Global union action against asbestos

***UPDATE: On 14 May 2015, four countries spoke out against listing chrysotile asbestos on Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention: Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Zimbabwe. In a surprise move, Brazil supported a listing.***

IndustriALL affiliates from Australian unions AMWU and CFMEU, as well as Unite in the UK, joined forces with victims’ groups and the Building and Wood Workers International union to protest outside the United Nations building on 12 May.

The demo took place as government representatives from over 160 countries are participating in a UN conference to decide whether to list chrysotile asbestos as a dangerous substance under the Rotterdam Convention.

“Do not be deceived by the lies of the ‪asbestos industry – all forms of asbestos kill,” said IndustriALL’s director of health and safety, Brian Kohler, in a powerful appeal to delegates taking part in the meeting.

A listing under the Convention would mean that countries importing chrysotile asbestos are made aware of its deadly properties.

However, asbestos producing countries such as Russia, Brazil and China are expected to veto a listing, as is major importer, India.

Speaking at the conference on 13 May, AMWU’s national president Andrew Dettmer, said:

It is a moral failure of significant magnitude that chrysotile asbestos is not listed under the Rotterdam Convention.

A strong pro-chrysotile campaign lobby, funded by Russia, is attempting to claim chrysotile asbestos is safe, despite overwhelming scientific evidence, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), that it is not.

An estimated 300 million people are being exposed to asbestos in countries where it is still being used, according to WHO.

Sharad Sawant, an asbestosis sufferer from India brought to Geneva by the Australian affiliates, made a gripping intervention at the conference, providing first-hand testimony of the real dangers of chrysotile.

India has over 600 asbestos factories and many thousands of sufferers from asbestos-related diseases, which have no cure.

IndustriALL is running a two-week long publicity campaign on Geneva transport to remind conference participants and the wider public that asbestos is still in production and responsible for killing at least 100,000 people a year.

“The global labour movement has looked at the science, has looked at our dead and dying sisters and brothers, and we demand a global ban on all forms of asbestos,” says Kohler.

IndustriALL gives voice to workers at OECD Steel Committee

IndustriALL Global Union representatives at the OECD Steel Committee, IndustriALL assistant general secretary Fernando Lopes and Rob Johnston, industrial director at Community the union UK, highlighted the importance of considering the impact on workers in addressing these issues.

IndustriALL drew attention to workplace developments in the industry, underlining the importance of giving workers and their unions a voice in the workplace. There is a wealth of literature demonstrating how workers having a voice and engagement are good for business.

Rob Johnston says:

Bad examples such as Tata Steel UK’s decision to close its pension scheme casts a shadow over the whole industry. This undermines its own internal values and undermining its claims to be the worlds most ethical company.

Equality continues to be a major challenge in the steel industry. Opportunities for women vary from employer to employer, but the industry could do better in having more women in senior positions. Women must not be under-utilised in the workplace, which is not only unjust but also unfair and a loss to the industry.

Fernando Lopes concludes:

A proactive industrial policy to promote the continuous improvement of infrastructure is fundamental to increase the consumption of steel and to underpin employment security within the industry.

The Committee consists of 25 OECD member countries, plus associate members and other invited government participants. The Committee provides a forum for governments, producers and unions to address the evolving challenges facing the steel industry and to identify political solutions to encourage open and transparent markets for steel.

Chemical unions determined to defend and advance workers’ rights

Chemical industry plays an important role in global economy as it serves to different sectors as one of the most dynamically developing and innovative industrial sectors, particularly employing highly skilled workers. This fact, however, does not make it immune from different problems and challenges faced by workers and unions in other industries.

Opening the Conference the Michael Vassiliadis, President of the IndustriALL’s German affiliate Mining, Energy, Chemical Union IG BCE as well as industriAll European Trade Union said:

We know that in some countries and regions it is still dangerous to stand up for human and trade union rights, that in many countries the profit is made to the detriment of the protection of human health and environment. However I am sure, jointly and in great solidarity we will continue to make progress in the fight against child and slave labour and conclude collective agreements for decent conditions avoiding any discrimination”.

Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, commented

IndustriALL has been formed in 2012 as a new force in international solidarity to confront the global capital, since then every day is campaign day for our global union”.

The participants interacted on a series of political matters, including sustainability with its effects on jobs; trade union networks, global framework agreements as instruments boosting solidarity among the workers; union organizing and campaigns; problem of declining membership and rampant precarious work; and occupational health and safety.

