According to the three-year wage deal signed on 12 September, which expires in 2022, workers in the sector will receive a nine per cent increase in 2019 and seven per cent increases in the following years. The wage increases will also be adjusted annually to inflation levels and transport allowances will increase from R1540 to R2500 (US$105 to US$171).
The deal includes other benefits such family responsibility leave, and payments in the event of temporary layoffs. A once off gratuity of R7500 (US$510) will be paid to workers in the bargaining unit. Further, discussions between the union and the employers will finalize proposals on medical aid and skills grading.
Irvin Jim, NUMSA general secretary says:
“Our negotiation team worked tirelessly to get us to this point of the talks, and we are grateful to them for their hard work.”
Georg Leutert, IndustriALL automotive director says:
“We applaud the collective agreement signed by NUMSA and AMEO as this continues to improve working conditions in South Africa's automotive sector. As the sector embraces Industry 4.0, we also commend the skills development initiatives that are benefitting the workers.”
As the largest manufacturing sector in South Africa, contributing to nearly 30 per cent of manufacturing, and producing over 600,000 vehicles per annum, the automotive sector is important to the economy. The sector contributes about 6.8 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. Further, it employs over 100,000 workers along the value chain, and contributes to skills development, technology and innovative, and foreign direct investment.
South Africa’s automotive sector includes manufacturing, distribution, servicing and maintenance of motor vehicles and components. The Automotive Production Development Programme (2013), which will be replaced in 2020 by the South African Automotive Masterplan, supports original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aims at focusing on producing for the export market. The programme gives the OEMs subsidies such as duty rebates to increase the local content of South African produced cars which is currently at 37 per cent.
Engineering the future: mechanical engineering unions confront challenges
The meeting brings IndustriALL Global Union affiliates together to develop a collective action plan for the next four years.
A major part of the discussion focused on the climate crisis. Because the sector develops both processes and products for transport, renewable energy and all industries with relation to greener technology, it has a key role to play. This includes agricultural, construction and mining equipment, auto components machines, energy generation components, bearings, lifts and escalators and more.
The meeting was opened by Wolfgang Lemb, who is in charge of the sector for IG Metall, and Rainer Wimmer, member of the Austrian parliament for the SPÖ and president of PRO-GE. Lemb spoke about the need to take climate change seriously, and develop a sustainable industrial policy that directs the expertise, capital and resources of the sector into quality jobs that meet climate targets.
Wimmer said that the sector is healthy and shows continued growth, with threats coming from external sources:
“We have new political players, Trump, Bolsonaro and Johnson, remaking the world in their own image, introducing trade wars. They represent a major setback for our fight against the climate crisis.”
IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches outlined the challenges facing the global economy, the union movement and the sector. Unions need to develop new global agreements, and organize changing demographics and working practices.
"We need to be union 4.0”, he said.
Sanches, Lemb and Wimmer held a press conference and answered media questions about the future of global organizing in the sector.
Sanches, Lemb and Wimmer held a press conference and answered media questions about the future of global organizing in the sector.
Industry director Matthias Hartwich outlined the transformation taking place:
“This is an evolution of work. It is up to unions to be part of the process, otherwise it will be left to the decision of companies and their management alone, and then change will happen to the workforce rather than with them. We need to be pro-active and put forward our demands and proposals.”
Professor Thomas Bauernhansl
Professor Thomas Bauernhansl of the Fraunhofer Institute explained how the internet of things, machine learning, 5G connections and mass high-res surveillance are likely to be features of the future. He warned that mechanical engineering faces competition from platform-based companies. Platforms have capital, but need the data that engineering firms have. Firms need to be careful that they do not end up as hardware vendors competing to make products for platforms.
The second day was opened by Klaudia Frieben of PRO-GE, who highlighted the low level of participation by women in the sector, and the obstacles they face. A number of women delegates shared their experiences, including a shop steward from the Fendt tractor factory, where 40 per cent of apprentices are women.
