IndustriALL Global Union NEWS

BANGLADESH


International Accord: tentative agreement on expanded worker safety programmes

25 August, 2021Negotiations between IndustriALL, UNI and leading textile and garment brands signatories to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh have yielded a tentative agreement that continues the parties’ legally binding commitments to workplace safety in Bangladesh and expands the programme to other countries.

The renewed agreement preserves and advances the fundamental elements that made the Accord successful, including: respect for freedom of association; shared governance between labour and brands; a high level of transparency; safety committee training and worker awareness program; and a credible, independent complaints mechanism.

Key new features of the International Accord include:
Broadening the coverage to general health and safety, rather than only fire and building safety.
A commitment to expand the work of the International Accord to at least one other country within the first two years. Feasibility studies will start immediately after signing.
A commitment to continue the health and safety programme in Bangladesh through a strong cooperation with the RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) that remains as a tripartite body with participation of unions in its board.
Expansion of the scope of the agreement to address human rights due diligence along the brands’ global supply chains.
A commitment to jointly seek to include more signatory brands.
An optional streamlined arbitration process to enforce the Accord’s terms.

Valter Sanches, IndustriALL Global Union general secretary, says:

“This International Accord is an important victory towards making the textile and garment industry safe and sustainable. The agreement maintains the legally binding provision for companies and most importantly the scope has been expanded to other countries and other provisions, encompassing general health and safety .

“Now, the textile and garment companies must show their commitment and sign the renewed International Accord. We congratulate our affiliates in the sector, especially those from Bangladesh, that have campaigned for binding commitments for health and safety in the industry.”

The new agreement, called the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry (International Accord), takes effect on 1 September 2021. The current agreement, a three-month extension of the Transition Accord, expires 31 August.

The Accord was first signed in 2013 following the industrial homicide that killed over 1’100 workers with the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Workers at General Motors' Silao plant secure historic win

23 August, 2021On 17 and 18 August, workers at the General Motors (GM) plant in Silao, Mexico, voted against the current collective bargaining agreement, which since 2008 has been controlled by Tereso Medina, general secretary of the Miguel Trujillo López union, affiliated to the business-friendly Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM).

A total of 6,480 workers cast their ballot. There were 2,623 votes in favour of the agreement, 3,214 against, and 39 spoiled ballots. As a result, the current collective agreement will be scrapped.

Workers will not lose any of their rights, and their benefits and working conditions will remain the same until new representatives are elected.

"The union should now get to sign a new collective employment agreement,”

explained Héctor de la Cueva, general coordinator for Mexico’s centre for employment and labour relations research (CILAS), at a press conference.

The victory is unprecedented for the workers at the GM plant, which employs close to 7,000 people. The workers had reported serious irregularities in the voting process during the initial ballot in April this year and lodged the first-ever complaint under the rapid response mechanism, provided for in the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).

To ensure a free, safe and transparent voting process, free from harassment and intimidation, the Mexican and US governments agreed to repeat the vote in the presence of independent observers from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Mexico's National Electoral Institute (INE), alongside federal work inspectors from the country's labour ministry.

Many of Mexico's democratically run unions – including the federation of independent unions in the automobile, automotive parts, aerospace and tyre industries (FESIIAAAN), the “Generando Movimiento” union, the new central union of workers (NCT) and the Los Mineros union – set up camp outside the plant to show their support for the GM workers during the voting process.

At the international level, IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in the United States and Canada, as well as the regional network of GM workers, followed this key vote closely and were very happy with the outcome.

IndustriALL Global Union's general secretary, Valter Sanches, says:

"We congratulate the brave workers at GM's Silao plant for their determination and for their victorious struggle for freedom of association. It's clear that we still have much work to do, but the workers can count on IndustriALL Global Union and our affiliates around the world. We will be by their side, helping them to secure full union freedom and dignified working conditions. The outcome of this ballot brings great hope and new prospects for workers in Mexico."

Covid-19 spreads in Myanmar’s factories

25 August, 2021Two members of Industrial Workers’ Federation of Myanmar (IWFM) have died from Covid-19 and more than 100 of factory-level union leaders have been infected, as the health protocols on handling the Covid pandemic are being largely ignored.

Since the military coup, many garment manufacturers have ignored the health protocols implemented by the previous democratically-elected government. When Covid-19 cases skyrocketed in July this year, the lack of implementation of the health protocols have led to an increasing number lot of workplace infections.

Until today, 14,499 Myanmar people have died from Covid-19 and 375,871 have been infected.