At the end of the two-day conference with the view to overcome the existing challenges and build stronger unity and solidarity among the chemical workers the participants adopted and action program over the strategic goals of IndustriALL Global Union: Build Union Power throughout the world; Confront global capital; Defend workers' rights; Fight precarious work; Ensure sustainable industrial employment.

The participants unanimously elected two co-chairpersons of the chemical industry sector, namely Iris Wolf, IG BCE of Germany and Sergio Luiz Leite, Fequimfar-Força Sindical, Brazil.

Prior to the World Chemical Conference, IndustriALL’s Global Pharmaceutical Unions’ Network and BASF Representatives’ Global meetings met and discussed actions to be taken in the period to come.

Excellent quality of discussions, commitment and spirit of solidarity marked the World Chemical Conference” said Kemal Özkan, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union. “Our chemical affiliates developed an ambitious Action Programme, and it will be genuine base for the global union power for this critical sector”.

Photos from the Conference are available on IndustriALL Flickr channel.

Brands crucial to achieving living wages in Cambodia

Cambodia’s existing minimum wage fixing process has limitations and has not been able to deliver a living wage. Representation on the wage-fixing council is not equal; research findings that the level of a living wage is much higher than the current minimum wage are not implemented; the government and employers are still worried that if the minimum wage is raised too high, brands will stop sourcing from Cambodia.

Affiliates welcomed IndustriALL’s engagement with global garment brands towards developing industry bargaining for garment workers.

IndustriALL policy director Jenny Holdcroft says:

Garment buyers need to be engaged in discussions on wages, to make commitments towards continuing sourcing from Cambodia and to use their leverage with employers to increase the wage.

A wages expert from the ILO provided valuable information on wage fixing mechanisms and how to use them. The importance of regular, steady increases to the minimum wage with annual adjustments, based on analysis and consensus-building was emphasized.

Union representatives from the Philippines shared their experiences with working with a minimum wage fixing mechanism which is built on by collective bargaining increases, and described how they are using these structures to continue their fight for a living wage.

The Cambodian unions further developed their plans for engaging in the next minimum wage fixing process due to take place in October, to secure a further increase for 2016 towards a living wage.

The unions will request research on wage movements from the ILO, as well as technical support and will use this as a basis for determining what their common demand to the government will be. They will work together to get government support for their position. Action will be needed to ensure that when the minimum wage increases, so does the piece rate as this has so far not been the case.

Affiliates called on each other to maintain solidarity during the minimum wage process and stick to a united position. Steps will be taken to include more unions in the joint position.

The likely need for solidarity support from IndustriALL and international unions was recognized, as was commitment from the brands that they will not pull out of Cambodia if the minimum wage increases.

The meeting concluded with the Cambodian affiliates expressing their full support for moving forward together in the process that IndustriALL has started with global brands towards industry bargaining on wages. The next step will be for the unions to develop their proposals for a national plan of action for implementation in Cambodia to be discussed with the brands and their suppliers.

Unions deliver strong message to Glencore shareholders

IndustriALL’s international delegation met in front of the venue in Zug, distributing flyers exposing Glencore’s many violations of workers rights globally to shareholders just before and after the delegation entered the AGM to deliver their message.

Trade union issues dominated the meeting and it was impossible for the company to continue sweeping them under the carpet. Some shareholders, unaware of the violations, left the meeting outraged at Glencore’s behaviour.

“Even the CEO considered that there are legitimate issues being raised and committed to go back and talk to people on the ground. One way or another these issue have to be resolved,” says Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director of mining.

“Their response to my intervention on workers rights violations in Colombia was not acceptable, the company claims that workers are free to choose to be a part of a union but in reality they are being intimidated,” says Igor Diaz, education officer at Sintracarbon and Glencore network coordinator.

Rey Herrera, vice president at USW Local 235A urged the company to immediately end the lockout at their operations at Shermin Alumina in Texas, and put them back to work and continue to bargain to make a fair an equitable contract.

“They claimed they would make an effort to talk to us, but what they say and what they do are two different things,” says Herrera.

“I’ve been to a lot of AGM’s and I must say that we managed to get all of our issues through. I was happy to get a face-to-face meeting with Glencore CEO Yvan Glasenberg to discuss the issues in the USA, Colombia, South Africa and Australia and we can only hope that it gets to management,” says Wayne McAndrew, national vice president of the CFMEU mining and energy.

The international delegation composed of IndustriALL affiliates from The United Steelworkers (USW), The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), and SintraCarbon spent the entire week holding solidarity events and meeting with political leaders and human rights activists in Switzerland.

In the build up to the AGM, the goal was to expose Glencore and to make it clear that the company’s practice is very different from its rhetoric.

Glen Mpufane says:

Glencore claims to respect communities, collective bargaining and the right of employees to freely choose a union, but IndustriALL has testimonies from affiliates, in over 14 countries of the consistent brutality and disrespect of workers rights throughout it’s operations.

A public conference on a corporate social responsibility's initiative by Swiss based multinational corporations (MNCs) held on 4 May heard heart wrenching stories about Glencore's vicious attack on workers and communities in Texas, Colombia, South Africa and Australia.

On 5 May, the delegation met with the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Actrav division to press their case and explore solutions by the ILO.

The delegation's mission was boosted by an invitation to address members of Parliament of the federal government in Berne on 6 May. The meeting confirmed the urgent and appropriate need for the Swiss initiative on Swiss MNCs. A protocol for engagement, consultation and communication with IndustriALL was agreed.

Sri Lankan unions come together for major wage hike

The new Sri Lankan Government has agreed to enhance wages of the Private Sector workers by around US$18, equaling a raise of between 15 and 35 per cent. This sets the minimum wage for private sector workers at US$74 per month.

Meanwhile, state sector employees have seen their wages revised by US$74, resulting in a minimum wage of around US$223, including allowances and benefits.

IndustriALL Sri Lanka Council and affiliates have been fighting for an increased minimum wage in the private sector for a few years, and played a major role in this latest success.

Leslie Devendra, of the IndustriALL Sri Lanka Council and president of Sri Lanka’s largest trade union SLNSS, says on the wage hike:

The increase is a welcome step in reducing the huge gap between the Private Sector employees and State Sector employees, but there is more work to be done.

Drummond acquitted despite accidents and threats

The ruling ended a six-year legal battle in which Drummond managers were accused of involvement in making payments to the paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). The Federal Court of Appeal of the Atlanta Circuit in the United States ruled that there was insufficient evidence against Drummond, a decision which left the company’s workers angry.

The unions Sintramienergética, Funtraenergética and the families of murdered trade unionists were the first to take the matter to court. They accused Drummond of maintaining links with paramilitary groups since 1985. According to Francisco Ramirez Cuellar, a trade union leader in the mining industry, paramilitaries, workers, contractors and a former head of security at Drummond all assured him that the company “financed the creation of a Paramilitary Front with 200 men starting in 1986 and gave them $US3 million”.

“The innocence of a criminal organization”

The decision to acquit Drummond shocked the company’s workers who are in a difficult situation. Two workers were recently killed in a workplace accident in Magdalena. The company is also responsible for repeatedly polluting the environment. In response to these serious violations, the National Movement of Victims of Multinational and Transnational Corporations (MNVC) announced that: “We are shocked that the company’s spokesperson is cynical enough to come out and claim that this criminal organization is innocent”.

The court also ruled that there was insufficient evidence to show that Drummond managers were responsible for “an alleged corporate plan that led to the killing by the AUC of civilians living close to mining operations and the railway”. Ramirez Cuellar explained that Jim Adkins, head of security for Drummond until 2001, and company management formulated a corporate plan to create “a paramilitary group to ´guarantee´ security in the mining area and along the railway that carries the coal”.

The workers and their families decided to seek legal remedy for these crimes in the courts of Europe, Indonesia and South America. They also decided to call for the nationalization of the Drummond and Prodeco (Glencore) mines and compensation for employees and sick and dismissed workers and their families at both companies.

IndustriALL Global Union condemns the constant human rights violations in Colombia and calls for immediate action to dissolve the paramilitary groups in accordance with repeated recommendations by the United Nations.

Optimum Coal closure: a worker’s story

She also had dreams of becoming a team leader one day. But her rosy dreams were thwarted in Janaury 2015 when the company announced its intentions to retrench.

Mahlangu said she was stunned when she heard of Optimum Coal’s intention to retrench over 1,067 permanent workers and 500 contractors.

I have never worked anywhere else, my entire working life I have spent it at this company. I still hoped they would train me further,

said the single mother of three children.

