Industry bargaining for living wages

In garment industry supply chains, exploitative working conditions are standard. Workers are forced to work long hours, often far beyond legal boundaries, for poverty wages and in poor conditions.

Decades of public campaigning and recurrent fires and building collapses occasioning multiple deaths have given a high level of visibility to labour conditions in garment supply chains. But responses by those companies at the top of the chain have not been able to bring about the fundamental change necessary.

Building new models of cooperation

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs rely on auditing and compliance to attempt to improve conditions in the factories, which produce for them. These unilateral, voluntary and nonbinding efforts have overwhelmingly failed to improve wages and working hours or to ensure respect for workers’ right to join a union. Notoriously, social auditing and certification bodies SAI and BSCI gave clean bills of health, respectively, to Ali Enterprises before it burnt down killing 254 workers and Rana Plaza before it collapsed, killing 1129 workers.

IndustriALL policy director Jenny Holdcroft says:

“Violations of the rights of garment workers, low pay and excessive working hours are a global problem to which there needs to be a global response. We need a fundamental change to the way that production is organized in garment supply chains to provide relief to workers from poverty wages and crippling working hours.”

Such a fundamental change may be the legacy of the Rana Plaza collapse. The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety is a legally-binding agreement between global unions and more than 200 clothing companies.

Through the Accord experience, unions and companies have identified the elements that must be present in order for strategies to improve supply chain labour standards to be effective:

These experiences have made it possible for garment companies and IndustriALL Global Union to join forces to apply such an approach to living wages in the garment industry, in a process known as ACT.

Identifying the root causes

Garment workers are currently under-represented by trade unions which face massive barriers to organizing from both employers and governments. Over 90 per cent of workers in the global garment industry have no possibility to negotiate on their wages and conditions and so are not able to claim their fair share of the value that they generate.

Garment sector wages in Bangladesh are currently $68 a month, but unions say that these need to increase to at least $120 for workers to be able to support themselves and their families adequately. In Cambodia, the minimum wage has risen to $128, but this is still well below union demands for a living wage.

The absence of industry wage bargaining in the garment industry has left workers reliant on ineffective minimum wage mechanisms for any wage increases. While minimum wage fixing at least establishes a common floor, the wages that result are well below the level of a living wage in most major garment producing countries like Cambodia and Bangladesh.

Particularly in supply chain industries, bargaining at the level of individual factories will never be enough to drive up pay and conditions when MNCs can simply move to suppliers with lower standards and lower labour costs. Efforts by individual MNCs to raise standards meet with opposition in their supplier factories, which have to compete with other factories on labour costs. Even if buyers increase the prices they pay, without collective bargaining in place there is no guarantee that the increases will be passed on to workers. Furthermore, most suppliers have multiple buyers, all of whom negotiate prices with them individually.

Industry bargaining is key

Industry bargaining enables the particular features of the textile and garment industry to be taken into account in wage structures in a way that minimum wage fixing processes are unable to do. It enables comprehensive agreements to be reached that take into account all relevant issues including wages, overtime, working hours, production peaks and productivity and efficiency.

Jenny Holdcroft says that collective bargaining at industry level is the missing mechanism that will enable significant progress to be made towards living wages for garment workers:

“Industry-wide agreements make it very difficult for employers to escape their obligations. They effectively take labour costs out of competition by creating a level playing field that enables conditions to improve for all workers in an industry.

“The incentive then is to compete on the basis of efficiency and quality rather than by undermining wages and working conditions. Factories have a collective interest in ensuring that they are not undercut by unscrupulous employers paying wages lower than the prevailing rate.”

By covering all workers in an industry, industry agreements ensure the inclusion of the most vulnerable workers including the many precarious workers, migrant workers, contract workers and home workers found in the garment industry.

MoU on living wages in the garment industry

IndustriALL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with each of the brands involved in the ACT process. The MoU is explicit in identifying the development of industry bargaining in garment producing countries as essential to achieving living wages and the need for effective recognition of workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining in order for this to be realized.

The ACT process will develop the means to link the supply chain responsibilities of buying companies to the collective bargaining process between local unions and employers. This will involve developing contractual or other mechanisms that support suppliers to implement the negotiated wage. Commitments to continued sourcing and greater stability of orders will be key, as will commitments that prices paid will take account of negotiated increases.

By linking national industry-level collective bargaining between unions and employers to the purchasing practices of brands, the ACT process creates a framework for genuine supply chain industrial relations. Through industry bargaining, wages can be negotiated at a level that enables workers to properly support themselves and their families while addressing the specific nature of the industry, working hours, productivity and other issues that have bearing on wages.

To ensure that the agreed rate is actually paid, the resulting agreements need to be registered and legally enforceable under national laws. Factories also have to have the means to pay the agreed rate and this is achieved through reforming purchasing practices. All three elements must be present to create a system that will actually deliver on living wages.

The ACT process aims to transform the way that wages are set, by establishing industry agreements supported by brand purchasing practices as the primary means of wage fixing in the global garment industry. This is an ambitious aim, which will require significant political will, particularly in those countries that supply cheap labour to global supply chains.

The way forward

For the first time, the ACT process has established the commitment of IndustriALL and major clothing brands to working together to create a system that addresses the structural barriers to living wages. The outcome will be to increase garment workers’ wages in a way that is scalable, sustainable and enforceable.

Drawing on these experiences, and those of the Bangladesh Accord, there is no reason why similar models cannot be developed that institutionalize relationships between buyers, factories and workers to address other labour rights problems that are entrenched in the very way that supply chains are managed.

There is now an opportunity to remodel the industrial relations architecture to address the realities of employment relationships and working conditions in today’s global supply chains, towards genuine supply chain industrial relations.

Click here to read the full paper which will appear in the International Journal of Labour Relations in December 2015.

Upcoming elections at Honda in Mexico to be closely watched

The independent Honda workers union, STUHM, has been demanding bargaining rights for over four years. If STUHM prevails and wins the election, Honda will become one of only a handful of car assembly plants in Mexico – the world’s fourth largest car exporter – to have an independent union.

IndustriALL Global Union and its affiliates worldwide in the sector, as well as independent unions in Mexico, have given their support to STUHM in their efforts for clean elections. IndustriALL affiliates, the Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers’ Unions (JAW) and Federation of All Honda Workers’ Unions (AHWU), expressed their solidarity support with Honda workers in Mexico demanding that Honda de Mexico management "guarantee a just and fair election based on workers' own will” should the union election go ahead. 

IndustriALL has demanded a guarantee from the federal board of conciliation and arbitration that the election will be free and fair and that basic steps will be taken to ensure the integrity of the process.

In Mexico, the majority of workers are covered by ‘protection contracts’ (sham collective agreements entered into without the knowledge or consent of workers).

STUHM’s experience is sadly all too common in Mexico. In June of this year, after four years of waiting, the federal labour board finally issued the list of registered voters – and then, in a glaring case of double standards, gave the union only a few days to make objections to the thousands of names on the list.

To STUHM’s dismay, it was found that the list was riddled with errors, including for instance the names of workers who were long dead. This fiasco prompted IndustriALL to write to the board, demanding that a reliable list be made available and that other basic safeguards be put in place in line with international standards.

In his second letter to the president of the federal board of conciliation and arbitration of Mexico, IndustriALL's general secretary, Jyrki Raina, demanded that :

In further exchanges, IndustriALL reminded the authorities that the situation had become so serious that the Honda case had been raised on the floor of International Labour Conference in Geneva and that all eyes were now on Mexico to ensure that Honda workers get the right, without any further delay, to join the union of their own choosing.

The federal labour board will convene a hearing at the end of August to determine next steps.

Four-day drivers’ strike to hit Indesit deliveries in UK

Unite says: “The delivery of thousands of ‘white goods’, from fridge freezers, washing machines to cookers, will be severely disrupted as more than 200 drivers and warehouse staff at Indesit UK Ltd gear up for four days of strike action in a pay dispute.”

The strikes are planned to start on 6am and will last for 24 hours on 21 August; 48 hours on 27 August; and 24 hours on 1 September.

At the same time, workers will apply work-to-rule action from midnight on 19 August until 6am on 21 August and from midnight on 25 August until 6am on 27 August.

The company’s offer guaranteeing a 45 hour-a-week for redundancy pay and bringing forward the introduction of the London weighting (a special allowance to compensate for the increased cost of living in the capital) for drivers’ assistants to this year, was rejected when presented to the members.

Unite regional officer Mark Plumb said: “It is abundantly clear that this dispute centres on the derisory 1.5 per cent offer which was below inflation at the time of the anniversary date in January.

The pay offer is equal to the one made in 2014, when the inflation rate was two per cent.

“Our members are tired of being fobbed off year-on-year with one-off bonuses, which may never materialise or when they do are worth virtually nothing. Our members are seeking a substantial increase in their basic pay after years of below inflation pay rises,” said Mark Plumb.

Colombian unions take action to recruit outsourced workers

Recruiting new members among outsourced workers is a step towards achieving direct employment contracts for these workers and making it possible for them to reap the benefits of collective bargaining and collective agreements and recover their right to strike. At the seminar held on 28-29 July, Sintracarbón and USO, trade unions affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union, presented their successful experiences in recruiting new members among outsourced workers at Cerrejón and Ecopetrol respectively.

Some union leaders have criticized this initiative because they believe it validates outsourcing. However, the unions have explained that their aim is to establish a platform for action that will make it possible for these workers to achieve better working and living conditions.

Sintraelecol, also affiliated to IndustriALL, followed the example of Sintracarbón and USO. With support from the National Trade Union School (Escuela Nacional Sindical) and IndustriALL, Sintraelecol leaders prepared a list of demands to present to ENEL (Codensa and Emgesa) in Bogota and Cundinamarca and to the Bogota Energy Company (EEB).  With the commitment and support of all workers at energy generation, marketing and transmission workplaces, the union negotiated a collective agreement that covers contract workers as well as the small number of directly employed workers. The company agreed to respect the law and the freedom of association.

“The unions should recruit massive numbers of outsourced workers. They should be sector level unions able to create a favourable balance of forces and defend workers’ rights. We must build on this to negotiate framework collective agreements that cover all outsourced workers so they get the same conditions as directly employed workers. We should all get involved in this fight. Sintracarbon and USO have made impressive progress on this issue”, said Carlos Bustos, IndustriALL Projects Coordinator in Colombia.

Workers protest against ‘return to apartheid’ at Rio Tinto in Namibia

Last Friday’s protest follows workers downing tools in July after Rio Tinto installed surveillance equipment in haul trucks. The workers are represented by IndustriALL affiliate Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN).

The Rössing workers’ petition says the surveillance equipment – including a voice recorder hidden behind the operator’s seat – was installed by management without consultation in violation of Rio Tinto’s code of conduct “The way we work”.

IndustriALL recently documented Rio Tinto’s systematic violation of its own code of conduct in Rio Tinto; the way it really works.

The petition also raises victimization of workers’ representatives, the company unilaterally changing conditions of work, and safety concerns.

Safety concerns are widespread among workers at Rio Tinto. This year there have already been worker fatalities at Rio Tinto in Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Madagascar and South Africa.

Rössing workers’ demands include the withdrawal of charges against workers that protested the installation of surveillance equipment, that management respect company policy, and that management treat workers with respect.

MUN also recently raised concern about the increasing use of precarious labour at Rössing. Precarious labour includes temporary, casual and contracted-out work that is often low-wage, low-benefit and insecure.

