INDONESIA: The industrial dispute with PT Toshiba Consumer Products Indonesia was finally resolved on August 22 after months of struggle and weeks of intense negotiations.
Toshiba CPI management locked out and dismissed 697 workers, including 15 local union leaders, after the workers, members of IMF Indonesian affiliate the Federasi Serikat Metal Indonesia (FSPMI), went on strike on April 16 in support of a dispute during collective bargaining. At its Congress in May the IMF passed a resolution in full support of FSPMI and Toshiba workers, condemning the company for its total disregard of workers’ rights.
After initial attempts by the IMF and its affiliates to engage the management of the parent company failed, a breakthrough was eventually achieved when a delegation from IMF-JC, Denki-Rengo and Toshiba Japan union arrived in Jakarta on July 23 and persuaded the management to reconvene negotiations in good faith with the union.
Through this initiative the management finally agreed to resolve the dispute with FSPMI through negotiations, which began on the July 23. A memorandum of agreement was signed on August 22 and includes the following points:
The agreement means that Aghni Dhamanyanti, Chairman of the local union and member of the IMF Executive Committee, and Vonny Diananto, Senior Vice President of FSPMI, would lose their employment, along with 13 other union leaders at the plant. Both Vonny and Aghni will continue as officers of FSPMI, including working with the union at the plant to assist the new leadership.
Vonny said that after working for Toshiba for more than twelve years he was compelled by circumstances to sacrifice his job for the sake of other workers who were dismissed. "The fifteen leaders have resigned from the company and they will be paid adequate compensation. Most important is that the union status in this company is restored. If we had prolonged this struggle the company could have replaced the dismissed workers with contract workers because the Labour Court granted such decision in favour of the company," he explained.
The FSPMI took the strike action after the management of Toshiba CPI refused to register the mutually agreed provisions of the collective agreement. The workers launched a peaceful, legal strike on April this year and the company immediately locked out and dismissed the workers, the majority of them women workers who have worked for the company since it was established twelve years ago.
In response to the strike the company cancelled the health insurance scheme and stopped wage payments to the workers, which led to severe hardship and suffering among the workers. One of the members died due to inability to seek medical treatment during the strike. The Manpower Ministry ordered the company to immediately reinstate the workers with full wages but the company refused to heed this advice.
The company, in an apparent attempt to seek revenge and punish the union leadership and workers, also filed several criminal charges against union leaders and a law suit for USD 1.6 million damages against the FSPMI for loss of production and business. These charges, and charges brought by the union against the company, have been dropped.
Said Iqbal, FSPMI President, said that though the union fought very hard under extremely difficult conditions the deal reached is the best they could negotiate. "Justice was trampled when the Labour Court decided in favour of the company despite the fact the union launched a legal strike," he said.
"This TNC does not respect local laws and rules and, to add insult to injury, the Labour Court is corrupt. What choice do we have given this scenario but to accept a compromised settlement?" lamented Iqbal. He thanked the IMF for all the solidarity assistance to highlight the plight of the workers and assist the FSPMI in facing this challenge. He added that without the support of the IMF the workers could not have been reinstated.
In July the IMF set up a strike fund for the workers, to which IMF affiliates generously contributed. With these contributions the FSPMI was able to offer three hot meals per day for the striking workers and their families and pay some of their medical bills.
3.1.1. Organise the unorganised
3.1.2. Strive for trade union unity at the national level
3.1.3. Build unions through education, training and effective exchange of information
3.2. Strengthening collective bargaining
3.3. Defend and protect workers’ rights
3.3.1. Fight for trade union rights
3.3.3. Fight for safe workplaces
3.4. Build a counterweight to the power of transnational corporations
3.4.1. Strengthening union solidarity and cooperation across sectors and TNCs
3.4.2. Advance fundamental rights through International Framework Agreements
3.5. Fight for sustainable trade, development and employment
GLOBAL: The European and International Metalworkers’ Federations with the assistance of IG Metall will hold their first joint EMF-IMF Communicators’ Forum in Frankfurt (Germany) on November 17-18. During two days the union communication professionals representing IMF and EMF affiliates will discuss union campaigns, compare new media techniques, and build an effective communicators’ network.
