Hands off our right to strike!

On 18 February, a global day of action in defence of the right to strike was called by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and supported by IndustriALL Global Union. Workers of the world brought to their governments an uncompromising message to stop attacking workers’ right to strike.

The global call is a response to the attacks of Employers’ Group within the International Labour Organization (ILO) over ILO Convention 87 (C87) or the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize. C87 ensures the fundamental right of all workers to strike.

In Geneva, IndustriALL Global Union together with sister global unions BWI, IUF, PSI and UNI, representing collectively over 100 million workers, delivered letters to the missions and representations of the countries where workers’ right to strike is challenged or not supported. One of them is Turkey, where recently IndustriALL affiliate Birlesik Metal Is has faced a ban on its metal industry strike under the argument that it is “prejudicial to national security”.

The joint union delegation also visited Angolan and Indian missions and delivered letters demanding that governments of these countries “immediately support the global right to strike and end their opposition in the ILO Governing Body to referral of the dispute over this matter to the International Court of Justice.»

When addressing the gathering in front of the Mission of Angola, Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary said, «We will never give up, we will continue to struggle, since without our right to strike we can't make sure our goal is achieved for everyone to live in equality. Hands off our right to strike!»

A similar message was also addressed in front of the Indian permanent mission.

The global call for action has been widely supported by numerous actions and demonstrations organized by IndustriALL affiliates in many countries, among others Chile, France, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Philippines, Turkey, Switzerland and United States.

Photos from the actions are available on IndustriALL flickr account. At https://www.flickr.com/photos/industriall_gu/sets/72157648579233394/ and https://www.flickr.com/photos/industriall_gu/sets/72157650841241246/.

IndustriALL calls for justice on the ninth anniversary of the industrial homicide at Pasta de Conchos

A miner’s routine consists of working hundreds of metres below the ground and he only sees daylight at the end of his shift. It is one of the most dangerous of jobs and miners are at a much greater risk of suffering workplace accidents than workers in other professions.

On19 February 2006, industrial homicide was committed at Grupo Mexico’s Pasta de Conchos coal mine 8, at San Juan de Sabinas. An explosion inside the mine trapped 65 miners. Two bodies were recovered in 2006 and 2007 but no further attempts have been made to recover the other bodies.

The fight to recover the bodies

The families of the dead miners have been fighting for nine years to have the bodies of the miners recovered and for the right to honour their deceased relatives. The Catholic church in the coalfield has spoken out in support of the families and called for justice and for the authorities to respond positively to the requests made by the families. The church held a special mass at the mine to pray for eternal rest for the 63 dead miners.

19 February 2015 will be the ninth anniversary of the tragedy. IndustriALL Global Union supports demands for the state and federal governments to inspect the mines and protect the lives of miners; for the bodies to be recovered and given a decent burial; for a thorough investigation into what happened and punishment for those responsible.

Philippines: Strike at EPZ ends as victory for workers

Trade union members at Tae Sung Philippines Co. Inc., a Korean-owned company supplying metal parts for auto and electronics multinational companies, suffered months of intimidation. For seven months management tried to weaken the union by firing key officials as the union demand pay raises, union representation, and improved health and safety for the workers.

On 11 February management refused to bargain and the union responded by launching a strike. After a two-days, the union reached an agreement with management on most of their demands. Aside from a substantial pay hike, which was the most contested part of the deadlock in collective negotiation, the union was granted additional leaves and benefit packages. Aside from those gains, is the political victory of having a union recognition in a hostile environment such as the EPZ.

“The dispute is not only a concern for the 500 Tae Sung workers but for all 60,000 workers in one of the biggest export zone in the Philippines. They have been watching to see if the union can survive and negotiate a good contract.

“A win for the Tae Sung union will be a source of inspiration and provide others with courage and motivation to get organize and fight for their rights,” said the leader of Partido Manggagawa (Workers’ Party).

Suffering of Soma survivors continues

Miners learnt they were being laid off by the Soma Holding Company via text message on 1 December. The company has since refused to compensate them, saying that its assets have been frozen.

Soma miners from IndustriALL’s Turkish affiliate Maden-Is marched in front of parliament and the Ministry of Labour in Ankara on 10 February to demand compensation, which according to Maden-Is amounts to roughly US$17 million.

