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 The working conditions in poorly developed coalmines are deplorable and made worse by the use of outdated mining procedures characterised by inefficient manual and semi-mechanised mining methods that expose workers to the risk of both fatal and non-fatal accidents,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

Seven die at Grasberg mine after Freeport cuts health coverage

Workers went on strike at Freeport’s Grasberg mine in Papua, Indonesia, in May. The company responded by firing 4,220 workers, cutting off their health insurance, access to education and other benefits. As our documentary film shows, workers and their families have faced a desperate struggle to survive after losing their source of income.

Seven Freeport workers have died as a result of having their health cover cut by Freeport. We remember the dead, and fight for the living.

Abrianto Rombe worked as a mechanic in the underground maintenance department, with nine years’ service at Grasberg. He leaves a wife and two children in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Zeth Makisanti was a haul truck operator in the GRS Operation #2 department. He worked at Grasberg for seven years, and came from Sorong, West Papua. He leaves a wife and three children.

Nicolas Kabes was a batchplan operator in the underground construction department. He worked at Grasberg for 17 years. After his wife died last year, his five children are now orphans.

Karolus Kasamol was a haul truck operator in the GRS Operation #4 department. He worked at Grasberg for nine years. He leaves a wife in Timika, West Papua.

Sattu Saung worked as part of the civil crew in the underground construction department. He worked at Grasberg for six years, and lived in Timika, West Papua. He leaves a wife and three children.

Marcel Sualang was an electrician in the GRS electrical shovel and drill maintenance department. He hanged himself in his home town of Manado, North Sulawesi, after being refused hospital treatment for his sick child. His BPJS health insurance card was rejected because it had been blocked by the company.

Irwan Dahlan worked in the department of tram maintenance. He worked at Grasberg for 20 years, and leaves behind a wife and three children in Blitar, East Java.

These seven preventable deaths highlight the suffering at Grasberg. Thousands of people find themselves in an extremely precarious situation. The Grasberg mining crisis has created tension and instability in the region, including armed attacks on the main access road to the mine.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“It has been very sad for us to hear about these deaths, each one a tragedy for the friends and families left behind. IndustriALL Global Union sends its condolences.

“These men died because Freeport cut their access to health care to punish them for striking. This is an appalling violation of the human rights of the workers at Grasberg.

“Freeport is using the lives of its workers to score political points in its conflict with the Indonesian government over control of the mine.”

IndustriALL affiliates celebrate Africa Industrialization Day – 2017

First, an intense trade union discussion, was held on sustainable industrial policy and the implications of Industry 4.0 for the Africa region on 17 November 2017, in Nigeria.

Participants included trade union officials from Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Ghana. It was generally agreed that the impacts of Industry 4.0 could be quite significant given Africa’s role in the global marketplace and position within global value chains. This is true despite many industries in Africa being a long way from directly adopting advanced technologies such as digitization or artificial intelligence. Of course, many other aspects of a sustainable industrial policy such as climate change, sustainable energy, decent work and an end to precarious work, and the need for a Just Transition, were discussed as well.

On November 19, trade unions held a well-attended press conference to emphasize the need for a plan – a sustainable industrial policy – for Africa. This plan must address current realities: energy and sustainable development; global trade trends; climate change, and the need for Just Transition programmes, education and training, and the impacts of so-called Industry 4.0 – the rapid transformation of production with digitalization, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and so on.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Although IndustriALL Global Union can help to provide a framework for thinking about these things, it relies on its national and regional affiliates to drive these ideas forward.

Brian Kohler, IndustriALL’s Director for Health, Safety and Sustainability said,

“The environment, the economy, and society must be considered as an integrated whole. Everything affects everything. But as trade unions, of course we are very focused on the social dimension and in particular on jobs – on decent work. Our aim is to create a healthy economy, with both quantity and quality employment while minimizing the negative environmental impacts and advancing the interests of society as a whole.”

“Governments must intervene to ensure wealth is shared; the free market alone will not assure sustainability. The role and credibility of government must be expanded,” Kohler added.

African Industrialization Day is 20 November, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989 and organized principally by UNIDO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. A very large event was held to highlight the need for industrial development, attended by government Ministers and officials, industry leaders, ambassadors – and of course hundreds of trade unionists who marched to the event singing and holding signs and banners.