The Forum will primarily focus on new media techniques and web-based campaign tools which help trade unions to achieve both union building and organising as well as to make breakthroughs on issues like climate change and the spread of precarious work. Participants will discuss examples on how FaceBook, YouTube, Flickr and others are being successfully used by unions across the metalworking industry.
Both the European and International Metalworkers’ Federations see a strong need for cooperation in order to protect the interests of the metalworkers and to enhance communications methods for their member organisations. The Forum will serve to improve joint global campaigning helping unions to fight back on increased globalisation and outsourcing, reduced social protection and labour rights, a rise in precarious work and the consequences of climate change.
The last IMF Communicators’ Forum took place in 2007 in Geneva. It offered in-depth discussions and examples of solidarity campaigns. Several joint EMF-IMF solidarity actions have taken place since then, such as campaigns in support of Sinter Metal workers in Turkey and mining workers in Mexico as well as the 2008 campaign against precarious work.
To find out more please contact Alex Ivanou ( [email protected] ) and/or ( Caroline Jacobsson ).
USA: Unions and environmental groups launched a campaign on August 19, highlighting the benefits to American workers and businesses of transitioning to a clean energy economy that will create millions of jobs.
The "Made in America" Jobs Tour started in Ohio on August 20, the first of 50 stops across 22 states organised by the Alliance for Climate Protection’s Repower America campaign, in partnership with the Blue Green Alliance and its labour and environmental partners.
"Building a clean energy economy can revitalize American manufacturing, but only if we commit to using domestically produced components," said United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard. "In confronting the challenges of recession, global warming and energy independence, we have an opportunity to transform our economy and create good jobs that truly are ‘made in America.’"
A recent Blue Green Alliance report found if the U.S. instituted a national renewable energy standard, more than 850,000 manufacturing jobs at firms already in existence across all 50 states could be created manufacturing the parts for wind, solar, geothermal and biomass power.
"We can create millions of jobs building the clean energy economy – whether it’s manufacturing the parts for windmills, building hybrid car batteries or weatherizing homes to make them more efficient," said David Foster, executive director of the Blue Green Alliance. "Now we’re combining our efforts to spread the message that by transitioning to a clean energy economy, we can revitalize America’s manufacturing sector and boost our economy for the long run – and create jobs Made in America."
To find out more go to: http://www.repoweramerica.org/us/tour
GLOBAL: The Global Unions’ Washington Office released in August 2009 a new guide on how to use IFC Performance Standards to help enforce workers’ rights in World Bank financed projects.
In May 2006 the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank private sector lending arm, introduced social and environmental conditions required for borrowing companies to get loans from the IFC. These requirements include the respect of core labour standards as defined by the International Labour Organization.
So far 22 labour cases have been submitted, usually with assistance from the Global Unions Washington Office, which also monitors international financial institutions and represents the interests of unions’ to these institutions. According to the Global Unions office, the complaints or communications on labour violations have delivered positive results in the majority of cases: in 15 of the 22 cases company practices were corrected (at least partially), the project was withdrawn or additional monitoring to verify compliance was added. In one case unions’ complaints were rejected and, at this time, outcomes were still pending for six cases.
In January 2009 the IFC instituted a new accelerated online communications form and the Global Unions’ guide, published in August, provides advice on how to use it most effectively. You can access a copy of the guide, in English only on the IMF website at this address: http://www.imfmetal.org/files/09082609135966/Guide_to_IFC_Standards.pdf
GLOBAL: The ArcelorMittal Joint Global Health and Safety Committee (JGHSC) met on August 18 and 19 at the IMF’s Head office in Geneva. Members of the JGHSC carried out a review of the committees work so far and also developed plans for the future in order to improve occupational health and safety in the company.
On the first day the meeting began by receiving a report on the most recent fatalities in the company from the local union representatives (one fatality Ostrava, Czech Rep, one fatality Monessen, USA). The union members of the JGHSC discussed ways to improve the information flow between plants and unions at the global and national level in particular when a fatality had occurred within the company. The JGHSC agreed to develop a union safety communications network within the company, to address this issue. The network would also be used to exchange journals and safety information produced amongst the unions.
