Steel workers in India strike over wages

The public sector steel workers went on strike as negotiations on wages and other issues failed, despite genuine engagement from the trade unions for more than six days. The wage revision has been pending since December 2017.

The collective agreement is usually revised every five years by the National Joint Committee on Steel (NJCS), made up by SAIL management and the five central trade union federation in India, including IndustriALL affiliates SMEFI (HMS) and INMF (INTUC). But this time, management has delayed the bargaining process and offered negligible revision of wages.

 

The joint union demands include:

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

“A core member of the NJCS for the past 15 years, I have rarely faced such passive behaviour of SAIL management, failing to address workers’ genuine demands over the long-pending wage revision. Workers have continued during the pandemic and the company has recorded a considerable profit. Yet management is ignoring and undermining the rights and benefits of the steel workers, including precarious workers.”

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, says:

“We stand in solidarity with the steel workers and urge both the government and management to change their attitude towards the workers’ demands. We are deeply concerned over the hundreds of steel workers who have lost their lives to Covid, and many have lost family members. SAIL and RINL management should immediately establish a constructive social dialogue with the unions and provide a concrete response to their genuine and long pending demands.”

SAIL is one of the major public sector steel companies in the world with five integrated steel plants in Rourkela, Durgapur, Bhilai, Bokaro, Burnpur, three special plants at Salem, Durgapur, and Bhadravati, a ferro alloy plant at Chandrapur, and about 20 coal and iron ore mines. RINL has a major steel plant in Vishakhapatnam.

Call For Tenders – GreenTech in Mechanical Engineering

Please download the specification below.

To submit a tender or for further information, please contact Matthias Hartwich.

Call for tenders – the Future of Work and Industry 4.0

Please download the specification below.

To submit a tender or for further information, please contact Matthias Hartwich.

Paper workers sign agreement with Suzano, Brazil

The union of Mogi das Cruzes paper workers, part of CNQ/CUT, an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union, took action against the company's plans to worsen working conditions.

After a campaign on social media and at the factory entrance, they managed to reach an agreement with the company in order to keep their benefits. On 15 June, the union approved the agreement at a virtual assembly.

The new agreements provides for the following:

The paper and pulp company announced its intention to amend its agreement with the union on 17 May. The union said that the proposed changes did not reflect the company's economic reality and undermined workers' rights.

They called for a fair agreement that valued the company’s workers. The union also condemned Suzano, which is specialized in eucalyptus production, for reducing the length of the agreement from two years to one year.

Union president, Marcio Bob Cruz, says:

"The original proposal was despicable – it withdrew workers' rights and represented a step backwards in our long and successful union struggle. Suzano does not need to take these kinds of measures because it is a big company.

"Our campaign gained national and international support, and the unity of workers was decisive in getting the company to back down. We know how difficult it is to reclaim lost rights at the negotiating table. That's why, each and every worker played a key role in this victory."

IndustriALL general secretary, Valter Sanches, adds:

"The actions and resistance of the Mogi das Cruzes paper workers union are an inspiration to all workers in the paper and pulp industry, not just in Mogi and Brazil but across the globe.

"Their victory shows all workers, and their bosses, that when we are firm and unified, we have the power to refute management's attempts to undermine workers' rights."

CRH workers and the unions stay strong together

The meeting was called by IndustriALL Global Union, Building and Woodworkers International (BWI), and European Federation of Building and Wood Workers (EFBWW) and was a continuation of the work started at the conference in Dublin in 2019 when the network of union representatives and activists was formed.

The participants exchanged their views on the challenges faced by their unions and workers in face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the subcontracting, OHS, climate change, necessity of just transition and the state of social dialogue in CRH companies.

Ambet Yuson, BWI General Secretary

Opening the meeting Ambet Yuson, BWI general secretary, welcomed CRH union delegates, and said,

“Over the last five to ten years CRH became a major player in the cement industry. The company established new operations in the Global South. Workers hoped the CRH arrival would be for the better, expecting investment, modernization and development. Unfortunately we witnessed the opposite. Violation of CBA in Ukraine, introduction of double shifts in Brazil in time of COVID-19 and excessive contractualization in the Philippines. They are not in conformity with international human rights standards and commitment of the company under the OECD guidelines. We need to join our forces and fight this injustice.”

