Asia Pacific Currents

While the Rohingya people in Western Burma have suffered discrimination in the past, the current disaster is of unprecedented proportions.We talk to Mahi Ramakrishnan, a blogger and documentary film maker from Malaysia, who has made three documentaries about the Rohingya people about the current campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar Government.Mahi also talks about some of the possible ways forward to resolve this humanitarian and political crisis.Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia

With tensions rising in the Asia Pacific region, there are many organisations and groups that have campaigned for a long time against the hegemony of the USA military in the region.New Zealand has been one of the leading countries that have tried to create a less militarised region.We play a recording of the speech of Murray Horton, spokesperson for the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (New Zealand), at the recent Australian conference of The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) about the ongoing campaign in Aotearoa against the military industrial complexes and the threat of wars.Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia

The escalating war of words between the USA President Trump and the North Korean Chairman Kim, is dangerously increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.Given the destruction that the USA military caused in North Korea during the war in the early 1950’s, and its use of nuclear weapons on Japan in 1945, there is widespread fear among working class communities that another devastating war could break out.We talk to Wolsan Liem, Director of International and Korean Peninsula Affairs of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (KPTU), about the increasingly tense situation and how working class organisations are reacting to this and working against the outbreak of a new conflictAsia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia

Workers from the Pacific Islands have been used, and exploited, by the Australian state and companies, since the late 1800's.This relationship has not changed in the 21st century with Pacific workers being exploited via new work programs that seek to take advantage of the widespread poverty present in many Pacific Islands.We talk to Nic Maclellan, a human rights activist and independent journalist, on some of the ways that Pacific workers are trying to protect themselves while working in Australia, as well as the continuing threat of climate change to many Pacific island communities.Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia

Philippines Airlines (PAL) tried to outsource its workforce in 2011 by terminating 2,600 workers. The workers, organised by the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) fought back and organised an indefinite picket line.We talk to Alnem Pretencio, spokeperson from PALEA, about how they had thought they had won their incredibly struggle in 2013, but PAL has used every trick at its disposal to delay the reinstatement of the workers in an attempt to break their commitment and the union.This struggle is only one of many in the airlines industry woldwide as companies continue to cut workers conditions via contracting out, casualisation and flexibility arrangements. Workers are now organising internationally via a global picketline arrangement to co-ordinate demands and actions at a global level.Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia

Since the overthrow of the dictator Soeharto in the late 1990's, Indonesia has been a formal democracy with a number of elections being successfully held.Nevertheless for working class communities, both in the rural and urban areas, gaining justice and having their human rights respected is not just about the law.We talk to Herlambang Wiratraman, Director at the Centre of Human Rights Law Studies (HRLS), Faculty of Law, Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia, at the systematic and structural barriers that exist in Indonesia that favour powerful interests and prevent human rights abuses, some dating back 40 years, from being addressed.Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia

This week sixteen human right activists were sentenced to up to 18 months in jail for taking part in protests during the 'yellow umbrella' protest movement in 2014.Thirteen activists were jailed for protesting in the Legislative Council against a proposed multi millior dollar development in the New Territories, while in a separate case, three leaders of the umbrella movement were jailed for participating in an unlawful assembly.We talk to Shek Pui Yin, a student leader and activist in the Umbrella protest movement, what the implications of these latest court sentence are to the human rights and democracy movements in Hong Kong, and how the movement will react to this latest wave of repression.Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia

President Rodrigo Duterte's 'War on Drugs' is now almost a year old. His death squads have murdered almost 10,000 people.We interview Ellecer 'Budit' Carlos, spokeperson for In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND), on the normalisation of extra judicial killings, the impunity of death squads, the vilification of human rights defenders, and the effects this has had on urban, working class communities in the Philippines.Budit also comments on the reasons why Duterte still seems to be so popular despite these killings and his general anti workers policies, including the targeting of trade unionists.Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia

There are hundreds of thousands of rural health workers in India, called Anganwadi, that monitor and support the health and welfare of mothers and their children.While they are implementing government programs, they are not employed directly by the government, but are treated as volunteers and given an honorarium instead of wages.Tens of thousands of Anganwadi women have being on strike for over 45 days, demonstrating in New Delhi, demanding that they be employed as regular workers and receive the benefits that they are entitled to. Interview is conducted with an Anganwadi labour activist, who preferred to remain anonymous, and the interpreting is done by Vrishali Shruti.Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia.

The garment sector in Bangladesh competes in the world via a brutal 'Race to the Bottom' where wages and OHS are depressed as much as possible.In conjunction with the widespread repression of labour activists and trade unionists, many workers are killed at work in cases of industrial homicides.Saydia Gulrukh, labour rights activists and researcher from Bangladesh, talks about the latest fatal boiler explosion in a garment factory and discusses some of the improvements that have happened since the Rana Plaza disaster of 2013Asia Pacific Currents provides updates of labour struggles and campaigns from the Asia Pacific region. It is produced by Australia Asia Worker Links, in the studio of 3CR Radio in Melbourne, Australia