Myanmar unions condemn EU garment sector initiative

The Multi-Stakeholder Alliance for Decent Employment in the Myanmar Apparel Industry (MADE in Myanmar) claims to promote social dialogue and collective bargaining mechanisms. 

The initiative says it supports the development of worker-management committees and training and capacity-building for workers and factory management to improve communication and collaboration. However, this is impossible in a country where the military regime in place, since the coup in February 2021, has aggressively cracked down on unions.

In a letter to the European Union , the Myanmar Labour Alliance and others argue that the banning of independent trade unions in Myanmar makes a mockery of freedom of association, and MADE in Myanmar helps the military junta in its quest for legitimacy.

IndustriALL Global Union and IndustriALL Europe have also sent a letter to the European Union expressing concerns over the EU initiative:

“Employers take advantage of the political situation to deprive workers of their rights. Serious violations of human rights and labour rights continue in Myanmar.”

Freedom of association is a fundamental human right and a fundamental EU principle, the restrictions on unions and the right to collective bargaining in Myanmar under the military regime are a serious concern which puts the legitimacy of this EU initiative into question.

The letter to the EU also emphasizes that:

“With the support of MADE in Myanmar, unrepresentative organisations, are registered under the union registration mechanism of the State Administrative Council (SAC). By creating workplace coordinating committees – with workers’ representatives vetted by the employer – MADE provides both employers and the SAC with propaganda designed to create the impression that social dialogue exists. This creates the false impression that Myanmar allows freedom of association, that unions are recognized, registered, and can operate freely, and that labour rights are protected.”

A report commissioned by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) in September 2022 shows that it is impossible for brands to conduct due diligence in Myanmar and adhere to globally recognized responsible business standards.

The message is very clear, the international trade union movement calls on EU to end its support for the SMART Myanmar / MADE in Myanmar programme.

“IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll European Trade Union express their strong opposition to the pretence by MADE in Myanmar to be protecting workers’ rights, and their activities which support and legitimize the SAC,”

says IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie.

South Africa: 300,000 auto workers impacted by delayed wage deal

Collective wage deals only become binding on non-parties after the Minister of Employment and Labour publishes it in the Government Gazette. This is referred to as gazetting, and it is from this point that all workers can benefit from it. Delaying this process delays workers’ access to benefits in the agreement.

The minister of labour took more than four months to gazette the agreement which was signed in November 2022 after extended negotiations. According to the agreement petrol attendants were awarded a wage increase of 5 per cent, car dealership workers got 6.5 per cent, and component supplier workers 7.5 per cent. At some point during the negotiations, NUMSA considered going on strike to push for the wage demands.

“Employers must immediately implement the increase and stop short-changing workers. There is no basis for employers in the fuel retail sector and the rest of the motor industry sector to delay the increase from the date the agreement was signed at the Motor Industries Bargaining Council (MIBCO) in November last year. They did this to maximize profits at the expense of workers. NUMSA condemns the actions of employers for delaying implementing the increase. Moving forward, the union will take necessary measures to ensure that in the future the department of labour gazettes the settlement agreement immediately,”

said Irvin Jim, NUMSA General Secretary.

South African labour laws allow for the extension of the agreements reached at bargaining councils to entire sectors provided that the extensions are supported by most unions and employers. Bargaining councils are formed by employer organizations and trade unions, and the extensions are done through gazettes by the minister of labour. The extension of the agreement to non-parties improves wages in the entire sector. 

“Unnecessary delays in gazetting the agreement meant workers continued to struggle to meet the escalating cost of living while employers refused to pay what was due to them. We support NUMSA in its demands to end this prejudice,”

said Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa.

Ukrainian unions committed to peace and reconstruction

The meeting took place just before the East sub-regional meeting of industriAll Europe and affiliated trade unions from Poland, the Czech Republik, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia welcomed their Ukrainian sisters and brothers.

Participants discussed human and labour rights violations in the areas of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation. Representatives of the Human Rights’ Monitoring Mission in Ukraine attended the meeting and shared their work on how to best report violations of trade union rights.

