Mid-Term Policy Conference lays down strategic goals for a just future

"If we want defend human and trade union rights, oppose global capital and want a humane economy with an ecological, social and fair transformation, then we have to expand our trade union power resources – especially through organizing. All topics that we work on, all activities that we carry out must lead to strengthening our organizational power. There's no way around it,"

said IndustriALL president Jörg Hoffman in his opening remarks.

IndustriALL president Jörg Hoffman

Sweden’s former prime minister and former IF Metall president and IndustriALL Exco member, Stefan Löfvén, said in his address:

“There are no empty spaces in democracy. We need Ubuntu, respect, sharing, trust, community. I am because we are. What matters is the change you have made to the lives of others.”

Stefan Löfvén

Breaking into four break-out sessions, participants had the opportunity to hear and strategize on addressing growing inequalities in the world, building union power through organizing, strategize and develop plans towards companies and brands and lastly shaping our future through Just Transition.

Break-out session one centered around addressing the growing inequality in the world.  This session discussed streamlining strategies, mapping multinational corporations and their supply chains, leveraging digital technology, and fighting for a global living wage. Participants agreed that the right to organizing and collective bargaining are essential to address inequality and participants said that the global north should demonstrate global solidarity to ensure the fair distribution of wealth.

 

Building union power through organizing, was the main goal for break-out session two. Subcontracting, precarious work and the ever-expanding supply chain is the common threat to organizing. Organizing young workers and women workers was top of the agenda during this session. Affiliates said that there would be more constructive collaborations between unions, especially support from north to south. Delegates decided that strong legislation, international tools and IndustriALL’s role was a strong foundation for organizing.

 

Holding multinational corporations accountable was the theme of break-out session three. Multinationals often resort to numerous tactics to avoid accountability, they do union busting, renaming the companies, relocation, and tax evasion. They have all these maneuverers which harm workers every day. The group said a clear strategic campaign to defend freedom of association, human rights’ due diligence laws and health and safety accords, for all brands and countries must be developed.

 

Shaping our future through Just Transition sparked inspiring ideas from affiliates in break-out session four. Delegates decided that social dialogue and collective bargaining were central to Just Transition. Affiliates were adamant that unions must lead the Just Transition conversation and pressurize governments for support. The session demanded collaborations between north and south for stronger union networks. Another key outcome from this session was decent work opportunities for all, especially women workers.

 

 
IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie said:

“This Mid-Term Policy Conference gives us a good idea of the status of our affiliates. There have been many thought-provoking discussions, which will take us forward both politically and organizationally. We need to work together to implement our decided plans and better the lives of workers.”

Atle Høie

Going forward a working group will develop a conclusions document, and this will be submitted to the next executive committee meeting, which will be held in November.

Union to fight Anglo American attempts to avoid health and safety laws

In 2022, Anglo American started a migration process in which it sought to exclude some of its operations from falling under the stringent Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA). Water Val Smelter, Anglo Converter Plant, Precious Refinery, Rustenburg Base Metal Refinery and Mortimer Smelter would then be moved from the MHSA to be regulated by the Occupational Health Safety Act (OHSA) which applies to mostly manufacturing industries except mining.

Anglo American justified this decision by stating that it had sold the mining rights but remained with the process operations and surface rights. However, the NUM argues that the selling of mining rights does not remove refineries and smelters from being mining operations as defined in the MHSA.
 
The NUM says that the MHSA is a better law for the mining industry than the OHSA, and by moving workers to fall under the latter they will lose their hard-fought rights.” The union has taken Anglo American to the High Court to interdict the process. The NUM says if the multinational implements its proposal many workers rights will be affected. These include workers’ duties for health and safety, and the right of workers to refuse unsafe work and withdraw from dangerous work. Inspectors’ powers to deal with dangerous conditions and to recommend a fine will also be curtailed.

Other rights that will be affected are on initiating investigations for serious injuries and fatalities, right to participate in inquiries, and the joint conducting of inquiries and inquests in the event of death. These rights are in the MHSA but not in the OHSA. The NUM wants the national parliament to merge the two laws into one. This is supported by federations that are represented in the country’s social dialogue platform, the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC). 
 
NUM deputy general secretary Mpho Phakedi said,

“we have declared a dispute and launched an application in the High Court. We strongly condemn the unlawful migration from MHSA to OHSA. This so-called migration process is a self-created concept which does not exist in law.”

