East African unions join forces to tackle common issues

The project aims to make trade unions in the manufacturing and mining industries in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda stronger through national and international cooperation. Stronger unions can better defend their members, improving working conditions and health and safety at the workplace.

A growing number of workers are left with no choice but to accept temporary, precarious and dangerous jobs in order to make ends meet and provide an income for their families. Precarious jobs are an enormous threat for workers, not only at the social and economic level – it also has negative impacts on the communities and on the economy at large.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda call on their governments, employers, workers and all other stakeholders to cooperate with trade unions in dealing with the explosion in precarious work, as well as to work towards minimizing diseases and accidents in the workplace. This should be done through legislation and collective bargaining.

The specific objectives of the East African union building project include:
·       Organizing and recruiting workers into trade unions, after which the employers also need to recognize the unions
·       Eliminating precarious work and short term contracts
·       Reducing health and safety related risks and incidences at work

The overriding goal is to ensure that IndustriALL affiliates in the three countries gain power, allowing them to become a strong counterforce and dialogue partner to the companies. When workers find ways to have better lives and more decent work, the three countries, as well as the entire East African region, will be better off.

Catherine Aneno, IndustriALL project coordinator, says:

We support unions gaining more power in East Africa. Within the next four-year period, we want to see an increased membership in the region, have less precarious work as well as safer and healthier jobs.

Let us organize, agitate and educate our members.

Goodyear treads on UK workers with plant closure

The planned closure jeopardizes hundreds more jobs in the supply chain and is part of a proposed Europe-wide reorganization at Goodyear.
 
IndustriALL Global Union’s UK affiliate Unite warned that the closure of the Goodyear factory in Wolverhampton would have severe ramifications on the local economy in addition to the damage to employees.
 
Goodyear’s Wolverhampton factory mixes the rubber compounds for tyres as well as re-treading tyres. The re-tread division is expected to close in October this year and the rubber compounds by January 2017.
 
Gerard Coyne, Unite regional secretary for the West Midlands, said:
“The closure of the factory and the loss of hundreds of skilled manufacturing jobs will be a devastating blow to the economy.
 
“It is disgraceful that Goodyear did not have the good grace to tell the workforce first and instead workers found out that they could be out of a job through the local media."
 
The historic site at Wolverhampton has been in production for nearly 90 years. IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan says:

I personally know the plant in Wolverhampton. Over the years, Goodyear has reduced the workforce little by little and are now making a final cut. Our sisters and brothers there have contributed to the success of Goodyear for decades, something which must be remembered.

We support our affiliate’s outrage over the plans and call on Goodyear to start respecting their workers whose efforts have helped build the company’s huge success.

The news about the plant closure in the UK follows announcements in April this year that Goodyear intends to build a new factory in Mexico.
 
IndustriALL US affiliate United Steel Workers (USW) said at the time that the decision was disappointing but not surprising.

USW International President Leo W. Gerard said:
 “USW members at Goodyear have been willing partners and have repeatedly shown their commitment to championing the success of the company. Together we worked hard to help turn the company around, and the USW has led the fight to stop a flood of unfairly priced tires from China.”
 
Goodyear employs about 75,000 people with factories in the US, South America, Europe and Asia.
 

Unions target Switzerland over Glencore

The Glencore Global Union Network’s week of action from 29 June to 3 July coincides with a new People’s Initiative in Switzerland, which is campaigning for a change in the law to make Swiss-based multinational companies, such as Glencore, responsible for their violations against human rights and the environment abroad.

If the People’s Initiative gets 100,000 signatures, Swiss citizens can vote on whether it should be made law under the Federal Constitution.

If the vote is successful, it means that victims of human rights or environmental violations by Swiss multinationals in foreign countries could take the company to court in Switzerland and claim compensation.

It would also make Swiss companies responsible for violations committed by their subsidiaries or the companies they control in the countries where they operate.   

During the global week of action, IndustriALL affiliates from Africa, Australia, Latin America and the USA, which form the Glencore Global Union Network, will be handing over a protest letter to Swiss Embassies and Consulates.

The letter implores the Swiss government to see that Glencore abides by international standards and stops the abuse of people and the environment abroad.

“Switzerland has a good reputation for respecting workers rights and collective bargaining. However, Glencore’s actions abroad are giving the country a bad name and its behaviour would not be tolerated in Switzerland,” says IndustriALL’s director of mining Glen Mpufane.

IndustriALL is taking Glencore to task over allegations of union-busting, health and safety violations, and tax evasion following grievances by affiliates, among other accusations.  

The Glencore Global Union Network has representatives from fourteen countries which are Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Namibia, Peru, South Africa, United States and Zambia.

Find out more about the initiative here: http://konzern-initiative.ch/?lang=fr

FSPMI reaches agreement with Philips in Indonesia

Workers at PT. Philips Industries Batam, went on strike at the beginning of June, protesting against union busting and unfair dismissals by company management.

On 19 June, IndustriALL affiliated branch union FSPMI Batam and PT. Philips Industries Batam reached the agreement according to which local management will resume collective bargaining negotiations. The negotiations concern a restructuring plan of the company under the monitoring of the representatives of local authorities and/or government.

In return the union will stop the strike and all striking workers will go back to work. The strikers are to be paid their full salary for the time of the strike.

The agreement was reached just one week after the IndustriALL World Conference on ICT Electrical & Electronics held in Malaysia, adopted the resolution in support of unfairly dismissed workers at PT. Philips Industries Batam, Indonesia.

The resolution called on company management to reinstate the dismissed workers, stop harassing workers and resume the collective bargaining negotiations with FSPMI, aiming to achieve a fair and just resolution of the conflict, as well as create a constructive relationship between labour and management.

Judy Winarno, president for FSPMI Electrical & Electronics sector says:

On behalf of FSPMI electronics’ workers, we would like to thank everyone for the international solidarity and efforts of IndustriALL family.”

Sector-wide collective agreements to counter workers’ problems in the chemical industry

In Belgium, IndustriALL affiliates CSC BIE and CG-FGTB concluded a one-year agreement covering around 100,000 workers, bringing salary increases, early retirement schemes, training measures, as well as a demographic fund.

The demographic fund will play a role for workers with long seniorities. As some workers may need to retire at a later age than expected, the fund aims to deal with related difficulties. Details of the practical arrangement are yet to be decided, but both the employers and the unions will manage the fund.

Although still waiting for approval, IndustriALL’s Spanish affiliates Industria de CC.OO. and FITAG – UGT have recently finalized a three-year sectorial collective agreement covering 200,000 workers. Apart from setting wage increases, the collective bargaining agreement has a clause guaranteeing employee purchasing power, an updated equal opportunity clause, a declaration of principle promoting CSR, and a commitment that training will receive higher priority at work.

In the new agreement, IndustriALL’s two Spanish affiliates managed to make the employers withdraw plans to lengthen working hours, eliminate bonuses linked to career length, and apply a lower minimum salary rise.

The agreement has an updated equal opportunity clause with the reinforcement of a joint committee, and employee representation during crises is improved.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan says that the organization congratulates the two Spanish affiliates and welcomes both sector agreements:

Agreements covering an entire industry are rare, but something we hope will be more common in the future as it strengthens workers’ rights.

Fighting outsourcing law in Brazil

The proposed law opening up for using contract workers without any limitations has been discussed for more than a decade. After having been effectively blocked for several years, employers in the country have managed to get the bill adopted by the House of Representatives. The text is now in the Senate for a vote.

If the law is passed, as many as 34 million workers risk becoming precarious. Participants at the meeting voiced their fears over an increase in workplace accidents – already precarious workers represent 80 per cent of those accidents, lower salaries, and worsened working conditions. 

Georgia's growing union movement

The final workshop in a series of five within a union organizing project supported by IndustriALL Norwegian affiliate Industri Energi (IE) was held in Kobuleti on 31 May – 2 June 2015.

After a new labour code was adopted in 2006, the unions in Georgia experienced pressure from both employers and the state for several years. According to experts, the labour code is one of the worst examples of labor codes currently existing in the world. As a result of heavy business lobbying, Georgia has a tiny brochure of about 60 pages with no mention of trade unions instead of a detailed labour law corresponding to international norms and ILO standards.

The labour code has had serious consequences for workers in the country; labour inspections have been abolished, unions are under constant pressure, and as a consequence membership is declining.

It took more than seven years of union struggle to make the state authorities hear the voice of the unions, start a dialogue and make some changes to the labor legislation.

Tamaz Dolaberidze, president of IndustriALL affiliate Trade Union of Metallurgy, Mining and Chemical Industry Workers of Georgia (TUMMCIWG), said:

As the state no longer sides with the employer during collective labor disputes and is more open to social dialogue, we now have greater possibilities to develop our trade unions."

Trade union leaders and activists of the Trade Union of Metallurgy, Mining and Chemical Industry Workers of Georgia participated in the workshop and listened to Ole-Kristian Paulsen, international advisor at IE. He told participants about the activities of Norwegian unions and the subsequent recognition of the need of equal dialogue between the social partners which led to the country's prosperity.

On hearing about the efforts Georgian employers take to suppress unions at their enterprises, Ole-Kristian Paulsen said:

It is absolutely counterproductive, as eventually all the people will be organized in the union. If the employer would have taken these efforts to develop the production, the enterprise performance would have been much higher, and it would provide higher profits to business and higher wages to the employees".

Eduard Vokhmin, trade union trainer, facilitated the practical training. Participants practiced various organizing methods used in certain situations at their enterprises.

Gerdau Workers’ World Council undertakes to improve situation in each country

The 8th meeting of the Gerdau Workers’ World Council in Chimbote, Peru, was attended by representatives from United Steelworkers (USW) of Canada and United States, CNM-CUT Brazil and SIDERPERU (Mining, Metal and Steel Workers’ Federation of Peru), all affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union. Each union representative reported on the situation at Gerdau (specializing in long steel in Latin America and North America) in their countries and how it is affecting the workers.

The spokesperson for CNM-CUT Brazil explained that Gerdau is under investigation for tax evasion and may have to pay fines of US$1.5 billion. He said that this will most probably lead to a restructuring of the company, which will mean subsequent difficulties for the workers. It was agreed that IndustriALL would coordinate with the Gerdau trade unions in Brazil to help them strengthen their operations.

In the case of Peru, Gerdau has shut down the blast furnace. In addition, it is investing more in port logistics than in the steel plant, reflecting its intention to continue importing from China and Turkey, given the difference in costs. Another country faced with very strong competition from China and Turkey is Canada, where the Gerdau plant in Ontario has been affected to the point that it is only producing at 50 per cent of its capacity.

The Gerdau plant in California, US, is at risk of closure following its failure to comply with environmental standards. 300 workers would lose their jobs. The information shared and the points in common demonstrated the need to maintain continual contact with a view to finding joint solutions. Delegates decided to set up a communication network to ensure more regular contact between the countries integrating the Council, as well as to create a database to enable them to compare the collective agreements in the various countries.

Despite brush-off from the company, council shows its support for the workers

Part of the meeting included a visit to the Gerdau plant. The Council was disappointed at the company’s decision to suspend the visit due to internal problems, after having made the delegates wait for two hours. The Council nevertheless decided to go to the plant to meet the workers when they finished their shift. The delegates also took part in a march supporting the national day of protest called by the Mining, Metal and Steel Workers’ Federation of Peru.
 

The next meeting will be held in Montevideo, Uruguay, in the next 12 months. Until then, they will continue working on the plan approved at the previous meeting, which includes conducting a survey based on which a comparison can be made of the purchasing power of Gerdau workers, and that the coordinators would follow up on the plan adopted.

“It was a positive meeting on the whole, despite the absence of Chile and Colombia, as those who did attend undertook the commitment to continue with the network. A course was set towards strengthening it,” concluded Héctor Castellano, projects coordinator for IndustriALL in Uruguay.

Moldova: training of trainers workshop

Unionists from IndustriALL Global Union’s four Moldavian affiliates learned different union training tools for three days. Jean-Yves Sabot, secretary of FO-Metaux, facilitated the workshop. 

The project has five workshop modules in which participants will learn trade union training tools and apply them when facilitating workshops on their own.

Until the next workshop in September, participants will develop their own training programs and facilitate workshops on their own.

Vadim Borisov, regional representative of IndustriALL, sees a potential in project participants forming a team of union trainers in Moldova:

Unions of Moldova actually recreated the union training system at the Labour Institute. The international trade union movement is willing to share its experience to help our Moldavian colleagues to manage without foreign trainers over the time.

Ukraine – international solidarity puts the break on interrogations

Within the last couple of weeks several union leaders and activists from NPGU and the Coal Mining Workers’ Union of Ukraine have been interrogated by security services after thousands of miners flocked to the capital, Kiev, from all over the Ukraine at the end of April to protest against unpaid wages and mine closures.

The authorities suspected funding for the miners’ protests came not through the unions but by third parties with the intent of taking over state power. They launched a criminal case into the matter and union leaders and activists have been interrogated as witnesses.

Mikhailo Volynets, head of the NPGU, was interrogated for several hours on 18 June about his union activity. He strongly denies the accusations.

The April protests followed the Third Congress of Miners that was held by both unions in Kiev on 21 April 2015. Nearly 800 delegates gathered to discuss the difficult situation in the Ukrainian coal mining industry.

Mining unions are demanding that the government eliminates wage arrears, restores social guarantees for workers, sets a fair price for Ukrainian coal, stops coal imports, ends mine closures, and provides financial support to the mining industry in general.

Volynets has warned that the miners would launch an open-ended nation-wide strike if the authorities ignore their demands.

The interrogations are linked to the April protests and coincided with another turn of mass union protest actions in Kiev in May and June. The unions once again demanded that the government stop their anti-social policy and take action to resolve social and economic problems.

Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, said:

Instead of listening to the unions and taking adequate measures to prevent the coal mining sector from decline, the government has been on a witch-hunt, making union leaders and miners hostages of bad state policy. The international union movement is closely watching the developments in the Ukraine, and condemns all violations of human and trade union rights.”