Short movie on trafficking by NDWM

AHAANA, a short film on Anti-trafficking produced by NDWM:

The earthquake in Nepal

A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck close to Nepal's capital Kathmandu on 25 Apr 2015, toppling office blocks, temples, towers and killing thousands of people. More than two dozen people were also reported killed in neighbouring India, China and Bangladesh.

As of 29 Apr, the Government of Nepal reported 5,006 deaths and 10,194 injured people. It is estimated that 2.8 million people have been displaced, as over 70,000 are believed to be destroyed and another 530,000 homes damaged across the 39 affected districts.

The WSM partners in Nepal, NTUC and GEFONT, two trade unions with a combined membership of over 700.000 people, are currently focusing on helping out. Bishnu Rimal from GEFONT spoke in Equal Times on the situation and priorities. GEFONT also launched an appeal for solidarity.

WSM has expressed their deep sympathies and offers to support them through their existing solidarity funds, which will be used to assist members, by paying for medical bills and reconstruction of houses from members. The appeal to the Belgian public and members can be found here in French and here in Dutch. I've also been trying to relay realities on the field through Belgian media, emphasizing how the first and most important help is achieved by the solidarity of Nepalis here, in all kinds of ways and from all strays of life, rather than the international support, which takes time to mobilize and arrive. Communication remains extremely difficult, so it is hard to update and share specific information during these confusing times. The less fortunate focus on surviving and rebuilding, the more fortunate on finding ways to help out...

Of course, this tragic event will also affect the WSM programme. The WSM meeting of all Asia partners, which had already been postponed once because of the Turkish Airlines crash which blocked the Kathmandu airport for several days, will now again be postponed till September. A delegation from ACV-CSC and WSM will still come 10th of May however to meet with the partner leaders and asses the situation and how best to help.

For updates on the personal experiences and efforts of helping out, as I am based in Kathmandu as the WSM Asia Coordinator, you can read my personal blog here. 

Director-General ILO speaks about many issues at Belgian ACV-CSC Congress

Some extracts from the speech given by Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Ostend, Belgium, 24 April 2015

Indeed Belgium is a country with one of the highest trade union density rates in the world, not an accident but due in no small part to the hard work that this Confederation and the rest of the Belgian trade union movement has done for a very long time.  So let me start by recognizing and commending you for those achievements. 

The fact that union membership is so strong in Belgium attests to unions’ effectiveness in representing workers’ interests and to the range of work you do for all types of workers – for manual and for white collar workers; for young workers and old workers; women and men; and also for the inclusion that you bring, helping migrant workers and the children and grandchildren of migrant workers in your efforts.

Here is the point: what trade unions do is good not only for your members and for workers but good for the whole of Belgian society, its coherence and its fairness.  Some don’t want to understand that, and don’t want to recognize that, but it is true. 

[...]

Want to buy a cheap T-shirt for 2EUR and get more than what you expect?

Dresses for as little as $10, designer bags for under $25. Today, you can buy a trendy new outfit on the cheap. "People want fashion for a bargain," Fashion Revolution explains in its new video social experiment. The nonprofit placed a vending machine in the streets of Berlin and offered people a T-shirt for as little as €2 (or approximately $2.19). That's less than the average price of a cup of coffee.

Who could resist an offer like that, right? Watch the video to see why the passersby opted not to make the purchase.


The nonprofit created the video for April 24's Fashion Revolution Day, an annual event that remembers the 2013 collapse of Rana Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Over 1000 people working in the garment factory were killed while producing clothing for brands such as J.C. Penney, Benetton, Walmart and others in suspect conditions.

"We’re not asking people to boycott their favorite stores, we need to change the fashion industry from within by asking the brands and retailers where we like to shop 'Who made my clothes?'" Fashion Revolution Day founder Carry Somers told Marie Claire. "Consumers didn't cause this problem, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be part of the solution," she added.

Fashion Revolution is encouraging people to take a stand and show fashion brands they need to start taking responsibility for their actions. To learn more, follow the #fashrev hashtag on social media.

