Henkel uses scabs in US to break workers’ strike

The strike at Henkel Aerospace in Pittsburg producing adhesives for Boeing and other airline companies, started in response to the deadlocked negotiations with management over a new agreement, which would improve safety procedures at the Henkel facility.

However, the company’s response to the conflict has been retaliation and discrimination against union leaders and members at the plant. In an effort to destroy the union, Henkel employed scab workers through a union replacement/strike breaking company Strom Engineering. Reportedly Henkel is now spending millions of dollars on these temporary replacement workers.

Henkel is a well unionized company throughout Europe. However the state of affairs in the USA is far from was is described in Henkel’s sustainability report for 2016, where the company says that “An in-depth exchange of views and consultations with the management take place both at the operational level, for example, with the local works councils, and across companies with the trade union.” In the same report the company also claims to “promote the health and vitality of our employees to help create an agile and high-performance organization.”

In 2013, 26-year-old David Eleidjian, a temporary worker died after being pulled and crushed to death while working a chemical mixing machine. In result of the subsequent investigation made by the US California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) numerous violations were found, and the company was fined for US$200,000.

Since then workers have managed to negotiate their first contract with the company. The contract however failed to address numerous safety issues continuing to be ignored and contested by Henkel.

Over the past 6 months, several severe steam burns have occurred, due to the lack of scheduled maintenance recommended by the current safety committees. One injury caused third degree burns over 30 per cent of an IAM member.

The Machinists Union have submitted a number of Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) claims and Cal/OSHA has cited and penalized the company. According to IAM, the current ULP’s filings regard violation of grievance timelines, mandatory five 12-hour day work schedule and training of nonunion employees to perform IAM work while the union was still in negotiations. The union is also preparing new ULP claims.

IndustriALL German affiliate IG BCE was the first one to express their solidarity and support to Henkel workers. Michael Mersmann, director for globalization and European policy at IG BCE comments,

“The use of scabs is unacceptable and we express our solidarity with the Machinists. IG BCE, together with the German works council, have engaged into discussions with management, but an appropriate solution is yet to be found. We hope and support, that both sides get back to the negotiation table and find a proper solution!”

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches addressed a solidarity letter to the Machinists,

“IndustriALL Global Union fully supports the strike, which is the result of the intransigent stance of Henkel Aerospace. Your 80 proud production workers have every right to demand a safe and healthy working environment, and a constructive social dialogue with the company. No company should be able to deny responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their workers, and refuse to take responsibility for a tragic death on their premises.” 

“We demand that Henkel Aerospace negotiate a fair contract with the union to address basic urgent safety and health issues, effective grievance procedures, as well as the implementation of the negotiated system of advancement and training. Furthermore, Henkel Aerospace should redress any unfair labor practices, and act in full accordance with the decisions of Cal/OSHA.” 

Indian unions resolve to fight precarious work and strengthen union power

The IndustriALL India Council meeting on 26 November and the unity meeting of Indian affiliates the following day, witnessed frank discussions on challenges faced by Indian trade union movement and ongoing initiatives of Indian affiliates.

Jenny Holdcroft, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL said:

In moving forward, IndustriALL aims to intensify its efforts to support workers in the supply chains across the manufacturing sector. IndustriALL will provide strategic support to its affiliates through global framework agreements, fight to stop precarious work, fight for a living wage, capacity building on sustainable industrial policy, industry 4.0 and just transition.

Strengthening women’s participation and their rights, and the campaign to stop violence against women will be integral part of IndustriALL’s work in future.

G. Sanjeeva Reddy, President of INTUC and IndustriALL Executive Committee member said:

The Indian trade union movement is facing extraordinary attacks from the pro-corporate and anti-worker policies of the Indian government. We have launched countrywide mobilizations of workers to fight these unjust policies. It is paramount that the international trade union movement extends concrete solidarity to millions of working people in India.

