New threats to Sintracarbón leaders in Colombia

A criminal organisation calling itself the Joint Urban Command of the Rastrojos and Black Eagles sentenced to death the leaders of the Sintracarbón, Sintrabienestar and Sindesena trade unions in La Guajira for allegedly being members of guerrilla groups.

Sintracarbón publicly contested this information, calling on “the authorities to take appropriate action to guarantee the lives and other inalienable rights of our threatened leaders” and “the public prosecutor to find out who has issued the threats and bring them before the courts”. It also called on managers at the Carbones del Cerrejón multinational company and other local employers to take measures to protect their lives and guarantee their right to continue with their trade union and civic activities.

Sintracarbón has made it clear that it is only seeking improvements in the living conditions of its members, their families and communities affected by the mining company’s activities. “Our actions are always within the law and an expression of our right to carry out peaceful protests, join a union and conduct collective bargaining, as enshrined in the Colombian Constitution."

“The intelligence agencies must surely have investigated our work inside and outside the company. We do not have nor will we have any relationship with illegal groups," said the union.

The oil workers’ union, USO and Sintraelercol, which are also affiliated to IndustriALL and partners in the project to form a single mining and energy sector union in Colombia, have expressed their solidarity by calling on the government to dismantle the paramilitary groups immediately, purge the security forces and guarantee the security of workers’ leaders. IndustriALL echoes these demands and again calls on the government to stop the persecution of trade unions.

Global union protests shake Huhtamaki

A global week of action initiated by the United Steelworkers (USW), an IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, took place from 17 to 21 November. All the actions were united by a strong demand to respect the legitimate rights of Huhtamaki employees in the workplace, to work in safer conditions and to get better wages.

The actions supported the demands of workers at the Huhtamaki plant in Commerce, California who are asking the company to meet with a democratically elected worker committee to address grievances over health and safety and discipline. The company has refused to meet and instead brought in a “union-buster” consultant to intimidate the workers.

120 protesters, including leaders of the Los Angeles Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, USW Huhtamaki Council and District 12, joined workers from the Commerce plant to demonstrate in Los Angeles, U.S. at a Chipotle restaurant, a major customer of Huhtamaki. The unions have also launched an online petition targeting Chipotle http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/chipotle-make-sure-your.fb51?source=s.icn.fb&r_by=4305145.

Through the call from global union federation, IUF, the European trade union representatives at Nestlé, another major Huhtamaki customer, also voiced their demands for Respect for All Huhtamaki Workers.

In Finland, where multinational Huhtamaki is based, leaders from IndustriALL affiliates Paperiliitto, PRO and TEAM and professional union YTN at the union-organized Hämeenlinna plant publicized the violations faced by Huhtamaki workers and expressed their solidarity with U.S. co-workers. Activists from IUF affiliates PAM (private services) and SEL (food industry in Finland echoed their solidarity actions.

In Australia, Huhtamaki workers at the Preston site in Melbourne had a sticker day on 18 November and sent messages of support to their fellow workers. Photographs of these actions were forwarded to the leadership team of the Huhtamaki Group.

In Russia, the Timber and Related Industries Workers Union, an IndustriALL affiliate that is fighting to get recognition at a Huhtamaki factory near Moscow, jointly conveyed their solidarity to their brothers and sisters in Commerce.

In Poland, Huhtamaki workers received solidarity support from the union Solidarnosc.

IndustriALL Turkish affiliate the Petroleum, Chemical and Rubber Workers’ Union (Lastik-Is) activists sent a letter to the local and central Huhtamaki management in Turkey to express their outrage about the situation in U.S. and convey their support to the Huhtamaki workers.

In Nairobi, Kenya, Africa regional women activists from the IUF sent their greetings and solidarity to the Huhtamaki workers, as did leaders of UNI Global Union’s Graphical & Packaging Division. Staff members at IndustriALL’s head office in Geneva, Switzerland also joined in with the protest against the violations.

Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL, says:

"Our strength is in our unity, and this global week of action proved it once again. Only together we can withstand pressure of global companies and get better conditions and pay for our members and their families. Huhtamaki workers are not alone and numerous actions of solidarity during this week demonstrated the readiness of unionists from all over the world to stand up and give a helping hand to their colleagues right when they need it. The fight is not over, we will not stop until we get full Respect for All Huhtamaki Workers!”

