Unions back the auto agreement between Argentina and Brazil

Leaders of the Confederación de Gremios Industriales, led by Ricardo Pignanelli (SMATA) and Antonio Caló (UOMRA), both affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union, met the Argentina industry minister, Debora Giorgi and expressed their support for the agreement, which tries to stabilize the auto industry at a time when the economy is slowing down.

Also present at the meeting were the general secretaries of the following affiliates: Federación Obrera Nacional de la Industria del Vestido, Romildo Ranú; Asociación de Supervisores de la Industria Metalmecánica, Luis García; Asociación Obrera Minera, Héctor Laplace; Sindicato de Obreros Curtidores, Walter Correa and Federación Argentina de Petróleo y Gas, Alberto Roberti.

In their joint press release Brazil and Argentina governments said the agreement reduces the number of tax-free vehicles and auto parts that Brazil can export to Argentina and establishes that for every US$1 of automotive products exported to Brazil, Argentina will import US$1.5 of automotive products from Brazil. The ratio, in what is known as the Flex clause, was previously US$1 to US$1.95.

Ricardo Pignanelli told the media that the agreement with Brazil "helps a lot because it will allow us to sell 40,000 units more than last year" and "focus on auto parts".

This will relieve the critical production and employment situation in the sector. It could reduce the price of some models by 10 per cent and new models by 7 or 8 per cent.

The agreement is valid until 1 July 2015 and negotiations will continue on a new agreement for the period 2015-2020.

Employers deny the international right to strike

The Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) is a tripartite body of the ILC consisting of employers, workers and governments. It has the mandate to scrutinize measures taken by member countries to observe ILO Conventions and make recommendations to governments, aiming to improve the implementation of the Conventions they have ratified. Each year, the Employers’ Group and the Workers’ Group negotiate a shortlist of 25 countries to examine during the ILC, which must come to consensual conclusions on the recommendations it makes.

The attack on the right to strike started at the International Labour Conference in June 2012, when the spokesperson of the Employers’ Group unexpectedly announced that the Employers would refuse to agree to a negotiated short list of countries that included any case where the right of strike was involved. This intransigent statement provoked a deadlock and completely blocked the discussion of cases in the CAS.

The Employers’ Group argues that in the absence of any explicit reference to the right to strike in the actual text of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, the internationally accepted rules of interpretation require Convention 87 to be interpreted without a right to strike.

“The Employers’ Group’s argument relies on a deeply-flawed understanding of the right to freedom of association. They take a deeply conservative view, where freedom of association is a self-contained, individual right, wholly divorced from the context of industrial relations,” argues Jeff Vogt, legal advisor for the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). “However, the right to Freedom of Association has long been understood as a collective right, particularly in the context of industrial relations, and indeed is a bundle of rights, which includes the right to strike.”

Unfortunately after the Workers’ Group agreed to make a one-time concession in 2013 in order to prevent the recurrence of the 2012 failure, the Employers’ Group again demanded in 2014 that a disclaimer outruling the right to strike be added to the conclusions relating to three countries (Algeria, Cambodia and Swaziland) where C87 was under examination. But this time the Workers’ Group unanimously refused to accept this demand, which compromises the work of the Committee.

As the Workers’ Group explained to the plenary, the CAS conclusions need to provide clear guidelines to governments to adjust and improve implementation of ILO Conventions – today there is disagreement on three cases, but tomorrow these could become four, five or six depending on the number of cases relating to C87 under discussion. As no agreement was reached at the ILC in June 2014, all 19 cases under examination by the CAS remain without approved conclusions.

The Workers’ Group’s main concern is that the employers are now increasingly disputing other major Conventions such as C98 “Right to Collective Bargaining”; these insidious and persistent disagreements on the interpretation of fundamental ILO Conventions are undermining and paralysing the work and credibility of the Committees.

The conflict over the right to strike has been referred to ILO’s Governing Body, which could call on the International Court of Justice to produce an advisory opinion and put an end to the dispute. A decision is expected in November 2014.

The Workers’ Group is standing firm and trade unions have pledged to defend the right to strike as one of the major instruments of workers worldwide.

Ukrainian miners demand wage increase

EVRAZ is a steel and mining company with operations in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, USA, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan and South Africa. On 13 June, workers in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, launched a protest in front of the company’s office, demanding a doubling of wages as of 1 May 2014.

A rapid rise of prices for basic goods and services, as well as a devaluation of the Ukrainian currency, are the main reasons for workers' demands. One of the protesters said he is earning 8 000 hryvnia. This amount used to equal US$ 1000, but with the current exchange rate only amounts to US$ 700.

Igor Naumenko, the company’s human resource director, said that the wages at EVRAZ Sukhaya Balka JSC are already higher than average in the industry, but that management is planning further increases. Promising to share the workers’ demands with management, he also committed to reporting back in a week what wage increases will be effective as of 1 June.

Aleksander Bondar, local chairman of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate the Independent Trade Union of Coal Miners of Ukraine:

The union is ready to negotiate, but we will go on strike if an agreement is not reached within a week.

A solidarity action supporting miners at EVRAZ Sukhaya Balka JSC took place on 12 June at the Chelsea Football Club stadium in London, where EVRAZ was holding its shareholders’ annual general meeting. Demonstrators picketed one of the main entrances to the stadium, distributing information on the Ukrainian miners’ demands.

In May, more than a thousand workers at the Jubilee and Frunze mines of EVRAZ Sukhaya Balka JSC protested against the reduction of wages and demanded a double wage increase. However, a month later management has yet to meet the workers' demands.

Strike action called off as workers agree a deal

Further industrial action and a march and rally due to take place this weekend have been called off after members endorsed a deal which sees a compromise one week shutdown this year, an extra half day holiday and a cash settlement for the workers.

Members of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Unite the Union, had taken two days of strike action and put in place an overtime ban over the company’s plans to shut its site in Shelburn, in Elmet Leeds for two weeks in August.
The move by the company would have forced workers to take their annual leave in the height of summer season when the price of a family holiday can be up to 92 per cent higher.

Commenting, Unite national officer Tony Murphy said:

“Our members showed great determination in fighting for a deal that they found acceptable. They have remained steadfast throughout the past few weeks and put forward a number of proposals and compromises which the company had rejected.Industrial action was due to be stepped up over the coming days, but the company finally recognised they had to reach an agreement with the workforce."

Moving forward, there is a need to build a better relationship with Optare and Unite will of course provide help and assistance to do this when required.

Unions seek deferral of Brazil Mining Code

That Brazil needs a new mining code is not in question. In the 47 years since the code was revised by the then military regime, mining has been one of the fastest growing sectors, and the impact on communities and the environment has grown equally rapidly.

Critics, however, decry both the process and the content of the law, criticizing the fact that a code aimed at regulating a non-renewable commons resource is being pushed through without public debate. Add to that the fact that the content of the law protects the vested interests of corporations, while failing to recognize the social and environmental impact of mining.

The revised draft was discussed behind closed doors for four years before being sent to Congress on a ‘legal urgency’ basis, allowing only 90 days for public debate. The ‘legal urgency’ was subsequently withdrawn under pressure from unions and NGOs, and the current timeframe for adoption is now unclear.

Unions and civil society groups, including IndustriAll Global Union affiliate CNQ-CUT, have submitted 53 proposals dealing with decent work, health and safety, the social and environmental impact, the involvement of social actors and industrial sustainability. A further 250 or so proposed amendments reflect the interests of the industry.

Unions are asking the government to defer the vote until 2015.

In the meantime convene a national mining conference aimed to develop a regulatory framework, reflecting the diversity of interests of Brazilian society.

Brazil has over 7,000 active mines yielding 80 different minerals. It is one of the world's largest producers of iron ore, bauxite, gold, nickel, manganese as well as the rare mineral niobium. The sector provides over 900,000 formal sector jobs.

Glass workers strike over ‘paltry’ pay offer

About 112 employees at Tyneside Safety Glass started their seven days of strike action on 16 June. The strike is from 05.00 to 19.00 each day and also includes a continuous overtime ban.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate Unite, said that the company could afford to be more generous, especially as it awarded the highest paid director a 14 per cent pay rise last year, and shifted £750,000 from the company’s account to the owner’s trust fund.

The company, who makes makes laminated glass for bus windows and windscreens, had offered a three-year deal; three per cent in the first year, and then two per cent in the two subsequent years. Unite said this deal had strings attached to make the deal self-funding.

Unite regional officer Fazia Hussain-Brown says:

“Our members rejected the paltry and insulting ‘strings attached’ deal by more than 90 per cent as the company was giving with one hand and taking with the other. Our hardworking members and their families are faced with the continuing cost of living crisis, with household bills going through the roof and they deserve a more generous pay deal."

"The management’s plea of poverty does not ring true and we urge them to get around the table urgently to negotiate a fair and equable settlement, so our members can continue to contribute to the prosperity of the company."

Have your say on international trade

The WTO is a worldwide forum for governments to establish rules and agreements on trade.

Although a feeble attempt at public inclusion, the survey is an important opportunity for people to let the WTO, a powerful international organization, know what they think.

The WTO frequently negotiates trade policies that put investors and multinationals first at human cost. While trade across borders can benefit workers and society, it should not be done at the expense of workers’ rights and the environment.

IndustriALL is committed to confronting global capital and challenging the power of multinational companies through promoting the rights of trade unions and workers.

Many of the WTO’s survey questions are loaded but it does give you the chance to have your say.

Take part in the WTO poll.

ILO concerned about violation of Belarusian workers' and trade union rights

The session of the Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) reviewed ongoing violations of workers' and trade union rights in Belarus. Alexander Yaroshuk, Chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) which consists largely of IndustriALL Global Union affiliates, said the Belarusian government repeatedly challenges ILO principles and values by ignoring its recommendations and prosecuting members of independent trade unions. He called on the ILO to be clear in urging the Belarusian government to return the rights stolen from workers and put an end to repression, discrimination and the legalized practice of forced labour.

Yaroshuk told the CAS:

Over the last 10 years Belarus has become one of the worst countries in the world for workers and independent trade unions. Prosecutions, repressions and punishments, as well as dismissals of workers for being members of independent unions, are wide-scale.
The 1999 President's Decree No. 2 made it impossible to build independent unions. However, any attempts by workers to create a union are being suppressed. Leaders and activists of newly created unions get dismissed immediately, and members are being forced to return to official unions controlled by the state.

In 2012, Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko issued Decree No.9 stating that during the modernization and reconstruction of woodworking enterprises, employees can only terminate their labour contracts with the consent of the employer. In fact, this decree brought serfdom to Belarus.

The BKDP leader commented on the practice of forced labour in Belarus:

Now almost all workers are on short-term labour contracts, a form of forced labour in the totalitarian regime. A medieval practice of serfdom, or modern slavery, is now back in Belarus after the President's decree effectively banned workers from leaving jobs in the woodworking industries. According to the latest statements by the President, this practice will soon be extended to the agricultural sector.

Despite government proclamations and the monitoring of workers' rights in Belarus by the ILO since 2003, there have been no positive changes, as reported by an ILO mission to the country in January 2014.

On commenting on the ILO's decision to put Belarus on the blacklist once again, Gennady Fedynich, Chairman of IndustriALL affiliate the Belarusian Radio and Electronic Industry Workers' Union, said:

Short-term labour contracts are widespread in Belarus, and persecution of members of independent trade unions continue. We cannot register new local unions because the authorities refuse to do so under various pretexts. Moreover, there is a pressure on businessmen not to provide an address for a union, and without an address it is not possible to create a local union."

The union leader is skeptical about the ILO capability to influence the government of Belarus:

Over the last ten years the rights of workers and unions in Belarus have become even worse. The Belarusian government ignores both the ILO Recommendations and the ILO Conventions it has ratified. The rules of the game must be changed in relation to such governments."

Patience running out on promised reforms in Swaziland

Such protest action by all the worker representatives is unheard of in case hearings at the International Labour Conference (ILC), which is the highest decision-making body of the International Labour Organization (ILO). As a signatory to ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, Swaziland was on the list of cases being examined by the ILO’s Committee on the Applications of Standards (CAS). For the past decade the Swazi government has flouted trade union and human rights and evaded interventions by the ILO on the application of Convention 87.

At the tripartite plenary discussion on 6 June 2014, the Swaziland government refused to acknowledge the lack of progress on registration of two labour federations, the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) and the Amalgamated Trade Unions of Swaziland (ATUSWA). The government also denied violations of organizing rights and the harassment of trade union leaders.

Trade union struggles in Swaziland, where IndustriALL Global Union has three affiliates, are linked to those for political democracy. The small southern African country is governed by a monarch that instituted a state of emergency in 1973 and is still in place 41 years later. The abuse of power extends to the police and judiciary, where arrests and trials are used to deal with dissent. Most recently, Thulani Maseko, a well-respected human rights and trade union lawyer, and Nation magazine editor, Bheki Makhubu, were jailed and are being tried for contempt of court for publishing articles raising issue with the judiciary.

With clear cases of repression in Swaziland and blatant violations of trade union and human rights, efforts by the Swazi government to downplay violations during the ILC Committee hearing and claim that sufficient progress had been made sounded absurd. Predictably, a number of African government representatives at the hearing gave their support to the Swazi government and stated, in what appeared to be well-rehearsed lines, that the government had sufficiently demonstrated its full commitment to making the necessary amendments and should be given more time to put legislative measures in place.

The government member of the United States however stated that the failure to address the violations of Convention 87 in Swaziland was a “matter of grave concern”, especially as the country enjoys preferential trade with the US under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act. This was also pressed by the worker member of the US, Ms. Fisher who said that that the May 2014 deadline to amend legislation in Swaziland for continued eligibility for trade benefits had not been respected. The worker member of the UK said that trade agreements with the EU also required that international commitments, including freedom of association, freedom of assembly and free speech, were met and that in recent months the number of arrests of those criticizing the regime had actually increased.

In a rare moment of support at the ILC, several Employer delegates joined the Swaziland employer members to call for urgent compliance with C87 and the immediate registration of TUCOSWA. Employer associations are also affected by government’s decision that there is insufficient legislation in place to register federations.

(Swaziland worker members made very clear the ongoing systematic attacks on workers’ rights and the suppression of trade union activities. These include the repressive tactics of the government against union leaders and those that support the unions, like Maseko, that risk arrest, criminal records and prison in their struggle for rights.)

Three countries, Algeria, Cambodia and Swaziland were on the list of the CAS for discussion on C87. Unfortunately the Committee could not come to Conclusions on 19 cases, including these three, because the Employers group once more refused to recognise that the right to strike forms part of Convention 87.

This impasse means that no firm stand has been taken on Swaziland at the ILC this year, however the draft conclusions indicate all parties are tiring of being strung along by promises for reform by the Swaziland government that remain unfulfilled.

Standing up for safe working conditions

The letter they presented to Huhtamaki’s plant managers also urged those managers to refrain from retaliating against the workers for their actions.

Said one worker:

"We knew that when we tried to talk to management about these issues individually, nothing changed. When we all got together we realized that if we all asked for changes together, there was no way they could ignore us. All we want is for them to treat us the same way they treat their union employees."

While the Huhtamaki workers in Commerce do not have a union voice, they do have union support from the workers at the six Huhtamaki facilities where workers enjoy the protection of a union contract. Five are IndustriALL Global Union affiliate United Steelworkers (USW) bargaining units and the other is represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers/UFCW (RWDSU/UFCW).

Many of the company’s other plants around the globe in the United Kingdom, Brazil, New Zealand and elsewhere are also unionized. Those union workers have been sending messages and photos of support to their nonunion Huhtamaki brothers and sisters in California.

The USW Huhtamaki Council also sent a letter supporting the workers.

Another worker said:

"It's really great knowing that other Huhtamaki workers around the country are supporting us today. I feel like the company will have to listen to us now."

More than 3,500 people work in one of the 21 plants of the global Finnish packaging and paper products corporation in the United States.

Huhtamaki is expanding its U.S. operations and a new report from the USW and the AFL-CIO reveals how the company’s expansion strategy in the United States is creating low-wage, precarious employment while threatening the job security and living standards of unionized employees.

The report details how Huhtamaki is leveraging local and state subsidies and tax breaks and instead of providing good jobs for the communities it expands into, the company is using an increasingly low-wage, minimal benefits temporary workforce. It also outlines cutbacks in occupational safety and health spending that are impacting workers in the plants, Huhtamaki’s use of a union-busting law firm to combat workers’ initiatives to organize and its moving of product lines to its nonunion plants.