BRAZIL: At Vale’s general meeting of shareholders in Rio de Janeiro on May 19, Danilo Chammas from the Northeast Brazil Combonian Missionaries expressed not only concerns on the company’s  ongoing conflict with Canadian workers, who have been on strike now for over ten months, but also the social and environmental damages it has caused in Brazil, and its plans to invest and operate in Liberia.

Vale’s global corporate practices and its agenda of aggressive expansion has had major environmental and social impacts in Brazil. To stress this issue Chammas offered each person present at the meeting a copy of a 76 minute DVD documenting the impact of the company’s schemes on communities along the Carajás Axis, in Maranhão and Pará, Brazil. Chammas then summarized the letter sent to the Liberian President by the General Secretary of Forestry and Industrial Workers’ Union of Liberia (FLIWUL). The letter strongly advised that the president take into consideration Vale’s continuing violations and conflicts with workers.

Lastly he reminded shareholders of the impact that Vale’s conflict with the 3’500 Canadian workers out on strike has on production, which has in turn lead to financial loss. Chammas stated that, "it was not advisable for Vale to be hiring non-union workers to replace strikers, because the jobs in question require qualification and experience."

According to Cammas’ Report on the Shareholders meeting, published here, after requesting his remarks be recorded in the meeting notes, the meeting’s secretary Mr. Fabio Eduardo de Pieri Spina stated that his remarks "would not appear in the minutes, above all because it was inconceivable that in a meeting such as that one there could be any information raised by a shareholder that might constitute an obstacle to the company’s involvement in a business deal that had an immense profitability potential, such as the one to be developed in Africa, involving Liberia."

CHINA: Desperate working conditions, excessive working hours and low pay have pushed twelve workers at a Foxconn factors in Shenzhen, China to attempt suicide, ten of whom have died. . Taiwan-owned Foxconn is a massive electronics producer and a major supplier of Apple, producing iPhones and iPads. Foxconn employs around 800,000 workers at its 20 factories in China. The company also supplies Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Nokia, among others.

Confronted with the desperate acts of its workers, rather than taking immediate steps to improve working conditions, Foxconn instead treated the workers as the problem. It installed nets around the factory buildings and obliged the workers to sign contracts not to commit suicide. One Foxconn manager even suggested that workers were committing suicide in order to access compensation provided by company to victims’ families. Once reports of the suicides became news around the world, the company promised an average 20 per cent wage increase, but has yet to deliver. Foxconn pays its workers the minimum legal monthly wages of approximately US$140 with workers obliged to perform many extra hours of overtime to increase their wages.

The suicides at Foxconn highlight the massive pressures that are put on workers in electronics supply chains where long hours, high production volumes and low wages take their toll on worker health. Many of the pressures originate from the purchasing practices of the brand name buyers such as Nokia, Sony and Hewlett Packard that drive down prices and demand ever shorter delivery times.

"While it is good to see that companies such as Nokia are starting to express public concern about the suicides at Foxconn, they must take concrete steps to change the conditions of electronics supply chain production to protect workers," said Jyrki Raina, IMF General Secretary. "IMF will continue to pursue dialogue with the major electronics companies on how they can improve conditions for workers."

IMF is working with other trade unions and NGOs through the GoodElectronics network (http://www.goodelectronics.org/) to demand recognition of human rights and sustainable production throughout electronics supply chains. IMF supports the statement issued by GoodElectronics which calls on Foxconn and its customers to investigate the suicide cluster and to address the root causes. Full text of the statement is available here.

LabourStart, an online news service serving the international trade union movement by collecting and disseminating information, organized a campaign in support of Foxconn workers. To send your protest to the company visit the LabourStart page.

MEXICO: An agreement including the removal of a protection contract and recognition of freedom of association was reached at a Johnson Controls plant (Resureccion) in Puebla, Mexico after the workers went on strike for three days and with the support of local and international solidarity action.

On May 25, 342 workers at the Johnson Controls plant (Resureccion), producing interior components for BMW and Ford, signed affiliation cards for the National Union of Mine and Metal Workers (SNTMMSSRM). The workers demanded the company remove the company-controlled "protection" union (the Confederacion de Organizaciones Sindicales, or COS) and pay legally-required profit sharing, after the company’s notice that it would pay only $5 of profit sharing began the protest.

When an agreement was not reached and facing increasing intimidation, the workers at the plant went on strike at 14h30 on May 26.

Over the next three days the plant fell behind on its capacity to supply key clients including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Chrysler, Nissan and Volkswagen. In addition, pressure from local and international solidarity action resulted in the legal representative of Johnson Controls and the Sub-Secretary for Labor in the State of Puebla and the president of the Puebla Labour Board arriving and asking to negotiate with the workers.

