Asia-Pacific paper unions mobilize on safety and Kimberly-Clark

Half of the 46 trade unionists were women. Delegates from ten countries spent two days together, 17-18 September, learning from each other and developing a common platform for action.

One participating union was not from the Asia-Pacific region: Pappers from Sweden co-chairs the global sector with USW, and the Swedes have an important heritage of supporting South East Asian paper unions. Four Pappers leaders joined the Jakarta meeting and ran a session sharing their experience of building union strength in the sector, at home and abroad.

Pappers vice president Mikael Lilja was asked many questions by the meeting. “Our experience is that it takes a long time to build a strong union. Be patient, you have thousands of members, and you will organize thousands more. Step by step, and with constant dialogue.”

The region is a priority for the global sector and Indonesia is a key country. Five IndustriALL affiliates from Indonesia participated in the meeting, representing over 70,000 members in the pulp and paper industry. In Indonesia there are 2.7 million union members of a total workforce of 70 million. The chair of IndustriALL’s Indonesia National Council, Iwan Kusmawan, also welcomed the network to Jakarta.

The pulp and paper industry is major part of the Indonesian economy. Indonesia is the sixth largest paper producing country and tenth largest pulp producer in the world. The two largest employers in the sector in Indonesia are APP and April. Indonesian affiliates struggle against repeated labour law violations at many companies in the sector, and growing use of precarious, contract labour.

Chair of the regional network, Alex Millar of the CFMEU, Australia steered the meeting. Alex celebrated the strong women of the network and said:

“Once again we see that wherever paper workers are we face the same challenges, precarious work, unsafe workplaces and attacks on trade union freedoms. Strong unions and solidarity are the only way in which we can confront these challenges.

CFMEU’s Denise Campbell-Burns reported to the network on the Australian union movement’s inspiring campaign to “Change the Rules” which targets a change of government.

Paper worker leaders from Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam also shared their struggles and successes, and strategized on ways to build the network.

Kimberly-Clark workers were represented from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. The full network stood in solidarity with the global call on the company to treat its workers with respect and start proper dialogue on the restructuring plan.

The network discussed how to formalize its solidarity machine to support brothers and sisters in conflict. The current urgent case that the network will support is FSP2KI fighting for reinstatement of 12 strikers at contractor companies servicing the large PT. Tanjungenim Lestari Pulp and Paper operations in South Sumatra. The union’s 13-15 June strike was supported by IndustriALL and key affiliates, ending with a good agreement that included a company commitment not to punish any worker for taking part in the strike.

The meeting concluded with an action plan and commitment from all unions to strengthen the network.

IndustriALL industry director Tom Grinter said:

“This network is full of energy and determination to build power for paper workers in the region. These leaders inspire the full sector with their struggle in challenging conditions.”

eSwatini union condemns violence against striking workers

On September 19, the police arrested and beat up organizers from the Amalgamated Trade Unions of Swaziland (ATUSWA) – affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union – to stop them from protesting. Over 10,000 workers from five garment and textile factories began protesting two weeks ago after negotiations were deadlocked at the Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration Commission. They are frustrated by their employers’ refusal to honestly engage in collective bargaining to improve wages and working conditions.

The three-day protest action called by ATUSWA is taking place in Mbabane, Manzini and other places, and is happening in accordance with the country’s laws. According to the union, organizers Sbonelo Tsabedze and Nhlanhla Tsabedze were arrested at Nhlangano while mobilizing workers to assemble at the gates of Zheng Yong factory to push for their demands.

The ATUSWA leadership says the police confronted the well-organized workers who were protesting peacefully:

“The police resorted, without provocation, to disperse the workers using teargas and started going after union members and beating them up. We are receiving reports that a lot of our members are injured and running for dear lives as they are hounded by the police. Therefore, we call upon our members to remain united despite glaring attempts to disunite them. As this is a battle for workers, we call on government and the police to stop harassing and victimizing the workers for exercising their right to protest. We further make a call for the release of our organizers.”

Says Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa:

“To build industrial peace, it is important for authorities in eSwatini to respect the workers’ rights to protest. These rights are protected in the labour laws and in ILO Conventions. So, we strongly condemn the use of intimidation and violence against protesting workers and support ATUSWA in its struggle for better wages and working conditions.”

Italian steelworkers validate agreement with ArcelorMittal

Over the last week assemblies with participation by all the workers of the group took place. At the assemblies, workers were informed about the contents of the agreement and voted for its ratification. To a large extent, workers voted for a deal with the company, which if accepted could open the door for acquisition and immediate operation of the plant.

