GLOBAL: Gathering in Geneva from all regions for its annual meeting on May 10-11, 2011, the IMF Working Party on Trade, Employment and Development (WP) analyzed what appears to be an un-resolvable inability of the multilateral system to set fair, effective, and democratically agreed rules for international trade. With the Doha Round stalemate, bilateral and regional agreements are taking more and more the scene of trade negotiations. This requires transparent discussions on the respective priorities between the trade unions from the countries involved.

Metalworkers’ regional coordination has improved, and so have the exchanges between IMF affiliates of different countries and North-South dialogue. In the presence of massive and effective corporate lobbying strategies, the workers’ interests need to be voiced more loudly. The WP recommended further development of the cooperation between IMF affiliates especially in terms of assessment of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) expected economic repercussions.

Concerns were expressed, especially by participants from Europe and India, for the lack of transparency and of trade unions information and involvement on the ongoing FTA negotiations. IMF and European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) improved cooperation over the past year was positively evaluated.

The WP agenda focused on negotiations that involve whole regions, as it is the case with the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement; on Japan’s trade strategy in the difficult post-earthquake scenario; on the EU’s FTA with Korea and negotiations with India, African countries and Mercosur. The impact of the growing economic presence of China in the Mercosur area was thoroughly analyzed. Developments in India’s trade policy were discussed, in particular its impact on the country’s labour market and the risk of an increased share of so-called informal jobs as a result of trade liberalization.

Future work plans for the Working Party were discussed. Texts of contributions by the participants and background documentation can be requested from [email protected].

KENYA: Participants of the IMF regional communicators’ forum for Central and South Africa gathered in Nairobi, Kenya on May 10 and 11 to discuss how to improve communications in their national unions and in the region.

During the seminar the participants, mostly young women, shared their experience on how communication work is organized in their unions and identified the existing challenges in their region. Unions from Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia attended the Forum.

Participants shared how the unions in the region use different channels to deliver their messages and communicate with their members. In some cases the primary channel is electronic mails and website, in others landline and mobile telephones as well as SMS-messages. However many referred to the necessity of additional contact with their members and activists even after they receive messages. Some participants identified the problem of lack of adequate training for their leaders, activists and rank-and-file members who often fail to effectively use the existing technical communication equipment. Also quite often activists are not reachable during working hours as their employer does not allow mobile phones at workplaces.

Almost all trade unions use extensively regular printed publications like magazines, newsletters or bulletins; distribute hand-to-hand pamphlets and leaflets among their members. Many are developing websites, however lack of resources is a serious problem to maintain this work at a strong basis.

The participants of the Forum including also representatives of the leadership unanimously decided to give a strong commitment to build and develop their own regional communicators’ network starting from the participants of the seminar and reaching beyond in order to exchange information about challenges for their unions and the ways to find adequate solutions. They also agreed to increase cooperation with the IMF regional office in Africa and supply the office with regular and timely updates on the work carried out by their respective unions.

During the Forum the participants received information on existing system of communication in the IMF. Following the presentation of the IMF regional office about regional publication Umoja the participants committed to assist in its development.

In conclusion of the first day of the Forum participants viewed a series of short films from the 2010 Geneva Labour Film Shorts Festival. Some copies of DVDs with the films were distributed among the participants to be used as training and education materials. The regional office also showed its own video materials made during the IMF global solidarity action in support of Mexican miners.

A short exercise on writing for the IMF website and an introduction to various communication resources was included in the Forum’s programme. The participants also received an update about the process of creation of a new International between IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF and the related communication work.

MEXICO: The International Tribunal on Trade Union Freedom in Mexico held further working sessions on April 28-30. These once again demonstrated the structural nature of the violence inflicted by the Mexican government on workers and their trade unions.

One year after the last session, the Tribunal observed with alarm that the situation regarding the systematic violation of basic labour rights has become even more acute

Héctor de la Cueva, Tribunal coordinator, explained: "We have just issued a resolution, the second resolution, which reports serious violations of the freedom of workers to organize in trade unions and the climate of violence in Mexico, not only in the country as a whole, but specifically against unionized workers. The violence against workers’ organizations in Mexico is being promoted in various ways by the Mexican government itself and the Tribunal demands an end to this state of affairs."

