Trade unions call for Total boycott

The Associated Press
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

BRUSSELS, Belgium: Trade unionists called Tuesday for workers across the world to boycott companies that do business with Myanmar's repressive military regime, singling out French oil company Total SA.

Guy Ryder, secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation, said he wanted to keep up the pressure on corporations that help prop up the Myanmar regime.

He drew a parallel with trade union boycotts of South African goods to force changes to the apartheid system of racial segregation.

"Our intent and our ambition is indeed to mobilize trade unions nationally and public opinion to bring that type of pressure to bear," he told reporters. "The parallels with what we did in the apartheid era are rather persuasive." Full story