Sunday, July 04, 2021

 

Fredericton Toyota workers fighting to be recognized as a union

15 garage workers signed union cards in support of forming a union, according to organizer

Mrinali Anchan · CBC News · 
Since late January, garage workers at Toyota Canada have been attempting to unionize amid claims of employer intimidation and harassment. (Fredericton Toyota/Facebook)

Garage workers at Fredericton Toyota are in a months-long dispute with management to form a union.  

The New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board is now holding hearings on a certification bid by garage workers and complaints filed by some employees alleging unfair labour practices at Fredericton Toyota. 

CBC News tried to interview the workers but was told they could not speak publicly until the hearings concluded.  

Scott Jackson, an organizer with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said Toyota workers approached him in late January seeking help forming a union. 

About 15 out of 19 garage workers signed union cards indicating their interest in a union and paid a membership fee of $1, he said. 

In New Brunswick, labour laws say the board may certify a union if 60 per cent of employees are in support of the application. 

Claims of intimidation by management 

The workers who would be in the union include mechanics, technicians and detailers.

Jackson said the employees who spearheaded the unionization effort face increasing pressure from management because of their involvement. 

"When it was found out which techs were the ringleaders, if you will, there was a lot of pressure put on them with regard to the work that they were receiving or not receiving." 

Some employees have gone on stress leave and turned to employment insurance, Jackson said.

"They've just had to take time off and go on EI because there are no sick benefits or anything like that from this employer."

Dealership technicians live in "a crazy world," he said, because their pay is related to the specific jobs they receive.

"If they don't get good jobs, they make very little pay, and so it's very easy for a dealership to pressure them."  

Fredericton Toyota management did not respond to requests for an interview.

What it means to be in a union

Should the board certify the union application, Jackson said, the workers would have access to collective bargaining and a negotiations procedure where they can have increased input into how the workplace operates.

Jackson said protection would also be provided against unjust termination and discipline by the employer. 

"One of the things that these employees are going to be looking for is an improvement in wages and benefits … sick days. And of course, those things cost the employer money."

In an emailed statement, Toyota Canada said it could not comment on the matter because "Toyota dealerships in Canada are independently owned and operated businesses, and Toyota Canada is not involved in this matter in any way."

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Richmond County workers voting on whether to join a union

Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union organizing possible bargaining unit for up to 21 employees


Tom Ayers · CBC News · 
Up to 21 employees of Richmond County voted on Friday on whether to join the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union. (Angela MacIvor/CBC)

Municipal employees in Nova Scotia's Richmond County are being asked to decide whether they want to join a union.

The Nova Scotia Labour Board conducted a vote Friday at the county office in Arichat at the request of the Nova Scotia Government and Employees Union.

NSGEU president Jason MacLean said if a bargaining unit is created, it could include up to 21 inside and outside workers, including the administration, finance, public works and recreation departments.

"We do our process on not forcing anyone to come in a union, but that they actually need and want a union, so we believe that those two factors are in there," he said.

"We've got all the cards signed that we needed to proceed and we made application with the labour board and now here we go."

It's not known when the results will be available.

MacLean said if the vote is in favour of a union, the municipality could dispute whether some of the positions should be included in the bargaining unit.

NSGEU president Jason MacLean says vacation, leave and no-discrimination clauses are key contract provisions that would help make it safe and enjoyable to work for the county. (Eric Woolliscroft/CBC)

"We could have this done in two weeks, or we could have it done in three months, depending if there's a dispute by the municipality themselves," he said.

The NSGEU already represents police in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and workers in Pictou County, so creating a bargaining unit in Richmond County should not be a problem, MacLean said.

The workers have a variety of reasons for indicating an interest in unionization, he said, but it's too soon to talk about what might be included in a contract.

"We have other collective agreements to draw upon and we would discuss the issues with the members on what their key issues are, do a survey with them, and then what we'd do is bring all their issues forward to the employer and work with the employer to foster a good workplace through the collective agreement," said MacLean.

He added that vacation, leave, and no-discrimination clauses would help protect workers and make it safe and enjoyable to work for the county.

