Tenaris claims low production to fire workers

On 21 September Tenaris fired Jose Luis Ruiz, Jessica Moscote and Alfredo Pájaro Cerda without just reason (this is allowed under Colombian labour law), they all had more than 10 years of service.  On 24 September Tenaris fired Amauri Cardona and Jorge Muñoz, Amauri had problems with his hands due to the work he performs and Jorge, a supervisor had recently joined the union.

On 25 September Tenaris fired: Oulin Teheran, José Correa and Elkin Dias, Elkin had more than 20 years of seniority and is ill. Tenaris did not call on the union to discuss the situation and failed to negotiate a solution.

Tenaris used the argument of "lack of production" to justify the firing of it’s senior workers, unionized workers and, in some cases workers suffering from illness due to their work.

Colombian law does not protect workers and large multinational companies take advantage of those laws in force, in order to avoid recognizing the contribution that workers have given for many years to support the progress of the company and enrich its owners. Tenaris calls for “growing together” with its employees. Tenaris is lying and the proof is in the pudding.

Unions take action to STOP Precarious Work

Here are some recent actions planed by IndustriALL affiliates to STOP Precarious Work:

Share your actions with IndustriALL by emailing us at [email protected] or through our STOP Precarious Work Cause page. Follow IndustriALL on twitter and tweet using the #STOPprecariouswork hashtag and IndustriALL will re-tweet your actions and photos. Posters and leaflets are available in different languages here.

IndustriALL will also be sharing affiliate actions on the ITUC’s World Day for Decent Work 2012 website. With the global economic crisis still hitting working people hard in every part of the world, trade unions around the world continue to organize mobilizations, events and activities on October 7 to demand decent jobs and full respect for workers’ rights.

IndustriALL European Trade Union is also organizing activities between 8 and 12 October, mobilizing for European industrial workers to stand up for industry as the bedrock of the European economy. Their slogan is “Bring Decency back to work! Industry – that is us”.

JAPAN ACTIONS

In Japan the national center JTUC-Rengo, is organizing various integrated actions to STOP Precarious Work in which Rengo affiliates will participate.

The Forum for the World Day for Decent Work (WDDW) will take place on 11 October in Tokyo on the theme “Decent Work for youth”, followed by street demonstrations.

Each Rengo local branch will mobilize its members to join rallies, at local level around 7 October. IndustriALL Global Union Affiliate UI ZENSEN will actively take part in the rallies.

GERMANY ACTIONS

IG Metall:

Work – secure and fair! is IG Metall’s slogan for their upcoming actions to STOP Precarious Work.

Within this campaign IG Metall is also calling on local offices and works council bodies to take action on 5 October in connection with the global action day against precarious work.

In Germany insecure and badly paid work has increased tremendously in recent years. Low wages and bad working conditions is what temporary employment looks like in Germany.  Forms of precarious employment, like unpaid internships, are also being increasingly abused by companies. Today, one in five employees in Germany are working for a low wage, and the younger generation is pushed into precarious employment.

See Flyer for IG Metall actions.

IG BCE

In Germany, the IG BCE will join the planned actions of the confederation DGB in a one day conference on 7 October in Berlin to raise awareness on issues including fighting precarious work, trade union rights violations, child labour, and working conditions for domestic workers.

CROATIA ACTIONS

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, Sindikat Metalaca (SMH-IS) has planned a series of activities to STOP Precarious Work. In the days leading to 7 October, the following actions will take place:

Gerdau continues firing workers in Colombia

SINTRAMETAL – the union of the workers of Gerdau in Colombia – and the Gerdau Workers’ World Council met with ministers and members of the government last week to denounce the firing of workers in different Gerdau plants and the non-recognition the union. 
 
While meetings took place in Bogotá, and Gerdau fired 3 workers in Tuta, the union did not waste time and responded. On the morning of 24 September, during the morning shift, the union called a meeting at the plant gate; buses were not allowed to enter and the traffic on the highway was stooped. 
 
The plant manager called on the union to solve the situation and committed to not fire any more workers in the Tuta plant. 
 
A meeting of the union with the Colombian Gerdau Director, Carlos Hamilton, was also planned. The union will discuss the current firings and the extension of the collective agreement negotiated in Tuta to all plants of Gerdau in Colombia. 
 
Colombian law recognizes a national collective agreement in a company when more than one plant is unionized.

Unions want justice at Grupo Mexico

These actions were part of an ongoing campaign to build strong cross border relationships between unions representing Grupo Mexico workers throughout all operations.

