Another worker killed at LafargeHolcim operation in India

A contract worker lost his life in an accident on 27 January 2018 in the Chandrapur district, at the Maratha Cement Works plant of Ambuja Cement Ltd, owned by the cement giant LafargeHolcim. The company is yet to release the fatality figures for 2017, but in 2016, 86 workers were killed at LafargeHolcim operations worldwide.

On the morning of 27 January, an apparent electrical problem in the wagon loading machine at Ambuja’s Maratha Cement Works plant resulted in a fatal accident claiming the life of contract worker Arun Singh, aged 32, married with two children aged eight and ten years old.

Tragically, the technical problem in the machine was reported a few days before the accident and after some repairs on 25 January, reported as cleared by the company. Workers at the packing plant were directed to resume working with the machine. However, on the morning of 27 January, a massive vibration erupted in the machine, caused by electrical malfunction, leading to the fatal accident in which Mr Singh was crushed between the machine and the wagon.

Immediately after the accident, agitated workers held a protest at the factory gate demanding that management punish those responsible and provide appropriate compensation to Mr Singh’s family.

Workers are subject to bullying, threats and intimidation at the plant. One of the workers reports that “workers are forced to work in unsafe working conditions and are putting their lives in danger. When workers die, a few hundred thousand rupees are provided as compensation and we are asked to keep quiet with the money we receive. Workers’ families face a terrible situation. Will any money compensate us for our loss? Tomorrow we all will face a similar situation.”

Vijay Thakre, representative of the workers’ union Maratha Cement Works Kamgar Sanghatana, an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union through the Indian National Cement Workers' Federation said:

“We are deeply saddened by this accident. It reflects the failure of safety policies and negligence at the Ambuja Cement Ltd. In a way the company’s attempts to reduce the workforce is leading to more workload on the existing workers across the departments and the company has to reconsider its policy and follow strict safety norms.”

Valter Sanches, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union said:

“We are pained to see that negligence of safety procedures at Ambuja cement plants continues to claim workers’ lives. In a recent communication to us global management referred to health and safety in their operations, as “a matter of the highest priority for the company”. However, earlier, in September 2017, two workers were killed in another horrific accident at a LafargeHolcim plant in Chhattisgarh. The company should take safety issues seriously and work in coordination with workers, including contract workers to improve the safety practices in its plants.

“Earlier we approached and agreed with LafargeHolcim management to work on a global and local level within a negotiated Global Framework Agreement, an integral part of which would address health and safety issues. However, at the very last moment LafargeHolcim broke their promise to enter into a Global Framework Agreement with IndustriALL Global Union and Building and Wood Workers’ International, which we interpret as a symptom of an attitude of unwillingness to work together to solve safety issues.”

200 days: Glencore lockout continues at Oaky North in Australia

In what is believed to be the longest lockout in Australian industrial history, members of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Electrical Union (CFMEU) entered day 200 of their lockout today.

The six and a half month lockout continues after workers rejected the company’s Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) by 164 votes to 11 on 24 January. The EBA, which was mediated by government arbitrator Fair Work Australia, is the third offer from the company that the workers have rejected.

Workers at Oaky North rejected the EBA because Glencore is increasing the use of casual workers and undermining union representation. The union believes that Glencore plans to replace the workers with contractors and then wind down and shut the mine, reducing their liability for redundancy payments.

“The very clear message from our rank and file members is that this agreement favours the company over the worker,” CFMEU Mining and Energy Queensland division president Stephen Smyth said.
“For our members, this has never been about money. At the beginning of this dispute, they proposed a continuation of their previous agreement without any wage increases – which was rejected by Glencore.
“This has always been about drawing a line in the sand on hard fought for conditions – conditions that were traded through previous enterprise agreements.
“It is disappointing that this bitter and protracted dispute will continue.”

Glencore is using contractors to maintain production, while the workers receive a solidarity wage from their union. Many other union branches have donated money to support the locked-out workers. Workers have said they are prepared to spend another six months on the picket line.

The workers were locked out on the same day that the Paradise Papers were released, revealing that Glencore had paid almost no tax or royalties in Australia for a number of years.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:
“The workers at Oaky North have showed tremendous courage and resilience by standing firm against Glencore’s bullying for 200 days. They will not back down. IndustriALL will continue to support them, and continue to campaign until Glencore treats its workforce with respect.”

Algeria: Global unions condemn detention of 1,000 protestors

On 20 January, Algerian police forcefully detained at least 1,000 people during action to stop a peaceful rally organized by IndustriALL Global Union’s oil and gas trade union affiliate, SNATEGS, in the capital, Algiers.

