Zambian unions petition Dangote on violation of workers’ rights

By so doing, the company is denying the unions freedom of association.  Even with the involvement of the ministry of labour, through current and previous ministers and labour commissioners, the cement company has not budged. Dangote’s attitude towards unions is aptly captured in the contract with one of its labour brokers, Silondwa Engineering, which says the “contractor shall ensure that its employees are not involved in union activities and strikes that leads to stopping of work.”

At a meeting in Ndola on 5 July, three IndustriALL Global Union affiliates, the Mineworkers Union of Zambia, the National Union of Commercial and Industrial Workers and the National Union of Building, Engineering and General Workers met with representatives from Dangote and presented them with a petition demanding that the company stops violating workers’ rights. They reminded the company that it is in violation of the Constitution of Zambia, the Industrial and Labour Relations Act Chapter 269 and the ILO conventions. 

The unions also called for living wages of Zambian Kwacha 4 000 (US$408) as the current wages of K1800 (US$184) for general workers, for instance, were too low. They also wanted health and safety to be improved by providing a clinic on the cement plant. 

Also, of concern to unions is that Dangote employs only 15 permanent workers and has outsourced over 1,000 workers to different subcontractors. According to the labour laws, the workers employed through contractors were doing core work that required permanent contracts. Therefore, the company, through the contractors, is promoting precarious work through short term contracts, no benefits including pension and medical insurance, and low wages.

After the meeting the unions drove to the Masaiti plant where they picketed. Workers, who joined the picket, gave testimonies on how bad the wages and working conditions were.

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

“As a multinational company, Dangote should respect workers’ rights, pay living wages and ensure the health and safety of the workers. It is unacceptable for the company to openly violate Zambian laws by not signing recognition agreements with the unions.”

Court ruling criminalizes right to strike in Belgium

A second trade union activist was cleared of charges. 

The ruling on 29 June 2018 against Bruno Verlaeckt, President of the Antwerp branch of IndustriALL Global Union’s Belgian affiliate, ABVV- FGTB, came despite the peaceful protest on 24 June 2016 that included picket lines on some access routes to the port. 

In a statement following the court decision, ABVV-FGTB said:

“For us unions, this conviction is a real slap because such actions will become almost impossible in the future on the grounds that they would be threatened by criminal prosecution. The defense of workers' interests must apparently give way to the absolute freedom of motorists to circulate without hindrance and in all circumstances.”

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

“This court ruling is completely unacceptable and sets a dangerous precedent. The right to strike is sacrosanct for trade unions, and if this right is taken away in Belgium, at the heart of Europe, it can happen anywhere.”

The ruling follows a creeping crackdown on the right to strike in Europe as witnessed at Airbus in Spain, when eight trade unionists were jailed for striking, among other cases in France and Greece.

ABVV-FGTB plans to appeal the decision.

Hunger strike at Tenaris Colombia called off but struggle continues

The Sintratucar union leader began his hunger strike on 26 June in protest against anti-union persecution at Tenaris. At the same time, many members of the union organized a demonstration outside the company's plant on 1 July.

In the early morning of July 4, after he had been on hunger strike for over a week, del Río was taken to hospital suffering from severe chest pain, very low blood pressure and a sharp drop is in his blood sugar level. He was discharged from hospital and released into home care, as a result of which he called off his hunger strike. However, the union has confirmed that the fight to gain recognition of Sintratucar by Tenaris-TuboCaribe will continue.

"The effect of the strike has been positive because of the international solidarity we received and the fact that some senators are starting to take up the issue. What we are demanding is that our right to represent workers be reestablished without us being suspended. We will continue our protests until the company commits to work with us or until somebody can provide us with a guarantee that we can represent the workers," said the President of Sintratucar, Walberto Marrugo.

The workers claim that Tenaris TuboCaribe has not negotiated in good faith and has not signed a collective agreement. The company suspended seven trade union leaders for 15 days for having distributed flyers in which they explained the company and union position during the negotiations.  Moreover, Marrugo was also suspended for 42 days for having been part of the group that distributed the flyers.

IndustriALL general secretary, Valter Sanches, has written to Paolo Rocca, chief executive officer of the Techint group (to which Ternium and Tenaris belong), asking him to intervene and find a just solution to end the conflict at the steel plant of Tenaris TuboCaribe in Colombia and Ternium in Guatemala.

The Tenaris Ternium Workers' World Council sent a letter to the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos and unions in Canada, USA, Guatemala, Italy and Mexico also sent letters of solidarity.

"We express our full solidarity with the workers of Sintratucar, especially with its Vice-President Jairo del Río, for the bravery he showed when he went on a hunger strike. We urge Tenaris TuboCaribe to call a halt to its anti-union persecution and to promote a strong and robust dialogue which allows us to defend workers' demands".

