Union busting attempt suspected at Lesotho Johnson Controls

The unfair dismissals are on the grounds that the workers have failed to make the grade during their probation period. Yet the law in Lesotho requires that a contract must be in place with the worker stipulating the probation period which may not exceed four months. None of the dismissed workers had contracts with Johnson Controls and some had worked for the company for longer than four months.

The dismissals come after Nutex submitted demands to the company and expected to begin negotiation that would secure union recognition as well as wage increases and other benefits. Machine operators at the company earn only about USD100 a month whilst quality control workers earn more than double this.

“Workers feel that they should not be such a huge gap between the two categories of workers”, says Solong Senohe, Nutex General Secretary. “Machine operators are earning less than even a subsistence wage in Lesotho and yet without them there is no product, they at least deserve a living wage.” 

Johnson Controls employs about 600 workers in Lesotho and about 350 are union members. Senohe is concerned that the dismissals may have been an attempt to push the union below the 50 per cent plus one threshold needed for recognition. At the very least, the dismissals may intimidate the remaining workers to back off from their demands.

IndustriALL has written to management in Lesotho and urged the company to reinstate the dismissed workers immediately, recognise Nutex and negotiate with the union to address the worker demands. IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina has warned,

Our global union family includes several other unions organising in your operations across the globe. These unions can be called upon for support should the issues at Johnson Controls remain unresolved in Lesotho.

Meanwhile the General Secretary of IndustriALL affiliate the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), Irvin Jim has also sent a letter to the company drawing attention to global agreements that IndustriALL has with several auto companies that source from Johnson Controls that have committed themselves to working with suppliers and observing fair labour practices. 

"The conduct of Johnson Controls in Lesotho clearly violates the principles that we have agreed upon and we do not want you to become an agenda item at our international meetings this year to discuss the implementation of the agreements." says Jim. "In the event that this matter is not amicably resolved, we will be left with no option but to call for an international campaign against Johnson Controls. We are informing our members in Johnson Controls South Africa and the companies you are supplying here about the situation in Lesotho."

Global fight for workers’ rights continues at Crown Holdings

Some 120 workers of Crown Holdings at the company plant in Toronto, Canada, who were all once awarded a top company honour for “dedication, commitment and personal accountability”, are now in the 17th month of a strike, which began in September 2013. Workers were forced to take strike action when Crown management demanded huge concessions, including a 42 per cent pay cut for new employees and permanent lower wage scale, trying to build even bigger profits on workers’ backs.

Last summer Crown made a miserable offer to the workers. While removing the demand for a two-tier wage system, the company demanded a 30 per cent cut of all wages instead. Workers overwhelmingly rejected this proposal by 117 to 1 vote.

IndustriALL has given solid support to its affiliate United Steelworkers, USW, which has launched a special campaign “Take-Backs No More!”.

In April 2014, IndustriALL and USW organized a special protest action in Philadelphia at the Crown annual general assembly of company shareholders. Further protest actions were staged in Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, and France.

However, instead of changing its behaviour Crown announced that it wants to replace three quarters of the workforce at its Toronto plant, even if the dispute is settled. It means that striking workers will lose their jobs.

In Turkey, Crown used gaps in local legislation to avoid negotiating with the officially-recognized bargaining counterpart, IndustriALL affiliate, Birlesik Metal-Is. The company rejected good faith negotiations, and in violation of principles of freedom of association, has dismissed union activists for no good reason.

In October last year, IndustriALL  with fellow global union, IUF, wrote to Crown’s customers denouncing the company’s dishonest behaviour towards its workers.

At the end of January 2015, Crown once again showed its ugly union busting face in Ghana. Without any preliminary discussion or warning, local management locked out 42 workers who are affiliated to IndustriALL through the Industrial & Commercial Workers' Union, ICU. The workers staged protests in front of the closed factory demanding their severance packages that have been in discussion since last year and are determined to continue with protests until their claims are met.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary said:

Our entire 50 million strong IndustriALL family stands in firm solidarity with Crown workers in Canada, Turkey and Ghana. We are determined to escalate our global campaign against Crown Holdings and we will challenge their union busting practices by all possible means at national and international level. We will continue to raise the issue with all their board members and major customers and suppliers, and will inform the general public about every single step they take.”

Safety first? Another fatality at Rio Tinto

A worker operating an excavator next to a tailings pond on the night shift at Rio Tinto’s QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) died on January 28 when his excavator fell into the pond.

Although his colleagues immediately called an emergency line for help, the worker was not located until 17 hours after being submerged in the pond. His body was found outside the cabin of the excavator after the water from the pond was drained.

IndustriALL affiliate FISEMA represents workers at Rio Tinto in Madagascar. FISEMA is raising questions about the cause of the incident, why it took 17 hours to find the deceased worker’s body, why the worker’s body was found outside the cabin, and whether such dangerous work should be carried out at night.

This incident casts doubt on whether Rio Tinto has adequately considered safety of night shift workers as well as having in place appropriate emergency equipment and procedures. We urge Rio Tinto to work closely with FISEMA to identify the causes of this fatality and take all measures necessary to ensure this never happens again.

said IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan.

The January 2015 fatalities in Madgascar and at Rio Tinto’s minority-owned Grasberg mine in Indonesia – where 39 workers have been killed over the last two years – calls into question Rio Tinto’s often-stated claim that it puts a high value on worker safety.

“Numerous unions at Rio Tinto around the world have told IndustriALL that Rio Tinto applies health and safety procedures in an arbitrary way; pressures workers to put production before safety; disciplines workers for refusing unsafe work; and does not genuinely address workplace hazards. We demand that Rio Tinto change these practices immediately in order to live up to its safety claims,” stated Özkan.

Glencore to close Optimum Coal Mine in South Africa

The closure proposed by the mining giant would affect approximately 1,000 permanent employees and 500 contractors.
 
“The decision to close down the operations has left our members shocked as they were not given any prior notice of closure before being invited by the management yesterday afternoon to a meeting at 5 pm”, says Stanley Lebelo, NUM Highveld Regional Secretary.
 
Glencore cites difficult market conditions and a continued deterioration in the export coal price as reasons to close the mine.
 
NUM argues that the mining industry needs to move from putting profits first to emphasizing human development.
 
Stanley Lebelo continues:
“This is a catastrophe for our members and we request Glencore management to reverse this unfortunate decision and engage with its employees.
 
“The NUM will fight tooth and nail to make sure that its members are not retrenched cheaply.”
 
IndustriALL Global Union Director if Mining, Glen Mpufane, calls upon Glencore to reconsider and negotiate with the NUM to find alternative options to retrenchment:
“We are as shocked as the NUM that Glencore has decided to lay off about 1,000 jobs at its Optimum coal operations in Mpumalanga. It is sad that mineworkers are once again sacrificial lambs in the face of global market conditions, but are not invited to celebrate in booms times.”

NUM strike upholds rights at Northam Platinum

Protesting workers at Northam’s Zondereinde mine in South Africa were unhappy at management plans to unilaterally change recruitment and sick note policies. 

"There were clear indications to divide, weaken and reverse all the progressive policies that are regulating the employment relations at Northam Platinum Mine. (For example) workers discovered that a white female employee was employed without following proper procedures. When management was alerted to this malpractice they tried to justify it. Employees further demonstrated against this practice. Management responded by threatening disciplinary action without dealing with the actual issues," said NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, NUM, says the company also attempted to discipline workers who had valid sick notes and force them to work while they are injured or unwell.

"Workers were also subjected to unfair dismissals for being on valid sick leave. We suspect that management wanted to alter these policies for intentions known to them without informing the union leadership and without following the due processes," Baleni added.

As a result of negotiations, a draft memorandum of understanding was accepted by the workers, in which the parties have agreed the following:

Northam Platinum produces around 1,000 ounces of platinum group metals per day, which is 65 per cent of the mining company’s total output.

Union rights victory at Ashton Apparels in Kenya

The wildcat strike broke out in the Kenyan city of Mombasa on 5 January when workers from several factories owned by Ashton Apparel EPZ Ltd demanded the reinstatement of 120 unionised workers. These workers found that they had been made redundant upon returning from their Christmas leave. They also want the company to recognise TTWU.

“The company has been violating labour laws by denying workers their constitutional rights to join the union of their choice and victimizing employees who have voluntarily joined the union,” said TTWU General Secretary,  Joel Chebii.

