Desperate mine workers resort to hunger strike in Ukraine

The workers, Iryna Strykalova, Natalia Mednikova and Maya Lewandowska, were joined a few days later by another employee, Larisa Malik.

According to the deputy chairperson of the local organization of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine in Selydovo and Novogrodivka, Sergii Pavlov, all white collar employees at Selydivvugillya are protesting against the non-payment of wages. They come to the office, but do not perform their jobs.

Workers are desperate as they did not receive wages for September, October, November and December, and were only partly paid for June.

According to chairperson of the Confederation of Free trade Unions of Ukraine and the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine, an IndustriALL affiliate, Mykhailo Volynets, white collar workers at Selydivvugillya started their protest on 17 December. In the absence of any response to the protest, four female employees decided to start a hunger strike.

“The administration of the company, along with the heads of the Ministry of energy and the coal industry, managed to pay some part of wages to the employees. For example, one of the protestors, Natalia Mednikova was paid 2400 UAH (US$87), while a monthly salary for female protesters amounts to 3000-3200 UAH (US$109-116).”

Some workers are single mothers, and in some cases, all adult family members work at the enterprise. Therefore, in some cases entire working families remain without any income for months.

The four women protesters continued their protest even on Christmas Eve (in Ukraine most Christians celebrate Christmas on 7 January), and spent the night on mattresses in a cold room.

In the Donetsk region the weather is cold, with outside temperatures as low as -6° C. According to the union, the room where protesters are holding their protest is cold. One of the protesters, Iryna Strykalova, felt ill. The doctors said that she might have flu, and insisted she end her hunger strike. Other participants also have health problems. Maya Lewandowska has high blood pressure and cardiac angina. She received medical assistance.

“There are some 1,600 workers affected by wage arrears”, explains Vladimir Babich, chair of the local Selidov organization of the Coal Mining Workers’ Union of Ukraine, also an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union. “Mostly these are people not working in mines, i.e. non-manual workers, clerks and service workers. The Ministry decided that their salaries are to be paid only from the profits earned by the company, however in absence of the proper investment, the cost of the coal produced by the mine remains high and profitability low. We tried to address the situation many times. One could pave the road from Selidov to Kiev with the letters we already sent to the Ministry of Energy."

According to the Ukrainian information agency UNN, wage arrears for state-employed coal mining workers reached over UAH 196 million (US$ 6.93 million) by the beginning of December 2018.

Earlier protests over unpaid wages took place at the G Kapustin mine, as well as state-owned Myrnohradvugillia.

Alarmed with this worrying situation, IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Valter Sanches addressed a letter to President of the country Petro Poroshenko. In his letter Sanches demanded that “the Government of Ukraine addresses urgently the legitimate demands raised by coal mineworkers in state-owned mines over their unpaid wages and health and safety concerns.”

Moroccan unions launch “Month of Anger”

The Moroccan union federations Confédération Démocratique du Travail (CDT) and the Union Marocaine du Travail (UMT) have suspended all social dialogue and launched campaigns to force the government to respect trade union rights. Both federations have a number of unions which are affiliated to IndustriALL.

The UMT will hold a series of protests, including marches, strikes and demonstrations, from 10-20 January, while the CDT plans a protest and motor vehicle convoy to the city of Tangier on 11 January.

The key demand is for the government to institutionalize tripartite social dialogue, respect trade union rights and comply with ILO Conventions, as agreed with the unions on 26 April 2011. Despite the agreement, trade union rights are frequently violated in Morocco.

Unions are also angered by numerous social problems that the government has failed to address, including high living costs, the deterioration of the social services, the lack of opportunities for young people, the violation of the pensioners’ rights, and a huge increase in the unemployment rate.

Unions are restricted in their attempts to defend workers by widespread violations of workers’ and union rights by employers, which are disregarded by the authorities. In a number of cases, leaders of unions affiliated to IndustriALL have been dismissed for union activity. For instance, multinational auto components companies APTIV (formerly Delphi), YAZAKI and SEBN-MA dismissed dozens of members and leaders of a CDT and UMT-affiliated unions in recent months.

CDT vice general secretary Khaled Alami Haouair said:

“We face a social crisis characterized by the deterioration of purchasing power, the violation of trade union freedoms and social gains. The CDT will continue its struggle until the government agrees to tripartite social dialogue that meets ILO standards.”

Speaking for the UMT, Abdelmajid Matoual said:

“The secretary general of our federation has commented on the economic and social situation marked by the rise in the cost of living, the degradation of socio-economic services and the government's offer which is below the expectations of the working class.