Building power to make a difference

Unions in Asia Pacific have achieved great things, like using global framework agreements on the ground to safeguard workers’ rights, and the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

But these achievements must be grounded in our organizing work,

said regional co-chair Michele O’Neil from Australian union CFMEU at the opening.

Having a process in place is good, but it must deliver direct change for the workers on the ground. As a region and as IndustriALL we must come together to put pressure to produce change.

Delegates highlighted major struggles and victories in the region, underlining the importance of swift global solidarity.

Anne Donnellan, from Australian Manufaturing Workers Union, spoke about the 180 days of strike action and 200 days of negotiation at Griffin Coal, which resulted in a win earlier this year.

PT Smelting, owned by Freeport Indonesia and Mitsubishi Materials, produces more than 40 per cent of the world’s copper. In 2017, some 300 workers were laid off and Said Iqbal, president of Indonesian union FSPMI, said that international solidarity helped to fight back.

We need to teach the greedy capital a lesson. We need to take joint action, we can’t do it on our own.

The regional conference adopted a solidarity resolution, supporting the CFMEU members at Kimberly Clarke’s Millicent site in Australia.

In a region where many industries operate within highly complex supply chains, Pakistan’s unsafe mining industry, the issue of working hours in Indonesia, shipbreaking in South Asia – often called the world’s most dangerous job – and the government in the Philippines trying to minimize right to bargain, there are many challenges ahead.

Unions in Malaysia told of a low interest in joining a union, especially among young workers. Unions are calling for an easier registration process to counter the issue, as well as calling for a stop to the exploitation of foreign workers.

IndustriALL moving its regional office to Kuala Lumpur will show employers that global unions are keeping an eye on them,

said Gopal Khrisnan, general secretary of NUTEIAW.

Delegates were asked to show solidarity with workers at Samsung operations in South Korea, who are not free to join a union.

Valter Sanches IndustriALL general secretary reminded the conference about IndustriALL’s Charter of solidarity and said:

One of most IndustriALL’s most important role is to mobilize our members to international solidarity, and that is how we win. And the unions in the countries where the company is headquartered has a special role.

Stronger together

Affiliates in the region are leading the way in developing supply chain strategies to organise workers and hold global companies accountable for violating the rights of workers whose labour contributes to their profits,

said Jenny Holdcroft, IndustriALL assistant General Secretary.

Unity among the unions affiliated to IndustriALL is fundamental for building power. Delegates shared examples of coming together in national councils throughout the region, sometimes despite political differences.

The Japan liaison council told of how improved activities are a result of the national council.

IndustriALL has 20 affiliates in Bangladesh, 16 in the garment sector, which can make for competition between unions. However, the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council has managed to achieve consensus on their demand for a new minimum wage in the country. The unions are now united in demanding 16,000 taka (US$189)/month.

The regional conference was preceded by a women’s conference, raising the issue of how to improve women representation at both IndustriALL and union levels. Discussions about securing spaces for women issues in the respective unions continued during the regional conference.

Unions in the Philippines reported that implementing laws and resolutions that deal with women participation and representation is sometimes a challenge. Add to that needing to change perceptions and make a predominantly male leadership see women as erstwhile partners, equal in rights. 

Affiliates in Singapore pointed out that employers are part of the problem of low women representation; they need to start considering women as a source of power.

IndustriALL unions in Japan have adopted Agenda 2020 to promote work-life balance with numeric targets to achieve.

We need this if we are ever to reach IndustriALL’s 40 per cent target of women representation in the union,

said Mikkiko Yasuhara from JEC-RENGO.

Building union power must imperatively include organizing young workers, who do not always see the greater benefit of being organized. Youth unionists from the region gave the conference a lively presentation on their pressing issues, as well as submitting their demands for IndustriALL’s Congress in 2020.

This regional conference gives us a platform to discuss and exchange information on our priorities from various points,

said Akira Takakura, regional co-chair.

We need to continue to organize to strengthen the organization, and we need to develop activities in our unions and industries.

Trade and industrial policy

With neoliberal capitalism on the rise, there is a need to ensure that global trade and investment benefit workers and society. To that end IndustriALL is to campaign against trade and investment agreements that do not meet minimum standards, and instead develop an alternative, transparent trade policy.

A draft policy paper on issues important for global unions is in the making and will be presented to the Executive Committee in November this year.

Asia-Pacific is the region where IndustriALL has the highest number of affiliates, representing the highest number of workers, but it is also where we see some of the most excesses in terms of company greed and violations of workers’ rights.

This regional conference has really shown the combined strength of vibrant unions  committed to make a change,

concluded Valter Sanches.

