Feb 15, 2012
Ten union leaders, including eight women, who were employed by the agricultural export plantation Euro S.A. in Ica, Peru, were dismissed without notice less than three weeks after forming a union. The Peruvian labor federation CGTP is mounting a write-in campaign to reinstate the workers.
Euro S.A. blamed its decision not to renew the workers’ contracts on a lack of production orders, but the workers, many with more than 10 years on the job, say they were dismissed in retaliation. Euro S.A. had already refused to recognize the union, ignoring two letters from union leaders informing the company of the decision to organize. Euro S.A. also chose not to renew the workers’ contracts after they declined a request to resign from the union. The remainder of the company’s 200-plus employees are still at work.
When the workers complained to the regional labor authority, it was discovered that their contracts on file had expired six months ago, a finding that casts doubt on the contracts’ authenticity.
Euro S.A. is owned by Agricola Athos, which operates in five different regions in Peru and supplies produce to countries in Europe, Asia, and North America.
Workers in Peru’s booming agricultural export sector are continually denied their right to freedom of association through illegal, anti-union practices. The agricultural export industry employs some 300,000 people, more than 70 percent of them women. A special law governing this sector enables emplyers to offer lower wages and fewer benefits and protections than those provided under traditional Peruvian labor law. Despite the agricultural export economy’s exponential growth since the law was passed, its restrictions remain in place, and workers still literally have nothing to show for the fruits of their labor.
The Federation of Agroindustrial Workers of Ica, a CGTP affiliate and regional labor federation for agricultural workers, is fighting to ensure that the right to organize is respected by companies that supply products consumed across the globe. CGTP, a Solidarity Center partner, will continue to use membership education and public advocacy to educate Peruvian congressional representatives on the harsh reality that these workers face every day. Please sign the petition to reinstate the workers and recognize their union.
Feb 13, 2012
Bahrainis are marking a grim anniversary this week: one year since tens of thousands of men, women, and children peacefully took to the streets to call for more justice, more equality, and more democracy in their country and, instead, were met with violent repression, including widespread detentions, torture, and criminalization of dissent.
Thousands of workers were fired en masse for participating in the protest movement, among them many of the nation’s most prominent trade union and professional association leaders. Some have been jailed or face criminal charges. Doctors, nurses, teachers, students, journalists, and others also faced retaliation. The firings, which impacted thousands of families, have exacerbated social tensions and widened the gap of trust between the people and the government in the small island nation.
An independent commission looking into the crackdown said the firings were “motivated by retaliation against employees suspected of being involved in demonstrations” and recommended immediate reinstatement of fired workers, whose families have been subjected to months of economic hardship and fear. Despite the commission’s recommendations—and calls from around the world for dialogue and reconciliation—progress on rehiring has been slow, particularly in the private sector, and attacks on workers, their rights, and their unions continue in Bahrain.
The General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) has continually attempted to engage in substantive dialogue with the government in order to resolve the conflict and to build unity of purpose and action around universally accepted labor and human rights standards. It is seeking a solution even in the face of threats of employer lawsuits, condemnation, and harassment in the state-owned media, as well as other maneuvers aimed at stifling the organization and its affiliates. Indeed, the government recently has proposed amendments to the Law for Trade Unions that could severely undermine freedom of association.
“The Solidarity Center salutes the efforts of working people to promote fairness in Bahrain. At the same time, we—along with the global labor movement and human rights groups—continue to strongly oppose threats and media attacks against workers and their organizations, attempts to subvert independent unions, and the slow pace and flawed process of rehiring people fired in the wake of the protests,” said Shawna Bader-Blau, executive director of the Solidarity Center.
Nearly 3,000 workers were summarily dismissed from their jobs, almost all in contravention of Bahrain’s labor laws. Among them were 55 trade union leaders and six members of the GFBTU executive committee, most of whom remain unemployed. Many of the workers who are back on the job report they are working under humiliating conditions, including having being forced to sign pledges not to participate in political or trade union activity.
The February 14, 2011, protest in the Bahraini capital’s “Pearl Roundabout” came on the heels of grassroots democracy movements in Egypt and Tunisia that have reverberated across the region.
Letter from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to GFBTU Secretary General Salman Jaffar Al Mahfoodh, February 14, 2012
Feb 10, 2012
Workers in Burma, also known as Myanmar, are well under way to building independent trade unions in multiple sectors. In Yangon (Rangoon), the capital, the Solidarity Center’s Tim Ryan spoke with union organizers about forming independent unions and the current government’s stated commitment to democratic reform.
Myo Aung Thant, a 56-year-old executive board member of the Federation of Trade Unions–Burma (FTUB), is skeptical of the promised political changes taking place. Under the previous military regime, Myo Aung Thant suffered 15 years in prison for union activities—during which he was subjected to physical and psychological torture. In his opinion, the political openings claimed by the Burmese government are too slow and, quite possibly, not real.
Recently freed along with several hundred other political prisoners, Myo Aung Thant has reinitiated his work to build an independent labor federation for Burma. Soon various unions will attempt to register with the government. This, Myo Aung Thant explained, will be a crucial test of the regime’s commitment to change.
Union activists from multiple sectors, including journalists, farmers, textile, and garment and industrial workers, met with Ryan. They were in agreement that economic conditions for the vast majority of people living in Burma are severe.
In all sectors, wages are low, and people regularly work overtime without additional pay. Teak factory and garment workers earn less than the average daily rate, between $1 and $2. Their wages are insufficient to cover the cost of living or the price of food, and workers and their families live in poverty.
