Trade unions fight for workers’ rights

Workers’ rights across the globe, are under attack and trade unions play a huge role in defending workers and fighting to make their lives better. 
 
In South Korea government authorities interfere in legitimate trade union activities and workers’ rights, even though the country ratified ILO Conventions 89 and 98 in 2021. On May Day Yang Hoe-Dong, a district leader of the Korean Construction Workers Union (KCWU), tragically set himself on fire to protest harassment of trade unionists by government authorities. 
 
Unions in Thailand are calling on the government to implement ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association and the protection of the right to organize, and ILO Convention 98 on the right to organize and bargain collectively. However, the Thai government argues that the conventions cannot be ratified until domestic labour laws are amended and national security concerns addressed.
 
The ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work is a commitment by governments, employers' and workers' organizations to uphold basic human values. Adopted in 1998 and amended in 2022, the Declaration commits member states to respect and promote eight fundamental principles and rights in five categories, whether or not they have ratified the relevant Conventions.
 
Health and safety is a fundamental principle and right at work, adopted by the ILO in 2022. Shipbreaking is considered to be one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. This year is crucial for improving safety,  because Bangladesh has committed to ratifying the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC). When the Convention enters into force, it will create a health and safety baseline that will drive up conditions and transform the lives of shipbreaking workers on the subcontinent and elsewhere.

IndustriALL's  global campaign for the ratification and implementation of ILO C176 – Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995, is a fundamental pillar of IndustriALL’s Strategic Approach to OSH in the Mining Industry, the Trade Unions Save Lives effect. In recent years Pakistan has become a country of focus for the global campaign and good progress is being made with social partners in Pakistan with the help of the ILO Pakistan country office and ILO headquarters. 

We need to work together to fight for workers’ rights and achieve a #justfuture.

G20 discussions on Just Transition must include unions

Priority areas for discussions include energy transition through addressing technology gaps, low-cost financing for energy transition, fuels for future, energy security and diversified supply chains, energy efficiency, industrial low carbon transitions and responsible consumption, and universal access to clean energy and just, affordable, and inclusive energy transition pathway.

The aim of the meeting is to ‘identify collective actions to promote equitable, shared, and inclusive growth’.

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL Global Union regional secretary, says:

“Equitable and inclusive growth cannot be attained without taking into account workers’ experiences and perspectives. It’s highly condemnable that the Indian government has refused to engage with trade unions on the issue of Just Transition.”

The ITUC and unions from across the G20 countries have also denounced the Indian government’s decision to interrupt the participation of independent trade unions in G20 and instead have Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) chair the L20 meetings. BMS is the Hindu nationalist trade union centre linked to the right-wing ruling party in the country.

SQ Zama, secretary general of IndustriALL affiliate Indian National Mineworkers’ Federation, says:

“The government of India is not concerned about workers at all. It is evident in the changes made to labour laws as well as in the complete absence of trade union voices in energy transition discussions. Our union has been calling on the government to  engage with trade unions and to put climate change and Just Transition on the agenda of all discussions regarding coal mining in the country.”

India’s position on Just Transition remains ambiguous. In its submission on the Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, during COP27, the government stated that it will focus on the ‘rational utilization of national resources with due regard to energy security’.

According to the latest media reports, the Ministry of coal has set a target of one billion tonnes of coal production by 2023-24, most of which is to be achieved through private coal mining.

Photo credit: © ILO/J. Urmila 2018

Zimbabwean unions demand pro-worker trade policies

The conference, organized by IndustriALL Global Union Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), UNISON, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), heard that Zimbabwe is endowed with minerals that are in high demand because of the energy transition. The country has the sixth largest lithium reserves globally and second largest platinum group metals as well as other minerals. But there were mineral governance deficits and illicit financial flows. This led to loss of benefits to the economy through resource-led industrialization said delegates who include those from PSI and ITUC-Africa.

The policy conference’s theme: making trade work for workers – Trade, Investment, Industrialization, and decent work with special reference to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The event is one of the activities being carried out by the IndustriALL SSA as part of the trade and African industrialization campaign.

The conference discussed inclusion of labour provisions and the decent work agenda with emphasis on ILO fundamental rights at work. Economic development and industrialization strategies that contribute towards regional value chains in mining and metals, automotive, energy, chemical, textile, garment shoe and leather, and public services must be promoted. Youth and women representation in the sectors was identified as key.

With most Zimbabwean workers now eking a living in the informal sector emphasis was put on the transition from informal to formal sectors. Illicit financial flows which included smuggling and under invoicing of minerals could be curbed under the African Minerals Governance Framework. 

