IndustriALL decries Belgian company’s union-busting in Turkey

Workers at Recticel’s production facility, in Tuzla, Istanbul, joined IndustriALL’s Turkish affiliate Petrol-Is (the oil, chemical and rubber workers’ union) in 2015, after the Turkish Ministry of Labour decided the union had the legal right to represent workers at the company.

Recticel, which employs around 8,400 workers in 28 countries, transforms polyurethane into flexible foams, insulation, bedding and automotive seating.

However, Recticel used an article under the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Labour Agreements to appeal the Ministry of Labour’s decision to the local court, claiming it operates in the metal industry and not chemicals. The appeal against the decision is a common union-busting tactic in Turkey used by employers to delay the collective bargaining process.

Even though the local court confirmed that Recticel operates in the chemical industry, company management has taken the case to the upper level court, violating Recticel’s own ethical code which recognizes the right of workers to join a union, and promises to comply with the laws of all countries where it operates.

Paradoxically, in Belgium, workers are free to join whichever union they like, and sector activity is not a barrier for trade union representation.

On a mission to the plant on 27 December 2018, IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary, Kemal Ôzkan, urged Recticel to respect fundamental trade union rights at its factory in Turkey, and recognize Petrol-İş as the legitimate social dialogue and bargaining partner by withdrawing from the legal processes.

Speaking at a meeting outside the plant, Kemal Özkan said:

“What the management of Recticel has been doing here in Turkey for the past three years is a scandal. They could never operate this way in Belgium. Recticel is shamefully taking advantage of antidemocratic laws to stop workers joining a union.”

IndustriALL’s Belgian affiliates CSC-BIE and CG-FBTB also reproached Recticel:

“With our tradition of social dialogue in Belgium…we are shocked by your group's behaviour towards our Turkish counterparts from Petrol-Is. We hereby ask you to respect the basic rules of international law as well as your own code of conduct.”

In its response, company management said “the Recticel Group and all its operations all over the world fully respect the legal rights of unions and employees at all levels and we would like to emphasize that applying to the courts regarding the sector of work is Recticel’s legal right.”

Kemal Özkan added:

“It is our global mission that each and every worker can freely join a union and have the protection of collective bargaining agreement. This must also be the case for Recticel workers. Our international solidarity, together with our Belgian affiliates, will continue until this problem in Turkey has been resolved.”

INTERVIEW: Luisa María Alcalde

Minister of labour and social welfare

Country: Mexico

Text: Kimber Meyer

How did you get into politics?

I started to get much more involved in politics in 2006. The elections that year were quite controversial, and I began to take more of an interest in what was happening in public life.

When I left law school at the age of 23, the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party was starting out as a grassroots association and I was named national youth and student coordinator. We began working in youth circles, getting young people to take part in the movement, which had been around for several years but was developing into more of a formal organization at that point.

Then in 2012, I was elected to the LXII Legislature of the Mexican Congress as a deputy of the Citizens’ Movement party, serving as a federal congresswoman until 2015.

Do you think gender parity is important in the new cabinet and Congress?

I think it’s really important. The fact that the cabinet is made up of the same number of men and women sends out a strong message that should encourage more women to get involved in political life, and public life in general. I think it’s great that the female cabinet members have been given a range of responsibilities. Not only will there be women in various ministries, but they have be given important, high-level positions too.

Our team is gender-diverse and includes people of all ages as well, so we really represent the different visions of our society.

In the past, you’ve often said how important it is to eradicate the discrimination and harassment that women experience in the workplace. How will you do that?

We want to work on several fronts, through the attorney generals, public prosecutors and the welfare ministry. We will seek to integrate women into the workforce and set up childcare facilities at work. We will also team up with the workers’ ombudsman to tackle the discrimination and harassment that women face in the workplace. The problem is that such incidents often go unreported. We want to make sure women feel they can report violence to the authorities.

The “young people building the future” initiative has been billed as one of the government’s key programmes for enhancing the skills of young people.

Do you think the government is going to be able to resolve the issue of youth unemployment in Mexico?

The programme seeks to help young people who want to work but lack the opportunities. They will be given training and support in entering the workforce, and that will help us to ease tensions across the country. The aim is to ensure that young people have the tools and experience they need to increase their employability, and the programme includes one year of on-the-job training. Among the entities involved in the programme, 70 per cent are private, 20 per cent are state-run and 10 per cent are involved in outreach work.