Amy Roe, a welder at Siemens, shares her experiences
Laurent Zibell of IndustriAll Europe opened the discussion on green technology, saying that unions need to argue for investment in developing the sector and its workers, with lifelong learning and career progression.
Assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan and Zibell also spoke about the threats and opportunities of digitization. Delegates gave examples of how their work was being completely revolutionized by new technology. Özkan said,
“We need stronger investment in the institutions, policies and strategies that will support people through future of work transitions."
Wolfgang Lemb introduced the action planning, which identifies green tech and industry 4.0 as the major challenges. He said:
“For the first time in the history of mankind, technological progress has overtaken social progress.”
He spoke about the importance of structures for taking the work forward: company networks, like those at SKF and thyssenkrupp, global sub-sector networks, such as the one for lifts or agricultural implements, and sub-sector conferences, such as the one on green tech.
Unions need to be part of a solution that is social, ecological and democratic.
The action plan was unanimously adopted.
A Dürr robot. Image source: Dürr
On 13 September, the delegates visited the Dürr factory at the invitation of the works council. Dürr produces 2,000 robots per year. The visit was a practical demonstration of what the factory of the future will probably look like, with a low proportion of blue-collar jobs.
Call for ratification of ILO C87 in Malaysia
Unions are saying that since the new government has taken steps to reform the Trade Union Act (1959) and the Industrial Relations Act (1967) by removing restrictive provisions that violate the principle of freedom of association, there are no obstacles for the government to ratify the convention, as domestic laws will soon be in compliance with the convention.
“The Malaysian union movement has been been urging the government to ratify the convention, and past leaderships of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) have tirelessly campaigned for its ratification. Saying that unions don’t support the ratification is wrong and the call for a ten-year moratorium doesn’t make sense,”
said Gopal Kishnam, general secretary of IndustriALL affiliate National Union of Transport Equipment and Allied Industry Workers (NUTEAIW) and Labour Law Reform Coalition (LLRC) co-chairperson at a press conference during an LLRC Symposium on Freedom of Association on 8 September. Around 100 national union leaders and worker organization representatives attended the meeting.
“There is a misunderstanding that C87 promotes multiplicity of trade unions in workplaces and would add to disunity among Malaysian workers, but in fact the convention is instrumental in protecting workers’ right to organize without interference from governments and employers. Effective and democratic unions will definitely have the unanimous support of workers,”
added Gopal.
“We believe that with the implementation of C87, Malaysian workers will prefer to join industrial union rather than enterprise union, as industry-wide bargaining has greater leverage safeguarding workers’ interest and general well-being.”
The LLRC was established in the wake of the first regime change at federal level in Malaysia in 2018, and is a coalition of 58 trade unions and NGOs and formerly known as the decent work working group. The coalition organizes consultation meetings with union leaders on reforming the Employment Act, Trade Union Act and Industrial Relations Act.
Workers at Riva steel on strike for four months
The strike at the Hennigsdorfer Elektrostahlwerke (HES) plants in Trier and Horath began after the company unilaterally declared in May that collective bargaining negotiations had failed and stated that the company did not intend to conclude an agreement with IG Metall.
HES is owned by Italian steel group Riva, and has two other production sites, where the workers are covered by a collective agreement. Riva bought the Trier and Horath sites two years ago, and incorporated them into its Germany subsidiary HES. Wages are reported to be 20 to 30 per cent lower than the regional collective agreement.
It would cost about one million euros more per year to pay the workers the regional rate. The economic damage cause by the strike is now estimated to be around three million euros, yet management refuses to budge. Workers believe that the strike is no longer about money. Riva owns other German steel subsidiaries, and there are concerns that the company is attempting to set a union busting precedent.
The strike has attracted support from the local community and the Social Democratic, Left and Green political parties. Demonstrations have been held in Trier, and the workers have sent several delegations to Berlin to meet the labour minister.
