Solidarity is under attack.
There’s no other way to put it. We are living through tough times on a global scale, and aid, humanitarian efforts, and global solidarity are being deliberately targeted.
Five years ago, the pandemic rocked economies worldwide, and its fallout continues to hit working people hard. In the face of growing economic pressure, many have been forced into informal work without access to social protection.
Across the world, authoritarianism, war, and corporate greed are fuelling crises that hurt working people the most—especially women and children. Many governments, including the U.S., have slashed international aid, abandoning those who need it most.
But why is solidarity under attack?
As unionists, we know that unity is powerful. It’s our fundamental strategy for addressing the imbalance of power in our workplaces.
We apply this strategy at the industrial level, too. We know that if workers in other companies don’t uphold the same standards, the whole industry is pushed into a race to the bottom—cutting costs, squeezing workers, and slashing decent working conditions. We know that in the face of corporate greed, we must stand together and support one another. Solidarity isn’t just one of our union values—it’s essential to our strength and our success.
In a recent interview, Elon Musk—one of the richest people in the world—said:
“The fundamental weakness of Western civilisation is empathy… They’re exploiting a bug in Western civilisation, which is the empathy response.”
There is a growing belief among the powerful that empathy, solidarity, and international cooperation are weaknesses. And the consequences are clear. Trump’s near-total cut to international aid has been echoed by other leaders. In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to raise defence spending by reducing the aid budget from 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) to 0.3% by 2027.
In Myanmar, a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake has killed 3,500 people, nearly 5,000 have been injured, and over 200 remain missing nationwide. Yet the military junta is blocking aid in some regions and continuing air strikes, showing total disregard for human life. And instead of condemnation, the global community’s response included inviting junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to walk the red carpet at the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok.
Elsewhere, aid is not just underfunded or obstructed — it’s being deliberately targeted. In Gaza, renewed attacks on civilians, journalists, and aid workers — including the recent killing of 15 health and humanitarian personnel, bringing the total to at least 408 since October 2023 — are compounding the crisis. The ongoing blockade on humanitarian aid, in place since 2 March, has left survivors starving and with almost no access to medical care.
And in our own region, Trump’s extreme tariffs have punished Southeast Asian economies and workers. Cambodia and Vietnam have been hit with tariffs as high as 49% and 46%, with others like Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia not far behind. In Cambodia’s garment industry alone, where 750,000 workers are employed, thousands of jobs are now under threat. These are attacks on global cooperation that hurt workers most.
But they can’t shut down global solidarity.
They can’t privatise it, bomb it, or put tariffs on it. Global solidarity belongs to us—the workers, the neighbours, the communities that show up for each other when it matters most.
The Australian union movement has a proud legacy of internationalism. That’s why we built Union Aid Abroad–APHEDA—our movement’s own organisation for global justice.
We’ve stood strong with human rights defenders working to restore democracy in Myanmar through the Myanmar Campaign Network, and we continue to support humanitarian organisations along the Thai-Myanmar border.
We’ve been heartened by the more than $1.25 million raised for our partner organisations, Palestinian Women’s Humanitarian Organisation and the MA’AN Development Center, which is working on the ground in Gaza amid immense personal loss and hardship.
Through APHEDA, we’re also building strong unions, feminist movements, and climate justice networks that connect workers across our region in collective struggle and hope.
Now’s the time to unite and stand up.
When workers’ and human rights are under attack—anywhere—we respond by uniting, organising, and standing together. Because solidarity has no borders.
There is strength in numbers. That’s why we’re asking all unionists and workers to support Union Aid Abroad–APHEDA with a monthly donation of $20 or more.
Join us at www.apheda.org.au/join and spread the word with your colleagues and friends.