The detainees were taken by bus to remote areas and denied food and water from 11 in the morning until nine in the evening. Security forces confiscated their phones and deleted photos of the rally, as well as evidence of police oppression that took place. According to SNATEGS, some women protestors were sexually harassed and other trade union members were physically assaulted.

Global unions, IndustriALL, IUF, PSI and the ITUC have written to the Algerian labour minister, Mr Mourad Zemali, to condemn the treatment of the protestors, who were a mix of trade unionists, civil society and injured army veterans.

About 10,000 police officers took part in an operation to prevent the SNATEGS rally on 20 January, organized to demand the government stops privatization of national companies; upholds freedom of association and reinstates dismissed workers and union leaders at state-owned energy company Sonelgaz.

Security forces blocked all the entrances to the capital with barriers and strictly monitored people entering the city. Many buses carrying protestors were turned back. According to SNATEGS, 30,000 people attempted to take part in the protest but only six to seven hundred managed to reach the rally held in front of the central post office in Algiers.

“These actions by the police constitute gross violations of the right to freedom of assembly and the civil rights of Algerian citizens. We further condemn the escalating repression of trade unions and trade union leaders in Algeria,” said the letter from the leaders of the global unions to the Algerian labour minister.

Since the union was registered in 2013, SNATEGS and its leaders have been subject to increasing oppression and judicial persecution. SNATEGS President, Raouf Mellal, who blew the whistle on wide-scale deliberate overcharging of Sonelgaz customers over a ten-year period, has been convicted to 17 months in prison and fines of 10,000 euros (US$12,300). He is currently not in custody and appealing the charges.

Furthermore, SNATEGS General Secretary, Abdelkader Kawafi, has received notification to attend a trial on 6 February based on charges of “defamation”.

“We deplore this inhumane treatment of peaceful citizens who have every right to carry out a peaceful demonstration without retaliation. We call on the Algerian government to stop attacking trade unions in the country and end the judicial persecution of trade union leaders,” said Valter Sanches, General Secretary of IndustriALL.

However, despite the convictions, the courts have also recognized Raouf Mellal as the legitimate President of SNATEGS, despite attempts by the government and Sonelgaz to remove him and dissolve the union. A court of Guelma also annulled the decision by Sonelgaz to dismiss Raouf Mellal in 2014, based on the Algerian law that protects trade union leaders from arbitrary dismissal.

Sign the LabourStart campaign and demand the Algerian government stops attacking independent energy union SNATEGS.

Turkey: Metal industry strike banned by the Government

The strike was announced as a result of the dispute over the failed sectoral-level negotiations between the three unions representing metal workers, including IndustriALL affiliates Birleşik Metal-İş and Çelik-İş, and the Metal Industry Employers’ Association, MESS.

The strike was banned by government decree, announced in the Official Gazette on 26 January 2018 after being signed by the President, Prime Minister and all cabinet ministers on 24 January. The decree specifies the 179 workplaces where strike action is banned, including sites owned by multinationals such as thyssenkrupp, Bosch, Ford, Mercedes Benz, Renault and Siemens.

On the day the decree banning the strike was issued, the employers’ organization MESS invited the three unions to another session of negotiation before the strike date. However, the decree bans further talks between the union and employers.

Unions declared a dispute when negotiations failed at the beginning of December 2017. A government mediator was appointed, but the dispute could not be resolved. A final offer from MESS was rejected by the three unions on 11-12 January. Wages in the metal industry are low, and conditions are difficult and dangerous. The unions are demanding a significant improvement.

The 2012 Turkish Law on Trade Unions and Collective Labour Agreement, Act 6356, has a provision which rules that “a lawful strike or lock-out that has been called or commenced may be suspended by the Council of Ministers for 60 days with a decree if it is prejudicial to public health or national security.”

The Turkish Government regularly misuses Act 6356, and strikes are often banned by the government, in a violation of ILO Convention 87 on the right to freedom of association. Turkish unions have frequently defied strike bans and taken illegal industrial action. In some cases, they have won significant victories despite the ban.

Birleşik Metal-İş released a statement of defiance, saying:

“We don’t recognize the strike ban! We are on strike on 2^nd of February. Today, as metalworkers, we will give our response to those who ban our strike by using our power stemming from production in workplaces.”

In response, the general secretaries of IndustriALL Global Union and IndustriAll Europe, Valter Sanches and Luc Triangle, wrote to the Turkish government condemning the strike ban, saying:

“During the cabinets of the current ruling party various strikes in different sectors were banned fourteen times. Our memories are still fresh with the previous ban of the metal industry strikes in January 2017.
“As we have already unequivocally criticized this policy many times, we are forced once again to express our strong disapproval of the Government of Turkey’s blatant violation of the fundamental right of workers to strike, which is guaranteed by the Constitution of Turkey as well as international labor conventions, and the jurisprudence of the International Labour Organization.”

The general secretaries also sent a solidarity letter to the Turkish metalworkers through the affiliated trade unions, saying:

“We reiterate our organizations’ commitment to stand firm in solidarity with all of you. You are not alone. Your struggle is our struggle. And we will continue support until the justice in workplaces and society is achieved.”

IndustriALL rejects Mexico's labour reform proposal

The Mexican government and two corporate trade union centres submitted their proposed amendments to the Federal Labour Law (FLL) in December. A new session of Congress will begin on 1 February, when senators will debate the bill.

IndustriALL Global Union General Secretary, Valter Sanches, wrote to senators on 24 January asking them not to vote in favour of the bill because it attacks labour rights.

“These new proposals contain extremely harmful clauses that would facilitate an extreme model of outsourcing and the consequent precarisation of working conditions as well as promote the use of odious protection contracts rather than getting rid of them,” said Sanches.

The bill removes articles and rules that currently regulate outsourcing and also impedes freedom of association and collective bargaining.

“The initiative taken by CTM and CROC senators is an aberration against labour rights… For example, the unfettered freedom of companies to recruit workers under the new outsourcing rules, which promotes the use of protection contracts instead of getting rid of them, encourages the exploitation of workers and will lead to greater inequality in Mexico. The bill also restricts, obstructs and conditions collective bargaining, the right to strike and freedom of association, and has many other negative points,” explained Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, president of IndustriALL affiliate, Los Mineros.

The proposal is in the interests of companies and corporate unions. If the bill is approved, companies will have access to cheap labour and unprotected workers that they will be able to dismiss easily.

Corporate unions will benefit because the bill promotes the use of employer protection contracts and creates a government agency that will be responsible for registering trade unions and collective agreements and that will be controlled by government-sponsored and corporate unions.

In his letters to Mexican senators, Sanches reminded them that democratization of labour relations, implementation of freedom of association and putting an end to the use of protection contracts in Mexico have for years been central demands of democratic Mexican trade unions and the international trade union movement. The demands form the core part of Complaint nº 2694, submitted by IndustriALL and the ITUC to the Committee on Freedom of Association of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Every year, representatives of the Mexican government and the corporate national centres promise the ILO conference that the new labour reform will end the use of protection contracts and guarantee freedom of association and collective bargaining. The bill submitted by the two PRI senators (members of the CTM and the CROC) in December proposes the exact opposite.

Sanches urged members of the Senate to reject the latest proposals to amend the Federal Labour Law and to instead approve secondary legislation that complies with international conventions and constitutional reforms that have already been unanimously approved.

Workers locked out of Canadian aluminium smelter after negotiations break down

The 1,030 unionized workers were locked out at 3am on 11 January, when their collective agreement expired. This came after the employer unilaterally pulled out of contract negotiations and presented the union with a final offer that was rejected by 80 per cent of members.

The company tried to pre-empt negotiations by shutting down potlines – reduction pots used to smelt aluminium – even before a scheduled meeting between the union and management, convened by the government mediator, took place.

ABI is 75 per cent owned by US aluminium giant Alcoa, and 25 per cent Anglo-Australian mining multinational Rio Tinto.

The points of disagreement in the contract negotiation relate to changes to the pension scheme, and recognition of workers’ seniority. The company wants to move from a defined benefit pension scheme to a member-funded scheme where employees would cover the risk.

The Steelworkers have said that although they will defend their members’ right to a fair pension and to seniority, they are willing to resume negotiations.

“We are ready and willing to continue to negotiate in good faith and to maintain the smooth operation of this plant,” said Steelworkers Local 9700 president Clément Masse.

The union believes that the breakdown of negotiations might be a political tactic by the company, either as part of a strategy to demand cheaper electricity rates from the public utility, or as part of an attempt to lower excess stock of aluminium and therefore raise the price.

The order to lock out came from corporate headquarters, with the local manager saying he had “no mandate” to continue negotiations with the union.

"Why provoke a labour dispute that in the end will have a pricetag that exceeds the costs of all union proposals made at the bargaining table? There is something fishy here. Investors should demand answers from Alcoa”, said Masse.

