Shipbreaking – graveyard for ships or workers?

The latest accident happened at the Golden Recycling Mill on 7 November, when a furnace boiler exploded and injured four workers. One of the workers is in critical condition and is still undergoing treatment.

In another incident on the same day, a gas cutter was severely burnt at the Sagorika Shipbreaking yard, and two of his colleagues received minor injuries.

The previous day, 6 November, there was an accident at Arefin Enterprise where workers were working through the night, pulling iron plates. An end of the iron rope hit a worker so badly that he lost his life.

This accident was one of many, as the rule that no shipbreaking activities can be carried out at night time is often ignored by employers. With no concrete action against these violations, employers continue to flout the rules.

On 5 November, an iron plate hit a worker in the Golden Iron Works Limited ship-breaking yard at Sitakunda. He was rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Kan Matsuzaki, IndustriALL director for the shipbuilding and shipbreaking sector, says:

“The industry is killing and injuring workers, which is wholly unacceptable. The Bangladeshi government should fully implement the 2018 Ship Recycling Act and comply with international standards on occupational health and safety, as well as skills development through training.”

19 workers have been killed in different shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh so far this year. It is the highest number since 2009, when at least 25 people were killed.

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary says:

"Employers and authorities are clearly not learning from past incidents. IndustriALL strongly condemns this apathetic attitude resulting in workers losing their lives. We urge the government of Bangladesh to take stringent action against the culprits and create a safe and secure environment where workers can work without fear."

Unjust verdict against union leaders in Belarus upheld

Some 150 people from unions and civil society organizations as well as foreign embassies’ representatives came to express their support and solidarity for Gennady Fedynich and Ihar Komlik, who are leaders of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, REP. Due to the size of the room only 100 of them could attend the court hearing.

The appeal hearing was based on a demand by the both unionists to quash the verdict of the Sovetsky district court of the city of Minsk on 24 August earlier this year.

In an unfair trial and the absence of convincing evidence, both leaders were convicted for large-scale tax evasion and have been ordered to pay a large fine of BYN 47,560 (over US$23,000). They must also cover all court expenses along with administrative fines. In addition, they are subject to a four-year suspended imprisonment and a ban on holding senior positions for five years.

The thirteen-day trial attracted considerable public attention and was closely followed inside and outside Belarus. IndustriALL representatives attended the hearings and regular reports from the trial were published on the IndustriALL website.

The entire case is based on accusations of illegal use of international aid supposedly received by the union in 2011-2012. The authorities accused the leaders of non-registration of the aid with governmental authorities and nonpayment of taxes on the income received from the aid.

According to numerous eye-witnesses of that trial, most of the evidence presented in court looked either rigged or collected in violation of legal norms of Belarus, or were not relevant to the period in question. Some witnesses declared they had been forced to make testimonies under psychological pressure.

Even if the accusations against the union leaders could be proven in court, receiving international aid cannot be considered as a violation per se, as the right to donate, receive and use foreign aid falls under articles 5 and 6 of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, ratified by Belarus.

In 2002, the ILO recommended to the Government of Belarus to amend the national legislation so that national workers’ and employers’ organizations could receive financial assistance from international workers’ and employers’ organizations in pursuit of their legitimate aims. Unfortunately, fourteen years after the adoption of the recommendations, trade unions still cannot freely use foreign aid in Belarus and suffer interference in their internal affairs.

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

“The decision of the Minsk city court, which rejected the appeal and kept the unjust verdict in force, is a missed opportunity for Belarusian authorities to prove justice exists in the country and re-establish contacts with the international community. The large fines and the ban against both union leaders from holding leadership positions is clearly meant to undermine the work of REP, our affiliated union in Belarus.
“Given the harsh conditions in which Gennadi Fedynich and Ihar Komlik are under, we consider them as political prisoners. We will do everything we can to liberate them and put pressure on the Government of Belarus to stop violating workers’ and human rights,’ until justice prevails.”

Global framework agreements are strategic tools

IndustriALL Global Union currently has 49 global agreements, which are negotiated at a global level between trade unions and multinational companies, and serve to protect the interests of workers across a company’s supply chain.

The GFA working group, which includes representatives from all continents and sectors, reviews IndustriALL’s proposed and current GFAs, and provides comments and recommendations on GFAs to the Secretariat and Executive.

