IndustriALL Global Union and H&M sign global framework agreement

This innovative global framework agreement (GFA) marks a new level of commitment to fundamental rights of workers across H&M’s supply chain. It covers 1.6 million garment workers that are employed at the around 1,900 factories run by the manufacturers where H&M buys their products.

The agreement is based on a shared conviction that collaboration between the parties on the labour market is crucial for lasting improvements for the garment workers and the creation of well-functioning industrial relations.

IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina, one of the architects behind the groundbreaking Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh which was first signed by H&M, says on the GFA:

“This agreement opens an exciting new chapter in the relationship between IndustriALL Global Union and H&M. It cements the path towards a sustainable garment industry with unionized workforce, constructive labour-management relations, living wages through industry level collective agreements, and safe workplaces.”

H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson says:

“Well-functioning industrial relations including collective bargaining are keys to achieving fair living wages and improved working conditions in our supply chain. We believe that the collaboration with IndustriALL and IF Metall will contribute to our already ongoing work within this field as well as help to create stable sourcing markets.”

The agreement includes setting up national monitoring committees, initially planned for countries such as Cambodia, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Turkey to safeguard the implementation of the agreement from the factory floor upwards, and to facilitate a dialogue between the parties on the labour market.

The collaboration also aims to promote a well-functioning dialogue between employers and employees in order to solve conflicts peacefully, and primarily at the factory level where they arise.

IF Metall president Anders Ferbe says:

“The agreement creates a unique system for committees made up of the parties on the labour market, on national as well as international level. Implementing the agreement, primarily through communication and training of trade unions and their member, suppliers and employer associations, but also employers in factories where there are currently no unions, will be the most important task.”

The GFA establishes that

The parties will jointly promote signing of collective agreements both at factory, company and industrial level between relevant social partners
Workers have the right to refuse unsafe work as part of their health and safety rights
The parties will provide training for both management and union representatives on employers’ responsibilities, workers’ rights and obligations, industrial relations, collective bargaining agreements and peaceful conflict resolution
H&M will actively use all its possible leverage to ensure that its direct suppliers respect human and trade union rights in the workplace
Workers’ representatives are not discriminated against and have access to carry out their representative functions in the workplace

Global Framework Agreements

Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) protect the interests of workers employed in all operations of the multinational companies who sign them.

GFAs are negotiated at the global level between trade unions and companies. They establish the best possible standards on trade union rights, on health and safety, and on the labour relations principles adhered to by the company in its global operations, regardless of the standards existing in a particular country.

Solvay GFA: This is what global level labour relations look like

Together with IndustriALL and Solvay, the Bureau for Workers’ Activities, ACTRAV, presented the industrial relations with Solvay to various departments of the International Labour Organization, ILO, on 28 July.

The advanced industrial relations between IndustriALL and Solvay represent the second generation of global framework agreements. Whereas the first decade of GFAs in the 1990s generally focused on commitments to standards and norms, the next generation strives to commit parties to stringent procedures for enforcing the agreement and proactively solving problems before they escalate.

Joint monitoring and evaluation missions are conducted twice a year, and three missions to China have already taken place. The third revision of the Solvay GFA in 2011 added a global safety panel.

Importantly, through the agreement Solvay expects its suppliers and sub-contractors to respect fundamental principles. The company counts employees and subcontractors the same in terms of industrial accidents.

The company already received warm commendation from IndustriALL in March this year for establishing a new Global Forum with participation of union representatives from different continents. The Global Forum negotiated this year a global performance sharing scheme totaling EUR 10 million, which represents a new development in global level social dialogue.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan negotiated each revision of the GFA over ten years:

What we are doing with Solvay is a benchmark for the chemicals industry. We have real, genuine social dialogue and employee involvement in all CSR processes. We respect each other and appreciate the channel that we have.

The Solvay China activities have set an industry-level standard, with elected worker representatives and negotiated collective bargaining.”

Jean-Christophe Sciberras, Human Resources Director for Solvay told the ILO meeting:

“We believe in social dialogue, trust and transparency. The GFA is the constituency of our relationship. It is not only about rights, our agreement is strong because of its implementation and compliance.

Being challenged by an independent organization can only bring us further. For us IndustriALL is a strong challenger. If we cheat they will know. We talk, we exchange, and together we improve.

