World Refugee Day this year highlights the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. Trade unions from across Europe and throughout the world have been at the forefront of welcoming and ensuring safe haven for refugees, and for their integration into the workforce.

The international union movement is calling on governments to support the right to safe haven and work for all refugees.

Unions have opened up their residential facilities to take in refugees and organised supplies of food and other essentials to help feed and clothe those who have arrived.

They have mobilised their members in community activities to support refugees, delivered aid across borders and been at the forefront of public solidarity mobilisations and strikes where refugees are being exploited at work.

They are helping undocumented refugees, including recognising their status as workers with a union card.

They are campaigning successfully for thousands of people to get documentation, permanent residency and decent jobs.

Unions are also negotiating with employers and governments to get tripartite agreements for integrating refugees into the workforce.

“Ordinary working people, with their unions, are showing that even when governments fail to accept their responsibilities, solidarity and compassion will help fill the void of official neglect,” said Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation.

There are more than 65 million refugees around the world, and every minute, 24 people around the world flee their homes because of violence or persecution, according to the UN High Commissioner on refugees.

Eighty-six per cent of refugees are hosted in developing countries.

“The guarantee of equal treatment for refugees is framed by a simple message that ’refugees are welcome’. To end the tragedy of human displacement, it will take all of us,” said Sharan Burrow.

The ITUC has distributed ‘’refugee welcome’’ badges and a briefing on the refugee crisis.

Read the Briefing

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Investing in the Care Economy: A Pathway to Growth

Brussels, 8 March 2016 (ITUC OnLine):  A new study released today by the ITUC shows that investment into the care economy of 2% of GDP in just 7 countries would create over 21 million jobs and help countries overcome the twin challenges of ageing populations and economic stagnation. 

Photo: ILO

The report which analysed the employment growth potential in the care economy in Australia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA, also demonstrates how investing in care narrows the gender pay gap, reduces overall inequality and helps redress the exclusion of women from decent jobs.  The G20 has set a target to increase women’s participation in the workforce by 25% in the coming years.  This can only be achieved when the care sector is properly funded.

The report cites additional evidence from South Africa and Turkey showing that the economic stimulus from care investment is not limited to the world’s richest countries.  

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said: “This study shows how sustained investment in care is not only vital to societies, it also provides an indispensable motor for economic growth and an antidote to the destructive impact of failed austerity policies.  Most of the burden of service cuts has been borne by women, which has in turn depressed household incomes at a time when boosting purchasing power and economic demand is crucial to restoring global prosperity.  The care sector itself has high rates of precarious work and low pay, and it is essential that workers in this sector have the full protection of labour legislation in line with international standards.”

Economists from the Women’s Budget Group  carried out advanced modelling of the employment impact of investing the equivalent of 2% of GDP into the “social infrastructure” of education, health and social care services.  They found that:

• It would increase overall employment by between 2,4% and 6.1% depending on the country;
• between 59% and 70% of the directly-created jobs would be taken up by women; and,
• the employment multiplier effect from these new jobs would also increase overall male employment, by between 1.4% and 4% in different countries.

“Some governments have acted to lift investment in physical infrastructure projects, to stimulate growth and overcome decades of underinvestment.  We now have clear empirical evidence of the economic and social benefits of investing in care as well.  Governments should look to this rather than sticking with an austerity agenda which was based on deeply flawed analysis from the outset,” said Burrow.

The evidence in the report shows that investment of 2% of GDP would create:

• 13 million jobs in the USA
• 3.5 million jobs in Japan
• 2 million jobs in Germany
• 1.5 million jobs in the UK
• 1 million jobs in Italy
• 600,000 jobs in Australia
• 120,000 jobs in Denmark.

“Cuts in public care services have had a double impact on women.  They are finding it harder to get decent jobs, and in most countries the pressure on social investment means that it is mainly women who end up filling the gap as unpaid carers.  This in turn keeps them out of the paid workforce for even longer and pulls apart the fabric of households and communities.  Our new study confirms that the right kind of investment can turn this social crisis around, and we call on governments to take up the challenge and break from their obsession with simply keeping the financial sector happy.  The evidence from these seven countries reinforces the huge jobs and growth potential in the care economy worldwide,” concluded Burrow.

