Mexican unions continue fighting against rising petrol prices

Since early January, trade unions, student and farmers’ organizations and cooperatives have organized widespread protests against the government’s decision to increase the petrol price by 20 per cent in six of the country’s 31 states.

Demonstrators have blocked roads, set fire to service stations, held marches and occupied business premises. Further action is planned and there is a call for president Peña Nieto to stand down.

Democratic unions, including IndustriALL Global Union affiliates the National Tyre Workers’ Union (SNTGTM), the Electrical Workers’ Union (SME) and Los Mineros (SNTMMSRM) have been participating in the protests.

Unions are calling on workers and the general public to protest on 26 January in Mexico City:

We must build a massive national movement to reverse this policy and we will start with a national day of action.

The government claims the increases are due to global price rises and are not an increase in taxes. The measure forms part of the government’s reform of the energy sector, which introduced price liberalization and ended the state-owned oil company PEMEX’s monopoly at service stations in 2017.

Companies can now set their own prices, but the government will apply the new price system gradually. Each month will see greater scope for price increases until all subsidies are removed by the end of 2017.

The Mexican people and workers no longer accept Enrique Peña Nieto’s government and are in the streets to win. IndustriALL is shoulder to shoulder with our Mexican colleagues in this fight and calls on all Mexican trade unionists to show their solidarity,

says Fernando Lopes, director at IndustriALL.

Why I went to Davos

It’s not the first time that a general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union has joined the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. But it was the first time for me. So what’s the representative of 50 million industrial workers doing alongside global elites in an alpine ski resort?

Despite the World Economic Forum’s belief in multi-stakeholder initiatives, Davos remains a love-in for the rich and powerful. We, as global trade unions, are there to spoil the party. Left to their own devices, their view of the world would take on a rose-tinted hue.

Davos is a unique event in that it attracts a mix of heads of state, government ministers, CEOs, celebrities, academics and non-governmental organizations over four intense days. All under the watchful eye of the world’s media.

By participating, the leaders of the global unions not only have an insight into how the elites are thinking, but have also been able to influence the agenda at Davos. (And we don't pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to be a member like businesses do; we are invited to take part.)

If you take a look at the themes of discussion at Davos – of social inclusion, the effects of globalization on people and the future of work – these are all subjects that international trade unions have already put on the agenda. If we had turned our back on Davos, there would be no one to champion the voice of workers.

As leader of IndustriALL, I’m now a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on the Future of Production, an initiative to develop a common vision on how societies can shape future production so that it reinforces prosperity, opportunity, environmental sustainability and social progress that is inclusive and broad based. On the council are ministers from countries around the world, top academic institutions and multinational companies.

Membership allows IndustriALL to help formulate policies that in turn can have a direct influence of industrial policies in the many member states on board. We will be pushing for job creation, better working conditions, and training and qualifications for workers.

Davos also provides opportunities to meet with hard-to-pin-down CEOs and leaders of global institutions. This year, the trade union delegation met with the head of the World Trade Organization, Roberto Azevedo. We were able to press home the need for a fair model of international trade regulation. Without fairness, protectionism – of key debate at Davos – will only rise.

Research by the ITUC shows that the global supply chains of 50 multinational companies employ only 6 per cent of workers directly. Which means they have a hidden workforce of 94 per cent – equal to 116 million people. These companies with a combined income of US$3.4 trillion have the power to reduce inequality, instead they rely on a model of production based on exclusion.

Simply turning up and talking about alleviating poverty and a fair distribution of wealth is not enough. Especially at a time when according to Oxfam, eight men have as much wealth as 50 per cent of the world’s population. Last year this was calculated at 62 billionaires owning half the world’s wealth. Next year, will it be owned by just one man?

Attacks on unions continue as Turkish government bans strikes

A strike planned at Asil Çelik steel mill in Bursa, Turkey, was deemed “prejudicial against national security” and banned at the last minute on 18 January.

Today, more than 2,200 workers in 13 factories owned by ABB, General Electric and Schneider Electric around Turkey received the message that the strike was banned a couple of hours after it had started.

According to current legislation, the decree is followed by a 60-day “postponement period” for negotiations, where the parties have to agree. In practice this means that there is no chance to continue the strike after the 60-day period.

In early 2015, Turkey’s government banned strikes in nearly 40 companies. ILO’s Committee on Freedom of Association has ruled that suspending a strike on the pretext that the strike would be a threat to national security is in violation of the principles of freedom of association.

"Again, we strongly condemn this blatant violation of the fundamental right of workers to strike, guaranteed by Turkey’s constitution," says IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan.

Kemal Özkan says that using the excuse of threat against national security does not have any rational or legal grounds.

"On the contrary, this shows the government favouring business interests rather than protecting the rights of the workers.

"IndustriALL will continue to support our Turkish affiliate Birleşik Metal-İş, and urge the Turkish government to withdraw the decree and instead create a proper environment where free collective bargaining negotiations can take place."

PCSS stands for precarious workers’ rights at Jamul cement plant in India

The visit to the plant was organized on the invitation of PCSS union on 19 January 2017 on the occasion of the IndustriALL India cement unions meeting in Nagpur. IndustriALL representatives including Matthias Hartwich, director for materials industries and Apoorva Kaiwar, South Asia regional secretary, who visited the ACC Jamul Cement Works plant and met local management.

For more than a year, mature dialogue has been developing at the enterprise. The collective efforts of IndustriALL and PCSS, coordinated international work as well as use of international mechanisms including an OECD complaint in Switzerland helped to win recognition of significant rights for precarious workers at ACC Jamul Cement Works.

During the meeting the corporate representatives acknowledged the “mature and constructive approach of PCSS and IndustriALL”, which in combination with an open and advanced approach from management side contributed towards establishing fruitful industrial relations at the Jamul plant. The result of this was an unprecedented agreement signed in January 2016, which will go a long way in protecting precarious workers’ rights, not only in the Jamul plant, but could also be replicated in cement plants across India. Corporate management stated that this is a milestone and even a showcase for future labour relations with contract workers.

During the public meeting in front of the plant, PCSS union activists expressed thanks to IndustriALL’s efforts and solidarity support in defending precarious workers’ rights.

Matthias Hartwich said, “Congratulations to PCSS for unrelenting successful struggle. The determined action of PCSS and solidarity support of IndustriALL is a classic example of combined efforts of local and international unions to win workers’ rights. The precarious workers’ victory in Jamul will go a long way in inspiring LafargeHolcim workers across the world and will contribute positively to improve social dialogue with LafargeHolcim globally.”

Apoorva Kaiwar echoed this view, saying, “Workers’ united shall always be victorious. PCSS’s victory at the Jamul plant is an inspiration for precarious workers across the region. IndustriALL will continue to extend solidarity to defend precarious workers’ rights.”

PCSS’s organizing secretary Lakhan Sahu and legal advisor Sudha Bharadwaj underlined the brave struggle of workers fighting for their rights and said, “The unwavering support of IndustriALL to exert pressure on LafargeHolcim at the international level immensely helped in bringing management to the negotiating table. We will continue our efforts towards constructive social dialogue to protect workers’ rights. PCSS will also focus on young workers in order to improve their working conditions now and in the future.”

Precarious work and safety key concerns for LafargeHolcim unions in India

During the two-day workshop in Nagpur, unions shared experiences and discussed strategies to strengthen union power, defend workers' rights and improve social dialogue.

Indian affiliates have expressed deep concern over the growing use of contract workers in production activities at LafargeHolcim plants. They are employed under precarious conditions with low wages and often paid less than one third of the pay of a regular worker. Indian affiliates resolved to work more intensely to improve working conditions, wages and social security for all workers in the cement sector in the country.

Unionists expressed serious concern over health and safety. They pointed to an alarming increase in the number of fatalities at LafargeHolcim plants. Most of the victims were contract workers, and some regular workers were also killed. Unfortunately India is leading in these regrettable statistics.

Unions also held frank discussions with Feliciano Gonzalez, Corporate Head of Labour Relations and Social Policies at LafargeHolcim, who joined the meeting via a conference call. They called on Gonzalez to see that LafargeHolcim immediately increase its efforts to improve the health and safety of workers, including subcontracted workers, across cement plants in India, in consultation with unions. They also repeated demands for a real commitment from the company to address workers’ concerns as emphasized in the Hyeres Declaration made during the LafargeHolcim world union conference in October 2016.

During the meeting in Nagpur, unions also examined the successes and challenges of the work plan that was adopted in Delhi in February 2016 and devised an organizing plan for the future.

Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL Director for Materials Industries, said:

It is encouraging to see growing cooperation between the cement affiliates to improve workers’ rights at LafargeHolcim. The decision to adopt a concrete work plan that contains specific responsibilities and tasks to reduce precarious work and increase organizing and recruiting, is proof of the growing maturity of our strategic work.

Apoorva Kaiwar IndustriALL South Asia Regional Secretary said:

IndustriALL affiliates in the cement sector in India are committed to organizing more workers, especially precarious workers. This will help in building union power in the cement sector, especially at LafargeHolcim, and will greatly contribute in increasing IndustriALL’s influence in the sector in the region.

Bangladesh: Release arrested garment union leaders now!

In an alarming step backwards for worker rights and democracy in the country, at least 11 trade union leaders and worker activists have been arrested. At the same time, security forces have raided the houses of trade union leaders and volunteers, and many have gone into hiding in fear of their safety.

Trade union offices in Ashulia, the garment-producing hub of the capital Dhaka, have been invaded, vandalized and forcibly shut down, with membership documents burned and furniture removed.

After garment workers demanded an increase in wages in December, more than 1,600 workers have been fired and police have filed cases against 600 workers and trade union leaders.

IndustriALL and UNI have teamed up with LabourStart for the online petition demanding that the Bangladesh government release all detained union leaders and activists and stop the repression of garment workers.

Despite the crackdown, Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina has been joining the world’s elite in Davos this week telling business leaders and the international community that there are harmonious industrial relations in the readymade garment (RMG) industry in the country. She also said her country was "highly committed to ensuring compliance with regard to the RMG industry.”

The garment industry is crucial to Bangladesh’s economy where it makes up 83 per cent of exports, and is the world’s second largest producer of textile and apparel, employing 4.5 million workers of which 80 per cent are women.

IndustriALL and UNI have been at the forefront of improving worker rights and safety in the garment industry in Bangladesh, following the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse, which killed more than 1,100 garment workers. They were the drivers of the Bangladesh Accord, a legally-binding agreement signed by more than 200 global brands, to inspect 1,600 garment factories for fire and safety hazards. More than 74% of identified safety issues in the 1,600 factories have been reported or verified as fixed.

Global unions back reinstatement of Hungarian union leader

Edit Juhaszné Kovács was dismissed by management at the Richard Fritz factory in Aszód on Friday 13 January. She was secretary of the Richard Fritz trade union AMASZ, as well as President of the Workers’ Council, and member of the Health and Safety Committee at the company.

AMASZ, which is affiliated to IndustriALL through the Federation of Chemical Workers of Hungary (VDSZ), represents 252 members of the approximately 400 employees at the factory.

The Richard Fritz group, which makes vehicle windows at plants in Germany, Slovakia and Hungary, is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Turkish company, Şişecam.

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, has written to the CEO of Şişecam, Ahmet Kirman, saying:

“This dismissal constitutes a serious violation of the Hungarian Labour Code, international labour conventions, including Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize and Convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining of the International Labour Organization (ILO), and Şişecam’s Code of Conduct.

“It is imperative that Şişecam intervene to ensure that Edit Juhaszné Kovács returns to work immediately, without any prejudice to her working conditions and fundamental labour rights.”

Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, has also sent a protest letter to Şişecam.

VDSZ is planning to organize a demonstration outside the Aszód plant on Tuesday 24 January.

Organizing in a fragile environment

PROFILE

National Centre: Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU). FESTU is affiliated to the ITUC

Country: Somalia

Text: Walton Pantland

Omar Faruk Osman is the general secretary of FESTU. Osman is also general secretary of the National Union of Somali Journalists, and an executive committee member of the International Federation of Journalists.

The rule of law broke down in Somalia with the outbreak of civil war in 1991. The country has stabilized in the past few years, with a federal government formed in 2012, but the country is still dominated by armed groups and politicians who believe that they are above the law. Al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabaab, and other jihadi groups, stage terror attacks in attempts to seize power back from the government.

It is extremely difficult to organize unions in an environment where the rule of law is weak, and there is a severe security crisis. Union activists operate in a dangerous environment and cannot rely on the law to protect them. Their only leverage is collective action and international solidarity.

“Although the Somali constitution guarantees the right to organize and to protest, the government uses the security situation to undermine trade unions and civil society. Union meetings are often restricted, citing security concerns, and several have been violently broken up by security forces. If workers in a company try to form a union, the employer can hire a militia to intimidate or kill union leaders,” says Osman.

As a long time union activist, Osman is accustomed to danger: Somalia is the most dangerous country in the world to be a journalist, with 38 journalists killed since 2012. He narrowly survived an assassination attempt a year ago during a terror attack on a hotel where a union meeting was taking place, and the FESTU office has been bombed.

Unions operate under a climate of fear, and there are rumours that there is a death squad hunting down trade union leaders. This is unsubstantiated, but the rampant violence in the country is a perfect cover, and creates an environment of fear and paranoia that makes organizing very difficult.

As general secretary of FESTU, Osman stresses the importance of international solidarity:

“In such a fragile environment, what matters is international pressure. Our politicians care more about their image with world leaders than the plight of their people.
“Putting political pressure on international institutions, and international diplomats, to act in the interests of defending internationally recognized labour rights, including union rights, is very important.”

Despite the security situation, the Somali economy is performing well, much of it based on trade with the Gulf. The civil war, and the subsequent collapse of the state, meant that entrepreneurs were able to profit from previously nationalized industries.

Somali investors from the diaspora bought up infrastructure, and since 2012, multinational companies have moved in. The energy and telecommunications sectors have grown rapidly as companies form consortiums. Somalia has valuable untapped natural resources, including large reserves of uranium and natural gas. As peace returns to the country, the economy is expected to grow fast.

But with large profits to be made, there are attempts to restrict workers’ power. The government has created a petroleum company, and recently tried to form its own trade union to bypass legitimate representatives. IndustriALL has been working with Norwegian affiliate Industri Energi to support the creation and development of a union in the petroleum sector. A new union called the Somali Union of Petroleum & Gas Workers has been established. The union was accepted as an affiliate of IndustriALL at the executive committee meeting in Rio de Janeiro in October 2016. The work of developing the union is ongoing.

The trade union movement sees itself as protecting the needs of the people against profiteers:

“Multinationals want to invest in Somalia, and we have serious concerns that they will exploit the very fragile situation in our country,” says Osman.

“Our unions want to be involved in any discussion with multinationals from the outset, so that we are clear that whatever is happening reflects the interests of our people.”

NAM must reinstate fired union representative

With an extensive knowledge on pensions, Bob van Luijk, president of the FNV framework group at Shell and NAM, was involved in a FNV procedure in the Commission on Human Rights about possible age discrimination in Shell's new pension scheme. On 18 October 2016, he was fired with immediate effect from NAM after the company accused him of having leaked "sensitive information" from the Shell pension fund to the pension work group.

After having worked for 31 years at NAM, the dismissal means Bob van Luijk will not receive any severance pay and has no right to receive employment benefit, and has subsequently been without income for three months.

The case will be taken to court in Assen, Netherlands, on 19 January, where IndustriALL affiliate FNV will demand an instant overturn of the dismissal.

Mariëtte Patijn, director at FNV, says if the court upholds the dismissal it will mean that trade union officers are practically outlawed:

"This is a question of principle for us. It is outrageous that he has been dismissed with immediate effect for information that can be easily found on the internet. Many colleagues have shown massive support for van Luijk on Facebook and we will support our trade union officer in any possible way."

IndustriALL energy director Diana Junquera says that van Luijk must be reinstated immediately:
"We will continue to support our affiliate and their member and urge NAM to rectify their mistake."

FNV officer Leen van der List, chairman of the pension working group in which van Luijk participated says:

"By punishing Bob, a loyal employee who has served the company for 31 years, for his cooperation in the working group, Shell makes it impossible for trade union officers to work well in the future. This is no way to treat people who are committed to improve workers' rights."

INTERVIEW: IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches

INTERVIEW

Union: IndustriALL Global Union

Country: Brazil

Text: Léonie Guguen

Photos: IndustriALL

Can you tell us a little about your upbringing in Brazil?

I was born in South Brazil in Paraná in the countryside. When I was six years old, my family, like many in Brazil, had to move to Sao Paulo after the terrible freeze in agriculture during the 1960s. Most people lost everything, as we did. Like many Brazilians I started working at 16 years old. A year later, I joined a mechanical engineering plant as a machine worker. In 1985, when I was 21, I moved to Rolls Royce working as a technician, later moving to Mercedes Benz as a production engineer.

When and why did you get involved in union activities?

I became a member of a union as soon as I started at the engineering plant when I was 17 years old. We were living under a dictatorship so I had a strong urge to fight against injustice and the lack of freedom during those times, as well as the economic problems. The end of the dictatorship was followed by a succession of neo-liberal governments, which brought a lot of problems for workers, so getting involved with the union came naturally.

The first elected position I had was for the internal health and safety commission, which is obligatory under Brazilian legislation. I was later elected to the Works Council at Mercedes Benz in 1992 and I got re-elected plenty of times.

You have a degree in geography from the university of Sao Paolo – how did you fit that in?

When I was 20 years old, it was rare for a factory worker to go to university; it was a very narrow oriented society. There was a big bottleneck and few vacancies for the millions of people who wanted to go to university. In Brazil, it’s more common for people like me to do a night course and work in the daytime. So that’s what I did. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to work in a factory for the rest of my life or whether I wanted to do something in research or with geography.

However, militancy was in my blood so I thought that, even if I was putting my career second, I would be more useful if I remained in the plant and got more involved in the union fighting for workers’ rights and social justice. I got a national position at CNM/CUT in 2003 and then had several more positions there, including general secretary and at the end, international secretary.

How would you describe your union career so far?

My whole life I’ve been breaking through barriers. I was the first Brazilian in the World Works Council; I was in the working group that negotiated our global framework agreement at Daimler (Mercedes Benz’s parent company) in 2002; and then I was the first Brazilian and I am still the only non-German on the supervisory board at Daimler. And now I am the first general secretary of a global union from the Global South in the history of IndustriALL and its predecessor organizations.

Why is it relevant for IndustriALL to have a leader from the Global South?

Of course every affiliate wants to have someone who is well qualified, is democratic, and who is in constant consultation with them, so those are the main requirements. But being from the South means that I bring other experiences. In the past, most of those responsible for global unions were either from Europe or North America. It’s not that they don’t have the sensibilities for developing countries but it’s an additional experience when you actually live in those conditions – under a very anti-union environment, under dictatorships or neo-liberal governments, under severe repression, under precarious working conditions driven by multinationals corporations and their supply chains.

What challenges are IndustriALL and its affiliates facing?

I have been a trade unionist for most of my life and I think there are a lot of challenges in the world to be addressed. I was involved in international solidarity work for a long part of my time in my union so I decided to take on the challenge. I think our action plan with our five strategic goals pinpoints our many challenges and the goals are all interrelated. But when we see these terrible accidents in the shipbreaking, mining or garment industry, we see the most cruel face of corporate greed.

Precarious work is a major challenge. Even in Germany, with the best working conditions in the world, capital finds a way to sneak in precarious work in the form of contractors and agency work. We have to build stronger unions to combat precarious work, otherwise there will be many job losses in countries that won’t be generating quality jobs elsewhere. So we must help unions to get stronger, to build membership, to get better training for workers to do their jobs.

We have to act in solidarity every time one of us is under attack. On top of everything, we are in the middle of a technological leap (Industry 4.0) that will affect, and is already affecting, all industry. In the near future, entire sectors will disappear. Some others will arise but they will most probably generate far fewer jobs. That’s why we must strive for sustainable industrial policies in countries and in the regions. We have got to get as strong unions as possible so that we can demand that governments give us a seat at the table to get good industrial policies and resist the power of transnational companies.

How do you think IndustriALL needs to develop over the next four years?

We have to make some improvements in our structures, in our regions and the whole work of IndustriALL so that we can better serve our affiliates. In the last period, IndustriALL delivered lots of good things and had many successful campaigns. The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh has been a great success, setting up a legally binding structure to inspect and remediate more than 1,600 garment factories in the country. The Rio Tinto campaign has brought together affiliates from operations around the world, demanding that the mining giant engage in dialogue with the unions. While we still have more work to do, the Rio Tinto campaign has forced the company to make real changes, replacing some anti-union mine managers and opening the door for our affiliates to organize more of their worksites.

And I would say that our many trade union networks in multinational companies are another achievement. However, we can better communicate and consult with affiliates when it’s an issue that affects them and benefit from their input. Crucially, we need to use the strength that we have in our trade union networks and our global framework agreements to make multinational companies accountable for their supply chains. We also need to help the unions that organize the supply chain workers, that’s really where most of the precarious work lies.