Haiti textile workers denounce violations of ILO conventions

Workers’ organizations in Haiti, including GOSTTRA, affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union, have been taking action since May to demand their labour rights. However, employers have taken reprisals in response to worker denunciations of injustices and calls for decent work.

GOSTTRA says that Interamerican Wovens (IW) and Sewing International SA (SISA) are refusing to negotiate agreements that will improve pay and working conditions, even though they are well aware of the high cost of living.

The union also says that protests have led to brutal police repression, the confiscation of union members’ telephones, the abuse of pregnant women and the dismissal of many workers for taking part in trade union actions.

The unions decided to seek a meeting with President Jovenel Moïse on 20 July at the National Palace to try to identify the problems that are affecting the textile sector and seek solutions.

President Moïse said he was surprised to find that workers’ conditions in the free trade zones were unacceptable and promised to provide social welfare support to workers.

IndustriALL General Secretary, Valter Sanches, wrote to IW and SISA company directors Gilbert Durand and Alain Vilard, condemning the company’s union busting operations and grave violations of the right to freedom of association (C87) and collective bargaining (C98):

“We should remind you that Haiti, on ratifying ILO Conventions 87 and 98, undertook the commitment to respect and implement these conventions. Likewise, your company, on joining the Better Work programme, also undertook a commitment to respect all the fundamental ILO conventions,” he wrote:

“IndustriALL Global Union stands in solidarity with the struggle of our Haitian colleagues and will support and assist their trade union organizations in all the legal actions taken at national and international level to defend their rights.”

Nigerian oil and gas unions fight against precarious work

The fight against precarious work by the National Union of Petroleum & Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) has been an uphill battle with multinational companies in the sector opposing them at every turn.

The union project in Nigeria, supported by IndustriALL affiliates FNV (Netherlands), CSC-BIE (Belgium) and FCE-CFDT (France), is part of a wider precarious work project that also includes Cameroon and Senegal. It also included support for a NUPENG and PENGASSAN workshop in Lagos in July 2017, which aimed to reinforce organizers’ and shop stewards’ capacity to organize precarious workers.

Both NUPENG, which represents junior employees and PENGASSAN, which represents senior employees, have a long history of fighting against casualization and contract work in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. Major oil and gas multinational companies present in Nigeria, including Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Agip and others, began outsourcing of jobs in the 80s and 90s. Today, agency and outsourced workers represent the majority of the workers in the oil and gas industry.

Herculean task

Organizing precarious workers in the oil and gas supply chain in Nigeria is a Herculean task. Multinationals and contractors prevent workers from joining the unions, while community associations negotiate recruitment and promotions for their members at the oil companies through intermediaries. This indirectly weakens the unions. Companies in the sector are using an increasing number of contractors which fragment the workforce. Some contractor companies are no more than letterbox entities, enabling them to avoid their legal obligations. Worse still, organizers are subject to attacks, and even kidnapping.

Multinational companies have replaced direct employment with third party contracts, destroying job security and permanent employment benefits and contributing to the further impoverishment of workers. Furthermore, these contracts were concluded for only three months, making it difficult for workers to join a trade union for fear of retaliation and non-renewal of their contract. In effect, multinationals operating in cahoots with third parties have tried to subvert Nigeria’s labour laws and limit the right of workers to join trade unions. Challenging this contract labour system is tough because of an ineffective judicial system in Nigeria, which delays the hearing of labour cases in the courts.

Due to a lack of investment, Nigeria has an out-dated refinery capacity meaning that jobs are lost to other countries in the export of crude oil, while state owned refineries are operating at less than 30 per cent of their capacity. More jobs are lost in the petrochemical sector due to on-going social and political conflicts, criminal activities damaging oil pipelines, and social unrest on oil related matters.

Putting the brakes on outsourcing
 

With a view to help each other in organizing agency and outsourced workers in the oil and gas sector into union branches, the unions created a joint platform called NUPENGASSAN. The project has enabled both unions to organize thousands of precarious workers in the downstream and upstream sectors of the industry. They also managed to secure permanent jobs for 200 contract workers in 2016. The solidarity of workers in the supply chain also played a special role in allowing NUPENG to support organizing of contract workers. For example, NUPENG mobilized tank drivers who arranged blockades in companies resisting the union’s efforts to organize contract workers. Thanks to the action of the drivers, management of the companies finally agreed to recognize the unions.

