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On 10 December, Human Rights Day, the global trade union movement is coming together to stand with trade unionists and all those who defend human rights in the Philippines. Join us!

For far too long, voices critical of the Philippine government have been labelled terrorists and enemies of the state to discredit them and make them vulnerable to attacks. This is a propaganda technique called red tagging. Many teachers, workers, trade unionists, journalists and human rights defenders have been targeted in this way.

The climate for teachers and their union is particularly dangerous. Just a few weeks ago, a teacher was shot 6 times in her classroom, in front of her students. This is just the latest in a long list of horrible attacks.

Together we can make them stop.

What are we doing and how you can help

We will work with our global union colleagues in BWI, IFJ, IndustriALL, ITF, ITUC, IUF, and PSI to raise awareness of the situation and send the Philippine government a clear message: Hands off teachers, workers, trade unions, journalists and all human rights defenders.

Here is a list of actions you can take to amplify our message and help protect our colleagues:

• Organise an action in front of the Philippine embassy in your country on 10 December. Coordinate with other unions for a bigger impact;
• Send a protest letter to the Philippine government. Here you can find a model letter that can be adapted;
• Sign the LabourStart petition to support teachers in the Philippines– it’s available in 16 languages;
• Print out the campaign poster and take pictures with it to show your solidarity. Post the pictures on social media on 10 December using #StopTheAttacks #HandsOff #StopRedTagging

Click here to see what other unions are doing to support our colleagues on 10 December.

Find out more – tune into the webinar!

Together with our colleagues in BWI and PSI, we are organising a webinar on 9 December to help you get a better understanding of the situation in the Philippines.

The speakers are:

• Daisy Arago, Executive Director of the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights
• Raymond Basilio, General Secretary of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers and EI Board member
• Julius Cainglet, Vice President of the Federation of Free Workers

Tune in on 9 December at 15:00 (MNL) / 18.00 (MEL) / 08:00 (CET) using this link.

Click here for more information.

Thank you for your solidarity!