LIBERIA: When No Lemon opened its operation in Liberia five years ago, the company set up a Grievance Committee comprising of management with no worker representatives. This committee was tasked with handling labour issues and blocked the union from organising. MMECAWU took its concerns to the Labour Ministry, requesting the ministry to enforce international conventions on freedom of association.

The situation worsened when No Lemon filed a lawsuit against the union, alleging that organisers had entered the plant illegally. This resulted in a lengthy battle which ended with the company withdrawing the case after intervention by the Labour Ministry and agreement from all parties to engage in social dialogue.

MCCEAWU General Secretary Abraham Nimene, says that working conditions at No Lemon do not meet labour law standards in Liberia or international standards, especially regarding health and safety. He characterises employment at the company  as precarious work, with a probation period of thirteen months when the labour law states three months. He adds that No Lemon has won the contract to maintain, repair and service the fleet of vehicles of the United Nations Mission in Liberia and should consider the impact of negative publicity regarding worker rights and working conditions could have on such contracts in the future.

 The union has won the right to represent the 300 workers employed by No Lemon in three regions and is engaging with worker leaders at other companies to strategise their approach to collective bargaining. 

INDONESIA:  Indonesia’s highest court in a landmark and unprecedented decision found the Indonesian President, Vice President, Head of Parliament and eight Ministers guilty of not implementing the law on Social Security (UU SJSN and RUU BPJS).

After a long drawn struggle to reform the social security system in Indonesia, a coalition of trade unions and non-governmental organisations called Social Security Action Committee (KAJS) led by IMF affiliate the Federasi Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia (FSPMI), embarked on seeking legal redress for social security protection for workers in the formal and informal sector. The complainants named the President, Vice President, Head of Parliament and eight Ministers as defendants.

The Court after twenty seven hearings found:

1. The respondents collectively guilty of not implementing the two Social Security laws
2. The Court declared and ordered that the defendants to implement the Social Security law through the introduction of regulations for the formation of a National Social Security System
3. Awarded cost amounting to IDR 2,181,000 (US$230)

Said Iqbal, FSPMI President and Chairman of KAJS said that this is a clear victory and that for the first time the courts have made such a courageous decision in favour of working people in Indonesia. He said that this is a milestone for workers struggle for social justice. However, he also expressed caution on what the government might do next.

According to Said Iqbal, the Indonesian President should implement the social security laws and provide social security protection for all people, provide social pension for workers in the formal sector and establish trust fund body to manage the social security funds.

On July 22 when Parliament met to consider the Social Security law, the FSPMI and KAJS organized mass demonstrations with participation of 10,000 people in front of Parliament and President Palace to demand the implementation of the court decision. The result of the July 22 meeting is that the President of the Republic Indonesia and the Parliament agreed to prolong discussion of the law on social security (RUU BPJS) for another two months and the final decision will have to be taken by October 21, 2011.

Said Iqbal, thanked the IMF for its continued support and stressed that in 2012 ILO would be debating social security protection and it is an ideal platform for such working class struggle for social justice. He said that the struggle is far from over and KJAS needs all the support that could be mustered.

IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina in congratulating IMF affiliates the FSPMI and Lomenik said: "This court victory is an important landmark in the campaign of the Indonesian unions to extend social security to precarious workers. KAJS is a social alliance that fights for the benefit of all citizens and an excellent example to others of how to join forces for greater influence."

MEXICO: Miners at Cananea, Sonora, Taxco, Guerrero and Sombrerete, Zacatecas, have now been on strike for four heroic years in defence of their labour and trade union rights. On July 30 and the following days, the miners will hold rallies to reaffirm their continued support for the strikes and the struggle of the Mexican Miners’ Union.

The National Miners’ and Metalworkers’ Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), affiliated to the ICEM and the IMF says it is willing "to negotiate legal arrangements necessary to end the strikes, if a solution can be found that will respect the workers, recognize their collective agreements, definitively establish adequate health and safety conditions and respect the miners’ union led by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia".

