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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.

Global Unions' statement on UNCSW63

25 April 2019

Statement by Global Unions following the 63rd UN Commission on the Status of Women reaffirms that a human rights-based approach is critical for achieving gender equality.

Missing the mark on gender equality

25 April 2019

Governments don’t do enough to ensure womxn’s* rights to social protection and public services. A joint response from trade unions, and feminist, womxn’s rights and social justice organisations to the CSW63 Agreed Conclusions.

"We require a strong and well-resourced public sector"

19 April 2019

On 18 April, PSI Deputy General Secretary David Boys took part in the Forum on Financing for Development at the United Nations in New York, where he spoke on behalf of the CSO FFD group. Watch his intervention here.

7 April - Time for Universal Public Health Care

05 April 2019

Health is a human right. The 2019 World Health Day (WHD) is an opportunity to advocate for every woman, man and child to have access to quality public health.

Korea: KHMU Campaigns Against For-Profit Hospitals

04 April 2019
KHMU members protest against the for-profit hospital in Jeju.

The Korean Health and Medical Union (KHMU) will organise a series of campaigns this year to defend the right to quality public healthcare and for workers’ rights in the sector. At its 21st anniversary ceremony and regular congress which took place on 27-28 February, the union decided to include all-out mobilisation against the expansion of for-profit hospitals and against precarious work.

Community Health Workers in Pakistan – a struggle for union registration

02 April 2019

The Community Health Workers programme in Pakistan, commonly known as Lady Health Workers, LHWs programme was started in 1994 with a staff of nearly 30,000 women. Over the years, the programme has expanded to more than 125,000 employees deployed in all districts of the country. They serve as the cadre that links first-level care facilities to communities.

India federal budget pushes private insurance in health

02 April 2019
Enrolling for National Health Insurance in India. Photo: ILO

Every year, around 55 million Indians are pushed into poverty due to catastrophic healthcare expenditures. And this is only one of the symptoms of a broken system that is also entrenched in ethical issues over inappropriate treatment in private facilities, overcrowded and underfunded public facilities and deteriorating work conditions.

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

Women's rights beyond the business case: ensuring corporate accountability

01 September 2018

Together with a wide range of organisations under the umbrella of the Feminists for a Binding Treaty coalition, PSI has participated in the production of this briefing that highlights the importance of a binding gender-just international accountability framework for Transnational Corporations (TNCs).

Trade Unions in Transformation

31 July 2018
Photo: Striking dressmakers take a break in diner, ca. 1955 by Kheel Center - CC BY 2.0

With “trade unions in transformation«, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) contributes to shifting the narrative about trade unions. Moving away from the standard depiction of unions as victims of globalization, this project highlights that unions do have agency and power. The stories of successful trade union action told in this brochure demonstrate how labour can and already does shape globalization.

SDG6: Water and sanitation are fundamental services, privatization is not a means of implementation!

10 July 2018

The ambition and breadth of the UN's Sustainable Development Agenda has been the object of both praise and ridicule. This report examines the challenges facing the implementation of SDG6, water and sanitation, and the bold strategies required to overcome them.

Report: Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2018

09 July 2018

PSI is a partner of the Reflection Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and together with other civil society organizations and networks has produced the annual Spotlight Report assessing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the structural obstacles in its realization.

Alternatives to PPPs – growing instances of de-privatization

09 July 2018

Extract from the Civil Society Report "Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2018" - the new global report assesses obstacles and contradictions in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

PSI General Secretary’s speech at PSI JC’s 30th anniversary

09 July 2018

PSI General Secretary, Rosa Pavanelli, gave a speech at PSI Japan Council's (PSI-JC) 30th anniversary which took place in Tokyo on 22 June 2018. This was part of a three-day visit, invited by PSI-JC, the National Coordinating Committee of PSI affiliates in Japan.

PSI and IndustriALL sign renegotiated Global Framework Agreement with EDF Group

28 May 2018

On 29 May 2018 PSI General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli, IndustriAll General Secretary Valter Sanchez and EDF Group CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy signed a renewed Global Framework Agreement on Corporate Social Responsibility covering human and labour rights in the presence of the International Labour Organization Director General Guy Ryder, during the 107th session of the International Labour Conference with the participation of French trade unions .

RCEP and Free Trade in Asia Pacific: People's Responses (Bangkok)

19 July 2018
#NoRCEP Protest, Hyderabad, 24 July 2017

On 20-24 July in Bangkok, on the sidelines of the 23rd round of negotiation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), social movements, trade unions and civil society organisations will come together to organise a series of meetings on free trade and RCEP and its implications on employment, environment, access to essential services and medicines, and policy space.

UN Conference of State Parties to the Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

12 June 2018
Shutterstock

PSI is participating for the first time in the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) held in New York from 12-14 June. PSI is also jointly organising a side event on 13 June, to identify how Social Dialogue is, or could be, used to ensure the implementation of the CRPD.

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.

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.