On 12 September, the SYNTICS (Syndicat National des Travailleurs des Industries Chimiques et Activités Rattachées du Sénégal), the SNTIC (Syndicat National des Travailleurs des Industries de la Confection)and, the SUTIDS (Syndicat Unique des Travailleurs des Industries Diverses du Sénégal) participated in a demonstration in Dakar denouncing violation of legislation on the use of daily and seasonal work.
Unions launched the campaign, organizing general assemblies at worksites to mobilize workers and raise awareness about precarious work. They also organized a television campaign with interviews of trade union leaders and a televised report on daily and seasonal work.
On 7 October, the global day of action to STOP Precarious work, IndustriALL’s affiliates are organizing a press conference to denounce precarious work and a demonstration, together with other trade unions.
The objective of the campaign is to restrict the use of both daily and seasonal work to the limited use provided by the law: replacement of an employee on sick leave and increase in production.
However today in the manufacturing industries, according to some reports around 50 per cent of the workforce is employed as daily or seasonal workers but on a permanent basis.
These workers are employed with precarious contracts to perform production work. They are excluded from social security provisions and health and safety protections and are subject to lower salaries and conditions than permanent workers.
Affiliates in Senegal have a history of fighting against precarious work. Every year trade unions succeed to convert precarious workers into permanent workers. Since beginning 2014, affiliates report to have improved the employment status of more than 450 precarious workers, converting them to direct employees.
Last year affiliates in more than 56 countries took action on 7 October.
Only 20 of the 900 laid off workers at the Canadian’ multinational’s Ambatovy operation have been re-instated. The remaining 880 workers are still uncertain about their future and whether they will ever be allowed to return to their jobs.
Sherritt unilaterally announced the lay-off of the 900 workers for a period of six months citing economic reasons, a claim totally rejected by the Comité d’Entreprise (workers' committee) at the mine and processing plant.
Sherrit Ambatovy’s performance was rated as excellent for 2014 and the company reported an 11 per cent increase in revenue from Ambatovy for the first quarter of 2015, just a few months before the lay-offs. Production targets were met in March 2015 ahead of schedule.
To further confound Sherrit’s claim that economic factors are the reason for the lay-offs, the company donated US$ 1 million to the country’s national defence force in October 2014, a move IndustriALL considers unethical and against good governance. This amount of money would have paid for an average salary of 600’000MGA (US$ 181) per month for six months for the 900 retrenched workers.
At the same time, Sherritt Ambatovy continues to recruit abroad. In a move that violates Madagascar’s laws and regulations, Sherritt Ambatovy is looking for workers with qualifications that can be filled by Malagasy nationals. The Madagascar mining code for large investments stipulate that priority for work should be given to nationals.
Sherritt Ambatovy continues to ignore IndustriALL Global Union’s offer to resolve the dispute. Consequently, IndustriALL is now in discussion with its Canadian affiliate union, Unifor, to mobilize solidarity support for Ambatovy workers amongst Unifor members it organizes at Sherritt’s operations in Canada.
IndustriALL is also in discussion with Unifor to hold Sherritt accountable to Canada’s corporate social responsibility strategy for the international extraction sector, which expects Canadian mining companies operating abroad to promote Canadian values and act with the highest ethical standards.
While IndustriALL is mobilizing direct global solidarity action amongst its mining affiliates, it continues to make the following demands on Sherritt Ambatovy:
Last Friday’s protest follows workers downing tools in July after Rio Tinto installed surveillance equipment in haul trucks. The workers are represented by IndustriALL affiliate Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN).
The Rössing workers’ petition says the surveillance equipment – including a voice recorder hidden behind the operator’s seat – was installed by management without consultation in violation of Rio Tinto’s code of conduct “The way we work”.
IndustriALL recently documented Rio Tinto’s systematic violation of its own code of conduct in Rio Tinto; the way it really works.
