Ugandan affiliates boost organizing

Four IndustriALL affiliates National Union of Clerical Commercial professional and Technical Employees (NUCCPTE), Uganda Textile, Garment, Leather and Allied Workers' Union (UTGLAWU), Uganda Chemical, Petroleum and Allied Workers Union (UCPAWU) and Uganda Hotel Food Tourism and Allied Workers Union (UHFTAWU) participated in the training, which is part of the IndustriALL East African Union Building Project.

Jan Toft Rasmussen, OHS consultant from Dansk Metal, Denmark facilitated the workshop. Rune Albertine, programs’ officer of the Danish trade union council for international development co-operation LO-FTF, was also present.

The participants received a comprehensive training on the ways to do organizing by dealing with health and safety issues and precarious work. The organizers shared their skills and experiences and discussed future strategies and cooperation among the unions.

Talking about the legal framework in Uganda, Moses Mauku, Director of the Planning and Development Hotels Union (UHFTAWU) stressed upon the importance of the industrial relations adamant for most employers, but bewailed the difficulties faced by the unions when it comes to implementation of their rights to organize.

Presenting the issue of precarious work Catherine Aneno, the Project Coordinator, Industriall East African Union Building Project said, ‘’Workers cannot save for their future, locked in the cage and the economy is robbed since this worker cannot pay taxes to build the economy’’. In her presentation Catherine Aneno touched upon the factors contributing to the spread of precarious work and disadvantages for workers and the economy. She also spoke about the ways to combat precarious work.

Moses Mauku, Director Planning and Research at UHFTAWU talked about the aspects of aspects of laws that regulate the OSH implementation in Uganda.

Jan Toft Rasmussen took the participants through the steps of developing trade union OHS strategy. Basing on the best practices in Denmark in his presentation he explained how to use OHS as an organizing tool targeting especially employers.

Catherine Aneno explained to the participants the various steps that need to be done in order to prevent accidents at workplaces and what to do if accidents happen.

At the end of the workshop it was decided that participants will write reports about the training and present them to their General Secretaries and copy project coordinator for IndustriALL East African Union Building Project, while their respected unions will:

AFL-CIO awards TUCOSWA Human Rights Award

Swaziland has in the past had in place a basic legal platform for worker rights advocacy, a  labour relations system including a labour court, a mediation and conciliation body, and a system of tripartite dialogue between unions, employers, and government, existing alongside autocratic rule of the monarch. However in recent years Swaziland’s monarchical government has become increasingly repressive.

The Trade Union Confederation of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), formed in 2012 when the Swaziland Federation of Labour, the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions, and the Swaziland National Association for Teachers merged, was refused registration and legal standing for three years, during which time the political space for unions constricted. Tripartite dialogue was discontinued and freedom of association was curtailed by regular police actions against union meetings and protests.

Despite pressure from other countries and the International Labour Organization, Swaziland’s government refused to make promised policy reforms that would recognize freedom of assembly, speech, and organization and curtail the broad discretionary authority that police use to disrupt union activities and arrest civil society activists including union leaders, journalists, student leaders, and political dissidents. 

“The Swaziland government’s aggressive stance consistently violates its international commitment to core labour standards and endangers the country’s economic development. Because of its open violation of the worker rights eligibility criteria in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Swaziland lost preferential access to the U.S. market in 2015,” explains the AFL-CIO. “This resulted in the loss of thousands of garment sector jobs and risks thousands more over the course of the year.  The government’s inconsistent decision-making remains the biggest hurdle to job creation and poverty reduction in the country.”

As legal and physical attacks on Swaziland workers and their allies became more frequent, TUCOSWA remained resolute in its support for worker rights, standing up for its right to exist, and to support human rights activists illegally harassed and imprisoned. TUCOSWA has stood for democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Through persistent efforts and support from unions worldwide, TUCOSWA won its recognition battle in May 2015, but continues to face hurdles in the way of making legal standing a reality. 

“Swaziland will not be able to address its major economic needs without a strong TUCOSWA supporting worker efforts to organize, bargain, and advocate for their basic human rights;” says the  AFL-CIO. “For its dedication to fighting for a more democratic country that recognizes and protects freedom of association and worker rights, the AFL-CIO is pleased to award TUCOSWA the George Meany-Lane Kirkland Human Rights Award.”

NUM fighting back on retrenchments at Kumba Iron Ore

Management of the Anglo American owned company agreed during a meeting with the union on 23 July 2015 that they will work with the union to negotiate retrenchments at its Northern Cape mines.

