Happy New Year & Happy Christmas for all of you who are celebrating Christmas.

This is the twelfth Issue of APWSL News 1999. All over the world working class is denying their rights. I have great concerned with those workers who are fighting for the rights of working class in all over the world and they harassed by the bosses as well as by the government. All Asia Pacific Countries ratified several ILO Conventions but these conventions are not implemented. It is a duty of those organizations which raising the issues of working class in their respective countries to struggle for the implementation of ILO Conventions.

On International Human Rights Day demonstration took place in Australia heard speeches by Korea, Bangladesh and Malaysia, against the continued denial of workers rights and human rights.

More than 100 participants in the demonstration in Melbourne, Australia heard speeches by representatives of the Wurundjeri Aboriginal nation and the Yorta Yorta. Aboriginal nation, unions struggle including the Textile Clothing Footwear Union in Australia and the Australian Meat Industries Employees Union and Indonesian activist, a representative of the Burmese community, a Sri Lantern community representative speaking for refugees, introduced by a representative of Amnesty International and a student activist from East Timor.

The demonstration marched to NIKE Store and presented examples of the abuse of workers rights and human rights as part of the protest.

Many thanks to all the organizations that sent their messages of support to the demonstration in Melbourne Australia.

APWSL/WWO/APTUF Pakistan Celebrated International Human Rights day with great enthusiasm. Seminar was held in Lahore, in which thousands of workers were participated. Workers from different private industries as well as from public institutions were participated. Large numbers of women workers were participated. Seminar started from song sung by male & female workers, song was related from working class struggle. In seminar trade unionist highlight the human rights violation in Pakistan. In Seminar Rubina Jamil told that violation of human rights are increasing day by day. Government is responsible to give all facilities which given by universal declaration of human rights, but unfortunately our government never consider that "worker’s rights are human rights". Pakistani government ratified 32 ILO Conventions but unfortunately those Conventions are not implemented. Gulzar Chaudhry, APWSL National Facilitator told that law & order situation in Pakistan is worst than before. We Citizens of Pakistan are not save in our own country. The army government is attacking on working class movement. In Railway, railway workshop workers were strike against the attack of railway bosses on them. Every day they are making an agitation for the accepting of their demands. We the working class of Pakistan are human being, we believe on struggle. We believe that through struggle we will get our rights.

Coordinator

14 N, Industrial Area, Gulberg, Lahore

Pakistan

Tel: 92-42-5759838 / 92-42-5715252 Fax: 92-42-5715252