The IUF and our regional European organization EFFAT-IUF have joined with the IUF-affiliated SEIU in the USA and Canada and the Brazilian national trade union center UGT to demand action to address sexual harassment at McDonald's restaurants around the world.

A group of UN human rights experts have called on governments "to ensure preventative and precautionary measures are in place to protect every worker" as restrictions are eased and work resumes. "Every worker is essential", they declare in a statement published on May 18, "no matter what category is applied to them by States or businesses. Every worker has the right to be protected from exposure to hazards in the workplace, including the coronavirus."

The North American meat industry, with its giant plants concentrating thousands of workers and intense line speeds, has generated particular scrutiny in the current public health emergency, but the susceptibility of meat and poultry processing facilities to the rapid spread of viral infection is a global phenomenon. Significant outbreaks have occurred at meatpacking facilities in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland and Spain, and continue to spread.

In connection with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT) on May 17, the IUF will hold a special virtual meeting of its LGBTI and allies committee to gather information about the impacts of COVID-19 and develop responses.

On May 4, police entered the Bagley biscuit factory in Arroyito, Córdoba and attempted to arrest workers and union representatives preparing a meeting on safety measures to deal with the coronavirus hazard. According to the union, Bagley has not been paying the obligatory bonuses and premiums and refuses to pay wages to workers legally entitled to stay home to care for their children during the pandemic.

In India, the attack on fundamental rights at the workplace is accelerating under cover of promoting economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 emergency.

Video evidence and media reports detailing gross abuses aboard a Chinese fishing vessel operating with migrant seafarers have again shone a spotlight on the violence and human trafficking proliferating in the global fishing industry.

As casinos across the U.S. closed since March prepare to reopen, the IUF-affiliated UNITE HERE is calling for strict measures to protect workers, guests and public health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the deadly consequences of decades of reducing, privatizing and outsourcing public health services. Health workers putting their lives on the line every day to protect us all face overwhelming shortages of personnel, protective equipment, essential supplies and medical facilities. On the occasion of International Nurses Day, May 12, our sister international federation PSI is calling for unions internationally to endorse the call for universal health care with a petition on their site.

On March 25 the IUF-affiliated SINTRAINAGRO in Colombia negotiated an agreement covering 22,000 banana workers on comprehensive measures to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 infection. The union has produced a series of short videos demonstrating the safety procedures, which are being implemented and monitored by union representatives together with the employers and public authorities.

A US executive order issued on April 28 declares meat and poultry processing plants 'critical infrastructure' and enjoins state and local authorities from taking any action to close them due to health and safety concerns. IUF affiliates responded to the government's action by insisting on enforceable measures to ensure worker safety.

Since the first appearance of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso, the national IUF Women's Committee and the IUF national Coordination Committee have stepped in where employers and public authorities have been unwilling or unable to provide adequate protection for workers. They have been supplying soap, masks and disinfectant and informing members how to protect themselves, their families and their communities, on and off the job.

Despite UK government guidelines released on 26th March stating that casual workers can be furloughed and paid 80% of average annual earnings, two weeks later Marriott announced that they had "yet to determine their position" on whether casual workers could be furloughed citing 'significant cash flow issues' as their justification. UK Marriott workers wrote a letter to express concern and won.