Global worker Why is mining still so dangerous? The power of international union solidarity - IndustriALL Global Union
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
global worker
1 MAY 2019
THE BIANNUAL MAGAZINE OF INDUSTRIALL
No.
SPECIAL REPORT
Why is mining still so dangerous?
FEATURE
The power of international union solidarity
INTERVIEW
Natalia Marynyuk
A world in crisis
needs a pathway to
a better future, and
unions can provide it.
Valter Sanches
General Secretary
Welcome to global worker
This issue of Global Worker is published at a time when the global
political and economic climate continues to deteriorate.
A slowing economy has led to Responding to these tragedies, Natalia Marynyuk from IndustriALL
IndustriALL is continuing the campaign affiliate Metalworkers and Miners of
an even greater concentration of for countries to ratify and implement Ukraine says that in the face of union
wealth and power in the hands ILO Convention 176 on Safety and busting, protecting their members
of a few. Around the world, Health in Mines. is the goal of the union. Read the full
interview on pages 10-11, where she
corporate greed, combined with In January, the International Labour says that international solidarity and
weak regulation and legislation, is Organization (ILO) released a report on support was important in finding a
the Future of Work. The report itself
fuelling workers’ rights violations, has some limitations, but could be a
solution to a conflict which lasted for
abusive low wages and precarious many years.
positive influence for the approval of
working conditions. But as always, an ILO declaration at the International Together with our affiliates, we continue
Labor Conference in June. It calls for a to mobilize international solidarity and
unions are on the frontline,
new approach that puts people and we achieve major victories along the
defending working conditions. the work they do at the centre of way. A world in crisis needs a pathway
public policy and business practice. to a better future, and unions can
Two of IndustriALL’s affiliated unions in
IndustriALL has sought the same goals provide it. Why we need international
India are featured on pages 12-13, with
outlined in the report for many years; union solidarity now more than ever
the AICEF and Unions United fighting
read more about our position on is discussed in the feature on pages
back against precarious work in their
pages 19-21. 14-18.
sectors.
To end violence against women in the Valter Sanches
In a special report on pages 6-9, we
workplace we need a strong, binding General Secretary
take a closer look at why, in the wake
ILO Convention. Affiliates took to the
of numerous tragic accidents, mining @ValterSanches
streets on this year’s International
is still so dangerous. Despite safety
Women’s Day on 8 March to mobilize
regulations and the efforts of unions,
in support of an ILO convention
mining accidents take the lives of
addressing gender-based violence,
thousands of workers every year and
see pages 4-5.
seriously damage the environment.
2
global worker | contents
Contents
special
report
The dangers
of mining 6
interview profile
Indian unions
Protecting union fighting
members in precarious
Ukraine 10 work 12
feature report
Why we need
international IndustriALL and
union solidarity the Future of
more than ever 14 Work 19
profile
Organizing in
Ethiopia 22
IndustriALL Global Union
Representing 50 million workers across supply chains in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors at the global level.
HEAD OFFICE SOUTH ASIA OFFICE LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN
54 bis, route des Acacias 16-D, 16th Floor Avenida 18 de Julio No 1528
CH 1227 Geneva Atma Ram House Piso 12 unidad 1202
Switzerland No.1, Tolstoy Marg Montevideo, Uruguay
Tel: +41 (0)22 308 5050 New Delhi - 110 001 India Tel: +59 82 408 0813
Fax: +41 (0)22 308 5055 Tel: +91 11 4156 2566 Email: alc@industriall-union.org
Email: info@industriall-union.org Email: sao@industriall-union.org
Website: www.industriall-union.org
SOUTH EAST ASIA OFFICE
AFRICA OFFICE 809 Block B, Phileo Damansara II
Published twice a year in English, French, Spanish and Russian
Physical address: No 15, Jalan 16/11
by IndustriALL Global Union.
North City House 46350 Petaling Jaya Selangor Darul
Office S0808 (8th Floor) Ehsan, Malaysia Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily represent
28 Melle Street, Braamfontein Email: seao@industriall-union.org the views of IndustriALL Global Union.
Johannesburg 2001 South Africa President: Jörg Hofmann
Tel: +27 11 242 8680 CIS OFFICE
Email: africa@industriall-union.org Str. 2, d 13, Grokholsky per., Room 203. General Secretary: Valter Sanches / vsanches@industriall-union.org
129090 Moscow, Russia Editor: Petra Brännmark / pbrannmark@industriall-union.org
Postal address: Tel: +7 495 974 6111
P O Box 31016 Cover photo: IndustriALL Global Union
Email: cis@industriall-union.org
Braamfontein 2017 South Africa Design: Nick Jackson / www.northcreative.ch
3
TRADE UNIONS LEAD THE FIGHT FOR GENDER EQUALITY
AND AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
On International Women’s Day this year, IndustriALL affiliates Women’s participation in IndustriALL’s sectoral work is still too
demonstrated their determination to advance gender equality at low and has yet to improve significantly. IndustriALL’s women’s
work. They called for women’s voices to be heard in unions, and committee has endorsed a set of recommendations for new
more women in leadership positions. strategies to address the gender imbalance in industries with the
lowest representation of women.
Unions are fighting to end violence and harassment at work and
pushing for equal pay. Everyone has a responsibility to be part of
this discussion and the solution: this is not an issue for women to THE RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE:
resolve alone.
Each network and sector to set its own rules for increasing
Gender equality is not a women’s issue, it is a trade union issue. women’s participation in meetings
Affiliates from all corners of the world took action, along with Sectors and networks to devise strategies to analyze the issues
their national centres, to support the call for an ILO Convention facing women in the workplace and in the union and develop
on gender-based violence in the world of work. This global action campaigns to address them
highlights the continuing and widespread violence against women in
Using global framework agreements to demand multinational
IndustriALL sectors and sends a strong message to the perpetrators
companies to employ more women in male-dominated areas
and their employers that all forms of violence against women are
and challenge companies on their performance on gender
unacceptable.
equality
4
5
global worker | special report
special
WHY IS MINING STILL
report SO DANGEROUS?
Despite labour regulations and the efforts of unions, mining
Text: accidents take the lives of thousands of workers every year
Kimber Meyer, Léonie Guguen,
Walton Pantland
around the world and seriously damage the environment.
