The young women trafficked across continents and sold into sexual
slavery.
Mansour Osanloo is the president and one of the
founding members of the Vahed Syndicate, a free
trade union representing Tehran's bus workers. Today, political prisoner Liliany
Since its inception the ITF-affiliated union has been Obando will have been imprisoned for 31 months
repressed by the Iranian regime. Its meetings have without being convicted of any crime. Several UK
trade unionists and MPs have personally met
been violently broken up, its members threatened,
Liliany in prison, and even more have joined the
beaten and arrested. Mansour Osanloo has been a
campaign to call for her freedom. Below is a mes-
particular target. Following arrests and attacks on sage she sent to the UK trade union movement to
him, in 2007 he was dragged from a Tehran bus. celebrate International Women’s Day.
Three months later he was sentenced to five years
imprisonment on charges of ‘acting against nation-
al security’ and ‘propaganda against the state’; in “On behalf of the women political prisoners of
2010 another year was added to his sentence. In Colombia, we take the opportunity of
reality his only ‘crime’ has been to help found a
genuinely democratic trade union for his fellow bus international women’s day to send you a
drivers. Despite an international campaign to free warm solidarity greeting to all the British
him and despite his failing health, he remains in women trade unionists. We thank you and all
jail. the sympathetic MPs, Thompsons’ solicitors,
the TUC and every trade union for all your
On Friday 11 February Mansour had a heart support and solidarity and for supporting the
attack in Rajai Shahr Prison. He was transferred to Justice for Colombia campaign to free
a hospital where he was reportedly shackled to his
bed by metal cuffs on hands and feet. He has political prisoners. We wish you success in
been repeatedly denied medical leave from Prison, your struggle in the UK to create better work-
contrary to recommendations of the prison doctor. ing conditions for women.
According to reports sent to Human Rights and
Democracy Activists in Iran, Mansour has been Your solidarity strengthens our morale, and
repeatedly attacked by another inmate .When lets us know that we are not forgotten and
Mrnsour was in his cell along with his cellmates, he
that we are not alone. Even though we are
was attacked with a knife, but the attack was denied our freedom, we continue to struggle
stopped by other prisoners. and resist from within these bars, and we
won’t lose our dream of social justice. Today,
The next day when his attaqckeri was returning to we are hundreds of political prisoners - trade
the prison from Protection and Information Ser- unionists, human rights activists, academics,
vices, he punched Mr. Osanloo in the face as the students. When we are free we won’t stop our
prison guards were watching. The prisoners and fight to defend worker’s rights, human rights
guards did not react and tolerated the abuse. and to create peace in Colombia. Thank you
for your support and for not allowing our
voices to be silenced. Happy International
Mansour Osanloo has filed many complaints to the Women’s Day.”
prison authorities regarding this. Many other
prisoners and even the prison guards present at Please click here
http://www.justiceforcolombia.org/campaigns/prisoners/
the scene have stepped forward as witnesses, but
so far nothing has been done to prevent further to get involved in the campaign to free
attacks. Mansour continues to tolerate beatings Colombia’s political
and death threats. prisoners.
Wolverhampton Branch have a motion to NDC
which recognises the anit-trade union nature of the
Iranian Government , and Mansours central role in
the struggle and calls for him to be made a an
honourary member of UNISON as a symbol of our
support
Aims of PSC Israeli military's deadly assault on aid ships
carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza. It also called
PSC was founded in 1982 and is an independent, for an immediate end to the siege on Gaza, and a full
non-governmental and non-party political independent inquiry into the attack on the Turkish aid
organisation, with members from communities ship, the Mavi Marmara, which killed nine activists. A
across Britain and throughout the world and separate General Council statement
affiliations with many trade unions and other requires the TUC, which represents 6.5 million
organisations. More than 40 PSC branches across workers across the UK, to have a concrete pro-
the country are working towards building a just gramme for action.
and sustainable peace throughout the Middle
East. We support the right of the Palestinian West Midlands PSC
people to self-determination. We believe the
Palestinians have a right, enshrined in The West Midlands branch of PSC (WMPSC)
international law, to return to their towns, villages organises campaigns, demonstrations, public
and land. PSC opposes all forms of racism, meetings and other activities across Birmingham and
including anti-Jewish prejudice. the wider West Midlands and liaises with UK,
European and other organisations to raise
awareness of the issue of Palestine among the
PSC and the Trade Union Movement general public. We are currently running a campaign
to press Birmingham City Council to terminate its
PSC works closely with trade unions and currently waste management contract with Veolia, a company
has seventeen unions affiliated at national level, complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of the West
representing more than 80% of trade union Bank. We produce information for members and the
members of the TUC, with a growing number of general public; lobby the media, institutions, the
trade union branches and regions affiliating to the British Government and local MPs; and promote
campaign. PSC recognises the importance of relations between British and Palestinian
working with trade unions which have a long organisations and communities. We circulate
history of supporting international causes such as information on local campaign activities and national
the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. developments in an e-newsletter and on our website.
WMPSC is keen to work with trade unions at
branch level. What Can Trade Union Branches Do?
Amongst the unions affiliated are: ASLEF, BEC-
TU, BFAWU, Connect, CWU, FBU, GMB, NUM, We ask you to consider :
NUT, PCS, RMT, TSSA, UCATT, UCU, UNITE ,
UNISON, UNITY. In the last few years there has branch affiliation to WMPSC (an affiliation form is
been a significant growth in the number of trade on the back of this note)
unions supporting the Palestinian cause, sending encouraging members to link with us by taking
delegations to meet with the Palestinian General our e-newsletter (please e-mail the address
Federation of Trade Unions, twinning and building above), keeping in touch with campaign de-
campaigns of solidarity. velopments by viewing our website and Face-
The TUC has given strong support to PSC. At last book page (above) and the PSC national
year’s annual conference it approved website (http://www.palestinecampaign.org/)
unanimously a motion put forward by TSSA, se- and by coming to our events
conded by the GMB, and supported by UNISON, inviting WMPSC to give short talks to branch
PCS and the FBU which called for the General meetings
Council to work closely with PSC actively to en- We would be most grateful for your support.
courage affiliates, employers and pension funds to
disinvest from companies which profit from illegal
settlements, the occupation and the construction
of the
Apartheid Wall and to boycott the goods of these
companies. It condemned Israel's blockade of the
Palestinian territories, in particular Gaza, and the