Unions stage global protest against Kimberly-Clark

11 April 2019 – IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union Joint Statement on Kimberly-Clark

UNI and IndustriALL Global Unions strongly condemn Kimberly-Clark’s global restructuring plans and their contempt towards engagement with the trade unions representing workers across the globe. The two global unions are launching a campaign against the irresponsible behaviour of Kimberly-Clark, which is putting at risk the livelihoods of thousands of workers and families worldwide.

Kimberly-Clark has just announced the closure of a plant in Ingleburn, Australia—where 220 workers, members of the CFMEU will lose their jobs—and a major restructuring at their Northfleet UK plant which will force up to 130 workers into redundancy.

This follows the closing of three plants in the USA, one plant in Brazil and one plant in the Dominican Republic in 2018. The five closures and the restructuring have had catastrophic consequences on workers lives, their families and communities as a whole.

These latest Kimberly-Clark decisions have been taken within the framework of a global restructuring plan decided on in early 2018, to close 10 unidentified plants over a three-year period and dismiss 5500 workers. This plan was made with no worker representative consultation and has put every Kimberly-Clark location and every Kimberly-Clark worker around the globe in an insecure state never knowing if their facility or job could be next.

Instead of involving a key stakeholder in decision-making, Kimberly-Clark has made decisions without this key input which could be catastrophic for the company.

UNI and IndustriALL Global Unions, together with their affiliates, adopted a joint resolution in July 2018 denouncing the plan as irresponsible and one that would put Kimberly-Clark employees, their families and communities into critical difficulties.

Two weeks ago, a meeting took place in Atlanta between the Kimberly-Clark management and a trade union delegation composed by UNI and IndustriALL Global Unions, and some of their affiliates from different parts of the world. During the meeting, the state of play of the implementation of the global restructuring plan was discussed. During this discussion the Kimberly-Clark management failed to inform the trade union delegation on both the decisions of restructuring the Northfleet plant as well as on the closure of the Ingleburn plant even after the delegation offered for a core group to engage in consultation with appropriate confidentiality agreements.

At this annual meeting, the trade union delegation raised once again with management the critical need for workers’ representatives to be properly informed and consulted before management decisions. Through this information and consultation, the union representatives should have the basic right to propose alternative solutions or to try to influence management decisions. However, although the company committed to reexamine how it consults with worker representatives and communicate back with UNI and IndustriALL, it then simply announced the Ingleburn closure and Northfleet restructuring. Our demand was simply dismissed, with the company replying that they would only comply with national laws. What this really means is that Kimberly-Clark intends to do the minimum amount necessary to avoid prosecution.

And in fact, in the Ingleburn situation, Kimberly-Clark did not even comply with applicable law, alerting the union by text two minutes before informing the workers, in clear breach of their consultation obligations with the union under the collective bargaining agreement.

For a company that wants to present itself as socially responsible, we firmly and loudly say that this is a deplorable response and constitutes an attack on modern labour relations.

Despite consistently branding itself as a family company, Kimberly-Clark is developing a reputation as an anti-union, anti-worker employer.

UNI and IndustriALL Global Unions are once again calling for an open and constructive social dialogue based on a healthy and transparent relationship between employer and employees. We once again offer to have a core group meet with the company on a confidential basis to provide input to the decisions before they are made.

Instead we note that Kimberly-Clark management is holding vital information from employees and their union representatives.

We also cannot accept that consultations take place only once the company has made decisions official, a timing which we see as strategically hostile to union relations.

Taking into account the lack of information and consultation, we hereby decide to strongly stand in solidarity by our colleagues in the UK and in Australia and to support them in fighting back against Kimberly-Clark management’s decisions.

In front of such reckless actions and the refusal to engage with our concerns, UNI and IndustriALL Global Unions are launching a global campaign which will start with a first day of action on Thursday 11 April.

In addition to this, we will continue to fight Kimberly-Clark’s use of threat of plant closure and mass dismissals to push strong concessions in bargaining and renew our willingness to work in meaningful consultations with Kimberly-Clark on these issues that will benefit workers, communities and the company.

Living under the threat of bursting mining dams

Located in the region known as the Iron Quadrilateral, in the centre of Brazil, Itabira is the birthplace of one of the country’s most famous poets, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, but also that of the mining company Vale do Rio Doce, today simply called Vale. “Between 1942 and the present, over the generations, Itabira and Vale have become one; 90 per cent of municipal revenues come from mining and our entire economy revolves around Vale,” says the city’s environment secretary, the engineer Priscila Martins.

