FAIR committee discusses Total GFA monitoring and implementation

The Committee called "FAIR" (Facilitate the Application, Involvement of all and regular measurement of the Results of the agreement) meets once per year. 

This follow-up meeting served to examine application of provisions of the agreement and identify good practices and propose actions for promoting them. Group's results and strategic orientations were also widely discussed.

The FAIR committee is composed of representatives from trade unions affiliated to and designated by IndustriALL Global Union. Currently the committee contains one representative of IndustriALL, three Group employees from countries outside the European Union (Indonesia, Argentina and Nigeria), and four members of the European Works Council (France, Germany, Belgium and Spain).

Some of the questions raised by union delegates to the management regarded the scope of the agreement to the different companies like Hutchinson in Spain. Delegates expressed their concerns on how to guarantee the diversity in the countries where the company operates but unions are forbidden. Also the questions were raised on who controls that contractors and suppliers respect the agreement.

Global Framework Agreements (GFA) are one of the most important tools that global unions negotiate to guarantee respect for workers’ rights throughout multinational companies and their suppliers. By signing the GFA Total undertook to promote social dialogue, committed to fully respect and comply with ILO conventions 87 and 98, while maintaining strict neutrality and recognizing freedom of association for all its employees, including their right to form, join and quit organizations of their choice, as well as to promote and protect their interests in the workplace.

Total forbids disloyal communication intended to influence its employees' decisions with regard to union representation. The company undertakes to exclude any form of discrimination based on union activity in its recruitment and career management practices and prohibits any discrimination against employees or their representatives who press claims for rights stipulated in the agreement. The company also expects its contractors and suppliers to adhere to the same agreement and similar or equivalent principles. Total guarantees all employees of the Group a life insurance, covering the death’s risk for all employees.

Total is one of the biggest oil and gas multinational company with operations in more than 130 countries and nearly 110,000 employees from a wide diversity of backgrounds working in a broad range of professions. Total’s operations cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading. Total is the second largest world solar energy company and a large-scale chemicals manufacturer.

Experts to boost trade union rights in Inditex supply chain

The groundbreaking contract, which is unique in the garment sector, was signed by Inditex Chairman and CEO, Pablo Isla, and Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL, in Brussels on 25 April.

The trade union experts are being brought in to better monitor and implement workers’ rights in a contract which extends IndustriALL Global Union’s Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with Spanish-based Inditex. The GFA covers more than a million workers in around 6,000 supplier factories making clothes for the company’s eight different brands, including Zara, Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti.

The GFA between IndustriALL and Inditex was signed in 2007 and renewed and strengthened in 2014. The GFA sets out to promote workers’ rights, freedom of association, and collective bargaining at its supplier factories.

The trade union experts will be employed in different regions (or clusters) to contribute to better enforcement of the GFA and effective implementation of labour rights throughout Inditex’s supply chain. The first Cluster Contract was also signed for Turkey.

The experts will also act to enforce Inditex’s Code of Conduct for Manufacturers and Suppliers as well as coordinate trade unions, together with Inditex Sustainability teams located in the different regions.

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

“This agreement shows an unprecedented and genunine commitment from Inditex to improving the rights of garment workers in its supplier factories. The contract is a significant step forward in promoting workers’ rights in the Inditex supply chain, and will help to increase workers’ capacity to negotiate wages and working conditions with employers. Only by empowering workers and trade unions will we see real change in global garment industry.”

Inditex Chairman and CEO, Pablo Isla, said:

“This new initiative marks a huge milestone in improving the global garment production chain. It should be viewed against the backdrop of the core agreement reached with IndustriALL in 2007, which has proven the most effective way of accompanying and training garment suppliers worldwide. I am certain that with this organizational reinforcement we will go on to achieve even more ambitious social targets”.

The signing took place at the High-level Conference on Responsible Management of the Supply Chain in the Garment Sector organized by the European Commission, where both Isla and Raina were key-note speakers.

ENDS:

For more information, please contact:

Leonie Guguen, communications officer, IndustriALL Global Union [email protected]

Tel: +41 79 137 54 36

Ensuring that the Global Framework Agreement with H&M is effective

IndustriALL signed the GFA with H&M, the Swedish apparel company in November 2015. The agreement aims to protect the rights of 1.6 million workers in its supply chain of over 1,900 factories around the world.