He added: "The country needs peace and it is in the power of the state to stop any act of aggression. This resolution covers practically all the international human rights agreements, particularly the ILO conventions, that are being violated in the country. Various cases were presented, with testimony from the affected organizations, such as the Mexican Miners’ Union. The Tribunal notes that all the rights that the ILO holds as being fundamental for the freedom of association are being violated in the case of the Miners’ Union and also in the case of the SME and many other movements that are unfortunately the victims of labour rights violations," he said.

The Tribunal issued a series of resolutions and conclusions directed at national and international bodies and called on the international trade union movement, including all the international trade union federations, to adopt these resolutions and support a series of initiatives that could be taken in different forums. The coordinator maintained that "it is important that support is given to trade union resolutions put forward to international organisations like the ILO, so we are asking for international federations such as the IMF, which are members of the organising committee of the International Tribunal, to support its denunciations and resolutions and use this instrument, this resolution, as it sees fit in the various international forums, where it can be used as a basis for action, especially in the case of the miners of Mexico."

The Trade Union Freedom Tribunal in Mexico is a civil society tribunal, convened and sponsored by trade unions and civil society organisations from various countries, including Mexico. Its judges are lawyers, experts on labour and human rights from various fields, that have been brought together to consider the freedom of association situation in Mexico, explained Héctor de la Cueva.
He added that the Tribunal is a court of conscience and its resolutions are therefore not binding. The resolutions do however have moral weight so they can be presented to other international bodies such as the ILO.

With regard to the possibility that the Tribunal could act in other countries of Latin America, Héctor said that requests have been made to take the Tribunal to other countries where there are serious violations of basic labour rights, especially the freedom of association. He explained that in this context, "a discussion has begun to see which international organizations are willing to fund the Tribunal’s work in Latin America and further afield; some trade unions say that a Tribunal on the Freedom of Association should consider the situation in the United States. So the situation is that we are in discussions to define the scope of the Tribunal and the composition of the organizing committee, that is, which organizations would fund the Tribunal’s work if it were to also address the situation in other countries. We have had a request to take the Tribunal to Colombia, for example, where it would be necessary to create a broad, diverse and plural national committee and an international committee that would be able to continue the Tribunal’s work and we are working for that to happen," he concluded.

MEXICO: Fourteen miners were confirmed dead on May 8 after their bodies were retrieved from a coal mine in Sabinas, Mexico following an explosion on May 3. The explosion also resulted in a 15 year old boy, working in the mouth of the mine, losing his arm and hospitalized with other injuries.

"The death of these 14 miners again highlights the terrible dangers miners face in Mexico and the urgent need for better regulation and provision of safety in mines," said IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina.

The mine, which was operating without a permit and had been working for 20 days to a depth of approximately 50 meters, is known as a "potico". These small informal mines are dug by men and teenagers who can extract as much as 30 tonnes of coal a day.

The Sabinas mine is located in the state of Coahuila, the same state where an explosion at the Pasta de Conchos coal mine in 2006, left 65 miners dead and most of their bodies remain trapped until this day in the worst mine disaster in recent times in Mexico.

IMF-affiliated Mexican Miners’ Union, Los Mineros, issued a statement saying that, regardless of the type of mine, workers "deserve to work in adequately safe conditions where sufficient health protections are in place". The union is calling for companies that do not implement adequate health and safety measures to be punished for criminal negligence, and for state or federal authorities to be punished for failing to meet their responsibility to protect the lives and health of Mexican workers.

Los Mineros, supported by the IMF, has continuously called for an investigation into the Pasta de Conchos disaster. Families of the lost men have been fighting for years to recover their remains, while Los Mineros and the international union community have sought justice. Los Mineros President Napoleón Gómez has called the disaster "industrial homicide."

"The evidence shows that the Mexican government is failing to adequately regulate the mining industry in Mexico, and Mexican workers are too often paying with the ultimate price: their life," said Raina.

