The Nepali Wider Workers conference

The different trade unions of Nepal organized a wider workers conference in Kathmandu 27 and 28th of October with 1.200 of their members to discuss upcoming changes regarding workers’ rights. It isn't always easy to convey why some of these workers meetings and conferences are events worth supporting, but let me try and illustrate through this one.


First of all, historically. The last time they organized a joint, wider workers’ conference was in September 2005, in the midst of violent conflicts and imposed unconstitutional regime. Political parties were banned and meetings were under strict regulations. The then Royal Regime banned the Civil Servants' Organization and created a fictitious "Union" to represent Nepali workers in International Labour Conference; however, because of the pungent protest of Unions, this failed.  . Thousands of Trade Unionists jointly demonstrated in Kathmandu marking the May Day. This was the first ever demonstration after the Royal take-over on February 1st. Despite this and the immense political and ideological divides that opposed trade unions and the parties they were often linked to, they took the initiative to gather over 2.000 workers and draft a declaration that firmly called for full-fledged democracy and uninterrupted rights. Many changes took place since and are still happening now, so, almost a decade later, this second Wider National Workers Conference aimed at institutionalizing the achievements.

Rana Plaza: 18 months after the tragedy

Aujourd'hui, nous sommes jour pour jour 18 mois après le drame du Rana Plaza. L’Accord sur la sécurité des bâtiments entre dans sa phase cruciale : la mise en conformité des usines. 1106 usines ont été inspectées (les rapports peuvent être consultés ici). C’est maintenant que les enseignes signataires vont devoir assumer, notamment financièrement, leur engagement de soutenir leurs fournisseurs dans ce travail de renovation, afin de garantir la sécurité des travailleurs.

Nous vous invitons à regarder l'interview d'Amin Amirul Haque, de notre partenaire NGWF au Bangladesh.


Question indemnisation par contre, les survivants et les familles des victimes ne sont toujours pas certaines d’être indemnisées complètement. La plupart sont en incapacité de retrouver du travail et de reconstruire une vie normale. Il manque toujours 20 millions $ (16 millions €) au fonds d’indemnisation. Un montant dérisoire comparé aux bénéfices tirés par les enseignes grâce aux travailleuses du Bangladesh. Il est impératif que Carrefour, Benetton et les autres contribuent.
Pour en savoir plus, rendez-vous sur le site d'AchACT Asbl ou de l'Accord.

ILO calls for further improvements in Bangladesh textile factories

At an ILO-EU stocktaking meeting in Brussels, ILO Deputy Director-General Sandra Polaski said that the Government of Bangladesh has made important progress to ensure labour rights and factory safety in the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh since 2013, but  emphasized that a lot of work still remains to be done, urgently in some areas. 
The meeting reviewed the actions outlined in the Sustainability Compact, an agreement signed by the ILO, the European Commission, the Governments of Bangladesh and the US in July 2013, and identified areas still in need of improvement, some of them requiring urgent interventions.

Among the positive developments it is worth noting the amendments made to the Bangladesh Labour Act, the registration of new trade unions and the implementation of safety inspections. The fact that public inspection services have been given more resources and that a national occupational safety and health policy was adopted, are important steps forward.

Nevertheless, Polaski underscored that important improvements are still required. The Bangladesh Labour Act must be effectively enforced and implemented, the establishment and registration of trade unions must be made easier and the right to strike should be protected. Further, the government should bring the Bangladesh Labour Act and the legislation covering the Export Processing Zones into compliance with international labour standards. The survivors of the Rana Plaza building collapse should receive skills training and rehabilitation. (link to original article here)

Clean Clothes Campaign update: Belgian retailer commits to joining Fair Wear Foundation

© foto: Sofie Hendrickx

Bel & Bo received yesterday a collection of "clean" T-shirts from World Solidarity and LBC, to round off the campaign "We want clean clothes", in which 13 278 consumers demand 'clean clothes' from Belgian clothing companies and retailers.
The management of Bel & Bo (a family run retailer with over 80 sales points in Belgium) reacted with excellent news: the company will become, if all goes well, a member of the Fair Wear Foundation on November 1st! This is the corner stone of our campaign, so an outstanding announcement, which made us (and the sales people) very happy!


Which retailers will follow this good example? JBC may also soon expect a visit. We'll keep you posted!

Felicitaties voor de Nobelprijswinnaars voor de vrede

 De Nobelprijs zal dit jaar gaan naar Malala Yousafzai (17), de jongste laureate ooit, en de Indiër

(http://www.kailashsatyarthi.net/picturegallery/
withchildren.php)

Kailash Satyarthi (60).

Satyarthi heeft zijn leven gewijd aan de strijd tegen kinderarbeid. Hij is ondermeer de grondlegger van een label, dat wijst op de vervaardiging van textiel zonder kinderarbeid: Goodweave.

