Dear FriendsOn 8th March 2006, CWWD is going to organize a demonstration with the slogan 'Gender Equality and Trade Union Right for Decent Work, Peace and Democracy' in Kathmandu to pay tribute to women of world as well as to state our protest, against oppression against women. CWWD has initiated celebrations of International Working Women's Day by calling other Trade Unions and Women Organization to get together o­n the demonstration and produced pamphlets.

I would like to inform you about the violation of Cambodia Labor law and the freedom of trade union rights in the Flying dragon III factory. Following are the facts:

From 1997 to 2004 around 2000 workers have been working for the Flying dragon III factory, with time unlimited contracts. In September 2005, three trade union leaders, the president, the vice president and the secretary general were dismissed by the employer of Flying dragon III factory. After dismissing leaders of the local union, a membership organization of the central organization C.CAWDU ( Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union), the employer cheated the workers by changing the labour contract from unlimited duration contract to fixed duration contract, mostly two or three-month contracts. With this contract, around 2000 of workers in the factory lost a lot of benefits, for example annual leave and attendance bonus (5 USD per month).

3 March 2006

Mr Lee Hsien Loong
Singapore Prime Minister
Prime Minister�s Office
Orchard Road, Istana
(Singapore) 238823
Republic of Singapore

Dear Mr Lee Hsien Loong,

As a network of the national, regional and international civil society organisations, we the undersigned express our grave concerns about the impending restrictions and threats reportedly being made that will hamper meaningful civil society participation at the upcoming WB-IMF meeting in Singapore, 19-20 September 2006. These threats and restrictions will jeopardize civil society engagement with various inter-governmental bodies o­n strategic issues such as trade, aid, debt, sustainable development, human rights, peace and human security.

We understand that your government, as well as WB-IMF, are making some arrangements for actions by foreign NGOs, during the above meetings. In our experience such regulated processes tend to be selective, exclusive and provide very limited opportunities for the expression of civil society voices, particularly of marginalised groups who are directly affected by the deliberations and decisions of these meetings. Thus, we would like to highlight the importance of spontaneous and unrestricted civil society actions before, during and after the WB-IMF meeting.

Dear Friends!

Around the world, International Women's Day marks a celebration of women�s unity, interests, resistance and achievements because it commemorates a strike, an organized action by women protesting and protecting their rights. It is time to celebrate the fun of women getting together. It is an occasion when a political, social and economic statement is being made about the collective interests of women.