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Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

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Every year more than two million people die from occupational accidents or work-related diseases. The safety of work varies enormously between countries, economic sectors and social groups. Deaths and injuries take a particularly heavy toll in developing nations.  Downsizing, outsourcing, sub-contracting and temporary labour create bad working conditions. Although the physical workplace environment has improved considerably during the course of the last decades, millions of men and women around the world are still working in hazardous conditions.  Therefore, based on the primacy of prevention, defending and promoting health and safety at work is a fundamental trade union task that all IMF affiliates should prioritise. Alongside the difficulties to ban well-known hazards, such as asbestos, the introduction of new chemicals and new technologies, without sufficient research, constitutes new threats to the health and well-being of workers.  The precautionary principle should also apply to nanomaterials, the hazardous nature of which has become more apparent in the light of many recent studies. Such precaution is all the more urgent because of the fact that these materials are used in many products, including clothes, cosmetics, composites, automobiles, spectacles, paint etc.Occupational cancer is by far the most common work-related cause of death. It is a problem that does not ring alarm bells for corporate executives who only answer to shareholders at annual general meetings. Causes are covered up, bodies are buried, companies evade legal liabilities, and the killing continues as a result of preventable and predictable work-place exposures. The IMF and affiliates must increase efforts to stop this from happening. It is essential to have effective health and safety committees in every workplace with knowledge of the workplace-specific hazards. Preventive actions must be based on research, evidence and strong health and safety laws that are properly promoted and enforced.  Health and safety is a very important issue for trade unions.  In general, organized workplaces are safer workplaces with better working conditions.The international trade union movement must work in order to ensure that ILO conventions and codes of practice are incorporated into national legislation and collective bargaining agreements, and are respected in practice. The IMF will encourage affiliates to develop organising strategies around safer and better workplaces. Such strategies can be linked to the campaign for decent work. The campaign for decent work should be extended to include the pursuit of fixed wages and permanent employment contracts, healthy and family-friendly working hours, protection against excessive demands on performance, the preservation of the workers' employability, preventive and participatory health and safety, and training and development.The IMF will:<ul><li>Co-operate with ITUC, TUAC and GUFs to ensure that the ILO assists governments, employers and trade unions to improve knowledge and information about existing legislation on health and safety at work;</li><li>Address occupational health and safety at regional, sectoral and company meetings;</li><li>Continue to build the campaign for Zero Occupational Cancer;</li><li>Keep campaigning for an international ban on the production, import, export and use of asbestos; and</li><li>Continue to put pressure on national governments to implement transition programmes for workers displaced by the banning of asbestos, and to ensure that the treatment and compensation costs of workers suffering from asbestos-related diseases are borne by employers.</li></ul>The IMF will assist the affiliates to:<ul><li>Inform and educate instructors on basic workplace health and safety, who will then teach and train stewards at plant level;</li><li>Ensure that effective health and safety committees are set up in all workplaces; </li><li>Use health and safety as a tool for organising workers and building strong unions; and</li><li>Develop strategies around HIV/Aids and other new epidemics.</li></ul>

Preface

3. GLOBAL SOLIDARITY IN ACTION

3.3 Defend and protect workers rights

1. OUR MISSION

2. THE WORLD TODAY

2.1 Profits over people

2.2 Unemployment and job insecurity

2.3 Unions under attack

2.4 Fundamental workers´ rights denied

2.5 Spreading influence of Transnational Corporations

2.6 World trade system in disarray

2.7 An unsustainable future

2.8 Alliances, resistance and opportunities

3.1 Build strong national trade unions

3.1.1 Organise the unorganised

3.1.2 Strive for trade union unity at the national level

3.1.3 Build unions through education, training and effective exchange of information

3.2 Strengthening collective bargaining

3.3.1 Fight for trade union rights

3.3.2 Fight for Equal Rights

3.3.3 Fight for safe workplaces

3.4 Build a counterweight to the power of transnational corporations

3.4.1 Strengthening union solidarity and cooperation across sectors and TNCs

3.4.2 Advance fundamental rights through International Framework Agreements

The universal and fundamental right of workers to form and join independent trade unions and to bargain collectively with their employers is the basis of trade union organisation. The IMF has always given the highest priority to fighting against the repression of trade unions and the violations of workers' and human rights. Binding intergovernmental rules in order to implement the core labour standards remain a fundamental demand of the IMF.  The core labour standards of the ILO must be integrated both into the agreements of the WTO and in bi- and multilateral trade and investment agreements.  In order to monitor the ILO standards in the WTO agreements, the existing ILO monitoring mechanisms need to be strengthened and extended, as demanded in 2008 in the ILO Declaration on Social Justice in a Globalized World.  These demands will require stronger efforts from the IMF and its affiliates, together with other GUFs, the ITUC and TUAC. We have to become more visible, particularly in voicing our support of trade unionists who face grave risks including intimidation, assault, abduction, imprisonment, and even murder.It is the main responsibility of the community of states and national governments to finally put into practice binding and sanctionable intergovernmental rules in order to enforce and implement a social dimension of globalization.  Commitment of companies, such as IFAs, may represent an additional protection for workers.In the age of globalisation, not only has the opportunity for international solidarity action increased, but its role in the fight for the advancement of  trade union rights has become much more critical. Solidarity action is only as powerful as the collective force behind it. To be effective, it requires a two-pronged strategy, on one hand to put pressure on governments that systematically violate trade union and human rights, and on the other to take action against the anti-union behaviour of companies. For this purpose, it is particularly important to put pressure on employers along the companies' supply chain.Furthermore, employers must not be allowed to profit from labour laws that render them immune from prosecution for violations of fundamental rights, as is the case in the Republic of Korea, where the criminal code also allows companies to sue unions and seek incarceration of union leaders under the charge of &quot;obstruction of business&quot;. Such situations require carefully designed actions based on a systematic and close collaboration between the IMF, its affiliates, the other GUFs, TUAC and ITUC. Most important, however, is international workers' solidarity with a strongly committed organisation at the local level, failing which, no international solidarity action can be effective.The IMF and its affiliates must go beyond mere coordination. Campaigns to effectively respond to violations of workers' rights by TNCs or certain countries and regions must be promoted and led by the IMF. To make this possible, affiliates must be fully committed to mobilising their members and be capable of implementing common strategies in the context of their respective countries, which includes ensuring a communication flow to their members to support their mobilisation efforts. We can only respond to rights violations as soon as they arise if we have an effective system and membership support and understanding. IMF will collaborate with its affiliates and with other GUFs, TUAC, ITUC and Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to:<ul><li>Enforce the protection of worker and trade union rights through IFAs, OECD guidelines, ILO instruments, and trade agreements that include the ILO core labour standards and social minimum standards as well as sanctions in case of non-compliance to complement mobilisation efforts on the ground; </li><li>Develop strategies and promote joint actions to achieve binding intergovernmental regulations on the enforcement of minimum social standards. This will include mobilizing and additional efforts at international and national levels to promote the universal respect in law and practice of the ILO's fundamental Conventions;</li><li>Expose governments and companies that exploit workers and violate trade union rights, and develop issue-specific solidarity actions to reduce precarious work, subcontracting, two-tier wage systems, and legislative initiatives that seek to undermine workers' rights;</li><li>Disseminate information about trade union rights abuses immediately and effectively through a rapid response system;</li><li>Establish solidarity networks locally, regionally and internationally;</li><li>Establish a solidarity page on the IMF website to serve as a resource for solidarity action and information, including ILO complaint guidelines and campaign status updates, news and other materials; and</li><li>Provide affiliates and partners with information on actions, outcomes, evaluations of achievements, and strategies for future work regarding the advancement of trade union rights.</li></ul> IMF will assist its affiliates to ensure that:<ul><li>Rapid response is organised to any TNC attack on workers' rights through information and mobilisation of the employees of the same company in all its countries of operations, and united action is taken while also pursuing cooperation among the IMF affiliates in these countries.</li></ul> IMF affiliates will:<ul><li>Mobilise their members in support of unions fighting company-sponsored unions, anti-union legislation, union-busting tactics and industrial relations disputes;</li><li>Ensure that immediate information on rights violations is fed into the IMF's rapid response system, and that there are timely updates on developments and local actions;</li><li>Commit themselves to actively participate in campaigns developed by the IMF and take joint actions with other national unions and other like-minded social actors;</li><li>Include rights issues in training and educational materials to ensure that solidarity actions and rights awareness reach the shop-floor; </li><li>Publicize rights abuses, solidarity efforts and action taken internationally; and</li><li>Ensure that no benefit guaranteed to the employees of a TNC in one country is based on an attack on the rights of its employees in another country.</li></ul>

TNCs seek to shift their risks and costs onto workers, often with institutional and government support. In addition, offshoring, outsourcing and subcontracting have become an integral part of corporate cost-reduction strategies and affect not only production work but also increasingly high-skilled and well-paid jobs in design, research and development activities. Relocation as well as a large part of green-field investment takes place in countries where, in many cases, there is a very low rate of unionisation, no democratic unions or no unions at all. TNCs have provided employment through direct capital investment, while building complex global supply chains and multi-level networks, which reach out to thousands of contractors and suppliers all over the world.  These networks have made it possible for companies to source goods and services anywhere, reorganise production lines quickly, forcing workers to adapt constantly to new performance requirements, or to leave the country at a moment's notice if a cheaper and more compliant workforce is available somewhere else.TNCs have thus significantly altered the industrial structure within and among countries for their own benefits, including by moving decision-making centres and by transforming the employment relationship on which labour protection systems are largely based.  While it is abundantly clear that TNCs have a significant influence over the working conditions of millions of workers across the world, they refuse to recognize their influence and they argue that they are not responsible for the workers along the supply chain.  TNCs have created a global labour market in which workers from the same and/or different countries are continuously put into competition with each other.  Moreover, the unrestricted mobility of capital allows it to take advantage of differences in wages, working conditions, and labour legislation.  Conflicts of interests are created between groups of workers in different regions, between workers at different worksites, and also within and across countries. Workers are pushed to work faster, cheaper, and for longer hours, which leads to increasing work-related health problems. The TNCs ability to relocate manufacturing and research and development is a threat not only to jobs but also to wages and workers' bargaining power. To date, trade unions have had limited success in challenging the power of TNCs. The relocation process driven by TNCs is taking a heavy toll on workers and many regions are facing the spectre of de-industrialisation. However, industry is a key component of growth, technological and social development, and balanced trade patterns. It is vital for employment. Government policies are therefore needed to promote equitable and sustainable growth, facilitate the adaptation of traditional industries, and encourage the development of new ones.  Unions have a new role to play in this field, linking the social and environmental dimension in their strategy for the benefit of all workers.

Millions of workers around the globe continue to face repression, imprisonment, discrimination and all kinds of threats and pressures due to their trade union activities. Trade unionists are killed in the exercise of their rights. Poor labour standards and lax enforcement of labour legislation are often used as a means to attract much-needed foreign investment as is the case in export processing zones (EPZs).  Millions of workers, above all women, are employed today in such zones. Discrimination and abuses are common in EPZs where attempts to form unions and bargain collectively are often met with intimidation, violence, sackings and even death threats.  The policies of international financial institutions have also hurt workers around the world.  By imposing conditions designed first and foremost to promote labour market deregulation, privatisation and economic liberalization, these policies have undermined basic workers' rights, exacerbated financial instability, fuelled inequalities, and created serious hardships for workers and their communities.

This attack on jobs and the dilution of the employment relationship is also an attack on unions and workers' rights. Employers, in many countries with the full support of governments, are attempting to divide working people. Trade unions are struggling with declining membership and a deteriorating collective bargaining environment.  Adverse trends include changes in industries, employment status and industrial relations (including a shift from industry and sector level bargaining to enterprise agreements or even individual contracts) as well as anti-union actions by governments and corporations.  In addition, unions have not adequately responded to this adverse environment and to the challenge to renew themselves and organise effectively.   The aggressive anti-union campaigns conducted by employers in certain countries with the help of outside consultants are playing a major role in the sustained assault on unions and collective bargaining.  Such union-busting activities are being exported to other countries and represent a serious threat to the rights of workers all over the world.

Throughout the world, people are meeting and mobilising against the destructive effect of unbridled capitalism, all-out deregulation and corporate abuses; they call for the promotion of democracy, human rights, and social justice.  Various social and political movements have rejected the neo-liberal consensus and are following a different path. The World Social Forum process that started in 2001 in Porto Alegre, Brazil is still the largest and most inclusive space where alliances can be built and joint initiatives taken with different social actors. In the last decade, real political change has taken place in some countries, most notably in Latin America, where democratic and progressive governments have come to power and have challenged the neo-liberal economic model by renationalizing their key natural resources and using its profits to benefit the many and not just the few. Numerous movements and networks that play an important role in local and global politics have emerged, creating spaces of dialogue and common action, and building broad-based coalitions. There is now a window of opportunity for the world's progressive social forces to get together and come up with alternatives to neo-liberal policies.  Alternatives dedicated to sustainable development, human rights, gender equity and the protection of individual and collective rights in the economy offer opportunities for solidarity and alliances for working people everywhere.

A globalised economy could benefit workers throughout the world and improve prospects for social progress and sustainable development.  However this will not happen by following a deregulation agenda.  The growing inequalities between and within countries generated by neo-liberal policies and free trade show that workers are not receiving an equitable share of the wealth they create in society.  Unsustainable commercial and production practices, spurred on by unregulated globalisation, have caused risks posed by industry, public health concerns, environmental preservation, and climate change to move to centre stage.  Climate change is a threat to sustainable development and will affect human well-being, industrial activities, and employment.  It is not just a concern for the developed countries, which still account for most greenhouse gas pollutants. The rapid, energy-intensive growth in China, India and other fast-moving industrialising economies is also contributing to the increase in green-house gas emissions. Global warming is now widely acknowledged to be the most critical environmental issue facing humanity.  There is strong scientific evidence that most of the warming observed is attributable to unregulated economic activities and consumption based on a massive and excessive exploitation of natural resources, which also results in widespread industrial pollution.  Fast growing emissions caused by transport, industries, and fossil fuel power plants are made possible by a globalisation that is promoted by neo-liberal policies, including a huge increase in free trade and the associated transportation costs. Production regardless of costs to the environment and the costs of recycling and disposal is prevalent.  There is a scientific consensus that immediate measures such as cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases, a stop to the destruction of forests (especially rain forests), and a change in agricultural production towards  biologically-based systems is essential.Furthermore, trade in dangerous wastes such as chemical and other industrial residues including nuclear power stations must either be strictly regulated, or should be stopped. Today, such wastes are often dumped by industrialised countries in developing countries.  The latter accept these practices for the short term and minimal income they provide.  There is much evidence that the receiving countries often cannot handle the wastes in a safe and proper manner. Frequently, they are stocked in open spaces where children and poor women go in search of the wherewithal for survival.The global fight for environmental protection must take employment implications and opportunities fully into consideration. Whilst environmental protection has a cost, there is a huge potential for job creation in metal industries, particularly in those related to alternative energies, construction, and fuel-efficient transportation. Creation of stable, safe, and good jobs must be put at centre of the response to the environmental crisis. These jobs must be based on production of goods and services that are useful and accessible to everyone in the community.  Because many environmental problems have their roots in the workplace, workers are in a unique position to contribute to solutions.  Moreover, the role of trade unions, especially industrial unions, needs to be strong at the sectoral level where special attention must be given to auto, steel, aluminium, aerospace and power generation, which are all  fundamental for the future of our economy.  Finally, these positive developments will only happen if trade unions all around the world and their allies fight against neo-liberalism and for effective national industrial development policies.Globalisation and its social impact is an important factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS and other new epidemics.  As a result, these epidemics. cannot be addressed as an isolated issue, but only in the context of trade, investments, the employment relationship, and social protection. Less developed countries with high levels of poverty and inequality are especially vulnerable. As a result of the policy pressures from international financial institutions, poverty amongst the most economically marginalized groups is deepening. This affects both the spread and the response to the epidemics.  Unions are key actors at the workplace; they can protect workers and develop agreements with employers to promote access to care and treatment, and to prevent discrimination.  Trade unions also play a wider social and political role within civil society, which seeks to alleviate poverty and deprivation by raising wages, living and social standards. A global arms race, which stirs up tensions and conflicts across the world, also threatens a sustainable future. World military spending has increased by 45 per cent since 1998. The struggle to secure access to vital supplies of energy and other raw materials is a major factor contributing to this military build-up.  At the same time these limited resources are depleted by wasteful and unnecessary production and growing populations. On the other  hand,  investment in much-needed education and health programmes, and in official development assistance has lagged behind.

