Organizing along the battery supply chain

On 28 and 29 June, IndustriALL affiliates participated in a workshop to discuss the next steps in developing a strategy on battery supply chains.

“We need to use our leverage along the battery supply chain, which starts in the mines, goes through chemical industry with the refineries, the packing of batteries, into end use,”

said IndustriALL assistant general secretary Atle Høie.

“We need to use our influence in the best way we can, and we need the active involvement of our affiliates.”

With the demand for electric cars rapidly increasing, the project will focus on the auto industry. The level of organized workers is high at many auto manufacturers, but it decreases along the supply, the further you get from the end product. IndustriALL’s global networks will be central to the work, with increased cooperation between the different sectorial networks along the supply chain.

Legislation plays an important role and new due diligence laws have been introduced in some European countries. The laws provide increased transparency for governments and the general public and gives space for raising the voice of workers. The OECD’s due diligence guidelines and principles are important for leveraging in the supply chain. Participants from Belgium told the meeting that their union has started training members on due diligence to fully benefit from what due diligence brings.

Following the battery supply chain starting with the mining of the raw material for batteries underground, the number of working women increases as it goes above ground. Trade unions have a key role to play to ensure that gender issues, including gender-based violence, are explicitly investigated in due diligence processes, and that they are addressed by companies.

The two-day meeting was an important step in preparing for the start of an FES-funded project on the battery supply chain. It is a pilot project where IndustriALL will collaborate with companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to strengthen trade union work. The battery supply chain is the fastest growing supply chain with demand outgrowing supply, and the project aims to understand how it works, to increase organizing, and to improve working conditions along it.

“There is a strong political will to push for batteries and the value of the battery supply chain is enormous. To distribute this value, we need a supply chain policy to tell the world what is happening. For this project to be successful, we need or affiliates to be involved, to help us map the supply chain and use the leverage we have along it,”

said Atle Høie.

Union-run clinics in South African garment sector certified for Covid-19 vaccination

On 3 July, 15 workers received their vaccine jabs at a trial which was done at a clinic in Durban. The clinics, which have the capacity to vaccinate at least 6,000 workers per week, will be linked to the national vaccination roll-out programme.

The union-run clinics have been providing health facilities to garment workers for many decades – the first was established in 1942 – and are part of the union’s health and safety strategy. They are managed with support from the National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry as part of South Africa’s tripartite industrial relations system.

The union efforts are contributing to a national roll-out programme to vaccinate as many workers and people as possible against a ravaging wave of Covid-19 infections which have recently multiplied because of the more contagious delta variant now dominant in the country. Unions are expressing concern over the slow pace of vaccination.

Andre Kriel, SACTWU general secretary says:

“This exciting development follows on the recent conclusion of successful negotiations for a historic Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Framework Agreement for our industry, which was signed between SACTWU and all clothing employer associations in April. Part of the framework agreement states that we will make available our industry health care clinics and its qualified medical staff to assist with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout campaign.”

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

“We commend the efforts by SACTWU which is a leading union in the campaign to contain Covid-19 in the factories and workplaces for prevention and vaccination. It is important that the union has integrated Covid-19 in its health and safety activities, and this justifies why Covid-19 must be recognized as an occupational disease.”

South Africa has the highest Covid-19 infections in Sub Saharan Africa, and over 63,000 people have died. According to the South African Medical Research Council excess deaths of 176,700 have been recorded in the country since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Further, according to the department of health, on 7 July the country had 195,493 active cases with 411 people dying from Covid-19 related complications per day. The country is recording 21,427 new infections per day. So far 3,819,730 have been vaccinated, but this is far much less than the 40 million people that are targeted for the country to reach population immunity. Reports indicate that some of the country’s hospitals in Covid-19 hot spots like Johannesburg are running out of hospital beds for patients that need admission.

IndustriALL calls on Indian government to address safety crisis

In an estimated 116 industrial accidents in the chemical and mining industries across the country, 235 workers are believed to have been killed between May 2020 to June 2021. Since the resumption of industrial activity after the Covid-19 lockdown in May 2020, India has witnessed a series of industrial accidents.

These statistics are based on a compilation of mainstream media reports and accidents reported by IndustriALL affiliates. The real number of accidents and fatalities may be much higher.

A large number of workers have also died due to Covid-19, some of them contracting the infection at their workplaces. In 32 industrial establishments, 1,857 workers lost their lives due to Covid-19 in the manufacturing sector, including coal mining, steel and cement corporations.

Speakers at the press conference highlighted that the use of a large number of untrained workers, a poor safety inspection system, weak implementation of safety protocol and safety awareness, inadequate risk assessment and response, negligence and a breakdown of emergency response procedures have exacerbated the impact of the accidents.

“Industrial homicide in India continues unabated. India has become a laboratory for the deterioration of workers’ rights and we are seeing this reflected in the occupational health safety crisis. We have no tolerance for anything that puts workers’ lives at risk. With the Covid-19 pandemic, health and safety has become part of fundamental workers’ rights.
“We need governments and employers, in full partnership with workers and trade unions to develop and implement health and safety policies,”

said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.

“We are witnessing increasing number of industrial accidents and not learning from past experiences. Government of India should form an expert commission to analyse the industrial accidents and identify the root causes and errors committed.
“Safety measures should be improved and workers lives should be saved at any cost. The government and employers should bear their responsibility to protect the health of their workers and immediately address the safety crisis. The recently passed Occupational Health, Safety & Working Conditions Code, 2019 fall short of addressing trade unions concerns. It has limited and confined coverage and leaves out of vast section of working people, including precarious workers. They must work with unions to devise policies and strengthen the existing laws to ensure health and safety of the workers,”

said Dr. Sanjeeva Reddy, INTUC president.

Sanjay Vadhavkar, IndustriALL executive committee member and general secretary of SMEFI, said,

“We are losing large number of workers to Covid-19 and in addition frequent fatal accidents have become a serious concern for workers in the manufacturing sector. The central and state governments should immediately strengthen safety inspection system, conduct appropriate investigation, make the accident investigation reports public, hold public consultation and involve trade unions in improving safety measures and protect workers’ lives at work.”

The press conference widely covered in the Indian media

Asia Pacific young workers enhance cooperation to effect changes

The youth stressed the importance of sharing the experiences of young unionists in different countries to learn best practices in organizing, communication, collective bargaining and creating space for youth union structures. This will enhance participation of youth in the union activities and avoid past mistakes.

The young workers mentioned a generation gap within trade unions, calling for the reform of union structures with more youth committees to bridge the gap. They urged older leaders to share the previous struggles with future leaders. Union representatives from Myanmar highlighted the difficult situation faced by young workers under the military regime.

Risher Igrobay from the Philippines said that Philippine trade unions developed training module to educate young workers on their rights and previous struggles.

Vipawan, the youth leader of Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT) said :

“CILT overcame this challenge by including more young union leaders in the national executive committee, giving them more opportunities to take part in various activities to develop their capacities.”

In South Asian countries, informalization is the greatest challenge for young workers as most work as contract workers. Precarity causes fear among young workers, as they risk being dismissed from their jobs if they join trade unions.

Bangladeshi participant Tomiza Sultana said that young unionists must oversee the employment of young workers to ensure companies strictly adhere to labour laws. Amol Patil from India said relevant labour law education should be provided to workers. Pakistani unionist Tanoli urged that global framework agreements be leveraged to ensure employment security.

Women unionists called on conference participants to pay attention to issues facing young women workers, such as being deemed as not capable or lower status from a cultural lens, violence and harassment at the workplace, which causes mental health problems.

Muhammad Ashfaq Khan from Pakistan recommended that trade unions provide gender equality training for young workers. Another participant suggested that in addition to a youth committee, a women’s committee must be set up to raise the concerns of women workers. Participants discussed with the IndustriALL communication team the effective use of social media platforms including TikTok and creating visual content to educate and create awareness among young workers of union values.

Sarah Flores, youth coordinator of IndustriALL Global Union, said :

“IndustriALL as a global union federation has been striving to amplify the voices of young workers through coordinated efforts at the national, regional and global levels. Recognizing young workers’ contribution is crucial for trade unions and more so in the Asia Pacific region where over 60 percent of the world’s youth live. For IndustriALL, it is important that workers voices get heard to influence the world they live in.”

Apoorva Kaiwar and Annie Adviento, IndustriALL regional secretaries for South Asia and South East Asia respectively, said:

“The youth is the next generation of leaders in IndustriALL. The demands for youth policy leading to their representation in the structure of the union organization is crucial, legitimate, timely and relevant. The roadmap to build their capacity and empowerment is a priority for the two regional offices in the Asia Pacific region.”

Kyrgyzstan: New law on trade unions must comply with international labour standards

The international labour movement was pleased to learn that after two years of struggle by Kyrgyz unions, backed by massive international solidarity support, the law on trade unions was vetoed by the President in May this year. The law would have seriously undermined freedom of association in Kyrgyzstan and deprived unions of their independence.

However, a new law on trade unions was hastily approved by parliament in the third reading on 30 June. While having a new structure and revised content, it still largely contradicts the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan and core international labour standards, including the ILO Conventions 87 and 98, ratified by Kyrgyzstan.

Parliament did not take into consideration the President’s numerous comments on the inconsistency of the vetoed law with the Constitution of the Kyrgyzstan and core international labour standards, and has included the same violating provisions in the new law. Parliament also ignored the demand to include representatives of other unions apart from the Federation of Trade Unions of Kyrgyzstan (FTUK) in the conciliation group to work on the revised version of the law.

The new law on trade unions states that the FTUK is the only social partner, giving it a monopoly, in clear violation of ILO Convention 87, as it deprives workers from creating another union confederation if workers choose to. The new law deprives unions of their independence by setting accountability to the government and employers, and puts all unions in the country under the total control of the FTUK. Trade unions would be deprived of the right to independently determine the organizational structure, forms and types of associations, the right to establish their own charters and governing bodies.

Moreover, the new law on trade unions is full of technical contradictions and discrepancies, which clearly shows a very low level of legal examination by its initiators.

In the letter to the President of Kyrgyzstan, IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches says:

“We call on the President of Kyrgyzstan to veto the new law on trade unions, adopted by the parliament on 30 June, and urge Kyrgyzstan to make sure any further amendments to the trade union legislation be prepared with the genuine participation of independent unions to ensure full compliance with core international labour standards.”

Garment worker killed and many injured in protest at Bangladesh EPZ

According to reports, Jesmin Begum (32), a garment worker who worked for Lenny Fashions, suffered fatal injuries after she hit an iron pole while running away from the site of the protest as police violently dispersed the demonstrators. A large number of workers were injured when police fired rubber bullets, threw teargas shells, used water cannons and baton charged protesting workers at Dhaka-Tangail Highway at DEPZ, Ashulia.

Begum and the protesters are part of over 6,000 workers who lost their jobs when Lenny Fashion and Lenny Apparels, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Must Garment, closed on 20 January 2021. The employers have not fully paid wage arrears owed to the workers. The employer claims to have made partial payment, and plans to make the final payment to workers only after selling the factory, which will take time.

According to Must Garment, the factories were closed due to order cancellations, price falls and a shortage of work as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Christina Hajagos-Clausen, IndustriALL Global Union director for the textile and garment industry, said:

“We are deeply concerned by the violence used by the law enforcement agencies. Genuine social dialogue with workers’ representatives must be followed to find a resolution. The Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority should ensure that workers are not unjustly affected by the closures and make sure that employers pay workers what they are owed promptly.”

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary, said,

“IndustriALL condemns the violence used against the workers. This incident shows the importance of allowing unions to function in the EPZ. We call upon the government of Bangladesh to consider the demands of trade unions to work in the EPZs.”

Photo: Solidarity Center

Unions demand democratic reforms in Eswatini

According to hospital records confirmed by the unions, 24 people have been killed while 150 others are in hospital being treated for gunshot wounds after the police and the army opened fire on protesters. Several other people are feared dead, and to have been secretly buried or burnt to ashes by the security forces.

Instead of police and army brutality, and the government’s shut down of the internet, the unions are proposing dialogue and the opening of democratic spaces in the kingdom.

Eswatini is the last absolute monarchy in Africa. The kingdom has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986. The King has a reported net worth of $200 million and is accused of using his country’s money to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and his fifteen wives. Political parties were banned in 1973 and are severely restricted under the kingdom’s constitution. The protestors are demanding the introduction of a democratic system of government.

