Madagascar – Court decision shows Sherritt is not above the law

It means Barson Rakotomanga, an elected staff representative and a member of the work council at Ambatovy, should be reinstated at the mine. Barson was laid off seven months ago after he led a strike in reaction to the death of a fellow worker. Following intervention by the Ministry of Labour he was fired on 27 November.

The Supreme Court is the last instance for a legal fight in Madagascar. Barson, who has been without pay since he was laid off, told of his relief to hear that Madagascar’s highest court had ruled in his favour. He said the decision gave hope to the other 15 elected staff and union representatives who have been dismissed by Sherritt for economic reasons.

As an elected staff representative, Barson is protected by law and Sherritt’s request for his dismissal was subject to the approval of the labour inspector of the region. The labour inspector found the company’s actions violated freedom of association and, instead, asked Sherritt to keep Barson on.

Sherritt took the case to the Ministry of Labour who then cancelled the decision of the labour inspector allowing Sherritt to terminate Barson’s employment contract, under the allegation that he had damaged the reputation of the company, nationally and internationally. The Ministry of Labour also said the disturbances could have a direct impact on the country’s economy.

However, SVS, Barson’s trade union which is affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union, took the case to the Supreme Court, which said that there was strong evidence to suspend the Ministry of Labour’s decision, which also infringed the right of trade unions to organize.

Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL’s director of mining, said:

“This is a very important ruling and we hope, a precedent, that will send a message to Sherritt that Madagascar is a constitutional state and that the separation of powers is meant to prevent the very abuses that Sherritt is renowned for in Madagascar. We hope the Supreme Court’s decision shows trade unions in Madagascar that Sherritt does not own the country. This ruling gives trade unions the political space and courage to organize and grow their union base. ”

Union struggles for decent work building at Rio Tinto

In Namibia, Rio Tinto Rössing uranium mine management finally met with the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) on 28 January, nearly four months after workers rallied and demanded dialogue about ending exploitation of contractors. This includes paying some contractors only one-seventh as much as regular workers, forcing them to work longer hours with less job security and victimisation of union members.

“Rio Tinto says that freedom of association is one of its priority human rights issues,” stated IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan. “The company must take responsibility for its Namibian contract employees being denied this right.”

Although MUN’s continuing pressure forced Rio Tinto management to agree to a meeting, the company recently announced it intends to outsource all conveyor maintenance jobs. MUN plans to keep up pressure on the company and awaits a response to its demands.

In Iceland, unions have worked for over a year without a collective bargaining agreement. They are resisting Rio Tinto’s plan to outsource a large fraction of the aluminium smelter’s workforce to contractors paid significantly less than direct employees. The company has refused to agree that the outsourced jobs be paid the same as direct employees.

The unions in Iceland continue discussions with the company and have recently networked with the Rio Tinto Global Union Network to develop strategy.

In Australia, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) held a rally on 29 January to protest Rio Tinto replacing a vessel represented by MUA with one whose workers’ pay and conditions are far inferior. The workers transport alumina from a Rio Tinto refinery to a Rio Tinto aluminium smelter.

The vessel Rio Tinto plans to now charter is Greek owned, with a Liberian flag and a full Filipino crew.

“We are being replaced by the most exploited workers in the world. Workers who have no say, workers who can’t go to the boss and say, ‘No, I’m not going to do that job because it’s unsafe,’” said MUA assistant national secretary Warren Smith.

Unions representing workers at Rio Tinto in fourteen countries sent a letter to Rio Tinto’s CEO on 7 October requesting to work collaboratively with the company to address problems related to the company’s increasing use of precarious labour.

“The current disputes at Rio Tinto in Australia, Iceland and Namibia are part of a global problem,” said Kemal Özkan. “We’re ready to work together with the company to seek a global solution.”

IndustriALL solidarity for Somali union leader after assassination attempt

IndustriALL Global Union joins the ITUC in denouncing the attempted murder and in calling for action from the Somali government to stop the intimidation and take all appropriate measures to prevent further attacks on trade unionists in the country.

