5 December, 2013The IndustriALL Global Union Executive Committee meeting on 4-5 December 2013, committed to rally behind key urgent struggles of affiliates in Ansell Sri Lanka, Samsung Korea, Bangladesh, MENA, and Mexico. ExCo also supported a reorientation of the International to increase focus on strategic campaigns and organising.
See photos, updates and quotes from the two days on Twitter here.
Meeting at the International Labour Organisation in Geneva, the ExCo was an historic occasion due to the participation of one very important delegate, details of which can only be published tomorrow.
Permanent action continues to fight precarious work, as a key flagship IndustriALL campaign. President Huber described precarious work as the “Modern form of slavery, especially affecting young people”.
IndustriALL President Berthold Huber said:
We should be helping our affiliates as much as possible so that they can operate in their regions.
IndustriALL must prioritise organising. Only from a strong base can unions defend workers.
IndustriALL must use its strength and power to confront companies and governments who trample upon workers’ rights.
In Colombia, Mexico and Iraq we must continue our fight for workers’ fundamental rights.
Structural unemployment remains high, there is growing economic and social inequality in all regions.
It is up to us to help shape a sustainable industrial policy, integrated with a sustainable employment programme.”
The IndustriALL Executive Committee assessed work conducted in Bangladesh since the Rana Plaza tragedy, following the report from the general secretary Jyrki Raina and assistant general secretary Monika Kemperle. The Accord for Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh driven by IndustriALL and UNI was commended as a breakthrough. Now signed by 118 companies, covering 1,800 factories and 2 million workers. Negotiations continue towards a compensation agreement for Rana Plaza victims.
IndustriALL’s action in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) was outlined by assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan, announcing a new target project for Iraq, Egypt and other countries in the region.
The MENA region continues as a priority hotbed for IndustriALL. Challenges continue in Egypt where there are now two independent trade union structures, but lacking operational activities and a culture of dialogue with the government needs to be built. The situation is better in Tunisia; trade union UGTT has played a central role throughout the country’s transformational process. In Iraq the international campaign for a fair labour legislation continues.
Assistant general secretary Fernando Lopes updated the ExCo on the ongoing campaign for trade union rights in Mexico.
Delegates rallied behind the urgent “No to Dirty Ansell Gloves” campaign, following an update from ExCo member Anton Marcus, the head of the Sri Lankan union fighting for its members locked out by the intransigent Ansell. See the Ansell resolution here.
ExCo equally pledged full support behind a resolution condemning union busting by Korean-based Samsung Electronics. See the full article here.
ExCo also discussed the Rio Tinto corporate campaign that will focus on increasing union density, organising workers, and getting recognition of IndustriALL as the company’s formal negotiating counterpart.
Four major spotlights of the campaign immediately are Mongolia, Indonesia, Madagascar, and Australia.
The International’s Executive adopted newly structured central goals and key strategies for the period until the 2016 Congress. ExCo endorsed a new process to move IndustriALL from the set-up phase to an action–oriented consolidation phase that builds union power around the world focusing on organising and growth.
ExCo also adopted a new charter of principles in confronting corporate violations of fundamental rights.