Lesotho union takes Adient Automotive to labour tribunal for union busting

Adient Automotive supplies car seats to BMW, Ford, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, and Volkswagen factories in South Africa. Of the 1,000 workers employed at Adient Automotive in Maseru, 800 are members of IndustriALL affiliate IDUL.

According to IDUL, the dispute began when Adient Automotive started ignoring the recognition agreement that it signed with the union in 2015. According to the law, a union must organize more than 50 per cent of the workers at a factory for it to sign a recognition agreement with the employer. The agreement gives the union the right to negotiate terms and conditions of employment on behalf of its members and to engage in collective bargaining with the employer.

However, the union says Adient Automotive flouted labour laws and breached the contract when it stopped deducting the union dues and remitting them to the union as per labour laws. Further, the union argues that the company’s actions are meant to frustrate workers. To stop the unfair labour practices from continuing, IDUL has raised objections and taken Adient Automotive to the DDRP.

May Rathakane, IDUL general secretary, says:

“We raised our concerns in meetings with the local management who told us that the decision to ignore the agreement was made in the US where the senior management is based. We are challenging the decision because it does not comply with Lesotho’s labour laws.”

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

“Multinational companies must respect national labour laws and international labour standards, especially on freedom of association. Trade union rights to organize and collective bargaining must be upheld, and we expect Adient Automotive to respect the rights of the workers of Lesotho and to stop the union bashing and other anti-union activities.”

Adient Automotive, is a subsidiary of Adient Engineering, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company employs over 70,000 workers at manufacturing plants in 30 countries. Adient Engineering is a spin-off from its parent company, Johnson Controls, which issued shares to create the new company in 2016 and manufactures frames, seat mechanisms, foam, head restraints, arm rests, trim covers, and other vehicle seat accessories.

South African unions sign five-year collective agreement with Harmony Gold

The agreement gives workers’ wage increases that are above the rate of inflation. The cushion for workers’ wages is that for the next five years the inflation agreement is above the South African Reserve Bank inflation target zone of six per cent or less. Further, they have secured increases in housing allowances, employee share option scheme, and other benefits.

Harmony Gold, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, is the country’s largest gold producer with underground, open pit, and surface mining operations, and employs about 36 000 workers.

The agreement signed by IndustriALL affiliates namely the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), and UASA together with two other unions, AMCU, and Solidarity, is effective from 1 July.

The agreement which covers the gold sector was reached three months before the expiry of the current collective agreement. Unions said the signing of the agreement before a deadlock or dispute being declared is unprecedented and a positive step towards industrial peace.

Mpho Phakedi, NUM acting general secretary, said:

“This agreement is a milestone in that it protects mineworkers’ wages from high inflation and the increasing cost of living. Further, workers got increases in the living out allowances that they use to pay rentals for accommodation, and in housing allowances, which are for buying homes. However, we will continue to monitor the agreement to ensure that workers benefits are not compromised or eroded over time.”

Irvin Jim, NUMSA general secretary said:

“NUMSA wishes to thank its union officials and the regional leadership for their hard work in securing this deal. We continue to lead the way as a union which is fighting for improved conditions and benefits for workers and their families.”

Jacques Hugo, UASA chief executive officer added:

"Fair and reasonable adjustments are essential to collective bargaining. Five unions collaborated and negotiated on a united front for the first time,”

Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining said:

“We welcome the good faith that is evident in these negotiations. This collective agreement is a win for workers and for trade union unity. It is important to stress that negotiations shouldn’t always be about long-drawn-out disputes as seen in the past; they can also be done amicably.”

Nigerian textile union conference focuses on industry revival

Over 200 delegates from the private sector unions forum, the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Nigerian Textile Garment and Tailoring Employers Association, and IndustriALL affiliates from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe participated at the conference.

The conference took place on the backdrop of a declining textile and garment sector. According to the NUTGTWN, which has over 18 000 members including self-employed tailors, this decline has been worsened by the counterfeiting of local Nigerian products, smuggling, and cheap imports textile imports.

