REGIONAL REPORT: New challenges and fights for trade unions in post Soviet Union countries

Regional Report

Text: Alexander Ivanou

Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) notes that despite improved legal guarantees in the Labour Code of 1999, transnational companies are frequently violating workers’ rights by concluding fixed-term contracts for one to three months; depriving workers of annual leave days; imposing overtime with no extra pay; and failing to transfer social insurance dues. Furthermore, employers often prevent workers from creating trade unions with threats of dismissal.

Belarus

Workers in Belarus have been put on the leash of precarious employment. In 1999, Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus issued the notorious decree No. 29 allowing employers to use fixed-term contracts for all categories of workers. The decree, which is a national law, has made it possible for employers to gradually force almost all workers in Belarus into a wicked system of precarious employment. The luckiest 35 per cent of workers sign their contracts for five years, 30 per cent conclude three-year contracts and another third are obliged to renew their contracts annually. There is also evidence of even shorter-term contracts for some groups of workers. The system allows the employer to get rid of a worker that disagrees with company policy or tries to establish an independent union organization at no cost. For a trade union it is extremely difficult to reinstate a worker who has been fired, as employers will simply say the worker’s contract has expired, even though it might previously have been renewed many times over.

Trade union oppression in Belarus also allows employers to get rid of a local union by failing to confirm its address in the course of registration, which is legally binding for any organization. Consequently, people working for a non-registered union can be imprisoned. Recognizing the dangers of precarious employment and the threat to workers, independent unions submitted a complaint to the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2000 against violation of trade union and workers’ rights. The ILO has since made several recommendations to the Government of Belarus and sent a number of missions to the country, most recently in January 2014. Unfortunately, the latest mission reported “no fundamental change or significant progress in implementing the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations to amend the legislation in force.” The mission furthermore noted, “While some previously raised problems have become less acute, new problems have arisen.”

Georgia

Despite positive amendments introduced in July 2013 to Georgia’s much criticized Labour Code, freedom of association remains a serious concern. Although the law prohibits discrimination based on trade union association, it does not set in place clear mechanisms protecting workers against anti-union discrimination. What’s more, the right to strike for some groups of workers remains under prohibition or seriously hindered because of an extremely difficult and compulsory conciliation process.

Moldova

In March 2013, proposed amendments to the Labour Code and the law on trade unions were jointly submitted to the Moldovan Parliament by the American Chamber of Commerce, the National Confederation of Moldovan Employers and the European Business Association on the grounds that they would improve the investment climate in the country. If enacted, the amendments would remove the legal guarantees granted to trade union members and elected trade union leaders, making it easier for an employer to dismiss activists.

Kazakhstan

In 2011, workers of the Kazakh oil company KazMunaiGas (formerly Kazakhoil) went on strike. Due to inactivity by the authorities, bordering on complicity with the oil company, the labour dispute escalated into bloody riots in Zhanaozen, which left 17 people dead and many wounded.

The ensuing trial, orchestrated by Kazakh authorities in March 2012, sentenced 37 people to prison or other punishment. Under the pressure of the international community, two of seven imprisoned workers were released. Three people, including Roza Tuletaeva, the only woman, were moved to a colony-settlement, while Shabdal Utkilov and Kanat Zhusipbaev remain in custody.

Ex-Karaganda governor, Sultan Kaliev, proposed as a candidate by the Government, was elected as the new president of the Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan (FPRK). One of his very first actions was to establish a national union in the oil and gas sector, and there is high a risk that the IndustriALL Global Union affiliate will be forced into joining this new structure.

In September 2013, a new bill on trade unions was submitted for consideration by the Kazakh parliament. The bill, which would introduce compulsory registration of trade unions while imposing a membership threshold, is clearly oriented at the strangulation of unions that are not FPRK members.

Kyrgyzstan

Strikers in Kyrgyzstan could face up to 15 years in jail if a set of proposed amendments to the Criminal Code is passed by parliament. The proposals would mean that directors and staff of strategically important enterprises could be imprisoned for up to 15 years if accused of being the reason for the failure or stoppage of production.

IndustriALL believes, if adopted, the amendments would be a blatant violation of international and constitutional norms according to which workers enjoy their right to strike. The Criminal Code bill is scheduled for consideration by parliament in April 2014.

Russia

The new labour code, adopted by the Russian Duma (parliament) in 2001, came under fire from the ILO and ITUC for prohibiting collective bargaining by a trade union unless it represents over 50 per cent of the workforce, therefore locking out minority unions. The labour code also undermines the right to strike through a complicated procedure which outlaws strikes in solidarity for other workers as well as all national strikes which make direct demands to the Government.

In 2009, the Constitutional Court, under the pretext of applying the principle of equal rights to all Russian citizens, adopted new amendments to labour legislation allowing employers to dismiss or punish trade union leaders through compulsory transfer to another job without preliminary consent from a trade union.

Ukraine

At the time of going to print, the situation in Ukraine remains unpredictable. Before the clashes at Maidan Square at the end of 2013, unions were fighting the International Monetary Fund, which was promoting reform that would decrease unions’ capacity to protect members and exclude minority unions from tripartite dialogue. IndustriALL continues to monitor the situation and assist affiliates in the development of counteractive measures.

Liberal reforms, of which precarious employment is the most serious, are being encouraged by the governments in countries that made up part of the former Soviet Union. The aim is to attract foreign and national capital, as well as safeguard power. To achieve this goal many governments have chosen to crush the power of the unions that might resist liberal reforms. The future of the trade union movement in the region depends entirely on its capacity to build an adequate resistance.