IndustriALL Global Union has sent a letter of solidarity to the union local, and a letter of protest to Alcoa CEO Roy Harvey.

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches wrote:

“IndustriALL Global Union fully supports the legitimate demands of USW Local 9700 concerning, inter alia, seniority on the job and decent retirement benefits. Therefore, we urge Alcoa to intervene at Aluminerie de Bécancour Inc (ABI) to end immediately the lockout, and guarantee the resumption of negotiations with the union, which should result in a fair contract.”

There is a global network of unions at Alcoa. IndustriALL will mobilize the network to build support for the struggle at Bécancour.

Cement union in India fights for contract workers’ wages

Drawn-out wage negotiations by the Chanda Cement Works Employees Union (CCWEU) have resulted in the signing of memorandum of understanding with a contractor at ACC Ltd, a Lafarge Holcim plant in India’s Chandrapur district. The plant employs about 223 permanent workers and about 1,100 contract workers.

In April 2017, the union submitted a charter of demands to the management on behalf of contract workers working in various establishments of the ACC Ltd. A series of tripartite conciliation proceedings were held in the regional labour commissioner office in Nagpur.

After long and intense discussions and the final conciliation proceedings, CCWEU reached a tripartite agreement on 21 January for the period of three years. The contractor of ACC Ltd agreed to pay enhanced wages for the contract workers with effect from 1 April 2017. It was also agreed that arrears arose due to enhancement of wages will be paid before 26 January 2018.

In case of termination of the contractor during the period of the agreement, the management of ACC Ltd agreed to implement provisions of this settlement in respect of incoming contractor.

Terms of the agreement also mandate the contractor to pay 50 per cent of the premium liabilities of eligible contract workers for the government sponsored social security schemes.

Devendra Ghalod, CCEWU general secretary says:

It’s an important responsibility of the permanent workers’ union to extend solidarity to contract workers. Even though it was long drawn process, with the present agreement we have achieved much more than statutory minimum wages prescribed by the government of Maharashtra. We will continue to protect contract workers’ interests.

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL regional secretary, adds:

Solidarity between permanent workers’ unions and precarious workers is very important. It serves to achieve better standards in the industry, and we congratualte our affiliate for successfully raising the demands of contract workers.

CCWEU is affiliated to the IndustriALL affiliate Indian National Cement Workers’ Federation.

Italian metalworkers demand: “No more deaths at work!”

“Basta Morti sul lavoro!” (Enough: no more deaths at work!) was the main message of the trade unions holding a mass rally in Milan, in response to recent preventable industrial fatalities that occurred due to the poor health and safety working conditions.

In a joint release FIOM-CGIL, FIM-CISL and UILM-UIL said,

“Anguish, dismay and anger are the feelings that we live in these hours and this pushes us to raise, even more, the level of commitment against this shame.
“Too often accidents at work are not the consequence of a bad luck but a lack of compliance by companies with procedures and safety rules. Too often these dramas show the inadequacy of the prevention systems and measures necessary to ensure the safety and security of workers. Too often working conditions are being put in second place underestimating the necessity of prevention.
“Too often training and interventions to raise awareness of the topic and securing of workplaces are held back by cost, and no investment is done in people and their future.”

On 17 January three workers, Marco Santamaria (42), Giuseppe Setzu (48), and Arrigo Barbieri (57) died from gas intoxication (nitrogen) inside an underground furnace at the Lamina spa steel plant in Rho, Milan.

Another deadly accident happened with a young 19-year-old worker Luca Lecci, who was caught in a lathe at Elettronica LG, in Rovato, Brescia, and died on 19 January, the very day the unions announced the action against insufficient health and safety conditions.

Valter Sanches, IndustriALL Global Union General Secretary, addressed condolences to all three affiliates and families of the perished workers. Sanches said,

“IndustriALL Global Union fully supports the joint actions FIOM-CGIL, FIM-CISL, and UILM are undertaking to call attention to the unacceptably large number of workplace preventable accidents and fatalities in the metal sector, and demand employers respect fundamental workers’ rights, including compliance with stringent health and safety standards.
“We expect that the root causes of the accidents will be fully investigated, the findings made public, and that remediation measures will be adopted immediately.”

Pakistan: Anger soars over frequent fatalities in mines

The PCMLF, together with the IndustriALL Pakistan Council (IPC), held a protest rally on 15 January 2018 in Quetta.

