Cement unions commit to reinforce organizing in the Philippines

Union representatives from cement plants owned by LafargeHolcim, CEMEX and CRH and representing IndustriALL Global Union affiliates Philippines Cement Workers’ Council, All Workers Alliance Trade Unions and Associated Labour Unions met in Manila, Philippines on 13 and 14 February to develop a joint approach in response to the challenges faced by workers of the cement industry following the merger of Lafarge and Holcim in July 2015.

After the merger of the world's two biggest cement producers, a number of plants were divested around the world including in the Philippines. CRH was one of the main bidders for divested capacities.

As part of the two days training organized by IndustriALL through its regional office in South East Asia, the delegates developed a plan of harmonization of their existing collective bargaining agreements and organizing and recruiting of workers of cement factories in the Philippines.

Discussing precarious work participants shared their experience on employer’s tactics used at their factories to replace the permanently employed workforce with precarious, worse paid and less protected workers. The fight against the spreading precarious employment remains one of the major challenges that need to be addressed by the cement unions in the Philippines.

During the workshop participants also had the opportunity to raise their demands and concerns directly with Feliciano Gonzalez, LafargeHolcim’s Head of Labour Relations and Social Affairs, via Skype.

Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL director mechanical engineering and materials industries, who moderated the workshop says:

Despite a limited time and a very tight schedule this was a very inspiring meeting. IndustriALL affiliates have a big job to do after our workshop in order to implement their ambitious plans into real life. IndustriALL will continue to support our affiliates organizing cement workers in the Philippines by all possible means, and we will continue our global campaign for LafargeHolcim to respect workers rights!

SWUTT fights lay-off of 494 workers in Trinidad and Tobago

The march sought to put pressure on the company to reinstate the 494 workers, who were laid off from 3 February to 13 March.

“Our protest was successful and involved employees of the three companies affected by AMPL Managing (ArcelorMittal, Centrin and Tube City). We are standing up to this multinational company. They should explain what they plan to do with our members, who are their employees and citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,” said Christopher Henry, union president.

The company has adopted a policy of lay-offs since the end of 2015 in response to the international crisis that has hit the steel industry. A few days before Christmas, 480 workers were informed that they would be laid off indefinitely.

Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL general secretary, wrote to Robert Bellisle, CEO of ArcelorMittal Point Lisas Limited, expressing his extreme concern about the lay-offs and about the way the company acted. He asked the company to negotiate with the workers to find a way of getting them back to work.

Thanks to national and international solidarity and the pressure put on by the company’s workers, the laid off workers went back to work. However, a few weeks later, the company laid off 494 workers until mid-March.

Bellisle wrote to Raina to assure him that the company believes in social dialogue and is committed to maintaining good relations with the unions and employee representatives. IndustriALL reiterated the need to get the laid off workers back to work and asked the company to meet SWUTT and IndstriALL representatives to try and find a solution that would ensure continued production and employment.

Fernando Lopes, IndustriALL assistant general secretary said:

We cannot allow Arcelor Mittal to use the excuse that there is a crisis in the global steel industry because of dumping by China, Turkey and others to close its plant in Trinidad and Tobago. We demand practical action by the company and the government to maintain production at Point Lisas, because this is vitally important for national and regional development.

23 out of 28 mine workers released in Iran

The workers were arrested on 16 January 2016 following a series of protests at the state-owned Khatoon Abad Copper Mines, against the termination of 170 contract workers who had been promised permanent positions.

The arrests prompted condemnation both in Iran and internationally. IndustriALL’s statement and letter to the government of Iran has been praised for helping to secure the release of the 23 workers after it was widely disseminated and gained media coverage in the state-owned news agency ILNA.

The lawyer for the five workers that are still in custody is reportedly hopeful they will be freed imminently.

However, many of the workers who have been released still face charges and impending trials.

IndustriALL Global Union’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

“We are pleased that most of the workers have now been released but we call on the government of Iran to immediately release the remaining five people in custody. We also urge the authorities to drop all charges against the workers who were exercising their democratic right to protest.”

“Hidup Buruh!” say Indonesian cement unions fighting for workers’ rights

The union representatives from IndustriALL affiliate (FSP ISI) gathered for a two day workshop on 10 and 11 February in Bogor, Indonesia. They had an intense programme covering the interests of workers at both LafargeHolcim and Indocement (Indonesian subsidiary of HeidelbergCement) in Indonesia.

Indocement and LafargeHolcim alone cover approximately 50 per cent of the Indonesian cement market. At the meeting the trade union leaders from the majority of plants of both cement groups in Indonesia discussed the current and future situation in the domestic cement market.

In 2015 due to numerous concerns raised by the workers and their unions prior and after the merger of two biggest world cement producers Lafarge and Holcim, as well as an insufficient level of dialogue with the management, global unions IndustriALL and BWI jointly with European Federation EFBWW launched the campaign “LafargeHolcim, Respect workers’ rights!”. During the workshop participants of the meeting also discussed further plans on activities and actions of the Indonesian unions as part of the global campaign.

Activists of Indocement union also discussed consequences of the announced acquisition by HeidelbergCement group of Italcementi Group announced at the end of July 2015. Workers there also demand a proper social dialogue in their company, not only on a local, but also on a global level.

The CEO of Indocement and director of the Bogor-Holcim cement plant met the participants and shared views on the situation in the Indonesian cement market and corporate and social policies of their respective companies. An Indonesian government representative also attended the workshop and answered questions of the participants regarding specific regulations of the national labour legislation in Indonesia, especially related to possible layoffs. Participants finally discussed via telephone conference with LafargeHolcim’s Head of Labour Relations and Social Affairs, Feliciano Gonzalez, and expressed their concerns and demands.

At the end of the workshop, the trade union leaders unanimously adopted an ambitious work plan for the next years, including a unification of cement trade unions, the drive for a joint collective bargaining agreement that includes contract workers and an intensification of organizing and recruiting efforts.

Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL director, said: “This workshop was a source of inspiration and energy not only for the present trade union leaders, but will also help to improve living and working conditions for cement workers in Indonesia: Hidup Buruh! – This means: Long live workers’ movement. I am confident that our Indonesian brothers and sisters will successfully implement their action plan; IndustriALL will support them wherever possible and necessary.”

Global support for UK #heartunions campaign

The #heartunions week of action celebrates all the good work done by unions in workplaces and society in the UK. Union members from IndustriALL affiliates Unite, GMB and Community have testified on social media to what a difference being a member of a union has made to their lives.

The campaign has attracted high attention in social media, including 20,000 tweets on the best day.

But attention has also been about taking a stand against the Trade Union Bill, currently debated in the UK parliament. The TUC calls the Bill the “biggest attack on trade unions in a generation and a threat to the fundamental right to strike.”

The Trade Union Bill aims to impose tougher thresholds on strike ballots, allow the use of agency workers as striker replacements, reduce the facility time for shop stewards to represent the workers, force unions to share more information with authorities and police, as well as to cut off financial support to the Labour Party, founded by trade unions in 1900.

On 11 February, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady handed over a 200,000-signature petition calling on the government to rethink the suggested bill.

“The Trade Union Bill has no place in a modern democracy. Only through coming together and showing our united strength will we be able defend our vital right to strike”, said O’Grady.

The Council of Global Unions (CGU), uniting the leaders of the ITUC, TUAC and nine sectoral global unions, expressed at its London meeting on 11-12 February its full support for the UK union campaign against attacks on fundamental labour rights.

“Trade unions are a crucial part of our societies and anti-union governments cannot be allowed to cut workers’ democratic rights,” says IndustriALL Global Union general secretary and CGU chair Jyrki Raina.

“We stand behind UK workers and our affiliates in the fight for the right to strike, which is essential to ensure collective agreements with decent living wages and adequate conditions of work.”

More information on the campaign: http://heartunions.org

Appeal launched against double life sentence for Pricol workers

The severity of the court verdict has been condemned by trade unions in India, and is regarded as an attack on workers and unions in the country.

The eight men, who are active members of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), were workers at the Coimbatore plant of auto part manufacturer, Pricol Limited.

Last December, a Coimbatore court found the men guilty of the tragic death of Roy J George, Pricol’s human resources vice-president, who was killed on 21 September 2009 when negotiations over the dismissal of 41 employees turned violent.

While the AICCTU deplores the killing of Mr George, the union says there is no evidence to implicate the eight trade unionists in his murder and that the prosecution failed to prove their guilt during the trial.

The union filed an appeal on behalf of workers Gunabalan, Manivannan, Rajendran, Ramamurthy, Sampath, Saravanakumar, Sivakumar and Velmuruganin at the Chennai high court on 1 February 2016.

AICCTU and other central trade unions in Tamil Nadu including HMS, LPF, AITUC, CITU, AIUTUC, INTUC, WPTUC and BMS say the unfair sentence reflects the establishment’s antipathy towards workers. In Delhi on 27 January this year, central trade unions adopted a resolution expressing shock and concern over the extremely harsh punishment and appealed to all progressive and democratic forces to extend help in all possible forms in their efforts for bail and appeal.

A total of 27 workers and trade union activists, including four women, were initially charged with conspiracy and murder. According to Pricol union leader, M. Guruswamy, he and many of the workers were not even present inside the factory when the incident occurred.

The case also led A. Manikantan, one of the 27 workers accused of George’s murder, to commit suicide in October 2009, while another worker’s wife committed suicide in June 2015 apprehending conviction.

In total 19 workers and trade union leaders including Guruswamy and National President of AICCTU, S Kumarasamy, who were accused of having hatched the conspiracy and instigated the workers, were acquitted. The acquittal confirmed workers’ views that they were wrongly implicated in the case because of their participation in union activities.

The severity of the verdict needs to be understood against the backdrop of workers’ struggles at Pricol which began in 2007. In the face of poor working conditions and low wages, workers tried to win better rights both for regular and precarious by forming the Pricol Employees Trade Union in plant 1 and Coimbatore District Pricol Workers Trade Union at plant 3, which are both affiliated to AICCTU.

The Pricol management refused to recognize the union and engage in collective bargaining. Subsequently, union members had to go through interminable legal battles and face severe anti-union actions of the management including transfers of union office bearers, denial of wage increase, stoppage of increments and incentive, demotion, partial lock out, break in service and dismissals.

In May 2007, the Tamil Nadu government passed an order to restrain the management. Subsequently, workers had to face series of victimization measures in 2007 and 2008 including denial of allowances, terminations and demotions. However, workers continued their demand recognition of the union. At the same time, workers were also fighting illegal dismissals in the high court and Supreme Court. In May 2008 the Supreme Court passed an interim order allowing 62 partially locked out workers to return to work. However, anti-union actions continued all along with illegal wage deductions and dismissals.

Workers also objected to the deployment of contract workers in the factory’s main production work in violation of labour laws and launched a series of protests. In April 2009, the government issued detailed advice not to engage contract workers. In May 2009, a spot inspection report clearly stated that contract workers were engaged in direct production. Subsequently, in June 2009 a 15-day hunger strike by workers forced the government of Tamil Nadu to acknowledge the unfair labour practices in Pricol. The government issued orders (393 and 394) imposing conditions to regulate the recruitment of contract workers and apprentices in regular production.

Despite murder charges against the union members, the AICCTU remained focused in its work and the management finally recognized the union in 2011 and entered into collective bargaining agreement in 2012 and in 2015. These agreements resulted in significant benefits for workers in terms of wages, regularization of work for more than 230 workers, terminal benefits and working conditions. About 500 dismissed contract workers were provided compensation.

Read a detailed account of Pricol workers’ struggle since 2007 here and here. More information about the struggle and ambiguities in the trial process can be accessed from this Free the Pricol 8 publication.

AICCTU, along with other unions, have launched a nationwide campaign to secure the release of the eight men. They are holding protests across the country and have appealed for the solidarity from the national and international trade union movement in their struggle for justice. Solidarity messages can be sent through email at [email protected]. They also issued a call for solidarity funds to sustain the struggle.

Colombia: workers at Havells Sylvania poisoned by mercury

The two-hour protest in front of the company offices in Barrio Olarte, Bogota, took place on 5 February. The demonstration saw participation from 18 trade unions including IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, SINTRAVIDRICOL, which represents workers at Havells Sylvania.

The workers say they are suffering from the effects of high levels of mercury contamination and irreversible harm to their health after being exposed to toxic mercury vapour for extended periods over the past 15 years. The company uses mercury in the manufacture of fluorescent light tubes.

“I suffer from headaches, depression, mood swings, muscular pains, involuntary movements in my right arm and fatigue. After one year and three months off work, the symptoms have still not gone away or diminished. On the contrary, I have been suffering from more side-effects,” explained Alvaro Cubillos, a company employee who is now in very poor health which he attributes to working with mercury.

According to the World Health Organization mercury is one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern. It may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems and on the lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes, as well as the development of babies in the womb. A recent study by Central University in Colombia concluded that the air and water in Bogota also contains mercury residue.

The workers decided to organize the march after receiving inadequate responses from government authorities about their plight.

IndustriALL projects coordinator in Colombia, Carlos Bustos, said:

Tired of having their rights ignored, they decided to hold a protest march and denounce the harm which they have been subjected to. They asked IndustriALL to come along and support their cause. IndustriALL will actively participate in the actions taken by the workers and invites all unions to extend their solidarity to them.

IndustriALL calls on Pakistan to stop brutal repression

It follows the deaths of two Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees Enayat Raza and Saleem Akbar who were killed on 2 February during clashes with security personnel. They had been taking part in a peaceful workers’ rally in Karachi against government plans to privatize PIA. Many people including women workers and journalists were injured in the violent crackdown by authorities.

On the same day four trade union members at PIA disappeared and were released by unidentified men six days later.

In the letter to Prime Minister Muhammad Navaz Sharif, IndustriALL's general secretary, Jyrki Raina, wrote:

We strongly condemn the violent clampdown of workers’ peaceful protests. Criminalization of workers must end immediately. In a democracy, dialogue not repression, will bring lasting solutions to pressing issues faced by the people of Pakistan.

IndustriALL expressed condolences to the families and co-workers of the deceased employees and called upon the government of Pakistan “to end the repression of workers and start a national consultation with workers’ organizations to reach amicable solutions to the issues raised by workers.”

IndustriALL has also called on the government to withdraw the Essential Services Act with regard to PIA, which effectively bans all PIA employees from carrying out union activities for the next six months.

Thanking the IndustriALL for the message of Solidarity, Suhail Baluch from the Joint Action Committee (JAC), the PIA employees’ body spearheading the struggle against privatization, said:

Workers of Pakistan are opposed to selling away national assets. Privatization, in any form, whether it is in the form of a strategic partner or selling minority shares, is not acceptable to the employees. The government should postpone the privatization drive for a year and give PIA employees a genuine chance to turnaround the airline.

The proposed privatization of 69 public sector companies is a part of loan conditions imposed by the International Monitory Fund (IMF). PIA is one among 39 public sector entities earmarked for early implementation of the privatization programme. Questioning the role of the IMF, Raina wrote: “The IMF is one of those very institutions that failed to predict the global economic crisis in 2008, and with its ‘one size fits for all’ policy approach continues to wreak havoc in developing countries’ economies.”

Imran Ali, General Secretary of Pakistan IndustriALL Council said “privatization of public sector enterprises must be opposed as it will lead to job losses and increase precarious work”.

After eight days of strike and protests across the country, the JAC withdrew the strike on 9 February and appealed for its members to return to work. The JAC is currently engaged in negotiations with the government. JAC’s demands include: a judicial commission to investigate the workers’ deaths, the immediate withdrawal of the government’s bill to privatize PIA and that PIA employees be given a chance to reform the airline.

Glencore unions build strength in Cape Town

As commodity prices continue to fall around the world, the mining crisis is intensifying.

The IndustriALL Glencore Global Network met in Cape Town on 9 – 10 February. Participants from Chile, Argentina, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Canada, USA and Australia shared their experiences from Glencore operations around the world and set a plan for union action.

“These are our jobs, our livelihood,” says Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL mining director. “International standards exist to ensure that multinationals cooperate with unions in times of crisis to minimize the impact on workers. Unfortunately Glencore is turning a blind eye to these standards.”

“The company has a long history of aggression against unions and collective bargaining is the first victim as the sector bleeds.”

Sixteen months ago, Glencore locked out members of IndustriALL US affiliate the United Steel Workers after the union rejected the company’s first offer at the bargaining table. Since then, Glencore – which claims to be an industry leader in health and safety – has operated the hazardous Sherwin Alumina processing plant in Texas with untrained scab labour. Now the multinational is trying to cheat workers and other creditors out of tens of millions of dollars by shifting ownership from one Glencore subsidiary to another under US ‘chapter 11’ bankruptcy law.

The network expressed its solidarity with USW and called on Glencore to secure a resolution to the conflict.

In addition, the network expressed its solidarity with SUTRACOMASA, a union at Antamina in Peru belonging to IndustriALL affiliate FNTMMSP, whose leadership has faced death threats while engaging in collective bargaining.

Many of the participants reported of permanent employees being replaced by contract workers with worse salaries and conditions. An increased number of precarious workers also leads to lower union density – in many countries it is impossible to join a union on a temporary employment contract.

The network also heard reports of positive developments, such as in Argentina where IndustriALL affiliate AOMA has negotiated the same conditions for contract workers as for permanent workers.

As Andrew Vickers, chair of IndustriALL mining sector and general secretary of IndustriALL affiliate CFMEU, pointed out – the global trade union movement doesn’t walk away from a fight.

“Global network campaigns are one way of winning a fight. And this is also an opportunity for our unions to organize and grow in strength.”

The Glencore Global Network adopted a solidarity resolution for the three miners trapped underground in the Lily mine in South Africa, wishing for their safe return to the surface and calling for an end to bad management and blatant neglect for worker safety in the mining industry.

Glencore is one of the largest and most diversified mining and commodity companies in the world.

Spain: thousands join march against trade unionist trial

The eight workers, who belong to IndustriALL Global Union affiliates, CC.OO de Industria and MCA-UGT, were charged after joining a picket at the gates of Airbus in Getafe, in the Madrid suburbs, as part of a general strike on 29 September 2010.

As the trial began today, IndustriALL joined Spanish unions, as well as industriAll Europe and members of Airbus unions in Belgium and France, in the lively march to the Getafe courts in support of the ‘Airbus 8’.

It is the first of a series of demonstrations planned for the four-day trial, which is set to conclude on Friday.

The severity of the punishment proposed by the prosecutor, at eight years and three months for each worker, is being condemned as an attack by Spanish authorities on trade unions and the right to strike.

The eight trade unionists, Tomás García, Enrique Gil, Rodolfo Malo, José Alcazar, Raúl Fernández, Armando Barco, Jerónimo Martín and Edgar Martín, have all been charged under Article 315.3 of the Spanish Penal Code, which allows for prison sentences for picketing trade unionists.

More than 300 trade unionists are currently facing prison in Spain under the same law, which until recently, was reportely last used under General Franco's dictatorship.

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

“It is beyond belief that Spain is resorting to antiquated and oppressive legislation to imprison workers for exercising their fundamental right to strike. The attempts by Spanish authorities to silence trade unions and intimidate workers are a sad step backwards for democracy.”

The eight defendants had joined several hundred workers outside the Airbus who were protesting against austerity measures and changes to the labour code as part of a general strike in Spain. The peaceful protest ended in panic after riot police fired shots into the air and people rushed for shelter with several people becoming injured. The eight men strongly deny the charges of ‘acting with violence’ and ‘attacking the right to work’.

Today’s march was led by the general secretary of Spanish confederation CCOO, Ignacio Fernández Toxo and Cándido Mendez, general secretary of the UGT confederation. The demonstration coincided with a strong social media campaign saying “To strike is not a crime” (#LaHuelgaNoEsDelita) and “They are not 8, we are thousands” (No son 8, somos miles).