Omar Faruk Osman is General Secretary of the ITUC-affiliated Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU). FESTU is the first independent and democratic trade union centre in the country.

The FESTU General Secretary was entering the union’s office when three armed men sprayed his car with bullets on Taleex Street. It is only by good fortune that Omar Faruk escaped death, but one of his bodyguards and two pedestrians were seriously wounded.

It is well known that Omar Faruk has been threatened many times by some radical groups and other members of the Somalian government because of his commitment to build a strong and independent union in his country. This assassination attempt can also be linked to Omar Faruk’ s recent position denouncing a controversial media law passed by the Somalia parliament which is described as a threat to media freedom in the country.

In a public statement, FESTU president Ahmed Osman said:

“FESTU is here to stay and no amount of attacks and attempts on the lives of our leaders will stop us from fulfilling our historic mission, which is to liberate workers from exploitation, oppression and subjugation.”

IndustriALL has reported in the past of intimidation, threats and bombs against FESTU and its efforts to organize workers.

IndustriALL welcomes new Somali oil union

Somali Union of Petroleum & Gas Workers (SUPEGW) currently has 1484 members, of whom 539 are female workers. 97 delegates from Southern and Northern regions of Somalia, including 44 women attended the founding congress.

The first elected SUPEGW national president Mohamed Mohamud said, “Now that I have the skills and I am part of a trade union, I feel confident in negotiating better wages and terms and conditions for work. Over the next few weeks and months, we are going to step up the campaign to give workers their voice.”

Mohamud also added, “We came together to organize, promote and defend the socio-economic and political interest of the petroleum and gas workers in Somalia. We shall strive to ensure fair labour practice between workers and management.”

Minister of Somalia petroleum and mineral resources who attended the founding national congress as an observer committed to be working closely with the new union.

Oil and gas sector is of vital importance for Somalia. The country has a huge onshore and offshore oil and gas potential, a number of transnational companies are present in the country including Conoco-Phillips, Shell, British Petroleum, Amoco, Eni, Total and Texaco.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL Global Union assistant general secretary said,

The fight for decent working conditions and wages, job security and benefits in oil and gas industry is paramount for Somalia workers. IndustriALL Global Union welcomes the birth of a new force in Somalia trade union movement and will render all possible support to the newly formed Somali Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers.”

FEATURE: A turnaround for South Africa’s textile industry?

The once mighty South African garment sector has been in steady decline for at least two decades and has shed thousands of jobs. Trade liberalization, increased imports from Asia and the relocation of South African producers to neighbouring and lower wage regimes in Lesotho and Swaziland have hacked away at the South African garment industry.

Over the last 15 years, an estimated 150,000 jobs have been lost in the industry. When South African clothing manufacturers were unable to compete with the influx of cheaper clothing from Asia, they were put out of business.

According to IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU), 2,000 – 3,000 workers have been losing their jobs every year. But now the garment industry in South Africa is growing again with an added uptake of new workers.

Despite job losses, SACTWU has remained well organized with about 80 per cent of workers in the sector belonging to the union. SACTWU is fighting back hard against retrenchments, downsizing and closures while building its influence and engaging on policy at a national level.

The union has upheld its tradition as a fighting union, yet it engages employers and government in dialogue and has made significant gains on sourcing locally and pushing back on trade liberalization.

Simon Eppel, researcher at SACTWU, tells how the union is working to save and increase decent jobs in South Africa’s textile sector:

“The industry continues to lose jobs today, but the number is down substantially. At SACTWU we try to save jobs where they would otherwise be lost, and we have recently been able to actually grow jobs in the industry.”

On balance employment in South Africa’s textile industry is growing – it is up by 1.5 per cent in the last year.

"This is an endorsement that government support for the industry, coupled with our union’s active campaign for jobs, continues to bear fruit,” says Eppel. “After a period of stabilization following years of job losses, employment in our industry appears poised for growth."