“Too many trade deals prioritise the already extensive rights of international corporations over the right to decent work and quality public services. It’s why this conference and ZCTU’s work on trade are vital, and why we need to fight globally for public services to be excluded from trade deals and protected from private investor courts,”

said Mark Beacon, UNISON, international officer.

Florence Taruvinga, ZCTU president says,

“with most trade agreements including the AfCFTA not talking about labour provisions, we have a lot of work to do as trade unions. We must demand for these provisions from the African Union, our national governments, and even from the Chinese with whom our countries have signed bilateral agreements with.”

Kemal Ozkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary said: 

“We need a new narrative on Zimbabwean trade and industrialization. This narrative should talk about what works for workers, a new society, regional integration, a rich African continent with sufficient resources, and robust industrial sectors that add value to regional value chains that contribute to economic growth and development.”

Latin American pulp and paper unions launch cooperation project with Belgian federation

The event was held on 19 and 20 April in Montevideo, Uruguay. Leaders of trade union organisations from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru met with representatives of the ACV-CSC BIE federation from Belgium, to discuss the sector’s situation in the region, to present their concerns and to initiate talks on developing a cooperation project.

IndustriALL director for the pulp and paper sector, Tom Grinter, said at the opening of the event:

“The pulp and paper sector is a large and important sector. The idea of the meeting was to be able to plan a regional project for the coming years with support from Belgium. To achieve this, we convened a group of trade union leaders from Latin America who will be able to coordinate their work to strengthen trade union solidarity.”

Jan Franco of ACV-CSC BIE explained that international trade union solidarity is important to his federation and that is why they are working with the ITUC, BWI, UNI Global Union and IndustriALL Global Union. He said that their aim is to promote a project in Latin America and, to do so, he feels it is essential that they know about the interests and concerns of the region’s pulp and paper unions.

The participants engaged in a strategic discussion on how best to take advantage of the new partnership opportunity. They agreed to work together on a regional action plan to address various issues of interest to them, such as the need for companies to implement sustainable practices and to use natural resources responsibly. 

IndustriALL’s vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean, Lucineide Varjão, said: 

“The aim of this working group will be to agree on a regional agenda with cross-cutting issues for all the countries, such as future trends that may affect the region, be it the supply of the resources needed for the activity, technological changes or shifts in consumer behaviour that may affect or alter the sector’s manufacturing objectives.”

The participants agreed that they will work as a project coordination group and that towards the end of the year they will convene a face-to-face meeting where they will establish the issues to be addressed with the project for the coming years. They also visited the CMPC Softys plant, where they toured the facilities, talked with company representatives and learned about the work with the local trade union.

IndustriALL’s regional secretary, Marino Vani, concluded: 

“The meeting was very productive and we were able to draw some good conclusions. This group is going to coordinate the work in the sector and the project with the Belgian unions over the coming years. We are going to build a common agenda that includes environmental issues, community issues and the results that the industry can deliver for our society. We have to think about how to improve on the sector’s production organisation and its industrial sustainability.”

Trade unions versus LGBTphobia

As a global union federation representing 50 million workers, IndustriALL has a responsibility to ensure that workplaces are safe and inclusive for all workers, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. This is not only a basic human right, but it is also a key factor in creating a productive and harmonious work environment.

The Council of Global Unions (CGU) is calling on all affiliates to show support for the LGBTI community locally and globally. This could include organizing events or activities to raise awareness of the issues facing LGBTI workers, distributing educational materials, or partnering with local LGBTI organizations to show solidarity and build relationships.

A webinar will be organized on 17 May at 16:00 CEST: 

Join and register for the webinar: Trade Unions vs LGBTphobia

ENGLISHFRENCHSPANISHTHAI

Speakers include Cleve Jones, LGBTI rights leader and union organizer from the USA, and other trade union activists like Vipawan Boksantea from IndustriALL Global Union affiliate the Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand – CILT.

“It is important that we continue to work towards creating more inclusive policies and practices in our workplaces, such as ensuring equal benefits and protections for LGBTI workers and providing resources and support for those who may be facing discrimination or harassment.

Let’s use this day as an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of our work. Together, we can make a difference and create a better future for all workers.”

Says Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary.

The LGBTI workers website shares the work of global unions promoting LGBTI rights at work at national, regional, and international levels. The website is also a place for unions to share what they are doing to promote LGBTI rights, providing a dedicated space where trade union members from all over the world can discuss LGBTI issues and what they and their unions are doing to build a more tolerant and discrimination-free world.

Fact Sheets: 

The Council of Global Unions condemns flagrant worker rights’ violations in South Korea that led to the tragic death of Yang Hoe-Dong

It is unacceptable that this repression continues, despite South Korea having acceded to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and ratified International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No.87 on freedom of association and Convention No.98 on collective bargaining two years ago.

