GENEVA: Global unions united to send the government of Canada a strong message that Canada cannot continue to lend support to the asbestos industry lobby on April 28, 2010. 

The delegation of global union representatives met with Joanne Hamilton, Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations and reminded the government of Canada that current UN policy is to ban asbestos, including chrysotile asbestos. The delegation included representatives from the Council of Global Unions (CGU), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and the sectoral global unions most affected, the Building Workers’ International (BWI), International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) and International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Union (ICEM).

The backdrop to this delegation visit is the role played by Canada: as advanced industrialized nations forge forward with a ban on asbestos, the asbestos industry lobby-lent the scientific, political and organizational leadership of the industry in Canada with support by the Canadian government and missions abroad-has tried to counteract efforts to educate about the dangers and ban asbestos by expanding exports of this known killer to the developing world. 

Citing figures that 93 per cent of the chrysotile asbestos imported by the Philippines is from Canada, BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson raised the concern that it is the very countries least equipped to handle an epidemic of asbestos-related diseases are the very ones targeted by the industry.  

IMF Assistant General Secretary Hiroshi Kamada emphasized that owing to the long latency period of asbestos-related disease, even if we banned it today we will still see people dying in the future and contrasted this with the poignant case of shipbreaking workers in India and Bangladesh, who are often "young boys with less access to education and who should have a future".

ICEM Health, Safety and Sustainability Officer Brian Kohler, who saw colleagues die of asbestos related diseases when he worked as a health and safety officer of the CEP in Canada, also told the Permanent Mission that 60 per cent of occupational deaths in Quebec is related to asbestos and of the cost to Canada in stature in the world should Canada continue to support the asbestos big business lobby.

Meanwhile in India a one day mass hunger strike was jointly organized by the IMF and BWI at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. Hundreds of workers  belonging to the All Escorts Employees’ Union and Building Workers Unions assembled to make their protest in support of a ban on the use of asbestos, stating that it is not safe in any form or colour.

A delegation of IMF and BWI representatives also delivered a memorandum to Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India demanding an immediate ban on all asbestos imports, noting that industrialized countries such as Canada have stopped using asbestos but continue to dump it on countries like India.

In Australia the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) joined the Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia in a visit to the Canadian embassy on April 28 also demanding an end to the production and distribution of asbestos.

"While Canada can proudly claim to be at the forefront in many areas of social and economic responsibility, it is certainly a very dark stain on the country’s reputation that the Canadian asbestos industry, supported by their Government, has been aggressively targeting the world’s most vulnerable people for its poisonous products," said AMWU National President Paul Bastian.

http://www.amwu.org.au/read-article/news-detail/471/Rally-calls-for-end-to-Canadian-asbestos-trade/

CANADA-EUROPE: International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) joined Canadian affiliates in the call for proper consultation on and assessment of the impact of a Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA).

The Trade Justice Network in Canada is demanding the release of details on the talks as concern mounts about the impact of the potential trade deal. The Network demands that proper consultation takes place and the full assessment of the impact of the potential free trade agreement would have on public policy, public services, the economy, poverty, gender culture, human rights and the environment, a call supported by the IMF.

With support from IMF affiliates the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and the United Steelworkers (USW), an open Canadian civil society declaration on the proposed trade agreement calls for:

• Full transparency
• A comprehensive impact assessment
• Protection for public services
• Strengthened social policy
• The right to public procurement
• The right to regulate
• Protection of cultural sovereignty
• No provision for investor rights as with the U.S. and Mexico in NAFTA
• Full protection of labour rights
• Respect and protection of indigenous rights
• Ecological sustainability and climate action

The full text of the declaration can be seen here.

The CAW reports that, "The proposed Canada-EU agreement, as with any other free trade deal, will likely exacerbate current trade flows as well as widen trade imbalances. Canada maintains a colossal trade deficit with our European cousins. In 2008 we imported $17 billion more in goods than we exported to the EU. Much of that is because of a lingering trade deficit in manufactured goods, particularly automobiles. In fact, for every $1 we export in autos to the EU we import $15.30! Canada doesn’t fare much better in services either, with a trade deficit of $4 billion (2007 figures)".

Unions and civil society partners in Canada are concerned about the trade deal as the country has lost over 550,000 good-paying manufacturing and processing sector jobs in recent years. A trend that is made worse by the steady deterioration in the quality of service jobs across the country in both the public and private sector.

"Forward thinking and strategic economic intervention, not more short-sighted free trade deals, well help to foster a more integrated approach by government to build dynamic, competitive and successful industries," states the CAW.

MEXICO: The IMF joined Latin American and Caribbean affiliates in important actions in solidarity with Mexican miners on the occasion of the regional conference held in Mexico City on April 21-22.

On April 20, an IMF delegation travelled to Lázaro Cárdenas to attend a tribute to the miners who died there on April 20, 2006. The federation reiterated its support for the miners’ union and its leader Napoleon Gomez.

Later, during the regional conference itself, leaders of the miners’ union and Jyrki Raina, IMF General Secretary and Carol Bruce of the ICEM, held a press conference that focused on IMF complaints to the ILO about how the "protection contracts" prevalent in Mexico violate the freedom of association. The press conference also criticised the Supreme Court’s ruling that backed Grupo México’s decision to close the Cananea mine.

Finally, on Friday April 23, the IMF delegation, together with a group of union leaders and miners from Cananea, Somberete and  Taxco, went to the Grupo Mexico offices to deliver a letter to the company president, Germán Larrea Mota-Velasco, in support of the miners’ union. Regrettably, no company official would receive the letter and so it was delivered to security staff as the union delegation chanted in support of the miners’ struggle and against the company president.

The letter condemns the persecution of Mexican miners on strike and demands justice for the families of the victims of the Pasta de Conchos disaster and respect for the freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The Mexican Miners’ Union thanked the IMF and its affiliates for their solidarity and assured them that, with international support, they "will win this battle, come what may".

MEXICO: The IMF Latin American and Caribbean Regional Conference was held on April 21-22 in Mexico City and was attended by representatives of affiliated trade unions in the region.

The conference establishes the main challenges for the region, in accordance with the needs of affiliates and the IMF’s Action Programme.

The meeting was opened by the IMF general secretary, Jyrki Raina, and the general secretary of the Mexican Miners’ Union, Napoleon Gómez Urrutia, who made his speech using video conferencing facilities.

On the morning of the first day, Dr Arturo Alcalde made a presentation on the crisis, its impact on workers’ rights and the Mexican labour relations system.

Jyrki Raina examined the scope for trade union unity at the global level, among the GUFs and in the structures of affiliated organisations.

Affiliates also discussed their respective situations with reference to the main IMF actions this year, including national unity; International Framework Agreements (how to include suppliers); unionize the non-unionized; unified criteria for outsourcing; and how to deal with transnational companies.

The second day examined issues such as precarious work, climate change, networking, communications networks, gender, white-collar workers and international solidarity.

On 23 April, a delegation from the Regional Conference will go to the offices of the Grupo Mexico company and present a declaration of solidarity with the struggle of Mexican miners, demand respect for the freedom of association and call for an end to hostilities against the workers and the national miners’ union.

AFRICA: Building strong unions to deal with challenges of precarious work, worker unity, climate change and industrialization in Africa was the focus of the IMF Southern Africa sub-regional meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa from April 19 to 21, 2010.

Thirty participants representing nine countries attended the meeting where affiliates presented detailed reports on their national situations, including problems of union growth, sustainability and in a few instances union repression, particularly in Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The need to consolidate workers’ organizations was again a theme of discussion. Precarious work, including the notion of the working poor, was also once more identified as a major challenge in the region.

Following the presentation of regional and executive reports, affiliates agreed that building stronger unions needs to be the emphasis of IMF regional work and activities towards this should focus on recruitment in Nigeria, Kenya and Angola which have a potentially large membership base. Worker unity also needs top be a focus area especially in Zimbabwe and Mauritius. Affiliates also discussed barriers to implementation at country level of actions agreed to at regional level. In budget discussions, affiliates acknowledged the need to work towards self sufficiency for union activities, thus unions need to work towards financial sustainability.

Participants were informed on the declaration of intent for the proposed merger/cooperation between IMF, International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF) and International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM). Affiliates discussed issues pertaining to the process of the merger, a cooperation phase and the implications for unions. The meeting fully supported the merger but felt that follow up discussions between the regional leadership of the three GUFs on the processes are needed to address concerns that were raised on regional cooperation. Also in attendance at the meeting were the Africa regional representatives of ICEM and ITGLWF.

Various members of the secretariat contributed to reporting on issues pertaining to the situation in Africa from an economic and union perspective and a presentation on climate change and its implications for Africa was given. Unions expressed a lack of exposure to the issues of climate change and it was apparent that even where national centres had engaged and taken positions these were not integrated into union plans. It was noted that climate change is a complex and relatively new issue to many. Discussions expanded the general position that climate change is a reflection of the fossil fuel-based capitalist accumulation. A discussion document, published in English on the IMF website here, was developed to serve as a basis for further deliberations towards developing a policy for Africa on climate change linked to industrial development.

Issues from the IMF Working Party on Trade and Development were presented to delegates and a broad ranging discussion ensued. The complex and interdependent nature of south, south trade relations were noted but also the destructive process currently underway whereby individual countries were being pressured to reach agreements with the EU.

Issues raised on trade and development were many and varied and it was felt that these along with climate change needed to be contextualised in a broader workshop process around industrialisation and development in the region. To assist affiliates with understanding the processes related to NAMA and other trade and development issues the Regional Office was mandated to develop a paper detailing these issues to feed into follow up processes.

Other key outcomes of the meeting included agreement by affiliates on continued action to support the precarious work campaign. The meeting noted that with the exception of South Africa many unions do not have sufficient membership of non-manual workers and there is a need to develop a campaign to organize these workers. There is also a need to develop a proper framework towards industrial development in Africa and the creation of decent work through this process. Coupled to this discussion needs to be consideration of trade related issues and climate change. The potential for a follow up workshop on this is to be investigated for later this year.

The International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) represents the collective interests of 25 million metalworkers from more than 200 unions in 100 countries. Through solidarity across national boundaries we seek to improve metalworkers’ wages, working and living conditions and to ensure that workers’ rights are respected.

We want to ensure that working people share in the wealth generated through sustainable economic growth. We do this by organizing workers, building strong national unions, strengthening collective bargaining, defending workers’ rights, building a counterweight to the power of transnational corporations and fighting for sustainable trade, development and employment.

Solidarity in action
Read about the work of the IMF in action, as showcased in our case studies:

• Global action against precarious work
• Asking for justice in Mexico!
• Reducing shipbreaking hazards in India
• Release Korean Unionists!
• Organizing women workers in Indonesia
• Building sustainable unions in Africa
  

SWEDEN: IMF Swedish affiliates Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer  representing non-manual workers recently reached a central agreement with employers in the engineering sector.  The agreement, to be supplemented by local negotiations, is valid for 18 months and applies between April 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011.  It provides for a minimum of a 2.6 per cent wage increase – should local negotiations not result in higher wage gains – and is to be implemented in three steps: a 0.7 per cent wage increase on June 1, 2010, a 0.5 per cent increase over the next 12 months, and another 1.4 per cent increase on June 1, 2011.   The agreement further includes an additional 0.2 per cent increase taking into account skill development. The guaranteed wage increase amounts to a minimum SEK 294 (€30).

The central agreement concluded in the mining, steel and metal sectors, also to be supplemented by local negotiations, provides for a minimum 3.2 per cent wage increase over a 22-month period, starting on April 1, 2010 with a guaranteed wage rise of SEK 359 (€36).  As in the engineering sector, an additional 0.2 per cent  per year is set aside for individual professional development.  Moreover "parental wages" are expanded by another month to total five months.  "Parental wages" are paid by employers and supplement parental allowances, so that these two compensations together represent about 90 per cent of the wage. 

The negotiating parties also agreed on:

• Establishing a joint working group to analyse various ways and means of financing skill development, including possible changes in legislation;
• Establishing a task group within the industry committee to advance equality issues;
• Better information and training on rehabilitation and occupational health and safety;
• Improving travelling time compensation.

SINGAPORE: IMF’s sub-regional meeting gathered 62 union leaders from 12 unions in 11 countries to discuss the priority action areas in the Asia Pacific region and in the world, based on IMF’s Action Programme.

Experiences were exchanged on the handling of the financial and economic crisis, which hit hard the metal industry in many countries of the region. Unions reported on the pressure they had put on their governments on employment and economic policies. Active support measures, including training and retraining of workers, had proved to be essential. Fight against precarious employment should be raised as one the main points at the forthcoming G20 summit.

The meeting supported the draft recommendations by an IMF mission on action against violations of human and trade union rights in the Philippines, in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO).  The mission called upon a common platform for the MWAP, PMA and ALU-Metal unions in the Philippines to develop organising and union building activities.

