Unions fear job losses if AGOA eligibility is withdrawn from Ethiopia

AGOA, which gives special access to US markets for 6,500 products from Sub-Saharan African countries is set to expire in 2025. These products include textiles and garments, motor vehicles and parts, leather products, chemicals, machinery and equipment, agricultural products, and other goods.

Under AGOA, Ethiopian exports to the US increased from US$29 million in 2000 to US$525 million in 2020. However, the balance of trade still favours the US whose exports to Ethiopia increased from US$165 million to US$868 million in the same period.

Garment manufacturing is the largest beneficiary under AGOA and over 80 per cent of workers in the sector are young women.

In an online meeting with Ethiopia’s trade negotiator, Mamo Mihretu, the United States trade representative ambassador Katherine Tai, “raised the ongoing violations of internationally recognised human rights amid the ongoing conflict in Northern Ethiopia, which could affect Ethiopia’s future AGOA eligibility if unaddressed”.
 
Angesom Gebre Yohannes, president of IndustriALL affilaite, the Industrial Federation of Textile Leather and Garment Workers Trade Union (IFTLGWTU) says:

“If AGOA benefits stop, workers will be badly affected. Factories, which includes the PVH factory in Hawassa Industrial Park that exports primarily to the US, will be forced to close and workers will lose their jobs. This is not in the interests of the union. Workers at PVH are anxious about their future and expressed worry when they got the news on AGOA.”

The PVH factory is the largest in the industrial park and recently the IFTLGWTU has been on a recruitment and organizing drive after a breakthrough following years in which unions were not allowed to recruit in the park. Other factory owners are from Europe and Asia and brands that include Children’s Place and Levi Strauss & Co. source from the park.
 
In a letter to the ambassador, Kassahun Follo, president of the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) to which IFTLGWTU is also affiliated, wrote:

“As a progressive trade union organization committed to human rights, peaceful resolution of differences and respect for universal democratic values, our confederation condemns in no uncertain terms human rights violations all over Ethiopia, and the perpetrators of the violations. We also recognize the importance of AGOA eligibility requirements on the protection of internationally recognised workers’ rights. Our confederation, however, firmly believes that removing Ethiopia from the AGOA eligibility list at this time will make things worse for Ethiopian workers and their families.”

Follo states in the letter that the textile, garment, shoe, and leather sector, has created over 200,000 direct jobs and over a million indirect jobs which are now at risk. Ethiopia’s industrial policies have prioritised export-based manufacturing which is seen as having potential to create jobs for hundreds of thousands of young workers.

Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary says:

“Trade union rights violations have to end. Withdrawing AGOA now will put in jeopardy the work we have done with our Ethiopian affiliates over the last years, but the threat is also a very clear warning to Ethiopian authorities that they have little time to secure fundamental trade union rights.”

Unions campaign for recognition at Chinese-owned textile and garment factories in Uganda

The factory owners refuse to sign recognition agreements for purposes of collective bargaining as required by the law when a union organizes more than 50 per cent of workers in a factory. According to the IndustriALL Global Union National Coordinating Council of Uganda (INCCU), made up of IndustriALL affiliates in the country, the factories, which include Bode, Euro Vision, Fine Spinners, Jinguo, Sunbelt Textile Company, Tonyong, Unistar, and Wilima are ignoring letters from the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development instructing them to recognize UTGLAWU.

To push for recognition, the unions are conducting joint campaigns under the East Africa Union Building Project which is supported by the Danish Trade Union Development Agency (DTDA) and the Norwegian Society of Graduate Technical and Scientific Professionals (TEKNA). The unions met with the labour ministry on 30 September to demand that the government enforces the labour regulations and for the Industrial Court to speed up the cases. Further, they are planning to meet with the Minister of State for Labour, Charles Okello Engola.

“We appreciate government efforts in coming out boldly to order the employers to recognize the union. Despite the challenges of Covid-19, the number of employers retrenching workers without informing the Ministry of Labour is increasing, yet they are getting stimulus packages from the government. Other employers are frustrating union efforts to collect dues from its members.

“However, we are calling upon the government to organize a meeting with non-complying Chinese employers – some of whom claim not to understand English – to give them a chance to respond to our demands before we take court action. The employers must respect the union, and the fundamental and constitutional rights of the workers,” wrote the unions in a statement.

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

“Textile and garment factory owners in Uganda must recognize national and international labour standards by recognizing the union, and we support the campaign by Ugandan unions for the respect of trade union and workers’ rights.”

Unions that are participating in the campaign in support of UTGLAWU are the Uganda Printers, Paper, Polyfibre, and Allied Workers Union (UPPAWU), Uganda Chemical, Petroleum, and Allied Workers Union (UCPAWU), National Union of Clerical Commercial Professional and Technical Employees (NUCCPTE), and Uganda Hotel, Tourism, Supermarket and Allied Workers Union (HTS-U).

Currently the garment industry is dominated by small to medium scale enterprises. According to the country’s National Development Plan III, Uganda aims to increase cotton production, domestic value addition, and to create over 50,000 new jobs along the cotton to clothes value chain.

South African engineering workers on strike for living wages after failed negotiations

In Johannesburg, the workers marched to the Metal Engineering and Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) offices where they presented a petition of their demands. Employers represented in the MEIBC include the National Employers Association of South Africa (NEASA), Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA), and the South Africa Engineers and Founders Association (SAEFA).

Bargaining councils are part of South Africa’s industrial relations system and their responsibilities include resolving disputes and facilitating collective bargaining agreements between trade unions and employers.

The workers went on the indefinite strike after negotiations failed to award them a wage increase of 8 per cent that they are demanding. Instead, the employers offered 4.4 per cent which IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) says is an “insult” to the workers. Initially, NUMSA wanted a 15 per cent wage increase.

 

“The employers cannot offer us 4.4 per cent when last year we got nothing because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Workers lost jobs through retrenchments, and others were put on short time work in which they lost income as they were paid less than their regular wages. Hence, we are firmly behind our union in the demands for higher wage increases,” argues one of the strikers.

Irvin Jim, NUMSA general secretary says:

“We are on an indefinite strike until our demands are met. We will not allow the super exploitation of labour in the engineering sector to continue unchallenged. The decision to strike was arrived at after the failure of protracted negotiations in which employers tabled a pitiful offer, thus frustrating the workers."

“Through this strike action we are demanding living wages for the engineering workers. This is the time for unity in action. We are not going to beg for living wages; we are demanding them,”

reiterated Andrew Chirwa, NUMSA president.

“Workers in the engineering sector made significant contributions to keep the industry afloat during Covid-19, enduring wage cuts and short working hours. Sanity must prevail upon employers to improve on their current offer,”

says Mawonga Madolo, metals sector coordinator, from another IndustriALL affiliated union, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), in a solidarity message for the strike.

“Covid-19 has caused retrenchments and created precarious working conditions which impoverished workers in the engineering and metal sectors. With workers facing these hardships, employers must be sensitive to their plight and ensure that the workers do not further lose the value of their wages. The employers must pay wage increases towards living wages,”

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

NUMSA is arguing that with workers being part of economic recovery, they deserve to be paid living wages. With the South African Covid-19 lockdown regulations being eased to Alert level 1 which has the least restrictions for industrial activities, the economy is expected to start recovering after an annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent in the first quarter which further increased in the second quarter according to Statistics South Africa.

The country is following global trends in which the recovery in the sectors has been far stronger and faster than expected at the beginning of the pandemic. Additionally, high global commodity prices of metals that include platinum, gold and iron ore are also contributing to the economic recovery.

IndustriALL 3rd Congress calls for an end to violence in Eswatini

There have been national pro-democracy demonstrations in the country and a Global Day of Action organized by global unions in support of the trade unions of Eswatini took place on 6 August.

