GLOBAL/CHINA: On February 23, the occasion of Apple’s 2012 annual shareholders’ meeting, the IMF, GoodElectronics and makeITfair call on Apple shareholders to do the right thing in an open letter. Apple has recently joined the Fair Labour Association (FLA), but recent developments point to this being no more than a PR stunt.

FLA is currently conducting an investigation of labour conditions at Apple supplier Foxconn in China. Although the FLA report is only due in March, it has already been reported that the FLA has formed a positive opinion of conditions at Foxconn, without yet interviewing workers. This casts doubts on the independence of the investigation (FLA is directly funded by Apple) and the credibility of its final report. Contrary to FLA’s standard methodology, the Foxconn investigation was not unannounced which has allowed the company to hide abuses by banning illegal overtime for 16-17 year olds during the period of the investigation.

Apple’s initiative in joining FLA was appreciated, however, misusing the  initiative as a PR stunt will reflect very badly on Apple’s sustainability initiatives and statements. The open letter tells shareholders that in addition to proper auditing, Apple also needs to look into improving its purchasing practices by ensuring fair prices and well-planned lead times, allowing workers to work normal hours and earn a living wage.

The IMF, GoodElectronics and makeITfair are among a growing group of concerned trade unions and other civil society organisations calling upon Apple to improve its act and stamp out persistent violations of labour rights in its supply chain.

 

GLOBAL/MEXICO: From Seoul to Pretoria, Geneva to Mexico City, unions are taking joint action during the week of February 19-25 to urge the government of Mexico to stop its attack on independent trade unions and freedom of association.

International mobilizations kicked off in the main square of Mexico City on February 19, in remembrance of the 65 miners who died in the Pasta de Conchos mine explosion on that date six years ago. On February 21, actions took place in Mexico, Geneva and London.

The Tri-National Solidarity Alliance, which joins unions from Mexico, Canada and the U.S., held an International Meeting of Solidarity at the headquarters of the Mexican Electricians Union (SME) in Mexico City.  Speakers at the event, including IMF Executive Committee member and exiled leader of the National Union of Miners and Metal Workers of Mexico (SNTMMRM) Napoleon Gomez, (via video conference) denounced the Mexican government’s attacks on fundamental workers’ rights and called for the implementation of ILO recommendations adopted by the Governing Body in March 2011.

In Switzerland, a  group of 20 ICEM, IMF, UNI and IUF activists held a small action outside of the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Manfred Warda, Jyrki Raina, Philip Jennings, Fernando Lopes, Kemal Ozkan met with Mr. Juan José Gómez Camacho, Ambassador to the Mexico mission.

Discussions between the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and Fellesforbundet are underway ahead of a planned visit to Mexico by the Foreign Ministry later this month. The union has been briefing their government on the issue of Protection Contracts in Mexico and the ongoing attacks on fundamental worker freedoms.

Mexico’s Embassy in London met with a delegation from the TUC, Unite, GMB, Amnesty International and Southern and Eastern Regional TUC on February 21. Similar actions are planned for major cities in the USA, including Chicago, Tucson, Boston and Denver, and in Korea, Pakistan, South Africa and Canada.

Unions around the world are also supporting the global action by sending protest letter to the Mexican government in care of their respective embassies and consulates.

For more information go to: www.imfmetal.org/Mexico2012

BANGLADESH: According to the report of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) on the evening of 12 February 2012 President and General Secretary of the Coats Bangladesh Ltd. Employees Union went to the Coats Head Office at Novo Tower, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka in order to try and meet and discuss with company management possibilities of resolving an industrial dispute.

Instead of negotiating with the union leaders company officials confiscated their mobile phones and forcibly detained them in their building overnight only releasing them when trade union colleagues alerted the local newspaper media of their disappearance.

Management at the thread factory Coats Ltd in Bangladesh had failed to reach agreement with trade union negotiators. Having exhausted the bargaining procedures a vote of the workers resulted in 98.12 per cent in favour of strike action. The management somehow obtained a court order declaring the strike illegal.

The workers at Coats Ltd are paid poverty wages of only BDT1,625 (US$18.90). The trade unions in Bangladesh consider BDT7,000 to be the minimum that could be considered a living wage. During the negotiations the local trade union negotiators reduced their demand from 100 per cent to 30 per cent pay rise. The union demands also included increases in housing and other allowances all of which were refused by the management. Despite trade union compromises the employer remained intransigent and refused to bargain in good faith.

The Coats Employees’ Union is part of the Bangladesh Garments Textile & Leather Workers Federation (BGTLWF) which is an affiliate of ITGLWF. The BGTLWF has called for solidarity from the wider trade union movement. The ITGLWF is preparing a complaint to the UK OECD Contact Person. Coats plc is based in the UK and is a leading global company manufacturing thread.

The ITGLWF has written to Mr Forman, CEO of Coats plc demanding their intervention.
Details are available on the ITGLWF website at http://www.itglwf.org/.

