Global agreement with Renault must entail negotiation of restructuring

On May 29, Renault announced a €2 billion savings plan that will result in the loss of about 15,000 jobs worldwide and the restructuring of factories. The Choisy-le-Roi site near Paris will close entirely, with the loss of 263 jobs.

This announcement is devastating for loyal Renault workers and their families, who had planned to build a future with the company. It also hurts local communities and workers in the supply chain, and adds to a growing uncertainty about the future of the sector. IndustriAll Europe has called on European policymakers to recognize the importance of the sector to recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

The four IndustriALL affiliates representing Renault workers in France – CFE-CGC, FO, CFDT and CGT – met on 27 May and 2 June to develop a joint response to the management plan, which will lead to “social breakdown and deindustrialization”. Following a united call from the unions, workers at Choisy-le-Roi commenced strike action on 2 June.

It is about eleven years since the Renault-Nissan alliance, which Mitsubishi joined in 2016, implemented an aggressive growth strategy. It is less than two years since the former CEO of Renault, Carlos Ghosn, was arrested in Japan, leading to a deep crisis in the alliance between Renault and Nissan and to chaotic leadership in both companies, resulting in the closure of Nissan plants too.

And it is only a week since the alliance announced job cuts and plant closures – and instead of growth they now speak of ‘right sizing’, a business school euphemism for shrinking and the failure of a business model.

Fortunately, the future of the auto industry is something the global labour movement has paid a lot of attention to, and when catastrophe strikes, we are prepared. Less than a year ago, Renault and IndustriALL Global Union signed a precedent-setting global agreement on transformation towards a new world of work at the French carmaker.

In point one of the agreement, Groupe Renault confirms its social responsibility and its commitment to making sure employees are provided with the tools and conditions to cope with the challenges of change and transformation.

Renault has said that the job cuts will take place by the end of 2022. Renault will attempt to make the cuts through “retraining, internal mobility and voluntary departures”, but 4,600 jobs will be lost in France and more than 10,000 in the rest of the world, out of a total of 180,000 globally.

In the agreement, Renault commits to negotiating with unions and employee reps in all countries across the globe. It is this inclusion of ‘all countries’ that makes the agreement so crucial. Multinationals often conduct restructuring processes in a socially responsible manner in their home country, but not beyond that. The world works council at Renault has been active for more than a decade, and now has the chance to take transnational social dialogue to the next level.

This requires a three-fold approach: regular consultations with the steering committee of the world works council, transparency, and constructive dialogue and bargaining at national level in all countries affected by the restructuring with full involvement of the respective unions.

This is another devastating blow for the industry, but if the commitments of the agreement are followed, the negative impact can be reduced, and we can ensure that the restructuring is carried out in a socially responsible way.

”We will not be robbed of our future,” say Spanish Alcoa workers

Alcoa received public aid of up to 38 million euros in the last two years, provided that jobs were guaranteed. Now, Alcoa uses excuses of high energy costs and low aluminum prices, announcing that “no decision will be taken until this consultation period has ended”.

Over the years, Alcoa, one of the world’s largest producers of aluminium, has detached itself from several other aluminium plants in Spain’s Galicia region.

Closing the San Cibrai aluminium plant will have a profound effect on the Spanish economy, as the country no longer will have the capacity to produce aluminium, essential for many other sectors.

IndustriALL’s Spanish affiliates CC.OO de Industria and UGT FICA are calling for measures to be adopted that guarantee maintaining the manufacturing of primary aluminum, as well as the employment in the plant.

Both Spanish unions have painful experiences with similar situations at Alcoa’s other plants in Avilés and La Coruña. The unions are urging the Spanish government to take the necessary measures to avoid the detrimental move by Alcoa.

The San Cibrai plant contributes to 25 per cent of the GDP in the region, and the loss of 534 jobs will heavily impact the economy.

“Together with industriAll Europe, IndustriALL Global Union is calling on Alcoa to reconsider the collective dismissal and return to the negotiating table with the unions and the government in order to jointly achieve a fair and viable solution for both the company and the workers at the San Cibrao plant,”

says IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches.

Both organizations express solidarity with the Spanish unions and their members at Alcoa during their legitimate and rightful struggle for jobs.

IndustriALL has a global union network among affiliates representing Alcoa employees.

Union intervenes to release mineworkers from Covid-19 quarantine camp

While the mine said the quarantine is part of the efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus among the workers, MUZ says that workers should not be forced to stay in the camp away from their families.

According to the union, the living conditions that include dormitories and partly open toilets infringe on privacy and are an insult to workers dignity. The workers also complained about a poor diet.

MUZ met with the mine management and reached an agreement that workers be allowed to go home. The mine would provide transport to and from work for different shifts.

Joseph Chewe, MUZ president, said during a meeting with the workers:

“As a union it is our duty to speak for the miners against any mistreatment. We applaud your unity in rejecting the terrible living conditions that you were put under by the management and have told the mine to stop forcing workers to live in the camp.”

Despite the agreement, the management distributed “quarantine application forms” to entice workers to stay in the camp. Included on the form are promises to provide food and an allowance of K1,500 (US$82) to those workers who agree to continue living in the camp.

Some clauses on the form that workers are supposed to sign disregard workers’ rights that are protected by the law including from summary dismissals.

For example, one section reads: “I understand I cannot leave camp or withdraw from the camp without management approval as this will amount to summary dismissal.”

Glen Mpufane IndustriALL mining director, says:

“Mineworkers should not be forced under any circumstances to live in such deplorable conditions. Mining companies have a responsibility to respect human and workers’ rights, and this includes providing proper housing and sanitation facilities.”

Of the more than 2,500 workers employed at Chambishi mine, 1,450 are MUZ members.

The mine and copper smelter are jointly owned by the China Non-ferrous Metals Company Limited (85 per cent) and the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Limited (15 per cent).

Austrian chemical workers unite for fair deal

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate PRO-GE leads the negotiation with another Austrian union, GPA-djp, united by the unreasonable position of the chemical employers.

The lead negotiators from PRO-GE, Alfred Artmäuer and Günther Gallistl from GPA-djp jointly stated:

“As the coronavirus forces us to distance ourselves, workers in the chemical industry move closer together.”

The proposal from the chemical sector employers is for the 45,000 workers in Austria to agree a drop in real wages and benefits, with a 1.45 per cent increase that is below inflation.

Union negotiators explain that workers are already paying for the current economic crisis coming out of the pandemic in two ways. Government supported short-time work has been widely used due to the economic downturn, this practice and the state stimulus into the economy are both widely paid for by the taxes of working people. A third way of making workers pay through reduced income is rejected.

As chemical workers are asked to reduce their pay, they see shareholders continue being rewarded through dividends. And the union negotiators remind the employers of the exceptionally good performance of the industry last year.

On 4 June the unions will conduct worker assemblies including strike training, in the cities of Vienna and Linz. Those meetings will decide on next steps to take if employers do not come back with a significantly improved offer.

On 19 May, Austrian social partners in the electronics industry reached a sector agreement including special tax-free “Corona-premium” payments for each worker, and a wage increase of 1.6 per cent. That industry employs over 50,000 workers, also represented by PRO-GE and GPA-djp.

IndustriALL Global Union chemical director Tom Grinter conveyed solidarity:

“It is great to see such energy as our union colleagues mobilize outside their plants throughout Austria, refusing to be ripped off. We back you all the way to a fair deal!”

Proposed anti-union law threatens Ukrainian union movement

On 27 May, the parliamentary committee on social policy and the protection of veterans reviewed draft law №2681 and recommended that parliament adopt it in the first reading during next week’s session.

This draft law is in contravention of the Constitution of Ukraine, core ILO conventions, including Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize and Convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining, as well as the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

Its current provisions would seriously undermine freedom of association in Ukraine by: allowing only two unions per company; setting a minimum membership of a union of at least ten members, which deprives workers of small businesses of their right to form or join a union; allowing the creation of external “control commissions” with unspecified powers over unions; excluding unions that have “managerial” staff among their members from collective bargaining, with no definition of this term allowing for broad interpretation, and refusal to bargain with unions whose members include occasional supervisors not responsible for management decisions. The draft anti-union law removes the employer’s obligation to provide collective bargaining information to unions within one week of a request; undermines tripartite social dialogue obligations and allows the seizure of property that has been in the possession of unions for nearly 30 years since Ukraine’s independence.

In his letter to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Valter Sanches says:

“We would like remind you that in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis, democracy, democratic rules and democratic governance are key to overcoming the current challenges. Trade unions are the key actors in the establishment and development of the democratic infrastructure of your country as elsewhere in the world. I urge you to create the necessary enabling environment for trade unions to operate properly rather than putting barriers in front of them.

“Our global union expects you to put people’s rights and expectations first, before business and economic interests”.

“IndustriALL calls on the President of Ukraine to scrap this draft law without any delay, and act in full accordance with international labour conventions, which have been ratified by Ukraine, and the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement”.

IndustriALL also called on Parliament of Ukraine to withdraw draft labour law # 2681.

The draft law was initially introduced to Parliament in December 2019, together with anti-worker draft labour law №2708, as part of labour law reform. After a global solidarity action supporting a global union federation mission to Kiev in February, the draft labour law №2708 was abandoned following the resignation of the government.

Cambodian unionist released from jail

Cambodian union Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW) fought to have their local union president released, supported by a LabourStart campaign and international solidarity.

CUMW president Pav Sina says:

“While we welcome the release, CUMW stresses that the government must drop all investigations on Soy Sros. Superl Cambodia Ltd must immediately reinstate her with full back pay, benefits and damage compensation.
“We call on the company to respect the union leader’s free speech and her role as a worker representative.”

In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak and factory shutdowns, Soy Sros was fighting for the rights of CUMW members, including a pregnant woman, as Superl Cambodia Ltd. announced that their employment contracts would not be renewed on 2 April.

Criticizing the company on Facebook for failing to follow the advice of the Cambodian Prime Minister with regards to dismissing workers, Soy Sros was arrested the following day.

IndustriALL Global Union sent letters to Superl Cambodia Ltd and brands producing at the factory, urging all parties to respect CUMW leader’s freedom of expression and to withdraw the police report. An international campaign calling for her release was launched on 15 May.

IndustriALL South East Asia regional director Annie Adviento says:

“IndustriALL has been very concerned about Soy Sros’ deteriorating health while in detention. She now has access proper medical treatment. The right to health is a human right.
“We thank everyone around the world for their solidarity actions; Soy Sros’ release shows that we can make a change when we are united.”

Workers in Peru and Chile question BHP's response to Covid-19

The network of BHP employees in Latin America met virtually to exchange information on how the company is responding to the coronavirus pandemic in its different plants in the region. The result was a rather mixed picture.

Workers who are members of the union at the Antamina Company in Peru (a joint venture between BHP, Glencore, Teck Resources and Mitsubishi Corporation) reported a complete absence of meaningful social dialogue. They claim that 216 workers tested positive for Covid-19 at a single mine employing 7,000 workers. Furthermore, they say the first person to die from Covid-19 in the country was an Antamina worker.

Edmundo Villanueva of the Peruvian mining federation FNTMMSP said:

“Antamina frequently ignores the recommendations that our union sends them by letter. With regard to Covid, the company did not comply with the national emergency and that caused widespread contagion. Management consistently fails to respect the collective agreement, and we see the same thing happening with the pandemic. The consequences are also serious for those living in communities near the company, as it does not protect people.”

However, in Chile, where the assets are operated directly by BHP, the unions forced the company to take worker safety very seriously:

“Very few cases have been recorded to date. That is because the unions put pressure on the company to respect health and safety measures. As a Spence union, we had to stop work for 24 hours to make BHP obey some necessary safety measures and to establish clear procedures for notifying suspicious cases. We set aside our differences in order to work together on safety measures for workers,”

said Ronald Salcedo of Chile's Minera Spence union.