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The ITUC represents 180 million workers in 162 countries and territories and has 333 national affiliates.

Follow ITUC on the web: http://www.ituc-csi.org/ and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI

For more ITUC information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on +32 2 224 02 10 or press@ituc-csi.org

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Korea:  Supreme Court Affirms Right to Unionize for Undocumented Migrants

In a landmark decision, Korea’s Supreme Court has now ruled that undocumented migrant workers have the right to unionise, eight years after the migrant workers’ trade union MTU first launched its legal action.

Source:  ITUC

The government refused to register the MTU and engaged in a targeted crackdown by arresting and deporting its leaders. The Court’s ruling that these workers are included in the scope of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Adjustment Act is a major victory against the staunchly anti-union government.

Udaya Rai, President of the MTU said, “We, the migrant workers, have the right to form a union. It took no less than eight years for the litigation because the government didn’t want to recognise our fundamental right. Today we found that we can achieve what we want when we are united and fight together. On this occasion, we will organise more migrant workers regardless of their status into our union and continue our struggle for labour rights for all migrant workers! I appreciate all the support and solidarity for the MTU”.

The Korean government’s refusal to recognise the right of migrant workers to organise unions was criticised by the International Labour Organization’s Committee on Freedom of Association numerous times, most recently in March 2015.

In reaching its decision, the Court reviewed relevant legislation from a wide range of other countries, and found that the right to organise for undocumented migrants is the international standard. The Court also heard that the number of undocumented migrants in the country, largely those whose residence permits had expired, was around 210,000 in 2014.

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said, “This judgement clears up one of many breaches of international labour standards in Korean law and practice. It is an important victory for some of the most vulnerable and exploited workers who will now be allowed to organise to protect their rights at work and improve their lives.”

Barcelona Football Club: ITUC Appeals to Voting Members and Fans to Reject Qatar Airways Deal

The ITUC has called on FC Barcelona “socis” (voting members) and fans to end the club’s Qatar Airways sponsorship, saying that the airline is the very worst sponsor for a club with a 100-year tradition of democracy and universality.

Photo: Aeroprints

The appeal comes as an election contest for the club’s Presidency hinges on candidates’ opposition to or support for renewing its controversial sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways.

In a video address, Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said: “Sports fans around the world have always admired FC Barcelona for its founding values of respect, democracy and universality, and its long history of avoiding corporate sponsorship on its playing shirt. In 2010, the club unfortunately broke more than 100 years of tradition by striking a deal with Qatar (Qatar Foundation then Qatar Airways).

“When the sponsorship deal was signed with Qatar Airways, its CEO Akbar Al-Baker said that the airline shares the same values as Barcelona. The fact is, Qatar is the very worst sponsor for Barcelona.”

Describing Qatar Airways as one of the worst companies in the world, with no respect for workers’ rights and no respect for women, Burrow condemned Qatar’s record of severe exploitation of migrant workers in conditions of slavery.

Burrow added: “These are definitely not the values of FC Barcelona. Your club is more than a club and deserves better. As one of the richest sports team in the world, Barcelona does not need Qatar’s blood money tainting its shirt.

“We would ask all of you to call on all the Barcelona Presidential election candidates to do what is right for the club and its fans and stand up against slavery.”

The International Transport Workers’ Federation ITF has strongly criticised Qatar Airways following an International Labour Organisation finding on workplace sex discrimination

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker responded by saying “I don’t’ give a damn about the ILO…”

Surrounded by controversy over it medieval labour laws, including the “kafala” system of modern slavery, Qatar’s government was called upon by the ILO under two separate cases in 2014 to make fundamental labour law reforms. A set of cosmetic changes to the kafala system was rejected by Qatar’s advisory Shura Council last week.

Swaziland: International Pressure Brings Early Release of Political Prisoners

Swazi human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and journalist Bheki Makhubu are being released from prison in Swaziland two weeks before the end of their sentences for criticising the lack of independence of the judiciary, following sustained international pressure.

Source: ITUC

Maseko had been put into solitary confinement after the publication of a prison letter marking the one-year anniversary of his detention. Their release was ordered after Swaziland’s Supreme Court overturned the judgement against them.

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said “We are glad that the human rights supporters can now be reunited with their families and friends, after their disgraceful imprisonment for doing nothing more than telling the truth. Their release just a couple of weeks before the end of their prison sentences should not be seen as a sign of progress in Swaziland. International pressure has helped get them released early, and needs to be sustained to bring about respect for fundamental rights in Swaziland, which is one of the worst countries for violations against workers’ rights.”

Maseko, who was the lawyer for trade union centre TUCOSWA when it was fighting for registration by the government, endured particularly harsh conditions whilst in prison. He still faces sedition charges under the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act for a May Day speech he gave in 2009.

To see more:

ITUC Index
Labourstart

The Unstoppable Domestic Workers’ Movement: winning labour rights and protections for 15 million domestic workers

In the past few years a political and moral shift has occurred among growing numbers of political leaders which has secured rights and protections for 15 million domestic workers today. Their lives have improved by shifting away from unprotected and exploitative jobs to ones protected by labour laws.

Source: ITUC

Now they enjoy rights including the right to a minimum wage, social protection, regulation of working time and the right to one day off a week. These wins were made thanks to an unstoppable domestic workers’ movement which successfully campaigned to reach 21 ratifications of ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers and dozens of labour law reforms.

The domestic workers’ movement, a unique alliance of domestic workers’ unions and movements, national trade union centres, migrant, women and human rights groups, has campaigned in alliance since the adoption of ILO Convention 189 and the launch of the 12 by 12 Campaign, a campaign initiated by the ITUC in coordination with the International Domestic Workers Federation. It has created momentum for wins made which continue today. Recently a Brazilian domestic workers law – adopted in 2013 – was strengthened by extending the rights of domestic workers for extra payments for night work and insurance against workplace accidents.

Several states in the US are close to signing domestic workers’ bills into law, and Namibia has adopted labour reforms which extend rights to domestic workers including paid maternity leave. One more country, Portugal, is in the final stage of officially ratifying the ILO Convention 189, which will bring the total number to 22 ratifications. And domestic workers have built collective bargaining power by creating new unions and organising 100,000 new members.

On today’s International Domestic Workers’ Day – which marks the historical adoption of ILO Convention 189 on 16 June 2011 – mobilisations will take place around the globe to call for respect and justice for all domestic workers. Domestic workers and unions plan actions on the street, petitions and rallies including in Indonesia, the UK, Mexico, the US, Senegal, Cambodia and India to keep up the pressure on governments to ratify C189 and adopt labour reforms.

“We stand united with all domestic workers who are determined to fight until all domestic workers are free from exploitation and forced labour and enjoy rights and protections – in law and practice – like any other workers,” said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.

Read Equal Times article on Domestic Workers

IDWF website

12 + 12 Facebook page

12 + 12 Newsletter

Equal Times: UK: 250,000 march to “End Austerity Now”…the Tories respond with more cuts

23 June 2015

by Angelo Boccato

Despite some 250,000 people taking to the streets of London last weekend for the first major national mobilisation against the austerity agenda of the Conservative government, Chancellor George Osborne has just announced plans to slash the welfare budget by £12 billion (approximately €16.7 billion). 

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people marched under the banner “End Austerity Now”. (Matteo Congregalli)

The 20 June protest, organised by the People’s Assembly – a coalition of trade unions, various social movements and political parties – was a show of anger and frustration against the government’s continued assault on the welfare state.

The Tory government, led by prime minister David Cameron and re-elected in May, pledged to make a number of money-saving reforms to the welfare system in its election manifesto.

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people marched in London against the proposed cuts under the banner “End Austerity Now”. Smaller protests took place in cities like Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow.

