Honduran workers demand transparent election recount

The results of the 26 November vote are not yet known, more than a week after voting took place.

The electoral commission (TSE) waited almost ten hours to publish the first results, which put Salvador Nasralla, the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship candidate, in the lead against Juan Orlando Hernández, the incumbent and National Party candidate for re-election.

Surprisingly, after counting resumed on 28 November, the TSE announced that Hernández was now in the lead. This change and the delay led to accusations of electoral fraud and the climate of uncertainty provoked many street demonstrations. The government imposed a curfew and ten people have so far died in the subsequent repression.

“The country is in a very difficult situation because the Constitution is being violated. There has been a major electoral fraud. The result was due to be announced but the system went down and only restarted ten hours later,” said Joel López, a FITH representative in San Pedro Sula.

Napoleón Villacillas, FETRAMIMH, said he “absolutely opposed the massive fraud and negation of democracy”. He was speaking from El Progreso, near San Pedro Sula, where protestors continue to defy the curfew that has been in place for the last four days.

On 5 December, Nasralla called for the TSE to conduct a fresh count of all ballot papers. President Juan Orlando Hernández finally agreed to this.

“We want a complete recount. We think this is the way to resolve the crisis. Otherwise, the people will not accept the result,” said the trade union leader, Joel López.

Valter Sanches, IndustriALL General Secretary, issued a statement of solidarity with Honduran workers. He said:

“IndustriALL Global Union calls on the TSE to immediately accept the legitimate demands of workers and civil society and ensure votes are counted without further delays, irregularities or manipulation.”

He added:

“IndustriALL opposes the Hernández government’s decision to impose a ten-day curfew. We demand that the government respects the people’s right to demonstrate peacefully, without fear of repression or violence.”

Iraqi oil and gas affiliates form trade union network

Supported by IndustriALL, some 38 trade unionists and industry experts gathered in Iraq’s principal port city to discuss trade union work in sector, recognizing that oil and gas workers and their trade unions are fundamental to supporting the national economy.

Oil is the backbone of the Iraqi economy. However, the government has allowed foreign companies to enter the market, which focus on profit and whose policies on workers' rights are unknown.

Hassan Juma, President of IFOU:

“One of the most important priorities is the unity of the trade union movement in Iraq and we have started the first step in the most important sector, namely the oil and gas sector. The establishment of this network represents a unified trade union force capable of defending workers’ rights and maintaining the production. We are now working on developing a broad action plan in coordination with oil and gas unions in Iraq.”

Three non-affiliate oil unions attended the meeting and also joined the National Oil and Gas Union Network in Iraq, which will be part of IndustriALL’s MENA Oil and Gas Unions’ Regional Network.

All the unions signed up to six common objectives for the network as follows:

  1. Protect the basic rights of workers in Iraq's oil and gas sector across the country
  2. Protect national wealth for future generations against capitalist companies that do not respect the rights and opinions of citizens
  3. Coordinate with central and local authorities to urge foreign companies to take responsibility for maintaining the infrastructure of areas near oil fields exposed to toxic emissions
  4. Coordinate with the central authority to give priority to the workers of the oil sector for the great service they provide to Iraq as they are paid less than their counterparts in neighbouring countries
  5. Urge Iraqi Ministry of Oil to work seriously to preserve the rights of migrant workers working in different foreign companies, and oblige companies to apply Iraqi laws
  6. Oblige the Ministry of Oil to urge foreign companies to respect the rights of their Iraqi employees according to the union contract.

In a message to the new Network, IndustriALL’s Assistant General Secretary, Kemal Özkan, said:

“We applaud the unity shown by oil and gas unions in Iraq. The difficulties in the sector are huge, but by working together, bound by a common set of goals, Iraqi trade unions will be better placed to meet the challenges. IndustriALL will be ready to support you at all times.”

The members of the National Network are as follows:

The formation of the network received support from Iraqi trade union centers, as a number of leaders of national federations attended the meeting and gave speeches of solidarity and support. The IndustriALL National Council of Iraqi Unions, met on the following day 25 November 2017, and also expressed support to the initiative.

Women workers in Zambia and Tanzania pledge to fight violence

All IndustriALL affiliates in Zambia and in Tanzania committed to discuss internally the IndustriALL Pledge on violence and harassment against women and to adopt it formally. The pledge commits the union to a policy of zero tolerance with the slogan “No to violence. Not in our workplace. Not in our union”.

The Womens’ Organizers exchange workshops were part of the Organizing project activities held in Dar es Salaam Tanzania in July and in Kitwe between 27 November and 1 December, which concluded with the project evaluation and the Zambia National Council Meeting.

After the first exchange workshop held in Dar es Salaam in July, three Tanzanian women leaders from IndustriALL Global Union affiliates the Tanzania Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers (TUICO) and the Tanzania Mines, Energy, Construction and Allied Workers Union travelled to Zambia to follow up sharing strategies and experiences in organizing and building women’s representation in our unions.

Margaret Ndagile of TUICO said,

“There are many challenges because we represent many very different sectors such as mining, industrial and energy sectors and we need to study how to bring in more women and workers from all these sectors.”

The twenty-five young women workers from the mining, metal, pharmaceutical and plastic sectors in Zambia expressed the difficulties they face as unionists in their workplaces and in their unions. Their priorities which are not taken into account when their unions make collective bargaining, and the same stereotypical explanations are always given by their unions for the lack of representation of women.

“Women pay equal subscriptions to the unions, but they do not have equal voices in decision making – why?” they asked.  The group of participants from each union caucused and drew up their action plans to carry out in their workplaces and take to their leadership.

“We have learned a lot through this exchange with Tanzanian trade unionists especially when it comes to young workers, they are so engaged in union activities and this is very inspiring” said Yuyi Sikananu, union organizer from NUBEGW Zambia

The final evaluation meeting of the last years of the organizing project followed with participation of Magnus Palmgren from IF Metall- Sweden, who commended the number of young women participating in the meetings and who explained why IF Metall has publicly declared itself a “feminist union”.

The union leadership from the Mineworkers’ Union of Zambia, the National Union of Commercial & Industrial Workers and the National Union of Building, Energy & General Workers claimed ownership of the project. They highlighted the advances gained in learning to map out workplaces to target and recruit around 25,000 new members since 2014 by forming permanent organizing teams.

The implementation of the “golden rules” of non-competition and cooperation among affiliates has built concrete unity and solidarity, which lead our affiliates to gain leadership positions in the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions.

Finally, the Zambia National Council adopted the 40 per cent representation of women, a quarterly calendar of meetings and coordination structure and proposed to table the Pledge against violence during the first meeting of the Council in 2018.

IndustriALL welcomes nine new trade unions

They include four trade unions from Latin America, two from the Middle East, two from Albania and one union from Africa covering sectors including energy, textile, manufacturing and materials.

The new unions have already been taking part in IndustriALL activities. Sutraprotisa union, which is part of new Peruvian affiliate FETRIMAP-CGTP, took part in IndustriALL’s World Conference for the Pulp and Paper Industries in Budapest at the end of November. The Peruvian union has also been part of the CMPC trade union network for two years, receiving solidarity support from IndustriALL and the network in bargaining with the pulp manufacturer.

New Brazilian affiliate, FERAESP, joined the IndustriALL Shell Global Union Network meeting in the Netherlands in September, and has since shown strong commitment to the recently launched campaign against Shell, which operates as Raízen in Brazil.

The largest new affiliate is Argentinian union SEIVARA, which has 6,000 members, 33 per cent of whom are women and 90 per cent of whom are white-collar workers. The union is active in the materials sector, particularly the glass industry.

Panamanian union, SITIESPA, includes members in the electricity sector who are all white-collar workers.

Both the new Albanian affiliates SPILT and FSPILASH represent mostly women workers in the textile sector. 

New African affiliate, SAP, is currently fighting a legal case to defend eight workers who have grievances with Total Gabon. The new affiliate will aim to use IndustriALL’s global framework agreement with Total to help resolve the issue.

IndustriALL’s General Secretary, Valter Sanches, said:

“We warmly welcome our new affiliates into the IndustriALL family, which have come close to us through struggles, campaigns and networks. We are ready to fight their corner and champion their interests. Our new trade unions can also be sure to benefit from the international solidarity from our brothers and sisters around the world.”

