Cambodia: launch of renewed collective bargaining agreement 

The template agreement runs from 1 July 2026 to 31 July 2029 and enables standardized, brand-supported CBAs at factory level across the sector. As a template agreement, it becomes legally binding once adopted at factory level.

What the agreement covers

The CBA includes:

The renewed agreement increases the monthly base wage by US$6 until December 2027, rising to a further US$9 increase from January 2028. It also extends maternity leave by 15 additional days and introduces five days of paid paternity leave for the first time, alongside the agreement’s existing protections on freedom of association, gender-based violence, heat stress and dispute resolution.

Supporting fair wage growth

The CBA complements national minimum wage increases and builds on the minimum wage process. In line with International Labour Organization (ILO) recommendations, wage increases under the CBA are established through collective bargaining between the social partners, providing predictable and reliable real wage growth supported through the supply chains of global brands.

By engaging global brands and negotiating a CBA template for standardized agreements at factory level, the social partners in Cambodia secure the connection to binding brand commitments. As a result, all factories adopting the template CBA benefit directly from those commitments.

The agreement is part of the ACT programme in Cambodia, which enables brands to engage meaningfully with unions, manufacturers and fellow retailers, setting a new industry standard for stable, predictable and responsible supply chains.

IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie said: 

“We congratulate our affiliates and the employers on this new collective agreement template. It is another constructive step towards sound industrial relations and stable workplaces. Further, the CBAs introduce new industry standards that complement national laws while securing brand support for wage developments that are transparent, accountable and sustainable.”

IndustriALL and its Cambodian affiliates call on all global brands and retailers sourcing in Cambodia to immediately sign the Cambodia Support Agreement.

Aligning with due diligence standards

By signing the agreement, brands commit to an industrial relations model that balances the priorities of workers, manufacturers and retailers. The initiative also aligns with due diligence requirements on stakeholder engagement, wages and freedom of association (FOA), supporting a transparent and responsible approach to sourcing practices.

Under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, wages, benefits and conditions of work offered across the operations of multinational enterprises should not be less favourable to workers than those offered by comparable employers in the host country. Where comparable employers do not exist, enterprises should provide the best possible wages, benefits and conditions of work, within the framework of government policies and applicable international standards (Chapter V, Paragraph 4b).

The CBA negotiated between the social partners in Cambodia within the ACT Cambodia programme provides the best possible wages, benefits and conditions of work within the framework of applicable international standards, including ILO Conventions No. 87 and 98, and is already implemented by comparable employers in the country.

Nigerian unions develop strong plan to build worker power at Dangote

The agenda includes mapping the workforce across Africa and mounting organising campaigns. Unions will also monitor labour rights abuses and develop common demands around collective bargaining, workplace safety, freedom of association and social dialogue.

The unions were the National Union of Petroleum & Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Senior Staff Association (CANMPSSAN) and the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers (NUTGTW).

Unions fight back

The meeting follows years of documented exploitation across the Dangote Group. Casual and contract workers receive lower wages and fewer protections than permanent staff. Health and safety standards are poor and the group refuses meaningful collective bargaining even where unions are organized.

In September 2025, the US$20 billion Dangote Refinery on the outskirts of Lagos dismissed 800 workers the day after they joined PENGASSAN. Management attributed the dismissals to a restructuring prompted by alleged acts of sabotage, while unions called it victimisation.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) sided with the unions. NLC president, Joe Ajaero, accused Dangote of forcing workers into company-controlled unions, violating their freedom of association and undermining collective bargaining. The NLC accused Dangote of breaching Nigerian law and ILO Conventions 87 and 98, both ratified by Nigeria, which guarantee freedom of association and the right to organize.

The move is significant given the Dangote Group’s expanding footprint across Africa. Its operations include petroleum refining and cement plants in Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The group also runs a fertiliser complex exporting across the continent and has ambitions in power generation. The group employs tens of thousands of workers across Nigeria and has operations in more than a dozen African countries. Yet for many of those workers, the right to join a union has remained violated.

The company network will bring together unions organising across Dangote’s African operations. It will facilitate information-sharing and mutual solidarity. The network will also support campaigns in countries where the group is newer and union presence is thinner.

Oluchi Amaogu, NUPENG assistant general secretary, said:

“We are stronger when we stand together. This meeting marks an important step towards building a united trade union voice across Dangote operations. Through solidarity, organisation and determination we can strengthen workers’ rights and ensure that growth and development deliver benefits for working people.”