These cheap goods flooded the market and made locally manufactured goods more expensive. The union said that the decline has also contributed to increasing inequality, poverty, and crime. However, the union identified industrialization and the transformation of the textile and garment industry in Nigeria as some of the solutions.

The conference also reflected on reviving a labour-intensive cotton, textile, and garment industry, and protecting current jobs. There were also discussions on what the union expected from the future of work in this sector.

The NUTGTWN said the effective implementation of national policies that included the Cotton, Textile, and Garment policy and the Executive Order 003, which supported local procurement by the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the Made-in-Nigeria initiative, were important in stimulating domestic industries, creating jobs, and reducing reliance on imports.

“The key to real transformation and economic recovery lies in manufacturing. The textile industry has potential to create over two million jobs and bridge the huge unemployment gap in the country,”

said John Adaji, NUTGTWN former president and co-chair for IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa region.

The participants argued that the enforcement of policies would also save the economy resources by reducing the import bill on textiles and garments. Discussions pointed out that intra-African trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area was key and trade agreements that included the US African Growth and Opportunity Act were pivotal to the revival of the textile and garment industry in Nigeria.

The union identified the following as key factors that will shape the future of work in the textile and garment industry: globalization, digitalization, information and communication technologies, demographic shifts, especially the youthful population, and climate change.

IndustriALL’s Sub-Saharan Africa regional secretary, Paule France Ndessomin, said:

“We applaud the strategies by NUTGTWN to organize self-employed tailors in the informal sector. Confronted with a huge informal economy, unions should explore ways to organize these workers as per International Labour Organization Recommendation 204 (Transition from the informal to the formal economy). The union must also organize workers in non-standard forms of employment to build union power and to also protect their rights at work.”

Trade unions march for debt cancellation in Africa

The march was part of the activities of the ITUC Africa’s 14th New Year School, which had over 200 participants from 31 countries. The demands in the petition, received by Brenda Tambatamba-Zambia’s minister of labour and social security, included calls upon African governments to implement debt management policies that are pro-worker, promote gender equality and are sustainable. The policies should also promote progressive domestic resource mobilization and gender responsive tax policies.

The participants included IndustriALL affiliates from several African countries and the IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa regional office and took place 19-22 March under the theme: advancing Africa’s transformation agenda – mobilizing for tangible trade union collective action.

The school composed of panels, plenary sessions, and commissions. Speakers were from the International Labour Organization’s Bureau for Workers Activities, academics, civil society organizations and trade union organizations.

The New Year School’s dialogue included strengthening inter-union cooperation and organizing, developing strategies against illicit financial flows, promoting social protection, optimizing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for African industrialization, local manufacturing, decent job creation, and skills development, campaigning for a Just Transition to renewable energy and green jobs, gender mainstreaming, and union leadership training on sovereign debts and debt cancellation.

Other discussions were on Africa’s labour market landscape, organizing innovation and collaboration, and insecurity and coup d’etats in Africa as threats to human and workers’ rights and democratic governance.

At US$1.8 trillion, the sovereign debt constitutes close to 23 per cent of the continent’s combined Gross Domestic Product(GDP) and is unsustainable and disconnected from the African development priorities, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

ITUC Africa is part of the stop bleeding campaign to stop illicit financial flows – illicit capital flight, tax avoidance and evasion, trade misinvoicing, corruption, money laundering and other criminal activities. The campaign is being conducted in cooperation with civil society organizations.

According to UNCTAD, illicit financial flows are estimated to be over US$88 billion per annum and deprive African countries of much needed resources to end poverty and promote industrialization.

ITUC Africa and IndustriALL are in cooperation on the African Industrialization campaign and on union engagement with the AfCFTA.

Martha Molema, ITUC Africa president said:

“The burdensome weight of national debt, the deficiencies within the global financial architecture and the looming climate crisis are reasons why debt should be cancelled.”

