Affiliates in South Asia call for a united struggle

IndustriALL leadership and affiliates met with the Sri Lankan prime minister urging him to include trade unions in the discussion on economic and labour issues as these significantly impact the living conditions of working people in the country. The demand of Sri Lankan affiliates and other workers’ rights groups and academicians across the globe, to cancel Sri Lanka’s debt was also discussed in the meeting and was supported by IndustriALL. A round of discussions were also held with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) country director on the ongoing programmes of ILO in Sri Lanka to safeguard workers’ rights and improve working conditions.

IndustriALL’s demand for the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention (HKC), to ensure safe working conditions in shipbreaking yards by the Bangladeshi government, was raised by the general secretary in a meeting with the secretary of the Ministry of Industries. Lives are lost on a regular basis because of unsafe working conditions. A ratification of the Hong Kong convention will improve conditions drastically.

IndustriALL Bangladesh Council discussed with the general secretary the need for unity in the group of IndustriALL affiliates in Bangladesh, particularly highlighting disunity in the united campaign for increasing the minimum wage of garment workers in the country. Despite all-time high inflation, workers are still being paid BDT8,000 (US$75). The wage was last reviewed by the government five years ago. The majority of IndustriALL affiliates are demanding BDT23,000 (US$215) as the minimum wage.

Atle Høie, says:

“IndustriALL stands firmly with our affiliates in the region in their struggle to protect workers’ rights. We support the demand for increasing the minimum wage to a living wage in light of the soaring inflation across the world. The governments must ensure that workers are able to maintain a decent standard of living along with ensuring safety at workplaces. We cannot allow lives to be lost because of dangerous working conditions.”

The general secretary’s visit to South Asia ended in India where he participated in the IndustriALL India Council meeting. Indian affiliates discussed the need to end precarious work, ensure workers' health and safety, and abolish the new anti-worker labour codes. Affiliates who have been constantly protesting against the government's anti-worker policies urged IndustriALL to extend its support to the ongoing struggle. Atle Høie also attended the national conference of one of the central trade unions in the country, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), where he addressed the large gathering of union leaders, saluting their struggle to advance workers’ rights in the country, stressing the need to include more women and young people in the trade union movement, and the need for unity. 

AfCFTA International labour standards deficit must be addressed

The theme was African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and migration: Issues and challenges. In the past the school covered topics that included regional integration, sustainable development, and trade union renewal and unity. 

Trade unions want standards that include the decent work agenda: creation of decent jobs, respect of fundamental rights at work, social dialogue, and social protection. They were clear that they want the decent work agenda and international standards on labour migration to be incorporated as clauses in the protocols when the agreement is up for review. 

According to the agreement, the AfCFTA, which started trading in 2021, will be reviewed after five years. Researchers at the school recommended tways for unions to engage with policy makers through social dialogue at national level.

In 2022, the AfCFTA launched the Guided Trade Initiative as a pilot on how trade can be conducted in eight countries – Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Tunisia – and some goods that include batteries, rubber, ceramic tiles, and some food items have been traded. 

Further, the Africa Union, has declared 2023 as the “Year of the AfCFTA” with a focus on implementation of the agreement in tourism, transport, communication, financial, and other services. 

However, unions also want the trade agreement to help facilitate the transition from informal to formal economies, and to contribute to economic development, regional integration, and the industrialization of the continent. Further, they want the agreement to promote youth and women employment to reverse their marginalization and exclusion from economic activities. 

Only Mali, Rwanda, Niger, and Sao Tome and Principe have ratified the African Union Free Movement Protocol, the expected threshold of 15 countries is required for implementation to begin. Unions say this will impede labour mobility. This pales in comparison to 48 out of 54 African countries, with only the exception of Eritrea, who have ratified the AfCFTA. Unions question how there can be trade without the movement of labour.

Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, ITUC Africa general secretary reiterated that:

“The states must commit to changing the protocols to protect workers’ rights, and the trade union movement must demand comprehensive provisions on labour that should become part of the protocols. This must happen through negotiations and social dialogue.”