The strike has also attracted international support. Delegates to the IndustriALL Global Union Mechanical Engineering world conference, which met in Stuttgart on 11 and 12 September, passed a unanimous statement of solidarity, saying:
“We – 90 participants from 19 countries – stand in solidarity with the striking workers of Riva.”
“We – 90 participants from 19 countries – stand in solidarity with the striking workers of Riva.”
Valter Sanches and Luc Triangle, general secretaries of IndustriALL Global and industriAll European Trade Unions respectively, sent a joint letter to Riva management, calling on them to resume collective bargaining negotiations with IG Metall.
The letter said:
“IG Metall was left with no choice but to call for a strike, which has the absolute support of the workforce. Workers have been now on strike for more than 13 weeks, but the situation remains unchanged.
It is important to add that IG Metall has even offered to conduct talks under the guidance of mediators in order to facilitate the discussions, but to no avail.
IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll European Trade Union call on Riva Stahl to return to the negotiating table to achieve a fair and just solution to the conflict.”
Safety is our right, not a privilege
On 11 September 2012, more than 250 workers were killed and over 50 were injured in one of the world’s worst industrial fires at Ali Enterprises, a readymade garment-manufacturing factory in Karachi, Pakistan.
On the 7th anniversary of the tragedy, IndustriALL affiliate National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) and Association of the Affectees of Baldia Factory Fire gathered in front of the factory to remember their loved ones and co-workers.
Participants included a minister from the Sindh provincial government, survivors of the accident, family members of the victims, garment workers, social and political activists.
Saeeda Khatoon, chairperson of the victims association, said:
“In order to get justice and to bring closure to this great loss in our lives, the law enforcing agencies should pursue the legal process to punish those responsible for the accident. Workers lives must be respected and no worker in Pakistan should face a similar situation in future.”
It took four years of united campaigning to reach an agreement with German brand KiK, who sourced from the factory, to pay compensation of US$5.2 million. In May 2018, victims started receiving compensation.
Still, after seven years victims have a long way to go to get justice. The government and buyers need to do more to improve occupational health and safety in Pakistan's garment factories.
Nasir Mansoor from NTUF said:
“Workers continue to suffer hazardous working conditions. The government has diluted the labour inspection regime when it should to be strengthened to improve safety. The occupational health and safety law passed by the Sindh government in 2017 should be implemented, and Pakistan must abide to ILO core labour conventions and GSP plus commitments.”
Valter Sanches, IndustriALL general secretary, said:
“We honour the departed and stand in solidarity with the victims and their families in their struggle for justice. The government of Pakistan should deploy adequate financial and human resources to address the health and safety crisis in factories.
“Efforts to replicate initiatives like the Accord on fire and building safety in Bangladesh in Pakistan should be expedited. These efforts should involve genuine consultation with Pakistan's unions. IndustriALL will continue to work in collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure safe working conditions for readymade garment workers in Pakistan.”
French unions fight back against privatization
The French government is proposing to divide the largely state owned EDF into two parts, one of which will become open to private investors under the so called Hercule project.
French unions in the energy sector have come together to protest the dismantling of the EDF in the middle of a climate emergency, and are calling on the government to focus on what is in the public interest, rather than in the interest of a select few.
Opposing the plans, IndustriALL affiliates centres FNME-CGT, CFE-CFDT, CFE-CGC Energie, FO Energie et Mines have announced a nation-wide strike on 19 September.
“We are calling on the government to provide the EDF with the necessary means to invest in energy transition and service to the public, as well as to renounce privatization,” the unions said in a statement.
Energy is a public good and a strategic sector, there can be no strong and sustainable economy without energy independence and infrastructure development.
“Access to energy, security of supply and favourable energy prices contribute directly to industrial growth and the creation of sustainable jobs. At a time of great energy challenges, the world must rise to ensure the independence of its supply and a just transition to a low-carbon economy.
