Organizing is the base of our power

Sometimes you need a loud wake up call. How about these figures recently published by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC):

The power of trade unions is based on their ability to join the forces of workers and mobilize them in action.

The fact that union density has been dropping in Europe and North America and remains low in developing countries erodes our force.

Some of the reasons behind the negative trend are obvious. Changes in company structures and the explosive growth of precarious work have made organizing more difficult. Right-wing governments and multinational companies that dominate our industries are applying increasingly anti-union policies.

But another reason is that unions simply do not allocate resources for recruiting new members, and they lack skills on organizing. In addition, unions are often too divided and weak for handling their fundamental tasks.

Therefore the Executive Committee of IndustriALL Global Union in December endorsed a strategy focusing on action to build power through organizing, trade union rights and political influence. This is in line with the Action Plan adopted by our founding Congress in June.

IndustriALL’s global organizing project means making recruitment of new members and building stronger unions the leading theme in everything IndustriALL does. Trade union networks and world works councils in multinational companies (MNCs) will target unorganized plants, when possible with the help of Global Framework Agreements (GFAs).

Union building projects will include elements of organizing, with numerical targets for recruiting new members and building sustainable structures. IndustriALL will seek partners to train its staff and affiliates on organizing and campaigning in different parts of the world.

We will work with our sister global unions to build power and solidarity throughout the supply chains. UNI, representing retail workers, is our partner in the textile and garment chain. With the transport workers’ ITF we are developing strategic cooperation in the oil and gas, mining and aerospace-aviation industries, where a new exciting initiative called Components to Carriers has been launched.

Without freedom of organization it is difficult to organize new members. IndustriALL will therefore target a number of multinational corporations and governments for campaigns on trade union rights. In 2013, trade union networks in the viciously anti-union mining giants Rio Tinto and Xstrata will meet to plan next steps in the campaign while corporate research is being carried out.

Bangladesh is one the principal country targets for improving workers’ rights, low wages and dreadful fire safety conditions. IndustriALL will mobilize its affiliates during a global Mexico action week on 18-24 February 2013 in a continued fight for free and independent trade unionism.

Do not forget that we need all of you to participate in our campaigns. It is easy on our web site. Sign up to our newsletters and action at www.industriall-union.org!

IndustriALL focuses on organizing, rights and political influence

Speaking about the plan for 2013, Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union said, “We will launch a global organizing project, working together in all parts of the world and drawing on the expertise of unions working in especially hostile contexts.”
 
The activities for 2013 endorsed by the Executive Committee will include continued campaigning to STOP Precarious Work, to fight for trade union rights in Zimbabwe, Mexico, Colombia and wherever they are violated, and a campaign against the corporate power of Rio Tinto.
 
The meeting also debated a set of draft recommendations from IndustriALL’s World Conference on Global Framework Agreements and Trade Union Networks and agreed for further discussion on how agreements shall be signed and how they can be more effectively used in particularly anti-union locations.
 
The sector work in 2013 will continue to focus on building trade union networks in multinational companies, aimed a bringing shop stewards and union officials together in improving conditions for workers across companies and in their supply chains. Detailed plans for each of the sectors and the work being carried out through strategic supply chains with other Global Union Federations were presented to the meeting.
 
Union building projects will prioritize organizing, tackling precarious work, strengthening national union structures, promoting social dialogue and building networks. Women, youth, precarious and non-manual workers are the target groups for the project work, which will be centrally adjusted in 2013 to ensure coherence with the IndustriALL Action Plan.
 
Executive Committee members were also invited to support the work of IndustriALL by taking action through the IndustriALL website, subscribing to news and action requests and promoting the work of IndustriALL in their own union media channels.

European Parliament votes overwhelmingly in favour of Financial Transaction Tax

Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain have all announced their intention to introduce the tax which aims at making the financial sector take more responsibility for the crisis it caused and discouraging the types of risk-taking which precipitated the crisis.

The eleven countries together account for about 90 per cent of Eurozone GDP and include 4 of the EU’s 5 biggest economies, with the notable exception of the UK.