“United we bargain, divided we beg” is the slogan used by the unions.  Unions at Southern Peru Copper Company (ST-ILO, STTA-Toquepala and SUT-Cuajone), Los Mineros (SNTMMSRM) in Mexico and the United Steelworkers (USW) at Asarco have united forces to declare international solidarity of workers and unions at Grupo Mexico.

The union alliance demands that the company respect workers and unions throughout all of its operations and also engage in bargaining with Los Mineros, and come to a fair resolution to the strikes at Cananea, Taxco and Sombrete that began in 2007.

The unions at Southern Peru Copper Company began their negotiations for a new labor agreement in August 2012, but an agreement has not yet been reached. It is urgent that an agreement be reached especially to improve health and safety given the tragic death of a union member at Southern Peru’s Toquepala mine during August 2012, along with two other deaths at Grupo Mexico operations in Peru over the last two years.

On 18 September as part of the tri-national action day, Los Mineros in Mexico held a rally in front of company’s headquarters, in Peru the unions held membership rallies and distributed flyers and hardhat stickers to workers at Southern Peru Copper Company (SPCC), and in the USA the USW locals distributed flyers and hardhat stickers to their members.

Egyptian Schlumberger union launches website

Visit the new website here:  http://schlumbergereeg.com/

Schlumberger is the world’s largest oil field services company and employs around 2,500 workers in Egypt, 40% of whom are workers of subcontractors at 10 different worksites. 

In the first week of the company-level trade union’s existence Egyptian management summarily sacked the union’s democratically elected General Secretary, Mohamed Abd El Rahman, President Brother Essam, and Assistant General Secretary, Ayman Abd Elmonem. No written explanation was given to the dismissed representatives, they were simply blocked from entering their worksite.

IndustriALL and key affiliated unions in Canada and Norway, the CEP and IndustriEnergi, denounced this mistreatment of workers in Egypt to international management of the French-based company which initially responded with a pledge to investigate the developments fully, but then refused the offer of dialogue in Egypt with a top level delegation from the International.

The dismissed workers rejected a potential offer of financial compensation and continue to push for their reinstatement, while management continues to threaten its employees against joining the union which is affiliated to the new Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU) national centre.

Swiss unions demonstrate to save industrial jobs

The event was held in the rain, at the Federal Square in the heart of Bern. The national demonstration was organized by IndustriALL Global Union affiliate UNIA, together with Syndicom, the Association du personnel de la Confédération (APC) and the local transport union (SEV).

Unions called on the authorities and economic actors to mobilize to save the industrial sector rather than "indulge banks". The rally came two weeks after the elimination of 225 jobs by the mechanical engineering manufacturer Tornos in Moutier and in La Chaux-de-Fonds was announced.

UNIA members are the industry. They want to secure their jobs in the industry, they want decent working conditions and they want to have a real economy with production. These are the objectives of IndustriALL and we extend our solidarity and support in their fight,

said Kemal Ozkan, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL, at the demonstration in Bern on the 22 September.

In Switzerland the Collective Labour Agreement in sectors such as mechanical engineering, electrical equipment and metals will expire at the end of June 2013. Negotiations for its renewal will begin in November between employers and unions.

Canada reverses course on asbestos

For many years, Canada provided the "scientific" and political leadership to other asbestos-exporting countries. Through the now-defunct Asbestos Institute (later the Chrysotile Institute) Canada was the leading producer of faux-scientific "studies" that claimed to prove the safety of asbestos. Canada frequently led efforts to prevent the banning, or even the effective regulation, of asbestos at the international level.
 
Canada's decision was driven by changing political realities. Quebec's incoming government has indicated that it would prefer to spend money on industrial diversification plans for the communities the formerly depended on asbestos, with a just transition program for the former miners, rather than attempt to prop up a dying industry with loans and subsidies. Given that reality, the federal government has little choice but to drop its support for the industry as well.
 
Non-Canadians may wonder why this deadly industry had so much clout; but within Canada asbestos is not just another industry, it is an icon. It is a part of the cultural history and mythology of the labour movement, the province of Quebec, and Canada. Few labour leaders have dared to criticize the industry in which the modern Quebec labour movement was born. The violent 1949 strike in Asbestos, Quebec, is still remembered as a symbol of the struggles of francophone workers against absentee anglophone bosses, and as such, one of critical early moments in Quebec's "Quiet Revolution". It was one of the first strikes in Canada in which health and safety concerns played a key role. During that strike, many future Canadian leaders forged their social ideas and attitudes – including a young reporter covering the strike named Pierre Elliott Trudeau, later one of Canada's most famous Prime Ministers.
 
But all things change with time. Canada's task is to honour the history of those heroic asbestos miners without defending the deadly asbestos industry. Most Canadians, including most Quebecois, understand that asbestos kills. Last week, politicians finally did what their voters already knew must be done.