The workers’ commission, accompanied by advisors from SNTMMSSRM, the Worker Support Center (CAT), and the Solidarity Center, negotiated an agreement which was eventually ratified by the workers. The key points of the agreement finally reached are:

• Johnson Controls will end its legal relationship with the COS union
• Johnson Controls will recognize the workers’ freedom of association in that they have chosen to affiliate to the SNTMMSSRM and in consequence Johnson Controls will provide all necessary support for registration of the collective bargaining agreement
• The company will take no legal action against the workers based on the work stoppage
• There will be no reprisals against workers who participated in the movement
• The company will pay 100 per cent of lost time
• Workers will receive a $100 bonus on May 31
• Workers will return to work on May 31
• The worker representatives will not send communications to the company in Mexico and the U.S. about labour situations that are not true
• The company will offer employment to all current employees of the subcontractor OneDigit

Throughout the dispute, additional pressure was applied by IMF and its affiliates who contacted the Johnson Controls headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, jamming their switchboard in support of the workers in Mexico and demanding the company respect freedom of association at the plant.

Through this combined action the workers have secure representation by the union of their choice, SNTMMSSRM, which will be able to take over the collective bargaining agreement on behalf of the workers. In addition the agreement includes the incorporation of approximately 80 subcontracting workers into the SNTMMSSRM bargaining unit.

IMF will continue to work with the workers at this plant and at another Johnson Controls plant (FINSA) in Puebla, Mexico to ensure freedom of association is also secured here.

GENEVA: The IMF used its submission to the UN Special Representative for Business and Human Rights to urge him to fully integrate the relationship between precarious work and the effective realization of human rights into his investigations and recommendations as a matter of priority.

John Ruggie’s mandate is to make recommendations on how States can better protect all human rights from abuses by or involving transnational corporations, as well as to enhance access to effective remedies available to those whose human rights are impacted by corporate activities. It is becoming increasingly evident that precarious employment has become one of the principal mechanisms through which transnational corporations are able to deny workers their human rights.

Today, millions of workers throughout the world and whole categories of employment are effectively being excluded from the reach of ILO Conventions 87 and 98, as well as a whole host of other employment rights including access to social security and pensions, maternity and family leave, overtime payments, vacation and holidays, and occupational health and safety.

Precarious work is rampant across all metal industries with the electronics and automotive industries currently the most affected. It disproportionately impacts young workers, migrant workers and women workers and makes a large contribution to the gender pay gap.

IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina said, "The only way that precarious workers can take action to improve their situation is to unionize. Yet precarious workers the world over are systematically being denied freedom of association."

In the submission, IMF stated its view that precarious work threatens the very survival of stable employment and collective bargaining, yet collective bargaining remains the only mechanism through which workers can obtain a genuine voice in their working conditions. Excluding precarious workers from collective bargaining not only denies them their human rights, it takes away their only real opportunity to improve their employment conditions.

Finally, IMF showed how unions throughout the world are using collective bargaining to limit abuses or to provide remedies for the victims of such abuses, while at the international level, international framework agreements are being signed which commit companies to ensuring respect of freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively throughout their operations and those of their suppliers. 

Currently IMF has two offices in the region, one in Malaysia and the other in India, which implement organizing, training and union building projects and activities together with the affiliates both in their countries of origin and abroad.

IMF activities in the region are primarily focused on metalworking sectors including shipbreaking, electronics, automobile, iron, steel and non ferrous metals.

Promoting solidarity and involvement of the national unions of the region in the international trade union movement is an important part of the daily work for the IMF representatives in the region.

Questions of free trade, the rises in precarious work and trade union rights violations are high on the agenda for the IMF in this region. All activities are coordinated and agreed with the headquarters in Geneva and regularly reported to the IMF governing bodies.

To get in touch with the IMF representatives in the region please contact

IMF regional representative in India Mr. Sudharshan Rao Sarde

SOUTH ASIA
IMF South Asia Office
Linz House
159-A Gautam Nagar
NEW DELHI 110 049
INDIA
Tel: (91/11) 2653 7125 – 5184 1138 – 2651 4283
Fax: (91/11) 2685 2813
E-mail: [email protected]

IMF regional representative in Malaysia Mr. P. Arunasalam

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
IMF Southeast Asia and Pacific Office
No. 10-3, Jalan PJS 8/4
Dataran Mentari, Bandar Sunway
46150 PETALING JAYA
Selangor Darul Ehsan
MALAYSIA
Tel: (60/3) 5638 7904
Fax: (60/3) 5638 7902
E-mail: [email protected]

MEXICO: The International Metalworkers’ Federation is calling on affiliates to take urgent action in support of over 400 workers at another of U.S. transnational Johnson Controls’ auto part plants in Puebla

Affiliates are requested to urge Johnson Controls to stop its repression of workers. Please call the Johnson Controls Inc. headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA and ask to leave a message for Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel Jerry Okarma and President Stephen Roell at +1 (414) 5241200.

