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Asia Pacific

PSI's Asia and Pacific region covers 122 unions in 22 countries and related territories with a membership of two million workers. The regional office is based in Singapore. Contact the regional offices.

Trade unions in India meet to counter free trade agenda

26 April 2018

Trade Unions representing workers in Information Technology (IT), Steel, Health-care, Water, Coal, Automotive, Transport, Banking and Insurance met in Bengaluru from 17-18 April for a National Workshop on Trade and Investment Liberalisation: Impacts on Workers in India. The workshop was organised by the Forum against FTAs, Public Services International (PSI), Third World Network (TWN) and Transnational Institute (TNI).

Privatization Watch - 02/2018

26 April 2018

Latest issue of #PrivatizationWatch (02/2018) - The Global newsletter on privatization of public services around the world.

Addressing gender biases and inequities in the health and social care workforce is critical to achieving the SDGs

24 April 2018

PSI’s updated research “Tackling Violence in the Health Sector - A Trade Union Response” was highlighted in a webinar held on March 5 by the WHO’s Global Health Workforce Network (GWHN) thematic hub on Gender Equity in the Health and Social Workforce. The updated publication was one of four submissions in the webinar that showcased the wide range of research, policies and actions to achieve gender-transformative change in the health and social workforce.

Striking nurses win in Delhi, India!

19 April 2018

After a 9 day strike, nurses at the Maharaja Agrasen Hospital in Delhi, India have successfully won better pay, conditions and nurse to patient ratios.

PSI statement on UNCSW62

18 April 2018

Union women from around the world attended the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW62), which took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 12-23 March 2018.

86 CSOs sign open letter on PPPs to World Bank Executive Directors

17 April 2018

Among several demands to government representatives at World Bank Board of Directors, Civil Society Organisations call on them to declare a moratorium on funding and promoting Public-Private Partnerships until an independent review is available.

PSI South East Asia defines strategies to implement Programme of Action 2018-2022

17 April 2018

Affiliates from member countries Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand committed to support the subregional and regional priorities and action plan.

STOP Gender-based violence at work!

16 April 2018

Join the campaign to convince governments to support an ILO Convention and Recommendation on “Ending violence and harassment in the world of work”. An ILO Convention and Recommendation will send a strong message that violence is NOT part of the job. The standard and guidelines will also strengthen workers’ voices as they stand up against gender-based violence, and negotiate collective agreements that address GBV. #StopGBVatWork

HEALTH FOR ALL: marking the 2018 World Health Day

06 April 2018
Saturday 7 April is the 2018 World Health Day (WHD). This date was chosen to draw global attention to international health every year with a dedicated theme, when the World Health Organization was formed seventy years ago.

The End of Water Privatisation?

22 March 2018

Across the world, a wave of remunicipalisations has delivered water services back into public hands, often after decades of private mismanagement.

EQUAL PAY – WAGE JUSTICE

08 March 2018

On March 8, PSI stands with women around the world demanding an end to gender-based discrimination at work and calling for the transformation of the division of labour.

Take Action: Call for the release of Han Sang Gyun

29 January 2018

PSI is calling on all affiliates to join the renewed joint ITUC and GUF international campaign calling for the release of Han Sang-gyun and the withdrawal of the charges against Lee Young-joo, respectively former President and General Secretary of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).

Send a letter of protest to President Moon and join the Day of Action on 9 February 2018.

World Cities Day 2017: Municipal workers make cities happen!

25 October 2017

PSI has chosen 31 October – UN “World Cities Day” - to launch a global visual campaign aimed at raising awareness about the work of municipal public service professionals with a view to increasing their visibility and presenting a positive perception of the many essential public services they deliver every day to cities and metropolitan areas.

World Bank must stop promoting “dangerous” public-private partnerships – New Global Campaign launched!

23 October 2017

A new campaign aimed at reversing the dangerous rush to promote expensive and high-risk public-private partnerships (PPPs) was launched yesterday by Public Services International and by 151 civil society organisations from all over the globe.

Public administration workers of the Spanish foreign service go on strike on 16 October: 9-year wage freeze must end now!

16 October 2017

For the last nine years, public administration employees working abroad for the Spanish state have suffered an unjust and arbitrary wage freeze. Precarious working conditions and, in many countries, rampant inflation and strong fluctuations of local currencies have further compounded the issue.

Fight Privatization at Bridge International Academies!

18 July 2017

Civil society call on investors to cease support to Bridge International Academies - Growing evidence and analysis published in the last two years that raise grave concerns regarding Bridge’s transparency, relationship with governments, labour conditions, and breach of educational standards.

Inspiring campaigning! #TaxJustice for Women's Rights Global Days of Action

27 March 2017

The final week of the #TaxJustice for Women's Rights Global Days of Action has been extremely busy. These have been truly global days of action, as you will see from the photos, events and actions from around the world.

