Mexico to ratify ILO Convention 98 on Collective Bargaining

Navarette pledged to act after meetings with the ITUC, its Regional Organisation for the Americas TUCA, and IndustriALL Global Union whose sector is especially hard hit by the use of protection contracts that deny workers a say in their terms and conditions of work or their union.

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said “Protection contracts leave industrial relations wide open to corrupt practices, and represent a severe violation of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. Workers’ rights to fully and democratically participate in setting wages and conditions of employment are fundamental, and the practice of corrupt protection contracts has been allowed to continue for far too long. We welcome the Minister’s commitment to look to discuss further legal reforms which we hope would put an end to this violation of workers’ rights which affects large numbers of working people in Mexico”.

Fernando Lopes Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union said, “Despite concrete steps being made at the meeting, there is still a long way to go before we can talk about positive changes. Our affiliates and other independent Mexican trade unions are constantly undermined in their daily work because of the unfair system of protection contracts. Ordinary workers and the Mexican economy are being held hostage to this rotten system which manipulates workers’ rights and obstructs any progress in working and living conditions”.

The undertaking from the Mexican Minister follows a campaign by international and Mexican trade union bodies to outlaw protection contracts, culminating in a meeting in Mexico City last week where the unions set out their concerns in detail and called for the government to act.

Minister Navarette has also committed to look for timely resolution of a range of other issues raised by the unions.

To read the letter from Minister Navarette (in Spanish).

Uganda mattress factory fire claims six

“We have been assured that there will be an intensive investigation into the deaths of these workers,” said Catherine Aneno, General Secretary of Uganda Textile Garments Leather and Allied Workers Union (UTGLAWU).

Despite having signed a recognition agreement with Crest Foam in 2009, the company has refused to negotiate with UTGLAWU, which is affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union. In Uganda members only pay dues once a bargaining agreement has been reached with the company.

“We have met with the Minister of Labour and told him how uncooperative the company has been with the union in the past,” reports Aneno, who also expressed concern for the 250 workers at the factory. “Workers have been sent home with no information on what is to happen to their jobs, so we are organizing them; having them sign updated membership forms and calculating what is due to them should the company close.”

The six workers that have died are burnt beyond recognition. The union will assist their families to seek compensation once DNA tests confirm their identity. Compensation will also be sought for two more workers that have been hospitalized.

“Investigations are ongoing but it is clear that health and safety legislation is only worthwhile if it is implemented, monitored and enforced, which requires all stakeholders to actively play their part to ensure the safety of workers,” said Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL. “Our deepest sympathy and solidarity goes out to the families of the workers that lost their lives and all those affected by this tragedy.”

At least seven people die under collapsing building in Bangladesh

At the time of collapse there were about 70 people working in the building, many of them on top of the roof. At least seven bodies of the dead workers have been recovered, more than 60 people were rescued and many hospitalized with different level of injuries. Rescue operations concluded.

The collapsed structure has been recently built and is owned by the Bangladeshi military welfare organization “Senakul Sansathan”. The factory where the warehouse was located is producing Elephant Brand cement, and has been involved in production since 1995.

The construction company building the roof was a local agent of China National Building Material Company Ltd., which received its contract through an international bidding.

Bangladesh has a poor record of building and fire safety standards. The collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka took away more than 1,130 garment workers’ lives on 24 April 2013.

Following this tragedy under the international public and union movement pressure over 180 global brands and retailers have signed the historic Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh with IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union, launching a major project to make the garment industry of Bangladesh safe and sustainable.

Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL General Secretary says, “The Accord made an immediate effect and decreased the risks in the garment industry of Bangladesh, even though there is still a long way to go before we can claim the Bangladesh garment industry is safe and sustainable. The new tragedy at Mongla proves that the Bangladesh government must start immediately building similar safety arrangements for all sectors of Bangladeshi economy. Workers have the right to return home after their shift alive and healthy, no matter whether employed in construction, garment, cement or any other sector.”

Cambodian garment workers exposed to gross violations, says NGO report

The investigation by Human Rights Watch (HRW) into labour conditions in 73 factories for the report ‘Work Faster or Get Out’, interviewed 270 workers as well as a number of IndustriALL Global Union’s eight garment affiliates in Cambodia, government officials, labour rights activists, and the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC).

The report accuses brands of failing to protect and promote workers’ rights at both direct and indirect suppliers in their supply chains. It also criticizes brands for a lack of whistleblower protection and pulling the plug on factories where there were problems rather than correcting them, putting workers jobs at jeopardy and making it less likely for labour violations to be reported.