Claudia Rahman, co-chair of the working group, called for more pro-active implementation of the agreements which must have a local agenda. “A GFA should prevent violations of workers’ rights and not simply be a remedy to violations that have already happened,” she said. She called for GFAs “to be integrated into the operational activities of a multinational company and into the management system.”

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, said company management and unions require training on GFA implementation, while unions must monitor GFAs.

Participants at the meeting recounted how the agreements are being used to assist organizing, with case studies on how to use GFAs in organizing in textile and garment sector in Bangladesh and Turkey as well as using the union power in auto companies in organizing campaigns in supply sectors. An example from Tunisia revealed how the GFA has helped to stop union busting at one particular factory and to improve the union structures, with the aid of German affiliate IG Metall.

The meeting held deep discussions on the strategic use of GFAs in reaching trade union objectives through buzz-groups. Involvement of host unions, organizing in supply chains through GFAs and roles of different actors in GFA processes were elaborated and some conclusions were drawn up.

On the second day of the meeting, officials from the International Labour Organization (ILO), gave presentations about the role of GFAs in social dialogue, which led to extensive debate. It was obvious to all that without freedom of association, a key right, it is impossible to implement GFAs or basic ILO principles.

It was suggested GFAs could make use of strong language on due diligence, outlined in the ILO’s guidelines for multinational enterprises, and present it to companies as language that has already been agreed at the tripartite level. The working group was also called to think about how to better use ILO tools and mechanisms, smartly and politically, to get strong agreements.

The meeting also heard case studies of how GFAs are being used to improve workers’ rights, enable organizing and resolve disputes with examples including chemical company, Solvay, energy giant Total, global fashion brand H&M and German conglomerate, Siemens.

“IndustriALL Global Union has made significant progress in its policies and practices with global framework agreements and the working group has played an important role,” said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary, who is in charge of the working group.

“However, we still have long way to go in our global mission to advance the rights and working conditions of our members on the ground, particularly at multinational companies. IndustriALL will continue to be a champion in the development of global labour relations, particularly through global framework agreements.”

Auto unions develop value chain organizing strategies

The meeting focused on building union strength across value chains. The auto industry is characterized by long and complex value chains, with a huge number of suppliers – up to 40,000 for a company.

Value chains are a deliberately opaque business secret, and companies are not transparent. The deeper one moves down value chains, the lower the unionization rates, and the worse the terms and conditions. Participants wondered if it would take a tragedy on the scale of Rana Plaza for the industry to be forced to open up about its suppliers.

Instead of getting lost in the complexity of value chains, participants resolved to focus on a few key components, particularly the value chain of batteries. This is an issue that is receiving scrutiny due to concerns about how cobalt is sourced, and there is scope to work with auto companies and develop insights into organizing strategies.

This targeted approach would be extended by identifying other key components, and setting up value chain meetings with key stakeholders to develop relationships and test the usefulness of this approach. Cross sectoral work would be strengthened, for example with leather and textiles for car seats, rubber for tyres and glass for windows.

Two new sector co-chairs were elected at the meeting: UAW president Gary Jones replaces former UAW president Dennis Williams, who has retired, and NUMSA international secretary Christine Olivier replaces Sirijunyaporn Jangthonglang from TEAM who stepped down.

Next year, the expert group will meet on transformation in the automotive industry and focus in particular on best-practice examples on how to manage change. Mexico will be a major focus, due to the anticipated creation of a new independent trade union federation by the end of November 2018, and India where similar preparations are under way.

Czech affiliate OS Kovo helped to set up the meeting and a plant visit on the third day to seat manufacturer Grammer.

IndustriALL auto director Georg Leutert said:

“The IndustriALL auto sector stands united and will redouble efforts to improve working conditions along global value chains. Batteries, the most important future product, will be the top priority.”

Unfair dismissal of union officials by Firestone Liberia condemned

The officials, who are a chairperson and a grievance officer from a local branch, are protected by the law on the right to organize and to engage in collective bargaining. The dismissed union officials are leaders in the campaign for better living and working conditions at Firestone Liberia’s rubber plantations. By dismissing the officials, the company is victimizing the leaders to weaken the union.

The officials from the IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, Agricultural, Agro-Processing and Industrial Workers Union of Liberia (AAIWUL), were dismissed clandestinely, and the union wants justice and for the dismissals to be nullified. The United Workers Union of Liberia, another IndustriALL affiliate, also condemns the dismissals in solidarity with AAIWUL.

