Final Countdown for companies to sign Bangladesh Fire and Safety Accord before 15 May midnight deadline

IndustriALL Global Union General Secretary, Jyrki Raina said,

May 13 was an important day in the fight for justice for the 1,127 Rana Plaza victims and hundreds of other garment workers injured and killed in Bangladesh, as industry-leading clothing brands retailers committed to work with us, to stay in the country and get rid of their unsustainable business model of extreme exploitation. A bloody t-shirt is not much cheaper than a clean one.

UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings said, “The clock is ticking for companies such as Gap and Carrefour to show they care about their Bangladeshi supplier workforce. Their corporate reputations may be on the line but more importantly, so are the lives and livelihoods of these vulnerable factory workers in Bangladesh. Sign up before it’s too late, save lives and show you are a responsible employer. We are building a momentum for change and it won’t stop here.”

In acceding to the binding program of fire safety reforms based on independent inspections, worker-led health and safety committees and union access to factories, signatories commit to underwrite improvements in dangerous factories and properly confront fire safety and structural problems. Importantly the Accord grants workers the right to refuse dangerous work, in line with ILO Convention 155.

Yesterday, 13 May, the Bangladesh government of Prime Minister Sheikh Masina agreed to enact positive changes in the labour legislation to allow factory-level trade unions to form without the permission of employers.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is leading the push for reform of the labour law in Bangladesh. ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow wrote to Bangladesh’s Minister of Labour Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju on 9 May:

“I am deeply concerned to learn that the proposed amendments, which were recently passed by the cabinet, do not address the majority of concerns raised by the ILO Committee of Experts with regard to Conventions 87 and 98 nor address the priority amendments put forward by the trade unions. This is unacceptable.”

The ILO equally is pressuring the Bangladeshi government to adopt and enforce proper labour law reform in June. The high-level ILO mission to Dhaka in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster issued clear and strong recommendations including commitments on an ILO-compliant labour law reform by June focusing on freedom of association and collective bargaining, guarantees hundreds of new inspectors and extensive training programs.

The third priority change targeted to build a sustainable garment industry in Bangladesh is the campaign for a living wage. The minimum monthly wage of US$38 is a poverty wage. The IndustriALL Bangladesh Council’s unified demand on wages is for an immediate increase from 3000 taka per month to 5000, to be followed by incremental increases each year to arrive at a living wage in the year 2015, in a process similar to that seen in Vietnam currently.

The IBC is working on the ground at the Rana Plaza site in Savar, Dhaka. Very immediate challenges there include supplying food to the family members still waiting in hope of their loved one being pulled alive from the rubble after 17 days. Their wait is now more for the chance to recover the body and arrange the funeral for their sister, mother, or wife. Attention will also now turn to negotiating compensation for families of the murdered and injured.

The strong expectation for today is that other clothing retailers sign on to the Accord, not least the well-known US brands such as GAP. Presently PVH, owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein is the only US brand signed up. Companies targeted in Europe include Kik, Carrefour, Marks & Spencer and Next.

Labour movement urges more companies to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh after H&M, Inditex, C&A, Primark and Tesco confirm today

H&M, Inditex, C&A, Primark and Tesco join PVH and Tchibo in signing the Accord prior to the 15 May deadline and setting the example for other brands to follow.

The Accord is a legally binding agreement – between the signatories, and the global unions (IndustriALL and UNI) and numerous apparel unions in Bangladesh. The agreement includes all of the components essential to be effective: independent safety inspections with public reports, mandatory repairs and renovations and a vital role for workers and their unions. The heart of the agreement is the commitment to provide for companies to pay for the renovations and repairs necessary to make factory building in Bangladesh safe, through pricing or other means.

IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina stated, “H&M, Inditex, C&A, Primark and Tesco are showing the way to the other global clothing brands. In signing this Accord they are committing to working with unions to address the root causes that have created the horrendous working conditions for textile workers in Bangladesh. With this Accord we will make sure that the price paid by workers at Rana Plaza in the biggest single act of industrial homicide will not be forgotten”.

UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said, “We welcome the decision of H&M, Inditex, C&A, Primark and Tesco to sign and we urge other retailers to follow suit immediately. We call on these companies to do the right thing on behalf of the more than 1,250 textile workers killed in Bangladesh factory disasters in the last six months, including Rana Plaza where the tragedy is still unfolding. This is black and white, life and death.”

