“We will be killed by hunger before the coronavirus gets us”

Thandi, a garment worker at Fashion International in Matsapha, says:

“We have not been paid and are trying to survive with the little money we have. It is hard. The employer must give us our money so that we can buy food. Some of the women in the factory are widows and it is extremely difficult for them.
“We will be killed by hunger before the coronavirus gets us. We need our wages as we cannot buy even salt. We are struggling to pay rent. Why is the employer not paying us when they have the money?”

Another worker, Sizwe, from FTM factories in Nhlangano, says:

“When my child got sick, I had no money to take him to hospital, and ended up begging. With the low wages that I earn, I have little savings.”

The Amalgamated Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA), affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union, is demanding that the workers be paid from the provident fund they contribute to.

“We are campaigning for employers to pay living wages to workers and not for them to even fail to pay the low wages that workers struggle with every month. This non-payment is even more painful under the tough lockdown conditions. The Eswatini National provident fund can be used to pay wage of at least Emalangeni 1400 (US$76) but our long-term goal is for wages to be over E3500 (US$190),”

says Wander Mkhonza, ATUSWA general secretary.

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches says:

“In the midst of a pandemic that is killing thousands of workers daily, employers must act responsibly by not worsening an already dire situation. Workers must be paid their wages timely. Expecting workers to stay at home without food for their families is unacceptable.”

In a letter to Eswatini Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, Sanches stresses:

“We sincerely hope that the current negotiations between the government, employers and labour will be able to entail urgent actions to support the workers by immediate payments rather than expose them to a dual crisis of Covid-19 and poverty.”

Average wages are E1,700 (US$92) per month.

Virtual May Day

Even apart, we celebrated May Day together. In order to make workers’ voices heard, IndustriALL, together with LabourStart and global unions ITUC, PSI, UNI, ITF, IUF, BWI, EI, IFJ, organized a 12-hour May Day event online, spanning the globe.

#VirtualMayDay from LabourStart on Vimeo.

IndustriALL and our affiliates around the world marked the importance of May Day, and unions in several countries like France, Germany, Spain and Brazil organized virtual celebrations.

“During this crisis we need to stand together in solidarity and defend workers’ health and safety, as well as their jobs and wages,”

says Valter Sanches, IndustriALL general secretary.

Union leaders from Turkish confederation DISK, who were about to march towards Istanbul's Taksim square to place a wreath to commemorate martyrs killed on May Day in 1977, were taken into custody on the grounds of being a threat to public security.

Although later released, Valter Sanches says:

"This is unacceptable and on this May Day, the workers’ day, IndustriALL stands in solidarity with those showing courage and determination to fight for workers' rights."

Bangladeshi government must protect workers from impacts of Covid-19

Rushing to contain the spread of Covid-19 in Bangladesh, the government declared a general holiday from 26 March to 4 April, which was then extended until 14 April. With some exceptions, the lockdown was further extended until 3 May.

Confusion ahead of the general shutdown resulted in stress and panic, as large numbers of workers, mostly women, were not paid, thousands laid off and many set off on foot and by dangerous modes of transport to leave Dhaka.

Despite the lockdown, many factories are now running, exposing workers to infection. There have been protests of workers demanding payment of wages during the lockdown.

According Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) export orders of 982 million pieces, worth US$3.18 billion have been cancelled or suspended, affecting 2.28 million workers in 1,150 factories. As the global action to support garment industry gets underway, the crisis is getting worse in Bangladesh.

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches, expresses serious concerns over the health and safety, economic and social impacts of Covid-19 on Bangladeshi workers:

“No worker in any industry should be laid-off/ retrenched/ fired during the lockdown period. All workers must be paid in full without any wage deduction and Eid Bonus should be paid by 15 May. The government should consult unions and set up a tripartite committee to monitor and assess the situation and recommend steps as needed.
“The government should ensure that factory owners provide hand sanitizers, soap, and PPEs for workers. In case workers are diagnosed with the coronavirus, their treatment must be done free of cost.”

In a letter to the European delegation in Dhaka, IBC underlined that, according to preliminary reports, over 500,000 garment workers will not get any payment due to ongoing unjust lay-offs, which will lead to a massive social crisis.

China Rahman, IBC general secretary, says:

“We urged the EU delegation to provide possible support Bangladeshi workers and ensure that no brands, buyers postpone or cancels work order and they clear the dues to their suppliers. In order to avoid the humanitarian crisis, the government, brands and employers have to take shared responsibility to ensure that workers’ wages and benefits are paid, jobs are secured and they receive social protection.”

