Enough is enough, Rio Tinto!

The delegation was stopped when attempting to deliver the message to Rio Tinto at their offices in Zurich. A representative from the mining giant made it clear that “the concerns must be addressed to the Rio Tinto Global Communications office in Montreal”.

IndustriALL Global Union Director for mining said:

“We are here to deliver a message to Rio Tinto on the occasion of the World Day for Decent Work. We object to Rio Tinto’s use of precarious work."

Thousands of Rio Tinto employees across the world are demonstrating in defiance of this modern day slavery practice of employing precarious workers. We are here to tell Rio Tinto that enough is enough.

IndustriALL's campaign against Rio Tinto aims to build union power at Rio Tinto plants around the world, uniting workers in the struggle for decent work.

More information on global actions on the Rio Tinto campaign page next week.

Bangladesh: Garment workers in human chain to mark 7 October

Bangladeshi garment workers formed a human chain in the country's capital, demanding a stop to precarious work. Instead garment workers should enjoy regular, permanent and direct employment. Speakers also called for safe workplaces and freedom of association.

The manifestation was organized by IndustriALL Global Union affiliates the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF), United Federation of garment Workers ( UFGW ), Bangladesh Revolutionary Garment Workers Federation ( BRGWF), Bangladesh Garment and industrial workers federation (BGIWF) and Bangladesh Independent garment workers union federation ( BIGUF). Shadin Bangla garment Workers, Karmochari Federation (SBGWKF) and the Bangladesh Chemical workers Federation (BCWF) also express their solidarity with the human chain.

Stop Precarious Work in Sri Lanka

Organized within the framework of the FNV Mondiaal supported IndustriALL South Asia Precarious Work project, the meeting participants discussed a series of amendments to the labour law of Sri Lanka. These amendments, brought forward by the Sri Lankan trade unions, primarily aim to address the omnipresent problem of contract labour in the country. Employers’ and government representatives took part in the meeting as well.

The main idea of the suggested changes is to create mechanisms preventing use of contract labour as a way to avoid real employment contracts. The unions want to make it so that all precariously “self-“ employed contract workers in Sri Lanka become regular employees with decent labour contracts.

The proposed legislation, which has been agreed on by both trade unions and employers, states that any contract of any person who “enters into a contract or work arrangement for trade or commercial purposes” with any other person who employs the worker “to perform work on a regular basis which is an integral part of the business activities” is to be seen as a disguised employment relationship.

As things currently stand, the Sri Lankan labour legislation has a long way to go. It may refer to a few precarious work situations, but certainly does not extend to all precarious workers. For example, there is neither regulation on the length of temporary work contracts, nor on how many times these can be renewed. Besides, there are no limitations of temporary agency labour, which can be used anywhere and anytime, without any responsibility being taken by the user-enterprise. In terms of a concrete example, workers who have been working less than 6 months are not covered by the standard dismissal rules.

The explanations above illustrate why more than half of all employees in Sri Lanka are labelled temporary or casual workers (54 per cent). 92 per cent of those are to be found in the private sector. Between 2006 and 2012, temporary and casual workers in the private sector increased by 21 per cent, while permanent employees increased only by 5 per cent.

The IndustriALL affiliates in Sri Lanka are planning a series of activities to deal with precarious work related problems. One step is to attract attention to the problem on and around October 7, the day that IndustriALL calls on all its affiliates to highlight the fact that precarious work is not a sustainable option.

Rio Tinto faces day of defiance by thousands of workers

The global protests come on the heels of a spate of fatalities at a worksite in Indonesia where Rio Tinto has a major investment.

Workers from Rio Tinto sites in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America will be demanding safer workplaces, secure jobs and respect for workers’ rights in a campaign organized by Industriall Global Union.

Events will include rallies, stop work meetings and other worksite actions.

Australian union CFMEU will launch a report into Rio Tinto's insecure work practices – which the company disguises under the banner of "Direct Engagement". The report exposes the company’s strategy to lock out unions.

IndustriALL, which represents 50 million workers in 140 countries, has a global network of mining affiliates with members at Rio Tinto. Assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, states:

“For far too long, Rio Tinto has systematically put profits before people, sometimes with fatal consequences. Workers are saying enough is enough. The protests on 7 October are part of IndustriALL’s on-going campaign to demand a new era at Rio Tinto.”

Rio Tinto, which has a market value of US$ 100 billion, is increasingly turning to contract and subcontracted workers to cut costs. At its Madagascar Minerals operation, there are double the numbers of contract workers as permanent staff. In Australia, Rio Tinto has been attacked for sacking fulltime workers on mass but keeping on casual or contract workers at the Hail Creek mine in Queensland.

Last month, five miners were killed in two separate fatal incidents at the Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia where Rio Tinto has the rights to 40% of production above a certain level. Three out of the four miners who died in the second incident were subcontracted workers. The deaths follow the loss of 35 lives at the mine last year alone.

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

Ends

For more information, please contact:

Leonie Guguen, Communications Officer, IndustriALL Global Union

Tel: +41 (0)22 308 50 23

Mobile: +41 (0)79 137 54 36

[email protected]

www.industriall-union.org

Korea: planned actions 2014

On 7 October IndustriALL affiliate Korean Metal Workers' Union plans a mass rally of precarious workers and flash mobs jointly with KCTU in Seoul where workers will be calling on the "Real Employer" (principle employer) to step up and be accountable for working conditions.

Precarious workers from throughout metal sector will picket a Hyundai motor sales center on 10 October at 3 pm with the "STOP Precarious Work!" logo printed on scarves and pickets.

About 1500 precarious workers will come to Seoul on Saturday and protest Hyundai and Kia's appeal of the recent landmark Seoul District Central Court rulings for regularization of the precarious workers at Hyundai Motor and Kia Motor.

KMWU will invite press to attend this rally, entitled "Rally of Precarious Workers Calling for Immediate Implementation of the Court Ruling on Illegal Dispatch, Imprisonment of Lawbreaker Hyundai Motor Chairman CHUNG Mong-Koo and CHUNG Eui-sun, and a STOP to in-company Subcontracting System."

Uruguay: planned actions 2014

On 07 October in Uruguay, all IndustriALL affiliates jointly with other unions will hold a conference to discuss the issue of precarious work, also a special publication analizing about deveelopment of labour realtios in the coutnry "Labour Realtions in Uruguay. 10 years of developments" elaborated by the Instituto Cuesta Duarte will be released at the

Precarious workers exposed to higher health and safety risks

The majority of the unions at Rio Tinto report an increase in the use of precarious work by the company. In France, precarious workers represent around 25 per cent of the workforce whereas five to ten years ago they represented only five per cent. At Qit Madagascar Minerals there are twice as many precarious workers as direct employees. In May this year, Rio Tinto made permanent workers redundant at Hail Creek mine in Australia while continuing to employ casual workers. This illustrates very well Rio Tinto’s race to maximise its profits by replacing its permanent workforce with precarious workers.

Rio Tinto uses triangular employment relationships to escape its responsibility, and undermine trade union work. See the case where hundreds of OMEGA employees in Madagascar were fired.

The recent four deaths at Rio Tinto’s Grasberg mine in Indonesia show once again that precarious workers at Rio Tinto face more health and safety risks than permanent workers. Unions at Rio Tinto worksites indicate that outsourced workers are treated differently from permanent workers when it comes to health and safety. At one site, precarious workers are given antiquated protective equipment compared with direct employees. This is not the only difference of treatment that outsourced workers have to face at Rio Tinto. In South Africa the wage gap between outsourced workers and direct employees is reported by the union to be huge: precarious workers are paid very low salaries and do not receive bonuses. In Alma Quebec, precarious workers earn up to 50 per cent less than permanent and direct workers.

All these abuses were condemned by the Rio Tinto global network when it met last February in Cape Town. As a result, the network decided to organize a Global Day of Action at Rio Tinto on 7 October, the day on which unions around the world mobilize against precarious work.

Unions at Rio Tinto have already fought back to limit the use of precarious work. In 2012, in Canada, after a six-month lockout at Rio Tinto in Alma, the United Steel Workers (USW) succeeded in negotiating a collective agreement limiting the use of outsourced workers to 10 per cent of the worked hours. In Kitimat, UNIFOR negotiated a collective agreement which limits the use of temporary employees to 6.5 per cent of the total hours worked.

Indonesia: another four workers killed at Freeport, Rio Tinto Grasberg mine

As a result of an accident at Freeport McMoRan’s and Rio Tinto’s Grasberg mine on 27 September 2014 four mineworkers lost their lives. Four more miners were injured and one of them seriously hurt.

On 1 October IndustriALL affiliate Chemical, Energy and Mines Workers Union (CEMWU) representing the majority of the workers at Grasberg mine went on strike and blocked the road to the mine demanding punishment of the director of mining, provision of guarantees of no more fatal accidents and for the company to pay financial support to the families of the deceased and injured. Following the strike the management came into negotiations and agreed to workers’ demands, after which the strike stopped.

In the aftermath of the Grasberg mine disaster, serious questions were raised about Freeport McMoRan’s and Rio Tinto’s commitment to mine safety. Earlier in September another worker was killed in a rockfall at Grasberg mine . These tragedies happened less than two years after 28 mineworkers died at Grasberg mine in what was described as the worst mining accident in the history of Indonesia. Another accident at the Grasberg mine killed 11 mineworkers in 2003.

In the wake of the mine accident at Grasberg on 14 May 2013, IndustriALL Global Union organized a high level delegation to Indonesia to protest against the killing of mineworkers in accidents proved to be preventable. At the end of the mission the delegation concluded that the accident clearly illustrated the urgent need for the ratification of ILO Convention 176 in Indonesia.

Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL General Secretary says,

Our condolences go to the families of the perished workers. This should not have happened. How many more lives must be lost at Grasberg before Freeport McMoRan and Rio Tinto take the safety and health of mineworkers seriously and invest in health and safety? How many should die before the Government of Indonesia decides to ratify ILO Convention 176 on mine safety? I urge now the Government of Indonesia to assume their full responsibility and urgently to start designing a safety program to prevent more deaths and injuries of workers”.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has temporarily shut down the mine for the purpose of investigating the accident. Without preempting the outcome of the investigation into this accident, IndustriALL Global Union joins the call by the Confederation of SPSI, the National Center of CEMWU-SPSI and FSPMI-KSPI demanding ratification of ILO Convention 176. In addition, IndustriALL Global Union supports the demands of our affiliates to:

Strongly urge the Police Chief Commander, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources to thoroughly investigate the accident and seriously consider the Recommendation passed by Human Rights Commission on the 14 May 2013 accident which amongst other things, called for the implementation of the law No. 1/1970 on Safety and Health.
Call those in charge to account for the accident and be held individually and collectively responsible.
Strongly urge Freeport and Rio Tinto management to commit to health and safety and to give assurance that such accidents will not happen again.

Soma mine was death trap, report shows

The much-anticipated 126-page expert report, commissioned by the Turkish public prosecutor, clearly states the catastrophe was preventable. While eight high-level managers of the mine’s operating company have already been arrested in connection with the tragedy, the report points the finger of blame at almost everyone involved in the mine, including ministry bureaucrats, with the exception of the miners themselves. “The only innocent group is the workers,” says the report.

The Soma mine is owned by a state-owned company Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKI) and operated by a private company, Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş.

Inspectors were able to capture data from the alert and security systems at the mine during the three months before the tragedy on May 13 this year. The report shows that despite fluctuating carbon-monoxide readings and excessively high temperatures prior to the accident, miners continued to work.

Alarmingly, inspectors also found that most safety records were not consistent with the readings from sensors. They had been regularly fabricated. In some cases, safety records had been copied and pasted from the week before. Inspectors counted a total of 48 gas and 19 carbon monoxide sensors but many were broken and there was no proper calibration. Even those in use were not properly calibrated to measure gas levels.

“The gas measuring sensors established for monitoring the air in the mine alerted the start of the accident but the situation was not taken into consideration by company officials,” says the report.

Four days after the disaster, inspectors found underground carbon monoxide levels were still life threatening at 500ppm, which is ten times above the maximum recommended exposure of 50ppm. The report says that gas masks are crucial for miners working in conditions with high exposure to carbon monoxide and yet the masks were not checked regularly. According to the autopsy reports, 85 per cent of the killings were from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Crucially, the ventilation system was not adequate to meet the rapid expansion of the mine in recent years and had not been adapted accordingly. The ventilation plans for the mine did not even correspond to the real ventilation system underground.

The report blames poor ventilation for actually accelerating the loss of life, as it was unable to reverse the flow of carbon monoxide underground creating death chambers for the miners. It also blames the ventilation system as a “very negative factor” in rescue efforts.

Furthermore, poor communication systems were criticized for not working or meeting standards for underground operations. There was neither an evacuation plan nor compulsory vocational training for workers related to health and safety.

Kemal Özkan, assistant general secretary at IndustriALL Global Union, led a global solidarity mission to Turkey in the wake of the Soma mine disaster. He states:

“The senseless disregard for miners’ safety on the part of owners, management and government almost beggars belief. Lives have been sacrificed for lies. In a relentless drive for profits, sensor warnings were ignored, safety reports falsified, and ventilation systems fatally flawed. As a result, the industrial homicide at Soma left 301 miners dead and 432 children without fathers. The report brings nothing but shame on the Turkish mining industry.

The pattern of highly intensive mining since Soma Kömür İşletmeleri A.Ş. took control in 2009, led to production levels that were 2.5 times more than was planned. The company was able to extract 15 million tonnes of coal by May 2014 instead of by the original target date of March 2017. The report says: “We are of the opinion that this data confirms the claims or allegations of the workers of highly intensified workload and the production pressures.”

An additional report into the Soma disaster by the Turkish association of chambers of engineers and architects TMMOB, states: “The reason for the carnage is privatization, marketization and the outsourcing policies over the past 12 years in the mining sector and also in the area of health and safety.”

The expert report, which will be used by the public prosecutor for his indictment, singles out people it considers culpable for the accident. The long list includes: the employer; employer representatives; permanent supervisor; technical supervisor; all the shift supervisors in charge of safety; all safety experts; the engineer responsible for underground ventilation; employees responsible for recording the data from the sensors; TKI’s chief control engineer and all control engineers from TKI; the general director of mining affairs; all representatives from the mining affairs general directorate; and inspectors from the ministry of labour and social security.

The report concludes: “Our group is of the opinion that there were many negligent practices and deficiencies and finally this accident was avoidable.”

For more information, please contact:

Leonie Guguen, Communications Officer, IndustriALL Global Union

Tel: +41 (0)22 308 50 23

Mobile: +41 (0)79 137 54 36

[email protected]

www.industriall-union.org

Arab women strengthen network to fight for rights

According to the ATUC gender policy “women’s participation in Arab trade unions, federations and confederations does not exceed 25%”. This is the issue that will need to be addressed by the ATUC women’s committee which will be formed by the ATUC Congress on 1 and 2 October.

In addition the gender policy contained chapters on consolidating and activating the principles of equality and non-discrimination, empowering women to reach decision-making and leadership positions, political participation and decent work. Women’s right to peace and security and combating all forms of violence is one more chapter. The meeting devoted time to this issue because of the current threats to women in the region from terrorism and ISIS.

IndustriALL’s own Hashmeya Muhsin Alsaadawi presented a paper on violence from conflict as it affects women. Reporting on the situation in her home country Iraq, the inspirational trade union leader Hashmeya reported:

“Iraq lives in a state of endless war, starting with the dictatorship, wars with neighbours, destruction of infrastructure, embargoes. 95% of the budget went to the military. The wars led to instability and regression, including jihadi marriages and marrying young women off. Iraq has depleted uranium and weapons from the Americans from 1991, which cause cancer cases. In the meantime 15% of women are widows, amounting to 1.5 million widows. It can be considered that because of that 3 million children are on the streets, and 9 million people live in poverty. The women need to be empowered to earn money to support their children. The governments established after 2003 were based on ethnic pillars. Corruption was high. No one cared about citizens. There is no security; no health, paramilitary groups and gangs are rampant. Yazidis and Christians have fled to escape ISIS. Because of the corruption and mismanagement in Iraq it was easy for them to take over. Other countries also intervene in Iraq. There are women who struggle for peace. What is needed is cooperation with civil society organizations. For trade unions the dilemma is that with the millions of unemployed, how can trade unions represent them? The international community needs to create a program to support women refugees. IndustriALL could play a vocal role in getting such a program together.”

The meeting adopted statements on violence, women refugees in Syria and women’s participation which were passed on to the Congress. It was decided that all Arab unions should take one hour of action in support of the fight against violence on 30 October from 11 am to 12 noon. “The increase in violence throws us back to the dark ages.” The resolution calls on the international community to do its best to stop the human tragedy and to enable people to go back to their home countries.

The gains that were expected in 2010 when the Arab Women’s Network was created have not come to pass, on the contrary, most countries have regressed. Hashmeya’s opinion on this regression: “Labour, students and communities played a role in the uprisings, but they were not well organized. This was abused by the Islamists.” Women are abused, “because they are a commodity, a tool to have fun, but not important members of society.”