R Kuchelan, President of WPTUC, said:

India is facing many challenges, including erosion of democratic norms and secular values, unprecedented attacks on union rights, and a proliferation of precarious work and unemployment. Given the challenges, the trade union movement ought to build unity to resist anti-workers policies of the government. We need to strategically work to build union power across the manufacturing sectors.

The meeting discussed the achievements, hurdles and the way forward in union organizing in IndustriALL sectors, including steel, shipbreaking, textile, garment, leather and shoes sector, the fight against precarious work in India, strengthening women participation and to stop violence.

Unions call for good and safe jobs at Unilever

Unilever is looking to sell the spreads business, with the buyer expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

The sale will directly impact more than 1,000 employees in Europe, and the union is criticising the fact that they have not been involved in the process.

The European Works Council says in a statement that they expect the sales discussion to include the maintaining of jobs and working conditions, including company pensions.

“It should not purely hinge on which of the interested parties is prepared to pay the highest price. A buyer should have a business plan based on the sustainable growth of brands and it should also be in a position to offer employees good prospects.”

As the food supply chain is under scrutiny, times are increasingly tough for the Unilever workforce. Sites around Europe are audited and some have been sold, and centralizing services in the last year has added to the burden. Together with strict saving plans, supply bottlenecks have emerged and the EWC has issued several warnings about possible consequences.

Now trade unions and the EWC call on Unilever to re-evaluate decisions made in recent months:

“Unilever’s primary objective must be to provide people with good products, protect the environment and take on board the needs of employees throughout the whole value chain whilst keeping good and safe jobs in Europe.”

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL Global Union assistant general secretary, says:

"Unilever claims to be a champion of sustainability, incorporating human and labour rights along with economic development and environmental protection in the concept.

"But the social dimension is not secondary to the economic dimension – sustainability cannot be achieved without sustainable jobs.”

Mission accomplished! Canadian Steelworkers stop Glencore attack after nine month strike

The workers went on strike at the CEZinc refinery in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, on 12 February, after the company tried to cut costs by raiding their pension scheme.

Members of USW Local 6486 voted 82 per cent in favour of accepting the new collective agreement, which protects their pension rights. They will return to work on 3 December.

USW representative Luc Julien said:

“They return with heads held high. They fought proudly for nine months, to defend conditions for themselves, but also for future generations. The trade union movement must defend decent conditions for future generations, and that is what these strikers have done.”

The campaign was supported by the local community, and by the international trade union movement. IndustriALL took global action in support of the strike at the Glencore AGM in Switzerland in May, and at the Glencore global network meeting in September. IndustriALL also lobbied Glencore top management directly on a number of occasions. Australian affiliate the CFMEU – which is involved in a bitter dispute with Glencore at the Oaky North mine – also extended the hand of friendship and solidarity.

At its meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 9 November, the IndustriALL executive committee endorsed a global campaign at Glencore. The campaign seeks to establish dialogue with the company at a global level to improve conditions for workers everywhere, and will continue until the company changes its approach to unions.

The campaign will take global action on International Human Rights Day,10 December, to highlight the company’s violations of workers’ rights around the world.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“This is a very encouraging way to begin our campaign against Glencore. We hope it sets a precedent for more victories to come.

“The solidarity, sacrifice and commitment of the Métallos and the brave strikers brought this victory after nine difficult months. We salute them, and we take this fight forward, so that Glencore workers everywhere can win decent conditions.”

Iraq approves ratification of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association

A parliamentary source said the House of Representatives voted on 20 November in favour of a draft law that allows the Republic of Iraq to join the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention No. 87 of 1948.

IndustriALL Global Union was one of the first to demand that Iraq ratifies ILO Convention 87, which upholds trade union freedoms, during a mission in 2013 to the Iraqi Council of Representatives.

"The ratification of this Convention is a historic achievement for the trade union movement in Iraq, which it has long fought for. It will pave the way towards the legislation of the law on trade union rights and freedoms, which will require a serious effort by Iraqi unions for its enactment,” said Hashmeya Alsaadawe, President of the General Union of Electricity Workers and Technicians, and a member of IndustriALL’s Executive Committee.

