SWITZERLAND: While trade unions have recognized for  a long time the threat that the rapid expansion of precarious work throughout the world poses to workers’ rights, concerns have been raised that the ILO is not doing enough to protect the rights of precarious workers to join a union and participate in meaningful collective bargaining. In order to put the issue firmly at the centre of the ILO’s standard setting and enforcement agenda, ACTRAV, the Workers’ Bureau of the ILO, organized a Worker’s Symposium which brought together union representatives from both developing and industrialized countries, the public and the private sector.

During three days, unions shared information on how worldwide, unimaginable numbers of workers are suffering from precarious, insecure, uncertain and unpredictable working conditions. They discussed how global forces are driving the rapid expansion of precarious work in all countries and in all sectors of the economy and the urgent need for regulatory and policy responses to prevent this.

The aims of the Symposium included determining how existing standards can be better promoted in order to protect the rights of precarious workers as well as identifying gaps in existing international labour protections that could be filled by the development of new standards.

At the conclusion of the Symposium, union representatives called on the ILO to conduct a comprehensive report on the obstacles that prevent precarious workers from being able to bargain collectively with their employer, with a particular focus on the barriers to workers in triangular relationships bargaining with the employer that controls their conditions of work. They called for ILO action to promote key conventions and recommendations that can improve conditions for precarious workers and pointed to the need for further regulation, particularly to limit temporary employment other than in cases of legitimate need.

For more information on the content and outcomes of the Symposium, go to www.ilo.org/actrav/.

SWITZERLAND: On October 7, the World Day for Decent Work, 200 international trade unionists joined IMF affiliate UNIA and other Swiss unions outside the UN Headquarters in Geneva to demand recognition of trade union rights and the elimination of precarious employment.

Unions, including several IMF affiliates, who had been attending the ILO Workers’ Symposium on precarious work, joined the call by the Swiss unions for stronger protection against dismissal for shop stewards and better union access to workplaces. Actions symbolizing the obstacles and pressures placed on unions in defending workers were held. Employer control over workers, particularly precarious workers, was illustrated by human puppets representing a worker and shop steward being controlled by strings held by managers. At the conclusion of the action, the union cut the strings and freed the workers to exercise their union rights.

Swiss union speakers told their international colleagues how trade union freedoms are being undermined even in Switzerland. Despite a recommendation to the Swiss government from the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association to strengthen protections against dismissal of shop stewards, no improvement has been noticed. In Geneva, the city that hosts the headquarters of the ILO, trade unions face major obstacles in exercising their right to provide information to workers about their rights at work.

The combined unions then marched from the UN to the ILO, carrying a symbolic social safety net containing union demands which were then handed over to ILO Executive Director Guy Ryder to conclude the actions.

Watch the demonstration on the IMF-TV Channel on youtube

ITALY: The IMF affiliates in Italy have demanded a suspension of the decision in order to launch proper negotiation on the future of all employees concerned.
 
The closure of the Termini Imerese plant, employing 2,200 workers, is scheduled for December 31. The decision to stop the production of buses for public transport in Avellino, in the company Irisbus, which affects 900 employees directly and indirectly, was taken without prior information and consultation of employee representatives.
 
The employees and their unions have used all possible protest actions to be heard by Fiat and the government and to negotiate with them about their future. They demand real solutions which guarantee their jobs and the industrial development in their regions. They have obtained no answer so far.
 
In both plants workers have stopped production. At Irisbus the employees
have been on strike since July 7. In the beginning of October they occupied their plant.
 
In Termini Imerese over a thousand workers took to the the streets on September 14 to demand certainty about the future of the plant and guarantees of employment. Representatives of FIM, FIOM and UILM spoke at the rally, demanding that employment levels are secured and  appropriate social security measures are put in place while new job opportunities are created.

To  explain the plans to close Irisbus Fiat refers to "a sharp decline in demand" for city buses in Italy and to a "lack of public funds".
The political left has criticised the plans, saying that Irisbus manufactures a product that Italy absolutely needs – its bus fleet is obsolete, two times older than the European average – to improve mobility and the livability of the cities.
 
The EMF has called on all its affiliated organisations to send solidarity messages and support letters to the affected workers and their unions.
 
Messages can be addressed to the employees via the Italian trade unions:

FIM-CISL, Bruno Vitali ([email protected])
FIOM-CGIL, Enzo Massini ([email protected])
UILM, Eros Panicali ([email protected])

COLOMBIA: According to the reports received by the IMF, workers of the Gerdau plant in Cota, Colombia recently decided to form their own union. Over the weekend they have formulated a formal demand to the Minister of Labour and also notified Gerdau management of their intention to start bargaining a collective agreement.

Today, on October 6, 2011 the IMF has been informed that instead of a constructive approach the management recurred to hostile tactics. Gerdau’s responsible for personnel called meetings with workers where by threats they are urged either not to join or to withdraw from the newly formed trade union.