During the demonstrations, over 72 people were killed through excessive use of force by the police and the army against pro-democracy protesters and hundreds were injured while some are still missing. Some activists have gone into hiding and others fled into exile.

It is against this background that the IndustriALL 3rd Congress, 14-15 September, adopted a resolution for the democratization of Eswatini that includes the respect for the right to life, freedoms of association, assembly, and expression.

Irvin Jim of South African union Numsa introduces the resolution on eSwatini

Irvin Jim of South African union Numsa introduces the resolution on eSwatini

“We call for national dialogue for reforms that will allow for the democratic election of the Prime Minister and to review the country’s constitution to allow for the transfer of executive powers from the king to a democratically elected leadership”

reads one of the demands the resolutions.

Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary, has written a letter to the Eswatini Prime Minister, Cleopas Dlamini, urging him to act on ending

“gross human rights violations and the use of excessive and lethal force against protesters.” Another letter to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) requests for “a thorough investigation into the death of civilians and the fate of the missing and recommend that the Human Rights Council consider this matter urgently.”

According to a petition to the United Nations office in Mbabane delivered by unions and civil society organizations, the UN must intervene for “an all-inclusive dialogue, unbanning of political parties, transitional council, democratic constitution, and multiparty democracy.” The UN must also “force the king to dialogue with the people rather than killing them.” Further, petitioners want King Mswati III to be tried at the International Criminal Court for “the ruthless killing of unarmed civilians.”

IndustriALL affiliates in Eswatini, the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (ATUSWA) and Swaziland Electricity Supply, Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (SESMAWU) took part in the march to present the petition.

“As Eswatini workers we appreciate the support that we are receiving globally for our demands for democratic reforms. International workers solidarity in the fight to remove the undemocratic regime that is causing abject poverty in our country is important to the struggle. We appreciate the support from our sister affiliates in IndustriALL. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,”

says Wander Mkhonza, general secretary of ATUSWA.

The petitioners say over 65 per cent of the country’s population is living in poverty on less than US$1.25 per day. “Poverty has been worsened by the dispossession of the people’s livelihoods by the king who evicts people from their lands, properties and businesses. The country is experiencing untold poverty because of the misappropriation of national resources to finance the lavish lifestyles of the royalty.”

Eswatini is Africa’s last absolute monarchy and King Mswati lives an extravagant lifestyle of expensive cars and private jets for his family of 15 wives. He banned the photographing of his cars after a public outcry. The king’s net worth is over $200 million, and he controls Tibiyo Taka Ngwane an investment company worth over $140 million supposedly in trust for the people of Eswatini.

Zimbabwean union confronts Afrochine Smelting over workers’ rights violations

According to a shop steward who works at Afrochine, over 1,500 workers are employed at the ferro chrome plant which is about 75 km from Harare.

“We are working in fear with no job security and being humiliated every day. You are beaten up by supervisors who are Chinese nationals, and if you report to the police, you will be unfairly dismissed before the conclusion of the case. With fewer jobs available in Zimbabwe, workers are suffering in silence. We are supporting the call for strike action against Afrochine to stop the workers’ rights violations,”

says the shop steward who witnessed some of the beatings.

Conciliation efforts at the National Employment Council of the ferro alloy industry – a social dialogue platform – failed as the ferro chrome smelting company did not show up at a meeting on 22 September. In the absence of dialogue, the union says it will take the grievances to the courts.
 
Henry Tarumbira general secretary of NUMAIZ says:

“The union will not stand by and watch while its members are abused. We are fighting to stop the unfair retrenchments and harassment and will take necessary action as provided by the labour laws to demonstrate against the violations as well as go to the courts to stop the abuses. Workers are continuously exposed to poor working conditions while health and safety standards are ignored. There is also wage theft and under payment of wages. IndustriALL affiliates in the country will be mobilized and are expected to join the strike and other actions in solidarity with the workers at Afrochine.”

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

“The management at Afrochine must respect workers dignity, national labour laws and international labour standards. We commend NUMAIZ for standing up for workers’ rights and decent working conditions.”