We’re building a network of mentors, and so far the response has been good. Each one of them has something to bring to the table.

On numerous occasions you’ve said that one of your priorities will be to promote fair, high-quality jobs. How do you plan to do that?

We’ll do this in various ways. First of all, we want to foster a labour-related dialogue. We want to bring back genuine collective bargaining to pave the way for democracy and transparency. That will help us create a more balanced system and improve wages.

At the same time, we’re going to change how we ensure that employees’ rights are respected. We will work with the employment ministries in different states and run campaigns with clear objectives to raise workers’ awareness of their rights.

We will campaign against abusive subcontracting practices and incentivize more formal work arrangements. Many people don’t sign up for social security, which can adversely affect them when they reach retirement or want to find a home, so we’re going to address that as well. We will call on civil society organizations to promote compliance with the law. Instead of having inspectors, we’re going to set out clear priorities, with campaigns that always involve the other side.

Finally, at the centre of it all is the national welfare plan, based on the premise that higher wages will bring stability. If we manage to cut unnecessary costs – such as excessively high salaries, expensive travel arrangements and other avoidable expenses – and eradicate corruption, we will be able to boost development and improve education and health care.

One of your proposals is to end the country’s low minimum wage, which currently stands at 88 pesos (US$4.6) a day. How do you plan to increase the minimum wage?

The policy used to be to keep wages low to generate investment. This model encouraging precarious work has failed. We want workers to recover their sense of worth, so that they can live well and with dignity. We are a long way from that at the moment.

We have been working closely with analytical experts who use objective information. We’ve been speaking with the new minister of finance and the Bank of Mexico to find ways to gradually raise the minimum wage. They’ve told us that it’s possible to increase wages without prompting a rise in inflation.

Do you think that major constitutional reform to employment law is needed to prevent violations of workers’ rights?

Yes, it is fundamental. The constitution is a paradigm changer. We intend to use secondary legislation to ensure that justice exists in the workplace, since impartial judges will now be the ones to resolve employment-related disputes. There’ll also be a new, independent institute for registering trade unions and collective agreements. And to bring an end to employer protection contracts, it will become compulsory for free and secret ballots when electing union leaders in charge of signing collective agreements. We will also ensure that there is genuine representation and dialogue.

Do you think that the employment provisions of the new trade deal reached between the governments of Mexico, Canada and the United States are compatible with Mexico’s Constitution?

The labour provisions in the new USMCA trade deal, the ratification of ILO Convention No. 98, the constitutional reform of employment law, the legislation on transparency and the resulting secondary legislation are all pieces of the same puzzle. They all have the same aim and are compatible with the policy put forward by AMLO’s new government, which is to promote democracy, freedom and transparency in Mexico.

Germany bids farewell to hard coal after 200 years

The ceremony was attended by Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet and Michael Vassiliadis, President of IndustriALL Global Union’s German affiliate Mining, Chemistry, Energy Industrial Union (IG BCE).

"Closing the mine in Bottrop means the end of an industrial era which has deeply influenced Germany, and especially the Ruhr area,” said Michael Vassiliadis.. “We say goodbye to an industry that has made Germany strong and rich – and not just economically, but also culturally and socially."

In 2007, the social partners in German coal industry reached a deal to phase out hard coal production by 2018. However, fossil fuels still account for an important part of the energy mix, and the lignite, or brown coal, produced in Germany still derives a part of it.

In the 1950s, German coal industry employed around 600,000 workers, a number which had declined to around 4,500 by 2017.

Mineworkers in Germany, as in other parts of the world, have a long-standing tradition of solidarity and togetherness. "This country needs more buddy culture again!" said Michael Vassiliadis.

The IG BCE and its predecessor organizations have played an essential role in ensuring a Just Transition over the last 25 years, as the workforce in the mining industry has been greatly reduced. The collective bargaining process has seen innovative agreements with new models in the adjustment process.

“This is an emotional moment for mine workers in Germany and around the world,” said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.

“The Just Transition model used in the German mining industry is a great example of how such a process can be handled by unions. We commend the work done by the social partners, particularly IG BCE, during this transformation.”