This act of blatant interference of the Gerdau management into trade union affairs is a violation of  Conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labour Organization, ratified by the Colombian government.

IMF calls on all affiliates to send their protest messages to the management of Gerdau with copies to the government of Colombia demanding an immediate stop to interferences with the workers’ rights to form a union of their free choice and carry out collective bargaining.

The e-mail addresses of the Gerdau management are as follows:

Olga Franco, manager at Diaco Cota: 
[email protected]
Carlos Hamilton, Executive director at Gerdau Nordeste: 
[email protected]
Andrea Cardona, Diaco Cota: 
[email protected]

It is also equally important to send copies of your messages to the Vice President of the Republic of Colombia, Mr. Avelino Garzon at: [email protected]

Also, please send copies of your messages to the IMF at: [email protected]

THAILAND:  As a forerunner to the global decent work campaign tomorrow, more than hundred union leaders from IMF affiliate TEAM, Automobile Labour Congress of Thailand (ALCT) and the coalition of unions under the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC) met to chart out the demands for the ratification of the core ILO Convention 87 and 98, minimum wage increase of THB 300.00 (US$10.00) per day and decent work.
 
Experts in the field of labour economics spoke on the need to increase wages especially for the low income wage earners. It was pointed out that even THB 300.00 per day is inadequate to sustain basic living conditions. It is a race to the bottom for workers in Thailand if wages does not go up said Dr. Narong Petchprasert from the Chulalongkorn University.

TEAM General Secretary Yongyuth Mentapao flanked by Pongtep Chaiwan, President of ALCT and Chalee Loysong, President of TEAM  gave a press conference in which they reiterated their demands.  Chalee said that workers are subjected to all kind of hardship, sufferings  and unless they are protected by trade unions they would continue to be exploited.
 
Pongtep said that the ALCT would join forces with the labour movement to fight for these rights and demands. He stressed on the need to improve the socio-economic condition of workers in Thailand.

In a press release Yongyuth demanded the government of Thailand and its new Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawat to honour the election pledge to raise the minimum wage to THB 300.00, ratify ILO conventions and introduce decent working conditions for Thai workers. She also said that the employers are resisting minimum wage increases and have since been lobbying the government not to raise the national minimum wage.
 
The meeting resolved to fight these issues under the umbrella of the TLBC till they succeed.

THAILAND:  35 participants, mostly leaders of IMF affiliate TEAM and the group of unions called Automobile Labour Congress of Thailand (ALCT), attended the IMF workshop on union building and organizing. The aim of the workshop was to forge closer cooperation, teamwork and understanding between these two unions.

Chalee Loysong, President of TEAM called upon the leadership of both unions to bury the hatchet and close ranks in the larger interest of the Thai labour movement. He stressed the need to build and safeguard unity and solidarity of workers which is lacking in the trade union movement in Thailand. He also spoke about the process of creation of a new Global Union Federation between the IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF.

Yongyuth Mentapao, General Secretary of TEAM thanked the IMF for initiating the unification process. He highlighted the progressive results of the numerous meetings between TEAM and ALCT which brought the two former rivals to the idea to unify the Thai metalworkers.

In his opening remarks IMF Regional Representative Arunasalam. P, urged TEAM and ALCT to work together and prioritize building a strong metalworkers’ movement. He also spoke on IMF activities, challenges and achievements in the region.

At the workshop the participants from both unions agreed to:

• establish a joint office for both unions;
• establish a joint organizing committee to avoid competition and rivalry;
• make a joint campaign on national labour issues such as ratification of ILO Conventions 87 and 98, minimum wage and decent work;
• explore other common issues and activities to consolidate the metalworkers’ movement;
• collectively pursue the demand for minimum wage increase of Bht 300.00/day (US$10.00) for all workers in Thailand, promised by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawat as part of his election program;
• meet ICEM and ITGLWF Thai affiliates within a joint committee formed by TEAM and ALCT and discuss the process of creation of the new industrial International.

In conclusion, Arunasalam praised the efforts of TEAM and ALCT in promoting unity and solidarity, without which workers and their communities would become vulnerable to exploitation.

SWITZERLAND: The Swaziland delegation came to Geneva, Switzerland, for the United Nations Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights situation in the world, to set the Swaziland human rights record straight. Da Silva took the opportunity to visit the IMF headquarters and have talks with IMF assistant general secretary Fernando Lopes.

"The Swaziland minister of justice, appointed by the king, didn’t present the true picture," Da Silva says. "We have made an own review, which we have submitted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights."

The Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC) is an offspring of the Swaziland United Democratic Front, an umbrella organization for a multitude of movements in the country, including unions. It works globally to lobby for democratic reform and a multiparty system in Swaziland, a kingdom, where human rights and political activists are brutally assaulted by police, and where people are exposed to arbitrary arrests and raids.

"People have been detained for long periods, after which they are dumped in remote areas," says Da Silva. "There have even been killings." Recently a young man was arrested for wearing a t-shirt bearing the logo of PUDEMO, an opposition party.

"We have SDC chapters all over the world," says Da Silva. They are mainly in Africa, most of them in South Africa, but also in the United Kingdom, Denmark, USA and Canada. "We organize demonstrations and organize lobbying activities."

Mary Da Silva has travelled extensively in Africa in her capacity of coordinator for the Democracy Campaign. "My family taught me about equality, and I early became involved in human rights work." She has also worked with poverty issues and children’s rights. In 2008 she came in contact with PODEMO. In February 2011, when the Democracy Campaign was launched in Swaziland, she became fully involved.

"The IMF will continue to support unions and social movement struggles for democracy in Swaziland and everywhere else," Fernando Lopes assured Da Silva.

FINLAND: The Finnish member unions of the IMF, the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union, the salaried employees union Pro and the Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff YTN (Academic Engineers and Architects TEK and Union of Professional Engineers UIL) have issued an immediate overtime ban in the whole Finnish metal industry. It covers in total about 200 000 employees.
 
The strike warning from the private sector salaried employees union Pro and the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union concern 32,000 workers in 44 major companies in the Finnish exporting sectors, and collective agreements for more than 200,000 workers. The industrial action would start in all units of these 44 companies on October 21 and continue to November 7 if no agreement is reached before that.
 
The bargaining organization for senior salaried employees YTN shares the goals of the metalworkers unions. YTN has indicated it will join the common front if larger industrial action is needed.

At the end of September the unions rejected the employers’ pay offer of a raise of 2.4 per cent for the first year and 1.9 per cent for the second year. Since then there have been no negotiations, but it has became clear that the three national union confederations (Akava, SAK and STTK) are far from an agreement with the two Employer Confederations EK and KT.

GERMANY: At the main rally on Cologne’s Neumarkt IG Metall vice chairman Detlef Wetzel said politicians and business leaders have ignored the interests of the young generation for years. "We want to make a sign, so that politicians finally put the concerns of the young generation on the political agenda, making them top priority," said Wetzel.

He called for equitable opportunities for education and training for young people. "We want justice and equality in our society. Safe work – for us that means permanent jobs for trainees," he said. The IG Metall will fight for that in the next bargaining round. The young people demonstrated for what is important to them: better future prospects, permanent jobs, safe and good employment and a livable balance between work and private life.

IG Metall wants to prevent the uncoupling of the young generation from social development. More and more young people are forced into precarious employment, without  security or prospects. "If we do not push back precarious employment, it will mean the end of social security systems, even without the coming demographic problems, not immediately, but for the young generation," the union said.

Eric Leiderer, IG Metall National Youth Secretary, said that young people were exploited as the weakest link in society. "It is easiest to cut, dismiss and press wages for young people," said Leiderer. With the campaign for "Übernahme" (take on as permanent worker) the IG Metall wants to show everybody that the young generation has to be taken seriously. "We are not sparring partners, on which companies and politicians can test their cuts, their internships, temporary work or other precarious conditions," said Leiderer.

The IG Metall has summarized their demands in the "Charter for the young generation." For this and other information about the Youth Action Day in Cologne, visit www.igmetall.de and www.operationuebernahme.de.

PHILIPPINES: How do you go about building unity amongst local unions when faced with a troublesome past? That was the question facing the leaders from both the Philippines Metalworkers Alliance (PMA) and the Metalworkers Alliance of the Philippines (MWAP) at a National Workshop facilitated by the IMF. To their credit both PMA and MWAP found some pragmatic solutions to benefit workers. These included a new focus on organizing that builds cooperation and not conflict amongst both unions.  By sharing information on collective bargaining agreements and developing a dispute mechanism in case of an inter-union conflict the leaders hope to build greater cooperation between their unions at the national level.

One such example was the decision of the unions to request a joint meeting with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and raise issues of mutual concern. The issues identified amongst the unions are the application and implementation of existing labour laws and workers rights in the Philippines. The increasing contractualisation of workers, differences between a minimum wage and an acceptable living wage and freedom of association and recognition of workers’ rights in economic processing zones. All of the issues will also be stated and hand delivered to the Minister in a joint letter.

The participants in the meeting also discussed future strategies to overcome the low density of unionized metalworkers (around 3 percent) the lack of national coordination and the need to create mechanisms to share experiences and strategies to confront many common problems. As a first step both agreed to share information on organizing and union building activities at the national level. Both unions’ leaders accepted to meet quarterly in a joint leadership forum. The purpose of the meeting would be to identify organizing targets and to ensure non-competition amongst the unions on agreed targets.

Rob Johnston, IMF Executive Director, informed the participants "With so many workers unorganized in the Philippines our resources and efforts have to be on building density. What I’ve heard during the meeting is a willingness to accept this and a commitment to do something about it".

Also so attending the meeting were Glen Thompson from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and Masahiro Nogi and Shinya Iwai from the IMF Japan Council.  All presented national case studies on how their unions deal with inter-union conflicts.