Young workers in Mozambique build unity

They planned for greater unity amongst unions present, in order to increase youth membership.

The youth meeting was held on 21-23 June, in the north of Mozambique. The meeting was led by young workers and counted a total of 21 participants (9 women/11 men) from the following industriALL affiliates:

“These activities are important because they strengthen unions and will help us fight the attitude of bosses who seek to prevent the creation of unions” said Adriano Zandamela, youth coordinator at local mining union, SINTICIM.

Participants came up with a plan of action where each province commits to visit companies with the aim of organizing more young workers. This outcome is an important move forward as it demonstrates unity amongst local unions as it will be carried carried out by all three unions jointly.

“We thank IndustriALL for encouraging youth participation in union activities; this is essential to show that unions are close to the workforce and will in turn give more visibility and allow for growth,” said Zandamela.

Lesotho: Low wages an injustice, say young workers

The young workers, from IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho (IDUL), wanted the government, which is responsible for setting minimum wages, to respond in 30 days. They said the low wages were unjust. Further, they wanted social dialogue on how to make the Directorate of Dispute Prevention and Resolution as well as the labour courts more effective.  
 
Present at the meeting was Lesotho’s newly elected Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane, who said the issues raised by the workers would receive immediate attention. Invited but absent was the Lesotho Employers' Association.
 
In 2016, a trained machinist was paid a monthly minimum wage of US$104, while a general worker got US$77. The union hoped that the minimum wage for 2017 would be $155.
 
Inflation adjustments of seven to eight per cent per year didn’t improve workers’ welfare and weren’t enough to cover living expenses. Some couldn’t even afford transport costs to go to work and walked long distances to factories. Exhausted on arrival, they were exposed to occupational injuries.
 
Women workers, making up 90 per cent of the lowly paid textile workers, were the most affected. Some supplemented the poor incomes with informal work during weekends. So, they didn’t rest.
 
The meeting called upon the government to ratify ILO Convention 183 on maternity protection and wanted discrimination on maternity leave faced by the textile workers to stop. The workers were given only six weeks whilst public sector workers got 12 weeks maternity leave.
 
Employing around 46,500 workers, the garment and textile sector is Lesotho’s largest formal private sector employer. It also has jobs along the value chain such as the small packaging industry, road freight transporters, courier services, clearing agents, security, passenger transport, food vendors, residential accommodation, water, and electrical and telecommunication utilities.
 
Said Seabata Likoti, assistant general secretary of IDUL:
 
“We have spent a long time talking about decent work in the textile sector with government, employers and the ILO. But decent work is not possible without a living wage that caters for nutritious food, safe water, decent housing, adequate health care, education and clothing.”
 
Said Fabian Nkomo, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa:
 
“We appreciate the willingness of the Prime Minister and the government of Lesotho to improve wages, and hope that these efforts will end poverty wages in the sector”.

Pushing back precarious work in Senegal

At perfume and cosmetic maker, Gandour, 65 out of 287 daily workers got permanent jobs. At plastic manufacturer, Polyplast, 58 out of 90 jobs were also made permanent.

If this trend continues, more manufacturing jobs will become secure. This was important to the chemical and construction sectors which were experiencing growth, and more likely to create jobs.

The IndustriALL affiliates have been campaigning to end precarious work in Senegal for the last three years, and the struggle for decent jobs continues.

The campaign against precarious work, which took place at national, sectoral and company levels, targeted employers who preferred giving jobs to temporary workers rather than offering secure permanent jobs. For instance, daily workers were paid lower wages than those of permanent workers for the same work. Further, they were exposed to risks of occupational accidents and diseases, and did not benefit from social security.

IndustriALL coordinator for the Sub Saharan Africa Precarious Work Project, Augustin Adakou, said the Senegalese government should repeal labour laws including Decree 70-183 of 1970 on the employment of daily and seasonal workers. This outdated law did not promote decent work.

Other countries that were part of the campaign to end precarious work included Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Nigeria where similar efforts were being made for more permanent jobs.

In 2016, because of this campaign, IndustriALL affiliates in the project countries organised 4500 precarious workers into unions, and over 1500 temporary jobs became permanent. Workshops were also conducted on labour laws, negotiation skills and collective bargaining. The affiliates organized in sectors including building materials, chemicals, energy, metals, mining, oil and gas, rubber, pulp and paper, textiles and garments, and leather and footwear.

Southern African garment unions to collaborate on supply chains

Countries in Southern Africa are involved in all points of the supply chain in the garment sector: producing raw materials, garment  making and retail. For example, cotton lint was sourced from Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Garment factories and distribution and retail networks were found in most of the countries.

Recognizing the importance of the supply chain, the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland, the Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho and the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) all representing over 110,000 workers agreed to fight for equal-pay-for-equal work across the national borders. This could be achieved by sharing collective bargaining agreements. Additionally, exchange programmes between unions allowed for learning from each other’s experiences.

South African brands that came under scrutiny included Edcon, Foschini, Mr Price, Truworths and Woolworths. These brands bought goods from factories that relocated production from South Africa to Lesotho and Swaziland, where wages are lower.

The factories also ignored bargaining rights, and freedom of association. Enforcement of labour laws was also weak in the two countries. When workers demanded better conditions, the employers threatened to close shop. But in South Africa, Sactwu organised the factories, watched errant factory owners and took action when workers’ rights were threatened.

The meeting adopted a plan based on ACT – the IndustriALL initiative with global brands for living wages in garment supply chains. It also drew from the Bangladesh Accord, setting health and safety standards for workers in factories.

It is important for unions to strengthen their power along the supply chain by working together in coalitions

said Paule-France N’dessomin from IndustriALL’s Sub Saharan regional office.

The meeting was supported by the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, and was attended by 21 union leaders and shop stewards including ten women.

South Africa – Numsa demands fair deal for GM workers

A planned retrenchment of 589 out of 1,500 workers will have dire effects.

An employee who has worked at GM's Struandale plant in Port Elizabeth for more than 25 years, said it will be difficult for him to look after his four school going children if he loses his job.

“This employer is brutal. We are devastated. Our morale is down. It’s difficult to go to work knowing that soon you will be out of employment.”

The metalworkers’ union is “disgusted” by the American automotive company’s “devious and underhanded” treatment of workers. It wants “full disclosure” of the deal with the Japanese carmaker, Isuzu, which is buying the manufacturing plant in Port Elizabeth.

Numsa said thousands of jobs are at risk in this job-loss bloodbath. Losses will also be felt along the supply chain which included tyre manufacturing and motor vehicle components.

Other jobs under threat were in GM’s 132 dealerships, of which only 90 will be taken over by Isuzu.

The union points out that GM is not acting in “good faith” as it neither consulted Numsa nor the government on its decision to retrench as required by the law.

To ensure a better deal for workers, Numsa is discussing the retrenchments with GM. The Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration will mediate in the talks.
Numsa, which attributes GM’s action to global capital’s attack on workers, has written to the company about possible alternatives to the retrenchments. These include skills training and placement of workers in other jobs.

Said Numsa:

“This is a plan which is fully supported by the new federation – the South African Federation of Trade Unions – as well as our global union, IndustriALL."

Fabian Nkomo, IndustriALL Regional Secretary for Sub Saharan Africa said the proposed plan should ensure fair compensation to the affected workers.

Improving safety in the African oil and gas industry

IndustriALL Global Union was invited as an observer to the workshop, which was organized by the International Labour Organization and included tripartite delegations from Angola, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria.

Participants acknowledged that while oil and gas are essential resources, they are also a major contributor to environmental problems, inequality and conflict.

Workers in the industry face numerous hazards, and consequently fatalities, injuries and occupational diseases are high, according to the ILO.

Some of the dangers include:

Many workers do not have proper protective equipment and other equipment to perform their duties in a safe working environment. One of the biggest challenges in the industry is precarious work, which often puts workers in insecure jobs without any recourse to justice or social security.

Participants remarked that due to poor governance, corruption, lack of equipment and specialized training, and inadequate human and financial resources, they needed independent labour inspectors and more information on occupational accidents and diseases.

Participants added that it is critical to empower national labour administrations and inspection systems to ensure full compliance with laws and regulation as well as access to appropriate and effective remedy and complaints mechanisms.

In trying to solve these problems, the workshop participants with input from IndustriALL, produced key recommendations for promoting health and safety in the industry, and action points for the ILO and its members. They include calls for:

Speaking at the workshop, IndustriALL energy director Diana Junquera Curiel, said:

All workers worldwide deserve to be safe in their workplaces and to return home every day unharmed. Training is crucial to prevent accidents from happening. The key to improving occupational safety and health in the oil and gas industry is to share responsibilities between governments, employers and workers.

Meeting calls for an end to violence against women mineworkers

The meeting saw the violence and gender discrimination at gold mines as health and safety issues. It called upon the DRC and Ghana to ratify ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in mines.

Violence against women mineworkers took different forms in the AngloGold Ashanti global network countries, and affected women in physical, emotional and financial ways.

In South Africa, this violence is caused by a “masculinity culture” which sees mines as workplaces for men alone said Asanda Benya from the University of Cape Town.
 
Basing her views on a study in which she worked as a winch operator at a platinum mine in Rustenburg, she said “deep patriarchy” defined how women were treated.

For instance, when the mines hired women “heat tolerance screening” was a requirement. Sometimes women failed the screening because of pregnancy or menstruation.

When going underground women were groped daily. Their complaints to management or their unions about this abuse were dismissed as “nagging” or simply ignored.