Follow the Huhtamaki workers’ campaign on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RespectforAllHuhtamakiWorkers

NUM National Women Structure Meets

NUM has been a pioneer in fighting for women working underground. The number of women is rising in the mining industry. A ten per cent quota for women in the industry was agreed with the Chamber of Mines, and NUM fights for to enforce the quota in negotiations.

However, working underground is an enormous challenge due to male domination, patriarchy and women's submissiveness. Women miners say the job is not “human-friendly” and men resist accepting women in their ranks. Furthermore, black women are employed for menial tasks underground, and white women are hired for office work and skilled jobs. Women must be assigned jobs at technical, managerial and strategic level.

There has been recognizable progress at the Chamber of Mines on demands of personal protective equipment, maternity leave and the implementation of childcare and breastfeeding facilities, although not all mining houses have implemented them and not all operations have pregnancy policies.

Violence in South Africa is conditioned by patriarchy, inequality and poverty. Total emancipation of women is wishful thinking without the elimination of gender-based violence.

In the last few years, four women have been murdered underground. The employers will only start paying attention to protecting women when it becomes too expensive for them to compensate them. Up to now the employers can decide that it is a criminal issue instead of a work-related accident and therefore not pay compensation.

The NUM women's structure has the role to lead women across the sectors of the national economy. Participants decided that the women's structure needs to look at laws such as the Mine Act to check whether women's needs are contemplated.

Health and Safety laws stipulate conditions for drilling and rocks falling, but are women's needs taken into consideration? Are women's safety needs covered? Do women have facilities to wash and clean up? What is the impact of shift work on the family?

Lydia Nkopane was re-elected to chair the NUM national women's structure.

Tazreen victims set for compensation on second anniversary of tragedy

On 24 November 2012, more than 120 people burnt to death after becoming trapped behind locked exits at the Tazreen Fashions factory, which supplied clothes to global brands. In addition, 300 people were severely injured in the fire.

Over recent days the parties have been engaged in ongoing negotiations facilitated by the ILO to agree principles for an agreement. Details of the programme will be finalized over coming days, with the hope that compensation will finally be delivered.

As part of this agreement, C&A Foundation has pledged to contribute a significant amount towards full and fair compensation for Tazreen victims, in addition to those funds that have already been committed. The final details of pledge will be worked out and made public once the cost of the package has been finalized.

Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, said:

“On the second anniversary of Tazreen, we are very pleased to say that compensation for the survivors and the families of victims is finally in sight. The outline agreement between IndustriALL, the Clean Clothes Campaign and C&A provides the principles for a compensation process to give much-needed financial assistance and allow survivors to get essential medical care.”

Tazreen Fashions customers included Walmart, Disney, El Corte Ingles, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Sears, Dickies, Delat Apparel and Sean John amongst others. Two years on, none of these brands have paid compensation.

Only Hong Kong based Li & Fung, the world’s largest sourcing agent, and C&A Foundation have made some payments through the Bangladesh government. El Corte Ingles and Kik have made informal promises to compensate victims, but these remain to be translated into public pledges.

Jyrki Raina added:

“Now the agreement for a compensation scheme has been reached, we are calling on all the brands that sourced from Tazreen Fashions to pay into the fund. We welcome the lead taken by C&A and other brands must follow. The victims of this terrible tragedy have suffered long enough.”

Walmart was Tazreen Fashion’s biggest customer and workers had just completed a shipment to the US retail giant before the fire. Walmart has yet to compensate victims.

Philip Jennings, general secretary at UNI Global Union, which represents Walmart workers in stores, said:

“We congratulate C&A for taking this important step and call on other brands to follow. We ask that companies such as Walmart, Benetton and Gap do the right thing for the victims of both Tazreen and Rana Plaza, the survivors and their families, and pay into the compensation funds, an adequate and just amount.”

Ends

For more information, please contact:

Leonie Guguen, Communications Officer, IndustriALL Global Union

Tel: +41 (0)22 308 50 24

Mobile: +41 (0)79 137 54 36

[email protected]

www.industriall-union.org

Vote for the Public Eye Lifetime Award

To mark 15 years of the award, voters are being asked to choose from a shortlist of six previous winners from the Public Eye Hall of Shame. They are Walmart, Glencore, Dow Chemical, Chevron, Gazprom and Goldman Sachs.