The conference delegates discussed the state of arts in the negotiations aimed at conclusion of a new agreement for the CRH European Works Council and expressed their support to the efforts at the European level.

Tom Deleu, EFBWW general secretary

Tom Deleu, EFBWW general secretary said,

“In CRH we have some work to do. At the European level we have a clear legislative framework regarding the social dialogue within multinational companies. CRH has a voluntary agreement, but we believe it is substandard. Over the recent years they became a global player and they need now to engage with the unions at local, European and global level. We are aiming at improved dialogue under the binding rules of European directive and we will not accept anything less.”

The delegates discussed a detailed plan of action focused on collecting the information about the situation in the company regarding union presence, digitalization, company response to climate change and other. While establishing and building social dialogue with the company, the delegates also decided to reach out to the company stakeholders and engage with them on crucial issues.

The participants also decided to prepare a joint statement, which after consultation with the delegates will be shared with the company and published here.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary congratulated the participants with the successful conference and said,

“It is the second global meeting focused on the problems of social dialogue in CRH. We are offering our hand and are seeking a transparent dialogue, as long as this reciprocal we will be happy to cooperate. But CRH must become transparent about their cooperation with us, and we will not tolerate other attitude. If the company accepts our offer we will do our best to build our relationship based on mutual respect, if not, we have other methods in our toolbox and have enough experience to conduct also campaigns if needed.”

Indian cement unions join forces to fight for health and safety

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on nearly all manufacturing sectors in India. However, the cement industry has witnessed  growth and profitability with a continued production.

According to the reports, a lot of cement companies started working with new contractors with workers with lower wages and no social protection. According to the participants, large number of previously employed third-party workers face job losses after years of service. Others are pushed to receive at least 30 per cent lower wages. Companies are now operating with reduced workforce despite increased production, resulting in longer working hours and heavier workload and subsequent stress.

Unions reported that vulnerable groups, particularly women and precarious workers, are the major victims of pandemic with worsened working conditions, precariousness and lack of safety. In some workplaces women workers were not given regular work and later forced into to take voluntary retirement.

Despite announced policies on health and safety, cement companies fail to maintain a safe working environment; for personal protective equipment, workers are only given a helmet; a vast majority of the victims of workplace accidents are contract and agency workers; health and safety committees, if they exist, do not meet regularly and workers’ rights to participate, be informed and refuse unsafe work are not respected.

Malcolm Mossman, vice chair of HeidelbergCement European Works Council highlighted best practices on improving health and safety and union strategies to protect workers in the industry.

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary, said:

“Work injuries, accidents and illnesses affect every aspect of workers and their families’ lives and employers should not monetize health and safety standards. Indian cement unions should continue to take joint actions to fight for decent jobs and find solutions to various challenges.”

Alexander Ivanou, IndustriALL materials industries officer, said:

“The cement industry is an important sector in India. It is unacceptable that while cement companies claim the best health and safety records, the same companies fail to recognize and respect fundamental workers’ rights. Together with our affiliates we will shed light on these shameful practices and fight them back.”

Participants decided on a plan of action where they agreed to launch a survey to assess current health and safety challenges, to explore possibilities of joint actions to promote health and safety at work and limit the use of precarious work.

The meeting was organized  as part of South Asia union building project by IndustriALL’s Swedish affiliates through Union to Union, and participants were from Indian National Cement Workers’ Federation (INCWF-INTUC) and All India Cement Employees’ Federation (AICEF-HMS).

Unpaid wages at Victoria’s Secret supplier in Thailand

The 300 workers held placards with messages like "where is our owner?" and "I will not run away as your previous owner". The workers are demanding that the lingerie company immediately settle the payment in accordance to Thai law.

The factory closed on 10 March without prior warning and 1,388 workers were dismissed. The workers have yet to pay wages, overtime, holiday and severance pay. BAT offered to pay back the owed amount over a 10-year period, which was rejected by the workers.

On 23 March, the provincial labour welfare and protection office of Samut Prakarn ruled that the company violated multiple sections of the Labour protection act and must pay THB242,689,862.71 (US$7.61 million) to 1,237 complainants. Failing to do so after 30 days, a default interest of 15 percent per year would be charged.

 

In email exchanges between IndustriALL Global Union and Clover Group, the parent company of Brilliant Alliance Global Ltd. based in Hong Kong, the company claimed that it had given a proposal to Triumph International Thailand Labour Union and was in the process of filing a bankruptcy notice. The union says the proposal of giving payment over 10-year period is unacceptable.

Prasit Prasopsuk, president of Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT), says:

“It is extremely disappointing that the company violated basic labour laws and ignored the order of the labour inspector. The company claimed they had negotiated with the union, but in fact the company  unilaterally asked the union to accept instalment payments lasting up to 10 years.

“This only benefits the company. We cannot accept the offer and call on the company to comply with the labour inspector’s order by expediting payments to employees as quickly as possible.”

Annie Adviento, IndustriALL South East Asia regional secretary says:

“We call on the company to immediately pay the workers in full, according to the order of the provincial labour office. The Clover Group’s customer Victoria Secret must intervene in the dispute to protect workers’ rights.”

International Labour Conference calls for strong action on Covid recovery

Covid and social protection were among the key discussions during the ILC, which was held online this year. A strong call to action on the pandemic was adopted, in response to the impact of the pandemic more than a year after its original outburst. The Global Call to Acton for a Human-centred Recovery was adopted unanimously by government, employer and union representatives and fast-tracks implementation of the ILO Centenary Declaration.

As a unique tripartite forum, delegates at the ILC are made up of employers, governments and workers’ representatives of ILO member states. The ILC Committee on Application of Standards witnessed substantial and sometimes tough discussions on the 19 individual cases of violations of ILO Conventions, but managed to adopt conclusions for all cases.

IndustriALL and affiliates actively participated in the ILC Committees and in the Committee on Application of Standards denouncing the lack of respect towards workers’ rights in different countries.

Together with the other global unions and affiliates, IndustriALL took the floor to denounce the most serious violations of ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association and protection of the right to organise in Belarus, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Colombia, Kazakhstan and ILO Convention 98 in Romania.

For the case of Belarus, the CAS issued the strongest set of conclusions  according to which the continuing violations of workers’ rights on freedom of association in Belarus have to be considered under a special paragraph. This is the strongest possible measure taken by the CAS towards the country systematically violating ILO Conventions.

IndustriALL, as a part of the council of global unions, challenged the legitimacy of the Myanmar junta throughout the UN system. The ILC adopted an emergency resolution on Myanmar, among other things urging the military regime to end violations of human rights, respect ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association, stop violence and arbitrary arrests and detention.

“In the face of an unprecedented crisis we must recognize that the recovery from the previous global crisis, while generating wealth, has not generated equitable distribution and has deepened inequality. The ILO is the home of tripartism where governments, employers and workers seek agreements to improve the world of work. A fair global recovery will only happen with the effective guarantee of the fundamental conventions established by this house, especially by ensuring freedom of association and collective bargaining”,

says IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches.

Malawi court rules in favour of compensation in sexual harassment case

Tamara Kabowa  was sexually harassed by her general foreperson, Joaquim Carvalho, successfully sued her employer, Mota Engil Engenharia Construcao Africa, for damages. The court heard that Carvalho forcefully caressed Kabowa and attempted to undress her using a “a six-gear knife to rip the trousers apart.” Carvalho resigned and left Malawi before the case was heard in court.
 
The court ruled that Kabowa should be compensated by her employer, Mota Engil, the defendant in the case, for “aggravated and exemplary damages for the injury to her dignity as a woman, emotional and psychological trauma among others as a result of the negligent failure of the defendant to curb her sexual abuse at the hands of one of its officers who was her senior.”

