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Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

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<p>COLOMBIA: A shareholders meeting of Siderúrgica del Pacífico (Sidelpa), owned by the Gerdau Group, which acquired Sidelpa and Diaco in 2005, has decided to stop production and wind up the company, directly or indirectly leaving around 400 workers without jobs. </p><p>The company said the closure was due to the world financial crisis (variations in world demand for steel) and the shutdown of a furnace at the steelworks by the government environmental authority, Corporación Autónoma del Valle del Cauca, which ordered a halt to production on June 2, 2009 because of air pollution. </p><p>Immediately after the company announced the news, the 280 directly employed workers declared themselves in permanent assembly, according to the union (Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Siderúrgica del Pacífico). Edgar Perea, union vice president, told the media that the company had presented a voluntary redundancy plan but added that &quot;we did not accept the plan because what we want to do is work&quot;.  </p><p>These were not the only workers to lose their jobs. More than 150 contract workers and 200 workers at Diaco, Cali, which processes Sidelpa products, are also now unemployed, said Sintrametal, to which the union is affiliated.  </p><p>Edward Portilla, Sintrametal's national vice president, explained that the company wants &quot;to get rid of us. It dismissed about 200 workers in November and December and then implemented a compulsory redundancy programme. Then came the CVC order, which the company used as an excuse.&quot;</p><p>Given the seriousness of the situation, which leaves 400 families without an income, the IMF Regional Office calls on its affiliates to show solidarity with the Sidelpa workers' fight to keep their jobs.</p>

280 Sidelpa workers are in permanent assembly after Gerdau announced the closure of the company, located in Cali. The IMF Regional Office in Latin America and the Caribbean calls on trade unions to show solidarity with their colleagues.

SINTRAMETAL's public statment on the closure of SIDELPA

Sidelpa closure puts 400 out of work

<p>MEXICO/GLOBAL: Parliament members, policy makers and union leaders from around the world are calling on Mexican President Felipe Calderón to accept their request to meet to discuss the recent murder and ongoing detention and harassment of members of the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM).</p><p>In July, an estimated 50 labour leaders and members of parliament from countries that are key trading partners with Mexico will participate in a high level fact-finding mission. Over the course of five days, the delegation will meet with Mexican government officials, Ambassadors stationed in Mexico, members of the miners' union and widows and families of the victims of violence. </p><p>The mission is in response to a marked increase in violence against members of the SNTMMSRM, many of whom have been on strike for more than 22 months at mines owned by Grupo Mexico, the country's largest and most powerful mining company. Grupo Mexico's influence in the Mexican government has resulted in a number of illegal arrests of miners' union members as well as the falsification of documents, corruption and a perversion of the legal system in an attempt to crush the union.</p><p>The SNTMMSRM is a long-established independent union representing workers in the mining and steel industry and has been an outspoken and powerful advocate for the rights of workers. It has been one of the few unions in Mexico to carry out a militant program of industrial action.</p><p>Attacks against the union, the subject of official complaints launched with the International Labour Organisation and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have in recent months escalated. The government has illegally frozen all union accounts, national and local, attacked strikers with brutal force and pursued criminal charges and lawsuits against SNTMMSRM members. On June 11, an SNTMMSRM member on strike in Sombrerete, Zacatecas was beaten to death when violence broke out at the Grupo Mexico mine. Three others were critically injured.</p><p>Parliamentarians and union leaders will be calling on the Government of Mexico to cease assisting the multinational mining company Grupo Mexico in its campaign to destroy the SNTMMSRM, release all union accounts illegally seized by the government, and prosecute in a court of law all those responsible for crimes committed against SNTMMSRM members.</p><p>The delegation is being jointly organized by the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), the United Steelworkers (USW) and the SNTMMSRM.  The decision to undertake this action was agreed upon at the IMF Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place in Buenos Aires last week.</p>

World leaders will call on the Mexican government to stop the escalating violations of trade union rights, the subject of two official complaints filed with the ILO and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Go to IMF's Mexico Campaign page