Workers at Rössing are preparing for the 7 October global day of action at Rio Tinto. 7 October is a day on which unions around the world mobilize against precarious work as part of IndustriALL’s STOP Precarious Work campaign. Unions around the world at Rio Tinto will call on Rio Tinto to stop using precarious work and instead provide safe jobs with good wages and benefits.

Female mine workers – colleagues not sex objects

Speaking at conference addressing health and safety in mining in South Africa on 7 August, Phumeza Mgengo, who is national secretary of the women’s section at NUM, said:

"We as women are viewed as sex objects in most cases. If women are given tasks which require them to bend [over], your middle area is exposed and that leads to sexual harassment.”

She told participants that women are complaining of abuse and discrimination from their co-workers in mining:

"When they [men] see us, they don't see colleagues, they see sex objects."

South Africa’s mining industry has been marred by acts of violence against women. In March this year, a woman was raped at the Thembelani mine in Rustenburg and in December last year, a male contract worker was convicted of the brutal rape and murder of female miner, Pinky Mosiane, who was working underground at Anglo Platinum’s Khomanani mine in 2012.

IndustriALL’s director of mining, Glen Mpufane, said:

“Sexual violence against women is widespread and unreported by victims due to fear of reprisals, intimidation and losing their jobs.

According to official figures, the number of women working in mining has risen from six per cent of the workforce at the beginning of 2008 to 16 per cent at the end of 2104. However, women are underrepresented in all hierarchical positions.

“Discrimination against women is deeply rooted and demands change,” added Mpufane.

In one month’s time, Phumeza Mgengo will speak about women’s health and safety in mining at IndustriALL’s World Women Conference in Austria on 15 and 16 September.

IndustriALL Global Union responds to the mining and metals crisis

The mining and metals global sector came out of the financial crisIs of 2008 to 2012 unscathed. In the midst of the global recession in 2008, induced by the global financial crisis, the mining industry experienced a commodities boom. The boom was largely fuelled by the growth of China and India and created an unprecedented demand for coal, mineral resources and precious stones. Against the background of the financial crises, mining companies outperformed the overall market. Most mining companies came through the crises with robust balance sheets.

Paradoxically, mine workers did not benefit from the boom. Any benefits in mineworkers’ conditions of employment, in mainly wages and salaries, were the results of blood, sweat, tears, toiling through tough and often brutal collective bargaining.

Even with healthy balance sheets the captains of the industry remained oblivious to the needs of its workforce. Instead, they went on a crazy spending spree, rewarding themselves with hefty pay increases and bonuses, made irresponsible investment on risky project pipelines, and flooded the market with unmitigated production targets. Now the chickens have come home to roost.

Boom times could not last forever and the party ended when China and India’s economies began to slow down and even began to contract. Not surprisingly, workers are expected to brace themselves for hard times and take the brunt for the collapsing commodity prices, even though they have had no hand in the unfolding tragedy of job losses and massive lay-offs as these companies embark on massive cost containment measures.

From being touted as the most important asset for mining companies, they are now considered as liabilities and are thrown out to join the mass of the unemployed and thus externalizing the social cost to society and the state. It is wicked that at the same time as mineworkers are bearing the brunt of the collapsing commodity prices, the mining companies are paying dividends to their shareholders.

IndustriALL Global Union is calling on the mining industry to act responsibly in these difficult times for mine workers and their families. Our affiliates are reporting disturbing trends that mining companies, in their haste to reduce costs, undermine trade unions by approaching and coercing individual workers to accept voluntary retrenchments.

Some of these mining companies further violate national laws that require consultations with trade unions. In this instance, precarious work and the precariousness of work is increasing.

The Chairperson of the mining sector of IndustriALL Global Union and General Secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, Andrew Vickers commenting on the unfolding tragedy, says:

IndustriALL Global Union is putting these mining companies on notice that they should immediately desist from these nefarious behavior and actions. They must enter into dialogue with the affected national unions to find mutually acceptable solutions to the crisis.

Retrenchment should be a measure of last resort and if retrenchments and lay-offs are unavoidable, then due process that respect the country laws and regulations must be respected.

IndustriALL in solidarity with Arauco workers in Argentina

IndustriALL affiliate the Paper workers’ union Sindicato de Obreros y Empleados Papeleros (SOEP) in the province of Misiones is currently demanding the reinstatement of over 20 workers dismissed from the Arauco cellulose plant. The SOEP is affiliated to the Energy, Industry, Services and Associated Workers’ Federation (Federación de Trabajadores de la Energía, Industria, Servicios y Afines – FeTIA), an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union. It is also calling for better working conditions, insisting on the lack of health and safety at the plant.

The workers decided to protest following the company’s decision to dismiss more than 20 employees. The company responded by ordering the arrest of 11 workers exercising their right to strike. Although they were released hours later, the general secretary of the FeTIA, Pedro Wasiejko, commented that it was the kind of “unjust and illegitimate practice typical of this employer”.

The union decided to step up the protest to press the company to reinstate the dismissed workers. The Labour Ministry has ordered compulsory arbitration and has committed to taking every step to mediate the reinstatement of those dismissed.

The Labour Ministry also confirmed the “lack of health and safety” in twelve parts of the former Alto Paraná cellulose plant in the city of Puerto Esperanza. The workers have been calling for the application of the health and safety law for months.

Jorge Almeida, IndustriALL Regional Secretary, says:

IndustriALL supports the organisation’s demands and is ready to offer all the backing required to find a solution to the dispute.

Labour related Master programmes open in Brazil and South Africa

The programmes focus on global governance including international labour standards, economics, trade, and multinational companies from a labour perspective and on trade unions and other social movements as actors of change.

A limited number of scholarships will be awarded by the GLU network to students in need of support. 

The deadlines for application as well as programme details are available through the links below:

1 September 2015 for University of the Witwatersrand  http://www.global-labour-university.org/3.html
Contact: Pulane Ditlhake [email protected]  



1 October 2015 for University of Campinas http://www.global-labour-university.org/114.html 

Contact: Prof.  Eugenia Leone [email protected]

The Global Labour University is a joint initiative of universities from different continents, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) the international trade union movement and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. GLU offers Masters Courses in five different countries on trade unions, sustainable development, social justice, international labour standards, multinational companies, economic policies and global institutions and promotes research cooperation on global labour issues. For more details visit the website http://www.global-labour-university.org/.

Pakistani PCEM victory against precarious work at Shell

In face of management resistance and appeals, the victory has been achieved by IndustriALL Global Union’s affiliate PCEM, the Pakistan Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers’ Union.
 
Around 300 workers from Shell Pakistan’s Lubricant Plant in Karachi first applied for registration in 2013 for the Insaf Shell Pakistan Workers Union. In 2014 the registration office in capital Islamabad received an appeal from the company management for the union’s registration to be cancelled on the grounds that the 300 contract workers were not officially Shell employees.
 
The PCEM supported the 300 contract workers to file for their regularization before the national industrial relations commission in Karachi. Their case for regularized contracts will now be strengthened following the decision of the trade union registrar. There are only 59 permanent employees at Shell Pakistan, and around 500 employed on a contractual basis.
 
PCEM President Imran Ali, who is also chair of the IndustriALL national council in Pakistan, reports:
“Shell Pakistan's management was not accepting them as workers of Shell Pakistan and therefore saying that they don't have rights to form a union or to participate in any union activity, but with the support of PCEM these workers were able to register a union. And on 16 July 2015 Pakistan’s trade union registrar dismissed the management's appeal.”
 
The newly formed Shell Pakistan Workers’ Union will now participate in bargaining a new collective bargaining agreement, and become members of the PCEM.
 
IndustriALL Global Union Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan states:

Our PCEM Brothers are on the front line of the global struggle against precarious work. We are proud of this victory and the union will continue win the employment conditions Pakistani workers are entitled to.