The company has also refused to sign a recognition agreement with TTWU and deduct union dues from the union members’ wages.

In a letter sent to Ashton Apparels EPZ Ltd, Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, brought to management’s attention that the company is in breach of national labour legislation as well as international core labour standards, including the International Labour Organizations’ Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize and Convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining.

Raina states “it is imperative that take urgent corrective steps to address the demands of the Tailors and Textiles Workers Union. He calls on Ashton Apparels EPZ Ltd to “reinstate the 120 workers, sign the Recognition Agreement, deduct union dues from the union members’ wages, and stop harassing unionized workers.” Should demands not be met, Raina has said that further actions will be taken, including bringing these violations to the attention of buyers sourcing from the company.  

On 14 January a Kenyan court ruled in favour of the dismissed workers and ordered Ashton Apparel to reinstate workers immediately. “Striking workers have returned to work today together with their reinstated colleagues,” said Ezra Ojuka, Deputy General Secretary of TTWU. “Workers have shown Ashton Apparel that the union cannot be ignored and that they are prepared to stand united for their rights.”

Murder exposes rampant sexism in South African mines

Mosiane was 27 years old and had been employed at the mine for three months when, on 6 February 2012, while working alone in an isolated area, she was brutally attacked. She was found alive by another colleague some time later reportedly lying in a pool of her blood with a discarded condom nearby. She died shortly after.

Acting NUM National Spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said:

“As a vulnerable woman and a mineworker, she risked her life to support her family and faced all kinds of safety hazards underground. The news of her untimely and brutal murder was difficult to bear for the NUM and its members. We hope that since her brutal death Anglo American Platinum has taken steps to improve the safety of women working underground so as not to deter women from seeking employment underground.”

Shortly after Mosiane’s death Chamber of Mines spokesperson Jabu Maphalala reportedly said: “The Chamber deals with safety issues such as rock falls, dust and noise, and does not deal with gender-specific safety issues”.

This is unacceptable given that the Mining Charter states that women should form 13 per cent of mining companies’ workforces yet most mines have not made sufficient attempt to accommodate and integrate women workers they employ and address the issue of their safety.

Anglo Platinum has been noticeably silent on the verdict. The company undertook to conduct its own investigation, the findings of which have not been made available and to improve safety of women working in their mines, exactly how they are doing this is unclear. It is reported that at the time there were 3815 workers of which 262 were women working at the mine.

Mosiane has not been the only victim off gender based violence underground in South Africa’s mines that has had a fatal end. Cynthia Setuke was attacked and murdered on October 9 2013 at Aquarius platinum mine's Kwezi shaft in Rustenburg. Her sister Ceciliah Setuke links the lack of action after Mosiane’s murder to the attack of her sister and asks how many murders it will take before working conditions for women underground are addressed.

Setuke says:

“Cynthia was a member of the National Union of Mineworkers. My understanding is that the unions fought for women to also have equality in areas where previously men predominantly worked. Fine, we were all happy that women can go and work in the mines underground but does this actually open doors to further abuse and humiliation to women? Is this what the union fought for? My understanding is that women must be able to work anywhere without any fear”.

The NUM welcomed the final judgement of the gruesome murder suffered by Pinky Mosiane saying that the sentencing would bring closure to this painful chapter for her family, relatives and friends. Sanki Molefe, a female miner and NUM Rustenburg Women's Structure Chairperson said: "The sentence itself cannot bring back the life of Pinky Mosiane. But we are happy that justice has finally been served."

She adds:

“After Pinky’s murder, The Department of Mineral Resources has issued a directive that women should not be made to work alone in an isolated area underground but when another woman was murdered at Aquarius, the mine claimed to not know of this. The directive must be implemented in all mines and measures put in place to ensure the safety of women workers underground.”

Justice for Mosiane worked too slowly to save another victim. Despite a limited pool of suspects, confined to those that were underground at the time of the attack on Mosiane, it took 20 months to arrest Tutu Rooi Oliphant, a contract worker at the Anglo Platinum. Oliphant was arrested while in prison on a 25 year sentence for raping a 5 year old child, an attack carried out after he raped and murdered Mosiane.

Continued strike at Glencore’s Koornfontein mine

Mining giant Glencore had offered the workers one week of service per year in the Koornfontein mine, and in other operations it would pay three weeks. Workers in Koornfontein not only have to deal with losing their jobs but also an unfair settlement for the many years they produced coal for Glencore.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliate National Union of Mineworkers’ (NUM) General Secretary Frans Baleni says Glencore refuses to pay a decent retrenchment package:

“Contrary to the practice in the industry of two weeks for each completed year of service Glencore wants to pay one week for each completed year of service. We are mobilising our international unions affiliated to IndustriALL to join us in attacking this unacceptable conduct.”

In an effort to find a solution and end the strike, the NUM has involved a mediating party. But at a meeting on 24 November Glencore failed to meet the union’s revised proposals.

"Today marks the 49th day of the peaceful strike fighting a multinational company refusing to pay a decent retrenchment package to workers, claiming that it does not want to set a precedent," Frans Balen continues.

"The retrenched workers have zero chance of employment post retrenchment. This is an essence a death sentence and the NUM will fight tooth and nail to make sure our members get what they demand.”

IndustriALL Director of mining Glen Mpufane says:

”Glencore’s refusal to work with trade unions to find a reasonable solution to this conflict is outrageous. We fully support the fight of the miners and urge Glencore to settle this matter urgently.”

The NUM conflict is one of five conflicts currently running at Glencore operations in Peru, Colombia, Australia, and the USA. IndustriALL will mount a global response to Glenocore's union busting agenda.

IndustriALL’s magazine out now!

The Global Worker feature “Campaigning, organizing and winning” puts the spotlight on some of the latest frontline battles waged by IndustriALL and it’s affiliates. From Cambodian unions fighting to increase poverty wages, to America’s Autoworkers (UAW) organizing workers in the union-hostile Southern US, this feature takes a look at how unions are taking a strategic approach to achieve success. 

IndustriALL’s Stop Precarious Work campaign saw the biggest ever affiliate participation this year. The Global Worker special report looks at how unions are fighting back by limiting precarious work through collective bargaining agreements and legislation.

Readers will find a number of profiles in this issue of Global Worker, one on the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) fighting for Australian workers and another profile on Alejandra Ancheita, a Mexican human rights lawyer putting her life on the line for workers. Since this edition coincides with IndustriALL’s Executive Committee meeting in Tunisia, one of the profiles takes a glimpse of how Tunisian trade unions are paving the way to stability.

Also take a look at IndustriALL’s interview with Sharan Burrow, “The world needs a pay rise”.

While women unionists work in traditionally male-dominated fields, a report on women in Latin America gives a snapshot of how they are leading within their union structures despite the discrimination that they face.

Sign up to receive copies of Global Worker in English, French, Spanish or Russian by writing to [email protected]

Also view the Global Worker online version here: http://www.industriall-union.org/globalworker

FEATURE: IndustriALL: Campaigning, organizing, and winning

FEATURE

TEXT: Tom Grinter

This article looks at some of the latest frontline battles waged by IndustriALL and its affiliates. America’s autoworkers’ union, the UAW, is using new tactics to organize in the union-hostile Southern US; Cambodian unions are fighting to win an increase to poverty-level minimum wages; Philippine affiliate MWAP resisted a vicious union-busting attack with international support; and the Rio Tinto campaign organized contract workers in Madagascar.

Global support for UAW’s organizing campaigns

The UAW has historically held strong sway with the ‘Big Three’ US auto companies, GM, Ford, and Chrysler, resulting in good employment conditions for members and strong economic performance for the companies. When the global crisis hit the industry in 2007-2008 a mature agreement with the UAW saved both GM and Chrysler. Now it is vital for the union to organize the non-American auto companies operating in the US.

The three major targets are Volkswagen (VW) in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Daimler in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and Nissan in Canton, Mississippi. Labour rights abuses have been rife in all three locations, and outside anti-union pressure is enormous. The Southern culture of exploiting workers and getting away with it is made possible by low union density and anti-worker politicians. This challenge is being tackled head on by the UAW with the full support of IndustriALL and key allies.

