Indian auto and garment workers move to strengthen union power

In the workshop on collective bargaining for auto sector workers, union representatives from leading automobile original equipment manufacturing (OEM) units from the Chennai and Bengaluru automotive clusters participated actively, sharing collective bargaining practices and workers’ welfare benefits policies of the respective companies.

Ways to access and understand corporate information was shared, with participants underlining that increasing the union’s capacity to understand corporate information is important to appropriately frame the unions’ charter of demands, strengthen bargaining power and to contribute to the growth of the organization.

Trade union representatives from automotive units including BMW, Hyundai Motors, Volvo, Ashok Leyland, Ford, Daimler, Royal Enfield, Bosch and Hindustan Motors participated in the workshop. Union leaders decided to enhance information sharing and cooperation among unions in the auto sector.

We made your clothes

About 25 women garment union leaders participated in the workshop on organizing and union building. The workshop witnessed enthusiastic participation of garment union leaders, where they developed plans to address various practical difficulties involved in union organising efforts at the factory level. The workshop focused on strategies to organise and build union power.

Participants shared challenges they face when organizing workers. Though participants came from different geographical locations, experiences were very similar, and they decided to intensify organising efforts and take advantage of international instruments including IndustriALL’s global framework agreements.

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary said:

during this series of workshops for the auto sector and garment workers we saw enthusiastic participation from our union leaders. We hope that the workshops have strengthened the capacity to build stronger unions. We are sure that increased information sharing, cooperation among the union leaders and enhanced use of international instruments will contribute to building union power and defend workers rights.

Case study: Glencore in Colombia

As early as 2006, there were allegations of corruption and severe human rights violations with the local union, IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Sintracarbón, accusing the company of forced expropriations and evacuations of entire villages to enable mine expansion, in complicity with Colombian authorities.

Glencore has several interests in Colombia, including wholly owned subsidiary Prodeco, which has two adjacent mines (La Jagua and Calenturitas), a coal export terminal (Puerto Nuevo) and a stake in the railway that transports coal to the terminal. Prodeco employs about 6,000 people.

Prodeco operates the two mines, railway and port terminal through five subsidiaries, despite demands from the Colombian authorities to integrate the operations into a single business entity. All businesses are run from the same floor of the same building in Barranquilla, and share the same top management.

According to Sintracarbón, workers from the La Jagua and Calenturitas mines are subject to different terms and conditions, and are denied the opportunity to negotiate together as a union with a common employer. Dividing the ownership structure makes it much more difficult for the union to identify a responsible negotiating partner and resolve issues.

Undermining unions

Sintracarbón reports that Prodeco has blatantly violated the right to freedom of association at its Calenturitas mine by discriminating against union leaders and members, by interfering with the right of workers to freely choose their union affiliation, and by undermining the collective bargaining process.

Management also discriminates against union leaders by changing their shifts or positions, by applying drastic disciplinary measures – including dismissals or multiple suspensions for the same offence – or by sending them on paid leave as a means of marginalizing them.

They treat trade unionists as second class, they persecute us and they keep us from exercising our rights,

explained union leader Blanco.

Glencore has persuaded union members to resign from the union through a combination of threats and incentives. By 2014 there were 67 labour grievances against Glencore’s Colombian subsidiary Prodeco, with 46 under investigation as of 2017. Prodeco has had to pay almost 500,000 USD in labour-related fines.

Health and safety

At the Calenturitas mine, productivity is prioritized over health and safety. Inefficient policies on industrial safety and occupational health and the high-risk activity that mining represents, lead to the occurrence of multiple occupational diseases, in addition to illegal 12 hour work days, roads in poor condition, high vibrations of equipment and high levels of pollution, which harm the health of workers. In August 2017, Sintracarbón reported that there were 13 work accidents in less than one month. In January 2018, a worker was killed.

Environment violations

Glencore violated many environmental regulations. Last January, 50,000 gallons of diesel were dumped into the ground of Puerto Nuevo due to the drilling of one of the storage tanks, ineffective maintenance and lack of control. Glencore tried to hide the fact from the environmental authorities,

said Sintracarbón Cienaga president, Claudia Blanco.