Afrochine is a subsidiary of the world’s biggest stainless steel product manufacturers Tsingshan Holding Group which trades on the London Metals Exchange. China is the largest importer of chromium and other metals which are key raw materials for its steel industries, and some of the chrome is mined in Zimbabwe which produced over 300,000 tonnes in the first quarter of this year.

Three Zimbabwean textile, garment, shoe, and leather unions merge

The three unions that merged – the National Union of the Clothing Industry (NUCI), the Zimbabwe Leather, Shoe and Allied Workers Union (ZLSAWU), and the Zimbabwe Textile Workers’ Union (ZTWU) – agreed to work collectively in strengthening recruitment and organizing towards building a stronger union. As part of its plans to be inclusive, the CLTWF also formed youth and women committees during the launch.
 
However, the CLTWF is confronted by many of the challenges that the sector is facing globally. Further, in Zimbabwe the challenges are worsened by an economic crisis that has seen factories close and workers retrenched while wage theft is spreading.
 
The working conditions in the sector are precarious. In some instances, working days have been reduced and wages are low with some workers saying they earn $8 000 Zimbabwe Dollars (US$94 on the official rate and US$57 on the parallel market). The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe says a family of six needs over $40 000 Zimbabwe Dollars per month, and this means the current wages are not enough for workers to pay for their basic needs.
 
According to reports, the decline in manufacturing industries caused by the country’s deindustrialization, weakened the cotton-to-clothes value chain and leather and shoe manufacturing. Further, the unstable local currency, foreign currency shortages, high inflation, and huge imports of second-hand and cheap clothing is adversely affecting the sector. Economic policies are also failing to revive the textile and garment industries.
 
Joseph Tanyanyiwa, the newly elected general secretary of CLTWF says:

“Although the merger is long overdue, it is an opportunity to plan collectively and shape the future of our sectors by fighting for workers’ rights, living wages, and organizing more members. We would also like to thank IndustriALL, national affiliates, and unions in Sub Saharan Africa for supporting the merger and for giving us support in developing our five-year strategic plan.”

“We welcome the merger as it brings unity and strength to the union. This is important in building union power in the textile, garment, shoe and leather sectors in Zimbabwe considering the challenges that have been brought by the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis,”

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

Union adopts a decent work campaign strategy for organizing artisanal and small-scale miners in Ghana

The union explained its strategy at the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung-IndustriALL crossing the divide project workshop on 2-3 September in Accra. The project aims to complement the International Labour Organization Recommendation 204 on transition from the informal to the formal economy and promotes the use of innovation by trade unions in engaging with the miners.

The aims of the workshop were to bring together key stakeholders: trade unions, researchers, civil society organizations, government, ASM associations, traditional authorities, communities, and other stakeholders to find ways of improving the sector. According to the GMWU, this could be done through using the decent work pillars of full and productive employment, rights at work, social protection, and promoting social dialogue and international labour standards. Further, emphasis was put on health and safety.

The hybrid workshop had 20 participants in the conference room whilst others attended online. The participants included officials from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, representatives from the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners and from the trade think tank, Third World Network Africa. Others came from the GMWU and the FES-Ghana and South Africa Offices.

Abdul-Moomin Ggbana, the general secretary for GMWU said:

“Calls to formalize artisanal and small-scale mining fit into the mission of the Ghana mineworkers. We want the miners to be involved in social dialogue, enjoy their rights at work, and to have their operations registered. This will promote decent work which will benefit ASM.”

“Ghana is amongst the important actors that provide us with a model of recognition, formalizing, and organizing ASM that is inclusive of women’s rights. Following our meeting in Johannesburg in 2019, there were recommendations on taking the programme forward through learning and sharing of strategies and tactics. This is one of the purposes of this workshop,”

said Shane Choshane, FES-Trade Union Competence Centre, project manager.

He added that while South Africa is currently considering formalizing ASM, Ghana is a step ahead and already has laws for the registration and licensing of the sector.

Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining said:

“It is important to create a decent working environment and due diligence in ASM. Occupational health and safety are important for the sector. With informality, workers are exposed to dangerous working conditions including landslides and dangerous chemicals such as mercury. Other dangerous work includes manual rock crushing, and this means miners are at risk of injury and death every day when they enter the mining sites with no protection.”

Gender inequality and gender-based violence were other areas of concern that were discussed in the workshop and the situation in Ghana was presented by a labour and gender expert Bashiratu Kamal.

“Like in most mining activities, women in ASM do the least important tasks, earn the lowest money, and face gender-based violence and sexual harassment. This is caused by gender inequality that is common in mining operations which is worsened by informality. This is where stakeholder engagement by trade unions on gender responsive due diligence is essential as an intervention,”

said Armelle Seby, IndustriALL gender coordinator.
 
According to reports there are about one million artisanal and small-scale miners in gold mining in Ghana who are producing about 35 per cent of the country’s gold. This is about 60 per cent of the country’s labour force. The miners are said to look after households that make up about 4.5 million people.
 
The Ghana workshop is the first in series of meetings that will take place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to discuss ways of improving mining and working conditions in the ASM sector.

Zimbabwean unions campaign against Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy

The unions announced their plans during an online health and safety meeting on 20 August. Several topics and questions were discussed during the meeting, including whether it is lawful for the employer to ask workers to produce vaccination certificates or negative Covid-19 test results taken in the last 24 hours as a condition for reporting for work. Health and safety rights that workers enjoyed during a global pandemic were discussed with reference to Zimbabwean labour laws and international labour standards.

The unions raised the issues as a response to a recent trend in which employers in the country were demanding vaccination cards, or negative Covid-19 test results when workers reported for work. This began after the government announcement that although workers will not be forced to vaccinate, those who chose not to will not be offered jobs, will be banned from commuting on public buses, and be excluded from Covid-19 benefits. However, unions say the employers must engage workers through social dialogue platforms and consult with unions to address vaccine hesitancy before issuing the notices.

As a response to the employers’ notices, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has gone to court to challenge actions by state-owned telecommunications company TelOne which wrote to workers informing them that the unvaccinated would no longer receive Covid-19 allowances and be required to take immediate leave.

“Whilst workers have mixed emotions on Covid-19 vaccination, employers on the other hand must ensure the health and safety and well-being of workers. However, it seems information gaps are negatively impacting on the uptake of vaccines but slowly some workers are beginning to see the benefits after vaccination. As unions we are emphasizing that workers should be given enough information to convince them to agree to vaccination,”

says Eustace Chidhindi, the affiliates' occupational health and safety coordinator.

“It has been proven that vaccines can stop severe disease and death when one becomes infected with the coronavirus and encourage Zimbabwean workers to get vaccinated. Further, we urge workplace cooperation between unions and employers, and social dialogue on Covid-19 prevention and workers health and safety,”

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

According to the Ministry of Health and Childcare, the country has procured 13 million vaccines and vaccinated 2,582,705 people (single dose) and 1,636,498 (double dose) using mainly the Sinopharm vaccine from China. Current cumulative confirmed positive cases on 31 August were 124,773 with 4,419 deaths and 113,057 recoveries. The ministry says to reach population immunity 10 million people must be vaccinated.

IndustriALL affiliates in Zimbabwe are National Union of Metal and Allied Industries of Zimbabwe (NUMAIZ), National Union of the Clothing Industry (NUCI), the Zimbabwe Chemical, Plastics and Allied Workers Union (ZCPAWU), Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU), Zimbabwe Energy Workers Union (ZEWU), Zimbabwe Leather, Shoe and Allied Workers Union (ZLSAWU), and the Zimbabwe Textile Workers Union (ZTWU).

Sierra Leone ratification of ILO instruments is opportunity to transform industrial relations, says union

ILO general secretary Guy Ryder at the signing. Photo: ILO

The ILO says the ratifications of eight conventions and a protocol, which took place on 25 August, were unprecedented. The eight conventions are the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised, 1949) (C97), Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (C143), Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (C155), Labour Statistics Convention (C160), Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (C181), Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (C187) and Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (C189).