Currently 261 workers stand to lose their jobs at their operations at Kolomela and Sishen in the Northern Cape. Kumba Iron Ore is also closing its Thabazimbi operation in the Limpopo province which will result in 1160 job losses. A meeting between the union and management has been scheduled for next week on the retrenchments at Thabazimbi.

"This is a tragedy for the mineworkers and the community of Thabazimbi. Each worker supports about 10 people so there are too many people that will be without bread at the end of the day," said Lucas Phiri, NUM Chief Negotiator at Kumba Iron Ore, “but if these retrenchments are inevitable we know what a setback this is for workers and the hardship it causes for them and their families so we will work hard to get them the best possible packages”.

The NUM also questions whether the company met its legal obligation to inform the Minister of Minerals Resources of its intention to retrench and has requested the Minister to intervene to prevent the retrenchments. The union has also demanded a moratorium to be placed on retrenchments at all mines saying “enough is enough”.

22-month USW strike ends in agreement with Crown in Toronto

Workers will finally go back to work after a vicious attack on their employment conditions forced the 120 members of USW Local 9176 out on strike in September 2013.

A tentative agreement was reached on 8 July when the company dropped its intransigent condition that the 34 leading union supporters could not have their jobs back even after a settlement is reached.

IndustriALL Global Union assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan celebrated the strength of the strike:

Our sisters and brothers finally go back to work by standing strong against the attempts to eliminate the union. Congratulations! We will not forget Crown’s shameful union busting attempts.

Crown achieved double profits in 2012 and hailed the Toronto Crown Metal Packaging factory as its best site in North America. Then told workers there that their salaries and conditions were being cut dramatically, and effectively the company was attempting to destroy the union.

The company was allowed to hire contract replacement workers during the strike. The USW criticized the Ontario government for failing to direct binding arbitration.

“These men and women can return to work with their heads held high. They are going back shoulder-to-shoulder, with their union and their principles intact,” said Marty Warren, USW Ontario Director.

"Clearly, this strike demonstrates the pressing need for amendments to the Labour Relations Act that would provide for binding arbitration in long and difficult strikes and would impose a ban on the use of replacement workers. We urge the Liberal government to take the necessary steps through the current labour law review process to commit to those reforms," Warren added.

The battle against union busting by Crown in Turkey is continuing. IndustriALL affiliate Birlesik Metal-Is has been forced to lodge numerous legal complaints and the labour court has ruled that almost all workers sacked by Crown were sacked for joining the union. One of the managers has been convicted with a six-month prison sentence, although the sentence has been suspended. Pepsi and Coca-Cola are conducting audits into the plant.

IndustriALL’s Ghanaian affiliate ICU had to mobilize a campaign in order to force Crown to negotiate redundancies of its members this year. ICU Deputy General Secretary Emmanue Benimah reports: “Crown has now sold up and left Ghana. We were able to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding with the company that brought our members proper redundancy payments, but this was only possible once we put them under great pressure.”

Towards a South African National Minimum Wage

The booklet provides an overview of the key issues and is intended to assist trade unions to popularise democratic debates on a National Minimum Wage (NMW) amongst workers, shop stewards and officials.

Click below to view full report

Madagascar workers fighting back against Sherritt

Unionists at an IndustriALL workshop on organizing and building union power in Antananarivo, Madagascar, painted a graphic picture of Sherritt’s trade union busting tactics and intimidation of workers at its multi-billion-dollar Ambatovy nickel mining operation in the country.

Affiliates at the IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa regional workshop on 29 and 30 June shared stories of systemic threats of dismissals and the promotion of yellow unions against established unions.

Unions say Sherritt has violated the labour law of Madagascar by unilaterally announcing the layoffs of 900 workers for six months, without prior consultation with the company’s Comité d’Entreprise (workers committee).

IndustriALL has been given a mandate by the trade unions at local, regional and national level in Madagascar, as well as the trade union Confederation and the independent union organizing at Ambatovy, to take up the unacceptable labour relations situation at Ambatovy with Sherritt’s headquarters in Canada, the local Sherritt management in Madagascar and the government of Madagascar.

IndustriALL, together with its Malagasy affiliate trade unions, FESATI, FSTEM, SVS and SEKRIMA, committed to collaborate to put pressure on Sherritt to re-instate the 900 workers, including union leaders.

The trade unions have given IndustriALL a set of demands to present to the parties concerned with the crisis at Ambatovy:

IndustriALL has been asked to mobilize international solidarity in the event that Sherritt fails to respond, or retaliates and victimizes union members and their representatives.