New affiliates November 2017:

  1. Sindicato de Empleados de la Industria de Vidrio y Afines de la República Argentina (SEIVARA) from Argentina
  2. Independent Trade Union for Textile and Light Industry (SPILT) from Albania
  3. Trade Union of Workers of Light Industry, Handicrafts and Agro-processing (FSPILASH) from Albania
  4. Federation of Rural Workers of the State of Sao Paulo Brazil (FERAESP) from Brazil;
  5. Egyptian Federation of Mining, Quarrying and Building Materials – EUMQB
  6. Syndicat Autonome des Pétroliers (SAP) from Gabon
  7. General Trade Union for Workers in Electricity in Jordan (GTUWE) from Jordan
  8. Sindicato de los trabajadores de la Industria Eléctrica y Similares de la Republica de Panama (SITIESPA) from Panama
  9. Federacion de Trabajadores de la Industria Manufacturera y Afines del Peru (FETRIMAP–CGTP) from Peru

The Executive Committee in Colombo also approved the reaffiliation of the Automobile and Farm Machinery Workers' Union of Russia (AFW), and the Suriname Bauxite Mine and Metal Workers’ Federation (SBMWF).

It brings the total number of unions to 620 from around 140 countries.

Ukrainian miners face searches and strong pressure

In November, humiliating searches were conducted in the mines of Evraz Sukha Balka. Miners were forced to undress and remove their shoes. This was allegedly to prevent theft and was applied mainly towards members of the NPGU. Some workers were questioned by officers of the economic security service in a separate room about the activities of the head of the primary trade union organization at the enterprise, Serhiy Barabashuk, including his movements during working and non-working hours.

According to the union, there is discrimination in wages against members of the NPGU. The miners appealed to the general director of Evraz Sukha Balka to take measures to eliminate violations. It resulted in questioning and searches of workers with violations of legal norms, for instance, searches of women were performed by male security guards.

In addition, NPGU members might be unreasonably suspended from work and transferred to a different department. Serhiy Barabashuk and other union activists experience psychological discomfort because they are under constant surveillance, including video surveillance, by the security services of the enterprise and managers at all levels.

Mychailo Volynets, president of the NPGU, stated:

“Serhiy Barabashuk is one of the best young leaders of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine. He is an honest person with a strong sense of justice. He appealed to me about the pressure on him, as well as the threats. Sergei also believes that there is a threat to his life. But as brave trade union leader, he continues to struggle”.

Discrimination is caused by the active struggle of the union for justice and demands for safe working conditions, fair wages and the fulfilment of the employer’s obligations under the rehabilitation of miners. In particular, the union demands the cancellation of a provision of the collective agreement that deprives financial assistance to workers who have had disciplinary sanctions for a violation of work rules. There is the negative impact on health in any case, so workers should recover.

In May, workers of Evraz Sukha Balka achieved a salary increase of 20 per cent, with a gradual increase until the end of the year towards a 100 per cent increase. Then the company changed ownership, and the new management refuses to follow the agreement and puts pressure on employees.

Moreover, members of NPGU are resisting corrupt schemes operating in the enterprise, when some workers receive a higher salary and share it with the foremen.

Volynets said:

“The Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine is doing everything possible to protect its leaders and members. Also, we call on all trade unionists for solidarity with Serhiy and his trade union brothers and sisters”.

Ethiopia: Union recruits in industrial parks

The new members came from 27 companies in the Bole Lemi industrial park in the capital, Addis Ababa, Dukem, and Kombolcha in the North East. Ethiopia’s industrial parks, set up by the federal government’s five-year Growth and Transformation Plans to promote industrialization through light manufacturing, are providing unions, including the IFETLGWU, with an opportunity to organise and recruit workers.

Three industrial parks have been opened. According to the Industrial Parks Development Corporation, when fully operational, they will employ 35,000 and 84,000 respectively and one will only cater for the garment and textile industries and its value chain.

There are plans to set up over 12 industrial parks across the country, and to promote the growing of cotton so that factories can get their raw materials locally. A 700 kilometer electric railway line to link to the port of Djibouti is being built to export goods faster.

Global brands buying from Ethiopia include H&M, Tchibo, and Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH). Other buyers are from Bangladesh, China and India. Ethiopia is also a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, giving some Sub Saharan African Countries preferential trade terms when exporting to the US.

While unions welcome the industrial parks and the investments in the garment and textile sector, they are concerned that wages are low and not enough to meet basic needs. The entry level wages averaged around US$40 in Ethiopia, compared to US$68 in Bangladesh and US$500 in China. According to the Ethiopian Investment commission the country has amongst the lowest minimum wages in Africa, and over 50 million potential young workers below the age of 24. 

Further, unions want workers’ rights to be protected and for factories to be safe. Employers are also urged not to withhold dues that belonged to unions.

Said Mesfin Adenew, president of IFETLGWU, says:

The federation is working hard to ensure that the country’s constitution, and ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on the right to organise and collective bargaining are respected. We want workers’ rights and benefits to be protected. Otherwise there won’t be industrial peace.

Fabian Nkomo, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa, says:

We welcome the Ethiopian government policies promoting industrialization, but it should not be at the workers expense. Industrialization should bring better wages to workers and take their lives out of poverty; this cannot happen when wages are as low as US$40 per month. We are calling for better wages in the garment and textile sector.

The recruitment drive was supported by the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions, FNV Mondiall, ILO, IndustriALL, and Solidaridad.

Global solidarity grows as Posco Assan fires 80 union members in Turkey

Posco, the world’s fifth-largest steel producer, continues to resist attempts by its Turkish workforce to unionize, firing workers joining IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Birleşik Metal-İş. A total of 80 union members have now been fired, with the latest dismissals coming after the union applied to the Minstry of Labour for a majority certificate that would give them the legal right to represent the 420 workers.

Company managers are attempting to intimidate workers by telling workers on the factory floor they will never accept or meet with the union.

The Korean-owned company has a “no union” policy.

In a solidarity letter sent to Birleşik Metal-İş, Kim, Ho-Gyu, president of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), wrote:

“In Korea, Posco is infamous for its ruthless and harsh union repression. Since the company’s establishment in 1968 – during the military dictatorship era in South Korea – numerous workers have exerted efforts to establish democratic unions, but Posco trampled labor and human rights and built a cold-hearted capitalist empire.”

He urged the workers in Turkey not to give up the fight, saying:

“The long years of workers pounding on the fortress walls of the Posco empire have finally created enough fissures and begun breaking through.”

The KMWU is fighting a long and hard battle for recognition at the company. Because of the “no union” policy, they have only been able to organize some precarious workers, and no direct employees. At Posco’s plants in Korea, precarious subcontractors form the majority of the workforce, despite a court ruling that this subcontracting is illegal, and that the workers should be regularized.

KMWU is demanding that Posco regularize the employment status of precarious workers, stop threatening employees to coerce them into leaving the union, recognize and conclude a collective agreement with the newest organized chapter of the Posco subcontracted workers local, and reinstate the workers dismissed during the unionization.

Members of the subcontracted workers’ local at the Pohang and in Gwangyang plants sent solidarity messages to the workers in Turkey, and held a demonstration outside the plant.

In Turkey, members of Birleşik demonstrated outside the factory, as well as outside Kibar Holding, a Turkish joint venture partner with Posco. The union also held a demonstration outside the Korean consulate, demanding that the company respect workers’ rights.

President Kim of the KMWU finished his solidarity letter saying:

“This is what we want to say to our comrades. Do not bow to Posco’s ruthless violent repression. Just as an individual droplet of water is weak but a flood of water drops together can break through walls, an individual worker may not be strong but acting together in unity, our force becomes insurmountable. They know this too.

“The only reason they respond with force and union repression is because they are afraid. I am convinced that the workers united together in struggle will surely see victory.”

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, said:

“Our affiliates in Korea and Turkey have witnessed the results of Posco’s ‘no union’ policy. They face the same struggle, and they are uniting to challenge Posco. IndustriALL will continue to support their action. Together, we can bring this company to the negotiating table.”

Iran: workers in South Pars oil and gas fields submit petition to state broadcaster

The petition was organized by IndustriALL Global Union affiliate the Union of Metalworkers and Mechanics of Iran (UMMI), and addressed to Seyyed Mehdi, director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation.

The petition is significant, because independent union activists are severely persecuted in Iran, and it is rare for workers to publicly identify themselves as union supporters.

The workers of the South Pars Oil and Gas fields and the refineries of Bandar Abbas and Bushehr in Southern Iran submitted the petition because they face unbearable conditions.

