Swaziland bans trade unions

Federations were called upon to submit reports of their operations to date, including their prepared audited financial statements to the Commissioner of Labour. This decision affects not only TUCOSWA and ATUSWA, affiliating IndustriALL members SATU, SESMAWU and SMAWU, but also the Federation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber of Commerce, and the Federation of the Swazi Business Community.

Tripartite bodies such as the Wages Council, Labour Advisory Board, Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission, Swaziland National Provident Fund, Training and Localization Committee and the Social Dialogue Committee will stop functioning as a result.

Article 5 of ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize recognizes the right of workers’ organizations to establish or to join federations and confederations of their own choosing.

In response to the complaint filed by TUCOSWA and the ITUC on 23 May 2012 (Case No 2949), the Committee on Freedom of Association recommended that pending legislative reforms TUCOSWA is able to effectively exercise all its trade union rights without interference or reprisal. An ILO High-Level Fact Finding Mission that visited the country in January 2014 recommended the registration of the worker and employer federations by end of April 2014.

The Swazi government has ignored the recommendations and repeated calls from the international trade union movement to respect rights guaranteed under international conventions ratified by Swaziland. Instead they have suspended workers’ right to freely associate and to carry out trade union activities completely.

IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Jyrki Raina says:

“This decision also goes against the decision of the Industrial Court, which recognized that TUCOSWA could operate in terms of its own constitution.

“We urge you to revoke the decision to dissolve TUCOSWA and ATUSWA and to start engaging in a genuine dialogue with unions about legislative reforms that will ensure that workers’ rights are respected in line with Swaziland’s international obligations without any further delay.”

Rio Tinto workers protest in 13 countries

The global call for action was made by the Rio Tinto Global Union Network as part of an ongoing campaign coordinated by IndustriALL Global Union.

Our message to Rio Tinto is that the trade union movement globally is here to stay and we will fight and campaign against Rio Tinto until the company shows respect and gives dignity to its workers, to the environment in which it operates and to the communities in which it operates

says Andrew Vickers, IndustriALL mining section chairman and CFMEU General Secretary.

Rio Tinto workers around the world made their voices heard in a resounding demand for safer workplaces, secure jobs and respect for workers’ rights.

From rallies in Canada and the USA to worksite actions in South Africa, Australia and France, the spotlight was put on Rio Tinto’s habit of putting profits before people.

Following recent fatalities at the Grasberg mine in Indonesia that is partially owned by Rio Tinto, IndustriALL affiliate the Chemical, Energy and Mines Workers Union (CEMWU) distributed flyers on the global day to members at the mine. Leadership of the union at the mine also wore campaign t-shirts with the IndustriALL logo and slogan "Rio Tinto, the Ugly Truth".

In South Africa, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) acting President Piet Matosa met with members at the Rio Tinto Richards Bay operation to explain why unions around the world were targeting the company.

A number of actions took place in Australia, and the day of action managed to get a great deal of media coverage. The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union (CFMEU) launched a report into Rio Tinto's anti-union practices and National Vice President Andrew Vickers was interviewed on ABC Australia.

More actions took place in the following countries:

Workers and union officials from IndustriALL affiliate the Union Syndicale des Travailleurs de Guinée (USTG) had planned a series of protest actions to mark the global day, however as a result of the Ebola crisis they were sent home and no action could be organized.

The actions were held on 7 October to coincide with the World Day for Decent Work, when unions around the globe mobilize against precarious work. Unions at Rio Tinto have identified the increasing use of temporary, casual and contracted-out work by Rio Tinto as one of their key concerns.

Take a look at IndustriALL’s Rio Tinto page to see who took action and keep updated on the latest news on the Rio Tinto Campaign.

Women call for quotas at IndustriALL

IndustriALL’s general secretary Jyrki Raina told the conference: "Women and men take decisions better than men alone."

This quota must, however, only be seen as one measure on the way toward achieving gender parity. The conference adopted a resolution which in addition to the call for the 40 per cent quota, mentions health and safety, precarious work, maternity protection, women's leadership, and HIV and AIDS.

Despite a booming economy in Africa, women still face difficulties in the workplace. Closing the gender gap would reduce hunger and poverty. The conference took place against the backdrop of the Ebola epidemic – as always women are the most affected by the health scourges.