Parliamentary delegation to visit Mexico

<p>All workers should enjoy equal rights irrespective of their sex, age, nationality, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or religion.  Yet metal industry employers in many countries, including highly industrialised ones, continue to discriminate with impunity against workers precisely on those grounds. The IMF will work with its affiliates to eliminate discrimination in the workplace in all its forms. Many workers throughout the world are subjected to discrimination that deprives them of their rights to freedom of association and collective bargain.  That is why IMF will focus its efforts on assisting affiliates to develop specific organising strategies, e.g. to improve unionisation rates among women, migrant and young workers, particularly in EPZs, where labour rights continue to be abused and trade unionism is repressed. There is a clear and urgent need for unions to assess whether new approaches must be adopted to meet the needs and aspirations of women, young people, and migrant workers -  groups that are underrepresented in metal unions, but that are entering the industry at an increasing rate.  Changes need to be made to union structures, cultures and practices that discourage such workers from becoming union members to ensure that equal rights are extended to all workers.</p><p>According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, discrimination occurs if persons with disabilities cannot participate as fully-fledged members in society and if their human and workers' rights are violated.  In particular, with respect to elderly workers, many countries need to intensify their struggle against discrimination and social exclusion of older, disabled and health-impaired workers from the labour market and further training.</p><p>Discrimination also means that women, migrant and young workers are over-represented in precarious employment. This reaches extreme levels in the case of migrant workers, particularly when dramatic poverty leaves them without protection against unprincipled and sometimes criminal organisations that exploit their vulnerability. The IMF will encourage affiliates to share strategies for making contact with and organising migrant workers, and improving their working conditions by including them in collective bargaining.</p><p>The double burden of domestic work that is placed on women can force them into precarious employment situations, with adverse consequences for themselves, their families and communities.  The IMF will give priority to highlighting the disproportionate impact precarious work has on women workers and to encouraging measures to address it, focusing in particular on the gender pay gap and the gender segmentation that leads to women being denied access to better jobs.</p><p>Women's representation at all levels of trade union organisation is still too low. Efforts by unions to organise women workers are hampered by structures that do not include women as leaders.  The IMF will continue to work with its affiliates to redress this imbalance and assist them to remove barriers to women's representation in their union structures and electoral processes. An emphasis will be put on the need to encourage greater participation by young workers in union structures.</p><p><strong><br />The IMF will:</strong></p><ul><li>Assist its affiliates in leading the fight in the workplace against discrimination in all its forms;</li><li>Support organising activities of affiliates in EPZs and encourage the exchange of successful experiences between them;</li><li>Cooperate with ITUC and other GUFs, particularly International Textile, Garment &amp; Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF), in addressing the lack of union organisation  in EPZs;</li><li>Assist its affiliates in eliminating constraints that hinder persons with disabilities to get equal opportunities at the workplace.  The IMF will also support programs that focus on issues concerning people with disabilities in all trade union and ILO activities;</li><li>Assist affiliates to identify and remove barriers to women's equal participation and representation in their unions;</li><li>Monitor and report on the impact of precarious work on women, migrant and young workers including encouraging affiliates to do their own gender analysis of precarious work and to take action to reduce the double burden of domestic work on women;</li><li>Ensure that measures taken to improve conditions for precarious workers take particular account of the needs of women, migrant, and young workers;</li><li>Provide opportunities for affiliates to share experiences and strategies for making contact with and organising both internal and external migrant workers; and</li><li>Raise awareness of the difficulties faced by young people in finding secure employment with good pay and working conditions, and support efforts by affiliates to respond.</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

<p>Achieving and strengthening collective bargaining is the core activity of trade unions and remains the best instrument for improving wages and conditions, regulating the relationship between employers and workers and solving problems at the workplace. Its impact goes beyond the workplace and affects the living conditions and development prospects of communities. Collective bargaining should be increasingly used as a tool for trade unions to engage with communities and promote the broader interests of workers as citizens and consumers.</p><p>Over the past decade the trade union movement has been attacked by employers, governments and their allies who are determined to weaken collective bargaining, thereby weakening the union movement. In particular, employers are eager to eradicate national, sectoral, and sometimes even enterprise-wide collective bargaining. Using the threat of outsourcing production and services, they push for more flexibility and other concessions. New forms of employment and work practices are imposed on employees, increasing stress and insecurity. In developing countries, foreign investors in particular demand deregulation of labour law and other regulatory changes, which have negative impacts on the development opportunities for these countries.  The IMF will work with affiliates to ensure that collective agreements continue to provide a framework for intervening on all work issues including decent wages and working conditions, including working time, work organisation, pace of work and health and safety. </p><p>In the long-term, and as companies increasingly operate globally, collective bargaining at the international level, while respecting the rights of national unions, must be the goal of the IMF.  As a first step, an information and coordination system should be established.</p><p><strong><br />To develop and strengthen global and national collective bargaining efforts, the IMF will:</strong></p><ul><li>Develop ways to exchange information on collective bargaining that build on the experiences gained at the regional level in Europe and elsewhere;</li><li>Build commonality for bargaining among affiliates at the global level, e.g. by developing global union positions on issues such as precarious employment and training;</li><li>Conduct cross-border negotiations with TNC with the involvement of functioning global union networks and an IMF coordinator, based on clear case by case mandates from affiliates.  In order to have a framework of action for these cross-border negotiations, the IMF Executive Committee will develop IMF guidelines with the support of the Secretariat, which will also describe the roles of the IMF coordinators.  Not only may IFAs be negotiated, but also topics such as health and safety and training;  access to information and other issues of common interest; and</li><li>Assist affiliates in building collective bargaining capacity at the national level. </li></ul><strong><p><br />IMF affiliates shall:</p></strong><ul><li>Provide information on collective bargaining experiences to others; and</li><li>Strive to remove legal obstacles to collective bargaining at the national and sectoral level.</li></ul>

