News

It’s time for a Breakthrough at the G20

Nagasaki. As the leaders of the world’s biggest economies are gathering in Seoul, about 2000 trade union leaders are next door in Nagasaki, Japan, at the UNI Global Union World Congress, coming up with a plan to change the rules of the game and bring justice, respect and dignity back into the global workplace. With a truly global labour market, UNI’s unions are making a new call to action to fight injustice and fight for the rights of all workers to have fair pay, good conditions and respect at work. They will demand that their governments also enact and enforce legal protection for worker and union rights. “The world’s leaders in Seoul this week need to know that they are being watched. This is the time for firm and decisive action to get the world working again,” said Philip Jennings, UNI General Secretary. “The world is changing and workers are getting a smaller and smaller piece of the pie.” To win that piece of the pie, UNI has a new plan as a global union to “Break Through” to grow UNI, grow unions, grow worker power and change the rules of the game. “Our Breaking Through Plan is built on the fact that when we can organise, when we negotiate, we improve the lives of workers,” Jennings said. “It challenges elites, global institutions – from the G20 and IMF to the WTO – to give us a seat at the table. No workers’ voice? Then no legitimacy. No workers’ voice? Then no mandate for change.” Read More>>>

For more information on the UNI World Congress:

http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Blogs/Nagasaki.nsf/



Dilma Rousseff’s great electoral victory in Brazil

Brasilia. Dilma Rousseff, candidate for the Worker’s Party, PT, and former President Lula Da Silva’s Chief State Minister of the Civil Cabinet, received more than 54% of the votes in runoff election held on Sunday, October 31^st in Brazil. UNI Americas extends its greetings to Brazilian people for this flawless civic demonstration, and congratulates all men and women who have made it possible for a woman to ever become President of the Republic for the first time in Brazilian political history. UNI Americas also greets and recognises the great effort of all the workers and unions that supported this 62-year-old economist from the beginning. Dilma Rouseff and PT’s victory is Lula’s victory; the triumph of his social policy and his unquestionable regional and global leadership.

Contact: raul.requena@uniglobalunion.org



UNI at 3^rd Union Self- Reform Working Group Meeting

Lima. The 3^rd Technical Meeting of the Union Self-Reform Working Group (GTAS) was carried out with the support of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) in the City of Lima on October 28^th and 29^th, 2010, with the aim of exchanging experiences on the advances and difficulties of self-reform processes and the perspective assessment of strategic priorities stated during the GTAS II and approved by the TUCA Executive Committee. Read More>>>

Contact: alberto.barrow@uniglobalunion.org



Building Union Power and Framework Agreements in Caribbean Finance MNC

Kingston. RBTT/ RBC, again Canadian owned and extra-regionally managed, is not respecting the basic Trade Union Rights of the workers employed at the Bank. The Bank continuously resists efforts made by the UNI Caribbean Trade Unions to meet and treat at the Regional level to discuss the concerns of the workers and how the regional plans and outlook for the Bank can affect the workers job security, future and livelihood. Further, many of the Banks policy decisions and structural changes are being unilaterally imposed in ways that directly affect the terms and conditions of work of Union members without engaging in the required levels of meaningful consultation with the Trade Unions as worker- representatives. Caribbean Unions will no longer tolerate this behavior by the Banks of this region. Read More>>>

Contact: marcio.monzane@uniglobalunion.org



First Bulletin from UNI americas Wal-Mart Workers Alliance

The bulletin you hold in your hands is intended to introduce you to the newly created UNI Americas Wal-Mart Workers Alliance. In it you will find stories about the struggle of workers employed by Wal-Mart in five nations: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile and the United States of America. In South America, these workers are fortunate enough to have union representation, but North American workers have long struggled to form a union Wal-Mart will recognize. As you read through the stories, you should begin to see that there is much that unites Wal-Mart workers, no matter where they work. Read Bulletin>>>

