After a 15 year fight by meat unions, the Brazilian Government set up a tripartite commission to investigate the appalling lack of health and safety in Brazil’s meat industry. This process resulted in the passing of comprehensive regulations which have the potential to benefit 1 million workers.

As part of their campaign, better jobs 4 better chicken, Australia’s National Union Of Workers (NUW) recently surveyed 1000 workers in the poultry industry concerning safety. 62% of poultry workers received less than two hours of manual handling training with 37% saying they have had no such training at all.

The US Department of Agriculture has proposed modifications to its poultry slaughter inspection program which would remove the requirement of processors to test for salmonella or campylobacter and permit line speeds of 175 birds per minute.

Since March this year, workers employed by Mondelez around the world have campaigned for the company to respect human rights and meet with the IUF.

When the Cadbury Adams union members employed by Mondelez in Lebanon were abruptly told their chewing gum factory was to close and the jobs were being moved to Egypt where labour costs were lower and the company had smashed the union, they were shocked at the Company deceit.

If running is a pleasure, running for good causes is a real pleasure. This is what IUF's Massimo Frattini did last Sunday, 14th July, in London in The British 10K London Run.

The mass destruction of direct, permanent employment constitutes a major threat to union membership, organizing and bargaining.

The IUF's Swiss affiliate Unia has signed the first agreement in the Swiss hospitality industry establishing the union right to workplace access and to information. The agreement is also a milestone because it does not only apply to directly employed workers, but to franchised restaurants as well.

Members of the IUF-affiliated Contratuh are organizing strikes and protests in support of their demand for a 10% pay raise. The basic salary in this industry is 720 Brazilian Real (ca. USD 323), only slightly more than the national minimum wage and less than the price of a single night in some of the hotels where protests are taking place.

After 70 days of tough negotiations and preparations for a strike, the IUF's Colombian agricultural workers' affiliate signed an industry-wide agreement on June 19 which brings important gains for 18,000 banana workers and their families.