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Four global union organisations representing over 170 million workers have called a worldwide action day on June 26 to demand justice for Iranian workers. Demonstrations will take place outside Iranian embassies and consulates to protest the ongoing denial of rights and arrests of trade unionists within the country.

Sajad Khaksari, the 25-year-old son of one of Iran’s leading teacher trade unionists, was arrested on 26 April in Tehran and remains in detention in Ward 10 of the Evin prison.

Teachers and unionists from Cote d’Ivoire gathered in the capital, Yamoussoukro, for a 3-day national refresher workshop in late March. The event updated the training of master trainers on EFA and AIDS related issues.

Shortly after the May Day crackdown on Iranian workers’ rallies, teachers organised gatherings to celebrate National Teachers’ Day on 4 May. The teacher association TTA invited members to gather in front of the Education Ministry in Tehran and in front of the Education Department offices in the provinces.

EI members from 10 countries in the region travelled to Buenos Aires to participate in the 3rd Latin American Region Workshop for the EI EFAIDS programme, which began on 26 April.

UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and the UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Education are organising an E-Forum on “Teachers and HIV & AIDS: Reviewing achievements, identifying challenges” from 18 to 29 May 2009.

Yevoo Pope Yao, local GNAT (Ghana National Association of Teachers) secretary of Dzodze, Ketu district, Volta region and regional EFAIDS trainer speaks about education and the EI EFAIDS Programme in Ghana.

A coalition of four international trade union organisations told the Iranian government earlier this week to respect their citizens' rights and permit free assembly on May Day – a day when the Iranian authorities traditionally meet peaceful demonstrations with violence and arrests.

Better employment conditions and quality education are two sides of the same coin, said Ulrich Thöne in his address to the national congress of the German education union, Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW), held in Nuremberg from 25-28 Apr.

The joint Global Unions statement by Education International, the Public Services International (PSI) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) was presented today to the 2009 United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) currently held from 20-24 April in Geneva, Switzerland.

A Burmese teacher activist and four other trade unionists were arrested earlier this month after taking part in the historic first National Congress of the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB).

EI, together with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Public Services International (PSI), adopted a statement supporting the work of the 2009 United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) currently held from 20-24 April in Geneva, Switzerland.

The G20 Summit in London last week was not a catastrophe. That, in itself, was an achievement of sorts. That the leaders of the G8 countries joined with the emerging economies, together representing 90% of the global economy and the world’s population, to produce a detailed communiqué recognizing the gravity...

No government should interfere in the internal democratic affairs of any teacher union, says EI in a letter addressed to the minister of civil society Dr Al-Zubaidi on 30 March.

The G20 Summit in London produced a better than expected result. Leaders recognized that the gravity of the financial crisis demanded a common commitment to re-start the world economy. They pledged “to do whatever is necessary to... restore confidence, growth and jobs.”

Ramiro Cuadros Roballo and Walter Escobar Marín, both members of SUTEV, a teacher union affiliated to FECODE, and two other trade-unionists were assassinated last month, as the violence against trade union activists continues to mount.

The Namibian National Teacher Union (NANTU) teamed up with the Namibian Ministry of Education to host Edu-Sector Health Day in the Caprivi region.

As the academic year begins across much of Latin America, teacher unions continue their campaigns to overcome challenges to quality education. In Argentina, Colombia and Brazil, unions tackle a range of issues from educational funding to teacher rights.