UAW Locals 42 and 112 were established on 10 July and 3 October by workers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga and at Daimler in Tuscaloosa. At every single Volkswagen and Daimler plant in the world employees belong to a company-recognized union – apart from in Chattanooga and Tuscaloosa. The demand on these multinationals is simple: afford these workers the same rights as the rest of your employees, recognize their union and bargain collective agreements.

General Secretary Jyrki Raina led an IndustriALL solidarity trip to these three locations in October, including an international support mission to the Nissan organizing campaign in Canton. Organizers and workers shared their stories of shocking intimidation and of their inspiring fight-back. The IndustriALL affiliates representing Nissan workers, as well as employees of corporate partner Renault, set the plan for continued international campaign action and pledged to take the accounts of rights violations back to management in their home countries.

In UAW Local 42’s ‘War Room’ in Chattanooga, Jyrki Raina told members:

You are not alone. You are part of a big global family of 700 unions in 140 countries. The automobile industry is IndustriALL’s strongest sector, most unionized. IndustriALL members in the sector have good salaries and conditions, and functioning labour management relations. Every plant has problems, but the union and works council are there to solve them. Now you have a union and we eagerly await the next steps in getting recognition from VW.

International solidarity has been central to the organizing campaigns at VW and Daimler. German union IG Metall used its strength to ensure neutrality from both companies and a pathway to establishing UAW union locals. The Japanese JAW and JCM are working with UAW to win similar assurances from Nissan.

A work place election at VW in February was narrowly lost by the UAW by 712 votes to 626. The vote made clear to all involved that under current US labour legislation free and fair worker representation elections are impossible in the region. A vehemently aggressive anti-union campaign led by Republican politicians and anti-union lobby groups used threats and intimidation to highjack VW’s neutrality. Particularly shocking was Tennessee’s Republican Senator Bob Corker’s bare-faced lie that if workers voted in the UAW, a new SUV production line would not brought to the plant. The opposite was true.

With IG Metall’s strong support, UAW switched to plan B. Instead of an election, Local 42 has collected the support of a majority of the plant’s workforce and a consensus agreement was reached with global VW management to recognize the Local once a majority is confirmed through card check. Important developments are expected before the end of 2014.

Extending German co-determination to Alabama

Daimler’s global commitment to the German principle of ‘co-determination’ between management and employees will be put to the test in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The UAW already represents nearly 7,000 workers at Daimler plants in the US, with positive industrial relations bringing mutual benefits. An agreement between the UAW, the Daimler World Employee Committee and IG Metall aligns the joint commitment to extend the company’s practice in the rest of the world to Alabama.

World Employee Committees are established to create mutual trust and worker representation across borders in the spirit of solidarity. The meetings ensure equal information for all and discussion on an equal footing with the top management.

Dennis Williams, UAW president states: “It’s time for the committed and hard-working employees at MBUSI (Mercedes-Benz US International) to have the same representation that Daimler employees enjoy around the world. It’s the right thing to do. Plus, it will improve productivity and quality, ensuring success for both the company and the workforce.”

“We are asking Daimler to respect our right to representation and give the same opportunities to Alabama’s working families that have been extended to our counterparts elsewhere in the U.S. and around the world,” said Mercedes worker Rodney Bowens at the announcement of Local 112.

Leaders of the Daimler World Employee Committee and IG Metall also participated in the unveiling of the new local.

Gary Casteel, the UAW’s secretary-treasurer, and vice chairman of the Daimler World Employee Committee, called on the company to work with the new local union. “Daimler has a clear global commitment to employee representation.”

Once UAW Local 112 is recognized, first priorities of the union will be to bargain on improved plant safety and regularizing the more than 1,000 temporary workers at the plant.

Sweltering with the heat of injustice

Fifty years on from the height of the civil rights campaign for racial equality in Mississippi and throughout the US, Nissan workers are drawing parallels with their current treatment. The abuse of Nissan workers in Canton is extreme. Sexual harassment, threats, concerted bullying aimed at forcing permanent staff to quit and be replaced by contract workers, poverty wages of US$12 an hour, no say in shift timing, ban on pro-union t-shirts, bad safety standards, sackings, no pensions, and no dialogue with the UAW or IndustriALL – and that is only an introduction. This group of workers needs and deserves a union.

Union supporters are tailed by Nissan security officers as they drive home, or to the union office. One-on-one meetings are conducted where workers are intimidated about supporting the union, and every new hire is shown an anti-UAW video.

Under the banner ‘Union Rights are Civil Rights’ the UAW has been campaigning for four years to establish a company-recognized trade union in the Nissan plant.

The organizing drive has staunch community support from many groups, most notably the NAACP and MAFFAN. The NAACP is an organization that fights for racial equality with a rich and important history through the fight against racial segregation in the US. Daily support from NAACP has included a hard-hitting public report outlining the constant threat from Canton management that the plant will close if workers organize a union. MAFFAN brings together a large group of senior local church leaders who denounce the mistreatment of Nissan’s employees as un-Christian, together with elected officials, activists and students.

The 50th anniversary of the 1964 Freedom Summer march was marked by 1,000 people rallying at the Nissan plant. Civil rights veterans from the 1964 campaign marched side by side with Nissan workers, and other community activists. The message to Nissan was loud and clear: We fought to end these human rights abuses 50 years ago, workers’ rights are human and civil rights.

IndustriALL led a six-country trade union delegation to Canton in October representing over 150,000 Nissan workers, and workers at corporate partner Renault. These unions have reasonably good relations with the company elsewhere but have come up against harsh opposition when supporting the Canton workers.

Key members in the delegation were assistant general secretaries of the Japanese unions JAW and JCM. These senior trade unionists pledged continued solidarity with the Canton organizing drive, arguing that the Canton site should be organized and pledging to continue to lobby global management to ensure neutrality.

Nissan’s corporate partner Renault holds a 43.4 per cent stake in Nissan and the partnered companies have one CEO, Carlos Ghosn. The IndustriALL Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with Renault is a model agreement with strong language on decent wages, trade union rights, health and safety, and supply chain coverage. General Secretary Jyrki Raina argues that two sets of ethical principles cannot exist within one corporate group, therefore extension of the GFA to Nissan operations will be pushed.

A positive development is expected in the UAW-IndustriALL OECD complaint lodged in the US. Nissan’s blocking of their workers’ right to join a union is in breach of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Jyrki Raina states:

Our basic message to Nissan is that we will not go away until you treat your workers with respect and dignity. We will fight together and implement concrete international solidarity until the UAW has a recognized union at Nissan in Canton, Mississippi.

2014: Year of mass mobilizations for a living wage in Cambodia

Cambodian garment workers kick started this year’s campaign actions around the world with mass wage protests and strikes. The lines were drawn when Royal Police were deployed to arrest trade union leaders and violently attack demonstrators on 2 and 3 January. Four activists were shot dead and 37 seriously injured.

IndustriALL affiliates in Cambodia continued to mobilize throughout the year. An initial raise in the monthly minimum wage from US$80 to US$100 was nowhere near the demand of US$177. The government established a tripartite Labour Advisory Committee (LAC) for wage negotiations to take place, but repeated delays and postponed deadlines brought workers out to the streets of capital Phnom Penh again and again.

IndustriALL linked up with global allies ITUC and UNI Global Union, working together to mobilize international support and to lobby brands. An unprecedented move by major brands was achieved on 18 September when they jointly wrote to the government and the Garment Manufacturers Association (GMAC) to call for an increased minimum wage that they would pay for through increased purchasing prices. The brands also pledged to work with unions to develop workplace skills and efficiency.

The eight brands setting this example in Cambodia are H&M, Inditex (Zara), Primark, Next, New Look, C&A, Tchibo, and N Brown Group.

IndustriALL, UNI and ITUC organized two global days of action in support of the Cambodian workers’ campaign. The first global mobilization on 10 February saw loud actions in 12 countries, besieging Cambodian embassies to call for the immediate release of jailed wage activists. The second global action day, on 17 September, was held in conjunction with mass wage demonstrations in Cambodia. The international actions focused on the Cambodian government, demanding a living wage for the garment workers who create a US$5 billion industry. Both action days generated positive developments but the campaign continues to fight for better wages.

Philippine metalworkers defeat union-busting

From 5 May to 26 September this year IndustriALL unions around the world joined Philippine affiliate MWAP to refuse their employer’s attempt to bust the union. NXP, market leading microchip producer, sacked the entire 24-member executive committee of the union that had been in the plant for 33 years. The global campaign celebrated victory on 26 September with a labour agreement that brought significant gains and maintained the union.

