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Failure to Debate US Labour Law Changes Sets a "Dangerous Precedent", say Unions2 February 2012: Unions in the US are demanding that a new bill governing aviation safety be passed and that amendments to a key labour law that were introduced as part of the new legislation be deleted. They argue that there has been a lack of debate surrounding the changes. The 19 unions, including 10 ITF-affiliated unions,* released a statement on 31 January demanding that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Bill be passed without planned changes to the Railway Labor Act (RLA). The new bill sets the agenda and funding of the FAA, which is responsible for aviation safety. Currently included in the FAA Reauthorization Bill are changes to the Railway Labor Act, the labour law dealing with airline and railway workers. They require that at least 50 per cent of an employee group support a union before a union representation election can be held. Although there is no statutory requirement, the National Mediation Board, also responsible for industrial relations in the railway and airline industry, sets a 35 per cent threshold. In the statement the unions say: "We remain strongly committed to passage of a clean FAA Reauthorization bill. The proposed Railway Labor Act changes would drastically rewrite a statute that was crafted by labour-management cooperation and has not been changed for over 75 years without the agreement of both employer and employee representatives. Airline and rail workers would suffer significant losses as contracts are jettisoned, collective bargaining rights are cut and legal hurdles will be placed in the way of gaining a voice at work." "Rewarding the House Republican Leadership's desire to rewrite decades of long-standing labour law in a flash by inserting an unrelated and controversial labour provision in a much needed aviation safety and security bill, without notice, hearing, or debate, sets an extremely dangerous precedent."*Amalgamated Transit Union; Association of Flight Attendants-CWA; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen-IBT; Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees-IBT; Communications Workers of America; International Association of Machinists; Service Employees Local 32BJ; National Conference of Fireman and Oilers; Teamsters; Transportation Communications Union-IAM; UniteHere. Source: International Transport Workers Federation--ITF 779 unions representing 4.6 million transport workers in 155 countries Trade Union Industrial Federation Takes Shape for Europe2 February 2012: A joint Executive Committee meeting of three European trade union federations on 31 January put the final touches on statutes, a political programme, and nominated candidates for leadership in what is to become a united eight-million-member industrial workers' federation. The meeting, held near Mechelen, Belgium, was attended by 150 national union leaders from 25 nations. The European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers' Federation (EMCEF), European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) and the European Trade Union Federation for Textiles, Clothing, Leather and Footwear (ETUF-TCL) are now geared to formally merge on 16 May 2012 in Brussels, with dissolution Congresses coming a day earlier. The joint Executive decreed that the new federation will strive to become a fighting force for a dynamic economic framework that allows industry to thrive as the motor for jobs and sustainable growth across Europe. The three current federations vowed that "social progress and the European social model cannot be sacrificed at the altar of ultra-liberal dogma." Although the new grouping has yet to formally adopt a name, its temporary moniker is the European Industrial Workers' Federation (EIWF). Michael Vassiliadis, President of Germany's IGBCE, was nominated to serve as President, while current EMF General Secretary Ulrich Eckelmann was nominated to be General Secretary. Anders Ferbe of IF Metall, Sweden, Renzo Ambrosetti, UNIA, Switzerland, and Valeria Fedeli, CGIL FILCTEM, Italy, were nominated as Vice Presidents, while Sylvain Lefebvre, EMCEF, Bart Samyn, EMF, and Luc Triangle, ETUF-TCL, were nominated as Deputy General Secretaries. The new federation will consist of four policy committees - Collective Bargaining and Social Policy, Company Policy Committee, Industrial Policy Committee, and Social Dialogue Policy Committee. It will also be composed of eight regions: South, Benelux, Central, South-East, Eastern, British, Nordic/Baltic, and South-West. European Trade Union Confederation Press Conference - European Day of Action on 29 February 2012The Electrical Workers' Complaint Will be Considered in U.S. and CanadaThe complaint of the Mexican Electrical Workers' Union (SME) against their government will be considered in both Canada and the United States under North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) side agreement on labour cooperation. Trade Union Leader From Oil Industry and Wife Assassinated in Colombia01/20/2012 - Colombia: UNI Global Union was saddened to learn of the brutal assassination of Colombian oil worker and union leader Mauricio Redondo and his wife Janeth Ordoñez. On behalf of all its members around the world UNI sends its condolences to Redondo and Ordoñez's family and Redondo's union Unión Sindical Obrera (USO). The parents of five young children, Redondo and Ordoñez were murdered in their home on January 17. Redondo worked for PEI Energy, which is controlled by Colombia's state-run oil company Ecopetrol. He attended a regional petroleum forum in his home region just four days before he was killed. UNI is calling on the Colombian government bring those responsible for Redondo and Ordoñez's murders to justice. UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings and UNI Americas Regional Secretary Adriana Rosenzvaig have sent a letter expressing their condolences and solidarity with USO. "We are united in the global union movement to fight the extreme violence that our sister and brother unionists face every day in Colombia," Jennings and Rosenzvaig said in their letter. "We salute the courage of all the colleagues we have lost in Colombia and those that continue to fight for their rights on the job. It is unacceptable that the Colombian government has failed to end the brutal environment for trade unionists, human rights activists, journalists and others who speak out for what is right." Global Labour University Seeks Applicants for its Masters Courses18 January 2012: The Global Labour University (GLU) invites trade unionists and labour activists to apply to its Masters course in "Labour Policies and Globalisation" offered in Germany, or the Masters course in "Globalisation and Labour" offered in India. GLU provides a space in which theory meets practise, discussing and shaping new ideas to meet the global challenges for labour. For the first time, The Hans Boeckler Foundation, one of the programme's main donors, has extended its grant programme to applicants from all EU member states, facilitating some scholarships for workers from industrialised countries. The deadline for applications is 1 March, 2012. A limited number of scholarships will be awarded to students. For application and programme details, please visit www.global-labour-university.org/. ITF Demands Bargaining Negotiations to Improve Polish Truckers' Lot13 January 2012: The ITF has thrown its weight