H&M maakt beloftes niet waar

Vandaag, 16 april, organiseert H&M de “H&M Conscious exclusive night 2015”. Tijdens het exclusieve evenement wil H&M de ‘Conscious collectie’ tonen en ‘de toekomst van de duurzame mode vieren’. H&M promoot zichzelf graag als absolute voorloper op het vak van ecologisch en ethisch verantwoorde kledij. Op ethisch vlak blijft het echter vooral bij beloftes.

In 2013 publiceerde H&M zijn routekaart naar een leef­baar loon. De Zweedse kledingreus heeft zich geëngageerd om 850.000 kledingarbeiders een 'eer­lijk leefbaar loon' te betalen tegen 2018. Het pas gelanceerde duurzaamheidsrapport van H&M kan geen cijfers voorleggen die bewijzen dat de Zweedse gigant reële vooruitgang heeft geboekt op dat vlak. 

Ce soir sur Questions à la Une: Les fringues auront-elles notre peau?

Mes chers amis en Belgique, envie de (re)voir ma tête et d'en apprendre un petit peu plus mon boulot et ce qui se passe dans les coulisses des grandes marques de vêtements?
Ce soir à 20h25 sur la Une, l'émission "Questions à la Une" se penche sur la toxicité de nos vêtements! Une partie de l'émission a été tournée au Bangladesh avec... moi-même, comme coopérant de Solidarité Mondiale en Asie du Sud.

GK ou "People's Health Center", notre partenaire au Bangladesh, offre des soins de santé aux travailleurs/ses du textile et nous éclaire comment les produits qui nous donnent des allergies en Belgique, provoquent des cancers là-bas...
Voir toute l'émission, vu par un belge francophone sur cinq devant sa télé ce soir, ici.

Update 29/9/2015: Koppen, die eerder al een reportage deed rond Made in Bangladesh, nam deze documentaire over en is hier te bezien.

Some preliminary results from 2014

This is the time of the year where WSM has to focus on reporting. All partner organisations write their annual report and I'm currently very busy going through it, compiling it and adding our own information.

Though quite exhausting, it is motivating to get a bigger picture of all our partners and us are working on, so in a couple of posts on this blog, I want to share certain elements. For this first post, a bit of an overview:
Overall, the implementation of the programme seems to be on track for the zone countries of India, Nepal and Bangladesh during 2014, despite a somewhat slow start. The changes in context have not made work easier, with the election of a right-winged, liberal government in India and strikes in all three countries. Nepal is still in transition, with hopefully legislation which the WSM partners lobbied for to come through in the near future. No major risks occurred but the risk management system was fine-tuned and updated.

With regards to obtaining the indicators for 2014, the following was achieved:
For category 1, the services provided regarding the right to social protection (Legal Aid, Vocational Training, Social Economy, Social Security, Health Care and the Common Services), partners reported going past the set output indicators for 2014 by 37%, benefiting over 400.000 people in the three zone countries. With 43% of the overall goal for the 2014-2016 programme reached, WSM is optimistic about achieving the set indicators.
The joint political actions of category 2 also seem well on their way, with a study done in each country and a specific methodology developed by WSM which was used to facilitate drafting political agendas. In India, while research is ongoing to learn more about decent living income in the informal sector, some lobbying took place to advocate for the ratification by India of the ILO convention 189 regarding domestic workers and to put in place national legislation for domestic workers. Nepal is worth mentioning, since, besides the work done to promote Occupational Health and Safety for employees, partners are attempting to take advantage of the current transition phase to push through important legislative tools regarding social protection (the chapter on labour rights in the draft constitution, a social security act and amendments to the Labour Act). It is however slower to take off in Bangladesh, where both the differences between the WSM two local partners (one NGO focusing on health and another a garment trade union) as well as the volatile political situation render advocacy harder.

The category 3, capacity strengthening, is satisfying but still has new structures and approaches that need fine-tuning and closer follow up by WSM. The Steering Committee which is new in this programme is functioning but has had little concrete impact so far. The methodology for capacity strengthening has been introduced to all partners of the zone countries. Regarding the north-south exchanges, much attention still went to the clean clothes issues, regarding the working conditions in the garment industry and lobbying towards consumers and retailers in Belgium. The south-south exchanges need to be promoted and systematized better. WSM has supported certain of the international political action of the partners in the SAARC region. The majority of the partners managed to do adequate reporting, despite some delays and challenges. The follow-up done by WSM is well in place, though the tool for the continuous monitoring of the capacities of the partner organisations needs to be improved. 

But together, we're clearly having an impact. Union is strength!

Urge the Indian government to fix Minimum Wages for Domestic Workers

The National Domestic Workers Movement, the WSM partner in India, has launched a petition for the cause of the domestic workers, so they would be under the Schedule and the Minimum Wages Act of 1948, because currently they are denied Minimum wages, which is their right as worker.

Take Middu for example, a domestic worker from Savitri Nagar, Delhi. She goes to work as a part time domestic worker in 12 houses and she earns Rs. 12,000 or 177Euro per month, working 11 to 12 hours per day. Is she not denied of her rights of Just Wages?

Join us in signing this petition calling on Delhi government to fix minimum wages for domestic workers. Sign our petition and forward it to your friends and family to bring the change in the lives of domestic workers. Please sign the petition and share on change.org here!

When street vendors, domestic workers and construction people look at how to include the informal workers in social security in Nepal

This meeting took place as part of the synergy political action by the two WSM partners, GEFONT and NTUC, two main trade unions in Nepal, and was organized through ITUC-NAC. It followed on a study done by M Ramesh Badal in August 2014 regarding the existing social security systems in Nepal, analyzed through the ILC 102, which had already been shared with the partners in September. The current meeting meant to go beyond these findings and examine to which extent the informal economy could be included in the social security systems which are currently being established. 

The situation in Nepal regarding the political action synergy and roadmap methodology is indeed atypical, in the sense that the existing social protection schemes are already under revision and that trade unions have already advanced quite far in their positions and demands on these matters, which have been presented and negotiated to a large extent with both State and employers. Hence, the WSM support is meant to contribute to the already existing dynamic and strategic choices of the partners, rather than start from scratch. 

During the preparatory meetings, both partners had expressed an interest in ways and systems to include the informal workers in the schemes that were being established. Questions that were still unanswered were how to distinguish between the self-employed informal workers: independent or dependent, which amount and providence of contributions for them, how to ensure proper implementation… 

The objective of this meeting was hence to gather representatives from four informal sectors (construction, agriculture, domestic and home based workers and street vendors) and have them brainstorm across the three trade unions on potential ways of answering these issues in their sector.

Call for Paper for labour researchers

Asian Labour Review is prepared to provide a forum for a new generation of labour researchers who are willing to work with ground movements and be part of it. We are pleased to offer an outlet to make a stronger network of new generation academics and activists working on Asian labour.

The editors of Asian Labour Review welcome submissions of paper from those who work for different research institutions, universities, development agencies, NGOs and think-thanks, and trade unions, but also from individual researchers in national and international labour and solidarity movements, international campaigning and private-led development initiatives on labour standards. For the first issue, papers must be received by 15 August 2015. Papers should be emailed to ALR editors at editor@asianlabourreview.org.

More info here.

Benetton to join fund for Rana Plaza victims

The Times, The Guardian and Reuters reported this weekend a great news! Our petitioning and pressure worked! Benetton has released a statement agreeing to contribute to a compensation fund for victims of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh nearly two years after the disaster in which 1,100 people died.

In a statement on Friday, Benetton said it was working with "an independent and globally recognized third party" to work out a "fair and proportionate" compensation.

The move by the Italian fashion brand comes after more than 1 million people signed a petition on the campaigning site Avaaz in less than a fortnight calling on it to pay up. Dalia Hashad, Avaaz campaign director, said: “This is a victory for everyone around the world who wants to ensure our clothing never again costs lives. We’re hopeful Benetton will make a significant contribution so the families of Rana Plaza workers aren’t left high and dry.”

It said it would announce how much it would pay into the fund before April 24, which will mark the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza's collapse.

Avaaz Campaign Director Dalia Hashad

"We're hopeful Benetton will make a significant contribution so the families of Rana Plaza workers aren't left high and dry," Avaaz campaign director Dalia Hashad said.

The Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, chaired by the United Nations' International Labor Organisation (ILO), said on its website that it needed an overall $40 million to cover claims from victims and survivors.

The fund still needs $9 million to reach that amount.