"I think those are key provisions that make a workplace much more, to use a bad term, civilized, to where favourites aren't played on anyone, or everybody feels equal because everybody is covered equally by the collective agreement," he said.

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Undervalued workers deserve more, says Winnipegger now leading nation's largest labour organization

Bea Bruske takes over as head of Canadian Labour Congress after 27 years as an employee with UFCW in Manitoba


   Ian Froese · CBC News · 
Bea Bruske, the new president of the Canadian Labour Congress, speaks after her election victory where she pledged to work to unite the labour movement. (Facebook/Canadian Labour Congress)

A Winnipeg activist is taking the mantle of Canada's largest labour organization at a time when the plight of essential workers is being laid bare. 

The new president of the Canadian Labour Congress, Bea Bruske, said COVID-19 exposed the degree front-line workers have been devalued.

As the federal government plots a post-pandemic recovery for the country, Bruske said addressing those shortcomings will be top of mind as she takes over the CLC, a labour group representing three million Canadians. 

"The folks that we don't necessarily, as a society, tend to spend a lot of time thinking about are the ones that got us through the worst days of the pandemic," she said.

"Looking at their work reality, and some of the things that need to change in order to make those workplaces better, has to be a priority for all of us."

Bruske was elected president of CLC on Friday, ending her 27-year tenure fighting for the rights of private-sector workers as an employee of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 832 in Manitoba.

Unification needed

After her election victory, Bruske told the CLC's convention the labour movement must be united "now more than ever" as right-wing governments strip away workers' rights and reduce basic health and safety protections, she alleged.

"Labour has a very important role to play in this fight back against this assault on working people," she said.

In an interview Saturday, Bruske stressed the importance in challenging any "hack and slash" governments and ensuring the public services Canadians rely upon are secured. She will have to lobby the federal Liberal government to get her way. 

Her predecessor, Hassan Yussuff, was seen as cozy with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The relationship led to benefits, Yussuff said, as unionized and non-unionized workers won an expanded Canada Pension Plan, a ban on asbestos products, the repeal of controversial labour legislation and an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15/ hour.

As president of the Canadian Labour Congress, Hassan Yussuff achieved numerous labour advancements, including expansions to the Canada Pension Plan and the implementation of a $15 per hour federal minimum wage. (Hassan Yussuff/Facebook)

Bruske wouldn't state whether the CLC aligned too closely with the Liberals, as some have alleged, but insisted she'd fight strongly for workers' rights no matter which government is in power. 

That said, she acknowledges she's a strong supporter of the federal NDP, the "natural home" of the labour movement. She ran for the Manitoba NDP in the 2019 election, but lost.

"We were founding partners of that party, and it's incumbent upon us to make sure that that party works to our best advantage in terms of making sure that worker issues are constantly at the forefront."

She took a public stance against Yussuff months ago when the CLC endorsed former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau for a seat on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a decision which outraged other labour leaders who said they were not consulted.

To lead the labour movement on a national scale, Bruske resigned from her role as secretary-treasurer of the UFCW local. She's been with the union as an employee since 1994, but was involved in union activities for several years before then.

"I was an activist as a shop steward, I was an activist on our executive board. Thinking about not being there is a very strange experience for me."

Striking as an 18-year-old had 'profound impact' 

At the age of 18, she joined the picket line for 125 days as her colleagues at the Westfair grocery chain in Manitoba fought for a fair contract. 

"That, quite frankly, had a really profound impact on me and it changed the direction of my life," said Bruske, who took labour studies courses at University of Manitoba rather than becoming a teacher.

She applauds her union colleagues for supporting her run for a national position, a daunting task where she spent 18 months campaigning and learning about labour issues across the country. 

Marie Buchan, an employee of UFCW Local 832 since 2003, was elected as the local's new secretary treasurer. She's held the role on an interim basis since April when Bruske went on a leave of absence to focus on her campaign. 

The other members of Bruske's Team Unite slate also won their CLC election: Lily Chang, who became secretary-treasurer, and Siobhan Vipond, who was elected executive vice-president.