Speaking at the school, Rose Omamo, IndustriALL vice president explained that: 

“When discussing the AfCFTA and labour mobility we must always consider the plight of migrant women workers who are employed under precarious conditions. They face gender-based violence and harassment which is caused by unequal power relations. The women are vulnerable as they seek ways to get out of poverty through employment in neighbouring countries or abroad. We need law reforms, labour migration policies, and fair recruitment processes that protect migrant women workers.”

The future starts today

According to ILO Expert Kee Beom Kim’s presentation, young people are more vulnerable to economic fluctuations and have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 led to a fall in global youth employment by -7.3 per cent in 2020. 23.3% of the global youth is neither in employment, education or training. However, there are opportunities for youth employment growth in digital, green, care economies.

Industry 4.0 as well as climate change have a massive impact on jobs and the volume of employment.  

“The share of highly skilled jobs has increased 25% over the last two decades. There is a booming employment in renewable but who will be our negotiation partner? We need to organize these new sectors to develop industrial relations with these new employers and protect workers.” 

Says Kan Matzuzaki, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.

Corinne Schewin, sector co-chair, said 

“there was very often a generation gap between young white-collar workers with the previous generation of workers. Young workers’ situation is sometimes closer to their grand-parents generation than to their own parents’ ones. Jobs are less stable, more precarious. However, we need to learn to work together, youth and adults, bridging the gap of misunderstanding and building together the company of tomorrow.”

In this context, young white-collar workers are surrounded with several challenges and opportunities that are specific to their sectors of activity, and countries. During the first day, the discussion focused on working conditions.

Flexible working environment, and overtime were seen as an opportunity as well as a threat. 

For some, since Covid-19 made teleworking almost the new normal it feels that workers are connected all the time. They shared how difficult it was to turn off their computer and how workers doing overtime puts pressure on those who do not want to work overtime. Employers should value the quality of the work rather than the time-spent working. This would avoid the stigmatization of workers who are not overworking. Participants also stressed the risk for mental health when working too long hours and in a non-regulated work environment.

For others overtime represents an opportunity to make more money. Participants from countries of the global south said that young workers are keen to do overtime because the salary does not enable workers to make ends meet. 

Existing different working contexts and conditions around the globe lead to the fact that young white-collar workers are not equal. 

The participants called for decent wages and asked that overtime not be compulsory but rather negotiated and agreed with the employer beforehand.

For young workers from North America or Europe, changing employers regularly is seen as something normal for certain participants. Others coming from countries, where the economic situation is less favourable and the supply of qualified jobs is scarcer, stressed the difficulty to get one job for young qualified white-collar workers. Young workers who are not well connected, or whose family is not well-connected end up in under qualified and boring jobs.

For some young participants, joining a trade union was an obvious choice as they have grown up in families of trade unionists. For others, it was important to get involved to make their voices and those of the workers heard, and to better understand and influence the functioning of their companies.

Young white-collar workers face numerous obstacles to join a union: lack of time; difficulty to identify with organizations that they perceive as obsolete, lack of interest in trade unions that are not interested in dealing with young workers priorities; pressure from management not to join a union; legal prohibition for young professional and managerial workers to get unionized.

Strategies that will help trade unions recruit younger white-collar workers include: reaching out to young workers in their spaces is key, launching social media campaigns to reach them, educating them on trade unions, workers’ rights and benefits, and addressing their needs and issues.

Sarah Li from Unionen presented how the union in Sweden sent trained and specialized organizing teams to universities to recruit students. They will get in touch with these members once their studies are over, to offer them support and advice for the start of their career. 

These are among the issues that young white-collar workers would like IndustriALL and its affiliate to focus on:  

The fight against unemployment and creation of new job opportunities. 

Framework for a responsible business disengagement from Myanmar

After the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, IndustriALL supported a call by Myanmar unions for all multinational companies operating in the country to disengage. Human and workers’ rights violations have multiplied in the country under the military dictatorship and as the country spirals into civil war, IndustriALL fears that the companies will become unwilling accomplices to a growing humanitarian crisis. 

In 2021, IndustriALL’s congress unanimously decided to demand comprehensive economic sanctions against Myanmar and IndustriALL has engaged with the companies to create the framework for a responsible exit. In November 2022, IndustriALL began discussions with a number of garment brands operating in the country to outline what a responsible exit would like that.

That discussion has concluded with Framework Principles of a Brand’s Responsible Business Disengagement from Myanmar.

