Unions in Asia Pacific intensify efforts to organize white collar workers

Facing technological innovation and changing job descriptions, Singapore’s Advanced Manufacturing Employees’ Union has worked together with its national centre to advocate for reforming the country’s Industrial Relations Act so that a limited number of white collar workers can be included in the workers’ union.

“It is crucial to show that trade unions can provide benefits for white collar workers. In Japan for example, both blue and white collar union members can secure low-interest loans from the labour bank established by trade unions. We must make unions attractive to the workers,”

said Yusuke Ishihara, Japan Council of Metalworkers assistant general secretary.

In the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, the majority of white collar workers are women. A lack of awareness of workers’ rights, restricted laws on organizing platform workers and increasing automation to monitor and control workers are among the challenges to organize white collar workers.

Participants agreed to re-think organizing plans targeting white-collar workers. Issues concerning the interests of white-collar workers, for instance long working hours, mental health, right to disconnect and telework benefits should be emphasized in the organizing drive.

The importance of collective bargaining in protecting white collar workers’ rights and benefits must be underlined when organizing.

"Core labour standards are a guide in realizing freedom of association and advocating labour law reform in the digital economy. Unionists must take mental health and occupational health and safety issues more seriously, as this has been neglected for a long time. We need to make our unions more relevant for white collar workers,"

said Christine Olivier, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.

Corinne Schewin, from CFE-CGC and sector co-chair, shared issues faced by white-collar workers and the strategy to organise them in France.

“Changes in the industry leads to increased job creation for white collar workers. That’s why we have to organize in every country to attract them and to increase our membership,”

said Magnus Kjellsson, head of international affairs at Swedish union Unionen, on behalf of Martin Linder, the union president and the sector co-chair.

Independent union wins representation at Saint-Gobain Mexico

On 28 and 29 September, a ballot was held at the factory in Cuautla, where 957 workers voted for the Independent Union of Free and Democratic Workers of Saint-Gobain Mexico. 587 voted for the Glass Workers Union, affiliated with the former Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CTC).

Another ballot was held in July on the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the CTC union. Workers voted against the agreement, saying it had been negotiated behind their backs.

In the months leading up to the second ballot, employees say they have been harassed and bullied by the CTC union, being told they could lose the benefits set out in collective agreement if they voted for the independent union.

"The steps so far have not been easy: our union has been the subject of slander, defamation and misinformation by the other union. But we haven’t let ourselves get pulled into their game. We are here to represent our workers democratically – we won’t negotiate behind their backs and won’t mismanage our union,”

said Joaquín Guzmán, general secretary of the Independent Union of Free and Democratic Workers of Saint-Gobain Mexico.

IndustriALL deputy regional secretary, Cristian Alejandro Valerio, said: 

"We welcome this great victory for Saint-Gobain workers. Mexican workers need to keep winning in their fight against employer protection contracts to     succeed in eradicating a practice that has been harmful to workers' rights in Mexico. They will also succeed in ensuring genuine union representation for employees in all workplaces."

On the 15th anniversary of their Global Framework Agreement, Inditex and IndustriALL reaffirm commitment with a new protocol

Today, Oscar García Maceiras, CEO of Inditex, and Atle Høie, IndustriALL Global Union general secretary, signed a new protocol designed to further the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) first signed by the two organizations in 2007, resulting in better working conditions in the textile supply chain.

The new protocol furthers social dialogue by reinforcing the Global Union Committee and its coordinating bodies, specifically establishing new mechanisms for cementing the role of the local unions for a better understanding of what the workers making the clothes need.

Under the new protocol, Inditex and IndustriALL will formulate a joint work plan which will focus on continued respect for the freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the provision of training to worker representatives, the textile group’s suppliers and its supply chain factory workers.

Inditex and IndustriALL are also making progress on a new workplace access protocol, which aims to learn about and monitor working conditions in the factories in Inditex’s supply chain, in order to understand the workers’ needs and to respond to them.

“Signing the GFA with Inditex was a breakthrough that has since lead the way for more responsible sourcing and proper industrial relations in the sector. It is fitting that we celebrate the first 15 years by signing a protocol that takes our relationship to a new level in terms of respect for fundamental trade union rights. The fact that we agree with Inditex to increase the role of our local and national unions and to firmly defend their right to organize and bargain collectively in the supply chains gives hope to many,”

says Atle Høie, IndustriALL General Secretary.

 

“The protocol signed today, commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Framework Agreement between Inditex and IndustriALL, evidences our determination to strengthen respect for fundamental labour rights across our production chain and marks a fresh milestone in both organisations’ ongoing mission of improving the lives of the women and men who populate it,”

says Óscar García Maceiras, CEO of Inditex.

