News stories by Ivar Andersen

SOUTH AFRICA, Sep 09 (IPS) - Systembolaget, the Swedish government-owned alcohol monopoly, promises fair conditions – but it also uses its purchasing power to put a downward pressure on prices. At the major South African wine producer Leeuwenkuil, workers suffer as the company tries to cut costs. So far, none of the South African suppliers have been stopped due to violations against Systembolaget's code of conduct.

JOHANNESBURG, May 10 (IPS) - The fast-growing motion picture industry of South Africa is aiming for the stars. But the boom has a flipside. The South African Guild of Actors (SAGA) is fighting against precarious working conditions, being shut out of social security systems, and unfair copyright laws. This, and the legacy of apartheid.

STOCKHOLM, Apr 30 (IPS) - Maduro or Guaidó? Neither, according to José Bodas. He is the former General Secretary of the FUTPV, Venezuela's main oil workers trade union, and according to him, neither the president nor the challenger from the opposition has the people's best interests in mind.

STOCKHOLM, Apr 18 (IPS) - The mining industry is one of the world's most dangerous industries. Globally, the death toll is at least 14,000 workers per year. But how many lives are actually lost is something that neither trade unions, national governments or the United Nations know.

STOCKHOLM, Mar 21 (IPS) - More than 60 countries have recognized Juan Guaidó as legitimate interim president. But among international trade unions, support for Venezuelan self-determination is resolute.

STOCKHOLM, Nov 28 (IPS) - A fight for the position of Secretary-General divides the ITUC ahead of the World Congress in December. Where some see a choice between diplomacy and activism, others say it's a question of internal democracy.

Oct 23 (IPS) - Millions of migrant workers depend on recruitment agencies to find employment abroad. But many offer dodgy jobs at a high cost. A new site, developed by the International Trade Union Confederation, allows migrant workers to tell each other which agencies to avoid."The idea is to integrate technology into the fight for workers' rights," says Ira Rachmawati.  As project manager with ITUC's division for human and workers' rights, she has led the development of the digital tool Recruitment Advisor, which the global trade union confederation hopes will improve conditions for the world's 150 million migrant workers.

Sep 05 (IPS) - The Philippines has been ranked one of the world's ten worst countries for workers' rights. Arbetet Global reports from a country which labour union activists brand as fascist.

"Isn't it cool? I get some hostile looks when I walk around in it, but other people come up asking where they can buy one,"  Josua Matas says of his T-shirt, which reads "Resist dictatorship".  He is the Secretary General of the labour union umbrella organisation Sentro and does not hold back when he speaks about the Philippines' hard-line president, Rodrigo Duterte.

STOCKHOLM, May 09 (IPS) - Together with the president of Mauritius, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven was to draw up a plan for the future focus of the UN-body ILO. But the work has hit an unexpected speed bump. Löfvens copartner has been forced out of office after a credit card scandal, where she shopped shoes and jewels in London for USD 26,000.There is a compact silence surrounding how the corruption scandal affects ILO's work on developing a plan to change the UN body.

DHAKA, Apr 24 (IPS) - Asma saw the roof collapse over her colleagues. Johora was dragged out of the rubble by her hair. Shirin was only 13 years old when her eyes and airways were filled with concrete dust. Five years have passed since the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1 134 people.BANGLADESH. Garment factories lie side by side along the freeway leading into the capital, Dhaka. But between the concrete blocks, a square, uninhabited piece of land is overgrown with greenery. This is where Rana Plaza used to be. Shirin Akhter, 18, turns her eyes away.