Workers in the Adidas supply chain are urging the company to follow other global brands, like Zara, H&M and Tommy Hilfiger, and commit to ACT so that they can earn a living wage.
At the rally outside the Adidas flagship store in New York City, around 40 trade unionists called on the sports brand to help reform the industry and stop producing products through poverty wages.
“We are demonstrating here today in solidarity with garment workers in Cambodia and Myanmar and to tell Adidas to get off the sidelines and join ACT, the global initiative on living wages,”
said Albert Arroyo, vice president of Workers United, the union that organized the rally.
“If 20 global companies can sign on to ACT, so can Adidas.”
Union representatives tried to hand over a letter to store managers, explaining what Adidas is being called on to do, but they were prevented by security guards from entering the store. The store managers refused to accept the letter from the union.
“Suppliers in countries like Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam need to know that big brands, including Adidas, are on board,”
says Christina Hajagos Clausen, IndustriALL garment director.
“Adidas needs to step off the sidelines and team up with ACT brands to get real results for garment workers.”
ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) is a ground-breaking agreement between 20 global brands and IndustriALL global union to achieve living wages for workers in the garment sector.
ACT member brands agree to incorporate higher wages into the prices they pay to suppliers to support sectoral collective bargaining towards living wages. They have committed to changing the way that they do business in their supply chains and have agreed to be held accountable for this by trade unions. Adidas should do the same.
Iraqi unions: “We want bread, not bullets”
By the time tens of thousands of protestors defied a government curfew to gather in Tahrir Square in Baghdad on 29 October, the death toll had reached the hundreds. Security forces have used live ammunition and snipers on rooftops to kill demonstrators. On the same day in Karbala, protestors were attacked by masked men, leading to 18 deaths.
This follows a month of demonstrations, led by working class youth, against official corruption, mass unemployment and failing public services. The demonstrations were triggered by the demotion of a popular general, hailed as a hero for defeating ISIS in Mosul. Protestors feel that the country's vast oil wealth has not benefited citizens, many of whom lack access to adequate healthcare, education, clean water and electricity.
Iraq’s trade unions have been involved in the uprising. The Conference of Iraqi Federations and Workers Unions, an alliance of national centres, issued a statement supporting the demands of the protesters and blaming the political parties and government for the poverty, unemployment and corruption that sparked the protest, as well as for the violent response.
Union members march
In Baghdad and Basra, leaders of IndustriALL Global Union affiliates joined the demonstrations. In Basra, union members joined protestors in a series of demonstrations that led to the shutting of the port. The unions highlighted the problem of unemployment, saying that Iraq’s industrial and agricultural capacity had been undermined, leaving the economy dependent on oil exports and imported goods.
IndustriALL Executive Committee member Hashmeya Alsaadawe in Basra
“Our homeland is hurting and its youth are being slaughtered,” the Basra Federation of Trade Unions, which includes IndustriALL affiliates, said in a statement.
“The people of Iraq have demonstrated peacefully and have been met with live ammunition. Many of our children have been arrested or killed.”
The union issued a number of demands, including:
Address unemployment, reopen factories and improve working conditions
Bring corrupt officials to justice and confiscate the spoils of corruption
Revise electoral law and hold elections under international supervision
Improve public services, including electricity, water, health and education
Punish those guilty of assaulting, injuring and killing protestors.
Hassan Jumaa Al Asadea of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions joins protests
IndustriALL affiliate the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions issued a statement, saying:
“We stand in solidarity with the demonstrations against corrupt rule in Iraq. The Iraqi people of all classes stand together as one to demand their rights.
“These rights have been taken away by an unjust government that uses violence, including sniper fire, against defenceless people who have nothing but their faith in God and in the justice of their cause.”
IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:
“IndustriALL is horrified at the brutal repression in Iraq, including the killing of hundreds of people. Instead of responding with violence, the government should respect the right to freedom of assembly, and address the deep social problems that have sparked the protests.
“The government and political parties in Iraq have acted in their own interests, and neglected the needs of the people. The result is corruption, poverty and unemployment.
“The people have responded in anger. Our affiliates in Iraq stand with them, and we in the international movement support them in their fight.”
Pour les syndicats irakiens : “Du pain, pas des balles”
Alors que c’est par dizaines de milliers que les manifestants défiaient le couvre-feu du gouvernement pour se rassembler sur la Place Tahrir à Bagdad, ce 29 octobre, le bilan s’élevait à des centaines de morts. Les forces de sécurité ont tiré à balles réelles et ont eu recours à des snipers sur les toits pour tuer des manifestants. Le même jour, à Kerbala, les manifestants ont été attaqués par des hommes masqués, faisant 18 tués.