In 2010, after finding that levels of atmospheric contamination from mining exceeded legal limits, risking the health and lives of the people living close to the mines, the Colombian environment ministry ordered Prodeco and other companies to relocate the populations of Boqueron, Plan Boninto and El Hatillo.

The companies waited for two years before beginning the process, and none have been concluded. There have been violations of the right of the communities to participate and access information.

Outsourcing

Staff is recruited through the Manpower agency. Work stability and the right to decent work are undermined, and salaries are affected because conventional benefits do not apply. Freedom of association is jeopardized, as these workers cannot be unionized. If workers join a union, their short-term contract is not renewed.

BRICS unions discuss decent work and sustainable development

At a meeting in Durban 27-29 July, the BTUF adopted an African developmental agenda with a focus on decent work and sustainable development. The meeting, which took place at the same time as the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, called for social justice. Unions should also be included in the BRICS summit to strengthen collective power and building solidarity networks and activism in the global South.

However, BTUF raised concerns over precarious work and on the need for unions to develop a strategic response and multinational corporations were asked should comply with labour laws.

The issues discussed included the future of work, workers’ rights, universal health, investments that boost manufacturing, industrialization, and sustainability. Further, job creation was identified as key for young people as well as for attaining Sustainable Development Goals. Closing the gender gap in wages would improve women’s access to employment, and equal pay for work of equal value should be promoted.

For example, living wages are important in countering working poverty amongst the youth in Sub Saharan Africa, which was 70 per cent in 2016. Additionally, high youth unemployment works against benefiting from the demographic dividend which will happen in 2030 according to UNICEF’s Generation 2030 Africa 2.0 report. When this occurs, there will be more working-age young adults as compared to the elderly. However, without jobs there will be no benefit as the youth will be economically inactive.

BTUF goals for 2018 are investment in people, social and economic infrastructure and environmental responsibility. Building workers skills, innovation and developmental ICT tools key to Industry 4.0 with decent work, collective bargaining and social protection important. Full employment and job creation and trade union participation and effective social dialogue are some of the goals. Other goals promote democratic, ethical and responsive governance in public and private institutions, and inclusive international multilateral systems.

BTUF says it is up to the task “on many issues affecting workers, communities, developing countries, peace and security, food production, unemployment, international labour standards and workers’ rights.”

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

“The BTUF is a crucial reminder that international trade cannot exist without engaging unions. Without the watchful eyes of unions, multinational companies will ignore workers’ and human rights, and therefore we must be vigilant.”

Some IndustriALL Global Union affiliates belong to federations that are part of BTUF.

South Africa: Mine responsibly and improve working conditions, recommends report

Instead, sad realities are common in the mines — poor working conditions, destruction of the environment, and poverty and disease in mine affected communities. How then can mining companies meet the expectations of society which sees mineral resources as being key drivers of national development? Can the companies be made responsible on economic, environmental, social and governance issues? What accountability mechanisms can be used to achieve this?

These are some of the questions and issues that over 50 delegates from Ghana, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe grappled with at a meeting on 25-26 July in Johannesburg, to discuss the main findings of the Responsible Mining Index (RMI) 2018 assessment. The delegates were drawn from community-based organizations, human rights organizations, mine affected communities, non-governmental organizations, and universities. Trade unions, represented by IndustriALL Global Union affiliates, the National Union of Mineworkers and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, said it is important to collaborate with civil society actors on common issues facing workers and communities.

The RMI assessed 30 mining companies using six thematic areas which are economic development, business conduct, lifecycle management, community wellbeing, working conditions and environmental responsibility. The assessment included 127 mining sites.

Working conditions is the worst performing thematic area. The RMI found out that despite mining companies paying attention and expressing commitment to health and safety, 331 fatalities were reported in 2015 and 2016. Further, the mining companies are weak on addressing living wages, worker grievances and in stopping discrimination in the mines. However, notable gains are on forced and child labour.