Eppel adds that he is “cautiously optimistic” of this tentative turnaround, which is largely due to the energy put in to revive the industry.

One example is the South African government advocating a greening of the industry to make it more sustainable. Among other things this means looking at energy efficiency and assisting companies to replace old machinery with more modern equipment.

Another example is SACTWU’s ‘buy South Africa campaign’, where the union enters into agreements with major companies and institutions to support the local industry.

Since the early 2000s, SACTWU has been running a campaign to buy locally-produced textile products by appealing to consumers on how buying South African will affect the community.

Through mass campaigns and fashion shows with factory workers to showcase the clothes they make, SACTWU engages with consumers to influence the choices they make.

“Our message is received better and better. Consumers are increasingly receptive and positive, and the awareness of the difference they can make in their choices is growing.”

But SACTWU is not only targeting individual consumers to buy South African manufactured products, public procurement is another area where the union is working to influence decision-making. Government departments and state-owned companies are encouraged to buy South African products when tendering for public procurement.

Retail companies have been the target of a very deliberate campaign by SACTWU, where the trade union can alert local factories to public tenders. If a company is compliant with South African labour laws, SACTWU will pass on the information and encourage the company to submit a tender.

Eppel says that these measures have been successful due to a combination of reasons. When new legislation was passed making it easier to participate in public procurement, SACTWU acted to ensure that policy was turned into practice.

Bargaining councils for industry wide bargaining

There is a strong labour architecture in South Africa and the working conditions in the garment industry are better than in many other parts of the world. This is due to the bargaining strength of the union, which has also resulted in better wages in the South African garment sector.

Like in many other parts of the world, South Africa’s garment workers are predominantly women, often single mothers and their family’s soul breadwinner. Wages in the garment sector can be very low, so these are usually vulnerable workers who are more than likely very poor with very few other employment opportunities available to them due to South Africa’s high unemployment rates.

There are several minimum wages in South Africa and the unions are working to close wage gaps. A top wage for a skilled garment worker is around 950 Rand (US$67) per week. For a lower skilled worker it could be around 700 Rand (US$49) per week.

SACTWU prioritizes centralized bargaining as the mechanism to achieve the best wage outcomes for workers. SACTWU negotiates in three national bargaining councils for the clothing, textile and leather sectors and the outcomes affect over 100,000 workers. In 2015 sectoral wage increases were above inflation.

“Although the wages are mutually agreed in the bargaining councils, we would not call them living wages. We are working to develop the industry along decent lines and there are discussions on going towards a living wage.”

“The cost of living is high in South Africa, so unions try to compensate our members and offer additional services like health services for example,” says Eppel.

Changes in retail sourcing

In June 2015, a South African clothing textile and leather tripartite seminar called by SACTWU, was held in Cape Town. The event was held alongside the Cape Town Fashion Festival with the key address given by Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel who spoke of the government’s commitment to a green manufacturing sector.

Presentations at the seminar included supportive policy and initiatives from the government to maintain the sector and jobs as well as best practices by industry for greater efficiencies in production and energy and water consumption that have been achieved with state support.

Fresh hope for the sector may also be offered through the model known as quick response.

South African retailers mostly depend on the traditional retailing model which often results in two scenarios. The first is the steady supply of relatively few items. This often results in excess supply that then requires markdown. The second is under supply when the demand for an item is greatest resulting in lost sales.

South African retailers are under pressure to change their model because of increased competition from foreign retailers that have entered the domestic market. Many multinational retailers use quick response retailing which provides improved retained margins and enhanced stock turn, offering the merchandise customers find most attractive, resulting in less lost sales.

Eppel says that changes in retail sourcing practices, resulting in demand driven supply chains are mostly good news for garment workers in Southern Africa:

“Retailers use technology to analyze what is being bought in store, understanding what customers want, when they want it. So instead of basing orders on forecast demand for a whole season ahead, current trends are analyzed to present the customers with the most attractive products in the shortest possible time.”