SWITZERLAND: At a combined global union meeting on May 6 at UNI’s offices in Nyon, Switzerland, affiliates from the IMF, the EMF and UNI that have membership in IBM unanimously endorsed a document that creates a Global Union Alliance in IBM. According to the agreement signed by the three federations, unions in IBM commit themselves to working together at global level to strengthen cooperation and implement joint action, with a view to engaging IBM in dialogue at global level and increasing union membership at IBM.

Having endorsed the formation of the Alliance, unions present agreed that the first joint action of the Alliance should be held in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of IBM which will be celebrated by the company on June 16. Unions worldwide in IBM will mark the anniversary of the company by joining in actions which will promote the important role of unions in looking after worker interests in the company and demand respect for IBM employees, including respect for their union rights.

The IBM unions also agreed that the Global Union Alliance should work to increase unionization in the company, share information on collective agreements with IBM and support unions facing anti-union actions by the company.

INDIA: Workers in General Motors India, Halol Plant, Gujarat called off the strike that began on March 16. An amicable settlement between the workers and GM management was reached at the intervention by the State Labour Department on the ground that suspended workers will be reinstated and pending issues of production will be decided by discussion/mediation in the presence of a Labour Officer.

However, the GM India Management has not officially recognized the workers’ union, Gujarat Kamdar Mandal, affiliated to Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), though the management negotiated with the union representatives. Further, the legal issues regarding transfer of workers, increased workload, inhuman treatment, wage agreement, which are pending in courts of law and the labour department will be dealt with in accordance with law and these are not part of the understanding reached before the Deputy Commissioner of Labour, Vadodara. The management has neither accepted demands on these issues nor is willing to negotiate with the workers. According to the Deputy Commissioner of Labour Mr. K O Shah, a committee, comprising representatives of the protesting workers and the management, has been formed to look into the dispute.

Earlier on April 21 2011, in its complaint to National Contact Point (NCP) Secretariat, Netherlands the union claimed that 450 workers have suffered spinal injury. Instead of reducing the work load and bringing it down to a comfortable level the management is coercing the workmen to bear the extra workload. When workers complain of pain they were forced to swallow pain killers and apply pain reliever ointment. When the workers complain of health problems, they are transferred. Fourteen employees were suspended when they approached legitimate authorities with their grievances. Workers have to work nine hours a day for six days in a week, which is against the maximum statutory permissible number of hours being 48 hours per week. Furthermore, temporary workers perform the same tasks as that of permanent workers, but are denied equal remuneration.

It is significant to note that the GM Halol Plant, located in a remote industrial area, abruptly discontinued the canteen facility on March 16. When the workers went out of the gate for lunch, they were prevented from entering. This inhuman treatment triggered the wildcat strike in which more than 600 workers participated and lasted 51 days.

GERMANY: 37 delegates representing the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF) met on May 5 in Frankfurt. This was the fourth meeting of a joint task force set up by the decision-making bodies of the three global union federations.

Task force members confirmed their support for the unifying process of workers in the extractive and manufacturing industries, which would create a powerful counterpart to transnational corporations and for defending trade union rights and organizing unorganized workers throughout supply chains into strong and self-reliant unions. The unions want to fight forcefully for good quality industrial jobs and against precarious forms of employment.

The task force agreed on a proposal for an affiliation fee system for a new global union federation, which would unite 50 million industrial workers in more than 130 countries.

Progress was also made on the draft statutes for the new organization. The framework for regional and sectoral activities was almost finalized. Further discussions will be held on the size and role of decision-making bodies and the gender balance.

The proposals from the task force will be presented to IMF’s Executive Committee on May 25-26 in Geneva, and to a joint meeting of the Executive Committees of the three global union federations on May 25.

The process will also be discussed at IMF’s regional conferences this year. If an acceptable result in the talks is achieved, IMF’s Central Committee on December 7-8 may decide to convene an extraordinary Congress in 2012. Similar decisions are expected from ICEM’s and ITGLWF’s decision-making bodies.

MEXICO: The IMF Regional Conference for Latin American and Caribbean affiliates was held in Mexico City on May 2 and 3. Union delegates discussed the advantages for strengthening trade unionism opened up by the creation of a new international trade union federation, uniting the IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF.

One day earlier conference participants attended the May Day rally in Mexico in support of IMF affiliate the Mexican Miners’ Union and other independent and democratic unions in Mexico.

