New issue of Global Worker out now!

Jyrki Raina says in the GS corner:

"Change is an omnipresent, dynamic element in our industries. Production methods develop and industries move from one country to another, in the search of new markets and higher profit margins,” referring to this issue’s feature on South Africa: A turnaround for South Africa’s textile industry?

What is labelled Industry 4.0 will also bring change to the workers in IndustriALL’s sector. Read more about the industrial revolution happening now

Organize or die faced Swedish union Unionen when levels of membership were in steady decline. How did they reverse the trend? Superheroes to the rescue

On the other side of the world, in Malaysia, unions in the electronics sector have managed to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement including migrant workers for the first time: Organizers fighting for rights in Malaysia

The first woman trade union leader in Iraq, Hashmeya Alsaadawe, has faced death threats to her and her family, but is persevering in organizing and defending workers’ rights. INTERVIEW: Hashmeya Alsaadawe

Shipbreaking is the world’s most dangerous job and an industry ripe with serious accidents. IndustriALL is campaigning for countries to ratify the Hong Kong convention for a safer work environment:
Cleaning up shipbreaking the world’s most dangerous job

To build union power, IndustriALL strives to increase participation of young workers. IndustriALL’s youth projects in Latin America encourage young workers to reflect on their values and develop their ideas, which leads to dynamic discussions: IndustriALL youth projects in Latin America

Another youth movement supporting union actions is United Students Against Sweatshops. “We use the power we have as students to force our universities to end their business relationships with brands that violate the rights of their workers anywhere in their global supply chain,” says Morgan Currier, USAS international campaign coordinator and national organizer. United Students Against Sweatshops union allies in action

Many missing after oilrig fire in Azerbaijan

Workers took to the lifeboats to escape the fire, but in the heavy weather one of the boats was overturned and trapped underneath the burning platform. It is still unclear whether the workers onboard have been rescued.

The continuing heavy weather is making rescue attempts difficult. According to information 32 of the oilrig workers have been saved, 2 have died and up to 30 are still missing.

Jahangir Aliyev, president of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Azerbaijani Oil and Gas Industry Workers’ union, is following the developments and reporting back to IndustriALL.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, says:

IndustriALL extends our condolences to the victims and their families, and urge the government of Azerbaijan to provide them with the support needed after this tragic accident.
We also call on the government to include the trade unions when investigating the reasons behind the fire that has claimed workers’ lives.

PERFIL: Activistas de Malasia luchan por los derechos laborales

Durante los últimos 50 años, el producto interno bruto (PIB) de Malasia ha aumentado en un promedio anual de 6,5%, lo cual constituye un récord en la economía de los países asiáticos. Uno de los sectores que más ha aportado a este crecimiento es la electrónica, que está pasando por una época de gran auge.

El trabajo en este sector comenzó en 1972, en Bayan Lepas, la primera zona franca de Malasia, ahora denominada la “Isla Oriental de la Silicona”, que posteriormente se extendió a otros estados del país.

Se estima que ya en 2013, 350.000 personas trabajaban en el sector de la electrónica, se las cuales hasta un 60% eran migrantes, principalmente de Indonesia, pero también de Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Filipinas, Vietnam, Camboya y la India.

Aunque enfrentan muchos problemas laborales, la mayor parte de estos trabajadores/as actualmente no cuenta con afiliación sindical. Entre los problemas que experimentan se incluyen los elevados honorarios de contratación que deben de pagar, salarios que son bajos, se pagan en forma atrasada, o no se pagan, falta de prestaciones sociales, peligrosas condiciones de trabajo, alojamiento inadecuado, e insuficiente protección jurídica por lo cual resultan fácilmente víctimas de abuso por parte de sus empleadores. Entre un 70% a 80% de estos trabajadores son mujeres.