The victory was important because it happened in the hostile Cabuyao special economic zone where companies’ no-union, no-strike policy is supported by a complicit government and judiciary. The result sent a clear message to other employers and workers in the industry and region.

We waged a strong battle resulting in a major victory,” said Reden Alcantara, MWAP National President. “We encountered many difficulties in this long and painstaking struggle but we never stopped searching for solutions. We have come this far because of the unity of our members and the all-out support of our global union IndustriALL and of our other supporters and friends from the local and international community. The NXP management failed to bust our union. That, to us, is our biggest victory.

Top management stood by the decision to sack all 24 elected union officials for taking time off on national holidays. Instead of taking the opportunity to bargain in good faith with the union, aggressive security measures meant to intimidate workers were taken. Police and NXP security guards were deployed in and around the plant and workers’ shuttle buses, and gated checkpoints were built.

Undeterred, hundreds of MWAP supporters repeatedly opened the checkpoints with wire cutters to conduct pickets and marches outside the facility. Negotiating venues were picketed and national mobilizations held. All 15 IndustriALL affiliates in the Philippines issued joint support.

Many pressure points were exploited by IndustriALL and MWAP’s campaign. Corporate customer action singled out Apple once it was discovered that NXP would supply important technology for the new iPhone 6. Apple received over 150,000 petitions and 14,000 official complaints through SumOfUs. A large and targeted social media campaign flagged the labour rights flaw in the new iPhone 6, and collaboration with the business and human rights community spread the news and built support for MWAP. LabourStart petitioning targeted NXP management.

Unions in other countries representing NXP workers and NXP’s top customers were mobilized to demand an end to the attack on MWAP. Sophisticated internal and external communications kept all supporters informed, facilitating public pressure on NXP and its customers.

A number of IndustriALL affiliates including AMWU, IF Metall, IG Metall, Metalliliitto, Unite and USW provided critical support in the campaign. IndustriALL’s sister global union UNI also provided support and had started preparations for the next stage in the campaign, targeting the retail operations of Apple and other corporate customers of NXP. Demonstrations at Apple Stores were conducted by United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) in Los Angeles and Chicago, with participation from USW activists and leaders, and these were to be repeated in other countries.

Although 12 of the dismissed 24 union officials were forced to accept a large separation payoff, the other 12 returned to work with a re-energized bargaining unit. The 26 September settlement included wage hikes of 12.25 per cent over three years and permanent employment for a number of contract workers. Some of the paid-off 12 will use the money to start their own businesses while others will become fulltime trade union activists focused on organizing neighbouring work places and ensuring full implementation of the new NXP agreement.

IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina concludes:

It is through campaigning and organizing that we build unity, power and respect. Every day is campaign day at IndustriALL Global Union and we will continue to build our capacity to win individual work place struggles, corporate and country campaigns, and wider thematic campaigns. We count on your support for the next call to action.

Rio Tinto campaign organizes 300 workers in Madagascar

A key goal of IndustriALL’s Rio Tinto campaign is to grow union density throughout the company’s operations for a more powerful demand for respect. This mining operation employs 662 workers directly and 1,232 through subcontractors.

Despite fear of repercussions, both directly-employed and outsourced workers are being successfully organized by IndustriALL’s Malagasy affiliate FISEMA at Rio Tinto’s QMM mineral sand mine in Fort Dauphin. This followed an IndustriALL organizing workshop held in Fort Dauphin in August.

Most contractor employees at the facility work full time and exclusively for Rio Tinto but their minimum wage is five times lower than direct employees, and with no social benefits. Other issues around which FISEMA is organizing include bad health and safety, sacked shop stewards, and non-compliance with the labour authorities rulings in favour of workers.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, says:

“IndustriALL is committed to bringing FISEMA together with the global network of Rio Tinto workers to strengthen the fight for freedom of association and better safety and working conditions at Rio Tinto sites worldwide.”

The union used the 7 October global action day at Rio Tinto to denounce the excessive use of precarious labour, and took their concerns into a meeting with the CEO of Rio Tinto Madagascar.