2013 – A Year of Struggle and Victories

The industrial homicide which killed 1,130 garment workers at Rana Plaza in April expedited negotiations on a legally binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

Today, more than 120 leading brands and retailers of the world have signed the ground-breaking Accord with IndustriALL and our sister organization UNI to help make the Bangladeshi garment industry safe and sustainable in a major five-year project. The participating companies have committed themselves to exhaustive inspections, finding funding for the necessary repairs of dangerous factories, and training for management and workers.

IndustriALL will continue action to reach a living wage after the 77% increase to the minimum wage in December in Bangladesh, and launch a major organizing project in cooperation with our partner organizations.

On Mexico, global solidarity was put on full display at IndustriALL’s Executive Committee in December. For the first time since he was forced into exile in 2006, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia travelled outside of Canada to participate in the meeting, receiving a standing ovation. IndustriALL will continue the campaign for democratic unions and against protection contracts in Mexico.

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, IndustriALL is supporting the development and growth of free and independent unions with concrete programs and campaigns. The focus countries are Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia and Morocco. In December, we again delivered our message to the Iraqi government on the need to pass new, modern trade union legislation to guarantee union rights.

An increasing number of multinational companies are engaging with IndustriALL to improve conditions of work in a constructive manner in all their operations. After the Bangladesh Accord with 120 companies and the global framework agreement with electric power giant Enel of Italy, Belgium’s chemical company Solvay lays new ground with an accord that will become a living reality for the improvement of conditions of work.

Our web site www.industriall-union.org will tell you more of our struggles and victories around the world. Issue number 2 of our journal Global Worker delves deep into a wide range of issues from a worker perspective.

But the fight continues all around the world. Trade union leaders are under arrest in Colombia, oil workers are detained in Kazakhstan, chemical workers are locked-out in the USA. And so on.

IndustriALL Global Union will relentlessly continue its mission in 2014 to promote workers’ rights worldwide. Join the struggle!

Jyrki Raina

General Secretary

We demand guarantees for USO’s trade union activities in Colombia

In 2011, protests by 12,000 oil industry workers in Meta had a national impact. Workers were subjected to an unprecedented military siege as Pacific Rubiales and its contractors tried to silence the protest and criminalize and violate the freedom of association. In response, USO filed a lawsuit but the main witnesses involved in the case have been detained and imprisoned. In a single day, prosecutor 239, Luisa Fajardo, ordered the arrest of USO members Héctor Sánchez, José Dilio Naranjo and Campo Elías Ortiz, on charges that carry terms of imprisonment of between ten and thirty years, including conspiracy to commit a crime and aggravated kidnapping.

Pacific Rubiales has become a state within a state, with the country’s military forces, mayors and prosecutors completely subject to its interests. It has stifled media coverage, while pursuing a publicity and promotional agenda that includes sponsorship of the national football team.

At the public hearing at which the charges were announced, prosecutor 239 dared to say that the charge of conspiracy to commit a crime was based on the fact that the three accused belong to the same organisation, the USO. The lawyer for the defendants replied that, for the moment, the constitution guarantees the freedom of association.

The judge dealing with the case then went on to deny the defendants the presumption of innocence and issue a preventive detention order, in the knowledge that the crimes of which the defendants are accused are ridiculous and unfounded. The prosecutor claimed that the three accused were in command of 300 “hooded men” and abducted 5,000 workers in October 2011. The prosecutor also stated that Héctor Sánchez was a professional soldier and understood military strategies. However, she also said that the area in which this is supposed to have taken place was 57,000 times the size of Bolivar Square in Bogota, and that, people and vehicles were able to enter and leave the area as normal.

The so-called “hooded men” were part of the 12,000 workers wearing the clothes necessary to protect themselves against the weather and occupational hazards, who were at that time protesting against the slavery-like conditions to which to which they had been subjected by Pacific for more than a decade. The prosecutor purposely neglected to mention that the area was completely cordoned off by an army Energy Battalion, Red Berets, SMAT, the police and Pacific’s private security forces.

Something similar occurred with Oscar Orozco, president of the CUT and SINTRAELECOL in Caldas. After four attempts on his life, the authorities withdrew his official bodyguards. This was followed by another attempt on his life and he is now accused of organising the attack on himself. The prosecutor requested preventive detention, forbade Oscar from making any statement on the case and forbade any statements of support for him. Fortunately, on this occasion, , the judge in charge of the case turned down the prosecutor’s request.

The government is using the Law of Citizen Security and the public prosecution service to clamp down on all social and political opposition. The public prosecutor, Alejandro Ordoñez, is the government’s current inquisitor. He specializes in removing members of the political opposition and disqualifying them from public office for life. He has done this to Senator Piedad Córdoba and has now removed and disqualified from public office for 15 years the Mayor of Bogotá, Gustavo Petro. These steps are part of a policy to oppose peace talks with the armed insurgents that are currently taking place in Havana.

CUSME demands that the government provide “guarantees that the USO will be able to carry out its trade union activities free from interference (the prosecutor Luisa Fajardo refuses to provide such guarantees); withdraw arrest warrants; close the files on 39 legal cases brought against USO members, 34 of which concern protests by workers and the community in the Pacific Rubiales “Banana Republic” in Meta; immediately release our detained colleagues; provide guarantees for a fair trial and the right to a defence; transfer the USO cases to the national analysis and context unit of the prosecutor’s office; and repeal the Law of Citizen Security, which is used to support all the measures taken against the social movements”.

IndustriALL Global Union supports CUSME’s demands (see http://www.industriall-union.org/three-trade-union-leaders-detained-in-colombia) and has called on the Colombian government to order the immediate release of the workers and union leaders in question and end state persecution of oil workers and the country’s trade union and social movements.

JUST GROUP – “Just sign it”

On Saturday 14 December 2013 unions, community groups and members of the public held a protest in front of the Just Jeans store in Bourke Street, Melbourne urging the Just Group to do the right thing and sign onto the Accord.

Australian unions say:

Bucking the trend for Australian retailers, the Just Group, whose brands include Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E, Dotti, Peter Alexander and Portmans have not signed onto the Accord. Instead they have joined with Walmart, a world leader in violating its workers’ rights, in signing a cynical, non-legally binding cop out called the “Alliance for Bangladesh worker Safety”.

Be part of the campaign to get Just Group to sign the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord.

Sign the petition http://www.act.australianunions.org.au/just_jeans

or for further information visit https://www.facebook.com/EthicalWork

Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of global union IndustriALL said:

The two fundamental flaws of the Alliance are the total absence of workers in the initiative, and the total lack of legally binding enforcement of its commitments. Without these two vital aspects, which are both central to the Accord for Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh signed with IndustriALL and UNI global unions, the Alliance is nothing more than a toothless, voluntary corporate initiative. Voluntary, corporate-led social audit programmes were part of the systemic problems that made Tazreen and Rana Plaza possible.

The Accord covers 2 million garment workers in Bangladesh and 75 percent of all garment exports from the company. Our full effort and focus in 2014 will remain on implementing the Accord which can bring an historic breakthrough in making the garment sector in Bangladesh safe and sustainable. We want to make the "Made in Bangladesh" label a label of pride."

Agreement ends SL Garment strike in Cambodia

After more than five months of dispute, including strikes that were violently repressed by the police, SL Garment Processing and C.CAWDU reached an agreement in early December.

The agreement facilitated by the Ministry of Labour stipulates the reinstatement of 19 fired union leaders, in addition to 90% of workers who have returned to work. The company agreed to pay to the workers 50 percent of the wages lost during the strike, totalling a million USD. All lawsuits against CCAWDU will be dropped. Shareholder Meas Sothas who hired military police to attack workers will be taken off all operational management duties. The ministry formed a committee of government, labor and industry officials to oversee the agreement’s implementation.

The implementation of the agreement, notably the payment of the back wages still need careful monitoring from the Ministry of Labour and IndustriALL. Continued dialogue between the union and the management is also needed on working conditions in the factory that sparked the strike. IndustriALL, with the support of buyers such as H&M, Inditex and GAP, is committed to ensuring that this dialogue takes place and industrial relations are strengthened to prevent a similar crisis.

C.CAWDU president Ath Thorn commented:

This is a very good decision by the employer…. On the workers’ side, we will keep trying to strengthen our good relationship with the employers and other workers in the factory.

IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary Monika Kemperle who played a major role in the negotiations with the buyers, said:

Building mature industrial relations with the unions is not only beneficial for the workers, but also for the management and ultimately for the country. This agreement is an important milestone towards constructive, non-violent labour-management relations in Cambodia.

India: workers’ massive march to Parliament

The rally, which marched from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament, was organised by the eleven Central Trade Unions (CTU).

Demonstrators demanded a halt to the government’s neo-liberal agenda, which has resulted in a growing unemployment, sluggish agricultural production, wage cuts and loss in real earnings. They called upon workers to take on a crucial role in moving away from this turmoil by collective actions.