The GFA proved instrumental in recognizing workers right to freedom of association and collective bargaining in countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan by reinstating workers who were sacked for demanding their rights.

The first meeting of the Bangladesh national monitoring committee (NMC), which will oversee the implementation of GFA, held intensive discussions over issues such as organizational structure, national strategy and the implementation process. The NMC consists of representatives from IndustriALL affiliates and H&M.

Understanding the critical aspects of GFA such as social dialogue, industrial relations, decent work, trade union rights and obligations, employers’ rights and obligation, conflict prevention, peaceful conflict resolution and negotiation in good faith was evolved among the participant.

The NMC came out with a long-term plan to promote workers rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining in the H&M supply chain. They also developed short-term objectives such as education to factory management, 100 per cent dispute resolution and orientation training to textile garments affiliates of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council.

The NMC decided to conduct periodical meetings to take stock of GFA implementation issues and meetings to address dispute resolutions immediately on case-to-case basis.

Christina Hajagos-Clausen, director of IndustriALL textile and garment industry sector stated that the GFA will go a long way in improving social dialogue, industrial peace and developing well-functioning industrial relations in Bangladesh.

Kutubuddin Ahmed, vice chair of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council said that, “with the H&M GFA IndustriALL created new horizons. If implemented effectively, it will be a new era for workers welfare in Bangladesh”.

Under the GFA implementation structure, social partners at the factory level will deal with industrial disputes. The NMCs will be formed in five countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Turkey to oversee the implementation issues at national level.

The Joint Industrial Relations Development Committee consisting of H&M, IndustriALL and IF Metal representatives will work on practical issues of GFA implementation at the global level and as required provide support and guidance to NMCs.

IndustriALL Pulp and Paper Work Group sets active agenda

The pulp and paper unions from USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, UK, Sweden and Finland all reported challenging situations for members as the industry is becoming less attractive to young workers.

A large subsector of the industry is shrinking as people communicate more and more electronically, but tissue and packaging subsectors will continue to grow but are beginning to suffer from overcapacity. Production is shifting geographically across the sector, from the global North to South, and from West to East.

Many pulp and paper jobs have moved from North America and Europe to China. Now as China’s domestic growth slows the country has massive overcapacity in pulp and paper as across the industrial sectors, causing oversaturation of the market and yet more threat to jobs elsewhere.

The co-chairs of the sector for IndustriALL, Leeann Foster of USW and Petri Vanhala, president of Finnish paper workers union Paperiliitto led discussions.

Co-chair Leeann Foster said:

“Only by standing together as paper workers in all countries can we ensure good, safe and sustainable jobs in the sector. Just as the USW is aiming to organize more workers in the multinational paper companies, we must think globally in our campaigns.”

The group examined current and future global framework agreements in the sector and existing trade union networks at International Paper, Huhtamaki, Sappi, Smurfit Kappa, Mondi and in the Latin American region.

The Work Group will conduct a regular and structured information exchange on employment and bargaining in the sector.

The meeting was held in conjunction with the USW 2016 Paper Sector Conference “Stand Up. Speak Out. For Safety.” The 550 delegates representing members at around 30 major pulp and paper companies focused discussions on safety and honoured the 19 brothers and sisters killed in the sector since the last paper conference two years ago.

As well as detailed debates on organizing and bargaining, the conference talked about the importance of being politically active as a union.

In his speech to the conference plenary, IndustriALL Global Union Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“I salute you, dear Sisters and Brothers, for the inspirational leading role the USW has played down the years at the heart of the global labour movement. Working in the paper industry can be very dangerous. We must build our trade union networks at paper companies to connect workers, share experiences and collective bargaining successes, but also to act as one to reject dangerous plants and mills.” 

ThyssenKrupp launches online violations reporting system

According to the agreement, the company undertook to comply with the principles of the International Labour Organization particularly with conventions nos. 29, 87, 98, 100, 105, 111, 138 and 182.

Through the GFA, ThyssenKrupp also adheres to the principles of:

To implement the agreed provisions and inform workers about the GFA, the company translated it into ten languages. The company is aware of potential violations of the agreement and created a special on-line system facilitating their rapid response.