Legislación sobre reconocimiento sindical

Queriendo cambiar esta situación, el EIWU y la Coalición EIEU, organizaciones afiliadas a IndustriALL, decidieron sindicalizar a aquellos trabajadores y trabajadoras de la electrónica que carecen de afiliación sindical. Sin embargo, estas dos organizaciones enfrentaron inmediatamente dos problemas graves que dificultan sus actividades de sindicalización: las represivas leyes antisindicales y perjudiciales para los trabajadores/as de Malasia, agregando a esto las dificultades lingüísticas al tratar de comunicarse con los trabajadores y trabajadoras migrantes. Otro problema es la escasez de activistas y abogados a tiempo completo, lo cual se une a los problemas relacionados con la estructura financiera de los sindicatos.

Maniyam Poovan, Secretario General del EIWU, explica cuál es el obstáculo principal que enfrentan los sindicatos de Malasia, en relación a lo establecido en la Ley Nacional de Relaciones Laborales:

“Según esta ley, los sindicatos tienen que solicitar reconocimiento a los empleadores, quienes deciden si aceptan o rechazan el reconocimiento oficial, apelando contra el registro sindical ante el Ministerio de Recursos Humanos; si el Ministerio decide no reconocer al sindicato, los miembros del sindicato quedan sin protección contra posibles despidos”.

Se puede obtener reconocimiento sindical en caso que, en una votación secreta, un 50% más 1 de los votos resultara a favor del sindicato. Sin embargo, la ley no exige que se describa la cantidad de votantes, lo que permite a los empleadores manipular el número de votos. Por ejemplo, las empresas pueden agregar al conjunto de votantes trabajadores/as temporales o migrantes que no tienen derecho a voto, pero que por ausencia se consideran haber votado en contra. Esto hace difícil para el sindicato alcanzar la cifra exigida del 50% más 1.

Sin embargo, los sindicatos no se desaniman ante estos problemas. En 2014, tanto la EIEU como el EIWU se incorporaron al proyecto de sindicalización de cinco años que ofrece IndustriALL a los trabajadores/as de la electrónica en la región de ASEAN en el sureste asiático. Se ofreció capacitación sobre estrategias de sindicalización a 600 sindicalistas de organizaciones afiliadas a IndustriALL en Indonesia, Tailandia, Vietnam y Taiwán. Inmediatamente se lograron resultados positivos.

En Malasia, la región norte de la EIEU ha tenido éxito en su campaña de sindicalización, ya que más de 900 trabajadores/as adhirieron al sindicato en una empresa multinacional de la electrónica, a pesar de la fuerte resistencia y tácticas antisindicales que aplicara la administración. Es primera vez que el sindicato ha realizado negociaciones que han establecido un convenio colectivo que incluye a trabajadores y trabajadoras migrantes.

Al describir sus actividades de sindicalización,

Maniyam dice:

“Esta actividad está en curso, independientemente de si tenemos éxito o fracasamos. Identificamos nuevas empresas y tratamos de contactar a las personas que trabajan en ellas. Luego realizamos reuniones para informarles sobre los sindicatos y sus funciones”.

En 2014, se estableció un comité de mujeres constituido por representantes de sindicatos afiliados a IndustriALL Global Union, con el propósito de lograr mayor reconocimiento para el papel que desempeñan las mujeres. Se eligió como Presidenta a Kumari, delegada del EIWU, quien procurará que se estudien los problemas que enfrenta la mujer en esa región, y que figuren entre las prioridades del Consejo de IndustriALL en Malasia.

En junio de este año, IndustriALL celebró una Conferencia Mundial sobre los sectores de la TIC, Electricidad y Electrónica en Malasia. Los principales temas tratados en esta Conferencia fueron la sindicalización y la lucha contra el trabajo precario.

PROFILE: Organizers fighting for rights in Malaysia

For the last 50 years, gross domestic product (GDP) in Malaysia has increased by an average of 6.5 per cent per year, setting an economic record among Asian countries. A booming electronics industry is one of the major contributors to this growth.

The industry started in 1972 at the first Malaysian free trade zone of Bayan Lepas, now known as the ‘Silicon Island of the East’, and later expanded to other states in the country.

By 2013, an estimated 350,000 people worked in the electronics industry. Up to 60 per cent of them are migrant workers primarily from Indonesia, but also from Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and India.