On May 25, over 400 workers at the Johnson Controls Interiors plant (Resureccion) in Puebla, Mexico, producing interior components for BMW and Ford, signed affiliation cards for the National Union of Mine and Metal Workers (SNTMMSSRM or Los Mineros). Earlier, IMF has reported on a similar situation at a different Johnson Controls plant (FINSA) in Puebla, Mexico where a protection contract with a different union (CROM) exists.

The workers at the Resureccion plant are demanding that the company remove the company-controlled "protection" union (the Confederacion de Organizaciones Sindicales, or COS) and pay legally-required profit sharing, after the company’s notice that it would pay only $5 of profit sharing began the protest.

On May 25 the workers, accompanied by the Worker Support Center (CAT) and members of Los Mineros National Executive Committee, presented these demands to Johnson Controls’ Human Resources Director, Maricela Rodriguez.  The company rejected both demands and said it was the responsibility of the workers, not the company, to get rid of the protection union.

On May 26 a bus and a van with 70 thugs showed up outside the plant.  It is not confirmed if these men are armed. The company ran a fire drill to try to get the workers on the first shift to go outside but they refused to leave and remain working inside the plant.  The CAT currently has observers outside.

The US Labor Education in the Americas Project (USLEAP) reported on May 26, that representatives of the Federal Labor Secretariat are now inside the Johnson Controls Interiors plant and the company has allowed the 70 thugs from the COS inside as well. "The information we are getting is that at the end of the first shift (2:30 Central time) the workers will be called to an assembly and told that if they do not work they will all be fired," reports USLEAP.

Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls is the largest private company in Wisconsin. It has three plants in Puebla, Mexico that produce seats and seat parts, principally for the Volkswagen assembly plant in Puebla, but also for Chrysler, Ford, Mercedes Benz and Nissan.

USLEAP Solidarity Centre, Worker Support Center (CAT) and IMF’s affiliate Los Mineros are sending regular reports and updates to the IMF on the situation.

BELARUS: On May 18 police lieutenant O.O. Stepanchuk opened the office of the Belarusian union of workers of the radio-electronic industry (REPAM) for the Brest region, the premises of which are leased by the union at the address of ul. 17 sentyabrya, Brest. 

During the search of the premises, in addition to documents, various items of office equipment were seized: computers and a notebook belonging to permanent employees of the union staff and used for the purposes of the union. Following the search the office was sealed. 

Employees of the office were not invited to be present at the search and were not able to provide any explanations.  The organization’s safe was opened in the absence of the office’s employees and documents were seized. 

REPAM strongly protests the illegal acts of the Brest police and demands that the office equipment seized be returned to the union. 

REPAM has on many occasions been subjected to persecution by the Belarusian authorities.  In 2000 a complaint was submitted to the ILO for violations of trade union rights in Belarus.  Representatives of REPAM declared that they retain the right to add the illegal search to ILO case no. 2090 concerning violation of trade union rights in Belarus. 

These outrageous acts by the Belarusian authorities must not go unanswered.  The IMF calls upon its member organizations to send letters of protest to the Presidential Administration and the General Procurator’s Office of the Republic of Belarus:

Presidential Administration: + 375 17 2260610 (fax)

General Procurator’s Office: +375 17 3285727 (tel/fax)

Please send copies of your letters to the IMF regional office for the CIS countries in Moscow: +7(495) 974-16-22 (fax).

BELGIUM: In light of a bilateral trade agreement negotiated between European Union and  Colombia, Belgian trade union organizations CSC, FGTB and CGSLB as well as numerous non-governmental organizations belonging to the Belgian coalition for decent work demand proper investigation into cases of espionage committed by the Columbian intelligence service DAS in Belgium as recently revealed by world mass media.

The coalition of labour and NGO organizations also raised the issue of Colombia’s atrocious record on human and trade union rights with 2,742 assassinations of unionists over the last 15 years and impunity in 95 per cent of crimes committed against unionists, as well as numerous cases of attacks on fundamental freedoms of the population in Colombia.