The document is not a commitment by these brands to cease their operations in Myanmar, but an agreement on what would constitute a responsible exit. 

The framework outlines a business exit negotiated with workers’ representatives that ensures that the rights of workers are protected, adequate severance is paid to those affected, and ensures that cases of workers’ rights violations that are still pending will be remediated. Although the framework was developed by the garment industry, its principles can be applied to other sectors of the economy.

IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie said: 

 “The ethics of doing business in Myanmar have been complicated, with many companies genuinely unsure of how to do the right thing. At IndustriALL, we have been guided by the representatives of the affected workers, the union movement of Myanmar, to call on companies to cease their operations.  

“Increasingly, the balance of opinion is that planning a responsible exit is the only position consistent with upholding global human rights standards. Due diligence is not possible under a military dictatorship and in a state of civil war. 

“This document defines a responsible exit. We call on all companies doing business in Myanmar – not just the garment industry – to use this framework to plan their exit from the country.”

Aggressive anti-union tactics intensify at textile plant in Turkey

Management at Barutçu Tekstil, in Bursa, continue to intimidate workers if they dare to join a union. Production and human resource managers stated that union representation will never be allowed at the company, and employment contracts of union members will be terminated.

On January 30, the dismissed workers and union officials from, IndustriALL affiliate, Oz Iplik-Is were exposed to ammonia released into the air from tanks that were left open in the area close to the demonstration. Eleven people showed signs of poisoning and were hospitalized. 

Union representatives suspect that the incident was deliberate, an investigation into the matter is ongoing.

An inspection was carried out by some of the buyers sourcing from the plant, and a corrective action plan, including the reinstatement of the dismissed union members, was agreed upon. However, company management still refuse to reinstate the workers and to recognize the union. IndustriALL has reached out to more brands sourcing from the plant urging them to conduct due diligence with their supplier. 

On 3 February, the 110th day of the strike, the women’s committee of the United Metal Workers’ Union (BMIS) visited the workers Barutçu Tekstil to show their solidarity. The women’s committee called on the employer to respect workers’ right to join a union and to immediately reinstate them. 

“Our struggle as women workers is not only against the employer, but also against the patriarchy. You organized to improve your conditions, to raise your voice against very long working hours, discrimination, harassment and bullying. The employer responded by dismissing you. We believe we can change our lives and the world through women’s solidarity. We are with you in this struggle until you win,” 

said Meltem Yıldız, BMIS women’s committee member as she addressed the women at the picket line.

“We don’t want low wages, we don’t want harassment, this is why we have been picketing for over 100 days and we are prepared to fight until we win. We appreciate that you came from Istanbul to show solidarity with us,” 

said Emine Varol, a striking union member. 

In a joint letter sent to the company on 13 February, IndustriALL together with IndustriALL Europe call on company management to reinstate dismissed workers and enter good faith dialogue with Oz Iplik-Is.

Unions take part in national strike against Peru’s government

IndustriALL affiliates FETRIMAP, FNTMMSP and FNTTP joined the general strike called by the General Confederation of Peruvian Workers (CGTP) on 9 February. As part of the strike, protests were held to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and members of Congress, and to condemn police violence against demonstrators. So far, at least 60 people have lost their lives in the protests.

In addition, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) called for a week of action from 13 to 16 February in support of the people’s demands. 

These organizations say that there has been a breakdown of democracy and massive human rights violations in Peru. They appealed to international human rights bodies to help establish negotiations with social movements and political forces in order to "achieve a peaceful transition towards a democratic society that expresses the interests of the entire population of Peru".

CGTP national labour defence secretary and FETRIMAP secretary general, Gilmer Ibañez Menendrez, said:

"We, the workers, want Dina Boluarte to stand down for the good of the country, because demonstrators are still being killed and criminalized. Boluarte calls for dialogue but then declares a state of emergency; she says she is complying with the rule of law, but the right to life is a fundamental right and one she has not respected. This is a democratic issue: we should have a government of the people for the people."

Protests against Boluarte have been going on for two months. On 7 December, then-President Pedro Castillo gave a speech announcing that he would establish an emergency government and temporarily dissolve Congress. However, Congress immediately voted to remove him from office, and subsequently imprisoned him. He was replaced by Vice President Boluarte, who says she will not resign until early elections have been held, but Congress has considered and rejected four initiatives to bring the elections forward.

