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As you know, a major earthquake (of magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale according to agencies) hit Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, on January 12 in the evening. The epicenter was located at some fifteen kilometers from that city which is the most populated of the country. The earthquake that rocked the island is the strongest in many decades. Fifty to hundred thousand people are feared dead.

The IYCW would like to express its sympathy and solidarity with the Haitian people after this terrible natural tragedy.

Over the past few days, the International and JOCA Secretariats have tried to get in touch with our YCW friends in Haiti but of course communications with the country are extremely difficult.

Several movements expressed their solidarity and support in prayer, and some, together with other organizations, are trying to organize support campaigns.

As an international movement, we would like to express our support to the Haitian people as well as our faith in them. We know the strength they have shown in their struggle, in particular the working class, to overcome natural, political and economic crises and we hope that this disaster they have to go through today will only reinforce the values of struggle which characterize them.

We urge all the members of the movement to send support messages, to be unified with the Haitian people through their prayers and, if possible, to assist in the organization of support campaigns.

The international team of the IYCW will continue to try getting back in touch with our Haitian friends and will let you know if we get any information.

We would like to convey to the Haitian people the positive energy of all young workers around the globe, who are “worth more than all the gold in the world” and show solidarity each day of their lives.

The international team  

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International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

The 25th of November is very important day for all men and women all around the world. International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

In Nicaragua, the majority of workers in manufacturing factories (FTZ) are women. There is a high rate of turnover, health problems, and a high level of dissatisfaction among workers due to bad working conditions. One situation that women have to face is the abuse of power by supervisors, sexual harassment as well as verbal, and even physical, abuse. It is also clear that the male labor force is valued more than the female labor force. If women want to get better posts, one condition is that they don’t get pregnant.

Cucu, a domestic workers in Cimahi, West Java, Indonesia, has been living under pressure since she became a victim of rape by a Government worker in her city earlier this year. The police have not given serious attention to her case which was reported by 17 organizations (including Indonesia YCW) to the police on May 29th, 2009. Domestic workers are the most vulnerable to violence and usually they will keep their mouths silent because of strong threats by the perpetrator. Cucu is working almost 24 hours a day with very limited time to sleep. She has no time for her self and her family. She receives the salary Rp. 300.000 or USD 35 a month. It is very far away from the minimum wage set up by the government in Indonesia.

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“Young Workers need Social Protection, now more than ever”

Everyone should be able to have a job that enables them to live a good life in which their basic needs are met. World Day for Decent Work (WDDW) is a opportunity for us to bring forward our demands and campaign as young workers.

The millions of women, men, young people and migrants who work or who are looking for a job need governments that take adequate measures to:

• ensure that social protection and workers’ rights are fully respected in labour laws and in practice. Living standards and economies need productive employment to develop.
• create millions of meaningful jobs for women and men. Jobs are only improved if they are linked to standards and rights. Social protection gives workers the security they need to face the future with confidence.

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Young Workers for Gender Equality take their demands to the ILO

The International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) want "gender equality" to form a central part of any decent work campaign, and will present this demand to the 98th Session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva which starts at the beginning of June.

Geethani Peries, IYCW President, Ludovicus Mardiyono, IYCW Team member from the Asia-Pacific region, together with Fanny Sanchez, YCW member from the national movement of Peru, will form the delegation of the IYCW movement for the conference.

"Through our delegation, the IYCW wants to bring the demands and real life testimonies of young workers to the centre of this international forum", says Geethani Peries, newly elected International President and former employee from the Free Trade Zones of Sri Lanka.

"There were 600 workers in our factory producing garments for European countries and 99% were girls aged 18 to 28. I would start work at around 7:30 a.m. and would normally finish at 10 p.m. for a basic salary of around (US$ 18). My overtime hours were not paid. There were no official records saying that we were working. We just received our salary in hands", recalls Ms Peries. "In addition, conditions were very unhealthy. My nose was filled with very dark dust. I realised that I was losing weight and I felt so tired."

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“Social protection for young workers is needed now more than ever!”

The International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) is promoting the global actions of young workers during the International Week of Young Workers.

The IYCW demands ‘Social Protection’ for all young workers as the best way to ensure social, economic and cultural development for all young people in all countries. Now more than ever, young workers rights and dignity need to be protected during this time of global economic uncertainty. At a time where countries are pumping over $2.8 trillion into major banks and private companies to salvage the international financial system, young workers are facing unemployment, job insecurity, precarious work conditions and despair.

Consequences for Workers...

In October 2008, the International Labour Organization (ILO) published a study with disturbing news for workers around the world. According to its projections, the current economic crisis may lead to over 20 million people being unemployed by the end of 2009. The number of people living in destitute situations would escalate from the current 190 million people to 210 million. The Director General of the ILO, Juan Somavia, claims this to be “a record high” level of unemployment. The study warned that this forecast was optimistic and that these figures may worsen if the crisis persists and has a stronger impact on production.

The study also points out that the number of “poor workers,” who earn less than one dollar a day, may increase by 40 million and the number of people earning less than two dollars a day may increase by 100 million. The lay-offs announced at the beginning of 2009 have confirmed the ILO projections.

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