Organizing efforts in Ethiopia’s textile sector stepped up

Ethiopia has a large and growing textile sector employing about 45,000 workers. Its strategic advantage is its closeness to the European market that provides quick turnaround production times. The Ethiopian government has identified the textile sector as a key priority for economic development and has attracted more than USD3,5 billion in investment in the last three years.

The 43 worker leaders that participated in the workshops at the end of May 2014 came from five factory based unions that employ about 17,000 workers of which just over half are union members. The workshops were held in the capital Addis Ababa and in Mekelle, 800 km north of the capital.

“We need to strive for fully organized workplaces in Ethiopia, with factory based unions this leads to greater unity at the workplace and strengthens the position of workers, while contributing to the organized power in the sector as a whole,” says IndustriALL regional officer Thabo Tshabalala.

Tshabalala and the national organizer of the Ethiopian Textile and Garment Union (ETGU), Ayalew Ahmed facilitated discussions with affiliates to identify problems they face in union building at the factory floor level. Organizing strategies to overcome challenges were shared and confidence was built by discussing how unionized workers could take forward worker’s rights at the shopfloor.

Participants were assisted with developing factory based plans to organize non-unionized workers, including setting goals and objectives in an ambitious recruitment programme. The programme will be evaluated every three months and progress will be reported to the ETGU that committed to providing support to the unions for the initiative.

Workshop on unity building and cooperation

On 27 and 28 May 2014, 24 leaders from the seven IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in Zimbabwe met to discuss unity and cooperation. Participants in the workshop agreed on a three-year strategic plan in the context of the Unity Building project focusing on: building union power; fighting precarious work; defending workers’ rights in Zimbabwe.

The meeting also discussed the deadlock in the ongoing merger talks in the textile sector. Leaders were encouraged to continue the discussion through the national council. For a successful outcome, local affiliates must engage in the process and help the textile unions in finding a common understanding.

IndustriALL solidarity campaign continues for ExCo member Angeline Chitambo’s reinstatement

She updated delegates to the recently held IndustriALL World Energy Conference on her situation. The conference brought together over 250 delegates from energy industry trade unions representing members in 48 countries in Madrid, Spain on 10-11 April, 2014. Delegates were appalled to hear of her continued struggle for justice and reinstatement and unanimously expressed full support and solidarity to her fight.

Angeline was dismissed for allegedly disclosing confidential information at a press conference damaging the image of the company. She was dismissed without a fair hearing, which took place in her absence and in the absence of her legal and union representatives in September 2012. Since then, despite court findings in her favour, the company has refused to reinstate her. Cases continue which appear to be focussed on the payment of damages rather than the reinstatement she demands.

IndustriALL Global Union General Secretary, Jyrki Raina, has again written to the Zimbabwe government calling for her immediate reinstatement:

“It is clear that the case is a blatant attack on an effective trade union leader and an attempt to remove her from her trade union position as well as her employment. As such this situation is in total violation of core ILO Conventions and damaging the international reputation of Zimbabwe.”

The next stage in this long saga will be a further court hearing on 29 May, 2014. IndustriALL Global Union demands that the Ministers of both Labour and of Energy intervene and instruct ZESA to immediately engage with the union in constructive dialogue and to stop the victimization of Chitambo.

We will continue to support ZEWU and Angeline Chitambo until this matter is successfully resolved.

Government support for a living wage in Zambia

The labour minister was addressing delegates at the MUZ Quadrennial Conference that took place from 14 to 16 May 2014. He told the conference that industry was complaining about the new minimum wage which is above the poverty line but he said the government believes this is important for the country. He also assured MUZ of government support in making sure industry is working according the laws of the country.

IndustriALL Regional Secretary Fabian Nkomo said, "The areas of focus of MUZ are in line with key strategic areas of IndustriALL and with the pledged support of government to improve workers livelihoods, the growth of MUZ is eminent".

About 200 delegates from 43 branches of MUZ attended the conference held under the theme “Workers’ Rights First”. The opening session of the conference focused on organising and building unity of workers in the mining industry. A message of condolence was also sent from the conference to the families and relatives of the mine workers who lost their lives in a mine explosion in the Turkish town of Soma.

“We would like to call upon the Turkish Government to ratify and domesticate ILO Convention No. 176 which will promote a healthy and safe working environment in the mining industry in Turkey,” said MUZ President Chishimba Nkole.

Addressing gender based violence in Tanzania

A Women’s Workshop in Arusha brought together 25 women shop stewards from the energy, mining and textile sectors organised by the Tanzania Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers (Tuico) and the Tanzania Mines, Energy, Construction and Allied Workers Union (Tamico). The workshop addressed HIV and AIDS related issues confronted by women at the workplace, most specifically gender based violence.

Sexual harassment and rape were discussed at length and the extent of these issues, in particular for young women from textile factories was uncovered.

“Women were encouraged during the workshop not to accept sexual harassment and rape and report any offence to their trade union representative at the plant should they fear management,” said the HIV and AIDS coordinator, Paule Ndessomin.

Ndessomin and Regional Officer, Thabo Tshabalala visited to A to Z Textile Ltd that employs mostly women workers. The average age of these workers is 23 and they come from villages, brought to work in the factories. They live in hostels within the factory compound. “Beside work, there are no other activities offered to the young workers”, says Ndessomin. “This could contribute to the high pregnancy rate among these women.”

A workshop was also conducted with 33 Masai women, all Tuico members, at the Maserani village to raise awareness on HIV, AIDS and gender-based violence including female genital mutilation.

This was a follow up visit after a workshop last year where Masai women requested training on HIV and AIDS issues. “There were open discussions on the practices of female genital mutilation,” says Ndessomin. “The Masai women complained about some aspects of their culture but agreed that it would take time for these practices and beliefs to disappear.”

PROFILE: Fighting for women in the DRC

Profile

Text: Aisha Bahadur

In 1994, Josée was dismissed from her job as a nurse when requesting extended maternity leave during a difficult pregnancy. After four years at home she approached the union to challenge her unfair dismissal and was reinstated.

I realised that without the union you have no one to fight for you

– Josée

She has continued to spread this simple message to other workers after being elected as a union representative in 1999. In 2003 she was put in charge of women’s issues at CSC on a full-time basis.

I would go around from company to company in all the sectors we cover, share my story and encourage women to join the union.

At every company with trade union membership the CSC organize elections for a women’s committee. The women’s committee’s main purpose is to highlight and combat the problems faced by women in the work place.

There are few formal sector jobs in the DRC, where surprisingly women outnumber men in terms of those with jobs. But these jobs commonly come at a price and it is an established practice that male bosses give jobs to women in exchange for sex. Once in employment sex is again used for job security and to advance, "we call this ‘sofa promotions’ here”, shares Josée. Sexual harassment in the workplace is rife and can occur before and during employment.

Josée says the situation for women in the informal sector is worse;

Without the benefits of health insurance, retirement funds and family allowances, women in the informal economy face many hardships with no social protection.”

They are also frequently harassed to pay ‘taxes’ by various corrupt state agents or have their goods confiscated.

Added to that is a level of violence towards women that is so extreme in conflict areas that the union promotes that women wear female condoms when going about their work. Rape is an everyday reality and so insurmountable to prevent at a systemic level that the best that can be offered is to ensure that there is protection in place.

Josée explains,

when a woman is taken forcefully at least she may be spared sexually transmitted diseases.

These conflict areas are situated around mineral extraction, where small scale mining can be found. They are characterized by overcrowding as people seek out meagre opportunities to earn what they can from the demand for minerals which eventually find their way to multinational companies and the global market. Women come to sell things to the miners like food. What can be taken from them forcefully is sometimes sold willingly.

Women engage in prostitution in these areas as a way to survive or supplement what they earn from the goods that they are able to sell,

– Josée

Josée speaks of a project that the CSC has had for the last two years reaching out to women in conflict areas. But she acknowledges that little can be achieved without the political will on the part of government to address the underlying issues.

"It can be challenging, stressful and frustrating but it is a passionate job for me knowing I am helping other women,… Slowly we are getting there, women are getting to know their rights, participating more in the union and I am proud to be part of positive change.”

– Josée

But the severity of the situation created by conflict is a huge obstacle to meaningful progress.

These minerals are not going anywhere. Multinationals could invest properly, create jobs and stability,

rationalises Josée,

What we need is peace, when there is no peace, nothing can be achieved. This is my dream for the DRC, that we may know peace.

Botswana affiliates set up IndustriALL National Council

The three unions are the BPWU in energy, the BDWU in the diamond and the BMWU in the mining sector. IndustriALL particularly welcomed back the latter – the 10,000-member strong Botswana Mineworkers’ Union – into its membership, after a few years’ absence.

Many of the key challenges mentioned were similar for the three unions in Botswana, including the pervading lack of education of rank-and-file members and the need to continue to work on detailed policies and careful planning. Another often mentioned – and major – problem are the high court case costs in Botswana. Employers seem to be all too happy to bring unions to court, thereby avoiding short-term solutions and continuing disputes over years.

A sustainability issue, but also a goal in itself, is the identified need by all unions to engage in active organising. Possible organising targets include a few new mines across the country. Another surfacing issue, as elsewhere in the world, is that of precarious work. With the exception (for the moment at least) of the diamond sector, companies in Botswana are increasingly engaging in outsourcing their work and their workforce – and they do that massively. One of the ways discussed to deal with this is for the unions to further broaden out their scope, including by changing constitutions, so that they can cover a wider range of workers, making it easier to organise the precariously employed workers.