In solidarity with Bangladeshi workers, the IMF and International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) have addressed a joint letter to Mr. Forman demanding to ensure respect of trade union rights in Coats factories in Bangladesh.

TURKEY: On February 15 three workers were dismissed at Trexta, and six more on February 17. The dismissed workers together with their trade union Deri-Is which is an affiliate of the Textile Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF),  have been protesting in front of the factory since February 15.

Trexta is a Turkish manufacturing company that produces mobile phone covers for international companies such as Blackberry, Nokia and Iphone. Union members at Trexta were dismissed because of their union work and membership and other workers have been subjected to threats by management not to join the union. Both the European Trade Union Federation of Textiles, Clothing and Leather (ETUF-TCL) and the ITGLWF have given support to Deri-Is on this case.

In November 2011, Nokia representatives visited Trexta at the request of IMF to investigate the labour rights violations. As the violations continue, Deri-is members are again requesting that Nokia intervene and support workers by cutting orders from Trexta until management recognizes the union and reinstates the workers that were dismissed unfairly. The IMF has joined the call from Deri-is, urging Nokia to follow-up on the situation at Trexta in a letter sent on February 22.

 

RUSSIA: On January 31 Olga Boiko, a technical and juridical inspector of the IMF-affiliated Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA) local called ‘Unity’ at AvtoVAZ plant, was reinstated by a local court.

In 2008 Olga, a paint shop worker at the plant, raised the issue of a decreasing premium for working in hazardous conditions. The extra pay was cut after the assessment of workplaces, conducted by the management in a non-transparent manner. In 2009 the original pay level was restored, however, Boiko began to face pressure from the management.

The administration took disciplinary action against Boiko several times under false pretexts. For example, she allegedly worked without a respirator, though according to the workplace rules she didn’t have to. Other cases include her allegedly damaging a car door or working without protective glasses – though again, she didn’t have to during that particular operation. After three cases of disciplinary action Boiko was fired.

"We strongly believe that Olga Boiko was dismissed for her union activity. She demanded that her shop managers and plant administration followed the labour law. In particular, she tried to hold the management accountable with the help of the Labour Inspection," commented an ITUA representative.

Due to the support of her union, Boiko was reinstated. However, on the following day she wasn’t able to enter the plant – she didn’t get a pass. She wasn’t given a permanent pass even after a week’s time.

Nevertheless, ITUA notes that Boiko’s reinstatement is an important victory for the union and congratulates Olga Boiko and all the activists of the union local at AvtoVAZ.

MEXICO: February 19 was the anniversary of six years of struggle by the miners’ families for the recovery of the 63 bodies still in the Pasta de Conchos mine, owned by Grupo Mexico. Mexico’s independent trade unions and the international trade union movement, together with international human and labour rights organisations, have called on the government to improve workplace safety and observe freedom of association.

On February 19 2006, at 2.20am, number 8 shaft of the Pasta de Conchos mine collapsed and trapped 65 miners. Only two bodies were recovered. That date also signalled the start of a campaign of persecution against the Mexican National Miners’ Union (SNTMMSRM) and its leaders, including Napoleón Gómez Urrutia. Nobody has yet been brought to justice for the tragedy and there have since been more deaths in the country’s mines.

The day of action on February 19 was symbolic and emotional. A wake for the bodies of the miners was held at the  Zócalo, the central square in México City, from 2am until 12pm. As a reminder that they have yet to receive a decent burial, 63 wooden crosses, each with the name of one of those who died, were placed alongside the helmets of the dead miners, while candles lit the scene.

Those present called on the government and on Grupo Mexico to recover the remains of those who died and reminded them that this is technically possible.

Jorge Almeida, IMF Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, attended the ceremony and conveyed the IMF’s total solidarity with the miners’ demands. He said the event signalled the start of six days of action and struggle throughout the world in defence of the Mexican miners and their basic rights. He reiterated the IMF’s support for the miners’ leader, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, and for the struggle to stop the persecution of workers by the Mexican government and irresponsible companies.
 
He highlighted the participation in the week of action of global union federations, such as the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), with its 20 million members; the United Steelworkers (USW) of the United States and Canada and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and its 157 million members. He said that the voices and demands of the Mexican miners would be heard throughout the world and that unions offered unconditional international solidarity in the fight to stop the political persecution against the miners’ union. He also expressed support for the prompt return to the country of the union president, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia.

The IMF is also attending the international solidarity meeting, organised by the Tri-National Solidarity Alliance of Mexico, Canada and the United States, that takes place on February 21 as part of the week of action. Jyrki Raina, IMF General Secretary, will address the meeting, in a recorded message, and the IMF’s regional representative will also make a speech.

