IndustriALL campaign against asbestos targets Rotterdam Convention

IndustriALL met Rolph Payet, the Executive Secretary of the Rotterdam Convention, a UN treaty that facilitates information exchange on hazardous chemicals on its list, and provides for a national decision-making process on their import and export.

At the meeting, IndustriALL expressed strong support for a proposal from a group of 12 African nations to amend Article 22 of the Rotterdam Convention, so that no single country could veto the listing of a dangerous substance on Annex III of the Convention. 

In the meeting, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, said:

It is IndustriALL’s goal to achieve a global ban on asbestos. We lose hundreds of thousands of workers to asbestos every year. We see this proposal to amend the Rotterdam Convention as a real opportunity and we are here to express our wish that it is passed.

The proposal seeks to change the decision-making process so that a dangerous substance could be listed with 75 per cent majority support from voting parties.

Chrysotile asbestos has been repeatedly blocked from the list by countries with financial interests in the asbestos trade, despite it meeting all the scientific criteria for it to be recommended for listing, and having overwhelming support for listing from a majority of parties to the Convention.  Two million tonnes of chrysotile asbestos is still mined and sold every year, mostly to the developing world.

“It is the health and safety of workers versus the interests and profits of big groups. It is our mission to do everything in our power to change the situation,” said Özkan.

Payet emphasized that the Rotterdam Convention does not aim to ban the use or trade of chemicals listed in Annex III, but offers a regulatory framework for countries to decide, for such chemicals, whether they wish to restrict, and to what extent, their future import. Such decisions taken by individual countries trigger the “prior informed consent” procedure embedded in the Convention and require adequate disclosure of a material’s hazardous properties. These decisions are then communicated to all Parties and must be respected.

The Chrysotile Institute (formerly named the Asbestos Institute), a lobby group for the asbestos industry, has cited the repeated failure of the Rotterdam Convention to list chrysotile asbestos as being somehow proof that it can be used safely.  

Payet said that the decision to amend Article 22 is in the hands of the parties to the Convention and will be discussed when they meet in Geneva, Switzerland from 24 April to 5 May.

Concern has been expressed that a change to the current method of decision-making could derail the whole Convention.  However, Brian Kohler, IndustriALL’s director for health, safety and sustainability, who also attended the meeting, questioned:

The Convention is dysfunctional now, what is there to break?

IndustriALL has called on its affiliates to write to their governments supporting the proposal and is lobbying decision-makers to support the amendment of Article 22.

Ericsson unions convene to global meeting

The participants discussed the latest developments in Ericsson globally, the competitive landscape that Ericsson operates in, and the situation in Ericsson in different countries. Particular attention was also paid to the company’s supply chain and to trends regarding the insourcing of jobs to Ericsson from traditional telecom operators.

The Ericsson Global Trade Union Network was launched in April 2016 with the purpose of uniting Ericsson trade unions from around the world, sharing essential information and best practices, protecting workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively, and engaging with the company in global dialogue.

The Trade Union Network is supported by both UNI Global Union and IndustriALL Global Union and thus represents employees in servicing as well as manufacturing divisions of Ericsson. 

BMW workers in the UK announce strike action over pensions threat

The strikes will be combined with an overtime ban and work to rule, and involve up to 3,500 BMW workers at plants in Cowley, Goodwood, Hams Hall and Swindon. The workers are represented by IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Unite the Union, who voted 93 per cent vote in favour of strike action over BMW’s plan to close the final salary pension scheme. It will be the first ever strike by BMW workers in the UK.
 
BMW’s plans could see some workers lose up to £160,000 in retirement income. This is despite a growth of eight per cent in profit to €6.9 billion, a record year for Mini sales, and a six per cent rise in Rolls-Royce sales.
 
On 29 March 2017, a union delegation visited the company headquarters in Munich to protest the closure of the scheme, and accuse bosses of “pension robbery”. Unite plant convenor Norman Gough and national officer Tony Murphy met Manfred Schoch of IG Metall, who is chair of the BMW European Works Council (EWC). The Unite delegation requested support from the EWC and Schoch confirmed they would stand in solidarity.
 
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said,


 “BMW’s bosses need to get their heads out of the sand.
 
“BMW’s UK workers have contributed significantly to a record year in revenues and sales for the carmaker. They deserve better than broken pension promises and the loss of tens of thousands of pounds in retirement income.”

 Helmut Lense, IndustriALL director for the automotive sector, said,


 “BMW is a very profitable company, whose success is the consequence of the hard work and skill of its loyal workforce. We expect the company to agree to a fair solution which will be acceptable for both parties..”

Kazakh Oil Construction Company cracks down on union activists

In a recent episode, large-scale repression was launched against leaders and activists of the independent trade unions affiliated to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in the Mangystau region, in the west of the country.

To support Kazakh workers, follow the link on LabourStart website http://www.labourstart.org/go/occ.

At the beginning of January, local authorities and management of the oil service company OCC attempted to suppress a peaceful mass protest by workers. The chairman of the OCC workers’ trade union, Amin Yeleusinov, and labour inspector Nurbek Kushakbayev were arrested on 20 January. They still remain in jail.

OCC workers’ union is an affiliate of the ITUC through the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KNPRK). Union activists and workers organized a mass protest including a hunger strike against the dissolution of the KNPRK, announced earlier by the authorities.

At the same time, OCC management started mass layoffs of employees who participated in the protests. The OCC is a part of KazMunaiGas, the largest state oil and gas company in Kazakhstan.

KazMunaiGas is the company infamous for a previous labour dispute, which due to a lack of action from authorities bordering on complicity, caused an escalation which resulted in riots with 17 killed and many protesting workers wounded in 2011 in Zhanaozen.

IndustriALL and the ITUC have joined forces in the campaign against repression of union leaders and OCC workers, and have asked all affiliates to support the LabourStart campaign. The ITUC has also sent a letter to European Commission laying out the facts of deregistration of trade unions and the arrest of their leaders.

To participate in the campaign go to LabourStart website  and send your letter of protest demanding KazMunaiGas stop repression and start dialogue with workers and their representative union.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:

"IndustriALL is gravely concerned about the repression of trade union activists. These are blatant violations of the freedom of association, which is an integral part of the core ILO Conventions and international obligations of Kazakhstan. IndustriALL expresses strong solidarity with repressed union activists and will not stop the campaign until all jailed activists are freed and all accusations against them removed."

Common strategy needed to counter attacks on mineworkers

Hecla Mining Company in the USA, Anglo American in Australia, and Freeport-McMoRan in Indonesia, are trying to break trade unions by refusing to enter into fair negotiations. The attacks are part of a global trend in the industry:

“The common thread that runs through the three disputes is profit maximization through violation and abuse of trade union rights. These disputes, although separate, are essentially one struggle,” said IndustriALL General Secretary, Valter Sanches. “We need to work towards negotiating collective bargaining agreements that function across borders as a common response.”

Trouble in the USA

Miners belonging to IndustriALL affiliate, the United Steelworkers of America (USW), have been on strike at Hecla Mining Company’s Lucky Friday silver mine in Idaho since 13 March 2017, after collective bargaining negotiations collapsed.

Hecla’s final proposal delivered on 10 March stipulated changes in staffing procedures that USW believes would result in a dramatic drop in safety and jeopardize lives. It would also greatly reduce worker benefits and make jobs less secure.

Workers unanimously voted down this “last, best, and final” offer from the company and subsequently went on strike. Nonetheless, the USW Local 5114 is ready to bargain and says it wants nothing more than to keep their benefits, secure jobs and maintain a safe work environment. 

IndustriALL Global Union has written a protest letter to Hecla Mining urging their President and CEO, Phillips S. Baker Jr, to ensure that the strike does not escalate and to urgently ensure that Hecla enters into good faith negotiations over a new labour contract with United Steelworkers Local 5114.

Miners pay the price in Indonesia

Mineworkers in Indonesia are the sacrificial lambs in the recent clash between the government and US-based gold and copper mining giant Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) over the terms of a new operating contract. The dispute led to the government banning the shipment of copper concentrate from mid January 2017 until the beginning of April, which directly hit exports by FCX’s Grasberg mine, PT Freeport Indonesia.

Consequently, local members of the Chemical, Energy and Mines Workers Union at Freeport Indonesia are under threat of being furloughed. Although furlough involves a temporary lay-off from work, the company is forcing voluntary severance packages on workers.

Freeport is determined to proceed with its plans without negotiating with the union, even at the expense of violating Indonesian laws and regulations with specific reference to the furlough programme at Grasberg.

The union has sent three letters inviting the company to negotiate but the company has refused to even acknoweldege or reply to the letters.

Australian miners in stand off

In Australia, workers at the Anglo American-owned German Creek Coal Mine have been on strike since August 2016, after two years of failed attempts to renew the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) between the company and IndustriALL affiliate the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU).

Even though protected by law, it has not deterred Anglo American from bringing in scab labour to try and break the strike. Nonetheless, mineworkers have stood firm in their resolve to protect their jobs.

Workers are demanding the removal of a clause to ensure secure, steady jobs for workers and to stop the casualization of the permanent workforce; a fair and transparent process in the event of retrenchments; maintenance of current rates of remuneration; and demands for a safe and health work environment.

“Attacks on unions from mining companies are happening all the time in all corners of the world. But the harder they push, the stronger we will fight back. Through international solidarity and working as one, we can take on mining multinationals to get a better deal for all workers,” said Andrew Vickers, Co-chair of IndustriALL’s mining section and general secretary of CFMEU Mining & Energy of Australia. 

Scotland: Unite condemns sale of oil pipeline to union-busting billionaire

On Monday 3 April, Ineos announced that it had agreed to buy the pipeline from BP for US $250 million. Ineos is controlled by billionaire tax-avoider Jim Ratcliffe, who previously bought the Grangemouth refinery from BP. Ineos relocated from the UK to Switzerland in 2010 to avoid tax.
 
Unite was involved in major disputes with Ineos in 2008 and 2013, when Ratcliffe’s company attacked pensions and threatened to shut the plant if the union refused to accept new conditions.
 
Unite has called for a public inquiry into the sale.
 
Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said:


“The Forties Pipeline System carries a massive amount of the UK’s oil. Grangemouth is the one of the country’s major refineries. Both of these pieces of vital national infrastructure could soon be effectively in the hands of one man. That is an incredible amount of power.

“We need a national debate now. Do our politicians believe in an economy where power is widely held and used for the benefit of us all, or are they happy with power in the hands of a tiny minority whose biggest concern is their own personal benefit?

“Is it right, or sensible, to give the power to turn off the taps – and bring the entire country to a standstill – to one private company, without any democratic involvement or oversight?”

IndustriALL energy director Diana Junquera Curiel said:

“It is really dangerous to have so much vital infrastructure controlled by one man. This is in no one’s interest.”

The Forties Pipeline System carries oil 378 kilometres from a number of North Sea platforms to the Grangemouth refinery and a number of ports on the mainland. The pipeline carries 450,000 barrels of oil per day, or about 40% of UK production.

FSP2KI struggle wins gains for Indonesian contract workers

A major pulp mill, the PT Tanjungenim Lestari makes high quality bleached hardwood pulp from the acacia mangium tree, grown in plantations.

Since November 2016, paper workers' union, FSP2KI, has represented 55 workers at a contractor company that handles and transports the raw material used to make the pulp. The Wira Putra Pratama Company (WPP) operates at the mill’s logging yard.

The truck drivers and heavy machine operators were working under employment conditions lower than the legal minimum, but the employer was forced to make improvements to avert a strike on 13 March.

The WPP management refused to negotiate on the key worker demands of legal minimum wages, overtime payments, company supplied uniform and safety equipment, and a collective agreement.

However, with the support of the national FSP2KI union and other FSP2KI-organized workers at the mill, a three-day strike was announced for 14-16 March.

Settlement avoided the strike on 13 March through dialogue that included the top management of the mill, as well as the contractor. In line with the agreement, WPP will pay at least the minimum regional salary as well as overtime for any work over eight hours per day or 40 hours per week. Workers will also receive outstanding back pay. In addition, the employer has committed to sustainable employment for the workers and will begin good faith bargaining towards a collective agreement immediately.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, said:

IndustriALL salutes the good work of its active affiliate FSP2KI, which will improve workers’ pay packages and, importantly, lays good foundations for negotiating with the company in the future.

The full global trade union network of pulp and paper unions has mourned the passing of FSP2KI General Secretary Ikhsan Prajarani in a road accident on 11 February. Brother Noprizal was elected to replace Brother Ikhsan on 19 March and will play a key role in IndustriALL activities in the sector.

When the strike was cancelled, the membership held a vigil at Brother Ikhsan’s grave instead of holding the strike picket.

Global unions challenge problems with workers’ rights in Ukraine

Both international union organizations explained their concerns over problems of insufficient social dialogue and fast degrading workers’ conditions combined with increasing trade union rights’ violations. The mission also raised their concerns over the new Labour Code currently being debated in the national parliament, undermining workers’ rights and criticized by the International Labour Organization.

The delegation met with a number of trade union representatives and leaders of national union centres and sectorial trade unions as well as Ukrainian government representatives including the ministry of economy and trade, the ministry of social politics, the ministry of energy and coal industry and others.

Currently the country is facing an economic downturn, severely felt by workers and the population in general. According to recent research by the UN, living standards in Ukraine are continuously falling and about 60 per cent of Ukrainians already live below the poverty line.

Vadim Borisov, IndustriALL regional secretary said, “Politically the country is seeking closer ties and better integration with the European Union. However in the absence of due attention of the Government to the system of social dialogue aimed to mitigate the effects of economic problems in the country, workers are paying the biggest price for lack of economic and social reforms in Ukraine.”

IndustriALL and ITUC affiliates criticized the Government’s failure to develop a strong industrial policy or a clear strategy in any of the industrial sectors of the country.

"The country needs stability to ensure a fair transition, but it is under threat due to violation of trade unions rights," commented ITUC deputy general secretary Jaap Wienen.

Following the two days of work the mission concluded with a number of proposals on how to improve the situation.

IndustriALL and the ITUC have pledged to send a joint letter to the Prime Minister of Ukraine with an appeal to intervene in the situation and start negotiations with workers and their representatives before people go out to the streets.

Furthermore the global unions will appeal to their respective affiliates from all over the world and raise their awareness about the problems faced by Ukrainian workers.

In the same time the Internationals will also notify the European Parliament through the Vice President of the European Commission, Federico Mogerini, about the current situation and will lobby the International Monetary Fund so that loans to Ukraine are provided only for programmes that have social blocks developed jointly with trade unions.

The mission also called for a solidarity and unity among all trade unions inside the country.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary commented on the results of the mission, “We expected a much more responsive attitude from the Ukrainian authorities to the mission. Unfortunately the current state of social dialogue and workers' rights in the country is not sufficient and must be improved. The authorities must do a lot more if they want to keep the country from social collapse.
 
“IndustriALL has strong solidarity ties with all of our 12 affiliates in Ukraine, and we are in regular contact with all of them. We will never leave them alone in their struggle for decent working and living conditions and we will keep a close eye on the developments in Ukraine.”

Algerian energy union calls national strike

Algerian electricity and gas workers’ union, SNATEGS, is demanding that Sonelgaz, which employs more than 87,000 workers, stops repression of union activities and ends its harassment of trade unionists at the company.

The announcement comes after the peaceful ‘dignity’ strike by Sonelgaz workers in March, asking for respect and higher wages, was met with violence by security forces.  More than 400 people were arrested, including union leaders and SNATEGS president Mellal Raouf. They were eventually released but many reported being beaten by police. 

On 31 March, police aggressively prevented around 200 unionists from taking part in a meeting by blocking entry to SNATEGS headquarters in Bab Ezzouar. The trade unionists, who reported being verbally abused by police, were forced to meet in the street, where they were covertly photographed and videoed. At the meeting, SNATEGS made the decision to organize national strike in April at the country’s second-largest enterprise.

“SNATEGS again appeals to the government to intervene and put an end to these daily violations of law by the police forces, to affirm the recognition of trade union freedoms in Algeria, and respect international commitments with a view to achieving real trade union pluralism and a true democracy in Algeria,” said a statement from SNATEGS.

IndustriALL general secretary, Valter Sanches, said:

“We deplore the use of violence and oppression against our trade union members. We urge the government, the security forces and Sonelgaz to treat workers with respect and listen to their fair demands.”

Despite opposition from Sonelgaz, SNATEGS has been able to organize more than 30,000 workers at the company in 27 different locations and the union is calling for a mass mobilization for this second ‘dignity strike’.

SNATEGS president, Raouf, has been under pressure from authorities since he revealed extensive corruption at state-owned energy company Sonelgaz. In December 2016, Raouf was sentenced, in absentia, to six months in jail after he exposed the illegal inflation of electricity bills by Sonelgaz over a ten-year period.  

Trade union centres oppose Colombian OECD membership

“Approval of OECD membership for our country, without having resolved serious problems and in a context of impunity regarding the more than 3,000 trade unionists killed in the last 30 years, would completely undermine the Colombian trade union movement’s position regarding its demands on the government and its international denunciations,” state the trade union centres.

Since the government signed a peace agreement with the FARC, Colombia has become a strong candidate to join the OECD countries. The three trade union centres – CUT, CTC and CGT – oppose entry because, they say, the government of Juan Manuel Santos has not complied with the commitments it made regarding the informal labour market, subcontracting, the labour inspectorate, collective bargaining and violence against trade unionists.

President Santos applied for Colombian membership of the OECD in 2013.

Membership of the OECD requires arduous accession procedures at various public policy committees.

In a letter to the organization, the trade union centres say: “We respectfully request the indefinite suspension of negotiations for Colombia’s membership of the OECD.” They also attached a series of documents to support their case.

Recent ITUC and ILO reports show that the government is a long way from resolving major labour problems. The ITUC’s Index 2016 describes Colombia as one of ten countries where workers face the worst forms of violence, including killings, threats, abductions and physical violence.

Similarly, the 2017 report of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations notes the government of Colombia has still not implemented Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association, the right to join a trade union and the right to collective bargaining.

The Colombian trade union centres therefore call on the international trade union movement to express support for their request to suspend negotiations, on the eve of the meetings of the specialized committees that are due to take place 9- 11 April to define the procedures for Colombia’s accession to membership.

IndustriALL Global Union expresses its total support for the request made by the Colombian trade union centres.

“It would be absurd for the OECD to accept membership of Colombia, in a context of cuts, inequalities and violations of basic rights,” says Fernando Lopes, director at IndustriALL.