"Honestly speaking I think a fair amount for Benetton would be the 9 million," Avaaz spokesman Daniel Boese told Reuters.

Are we moving towards an informal, undressed economy?

Today the MO* published an article of mine as worldblogger, regarding the informal economy and the work some of our partners are doing in this field in South Asia. Here the English translation:

This article is about something I personally think of as one of the biggest challenges currently on the labor market, one that is visible at the global level, but which can be witnessed locally everywhere: how increasingly, work is done informally, how jobs get less suited up or taken away the warm clothes, how labour is being undressed progressively, sometimes to just an illusion, to the shameful nakedness of the emperor.

Speaking of clothes, let’s look at a clothing factory that shuts down here in South Asia. Because of the crisis, or for some other reason. All of the workers are laid off. But they can continue to deliver to the manufacturer, but must work from home. They are explained that they get paid per piece made, and can choose their own hours. No supervision, organize yourselves, no transport costs anymore, working from home, sounds nice, no? The koolies carry bales of cotton from the supplier to their houses and the processed fabrics back. They also get paid, per trip. Let’s say one of the women starts her own seamstress shop, next to her household duties. A daily worker, still dusty from work in the fields, asks her to make him a sari for his fiancée, to be part of the dowry. That fiancé works, in addition to the vegetable garden of which she sells half the produce, as a domestic worker for five families. She cleans the house and makes the food, and each family pays her a different amount, according to the tasks they are doing there.

Eight out of ten people in South Asia work in this kind of jobs, placed under the vague banner of the informal economy. South Asia is the region with the highest percentage of people who work in the informal economy. In Nepal for example, these informal jobs account for 40% of the GDP. It is usually work without a clear wage, regulations or status. Some see it as the solution for the ‘south’: no bureaucracy or strict measures, but free market, no curbing of the creativity of the people. But trade unions do see structural problems: workers without identification, no written contract of employment, no certainty when the next income will arrive, no guaranteed safe working conditions or coverage in case of work related accidents, unlimited hours, workers who are excluded from social security systems and have no protection by collective bargaining agreements or access to unions that defend their interests. Often, they are relatively unskilled workers, who work long hours for low wages and contribute relatively little to the national production (though they are essential for the running of the economy). It reduces labour to the bare minimum, work outside of a framework or any regulations.

Are these people employed or self-employed? When can it be considered as an employment contract (whether oral or written), and hence are the labour legislation and international conventions applicable or not? Is there a link of subordination, who is responsible for what?

Some feel this question might only seem relevant for the 'south', but less for western economies and societies? When talking about informal economy in Europe, many seem to think undocumented migrant workers. Yet informal economy is present in the west on a larger scale than we think. Belgians for instance are notorious for undeclared or ‘black’ work. For the EU, this shadow economy is estimated to be between 7 and 16% of GDP, Belgium around 15%. For the EU, this means between 10 and 28 million full-time jobs. Consider also the introduction in 2014 of the so-called "black box", which registers all manipulations of a cash register used in bars and cafes, and we can imagine why it provoked such a wave of protest? And the apparently very sympathetic system, über, by which anyone with a smartphone can become a taxi driver, also a form of informal economy?

Let me provide some possible answers on challenges from South Asia before turning to other questions still unresolved. The Indian trade union CFTUI, a partner of World Solidarity (WSM), tries to involve the informal economy in their union work. Because informal employers are often not willing or able to provide certificate attesting that a person is exercising a given profession, and therefore can enroll to specific rates for social security schemes, the Indian state, after consultation with the social partners, accepted that unions could deliver such a certificate. This leads to a win-win-win: the social security system gets more contributions and therefore can offer a wider protection, the union gets more members and can better defend their interests and the employee, despite his/her lack of status, still gets access to health insurances or pension schemes.

In Nepal, the two largest trade unions, GEFONT and NTUC, both partners of World Solidarity (WSM), provide vocational training and education to home based workers. This involves for example, knitting sweaters and hats, or shops as tailors. They organize these workers into groups by region or district. Hence, to avoid competition, hairdressers of the capital Kathmandu agreed on certain rates to be used, or that no new hairdresser was to open in a radius of 150m of an existing salon.

