Mega merger in cement sector alarms workers

Coming together in Brussels on 22 July, workers’ representatives voiced their concerns regarding a number of decisions made by the management. Jobs are under threat and the process of information and consultation is deemed insufficient.

Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL Global Union Director of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Industries states:

The way the decisions have been made is a sad example of cherry picking and a clear violation of both groups’ CSR declarations.

"Not taking workers’ interests and needs into account, not informing and consulting trade unions in a proper way is absolutely inacceptable, especially considering that we have a global framework agreement (GFA) with Lafarge and both groups have promised a fair social dialogue."

IndustriALL, the EFBWW, and the EWC restricted committees are convinced that the merging companies are seeking tax and wage advantages wherever possible. The first decisions made in Europe are seen as a clear indicator.

But the consequences go beyond Europe; workers in plants and facilities in the USA, Canada, Mexico, India and Russia are also affected.

Matthias Hartwich says:

"We will fight to ensure that workers all over the world will be heard during the merger process, as well as afterwards. We will create a global trade union network for the workers of this Holcim-Lafarge group in order to ensure a fair participation of workers in both Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe."

Ghanaians demonstrate against high living costs

The one-day protest where frustrated workers expressed their fury through wailings, placards, songs, shouts and vuvuzelas was called by organized labour and supported by the Ghana Trade Union Congress. Protestors, at least 7,000 of them in the capital Accra, accused the government of poor fiscal policies and mismanaging the economy.

A core demand is that immediate action be taken to halt the depreciation of the Ghanaian currency, the Cedi, and the rising cost of living. “The Cedi has depreciated so much that minimum wage is now less than two US dollars a day, so we can say it is officially poverty wages,” says Solomon Kotei, General Secretary of Industrial & Commercial Workers Union (ICU) which is affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union.

“Petroleum is almost double what it was a year and a half ago. We face power outages and water shortages all the time and still we face ever increasing utility costs. All this because of the depreciation of our currency but also due to poor planning and inefficiencies,” explains Kotei. “We are the ninth worst managed economy in the world despite our wealth in so many things like cocoa and even petroleum. So this is not about global economic problems, these are home-grown problems rooted in corruption. Workers are saying this cannot be allowed to continue.”

Labour is aware that businesses and industries are facing difficulties and Kotei expressed concern that 20 companies organised by ICU may have to close which would result in over 4000 job losses.

IndustriALL’s other Ghanaian affiliate; the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) also has put its weight behind the demonstration, “We have to let our government know that we are not happy with the state of the economy,” says Prince William Ankrah, GMWU General Secretary.

Ankrah proposes a way forward, “We need to seek solutions within the industrial relations landscape, we need social dialogue where we can sit together to ensure mature and peaceful engagement on the nature of the economic situation confronting us.”

International union campaign delivers agreement at Georg Fischer in Turkey

Lastik-Is general president, Abdullah Karacan, told IndustriALL the CBA was signed on 22 July. The signing signifies a long-fought victory to organize workers at the Turkish subsidiary of Swiss based Georg Fischer, a market-leading producer of plastic tubing.

In a letter to the CEO of Georg Fischer before the signing, IndustriALL’s general secretary Jyrki Raina wrote: “The damage done to labour relations at your company’s Turkish subsidiary Georg Fischer Hakan Plastik through months of union busting and sacking of 40 union office bearers seems to be taking time to heal.

I appeal to you to give your strong approval to the management of Georg Fischer Hakan Plastik to swiftly sign the new collective bargaining agreement, and work together to build a constructive and mutually beneficial industrial relations system in the company.”

9,000 supporters joined the IndustriALL-LabourStart campaign to write to Georg Fischer to demand a fair collective agreement and an end to union busting of Lastik-Is, which belongs to the Turkish national centre, DISK.

IndustriALL’s Swiss affiliate Unia also intervened in solidarity with Lastik-Is members at Hakan Plastik, calling on the Swiss management of Georg Fischer to ensure fair treatment of its Turkish workers.

The Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security issued official certification confirming that a majority of the workers at Hakan Plastik belong to Lastik-Is, making it an official party to a collective agreement. However the local management challenged this certification on a groundless basis to stall the process with a view to getting rid of the union presence at the plant, while refusing to re-instate the dismissed workers. In the meantime, negotiations between Lastik-Is and Hakan Plastik management to reach a collective agreement continued.

The bargaining process was disrupted by the local management attempts to exclude mechanics, electricians, quality controllers, forklift operators and experienced workers from the agreement. The local management also attempted to dissuade workers from being members of Lastik-Is by awarding gifts and bonuses aside from those discussed in bargaining. At the Urfa facility new workers are told not to join the union, and at the Çerkezköy plant at least 100 contract workers have been hired from at least two agencies to undermine bargaining.

In spite of these barriers, a final meeting was set for 14 July to sign the new collective bargaining agreement. Disappointingly the local management came to that meeting saying they were unable to sign because the approval had not been sent from head office in Switzerland. But that approval came and the agreement was signed 8 days later on 22 July.

“This is a real victory,” says Kemal Özkan, Assistant General Secretary. “An international campaign conducted by IndustriALL, coupled with a determined struggle in the field by Lastik-Is, has brought this achievement. This is our way to fight back worldwide.”

Daimler World Works Council elects new leadership

In addition to the official members, including IndustriALL Global Union, representatives from Turkey, Argentina, Indonesia and India also attended the meeting at the end of May 2014.

Workers from six countries are now represented in the World Employee Committee (WEC) at the German multinational car manufacturer. They are Germany, USA, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and Spain. The WEC has 13 members in total.

The WEC elected Michael Brecht, head of Daimler’s works council as Chairman and Gary Casteel, Vice President of the UAW, was elected Vice Chairman.

Brecht, who was also voted in as Chairman of the European Works Council, said:

“This meeting of employee representatives from countries all over the world sends

a clear signal: We want to strengthen our international co-operation. The Daimler management pursues its globalization strategy very resolutely. We will do the same in the World Employee Committee and European Works Council and make sure that workers and their representatives also strengthen their ties across boards.”

Gary Casteel, Vice Chairman of the World Employee Committee, said: “Daimler is an outstanding company with outstanding co-determination structures. I’m honoured to assume a leading role in the World Employee Committee. Together we will engage to make Daimler a model for the worldwide recognition of worker rights.”

A World Works Council or World Employee Committee is an agreement with the company about a representation body where union delegates or Works Council members from almost all major production sites worldwide come together, normally once a year.

The company has to pay for this meeting and also to report on international issues such as development of employment, investment, opening or closing of sites, and shifts in production.

Numsa strike enters its fourth week

“The strike continues and has not been suspended. Our members, at the coal face of the strike will make the final decision on whether to end the strike or not,” says Castro Ngobese, national spokesperson for IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, Numsa.

Workers are demanding double-digit wage increases of 10 to 12 per cent for three years, scrapping of labour brokers and a housing allowance. They also want a section in the Main Agreement removed to end discriminatory practices by employers giving allowances and other benefits to higher-paid workers.

Media reports on 21 July 2014 say that the employers’ association, the Steel and Engineering Federation of South Africa (Seifsa), has conditionally accepted a wage proposal for a 10 per cent increase in each of the three years, in an arrangement facilitated by the Department of Labour (DoL).

It is unclear whether further proposals made by the government on labour brokers have been accepted by employers, including a clause saying “Employees engaged by a labour broker and placed in employment in industry on a temporary, permanent or permanent outsourced basis shall be entitled to all terms and conditions of employment as contained in the Main Agreement, including all Social Security Benefits from day one of employment.”

A special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting has been held by Numsa in Johannesburg this week to deliberate the proposed settlement offer. After the meeting, the union will report back to members for their consideration and mandate. It is only after this consultation that an announcement can be made on whether a deal has been reached.

The NEC appreciated the resoluteness and unwavering firmness of workers in demand of a living wage,” said Ngobese. “The NEC was humbled by the numerous messages of support and solidarity we continue to receive on daily basis from our allies here at home and abroad.”

Convictions confound Swazi reform hopes

The US Department of State has said it is “deeply concerned by the convictions of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and magazine editor Bheki Makhubu”. Sentencing of the pair has yet to be scheduled but they could face long prison sentences or a hefty fine.

The press statement, dated 22 July, from Marie Harf, Deputy Department Spokesperson 2014, also added:

“Their convictions for contempt of court for publishing an article critical of the High Court of Swaziland—and their ongoing prolonged detention—appear to undermine respect for Swaziland’s human rights obligations, particularly the right to freedom of expression, which is enshrined in Swaziland’s own constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United States strongly supports the universal fundamental freedom of expression and is deeply concerned by the actions of the Swazi Government.”

Apparel accounts for most of Swaziland’s exports to the US, which was valued at USD 50 million in 2013. Without duty free access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), it is unlikely that these exports will remain competitive. US President Obama announced in June 2014 that Swaziland was no longer eligible for AGOA. This was a result of lack of progress over a number of years to make the required reforms to qualify for the preferential trading status, including respect for the rule of law and the right to organise. When the exclusion comes into effect on January 2015, concerns are that exports to the US will immediately plummet.

Maseko and Makhubu have served more than 100 days in prison since their arrest in March this year. Their conviction on 17 July 2014 has been condemned worldwide, not only as a violation of rights of Maseko and Makhubu, but also because it instils fear that will lead to self-censorship of the Swazi people on matters of the state for fear of arbitrary sanctions. It has also led to many questioning the credibility of the judiciary in Swaziland as an instrument of repression, serving the interests of King Mswati. Mswati rules Swaziland as an absolute monarchy that has been under a state of emergency since 1973. Sentencing has yet to be scheduled but they could face long prison sentences or a hefty fine.

“We are distressed by this conviction, for what it means for human rights in Swaziland but also because we had hoped that the exclusion of Swaziland from AGOA may have prompted urgent reform,” says Fernando Lopes, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL. “This is not a good sign and we are deeply concerned for the precarious position of the garment sector in Swaziland now.”

Turkish glass strike ban taken to ILO with official complaint

The government issued a decree on 27 June to suspend for 60 days a major strike in the glass industry in Turkey, on the grounds of it constituting a risk to “public health and national security”. That move was a breach by the government of ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on Freedom of Association and Right to organise and collective bargaining.

The 5,800-worker Kristal-İş strike began on 20 June at ten factories of Turkey’s largest glass manufacturer, Sisecam.

The belligerent decree is based on article 63 of the legislative act no. 6356, the Law on Trade Unions and Collective Agreements. The legislation effectively bans the strike as it imposes compulsory arbitration following the 60-day suspension. The Turkish government uses the regressive law on a routine basis to stifle workers from exercising their right to strike. This was the ninth major strike stifled in this way by the government since year 2000. The government has never indicated a reason why any of the suspended glass worker strikes would be harmful to public health and national security.

On the day of the decree, 27 June, IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Jyrki Raina wrote to Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan:

It constitutes a clear attack on the right to strike, which is one of the fundamental workers’ rights, guaranteed by the conventions – which have been ratified by the Turkish government – and the jurisprudence of the International Labour Organization.

On 21 July, following the complaint submittal, general secretary Raina wrote to ILO Director-General Guy Ryder:

“IndustriALL Global Union fully supports the above-mentioned complaint. We would like to apply to the Committee of Freedom of Association and the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations.”

The ILO Committee of Freedom of Association has in the past ruled in favour of Kristal-İş in a complaint against the government’s misuse of this legislation.

Kristal-İş Şişecam workers continue mobilizing and conducting activities such as marching on the company headquarters in Istanbul.

See the full argument and explanation in the complaint text here.

IRMA releases precedent-setting international standard for responsible mining

The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) includes stakeholders from the mining industry, trade unions, nongovernmental organizations, affected communities and businesses. IndustriALL and the USW serve on the IRMA steering committee.

The proposed Standard for Responsible Mining is a set of principles to improve social and environmental performance that seeks to emulate for industrial-scale mine sites what has been done with certification schemes in agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

IRMA Steering Committee member Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL’s Director for the mining industry stated,

The success of IRMA is a key priority for IndustriALL’s mining sectoral activities. IRMA will continue to build multi-stakeholder dialogue charged with achieving responsible mining. IRMA is the first international certification procedure to include proper worker participation and therefore will be the first to award credible certifications on mines with high social and environmental performance.
When a certification body is set up and run by the companies themselves it is not surprising when irresponsible employers that abuse workers and the environment are awarded certificates of good practice.

"As Canada's mining union, we are proud of our contributions and that of IndustriALL Global Union, a global union federation to which we are affiliated," said Ken Neumann, USW National Director.

"Each of us wants a future where mining companies make a positive contribution to local communities and minimize any impact on land and water, while serving the needs of modern society," said Jon Samuel, Group Head of Government and Social Affairs at international mining company Anglo American. "Though we don't always see eye to eye on every issue, IRMA has developed a draft set of leading edge practices and a new definition of more responsible mining."

After the Oct. 22 comment deadline, revisions will be made to the draft Standard for Responsible Mining and a second draft will be released for an additional comment period before the final standard is prepared. The goal is to develop a certification scheme based on independent third-party verification and in compliance with ISEAL Alliance's Code of Good Practice for standard setting.

Union fights for safety after 5 killed in Indian shipyard

Five workers were killed and eight others injured in a gas explosion at the Alang Shipbreaking Yard in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat. All of them were migrant workers.

ASSRGWA summoned the meeting of Alang’s safety officials, under the supervision of the Government Port Officer, Factory Inspector and Assistant Labour Commissioner, on 21 July 2014. Attended by 167 safety officers, safety supervisors and mukadams (field supervisors) at the yard, participants discussed the recent fatalaties, and how to prevent future accidents through the creation of a safe working environment.

The five workers who lost their lives on 28 June 2014 were breaking up a scrap chemical tanker ‘D.V Perin’ for ship breaking company, Paras Steel Corporation. The accident has again highlighted employers’ apathy towards adopting foolproof protocols of disposing or dismantling the hazardous scrap such as chemical tankers. Worker safety has long been an issue for ASSRGWA at the Alang ship breaking yard which has had 15 fatalaties since January.

Following pressure from ASSRGWA, an inquiry has been set up by government authorities to investigate into the causes of the accident. The union has also insisted that the yard is kept closed until the investigation is completed.

Brother VV Rane, coordinator of IndustriALL’s shipbreaking project, was among the first ones to visit the accident site. "Gross negligence and a lack of commitment towards safety by the Paras Steel Corporation, together with indifference from regulating and enforcement authorities has lead to the industrial homicide of five workmen, causing irreparable damage to their families,” said Rane.

As well as demanding an inquiry into the incident, ASSRGWA is seeking compensation for the families of the deceased, as well as the injured workers. ASSRGWA has also appealed to the Inter Ministerial Committee and India’s National Human Rights Commission for those responsible to be brought to justice swiftly, as well as a speedy compensation claim procedure.

IndustriALL Global Union’s affiliates central in Serbian general strike

Bypassing established parliamentary procedure; the Serbian government is attempting to push through a raft of legislative attacks on workers in the country. Unions are protesting the passage of the proposals to Parliament without the consensus of the country’s Social and Economic Council.

The Serbian government is being pressured into implementing the sham austerity agenda by foreign corporate power.

“We stand with you in your necessary struggle against this attack on workers in Serbia” said IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina in his letter to the Serbian affiliates. “Count on our support, we march with you shoulder-to-shoulder”.

Specifically, the laws that the government aims to amend are: the Labour Law; Law on Privatization; Law on Bankruptcy; and the Law on Retirement and Disability Insurance.

The low wages and social protections in Serbia risk being further weakened across the board of minimum wage, pensions, disability insurance, severance pay, holiday allowance, legal duration of temporary contracts, and trade union bargaining. While zero consultation has been afforded to the Serbian unions they have been forced into strike action.

Two national trade union centres, UGS Nezavisnost and the SSSS confederation organized the general strike. IndustriALL affiliate GS IER Nezavisnost mobilized 1,000 members from many different regions of Serbia to march in the capital Belgrade. Many of the union’s members have not received their salary for over a year and were only able to participate in the demonstration by union organized transportation.

Over 15,000 workers demonstrated on 17 July in front of the Parliament Building. Four IndustriALL affiliates participated, GS IER Nezavisnost and three members of the SSSS confederation, the Autonomous Metalworkers union of Serbia-SSMS, the Autonomous Trade Union of energy and petrochemistry workers of Serbia, and the Autonomous trade union of textile, leather and footwear workers of Serbia.

Milorad Panović, president of GS IER Nezavisnost, reported on 17 July:

Today, we have proclaimed a general strike which will continue until our demands are met. We ask the government and parliament to stop the proposed changes to these laws. The party in power, together with their coalition parties, has 207 votes in the Parliament, out of the total of 256, if they want to withdraw the proposed amendments, they can do it easily.