<h3 align="left"><p>Training and Education</p></h3><p>Where appropriate, the IMF will cooperate with the ITUC, TUAC, the ILO and union-friendly partner organisations to organise and provide education and training aimed at building strong national unions. The IMF Secretariat, with advice from the Executive Committee and the Regions, will prioritise this work to best meet the Action Programme objectives. Where there is cooperation with donor organisations, the primacy of the IMF objectives and the independence of the IMF will always be maintained.</p><p>Education and training for union building will include topics such as:</p><ul><li>Globalisation, the rise of corporate power and challenging neoliberalism;</li><li>Organising;</li><li>Collective bargaining policies and effective collective bargaining skills and structures;</li><li>Health and safety issues; </li><li>Equal rights;</li><li>Introduction of new technologies;</li><li>Skills development and life long learning;</li><li>Internal and external communication strategies;</li><li>Financial union management (including effective collection of membership dues and appropriate and transparent expenditures);</li><li>Implementation, monitoring and enforcement of IFAs; and</li><li>Other trade union topics that are of interest and concern.</li></ul><p>Consistent with the principles outlined above in sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2, the IMF will provide resources for union building projects on the condition that they:</p><ul><li>Build organisations independent of employer and government control;</li><li>Enhance democracy within the organisation and encourage and enable members, particularly youth and women, to take part in the activities of the organisation. Projects should contribute to eliminating political, racial and gender discrimination;</li><li>Increase the capacity of the organisation to carry out its own core union activities, building self-reliance, particularly in the area of education;</li><li>Strengthen solidarity within the organisation, among unions in the country and/or region, and inside the IMF; and</li><li>Support independent trade unions confronting and fighting repressive governments.</li></ul><h3><br />Information</h3><ul><li>Information on the work of the IMF and its affiliates needs to be more systematically communicated. This information can help affiliates in the different regions to learn from one another and build up their strength.</li></ul><h3><br />The IMF will:</h3><ul><li>Work towards establishing a more effective internal information system, using the IMF website, newsletters, the quarterly journal and other means of communication. </li></ul><h3><br />IMF affiliates will:</h3><ul><li>Inform the secretariat about what type of information they are interested in; and,</li><li>Provide the IMF with information about their activities.</li></ul>

<p>The ILO estimates that the present financial crisis is likely to lead to the loss of some 20 million jobs worldwide and conservatively estimates that the number of working poor living on less than a dollar a day could rise by some 40 million, with those at two dollars a day rising by more than 100 million. Even now, before the full effect of this crisis is known, over one-third of the world's workforce is jobless or underemployed. </p><p>The so-called modernisation of labour laws that governments and business interests are seeking to introduce is also part and parcel of the neo-liberal agenda and a direct attack on workers. Not only is there a rise in unemployment worldwide, but also employment creation increasingly comes at the expense of quality jobs.  More and more workers are finding the search for full-time, permanent employment a fruitless quest.  Precarious work is becoming the norm, spreading in all sectors of the economy including in professional groups.  Others find their jobs are outsourced, misclassified, and lack protection from existing labour laws. </p><p>In many developing countries, workers have been squeezed out of regular employment into the so-called informal economy due to severe economic crises, widespread privatisation programmes, and the job destruction resulting from economic restructuring. The unregulated economy is expanding and a growing number of people struggle to survive on poverty level wages. Unemployment and poor living conditions spur migration within countries and across national boundaries, creating a multitude of tensions in many parts of the world.  </p><p>Precariously employed workers face job insecurity and an uncertain future, low wages, limited or no access to social benefits, such as health or pension schemes, and increased health and safety risks at work. Precarious workers are also frequently denied rights at work, such as the right to join a union or bargain collectively. The rise of precarious employment is creating a two-tier workforce, which is undermining social cohesion and weakening trade unions.  This is part of a larger union-busting strategy used by employers in their well orchestrated anti-union campaigns.</p>

<ol><li>The International Metalworkers' Federation (hereafter called IMF or Federation) is an international association of metalworkers' trade unions fighting to promote respect for trade union and other basic human freedoms, democracy, and social justice throughout the world.</li><li>The IMF provides means for trade unions of men and women in all facets of the metals and related industries - hereafter called metalworkers - to cooperate in pursuing common economic, social, labour and political objectives internationally.</li><li>The IMF works to achieve the recognition and effective enforcement of all international labour standards as specified by the International Labour Organisation's Conventions and Recommendations.  These standards include safe and healthy working conditions, elimination of all forms of discrimination, freedom of association, freedom to engage in collective bargaining, and prohibitions on child labour and forced labour.  In addition, the IMF works to improve job security.</li><li>The IMF also works for peace, freedom and self-determination for all people in the struggle for social progress of workers throughout the world, including the elimination of the social and economic differences between industrialised and developing countries, as well as all types of exploitation perpetrated<em> </em>by various nations and transnational corporations. </li><li>The trade unions affiliated to the IMF - while retaining their autonomy - accept its basic purposes and work for the practical achievement through a diversity of structures and means which contribute to the richness and strength of the Federation.</li></ol>

ARTICLE 1 - PURPOSE OF THE FEDERATION

ARTICLE 2 - MISSION OF THE FEDERATION

ARTICLE 3 - STRUCTURE OF THE FEDERATION

ARTICLE 4 -- EXECUTING BODIES OF THE FEDERATION

ARTICLE 5 - DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT

ARTICLE 6 - NATIONAL SECTIONS AND COMMITTEES

ARTICLE 7 - ADMISSION

ARTICLE 8 - FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

ARTICLE 9 - SUBSCRIPTIONS IN ARREARS AND EXONERATIONS

ARTICLE 10 - REVISION OF RULES

ARTICLE 11 - IMF HEADQUARTERS

<ol type="A"><li>The Congress shall elect from among its ranks twenty five members, of whom a minimum of six are to be women, who, together with the President of the Federation, shall constitute the Executive Committee, for the purpose of assisting the Federation's Secretariat in its work and making decisions between meetings of the Congress. <br /><br /><br />Seats shall be distributed as follows: <br />Africa: 4  representatives, including at least 1 woman; <br />Asia &amp; the Pacific: 4 representatives, including at least 1 woman; <br />Latin America &amp; Caribbean: 4  representatives, including at least 1 woman; <br />North America: 4  representatives, including at least 1 woman; <br />Western Europe: 6  representatives, including at least 1 woman; and <br />Central &amp; Eastern Europe: 3 representatives, including at least 1 woman. <br />However, should vacancies on the Executive Committee occur between Congresses, the Central Committee retains its authority to elect new members.</li><li>If an Executive Committee member is unable to attend a meeting, the substitute designated by the Executive Committee member shall attend the meeting. The Executive Committee members shall designate in writing to the General Secretary their substitutes within 60 days after the conclusion of the Congress.  The substitutes are to be confirmed by the Executive Committee.</li><li>The Executive Committee shall determine its own rules. In doing so, the Executive Committee may hold its meetings and conduct its business by utilising new technologies.</li><li>The Executive Committee has the authority to establish special committees for specific work on areas of important concern.</li><li>The Vice President shall  conduct proceedings in the President's absence.</li><li>Presidents of Industrial and Organisational Departments shall participate in Executive Committee meetings as observers.</li><li>The Executive Committee shall appoint a certified public accountant to audit the books and accounts of the Federation.</li><li>The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice a year and, subject to the requirement to act consistently with the decisions of Congress and the Central Committee, is responsible for all policies and activities between meetings of the Central Committee.</li><li>The General Secretary and the Assistant General Secretaries shall take part in meetings in a consultative capacity.</li><li>The salaries of the General Secretary, the Assistant General Secretaries, the Department Heads and the Representatives of the Regional &amp; Project Offices, as well as their conditions of employment shall be determined by the Executive Committee as proposed by the President.</li></ol>