Further, the court ruled that Mota Engil “breached its duty as employer under section 13 of the Occupational Safety and Health and Welfare Act to ensure a safe workplace.”
 
IndustriALL affiliates in Malawi welcome the firm approach that the courts are taking to combat sexual and gender-based violence and are involved in campaigns for the ratification of C190 under the Malawi Decent Work Programme II. Affiliates are also involved in campaigns as members of the Malawi Congress of Trade Union and with civil society organizations on gender mainstreaming and gender equality. The IndustriALL affiliates are the Building, Construction, Civil Engineering and Allied Workers union (BCCEAWU), Chemical Energy, Mining and Allied Workers Union (CEMAWU), Commercial, Industrial and Allied Workers Union (CIAWU) Escom Staff Union (ESU) and Textile, Garment, Leather and Security Services Workers (TGLSSWU).

“We welcome recent judgements in which courts are giving stiffer sentences and penalties for perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence at work,”

says William Mnyamula, ESU general Secretary.
 
Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa says:

“We salute women who are standing up against sexual harassment at the workplace. The employer has a duty to protect women workers and to ensure their safety. The ratification of Convention 190 by Malawi becomes the necessary next step considering that the courts are supportive.”

In Sub Saharan Africa, Namibia and Somalia have ratified the convention while other countries are at various consultative stages towards ratification.

Iranian petrochemical workers take strike action

Because independent unions are not recognized by the government and are systematically restricted, the wildcat strike action is coordinated by workers’ strike committees. The immediate demands of the strike are for better wages, adequate social security and better living conditions. The strike committees have issued a clear set of wage demands for each employment category, and have said that work will resume if employers meet the demands.

The strike mirrors a month-long wave of strike action by more than 10,000 workers that took place in the South Pars oil and gas fields in August last year. The 2020 strike action forced employers to improve wages and living conditions.

IndustriALL Global Union’s affiliate the Union of Metalworkers and Mechanics in Iran (UMMI) reports that the current wave of strike action started when workers downed tools and walked off the job at a number of sites in south Iran on 19 June.

The workers are employed by subcontracting companies who provide labour for development projects in the oil and gas fields. The subcontractors act as a buffer between workers and the oil and gas companies, and try to control workers’ demands by employing them on rolling short term contracts. The shift cycle is 20 days on and 10 days off. During the 20-day working period, workers are housed on site in communal dormitories. Most are technicians and tradesmen such as scaffolders, fitters, welders and electricians.

Conditions in the dormitories are poor and unhygienic, the food in the canteens is sub-standard and wages are low. Because the workers are employed through intermediaries, they cannot negotiate better conditions directly with the oil and gas companies. Pay and conditions are set by the contractors.

Contractors also routinely underpay social security contributions by misclassifying workers, which affects their pensions, unemployment and sickness cover.

The strike has spread across the country. Currently thousands of workers at 22 refineries and projects in the oil and gas centres, including Jahan Pars, Gachsaran Petrochemicals, Tehran Refinery and Abadan Refinery, are on strike, forcing a number of projects to suspend operations.

The strike is expected to grow as more workers are paid off after their 20-day shift cycle. Direct employees of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will join the strike and hold nationwide protest rallies on 30 June.

In a statement published on its website, UMMI addressed the workers in the sector:

“The screws are tightened by our hands and the pipes welded with our sweat. No project can continue unless we assemble, weld, or scaffold. Believe in your power and stay at home – let’s see if the scaffolding erects itself!”

US sanctions have stopped most of Iran’s oil and gas exports. The national currency has depreciated and food inflation is extremely high. Before starting the strike action, workers protested outside parliament in Tehran as well as in Ahvaz, the capital of the oil-producing province of Khuzestan, to demand that petroleum minister Bijan Zanganeh address their demands.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“Once again, our Iranian brothers have shown tremendous courage and resolve in the face of oppression. They are taking collective action to defend themselves, to improve their conditions, and to demand that their homeland is built to meet the needs of the many. We salute them and stand in solidarity with their struggle and just demands.”