Tom Grinter, IndustriALL director for chemicals and pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, rubber and materials, said:

“The Dangote Group is an industrial conglomerate that spans the continent and cannot be allowed to violate workers’ rights. This is why unions are jointly organizing.”

South East Asia lags on chemical safety convention

Convention 170 provides the framework for managing all types of chemicals in all branches of economic activity and prioritising prevention over protection. It requires employers to ensure chemicals are labelled and safety data sheets are provided. Moreover, it requires risks are minimised. Workers shall not be exposed to chemicals exceeding exposure limits. Also, records of exposure must be monitored and assessed.

Halshka Graczyk said workers must have the right to information and to remove themselves from chemical danger. Many countries struggle with weak classification, insufficient worker training and fragmented responsibilities.

Unionists from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia criticised governments and companies for prioritising profits over workers’ health. They said cost was being used as an excuse to avoid committing to international labour standards. Lack of safety data sheets and monitoring data is another key challenge.

After an exchange of views, unions unanimously agreed that higher safety standards are in fact good for business and trade. Companies should not use higher cost as an excuse. Instead, it shows companies conducted due diligence investigations and eliminated risks of doing business. Nothing is more precious than human lives.

Despite many laws and regulations concerning the handling of chemical substances in the region, none of the South East Asian countries have ratified ILO Convention 170. Now, unionists will study the gap between Convention 170 and national laws. Ratification is the ultimate goal.

“To examine the gap between the national legal system and Convention 170, a gap analysis should be conducted with the support of technical experts, international and local labour lawyers. The ILO may provide technical advice upon request from governments. It is also critical to develop and institute an OSH culture in every country,”

said Halshka Graczyk.

IndustriALL regional secretary for South East Asia Ramon Certeza said:

“No worker should have to risk their health, their livelihood or their entire life simply because they do not know what they are being exposed to. We firmly believe that workers have the fundamental right to know which chemicals they are working with and what risks they are exposed to and which measures are necessary to prevent harm. No worker should be forced to choose between their health and their job.”

How unions are shaping the future of work in the age of AI

AI at the bargaining table

Some 4.66 million industrial robots are already installed on factory floors worldwide and 83 million jobs are at risk by 2027. Employment in mechanical engineering is shrinking in Europe while ICT and electronics is booming across Asia. IndustriALL sector director Alexander Ivanou pointed to companies like Tesla, covering mechanical engineering and ICT, with enormous market value and no union, as a symbol of the organizing challenge unions face today.

AI is no longer a technology question, it is a labour question. Work organization, employment, skills, wages, privacy and data protection are all now affected by algorithmic systems. Delegates heard from Martin Peters of IndustriALL Europe on the need for collective agreements with built-in adaptation clauses. From the Netherlands, Jacob Plat of FNV put it plainly: digitalisation should be negotiated, not imposed. Workers must be involved in decisions about AI and automation before implementation, not after.

The human cost: surveillance, stress and psychosocial risk

Idawati Binti Idrus from Malaysia described how turnstile data is used to identify workers’ mistakes, with records printed for HR investigations in ways that affect pay and bonuses. Corinne Schewin of the white-collar union CFE-CGC in France laid out the psychosocial risks workers face: work intensity, emotional demands, lack of autonomy, value conflict and job insecurity. The data show that young people and women are particularly at risk. Eduard Pakhlevanyan from the Union organizations of miners, metallurgists and jewellers of Republic of Armenia asked the question that framed the afternoon: what is the line between digital progress and digital pressure?

Engaging professional STEM workers

As STEM and professional workers increasingly fill roles alongside blue-collar workers, unions must adapt to different expectations and ways of engaging. NUMSA in South Africa has adapted the rules and bargaining frameworks to include these workers. Despite limited awareness, doubts about relevance and the risks of union busting, IndustriALL affiliates are finding new ways to connect with STEM and white-collar workers. Peer-to-peer organizing, early university engagement and giving workers a real say in shaping their workplace are all proving effective.

“The challenge is clear, but so is the opportunity. The question is how we adapt, innovate and connect,”

said Armelle Seby, director for white-collar workers and gender.

From policy to action

Two recent developments give unions concrete international leverage. The ILO’s conclusions on AI in manufacturing establish that AI must serve decent work, productivity growth and just transition. The newly adopted ILO Convention 193 on decent work in the platform economy sets a precedent for regulating algorithmic management wherever AI governs work.