Since signing the JGHSC the union representatives had carried out a survey of its members to see if the agreement had now been implemented throughout the company as required. From the replies received it was clear that there was a good level of understanding among unions about the agreement and that in the majority of cases joint union -management health and safety committees where now in place.
The second day of the meeting was dedicated to planning for an industrial restart within the company and assessing the health and safety implications. Four potential areas were identified by the JGHSC as future areas of the work. The areas were measures to prevent increases in fatalities, maintenance of plant and machinery, skills and awareness training, and employee security.
GERMANY: IG Metall called on political leaders on August 19 to ensure that priority is given to employment in secure, regular employment as the economy recovers and that use of agency labour is limited and based on equal pay for equal work.
The union’s demands were also backed up by the results of a study, released on the same day, which found that enterprises are increasingly using agency labour in order to pass on business risks to workers.
The study, "Changes in the use of agency labour", was conducted by the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and looked at how enterprises are using agency labour and what it means for the workers. It found that agency labour is increasingly being used more strategically by enterprises as a way of passing on the business risk of the cost of longer-term employment and as a potential means of threatening the job security of permanent staff.
Both IG Metall Vice President Detlef Wetzel and Klaus Dörre, the director of the research team, warned that it is likely that the use of agency labour will increase even further in the next upswing of the economy.
"It is high time to create better conditions for agency workers," said Wetzel. "We are demanding that use of agency labour be limited and the best way to ensure this is on the principle of equal pay for equal work, thereby also improving the conditions of employment for agency workers," said Wetzel.
Wetzel also made demands for stronger co-determination rights with regard to agency workers and said IG Metall will continue to take up the issue in collective bargaining agreements concluded by the union.
Figures released by the Federal Office of Statistics on the same day show that the number of people in Germany employed in regular, secure jobs with social benefits and working more than 20 hours a week has fallen in the last ten years. In 2008, 66 per cent of all employed people had regular employment, where as ten years earlier the rate was at 72.6 per cent.
For further information and a copy of the study (in German) go to: http://www.igmetall.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-0A456501-49F21D63/internet/style.xsl/view_1779.htm
EUROPE: The European Metalworkers’ Federation has announced the dates of the 6th Collective Bargaining Policy Conference where it will launch the 2nd Common Demand on precarious work.
Entitled "Jobs, Rights and Collective Bargaining" the conference is taking place on November 17 and 18 in Madrid and will focus on the effects of the current crisis on collective bargaining, current tendencies in collective bargaining, the undercutting of labour costs and the working time debate.
The conference will be followed by a press conference to launch the EMF campaign in respect of its second common European demand aimed at reversing the trend of precarious employment.
For more information, go to: http://www.eucoban.eu/EMF/EMF-Collective-Bargaining-Policy/Activities/6th-EMF-Collective-Bargaining-Policy-Conference
For more information about the global campaign against precarious work go to: www.imfmetal.org/precariouswork
MEXICO: On August 8, after negotiations between the miners’ union and the company on adjustments to their collective agreement ended in deadlock, Section 271 of the National Miners’ Union in the industrial port of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán decided to go on strike.
The workforce comprises 3,500 union members, 1,500 contract workers and more than 2,000 supervisory staff and suppliers, totalling approximately 7,000 workers, all of whom will benefit from any agreement reached, said the union.
Negotiations on adjustments to the collective agreement have been taking place for more than two months and were extended for a further week at the company’s request. Negotiations on the union side are being coordinated by the National Executive Committee, led by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia.
The United Steelworkers (USW) of the United States and Canada, a leading industrial union in both these countries, and which together have more than 14,000 members working for ArcelorMittal, sent the Mexican Miners’ Union at Lázaro Cárdenas a letter of support and solidarity in which they say: "we believe that the world’s largest steelmaker is in a position to provide its workers with a decent standard of living and decent working conditions. We also believe that the use of non-unionised contract workers undermines the conditions previously negotiated by our unions. We support you in your struggle and we are ready to provide any assistance that we are able to give you."
The miners’ union said it remains ready to continue negotiating "with the aim of normalising the situation as soon as possible and resuming work at ArcelorMittal installations so that the conflict does not continue and the demands of the workers at the company are met."