The Secretary of the Solvay Works Council, and IG BCE member, Albert Kruft said, “It takes time to establish and build mutual trust. Our EWC is 20 years old now and it is right that Solvay workers have global level representatives as we have a global level framework agreement.”

IndustriALL currently has 46 Global Framework Agreements, and together with partner organization UNI, the two global unions have 80 per cent of all GFAs. Half of IndustriALL’s GFAs come from the automotive and energy sectors, and the most common home countries are Germany then France.

Solvay recently acquired US-based company Cytec to boost its presence in composite and adhesive materials for the aerospace and automotive industries and reinforce its mining chemicals business. Making most of its sales in North America, Cytec has 4,600 employees worldwide and annual sales of around US$ 2 billion.

In 2014, Solvay’s net sales were EUR 10.21 billion with 26,000 employees at 119 sites in 52 countries worldwide.

Union power taking off in aerospace industry

Close to 100 delegates from 16 countries representing 25 unions met for the two-day aerospace world conference in Berlin in the first days of July. The theme was building stronger unions and confronting global capital in the growing industry.

Jürgen Kerner, Treasurer of IG Metall welcomed the delegates to Germany and expressed solidarity with the global family of aerospace workers.

As part of the opening ceremony, Holger Schilenkamp, German Federal Ministry Economic Affairs and Energy, underlined the importance of what in Germany is called co-determination, saying it is in the interest of both workers and employers.

In his opening statement, Tom Buffenbarger, Vice-President of IndustriALL, President of IAMAW, and Chair of IndustriALL’s aerospace sector, said that the global industry is at a cross roads and must choose between two paths:

“One is where workers are forced to give up the fundamental right to strike and where workers are blamed for management failures.

“The other embraces aerospace unions, where management recognizes the value of a unionized workforce able to freely engage in collective bargaining.”

In the USA and Canada alone, more than 600,000 aerospace jobs, nearly 50 per cent of the sector workforce, have disappeared in the last 20 years. As in many other industries, aerospace companies are increasingly relying on contract workers.

During the two days’ panel debates, participants discussed ways of defending workers’ rights and countering anti-union activities. Global framework agreements (GFAs) were recognized as an important tool for strengthening labour rights in the sector.

"We must demand aerospace companies to enter into global agreements which honour international labour standards," said Tom Buffenbarger.

Plan for action

Participants agreed to launch a number of company networks, to exchange information but also to build workers’ solidarity in the sector.

An action plan was adopted with concrete steps to confront global capital, defend workers’ rights, fight precarious work, and ensure sustainable industrial employment.

The world conference also adopted a resolution reiterating IndustriALL’s stance of solidarity with workers of affiliated unions who are facing prison for striking in 2010.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“We will continue to organize workers and support our unions in the aerospace sector. In a global industry, we are fighting austerity while defending and advancing workers’ rights.

“Workers’ rights are non-negotiable and we must find solutions that protect all workers in all parts of the global supply chain.”

The conference re-elected Tom Buffenbarger to leadership of the section together with an action group that will play a role in implementing the action plan with the secretariat.

Sector-wide collective agreements to counter workers’ problems in the chemical industry

In Belgium, IndustriALL affiliates CSC BIE and CG-FGTB concluded a one-year agreement covering around 100,000 workers, bringing salary increases, early retirement schemes, training measures, as well as a demographic fund.

The demographic fund will play a role for workers with long seniorities. As some workers may need to retire at a later age than expected, the fund aims to deal with related difficulties. Details of the practical arrangement are yet to be decided, but both the employers and the unions will manage the fund.

Although still waiting for approval, IndustriALL’s Spanish affiliates Industria de CC.OO. and FITAG – UGT have recently finalized a three-year sectorial collective agreement covering 200,000 workers. Apart from setting wage increases, the collective bargaining agreement has a clause guaranteeing employee purchasing power, an updated equal opportunity clause, a declaration of principle promoting CSR, and a commitment that training will receive higher priority at work.

In the new agreement, IndustriALL’s two Spanish affiliates managed to make the employers withdraw plans to lengthen working hours, eliminate bonuses linked to career length, and apply a lower minimum salary rise.

The agreement has an updated equal opportunity clause with the reinforcement of a joint committee, and employee representation during crises is improved.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan says that the organization congratulates the two Spanish affiliates and welcomes both sector agreements:

Agreements covering an entire industry are rare, but something we hope will be more common in the future as it strengthens workers’ rights.

IG Metall commits to strengthen global agreements

During the meeting on 2-3 June 2015 at the union’s headquarters in Frankfurt, the participants of the particular workshop discussed their experiences and overall developments in the area of GFAs, including the forty-six GFAs signed by IndustriALL Global Union with multinationals, within which German-based companies make an important part. These agreements cover a wide range of sectors, from aerospace to mechanical engineering and refer to a number of issues including ILO core conventions, decent work, occupational health and safety, prohibition of child and forced labour and other.

IndustriALL Global Union’s new GFA Guidelines, adopted at the Executive committee meeting in Tunis in December 2014, was also discussed by the participants. The new guidelines also set a number of principles about negotiation and conclusion procedure of new GFAs in a transparent and open way. The participants analysed progression over the GFAs dating back to the late nineties and recently signed ones.

The participants also discussed the results of a survey about existing first and second generation GFAs that has been recently conducted together with scientists. This study proves that these agreements have more influence on MNC policies than thought. On the other hand it shows that there is still a long way to go. It was mentioned at the workshop that “It goes without any question that trade union and works council presence and their pressure are crucial to make a GFA a success story. If we do not follow up, then the agreement keeps dormant, as some bad examples of first generation agreements show”. The workshop also underlined importance of implementation and capacity building for national and local unions in the countries where multinational companies have operations worldwide.

Wolfgang Lemb, Executive Committee member of IG Metall, made it clear that the value of a functioning GFA should not be underestimated and at the same time it is crucial to embed it in a set of activities and trade union presence since a GFA is one piece of a complex toolbox.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, said in his presentation:

For IndustriALL, GFA’s have to fulfil the standards we jointly defined in our GFA guidelines. They must contain at least the ILO Core labour standards as the freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, the ban of child and forced labour and rules for non-discrimination. But we want more. With a GFA that is worth its title we want to make a change for the employees of the signing company and we have to integrate the supply chain and rules for monitoring the GFA with a participation of trade unions.”

Russian automotive unions discuss GFAs

The workshop was organized by IndustriALL Global Union, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), the Center for Social and Labour Rights, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) and the Confederation of Labour of Russia (KTR). Among three dozen participants were representatives of IndustriALL affiliates, including the Automobile and Farm Machinery Workers' Union of Russia, Rosprofmash and ITUWA, from the largest automobile assembly and auto parts plants operating in Russia, such as AVTOVAZ, GAZ, Ford, Volkswagen, GM, Bosch, and Peugeot Citroen Mitsubishi Automobiles Rus. The members of the unions at Ford, Renault and Leonie AG from Germany and France shared their experience of using GFAs.

Participants worked in groups and discussed the purpose, principles and value of GFAs, conditions that should be set for the efficient use of GFAs, as well as the future of GFAs in Russia. The discussion showed that the majority of workers and unions at Russian enterprises are not aware of GFAs or don't know how to use them, because the wording of GFAs is too general. There is a lack of experience on GFA implementation in Russia, and no knowledge of how to put pressure on the employer to follow the GFA. The majority of the participants also mentioned that it is sufficient for Russia to have labour laws that provide for and protect workers' rights, as well as collective bargaining agreements that extend these rights.

Vadim Borisov, regional representative of IndustriALL Global Union in Moscow, and Boris Kravchenko, president of KTR, mentioned a few examples of successful union use of GFAs at Russian branches of TNCs, such as Volkswagen and Renault, to solve the disputes, establish union activity and a social dialogue with the employer.

Oleg Sokolov, a FNPR secretary, emphasised the need to seek union responses to the calls of global capitalism and to study the best tools existing in the world, GFAs being one of them.

This workshop was one of the steps towards trilateral conference on GFAs that will take place in Moscow in November and will be attended by the unions, employers' organizations and governmental agencies.

IndustriALL and ThyssenKrupp sign global agreement on promotion of fundamental rights

IndustriALL German affiliate, IG Metall and ThyssenKrupp Works Council finalized the GFA process with ThyssenKrupp with a ceremony that was held on 16 March 2015 at the company’s headquarters in Essen. The GFA was developed in consultation with IndustriALL’s affiliates having membership throughout the operations of the company. The process also played important role in finding solutions for the labour conflicts in the US and Italy.