The public can register their vote online now.

The winner will be announced in Davos, Switzerland on 23 January 2015. The ceremony is timed to coincide with the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Alpine resort, where several past winners will be present.

You can follow the announcement of the winner on the Public Eye website or on twitter in real time.

IndustriALL targets Glencore for anti-union behaviour

The country reports from the 32 delegates representing IndustriALL affiliates from 14 countries were a testimony of “the consistent brutality and disrespect for workers' and unions' rights displayed by Glencore throughout its operations, all of which are in clear contrast to the public mirage created by its public relations machines,” said Andrew Vickers, Chair of the Mining Sector and General Secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia.

The Glencore global network was established in the midst of a brutal anti-union drive by the mining and commodities giant in five different countries. These attacks are clear contradictions of Glencore’s claim that it respects human rights, community culture, collective bargaining and the right of employees to freely choose a union. Glencore’s practice is far different from its rhetoric.

In the United States, management at Glencore’s Sherwin Alumina plant in Texas has locked out members of the United Steelworkers (USW) since 11 October. Glencore is demanding drastic concessions, including stripping retirees of health care benefits and denying a secure retirement to the next generation.
In South Africa, 800 workers at the Koornfontein mine in Mpumalanga went on strike on 17 October to protest against substandard severance payments. Glencore offered one week of service per year in this mine, and in other operations it is paying three weeks. Workers in Koornfontein not only have to deal with losing their jobs but also an unfair settlement for the many years they produced coal for Glencore.
In Peru, workers at Antamina mine, on strike since 10 November, are subjected to health and safety violations on a regular basis and are being denied fair payment for bonuses and overtime. Workers are being excluded from the Miners’ Pension Fund and the company routinely violates the collective bargaining agreement.
In Australia, Glencore has refused to re-hire former employees at the Collinsville mine who are union members and has evicted the former workers and their families from company housing, with devastating impact on the local community.
In Colombia, a group of former army officers have linked Glencore to a paramilitary group responsible for murdering trade unionists. The paramilitary group trained at a camp located inside a Glencore mine. Glencore has violently evicted farmers from their homes as well as violated national health and safety laws. Glencore has systematically violated human rights, the right of workers to freedom of association and to freely negotiate a collective agreement. A chilling report was presented during the Sao Paolo network meeting of death threats received by Igor Diaz, the general secretary of Sintracarbon and its leadership.

The meeting heard how the safety situation at Glencore operations was alarming. In Peru and Colombia, the safety and health situation of workers was particularly disturbing, with reports of how injuries to workers are commonplace with Glencore refusing to work with trade unions to address these issues. In addition, it was found that the wholesale use of sub-contracting and precarious employment by Glencore at its global operations was a major contributing factor to the alarming statistics on safety and health.

The meeting concluded with a clear plan of action that will drive the activities of the network. The plan includes an immediate solidarity support by the global network to the USW for its planned activities at the Glencore investor day, 10 December 2014, which ironically coincides with the international human rights day.

Glen Mpufane, the IndustriALL Global Union Director of Mining, declared that Glencore’s day of reckoning may have arrived.

The Glencore global network meeting was held back to back with the launch of the Anglo American Global Network Meeting.

Hunger strike workers in Belarus face jail

The desperate workers, who were employed by the Bobruisk Factory of Tractor Parts and Units (BZTDiA), were detained by police on 10 November while they were on hunger strike, and accused of unauthorized public protest.

They are now awaiting a court summons and could be slapped with a significant fine or even a prison sentence.

The workers, who are all members of the Free trade Union of Belarus (SPB), disagree with the accusation of an unauthorized protest and say they are in fact victims of arbitrary dismissal for being unionists.

The sacked workers have received solidarity support from their colleagues at other unions and at least four people joined them in their hunger strike out of sympathy.

In a company response dated 14 November, the factory director said the dismissals were due to the optimization of the factory workforce and were not linked to their SPB membership. However, BZTDiA has been advertising for new workers with the same skills as the people who were fired.

Workers wrote an open letter to the President of the Belarus last month, raising their concerns about how their factory is managed and the way in which the director was abusing the country's short-term contract system to dismiss highly skilled professionals for being unionists. The government response was simply to endorse the company's position.

The system of short-term contracts and its use in persecution of trade union activists in Belarus has been heavily criticized by the international labour movement. It formed part of the complaint against violations of Freedom of Association submitted to the International Labour Organization in 2000. Since then the ILO has regularly considered the Belarusian case, noting little or no progress in implementing recommendations made by an ILO Commission of Inquiry.

The latest report of the Committee on Freedom of Association referring to Belarus is available on the ILO website.

Cambodian union scores victory at SL Garment

In the settlement, signed between C.CAWDU union leaders and SL Garment on 17 November, the company agrees to drop all charges against union leaders and activists.

SL Garment will also pay US$ 300,000 to all current employees who took part in strikes against the company in 2013.

SL Garment will pay the money directly to the employees after checking the list of eligible staff with the trade union. Representatives from C.CAWDU and the Ministry of Labour will witness and observe the distribution of the money to employees.

SL Garment’s parent company, JD United, is an important supplier for US fashion brand GAP.

C.CAWDU President, Ath Thorn, who was one of the union leaders facing charges by SL Garment, said that pressure on GAP made the brand exert its influence over its supplier to achieve the settlement.

SL Garment has also agreed that company shareholder, Meas Sotha, who hired military police that attacked workers during the 2013 strikes, will not be involved in the daily operations of the employer or the daily management of the factory.

The November 2014 agreement follows a settlement made between C.CAWDU and SL Garment in December 2013. In it, the company had promised to drop all charges against union leaders. However, it reneged on the deal just a few months later.

Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL’s general secretary, said:

“We congratulate C.CAWDU on this important victory which marks a big step in improving industrial relations between trade unions and garment manufacturers in Cambodia. The agreement clears the way for C.CAWDU and SL Garment to work together and build a more productive future at the company.

Let’s talk about unions in Iran

For IndustriALL Global Union it is now an important priority and duty to support these unions in their struggle to form democratic organizations to defend and advance trade union rights,

says Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL’s Assistant General Secretary.

Iran is an important country in the MENA region in the gas, oil and manufacturing sectors. However, there is little respect for fundamental human and trade union rights.

IndustriALL speaks to Jamshid Ahmadi an Iranian activist working with the Union of Metalworkers and Mechanics of Iran (UMMI). He helps to raise international awareness of UMMI’s activities and forge links with independent trade unions globally.

Trade unions are not recognized in Iran. The Iranian labour law currently forbids and prevents the formation of trade unions. In Iran only Islamic labour councils are accepted but they are not trade unions – they are tripartite organizations bringing together the Ministry of Labour, the employers and some selected workers based on their loyalties and religious affiliations to the government. As a result they are inappropriate and ill-equipped to deal with the demands and needs of Iranian workers,

says Jamshid.

The operations of unionists in Iran are very, very difficult. They are in effect paying with their liberty and their lives and their security for engaging with trade union activities,

he continues.

In Iran, arrests and detentions take place on a regular basis; workers are frequently arrested for supporting the right to organize workers and for building independent trade union structures. Torture is routinely used to extract confessions, and political prisoners are systematically denied medical care.

Hungarian workers protest against austerity

At least one thousand workers came to the streets and raised their voice against the government’s plan to increase taxes on fringe benefits from 35.7 per cent up to 51.17 per cent, while at the same time lowering the maximum possible annual amount of this allowance paid by the employers.

The government did not consult their social partners about suggested amendments in advance, and workers' representatives only learned about the planned rise through the mass media. The planned tax increase would affect in a very negative way many households as fringe benefits are a very important and essential part of income for many Hungarian families.

Other IndustriALL affiliates, including the Federation of Building Material Workers’ Unions, the Federation of the Chemical, Energy and General Workers’ Union, and the Mining and Energy Workers’ Union – BDSZ-Mining, joined the protest.

According to VASAS, while the protest was still going on, the leader of the parliamentary group of the ruling party Fidesz announced that they would not support the government’s plan.

Although it happened on the same day, the union action was not directly linked to the “Public Outrage Day” in Budapest involving more than 10,000 people who gathered in front of the Hungarian Parliament demanding the dismissal of the head of the tax authority accused of corruption, and a higher level of accountability of the Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government.