Company-based collective bargaining prevails in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and, on that basis multinational companies in the sector do not recognize the right of contract workers to be protected by the collective bargaining agreements negotiated for direct employees. For example, PENGASSAN and Shell Nigeria have an agreement that only covers workers in the company’s core business (4,500 permanent employees); yet there are over 50,000 contract workers at the firm. In order to get round this practice PENGASSAN and NUPENG established multi-employer collective bargaining with the multiple contractors in the different multinational companies.

Both unions have been pushing for the establishment of labour contractors’ forums in companies in the upstream sector. These forums are an umbrella body in companies for contractors to negotiate with the union representing contract workers. In the downstream sectors, the unions are also conducting multi employer’s bargaining with marketers’ associations.

High unemployment in Nigeria makes it easy for companies in the oil and gas sector to exploit workers. Thousands of workers have been working for multinationals’ contractors for years with no employment contracts. There are huge disparities in the working conditions between employees and precarious workers. Core staff have access to many benefits including free medical treatment, maternity pay, Christmas bonus, leave allowance, profit sharing, a performance bonus and rent allowance. Meanwhile, precarious workers can earn as little as 10 per cent of the wage of permanent employees for equal work. Most of these workers have no access to free medical treatment and pension scheme nor do they benefit from the same health and safety protections.

Through the continued pressure of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, Guidelines on Labour Administration Issues in Contract Staffing/Outsourcing in the Oil and Gas Sector were issued by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity in 2011. Even though the guidelines were not officially published because of the fall of the government, the document remains a point of reference for unions. The guidelines notably include provisions for the restriction of outsourcing of non-core jobs; respect for collective agreements; and mandatory collective bargaining between contractors and their employees. The guidelines also stipulate that contract staff under manpower/labour contracts shall belong either to NUPENG or PENGASSAN. The two unions are still fighting to get these guidelines adopted by the government but progress has been agonizingly slow. 

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL Global Union’s Assistant General Secretary, said:

“The way the contract workers are exploited in the oil and gas supply chain in Nigeria is unacceptable.

Unfortunately precarious employment keeps on spreading, but we will keep on supporting our affiliates, like NUPENG and PENGASSAN, around the world to stop it. Our trade union networks in the oil and gas sectors prioritized the fight against precarious work in their actions. They will be active part of the protests against precarious work in October 2017 as per IndustriALL’s call for global day of action.”

UAW loses Nissan vote in face of threats and intimidation

“The courageous workers of Nissan, who fought tirelessly for union representation alongside community and civil-rights leaders, should be proud of their efforts to be represented by the UAW,” said Dennis Williams, president of the UAW. “The result of the election was a setback for these workers, the UAW and working Americans everywhere, but in no way should it be considered a defeat.” 

As soon as the two-day election was announced for 3 and 4 August, Nissan stepped up its anti-union tactics at the Canton plant. Supervisors pressured employees with anti-union messages in group and one-on-one meetings. The company broadcast anti-union videos inside the plant instructing workers to “Vote No” and launched a sizeable anti-union TV advertising campaign.

“We’re disappointed but not surprised by the outcome in Canton,” said Gary Casteel, secretary-treasurer of the UAW and director of the international union’s transnational department. “Despite claiming for years to be neutral on the question of a union, Nissan waged one of the most illegal and unethical anti-union campaigns that I’ve seen in my lifetime.”

UAW has been fighting for 14 years for employee representation at the plant.

In the latest complaint filed to the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) just before voting closed on 4 August, the union alleges additional violations of the National Labor Relations Act, including widespread surveillance of worker union activity, threats that benefits would be taken away if the Nissan Canton workforce votes for UAW representation, and threatening a worker with termination if she became a representative for Nissan workers.

Workers say that Nissan even threatened to take away leased vehicles, while it awarded long-desired raises and special deals on car purchases in return for voting no. Meanwhile, anti union videos played on constant loop in break rooms.

Writing in the Guardian newspaper, U.S. Senator, Bernie Sanders, said: “This could go down as one of the most vicious, and illegal, anti-union crusades in decades. Workers should never have to endure this type of threatening campaign or walk through a minefield just to vote for a union.”

The UAW’s campaign for recognition at Canton received support from civil rights organizations, community and religious groups, as well as Hollywood celebrities. In March this year, more than 5,000 people joined a rally in support of the workers at Canton.