Mainly unorganized, they face numerous troubles at work including high recruitment fees, low, late or non-payment of wages, lack of benefits, unsafe working conditions, inadequate accommodation, and have insufficient legal protection making them easy victims for abuse by their employers. Some 70 to 80 per cent of the workers are women.

Law on union recognition

Wanting to change the situation, IndustriALL affiliates, EIWU and EIEU Coalition, decided to organize more electronics workers. However, the unions have been hindered by two serious problems: oppressive trade union and labour laws in Malaysia, and language difficulties when communicating with migrant workers. Added to that is a lack of full time organizers and lawyers.

Maniyam Poovan, general secretary of EIWU, says the Industrial Relations Act is a major obstacle for Malaysian trade unions:

“According to this act, trade unions must apply for recognition from the employer, who then decides whether or not to recognize the union by appealing the union registration to the Ministry of Human Resources. If the Ministry decides against recognition, union members are not protected from dismissals.”

The recognition can be obtained through 50 per cent plus 1 secret ballot vote in favour of the union. But the size of the bargaining unit is not legally determined, allowing employers to manipulate the votes. For instance they can add temporary or migrant workers who do not have the right to vote, but by default are considered voting against. This makes it difficult to get a 50 per cent threshold.

But problems do not discourage unions. In 2014 both EIEU and EIWU joined IndustriALL’s five-year organizing project for electronics workers in the ASEAN region. 600 trade unionists from IndustriALL affiliates in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan were trained in organizing and the results were immediate.

In Malaysia, EIEU Northern region has succeeded in organizing more than 900 workers at an electronics multinational company despite strong resistance and union busting tactics by the management. It is the first time the union has negotiated a collective bargaining agreement that includes migrant workers.

Describing his union organizing activities, Maniyam says:

“The activity is on-going, whether we succeed or fail. We identify new companies and try to get contact people there. Then we hold meetings to brief them on trade unions and their functions.”

In a move to recognize the role of women, a women’s committee made up of affiliates from IndustriALL Global Union was formed in 2014. EIWU representative Kumari was elected chairperson, and will make sure women’s issues are discussed and incorporated into the IndustriALL Malaysian Council’s priorities.

In June 2015, IndustriALL held a world conference on ICT Electrical and Electronics in Malaysia. The major topics discussed at the conference were organizing and fighting precarious work.

FEATURE: A turnaround for South Africa’s textile industry?

The once mighty South African garment sector has been in steady decline for at least two decades and has shed thousands of jobs. Trade liberalization, increased imports from Asia and the relocation of South African producers to neighbouring and lower wage regimes in Lesotho and Swaziland have hacked away at the South African garment industry.

Over the last 15 years, an estimated 150,000 jobs have been lost in the industry. When South African clothing manufacturers were unable to compete with the influx of cheaper clothing from Asia, they were put out of business.

According to IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU), 2,000 – 3,000 workers have been losing their jobs every year. But now the garment industry in South Africa is growing again with an added uptake of new workers.

Despite job losses, SACTWU has remained well organized with about 80 per cent of workers in the sector belonging to the union. SACTWU is fighting back hard against retrenchments, downsizing and closures while building its influence and engaging on policy at a national level.

The union has upheld its tradition as a fighting union, yet it engages employers and government in dialogue and has made significant gains on sourcing locally and pushing back on trade liberalization.

Simon Eppel, researcher at SACTWU, tells how the union is working to save and increase decent jobs in South Africa’s textile sector:

“The industry continues to lose jobs today, but the number is down substantially. At SACTWU we try to save jobs where they would otherwise be lost, and we have recently been able to actually grow jobs in the industry.”

On balance employment in South Africa’s textile industry is growing – it is up by 1.5 per cent in the last year.

"This is an endorsement that government support for the industry, coupled with our union’s active campaign for jobs, continues to bear fruit,” says Eppel. “After a period of stabilization following years of job losses, employment in our industry appears poised for growth."

Eppel adds that he is “cautiously optimistic” of this tentative turnaround, which is largely due to the energy put in to revive the industry.

One example is the South African government advocating a greening of the industry to make it more sustainable. Among other things this means looking at energy efficiency and assisting companies to replace old machinery with more modern equipment.