“On December 27 the UMT national council supported the secretary general's decision to postpone negotiations until the government makes proposals that meet workers' expectations, and declares 10-20 January as days of protests and militancy in all forms, including strikes and demonstrations, against violations of trade union freedoms.”

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches sent letters of solidarity to both federations.

The key union demands are:

  1. Respect for freedom of association
  2. Application of the agreement of 26 April 2011
  3. A 600 Dirham (US$63) increase in civil servant salaries
  4. A 10 per cent increase in the minimum wage
  5. Increased family allowances
  6. Lower taxation, and no tax on pensions
  7. Institutionalized tripartite social dialogue
  8. The cancellation of dismissals of union members, and legal cases against union officials

Garment worker killed and 50 injured in Bangladesh clashes

The following day, police used water cannon to break up a crowd of some 10,000 striking garment workers blocking a major road in Savar, outside Dhaka. 

A reported 50,000 garment workers, many making clothes for international retailers such as Zara, H&M, Tesco and Walmart, have walked out of their factories demanding higher wages.

Garment workers are angry that not everyone is benefiting from a recent 51 per cent government increase of the monthly minimum wage to 8,000 Taka (US$94), particularly senior workers. Furthermore, the protestors say the pay increase is too low, not even meeting the costs of rising prices in recent years. 

The unrest originated in Naraynaganj on 9 December soon after the new minimum wage took effect, and sporadic clashes between garment workers and police have taken place ever since across the Dhaka District.

“We strongly condemn the use of deadly force against striking garment workers in Bangladesh,” said IndustriALL Global Union’s assistant general secretary, Jenny Holdcroft. “Garment workers’ anger over wage disparities highlights the urgent need for industry bargaining to enable unions to negotiate fair wage outcomes for all workers.”

Bangladesh is the biggest producer of garments in the world after China, with apparel exports totalling more than US$30 billion last financial year. 

IndustriALL has 16 textile and garment union affiliates in the country.  

National Grid lockout ends with new 6-year contract

Members of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the United Steelworkers (USW), voted to accept a fresh deal with the British-based utility company in a vote on 7 January. 

A joint statement from John Buonopane, president of USW Local 12012, and Joe Kirylo, president of USW Local 12003 said: 

"Today our members voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new, six-year agreement with National Grid. This contract provides a significant wage increase and a number of other crucial protections for workers. Just as important, the agreement safeguards the future workforce and includes a number of provisions that will enhance the safety of our communities – including the creation of dozens of public-safety related jobs. 

“More specifically, the agreement features new mark out, inspector positions and instrumentation and regulation jobs – all of which are vital to public safety. The agreement also includes significant sick time, compensation, and retiree health and life insurance protections for newly hired employees.”

The gas workers had their salaries stopped and their healthcare cut after they were locked out on 25 June 2018 when their existing contract expired. 

The experienced workers, who are responsible for protecting and maintaining essential infrastructure in the state of Massachusetts, refused to accept an agreement with inferior terms from the company. 

Their steadfastness garnered considerable support during the long lockout from other unions and state politicians, as well as international solidarity from many unions including Unite in the UK and Ireland, and IndustriALL Global Union. Around 70 affiliated national unions from 50 countries expressed solidarity for USW Locals 12003 and 12012 at IndustriALL’s energy conference in St Petersburg in July 2018. 

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, said: 

“The 1,250 members who were locked out showed remarkable resilience and their determination to fight for better working conditions has paid off. We send our congratulations to USW in securing this significant victory, which is a true demonstration of the power of a union.”  

Peru: Manufacturing unions facing up to the challenge

FETRIMAP – a young and rapidly growing organization

IndustriALL’s newest affiliate in Peru is the federation of industrial manufacturing unions FETRIMAP. FETRIMAP has grown rapidly from two workplace unions in 2015 to 22 today. The federation brings together unions in various manufacturing and related sectors, including glass, paper, writing instruments, food and monitoring and inspection services. 

“We have focused on providing our members with support in collective bargaining and in legal defence,” says general secretary Gilmer Ibañez Melendrez. 

In addition, many member unions are increasingly mobilizing in defence of their right to organize and bargain collectively, which is helping to strengthen FETRIMAP’s presence. 

“Our vision is to promote social dialogue through strong unions and solid industrial relations. One of our major problems is the widespread use of short-term contracts, which denies employment stability and undermines all other rights, including the right to form a union. We focus on legal recourse for workers who have been unfairly dismissed as well as switching workers from temporary contracts to permanent ones. We’ve achieved this for hundreds of workers, and this success is helping drive our growth.” 