Contact: marcio.monzane@uniglobalunion.org



Assault against union leader’s house in Quilmes, Argentina

Quilmes. UNI Graphical and Packaging publicly denounces and strongly repudiates the threats made against colleague Walter Regañez, member of the internal commission of the Kimberly Clark Union in Quilmes, Argentina. After being repeatedly threatened, fire-raising was committed against his house on October 26^th at 14:00 hours, ten minutes before starting an assembly. UNI Graphical and Packaging immediately contacted the company so that UNI Graphical and Packaging Management Committee, together with Kimberly Clark should make all the efforts to clarify the serious and shameful events. Read More>>>

Contact: marvin.largaespada@uniglobalunion.org



Colombia: UNI americas participates in meeting on projects with FNV

Bogota. An important meeting between representatives of the Dutch funding organisation and the Global Union Federations, aimed at knowing the impact of the projects and the current situation of the local union development, took place in Bogotá between October 30^th and November 3^rd, 2010. Peter Gortzak, General Secretary of the FNV Mondiaal from Holland, Robert Petri Director of the Dutch Ministry of International Cooperation; Tjalling Postma, FNV Mondiaal Advisor, and the Ecuadorian consultant Patricio Sambonino, participated in the event. Apart from them, the ICEM, PSI, IUF, UNI, UITBB, ITF, the National Union School of Union Studies’ Educational Centre and the CUT also attended the meeting. A meeting was also celebrated with the Coordinating Executive Committee of the “Programa País” (Country Program), whose objective was to study the integration of GUFs to the Programme and the results these federations expect to achieve at the end of the projects, in the next two years. Read More>>>

Contact: leonor.sierra@uniglobalunion.org



Press release from ANEEAH Honduras to Health Authorities

Tegucigalpa. The Management Committee of the National Association of Nurse Auxiliaries of Honduras (ANEEAH) announces that due to the unfulfilment of our union’s requirements on the part of government’s authorities and the Secretary of Health, we are forced to take the following measures to protect the highest interests of the workers we represent:

1. To start informative assemblies at the national level demands are not respected:

a. Creation of structures for new job positions in 2010.

b. Salary increase and collateral benefits for 2010.

c. Opening paid internship vacancies.

d. Budget for the payment of 80 internships for 2011.

e. Budget for the creation of 300 positions for Nurse Auxiliaries in 2011.

f. Recovery of 110 job positions for Nurse Auxiliaries.

g. A favourable ruling on the part of the Secretary of Health in favour of the Nurse Technician.

h. Payment of debts from previous years.

2. In case of not obtaining a specific response, we will immediately move into a higher stage of pressure. Read More>>>

ANEEAH Management Committee aneeah_12@yahoo.es

Contact: jose.molina@uniglobalunion.org



Chilean FASA workers put an end to their 32-day strike

Santiago de Chile. Workers of Farmacias Ahumada S.A. (Ahumada Pharmacies) put an end to the strike, which lasted 32 days, after reaching an agreement with the company this Friday at the dialogue table promoted by the Direction of Labour.

According to Fidel Leiva, union leader from Union N⁰ 2, although the workers were not satisfied with the agreement, they decided to put an end to the strike in order to get back to their job positions, as a result of the distressing situation generated by the lack of salary payment they were facing. UNI Americas greets these strong workers who had to struggle hard for their legitimate demands, in a situation of almost complete abandonment of mass media, especially audiovisual and written media, which did not inform about the conflict, Read More>>>

Source: Cooperativa.cl

Contact: marcio.monzane@uniglobalunion.org



Women union leaders in Japan to discuss future of women in workforce

Nagasaki. About five hundred women trade union leaders from around the world came together in Nagasaki, Japan, this weekend at the UNI Global Union World Women’s Conference to demand that multinationals create good jobs and decent work for women workers and end the race to the bottom for all workers as they cut staff and attack union rights. The conference participants, who represent 182 unions from 66 countries, also demanded governments around the world focus on creating jobs and protecting the rights of women workers. Women have been hit hard by the economic crisis and UNI is appealing to the G20 to tackle the issue. Read More>>>

