Rio Tinto stands far from real sustainability

Activists from IndustriALL Global Union, civil society organisations like London Mining Network, and a number of trade union leaders and protestors from around the world gathered outside the venue to show participants at the AGM the real face of the mining giant. The action was jointly organised with Unite the Union, with participation from IndustriALL affiliates Community, FNV and United Steelworkers.

The Rio Tinto AGM coincided with the release of IndustriALL Global Union’s report Unsustainable: The ugly truth about Rio Tinto.

Kemal Özkan, assistant general secretary of IndustriALL says on the report:

By showing that Rio Tinto does not operate in a sustainable manner, we aim to force the company to live by its own claims. These are our members and we demand a safe workplace, freedom of association and a constructive dialogue with management.

One of the people who spoke out at the AGM was Perle Zafinandro from Madagascar, president of the FAGNOMBA association. She has criticized QMM-Rio Tinto of land-grabbing and environmental destruction in Madagascar. In March this year Perle and a number of other members of the organisation were arrested and put in prison for 58 days.

“Your opening video presentation shows great operations. But that is very far from our reality in Madagascar”, she said.

IndustriALL was one of the speakers in the AGM, raising questions to the board members of Rio Tinto. Kemal Özkan challenged the company, asking how Rio Tinto aims to improve communication and interaction with local communities and the labour movement for the sake of transparency and accountability.

Putting forward facts and figures on fundamental rights’ violations, watering down of collective bargaining processes, precariousness of labor, and appalling health and safety records in Rio Tinto operations worldwide, Kemal Özkan said:

“We question Rio Tinto’s sustainability practices; particularly labour relations and your commitment to health and safety- You say fatal accidents are a shame in the 21st century, and yet you reported 40 deaths last year. And according to the official government investigation the Grasberg accident in Indonesia could have been prevented!”

Lacking in conviction, Sam Walsh, CEO of Rio Tinto, at one point said:

“You can count on me”.

To many workers at Rio Tinto operations around the world those are just empty words without meaning.

IndustriALL affiliates build unity in Philippines

Since creation of IndustriALL Global Union in June 2012 several steps have been taken to join forces and build unity among all the affiliates in the Philippines.

Four months after that all the Philippines affiliates agreed on a new framework that they believed would bring about a change for workers http://www.industriall-union.org/events/industriall-philippines-leadership-forum-a-force-for-change. At the meeting a manifesto was approved and a task force was set up to look at the best way to promote unity among the unions.

A new joint meeting was held in February, where the task force presented the conclusions of their hard work towards the unity process. The report has been discussed in details between the Philippines affiliates, IndustriALL regional and head offices as well as affiliates from Japan and Australia http://www.industriall-union.org/challenges-of-unity-building-in-the-philippines.

1 April 2014 all the affiliates resolved to approve a road map and agreed on a project planning meeting to be held on 10 and 11 April to launch the new three year project supported by our Swedish affiliates through LO-TCO focused on building unity, organizing and building campaigning and communications capacity.

“The process was long, but the discussion was always frank and respectful, therefore we have a solid base to go forward united, look for the better for the workers in our sectors and to contribute to build a stronger union movement in the Philippines”, said Industriall Assistant General Secretary Fernando Lopes when concluding the planning meeting.

Brax “Feels Good” over labour rights violations at Lafem in Turkey

The Turkish union Tekstil, belonging to DISK national center and IndustriALL, conducted an organizing campaign at Lafem in September 2013. A majority of the workers joined the union in the following month seeking to achieve better working conditions.

However Lafem management dismissed 40 union members with seniority of 10 to 17 years instead of respecting fundamental labour rights. Two of the dismissed workers were already elected as workers’ representatives in the factory, and had never received any complaint or negative notification beforehand.

All the dismissed workers filed a court case against Lafem for reinstatement, as their dismissals were unjustified. Lafem management in the meantime continued to exert pressure over the workers to withdraw from their court cases with the condition of paying their severance payments, but most of them did not accept.

Brax is the major customer of Lafem, and almost its entire production is done for the German brand. Even Brax employs a full time staff at the Lafem plant to check the production on a daily basis.

