Building strong inclusive unions in South Asia

The South Asia region face very similar challenges as trade unions, from low women and youth membership and participation, to the surge of contract work and lack of access to organize contract workers.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliates from the region were very clear that their challenges are tough and need to be addressed to strengthen their membership base and to access potential members.

"We must organise precarious workers, it is hard but we must organize them. Whatever project we devise it must concentrate on giving protection to contract workers. Precarious work is happening in our entire region, it is the general trend. Capital wants workers to be cheap and as contract workers, the moment that they complain it is so easy to get rid of them."

"We are fighting in Bangladesh to reform the labour law for informal workers to be covered by the labour law."

"in Nepal the Labour Act 2074 in clause 145 on layoffs and retrenchments needs to be abolished for us to make any progress, most companies just claim financial loss and can get rid of workers."

"in Pakistan our job is difficult because of yellow unions. We are trying to focus on forming sectoral unions and strengthening them."

The discussions had a strong focus on the question of contract workers because those most affected are women and youth.

Gender based violence was also an important topic that participants discussed at length. Focusing on capacity building and strong awareness building and the use of valuable resources like the ILO C190 Toolkit on violence and harassment in the world of work was stressed.

Young participants sat together to discuss strategies to increase their reach and improve the sustainability of their unions. Their focus was around achieving growth and awareness by using social media tools to increase reach.

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL regional secretary, said the

"It is our joint work to make sure that we are working towards better representation of women and of youth. We want a transformative union!"

An important reference to the previous project achievement in the region, specifically in India Pakistan and Nepal the past 4-5 years was made, to ensure that this planning builds on previous achievements and takes it a step farther:

over 35,000 workers organised;
85 collective bargaining agreements signed;
2230 precarious workers made permanent;
women participation increased from 27% to 32%; and
youth leaders more actively involved in union activities.

“On behalf of the union’s leaders, we may be busy, but we can attend these programs to contribute towards the empowerment of women. This was a good opportunity to see all this young talent. If this project is implemented, there are so many opportunities in the next 5 years. When our unions are strong IndustriALL will be strong”

said Sanjay Vadavkar, IndustriALL Asia Pacific executive committee member.

Health and safety workshops in Alang

Workers have a fundamental right to health and safety at work, and those employed in the ship recycling industry are among the most at risk of working in unsafe environments. Although the ratification of the Hong Kong Convention and the presence of a strong union in the region has changed a lot, much work remains.

The workshops aim to strengthen health and safety mechanisms in ship recycling yards. The workshops are attended by a large number of participants from various unions, including those working in the downstream shipbreaking industry, government bodies, as well as the employers' association.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kan Matsuzaki, says:

“These workshops are an important step towards establishing tripartite social dialogue to ensure safer and greener yards. IndustriALL congratulates ASSRGWA and ILO for taking the initiative.”

Discussions centre on the steps necessary to keep yards safe and green, for instance, before starting to dismantle a ship, a thorough safety checklist needs to be prepared. More than 60 per cent of accidents happen in confined places that are dangerous due to a toxic atmosphere, oxygen deficiency and excessive heat. Working at heights also poses several safety-related challenges. Proper risk assessments to ensure that all risks associated with the hazards are evaluated and controlled are important. For example, the height and vertigo tests must be passed by a worker who works at heights. Additionally, while operating at heights, the supervisor's watch is crucial.

The importance of personal protective equipment (PPE) is discussed in detail. Full body protection, like chemical protective clothing is essential in the case of continuous or recurring exposure to hazardous surroundings. When entering a burning structure, firefighters must be equipped with body and skin personal protective equipment in the form of a full suit as well as breathing equipment. The duties and responsibilities of the health and safety committee at the workplace is also an important discussion point.

Vidyadhar Rane, ASSRGWA general secretary, says:

“We are glad that the government and employers are showing an active interest in this initiative. Our goal is to turn ship recycling yards into sustainable and safe workplaces.”

The most recent workshop was held on 18-19 April, where more than 100 participants engaged in discussions on how to make shipyards safer and greener. As part of the workshop, participants visited the Pramukh steel workshop to observe best practices regarding material handling, workstation, storage of material, and pathways at the workplace.

Participants discussed how best to improve working conditions at yards while at the same time ensuring that yards become more environment friendly. They also charted out what future they want to build together, in the form of Dream Alang.

Safety for all – the need for gender-responsive OHS

The TUC’s guide for trade union activists on Gender in occupational safety and health illustrates that occupational health and safety often treats men and women as if they were the same. Less attention is given to the health and safety needs of women.