Both Issa Aremu, IndustriALL’s Vice President for Africa region and principal organizer of the events to mark Africa Industrialization Day, and Brian Kohler, IndustriALL’s Director for Health, Safety and Sustainability emphasized the need for social dialogue and a seat at the table for workers, when important policy decisions were under consideration that affect thousands, if not millions, of workers.

The message was well received. At the event, the Honourable Dr. Enelamah, Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment gave his commitment to Issa Aremu that trade unions would be a part of future discussions.

Issa Aremu concluded,

“Despite the challenges of Industry 4.0, climate change, trade and finance Africa must, and will, succeed. With its vast natural and human resources, Africa needs and deserves better than to simply be a supplier of commodities for processing elsewhere. With IndustriALL’s support, the message was delivered.”

Oil and gas unions work to improve quality of life in the north of Russia

The conference brought together about 200 representatives of government, oil and gas companies and trade unions.

The president of ROGWU, Aleksander Korchagin, noted that two thirds of the territory of Russia belongs to the north. 90 per cent of natural gas and 75 per cent of oil are produced in this area and create the basis for the Russian economy. However, despite difficult climatic conditions such as long, severe winters and low temperature, in recent years the average salary in the oil and gas regions has become equal to the average salary in Russia, causing an outflow of workers from northern areas of the country.

Sergeyus Glovackas, desk officer for Europe and Central Asia of the ILO Bureau for Workers' Activities, noted that current efforts of trade unions and their position will define the future of work, and that it is essential for workers to sign permanent contracts.

ILO experts Rafael Pils and Harri Taliga cited statistics on wages in different countries and sectors.

The conference participants discussed the structure of the minimum wage and the wage formula for northern regions. Everyone agreed that the minimum wage is a base amount, which should not include any payments, regional bonuses and coefficients. IndustriALL suggested using the term “living wage” instead of “minimum wage”, meaning the minimum income necessary for workers to meet their basic needs.

IndustriALL’s energy director, Diana Junquera Curiel, said:

“Wages have increased in countries with developing economies during the last few years, but wage growth has slowed in countries with developed economies. We see growing inequality in wages in all countries. The rich get richer and the poor poorer. Around the world there is the phenomenon of the beggar worker , who has a full-time job but remains below the poverty line. What can unions do? We should strengthen our solidarity, build international alliances, increase the coverage of membership, negotiate sectoral collective agreements. We are stronger together”.

Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Mikhail Tarasenko told of the difficulties in promoting the just demands of workers in the legislative body. He urged participants to include in the resolution of the conference requirements not only for the authorities, but also for employers through a sectoral tariff agreement.

The participants of the conference noted that there is growing inequality between the regions of Russia where vertically integrated companies operate, and the capital Moscow, where head offices are located and pay all their taxes. If the companies paid taxes to the budget of the regions where they work, this would increase the average salary in the regions and would give an additional argument to demand the salary increases for oil and gas workers in the negotiations with employers.

Vadim Borisov, regional secretary of IndustriALL, emphasized the importance of the issue of wages:

“It is believed that the salary of workers of the oil and gas sector in Russia is high compared with wages of workers in other industries. But as soon as we begin to compare the salary of Russian oil workers with a salary of oil workers, for example, in Norway, the picture changes dramatically. Russian workers receive significantly lower wages, working in the same conditions on the same equipment. Therefore, the international aspect is very important in the discussion on decent wages”.

The conference ended with the adoption of recommendations to national authorities and employers to improve the quality of life of northerners. 

CTM thugs kill two brothers at Mexico's Media Luna mine

On 18 November, CTM thugs attacked the workers who had been on strike for 17 days at the Media Luna mine in Guerrero. Brothers Víctor and Marcelino Sahuanitla Peña were both killed in the attack.

About 600 miners are in dispute because they refused to join the CTM, which they claimed: “Does not defend their rights and constantly betrays, insults, attacks and threatens them and is completely subservient to the company’s interests".

They therefore decided to join Los Mineros (SNTMMSRM), affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union.

