Indian unions call for massive mobilization against Modi government’s anti-worker policies

A national convention on 8 August in Delhi, organized by ten central trade unions in association with all independent national federations of workers of both industrial and services sectors, expressed serious concern over the pro-corporate and anti-people policies of the Modi government.

The convention adopted a four point action programme including a massive campaign to mobilize workers across the country and three days of demonstrations in Delhi on 9-11 November 2017 and preparations towards indefinite countrywide strike action against anti-people policies of the government.

A declaration stated that the unemployment situation is getting worse with drastic cuts in social expenditure, price rise of essential commodities and a deepening impoverishment of workers in unorganized sector.

The Modi government is undermining the social dialogue by refusing to implement consensus recommendations on equal pay and benefits for contract workers and minimum wages norms given by the successive Indian Labour Conferences, the apex social dialogue forum in the country.

Unions condemn anti-worker labour law reforms. They oppose the government’s move to evolve the social security code by dismantling existing social security infrastructure and usurp the massive social security fund subscribed by workers amounting to more than 300 billion US$, and instead make them available for speculation in share market under the camouflage of ‘universalisation of social security’.

G. Sanjeeva Reddy, IndustriALL executive committee member and president of IndustriALL affiliate INMF and of the national centre INTUC, said:

"There is great unity within India's trade union movement. The anti-labour policies of the Modi government are compelling trade unions to launch collective protests to safeguard the interests of the working class. The trade union movement will continue the struggle."

The ten central trade unions organizing the convention include INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, UTUC and LPF.

IndustriALL mission to Indonesia finds human rights crisis for sacked workers

More than 4,200 workers at U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan’s PT Freeport, which operates the massive gold and copper Grasberg mine in West Papua, have been sacked for striking, while some 300 workers at PT Smelting in Gresik were fired after striking in January.

The mission, from 8-11 August 2017 included high-level leaders from IndustriALL trade union affiliates in Australia (AWU and CFMEU), the Netherlands (FNV), North America (USW) and South Africa (NUM). 

It met with leaders of Indonesian unions CEMWU SPSI, FPE SBSI and FSPMI, the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, as well as PT Freeport company management and Rio Tinto, which has an interest in the mine. PT Smelting – majority owned by the Japanese company Mitsubishi and of which PT Freeport owns 25 percent – refused to meet.

The Mission heard grave testimony on the treatment of PT Freeport workers, who the company says have “voluntarily resigned”:

“The mission has been informed that after firing the workers, the company has forcibly ejected the workers from company housing, denied them access to company hospitals and company schools, and has worked with local banks to restrict workers’ access to credit. We received the disturbing report that several workers and their family members who were denied medical care have died as a result. Many of the workers who lost their housing are now living in tents or the union’s offices,” said the IndustriALL mission in a statement on 11 August.

“Both PT Freeport and PT Smelting have treated the workers they fired inhumanely and with contempt. PT Smelting has refused to pay workers’ salary or benefits while their union contests their firing in court, notwithstanding a note from the provincial Ministry of Manpower asking the company to do so. PT Smelting has also repeatedly refused to negotiate with the workers’ union FSPMI to seek a negotiated solution for the dispute. FSPMI reports that the fired workers are now being treated worse in court hearings than terrorists, guarded by police carrying firearms and tear gas. These actions are clear violations of the workers' rights to organize, bargain collectively, and strike, established in ILO Conventions,” continued the statement.

In meetings with leaders from the Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Minerals and Energy Resources on 9 August, the mission requested that they redouble their efforts to facilitate resolutions of the PT Freeport and PT Smelting disputes.

The Mission also called on PT Freeport and PT Smelting to immediately reinstate all the workers they have fired, then negotiate fair resolutions of the matters that provoked the workers to strike in the first place.

IndustriALL general secretary, Valter Sanches, said:

“These are not just labour disputes, these are not just violations of the right to strike, but this is a human rights crisis. PT Smelting has not paid strikers wages or benefits that they are entitled to for six months and families are suffering. PT Freeport is attempting to do serious harm to strikers, their families and their communities in order to crush the strike. This cannot continue. We urge both companies to reinstate the workers and urgently enter into negotiations before matters deteriorate any further. In the meantime, IndustriALL will discuss with its affiliates worldwide how to further support and escalate pressure on both companies.”

Read the full statement here. 

Global unions call for release of the union leader in Belarus

In their letter to the Belarusian president, global unions said the work of trade union organizations in the country was in jeopardy after authorities have raided many trade union offices and seized the hard drives of computers along with personal property of union leaders. Futhermore, the chief accountant of the REP union, Ihar Komlik, has been arrested.

ITUC and IndustriALL said: “We have serious reasons to believe that these actions are aimed at undermining the activities of the independent trade union movement in Belarus in retaliation for the active civil position of trade union leaders and the activities of independent trade unions to protect the social and economic interests of the working people of the Republic of Belarus.”

The global unions called these recent attacks on trade union leaders and their unions by the Belarusian authorities, an “interference in the internal affairs of the trade unions, which is a grave violation of ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association.”

The global unions are demanding the government "stop interference of state structures in the internal affairs of the REP and BNP unions and adopt urgent measures to ensure normal conditions for the work of trade union organizations in accordance with the obligations of the Republic of Belarus under ILO Convention No. 87.”

The ITUC and IndustriALL also made a strong protest and called for the "immediate release of Ihar Komlik, to stop criminal prosecution of Gennady Fedynich and Ihar Komlik, the leaders of the Belarusian trade union REP, and to remove all groundless accusations against them.”

In the letter, IndustriALL and ITUC reserved their right to inform the International Labour Organization, European Union and other competent international institutions of the on-going violations.

Iraqi unions urge parliament to reject social security bill

The proposed legislation was approved by the Iraqi cabinet on 1 August and is now being rushed through parliament under pressure from the World Bank, which wants to see a reduction in government spending as a condition for millions in loans. The Iraqi government has ignored comments and objections to the draft social security law from trade unions and civil society groups.

Iraqi unions, under the umbrella of the Conference of Iraqi Federations and Workers Unions, are calling for a new social security law that will provide comprehensive social protection for all Iraqi people to promote social stability in times of crisis.

Thousands of Iraqi citizens have been displaced due to internal conflict and the recent decline in oil prices has deepened the economic crisis in the country, contributing to a rise in unemployment and precarious work. As a result, tens of thousands of families and workers are living in poverty.

"This draft is contrary to international standards and conventions and has been drawn up on the guidance of the World Bank in order to obtain loans. Such loans will cause Iraq to sink. The adoption of this draft will lead to increased poverty among Iraqis, even though they are living in one of the world's richest countries in oil wealth,” said Hashmeya Alsaadawe, President of the General Union of Electricity Workers and Technicians, and member of IndustriALL’s Executive Committee.

The dire economic situation in Iraq has increased the pressure on the relatively weak social security system, highlighting the need to expand its coverage rather than reduce it, say unions.

Unions oppose the draft social security law that would: 

The Conference called upon the Iraqi Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to urgently begin social dialogue with trade unions to discuss the proposed legislation.  

In a letter to members of parliament in Iraq, IndustriALL Global Union’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, said:

“IndustriALL urges the Iraqi parliament to return the draft to the government so it can be discussed with Iraqi trade unions and all relevant stakeholders in a proper consultation process. In addition, IndustriALL calls on the government to ensure that any new social security law meets international labour standards, particularly Convention No. 102 on Minimum Standards for Social Security and Recommendation No. 202 on National Floors for Social Protection.”

Living wage campaign launched in the Philippines

Twenty-two national and local union leaders in the textile and clothing sector affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union and representatives from the Workers’ Party and the NAGKAISA labour coalition participated in the planning workshop for a living wage campaign on 20-22 July 2017 in Baguio City, Philippines jointly organized by IndustriALL and FES.

For IndustriALL the living wage is fundamental. Through training projects and workshops IndustriALL and its affiliates develop and implement national action plans, helping unions to fight for a living wage and eradicate wage discrimination. The promotion of industry-wide wage agreements that guarantee all workers, including precarious workers, a fair share of the wealth they generate, is an important part of this struggle.

The participants of the workshop resolved that workers should never stop fighting for a just wage as a reasonable way of distributing wealth equitably. The participants also said that unions should engage in the fight for living wages, while strengthening their arguments and evidence proving that a bare minimum income is not sufficient for workers and their family to live decently.

In the Philippines workers and their families are unable to live a decent life on the minimum wage.

“Even for those of us who are organized and have a collective agreement, we are still struggling because of the rising cost of basic goods. It must be much worse for workers on the minimum wage,” lamented Ferdinand Meneses, union officer at a textile factory.

“There is a need for the affiliates to assess their strength in representing the sectors to be able to come up with an appropriate strategy in pushing for a just living wage,”

said Annie Adviento, IndustriALL South East Asia regional secretary.

There are three key elements for unions to pursue a living wage: supporting a national minimum wage campaign, increasing capacity to bargain for a living wage and IndustriALL’s initiative with global brands called ACT. 

“The ACT process that has been developed by IndustriALL seeks to establish freedom of association, collective bargaining and living wages to be negotiated with major brands is worth replicating at every level,”

added Adviento.

Participants adopted the following action plan for the living wage campaign:

The participants will work on the living wage campaign with the support of the broader trade union movement at the national, sectoral and enterprise level.

South Africa: NUM marches against plans to cull 8,500 jobs at AngloGold Ashanti

The union called on the government to intervene through job protection policies in important sectors of the economy such as mining, construction and energy.

The mines have ignored an agreement that ensured job protection, leading NUM to demand a month’s salary for every year served as part of the retrenchment package.

NUM called on mining companies in South Africa to find ways to save jobs especially in an environment where at least 70,000 mining jobs have been lost over last five years, according to the Chamber of Mines.  

As well as the proposed job losses at AngloGold Ashanti, close to 6,000 workers are set to lose their jobs at Bokoni Platinum, half of which are contract workers. Meanwhile, Sibanye Gold has announced plans to retrench 10,000 workers. Earlier, this year, South Africa’s Anglo American Platinum said it expected to cut up to 2,000 jobs at its Union and Twickenham mines.

“The NUM strongly condemns these irresponsible companies. The jobs bloodbath is a clear attack on the working class, communities and the poor, a direct attack on mine workers in particular,” said the union in a statement. 

The NUM is accusing the mining companies of only being interested in maximizing profits and mechanizing mines and paying little attention to job security or retraining of workers. Quick retrenchments were convenient for the companies who often cited making losses as the reason behind their decision, even when they had made profits in previous years. Mining companies are not socially responsible when it came to workers’ rights and welfare, argues the NUM.

Gold mining in South Africa is also declining with some mines reaching the end of their production life, getting deeper and unsafe to mine. It is estimated that gold in South Africa will be exhausted in the next 30 years.

 Glen Mpufane, Industrial director for mining, said: “We are deeply concerned at the scale of job loses proposed by AngloGold Ashanti which will seriously affect working class communities in South Africa. In 2015, AngloGold Ashanti reneged on our global framework agreement by unilaterally cancelling it. This only strengthens our resolve to unite workers across borders to stand up against the company.

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”.