Turkey: 186-day strike at Mayr-Melnhof ends in victory for workers

Selüloz-İş’ members had been on strike since 20 June, when negotiations on a new collective agreement failed as management proposed a zero per cent wage increase.

With the new three-year agreement workers will get wage increases of 280 Turkish Liras (US$53) per month for 2018. In the second and third year of the agreement, workers will be entitled to 300 Liras (US$57) per month for the first six months of 2019, and the inflation rate for the second half of 2019, and the whole 2020.

The striking union members also managed to get the demanded increases in their benefits. With the deal, including the benefits, workers’ wages will be between 2,150 (US$407) and 3,700 Liras (US$700) per month.

“This agreement, approved by the workers, is a significant achievement,” says İsmail Güderoğlu, union representative at MM Superpak. “We thank everyone who has shown support and solidarity in our rightful struggle.”

Workers at the three plants will return to work on 2 January 2019.

“When IndustriALL visited the picket-line at MM Süperpak, our striking sisters and brothers were chanting that resistance brings victory,” says IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan.

“They have achieved what they chanted with this great result. We wholeheartedly congratulate the striking workers and their union Selüloz-İş.”

MM Süperpak Ambalaj is a subsidiary of Austrian-based Mayr-Melnhof, with operations in Izmir, Karaman and Gaziantep.

The Turkish Commission of Minimum Wage has fixed the legal minimum wage as of 1 January, 2019, to 2,020 Turkish liras (US$380) net per month. Together with social security premiums and income taxes, this number is calculated to be 2,558 Turkish liras (US$482). According to official sources, around 7 million out of Turkey’s 30 million workers, earn the legal minimum wage.

IndustriALL mourns 13 miners killed in Czech Republic

Eleven Polish nationals and two Czech miners died in a methane blast more than 800 metres underground at the mine, which is situated close to the Polish border.

A search of the scene had to be abandoned due to a raging fire and zero visibility, according to the mine’s state-run operator, OKD.

It is the worst mining disaster to hit the Czech Republic since 1990, when 30 miners died in a fire at a mine near Karvina.

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

“We are shocked and saddened at this terrible waste of life. All mining deaths are avoidable and safety must come first at all costs. As a global union representing miners all over the world, we offer our deep condolences to the victims’ families and all those affected by this tragedy.”

Chemical and pharmaceutical unions build power in India

Making up 13 per cent of total exports, the Indian chemical industry represents 7 per cent of GDP and 13 per cent of the total industrial output with a 12 per cent growth per annum. While the Indian chemical industry constitutes 2 per cent of the global chemical industry, the pharmaceutical industry of the county ranks 4^thin volume and 13^thin the world in terms of value.

With an objective of attracting entrepreneurs, the Indian Government formed “Special Investments Regions” to promote the investment in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. These regions have the similar concept of special economic zones (SEZs), industrial parks, free trade and warehousing zones, export oriented units and growth centres.

The participants of the meeting discussed the challenges for trade unions in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in India. It was noted that there is an extensive domination of local in-house trade unions in the sectors which make workers isolated, fragmented, divided and vulnerable vis-à-vis employers. In parallel, labour relations and collective bargaining emerge to be isolated, and ineffective finally. It was further noted that there is a very limited role for upper-level unions in collective bargaining and social dialogue.

The participants underlined the fact that there is widescale low awareness about rights and interests of workers. There is an increase in precarious employment, such as agency and migrant workers. Serious problems on health and safety as well as excessive working hours were also reported.

Given the lack of information and experience-sharing with neighboring companies on union presence, collective bargaining agreements, wages, bonuses, precarious workers, and occupational health and safety, there is weak labour relations’ system in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The participants reported that company policies such as productivity, efficiency, employer’s rights, disciplinary sanctions and punishments against workers turned to be main provisions of the collective agreements. With the push by employers for “give and take”, there is deterioration in the essence of negotiation in general.

IndustriALL has two affiliates in the chemical industry, namely Chemical Mazdoor Federation of India (CMFI) and BASF India Workers’ Federation (BIWF). The latter was recently formed covering five plants of the German-based chemical company BASF located in Mangalore, Mumbai, Anakelshwar, and Chennai.