Ceci intervient après un mois de manifestations, menées par une jeune classe ouvrière, contre la corruption des autorités, le chômage de masse et la faillite des services publics. Les manifestations ont été déclenchées par la mise à l’écart d’un général populaire, salué en héro pour avoir vaincu l’EI à Mossoul. Les manifestants estiment que les vastes richesses pétrolières du pays ne profitent pas à ses citoyens, la plupart n’ayant pour ainsi dire pas accès aux soins de santé, à l’éducation, à l’eau potable ou à l’électricité.
Les syndicats irakiens sont impliqués dans ce soulèvement. La Conférence des syndicats et fédérations syndicales irakienne, une alliance des centrales syndicales, a publié une déclaration de soutien aux revendications des manifestants qui condamne les partis politiques et le gouvernement pour la pauvreté, le chômage et la corruption qui ont été l’étincelle des manifestations, ainsi que la réponse violente qu’elles ont reçues.
Marche syndicale
À Bagdad et Bassora, les leaders des affiliés d’IndustriALL Global Union se sont joints aux manifestations. À Bassora, des adhérents syndicaux se sont joints aux cortèges dans une série de manifestations qui ont mené à la fermeture du port. Les syndicats ont souligné le problème du chômage, indiquant que les capacités industrielles et agricoles du pays avaient été affaiblies, laissant l’économie dépendante des exportations de pétrole et des importations de biens.
Hashmeya Alsaadawe, membre du Comité exécutif d’IndustriALL à Bassora
“Notre patrie souffre et notre jeunesse est massacrée,” a déclaré dans un communiqué la Fédération des syndicats de Bassora, dont font partie des affiliés d’IndustriALL.
“Le peuple d’Irak a manifesté pacifiquement et a été accueilli à balles réelles. Nombre de nos enfants ont été arrêtés ou tués.”
Le syndicat a formulé un certain nombre de revendications, parmi lesquelles :
prendre en compte le chômage, rouvrir les usines et améliorer les conditions de travail
amener les responsables corrompus devant la justice et confisquer le résultat des spoliations
revoir la loi électorale et tenir des élections avec des observateurs internationaux
améliorer les services publics, dont la distribution d’eau et d’électricité, la santé et l’éducation
punir ceux qui ont assailli, blessé et tué des manifestants
Hassan Jumaa Al Asadea de la Fédération irakienne des syndicats du Pétrole se joint aux protestations
L’affilié d’IndustriALL, la Fédération irakienne des syndicats du Pétrole, a publié une déclaration qui dit :
“Nous sommes solidaires des manifestations contre la gestion corrompue de l’Irak. Le peuple irakien, toutes classes confondues, clame son unité pour revendiquer ses droits.
“Ces droits ont été confisqués par un gouvernement injuste qui recourt à la violence, y compris du fait de snipers, contre un peuple sans défense, qui n’a rien sinon sa foi en Dieu et en la légitimité de sa cause.”
Le Secrétaire général adjoint d’IndustriALL Kemal Özkan a déclaré :
“IndustriALL est horrifiée par la répression brutale en Irak, avec ses centaines de personnes tuées. Au lieu de répondre par la violence, le gouvernement devrait respecter le droit à la liberté de rassemblement et prendre à bras le corps les profonds problèmes sociaux qui ont été l’étincelle des mouvements de protestation.
“Le gouvernement et les partis politiques d’Irak ont agi dans leur propre intérêt et négligé les besoins du peuple. Le résultat en est la corruption, la pauvreté et le chômage.
“Le peuple a réagi par la colère. Nos affiliés en Irak sont solidaires avec lui et nous, au sein du mouvement international, les soutenons dans leur combat.”
Anti-inequality protests intensify in Chile
The rally, which was held on 25 October in Santiago's Plaza Italia, has been dubbed "the biggest demonstration in Chile" on social media. According to official figures from the Santiago Metropolitan Area, more than a million people took part in the rally, which was the culmination of a week of protests.
Protestors are calling for major changes to the country's economic and political systems. They want the constitution, written during Pinochet's dictatorship, to be replaced with one that ensures social justice, and they’re asking for solutions to the deep-rooted problems affecting society.
They've also called for the curfew to be lifted, for the security forces to be taken off the streets and for the violence and killings to end. So far, 20 people have died, 4,271 have been arrested and 1,305 have been injured in the protests.