In total, Fim-Cisl, Fiom-Cgil and Uilm-Uil representing some 14,000 workers of the Ilva group in Italy, organized 44 assemblies at all the sites, respectively: 32 in Taranto, 3 in Genoa, 4 in Novi Ligure, and one each in the sites of Marghera, Salerno, Padua, Milan and Racconigi.

In their joint statement the unions said,

“We express great satisfaction with the result achieved, and the workers approved the agreement. 6 years after the seizure of the hot area, 12 decrees to save Ilva and dozens of strikes, with the approval of the agreement by the workers, one of the most complex disputes of our country is closed.”

According to the agreement reached, 4.2 billion euro of investments are planned for the revival of the steel industry, including 1.25 billion euros for industrial purposes, 1.15 billion euros for the environment and 1.8 billion euro as part of the acquisition. Also, the Government will use 1.2 billion euros seized from the previous owner, Riva group for a decontamination programme and environmental improvements at the Taranto site. Due to the environmental problems and following announced seizure of the resources, the Ilva group and particularly Taranto site was in jeopardy since July 2012.

The unions promised “to monitor the progress of the environmental work and the safety of the sites, starting with Taranto, and the timing of the implementation of the plan to achieve full employment as soon as possible.”

The steel company committed to initially employ 10,700 workers. The unions explained that according to the agreement there was no job cuts foreseen. Workers who are not immediately employed, or agreed to voluntary departure or redeployment programmes, would be offered employment before 2023, when the programme of decontamination is over. The remaining few thousand of excess workers will be employed through the decontamination programme.

All problems are not however solved by this agreement. On the basis of the European anti-monopoly legislation, ArcelorMittal will divest a number of its smaller European sites located in Galati (Romania), Ostrava (Czech Republic), Skopje (Macedonia), Piombino (Italy), Dudelange (Luxemburg) and Liège (Belgium).

Valter Sanches, IndustriALL general secretary says,

“We congratulate our Italian brothers and sisters with a favourable solution of this long-lasting dispute. This is a victory for all of us. We are also glad to welcome all Ilva steelworkers joining the global union network at ArcelorMittal, which will allow them to have better consulting, information and possibilities to influence policy within their company. On the other side, we urge ArcelorMittal and the European Commission to engage with the respective unions so that the rights and interests of workers at the divested facilities are fully protected.”

OECD Steel Committee: Trade conflict, overcapacity dominate discussions

This was one conclusion from the OECD Steel Committee, which brought together over 100 government, industry and trade union representatives for a 17-18 September biannual meeting in Paris. Along with IndustriALL Global Union, participating unions included IndustriAll Europe, the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) of the OECD, the French CFE-CGC and British Unite.

Global steel capacity is expected to increase in 2018 for the first time since 2015. Increased capacity in coming years is expected to be concentrated in the Middle East and India.

China came under heavy criticism at the meeting by governments, industry associations and IndustriALL Global Union for its contribution to overcapacity. Chinese steel production, with state support, has increased five-fold in less than two decades, with significant production dumped abroad at below-market prices.

Chinese industry and government representatives at the meeting denied there is overcapacity in China. They noted that China has already reduced its capacity by 120 million tons and said there is now a strict rule in China that no new capacity can be added unless at least an equal amount of capacity is eliminated. China now accounts for half of global steel production.

The recent unilateral imposition of steel tariffs by the U.S. also came under heavy criticism by meeting participants. The U.S. government representative responded that these tariffs are compliant with international trade rules and were imposed in response to national security threats.

Participants agreed that multilateral initiatives such as the Committee and the Global Forum on Excess Steel Capacity must begin to deliver on their promise of reducing excess steel capacity.

Ronald Janssen of TUAC pointed out (PowerPoint) that labour market institutions which support workers’ rights, such as Swedish job security councils, can enable capacity reductions and other industry change to be more equitable, in a workshop preceding the Committee meeting.

“Suicide rates can increase when steel plants close. Has the Committee considered the mental health of displaced employees and mental health assistance required in connection with plant closures?”

asked Unite lay executive member Tony Pearson during this workshop.

The Global Forum on Excess Steel Capacity was meeting in the two days after the Committee. Global Forum was formed by the G20 in 2016 to work with OECD Steel Committee in confronting the excess capacity crisis.

Committee and the Global Forum are encouraging countries to work together to develop a common understanding of state subsidies for the steel sector, which are a key cause of global overcapacity. In the Chairman’s conclusions, the Committee reiterated the need to swiftly remove subsidies and other government support measures that are market-distorting and contributing to excess capacity, though there was no consensus on which support measures are market-distorting.