As IndustriALL’s industrial director Diana Junquera Curiel said:

“The Convention is one of the most visible examples that AI is governing our work. We cannot leave this technology unregulated. That is why this is so important.”

IndustriALL’s AI policy paper and Just Transition guide of practice translate these standards into concrete union demands. But international tools alone are not enough.

Delegates agreed that cross-sectoral cooperation and union solidarity are essential to organizing workers and defending decent work AI. They committed to joint action in the coming years:

Said IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kan Matsuzaki:

“The path forward is straightforward: organize workers from the ground up to build power in the workplace, negotiate stronger collective agreements and create the conditions to regulate technology in workers’ interests.”

UGT and CCOO strike at Iberdrola again over ‘Just Transition’ that leaves workers behind

It is the second general strike at Iberdrola in just over a year. The first took place on 6 June 2025, when over 9,000 workers walked out in the company’s first ever strike.

Sixteen months, no progress

Negotiations on a new collective agreement began in January 2025. Sixteen months on, UGT and CCOO say talks are exactly where they started, with the company unwilling to move on wage increases, restoring purchasing power, or working conditions.

Since 2021, the unions say, Iberdrola staff in Spain have lost 19 per cent of their purchasing power as wages rose only 2.8 per cent against far higher inflation. The unions describe the company’s pay offer as “a disgrace” for a company that calls itself a global energy leader. ELA and CIG are calling for a strike in the regions where they have presence, supporting the national strike.

Record profits, frozen wages

Iberdrola reported net profit of €6.285 billion in 2025. Since the current collective agreement took effect in 2021, net profit has risen 12 per cent, accumulating €24.924 billion in total profit over that period. The company’s market capitalization has reached close to €135 billion. Iberdrola, which describes itself as Europe’s leading electricity company by market value, is set to distribute more than €4.5 billion to shareholders for 2025.

Over the same period, the company’s executive chairman, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, increased his own remuneration by 6.45 per cent, to €14.11 million.

The unions say Spain accounts for 23 per cent of Iberdrola’s global workforce but contributed 46 per cent of its net profit in 2025, while the company’s own publicity about average pay of more than €88,000 per worker bears little resemblance to what staff actually take home.

A pattern of disputes

The unions point to repeated rulings against Iberdrola at Spain’s National High Court (Audiencia Nacional) in the past two years, including over an illegal two-tier pay scale, unlawful use of electronic voting in union elections, and a failure to uprate pension risk benefits in line with inflation.

UGT and CCOO representatives also maintained a five-day, round-the-clock protest outside Iberdrola’s Bilbao headquarters ahead of the company’s general shareholders’ meeting earlier this year.

The strike falls during the week Iberdrola is marking its 125th anniversary, tracing its origins to the founding of Hidroeléctrica Ibérica in Bilbao in 1901.

Just Transition, but not for workers

Iberdrola has positioned itself globally as a leader in delivering what it calls a Just Transition to clean energy, pointing to its coal plant closures and renewables investment as evidence of putting workers at the centre of the shift. UGT and CCOO argue that commitment looks different from the inside, accusing the company of doing exactly what unions have warned against for years: record profits and dividends at the top, frozen purchasing power on the shop floor.

“We stand with our Spanish affiliates as they take strike action for the second time in a year. Sixteen months of stalling is not negotiation, it is a refusal to engage. A company breaking its own profit records every year can afford to protect its workers’ purchasing power. A transition, whether that is closing a coal plant or restructuring an industry, is only “just” if it protects the jobs, pay and conditions of the workers it affects,”

said Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary.

IndustriALL Executive Committee meets in Geneva amid global turmoil

A world under pressure

IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie said the world is going through one of its most dangerous periods since the second world war. He pointed to growing pressure, with the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran cited as part of a broader erosion of respect for international law and human rights.

In Ukraine, the government continues to push labour law reforms that would weaken protections, even as the country seeks EU membership, a contradiction that the EU needs to address. 

The ILO itself is in crisis, as the United States has not paid its contributions, worth 21 per cent of the ILO budget, since 2023, with reports that the US delegation at this year’s International Labour Conference was instructed to exclude references to gender and Just Transition.

In Argentina, affiliate Unión Obrera Metalúrgica (UOM) re-elected its leadership in March with 85 per cent of the vote, only for the courts to overturn the result and suspend it for six months. 