Together with inflation in Asia and a weak Rand, many believe that quick response provides opportunities for South African producers. The model relies on close proximity of the producer to the retailer, with a maximum lead time of six weeks, so distant off shore suppliers are not an option. South Africa is well placed because industry support and a commitment from local producers has resulted in better standards and efficiencies, reducing lead times.

South Africa has been seeking niche market development as a strategy to keep the sector alive and there is a strong tripartite commitment to maintaining existing production capacity and jobs. As a result many producers have already achieved international manufacturing standards and have quick response capabilities.

“The garment supply chain has an important role to play and this tripartite seminar called by SACTWU created a very important space of debate and generation of proposals,” says Fernando Lopes, assistant general secretary IndustriALL.

“Investment in the garment sector has traditionally favoured environments of weak labour standards enforcement, low wages and poor trade union organization. But changes in sourcing practices mean workers that share proximity to major market can, if united, take on issues as global supply chains become more regional in nature.”

The opportunities for South African producers coming from the quick response retailing model applied in South Africa and even Europe are real, but the general pattern of comparative advantage in low wage neighbouring countries remains unchanged. This underlines the need for SACTWU to continue to drive an industrial policy agenda in the interest of workers, putting pressure on government and manufacturers for policies that support the continued growth of the textile and garment industry, creating more jobs.

Sherritt rejects government talks over Madagascar mine job losses

Following a letter to the Prime Minister of Madagascar from IndustriALL and local trade unions, the government requested Sherritt Ambatovy management to attend a meeting with trade unions and community leaders on 26 November. However, the company refused and insisted that the matter be referred to a tribunal instead.

Sherritt violated legal procedures and Malagasy labour law in June this year when it laid off hundreds of workers at its Ambatovy nickel operation for six months without consulting the Ambatovy work council.

In a meeting on 17 November, Sherritt said only 10 per cent of the retrenched employees would be reinstated. They said the remaining 443 direct employees at Ambatovy would lose their jobs, including shop stewards who are normally protected by law in these situations.

According to Malagasy labour law, mass dismissals should be done in consultation with the work council, which should have the necessary time and information to assess the need for significant job losses. This information has never been provided.

Furthermore, Sherritt unilaterally suspended the Ambatovy work council when the employees on the council refused to sign the minutes of the 17 November meeting. The employees did not sign the minutes because members of the work council were included in the job losses, and the remaining members were not representative of workers.

IndustriALL and its affiliate at the mine, FESATI, as well as other trade unions SVS and SEKRIMA, are demanding the reinstatement of all the workers.

In total around 900 workers are losing their jobs. Despite the drop in the price of nickel on world markets, trade union leaders believe that Sherritt is taking the opportunity to bust trade unions following a number of strikes.

Meanwhile, Sherritt is hiring expatriate employees and migrant and local contract workers.

Unifor, IndustriALL’s Canadian affiliate which represents workers at Sherritt Canada, also wrote to the company’s headquarters over concerns of union busting.

IndustriALL’s director of mining, Glen Mpufane, said:

Sherritt has shown complete arrogance in refusing to mediate with trade union leaders at the invitation of the regional government. We urge Sherritt to open negotiations and comply with Malagasy law.

Longstanding conflict in Burkina Faso far from over

Contract workers at Nord Gold Bissa mine in Burkina Faso are in conflict with Exterhum Africa, who has consistently refused to listen to the workers’ demands.

Nord Gold has two operations in Burkina Faso, at Sabcé (Bissa Gold SA) and at Taparco (SOMITA SA). A staggering 80 per cent of the workforce is on a contract basis, with fixed term contracts renewable without limitation.

In April, workers presented the management of Bissa Gold SA with a number of demands, including increasing the number of hours related to the role of union representatives from two to 15 hours per month, the right to use cell phones on site during break time and lunch hour, shortening shifts from 12 to eight hours according to the labour law, paid overtime as well as when working on holidays.