The union of Tekstil attempted to pursue a peaceful route to solving the problems at Lafem, however Lafem management repeatedly refused. Then Tekstil communicated with Brax to intervene in the situation as a part of the brand’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy and practices. Initially Brax accepted to investigate, but not in a concrete and sincere way.

However Brax preferred to listen only to its supplier, and stalled the process by only sending letters to the Union. Finally Brax declared that they could not find any violation of labour rights in the workplace after their audits. IndustriALL’s German affiliate IG Metall extended solidarity to the dismissed workers and raised the problem to Brax, but the company’s response was always negative.

The dismissed union members continue to be suffering from the situation while working union members inside the plant are under heavy pressure from the management to get rid of the union presence. Lafem rejects calls for dialogue while Brax is silent to the requests for further investigation.

The motto of Brax is “Feel Good”. The German brand publishes pages of documents to prove that they are socially responsible and that they respect the environment. They claim to support many projects for the sake of protecting nature, however what Brax does in reality is completely contrary without respecting basic labour rights.

“IndustriALL Global Union, IG Metall and Tekstil have done everything to restore the situation at Lafem through dialogue” said Kemal Özkan, Assistant General Secretary. “Enough is enough. If Lafem and Brax insist on not reinstating the dismissed workers and entering into constructive talks with Tekstil, our campaign will grow.”

Exposing the ugly truth about Rio Tinto

IndustriALL Global Union has produced a report, to be released in the morning of 15 April; “Unsustainable: The Ugly Truth about Rio Tinto” highlighting the multinational’s global practices. IndustriALL is calling for Rio Tinto to live up to its claim to be a sustainable company including by respecting workers’ rights.

Kemal Özkan, assistant general secretary of IndustriALL says:

Rio Tinto’s blind pursuit of profit at any cost has caused disputes with numerous unions as well as environmental, community and indigenous groups. IndustriALL has launched a campaign working with civil society organizations to defend against Rio Tinto’s abuses. Through demonstrating that Rio Tinto does not operate in a sustainable manner, we aim to force the company to live by its own claims.

The report exposes Rio Tinto’s performance on areas including environmental, economic, social and governance issues which the company claims to be key areas for its sustainable development .

Economic

Social

Governance

Environment

The protest will take place at 10 am, Tuesday 15 April, at the Rio Tinto AGM, The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London.

Moroccan unions jointly protest austerity policy

The march was organized in answer to the Moroccan government reluctance to open a serious dialogue with the unions and reconsider polices that lead to declined citizens’ and workers’ purchasing power and recently increased cases of union rights’ violations.

According to the unions under pressure of the international financial institutions the government is using austerity measures like ending subsidies on fuel, which hit in the first place the poorest part of the population.

Government unpopular policies led the Moroccan unions to overcome their differences and join forces in an unprecedented coalition that is currently in the forefront of the social struggle.

Soon after the protest march the Government replied to earlier ignored letter from the unions, however the tone of the reply according to the union leaders was more looking like a summon rather than a genuine invitation to participate in a properly organized social dialogue.

Organizing displaced women in India

In uprooted families it is generally women who battle their way through; as widows or heads of the household they face daily struggles for survival. Aiming to increase displaced women’s access to rights through international and national advocacy, the IndustriALL Global Union South Asia Office endeavours to provide access and to organise them.

The Bokaro Steel Plant is located in the Bokaro district of Jharkhand, and is the fourth integrated public sector steel plant in India. Proximity to coal, iron ore, manganese, and other raw materials helped in the selection of this place.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, construction of the steel plant and the township was done on a large scale. During this process of industrialization and urbanization, local people were forced from their homes and displaced. A tenable solution was never found, and the next generation is lacking housing, social security and often a proper roof over their heads.

The steel plant has reduced its permanent workforce from 40,000 to 1,800. At the same time there has been a huge increase of precarious workers, who now amount to 22,000. These contract workers are denied statutory wages, medical facility and social security. Women are consistently over-represented in this type of work.

With the active participation and cooperation of the INMF National and State committee's, IndustriALL India Women's Committee and local stakeholders, the IndustriALL’s South Asia office has initiated a consultation with these communities. The first steps have been to build trust and establish working relations. Activities such as awareness camps, rights advocacy, medical camp and workshops will be held as part of the IndustriALL projects for improved understanding of the displaced communities, and to subsequently organise them. Working with displaced people is also one of the objectives of the India Steel, Energy and Mining Organising project, as well as for the Organizing Precarious Workers Project for South Asia.

On 6 April, South Asia Office through IndustriALL's affiliate INMF, India Women Committee and local stakeholders organised a meeting with the displaced women. More than 300 women workers belonging to tribal and displaced communities attended the meeting and shared their concerns and demands.

Speakers including IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary Sudhershan Rao Sarde, INMF General Secretary Raghunath Pandey, IndustriALL South Asia regional coordinator, Shahnaz Rafique and chairperson of IndustriALL India Women Committee, Devika Singh addressed the challenges of the displaced communities.

IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary Sudhershan Rao Sarde says:

The traditional trade union movement has failed to incorporate the genuine concerns of these displaced communities. It is high time IndustriaLL Affiliates recognize this historical folly and make amends by organizing them.

Brazilian workers call for more rights and greater equality

The unions said they will take further action on a larger scale if there is not a positive response to the Eighth March of the Working Class, which took place under the banner: “For More Rights and Quality of Life”.

The march showed the working class’s capacity for organisation and unity, with the trade union centrals CTB, CGTB, CUT, Nueva Central, Força Sindical and UGT presenting a joint list of demands including a reduction of the working week to 40 hours without reduction in pay; abandonment of the congressional bill to increase outsourcing; changes to income tax rates; an increase in the minimum wage; land reform; investment in health, security and education; and decent work.

Miguel Torres, president of Força Sindical and the CNTM, one of the metalworkers’ unions affiliated to IndustriALL, said: “Our demands were approved by the unified trade union movement in 2010 but there has still been no response. We must therefore increase the pressure and seek greater public support for the union agenda, which is socially wide-ranging, progressive and democratic”.

Vagner Freitas, president of CUT, a central to which several IndustriALL unions are affiliated, also highlighted the importance of trade union unity, the same unity that allowed Força, UGT and CUT to elect Joao Felicito as president of the International Trade Union Confederation. He said: “There is no movement more organised than the Brazilian one. If we don’t get a response, we will organise bigger demonstrations”.

The unions have requested a meeting with President Dilma Rousseff to discuss the working class’s agenda for a national plan for growth based on sovereignty, democracy and proper recognition of the value of work. The unions will also present the document to the presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies as well as to Supreme Labour Court.

Energy Unions lay out roadmap “Towards Sustainable, Social and Safe Energy Policies”

Hosted by IndustriALL’s two affiliates FITAG-UGT and Industria-CC.OO., the Conference made an extensive debate over the five strategic goals of the global union which were endorsed by the Executive Committee. Delegates reported similar stories from all five continents of trade unionists in the industry being undermined by precarious work, aggressive liberalization, unsafe work and union busting.

“Unions in the industry are fighting back”, IndustriALL General Secretary Raina told delegates in his opening address. “Every day is a campaigning day for IndustriALL Global Union”.

Spain’s Secretary of State for Energy Alberto Nadal addressed the conference in its opening session, giving importance to developed industrial relations with IndustriALL’s Spanish affiliates. The country’s highest energy official told delegates: “Energy should be a universal right for all. Without cheap energy, there is not development, and without secure energy, no economic growth. Energy is the base of all economies”.

The conference sought to analyse and develop progressive energy policies that fully take into account the interests of workers faced with rapid change in national energy policies and structures, and ensure change is managed through a process of “Just Transition.” The energy industry plays a key role in IndustriALL’s worldwide initiative of “Sustainable Industrial Policy”, particularly with its close connection with manufacturing sectors as well as sustainability matters.

In addition to the action plan, the Conference unanimously passed five emergency resolutions, issuing urgent solidarity and support for UWUA members under attack in the US by FirstEnergy; in Iraq where an inspirational trade union leader has received death threats against her family; in Indonesia where Pertamina management is acting with impunity and ignoring a court ruling to punish workers for organizing; in Australia where oil giant Chevron is union busting the MUA; and extending solidarity to the Mexican union of electricity workers.

The delegates also applauded IndustriALL’s close cooperation in the energy sector with other sister global unions, PSI and ITF, to advance alliances in the supply chain.

New co-chairs of the sector were elected by delegates in line with the new policy of IndustriALL whereby each industrial sector will be jointly chaired by one woman and one man. The new co-chairs of the energy sector are Apsorn Krissanasmit of Thailand and Leif Sande of Norway.

The Conference also formed an Action Group to handle the day-to-day work of the sector. The make up of the group again reflects the regional, sub-sectorial and gender balance in the industry: Gwenne Farrell of Canada, Linda McCulloch of Workers’ Uniting, Jean-François Renucci of France, Lev Mironov of Russia, Kaoru Kishimoto of Japan, Pablo Emilio Santos Nieto of Colombia, Jorge Fierro Andrade of Chile, Abdelmajid Matoual of Morocco, Aly Al-Adwani of Kuwait, Ady Lombume of Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mfanawelisontfo Dlamini of Swaziland.

Concluding the Conference, IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan stated: “The very high quality discussions, energy, enthusiasm of energy industry comrades from five continents will make IndustriALL a genuine global trade union power in this centrally important industry.”

Voices of resistance to Rio Tinto converge in London

That message was delivered by representatives of unions and civil society organizations from around the globe at the Rio Tinto – Voices of Resistance public meeting held on 10 April in London.

The meeting was organized by London Mining Network and hosted by John Vidal of The Guardian.

It was part of a series of activities leading up to the Rio Tinto annual shareholders’ meeting being held next Tuesday.

“As we increase our organizing efforts, we are also strengthening our alliances with groups that want to make Rio Tinto a more worker friendly, sustainable company,” said IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary Kemal Ozkan.

IndustriALL will release the report Unustainable: the ugly truth about Rio Tinto at the company’s shareholders’ meeting. The report is part of IndustriALL’s global campaign at Rio Tinto.

Hard won victory for workers at Vidriera de San Potosí in Mexico

The independent trade union, Sindicato Único de Trabajadores de la Empresa Industria Vidriera del Potosí (SUTEIVP), with strong support from its members (about 850), won a 19 per cent pay rise in 2007, higher than any won for a long time in the state. The response of companies located at the San Luis Potosí industrial estate was not long in coming. They felt they could not tolerate this unacceptable precedent in labour relations, which showed that an independent union founded by the workers themselves could provide an alternative to “official” trade unionism.

“Vidriera de San Potosí began to dismiss its workers six years, three months and nine days ago, as a reprisal for their decision to leave the CTM and form an independent trade union capable of winning substantial improvements in pay, benefits and working conditions at this bottle-making factory, which supplies the Corona Extra export beer brand” reports Francisco Retama, SUTEIVP policy advisor.

The dismissed trade unionists, with the invaluable support of their wives and families, maintained their strong and firm position to continue their fight under the slogan “no going back”, spread news of their struggle and received widespread support and solidarity within Mexico and internationally.

The reinstatement of the SUTEIVP members in resistance has been a constant demand of the Action Days for Mexico campaign led by IndustriALL, Mexican democratic trade unions and the Trinational Solidarity Alliance in defence of labour and trade union rights of Mexican workers. A complaint about the case was also submitted to the Committee for the Freedom of Association of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which, three years ago, ordered the authorities to resolve the issue “in the near future”.

In addition to ordering the reinstatement of members of the independent trade union, the Conciliation and Arbitration Board “ordered the defendant company INDUSTRIA VIDRIERA DEL POTOSÍ, S. A. DE C. V. to reinstate workers to their posts under the same terms and conditions of employment that existed prior to their dismissal and pay them an amount corresponding to outstanding unpaid wages”, which will continue to accumulate “until they are reinstated in accordance with this ruling”.  

This task is now the responsibility of the Grupo Modelo directors appointed after the purchase of the beer company by the Belgian-Brazilian consortium AB-Inbev. It must pay the wages due to the dismissed workers as well as benefits provided for by law, which will accumulate until the workers are reinstated to the jobs they were doing when they were dismissed.

IndustriALL welcomes this major victory of its affiliate SUTEIVP, after a hard-fought battle and exemplary resistance! We hope the company complies with the ruling and we reiterate our support for the reinstatement of the dismissed workers.