Another example is SACTWU’s ‘buy South Africa campaign’, where the union enters into agreements with major companies and institutions to support the local industry.

Since the early 2000s, SACTWU has been running a campaign to buy locally-produced textile products by appealing to consumers on how buying South African will affect the community.

Through mass campaigns and fashion shows with factory workers to showcase the clothes they make, SACTWU engages with consumers to influence the choices they make.

“Our message is received better and better. Consumers are increasingly receptive and positive, and the awareness of the difference they can make in their choices is growing.”

But SACTWU is not only targeting individual consumers to buy South African manufactured products, public procurement is another area where the union is working to influence decision-making. Government departments and state-owned companies are encouraged to buy South African products when tendering for public procurement.

Retail companies have been the target of a very deliberate campaign by SACTWU, where the trade union can alert local factories to public tenders. If a company is compliant with South African labour laws, SACTWU will pass on the information and encourage the company to submit a tender.

Eppel says that these measures have been successful due to a combination of reasons. When new legislation was passed making it easier to participate in public procurement, SACTWU acted to ensure that policy was turned into practice.

Bargaining councils for industry wide bargaining

There is a strong labour architecture in South Africa and the working conditions in the garment industry are better than in many other parts of the world. This is due to the bargaining strength of the union, which has also resulted in better wages in the South African garment sector.

Like in many other parts of the world, South Africa’s garment workers are predominantly women, often single mothers and their family’s soul breadwinner. Wages in the garment sector can be very low, so these are usually vulnerable workers who are more than likely very poor with very few other employment opportunities available to them due to South Africa’s high unemployment rates.

There are several minimum wages in South Africa and the unions are working to close wage gaps. A top wage for a skilled garment worker is around 950 Rand (US$67) per week. For a lower skilled worker it could be around 700 Rand (US$49) per week.

SACTWU prioritizes centralized bargaining as the mechanism to achieve the best wage outcomes for workers. SACTWU negotiates in three national bargaining councils for the clothing, textile and leather sectors and the outcomes affect over 100,000 workers. In 2015 sectoral wage increases were above inflation.

“Although the wages are mutually agreed in the bargaining councils, we would not call them living wages. We are working to develop the industry along decent lines and there are discussions on going towards a living wage.”

“The cost of living is high in South Africa, so unions try to compensate our members and offer additional services like health services for example,” says Eppel.

Changes in retail sourcing

In June 2015, a South African clothing textile and leather tripartite seminar called by SACTWU, was held in Cape Town. The event was held alongside the Cape Town Fashion Festival with the key address given by Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel who spoke of the government’s commitment to a green manufacturing sector.

Presentations at the seminar included supportive policy and initiatives from the government to maintain the sector and jobs as well as best practices by industry for greater efficiencies in production and energy and water consumption that have been achieved with state support.

Fresh hope for the sector may also be offered through the model known as quick response.

South African retailers mostly depend on the traditional retailing model which often results in two scenarios. The first is the steady supply of relatively few items. This often results in excess supply that then requires markdown. The second is under supply when the demand for an item is greatest resulting in lost sales.

South African retailers are under pressure to change their model because of increased competition from foreign retailers that have entered the domestic market. Many multinational retailers use quick response retailing which provides improved retained margins and enhanced stock turn, offering the merchandise customers find most attractive, resulting in less lost sales.

Eppel says that changes in retail sourcing practices, resulting in demand driven supply chains are mostly good news for garment workers in Southern Africa:

“Retailers use technology to analyze what is being bought in store, understanding what customers want, when they want it. So instead of basing orders on forecast demand for a whole season ahead, current trends are analyzed to present the customers with the most attractive products in the shortest possible time.”

Together with inflation in Asia and a weak Rand, many believe that quick response provides opportunities for South African producers. The model relies on close proximity of the producer to the retailer, with a maximum lead time of six weeks, so distant off shore suppliers are not an option. South Africa is well placed because industry support and a commitment from local producers has resulted in better standards and efficiencies, reducing lead times.

South Africa has been seeking niche market development as a strategy to keep the sector alive and there is a strong tripartite commitment to maintaining existing production capacity and jobs. As a result many producers have already achieved international manufacturing standards and have quick response capabilities.

“The garment supply chain has an important role to play and this tripartite seminar called by SACTWU created a very important space of debate and generation of proposals,” says Fernando Lopes, assistant general secretary IndustriALL.

“Investment in the garment sector has traditionally favoured environments of weak labour standards enforcement, low wages and poor trade union organization. But changes in sourcing practices mean workers that share proximity to major market can, if united, take on issues as global supply chains become more regional in nature.”

The opportunities for South African producers coming from the quick response retailing model applied in South Africa and even Europe are real, but the general pattern of comparative advantage in low wage neighbouring countries remains unchanged. This underlines the need for SACTWU to continue to drive an industrial policy agenda in the interest of workers, putting pressure on government and manufacturers for policies that support the continued growth of the textile and garment industry, creating more jobs.

PROFILE: United Students Against Sweatshops union allies in action

With thousands of members at over 150 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, USAS has drawn on the collective strength of students as a force for change both at home and abroad for 19 years.

“We use the power we have as students to force our universities to end their business relationships with brands that violate the rights of their workers anywhere in their global supply chain,” says Morgan Currier, USAS international campaign coordinator and national organizer.

“And we don’t just do this in a vacuum, but rather in solidarity with workers who are often putting their lives on the line to organize in their factories for better living wages, better working conditions, and a voice in the workplace.”

Campaigning by USAS has forced 21 universities to cut their merchandise contracts with VF Corporation, the largest branded apparel manufacturer in the world, for refusing to sign the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety.

VF Corporation, which produces North Face, Vans, Jansport, Timberland and 32 other brands, sources from 90 factories in Bangladesh employing over 190,000 garment workers.

USAS actions are frequently linked to and support IndustriALL Global Union causes. More than a year’s intensive campaigning by USAS led The Children’s Place to pay an additional US$2 million into the Rana Plaza compensation fund. The popular kids apparel brand initially paid US$450,000 – an amount far below what unions and NGOs were requesting.

Alongside garment worker solidarity, USAS campaigns to get better wages and rights for people working on university campuses, and to stop the privatization of the public education system.

USAS, which is headquartered at the offices of IndustriALL affiliate the United Steelworkers, in Washington D.C., also runs solidarity campaigns against Walmart and T-Mobile.

“Domestically we are organizing alongside adjunct faculty, food service workers, custodians, graduate students, and fast food workers on our campuses and in our communities, who are organizing unions, fighting for better contracts, or fighting for US$15 an hour,” says Currier.

Internationally, USAS continues to back workers in Bangladesh by targeting VF Corporation, supporting workers in the Gulf, and launching a new campaign called Sweatfree Bookstores. The campaign asks universities to ensure that at least 30 per cent of what is sold in their bookstores comes from factories that pay living wages, allow for freedom of association, and have a collective bargaining agreement.

“Our goal is to one day see garment workers everywhere organized into unions to take back power from the big apparel brands we buy from every day in the U.S. and in our university stores.

“Through talking with workers on our campuses and meeting with workers around the world who produce our collegiate apparel, students learn how the struggle of workers and students around the world are all connected,” says Currier.

Labour’s training ground

One of USAS’s biggest priorities is training students to become activists and labour organizers after they graduate. A very high percentage of USAS alumni are currently organizers or active union members.

“USAS members not only have a deep understanding of why the labour movement is important in addressing issues of racial and economic inequality, but they also have the tools to tackle those issues head-on through running their own campaigns with workers. We see ourselves not only as a corporate campaigning organization, but also as the only college-level, hands-on training ground for the next generation of labour leaders,” says Currier.

REPORT: IndustriALL youth projects in Latin America

One of IndustriALL’s main objectives is to build union power. To achieve that goal, IndustriALL strives to increase participation of young workers in the affiliated unions and strengthen the national and international organizations to which they belong. IndustriALL’s youth projects in Latin America encourage young workers to reflect on their values, develop their ideas, and promote inter-generational equity.