The full list of founding signatories and the final text of the Accord will be released on 15 May by IndustriALL and UNI Global Union.

Endorsed by:
IndustriALL Global Union
UNI Global Union

Clean Clothes Campaign
International Labor Rights Forum
Maquila Solidarity Network
SumOfUs.org
Avaaz
United Students Against Sweatshops
War on Want
Credoaction
Causes
Defend Jobs
Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF)
Global Monitor
People Tree
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER)
National Trade Union Federation (NTUF)
Workers Rights Consortium (WRC)

Contacts:

Tom Grinter, IndustriALL : +41 79 79 693 44 99  [email protected]

Richard Elliott, UNI Global Union Mobile: +41 79 794 9709   [email protected]

Building Power in Alcoa

The meeting brought together unions from Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. The unions had a one-day network meeting and subsequently attended the Alcoa annual shareholders meeting.

Stopping Alcoa from its union busting activities in North America was also a primary concern. The company, which has constructive relations with unions in the majority of its locations, seems in denial when confronted on the issue. In order to support ongoing organizing drives throughout Alcoa members of the network had developed a leaflet to support unionization. Aimed at giving the unions more visibility in Alcoa and helping potential new members overcome the fear factor of joining. The fact is there are more unionized workers in Alcoa than non-union.

Leo Gerard President United Steelworkers said “There is a danger that this issue if not addressed can poison our relationship with the company”. Despite the union busting the USW have recently won recognition in a new facility and have outstanding Labor board charges against the company in several others.

During the meeting Klaus Kleinfeld CEO of Alcoa insisted that the company wanted constructive relations with its unions and agreed to further dialogue with the USW to clarify the situation.

Following two fatalities in 2012 both unions and management also identified Health and Safety as an area of common concern and a potential area for greater cooperation. Both parties seemed willing to explore the possibilities of a new mechanism to improve safety conditions in Alcoa.  This idea was reinforced during the Alcoa Shareholders meeting when Klaus Kleinfeld accepted an offer from the unions during a question and answer session to work together in a new way.  He strongly indicated that this should happen sooner rather than later and challenged the unions to follow up. The union network, are already doing this and hope that progress will be made shortly.

Rob Johnston Executive Director, Base Metals, IndustriALL commented “We have made our position on safety clear, we have publically stated our willingness to work jointly to improve performance, management seem open to this. I hope that this openness translates into an agreement sooner rather than later”.

Alcoa, which has 61,000 employees in 181 locations worldwide, has recently undertaken a joint venture in Saudi Arabia, that when fully operational will be the world’s largest production facility. In order to capitalize on its highly skilled workforce worldwide Alcoa wants to carry out local training. In Saudi Arabia, the union network which represents workers asked to go has requested that a small team visit the facility to carry out a study on safety and welfare conditions for workers.

ISMACO still violating fundamental worker rights in Turkey

In addition to four already dismissed workers, ISMACO dismissed five more members of Deri-Is, namely Turan Baş (5,5 years seniority), İmam Hüseyin Gümüşsoy (2,5 years seniority), Bilal Gümüşsoy (6,5 years seniority), Celal Aydın (13 years seniority) and Mustafa Taş (9 years seniority). The company’s lawyer announced the reason of dismissal as these workers distributed union leaflets without permission of the local management.

The five union members did indeed handbill union brochures inviting workers to join the union. Workers were first urged and asked to give their testimonies because of this big offence! Then they were dismissed. Actually two out five, Turan Baş and Bilal Gümüşsoy, had already been elected as employee representatives and their sacking was a tactic employed by the company to break union organizing at the workplace.

IndustriALL Global Union in the meantime continues to support Deri-Is’ campaign. In early April, on the occasion of the IndustriALL/UNI/ITF Joint Forum on Organizing at the end of March, an international delegation joined the dismissed workers in front of one of the shops of Ermenegildo Zegna in the luxury area of Istanbul, called Nişantaşı, urging the company to stop anti-union practices against union members and unionization. Along with this, IndustriALL’s Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan visited the picket line and the tent of the dismissed workers at the entrance of the free zone in Tuzla district, and gave the same messages to the company receiving large media attention.

