Explosion at Gerdau Brazil claims three lives

The three workers, members of IndustriALL affiliate CNTM/FS and employed by a subcontractor, were carrying out maintenance work when the explosion happened.

Subcontractors employ around 27 per cent of all workers in Brazil. According to a report by IndustriALL affiliate CUT, compared to directly employed workers, a higher proportion of subcontracted workers suffer fatalities and occupational diseases. The report says that the frequency of accidents among subcontracted workers is double; 5.95 per cent compared to that of directly employed workers, 2.65 per cent.

Several IndustriALL affiliates in Brazil have been campaigning for years to prevent approval of a bill (PEC 55) that is under consideration in the Senate. If passed, the bill would allow private sector employers to subcontract work as they see fit. Strikes are planned on 25 November protesting against PEC 55 and other reforms.

Often, precarious workers cannot be represented by the same trade union as permanent workers. But unions at Gerdau in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the US, Peru and Uruguay do their best to protect these workers, and are fighting the company’s anti-trade union strategy, defending workers’ rights, seeking recognition of the works council, and want to negotiate a global agreement on health and safety.

Jorge Almeida, IndustriALL’s regional secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, said:

Brazil ratified ILO Convention 155 on health and safety in 1995. In 2005, the ILO made a series of recommendations on health and safety in the iron and steel industry, setting out the responsibilities, duties and rights of the respective parties.

IndustriALL urges Gerdau to comply with Brazilian and international labour legislation, which states that workers have the right to health and safety at the workplace.

The Brazilian company published a statement after the accident, offering assistance to the families of victims and said that it is investigating the cause of the accident.

IndustriALL auto unions prepare for future of change

Conference participants, representing workers at all the world’s major auto companies, heard how CO2 emissions targets, electric and autonomous vehicles, and digitalization will have a radical affect on the auto industry creating both challenges and opportunities.

"For the first time in the history of the car industry, companies are being forced into a revolution that questions their own business model," said Helmut Lense, IndustriALL's automotive director.

IndustriALL's general secretary, Valter Sanches, appealed to unions in the auto sector to use their influence to help workers throughout the supply chain.

“IndustriALL’s trade union networks at the major producers are strong, but more must be done to improve the conditions for workers at suppliers to the auto industry.”

A common theme of the conference was the prevalence of precarious work in the sector. Richard Gentil from FTM-CGT reported that some factories in France are using 80 per cent temporary workers. He said there are 9,000 temporary workers at Renault alone.

Jerry Dias, president of Unifor in Canada, which represents 40,000 workers in the auto industry, said precarious work, global competition and the drive for increased profits are reducing all workers’ quality of life.

Sanmugam Selvarani from the NUTEAIW in Malaysia said her union faced a major challenge to organize precarious and migrant workers, who are the most exploited workers in the automotive industries in the country.

IndustriALL has a mandate from Congress to put supply chains at the heart of its work, assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan told participants:

“Unions need to give more importance to support union activities in auto suppliers and reinforce organizing in the supply chain.”

IndustriALL President, Jörg Hoffmann, said that while the demand for cars is still growing with 100 million sold across the world every year, there is no real job security.

“Workers and locations are played off against each other. Pressure on working conditions is high. At the same time, growth is flanked by a huge structural change in our industry.”

Hofmann spoke of the rapid uptake of electrical vehicles in Germany, threatening 40,000 jobs in the production of the internal combustion engine. 

“We need to respond to this situation with new union strategies. Increasing pollution in the cities of Delhi and Beijing tells us there is no alternative and the auto industry needs to be environmentally sustainable. In this process the transition should be a Just Transition for workers.”

Following the Congress resolution in Brazil, a UAW statement on behalf of skilled-trade workers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, USA, urged the Volkswagen World Works Council and German affiliate IG Metall to pressure Volkswagen into enter into collective bargaining with the workers.

Participants unanimously approved the action plan for the sector. The activities include

The action plan calls for special attention to the effects of climate change and digitalization in the automotive industry and supports IndustriALL’s demands for a Just Transition in the context of sustainable industrial employment for autoworkers.

“Our action plan gives us a detailed and clear path to tackle the challenges we face in the auto sector, particularly precarious work and supply chain issues.

“We are looking forward to strengthening our agreements with producers and building networks in Asia, which is increasingly the global hub of automotive industry production,” stated Lense.

To see photos from the conference, please go to our flickr page. 

COP22 Marrakesh Blog

Civil Society observers conducted an action in support of the USA staying in the Paris Agreement. Needless to say, there is considerable anxiety on this point and not just from outside of the USA. An interesting aspect of the Paris Decision is a protection against liability – the agreement that loss and damage due to climate change (as defined) “does not involve or provide a basis for any liability or compensation”. Exiting the Paris Agreement may open the USA and USA-based corporations to some interesting – and massive – lawsuits.

One of the important provisions of the Paris Agreement is to have a regular global stocktaking of nationally determined contributions to assess (taken in total) what pathway they place the world on with respect to limiting global warming to less than 2 Celsius degrees. This stocktaking is to start in 2018 with a so-called Facilitative Dialogue, with stocktaking meetings at five-year intervals thereafter.

Here in Marrakesh some of the difficult meetings have concerned the structural and administrative details of how this Facilitative Dialogue and subsequent stocktaking, will take place. Trade unions hope that the process will be inclusive and transparent.

In other discussions, there is still a funding gap, there is still disagreement on how to qualify project eligibility under the funds, and there is still no clear pathway for capacity building. Just starting are discussions on how to frame the overall outcome of COP22.

An interesting side event coordinated by Sharan Burrow with the participation of Australian government representatives and others, focused on Just Transition in the context of Port Augusta, Australia, a community that had been economically reliant on a coal-fired power plant but plans to become a leader in solar energy.

State of Ratification: Patricia Espinos, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC reported that as of 16 November 2016, 110 nations had ratified the Paris Agreement.

Support the Korea general strike for workers’ rights!

Korean unions are struggling against a government crackdown on labour rights. The administration of South Korean President Park oversaw police raids of trade unions’ offices and the arrest of hundreds of peaceful trade unionists.

Park has attempted to make changes to Korean labour law that include permitting firing without due process, cutting wages for senior employees and allowing more outsourcing.

The Park government has been implicated in a scandal in which major Korean corporations paid bribes to foundations controlled by an ally of Park in exchange for support for anti-labour policies and other favors.

As part of an ongoing fight back that recently included one million Koreans marching through Seoul, Korean unions have called a general strike for 30 November.

Join in the global days of action to support the Korean unions between now and 30 November by:

IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Valter Sanches, who recently visited Korea on a solidarity mission, says:

I urge you to support this general strike by participating in the global days of action and show the Korean government the strength of global solidarity.

Belarusian unions oppose law calling unemployed "social parasites"

The decree "On prevention of social dependency” was passed on 2 April 2015. On 2 November, representatives of the Belarusian Radio and Electronic Industry Workers' Union (REPAM), Belarusian Independent trade union of miners, chemists, oil-refiners, transport workers, builders and other workers (BITU) as well as representatives of human rights organizations came together at a round table discussion to establish an action plan to fight the decree on “parasitism”.

The idea to hold the meeting came from REPAM, many of whose members had appealed to the union after they had received notices from the tax office with the requirement to report on the employment and payment of taxes in 2015.

The chair of REPAM Gennady Fedynich stated:


"People began to receive the so-called "letters of happiness" in which they are obliged to prove that they worked in Belarus for more than 189 days in 2015 and paid taxes. We see the crudity and injustice of the decree in this case. If you worked, for example, one day less, 188 days, you have to pay the tax on "parasitism". This decree violates the Constitution, which clearly says that the job is a worker's right, not an obligation".

The BITU supported the proposal to create a legal mechanism to oppose decree.


"Since such decrees have become a norm in Belarus (decree No.2, No.5, No.29, No.9) and they worsen the situation of workers, we took the initiative to formulate a plan of action. We determined the role of the roundtable participants, as well as tasks. In addition, there will be a system of compulsory insurance against unemployment in Belarus in 2018, so the enterprises will have an additional tax. This approach will finally finish off working enterprises", said Nikolay Zimin, the chair of the BITU.

Following the discussion it was decided:

The round table participants assigned responsibilities and agreed to start the activities in the near future. The step-by-step manual for citizens should be ready by 20th of November.

"The success depends entirely on us. The purpose of trade unions and human rights activists is if not to cancel the decree, then at least to show its full inconsistency", summarized Gennady Fedynich.

Turkey: Fired for wanting to form a union

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Birleşik Metal İş have members at several Schneider factories in Turkey.

After organizing members at Günsan Elektrik plant, the union applied to the Turkish Ministry of Labour for what is called a Majority Certificate in order to form a workplace union.

Management’s response when they found out was to unceremoniously sack seven of the workers leading the organizing efforts. The anti-union practices are continuing, with management having one-on-one conversations with workers whether they have joined a union or not.

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches says that the company’s interference in union’s affairs, the unlawful dismissals and harassments of workers must end immediately.

We urge Schneider Electric to intervene and call on Günsan Elektrik to reinstate the seven workers, respect the right of workers to choose the union of their choice and engage in an honest and constructive dialogue with Birlesik Metal-İs.

COP22 Marrakesh Blog

The high-level (political) segment of the COP is now in full swing, with ministers and heads of state taking over the discussions from their advisers and bureaucrats.

Many questions remain for them to resolve, including levels of ambition, reform of fossil fuel subsidies, renewable energy, and of course funding. Funding is always controversial, in any agreement, but there has been a surprising lack of enthusiasm for solving the funding aspects of the Paris Agreement.

Trade unions were invited to speak at a high level event on Sustainable Economic Transition and Economic Diversification. International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) General Secretary Sharan Burrow took the opportunity to thank the parties for their recognition of trade unions and the ITUC; and for agreeing to establish a technical expert group on Just Transition. She emphasized our demand to be part of the design and implementation of national Just Transition plans and for employers to dedicate adequate investments for a smooth transition to a sustainable future.

Meanwhile, looming over the talks, is the possibility that Donald Trump may announce the withdrawal of the USA from the Paris Agreement and indeed possibly from the UNFCCC (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) itself. This at a time when 2016 is on track to be the warmest year, globally, on record.

Credibility matters, even for a country as large and powerful as the USA. If indeed the USA reneges on its commitments, it sends a clear message to the international community that the promises of the USA mean nothing and can be changed on a whim. With numerous international deals on the table dealing with trade, security, technology and other matters, world leaders may well ask themselves whether there is any reliable value in the USA’s signature, on any piece of paper.
 

Strong collective agreement signed at Georgia metal plant

On 2 November, a collective agreement was signed by the director of Georgian Manganese, Vladimir Lozinski, the chair of the Association of Trade Unions of Georgia, Irakli Petriashvili, and the chair of the IndustriALL affiliate, Trade Union of Metallurgy, Mining and Chemical Industry Workers of Georgia, Tamaz Dolaberidze.

The new collective agreement is valid for three years and has an impressive benefits package including:

The collective agreement contains mechanisms for monitoring and control over implementation of commitments taken on by the sides.

Collective bargaining started in June 2016. Initially, there were serious disagreements on many issues. However, the positive attitude of both sides eventually led to the signing of the agreement.

Tamaz Dolaberidze states:

"This is the first time in the history of Zestafoni, when the sides managed to conclude a collective agreement based on the principles of social dialogue and social partnership. The sides ensure that will create an atmosphere of trust and respect at all levels".   
 

Global agreement with ThyssenKrupp receives award

Wilhelm Segerath, Group Works Council chair, together with European Works Council chair Wolfgang Krause and Susanne Herberger and Tekin Nasikkol, members of the International Committee received the prize on behalf of all trade unionists and Works Council members involved in the negotiation and implementation of this ground-breaking agreement.

Every year German unions jointly with labour institutions and the support of the ministry of labour hold a “Works council day“, honouring works councils for extraordinary achievements for their employees.

This year, IndustriALL’s agreement with ThyssenKrupp won the silver medal for its ground-breaking conflict resolution model. In her speech IG Metall’s vice president Cristiane Benner referred to the complaint system. This system allows employees to report violations of the agreement and get an answer following a joint investigation by management and the international committee. A case can be closed when it is mutually agreed.

Wilhelm Segerath, Group Works Council President and member of the IG Metall board, stated:

"The new global framework agreement and the integrated complaint and conflict resolution system are, in our eyes, a first step to enforce adherence to ILO standards regarding human and employees’ rights all over the world – not only in Germany or Europe."

"This also fosters solidarity within our multinational group. There are quite a lot of international or global agreements in force already. But we have made special efforts to create a monitoring or detection system that enables all our employees worldwide to report violations in a way that protects them and ensures a good solution with involvement of the international committee.“

Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL’s director for mechanical engineering, stated:

"IndustriALL is proud to be part of this agreement, and I am also proud to represent IndustriALL in the international committee which monitors the agreement and follows up with the complaints that come in. We know that an agreement – as strong as it is – can never replace the local, regional and national trade union work in the company. But it can help to find solutions in conflicts where local parties are in a deadlock.“

IndustriALL Women Philippines call for improved maternity protection

The women’s network of IndustriALL Global Union in the Philippines, together with Annie Geron of Public Services International (PSI), which represents public service workers, called on the country’s lawmakers to give women’s protection the same level of attention they give to business, investments, technological advancement and education. They also called on lawmakers to urgently pass Senate Bill 215 or the “Expanded Maternity Leave Act of 2016,” authored by Senator Risa Hontiveros of the social democratic Akbayan party.

IndustriALL Women Philippines expressed concern that the Philippines social security law – which is more than 24 years old – does not follow the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 183 or the Maternity Convention signed by the Philippines in 2000.

“It is lamentable that our lawmakers have always struggled to pass laws and craft policies for world class efficiency and global competitiveness, despite challenges of budget limitation, broken structure and structural inequalities but leave behind women protection,” said Sion Binos, IndustriALL Women Philippines’ Chairperson.

Senator Hontiveros champions the campaign in the Senate. Confident that increased maternity leave will greatly reduce child mortality in the Philippines, she stressed, “the centre of this legislation is that  women workers’ rights are human rights.  We cannot be in the business of punishing women who give birth.”

“Both IndustriALL and PSI challenge the Senate to expedite hearing on SB 215,” added Binos and Geron. They said that this women-friendly legislation is long overdue.

IndustriALL presented a study conducted in four countries – Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Philippines – where the latter lagged behind other countries in Asia in terms of gender equality and maternity protection.

IndustriALL believes that increased maternity protection is good economics and is the best proof of corporate social responsibility. It enables women to carry out their role of bearing and nursing children while maintaining their productive roles as workers. Healthy women produce healthy babies, the future labour force, future taxpayers and the human race of the future. Combined with the existing reproductive health law, couples planning their families result in better child spacing.

“Studies show that mothers need 120 days to fully recover from giving birth, to breastfeed and to establish the routine for her newborn, and to make arrangements necessary for a smooth transition back to work,” said Binos.

IndustriALL and PSI Philippines appeal on employers to support this call and look at their maternity protection as an investment rather than additional expense.

Both global unions explained that if women are given enough rest to recover from pregnancy and childbirth, she will be more productive when she comes back to work.  They also urge employers not to view women with children to take care as liability but rather as an inspiration to be more productive at work. A healthy and happy working mother does her best at work.