Contact: briceida.gonzalez@uniglobalunion.org



Panama President: “We are privatising the Postal Services”

Panama City. The privatisation of Postal and Telegraph Services of Panama (COTEL) is on the Government’s agenda. During the last week, Ricardo Martinelli, President of the Republic, announced the measure in America Economía, a magazine with 90 thousand subscribers in Latin America. “We have an inefficient Post-Office System. One of the things we must devote ourselves to do is to fix the Postal System. In fact, we must think of privatising the Postal Services”, declared the Head of State. “We have the worst officers working there, we have underpaid and unmotivated employees”, he added. However, it seems contradictory that at the beginning of his activities (July 29^th, 2009) the ex Director of COTEL, Eberto Cedeño, asserted that the company would not be privatised. “The Postal service has a social duty to fulfil with 123 Post Offices throughout the country”, he maintained at that moment. Read More>>>

Contact: cenise.monteiro@uniglobalunion.org



Gas Natural-Fenosa: a company violating minimum wage laws in Nicaragua

Managua. The Confederation of Workers of Energy of Nicaragua, COTRAENIC, active counterpart of the Union Observatory Project, publicly denounces that after almost a year of tenacious and silent struggle at the international level, most of the workers of Gas Natural Fenosa, known in Nicaragua by the trade name DISNORTE-DISSUR, do not perceive the minimum wage established by law for the electricity sector. Not complying with the minimum wage regulations is really grave anywhere in the world. In the case of Nicaragua, we can certainly assert that the situation is deeply serious. The International Monetary Fund and other International Credit Agencies classify Nicaragua as the country with the lowest GDP per capita in the Western Hemisphere, only outranked by Haiti.

Source: Observatorio Sindical, Convenio UNI-ISCOD-UGT



Global Forum: Unions demand migrant workers' rights to be respected

Puerto Vallarta, México. A union delegation participated in the GFMD "Civil Society Days" before the inter-governmental meeting to advocate for migrant workers' rights. The Global Unions expressed their concerns regarding the current situation of migrant workers in most countries, although some progress has been done during the last year, and insisted on the urgent need for a " rights-based approach to migration, along with more effective action to combat racism and discrimination". For more information on the event and the Global Unions interventions please go to:

http://www.ituc-csi.org/unions-demand-rights-for-migrant.html

To read the Global Unions joint statement please click on "Related files"



Lobby for Regional Office relocation

Uruguay. On November 15^th and 16^th Raul Requena, Regional Secretary of UNI americas and Mario Sanchez, Communications Secretary, made a brief visit to Montevideo with the aim of gathering more background information about a prospective relocation of the Regional Office to that city. With the support of Hector Castellanos, Secretary of International Relations of FUECYS, very interesting and informative interviews were carried out with Ariel Ferrari, Director of the Institute of Social Security (BPS), Federico Gomensoro, officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Robén Darío López, lawyer from S&L, a law firm with a large experience in these kinds of proceedings. Read More>>>

Contact: raul.requena@uniglobalunion.org - mario.sanchez@uniglobalunion.org



UNI americas in dialogue with CAT-Chile

Santiago of Chile. Raul Requena, Regional Secretary of UNI americas and Mario Sanchez, Communications Secretary, participated at the Opening Session of the Chilean Autonomous Central of Workers’ National Organisations Council-CAT. The event took place at the Circulo Español in Santiago City on November 17^th,, it was attended bymore than 100 people and counted with the presence of the Chilean Minister and Sub-Secretary of Labour, and the Labour Director, apart from union and political figures like Héctor Castellanos, Technical Secretary of the Coordinator of the Trade Union Centrals of the Southern Cone. Requena emphasized the importance UNI assigns to the struggle against poverty, social dialogue and the processes of economic integration, in relation to union and labour rights and global framework agreements with multinationals. Read More>>>