Sudhershan Rao Sarde, Regional Secretary, IndustriALL Global Union South Asia Regional Office, says on the rally:

Following this massive demonstration the government has called upon representatives of the national centres for a discussion. This impressive mobilization shows extraordinary and unprecedented unity in post-independent India. It clearly demonstrates the collective resolve of the national centres to continue the actions until the government resolves the issues.

IndustriALL affiliates continue their struggle to STOP precarious work

A lot of victories have been achieved during this year, some battles have been lost, but haven’t affected the willpower of IndustriALL affiliates to fight for their employment conditions and to confront global capital.

Through its multi-regional presence, the IndustriALL Precarious Work project has supported affiliates in their fight for the labour rights of precarious workers and to limit the use of precarious work.

In Thailand, the Paper and Printing Workers Federation of Thailand (PPFT) signed a new CBA with Kurusapha Company containing good language on precarious workers. The new CBA ensures that fixed term contract workers who have been in service for two years will be converted to regular employees of Kurusapha Company and agency workers will be converted into directly hired (one year fixed term) contract workers. As a result of this, 285 agency workers have been converted to fix term contract workers and hence have joined their local union, which will now ensure their conversion into regular employees in two years’ time.

At the end of this month, a delegation of Thai unions representing all sectors is going to Indonesia to meet with the FSPMI. The aim of this study visit is to learn how campaigns can be organised on a large scale. The Indonesian movement is recognized for its capabilities to mobilise millions of workers and is well know for its commitment to resolving the widespread problem of precarious employment.

Petrobras, one of the most important national companies in Brazil, is employing precarious workers on the basis of four outsourced workers for every permanent worker. At the end of a contract these agencies frequently do not fulfil their payment obligations.
After many years of battle the Federacao Unica dos Petroleiros (FUP) has negotiated a CBA with Petrobras up to August 31, 2015. The CBA contains several clauses to ensure better protection for outsourced workers.

Petrobras commits to informing the FUP and the oil unions of any changes that could result from the hiring processes of service providers. The Petrobras outsourcing Commission, together with the FUP and the oil unions, will meet every two months to deal with questions related to outsourced workers’ employment conditions and the service provider companies. Permanent workers will control every contract of these outsourcing companies and these companies must now deposit 5 % of the contract’s global value within 60 days in a bank to guarantee severance package payments.

In Brazil and Argentina, textile affiliates are trying to ensure good living and working conditions for migrant workers by working with their respective labour Minister. These migrant precarious workers, mainly coming illegally from Bolivia, see their passports confiscated by the employer and are treated as slaves.

In Africa there has also been several achievements, one of the most important is the willingness of affiliates from the three founding GUFs of IndustriALL to take joint action. In several countries, affiliates have worked together to jointly plan national campaigns against precarious work. They are now building national databases of information on companies, MNCs, service providers and the different types of workforce present in their respective countries.

As a result of all these exchanges of experiences and good practices, the importance of solidarity between unions, as well as between permanent and precarious workers, for winning the fight against precarious work is clear for all.

IndustriALL Global Union signs worldwide social and environmental responsibility agreement with Solvay

The official signing ceremony took place on 17 December in the presence of Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL, and Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO of Solvay. At the ceremony, Albert Kruft as Secretary of Solvay’s European Works Council, also pledged full support to this global agreement.

Solvay commits to respect international social standards as defined by the International Labor Organization and to comply with the principles of the United Nations Global Compact in all of its operations worldwide – also in countries which have not yet ratified these conventions. Solvay expects its suppliers and sub-contractors to respect these fundamental principles.

Every year, two joint assessment missions will take place in countries and on sites chosen by IndustriALL, along with IndustriALL officers, Solvay management and trade union representatives. The first mission assesses Solvay’s safety policies and the second mission will review the application of all the agreement’s aspects, including environmental protection, pay levels or relationships with suppliers and subcontractors.

“This agreement reflects our aim to foster a rich and well-balanced dialogue with the Group's employees and their representatives worldwide. IndustriALL will be a demanding and constructive partner in helping us to implement this agreement,” said Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO of Solvay.

Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL, says on the agreement:

The challenge for IndustriALL is to ensure that multinational groups act in a dignified manner and respect the rights of their employees throughout the world.

"Solvay’s voluntary commitment is extremely important because it clearly states to the world the Group’s conviction that social dialogue at an international level is possible as well as essential and represents a source of mutual progress. We know Solvay very well, and we are confident that, together, we will be able to ensure that this agreement is applied as effectively as possible.”

Final call before Christmas for Swiss supermarkets to sign Accord

More than 120 global brands have signed the Accord, a legally binding document which aims to bring safety and sustainability to the Bangladeshi garment sector following a string of deadly tragedies. But the two Swiss commerce giants have so far refused to add their name to a list that includes a number of global supermarket brands.

In April more than 1,100 garment workers died when the Rana Plaza factory complex collapsed near the capital Dhaka. The disaster led IndustriALL and UNI to establish the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, which now covers over 1800 factories and more than 2 million workers.

Jyrki Raina and Philip Jennings, the leaders of IndustriALL and UNI Global Union respectively, were joined by ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow at a protest outside a Migros store in Nyon.

“We are eight days from Christmas but it has been eight months since a tragedy that caused the deaths of over a thousand people in Bangladesh,” Jennings said.

“We want to give Migros and Coop a final opportunity to do the right thing and sign the Accord before the New Year. It’s the time to put humanity before profits.”

Jyrki Raina said, “We have fought tirelessly for brands from across the world to sign the accord and we are pleased with the progress made. But when we look in our own backyard, to Swiss brands that source products from Bangladesh, sadly we are missing the biggest names.”

ITUC Secretary General Sharan Burrow said, “The CEOs of a host of major global brands have added their name to this agreement, which is making a huge difference to factory safety in Bangladesh.

“Those that have not signed are hiding in the shadows. They are refusing to show that they care about their workers or their supply chains, and they should commit to put that right without delay.”

In letters to the CEO’s of both Migros and Coop, Jennings and Raina said, “We are writing to ask you to join more than 120 global brands in an unprecedented movement to improve working and safety conditions for garment workers in Bangladesh, from which your independent organisations source a number of products.

The Accord is already making a real difference to factory safety. Among the global supermarket brands to have signed and to be actively participating in the implementation of the Accord are Carrefour, Tesco, Sainsbury, Lidl and others. Today we ask COOP and Migros to do the same.

IndustriALL Global Union signs two new Global Framework Agreements

On 9 December Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, met with Jan Johansson, CEO of SCA to renew the GFA between SCA, IndustriALL and Swedish trade union Pappers.

The first GFA with SCA was signed in 2004 and has since been renewed every second year. The latest version of the GFA is more dynamic and meets current requirements in line with the decisions from the Frankfurt conference on GFAs. The revised agreement lists fundamental conventions and ILO guidelines principles, the basis of the relationship between employers and employees. It also covers the issues of working-time and compensation for overtime, as well as a principle of equality towards all employees; permanent, part-time or contract staff.

On 10 December, a GFA was signed between IndustriALL, Norwegian trade union Fellesforbundet and Norske Skog, Norway’s largest paper manufacturer. The agreement states Norske Skog’s compliance with and respect for human and trade union rights, and a commitment to promote these rights in its supply chain and with its customers.

Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL says:

“GFAs show that companies can do socially responsible business, and IndustriALL would like to see these kinds of agreements as an industry standard.”

African Development Bank adopts labour safeguards

In adopting "Operational Safeguard 5: Labour Conditions, Health and Safety" (OS 5), the AfDB requires that all bank borrowers comply with the ILO core labour standards, provide written information to workers about their working conditions and rights, comply with basic occupational health and safety standards, and take responsibility for the conditions of "third-party" (subcontracted) workers.

The adoption of the new safeguards culminates a four-year process to which trade unions contributed recommendations. It follows the example of the labour performance requirements adopted in 2006 by the World Bank’s private sector lending are, the IFC. While largely similar, the AfDB policy appears to put a stronger requirement on borrowers to ensure that its contractors also comply, instructing that "the borrower or client incorporates these requirements [of OS 5] in contractual agreements with its contractors, subcontractors and intermediaries". The IFC requires only that borrowers ‘use commercially reasonable efforts’.

The AfDB has announced that it will develop assessment procedures and a tracking system to enable it to monitor implementation of the new requirements.

Jenny Holdcroft, policy director at IndustriALL Global Union, says that monitoring by trade unions has played an important role in ensuring compliance with the IFC labour safeguards.

It will be important for African trade unions, the ITUC and Global Union Federations to comment on the effectiveness of the assessment and tracking procedures as they are established, and to monitor AfDB projects regarding compliance with the safeguard on an ongoing basis.

Two other major regional development banks — the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank — have so far taken no action to adopt a labour safeguard.