South Asia Citizens Web

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted millions of migrant workers in destination countries, many of whom have experienced job loss or non-payment of wages, been forced by employers to take unpaid leave or reduced wages, been confined in poor living conditions, and with little or no engagement in the work options before them. Many migrant workers also struggle with the dilemma of exercising their right to return in these circumstances, while others remain stranded in cities without access to services or support, or in border areas, living in precarious conditions posing as quarantine facilities.

The Central Trade Unions (CTUs) in their meeting on 3rd June 2020 congratulated the workers for responding enthusiastically to the nation-wide protest call demanding immediate halt to changes in labour laws, abrogating the rights won over after a struggle of 150 years among other demands. The meeting took serious note of the continuous aggressive attack on the workers’ rights ignoring all the joint representations to the Government on the matter including the nationwide protest on 22nd May 2020.

AITUC extends full support to the agitating nurses at AIIMS for last three days. They are demanding implementation of uniform 4 hours duty with PPE in COVID areas, safety of female nurses, uniform rotation policy between COVID and Non-COVID areas, establishment of proper donning and doffing area, refreshment after doffing, display of duty roster, shuttle service during night shift, provision of ambulance facility for COVID screening/COVID positive staff among others. The AIIMS Nurses’ union has decided to go on mass casual leave on June 10 over their demands. They have threatened to go on strike if their demands are not met.

Five Bangladeshi and international organizations that defend the freedom to inform have written to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asking her to take concrete action to guarantee journalistic freedom in the face of an alarming surge in physical and judicial attacks on reporters and cartoonists in connection with the Covid-19 crisis.

In 1989, hundreds of thousands of people flooded onto the streets of Beijing and into Tiananmen Square demanding democracy, freedom of speech and an end to corruption. After a seven-week standoff, the government called in the troops and a bloody battle ensued. The number of deaths is not known. The Chinese Red Cross initially issued a statement saying that 2,600 people had been killed but rapidly retracted that. The Chinese government claimed that 241 people died, including 23 soldiers.