The meeting recommended that the RMI, which promotes open access to information through sharing its data publicly, should work with other organizations doing similar work including the Alternative Mining Indaba and the African Mining Vision. A strategy that the RMI should continue to use is the publicizing of poor performance. This puts pressure on companies as shareholders asked why this is the case. Further, the RMI which questions the inconsistencies in reporting by mining companies, can complement other mechanisms.

Says Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining:

“By validating what we know, the RMI is a useful tool for building bridges and finding common spaces for dialogue and collaboration between mine affected communities, civil society and unions. We want mining companies to abandon rhetoric and commit to improving health and safety.”

South Africa: union in historic court victory against precarious work

This is a major victory for workers after years of a bitter union campaign against labour brokering. The victory is the result of a relentless campaign by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), who took the issue to the courts.

After losing the case in the Labour Court of Appeals, labour broking company, Assign Services, took the matter to the Constitutional Court where the court held on 26 July that the worker’s employer is where they perform their duties, and not with the labour broker who placed them. What the court ruling means for temporary workers is that those earning $15,500 per annum or less become permanent after three months as they will be employed by the company where are working.

Labour broking is an outsourcing practice that involves a company hiring labour on behalf of “client” companies. The outsourcing company then makes a profit by paying low wages and charging high fees to the “client” companies. IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, NUMSA, condemned this practice and for many years, with other unions, argued that the client companies should hire the workers directly instead of using this exploitative system where the workers had no benefits including pensions and medical insurance.

Under broking arrangements, the workers also do not have job security as they are on short contracts that can be terminated at any time. The labour brokers have also been refusing to provide any benefits saying they were not the employers, yet they were the ones who provided contracts.

Says Irvin Jim, NUMSA general secretary in a statement:

“Our experience with labour brokers is that they are extremely abusive and expose workers to low wages and terrible working conditions. We hope this decision will be the death knell of the entire industry and we will continue to fight for a total ban of labour brokers.”

Paule-France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa welcomed the court ruling:

“This is a victory for thousands of workers who are employed by labour brokers. We applaud the court decision for providing a legal way to protect workers’ rights to permanent jobs. Labour brokers cannot continue to make profits from the precarious conditions of workers.”

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Energy unions demand Just Transition at world conference

More than 200 representatives from 70 trade unions gathered in St Petersburg, Russia, on 25 and 26 July for IndustriALL Global Union’s world conference for the sector, under the theme “Building Union Power in Energy Industries”.

The energy sector is facing rapid changes in national energy policies and structures to meet climate change emission targets and adapt to new technologies that substantially change the skills required of energy workers. This is taking place against the background of a growing demand for energy, privatization and increasing precarious work in the sector.

Just Transition, in the context of sustainable industrial employment, is needed to ensure changes to the energy sector are implemented with fairness and justice to workers and their families and communities.

Alexander Korchagin, president of the host union, the Russian Oil, Gas and Construction Workers’ Union, said that during this very important time for the energy industry, trade unions are the best way of protecting workers’ interests.

Speaking at the conference, IndustriALL general secretary, Valter Sanches, said that energy is a basic right, but as a result of privatization, multinational companies have commercialized energy and created monopolies.

“The most common electricity model is run by private companies with poor public regulation,” said Sanches. “Multinational companies are so powerful and governments are afraid of confronting them.”

Discussions at the conference highlighted the growing problem of precarious work, which affects all countries but is particularly acute in countries like Nigeria, where nearly all operational workers are on indirect contracts. Other countries, such as Ivory Coast, cited the large differences in pay, working conditions and benefits between permanent and non-permanent workers. Unions must increase efforts to organize precarious workers, and include precarious workers in collective bargaining agreements where possible, said participants.

Increasing cooperation in trade union networks was cited as key to building union power through solidarity support and the exchange of information amongst unions across borders. The energy network in Latin America has been particularly successful in helping to set up new trade unions in the sector.