Casper Edmonds from the sectoral policies department (SECTOR) of the ILO and Gocha Aleksandria from the ILO Bureau for Workers' Activities (ACTRAV) attended the meeting to exchange on violations of workers’ rights to freedom of association, forced labour and the right to a safe and healthy working environment.

“The war, occupation and aggression by Russia in Ukraine has a huge negative impact on our country's economy, and we welcome the opportunity in this meeting to discuss the problems and find ways to solve them,”

said Valeriy Matov, President of the nuclear energy workers’ union Atomprofspilka.

In the agricultural machinery sector, many companies have been destroyed and had their logistics and salesblocked. In the energy sector, infrastructure was deliberately destroyed by artillery fire, bombing and drones, but energy workers managed to repair substations and power lines, risking their lives in extremely difficult conditions.

In the oil and gas sector, companies were the first to be destroyed at the beginning of the war, and many oil storage facilities and oil products were burnt down. Likewise, twenty-one petrochemical companies were destroyed, resulting- in high risks of environmental disasters.

With five power plants, the nuclear energy sector has been a primary target and the Chernobyl plant was seized,whilst the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, was occupied. It is reported that Russian forces took over the plant and mistreated workers. Out of 11,000 employees before the war, only 1,200 remain at the plant. 

The coal sector has faced many difficulties and in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, ten mines were destroyed. On 21 November 2022, about 2,000 mine workers remained underground amid shelling and power outages. 40% of Ukraine’s steel industry was lost, and the Azovstal and Ilyich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol destroyed. Avdiivka Coke in Donetsk Oblast, home to Europe's largest coke plant, was surrounded by Russian forces.

Participants committed to continue reporting all the facts to international agencies in order to defend their members on the ground. IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll Europe will cooperate with the ILO to organise a joint event in Kyiv in the coming months to follow up on the agreed plan.

The meeting also discussed the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine towards a peaceful and prosperous future through a sustainable economy with a strong manufacturing sector, which used to be the backbone of the country’s economy. It was agreed to work together to develop an industrial policy vision in the context the Just Transition programme, which will play an important role in advocacy work.

Participants were clear that investment must not be at the expense of workers’ rights. In this context, modifications to various enacted and planned labour laws were discussed and concerns expressed. Social conditionalities will be requested in interactions with international agencies and European Union authorities in the context of Ukraine’s accession process.

“Our commitment to our Ukranian affiliates will continue with strong concrete support from our industriAll Europe family since Ukraine has been granted candidate country status by the EU. We will make every effort to prepare our Ukrainian affiliates in the integration process and for sure, social and labour rights will remain a priority,”

said Luc Triangle, General Secretary of industriAll Europe.

“With this important gathering we have reiterated our unwavering support for our Ukrainian sisters and brothers. Our two organizations will continue to respond to the needs our our affiliates in Ukraine by mobilising all our efforts and resources. Ukrainian unions play an important role in the reconstruction of their country with a viable social and economic life and our solidarity is with them,” 

said Kemal Özkan, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union.

Thai unions urge government to ratify ILO Conventions 87 and 98

IndustriALL affiliates, the Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT) and the State Enterprise Employees Union of PTT Public Company Limited (PTTLU), have long campaigned for the ratification of ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association and the protection of the right to organise, and on ILO Convention 98 on the right to organise and bargain collectively. 

“The Thai government has the international obligation to protect workers' rights to form and join labour unions of their own choice. CILT urges the government to ratify ILO Convention 87 and 98 to protect Thai workers’ freedom of association and right to collective bargaining,”

said Apsorn Krissanasmit, the PTTLU chairperson.

Legal and institutional barriers in Thailand limit the ability for workers to exercise their rights. There is also little protection against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against workers who seek to exercise their rights under the ILO conventions 87 and 98.

The country has faced ongoing political instability and has experienced several military coups that have weakened labour laws with the aim of maintaining national security.

The Labour Relations Act 1975 (LRA), covering private sector employees, and the State Enterprise Labour Relations Act (SELRA), covering state and public service employees, still contains many anti -union policies that violate the principle of freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Less than two per cent of the workforce in Thailand is organized and current legislation has helped employers to disrupt union activity without consequences. 