Returning executive vice-president Larry Rousseau was re-elected for a second term.

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Trudeau taps a former labour leader and a mayor to fill Senate vacancies

Hassan Yussuff only left the Canadian Labour Congress last week


John Paul Tasker · CBC News · 
Canadian Labour Congress president Hassan Yussuff looks on as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the Labour 7 Consultation in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 4, 2018. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced three new Senate appointments today — a former national union leader, the current mayor of Cornwall, Ont. and the CEO of Port Saint John — as he chips away at the 15 vacancies that have piled up in the Red Chamber over the past two years.

With these new picks, Trudeau has now installed 55 senators in the upper house — an unusually large number of appointments for a single prime minister.

More than half of all sitting senators were appointed by Trudeau. Former prime minister Stephen Harper let vacancies in the place pile up as the 2013-15 expenses scandal raged on, leaving Trudeau with more opportunities to appoint senators friendly to his push for an independent Senate.

Hassan Yussuff — who, until just last week, was the president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) — will represent Ontario in the Senate.

The Guyana-born labour leader was accused by some within the union movement of being too cozy with the governing Liberals.

At its convention last week, the CLC affirmed its longstanding support for the New Democratic Party over the objections of Yussuff and others who said they favoured a more "pragmatic" approach to political alliances.

While at the CLC, the country's largest labour organization, Yussuff was tapped by the Liberal government to serve on a number of advisory bodies, including the NAFTA Council, the Task Force on Just Transition for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities and the Net-Zero Advisory Body.

Before taking the reins of the CLC, Yussuff worked at the now-defunct Canadian Auto Workers union. Yussuff was the first person of colour to hold an executive position at the CLC. He has received numerous leadership awards and honorary doctorates from two universities.

Asked by CBC News last week if he was open to a Senate appointment, Yussuff was non-committal. "I am going to be open to anything that I think I can contribute to," he said. "If I feel I can make a contribution, I will seriously think about it."

While Yussuff's appointment comes very soon after he ended his service at the CLC, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the three picks announced Tuesday were all "recommended by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments" and chosen using the "merit-based" application process that is open to all Canadians.

Joining Yussuff in the Senate is another leader with past Liberal ties. The current mayor of Cornwall, Ont., Bernadette Clement, will also represent Ontario.

Clement ran under the Liberal banner in the 2011 and 2015 federal elections in the riding of Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry and lost. Clement was born to a Franco-Manitoban mother and a father from Trinidad. Clement is the first Black woman to serve as a mayor in Ontario.

Clement, a lawyer by trade, also serves as the executive director of the Roy McMurtry Legal Clinic, a non-profit that offers legal advice, services and representation to low-income people in Cornwall and the surrounding area.

Cornwall, Ont., Mayor Bernadette Clement in November 2020. (Jonathan Dupaul/Radio-Canada)

James Quinn, the current president and CEO of Port Saint John, will soon represent New Brunswick in the upper house.

Before his work in the private sector, Quinn spent decades in government. According to the biography supplied by the PMO, Quinn worked for 32 years in senior roles with the Canadian Coast Guard, both at sea and on shore, as well as with several other federal government departments. He served as the chief financial officer at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Quinn is also an honorary lieutenant-colonel with the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (The Loyal Company), 5th Canadian Division of the Canadian Army.

"Ms. Clement, Mr. Yussuff, and Mr. Quinn are exemplary public servants and community leaders who have dedicated their careers to making a difference in the lives of others. I look forward to working with them, and all senators, as we continue to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic, take steps toward our recovery and build back a more resilient and inclusive Canada for everyone," Trudeau said in a media statement.

Under the Constitution, the governor general formally appoints senators to the upper house from a list of names supplied by the prime minister.

That vice-regal post has been vacant for six months since former governor general Julie Payette resigned amid scandal in January. Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner has been serving as the country's "administrator" since that resignation.

Like the 52 other senators Trudeau appointed before today, the three new picks are expected to sit as independent senators.

There are now five different caucuses and groups in the Senate — and the Liberal/Conservative duopoly that once defined the chamber has been dismantled.

