Stop attacks on trade unions in Mexico

Unions in the United Kingdom, including IndustriALL affiliate Unite, are holding a public meeting on trade union rights in Mexico to coincide with the global Days of Action.

Stop the attacks on trade unions in Mexico

18:00 to 19:30, 20 February 2013

Diskus Centre, Unite Central Office

128 Theobalds Road, Holborn, London WC1X 8TH

Speakers include:

Professor Keith Ewing, Institute of Employment Rights
Owen Tudor, Head of TUC International Department
Dr Francisco Dominguez, Head, Centre for Latin American Studies, Middlesex University

Chair: Diana Holland, Unite Assistant General Secretary

To mark the first day of the global days of action in support of Mexican workers, a TUC General Council delegation visited the Mexican embassy on 18 February to meet with political consular Miguel Garcia-Zamudio.

Participants were Sam Gurney, the TUC’s member of the ILO Governing Body, UCU General Secretary Sally Hunt (the General Council international spokesperson), CWU General Secretary Billy Hayes (also president of UNI global union’s telecommunications sector), and Unite Assistant General Secretary Tony Burke.

The delegation began by pointing out that whilst they welcomed the chance to meet with the embassy the reality was that since a similar TUC delegation had last met with officials, the situation in Mexico had worsened rather than improved;

· Protection contracts were still prevalent

· Long promised labour law reforms introduced last year have in fact made the situation worse for workers, failing to deal with protection contracts, increasing job insecurity by encouraging widespread outsourcing and allowing for mass dismissals of workers who do try to organise independent democratic unions

· Napoleon Gomez, general secretary of the Los Mineros mining and metal workers union remains in exile in Canada

· And the bodies of the victims of the Pasta Conchos mine disaster in 2006 remain unrecovered, with no sign of further investigation into why the disaster happened or any action against those responsible.

Tony pointed to the mass dismissals of workers employed by PKC, a Finnish auto-parts maker, Honda the Japanese car giant and 16,500 electricity workers in Mexico City who had tried to defend their right to belong to the SME union. And Billy highlighted the continued failure of the Mexican authorities to deal with detailed issues raised by the International Labour Organisation and to meet their obligations to enter into dialogue with all unions, not just those who for historic reasons have privileged access to state systems.

Letters from Frances O’Grady on behalf of the TUC and Len McClusky, Unite General Secretary and Leo Gerard of the US United Steel Workers on behalf of Workers Uniting were handed over, outlining our concerns in detail.

On behalf of the Mexican embassy Snr. Garcia-Zamudio welcomed the chance to engage in discussion with British unions on these issues and promised to convey our views ‘clearly and bluntly’ back to the ministries of foreign affairs and labour so that they could see the strength of feeling around the world.

Mexico Actions 2013

Click on the country to see updates on the actions taken by affiliates demanding union rights in Mexico:

UNI GLOBAL UNION – LATIN AMERICA ACTIONS

Mexico campaign materials 2013

Pakistani unions demand justice for textile workers

The National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), an IndustriALL affiliate, and other labour rights organizations have filed petitions against the owners of Ali Enterprises, the garment factory in Karachi where almost 300 workers were killed in a devastating fire on 12 September 2012. (http://www.industriall-union.org/horror-in-pakistan-after-300-workers-die) As it is a case of loss of life, the State initiates the legal actions, NTUF and others have filed petitions, which are being heard by the Sindh High Court.

Mr. Ashraf intervened in the factory fire case on 29 December in an address to Karachi business leaders where he recommended the murder charges be withdrawn against the owners, brothers Arshad and Shahid Bhaila, who have been in jail since September and face trial. Two weeks after the Prime Minster’s comments, a senior police official applied with the court to have the charge dropped.

The decision on which charges will go forward rests with the Sindh High Court. As there are complainants and interested parties, the Court has to hear all the petitioners in the matter before delivering its judgement. If under pressure, the Court delivers a ruling modifying the charges, it is again open to the petitioners to challenge the Sindh High Court ruling in Appellate Court, which NTUF and other labour rights organizations are already contemplating.

Five cement workers killed at Ambuja-Holcim in India

Sudha Bharadwaj, a legal adviser of the contract workers union PCSS stated:

On hearing of the accident, Shri Kalyan Singh Patel, PCSS General Secretary immediately sent two members (whose names are being withheld for their protection) along with a legal advisor to the site. Since no persons including journalists were being permitted inside the plant, there was heavy police deployment and the Collector and Superintendent of Police though present on the spot were not receiving calls, only preliminary fact finding could be conducted on the basis of discussion with workers, farmers of Arjuni and Bhadrapali and the relatives of the deceased workmen.

PCSS reported that the accident took place sometime between 10.30 and 11am on 31 January 2013. The fly ash hopper situated on the 5th floor collapsed, crashing through 4 floors. The air was thick with dust for hours.

The five workers to have died are:
1. Roshan Verma, apprentice, Arjuni Village
2. Poshan Verma, apprentice, Arjuni Village
3. Suresh Shukla, permanent worker, Ambuja Colony.
4. Kamleshwar Singh, permanent worker, Bhadrapaali Village
5. Durgesh, contract worker, Saiha Village

Reports suggest that the capacity of the hopper was 170 tonnes but it was overloaded, possibly to about 300 tonnes. The hopper was in a dilapidated condition and in fact had possibly been sealed by the authorities during a raid a number of months ago.