Women were also excluded from learning the more important mining skills and reduced to domestic roles like getting water for team members. It was also common for male team members to say: “You are a woman; you can’t operate a drilling machine”.

As a result, women mineworkers lost on production bonuses because of these tactics.

Fabian Nkomo, IndustriALL Regional Secretary for Sub Saharan Africa said organizing more women in the mines is one of the strategies that can be used to fight gender stereotyping.

Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL mining director said: “It is important to develop policies against sexual harassment from the perspectives of women mine workers. We are fighting for these policies because the neo-liberal capitalist system sustains itself through gender stereotyping”.

Ivory Coast: union condemns lay-offs at Libya Oil

The union says the economic reasons given for the redundancies are not supported by evidence.

On the contrary, Libya Oil, which operates in 18 African countries, has increased investments; opening nine new filling stations in 2017, renovating an additional 15, and opening seven shops and two restaurants. In January 2017, the company sold more fuel than it did in the same month in 2016: 9,7 million litres compared to 7.9 million litres. Generally, the company’s sales are increasing.

In a letter to the tripartite National Council for Social Dialogue, the union questions Libya Oil’s arguments.

The economic reasons cited are odd given Ivory Coast’s 2015 GDP growth of 8.2 per cent, which was driven "by the dynamism in agriculture, services, major public works and the petroleum sector".

Surprisingly, Libya Oil

pretends not having benefitted from the growth

argues SYNTEPCI.

The other reasons given for the redundancy include “rationalising the company’s organisational structure for more efficiency.” Again, the union challenges this especially at a time when the company is recruiting new workers, with four hired this year.

Libya Oil also fails to explain how “the introduction of new technology” is linked to the redundancy.

SYNTEPCI general secretary, Jeremie Wondje says:

There must be a social plan for the lay-offs, following the legal requirements for the petroleum sector.

Swazi affiliate challenges union busting at textile factory

Management at Fashion International has rejected union membership forms signed by 1,600 of the 1,900 employees. In response, the union has taken the employer to court for refusing to recognize the union and for not complying with ‘collective bargaining duties and obligations’.

Earlier this month, the company insisted on a ballot conducted by the Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration Commission, to determine union support amongst the workers. All workers but one voted in favour of the union, sending a very clear message on the will to organize.

Although the company claims to guarantee fair labour practices it is amongst the worst employers in the textile and apparel sector. Desperate to keep the union away, they sometimes threaten to close down the factory if workers do not resign from the union,

says Wander Mkhonza, Atuswa secretary general.

The workers are very clear – they want a union and Fashion International must grant them their organizational and collective bargaining rights and recognize ATUSWA as a partner.

The company also engages in unfair labour practices that adversely affect workers’ health and safety. For instance, sick workers are forced to come to work, and doctors’ visits restricted to only four hours after which a worker must report for duty. Failure to do so often results in disciplinary action.

Workers are asked to bring sick children to work if they want time off to take the child to hospital. Sometimes this never happens or permission is given too late for hospital hours. The employer is also notorious for refusing to pay sick leave of more than two days. Reducing sick leave days is common and forces unwell workers to come to work.

In addition, workers are forced to work on Saturdays, which is not a working day. But if workers do not turn up they are disciplined, and dismissals are common.

Fabian Nkomo, IndustriALL regional secretary, says:

Fashion International must immediately engage in a constructive dialogue with the union. Working conditions in the factory must be improved and workers must be granted their organizational rights.

IndustriALL project in Sub-Saharan Africa boosts women’s representation

IndustriALL’s union building programme in Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DRC, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe is aimed at developing democratic and transparent trade unions and organizing new members. The project, which was funded by trade union solidarity organizations, Union to Union and FNV Mondiaal, promotes greater participation by women in decision-making and leadership positions.

Women made up an average of 38 per cent of all union building activities, which is above the 25 per cent target that had been set for the region.

In 2016, the Zimbabwe Chemical & Plastics Workers Union and the Nation Union of Clothing Industry (Zimbabwe), amended their constitutions to include women structures, and appointed women to their national executive committees for the first time.

In addition, the Zimbabwe Energy Workers Union appointed a female president and increased women on its national executive committee by 8 per cent. It also achieved 30 per cent women’s representation target in recruitment, 50 per cent women in the collective bargaining team, 67 per cent on the finance committee and 50 per cent women on the union’s steering committee.

In Uganda, the Chemicals Petroleum and Allied Workers Union established national women’s structures, while the Textile Garments Leather and Allied Workers Union increased women negotiators from three to six.

Elsewhere, IndustriALL Women's Committees were formed in Ghana and Cameroon in 2016, and IndustriALL affiliates developed organizing drives for increasing women members in Cameroon and Burkina Faso.

“The challenges for trade unions in Africa are significant but greater participation by women, particularly in leadership positions, will strengthen unions and lead to a better future for men and women,” said Tendai Makanza, Project Coordinator, IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa.