IndustriALL in solidarity with Moroccan general strike

Frustration is high in the Moroccan trade union movement after the government has refused all collective dialogue on a raft of fundamental issues facing workers. Those issues include wages, working conditions, pensions, social compensation, under a context of serious reduction in purchasing power as utility and transport costs are increasing.

The government’s refusal to conduct dialogue with the unions on these core issues violates national labour legislation as well as the ILO standards.

IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Jyrki Raina wrote to the Moroccan affiliated unions on 28 October:

We stand firm in solidarity with Moroccan workers in their national strike, which will take place tomorrow 29 October, calling on the government to sit down with the unions to negotiate collectively matters of fundamental importance to workers and citizens alike such as wages, working conditions, the Compensation Fund and the National Pension Fund.

IndustriALL Global Union calls on the government of Morocco to address without any delay the legitimate concerns and demands of the Moroccan workers.

The strike action is called and organized by the three main national trade union centres in the country, The Union Marocaine du Travail (UMT), Confédération Démocratique du Travail (CDT), and Fédération Démocratique du Travail (FDT).

The Moroccan government are under pressure from international lenders, through the International Monetary Fund, to cut public spending and implement the anti-worker reforms to pensions and social provisions. But the strong, united message from the general strike tomorrow is for the regressive reforms not to be included in the 2015 budget.

Much of the subsidies under threat now were those won by the social movement in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring. Government spending then kept the regime in place, while neighbouring countries’ autocrats were removed from power.

"We have been the first to want reforms, but it is up to the government to support the costs as workers should not have to pay for the manager's mistakes," Miloudi Moukharik, leader of the biggest Moroccan labour union, UMT, said.

Send solidarity messages to the IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in Morocco here.  

IBM CEO abandons Roadmap 2015

While IBM focused on out of touch “Roadmap” goals, enormous damage has been done to both employees and the company:

Although “Roadmap 2015” has been abandoned, job cuts, pay cuts and a toxic work environment mean that the pain is likely to continue for IBM employees.

The IBM Global Union Alliance member unions, which include IndustriALL Global Union, strongly opposed Roadmap 2015, and will continue to fight against job cuts and detrimental actions against IBM employees. The alliance is urging IBM executives listen to their employees and the unions, before this once great company is lost to executive greed and incompetence.

Energy workers of Southern Africa building power

Bringing together energy affiliates of IndustriALL from Botswana, DRC, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, South Africa Zambia and Zimbabwe, the SAEN, supported by the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung (FES), debated at length the future strategy in the face of concerted employer attacks on trade unions in the sub-region. Unions decided that they needed to increase communication between themselves in order to develop a common analysis of the Energy sector at both regional and national levels. Social media and electronic communication will continue to be used in the future, and unions needed to identify two contact persons for each union so that both leadership and a representative at the workplace can be contacted by other network members.

IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary, Kemal Ozkan, stated that,

This network can be an example of best practice to other regions and industries. Your focus on union organizing and strengthening all member unions is to be commended. That is the way to increase and build union power.

With the external assistance provided by the Labour Research Service of Cape Town (LRS), a database of company, particularly South African-based Eskom, and contract information is being built up. Delegates recommitted to providing the required information when requested and timely to allow the resource being built to be useful and comprehensive.

The network has an established structure, and needs to focus on its vision and mission. The network will produce a sectorial analysis of the industry in the sub-region which will form a basis for the determination by the network of a regional energy policy, that all members can identify with and promote.

The Network emphasized that problems and difficulties described at previous meetings, and reported on globally to the Madrid World Energy Conference of IndustriALL, earlier this year continued with many unions faced with their workers being classed by governments as “essential services” and subject to strike prohibitions. Increased casualization was increasing precarious work in several countries and putting pressure on union efforts to ensure decent work and maintain a living wage.

The network was able to focus on successes as well. From Swaziland, network chairperson, Churchboy Dlamini, spoke of how they had succeeded in eliminating temporary contract worker contracts and all employees at the national electric company were now permanent employees. In Zimbabwe the network had supported ZEWU workers under attack and dismissed by electric power company ZESA. Many of these workers had been reinstated. Angeline Chitambo, the ZEWU President and IndustriALL Executive Committee member, remained dismissed and despite court decisions calling for her reinstatement the company was still prolonging the issue in the courts and attempting to avoid reinstatement. The network stated their full support to her struggle for reinstatement and will continue to support other workers facing similar challenges.

Building strong unions remains IndustriALL’s focus in Africa

Around 150 trade union leaders from 28 African countries met at the IndustriALL SSA Regional conference in Pretoria from 14 to 16 October 2014. Whilst there was much internal reflection on the need to build strong unions as well as unity amongst workers at national and international level, external factors affecting social and economic progress on the continent came to the fore in discussions. 