Traditional emphasis of health and safety, and related research, have been on risk prevention in visibly dangerous work largely carried out by men in sectors like construction and mining, where inadequate risk control can lead to fatalities. As a result, women’s occupational injuries and illnesses, like work-related stress or musculoskeletal disorders have been largely ignored, under-diagnosed, under-reported and under-compensated.

Across the world, work equipment, tools and personal protective equipment (PPE), have been traditionally designed for the male body size and shape. Moreover, as explained by the ILO, the design of most PPE is based on the sizes and characteristics of male populations from certain countries in Europe, Canada and the United States. As a result, not only women, but also many men experience problems finding suitable and comfortable PPE because they do not conform to this standard male worker model.

Gender inequality both inside and outside the workplace can affect women’s occupational safety and health and there are important links between wider discrimination issues and health. According to the ILO, in general, women are more exposed than men to psychosocial risks that can cause work-related stress, burnout, violence, discrimination and harassment.

The extra responsibilities that women face as paid workers and unpaid carers for their families make that women’s stress levels remain high after work. Not acknowledging gender differences may mean that apparently neutral policies impact differently on women and men and reinforce existing inequalities. OSH is a core aspect of promoting gender equality.

“We need a gender-responsive approach, based on the analysis of sex and gender disaggregated data, that acknowledges and makes visible differences between male and female workers, identifies their differing risks and propose control measures so that effective solutions are provided for everyone,”

says Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL OSH director.

ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work is a, calling on employers to conduct gender responsive risk assessment, taking into account gender stereotypes, multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, and unequal gender-based power relations.

Consultation with women workers and the women health and safety representatives in health and safety committees are key for the development of gender responsive OHS.

Strategizing on advancing union power of white-collar workers in Ghana

The issues discussed at the meeting, which was organized by the IndustriALL Global Union Sub Saharan Africa regional office, included on how to close the gender pay gay, inclusion of women as part of the collective bargaining negotiation teams, inclusive union representation of women as shop stewards and union organizers, increasing maternity leave from the current three to four months, rewarding long service through promotions, giving permanent contracts to workers on short-term contracts, and unionising more white-collar workers.

The meeting resolved to continue campaigning for the ratification of Convention 190 to stop violence and harassment in the world of work, and for the inclusion of clauses from the convention into human resources policies.

The meeting emphasized the importance of national labour laws and international labour standards on fundamental rights at work including health and safety as well as leveraging industry standards on human rights due diligence. Building solidarity, workers unity, and using managerial experience and skills to strengthen union recruitment and organizing capacity are some of the actions that the white-collar workers committed to do. The workers who attended the meeting included engineers, environmental coordinators, fire and rescue workers, managers, and energy workers.

Information and knowledge sharing using social media and digital platforms by the union on issues of interest to white collar workers were identified as key to organizing especially some non-unionized workers who were reluctant to join the union.

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

“Union leaders must make conscious decisions to include white collar women workers in collective bargaining negotiations. Women must be part of the team and not only be included as observers. This is one of the key strategies that can be used to end the gender pay gap as women can articulate their demands better.”

“Ghanaian trade unions are engaging at various workplaces to end gender discrimination, and in the union through gender committees. We are also campaigning for the ratification of Convention 190,”

said Joyce Maku Appiah, IndustriALL gender equality task force member and Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) gender coordinator.

Through a project supported by Industri-Energi, Norway, PUWU is campaigning for the inclusion of clauses on gender-based violence and sexual harassment in collective bargaining agreements at the enterprise level.

The Ghanaian unions affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union that participated in the meeting are the Ghana Mine Workers Union, Ghana Transport Petroleum and Chemicals Workers Union, and Public Utilities Workers Union.

28 April – world day for safety and health at work

It is estimated that more than 3 million workers die every year because of their work, and tens of millions are injured. 28 April is International Workers’ Memorial Day, a day to remind us that health and safety at work is neither a perk to be bargained for nor a favour to be asked. It is our right. In the workplace.

While fatal accidents have fallen, the fatal frequency rate — the number of fatalities per million hours worked, is not evenly distributed across sectors and regions, with mining, shipbuilding and ship breaking, textiles, electronics, chemicals, showing disproportionate impacts. On the other hand, occupational diseases continue to kill more workers across sectors, also at disproportionate sector and country level, more than the fatality frequency rate.

