Union gears up organizing Namibia’s auto workers

MANWU, an IndustriALL affiliate, wants to boost its membership in the sector.

Namibia’s automotive sector is growing. The government has backed original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), most notably Peugeot, as anchors for a domestic industry. But the Peugeot project has stalled. The carmaker has struggled to sustain sales in the local market and has not broken into exports. Fewer jobs have been created as a result.

New entrants, among them Chinese manufacturers, are expected to make in-roads into Namibia’s still-modest market. Meanwhile, the government is laying groundwork for an electric vehicle (EV) industry. This is in line with a Just Transition policy that seeks to ensure the shift to clean transport does not happen at workers’ expense.

Learning the basics

The workshop, supported by IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa regional office, covered occupational health and safety (OHS), workplace case handling, organizing strategies and the Just Transition.

OHS committees were described as a centrepiece of the training. Workers learnt how to establish and run such committees. When they function properly, the committees are among the most effective mechanisms available. They reduce injuries, enforce legal protections and give workers a formal voice over working conditions. In a sector where safety risks are common and enforcement uneven, health and safety are key.

“We came to learn how to handle cases at the workplace, to know our rights and what the union can do for us,”

said Stephanie Kapuka who works at Gobabis Toyota.

Case handling including navigating disciplinary procedures, grievances and disputes were discussed. For workers without specialist legal training, workplace conflicts can feel unwinnable. The workshop aimed to change that, building confidence alongside competence.

Participants were honest about the organizing challenge. Collective bargaining improves only when membership grows. Workers must trust that the union can deliver. And the union must have the numbers to sit at the negotiating table.

Just Transition

In Namibia, where mining and manufacturing are central to livelihoods and under pressure from decarbonization, the meaning of the Just Transition is contested. For MANWU’s members, just transition means the automotive sector will be transformed. The global push for EVs is reshaping the industry, even if uptake in Namibia remains low. If workers are not at the table, the costs will fall on the most vulnerable. That was the clear message from the shop stewards. MANWU is participating in national Just Transition discussions and wants to ensure that shop stewards can translate the policy language back to the shop floor.

“I want to understand what Just Transition means for our jobs, not just to hear the phrase but know what it actually means for workers like us,”

said Andreas Hochobes from Drydock and Ship Repair.

“With the transition going through the automotive industries as a result of e-mobility, unions should continue their recruitment drives and engage in collective bargaining. Social dialogue with key partners remains essential in order to protect workers’ working conditions,”

said Paule-France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub-Saharan Africa.

IndustriALL raises workers’ rights concerns at Glencore AGM

Affiliates from Colombia’s Sintracarbon and Australia’s Mining & Energy Union (MEU) joined IndustriALL’s director of mining, Emmanuel Adjei-Danso, at the meeting. The delegation presented coordinated challenges to Glencore’s board covering mine closure planning, use of contract workers, as well as injured worker protections. A prolonged bargaining dispute at Ulan Underground in New South Wales was also raised.

Sintracarbon called on Glencore to publish a detailed closure framework for the Cerrejón mine, confirmed for closure in 2034. The union also called for a halt to replacing direct employees with contractor labour in the lead-up to the closure. 

The MEU raised concerns about Glencore’s enterprise agreement strategy at Australian mine sites, arguing it is designed to undermine Same Job Same Pay legislation. The delegation also challenged the NSW Minerals Council’s push to reduce accident pay protections for injured coal workers.

IndustriALL made clear that regional cases must be addressed within a broader framework. This means tackling coal price volatility and developing a genuinely worker-driven just transition approach.

In response, Glencore indicated the company would engage IndustriALL through regional dialogues, with South Africa, Colombia and Australia identified as immediate priorities.

Following the AGM, IndustriALL held constructive conversations with the CEO and head of HR, from which a structured approach to resolving outstanding issues was agreed. That process will map each issue against the relevant resolution pathway, desired outcome and timeline.

Said IndustriALL mining director Emmanuel Adjei-Danso:

“The commitments made in Zug will be tested not by words at an AGM but by whether genuine dialogue is established at regional and site level. And of course whether workers’ concerns are met with concrete action.”

Iraqi oil and gas unions plan for Just Transition

A high number of female and young trade unionists accounted for more than half of the participants. A growing participation of women and young people in workshops and trade union structures is a new trend for the union. IGFOGPU aims to increase female and youth representation in activities and structures to at least 40 per cent.

Participants highlighted key challenges for the coming period, especially with regards to the energy transition. Anticipated implications for the fossil fuel sector relate not to a halt in production but to the adoption of new extraction technologies. This, together with a shift towards renewable energy, particularly solar power, is expected to render thousands of workers in the energy sector redundant.

​The union representatives called for a strategy to retrain affected workers and support their reintegration into the labour market.

The trade unions expect to present their position on the energy transition to the government in the coming weeks. As the largest employer in the energy sector, the government is a key interlocutor. Participants anticipate that formal dialogue will begin once the government has been fully formed.

Participants emphasized their commitment to balancing the shift towards alternative energy sources with the protection of workers’ rights. The workshop recommended expanding the training programme to include trade unionists from various energy sectors. This should include meetings and grassroots training sessions planned to carry the discussions forward across affiliated unions.

“It is essential for unions to have a position so that they can convince the government of their demands for a just energy transition. This makes workshops on Just Transition of the utmost importance,”

said Hassan Jumaa, IGFOGPU president.

Argentina’s UOM fights back against judicial intervention

Víctor Pesino and María Dora González, the same labour court judges who endorsed the labour reform introduced by Argentina’s President Javier Milei, issued a ruling against IndustriALL affiliate UOM on 22 May. The judges declared the election held at the Zárate-Campana branch to be invalid, annulled the national re-election of the general secretary, Abel Furlán, and ordered a 180-day period of intervention.

“This judicial intervention did not happen overnight. It is the culmination of a political, judicial and corporate operation that we have been denouncing for months and that has always had a sole objective: to bring the UOM to heel, weaken our ability to fight for our rights, ensure that employers are able to pay starvation wages and that workers are unable to organize,”

UOM said in an official statement.

The court ruling came as UOM was engaged in collective bargaining with the sector’s main employers to defend metalworkers’ wages. Workers have suffered two years of falling pay.

UOM has vowed to fight back against this attack and will defeat

“this attempt at political intervention disguised as a court ruling. (…) We will respond with trade union democracy, participation, organization and struggle. We will overturn this intervention just as the Argentine labour movement has overturned every historical attempt to subjugate it.”

On 26 May, UOM’s executive board rejected the intervention. The union has launched a process to restore statutory compliance and declared a state of alert and mobilization. In line with its statutes, the union appointed officials to ensure normal operations pending full normalization.

On 26 May, unions, including IndustriALL affiliates, staged a “hug-in” in front of UOM headquarters. The action was a direct protest against the court ruling that removed Furlán and placed the union under judicial intervention.

In a letter to Furlán, IndustriALL’s general secretary Atle Høie expressed his solidarity with Argentina’s workers. It condemned the court’s decision and urged authorities to ensure full respect for union freedom and to comply with international conventions.

“This decision constitutes serious interference in trade union autonomy and sets a dangerous precedent for trade union freedom and democracy in Argentina.

“IndustriALL notes with concern that the use of legal proceedings to oust legitimately elected trade union leaders constitutes a way of cracking down on organizations that defend wages, collective bargaining, domestic production and labour rights. We express our full solidarity with Argentina’s metalworkers, with our colleague Abel Furlán, and with the legitimately elected leadership of the UOMRA.”

IndustriALL calls for sanctions and responsible exit at ILO Myanmar session

The special sitting of the Committee on the Application of Standards addressed violations of Convention No. 87 on freedom of association and Convention No. 29 on forced labour, following the invocation of Article 33 of the ILO Constitution last year.

Addressing the ILC, IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie highlighted the situation of the approximately 450,000 workers in Myanmar’s garment sector, who earn less than US$100 per month, around half of what is needed to survive.

The intervention detailed how garment factories in industrial zones operate under martial law, with workers subject to military checkpoints, intrusive searches including of mobile phones and sexual harassment. Workers are also exposed to forced unpaid overtime and the risk of military conscription, with factories sharing personal data with the military.

Atle Høie warned that military-backed organizations are falsely claiming to represent IndustriALL’s affiliate, the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM), and called for these parallel structures not to be recognized as legitimate worker representatives.

The garment sector plays a key role as a source of foreign exchange for the junta due to a regime law requiring all incoming foreign exchange to be converted at a preferential rate within 24 hours.

Myanmar enjoys preferential access to the European Union market under the Generalized System of Preferences and the Everything but Arms scheme. Fifty-four per cent of Myanmar’s apparel exports go to the EU, with the UK and Japan accounting for much of the rest.

Despite the ILC invoking Article 33 last year, the ILO’s strongest sanction, the EU maintains its system of preferences. The EU also funds a programme called MADE in Myanmar to support manufacturing in the country. Unions in the country have condemned the programme as a sham, designed to whitewash labour rights abuses and provide political cover for garment brands. These brands continue to source from Myanmar, drawn by cheap labour and convenient production conditions.

Said IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie:

“IndustriALL wants to see an end to preferential trade access, including under the EU’s Generalized System of Preferences and Everything but Arms scheme.

We are calling on garment brands to commit to a responsible exit from Myanmar.”

The session drew strong interventions from Myanmar trade union representatives and workers’ group delegates from across regions. The Myanmar government was not accredited and made no response, though Russia and some other governments registered their disagreement with the Article 33 proceedings.

Stop union busting at TaiDoc, Taiwan R.O.C.

After years of discriminatory treatment, including alleged restrictions on their freedom of movement and the dismissal of a pregnant worker, women workers at the medical electronics company formed the Taidoc Technology Labor Union (TTLU) in August 2025. They won reinstatement, they won four labour cases and the Taiwan Ministry of Labour fined TaiDoc NTD 200,000 (US$6,371) for violating gender equality and labour dispute laws.

TaiDoc’s response was to intensify the attack. The company terminated union president Elizabeth Basas and five executive committee members in February 2026, forcing Elizabeth out of the company hostel within hours. Under pressure, TaiDoc reinstated all six in March after the union filed complaints with the Ministry of Labour and a judicial challenge.

According to TTLU, TaiDoc arranged for 100 employees to join the union in an attempt to flood and take over it. When that failed, a group of those employees held an unauthorised general assembly during working hours and claimed to have replaced the union leadership. The local labour office rejected the move.

The company then created an entirely separate employer-controlled union. Together with this yellow union they launched multiple lawsuits against TTLU officers for defamation and forgery, demanding NTD 10 million (US$317,086) in compensation. Workers have been pressured to sign statements denying union membership.

Lennon Wang, TTLU general secretary and IndustriALL affiliate Republic of China Metalworkers’ Union spokesperson, says:

“TaiDoc must stop the union busting; drop the lawsuits, shut down the fake union and recognize TTLU. Workers are owed their recruitment fees and a seat at the bargaining table.”

IndustriALL ICT, electrical and electronics director Alexander Ivanou says:

“TaiDoc has discriminated against migrant women workers and restricted their freedom of movement, and is now trying to destroy the union they built. The Ministry of Labour must act, and TaiDoc must begin collective bargaining immediately.”

Why the right to strike matters

Updated May 2026 to reflect the ICJ advisory opinion.

The right to strike is an essential part of freedom of association and is protected under ILO Convention 87. Withholding labour is a crucial negotiating tool during the bargaining process, its main objective is to change the balance of power between workers and the employer.

Here are five key reasons why we need the right to strike:

  1. Striking is a last resort but sometimes the only tool for workers to protect themselves.
  2. To avoid being at the complete mercy of employers.
  3. To give more of a balance between worker and employer power.
  4. Without it, more and more governments will ban industrial action and punish people who dare to strike.
  5. Most strikes are over pay and better working conditions. Without the threat of strike action, corporations will be able to make bigger profits, while working conditions will get worse.

The right to strike confirmed under international law

In a landmark ruling in May 2026, the International Court of Justice confirmed that the right to strike is protected under ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association. The advisory opinion, the result of more than a decade of campaigning by IndustriALL and fellow global unions, settles a long-running dispute with employer groups who had sought to strip the right to strike from Convention 87’s protections. While advisory opinions are not legally binding, they carry significant authority. With Convention 87 ratified by 158 countries and embedded in UN labour standards, OECD guidelines and international trade agreements, the ruling has far-reaching implications for workers worldwide.

 

Photo 1 : Jack Quillin – Los Angeles California 05 26 2023 Writers Guild of America Grève dans le centre de Los Angeles – Picket Signs
Photo 2: Ringo Chiu – People holding signs take part in a protest at the University of California Los Angeles campus Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022 in Los Angeles.

Fight for jailed Belarusian unionists continues

The ILC is the ILO’s annual governing body. It brings together government, employer and worker representatives from its 187 member states. The Broken Chair has become a regular gathering point for trade union solidarity actions during the conference. For example, demonstrations on Belarus were organized due to absence of any progress in the country on regular basis for a number of years.

Workers in Belarus face punishment simply for defending their rights. Since the 2020 pro-democracy movement, the government has dismantled all independent unions. It has dissolved the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) and its member organizations including the Free Trade Union of Metalworkers (SPM), the Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BNP) and the Belarusian Trade Union of Radio-Electronic Industry Workers (REP), an IndustriALL affiliate. Also, the Free Belarusian Trade Union (SPB) was dissolved.

Dozens of union leaders and activists have been jailed on fabricated charges, with many still imprisoned. In April 2025, global unions stepped up pressure on the Belarusian government through coordinated solidarity actions and formal letters to Belarusian embassies.

The demonstration coincides with Belarus appearing before the ILC’s Committee on the Application of Standards for a special sitting. This is a significant moment of international scrutiny. Moreover, questions are being raised in the ILO credentials committee about the credibility of the official Belarusian labour delegation. This delegation is composed of members of the government-controlled national federation who do not represent workers’ interests.

This follows the Article 33 procedure invoked against Belarus in 2023. That procedure obliges ILO member states to take all possible steps to ensure Belarus implements the recommendations of ILO Commission of Inquiry first established in 2003. Despite sustained international pressure, including a special ILC session in June 2025, the appointment of an ILO special envoy and a further Governing Body follow-up decision in March 2026, Belarus has persistently failed to act. It has not implemented the commission’s recommendations. In addition, it has refused to allow an ILO mission into the country. It has not permitted independent doctors to visit imprisoned trade unionists to assess their health.

Maksim Pazniakou, the BNP chairman, said:

“International solidarity really works, we see it today. We continue to come here repeatedly every year. All imprisoned unionists must be released. Let’s bring freedom of association back to Belarus.”

IndustriALL assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, said:

“We are very happy that Aliaksandr Yarashuk is with us. The struggle has never ended and will continue until all our comrades in prison are freed, until Belarus becomes a democratic country and until justice arrives in the workplaces. We will never give up. We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters.”

Aliaksandr Yarashuk, BKDP president said:

“Colleagues, friends and comrades, I am very happy to welcome you here. Thank you for coming to support our friends, comrades and Belarusian trade unionists who are in jail. Thanks to your support I am finally free after spending three and a half years in prison. Let’s focus on the next step, which is to free the remaining prisoners, so that they too can join us next year.”

Mauritius garment maker out of style on migrant workers’ rights

Fashion Heights, an international franchise with over 40 stores on the island, which sells branded garments, shoes and accessories, is facing serious allegations of workers’-rights violations. These allegations arose after dismissed workers raised complaints with CTSP.

The CTSP, an IndustriALL affiliate, runs the Migrant Resource Centre in Port Louis. This centre is renowned for fighting for the rights of migrant workers from countries that include Madagascar, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. Recently, they have also supported workers from the Philippines. 

Dismissed, unpaid and forced to leave

On 9 January, the workers were dismissed during their probationary period. Their termination letters acknowledged obligations by the employer to pay final salaries, notice pay and outstanding overtime. 

According to the CTSP, the workers have since left the country without getting paid, despite repeated follow-ups with the ministry. During their last days in Mauritius, the workers had no wages coming in. Moreover, employer-provided accommodation was withdrawn and workers were left to rely on friends and informal support networks for food and shelter.

Twenty other Filino workers continue to work under exploitation for fear of being forced to leave Mauritius and having their passports red marked. This red mark means they will not be allowed to visit Mauritius in the future. CTSP describes these violations as modern slavery.

Workers employed at Fashion Heights say they were routinely made to work between 10-12 hours a day. Hours rose to around 14 in mid-December when business was at its peak. They received no overtime pay for those extra hours, which is in breach of Section 24 of the Workers’ Rights Act 2019. The complaints have also been taken to the ministry of labour. 

Further, the workers say the company held onto their passports and identity documents, limiting free movement. Requests for annual and sick leave were refused or discouraged, contrary to Sections 45 and 46 of the same Act. Also, payslips were not provided, making it impossible for workers to verify whether their wages, which are subject to deductions for food and accommodation, were correctly calculated.

Complaints can lead to repatriation

The six workers formally lodged complaints. Several continued in their jobs for fear of losing income, accommodation and of jeopardizing their immigration status. One worker says she was told that complaining could result in repatriation and the loss of employer-provided housing. 

Under the Non-Citizens (Employment Restriction Act 1973), a migrant worker’s right to remain in Mauritius is tied to their employer. Losing a job can mean losing a home and a legal right to stay on the island. CTSP argues that this dependency gives corrupt employers an excuse to violate workers’ rights that are protected by the law.

Reeaz Chuttoo, CTSP president said:

“It seems that labour standards exist only on paper for migrant workers. But the union will fight to make them exist in practice by campaigning for the enforcing of the Workers’ Rights Act.”

Paule-France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub-Saharan Africa added:

“Mauritius markets itself as a rule-of-law business hub. But this is not the reality for migrant workers. International and national labour standards must be implemented to end migrant worker exploitation.”

From Alabama to Argentina: workers’ rights in freefall

“The crisis for workers’ rights is no longer confined to the margins, it is now at the heart of democracies. Workers and their unions are fighting back. The struggle for workers’ rights is the fight for democracy itself,”

says Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary.

Three out of four countries deny workers the right to organize. Half of all countries arrested or detained workers for exercising their union rights. Violent attacks on workers rose by six per cent. Civil liberties violations, arrests, persecution and killing of trade union leaders, increased in 50 per cent of countries.

The findings reflect what members of IndustriALL affilaites experience. Union busting is explicitly identified as a tactic in the index, including in Estonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Serbia and Spain. In the United States, Mercedes-Benz spent more than U$600,000 on specialist anti-union firms at its Alabama plant while publicly claiming to respect workers’ rights. The US watchlist placement confirms that case is not an exception. It is part of a systemic pattern.

IndustriALL affiliates on the frontline

Argentina’s rating has collapsed from 3 to 5 in just two years, one of the steepest declines recorded. The country now appears on the ten worst countries list for the first time. IndustriALL affiliate the Unión Obrera Metalúrgica (UOMRA) is facing a judicial intervention to remove its democratically elected leadership, in direct violation of ILO Convention 87. IndustriALL has written to the UOMRA in solidarity and called on the Argentine authorities to respect union autonomy.

Other findings include:

Says Atle Høie:

“Behind every one of these numbers is a worker who was arrested, a union leader who was threatened, a workplace where people were too afraid to organize. This is happening in countries that call themselves democracies. IndustriALL will not stand by while our affiliates and their members are criminalized for doing what every worker has the right to do.”