My biggest worry now is that I don’t know where my children will get their next meal. I don’t know if I should take them out of school because as a single parent I won’t be able to pay for their school fees,

said Mahlangu.

Mahlanhu also said that after her father passed away last year, she has taken the role of bread winner for her family and extended family members.

I have seven extended family members that I must provide for –if the retrenchment goes through those people who look to me for financial support will also be affected,

she said.

According to Mahlangu the planned retrenchment will affect the entire community near the mine and will increase the rate of unemployment and poverty.

We need to find a solution that is suitable to all parties to ensure that jobs are not lost. The government should also intervene to ensure that our jobs are saved,

said Mahlangu.

Mahlangu said since the company announced its intentions to retrench morale among workers is very low. There have been many incidents that can compromise the health and safety of workers.

We have until the end of April 2015 and after that we don’t know what will happen. People are not concentrating; they are stressed about the impending retrenchments – there are a lot of accidents at the plant now,

said Mahlangu.

Around the world on May Day

In Fort Dauphin, Madagascar, IndustriALL affiliate FISEMA dedicated the manifestation to the fight against precarious work and health and safety at Rio Tinto operations in the country.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, Amirul Haque Amin, president of IndustriALL affiliate National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF), urged garment workers to build a united movement to ensure there is no repetition of the Rana Plaza and Tazreen tragedies.

IndustriALL staff in Geneva marched to call an end to asbestos. Every five minutes someone in the world dies from asbestos related illnesses, yet a staggering 2 million tons asbestos is produced every year.

IndustriALL also demanded Holcim and Lafarge to respect workers rights in the ongoing merger proces.

The IndustriALL Pakistan Council marched in solidarity in front of the Karachi Press club.

More than 500 garment workers in Pakistan participated in a labour conference organized by Pakistan Textile Garments & Leather Workers (PTGLW), discussing among other things contract work, wages, and health and safety issues.

In Guatemala demonstrators called for the respect of workers’ and human rights, as well as for freedom of association.

In Australia IndustriALL affiliate CFMEU came out in force under the slogan Touch one, touch all!

At a May Day rally in Chattisgarh, India, organized by INTUC and INMF, speakers urged the government not to take steps to withdraw the freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike.

IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina says:

May Day is a day for celebrating the fight for workers’ rights. It is a day to tell the world that workers are here and they will stand up for their rights. Seeing all the wonderful action from IndustriALL affiliates around the world shows exactly that – trade unions will not go away!

However, May Day is not necessarily a peaceful celebration of workers’ rights everywhere, as this article in Equal Times shows.

In Turkey police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators, and in Bahrain authorities banned the annual May Day rally.

Global campaign against asbestos targets UN

IndustriALL Global Union and its affiliate, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), are mounting pressure on countries preparing to vote on listing chrysotile asbestos under the Rotterdam Convention at a UN conference in Geneva, Switzerland from 11 to 14 May.

The Convention lists other types of asbestos, but not chrysotile, which is just as deadly and the only type of asbestos still in commercial use.

A powerful advertising campaign on trams and buses running through the heart of Geneva is set to remind residents and conference visitors about the alarming dangers of asbestos. Beginning on 6 May, it will run for two weeks.

Next week a delegation from Australian unions including AMWU and another IndustriALL affiliate, CFMEU, as well as sufferers of asbestos from India will arrive in Geneva for a series of actions to support the campaign.

Asbestos causes cancer and lung diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma, which have no cure. The World Health Organization estimates that 100,000 people a year die from exposure to asbestos.

And yet 2 million tonnes of chrysotile asbestos are still traded every year without any international regulation.

Although banned in 50 nations, in countries such as India and Indonesia, consumption is increasing.

Major asbestos exporters – Russia, Brazil and Kazakhstan, as well as India, are set to veto restrictions on exporting chrysotile asbestos under the Convention.

“Listing chrysotile asbestos in the Convention requires every nation to agree, so these four nations must be held accountable for their veto, which is destroying thousands of lives,” said Andrew Dettmer, National President of AMWU.

Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL’s general secretary, said:

“The sickening trade in asbestos has to end. All asbestos kills. These countries need to take responsibility and stop mining asbestos and stop using it.”

A number of trade union affiliates have responded to the call from IndustriALL and written to their governments, demanding that they support the listing of chrysotile under the Convention at the Geneva conference next week.

IndustriALL has also been working with the Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) global union in the campaign and in the joint publication Asbestos is a killer.