However, mining regulations should also guarantee that the state-owned Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKi) step in and give the miners what they are due.

While Soma Holding and TKi argue over who should pay, the miners and their families are suffering over winter without any income.

"Don't continue to victimize the surviving Soma miners and pay their severance payments," demanded Nurettin Akcul, General President of the Turkish mineworkers’ union, Maden-Is, in his call to the Government. "All the dismissed miners must have jobs.”

The industrial homicide at Soma on 13 May 2014 was the country’s worst mining disaster. An explosion and carbon monoxide poisoning in the mine, in Turkey’s western Manisa province, led to the deaths of 301 miners, with many more injured.

Many of the families of these dead miners have yet to receive compensation.

An independent report into the disaster listed point after point of gross negligence surmising that accident was entirely preventable. Miners died needlessly from carbon monoxide poisoning due to inadequate ventilation systems and broken gas masks. Exits were blocked, warning systems were faulty and safety reports were consistently fabricated.

IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary, Kemal Ôzkan, said:

Withholding severance pay to the sacked miners at Soma simply adds insult to injury. The government must step in, take responsibility and see that the miners are properly compensated. Many of them have already lost family and friends in the industrial homicide at Soma. Now they have lost their jobs. To let these miners go a whole winter without pay is further proof of contempt for their welfare.

The Turkish public prosecutor’s office is currently investigating the disaster. Soma Holding, meanwhile, denies blame saying that there is no proof that safety procedures were violated.

Israel: workers strike against mass layoffs

Histadrut argues that there are ways to solve this crisis and make the company more efficient without resorting to mass layoffs. But for this the company must enter into meaningful dialogue with the workers’ committee and the workforce in order to find creative solutions that will save the livelihood of hundreds of families.

I call on Israel Chemicals (ICL) to negotiate in good faith with the employees' committee and the employees themselves to find creative ways of keeping on running the company efficiently and profitably while at the same time keeping the entire workforce intact,

said Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL General Secretary in a letter to the company.

ICL must cease any unilateral measures that may undermine workers’ fundamental rights, IndustriALL Global Union, together with its affiliated trade unions throughout the world, stands firm in solidarity with Histadrut and fully supports its industrial action.

Global Unions say to Benetton 'Pagare'/Pay Up!

Benetton is the only major international brand confirmed to have sourced clothing from Rana Plaza which has not paid a cent into the compensation fund for victims.

IndustriALL Global Union and its sister global union UNI are leading demands for Benetton to do the right thing and pay into the fund. The fund is US $9 million short of the US $30 million needed to fully compensate the victims, as the countdown to the second anniversary of the tragedy on 24 April begins.

Pressure is mounting on the Italian clothing giant Benetton after one million consumers signed an Avaaz petition calling on the company to pay compensation to victims’ families and the survivors of the deadly Rana Plaza factory collapse.

IndustriALL Global Union’s General Secretary, Jyrki Raina says:

The magnitude of this on-going tragedy cannot be brushed aside. Children lost their mothers, families lost their incomes, and many of the survivors were so seriously injured physically and mentally that they can no longer work or feed their families. There are other brands too who should be paying more compensation but Benetton must take a lead – the door to discussions is always open. Benetton the responsibility lies squarely with you.

“After everything we have been through, we should not be forced to beg or to rely on charity for a living,” says Mahinur Begum, a Rana Plaza survivor. “We are entitled to full and fair compensation.”

UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings has this message for Benetton management, “Benetton it’s time for you to change your colours! The clock is ticking and time is fast running out as we approach the second anniversary of the worst garment factory disaster in history. Benetton you produced at Rana Plaza now deliver for the victims you can afford it.”

Rana Plaza tragedy

More than 1,100 people died in the Rana Plaza collapse, which happened on the morning of 24 April 2013 in the Savar suburb of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. Despite clear warnings that the building was about to collapse, including a newspaper report, workers were told to be in work or lose their jobs. That threat cost many more lives.

Over the past year, the Rana Plaza Donors’ Trust Fund, set up under the stewardship of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has raised around US $21 million in donations from global brands, the Bangladeshi Prime

Minister’s Fund, trade unions and civil society. However, $9 million is still needed in order to reach the estimated funding gap.

To date 5,000 people – dependents of the deceased as well as injured workers – have received 40% of the total compensation payment due to them, according to the Rana Plaza Coordination Committee, which is chaired by the ILO.

The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, which was founded by IndustriALL Global Union and UNI in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse has now been signed by around 200 global brands. The Accord, which carries out independent factory inspection programmes on two thousands garment factories in Bangladesh, is helping to improve safety and sustainability across the country’s garment sector.

IndustriALL Global Union signs global framework agreement with Gamesa

This agreement, the world’s first involving a company in the renewable energy sector, was signed on 18 February in Madrid by IndustriALL general secretary, Jyrki Raina, Gamesa Chief Executive Officer, José Antonio Cortajarena, Gamesa Human Resources Director, Javier Treviño, and Carlos Romero, Antonio Deusa and Agustín Martín, general secretaries of the MCA-UGT, FITAG-UGT and CCOO Industry unions respectively.

The agreement, which will apply to all companies in the Gamesa group and to all its employees worldwide, includes new clauses that strengthen the rights of workers and trade unions, introduce the principle of neutrality, establish the pre-eminence of international agreements over potentially lax national standards, ensure the right of access to workplaces by workers’ representatives and strengthen trade union networks.

One of the most innovative points of the agreement is that Gamesa management will monitor and supervise the agreement jointly with IndustriALL and the national trade unions (FITAG-UGT, MCA-UGT and CCOO Industry). A new coordination and monitoring body will be created and will meet regularly. It will produce a report every two years on progress in implementing the agreement with a view to updating the agreement.

Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL’s general secretary, said:

IndustriALL is convinced that global framework agreements are important instruments for trade union organization and for improving labour relations in multinational companies and their subsidiaries.

The global agreement signed commits the company to the development and protection of its workers worldwide and makes health and safety at work, working conditions and equal opportunities key issues for company action, said Carlos Romero.

Antonio Deusa said: “The importance of achieving this agreement is that it highlights the commitment of the signatory organizations to Gamesa employees, wherever their workplaces are located.”

Agustín Martín said that global agreements like this one “give substance to trade union attempts to persuade companies to adopt genuine corporate social responsibility practices throughout their production networks. This guarantees an improvement in labour standards and working conditions at the global level, in accordance with the particular circumstances in each country and region of the world”.

The Global Framework Agreement for the Gamesa Group includes the following provisions:

A commitment to the development and protection of employees worldwide;
It strengthens social, labour and environmental rights already contained in the Group’s Code of Conduct; makes health and safety at work, working conditions and equal opportunities key issues for company action; guarantees implementation and promotes the conditions for a social dialogue at the international level;
It will apply to all companies in the Gamesa Group and to all its employees. Gamesa, which is based in Spain, currently has operations in Germany, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Costa Rica, USA, Egypt, Finland, France, Greece, Honduras, Hungry, India, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Romania, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey and Uruguay, as well as in our own country;
A commitment to respect basic social rights (especially labour rights and trade union representation), human rights and civil liberties, equal opportunities, merit and non-discrimination on grounds of race, sex, ideology, nationality, disability, beliefs or any other personal, physical or social condition. A commitment to observe ILO Conventions on age of access to work, the worst forms of child labour, forced labour, non-discrimination in labour relations, equal pay for work of equal value, freedom of association and the protection of trade union rights, the right to organize, to collective bargaining and to employee representation in order to prevent any kind of discrimination against workers involved in trade union activities;
Principle of neutrality: in accordance with ILO Conventions 87 and 98, the agreement clearly establishes a commitment to observe the principle of neutrality, which requires companies to respect workers’ decisions regarding the election of their representatives and the creation and operation of unions of their choice;
Rejects corruption and bribery;
A commitment to inform suppliers, contractors and collaborators of the contents of its Code of Conduct and this Global Framework Agreement;
Company management, IndustriALL Global and the national trade unions will jointly supervise this GFA using mechanisms described in the text of the agreement.

European action plan on the Bangladesh Accord on Fire & Building Safety

The Bangladesh Accord on Fire & Building Safety, signed after the Rana Plaza disaster that cost the lives of over 1,100 garment workers in April 2013, is a landmark in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It is the first time that trade unions and garment brands worldwide have come together in the monitoring of a legally-binding instrument of this kind.

The Accord has six key components:

A 5-year legally binding agreement between brands and trade unions to ensure a safe working environment in the Bangladeshi ready-made garment industry
An independent inspection programme supported by brands in which workers and trade unions are involved
Public disclosure of all factories, inspection reports and corrective action plans (CAP)
A commitment by signatory brands to ensure sufficient funds are available for remediation and to maintain sourcing relationships
Democratically-elected health and safety committees in all factories to identify and act on health and safety risks
Worker empowerment through an extensive training programme, a complaints mechanism and the right to refuse unsafe work.

The meeting in Brussels explored the pressure that European worker representatives in European Works Councils, local works councils and trade union structures can exert on their own European employer for fulfilling commitments towards workers at the factories of their suppliers and subcontractors, as laid down in the Accord. Monitoring, enquiring, using the institutional tools made available to workers in European multinationals – such as European Works Council (EWC) or Board Level Employee Representatives (BLER) – and traditional trade union action are all on the agenda of the workshop.

The workshop was organised by the European Worker Participation Competence Centre and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), in cooperation between industriAll Europe, IndustriALL Global Union, UNI Global Union and UNI Europa.

Shots fired against striking miners in Poland

On 2 and 9 February, more than 20 people were injured when police shot at the protesting miners. The unions are still demanding an explanation to the use of weapons against unarmed workers.

On 26 January, JSW’s CEO Jaroslaw Zagorowski tried to sack ten unionists for solidarity protests with miners at other operations in Poland. This arrogance triggered widespread protests at JSW’s mine in Jastrzebie. After company management terminated three collective agreements and announced a savings plan, unions voted to go in strike on 28 January.

Unions at the mining plant are demanding Zagorowski’s resignation, who they say is responsible for the breakdown of dialogue between management and workers. They also demanded that the decision to terminate the three collective agreements be withdrawn, and that the same rules of employment apply at all of JSW’s mines.

With the assistance of a mediator, talks between trade unions and management have been continuing and an agreement has been reached on the program of savings. The strike was suspended on 13 February and three days later CEO Jaroslaw Zagorowski resigned. However, the supervisory board of the company must formally accept the resignation.

Glen Mpufane, Director of Mining at IndustriALL Global Union, underlines the organization’s support to the striking miners:

This level of violence and disrespect of workers’ rights is unacceptable. We urge the employer to listen to the union’s demands and find a solution.

Grupo Mexico cannot export corporate bad behaviour to Spain

IndustriALL Global Union joins its Spanish affiliated unions in demanding full respect for labour rights and the environment if this repeat offender, Grupo Mexico, is awarded the contract to run the mine.

The open pit mineral resource has high levels of zinc, lead, copper and silver. And deeper exploration is expected to find more.

Aznalcóllar was the site of one of the worst environmental disasters in Spanish history in 1998, when a dam failure caused 5 million cubic metres to leak and destroy 4.634 hectares of countryside bordering the Donaña National Park. The previous operator Boliden failed to pay full reparations and the government reclaimed the mine.

The public tender process in the Province of Seville is now down to the final two bidders, with Grupo Mexico partnering with Andalusian group Magtel for a joint bid.

The final project proposals were submitted in December 2014 with a decision to be announced by 16 March 2015. Reopening the mine will create 400 direct jobs and 700 indirect jobs.

Both bids include promises to restore the local environment, water supplies, and take responsibility for social impacts of running the mine and any eventual closure.

While the competing bidder Emerita also has a poor record causing Spanish unions to be wary, Grupo Mexico’s shocking record of toxic spills, anti-union and anti community policy means commitments made on social and environmental sustainability in the company’s bid will require stringent attention to ensure they are kept.

IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Jyrki Raina explains the special attention given to this tender process due to:

The outrageously irresponsible anti-union, anti-environmental behaviour of Grupo Mexico.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Fernando Lopes concludes:

“Wherever Grupo Mexico goes in the world, IndustriALL together with its affected affiliates, will be there to fight against the company’s irresponsible corporate behaviour and hold them to account.”

More information – http://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/andalucia/2015-02-06/la-favorita-para-gestionar-aznalcollar-causo-el-mayor-desastre-ambiental-de-mexico_656400/