Rose Omamo, ITUC Africa deputy president and IndustriALL vice president said:

“It is necessary for Africa’s debt to be cancelled to stop the bleeding of African economies. With its mineral resources, Africa should be the richest continent. However, with illicit financial flows, Africa is unable to use its mineral resources for development. This explains why trade unions are campaigning for debt cancellation and an end to illicit financial flows.”

Namibian unions fight for gender equality

The speeches by Namibian Vice President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, at International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations, in which IndustriALL affiliates, Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (MANWU), and the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) participated, confirms that she is fighting on workers’ side on gender equality.

Unions say her involvement is one of the reasons Namibia was the first African country to ratify International Labour Organization Convention 190 to eliminate violence and harassment in the world of work. As minister of women’s affairs, she carried out a national campaign on breaking down barriers that were rooted in cultural norms. She said harmful cultural norms were responsible for gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) at the workplace and eradicating them has a direct impact on ending GBVH. She is also advocating for gender inclusivity at the workplace and has accepted invitations to union events.

There is also evidence of her experience in government that goes way back to the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action in Namibia and on the continent.

On 8 March at IWD commemorations, organized by the National Union of Namibian Workers, one of three national trade union centres in the country, under the theme: Inspiring women in leadership for inclusion, Nandi-Ndaitwah said:

“This year the UN has themed IWD as: Invest in women, accelerate progress, which highlights the importance of gender equality. Allow me to reaffirm the Namibian government’s commitment to upliftment and empowerment of women in society towards the eradication of historical and cultural injustices perpetrated against women which undermine their ability to realize their full economic potential.”

To address the gender pay gap, she said there must be equal pay for work of equal value irrespective of a worker’s gender.

At the MUN conference earlier, whose theme was empowering and gearing women up for future leadership roles, she said:

“As government we have paved the road for women’s struggles with our experiences, and have made steady progress through national constitutions, laws, and policies. We are fighting against gender inequality because it denies women opportunities.”

However, for women empowerment to be realised, she said there should be inclusive representation and decision making at workplaces, and gender sensitization policies should be promoted. She added that skills training should include collective bargaining. She emphasized the need for action against GBVH which she said is a hindrance to women empowerment and that harmful cultural norms that perpetuated it should be dismantled.

IndustriALL' s Sub-Saharan Africa regional secretary Paule France Ndessomin said:

“It is reassuring that we have gender equality champions in the Namibian government like Vice President, Nandi-Ndaitwah. This is important in the unions quest for meaningful engagement in social dialogue without the anti-union hostility that we have witnessed in some countries, and that women issues in Namibia will be at the top of her agenda.”

DRC: Organizing critical transition minerals value chain

Critical minerals are in demand for transition to renewable energy and are used in the manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles, vehicle parts, and smartphones.

The DRC has major deposits of copper, cobalt, tin, tantalum, and lithium among other minerals.

According to the Congolese ministry of mines, the country has 61 active cobalt mining sites, of which 76 per cent are mined by Chinese companies and 10 per cent by the Swiss commodity trader Glencore. Other mining companies in the country are from Australia, Kazakhstan, and India. The stated-owned company, GECAMINES, also mines cobalt.

A 2023 study by RAID, a UK based non-governmental organization exposing corporate human and workers’ rights abuses, and Kolwezi-based legal aid provider, Centre d’Aide Juridico-Judiciare (CAJJ), calculated living wages at $480 – an amount that most of the mining companies were failing to pay despite declaring huge profits to their shareholders.

Most of the poorly paid workers were employed by sub-contractors under precarious working conditions of low pay, no job security because of short term contracts, and were also denied benefits. The mining companies also violated workers’ rights to health and safety.

To improve the working conditions, IndustriALL affiliates in the DRC: Organisation des Travailleurs Unis du Congo (OTUC), Secretariat des Syndicats IndustriALL de la CDT (CDT), Travailleurs Unis des Mines, Metallurgies, Energie, Chimie et Industries Connexes (TUMEC), Confederation des Syndicats du Congo (CSC), and Union Nationale des Travailleurs du Congo (UNTC), with members in the mining and energy sectors, met in Kinshasa in mid-February to strategize on organizing along the critical transition minerals value chain.

The meeting, organized with support from FES DRC and FES Trade Union Competence Centre for Sub Saharan Africa, discussed how unions can better organize the value chain and not lose the organizing opportunities. Importantly, the unity of the unions remained one of the key issues in organizing.

The meeting produced a plan that included organizing meetings to deal with multinational corporations where working conditions were poor. One such corporation is Glencore.

Previous investigations by IndustriALL at Glencore mines revealed non-compliance with health and safety regulations and the difficulties faced by unions on collective bargaining and organizing because of management’s union busting.

Unions said they wanted to promote formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining to enable unionization. Reports say that there are over 200 000 artisanal miners in the DRC who are mining cobalt and if they are unionized, this will boost union membership.

The unions outlined the challenges they were facing, like some labour inspectors blocking union activities, government’s failure to engage unions on critical minerals, and difficulties in accessing some remote mines. It was also difficult for unions to engage artisanal miners on health and safety issues because some of them were not formalised. The unions expressed concern over gender-based violence and harassment which was rampant in the mines.

Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining said:

“The DRC is a critical minerals producing country and multinational companies are the campaign focus of IndustriALL to improve working conditions in the mines. The unions should engage on human rights due diligence, climate change, and the Just Transition discussions as these were important matters to learn and beneficial to the mineworkers in the DRC.”

Photo: Shutterstock

Legal enforceability necessary for sound industrial relations

IndustriALL and many of its TGSL affiliates were in attendance and brought a strong voice to the importance of binding agreements as a tool to move beyond company self-regulation of global supply chains. Voluntary social auditing has shown to be a failure, in terms of both protecting workers’ rights and reducing risk to multinational buyer brands and their investors.

In the opening session of the forum, entitled binding company-union agreements and its role in due diligence, IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie stressed that binding agreements play an essential role in industrial relations:

“If we don’t have legal enforceability, there are no industrial relations. Without these agreements workers and employers will be on different planets. Employers hold all the economic powers, and they will use it if they are not held to checks. Without legal regulation and binding agreements, workers would still be slaves.”

The panel addressed how binding agreements can be important tools for due diligence and how it promotes pro-worker codes and freedom of association and that it is essential to have supportive governments and responsible brands.

“IndustriALL has been able to bring brands to the table and sign agreements, some of which are legally binding. The Bangladesh Accord, now called the International Accord for health and safety in the textile and garment sector, has changed the fate of workers. The agreement has allowed for clean up in the clothing and textile industry in Bangladesh compared to what it was before the collapse of Rana Plaza,”

said Atle Høie.

It is essential that more brands sign these agreements, the more brands are on board the more enforceable they are. The more countries are part of the Accord, the more countries unions can clean up. These agreements will always be necessary to ensure workers receive the best.

Global framework agreements were highlighted as a tool to better conditions for workers along the supply chains. To date, IndustriALL has signed six binding agreements with global brands and retailers and in the upcoming of renegotiation of these agreements, pressure will be put on multinationals to include a dispute resolution mechanism that includes binding arbitration.

An OECD industrial relations roundtable brought together enterprises (brands, manufacturers) and trade unions representing workers across garment and footwear supply chains to explore the importance of active engagement with trade unions. Setting up a structure between, trade unions, brands, and manufacturers, having regular meetings, possibly in production countries, and the publication of the guidance document in multiple languages were some of the main topics discussed at the roundtable. Moving forward the OCED will investigate these items and revert to participants.

A side session on responsible supply chains in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Turkey focused on the launch of the OECD’s garment and footwear sector capacity building. This three-year programme was launched in Decemeber 2023, focusing on how governments can build an enabling policy environment for responsible business conduct (RBC), strengthen national contact points (NCP) for RBC and increase business understanding and capacity to implement due diligence.