Berthold Huber, who signed the GFA as IndustriALL President, called the new GFA a “trend-setting agreement”, in which the participation of workforce representatives would be ensured via the involvement of representatives in the complaint system as well as in the international committee. Huber further said:

“Multinational groups that are acting globally, have to ensure that they offer fair working conditions globally for their workforce, and that they abide by existing rules, regulations and legislation in favour of their workforce.”

According to the agreement, ThyssenKrupp is obliged to comply with the principles of the International Labour Organzation (ILO), among other international standards, at all its subsidiaries worldwide. These include particularly ILO conventions nos. 29, 87, 98, 100, 105, 111, 138 and 182. Under the newly signed GFA ThyssenKrupp undertakes to respect the following principles:

Equal opportunity and equal treatment
Maximum working hours as regulated by a respective legislation or a collective bargaining agreement or other agreement within the specific country
Right to a reasonable remuneration for all employees
Health and safety of employees a key issue, obliging ThyssenKrupp to adhere to local laws with regard to a safe, hygienic working environment
All employees have the right to establish trade unions and employees’ representative bodies, and to engage in collective bargaining
All forms of child and forced labour are prohibited

The GFA has also strong provisions for implementation and monitoring through an International Committee with the participation of various management and workers’ representatives.

ThyssenKrupp is one of the world's leading metal companies providing components and systems for the automotive industry, elevators, escalators, material trading and industrial services.

"Petrobras: Be accountable, continue as ours", demands union movement

As the country’s largest company, Petrobras’ problems have severe knock-on effects. But private and foreign capital, with the support of right-wing politicians, is attempting to use the company's current turmoil to their advantage and facilitate Petrobras’ sell-off at a very low share price. Petrobras is 64 per cent owned by the Brazilian state and has long been and is still one of the major pillars of the Brazilian economy.

The Oil Workers Federation, FUP-CUT and its umbrella organization CNQ-CUT, together with CNM-CUT, have led strong demonstrations under the banner “Petrobras É Nossa”. At a 24 February rally in Rio de Janeiro, IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina stated:

Our Global Framework Agreement partner Petrobras belongs to the Brazilian people and workers. That makes misuse of the company’s finances even more disgraceful. However, to sell off this great asset for a cut price at this time of crisis would add insult to injury, and cannot be allowed.

Unions and social movements will mobilize a national day of action on 13 March in defence of Petrobras. However Business-oriented press in Brazil is strongly criticizing the government and voicing demands towards privatization. Furthermore, credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded Petrobras stocks to junk status.

Lucineide Varjão Soares, President of CNQ-CUT said in her statement:

We fought this same campaign in 1948: The oil is ours! We won then and stopped the transfer of this asset to foreign capital. Petrobras is under attack. Corruption cannot serve as a front for dismantling an entire oil and gas production chain built by workers. We will vigorously defend our national treasure and our jobs.

The scandal came to light when a prior director of Petrobras admitted to a vast kickback and bribery scheme as part of his own plea bargain after his arrest in March 2014 for money laundering. Petrobras executives are accused of illegally conspiring with a cartel of Brazil’s largest construction companies over ten years.

Brazil’s Prosecutor General yesterday sought permission from the Supreme Court to launch enquiries into 54 unnamed people, most of whom are Members of Congress.

IndustriALL Global Union signs global framework agreement with Gamesa

This agreement, the world’s first involving a company in the renewable energy sector, was signed on 18 February in Madrid by IndustriALL general secretary, Jyrki Raina, Gamesa Chief Executive Officer, José Antonio Cortajarena, Gamesa Human Resources Director, Javier Treviño, and Carlos Romero, Antonio Deusa and Agustín Martín, general secretaries of the MCA-UGT, FITAG-UGT and CCOO Industry unions respectively.

The agreement, which will apply to all companies in the Gamesa group and to all its employees worldwide, includes new clauses that strengthen the rights of workers and trade unions, introduce the principle of neutrality, establish the pre-eminence of international agreements over potentially lax national standards, ensure the right of access to workplaces by workers’ representatives and strengthen trade union networks.

One of the most innovative points of the agreement is that Gamesa management will monitor and supervise the agreement jointly with IndustriALL and the national trade unions (FITAG-UGT, MCA-UGT and CCOO Industry). A new coordination and monitoring body will be created and will meet regularly. It will produce a report every two years on progress in implementing the agreement with a view to updating the agreement.

Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL’s general secretary, said:

IndustriALL is convinced that global framework agreements are important instruments for trade union organization and for improving labour relations in multinational companies and their subsidiaries.

The global agreement signed commits the company to the development and protection of its workers worldwide and makes health and safety at work, working conditions and equal opportunities key issues for company action, said Carlos Romero.

Antonio Deusa said: “The importance of achieving this agreement is that it highlights the commitment of the signatory organizations to Gamesa employees, wherever their workplaces are located.”

Agustín Martín said that global agreements like this one “give substance to trade union attempts to persuade companies to adopt genuine corporate social responsibility practices throughout their production networks. This guarantees an improvement in labour standards and working conditions at the global level, in accordance with the particular circumstances in each country and region of the world”.

The Global Framework Agreement for the Gamesa Group includes the following provisions:

A commitment to the development and protection of employees worldwide;
It strengthens social, labour and environmental rights already contained in the Group’s Code of Conduct; makes health and safety at work, working conditions and equal opportunities key issues for company action; guarantees implementation and promotes the conditions for a social dialogue at the international level;
It will apply to all companies in the Gamesa Group and to all its employees. Gamesa, which is based in Spain, currently has operations in Germany, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Costa Rica, USA, Egypt, Finland, France, Greece, Honduras, Hungry, India, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Romania, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey and Uruguay, as well as in our own country;
A commitment to respect basic social rights (especially labour rights and trade union representation), human rights and civil liberties, equal opportunities, merit and non-discrimination on grounds of race, sex, ideology, nationality, disability, beliefs or any other personal, physical or social condition. A commitment to observe ILO Conventions on age of access to work, the worst forms of child labour, forced labour, non-discrimination in labour relations, equal pay for work of equal value, freedom of association and the protection of trade union rights, the right to organize, to collective bargaining and to employee representation in order to prevent any kind of discrimination against workers involved in trade union activities;
Principle of neutrality: in accordance with ILO Conventions 87 and 98, the agreement clearly establishes a commitment to observe the principle of neutrality, which requires companies to respect workers’ decisions regarding the election of their representatives and the creation and operation of unions of their choice;
Rejects corruption and bribery;
A commitment to inform suppliers, contractors and collaborators of the contents of its Code of Conduct and this Global Framework Agreement;
Company management, IndustriALL Global and the national trade unions will jointly supervise this GFA using mechanisms described in the text of the agreement.

IndustriALL raises the bar for global agreements

The new GFA guidelines were adopted by IndustriALL’s Executive Committee in Tunis in December 2014 following a proposal made by the special Standing Working Group.

The guidelines scale up the negotiation, content and implementation of global agreements, which are designed to safeguard labour rights across the supply chains of multinational companies (MNCs).

IndustriALL’s general secretary, Jyrki Raina, said:

“IndustriALL is convinced that global framework agreements are important instruments for union organizing and improved labour relations at multinational companies and their subsidiaries. The clear procedures we have put in place will make for stronger agreements, as shown by our recent GFA with Total signed at Davos in January.”

Under the new guidelines, GFAs must:

cover all company operations throughout the world without exception;
include a strong and unequivocal commitment by the multinational company concerned that suppliers and sub-contractors adopt these standards for their workers;
guarantee a commitment from the company to treat unions positively, and refrain from all anti-union activities and to remain strictly neutral concerning employee preference to join, remain with, transfer, or abandon their relationship with a union organization;
union representatives should have a reasonable access to the workplace;
contain an effective mechanism for implementation, enforcement and a procedure for binding dispute resolution.

A GFA must also explicitly include references and recognition of the rights reflected in ILO Conventions including:

Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining (Conventions 87 and 98);
Discrimination (Conventions 100 and 111);
Forced Labour (Conventions 29 and 105);
Child Labour (Conventions 138 and 182).

Furthermore, GFA’s must be approved by IndustriALL’s trade union affiliates that represent the majority of the unionized workers at the operations of the multinational company concerned.

Once a GFA is signed it must be translated into the agreed languages and made available to everyone working for the company, either directly or indirectly.

IndustriALL has GFAs with 44 multinational companies covering 10 million workers in a range of sectors.