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Quebec labour minister encourages employers to bring staff back to workplace only part time

Union says government's back-to-work plan 'lacks flexibility'

CBC News · 
Labour Minister Jean Boulet says the government is recommending that private sector employers develop similar plans to return to offices this fall. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Quebec's public sector workers will begin gradually returning to their offices in September as the government transitions into a hybrid model of employees working from home most of the week.

The government is recommending that private sector employers develop similar plans to return to offices this fall, Labour Minister Jean Boulet said on Wednesday.

Boulet said while employers have the right to require their employees return to offices, he hopes they discuss the issue with their workers to ensure a "harmonious back to work for all the people in Quebec, in compliance with the hybrid formula that we strongly recommend.''

Even though the province is at the lowest pandemic-alert level, Boulet said working remotely remains strongly recommended.

Boulet suggested private employers should assume their employees who have been working from home want to continue working remotely some of the time.

Depending on the epidemiological situation, the gradual return of all public service employees could begin as early as Sept. 7, the province says on its website.

Eventually, the aim is to have 100 per cent of employees working at the office at least two days per week by the end of the year.

This rollout will happen in three phases, with the first being managers and support teams going into work one day per week as needed to prepare the workspace, the website says.

Then, starting Sept. 20, a maximum of 50 per cent of employees will be returning to the office one to two days per week. 

Finally, from Oct. 19 to Dec. 31, an increasing number of employees will be expected to attend the office one day per week until it becomes mandatory that all staff are on site twice per week.

"Even if the situation is better than it was and we are very optimistic for the future, we still have to deal with the fact that the virus is still present in our communities," Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel told reporters on Wednesday.

That's why the government is launching a hybrid model that gradually progresses over a period of several months, she said.

The pandemic has proven that the hybrid model has advantages for both the employees and the government, LeBel said.

A union representing 29,100 government workers welcomed the announcement but said the plan lacks flexibility and employees, not the government, should determine when and how often workers return to the office.

"It's a step in the right direction,'' Line Lamarre, president of Syndicat de professionnelles et professionnels du gouvernement du Québec, said in a news release.

"However, we believe our members are sufficiently professional to determine for themselves when their presence at the office is required.''

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CARGILL IN TURKEY
They’ve Fought for Over 1,000 Days To Get Their Jobs Back. They’re Not Backing Down

The incredible story of 14 blue-collar workers taking on one of America's biggest companies.



Never in his wildest dreams – or nightmares – did Faik Kutlu see himself taking on one of the world's largest and most powerful corporations in an epic three-year battle. Yet today is the 1,172nd day of a seemingly never-ending struggle that has pitted him and a dozen other blue-collar Turkish workers against Cargill, the biggest privately-held corporation in the US by revenue.

Kutlu and his fellow workers were fired for attempting to form a union, and their protest has taken them from the streets of Istanbul to the courts, and back again, in a relentless David vs Goliath struggle to get their old jobs back.

It’s one of the longest-running labour struggles in Turkey’s recent history, but for the workers involved this battle is far larger than themselves. It’s about holding to account a company quick to highlight its respect for international labour rights agreements and yet which, they say, continues to exploit loopholes in violation of those very agreements. And, it’s about uniting the Turkish working class in opposition against ever-deteriorating conditions in a country with the highest income inequality in Europe.

“This is not only a fight to get our jobs back, but a fight for union rights, a fight for the rights of the working class in Turkey,” Kutlu said. “The working conditions are getting worse day by day. We have to show other workers that if we fight we can win.”

It all began in March 2018 when workers at the Bursa-Orhangazi starch factory and a series of other plants in Turkey and their union filed for collective bargaining status. A month later, 14 of those workers, all union members, were fired from the plant.

The plants are owned by Cargill, an American multinational corporation producing the basic ingredients used by much of the commercial food sector, such as corn starch, sugar, and palm oil. Cargill is the second largest private company in the United States by revenue and its clients include Coca Cola, Nestlé, and McDonald’s. In Turkey, Cargill plants produce starch, sweeteners, and oleochemicals, among other things, for the Turkish and international market.