Felix Peinado, Director for the ILO in Spain, present at the signing ceremony, said:

“In the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, ILO urges companies, in collaboration with their workers’ representatives, to enter into international framework agreements to commit to applying principles of decent work along their supply chains in all countries. Spanish unions Comisiones Obreras and UGT, together with Inditex, have been frontrunners in Spain with this agreement. I could not be prouder of this agreement or happier to celebrate its anniversary. The agreement is an example of how, with the combined commitment and hard work of companies and their workers’ representatives, it is possible to forge better working conditions around the world."

This agreement marks a new milestone in the relationship between Inditex and IndustriALL, which began 15 years ago, in 2007, with the signature of the GFA. The Agreement was a significant step forward for the industry, providing a major boost to its sustainability and a very real chance to improve working conditions for the nearly 3 million people who work in the factories producing for the Spanish multinational globally.

Global mobilization against inequality on 7 October

On 7 October, World Day for Decent Work, IndustriALL affiliates around the world will take action to highlight the growing crisis of inequality and demand a just future. Working people everywhere are facing a cost of living crisis, with wage rises not meeting soaring inflation and rising energy costs, combined with attacks on unions and workers’ rights.

This perfect storm of crises needs a coordinated response, and IndustriALL has identified the building blocks of a just future, including higher wages, fair taxation, sustainable industrial policy and respect for unions and human rights.

Unions will send a message to multinational companies and governments of the world that it is time to pay up and invest in building a decent future. IndustriALL vice presidents have written to affiliates in their region, asking them to join in a coordinated global day of action by identifying and campaigning on the building blocks that are most relevant to their members.

Rose Omamo, vice president for the Sub-Saharan Africa region, said:

“The wage race to the bottom in many of the Sub Saharan African economies as a result of increased labour flexibility coupled with great uncertainties in a world in crisis due to deepening inequalities coupled with a warming planet which is set to have irreversible consequences on lives, this region will demand more robust and drastic policy changes for a just world that leaves no one behind.”

Garbiñe Espejo, vice president for the Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus regions, said:

“The fact that in Europe we are planning a whole succession of trade union mobilizations against the precariousness of employment and wage conditions is nothing more than a manifestation of the unjust reversal of the crisis against socio-labour rights. That is why, from this region, we are launching the solidarity campaign for wage and labour dignity in the world, from the international trade union action of European organizations for equality and against the impoverishment of living and working conditions in the world.”

 Hashmeya Alsadawe, vice president for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

“Our region, the Middle East and North Africa, is witnessing rising tension and successive crises and hostility to the work of free trade unions by most governments, with a lack of respect for international labour standards.”

 Akira Takakura, vice president for the Asia Pacific region, said:

“The Asia and Pacific region is not an exception. In our region, actual wage growth has lagged behind labour productivity.  Workers, especially in South Asia, are suffering from soaring inflation including essential food prices and having difficulties to make ends meet.”

 
 

Tunis declaration calls for inclusion of labour provisions in the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement

The declaration was made at the ITUC-Africa Trade Union Continental Forum on the AfCFTA which was held under the theme: Ensuring decent work in the framework of the AfCFTA implementation – towards the inclusion of the positions of the trade unions in the AfCFTA processes.

According to the declaration a

“space for social dialogue must be created at the national, regional and continental level for African citizens, and their socio-economic groupings — that is workers including those of the informal economy, farmers, traders, producers, enterprises, civil society, private sector – to participate effectively in a democratic and transparent process and ensure the reflection of their concerns and views in the negotiations.”

Further, the unions want information on the AfCFTA processes to be made available to workers “in a timely and accessible manner.” They argue that this is necessary to enable effective participation.
 
Noureddine Taboubi, Générale des Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT) secretary general says:

“The AfCFTA creates possibilities for decent work that will stop irregular migration and modern slavery, and provide an opportunity to transform Africa’s precarious economies, and end poverty.”

Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, ITUC-Africa secretary general says:

“We want an appropriate space for non-state actors in the AfCFTA to canvas for social dialogue at national and continental levels. Trade unions should be in this space to advance workers’ rights and interests, and to support trade and regional integration in Africa.”

“The AfCFTA is an important agreement for the continent with potential to create decent jobs and revive industrialization in the manufacturing sectors through increased intra-African trade. But this opportunity will be lost if workers and trade unions are excluded from the negotiations,”

emphasizes Rose Omamo, IndustriALL vice president, who participated in the forum.
 
The AfCFTA, which started trading in 2021, aims to promote intra-African trade, value added manufacturing and sustainable development. Additionally, it is expected to double trade and increase the integration of regional economic communities – Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).

The forum comprised 90 delegates, from ITUC-Africa affiliates, sub regional trade union organizations, trade union support organizations, and civil society organizations, including those from IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in Tunisia, Madagascar, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.