In 1998 was hij de initiatiefnemer van de Wereldmars tegen Kinderarbeid, waarvan Wereldsolidariteit de coördinatie deed in België. Honderden organisaties uit meer dan honderd landen vonden elkaar in dit wereldwijde netwerk tegen kinderarbeid. Honderdduizenden mensen stapten een stukje mee met de kerngroep van 150 stappers die in totaal 80.000 km aflegden, tot aan de hoofdzetel van de IAO in Génève. Hier werden 7 miljoen duimafdrukken overhandigd voor de afschaffing van kinderarbeid. De Wereldmars is zeker doorslaggevend geweest voor de versnelling van een verbod op de ergste vormen van kinderarbeid door de IAO.

Een vroegere medewerker van Wereldsolidariteit, Marcel De Prins, maakte in 2008 tien jaar na de Wereldmars een balans op.

AREDS: Demonstration for seeking the attention of the District Administration on the applications filed by the landless people for acquiring lands/panchamy lands

On behalf of Tamil Nadu Land Right Coalition – Tamil Nadu & Puduchery, the Karur district coordinator Mr. Karikalan took a move to retrieve panchamy lands in September 2014. He, along with landless dalit people, made a petition to the District Administration requesting the retrieval of panchamy lands, which were in the hands of non-dalit community people, and the distribution of panchamy lands to the deserving landless dalit people. According to the information sought through Right to Information Act, 484 acres of panchamy land are available in Karur district. Therefore, they demanded that, excepting the panchamy lands that were in the dalit people’s utility, the lands which were in the hands of caste Hindu people must be retrieved and redistributed to the landless dalit agricultural labourers. However, government took no steps to fulfill their demands.

7th October: World Day for Decent Work

So today is the World Day for decent Work, organised since 2008 by the International Trade Union Confederation. It is a day for mobilisation for all trade unions across the globe, from Fiji in the east to Hawaii in the west. Last year, the focus was on Organizing workers. Let's look at what this year's focus is, in Belgium and for ITUC.

C’est aujourd’hui la journée mondiale d’action pour le Travail décent. Les syndicats et leurs amis des organisations de développement et environnementales du monde entier l’affirment très clairement : si l’on continue de faire n’importe quoi en matière de politique climatique, on met à mal l’emploi, tant au Nord qu’au Sud. Le message se répercute dans le monde entier : There are no jobs on a dead planet! (il n’y a pas d’emplois sur une planète morte !)

AREDS contribution to NDWM Postcard Campaign "Ratify the ILO Convention 189"

One of the issues several of the WSM partners have been focusing on in Asia has been the situation of the Domestic Workers. During the previous program, they were very instrumental in campaigning for an ILO Convention on Domestic Workers, which was adopted in 2011. Now, the next step is to get governments to ratify it, and so far, only the Philippines are the only country in Asia who have done so. Even Belgium still hasn't...

During the meeting of all India partners in July, NDWM invited all partners to show solidarity and help with the post card campaign they are conducting to pressure the India government to ratify ILC 189. Today, I received the following press release from AREDS:

The size of the unorganized sector goes on increasing but the unorganized workers are being deprived of workers rights. Government introduces many welfare schemes for them but the same government crafts many stumbling blocks to obstruct the access to the schemes.

 The plight of Domestic Workers is still worse. Unlike other workers, they are not even respected as workers on many levels. A legal minimum wage is not prescribed for them. It is mostly women that are engaged in this work. It is not easy to enroll them into trade unions because they will be fired from work if their employers learn about their trade union membership. Therefore, the fear of losing their employment opportunities assured they seldom join trade unions.

Human Rights Award given to Amin from NGWF, WSM partner in Bangladesh

On Sunday, 28 September, 2014, the jury of the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award, chaired by the Lord Mayor of the City of Nuremberg, met in the City Hall and came to the following decision  concerning the eleventh award. The jury decision should be seen as an appeal to the entire garment industry to ensure that good working practice is adhered to in all elements in manufacturing chain. By awarding the 2015 Nuremberg International Human Rights Award to Amirul Haque Amin, the international jury for the first time honours an activist who fights for social and economic human rights. 

That’s the way CFTUI crumbled the cookie with Indian Foods

One of the achievement of CFTUI in Tamil Nadu in the South of India, took place at a company called INDIANFOOD Private Limited, located 18km from Madhurai (map). It produces food items, one of the main one being biscuits. In this factory, there are 97 regular workers. They were divided into three categories: skilled, semi-skilled and labour. The workers there had not received a wage increase in the last twenty years though this should have happened every three years. They were initially paid as follows (column one):

CATEGORY OF WORKERS	Monthly salary before CFTUI intervention (June 2013)	Demands from CFTUI Trade Union	Agreement after CFTUI intervention (after June 2013)
Machine Operators (skilled)	7.591 INR	25.000 INR	18.566 INR
Helpers (semi-skilled)	6.790 INR	20.000 INR	13.000 INR
Supporting staff, such Khalasis (labour)	5.575 INR	18.000 INR	13.000 INR

The yearly bonus was also increased from Rs 8,000/- to Rs 12,000/- for the regular workers. Besides the 97 regular workers, 150 casual daily workers also work in the same factory for the last years. They were involved in the food processing units like the other 97 workers, but the daily casual workers were never paid their wages as per the minimum wage act of Tamil Nadu state. According to this legislation, they are supposed to get between Rs 142 to Rs 200 per day, but they would receive between Rs 100/- to 150/-.

Unity without uniformity, diversity without fragmentation

This weekend, one day after my return to Asia, I got to witness a meeting with our two partners, the Minister of Labour and Employment and several organisations that support workers. This kind of meeting, which we call a Trade Union Solidarity Support Organisation (TUSSO) meeting is to share regarding the work the trade unions do and which support they are receiving for what.

The title for this post, taken from one of the facilitators, refers to the challenges in many countries, and particularly in South Asia, to have workers movements that are both independent and not fragmented, with hundreds of trade unions. Sometimes, trade unions are founded by political parties, as a wing to attract and represent workers, which often leads to them to have easier political access and an initial membership base, but this however can put into question their independence, especially when that party comes into power. And this also means that political divides and tensions can tamper with workers solidarity, where their interests and defense should prevail.

Call to Action: $177 Minium Wage Cambodia - Campaign

After the violent crackdown on workers in which 5 workers were killed, 40 workers were
seriously injured and 25 workers were arrested during the campaign to increase the minimum wage, workers and their unions have strongly advocated by cooperating with relevant stakeholders around the world in order to push the Government and buyers to give the proper minimum wage increase and the freedoms and compensation to workers. The campaign has been ongoing since early January 2014 but has not yet achieved the proper resolution. On 30th May, 2014, the arrested were released but the court hasn’t dropped the charges against them (convicted with suspended sentences) and many other problems have not yet been addressed. Meanwhile, the minimum wage issue is still the main topic of demonstrations.
We work hard every day to create huge profits for our employers and yet still do not have
enough to feed our families and meet our basic needs. The government and employers said that in October they will officially announce the amount of the minimum wage increase to be implemented in January 2015. We have been waiting a long time for a minimum wage increase and justice for our colleagues who lost their lives.
We therefore call for solidarity from workers, unionists, concerned citizens, and civil organizations around the world to join us in an escalated national and international campaign to push the buyers to do a real intervention to end worker exploitation during the negotiation period from now until October, 2014 and in the future. The buyers must negotiate with unions, mandate an increased wage of $177, reflect this increase in their prices, and make a long-term commitment to sourcing from Cambodia in factories where labour rights are
respected. Please join us for a national and international day of action on 17th Sept, 2014 to demand justice from some of the influential buyers and suppliers in Cambodia, especially: H&M, Gap, Adidas, Inditex, Levis, C&A, WalMart and Puma.
We need $177! Decent Work, Decent Wage!

Phnom Penh, 27th August, 2014
NTUC - WFUF - CUMW - CFSWF - NIFTUC - CCFC - CYN - C.CAWDU - TUFW - IDYTU - CATU

Minimum Wage is our Right - article by NDWM India

In the south of India, in the Gandhipuram area of Pudur–Madurai, there are around 900 families, mostly unorganized workers, such as flower vendors, construction workers, tailors and approximately 200 Domestic workers. Domestic Workers in this area work two to five houses a day. They are underpaid; some of them only receive old clothes or stale food as wages.

In 2003, NDWM-Tamilnadu initiated an empowerment process of Domestic Workers and they started organizing themselves in a Union. These members register and participate in monthly meetings, where they are learn about their rights and collective bargaining. As a result, in 2004, when the bonus for the Depavalli festival was denied to five of them, the Union representatives negotiated with the employers and ensured these workers did receive their bonus. Elected leaders participate in district and state level training and strengthen the Union by ensuring that other Domestic Workers in their area join in union.

My mission to India in images

A mix of field visits, mostly in Tamil Nadu took place, combined with the meetings at the head offices of each PO (Karur: AREDS, Chennai: YCW India and CWM, Mumbai: NDWM, Delhi: CFTUI). During the visit, a three day synergy meeting was also scheduled, including a one day training for five members of all PO. At the end of with each PO, impressions were also shared and discussed with the leaders of the organisation.
Also two meetings with Belgian diplomatic representation took place in Chennai (Consulate) and Delhi (Embassy: Nepali and Bangladesh officers).

Logistics and travel arrangements were perfectly arranged by the south coordinator, Miss Francina Varghese. All partners went out of their way to arrange meetings, interaction with beneficiaries and ceremonies. Over forty videos and testimonies, mostly from beneficiaries regarding impact were also documented, to be shared on Youtube and this blog.
The map of my visit can be found here.
Some pictures and highlights of the trip: