Union busting attempt suspected at Lesotho Johnson Controls

The unfair dismissals are on the grounds that the workers have failed to make the grade during their probation period. Yet the law in Lesotho requires that a contract must be in place with the worker stipulating the probation period which may not exceed four months. None of the dismissed workers had contracts with Johnson Controls and some had worked for the company for longer than four months.

The dismissals come after Nutex submitted demands to the company and expected to begin negotiation that would secure union recognition as well as wage increases and other benefits. Machine operators at the company earn only about USD100 a month whilst quality control workers earn more than double this.

“Workers feel that they should not be such a huge gap between the two categories of workers”, says Solong Senohe, Nutex General Secretary. “Machine operators are earning less than even a subsistence wage in Lesotho and yet without them there is no product, they at least deserve a living wage.” 

Johnson Controls employs about 600 workers in Lesotho and about 350 are union members. Senohe is concerned that the dismissals may have been an attempt to push the union below the 50 per cent plus one threshold needed for recognition. At the very least, the dismissals may intimidate the remaining workers to back off from their demands.

IndustriALL has written to management in Lesotho and urged the company to reinstate the dismissed workers immediately, recognise Nutex and negotiate with the union to address the worker demands. IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina has warned,

Our global union family includes several other unions organising in your operations across the globe. These unions can be called upon for support should the issues at Johnson Controls remain unresolved in Lesotho.

Meanwhile the General Secretary of IndustriALL affiliate the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), Irvin Jim has also sent a letter to the company drawing attention to global agreements that IndustriALL has with several auto companies that source from Johnson Controls that have committed themselves to working with suppliers and observing fair labour practices. 

"The conduct of Johnson Controls in Lesotho clearly violates the principles that we have agreed upon and we do not want you to become an agenda item at our international meetings this year to discuss the implementation of the agreements." says Jim. "In the event that this matter is not amicably resolved, we will be left with no option but to call for an international campaign against Johnson Controls. We are informing our members in Johnson Controls South Africa and the companies you are supplying here about the situation in Lesotho."

Mexican training workshop reflects changing times

A growing number of women are employed in Mexico’s mining industry which barely a decade ago was entirely dominated by men.  The ‘Women of Steel’ workshop, supported by the USW, was aimed at promoting equal opportunities and the empowerment of women both in the industry and in trade unions. The workshop was conducted at Goldcorp’s Minera Peñasquito, a company which is implementing programmes aimed at integrating women into the workforce.
 

IndustriALL raises the bar for global agreements

The new GFA guidelines were adopted by IndustriALL’s Executive Committee in Tunis in December 2014 following a proposal made by the special Standing Working Group.

The guidelines scale up the negotiation, content and implementation of global agreements, which are designed to safeguard labour rights across the supply chains of multinational companies (MNCs).

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

“IndustriALL is convinced that global framework agreements are important instruments for union organizing and improved labour relations at multinational companies and their subsidiaries. The clear procedures we have put in place will make for stronger agreements, as shown by our recent GFA with Total signed at Davos in January.”

Under the new guidelines, GFAs must:

A GFA must also explicitly include references and recognition of the rights reflected in ILO Conventions including:

Furthermore, GFA’s must be approved by IndustriALL’s trade union affiliates that represent the majority of the unionized workers at the operations of the multinational company concerned.

Once a GFA is signed it must be translated into the agreed languages and made available to everyone working for the company, either directly or indirectly.

IndustriALL has GFAs with 44 multinational companies covering 10 million workers in a range of sectors. 

Global fight for workers’ rights continues at Crown Holdings

Some 120 workers of Crown Holdings at the company plant in Toronto, Canada, who were all once awarded a top company honour for “dedication, commitment and personal accountability”, are now in the 17th month of a strike, which began in September 2013. Workers were forced to take strike action when Crown management demanded huge concessions, including a 42 per cent pay cut for new employees and permanent lower wage scale, trying to build even bigger profits on workers’ backs.

Last summer Crown made a miserable offer to the workers. While removing the demand for a two-tier wage system, the company demanded a 30 per cent cut of all wages instead. Workers overwhelmingly rejected this proposal by 117 to 1 vote.

IndustriALL has given solid support to its affiliate United Steelworkers, USW, which has launched a special campaign “Take-Backs No More!”.

In April 2014, IndustriALL and USW organized a special protest action in Philadelphia at the Crown annual general assembly of company shareholders. Further protest actions were staged in Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, and France.

However, instead of changing its behaviour Crown announced that it wants to replace three quarters of the workforce at its Toronto plant, even if the dispute is settled. It means that striking workers will lose their jobs.

In Turkey, Crown used gaps in local legislation to avoid negotiating with the officially-recognized bargaining counterpart, IndustriALL affiliate, Birlesik Metal-Is. The company rejected good faith negotiations, and in violation of principles of freedom of association, has dismissed union activists for no good reason.

In October last year, IndustriALL  with fellow global union, IUF, wrote to Crown’s customers denouncing the company’s dishonest behaviour towards its workers.

At the end of January 2015, Crown once again showed its ugly union busting face in Ghana. Without any preliminary discussion or warning, local management locked out 42 workers who are affiliated to IndustriALL through the Industrial & Commercial Workers' Union, ICU. The workers staged protests in front of the closed factory demanding their severance packages that have been in discussion since last year and are determined to continue with protests until their claims are met.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary said:

Our entire 50 million strong IndustriALL family stands in firm solidarity with Crown workers in Canada, Turkey and Ghana. We are determined to escalate our global campaign against Crown Holdings and we will challenge their union busting practices by all possible means at national and international level. We will continue to raise the issue with all their board members and major customers and suppliers, and will inform the general public about every single step they take.”

Iranian workers continue fight for basic rights

Miners: In January this year, 150 coalminers went on strike protesting the company’s plans to close the mine. The workers at the Sangroos Coalmine are also demanding the payment of over 8 months of non-paid wages; they are also raising issues to management regarding the health and safety issues.

Bus Drivers: On 6 January, bus drivers from the Union of Tehran Bus Transit Workers (VAHED) protested against the unfair sacking of workers and the failure of the company to fairly grant promised funding for worker’s housing.

Teachers: Three months into the start of the academic year, members of the Teachers Trade Association of Iran (ITTA) are protesting the three month “overtime salary” delay for nearly half a million teachers.

Metalworkers: While the cost of living continues to increase in Iran, wages remain very low. On 7 January 2015, at the Iran Khodro Industrial Group IKCO (an auto assembly plant), workers began a hunger strike to increase their low wages. The strike spread to all sections of the plant.

Iran, a country with little respect for fundamental human and trade union rights continues to be an important priority for IndustriALL Global Union.

“These actions are really encouraging and inspiring”, says Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary. “Our solidarity and support towards our Iranian sisters and brothers continue.”

In the meantime, the Union of Metalworkers and Mechanics of Iran (UMMI) continues to defend and advance trade union rights in very difficult conditions. With its new web site, the union wants to make its communication with workers stronger, trade unionists and friends of the labour movement in Iran and around the world.

The website is bilingual, Farsi and English, and covering materials and statements of Iranian independent labour unions in English.

This new website is the fruit of labour of the workers whose hearts beat for unity in the labour movement and belongs to all Iranian labour unions,

says the UMMI.

Don’t tarnish your love with Rio Tinto’s dirty diamonds!

This Valentine’s Day, IndustriALL Global Union, London Mining Network, Earthworks, and LabourStart are challenging the world’s biggest jewellery retailer Signet to demand that its major diamond supplier, multinational mining company Rio Tinto, clean up its mining practices so that they respect worker rights, indigenous peoples and the environment.

With global sales of US $6 billion annually, Signet’s 1,400 Kay and Jared jewellery shops are in every US State, 1,600 Zales stores are throughout the US and Canada, and 500 H. Samuel and Ernest Jones shops are visible on UK high streets. The National Retail Federation anticipates that twenty-one per cent of US shoppers will gift jewellery to their loved ones on Valentine’s Day this year, fuelling US jewellery sales of nearly US $5 billion.

The coalition is calling on Signet to abide both by its own Responsible Sourcing Policy, and its 2006 public endorsement of the No Dirty Gold campaign’s Golden Rules for more responsible mining. Signet’s Responsible Sourcing Policy declares the company “committed to the responsible sourcing of our products and the respect of human rights, and we expect the same from our suppliers around the world.” Endorsement of the Golden Rules, endorsed by over 100 jewellery retailers around the world, commits signers to pressure their suppliers to come into compliance with the Rules — which are drawn from broadly accepted international human rights laws and basic principles of sustainable development.

But Rio Tinto is a notorious violator of labour rights, communities, and the environment.

Rio Tinto’s campaign to undermine workers’ fundamental organizing and bargaining rights has recently been documented in the report Rio Tinto and ‘Direct Engagement’.  The company’s abuse of human rights, communities and the environment has recently been profiled in the report Unsustainable: The ugly truth about Rio Tinto.

Although the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has certified Rio Tinto, unfortunately the RJC is highly flawed.  It is neither independent – it is governed by industry, excluding labour, civil society and impacted communities. Nor is it transparent – it is impossible for the public to determine whether an RJC-certified company complies with RJC’s own certification requirements, let alone international human rights and environmental standards.

IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Jyrki Raina states: “Until Rio Tinto drastically changes its ways, the company will sully the reputations of all its major business partners. Signet is no exception. Signet says that its involvement in non-independent business-run social auditing programmes is a sufficient response to our concerns. This is insulting to all those affected by Rio Tinto’s anti-social conduct, not least Signet customers.”

Earthworks’ No Dirty Gold campaign director Payal Sampat declares: “Nobody wants their symbol of love made with gold or diamonds that harmed ecosystems or communities. Signet can’t provide a meaningful guarantee that its jewellery isn’t made with dirty gold or gems. It’s high time that the world’s largest jeweller cleaned up its supply chain.”

Richard Solly, Co-ordinator of London Mining Network, said: "Rio Tinto has a long history of violating indigenous peoples' land rights, dividing communities, polluting land and water and attacking unions.

There are continuing real concerns about the human and environmental impacts of its copper and gold mining operations at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, and at Grasberg in Papua, where its violations of indigenous peoples’ rights and environmental destruction led the Norwegian Government’s state pensions fund to disinvest.”

Stand up for the right to strike on 18 February

It is a response to unprecedented attacks by employers and governments against both the right to strike and International Labour Organisation (ILO) defense of that right.

“The right to strike is an essential element of freedom of association and collective bargaining. Unions will stand up on 18 February to defend this fundamental right around the world against attacks from employers and governments,” said IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina.

For much of its near-100 year history, the ILO has supervised the application of ILO Conventions and Recommendations with the full support of the tripartite constituents – workers, employers and governments. However since 2012 the Employers’ Group of the ILO has attacked this system including through challenging the right to strike.

IndustriALL supports the Workers’ Group of the ILO in calling for the referral of this dispute to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion. However the Employer’ Group and some governments blocked this referral at the ILO Governing Body in November 2014. Instead, a tripartite meeting was scheduled for 23-25 February 2015 to discuss the matter further.

The prolonging of this dispute has an impact outside the walls of the ILO. For instance the Turkish government’s ban last week of the metalworkers’ strike in Turkey cannot be effectively challenged at the ILO while the current deadlock persists.

“The outcome of this dispute within the ILO will be felt in workplaces around the world. We need to take action in our countries and demand that striking continue to be recognized as a fundamental, global right,” said Raina.

Unions can participate in the 18 February global day of action in a number of ways:

–           Lobbying of governments that do not support referral of the matter to the International Court of Justice (Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Botswana, Cambodia, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Pakistan, Russia, Tanzania, Thailand, USA, Zimbabwe)

–           Protests outside offices of these governments

–           Public protests against employers’ organizations

–           Communications to members explaining the dispute

–           Social media actions

Please inform [email protected] of what actions you take on 18 February

Safety first? Another fatality at Rio Tinto

A worker operating an excavator next to a tailings pond on the night shift at Rio Tinto’s QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) died on January 28 when his excavator fell into the pond.

Although his colleagues immediately called an emergency line for help, the worker was not located until 17 hours after being submerged in the pond. His body was found outside the cabin of the excavator after the water from the pond was drained.

IndustriALL affiliate FISEMA represents workers at Rio Tinto in Madagascar. FISEMA is raising questions about the cause of the incident, why it took 17 hours to find the deceased worker’s body, why the worker’s body was found outside the cabin, and whether such dangerous work should be carried out at night.

This incident casts doubt on whether Rio Tinto has adequately considered safety of night shift workers as well as having in place appropriate emergency equipment and procedures. We urge Rio Tinto to work closely with FISEMA to identify the causes of this fatality and take all measures necessary to ensure this never happens again.

said IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan.

The January 2015 fatalities in Madgascar and at Rio Tinto’s minority-owned Grasberg mine in Indonesia – where 39 workers have been killed over the last two years – calls into question Rio Tinto’s often-stated claim that it puts a high value on worker safety.

“Numerous unions at Rio Tinto around the world have told IndustriALL that Rio Tinto applies health and safety procedures in an arbitrary way; pressures workers to put production before safety; disciplines workers for refusing unsafe work; and does not genuinely address workplace hazards. We demand that Rio Tinto change these practices immediately in order to live up to its safety claims,” stated Özkan.

Union takes legal action against anti-union SQM

SQM is the world’s biggest producer of lithium. It is currently mired in controversy because of a series of financial irregularities. It has also violated the basic rights of its workers, who have suffered reprisals and been the victims of anti-trade union practices. The company also dismissed two workers and the union is seeking their reinstatement.

We are taking legal action because of the violation of basic rights, trade union rights and the freedom of association, which is a right that is not only in our labour legislation but also in the Constitution”, said Miguel Soto, the union’s general secretary.

SQM called into question since 2012

The company has had problems for years. In 2012, it won a Special Lithium Operations Contract after offering US$ 40 million for the concession. The contract was for exploration and the production of up to 100,000 tonnes of metallic lithium over 20 years. However, the Special Tender Committee (CEL) declared the tendering process invalid after ascertaining that SQM had not complied with tender rules.

SQM was also involved in the Cascada Case, in which minority shareholders of the Cascada companies accused it of irregularities. The Securities and Insurance Regulator (SVS) investigated the company for possible infringements of the Securities Market Act and the Corporations Act.  Finally, the company is being investigated for its part in a tax fraud scheme that used false invoices in what is known as the Pentagate case.

A company that does not respect workers’ rights

On 6 December 2014, Boris Chaile and Cristian Rojo, employed at the SQM subsidiary Salar, were elected leaders of the Inter-Company Union of Metalworkers. A few days later, the company dismissed both of them after invoking the “needs of the company” clause in Article 161 of the Labour Code. However this failed to recognize the job security rights of elected union leaders.

On 21 January 2015, the Labour Inspectorate at Calama asked the company to reinstate the leaders but the company refused. The workers suffered further reprisals and were the victims of company anti-trade union practices. CONSTRAMET therefore took further legal action against the company for violating basic rights.

Instead of defending the workers, company managers threatened them with reprisals if they continued as members of the Inter-Company union. The managers told the workers that that they ran the risk of being dismissed.

Miguel Soto believes that the company is trying to undermine the right to collective bargaining. With the support of a company union, it has refused to negotiate and has imposed collective employment contracts.

USW oil workers stage nationwide strike

Nearly 4,000 USW oil workers have stopped work at nine US oil refineries and chemical plants in protest at oil companies’ refusal to recognize workers grave concerns over safety.

USW is in the process of negotiating a new agreement to establish a nationwide pattern on working conditions, wages and benefits with oil companies, who are being led by Shell. The previous contract expired at the end of January.

“Shell refused to provide us with a counter-offer and left the bargaining table,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “We had no choice but to give notice of a work stoppage.

The union represents workers at 65 US refineries that produce approximately 64 per cent of oil in the country.

Shell has made a series of derisory offers which have all been rejected by USW.

“We told Shell that we were willing to continue bargaining for a fair agreement that would benefit the workers and the industry, but they just refused to return to the table,” said USW International Vice President Gary Beevers, who heads the union’s National Oil Bargaining Program. 

“This work stoppage is about onerous overtime; unsafe staffing levels; dangerous conditions the industry continues to ignore; the daily occurrences of fires, emissions, leaks and explosions that threaten local communities without the industry doing much about it; the industry’s refusal to make opportunities for workers in the trade crafts; the flagrant contracting out that impacts health and safety on the job; and the erosion of our workplace, where qualified and experienced union workers are replaced by contractors when they leave or retire,” Beevers added.

In a solidarity letter to the USW International President, IndustriALL’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

“We stand together with USW oil workers who have a fundamental right to be safe at work. Cost cutting through outside contractors, unreasonable working hours, and inadequate training opportunities cannot be allowed to jeopardize lives. We urge the oil companies to take serious consideration for their workers’ welfare and the safety of the oil industry as a whole.”

“IndustriALL Global Union, together with our affiliated trade unions in the oil industry throughout the world, stand firm in solidarity with all our USW brothers and sisters,” added Raina.