IndustriALL Global Union also communicated with its Italian affiliates in textile, garment and leather sectors to take initiative with the central management of Ermenegildo Zegna with a view to finding a solution for the ongoing situation. The company raised the similar arguments as did its local management in Turkey which was overwhelmingly on the basis of Turkish labour legislation that clearly breaches international conventions of the ILO.

However IndustriALL’s close NGO ally Clean Clothes Campaign, together with the local community, mobilized its chains in different countries in a supportive campaign for the demands of Deri-Is.

“These last five dismissals clearly demonstrate the intention of the company,” said Kemal Özkan, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union. “We have made all our attempts to solve this problem with a dialogue, but it does not work. Ermenegildo Zegna leaves us one option, and we will do that”.

Inditex GFA in new phase with pilot project in Turkey

Inditex and IndustriALL have developed a Guideline on Free Elections of Workers’ Representatives, and concept paper for a prototypic program covering workers and managers from supplier companies with a view to proper implementation of provisions of the GFA and the protocol on involvement of local unions.

A pilot project in Turkey has started with a workshop in Istanbul on 25 April with participation of around fifty worker and management representatives from four factories supplying to Inditex as well as leaders from IndustriALL and its two Turkish affiliates DISK/Tekstil and Deri-Is. Workers representatives were already elected at the factories concerned through town-hall meetings where the global framework agreement was explained with a particular emphasis on fundamental rights and freedoms.

Following a start with a joint session where the purpose of the project was identified to all the participants, two separate sessions, one with elected employee representatives and another with managers, were organized. Finally the separate groups reconvened in a joint session to share the findings and to frame future work under the GFA.

In the two parallel sessions, Turkish individual and collective labour legislation, ILO Conventions and major axes of the Framework Agreement were specifically discussed through speakers from universities, trade unions and employers’ organizations. A lively debate in the workers’ session focused on particular circumstances with a view to finding ways to handle problems through dialogue, union organizing and collective bargaining. Most of the participants cited that it was their first time having such open discussion about their working and living conditions with a hope for further improvement. Discussions in the session of managers focused on the country's business culture, approaches over corporate social responsibility and working with trade unions in a spirit of dialogue.

At the end, the seminar with representatives of workers and management from supplying factories constituted a breakthrough in forming a solid background for social dialogue within the spirit of the GFA. As a first experience with its pilot character, the seminar identified findings to prepare a basic document that will essentially work on further implementation of the GFA, and serve as preparation of future applications of this method of working.

Attending the seminar, IndustriALL Global Union’s Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan commented: “With this first experience, we are now much more convinced that our global framework agreement will continue to play an important role in labour relations in the garment sector. We really want our joint work with Inditex to stand as a good model for the rest of the sector worldwide.”

The project in Turkey will continue at other Inditex supplier factories with the involvement of other IndustriALL affiliates in the sector, Teksif and Öz İplik-İş.

New fatal fire as talks continue on Bangladeshi safety plan

Yet another garment factory fire occurred at 11pm on 8 May, killing at least eight people in the Mirpur industrial district of Dhaka. The fire at the 11-storey building owned by the garment exporting Tung Hai Group could have been disastrous had it occurred during the day when hundreds of workers toil in the building.

The eight people killed were the building executives holding a meeting and a police officer and drivers. Although the fire broke out on the third floor and the meeting was held on the top floor, the eight killed were trapped.  Tung Hai had other factory fires in 2009 and 2010 and produces for well-known retailers.

On 8 May the Bangladeshi authorities announced the closure of 18 garment factories for failing to comply with safety regulations.

The latest fatal fire added a dramatic sense of urgency to IndustriALL’s negotiations with international clothing brands and retailers that source from Bangladesh. The parties have agreed on a 15 May deadline to seal a binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The Accord foresees a coordinated system of inspections, training and financial commitments necessary to build a sustainable garment industry, and empowering workers to refuse dangerous work.

IndustriALL has welcomed the joint statement issued on the occasion of a 1-4 May high-level mission of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to Dhaka. It includes commitments on an ILO-compliant labour law reform by June focusing on freedom of association and collective bargaining, guarantees hundreds of new inspectors and extensive training programs.

The responsibility of the retail corporations is most clearly illustrated by the tiny percentage of their profits that go to labour costs and safety costs. An average of US 2 cents of profit on a t-shirt would double the salary of the Bangladeshi that made it. An average of US 10 cents of profit on each garment would pay for a transformation of safety standards across the entire industry in Bangladesh.

The IndustriALL Bangladesh Council’s unified demand on wages is for an immediate increase from 3000 taka per month to 5000, to be followed by incremental increases each year to arrive at a living wage in the year 2015, in a process similar to that seen in Vietnam currently.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters, activists and trade unionists have joined a number of online petitions calling for change in Bangladesh towards creating a more sustainable garment industry.

The death toll has reached 900 in Savar as bodies are still being pulled out of the rubble.  IndustriALL affiliates are contributing to the humanitarian relief effort, including CA$15,000 from the USW of Canada.

Click here to listen to IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina tell Radio Labour the latest on the negotiations with brands:

We will use the global muscle of IndustriALL to create sustainable conditions for garment workers, with the right to join a union, with living wages, and safe and healthy working conditions.

Egyptian workers raise their free voices

A first ever two-day planning and assesment seminar was held at the end of April in Cairo with participation of around fifty participants from different sectors within the jurisdiction of IndustriALL.

The seminar welcomed leaders of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU), Kamal Abu Aita, and Egyptian Democratic Labor Confederation (EDLC), Yousri Marouf at opening sessions. Abu Aita and Marouf underlined the importance of global union solidarity in the process of establishing a free and democratic union movement in Egypt.

IndustriALL’s Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan and Member of Executive/Finance Committees Tahar Berberi were also among the attendees explaining policies and practices of the global union at global and regional levels. This led a discussion about major challenges faced by independent unions in the country. State intervention and barriers over collection of union dues, among others, were defined as prominent difficulties in flourishing of the new unions. 

International labour norms and standards were widely discussed by the participants following the presentation of IndustriALL and representative of ILO’s ACTRAV, Mohamed Trabelsi. Trade union rights and liberties were debated within the context of development of labor legislation in Egypt through a presentation by Dr. Rafaat Dessouki from Ainshams University.

The delegates took up union organizing and campaigning using international instruments with an overview on OECD Guidelines and Global Framework Agreements. A number of ongoing labour conflicts and problems were raised by the participants, and follow-up stages through global union solidarity were discussed. IndustriALL’s delegation also visited ongoing pickets organized for Bahayra Company for Land Reclamation and Schlumberger Oilfield Services in the city of Al-Qatemaya.

The delegates worked in groups on the creation of a culture of working together in building national union power and proper structures. IndustriALL’s program will continue with other events in various cities such as Alexandria and Mahalla in the months to come.

IndustriALL Global Union was also part of the May Day March and Demonstration at Tahrir Square in Cairo. Independent trade unions, political parties and civic society organizations combined their forces to voice demands of the Egyptian society under a slogan of “We want to work, we want decent wages and we want free unions”. According to a recent study, labour strikes and social protests have more than doubled since the last presidential elections and are likely to continue doing so.

“IndustriALL Global Union is proud to be present shoulder-to-shoulder with Egyptian workers and society in supporting their demands for real democracy, and genuine human and trade union rights,” said Kemal Özkan, Assistant General Secretary. “Egypt will continue as one of our priority countries, and our special program will extensively continue”.

Reprisals and dismissals at Honda Mexico

Honda dismissed the five workers on 7 May. All of them were members of the committee that negotiated a settlement after 90 per cent of the workers showed their dissatisfaction with the company's refusal to share its profits in a work-stoppage on 16-18 April.

Tripartite negotiations resulted in an agreement that included the following points:

The Honda Mexico workers’ union (STUHM) said: “It is clear that the company has acted dishonestly by dismissing workers who were directly involved in the demonstrations. It has done this in order to discourage workers from seeking union representation that defends their interests and to intimidate all Honda workers who are trying to organize to improve working conditions”.

The STUHM called on the federal and local authorities that participated in drawing up the agreement to intervene and insist that the company comply with its commitment to not dismiss workers in reprisal for action taken in response to the company's refusal to make a fair profit-sharing payment to workers in accordance with the profits it made in 2012.

At a press conference on 8 May, STUHM representatives described what was happening at the company, including the dismissal of the five workers who remain determined not to accept the unjust termination of their employment contracts, and instead declared themselves ready to return to work.

IndustriALL believes it is clear that Honda wants to punish the workers who demonstrated in support of their legitimate rights and, in this way, discourage workers from organizing to obtain decent working conditions and genuine trade union representation.

IndustriALL has written to express its solidarity with Honda workers and to demand that the company complies fully with the agreement signed after tripartite negotiations. The letter sets out IndustriALL's support for the union's demands, calls for the company to comply with its commitment to not take reprisals against workers who participated in the strike and urges Honda to immediately reinstate the five dismissed workers. 

EU must push for fundamental rights in Bangladesh garment sector

European Commissioners Catherine Ashton and Karel De Gucht made the pledge in a joint statement following the horrific building collapse in Savar, Bangladesh that has claimed some 600 lives and left many more seriously injured in one of the world's worst industrial disasters. The threat of EU action under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), rarely invoked, further underscores the concern.
 
"The EU should use its considerable leverage to encourage brands sourcing from Bangladesh to sign up to a binding and enforceable agreement on fire and building safety, in which workers and trade unions play an active role," said Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union.
 
"The industry's promotion of corporate auditing to identify and remedy problems is yet again revealed as a cruel hoax, as corporate auditor BSCI had recently certified factories operating in the Rana Plaza building," said Raina. "A voluntary approach that relies merely on corporate goodwill – which has been largely absent – would be a mistake.   Promotion of more corporate auditing is no solution to the problem," said Raina.
 
Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said, "Once again, workers have paid with their lives for the cosy but ultimately lethal relationships between global brands, ruthless suppliers and corrupt politicians in Bangladesh.  The EU must follow through on its pledge, and act to stop the sham corporate CSR industry doing any more damage."
 
The factories in which garments are produced in Bangladesh for the leading global retailers are well known to be death traps. The situation is made worse by the complete hostility towards trade unions by both the government and garment producers' associations in Bangladesh. The government has for years refused to register unions in the garment sector. Only due to substantial international pressure have new unions begun to receive legal recognition in the past months.
 
Philip Jennings, general Secretary of UNI Global Union which organizes workers in the retail sector, said "UNI and its affiliates are demanding that retailers around the world sign an enforceable agreement which protects workers in Bangladesh from the unacceptable dangers of fire and building hazards and ensures these workers will have full access to the best form of health and safety  protection:  a union.  They can't hide from their responsibility – the time to step up to a real agreement is now."
 
The ITUC, IndustriALL Global Union and IndustriAll European Trade Union say that the EU must also not view the situation as a safety and health matter alone. If workers have a strong union, it is far more likely that they will be able to negotiate for safer workplaces and to remove themselves from danger quickly when it arises. The EU must therefore ensure that freedom of association is at the centre of any engagement with the government.  Along with this, pressure must be put on the industry and the government, to ensure that workers are paid a living wage.  The government, under employer pressure, has refused to raise the $36 minimum monthly wage.
 
"New legislation that complies with ILO standards and the efficient registration of new unions will be vital to avoid future tragedies. The current labour code amendments recently passed by the cabinet leave many issues raised by the ILO and trade unions regarding freedom of association wholly unaddressed," said Sharon Burrow.
 
"The EU must also insist that those responsible for the torture and murder of trade union activist Aminul Islam last year be arrested and prosecuted without further delay," said Burrow.
 
Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) calls on the Commission to adopt a new strategy for the Corporate Social Responsibility programme 2011-2014. "We must ensure that all multinationals operating in Europe commit to respecting the International Labour Organisation’s declaration on tripartite principles concerning multinational enterprises and  social policy. "
 
A recent report by the US trade union centre AFL-CIO "Responsibility Outsourced" details the appalling track record of corporate-backed "social audit" firms, including other cases where auditors failed to act on fatally dangerous factories and helped companies with US-style union avoidance strategies.

First federal agreement signed for coal industry in Russia

The agreement, which covers more than 80 percent of workers in the coal industry of Russia, starts from 1 April 2013 and is valid for three years till 2016. Rosugleprof believes one of the strongest achievements of the agreement is the guarantee of quarterly wage increases indexing inflation based on the data of the Federal Statistics Agency. This agreement will allow for a maintaining and increasing of wages and living standards for miners in Russia.

Some points of the new agreement will apply only to the union members or the employees who authorize the union to represent them.

Among many others the agreement provides for a number of benefits including the following:

In addition to the achieved agreement the parties decided to meet twice a year for evaluation of the ongoing agreement as well as in April 2014 to start negotiations of a new Federal Industry Agreement.