IndustriALL’s MENA regional secretary, Ahmed Kamel, participated in this panel:

“Together with our MENA affiliates we started with the NCP, with brands and suppliers to use the international tools to enforce social dialogue, at a company level, supply chain level and the industry level. We are trying to put new tools in the regions, like GFA’s, the Accord and ACT agreements so that the region can use these and implement. Stakeholders’ commitment is key to move forward.”

Major take aways from the forum include having a more comprehensive approach to due diligence that will have legal and non-legal aspects, more direct support for vulnerable groups which include groups affected by climate change and low socio-economic workers and addressing industry imbalances by acknowledging the existing disparities within the fashion industry, participants emphasized the need to level the playing field to ensure fairness and equity across the board.

Nigerian unions protest increasing cost of living

The demands include unions’ call to reverse the current anti-people and neo-liberal economic policies. Workers demand urgent measures to address food insecurity, to stop the free fall of the local currency, the naira, reconsideration of the removal of the petrol subsidy and implementation of the wage award of 35000 naira (US$22) which has depreciated in value by more than 50 per cent since the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the government in October last year. Unions are also demanding the payment of arrears, living wages, social protection for all working people, job security, and an end to insecurity in the country.

The protests were called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and supported by IndustriALL Nigerian affiliates who joined the industrial action.

Joe Ajaero, president of the NLC and general secretary of IndustriALL affiliate, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), said:

“We are saying let there be food available to the people, let the people live in safety, let the people live a life of dignity devoid of suffocating International Monetary Fund/World Bank policies.”

In Kaduna State, North West Nigeria, John Adaji, the co-chair of IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa region and president of IndustriALL affiliate, National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers, led the protests with the state NLC chairperson, Ayuba Suleiman.

John Adaji, said:

“We want a conscious effort by the Federal Government of Nigeria to revive the labour-intensive textile industry and enforce the government’s Executive Order 003 on patronage of locally produced goods and services. This is one of the sure ways to save the naira and protect existing jobs in the textile and garment sector.”

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

“We will continue to reiterate and support Nigerian workers’ demands because they must be paid living wages to enable them to support their families. Social protection is also important to cushion workers against poverty wages especially precarious and informal workers who are the most vulnerable,”

IndustriALL affiliates in Nigeria organize workers in the automotive, energy, chemical, oil and gas, textile and garment, and other sectors. The affiliates are Automobile, Boatyards, Transport, Equipment and Allied Senior Staff Association, Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Senior Staff Association, National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather, and Non Metallic Products Employees, National Union of Electricity Employees, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, National Union of Textile, Garment, and Tailoring Workers, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association, and the Steel and Engineering Workers of Nigeria.

Beyond the sparkle: advancing workers' rights in the diamond sector

The diamond industry value chain includes mining, rough trading, cutting, polishing, manufacturing, jewelry setting and retailing.

The 20 participants, from the Global Diamond Network came from diamond mining countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The other participants came from Belgium, home to Antwerp, a historic hub for diamond traders, cutters, and polishers.

Reports from the mining countries on violations of workers’ rights and decent work deficits which included precarious working conditions of low wages, absence of job security, long working hours, gender discrimination, violations of maternity protection, and union busting and bashing. The meeting heard that diamond mining companies also failed to provide adequate personal protective equipment and did not comply with health and safety standards.

Participants committed build union capacity in collective bargaining through focused training and learning initiatives aimed at improving negotiation skills in mining, polishing, and cutting. They argued that this will strengthen and promote knowledge transfer through exchanges and solidarity activities among the unions. Furthermore, the meeting underscored the importance of gender equity in the diamond industry, advocating for better representation of women.

The network encouraged unions to join the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) and to use the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining as it is comprehensive and makes mining companies accountable through audits and assessments. Additionally, the meeting discussed cooperation with non-governmental organizations on human rights due diligence. However, the network urged unions to remain focused on making the diamond industry comply with national and international labour standards.

Emphasizing the developmental potential of diamond mining in the Global South, the network highlighted the need for mining companies to engage in responsible mining practices and ethical sourcing to contribute to job creation, economic growth, and sustainable development.