The union is expecting to receive support on its court application from the departments of mineral resources and energy, and employment and labour.
 

“The MHSA became law after consultations with unions and considering the health and safety concerns of the mine workers in South Africa. The law has been effective in reducing accidents in the mines. This means that Anglo American has a responsibility to act in the best interests of the workers by retaining the stricter law that is relevant to the mining industry. The company must protect workers’ interests according to the memorandum it signed with IndustriALL as well as per its own health and safety policies,”

said Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary. 

Shipbreaking industry set for transformation with Hong Kong Convention

IndustriALL and its affiliates have been campaigning for years to clean up shipbreaking which is the world's most dangerous job. A key part of the campaign has been to push for the ratification of the International Maritime Organization’s Hong Kong Convention.

IndustriALL campaign

“Reporting on deaths linked to the shipbreaking industry has become all too common for us. Finally, shipbreaking workers and unions have the international convention in their hands, which sets out minimum standards and a first step towards creating a level playing field for a safe and sustainable future. This is a tangible victory for workers as a result of international solidarity,”

said Kan Matsuzaki, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.

“The continued efforts by IndustriALL through the campaign to clean up shipbreaking in various countries, especially in South Asia has yielded in a great success. Shipbreaking unions are ready to develop social dialogue with the government and employers to implement the convention on the ground,”

said Vidyadhar Rane, general secretary of ASSRGWA who is also a vice chairperson of IndustriALL Shipbuilding-Shipbreaking sector and part of IndustriALL Indian affiliate SMEFI.

Overall, the Hong Kong Convention plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable and responsible ship recycling practices. By addressing occupational health, safety and environmental concerns, it aims to safeguard workers' well-being, protect the marine environment, and establish a global standard for the ship recycling industry.

For the Hong Kong Convention to enter into force, it required ratification by at least 15 States, representing 40 per cent of the world’s merchant shipping by gross tonnage and a combined maximum annual ship recycling volume of no less than 3 per cent of their combined tonnage. One of the largest flag states, Liberia, and one of the largest ship recycling states, Bangladesh, allowed for the goal to be reached.

Now that these conditions are met, the convention will enter into force for the ratifying states within 24 months, and they will be bound by its provisions.

“All maritime states have responsibilities to provide, and workers have a right to expect safe, healthy, clean and sutainable jobs. While this is a huge victory our work is not done yet, we must continue the campaign for more countries to ratify. And trade unions will play a significant role in promoting and enforcing the provisions of the Hong Kong Convention,”

said Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary.

Global youth conference calls for inclusive union structures

Forty young unionists from Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Middle East met in Cape Town on 19 June to emphasize that youth structures are needed at all levels; youth need to be part of decision-making bodies and should be integrated in all IndustriALL committees.

Youth is committed to build stronger unions through organizing, and to include everyone regardless of employment status, sexual orientation or gender identity. No one should be discriminated on the grounds of gender, race and social status.

Young workers must be involved in climate justice actions and advocacy for just transition. Young workers will be severely impacted as their generation will meet more extreme weather such as drought, floods, hurricane that may lead to social conflicts over basic living needs. Young leaders want unions to advocate for sustainable industrial policies and to create quality jobs for youth.

In the light of challenges faced by young workers, delegates adopted recommendations for transforming unions which they conveyed to IndustriALL’s executive committee meeting at the same time in Cape Town.

A draft youth policy to be adopted by IndustriALL was debabted. It contains four priority areas:

The conference set up a working group to develop a proposal for regional and global youth structures and to further work on the draft youth policy. The working group will consist of two youth representatives, one woman and one men, from each region.

“We need to be fully incorporated in IndustriALL’s structures and participate in decision-making processes. An appropriate budget is needed to implement activities in each region and resolve young workers’ issues,”

said Geoffrey Akedi, IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa youth committee chair.

“The structural change will take a long time; now it’s important to seek the support of the regional executive committees who should be given a mandate to bring up the matter in the global executive committee,"

said Christine Olivier, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.
 

Unionist nine-month jail ordeal expose workers’ rights violations in Madagascar

The rights are protected by Convention 87 on freedom of association and protection of the right to organize, and the national labour code. Madagascar’s violations of Convention 87 will be discussed at the ILC on 9 June.

The unions are bringing to the ILC the case of the unjust imprisonment of Sento, a trade union representative at the Alsico subsidiary, E-Toile SA in Antananarivo. Sento served the sentence from 29 August 2022 and was released on 30 May 2023 after a presidential pardon.

Sento was arrested and imprisoned for posting on social media the outcome of discussions with E-Toile management to improve working conditions at the garment factory where he worked as a machinist. Unions say the charges against Sento were trumped up: ranging from breaches of confidentiality, data protection, and violation of state property. The trial was unfair and concluded in a record 48-hours under a hostile judge who colluded with the E-Toile lawyer.

An appeal against the judgment was never heard and the judge ignored the fact that that the duties of the trade union representative were protected in the Madagascar labour code. For justice to prevail, the unions say they want a judicial review of the sentence and are arguing that the trial and sentencing offended sections of the law. They also want Sento to be reinstated at E-Toile SA.

During the period of the imprisonment, the unions took to the streets to protest the injustice and were supported by IndustriALL and ITUC Africa which wrote protest letters to E-Toile SA and Alsico management.

Rafenoarimanana Leontine Mbolanomena, the general secretary of USAM, which is in alliance with SVS as Randrana Sendikally said:

“On behalf of the alliance, Sento Chang and his family, we are deeply grateful to IndustriALL, ITUC Africa and other stakeholders, for the unfailing support they gave during the period of his imprisonment. However, despite his release from prison, our fight will continue until the Malagasy state acknowledges the violations it has committed and remedies them by making Sento's criminal record clean, and by taking steps to ensure that he gets his job back. So, during the ILC, particularly when the case of Madagascar's violation of Conventions 87 and 98 is raised, we ask for your continued support.”

Says Kemal Özkan , IndustriALL assistant general secretary:

“We support SVS on its unwavering commitment to workers and trade union rights in Madagascar as seen in this campaign for the release of Sento Chang and for the justice system to protect rather than be used to bash trade unions. Being a trade union representative is not a crime, and we strongly support calls for the expunging of the conviction and sentence.”

Unions demand sincere dialogue with Glencore ahead of AGM

Over the last ten years, Glencore has collected a long list of atrocities, including corruption, workers’ rights violations, harm to indigenous communities, undermining just transition and silencing critics.  

Today’s pre-AGM, aimed at the investor community, heard accounts of how Glencore operates on the ground. 

IndustriALL mining director Glen Mpufane, said:

“Glencore paints a beautiful self-portrait, speaking of how they source responsibly, operates ethically and contributes to local development, of how they support global decarbonization engaging their stakeholders and creating value for their investors. This is pure spin and greenwashing, because today you will experience something completely different. What Glencore says and does is real fact versus fiction.”

Juan Carlos Solano from IndustriALL Colombian affiliate SINTRACARBON described poor working conditions at Cerrejon mine.

“Workers suffer harassment and are becoming ill. There are salary inequalities, and it is disgusting how they manage interns. We ask Glencore to respect us and engage with us but they only care about profits.”

Hilda Arrieta representing the Women’s Network of El Paso, in Colombia, expressed how Glencore has turned her community into a ghost town. 

“They closed the Prodeco coal mine in 2021 without a proper social plan in place. We are the mothers of children who have turned to drugs and prostitution because there are no opportunities for them. We cannot just sit back and watch this happening to our children and our community.”

The meeting heard how Glencore denies contract workers the freedom to join unions, collective bargaining and health and safety rights.

Itumeleng Motsusi from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), an IndustriALL affiliate, in South Africa, said

“Glencore arbitrarily imposes shift roster changes and threatens retrenchments when the union questions them about it.”

Stakeholders at today’s meeting asked for a sincere dialogue with the company. 

“We need a frequent dialogue with the highest level of management at Glencore. Glencore needs to respect all stakeholders and not just the shareholders. Their damaging ways of operating affect our workers, our environment, and our communities,” 

said Dominic Lemieux, co-chair of the mining and DGOJP sector.

“Glencore’s investors are increasingly listening to voices other than that of the company, and they’re becoming aware that there’s a big gap between corporate rhetoric and the reality on the ground. In the pre-AGM today, shareholders had an important opportunity to hear about how Glencore’s operations have caused lasting harm to the lives of people in multiple countries. Hearing such direct testimony will help investors in their crucial work of holding Glencore accountable for its impacts,”

said Liz Umlas, senior adviser on capital strategies, IndustriALL.