Too often governments prioritise the interests of TNCs over the interests of workers, which is particularly apparent when it comes to questions of trade. Not surprisingly the current world trading system continues to demonstrate its inability to tackle the issue of sustainable development and address the needs of workers worldwide. Trade unions energetically oppose the current proposals for further liberalisation of trade in manufactured goods, because these would undermine prospects for progress in many developing economies and weaken labour relative to multinational capital in developing and developed economies. While multilateralism is in crisis, there is a proliferation of bilateral and regional trade agreements that, in most cases, have been negotiated without any trade union consultation and input.  Unfair trade practices and the resistance of governments to incorporating core labour standards in an enforceable manner in trade and investment agreements are intensifying current strains in the multilateral system. Trade can be an engine for economic and social development, but for this to happen current policies and practices must be fundamentally changed. Violations of core labour standards are not only an affront to human rights, but also an economic distortion. They are no different than the distortions caused by unfair subsidies or violations of intellectual property rights, which are subject to WTO sanctions.  China's growing participation in international trade has increased competitive pressures on workers in both developed and developing countries, and breaches of core labour standards.  In particular, the development impact of China's involvement in Africa and Latin America, driven by a need to access energy and mineral resources to feed its rapid industrialisation, has become a major source of concern, as has its currency policy.

Text / Alex IvanouA quick glance at Jyrki Raina's CV reveals a person with lots of experience in a rich variety of jobs including newspaper deliverer, carpenter's assistant, journalist and even court assistant (Raina was awarded Master of Laws in 1985). Jyrki, whose mother tongue is Finnish, also has impressive language skills covering English, Swedish, French, German and Russian. One of his hobbies is political and labour history.With great enthusiasm, Jyrki describes his favourite period of labour history, the time when the trade union movement first began. He cites as an example a story of London journeymen bookbinders who in the mid-1780s decided that their 14 hour working day was too long and should be shortened. &quot;The bookbinders met in pubs discussing the situation. Later, five of the leaders were arrested and one of them even died in prison before the story went up to King George III who, surprised with the length of working hours, agreed to the world's first reduction in working hours to 12.5 hours a day,&quot; he recounts.Jyrki is fascinated with this period of history and that of the more recent labour movement born in the late 19th century, a time when people found their courage and continued fighting despite being beaten, thrown into prison and even killed.Jyrki believes that we can learn many lessons from the past when considering how to assist unions fighting for their rights in developing countries today. Taking the example of Nordic countries, where the trade union movement developed into its present form within a century, Jyrki underlines that, &quot;unfortunately we don't have the luxury of a hundred years now in developing and emerging-economy countries, here we have to get the results more quickly.&quot;While keen on history, Jyrki is also fond of new technologies and sees their potential in bringing improvements to the IMF. One of his first steps as IMF General Secretary was to restart his account on Facebook in order to communicate with unionists all over the world in an open way. Jyrki believes that Facebook is a tool for IMF trade union work, where groups can be formed and one can share information and direct people to the IMF website for more information. In his address to the IMF Congress, Jyrki stressed that it is &quot;important to review the working methods of the IMF. A dynamic and results-oriented IMF has to be visible, transparent, and offer all affiliates the possibility to influence decision-making both globally and in the regions, and engage affiliates in joint action.&quot;The IMF is not Jyrki's first job with a Global Union Federation. In 1991 he worked for the International Chemical and Energy Workers' Federation as a researcher. Later, in 1995, he became the Energy Officer for the International Chemical, Energy and Mine Workers Federation (ICEM). In 2000 he was Director of Organisation at ICEM. Then in 2001 Jyrki moved back to Helsinki where he worked for Finnish industrial trade unions. In 2003 he was elected General Secretary of Nordic Metal coordinating activities of 14 Nordic (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland) trade unions with the European Metalworkers' Federations and the IMF.In 2006 Jyrki was elected as General Secretary of the newly formed trade union federation Nordic IN, coordinating the activities of 22 Nordic unions in three European and three Global Union Federations. From 2005, Jyrki was a substitute member of the IMF Executive Committee and took an active role in the IMF Action Programme committee, elaborating IMF's main policy that gives direction to the work of the organisation and its affiliates for the next four years.Jyrki is married. His wife, Jaana, also a Finn, is working in Sweden for the German company Bosch/Siemens and is a member of the Swedish trade union Unionen. He has a 14 year old daughter, Daniele. Aside from political and labour history, Jyrki's hobbies include philosophy, sports, chess, cooking and music. Find Jyrki on <a href="http://www.facebook.com">Facebook</a> by searching for Jyrki Raina.

Jyrki Tapio Raina (49) was elected as the new IMF General Secretary at the 32nd IMF World Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden in May 2009. During the next four years he will lead one of the oldest Global Union Federations uniting metalworkers all over the world.

Profile of Jyrki Raina Download pdf file with illustrations >>

&quot;We have to get the results more quickly!&quot;

Given past strategies of auto TNCs and the industry's globalized structure, the worldwide economic crisis has caused a dynamic that substantially escalates consolidation pressures. This presents many challenges and potential threats for workers. It is essential that trade unions are fully involved from the outset of any contemplated restructuring to guarantee that decisions represent the broad interests of workers and communities rather than narrow financial interests alone.At the close of 2008, the head of Fiat was widely quoted as saying that over the subsequent two years only a half dozen mass-volume auto companies would remain. While this specific view is not generally held across much of the industry or by many governments, a difficult and challenging process of restructuring and possible integration has begun to unfold involving a number of companies. Preliminary ground work for Fiat and Chrysler to integrate operations has been set in motion. General Motors is undergoing wrenching restructuring affecting workers across nearly every region and particularly in North America and Europe. Challenging issues have arisen for VW and Porsche, as well as for some commercial vehicle manufacturers. Other companies continue to enter into different types of limited forms of partnerships related to design, co-production and parts procurement. Supply chain consolidation is expected to accelerate. Even before the onset of the crisis, assemblers were pushing to reduce the number of direct suppliers while first tier companies tightened their rationalisation of production sites. Vast numbers of jobs are at stake. To avoid further damage, normal credit lines need to be restored and industrial policies implemented that upgrade supply chains and protect workers.<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" align="center"><tbody><tr><td><a href="../index.cfm?c=20066&amp;mwId=20047&amp;l=2">&lt;&lt; back</a></td><td> </td><td><a href="../index.cfm?c=20060&amp;mwId=20047&amp;l=2">beginning</a></td><td> </td><td align="center" valign="middle"><a href="../index.cfm?c=20068&amp;mwId=20047&amp;l=2">forward &gt;&gt;</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

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