29 May, 2015Almost 200 participants gathered in Stockholm for IndustriALL Global Union’s Executive Committee on 19-20 May, endorsing action on living wages, organizing, trade union rights and precarious work around the world.
IndustriALL’s Executive Committees are always emotional events. 200 participants from all five continents spend a few days together, union leaders, men and women, debate and decide on action, and share the same fight for a better world.
In fact we did not gather for two days only, we went to Stockholm for a week. From morning to evening there were official sessions and side meetings to make use of the fact that so many people were present.
On Monday morning, the women’s committee discussed the upcoming world conference. In the afternoon, the working group on global framework agreements analysed the draft Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with Swedish garment retailer H&M. The Asia-Pacific executive members also held a session.
On Tuesday, another working group continued developing a new affiliation fee system, followed by the Finance Committee. Then the Executive Committee went through a long agenda on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Statutes and Action Plan Committees started their work towards the 2nd IndustriALL Congress that will take place in October 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. And finally on Friday, IndustriALL staff from the head office and the regional offices went through the decisions taken, agreed on follow-up action, and started the preparations for the Congress.
After such a week, I felt pretty tired, but at the same time happy and energized. This is such an amazing global union family.
The highlight of the week was a session with Sweden’s prime minister Stefan Löfven, ex-leader of IndustriALL affiliate IF Metall. Stefan addressed the Executive Committee and debated more than an hour with union leaders about how to make globalization work for workers, how to build societies based on social justice. If we could just have a head of state like Stefan, was the comment from many delegates afterwards.
I was happy to receive an endorsement from the Executive Committee for our living wage action. We will continue to support minimum wage battles around the world and train our affiliates to formulate their living wage demands and mobilize in support of them.
A major step forward is a memorandum of understanding that IndustriALL is signing with major global clothing brands on living wages. The objective is to bring trade unions and supplier factories together to negotiate enforceable, industry-wide collective agreements and to ensure that brand purchasing practices enable payment of a negotiated living wage. We have chosen Cambodia and Bangladesh as first priority countries for this new approach, and then expand to other countries.
The global textile and garment industry which employs 60 million workers has been profoundly unsustainable, with poverty wages, long working hours, unhealthy workplaces and difficulties with freedom of association. We have now started a systemic change. It will face hurdles and it will take years, but we will not stop until we have achieved living wages that every worker deserves.
Jyrki Raina
General Secretary