Human Rights Watch also found wide scale abuse of short-term contracts, which are unlawfully used by employers to make it easier to fire and control workers, avoid paying maternity or other benefits, and discourage union participation or formation.

“The report is further evidence that so-called corporate social responsibility practices, which only serve to polish brands' reputations, are failing to prevent abuse of workers,” says Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL.

“New approaches are urgently needed and IndustriALL is working hard to make the global garment industry safe and sustainable. The HRW report shows we still have a long way to go.”

The report also singles out Marks and Spencer, Gap and Joe Fresh (Loblaw) for its secrecy about suppliers, making it difficult to monitor labour conditions in those factories.

Forced overtime

Workers at both contractor and sub-contracting factories reported being threatened by factory managers with contract dismissal or wage reductions if they sought exemption from overtime. Beyond the standard 48-hour week, overtime in Cambodia is legally limited to an extra two hours a day (12 hours a week). However, most of the workers interviewed did overtime far exceeding this 12-hour weekly limit.

Pressure to meet production targets meant workers found it difficult to go the bathroom, rest or drink water. Some said they were physically intimidated for being ‘slow’.

Discrimination against women

Workers reported that they were sacked for being pregnant and not having their contracts renewed.

“They would call workers in and would get upset when they found out someone was pregnant and then they would fire those who were pregnant,” said Nheoum Soya, a worker in Phnom Penh. “I decided to abort my baby so that I could go back to work, so that I could be a good worker and maybe they would be happy with me.”

Factory managers also failed to make allowances for pregnant women such as more frequent bathroom breaks and harassed pregnant women for being unproductive.

Sexual harassment was found to be common in the form of sexual comments and advances, and inappropriate touching and pinching from managers and male co-workers.

Anti-union discrimination

Human Rights Watch found evidence of union-busting activity in at least 35 factories in Cambodia since 2012. This included keeping workers on short-term contracts, dismissing or harassing newly elected union representatives, and encouraging pro-management unions.

Trade unions said that as soon as workers tried to organize, factory management would dismiss union office-bearers or coerce or bribe them into resigning to prevent union formation.

Subcontracting factories

Conditions at subcontractors were usually found to be worse. In these factories, workers said they were forced to work for less than the minimum wage, received no maternity pay and in some cases, had been made to work Sundays and public holidays without extra overtime. At these factories, workers said they were afraid of forming or joining a union.

More alarmingly, some workers said that subcontractor factory where they worked employed children and hid them when there visitors. In a factory subcontracting for H&M, children below the legal age of 15 were made to work as hard as the adults.

Failure of government accountability

Human Rights Watch cited the Cambodian government’s “abysmal” enforcement of the country’s strong labour law. It spoke to two former labour inspectors who independently talked of an “envelope system” where factory managers paid bribes to visiting inspectors in exchange for favourable reports.

Of the thousands of inspections conducted between January 2009 and December 2013, only ten fines were imposed on factories violating labour inspections, according to government data.

In 2014, Cambodia’s garment exports totaled US$ 5.7 billion, with women making up an estimated 90 to 92 per cent of the industry’s 700,000 workers.

Unions celebrate women’s courage and determination

Women gathered in India, Pakistan and Bangaldesh to pay tribute to their achievements and demonstrate for their rights.

IndustriALL’s Asia-Pacific region called for maternity protection to be the slogan for this year’s 8 March activies. Affiliates in Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Myanmar rallied to the call for maternity protection as well as work to be done on women’s health.

Unions in Switzerland and Zimbabwe demonstrated for equal pay for men and women.

In Turkey Petrol-Is and Birlesik Metal-Is rallied in various cities and factories. Petrol-Is did a women’s school on women’s stories and against violence.

Violence was also the theme at activities in Brazil, where FEQUIMFAR and the FS metalworkers had mass meetings. There it was also a question of zero tolerance for bullying and sexual harassment and discrimination.

Anti-discrimination was also the slogan for the demonstration in Chile by CONSTRAMET, where the women called for equal treatment and the freeing of abortion.

In Colombia the women took advantage of the 8th of March to demonstrate for water rights, participating, training and organizing.

Across the world women are proud of overcoming discrimination and ready to take up the fight to meet further challenges. IndustriALL is with them all the way!

Metalworkers mobilize against redundancies at Tenaris Dalmine in Italy

The strike started at 6 a.m. and continued till the end of the day. It was organized by the IndustriALL Global Union affiliates Fim-Cisl, Fiom-Cgil and Uilm-Uil to oppose plans announced on 25 February to cut 406 jobs, including 120 apprentices, with whom the company did not prolong the contracts. The factory currently employs around 1850 workers.