Why is mining still so dangerous?
6
global worker | special report
The biggest obstacle to mine safety – tailings dam burst, and the human and
the reason so many miners die at work – environmental consequences shocked
A methane gas explosion in a coal
is profit. It is entirely possible to process Brazil and the entire world.
mine in Pakistan kills four workers,
mine tailings safely, but it costs more.
and traps another 40 underground. In A red deluge of 13 million cubic metres
Mines can be reinforced to prevent
Zimbabwe, 28 artisanal miners drown of mud and toxic mining waste washed
collapse, but this takes time. Safety
when the gold mine they are working away everything in its path. An entire
is expensive, and would make some
in floods. An open cast mine in the community was swamped and the use
marginal mines uneconomic. But can we
Congo collapses. An explosion kills of untreated water from the Paraopeba
allow companies to kill workers to haul
304 at Soma in Turkey. Miners are River was suspended after the detection
the last remnants of an exhausted seam
trapped in a copper mine in Chile, of metals at levels above what is allowed
to the surface?
coal miners in New Zealand and by environmental legislation.
West Virginia are killed in accidents. We have traffic lights, lanes for vehicles
The Brumadinho tailings dam failure is
In Brazil, as many as 300 people travelling in different directions and rules
probably the worst industrial accident
die when the Brumadinho tailings to make roads safer, instead of just
in the country’s history. It happened
dam collapses. Explosion. Collapse. expecting drivers to be careful. The way
three years after a similar disaster in
Flooding. Fire. Carbon monoxide to make mining safer is to put systems
Mariana, also in Minas Gerais, when a
poisoning. Lost bodies underground in place, instead of allowing dangerous
dam belonging to the mining company
that are never retrieved. Grieving conditions to persist and then accusing
Samarco Mineração, owned by Vale and
relatives who have no closure. mineworkers of carelessness when
BHP Billiton, collapsed on 5 November
accidents happen.
Miners die every day in China’s 2015. Nineteen people lost their lives
coal mines, while in Pakistan, The knowledge of how to make mining and the mining waste reached the Doce
accidents happen every week, in safer has been collated into codes of River, a source of drinking water in
almost identical circumstances: practice, guidelines, and ultimately, ILO southeast Brazil.
a methane gas explosion in an Convention 176 on Health and Safety in
At the time, BHP Billiton issued a
illegal or unofficial mine, with no Mines. Adopted in 1995, C176 sets out a
statement confirming that Samarco
emergency service at hand, medical framework for countries to create a safe
had signed a preliminary commitment
assistance, or protocol for dealing mining environment, with requirements
with Brazilian prosecutors, assigning
with accidents. Miners dig their for companies and rights for workers.
millions of dollars to finance a series
colleagues out of the ground and This means creating a legal framework,
of emergency and safety measures
give them first aid. developing expertise in safety, and
that included prevention, mitigation,
building an inspection mechanism
We face a numbing daily litany of correction and compensation for the
that can enforce safety and sanction
terrible mining accidents, most environmental and social consequences
offenders.
so routine they are difficult to tell of the incident.
apart, barely making the local news. Crucially, for workers this means:
Nevertheless, history repeated itself.
Mining is always going to be more
What went wrong?
dangerous than office work. But this The right to know and understand
inherent danger, and the relentless Although officials vowed to adopt
the dangers
drumbeat of death, induces a strict safety protocols in their dams,
fatalism, and is an obstacle to The right to refuse dangerous work that never happened. Unions allege
attempts to make mining safer. that Vale knew about possible safety
Miners are expected to accept that The right to participate fully in problems at other dams, but ignored
dying at work is part of the job. health and safety decision making the warning signs.
And those who do make it to the The Public Prosecutor’s Office for the
surface face a host of diseases and Only 33 countries have ratified C176, state of Minas Gerais (MPMG) announced
injuries. Silicosis. Black lung. Lost with Pakistan and China notably absent. the opening of an investigation into
limbs. A toxic environment that Creating inspection and enforcement Vale for corruption, on suspicion that
poisons the local community. mechanisms is expensive, and powerful its managers could have deceived the
mining lobbies are resistant. We need country’s authorities when it said it didn’t
Occupational diseases kill more
to assert that miners’ lives are more know about the safety risks posed by the
people than accidents. People have
important than profit. The key to dam that collapsed in Brumadinho.
thousands of years of experience
and expertise in mining. Surely by changing safety culture in the mining So as not to hinder the process, the
now we know how to stop so many industry is to agree to a global standard MPMG, together with the Federal
workers dying? on mine safety – C176 – and enforce it Prosecutor’s office and the regional
with powerful unions and well-trained and Federal Police, recommended, on
The truth is that we do. But it is union safety representatives. 1 March, that Vale temporarily suspend
cheaper to kill workers than to make
The stronger the union, the safer the its CEO, Fabio Schvartsman, together
mines safer.
mine. with eight other managers and four
people involved in the company’s risk
THE CASE OF BRUMADINHO management. The company complied.
Barely a few months have passed since The investigation confirmed the existence
the Brumadinho mining tragedy, which of a conflict of interest between the
killed 209 people and left 97 missing in mining company and service providers
the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. On 25 with regard to the auditing of dam safety,
January 2019, Vale’s Corrego do Feijão allowing the external auditors to be
7
global worker | special report
pressured and threatened. This resulted On 26 March 2018, IndustriALL together The global unions complained that
in the undue reduction of the minimum with Building and Wood Workers’ the company also failed to adhere to
safety factor standards used to assess International (BWI) filed a complaint standards for tailings dam management
the stability of the Corrego do Feijão dam against BHP Billiton and Vale under outlined by the multistakeholder Initiative
in Brumadinho. the OECD Guidelines for Multinational for Responsible Mining (IRMA).
Enterprises.