A number of individuals and organisations ranging from the Student’s Assembly against the Austerity to Unite the Union, Stand Up to Racism and Fascism and Keep Our NHS public took part to protests.

They were joined by the Green Party (including party leader Natalie Bennett) and the local branches of European anti-austerity movements Podemos from Spain and Syriza from Greece.

Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn was the only one of four Labour leadership contenders to attend the rally.

Jack Hazeldine, an organiser for the Bristol’s People’s Assembly told Equal Times: “We had elections in Britain last month and the Conservatives were elected on a very small majority only 24 per cent of voters chose them, and yet they are now proposing even more harsh, severe and really drastic cuts to all the services that we all need, from assistance for the disabled, to the NHS, education and a continuous degradation of living standards for many, including young people”.

Details will be outlined in next month’s emergency summer budget and in the autumn spending review, but a reduction in the benefits cap is expected, as are “significant” cuts to other working-age benefits, as well as housing benefits and tax credits.

Frontline issue

But for many of Saturday’s marchers, education is also a frontline issue in the fight against austerity.

As Martin Powell-Davies, secretary of Lewisham branch of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and national executive member of the teachers’ union, explains: “They [the Tories] are trying to privatise education through widening the number of academies.”

“I come from a South London borough, Lewisham, where we are involved in a major campaign and we have successfully defeated, for now, an attempt to try to turn three of our schools into privatised academies”.

But very few people were marching against a single issue. For Powell-Davies and his fellow NUT members, the defence of the right to strike was also a major rallying point.

“The Tories understand that the people who really have the power to actually lead the resistance are the trade unions so they are trying to introduce legislation where in order to have a national strike you would need to have 50 per cent of your members voting ’yes’ in a postal ballot,” he said.

“This will be extremely difficult. It has nothing to do with democracy, but it’s about trying to stop the trade union movement organising, but as you can see today we are organised”.

At the end of the rally in Parliament Square, a number of speakers took to the stage, from the journalist Owen Jones to the singer-songwriter/activist Charlotte Church and the comedian/activist Russell Brand.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite the Union, the UK’s biggest trade union, told the crowd: “The majority in the House of Commons for the Tories, when 64 per cent of the voters voted against them, will never legitimise the ravaging attacks on the disabled, the elderly, the sick; the poverty and human suffering caused by the greed and gluttony. It will never legitimise the attacks on trade unionists, on democracy or on the right to strike”.

McCluskey added: “The battle ahead is a defining one for all of us. The outcome will define not only our country, not only the lives we live and those of our children, that will define the generations that still have to come”.

In his speech. Sam Fairbairn, national secretary of the People’s Assembly, echoed McCluskey’s sentiments: “David Cameron thinks that his small majority means that he can do whatever he likes for the next five years without opposition, but he’s wrong. We are that opposition”.

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ITUC Global Rights Index Names World’s Ten Worst Countries for Workers

Brussels, 10 June 2015 (ITUC OnLine): The Gulf States are among the world’s worst countries for workers’ rights, while workers under European austerity measures endured the starkest deterioration of standards, according to the 2015 Global Rights Index.

The ITUC rights index ranks 141 countries against 97 internationally recognised indicators to assess where workers’ rights are best protected, in law and in practice.

“Workers in the Gulf States where the draconian ‘kafala’ system is widespread endure many of the violations which make the Middle East and North Africa the world’s worst region for fundamental rights at work,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.

“But in a worrying trend, European workers have witnessed the starkest deterioration of their rights in the last 12 months due to widespread government-imposed austerity measures taking effect.”

The International Trade Union Confederation has been collecting data on the abuse of trade union rights around the world for more than 30 years. This is the second year the ITUC has presented its findings through the Global Rights Index, offering a snapshot for government and business to see how their laws and supply chains have deteriorated or improved in the last 12 months.

The ten worst countries for working people are Belarus, China, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and United Arab Emirates.

Other countries ranked lower but had worsening conditions this year in a clear negative trend for workers. These nations were Burundi, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Iran, Georgia, Russia, United Kingdom and Spain.

