Numsa settles engineering strike

The settlement provide a 10 per cent wage increase every year for lowest paid members in the sector and 8 per cent increase for the highest paid for the next three years. Other gains were time-off for shop stewards to attend to union and industry matters; the establishment of an industry short-time fund which will be used to compensate workers when they are on short time and training opportunities for workers.

It was also agreed that workers employed by labour brokers shall be entitled to all the terms and conditions of employment as contained in the Main Agreement. The bargaining council has undertaken to employ labour broker compliance officers who will act on complaints of abuse and non-compliance. All parties to the agreement also committed to discourage and minimize the use of temporary employment services in the industry.

 “NUMSA wishes to thank all our allies and friends across the world for supporting us during this long month. The union is more united and growing,” said Numsa International Officer, Skhumbuzo Phakathi.

Journalist and human rights lawyer in Swaziland receive two-year prison sentences

Their unfair conviction and sentencing can only be seen as sanctions on human rights activities in the country and proves judicial complicity in harassment

said Fernando Lopes, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union.

Maseko is a prominent human rights lawyer and a senior member of Lawyers for Human Rights Swaziland and has a close working relationship with the labour movement in Swaziland. Makhubu is a columnist and Editor-in-Chief of The Nation, considered as the sole independent newspaper of the country.

Background on the sentence: Convictions confound Swazi reform hopes

Ghanaians demonstrate against high living costs

The one-day protest where frustrated workers expressed their fury through wailings, placards, songs, shouts and vuvuzelas was called by organized labour and supported by the Ghana Trade Union Congress. Protestors, at least 7,000 of them in the capital Accra, accused the government of poor fiscal policies and mismanaging the economy.

A core demand is that immediate action be taken to halt the depreciation of the Ghanaian currency, the Cedi, and the rising cost of living. “The Cedi has depreciated so much that minimum wage is now less than two US dollars a day, so we can say it is officially poverty wages,” says Solomon Kotei, General Secretary of Industrial & Commercial Workers Union (ICU) which is affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union.

“Petroleum is almost double what it was a year and a half ago. We face power outages and water shortages all the time and still we face ever increasing utility costs. All this because of the depreciation of our currency but also due to poor planning and inefficiencies,” explains Kotei. “We are the ninth worst managed economy in the world despite our wealth in so many things like cocoa and even petroleum. So this is not about global economic problems, these are home-grown problems rooted in corruption. Workers are saying this cannot be allowed to continue.”

Labour is aware that businesses and industries are facing difficulties and Kotei expressed concern that 20 companies organised by ICU may have to close which would result in over 4000 job losses.

IndustriALL’s other Ghanaian affiliate; the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) also has put its weight behind the demonstration, “We have to let our government know that we are not happy with the state of the economy,” says Prince William Ankrah, GMWU General Secretary.

Ankrah proposes a way forward, “We need to seek solutions within the industrial relations landscape, we need social dialogue where we can sit together to ensure mature and peaceful engagement on the nature of the economic situation confronting us.” 

Numsa strike enters its fourth week

“The strike continues and has not been suspended.  Our members, at the coal face of the strike will make the final decision on whether to end the strike or not,” says Castro Ngobese, national spokesperson for IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, Numsa. 

Workers are demanding double-digit wage increases of 10 to 12 per cent for three years, scrapping of labour brokers and a housing allowance.  They also want a section in the Main Agreement removed to end discriminatory practices by employers giving allowances and other benefits to higher-paid workers.

Media reports on 21 July 2014 say that the employers’ association, the Steel and Engineering Federation of South Africa (Seifsa), has conditionally accepted a wage proposal for a 10 per cent increase in each of the three years, in an arrangement facilitated by the Department of Labour (DoL).

It is unclear whether further proposals made by the government on labour brokers have been accepted by employers, including a clause saying “Employees engaged by a labour broker and placed in employment in industry on a temporary, permanent or permanent outsourced basis shall be entitled to all terms and conditions of employment as contained in the Main Agreement, including all Social Security Benefits from day one of employment.”

A special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting has been held by Numsa in Johannesburg this week to deliberate the proposed settlement offer. After the meeting, the union will report back to members for their consideration and mandate.  It is only after this consultation that an announcement can be made on whether a deal has been reached.

The NEC appreciated the resoluteness and unwavering firmness of workers in demand of a living wage,” said Ngobese. “The NEC was humbled by the numerous messages of support and solidarity we continue to receive on daily basis from our allies here at home and abroad.”