“Despite the unstable situation in Iraq, the struggle of the trade union movement, the efforts of the good people of Iraq, and the support and solidarity of international organizations and federations, including IndustriALL Global Union, have brought about this success,” she added.

Trade unions hope that in approving ratification of the Convention, the House of Representatives will reject a draft trade union law, which has been strongly criticized by trade unions, and falls short of ILO standards.

IndustriALL and its Iraqi affiliates are calling on the parliament to consider a draft proposal called Trade Union Freedoms instead, which has been submitted by Iraqi unions to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

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

“We congratulate Iraqi trade unions in their significant victory which will go a long way to protecting workers’ rights to organize in Iraq. The Iraqi government must now do its upmost to ensure that the freedoms enshrined in Convention 87 are respected, particularly with regards for the new law for trade unions.”  

Mexican workers’ deaths sharpen labour debate in NAFTA

The fifth round of negotiations between the United States, Mexico and Canada on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in Mexico City ended on 21 November without an agreement on the most controversial issues.

Unresolved issues include calls for Mexico to improve its labour standards so that the three countries can negotiate on a level playing field.

Discussion of this issue became more contentious after news of the killing of two Mexican employees of the Canadian company Torax Gold Resources at the Media Luna mine. IndustriALL Canadian affiliate UNIFOR,  IndustriALL Canadian and Northamerican affiliate United Steelworkers (USW, representing both US and Canadian workers), and IndustriALL Mexican affiliate Los Mineros have vigorously called on the Mexican government to halt the constant attacks on freedom of association.

Jerry Dias, UNIFOR president and advisor at the NAFTA talks, called on the Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, to improve working conditions and prevent violations of the freedom of association if he wants to continue with the free trade agreement:

I challenge Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to show courage and do the right thing by accepting the proposed NAFTA labour reforms to guarantee the right to free association and free collective bargaining. UNIFOR will never support NAFTA without labour reform in Mexico.

The trade union leader also referred to the recent increase in the minimum wage in Mexico to 88 Mexican pesos per day (US$6), which is well below union demands and leaves Mexican workers below the poverty line.

This does nothing to achieve balanced trading relations. There is no way that United States and Canadian workers can compete with their counterparts if they are paid just a few cents per hour.

The USW has asked the Canadian government to demand improved labour standards during NAFTA, and urged it to ask Mexican authorities and the company to recognize the basic rights of Mexican workers, and avoid further violence:

"We are once again urging the Canadian government to intervene with Mexican authorities and the company to recognize the basic rights of Mexican workers and prevent further violence. The Mexican government and this Canadian company must ensure this conflict is resolved without further bloodshed."

Finally, the president of Los Mineros, Napoléon Gómez Urrutia, condemned the cowardly attack on workers at the Media Luna mine, demanding that perpetrators be prosecuted and that the government cancel the foreign company’s mining concession:

The governments of Canada and Mexico must act quickly to ensure justice in this dispute, at a time when the North American Free Trade Agreement is being renegotiated.

Banks and shipowners join campaign for the safe recycling of ships

Shipbreaking is the most dangerous job in the world. A year ago, at the Gadani shipyard in Pakistan, 28 workers died when the ship they were breaking down on the beach exploded. IndustriALL has long campaigned for the safe recycling of ships, and held a series of meetings with industry stakeholders to develop a collective response to improving the industry.

In a meeting facilitated by the Dutch union FNV, on 30 October a union delegation including representatives of shipbreaking unions in India and Pakistan met representatives from the Dutch banks ABN AMRO, ING and NIBC Direct NL.

The Dutch banks finance the building of new ships, and – along with Norwegian bank DNB and Norwegian export financier Eksport Kreditt – are concerned about the environmental and human impact of the shipbreaking industry.