Marino Vani, assistant regional secretary at the IndustriALL Latin America and Caribbean Office and IndustriALL youth projects coordinator, says training young trade unionists benefits the union movement as whole:

"By participating in the projects, young workers of today understand the globalized world and recognize the major challenges facing unions and workers. They contribute new ideas and suggest innovative ways of organizing and mobilizing workers. By combining the strengths of experienced trade unionists with the enthusiasm of young workers we create stronger unions.”

IndustriALL – FES youth project

The three-year project aims to empower young people and increase their participation in trade union activities, strengthen leadership and enhance present and future trade union actions and organizations, both nationally and internationally. Ten affiliated unions from seven countries in Latin America participate in the project funded by IG Metall, FES and by unions from Brazil and Argentina.

IndustriALL’s main goal is to promote an exchange of experiences through interactive activities, enabling young participants to express their ideas and share the experiences gained at their respective unions. Moreover, it aims to turn these experiences into examples for them to perform actions of their own.

“The intention is to allow young people to bring a new way of thinking and acting into their workplaces with a sense of identity, both locally and globally,” says Marino Vani.

Participants meet once a year – in Brazil in 2015, Argentina in 2016 and Germany in 2017. During the meetings they learn about union structures, collective bargaining and negotiation, political organization of the young, as well as gender, education and communication.

IndustriALL – SASK youth project

The trade union project for young workers involves members of IndustriALL affiliated trade unions in five Latin American countries: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Uruguay. The aim is to empower young people for a more active participation in unions and to strengthen youth and gender policies.

“With the project we want to change trade union structures so they take into account what younger generations have to say,” says Marino Vani. “We want to encourage affiliates that don’t yet have inclusive structures for young workers to develop youth policies.”

The project includes a regional strategy with activities, proposals, training content and materials for each participating country, formulated by the contributing unions.

Learning from each other

For seven days in October, 34 young workers from Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay met in São Paulo, Brazil. This was the first activity in the second cycle of IndustriALL FES youth project 2015 – 2017.

The young workers visited factories, trade union offices, a workers’ TV channel and attended a series of workshops to discuss how young workers organize and participate in trade unions.

Mercy Sigrid Castillo Huaman from the National Federation of Textile Workers in Peru (F.N.T.T.P.) participates in the FES project:

“What attracted me to take part is that it provides me with an opportunity to learn about the situation in several countries in Latin America and Germany. I have never travelled abroad before because I can’t afford it. But the project has given me the opportunity to do so and to find out how other people live.

“I saw that the situation in other countries is better than in my country, Peru. For example, when I went to Brazil, some things had a big impact on me because they were so different. I decided to discuss them on my return home to try to change the labour situation in my country.”

As well as attending formal education sessions, the young workers learned about trade union organization and the role of young workers by visiting workplaces and union offices, including those of IndustriALL Brazilian affiliates Central of workers (CUT) and the Federation of Workers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries from São Paulo (FEQUIMFAR).

At FEQUIMFAR, participants learned how the union is organized and how its youth policy operates. They also heard about the problems facing Brazilian workers, such as employers’ powers to dismiss workers when they please, causing job insecurity. Unions have not yet been able to win all the rights enshrined in ILO conventions.

The group visited Volkswagen’s factory in São Bernardo do Campo and discussed the union’s training principles and policies; how workers organize; how negotiations are conducted at the local and municipal level; and how union organization is structured at the workplace, through local unions and up to national trade union centres.

The ABC Metalworkers’ Union funds a TV station, the Workers’ Television (TVT) station in São Bernardo do Campo. The TV station has an audience of 20 million and complements a regional newspaper and a daily union newssheet. Participants in the project visited the TV studios and learned about workers’ education and communications policies.

IndustriALL encourages gender and inter-generational equity in trade unions. One day was therefore dedicated to discussing trade union policies on gender and youth. Participants visited Força Sindical (FS) to learn about the steps it has taken to increase youth participation.

FS has a minimum youth participation quota of 10 per cent in affiliated unions and its gender policy establishes a minimum participation of 30 per cent women.

However, in other countries, not all unions have quotas like these.

