MUZ leaders commit to union rebuilding

The three day workshop, on 30 October to 1 November in Kitwe, gave branch leaders the opportunity to reflect on the challenges that the union faces and to come up with strategies to address these.

One of the biggest challenges is the proliferation of small unions since the privatization of the mining industry in Zambia, a situation that seemed to be encouraged during the previous regime. This has resulted in three or four unions competing for the same membership in mining companies and inevitably led to worker disunity.

The climate has changed positively for organized labour under the present government and participants felt that there seems to be genuine commitment to allow the unions to develop into a strong, representative and united force. 

The new leadership of MUZ is committing itself to rebuilding MUZ and they are open to possibly working with other unions or possible mergers. MUZ recognizes the opportunity to reorganize itself and to redefine their membership’s role in the running of the union to improve union democracy.

Participants defined an organizing programme and discussed the way forward to bring back lost membership. The programme will be supported by the Solidarity Center and will focus on building membership in all the branches in the mining industry.

The workshop was supported by the Solidarity Center.

Colombian women get involved in trade union activities

Women from IndustriALL affiliates across Colombia attended the 18th IndustriALL national women’s meeting in Bogota, Colombia on 18-19 October.

Participants included delegates from SINTRACARCOL, SINTRAELECOL, SINTRACARBON, FENALTEC, SINTRAGASQUIMED and FETRAMECOL.

Participants discussed gender struggles in world history, key demands and how to promote women’s position in society; national legislation on equality issues; and women’s representation in trade unions in the context of a gradual increase in the number of women occupying leadership positions.

Participants agreed to communicate IndustriALL Global Union’s action plan to their colleagues and to create a network to ensure the kind of regular communication that is needed to promote trade union solidarity.

Carlos Bustos, IndustriALL’s project coordinator in Colombia said that participants also agreed to encourage their colleagues to participate in trade union activities and help improve organization in order to win benefits such as protection during maternity.

Finally, participants reaffirmed their commitment to preparing men and women trade unionists for power under the slogan of "We Want Government, We Want Power", said Bustos.

Gerdau Workers’ Network unites for rights in Colombia

Since arriving in Colombia, Gerdau has enriched itself at the expense of workers. First, they closed operations at Laminados Andinos and Sidelpa to move production to other plants. Then, they tried unsuccessfully to close Duitama. But, when they were forced to re-open, they hired only contracted out workers. Today in Duitama, there are 3 outsourced workers for each permanent worker.

They also intended to dismantle the Cota plant, which already has less than a third of the workers it had in 2010. Their latest move is the mass dismissal of workers in plants located in Muña and Tocancipá, and the firing of workers in Tuta.

Andre Gerdau has bought 80% of steel production capacity in Colombia. It now seems that his real interest is capturing Colombian market share, not creating jobs to improve the lives of workers or grow the Colombian industry. Now, the steel will come from Mexico or Brazil and be sold in Colombia. And Gerdau will become richer while Colombia and its workers become poorer.

The Gerdau Workers’ World Council defends the right to have a decent life and decent work in all countries where it represents workers. We will not fall for the company’s strategy to pit us against each other when their only goal is to improve profits at our expense. Gerdau speaks of "ethics" and "respect", but in practice we see the opposite.

Gerdau’s workers around the world demand respect for Gerdau workers in Colombia.

Mexican unions unite against regressive labour law reform

Over a dozen Mexican trade unions and other social groups put their differences aside yesterday, 31 October, on the Esplanade of the Revolution Monument in Mexico City, in a unified convention against the proposed neoliberal labour law changes. A large participation representing workers across all industrial sectors agreed on a joint Action Plan that includes demonstrations, legal action and a possible general strike.

It had been feared that the legislation changes would be fast-tracked into law, but policy differences between the two largest political parties, the PRI and PAN, mean it will be handled in a more standard manner, first passing to the parliamentary Labour and Social Welfare Committee.  The PAN, together with PRD and PT senators insisted on inserting provisions on trade union association and election transparency, whereas the PRI which dominates the lower house refuses to accept these provisions due to the party’s close ties to yellow protection unions of Mexico.