On May Day, Yang Hoe-Dong, a district leader of the Korean Construction Workers Union (KCWU), tragically set himself on fire to protest harassment of trade unionists by government authorities. Yang, one of the victims of that harassment, sadly passed away from complications of severe burns.

Yang left a message before his self-immolation saying that, although he had carried out his union duties lawfully, he had been charged with obstruction of business, coercion, and extortion. The self-immolation of Yang is reminiscent of the darkest years in the labour history of South Korea.

The false criminal charges of coercion and extortion against trade unionists stem from the anti-union policy of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s government. The government uses not social dialogue but the police forces in industrial relations. In the construction sector, the police launched a special investigation targeting unions, only to criminalise normal trade union activities. Following the President’s anti-union language, comparing construction unions with organized criminals at construction sites, the police intentionally used this logic to smear the union, devastating the dignities of union leaders. Yang was one of the 950 union officials summoned by the police during the special investigation and currently 16 of them are detained with such criminal charges.

The government’s anti-union repression is not just limited to the construction sector, restrictive definitions in the labour law mean everyday trade union activities are being criminalised. For example, a strike of cargo truck drivers was declared illegal in November 2022. Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) foisted a 47 billion KRW (approximately USD 35.6 million or EUR 32.3 million) lawsuit on five union leaders relating to missed production targets during a strike. A clear retaliation aimed to chill subcontracted workers’ exercise of fundamental union rights.

Despite clear recommendations from the ILO, UN Treaty bodies, and the Expert Panel established as part of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Government continues to block any amendment to the Trade Union and Labour Relation Adjustment Act to bring it in line with international standards.

Furthermore, the Yoon administration has initiated a systematic smear campaign against trade unions based on groundless allegations of corruption and administrative irregularities. The CGU has noted with great concern that the authorities are interfering into the management and activities of trade unions, demanding submission of copies of trade union budgets and amendment of trade union constitutions. These are serious violations of the right to freedom of association under ILO Convention No.87.

President YOON Suk-yeol’s union-bashing rhetoric and illegitimate use of public prosecutors and police to attack trade unions has set a national tone that is echoed on the ground in workplaces across the country with increasingly violent attacks against trade unionists. On 4 May 2023, a manager of ILJIN Hysolus, which is a supplier of Hyundai Motor and BMW, rammed his car into local trade union leaders hitting 3 of them and causing serious injuries to the union’s vice chair.

The CGU condemns the criminalisation of trade union activity and the raids of trade union offices led by the Yoon administration. We call on the South Korean Government to meet their international obligations, fully respect the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining and end their repression of the South Korean Trade Union movement.

The CGU demands the release and withdrawal of all charges against workers who have been detained for exercising their fundamental trade union rights. We further urge the government to cease all acts of smearing and criminalisation against trade unionists which are not constructive to establishing stable industrial relations but rather create a climate of fear and intimidation inimical to workers exercising rights protected by domestic and international law.  

Organising is a right, not a crime.

The CGU stands with the South Korean trade union movement in their ongoing struggle for freedom and justice. It sends its condolences to the wife and children of Yang Hoe-Dong as well as to his trade union family.

Minera Panama is violating workers’ rights

IndustriALL Global Union general secretary, Atle Høie, has written to the CEO of First Quantum Minerals Ltd., Tristan Pascall, to warn him that his company is violating workers’ fundamental rights.

He also cautioned that the company is in breach of its human rights due diligence obligations by discriminating against the leaders of the Sindicato Industrial de Trabajadores de la Construcción de Minas y Desarrollo de la Minera (STM), an affiliate of Convergencia Sindical (CS) in Panama, and by preventing them from carrying out their legitimate trade union activities. 

Høie urged the company to take the measures required to reverse the acts of discrimination against the STM and to ensure full respect for the right to freedom of association. The STM informed IndustriALL that Minera Panama is violating the workers’ right to freely form and join organisations of their own choosing, which is a right enshrined in the standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO).  

The union organisation condemned the company’s unfair dismissal of STM union leaders, as well as its refusal to reinstate the general secretary, Osvaldo Tallet, to the same position and with the same conditions he enjoyed prior to his dismissal, and its insistence on assigning him duties not stipulated in his contract.  

The union also pointed out that the company is discriminating against Tallet and another STM leader by not covering their accommodation expenses as it does for the other workers being employed at a mine in an isolated area. Additionally, three other union leaders are being denied access to the mine, preventing them from holding meetings and assemblies with their members and the other workers. And three active members who recorded videos in support of the STM as part of the union’s recruitment campaign have suffered reprisals and are unable to report for work at the mine. 

