COP22 Marrakesh Blog – Day 4 Thursday 10 November 2016

The good news is that Just Transition has become a common talking point at this COP. That is quite a leap forward from a few years ago when we could barely get any of the Parties (governments) to discuss it. The bad news is that few of those using the phrase understand it; or they wish to use it to attain goals that have nothing to do with social justice for today’s or tomorrow’s workers.
 
The main and most important area in which Just Transition could be operationalized, is in the discussions on “response measures” and that is therefore where we have concentrated our strongest efforts. Trade unions have successfully lobbied some governments to support our case. Notably Canada, and the Nordic countries, and a few others, have supported Just Transition measures. The USA too has shown support, although with the election of Donald Trump that may change rapidly. The proposed establishment of an expert committee on Just Transition measures has not yet been decided.
 
In other discussions, raising the level of ambition to limit global warming to less than 1.5 Celsius degrees has received some discussion, as has the structure of accountability and verification processes for the Nationally Determined Contributions. Related to this, the First Global Stocktake needs to develop a robust information gathering and verification process. Finance, too, is the subject of heated discussions.
 
Access to some of the discussions has become an issue, as the Parties have become more and more fond of closed meetings, even though the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC process guarantees access to observer organizations, as far as possible.

Uruguayan affiliates resolve to continue organizing

"We must continue to press for trade union training and member recruitment, focusing on youth and gender," said IndustriALL Global Union’s project coordinator in Uruguay, Hector Castellano.

During 2016, the project held eight training sessions, produced two organizing videos and eight organizing drives that resulted in more than 700 new members.

Training sessions covered labour legislation, political economy, organizing skills, collective bargaining, communication and access to media. During the three year period, 2,000 new members were recruited and many local union branches were re-activated.

"The courses provided an opportunity for unions to develop a network and the joint training sessions promoted exchanges of information and working toward common goals," said Enrique Seveso from Uruguayan affiliate UOC.

Since 2014, several unions in Uruguay have been invited to join the training and organizing activities, aiming to build unity and strength in the trade union movement. The unions include the oil workers union, FANCAP; Chemical workers union, STIQ; the Pharmaceutical workers’ union, SIMA, as well as FOEMYA, the millers union, which are discussing affiliation to IndustriALL

IndustriALL project officer Suzanna Miller welcomed the project's achievements; solidarity among affiliates and their increased political impact on national policies. She highlighted the need to strengthen women's participation to meet the 40 per cent quota approved at IndustriALL's Congress by 2020.

Magnus Palmgren, from Swedish affiliate IF Metall, urged unions to continue working and planning together:

"What kind of society do you want for your own children? Women must have room to gain more experience, and you need to work together and show greater solidarity."
 
The meeting unanimously resolved to:

The National Council decided to continue with its monthly meetings and offered support and cooperation to the trade union movement in other countries, such as Paraguay.
 
Fernando Lopes, from IndustriALL, highlighted the importance of increasing the participation of Uruguayan affiliates in worldwide sectorial activities and networks.

"We congratulate you on your work and on the increased interaction between Uruguayan unions. We must continue to work to together to achieve the basic points in the action plan. We will fight to increase the strength of trade unions in Uruguay, for greater solidarity, organisation and unity."

"The need to increase women's participation means we must challenge inertia and create a momentum to achieve the changes that will include more women and young activists and strengthen the fight for a better world,” concluded Jorge Almeida, IndustriALL regional secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean."

Ukrainian miners on fourth day of hunger strike

On 9 November, the parliament of Ukraine promised the protesters that they would allocate 8.5 million UAH (US$ 333,000) to pay the wages and provide stable pay for 400 miners till the end of the year. The wage bill owed for August, September and October is 7 million, and wages for November and December will be due soon. The total wage budget is expected to be 12 million. The miners insist on the transfer of the entire amount and continue the radical protest action. In addition, the completion of the mine remains unresolved.

Mine management initially tried to discourage workers from going on a hunger strike, but now it fully supports the action. Administration representatives regularly visit the starving miners, ask about their health and provide news about the funding situation.

One of the protesters, a member of the primary trade union organization of Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine at the mine no. 10 Novovolynska Alexander Gerasimchuk says:

“We received the information that the minister of energy and coal industry Igor Nasalyk appealed to the prime minister Volodymyr Groysman at the meeting of the cabinet of ministers and asked to allocate this sum.

“He allegedly promised to find the funds. We are sadder but wiser and know the true value of promises. We were promised a lot here, in Novovolynsk, and in Kiev. However, that's as far as it ever went. So we have decided not to believe the promises and to starve until we are able to do this”.

More on the topic:

More than 50 Ukrainian miners on hunger strike

http://www.industriall-union.org/more-than-50-ukrainian-miners-on-hunger-strike

15,000 steelworkers march to save steel in Europe

Marching under the banner ‘No Europe without steel’, the industriAll Europe-led protest called on the European Commission to take concrete measures to guarantee jobs and safeguard the future of the steel industry.

“Steel is of key importance for European industry. Not only does the sector provide employment for more than 330,000 workers, but it also plays an essential role in the first stage of the industrial value chain and in the manufacturing of many industrial products. We must secure the future of European steel and this includes safeguarding against the import of steel at dumping prices, the presence of strong trade defence instruments and an emissions trading system that supports jobs and the environment,” said Luc Triangle, General Secretary of industriAll Europe.

Many IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in Belgium and beyond also attended the march, which went through the heart of the European Union quarter of the Belgian capital.

IndustriALL’s President Jörg Hofmann joined Luc Triangle at the head of the protest, representing both IndustriALL and German affiliate IG Metall, where he is also president.

“We are here to show the European Union that they have a mission. They have to protect your jobs. They have to act in our name and save the steel industry in Europe,” said Hofmann in addressing a rally at the end of the march. "We do not want protectionism – we are very competitive when it comes to quality and productivity. But we want fair competition – and no undercutting through steel dumping." 

Over the past seven years, more than 80,000 jobs have been lost in the European steel industry.

“Europe desperately needs the European Steel Action Plan to be implemented. The restructuring needs to stop if we want to secure a future for our steel sector, its jobs, and know-how that we have built up over so many decades,” said Triangle.

The steelworkers’ demands are:

1. No to steel dumping, yes to fair trade!

2. An emissions trading system that supports the environment and jobs

3. Effective trade defence instruments

4. A proactive industrial policy to support the steel industry

5. More and better jobs

6. Increasing and modernizing Europe’s steel capacities

The global challenges to the steel industry will be of key debate at IndustriALL’s base metals world conference to be held in Duisburg, Germany from 21-23 November. 

COP22 Marrakesh Blog – Day 3 Wednesday 9 November 2016

Important discussions are taking place within a particular committee with a very long, complex (and inconsistent) name. Formally known as the Subsidiary Body on Implementation and Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technical Advice Informal Consultation on the Impact of the Implementation of Response Measures, it is also known variously as the Improved Forum, or the Improved Contact Group on the Impact of Response Measures. This has become the principle area (but not the only one) in which a real discussion of Just Transition will take place.
 
One proposal that is under consideration there is the establishment of an expert committee on Just Transition measures. Trade unions have supported this idea. However, whether this will be supported  by the Parties (national governments) and what form it will take if created has yet to be seen.
 
The official Trade Union side event within the COP will take place tomorrow.
 
In other news, the reality of a science denier being elected to the USA Presidency has created in turn surprise and shock followed by deep disappointment and anger.
 
The bitterness and alienation of a large segment of the population, who have seen their fortunes stagnate or decline over the past few decades, is understandable. Many of them voted in protest to the effects of neoliberalism and the Washington establishment’s failure to care for them. Donald Trump will not solve their problems but he was able to mobilize their anger, season it with xenophobia, racism, sexism, and jingoistic nationalism to win in a race against an experienced and highly-qualified woman.
 
Consider the people of earth to be passengers on a bus. Controlling the bus is a complicated affair that requires the cooperation of many people. The bus is headed towards a cliff, and just as an agreement to lightly apply the brakes is reached, the biggest and strongest of the co-drivers is elbowed aside and replaced by a madman.
 
Let us all hope that this is not the reality we face, and that now that the election rhetoric is behind us, President Trump will reveal a wiser self. After all, the same Donald Trump that has called global warming a total hoax has also cited “global warming and its effects” as justification for a building permit application to construct a seawall at the Trump International Golf Links and Hotel, in Ireland!

LafargeHolcim locks out and illegally replaces workers in Canada

LafargeHolcim is demanding that seniority be stripped of every employee. USW members are seeking a fair and balanced collective agreement that ensures the dignity and respect of every employee.

The Labour Relations Board of British Columbia has ruled that the company violated labour law by using management contractors to do the work of locked out workers, and it ordered the company to cease and desist.

USW Local 816 is receiving solidarity support from the local community as well as unions throughout British Columbia and across the globe. LafargeHolcim unions from around the world expressed their solidarity for the locked out Canadian workers during the latest meeting of the LafargeHolcim Global Network in France.

IndustriALL director for materials Matthias Hartwich comments,

“We are shocked by LafargeHolcim management’s ongoing violations of workers’ rights and violation of labour law in Canada. The company must immediately end the lockout, end the illegal use of scabs, come back to the table and negotiate in good faith with the USW.”

Unions around the world are organizing a global day of action at LafargeHolcim on 9 December in advance of Human Rights Day in response to LafargeHolcim’s ongoing rights violations in Canada and elsewhere. Since the company merged last year, dozens of workers have died, precarious work has increased, the company has recklessly restructured and management has broken promises to reach a global agreement for a positive relationship with unions.

“The locked out USW members in Canada are not alone,” said Hartwich. “Unions from around the world at LafargeHolcim will send a united, strong message: LafargeHolcim, respect workers’ rights!”

To be or not to be for a new collective agreement at Volkswagen

The current agreement expires on 31 December, and so far neither the employer nor the employees have taken the initiative of signing a new one.

On 7 November, only 20 per cent of the staff – members of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Interregional Trade Union "Workers Association" (ITUWA) – understand that concluding a new collective agreement depends on workers.

If the union density remains the same, the employees of Volkswagen will start the next year without a collective agreement and workers will lose most of their benefits:

ITUWA has set itself the ambitious plan to double their membership. Reaching the double size membership would allow to defend workers’ position in negotiations. The union is under pressure from the management to start collective bargaining in their current weaker position.

“1,100 ITUWA's members are sure that a collective agreement is necessary, other employees are indifferent. We need 2,500 union members to win,”

says Dmitry Trudovoj, chair of the Kaluga regional organization ITUWA.

In 2013, the employer attempted to approve a new schedule. Union membership has increased by some 1,000 people in two months. This helped to strengthen the union’s influence, and a new work schedule including reduction of workforce was rejected.

In September ITUWA recruited 18 members, in October — 22. Many workers join the union, but most of them leave afterwards. Out of 50 – 60 recruited last month, only 18 – 20 members remained.

Dmitry Trudovoj states:

“In fact, available ITUWA's membership is enough to conclude a new collective agreement. But the quality of the concluded collective agreement and the size of benefits depend on the power of the union. During the economic downturn it is even a challenge to defend the previous agreement, let along discussing something extra. That is why we encourage employees to join the union, since the quality of the new collective agreement will depend on how active they are».

COP22 Marrakesh Blog – Day 2 Tuesday 8 November 2016

A generally optimistic mood prevailed for most of Tuesday as talks commenced or continued on a number of fronts, including agriculture.
 
The mitigation efforts under the Paris Agreement, rely on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The intent is to build commitments from the bottom up that will keep the world on track to limiting global warming to 2 Celsius degrees, or less. So far, the total of NDCs is inadequate to do this and that means that a good deal of attention must be dedicated to looking for political, financial and technical means to arrive at the necessary level of greenhouse gas reduction commitments.
 
This of course makes it more difficult, but at the same time more crucial, to keep our demand for Just Transition measures front and centre. One proposal that is under consideration is the establishment of an expert committee on Just Transition measures. Whether this will be supported has yet to be seen.
 
A disturbing trend early in this COP has been the closing of an increasing number of meetings to observers, undermining the general principle of inclusiveness and transparency. We have protested this and asked the COP secretariat to explain this development.
 
Trade union delegates attempt to distribute ourselves to cover as many meetings as possible. Yesterday, I sat in on two meetings of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technical Advice as it discussed voluntary and cooperative mechanisms to meet NDC targets. Aspects of Just Transition fall under this heading, as well as several other work streams. My observation from yesterday is that many of the delegates have not fully prepared themselves for the discussion they are charged with.
 
Of course much of the early optimism about COP22 has evaporated as the results of Tuesday night’s USA election begin to sink in. More on this later.

More than 50 Ukrainian miners on hunger strike

50 miners from the first shift went on a hunger strike to protest against unpaid salaries. The protestors are also demanding that funds are provided from the state budget to complete the mine, and to meet with the Ukrainian minister of energy and coal industry Igor Nasalyk.

On 27 October, around 300 miners from Novovolynsk state mines protested and blocked a border-crossing point in Yahodyn in Volyn province in north-western Ukraine, making similar demands. When the protest failed to produce results the miners resorted to more extreme measures.

Vasily Pradid, chair of the local organization of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine at Novovolynska mine, says:         

"We are not asking for anything special. The situation of the salary arrears must be resolved – the miners haven’t been paid for three months. The total debt is 7 million UAH (US$ 280,000). If they wished they could have found this money".

Mine management has so far failed to respond to the work stoppage. Co-workers keep joining the striking miners.

Igor Guzya, Member of Parliament of Ukraine, met with the protesters on 8 November and announced that the Minister for the energy and coal industry will visit the mine later this week.

Mychailo Volynets, head of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine, said:

"The miners were desperate and forced to take action accordingly. Miners from the East – from Pavlograd, Dobropillia, Pokrovskaya – are supporting their plight and have sent telegrams of support".

IndustriALL welcomes oil and gas initiative to create fund for low emissions technologies

A billion dollars sounds like a lot of money, and it is. However, context is important in understanding this announcement. The announcement envisions an average investment of $10M per year over 10 years for each of the OGCI members which is a tiny fraction of their ongoing conventional investments. To make another comparison, a billion dollars would build more-or-less one oil refinery equipped with carbon capture and storage or sequestration (CCS) technologies. That’s just one, over 10 years.
 
Still, a billion dollars should not be ignored. IndustriALL considers this announcement as a start, and urges the OGCI to ramp up their commitment rapidly and very substantially.
 
“Many of our affiliates will be happy to hear of the attention being placed on CCS. Many others will be interested in seeing a considerable investment in cleaner technologies and renewables in the near future. Trade unions hope that we can start a dialogue with OGCI on the employment and transition implications of a real shift in their investment priorities” said general secretary Valter Sanches.
 
In the meantime, the OGCI announces that its initial priorities will be:

 
“IndustriALL Global Union welcomes the announcement of the OGCI. We stand ready to participate in a proactive discussion with the group on the anticipated employment impacts and transition planning required by a change in investment priorities. We sincerely want this initiative to succeed, but we know that it will not unless it can substantially raise its level of ambition and promise a Just Transition for those affected,” added Valter Sanches.