A few days ago, 9000 workers at the Naga Hammadi aluminum factory in Upper Egypt staged a protest, demanding that the Egyptian government raise the minimum wage to LE1200, and calling for a withdrawal of confidence from their official trade union committee.

South Africa's transport system was expected to be brought to a standstill from 10 May as 50 000 Transnet workers planned to strike over a wage dispute. "This will be the biggest strike in the history of South Africa," said Chris de Vos, general secretary of the United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu) at a press conference in Johannesburg on Friday.

Abahlali baseMjondolo condemns the continuation attack of our settlements by the City of Cape Town, Law Enforcement, Anti Land Invasion and it’s private agency. On April 22, a house of a member of Abahlali baseMjondolo at UT section at Site B was demolished by the City’s Law Enforcement without any reason.

Campaigner - Special Focus On Sudan
£31,104 Per Annum + Benefits - London Wc1
Closing date: 23rd May 2010

Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of volunteers and professionals standing up for human rights. Independent of any government, ideology, economic interest or religion, we have more than two million supporters in over 150 countries. Our purpose is to research, campaign and take action to effect change and protect individuals wherever rights, justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied. This position is within The International Secretariat – Amnesty International’s global centre for research, campaigning, legal, lobbying and membership work.

You will be required to conduct and co-ordinate campaigning activities, assessing where we will have an impact and how we can make a difference. You will have proven campaigning skills and knowledge of East Africa and in particular Sudan.

A proven campaigner who’s committed to human rights, you will combine a creative, yet pragmatic approach with excellent communication skills, particularly written and presentational. A team-oriented person with first-hand experience of the region with awareness and understanding of its cultures, you will also have impartial political judgement, excellent communication skills, strong strategic thought and an open and result-oriented approach to your work.
We offer an attractive worldwide relocation package plus other benefits.

For further information about this and our other current vacancies, and to apply online, please visit and quote reference AFR/EAFT/C01. CVs will not be accepted.

The closing date for applications is 23rd May 2010.

LIBERATE FROM INJUSTICE
JOIN THE FIGHT
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The event is called “Un-Freedom Day”. We call it “Un-freedom Day” because we feel like we are still oppressed by poverty, underdevelopment and injustices directed to us as marginalized communities living in the rural and farming areas. We say that apartheid used racism to exclude the majority of the South Africans, especially indigenous South Africans from accessing economic resources and from participating in the politics of the country. Today we witness class, gender, race and geographical location to exclude the majority of South Africans from participating fully in our democracy. Those of us who live in the rural areas do not have access to our own ancestors’ land, proper education, water and health facilities.

Abahlali baseMjondolo condemns the continuation attack of our settlements by the City of Cape Town, Law Enforcement, Anti Land Invasion and it’s private agency. On April 22, a house of a member of Abahlali baseMjondolo at UT section at Site B was demolished by the City’s Law Enforcement without any reason.

On 22 April 2010, human rights defender Mr Keneth Kirimi was arrested and detained without charge for over two days, and was reportedly subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in detention. Much of his interrogation reportedly concerned the work of fellow human rights defender Mr Stephen Musau. Keneth Kirimi works with Release Political Prisoners (RPP) and is an active member of Bunge la Mwananchi, a grassroots movement which aims to fight social injustice and promote accountable leadership at all levels in Kenya. Stephen Musau is the executive coordinator of RPP.

The rise of an organized poor people's movement in South Africa's most populous province, KwaZulu-Natal, is being met with increasing hostility by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) government, which claims to be the legitimate representative of the poorest of the poor. South Africa has been rocked by increasingly frequent service delivery protests - a euphemism for communities taking to the streets to voice their frustration with the alleged slow pace of social service provision - but it is the formation of a militant non-aligned social movement, Abahlali Basemjondolo - shack-dwellers movement, in Zulu - that is causing greatest concern.