“We support the French unions and all EDF workers to call on management to suspend the Hercule project, and are calling for a quality social dialogue that meets the legitimate concerns of EDF workers around the world,” says Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.
Kumho Tire workers in USA vote to join USW
Some 141 workers voted for the USW with 137 against in the election on 5 and 6 September. There are still 13 challenged ballots to be resolved at an upcoming hearing at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) before the election results are official.
Kumho Tire, which supplies tyres for auto companies such as Chrysler, Hyundai and Kia, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on union-busting consultants in an effort to prevent USW from organizing the tyre plant.
After narrowly failing to win the first vote in October 2017, the USW filed a complaint to the NLRB accusing the Korean-owned company of illegal conduct in its effort to suppress the union.
IndustriALL and in particular its affiliate, the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), which represents over 3,500 Kumho Tire workers in South Korea, have supported the Macon workers in their battle for union representation both before and after the October 2017 election.
Solidarity with Kumho Tire workers in Georgia, USA, from tyre unions meeting in Bangkok in August.
In a ruling in May 2019, Administrative Law Judge Arthur J. Amchan wrote that the company’s illegal conduct was “pervasive” and that it warranted not only a new election, but the “extraordinary” remedy of requiring company officials to read a notice to employees outlining all of the violations.
Kumho’s violations, Amchan said, included illegally interrogating employees, threatening to fire union supporters, threatening plant closure, and creating an impression of surveillance, among other threats to workers.
Although more than 60 per cent of the workers signed cards for a second election, Kumho management put pressure on workers not to unionize second time round, imposing one-to-one worker interviews with anti-union consultants who were paid US$12,000 per day in the run up to the September election.
“Too often companies try to bully and intimidate workers who simply want to exercise their right to bargain collectively,” said USW International President Thomas M. Conway. “That is simply a losing strategy. Rather than fighting their own workers, employers should work with them to build a better future for everyone.”
IndustriALL’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, said:
“We congratulate USW on this result and due respect must be given to workers who bravely stood up for the right to join a union against a history of threats and intimidation from the company. We urge Kumho Tire management in Macon to recognize the vote and work with USW representatives to secure a fair contract.”
African countries urged to ratify ILO C176 on mine safety
Deaths from mine accidents have increased since 2016; in coal mines deaths have risen by 400 per cent, whilst in other mines by 67 per cent globally. Deaths have also increased in the gold and platinum mines.
A meeting on 22-23 August organized by IndustriALL Global Union urged Sub Saharan countries that have not ratified ILO C176 to do so. Attended by 30 participants from IndustriALL affiliates in Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the meeting discussed how public debates on health and safety in the mines are important. Laws and regulations also needed to be strengthened as well as implementing and enforcing of the laws.
Trade unions were urged to include mine health and safety in collective bargaining agreements. Workers were also encouraged to exercise their rights of refusal to do dangerous work when forced by employers to work in unsafe environments. Unions should also challenge employers who did not comply with health and safety standards.
Nancy Coulson from the University of the Witwatersrand’s emphasized the critical role of the union health and safety representative citing international best practices and examples from South African mines. She stressed the importance of representatives to always serve the interests of the mineworkers and not the employers:
“The health and safety representative should perform their role according to the laws, and these include the right to inform on hazards, investigate the workplace to ensure compliance, listen to worker complaints, point out lapses to the employer, and be involved in consultations on health and safety plans.”
Of the countries present at the meeting Guinea, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have ratified ILO C176. Other countries that have ratified are Botswana and Mozambique.
Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director of mining said:
“Protecting the lives of mineworkers is a crucial function of trade unions and unions must vigorously campaign for better health and safety in the mines. Ratifying and implementing C176 is important to achieving this goal. In countries that have not ratified, unions should campaign not only for ratification, but for implementation of existing safety and health laws.”
The meeting was also attended by the International Labour Organization, government officials from the South African department of mineral resources and energy.
