TANZANIA: 4 – 5 December 2009 the IMF head and Africa regional office together with the leadership of Tanzania Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers TUICO held an evaluation workshop in Dar es Salaam to evaluate the outcomes of the project started in 2004. The project’ goal was  to assist the union in producing and disseminating their own educational materials to all their local branches. The meeting examined the developments, activities and outcomes of the complete project period from 2007 to 2009. Project activities in Tanzania were supported by IF Metall since 2003. The results of this evaluation indicate that the following have been achieved:

• The union membership has increased by almost 30%; from 35,000 members in 2003, when the IMF first started cooperation with TUICO, to 52,000 in 2008, this growth happens despite the union having also lost substantial membership through retrenchments in 2008 and despite the restructuring of the economy by the government;
• The union has produced 5 educational materials which have been used to train and educate 9,668 branch leaders and staff, among those, 3,622 are women workers. These materials have now become a reference for other unions and the National Centre;
• The union now allocates 20% of their total annual income for educational activities;
• Women participation in the union has increased and 36% of the total leadership are women;
• In 2008 the union recruited 10,635 members of which 4,292 are women,  showing the new awareness of women workers towards the union;
• More disputes are resolved by workers at the workplace and are dealt with directly by the union shopstewards trained by the project; in particular the number of disputes involving women’s rights in the workplace has increased dramatically;
• Staff members are becoming more competent in their  daily work including improving on the use of new technologies like computers;
• The unions financial situation is stable compared to many unions who have lost their membership.

These are few of the many positive and concrete results mentioned, however the project has had a far-reaching impact on the national labour movement and in the community. In 2007 the union led three successful strikes and pickets to stop the government from introducing bad labour laws. The union recently engaging the government on labour brokers and casualisation of workers, sub contracted workers are fully part of TUICO as union members. The union is also developing capacity to organize the informal sectors and have already won many of their struggles. Since TUICO has been taking up these struggles, the other unions in Tanzania have enhanced their role in influencing the political debates.

Many lessons can be learned from this project, lessons of solidarity between unions and lessons of genuine exchange between unions. The project has strengthened TUICO in the sub-region and in particular the relationship between TUICO and NUMSA. NUMSA played a major role in providing human resources to the project from the very beginning, moving their press and publications team several times to Dar es Salaam to train TUICO members.

The project has built the capacity of the union to play a major role in the region, it is now TUICO’s turn to provide human and educational resources to other unions for example in Kenya and Zambia.

As the union organizes workers in different sectors IMF will discuss with other GUFs the possibilities for joint work for the near future in particular a mapping of the industries and unorganized workplaces and joining efforts to modernise and strengthen communication between branches, regions and TUICO head office.

GENEVA: The Executive Committee of the International Metalworkers’ Federation met in Geneva on 15 and 16 December to discuss the situation in the industry in the middle of the crisis, to evaluate the developments in the IMF since the election of the new leadership at the Congress in May 2009, and to adopt a programme of activities and budget for 2010.

Despite some signs of recovery in a number of countries, the crisis is far from over in the metal industries. A great number of jobs have been lost, and the risk of increasing precarious work is evident. Metalworkers’ unions will need to adopt offensive strategies to safeguard the interests of workers.

After a vivid discussion on trade union networks in transnational companies, the Executive Committee decided to set up a working group to develop guidelines for the constitution, tasks and coordination of networks.  Networks were seen as a potentially useful tool for exchange of information, organising unorganised plants, and for developing joint initiatives and common platforms.

The newly created unit on trade union rights and campaigns will enhance IMF’s capacity to respond in a fast and efficient manner to violations of trade union rights. Climate change remains another priority area for the IMF, which insists on including social justice and employment aspects in the combat against global warming. Furthermore the IMF will make efforts to promote sustainable trade, development and employment, and to improve communication at regional and global levels.