The regional conference held an important debate about the creation of the new international trade union federation, in which affiliates shared their opinions and doubts about the process. IMF General Secretary, Jyrki Raina, gave an update on the progress, decisions and meetings that have taken place and will take place to finalise drafting of the mission and objectives.

The conference also debated gender, trade union networks, solidarity, trade, employment and development issues. Affiliates assessed implementation of national and regional Action Programmes with the focus on precarious employment.

A separate meeting was held on women and this debated women’s participation in trade union structures, assessed the situation at affiliates in the region and discussed the shape of structures in the new International federation.

Affiliates looked at the problems particular to each country and affiliate in the region, for example the struggle of Acepar workers in Paraguay and the violation of trade union rights in Colombia and Mexico.

On closing the conference, Jyrki Raina called on delegates to recognise the importance of social and political alliances for advancing the cause of trade unionism and thanked delegates for their contributions to the debates held during the conference.

THAILAND: During a recent study tour of the base metals industry the International Metalworkers’ Federation met with Amporn Nitisir, Director General of the Ministry of Labour. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss current issues faced by industry and unions in the base metals sector and the role that government can play.

During the meeting the IMF delegation outlined ongoing concerns over freedom of association laws in Thailand. In particular the fact that successive Thai government’s had failed to ratify ILO Conventions 87 and 98 which deal with the Freedom of Association. The Director General replied that she felt progress had been made with a recent bill passing through congress and awaiting approval within the Senate, which would then allow the Thai Government to ratify the ILO conventions.

However the decision to call a general election would mean that the process could not move forward until a new government had been elected. The Director General stated that whatever the result of the election the Labour Ministry would continue to press for ratification at the earliest opportunity. It was also clear during the meeting that Chalee Loysong, President of IMF’s affiliate TEAM had played a very prominent role in lobbying and pressuring government for support.
The IMF’s Regional Representative Arunasalam informed the Director General that "Organizing workers in this region is never easy, that’s why it’s so important for governments to ensure fairness. If we have a level playing field then the labour movement can flourish in the true spirit of social justice."

As part of the mission participants attend an organizing labour union committee meeting at the Solidarity Centre and addressed over 20 local union organizers.

Other issues discussed in the meetings included foreign investment into Thailand, from large TNCs such as ArcelorMittal, Bluescope, Tata Steel. A new development was also the recent outward investment of SSI a Thai steel company in Teeside in the United Kingdom. Despite the fact that many of these foreign TNCs have organized workforces in other countries, union density in Thailand remains low.

During the mission participants also met with Heads of Industry from SSI and Tata Steel to discuss issues of common interest such as climate change, building greater cooperation, and maintaining a sustainable industry. The Thai Steel industry mainly supplies the construction industry, automotive sector, canning and white goods sector with overall consumption in each sector growing.

Mick Leahy General Secretary of Community and President of the IMF Steel Department summarized the meetings by saying, "We have had a positive mission and opened up a communication channel with government. During our visit we have also met with Heads of Industry, and local union leaders and all seem open to working together, which can only benefit the industry and workers."

GLOBAL:  Launched on April 15, the second annual Labour Video competition saw hundreds of nominations for the best labour video. On May 3 LabourStart announced an international panel of judges selected a short list of five finalists.

The following five videos were included, click on the title to see the videos:

• Experience Matters
• Workplace Democracy: Corporate Style
• Refusal of Unsafe Work (English)/ Non Au Travail Dangereux (French)
• Things To Know From Wisconsin
• The Red Tail – Official Trailer 

To cast your vote click on the link Labour Video of the Year, voting ends on midnight GMT on Tuesday, May 31, 2011, at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/599P5KX

As earlier announced this year the IMF together with the International Trade Union Confederation and other Global Union Federations is producing the Global Union Labour Film Shorts which will include a range of different films from different parts of the world. The launch of the one-hour line-up will take place at the European Metalworkers’ Federation "Unions in Motion" film festival, coming up on June 10 to 11, at Landschaftspark Nord in Duisburg, Germany.  For details go to: http://www.emf-fem.org/EMF-Congress-2011/Unions-in-Motion