The Brazilian multinational was involved in two serious accidents, one in November 2015, near the historic town of Mariana, and one in the Brumadinho region just two months ago. In both cases, a stream of mud consisting of mining waste that had burst forth from broken dams belonging directly or indirectly to the company swept away, killing hundreds of people, as well as having a huge environmental impact. The state’s history is bound up with the exploration of mining wealth – to the point that it bears the name “General Mines”. In the 16th and 17th centuries it was gold, then by the end of the 19th century it was iron.

Today Minas Gerais produces 60 per cent of the iron extracted in Brazil. This wealth creates jobs and income, but mining is increasingly being criticised for its impact. In 2015 the Fundão dam burst, sending 40 billion litres of waste into the Rio Doce river and killing 19 people.

Fear is now a daily fact of life for the people of the region. Itabira is surrounded by no less than 11 dams. One of these is Pontal, the biggest mining dam in the country, with a volume of 227 billion litres of residue water from the mining process [about five times the volume of the first disaster]. “After Mariana, we weren’t that worried, but Bruadinho scared us. Today I sleep badly, I barely close my eyes before I wake up again,” says Rosa Fortunato, a pensioner who lives in Rio do Peixe, next door to the Itabiruçu dam, which today contains 130 billion litres of mining waste water.

The feeling of anxiety is made worse by the lack of safety training. Despite the volume of materials that have been accumulated, the Plano de Ação Emergencial em Barragens de Mineração (Emergency Plan of Action for Mining Dams) for the Vale dams in Itabira was not drawn up until May 2018 and is still in its setting-up phase. “We have never had emergency training here,” says 77-year-old Geraldo Pereira who lives near the Pontal dam. According to the environment department, the mining company has only begun to visit each house in the danger zone this month to advise the residents.

Massacre or accident?

On 25 January 2019 the Córrego do Feijão mine’s no.1 dam burst for reasons as yet unknown and spilt 13 billion litres of mud, burying nearly 300 people [according to the latest report: 212 deaths confirmed by the Civil Defence and 93 people missing]. “There were lots of warning signs that the dam could soon burst,” says an activist from the Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB, or Movement of People Affected by the Dams), Eloá Magalhães, who went to the Córrego do Feijão mine the day after the disaster. “It was a foreseeable tragedy, and that is why we describe this dam burst as the ‘Vale massacre,’” says the 24-year-old woman. The movement has been campaigning for the nationalisation of all mining activity in Brazil for the last 30 years, so that the wealth that it generates is returned to the Brazilian people.

One of the warning signs was the blue tarpaulin partly covering the lower section of the dam for about four months. It was keeping secret the works to reinforce the dam, which even the company’s employees didn’t all know about. These workers were, furthermore, among the majority of the victims struck by the tsunami of mud which hit the company’s canteen, built at the foot of the dam.

The Minas Gerais state prosecutor’s office, which also suspects the dam’s management of criminal negligence, requested on 15 February the preventive detention of eight Vale engineers, responsible for the safety of the dam [Editor’s note: five other employees of Vale and the German company Tüv South, authors of the report that testified to the safety of the dam, were then arrested; they were later released by decision of the Supreme Court], as well as the seizure of computers and documents from four employees of Tüv South.

“Vale’s representatives insist that this is an accident, but the prosecution and the police are now convinced that a crime of intentional homicide has been committed, in which various entities took the risk of causing the death of hundreds of people.”

William Coelho, prosecutor in charge of the case

In addition to the loss of human life, the mud destroyed part of the towns of Córrego do Feijão and Parque das Cachoeiras, knocked down a 50-metre high railway bridge and contaminated the Paraopeba river, which helps supply the Belo Horizone metropolis, with heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium, killing thousands of fish.

General alarm in the mines

Socorro, in the city of Barão de Cocais, 60 kilometres from Córrego do Feijão, is a ghost town. On 8 February, 453 residents from four neighbourhoods were evacuated from their homes at 02.00 and have not been allowed to back since then, not even to collect personal belongings and documents. “What annoys us most is that they knew since the day before that the dam was at risk and that we should evacuate; why didn’t they call the residents to warn them and give the time to leave calmly?” asks 39-year-old Maria Aparecida Batista, a hairdresser, who has shared a hotel room with her husband and their two sons for the last two weeks. “We want to go home; hotels are fine for holidays,” she says firmly.

