Mexico ratifies ILO Convention No. 98

"This country has a longstanding social debt towards the working class, but from now on things are going to change,” said Napoleón Gómez Urrutia during the congressional session on 20 September 2018. 

“Now that the Convention has been ratified, workers across Mexico will begin rebuilding labour relations in order to win back the rights of workers, ensure freedom of association and allow workers to set up trade unions and conduct genuine collective bargaining," added Urrutia, who is a senator for the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party led by President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He is also president of IndustriALL Global Union’s affiliate Los Mineros and co-regional chair of IndustriALL's Executive Committee.

ILO Convention No. 98 was adopted in Geneva on 1 July 1949, and since 1998, has formed part of the four fundamental employment rights set forth in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

Owing to international pressure, particularly from IndustriALL, the ratification bill signed by the Federal Government entered the Senate on 1 December 2015.

However, the Mexican government dragged its feet for three long years, bowing to pressure from those who sought to increase the number of employer protection contracts that are signed by companies behind workers' backs and further exploit the Mexican workforce.

Over the years, through case no. 2694 filed with the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association and the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, IndustriALL has repeated its calls for the Mexico government to ratify the ILO conventions and bring an end to employer protection contracts, which violate freedom of association and the right to genuine collective bargaining.

In his statement to the Senate, Urrutia said it would now be possible to get rid of the harmful protection contracts, strengthen labour-related dialogue, improve wages, rebuild the national economy and, above all, ensure that workers were treated fairly and with dignity.

IndustriALL's general secretary, Valter Sanches, welcomed the ratification: 

"This is a new chapter in the history of workers in Mexico.  We hope it will bring an end to the employer protection contracts, which prevent workers from freely creating trade unions and mean that wages in Mexico are the lowest in Latin America.”

Precarious work destroying workers’ lives in Nigerian oil and gas industry

Some 25 representatives from IndustriALL affiliates, the National Union of Petroleum & Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) met in the southern city of Port Harcourt for an oil and gas workshop on 19 and 20 September 2018.

Testimonials from members of NUPENG, which represents blue-collar workers, and PENGASSAN, which represents white collar workers, revealed the extent to which precarious work in the sector is undermining unions and leading to a vicious cycle of poverty. Participants worked across a range of companies including: Total, Shell, Indorama, the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, Plant Geria and Halliburton.

All NUPENG’s members are contract workers, while PENGASSAN reported that jobs that were once permanent are now being casualized, even though the work remains the same. Participants reported that in some cases workers are made redundant and then immediately being rehired for the same job with no medical insurance, life insurance or redundancy benefits. 

The gulf between working conditions experienced by permanent staff and contract workers in the industry is huge, said participants and unions agreed that more should be done to close the gap. A contract worker could earn around US$280 a month for doing the same job as a permanent worker earning around US$2,000, or even more.

Furthermore, precarious work is being used by the oil companies to destroy unions. Contract workers often find they are unlikely to get rehired once they join a union, while white-collar workers find do not have the same access to training or promotion opportunities if they are union members. 

Unions also said Nigerian workers do not have the same training opportunities as foreign workers, and that expatriates are being used to do jobs that could easily be done by Nigerian workers.

Stagnant wages are another major problem, with NUPENG saying that wages have not increased since 2014, and in some cases longer. 

Health and safety is an ongoing issue and unions agreed that workers need to be better educated about the rights, especially when it came to health and safety. 

Industry 4.0 is affecting the industry – an accountant from PENGASSAN said that part of his role had been taken over by a robot at his company. Automation is also being used to do jobs in the lubricant sector, such as labelling and filling cans.

Vassey Lartson, a Shell Lab Technician and union representative, who attended the workshop on behalf of the United Steelworkers (USA), told participants he was shocked by the wage disparity between Shell workers in the USA and those in Nigeria. Vassey joined a visit to meet workers at a Shell facility in Port Harcourt the day before the workshop, which included a visit to workers’ impoverished homes. 

The meeting also included a report from Charles Egwabor, a lawyer from Port Harcourt, who said high unemployment in Nigeria made it easier to casualize the labour market, which in turn further increases poverty in the country. 

IndustriALL’s director for energy, Diana Junquera Curiel, said:

“This workshop has been truly valuable in hearing the problems and challenges facing unions in Nigeria first-hand. We commend our affiliates in their battle to fight precarious work as well as the other challenges in the industry, and we stand by to support them as they campaign for decent work in the oil and gas sector.” 

Palestine: IndustriALL affiliates build solidarity through capacity building

Union leaders from IndustriALL, Petrol-İş, the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), the Public Union of Petrochemical Workers in Palestine (PWU), and the Palestine General Union of Electricity and Energy Workers (PGUEW) held a joint programme at the Petrol-İş headquarters in Istanbul from 24-26 September, with the title of “Boosting international solidarity for peace, democracy and fundamental human and labour rights”.

The leadership of Petrol-İş visited Palestine in March and a cooperation agreement was signed for further cooperation.

Conditions in the Middle East are particularly bad for workers, because they confront not just global capital, but also interference by competing powers. Foreign interference causes conflict between people and countries, undermines human and labour rights, and leads to regimes in the region becoming highly repressive. Fundamental human and workers’ rights deteriorate and are violated by global capital and the local regimes that serve it.

Unions in the Middle East see major rights violations, as well as the displacement of people due to conflict, a rise in contract and agency work, and the growing use of migrants as a cheap labour force. The unions see their main priority as defending and improving the lives of workers. Workers’ rights, human rights, health and safety and job security are major concerns.

The situation for workers in Palestine is particularly bad, because they live and work under conditions of severe occupation, which impact every aspect of their lives. The situation has become worse since the election of Donald Trump as US President, and his decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, negatively impacting the peace process. The delegation called for an end to the occupation, and expressed its support for a withdrawal to the 1967 borders and a two-state solution. They also declared their solidarity with the struggle of the men and women of Palestine for labour rights.

“Our cooperation is more than trade union work” said Ali Ufuk Yaşar, general president of Petrol-İş. “Our support for Palestinian workers will continue in their efforts to improve their lives”.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“This meeting is very meaningful for solidarity with the Palestinian people and the working class. Living conditions for Palestinian workers are extremely difficult. I observed it during my visit last year.”

“We must support the fight to end the current unacceptable situation of oppression and hardship, with a lasting peace on the basis of United Nations resolutions. Unions are an important pillar of the social structure, and bring strength and resilience to society.”

At the end of the meeting, the Turkish and Palestinian unions adopted a joint declaration, pledging to fight together for workers’ rights and an end to the occupation.

Workers fired by Goodyear Mexico continue their fight

On 9 July, the multinational tyre manufacturer unfairly dismissed dozens of workers employed at its plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, for setting up an independent, free and democratic trade union. Two months later, the workers’ fight for justice continues.

Every week, the workers gather at the factory gates to protest against the company's actions and to win the support of their fellow workers. They have also urged other employees to set up an independent union so that a genuine collective agreement that is based on the relevant union contract can be implemented within the company.

The former workers recently set out their demands, which included being given their jobs back and ensuring that workers at the plant enjoyed all the benefits provided for in the union contract for the Mexican rubber industry.

Goodyear attempted to avoid implementing the union contract by imposing its own individual contract, bringing in a "collective employer protection contract" that had been signed with the leader of the corrupt and non-independent Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), Tereso Medina.

"In recent weeks, the workers have filed a petition with the San Luis Potosí State Congress calling for the protection contract to be annulled and for state legislators to stand in solidarity with the workers,”

said the political advisor to the former workers, Francisco Retama.

“They have also urged federal legislators in both houses of the national Congress to unite behind the workers and to hold a debate on the conduct of Goodyear, which has violated the workers’ labour rights," he added.

Mexico’s freshly elected federal authorities have stated that they will ensure that workers can freely elect their representatives, which will result in employer protection contracts being phased out. Furthermore, on Thursday, 20 September, the Senate will debate and vote on the ratification of International Labour Organization Convention 98 on the right to organize and collective bargaining.

"IndustriALL Global Union and its affiliates stand with the Goodyear workers in their fight for justice and have united behind them on numerous occasions. We condemn the behaviour of Goodyear's management team in San Luis Potosí and the clear lack of respect that has been shown for the workers' fundamental rights. We will take further steps to support the workers, particularly at the company's head office in the United States,"

said IndustriALL's general secretary, Valter Sanches.

IndustriALL and Rio Tinto conduct joint mission at Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia

The joint mission took place from the 17th – 22nd September 2018. Michael Gavin, Rio Tinto’s group head of employee relations, and Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL’s mining director, led their respective delegations. The IndustriALL delegation included regional staff, representatives of local unions, and journalists from Dagens Arbete, the magazine of  Swedish affiliate IF Metal.

A major objective of the mission was to evaluate Rio Tinto’s environmental, social and governance strategies. The operation has not been without controversy. During the mission, consultation was held with the herder community and their elders, the local community, the governor of Khanbogd sum, permanent and contractor employees, and NGOs critical of the operation.

Mongolia is richly endowed in natural resources and is heavily dependent on mining for its economic prospects. Oyu Tolgoi is the jewel in Rio Tinto’s crown, providing the company with an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to responsible mining. Rio Tinto took the opportunity provided by the results of the Responsible Mining Index (RMI) to invite IndustriALL to Oyu Tolgoi. 

IndustriALL participates in the RMI, which defines responsible mining as “…mining that demonstrably respects the interests of people and the environment, and contributes discernibly and fairly to broad economic development of the producing country.” Rio Tinto achieved one of the ten strongest results in four different areas: economic development, business conduct, working conditions and environmental responsibility.

IndustriALL held a workshop with Mongolian affiliate, the Federation of Energy, Geology and Mining Workers' Unions, for the leadership and over 40 representative shop stewards. 

There are 16,117 workers at Oyu Tolgoi, split between a permanent Mongolian workforce of about 3,000 and a largely Mongolian and expatriate contractor workforce, involved in the underground expansion project. A major skills transfer from expatriates to Mongolians is a defining feature of skills development and training. 

A large percentage of the Mongolian contracted workforce is set to be made permanent when the underground production comes on line. Evidence of the skills transfer is the large percentage of women operating massive hauling trucks at the open pit mine, and Mongolians holding critical senior management positions.

Glen Mpufane observed:

“The social license to operate is not a given, but must be earned, through transparency and trust in dialogue. Responsible mining is the pathway to obtaining that license”.

The conversation with Rio Tinto over its sustainability performance continues to include other global operations, for example QMM in Madagascar, RBM in South Africa, and the Rössing Uranium mine in Namibia.

Building union power through an energy, mining and base metals ‘macro sector’ in Latin America

 More than 45 trade union leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean attended the gathering, held from 12 to 14 September in Bogota, Colombia. It was the first meeting of the regional macro sector that brings together trade unions in IndustriALL's energy, mining and base metals sectors.

The meeting was also attended by professor Monica Bruckmann, a researcher with the UNESCO-UNU Chair/Network on Global Economics and Sustainable Development, who took stock of the geopolitical climate within the energy, mining and base metals macro sector in Latin America.

Drawing from her analysis, the union leaders then discussed the current situation and identified challenges and the strategies needed to address them. Each sector drew up a 2019 action plan in which they set out priorities, with the aims of coordinating their fight, delivering results and making progress towards the objectives of the IndustriALL Global Union Action Plan.

The union leaders also highlighted the importance of coordinating efforts across sectors. By responding as a macro sector, they will be able to better meet the challenges raised by Industry 4.0, sustainable development and the energy transition. The leaders also agreed to move forward with the Global Framework Agreements, to strengthen employment by building global union networks and to promote international campaigns against multinationals that seek to weaken labour relations.

The unions’ first step as a macro sector was to issue three letters in support of workers in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago who are facing problems with their respective governments and whose rights are being undermined.

“Creating macro sectors within IndustriALL was one of the policies that came out of our most recent congress and is championed by our general secretary, Valter Sanches,” said IndustriALL's regional secretary, Marino Vani.

“Applying this approach in Latin America and the Caribbean has allowed the regional office to foster closer ties with its affiliates, and it has helped to strengthen cooperation between the three sectors and to enhance their power. Given that many unions represent more than one sector, we have also been able to get more unions involved in more meetings.”

“We all face the same problems, so it makes sense for us to coordinate our agendas, our campaigns and our efforts. And ultimately, as a macro sector, we will increase our union power and make greater progress.”

The meeting was held as part of IndustriALL Global Union's regional project, which is funded by Union to Union, with support from affiliates IF Metall, Unionen and Pappers.

More brands join ACT as progress continues

Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 12-14 September, IndustriALL and ACT brands welcomed the latest companies to join ACT, the agreement between global brands, retailers and unions to achieve living wages in the garment and textile industry through industry level collective bargaining.