Support Fair and Ethical Recruitment: #NoRecruitmentFees

14 February 2017
Join the PSI campaign to abolish the practice of charging recruitment fees on migrant workers. Sign on to the Manifesto and use it to shift policy and practice towards fair and ethical recruitment. #NoRecruitmentFees

Stay strong, Korean public workers! Stop labour repression!

06 October 2016

Trade unions in Korea are campaigning for the Park Geun-hye government’s proposed legislation for a discriminatory performance-related pay and termination system for public sector workers to be cancelled. They held a huge general strike and rally on 27 September and are now asking for international solidarity support.

Urgent action: solidarity with Vice President of KPTU in Korea

01 July 2016
Cho Sung-deok

PSI calls all its affiliates to support the Korean Public Services and Transportation Workers Union (KPTU) Vice President, Cho Sung-deok, who is facing trial in Korea and for whom the prosecutor’s office requested a prison sentence of 5 years.

Support the Korean Education workers' strike on 1st April!

22 March 2016
Poster: Support Education Workers' Strike

On 1 April, PSI affiliate KPTU-EdSol and other education support workers' unions will go on a 24-hours strike calling for improvements in working conditions and job security for all education support workers. Show your support for the strike - #SupportKPTUEducationWorkers

Water and Sanitation are Human Rights, NOW!

21 March 2016
logo

On 22 March, PSI celebrated World Water Day. The UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 requires that governments ensure universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. However, we are seeing a new push for public-private partnerships (PPPs). We know that PPPs fail to deliver social and environmental targets, and PSI will help affiliates block this approach. We call for a rights-based approach, with public finance and management in the interests of all.

86 CSOs sign open letter on PPPs to World Bank Executive Directors

17 April 2018

Among several demands to government representatives at World Bank Board of Directors, Civil Society Organisations call on them to declare a moratorium on funding and promoting Public-Private Partnerships until an independent review is available.

Case study: Workplace violence - Pakistan

16 April 2018
PSI’s World Women’s Committee (WOC) agreed that a high priority area of work is workplace violence in the health sector. The experiences of affiliates in raising awareness and developing campaigns and actions to eliminate workplace violence will contribute to the discussions and preparation for developing an ILO standard (convention and recommendations) on violence against women and men at work. This case study is part of the 2018 updated report “Tackling Violence in the Health Sector”.

Case study: Workplace Violence - Philippines

16 April 2018
PSI’s World Women’s Committee (WOC) agreed that a high priority area of work is workplace violence in the health sector. The experiences of affiliates in raising awareness and developing campaigns and actions to eliminate workplace violence will contribute to the discussions and preparation for developing an ILO standard (convention and recommendations) on violence against women and men at work. This case study was prepared in August 2016 as part of PSI’s contribution to the ILO tripartite experts meeting and is part of the 2018 updated report “Tackling Violence in the Health Sector”.

Tackling Violence in the Health Sector - A Trade Union Response

16 April 2018
This report on trade union preparedness and actions to tackle violence against women and men in the world of work, was first released in 2016. In 2018, an updated version of the study is being released, integrating the latest achievements of our affiliated unions in the health sector. The workers, many of whom are women, daily face ever-increasing levels of violence and harassment in the world of work. They respond and deliver quality service with deepest commitment and ethical principles.

Executive Summary - Tackling Violence in the Health Sector

14 April 2018
PSI is pleased to present the updated report entitled “Tackling Violence in the Health Sector - A Trade Union Response”, a consolidated research effort first released in 2016. The 2018 updated version of the study integrates the latest achievements of our affiliated unions in the health sector.

Open letter from Rosa Pavanelli to the international trade union movement on the recent events involving the ILO Governing Body

28 March 2018

"The method and content of the actions of the Workers’ Group leadership is the latest episode revealing a structural lack of cooperation, solidarity and democracy among the global trade unions. We regret to say that with this action PSI has lost confidence and trust in the Workers’ Group leadership", says the PSI's General Secretary.

Privatisation of Migration & Refugee Services & Other Forms of State Disengagement

11 December 2017

This research, written by Jane Lethbridge, Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), examines the effects of the privatisation of services for refugees and migrants at national and international level.

Report: Trade Union Action on Decent Work for Persons with Disabilities

05 December 2017

Trade unions are working all over the world on disability issues. This research captures and summarises trade union action on disability from over 50 countries, including developed, emerging and developing economies. The research offers a new perspective to trade unions who have not worked on this issue, and points to opportunities for others to develop their work further.

Tags: 
Diversity
Precarious work
Disabled workers

Posters: World Cities Day 2017

25 October 2017

The posters for World Cities Day 2017 are available for download in English, French and Spanish.

Click directly on the poster you wish to download for a high resolution PDF for printing.