Through the network, Belgian union ACV-CSC Transcom and IndustriALL supported the building of the Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho’s office at Kao Village to facilitate better access to recruit and organize mineworkers.

Yves Toutenel, general secretary responsible ACV-Transcom Diamant and IndustriALL diamond network Co-chair, said:

“As we convene this network meeting, nestled in the heart of Southern Africa, we are not only surrounded by the breathtaking landscapes of this nation but also by the rich heritage and potential of the diamond trade that pulses through its veins.”

“Lesotho holds a special place in the world of diamonds. Its mines have yielded some of the most remarkable gems, captivating hearts and minds across the globe. Yet, beyond the glimmer of these precious stones lies a deeper narrative – one of resilience, community, and shared prosperity.”

Commending the network, Annelies Deman, Federal Secretary of Algemene Centrale ABVV – Centrale Generale FGTB said:

“I met and engaged with comrades who are doing a great job in the diamond industry, shared our challenges, learned from each other, and set up priority action points for the future of the network.”

May Rathakane, IDUL, general secretary said:

“We are grateful for the support and solidarity that we received for our organizing drive to unionize Lesotho’s diamond workers.”

“As trade unions we must not tolerate unfair labour practices in the diamond industry and must use collective bargaining, global framework agreements, and ILO standards as tools to attain decent working conditions,” said Mpho Phakedi, the National Union of Mineworkers, acting general secretary.

Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining, diamonds, gems, ornaments, and precious stones emphasized:

“It is important for the network to develop strategies that enhance collective bargaining which remains one of the trade union’s most effective tools.”

Cost-of-living crisis hurdle for organizing in Ethiopia

The crisis is a result of many factors which include the impact of the civil war in Tigray which displaced millions and killed thousands. Some factories were destroyed whilst others were closed, and thousands of workers were retrenched when economic activities came to a standstill. The US government then suspended the African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits for Ethiopia citing human rights violations during the war and this led to more factory closures with several investors leaving the country.

The unions said basic average minimum wages are as low as 900 Ethiopian Birr (US$16) across sectors while inflation is increasing sharply. Inflation is currently at 28.7 per cent according to the country's central bank, the National Bank of Ethiopia. In the absence of national minimum wages, the country’s low wage economy is making it difficult for workers to afford food and other basics.

The unions stressed that renewed efforts in support of the introduction of national minimum wages could be part of the solutions to address the crisis. For example, the ILO Country Office for Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan organized a study tour to learn more about productivity and minimum wages in Vietnam. The study tour in November 2023 was undertaken by an Ethiopian tripartite plus delegation which learnt more about the national minimum wage setting mechanisms in Vietnam and how similar processes can be implemented in Ethiopia.

The unions expressed concern over the late payment of wages, with some workers not being paid for over six months. The crisis also led to workers not paying union dues thus depriving unions of income.

As part of a fact-finding mission to understand the realities on the ground, the unions are planning to visit the Tigray and Amhara regions to meet their members, and to assess how organizing can be revived.

Despite the cost-of-living-crisis, the unions continued their recruitment and organizing drives with support from government agencies and stakeholders that included the ILO. There are also plans to strengthen collective bargaining strategies with employers, improve industrial relations, campaign for gender equality, as well as engage in social dialogue.

The unions are also optimistic.

“We hope that the social and economic situation will improve in the future; and that unions will be able to organize without fears of conflict and insecurity,”

said Alemayehu Debele, president of the Federation of Commerce, Technique and Printing Industry Trade Unions.

“Capacity development for shop stewards remains our main focus,”

added Mengesha Dessie, president of the National Industrial Federation of Energy, Chemical, Petroleum and Mine Trade Union.

Angesom Gebre Yohannes, president of the Industrial Federation of Textile, Leather and Garment Workers Trade Unions said:

“We are engaging employers on saving jobs that still exist in the industrial parks to curb further job losses.”

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

“We will continue to provide support to Ethiopian unions in their organizing and living wage campaigns even in these distressful times.”