The workshop took place against the background of a fragile industrial relations environment in Madagascar, often characterized by tension, fear and anxiety amongst workers. This is caused by the combative and hostile employer and government collaboration that is aimed at crushing trade unions.

Employers are suspected of having infiltrated trade unions in Madagascar, which has resulted in infighting, disunity and suspicion amongst each other, making them weak and vulnerable.

The objective of the workshop, which was funded by Swedish affiliate IF Metall’s union-to-union organization, was to clarify and deepen understanding of the law and trade union rights in Madagascar; highlight the global perspectives in organizing; and to share collective bargaining experiences in the region.

Ugandan unions in joint organizing drive

The meeting was supported by LO-FTF, the Danish trade union council for international development, and brought together four IndustriALL affiliated unions from a wide range of industries including textile, energy, chemical and clerical sectors. There were three main objectives to:

A national organizing strategy was developed and adopted for Uganda by all participating unions which focused on three key strategies:

Engura Geoffrey, the General Secretary of Uganda Chemical Petroleum and Allied Workers Union commented: “The joint action strategy that we have built now through unity and cooperation, if managed properly, will bring change in labour movement within individual unions and East Africa as a whole. We appreciate our global union for this support.”

A national coordinating council of four committee members was formed which will help the project coordinator in the implementation of different project activities within the unions.

A national committee on OHS was formed comprising of eight members with two representatives from each union. Terms of reference for the committe was developed and adopted by all unions.

Affiliates generated different ideas for material development to help for organizing, precarious work and OHS.

Two mapping guide surveys for organizing were discussed and adopted by all the unions.

A national work plan was developed and adopted by all unions for joined action on organizing, precarious work and OHS.

Biryeri Zauja, the organizing and education secretary from the Uganda Textile, Garment, Leather and Allied Workers Union commented, “If affiliates can be committed, we see a bright future for labour movement in Uganda. By coming together we can build a strong pressure group on the Government to change policies on precarious work, occupational health and safety, and organizing."

The four IndustriALL affiliates at the meeting were:

East African unions join forces to tackle common issues

The project aims to make trade unions in the manufacturing and mining industries in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda stronger through national and international cooperation. Stronger unions can better defend their members, improving working conditions and health and safety at the workplace.

A growing number of workers are left with no choice but to accept temporary, precarious and dangerous jobs in order to make ends meet and provide an income for their families. Precarious jobs are an enormous threat for workers, not only at the social and economic level – it also has negative impacts on the communities and on the economy at large.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda call on their governments, employers, workers and all other stakeholders to cooperate with trade unions in dealing with the explosion in precarious work, as well as to work towards minimizing diseases and accidents in the workplace. This should be done through legislation and collective bargaining.

The specific objectives of the East African union building project include:
·       Organizing and recruiting workers into trade unions, after which the employers also need to recognize the unions
·       Eliminating precarious work and short term contracts
·       Reducing health and safety related risks and incidences at work

The overriding goal is to ensure that IndustriALL affiliates in the three countries gain power, allowing them to become a strong counterforce and dialogue partner to the companies. When workers find ways to have better lives and more decent work, the three countries, as well as the entire East African region, will be better off.

Catherine Aneno, IndustriALL project coordinator, says:

We support unions gaining more power in East Africa. Within the next four-year period, we want to see an increased membership in the region, have less precarious work as well as safer and healthier jobs.

Let us organize, agitate and educate our members.

IndustriALL at the International Labour Conference

During the two-week conference, 24 countries were shortlisted for review by the Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) for failing to implement the Conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The Committee is a tripartite body with representatives from workers, employers and governments.

Of particular interest for IndustriALL were cases regarding the non observance of Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organize, including Bangladesh, Belarus, Mexico and Swaziland.

In Mexico IndustriALL continues to fight against protection unions, which do not represent workers and serve only the interests of employers and corrupt government officials. The Committee recognized the existence of protection unions and made strong recommendations to the Mexican government to put in place legislative reforms and measures to prevent the registration of the protection unions. Read more here.

Worker statements illustrated the serious challenges that lie ahead in putting Bangladesh in line with the Convention 87, ranging from legal problems, issues with EPZs (export processing zones), anti-union discrimination and violence, and trade union registration, among other factors.

IndustriALL denounced anti-union violence in Bangladesh with particular reference to the case caught on camera of two female union leaders getting beaten up at a factory owned by the Azim Group.

The Committee recommended a high level tripartite mission to Bangladesh in order to make a closer assessment of the country.