Support grows as Harland and Wolff shipyard occupation reaches five weeks
Harland and Wolff, the shipyard that built the Titanic, went into administration on 6 August with the potential loss of over 120 jobs when the troubled parent company, Norwegian Dolphin Drilling, failed to find a buyer.
The workers have occupied the yard since 30 July, in an attempt to prevent speculators and asset strippers from taking over. Workers blocked administrators from entering the site. Shop steward Joe Passmore explained:
“We weren’t going to accept people who don’t have our interests at heart taking over our yard… we run this place, and we decide who comes in and who doesn’t.”
The unions representing workers on the site, IndustriALL Global Union affiliates GMB and Unite, are calling on the UK government to nationalize or develop a rescue plan for the plant, saying that the workers have shown far more commitment to the yard than the government.
The refusal of the UK government to intervene is in stark contrast to the precedent set by the Scottish government, which nationalized the Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow in August. Workers from Ferguson Marine visited the shipyard to show their support.
Workers from Ferguson Marine, which was nationalized by the Scottish government, send their support
Campaigners argue that the yard, which produces equipment for the renewable sector, should be saved as part of a green new deal.
The workers have built support in the local community, and from across the world. A rally was held at the yard on 23 August, and addressed by trade union leaders from across the country.
The strength of support has attracted a number of serious bids from potential buyers who want to take over the yard as an ongoing concern.
Susan Fitzgerald of Unite said,
“The bidders who are visiting the site and looking around offer not just a fix but the promise of a vibrant future of growing numbers of high-value added jobs.
“There is now a competition between commercial bidders to buy this shipyard whereas only weeks ago it was being pronounced dead.”
IndustriALL industry director Kan Matsuzaki said:
“The courage and determination of these workers is inspirational, and shows that there is life in the yard, and support from across the world. We will continue to support them in defending their livelihoods until a serious buyer is found and the future of the yard is secured.”
In the meantime, the unions have negotiated a temporary lay-off that will preserve their contracts and terms of employment until the yard reopens.
Fatalities in Bangladesh shipbreaking industry unceasing
The tragedy occurred at around 5.45 PM as a heavy metal cable collapsed on the workers, who were scrapping the ship CSL Virginia. The deceased have been identified as Aminul Islam (50) and Tushar Chakma (25). The injured were admitted to hospitals in the city of Chittagong. At the time of the accident at least 55 workers were deployed in the yard. A police case has been filed at the Sitakunda Police Station.
On 31 July 2019, three workers were killed and another six were injured in an incident on the MT ATLAS ship at Mac Corporation, which is one of the oldest shipbreaking yards in Sitakunda. The employer sent workers to scrap the ship’s fuel tank without following appropriate safety procedures. This led to a leakage of toxic gas which killed the workers. On the same day another worker Yousuf (45) was killed at Nazia Re-rolling mill at Gamariltol, North Shonaichori, after he was hit by a piece of iron.
On 23 July one worker, Shahidul Islam (30), died at the Kabir Steel shipbreaking yard in Sitakunda as he fell from the upper portion of a ship into an empty tank.
At least 14 workers have been killed in the shipbreaking industry so far in 2019 in Bangladesh, based on reports in the public domain. A recent news article published by IndustriALL in May 2019, provides details of accidents since January this year.
Kan Matsuzaki, IndustriALL shipbreaking director, says:
“We strongly condemn the unceasing fatalities in the Bangladesh shipbreaking industry. These incidents show that lack of government supervision and employers’ negligence continue to kill workers. The Bangladesh government must act quickly to implement the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Act of 2018 and ratify the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.”
Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL South Asia Regional secretary said:
“We clearly see that almost all of these accidents are absolutely avoidable. Laxity on the part of government and shipbreaking employers continue to kill workers. The government of Bangladesh should immediately step up the efforts to improve safety in Bangladesh shipbreaking yards.”