Participants discussed IndustriALL campaigns in the sector, including Shell, which tries to play workers at different locations against each other and refuses to negotiate with IndustriALL on a global level. It also noted the severe trade union violations in Algeria, as well as the ongoing campaign to ensure rights for DNO workers in Yemen.

In a lively discussion on Industry 4.0, lifetime learning, education and training – paid for by the company – was highlighted as vital to workers. Trade unions need to be partners in the decision making process when it comes to the technological transformation of energy production.

Participants approved a new action plan for the sector, identifying strategies to; produce a Just Transition; build union power; stop precarious work; increase women’s participation and representation; improve health and safety; confront global capital and create sustainable industrial policy.

The conference also offered deepest condolences to Greek workers and people affected by deadly forest fires in Greece, as well as communities affected by a lethal dam burst during the construction of a hydroelectric plant in Laos.

The conference also made solidarity statements in support of worker struggles at ExxonMobile in Australia, National Grid in the United States and Total in the UK.

Frode Alfheim from Industri Energi (Norway) and Apsorn Krissanasmit from PTT LU (Thailand) were re-elected as co-chairs of the Energy Section at IndustriALL.  Gwenne Farrell from MOVE-UP (Canada) was elected vice co-chair for the Electricity Section and Valeriy Matov from Atomprofspika (Ukraine) was elected vice co-chair for the Nuclear Section. 

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, said:

“The energy sector goes through the same problems as other sectors such as violations of rights, union busting and precarious work. What is particular to the sector is energy transition. We must build union power so we can have a seat at the table with governments and companies to create sustainable industry policies at the national level that guarantee Just Transition.”

Brazil's trade union centres seek to further the country's development

The CUT, CSB, CTB, Força Sindical, Intersindical, Nueva Central and UGT have set out an agenda aimed at getting Brazil back on the path to development by promoting democracy, generating high-quality jobs and ensuring social justice. The agenda also seeks to tackle informal work arrangements, precarious work, and the lack of job security.

"With the priority agenda for the working class, we have brought our trade union centres together to demonstrate our intention to mobilize workers so that they take assertive action. We have adopted a forward-looking approach to the challenges we face, mindful of the responsibility we share in building our Country and our Nation",

states the document.

The agenda aims to steer the national debate that will take shape in the three months leading up to the presidential election in October. The trade unions hope that the candidates will commit to the agenda's emergency measures to get Brazil's economy back on track and create jobs.

The 22 recommendations include measures to: tackle unemployment, which now affects 28 million workers; create jobs for all members of society, and particularly young people; restart infrastructure projects; and put in place policies to protect the unemployed.

In addition, the union centres will hold a national day against unemployment on 10 August. They will campaign against the reforms introduced by Michel Temer's government and demand that steps be taken to get the country back on track and tackle unemployment. There will also be protests against the rise in the prices of oil and its derivatives, and to advocate for workers’ rights to security.

On the day, employees will hold work stoppages, followed by demonstrations across Brazil's different states to campaign for the proposed economic measures. By joining forces in this way, the centres will show that the union movement is capable of collectively organizing workers at a time when their rights are under threat.

The trade unions condemn the dismantling of social policies and the privatization and handing over of state assets that are of strategic importance for the future of the country. As such, they are stepping up their opposition to the reforms, which threaten workers’ fundamental rights.

"At IndustriALL Global Union, we are backing this key initiative by Brazil's trade union centres to unite the working class. We also support the national day against unemployment on 10 August. It is an important step in the fight against the actions of an illegitimate, coup-installed government that threaten workers' rights. We urge our affiliates to express their support for this event",

said the IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches.

Iraqi unions condemn violence against protestors

Mass protests broke out two weeks ago in Basra, the city in southern Iraq central to oil production, and soon spread to other provinces. Protests were sparked by high unemployment, poor public services and corruption. There is increasing outrage that huge amounts of oil wealth is extracted from the country while people live in poverty.