Brazil’s National Mining Agency began The unions demanded that Vale must
checking if other dams, similar to the one This complaint was also signed by greatly improve safety, consult with trade
at Brumadinho, are at risk of collapse. BWI affiliate, the Trade Union of unions and civil society, and compensate
There are 88 upstream tailings dams in the Construction, Concessions and the victims in an expeditious and fair
Brazil built in the same way. The Agency Engineering Consultancy Industries of the manner in Brumadinho.
has since banned the operation of some, State of Minas Gerais (SITICOP), and by
The co-chair of IndustriALL’s mining
ordering them to be removed by 2021. IndustriALL’s Brazilian affiliate, CNQ-CUT.
sector and CNQ/CUT union president,
The Brazilian Senate has approved a bill The complaint refers to the Lucineide Varjão, said:
that would impose a series of measures consequences of the collapse of the dam
“There is an urgent need for a new
to improve dam safety, in addition to in Mariana, and identifies violations of
model of mineral exploitation to
requiring new monitoring technology and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational
ensure the participation of people
detailed emergency plans. The bill is now Enterprises by Vale S.A. and BHP Billiton.
and workers, which gives foremost
before the Chamber of Deputies.
The companies failed to: priority to the environment and society.
Valter Sanches, general secretary of Grievous events like these are not just
IndustriALL Global Union, explained: 1. Provide adequate remedy and in Brazil, they are part of the movement
of capital for profit. Companies are
“In Brazil there are currently several establish a legitimate remediation
becoming less and less concerned with
regulations on the way, emanating process involving affected
production, and more with finance.
from the Minas Gerais state or federal communities and workers
Thus mobilization and trade union
governments, and they have removed
2. Respect trade union rights organization has to be supranational.
dams that were in a similar condition.
They took action after two very serious “That is why we have to continue
accidents. 3. Ensure observance of adequate health to denounce and fight against the
and safety standards, including unbridled release of environmental
“It is important to mention that in other respect for laws on working time licenses, and audits being placed in
parts of Brazil, Vale uses different
the hands of mining companies. We
retention methods that are dry and work 4. Act with due diligence to procure fight against that unbridled ambition
well. Why do they do it in Pará (in the the involvement of stakeholders, for profit. Tragic crimes like this teach
north of Brazil) and not in Minas Gerais? including trade unions us how valuable life is.”
Because iron ore mining is cheaper than
alumina, manganese and other minerals
which are higher in value, covering the Almost a year after filing the complaint, 1 Protest against Vale, Switzerland, January
cost of the dry system which is more disaster struck in Brumadinho. 2019. IndustriALL
expensive, but not as risky.” IndustriALL and the BWI immediately 2-4 In solidarity with victims of the Brumadinho
reprimanded the company for failing to mining tragedy, February 2019. CNQ
THE RESPONSE OF UNIONS heed the guidelines of the International
After the Mariana and Brumadinho Council on Mining and Metals concerning
tragedies, trade unions, both in Brazil the prevention of catastrophic failure of
and all around the world, have taken a tailings storage facilities, published after
number of different initiatives. the collapse of the Mariana dam.
There is an urgent need
for a new model of
mineral exploitation to
ensure the participation
of people and workers,
which gives foremost
priority to the environment
and society.
1
8
global worker | special report
What are tailings dams and why are they dangerous?
WHAT ARE MINE TAILINGS? Tailings dams need regular maintenance and There are also grave concerns for the safety of
monitoring to ensure that there is sufficient legacy tailing dams that are no longer used but
Tailings are the waste products from mining. drainage and the dam is strong enough to still pose a considerable threat to life and the
Mechanical and chemical processes are used contain the mining waste. environment if they fail.
to grind up rock into a fine sand to extract the Tailings dams can pose a threat to local wildlife
valuable mineral or metal from the rock ore. All as birds and animals bathe in and drink from
ARE TAILINGS DAMS NECESSARY?
the unrecoverable and uneconomic remnants the contaminated waters. Leakage of toxic
from this process are waste. They include finely Traditional storage facilities, such as the
substances from tailings dams can also cause
ground rock particles, chemicals, minerals and ones involved in the Brumadinho and
damage to the immediate environment.
water. Depending on the type of mining, tailings Samarco tragedies, are used by the mining
can be liquid, solid or a slurry of fine particles. industry simply because they are cheap. New
Many substances found in tailings are toxic, technologies are available that substantially
even radioactive, and it’s not uncommon to find reduce or mitigate the risk associated with
large amounts of cyanide, mercury and arsenic potential dam failures, such as the filtered
in tailings. tailings process, which reduces the amount of
water to minimize volume and improve stability.
Dry tailings disposal is another alternative
that offers significant benefits in terms of
environmental sustainability, as well as worker
and community safety.
3
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES
2 OF COLLAPSE?
In the past ten years, there have been 31
WHAT ARE TAILINGS DAMS? recorded major tailings dams failures, not
including the devastating failure of mining
Tailings dams are used to store water and waste company Vale’s dam in Brumadinho, Brazil
that come as by products from the mining on 25 January 2019, in which 300 people are
process. It is estimated there are at least 3,500 presumed dead.
tailings dams around the world. But as there are In Canada, the Mount Polley copper-gold mine
around 30,000 industrial mines, the number of dam collapse in 2014 released 25 million cubic
tailings dams is likely to be much higher. metres of wastewater and tailings into adjacent
Tailings dams can be huge in size, as big as water systems and lakes. That’s enough to fill 4
lakes, and reach 300 metres high. As the slurry 20,000 Olympic swimming pools.
of waste is piped into the dam, the solids settle
to the bottom and the water is recycled to be
A year earlier, the mine’s owner, Imperial Metals, WHAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE
reported that the tailings dam contained 84,831
used in the separation process again. kilograms of arsenic, 38,218 kilograms of lead
TAILINGS DAM SAFETY?
Rather than reinforced concrete, tailings dams and 562 kilograms of mercury along with other
Tailings dam failures are not inevitable and can
use earth or rock to create a barrage. However, minerals and waste products.
be prevented. Mining companies must listen
most tailings dams use the cheaper but more In 2015, the Samarco dam collapse in Brazil to workers and unions, who are frequently the
dangerous upstream method of construction, released 33 million cubic metres of iron ore first to flag safety issues but too often ignored.
using the tailings themselves to create a tailings slurry into the environment, killing IndustriALL Global Union has worked with the
barrier. The dam is then continually raised to 19 people, displacing 600 families and multisector Initiative for Responsible Mining
accommodate more waste. These dams are contaminating waterways for 620 km downriver Assurance (IRMA) to set the highest standards of
more unstable and more prone to leakage. until it reached the ocean. It is feared that tailings dam safety along with the International
precious ecosystems and fish life that support Council on Mining & Metals which has produced
indigenous communities will never recover. guidelines on preventing catastrophic failure of
tailings storage facilities. The mining industry
RATIFY must urgently adhere to these standards to
ILO C176 prevent future disasters.