The Committee also developed draft guidelines for state support and is developing a subsidies database. Work is progressing slowly and it’s not clear that the Committee and Global Forum are well coordinated in this work. TUAC and IndustriALL made a joint submission (PDF) on these draft guidelines.

IndustriALL again protested at the Committee meeting trade unions’ exclusion from the Global Forum.

“Steelworkers are an important stakeholder in these debates, and excess capacity has a large impact on them and their communities. They should have a seat at the table,”

stated IndustriALL base metals director Adam Lee.

Flawed justice undermines hopes of working people in Brazil

On 11 September, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the metalworker leader and a founder of the Workers’ Party, who was elected to the highest office of president of the country for two terms during 2003 till 2011, had to withdraw as candidate from the elections, despite polls showing great support from the population.

Reforms carried out while Lula was in power granted massive access to university education for poor people, while the social welfare programmes Bolsa Família and Fome Zero helped to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty, bringing hope for the future to the vast majority of poor Brazilians. A real increase in the minimum wage by 73 per cent on top of inflation and a general wage increase boosted growth, generating over 20 million jobs and reducing unemployment to a historical low of 4.3 per cent. Lula became the workers’ symbol in Brazil, Latin American and the entire world.

The illegitimate government, now in power for two years, destroyed most of these achievements, attacking workers’ rights and causing economic chaos. The country has an unemployment rate of around 14 per cent today.

Upon consideration of Lula’s case, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, a panel of independent experts, in August requested the Brazilian government to allow Lula to exercise his political rights as a presidential candidate.

Now, as the election date of 7 October approaches, Lula, 72, is in jail after a corruption conviction. Even though the appeal process is not yet over, the authorities denied Lula his right to vote or be elected, in violation of the national Constitution and international norms.

According to international lawyers, the conviction was a set up to deny Lula’s candidacy and prevent him from running for re-election. Polls indicate that Lula has vast support from the population, despite the allegations and campaign of defamation against him.

Lula was incarcerated in clear violation of legal procedures. His phones and those of his defence lawyers were illegally wiretapped. The indictment was issued after 23 hearings, during which none of the 70 witnesses made any statement that could provide proof in favour of the indictment.

However, right-wing forces hiding behind the rhetoric of national sovereignty and in violation of all national and international legislation denied any justice to Lula, including participation in the elections.

With the view to continue the struggle for the workers’ cause, the Workers’ Party announced a new candidate, Fernando Haddad. Through the public support extended by Lula, Haddad, academic and former mayor of the city of São Paulo, is now leading the pre-election polls.

The international trade union movement, including IndustriALL Global Union and affiliates, has expressed its full support to Lula and the people of Brazil. IndustriALL’s most recent Executive Committee in May adopted a special resolution in support of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The results of the elections will define the future of the country: whether it will democratically serve the interest of its vast population, or will be in the hands of right-wing forces supporting a new oligarchy whose only objective will be to enrich themselves at all cost.

Young workers in Zimbabwe engage on the future of unions

How young workers are to become catalysts for change in unions is the central theme discussed at a recent five-day activist school in Harare organized by IndustriALL Global Union with support from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

The activist school, to which constitutional and labour experts made presentations on scenarios for the country, discussed topical issues on governance and human rights, social and economic development, trade unions and activism, and organizing, recruitment and mobilization. Emphasis was put on understanding the context of the recent elections as well as national economic development strategies. There were also sessions on project management and media and communication.

Given Zimbabwe’s current crisis, characterized by the disputed 30 July elections, economic collapse, high prices and cash shortages, high unemployment, and a public health crisis in which 25 people have died from a cholera outbreak in townships where most of the workers live, these are important topics. Local governments in cities including Harare are failing to provide clean water to residents and even basics such as regular garbage collection.

The closure of factories and the slowing down of activities in most sectors of the economy led to declining union membership while those working earn low wages. With most workers now in the informal sector, unions need to find innovative ways to recruit them. To this end, the suggested mobilization strategies included campaigns, demonstrations, pickets and strikes

Nineteen young workers, eight of them women, from eight IndustriALL affiliates under the Union Building Project attended the activist school. The workers agreed to establish a network to defend workers’ rights, develop leadership skills, promote learning and sharing of information and knowledge, and build solidarity and collaboration at workplaces and within communities. Affiliates from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions also attended the workshop.

Says Tendai Makanza, IndustriALL regional officer for Sub Saharan Africa:

Young workers have immense potential to revive unions in Zimbabwe. This workshop starts the process to strengthen youth capacity for trade union work.

New global trade union alliance formed at WestRock

Meeting in Destin, Florida, on 22 August around 120 union delegates from North and South America, Europe and Asia analysed WestRock’s labour relations in the different regions, established a coordination committee for the alliance, and set an action plan.

After a series of major acquisitions over recent years, the smaller company RockTenn has rapidly expanded into a global giant, purchasing Smurfit Stone, MeadWestvaco, and MPS among others with the major Kapstone acquisition pending. The company’s status as a major multinational necessitates proactive global labour relations through corporate social behaviour dialogue with its global unions.

Leeann Foster from the USW, the union that will chair the new alliance said:

Our new alliance is convinced that dialogue between labour and management at every level — whether it local, national or global — is of benefit to both the workers and the company. As the union representing workers where many multinationals are based and through our work with IndustriALL and UNI, we have vast experience and expertise in fostering such dialogue and assisting in avoiding unnecessary conflict while addressing any discrepancies in how a company’s official global relations policy is implemented in reality. We want to foster pro-active, stable labour relations in every WestRock region.

The meeting heard from Brazilian union leaders representing WestRock workers who are facing a plant closure in the city of Valinhos, near Sao Paulo and construction of a new facility an hour away in Porto Feliz. The meeting was concerned to hear that despite the company reporting excellent results and record profits from the Brazil operations, Brazilian unions are forced to campaign to keep the Riegesa plant open. If the plant cannot be saved the local union STIPAP is demanding dialogue with WestRock towards a social plan for the more than 600 workers losing their job. The meeting adopted the following solidarity statement regarding the case:

The newly-formed Global WestRock Trade Union Alliance stands in solidarity with the WestRock workers in the city of Valinhos who are campaigning against the closure of the successful Riegesa plant which threatens the livelihoods of over 600 families who have contributed to the company’s achievements in Brazil. It is clear that WestRock must sit down to dialogue with the union towards agreeing a social plan for the workers who risk losing their employment. All unions of the global alliance will be following with full support the company’s behaviour towards the Riegesa workers. These workers must be treated with the respect they deserve.

Chair of the company’s European Works Council, Raffiq Moosa said:

We have built up a relationship based on trust and respect over a number of years in Europe. We will be seeking to extend that to the global level now. Organizing will be a central priority going forward.

The new alliance will now get started on its action plan, led by the coordination committee that was constituted by the meeting.

WestRock reported sales of US$4.1 billion for the third quarter of this financial year.

Kenyan union demands decent jobs in the auto sector

Kenya Vehicles Manufacturers assemble for Tata and Scania, whilst Associated Vehicles Assemblers is contracted to Toyota. The value chain includes parts, distribution and maintenance.

With the East African Community customs union relaxing requirements to make it attractive to assemble vehicles in Kenya, this is a growth opportunity for the sector. Promoting the buying of locally produced vehicles instead of used cars from other parts of the world is another stimulant.

However, retrenchments in the auto sector are common and cheap imports continue to flood the market. Unions say this is worsened by weak protection mechanisms in industrial policies and the lack of an integrated economic strategy.

To discuss the challenges and solutions in the sector, the IndustriALL Global Union Sub Saharan Africa region recently organized meetings in Nairobi that were attended by affiliates, the Amalgamated Union of Kenya Metalworkers (AUKMW) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA). Collaboration and learning between affiliates in different countries was emphasized. A further meeting is planned for next year, to integrate African auto unions into the global network.

The meetings heard that in 2015, VW, which receives near-complete vehicles from South Africa — only short of doors, bonnets, tyres and a few other items which are fitted by  four full-time workers — announced plans to open a bigger assembly line with the potential to create 2,000 jobs. The government even promised to boost production by purchasing vehicles from the plant. Sadly, the AUKMW reported that despite high expectations, the company still employs only four full-time workers. Further, it employs 118 workers who have been on short-term contracts for 10 years. AUKMW is challenging this, but its attempts to push for permanent employment through the courts failed.

After the meeting, AUKMW facilitated a collective bargaining workshop that was attended by shop stewards from Isuzu, KVM, battery manufacturer Chloride, Sunfilter, Choda Fabricators, and Pelican Signs. The national labour centre, the Centre for the Organisation of Trade Unions, was represented at the meetings. There were exchanges on Kenya’s plant level bargaining versus South Africa’s centralized collective bargaining with the deputy labour commissioner expressing an interest in introducing bargaining councils to improve labour relations in the country.