With the demands unheard, workers handed management a letter in October, informing of a planned strike if their demands were not met. When there was still no response, around 700 workers coming off their shift organized a sit-in.

Management responded by denying almost 400 workers who had just begun their shift access to food, water and the toilets. Interventions from the union, the National Union of Mine and Quarry Workers (SNTMCB), the central union organization, the National Confederation of Workers of Burkina Faso (CNTB) and local community leaders, were to no avail.

When the sit-in ended four days later, management continued to intimidate workers by firing 110 of them by letter. Another group of workers was denied access to the site, and all workers involved in the strike saw their bank accounts frozen by the employer.

IndustriALL Global Union and CNTB has called for government intervention to avoid further deterioration of the situation.

“The actions of both Exterhum and Nord Gold Bissa are in direct violation of the ILO conventions on freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively.

“Rumours are rife and people are scared of being the next ones on the list. This conflict must end now and our workers must get their jobs back without any retaliation from the employer,” says Augustin Blaise Hien, general secretary of CNTB.

Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL, says:

Precarious work is a threat to all workers. Both the real employer, Nord Gold, and the agency, Exterhum Africa, must take responsibility and immediately enter into dialogue with the union to solve this conflict.

Nigerian unions mobilize for Africa Industrialization Day

A series of events to celebrate Africa Industrialization Day kicked off with a policy roundtable at which IndustriALL’s Nigerian affiliates presented the difficulties faced by their industries to representatives of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Customs service, the Electricity Commission and the employers federation.

Rapid industrialization is urgently needed in Nigeria. Rather than growing, industries are in decline. The garment sector, which used to employ 300,000 workers, now has jobs for only 30,000. Smuggling is a major problem in Nigeria with illegal imports of textiles and clothing from China and other countries dominating 90 per cent of the domestic market.

The impact on the local industry has been devastating. In common with other African countries, raw materials, which Nigeria has in abundance, are exported while manufactured goods are imported. There is a lack of refining capacity, leaving Nigeria reliant on imported products like petrol. Electricity supply is unreliable and expensive, accounting for 40 per cent of production costs on average.

Several speakers declared that the collapse in the oil price has highlighted the urgent need for Nigeria to diversify its economy and revive its refineries.

For the first time, unions from Ghana and South Africa joined the events to learn from the Nigerian unions how the occasion of Africa Industrialization Day can be used by unions to mobilize and promote their industrial policy agenda.

The policy roundtable was followed by a march by IndustriALL affiliates on the National Assembly, joined by their national centre the NLC and unions from other sectors, to call on lawmakers to support the unions’ industrial policy agenda.

IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina who joined the activities, praised the Nigerian unions for their initiative in bringing together unions with representatives of government and business to debate industrial policy in Nigeria.

Our Nigerian affiliates have set the bar high by showing how mass mobilization for industrial policies that benefit workers can influence government to do their job to create a positive environment for industry to thrive and create jobs.
This activism now needs to spread to the rest of the continent and IndustriALL will take the lead in demanding sustainable industrial policies for Africa.

IndustriALL will continue to work with African affiliates to develop their actions to promote sustainable industrial policy, including encouraging mass mobilizations in more African countries on the occasion of Africa Industrialization Day 2016.

Strike win just first step for Rio Tinto contract workers

The workers, employed by Pro Tech Security to guard Rio Tinto’s QMM ilmenite mine, struck in response to the firing of two guards who are leaders of IndustriALL affiliate FISEMA. Strikers demanded that the two union leaders be reinstated and that a manager who routinely verbally abused workers and their families be dismissed.

The union ended the strike on 5 November after management agreed to all its demands. Management also agreed to provide full back pay to the workers for the period they were on strike.

“These workers stood up for their union leaders and demanded respect, and their victory shows the power of solidarity,” stated Eugène Chretien, FISEMA General Secretary for Anosy Region.