 

BELGIUM: Workers at the Caterpillar plant in Gosselies, Belgium, went on strike on Friday 17, February for 24 hours to protest against the threat of relocation of a production line manufacturing a specific part that equips the arms of excavators built in Gosselies.  A sheet cutting workshop could also be threatened.  IMF affiliates represented in the plant refer to a study commissioned by management envisaging such a scenario. Some  80 directly employed workers on the site would be affected by a shift of production possibly to Poland. 

Management argues that no decision has been made at this stage but unions believe that the competitiveness study, the results of which are not known officially yet, could lead management to implement the relocation project.  They warned the company, saying that they opposed such a project and that if part of production had to be moved to another location, they demanded that the number of jobs be maintained on the site.

The Caterpillar Gosselies plant employs some 4,300 workers and is one the most important facilities of the Group worldwide.

DENMARK: The trade unions, led by the eight making up Co-Industri, including 3F, Dansk Metal and HK/Pivat, in concert with the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), set an agenda of wage moderation, instead focusing on winning excellent and precedent-setting job preservation protections such as training, seniority, and reduced work hours at full pay for both old and young workers.

This industrial social accord now establishes the parameters for other work sectors. The agreement will run from March 1, 2012 to March 1, 2014. The national industrial agreement did establish minimum wage guideposts, but exact wage increases will now be negotiated at local levels and inside company agreements.

The framework agreement grants training at full pay with business downturns and when reductions in work time occur, and it also allows older workers to reduce their working time within five years of retirement by continuing their income levels through salaries and partial pension benefits. Workers will also have the option to tap into current pension plans as a supplement to salaries.

A key element in the new agreement is an additional 0.05 EUR per-hour worked will be added to the national Industrial Training fund.

Employee discretion in taking training options increases from two weeks to six weeks, in some cases, and full seniority is granted to workers when they are called back from lay-offs within nine months. Previously, it was six months. As well, paid sick leave occurs after six months on a job rather than the previous nine months.

The new pact is also kinder to lower-income earners and gives better pay-outs when such workers are laid off. Parental leave was made more flexible and added pension accrual was put in place for weekend, holiday or extra work performed.

The recommended minimum wage increase is 0.18 EUR per-hour effective March 1, and the same amount again on March 1, 2013. A pay supplement of 1.4 per cent each year is available for performing difficult work, and apprentices, trainees and interns will get a 2.25 per cent pay hike in each year.

The bargaining, which began in early January, nearly reached dispute when HK/Privat , the Commercial and Clerical Workers’ Union, sought to drop the 50 per cent benchmark regarding number of staff needed before a collective agreement takes effect. A compromise was struck that gives employers the opportunity to sign labour agreements without the 50 per cent threshold and HK/Privat coverage also was expanded to include administrative staff working as trainees and college students.

The agreement was widely praised in Denmark as the necessary building block to restore some 80,000 industrial and manufacturing jobs that have been lost in the country since the onset of the financial crisis.

SPAIN: On February 19, in response to  new labour law, which Spain’s new conservative government argues are needed to cut the jobless rate of 22.85 per cent, the Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) led protests in 57 cities gathering hundreds and thousands of people.

The unions are warning that the newly adopted labour law is unfair on workers, counterproductive for the economy and useless in creating jobs. It undermines unions in making it easier for companies to fire workers and pull out of collective bargaining agreements. According to the general secretary of the CCOO, Ignacio Fernández Toxo, "these events are a warning for the government to convene an open a negotiation process with the trade unions and employers in order to prevent an escalation of the deteriorating social climate in our country."

The general secretary of UGT, Cándido Méndez, said that the demonstrations organized by trade unions today is to offer "a broad democratic channel for our citizens and particularly the workers of our country, to express their dissatisfaction and rejection of the labour reform imposed by the Government of the Popular Party."

This reform strikes a blow to Spanish labour law and the CCOO and UGT will continue to respond with growing and sustained mobilization. The next action will take place on February 29 and is part of the European day of action organized by the European Trade Union Confederation.

GERMANY: Improving the wages and conditions of temporary and agency workers is one of the central priorities for IMF German affiliate IG Metall in its forthcoming rounds of collective bargaining in the temporary sector and in the metal and electrical engineering sector.

Through collective bargaining in the metal and electrical engineering industries, starting on March 6, IG Metall will demand a 6.5 per cent increase for workers in this sector, the commitment to permanent contract for young people completing an apprenticeship, and more co-determination rights for works council members on the use of temporary work. The objective is to limit the use of temporary and agency work within the sector.

In addition, through its bargaining in the temporary sector starting on February 22, the union is demanding "sectoral bonuses" for agency workers engaged in the metal industry to ensure they earn the same wages as permanent employees in the same job. IG-Metall has gained 38,000 new members among temporary staff and for the first time indicates it will ask these members to take strike action if required to defend their claims.

The Executive Committee of IG Metall will meet on February 24 to decide on the final demands. The current collective agreement on wages will expire on March 31, 2012.

For more details (German only) see:
http://www.igmetall.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-9D978853-90CB9DC7/internet/style.xsl/9281-9418.htm