“In Peru, there aren’t many young workers or women in leadership positions in the unions. We now have five women at the textile federation and two of us are young. There is a lot of sexism in the country, so I was surprised by some of the things that women in Brazil told me and how hard they have campaigned and how much they have achieved,” says Mercy Sigrid Castillo Huaman.

“I asked them how they won some of their victories. For example, one of the things that had an impact on me was the six months they are allowed facilities for breastfeeding. In Peru, women are only allowed three months, which I think is inhuman. So when I arrived home, I told my colleagues who are now supporting me in proposing an improvement in our legislation. But as I am young, I know that I need to learn from the experience of older colleagues, who can show me how to go about things.”

Turning ideas into action

During the past three years, 750 young workers have taken part in national seminars as part of the youth project run by SASK, the trade union solidarity centre of Finland.

Mariela Sánchez Casas, 27, from the National Union of Mineworkers in Mexico (SNTMMSRM) explains why she decided to participate in the SASK project:

“I realized that not all young people know how to organize workers, which means that youth practically has no opportunity to participate in unions. So when I was invited to take part in the project, I saw it as a chance to grow and help other young workers to contribute to trade union life.

“We want to work with older generations. We want to gradually get to know them and get them to be more open towards us. It is good to work together because we can learn from their experience and what they have learned over the years.

And they, in turn, can learn from us, about new things, and what is going on right now. We can help them to use the internet and social networks so they can communicate more easily. In the past, union affairs were conducted verbally. Now it is easier to organize because there are more tools available.”

More than 70 participants from both projects met to discuss ways to better organize young workers and tackle challenges they face. They listened to speakers from, among others, the student movement, the movement of homeless workers, and the youth section of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas.

“We have been making great progress in helping young workers to organize and in developing policies to further young people in trade unions. We are grateful for the support from our affiliates in helping us to carry out IndustriALL’s strategy to promote youth,” says Marino Vani.

Youth representatives have developed proposals to take to IndustriALL’s congress in Rio in 2016 for inclusion in IndustriALL’s action plan. Young workers must participate in defining strategies and be included at the negotiating table if they are going to make improvements.

“IndustriALL has helped me right from the start. I have had opportunities to participate, connect with workers abroad and attend ILO meetings. I have learned a lot more about trade unionism in my country and it has changed my perspectives on life. Before, I wanted to work and earn a lot of money. Now, I am going to use my career and knowledge to also help the working class,” says Mariela Sanches Casas.

PROFILE: Superheroes to the rescue

The Swedish model, where employers and unions work most of the time in consensus, has reigned supreme since the 1940s. But even with a strong union tradition, the last decades have seen a steady decline in union membership.

Unionen was losing members and estimates for the future indicated a continuing trend. In 2010, Unionen’s executive committee made a clear and concise decision – by 2015 membership must increase by 100,000 to a total of 600,000.

“We couldn’t continue the way we had and the argument was turned around. There was no more talk about how we could adapt the organization to a decreasing membership; instead we needed to organize and grow,” says Martin Linder, president of Unionen.

The organization focused on asking the question “do you want to become a member of Unionen?” Martin Linder says that often the question was not even asked in the workplace.

“We needed to involve the entire organization in creating a culture where this became the most important question to ask. Unionen can offer the best membership in the world, but if no one knows about it we won’t survive.”

For a large part of the workforce in Sweden, work is not associated with major problems. Unionen wanted to move the union’s image from problem solving to improvement provider. By showing the benefits of a union membership, such as reduced fees, career coaching, and additional unemployment benefits for members only, Unionen has focused its message on social media. The top hit when googling “labour market” in Swedish (arbetsmarknad) is Unionen.

Unionen has also received a lot of attention for its more traditional marketing – commercials featuring superheroes.

Describing what Unionen has done to increase their membership is a challenge in a global perspective.

“We make commercials with superheroes and in other countries trade union leaders are jailed for their struggle,” says Martin Linder.

“Even though we resorted to somewhat unconventional measures in the trade union world like commercials featuring superheroes, I think that many unions around the world can relate to the challenge we were facing – organize or die.”

The organizing drive has created a lot of discussion, both internally in Unionen and among other Swedish unions.