The forum, which was held with support from SASK and the Labour Research Service, received research reports from Chad, Ghana, Namibia, Rwanda, Tunisia, and Zambia on possible national impacts of the AfCFTA. Other presentations were made by ILO-ACTRAV, SASK and Third World Network Africa.

Three workers die, eight injured after explosion in Indian factory

At the time of the explosion, 50 employees were working in the manufacturing unit, making electrical panels among other electrical equipment. The fire triggered by the explosion claimed three lives and severely injured eight others. The deceased are identified as Ajay Badra, 27, Sandeep Mishra, 25, and Ashwin Patel, 28.

“This is a shocking incident and the indifference on the part of the management regarding the lives and safety of workers is unacceptable. Workplace safety is the responsibility of the management. Employers must be prosecuted by the government when there are fatalities,”

says Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL regional secretary.

Workplace safety is still in a dismal state in India, where lax safety mechanisms in manufacturing units continue to claim the lives of workers.

Less than a month ago a contract worker died and four others sustained injuries after a gas leak at a pharmaceutical manufacturing unit in the same district.

“It's terrible that workers' lives are treated with such indifference. We urge companies and the government to take workplace safety with utmost seriousness,”

says Sanjay Vadhavkar, executive committee member of IndustriALL and general secretary of Steel, Metal & Engineering Workers’ Federation of India (SMEFI).

Increased minimum wage for Cambodia’s garment workers

Amid intimidation, IndustriALL affiliates in Cambodia, FTUWKC, CCAWDU and CUMW have been campaigning for a raise of the minimum wage from the current US$194 to US$215. The garment manufacturers association had argued that the minimum wage remain at US$194.

“The increased minimum wage is a positive development for garment workers in Cambodia, but trade unions are still demanding a living wage, and the fight for that will continue,”

says Christina Hajagos-Clausen, IndustriALL textile and garment director.

Soaring food and fuel prices in Cambodia and a high inflation is adding pressure on garment workers, and trade unions are unhappy with the US$6 increase.

“The new minimum wage is not good enough to cushion the rising cost of living. The government must take measures to control inflation so that workers can survive on their wages.

“In addition, some workers' benefits had been reduced in the past three years, like the number of national holidays reduced from 22 days to six, and the replacement leave if a national holiday falls on a Sunday, removed,”

says Pav Sina, CUMW president.

Solar and battery technologies are changing the employment landscape

While clean energy is fueling significant employment growth, research shows that the bulk of workers contributing to new energies work in the construction phase. Once the facilities are built there will be new jobs, although fewer than today. While the demand for solar energy is on the rise, solar plants use significantly less workers.

Today there is competition for batteries due to wide usage and demand. Companies are trying to secure access to the minerals needed for battery production, and there is research on alternatives over fear that the minerals will run out.

China has significant control over clean energy minerals and production. China’s presence in the rest of the supply chain – raw materials, processed materials, components and assembly – has an impact on the type of workforce taking part in this transition.

Dr. Jojo Nem Singh, assistant professor at the International Institute of Social Studies, explained that there is a lot of pressure on developing countries with mineral reserves needed to produce renewables and other clean energy technologies. 

“In terms of the geographical spread, we are dealing with very different countries than those who produce oil and gas. The current distribution of mining countries in the supply chain will change dramatically because of mining investments in minerals needed for renewables. Done right, mining can provide green jobs that don’t have to be poverty generating – the key is processing technology and ensuring local content requirements can create inclusive growth and new jobs.”

IndustriALL automotive sector director, Georg Leutert, has been working with affiliates to ensure that battery plants are owned by automobile factories, because they are well organized with quality longstanding CBAs. However, there are only few examples of this. Battery production needs large facilities and requires significant investment, workers today are seeing it being outsourced by auto makers.

The energy sector employs about 65 million people worldwide in fuel supply, the power sector and in end uses.

“This is an important benchmark for the discussion around just transition, and important information to make critical energy policy decisions going forward. This pivot to clean energy is also an opportunity to address issues like gender and representation,”

said Daniel Wetzel from the IEA.

Wetzel concluded that while clean energy jobs outpace losses, losses are acute in certain regions and sectors. There is a lot of investment needed to ensure a good transition. Rapid employment growth also represents risks: the need for more skilled workers, growing skills gaps and insufficient focus on decent work.

Mahatma Santos from the Institute of Strategic Studies on Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels Zé Eduardo Dutra (INEEP), whose mission is to produce knowledge about the sector and support institutions in Brazil with technical reflection on energy security, said:

“There has been an increase in prices and demand in the solar photovoltaic sector since 2021, creating about 151,000 jobs. However, 43 per cent of jobs are outside of Brazil, the jobs are concentrated in construction and characterized by precarious working conditions and low wages”

There is strong potential in Brazil for the expansion of the sector but the delay in projects, lack of tax incentives and shortage of equipment has made growth difficult.