“The government should revise the draft bill based on the recommendations of the unions, and pass the LRA and SELRA amendments as soon as possible,” 

said Prasit Prasopsuk, Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT) president.

In 2015, IndustriALL Global Union filed a complaint with the Committee of Freedom of Association (CFA) at the ILO with evidence showing how employers in Thailand repeatedly violated workers’ right to organize, to bargain collectively and to take industrial action.

In October 2020, the government said it was in the process of revising LRA and SELRA, and that the amendments would pave the way for the ratification of ILO Convention 98. The government also looked into ratifying Convention 87.

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) also filed a complaint with the US Trade Representative, demanding the US government withdraw the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The complaint led to the suspension of GSP for 573 Thai products in 2019.

In 2022, the Thai government published a draft amendment bill to the LRA, promising wider freedom of association. In response, CILT, PTTLU and the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC) supported some of the amendments but disagreed with others arguing that the amendments were not enough to address the continued violations.

“Thailand must go through a demilitarization and democratization process to ensure the political power is always in the hands of elected civilian government leaders. Enlarging democratic space will increase the leverage of labour unions when their fundamental liberties are protected. The undemocratic provisions hindering the right to strike in the event of martial law or economic crisis must go,” 

said IndustriALL regional secretary Shinya Iwai.

Indonesia passes emergency decree for Job Creation Law

The IndustriALL Indonesia council, consists of 11 IndustriALL Global Union affiliates. Council chairperson, Iwan Kusmawan, said that the newly proposed law for Job Creation is identical the previous one which was declared conditionally unconstitutional by the constitutional court in 2021. 

“We are outraged that due process is ignored, many anti-worker provisions remain unchanged. All Indonesian unions, students and civil society organisations strongly oppose the decision. We will soon file a judicial review at the constitutional court,”

Kusmawan added.

On 11 April, one hundred members of the Labour Party of Indonesia joined a demonstration against the new legislation at the main gate of the national parliament.

Unions argue that the provisions in the Job Creation Law will erode workers’ rights. The party vowed to hold protests against the Job Creation Law every Tuesday. A nation-wide street demonstration on May Day is planned and over half a million workers are expected to turn up.

The Job Creation Law in Indonesia was issued by President Joko Widodo in response to the economic impact of the pandemic and was intended to stimulate economic growth and create jobs by making it easier for businesses to invest and operate in the country. 

However, the law has been consistently challenged by unions, they argue that it will undermine workers' rights and environmental protections. The law includes provisions that affect working hours, severance pay, contract work, outsourcing, and the ability of unions to organize and strike.

"IndustriALL stands in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the struggle against the Job Creation Law. As a democratic government elected by the Indonesian people, the government is duty bound to protect workers' rights, global crisis and economic slow-down should not be the reason to roll back workers' rights,"

said Shinya Iwai, IndustriALL regional secretary for South East Asia.

IndustriALL’s 3rd Congress passed a resolution urging the Indonesian government to cancel the Job Creation Law.

Kazakhstan needs genuine social dialogue

“In Kazakhstan, the situation within companies and society is very tense. Neither the authorities nor employers have learned from the tragic events in Zhanaozen during the protests in December 2011, which occurred due to a lack of social dialogue and resulted in the accumulation of unresolved social problems,”

said Kazprofmetal chairman Asylbek Nuralin. 

Instead of developing social dialogue with workers represented by trade unions, authorities targeted activists, passed a regressive law on trade unions in 2014, and banned independent unions.

Under pressure from the ILO, the government was forced to make some changes to labor legislation, but they were cosmetic.

The new policies led to social and political upheaval and triggered mass protests in January 2022. The government was forced to promise reforms. However, the redistribution of property between local elites continues, and makes it difficult for companies to operate. Workers regularly resort to protest action to raise their concerns, because social dialogue is impossible.

Participants noted that the Kazak government politicizes strikes making them almost impossible, even if the strike is based on labor issues unresolved at the workplace.

Unions proposed to simplify the procedures for a collective labor dispute and are actively working on labor legislation reform initiated by the government so that new draft laws do not worsen the situation for workers. 