IndustriALL affiliates from France, Brazil and Japan have shown continued solidarity for UAW’s efforts to unionize Nissan’s plant at Canton, and some were present to monitor the election. Japanese affiliate JAW wrote to the new CEO of Nissan, Hiroto Saikawa, calling for neutrality during the election process.

Canton is one of only three Nissan facilities in the world that are not unionized. The other two are in Tennessee, also in the US south. Even in Mexico, where independent unions struggle for recognition, the union at Nissan has one of the best collective agreements in the country. 

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, said:

“We congratulate the thirteen hundred workers at Canton who voted yes to a union in the face of extreme pressure and intimidation. They were brave enough to stand up for what they believe in and showed that no matter what the company threw at them, they were prepared to hold their ground. IndustriALL and its affiliates around the world stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with the Nissan workers at Canton.”

Trinidad &Tobago workers march for equality, jobs and justice

Thousands of workers in Trinidad and Tobago have lost their jobs because of the country’s economic  situation. More than 30 trade unions and social movements marched to demand that the government take measures to stimulate the economy, reduce unemployment and stop the increase in crime.

The oil workers’ union, the OWTU (affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union) also called for an increase in the minimum wage, better health and safety at work and more sustainable and decent jobs. It also wants to establish deadlines for pending rounds of collective bargaining talks.

The union held its annual delegate conference on 28 July to commemorate its 80th  anniversary and explain the reasons for the demonstration on 4 August.

It said the march would be held to denounce the massive inequality in the country. While a large proportion of the population finds it difficult to make a living, a minority grows rich from its business  dealings.

Marino Vani, IndustriALL’s Assistant Regional Secretary attended the conference and joined the debate about alternatives to the government’s austerity policies and the inequalities and injustices in the country and in the rest of the world.

He said there has been a reduction in the capacity of societies to formulate policies aimed at redistributing wealth and obtaining fairer results. Meanwhile, free market policies have weakened workers’ bargaining power.

Vani said that the alternative to the government’s austerity policies is for the unions to take political and social action and fight for a global economic and social model that prioritizes citizens and workers.

Finally, IndustriALL’s Assistant Regional Secretary expressed his total support for the march on 4 August and said:

“We congratulate our affiliate on the 80th anniversary of its foundation. It continues firm and stronger in the struggle for greater social justice and a more developed and inclusive country”.

IndustriALL condemns mock trials of union activists in Kazakhstan

All three leaders were trialled because of the protests of striking oil workers of Kazakhstan’s Oil Construction Company (OCC). The workers fought against closure of their independent trade union centre Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (KNPRK) in the beginning of this year.

The most recent sentence was issued in regard to Larisa Kharkova, former chairperson of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (KNPRK). On 25 July, Kharkova, was sentenced, on false charges, to four years of restriction of her freedom of movement, 100 hours of forced labour, and a five-year ban on holding any position in a public or non-governmental organization.

Larisa Kharkova is prohibited from changing her place of residence and place of work. The union leader is banned from visiting certain places, and is not allowed leave her city of residence without authorization.

In his letter sent to the president of Kazakhstan IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches says, “We consider Larisa Kharkova’s sentence, as well as the previous sentences of Nurbek Kushakbayev, KNPRK deputy chairperson, to two and a half years of imprisonment, and the sentencing of Amin Yeleusinov to two years of imprisonment, as mock trials, which are in blatant violation of human and trade union rights in Kazakhstan.”

The unjustified punishment of Kushakbayev and Yeleusinov, as well as prosecution of Kharkova pushed the International Trade Union Confederation to submit a formal complaint to the ILO against violation of trade union rights in Kazakhstan. IndustriALL also joined the complaint.

In his letter Sanches also reminded about the international obligations Kazakhstan pledged to abide to, particularly the International Labour Organization’s Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise.

At the recent ILO’s International Labour Conference in Switzerland, in June 2017 Kazakhstan was scrutinized because of violations of the above-mentioned ILO Convention.

Based on the scrutiny the International Labour Conference issued a number of conclusions, including a call to the Government of Kazakhstan to:

At the end of his letter Sanches says, “it is incumbent upon your administration to restore justice in Kazakhstan by reviewing the court sentences of the above-mentioned KNPRK leaders, dropping all charges against them, and cooperating openly and honestly with the ILO and other relevant institutions to implement the ILO recommendations.”