Rikjan van Zalingen, sustainability issue manager at ING and Robin Willing, head of sustainability, jointly presented the banks’ Responsible Ship Recycling Standards, which aim to put conditions on loans for building or refinancing ships on a best efforts basis. The conditions would ensure that provision is made for the safe recycling of ships at the end of their lifecycle.

One suggestion, made by Vidyadhar Vasudeo Rane of the Steel, Metal & Engineering Workers’ Federation of India, is that a levy should be placed on newly built ships to pay for the safe recycling of the ship at the end of its life.

In the future, the banks might want owners to commit to break ships in yards which have been whitelisted by the EU ship recycling regulations, and contain an inventory of hazardous materials. The unions feel that the EU regulations are a high standard, but currently no yards in Bangladesh, Pakistan or India have been white listed, so this standard would cost jobs.

130,000 workers break ships on the beaches of South Asia, with millions of workers employed downstream. Ship breaking is a major source of steel in South Asia. The work is dangerous, and environmentally hazardous, but people need the jobs.

Unions believe that the Hong Kong Convention – the International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships – developed by the UN shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, is the most effective and universal mechanism for improving conditions. The Hong Kong Convention provides a level playing field so that dangerous yards can't undercut safe ones.

On 2 November, the union delegation met with the Royal Dutch Shipowners’ Association (KVNR) at their headquarters in Rotterdam, to discuss the most effective way to introduce circular economy thinking to the lifecycle of ships. The KVNR is very concerned about the human rights and environmental issues in shipbreaking.

Niels van de Minkelis of the KVNR proposed making a joint approach with the unions, urging the Dutch government to ratify the convention. The Hong Kong Convention will come into force when it is ratified by 15 countries, representing 40 per cent of gross tonnage and 3 per cent of recycling facilities. Currently it has been ratified by 6 countries, with Turkey expected to ratify soon, representing 21 per cent of tonnage.

That evening, IndustriALL and the FNV held a public meeting in Rotterdam to talk about shipbreaking. FNV Metaal member and former shipbuilder Joop van Oord spoke about his work in providing safety training to shipbreaking workers in South Asia.

“I built some of these ships,” he said. “So I know how to take them apart safely.”

IndustriALL director for shipbuilding and shipbreaking, Kan Matsuzaki, said:

“There are many stakeholders who are concerned about the terrible conditions on the beaches of South Asia. The best way to make shipbreaking safe is to bring everyone together and develop a joint approach.

“Both the banks and the shipowners’ association have made impressive commitments to improving the industry. We believe that ratifying and implementing the Hong Kong Convention is the most realistic and comprehensive way to safely recycle ships as a first step forward.”

Violence against women at work – a trade union issue

Violence against women at work is a core trade union issue affecting workers’ rights, safety, health and dignity. Gender-based violence is also one of the main obstacles to equality between men and women.

IndustriALL recently endorsed a new campaign: Not in my union, not in my workplace, encouraging all IndustriALL affiliated trade unions to take the pledge and commit to taking action to stop violence against women.

Violence against women remains one of the most tolerated violations of human rights and trade unions have a responsibility to defend and promote women’s rights.

IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary, Jenny Holdcroft, said:

“IndustriALL is committed to eradicating violence against women, with support from IndustriALL trade unions around the world. We urge all our trade unions to take the pledge and call for an end to violence in unions and at work.”

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Saint-Gobain union network advances and promotes global dialogue with management

The multi-sector Saint-Gobain Group employs approximately 170,000 direct employees all over the world. In addition, the company claims to provide over 550,000 jobs globally throughout its value chain in purchasing, contracting and so on. Working conditions are generally better for the direct employees of the group, but social responsibility goes beyond that. The global union network did a first assessment regarding precarious work in Saint-Gobain. The participating unions confirmed that they would continue working on this issue in the next years.

During the meeting, the union delegates also had the opportunity to debate with Mr Regis Blugeon, head of social dialogue at Saint-Gobain over chances to develop the social dialogue with the group at a global level.