The workers also argue that the company used tactics to delay its compliance with several Panamanian Supreme Court rulings and continued to repeatedly violate the right to freedom of association. For the STM, the violations come at a key moment, when the labour authorities are in the midst of deciding which of the two unions at the company will negotiate the collective bargaining agreement.

In his letter to Tristan Pascall, Atle Høie, said:

“First Quantum’s actions represent a serious violation of the fundamental right to freedom of association. Anti-union discrimination represents one of the most serious violations of freedom of association, as it can jeopardise the very existence of trade unions. We urge you to take the necessary steps to reverse the acts of discrimination against the STM and to ensure full respect for the right to freedom of association.”

European Parliament must do everything in its power to end military rule in Myanmar

After the coup, almost the entire labour movement of Myanmar has been banned, with many trade unionists arrested and others going into hiding or exile. Despite this, these organizations continue to operate underground. European and international trade unions maintain close and frequent contact with their counterparts in Myanmar, and we use this opportunity to relay to Members of the European Parliament a direct request from Myanmar’s trade union movement on the forthcoming Resolution.

The Resolution should note that the military junta has escalated its repression of democratic forces in Myanmar, through increased military attacks on civilians, including an air strike on Pazigyi on 11 April that killed at least 165 people. The regime banned 40 political parties ahead of upcoming illegal and sham elections that it intends to use to consolidate and legitimise its grip on power.

These actions demonstrate that there is no pathway to democracy in Myanmar that does not involve the defeat of the regime, and that the current EU policy of trying to encourage democratic reform through trade is misguided and counterproductive.

The military regime desperately needs foreign exchange to buy weapons, ammunition, energy and components. A shortage of foreign exchange is possibly the single biggest threat to the regime.

IndustriALL Global and industriAll Europe call on the European Parliament to do everything in its powers to stop the military regime including by cutting off its funding via foreign exchange. All economic activity by European companies brings foreign exchange into the country.

In April 2022, the junta changed the law, making it illegal to hold foreign exchange for more than 24 hours. Foreign exchange must be changed into the local currency, kyat, at a preferential rate. The junta controls the Myanmar Central Bank, and the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank, meaning that any foreign exchange entering the country passes directly to the regime.

For this reason, the EU has already adopted some key restrictive measures against a list of Myanmar companies and has called on EU oil companies to withdraw from the country. The same should apply to EU garment brands as EU consumers, by buying products made in Myanmar, are inadvertently funding the regime. This must stop.

The trade unions of Myanmar are concerned that current EU policy, and the partial adoption of restrictive measures that excludes financial and insurance sectors, provides both financial and institutional support for the military regime and undermines efforts to return the country to democracy.

Specifically, trade unions request that the Resolution asks the European Commission and the European Council to:

-> Withdraw EU support for the MADE in Myanmar programme. MADE (Multi-Stakeholder Alliance for Decent Employment in the Myanmar Apparel Industry) is a project funded by the EU as well as by European-based garment brands which claims to establish social dialogue at factory level in the garment industry. The project has been condemned by independent trade unions and labour organisations in Myanmar in a letter sent to the Commission in April 2023, as it legitimises the creation of bogus workers organisations a military-controlled labour relations and social dialogue mechanism. In a context where workers are not free to choose their own representatives, MADE amounts to a whitewash that benefits the regime financially. During the ongoing ILO Commission of Inquiry on freedom of association violations in Myanmar, the military junta cynically uses MADE to claim that social dialogue and freedom of association exist in the country. The regime is currently not recognised by the UN, ILO and other agencies, and there are fears that MADE could help facilitate diplomatic normalisation of the regime.

-> Withdraw the Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preferences. EBA preferences can be withdrawn in the event of serious and systematic violations of the core 15 UN and ILO Conventions, as happened in the case of Cambodia. Myanmar is clearly in violation of the core Conventions as well as EU principles and should not enjoy a preferential trade access to the EU.

-> Implement further targeted sanctions. All international financial transactions related to the State Administrative Council's (SAC) fuel buying process be identified with the international banks and including the Central Bank of Myanmar, the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank and the Myanmar Investment and Commercial Banks be sanctioned. This is essential to stop the SAC from continuing the atrocities leads back to stopping the SAC buying weapons, ammunitions, dual use fuel that transports the soldiers and the ammunitions.

-> Condemn the illegal elections and insist on the release of all political prisoners. Urgent action is needed to end the military violence and reinstate real democracy including the legitimate trade unions.