“The most important lesson in this is that you have to do it your way. What works in Sweden, a stable democracy with nine million residents, may not work elsewhere.”

Unionen plans to continue to grow. There are 1.3 million non-manual workers in Sweden – one third are members of Unionen, one third are members of another union, and one third are not unionized.

“We have learned a lot these last five years and we definitely haven’t finished! Our vision is that all non-manual workers should be members of the same union,” says Martin Linder.

As in the rest of the world, precarious work is increasing in Sweden. Unionen is discussing ways to organize workers without permanent employment and to conclude collective agreements that provide security for this group.

“We can’t just ignore that part of the labour market; if we don’t organize contract workers we will lose legitimacy and credibility.

“The form of employment is less important, we want them to be members of Unionen,” concludes Martin Linder.

Turkey – long-standing campaign crowned with collective agreement

At the end of 2012, garment union Deretiks started organizing workers at the Ismaco plant, a supplier to top Italian brand Ermenegildo Zegna. Despite a range of constructive efforts by the union, the response from management was to fire nine union members for organizing activities.

In protest, the dismissed workers picketed in front of the Tuzla Free Zone in Istanbul for 245 days. The union also organized protests in front of Zegna’s stores in Istanbul.

On a visit to Turkey in 2013, Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, called on Ermenegildo Zegna to respect workers’ rights, to reinstate the dismissed workers and to recognize the union in the workplace.

Supporting its affiliate, IndustriALL conducted several actions together with Deriteks, Ermenegildo Zegna and Ismaco to try and find a solution. In late 2014, IndustriALL and its Italian and Turkish garment affiliates agreed on a document of common understanding, recognizing freedom of association for all employees at the plant.

In early 2015, IndustriALL and Ermenegildo Zegna organized a town hall meeting with all the workers at the plant to announce the joint agreement. This was the starting point of Deriteks being able to organize workers at the plant.

On 1 June 2015 Deriteks received a union authorization from the Ministry of Labour meaning collective bargaining negotiations could begin. IndustriALL has continued to assist Deriteks in the negotiations to reach the agreement.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan says:

This is a great and important victory for Deriteks and all unions in Turkey, showing the force of labour when we act together.
We congratulate Deriteks and convey our appreciation to our Italian affiliates for their support, and to Ermenegildo Zegna management for their cooperation.

Governments debate steel crisis in China’s absence

Fernando Lopes, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, said:

“It is unacceptable for any government to try to opt into those global institutes that it sees as beneficial and then opt out of those that ask difficult questions.”

Recent developments in the sector have seen around 30 per cent of trade defence cases globally concern steel. Steel now leads the list of sectors affected by trade distorting measures and almost 20 per cent of all measures implemented impact the sector.

Unfair trade cases involving steel are now increasing at a rapid pace and have reached historically high levels. The main cause of the current escalation in trade measures is excess capacity that is resulting in over- supply to markets and trade disturbances across global steel markets. IndustriALL highlighted in its Pittsburgh Declaration 2015 that it believes China is dumping 90 million tons of steel into global markets.

Countries that previously did not commonly use steel trade remedies are now resorting to those measures, like Chile, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Morocco, Thailand, Turkey.

At this critical time for the steel sector IndustriALL within its OECD submission introduced a five-point recovery plan, out lining the following:

The OECD must play a more active role in ending the current steel dumping taking place. Ensuring WTO Rules are respected.
The OECD should explore and recommend mechanisms that would normalise the situation in the steel sector. One such mechanism would be a jobs adjustment tax (this would work like a border adjustment tax-but look at the impact on local employment as part of its assessment criteria).
The OECD should ensure that all parties to the High Level Steel Committee act responsible and are held accountable for their actions.
A standing agenda item for future meetings should be an update on on-going trade cases, who has filed them and against which parties.
The OECD Secretariat should carry out a research study into the likely impact on the steel industries future sustainability in member countries should the current situation be allowed to continue.

Rob Johnston speaking for IndustriALL informed participants

“We believe the sector is no longer facing just a problem, it is clear we now have a crisis. Our members are paying for in-action with their jobs and communities. We need action and we need it now.”