Considering the terrible situation with trade union and human rights in Colombia and weak language of the clauses regarding decent work in the bilateral agreement negotiated between EU and Colombia, Belgian trade unions strongly opposed to the ratification of the bilateral investment agreement between the EU and Colombia signed by the Belgian minister of foreign affairs in 2009, which was consequently blocked by the Parliaments of Flanders and Wallonia and later by the Belgian federal government.

However, despite similar agreements with Colombia being rejected by the U.S., Canada and Norway for the reasons of grave human and trade unions violations, the EU continues negotiations with Colombia.

Belgian trade unions addressed their politicians demanding they use their power and block the agreement, support the views of John Monks, General Secretary of the European Confederation of Trade Unions who said, "Now that some governments are even suspending aid transfers to Colombia in response to the illegal activities of DAS, it is crystal clear that there is no credible way these negotiations can be concluded in this manner."

MOROCCO: An IMF monitoring mission met on May 19, 2010 with shop stewards from the SONASID/ArcelorMittal’s production sites at Nador and Jorf Lasraf. The workers’ representatives reiterated their dissatisfaction for the continuing violation by the Moroccan management of the local legal provisions on collective bargaining and representation, complaining about the management’s refusal to engage in constructive dialogue that is causing growing tensions among workers.

While recognizing significant improvements in health & safety standards with the development of a culture of safety since the arrival of ArcelorMittal, shop stewards brought very disturbing information to the IMF attention. The Moroccan management, presumably in an effort to meet the set work accident objectives, is reported to put in place all sorts of pressure on accident victims with the purpose of hiding accidents. Workers are reported to be submitted to psychological pressure and threatened of loosing bonuses and other benefits and career opportunities to convince them not to report accidents.

Dissatisfaction was also expressed at the poor implementation of the Global Health & Safety Agreement; its provisions, it has been indicated, seem to be often respected only for the sake of façade, while corrective measures agreed as indispensable by the H&S Committee are not really implemented with the endless postponement of deadlines.

Although not being the majority share holder, ArcelorMittal is obviously perceived as by far the most influential actor in SONASID management choices. Shop stewards showed bewilderment and surprise at the apparent lack of interest by the international ArcelorMittal management for such behaviour by its Moroccan partner. Contrary to a tradition of constructive industrial relations, the management style introduced at SONASID in recent years signals a substantial lack of respect for the local law and contradicts ArcelorMittal’s asserted HR philosophy.

The shop stewards have requested the IMF to support their demand for an urgent fact finding mission of the international committee to the sites of SONASID/ArcelorMittal to monitor the implementation of the Global Health & Safety Agreement.

An international trade union coordination meeting is planned for implementation in Morocco in September 2010, with the participation of unions organizing workers of ArcelorMittal and its local partners in countries of Maghreb and other regions.

MOROCCO: Shop stewards and union organizers from Leoni and other companies in the electronic industry in the industrial area of Berrshid, Morocco, met on May 18 to discuss strategies to organize workers at multinational companies and their suppliers.

The seminar addressed in particular the needs and problems of women who represent a fast growing percentage of the workforce in Maghreb. The IMF, in close collaboration with its affiliates in North African and European countries, is promoting coordination and networking among workers’ representatives and local unions with a view to increase solidarity and concrete collaboration. Materials for workers’ education have been produced in Arabic, with special attention to the needs of workers in Export Processing Zones.

Shop stewards from Leoni reported about their collective bargaining activity and achievements. Regional coordination has developed over the past two years between the local unions at Leoni sites in Tunisia and Morocco, who systematically monitor the implementation of the International Framework Agreement signed by Leoni.

The main issue of concern for metalworkers’ unions in Maghreb is the fast growth of precarious employment and the consequent erosion of workers’ and trade union rights. Companies, including big multinationals, make massive use of contract arrangements – often at the border line of legality and beyond it – that allow them to employ workers permanently under endlessly renewed temporary contracts. These, like the variety of other precarious jobs, grant much lower conditions of remuneration and poorer social protections, if any at all, than permanent jobs.

Even worse are the very frequent cases of illegal use of arrangements meant for trainees. In Morocco companies hire people massively under the ANAPEC programme – officially supposed to promote the youth first employment and granting companies with extraordinary fiscal and other exemptions – without any respect for the programme required conditions. Instead of a path to employment this results only in permanently precarious jobs for overexploited workers.

The video showcases the organizing strategies that Indonesian unions are using to organize workers, particularly women, in Export Processing Zones. The video can be viewed on IMF’s YouTube page and the IMF website here.

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