REPORT: IndustriALL mobilizes global support for garment workers in Cambodia

Report

Text: Léonie Guguen

Since then, public demonstrations have been banned, freedom of association has been suspended and garment factories have launched multimillion dollar law suits against union leaders. Global unions and brands have come together in condemning the violence against the wage protestors and have repeatedly called for the Cambodian administration to set out a path towards a minimum living wage and release the detainees.

IndustriALL has been instrumental in leading a global campaign of solidarity in support of the garment workers who are fighting for an increase in the minimum wage, as well as the release of 21 out of the 23 wage protestors that remain in prison.

As the future of garment workers in Cambodia hangs in the balance, IndustriALL, together with UNI Global Union and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), has been continuously negotiating to keep the channels of communication open between garment workers, factory owners and the government. In collaboration with UNI, the ITUC and the International Labour Organization (ILO), IndustriALL has secured the backing of 30 international clothing brands in a series of meetings and communications with the Cambodian government.

Violent response to demand for increased minimum wage

IndustriALL has eight affiliates in Cambodia who represent garment workers. In December 2013, IndustriALL and the affiliates hosted three crucial meetings with unions to agree on a common figure for the minimum wage negotiations where they settled on US$ 160 a month (the minimum wage of US$ 80 per month was one of the lowest in the world). It would still not be a living wage, but a step forward for the 400,000 garment workers, which generate exports worth US$ 5 billion a year.

The government and employers only accepted a raise to US$ 95, which was later changed to US$ 100 a month. Mass demonstrations and strikes in support of the new wage demand on 2 and 3 January this year turned deadly after violent suppression by government authorities. Police opened fire on protestors, killing four and seriously injuring 39 others. It was not the first time lethal force had been used against the garment workers. In November last year, a woman garment worker was killed after police fired water shots and beat demonstrators.

The horrific violence in January prompted a global outcry, with unions in Thailand and Korea demonstrating outside Cambodian embassies in solidarity for the garment workers. In a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen, unions and brands condemned the violence by Cambodian authorities, demanding justice and assurances that it wouldn’t happen again.

Cambodia has been ruled by Hun Sen, a defector from the Khmer Rouge regime, for the past 28 years. He has vowed to continue running the country until he is 74. General elections in July 2013 saw him cling on to power but were denounced by the opposition, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which said they lost out on 2.3 million votes as a result of widespread vote rigging. The ruling Cambodian people’s Party won 68 seats in the parliament compared to the CNRP’s 55.

Since the January strikes, public demonstrations have been banned and 21 wage protestors have remained in prison virtually incommunicado and without trial.

Workers around the world rally to show support

IndustriALL spearheaded a global day of action by union affiliates and NGOs around the world in solidarity for the detainees to demand their release ahead of a bail hearing on 11 February.

IndustriALL affiliates organized demonstrations and hand-delivered letters to Cambodian embassies in Brussels, Canberra, Dhaka, Geneva, Honduras, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Seoul, Sri Lanka, Tokyo and Washington D.C. Affiliates in many other countries across the globe also sent letters or petitions to Cambodian embassies.

The message to the Cambodian authorities is clear,

says IndustriALL’s general secretary Jyrki Raina.

We will not stop until all the workers are released.

A week after the detainees were denied bail, IndustriALL and the ITUC were joined by H&M, Inditex, Gap, C&A and Puma in a high-level meeting in the capital Phnom Penh hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon, with several ministers including the Ministers of Labour and Commerce and other senior government officials present. In frank discussions, brands expressed their desire for stability, a functioning wage mechanism and healthy industrial relations.

Since the meeting, however, the government has alarmingly suspended freedom of association of workers in Cambodia, refusing to register new unions until the new trade union law is passed, which might not be until the end of the year.

The government suspension is in direct contravention of ILO’s Convention 87, ratified by Cambodia, which guarantees that workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and to join organizations of their own choosing without previous authorization.

In a further act of discrimination against the unions, the Ministry of Labour now requires union leaders to prove that they do not have a criminal record before registering new branches of their organization.

The Cambodian Garment Manufacturers Association (GMAC), which has failed to condemn the government’s deadly use of force against demonstrators, has also retaliated by filing law suits totaling US$ 72 million against six union leaders for damage to factories during the protests.

Brands join global unions in committing to wages and rights

In response to the deterioration of relations between garment workers, the government and factory owners, IndustriALL, Uni and the ITUC together with 30 major brands, including H&M, Inditex, Gap, Adidas and Nike, signed a joint letter to the Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia on 14 March asking for an inclusive and prompt mechanism for determination of the minimum wage, freedom of association for unions, and respect for the rights of the 21 detainees.

While recognizing the right of factory owners to seek redress from anyone proven to have committed criminal damage to their property, brands and unions also expressed fear that proposed legal action against trade unions would escalate the situation and make it more difficult to find constructive solutions.

Global unions and brands are unitedin their efforts to support this process to seek an end to the stalemate over the minimum wage

says Raina whilst acknowledging that all the brands must commit to paying more to suppliers cover the costs of increased wages.

The impact of wage increases on the selling price will be negligible for the brands and yet life-changing for garment workers. Brands need to assure factory owners that they are prepared to take the minimum wage into account and absorb the extra cost.

IndustriALL will continue its action for workers’ rights in Cambodia, to ensure a living wage, and the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining without fear of violence.