The PRI and PAN however are in full agreement on the bulk of the reforms which will drastically reduce labour and trade union rights for workers, increasing flexibility for domestic and foreign employers to abuse workers for profit.

The main amendments to the labour law  already accepted will: end job security; employees could be dismissed via email without notice and without cost to the employer; establish temporary probation contracts that build no employee seniority; legalize outsourcing so that employers can evade any direct corporate and industrial responsibility; continue to allow employers to set salaries without union consultation; facilitate the establishing of yellow protection unions which end the right to collective bargaining; limit to one year the payment of wages due for unfair dismissal, while encouraging  the corrupt labour courts to continue with delaying tactics to deal with workers’ demands.

The IndustriALL Take Action online petition sending messages to five key Mexican Senators was well responded to, but is now out of date due to the subsequent passing of the legislation from the Senate to the lower house of parliament, the Cámara de Diputados.

The current reforms in discussion would legalize many illegal procedures that the majority of pseudo unions have been benefitting from for years and make it much more difficult for any genuine union to defend workers’ rights in Mexico.

See here a recent example of the brutal treatment of trade unionists in Mexico, with complicity from the company and the authorities.

See attached to this article the Action Plan adopted by the trade union convention, 31 October. See also attached a report on the labour law reforms from IndustriALL affiliated glass workers’ union SUTEIVP.

IndustriALL US affiliates rallying for Obama

Millions of Americans will vote on 6 November in the prominent presidential election between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger, Mitt Romney. With an already Republican-controlled House of Representatives, the vote will also decide the control of the U.S. Senate, which Democrats currently hold with a 51 to 47 seat majority.

While the general consensus among affiliates is that President Obama has done enough to deserve a second term in office, it is clear that the Republican Party candidate Mitt Romney is a threat to workers in America and a threat to their unions.

United Steelworkers (USW)’s “Election 2012” campaign includes a viral video on how Bain Capital, the private equity firm once owned by Romney, bought out and then sold out Sensata workers in Illinois, illustrating how Romney profits from workers’ losses. 

The United Autoworkers (UAW) lodged a complaint on 1 November with the US Office of Government Ethics against Romney, urging an investigation into his non-disclosure of the at least $15 million and as much as $115 million he made off his investment in the hedge fund that controlled auto-parts company Delphi after its bankruptcy in 2009. 

Voter turnout will be a key factor in the election and the trade unions are working hard to get working people out to vote, as well as raising funds for the Obama campaign. The International Association of Machinists (IAM)’s most recent campaign video interviews an Ohio IAM member working with AFL-CIO getting out the vote. 

The Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) has endorsed Obama, citing Obama's efforts to fix the economy and his success at saving the American auto industry and his commitment to the middle class. 

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) joined other maritime trade unions to express its full support to endorsing Obama arguing that, “Weakening existing labor laws … will only serve to deny American workers the wages and benefits they deserve”. 

The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers’ (IBB) points to Obama’s strong record on trade union issues documenting positive gains in a video produced together with the building trades unions. 

Throughout the campaign the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) has regularly reported on the dangers of Mitt Romney and his anti-union and anti-worker policies. 

And MSNBC’s interviews the President of Communications Workers’ of America Larry Cohen and Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President focusing on the election in the battleground state of Ohio. 

Lesotho workers march for a living wage

Workers are frustrated because government has failed to give a reason for the delay in gazetting minimum wages in Lesotho, which were to be effective from 1 October 2012. Trade unionist, Daniel Mariasane says that initially government wanted to exclude the garment sector from the minimum wage gazette, so it is probable that resistance from employers to increase the wage is causing the delay.

At a tripartite workshop organized jointly by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Minister of Labour and Employment in February 2012, parties agreed on eight criteria that should be considered by the Wages Advisory Board when setting minimum wages for the garment sector, one of which is a living wage.

