Work in mines, sexual exploitation, domestic labour, gang recruitment... Colombia's disadvantaged children run a high risk of being dragged into the worst forms of child labour. The national trade union centre, CGT, is working to mitigate this risk through education and awareness raising.

In India and Nepal, several unions have seen a spectacular increase in membership levels following the creation of schools for children working in brick kilns. They have managed to negotiate better wages as a result.

Thousands of children have been able to escape from domestic work, thanks to an action programme launched by a Tanzanian trade union. The programme may gain fresh impetus if an international standard on domestic work is adopted. Samuel Grumiau, a journalist specializing in trade union matters, sends us this account from the United Republic of Tanzania.

Now, domestic work is just a bad memory for Sara, a Moroccan girl who was able to return to school thanks to action by a teachers’ trade union.

Anarchy and non-respect for the law constitute a barrier to healthy industrial relations in Nepal. Democratic trade unions are advocating peace, in spite of the numerous attacks on their members by Maoist trade unionists over recent years.

The repression of trade union rights plunges Burmese workers deeper into poverty. Oblivious to their rights, they find themselves at the mercy of employers that are only too happy to exploit a totally subservient workforce. Members of the FTUB are developing a clandestine network inside the country.

Sri Lanka has for decades been torn apart by the conflict between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers. The fighting has intensified over recent months. Members of a Tamil teaching union give personal accounts of life and work in the most dangerous areas of the country.

From the torture of activists to the imprisonment of minors to make their parents’ crack, the military junta resorts to the most abject practices to repress trade unionism.

Despite employers’ customary hostility, several trade unions have altered their working methods in order to organise workers inside export processing zones. However, Sri Lanka must improve its observance of freedom of association if it wants to retain the trade privileges granted by the European Union and the United States.

Of the three main trade unions active in Sri Lanka’s export processing zones (EPZs), the FTZ&GSEU has received the most disturbing threats in recent months. Many have been directed at its secretary-general, Anton Marcus, a tireless activist who has become a bogeyman for countless employers. The FTZ&GSEU’s vice-president at a clothing factory has also been severely beaten.

The town of Poti on the Black Sea is notable for the extreme anti-union attitude of its port’s management. In just over a year, the number of workers affiliated to the union has shrunk from 1,200 (out of a workforce of 1,300) to just 20. The new labour code has left its mark.

Cambodia has managed to withstand the shock of textile quota removal, partly thanks to two ILO projects designed to improve working conditions and reduce the scale of labour disputes.

Despite the much-heralded media show trial of a few former Khmer Rouge leaders in 2008, Cambodia’s legal authorities are incompetent and collude with the government. Clear examples were the trial following the assassination of trade unionist Chea Vichea, which resulted in 20-year prison sentences for two innocent people, and other cases linked to murders and violent attacks on trade unionists.

Hundreds of children work in the production of shoes and clothing exported from Albania. The prices imposed by international buyers go some way towards explaining this exploitation.

Though rickshaws are one of the most popular forms of transport in Bangladesh their drivers are looked down on in society. They are trying to improve their rights by forming a union.

Scarcely 3% of Bangladeshi workers are members of unions. The serious repression of union activities and political involvement of too many trade unions mean that almost all Bangladeshi workers are left with no protection.

Yet more workers paid the price of employer negligence on Saturday November 25: 47 employees, including at least eight children, died in a fire at their textile factory. The doors were locked.

Pearl cultivation, a sector unfamiliar to the international trade union movement, represents the livelihood of numerous atolls in the Pacific Ocean. Here is a report from these heavenly islands where often people work very hard and safety standards are neglected.