The meeting agreed to increase unity in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in India with a plan of action. This includes increasing union density in already-unionized workplaces, organizing non-union plants of the companies where there is already union presence in other plants, and targeting selected multinational and Indian-based companies for union organizing. The objective is to form an IndustriALL conference for the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors as a platform to bring together representatives from all the target companies.

“India is a strategically important country for manufacturing industries, particularly chemical and pharmaceutical industries,” said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary.

IndustriALL unions negotiate global dispute resolution mechanism with H&M

The GFA with H&M is unique in that has a National Monitoring Committees made up of representatives from unions and H&M to implement workers’ rights under the terms of the GFA. The NMCs are active in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Turkey.

The NMCs met for a second global meeting in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh from 10 to 12 December, and were also joined by participants from India and Pakistan, who will form NMCs in 2019.

The participants debated a set of dispute resolution recommendations and reached an agreement on a framework. Under this framework, they agreed many procedures to solve disputes over working conditions, occupational safety and health, trade union representation, prevention of conflicts, taking labour actions and negotiating in good faith starting from shop-floor-levelto factory level.

“The recommendation of case handling procedure will be a useful tool for IndustriALL affiliates and H&M suppliers when dealing with disputes in a structured and result oriented process. It can be a constructive tool to solve issues as close as possible to where they occur and at the same time avoid unnecessary labour actions from the social partners. A successful implementation can, as well, be a step forward to promote the development of industrial relations and social dialogue. the challenge will be to make the recommendation well-known and accepted throughout the whole supply chain,” said Mats Svensson,International Secretary of Swedish affiliate IF Metall, which is a signatory to the GFA with H&M.

Christina Hajagos-Clausen, IndustriALL director for the textile and garment industry, and Lars-Åke Bergqvist, Global CSR Coordinator at H&M,welcomed participants to the meeting. Christina said:

“In 2018, the NMCs continued to work to establish well-functioning industrial relations along the H&M supply chain. Many disputes were resolved through agreed upon negotiated remedies between factory unions and H&M suppliers, and awareness building on the GFA continued globally. Clearly, the work of the NMCs is vital to ensure that the GFA is respected. We must continue this trend.”

Ms. Maria Sargren, Swedish Ambassador to Cambodia addressed the National Monitoring Committees (NMC) on the opening day of their meeting adding that the NMCs are a positive way forward in the development of industrial relations along H&M’s supply chain. She further underscored the importance of ACT (which H&M is a member signatory) and industry-wide collective bargaining as a good example of social dialogue between the workers and employers.

Athit Kong, sector co-chair of IndustriALL’s TGSL sector and a member of the Cambodian NMC, added:

“I have high hopes that this global collaboration will continue to turn into practice. So, now the NMC has started to exercise their role and responsibilities, especially with the new recommendations for dispute settlement. I do hope that we keep making progress which promotes better living conditions for workers and business growth for all. And, last but not least, trust and sharing are the foundations of finding solutions.”

Rubber unions in unity against attacks

As part of the support and solidarity actions, the participants received reports about ongoing conflicts in various countries and re-affirmed their solidarity with 58 workers fired from the Goodyear plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, agreeing on joint international actions until the dismissed workers are reinstated and fundamental trade union rights are respected.

The meeting also expressed solidarity with dismissed union leaders at MTS in Spain, one of the service providers to Goodyear, as well as six dismissed union leaders at Bridgestone’s operation in Indonesia.

The meeting analyzed the recent developments in the global rubber industry and assessed labour policies and practices of the leading multinationals, such as Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, Sumitomo and Pirelli. It was also noted that the world's leading tyre makers committed more than US$7.5 billion in the past year toward new plants and capacity expansions, on top of Michelin's deal to purchase Camso, and Qingdao Doublestar's acquisition of a controlling interest in Kumho Tire.

The meeting applauded the work being done towards unity building in the emerging rubber-producing countries. In Thailand, for example, 12 local unions from nine rubber companies formed the Rubber Workers’ Unions’ Group (RWUT) with objectives to consolidate union power, improve information exchange with new data collection strategies, and to develop labour relations. The RWUT has also targeted non-union plants for organizing.

Likewise, in India, since 2011 and through the initiative of IndustriALL Global Union, unions representing tyre workers formed a national network bringing together representatives from multinationals and Indian-based companies such as JK Tyre, MRF, Apollo, CEAT, Birla, TVS and BKT. Following mature regular information exchange on wages, working conditions and collective agreements, the Mumbai meeting agreed to launch a platform at an IndustriALL conference for the Indian tyre industry covering all the unions in the country, with the target to realize it in 2019.

Under the topic of confronting global capital, IndustriALL’s rubber industry continues to focus on a strategy of building trade union networks at the major multinational companies. The Mumbai meetings also covered special sessions on the Goodyear and Pirelli/Prometeon networks. For the latter, the participants welcomed the input from Federica Calegari, Chair of the European Works Council (EWC) of Pirelli and member of IndustriALL’s Italian affiliate FILCTEM-CGIL.

The meeting also welcomed the announcement made by Michelin to enter into discussions with IndustriALL to form a global works council. Likewise, the meeting was updated about the ongoing work of the Bridgestone Global Union Network Meeting.

The participants also conducted a deep discussion about the impacts of Digitalization/Industry 4.0 on work and production in the tyre industry. It was reported that the main global tyre manufacturers already use Industry 4.0 technologies to develop smart products that connect with surrounding objects and adapt to the roads. Goodyear’s Eagle 360 Urban, Pirelli’s new generation “MIRS” technology and Michelin’sRFID chips were analyzed. It was agreed to continue to exchange information and experience on this phenomenon.

Young Filipino trade unionists optimistic about their future

The participants, of whom 60 per cent were women, came out of the training optimistic about their future and recognized their role as agents of change in The Philippines.

The trade union activists discussed the problems they face as young workers and developed a detailed action plan to sustain communication and effective coordination and build young workers’ power.

Another session called “idea factory” allowed participants to explore the issues that are particularly impacting young workers, including the rise in precarious employment, low wages and poverty, that further deteriorates working and living conditions of workers and society in general.

The participants presented the group action plan gearing towards more active participation in trade union activities and recruiting more young workers from all walks of life.

Among other points for action, the participants resolved to increase youth representation, organize young workers and conduct more workers’ education programmes.

The workshop was organized with the support of the Swedish union federation Union to Union under the building union power project, which is designed to raise young workers’ awareness of global and national labour relations, while paying special attention to the issues young workers confront.

More than 40 striking steelworkers detained in Iran

About 31 workers were arrested at about 2 am, Monday, 17 December, 2018 and at least another 10 workers were arrested on 18 December 2018.

During the arrests, Islamic of Republic Iran forces beat some steel workers in front of family members and seized their personal belongings, including their cell phones.

On the morning of 19 December, police forces and the Revolutionary Guards seized parts of Ahvaz city to prevent the gathering of workers at the Iran National Steel Industry Group (INSIG) factory in Ahvaz, who are striking against the failure of their employers to pay them for months at a time.

Nevertheless, a large group of workers courageously continued to protest and called for the release of their arrested colleagues.

INSIG workers have been in dispute with the private sector owners for more than a year after they failed to fulfil their obligations to run the plant in Ahvaz at full capacity. Workers are demanding the plant is returned to the public sector and are calling for strategic investment to ensure it is profitable and sustainable.

The demands of workers at INSIG, as well those of striking workers at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Complex, are backed by a large number of trade unions, workers’ organizations, and social and political organizations, and are garnering increasing support in wider Iranian society.

“Ever since the wave of protests engulfed Iran earlier this year, the regime has been running scared of any opposition. They know how much anger there is beneath the surface of society in Iran. Workers merely attempting to organize to demand their due wages and salaries and improve their terms and conditions – a basic human right in any democracy – are seen as a challenge to the regime,” said Jamshid Ahmadi, from IndustriALL affiliate, the Union of Metalworkers and Mechanics of Iran.

In a letter to the President of Iran, IndustriALL’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, said:

“IndustriALL strongly condemns the arrests of the striking steel workers and calls for their immediate and unconditional release. IndustriALL further demands the payment of all unpaid wages, the immediate ceasing of all measures designed to coerce the workforce, and the protection of fundamental labour rights, including the rights of workers to join a union of their choice, and engage in collective bargaining.”