The three strikes continue because there has been no legal ruling to determine a definitive end to the strikes, explained the union. The union added that, throughout this period, the company has stubbornly refused to act peacefully and resolve the strikes in accordance with the law. During these years, the workers on strike have been persecuted and some judges have ruled that the strikes were invalid. However, the courts have ruled in the union’s favour in response to union requests for legal protection. Workers have been subjected to repression in these four years, for example on June 6 2010 at the Cananea mine, which was occupied by 4,000 armed men who maintained a climate of terror against the miners.

In addition to the rallies that will take place on July 30 to commemorate four years on strike, the union will hold meetings to discuss how to strengthen the strikes and to call on the local communities to continue their support for the miners.

The miners and the local communities are deeply concerned that neither the government nor Grupo Mexico have taken any steps to resolve the disputes, recognise the collective agreements and respect the National Miners’ Union.

SOUTH AFRICA: Vale’s anti-union behaviour throughout the world, most notably against the United Steelworkers (USW) in Canada, led NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni to describe the company as "one of the world’s leading labour exploiters."

The base-metals mining company Metorex, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, had been a long-term acquisition target for Vale. The South Africa-based miner has extensive copper and cobalt mining operations, and prospective growth projects, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Zambia.

The announcement that Vale were pulling out of the Metorex bid, due to strong pressure from the union, was welcome news on  July 12. If the mining multinational had continued its pursuit, NUM was set to challenge the takeover in the South African Competition Commission.

The alternative bidder for Metorex, the Chinese company Jinchuan, also has a negative labour relations history and is not being welcomed by the NUM. The defeat of Vale will give a stark warning to Jinchuan of the NUM’s strength. Baleni warned Jinchuan that "when in South Africa, do as South Africans do."

ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda congratulated Baleni on the victory, describing it as "another example of the strength of Africa’s predominant trade union."

Jinchuan has offered R 9.1 billion (€930 million) for Metorex, and the company’s board has recommended that shareholders accept the offer.

USA: On June 27, Workers at Swedwood’s operation in Danville Virginia voted to be represented by IMF and Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) affiliate, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW).  The result was 221 workers who voted for the union and 69 against. The election victory marks the completion of the first phase in the struggle for workers rights and social justice for Swedwood workers in Virginia.

Rather than remaining neutral and supporting a "Fair and Friendly" election as IKEA management had discussed with BWI and the IAMAW, the United States-based Swedwood management continued to follow the advise of its union avoidance law firm and conducted several activities designed to alter the outcome of the election.

Regardless of intrusive tactics that ranged from rumours of plant closure; to promises of bonuses should the union be defeated, the workers decided to join the union. Issues of safety and health, racial discrimination, dignity and basic human respect were the main grievances that the workers had expressed as reasons for voting to join the Machinists Union.

The workers have voted for a union but clearly the struggle is not over as the next major hurdle for the workers is to negotiate a successful collective bargaining agreement that improves worker safety, promotes respectful treatment, and puts an end to favouritism and discrimination.

RUSSIA: On June 14 a union local was created at Gestamp Kaluga, a hi-tech factory producing components for the nearby Volkswagen assembly plant. The new union joined the Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA), an IMF affiliate.

Gestamp-Severstal-Kaluga is a joint Russian-Spanish venture with major shares owned by  the Spanish company Gestamp Automoción and the Russian steel and mining company Severstal. The plant produces pressed parts of car bodies with cold stamping.

Gestamp Kaluga, founded in July 2010, currently employs 120 permanent workers, 80 out of which are production workers. The administration also uses precarious workers hired through the employment agency Adecco. This agency also serves as an employer for Volkswagen workers in Kaluga during their six-month ‘probation period’ introduced by the management.

Union activists prepared an appeal to the administration calling for strict adherence to the national Labour Code and participation in the social dialogue. The activists are currently engaged in a full-blown organizing campaign at the plant.

