A decisive week for Glencore workers in Peru

SUTRACOMASA will hold talks with the company (a joint venture between Glencore, BHP, Teck and Mitsubishi) about its list of demands after complaining to the authorities about the situation at the mine.

Meanwhile, on 24 July, SITRAMINA, which represents professional workers at the Glencore subsidiary Antapaccay, will hold talks with the company after the Ministry of Labour convened a hearing to address allegations of unfair labour practices.

SITRAMINA want to discuss the situation of trade union leaders who were unfairly dismissed in December 2013. The leaders were reinstated one year later, but their jobs remain insecure. The company is still trying to get rid of them and has brought court cases against them, alleging corruption and nepotism.

The global network of Glencore trade unions is mobilizing in solidarity with their colleagues at Altamina and Atapaccay. 

IndustriALL Global Union extends its total support and solidarity to members of SUTRACOMASA and SITRAMINA. Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL General Secretary, has written to both companies and to Glencore’s CEO, Ivan Glasenberg, requesting talks in good faith with Altamina and a negotiated solution to issues at Antapaccay S.A.

“I would be grateful if you could follow up with these two companies as appropriate to ensure the establishment of sound industrial relations, respect for the right to organize and the promotion of good faith collective bargaining”, wrote Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL General Secretary.

Fatality at Gerdau plant in Uruguay

Alvarez, a mechanic, was carrying out maintenance work in a furnace when an overhead crane hit a large graphite column, which fell on him and killed him.

Alvarez, 48, had worked for the company for 26 years. The Gerdau Workers World Council sent its condolences to his family and colleagues at this sad time.

On the day of the accident, a delegation from UNTMRA, an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union, visited the company to express its condolences and meet his colleagues but the company denied them entry.

Fernando Lopes, Assistant General Secretary of Industriall Global Union and a member of the World Council said:

“We reiterate that Gerdau must end its anti-trade union stance and establish a channel for discussion with the Gerdau Workers World Council. It must have a serious discussion about safety at its plants and be more considerate to its workers and their families. We call on the authorities to carry out a health and safety inspection of the plant and work with the union to investigate the accident so that those responsible are punished and so that the company takes preventive and corrective measures to avoid other workers losing their lives in Gerdau plants”.

Case study: Accessing company financial information

In Indonesia, companies are particularly reluctant to disclose their annual financial reports under the guise of ‘confidentiality’, and workers have little idea of how to get hold them.

IndustriALL’s Union Building Project is helping plant-level unions, affiliated to IndustriALL through its 11 affiliates in Indonesia, to obtain and use financial data as part of effective preparations for wage negotiation.

Epson, Indonesia

Epson, a Japanese electronics company, is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of computer printers. The Indonesia Epson Industry union, affiliated to IndustriALL through FSPMI, represents 8000 workers at its Cikarang plant in Bekasi, West Java.

The union at Indonesia Epson had been trying to get hold of the company’s financial reports, after taking part in collective bargaining training by IndustriALL in 2013.

Abdul Bais, Indonesia Epson Industry union chair, revealed:

In the last few years, when it came to bonus negotiation, the employer always told us that the company wasn’t making any profit and performance was poor. But we refused to accept their baseless argument without receiving the company’s financial report to see the facts for ourselves.

The union wrote to the employer and the Ministry of Trade five times throughout the course of 2013, demanding that Epson provide its financial report to the union.

Enforcing national legislation

After neither the company nor the ministry responded, the union together with FSPMI leaders, turned up the pressure on the government to act by pointing out that Epson was breaking national regulations. They succeeded in compelling the government to send a warning letter to Epson for non-compliance to government regulation number 24/1998 concerning the information on company annual financial reports. All companies operating in Indonesia are obliged to submit their annual financial report to the Ministry of Trade – which Epson had not done.

Pushing international standards

At the same time, the union reminded Epson that, based on chapter three of OECD Guidelines, a multinational company should ensure timely and accurate disclosure of information, including financial reports.

The pressure worked. After a three-year struggle, a series of warning letters from the government and strong support from the federation FSPMI, the union was finally able to get the annual financial reports of the company on 10 April 2015.

Indonesia Epson Industry wrote to the local union, saying:

The company management would like to apologize to the union that, due to certain reasons, we have been so late to respond to union demands made since 2013…We have submitted our financial reports to the Indonesian government on 19 March 2015, for the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years.

Understanding financial reports

Newly armed with the annual reports, the local union of Epson Indonesia attended IndustriALL’s one-day workshop with a certified accountant on “how to read company finance” held in Jakarta on 19 April 2015 with other 45 factory-level unionists.

Edi Zaldi, a participant from Indonesia Epson Industry Union, said: “The company financial report is a very important way for trade unions to have an exact idea of a company’s situation. It acts as a basis for meaningful dialogue and negotiation, and helps lead to a mutual-trust based relationship.”

Sjaiful Patombong, IndustriALL Indonesian Council Chair, said, “Access to annual reports is a basic right for workers and unions to enable sound and constructive collective bargaining. Information is power and IndustriALL’s training on company finance has contributed to strengthening union power, especially in the workplace.”

In August 2015, Indonesia Epson Industry Union will enter into bonus talks with the company. They expect to receive the financial report for 2014 in September.

Empowering Mexican auto workers

The event on 7-8 July, brought together union representatives from Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan and Mexico, who have negotiated collective agreements in the sector, as well as leading academics and labour specialists, and officials of IndustriALL and the FES. This was the third global encounter of its kind.

Mexico is currently the world’s fourth largest auto exporter, employing 580,000 workers, a number set to grow considerably over the coming years.

The rapid growth is explained by the fact that minimum wages in Mexico lag 20 per cent behind wages in China and are among the lowest in Latin America. There is almost a total absence of free and independent unions in Mexico, where 90 per cent of the contracts are ‘protection contracts’ (sham contracts signed by ‘representatives’, often lawyers, without the knowledge or consent of workers). These unfair advantages, combined with the benefits of a skilled workforce, proximity to North American markets and a well-established export industry provide an irresistible lure for multinational auto companies from around the world.

Helmut Lense, IndustriALL auto director, said:

IndustriALL and its leading affiliates in the sector are committed to help improve the wages and working conditions of Mexican auto workers. Dealing with multinationals from around the world means dealing with different corporate and trade union cultures; the key here is to ensure that the objective remains the same even if the approaches are different.

Our work must be grounded in concrete actions in specific workplaces to bring about real change for Mexican workers. And we must make sure that both from inside and outside Mexico, we work together and move from individual to collective efforts.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Fernando Lopes added that IndustriALL would continue to use global networks, works councils and global framework agreement to build genuine unions, both in car assembly plants and in the auto parts supply chain:

If unions genuinely want to represent and defend workers, we are ready to assist them.

IndustriALL and IGMetall representatives committed to resolve the situation at BMW, where local management last year bought a ‘protection contract’ over the internet three years before the planned opening of the factory in 2017. They also committed to reaffirm full support to IndustriALL affiliate STUHM, the union fighting for recognition at a Honda plant.

Participants adopted a declaration in which they agreed to hold the Mexican government to its commitments arising from the recommendations from this year’s International Labour Conference, to support calls for Mexico’s ratification of ILO Convention 98 and to improve coordination and improved collective bargaining.

Uruguay: trade union centre announces 24-hour general strike

The executive of PIT-CNT, the Uruguayan trade union centre, has unanimously approved a 24-hour general strike on 6 August under the slogan “Struggle Pays”. The PIT-CNT represents IndustriALL Global Union affiliates like Unión Nacional de Trabajadores del Metal y Ramas Afines (UNTMRA).

The PIT-CNT rejected guidelines proposed by the government during talks at the Wages Councils dealing with private sector pay. In Uruguay, the traditional method for setting pay rates is to convene a Wages Council. These are tripartite agencies that set minimum wages and benefits for the various sectors of the economy.

The government says it will ask the various sectors of the economy to use their annual growth figures to "self-classify" as either "dynamic", “intermediate” or “in difficulties” and set annual pay rises accordingly.

It also suggested six-monthly adjustments; an annual increase in the minimum wage, with a target of  $13,430 by 2018 and supplementary productivity payments.

The PIT-CNT rejects these proposals and has called a 24-hour general strike in support of:

Larger increases in the minimum wage and a target figure of $15,000 by 2018.
Special treatment for workers earning under $15,000.
The introduction of annual wage indexation.
A real rise in pay levels, in line with the country’s economic growth.
A bigger education budget.

The government is preparing the national budget, which involves calculating expenditure and investment during its five-year term. The PIT-CNT wants more spent on education in order to meet the demand for teachers and administration workers.

In a press release published on the union website, PIT-CNT president, Fernando Pereira, says the only way to stop the strike is “if there is a radical change to the guidelines in accordance with our demands, which are restrained and moderate and appropriate for the country’s situation.”

He also announced a plan of action in the period leading up to the strike, in which the PIT-CNT will hold meetings between 20 and 24 July to explain to workers the reasons for the strike and build support among the general public.

IndustriALL Global Union supports the PIT CNT’s right to use strike action and collective bargaining in support of its demand for a pay deal that benefits all workers. 

Mexico: change is in the air

 “The stars have aligned to create the conditions for change in Mexico, and now independent unions and their allies must hold the government’s feet to the fire and demand the right to organize and bargain collectively”, participants at a round-table in Mexico City were told last week.

Discussions in the committee rooms of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva can sometimes seem very distant from the daily lives of workers and their unions on the ground, but a group of activists and unions are determined to make sure that decisions taken in Geneva have a real impact where it matters most.

Over 200 people gathered at Mexico City’s Human Rights Commission at the beginning of July to listen to some of those who have been directly involved in putting pressure on Mexico’s government through the ILO. The government is asked to tackle the use of so-called ‘protection contracts’, sham contracts negotiated without the knowledge or consent of workers. IndustriALL’s Suzanna Miller was one of the speakers.

The rights of free and democratic unions in Mexico have been on the ILO’s agenda since 2009 when the International Metalworkers’ Federation, a founding member of IndustriALL, lodged a complaint with the Committee of Freedom of Association (CFA), resulting in a favourable ruling.

In June 2015, pressure mounted when the International Trade Union Confederation and IndustriALL succeeded in having Mexico examined by the ILO Committee on Application of Standards for its failure to implement ILO Convention 87. Again, this led to a strong set of recommendations and forced the government to agree an action plan involving 27 labour secretaries at the state level.

The favourable outcome at the ILO was in large part due to the unified position of the workers’ group at the ILO, as well as an unprecedented intervention from the US government delegation, prompted by concerns over the impact of Mexico’s compromised labour record on ongoing TPP negotiations.

Participants vowed to keep up the pressure and agreed to submit a coordinated response to the ILO, documenting the on-going use of protection contracts in all sectors of the economy and the unrelenting violations to ILO C87 on Freedom of Association that workers experience daily.

Myanmar mining unions set safety goal

Thirty trade unionists, including eight women, took part in the first-ever workshop on occupational health and safety (OHS) in mining, a collaborative initiative between IndustriALL, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM) and IndustriALL affiliate, the Mining Workers Federation of Myanmar (MWFM).

The trade unionists also agreed to capacity building and training to ensure effective functioning of the OSH committees, which will play a key role in communicating health and safety advice at the mine sites.

“Myanmar is undergoing economic and political reform. Occupational health and safety is an important issue. We need to create a safe environment to work in,” said Maung Maung, President of CTUM.   

Htin Aung, Deputy Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, and Than Htaik, Sagaing Region’s Minister of Mining and Forestry, attended the inauguration of the meeting and welcomed the initiative:

“The Factory Act exists, but at the moment there is no specific (health and safety) law for the mining and construction industry in Myanmar,” said Aung.

The mining industry in Myanmar employs more than 100,000 workers.  According to the MWFM, which has nearly 4,000 members, one Chinese run-copper mine in Letpaduang employs around 3,000 workers alone.

At present, there is no minimum wage in the mining industry in Myanmar and workers’ pay varies according to their job function and productivity level.   

The workshop participants also agreed to reach out to unorganized mining sites to extend union coverage and protection to sub-contracted workers, daily workers and small-scale miners.

Regular health check-ups, provision of personal protective equipment for all the workers working in the mines and other preventive measures were also part of the discussion and union proposals.  

On the national level, MWFM and CTUM are committed to advocating for ratification of ILO Convention 176 on health and safety in mining.    

Speaking at the end of the workshop, MWFM President, Thaung Nyunt, said:

“On behalf of MWFM, we express our deepest appreciation for this meaningful initiative which is the first step for progressive development in Myanmar.