Following the signature of a Declaration of Intent by IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF in March, the Executive Committee gave a mandate to IMF President Berthold Huber and General Secretary Jyrki Raina to continue discussions with the leadership of the other two Global Union Federations on the creation of a unified global union structure for manufacturing industries. An analysis of the policies, structures and finances of the three federations, as well as potential benefits and negative effects of a structural change, will be produced for a continued discussion at regional meetings and at the next Executive Committee meeting in June 2010.

The Committee approved the affiliation of the Free Metalworkers’ Union (SPM) from Belarus, CONSFETEMA from Chile, and SNTIMMEE-CDT from Morocco.

GERMANY:  In November the management board of Daimler AG announced their plans to shift production of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class model designed for the U.S. market to the plant in Alabama, USA. This announcement caused a lot of anxiety and worries among 37,000 employees of the plant in Sindelfingen, Germany. In fact according to the works council such decision put in danger 3,000 jobs and could potentially affect the decision on further production of the E-Class model on the German site.

The works council together with the IMF German affiliate IG Metall organized a number of protest actions including short-term strikes and a few demonstrations inside and outside of the company; each action gathered about 10,000 to 15,000 workers of the plant.

Following the pressure made by the works council together with the union on Wednesday, 9 December the management signed a shop agreement excluding involuntary dismissals until December 31, 2019 for the entire workforce of the Sindelfingen plant.

In addition the Sindelfingen plant is confirmed as the production site for luxury cars within the Daimler Group. 2,700 jobs will be created through additional products including Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. Also the management plans include 500 non-manual workers involved in temporary support activities for the Research & Development Department and Production Planning to be employed on permanent basis.

JAPAN:  Fifty high level government, employer and trade union representatives from Japan, Republic of Korea, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and Philippines  examined the employment relationship and rights at work in the automotive industry at the Asian Regional Workshop for the Automotive Industry, held on 7-9^th December in Tokyo (Japan).

According to a background paper prepared for the workshop "A substantial element of automotive industry employment since the recovery from the economic downturn of the early 1990´s has taken the form of temporary contract work, with labour recruited via employment agencies." Reports from the eight countries revealed interesting similarities but also differences, however in all of the countries the automotive industry is a cornerstone of industrial production and employment. Industrial relations however turn out to be different in all eight countries.

"The workshop was part of an action programme for the automotive industry. It was planned before the global economic crisis began but adapted in a way to better respond to the crisis." said Mr. George Dragnich, ILO Executive Director, and Social Dialogue, who organized the workshop.

Acting in his role as elected spokesperson for the trade unions Mr  Nishihara President of the IMF-JC and JAW stated that "For many workers in the industry the last year has been a difficult one that has been filled with uncertainty due to structural changes. Where ever possible we have been able to lessen the impact on workers  by negotiating measures to keep plants open often at a cost to our members terms and conditions of employment."

"We firmly believe that the involvement of workers in strategic decision making is a responsible and desirable approach for both employees and employers. Union involvement guarantees that employees are recognized as stakeholders with a long term interest in the success of the company, and also helps drive through changes with employee support which improve productivity and profitability", said Nishihara.

In a subsequent discussion about the need for social dialogue in the industry the employers group outlined the belief that it should not undermine the ability of managers to manage. The example given was the difficulties arising from sharing information on issues such as mergers, acquisitions and takeovers.

The trade unions however took a different view that if anything the current crisis had shown the need for all parties to work together to build a sustainable future. In addition the unions felt that they had a legitimate right to have a say in significant decisions which could affect the long term viability of a company. The role of the unions was not just to manage decline but should also be an equal partner in the decision making process. A formal report of the meeting will shortly be available from the ILO.

AUSTRALIA:  IMF-Australian affiliates AMWU and AWU together with three other unions recently concluded a constructive relationship agreement with the French company.  According to this agreement Thales recognizes that "The workforce, at all levels and without regard to job function, whether directly or indirectly engaged, have the right to join and be represented by the appropriate union, this includes the right to bargain collectively in good faith, and to have appropriate union representation and information in the workplace".  Thales further expects and encourages its other partners, i.e. contractors, to also respect workers’ rights to organize and collective bargaining.

