AUSTRALIA

February 18
AUSTRALIA, Canberra: 100 unionists rallied on the lawn in front of Parliament House in Canberra in support of trade union rights in Mexico. The delegation consisted of Ged Kearney, President, ACTU, Mick Doleman, Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), Glenn Thompson, Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) and Andrew Vickers (CFMEU) who represented their individual unions as well as the Global Union Federations they are affiliated to: International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation), IMF (International Metalworkers' Federation and ICEM (International Federation of Chemical Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions). Also, a letter on behalf of the Australian trade union movement was delivered to the Mexican Embassy.  For more information see: http://www.mua.org.au/news/rally-to-support-mexican-unions/  . For photos of the rally see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/muaaustralia/sets/72157626079700564/

February 14/15 

IMF affiliates kicked off six days of actions in support of independent unions in Mexico at the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) National Conference on February 15 (For more on AWU actions see: http://www.awu.net.au/275194_5.html ). On February 14, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), sent a protest letter to Mexican President Calderón.

ITF affiliate, The Maritime Union Of Australia and ICEM affiliate, the CFMEU, sent letters to the Mexican Embassy in Canberra. See MUA letter; CFMEU letter.Feb 15, 2011 – Kristyne Peter