PROFILE: The struggle continues

Profile

Text: Petra Brännmark

Jakarta, February 2014. Members of the KSPI come out in force to protest against broken promises from the government. Although the Ministry of Labour passed a decree in 2013 increasing the minimum wage it has not yet resulted in a significant hike.

The raise is irrational and not realistic, as it will not cover living costs, 

says Said Iqbal, president of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate FSPMI as well as the Indonesian Trade Union Confederation (KSPI)

The minimum wage must be raised to a living wage and all workers must benefit from social security.

IndustriALL has 12 affiliates in Indonesia, with a total of around 1.3 million members. The Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers’ Union (FSPMI) has around 220,000 members.

Trade union action in Indonesia

There are six trade union confederations in Indonesia, of which the KSPI is one. Together, they have around 4 million members.

Indonesia is a country with 259 million inhabitants spread over more than 18,000 islands. The young democracy has no strong trade union tradition, and yet the KSPI’s members are strongly committed to the key issues they are fighting for.

Said Iqbal explains that as trade unionists, they fight for predominately three things: the end of the low wages system, social protection, meaning social security for all workers, and against outsourcing.

We struggle for a reform of the social security system, with universal coverage of the health insurance and a mandatory pension fund for formal workers. We fight against a low wage policy, and want a decent wage and a sectorial wage. And then there is the neverending fight against precarious work. We want a change in the employment status, and importantly to change the regulation for outsourcing.

There is a clear strategy and method behind the work; from concept to lobby to action. After agreeing on a concept, trade unionists discuss with stakeholders who range from the political sphere to non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Both traditional media and social media are used, with a heavy presence on Facebook and various mailing lists. And then comes the action.

Huge demonstrations, with numbers of participants unionists can only dream of in other parts of the world are not uncommon in Indonesia. The May Day Rally in 2013 saw as many as 500,000 workers marching side by side in all regions in Indonesia. In the capital Jakarta around 135,000 rallied in front of the presidential palace.

These marches and campaigns are important to get the support of the people

Minimum wage

When comparing the minimum wage in Asia, Indonesia with its US$ 210 per month in the biggest production areas, lags behind China, Thailand and the Philippines. And in Taiwan, minimum wages are more than three times higher.

Said Iqbal says that through workers’ mobilization the minimum wage has increased with on average 40 per cent in 2013 and 20 per cent in 2014. But it is simply not enough.

The main problem is that the minimum wage in Indonesia is far from covering the basic living need. For a worker on minimum wage, he or she will only be paid to cover 82,29 per cent of their needs.

We must introduce a compulsory wage scale for employees who have been working for more than one year. Wages above the minimum must be negotiated. There must be government regulations on minimum wage. Companies that pay below the minimum wage must be monitored.

Why does the Indonesian social security need to be reformed?

More than 150 million Indonesians have no social security cover. Parliament passed a bill on universal health insurance meant to apply to all citizens as of January 2014. But the government is being very slow in implementing it, and for millions of workers a proper health insurance has yet to materialize.

The existing coverage is discriminative, limited and profit oriented. The tripartite body was excluded in drafting policies and decisions on the implementation of social security,

says Said Iqbal.

Now there are increased concerns to secure the pension reform agreed to enter into force from 1 July 2015.

Increased social security will help people move from the informal to formal sector. Employers’ attempts to draw back already adopted reforms are a threat to social peace and Indonesia’s path towards prosperity for all citizens.

Outsourcing

Conditions for outsourced workers in Indonesia are tough. There is no social security, workers are not covered by collective bargaining agreements, and union busting is common. Indonesian labour law states that outsourced workers should not be placed in core production business, which they often are.

We ran an intensive, large-scale campaign on outsourcing, including both mass rallies and intense lobbying,

says Said Iqbal.

The campaign resulted in new legislation on outsourcing enacted on 21 November 2013.

The result of this intensive campaign is a new set of regulations issued by the labour minister on outsourcing practices. In state owned enterprises, 16 million workers enjoyed a change of status from outsourced workers to permanent and direct contract workers. The new regulations also call for equal wages between permanent, contract and outsourced workers.

What does the future hold?

Although trade unions in Indonesia have shown they can make a difference to workers’ lives, many struggles still lie ahead. The minimum wage must be raised to a living wage and all workers must benefit from social security. Said Iqbal says that for 2015, the unions will ask for a 30 per cent increase of the minimum wage.

We need a good minimum wage if we want to build a welfare state. And we refuse to wait. We need to find this solution together with the other Indonesian trade unions.

IndustriALL backs the campaign of Indonesian trade unions for continued increases of minimum wages to secure a living wage, the social security reform and limiting outsourcing in favour of decent jobs.

An increase of the minimum wage is nothing to fear,

says IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina.

Last year there were wage increases in many countries around Asia. Unions in Bangladesh managed to get a 77 per cent increase in 2013, and the minimum wage in China is already higher than in Indonesia. It is high time that Indonesian workers and their families get their share of the profits they actually help create.

CAMPAIGNS: Shifting the balance – campaigns to defend workers against corporate abuses of power

Campaigns

Text: Adam Lee

December 2013 was a banner month for social dialogue at IndustriALL Global Union. Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) were signed with three companies; SCA in Sweden, Norske Skog in Norway and Solway in Belgium. A milestone was reached; there are now more than 100 global agreements between companies and Global Union Federations (GUFs).

GFAs are written agreements negotiated at a global level between GUFs like IndustriALL and multinational corporations. When worded and implemented correctly, these agreements can serve to protect the rights of workers at a company’s operations across the globe.