From the day after the evacuation, Vale employees came to feed the pets abandoned in the evacuation. Equal Times gained exclusive access to the isolated danger zone to watch farm animals – pigs, horses, cows, etc. – being taken out at the request of the judicial authorities. We also saw lost dogs, some wandering along the access roads, others hanging around the houses waiting for their owners, who refuse to return to Socorro even though Vale assures them the dam is now stable.

“I may never return, because that kind of thing leaves its mark, and now we don’t believe anything the company says.”

Isabel Batista

45-year-old Isabel, vice-president of the Socorro residents' association, broke her foot that night as she desperately tried to warn her neighbours about the dam burst. “At that point, nobody knew it was a false alarm; I only knew that I had three minutes to get to the security zone. What do you do in three minutes?” she says.

Since 25 January, at least 850 people have had to abandon their businesses for fear of another dam burst. Most of them are still unable to return home, to Itatiaiuçu, Barão de Cocais and Nova Lima. In Mid-February 200 residents of Nova Lima received calls from Vale employees warning them of the weakness of the Mar Azul mine’s dam. Some residents have refused to leave, even under the threat of the dam breaking. “I have a backpack, with clothing and my documents, and a car ready. If I hear a noise I will run out, but I am not going to abandon everything I have built up, just like that. If something happens or disappears who will pay?” asks 55-year-old Gilmar Pereira, a mason, who lives on the banks of the small Macacos river whose house would be affected as it is in the so-called Zona de autossalvamento (save yourself zone) – a euphemism for the areas which the authorities are not capable of reaching before the arrival of any tsunami of mud.

Throughout the state, at least eight other mines are at a standstill, while they remain the subject of enquiry or are banned from treating residues. The omnipresent danger limits the alternatives for the people who live in the State. “We have to leave,” says 20-year-old Celos Oliveira, a resident of Córrego do Feijão who has just buried his cousin, swept away by the stream of mud and whose body was only found two weeks later. “Leave for where, son, if everywhere poses a risk?” comments his mother, Luiza Oliveira. To that, he replies: “The only solution is to leave Minas Gerias. Here the cycle of gold has given way to a cycle of tragedy”.

This article was originally published in Equal Times

Energy workers in Georgia campaign for respect and decent salaries

Union members agreed upon the campaign at a workshop organized by IndustriALL in Telavi on 6-7 April 2019.

Local management of Czech-owned Energo Pro Georgia continually refuses the union’s request for constructive social dialogue and avoids meetings with trade union leaders. As a result, a number of grievances, such as demands for wage increases, overtime payments and representation of the trade union at the Commission of Labour Protection, remain unresolved.

Workers complain about the poor salaries at Energo Pro Georgia, which are much lower than other companies operating in the sector in Georgia, including the state-owned electricity company and other multinationals from Russia and Turkey.

Workers are demanding a substantial wage increase of around US$100-120 a month, as their existing salaries are not enough to live on. The company does not conduct an annual indexation of wages, which results in loss of purchasing power due to inflation. Workers feel deeply humiliated.

Amiran Zenaishvili, president of the Georgian Trade Union of Energy Workers, stated,

“Investment in Georgia shouldn’t be dependent on the low salaries of workers in our country. Our campaign is not only a struggle for higher wages, it is a struggle for the dignity of Georgian workers, who deserve much more respect.”

Kemal Özkan, the IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary, said:

“We support the fair demands of workers and will use the available international instruments to strengthen the campaign of our affiliate, the Georgian Trade Union of Energy Workers”.

Cambodian unions call on brands to ACT

In the letters to Gap, Puma, Nike, Adidas, Uniqlo, Levi’s and VF, the unions tell the companies that their failure to sign on to the ACT commitments and to pool their sourcing leverage with the other ACT brands is now having a detrimental impact on all Cambodian garment workers. This is because on March 11th, the garment employers’ association, GMAC, withdrew from the negotiations with the trade unions for an industry wide collective agreement that would raise wages and working conditions across the sector. GMAC has stated that without more international brands and retailers signing on to ACT, it will not be able continue with the negotiations.

The unions point out to the brands that if their goal is to achieve a living wage for garment workers, the ACT process provides a unique opportunity to strengthen the industry and to improve wages for workers through sectorial bargaining. By not making the same commitments as ACT member brands to support an industry wide agreement through their purchasing practices, these brands are fundamentally contributing to the Cambodian suppliers’ decision to withdraw from the negotiations.