9
global worker | interview
Union:
Trade Union of Metalworkers and
Miners of Ukraine (PMGU)
Country:
Ukraine
Text:
Alexander Ivanou
1
NATALIA MARYNYUK
Tell us how you rose through the union ranks at
a male-dominated workplace
“When I started working, I joined the Trade Union of
Protecting our Metalworkers and Miners of Ukraine (PMGU), affiliated
to IndustriALL Global Union. In August 2017, more than
20 years after I first started, I was elected leader of the
members is our goal. trade union committee. I became the first, and so far, the
only woman elected chair of the local union in it 85-year
existence.
“Even though female workers represent slightly less than
30 per cent of the company workforce, women are far
Natalia Marynyuk started her career more active in the union than their male colleagues. Out
of 114 PMGU activists at ArcelorMittal, almost 60 per
in 1996 as an economist at the blast cent are women.”
furnace shop No. 1 of the state-owned Kryvyi Rih was a large iron-ore mining and metallurgy
centre during the Soviet Union and Kryvorizhstal Steel
Kryvorizhstal Steel Works. The plant is Works exported products to over 30 countries around the
world.
named after the city where it is located,
Producing along the full metallurgical cycle, including
Kryvyi Rih, one of the ten biggest mining of ore, production of concentrate, agglomerate,
industrial cities in Ukraine. coke, cast iron, steel and rolled products, and with
around 57,000 workers, the steel works was an attractive
proposition to buyers when it was privatized in 2004.
In 2005, the company was sold to Mittal Steel for
US$4.81 billion, far exceeding the US$3 billion predicted
by analysts. When Mittal Steel took over Arcelor in 2006,
www.pmguinfo.dp.ua it became ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih.
1 Natalia Marynyuk. IndustriALL
2 Natalia Marynyuk. PMGU
10global worker | interview
What did privatization mean for
you and your colleagues?
“When the process of privatization was
announced in 2003, workers and trade
unions expressed concerns about the
future of their jobs. There was a series
of protests demanding what we called
a social package to be adopted by the
government. It was to protect workers
and to be respected by a new owner after
privatization.
“As a consequence, Kryvorizhstal Steel
Works was privatized with a compulsory
social package, containing 19 conditions
to be observed by the new owner. This
was a first in Ukraine. However, due
attention was not paid to all the 19
points, and the union responded by
organizing protest actions and meetings
to make the employer deliver on the
commitments, including promises of 2
wage increases.
“Between 2005 and 2018, ArcelorMittal
effectively more than halved the
venue and agenda in an attempt to stop How important is international
workers from expressing their collective
workforce, from some 57,000 workers to demands. But the union and the workers
solidarity for your union?
less than 21,000. The cuts were mainly managed to hold the rally. They also sent
done through voluntary retirement, “Recognition of our dispute and
an appeal to the CEO of ArcelorMittal
although that did not make it easier for international solidarity to support it
Kryvyi Rih, signed by 12,000 people,
those who remained on the job. Despite were important in finding a solution.
demanding higher wages, better safety
a drastic reduction in the workforce, the Already in 2015, with the support of
and improved social dialogue. After
company’s production of cast iron, steel IndustriALL, trade unions at ArcelorMittal
getting no answer, the union voted to
and rolled products has remained more in Kazakhstan and Ukraine sent a
begin a collective dispute in April 2018.
or less the same, even slightly increasing. request to the company CEO, asking to
“The following month, through mediation let their representatives become part of
“Add to the increasing workload a lack during a marathon 26-hour mediation ArcelorMittal European Works Council.
of investment, leading to deteriorating meeting, an agreement was reached
buildings and equipment, and you “At a meeting in Luxembourg in July
between management and the unions.
can see a clear decline in workers’ 2018, unions at ArcelorMittal formed a
The CEO increased the wage fund to
conditions.” global network and committed to pursue
UAH1.1 billion (US$40 million), and also
global social dialogue with the world’s
dismissed the questionable HR director
How did your union handle who had failed to establish a social
largest steel company. And the Ukrainian
unions were part of it.
union-busting from the company dialogue in good faith with the workforce.
management? “There are still problems, but at least
“This platform has allowed the union to
raise its concerns on social dialogue with
today we have social dialogue with the
“Conditions for the workers in the plant the top global leadership at ArcelorMittal.
company.
started to seriously deteriorate when I am currently part of the ArcelorMittal
a new human resource director was “Since June 2017, there has been an Joint Global Health and Safety Council,
employed in 2017. There was clear agreement on visa-free entry with the which has also helped improve local
hostility towards unions from the start; European Union, making it easier for social dialogue.”
the terms of the collective agreement Ukrainian citizens to travel to Europe. As
were not respected and union proposals a result, many people have left Ukraine
were ignored. looking for better working conditions and, PMGU
consequently, for the first time this year,
“The situation deteriorated, there were the company has had problems finding PMGU is currently the largest
fake union flyers, as well as social enough skilled drivers. union at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih,
media posts and articles in local media
“After a roof collapsed in March last representing over 70 per cent of
slandering the union. The HR director
year, killing a worker, assessment of the the workers. Around 10 per cent
even developed a special union-busting
buildings and reparation works have of the workforce is not organized,
programme for 2018 called ‘Action plan
started. and the remaining 20 per cent are
aimed at reducing unions’ influence’.
represented by 10 other unions
“Appeals from the union were ignored “So, the issue of better wages and including IndustriALL affiliate, the
by the management. When we called conditions remains a crucial question for Independent Trade Union of Miners
workers for an assembly, the HR director the company.” of Ukraine.
promoted false information about the
11global worker | profile
The All India Cement Employees Federation (AICEF) and
Unions United both affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union in
November 2018. While defending the rights of precarious
workers and women, both industrial federations have led
struggles, built union structures and overcome challenges Unions: All India Cement
Employees Federation (AICEF)
posed by employers. and Unions United
Country: India
Text: G Manicandan
INDIAN UNIONS 1
FIGHT PRECARIOUS
WORK
ORGANIZING IN THE CEMENT counts between 75 to 80 per cent for permanent workers, but also for
contract workers. Almost all precarious precarious workers. This has meant
INDUSTRY workers are employed through third significant wage increases and social
party contractors and face a lack of security benefits for our members.”