Valter Sanches continues, “The failure of the Government of Kazakhstan to address adequately these violations of fundamental labour rights would force us to refer this question to other international organizations, including the European Union, which would seriously call into question the EU’s cooperation with your country.”

Belarus: IndustriALL condemns arbitrary detention of independent union leader

Some ten people entered the office of REPAM union in the morning on 2 August and presented a public prosecutor’s warrant for the search of the union office. They broke in the door to the office of the chief accountant, as there was no key provided at the time of the search. Some computers have been confiscated while in the rest of them the agents removed hard drives. In the same time a similar search has been carried out in Soligorsk office of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union of Miners, BITU.

According to the public statement appeared on the website of the State Control Committee of Belarus Fedynich and Komlik are accused of tax evasion. Union leaders risk seven years of imprisonment and confiscation of their property.

Natalia Pichuzhkina, union activist and former editor of the union website praca-by.info has also been detained. All three activists were detained at their living places, which were also searched. Natalia has been released later in the evening of the same day, while Gennady remained there till the morning of 3 August. Ihar Komlik remains in custody. It is only known that he was transferred to the Okrestina detention centre.

The work of the union so far is not paralyzed. However there are suspicions that the searches and detentions took place in order to block the activities of the union. REPAM has always been active in protecting workers’ rights in Belarus. Recently the union led a strong campaign against notorious presidential decree 3 also known as “The decree on social parasites”,  penalizing the unemployed in Belarus.

Earlier in May 2017 IndustriALL executives extended their strongest support to their Belarusian colleagues fighting against forced labour and criminalization of dissent in Belarus and adopted a special resolution in this regard.

Valter Sanches, IndustriALL Global union general secretary said,

“IndustriALL strongly condemns arbitrary detention of independent union leaders and extends solidarity to BITU, REPAM and their leadership. This is an attack on independent trade union movement in Belarus. We will continue supporting our affiliates in Belarus. We are not going to sit and wait, while they oppress our brothers and sisters there. Belarus remains for many years under a special attention of the international community precisely because of the violations of trade union and workers’ rights. We will denounce this case to the International Labour Organization.”  

IndustriALL to lead mission to Freeport operations in Indonesia

The mission will include leaders from some of the world’s most powerful unions.

A press conference is scheduled for 10:00 am on 11 August at the Sari Pan Pacific hotel in Jakarta. Union leaders from Grasberg will attend and report on developments.

The aim of the mission is to:

The IndustriALL solidarity mission will include leaders from some of the world’s most powerful unions. The participants are:

In reaction to Freeport-McMoRan CEO, Richard Adkerson’s, recent comments that there is no strike at Grasberg, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, says:

“We’re going to Indonesia to stand behind and stand up for the workers who have been terminated for exercising their right to strike. It’s simply not true that there is no strike. There is an officially declared, legitimate strike, which is now entering its fourth month.

“The situation at Grasberg is serious, while the company is doing everything it can to play it down. Freeport is using the strike as an excuse to fire more than 4,000 workers and to undermine the union.”

There is a remarkably similar situation at PT Smelting in East Java, where workers have also been sacked for striking. PT Smelting depends on Grasberg for copper concentrate and is jointly owned and operated by Freeport-McMoRan’s PT Freeport Indonesia and Mitsubishi Materials.

“We will demand that the government uphold fundamental labour standards. Workers’ rights are being trampled on. Freeport and PT Smelting cannot declare that workers have voluntarily resigned when in fact they’ve been sacked for exercising their legitimate right to strike,” says Özkan.

Fired by voicemail: an EDF worker speaks out

The sackings, which took place during the annual meeting of the EDF Group’s Committee for Dialogue on Social Responsibility (CDSR), grossly breach the most elementary applicable practices in the gas and electricity sector in the country, and the Agreement on Corporate Social Responsibility signed with IndustriALL Global Union and PSI in 2005 and renewed in 2009.

IndustriALL Global Union spoke to one of the affected workers about what happened.  From one moment to the next, he was out.

He said:

“I was on holidays in France end of June when I received a voice message on my cell phone from my boss, saying that he had very bad news for me and that I no longer had a job.

