ILO issues recommendations to Russia and Belarus

Concerning the complaint of the Confederation of Labour of Russia (KTR), case no. 2758, the committee recommended discussing the joint proposal of the KTR and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR), regarding the complaint within the framework of the Russian Tripartite Commission, and taking legislative steps towards remedying various problems with union and labour rights in the Russian law.

It also strongly recommended excluding leaflets of the Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA), an IndustriALL affiliate, from the federal list of extremist materials, and ensuring that will never happen again. http://www.industriall-union.org/archive/imf/fighting-for-decent-work-is-extremism.

The ILO has also recommended investigating allegations of anti-union persecution of Valentin Urusov, trade unionist sent to prison for six years, and to release him immediately if these allegations turn out to be true.

At its sessions the ILO supervisory body has also reviewed the measures taken by the Government of Belarus to implement the 2004 recommendations of an ILO Commission of Inquiry on case 2090, started more than ten years ago. The Committee deeply regretted that the Government had once again failed to reply to the Committee’s previous recommendations and to the new allegations of freedom of association violations. It urged the Government to be more cooperative in the future.

The executive body has considered 32 cases and named five countries committing serious violations: Argentina, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Fiji and Peru.

All five cases are based on consistent violations of workers’ right to organize, collective bargaining and social dialogue.

Referring to the crisis in Greece, the ILO has also examined an extensive deficit of social dialogue in austerity measures taken in the country and highlighted the need for ILO assistance.

Putting unity into action in the DRC

The Conference was a success as it was able to agree on the policy issues which will shape how the union will build itself, contest and win shop-steward elections and hold a congress in 2014,

reports Kenny Mogane, Project Coordinator for IndustriALL.

Le Syndicat du Travailleurs Unis des Mines, Metallurgie, Energie, Chimie et Industries Connexes (TUMEC) is a relatively new union in the mining, energy, chemicals and industrial sectors. Recently formed by a group of worker leaders wishing to build a stronger union of united workers, TUMEC promotes worker participation in decision making and seeks to confront trade union challenges in its sectors.

The conference was attended by 62 delegates from around the country, who worked on how to mobilize members to participate in shop-steward elections in 2013 and the National Congress in 2014. The conference also dealt with constitutional matters and discussed financial autonomy.

The conference adopted a road map for the election campaign and a strategy to target large workplaces to popularize the union in various branches and mines. 

Strike called off at Hyundai Motor in India

The settlement was reached at a tri-partite meeting, which lasted for more than five hours, with participation of the Hyundai Motor India Employees Union (HMIEU), management and the Labour Commissioner at Sriperumbudur.

The terms of the settlement are as follows:

In accordance with the agreement striking workers restarted work on the 9 November morning shift.

HMIEU had been on strike since 30 October 2012, management suspended 20 workers during the strike period, many rounds of negotiations took place including a meeting with the Labour Minister of Tamil Nadu and the HMIEU union led by its Honorary President Soundararajan, who is also a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

Electricity workers take to the streets in Russia

The activists of ARETU (or ELECTROPROVSOYUZ) came from all over Russia to hold the rally in downtown Moscow, demanding higher wages and a national agreement.

ARETU is in the process of signing a national collective agreement for 2013 with the employers’ association, however, the negotiations are stalled.

The rally adopted a resolution stating:

The managers who account for 10 per cent of the total workforce take 40-50 per cent of the wage budget, and they never forget their own bonuses and premiums. Meanwhile average wages of electricity workers — electricians, electrical fitters, drivers, plant operators — are still very low and stand at US$300-650 per month.

Currently ARETU demands a 25 per cent increase in real wages. The union is also fighting to maintain the national rate system, which keeps employers from expanding workers’ duties without a corresponding raise in wages.

ARETU sent activists to hold one-man pickets in front of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Economic Development. A one-person picket is the only form of public action which does not require a sanction from the authorities in Russia.

Recently the Russian statistical authority, Rosstat, announced that the average monthly wage in the electricity sector in Russia is 38,000 roubles (1200 USD). Angry workers held banners asking “Rosstat, where are my 38,000 roubles?”

The electricity sector in Russia has been undergoing constant restructuring for at least ten years. Real wages have remained stagnant, some operations were outsourced, and workload rose steadily. ARETU wants to call attention to these persistent issues in the sector.

Namibian strike ends in settlement at Nampower

Workers resolved to challenge Nampower that provides full medical aid coverage after retirement for workers employed before 2004 but not for those who joined the company after. The situation also affects medical coverage for workers employed after the cut off point that are medically boarded.