Cambodian affiliates are urging Gap, Puma, Nike, Adidas, Uniqlo, Levi’s and VF not to continue to take a passive role on whether living wages are paid to garment workers, but to join together with the other global brands and retailers who, through ACT, are collectively linking their international purchasing practices to the development of national industry wide collective agreements.

"The Cambodian unions are understandably frustrated that their efforts to negotiate an industry wide collective agreement that will improve wages for garment workers are being undermined by brands that state their support for living wages but have not yet made the commitments necessary to achieve them.
"It is widely recognised that ACT represents the best chance to make a real difference to garment worker wages, but this requires the support of all leading companies."

Jenny Holdcroft, IndustriALL assistant general secretary

Migrant worker leaders elected in Jordan garment factories

The election on 22 March is the culmination of a project by the General Trade Union of Workers in Textile Garment & Clothing Industries in Jordan (JTGCU), supported by IndustriALL Global Union, to develop representative structures for migrant workers. The project was launched in November 2017, and is significant because migrant workers are not represented at the national level, with representation limited to union committees in factories.

The garment sector in Jordan employs about 69,000 workers, of which 75 per cent are women. About 16,000 are from Jordan, while 53,000 migrant workers from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, China, Cambodia, Madagascar, Pakistan, Myanmar and Syria make up the rest.

The factories produce for international, particularly US, brands. Uniting migrant workers in unions and establishing representation at national levels is key to addressing issues around wages, social security, health and safety, and housing.

The sector is mainly based in three regions, Irbid, Al-Dulayl and Sahab. The project was launched at Al-Dulayl to raise awareness of unions, and introduce workers to the sectoral collective agreement signed by JTGCU after a tremendous effort. The agreement uniquely covers migrant workers. Sectoral agreements are still rare in the industry.

A series of workshops was held in 2018 in which 168 union committee members participated. The training focused on Jordanian labour law, the collective agreement, the role of factory committees, the importance of active involvement in unions to ensure workplace protection, and IndustriALL and the global movement.

After completing the training at Al-Dulayl, democratic elections were held, with representatives from the JTGCU and the ILO present. IndustriALL was represented by Ahmed Kamel and Christina Hajagos-Claussen. 26 workers, predominantly women, were elected, proportional to the number of workers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Fathallah Emrani, president of the JTGCU, said:

“Since the beginning of the influx of migrant workers to Jordan to work in the garment sector, the union has raised awareness of their rights and that they are not alone, that we support them, represent them and defend them.
“We needed to form trade union committees in the factories to represent the workers of all different nationalities, so that their voice reaches the ears of decision makers. We will also give them a role in the decision-making process of the union.
“After the success of the election of at Al-Dulayl, we look forward to completing the process in Irbid and Sahab.”

Ahmed Kamel said,

“The high engagement and enthusiasm of migrant workers was visible during the election process and the training. These are key factors to achieve sustainability and strengthen migrant workers’ voices.”

Christina Hajagos-Claussen said,

“In addition to the industry wide agreement, union representation of migrant workers at factory level is another step towards improving working and living conditions. The results clearly reflect the dominance of women workers in the industry, as they also dominated the seats.”

Young Nepali unionists demand increased representation

The unemployment rate for Nepali workers between the ages of 15 and 29 is 19 per cent, and is a major challenge for young people in the country.

Young trade union activists highlighted that most young workers in Nepal are precarious workers and struggle with job insecurity.

In order to increase youth membership, participants said unions should pay special attention to creating awareness of the benefits of unions and reaching out to youth to get them into union fold. Unions also need to create adequate youth representation in union structures and leadership positions, and allot financial resources for youth activities.

Participants underlined that unions need to play the role of catalyst in challenging social and cultural factors affecting women’s participation in trade union activities. Unions’ strong interventions to address harassment and violence against women at the workplace and society at large will help increase women membership.

A large number young Nepali workers migrate to the Middle East and South-East Asian countries in search employment opportunities. While labour migration of youth creates positive opportunities for a better life and livelihood, many migrant workers end up in precarious jobs, with dangerous working conditions where violations of workers’ rights are common.

Participants called for international solidarity to defend the rights of migrant workers, and for unions to work effectively at the national level to develop appropriate industrial policies and create adequate employment opportunities.