Members of the union local at the plant conducted a survey. The results suggest that the key issues for the workers are low wages and a year-long delay with the assessment of workplaces. Wages at Gestamp are lower than those at Volkswagen. Monthly wage is 20000-26000 roubles (740-960 USD). Union activists claim that the working conditions at the plant should be considered as ‘hard’. If they are right, the workers haven’t received the benefits for hard working conditions (stipulated by Russian laws) for over a year.

Key goals for the union local are raising the wages and conducting the assessment of workplaces.

Large automobile industry has emerged in Kaluga, Russia, in recent years. Major car manufacturers, such as VW and Peugeot, have brought suppliers with them. Volkswagen supply chain, one among the few in Kaluga, includes Gonvarri, Faurecia, Lear Corporation, Magna and other plants. Some of them already have ITUA locals.

SOUTH AFRICA: Huber, who is also IG Metall President headed a delegation from the German union visiting South Africa. The delegation met with South Africa’s Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe and the Labour Minister, Mildred Oliphant.  

Huber and his delegation took some time from their busy schedule to meet the IMF Staff at the regional office where they were briefed about the regional activities and the priorities of the region. During the discussion Huber raised issues regarding the role of Chinese investment in Africa and the conditions in which Chinese companies are employing workers. He was also concerned about the level of organizing in many unions.

Bilateral meetings were held with the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) where issues of precarious employment and green jobs were discussed. IG Metall and NUMSA have agreed to meet again in the near future to discuss issues of the auto sector. The delegation also met with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU) and visited local operations of a number of German multinational companies.visited local operations of a number of German multinational companies.

MALAWI: Nationwide demonstrations planned by civil society for  July 20 turned into two days of riots after the Malawi government tried to prevent the demonstrations from taking place. According to a report from senior leader of the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU), radio announcements were made on the morning of  July 20 that injunction had been obtained by government to prevent the demonstrations but this injunction was vacated by the court by lunchtime the same day. People that had gathered for the demonstrations were being held back by police that used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse protestors in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu. Anger mounted from the brutal put down of the demonstrations erupting in two days of riots.

There has been growing dissatisfaction in Malawi with President Bingu wa Mutharika’s regime. Civil society has been critical of laws that have been passed to limit the freedom of the press, restrict lawsuits against government and limit civil liberties. Popular discontent has been mounting over worsening economic conditions with crippling shortages of fuel and forex.

The MCTU leader explains that workers have been hard hit by the economic crisis. Shortage of forex means that companies cannot bring in raw materials and parts which has resulted in job losses. With fuel shortages and high prices for fuel and forex on the black market, cost of transport has become prohibitively expensive and the basic goods have become unaffordable.

The situation in Malawi worsened after Malawi expelled the British high commissioner Fergus Cochrane-Dyet in April 2011 after a British diplomatic cable was leaked which said President Mutharika was "becoming ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism". In response Britain expelled the Malawi and suspended US$550 million in aid over the next 4 years.

Britain had already reduced its support to Malawi in protest of the government’s purchase of a luxury jet exclusively for the president. Other donor countries also have withheld aid with rising concerns on repressive laws and mismanagement of funds. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than 70 per cent of the population living on less than a dollar a day and millions of people will suffer the consequences of worsening donor relations. Malawi is heavily dependent on foreign aid, with donor funding accounting for 40 percent of government’s budget, thus alienation of donors have added to the countries economic woes and intensified the forex crisis.

Organised labour came together with about 80 other civil society organisations, to arrange the July 20 protest marches in Malawi’s cities, intended to be peaceful and within constitutional bounds. Despite the brutal police crackdown, protestors took their demands to the district commissioners and called on the President to address these demands by  August 16 2011 or they would return to the streets.

Now many of the local civil society leaders, including labour leaders, are in hiding fearing for their lives after having received threats. Protests which were intended to remind the President that he was elected by the people and was accountable to the people have shown Mutharika to be unwilling to heed their calls. The day after the protests, Mutharika recognised the need for dialogue with civil society but now seems unwilling to engage with civil society and has since resorted to blaming civil society for the riots and deaths, increasing his dictatorial stance by threatening to put down any further protests against his rule. 