“We need knowledge and information from international experts and we are committed to putting into practice what we have learned so that we can improve the working environment at the mine sites. The ILO Convention No. 176 is essential for developing health and safety in mines, and we are hopeful that it will be ratified by the government soon.”  

Towards a South African National Minimum Wage

The booklet provides an overview of the key issues and is intended to assist trade unions to popularise democratic debates on a National Minimum Wage (NMW) amongst workers, shop stewards and officials.

Click below to view full report

Thai unions campaign for minimum wage increase

The rate was increased from 215 baht in 2013 by the previous Yingluck Shinawatra government. The current trade union demand of a 20 per cent is based on the recent high increase in workers’ cost of living.

Trade unions pushing the campaign are members of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC). IndustriALL affiliates are involved through the Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT), and the Confederation of Thai Electrical Appliances, Electronic Automobile and Metalworkers (TEAM).

On 9 July the TLSC and all its affiliates conducted coordinated action around Thailand, simultaneously presenting petitions to provincial governors to demand support for the wage increase and to maintain the national minimum wage system.

On 25 June all affiliates of the TLSC together marched to Government House to submit a statement to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Yongyuth Mentapao, CILT president, told IndustriALL:

Every time we negotiate to raise the minimum wage we always receive many negative comments but we confirm that the TLSC demand is based on our research and reflects people’s daily expenses.

For employers workers are just materials of the production system and Thailand has still not ratified the core ILO Conventions 87and 98. This makes it difficult for workers to bargain collectively at plant level and the labour movement can only campaign at the policy level.

Standard national minimum wages are important for Thai workers in terms of social justice, decreasing social inequality and decreasing migrant worker problems due to workers moving to areas with higher wages.

IndustriALL Global Union Regional Secretary Annie Adviento said:

IndustriALL fights for a living wage throughout our region. Workers in Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam are all mobilizing for fair wages and IndustriALL affiliates are at the centre of those struggles. We will continue to focus around this goal.

The Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade of Thailand are strongly opposing a raise in the minimum wage and advocating for provincial changes in the future. A June survey of Thai manufacturing companies showed employer resistance to any minimum wage hike. The Federation of Thai Industries recently called for the government to set up a new tripartite committee to consider changes in the minimum wage on a provincial basis.

The official unemployment rate in Thailand is less than one per cent.

Madagascar workers fighting back against Sherritt

Unionists at an IndustriALL workshop on organizing and building union power in Antananarivo, Madagascar, painted a graphic picture of Sherritt’s trade union busting tactics and intimidation of workers at its multi-billion-dollar Ambatovy nickel mining operation in the country.

Affiliates at the IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa regional workshop on 29 and 30 June shared stories of systemic threats of dismissals and the promotion of yellow unions against established unions.

Unions say Sherritt has violated the labour law of Madagascar by unilaterally announcing the layoffs of 900 workers for six months, without prior consultation with the company’s Comité d’Entreprise (workers committee).

IndustriALL has been given a mandate by the trade unions at local, regional and national level in Madagascar, as well as the trade union Confederation and the independent union organizing at Ambatovy, to take up the unacceptable labour relations situation at Ambatovy with Sherritt’s headquarters in Canada, the local Sherritt management in Madagascar and the government of Madagascar.

IndustriALL, together with its Malagasy affiliate trade unions, FESATI, FSTEM, SVS and SEKRIMA, committed to collaborate to put pressure on Sherritt to re-instate the 900 workers, including union leaders.

The trade unions have given IndustriALL a set of demands to present to the parties concerned with the crisis at Ambatovy:

IndustriALL has been asked to mobilize international solidarity in the event that Sherritt fails to respond, or retaliates and victimizes union members and their representatives.

The workshop took place against the background of a fragile industrial relations environment in Madagascar, often characterized by tension, fear and anxiety amongst workers. This is caused by the combative and hostile employer and government collaboration that is aimed at crushing trade unions.

Employers are suspected of having infiltrated trade unions in Madagascar, which has resulted in infighting, disunity and suspicion amongst each other, making them weak and vulnerable.

The objective of the workshop, which was funded by Swedish affiliate IF Metall’s union-to-union organization, was to clarify and deepen understanding of the law and trade union rights in Madagascar; highlight the global perspectives in organizing; and to share collective bargaining experiences in the region.