Khaing Zar, the president of IWFM, says:

“There is no concrete action to remedy the worsening situation, and we have raised this with employers and brands several times. Some employers have even collaborated with the military to identify and persecute local union leaders.

“There are no workers’ rights, no justice and no remedy. That’s why we are calling all investors to isolate the regime, cut off their resources and drive them out.”

According to the unions, Myanmar’s labour office has been largely dysfunctional since the coup in February. Many garment employers have unilaterally dismissed workers who have been absent from work over safety concerns.

There are reports of employers violating labour laws and collective agreement, with reports of workers not receiving severance pay after dismissal, and employers closing down factories without properly consulting unions and workers.

Valter Sanches, IndustriALL Global Union general secretary, says:

“We offer our sincerest condolences to the families of the two IWFM members who died from Covid-19 and condemn the junta and employers for mismanaging workers’ health and safety. We support IWFM’s call for comprehensive economic sanctions against the military junta.”

At 11.30 CET on 27 August, IndustriALL is hosting a webinar on the campaign to call for comprehensive economic sanction against the military junta in Myanmar. 

You can watch it on Facebook live.

Factory fire in Tunisia shows lack of safety measures

24 August, 2021A fire in Valeo car component factory, employing more than 1,500 workers, on 10 August, ruined the entire plant. But thanks to union intervention, half of the workforce is already back at work.

Although there were no casualties, the fire highlights the lack of safety measures and security at the worksite. The fire quickly escalated and spread to the whole factory, indicating an absence of a firefighting system and protective equipment, as well as a lack of early warning devices.

Since the fire, the factory has resumed partial activity at another site and around 700 workers have been able to go back to work.

Tahar Berberi, general secretary of IndustriALL affiliate Fédération Générale de la Métallurgie et de l'Electronique, FGME-UGTT, says:


“The Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT) played an important role in the process as the general secretary Noureddine Taboubi met with a delegation representing Valeo’s mother company. During the meeting, management committed to pay wages and transfer workers to a temporary worksite until the factory has been rebuilt. UGTT committed to support the resumed activity and accelerate some of the procedures.”

The fire is believed to have started in an adjacent factory and spread to the Valeo after a palm tree caught fire.

Union blames employer negligence for worker’s death at Liberian rubber factory

26 August, 2021

The death of Emmanuel Joe while repairing a rubber processing machine has exposed the appalling health and safety standards in the rubber factories, says Agricultural, Agro-Processing and Industrial Workers Union of Liberia (AAIWUL) which is affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union.


Joe, a mechanic in his thirties, and an active union member for over ten years, was crushed to death on 21 August at Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC) rubber processing factory in Grand Bassa County. LAC is owned and managed by Socfin SA – a Belgian based company that is involved in commercial rubber.

According to the union, he died when the machine he was fixing was accidentally switched on.

Emmanuel Joe, the Liberian rubber factory worker who died in the accident.

AAIWUL and other unions say the LAC management’s negligence and poor health and safety standards are largely to blame for the accident that resulted in the “gruesome death.”

“The accident has caused a sense of fear and distrust among the workers. The company’s lack of safety protocols, procedures and regulations is a serious impediment to workers’ health and safety. We are calling on the ministry of labour to conduct a speedy investigation in consultation with the unions to ascertain the facts and circumstances surrounding the horrific accident. The union will not relent but do all it can to ensure a just, fair and immediate investigation is conducted, and those held responsible be made accountable,”

says Edwin Cisco, AAIWUL secretary general.

The unions say the recent accident is not an isolated case as four workers from LAC were killed in 2017 when a condensation tank exploded again due to negligence as confirmed by ministry of labour investigations.

“We received the news of the accident with shock, and urgently call for urgent meetings between the LAC, unions and government to save the lives of workers at the company. Health and safety protocols must always be followed to protect workers from injuries and death. Liberian labour laws and international labour standards state that employers have a duty to create safer workplaces,”

says Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa.

However, to improve health and safety in the rubber industry, AAIWUL is carrying out joint activities with the national federation, the Liberia Labour Congress, with support from IndustriALL. The activities include training in health and safety protocols and regulations.

Employing over 4 200 workers, and with a planted area more than 12 800 hectares, LAC’s Grand Bassa plantation is one of the oldest and largest rubber plantations. LAC operations include rubber tree tapping, latex collection and processing, and packaging of 25 000 tonnes of raw rubber which is exported. Rubber is Liberia’s main export product.