Union activists in many sectors said they have a fervent wish to organize, demonstrating their belief that improvement hinges on workers’ ability to form representative unions that can bargain effectively with employers. The government recently passed legislation allowing for trade union activity, rescinding a longstanding ban.
The Agriculture and Farmers Federation of Myanmar (AFFM) anticipates an explosion of union formation in Burma in the near future. The AFFM has 4,200 members in 15 states. Its leaders predict they can organize an additional 20,000 farmers and agricultural workers.
Officers and members of the AFFM accused the new government of deliberately delaying registration of their union. They said union leaders and members have been intimidated and harassed following their attempt to file the official registration.
A group of young labor activists from the Myanmar Industrial Trade Union (MITU) said their union filed for registration in November last year. They have yet to receive acknowledgment or a reply.
In spite of deep concerns for their safety, MITU activists remain committed to organizing in various industrial sectors, including garments, woodworking, and construction materials, mainly in industrial zones around Yangon. MITU has already organized 1,000 workers. By April the union anticipates having 2,500 members.
MITU representatives reported being interrogated by members of the government’s special branch intelligence unit and being asked for their biographies. Special branch intelligence and police officers also surrounded and observed MITU’s founding convention.
The Textile, Garment, and Leatherworkers Union of Bago, which has 2,000 members, applied for registration late last year but was rejected. Regardless, the union’s leaders continue organizing and will open a formal office when they accumulate sufficient funds.
Representatives of the Journalists, Press, and Publications Workers Union (JPPWU) said they have a pool of approximately 4,000 media workers from which to organize. The group included a recently released cartoonist jailed by the military regime for work published in the Bangkok Post.
JPPWU activists agreed that there has been a press thaw in recent months but said improvements had not gone far enough. Television and radio, the journalists said, were still “government propaganda.”
JPPWU had its founding convention at the end of January in what the group described as “a safe place.” The union plans to apply immediately for registration.
Almost 22 years ago, the National League for Democracy (NLD) was elected by a landslide. But instead of turning over the reins of government, the military dictatorship crushed the NLD and imprisoned its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. In the ensuing sweep-up, the regime jailed thousands of political prisoners, among them labor activists and union leaders. Many others fled the country.
Over the past two decades the Solidarity Center has supported Burmese labor activists who have worked with Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, reached inside the country, and trained many of the workers now forming unions inside Myanmar. Several activists who met with Ryan reported being recipients of this training.
Feb 7, 2012
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has condemned the attacks on worker rights in the current demands being made of the Greek government by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The international trade union movement has urged all parties to engage instead in a genuine dialogue that could build a consensus-based economic recovery in Greece.
The IMF and the European Union are pressuring, among other conditions, for deregulation of worker rights in the private sector, enhanced wage flexibility including reductions in the minimum wage, legislative changes to facilitate employment reductions, and other forms of interference in freely determined collective bargaining processes.
“This is totally unacceptable for the ITUC,” stated ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow. “Legitimate social dialogue and internationally recognized worker rights have been cast aside. Far from achieving a jobs recovery, this is going to condemn Greece to years more austerity accompanied by a rise in unemployment, informality, and insecurity in the workplace.”
In a letter sent to the IMF, the International Labor Organization, and the Greek authorities, the ITUC is asking the organizations involved and the government to cease attempting to impose the current reforms and to seek instead a productive dialogue based upon a pro-growth strategy to build a consensus-based recovery in Greece.
“The international institutions and the Greek government are destroying social dialogue, collective agreements and job and income security,” added Burrow. “They are destroying the base of democracy. The ITUC stands with workers in Greece and everywhere where worker rights are under attack.”
Feb 3, 2012
Almost 22 years ago, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide in a free and fair election in Burma—but the military dictatorship refused to let the NLD take power. Instead, the ruling junta crushed the organization and imprisoned its members and activists, including its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
In the past six months, Burma seems to be thawing, opening to the outside world it long shunned. And Suu Kyi, who spent many of the interceding years under house arrest—and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her struggle—is out again among the people, speaking at rallies and renewing her call for democracy.
On a recent trip to Rangoon, I had the opportunity to sit down with Aung San Suu Kyi for a conversation about the future of the labor movement in Burma. We discussed my meetings over the previous few days—with journalists, farmers, textile and garment workers, and industrial workers—all of whom had started to form independent unions. She thanked the Solidarity Center and the U.S. labor movement for its support.
Suu Kyi had already given a lot of thought to what a future Burma labor movement should look like. She felt that it was important for unions to be responsible and to work for their members. She said the new unions should not be tools or fronts for any political parties, including her own NLD. She did not say that unions should not be involved in politics or support the political parties they wanted, but she did voice her position that parties should not create unions and the NLD had no desire or intent to do so.
When we talked about economic development, she stressed that Burma should not be just about garment factories; other, more creative economic development was necessary, she said. I said that Burma had the opportunity to engage in a variety of economic activities and mentioned natural resources and extractive industries as possible but also problematic. She laughed gently and said there were a lot of opportunities “to do things right or do them very wrong.”
We ended the meeting with a promise to stay in touch, and she said that they would be busy until April 1, when by-elections are scheduled. The NLD is going to participate in elections for the first time in 20 years.
“We should meet soon,” she said as I was leaving. And she reiterated the importance of independent, responsible unions, saying she did not want to see unions run by demagogues.
“Being a demagogue is so boring,” she said with a laugh.
The Solidarity Center over the past two decades has supported Burmese labor activists that have worked with Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, have reach within the country, and have trained workers about their rights and international labor standards. Today, these workers in Burma are beginning to form and register their own unions.
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