PVH is the first company to join from the US and is the parent company of Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and other brands. zLabels is a collection of German brands sold online as Zalando. They join Bestseller and Cotton On which joined ACT in May 2018 as the most recent members of ACT.

ACT members met with representatives of trade unions and employers in Cambodia to hear about their progress towards negotiating an industry collective agreement. There is strong commitment on both sides to reaching agreement and triggering the commitments made by ACT brands to ensure that their purchasing practices support the collective agreement.

With the new members, ACT brands now collectively source from factories employing 50 per cent of Cambodia’s garment workers.

Speaking after the meetings, H.E. Dr. Ith Samheng, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training supported the initiative, stating that the participation of buyers is important to ensure that they continue to cooperate long term with suppliers in Cambodia.

The ACT delegation then moved to Myanmar where the Ministry of Labour hosted a meeting of garment industry employers and trade unions on 17-18 September to discuss how to move the ACT process forward.

U Myo Aung, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population provided an overview of the government’s vision for industrial and social upgrading of the Myanmar garment industry before ACT trade union and brand representatives presented the potential contribution of ACT to industrial relations and sector development. Participants from factories, unions and government discussed together the opportunities that ACT can bring to Myanmar by creating stable and predictable industrial relations through collective bargaining, industrial upgrading and integrating into the global economy and meeting the skills needs.

At the end of the consultation, there was clear support for discussions to continue towards negotiations for a sectoral collective agreement for the sector that would be supported by brands through the ACT process.

Young workers in Cambodia commit to building union power

Young unionists from ten affiliates in TGSL sectors in Cambodia raised their concerns over decreasing unionization rate among young workers in the sector. Young unionists identified their union structures in terms of membership, committees and their unions’ dynamics.

They described the challenges they face at work and in society: the precarity of their daily lives, limited education at schools and lack of training at work, more overtime work and limited knowledge of trade unions among young workers.

Young unionists discussed the trade union movement in Cambodia, focusing on why young workers do not know much about unions, and how they could be convinced to become active members. They raised questions, such as: are young workers only worried about losing their jobs, or are they also concerned about facing discrimination at their workplaces after becoming active union members? How do we cope with these issues?

The young workers raised their concerns about the security of employment in Cambodia. Most of them are employed on a fixed duration contract for only two years. As negotiations on minimum wage in Cambodia go on, participants also deepened their knowledge on living wages and global framework agreements.

IndustriALL’s action plan commits to taking measures to ensure that its structures and actions encompass equitable representation of all workers, men and women, younger and older, and from the different regions. Participants engaged with IndustriALL policies and campaigns and deepened their information about the sector. Participants discussed the equal participation of women and men in decision-making at their workplaces and unions, by ensuring more active integration of young workers.

Jenny Holdcroft, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, said:

“IndustriALL Global Union recognizes the role of young workers in building strong and sustainable unions. We need more young people participating in trade unions, as well as young people working in factories recruiting other young people.

“We need new ideas, we need inspiration, we need to connect with new workers as they come into the workplace. There are many young workers that need a voice, and need trade unions to represent them for negotiations for better wages, better working conditions.”

Participants decided to build more engagement with young workers at their workplaces as well as their unions, and to create active youth and womens’ structures at their unions so that they would be able to educate young workers on trade union work.

Participants committed to organizing regular workplace meetings and training on labour law, collective bargaining agreements and gender equality, to recruit and mobilize more young workers. They committed to fighting to eliminate violence at their workplaces. Participants will take part in World Decent Work Day activities this year, and they agreed to have further leadership training. Some of the participants would join IndustriALL South East Asia Youth Exchange meetings which will take place on 22-23 October in Malaysia.

Fired Yves Rocher workers take their case to Geneva and Paris

On day 128 of their resistance, the delegation demonstrated outside a Yves Rocher store in central Geneva, where they were joined by representatives of global and local unions, NGOs and Turkish opposition political parties. After the demonstration, a meeting was held at the ILO to highlight the violation of Convention 87 on the right to freedom of association.

The next day, the delegation travelled to the company office in Paris, where they were joined for a demonstration by IndustriALL Global Union French affiliate FCE-CFDT. They brought a SumOfUs petition signed by 124,256 people.

After the demonstration, a company representative met with the delegation to hear the chronology of events and rights violations. The delegation was concerned that the Turkish subsidiary had not communicated an accurate version of events.