Participants decided call upon their respective union leadership to undertake following actions:

Create sustainable union structures including youth committees in order to enhance youth representation in union positions
Develop intervention strategies and trainings to stop harassment and violence against women
Build union power through organizing young workers, including precarious workers, and involve young workers in organizing initiatives
Allocate financial resources for youth activities
Communication training for young union members

IndustriALL’s youth and project officer, Sarah Flores, said:

“It is encouraging to see the enthusiastic participation of young unionists in this workshop. There’s no doubt that active participation of young women and men is vital for a strong trade union movement in Nepal and we hope that issues raised by youth are taken seriously by the union leadership.”

Trade unions start network at building materials multinational CRH

The trade union network will aim to better the work and status of the CRH European Works Council (EWC) known as “Euroforum” and increase communication between unions. The Irish company is now one of the top players in cement and construction materials industries.

IndustriALL’s Irish affiliate union SIPTU hosted the meeting, which was organized by the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW). Participants defined a number of issues at the company, but especially in the Euroforum. The participants want to fix these shortcomings.

Participants adopted a joint statement in English, French, Polish, Romanian, Dutch, German indicating their proposals and demands to CRH management and future activities in the network.

In their statement the European trade unions said:

“EFBWW requires the CRH group to respect European Union legislation and to take the appropriate steps to restore mutual trust and social dialogue. The EFBWW invites management to discuss a renewed social partnership. A first and important step would be to clarify the election/designation processes of the current and future members for the countries involved in the EWC. The EFBWW points out that this should be done according to national transposition law.”

The workers’ representatives also selected a steering committee for the trade union network, which will coordinate the network activities and serve as a link between themselves, non-European trade unions and global unions.

IndustriALL director for mechanical engineering and materials industries, Matthias Hartwich, commented:

“I was glad to see how committed the European trade unions and works councils are when it comes to improve dialogue with CRH. I promise that IndustriALL Global Union will do its best to get the non-European trade unions on board. Already next week, we will have the chance to inform the North America Cement Network about the progress being made here. I believe we will have good cooperation between European unions and the unions outside Europe where CRH operates.”

CRH group was born from a merger in 1970 of two leading Irish public companies, Cement Limited (established in 1936) and Roadstone, Limited (1949). For long time the group was the sole producer of cement and the principal producer of aggregates, concrete products and asphalt with 95 per cent of its sales in Ireland. CRH is now one of the top ten world’s construction materials companies operating in 32 countries and employing over 90,000 workers at around 3,700 locations of the world.

The company sales in 2018 reached €26.8 billion. The Group’s major businesses are located in Europe and North America, and it has a growing presence in Asia and South America.

LafargeHolcim fires workers for organizing union in Mexico

A total of 12 workers at LafargeHolcim Apasco cement plant in Hermosillo paid with their jobs for executing their right to organize and join a union of their choice.

The company practices an extreme form of outsourcing: some 500 of the 600 strong workforce are outsourced workers with poor salaries and no social protection. The company attempted to justify the latest six dismissals as part of restructuring. It is likely they will be replaced by lower paid and less protected outsourced workers.

Earlier, at the end of 2016, a group of six out of 70 permanent workers decided to join Los Mineros. Unhappy about their working conditions and having their rights ignored, workers saw joining Los Mineros as the only way to improve their situation.

The management-controlled union, a member of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), which at that time had some 30 other permanent workers as their compulsory members, learned of these organizing efforts and informed the company which then sacked six activists in February 2017. They were experienced workers with seven to ten years’ tenure.

For years, the CTM has been known for its notorious practice of concluding protection bargaining contracts with employers which block other unions from organizing workers at the factory, and while at the same time preventing them from proper participation in collective bargaining and expressing their demands. At the same time many workers are employed through external contractors, who are allegedly companies owned by managers and directors of the company.

The activists have audio records of the procedure of dismissal during which they were told that that was their last day of work because of the affiliation cards they collected.

The workers fired in 2017 tried to sue the company for violation of their rights and illegal dismissals, but the company replied that the only reason for dismissals was absenteeism, since workers stopped attending work. Workers are blamed the local government and court relations with the CTM which traditionally enjoyed the strong support of previous ruling party PRI.

The situation at the factory reportedly deteriorated after these dismissals. According to audio records, workers complain of constant threats of dismissal from CTM, saying they would share the fate of the fired if they opposed them. Workers are also reporting safety regulation violations leading to different accidents, including the loss of fingers.