Mike Nicolaides, the AMWU’s Technical, Supervisory and Administrative Division Secretary, welcomed this agreement by which the company formally recognizes the benefits of union membership and working with the trade unions.  "Not only has the company signed a document but it is giving practical expression to the document in the workplace, facilitating contact between employees and the unions in largely un-unionised sites" Mike said. 

This is an important breakthrough at a company which was hostile to union activity during the eleven years of conservative government in Australia.  Recent changes in labour legislation introducing more protection for employees and greater powers for unions to achieve collective agreements have been instrumental in reaching this agreement.

Thales employs a total of 3,800 people in Australia in over 35 sites.  Roughly 2,200 are covered by collective agreements in force.  The other 1,600 are predominantly non-manual employees, covered by individual common law contracts or on expired collective agreements, and the vast bulk of them are non-unionised.  The company’s stated intention is to move towards a single national agreement over time to cover all employees. 

The agreement provisions provide genuine opportunity for the unions to organize non-manual employees, to the benefit of those employees and the company’s.  The AMWU together with another union has started conducting focus groups and induction courses of the company’s  non-manual workers at certain bigger sites with some encouraging results. 

INDIA: On December 5 – 7, 2009 the International Metalworkers’ Federation, supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, organized a seminar for unions organizing workers in the different locations of Siemens in India. This was the first time ever that these unions belonging to different union federations and partly without a membership in national federations came together.

Werner Mönius, chairman of the Siemens SEC (European Works’ Council Siemens), Dieter Scheitor (IG Metall coordinator for Siemens) and Robert Steiert (IMF) informed about the company’s strategy & development and the necessity of networking within transnational companies.

The Indian unions reported and discussed the industrial relations within Siemens India and pointed out especially tendencies to "promote" manual workers to "officers" to convince them not to join unions. Some unions complainted about increased tensions with management and a development to an outsourcing of low-wage jobs and the use of contract and precarious labour.

The necessity of networking and closer cooperation was seen by the participating unions and resulted in the decision to create a structure for this cooperation nationally and to strengthen the connections to the union in the mother company.

3 colleagues were nominated for developping concrete proposals for such a formal structure which shall be discussed and hopefully accepted by the unions present on the seminar. Further unions which could not take part in this years’ workshop shall be integrated step by step into the upcoming network and structure.

BELGIUM: At a special hearing in the European Parliament on 9 December trade unions from around Europe together with several members of the European Parliament came together to speak up against the EU-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

The hearing was chaired by UK MEP Richard Howitt who said that ‘Colombia is the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist’. Other speakers included the leader of the Colombian CUT confederation, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) leader John Monks, Senator Jorge Robledo from Colombia and Yessika Hoyos, daughter of a murdered Colombian trade union leader who was herself recently awarded the AFL-CIO human rights prize for her work to bring those who murder trade unionists to justice.

Colombian trade unions have expressed their opposition to an EU-Colombia trade deal, as have the International Trade Union Confederation, the ETUC, the International Metalworkers’ Federation and many IMF affiliates.

Opponents to the trade deal argue such an agreement will be a political endorsement for the government and policies of President Uribe at a time when his government is failing to protect the most basic human rights of Colombian citizens. Accordingly, the US Congress and Canadian Parliament have recently blocked similar agreements because of these concerns, and the Norwegian Parliament has refused to ratify a proposed EFTA agreement with Colombia.

The hearing was organised by coalition group, Justice for Colombia, working with the ETUC, the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Irish Congress of Trades Union (ICTU), IMF-affiliate Unite the Union, and others.

TURKEY: Two Tuzla shipyard workers have died in the last two weeks reports Limter İş which is attributing the fatalities to a weak health and safety policy and the failure of both the Turkish government and employers to improve the situation.