A detailed study was then conducted by an independent ILO consultant on what a living wage would be for garment workers in Lesotho, which concluded that workers needed M1,415 (Euro 141) to subsist and M2148 ( Euro 214) to meet basic needs.

These finding vindicate garment workers that had demanded a living wage of M2,020 (Euro 202) a month in protests during 2011. Mariasane reports that a study was also conducted by the Central Bank of Lesotho that suggested R1,396 (Euro 140) as the minimum wage for the sector.

“Employers want workers to accept an 8 per cent increase on a minimum wage of 83 Euro, this is less than 10 Euro increase,” says Mariasane. We want the minimum wage in the sector to be reviewed in line with the ILO commissioned study and the findings of the Central Bank.”    

Other demands that workers took to the Prime Minister are that minimum wages must apply to all workers not only those with more than 12 month service, an end to discrimination of garment workers that only receive 2 weeks maternity leave whilst all other workers in Lesotho are entitled to 6 weeks and that a sector level bargaining council must be established to establish the right to strike on wage issues.

The Prime Minister received the demands and has promised to give the matters urgent attention. 

Hyundai Motor India workers on strike

Hyundai Motor India management’s intransigent attitude and denial of genuine trade union rights has again force its workers to take strike action. On 30 October 2012 workers led by Hyundai Motor India Employees’ Union (HMIEU) launched strike action at Irungattukottai near Chennai. As Tamilnadu police denied permission to conduct a peaceful protest action near the factory, workers are holding the protest demonstration at Assistant Labour Commissioner Office at SIPCOT Industrial Complex.

This strike action comes on the backdrop of a recently concluded wage agreement between the Hyundai India management and United Union of Hyundai Employees (UUHE) on 18 October 2012.

Key demands of the striking workers are:

HMIEU was formed in 2007 and affiliated to Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). During a strike action in 2008 the management dismissed 87 workers. Even after prolonged negotiations between the HMIEU and the management with the involvement of Government officials, still 27 workers remain dismissed, while others who were charged with similar offences were reinstated. It is significant to note that dismissed workers include office bearers of the HMIEU.

On the other hand, the management has swiftly recognized the United Union of Hyundai Employees (UUHE) soon after its formation in May 2011 and signed a wage agreement. HMIEU allege that it is unfair labour practice as the management neither informed nor consulted HMIEU, even though the union has submitted charter demands on various issues including wages in February 2012.  R Sridher, General Secretary of HMIEU alleges that, the management has been forcing workers to accept its anti-worker wage agreement with UUHE.

On 1 November, A S Soundararajan, Member of Tamilnadu Legislative Assembly and Honorary President of HMIEU raised the issue in the legislative assembly and called for intervention of the state government to find a solution to the dispute at Hyundai Motor India. A meeting between the management and the HMIEU union in the presence of the State Labour Minister is scheduled to be held in the late evening on 1 November.

Violent eviction at La Platosa mine in Mexico

On the morning of 24 October, around 180 hired thugs violently evicted workers and landowners from the camp at the entrance to the La Platosa mine, located in La Sierrita, Durango and owned by the Canadian mining company Excellon Resources Inc., said the National Miners' Union (SNTMMSRM), led by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia.

The camp is located on a private property of a third party with explicit consent of the landowners; no part of the camp is located on Excellon or Ejido property. The protest camp was set up peacefully since July at the entrance to the mining complex in order to put pressure on the company to recognise freedom of association and the workers’ right to join the Miners' union; the community landowners were jointly protesting the company’s failure to comply with the terms of its 2008 agreement to lease the land from its peasant owners.

Protestors and local press said that the men who carried out the assault arrived in six buses, including a bus adorned with the logo of Excellon Resources Inc. and moved in with heavy machinery immediately proceding to destroy and burn down the protesters’ temporary housing.

The peasants had authorised miners belonging to SNTMMSRM Section 309 to occupy their land in order to continue their struggle. The union reports that the thugs had connections with the opposing union led by Carlos Pavón (Gómez Sada Union members) and that the violence was financed by Grupo Peñoles and coordinated by Excellon managers. It was also reported that Robert Moore, Chief Operating Officer of Excellon Resources Inc., directly participated in the action against the landowners, pulling down the fence that the landowners had set up to protect their camp. The protestors made repeated requests to federal and state officials to stop the aggressors but federal and local officials present took no action to stop the intervention.