“All the workers at Tenaris understood and shared the reasons for the strike," commented Eugenio Borella, provincial general secretary of Fiom-Cgil, "For our part, we hope that negotiations can now begin on all outstanding issues, starting with the confirmation of apprentices, but also, if the situation persists, on production difficulties in light of the proposal about use of a solidarity contract.”

The redundancies represent an extremely heavy social cost for the workers and their families, as well as the local community. According to the unions, the company's reasons for the dismissals, in particular the fallen oil prices and a lower demand on pipes for the oil industry, do not justify the reduction of the production capacity at Tenaris Group in Italy or other parts of the world.

The unions' alternative proposal to the company is to use solidarity contracts, which were legally introduced in Italy in 1984. Since then solidarity contracts serve as an indispensable tool for maintaining employment in the face of economic crisis through decrease of working hours while maintaining the level of employment.

"With our mobilization we ask that the company change their position about apprentices and rapidly start the negotiations," says Emanuele Fantini, Fim-Cisl Bergamo. "Otherwise the dispute will only escalate. After removal of the redundancies, we ask for a discussion on the elements that brought about this crisis. We are aware that there are difficulties, but we want to be involved in the process of how to tackle them."

Worried about their colleagues' future at Dalmine and potential repercussions for themselves, workers from other factories of the Group at Costa Volpino, Arcore (Monza and Brianza) and Piombino (Livorno) also participated in the action. At Costa Volpino, a two-hour strike has been organized at the end of every shift.

"It was a very important step to be able to resume a dialogue with the leaders of Tenaris, said Emilio Lollius from union, Uilm Bergamo. "The workers, jointly, gave their signal. Now we need to sit down and discuss the future starting with a basic precondition: the apprentices are the heritage of the company that should be protected."

The unions say management has been surprised by the level of mobilization and the unions expect an invitation for a discussion on how to tackle the drop in orders and activities without structural reductions of employment. If the discussion does not start, further mobilizations will follow.

Solvay sets up global forum for better labour relations

The very first meeting of the Global Forum took place on 4-6 March 2015 at the central offices of Solvay in Brussels. The objective of the Forum is to strengthen social dialogue within the group at a global level. The three-day meeting included Solvay top management and employees’ representatives from Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America. IndustriALL Global Union was also present.

Solvay management considers the Forum an important opportunity to assess the company’s results, understand strategic challenges, create a common culture and coordinate actions in a global context.

The Forum gives a platform for union representatives to get mutual knowledge and meet top level company managers, including the Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, to raise their problems, share their views and establish genuine global-level social dialogue.

“IndustriALL congratulates Solvay with this Global Forum as it sets the bar higher for industrial relations in the chemical industry at international level” said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL Global Union’s Assistant General Secretary, who was present in the first meeting. “In the globalized chemical sector such benchmarks are critically important for our members worldwide and IndustriALL will continue to widen these practices with our industry-leading companies.”

Having celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2013, Solvay employs around 26,000 employees in 119 sites in 52 countries.

Egger Group continues union busting at its Turkish plant

When IndustriALL Global Union’s Turkish affiliate, Lastik-Is, began to successfully organize the majority of the workforce at Roma Plastik at the end of last year, local management reacted by dismissing union members. A total of 14 people have been sacked so far.

Furthermore, local management carries on threatening workers with dismissals and punishments if they join the union. If union members leave Lastik-Is, Roma Plastik says they will be awarded with an extra bonus equivalent to three-months’ salary.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security has issued an official certificate confirming that Lastik-Is has the sufficient legal majority to make the union eligible as a bargaining party at Roma Plastik.

In a letter to the company chairman, Michael Egger, in Austria, IndustriALL’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

“I urge you to use your authority over the local management of Roma Plastik to immediately withdraw from any kind of pressure over the union members in their free choice of trade union membership, and enter into a meaningful dialogue with Lastik-Is to establish fair labour relations and working conditions.”

In response, central management claimed that it is a local matter not related to Egger Group’s headquarters in Tirol, Austria. For IndustriALL, this answer is not credible.

Lastik-Is continues its actions at the plant while IndustriALL and its Austrian affiliate, PRO-GE, in cooperation with the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) and its affiliate GBH, keep pressing Egger Group to reinstate the dismissed workers and recognize Lastik-Is.

“If Egger Group insists on ignoring the labour violations in Turkey, we will escalate our campaign by reaching out to their customers in the construction sector,” said Kemal Özkan, Assistant General Secretary at IndustriALL.

IndustriALL Indonesia ready for action in 2015

Twelve women and 18 men representing 11 national federations from the metal, mining, textile-garment, pharmacy, oil and gas sectors were joined by Suzanna Miller and Armelle Seby from IndustriALL Global Union’s head office in Geneva, as well as Vonny Diananto, from IndustriALL South East Asia’s Singapore Office, IndustriALL project coordinators, Aranya Phakaphat and Yoon Hyowon, and Ann-Helene Westrup from Unionen in Sweden.

At the meeting, the Indonesian unionists discussed the country’s labour situation, collective bargaining, organizing, precarious work and IndustriALL policy and activities in 2015 at global and regional levels. Ann-Helene Westrup from Unionen in Sweden made a presentation on Swedish trade union figures and the Swedish Model of collective agreements.

In 2014, IndustriALL Indonesian council’s women’s committee launched a national campaign on maternity protection for all women workers in Indonesia with the taglines “14 Weeks” and “Stop Check Menstruation Blood”. The campaign is demanding that collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) increase maternity leave to 14 weeks (it is now 12 weeks) and insisting that employers stop checking women for blood when they want to take menstruation leave. Women in Indonesia have a legal right to take one or two day’s leave during menstruation with a doctor’s note. However, employers do not have a right to carry out the humiliating process of checking women for physical signs of their period.

The women’s committee also urged the Indonesian government to ratify the International Labour Organization’s Convention 183 on maternity protection.

“This year we will continue to spread the campaign across the nation and develop the model CBA articles on maternity protection and disseminate them to unions at plant level. We will work together with the women committees of 11 federations,” said Lilis Mahmudah, chair of the Indonesian Women Committee.

The national unity meeting also highlighted the issue of precarious workers in Indonesia. “The situation of state-owned companies outsourcing workers is no better in the private sector. We established the campaign drive “GEBER BUMN” to urge the Indonesian government to change the employment status of outsourced workers into permanent staff, so now we need more effort and support from all affiliates to reach the goal,” said Judy Winarno and Riswan Lubis from Metal and Mining Federations.

The national unity meeting also opened a discussion around the controversial regulation on the Presidential Decree (No 63 of 2004) and the Ministry of Industry Decree (No 446 of 2014) on the so-called “National Vital Objects” on industry and energy mining sectors. The regulation will harm basic labour rights by “securing” police and military interference in industrial relations.

The Indonesian affiliates voiced their alarm over the new legislation: “We will closely monitor the use of the regulations and create a campaign team within the structure of the IndustriALL National Council to repeal the decrees.”

The Indonesian leaders took the opportunity of the unity meeting to make priorities for 2015 through activities such as better collective bargaining agreements, organizing, campaigning, national advocacy, protecting and organizing precarious workers, and having structural reform towards strong upper-level unions for the effective role of federations.

“Now, we have the 2015 calendar in which all the project and activities of IndustriALL are combined and integrated through the collective works of the affiliate leaders. I am convinced and optimistic that the IndustriALL Indonesia Council will play an important role in building solidarity and maintaining unity among IndustriALL affiliates in Indonesia,” said Sjaiful Patombong in his closing statements.

Myanmar – building a level playing field for labour

As of December 2014 IndustriALL has two affiliates in Myanmar; the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) and the Mining Workers Federation of Myanmar (MWFM). Both trade unions are affiliated to the Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM).

Trade unions have only been allowed in Myanmar since 2012, when the country started to take first steps from a military regime towards democracy. Leaders of IndustriALL affiliates in the country stress the enormous need for training and capacity building, as well as laws that better protect the workers.

Wages in industry and mining in Myanmar typically vary between USD 60 and USD 200 per month. The government is in the process of setting a minimum wage and hopes to have it ready this spring. Jyrki Raina stressed the importance of setting a minimum wage that is sufficient to live on.

“Workers must receive a salary on which they can live. They must have reasonable working hours, a healthy and safe workplace, as well as the right to join a union.

“As Myanmar is opening up to foreign investment, these fundamentals send an important message to the world, not least in the garment and fashion industry which is sensitive to questions of image.”

Foreign direct investment is rapidly increasing, with a number multinational companies looking to establish operations in Myanmar in the years to come.

“IndustriALL supports building functioning labour-management relations at factory level. This will require the training of both union and management representatives. Here technical support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) is welcome”, said Raina.

A number of factories have been rocked by conflicts recently, with workers demanding higher pay. Raina commended the labour ministry for its efforts to help solve the conflicts, and said:

“These conflicts highlight the challenges ahead when building functioning collective bargaining mechanisms.”