NUMSA explained how it protected workers' interests when General Motors closed shop in South Africa, and during the transfer of some of the workers to Isuzu.

Says Kenny Mogane, IndustriALL regional officer for Sub Saharan Africa:

“We welcome AUKMW’s fight for permanent jobs and better working conditions for workers in the automotive sector and will continue to support their efforts to improve collective bargaining.”

Indian cement unions show concrete organizing results

Thirty participants, from different companies and representing both the Indian National Cement Workers’ Federation (INCWF) and Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh (PCSS) attended the workshop. For the first time, four women workers participated. The discussions revolved around health and safety, fighting precarious work among contractors, and the integration of women and contract workers into existing trade union structures.

The worst and most disturbing information was that 15 workers had died in ACC and Ambuja plants – both owned by LafargeHolcim – since 2013. Most were contract workers, earning low wages and working in poor conditions. Both unions strongly condemned these fatal accidents and urged LafargeHolcim to improve health and safety in their plants and include union representatives in safety investigation committees.

Representatives are angry that LafargeHolcim management has broken its word and refused to sign the negotiated global framework agreement (GFA). The INCWF general secretary demanded that LafargeHolcim become member of the Cement Manufacturer’s Association of India so that the National Wage Board is applicable for all LafargeHolcim plants. 

Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL director for materials industries said:

“I am very happy that we succeeded in integrating women into this workshop and that our affiliates are committed to fighting violence against women. This is an important step. Also, to see the recruiting efforts – and successes – in the multinationals and beyond is a very encouraging signal.

“I congratulate our affiliates on the many new members. These members strengthen the labour movement. We will continue to support our Indian affiliates.”

1,414 new workers were recruited by the INCWF, and 122 by PCSS between April and September 2018. This is the result of a membership drive planned at the previous IndustriALL meeting in April.

While discussing gender, participants said that many companies are not recruiting women workers, and that facilities provided previously are now vanishing. Union committed to raising their voice against all kinds of gender discrimination and violence, and plan to sign the IndustriALL Pledge (pdf) later this year.

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary, stated,

“Our work with our affiliates in the cement sector is showing concrete results, both in terms of organizing members and including women in our union structures. We look forward to continuing this work with our affiliates.”

At the end of the meeting, participants developed and adopted action plans, with organizing and recruiting goals for each union.

United States: Imerys locks out Montana talc workers

Since May, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union, has been trying to reach an agreement with Imerys Talc America, owner of Three Forks plant. Unfortunately, the company demonstrated a complete disregard towards its employees and is adamant to slash benefits for workers despite more than $1 million in monthly profits delivered by this particular unit.

“It’s important to understand that we were not seeking anything new or anything ‘more’ under a new contract,”

says Boilermakers Local D239 union president Randy Tocci, who has worked for the Three Forks talc mill for 38 years.

“What Imerys repeatedly offered actually would remove benefits from people who have worked hard there for decades and have been counting on those benefits. We’ve been locked out because of corporate greed, pure and simple.”

Tocci explained that the union first faced problems with management in 2011, when the French multinational Imerys acquired Luzenac Group, a subsidiary of the mining giant Rio Tinto. In addition to the Three Forks mill, Imerys acquired a second talc mill in Sappington and the Yellowstone talc mine near Ennis. Imerys currently owns 270 industrial sites in 50 countries of the world and employs 18,300 workers.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock visited the locked-out workers on their picket line and wrote a letter to Giorgio La Motta, general manager of Imerys Talc North America, requesting an end to the lockout and resumption of negotiations. U.S. Senator Jon Tester has also visited the workers. U.S. Senator Steve Daines and other politicians have expressed their support for the D239 members as well. Support has also poured in from the local community, local and state labour bodies, unionists from across the United States, IndustriALL Global Union and other international unions.

The company’s Code of Conduct published on their website reads that “Imerys respects and supports the dignity, wellbeing and rights of Group employees, their families and the communities in which they live, as well as others affected by the Group's operations.” Also, on their website the company says about their social focus, that they “Develop the professional and personal capabilities of our employees, provide them with appropriate benefits, promote workplace diversity and maintain industrial relations by fostering an environment of mutual respect.”

Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL Global Union materials industries director, comments:

“Imerys makes declarations about respecting rights and wellbeing of their employees, promising appropriate benefits and mutually respectful industrial relations. But all these are empty words if Montana management does not stop the lockout and restart the negotiations in good faith. We urge corporate management to remind their US leadership of their own code of conduct. The actual situation is unacceptable, and this behaviour is not worthy of a France-based multinational with a social conscience.”