The violations can be reported either on behalf of a named complainant or anonymously via a secure electronic message system: https://www.bkms-system.net/frameworkagreement.

All employees and their trade unions operating within the company can also report violations of the agreement via email at [email protected].

Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL Global Union director, said:

The agreement signed with ThyssenKrupp provides a strong basis for monitoring the behaviour of the company in the various countries where it operates and effectively deal with violations if and when they occur. We can only welcome the creation of a system that makes it easier to report violations. In addition, any complaint once accepted cannot be proclaimed finalized without approval by the International Committee, where IndustriALL is represented with ThyssenKrupp.

Thyssenkrupp employs around 155,000 employees in nearly 80 countries. 

Whirlpool signs framework agreement with workers in Europe

At a meeting in Rome on 18 March 2016, representatives of Whirlpool and Indesit workers in Europe reached an agreement with company management for the establishment of one European Works Council in the Europe region, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The agreement comes into force on July 1, 2016.
 
Management agreed to incorporate all amendments to the agreement submitted by the special negotiating body of the Whirlpool European Employee Committee (WEEC), promising a new era of industrial cooperation at the company.
 
US corporation Whirlpool acquired a 100 per cent of the stock control in the giant Italian home appliance company Indesit at the end of 2014, doubling its footprint in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company manufactures white goods, such as fridge freezers, washing machines and cookers.
 
The acquisition lead to a series of redundancies, especially in Italy, and Whirlpool and Indesit were subject to industrial action by unions. After the agreement on the industrial plan for Italy signed on July 24 2015 by the government, unions and Whirlpool, there was an improvement in relations with the company.
 
Kan Matsuzaki, IndustriALL director of ICT, Electrical and Electronics, Shipbuilding and Shipbreaking, said:

“It is a positive step that the company has signed the agreement, and adopted the amendments proposed by the WEEC. The period after the acquisition of Indesit was difficult, and included conflict over redundancies. I believe this agreement means the company recognizes the role of the unions, and will result in better communication.”

IndustriAll European coordinator of WEEC Gianni Alioti said:


“We are happy with the language of this agreement, which complies with relevant European Directives. It has a number of advantages compared with many other EWC agreements. The agreement provides for the full participation of workers' representatives, extending it also to Russia, South Africa, Turkey. This will promote integration between the different cultures of Whirlpool employees”

Agreement with H&M proves instrumental in resolving conflicts

The GFA, which was signed in November 2015, serves to protect the labour rights of 1.6 million workers in H&M’s global supply chain.

In Myanmar, the GFA was key to getting trade unionists back to work, as well as achieving trade union recognition at the Jiale Fashion factory in Yangon.

Eight union leaders were sacked at the garment factory in October 2015, leading to a month-long strike. The Confederation of Trade Unions in Myanmar (CTUM) reported the dispute to IndustriALL’s South East Asia regional office, which invoked the GFA with the H&M Sustainability offices in Yangon and Sweden, especially as the case raised issues on freedom of association.

H&M Sustainability then pushed for dialogue through both their local office in Yangon and Jiale Fashion’s owners in Hong Kong.  H&M Sustainability, IndustriALL and CTUM were involved throughout the process until an agreement was reached between workers and the factory.

As well as reinstating the dismissed workers, the factory agreed to recognize the factory trade union, the Jiale Basic Labour Organization, which is affiliated to CTUM and IndustriALL through the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM).

Khaing Zar, assistant general secretary of IWFM said:

“Building trust between workers and management is the key to industrial peace. The formation of the Workers’ Coordinating Committee at the factory will improve workplace cooperation and, of course, the biggest achievement is the recognition of the trade union at Jiale Fashion.”

IndustriALL textile director Christina Hajagos-Clausen said:

“The GFA is founded upon a shared belief that well-structured industrial relations are essential to a stable and sustainable production model. This type of collaboration is crucial for lasting improvements for the garment workers in H&M’s supply chain.”

In November 2015, 88 workers at the Denim Clothing Company (DCC) factory in Pakistan were sacked for demanding their rights. The dispute began when five worker representatives were sacked on the spot for asking to discuss issues such as a lack of social security, insurance, and salaries below the minimum wage that often were paid late. When 83 of their colleagues stood up for them, they also lost their jobs.