On 11 January two workers, Abdul Bari and Muhammad Qaim Jan, lost their lives in Dukki coalfield area, Balochistan province. On the very same day, also in the same province at Sharigh coal mine operated through the state-owned Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation, another miner, Naseeb Ullah, was killed and two of his co-workers seriously injured, due to the mine collapse.

Two days later, on 13 January, three coal miners, Nazar, Gul Hassan and Wali Dad lost their lives and three others were injured at Zardalo (Sharigh mining site) due to exposure to methane gas.

Both PCMLF and IPC reiterated their demands that the Pakistani government urgently ratify the ILO Convention 176 on Safety in Mines. They also called the government to implement, as a matter of extreme urgency, the ILO Code of practice on safety and health in underground coalmines, setting guidelines for addressing specific occupational hazards in underground coalmines.

The protest rally culminated with the unanimous adoption of a resolution demanding immediate efforts to recover dead bodies of coal miners from the mines, the launch of a judicial inquiry, and the rigorous punishment of those whose negligence caused the accidents.

IndustriALL Global Union Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“IndustriALL Global Union sends its deepest condolences to the families of the workers who were killed and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.
“Obviously further delays in ratification and implementation of the ILO Convention 176 on Safety in Mines are intolerable.
“It is time for the Pakistani government to take serious action as every day of delay costs human lives, the most precious for every nation.”

Global unions reach US$2.3 million Bangladesh Accord settlement with multinational brand

The brand, which cannot be named under the terms of the settlement, has agreed to pay $2 million towards remediation of more than 150 garment factories in Bangladesh.

The apparel maker will contribute a further US$300,000 into IndustriALL and UNI’s joint Supply Chain Worker Support Fund, established to support the work of the global unions to improve pay and conditions for workers in global supply chains.

The global unions brought the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration arguing that the brand did not require its factories to remedy hazards in a timely manner—leaving thousands of workers in dangerous conditions. The unions also charged that the brand did not ensure that it was financially feasible for its factories to fix ongoing safety issues, as required by the Accord.

At the time of the case’s filing in October 2016, none of the brand’s known supplier factories had completed the required remediations, and all of them had at least one high risk safety hazard which had not been fixed. These included factories lacking fire alarm and sprinkler systems, lacking fire doors, and not separating flammable materials from the factories’ boilers.

The unions’ claim for arbitration spurred several of the brand’s contracted factories towards better progress—one went from a remediation rate of roughly 50 percent in October 2016 to more than 90 percent in October 2017. However, many other factories supplying the brand continue to lag far behind, with remediation rates hovering near 50 percent and serious structural and fire safety issues left unresolved.

All necessary safety improvements need to be completed by the Accord’s expiration in May 2018.

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, said:

“This settlement shows that the Bangladesh Accord works. It is proof that legally-binding mechanisms can hold multinational companies to account. We are glad that the brand in question is now taking seriously its responsibility for the safety of its supplier factories in Bangladesh. Their financial commitment serves as an example for other brands to follow.”

Christy Hoffman, UNI Global Union’s Deputy General Secretary, stated:

“Under the Accord, brands must shoulder some of the financial responsibility for fixing the Bangladeshi factories that manufacture their products, and this agreement shows that we are actively enforcing these Accord commitments.

“The settlement makes real resources available to over 150 factories so they can finally make the necessary repairs that were needed years ago. We will continue pushing to make sure that all brands contribute their fair share to make work safer in Bangladesh.”

In December 2017, IndustriALL and UNI settled another arbitration case with a global brand, also administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. The combined number of factories covered by both settlements is well over 200.

Both settlements were made possible by pro bono representation provided to the two Global Unions by Marney Cheek and her team at Covington & Burling.

The Accord, which covers 2.5 million workers in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry, was established by IndustriALL and UNI in 2013 following the Rana Plaza disaster that killed over 1,100 garment workers and injured more than 2,000. It is the first agreement with a legally-binding mandate requiring fashion brands to require their contractors to eliminate fire, structural, and electrical safety issues.

Accord inspectors have so far carried out inspections on more than 1,800 factories supplying over 200 brands, identifying over 118,500 fire, electrical, and structural hazards.

83 per cent of workplace dangers identified in the Accord’s original round of inspections have been remediated, and 500 Accord factories have completed 90 percent or more of the necessary fixes.

A second Accord was signed in June 2017. It goes into effect when the original agreement expires in May 2018 and extends the Accord’s protections until 31 May 2021, unless a joint monitoring committee (comprised of Accord brand signatories, Accord trade union signatories, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the Government of Bangladesh) unanimously agrees that a set of rigorous conditions for a handover to a national regulatory body have been met prior to then.