It is estimated that the tax will generate at least €37 billion which can be used not only to offset the costs incurred by governments in bailing out the banks, but for socially-useful purposes such as funding development and policies to combat climate change. An FTT in Germany alone will raise approximately €10bn per year.

Now that the Parliament has given its approval, a majority vote is needed in the European Council to give the European Commission the go ahead to turn the FTT plans into reality.

Michigan’s new anti-worker legislation condemned

The two bills were pushed, by an alliance of the Republican Party and big business, through the lame-duck legislative session in the state and went to Governor Rick Synder for signature into law. The state legislature has been newly elected and will be reconvened early 2013 with more Democrats who would have rejected the proposals.

Notable in supporting the effort were Americans for Prosperity, the group funded by notorious Koch brothers.

The Snyder signature finalized the process yesterday, 12 December, as 17,000 protestors were mobilized at short notice outside the Lansing State Capitol building, rejecting the changes. Four giant inflatable rats in the crowd were named for prominent Republican politicians and their richest backer. Seemingly nobody in Michigan was pushing for the law, other than powerful right-wing business leaders.

USW President Leo Gerard had pressured Gov. Snyder not to sign the regressive bill, in an “appeal to common sense economics over politics”… “We ask the Governor to use his veto power to stop this unnecessary and divisive right-to-work bill”. A delay in signing by Gov. Snyder would have at least brought the bill to a public debate and vote.

During the deliberations the Republican House Speaker ordered the doors of the capitol building to be locked, while protestors outside were maced by police.

Right-to-Work in other US states has led to numerous kinds of attacks on unions including on workers comp, public sector wages, and the abolition or weakening of pensions and collective bargaining in the public sector. It has also led to weaken by removing mandatory topics or placing limits on arbitration awards, banning collection and spending of union dues on "political action", banning union "lobbying" activities, and banning on-site union offices. Studies have shown that workers in so-called “right to work” states earn an average of $1,500 less annually.

“If you’re not outraged by what’s happening in Michigan, you’re not paying enough attention,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger, also an IndustriALL Vice-President. “The way this legislation was passed amounts to a sneak attack on democracy itself and proves beyond a doubt the means the Koch brothers and their allies will go to impose their extremist agenda.”

IndustriALL-affiliated UE condemned the “corporate blitzkrieg” that “left working people with little time to respond”. See the UE background piece “Exposing the Right-to-Work Fraud”. 

USO leader murdered in Colombia

On the afternoon of 11 December, in the Colombian municipality of Puerto Gaitan, gunmen assassinated Milton Parra Rivas, an operator and electrician at Termotécnica Coindustrial SA, a subcontractor of Spanish-based CEPSA.

Milton Rivas was a leading activist of IndustriALL-affiliated Union Sindical Obrera (USO), leading the permanent workers assembly at Termotécnica. His murder was preceded by death threats up to the day before the assassination.

The murder occurred the day after Human Rights Day and is the latest in a long series of attacks and threats against trade union members of USO and other unions across the country. The murder came just hours after the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Colombia and Peru.

Leif Sande, President of IndustriALL’s Norwegian affiliate Industri Energi, yesterday addressed the plenary of the ILO’s Global Dialogue Forum on Future Needs for Skills and Training in the Oil and Gas Industry, in Geneva, Switzerland: 


Chair, on a point of privilege, it has just come to my attention that another Colombian trade unionist was assassinated yesterday – a member of the oil workers' union – following repeated death threats against the union leadership, apparently only for the reason of being involved in trade union activities. I would ask this assembly to join with me in condemning this vicious act.


On 4 and 15 October the General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union sent letters urging the Colombian government to take all necessary measures to end anti-union practices in Puerto Gaitan and immediately cease violence against USO members and striking workers of Termotécnica.

Today's reality contrasts with the Colombian government's response to these letters, who mentioned that the government is the first to defend civil liberties and generate action to protect its citizens so that such potential threats and violations of the constitution should be corrected by legal institutions.

The assassination of Milton Rivas is evidence of the persistent anti-union culture and the lack of effective protection in Colombia. In 2011, 29 trade unionists were killed in Colombia.

The executive committee of IndustriALL Global Union today resolved to:

Ukrainian steelworkers fight back against dismissals

Metallurgical and Mining Industry Workers’ Union of Ukraine (MMIWU), an IndustriALL affiliate, held a protest rally in Kryvyi Rih and a press conference in Kiev, Ukraine.

The administration of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih steel plant in Eastern Ukraine announced a new wave of cuts, citing financial obligations towards thousands of other workers at the plant. 446 workers will be dismissed out of 38,267 workers employed at the plant.

The union local affiliated to the Metallurgical and Mining Industry Workers’ Union of Ukraine (MMIWU) led a campaign of resistance.

On 4 December metalworkers held a rally in Kryvyi Rih. They protested against the dismissals, lack of investment in the plant, broken promises of the global company, and intensifying workload. Up to 3,000 workers took part in the action.

At the press conference on 12 December MMIWU claimed that since the plant was privatized and sold to ArcelorMittal in 2005, the workforce went down from 56,000 to the present number.

Members of the union also said that according to the administration the average wage at the plant is 650 USD, however, in reality workers earn a maximum of 500 USD, while some of them are paid just 200-220 USD.

Other issues at the plant include constant overtime, 90 per cent wearing of equipment, and lack of investment.

MMIWU president Vladimir Kazachenko says the union will enter a collective dispute with the company if its positon doesn’t change, and ArcelorMittal workers will go on strike if necessary.

Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union sent a letter of solidarity to both to the union local in Kryvyi Rih and MMIWU headquarters in Dnepropetrovsk.

IndustriALL renews the agreement with Statoil

The signing ceremony took place at the International Labour Office in Geneva. The agreement was signed by Siv Oftedal, Vice President Human Resources of Statoil, Leif Sande, President of Industri Energy Union and Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of the IndustriALL Global Union.

Siv Oftedal, Vice President Human Resources of Statoil commented, “Our corporate employee relations strategy and action plans reflects Statoil’s ambition for international growth. The content of the agreement is in line with the way we operate in Norway and how we would like to be recognized where we are present as a company. It is difficult to attribute a priority to a specific subject covered in this agreement. However, human rights, including the right of every employee to be represented by a union of his or her own choice and the basic trade union rights as defined by ILO Convention 87 and 98 covering freedom of association and the right to organise, as well as the commitment to provide a safe and healthy work environment are elements of vital importance to Statoil. In addition, our company takes pride in honouring local laws and practices, thus ensuring that we act as a responsible employer and a social citizen.”

From his side Leif Sande added, “For us the most important thing is that Statoil makes a commitment towards a system of cooperation through which they accept trade union rights. By doing this the company can lift standards around the world where they have their operations.”

Jyrki Raina, praised the fruitful cooperation started by the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Union (ICEM), a co-founder of IndustriALL, back in July 1998, stating, “this Global Framework Agreement remains a benchmark and good example for multinational companies not only in oil and gas sector, but also in other industries.”

Text of the agreement does not include any considerable changes from the earlier agreement and will be available on the IndustriALL website soon.

Blatant violation of labour rights at Benteler in Russia

On 19 October Dmitry Khokhlov, deputy president of the Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA) local at Benteler Automotive in Kaluga, Russia, was dismissed.

After a successful strike for the recognition of the union in March 2012 ITUA signed a collective agreement with the management, one of the best in the Kaluga industrial area. However, the company didn’t withdraw from anti-union tactics.

There is a clear pattern of workers’ rights violations at Benteler, since Khokhlov’s dismissal was illegal, and earlier two cases of disciplinary action against Benteler workers had already been overturned by court decision.

Recently the local court ordered the reinstatement of Khokhlov and payment of compensation. However, on his first day at work on 10 December he was invited to talk to Elena Sirotkina, HR director at Benteler. She said his reinstatement ‘goes against corporate ethics’, and served him a notice of dismissal. The reason for dismissal was a no-show, however, Sirotkina didn’t bother to explain how a no-show was possible if Khokhlov hadn’t even started working.

Sirotkina also gave Khokhlov a written demand to put in writing a statement on his no-show, together with a notice of dismissal, which was already signed. She didn’t bother to explain the purpose of the statement if he was already fired. Khokhlov comments, ‘This is too much of a mockery of both the law and common sense.’

ITUA says they will strive for Sirotkina’s dismissal, as gross violations of labour law are an acceptable tactic for her.

“Benteler management in Kaluga should be brought to justice for defying labour laws and trade union rights,“ said ITUA activist in Kaluga, Russia.

ITUA has launched a campaign in support of Dmitry Khokhlov on their website. To support the campaign available in Russian and English follow the link below http://mpra.info/campany/Lider-zabastovki-na-Bentelere-uvolen-vosstanovlen-i-vnov-uvolen-Pomogi-ostanovit-bespredel

IndustriALL extends full solidarity to NUM

After the tragic events at the Lonmin Marikana Platinum mine on 16 August 2012, in which 34 mineworkers died in a violent clash with police forces, an IndustriALL Global Union solidarity delegation was received by NUM on 6 and 7 December 2012.  

Andrew Vickers, of CFMEU, and leader of the IndustriALL mission to South Africa, reported on the appalling working and living conditions found in the mines in South Africa by the delegation.

Living in cramped, inadequate hostels and shanty towns with no facilities that are constructed on company land, the unrest of the workers is not surprising, 

said Vickers.

A significant portion of the responsibility for the unrest must lie with the mining houses, which continued to make considerable profit while workers live in temporary and appalling conditions,

he added.

And it is clear to us that if you destroy NUM then you destroy the broader trade union movement in South Africa,

said Vickers.

Commenting on the current situation and the challenges faced by NUM, COSATU and the union movement in South Africa, Frans Belani, NUM General Secretary reiterated the three factors of South African society that needed to be addressed – high unemployment, poverty and inequality.

South Africa had not escaped the effects of the global financial crisis with people at the lower end of the economy, including miners, are feeling the effects,

he explained.

Frans reported that the Platinum producers have now agreed to form a Bargaining Council and next year will negotiate as an industry rather than as individual companies, and that NUM is seeking to establish Bargaining Sectors across all industries.

The government and the Chamber of Mines have agreed on a second Commission of Inquiry to look into the working and social conditions of mineworkers. A lot of faith is being put into the success of the planned second Commission of Inquiry.

The mission on 6 and 7 December took place to enable IndustriALL and key mining affiliates the opportunity to extend solidarity support to the workers and members of NUM and the national centre, COSATU, following the crisis that began in the platinum mining sector.

The mission also gave IndustriALL and affiliates an opportunity to understand first hand the events and challenges that exist, enabling an informed discussion on the issues at the Executive Committee of IndustriALL on 12 December 2012.

Government in Tunisia cedes to union pressure

In reply to the violent attacks against UGTT, a number of protest actions and strikes took place and were held in the lead up to a planned all-national strike announced by UGTT for 13 December.  

Thanks to national and international pressure the Government agreed to a series of meetings to reach a compromise with UGTT in a bid to avoid the strike. The parties met on 11 and 12 December where one of the main demands of UGTT was dissolution of the leagues of protection of revolution was considered. The UGTT is concerned that these bodies, installed by the ruling party all over the country, have during recent months acted under its orders and jointly with militia attacked in full impunity all those who put forward alternative views.

At the meeting the Government has agreed to form within one month a joint commission to investigate the violent attacks on UGTT that took place on 4 December. Based on the results of the investigation a report will be submitted to the Government and measures will be taken in accordance with the Tunisian legislation.

The Government agreed on the fact of the attacks against UGTT and agreed to assumes its responsibilities in this regard. A judicial procedure will be initiated against the persons and parties that participated in the attacks.

Following the negotiations with Government, the UGTT delegation presented its results to the union Executive board where the decision was taken to revoke the all-national strike. A press-conference to officially announce the results of the negotiations and the decision not to hold the strike was held on 13 December.