“The CTM’s armed thugs are responsible for one of the worst cases of repression of miners and residents. Los Mineros holds Torex Gold Resources, a Canadian company, the Labour and Social Welfare Ministry (STPS) and the local CTM branch responsible and demands criminal charges be laid against them so they do not remain unpunished for this vile and cowardly attack,”

said the union in an official statement.

Los Mineros and the company had been in talks since 13 November, and the Canadian company’s chief executive officer had agreed to resolve the dispute. However, he failed to do this.

Local CTM leaders involved in the attack were identified and later released by the same military patrol implicated in the disappearance of 43 students in Ayotzinapa in 2014.

IndustriALL’s General Secretary, Valter Sanches, has written to the President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, the Interior Ministry and the STPS to vigorously condemn the killing of the miners on strike at Media Luna and demand justice.

“IndustriALL Global Union urges the Mexican government to act immediately to ensure the safety of the striking workers and guarantee total respect for the fundamental rights of workers at the Media Luna mine, including freedom of association, the right to form a union and the right to collective bargaining as set out in International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98,”

IndustriALL calls on the Mexican government to ensure that those responsible for the killings are tried and punished, as well as for a complete stop to the repression of the miners, and an investigation into Torex Gold Resources’ involvement in these violent acts.

Unions take action in support of sustainable national and regional industry

The seminar provided an opportunity for analysis, discussion and planning action on national and regional industry. The unions’ starting point was that industry is an important engine for employment and national economic development and that they need sustainable industrial policies to promote social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Participants presented the economic situation in the region’s countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela, identified similarities in their respective economies and devised a joint agenda. Job losses, the fall in production and violations of workers' rights by the multinationals were common threads to all these discussions.

Participants also learned about initiatives taken by unions in other countries to defend sustainable national industries. For example, Miguel Soto of Industrial Chile described a plan to form a state-owned company to produce lithium in the Atacama salt flats. Chile has more than half (54%) of the world’s lithium reserves and lithium carbonate is used in the production of batteries and electric cars.

The president of CNQ/CUT (affiliated to IndustriALL) and co-president of IndustriALL’s executive committee, Lucineide Varjão, explained how CUT-affiliated unions are working together:

“We decided to form an institute for industry to discuss a sustainable policy for Brazil’s industrial base and we are going to present a joint programme,” she explained.

Participants also heard how unions in some European countries are working together to promote sustainability. Juan Blanco of Spain’s CCOO (affiliated to IndustriALL) explained his union’s joint project with Germany’s IG METALL (affiliated to IndustriALL) to promote industrial recovery and decent jobs.

“We formed an ´Alliance for Industry`, a tripartite agreement to promote technological innovation and identify new strategies to ensure job security. We have to design global strategies that help us develop sustainable industrial policies,” said Blanco.

Latin American unions agreed to continue designing industrial policies that include measures to safeguard and create well-paid, secure jobs, guarantee sustainable employment and ensure they have a say in decision making within their respective industries.

“When we say ‘We Take Action’, this means opposing slave labour and having a more detailed trade union debate so we can think together, combine our ideas, formulate proposals for sustainable development and develop a response to the multinationals,”

said IndustriALL’s Regional Officer, Marino Vani, at the end of the meeting.

Ethiopia: Prioritizing women workers’ rights in the garment and textile sector

The women are organized by IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the Industrial Federation of Ethiopian Textile, Leather and Garment Trade Unions (IFETLGTU).

A training of trainers on women workers’ rights attended by 13 women held earlier this year was one of the activities aimed at increasing the capacity of the women workers. Four of the women who received the training said the issues discussed included maternity protection, organizing against gender discrimination and sexual harassment, recognition of family responsibilities by employers, and equal pay for work of equal value.

On maternity protection, conditions were so bad that some workers did not return to work after maternity leave as they had no one to look after their young infant. Hence, the demand for companies to provide child care facilities.

The training also boosted their confidence as they no longer feared approaching company management. Prepared for active participation in union activities including leadership roles, they looked forward to training colleagues at factories in Addis Ababa, Bishoftu and other places.

Like other Sub Saharan African countries, most workers in the garment and textile sector were women. At around US $40 per month, the wages they earned were too low to lift them out of poverty, and below what they needed for basics. This has prompted the IFETLGWU to put minimum wages on the agenda for future negotiations with employers. The union also saw collective bargaining agreements that ensured fair wages as important in reversing the subsistence wages.