“Workers in Colombia and Guatemala have been murdered for trying to negotiate better working conditions, while in Qatar and Saudi Arabia migrants continue to endure forced labour and labour law exclusions which amount to modern slavery.

“In 73 of 141 countries, workers faced dismissals, suspensions, pay cuts and demotions for attempting to negotiate better working conditions, while in 84 countries employers adopted illegal strategies to deny or delay bargaining with representative trade unions.

“While a handful of countries have attained perfect scores compared to last year, there’s been an increase across the board in the number of countries where conditions have worsened, including nations such as Cameroon, Hungary, Spain and South Africa,” Ms Burrow said.

The reports key findings include:

• Out of a total of 141 countries, the number where workers faced arbitrary arrest and detention increased from 35 to 44, and included countries such as Spain and Brazil.
• In almost 60 per cent of countries, certain types of workers are excluded from their fundamental labour rights.
• Unionists were murdered in 11 countries, one up from last year, including 22 deaths in Colombia alone.
• Seventy per cent of countries have workers with no right to strike.
• Two thirds of countries deny workers collective bargaining rights.
•  More than half of countries in the survey deny workers access to the rule of law.

In the past year, unions have reported violent crackdowns on peaceful protests in Cambodia, Costa Rica, Paraguay and Ukraine; in Qatar around 100 migrant workers striking against poverty wages were arrested last November, while in March this year a Filipino union organiser became the 18th case of extra-judicial killing since 2010.

“International labour standards prescribe access to fundamental rights for all workers,” Ms Burrow said. “Yet as corporate power and inequality grows internationally, these results show governments and employers in almost every country around the world must improve their treatment of workers and arrest the increase in workplace violations.”

The 2015 ITUC Global Rights Index rates countries from one to five according to 97 indicators, with an overall score placing countries in one to five rankings.

1. Irregular violations of rights: 16 countries including Finland & Uruguay
2.  Repeated violations of rights: 26 countries including Japan & Ireland
3. Regular violations of rights: 36 countries including Israel & Australia
4. Systematic violations of rights: 27 countries including Poland & USA
5. No guarantee of rights: 27 countries including Belarus, China & Nigeria
6. No guarantee of rights due to breakdown of the rule of law: nine countries including Syria, Central African Republic & Palestine

Read the report – ITUC Global Rights Index: The worst places in the world for workers.

Download the ITUC Global Rights Index map.

Download the ITUC Global Rights Index infographics.

For more information contact gemma.swart@ituc-csi.org +44 7944 99 07 63

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The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 162 countries and territories and has 328 national affiliates.

Follow ITUCon the web: http://www.ituc-csi.org and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI

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World’s Citizens Ahead of Leaders on Climate Change

Brussels, 8 June 2015 (ITUC OnLine): Governments around the world are lagging behind urgent demands to address climate change, with people voicing overwhelming support – particularly in developing countries – for immediate action, the latest ITUC poll revealed.

Nine out of ten people across the globe are demanding their elected leaders do more to prevent the world’s population from being impacted by the effects of man-made global warming, the latest International Trade Union Confederation Frontlines Poll showed.

“As the deadly heatwave in India and the crippling drought in California both show, rich and poor nations alike are affected by climate change,” ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow said. “But with developing countries experiencing more and being less able to respond to climate-related catastrophes, we’re hearing the most urgent calls for government action from the Global South.”

The ITUC poll asked people from nine countries, representing half the world’s GDP, from both the developed and developing world, if and when they thought world leaders needed to act to prevent the world’s population from being impacted by climate change.

Key findings include:

• 90 per cent want to see leaders take action to protect the international community from climate change impacts;
• Almost 70 per cent want action from leaders now, without delay;
• Almost 8 out of 10 people want action in the next 12 months or less;
• While almost two-thirds of the developed world want action, the figure is far higher in the developing world at 80 per cent;
• Even in the UK (58 per cent) and the US (55 per cent), the majority are demanding action.

The two countries with the loudest calls for immediate action were the heavily populated island nations of Indonesia (90 per cent) and the Philippines (88 per cent).

“Wealthier countries like the United States emit more emissions per capita than developing countries, but the demand for government action is most urgent from nations like the Philippines which know firsthand the more prevalent extreme weather events the International Panel on Climate Change predicts,” Ms Burrow said.

The Philippines had so many typhoons in 2013 that it ran out of letters to name them, including the devastating ‘Haiyan’, which left 6300 dead and 2000 still missing.

“This could be the future for other nations experiencing a rapidly changing climate.”

The ITUC Frontlines Poll also revealed that governments could no longer use their constituents as a reason for inaction, with just four per cent indicating world leaders did not need to act.

Almost two-thirds of those aged 55 years and older wanted immediate action, and just one in 10 of this age group believed inaction from world leaders should continue.

Ms Burrow said: “Politicians who are not prepared to commit to decarbonise our world and save us from the horrors of climate change don’t deserve to be elected.

“This survey proves any pressure for world leaders to continue to sit on their hands is coming from the corporate world and not their people.

“The international community, particularly those most vulnerable, are demanding their governments ignore lobbying from big business and show real leadership on climate change. What is missing are national plans for industrial transformation and just transition.”

Read the full ITUC Frontlines Poll click here.
For more information contact gemma.swart@ituc-csi.org +44 7944 99 07 63
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The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 162 countries and territories and has 328 national affiliates.

Follow ITUC on the web: http://www.ituc-csi.org and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI

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International Union Bodies Welcome G7 Pledges on Supply Chains, Climate and Tax

Photo: Bundesregierung/Widmann

Brussels, 9 June 2015 (ITUC OnLine): International trade unions have welcomed key pledges made by the leaders of major global economies at the 2015 G7 Summit, while warning that public confidence in governments and business is waning and stronger action for sustainable economic growth is needed on a number of fronts.

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said: “Chancellor Merkel, as Summit host, has shown clear leadership on a number of crucial issues, notably the promise for G7 action on global supply chains which today are a source of exploitation and impoverishment instead of a means of delivering decent, secure and safe jobs.  Strengthening the existing international mechanisms on corporate behaviour needs to be backed up by the rule of law.  This, along with other key commitments on climate action and financing as well as on taxation and on increasing women’s participation, must be taken up by the G20 when it holds its Summit in November.”

An ITUC opinion poll on trust in companies and supply chains, released on the eve of the Summit, found that:

• 55 % of respondents in France, Germany, the UK and the US believe most global companies can’t be trusted to look after their workers and tougher laws are needed;
• 80 % of respondents in Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey believe that most employers prioritise profits over safety of their workers;
• More than three quarters (78 %) of people in Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey believe that business should pay all their workers a decent minimum wage – no matter where they are.

Commenting on the launch of a “Vision Zero Fund” with the ILO, John Evans, General Secretary of OECD TUAC and ITUC Chief Economist said: “The G7 leaders have acknowledged responsibility to promote decent working conditions in developing countries. The final funding of the Rana Plaza was long overdue for the families of the victims –  but commitment must now be used to stop such tragedies from ever happening again. The Summit pledges must be turned into action, both to set up the Vision Zero Fund but also to ensure that the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises are strengthened.  The G7 is raising the bar to make sure that the process to strengthen the key mechanism of the Guidelines, the work of the ‘National Contact Points’, is a broad-based effective implementation process, with real consequences for those who don’t observe the Guidelines.”

Amongst a raft of other issues, the Summit recognised that the task of global financial reform is still unfinished, and that unemployment remains too high.  The commitments to strong, inclusive growth and investment, especially in infrastructure, have been welcomed by the trade unions.

“This G7 Summit has made advances on a range of crucial questions.  These need to be broadened to engage other countries, and turned into concrete action. 

Governments need to rebuild public confidence in their willingness to tame corporate greed, assert the rule of law and put the world economy on the right track – one that works for people instead of just for the most wealthy and powerful,” said Burrow.

For further information, media enquiries, please contact the ITUC:

ITUC: +32 2 224 0212 press@ituc-csi.org
OECD TUAC: byhovskaya@tuac.org  www.tuac.org
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The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 162 countries and territories and has 328 national affiliates.
Follow the ITUC on the web: http://www.ituc-csi.org and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI

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ITUC CONDEMNS TUNISIA TERROR ATTACK

19 March 2015

Source: ITUC

The ITUC has condemned yesterday’s barbaric terrorist attack in Tunis, which cost the lives of 19 people and left many more injured, and expressed its deepest condolences to all those affected.

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said, “Our hearts go out to the families of those murdered in this vile atrocity, and to those who were injured. We urge the people of Tunisia to stand strong in the face of this latest attack on the fundamental values of a decent society. Democracy in Tunisia is under attack, and the world must stand by this country which is a beacon of democracy in the region.”

The national trade union centre UGTT, which has played a pivotal role in Tunisia’s transition to democracy, issued a strong statement condemning the attack, pledging the support of working people in the fight against terrorism. The UGTT also called on people to join a sit-in in front of the national parliament today, to pay homage to the victims, defy the terrorist’s objective to undermine morale, and show their commitment to the fight against terrorism.

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The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 162 countries and territories and has 328 national affiliates.

Follow ITUC on the web: http://www.ituc-csi.org  and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI  

For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on: +32 2 224 02 04

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Three quarters of world’s people want governments to act on climate change

New ITUC Climate Justice Frontline’s briefing sets out union plans for a climate deal in 2015.

19 March 2015

Overwhelming support for government action on climate change puts leaders in the spotlight to agree a climate deal in December 2015 that will give the world a fighting chance to limit temperature rises to 2 ºC.

Source: ITUC Press Department

The world’s people want their governments to deal with the pollution that is causing climate change. According to the ITUC Global Poll of the general public in fourteen countries, 73 per cent of people want governments to do more to limit pollution causing climate change.

Brazil, South Africa, Russian, Italy and India topped the leaderboard with 80 per cent or more of respondents insistent on action by their governments.

“We know the science is unequivocal. Without urgent and ambitious action we will face a temperature rise of 4ºC or more this century and irreversible changes in our climate.

Economists have spoken. The financial damage caused by global warming will cost the world far more than previously estimated,’’ said Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, ITUC.

Workers and their unions have a vital role to play to protect jobs in existing workplaces and industries by demanding industrial transformation, organizing new quality jobs in the emerging green economy and fighting for the Just Transition measures that ensure we leave no one behind.

In the months leading up to the Paris Climate summit in December, mobilisations in hundreds of countries will call on leaders to commit to a strong global agreement on climate change.

“Climate change is putting at risks thousands of jobs. There will be no jobs on a dead planet,” said Ms Burrow.

In the United States, hurricane Sandy left 150,000 workers displaced and employment was overall reduced by 11,000 workers in New Jersey alone in 2012.

Typhoon Hagupit, that hit the Philippines in December 2014 affected around 800,000 workers, with their source of livelihood damaged or displaced overnight.

2015 is an opportunity for the trade union movement to work on three tracks to secure jobs and our planet:

• A strong global agreement on climate change negotiations in Paris which paves the way for a jobs and investment boom and for preventing climate catastrophe in our communities.
• National contributions and commitments by governments from which we can negotiate more ambition.
• Climate action in workplaces and industries with workers and unions through dialogue, consultation and collective bargaining.

“We have a right to a seat at the table as we act to stabilise the world’s climate by moving toward a zero carbon emissions future.

“This transformation must be supported by Just Transition measures. We have played our role in UN negotiations and fought and won commitments. Now these commitments must be made real and included in the Paris agreement in December 2015.

“This means that carbon dependent communities and workers must not be forced to bear the costs of change. We will fight for adequate funding of this transition, as well as for the poorest and most vulnerable of nations to be able to cope with the impacts of climate change,” said Sharan Burrow.

Click here for more information.

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The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 162 countries and territories and has 328 national affiliates.