In its statement of November 2021, the National Unity Government (NUG) made clear that no international company should operate in Myanmar if its operations provide any material benefit to the military regime, for instance through taxes or bills paid to military-owned companies, including in utilities and ports.

The subsequent change to the law that requires foreign exchange to be converted into local currency within 24 hours means that all trade with Myanmar benefits the regime and allows it to maintain its grip on power, thereby prolonging the suffering of the people of Myanmar. The Resolution on Myanmar should aim to cut all support for the regime.

Responsible business disengagement from Myanmar is possible, and we draw your attention to IndustriALL Global’s responsible exit framework which it has negotiated with a number of global garment brands. This framework is a tool that can be used by companies to responsibly end their activities in Myanmar.

Workers and trade unions in Myanmar and across the world, look to the European Parliament, as a defender of democratic values, to do everything in its power to end the military junta’s rule and return democracy to the people of Myanmar.

Union win stops unfair retrenchments at Botswana diamond mine

The dispute with the union can be traced to June 2022 when Canadian- based Lucara Diamond Corporation, asked its subsidiary, Lucara Botswana, to investigate allegations of maladministration and unethical business conduct in the security department at Karowe Mine. 

However, the 50 workers who volunteered and provided information as whistle-blowers were given termination letters after they had provided testimonies. BMWU strongly objected to this action resulting in the letters being given only to three workers. The other 47 workers remained at work, and the union argued in court that the termination was unlawful as there were no disciplinary hearings as required by the labour laws. 

Lucara Botswana management hired a South African company, Assurance Protection Group Incorporation, to carry out a security optimization assessment. However, the assessment report was not shared with the union as per labour laws, and the union suspects that the assessment is meant to victimize the 47 workers and to provide grounds for the retrenchments. 

The union petitioned the diamond company and wrote to the Commissioner of Labour on the same grievances and the need for mediation, but the matter was not resolved.

But on 28 April the industrial court in Gaborone ruled that the diamond mining company cannot continue with the retrenchments without negotiating with the union as per existing collective agreement.

Joseph Tsimako, BMWU president says: 

“BMWU enjoyed cordial relations with Lucara Botswana until the union intervened following reports of maladministration. It would have been remiss of the union not to protect whistle blowers against reprisals from Lucara Botswana’s top executives.”

Maenge Maenge, BMWU general secretary, adds: 

“The union, through its collective bargaining structures requested disclosure of both the optimization assessment and investigative reports, neither of which the company availed. Collective bargaining and human and workers’ rights are critical indicators in ESG frameworks against which the performance of a mining operation and the management of potential risks by its executive are gauged. It is apparent that there is a serious deficit in ESG stewardship at Lucara.”

“Lucara Botswana must always consult with the unions and respect existing agreements before deciding to retrench workers. Ignoring existing agreements violate workers and trade union rights to collective bargaining. We applaud BMWU for challenging Lucara’s unilateral decisions in court and welcome the ruling that the diamond mining company must consult and negotiate with the union,”

says Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL mining director.

How can H&M justify its presence in Myanmar?

The Myanmar Labor Alliance, which represents most of the trade union movement in Myanmar, has called on companies to divest.

Myanmar is a military dictatorship with no freedom of association. The Myanmar ministry of information reports that garment exports were worth US$4.7 billion last year. The military regime desperately needs foreign exchange to buy weapons, ammunition and fuel to conduct a civil war against the population. By sourcing from Myanmar, H&M maintains a flow of foreign exchange into the country, helping to sustain the regime.

The Ethical Trading Initiative, of which H&M is a member, released a report last year saying that due diligence is not possible in a context where independent worker voices are suppressed, where unions are banned, and trade unionists are imprisoned and killed. As a consequence of this report, responsible global brands, including Inditex, Fast Retail, Tchibo, Primark and Marks & Spencer, have left or announced plans to leave.

“We value our relationship but are extremely concerned by H&M’s decision to continue to source from Myanmar, which is a sharp departure from the responsible business practice we have come to expect. Given all of the above, how can H&M justify its presence in Myanmar?”

asked IndustriALL campaigns director Walton Pantland at the company AGM in Stockholm, Sweden.

H&M responded that they had a strong local team and were working with the EU MADE programme. This programme has been condemned by Myanmar unions as a whitewash.

IndustriALL has a global framework agreement with H&M, which have been used to challenge union-busting in supplier factories and remedy workers’ rights violations. The global brand has set important precedents by upholding freedom of association in supplier factories and contributing to workers’ health and safety, and yet it refuses to stop sourcing from Myanmar.

 
Cover photo: Myanmar trade union leader Khaing Zar, currently seeking asylum in Germany, outside an H&M store in Stockholm.