4.     The Executive Committee

<ol type="A"><li><div>The Central Committee is composed of the delegates of affiliated organisations which have fulfilled their obligations to the IMF.</div></li><li><div>The President, the Vice President, the General Secretary and the Assistant General Secretaries of the Federation shall be present at all Central Committee meetings.</div></li><li><div>The Central Committee shall hold an ordinary meeting at least every other year and is responsible for policies and activities of the Federation between Congresses.</div></li><li><div>The President and the General Secretary are authorised, with the approval of the majority of the Executive Committee members, to convene special meetings of the Central Committee.</div></li><li><div>The Central Committee has the authority to elect the President, the General Secretary, the Vice President or Assistant General Secretaries of the Federation in case of a vacancy between Congresses.  The Central Committee has also the authority to replace Executive Committee members in case of vacancies between Congresses. The same applies to the Auditing Committee.</div></li><li><div>The Central Committee has the authority to elect the Presidents of Industrial and Organisational Departments.</div></li><li><div>The Central Committee shall determine its agenda and programme.</div></li><li><div>The Central Committee is entitled to raise subscriptions between the Congresses (see Article 8.6.).</div></li><li><div>The Central Committee approves the annual accounts reviewed by the Auditing Committee (see Article 3.6.C.) and discharges the General Secretary and the Executive Committee of any further responsibility.</div></li><li><div>To ensure orderly preparation for the work of Congresses, the Central Committee is empowered to set up<strong> </strong>such<strong><em> </em></strong>committees<strong> </strong>as Rules, Resolutions and Credentials.  In the composition of these committees, fair representation of gender<em>, </em>membership and the various continents in the Federation shall be taken into account.  Final confirmation rests with Congress.</div></li><li><div>The Central Committee shall determine guidelines for establishing and for the operation of regional groupings and regional offices for the IMF.</div></li><li><div>The travelling and delegation expenses of delegates to the Central Committee are to be borne by the respective organisations. Any affiliated organisation requiring financial assistance for its participation should in advance make arrangements with the General Secretary.</div></li><li><div>The Central Committee defines the duties and powers of World Councils and working groups.</div></li><li><div>For voting in the Central Committee, Article 3.2. I. and J. of the Rules apply.</div></li></ol>

3.     The Central Committee

<ol type="A"><li><div>The highest authority of the Federation is the Congress.</div></li><li><div>The Congress takes place as often as seems advisable, but at least every four years, and is convened by the General Secretary on the decision of the Central Committee.</div></li><li><div>The place, date, and agenda are determined by the Central Committee.</div></li><li><div>Notification of the convening of Congress must be given to affiliates at least four months beforehand.</div></li><li><div>The Congress is composed of representatives of the national organisations affiliated with the Federation.</div></li><li><div>Each affiliated organisation shall determine the number of representatives at the Congress and shall bear their expenses. Affiliated organisations requiring financial assistance to secure participation should make arrangements with the General Secretary well in advance of Congress.</div></li><li><div>A delegate may also represent several of the organisations of his or her country. </div></li><li><div>Such authority shall be in writing to the General Secretary signed by the Principal Officer of the affiliate delegating the representation.</div></li><li><div>Each affiliated organisation, which has fulfilled its financial obligations to the IMF, has the right to vote at the Congress.</div></li><li><div>For the first 200,000 members, affiliates have voting rights according to their membership.  For membership above 200,000, voting rights are in proportion with the subscriptions ratio paid under Article 7.</div></li><li><div>The Congress shall review reports, motions and resolutions offered by affiliates and the Executive Committee.</div></li><li><div>All reports and motions for the Congress must be received by the General Secretary three months before the opening of Congress<em>.</em></div></li><li><div>The General Secretary must notify all affiliated organisations of the Federation of the motions, allowing enough time for them to be brought to the notice of their members before the Congress meets.</div></li><li><div>Reports, motions and resolutions of the Congress are to be adopted by a simple majority of the eligible votes, while alterations of the Rules must require a two-thirds majority of the eligible votes.</div></li><li><div>Each regular Congress shall elect by simple majority of eligible votes<em> </em>the President of the Federation who holds an elected position within his or her organisation.</div></li><li><div>Each regular Congress shall also elect by simple majority of eligible votes the General Secretary of the Federation.</div></li><li><div>Each regular Congress shall also elect by simple majority of eligible votes the Vice President of the Federation who holds an elected position within his or her organisation.</div></li><li><div>Each regular Congress shall also elect with simple majority of eligible votes one or more Assistant General Secretaries of the Federation.</div></li><li><div>Each regular Congress shall also elect by simple majority of eligible votes<em> </em>the Executive Committee members.</div></li><li><div>Each regular Congress shall also elect by simple majority of eligible votes<em> </em>the Auditing Committee members.</div></li><li><div>The Congress determines its own standing orders.</div></li></ol>

2.     The Congress

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