The AICEF was founded in 2008 job security, poor wages and bad
when cement unions affiliated A 98-day struggle by the AICEF’s
working conditions.
Mangalam Cement Karamchari Union
to trade union centre HMS
resulted in the reinstatement and
came together to better defend Defending the rights of precarious regularization of terminated precarious
workers in their sector. workers, trying to regularize their workers. The agreement also ensures
work and increase wages have been that when permanent workers retire
The AICEF has a total membership of
the principal goals of the AICEF. those vacancies are filled through the
about 25,000 workers, the majority
of whom are precarious workers. The regularization of precarious workers. This
members are found across cement Mukesh Galav, general secretary of has led to precarious workers achieving
plants in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, AICEF, says: similar benefits, including free uniforms
Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and shoes, to permanent workers. In
Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and “Through our struggles in the cement 2016, about 150 workers were made
Tamil Nadu. industry we have managed to reverse permanent, and there is a process under
terminations and regularize precarious way for an additional 150 workers.
The AICEF organizes in an environment workers. Our unions have played an
where the majority of the workforce are active role in ensuring that companies The cement industry in Rajasthan is
precarious workers; the cement industry implement wage decisions not only notorious for poor working conditions.
12global worker | profile
After the AICEF managed to end 12-hour UNIONS UNITED FOCUS ON WOMEN AND PRECARIOUS WORKERS
working days for security staff employed
by third-party contractors at the ACC sector at employers such as the Uranium
Lakheri cement factory, the union plans Corporation of India and the Steel
to do the same for the factory workers on Authority of India are some of the major
short-term contracts, also working up to milestones achieved by the members of
12 hours per day. Unions United.
“Working conditions are deplorable in While all members of Unions United are
many of the cement units,” says Mukesh unions affiliated to the national centre
Galav. “Unfortunately, we often have New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI), the
to fight with yellow unions, recognized federation is open to all registered trade
by the company as counterparts for unions in the manufacturing industry and
collective bargaining, to win workers’ associated services across the India.
rights.”
3 Currently, its membership is spread
The AICEF has a unique method for over several states, and in each of these
uniting permanent and precarious states the member unions participate in
workers in union activities. The Unions United is an industrial
federation formed in April 2018 with joint calls to action from the central trade
constitutions of many of its unions are union organizations, including the recent
designed to include precarious workers 55,000 members in base metals, textile,
mining, mechanical engineering, historic countrywide general strike held
as members, with voting rights and the on 8-9 January 2019.
possibility to run for leadership positions electronics and energy sectors.
like president or general secretary. 12,000 of the members are women. Members of Unions United come from
sectors closely tied to global supply
The AICEF has launched a campaign chains and are conscious of the need
Precarious workers make up over
to win equal wages for precarious work to build unity and solidarity within and
90 per cent of Unions United’s total
and is engaged in a legal process to across the sectors nationally and globally
membership.
implement a recent judgment of the to defend workers’ rights.
Supreme Court of India calling for equal
wages for equal work. Union United’s membership of precarious In multinational companies like Siemens
workers include more or less all women and KEC International, in addition to
workers, as well as a large number of signing collective bargaining agreements,
male workers, in sectors like garment, unions have taken initiatives to build
base metals, and public sector steel countrywide company councils together
plants and uranium and gold mining with affiliates of other national trade union
units. centres. Such initiatives strengthen their
capacities to engage in global works
Reaching out to women precarious councils and to take advantage of global
workers in their homes and framework agreements signed with
neighbourhoods and addressing women’s IndustriALL.
rights and social wages, including the
demand to access housing and public Unions United’s membership in the
transport, have been central to the garment industry works in factories
organizing strategies of its members. that supply to leading global garment
and retail brands. Its members at US
Powerful campaigning on women company Avery Dennison are currently
workers’ rights by the garment workers’ engaged in a major struggle to regularize
unions in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,
2 including equal wages, access to
600 contract workers and win recognition
of the union.
crèches, appropriate toilet facilities and
an uncompromising struggle against
“Being affiliated to IndustriALL Global Gautam Mody, says:
sexual harassment to ensure a safe and
Union is an important step to ensure
fair work environment, are some of the “It is important for our members
AICEF’s efforts are complemented with
core issues undertaken by its members. to come together to strengthen
international solidarity support,” says
Mukesh Galav. Job security has always been a major union power and to build workers’
challenge when organizing precarious solidarity nationally and across
“And at the same time, the national and the global supply chain. Our
workers. Members of Unions United built
international trade union network led by affiliation to IndustriALL is
effective solidarity to resist large-scale
IndustriALL in the cement sector helps crucial to connect our members’
victimization and employers’ violent
to reinforce AICEF’s work at a national struggles internationally and to
attacks of union activists and precarious
level. IndustriALL provides much needed take advantage of the global union
workers.
platforms for training on occupational force.”
health and safety, learning from others’ Gautam Mody, convener of Unions
experiences, as well as developing a United says that “firm political will is
union response to rapid technological the fundamental feature of organizing
developments in the face of increasing precarious workers.”
automation in the Indian cement 1 Public union meeting, AICEF. IndustriALL
industry.” Winning regularization of precarious 2-3 Unions United taking action. IndustriALL
workers and equal wages in the public
13global worker | feature
feature
Text:
Walton Pantland 1
A world in crisis needs a
pathway to a better future.
Unions can provide it.
The women form a line outside their
factory gate in an industrial park outside
Istanbul, and link arms. They are old and
young, modern or traditionally dressed,
united in the moment. A mobile sound
system with a battery powered amplifier
starts playing a Turkish folk song.
“Resistance is beautiful!” shouts the young woman
at the head of the line, and the dance starts, weaving
back and forward, circling around. After being fired
for joining a union, the women at Yves Rocher’s
Flormar factory danced this dance every day for
almost 300 days, in sun and snow, and streamed it
live on Facebook, spread it on Twitter and Instagram.
And because of networks of global solidarity, their
voices are heard in the local community, in the
Turkish parliament, at the company headquarters,
at the ILO, and at retail outlets in France, Germany,
Switzerland and the US.