In the three years since their dismissals, the workers have marched hundreds and hundreds of miles across the country, demonstrating from Ankara to Bursa, picketing in front of the local headquarters of Cargill, as well as some of its biggest customers, including Coca Cola, Nestle, and PepsiCo. In Istanbul, they slept on the street in front of Cargill’s headquarters for over two months and ate their meals on the cold pavement. On the 11th of January – their thousandth day of protest – the workers gathered in Istanbul to make a speech at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, but were detained by police.

For Kutlu, the struggle has completely changed his view on working class consciousness and solidarity.

“At times it can feel overwhelming, and I have had many sleepless nights,” Kutlu told VICE World News over Zoom through a translator. “But I have also experienced in the best way possible the support I have had in Turkey from my fellow workers, the solidarity of the working class. It fills my heart.”

Still, being unemployed has been difficult. He recently had a baby and has struggled psychologically as well as financially, although his family, friends, and fellow workers have continued to support him.

It has also been difficult for Fatih Gürhan, another one of the dismissed workers, who recently turned 44. Factories rarely hire men his age – one of the reasons he is fighting for his old job – and he has a family to help support.

“When I was dismissed, I couldn’t talk about it for a week,” Gürhan said. “I couldn’t say it to my children, my friends, my parents. Only my wife. Every day, I would leave the house at eight, just like I used to, and come back in the evening with some sweets for my kids. Life is not cheap in Turkey, especially when you have three kids in school.”

“Eventually I told them,” he said. “It was not an easy decision to start this struggle.”



DISMISSED CARGILL WORKERS AT A PICKET ON THEIR 1,105TH DAY OF PROTEST. PHOTO: CARGILL İŞÇI KOMITESI TWITTER ACCOUNT

The workers, along with others in the factory, are members of Tekgıda-İş, a Turkish labour union.

Organisation efforts began in 2012, by workers frustrated with declining wages and deteriorating conditions. But it was only in March 2018, after years of union membership drives, that Tekgıda-İş felt confident that it had enough support that it filed for collective bargaining status.

After the union filed for bargaining status, Cargill management immediately began resisting the effort, workers say, including by making threats that conditions at the factory would worsen if workers unionised.

Shortly after they filed for recognition, the union activists were met with bad news. On the 9th of March 2018, the Turkish Ministry of Labour informed Tekgıda-İş that it had not met the 40 percent threshold required to achieve collective bargaining status under Turkish labour law.

But union officials and workers claim that Cargill added workers from its head offices in Istanbul to the collective bargaining unit to dilute the number of union members. Tekgıda-İş’ application for collective bargaining status, seen by VICE World News, filed on four sites. The rejection letter from the Turkish Ministry of Labour lists two extra sites, including Cargill’s head office.

"Cargill essentially moved workers from its administrative office into the collective bargaining unit, therefore reducing the proportion of union members and leaving the union just shy of the 40 percent it needed," Suat Karlıkaya, a Tekgıda-İş representative, said.

Just over a month after their unionisation effort fell flat, on the 18th of April 2018, Cargill fired Gürhan, Kutlu, and 12 other blue-collar production workers. All were active leaders in the organising effort, workers told VICE World News.

Gürhan worked in Cargill’s Bursa-Orhangazi factory for 17 years before he was fired. He was open about his union membership and active in multiple union drives. He believes that Cargill managers punished him and other pro-union employees.

Despite being one of the most senior employees at the factory, Gürhan says he was passed over for promotions, which were offered to junior colleagues instead.

Before he was fired, Gürhan was assigned to work as a chemical operator unloading and stocking chemicals entering the plant. Usually, he says, there are three chemical operators rotating every three months to avoid prolonged exposure to noxious gases and chemicals. But he was forced to work there alone for four years.

“No matter how many safety measures you take, you are exposed to toxic gases,” Gürhan told VICE World News through an interpreter. “You constantly interact with dry and liquid chemicals. You always work alone, away from everyone.”

VICE World News asked Cargill about Gürhan’s claims, but did not receive a response.

“Workers were scared of joining the union,” he said. “There was an atmosphere of fear. I often encountered workers who would like to join a union but didn’t because they were afraid that something would happen to them. That they would be fired or passed up on a promotion or better position.”

Shortly after they were fired, Gürhan and 11 other workers decided to contest their dismissals in court with the help of Tekgıda-İş – two other workers decided not to contest their dismissals. In February 2020, the Orhangazi Civil Labour court decided that eight workers had been unfairly dismissed by Cargill because of their union activities, while four had been unfairly dismissed without economic justification.

The court also noted that there were “numerous resignatiations” of union membership on the exact same dates that the 14 workers were fired and that workers were scared of possible repercussions for their union membership.

All 12 workers contesting their dismissal were ordered by the court to be reinstated. But 40 months later and they still haven’t been rehired – in fact, Cargill has advertised open positions in the ensuing months.

Instead, Cargill made use of a loophole in Turkish law that allows companies to pay workers compensation, rather than let workers fired for union activities return to their positions. Kutlu and Gürhan respectively received eight months wages in compensation, as well as severance and pay for their notice period, amounting to roughly ₺44,000 Turkish Lira (£3,650) and ₺70,000 Turkish Lira (£5,800) respectively.

“Firing workers for unionising is a violation of their fundamental human rights and they need to be allowed to return to their positions,” said Burcu Ayan, an international officer at the International Union Federation, one of the labour organisations campaigning for the reinstatement of the fired workers. “Cargill does not want to allow these workers to return to their positions because they know that if they do, workers will no longer be scared of organising.”

In January, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association launched an investigation into whether human rights violations had occurred when the workers were fired.

Cargill did not respond to an emailed set of questions from VICE World News. VICE World News asked, among other things, for comment on the verdicts from the Turkish courts, why the workers were not rehired even after open positions were advertised, and if the company had any comment regarding the workers’ three-year protests. Allegations that Gürhan was forced to work with toxic chemicals and that the company had added employees from its head office into the collective bargaining unit were also put to Cargill.


The company did respond, however, to a series of questions from the United Nations as part of its investigation. In its response, Cargill defended its actions, rehashing many of the same arguments previously rejected by the Turkish courts.

One of the company’s principal arguments is that its hand was forced following a reduction of the national sugar quota in Turkey, which it claims significantly reduced demand. However, this quota only came into effect in July, months after the workers were fired, via a presidential decree.

In the case of the workers dismissed in 2018, the court found that the “employer’s sales and assets increased after the termination date [of the workers]” and that “the company continued to make profit, there was no decrease in the order and production.”

Cargill also argues that the 14 workers were dismissed based on their low performance. None of the workers said they had ever received low performance marks when asked by VICE World News. In a dismissal notice sent to one of the workers seen by VICE World News, there is no mention of low performance, and there is no mention of low performance in the court’s summary of arguments made by Cargill’s lawyers. VICE World News also asked Cargill if it could provide any evidence that workers had received or been notified that they were underperforming and received no response.

The dismissals of the 14 workers in the spring of 2018 did not happen in isolation. Between 2012 and 2015, Cargill fired seven workers active in unionisation efforts. They later took Cargill all the way to the Turkish Court of Cassation (roughly equivalent to the Supreme Court), which decided in 2015 and 2018 that all seven had been fired because of their union activities.

“After the employer learned about the trade union activities, the department managers put pressure on workers and tried to convince them to resign from the trade union,” the Court of Cassation ruling from 2015 reads. “Some workers, including the complainant, who were the leading unionists, were then fired from the job on the grounds of low performance with the aim to send a message of intimidation to all workers.”

In spite of all that’s happened over the last 1,172 days, the workers say they do not harbor ill feelings towards Cargilll. They just want their old jobs back and their rights as workers to be respected.

“We are all very different people with different views and political beliefs who have come together for this purpose,” Kutlu said. “Cargill claims that they value their workers. If that is true, why can they not correct this mistake? Just remedy what you have done wrong. We are willing to forgive. Respect workers’ right to unionise.”

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