Protestors demand that the government provide them with water, electricity, and other essential services, reject the current confessional political system and demand a representative national government. Under the current system, power is shared through a quota system between the major groups in society, the Shi’a, Sunni and Kurds. The protestors believe the system leads to sectarian divisions and corruption.

The protests have been brutally suppressed by the security forces, with 13 people killed and 81 arrested. The government cut off access to the Internet, which has made it difficult for Iraqi activists to spread news of the situation.

Speaking on Iraqi national television, IndustriALL executive committee member and president of the Basra Trade Union Federation, Hashmeya Alsaadawe, said:

“Against whom are these military troops and arms directed? To the unarmed citizens who call for their legitimate demands of a dignified life! They only need water, electricity and job opportunities.

"Who should we address our demands to? The local government doesn’t respond! I called for peaceful protest. There is no hidden agenda. However, we don’t exclude the possibility that some may misuse the situation.”

In a statement signed by a number of IndustriALL Global Union’s Iraqi affiliates, the Conference of Iraqi Federations and Workers Unions said:

“The public protest ongoing in many provinces in our country is a consequence of the grave crisis affecting our society, which is a result of racism, sectarian conflict and the wrong economic and social policies.

“The protest demands not only drinking water, electricity to protect from summer heat and winter cold, an end to unemployment, hunger, the deprivation of services and life below the poverty line. It also demands justice against the rule of oligarchs who break down the national and social fabric of the Iraqi people by force and cruelty.”

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches said:

“Iraq is a tremendously wealthy country, and its people are entitled to a fair share of that wealth. The powerful Iraqi trade union movement has thrown its weight behind the demand for a decent life and an end to corruption. The international movement is proud to stand by them.”

Recently, the Iraqi elections were won by the Sairoon (Progress) alliance, which includes left wing parties and was propelled to power by the same forces that are now in the streets. The alliance has not yet been able to form a government.

New democratic trade union federation to be established in the Mexican automotive sector

The new federation is composed of ten organizations representing workers in the automotive, auto parts, logistics, rubber and aerospace industries. Their aim is to ensure that workers enjoy the right to freely join a genuine trade union of their choice which can represent them with dignity and defend their rights.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was elected President of Mexico on 1 July, pledged throughout the election campaign that he would respect the autonomy of all trade unions and that his government would work to promote trade union democracy and workers' rights.

This gives the unions hope that the new democratic trade union federation will bring about a genuine social dialogue with the government. IndustriALL's coordinator in Mexico, José Luis Rodríguez Salazar, had this to say:

"Civil society in Mexico has expressed its rejection of the corruption and impunity that exists at all levels of government. With the election of a new government, we have an opportunity to bring about a change in the social, political and economic life of the country. Now it is up to us, the Mexican workers, to come together and support this new project and to transform the world of labour".

Members pledged to work with the newly elected President and the labour authorities for the benefit of the working classes and to fight against harmful practices such as "protection contracts".  

"Protection contracts", which are the dominant form of collective bargaining agreement in Mexico, are basically agreements negotiated between corrupt company unions, employers and government authorities. Their purpose is to maintain exploitative working conditions that go against workers' interests.

"If we succeed in taking advantage of the new scenario that has been created at the national level and propose new forms of labour organization that represent the true interests of workers, we will be creating a tool which will put an end to the shameful collective bargaining farce that protects only the interests of employers", added Rodíguez.

A working group has now been set up in the state of Puebla which has been tasked with preparing the legal documents that will allow the new union federation to be registered and become operational. The federation will seek to play a greater role in all decision-making regarding labour and industrial policy in the country.  The federation also hopes to be able to play an active role in discussions on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as it believes that no negotiations regarding the treaty should take place until the newly elected President of Mexico assumes power in December 2018.

Valter Sanches, the general secretary of IndustriALL, made the following remarks:

"We welcome the decision to establish the new Federation of Democratic and Independent Unions of Mexico. IndustriALL Global Union, which has supported this initiative from the very beginning, will continue to provide its full support in the fight against protection contracts and in defence of freedom of association for all workers".