Workers are reportedly not allowed to report these accidents to insurance services in order to keep their workplace “free of accidents”. They are then instructed to continue attending work, but instead they are instructed to do paperwork the office.

Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling boosted by Japanese ratification

Japan has become the tenth country, and the first in Asia, to ratify the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe Recycling and Environmentally Sound of Ships, created by UN shipping agency the International Maritime Organization.

The purpose of the Convention is to minimize environmental and Occupational Safety and Health risks, while enabling the replacement of old ships. It requires appropriate safety and environmental management, including the development of a ship recycling plan, specifying the manner in which each ship will be recycled. Ships sent for recycling will be required to carry an inventory of hazardous materials so that they can be properly controlled, to remove risks at the ship recycling facility.

This is to prevent disasters such as the explosion at the Gadani yard in Pakistan in November 2016, caused because workers were forced to start dismantling the ship before the fuel tank could be cleaned of leftover fuel.

The Hong Kong Convention will only enter into force when:

At least 15 states have ratified it
The merchant fleets of the ratifying states account for 40 per cent of global gross tonnage
The ratifying states have recycled at least three per cent of their combined tonnage over the past ten years.

IndustriALL Global Union, which represents workers in both ship building and ship breaking, has long campaign for states to ratify the Convention, and for ship and yard owners to ensure ships are recycled safely.

The Convention has been ratified by Belgium, Denmark, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, the Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Serbia and Turkey, representing 23 per cent of the gross tonnage of the world's merchant shipping. Serbia and the Netherlands ratified the Convention earlier this year, creating a sense of momentum to the campaign.

Kan Matsuzaki, IndustriALL director for ship building and ship breaking, said:

“Japan become the first major maritime state in Asia to ratify the convention. Our affiliates JBU and FNV made a big effort to lobby the Japanese and Netherlands government to ratify the Convention.
“IndustriALL’s campaign on the Convention is definitely working. We will intensify our lobbying to target core shipbreaking countries in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and China which we need for the Convention to enter into force.”

Despite the fact that the Convention has not yet entered into force, intense lobbying by IndustriALL and other actors means that some ship owners have concluded that safe and environmentally sound ship recycling makes good business sense. Ship owners and financiers are aware of the reputational damage of having their ships involved in accidents or causing pollution.

These owners ensure that their ships are only recycled in yards which comply with the Convention. This creates an incentive for yards to compete on compliance rather than cost, and in India, 72 yards now comply with the Convention.

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Workers in Algeria to stage further strikes

Workers in Algeria will hold a three-day general strike starting on 7 April to demand the immediate departure of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and a transition government that includes the opposition.

Bouteflika announced that he will step down before his current terms ends on 28 April but no date has been set for new presidential elections.

IndustriALL Global Union’s trade union affiliate, SNATEG, which represents gas and electricity workers in Algeria, is also demanding that the president of the Senate, and the president of the Constitutional Council should be removed.

SNATEG president, Raouf Mellal, who is also president of national centre, COSYFOP, says they are “categorically opposed” to the new government and cabinet reshuffle made on Sunday.

“We need a transitional government that includes key figures from the opposition and promotes national unity,” says Mellal.

If workers’ demands are not met, there will be a further five-day strike beginning on 14 April.

If Bouteflika has not gone by 18 April, the date originally set for presidential elections, workers will call on the public to join them in nationwide protests against the president and his government.

There have weeks of mass demonstrations in Algeria ever since the ailing 82-year-old president announced he would run for a fifth term in office. Following a previous general strike on 10 and 11 March, Bouteflika dropped his presidential candidacy but remains in office.

On 17 March, SNATEG threatened strike action if the Constitutional Council failed to invoke Article 102, which enables the presidency to be proclaimed vacant if the incumbent is unfit to hold office.

Bouteflika, who has been in power for 20 years, has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013. Most Algerians believe he is being used as a front to maintain control of the country by a coalition of politicians, army officials and businessmen, known as ‘Le Pouvoir’ (the power). The group dominates the National Liberation Front which has been in power since Algerian independence in 1962.

The protest movement is largely made up of young people in Algeria who are demanding a new system of government, not just the replacement of a figurehead.

Meanwhile, IndustriALL together with other global unions, ITUC, IUF and PSI have continued to show their joint support for SNATEG.