"In the case of Zimbabwe today, both supporters and opponents of sanctions exaggerate their importance. The international community, both global and regional, has other tools as well. Key issues are not only when to lift or relax sanctions but also how much support Western countries will provide for economic recovery. Even more decisive will be whether Zimbabwe's African neighbors can strengthen their diplomacy by backing it with effective pressures, even if they hesitate to use the word sanctions." - Briggs Bomba and William Minter.

On April 19, an Assembly of the Social Movements was one of the first activities on the agenda at the People's World Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The Assembly highlighted the popular focus of the conference, which was organized by the Bolivian government after the failure of governments and industries to negotiate a plan to stop climate change in Copenhagen last December.The conference is being held from April 19 thru 22 and is meant to amplify the voices of those who were not heard in Copenhagen.

On Sunday 18 April an ANC MP in the Provincial Parliament by the name of Dora Dlamini intimidated Nozuko Hulushe, a Kennedy Road resident and Abahlali baseMjondolo member, and demanded that she withdraw her assault charge against a local ANC leader before the case goes to trial.

Tanzania's business community has rejected the government's suggestion to raise minimum wages in the private sector by 100 percent, saying it is unpayable. Employment, Labour and Youth Development Minister Juma Kapuya early this week an nounced that the government and stakeholders in the labour sector had agreed to the hike, but the business community's reaction has not been in favour of the move because it would hurt private enterp rises.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) would not allow for the privatisation of State-owned power utility Eskom, deputy general secretary Oupa Komane has said. He was speaking at the NUM's energy mix workshop in Johannesburg. However, deputy Public Enterprises Minister Enoch Godongwana, speaking on behalf of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), said that government's plans did not involve the privatisation of the power company.

The Katiba Sasa! Campaign is a civil society initiative aimed at ensuring that Kenya gets a new constitution. The National Civil Society Congress (NCSC) declares 2010 the Year of Transformation. The campaign was launched to ensure that Kenyans enact a new constitution to begin the process of transformation.

Almost four weeks have already passed since the six of the seven Saharawi human right activists, held at the Moroccan prison of Sale, began their open hunger strike. Their were arrested and detained, on 8 October 2010, on their return from a family visit to the Saharawi refugees camps in south West of Algeria. The Moroccan government intends to bring them before a military court on account of that trip.

In his Independence Day address, President Robert Mugabe spoke of the need for Zimbabweans to “foster an environment of tolerance and treating each other with dignity and respect irrespective of age, gender, race, ethnicity, tribe, political or religious affiliation." At the same time, four WOZA activists, Jenni Williams, Magodonga Mahlangu, Clara Manjengwa and Celina Madukani were spending their fourth day in the cold, dark, filthy cells of Harare Central Police Station.

The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (LGEP) wrote to the President on 19 January 2010 regarding the appointment of John Qwelane to the post of High Commissioner to Uganda. Despite assurances that the matter would be addressed, there has been no reply, prompting this follow-up letter

This is a communiqué issued by members of civil society Participating in ‘Civil Society Experts Consultation on Maternal, Child and Infant Health and Sexual and Reproductive Health in Africa’ Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April 17-18, 2010, organised by Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR), IPPF-Africa Region, Ipas Africa Alliance, Save the Children International, Abantu for Development, and the UN Millennium Campaign in collaboration with the AU Commission to assess progress in reducing maternal, child and infant mortality and implementation of the Continental Framework on Sexual and Reproductive Health (Maputo Plan of Action 2007-10):

On the eve of UN Mother Earth Day, over sixty national and international organizations threw their weight behind a common statement launching a global campaign to prevent real world deployment of geoengineering experiments. Geoengineering refers to large-scale intentional tinkering with the climate and earth systems to counteract global warming. The ‘Hands Off Mother Earth’ campaign (or H.O.M.E. campaign) regards such geoengineering schemes as dangerous and unjust. It is urging individuals and organizations to speak out in opposing them.

South Africans are facing tough times. It is a time when there is no humanity, a time when no one in government is interested to listen to your story if you are a poor person. There are good thinkers in this country, but if their ideologies are coming from the bottom up, from poor communities, no one is prepared to listen carefully.