Brazil: collective agreements in response to Covid-19

Brazil's Department of Socioeconomic Statistics and Studies has published a report mapping solutions proposed by unions in the collective bargaining process to protect workers' health and minimize the pandemic’s impact on jobs and wages.

Unions from various sectors have managed to get companies to put in place health and safety measures to fight the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace and immediately allow at-risk workers to stay off site. The agreements also provide compulsory paid leave and temporary job security, keep economic benefits in place, and require any measures taken by companies to be approved by workers through a vote or a union assessment.

The study showed that many agreements were negotiated through virtual assemblies, allowing members to debate and vote on proposals remotely.

At a recent virtual assembly held by the SMABC union, part of the national confederation of metal workers (CNM-CUT), members voted in favour of an agreement with Mercedes-Benz in São Bernardo. The agreement guarantees that workers will be paid between 80-100 per cent over two months and secured the jobs of all 8,400 workers until 31 December.

In the metal sector, agreements have been reached with most carmakers, including JEEP, Renault, Nissan, Toyota, Scania, GM, Volkswagen and Peugeot. Under these agreements, production will be halted for four weeks, employment contracts will be suspended for 30 days with full pay, employees will be able to work remotely, and other rules were established.

A number of agreements were also successfully negotiated in the chemicals sector. Fequimfar negotiated a collective agreement covering 150,000 workers at more than 4,700 firms in all areas of the chemicals sector in São Paulo.

Other chemicals unions have managed to negotiate accumulated overtime, increased shift lengths to avoid crowded production lines, social distancing in cafeterias, and other measures to limit the number of workers on site.

However, the report said that Brazil's government and companies are trying to resists these measures, attempting to undermine and eliminate rights set out in labour law and collective agreements. The government is allowing companies to reduce employees' work time and wages, and to suspend their contracts.

IndustriALL's deputy general secretary, Kemal Özkan, says:

"We congratulate IndustriALL's affiliates in Brazil. The agreements offer a satisfactory solution for the vast majority of workers. We hope that similarly robust agreements will be reached with other companies to safeguard the health, jobs and wages of our factory workers."

Accidents continue at Bangladesh shipbreaking yards

Ironically, on International Workers Memorial Day, 45-year old Khalil, who worked as a cutter, suffered serious injuries to his leg as he was hit by a huge iron pipe while working inside a ship. He was first taken to the hospital run by Bangladesh Shipbreakers and Recyclers Association (BSBA) and later moved to Dhaka for surgery.

Kan Matsuzaki, IndustriALL shipbreaking director says:

“It is totally unacceptable that a serious accident happened on the world safety day. The recent series of accidents expose inadequate safety measures and a negligence from the employers. BSBA and the government should immediately adopt the safety procedures under the Shipbreaking Act 2018, which is in line with the Hong Kong convention. Save workers lives now!”

The accident follows previous accidents in a shipbreaking yards this year: in March two workers were killed and one seriously injured at Khwaza Kabir Steel Shipbreaking Yard, in February a worker fell from a great height in a ship and suffered serious injuries at the Four Star Shipbreaking Yard.

So far in 2020, at least six workers were killed and many suffered injuries in accidents in the Bangladesh shipbreaking yards. In 2019 at least 24 workers died and around 79 workers were injured in various accidents.

The accidents are frequently caused by fires and explosions, falling objects, falls from height inside the ship structures or on the ground, moving objects, winches and cranes hoisting and hauling equipment.

Work at the shipbreaking yards has continued for most of the Covid-19 lockdown. They were only closed between 9-17 April, and the majority are operating again. Inadequate Covid-19 containment measures at the yards expose workers to the infection.

GSK factory in South Africa to reopen after 99 workers test positive for COVID-19

CEPPWAWU responded to workers’ pleas after COVID-19 positive cases continued to increase at the factory. The first case at the factory was reported on 7 April. However, when the factory temporarily closed on 22 April, 99 workers had tested positive. The workers are on quarantine at home receiving treatment.

The management says the factory has been deep cleaned and that personal protective equipment and sanitisers will be provided to workers. Further, the workers will be screened, and measures taken as per the company’s international supply chain protocols. Transport will also be provided to and from work between shifts and social distancing will be practised when the factory reopens. The department of labour and employment has approved the reopening. GSK makes medicines, vaccines and consumer health products and is an essential service as per lockdown regulations.