Regional secretary, Vadim Borisov, proposed using international mechanisms applying to the ILO Committee of Experts, to push the government to ensure that changes in labor legislation comply with international norms and standards, both on paper and in practice.

It was agreed to hold similar capacity building sessions on organizing at enterprise level for local unions. 

Kazprofmetal chairman Asylbek Nuralin said that:

"This will help our union ranks to better see the ways and forms of union work at their enterprises in order to more effectively fulfill the task of strengthening the union team."

Morocco: phosphate sector workers benefit from protocol agreement

SNTP-CDT, an IndustriALL affiliate in Morocco, organized a national campaign to promote the protocol of the agreement with the OCP Group signed in 2022.

Other benefits include important provisions regarding protection, occupational safety, and aspects of health insurance. Women in the phosphate sector achieved important gains related to work flexibility, especially for breastfeeding women.

SNTP-CDT deputy secretary general, Khalil Kaanan, said

“this is agreement No. 18 since 2005. The protocol represents an unprecedented preservation of the continuity of social dialogue. Reaching an agreement for 2022 is an important achievement because it came in a difficult context, given the ongoing economic crisis and the transformations taking place in the phosphate and fertilizer sector locally and internationally. The agreement deals with the various challenges facing the sector, such as environmental and technological challenges, and objective of achieving sustainable development.”

Ahmed Kamel IndustriALL MENA regional secretary says,

“an agreement like this is a good example of genuine sustainable social dialogue. It is only with long standing trust and a well established dialogue that workers and business can face the crisis better. We congratulate SNTP-CDT leadership and members for such achievement.”

Phosphate, also known as white gold, is key to Morocco’s economy as the country has more than 70 per cent of the world’s estimated reserves.

Stop repression in Eswatini

In support of the trade unions and civil society organizations, the ITUC is calling for Eswatini Global Day of Action on 12 April. 

Unions say there appears to be no political will on the part of the Government of Eswatini to start dialogue. Instead, unions say that their leadership and that of civil society organizations live in fear following the assassination of prominent human rights activist and lawyer, Thulani Maseko, who was shot dead on 21 January allegedly by hired “mercenaries.”

Maseko was the chairperson of the MultiStakeholders Forum which together with the Political Parties Assembly and other organizations are calling for democratic reforms through dialogue facilitated by the Southern African Development Community.

Hundreds of protesters have died from injuries sustained in brutal attacks by state security agencies while others have been hospitalised or forced into exile. Some have been imprisoned included two Members of Parliament.

King Mswati III, Eswatini’s absolute ruler, who as the head of state has all executive powers to appoint the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, judges, and with powers to dissolve parliament, appears not to be interested in the proposed dialogue. The king, who has a net worth of over $200 million, is known for a lavish lifestyle. For instance, in 2018 he bought 12 Rolls Royces, for himself and the royal family. This purchase met with heavy criticism from unions and civil society who argued that the money would have been better spent towards reducing poverty which is over 60 per cent.

IndustriALL Global Union supports the ITUC Global Day of Action and its 3rd Congress in 2021 adopted a resolution in support of democratic reforms for Eswatini in which it stated commitment to “support the people of Eswatini as they continue to fight for democratic reforms” and demanded “the respect and protection of human rights including the right to life, rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, and the rule of law.” Further the resolution called for “national dialogue for democratic reforms that will allow for the democratic election of the Prime Minister and to review the country’s constitution to allow for the transfer of executive powers from the kind to a democratically elected leadership.

At an official side event of the Summit for Democracy in Zambia on 20 March, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the International Domestic Workers Federation, the Solidarity Centre, ITUC-Africa, ITUC CSI IGB and the Southern African Trade Union Coordinating Council, and the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland, gave solidarity messages in support of the campaign for democracy in Eswatini under the theme: “Amplifying the voices of workers to safeguard democracy in Africa.” The organizations concurred during discussions that there will be no democracy without workers’ rights.

Wander Mkhonza, Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA) secretary general says:

“We appreciate global solidarity in support of the working class struggle for democracy in Swaziland. The government must recognize that we have a role to play in the democratization and future of our country. The king must enter negotiations and respect freedoms and human rights.”

ATUSWA is affiliated to IndustriALL. 

Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary says: 

“We are concerned by the lack of the commencement of dialogue on democratic reforms in Eswatini. It is sad that a culture of fear has replaced the optimism that trade union and civil society had a few years ago on a possible transition to democratic rule. We call upon the government of Eswatini to start the engagement process with all key stakeholders.”

IndustriALL 3rd Congress, adopted a resolution for the democratization of Eswatini that includes the respect for the right to life, freedoms of association, assembly, and expression.

The work to keep garment factories safe must continue

The legally binding agreement has transformed factory safety in Bangladesh’ garment industry, given workers the right to refuse unsafe work, saved lives, supported freedom of association and increased collective bargaining.

But the work for safe garment factories continues. More brands need to join the Accord, especially in North America, to gain the leverage we need to make this a truly global Accord.

Towards the end of last year, the Accord was extended to Pakistan. To date, 45 brands have signed the Pakistan Accord.

Workers who produce the clothes that we wear deserve a workplace that provides them with a living wage and decent working conditions, not a workplace and threatens to take their lives. Help us expand the Accord even further, and save lives.

Safe factories for garment workers still need to be fought for. For the anniversary of Rana Plaza, please join us on social media in the fight for safe factories and to support the demand for a global agreement on factory safety.

Garment workers, Bangladesh, March 2023

Using due diligence to build union power in Asia Pacific

“Corporate social responsibility has failed to prevent human and worker rights’ violations and the global union movement is campaigning for increased accountability of companies. IndustriALL demanded a legally binding UN treaty at our Congress in 2021; we need binding rules to create an enabling environment for decent work in the supply chain, where freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are indispensable,”

said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.
 
The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (SCDDA) came into force in January 2023. It covers German or foreign companies headquartered in the country with more than 3,000 employees (the number will be reduced to 1,000 in 2024).
 
Companies fulfilling the requirements need to conduct annual risk analysis to prevent human and worker rights violation in its own operations and those of its direct suppliers. The companies will be held responsible if it has substantial knowledge of human rights violations.
 
The companies must respect workers’ freedom of association, free collective bargaining, safety and health, and eradicate forced labour and child labour.  Workers and unions can directly lodge a complaint for violations at the German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA), or through IndustriALL or trade union partners in Germany.

“Trade unions are important stakeholders to implement the law and make sure it focuses on people’s risks instead of business risks. Unions need to get involved in conducting risk analysis, preventive measures, corrective action and remedies. Providing training for shop stewards to document violations is essential to build cases against multinational companies.

“But most importantly, unions should use the law to conduct strategic organizing campaigns to build a strong union base along the supply chains to develop strong bargaining power,”

said Claudia Rahman, director of global trade union policy at German union IG Metall, at the IndustriALL webinar on understanding and using human rights due diligence to build union power on 29 March 2023.
 
In September 2022, the Japanese government published Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains, covering all companies regardless of sizes and sector, direct and indirect suppliers, inside or outside Japan.
 
Although not legally binding, the government encourages companies to publish a human rights policy, to identify and assess any risk may adversely impact human rights. Businesses should prevent or mitigate adverse impacts and provide remedy to stakeholders suffering the adverse impact of human rights.
 
The Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions (JCM) has urged the government to make workers and unions special stakeholders. JCM encourages affiliates to participate in the due diligence process through joining committees and to get involved in companies’ complaint and remediation mechanisms.

“JCM has published pamphlets on due diligence and included it in the spring offensive (Shunto) policy. The union will continue to demand that the government improves the guideline and monitors its implementation. If the guideline proves to be ineffective, unions in Japan will ask for legislation,”

said Hideyuki Hirakawa, JCM assistant general secretary.

“We believe that guidelines and legislations will not eliminate all existing labour disputes and union busting. Resolving issues through collective bargaining and consultation requires increased negotiating skills. Unions must work to improve capacity, and management must seriously commit to corporate social responsibility, international labour standards and human rights due diligence,"

said Akira Takakura, IndustriALL vice president.
 
Around 130 trade unionists from the Asia Pacific region participated in the webinar.

Cover photo: Industrial looms are operated at a rug factory in Mongolia. © ILO