The march was so successful that even the president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, said that he had "heard the message". On 27 October, Piñera lifted the state of emergency. He also dismissed his entire cabinet so that he could create a new team that will “represent change and provide leadership as we head into fairer and more united times". In addition, he brought in a raft of measures that include a 20% increase in basic pensions and a higher tax rate for the wealthiest Chileans.
However, many Chileans say these measures are not enough because they will not iron out the inequalities or resolve the problems they face. Their protests and calls for major change will therefore continue.
"The government's package of reforms hardly even scratches the surface. Everything will have to come from people's taxes and not from private companies. The government needs to understand that the underlying struggle is against neoliberalism: we want a fairer society that puts people’s needs before capital. And we want a constituent assembly to be formed in order to create a new constitution that will create a fairer and more equal country,"
said Horacio Fuentes, who is president of IndustriALL’s affiliate, Industrial Chile-Constramet, and a member of IndustriALL's executive committee.
Juan Olguín, president of the Federation of Copper Workers (FTC), also an affiliate of IndustriALL, added:
"The economic model in place since democracy was restored does not take account of social needs, and inequalities have increased. We need a new system that distributes wealth fairly, with more sustainable income for those working in the manufacturing sector.
We think that Chileans are right to protest, because no government has been capable of fostering a socio-political dialogue – there has not been any kind of social democracy in the country. We need a major change in Chile’s economic system. We also have to create a new social pact so that we can all work together to build public policies.”
Another major rally was organized through social media for 29 October, in order to step up the calls for social change. The 70 trade unions and social organizations making up the "social unity" movement held another general strike on 30 October.
Agreements unite formal and informal metal workers in Kenya
“United, One Goal, One Voice” read a banner during the signing ceremony of the ground-breaking agreements between unions and informal workers’ associations in Nairobi on 29 October. The agreements will promote “a partnering framework for parties in addressing the issues of workers in the informal metal work industry.”
The aim is for the associations to affiliate to the union. Among other responsibilities, the unions will represent the informal workers in legal disputes, conciliation and arbitration, address social economic needs, and engage in policy reform to improve the informal economy. The informal workers will also take part in union activities including Labour Day celebrations, annual general meetings, and benefit from training programmes.
Rose Omamo, general secretary of the AUKMW, affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union, said:
“When we started organizing the informal sector — mechanics, spray painters, welders, panel beaters and vehicle body builders — we realized that recruiting individuals was difficult and decided to work with the artisans’ associations.”
According to the agreements, instead of individual membership, the associations become affiliates of the unions and their members will get the same benefits as other union members.
Unlike formal workers who can be organized from their factories and workplaces, informal artisans work from different places like their homes, markets and street corners.
The Ministry of Labour, Federation of Kenya Employers, ILO, FES Kenya, Central Organisation of Trade Unions-Kenya, the Solidarity Centre and others witnessed the signing of the agreements.
Research has confirmed that the informal sector contributes to over 34 per cent of the Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product. The informal sector employ over 13 million, or 83 per cent, of the country’s labour force. Workers in the informal sector are mainly youth, aged 18-35, and mostly women.
AUKMW organizes workers in the motor trade, electrical and electronics trades, tyre manufacturing, retreading and dealerships, battery manufacturing, metal industries and the informal sector.
Aerospace unions aim to take global solidarity to next level
The aerospace industry is worth almost US $850 billion, employs five million workers, and is expanding to new countries. Expansion is driven by a desire for an increased global presence, by local content requirements of states, as well as a drive to increase profit margins through lower labour costs.
“We expect continued strong growth for the industry, particularly in Asia. The big players have all put strategies in place to develop into real global companies. This will lead to rapid growth of new locations of all types – manufacturing, research, maintenance, training – mainly outside Europe and the US,”
said IndustriALL assistant general secretary Atle Høie.
The president of the Machinists’ Union (IAMAW) Bob Martinez spoke about union busting at Boeing in the US, saying these tactics were now spreading across the world.
“The global aerospace industry finds itself at a crossroads. One direction takes it down a path that ignores the simple fact the workers are the most valuable factor in the company’s success. This is a path that leads to failure. Unless the world’s aerospace unions take action now, more and more companies will go down the anti-union path.
“The industry must choose a path that recognizes that a proud union workforce is the engine that drives a company’s success.”
While the industry is dominated by manual operations, it is starting to apply new production technologies based on digitalization and artificial intelligence.
“The race for lower costs and the increased use of precarious employment is extremely dangerous in an industry where safety standards that are only at 99 per cent can have severe consequences for people’s lives,”
said Georg Leutert, IndustriALL Aerospace director.
Unions committed to cooperate to ensure decent working conditions and pay everywhere, and to stop workers being pitted against one another due to global competition.