In June last year, the International Labour Conference in Geneva added health and safety to the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. This means that ILO member states commit to respect and promote the fundamental right to a safe and health working environment, whether or not they have ratified the relevant ILO Conventions.

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.

When the floating tonnage of the world’s fleet reaches the end of its useful life, ships – and other ocean-based vessels, including oil rigs – need to be broken and recycled.

Most ships are broken in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, by migrant workers on precarious contracts with minimal training and safety equipment. The work is extremely tough, very dangerous, and with the partial exception of India, generally done by hand.

Ships are beached, and then dragged with chains by labourers to the breaking area. They are manually cut into blocks with torches and dismantled with sledgehammers. Fatal accidents are frequent: a common cause of death is falling from height with a recently cut sheet of steel. In Gadani in Pakistan in 2016, work commenced before fuel was removed from a ship, leading to an explosion that killed 28 workers.

Workers are exposed to carcinogens and other toxic substances, as well as environmental contamination. Housing and medical care are inadequate, as is access to clean water.

Alang shipyard, India

In India, the situation for shipbreaking workers is changing: the combination of a strong union, ASSRGWA, part of IndustriALL affiliate SMEFI, and the ratification by India of the HKC has meant that safety has dramatically improved. Instead of breaking ships on beaches, most yards now use impermeable floors. Blocks are moved by crane, and some yards have joint union-management health and safety committees and the right to refuse unsafe work.

And yet even in India, the accident rate remains unacceptably high, with eight fatal accidents in 2022. IndustriALL believes that only a joint health and safety committee that covers the whole port area that falls under the jurisdiction of the Gujarat Maritime Board will be sufficient to stamp out dangerous practices.

In Bangladesh and Pakistan, shipbreaking is still done by hand. And while India has ratified the HKC, it has not yet entered into force, meaning unscrupulous shipowners can recycle their ships cheaply in dangerous yards. All eyes are on Bangladesh, and the opportunity to use the HKC to transform the industry.

Pakistan's dangerous mines

A joint contender for most dangerous job in the world is coal mining in Pakistan, where miners die every week in primitive coal mines. In 2021-2022, more than 300 mining deaths were reported. Unions believe many deaths go unreported.

The deaths present a colossal failure on many levels: by mine owners and operators, by the state, and by a society that has come to accept the death toll as inevitable. Despite well-established mining safety protocols, preventable accidents happen almost every day. Pakistan’s Mines Act is 100 years old – and yet many mines fail to adhere to it. Pakistan lacks the ability and the will to enforce its laws, with inadequate safety and labour inspectorates.

Many mines are operated illegally, in tribal areas outside the effective jurisdiction of the government. Owners are often based offshore, paying local contractors to extract coal for use in the domestic industry. Workers – many of them migrants from Afghanistan – are employed as day labourers, with no rights and no safety equipment. Local militias provide security. When accidents happen, there is seldom an emergency response, and workers have to dig their colleagues out themselves. Unable to change the situation, local unions focus on reporting the growing death toll like a litany of destruction.

To change the situation, the fatalism that paralyses the government and society must be challenged. The government of Pakistan must ratify and implement ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines. The government must develop – with the support of the ILO, IndustriALL, and other willing actors – a safety inspectorate that can tackle the crisis. And the government must assert its authority to close down and seize mines operate illegally or in contravention of safety standards.

Amcor workers unite to demand international dialogue

The union alliance meets regularly, and one key priority of the group is to establish coordinated dialogue with the global management. The group has repeatedly approached management over several years, always being told that global management will not engage.

Now the Alliance showed it will not accept this company refusal. In a powerful showing of global solidarity and unity, 32 union representatives and union delegates at Amcor from 17 countries sent the company the same letter in their respective languages on the same day this month.

The letter reads:

“All trade unions through Amcor’s operations at national level around the world are affiliated with one or both global trade unions UNI and IndustriALL. These global unions have over 100 well-functioning Global Framework Agreements with leading multinational companies. Through these agreements unions and management agree to work together to ensure minimum standards throughout the business, in a spirit of dialogue and consultation.

We seek a similar working relationship with you and your team.”

The Alliance has waited two weeks for a response, and now goes public with its criticism of the company’s refusal to recognize its global industrial relations partner.

President of the Amcor global trade union alliance, Lorraine Cassin says:

“How can this management refuse the opportunity to engage with our Alliance. Several industry leading multinational companies in this industry engage with our global unions in dialogue that benefits workers and the company. Amcor workers everywhere have the right to be respected, recognized, and listened to by management. We will not stop demanding this basic right.”