The Minister of Labour in Belarus referred to the recent decision by the country’s President Lukashenko to amend his own decree, which dictated a 10 per cent minimum union membership as condition for creation of a new union, to a lesser threshold of 10 people.

Although this is a positive development, workers’ and trade union rights are strangled in Belarus through the dominance of short-term contracts as well as bureaucratic hurdles that prevent independent unions from official registration.

During the Conference, Belarus was listed as one of the world’s ten worst countries for workers by the ITUC as it launched its 2015 Global Rights Index. The report says Belarus is characterized by anti-union discrimination, forced labour and repression of protests.

No wonder that the Committee expressed “deep concern that, ten years after the Commission of Inquiry’s report, the government of Belarus has failed to take measures to address most of the Commission’s recommendations. Workers continue to face numerous obstacles in law and in practice to the full exercise of their right to form or join trade unions of their own choosing.”

Despite having registered labour federation Tucoswa last month, Swaziland was again shortlisted for examination by the Committee which concluded that the government has a way to go before Swaziland is in full compliance with Convention 87.

The conclusions of the discussion on Swaziland list nine actions that the government is urged to take immediately. At the top of the list is a call for the unconditional release of a jailed lawyer for the Trade Union Confederation of Swaziland (Tucoswa), Thulani Maseko, who is serving a two year sentence for contempt of court; as well all other imprisoned workers whose right to free speech has been violated.

The committee also called for the registration of IndustriALL’s affiliate, the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (Atuswa) without further delay. Atuswa was formed through a merger in 2013 of several unions that organize industrial workers in Swaziland, including textile, garment and metal workers. An affiliate of Tucoswa, Atuswa has not been registered despite meeting the requirements set out by government for the registration of a trade union.

The Committee also listed legislative reforms required to bring the country into compliance with the freedom of association Convention and has urged the Swazi government to accept technical assistance to achieve this.

Read the full report from this year’s Committee on the Application of Standards here. 

Madagascar: Sherritt workers attempt suicide after being fired

Sherritt, a Canadian multinational, runs the Ambatovy nickel mining and processing project in Madagascar, where it is the majority shareholder. Ambatovy is the largest finished nickel and finished cobalt operation from lateritic ore in the world.

On 3 June, Sherritt unexpectedly announced it would be firing 1,100 workers at Ambatovy. The retrenchment at Ambatovy represents 12 per cent of direct and indirect workers employed at Sherritt globally.

When workers turned up to the Ambatovy plant on Friday 5 June, they were turned away and told they had lost their jobs. Some were even stripped of their work clothes and made to walk home barefoot.

The short-notice of the sackings has led to a desperate situation for workers and their families, many of whom have taken out loans to build homes on condition of employment at the mining company. The sacked workers have been offered just one month’s redundancy pay.

Only last October Sherritt proclaimed that Ambatovy would be saved from ten per cent job cuts affecting its other operations around the world including Cuba, Spain and Pakistan, marking the Madagascan mine as their top priority after an US$ 7 billion investment.

Ambatovy performance has been rated as excellent for 2014 and the company reported an 11 per cent increase in revenue from Ambatovy for the first quarter.

Production targets were met in March ahead of schedule despite two weeks of closure due to technical problems, as well as a 17-day strike at the extraction site in Moramanga. Sherritt also reported that April’s production was not affected by another 10-day strike at the Tamatave plant.

In May, the company declared that the continued fall of nickel price in the world market has had an adverse effect on its profits, and that the strikes and two week closure of the plant in Ambatovy contributed to the decline in profits.

Trade unions reject the Sherritt’s claims that industrial action affected profits and say the mass lay-offs are in callous retaliation for the worker’s attempts for equal pay between local and foreign staff and protests against the company’s human resources department over 50 cases of unfair dismissals.

Following a press conference called by Ambatovy management, local media aggressively attacked trade unions for contributing to the financial deficit at the company and the job losses. Lack of access for trade unions to financial information at Ambatovy prevents a genuine assessment of whether the sudden decision to terminate 1,100 jobs is due to financial reasons or is in reprisal for earlier strikes.

Trade unions claim that several procedures required by national labour legislation have not been followed in deciding and implementing the retrenchment plan.

IndustriALL Global Union has mining affiliates in Madagascar. IndustriALL’s director of mining, Glen Mpufane, said:

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family of the Sherritt worker who took her own life. It’s evident that the fate of more than a thousand mine workers is of no consequence to management, whose only concern is profit. IndustriALL Global Union calls upon the government of Madagascar to act in the interest of workers. Worker consultation and a redundancy plan are required by law in the country. If this had been respected perhaps the life of the worker would have been saved.”