The oil and gas industry is controlled by the Ministry of Petroleum through the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company, the world’s second biggest oil company. However, much of the work is carried out through partnerships with the private sector – including foreign companies – and subcontractors.

There are often several layers of subcontracting, and workers are employed through recruitment agencies on contracts with minimal rights. No salary is agreed, and they work a trial period of one month before their wage is determined. The oil companies pay the agencies, who regularly fail to pass on the salaries for months. Workers who complain are dismissed, and sometimes agencies disappear without paying wages.

The oil and gas fields are based in a hot and inhospitable part of Southern Iran, away from major urban centres. Many workers live on site, in shared accommodation, with up to ten people sharing a small prefabricated building. Washing facilities are inadequate, and access to fresh food is difficult. Shifts are typically ten hours long in very hot and difficult conditions.

There is a health and safety crisis, with frequent injury, illness and fatalities. Workers are crushed beneath machines, die from inhaling toxic gases, from boiler explosions and falls.

Workers have held a number of stoppages and occupations to demand unpaid wages and recognition of their rights. Although these actions are sometimes successful, they approached the state broadcaster in desperation because the situation is so serious. The broadcaster has so far failed to investigate.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“The workers in the oil and gas fields and refineries of Iran generate huge wealth for the country, and yet they endure terrible conditions. They are persecuted when they defend themselves.

“These workers have bravely sought to expose their conditions to the country through the public broadcaster, knowing that people would be outraged. We support them, and we repeat: Iran needs a free and independent union movement to defend the rights of its workers.”

Unions at Shell to protest violations on Human Rights Day

10 December is recognized internationally as Human Rights Day, and unions are demanding that Shell stops violating human rights in all of the 70 countries where it operates. 

The planned action is part of the campaign against Shell initiated by IndustriALL’s global network of trade unions at the company during a meeting in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands, in September.

The campaign, which includes demands for Shell to respect its commitments to human rights, was also endorsed at IndustriALL’s Executive Committee in Colombo, Sri Lanka in November.

Examples of Shell Human Rights Violations:

“Shell claims to be committed to respecting human rights around the world, but the company is failing to do so in some countries where it operates. Let’s raise our voice on 10 December and demand that Shell respects ALL workers’ human rights!” said IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan.

Please don’t forget to share your actions with us either through the Shell Global Union Network Facebook group page or send to [email protected].

General Electric unions develop cross-border cooperation and solidarity

The union representatives shared their experience on the common labour issues they face at General Electric, a giant US multinational. The company operates through various industrial sectors such as energy, oil, gas, aviation, healthcare, transportation, energy connections and lighting in 170 countries with more than 330,000 direct employees.

The company officially announces that “GE promotes respect for fundamental human rights (including the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work) and views them as a key component of responsible corporate citizenship”, and it is consistently ranked as one of the world’s leading corporations.

However, the union representatives reported at the meeting that management has intensified its attacks on the workers’ rights in various countries and disrespected the long-term commitments made with employees and communities where it operated. The company has also engaged with investors known as specifically focused on short-term profits.

For example, in Europe, the company management short-sighted strategy entails serious risks for workers and society, resulting in disrespect of the commitments made at the time of Alstom Power’s acquisition. In North America, management decisions to close and curtail productive facilities have broken social agreements with communities. The unions in Europe (See industriAll European Trade Union press-release “General Electric: Shareholders first, workers last”) and US are taking actions against management with the view to protect the interest of workers and communities.

The delegates agreed that the company should fully implement the fundamental workers’ rights, especially freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, covering all company operations throughout the world without exception. The unions believe that GE management must work together with trade unions representing GE workers with the view to achieve a fair and just social business model.

The unions attending the meeting adopted a joint statement to unite GE trade unions around the world to increase workers’ collective power and call on the company to recognize and engage in dialogue with global union network.

The GE trade union network will:

  1. Develop cross-border union cooperation and solidarity to implement and monitor fundamental workers’ rights at all workplaces and to achieve fair and just working conditions for all workers.
  2. Create a mechanism of social dialogue at global and/or regional levels with management, to make workers’ voices heard in General Electric.
  3. Protect and promote sustainable jobs, social and economic justice, and democratic global governance of the company, which enables constructive industrial relations leading to global level negotiations, including the limitation of precarious work and encompassing the principles of Just Transition.