Says Edwin Cisco, secretary general of AAIWUL:

“We are currently engaged with the national government through the Ministry of Labour, the House Standing Committee on Labour, the Margibi Legislative Caucus and the Liberia Labour Congress to prevail on the management of Firestone Liberia for the reinstatement of the two union executives. AAIWUL, therefore urges management to desist from carrying out any further action that will be tantamount to inflaming the situation.”

The union urges workers not to be distracted by the intimidation and to focus on the “bigger picture of the upcoming collective bargaining agreement which is crucial for the upliftment of the lives of thousands of workers and their families on the plantations.”

Industrial relations between the workers and Firestone Liberia have been turbulent. In August, workers went on strike to have the wages of rubber tappers increased from US $8.36 to US $12.50 per day. The company is yet to meet the workers’ demands.

In October, the company retrenched 76 workers from its rubber wood factory, who are now struggling to look after their families. Firestone has been producing rubber from Liberia since 1926 and has received support from the government. However, the working and living conditions of the workers have remained appalling.

Olympic 2020 partner Mitsubishi Electric humiliates workers in Thailand

Nigeria: Unions welcome new minimum wage

The announcement on the national minimum wage on 6 November came when the unions were on the brink of going on strike which has since been called off. The old minimum wage of N18,000 ($50) was no longer enough for workers to meet the basics including food, transport, housing, health and education and other necessities. The buying power of the minimum wage set up in 2010 had been eroded by inflation. Further, the unions were concerned by the late payment of the wages, even on the paltry old minimum wage, in 33 of the country’s 36 states.

IndustriALL Global Union’s seven affiliates in Nigeria, organizing in the energy, engineering, oil and gas, and textile and garments, welcome the announcement and are calling on the government to speedily gazette the wages into law so that employers can start paying them. Initially, the unions wanted the minimum wages to be increased to over N65,000 (US$179) and are taking an incremental approach.

Says Issa Aremu, IndustriALL Vice President and general secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria:

“Whilst we welcome the minimum wages, the struggle for living wages continue. Nigerian workers should be paid decent wages to get rid of cases of the working poor – workers who live in poverty yet they are employed. The workers’ living conditions must improve, and higher wages can assist in achieving that goal. Efforts must also be made to end precarious work.”

The unions say the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and the National Industrial Revolution Plan can boost the struggling economy. They argue that if fully implemented these plans have the potential to revive industries including in the textile and garment sector and to create sustainable jobs.

Further, the unions are recommending that Nigeria, which gets 80 per cent of its export revenue from crude oil, must move away from exporting raw materials by increasing its manufacturing value addition from the current 5 per cent. The country also needs to develop infrastructure such as roads and improve on the provision of electricity as some of the ways to stimulate industrial development.

Gildan Activewear continues to violate workers' rights in Haiti and Honduras

In addition to the worker rights violations at Gildan's supplier in Haiti, Sewing International SA (SISA), Gildan Mayan Textiles S. de R.L. has launched an anti-union campaign against its workers in Honduras.

In September, 28 workers were fired for being members of the union SITRAGILMAS, part of the Federation of Workers of Honduras (FITH), an affiliate of IndustriALL. The company is refusing to comply with agreements reached with the union, is harassing workers and has made attempts to form a yellow union.

Calling on the parent company in Canada, IndustriALL is urging Gildan to comply with the recommendations of ILO’s Better Work Programme, which has also requested that Gildan reinstate the workers in Haiti.

Gildan is a member of the Fair Labour Association, which has yet to take action against the company's violations.

During an IndustriALL mission to Haiti on 20 and 21 September, attempts to reinstate the union leaders were made during meetings with GOSTTRA, SISA and the labour relations mediator, but Gildan categorically refuses.

Marino Vani, IndustriALL's regional secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean and part of the mission, said that:

IndustriALL is demanding that Gildan Activewear takes urgent action with its suppliers in Haiti and Honduras to reinstate the union leaders who were dismissed in breach of international standards, and that they urgently engage in a genuine social dialogue.