However, this milestone also begs a question: what does it mean for the tens of millions of workers employed by the thousands of multinational companies that haven’t signed a global agreement? In comparison, December was not a good month for members of IndustriALL affiliate Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union (FTZGSEU) employed by Ansell in the Biyagama free trade zone in Sri Lanka. By December, they had been on strike for two months and many families were becoming desperate.

The strike was precipitated by Ansell management’s vicious abuse of workers and unions. This included refusal to bargain in good faith, victimization of union leadership, paying poverty wages, and even forcing workers to urinate at their work stations to maintain fast production.

Fighting back

Although in some ways an extreme case, companies like Ansell are all too common. If unions were to ignore the Ansells of the world and focus all their attention on companies that take the high road, most workers’ livelihoods would be under threat.

Unions historically did not spring into existence through harmonious dialogue with employers. They came into being when workers organized themselves and demanded redress for employer injustices. Workers and their unions organizing themselves and building unity and solidarity remains a vital component of any fight back against employer injustice.

However, in the face of giant multinational corporations and powerful industry associations, organization on the shop floor by itself is often not enough. Unions at an individual worksite are often on the losing end of an imbalance of power.

IndustriALL is taking an increasing role in industrial campaigns. These campaigns can be against a single abusive employer, as in the case of recent or ongoing campaigns against Ansell, Crown and Rio Tinto. They can also be against multiple companies or even industry associations, as in Bangladesh and Cambodia.

The Ansell campaign

Ansell is an Australian-based manufacturer of medical gloves and condoms. Well before the FTZGSEU called a strike at Ansell, IndustriALL responded to Ansell’s atrocious health and safety practices by providing an expert critique of these practices. This helped FTZGSEU pressure regulatory authorities to step up scrutiny of health and safety practices at the plant.

In October last year, 294 Ansell workers were fired when striking in support of eleven sacked colleagues and trade union representatives. With lower courts ruling in favour of reinstating the dismissed workers, the Supreme Court ordered Ansell to negotiate a settlement with FTZGSEU. When management refused to do so, IndustriALL escalated the campaign, sending a high level delegation to speak at a rally of striking workers as part of an attempt to build support throughout Sri Lanka for the union.

Building international support is one of the main priorities of the campaign. To this end, there is a LabourStart campaign, which has generated nearly ten thousand letters of protest to Ansell management. IndustriALL’s executive committee has responded with a strong resolution and a firm commitment of support from all regions of the globe.

IndustriALL has filed a complaint to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) concerning Ansell’s violation of OECD guidelines. The OECD guidelines set international standards for multinational enterprises in areas including employment, human rights, health and safety, and corruption, and include a complaint mechanism.

Since Ansell has refused IndustriALL offers of dialogue over the dispute in Sri Lanka, the OECD complaint enables IndustriALL to pressure Ansell to either reconsider the offer or face potentially damaging public exposure of its inhumane practices.

Ansell’s business depends upon having a reputation for high quality sanitary gloves. The campaign is branded with the slogan “No to Dirty Ansell Gloves” and IndustriALL has done extensive outreach, both directly and through supportive affiliates, to Ansell customers raising concerns about the company’s ability to meet their needs while the strike continues.

In February, IndustriALL escalated the campaign further. IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina travelled to Sri Lanka and participated in a rally in support of the strikers. He also met with the President of Sri Lanka to raise concerns about the dispute. Receiving extensive media coverage, Jyrki Raina’s visit helped shine a light on Ansell’s callous corporate behaviour.

The road to victory

The strike and campaign have had a huge impact. Around the time of Raina’s visit, it was disclosed that many of Ansell’s gloves produced during the dispute are returned due to defects. It was also announced that Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment had rejected Ansell Lanka’s application for tax concessions in light of the dispute.

Ansell management has not yet made a fair offer to resolve the dispute. When Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court again took up the case on 3 March it was clear that Ansell had no intention of trying to find a viable solution. The Supreme Court had proposed the reinstatement of the 294 workers, but Ansell claims to have filled the vacancies. The Chief Justice ordered that the Sri Lankan labour tribunal should hear all the cases, except for 35 workers who have received severance payment. If still unresolved, the Supreme Court will hear the case again.

With no end of the conflict in sight, IndustriALL will continue with the campaign and mount increasing pressure on Ansell to do the right thing.

The landscape for unions is more treacherous than ever. Corporate management is breaking new barriers in its ruthless pursuit of profits. European companies that practice social dialogue at home are unleashing anti-union attacks in North America and elsewhere.

The road to victory in the face of abusive employers will not be short. IndustriALL will continue to move down that road through building campaign capacity and running effective campaigns. It is working with its affiliates and with other global union federations to leverage campaign resources and experience.

FEATURE: Building global union power in the auto industry

Feature

Text: Tom Grinter

The table below illustrates the developed international trade union structures inside the market-leading automotive companies. IndustriALL Global Union serves as a network of company networks in the industry. International solidarity and union power are exerted to achieve company-recognized World Works Councils that provide top-level mechanisms for labour influence over company strategy as mentioned in the Action Plan adopted by the Founding Congress in Copenhagen in 2012. In all of these bodies IndustriALL plays an important role, recognized by the management. IndustriALL has a seat throughout the entire World Works Council meetings including for the management reporting of corporate strategy.

IndustriALL affiliates organizing internationally in the major auto companies:
IndustriALL affiliates organizing internationally in the major auto companies:

Bob King, UAW President and Co-Chair of the IndustriALL auto sector:

In IndustriALL Global Union, there is a vision of economic and social justice without borders. The automotive affiliates are helping to make this vision a reality, working together in new and innovative ways. From Brazilian workers taking swift action to stop retaliation against a Nissan worker in Canton, Mississippi, to
auto unions uniting to condemn violent repression at Ssangyong Motor in Korea, the UAW has found this cooperation inspiring and effective.”

Erich Klemm, Chairman of The Daimler World Employee committee:

As companies extend and enforce their international activities, worker representations must build up transnational structures if they want to prevent workers becoming a pawn to globalized production orders and cross border decision making. The ultimate goal of the international bodies at Daimler is to create mutual trust, time and again, for worker representation across borders in the spirit of solidarity. The meetings ensure equal information for all and discussion on an equal footing with the top management.

We succeed in this with the support of international unions – and including the workers representatives from new sites. Plants and workforces need to have a face for one another.”

The Volkswagen World Works Council illustrates how effective this body can be. All local level Human Resources managers are invited to meetings where the workers’ representatives have a platform to voice local complaints in front of the full international management, CEO and unions. No local level HR manager wants an open discussion of labour complaints in his or her plant, so plant level unions have greatly increased opportunities to reach an agreement in the lead up to these annual meetings.

French auto companies are also well organized internationally by IndustriALL affiliates. The GFAs with Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroën are model agreements with strong language on decent wages, trade union rights, health and safety, coverage of the supply chain and the setting up of a World Works Council to follow implementation.

Helmut Lense, IndustriALL’s Auto and Rubber Director, on World Works Councils:

Companies have to fund trade union travel and participation costs in the meetings, not because of law but because of the power of the union. There is no question of this payment affecting the union’s independence. Depending on the home country of the company, these meetings are usually led by the respective Works Council, not by the management. The Works Council invites management to the meeting and insists that the CEO comes and reports to the union.

The unions say to management that workers need a global structure, that management does not pay for their flights to international meetings, neither should the union. You are doing your work as company management, we are doing our work as the union on a global level. Each side is doing its job and it is paid by the company’.

Numerous standard-setting industrial relations systems and agreements in the industry put pressure on other auto companies to follow suit. The Global Framework Agreement with Ford is IndustriALL’s only GFA signed with an American company. And the pattern of influence is extended down the supply chain, where most violations occur.

The supply chain has added importance in the auto sector compared to other industries, as 70 to 80 per cent of the average car’s value comes from the supply chain. The auto sector does not differ from the general trend whereby the majority of labour rights violations occur in the supply chain. Ensuring supply chain coverage in global framework agreements is a priority for the sector. The above pie chart illustrates the high number of IndustriALL GFAs with companies in the supply chain, the majority of which are German companies for example Bosch, Mann & Hummel and ZF.

Global industrial relations agreements with BMW, Renault, PSA and Volkswagen (VW) have been instrumental in solving conflicts at auto suppliers. On a regular basis IndustriALL coordinates the international intervention to a rights violation in manufacturers within the auto supply chain in Turkey. This IndustriALL response is greatly strengthened by leverage through the network of GFA with the major auto companies buying the product, whether it be rubber seals for the engine, ball bearings, or the wheels.

Exporting union power

The German union IG Metall is IndustriALL Global Union’s largest affiliate. High union density, with an ever-increasing membership has positioned IG Metall to dominate the Works Council mechanism in Germany that was originally established to weaken Germany’s unions. IG Metall uses its sway on the supervisory board of all major German companies in the sector.

Everywhere in the world people still work under appalling conditions and are persecuted and oppressed because they organize a union,”

said Berthold Huber, president of IndustriALL Global Union.

Our central task is to enforce minimum social standards in order to make globalization more humane. We are negotiating with companies on Global Framework Agreements so as to implement minimum conditions in all locations of the company and in their supply chains.”

IG BCE, also large and influential, exerts important pressure within supplier sectors such as tyre, glass and leather industries, while CNM-CUT of Brazil is very active in international auto activities with a strong presence in the sector.

Likewise, the Japanese Auto Workers Union (JAW) use their high union density and influence with management of Japanese multinational companies to lobby in support of fellow autoworkers in other countries. Concrete examples include supporting the organizing drive of the UAW at Nissan’s plant in Canton, Mississippi, the STUHM trade union at Honda’s plant in Jalisco, and Unifor’s organizing efforts at Toyota in Canada.

The JAW is also leading a number of activities to build union networks in Asia. The JAW has taken the initiative to launch, in August 2013, the Asian Autoworkers’ Network. The new network’s common understanding is:

… that it is greatly important for Asian autoworkers’ unions to come together in solidarity and exchange ideas and opinions. We hope this … will contribute to deepen relations among autoworkers’ unions in Asia and eventually lead to MNC union networks that IndustriALL envisions.

Effective international solidarity in action

IndustriALL auto union affiliates from all continents fight for each other in the knowledge that only by achieving decent working conditions everywhere can a sustainable industry be built.

Members struggle against vindictive automotive employers and complicit governments in India, Korea, Mexico, Russia, and Turkey to name a few.

Indian autoworkers similarly constantly struggle for their basic trade union rights and will gain from increased international solidarity from the global union network.

The high-profile example of current ongoing struggle in India is at the Japanese company Maruti Suzuki’s motorbike plant in Manesar. From 15 to 31 January 2014 over 2,000 demonstrators marched to New Delhi from the neighbouring state Haryana to demand the release of 147 arrested workers and the reinstatement of 2,300 suspended workers.

In December 2012, local management of the Finnish car parts multinational PKC sacked 100 workers involved in a Los Mineros organizing drive among other unacceptable tactics to maintain the protection contract at the Ciudad Acuña plant in Mexico.

IndustriALL is working to support a union of Volkswagen workers, SITIA, in becoming a federation structure that can organize especially new auto plants in Mexico. The coverage of the union will then by extended to auto suppliers.

The co-chair of the industrial sector, Gabriela Pignanelli, comes from SMATA, the Argentinian autoworkers’ union that is returning to international activities and becoming more and more active.

“When we fight, we win”

South African affiliate NUMSA regularly mobilizes to win gains for its members in the auto sector, and has established sectorwide bargaining. For example in October 2013 NUMSA’s motor component workers went on strike for four weeks to win a new three year collective agreement with wage rises per year of 10, 8 and 8 per cent.

NUMSA can regularly be counted on to take action in solidarity with fellow autoworkers in other countries. Action in support of the UAW’s organizing campaign at Nissan has been wide-ranging. In mid-2013 NUMSA hosted a UAW delegation for a week of high profile activities culminating in a noisy picket at the Japanese embassy, demanding government intervention to stop union busting at the Nissan plant in Mississippi.

The ITUWA has won good collective agreements in Russia through mobilizing members at Ford, Volkswagen and Benteler Automotive. ITUWA organizes workers at 17 automobile companies and suppliers after establishing itself in 2007 through a successful strike at Ford in St Petersburg.

VW workers in the US denied right to organize

US union, the United Auto Workers (UAW) has played a historical leading role in the sector, and continues to do so. The various UAW organizing drives at factories of non-US multinationals continue at differing stages, each has important international union support. The 12-14 February unionization vote at VW in Chattanooga Tennessee confirmed to the world that basic labour rights are not present in the US.

The important vote was undoubtedly derailed by outside political interference. The UAW has filed objections in the US with the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) over the underlying and deviant behaviour by politically elected officials in the Volkswagen unionization vote in Chattanooga. The UAW lost the representation election, 626- 712, but despite Volkswagen’s neutrality and granting UAW right of access to the plant, an anomaly in such US labour cases, Tennessee politicians inexplicably interfered in the process, and now might have jeopardised future VW expansion in Chattanooga.

Republican Party elected officials in Tennessee, the state’s Governor, Bill Haslam; US Senator, Bob Corker; and an influential state senator, Bo Watson, all heartily joined right-wing lobbying groups invading Chattanooga to thrash the UAW and crush the 22-page neutrality agreement worked out by the UAW and Volkswagen, with assistance by IG Metall of Germany.

Forty-three votes was the difference, 

said UAW secretary treasurer, Dennis Williams at a press conference following the vote.

It’s very disturbing when this happens in the United States of America when a company and union come together to have a fair election process.

Organizing Nissan workers in the US

After Nissan workers in Canton, Mississippi, began an effort to form a union and approached the UAW for assistance, local management responded harshly by conducting intensive group and one-on-one meetings and showed antiunion videos to communicate its strong opposition to the union. These activities have created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation that is clearly in breach of the workers’ right to make a free choice regarding unionization.

IndustriALL registered serious concerns regarding Renault-Nissan’s response to union organizing efforts in the United States to CEO Carlos Ghosn in March 2014.

General secretary Jyrki Raina’s letter stated:

While I applaud Renault’s signing of the Global Framework Agreement (GFA), and the Alliance’s public commitment to respect global labour standards, including those contained in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the United Nations’ Global Compact, it is important to recognise that Nissan’s conduct at its U.S. assembly plants is inconsistent with these internationallyrecognized labour standards. Renault- Nissan cannot claim it is respecting workers’ human rights by merely complying with weak U.S. labour laws.”

In its support of UAW’s organizing drive at Nissan IndustriALL works with automotive affiliates in Japan, France, Brazil, South Africa, and elsewhere around the world.

Setting the common plan of action

In his role as IndustriALL Automotive and Rubber Director, Helmut Lense facilitates annual meetings of the IndustriALL Automotive Working Group that brings together autoworker unions from at least 18 countries and all of the auto companies. The working group discusses and sets common strategies and concrete actions for the sector aiming to stabilise the relationship between the unions, companies and countries to support organizing everywhere and to help strengthen existing and new unions in the sector, in line with the IndustriALL Action Plan.

The location of the working group meetings is strategically chosen; in 2010 it started in Detroit, USA, to discuss the organizing strategies of the UAW. In 2011 and 2012 the meeting was held in India and Russia to build connections between local unions struggling to begin organizing drives together with union representatives from the companies’ home union. In 2013, the meeting was conducted in Japan to develop the vitally important relationship with the Japanese unions. And in 2014 the meeting will be in Thailand to strengthen the Asian union movement in the sector and to show Asian unions that IndustriALL is focusing on the region and supporting their efforts.

Another important area of work for the sector is to focus on these specific countries: Mexico, India, Russia and China. Specific focus on India began in 2014, seeking to build unity amongst the Indian auto unions and to develop relations and solidarity between the Indians and headquarter unions from the various auto companies such as Ford and Daimler.

Next year a new focus will begin on Russia, and the country focus that began in 2013 on Mexico will continue. These country specific activities are run with a small group of key union leaders who have real influence inside their respective companies. Each workshop works to a similar structure, with the two priorities to increase awareness of the local conditions and then to build the connections between local unions and the headquarter union.

From the IndustriALL Global Union Action Plan:

To fulfill its mission IndustriALL will work towards the following goals:

Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union:

We are proud of the advances made in the auto sector in building union power through networks. Strong networks and high levels of organizing combine in the sector to empower workers throughout the supply chain and make GFAs a strong tool. GFAs remain one of the best ways to secure workers’ rights and improve conditions in multinational companies in our globalized economy. 

We will continue to support GFAs to negotiate, monitor compliance and improve conditions. Global capital is an immense force, its power must be tempered by the power of people acting together.”

IndustriALL on the offensive for Turkey mine safety

Writing to the ILO Director-General Guy Ryder today, 20 May, IndustriALL demanded a more interventionist role from the ILO.

"The recent carnage in Soma, on the back of Turkey’s bleak safety record, should mobilize action across the world to deal holistically with the unacceptable rate of fatalities in the mining industries. Mine workers are counting on the ILO to honour its historic mission.  Trade unions are challenged to deliver on their promise to hold governments and companies to account and to save life and limb.  A global conversation is needed.
"The challenges are multifaceted ranging from, for example: the absence of a political will to address the regulatory and implementation of legislation; policy incoherence and coordination; the high unemployment rate in Turkey creating a vulnerable force of contract and sub-contracting labour force; the parasitic relationship between business and the government that breeds non-compliance with regulatory requirement; and the unbridled pursuit of profit at all costs."

At the Soma mine, IndustriALL Global Union Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan told survivors and the families of those lost:

IndustriALL stands with you in this time of mourning and commits full energy and resources to campaigning to end the killing of mineworkers. A safe mine, where employers are sincere about monitoring and repairing hazards, will never trap and kill its workers. The responsibility for the lives of mineworkers lies with the government and the employer. Action and investment is needed to ensure this will never happen again and we will campaign hard to make sure that action is taken.

It has been widely reported in international media that protests at the mine and in cities around Turkey have been violently put down by authorities as angry communities demand the government’s resignation following ignored safety warnings and years of inaction on mine safety. Now tight security control using tear gas and water cannons at the site of the disaster is preventing local people from demonstrating.

The detailed investigation into the cause of the accident is still on-going but initial analysis suggests that a transformer explosion was not the cause as previously believed. Smouldering coal igniting and causing a large explosion and the spread of carbon monoxide now seems to be the cause. Proper monitoring and ventilation is needed in coal mines to remove harmful and flammable gases, including carbon monoxide, released in the mining process.

The specific issue of dangerous conditions in the Soma mine was brought before the national parliament by an opposition party two weeks before the disaster and was dismissed by the ruling majority. Now the national prosecutor has made four arrests of the mine managers and safety engineers, who will face between three and 15 years in prison if found guilty for the charges brought against them. The prosecutor’s investigation continues but is being criticized as too narrow and not including the most serious charges available.

The day after the industrial homicide occurred at Soma, IndustriALL called for swift government action from the Turkish government to bring the country’s mining industry in line with international standards:

“The government of Turkey must act now and ratify ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines, and its accompanying Recommendation 183. This should be the first step in establishing a credible and effective legislative and regulatory framework on safe and healthy mines. In doing so now, you would pay a fitting tribute to those workers, who lost their lives while only trying to earn a living.”

On 22 May, IndustriALL Global Union together with sister organization IndustriAll Europe will take action at the Turkish Embassy and meet the Ambassador to the European Union. The joint demands for urgent ratification of ILO C176, and for a change in culture and attitudes towards trade unions in Turkey will be lodged with the Ambassador.

On 19-20 June IndustriALL Global Union will lead a solidarity mission to Soma with IndustriAll Europe and major mining union affiliates from around the world, to mourn with the families and community and to continue to push ratification of C176. IndustriALL Global Union has 19 trade union affiliates in Turkey. 

Cambodia among the worst countries on the new ITUC Global Rights Index

The International Trade Union Confederation has been collecting data on the abuse of trade union rights around the world for the past 30 years. Now for the first time the ITUC Global Rights Index presents carefully verified information from the last 12 months in an easy-to-use format so that every government and business can see how their laws and supply chains stack up.

“Countries such as Denmark and Uruguay led the way through their strong labour laws, but perhaps surprisingly, the likes of Greece, the United States and Hong Kong, lagged behind,” says ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow. “A country’s level of development proved to be a poor indicator of whether it respected basic rights to bargain collectively, strike for decent conditions, or simply join a union at all.”

Cambodia’s labour law fails to cover many civil servants, there are undue restrictions on the right to elect union representatives, and in 2013 the government responded with lethal force to demonstrators seeking a decent wage and working conditions. This resulted in Cambodia receiving a score of 5 in the Rights Index – the worst possible rating other than for those countries where the rule of law has completely broken down

Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, vows to promote change:

Workers in Cambodia face an uphill struggle which the violent actions and subsequent persecutions by the government in January clearly show. But IndustriALL is committed to change the rules of the game and to ensure that Cambodia's workers will be able to enjoy the fundamental right of freedom of association.

The ITUC Global Rights Index rates countries from one to five according to 97 indicators, with an overall score placing countries in one to five rankings.

1 – Irregular violations of rights: 18 countries including Denmark and Uruguay
2 – Repeated violations of rights: 26 countries including Japan and Switzerland
3 – Regular violations of rights: 33 countries including Chile and Ghana
4 – Systematic violations of rights: 30 countries including Kenya and the USA
5 – No guarantee of rights: 24 countries including Belarus, Bangladesh and Qatar
5+ – No guarantee of rights due to breakdown of the rule of law: 8 countries including Central African Republic and Somalia.

Read the report – ITUC Global Rights Index: The worst places in the world for workers

Tally Weijl signs Bangladesh Accord on one year anniversary

The company signed the agreement, drafted by Swiss-based IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union, on the Accord’s first anniversary and in doing so joined 172 brands to have committed since May 15 last year.

Swiss supermarkets Migros and Coop both source textile products from Bangladesh but have so far refused to sign the deal which commits to independent safety inspections in factories used by Accord signatories. Almost half of all Bangladesh factories for the export market and two million workers are now covered by the scope of the Accord, and amongst its signatories are a host of European supermarkets including Carrefour, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and more.
 
IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina welcomes Swiss fashion group Tally Weijl to the Bangladesh Accord.

With so many international brands and retailers signed up to the Accord, it is shameful that Migros and Coop, two of Switzerland's biggest supermarkets, have yet to become signatories. Migros and Coop should follow Tally Weijl's example and show some commitment to a safe and sustainable garment industry in Bangladesh.

UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings says:
“We congratulate Tally Weijl on joining 172 brands in proving their commitment to worker safety in Bangladesh. Migros and Coop are mistaken if they think that the business as usual approach is enough to prevent the next Rana Plaza disaster. The Bangladesh Accord was made in Switzerland and Swiss companies should be amongst those leading the charge to save lives.”
 
A year on from its first signature, the Bangladesh Accord has taken huge strides forward.
 
A factory inspection programme is in full swing. So far, more than 500 factories have been inspected. Each factory is examined for structural integrity and fire and electrical safety. By October this year, the Accord aims to have inspected all 1,500 factories. It has employed a dedicated team of more than 100 technical experts and engineers who now conduct 45 inspections per week.
 

One year anniversary of the Bangladesh Accord

The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety brought together the ready-made garment (RMG) industry and unions for the first time in a legally-binding agreement to inspect and improve the safety conditions of all factories supplying brands signed up to the Accord.

Jenny Holdcroft, Policy Director at IndustriALL, said:

The Accord replaces the ineffectual and piecemeal efforts by individual brands of the past with a binding agreement with trade unions. This is global industrial relations applied to global supply chain violations of workers’ rights.

The Bangladesh Accord, which now has 172 signatories, was a reaction to one of the worst industrial accidents of modern times, which killed over a thousand people and injured more than 2000 when the illegally-built Rana Plaza garment factory complex collapsed on 24 April 2013.

More than 550 factories have since been inspected on behalf of the Accord to identify fire, electrical and building safety hazards at factories producing for the brand signatories. By the end of September 2014, the Accord is on target to have inspected 1500 factories, covering more than 2 million workers.  

Alongside working to improve safety conditions, IndustriALL has launched a major project to increase unionization in Bangladeshi garment factories believing that there cannot be an effective safety culture without an organized workforce. Before the Rana Plaza disaster, unionization at garment factories was minimal. A year on, IndustriALL affiliated unions have organized more than 40,000 workers in 120 factories.

IndustriALL also backs unions’ demands for increases in the minimum wage. While there was a 77 per cent increase in November 2013 from 38 to 67 USD per month, it is still a pitifully poor wage and IndustriALL continues to put pressure on brands to pay fair prices for garments.

IndustriALL is also heavily lobbying brands to pay into the independent Rana Plaza Trust Fund to give compensation to the victims and their dependents. A total of USD 40 million is needed to meet compensation payments in line with international standards. So far, less than half of this figure (USD 17 million) has been raised.

Read the statement from the Bangladesh Accord one year on.

Building trade union power in Latin America

The war cry of the Latin America and the Caribbean women, as they called it, was coined at the first women’s conference, held on 6 May, to communicate the nature of the demands on which they will work in the period up till 2016, which include greater representation, a campaign against violence and the fight for a living wage.

The women’s enthusiasm spread to all delegates, who applauded the approval of the resolution and joined in the chanting. “I am very happy with the energy and dynamism displayed at this regional conference”, said Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL General Secretary, expressing support for the 40% representation quota proposal.

“We want to work together, men and women, and be equally involved in the struggle throughout IndustriALL”. Delegates expressed their desire for IndustriALL to promote equal opportunities, strive for more balanced regional representation on the executive committee and support democratic initiatives for women and young workers.

The resolution was supported by all 250 delegates from affiliated unions, who also expressed a commitment to fair representation of Caribbean affiliates.

With interventions such as “we need a new generation of trade unionists that can unite the masses” and “young workers do not want to suffer continued exploitation”, the young workers who took part in the closing ceremony of the regional conference in Colombia called on IndustriALL to support the education and training of young trade unionists.

The plenary showed its support for the spirit, preparation and enthusiasm shown by the young delegates by unanimously approving proposals for the development of training and recruitment policies; the inclusion of young workers in trade union structures; and the promotion of specific agendas for bargaining on behalf of young workers.

At the closure of the conference, Jorge Almeida, IndustriALL Regional Secretary, said: “I am pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere at this meeting, with its diversity of cultures, languages and races, and in which we have all had an opportunity to discuss and decide on these actions and these important resolutions that reflect the work being done to strengthen our unions. We are working to strengthen global and regional unity, we are building the future, because Latin America deserves a better future”.