USA: The workers convert yellow-cake uranium into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which is used in nuclear fuel enrichment. USW Local 7-669 members have been locked off their jobs since June 28, 2010 and in the weeks following, Honeywell inexplicably re-started operations at a worksite utilizing dangerous chemicals with inexperienced replacement workers.

Local 7-669 President Darrell Lillie said the union is currently in the process of sorting out job re-classifications; Honeywell has created 21 new jobs and with the union retaining its seniority provisions in the tentative new agreement, job scheduling and job bidding must take place for returning workers.

Lillie said that should be complete today and the union will conduct an explanation meeting of the new contract early next week, with voting on the tentative agreement expected to occur by mid-week.

"Overall, we’re not entirely happy with the proposed contract but we are glad that several of the key issues that the company was trying to take from us will remain in place," said Lillie. "We preserved most provisions that are at the heart of what trade unionists value."

Those provisions include the seniority provisions, which allow senior-most workers to accept more favorable jobs when they become open; retention of a defined benefit pension plan for existing workers; retiree medical care under that same pension scheme; and retention of overtime pay for time work after eight and 12 hours per day. Honeywell workers in Metropolis work both eight- and 12-hour work shifts.

Another important provision kept by workers was time-and-a-half pay on the sixth consecutive day in a week worked, and double-time for the seventh. (See International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions(ICEM) news piece from earlier this month.)

Regarding wages, the proposal contains no increase for the first year of the contract, 1 per cent effective  August 15, 2012, and 2 per cent due on August 15, 2013. It should be noted that at the outset of the lockout, Local 7-669 proposed a freeze on wages and continuation of all terms and conditions from a previous three-year contract, but the company was set on gutting many benefits and union-protection provisions.

In the proposed agreement, new hires will fall into an equity fund scheme rather than the defined-benefit AlliedSignal Pension Benefit Thrift Fund, and workers on leave under the US Family and Medical Leave Act must take vacation time concurrently. A handful of janitorial and laundry jobs will be contracted out, and more worrisome in such a dangerous worksite, a single safety operator job will be outsourced. That position is responsible for maintaining all safety equipment throughout the plant, such as fire extinguishers, emergency breathing devices and other safety equipment.

Lillie said 150 workers will return to training and re-orientation as mandated by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on  August 15, 40 workers two weeks later, and the remainder two weeks after that. The unionized workforce will number about 220 workers when the experienced and qualified USW members are fully back to work.

"Local 7-669 is highly appreciative of the tremendous support we have received from trade unions, those in the community and others throughout this long lockout," said Lillie. "The donations, the international support, and the recognition by many here and abroad on what we were up against will never be forgotten."

TURKEY: Since April, more than 110 workers who were illegally fired after joining Birleşik Metal-İş have been holding pickets outside of the MAS-DAF Makina Sanayi factory in Düzce demanding their legitimate right to reinstatement.

On July 19, moments before a press conference was to be held announcing the union’s plans to ramp up actions with a 234 kilometer march from Düzce to Ankara, gendarmerie stormed the rally and forcefully detained 12 workers and union leaders, including Mr. Celalettin Aykanat, executive committee member of DİSK and Birleşik Metal-İş.

Following their release late in the evening and the following morning, workers and union leaders began their march to the capital city where they hope to deliver a strong message to the Turkish government and International Labour Organisation that workers must be allowed to join unions without fear of retaliatory dismissals or anti-union discrimination.

MAS-DAF workers are planning to be in front of the ILO Office in Ankara on July 28 and in front of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security on July 29.

The International Metalworkers’ Federation and the European Metalworkers’ Federation have actively campaigned for the reinstatement of MAS-DAF workers and urge affiliates of both organizations to send protest letters to:

Mr. Faruk Çelik
Minister of Labour and Social Security
Fax: +90 312 212 72 30

Mr. Vasip Şahin
Mayor of Duzce
Fax: +90 380 524 48 99