Ericsson global trade union network meets for the first time

Ericsson, a leading ICT, Electronics multinational company, operates worldwide and employs more than 116,000 workers.

Representatives from twenty IndustriALL and UNI trade union affiliates exchanged information on union activities in each of the 15 countries.

The meeting also focused on the company’s policy on social responsibility, and participants actively discussed the implementation of human and workers’ rights such as the ILO’s core labour standards, which should be guaranteed in all facilities of the company.

The participants agreed on the network’s important work on information exchange and building coordination between Ericsson workers. As a result of the discussion, participants unanimously agreed to continue working towards a relationship with the company at an international level.

A draft strategic plan for the Ericsson trade union network was adopted at the meeting and it will be further developed by the working group which was selected by participants.

Nuclear unions commemorate 30th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster

Energy union delegates from Canada, Great Britain, France, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and the Ukraine participated in the 19 and 20 April meeting on global nuclear tendencies.

The main subject of the discussion was the dramatic accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the then-Soviet Ukraine on 26 April 1986 and the working conditions of the people still on duty at Chernobyl. 

The meeting was hosted by the Nuclear Power and Industry Workers ‘of Ukraine, Atomprofspilka. Its president, Valeriy Matov, chaired the meeting and made a presentation about the situation of workers 30 years after the Chernobyl tragedy.

The day after the meeting participants visited the Chernobyl exclusion zone. 

Today about 6,500 workers on the state payroll are working at various facilities in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and another 2,500 people are working right at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Maksim Orlov, the chairman of the Nuclear Power and Industry Workers Union of Ukraine’s local union at the Chernobyl plant, said that in recent years the Ukrainian government took the wrong decision to decrease state financial support of the nuclear power plant maintenance, which has meant that workers at Chernobyl have had to work with a funding gap of 45 per cent.

Nikolay Teterin, chairman of the Chernobyl United Trade Union Organization and a representative of the Nuclear Power and Industry Workers Union of Ukraine, said financial support of works at the Chernobyl exclusion zone is decreasing every year. Meanwhile, the Chernobyl issues have not been resolved by the government, which is cutting benefits for people who live in the area. 

Teterin says some believe the Chernobyl exclusion zone has been fully cleared of radiation and that economic activity could resume there, while others report on the catastrophic state of public health, especially children health. According to some studies, up to 80 per cent of children in the age group of twelve to seventeen years old, living at the territory close to the Chernobyl exclusion zone have precancerous conditions. Researchers think there might not be a third generation in this area. “The truth is somewhere in between,” concludes Teterin.

So far in 2016, financial support has decreased by 30 per cent, which has significantly worsened the working and living conditions of workers at the Chernobyl power plant. Furthermore, the government has made a draft decree that would deprive workers of a preferential pension. Teterin hopes that the new Ukrainian government will change its attitude towards the exclusion zone workers’ problems that have been raised by the union multiple times.

Ukrainian trade unions demand that the state authorities do not reduce the rights, guarantees and benefits of the people suffering from the Chernobyl tragedy; solve pension issues for the Chernobyl workers and accident liquidators; provide state financial support to ensure medical treatment of the injured persons oncological diseases; and to build oncological medical centres.

David Shier, chairperson of INWUN, also spoke about IndustriALL actions and achievements in the energy sector, while Diana Junquera Curiel, IndustriALL energy industry director, made a presentation on global developments in nuclear power and uranium mining. There was also a special session from Denryoku Soren from the Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Worker’s Union of Japan, updating participants on the situation in his country after the Fukushima nuclear accident three years ago.

A resolution to support the Nuclear Ukranian workers was approved unanimously at the meeting.

Today, we remember the dead and fight for the living

Please observe a moment’s silence today for those killed and injured at work.

Every 15 seconds, a worker dies from a work-related accident or disease. That is 6,300 deaths per day.

Every year, 2.3 million workers kiss their loved ones goodbye as they go to work, never to return.

These deaths are all preventable. No one should die at work.

The Day of Commemoration was launched by trade unions to highlight the terrible human toll that negligence and cost cutting has on workers’ lives, and to fight for safe work.

This year, our focus is on pushing countries to ratify and implement ILO Convention 176 on mine safety.

By implementing this convention, we can make mining safe. Please join the global campaign to put pressure on governments to ratify the convention and legislate for mine safety.

April 28 is a day to remember those who die at work, and a day to fight for the living.

Across the world, trade union activists parade their banners, light candles, down tools, lay wreaths, lower flags, put out their boots and hard hats, and take other solemn, symbolic actions to remember colleagues killed at work, and the devastating impact this has on family members who lose a loved one and breadwinner.

We ask you to do the same.

No one should die at work. The cause is profit-driven employer negligence, and the cure is strong unions fighting for safe working conditions, the right to refuse dangerous work, and robust health and safety legislation.

Is the past week, we have commemorated the third anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, when 1,130 garment workers were killed, and the thirtieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, that killed untold thousands.

We remember those killed by asbestosis, mesothelioma, workplace carcinogens, exposure to pesticides and other dangerous chemicals.

We remember those killed on dangerous construction sites and in shipbreaking yards.

We remember the terrible death toll in the mining industry, from cases of mass industrial homicide like the Soma disaster in Turkey, to the steady attrition of deaths in Pakistan's dangerous coal mines, to the Congo, Russia, South Africa and across the world.

And we resolve to do something to change it.

Ratify ILO C176.

Remember the dead. Fight for the living.

Steel workers in Trinidad and Tobago stand up and fight for their rights

The lastest protest organized by the Steel Workers’ Union of Trinidad and Tobago (SWUTT) took place earlier this week.  

Mass-layoffs started with the closure of Arcelor Mittal and quickly spread to other companies in the sector, Central Steel Ltd (Centrin) and Tube City IMS. The workers, already devastated by the loss of their jobs, then found their employers were refusing to pay severance as required by law.

SWUTT President Christopher Henry decried the fact that only severance payment made to date was in the case of the family of David Francis, a worker who hanged himself earlier this week.

“Why could the company not have done the right thing David was pushed to this extreme? How many more workers will have to die before these companies pay what they owe?”

“The social fallout from these mass layoffs will continue and it will get worse” warned Henry.

The union is demanding that the government step in and force the companies to uphold the law.

IndustriALL has demanded that the steel companies take measures to ensure that workers are not left to bear the brunt of the crisis and to save an industry that is of vital importance not only to the country but to the whole Caribbean region.

African women stand up for better conditions

The delegates welcome the 40 per cent quota adopted by the world women committee of IndustriALL last year and resolved that only united can they find a solution to their problems.

Addressing the participants of the meeting Issa Aremu, IndustriALL executive committee member representing affiliates of the region underlined the importance of women work and said, “women's issues are not only problems of the women, these are trade union problems and will be supported by the whole organization.”

Monika Kemperle, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, focused on the IndustriALL maternity protection campaign and health and safety.

In particular, Kemperle raised the issue of the specific health and safety needs of women workers’,  which are different from men's. Referring to the women of the region,  she stressed their need to have a better job protection during pregnancy. No pregnancy testing should be allowed by employers, and they should be prevented from discriminating against women, or making them redundant based on their pregnancy. On the other side, employers should arrange the transfer of pregnant women to lighter jobs.

According to numerous reports of the participants, they have the opposite experience with employers in their countries. Women often do not want to report their pregnancy because of the fear of losing their job or being downgraded as useless. Some reported that employers in the region try to undermine existing collective labour agreements by decreasing time for maternity leave or not providing breastfeeding women with adequate facilities.

Some unions in the region already negotiate introduction of clauses on maternity protection into their collective agreements, but more work is to be done to promote ratification of the relevant ILO Convention 183. So far there are only 31 countries, which ratified the Convention out of 187 ILO member states.

Kemperle also insisted that employers must pay more attention to stress and psychosocial health effects faced by women. Paid maternity leave should not be subject of abuse by men, and different types of families should be taken into account. Fathers need to take their part of responsibilities to allow women to get at least some relief from their double burden between work and house tasks.

Unions in the region should do more work for women on HIV/AIDS prevention and workers must take their part of responsibility for maternity by attending clinics. A lot more enlightening work regarding HIV/AIDS needs to be done to fight prejudices and stigmatization of the disease, which impedes attempts to address the problem in a proper way.

The issue of violence and sexual harassment remains very important and needs to be addressed on a systematic basis. Women in male-dominated jobs usually have a good education, but still have to fight with gender-based prejudices.

The participants resolved that in order to tackle the problems raised, special anti-harassment training should be introduced through union networks, collective and global framework agreements. Also IndustriALL should lead a permanent fight against violence against women.

At the end of the meeting the participants discussed a concrete action plan and strategy paper on how to tackle the issues raised. With the support of IndustriALL, women activists of the Sub-Saharan region will:

At the same time unions of the region will implement the 40 per cent quota, and build a communication exchange platform.

Bangladesh unions take forward demand for living wage

The workshop, jointly organized by IndustriALL and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, brought together union representatives from different sectors, including garment and textiles, steel, chemical, energy and shipbreaking.

The participants held intensive discussions on a living wage for workers in Bangladesh. In the face of price rises and the diminishing value of real wages, the existing minimum wage – which is one of the lowest in the world – is too low to meet the basic needs of workers. Union representatives agreed that a wage increase is a key issue for workers across sectors in Bangladesh.

Activists evaulated past struggles to raise wages. They discussed current wages and wage setting mechanisms, and analysed the advantages and disadvantages of using national minimum wage fixing structures, and creating industry wide collective bargaining agreements to take forward the demand for wage increase.

Unions underlined the need for comprehensive and technical details backed with concrete research to decide an appropriate living wage for workers in various sectors. Such research on wages will also support workers’ demands at the national level.

Speaking at the workshop, IndustriALL policy director Jenny Holdcroft called on the unions to recognize the impact of brands’ purchasing practices, as they take the major share of profits in the ready made garments sector.

Employers’ capacity to pay depends on what they receive from buyers. She argued that unions need to mount international pressure on brands to contibute to ensuring a living wage for workers in Bangladesh.

Participants decided to convene the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, made up of Bangladeshi affiliates, to come together to discuss the issue with union representatives across the sectors, commission research and develop consensus on the demand for a living wage.  

Because the demand for a wage increase is not just economic, but also a political issue in Bangladesh, they decided to engage with political leaders to seek their support for workers’ demand.  

They also expressed the need to take forward the message to workers and ordinary people across the country to build broad-based support.

Workers demand justice on third anniversary of Rana Plaza collapse

More than 1,100 workers perished and over 2,500 were injured in the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building in Dhaka on 24 April 2013.

IndustriALL Global Union’s garment and textile affiliates together with affiliates from metal, chemical and shipbreaking sectors, united under the banner of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC) in a human chain and press conference in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka.

In Pakistan, IndustriALL affiliate the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) organized a rally and press conference at the Karachi press club to extend solidarity and demand justice for the victims of both Rana Plaza and the fire at Ali Enterprises in Pakistan, which killed 254 workers on 11 September 2012.

Workers protesting in Dhaka strongly demanded that the government of Bangladesh start the judicial trial of the owner of Rana Plaza, since justice to the dead and injured will only be fully realized when the people responsible are punished.

Union leaders expressed serious concern that many garment factories are still not safe. While the Accord has delivered many improvements to factory safety, there is much more to be done by factory owners, brands and the government.

IndustriALL regional secretary for South Asia, Apoorva Kaiwar, told the assembled unions that it is unacceptable that, even after Rana Plaza, garment workers are facing serious challenges to exercise their right to freedom of association and suffer extremely low wages and poor working conditions. “IndustriALL will stand together with its affiliates, especially in the RMG sector and support in all possible means actions taken by IBC,” she said.

Christina Hajagos-Clausen, IndustriALL’s textile and garment director, conveyed the solidarity of IndustriALL’s garment and textile affiliates around the world and called on the workers to strengthen their unity.

Policy director Jenny Holdcroft said: “We must never allow what happened at Rana Plaza to be forgotten. With the solidarity of all IBC unions, not only garment sector, but also steel, shipbreaking and chemical unions, we are strong. Most garment workers still do not have the protection of a union and it is our responsibility to organize them.”

IBC Chair Nazrul Islam Khan recognised the efforts of IndustriALL to bring compensation to victims and called for continued solidarity support to their struggle to win justice for Rana Plaza victims and labour rights for garment workers.  

Chernobyl workers also needed Just Transition

In the night of 26 April 1986, hell broke loose at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

As a result of a security test that went terribly wrong, an explosion and fire in reactor 4 spread radioactive particles in the neighbouring areas and, with the winds, all over Europe.

Many of the rescue workers died or got serious, permanent health problems. Experts are still not sure how many cancer cases were caused by radiation; hundreds of thousands of people, possibly millions, have had their health affected by the Chernobyl disaster.

The nearby town of Pripyat where 40,000 people, including the power plant workers and their families, lived happily was fully evacuated. Today trees grow through the streets and buildings. Nature has completely taken over the ghost town.

Instead, 50 kilometres from Chernobyl, a new town called Slavutich was built. It was a joint effort by architects and construction workers from different states of the ex-Soviet Union. Slavutich became an amusing combination of styles from Estonia to Georgia to Kazakhstan.

In 1993, the Ukrainian nuclear workers’ union Atomprofspilka joined ICEM, one of the founding organizations of IndustriALL Global Union. I became ICEM’s energy industry director soon after that. That is how I, together with my colleagues, got to work with our Ukrainian union.

It was a challenging task to convince our Ukrainian union leaders that the remaining reactors of the Chernobyl power plant needed to be closed down. The technology was not safe. Chernobyl had been a flagship, with good salaries and conditions for workers and their families. It was difficult, especially for the local leaders, to accept that Chernobyl had to be abandoned.

But reactor 4 was leaking despite the concrete sarcophagus built around it. In 1997, the G8 countries agreed to set up the Chernobyl Shelter Fund to construct a safe confinement worth more than US$1 billion. The works have still not been finalized.

Our major union task was to take care of the workers. Reactors 1-3 were shut down one by one in the 1990s at several years’ intervals, which made Just Transition easier. Most of the workers got jobs at other Ukrainian nuclear power plants, which used safer technology.

And finally the Ukrainian parliament adopted a law, which guaranteed an early retirement for thousands of workers. It is not all perfect, because struggling with a financial crisis, the government decided to reduce benefits.

Today 2,500 workers are still active at the power plant, taking care of security and monitoring. The town of Slavutich has grown into a community of 25,000 people, with new microenterprises and new jobs, thanks to active industry policy measures by the authorities.

I visited the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and Slavutich a couple of times in late 1990s. The murals, commissioned by the ICEM from US artist Mike Alewitz in 1996, capture much of the emotion we felt at that time: “From the ashes of the old, we will build a new world – solidarity forever”.

The workers of Chernobyl needed Just Transition after the closure of their power plant. Taking care of the workers, their families and communities will be an important task for the IndustriALL global family also in the upcoming energy transformation following the Paris climate change agreement.

Jyrki Raina
General Secretary

Experts to boost trade union rights in Inditex supply chain

The groundbreaking contract, which is unique in the garment sector, was signed by Inditex Chairman and CEO, Pablo Isla, and Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL, in Brussels on 25 April.

The trade union experts are being brought in to better monitor and implement workers’ rights in a contract which extends IndustriALL Global Union’s Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with Spanish-based Inditex. The GFA covers more than a million workers in around 6,000 supplier factories making clothes for the company’s eight different brands, including Zara, Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti.

The GFA between IndustriALL and Inditex was signed in 2007 and renewed and strengthened in 2014. The GFA sets out to promote workers’ rights, freedom of association, and collective bargaining at its supplier factories.

The trade union experts will be employed in different regions (or clusters) to contribute to better enforcement of the GFA and effective implementation of labour rights throughout Inditex’s supply chain. The first Cluster Contract was also signed for Turkey.

The experts will also act to enforce Inditex’s Code of Conduct for Manufacturers and Suppliers as well as coordinate trade unions, together with Inditex Sustainability teams located in the different regions.

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

“This agreement shows an unprecedented and genunine commitment from Inditex to improving the rights of garment workers in its supplier factories. The contract is a significant step forward in promoting workers’ rights in the Inditex supply chain, and will help to increase workers’ capacity to negotiate wages and working conditions with employers. Only by empowering workers and trade unions will we see real change in global garment industry.”

Inditex Chairman and CEO, Pablo Isla, said:

“This new initiative marks a huge milestone in improving the global garment production chain. It should be viewed against the backdrop of the core agreement reached with IndustriALL in 2007, which has proven the most effective way of accompanying and training garment suppliers worldwide. I am certain that with this organizational reinforcement we will go on to achieve even more ambitious social targets”.

The signing took place at the High-level Conference on Responsible Management of the Supply Chain in the Garment Sector organized by the European Commission, where both Isla and Raina were key-note speakers.

ENDS:

For more information, please contact:

Leonie Guguen, communications officer, IndustriALL Global Union [email protected]

Tel: +41 79 137 54 36

Los Mineros commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Lázaro Cárdenas tragedy

The National Miners’ and Metalworkers’ Union (SNTMMSRM, better known as Los Mineros, and affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union) organized a march and a mass to remember Alberto Rodríguez Castillo and Héctor Álvarez Gómez.

Both were victims of the clash that occurred on 20 April 2006 when the police forcibly evicted workers from the premises of SICARTSA, now Arcelor Mittal.

Workers in section 271 had been on strike for several months when they were caught off-guard by the police.

“It was like a scene from a war, with smoke, screams and people running. The police forced out workers who were guarding access to the plant and chased them through the streets…”

remembers Raúl Alejandro Delgado Rojas, a company employee and member of the union.

Ten years later, the union commemorated the tragedy at an event supported by the Unite union and the United Steel Workers, both affiliated to IndustriALL. The union said that the authorities had violated trade union autonomy and called on the government to stop the repression and persecution, ensure that justice is done and recognize the right to strike.

“Remembering those who died at Lazaro Cardenas makes us stronger in the struggle”,

said IndustriALL’s Assistant General Secretary, Fernando Lopes.