However, there remain problems: these people act and think often as self-employed, and the entire trade union work or training on labor rights holds little appeal to them. They often have family members help them in the business or hire other people to help them. Sometimes I wonder whether the union is then not starting to function as a guild, which defends the interests of a particular 'craft', but which lacks the collective working, labour rights ideology. Or is this a necessary evil to contribute to formalizing the informal economy?

Another question currently arising is regarding the social security fund which is under construction in Nepal. Employees would contribute 11% of their wages, employers 20+ 11% and the state would manage the system. This of course raises the question for the informal workers: who will contribute for them? The answer might depend per sector: for example, in the construction sector, with many informal workers, one might increase the building permit by 20% and use those funds to cover all employees against work accidents.

These are all steps which can offer a better status and protection to workers. And the International Labour Organisation (ILO) also focuses on this issue, which is going to be the hot item during the upcoming ILO conventions, with the aim of formulating a recommendation on the informal economy to all member states. Let's see if we can get that creature dressed...

Also in Nepal, they say: Hands off our right to strike!

18 February 2015 has been designated by the ITUC General Council as a global day of action (link) in defense of the right to strike, which is under attack by an employer groups at the ILO. The Nepali Trade Unions which are affiliated to the ITUC, GEFONT, NTUC and ANTUC have jointly organized a debriefing programme with mass-media today, to highlight this Action Day. 

The 18Feb logo which had been translated into Nepali was unveiled:

GEFONT president, Bishnu Rimal, who presided the function, answered questions from journalists and media. He stated: "We are in the final stages of the constitution drafting. The draft of Nepali Statute includes the right to strike as a fundamental right of the citizens. If the employers group becomes successful in the ILO process, pressure will be mounted here to erase this right from our constitution."

They distributed the ITUC newsletter (Hands off our rights to strike, January 9) in Nepali: "Throughout history, when employers and governments have refused dialogue and negotiation and instead imposed their will, workers have taken steps and faced the risks of withdrawing their labour. That will not change. Workers will continue to take strike action when they have to – but the employer agenda would make them criminals. If ILO conventions are weakened then workers’ hope will diminish. The right to strike is most necessary for the workers working in most precarious conditions and appalling workplaces" reads the letter.

Hon'able member of Constituent Assembly Cde Binod Shrestha and Cde Pemba Lama were present, as well as GEFONT Secretary General Bishnu Lamsal, along with Vice Presidents, secretaries and key leaders of GEFONT affiliates.

More on this activity here on GEFONT's website.

328 trade union confederations of 162 countries with total membership of 176 million are represented in ITUC. 

Some achievements from CFTUI in India

The Confederation of Free Trade Unions of India (CFTUI), a trade union partner of WSM, efforts to provide the Tripura’s home guards with more rights have paid off and wins the social elections at VIZAG Steel jointly with INTUC.

CFTUI is now organizing the Tripura Home guard association under the leadership of CFTUI’s working president, Ajay Biswas, who has served three times in the past as a Member of the Parliament. So far, there were no provisions of Dearness Allowance (DA), a cost of living adjustment allowance paid to Government and Public sector employees as well as pensioners in India, nor expectations for salaries increase for the Tripura’s home guards as they only perceived fixed allowances. But thanks to a continuous struggle made of sit-ins, demonstrations and even hunger strikes, CFTUI was able to provide DA and wage increases to the Home guards. Moreover, they were included in the pay commission, which is a rare achievement.

Meanwhile, the 2nd demand, to provide pension to retired Home guards, was finally accepted by the government of Tripura as well, who will provide Rs750/per month (10,5€) pension for each retired home guard. Hence, Tripura is the only state that is providing pension to retired home guards and this is thanks to the unwavering determination of the workers and CFTUI.

Copyright: Scoopnest: visit of Congress VP Rahul Gandhi who interacted with the employees there

CFTUI’s victory did not come alone: forming a coalition with the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) affiliated union, the CFTUI affiliated union, United steel employees union, has won the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (popularly known as VIZAG STEEL) secret ballet election. The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is employing more than 12.000 workers, the first Shore based Integrated steel plant of the country and the largest single site plant in India and south and east Asia combined. In addition to this formal work force, there are more than 20,000 as informal workforce, which CFTUI is organising under the name of Steel City Contract Labour Union.