There was no fire protection in the plant and no specially trained rescue officers to deal with this accident. In fact for the rescue, trained personnel had to be called from the nearby plant of Ultratech cement.

The company had poured water on the fly ash making it set and making it difficult to remove the dead and injured from under the debris. The workers who had rushed to help were all ordered to go away. Family members were not permitted to go to the spot and were also not shown the bodies of the deceased.

Villagers of Arjuni and Bhadrapaali had gathered at the gates and were demanding to be let in. One youth scaled the gate and was badly beaten up by the company security. On seeing this, the villagers became agitated and started shouting slogans. They were forcibly dispersed. It is clear that despite making enormous profits the company clearly cuts corners on maintenance and wages.

A PCSS team visited the accident site on 2 February and managed to initiate a criminal case against the management, leading initially to the arrest of a security officer, and then to three other arrests under laws governing negligence with machinery, endangering life or personal safety and causing death by negligence, those arrested included Ambuja Vice-President Sanjay Kumar Badopadhyay. The arrests though were made light charges and all detainees were able to post bail and leave custody within a single day.

The PCSS team visited families of the deceased workmen in Arjuni and Bhadrapali. Holcim has frozen production at the plant and agreed to compensate victim’s families financially plus by employing a member of each victim’s family, as well as the statutory compensation.

See Swiss-based trade union affiliate UNIA’s 6 February press release on the accident in French here.

Thai Electrolux workers fight against dismissal

Since IndustriALL reported on the 11 January on the imprisoning and then mass dismissal of over 100 workers at Electrolux’s washing machine factory in Rayong, Thailand, the workers have conducted a picket outside the Government House in Bangkok at the offices of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers, which continued to 31 January 2013. The union has also conducted a strong media campaign for reinstatement.

In writing to IndustriALL’s General Secretary Raina, Electrolux makes absurd claims blaming the workers for the conflict, and stating that the company is “keen to maintain good relations with employees and unions”, in stark contrast to the situation at their washing machine factory in Rayong.

On 25 January, the Electrolux union together with IndustriALL’s affiliate TEAM went to the Electrolux head office in Bangkok to call for their reinstatement. A meeting was conducted with the Bangkok management who claimed no involvement in the Rayong labour dispute, only for sales.

On 25 and 26 February, Swedish affiliate IF Metall and the union representative on the Electrolux Board of Directors will visit the Rayong manufacturing site and meet with the union and the local management as they are members of the committee monitoring compliance on the GFA. “The management says that they want to re-establish normal relations between the company and the union, but it won’t be happening before all the dismissed workers and union members are reinstated,” said Erik Andersson, IF Metall.

Since the union was formed in February 2011, local management has ignored their core rights at every opportunity. In 2012 Electrolux even applied for and received an award from the Thai government for “Best Company in the category of non-unionized workplace 2012”. The factory has the capacity to build over one million machines a year.

Speaking at the Bangkok demonstration on 31 January, the Electrolux union president Phaiwan Metha stated, “Electrolux shall respect our trade union rights the same way that the company practices in Sweden.” IndustriALL also delivered a message of solidarity to the workers.

The picketers will demonstrate in front of the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok on 1 February.

Paper workers celebrate victories in Indonesia

At the beginning of the year the Kimberly Clark Indonesia Union (SPKCI), a one year old union born on 23 January 2012 and representing workers of PT Kimberly Clark Indonesia in Cikarang, West Java, Indonesia approached their company management with the request to start negotiations over wage increases in 2013.

Unfortunately, the negotiations reached a stalemate and SPKCI announced a three day strike from 28 to 30 January 2013. The union’s decision got strong support of workers both inside and outside the enterprise. The union received solidarity support from the National Union Confederation (KSN) as well as from IndustriALL Global Union and its affiliate, the Swedish Paper Workers’ Union (Pappers).

The employers who initially rejected union claims invited SPKCI representatives back to the negotiating table and agreed to workers’ demands to increase wages by 30 per cent. The union subsequently decided to cancel the strike. Currently SPKCI is preparing to negotiate their first collective bargaining agreement (CBA). One of the key demands of the union, which represents 500 members, of whom 300 are temporary contract workers, is to convert the status of all temporary contract workers to the permanent one.

Another victory is celebrated by the Pindo Deli Paper Workers Union (SPKPD), also an affiliate of IndustriALL through FSP2KI. The union demands regarded fair wages to the workers of the paper company PT. Pindo Deli Mills Karawang located in West Java, Indonesia.

When the negotiations between parties, which lasted from 20 December 2012 to 10 January 2013, came to a deadlock, the union announced a strike from 28 January to 28 February 2013. After the strike notice the company tried to intimidate workers by claiming the strike to be illegal. The company management also employed intimidation tactics against workers, using military and police to thwart the announced strike.

The union solidarity, resistance and commitment eventually paid off, as the employer finally ceded to the SPKPD demands, ending the strike. In their message the Pindo Deli Paper Workers' Union and the Federation of Pulp & Paper Indonesia (FSP2KI) unions send profuse thanks for the support of IndustriALL Global Union, Pappers, Unite the Union, Steel Workers Union and the entire network of the international unions that gave their support to SPKPD and FSP2KI.

Mexico’s Supreme Court unfairly rules against SME

In a callous move to crush Mexico’s oldest democratic union, SME, the previous president Felipe Calderón used an executive order to shut down the utility company Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFC) in the night of 10 October 2009, sacking the entire 44’000 workforce. The Electrical Workers’ Union has fought for those workers’ jobs back since. There remain 16,599 LyFC workers, members of SME, in resistance, who refuse to give up their struggle for reinstatement. Their integrity and dignity have gained them wide public support in Mexico and internationally.

The latest 30 January ruling of the Supreme Court comes as a severe blow to SME dashing the high hopes of SME members who believed they would finally get their jobs back. This was a key moment in their struggle, reached after more than 3 years of mobilizing and using all available legal procedures, including for example through NAFTA. The long legal process included victories where the SME members were found to have been unfairly dismissed and that the responsibility for their reinstatement had passed to the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) as their substitute employer.

The Calderón government rolled LyFC’s day to day operations into the CFE, the country’s largest utility, subcontracting the work to unskilled workers thus putting many workers lives in dangers. Record levels of accidents have been recorded since.

On 30 January in Mexico DF, the second chamber of the Supreme Court overturned the appellate court decision stating that the employer responsibility for the LyFC workers did not lie with the Mexican President as the utility was “decentralized”. That unjust interpretation in turn means that there is no obligation to reemploy the dismissed workers at the CFE.

IndustriALL Global Union’s General Secretary Jyrki Raina had joined those sending a third-party legal opinion, "amicus curiae", to the ministers of the court in support of the SME workers.

SME General Secretary Martín Esparza declared the union’s firm conviction to continue the campaign for a fair settlement and to call on International Courts (including the Inter-American Court for Human Rights in Washington) to demand a solution for the union members. The electricians are marching on 31 January, from the Angel of Independence monument to the large public square, the Zocalo in the capital Mexico DF.

Trade unions in Mexico and internationally had hoped that the 1 December 2012 change in the country’s president could halt the union-busting by Mexico’s neoliberal establishment. Hope is fading fast already in President Enrique Peña Nieto’s willingness to slow the injustice or stand in the way of business interests and unencumbered markets.

SME will continue fighting for a settlement despite this disappointing setback, and their demands will be taken up by IndustriALL affiliates during the upcoming Mexico Days of Action 18-24 February.

Union membership grows at IG Metall and Unite

Unite announced on 30 January that it increased its membership by more than 50,000 during 2012, despite a double-dip recession and anti-trade union stance of the government in the United Kingdom.

In the context of public sector cuts, privatization and anti-union government policies, Unite has made big membership gains among bus, coach and ferry workers; in the car industry and its supply chain; in the aerospace industries; and in food and drink companies which rely heavily on agency workers, as well as in the public sector.

Len McCluskey, General Secretary of Unite said, “Unite has been in the forefront of standing up for working people against this government’s cruel economic and social policies.” McCluskey promises the union will continue to focus on organizing in 2013. Unite has 1.5 million members.

In Germany, IG Metall announced on 22 January 2013 that for the second year in a row the number of members has increased, this time by 18,000. Notably the number of young new members rose by 4.5 per cent and the union now has 223,000 members under the age of 27.

IG Metall stated that the growth is result of a strategy that actively involves members in collective bargaining for company agreements. The union uses its strength in bargaining to address issues such as restricting the use of agency workers.

“The growth of the low-wage sector needs to be stopped at any cost,” said Berthold Huber, President of IG Metall, reminding people that today one in four employees in Germany had a precarious job.

With 2,263,707 members, the IG-Metall confirms its rank as the largest union in Germany.

Anti-union practices ruled illegal in Kaluga, Russia

Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA), an IndustriALL affiliate, also affiliated to the Confederation of Labour of Russia (KTR), asked KTR to inquire with the Prosecutor’s office whether Peugeot-Citroen’s actions in Kaluga, Russia, were legal.

Earlier the company posted a banner at the plant’s parking lot, announcing that ‘distributing leaflets as well as any other public activities are banned on the territory of the parking lot’. Accordingly, when the ITUA organizers began distributing union leaflets among workers leaving the plant after their shift, security guards physically attacked them and detained them at the parking lot for some time.

ITUA filed a complaint with the local police, but also through its parent union, KTR, inquired with the Prosecutor’s office whether posting such a banner was legal at all.

The prosecutor’s office replied that the management’s actions were illegal and the management had no right to ban public activities on the territory of the plant, since they are guaranteed by Russian laws.

The complaint regarding physical violence against ITUA organizers was transferred to the Kaluga city police division.

The ITUA has a strong presence in Kaluga industrial cluster, with collective agreements signed at Volkswagen and Benteler, an auto parts supplier to VW.

Stop the attacks on trade unions in Mexico

Posters

Background document

Model letter