“With the support of global union networks organized by IndustriALL and Building Workers International, FETRIMAP is making some progress in dealing with multinationals,” says organizing secretary Daniel Alburquerque. “National employers, however, are more recalcitrant.” 

FNTTP – developing new strategies and forging alliances with civil society

A union that knows all about the retrograde attitude of Peruvian employers is the textile workers federation of Peru, FNTTP. 

A 1978 law governing non-traditional exports, permits the unlimited use of short-term contracts in the garment export industry. Contracts can be anywhere from two weeks to six months, which means that a worker can work for the same company for thirty years and sign hundreds of employment contracts during that time. 

Given this situation, it is not surprising that IndustriALL’s textile affiliate, the FNTTP, remains a relatively small organization of 2,500 members. Yet in many ways the organization punches above its weight. 

“We’ve developed a plan to grow our membership base, but we’ve also developed other strategies to support organizing,” says Amed Albujar, FNTTP general secretary.

“We are using trade mechanisms to try to force change.” 

The FNTTP was a signatory to the complaint filed with the US Department of Labor against the government of Peru for violating the labour rights provisions of the US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, which has led to several improvements in the implementation of labour rights. It is also a signatory to the complaint against the government for failing to fulfil its labour and environmental commitments under the trade agreement between Peru and the European Union.

Like FETRIMAP, FNTTP has become adept at using the courts and pushing the boundaries of jurisprudence in order to defend the rights of textile workers

“Courts are of course an uneven playing field, but we still have a success rate of about 90 per cent. We combine legal action with worker protest, often mobilizing our members to picket in front of the law courts or labour ministry,” Amed says. 

The FNTTP is also demanding a return to sectoral collective bargaining. A first step is asserting itself as bargaining partner on behalf of members who have joined the federation through direct affiliation, a strategy which is minimizing the impact of anti-union measures at the workplace. It is also taking legal action to prevent employers from unilaterally extending the benefits of collective bargaining to non-unionized workers as a means of undermining the role of unions. 

Several years ago, the FNTTP joined together with other youth organizations and helped spark a massive wave of protests, which in less than six weeks succeeded in overturning the ‘Pulpín Law’ aimed at slashing the labour rights of young workers. That experience helped build lasting relationships with youth and women’s groups who today continue to support the FNTTP in its struggles.

The federation has also been actively involved in popular movements such as Keiko No Va (in protest at Keiko Fujimori’s run for president), Ni Una Menos (in protest at violence against women), and most recently a coalition to tackle state corruption. 

The federation has become a well-known meeting point and is referred to as ‘The Bunker’, a reference to Batman’s centre of operations. The first meeting of the Ni Una Menos movement at the federation headquarters was so packed they had to move to a nearby public square.

The Pulpín Law

The FNTTP were part of a series of youth mobilizations that profoundly influenced the country in 2015. In the space of five weeks, tens of thousands of young people participated in five massive protests to force the government to revoke a youth employment law, popularly known as the ‘Pulpín Law’ (named after a kid-sized juice box), which would have slashed the rights and benefits of young workers between 18 and 24.

What is less well known is the role played by the textile federation. Lorena Chavera Caceres, FNTTP youth secretary, explains:

“When the bill was first proposed in November 2014, the textile federation was among the first to react. This new law would have made our situation much worse so we started to organize. Our members would come straight from the night shift, and together with our national centre the CGTP we would stage pickets outside the Congress, with 20 or 30 people at a time. On 9 December, somewhere between the first and the second vote, we organized a demonstration together with other unions and with several youth collectives. About 500 people turned up. Although this first demonstration was overlooked by the media, it was the start of something much bigger. 

“When the bill was adopted, our group had a lively confrontation with one of the key members of Congress, and the exchange was picked up by the media and got a lot of coverage. We started organizing another demonstration, and the meetings just kept growing. Still, nothing prepared me for the size of the turnout: over 20,000 people in the Plaza San Martin on 18 December! There was a police crackdown and the demonstration turned a bit chaotic, after which we started to organize ourselves better. 

“After 18 December came 22 December, 29 December 29, and 15 January, each time with 10,000 to 25,000 protesters on the streets in Lima alone. There was so much energy, and we were determined to make ourselves heard. When the police prevented us from marching to the nearby parliament building, we instead undertook a series of marches, walking nearly ten kilometres to the business district – and back again – sitting down at major crossroads as we went. 

“On 26 January, Congress reconvened and overturned the law. Imagine! A bill pushed through with the support of big business and the collusion of the mainstream media was overturned in less than six weeks thanks to the power of youth mobilization.”

FNTTP: www.facebook.com/FederacionTextil/

FETRIMAP: www.facebook.com/Federacion.Industria.Manufacturera.del.Peru/

Union to Union – a Swedish donor organization: www.uniontounion.org

Many dead in Afghanistan mine collapse

Heavy snowfall caused a landslide which resulted in the mine caving in. 50 people were inside the tunnel when the incident occurred.

According to official reports, the victims were villagers mining for gold illegally, trying to increase their earnings during the cold winter.

Afghanistan’s mining industry has great potential but is currently riddled with illegal mining, often controlled by criminal networks. To counter that, Afghanistan’s government last year approved two contracts for the exploration of copper and gold deposits in several northern provinces.

In a letter to President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, IndustriALL Global Union is calling on the government of Afghanistan to ratify ILO Convention 176:

“We attach great importance to the adherence to and implementation of preventive measures in the framework of international standards, including ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines.”

“Union power must be developed in the mining industry in Afghanistan. IndustriALL is willing to share our experience from working with our affiliated unions worldwide, to help improve working conditions in the mines,” says Valter Sanches, IndustriALL general secretary.

Trade unionists in Algeria arrested at protest

Police seized over 15 trade unionists including Abdelkader Kawafi general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the electricity and gas workers’ union, SNATEG; as well as Zakaria Ben Haddad, general secretary of energy workers’ union, SNT ÉNERGIE; and Mezayani Moussa from trade union SNSI.

The protestors were demanding the reinstatement of eleven SNATEG leaders who have been fired for their union activities at state-run electricity and gas company, Sonelgaz.

Some have been without work for more than 26 months causing much suffering to them and their families.

The protestors also demanded implementation of recommendations by the International Labour Organization’s Committee on the Application of Standards made last year in June.  Among several recommendations, the Committee called on the Algerian government to: 

The protestors also demanded an end to the criminalization of the activities of trade union rights and human rights defenders, including journalists and bloggers.

The trade unionists were held in police custody at police headquarters in Algiers for six hours and forced to sign a document denouncing their own behaviour before they could leave.

IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, said:

“We condemn this harassment and illegal detention of trade unionists, who were only exercising their legitimate right to peaceful protest. Trade union rights are slipping away in Algeria and the world must wake up to the government’s unlawful action.”

First-ever collective agreement reached in Turkish gold mining

Covering around 200 workers, the CBA will be valid for a two-year period in 2019-2020 in the operations ok, belonging to a multi-sector conglomerate Nurol Holding. The company is one of the first locally-owned private investors to start up a gold mine in Turkey.

Maden-Is intensified and finalized its recruitment drives at the beginning of 2018 and applied to the Ministry of Labour for certification on February 21. The CBA was signed in the final round of negotiations on 6 December.

With the new agreement, workers are entitled to get decent salaries, overtime and shift payments and social benefits such as education, heating and religious festival bonuses. The agreement also covers substantial provisions on occupational health and safety.

Turkey is the largest gold producer in Europe and the Mediterranean. From 2001 up to 2017, Turkey produced 273 tons of gold with 900 tonnes of proven reserves and 6,500 tons potential. The industry reports that since 2001 around US$ 4 billion was invested in the sector with a direct employment of around 8,000 people.

Although it is not a large producer, Turkey is among the top five largest gold importers globally. Turkey has a demand of 150 tonnes of gold annually and domestic production meets around 15 per cent of it. According to the government data, 350 search licenses have been granted to private investors in the sector, however only one license has become an internationally-classified gold mine.

In the meantime, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing loans to finance the construction, development and operation of two mines in northwestern Turkey – the Lapseki mine in the Çanakkale province and the Ivrindi mine in the Balıkesir province developed and operated by Tümad Madencilik.

Since early 2000s, the gold mining industry has been under the spotlight with its possible impacts on environment and society. Maden-Is union and Tümad work together in developing highest international standards in both occupational health and safety and in environmental and social management.

As part of the concept of “beneficiation”, Tümad’s operations will create new jobs for the local population, and offer training and employment opportunities, which includes teaching mining technology and on-the-job training programs.

“This new agreement signed by Maden-Is with Tümad Madencilik in the gold mining sector turns a new page for the industry in Turkey,” said Kemal Özkan, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union.

“IndustriALL Global Union congratulates Maden-Is and Tümad for developing such system of labour relations that benefit all parties”.

Global Diamond Network demands better conditions in the supply chain

The supply chain from “mine to finger” includes exploration and evaluation, mining and processing, grading and valuation, rough diamond sales, cutting, polishing and trading, and jewellery manufacturing and sales.

Seven Sub Saharan African countries are amongst the top 10 diamond producers that account for 99 per cent of global production. Botswana leads with the highest value and is the second producer in volume after Russia. Angola’s Catoca is the biggest diamond mine whilst Lesotho, despite being a small producer, is known for producing large diamonds. United Kingdom based company, Firestone Diamonds, unearthed a 46-carat stone in December 2018, and a 134-carat yellow gem in October 2017 at Liqhobong mine. Over 700,000 artisanal miners dig for diamonds from alluvial deposits in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Case studies presented by meeting participants painted a dark side. For instance, organizing diamond workers in Lesotho is difficult due its mountainous terrain, which is difficult to reach by road but accessible on horseback. Precarious work is rampant and working for 12 hours common, while the application of different laws causes confusion. As a response, the network will support an intensive organizing and recruitment drive in Lesotho.

In Botswana and Namibia, the laws favour employers, and unions are fighting unfair dismissals and retrenchments. In India there is child labour while workers in Zimbabwe earn paltry wages sometimes paid in a few grocery items like cooking oil, maize meal, sugar and salt. Further, there is no access for unions to diamond mines especially in Marange which is guarded by armed soldiers. To end this, the network resolved to put pressure on governments and offending companies to respect workers’ rights and improve working conditions. Further, protests will be made at the International Labour Organization.

The network, which was launched in Windhoek, Namibia in 2017, resolved to engage on the Kimberley Process (KP), a multistakeholder initiative to remove conflict diamonds from the supply chain. The National Union of Mineworkers will organize a workshop on KP in 2019. Collective bargaining agreements will be shared while attention given to women and health and safety. 

The network extended solidarity support to Beverly Murangi who was unfairly dismissed because of her appointment as co-chair of the network. She got financial support for eight months from ACV Transcom-Belgium which was coordinated by Yves Toutenel the network’s other chairperson.

The delegates visited Petra Diamonds’ Cullinan Mine where they went over 800m underground to see the mining operations. The mine which is 100km from Johannesburg employs over 1,000 workers.

Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director of mining, diamond, gems, ornaments, jewellery and precious stones, said: 

“We are demanding that the riches from the diamond supply chain be beneficial to workers. Countries should also benefit through economic development and creation of downstream industries through beneficiation. We urge companies to apply due diligence through international declarations that promote United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and other voluntary mechanisms.”

New Year brings fresh tragedy for Pakistan’s coal miners

According to reports, the men were working hundreds of metres underground at a mine in the Chamalang coal mining range when the explosion took place. Miners had to retrieve the bodies of their colleagues themselves. 

All the victims of Wednesday’s blast, two of whom were brothers, were members of the same family from neighbouring Afghanistan. 

The tragedy struck just days after three more coal miners perished in the same area when a mine collapsed as they were working deep underground on 27 December 2018. A further miner was injured and rescued from the scene by co-workers.

The latest casualties came just two days after a New Year’s Eve rally by IndustriALL affiliates demanding better safety in Pakistan’s mines after 120 coal miners died last year alone. 

The Pakistan Central Mine Labour Federation and All Pakistan Labour Federation staged a rally and protest outside the Quetta Press Club carrying placards and banners inscribed with various demands on 31 December.

“In 2018 various incidents were reported in Chamalang, Shahrag, Harnai, Marwar, Sur Inj and Digari which left 120 mine workers martyred and hundreds injured, which has increased the sense of insecurity among poor mine workers,” said the unions in a statement. 

Mine workers’ union leaders addressed the protesters attacking the government’s woeful negligence towards the safety of mine workers, while also holding local contractors responsible for mining incidents.

“Despite consecutive fatal mining incidents not a single mine’s license was cancelled or any action was taken,” they said and demanded government attention to the issue of coal mining safety. 

IndustriALL is calling on the government of Pakistan to urgently ratify the International Labour Organization’s Convention 176 on safety and health in mines to improve conditions in the country’s deadly mines.  IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, said: 

“We say enough is enough. How many more miners need to die before safety is improved? The government must take action now and we are ready to offer our help and expertise to avoid more lives being sacrificed in the Pakistani coal industry.”