However, they accuse the company of engaging in other questionable behaviour. For example, it holds few negotiations with unions, only hires workers who have no underlying health conditions, and has decided to change its work schedules.

Marcelo Franco of Cerro Colorado's Union No. 1 CMCC commented:

“The company took advantage of the situation. For example, by exercizing its power over workers to change shifts. Working hours now fall outside our exceptional work schedule. They make us come in at 7am so they can adjust production and make it run continuously during working hours. At the same time, as many workers are manifesting different health conditions, the company is saying that workers have to be free of illness for six months before coming back to work.”

Glen Mpufane is director of IndustriALL’s mining, diamond, gem, ornaments and jewellery processing sector and leads the campaign demanding that BHP respect the rights of its workers. He said:

“The crisis has exposed the weakness of BHP's employment model; to build resilience, BHP must engage in comprehensive social dialogue, develop strong industrial relations and provide decent work in the new normal.”

Union busting at Sunstar Engineering in Thailand

At the beginning of the year, Sunstar Engineering employed more than 300 permanent workers and 80 subcontracted workers. A majority of the permanent workers, 179, were members of Thailand Autoparts and Metal Workers Union (TAM), affiliated to Thai Confederation of Electronic, Electrical Appliances, Auto and Metal Workers (TEAM) and Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT). CILT is affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union.

Recently, Sunstar Engineering laid off 94 permanent workers and all 80 subcontracted workers, blaming the Covid-19 pandemic and declining orders. All of the 94 permanent workers are union members and were laid off without any previous warning. No other solutions, like voluntary early retirement, were discussed.

The company also laid off five workers on the employee committee without seeking necessary permission from the Labour Court, clearly violating Thailand’s Labour Relations Act.

The union is saying that contrary to Sunstar Engineering’s claims, the company has shown profits over the last years. After a temporary shutdown of production during a part of April, Sunstar Engineering returned to full operation and production in May.

According to the union, this is not the first case of union busting. Sunstar Engineering’s human resource manager had warned union members that they were likely to be laid off. The company had also sent a document for union members to sign, saying that the employer would no longer automatically deduct union dues from the salaries.

This intimidation, another clear violation of Thailand’s Labour Relations Act, led to 35 workers leaving the union on 22 May. With further members leaving the union, the union now has less than 20 members.

Together with the ITUC and other global unions, IndustriALL has raised serious concerns on labour violations in Thailand, including violations of the right to freedom of association, to organize and to bargain collectively. Thailand is one of the few countries in the world to have ratified neither ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association, nor ILO Convention 98 on the right to organize and collective bargaining.

In October last year, the US announced that it would partially suspend Thailand’s trade preferences under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) in April 2020. The six-month delay was meant to give the Thai government an opportunity to take the necessary steps to protect fundamental workers’ rights. However, most of these concerns have not been addressed in any meaningful way.

IndustriALL Global Union is strongly urging the government to fully address the issues raised in the GSP review, in consultation with legitimate and representative unions, saying that it is frustrating that union busting is continuing and that the government still has not taken the necessary actions.

Global dialogue with Glencore addresses Southern African Coronavirus crisis

Mineworkers in South Africa and Zambia faced job and wage losses as a result of disruptions caused to mining operations by coronavirus shutdowns. IndustriALL Global Union faciliated dialogue between Glencore and mineworkers’ unions in the two countries, leading to negotiations that resulted in constructive solutions.

Christine Olivier, international officer with the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), said:

“The Covid-19 crisis is not an employer or worker’s fault. Therefore, there is need for the two parties to sit down and negotiate for an outcome that works for all. This is what happened when we had meetings with the Glencore management when the lockdown began.”

In the negotiations, NUMSA stressed the employers’ social and community responsibilities during the coronavirus lockdowns. Workers support up to eight members of their extended families, and failing to pay wages would starve families.