Unions are advising workers to remain at home for their safety and have requested employers to allow workers to stay away until the situation improves.

The unions say the protests, which began in May, started when the government refused to accept petitions for democratic reforms that included reducing the powers of the monarchy and allowing the Prime Minister to be democratically elected. Currently the Prime Minister, ministers and some Members of Parliament and Senate are appointed by the king.

Wander Mkhonza, general secretary of Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA) which is affiliated to IndustriALL, says:

“We find ourselves in this situation because we have a leader who has decided to be indifferent despite our persistent demands for democratization. The king talks about dialogue on the international stage but does the contrary in the country. He hides behind those that he sends to deal with dissenting voices. The king must accept that his absolute rule has ended abruptly.”

“We are calling upon the government to open the political playground and be accommodative to dialogue on dissenting political views. The federation shall be engaged in an urgent in-depth internal consultation to contribute towards a speedy resolution of the current impasse as it is proving to be very costly to industrial peace and the general enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms,”

wrote the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) in a statement. The affiliates belong to TUCOSWA.

Paule France Ndessomin, the IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa says:

“We are in solidarity with the workers and people of Eswatini in their demands for democratic reforms. As trade unions we believe that social and political dialogue is important in resolving conflict and urge the government of Eswatini to facilitate inclusive dialogue.”

IndustriALL affiliates in Eswatini are ATUSWA and the Swaziland Electricity Supply, Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (SESMAWU).

Photo: People's Dispatch

Bayer workers in Latin America look to expand and strengthen their network

During an online meeting on 11 June, participants spoke about Bayer's situation at the global and regional levels, underscoring that, out of the company's three global sectors, both pharmaceuticals and consumer health were doing very well. They explained that Bayer had teamed up with Germany company CureVac to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, which it would be producing on a large scale once it had obtained approval from the relevant authorities.

The company's crop science arm, however, was encountering difficulties following the recent merger with Monsanto. Bayer was the only company in the United States – out of some 95 companies operating in the field in the country – to be facing environmental protection lawsuits.

Within the region, union leaders from Brazil explained that the company had four main business units in the country, and around 90% of Bayer's factory workers in Brazil are union members. The unions concerned are all part of CNQ-CUT, which is an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union.

They said that they had faced problems following the merger, with attempts to cut jobs and to stifle social dialogue. This was because the two companies had very different ways of dealing with union representation. Another issue to resolve was the disparities between the profits and wages at different plants.

Michael Wolters attended the meeting on behalf of German union IG BCE and the chair of the Bayer works council in Germany. He said that IG BCE stood ready to work with the network and to serve as a liaison with the parent company to address any problems encountered in the region.

There is a long history of cooperation within the global network of Bayer unions, particularly between the Latin American unions and IG BCE.

The participants agreed to work together to strengthen their network and bring in workers from other countries in the region. They appointed Alfredo Santos as the new coordinator of the Bayer network and agreed to map out Bayer's plants across the region and gather more information about them.

They also undertook to take part in the meetings of IndustriALL's regional manufacturing macro sector and the pharmaceutical and chemicals sector, and to hold another meeting of the regional network of Bayer workers in the second half of 2021 or the first quarter of 2022.

IndustriALL's deputy regional secretary, Cristian Alejandro Valerio, said that:

"Company networks are a key tool that workers in the region can use to counter the force of global capitalism, especially given the major changes taking place in the sector and in the world of work. In this climate, it is great news that we have been able to reactivate the regional network of such a major multinational company."

Unions concerned by slow Covid-19 vaccination in Sub Saharan Africa amid surging infections

With hospitals, clinics and other public health facilities overwhelmed and running out of intensive care beds, unions say vaccination is now a matter of urgency in a surging pandemic that has increased deaths by 40 per cent in the last few months. According to the Africa Centre for Disease Control, on 27 June, there were 140 976 deaths and 4 736 725 recoveries, 52 059 658 tests had been taken.

Reports indicate that the highly contagious delta variant has been detected in some countries, and infections in the region are currently growing the fastest globally, with some governments including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe tightening lockdowns and Covid-19 regulations to contain the spread.

The unions, that organize in mining, textile, garment, shoe and leather, chemical and pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors are expressing concerns at the slow pace at which Covid-19 vaccinations are taking place in their countries.

Sipho Mungwe, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) South Africa health and safety secretary says:

“The NUM is deeply concerned about the increasing prevalence of Covid-19 infections at the workplaces and is sending a clarion call in support of a speedy vaccine roll out. However, the vaccination programme should respect workers’ rights.”

According to reports, vaccination programmes are the lowest in the world with less than 3.7 doses per 100 people inoculated against Covid-19 in Africa compared to 67 per 100 in Europe and 73 per 100 in North America.

Unions say the surge is worsening a public health and economic crisis that has seen thousands of workers getting ill and dying. Millions of workers have lost jobs, while wages are sometimes delayed or unpaid. Weak social security systems have worsened the situation with poverty and unemployment increasing.

Unions see vaccination as one of the solutions to the crisis and are supporting the Covax facility that was set up to procure vaccines for developing countries. Covax, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO, is anchored on global collaboration on development, production, and equitable access to Covid-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

“We have launched an online campaign on social media to promote vaccination and have also created an online messaging platform for our shop stewards to engage management and sensitize workers on the need for vaccination to counter misinformation. We are also using the messaging platform to reach our members. This is how we are able to campaign because we are under a lockdown,”

says Justina Jonas the general secretary of the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union.

Further, unions support the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team which aims to achieve 60 per cent immunization on the continent, and bilateral agreements of vaccines.

Unions are also supporting local manufacturing. For example, in South Africa, the unions support the manufacturing of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine through local pharmaceutical company, Aspen Pharmacare.

Further, the unions support the TRIPS waiver proposals made to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by India and South Africa as this will improve vaccine manufacturing.

The unions also want Covid-19 to be declared an occupational disease so that workers can receive compensation when they get ill or die from the disease and continue to carry out awareness campaigns, promote wearing of masks, hand sanitizing, and better ventilation of indoor spaces as part of their health and safety programmes.

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

“Concerted effort is needed by unions, governments, social partners, and global initiatives that include Covax and the TRIPS waiver campaign. The local manufacturing of vaccines is also key to making vaccines accessible. Vaccine equity is required because Covid-19 is a global pandemic and developed countries cannot hoard vaccines that are urgently needed in Sub Saharan Africa and other developing countries.”

Unions at ArcelorMittal continue calling for genuine dialogue

There were lively discussions on labour relations and social dialogue, which is lacking, particularly at the international level. In May, 2,500 ArcelorMittal workers in Canada went on strike over wages, pensions and broken promises, and have come out victorious.

Participants noted with horror that deteriorating health and safety conditions with exploding fatalities throughout ArcelorMittal operations. Fatal accidents have occurred in Kazakhstan, Spain, Ukraine, Poland and South Africa.

Participants shared several conflicts around the world; in Brazil, Europe, Canada and Ukraine, and demanded a functioning global structure to address and resolve conflicts if local level social dialogue fails.

Bart Wille, executive vice president and head of human resources at ArcelorMittal Group, presented on core issues, like ArcelorMittal group’s strategy on decarbonization and green steel. This will change the stage and will affect the workplaces of today’s approximately 170, 000 employees. Although willing to discuss with participants, ArcelorMittal maintains the position that local conflicts need to be solved where they arise and no additional global structure is seen as necessary.

Meeting participants reiterated that the 2020 Declaration is still valid and that there must be genuine social dialogue at ArcelorMittal operations around the world, in spite of what the company management assumes.

“We appreciate ArcelorMittal’s presence in the meeting, however we expect them to do more. We demand that they enter into a genuine structured dialogue concerning the realities of workers, strategic concepts affecting the workforce, health and safety and the future of jobs.
“To this end, we want and need a global structure with a clear commitment from ArcelorMittal . We want more than nice words, but instead real engagement! Our 2020 Declaration is our guideline for which we fight all together,”

said IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan.

Participants held a moment’s silence for Jose Quirino Dos Santos from Brazilian union CNM CUT, the coordinator for the ArcelorMittal National Union network in Brazil.