Energy transition in Brazil is at a critical moment. Election results this week will have a considerable impact on the country’s direction for just transition.

Mining is the backbone of the Chile’s economy, yet the industry creates few jobs. The country is a major producer of critical minerals, where 14 per cent of the workforce is unionized and only 8 per cent have access to collective bargaining.

“Chile’s social and environmental challenges makes it difficult for workers to progress. Unions will continue to work hard for more social dialogue, especially around just transition”,

said Alejandro Ochoa, from CUT Chile.

Igor Diaz, from Sintracarbon, Colombia, reported that the mining industry has seen difficult times in the country. Glencore for example, took advantage of the previous government’s softer regulation, using the pandemic and just transition as an excuse to close plants and dismiss workers.

“Workers want to move towards clean energy, and we hope that the government will ensure a just transition for workers. We believe in our new government and believe they can make progress on a just transition, not only in the energy sector but in other sectors as well, like agriculture.”

Textile unions in MENA campaign for social protection

Taking up the campaign Garment workers need safe factories, textile unions in MENA are joining the global call for safe workplaces. In October 2021, IndustriALL Global Union negotiated the International Accord on Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, which now has over 180 global brands and retailers’ signatories. In March this year, an ILO Code of Practice for Health and Safety was adopted for the sector.

"Occupational health and safety is a significant risk in the TGSL sector, especially for women who bear the weight of housework and raising children in addition to the workload. Women’s engagement in union work is a show of persistence and perseverance. Union work in the private sector is difficult, especially if employers do not respect union work,"

says Noureddine Taboubi, UGTT general secretary Tunisia.

"Our ability to improve safety and health depends on our organizing power. We in Tunisia are working on launching a large organizing campaign at the beginning of next year which will focus on safety and health,”

says Habib Hazami, general secretary of Fédération Générale du Textile, de l'Habillement, Chaussure et Cuir – FGTHCC-UGTT.

 

 
The trade union leaders highlighted that the supply chain disruptions during the pandemic underscored the need for stronger social protection systems for workers. One of the root causes of garment workers’ dire situation is that many producing countries have inadequate or non-existent systems for social protection.
 
Social protection, according to the ILO, is “a human right and is defined as the set of policies and programmes designed to reduce and prevent poverty and vulnerability throughout the life cycle.”  Social protection includes child and family benefits, maternity protection, unemployment support, employment injury benefits, sickness benefits, health protection, old-age benefits, disability benefits and survivors’ benefits.

“Social security is mandatory, but workers in the TGSL sector are deprived of it as business owners evade it and the law is not properly applied. Some workers find themselves without a pension upon retirement and women are deprived of their maternity rights,”

says Araby Hamouk from Syndicat National des Travailleurs du Textile et du Cuir – SNTTC-UMT Morocco.
 
The IndustriALL MENA TGSL union network conducted a study about social security. Unions identified the need for a regional campaign, using international tools like global framework agreements, the International Accord, the ILO code of practice to improve social security and health and safety. The unions agreed to follow up on the laws, social dialogue, workplace health and safety committees, awareness raising and to set up national union structures to lead the work.

“During the pandemic, the current model where severance is the only form of social protection, led to wage theft. There is no decent work without social protection, and as 7 October approaches, the world day for decent work, we support our affiliates’ action,”

says Christina Hajagos-Clausen.

Photo credit: Abdel Hameed Al Nasier​/ILO

United for a just future – time to pay up!

Trade unions have been attacked across the world, and the decline in power has been matched by labour’s declining share of wealth. The Covid pandemic was the final trigger that has tipped the world into spiralling inequality.

For 7 October this year, World Day for Decent Work, we are demanding a better future. Union action is the key to the success of this campaign and the global day of action because we must speak with one voice about the growing crisis of inequality.

"We have a plan for a just future. We need to articulate it, build coalitions and fight for it together,"

says Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary.

What can you and your union do?

Depending on the main issues concerning inequality in your sector or country, actions may vary due to different national and regional priorities or situations. The actions could be:

Demonstrations

Multinational campaign

Political campaign

Building blocks for a just future

We encourage you to use the building blocks that are most relevant for you and print the posters (at the bottom of the page), take pictures holding them, and send the pictures back to us before 7 October, so that we can use them on the day.

When we come together, we can make a difference. On 7 October, let’s use social media to show that we are united for a just future. Use the images below, or your own material, with the #JustFuture hashtag.

If the action cannot be taken on 7 October, unions can take action on another day, preferably between 28 September and 18 October.

Let’s come together and demand our fair share for a just future!

Here are the building blocks to share on social media: