Bangladesh: Garment unions trained for effective implementation of GFAs

IndustriALL Global Union organized a three-day training on ‘Implementation of the GFAs in Textile, Garment, Leather and Shoe Industries in Bangladesh’, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 20, 21 and 27 October.

The training of the plant level union leaders working in the supplier factories was organized with the objective to build capacity and raise awareness towards an effective implementation of GFA.

The training discussed key features and benefits of the GFAs and various procedural aspects, involving role of plant level union leaders and IndustriALL when raising issues related to workers’ rights, and how to address them through GFAs.

Through creative sessions and a participatory approach, the training aimed to provide union leaders with a better grasp of the complex contents of GFAs, as well as the  implementation mechanisms and communication channels.

Christina Hajagos Clausen, IndustriALL director for textile and garment Industry, said:

It is always a challenge to translate the principles of GFAs to bring change at the plant level. Informed and committed participation of union leaders is crucial in this process. The training programme enables union leaders to take advantage of GFAs to protect workers rights of create better working conditions for union members.

Ms Sabrina Akter of Natural Denims Ltd. Sommilito Sromik Union said:

This training is very useful for us. Knowing that the GFA is an important tool, we will use it when negotiating with the management. We also recommend that this training should be provided to management representatives, so that they understand their responsibilities towards workers.

IndustriALL signs Global Framework Agreement with Safran

The agreement has the following objectives:

Furthermore, the agreement affirms a commitment to promoting “an open and constructive labor-management dialog on a global scale, in order to continuously improve and develop best practices at all Safran facilities”.

Valter Sanches, IndustriALL General Secretary, says:

Signing a GFA with a company in the fast-growing aerospace industry means a big step forward for safeguarding workers’ rights. The GFA provides mechanisms for a global monitoring committee, which will be the key to a good dialog across all Safran’s operations worldwide and the companies throughout its supply chain.

An international monitoring committee will be set up to assess how well these agreements and commitments are actually applied. The committee will meet twice yearly, and will be composed of representatives of Safran corporate management and unions affiliated with IndustriALL Global Union in all areas where Safran has offices or facilities. One of these two meetings will be held in a different country each year to help evaluate the local application of the agreement.

Jean-Luc Bérard, Safran Executive Vice President for Human Resources, says:

This agreement is the upshot of a long negotiating process with IndustriALL Global Union and its affiliates. It also extends our already existing relationship with IndustriALL Europe, within the scope of European negotiations. As a truly international enterprise, it was important that Safran’s first global agreement lay down principles that resonate with all of our employees, including equal opportunity, occupational health and safety, and environmental protection, encompassing all products developed by our Group, as well as a code of business ethics wherever we operate. The agreement is built on these solid foundations.

This agreement reflects Safran’s commitment to developing its business in line with its policy of sustainable development, with respect for the rights of employees and their representatives, as well as the rights of suppliers and subcontractors throughout the world.

The agreement signed today covers a period of five years. Negotiations for its renewal are already planned, possibly leading to a permanent agreement.

Inditex supplier unions meet in Hanoi to boost industrial relations

On the first day of the meeting, representatives from global brands Inditex, H&M and 11 local suppliers also joined the meeting for a session on improving social dialogue and industrial relations.  The meeting is part of a series of national meetings supported by FES, IndustriALL and Inditex in the implementation of the Global Framework Agreement.

Ngo Duy Hieu, Presidium Member and Director of Industrial Relations Department at the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), opened the meeting saying his organization “highly appreciates such network meetings and that working in such a system brings new experiences and ideas to the Vietnamese labour movement.  The VGCL is committed to supporting the operation and expansion of the network.”

Kevin Bui, Inditex Sustainability Manager, and Candy Nguyen, from H&M Sustainability office, gave detailed interventions on the importance of the global framework agreements and their role in promoting well-functioning industrial relations. A panel discussion took place with suppliers, brands and trade unions on improving industrial relations. The focus of the dialogue was how to improve workers’ rights.

Sister HA, Deputy Director of the VGCL Industrial Relations Department, added that the network was important for improving trade union activities and workers’ rights within the supply chain. She urged local union leaders to focus on increasing wages within the scope of local CBAs.  Internal discussions took place around the role of local unions, upper level unions and core worker groups in the network.  Participating members worked on a check list of guaranteed rights under the GFAs and discussed the importance opening the network to more global brands.  It was further discussed that the network needs to work both on the local factory level but also on a sectorial level.

Christina Hajagos-Clausen, IndustriALL’s director for the textile and garment sector, added:

“Such networks are an important platform for textile and garment unions to engage with global brands and retailers, specifically to ensure workers’ rights on a factory level and to develop grievance mechanisms.”

On 7 October, the World Day for Decent Work, the trade union network members took action to stop precarious work.

IndustriALL and Inditex celebrate 10th anniversary of GFA

During an event to mark the anniversary at the Madrid head offices of the Economic and Social Council, the Chairman and CEO of Inditex, Pablo Isla, and the general secretary of IndustriALL, Valter Sanches, used the occasion to review the key progress made under the joint initiative.

Valter Sanches, said “the Global Framework Agreement promotes stability in a time of uncertainty. Protecting some 1.5 million garment workers in the Inditex supply chain, it empowers our unions to defend fundamental rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively for better wages and working conditions."

During his presentation, Inditex's Chairman and CEO stressed that the work performed during the past decade bodes for a “future for the Global Framework Agreement as one of the best tools for continuing to enforce and encourage decent labour conditions in the garment sector’s supply chain around the world”. He also highlighted the universalisation of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining as foundation of this policy.

In that sense, both acknowledged the advances promoted by the Global Framework Agreement leads to more ambitious objectives to immediately contribute in the promotion of decent work, as stablished by United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), subscribed to by Inditex. 

Pablo Isla acknowledged besides the work of the three general secretaries who have led IndustriALL since the agreement was signed, as well as praising the representatives of Spain's leading unions, CCOO and UGT, who have helped develop the agreement throughout this time. “Without their commitment to the workers they represent, their knowledge of the garment industry and their proactive and critical spirit, the Global Framework Agreement would not have yielded the results we are applauding here today,” said Isla. 

Valter Sanches commended Inditex for taking a lead in promoting worker and trade union rights: “Inditex recognizes its role as one of the world’s biggest retailers and was the first apparel brand to see the value of good industrial relations, not just in their own factories but throughout their entire supply chain. The Global Framework Agreement makes factory suppliers accountable, enabling labour conflicts to be resolved successfully and greater participation of trade unions in production countries.”  

TRACEABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

The collaboration between Inditex and IndustriALL dates back to 2002. However, it wasn't until 2007, when the Global Framework Agreement was signed, that both parties began to roll out initiatives designed to empower workers and protect their labour rights throughout the Group's entire supply chain, as symbolised by the sharing of the Inditex's full supplier list since that time.

The more than 1,800 suppliers and 7,000 factories that comprise the Group's supply chain not only apply its Code of Conduct for Manufacturers and Suppliers to all their production but also participate, despite not supplying exclusively to Inditex, in the joint initiatives carried out under the scope of the Global Framework Agreement. It is calculated that close to 1.5 million workers have seen their labour conditions protected and strengthened as a result. 

The Framework Agreement achieved a new milestone in 2012 with the appointment of a General Coordinator and the signature of the Protocol articulating local union access to the supply chain, enhancing the supply chain transparency effort and empowering local workers to pursue their own collective bargaining. This line of initiative was reinforced further in 2014 when the Global Framework Agreement was renewed.

The expansion of the Global Framework Agreement in 2016 marked another step forward in this joint effort and in the supply chain transparency pledge by bringing local union experts into the 12 clusters of suppliers into which Inditex has organized the majority of its suppliers around the world. This protocol has created forums for effective collaboration and exchange in the quest to protect workers' rights and ensure ongoing momentum in the clusters.

Over the last 10 years, the Framework Agreement has facilitated and strengthened a shared approach to the reality encountered in each country by promoting the right to union access in the workplace. Pilot programmes have been carried out in over 80 factories in 12 countries tackling a host of aspects, including the right to organize, decent working conditions and a healthy workplace as well as addressing women's empowerment issues. These pilot programmes have yielded conclusions that are applicable to the entire supply chain. 

IndustriALL signs global framework agreement with ASOS

IndustriALL has signed a global framework agreement with e-commerce brand ASOS, to strengthen the implementation of international labour standards across ASOS’ global supply chain.

Valter Sanches, IndustriALL General Secretary, says:

This agreement provides mechanisms and standards to empower our unions to safeguard workers’ rights across ASOS’ global supply chain. The GFA deepens our relationship with ASOS, and is an important step for supply chain industrial labour relations.

Nick Beighton, CEO, ASOS, comments:

This landmark agreement with IndustriALL is a signal of our intent to ensure that everyone working in our supply chain feels safe and respected by their employers and fellow workers. This can only be achieved if employees have the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the ability to ensure improved employment conditions are consistently implemented.

The GFA between ASOS and IndustriALL recognises the role freedom of association and collective bargaining plays in developing well-functioning industrial relations. Both parties will commit to:

Earlier this year, ASOS made its global factory list public, providing transparency on the 612 Tier 1 factories its uses across 25 countries.

ASOS also participates in Action, Collaboration and Transformation (ACT), an initiative designed to address the issue of living wages.

Committees implementing GFA with H&M meet to strengthen industrial relations

Pascal Brun, Head of Sustainability at H&M and Jenny Holdcroft, IndustriALL Global Union Assistant General Secretary welcomed participants and looked forward to successful in future collaboration.

"You are the direct link to workers, a crucial part of our social agenda, with this comes the responsibility of all of us to make sure that we have stronger, well-functioning industrial relations. My expectation for the next two days is that we share best practice," said Brun. "You have helped us to become a better buyer. The National Monitoring Committee is an innovative way of working. I wish you all very constructive discussions."

The NMC system’s purpose is to develop the national short term and long term plans and strategies for implementation of the GFA at H&M suppliers, for now it is set up in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Turkey. The Monitoring Committees are composed of trade unions on the ground as well as H&M representatives.

"It has been a short history for the H&M GFA but there have been very positive developments. The National Monitoring Committee system creates a space for our unions not only to develop as responsible social partners but also to increase their organizing and collective bargaining capacity, which is needed for unions to develop and strengthen," said Holdcroft.

Steffan Herrström, Swedish Ambassador to Thailand, Myanmar and Laos addressed the National Monitoring Committees (NMC) on the second day of their meeting.

"What you are doing here, as partners of the H&M GFA to strengthen collaboration and team building, is an important step to improve industrial relations and collective bargaining mechanisms in the countries where you work. It is inspiring to see this happening. I realize that it is challenging and I am strongly convinced that this is the way forward to make social dialogue work, and in that way promote sustainable business that at the end of the day benefits all of us," said Herrström.

The Committees prepared their 2017 annual country reports that they will present to the Joint Industrial Relations Development Committee (JIRDC). Chrisina Hajagos-Clausen, IndsutriALL textile, garment, leather and shoe industries director said: 

“We want to see NMCs set up in more countries and we also want to see more of these types of implementation mechanisms in other GFAs, in order to ensure that we have agreements that work.” 

Joining union forces in Asia-Pacific’s textile and garment sectors

80 participants from 12 countries met on 29-30 September in Bangkok, Thailand to discuss the sector’s policies and priorities.

IndustriALL’s global brand strategy has resulted in agreements between global labor and brands, such as H&M, Inditex and Tchibo. The Bangladesh accord and the ACT initiative illustrate the promises of collective actions to leverage change.

“This is an important sector for IndustriALL because it is at the forefront of testing some of our supply chain strategies. These are direct agreements between local unions and companies at national and global level. When brands and trade unions work together, real change can be made,” said Jenny Holdcroft, IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary.

“The fashion industry has changed so rapidly and the strategies of the past are no longer relevant today which is why IndustriALL is ready to change our strategy to get our global voice heard, “said Christina Hajagos-Clausen IndustriALL Textile Garment Leather and Shoe Sector Director.

Sector co-chairs Akiko Gono and Athit Kong emphasized the need for the unions to join forces.

"We must have a common vision to fight for workers’ rights to form unions and improve wages and working conditions in the sector, and in our region," said Kong.

"We face challenges, but we are in this together. By sharing our experiences we can develop our sense of solidarity – our most effective weapon is our unified power," said Gono.

A case study on the H&M Global Framework Agreement was presented and brought together the National Monitoring Committee (NMC) representatives from Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Indonesia. They reported on the process of creating well functioning industrial relations through the NMC mechanism in the H&M GFA.

In a growing industry with complex supply chains, transparency is vital. "We want the factories to publish the information on their supply chains,” said Aruna Kashyap from Human Rights Watch, presenting our Transparency Pledge Campaign.

The pledge was fully supported by participants as increased transparency means that violations of labour rights can be identified.

IndustriALL regularly joins forces with relevant actors fighting for a sustainable garment industry. Sarah Ditty from Fashion Revolution spoke about their communication strategies and how teaming up with IndustriALL helps to amplify and share union struggles in the sector by sharing their message to their large audience of consumers, an audience that IndustriALL struggles to reach.

Precarious employment is rife in the garment industry, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Manifesting the fight to STOP Precarious Work on 7 October, participants presented their material for their campaign.

Rubber workers celebrate global unity

The IndustriALL Global Union World Conference for Rubber Industries took place at the impressive United Steelworkers’ headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA (USA) on 18-19 September with more than 80 participants from 18 countries.

“We are facing hard times in our industry. We will stand with you, we will fight with you, despite the challenges facing workers. USW is always committed to global solidarity, in that spirit we warmly welcome all of you here today,” said Stan Johnson, USW International Secretary-Treasurer and Co-chair of the Rubber Industries section of IndustriALL.

“Since the last world rubber conference in Hungary four years ago, changes have continued across our sector. Global inequality is growing; workers are losing their jobs, their rights, and social protections. We need to be able to fight for an economic and social model based on rights, fairness and dignity,” said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL  Assistant General Secretary.

Panelists from the USA, UK, Japan, Brazil and South Africa spoke on industry developments and their impacts on trade unions in the rubber sector.

It was clear after the presentations that there was a lot of commonality of concern in this sector, unions globally are all facing the same challenges which means unions must come together to find common solutions.

The issues that came up in almost all reports were: Chinese dumping; the import of cheap and dangerous tyres online; and economic and political crises.

Some positive developments also emerged from the reports, Dawid Baardman from IndustriALL affiliate NUMSA reported that there were no precarious workers in the rubber industry in South Africa, as they have managed to negotiate an industry agreement that ensures no precarious workers in the sector.

Marcio Ferreira from Caucho-FS in Brazil reported on how they have benefitted from rubber unions coming together for industry-level bargaining in the sector. Marcio explained that they are trying to create one unified rubber union in the federation: “We have a unique opportunity if we come together into one organization to overcome conflicts,” he said.

Multinationals in the rubber industry employ members of IndustriALL affiliates all around the world. In depth panel discussions looked at the trends, challenges and labour relations at each multinational and discussed strategies for future joint union work. Along with organizing across the supply chain, trade union networks are an important part of the strategy in the sector.

“Let’s continue to build power through networks, connect with auto industry unions, and work together to build the strong global voice of rubber workers,” said Tom Grinter, IndustriALL industry and research officer, who now takes over responsibility for the rubber sector.

“In our networks we have action plans to ensure that we stabilize and extend our networks and organize in non-organized plants,” said Helmut Lense, IndustriALL Automotive and Rubber Director, who the conference honoured as he now retires.

Concluding the two-day conference, participants re-elected Stan Johnson as co-chair, set up a new Work Group of leading affiliates to steer the work, and adopted a full Action Plan that you can download here.

Kemal Özkan looked forward to an active four years:

“We will make further development and progress in our trade union networks in the rubber industry. This will be our core strategy in multinational enterprises and newly-emerging rubber-producing countries. Our special projects in Thailand and India will continue, and we will focus on organizing, fighting precarious work and focus on women and youth representation. The energy and appetite of the Conference participants clearly demonstrated that the next four years will be vibrant in the rubber sector for IndustriALL and its affiliates. The struggle continues!”     

Middle East and North African textile and garment unions discuss Inditex agreement

A major focus of the meeting was on coordinating union activity to use the global framework agreement signed between IndustriALL Global Union and Inditex, the Spanish clothing giant that owns Zara and a number of other brands.

The meeting was attended by IndustriALL affiliates from Morroco (SNTHC-CDT and SNTTC-UMT), Tunisia (FGTHCC-UGTT), Jordan (JTGCU) and Turkey (Öz İplik-İş and TEKSIF). A delegation from the Federation of Garment and Textile Industries Workers is Egypt was unable to attend.

A session was held to raise awareness of how IndustriALL uses global framework agreements, highlighting the growing recognition of these agreements within international organizations, such the ILO and the OECD.

María Morell Camacho, from the corporate social responsibility department of Inditex, gave a detailed presentation on the company’s overall global sourcing strategy and the role of the agreement with IndustriALL. Inditex regional sustainability manager Mohammed Zeggaf Tahri spoke about how the company operated in the region.

This was followed by a session exploring the implementation of the agreement in Turkey, by Murat Akkun, from the Inditex sustainability department in Turkey, and industrial relations expert Dr Sedat Kaya.

Affiliates then discussed organizing priorities and social dialogue, with a focus on building regional and sectoral trade union networks, using global agreements to improve local conditions.

The affiliates exchanged experiences, organizing successes and challenges. Affiliates from Inditex sourcing countries (Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Turkey) affirmed their commitment to work together to exchange information and establish an Inditex regional network to implement the agreement on a national and regional basis.

The delegation from Jordan requested that Inditex consider sourcing from Jordan. They would welcome a visit from IndustriALL and Inditex sourcing and buying teams.

The meeting planned a series of event to implement the agreement.

In Morocco, an awareness raising meeting will be held with key Inditex suppliers. After discussion with Inditex, an industrial relations and social dialogue programme will be launched in two factories, Morosco and Best Invest.

For Tunisia, a meeting and two factory visits are planned. Initially, the unions would meet each other, before meeting suppliers. Non-union suppliers would also be invited.

Delegates from Egypt will be invited to attend one of the meetings to gain the experience they missed.

The Turkish delegation will seek clarity from Inditex about which Turkish suppliers also work in Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia. 

María Morell Camacho of Inditex said:

"Through cooperation and dialogue with local unions we are building bridges and creating tools for workers’ empowerment in the region. Inditex’s GFA with IndustriALL is not only a commitment, it reflects how we envision a sustainable supply chain: the worker always at the centre."

Christina Hajagos-Clausen, IndustriALL director for the textile and garments sectors, said:

“We made a lot of progress, and took some really important practical steps. If we work strategically, we can use the global framework agreement with Inditex to make a huge difference to the garment and textile supply chain in the region.”

TOTAL FAIR Committee meets during the second year of GFA’s implementation

The FAIR committee is composed of representatives from trade unions affiliated to and designated by IndustriALL Global Union. Currently the committee contains one representative from IndustriALL, three Group employees from countries outside the European Union (Argentina, Nigeria and Morocco), and four members of the European Works Council (France, Germany, Belgium and Spain).
 
This is the second time that the FAIR Committee meets to evaluate the work and implementation of the agreement, while realizing that not all workers and union representative are aware of its existence. Further spread of the GFA among local mangers and unions in countries where the company is present is needed. The union group developed a work plan for next year to improve communication among TOTAL workers.
 
During the meeting all chapters of the GFA were discussed with management. Having a GFA is not an end to all problems, but they can be monitored and solved quickly.

In Nigeria, there is a problem with the individual protection equipment, necessary for the health and safety of the workers. Most of the time it is of bad quality and incomplete, and sometimes it is delayed.

The process of hiring new staff was frozen in 2016, due to the drop in oil proces. With retired workers not being replaced, existing workers are tired and exhausted, which can lead to dangerous mistakes. Management confirmed that they are planning to open the hiring process again in 2018, as new people are needed.

Contractors and suppliers need to have the exactly the same health and safety conditions as permanent workers of the Group, and it needs to be monitored in the agreement.

Employees of the group has a life insurance provided by the company, but the insurance currently covers only 88 per cent of the workforce. Although increasing, the full 100 per cent will not be covered due to new subsidaries aquired, sometimes in countries where there are no insurance companies.

After the meeting the committee members visited two oil stations to see the working conditions and exchange some impressions with local management.
 
TOTAL has around 290 service stations and employs 500 people in refining, chemical, marketing, services and renewable energies in Morocco.