Double standards: How the UK promotes rip-off health PPPs abroad

02 October 2017

The Jubilee Debt Campaign has released a new report: ‘Double standards: How the UK promotes rip-off health PPPs abroad’ (24 pages, with a 4 page executive summary). PSI and its affiliates has substantially contributed to the content of the report.

LRG/Municipal workers memes

20 July 2017

Download PSI's memes for LRG/Municipal sector workers - use them to promote and support the invaluable work of these PSI members !!

Whistleblower protection – how serious are governments in addressing corruption

12 July 2017

Extract from the Civil Society Report "Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017" -the new global report assesses how privatization and corporate capture have become obstacles to progress under the 2030 Agenda.

Four critical steps to operationalize the New Urban Agenda’s transformative commitment to decent work and inclusive and sustainable cities

12 July 2017

Extract from the Civil Society Report "Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017" -the new global report assesses how privatization and corporate capture have become obstacles to progress under the 2030 Agenda.

Healthcare is not a commodity but a public good

12 July 2017

Extract from the Civil Society Report "Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017" -the new global report assesses how privatization and corporate capture have become obstacles to progress under the 2030 Agenda.

Decent work requires decent public policies

12 July 2017

Extract from the Civil Society Report "Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017" -the new global report assesses how privatization and corporate capture have become obstacles to progress under the 2030 Agenda.

Trade and Investment Liberalisation: Impact on Indian Workers (Bengaluru)

05 April 2018

This workshop, held in Bengaluru (India) from 17-18 April, aims at discussing the impact of trade policy as well as specific agreements on key sectors in manufacturing and services from the perspective of the workers engaged in these sectors. Through sharing of experience and knowledge we aim to understand the full impacts of trade and investment policies and identify strategies to tackle the challenges they pose. The workshop is organised by PSI, the Forum against Free Trade Agreements, Third World Network and the Transnational Institute.

Asia Pacific Regional Strategy Meeting on Trade Justice (Singapore)

03 April 2018

PSI and Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) will be holding an Asia Pacific Regional Strategy Meeting on Trade Justice, from 3-4 May 2018 in Singapore that will bring together key trade unions in the region with an interest in trade, Global Union Federations (GUFs), experts and civil society representatives. The meeting, supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), will explore the option of creating a regional union network on trade and use participatory methods to create a shared regional strategy.

Trade Unions and Workers roundtable (Malaysia)

05 February 2018

During the 9th session of the World Urban Forum, PSI together with UCLG, ILO, BWI, Action Aid and WIEGO will be holding a stakeholders’ roundtable on Trade unions and workers. This UNHabitat event will take place on 11 February from 14h30 to 16h30.

"RCEP, labour & public services" workshop (Philippines)

04 September 2017

Public Services International, Focus on the Global South, Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), NAGKAISA Labor Coalition and Transnational Institute (TNI) organised a two-day regional workshop “RCEP, LABOUR & PUBLIC SERVICES” that aimed to demystify the RCEP and trade agreements from the viewpoint of public services and implications for workers. The workshop took place on 6-7 September in Manila, Philippines.

Conversation with authors of the Civil Society Report "Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017"

17 July 2017

Authors of the recently launched Spotlight Report will present key findings and recommendations to participants for discussion. The 2017 edition focuses on privatization, partnerships, corporate capture and the impact they have on sustainability and inequality.

Accelerating Women’s Economic Empowerment to Achieve the 2030 Agenda

17 July 2017

PSI General Secretary, Rosa Pavanelli, will be speaking on 17 July at the UNSG’s High-Level Panel (HLP) on Women’s Economic Empowerment. The HLP is a side event at the High Level Political Forum (HLPF), currently taking place in New York.

Route of Shame 2017

09 June 2017

Join PSI and global trade union leaders on 9 June for the “Route of Shame” bicycle ride, calling for social justice at target embassies and missions in Geneva.

Global Conference on Children on the Move (Berlin)

19 May 2017

The Initiative on Child Rights in the Global Compacts, which PSI is part of, is organising the Global Conference on Children on the Move taking place in Berlin, Germany, on 12-13 June. During this conference, participants will assess progress and develop strategies around implementing commitments to children on the move.

 

Interactive webinar on “Ending gender-based violence in the world of work”

18 May 2017
Stop gender-based violence at work!

Join us for an interactive webinar on “Ending gender-based violence in the world of work” taking place on 29 May from 14h-15h30 Brussels (GMT+1) – check your time here. Interpretation will be available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Russian. Register to join by following the instructions.

Women work mobility development & economic justice

10 March 2017

On 16 March at the 61st UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York the Women in Migration Network (WIMN) convenes a dialogue integrating strategies and feminist movements. This parallel event will be held at 10:30 am at the Church Center for the United Nations. PSI is co-sponsoring this event. Moradeke Abiodun - Badru, representing PSI affiliate The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), will be speaking on behalf of PSI.

PSI attends seminar on the Human Right to Water in the Vatican City

23 February 2017

PSI delegation including Rosa Pavanelli, PSI General Secretary, take part in the human right to water seminar on 23 and 24 February at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican City.

ILO Tripartite Meeting on Improving Employment and Working Conditions in Health Services (Geneva)

06 February 2017

The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss decent work strategies that effectively address health workforce shortages, as a prerequisite to enable provision of equal access to health care for all in need, with a view to adopting conclusions on future programme development and to inform policy-making on the selected topic at the international, regional and national levels.

More information on ILO website.

 

ITUC/Global Unions and World Bank/IMF High level meetings

31 January 2017

PSI is part of the trade union delegation attending the two and a half days meetings with the IMF and World Bank and will be represented as a discussant in the session on "Joint work towards universal social protection and healthcare"'.

Everyday Oscars - #EndGBVatWork

12 March 2018

Ending violence against women is a top-priority for PSI. PSI fully supports the ITUC campaignfor this new international labour standard and invites all affiliated unions to join the campaign. Your mobilising, organising and lobbying is critical to build and ensure governments’ support for an ILO Convention and a Recommendation at the ILO Conference in June 2018.

Audio: Healthcare is a basic human right

07 April 2017

RadioLabour interviews PSI General-Secretary Rosa Pavanelli on PSI's recently launched campaign for the Human Right to Health aimed at promoting universal public health coverage for all.

Photos: PSI/EPSU Global Municipal Workers' Network Meeting

22 September 2016
Brussels 19 September 2016
Source: Flickr

Over 60 Municipal trade unionists from all over the world gathered in Brussels on 19 September 2016 for the PSI Global Local and Regional Government (Municipal) Workers Union Network gathered to identify joint priorities and develop global strategies for the municipal work ahead of the PSI Congress next year. An exciting, promising start for a strong global PSI Municipal sector.

Video: All migrants have the right to have economic and social rights

14 March 2016

Statement of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, addressing the PSI - EPSU - ETUI seminar “Public Services Welcoming Migrants: Strengthening the role of public service trade unions in the protection of human rights and delivery of public services to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees” in Brussels, Belgium on 15 March.

PSI at the 14th Coordination Meeting on International Migration - 4th meeting

03 March 2016

Geneviève Gencianos, Public Services International (PSI) Migration Programme Coordinator, participating in the 4th meeting of the 14th Coordination Meeting on International Migration, organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) at the United Nations in New York, 25-26 February 2016.

PSI at the 14th Coordination Meeting on International Migration - 2nd meeting

03 March 2016

Geneviève Gencianos, Public Services International (PSI) Migration Programme Coordinator, participating in the 2nd meeting of the 14th Coordination Meeting on International Migration, organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) at the United Nations in New York, 25-26 February 2016.

South Korea's human rights hypocrisy

29 February 2016

South Korea is currently Chair of the UN Human Rights Council, but their own record on human rights abuses is far from perfect.

Video: Update from COP21

05 December 2015

Anabella Rosemberg‎, ITUC, giving an update from the Paris climate summit on 5 December on the negotiations that risk removing a commitment to human rights and “Just Transition” to a low carbon future.

Video: We must improve the governance of the international tax system

15 June 2015

José Antonio Ocampo, Former UN Undersecretary-General, Former Minister of Finance of Colombia and currently Professor, Colombia University, at the ICRICT panel in Trento on 2 June, explains to us the main points of the ICRICT report.

Video: We are losing massive resources to tax avoidance

12 June 2015

Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, speaks at the ICRICT panel in Trento, Italy on 2 June 2015.

Video: Multinationals are depriving developing countries of their fair share of taxes

12 June 2015

Eva Joly, French magistrate and politician for Europe Écologie–The Greens, speaks at the ICRICT panel in Trento, Italy on 2 June 2015.

Video: Multinationals are attacking democracy

12 June 2015

Rosa Pavanelli, PSI General Secretary, speaks at the ICRICT panel on tax reform in Trento, Italy on 2 June 2015.

Video: ILO Director General’s intervention at EB-147

11 June 2015

Guy Ryder, ILO Director General, speaks at the PSI Executive Board meeting (EB-147) that took place in Geneva, Switzerland on 27-28 May 2015.

Video: Precarious work situation of education support workers in Korea

08 June 2015

Representatives of PSI affiliates met in Geneva on 25-26 May 2015 for the PSI World Women’s Committee. In this interview, Bohee Choi, Vice President of the KCTU Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union (KPTU), talks about the precarious work situation of education support workers in Korea.

Audio: RadioLabour report on ILC 2015

08 June 2015

Radio Labour reports from the Interntional Labour Conference 2015 with the speeches by trade union leaders Rosa Pavanelli, PSI General Secretary and Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.