A 2019 meeting with IndustriALL, Glencore, and Sub Saharan Africa mining unions

An agreement was reached in which the employer agreed to pay workers their wages, housing allowance and medical aid during the lockdown. As mines operated at 50 per cent capacity because of Covid-19 restrictions, workers were paid shift bonuses and transport costs only when they went to work.

An agreement reached with the government of Zambia, with support from the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ), saw 5,672 workers at Glencore-owned Mopani mine going back to work. However, the union is fighting for the rehiring of over 5,000 contract workers whose contracts were terminated due to Covid-19. The workers were employed by companies sub-contracted to Mopani.

Joseph Chewe, MUZ president, in welcoming Mopani’s decision to reverse putting the mines under care and maintenance, said:

“We want to see Mopani, through Glencore, investing more money to keep the mines operational. The union will interrogate measures to reduce the cost of production and to ensure that the company is kept afloat. Job losses should be prevented during the coronavirus pandemic. Unions must be consulted, and engagement done according to the laws.”

NUMSA and MUZ are affiliated to IndustriALL. Glencore has copper, cobalt, coal, and ferroalloys mining operations in these countries.

Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining said:

“Negotiations and agreements are important in the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic which is bringing a lot of uncertainty because of disruptions to global mining value chains due to lockdowns in most countries.
"This is a global crisis that calls for amicable agreements between unions and mining companies. Governments should also engage in social dialogue, enforce international labour standards, and promote Covid-19 protocols as critical responses to the pandemic.”

Speaking today on a shareholder call ahead of the Glencore annual general meeting, Mpufane praised the success of the dialogue at the Southern African mines. He raised the desperate situation at Glencore operations in Peru and Bolivia, particularly at the Antimina mine in Peru, where hundreds of workers have been infected with Covid-19 and at least one has died. Antimina is a joint venture between Glencore and other companies, including BHP Billiton. Mpufane asked Glencore to use its influence to improve the situation.

Chairman Tony Hayward, speaking on behalf of the CEO Ivan Glasenberg, acknowledged the extent of the coronavirus crisis in Peru, and pledged to work with IndustriALL to alleviate the situation of miners.

Nissan announces the closure of Catalan factories

Nissan previously announced a global restructuring plan that would affect more than 12,000 jobs globally. So far, 4,000 workers have been laid off, 600 in Spain. The unions in Spain, as well as at European level, have been in dialogue with the company and have presented alternative plans.

The Barcelona plants at Zona Franca, Montcada and Sant Andreu de la Barca shut during the Coronavirus lockdown. After reopening on 4 May, they were almost immediately hit by strike action. Unions took indefinite strike action to protest the failure of the company to confirm the future of the site.

Nissan today announced a global restructuring plan that affects 20 per cent of its production capacity. The closure of the Barcelona factories is part of that restructuring plan. The closures are part of a strategy by the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance which will restructure management geographically, leaving Europe under the leadership of Renault.

The IndustriALL Global Union affiliates representing the Nissan workers, the Federación de Industria de USO, UGT Federacíon de Industria, Construccíon y Agro and CC.OO de Industria, question the wisdom of this strategy.

The unions point out that in Europe there is a firm commitment to a New Green Deal, with a direct injection of one hundred billion euros and a private contribution of 250,000 million more. A very important part will go to sustainable mobility. They feel that Nissan is missing an opportunity to get support for a shift towards electric vehicles, smart driving and shared mobility.

The unions say that if the Alliance wants to lead the automotive sector, it must lead in the development of new technologies, their production processes and the strategy for the future of mobility, especially in large metropolitan areas. It is a serious mistake to leave Barcelona, the technological hub of southern Europe.

After the announcement, IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches sent a video message in support of the Barcelona workers, saying:

“It is unacceptable that a company takes advantage of a moment of pandemic to restructure. The workers’ committee put together a number of alternatives, the European Union provided resources in the Green New Deal, a plan that could be used for electric vehicles. The company nevertheless decided to restructure and place the burden of this crisis on the shoulder of the workers.

IndustriALL will keep in contact with affiliated unions with members at Nissan worldwide to mobilize international solidarity to affiliates in Spain.