“I also want to applaud Pro’Tech Security management for listening to their workers and negotiating in good faith with FISEMA. We hope to build relationships based on mutual respect to address our concerns about working conditions at Pro’Tech and at other Rio Tinto contractors in Madagascar,” added Chretien.

Rio Tinto’s contracted security guards, catering employees, cleaners and drivers in Madagascar suffer from poverty wages, poor conditions and a lack of employment security.

IndustriALL has worked closely with FISEMA to train and mobilize these workers and publicize their struggles.

The workers participated in a global day of action at Rio Tinto on 7 October which highlighted the company’s overreliance on precarious workers and failure to take responsibility for them.

The global day included actions by unions at Rio Tinto worksites around the world. In Iceland, the VM union held a rally in front of Rio Tinto’s aluminium smelter protesting against the company’s threat to close the smelter if the union doesn’t allow a massive increase in contracting out to lower paid workers. Workers at the smelter recently voted to go on strike on 2 December unless agreement is reached before then.

“Unions in Madagascar, Iceland and around the world are increasingly standing up and demanding that Rio Tinto end its abuses of contract workers and precarious work,” said IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan. “The agreement in Madagascar was a positive first step, but Rio Tinto has a long ways to go to address this global problem.”

Trade unions in Western Africa fight against precarious work

African affiliates have been reporting on concrete victories for years. Participants at a sub regional meeting in Togo in October underlined that one of the main achievements of this project has been raising awareness that precarious work is an issue against which it is fundamental to fight back.

Affiliates from Togo, Burkina Faso and Senegal reported the conversion of about 950 fixed-term or daily workers into permanent workers in 2015. In Togo, affiliates organized days of action in targeted companies to force management to respect agreements bargained with the unions on the regularization of the workers. These achievements had been negotiated as a follow up of trainings to affiliates on strategies of collective bargaining to limit precarious work.

In parallel, affiliates have also led or participating in actions to improve their legislation in order to stop the expansion of precarious work. Affiliates in Burkina Faso are negotiating a new mining code.

In Senegal, affiliates are working towards a better respect of the legislation limiting precarious work. They have launched a campaign violation of legislation on the use of daily and seasonal work.

This later campaign is a joint action of the Syndicat National des Travailleurs des Industries Chimiques et Activités Rattachées du Sénégal (SYNTICS), the Syndicat National des Travailleurs des Industries de la Confection (SNTIC) and the Syndicat Unique des Travailleurs des Industries Diverses du Sénégal SUTIDS). Unions rally together with unions not affiliated to IndustriALL, as well as national confederation centers of Senegal.

In Togo, Burkina Faso and Senegal there is an abusive illegal use of daily and fixed term contracts. In addition, even though outsourcing is prohibited in the production activities, agency or contract workers are working side by side with permanent and direct workers on production lines.

Before launching organizing and collective bargaining campaigns, affiliates in the three countries have conducted a detailed mapping of the situation of precarious work in targeted companies. It showed that in certain mining companies in Burkina Faso and chemicals companies in Senegal, the whole workforce was composed of daily workers or temporary agency workers.

Precarious workers performing dangerous work rarely get full overtime pay. Salaries are lower than for permanent workers, and they are not registered in any social benefits system.

Many workers in the mining industry in Burkina or Togo do not even have formal written contracts, no holidays, and are not paid for maintenance tasks as they are remunerated on the quantity they produce. Trade unions are denouncing a real exploitative system.

“But the fight against precarious work is an uphill battle. Every victory is challenged by the employers,” says Fernando Lopes, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.

The Federation des Industries du Togo told of a mining company, where management in response to an organizing drive led by IndustriALL’s affiliate, fired all the organizers. The entire workforce was replaced by sub-contractors, performing the same jobs than before. The union is not giving up and has submitted this case to court.

The precarious work project in Sub-Saharan Africa, previously supported by SASK, is currently co-funded by IndustriALL affiliates FNV, CSC-BIE and CFDT-FCE.