Workers agreed to return to work on 21 November, satisfied with the wage and housing allowance deal that was reached between Nampower and the IndustriALL-affiliated MUN. The parties have agreed to the process and timeframe to resolve the dispute on medical aid benefits for workers after retirement or medical boarding.

Support for SME in Mexico

The Mexican Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board is refusing to comply with the court protection order obtained by the Mexican Union of Electricity Workers (Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas, SME) in September this year, in the latest episode in a bitter labour dispute that has been going on since 2010. In response, trade unions have acted in solidarity with SME by writing to the Mexican courts demanding compliance with the order.

International trade unions, including IndustriALL Global Union, have declared their solidarity with the Mexican Union of Electricity Workers (SME) in response to the Mexican Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board’s refusal to comply with the court protection order granted to SME members.

On 13 September this year, after three years of a bitter dispute and a prolonged court case, the Second Collegiate Labour Court of the First Circuit issued an order protecting the rights of the 16,599 members of SME who did not accept the termination of their employment contracts and ordered their reinstatement as employees of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), the company that replaced their former employer.

In August 2010, their individual employment contracts with the state-owned electricity supply company Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFC) were cancelled as was the collective agreement between that company and the SME. Their right to the automatic transferral of their employment contract to the CFE was also refused.

The Board has refused to comply with the court order and the Administration and Transfer of Goods Service (Servicio de Administración y Enajenación de Bienes, SAE) has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in order to block the order.

SME has called for solidarity and a mass letter-writing campaign to the SAE, demanding it complies with the order.

IndustriALL Global Union has written to the Supreme Court of Mexico expressing its solidarity with and support for the SME and highlighting the “attempts to oppose the Judiciary by using political pressures and legal manoeuvres to avoid compliance with the order issued by the Second Collegiate Labour Court, leaving  the aggrieved workers who are fighting for their right to a dignified life and recognition of their historical labour conquests in a legally defenceless and socially precarious position”. 

US UNIONMADE clothes not made by unionized workers

It turns out that most of the high-end clothes sold at UNIONMADE are not actually made by unionized workers, gawker.com has revealed. “The name UNIONMADE is an overarching concept and narrative for the store, signifying that we strive to carry well-made and aesthetically timeless goods”, explains the company in a breath-taking example of twisted meaning. 

In the face of cynical retailers so ready to spin a yarn, what are socially-aware consumers to do?

True, the widespread use of subcontracting in the fashion industry makes it impossible to provide any credible guarantee that clothes and shoes are made in decent conditions. But that doesn’t mean that shoppers are powerless. On the contrary.

One option is to look for a ‘union-made’ label. While this label makes no claims as to the working conditions, it indicates garments made in an organized factory where workers are covered by a collective agreement.

We as consumers also have to find other ways to make our voices heard. In reality, we should be screaming about the shameful conditions in which our clothes are produced. But even the more reticent among us can make a big difference.  After all, if you have no qualms about asking whether a garment will shrink in the wash, why should you shy away from asking whether the worker who made it had the right to form a union or was paid a living wage?

It might seem simplistic, but imagine if every single shopper started asking hard questions: How long would it be before retailers themselves started seeking meaningful answers?

So next time you shop for clothes or shoes, make sure to tell the salesperson you want to buy items that are clean in every sense of the word! 

Glencore-Xstrata merger approved

On 20 November in Zug, Switzerland, IndustriALL Global Union joined again with the Swiss Greens Party, and a number of civil society activists in front of the venue of Xstrata’s extraordinary shareholder meeting to demonstrate against the merger between commodity giants Xstrata and Glencore.

The merger to create a new natural resources powerhouse, Glencore Xstrata International, was approved by Xstrata shareholders on 20 November but without paying a multimillion-pound retention package to senior Xstrata managers as recommended by the board. The merger still requires approval by the European Commission, which has said it will give its ruling by 22 November, and from competition authorities in China and South Africa.

Xstrata and Glencore are among the top 20 firms on the London stock market and will have operations in 33 countries. Once the deal is complete they will be able to compete with bigger rivals like BHP Billiton, Vale and Rio Tinto. This vote eliminates an obstacle to Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg’s plan to create the world’s fourth-largest mining company. IndustriALL Global Union has publicly condemned the deal.