The SNTMMSRM demands that the federal government, the Durango State government and the Bermejillo municipal government “immediately withdraw the mob of hired thugs and force the company to negotiate a solution to the dispute”. It added: “we hold them and Grupo Peñoles, which financed this attack, responsible for any act of violence that results in injury or loss of life.”

The workers are demanding that the company “recognize their freedom to join the National Union of Mineworkers and complies with the terms of its agreement to lease land from the peasant owners. The company has arrogantly refused to comply with this agreement”. IndustriALL has written to the CEO of Excellon HO and to the the federal and state governments, denouncing the complicity between the state authorities and Excellon management and demanding to ensure the physical integrity and safety of the protestors, as they continue exercising their recognized right to protest and their efforts to resolve this unfortunate conflict. 

European unions protest against Ford plant closures

On 24 October Ford confirmed its plans to close its car assembly plant in Genk, Belgium and transfer the production to Spain. One day later the company also revealed that it would close the Transit cab-chassis factory in Southampton and tooling and stamping units in Dagenham, United Kingdom.

The company says it removes overcapacities in Europe in order to address losses due to the shrinking car market in Western Europe. If implemented the Ford decision will cost the jobs of 4,300 workers in Belgium and 1,400 workers in UK.

Belgian unions announced mass rallies on 11 November in reply to the announced plans. This decision of Ford is the second major blow on automotive sector of the country since the beginning of October when General Motors decided to cut over 1,000 jobs in Antwerp.

Unite the Union, Britain's biggest union, blamed the company for “betrayal” of its loyal workforce. The Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said the consequences would be devastating for the local communities all together affecting more than 10,000 jobs through the supply chains.

In order to address the issue of closures and restructuring in Europe in its full complexity the European trade unions representing autoworkers appealed to the European governing institutions in a statement adopted at the recent IndustriALL European Trade Union automotive meeting held on 30 October in Luxemburg.

"We call on the European institutions to address without delay a socially acceptable management of restructuring and the anticipation of change. A European framework should ensure that change is properly managed through anticipation and the social cost of restructuring limited," reads the statement.

The European group of automotive unions has also supported the earlier announced by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) anti-austerity day, the European Day of Action and Solidarity, planned on 14 November 2012.

UK workers paid less than living wage

Currently a living wage in the UK is £8.30 per hour in London and £7.20 for the rest of the UK. The KPMG study shows that one in five of the country's workers are paid less than this rate. The research by KPMG is published just days before the Living Wage Week which will take place from 4 to 10 November when the new rates for London and the rest of the country will be announced.

Workers' wages in the UK are failing to stretch to the end of the month with the money running out after just 21 days. IndustriALL affiliate Unite the Union calls on workers to stand up for a better future. “Lets boost the minimum wage by a pound an hour, lets go for growth that fulfills the needs of the people,” said Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite the Union.

The living wage is a voluntary rate that only some employers give their workers and is considered to be the rate that enables workers to afford a basic standard of living. The minimum wage in the UK however is set at £6.19 per hour but paying a living wage makes a huge difference to the individuals and their families and does not cost an employer much more.

 “We are marching brothers and sisters against… the pay loan sharks that have become the symbol of this government, where save the children are having to save our kids, where thousands of people are actually having to rely on food banks to survive in one of the richest countries in the world. What a disgrace what a shame,” said Len McCluskey in his speech at the ‘March for a Future’ in London on 20 October where more than 150,000 people marched through the streets of London against austerity and for a future that works. Thousands more marched in Belfast and Glasgow.

Launched by London Citizens in 2001, The Living Wage Campaign calls for every worker in the country to earn enough to provide their family with the essentials of life. The campaign has positively impacted over 10,000 employees and their families, and redistributed over £96 million to some of the lowest paid workers in the UK.