In the course of their discussion with the management representative, trade unions raised open labour issues in several countries, particularly Turkey, where IndustriALL affiliate Kristal-IS has struggled for recognition for years while local management has tried to delay the process through legal loopholes. On behalf of their unions the participants requested the company to help solve these issues. In some cases, Mr Blugeon signalled the company’s readiness to do this.

Saint-Gobain is a company going through the a constant process of transformation. The group’s focus on digitization and Industry 4.0 represents challenges for workers worldwide, and cooperation with trade unions is crucial in order to tackle them.

Mr Blugeon confirmed that although Saint-Gobain is present globally, they prefer to act at their operations in accordance with local realities. The company maintains strong social dialogue at the European level, adhering to its French identity and the European traditions of social dialogue and employees’ involvement. The participants noted as a positive the fact that a corporate representative attended the meeting and entered into a dialogue with the unions outside Europe.

The network took several important decisions:

Dominique Bousquenaud from IndustriALL affiliate Fédération Chimie Energie CFDT will be the network coordinator for the next period. The existing steering committee, including other affiliates present in the sector, will govern the network in the future.

Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL director for materials industries, added:

“The network has proven it is ready to enter into a mature social dialogue with Saint-Gobain. In its turn, the company has shown its readiness to also discuss with the non-European trade unions. The challenges of the digital revolution in a company like Saint-Gobain demands the involvement of trade unions on a global level. If Saint-Gobain wants to stay one of the global top 100 employers, we need strong social dialogue that also involves workers across their entire value chain.“

Death, destruction and destitution in Pakistan’s coal mines

As death, destruction and destitution stalk mineworkers in Pakistan’s coalfields, IndustriALL Global Union launches a global campaign to stop the killing and call for the ratification of ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines by the Pakistani government.

With some of the largest coal reserves in the world, Pakistan’s economy is driven by the “black gold” at a great human cost to those that produce the nation’s energy needs.

On the 21-22 November, the International Labour Organization convened a national tripartite consultation on Occupational Safety and Health in the Mining Sector, the first of its kind in Pakistan. The meeting heard how the industry is possibly one of the most unregulated in the world. A fragmented ownership structure is characteristic of the industry, with both public and private ownership, many individuals and illegally owned mines.

Against a backdrop of a roll call of dead coalminers compiled by IndustriALL, delegates recounted how the government continues to fail mineworkers through sheer negligence and systemic governance failure. The working conditions in poorly developed coalmines are deplorable and made worse by the use of outdated mining procedures characterised by inefficient manual and semi-mechanised mining methods that expose workers to the risk of both fatal and non-fatal accidents, and serious occupational respiratory diseases.

The inefficiency and failure of the government to implement mining legislation in Pakistan is clear, and has disastrous consequences. Most worrying and of serious concern is the overburdened mining inspectorate system, which is the legislative custodian of coal mineworkers’ lives. The laws and regulations are the competency of the federal government, while its implementation lies with the provinces.

This arrangement opens mineworkers to an inconsistent and uneven application of the law in different provinces, with almost no consequences in the case of violation, because the mining inspectorate is incapacitated. Reports by the mining inspectorate are ignored, with no consequences. No register of the mineworkers who go underground and come back up is kept. No national data base of mineworkers is kept either.

The wholesale and unregulated use of contracting, subcontracting of contracting, low wages, lack of safety and security, and meagre compensation for families of mineworkers who die in the mines are additional contributory factors behind the carnage.

“The government must place the lives of mineworkers above profit. We call upon the government to take immediate steps to improve safety in Pakistan’s mines by enforcing the implementation of the country’s safety laws and regulations,” said Glen Mpufane, director of mining at IndustriALL.

Sultan Mohammad Khan, secretary general of the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation urged the government of Pakistan to, “urgently commit to the ratification and implementation of ILO Convention 176 and to ban or regulate the wholesale and unregulated use of contractors and subcontracting”.

Black Mountain – coal miners in Pakistan

A film about conditions in Pakistan's coal mines