Trade unions are calling for fresh elections to be held as soon as possible, as the next election is not scheduled until 2026. Demonstrators also want Congress to be dissolved and a constitutional assembly established to draft a new constitution. They have demanded an end to the violence and a way out of the political crisis (there have been six presidents since 2016), as well as calling for true democracy to be restored and inequalities to be addressed. 

Lastly, IndustriALL’s regional secretary, Marino Vani, said:

"We stand in solidarity with our affiliates and the people of Peru. We condemn the State’s violence and the killing of its people. We call on Congress, the government and the judiciary to adopt the measures proposed by workers and the social movement. Only a democratic solution can help to pave the way to unity in Peru.”

Unions in Japan play key role in promoting due diligence

Unions in Japan are playing an important role in promoting due diligence and pushing for more responsible business practices, especially when it comes to ensuring that human rights and workers' rights are respected in supply chains.

Awareness of human rights due diligence is growing fast in Japan. In 2022 The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) issued "Guidelines for Respect for Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains, and the Japan Textile Federation (JTF) issued "Guidelines for Responsible Corporate Behavior in the Textile Industry", among other initiatives. 

UA ZENSEN president Akihiko Matsuura added that the

“Japanese government, trade unions, and management are working together on human rights due diligence. UA ZENSEN has also formulated initiatives for their branches, aimed to promote respect for human rights by companies in their supply chains”.

Under the Global framework agreement with Mizuno, IndustriALL, UA ZENSEN and the Mizuno workers’ union, held their annual joint industrial relationship committee meeting. They reviewed the work under the Mizuno GFA, including Mizuno’s heightened due diligence program on foreign technical intern trainees within its Japanese supply chain.

“It has been 12 years since we signed the Mizuno GFA. The four parties' cooperation, based on the GFA, has led to improvements at suppliers' workplaces. We will continue to work on human rights due diligence in the supply chain based on the GFA and we will vigorously encourage affiliates of UA ZENSEN to sign the GFA,” 

said president Ishikawa of the Mizuno workers’ union.

IndustriALL also held a series of meetings with the Federation of SEIYU Group Workers' Unions, Ryohin Keikaku Labour union (representing workers at Muji), the Federation of AEON Group Workers’ Union, and Asics union. They discussed the importance of human right due diligence in the global garment supply chain especially with the situation worsening for workers in Myanmar, and IndustriALL’s call on global brands and retailers to responsibly divest from the country.

“Meaningful engagement with trade unions is key to the due diligence process and fundamental to protecting worker and human rights in the supply chain. 

UA ZENSEN and its affiliated trade unions in the Japanese global brands and retailers, are active in the assessment process, the design of prevention measures and key to finding remedy for workers whose rights have been violated in the supplier companies of Japanese brands. 

Global Solidarity between home country unions and their counterparts in production countries is one of the most important pillars of the global trade union’s fight for decent work.” 

said Christina Clausen, IndustriALL’s textile and garment director.

The right to strike protects workers

In 2015 the International Labour Organization (ILO) employers’ groups and certain governments challenged ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association, which is ratified by 153 countries, and up-holds the right to strike. Unions around the world protested to protect this fundamental right. 

Even with this convention, the right to strike is still under threat around the world. 

In the UK, the government is bidding to drive laws which restrict strikes for rightful pay demands, despite British workers’ declining wages. The new anti-strike legislation led by, Conservative Party Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is set to enforce minimum service levels during strikes. 

These laws will be enforced in key public sectors like the National Health Services (NHS) and education. Employers in these sectors will be able to sue unions and dismiss employees if minimum service levels are not met. British unions have called this new strike law, a full-frontal attack on workers’ rights and trade unions. Unions have made it clear that they will defend workers despite the new schemes from government. 

In Zimbabwe ILO conventions 87 and 98 on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining are ratified, yet government passed two laws violating the conventions. 

Among the two laws passed, the Health Services Amendment Act, states that strikes in the public health sector cannot go beyond 72 hours. If unions don’t adhere to this, organizers will be fined and sentenced to three years in prison. Furthermore, the Criminal Law amendment bill will make it legal to arrest and prosecute people for wilfully injuring the state sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe. Unions in Zimbabwe are urging government to amend or cancel the laws. 