The Amcor Global Trade Union Alliance brings together Amcor worker representatives from around the company’s operations in all regions. This body works together to strengthen the rights and conditions of all working women and men throughout the company’s operations.

Management’s justification for refusing engagement with the Alliance is to not confuse local level dialogue that occurs throughout the group. The Alliance does not seek to disrupt this local level dialogue and believes international dialogue can successfully engage on key issues such as health and safety, core labour rights, and problem cases that are not solved locally. This is the model that works at other companies in the industry and what is demanded by Amcor workers internationally.

Due diligence legislation must be strong to protect workers – the EU can help make this happen

Accompanied by IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll Europe, Nazma Akter, president of Bangladesh Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, Athit Kong, president of the Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union, Habib Hazami, general secretary of Tunisian Textile, Clothing, Shoes and Leather Federation, and Khaing Zar Aung, president of the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar, attended a meeting hosted by MEPs Heidi Hautala and Agnes Jongerius on 27 April in the European Parliament.

Athit Kong emphasised that the EU has leverage. Workers and their unions in garment producing countries are looking to the EU to pass strong mandatory due diligence legislation with access to effective remedies. Trade relations can be used to improve the situation of workers in production countries.

The union leaders came with three key demands that rely on European action and support

Mandatory due diligence legislation that includes access to legal redress
European companies to offer living wages throughout their global supply chains
More brands to join the International Accord to improve workplace safety for garment workers

Khaing Zar Aung, told MEPs that the EU’s MADE in Myanmar project, while well intentioned to promote decent work, legitimises the military and provides a front for workers’ rights violations and that income from the project helps fund the military. The EU must end it.

The Accord has made a huge difference to garment workers in Bangladesh by improving building and fire safety, but health and safety efforts must now also focus on occupational diseases, Nazma Akter stressed. She reiterated the need for all brands sourcing from Bangladesh to sign the International Accord.

Habib Hazami, IndustriALL Global co-chair of the textile and garment sector, also stressed the importance of the Accord and the need to extend it to the MENA region.

Christina Hajagos-Clausen said:

“Trade union voices from the production countries need to be heard and taken into account when it comes to the debate around the why mandatory due diligence is needed.”

Judith Kirton-Darling, deputy general secretary industriAll Europe, said:

“It is depressing that despite undeniable progress, we still hear harrowing stories of unsafe and precarious working conditions, poverty wages, child labour and forced labour. Europe certainly has a role to play. We need a jigsaw of measures at EU level, including mandatory due diligence and an EU textiles strategy that bans unfair trade practice.”

IndustriAll Europe and IndustriALL Global Union are committed to continuing their joint efforts to hold companies accountable throughout their value chains.

The meeting in Brussels was part of a European advocacy tour calling for mandatory due diligence in the sector and the need for safe factories, which also took the union leaders to the ILO in Geneva, a conference hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in Berlin

Oil and gas workers in Iran on strike

Workers employed by sub-contractors in various projects in refineries and petrochemical complexes in the oil and gas fields of Southern Iran went on strike on 21 April, calling for a 79 per cent wage increase. The striking workers are also demanding better living conditions and an improved shift cycle, where they work 20 days and have ten paid days off. Workers travel far for work and want to have enough time off with their families.

The striking workers represent a variety of trades, like electricians, pipe fitters, scaffolders etc. and most of them are employed on precarious contacts.

The strikes have now spread to more than 80 workplaces and the workers vow to continue until their demands are met.

An offer from the government of 27 per cent was rejected, as prices on goods and services went up by 40 per cent in January alone, according to the Iranian Labor News Agency.

The workers’ demands are formulated by a Coordinating Committee, which IndustriALL affiliate Union of Metalworkers and Mechanics in Iran (UMMI) and other organizations contribute to. UMMI is part of the Coordinating Committee and supports the workers’ demands, but are not organizing the strike.

Says Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary:

“IndustriALL Global Union stands in solidarity with the striking contract workers in Iran and their demands for increased wages as the cost of living is skyrocketing in the country. We commend your courage and determination to improve your working conditions.”

Photo credit: Iranwire

Fighting for decent work in the global minerals industry

The demand for these minerals has created a scramble by governments and multi-national companies to acquire deposits, mine and process them – with Chile, Australia and Democratic Republic of Congo important among the sources.

This scramble for minerals, and the mining involved, poses a wide range of environmental and labour rights issues for supply chains. The race to source these minerals comes with potentially severe environmental impacts, an increase in small-scale artisanal mining and outsourcing by multinationals to local contractors who may not be familiar with the OECD and other international environmental and safety standards, or respect workers’ rights.

Australian mining giant BHP declared 7,700 full time employees and 17,083 subcontractors in its South American operations. A fragmented workforce involving thousands of sub-contractors for mine-related activities like blasting, crushing, and transportation makes it much more difficult for workers to organize unions and collectively bargain for decent pay and safe working conditions.

Even after the collapse of the dam at the Brumadinho mine in Brazil that killed 270 people in 2019, BHP, which has a 50 per cent stake in the mine, ignored the recommendation of the National Contact Point in Brazil to provide evidence of a due diligence agreement with trade unions.

But mining companies cannot ignore trade unions and the growing calls for responsible and sustainable mining forever. More and more countries are adopting due diligence legislation making large companies accountable for employment and environmental standards throughout their supply chain. This impacts not only the companies involved in mining but also the financial firms that invest in them, and the companies that make products using the minerals.

These pressures were reflected in the meeting of OECD governments on responsible business conduct earlier this year which agreed

“the indispensable role of minerals in achieving the transition to a low-carbon economy, and that responsible business conduct will be paramount in enabling a sustainable, diversified, and reliable supply in light of the increasing global demand.’’

Judith Kirton-Darling, Kemal Özkan, Liz Umlas and Blake Harwell.

Against this backdrop, TUAC and IndustriALL Global Union organized a meeting for government officials and business representatives, kicking off the OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains.

“Meaningful dialogue with trade unions is how the OECD defines effective due diligence. Trade unions are here at the OECD to insist mining companies respect the OECD standards and ensure safe and decently paid work for everyone,”

said TUAC’s Blake Harwell.

“While the mineral intensity of the low carbon energy transition heralds another super cycle commodities boom, this is an opportunity to change the race to the bottom narrative that has characterized early boom cycles, to a race to the top narrative for workers and communities. The OECD due diligence standards offer a critical pathway towards the race to the top,”

said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.

Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe deputy general secretary, said:

“IndustriAll Europe has long been calling for an active European industrial policy, of which critical raw materials are central in the green and digital transitions. Social conditionalities and mandatory human rights due diligence are fundamental – ensuring decent work is respected along global value chains! Legislative proposals are now on the table in Europe, but they must be strengthened to ensure responsible mining, processing, and recycling is promoted, as well as research and materials innovation. Workers must be at the heart of the Just Transition and must have a seat at every table. There should be nothing about us, without us.”

KMWU announce national strikes against anti-labour policies

“This is a declaration of war against unions. Government agencies are painting unions as corrupt and violent thugs, trade unionists are red-tagged,"

Said Yoon Jang Hyeok in his address to workers at the mass protest.

KMWU member at 19 April protest in Seoul

Over 10,000 KMWU members met in downtown Seoul where the KMWU president, Yoon Jang Hyeok, urged shopfloor activists to organize a warning strike on 31 May, followed by a national strike in July, in protest to the anti-labour policies passed by the Yoon Suk-Yeol regime.

“The government is pushing a law allowing 69 weekly working hours and derogation of the wage structure, including the minimum wage while giving Chaebols (family-controlled conglomerates) tax cuts and deregulation. The president is blocking the labour law reform needed to protect constitutional trade union rights,”

Jang Hyeok continued.

The KMWU is also calling on the government to reform article 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Adjustment Act (TULRAA), as a necessary step after Korea ratified the ILO Convention 87 and 98 in April 2021.

KMWU insists that the amendment is crucial to expand the definition of a worker and protect subcontracted workers' rights to bargaining with primary employers. Existing provisions providing weak protection for striking workers must also be revised.

Members of parliament have prepared a bill with a watered-down version of the revised articles 2 and 3 of TULRAA. The bill is now passed to a National Assembly committee dominated by the ruling party members. Even if the committee passes the bill, the Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has announced that he will veto the bill if it is enacted.

KMWU says that although the bill expands the definition of employer, it doesn’t address important aspects like the disruption of the right to strike. The union says fundamental workers’ rights are still not fully adressed, but the bill is a step in the right direction, the fight for the revision of TULRAA will continue.

“IndustriALL Global Union stands in solidarity with Korean unions in the fight against the anti-labour policies and fully supports the general strike. We urge the government to honour its international obligations relating to the right to strike and collective bargaining after the ratification of the two ILO conventions.”

Said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.