behind efforts to ensure that Polish truck drivers, who have been on strike since 2 January, receive the wages and conditions they deserve. Some 350 drivers, represented by the NSZZ Solidarnosc union and employed by trucking firm Norbert Dentressangle, walked out on strike in protest over the company's refusal to start negotiations with the union on a collective bargaining agreement. The company's Polish workers have seen no pay rise for four years; they already receive considerably less than drivers from other countries. It has also been reported that they are enduring deplorable working conditions, such as poor sanitation and nutrition. When the NSZZ Solidarnosc insisted on collective bargaining negotiations in July last year, the company was reported to have intimidated workers, threatening them with dismissal. In tandem with a letter of protest to the company from Eduardo Chagas, general secretary of the ITF's European arm, the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), ITF general secretary David Cockroft wrote to Norbert Dentressangle and other company executives and personnel. He expressed his support for the demands of the drivers and stated: "It is imperative that you start constructive and successful negotiations without delay." Unionists from the Berlin, Brandenburg branch of German union Verdi have been visiting the picket line protest which started last week in Zielona Gora and the ITF and ETF plan to support the protest next week. Cooper Tire Workers Build SolidarityA delegation of locked-out workers from Cooper Tire in the USA meets Serbian union leaders to discuss common approaches and mutual support when dealing with the company. Financial Stability Board Must Deliver on G20's Action PlanBrussels, 10 January 2012 (ITUC OnLine): As the first 2012 plenary of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) meets in Basel, international trade union organisations have submitted their priorities for the FSB. "The FSB's Action plan for financial reforms has hit the road block of governments' lacklustre ambition, and must be put back on track," said Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The international union movement has released a statement mapping the FSB's progress and its impact on working families. The FSB was set up by the G20 in 2009 to restore financial stability and curb irresponsible speculative activity. Unions are calling for increased financial regulation, contrary to the powerful voice of the bank lobby. "The top leaders of banks are out of touch with the day-to-day realities facing ordinary people, and the FSB has failed to soften the practice of big bonus payments; they and the G20 must take a stronger stand to change this abuse by giving employees a seat at the table," said Philip Jennings, General Secretary UNI Global Union. "The most immediate threat to governments and working families lies not in budget deficits, but in governments' and taxpayers' exposure to the risks of badly regulated financial markets and institutions. Doing nothing or doing too little too late to regulate financial markets will deepen the bond markets' speculative pressures on governments," said John Evans, General Secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD. The international union movement is calling on the FSB to implement a three-step crisis action plan to: Shield governments from the risk of large financial conglomerates with a mandatory separation of commercial and banking activities of the banks considered too big to fail; Ensure the real economy has adequate access to financing with proper access to mortgages and credit and promoting the diversity of financial services such as cooperatives and mutual banking; Curb traders' speculative behaviour, including high frequency trading, with a financial transactions tax. "Working families, small businesses and young people are all sinking into quicksand as they struggle to find work, pay mortgages and get loans to keep their businesses afloat. Big business must not hold on to the reins of the global economy for their own benefit. The Financial Stability Board has the power, the mandate and the plan. In 2012 they need to step up to the plate and translate their words into action," said Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the ITUC. Read the ITUC, UNI and TUAC Statement to the Financial Stability Board ICEM Report Exposes Asian Cement's CAL Practices5 January 2012: An ICEM report has found that the rights of workers in the cement industries of the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and India are being routinely violated through the use of precarious forms of employment. In many of the plants covered by the research, Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) is being used to restrict or prevent workers from exercising their right to freedom of association. Lafarge in the Philippines, for example, has been using CAL workers to fill permanent positions ever since workers took part in industrial actions as far back as 2000. At one Lafarge plant in Indonesia, all permanent workers are union members, whereas none of the CAL workers are. In India, contract workers at Holcim were dismissed after they joined the union. To make it worse, the company started criminalising the union leaders. ILO Conventions 87 and 98 apply to all workers, as explicitly stated in the 350th report of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association: "The Committee emphasizes that all workers, without distinction whatsoever, whether they are employed on a permanent basis, for a fixed term or as contract employees, should have the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing." The report further specifies that the non-renewal of a contract for anti-union reasons constitutes a prejudicial act within the meaning of Article 1 of Convention 98. In all five countries covered by the research, CAL workers earn less than permanent workers - despite performing work of equal value - and are denied access to many of the benefits enjoyed by their permanent counterparts. In both the Philippines and Thailand, permanent workers are increasingly being used only in supervisory roles. This division of responsibilities highlights the fact that it is often contract and agency workers who are performing core labour tasks. CAL workers in many cement plants live with the burden of uncertainty. As one interviewee explained, he felt his job would continue only "as long as I will cooperate." In the Philippines, some CAL workers reported that they do not even have written contracts. In many cases and countries, CAL workers are also not clear who is responsible for their welfare. In Thailand, agency workers are the most likely to suffer workplace accidents, yet in many plants they are denied the same health care benefits as permanent workers. The ICEM decries these exploitative practices, and demands that multinational cement companies such as Lafarge and Holcim that operate in Asia guarantee equal rights for CAL workers and take urgent steps to bring their practices in line with not only the various applicable national legislations, but also with all existing international labour standards - including ILO Conventions 87 and 98 and the Employment Relationship Recommendation 198. Cement companies must also act to ensure that they meet their obligations under the OECD Guidelines for MNEs and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. |
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