Welile Nolingo, CEPPWAWU, general secretary said:

“When workers told us they were working in fear after their colleagues tested positive to the coronavirus we met with the management and agreed that the factory be closed. We reminded the employers of their responsibility to take swift action on COVID-19.”

CEPPWAWU coordinated through IndustriALL with the GSK European Works Council, chaired by Unite shop steward Tomas O'Curraoin. In the spirit of international solidarity, Tomas raised the South African case directly with GSK’s most senior management and ensured that the proper process was followed to protect the workers’ safety at the Epping site.

Tom Grinter, the IndustriALL director of chemicals and pharmaceuticals said:

“The health and safety of workers is critical, especially when faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. GSK employs IndustriALL affiliates’ members around the world, and we are working to expand our relations with this global pharmaceuticals employer.”

Recent statistics from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) state that the Western Cape province is the epicentre of the coronavirus in the country, with 2,135 positive cases. According to the NICD, most infections take place at factories and shopping centres.

Some of the workers at GSK live in overcrowded conditions in informal settlements which make it impossible to exercise social distancing. The pandemic is exposing the poverty and inequality in South Africa with some informal settlements only managing to get regular supplies of water now because of government efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

South Africa went on lockdown on 26 March which continues with some factories and mines opening, but under stringent conditions that include operating at 50 per cent capacity.

May Day statement from Valter Sanches

Hello sisters and brothers, I’m Valter Sanches, the general secretary of industriALL Global Union

I would like to congratulate you all on this May Day. For the first time in 130 years the workers of the world are unable to take to the streets and are unable to defend their rights and their demands.

The crisis that we are going through was a predictable one. If the system had listened to the virologists and the scientists who predicted that such a pandemic could take place it could have been mitigated.

The same neoliberal system and policies that over the years have destroyed public services through privatization and lowering investments is now responsible for the high number of victims.

I would like to honour the over 200,000 victims of this virus who have died, the workers who built the wealth of this world who have lost their lives because the system has failed them.

We are taking this opportunity to work with unions worldwide, to defend the health and safety of our members. This is our number one priority; no one should be hurt while working. If the job is not essential then nobody should be in the workplace and measures should be negotiated. For essential workers, all collective and individual protective equipment must be put in place with measures to protect the health and safety of members. Workers must have access to adequate health coverage in this crisis.

Big companies in the supply chain should commit to keep the jobs and income of the workforce. These should be basic conditions in order for us to get out of this crisis as soon as possible, with workers who have an income so that they consume in order to get the economy going again.

We must demand that multilateral organizations like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank make resources available to rescue workers and not banks and big corporations.

Money should be made available for social protection globally. The G20 countries announced 5 trillion dollars as stimulus packages. This money should guarantee income and jobs so that we can have a healthy economy and recover as soon as possible.

In this critical moment my message to the workers is global solidarity. Physical distancing doesn’t mean that we are far away from each other: we should stay together in solidarity.

A luta continua.

Global unions welcome ENGIE’s commitment to cover Covid-19 related health care and social security for employees

Given the urgency to ensure social security coverage to all ENGIE employees in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, ENGIE has approached the global union federations to make parts of ENGIE CARE immediately effective.

“We welcome this initiative from our global framework agreement partner in the face of the pandemic. Workers are paying a high price and we urge ENGIE to make it accessible to workers all over the world,”

says Valter Sanches, IndustriALL Global Union general secretary.

“Austerity policies have forced many governments to cut public funding in social security and other public services. ENGIE’s commitment to ensure a common social protection base to its workers worldwide is a commendable contribution to complement the state provision, where existing, and to provide support where workers have no protection. But it also highlights the need for governments to invest in public social protection systems to alleviate the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis and to ease the recovery of the economy,”

says Rosa Pavanelli, PSI general secretary.

“As partners in the negotiations for a new International Framework Agreement, we are jointly committed to the protection and promotion of workers’ rights around the world. BWI therefore welcomes ENGIE’s pro-active response to mitigate the negative impact of Covid-19 to all its workers. This highlights the importance of recognizing collective bargaining at all appropriate levels with trade unions to identify threats to workers’ health, rights and welfare, and to develop and implement workplace responses,”

says Ambet Yuson, BWI general secretary.

