8 May 2022
Dear colleagues, brothers and sisters, thanks for the election
I am aware of the responsibility I take on. WFTU carries a long and glorious history of struggle and in the current conditions it has a very important role to play in coordinating and guiding the class-oriented labor movement throughout the world.
The General Strike and After
On April 20, a UK court sanctioned the extradition of Journalist, activist and founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange to the United States. He is facing espionage charges in the US for exposing the war crimes committed by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange faces a possible jail term upto 175 years if extradited to the US.
Protests have erupted in Sri Lanka as country reels under severe economic crisis as prices of essential commodities and fuel are reaching sky high. The country is witnessing long queues at fuel stations and grocery shops, with the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government announcing deployment of military. According to reports more than three elderly people have dropped dead at fuel queues.
Thousands of workers of the London Tube (Underground Metro) embarked on two 24 hour strikes on March 3 and March 1 against the spending cuts and mass layoffs. The strike was called under the banner of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union. Picket lines were organised outside various metro stations in London by the striking workers.
Athens, 24th March 2022
The international class-oriented trade union movement, the 105 million workers who join the ranks of the WFTU, fully stand on the side of the workers of India who are prepared for another great Two Days’ Countrywide General Strike against the anti-worker, anti-people, anti-national Policies of the Indian Govt. on March 28-29, 2022.
Sergio Reyes is a social and political activist from Chile. His father, a carpenter and member of the Communist Party, took him to his meetings with fellow workers. Later, he became a student organizer in high school. In 1973 during his first year in University, he was arrested by the Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship that overturned the democratically elected presidency of Salvador Allende. He was sentenced to 5 years for his political activity and spent 3 years in various concentration camps until he was granted political exile in the U.S in 1976.
On 19 January 2022, the Israeli occupation forces forcefully evicted two Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem and demolished their homes. The demolition and expulsion followed days of protests by the affected Salhiyeh family household. According to reports, Israeli forces broke into their home in the night and assaulted family members. Six of the family members were arrested, including the head of the household, Mahmoud Salhiyeh. Earlier, the Israeli forces arrested 25 people for protesting against the eviction drive on 17 January this year.