The conventions are aimed at addressing the decent work deficit common among workers in the country, including for migrant workers, and improving working conditions for precarious workers who have no job security and are poorly paid. In most instances, precarious workers are employed through third parties such as private employment agencies who often exploit them and violate their rights. The conventions include those on occupational health and safety, which has been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 2014 protocol to the forced labour convention 1930 was also ratified. This is important for ending human trafficking of migrant workers and women in the country and abroad. Forced labour has been reported in the country involving migrant workers, while thousands of Sierra Leoneans have been victims of slavery in other West African countries, Libya, and the Middle East.

Muluku Tarawally, general secretary of ASGEmU says:

“This is one of the best things that has happened for the workers of Sierra Leone in a long time. It is an opportunity to complete the labour law review activities in which unions are participating. Additionally, the ratification of the conventions strengthens union demands for the inclusion of all ratified conventions into national labour laws. It is important that government is backing the adoption of international labour standards, and this shows that it is committed.”

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

“The ratification of the nine instruments shows the power of social dialogue in which unions and the government show commitment towards decent work. This ensures the protection of workers’ rights and better working conditions for workers through national laws and international labour standards. It is important that unions are not only supporting but are also taking part in the domestication of the conventions into national labour laws.”

South African union demands reversal of retrenchment notice for 200 miners

According to NUM, when the company took over the mine in 2012, they promised to improve the maintenance of the mine shaft and the pumping of water from underground. CAPM also promised to create 10 000 jobs and had said it would start by hiring 2,000 workers.

Instead of the retrenchments, the union is proposing that workers be put on rotational layoffs at 50 per cent wages to allow the company to fix the winders at the mine. Workers will then return to work when the mine is fully operational.

Further, the union wants CAPM to apply for the employee temporary relief scheme. The Unemployment Insurance Fund Covid-19 Temporary Employee/employer Relief Fund falls under the department of labour and employment and was created to assist companies in distress because of the pandemic.

“The retrenchment is a double blow for us after being passed from Aurora to CAPM as the mine changed hands. We have not been paid by Aurora and the case is being finalised in court. And now we are being retrenched,”

says Mguga Mava. He has worked at the mine’s engineering department for 12 years and says workers are still owed money by Aurora which went under liquidation.

The Pamodzi Gold mine has a troubled history. CAPM took over the mine in 2011 and was reported to have demanded that workers in South Africa waive their labour rights in its new agreement with Pamodzi Gold. The controversy was resolved with the National Union of Mineworkers with CAPM reportedly committing to “ constructive engagement in the future, based on mutual trust and goodwill”.

"The NUM disagrees with CAPM on cutting jobs by 66 per cent. We are disappointed that it is the same former Aurora workers who will be affected by these retrenchments. The NUM hoped that when the mine re-opened, the unemployment in the region would be reduced, and that the conditions of workers in this mine would be aligned to those of the industry as undertaken by the company.

"We are very much disappointed to find ourselves back paddling as the mine faces closure and is going into care and maintenance,"

says Masibulele Naki, NUM regional secretary for Matlosana.

The union says Chinese owned companies like CAPM are exploiting workers “without showing the slightest respect for the basic labour laws.”
 
The NUM went on strike at the mine in 2018 for better health and safety conditions to avoid situations in which workers would be forced to work under dangerous conditions. At the time there were no risk assessments being carried out as per mining regulations. The strike forced the department of mineral resources and energy to inspect the mine and ask the employer to comply.

However, workers say some issues related to winder engines, cables and communication bell recorders for operators are yet to be resolved.

“Jobs should be preserved, especially under the harsh conditions of Covid-19. CAPM should have a dialogue with NUM and the government to find ways to save jobs. It is important to always remember that workers have families to look after and their welfare should be seriously considered before deciding on retrenchments,”

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