Follow ITUC on the web: http://www.ituc-csi.org  and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI  

For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on: +32 2 224 02 04

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Honduras: Serious labour rights violations according to US Labor Department Findings

16 March 2015

The US Department of Labour has issued a damning 143-page report documenting widespread and serious violations of labour rights in Honduras. The findings are in response to a complaint filed in 2012 by the AFL-CIO and 26 Honduran unions and NGOs under the Labour Chapter of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

The allegations concerned numerous cases where Honduran employers engaged in acts of anti-union discrimination, imposing non-union pacts to frustrate collective bargaining, as well as cases of non-payment of wages, forced overtime, numerous occupational health and safety violations and, in the agricultural sector, child labour.

In each case, the employer’s conduct was illegal under Honduran labour law, but the government utterly failed to enforce it – by failing to provide a remedy to workers or by failing to sanction employers, or both. Fines have not been increased since 1980, meaning that penalties for serious labour violations range between US$9.35 to $460. Even after the complaint was filed, and the US requested follow-up on the specific cases mentioned, the Honduran government still failed to enforce the law.

The International Trade Union Confederation has identified Honduras as a “Country at Risk” and urges the Honduran government to act immediately on the recommendations in the report. The Honduran government will need to undertake substantial reforms in order to comply with its international legal obligations to effectively enforce its labour laws. This must be done in full consultation with Honduran unions. At the same time, the US government should provide assistance to the Honduran government to see these reforms implemented without delay, and step up support to unions to organise and bargain collectively. If the Honduran Government fails to address the issues raised in the complaint, the US must use the mechanisms available in CAFTA to ensure compliance, up to and including arbitration. Countries signing trade agreements must recognise that where these contain labour-related obligations, these are just as binding as any other provision of the agreement.

The US must also take action to ensure that American multinationals sourcing goods from Honduras ensure that labour rights violations are not occurring in their supply chains. The labour violations in the report occur in sectors, including garments, light manufacturing and agriculture, the products of which are exported to the United States.

Labour chapters have often been promoted as a means to address some of the many concerns about the social and economic impact of trade agreements. As the US negotiates new trade agreements, it must vigorously enforce the labour chapters of existing ones. To date, workers, including in Central America, have not yet seen real change, as impunity for labour violations continues unabated. The US must use all the tools available to demonstrate that these agreements can serve as an effective tool for working people.

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Mexico to Ratify ILO Convention 98 on Collective Bargaining

16 March 2015

International and regional trade union groups have welcomed a commitment by Mexican Secretary for Labour and Social Welfare, Alfonso Navarrete Prida, to ratify ILO Convention 98 and promote genuine collective bargaining. This is a first step to end the use of ‘protection contracts’.

Photo: Neil Smith

Navarette pledged to act after meetings with the ITUC, its Regional Organisation for the Americas TUCA, and IndustriALL Global Union whose sector is especially hard hit by the use of protection contracts that deny workers a say in their terms and conditions of work or their union.

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said “Protection contracts leave industrial relations wide open to corrupt practices, and represent a severe violation of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. Workers’ rights to fully and democratically participate in setting wages and conditions of employment are fundamental, and the practice of corrupt protection contracts has been allowed to continue for far too long. We welcome the Minister’s commitment to look to discuss further legal reforms which we hope would put an end to this violation of workers’ rights which affects large numbers of working people in Mexico”.

Fernando Lopes Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union said, “Despite concrete steps being made at the meeting, there is still a long way to go before we can talk about positive changes. Our affiliates and other independent Mexican trade unions are constantly undermined in their daily work because of the unfair system of protection contracts. Ordinary workers and the Mexican economy are being held hostage to this rotten system which manipulates workers’ rights and obstructs any progress in working and living conditions”.

The undertaking from the Mexican Minister follows a campaign by international and Mexican trade union bodies to outlaw protection contracts, culminating in a meeting in Mexico City last week where the unions set out their concerns in detail and called for the government to act.

Minister Navarette has also committed to look for timely resolution of a range of other issues raised by the unions.

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