As part of the newly signed GFA with H&M, both parties worked to bring the 88 workers back to work through joint negotiations with IndustriALL Pakistani affiliate NTUF and the local management at Denim Clothing. All workers were reinstated with full pay from 26 November, the date they had been fired. 

Nasir Mansoor, deputy general secretary NTUF, says that thanks to the GFA and the efforts from IndustriALL’s regional office the issues were speedily resolved:

“With a proactive brand the GFA is an efficient tool for dispute resolution and a great instrument to protect workers’ rights.”

Abdul Jabbar, one of the affected workers, concludes:

“This shows us the power of workers coming together and the strength of international solidarity to resolve crises. It not only gave us great courage, but did the same for other workers in the factory, as well as workers in other factories in the area.” 

IndustriALL Global Union supports Cambodian workers at ExCo in Phnom Penh

President Berthold Huber opened the Executive Committee with a speech about the current refugee crisis. The IndustriALL president called for solidarity towards refugees:

“For us, sisters and brothers, we should show solidarity to people who are looking for protection. All people have a right to a future. That is something that trade unionists must fight for. We should also build an alliance of the willing.”

President Huber welcomed guests including Sat Samoth, Under-Secretary of State at the Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, and representatives of H&M, with whom IndustriALL recently signed a Global Framework Agreement.

Sat Samoth, said in his opening address:

“Our main concern is employment, and also working conditions and investment in the country. I hope this meeting will be fruitful for the harmonization of industrial relations in Cambodia.”

Garment workers in Cambodia must earn a living wage

IndustriALL hosted a panel debate on living wage action, collective bargaining and organizing in Cambodia and other Asian countries, bringing together Heng Sour, chief of cabinet of the Minister of Labour, Ken Loo, GMAC general secretary, Jonah Wigerhall, H&M sustainability country manager, and trade union representatives from Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia. 

IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina said that the organization is carrying out a global fight for the right to join a union and to bargain collectively.

“It is not always easy, but trade unions in Cambodia have been active in organizing; according to some sources membership in the garment sector is a high as 60 per cent.

“But the minimum wage in Cambodia is still not a living wage, and that goes for Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam and other countries in the region. And as long as that is the case, our fight continues”

Chief of Cabinet Heng Sour was supportive of workers’ need for higher wages, but said:

“The Cambodian government can’t act alone. We need to work with the brands and investors to make sure there is no exploitation of cheap labour in any Asian countries.”

Jonah Wigerhall, H&M, supported the new approach and said that H&M is engaged globally on improving wages.

IndustriALL’s eight affiliated unions in Cambodia are urging the government to consider their demands and to engage in dialogue.

“We need a higher minimum wage; research from IndustriALL shows that US$140 is not a living wage,” said Rath Minea, general secretary of IndustriALL affiliate NIFTUC. “

Rath Minea also spoke of garment workers’ living conditions in the country, which are often extremely basic and crowded, and where harassment is rife. 

“I hope that Cambodian workers will enjoy a living wage and a decent life one day.”

Jyrki Raina expressed IndustriALL’s support for its Cambodian affiliates:

“The garment workers in Cambodia have demands and they are mobilizing for them. IndustriALL supports their fight for a living wage and will continue to work with the brands towards a new industry level bargaining mechanism.  The government, brands and their suppliers all need to take their share of responsibility.”

A campaigning organization

IndustriALL is running a number of campaigns; the Rio Tinto campaign focuses on the mining giant with a history of provoking conflict with unions around the world. The campaign aims to build a strong union network around Rio Tinto, support unions to organize workers and grow membership.

Although there are still challenges, the campaign reports organizing victories in Australia, Indonesia and Madagascar, where around 1,000 new members have been recruited. The Rio Tinto campaign has an on-going dialogue with the investor community, focusing on precarious work, and health and safety.

In a great show of unity, unions in at least 54 countries took action on 7 October to STOP Precarious Work. The global union networks at Rio Tinto and LafargeHolcim also took global action.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Fernando Lopes reported to the Executive Committee on campaigning and actions in key countries Mexico and Colombia. Key political progress has been made with the Mexican government under pressure to implement freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Reacting to pressure the Peña Nieto government is proposing labour law reform including ratification of ILO Convention 98. The Mineros and SME unions, following five years of struggle, also achieved victories for members. Campaigns continue at companies such as Honda, PKC and Bata Sandak.

“IndustriALL is the climate change union,” said Jyrki Raina as Brian Kohler, IndustriALL sustainability director reported directly from COP21 in Paris.

“I am confident there will be an agreement at the end of the week: I ask the Executive Committee to support a move towards a sustainable world and to endorse a meeting on how the agreement will affect IndustriALL’s sectors.”

The IndustriALL Executive assessed its current 47 GFAs and on-going negotiations with prospective new GFA partners. The global union is increasing focus on implementation of the GFAs and using them for organizing, around three political themes, neutrality, union access to workplaces, and binding dispute resolutions.

Monika Kemperle, assistant general secretary and IndustriALL women’s director, gave an account of the World Women Conference in Vienna, Austria in September, where a resolution calling for a quota of 40 per cent representation of women in IndustriALL structures and leadership was unanimously approved.

Emergency resolutions for global union solidarity

IndustriALL affirmed its commitment to all refugees especially in the workplace, in a discussion on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Hashmeya Alsaadawe, President of the General Union of Electricity Workers and Technicians in Iraq, said IndustriALL is expanding in her country despite terrorism, youth unemployment, bad laws and migration which have reached unprecedented levels as people escape dire security situations. She said it reflects the validity of implementing policies and programmes that aim at social justice, without which there can be no peace. 

She praised IndustriALL for coming to Iraq and its work on the new labour law, as well as for uniting unions through the IndustriALL council in Iraq.

Mustafa Sahin from the Turkish Energy Water and Gas Workers’ Union, said the refugee crisis is putting downward pressure on wages and increasing precarious work in Turkey, which has 2.5 million refugees. He said refugees should have same rights as Turkish workers and called for an IndustriALL delegation to visit refugee camps in Turkey.

Gianni Alioti, from Italian affiliate FIM-CISL, brought attention to the situation of the refugees working in slave-like conditions in manufacturing in Italy. He called for a coordinated commitment of all players – courts, law enforcement, employers and trade unions – to prevent exploitation.  

The IndustriALL Executive stood with unions under attack in a number of countries, including in Finland who are under attack from their right wing government. “If these laws enter into force they will cripple our contract system and the unions’ right to bargain”, said PRO president Jorma Malinen.  

The Korean Government is attacking union rights, cracking down and raiding union offices, and shamefully vilifying peaceful assembly. IndustriALL expressed its solidarity with Korean workers in their fight back.

Ben Richards, from Unite and Workers Uniting reported on the regressive trade union laws in the UK:

“We already have some of the most restrictive strike laws anywhere. But the current neo-liberal Thatcherite government has introduced a Trade Union Bill that will place extreme restrictions on the right to strike, allow agency workers to replace strikers, greatly constrain unions’ financial support for the Labour Party, and more. International solidarity is the only way to fight back!”

The Executive Committee adopted a number of emergency resolutions:

IndustriALL World Mechanical Engineering Conference builds union power

Hosted by Swiss affiliate Unia in Bern, Switzerland on 23-24 November, trade union representatives from 21 countries shared experiences and strategy. The conference looked at changes in the industry since the last world conference, four years ago in Cincinnati, USA.

The world conference adopted an ambitious Action Plan for work in the sector over the next four years. The Action Plan, in line with IndustriALL’s five strategic goals, commits the sector to fight precarious work, create and build company trade union networks including down the supply chain, and foster new industrial policies that react to digitalization of production.

IndustriALL launched a comprehensive industry report at the conference. IndustriALL affiliates interested in receiving a copy can write to the secretariat.

All participating unions highlighted the problem of precarious work, with the sector’s large employers undermining unions by outsourcing their workforce.

Outsourced workers are treated as second-class workers by employers in the sector, receiving lower wages and worse conditions than regular workers. Often exposed to higher safety risks, the contract workers often do not speak up for fear of management retaliating.

Union representatives also stated that the increasing outsourcing trend leads directly to poor quality products.

Conference dealt with Industry 4.0 and IndustriALL Global Union’s industrial policy and its call for a Just Transition to a sustainable industry.

Chairing the conference, Rainer Wimmer, President of Austrian affiliate ProGe, and Sector Chair, opened the conference:

“The real action happens at the grassroots level. Nothing happens without solidarity in the workplaces. We must organize along production chains, set up network structures, and build worker power.”