“We are here to remind them that a vote for the deal is a vote for greed, any reasonable and sensible person would not vote for this merger, if the past is anything to go by and considering their track record we should be very afraid”

said Glen Mpufane during the demonstration in front of the venue of commodities trader Glencore's extraordinary shareholder meeting in the Swiss town of Zug.

In South Africa, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and South Africa’s energy utility Eskom have lodged intervention applications appealing against the Competition Commission’s recommended approval. The Competition Tribunal will hear the applications on 10 to 14 December 2012. 

“IndustriALL Global Union and its alliance of partners and civil activists are going to be in the face of this new entity. We are going to hold them accountable and we will continue to demand that they do the right thing and become good corporate citizens if they are capable of that”

said Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL Global Union director for Mining and DJOGP.

IndustriALL Global Union’s protest against the merger was led principally by three of IndustriALL Global Union’s largest mining and metals affiliates, the United Steelworkers Union of America and Canada, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union of Australia (CFMEU) and the National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa (NUM). 

Women in Swiss Watch Making

From the end of the 19th century women made up between one-third and one half of the work force of Swiss watch makers. At that time women were supposed to stay home. Nevertheless most of the elite at the time saw the women’s work as an opportunity to beat poverty. The companies, however, mainly considered the women to be cheap labor and workers who kept their mouths shut. Working in the watch factories apparently was less harmful to health than doing the same work at home, where the women were exploited more, paid less and did the work together with their children. Some employers took advantage of them to cut prices and at the same time produce lower quality merchandise than what was made in the factories.

A local journal praised the creation of a crèche in 1883 in Saint-Imier, the aim of which was to enable the two parents to work and live more decently and protect their children. Charitable foundations also created kindergartens, primary classes and vacation centers for the workers’ children.

The idea to encourage women to work was based on the desire to avoid impoverishment which was feared to lead to socialism or communism or even anarchy. At the time it was mainly the emerging trade unions who were opposed to women working. They were afraid of the competition from women and women lowering pay standards, what we would call dumping today. The Left and the trade unions were more interested in raising men’s pay to make it superfluous for women to work.

From the very beginning there was job segregation in watch making. That sill did not keep men and women from working together in the same factory, in spite of some moralists preaching against promiscuity. Women nevertheless were supposed to leave work a half hour earlier to tend to their household chores as well as to take Saturday afternoons off. Night work and Sunday working were forbidden.

In the meantime the struggle is for equal pay between women and men. Women in watchmaking earn 5161 francs and men 7269.

UNIA women who work in industry met on 19 October to demand real progress in terms of equal pay. They adopted a resolution demanding detailed audits of women’s and men’s wages in the engineering and metal working sectors, calling upon the industry to participate in the dialogue on pay equity, an instrument which aims to close the pay gap. The women are demanding access to information on pay systems, classification and promotion in order to allow corrective measures to be taken. They are also demanding training and retraining. In order to raise women’s low wages, they are in favor of introducing a minimum wage in the industry. Finally, they want the Federal Council to give political priority to pay equity. 

Meeting between Mexican company and mining union representatives reaches agreement on job security

The National Miners' Union (SNTMMSRM) organized a meeting between company and union representatives on 8 November in Vancouver to discuss improving labour relations. The initiative resulted from the raising of political expectations in Mexico and because the union feels it is essential for trade unionists, company management and workers to exchange views so they can all pull in the same direction.

The meeting was attended by more than 40 company and union representatives from the mining, metalworking and steel sectors. They discussed the Synergy, Joint Responsibility and Job Creation Plan for Labour and Company Productivity in Mexico, proposed by the SNTMMSRM.

The meeting was chaired by the union’s general secretary, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, and could prove to be very important in paving the way for improved labour relations not only in the mining sector but in the country as a whole, said a union spokesperson.

He added that the aim of the meeting was to seek commitments on job security and labour issues and in this way “promote sustained economic development in Mexico on the basis of justice and equity”.

The meeting agreed to maintain and develop good relations between employers and workers; promote dialogue and constructive negotiations; increase employment; improve working conditions, job quality, health and safety; promote innovation; encourage mutual respect and dignified treatment between employers and the union; reach agreement on labour relations in the country; and work towards providing job security.

A union spokesperson said that the meeting will strengthen its fight to safeguard the basic rights of its members and their families, such as trade union independence, freedom of association, the right to strike and collective bargaining.

He added that the meeting in Canada was “of major significance for employers and the union”. He said “it sought a profound improvement in labour relations in the mining, metalworking and steel sectors in Mexico and would serve as a reference point for doing the same in the rest of the country”.