Iranian court sentences 15 HEPCO workers to prison and flogging for striking

Branch 106 of the criminal court of Arak has sentenced 15 HEPCO workers to between a year to two and a half years in prison and 74 lashes for “disrupting public order” and “instigating workers via the internet to demonstrate and riot” after strike action against unpaid wages in May this year.

HEPCO workers have taken repeated strike action to protest wage arrears, a decline in occupational safety and uncertainty surrounding continued production. This follows years of mismanagement at the company that has seen the workforce of specialized engineers decline from over 8,000 to around 1,000 today.

HEPCO was once one of the most prestigious heavy equipment manufacturers in the region. The company was first privatized in 2001, bailed out by the state after it failed, and privatized again last year, resulting in large scale job losses and a decline in conditions. The company produces construction equipment under license for Volvo, Komatsu and Liebherr and other companies as well as its own brand.

Unions in Iran see the sentencing as an attempt to warn workers against taking action.

In an address to the labour minister Mohammad Shariatmadari, IndustriALL Global Union affiliate the Union of Metalworkers and Mechanics of Iran (UMMI) said:

“Can a hungry stomach by silenced by a legal judgement? Is that the message of the minister to the workers of our homeland? Do Mr Shariatmadari and the Ministry of Labour intend to suppress more unions and starve workers? Strikes and protests are the right of the workers and all the people of Iran. We will not give up this right.”

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“Iran is introducing bad economic policies, inspired by neoliberal economics that undermine society and labour. We are angry at seeing this wave of privatization, combined with corruption and a repressive state. This is a recipe for disaster.
“The workers at HEPCO are right to protest against the mismanagement of the company. They have no choice but to take strike action against unpaid wages. They need to eat. The security forces cannot suppress the legitimate demands of Iran’s workers forever. Iran must recognize independent unions.”

UMMI reports severe economic hardship, saying that more than 60 per cent of industrial workshops have shut. The influx of unemployed workers to unemployment insurance is unprecedented, and could lead to the bankruptcy of the social security.

Victory for Boilermakers at Imerys Talc

The French-owned company locked out 35 workers on 2 August, after the IndustriALL Global Union affiliate refused to ratify a proposed contract that would have gutted key benefits and work practices.

For more than three brutal months, L-D239 members manned a picket line day and night and steadily gathered allies and advocates, making it clear they were in it for the long-haul. At the same time, pressure against Imerys gained momentum, while extra security, plus scabs Imerys brought in from out of state drove up costs.

“This was a hard-fought victory, and it’s a victory to be sure. In this lockout, the workers from L-D239 endured extreme hardships: no paychecks, no insurance, the daily stress of picket line, constant uncertainty and the disappointment of a failed mediation attempt,” said J. Tom Baca from the Boilermakers Western States Section. “But they stuck it out. They didn’t give up.”

Their determination worked. Imerys agreed to go back to the negotiating table on 25 October, where the two parties reached an agreement to end the lockout. Days later, L-D239 ratified a new three-year contract that reclaimed most of the benefits and work conditions the union initially sought to preserve from previous contracts, including seniority and overtime provisions. Imerys agreed to a one-year extension before health insurance will no longer be available as a benefit to new retirees. The union agreed to drop unfair labour practice charges it filed against Imerys with the National Labor Relations Board.

“Thirty-two workers [three workers left Imerys for other jobs] getting their jobs back and with an agreeable three-year contract in a tiny town in Montana might not seem like much to some, but the reality is, this is a major win not only for the Boilermakers, but for all unions. What L-D239 achieved is proof that solidarity works,” said Tom Baca.

Union members were joined on the picket line by their families, the community, politicians and other unions. In addition to support from local businesses and Boilermaker brothers and sisters nationwide, IndustriALL, the AFL-CIO and other unions championed L-D239 and stoked the pressure on Imerys.

“We’re glad to be back at work,” said L-D239 president Randy Tocci, “And we’re focused on doing what we’ve always done: working hard and producing the best possible product for the mill’s customers. The picket line was not where we wanted to be.”

IndustriALL’s director for mechanical engineering and materials industries, Matthias Hartwich, said:

“We congratulate our affiliate, the Boilermakers, on their victory. This again shows the power of solidarity and determination; although local management tried everything to break the resistance of the locked-out workers, they did not give in. IndustriALL and its affiliates did their best to support the Imerys workers in Montana – we organized support and contacted the Imerys headquarters and European Works Council backing the locked-out workers.”