In Turkey, a company used a government decree referring to ‘national security’ as a strategy to restrict a strike. Workers and trade unions rejected this and eventually received an increase in wages.  

The right to strike is fundamental and often the last resort for workers. In a capitalist system, withholding labour, is a crucial negotiating tool during the bargaining process, its main objective is to change the balance of power between workers and the employer. 

If the right to strike is removed, governments could ban industrial action. Most strikes are for increased pay and better working conditions, if the right to strike is removed, corporations would make bigger profits and working conditions will worsen. 

IndustriALL general secretary, Atle Høie says

“industrial action is one of the most important tools that workers and trade unions have which can be used to improve workers’ wages and working conditions. Calling a strike is a hard call, but it is an essential tool if negotiations are leading nowhere.  If this right is reduced workers will be left with very little room for manoeuvre and all talk of democracy will be empty words. We must continue to protect workers and their right to strike.”

Union negotiation wins benefits for mothers

These workers were organized by FSP KEP under their general industry sector. IndustriALL and Union-to-Union provided them with union building training, which allowed them to include the lactation room in the latest collective agreement.

“We thank IndustriALL, Mondiaal FNV and Union-to-Union project training and campaign activities. We were able to develop our demands and negotiate with employers for improved facilities at the workplace especially for women,”

says, Mbajeng Hersan Utami, president of Garudafood Putra Putri Jaya union.

The union building project works with IndustriALL affiliates in Indonesia from different industry sectors, to strengthen and improve collective bargaining and social dialogue. The training focuses on safety and health, maternity protection, trade union rights and others. 

“These project activities have developed a basic understanding on union rights and interests at the workplace. It assists in negotiations and implementation of the collective bargaining agreement by using international labour standards and good labour law as tools for better workplaces.”

says Indah Saptorini, IndustriALL Indonesia project coordinator.

“This is a great achievement that the union was able to obtain by tirelessly negotiating with the company and gathering support of its members. I would like to express our gratitude to Union-to-Union and FNV who supported the project. We hope that the project activities continue to achieve great results not only in Indonesia, but also in other affiliates in other countries,”

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

In November, last year, the Indonesian Ministry of Health awarded Garudafood for its contribution in overcoming the health crisis and strengthening health services by promoting women’s reproductive health.

Global Reporting Initiative draft sector standard for mining released for comment

The release of its draft sector standard for mining for public comment is an important milestone. IndustriALL was involved in the development of the sector specific mining standard as part of the working group.

The draft sector standard for mining was released on 7 February, coinciding with the Investment in Africa Mining Indaba and the Alternative Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, South Africa. There was a workshop on the draft sector standard at the Alternative Mining Indaba, an important forum for collecting feedback on the standard’s contents to kickstart the public comment period, which ends 30 April. 
 

“We welcome the release but are aware that the increasing number of reporting standards risk having an unintended consequence of fatigue reporting burden. To the extent that the reporting of impacts will be transparent and mitigation effective, it will require the involvement and participation of workers and communities, to whom mining companies are ultimately accountable to,” 

says, Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL mining director and OHS lead. 

The draft standard is comprehensive with content topics covering the whole environmental, social and governance spectrum with workers’ issues ranging from tailings, closure and rehabilitation, employment practices, critical incident management, occupational health and safety, child labour, forced and modern slavery, freedom of association and collective bargaining, non-discrimination and equal opportunity and for communities’ issues such as rights of indigenous communities, security practices, local communities, water and sewages, waste, land and resource rights and artisanal and small-scale mining which is an issue also of interest to trade unions.
 
Although the GRI standard is an important addition to existing voluntary mining standards, it is not a performance standard that will require third party independent audits like the initiative for responsible mining and assurance (IRMA). This will require workers, trade unions and communities to step up and hold mining companies accountable, by using the GRI sector report for mining-by-mining companies and comparing against their actual reality, particularly at this critical moment of the demand for low carbon transition minerals required to mitigate climate change. 
 
Glen Mpufane says, 

“The mining standard is an additional resource to call out the greenwashing by mining companies. We urge our affiliates in the mining sector to get involved and comment on the exposure draft during the comment period that closes on 30 April which has an online comment form.”