Participants stressed the importance of manufacturing as an engine of growth in national economies. Affiliates committed to prioritize industrial development by taking up the issue with their national centres and seeking to influence their governments on the matter. Affiliates recognize that it will be key to build trade union strength and capacity to demand comprehensive and strategic industrial policies, including educating members and raising public awareness to campaign for policies that benefit working people. At a regional level there is an undertaking to develop joint policies towards regional intergovernmental bodies such as SADC, ECOWAS, EAC, CEMAC and the African Union; and mobilizing regionally on Africa Industrialization Day on 20 November.

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

This vibrant conference hosted by the South African unions will inspire IndustriALL affiliates in the whole continent in our joint struggle to build a strong industrial base across Africa to provide good quality jobs for workers and forge societies based on social and economic justice.

There is grave concern for the level of precarious work in the region especially at multinational companies that are not being held accountable for poor labour practices. Poor health and safety standards are also worrying. Another African concern is low wages, in some cases even below poverty levels, which can be found in all the sectors organized by IndustriALL’s affiliates. The Conference resolved that Africa and the world needs an immediate pay rise. Affiliates will continue to mobilize, organize and defend workers’ rights to ensure sustainable employment and living wages in safer and healthier workplaces.

Women’s involvement and participation in trade union activities at all levels was discussed in depth.  The Sub-Saharan African Women's Conference was the third region to call for a 40 per cent quota for women at all levels of IndustriALL. Delegates committed to intensify their efforts towards ratification and implementation of ILO Convention 183 on maternity protection. Since adoption of this convention 14 years ago, only three African countries have ratified it.

The Conference strongly condemned the Government of Swaziland for dissolving the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) and the Amalgamated Trade Unions of Swaziland (ATUSWA) and urged the Government to revoke this decision, and to start engaging in a genuine dialogue with unions about legislative reforms that will ensure that workers’ rights are respected in line with Swaziland’s international obligations without any further delay.

The Conference underlined the importance of peace and stability in the region and called on all African governments to ensure the existence of peace and stability in the region. Delegates agreed that Ebola is also posing a real threat to human life and economic stability in West Africa, which requires an international response to eradicate. 

IndustriALL mining conference focuses on workers' rights and sustainable development

The two-day meeting, which took place on 20 and 21 October,  was organized by IndustriALL and FES, the German political foundation. It brought together IndustriALL mining affiliates from Mongolia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Phillipines, Australia and South Africa.

The conference tackled the labour agenda for socially sustainable mining in the global south. It comes on the back of a prolongued attack by major mining multinational companies, including Rio Tinto, on the human rights of workers, trade unions, communities, indigenious people, and the degradation and pollution of the environment.

Participants committed to work towards human rights-based sustainable development in the mining industry, as well as regional cooperation and collaboration between IndustriALL affiliates, NGOs and community based organizations.

Andrew Vickers, Chairman of IndustriALL’s mining sector and general secretary of Australian mining union, CFMEU, said: “The conference provided regional union affiliates, as well as representatives from NGOs and government agencies, with an opportunity to share views on the identification of problems associated with sustainable development and labour issues in the region, and to start developing strategies to address the problems.  It also provided participants with an insight into ILO Convention 176 and the processes required for ratification, as well the major issues of concern confronting trade unions and civil society in the host country Mongolia.”

It is IndustriALL’s third event in the sustainable development conference series, which seeks to expose the misrepresentation by major mining companies in their sustainable development reports and, in the process, force them to address genuine concerns about workers, communities and the environment.

As part of its global corporate campaign against Rio Tinto, IndustriALL has published a report, which contests the claims the company makes in its own sustainable development report.

Irrefutable evidence of gross corporate behaviour and contempt for the laws of Mongolia by Rio Tinto emerged at the conference:

“Rio Tinto is guilty of corporate dictatorship as opposed to corporate behaviour,” said Sukhbaatar Ganbold, President of IndustriALL Mongolia affiliate, MEGM. “The conditions for workers at Rio Tinto’s Oyi Tolgoi operation resemble a civil prison, where social and cultural activities do not exist.”

Held on the eve of the Rio Tinto Global Campaign Network meeting in Ulan Bator, the meeting was addressed by the President of the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions (CMTU), Mr Kh Amgalanbataar, The President of the Federation of Energy, Geology and Mining Workers Union Trade Unions, Mr. S. Ganbold(MEGM), the Honourary President of CMTU and a Member of the Mongolian Parliament, Mr S. Ganbataar, FES Mongolia Country Director, Ms Ch. Oyungerel, and The General Secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Energy and Mining Union, Andrew Vickers. The keynote address was delivered by Kh. Lhagvabataar, Specialist in the Mining Division of the Mineral Resource Authority of Mongolia.

Also in attendance was Joe Drexler from the USW Canada and Claude Kabembe, Executice Director of Southern Africa Resources Watch, an NGO from South Africa.

Living wages a major demand in Africa

Following IndustriALL Global Union's Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Conference, affiliates from Mauritius, Madagascar, Lesotho, Ethiopia, South Africa and Nigeria met in Johannesburg on 17-18 October to discuss how to make progress on their living wage demands.

In each of the countries, the wage fixing mechanisms are different and affiliates recognized the need to understand them in order to make progress. Ethiopian affiliates are struggling to establish a minimum wage for the first time, while in many countries the minimum wage is far below the level of a living wage.

Participants recognized the drawbacks of relying solely on the minimum wage for increases when in some countries this is unilaterally declared by government with no consultation of the social partners. In other countries, consultation is cursory and ignored.

Unions from South Africa and Nigeria made compelling presentations of the strength of collective bargaining at industry level as the most effective means of delivering wage increases. For South African textile and clothing union SACTWU, the living wage campaign is at the core of its work and centralized bargaining is used to achieve the best outcome for workers.

The union works to bring employers into the national bargaining council, which covers over 100,000 workers, and the government can extend the agreements to other employers. Increases for 2014 were above the inflation rate at an average of 8 per cent.

Similarly in Nigeria, industry level collective bargaining is recognized by the National Union of Textile, Garment & Tailoring Workers (NUTGTW) as the most effective means of securing wage increases that benefit the largest number of workers.

The unions from Lesotho explained how they are working towards a merger to be finalized in February 2015 as a means of consolidating union strength. They are currently in joint negotiations with government and employers towards their own model of bargaining councils, based on the South Africa experience. The Lesotho unions’ living wage campaign is called 2020, referring to the target figure of M2,020.00 (US $184) per month.

In Mauritius, many workers in the garment sector are migrants, earning well below the poverty line of US $130 per month. The national minimum wage fixing mechanism does not function as increases are made at the discretion of the Minister and have not been updated for most industries for many years. Unions are campaigning for the minimum wage to be set at the level of a living wage.

In Ethiopia, massive growth is expected in the textile and garment sector where there is no minimum wage and wages are around US $35-50.

In Madagascar the minimum wage is US $53 whereas the living wage is estimated at US $400 and 80 per cent of the population live below the poverty line. Unions face a massive challenge in negotiating to raise wages when they lack resources and capacity.

The meeting ended with each of the unions developing action plans targeting a living wage through organizing, union building and increasing unity towards the goal of industry-level collective bargaining.

Global unions converge in Mongolia in campaign for Rio Tinto workers’ rights

The meeting, in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator, will bring together IndustriALL affiliates from around the world. It follows a two-day conference in the city where unions, government officials and civil society groups gathered to discuss the labour agenda for socially sustainable mining in the global south.

The Network is focusing support in Mongolia, where  Rio Tinto has invested billions and mine workers are particularly vulnerable.

The company has a US $6 billion investment in the vast Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in the Gobi Desert. Workers there are represented by IndustriALL affiliate the Federation of Energy, Geology and Mining Workers’ Trade Unions of Mongolia (MEGM).

Last year, Rio Tinto was condemned by the Supreme Court in Mongolia for wage discrimination against Mongolian nationals and unfair dismissal. The company also faced international criticism for sacking thousands of workers in the country without adequate consultation.

Rio Tinto’s blind pursuit of profit at any cost in Mongolia has caused disputes with unions as well as environmental, community and indigenous groups.

Together with its mining trade union affiliates, IndustriALL Global Union has an ongoing campaign calling for an end to bad corporate behaviour at the expense of workers at Rio Tinto operations around the world. 

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan says that with the campaign, IndustriALL Global Union aims to build union power at Rio Tinto plants around the world, uniting workers in the struggle for decent work:

“Rio Tinto has extensive experience in causing one conflict after another with trade unions, indigenous organizations, environmental groups and other key community stakeholders. Unions and civil society are coming together in an unprecedented way to push back against Rio Tinto for the benefit of workers, the environment and communities.” 

“For far too long, Rio Tinto has systematically put profits before people, sometimes with fatal consequences like the recent deaths at the Grasberg mine in Papua New Guinea. Workers are saying enough is enough,” says Kemal Özkan.

The Network meeting follows a global day of protests on 7 October as as part of IndustriALL’s campaign to demand a new era at Rio Tinto.

In a coordinated day of defiance workers from Rio Tinto sites in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America demanded safer workplaces, secure jobs and respect for workers’ rights. Events included rallies, stop work meetings and other worksite actions.

The 7 October action against Rio Tinto coincided with the World Day for Decent Work, when unions mobilize against precarious work  – jobs that are temporary, casual, contracted-out and often low-wage, low-benefit, unsafe and insecure. 

Learn more about Rio Tinto’s history of conflict at http://www.industriall-union.org/riotinto

Victory for workers at Schneider Electric ends strike

More than 300 IAM members of Local 2069 took part in the industrial action at Schneider’s Square D facility in Peru, Indiana, which finished on 19 October.

“Our members stood strong and won improvements that they can be proud of,” said IAM Director of Collective Bargaining Tom O’Heron. “Schneider Electric is an extremely profitable company and our members, who make those profits possible, fought for their rightful share of the company’s success.”

Local 2069 members won improvements in key areas of the new three-year contract. In addition to a signing bonus of $1,600, there are general wage increases of 3 percent in year one, 2 percent in year two and 2 percent in year three. IAM negotiators also addressed members’ concerns that the gap between lower and higher-paid workers was growing too wide.

Although the new pact freezes the traditional Defined Benefit Pension as of December 31, 2015, IAM negotiators achieved company contributions in the transition to a Defined Contribution plan that are higher than the company originally proposed.

“Both local businesses and other local area unions gave our members tremendous support,” said O’Heron. “Local 2069’s Bargaining Committee also did a great job keeping our members and the community informed throughout the entire process. Together, it made a big difference and we are grateful that it helped lead to an agreement.”

European multinational, Schneider Electric, employs 130,000 people in over 100 countries.

IndustriALL Global Union’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

“This is a considerable victory for IAM after well-supported industrial action by union members. Schneider was ultimately forced to return to the bargaining table after significant pressure from IAM and the Local.”

The IAM is one of North America’s largest industrial trade unions representing nearly 600,000 active and retired members. 

Swaziland bans trade unions

Federations were called upon to submit reports of their operations to date, including their prepared audited financial statements to the Commissioner of Labour. This decision affects not only TUCOSWA and ATUSWA, affiliating IndustriALL members SATU, SESMAWU and SMAWU, but also the Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of Commerce, and the Federation of the Swazi Business Community.

Tripartite bodies such as the Wages Council, Labour Advisory Board, Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission, Swaziland National Provident Fund, Training and Localization Committee and the Social Dialogue Committee will stop functioning as a result.

Article 5 of ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize recognizes the right of workers’ organizations to establish or to join federations and confederations of their own choosing.

In response to the complaint filed by TUCOSWA and the ITUC on 23 May 2012 (Case No 2949), the Committee on Freedom of Association recommended that pending legislative reforms TUCOSWA is able to effectively exercise all its trade union rights without interference or reprisal. An ILO High-Level Fact Finding Mission that visited the country in January 2014 recommended the registration of the worker and employer federations by end of April 2014.

The Swazi government has ignored the recommendations and repeated calls from the international trade union movement to respect rights guaranteed under international conventions ratified by Swaziland. Instead they have suspended workers’ right to freely associate and to carry out trade union activities completely.

IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Jyrki Raina says:

“This decision also goes against the decision of the Industrial Court, which recognized that TUCOSWA could operate in terms of its own constitution.

“We urge you to revoke the decision to dissolve TUCOSWA and ATUSWA and to start engaging in a genuine dialogue with unions about legislative reforms that will ensure that workers’ rights are respected in line with Swaziland’s international obligations without any further delay.” 

Mexican electrical workers: five years of struggle – still standing, looking to the future and resisting

The Mexican Electrical Workers’ Union (SME) decided to undertake a legal and peaceful fight back through the courts. At a mass meeting held a few days later, the union’s most important decision-making body rejected the government’s meagre and erroneously calculated offer of redundancy pay. Instead, workers chose the path of RESISTANCE.

The union has since done everything possible to fight back – organising marches, meetings, hunger strikes, campaigns for the release of political prisoners, negotiations and forums.

At a forum organised by the SME to commemorate five years of struggle, representatives of many organisations reiterated their support for the union and later joined a march to the main square of Mexico City. During the march, the General Secretary, Martín Esparza Flores, joined other members of the national executive in carrying a banner with the slogan "They did not see us born, THEY WILL NEVER SEE US DIE".  At the forum, a letter of support from Jyrki Raina was read out and IndustriALL placards with the slogan AGAINST PRECARIOUS WORK were displayed.

At the forum Flores added that, five years after the illegal decree, “we are still standing, looking to the future and resisting”. The 15,000 workers who remain in the fight are hoping for agreement on a proposal to find jobs for the former LyFC employees at companies in the electricity supply sector.

As part of the commemoration of five years of struggle, Martín Esparza said: “We will continue the fight to re-establish the rule of law, which has been trampled on by multinational companies and fascist governments”.

The fight continues for the electrical workers, who held a march on 15 October to demand re-employment after five years intense social and legal battles, recognition of their labour and human rights and implementation of agreements reached with the federal government.