Los Mineros wins right to represent workers at Teksid Mexico after 4-year struggle

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, Los Mineros, defeated the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) led by the corrupt Tereso Medina, by 238 votes to 145, thereby winning the exclusive right to negotiate a CBA with Teksid Hierro based in Monclova in the state of Coahuila.

This is one of the most important victories achieved by Los Mineros because they won in spite of the fact that the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board tried to set a trap for the union which would have caused its election bid to fail. The Board announced that the elections would take place with just 24 hours' notice, thinking that this would lead to the defeat of Los Mineros just before the presidential elections were due to take place.

Moreover, the president of the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board allowed in a list of members entitled to vote which had been altered. Instead of 703 workers from the Mineros union, the Board agreed to another list submitted by the company and CTM that contained the names of 401 trusted employees and contractors.

Workers at the Italian-owned company, which is part of the Fiat Chrysler Group, have been asking for los Mineros to represent them since 2014. Over the last four years, there have been many attacks perpetrated by thugs from the CTM against workers just because they expressed their preference for los Mineros. At the same time, it appears that many of the 100 workers who were laid off during this period lost their jobs because they organized strikes protesting the lack of democratic representation by CTM, which has a protection contract.

"Things were not easy. We were subjected to four years of repression, threats and suffering. Many workers were fired without just cause.  Workers displayed bravery and dignity as they tried to assert their rights and continued the struggle that began in 2014 when they demanded to be allowed to join Los Mineros,”

said Mineros shop steward, Manuel Alfonso Prince, at a press conference.

Prince also added that now his union had won the representative elections, it would try to have the almost 100 workers who were fired for defending their rights reinstated, and that they would elect the new leadership of the local committee.

"We congratulate the workers at Teksid for their tenacity and their capacity to fight and stand firm. This victory in the auto parts industry represents new hope for thousands of other workers in the state of Coahuila who have demanded their right to be represented by the union headed by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia.  IndustriALL will continue to support the just struggle of Mexican workers for their rights,"

said Kemal Özkan, assistant general secretary of IndustriALL.

Shell’s abuse of workers exposed at London green-washing festival

Shell’s Make The Future Live runs from 5 to 8 July at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and and is expected to attract up to 40,000 people. It aims to convince millennial audiences that Shell cares about their future. 

And yet, thanks to Shell’s unfair employment policies, near 200,000 contract workers at Shell have got no future –  working in temporary, insecure jobs. 

Contract workers outnumber permanent workers more than two to one at Shell, and as the company freely admits, do the most dangerous jobs. In Nigeria, unions say subcontractors working for Shell “pay whatever they like and sack at will.”

Shell outsourcing is putting workers and the public at risk. Last year, Shell was held responsible after 217 people died when a contracted tanker carrying fuel for Shell in Pakistan crashed and then exploded. 

Shell has poured millions into its #makethefuture campaign, recruiting popstars such as Pixie Lott and Jennifer Hudson to promote its token green energy policies. However, contract workers at Shell struggle on lower wages and face an uncertain future.

IndustriALL has launched an online petition on LabourStart demanding that Shell: 

Shell is refusing to negotiate with IndustriALL as a representative of workers at Shell worldwide, to ensure better rights for contract workers at its operations across the globe. 

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

“Shell is a global company, with global operations and a global human resources department, and yet it refuses to deal with IndustriALL on a global level. This is a concerted attempt to reduce workers’ power and prevent the majority of its workforce having an influence over their own working terms and conditions. As Shell holds its Make The Future festival, we urge the company to make a secure future for hundreds of thousands of workers it depends on.”  

Union organizing still a priority in Georgia

TUMMCIWG's actions have been supported through a four-year project by IndustriALL and its Norwegian affiliate IndustriEnergi. Thanks to promising results, the project will be extended.

During an evaluation seminar in Tbilisi on 25-26 June, TUMMCIWG’s national and local leaders shared the results achieved. The union was the first in the CIS sub-region to actively use the Institute of mediators and to seek the assistance of the government in labour disputes with employer.
 
Despite a constant pressure from employers at many enterprises, and a declining number of members, the union has managed to strengthen its influence. After more than a year of negotiations, a collective agreement for the Ksani glass container factory in Georgia was signed.

The union repeatedly tried to increase the number of members at the Zestafoni Ferroalloy Plant to 450, but faced waves of attacks at every attempt. Instead, the TUMMCIWG decided to keep the existing 350 members and to direct efforts where progress can be made. Having overcome serious disagreements, the union signed a collective agreement with a comprehensive benefits package. Union representatives were included in all commissions, including the Commission on bonus distribution.
 
Tamaz Dolaberidze, TUMMCIWG president, states:

Since 2016 we have signed three collective agreements, and we will be very happy if our partnership continues. I would like to thank IndustriEnergi and IndustriALL Global Union. We are not alone but part of a global movement, it gives us a great impetus to move forward.

