South Africa: Mine accident kills four workers

The workers were trapped underground following an earth tremor. This happened after mine management ignored safety advice from rock engineers who had visited the mine a few days before the accident.

The accident happened when workers were working overtime, and it may be the case that pressure to reach production targets forced them to work under unsafe conditions. Union campaigns have highlighted workers’ right to refuse  unsafe work.

IndustriALL affiliate, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), said the accident was due to negligence and could have been prevented. The union expressed shock at the number of mineworkers killed in the mines. Although the number of deaths has gone down over the years, NUM fears that this trend might be reversed.

All four bodies were recovered. Three of the mineworkers were South African while one was from Lesotho. The NUM has called on the Department of Mineral Resources to carry out an investigation into the accident.

With 73 mineworkers killed in 2016 and 2,662 injured, occupational health and safety remains a major concern in South African mines. Of the dead, 30 were gold miners, 27 from platinum mines and 12 from diamond, chrome, copper and iron ore mines. With so many workers being killed, achieving “zero harm” in South Africa’s deep gold mines will take far much longer than anticipated.

IndustriALL joins the NUM in sending condolences to the deceased workers’ families. Said Fabian Nkomo, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa:

“We received the news of the death of the workers at Tau Lekoa gold mine with shock and sadness especially when this could have been avoided. Workers safety in the mines must be guaranteed and given priority by employers, and mine management must always ensure workers safety. Adhering to the provisions of the ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines as well as the Health and Safety Act was important.”

Serbia: Three week strike at FIAT ends

It follows an unprecedented three weeks of strike action at the factory in Kragujevac, and effective trade union mobilization which benefitted from the support and solidarity of fellow trade union organizations from all the way across Europe and beyond.

On June 27, trade unions and 2,000 workers at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Serbian subsidiary made the decision to strike after their call to open negotiations to solve their increasingly difficult employment conditions remained unanswered.

Negotiations between Fiat management and Serbian trade unions began on 19 July with the mediation of Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, whose government owns one third of FCA Srbija. The negotiations came after repeated calls from the unions and instructions from the national labour inspectorate to comply with Serbian law on strikes, which FCA local management had violated.

IndustriALL Global and IndustriAll European Trade Union stood in solidarity with FCA Srbija workers and their affiliated trade unions SSMS (the independent metal workers’ union of Serbia) and GS IER “Nezavisnost” (the sectoral trade union in industry, energy and mining sectors) in their fight for decent wages and working conditions.

Trade unions from all across Europe (Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain) and beyond (through FCA-CNH Industrial global union network) expressed their support to colleagues in the Serbian plant and urged the group management at FCA headquarters in Italy to ensure workers’ rights are complied with and proper social dialogue opened with the unions.

IndustriAll European Trade Union and IndustriALL Global Union welcome the fact that social dialogue finally took place on Serbian trade unions’ demands, which allowed for negotiations to take place and yielded some important initial results for FCA Srbija workers, as follows:

IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Valter Sanches said:

“We salute the spirit of struggle and determination of our Serbian affiliates during and at the end of this dispute, and note the importance of international solidarity to achieve this result. We expect this signed agreement to create the foundation for proper social dialogue.

“FCA Srbija must now commit to working with the unions to satisfy the legitimate demands and expectations of the workers.

“Once again our solidarity and support has been and will be with our sisters and brothers in Serbia in their fight for better working and living conditions.”

The agreement provides initial answers to some of the workers’ most urgent claims, and lays the foundations for social dialogue, which will continue after September with negotiations on a new three-year collective agreement.

 Luc Triangle, General Secretary of industriAll European Trade Union, said: 

"The fight against precarious work and wage inequalities is a top priority for industriAll Europe. We can no longer accept that workers doing the same job for the same company across Europe receive notably different levels of wages and working conditions. We thus welcome the agreement reached at FCA Srbija which represents a first step in the right direction. We will pay careful attention in ensuring that the planned further talks help to achieve a decent living for all FCA Srbija workers."

IndustriALL intensifies campaign to ratify Hong Kong Convention

The Hong Kong Convention, adopted in 2009, provides regulations to ensure that ship recycling doe not pose unnecessary risk to human health, safety or the environment. IndustriALL and its affiliates have been actively engaged in demanding that governments ratify the Convention.

The IndustriALL workshop in Chittagong, from 17 to 18 July, was jointly organized by the Bangladesh Metalworkers’ Federation, the Bangladesh Metal Chemical Garments Tailors Workers Federation, the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies and the OSHE Foundation. The workshop witnessed dynamic participation by affiliates and delegates from the International Maritime Organization, civil society organizations (CSOs) and academics

Mujibul Haque, State Minister for labour and employment in Bangladesh also participated in the Chittagong workshop. He said:

“Officials from the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments should take stern action against the shipyard owners who are violating the existing laws and putting workers’ lives in danger. We will consult with other departments concerned and expedite the efforts to ratify to and implement the Hong Kong Convention.”

IndustriALL affiliate Alang Sosiya Shiprecycling General Workers’ Union (ASSRGWA) organized the workshop in Bhavnagar, India, which took place from 20-21 July. There was participation in the workshop from a varied number of stakeholders including representatives from shipbreaking workers’ unions, the employers’ federation, government officials, the Self Employed Women’s Association, as well as CSOs.

Participants underlined the need to improve the health and safety practices at the shipbreaking yards. They also decided to create awareness among workers of the Hong Kong Convention and take forward the ratification campaign. The local government officials, employers and ASSRGWA agreed to have social dialogue on regular basis, in order to develop concrete process to do so.

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

“So far only six countries have ratified the Hong Kong Convention. We need 14 more major countries engaged in shipbuilding, shipping and shipbreaking to ratify the Convention to make it enter into force. We are still witnessing serious and deadly accidents in the shipbreaking industry. To ensure safe and healthy working conditions in shipbreaking yards, at least shipbreaking countries in South Asia have to move forward to immediately ratify the Convention and implement it.”

South Asia is a major destination for ships at the end of their life. Giant ships around the world are beached on the shorelines of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and workers break them to retrieve steel and other parts which fuels economic activity in downstream industries. The South Asian shipbreaking industry is one of most dangerous industries in the world, where workers risk their lives and get maimed in the process of earning their livelihood.

Unions and civil society in India call for a halt to secret RCEP trade talks

RCEP is a proposed mega regional free trade agreement (FTA) currently being negotiated by 16 countries including ASEAN members and its six FTA partners namely India, China and Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

The 16 RCEP participating countries account for almost half of the world’s population, almost 30 per cent of global GDP and over a quarter of world exports.

RCEP negotiations consist of roughly 23 chapters and aim to rewrite trade and regulatory rules in areas including trade in agricultural and industrial goods, investment, intellectual property rights, services, competition policies and e-commerce.

At a convention held on 23 July, under the banner ‘People’s Resistance Forum against FTAs and RCEP’, 600 people from across India representing trade unions, farmers, agricultural workers, patient groups, public health activists, NGOs, street vendors, human rights activists, academics and many others, gathered in Hyderabad and resolved to build a broad based people’s movement to resist the RCEP.

Participating in the convention, S.Q. Zama of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the Indian National Metalworkers’ Federation, said:

“RCEP the mega FTA will have serious implications for workers' rights and will limit government’s policy space to formulate suitable development and employment policies. We oppose the investor state dispute settlement provisions as they shift the rules of the global economy in favour of corporations and against workers. We call for transparency and democratic process in the RCEP negotiations. Trade unions will join hands with people’s movements to resist RCEP in its present form."

The action-packed week also witnessed a protest march on 24 July with around 1,000 demonstrators, sectoral workshops and discussions on issues such as RCEP and its impact on workers’ rights, agriculture, public services and e-commerce. Some representatives also participated in the stakeholder consultation with the RCEP trade negotiating committee. They shared concerns from respective sectors, strongly criticized the limited space created for stakeholder intervention and called for transparency and democratic process.

Rio Tinto global union network welcomes commitments from company

In a letter sent to the unions with membership at Rio Tinto operations on 11 April 2017, the company expressed a commitment to a series of fundamental principles and structures for its labour relations. This message was confirmed by Rio Tinto’s head of employee relations, Rick Willmott, who was present at the meeting. He said that the company was motivated to improve perceptions on labour relations. The union network adopted a resolution recognizing this.

