In Europe and Central Asia, the Solidarity Center helps unions defend worker rights, promote legal reform, and gain workers their rightful voice in the political and economic transition process.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, countries throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia have been struggling to become politically democratic participants in a free market economy. The transition has not been entirely successful, however.
Far too many governments persist in denying workers and unions their basic rights. The laws that do exist to protect workers are feebly enforced. Unemployment is high, and many employers fail to pay workers on time if at all. Illegal or corrupt privatization schemes coupled with the rapid growth of trafficking and organized crime have pushed working men and women further into poverty. Ongoing ethnic conflict still threatens to undermine democratic gains.
Human Rights Activist Killed in Bishkek Demonstration. Joldoshbek Kudaibergenov, a 36-year-old representative of the International Association of Kyrgyz Diasporas, "Zamandash," was shot and killed on April 7, 2010, by a sniper targeting demonstrators on the central square in Bishkek. Kudaibergenov had worked closely with the Solidarity Center to combat human trafficking and to improve the situation of migrant Kyrgyz workers in Kazakhstan and Russia. He was a strong proponent of free unions as a basic instrument for advancing worker rights.
Ukrainian Unions Petition for Quality Health Care and Education. On May Day the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine launched a public campaign in the province of Dnepropetrovsk to improve the rapidly deteriorating quality of health care and education, which undermines quality of life.
Iraqi Women Unionists Join Their Turkish Sisters for Historic International Womens Day. For the first time ever, Iraqi women unionists visited Turkey to celebrate International Women’s Day with their Turkish sisters.
Ukrainian Unions Educating, Agitating, Organizing. In the February 2009 issue of its International News Bulletin, the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine reports on the election of Svetlana Kozakova to the groundbreaking position of Women’s Section National Organizer; picketings and strikes by metro, factory, and auto workers over unpaid wages; and new leaders and members in the medical workers union.
Another Russian Union Leader Assaulted! Only weeks after a new local union formed at a St. Petersburg GM auto plant, its president was brutally attacked and beaten outside his home—the second assault in two months on a Russian auto union leader.
Russian Free Trade Unions Under Attack. Over the last several years the government of Vladimir Putin has consistently, deliberately, and logically shut down one avenue of free expression, pluralism, and democracy after another in Russia. The one bright spot that points the way toward a future for the Russian people is an actual democratic, independent union movement—one of few survivors of the past decade’s attacks on political opponents and non-governmental organizations.
Migrant Workers Under Attack in Russia. Moscow police are investigating the shocking murder of a 20-year-old Tajik migrant worker, whose severed head was found in a dumpster on December 10, four days after he and a co-worker were stabbed on the way home from their jobs at a suburban food warehouse. The beheading, for which a Russian ultranationalist group has claimed responsibility, is the latest in an escalating series of attacks against migrant workers.
Ukraine Labor Confederation Gains 2,000 New Members in August. The Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine reports in the second issue of its International News Bulletin that 2,000 aviation workers joined in the month of August.
Georgian Teachers Union to the Rescue. As Georgian workers struggle in the aftermath of the Russian invasion, Solidarity Center Country Program Director Robert Fielding is on the ground in Georgia and providing dispatches from the field.
Georgian Workers Send Russia a Message: Let Us Go Back to Our Jobs. As Georgian workers struggle in the aftermath of the Russian invasion, Solidarity Center Country Program Director Robert Fielding is on the ground in Georgia and providing dispatches from the field.
Ukraine Labor Confederation Launches E-Bulletin. With Solidarity Center support, the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (CFTUU) published the first issue of its electronic monthly news bulletin.
Armed Assailants Attack Russian Dockworkers Union Leader. Russian dockworkers union Chairman Mikhail Chesalin was savagely stabbed, beaten, and left unconscious outside his Kaliningrad office.
Belarus Union Leaders Jailed. Belarusian police arrested eight union leaders shortly before the March 19 presidential election, charging them with treason.
Solidarity Center Publications
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Media Center
- Global Worker Rights Briefings: Ukraine (Feb. 2006). In the lead up to the March 26 parliamentary elections in Ukraine, the Solidarity Center hosted an expert panel to discuss possible electoral outcomes, and their anticipated impact on democracy and human rights.