The petition also raises victimization of workers’ representatives, the company unilaterally changing conditions of work, and safety concerns.
Safety concerns are widespread among workers at Rio Tinto. This year there have already been worker fatalities at Rio Tinto in Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Madagascar and South Africa.
Rössing workers’ demands include the withdrawal of charges against workers that protested the installation of surveillance equipment, that management respect company policy, and that management treat workers with respect.
MUN also recently raised concern about the increasing use of precarious labour at Rössing. Precarious labour includes temporary, casual and contracted-out work that is often low-wage, low-benefit and insecure.
Workers at Rössing are preparing for the 7 October global day of action at Rio Tinto. 7 October is a day on which unions around the world mobilize against precarious work as part of IndustriALL’s STOP Precarious Work campaign. Unions around the world at Rio Tinto will call on Rio Tinto to stop using precarious work and instead provide safe jobs with good wages and benefits.
Speaking at conference addressing health and safety in mining in South Africa on 7 August, Phumeza Mgengo, who is national secretary of the women’s section at NUM, said:
"We as women are viewed as sex objects in most cases. If women are given tasks which require them to bend [over], your middle area is exposed and that leads to sexual harassment.”
She told participants that women are complaining of abuse and discrimination from their co-workers in mining:
"When they [men] see us, they don't see colleagues, they see sex objects."
South Africa’s mining industry has been marred by acts of violence against women. In March this year, a woman was raped at the Thembelani mine in Rustenburg and in December last year, a male contract worker was convicted of the brutal rape and murder of female miner, Pinky Mosiane, who was working underground at Anglo Platinum’s Khomanani mine in 2012.
IndustriALL’s director of mining, Glen Mpufane, said:
“Sexual violence against women is widespread and unreported by victims due to fear of reprisals, intimidation and losing their jobs.
According to official figures, the number of women working in mining has risen from six per cent of the workforce at the beginning of 2008 to 16 per cent at the end of 2104. However, women are underrepresented in all hierarchical positions.
“Discrimination against women is deeply rooted and demands change,” added Mpufane.
In one month’s time, Phumeza Mgengo will speak about women’s health and safety in mining at IndustriALL’s World Women Conference in Austria on 15 and 16 September.
The programmes focus on global governance including international labour standards, economics, trade, and multinational companies from a labour perspective and on trade unions and other social movements as actors of change.
A limited number of scholarships will be awarded by the GLU network to students in need of support.
The deadlines for application as well as programme details are available through the links below:
1 September 2015 for University of the Witwatersrand http://www.global-labour-university.org/3.html
Contact: Pulane Ditlhake [email protected]
1 October 2015 for University of Campinas http://www.global-labour-university.org/114.html
Contact: Prof. Eugenia Leone [email protected]
The Global Labour University is a joint initiative of universities from different continents, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) the international trade union movement and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. GLU offers Masters Courses in five different countries on trade unions, sustainable development, social justice, international labour standards, multinational companies, economic policies and global institutions and promotes research cooperation on global labour issues. For more details visit the website http://www.global-labour-university.org/.
‘’This is good for our affiliates in Kenya and will support them to achieve their objectives,” said Isaac COTU Public Relation Officer.
A National Project Planning Meeting with Kenyan affiliates took place in Nairobi on 17 and 18 July 2015. IndustriALL project coordinator Aneno Catherine shared the strategy developed with Ugandan affiliates and the same approach was adopted for Kenya by all participating unions. The strategy focuses on three key approaches; a joint action strategy for organizing, education for action on precarious work and capacity development for occupational health and safety.
Mapping of new companies was discussed and participants adopted a mapping tool that was reviewed during the meeting. Individual unions also developed targets for recruitment and work plans to take forward the project.
Affiliates also formed a National Council to come together and plan joint work for unity and cooperation amongst themselves. Substructures were also formed on organizing and occupational health and safety for the effective implementation of project activities within the unions.
