Czech Republic

OS KOVO has organized the following activities around the World Day for Decent Work:

Canada Actions

UNIFOR: On 7 October it will be newly formed UNIFOR’s first year marking WDDW. See Unifor’s 7 October statement, calling for a “Good Jobs Revolution” in Canada.

Unifor will organize a National Good Jobs Summit in 2014. This Summit will mark the beginning of a much-needed conversation about job creation and job quality in Canada, and Unifor is leading the charge.

To help get the word out, Unifor has lined up a number of communications initiatives:

Croatia Actions

SMH-IS: On 3 October in conjunction with the World day for Decent Work (WDDW).  IndustriALL affiliate SMH-IS (Trade union of metal workers of Croatia – Industry trade union) held a press conference in Zagreb, on industry and insecure employment.

Vedran Dragičević, president of the SMH-IS, said that “industrial activities have not been going in the right direction, and that as a result 110,000 jobs were lost from 2008. There are a smaller number of workers employed in the industry; gross salaries of workers have been reduced, while productivity has increased.

The Ministry of labour and pension system proposes changes in the Labour Law that will not solve the economic situation, but will lead to further job insecurity. The statistics on the unemployment rate can be changed artificially with seasonal work, but the workers will remain unemployed. The SMH-IS believes that investments in shipbuilding, engineering and electro-industry could start the recovery of Croatian industry, and it could be done by appropriately using EU funds.

At the Croatian Employment Office most of the job seekers are from the processing industry, and at the same time, most of the workers needed are in that same processing industry. This is because the employers mostly employ precarious workers (i.e. 92.9% of newly employed workers from the Croatian employment office are employed on contract, ie from a couple of months to a year or two), and the unions are afraid that Croatian workers are on the verge of going to their employer every day and asking if there is some work for them for that day. That is not secure or decent employment. This was the conclusion of the conference.

Colombia Actions

The Global Glass Alliance of Unions at Owens Illinois which includes: United Steelworkers (USW), Unite of the UK and Ireland, Glass Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union (GMP) of the United States and Canada; the AMWU and AWU of Australia, the IG BCE of Germany, CC.OO. of Spain, FSP KEP of Indonesia, CNQ-CUT of Brazil, Sintravidricol of Colombia, unions in France, Peru and IndustriALL Global Union, in the framework of the World Day for Decent Work on 7 October condemns Owens Illinois in Colombia.

According to information supplied by the Union of Temporary Workers (SINTRADIT), in the city of Buga Valle, in the west of Colombia, in a plant owned by the Owens Illinois subsidiary Cristar, an organization called an SAS [a type of in-house contractor in Colombia], is employing casual workers to make cups, drinking glasses and jars, all of which they’ve produced for 11 years in the plant named Cogua, alongside regular unionized workers who enjoy benefits. Owens Illinois does this by using contractors with various names. There are 600 workers in this unusual situation, put there by a multinational corporation that boasts of being part of the United National Global Compact, of being a responsible corporate citizen, of using social dialogue and of being certified as guaranteeing labour rights, all of which are demonstrated to not be the case in light of this situation.

Seeking protection, these workers of the SAS working at the Owens Illinois subsidiary Cristar’s plant affiliated to the union Sintradit and presented a list of demands that complied with stipulations in Colombian laws. Going around the law, the Owens Illinois subsidiary refused to discuss the workers’ list of demands and proceeded to block the entry of these workers into the factory, violating these workers’ right to the freedom of association and right to engage in collective bargaining. These workers are now found protesting in tents that are located in front of the company. [Workers in Colombia on strike often have tents at the picket line.]

The Global Glass Alliance is making an urgent call to the national and international trade union movement, to the Global Union Network at Owens Illinois, to the International Labour Organization (ILO) and to the authorities, to condemn this reprehensible treatment of workers in Colombia by Owens Illinois through the SAS.

Denmark Actions

CO-Industri: Activities in Denmark against precarious employment are on going. The campaign called “Er du OK” “Are you OK” has a double meaning as OK is the standard abbreviation for a collective agreement in Denmark. The campaign is supported by all trade unions in the Danish TUC and FTF central organizations and focuses on the benefits of having a collective agreement.

Link: http://www.erduok.dk/

Er du OK video: http://youtu.be/7jIb8zBUEEU

This year’s collective bargaining round in Denmark’s manufacturing sector will kick-off with meetings around Denmark, where the Chairmanship of CO-industri will have discussions with with the local shopstewards. This event starts on the 29. October and ends on the 20. November with a total of eight meetings around Denmark, where amongst other things, the IA-E common demand against precarious employment will be discussed.

Sweden Actions

IF Metall: On 7 October IF Metall presented two new films on the importance of being a trade union member and about the national contract for temporary agency workers. The films can be watched here: 

Film 1: http://youtu.be/9Cbu1v2OQ7

Film 2: http://youtu.be/Ksx5t292Z1M

Another action taken by IF Metall, on The WDDW, in light of the issues that textile workers are facing in Bangladesh: "We must stop the death traps in the textile industry" Swedish IF Metall (industry workers) and Handels (commercial workers) jointly calls upon concerned companies to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The call is made in a letter to the companies and in an article published in Aftonbladet, a Swedish newspaper reaching three million readers, today on October 7, the World Day for Decent Work.

Engineers and IT workers meet at IG Metall

IndustriALL and IG Metall President Berthold Huber addressed the conference in a speech entitled Cooperation Beats Competition. One of his focuses was the importance of knowledge, know-how and creativity, all properties that companies need to prosper. In German companies above all it is the engineers and the developers who lay the foundation for economic success by their work. It is not machines and programs that are decisive for sustainable progress but rather workers’ knowledge and know-how.

In contributions from industry and academics the message was clear: the future lies in investing in quality and innovation and in future-looking developments. We must build a new corporate culture based on cooperation, an attractive working environment and regular employment. Core competence must remain in the company. The point for industry is to produce better but not more cheaply.

Other buzzwords at the conference were ‘amazonization’, ‘gamification’, ‘crowd working’, ‘crowd sourcing’, all new themes for trade unions. Mobile working, work-life balance, open space are all areas where IG Metall has agreements with industry.

In the last year alone 17,000 white-collar workers joined IG Metall. That is 26 percent of all new members. In spite of the revolutionary change in jobs from hand work to head work IG Metall has still been able to organize workers and keeps pushing engineers to join. 

One strike off one strike on for Numsa

On Friday 27 September, Numsa announced an end to the strike of its members in the fuel retail sector after an agreement was reached on a 11.6 per cent increase for this year, and 9 per cent increases for 2014 and 2015, up from an initial offer of 7 per cent made by employers.

Numsa had announced two strikes simultaneously with 70,000 members downing tools. The second strike is in the motor sector that includes workers in motor retail and auto components manufacture. Members have rejected the revised offer from employers of 9 per cent and are continuing to hold out for a double digit wage increase.

Bangladesh Safety Accord Publishes Unprecedented Wealth of Factory Data

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh today made public a list of nearly 1,600 factories covered by the pact, employing more than 2 million workers. The list includes information, pertinent to assessing building safety, some of which has never previously been disclosed in the apparel industry.

Key data points include: factory name and address, the number of stories of each structure, whether a building includes multiple apparel factories and whether it houses other types of businesses, the number of workers at each factory, and the number of Accord signatories using each factory. Accord leaders note that additional data points will be disclosed as more information is gathered from signatories and that, with some companies that have joined recently still to disclose their lists, the total number of factories will grow.

Sean Ansett, the Accord's Interim Executive Director, said "This is not merely a list of factory names; it includes crucial information on the physical structure of factories. These data points provide an unprecedented map of the Bangladesh apparel industry covered by the Accord and are playing a key role in prioritizing factories for safety inspections."

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh is a legally binding agreement between apparel brands and retailers and trade unions. It has been signed by over 90 apparel corporations from 19 countries in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia; two global labor federations, IndustriALL and UNI; and numerous Bangladeshi unions. Clean Clothes Campaign, Workers' Rights Consortium, and International Labor Rights Forum are NGO witnesses to the Accord. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) acts as the independent chair.

The Accord also indicated today that it will announce in the coming days the hiring of the Chief Safety Inspector who will oversee the initiative's factory inspection and renovation program.

The Accord will launch a new website on Monday 7th October, on which the factory data — sent today to journalists and key stakeholders — will be posted for easy public access. The website will also include additional information on the ongoing progress and operational work of the Accord, including a detailed Q&A section. Regular Accord updates will be found on Twitter by following @bangaccord as of the 7th of October.

Visit the website of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety here:

www.bangladeshaccord.org

Press Information:

Tom Grinter, Communications Officer, IndustriALL Global Union
Tel: +4122 30418 53. Mobile: +41 79 6934499 e-mail: [email protected]

Mike Sunderland, Deputy Director of Communications, UNI Global Union
Tel: +4122 365 2129, Mobile: +41 79 70190 49 email: [email protected]

Andy York, Ethical Trading Manager, N. Brown Group, contact Fergus Wylie, Newgate Communications Tel: 0207 680 6550

Justice for Crown workers in Canada and Turkey

IndustriALL Global Union, its North American affiliate (United Steelworkers) USW and Turkish affiliate Birleşik Metal-İş are campaigning to stop Crown Holding's attacks against workers with the support of Unite the Union of the UK, the International Association of Machinists (IAMAW) of North America, Crown’s European Works Council and IndustriALL’s sister global union IUF.

Crown Holdings, is one of the biggest metal container companies in the world producing cans for beverage and food products in 149 countries.

Despite almost doubling profits in 2012 the company prefers to race for bigger profits at any cost including at the expense of its own workers who build its wealth.

During recent negotiations of the new collective agreement between Crown and USW Local 9176 in Toronto, Ontario, the company arrogantly demanded to impose a two-tier wage schedule, remove a cost-of-living allowance, provide only minimal wage increases, and keep an already nine-year freeze on pensions. The plant in Weston, Toronto produces daily five million cans and earlier was rewarded as one the best production sites in North America.

Disappointed with the treatment despite their achievements and hard work the 130 USW members of the Weston site were not left any choice, but to start a strike in response to the company unjust protracted campaign aimed to lower wages and undermine working conditions.

Similarly, Crown Holdings is also conducting a clear union-busting campaign against workers, who are members of IndustriALL affiliate, Birlesik Metal-Is, at its operations in Turkey since early 2012. After many difficulties in the recruitment period, Birleşik Metal-İş, in November 2012, managed to obtain a collective bargaining certificate from the Ministry of Labour confirming that it is eligible to be a party for negotiations. However, as widely used tactics by employers in Turkey in order to destroy union organizing, Crown immediately challenged the certification at local labour court for stalling the process.

In the meantime, IndustriALL’s sister organization IUF challenged major customers of Crown in the brewery sector since there have been clear violations of fundamental rights in the company’s operations in Turkey.

As part of the international campaign, three demonstrations will be organized to protest the on-going conflicts at the Crown plants: the first one will be held on 16 October in Philadelphia, U.S. where the company is headquartered; the second, on 18 October is in Baar, Switzerland, where the company’s European headquarters is located; and the third will be in Turkey on 21 October.

In the meantime, a USW and LabourStart have launched a joint campaign page. To send online message of protest to the Crown Holdings CEO John Conway in support of the workers in Canada and Turkey, click on the link below: http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=1978.

“Injustice for the Crown workers must come to an end,” said IndustriALL Global Union Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan. “Enough is enough. Our campaign will continue until the current problems in Canada and Turkey are resolved.”