3,700 mine workers under threat in Georgia

On 11 January, mining company Georgian Manganese LLC informed workers at its Chiatura Manganese Mine that it would stop extraction from 20 January until 20 May 2016 due to a decrease in the market price of manganese.

The management has promised workers 60 per cent of their salary, medical insurance during the four-month downtime and says it will pay interest on loans for those workers who had one.

However, in return the company is forcing workers to immediately sign, without the chance to consult their lawyers, an additional agreement that amends the essential terms of their employment contract and deprives the majority of miners of their right to paid leave in 2016.

Local unionists and the union leadership have challenged the managerial decision to shut down mining operations for four months. IndustriALL affiliate, the Trade Union of Metallurgy, Mining and Chemical Industry Workers of Georgia (TUMMCIWG) is demanding that the government intervenes and guarantees that the company returns to normal operations in May, without the loss of any jobs – even if this would require the Chiatura Manganese Mine to be nationalized.

The TUMMCIWG has also suggested that the government considered exemption of Chiatura miners from the obligation to pay personal income tax within this period, and that the government paid compensation to the amount of 40 percent  of miners’ salaries to make up for the loss in their salary.  The average salary at the Chiatura Manganese Mine is low and only reaches 600 Georgian Lari (US$250) a month. The four-month shutdown will make the miners even poorer.

As the occupational safety is one of the major problems at the Chiatura Manganese Mine, and all existing safety issues could be eliminated during the temporary mine closure, the TUMMCIWG is demanding that an Action Plan on occupational safety was put in place and all health and safety issues were solved in full by May 2016.

The TUMMCIWG members at other Georgian enterprises and the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation have expressed solidarity with Chiatura miner’s demands. A campaign has been launched on social media with pictures of people holding posters with demands and solidarity messages.

Georgian Manganese LLC is a subsidiary of the Georgian American Alloys, Inc., headquartered in Miami, FL and affiliated to the Privat Group, a global business group based in Ukraine. 

ITUC report exposes hidden workforce in supply chains

New research from the ITUC shows that 50 multinational companies, which include Samsung, McDonalds and Nestle, only employ six per cent of employees directly, concealing 94 per cent of workers in their supply chains.

The ITUC report, Scandal: Inside the global supply chains of 50 top companies released on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos exposes an unsustainable business model, with a global footprint that covers almost every country in the world and profiles 25 companies with headquarters in Asia, Europe, and the United States.

ITUC research shows:

“We have a model where companies can’t or won’t identify their supply chains and their hidden workforce. They preside over profits based on low wages, lobby against minimum living wages or regulations designed to ensure safe and secure work and turn a blind eye to the use of informal work or even slavery in their employ,” says ITUC general secretary, Sharan Burrow, in the report.

The research also shows the measures taken by the companies to avoid paying tax. Apple’s annual report last year reveals the company has avoided around US$57 billion in US federal income tax on its offshore reserves.

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

Multinational companies make massive profits, while millions of poorly paid workers in their supply chains are suffering. This is compounded by companies’ elaborate measures to avoid paying tax, further increasing inequality and undermining society. Multinationals need to be transparent about their suppliers, and guarantee living wages, trade union rights and safe workplaces throughout their global supply chains.”

Crown Holdings urged to commit to OECD guidelines

The USNCP also said it regretted the unwillingness of U.S. packing multinational, Crown, to participate in mediation with regard to the alleged conduct of Crown subsidiaries in Canada and Turkey.

The statement, which was issued on 24 December 2015, came after more than a year's consideration of allegations submitted by IndustriALL Global Union affiliates, United Steelworkers and Birlesik Metal-Is, representing Crown workers in Canada and Turkey respectively.

In the statement, USNCP recommends that Crown Holdings should implement OECD Guidelines “ensuring that rights are respected – the rights of its workers, including the right of workers to establish or join trade unions of their own choosing, as well as the rights of other individuals affected by its business operations.”

The statement reads that in their responses the company states that the all the issues are addressed by the judicial and administrative legal systems of respective countries. USNCP pointed that in many cases the Guidelines go beyond a simple calling for respect for local law. Therefore simply complying with national law does not necessarily place a company in compliance with the Guidelines.

USW also made a complaint against Crown to the Ontario Labour Relations Board in Canada. The parties managed to reach a deal on 8 July 2015, and on 10 August the parties reported a successful return to work, putting an end to a devastating 22-month strike in Canada for workers and their families.

The problems with Crown Turkish subsidiary BevCan, which began in February 2012, when the first worker involved in organizing was fired, remain unsolved.  USW and Birlesik Metal-Is reported Crown attempts to intimidate workers to stop them joining the union at two company facilities in Osmanie and Izmit. A factory manager at Crown BevCan was accused of using violence and threat in order to force workers not to join the union in 2012. Criminal complaints were filed in courts in Osmaniye and Izmit against him.

Crown BevCan also exploited legal barriers to delay recognition of the union Birlesik-Is as the legitimate representative of workers.

Later, Crown BevCan participated in collective bargaining, but showed no interest in reaching a fair deal with the union. When the union organized a legitimate strike, the company pressured workers and undermined the strike through a forced withdrawal of 33 workers' signatures supporting the strike, thus declaring the strike illegal.

Birlesik-Is reported that the company fired 26 workers based on their involvement in union organizing activities. The company denies the dismissals were as a result of anti-union discrimination.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary said,

Before and during the entire process of the case being considered by the U.S. National Contact Point, Crown Holdings showed no will to negotiate with the unions. Instead they tried to undermine every attempt by our affiliates to have meaningful dialogue. They refused to enter into mediation, showing no respect for the OECD guidelines that regulate multinationals’ behaviour. This is not the behaviour of a responsible company. We won’t stop fighting Crown until it respects the rights of all its workers.”

The guidelines are a part of the OECD’s declaration on international investment and multinational enterprises addressed to the companies operating in or from the territories of the OECD countries.

Full copy of the Final Statement is available on the link

http://www.state.gov/e/eb/oecd/usncp/specificinstance/finalstatements/250856.htm

Indonesian garment unions set for organizing drive

At the end of 2015, IndustriALL's Indonesian affiliates participated in a series of four capacity building trainings to promote decent work in the global supply chains of Inditex (Zara) and H&M.  

IndustriALL's Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) with H&M and Inditex cover more than 2.5 million garment workers. The workshops were focused on educating local affiliates in strategic organizing and were jointly sponsored by IndustriALL and ACTRAV, part of the International Labour Organization. 

IndustriALL's textile and garment director Christina Hajagos-Clausen said:

Such capacity building workshops are key to building worker power in the industry. GFAs are living documents and IndustriALL's affiliates need to be able to actively employ these agreements in order to build stronger unions.

 Sis Elly, President of Garteks, said:

The workshops were very valuable, especially for workers  in factories that produce for Inditex and H&M. Global Framework Agreements are very useful for workers and it is important to introduce these agreements to rank and file garment workers. Hopefully in the future we can continue this cooperation so that the message can touch the entire work force who manufacture for both Inditex and H&M.

Under the H&M GFA, Indonesia will be a one of the first countries to set up a national monitoring committee in 2016 to ensure that the agreement is implemented from the factory floor upwards. Training for both management and union representatives on employers' responsibilities, workers' rights and obligations, industrial relations, and collective bargaining agreements are also key elements that will be handled by the national monitoring committees. 

Cambodia: garment workers killed on their way to work

Another deadly accident has hit garment workers going to work in Cambodia, with five people dead and 68 people injured, 13 of which in critical condition.
 
Road safety is a major concern in the country. According to Cambodia's National Security Fund, more than 7,000 garment workers were injured and 130 killed in 2015, when being transported to and from work.  
 
IndustriALL's textile and garment director Christina Hajagos-Clausen says that safe transport for workers are desperately needed:

It is unacceptable to run the risk of dying or becoming seriously injured when getting to work. There is a direct link between increased wages that the workers can live off and safe transportation. IndustriALL Global Union's affiliates in Cambodia are campaigning for an increase of the current minimum wage US$140 per month.

In December, IndustriALL held its Executive Committee in Phnom Penh as a show of support for the union's fight for a living wage.

What is industry 4.0?

Industry 4.0 is a term first coined in Germany in 2011 to describe the computerization of manufacturing regarded as the fourth industrial revolution.

The first industrial revolution from the end of the 18th century saw the birth of manufacturing using machines powered by water and steam. The second came at the beginning of the 20th century, when mass production lines were powered by electric energy. The third came with the change from analogue and mechanical production to electronic and digital technology from the 1970s onwards.

The fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, uses smart technology and real-time data to increase productivity and reduce costs.

In smart factories, machinery, storage systems and production are capable of carrying out complex tasks, exchanging information and giving instructions to each other, without the need for human involvement.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in January 2015, German chancellor, Angela Merkel, called Industry 4.0 the way we “deal quickly with the fusion of the online world and the world of industrial production.”

Industry 4.0 relies heavily on the Internet of Things – objects embedded with technology that can communicate with IT systems and be detected by sensors.

Cloud computing is also essential to support the billions of sensors, devices and the flow of information or data that they create.

Advances in data analytics mean that powerful software has the capacity to analyze all this information (or Big Data) coming from manufacturing systems in real time. This provides vast benefits to multinational companies giving access to up-to-the second information on production across supply chains. It also allows companies to be more responsive to business trends and plan better by making more accurate predictions.

Furthermore, developments in 3D printing have the potential to drastically reduce research and development costs, and even omit the need for production facilities entirely.

Where does this leave workers?

Digitalization will no doubt create new jobs but in different sectors. And as robots become increasingly sophisticated and machines control each other, will the need for labour diminish?

“We don’t know yet what the real impact will be,” says Christain Brunkhorst from German affiliate, IG Metall, who spoke on the topic at IndustriALL’s recent automotive working group meeting in Toronto. “While there might be some ergonomic improvements for workers as repetitive or difficult tasks are taken over by robots, workers will rapidly need to develop new skills to keep up with smart factories.”

It is not only production methods that are getting smart in the auto sector – connected and autonomous cars could again transform the industry and driving itself.

“There could be many new high skilled jobs in the areas of planning, configuration and maintenance of new technologies, but low skilled workers could lose out,” says Brunkhorst

Smart technology and systems could also lead to extensive control and monitoring of workers’ behaviour and performance. Smart factories pose greater expectations on individual flexibility and precarious work is predicted to increase.

IG Metall is currently making work councils aware of the changes at bay and has set up studies to assess the consequences on the workforce. “At this stage we as a trade union are seeking to influence the transition as these new technologies are established in the car industry,” says Brunkhorst.

Meanwhile, iPhone manufacturer, Foxconn, which employs 1.2 million workers, has announced that robots will replace 30 per cent of workers at their production lines in five years.

Kan Matsuzaki, IndustriALL director for ICT, electrical and electronics, says:

Industry 4.0 will be penetrating various industries faster than we could ever imagine. Trade unions must be prepared for the massive impact on employment, working conditions, and workers’ rights, and concentrate on activities towards a just transition.

INTERVIEW: Hashmeya Alsaadawe

What was it like to be able to join a union at the end of the Saddam Hussein era?

At the outset of his regime in 1987, Saddam Hussein passed Resolution 150 preventing trade union work in the public sector, which affects all employees in the state-owned power industry. Right after the fall of the regime in 2003, I saw a chance to defend the rights of workers. So I rushed to form a trade union for the electricity workers in Basra, with the help of a number of young people.

What challenges did you face in being elected union president as a woman?

In the beginning, I did not encounter any difficulties except from a small number of trade unionists who weren’t used to the idea of a woman leading a union. There were three people running for election as president; two men and myself. When I won the other candidates started to create some difficulties during my term in office. The union went on to make great achievements for workers and affiliated members, so, in the second period of elections, I won again and kept my position as president.

How has your union been organizing and defending workers since you were elected leader?

After organizing ourselves, we formed trade union committees in all the power sectors, such as production, transport and distribution of energy. We set out to meet the demands of workers and achieve sustainable energy production. Our approach was mainly through negotiation, but in case of difficulties we staged sit-ins at work sites and demonstrated in front of the local government building on public holidays. We also resorted to the media to express the demands of workers and our affiliates. We have achieved a great deal of success by all these mechanisms, including permanent employment for around 2,500 contract or temporary workers in the electricity sector.

What challenges have you faced as a union leader in Iraq?

The real difficulties I’ve faced have come from my involvement in fighting corruption in the power plants. I was threatened by militias, who were backed by corrupted officials in the power sector.

However, I was not only the one that received death threats. There have been many patriotic men and women who paid with their life for carrying out their work. After I was nominated for the Council of Representatives (parliament), I received further threats from militias aligned to religious political parties in Iraq.

How have the death threats affected you and your family?

Certainly these threats have weighed heavily on my family and especially my son. We were forced to take my son out of school and to halt his studies for two months after threats against his life.

How is violence in Iraq affecting workers?

The terrorists targeted many production plants and power transmission lines, and bomb attacks lead to the deaths of workers. We have also had reports of workers on the power lines being killed and kidnapped.

You have been successful in a ten-year campaign for a new labour law, what difference will it make to workers in Iraq?

In August 2015, the Iraqi parliament passed a new labour law that covers workers in the private, mixed and cooperative sectors, but excludes workers covered by civil service law. In addition to prohibiting child labour, discrimination and sexual harassment, the new labour law includes improvements on health and safety and annual leave. Working women will also benefit from improvements in maternity and pregnancy leave.

IndustriALL and global union solidarity was crucial for the adoption of a modern labour law corresponding to ILO conventions.

However, the ban on unions in the public sector will continue until the enactment of the trade union law. We urge the Iraqi government to sign and ratify ILO Convention 87, which is now in the Iraqi parliament for ratification. This will in turn pave the way for the adoption of the trade union law.

What difficulties have trade unions faced in Iraq?

In an attempt to shake off pressure from trade unions, in 2009 government officials started to enforce Saddam Hussein’s Resolution 150, saying that workers in the public sector have no right to organize.

The government even issued a formal written order directed to the police and security forces saying that any sort of trade union action in the public sector is punishable by Article 4 of the terrorism law.

They began attacking trade unions by closing trade unions’ offices in both the oil and power industry in sectors such as ports, rail and municipalities and so on.

So we urgently need a new law containing the rights and freedoms of association in the public sector. Once that is done, we will be free to form democratic trade unions for the defense of workers’ rights.

You have long campaigned for electricity for all, how is that going?

Our union has worked hard to lobby for power security to the general public and has cooperated with national managers in the power sector. We held a number of meetings with officials from the Ministry of Electricity to try and guarantee a continuous power supply from the multinational companies, which are running the power plants in Iraq. Unfortunately widespread corruption prevailed. Some statistics indicate that, since 2003, around US$40 billion meant to develop the electricity sector in Iraq has been in vain!

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope to have a law for trade union rights and freedoms passed. I also wish to build and strengthen GUEWT before I retire. I hope security comes back to Iraq and that the nightmare of terrorism and ISIS ends as they are causing real fears for me and my people.

How can other unions show their support and solidarity for workers in Iraq?

Over the years I have had support and solidarity from unions and international organizations. These organizations directed messages to Iraqi officials while visiting Iraqi embassies in many countries as well as staging sit-ins. They supported trade unionists that had been transferred from their work sites to distant places and have shown solidarity with trade unionists who were attacked by the courts. Here I must point out the pivotal role of the IndustriALL delegation that visited Iraq in 2013, in difficult circumstances, to meet with the labour minister, the Speaker and MPs. We hope this support continues so that we can pave the way for a law that enforces trade union rights and freedoms, as well as a social security law for workers.

IndustriALL and global union solidarity was crucial for the adoption of a modern labour law corresponding to ILO conventions.

Alcoa – forcing crew off ship in Australia and closing plants in the US

The crew onboard the MV Portland is organized by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), affiliated to the International Transport Federation (ITF), a sister global union of IndustriALL Global Union. MUA has been in dispute with the ship owner who wants to make the crew redundant after sailing the Portland cargo ship to Singapore for scrap.

The MV Portland has been used to transport minerals from Western Australia to Alcoa’s Portland smelter. According to Australian laws, cabotage ships like the MV Portland have to be Australian flagged and crewed.

When the ship required repairs and maintenance Alcoa received a temporary license from the Australian government. However, associated capital reparation costs were not paid and the Australian workers were replaced with a foreign crew that was paid less and had worse conditions.

Replaced by a foreign crew and the ship exempt from taxation, union members decided to block the MV Portland from its final voyage to Singapore.

Even before the dispute was resolved, Alcoa started to operate a replacement ship. MUA believes that Alcoa is trying to use the replacement ship to undermine rights and conditions of Australian workers.

In a show of support with the Australian seafarers fighting for their rights, a special resolution on Alcoa was adopted at IndustriALL’s Executive Committee meeting in Phnom Penh in December 2015.

Alcoa is no stranger to controversial practices in order to increase profits, including closing unionized facilities. 

Earlier in January, Alcoa announced closures of two of its U.S. based facilities; the county Warrick smelter and the Point Comfort refinery plant.

Both facilities are operated by members of IndustriALL affiliate United Steelworkers (USW), the closures will have a dramatic input on workers, their families and communities.

The company argues the facilities are no longer competitive. However, in the same time Alcoa has refused to support efforts to crackdown on illegal Chinese steel imports to U.S. and built smelting operations in Saudi Arabia, which the USW believes can be used to displace U.S. production and staffed with non-unionized workforce while still having access to U.S. market.

“The global overcapacity in aluminum, as well as within our other basic commodity industries, has created systemically weak markets and pricing conditions. How are American workers supposed to compete against unfairly and illegally traded products in the face of such over built and un-needed global capacity? Our nation’s trade laws need a real and honest re-examination and overhaul in light of that over-capacity," says Tom Conway, USW international vice president. 

IndustriALL solidarity for Somali union leader after assassination attempt

IndustriALL Global Union joins the ITUC in denouncing the attempted murder and in calling for action from the Somali government to stop the intimidation and take all appropriate measures to prevent further attacks on trade unionists in the country.

Omar Faruk Osman is General Secretary of the ITUC-affiliated Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU). FESTU is the first independent and democratic trade union centre in the country.

The FESTU General Secretary was entering the union’s office when three armed men sprayed his car with bullets on Taleex Street. It is only by good fortune that Omar Faruk escaped death, but one of his bodyguards and two pedestrians were seriously wounded.

It is well known that Omar Faruk has been threatened many times by some radical groups and other members of the Somalian government because of his commitment to build a strong and independent union in his country. This assassination attempt can also be linked to Omar Faruk’ s recent position denouncing a controversial media law passed by the Somalia parliament which is described as a threat to media freedom in the country.

In a public statement, FESTU president Ahmed Osman said:

“FESTU is here to stay and no amount of attacks and attempts on the lives of our leaders will stop us from fulfilling our historic mission, which is to liberate workers from exploitation, oppression and subjugation.”

IndustriALL has reported in the past of intimidation, threats and bombs against FESTU and its efforts to organize workers.

Agreement with H&M proves instrumental in resolving conflicts

The GFA, which was signed in November 2015, serves to protect the labour rights of 1.6 million workers in H&M’s global supply chain.

In Myanmar, the GFA was key to getting trade unionists back to work, as well as achieving trade union recognition at the Jiale Fashion factory in Yangon.

Eight union leaders were sacked at the garment factory in October 2015, leading to a month-long strike. The Confederation of Trade Unions in Myanmar (CTUM) reported the dispute to IndustriALL’s South East Asia regional office, which invoked the GFA with the H&M Sustainability offices in Yangon and Sweden, especially as the case raised issues on freedom of association.

H&M Sustainability then pushed for dialogue through both their local office in Yangon and Jiale Fashion’s owners in Hong Kong.  H&M Sustainability, IndustriALL and CTUM were involved throughout the process until an agreement was reached between workers and the factory.

As well as reinstating the dismissed workers, the factory agreed to recognize the factory trade union, the Jiale Basic Labour Organization, which is affiliated to CTUM and IndustriALL through the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM).

Khaing Zar, assistant general secretary of IWFM said:

“Building trust between workers and management is the key to industrial peace. The formation of the Workers’ Coordinating Committee at the factory will improve workplace cooperation and, of course, the biggest achievement is the recognition of the trade union at Jiale Fashion.”

IndustriALL textile director Christina Hajagos-Clausen said:

“The GFA is founded upon a shared belief that well-structured industrial relations are essential to a stable and sustainable production model. This type of collaboration is crucial for lasting improvements for the garment workers in H&M’s supply chain.”

In November 2015, 88 workers at the Denim Clothing Company (DCC) factory in Pakistan were sacked for demanding their rights. The dispute began when five worker representatives were sacked on the spot for asking to discuss issues such as a lack of social security, insurance, and salaries below the minimum wage that often were paid late. When 83 of their colleagues stood up for them, they also lost their jobs.

As part of the newly signed GFA with H&M, both parties worked to bring the 88 workers back to work through joint negotiations with IndustriALL Pakistani affiliate NTUF and the local management at Denim Clothing. All workers were reinstated with full pay from 26 November, the date they had been fired. 

Nasir Mansoor, deputy general secretary NTUF, says that thanks to the GFA and the efforts from IndustriALL’s regional office the issues were speedily resolved:

“With a proactive brand the GFA is an efficient tool for dispute resolution and a great instrument to protect workers’ rights.”

Abdul Jabbar, one of the affected workers, concludes:

“This shows us the power of workers coming together and the strength of international solidarity to resolve crises. It not only gave us great courage, but did the same for other workers in the factory, as well as workers in other factories in the area.”