Union and community representatives will attend tomorrow’s AGM and voice their issues and fight for a seat at the table.

Glencore short-changing mine workers in the DRC

The pay gaps were exposed when Mutanda Mining was mothballed in November 2019 when Glencore cited low cobalt prices and increased cost of production.

More than 500 workers were transferred to KCC and signed new contracts which moved them up to higher job categories in which they received higher wages, US$50 for child school fees per month, payment of holiday allowances and other benefits.

However, when Mumi was reopened in 2022, most of the workers transferred back to the mine lost the benefits they enjoyed at KCC.

The workers who remained at Mumi during the closure mainly from the cobalt section, maintenance department, and security section, did not get any bonuses as per the labour laws. TUMEC wants workers who remained at work during the limited operations that took place at Mumi that involve recirculation to decrease uranium radiation must be paid bonuses and refuses to pay risk insurance for workers in the radiation sections.

The union says MUMI continues to ignore the collective bargaining agreement, and is non-compliant with labour laws on overtime, holiday pay, and wage calculations.

An in-depth 2021 report by RAID and CAJJ found that Glencore and other multinational mining companies operating in the DRC often use subcontractors to reduce labour costs, to limit their legal liabilities and to prevent workers from joining unions. Further, management intimidates outspoken workers.

There are concerns over inadequate personal protective equipment, and health and safety standards that are continuously ignored by Glencore. The workers say the maize flour that they are given by the mine as per long standing agreement with management is of poor quality.

“Since a new manager came, the maize flour that we are now getting from the mine is junk when compared to what we are accustomed to,” said some of the workers.

“The hands-off management style, with local managers encouraged to make operational decisions without reference to a global standard, is an attempt by Glencore to shield itself from criticism. But this means the company has no control over negative externalities. Rather than addressing these issues, Glencore hides behind the obscurity of long and complex supply chains and attempts to change the narrative by doing damage control after violations are exposed. And it is the people in and around the company’s operations that pay the price,”

says Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL mining director.
 
 

Workers strike for better wages at ArcelorMittal Liberia

After the deadlock, the union went to the National Labour Court where it was awarded a five per cent wage increase. Management refused to comply with the court ruling and the workers went on strike to push for their demands. The court has urged both parties to negotiate the collective bargaining agreement.

UWUL said it was shocked to find out that two workers employed on the same day and with the same experience and skills were paid different wages. The union says this is against the principle of equal-pay-for-work-of-equal value that it wants the company to implement. UWUL says the management is practising nepotism through the employment of friends and relatives in violation of the collective bargaining agreement.

“We approached the Ministry of Labour for mediation on the stalemate before approaching the courts. Although the Labour Court ruled in our favour, the management is not budging. This is why we are still on strike and will continue the collective job action until the management comes to the negotiating table,”

says Dave Seneh, UWUL general secretary who is coordinating the strike.

“We call on ArcelorMittal to intervene and call upon its management at ArcelorMittal Liberia to resume contact with UWUL which has not been the case in the last week and re-establish a dialogue with the union in good faith, receptive to the fair demands of workers, and willing to implement in full the collective bargaining agreement,”

says Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary.
 
UWUL hopes the strike will be settled by an offer which is acceptable to workers, as what happened when ArcelorMittal South Africa signed a three-year collective agreement with the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA). In the deal the workers got a 6.5 per cent annual wage increase for three years, increases in allowances, and other benefits. But the South African wage deal, signed on 8 May, came after talks were deadlocked and NUMSA had announced preparations for the “mother of all strikes” at ArcelorMittal.
 
AML employs 3,000 workers at its iron ore mines at Yekepa and Bong mines and is expanding its mining operations through building processing plants. It also runs a railway, operates a port terminal, and is the largest foreign investor in Liberia with over US$1.7 billion invested in its businesses in the last 15 years.

Photo: Workers parked the trucks as part of the protest

Zimbabwean unions demand pro-worker trade policies

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

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

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

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

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

said Mark Beacon, UNISON, international officer.

Florence Taruvinga, ZCTU president says,

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

Kemal Ozkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary said: 

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

Union win stops unfair retrenchments at Botswana diamond mine

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

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

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

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

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

Joseph Tsimako, BMWU president says: 

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

Maenge Maenge, BMWU general secretary, adds: 

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

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

says Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL mining director.