14global worker | feature
prosperity, we are competing in a
zero-sum game. Institutions that build
global consensus – from the UN and ILO
through to the EU and global unions – are
being undermined.
When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, for
the first time in history the world was
united in one economic system. The
world moved away from any attempt
by the state to regulate or control the
economy. Markets had won the argument,
and reigned supreme. For many, it was a
time of great hope, a belief in a future of
shared prosperity and an end to conflict,
the End of History. Until history reasserted
itself with a vengeance when the global
financial system crashed.
2 In 2008, the global economy, and all the
old certainties, collapsed. Banks were
Supported by unions in France, they When we stand together, bailed out and investors were protected
have taken their picket line to Yves – at the expense of working people, who
Rochers’ Paris headquarters. This is
we can win have now endured a decade of austerity
labour solidarity 4.0, enabled by global There are many stories like this: ordinary that has torn apart the fabric of society. A
structures, amplified by social media, people standing together in solidarity, new breed of disruptive, parasitic disaster
uniting unions and consumers around the finding strength in each other. A victory capitalism makes cash from chaos rather
world against a pillaging multinational. like this strengthens us, gives us hope, than productive activity.
The picket line has come to your and teaches us lessons on running
successful campaigns. By saving the global economic system,
smartphone, tablet or desktop, and we risk destroying the future. As the
you can respond in real time. Unfortunately, we have even more stories developing world is subsumed into the
Faced with this resolve, the company which don’t have a happy ending. Stories global economy at a breakneck pace,
settles. Money has poured into the strike where the company violates rights with people in the industrialized West, for
fund from all over the world, and growing impunity, fires union members, cuts the first time, expect their children to be
global pressure threatens to damage the corners on health and safety at the worse off than them. The arc of progress
brand. It’s an emotional moment as the cost of workers’ lives. Plants that close has ended, and the global order is
striking workers sign the deal and agree because speculators want a quick profit. collapsing. As the political centre spins
to a package that includes 16 months of Like the three thousand workers at the out of control, things fall apart, and
salary. Grasberg mine in Indonesia who lost corporations and right-wing populists fill
their jobs when they became a political the gap.
The voiceless and marginalized have
found their collective strength and football between the company and the
successfully resisted an assault by a government. An international campaign
corporate giant. The union dusts itself was not enough to change the situation.
off and goes back to organizing. It’s And there are countless others we don’t
just another day on the front line of the hear about because no union even gave
global struggle between capital and them a voice.
labour. Institutions that build
A perfect storm of crises
global consensus – from
Even when we win, most of our
victories are defensive. Sometimes we the UN and ILO through to
successfully fight off an assault on our the EU and global unions –
terms and conditions, but we’re not
winning a lot of new ground. Labour is are being undermined.
on the back foot. Jobs are becoming
more precarious. Fewer workers have
good pensions. Inequality is growing. We are living through a perfect storm of
Every year, the share of wealth hoarded crises, interconnected and feeding off
by a tiny fraction of the super-rich grows, each other: climate change, the erosion
and the share left for the rest of us of democracy, grinding proxy wars,
shrinks. The balance of power between refugees, fake news, conspiracy theories,
capital and labour has tilted heavily in jobs reduced to gigs before being
favour of capital. automated out of existence.
The crisis faced by labour is part of a We have 12 years to dramatically reduce
bigger political crisis. The centre ground our carbon emissions if we want to
collapses and the world is polarizing. preserve any quality of life on Earth.
3 Instead of working together for shared Plastic pollution fills our seas and has
15global worker | feature
entered our food chain, and climate The politics of despair supply chains have lengthened, work has
change is wreaking havoc: floods, been outsourced and made precarious,
New forms of media mean that we are
heatwaves and other extreme weather and unions represent a shrinking core of
exposed to more news than ever before,
events are costing lives and billions of permanent workers.
unmediated, immediate: we feel like
dollars. Climate protesters are being
we are present as every event unfolds. Capitalism is global, but our responses
arrested for shutting down cities, but
This leaves us feeling overwhelmed and are still national. Workers are encouraged
still the political response is inadequate
powerless. It is difficult to get a measured to distrust each other, and the version of
and the most powerful man in the world
assessment of the world – we exist in a events given by their own management
denies climate science.
constant state of crisis. Instead of blaming and national politicians gets precedence
Democracy is being undermined, corporations and a global economic over the accounts of labour violations
societies are polarizing and fascism is on system that prioritizes growth over people, reported by unions in other countries.
the march again. As nation states lose right wing populists blame immigrants But if the diagnosis is complicated, the
power, calls to nationalism grow. The and foreigners. Working class people feel prescription is simple: we need to reassert
world’s biggest multinational companies alienated from distant elites, but it is the the human right to dignity at work. We
have annual budgets far exceeding that Right who are speaking for them. need new forms of union organization,
of many countries. National governments and a new internationalism. The global
Right wing populist governments – in the
have dwindling power to influence their union movement is all we have, the only
US, UK, Israel, Brazil, Hungary, Turkey,
behaviour, and they are reduced to a counterpoint to global capital.
India and elsewhere – are turning away
beauty contest and race to the bottom
from global alliances and looking inward:
to provide the lowest wages and the
Make America Great Again, Take Our
most favourable tax rate for the best
Country Back, Brazil above everything,
infrastructure.
God above everyone. As global
Conflict rages around the world, fuelled development erodes local identities,
by growing military budgets, making identity reasserts itself in the most
weapons development a booming reactionary way. Unlike NGOs or consumer
industry. Democracy is collapsing under
The labour movement has yet to come groups, unions have a
the weight of social media enabled
populism, and truth is lost to conspiracy.
to terms with the future of work. When mandate and democratic
the first unions were formed, workers
Labour standards are eroded as work
becomes precarious.
were gathered in factories and we legitimacy.
recruited at the factory gate. But as
We need new forms of union organization, and a new
internationalism. The global union movement is all we have,
the only counterpoint to global capital. 4
16global worker | feature
A politics of hope - the union
path to a fairer world
Whatever happened to “another world
is possible”? The focus on crisis means
that people don’t hear the good news –
the small, undramatic ways in which we
make the world better. Every time we sign
a global framework agreement (GFA), we
win a commitment from a company to do
better, to establish industrial relations at
an international level.
We are everywhere. Unions are the
biggest democratic organizations
in the world. Our members mine the
minerals and the iron ore, produce
the steel, create the components,
assemble the cars and the ships,
the mobile phones and the washing
machines. Then break them down and
recycle them.
5
From the bottom of the value chain
to the top, union members build and
maintain the world. IndustriALL represents on multinationals when we organize their victories in the past mean that workers
55 million workers, the other global workers around the world – especially in advanced democracies experience
unions many millions more. The ITUC when we organize the supply chain too. relatively good conditions at work.
represents 207 million. What other global
Production has shifted to developing
organizations have this reach, and do so Organize along supply chains countries. Many of them are
much with so little? Distributed global capitalism has industrializing for the first time, creating
Unlike NGOs or consumer groups, long and intricate supply chains that a new workforce from people who were
unions have a mandate and democratic outsource exploitation. Components are recently subsistence farmers. These
legitimacy. Unlike charities and pressure manufactured around the world, using workers are exploited in the same way
groups trying to solve problems from the just-in-time procurement, and shipped for that workers in the West were at the time
outside, unions give people the power assembly. The further down the supply of the Industrial Revolution, and they are
to stand together and solve their own chain you go, the lower the standards fighting back by building unions where
problems. and the lower the unionization level. An none existed before.
advanced piece of machinery assembled
And unlike political parties, unions unite in Europe by workers on good wages But they don’t have to start from the
workers regardless of their political with strong union representation contains beginning. They are learning from
views, gender, race, religion or nationality. raw materials extracted from the earth experience. Unions in advanced
Whoever you are, whatever your identity, by workers in desperate conditions, countries have resources and expertise,
if you work for a living you are united and components made by low wage and spending money on union building
by a common economic interest. This precarious workers in repressive states. is an important investment. At the same
produces inclusive politics rooted in time, unions in developing countries
experience rather than ideology: unions Capital will always seek low wage, low need to build sustainable structures. To
give us the opportunity for mass, standard countries, because production be truly independent, unions need to be
democratic participation in the economy. is cheaper and profit is higher. It is in the funded through the dues collected from
interest of unions in developed countries their members.
As global instability grows, many people to care about this. Strong unions in
feel a sense of impotence. Unions can developing countries make it harder
provide hope, and a realistic pathway
Defending and rebuilding
for companies to undermine labour
to a better future. This means building standards by moving. Organizing
institutions
alliances with consumer groups and only at the top of the supply chain is Unions have always understood
social movements, and speaking to the not solidarity. We need to represent internationalism. IndustriALL’s predecessor
issues people care about, instead of everyone. the International Metalworkers’ Federation
being perceived as defending a narrow was founded in 1893. After witnessing the
set of interests. We need to be present in The solidarity model pointless and destructive horror of a world
the climate movement, in feminism, in all torn apart by competition and warfare,
Union development is cyclical. The
the places where people come together to international institutions like the UN and
countries that first experienced the
prefigure a better world. We need to show ILO, non-government organizations like
industrial revolution developed the
that we are part of the future, not the past. the Red Cross and countless thousands
first unions, and fought for the labour
of others were created to build peace and
But we are only as strong as our unity. standards that we now take for granted.
dialogue.
We can’t beat multinational companies Those standards were incorporated into
with national strategies, and we can’t rely national law, and into ILO Conventions But we are under attack. There is a
on national governments to protect us. All and other global standards. Although global trend away from positive industrial
we have is each other. And we can take they are under assault now, union relations: since 2012, the employers’
17global worker | feature
The irony is that capitalism needs unions
and strong institutions to create stability
through higher wages and better working
conditions, ensuring that workers earn
enough to buy things and drive the
economy.
Taxation recycles surplus capital, keeping
it productive instead of hiding it offshore.
State institutions provide the physical
infrastructure, long term economic
planning and support for emerging or
changing industries that are necessary to
navigate the changing world of work.
The internet, for example, was built
on publicly funded research – and an
effective and Just Transition to a carbon
neutral future, with work and dignity for
all, will not be achieved by the private
sector.
The future will be built by global
6 consensus. As unions, we are among
the most representative organizations
in the world. And global unions like
group at the ILO has tried to undermine Binding global mechanisms IndustriALL link workers, from the shop
the right to strike, and across the world, floor throughout the supply chain, to
But it is not enough. Global corporations
in hundreds of different ways every day, the companies and institutions with the
are often more powerful than national
employers are chipping away at a century greatest power to shape our world.
governments, and domestic labour law
of labour gains. Workers – especially the
is an inadequate tool. Just as national
young, and women - are bearing the brunt.
collective agreements give workers To paraphrase an old saying:
We need strong, democratic institutions enhanced, negotiated protection, so we
to counter the power of multinational need legally-binding global collective
corporations. Representative institutions agreements.
translate workers’ activism into
GFAs contain the nucleus of this idea,
structured power. For most of the
20th century, we relied on national
reflecting a commitment to establish a
global industrial relations standard. But
If not us, then who?
governments to manage employment
relations by legislating on workers’
they are not legally-binding instruments: If not this way, how?
the next generation of GFAs will need to
rights and responsibilities. The law was
be. The first example of an effective binding
If not now, then when?
a major weapon in the union arsenal.
global mechanism is the Bangladesh
In the 21st century, we need a global
Accord, a legally-binding commitment to
legal system. Because capital is global,
improve factory safety. A precedent was
and countries compete, only globalized
set in 2016 when two global brands were
labour standards can ensure that workers
taken to arbitration for failing to comply.
everywhere can work with dignity.
This is the future of international
The most effective way to do this is
industrial relations, and we need to
through the ILO. ILO Conventions
fight for it. IndustriALL is carrying out
represent years of expertise and best
pioneering work in developing the
practice. When a country ratifies an
mechanisms we need to negotiate and
ILO Convention, it incorporates it into
enforce binding global agreements,
national law. This is why pushing for the
but a lot more will need to be done:
ratification of Conventions is such an
agreements must be reached, cases
important part of global union strategy.
fought and precedents set.
The ILO is a hundred years old this
year. We need an ILO for the 21st If not us, then who?
century, with a universal labour A global crisis needs a collective 1, 6 A lgeria demonstration in Geneva, June 2018.
guarantee that provides all working response that competing governments IndustriALL
people with the core rights of the ILO and corporations are unable to give. 2-3 Flormar factory in Gebze, Turkey. IndustriALL
fundamental principles: freedom from Despite warm words at Davos and 4 Strike at Mayr-Melnhof in September 2018,
child and forced labour, freedom from other global meetings, the people in Izmir, Turkey. IndustriALL
discrimination at work, and freedom of charge have opposing interests and 5 Union vote at Akar Tekstil in September 2018,
association and collective bargaining, cannot meaningfully work together. To Izmir, Turkey. IndustriALL
as well as the right to a living wage, counter the collapse of the centre,
health and safety at work, and control we need a people’s international, a
over working time. global ecosystem of interrelated –
intersectional – struggles.
18global worker | report
THE
GLOBAL COMMISSION
ON THE FUTURE OF WORK
Work for
FUTURE a brighter future
OF WORK,
AND
INDUSTRIALL
GLOBAL
UNION
The Constitution of the International Labour Organization (ILO), adopted in the aftermath of World War I
with the idea that there cannot be lasting world peace without social justice, has been described as the
most ambitious social contract ever written. This year, 2019, will be the centenary of the ILO Constitution
and to mark this event, on 22 January 2019 the ILO released the report of the ILO Global Commission on
the Future of Work, entitled “Work for a brighter future”.
The ILO report calls It is an impressive, visionary outline
report
DOWNLOAD OR for a new approach for a new social charter. It is therefore
READ IT HERE that puts people and not surprising that the International
the work they do at Organization of Employers is already
the centre of public trying to distance itself from it.
policy and business
IndustriALL Global Union has sought the
practice. It demands
same goals that are outlined in the ILO
the recognition of
report for many years. They are contained
rights to equality and
in the five strategic goals, and discussed
social protection. It
in, among others, IndustriALL’s documents
calls for a Universal
on sustainable industrial policy, on Just
Labour Guarantee that will deliver decent
Transition, and on Industry 4.0.
work, living wages, and safe and healthy
Text: workplaces. It calls for an increased
Brian Kohler investment in people, and a revitalization
of collective representation.
19global worker | report
If sustainability is about meeting the Building a socially, environmentally, and as though society is somehow powerless
social, environmental, and economic economically sustainable future means in the face of corporate interests. Yet
needs of today without compromising the re-thinking some of the basic rules of at the end of the day they are society’s
ability of future generations to meet them, society, including what society expects creatures and therefore must be subject
then the world is failing the test. of corporations. Many government policy to society’s control.
thinkers have taken the position that
Control of wealth gives corporations, and
society should not impose rules that
SOCIAL: The world is sliding towards the individuals that own them, immense
might prevent new business models to
ever-greater economic inequality. grow. This thinking ignores the reasons
power. Even governments fear that
According to Oxfam, 26 wealthy power. The truth is that there is no power
why society allows any business model
individuals control as much wealth as in society capable of challenging or even
to grow, or indeed even to exist. In
the 3.8 billion people who make up balancing the might of corporations,
a theoretical sense, society does so
the poorest half of humanity. Social other than the labour movement. This
because of the belief that there will
truth has led IndustriALL to position
norms insist that wealth should be be some benefit to society broadly –
sustainable industrial policies as one
distributed in society primarily through and this benefit has always been the
of its main strategic goals, because we
employment. However, despite increasing expectation that jobs will be created.
need long-term solutions to some of
labour productivity and strong wealth Not just one or two low-level jobs, but
the problems discussed above. Along
creation, jobs are not being created, jobs of sufficient quality and quantity
with sustainable industrial policy is our
social conditions are not improving and to enable a reasonable sharing of the
demand for a Just Transition for any
wealth that is created and accumulated
industrial wages are stagnant. This workers affected by changes beyond
by the business. The wealth of one or two
situation creates a combination of despair individuals is not a legitimate public goal.
their control. The principle behind a Just
and anger, as people feel cheated. Social Transition is that the benefits and costs
Politicians justify all changes to business
ills such as an epidemic of drug abuse, of the industrial transformation that is
or tax regulations as creating jobs, and
and political ills such as the rise of underway must be shared fairly.
business people use the jobs argument
populist demagogues, are the result. whenever they lobby for or against a It is not the technologies themselves
regulation. that are the problem, it is the logic
ENVIRONMENTAL: The natural driving their introduction. As capital
environment is in crisis, with accelerating If new technologies and platforms utilizes technology to re-organize work
climate change (with related ocean processes, lower labour standards and
do not create decent work in any
acidification, severe weather events, reduce costs, trade unions must respond.
reasonable proportion to the capital that If we can guide the implementation of
wildfires and coastal flooding), owners control and accumulate, then
catastrophic declines in biodiversity, these new technologies, we could create
why should society allow these business quality work with reduced working time,
contamination of land and water models to grow? Who benefits, and who and improve occupational health and
and air, deforestation, decreasing
pays the price? safety. If we fail in that task, high-tech
fresh water availability alongside feudalism could be the end result. In any
increasing populations. Meanwhile, case, the task is ours: no-one else and
our consumption-based lifestyles have Public policies, and the legislative and
no other organizations will fight this battle
proven resistant to even the suggestion regulatory framework that flows from
for us.
them, should be crafted to be in the
of change.
public interest. Corporations should serve For trade unions, it means understanding
the public interest. Great challenges the future of work and how it will affect us.
ECONOMIC: Many products, goods, such as Industry 4.0, or platform work, It means considering the consequences of
and resources are already being or climate change, are often presented climate treaties, and the United Nations’
produced with the aid of a collection of
disruptive new technologies including
advanced digitalization, big data and
artificial intelligence, next-generation
robotics, the “internet of things”, 3-D
printing, along with biotechnology and
nanotechnology. Then, there are the
new platforms of work: Uber, Clickwork,
Amazon Mechanical Turk, Deliveroo,
and a host of other forms of digital and
crowd work that seek to make workers
more precarious and powerless, and thus
cheaper. This trend will continue, with no
region or industrial sector immune. As
for the natural environment, conventional
economists insist that there can be
infinite economic growth, despite the fact
that we live on a finite planet.
1
20You can also read