Convictions confound Swazi reform hopes

The US Department of State has said it is “deeply concerned by the convictions of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and magazine editor Bheki Makhubu”. Sentencing of the pair has yet to be scheduled but they could face long prison sentences or a hefty fine.  

The press statement, dated 22 July, from Marie Harf, Deputy Department Spokesperson 2014, also added:

“Their convictions for contempt of court for publishing an article critical of the High Court of Swaziland—and their ongoing prolonged detention—appear to undermine respect for Swaziland’s human rights obligations, particularly the right to freedom of expression, which is enshrined in Swaziland’s own constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United States strongly supports the universal fundamental freedom of expression and is deeply concerned by the actions of the Swazi Government.”

Apparel accounts for most of Swaziland’s exports to the US, which was valued at USD 50 million in 2013. Without duty free access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), it is unlikely that these exports will remain competitive. US President Obama announced in June 2014 that Swaziland was no longer eligible for AGOA. This was a result of lack of progress over a number of years to make the required reforms to qualify for the preferential trading status, including respect for the rule of law and the right to organise. When the exclusion comes into effect on January 2015, concerns are that exports to the US will immediately plummet.

Maseko and Makhubu have served more than 100 days in prison since their arrest in March this year. Their conviction on 17 July 2014 has been condemned worldwide, not only as a violation of rights of Maseko and Makhubu, but also because it instils fear that will lead to self-censorship of the Swazi people on matters of the state for fear of arbitrary sanctions. It has also led to many questioning the credibility of the judiciary in Swaziland as an instrument of repression, serving the interests of King Mswati. Mswati rules Swaziland as an absolute monarchy that has been under a state of emergency since 1973. Sentencing has yet to be scheduled but they could face long prison sentences or a hefty fine.  

“We are distressed by this conviction, for what it means for human rights in Swaziland but also because we had hoped that the exclusion of Swaziland from AGOA may have prompted urgent reform,” says Fernando Lopes, Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL. “This is not a good sign and we are deeply concerned for the precarious position of the garment sector in Swaziland now.”

Namibian tannery workers back at work

About 120 workers had been on a legal strike since 28 June 2014 after negotiations deadlocked on the demand from workers for transport to and from work. The strike was resolved after intervention by the Labour Ministry which led to a mediated process. Workers accepted that the company’s promise to look into the issue of transport by next year’s negotiation, the company said it required more time to plan for this. 

A 9% wage increase was agreed on across the board and the company agreed to back pay on the increase from March 2014 when the negotiations should have been concluded. Workers’ bonus pay, which the company threatened to withhold if workers went on strike, will to be negotiated as normal in October 2014.

“The union is happy if workers are happy, “says  Narina Pollmann, Deputy General Secretary of Manwu. “Workers were willing to meet the employer half way on their wage demand and were understanding of the company needing for more time to plan for transport. But the strike showed that in the next negotiations, workers’ demands on transport need to be taken seriously.”

Concerns on health and safety at the tannery had also been raised and Manwu is satisfied that labour inspectors have been sent out to investigate and will provide the union with a report. 

Liberian union commits to intensify organizing

The initiative is just one of a series of plans devised during a three-day workshop on collective bargaining organized by IndustriALL Global Union. The workshop, held in Liberia’s city of Gbarnga in Bong County, took place in early July 2014 and included participants from Uwul and five locals.

IndustriALL affiliate, Uwul, plans to revise its policy of splitting subscriptions equally between the local and the national union. By giving the national union a larger share, more resources will be available to recruit workers.

Changes also need to be made to the payment of subscriptions at new workplaces. The current practice is that a new local only starts to pay subscriptions to the union once a collective bargaining agreement has been signed with management. This process can sometimes take as long as two years.

At the workshop, Fabian Nkomo, IndustriALL’s Sub Saharan African regional secretary, said, "Uwul has the potential to build itself and it can raise resources from within to fund the organising initiative without needing outside support.”

Uwul believes it will adopt progressive resolutions and changes to their policies at their next convention planned for later in 2014.

Nigerian abducted schoolgirls must not be forgotten

Militant Islamic group, Boko Haram, seized 270 girls from their school in the north-eastern Nigerian state of Borno almost three months ago. While some girls have managed to escape, more than 200 remain captured.

The resolution, passed in June at IndustriALL’s Executive Committee meeting in Geneva, calls on the Nigerian government and girls’ captors to speedily ensure that all the girls are safely returned to their homes, unharmed.

Boko Haram has threatened to sell the girls as slaves or marry them off as child brides unless the government releases all imprisoned militants. 

The resolution, put forward by IndustriALL’s Women’s Committee, underlines that the girl-child suffers most in conflicts around the world and urges the Nigerian government to take measures to prevent further abductions from occurring.  

The Executive Committee pledged its solidarity with the girls, their parents and their communities.

IndustriALL has also written to Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva to convey the demands to the government.

Resolution on Nigeria and the schoolgirls captured by Boko Haram

Noting that women and children all over the world are the worst victims of economic, social, political, cultural and religion inspired violence;

Recognizing that the girl-child suffers the most in conflict situations around the world;

Fully committed to and supportive of the global call for the release of the more than 270 girls captured in north-east Nigeria on 14th April 2014, we the delegates to this IndustriALL Conference call upon the Nigerian government and the captors of the girls to speedily ensure that the girls are all safely returned to their homes, unharmed.

We pledge our solidarity with the girls, their parents and their communities.

We furthermore demand that measures be taken to prevent further abductions from happening.

25th June 2014

(Resolution sponsored by Women committee.)

Namibian tannery workers strike

Workers are ready to accept the wage increase negotiated between their employer and IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, Manwu, but have stood fast on their demand for transport, voting to go on an indefinite strike after coming to a deadlock on the matter.

The impact of rising transport costs are often overlooked and increasingly low waged workers opt to walk to work in order to not incur these costs. This increases their daily calorie intake requirements which are often not met, thus workers are going hungry.

“Some workers have to walk very long distances to work, up to five kilometres each way every day and what is worse is that they are often victims of crime, being an easy target for robbers,” said Justina Jonas, General Secretary of Manwu. “This time workers felt that they could not compromise on their need for transport.”

Jonas also raised concerns on health and safety at the tannery, saying that the health consequences of long term exposure to chemicals and the lack of protective gear needed to be addressed.

In a letter to Nakara’s Managing Director, Kevin Davidow, IndustriALL's general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

We urge you to take seriously the demands of workers for company provided transport to and from work in the interest of their security and well-being. We also call upon you to work with MANWU to address the concerns of your employees including making improvements to health and safety standards at your tannery.

The company has brought in scab labour despite workers being on a legal strike since 28 June 2014. Manwu has applied for a court interdict to prevent this. Nakara was the Africa regional winner in 2011 of the ‘Tannery of the Year’, an awards programme for the global tanning industry, for amongst other things, its commitment to its workers.

US withdraws Swaziland’s preferential trade status

US President Obama announced on June 26 2014 the termination of Swaziland as a beneficiary country of the AGOA, effective from 1 January 2015. The loss of AGOA eligibility will affect duty-free access of Swaziland’s garment exports to the US, worth USD50 million in 2013. 

“The US required that Swaziland address five recommendations, which were reasonable and in fact lenient, but the government failed to act” explains Wonder Mkhonza, General Secretary of Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland (Atuswa). Amongst these recommendations was respect for freedom of association and freedom of assembly.

Amongst key concerns is the 2012 deregistration of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (Tucoswa) and international pressure, including attempts by the ILO to ensure that the Swaziland government recognizes the federation, have thus far failed.  Atuswa, formed through the merger in September 2013 of a number of unions, including three IndustriALL Global Union affiliates, in sectors including manufacturing, metal and mining, also remains unregistered.

Trade union activities are often disrupted by the police. Trade union leaders are subjected to harassment and live with the threat of arrest and detention when going about their work. The recent conviction of a trade union leader and the imprisonment of a union lawyer for criticizing the lack of an independent judiciary the in Swaziland, are further indicators that the situation is worsening in Swaziland. An ILO fact finding mission in January 2014 found that no progress was made in the past decade.

In May 2014, prior to the deadline to meet the eligibility requirements, Atuswa led a march of about 400 garment workers to hand over a petition to the Swazi Prime Minister. “We petitioned the government to address the five recommendations so that Swaziland would keep its trading status with the US and save jobs, but up to today government has not responded to our petition.” said Mkhonza. 

The US will review Swaziland’s AGOA eligibility again in December 2014, thus the Swaziland government does have a window, albeit a small one, to assume its responsibility now to respect workers’ rights and regain preferential trade status.