IndustriALL is also in dispute with Mercedes-Benz over its role in defeating a 2024 organizing vote at its Alabama plant and has announced it is withdrawing from its global framework agreement with the company while an NLRB hearing is under way.

A win amid the turmoil: the right to strike

Against this backdrop, participants welcomed the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion of 21 May 2026, confirming that the right to strike is protected under ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association. The ruling follows years of disputes at the ILO, where employer representatives have challenged that link and was referred to the ICJ after the workers’ group decided the question could no longer be left unresolved.

Trade, Cambodia and holding multinationals accountable

A discussion on trade, introduced by IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan, examined the impact of US tariffs on global manufacturing and the rise of protectionism. Speakers agreed that while unilateral tariffs are unlikely to bring back lost manufacturing jobs in the long run, trade has become more unfair, with European industries such as steel and automotive under pressure from Chinese competition.

IndustriALL president Christiane Benner argued for “local content” requirements as a legitimate, temporary response to unfair competition, while Atle Høie said the tariffs are also creating chaos for global clothing brands trying to adapt their sourcing strategies, with no sign that textile, garment, shoe and leather jobs are returning to the US.

Closing the session, Kemal Özkan said IndustriALL would continue to coordinate its work on trade at global, regional and sectoral level.

In Cambodia, eight years of work are bearing fruit: nine collective bargaining agreements have now been signed under the Cambodia template agreement, improving conditions for 15,000 workers.

This year the Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) Competence Centre, led by executive director Kelly Fay Rodriguez was launched. The centre helps unions use HRDD laws to build worker power, supporting organizing, collective bargaining and binding outcomes for workers in global supply chains. [LINK to HRDD article]

Africa at an industrial crossroads

IndustriALL vice president Rose Omamo, also general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Kenya Metal Workers, said Africa stands at an industrial crossroads. US tariffs and uncertainty over the African Growth and Opportunity Act have already cost jobs, with nearly 40,000 garment jobs lost in Lesotho alone, mostly affecting women workers.

Rose Omamo said:

“Industrialization without rights is exploitation. Industrialization without strong unions is unsustainable. Industrialization without decent work cannot withstand economic shocks.”

She highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area as an opportunity for regional production and Africa’s role in supplying minerals for the green transition. Including cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lithium from Zimbabwe and copper from Zambia, with examples of progress already under way in South African auto manufacturing, Kenyan electric buses and Rwandan electric motorcycles.

Advancing the gender transformative agenda

The Women’s Committee met on 10 June 2026 and elected new co-chairs from Sub-Saharan Africa and North America. IndustriALL assistant general secretary Christina Olivier told said that gender-related conclusions at this year’s International Labour Conference were hard won. With global unions helping secure language on human rights due diligence despite resistance from some governments.

Presenting the committee’s road map, the Sub-Saharan Africa co-chair, Regina Nambahu, said the gender transformative agenda goes further than a gender-responsive approach:

“Feminism is for everybody. It seeks equality for all and it is not anti-men.”

The road map covers care, pay equity, health, gender-based violence, human rights due diligence and Just Transition, with regional road maps due at upcoming regional executive committee meetings.

Welcoming the new Global Youth Committee

IndustriALL welcomed the first meeting of the global youth committee, established on 28 May 2026, which elected two co-chairs along with deputy co-chairs and a secretariat. Its priorities include strengthening youth representation across IndustriALL’s structures, building solidarity among young workers and monitoring the implementation of youth-related resolutions.

Closing the session, IndustriALL president Christiane Benner reflected on the significance of the moment:

“I remember the discussion we had in Sydney in the youth conference, when we said the future is now, another future is here. We wish you all the best, because you are influencing the future of the unions tremendously.”

Bangladesh: workers push labour reforms

The 2026 ITUC Global Rights Index marks real progress, but also records continued suppression of workers’ rights on the ground. In the context of global labour discussions, Bangladesh labour rights remain a key focus for advocates and observers.

New labour laws mark real progress for workers

The gains are real. Bangladesh ratified key ILO conventions: C155 on Occupational Safety and Health. C187 on its promotional framework and C190 on Violence and Harassment. These steps are significant improvements concerning labour rights in Bangladesh.

Reforms lowered the barrier to union formation. Labour regulations now cover the shipbreaking industry. Workers receive 120 days of maternity leave. Social security has been widened.

New laws empower workers to refuse hazardous tasks. An Employment Injury Scheme Fund has been established. Violence and harassment, gender-based violence and sexual harassment now have formal legal definitions. This is a serious move to confront workplace abuse. For sectors like textile and garment, millions of women have long faced harassment on the factory floor. These developments are critically positive for them in terms of Bangladesh labour rights progress.

These reforms answer years of worker pressure. Yet, Bangladesh still sits in rank five with no guarantee of rights. Freedom of association remains restricted through convoluted regulations and weak employer compliance, highlighting ongoing challenges for labour rights in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Accord anchors safety as gaps persist

Enforcement gaps persist. IndustriALL recently reported shipbreaking deaths that expose these failures. During recent IndustriALL webinars, union representatives noted that safety committees too often exist only on paper. Their campaigns now centre on winning workers the right to elect their own members to these committees. Alongside real inspections and genuine social dialogue on the new laws, advocates for Bangladesh labour rights are closely monitoring these developments.

The Bangladesh Accord emerged from the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster. It now acts as a strong lever for workers. The legally binding agreement ties 240-plus brands to UNI and IndustriALL and gives workers a mechanism to raise safety and health issues. It is now working on expanding the scope to cover all workplace complaints, rooted in the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. With the current Accord valid until the end of 2026, a strong renewal will carry these gains forward and further secure labour rights in Bangladesh.

IndustriALL general secretary, Atle Høie, says:

“These reforms are hard-won and worth celebrating, but laws only protect workers when they are enforced. IndustriALL will continue to support its affiliates in Bangladesh to ensure progress is not undone by weak implementation or new barriers to union organizing.”

Workers’ rights advance at 2026 International Labour Conference

The Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention, C193, establishes global protections for the more than 150 million workers who earn their living through digital labour platforms. The adoption marks the culmination of negotiations launched at last year’s ILC and represents a major win for trade unions globally.

The Convention sets a precedent for the wider debate on artificial intelligence and the future of work. Platform work has been one of the clearest examples of algorithmic management being used to allocate tasks, monitor performance, determine income and deactivate workers. Too often this has happened without transparency, human review or effective remedies. It’s clear that technological change cannot be used to make workers invisible or place them outside labour protections.

The Convention covers algorithmic management, fair pay, social security and occupational safety and health. And it applies irrespective of a worker’s employment status. One of the Convention’s biggest achievements is its requirement that platform workers be correctly classified, guided by the primacy of facts. This strikes directly at the false autonomy and misclassification that has allowed platforms to deny workers their rights.

The ILC adopted strong conclusions on social dialogue and tripartism. The Workers’ Group secured key gains, including recognition of collective bargaining and freedom of association as fundamental pillars and a commitment to convene a meeting of experts on artificial intelligence and social dialogue. Conclusions also included language on sectoral and cross-border social dialogue.

Conclusions on a transformative agenda for gender equality at work were adopted despite sustained resistance from employers. The US delegation sought to reopen and redefine core gender concepts, complicating the process throughout. Workers’ Group delegates succeeded in defending critical language on psychosocial risks, intersectionality and gender bias in algorithmic and AI systems. Employers had argued that the question of AI gender bias belonged solely in the platform economy discussion.

Demanding accountability on Myanmar

IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie addressed the ILC’s special sitting on Myanmar. The ILO convened the session under the Article 33 procedure invoked against the military junta last year. Atle Høie highlighted the situation of approximately 450,000 garment workers earning less than US$100 per month. They work in factories operating under martial law, face military checkpoints, forced overtime and the risk of conscription. IndustriALL called for an end to preferential trade access for Myanmar, including under the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences and Everything but Arms scheme. IndustriALL reiterated its call for garment brands to commit to a responsible exit from the country.

Belarus: the fight continues

Trade union delegates gathered outside the UN’s Palace of Nations in Geneva on 4 June in solidarity with jailed Belarusian trade unionists. This coincided with Belarus facing a special sitting before the ILC’s Committee on the Application of Standards. Among those present was Aliaksandr Yarashuk, BKDP president, released after three and a half years in prison in Belarus. Dozens of union leaders remain imprisoned on fabricated charges. In the ILO credentials committee, questions were about the legitimacy of the official Belarusian delegation.