ENGIE, IndustriALL, Public Services International (PSI) and Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) remain committed to the continuation of their dialogue and to the negotiations on the global framework agreement that will resume as soon as conditions allow.

The new ENGIE GFA will include the company’s commitment to guarantee a common social protection base in terms of parenthood, health, disability and death throughout its world operations for all employees, implemented via the ENGIE CARE programme.

Cambodian government should immediately release union leader

Soy Sros, a local union president of Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW) at Superl Holdings Ltd, was arrested on 2 April after posting a message on Facebook, commenting on dismissals at the company:

"Superl is disrespecting the recommendations of Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodian government, it terminated employment contracts of factory workers including a pregnant worker on the ground of lack of raw material due to Covid-19”.

“Soy Sros was rightfully exercising her freedom of speech to defend the interest of workers laid off by Superl Holdings Ltd. Criminalization of her speech is unacceptable because what she said are mere facts,”

says IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches.

“The Cambodian government had expressed its commitment to protect freedom of expression by ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1992. Instead of imprisoning Soy Sros, the Cambodian government should act as a constructive mediator between the company and union.”

According to CUWM president Pav Sina, Soy Sros’ health is deteriorating while she is being held in the Kompong Speu provincial prison. Sina says that although Sros is receiving medical treatment in prison, she should be released as soon as possible and given access to medical treatment in a hospital.

IndustriALL is urging the Superl Holdings to withdraw the police report, allow the immediate release of Soy Sros and to respect trade union rights.

Global unions call for recognition of COVID-19 as an occupational disease

With a third of the population around the world currently living under various forms of lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19, millions of workers, including those in health and social care, emergency services, agriculture, food and retail, transport, education, infrastructure and construction work and other public services, continue to work hard to keep society functioning.

Yet the vast majority are doing so without the comprehensive protection required when exposed to a recognised occupational disease caused by a biological agent. This poses a profound risk to workers, their families and the communities in which they live.

Workers urgently need official recognition of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus as an occupational hazard. The government of Argentina and the Italian National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL) have already recognised COVID-19 as an occupational disease.

Like any hazard, it is the responsibility of employers to protect their workers from it as far as practicable. That means strict hygiene measures, social distancing, sufficient personal protective equipment of the correct types (with proper programme implementation), and testing, tracing and tracking protocols for exposed workers and those they may have come into contact with, particularly when testing becomes more readily available.

Furthermore, workers need official recognition of COVID-19 as an occupational disease. Such recognition would ensure the right to worker representation and occupational safety and health (OSH) rights and the application of agreed measures to reduce risk. These rights include the right to refuse to work under unsafe working conditions.

Governments must require reporting and recording of work-related cases and ensure that full medical care as well as compensation schemes are provided for victims of work-related COVID-19 and for their affected families.

The global trade union movement therefore calls upon all governments around the world to take the necessary steps to protect these workers.

First, by ensuring that employers are reminded of their responsibilities to protect the health and safety of their workers from all workplace hazards, including SARS-CoV-2.

Second, by ensuring that all workers are protected by amending occupational disease systems to include a ‘rebuttable presumption’ that where a person’s job placed them at risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 should be recognised and compensated as a work-related disease.

The inclusion of a rebuttable presumption in the case of COVID-19 infections will mean that the disease is presumed to have arisen out of a worker’s exposure to SARS-CoV-2 at work, unless conclusive evidence to the contrary is provided to the relevant authorities within the legislative and regulatory framework for workers’ compensation. The definition of the workplace includes travel to and from work.

Such recognition as an occupational disease ensures employers are responsible and liable and that negligent employers are subject to the application of penalties .

Providing this type of protection and recognition for workers will be a start towards showing them the respect that they deserve by ensuring that preventative measures are implemented to the fullest extent possible and, if they are unfortunate enough to contract COVID-19 that they have fair access to compensation.

Protection of workers’ health by prevention of infection should always be the first priority, but workers who do become ill should be focused on recovery, not worrying about whether they will face financial ruin for getting sick from work.

On International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers we remember the millions of workers who die each year in workplace fatalities or as a consequence of workplace exposures. This year, as the world is gripped by a deadly pandemic, we have an extra reason to do the right thing.
Workers are dying to save lives. They deserve our support and they deserve our thanks. Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 must be recognised as a preventable occupational hazard, and work-related COVID-19 must be recognised and compensated as an occupational disease.