COP22 Marrakesh Blog – Day 8 Monday 14 November 2016

 As the conference shifts from technical discussions to the high-level political segment, some of the big committees active during week one are wrapping up their work. Here are IndustriALL’s comments to the closing plenary of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation.
 
Thank you Chair,

My name is Brian Kohler, sustainability director of IndustriALL Global Union, today speaking also for trade unions globally.

In Paris, parties committed to a Just Transition framework which establishes a clear link between the need to protect our climate and the need to secure the lives and livelihoods of today’s and tomorrow’s workers.

Here in Marrakesh, the discussion of how to operationalize it has been centred within the SBI/SBSTA contact group known as the Improved Forum on the Impact of the Implementation of Response Measures. We support the proposal in their draft conclusions to constitute an ad-hoc Technical Expert Group on Economic Diversification and Transformation and on Just Transition of the  Workforce and the Creation of Decent Work and Quality Jobs and we acknowledge parties’ decision to draw on trade unions’ expertise in the future work of this group.

It is essential that the correct stakeholder experts are part of this expert group. As the discussion focuses primarily on jobs and transitioning to a sustainable economy, trade unions should be represented on it.

Trade unions have concrete ideas on how to craft and deliver the social support required for a Just Transition to a stable global climate, and a stable global economy. These include sustainable industrial policies, industrial transformation and economic diversification accompanied by creative labour adjustment programmes and strong social support.         

The relevant stakeholders in this case are trade unions. Chair, no major group here has done more research on, or has a better understanding of, the necessary components of a Just Transition. We stand ready to provide detailed input and advice via the ad-hoc Technical Expert Group to the Improved Forum.

We thank the parties for their support on this issue. We urgently need this conversation to be a successful one.

Thank you.
 

Carpet and power loom workers in Pakistan win significant wage increase

At last some good news from Pakistan in the form of wage increases for carpet and power loom workers. Successful negotiations between employers and Ittehad Labour Union Carpet Industries Pakistan (ILUCIP) resulted in a pay raise of 14 per cent in wages and a 20 per cent raise in the per foot wage rate for carpet industry workers in Lahore.

The wage negotiation was initially started with five factories in July. ILUCIP managed to reach an agreement on 7th November, with all 64 carpet washing and finishing factories to implement the wage increase. Over 12,000 workers will receive the increased wages.

Wages of washing workers who wash 80 square feet of carpet a day will increase from Rs14,000 to Rs16,000 per month, and wages of washing workers who work for eight hours a day will increase from Rs17,000 to Rs19,000 per month. As in the past, the ILUCIP will work to extend the implementation of wage increases to others cities, Karachi and Peshawar.

Similarly, the Textile Power Loom and Garment Workers Union of Punjab (TPGWUP) achieved a wage increase of almost 8 per cent,  from Rs 14,800 to around 16,000 for power loom workers in the Gujranwala district. The district labour department facilitated these negotiations.

The TPGWUP held protest demonstrations and applied pressure through government authorities to bring power loom employers to the negotiation table. After hard negotiations on 8 November, the union and employers reached an agreement to implement the wage increase for about 8,000 power loom workers. TPGWUP expressed the hope that it will intensify its effort to implement this wage increase for all 20,000 power loom workers in the district.

While the wage increase is a significant step forward, the union expressed concern that both the carpet and power loom industries employ large numbers of precarious workers. Most of these workers are not registered with statutory social security provisions and Employee Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI). In coming days the union will work to address issues of precarious work and social security of carpet and power loom workers.

Brazilian metalworkers protest against Nissan

“No to slavery at Nissan!” sang a choir of 150 workers protesting at the opening of the Motor Show on 10 November in São Paulo, Brazil.

Wearing black T-shirts with the slogan “Nissan plays dirty”, metalworkers attended the show to denounce the anti-trade union practices and bad working conditions at Nissan’s plant in Mississippi, USA.

The protest was planned and organized by metalworkers of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the US and supported by metalworkers in the CUT, Força Sindical and the UGT.

Although Nissan maintains a dialogue with workers in Brazil, we need to remember that the working class is international and we can only win this battle by acting together,

said Miguel Torres, president of the Força Sindical’s metalworkers’ confederation, the CNTM.

For more than ten years, management at the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi, have been intimidating workers who show an interest in joining the union. Many of the 5,000 factory workers at Nissan are on temporary contracts and safety conditions are a major concern.

"Solidarity is crucial when resisting these attacks, at a time when ultra-conservatives are trying to eliminate workers’ right in the world," said Maicon Michel, international relations coordinator of the CUT’s metalworkers’ confederation, the CNM.

Marino Vani, IndustriALL’s assistant regional secretary thanked the unions in Brazil for their solidarity and struggle.

Unfortunately, Nissan rejects dialogue and does not respect workers. We will continue to demonstrate and protest until they change their anti-trade union stance and recognize the value of workers, democracy and freedom of association.

COP22 Marrakesh Blog – Day 6 and 7, 12 and 13 November, 2016

Day six of was the day for a Trade union strategy meeting, off-site. Over 160 participants arrived to learn about the process and to provide their views on the direction of the talks. IndustriALL’s Brian Kohler made a presentation of IndustriALL’s work on sectoral sustainability analysis and sustainable industrial strategy, and of course, Just Transition which is central to the entire process.
 
No scheduled COP meetings took place on day seven. Non-governmental organizations, including trade unions, took part in a Climate March in Marrakesh. Thousands participated to make a statement of support for decisive action to implement the Paris Agreement.

Ukrainian miners end hunger strike on seventh day

On the morning of 14 November, the miners decided to end the hunger strike. Seven days of protest forced the authorities of Ukraine to allocate funds for the payment of salaries for the past three months. As reported earlier, the wage bill for 400 workers of the mine to the end of the year is 12 million UAH, including 7 million UAH to pay the wages owed.

Alexander Gerasimchuk, one of the protesters, member of the local primary trade union organization of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine, says:

“We were promised that a certain sum would be paid today. However, the exact sum I can’t announce. People were exhausted by starvation, which lasted a whole week, so we decided to stop the protest action. I hope that we aren’t fooled”.

More on the topic:

Ukrainian miners on fourth day of hunger strike

More than 50 Ukrainian miners on hunger strike

Inditex supplier union network launched in Vietnam

In Vietnam, Inditex has 130 factories covering around 150,000 workers who produce products for seven Inditex brands: Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Lefties, Oysho and Zara Home.

The unions came from the Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Thanh Hoa, DaNang, Ho Chi Minh, Long An, Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces. The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and the Vietnam National Union of Textile and Garment Workers participated as well.

Tran Van Ly, vice president of the VGCL, opened the meeting by calling on the local unions to first share and coordinate information and then to develop strategies for collective bargaining on a sectorial level. 

“The global framework agreement between IndustriALL and Inditex gives the Vietnamese textile and garment unions a base to collectively organize their work, added Christina Clausen, IndustriALL’s textile and garment industry director. 

“This is key to building sound and democratic industrial relations.”

The formation of the network has been in the development since 2015, when IndustriALL held a workshop on organizing in the global supply chain. This meeting developed into the creation of a northern and southern network. These two networks make up the base of the newly launched national Inditex supplier network. Representatives were elected to represent and implement the action plan of the network. 

Sister Duyen, who was elected as the southern network representative, said that “at first I felt nervous to have the responsibility but I know that this network will be helpful for our work in Vietnam as it is so important to bring together unions in the sector to work on common issues.”

In the spirit of social dialogue and in building mature industrial relations, Inditex and several of its key suppliers attended the morning session on the 12th of November. The session began with an overview of the Inditex sourcing and sustainability model, both globally and locally.

The network representatives stressed that trade unions need to be active participants in ensuring that the principles enshrined in the global framework agreement are respected in the workplace – workers need to be active in ensuring that their rights are respected.

The network requested Inditex and its supplier factories to support their work to contribute to stable industrial relations. Ms. Ha, a newly elected network representative added that “With this network, we believe that Inditex suppliers’ factories will improve their labour relations and as such, we know that this improvement will be more attractive for Inditex to continue and increase its production in Vietnam.”

Over the two days, participants discussed and analyzed global and national trends in the garment, textile and footwear industries by examining the current situation for collective bargaining, labour productivity, Vietnam’s minimum and living wage, and global brands’ purchasing practices.

Do Quynh Chi, an independent researcher, presented her recent study on the “National situation of textile, garment and shoe industries and supply chain” that highlighted Vietnam’s industrial development and its implications for garment and footwear industries.  

ILO National Project Coordinator, Ta Thi Bich Lien, gave an overview of the ILO VGCL multi-employer collective bargaining and lessons learnt from the Hai Phong EZTU and Da Nang FOL project.  The pilot programme supports organizing with a bottom-up approach, union capacity building, multi-employer collective bargaining and social dialogue.

Based on these presentations and follow up discussions, the network set several key goals:

Brazil: National strike defending workers’ rights

Since the coup in Brazil, with the removal of President Dilma Rouseff, workers are suffering continuous attacks on the rights they have won in recent years.

President Michel Temer has presented bills to promote outsourcing, freeze public spending on education and health and increase the retirement age.

In protest, major Brazilian trade union centres joined forces to organize strikes, stoppages, marches and rallies on 11 November.

Another protest is planned for 25 November.

IndustriALL’s General Secretary Valter Sanches says:

“The international trade union movement supports the struggles of the working class in Brazil against attacks on their achievements and on democracy.”

Jorge Almeida, IndustriALL regional secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean says:

“We congratulate the Brazilian trade union movement, fighting to retain its rights against an illegitimate government that is insensitive to the financial, social and employment needs of the people. IndustriALL Global Union is following this struggle and ready to provide the necessary solidarity.”

COP22 Marrakesh Blog – Day 5 Friday 11 November 2016

Day five of the twenty-second Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22), 11 November in Marrakesh, Morocco.
 
Friday was the day of the official Trade Union side event within the COP. At an official side event, organizations hope to attract the attention of other participants and have the opportunity to present their point of view to them.
 
We had a full house! The room was packed with people eager to hear the point of view of trade unions, with some even willing to remain standing through the meeting when all the seats were filled. IndustriALL Global Union’s Brian Kohler presented some of our work on Just Transition and sectoral sustainability analysis.
 
The discussions that trade unions have been monitoring most closely, at the meetings known informally as the Improved Contact Group on the Impact of Response Measures, have finally released a draft decision. A Technical Expert Group will be established to make formal recommendations to the next COP on Just Transition, industrial transformation and economic diversification. This could be an important point for the realization of concrete Just Transition language in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
 
Attempts by Parties to limit the participation of observers are continuing. Why this is the case at this COP is unclear. One rumour has it that there may have been some abuse of observer status by professional pollsters or others, but if this is true it should not be necessary to punish all observer organizations.
 
Friday of course also saw many other discussions continue, including on technology transfer and continuing efforts to establish the US$100 billion per year climate finance funding.

IndustriALL marches with one million Koreans demanding labour rights, democracy

Sanches and other members of a global solidarity mission then marched through the streets with one million Koreans in the People’s Mass Mobilization organized by unions and broader civil society.

The rally was called to oppose the regressive labour reforms proposed by Korean President Park Geun-hye and to demand for the immediate release of all workers detained for trade union activities.

The rally and the People’s Mass Mobilization rang with repeated calls of “Park Geun-hye resign!” This call follows a recent corruption scandal in which corporations including Hyundai and Samsung paid massive bribes to foundations controlled by an ally of Park in exchange for support for anti-labour policies and other favors.

“IndustriALL Global Union supports the call of Korean trade unions for President Park to resign immediately,” stated Sanches. “Park has long opposed workers’ rights, and now we know this is partly due to her corrupt ties with anti-union corporations.”

IndustriALL has offered extensive support to Korean unions since Park initiated a brutal crackdown on workers last November. This includes multiple solidarity delegations, letter writing campaigns and demonstrations.

The IndustriALL Congress recently passed an Emergency Resolution calling for an escalation in this support. IndustriALL and IndustriALL affiliate UAW met during the mission with IndustriALL Korean affiliates KMWU, FKMTU, FKCU and KCTWF to discuss possible actions.

Participants in the mission also expressed solidarity at the Seoul Detention Center with imprisoned trade union leaders including KCTU President Han Sang-gyun, who was given a five-year sentence this July.

The solidarity mission included IndustriALL and UAW as well as BWI, CGIL, ITF, ITUC, IUF, SEIU, TUAC and UNI.

KCTU announced at its rally that it will immediately begin preparations for a general strike in Korea to take place in the coming weeks. The strike will include union members, students, farmers, small shop owners and progressive organizations.

“IndustriALL stands in full solidarity with Korean unions and will mobilize its affiliates around the world to take action in support of the general strike,” added Sanches.

Shipbreaking workers demand reopening of Gadani shipyard with safety measures

The explosion and fire at the Gadani shipbreaking yard has so far claimed 28 lives, with around 60 workers injured, most in critical condition. Many are feared missing, and 20 families have approached IndustriALL affiliate the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) regarding a missing family member. The death toll may increase as many of those injured are not receiving adequate care.
The immediate response of the government of Pakistan was to close the shipyards. Unions feel that this is a disastrous response, as many thousands of workers are dependent on the yards for their livelihood. The response is seen as cynical in light of the government’s failure to ratify the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships and to take other measures to make shipbreaking safer.

At a press conference on 9 November, the NTUF expressed concern that more than a week after the accident, the government had neither expressed condolences to the victims and their families, nor announced any compensation. The NTUF demanded that the government should pay compensation, improve safety measures and reopen the shipyard to avert an economic crisis.
 
According to the NTUF, 12,000 workers depend on the Gadani yard:
 
“These workers earned wages daily and in this scenario they and their families have been forced to sleep on an empty stomach. Those more than two million people indirectly related to the industry have also been badly affected.”
 
The shipyard is integral to supply chains in the steel industry in Pakistan, with more than more than 100 re-rolling mills, employing 250,000 workers, in Karachi and Hub dependent on iron scrap from Gadani.
 
The Gadani yard provides 30 per cent of Pakistan’s iron and steel needs, and the closure of the yard will benefit steel importers and undermine local industry as it goes through a crucial development phase.
 
The NTUF warned that failure to reopen the yards would result in a sit in protest on the main Quetta highway on 14 November.
 
The union expressed concern at attempts to divert attention from the lack of safety and health measures, and violations of labour law and international conventions, and term the accident an act of sabotage.
 
The NTUF demanded the establishment of a Shipbreaking Labour Board to formalize workers. Further it called on the government to take workers’ representatives on board to formulate new policies.
 
The government should take steps to formulate a shipbreaking code to improve health and safety measures at the yards and ensure workers’ right to form unions and act as collective bargaining agents. The NTUF also called for the abolition of the contractual employment system, the registration of workers with social security institutions, and the EOBI state pension and welfare system.
 
Earlier, representatives of the NTUF met with the federal minister of ports and shipping and conveyed their concerns and demands.
 
Representatives of IndustriALL’s shipbuilding and shipbreaking action group met in Australia last week, and sent a message of support and solidarity to the workers of Gadani. The group is campaigning for the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention.
 
IndustriALL regional secretary, Apoorva Kaiwar, said:
 
“Closing the Gadani shipyard is a cynical attempt to divert attention away the failure to make shipbreaking safer, and it amounts to the collective punishment of workers.
 
The yards must reopen, and the government must work with unions to change the industry.”

The shipbuilding and shipbreaking action group, as reported by the Australian media