Frode Alfheim, president of IndustriEnergi and co-chair of IndustriALL’s energy section, announced the continuation of their support for the organizing project.
 
In the new phase of the project, not only members of the TUMMCIWG, but also potential members, activists and leaders of from other unions will be invited to discuss possible cooperation and joint actions.
 
Participants discussed the possibility of joint workshops with trade union activists and employer representatives on the development of social dialogue, with the aim of removing tension and to build constructive relations. This could also change the image of the union, showing that unions are responsible social partners and demanding the same from the employer.

TUMMCIWG will focus on more effective representation of workers at the workplace in order to motivate them to join the union.
 
Kemal Ozkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, says:

Our Georgian sisters and brothers have a progressive union agenda by putting membership growth as their number one priority. IndustriALL shares that priority and we will continue to provide support.

We also thank IndustriEnergi for their support. We hope that the new strategy will bring new victories.

Union tells Glencore to stop stooping low on the right to strike in South Africa

This is what Glencore tried to do to break a month-long strike at its Tweefontein and Goedgevonden coal operations in Mpumalanga, South Africa, when it went to the Labour Court for an interdict to stop the collective job action. However, on 29 June the court dismissed Glencore’s application to stop the strike, saying it is not urgent.

Workers belonging to IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), have been on strike since 4 June demanding the right to paid leave during the Christmas break in December. The union argues that as December is a normal working month, workers should be entitled to paid leave.

Says NUMSA general secretary Irvin Jim:

Glencore is a brutal employer with a laundry list of infringements against workers. Every worker has the right to protest and to withdraw their labour to secure better wages and improved working conditions. We reject Glencore’s attempts to undermine the right to strike and will continue to put pressure on them to stop denying workers the right to go home during the Christmas holidays.

Further, Jim also condemns Glencore’s “notorious” violation of workers’ rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and globally.

In April, NUMSA marched to the head office of Glencore in Johannesburg where it submitted a petition to the company to respect workers’ rights and to stop union bashing. The union is also demanding that Glencore adopts centralized bargaining. The company continues to reject centralized bargaining, which benefits workers in that it standardizes wages across a company’s operations and allows for collective bargaining agreements to be signed that cover all workers.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Ozkan states:

We condemn the use of legal action as an instrument to intimidate workers. Glencore must respect workers’ right to strike and must engage in good-faith dialogue with the workers over their reasonable demands for paid leave in December and for centralized bargaining. Any attempts by Glencore to undermine workers’ rights and conditions of service will be resisted.

EDF

The responsibilities include:

More generally, this agreement promotes human rights, diversity, health and safety, skills development and social protection for the company’s employees and subcontractors wherever the Group is based as well as the principle of a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies for all.

This new Group agreement replaces a previous agreement on social and environmental responsibility signed by EDF in 2005 and renewed in 2009. The purpose of this new text is to incorporate new social requirements for employees and support EDF’s international development in keeping with the company’s public service values. It complements the 6 corporate responsibility targets set by EDF in favour of the energy transition and the Group’s Cap 2030 strategy. Implementation of the agreement will be overseen by an international supervisory committee.

Lesotho unions demand new minimum wages now

Although negotiations are taking place within the Wages Advisory Board where unions, government and employers are represented, an agreement has not yet been found.

Workers are demanding a 15 per cent increase while employers are offering only seven per cent.

For example, the minimum wages for the garment and textile sector are currently set at Lesotho Loti 1238 per month (US$89) which is not enough for workers to look after their families and pay for basics like rent, food and transport.

Unions want the minimum wage in this sector to be US$144 and are also demanding that the minimums in all sectors be revised upwards towards a living wage of over US$200.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho (IDUL), and seven other unions organizing in sectors including the garment and textile, manufacturing and mining took to the streets in Maseru and Maputsoe to protest the delays and the low wages.

Petitions were delivered to the prime minister, the ministry of labour and employment, and to parliament. Unions are also demanding that the minister of labour and employment, Keketso Rantso, be removed from her position for not announcing the minimum wages on time. They say because of the delay, the minister has neglected the welfare of workers and their families.
 
Through the union building project, IDUL is also campaigning for full pay while on maternity leave for women workers from the garment and textile sector. The union also wants better health and safety at workplaces, improved job security and respect for workers’ rights.
 
With over 56 per cent of the population living in poverty, and youth unemployment at 47 per cent, better wages can improve workers lives. The opening of new factories can also create jobs and improve living conditions in the country.
 
Says Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa:

Workers end up living in poverty because of low subsistence wages. It is therefore important for minimum wages to be increased. Therefore, we are urging the government of Lesotho to urgently announce minimum living wages.