Said IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie:

“The ILC delivered real, concrete wins for workers. The platform economy Convention is a breakthrough; the international community has agreed that digital labour platforms must respect workers’ rights. Combined with strong conclusions on social dialogue, collective bargaining and gender equality, this conference demonstrated that tripartism can deliver meaningful outcomes even when powerful actors resist. The attempts by the United States to weaken language on gender equality and social dialogue did not prevail. IndustriALL will continue to hold governments and employers to account on every commitment made here.”

IndustriALL Anti-Corruption policy

PREFACE

IndustriALL is against all forms of corruption. At IndustriALL, we aspire not only to be compliant with regulations on finance, but also to act in a socially responsible manner.

The IndustriALL’s anti-corruption regulations are a guideline for all employees and others who act on behalf of IndustriALL, including the IndustriALL staff outside the Geneva Headquarters in the various parts of the world.

This guideline lists different types of corruption that IndustriALL might come into contact with in connection with, among other, international projects and development cooperation. It also describes the basic provisions and anti-corruption standards that should be met. 

The main purpose of the guidelines is to prevent corruption. It is nonetheless important to point out that breaches of IndustriALL’s anti-corruption regulations or relevant provisions can entail disciplinary reactions, including termination of contract, dismissal of employees, freezing of financial support, and/or notification to relevant authorities. However, none of these punitive measures will be taken against staff members without consultation with the staff reps.

1. Introduction

1.1. Corruption

The objective of the anti-corruption regulation is to boost awareness and provide guidance for IndustriALL’s employees and others who act on behalf of IndustriALL, as well as IndustriALL’s partners, about what corruption is. The standards in IndustriALL’s anti-corruption regulations are comparable to those laid down in national and international anti-corruption legislation.

Corruption can be defined as giving / offering (active corruption) or requesting / receiving / accepting (passive corruption) an undue advantage in connection with a position, office or assignment.

In determining whether corruption exists, one must first consider whether there is an “advantage” and then whether it is “undue”. An advantage will usually have financial value, for example money, artefacts or services. An advantage can also exist without clear financial value.

An advantage is “undue” when it is obtained through a clearly blameworthy act. What is considered undue depends on a concrete evaluation in each individual case. Relevant elements in such an evaluation include the financial value and type of advantage, the purpose of the advantage, what position the parties involved have and whether there is a breach of internal regulations, contract, etc.

The undue advantage must be related to the recipient’s performance of his/her position, office or assignment.

Other types of irregularities can also occur, without corruption being involved. All in all, it can be difficult to decide whether a situation constitutes corruption (intentional breach of the anti-corruption regulations) or a lack of competency (unintentional breach).

1.2. Risk-based approach

IndustriALL is an employees’ organisation that cooperates and works with other organisations through processes that involve both the political authorities and business and industry. In this political landscape, particular challenges can arise with a view to transparency and the documentation of decision-making processes. Effective prevention of corruption requires that priority be assigned to areas, situations and issues relative to the risk they represent.

1.3. To whom do the anti-corruption regulations apply?

The anti-corruption regulations are there for all employees, elected officers and others acting on behalf of IndustriALL. This includes elected officers, all employees, contracted staff and others assigned to represent IndustriALL in delegations, on trips and at meetings. It is the responsibility of all employees to comply with the anti-corruption guidelines.

2. Typical cases and special risk of corruption

2.1. Corruption, typical cases

Corruption can be committed by IndustriALL’s own employees or by third parties acting on behalf of IndustriALL (so-called middle man corruption).

a. Bribes are the most common form of corruption, entailing attempts to influence someone to achieve something to which one is not entitled by granting or offering an undue advantage in connection with the person in question’s performance of his or her duties.

b. One type of bribe is that a supplier gives a buyer a reward (usually referred to as a “kickback”) for choosing to buy from the supplier, rather than from a competitor, or, perhaps, choosing a different quantity or quality than what is required by the employer.

c. Favouring friends and family can be corruption when someone, in return for an undue advantage, obtains an advantage (a job or something else) on subjective grounds.

d. Facilitation payments are payments to promote or ensure the implementation of services to which one is already entitled. Typical examples are requests from public servants for relatively small amounts of money to allow a traveller into or out of a country, to get inventory through customs or for permission to initiate an activity, such as training, for example.

e. Trading in influence occurs when a person gives someone (typically an intermediary) an undue advantage to influence a third party’s (the decision-maker’s) performance of his/her position. Illegal trading in influence can exist even when the decision maker is not aware of either the advantage or the lobbying assignment, and even if attempts to influence are not successful. Hidden lobbying can amount to illegal trading in influence.

2.2. Gross corruption

In addition to dealings with public servants as mentioned above, other elements are also of importance for determining whether corruption is gross or “simple”: it is of significance whether the act has or could have entailed a substantial financial advantage or whether there is a risk of substantial damage, and whether the situation also implies incorrect accounting information.

2.3. Situations that increase the risk of corruption

a. Gifts, entertainment and coverage of (private) expenses increase the risk of corruption since it is not appropriate to create or further develop a relationship between parties where the wish to cooperate is not necessarily based on professional factors or needs.

b. Political donations and other sponsorships can increase the risk of corruption because they can entail bribery, where undue advantages are given without any immediate quid pro quo, but where the expectation from the donor is typically that the quid pro quo will arrive at a later date.

c. Hiring processes can increase the risk of corruption, especially in countries with a great deal of corruption.

d. Dealing with cash and inadequate documentation for covering costs engenders an informal, undocumented economy that parallels the official project economy.

e. Procurements shall take place in accordance with a framework agreement or at the best possible market price.

2.4. About conflicts of interest

Employees / elected officers shall avoid conflicts between their own interests and the interests of the organisation. This means that employees and elected officers in IndustriALL should not try to obtain advantages that are inappropriate or by other means can be envisaged to harm IndustriALL’s interests.

If a conflict of interest has arisen or is suspected, any employee / elected official needs to report it to her or his immediate superior without undue delay. Where that is not possible or appropriate, and when a concern originates in an IndustriALL region where there is an IndustriALL regional office, reports should be made to the IndustriALL Regional Secretary, with a copy to the IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary responsible for the region. In a region without an IndustriALL regional office, reports should go to the global leadership of IndustriALL. If reporting through these channels is not possible due to a conflict of interest, the matter can be escalated to the President of IndustriALL.

In connection with especially important decisions, it is to be documented that potential conflicts of interest have been considered.

3. Exposure and follow up

3.1. Raising concerns

If an employee / elected official suspects corruption, she or he needs to raise the concern through the appropriate channels, so that the situation can be followed up. If the employee is in doubt about the right way to raise concerns, the IndustriALL chief financial officer can be contacted to help, as well as the IndustriALL Regional Secretaries and/or the IndustriALL General Secretary. If contact through these channels is not possible due to a conflict of interest, the matter can be escalated to the President of IndustriALL.

IndustriALL will do all it can to protect the whistle blower(s) from any potential negative impact. IndustriALL has a zero tolerance for any form of retaliation against whistleblowers who raise an anti-corruption issue. Any complaint shall be treated in confidence, guaranteeing anonymity where needed.

3.2. Responsibility for the anti-corruption regulations

All employees are responsible for compliance with the anti-corruption guideline, and every leader is responsible for ensuring compliance under his/her sphere of responsibility.

Responsibility for anti-corruption work at IndustriALL rests with the chief financial officer. Questions of interpretation and requests for guidance can also be directed to the chief financial officer, who will delegate the questions, if need be.

3.3. Follow up, monitoring

3.3.1. Anti-corruption procedures in general

IndustriALL will follow up on expressions of concern and matters that appear to be unwanted incidents. These routines require that cases be followed up with a view to surveying facts, looking after legitimate considerations for involved individuals, looking after relevant considerations for IndustriALL and other stakeholders, ensuring reasonable progress and a reasonable assessment and decision regarding how the case will be followed up once the facts are presented.

In addition to urging people to raise concerns, IndustriALL performs auditing of all its projects. Suspicions may be raised about possible corruption as a result of such monitoring or audits. In such cases, the case will be followed up in the same way as if it had come to light through a notification or official channels.

3.3.2. Violation of the anti-corruption regulations

Breaches of the anti-corruption guideline can entail disciplinary reactions for IndustriALL’s employees. Possible reactions can include warnings, loss of responsibility and position, dismissal or discharge, depending on the severity of the breach.

For those who represent, or in one way or another act on behalf of IndustriALL on an assignment, project or business trip, etc., breach of the guidelines could lead to other types of reactions, such as claims for financial compensation and consequences for further cooperation (included termination and reimbursement), as well as the “freezing” of funding.

In case of a serious violation or repeated violations, sanctions can also be adopted against a concerned affiliate, provided that the organisation knowingly failed to uphold the principles and provisions of this policy in a manner that could undermine IndustriALL and potentially affect the integrity of the organisation.

Where there is a suspicion of an unintentional breach of the regulations, it may also be relevant to undergo more in-depth training.

4. Review

This policy shall be subject to regular review, as and when deemed necessary by the IndustriALL institutional bodies.

Feminism: not only a women’s issue

There is a particular kind of energy that fills a room when people know they are part of something historic. That energy was alive in Geneva. The new committee gathered for the first time since Sydney, ready to build, not just talk.

Six months ago, IndustriALL said the word out loud: feminism. Not as a footnote. Not as a secondary objective. As the central political framework of the entire organization. Geneva was where the promise of Sydney met the road map for delivery.

“What we have adopted in Sydney does not remain on paper,”

said Christine Olivier, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.

“It must be seen and felt in our unions, in our workplaces and in the lives of our women. We have a mandate, a strong resolution, a clear road map and now we must deliver.”

The committee elected two new co-chairs.

Regina Nambahu, from the Mine Workers Union of Namibia, has been a union member since 21 years old with 17 years in the mining industry.

“When women lead, unions grow stronger. As co-chair, I will unite women’s leadership behind a feminist agenda, so every woman worker is heard, respected and empowered. Together, we make change.”

Nicole Fears, human rights director from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in North America and a 32-year union member, added:

“I start with people. To build stronger workplaces and unions, we must understand what pulls us apart and what brings us together. My work builds relationships across differences and creates cultures of belonging where everyone has dignity, voice and value.”

Their election was more than procedural. It was a declaration.

A gender-transformative agenda that belongs to everyone

Women will not carry this transformation alone. The feminist resolution is not optional, it belongs to every affiliate, every structure and every leader, in every region of the world.

To ensure women’s structures do not carry implementation alone, the committee proposed regional road maps endorsed by regional Executive Committees. Both the secretariat and affiliates must take clear action.

The road map places pay equity at its core, recognizing the gender pay gap not as a statistic but as a reflection of deep-rooted structural inequality.

It puts care work firmly on the trade union agenda, demanding its recognition as a universal human right. 

It also addresses occupational health and safety, human rights due diligence and just transition. Without tackling discriminatory norms and unequal power relations, the transformations reshaping work will exclude women. Underlying all of this is the urgent fight against a rising tide of masculinism.

What a gender-transformative approach means

The movement faces one of its most urgent battles: leaving no women behind. Joint research by IndustriALL Global and industriAll European Trade Union paints a stark picture. Across green and digital transitions, the figures project women will gain 23 million fewer jobs than men.

In Bangladesh’s garment sector, women’s share of the workforce has dropped from 80 to 56 per cent in three decades, partly driven by new technology. Across Asia, discriminatory stereotypes push women out of automation-created roles.

Lack of confidence and cultural norms that label technical work as male hold many women workers back from upskilling.

Gender-transformative human rights due diligence is key to closing gender gaps in supply chains. Mine operators in Botswana do not design protective clothing for pregnant bodies. Women’s voices remain absent from bargaining tables. IndustriALL is developing guidelines to embed gender equality into its work with multinational corporations.

While the women’s committee advances its agenda, ILO negotiations in Geneva have been long and tough with the US and Argentina rejecting even the terms gender and every gender related issue. The case for trade union leadership has never been clearer.

Young women teach the room

If there was a single moment that captured the soul of the day, it came when young women took the floor. Mentees from IndustriALL’s mentoring projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia stood up and did something quietly groundbreaking. They taught and led. These mentees issued demands to a room of experienced trade union leaders and the room listened.

They named it without hesitation: being invited into spaces for the photograph but excluded from decisions; being held back by imposter syndrome; watching unions carry gender commitments in policy documents and nowhere else.

“Decisions are made by those who sit at the table,” one mentee said. “When women are not present in leadership structures, our priorities are overlooked. This is not a women’s issue. It is a collective bargaining issue. If we want stronger unions, we need stronger women’s participation.”

Bringing men in

The day closed with one of its most important conversations. IndustriALL general secretary, Atle Høie, spoke with an honesty the room will not forget.

“Ten years ago, I had no clue what a gender-transformative agenda was,”

he said.

“Eventually it gets quite logical. If you don’t attack the root causes, you will never solve the problem.”

Change needs more than passion. It needs direction, accountability and the courage to demand that everyone, not just women, carries the weight of change. The road map exists. The mandate is clear. Now every affiliate, every structure and every leader must decide whether they will carry it.