“I did not have to return to the office anymore, due to the ‘economical context’, my job no longer existed.  I was thunderstruck, not only by the way my dismissal was announced but also by the fact that there had been no indication at all that this was going to happen.

“On the contrary, a few weeks earlier, during a team meeting with the whole department, we were informed that the announced projects were confirmed. My trade union representative has not been informed nor consulted, no other job opportunities within the company or the sector were proposed.   From one moment to the next I was out.”

Following the announcement of those dismissals, Luminus workers, together with national unions, staged protests and strikes at various sites in Belgium to express outrage at this blatant disregard for basic labour rights and lack of consultation with unions, and they asked for international support.

Under pressure from global unions, the Committee of Corporate Social Responsibility (CDSR) and several European trade unions with membership at EDF, Luminus management finally apologized for the way the dismissals were announced in a press release.

But the company refused to reverse the decision and reinstate the workers. Instead, management committed to arrange “personalised follow up” for all the laid-off workers and pledged that more would be done to anticipate this type of situation.

“I have been offered outplacement, the support of a career coach to help me in my job search but who will want to hire a guy my age?” said the Luminus worker.

“I have been working for Luminus a long time and I have never had any complaints. I reached my personal targets every year and during performance reviews with my bosses or HR I have always been clear that I was happy in my job and planning to work until I would have to retire at the age of 65. I have been offered no pre-pension arrangement so I am not only out of work but I will also lose all social benefits that I would be entitled to if I would have worked until the age of 65.”

As EDF management is now seeking to launch negotiations for a new CSR agreement, Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL Global Union’s Assistant General Secretary said:

“What happened at Luminus is a disgrace. Management’s contempt for the basic rules of social dialogue calls into question their stated determination to renegotiate in good faith”.  

In a joint statement to EDF CEO, Jean-Bernard Lévy, IndustriALL Global Union and PSI urged:

“The satisfactory resolution of the Luminus dispute is critical for us as a step in restoring trust and re-establishing proper conditions for social dialogue and building constructive industrial relations at global level”.   

Los Mineros complete ten years on strike against Grupo Mexico

The length of strikes at Cananea in Sonora, Taxco in Guerrero and Sombrerete in Zacatecas shows the resistance and perseverance of the miners’ union, Los Mineros, affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union, in its defence of workers' rights.

On 30 July 2007, union members took action at three mines run by Grupo Mexico after repeated health and safety problems. One of the worst incidents was the industrial homicide at Pasta de Conchos on 19 February 2006, which caused the death of 65 workers and injuries to another 29 ().

The company and the government did not properly investigate the real causes of the disaster, bring the guilty parties to justice, recover the bodies or compensate fairly the families of the victims.

Moreover, Grupo Mexico owner, German Larrea, refused to take measures to improve safety at the mine or to comply with labour ministry orders. As expected, further accidents occurred. One of the most recent was on 6 August 2014, when a spillage of toxic material into the River Sonora damaged the environment and seriously affected the health of local communities.

The striking workers are also protesting against the company’s refusal to recognize the union and repeated violations of the three collective agreements. The workers have also denounced Grupo Mexico’s government-backed attacks on the union.

For example, in Sombrerete, the company tried to refer the matter of responsibility for the strike to arbitration and has even questioned, on several occasions, the union’s collective bargaining rights at the mine, although it failed in these attempts.

At the strike in Taxco, the company twice sought to terminate the collective agreement during the strike but failed on both occasions. It did the same at Cananea, where it requested termination of the collective agreement in the middle of the strike on the grounds of force majeure.

In none of the three cases did the company seek to resolve the strikes through conciliation procedures. However, Los Mineros are still ready to seek a negotiated solution to put an end to the strikes:

“Once again, ten years after these disputes began, we denounce the company for its lack of principles and values and demand that it meets our demands and seeks a negotiated solution,”

said the union in an official communique.

The United Steelworkers (USW), also affiliated to IndustriALL in the United Sates, expressed its total support for Los Mineros:

“The USW has stood with our Mexican sisters and brothers for the past decade, working together to build cross-border solidarity in defence of workers' rights and in support of local communities. We will continue this solidarity until justice is won”.

Finally, Fernando Lopes, IndustriALL Global Union director, said:

“After ten years, the strikes have solid support and the workers remain united behind their union. IndustriALL supports the struggles led by Los Mineros and calls on the government to take practical steps to find a solution to these disputes”.  

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