On November 29, 2009, Mahmut Altınöz, who worked for the company Geles Gemi, a subcontractor of the big shipyard Çeliktrans, fell to his death . Altınöz was 30 years old and a father of one child. A week later, on Sunday, December 6, Ercan Sancar, a father of three children, died following a fall from the depot’s dampers. His death is the 14th fatality at Tuzla shipyards this year.

In addition to the weak health and safety policies inside the yards, employers deny employees fundamental workers’ rights. At the Torgem shipyard in Tuzla, workers and members of Limter İş demanded to be paid four months wages in arrears and protested against the rapacity of the employer caused their comrades’ deaths.

The trade union Limter İş demands that the Turkish Employers’ Federation GİSBİR and the Ministry of Labour take adequate measures among others including:

• Workers dismissed after their protests must be reinstated;
• Those responsible for the occupational murders must be liable.
• Health and safety regulations on hard and difficult work must be introduced at the shipyards.
• The working day should not exceed 7.5 hours.
• The main employer must pay full social security contributions for workers based on their real wages.
• Workers should have access to medical services including infirmary, doctor and ambulance.
• System of subcontracting must be removed
• Freedom of association must be respected
• A special independent commission must be created for investigations at the shipyards with consequent sanctions. Limter İs, TMMOB (Engineers Chamber), TTB (Doctors’ Chamber), Baro (Lawyers), Labour Ministry and GİSBİR (Employers’ Federation) must be represented in this commission.

GLOBAL: On the eve of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) taking place from December 7 to 18, 2009 in Copenhagen the Global Unions have released a new publication "Getting the world to work: Green Growth for jobs and social justice".

Following the first joint publication ‘Global Union Strategies for Recovery’ produced earlier this year which discusses union responses to the economic crisis, the second edition, ‘Green Growth for jobs and social justice’, highlights union approaches  to tackling climate change. The publication contains a mix of shared principles and sectoral perspectives from Global Unions that are demanding a focus on workers’ and communities’ interests when tackling the issue of Climate Change.

IMF together with the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) made their joint contribution to the publication providing metalworkers views in ‘Cutting emissions – transforming jobs’ edited by the IMF and ICEM General Secretaries Jyrki Raina and Manfred Warda.

The web and print quality publication can be downloaded from the Global Unions’ website http://www.global-unions.org/spip.php?article306 .

As part of the Climate Change discussion on December 16, together with the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) and the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers’ Federation (EMCEF), IMF will be holding an event at the World of Work (WoW) pavilion on cutting emissions and transforming industrial jobs.

Speakers include Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (former-Danish Prime Minister and President of European Socialists and representatives of the South African government delegation to COP 15. For more details download the flyer here.

CHILE: IMF affiliates in the region’s mining sector AOMA in Argentina, CONSTRAMET and CONSFETEMA in Chile, SNTMMSRM in Mexico and SINTRAMIN in Peru, attended the Regional Planning Seminar on Mining, held in Santiago, Chile, from December 3 to 4, and agreed a programme of action for the next three years on employment and trade union conditions in the mining sector.

The seminar discussed the  main employment problems in the mining sector, including precarious work and working conditions.

The seminar formulated national and regional objectives and actions to combat these problems. Regional initiatives include the creation of a horizontal network to deal with trade union work, communication, the operation of national councils, collective bargaining with transnational companies and the negotiation of International Framework Agreements.

Affiliates agreed to focus on collective bargaining, training and trade union structures during the coming years.

The meeting debated the current employment and trade union situation at the Pascua Lama mining project on the Argentina-Chile border, the world’s first binational project.  Delegates agreed to organise joint action by unions in both these countries in order to protect workers’ rights.

Finally, the union leaders signed a declaration of solidarity in support of the Mexican miners’ union and its general secretary, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, in their fight for trade union autonomy and respect for trade union rights.