The meeting ended with the creation of the Botswana IndustriALL National Council, an effort aimed at (much) closer cooperation between the IndustriALL affiliates at national level. This new platform will look into, among other, joint campaigning, solidarity support and exchange of information. It will also act as an interface with IndustriALL Global Union.

Kenny Mogane, project coordinator for the IndustriALL Union Building project, said that “this new council will be a great step forward for workers’ struggles in Botswana, as, together, the unions will be able to achieve much more”.

IndustriALL Global Union embraces Africa’s Mining Vision 2050

The workshop was attended by civil society organizations and two of IndustriALL ‘s mining affiliates, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Ghana Mineworkers Union (GMWU). It was hosted by the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARWA) and the Ghana based Third World Network – Africa.

The intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development’s annual meeting, held in Geneva in 2012 adopted the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Africa Mining Vision. The Mining Vision had been adopted by heads of state and government of the African Union in 2009.

The meeting in Geneva followed a meeting of the 2nd African Union Conference of Ministers Responsible for Mineral Resources Development held in Addis Ababa from in 2011 on the theme Building a Sustainable Future for Africa’s Extractive Industry: from Vision into Action.

The Africa Mining Vision (AMV) provides a strategic pathway for Africa’s economic development trajectory, agreed by African nations themselves. It puts the continent’s long term and broad development objectives at the heart of all policy-making concerned with mineral extraction. The AMV sets out how mining can be used to drive continental development.

At the workshop, Industriall presented its industrial policy proposals, which are underpinned by the recognition of manufacturing as the engine for economic growth and decent work.

“IndustriALL’s industrial policy proposal resonates with the tenets of the Africa Mining vision, which recognizes mining as a catalyst for sustainable industrial policy for mining-dependent developing economies”, says Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL Director of Mining. “The AMV prescribes a policy trajectory that moves mining away from its enclave model of production to an integrated model of production. The model has down-stream linkages into mineral beneficiation and manufacturing and up-stream linkages into mining capital goods, consumables and services industries.”

Workers strike over slave wages at Crabtree in Lesotho

About 100 workers downed tools on 22 April after securing the right to strike on their demands for higher wages. Currently workers earn about USD105 a month, in part due to the low minimum wage in Lesotho, which is far below a living wage.

Crabtree started its operations in the tiny landlocked nation, which is entirely surrounded by South Africa, in July 2007. The company, which makes electrical accessories such as plugs and extension cords for export to the SADC (Southern African Development Community) market, is based in South Africa where it has another manufacturing plant.

Workers have received no salary increase on demands dating back to 2010, despite promises from management that wages would be reviewed. Workers are demanding a 30 per cent increase and are resolved to remain firm on this given the number of years they have gone with no increment.

FAWU, an IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, has taken the matter up with the Directorate of Disputes Prevention and Resolution (DDPR) and the Labour Court. The legal processes took over a year to conclude with the right to strike on the matter finally secured. However, Crabtree has now approached the court for an order to lock out the workers.

“Despite having secured the right to strike, management is ignoring the union and refusing to negotiate with us,” says FAWU organiser Thapelo Bohloko. “We are determined because workers cannot keep earning such low wages and will explore all avenues of support for this reasonable demand.”

The Sub Saharan African office of IndustriALL will focus efforts on the living wage campaign in Lesotho and hopes to engage employers and government to improve the situation, supporting calls from organized labour for a higher minimum wage and through company level negotiations to secure better wages.

Global May Day celebrations

In Madagascar, Fisema Fort Dauphin marched with fellow trade unions, before organizing a debate on the importance of social partnership for a sustainable company development.

In Bangladesh the National Garment Workers Federation rallied on the streets of Dhaka together with thousands of textile workers. The IndustriALL affiliate demanded compensation for the dead and injured of the Rana Plaza and Tazreen tragedies, and a safe workplace for everyone in the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh.

To mark May Day, Bangladeshi trade union BGTLWF marched in one of Savar’s industrial zones.

Members of IndustriALL affiliate Sommelito demonstrated on May Day.

In Pakistan, secretary general Haji Muhammad Saeed Arian and chairperson Atiua Saleem Chairperson were among those addressing the audience in the WFTU-PLF National Seminar on May Day.

In Berlin, IndustriALL marked the day alongside LabourStart and the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Association (IUF).

Switzerland saw IndustriALL Global Union staff march on the streets of Geneva and Bern, together with affilated union Unia.

In Mexico City, Mexico, IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina and assistant general secretary Fernando Lopes rallied along side fellow trade unionists.

Chilean affiliates rallied to celebrate the international workers' day.