Speaking at the ILO, Petrol-İş general secretary Ahmet Kabaca explained that the Flormar factory has about 400 direct employees. The union started recruiting early in 2018, and by March, had the legally required majority, and applied to the ministry of labour for recognition. This was granted on 3 April, officially recognizing Petrol-İş as the negotiating partner.

The ministry informed Flormar management, and they immediately fired 18 people.

Süleyman Akyüz, Gebze branch chair, said that 132 workers have now been fired. They have also been blacklisted, and can’t get jobs anywhere in the area. However, the workers are getting a wage from the strike fund, as well as donations from local people.

“This struggle sets a precedent”, he said.

“A victory at Flormar would be a win for the working class. Failure would make future organizing more difficult.”

İlknur Arslan hands out leaflets

  One of the dismissed workers, machine operator İlknur Arslan, explained:

“I joined the union because after eight years at Flormar my salary is still only just above minimum wage. It is my constitutional right to join a union.

“When management fired the first group of union members, other workers applauded them. They were fired too. I was working the night shift. Our shift took no action, but at the end of the shift we went to the picket line to show our solidarity.

“We were fired, with no compensation, because the company said we had ‘joined an illegal demonstration’. We have been on the picket line ever since.”

Another dismissed worker, Ayşe Güley Kahveci, who makes mascara, said that any worker who shows support for the union is severely bullied. Management told her:

“We will never accept the union. You should give up on this dream.”

Production supervisor İsmail Balıkçı said.

“The plant manager offered to double my salary if I left the union. He said the owner would burn down the factory and move production to Bulgaria before accepting a union.

“The company is using scabs. Health and safety has declined dramatically, and so has the quality of production. A lot of defective product has been destroyed. They called me and asked me how to fix things. I said my condition for helping was that we all return and they recognize the union.”

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches said:

“Turkey is one of the worst countries for workers’ rights violations. It is disturbing how multinationals with good union relations in their home countries behave this way in Turkey.

“We prefer to solve things peacefully. The company doesn’t want it this way, so we will fight. You have the full strength of IndustriALL behind you.”

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Asia Pacific: Unions determined to build union power in growing chemical industry

 The union leaders met in IndustriALL Global Union’s Asia Pacific chemical industry unions’ network in Singapore on 1-2 September, 2018. The meeting gave opportunity to the affiliated trade unions to share their experiences and discuss pressing issues and challenges as well as successes. It also aimed at coming up with strategies and plans to respond to the trends in the sector.

The global chemical industry is one of the largest sectors within the manufacturing ecosystem with its contribution to economic growth and employment by generating around US$ 3.9 trillion in sales annually. According to the estimation, the chemical industry is expected to reach the level of € 6.3 trillion in 2030, almost double from today, with a growth rate of 3.6 per cent. Directly employing directly around 20 million globally, the industry will grow in emerging markets in Asia Pacific region, particularly in China.

The global chemical industry is dominated by large multinational companies, such as BASF and DowDupont. With the changing economic conjuncture, the chemical companies pursue similar strategies, such as business remodelling, capacity expansion in emerging markets, innovation, Industry 4.0 and mergers & acquisitions.

The participants introduced their national and plant level difficulties and strategies as a base for regional cooperation in the chemical industry. A particular discussion was held around the impact of Industry 4.0 in the sector, with concrete plans developed towards the end of the meeting.

The issues discussed included employment in the chemical industry, with most countries sharing that union membership is declining due to increasing number of precarious workers workers which gravely affect organizing.

IndustriALL’s five strategic goals and particular strategy in the chemical industry was also analysed. The participants underlined the importance of creating a global enabling environment for the main developments in the chemical industry, particularly through ILO sectorial activities and social dialogue at various levels, including global.

Signing and implementing global framework agreements was also elaborated by the participants, particularly on the basis of successful example with the Belgian-based chemical company Solvay. Likewise, global-regional trade union networks were debated. The case of BASF was presented as an example.

The participants discussed supporting organizing and union building together with campaigns and solidarity actions. The participants gave full support to the unjustified dismissal of the president of Indonesian affiliate FARKES, Idris Idham.

Towards the end of two-day meeting, through targeted work groups, country and regional action plans were developed, discussed and adopted. 

In his final statement, Kemal Özkan, assistant general secretary of IndustriALL said:

“I commend our affiliates in the chemical industry for their effort in organizing workers in the sector.”

“I recommend that our affiliates should increase and expand their network, solidarity and joint-activities, particularly in multinational companies.”