The commitment is seen as highly significant. Rio Tinto is the second biggest mining group in the world, and its practices are precedent setting. Industrial relations in the mining industry are frequently strained, and IndustriALL has campaigned for a number of years for social dialogue.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary said:

“IndustriALL welcomes the commitment, and we will invest in developing and monitoring this new relationship.

“Rio Tinto has made a policy decision to change the culture of the company. This is a groundbreaking development, and it is long overdue for this global giant to recognize the role and importance of trade unions. “

The joint steering committee, made up of representative of Rio Tinto and union representatives from different continents, will meet twice a year to develop the relationship and monitor compliance with the policy. Regional platforms have also been established in North America, Sub Saharan Africa and Asia, and country reports will be systematically collected.

IndustriALL mining director Glen Mpufane said:

“We are very pleased with the results of our global campaign, however we remain vigilant to ensure the commitments we have received are put into place."

A major focus of the new relationship will on contracting and precarious work, and efforts will be made to bring contractors into collective bargaining agreements.

The network discussed the appalling working conditions of Malagasy contract workers at Rio Tinto. IndustriALL will facilitate a global fact-finding mission to Madagascar. Rio Tinto will be asked to be part of the mission.

The meeting adopted an action plan laying out the next steps in implementing the new relationship with Rio Tinto, and growing and strengthening the network.

Health and safety, especially occupational respiratory diseases, will be part of the network’s activities. Campaigns to highlight the devastating consequence of non-compliance by the mining industry, like the CFMEU campaign on the re-emergence of black lung in Australian coalmines, will be carried out.

There will be demands to co-design and participate in inspections and monitoring protocols. The network will contest the undue influence of the International Employers Organisation on the ILO concerning the uncritical acceptance of the ISO standards.

The network will focus on gender equity across Rio Tinto’s global operations to address discrimination against women, and encourage the setting up of constitutional women’s structures in unions.

The network will build unity and collaboration within national trade unions and facilitate solidarity within and across borders at Rio Tinto operations, and encourage youth recruitment and participation within the global network.

A resolution was passed condemning the dismissal of more than 4,000 workers in Indonesia by PT Freeport, the local subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan, in which Rio Tinto has a 40 per cent stake. A high-level solidarity mission of IndustriALL affiliates will travel to Indonesia in early August.

In conclusion, Andrew Vickers, co-chair of IndustriALL Mining Section and chair of Rio Tinto Global Union Network said:

“I am very pleased the Rio Tinto has made the commitment to change its stance on industrial relations. We hope this sets a precedent in the mining industry, and that other players, such as Glencore, recognize the legitimacy of trade unions.

“We will continue to share information throughout the network, to report non-compliance with the confirmed principles and agreed processes, and to re-energize the global campaign at short notice if required.”

Ukrainian miners return above ground after pay promise

More than 50 miners returned to ground on 21 and 22 July at the two mines owned by state enterprise, Lysychanskvugillya, after enduring seven days of dangerous conditions underground. Four people became ill during the protest and needed to be raised to the surface.

Workers are set to receive their first payment on 2 August, and have been promised that there payment of wage arrears for 2017 by the end of August, and arrears for 2015 and 2016 by 1 April 2018.

On 20 July, IndustriALL affiliates, the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine (NPGU) and the Trade Union of Coal Industry Workers of Ukraine, met with the representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Coal and the administration of Lysychanskvugillya in the capital Kiev, where negotiations led to the approval of the salary payments.

According to the NPGU president, Mykhailo Volynets, workers will continue to protest if the debt isn’t paid:

“The miners are in difficult conditions and under psychological pressure from the administration. In addition, the miners’ town of Lysychansk is located near the area of military conflict, and this also psychologically affects people. We are concerned that in a tense emotional state the miners could take radical or inappropriate action.”

Miners will hold a rally on 28 July in the front of the Lugansk region administration building in the city of Severodonetsk, demanding the fulfillment of obligations made by the minister of Energy and Coal Industry.

In August 2016, Victor Trifonov, the chair on NPGU in the towns of Selidovo and Novogrodovka, set himself alight to force the payment of unpaid wages and attract authorities’ attention to the workers’ and their families’ predicament.

IndustriALL General Secretary, Valter Sanches, stated in his letter to the President of Ukraine on 25 July:

“This situation is untenable, preventing workers access to healthcare and pension benefits, and driving workers and their families to the brink of extreme poverty. We stand in solidarity with our affiliates in their struggle for decent and better working conditions, and we also support the continuation of the strike if the first payment is not made on 2 August.”
 

Algeria: 5,000 police used to stop energy workers’ march

Hundreds of trade unionists from IndustriALL Global Union’s electricity and gas affiliate, SNATEGS, had gathered in the Mediterranean port for the March of Shame against state energy company Sonelgaz.

However, they were met by an extreme and unwarranted police operation. Bejaia was effectively closed off by police barricades and more than 50 vehicles and anti-riot trucks blocked access to the city.

SNATEGS President, Raouf Mellal, was one of the hundreds of people arbitrarily arrested in a strategy to prevent the trade unionists’ right to peaceful assembly.

In light of the extraordinary police provocation and not wishing to endanger its members, SNATEGS called off the march advising its members to comply with the security forces and avoid any clashes or disturbances that could harm public safety. SNATEGS said it issued the advice in order to safeguard its image as a responsible and peaceful organization.

“We deplore the excessive behaviour on the part of the security forces, which aims to hide our actions and prevent the world from seeing the true extent of our support and strength as workers' representativeness in the SONELGAZ group,” said SNATEGS in a statement on 24 July.

SNATEGS members had travelled from across the country to take part in the march, which follows a series of well-supported strikes demanding better wages and improvements in health and safety at Sonelgaz. However, in retaliation to the mobilizations this year, 92 SNATEGS members have been fired, 29 workers have been charged with criminal offences, while more than 900 workers are facing civil charges for going on strike.

Furthermore, the government deregistered SNATEGS on 16 May, breaking not only Algerian law but also ILO Conventions.

The trade union oppression of SNATEGS and its members, the only independent union at Sonelgaz representing some 35,000 workers at the company, follows the ongoing persecution of its President Raouf Mellal.

Mellal was sentenced in absentia on 16 December 2016 to six months in prison and a fine of 50.000 Algerian Dinars (US$455), after being accused of illegally obtaining documents. These documents, which were freely available online, exposed the illicit inflation of electricity bills by Sonelgaz over a ten-year period affecting eight million customers.

Mellal has already lost one appeal against his sentence and will be allowed one final chance to clear his name in the courts.

IndustriALL has again written to Algeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations to condemn the anti-union oppression of SNATEGS and its leaders, demanding that the country comply with ILO conventions on freedom of association and assembly, and that it reinstates all the union members who have been sacked for their union affiliations.

Attacks on trade unions in Algeria are intensifying and the country was examined by the Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) at the International Labour Conference in June for failure to comply with the ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association. IndustriALL gave testimony to the CAS on behalf of SNATEGS.

In its draft conclusions published on 15 June, the CAS called upon the Government of Algeria to:

Sonelgaz employs 86,000 people and is the country’s second largest enterprise. 

South Africa: Union victory over precarious work

NUMSA brought the case to court for its members placed by a labour broker, Assign Services, who were working for Krost Shelving and Racking, a company that manufactures storage products including steel racking, shelving and lockers. Of Krost’s 90 workers, 72 were organised by NUMSA, and these included temporary and permanent workers.

The court ruled that a labour broker contract for temporary employment was only for three months. Beyond that, the worker had to be confirmed as permanent by the employer where they were working.

The court victory was welcomed by over one million workers employed under labour broking conditions in most sectors of the economy, including those organised by NUMSA.

Unions have campaigned relentlessly for an end to this casualisation and outsourcing of labour. They argued that labour brokers did not create jobs but instead devalued them through reduced wages and benefits to increase employers’ profits. There were no benefits such as medical aid or pension.

Employers were also known to use labour brokers as a front to dismiss workers. In such cases workers were transferred to a labour broker who then terminated their contracts.

Brokers also ignored union demands for equal pay for work of equal value, and were union bashers who trounced collective bargaining rights. Some of their tactics included employing scab labour to break strikes, and they also reduced workers ability to gain skills when they moved them from one workplace to another on short contracts.

NUMSA’s long campaign against labour broking focused on the need for equal treatment of workers. The union says:

“The case also confirmed that once permanent, contract workers must be treated the same as permanent employees, and be given the same rights and benefits”.

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

“Working under labour broking conditions, which treat workers as disposable commodities, makes life difficult for the worker as they can lose their job at any time. When that happens, they have no benefits at all to fall back on. Therefore, we call for an end to precarious working conditions and support decent work and living wages.”

Electrical sector in Latin America builds unity and strength

The third meeting of the regional network of the electrical sector in Latin America began in San Salvador by hearing the anthem of the Electrical Industry Union of El Salvador (SIES), affiliated with IndustriALL Global Union.

“We are greatly honoured that it was decided to hold this event here, since it enables us to exchange experiences with colleagues from other countries.  There are many similarities in the problems we confront as workers in the sector.  For example, in the spread of outsourcing,” said SIES general secretary Joselito Costa. 

Over the two days, the participants discussed the situation of the sector in each country of the region, how to confront precarious employment and help those suffering from its effects, as well as future prospects for the sector based on the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0.

The meeting was attended by the minister of labour of El Salvador, Sandra Guevara, who praised the initiative and expressed her support for the unity of the labour movement:

“I encourage you to work together to strengthen union organization and ensure that the work you do will lead to progress.  Today we must be more united than ever, both at the country level in Latin America and at the global level,” said the minister. 

Aside from discussing the situation in the various countries of the region, IndustriALL energy director Diana Junquera addressed the global situation of the sector and of the labour movement.  Other topics affecting workers throughout the world were also discussed, such as alternative energies, change in the energy matrix and technological advances.

“One of the main subjects discussed was the loss of jobs due to technology and Industry 4.0.  This sector is particularly affected.  For example, the use of smart meters to monitor energy consumption has led to a considerable loss of jobs,” Junquera explained.

Later there was a very interesting presentation by the economic and political advisor of SIES, Francisco Martinez, on the future of energy, employment and the labour movement.  Based on data from various reports, he described what the electrical sector would be like in 2040. He noted, for example, that total global demand for energy will increase by 30%, and that most of it will be consumed in developing countries.  In addition, he discussed climate change and its impact on the electrical sector. 

The participants agreed to strengthen the unity of the labour movement in the context of globalization.  To that end they would establish unified positions of solidarity and support at the regional and global levels.  They would also seek to include more unions in the electrical sector in various countries in the Latin American network, with a view to building a solid network with a common position on the situation of the sector in the region.

“Now more than ever, our unions must be united for the struggle ahead.  We must strengthen the ties among brothers in the region, because we are all affected by the same disease of neo-liberalism.  Thanks to all, the struggle continues.”

The meeting was concluded by IndustriALL Global Union executive committee vice-chair, Raúl Enrique Mathiu, who was also present at the meeting.

Miners in Peru call national strike against labour reform

More than 50 miners’ unions took strike action on 20 July, as proposed by the National Federation of Miners, Metalworkers and Steelworkers (FNTMMSP), affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union.

The union opposes legislation put forward by the government of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski that, for example, facilitates collective redundancies and reduces redundancy pay by 50 per cent. The miners say the reform will also restrict their control over health and safety conditions, attack collective bargaining rights and the right to strike and promote the temporary employment of young workers.

The miners are calling for the repeal of regulations that allow the persecution of trade union leaders and outsourcing. They say that the government is encouraging precarious work by introducing these measures.

In addition to the strike, the FNTMMSP and its affiliates organized a march through the centre of Lima on 21 July. They then held a rally outside the labour ministry, where they requested talks on workers’ concerns.

The president of the congressional labour commission has agreed to meet the mining federation’s leaders, and workers hope to get a positive response that will allow them to end the strike.

Fernando Lopes from IndustriALL Global Union, says:

“Peru is following the path taken by many governments in the region, trying to reform legislation to make working conditions more precarious. The workers’ response is to fight this, which IndustriALL supports.”

Peru is the world’s second biggest producer of silver, third biggest producer of copper and fifth biggest producer of gold. Mining is key to the economy and accounts for 60 per cent of Peru’s exports.