They plan to:
Establish and develop a global union network and employee forums at company level, in particular at Boeing, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Safran.
Cooperate closely with unions and other partners in emerging aerospace economies to ensure global labour standards are applied, especially in India, Mexico, Morocco, Tunisia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
Establish an expert group on automation, digitalization and artificial intelligence to ensure transformation is socially responsibly.
Coordinate globally through the steering committee, with regular full committee meetings and smaller meetings related to projects.
Intensify the fight against anti-union policies by companies, politicians, pressure groups and others in the US, particularly in the US South.
Engage with the growing aerospace industry in China and related trade union issues.
Make sure all affiliated trade unions with significant aerospace membership are re-integrated into the sectoral work.
Develop strategies to increase gender equality, and to involve more young trade unionists in activities.
At its meeting in January 2020, the steering committee will develop these commitments by defining measurable criteria with objectives and timeframes to ensure sufficient progress is made by the time of the next global meeting in 2021.
H&M suppliers in India discuss effective GFA implementation
IndustriALL Global Union and H&M hosted workshops on GFA implementation in Bengaluru and Delhi on 15 and 24 October.
“The GFA helps to build mutual trust and respect between unions and employers. Effective implementation of the GFA has positive outcomes for workers as well as business, with the creation of good reputations as suppliers. The GFA also facilitates the implementation of international labour standards,”
said Christina Hajagos-Clausen, IndustriALL’s textile director to H&M suppliers at Bengaluru.
There are three steps to the GFA implementation:
A commitment to promote industrial relations at the factory level
A national monitoring committee (NMC), that provides a national structure for dispute resolution through negotiations and a platform for collaboration and capacity building towards effective implementation of the GFA. The NMC in India includes representatives from H&M and IndustriALL, and is the first NMC to have only women members.
A steering group that plans and oversees practical aspects of the GFA, as well as provide support and guidance to the NMC
H&M representatives underlined the necessity of having processes in place to ensure good business and to promote India as a good sourcing market.
Suppliers were encouraged to engage with the NMC for a dialogue, to address concerns, and to promote good industrial relations in the supply chain.
Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary, addressed H&M suppliers in Delhi and said:
“The GFA implementation processes, including the national monitoring committees, support factory management and unions in achieving good industrial relations. Cooperation and structures for providing conflict resolutions are some of the key features of the GFA.”
IndustriALL and H&M will provide training for both management and union representatives on employers’ responsibilities, workers’ rights and obligations, industrial relations, collective bargaining agreements and peaceful conflict resolution.
Autoworkers vote to end GM strike
The strike ended on Friday 25 October when UAW members voted 57 per cent in favour of signing the new, four-year contract after more than a month on the picket line. The 40-day strike by almost 50,000 autoworkers was the longest strike at GM in 50 years, and one of the biggest disputes in the US in decades. The UAW also ended their first strike in 35 years at Mack Truck on Friday after reaching an agreement with the company.
The new contract contains some significant union victories: every worker will receive a signing bonus of US $11,000, and the two tier labour system has effectively been abolished. The contract also includes performance bonuses, annual raises, lump sum payments and maintains health care coverage.
The strong stance by the workers was however not enough to move GM from its plans to shut plants. Like other automakers, GM is grappling with major changes to the industry, driven by the shift towards autonomous and electric vehicles, and a move away from personal transport. Considering the fundamental technological shift faced by automakers, the UAW contract is considered a good result.
UAW vice president Terry Dittes praised the workers who stood firm on the picket line, saying,
“Their sacrifice and courageous stand addressed the two-tier wages structure and permanent temporary worker classification that has plagued working class Americans.”
Workers were outraged that the company, which received a US $49.5 billion bail-out in 2008, was reluctant to share the US $35 billion profit it has made in the past three years. Autoworkers made significant concessions to save the company when it faced bankruptcy and were committed to a long struggle to win a fair settlement.
The strike is estimated to have cost GM as much as US $2 billion in lost profits and shareholders more than 5 per cent in stock value.
The strike received a huge amount of international support and solidarity. The scale of the dispute meant it was seen as significant not just for the workers involved, but for the ability of industrial workers everywhere to win a fair wage against a backdrop of major changes to the production process.
The result is expected to have a major knock on effect at other workplaces, particularly at Ford, where the UAW will shortly begin a bargaining round.
IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches said:
“This strike was significant because it reflects a return to industrial militancy in the US labour movement. Working people made major sacrifices to keep their companies afloat after the financial crisis. Now that those companies are profitable again, they want their fair share.
“GM was bailed out, the workers were not. It is no longer acceptable for corporations to get rich off the back of workers without sharing in that prosperity.”
French auto supplier union-busting in Turkey
Petrol-İş, the Oil, Chemical and Rubber Workers’ Union, organized the majority of the around 400 workers at Safe Demo Plastik in mid-June. This was officially certified by the Turkish labour ministry.
Without grounds, the company’s local management challenged the ministry’s certification in court, claiming that Petrol-İş did not have a sufficient majority to be a collective bargaining agent. This is a very common tactic used by employers in Turkey to stall collective bargaining.
During this period, Safe Demo Plastik fired six members of Petrol-İş for unjustifiable reasons. However, it was clear to Petrol-İş and IndustriALL that the reason was their union membership, since all the fired workers are very active members who played an important role in the organizing campaign.
IndustriALL approached local management and the headquarters of the company to find a peaceful solution. IndustriALL’s French affiliate FCE-CFDT also took solidarity action in support of Petrol-İş members.
Petrol-İş and Safe Demo Plastik had several interactions in an attempt to create constructive labour relations and social dialogue. IndustriALL witnessed those conversations. According to the common understanding developed in the process, local management was going to withdraw the lawsuit challenging the trade union recognition certificate and simultaneously begin the process towards a collective bargaining agreement.
Afterwards, however, the company reneged and refused to talk to Petrol-İş. IndustriALL contacted the main customers of Safe Demo Plastik, calling on them to conduct due diligence and ensure that their supplier respects trade union rights and recognizes Petrol-İş.
Safe Demo Plastik continues to threaten Petrol-İş members to quit the union through one-to-one meetings, with the final objective of getting rid of the union.
Recently, union members gathered at the workplace in a demonstration demanding recognition of their rights. Their demands include Safe Demo Plastik’s withdrawal of the court case and starting collective bargaining negotiations, reinstatement of the fired union members and an end to bullying workers to quit the union.
In the meantime, the country manager of Safe Demo Plastik has been sentenced to six months in prison by the first magistrates’ court of Bursa over his violation of article 118 of Turkish Penal Code related to “Preventing the use of trade union rights”. This decision indicates that Safe Demo Plastik violated fundamental workers’ rights.
“It is shameful for the French-based company to violate fundamental workers’ rights in its operations in Turkey,” said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.
“Together with our affiliate Petrol-İş, IndustriALL has waged all the good will efforts to find a peaceful solution through constructive dialogue. As it looks like the company will not respond in the same manner, we will continue to struggle until we achieve justice.”
French-based Safe Group is an active second tier auto supplier providing automotive safety and trim parts to first-tier suppliers such as Faurecia. The company has two production facilities in France, one in each of Czechia, Turkey, Brazil, the USA and Mexico.
Strengthening union power in the Indian Aerospace sector
Indian unions and aerospace steering committee members from trade unions in France (FO), Germany (IG Metall) and the UK (Unite and CSEU) discussed key issues in the Indian aerospace industry, challenges facing the South Asia trade union movement and ways to strengthen union power in the aerospace sector.
Professor SN Misra provided an overview of the aerospace industry and argued that the government of India needs to boost resources for research and development in order to increase aerospace manufacturing capacity in the country.
Aerospace sector union representatives from the Steel Metal and Engineering Workers Federation (SMEFI) and TATA Lockheed Martin Aerostructures stressed the difficulties they have in improving social dialogue and the right to freedom of association in the Indian aerospace sector.
The committee heard about the recent strike by 20,000 HAL employees, which was spearheaded by the All India Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Trade Unions Coordination Committee (AIHALTUCC). The HAL workers withdrew the strike on 22 October following directions by the Karnataka High Court but continue to pursue their demands for pay rises through negotiations.
Atle Høie, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, said:
“The IndustriALL Aerospace Steering Committee expresses solidarity with HAL workers, who are asking for just wage increases. We call upon HAL management and the government of India to earnestly engage in genuine dialogue with AIHALTUCC and address their demands.”
Georg Leutert, IndustriALL director for the automotive and aerospace industries, said:
“The steering committee members decided to explore various cooperative mechanisms, including conducting a study on industrial relations in the Indian aerospace sector, improving coordination and sharing information with Indian unions in order to build international solidarity among aerospace trade unions.”
The Indian aerospace industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. It is dominated with manufacturing for defence products, while the commercial aircraft market is growing rapidly. Major players in India include HAL, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and MNCs such as Airbus, Boeing, Rolls Royce, Honeywell Aerospace and GE Aviation among many others.