The Global Framework Agreements that IndustriALL has signed with global brands including H & M and Tchibo, who have factories in Ethiopia, were useful tools in protecting workers against poverty wages.

Further, ensuring that employers complied with health and safety standards and labour laws would also reduce accidents and improve the working conditions.

Paule-France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional Officer for Sub Saharan Africa said:

“We are committed to improving gender equality, and to ensure that union leadership reflected the membership. Women workers represent their factory issues better when given the opportunity to speak for themselves.”

Turkey: Workers fired from Posco Assan steel plant for joining union

The workers were dismissed after an organizing drive by IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Birleşik Metal-İş. The union had been attempting to organize the 420 workers at the Kocaeli site after they expressed deep dissatisfaction with wages and working conditions.

When management heard about the organizing effort, they organized individual meetings with workers to intimidate them into leaving the union. Those who refused to resign from the union were fired.

The workforce stopped production to protest the dismissals, and Birleşik Metal-İş organized a mass protest yesterday.

Birleşik Metal-İş has fulfilled the legal requirements for union recognition. The union obtained a legal majority and applied for a certificate from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security for the right to bargaining collectively on behalf of the members.

Posco Assan Steel Industry Incorporated is a partnership between Posco in Korea, Kibar Holding in Turkey, and Daewoo International. The plant produces high grade stainless steel, used in industrial storage, boilers, kitchen equipment and auto parts.

Posco is the world’s fifth largest steel company. There is no union representation in the home country of Korea because of the company’s anti-union stance.

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches wrote to the CEO of the Turkish enterprise, Haeil Jeong, saying:

“Posco Assan TST Steel Industry Inc’s behaviour constitutes a blatant violation of Turkish labour law as well as fundamental international labour standards.

“It is incumbent upon Posco Assan TST Steel Industry to abide strictly by national and international labour law. Therefore, IndustriALL Global Union strongly urges Posco Assan TST Steel Industry Inc. to reinstate immediately the forty workers, recognize Birleşik Metal-İş as the legitimate bargaining party, as it has obtained the legal majority, and stop interfering with fundamental workers’ rights, including the right to join a union of their choice and bargain collectively.”

Automotive meeting discusses transition to e-mobility

The meeting, jointly hosted with the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, took place just a week after IndustriALL’s Industry 4.0 conference in Geneva, Switzerland, discussed how unions should be prepared to respond to the changes expected to take place when the internal combustion engine is replaced by a new generation of electric motors. Participants embarked on a ‘world trip’ in order to discover the current and expected developments regarding the introduction of hybrid, electric, and self-driving vehicles by listening to related reports from around the globe.

Participants pointed out that many traditional Original Equipment Manufacturers were focusing on Industry 3.0 by increasing automation. Genuine Industry 4.0 concepts were instead introduced by newcomers to the sector where employees were rarely organized. The working group agreed to follow-up on this discussion at the level of the global trade union company networks.

Special emphasis was also given to strategies aiming at organizing along value chains. An expert group was formed to elaborate a concrete pilot project for the sector in the next 12 months.

Finally, the group looked at countries and regions – US South, Turkey, Mexico, India, Middle East and North Africa, Thailand and China – where workers’ and trade union rights were often under threat from governments and companies. Delegates decided to pay special attention to these countries and to prepare and support activities in solidarity with the workers who were fighting for their rights.

Georg Leutert, IndustriALL director for the automotive and aerospace industries, said:

“Trade unionists present at the meeting held an open and frank debate about precarious work in the sector, and agreed to look at examples of how best to effectively fight it”.

Gold Dust: the human cost of the Grasberg mine crisis

Thousands of workers at Freeport's Grasberg mine in Papua, Indonesia, have been without work since being fired for taking strike action in May 2017. Workers are paying the price in a dispute between the company and the Indonesian government over control of the world's largest gold mine.

IndustriALL has made a documentary film, launched at the Executuve Committee meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 9 November, about the effect of the strike on the workers and their families.

Workers have lost income, access to health care and education, and in some cases housing.

Recently one worker committed suicide after being denied healthcare.

The National Commission on Human Rights in Indonesia found that the sacking of thousands of workers was a violation of human rights. It is calling for their reinstatement.