Participants discussed the concept of trade union networks in transnational companies, which had been defined by the Executive Committee as a priority area. Unions in the parent company’s country should undertake an active coordinating role. A key to success is regular exchange of information.

Reports from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam told about successes in organizing and union building. A strategic workshop in July will evaluate the past projects and look at new approaches on growth and building stronger unions.

Participants called for a fair international agreement on climate change and active IMF involvement at the COP 16 meeting in Mexico later this year. Green jobs, just transition and reforestation have to be part of the package.

The conference noted positively the increased participation of women, and stressed the need for continued improvement in women’s representation in union bodies at all levels, as well as work on equal pay and equal opportunities. Non-manual workers are a growing group and will require special attention in organizing.

Affiliates agreed on continued action on a global ban on asbestos, based on IMF’s Congress resolutions. Fifty-two countries have introduced such a ban, but the use of asbestos is increasing in countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Following a discussion at the sub-regional meeting, IMF and its sister organisations Building Workers’ International and International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Union agreed in a special workshop on joint action on asbestos, especially in India, Vietnam and the Philippines.

MEXICO: Thousands of miners from section 271 of the miners’ union in Michoacán, wearing red T-shirts and waving flags, assembled with their families around the monument to the memory of the two miners’ leaders who died four years ago defending the freedom of association and trade union autonomy.

Héctor Álvarez and Mario Alberto Castillo were killed on April 20, 2006, during the first bloody demonstration organised to defend the miners’ union.

IMF representatives participated in the ceremony at Lázaro Cárdenas. Jyrki Raina, IMF General Secretary, reiterated the international solidarity for Mexican miners and their leader Napoleón Gómez Urrutia.

Speaking by telephone, Napoleón Gómez called for miners in the union to stay united and to increase the pressure to bring those responsible to justice. "We respectfully demand that the National Human Rights Commission takes action so that those responsible are prosecuted and sentenced".

Leaders representing the Canadian USW and the Honduran union FETRAMIMH  also attended.

Jyrki Raina was interviewed by the local press, mainly about IMF denunciations to the ILO about violations of the freedom of association.

GLOBAL: Unions play a crucial role in education and prevention of injury and ill health at the workplace. Unions take local and national action to press for government responsibility to create a framework for workers’ health and foster public awareness of hazards. Unions the world over also take international action to make sure that your job does not kill you whether in the advanced, industrialized world or the developing world. 

The March 31, 2010 death of 23 year old Jiyeon Park, she was the latest loss in a cluster of leukemia cases of workers who were employed at Samsung, has highlighted the urgent need to provide collective solutions to workplace exposure. The Korean Metal Workers’ Union will hold a rally event this April 28 to grieve her death but also to combat the misperception that cancer is an individual problem and fight for recognition of occupational cancer. 

This year, the IMF calls on its affiliates to take up the issue of occupational exposure, in particular, to increase awareness and mobilize to stop death and suffering from asbestos-related diseases.  As part of IMF and Building Workers’ International cooperation in Asia to prevent asbestos related disease, IMF and BWI affiliates in Delhi will jointly mobilize workers for a day-long hunger strike to draw the central government’s attention to the urgent need to ban the use of asbestos and ensure its safe disposal. 

While many workers in the industrialized world have succeeded in bringing about a ban on asbestos, the production and distribution of asbestos has to the contrary been on the rise, in part owing to the massive export of asbestos to the developing world. In Australia unions will visit the Canadian embassy and call for an end to the production and distribution of asbestos.

IMF calls on its affiliates to take action this April 28 and remember that when it comes to occupational disease, prevention is the only cure and union action makes all the difference, as "Unions Make Work Safer".

IMF affiliates taking action on April 28 are asked to inform IMF by sending an email to Hyewon Chong.

RESOURCES: 

• Unions interested in pressing their government to develop a National Programme for the Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases (NPEAD) can download the ILO/WHO model NPEAD with sample National Asebestos Profile here.
• Even the World Bank has issued a good practice guidance note forbidding the use of asbestos in WB funded projects; see guidance note here.
• Download the ITUC leaflet explaining Workers’ Memorial Day here.
• See how workers around the world are remembering 28 April at the Hazards’ 28^th April website.
• Join the Workers’ Memorial Day Facebook page.