At the opening, the conference welcomed Senzeni Zokwana, ex-Vice-Pesident of IndustriALL who is now the Minister of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries of South Africa. He stressed the need to create jobs in the face of climate change and fluctuating markets. Africa must process her own products instead of exporting everything, according to Lydia Nkopane from the National Union of Miners (NUM), who said, "We export raw materials and still live in poverty."

Participants had a presentation on the challenges facing women and unions in the region. Among them are violence against women, the informal economy, HIV and AIDS, and maternity protection.

In Sub-Saharan Africa the informal economy makes up 66 per cent of non-agricultural employment. Seventy-four per cent of women and 61 per cent of men are informally employed. This work is marked by extremely precarious working conditions, health and safety hazards and the involvement of families and children. Women's needs must be addressed in a particular way. Here again it is a question of organizing women around their concerns. One of the concerns in mining communities for example is HIV and AIDS.

In Sub-Saharan Africa women are infected by HIV at least five to seven years earlier than men; young women are twice as likely as young men to be living with HIV. As girls are beginning to protect themselves, the rate of new infections is declining. However, these gains are fragile and must be sustained.

It would help if more countries ratified ILO Convention 183 on maternity protection. Up to now it has only been ratified by Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali in the region. Collective agreements could make improvements to women's lives if unions negotiated on something other than wages. Unfortunately maternity and women's issues are usually the first to be compromised.

The NUM highlighted the safety hazards of women working underground. Unfortunately there is still a hostility towards women and their demands. In the past few years the worst form of gender-based violence was perpetrated underground, namely murder. The only thing the Department of Mineral Resource did was to issue an instruction that "no women must work alone underground " but that does not compensate any loss of life. The unions have to have this as a priority and regulate it and compensate it.

At the regional conference, held over the following two days, women made up 35 per cent of participants.

ZIMBABWE

To mark the World Day for Decent Work (WDDW) a community action took place, at the Harare central bus terminus, where union members cleaned-up the littered area. The clean-up was followed by a march across town with workers singing songs of solidarity and holding banners demanding decent work and decent wages.

The action came at a time when according to a ZCTU survey, a total of 4,172 people have lost their jobs, between January and September 2014, compared to about 9000 jobs lost and 75 company closures in 2013. Most of these job losses were recorded in the security, engineering, motor, clothing and textile, and printing industries.

The fight against against precarious work continues as workers who still have jobs struggle get their salaries paid on time. 2014 has seen workers from various sectors taking to the streets in protest.

For years now, the ZCTU has been fighting for wages that are linked to the poverty datum line which is currently at USD$500.00, we have also been fighting the rot in public institutions for the betterment of our country

said the ZCTU’s President George Nkiwane in his speech whilst addressing workers.

Whilst delivering his solidarity message, IndustriALL Global Union Country Coordinating Committee Chairperson in Zimbabwe, Cde Wise Garira said

workers are an important resource and should be treated with dignity.

He added that

precarious work is associated with death and we all should fight it.

Wise also gave a brief history of IndustriALL Global Union and encouraged same sector unions to merge because there is power in unity.

SOUTH AFRICA Rio Tinto actions

Leadership of IndustriALL affiliate NUM including Acting President Piet Matosa met with the Rio Tinto branch committee at the Rio Tinto Richards Bay operation to explain why the company was being targeted by unions around the world. NUM also distributed the global flyer to its members at the mine.

NIGERIA

The activities in Nigeria had the full support of the Nigerian Labour Congress with the active participation of Congress’ anti casualization committee.

GUINEA Rio Tinto actions

MADAGASCAR Rio Tinto actions

IndustriALL affiliate in Madagascar, the Fédération des Syndicats des Travailleurs de l’Energie et des Mines (FISEMA) produced a banner for the global day advertising Rio Tinto's excessive use of precarious labor. They also took their concerns about precarious work to the CEO of Rio Tinto Madagascar on 7 October.

At Rio Tinto's Madagascar Minerals operation, there are double the numbers of contract workers as permanent staff.

CAMEROON Rio TInto actions

NAMIBIA Rio Tinto Actions

IndustriALL affiliate, the Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), produced a press release about Rio Tinto's unsustainable practicies at the Rossing operation in Namibia, and shared information about the global day of action with union members.