IndustriALL Global Union Assistant General Secretary, Kemal Özkan, said:

Growing inequality is one of the biggest problems in the world, posing an increasing threat to sustainability. Let us fight this inequality.

We congratulate IG Metall for the Thyssen Krupp Global Framework Agreement. That agreement will now be a benchmark. At the same time we are very concerned about how Caterpillar cutting US$ 10 billion costs will affect workers.

Another world is possible. IndustriALL’s 700 unions around the world work together to build solidarity. Organizing and joint action across borders will make our voice strong.

Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL Director for the Mechanical Engineering Sector reported on active trade union networks in Caterpillar, John Deere and SKF. The SKF network is struggling under massive job cuts by the Swedish company:

We are a wide sector. Many of our sub sectors are going through rapid change. Digitization is affecting us all. Industry 4.0 is coming on top of the traditional problems, such as offshoring and the need for colleagues to constantly improve their skills and knowledge. We also have the problem of precarious work. Fewer and fewer workers in our sector are directly employed, being replaced by outsourced workers through contractors.

Julius Christian of IG Metall called for unity within company networks:

“ThyssenKrupp wants to divide us. We must stick together, negotiate together and organize through our network. That is my key message here.”

Jody Mauller of the North American union IBB reacted to the tough reports of management attacks on union rights in Europe:

“My message to our European brothers and sisters whose employers are starting to latch on to the American model is to fight back.”

Vania Alleva, President of Unia:

“In the present environment – around the world, and also here in Switzerland – active unionists are particularly important. I am continually impressed by the commitment and hard work of our many colleagues. You confirm my conviction that together we can achieve things. Together we can overcome the tremendous challenges facing us.”

The conference unanimously elected two co-chairs for the sector, IG Metall’s Christiane Benner and ProGe’s President Rainer Wimmer.

GFAs – a tool for union influence in Russia?

Helmut Lense, IndustriALL Global Union automotive director, described the content of GFAs and also mentioned the issues outside the scope of GFA, such as conflicts during tariff agreement bargaining, staff layoff due to economic reasons, shutdowns of enterprises, taking disciplinary action against employees.

“A GFA is not a cure-all, but a way to start a discussion on human and trade union rights – it is a first step for the company to declare its readiness to recognize these around the world. But there has to be further steps for the GFA to become more than a document.

“As a second step, the headquarters unions and local unions have to cooperate closely within the union network to make sure the GFA is implemented around the world. The union network is very important as a way to exchange contacts and information.”

Discussing the fear among Russian unions that work councils may weaken or replace trade unions, the ILO chief specialist on labour inspectorates and social dialogue, Valentin Mocanu said:

“The ILO has developed a set of principles that specify the importance of tripartite social dialogue and the use of all available tools to improve working conditions. Different models exist in different countries. Maybe this tool does not fit here right now, but it should not be ignored as works councils work really well in Germany and France. It can be a tool to develop social dialogue.”

Vadim Borisov, regional representative of IndustriALL in Moscow noted that the majority of IndustriALL’s 48 GFAs are signed with European multinationals.

“And many of these agreements are signed with companies based in Germany. This shows the power of the union as someone who initiates social dialogue and pushes the employer to recognize the union as an equal social partner.”

Oleg Sokolov, FNPR, Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, secretary, said that complex supply chains and companies’ ability to quickly move production lines to a different country means that it is difficult for unions to influence at a local level and that national tools are often limited:

“This makes GFAs very important in putting pressure on global capital. It is necessary to specify carefully the GFA procedures and implementation mechanisms.

Summing up the results of the meeting, Rudolf Traum-Mertz, head of FES in Russia, said that GFAs are a supportive tool and that local unions in the company’s home country must mobilize to get results.

Participants agreed that GFAs cannot be implemented without a trade union network, and that the next discussion on GFAs in Russia needs to involve the participation of employers and governmental agencies.

IndustriALL, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), the Center for Social and Labour Rights and the ILO Moscow Office organized the event. Among the three dozen participants were representatives of Russian unions, including the Automobile and Farm Machinery Workers' Union of Russia, Rosprofmash and MMWU, as well as union representatives from Ford and Renault, who shared their international experience of GFAs implementation.