Contact: raul.requena@uniglobalunion.org



Colombia: SINTRATELMEX starts negotiation of list of demands

Bogota. Mauricio Martínez Acuña, Jorge Díaz Romero, Yuly Higuera Nieto, Jairo Andrés Muñoz Barbosa and Yerimen Iván Bonilla integrate Telmex Workers’ Union (SINTRATELMEX) Negotiating Committee; Gabriel Pérez Puentes is advisor in representation of the CGT, and Leonor C. Sierra Acosta represents UNI americas, as well as union advisor Angel Santamaría. The list of demands considers the following subjects, among others: union guarantees and regulatory and administrative rights in relation to collective bargaining, social and economic demands. Two sessions have been carried out so far, in which the Negotiating and Advisory Committee extensively supported each of the presented issues. The company, for its part, committed to study the demands and provide an answer during the meetings programmed to take place on November 28^th and December 1^st, 2010. Read More>>>

Contact: leonor.sierra@uniglobalunion.org - cenise.monteiro@uniglobalunion.org



ASECOTEL opposes postal privatisation - Panama

Panama City. As a result of the recent Panama’s President statements, announcing the privatisation of the Postal and Telegraph Services, COTEL, the Association of Employees, ASECOTEL, through its President, colleague Ismael Ruiz, summoned postal workers to an Extraordinary General Assembly to define a union strategy to face the impending privatisation. The President of the Association has pointed out and repeatedly stated from the moment the new government took office, that COTEL would be the first public company to suffer staff cutbacks through a massive dismissal plan, which was stopped exclusively by the actions of international solidarity promoted by UNI americas. Read More>>>

Contact: cenise.monteiro@uniglobalunion.org



New Commerce Union created in Colombia

Bogota. On October 27^th, 2010, after overcoming multiple social, political and legal problems existing in Colombia to exercise the right to free association, an important number of workers of the National Federation of Commerce Workers from the Bogota Section – FENALCO, achieved the creation of their union organisation. The affiliation to the Unitary Central of Workers (CUT) at the National level, and to UNI at the international level, was approved unanimously. The Management Committee is integrated by 10 workers, 7 of which are women. Read More>>>

Contact: leonor.sierra@uniglobalunion.org marcio.monzane@uniglobalunion.org



Colombian Trade Union Centrals hold new meeting with President Santos

Bogota. The bill on generation and formalisation of employment currently pending before Congress, the defence of parafiscal benefits, the elimination of Associated Work Cooperatives as labour intermediaries, and the critical condition of the health care system, are some of the subjects the union leaders shall present to the Head of State. However, and according to statements made by Domingo Tovar, General Secretary of the CUT, to ENS Information Agency, this organisation has not yet defined its attendance to the meeting with the President; the Cut’s Executive Committee will hold a meeting to analyse the decision.

Labour Information Agency ENS: informacionlaboral@ens.org.co



Colombia: UNI americas in VI Working Women’s National Forum – ANEBRE

Bogota. With the attendance of workers from the Bank of the Republic of Bogota and other branches, the event was developed with the participants’ debate over subjects like outsourcing, decent work and the representation of female workers in decision- making bodies of ANEBRE. The event was coordinated by Yenny Montaño, the only woman in the current Management Committee of ANEBRE and member of the Executive Committee of Fenasinbancol, Federation of Bank Unions, in coordination with ANEBRE’s Women’s Committee. Colleague Wilmar Jiménez, Vice-president of ANEBRE attended the meeting, as well as colleague Yuly Villadiego from the CUT Cundinamarca and the representative of the Bogota Municipality’s Public Policy Office of Gender Equality. Read More>>>

Contact: leonor.sierra@uniglobalunion.org briceida.gonzalez@uniglobalunion.org



Public Demonstration in Finance Sector in Argentina

Buenos Aires. The argentinian finance union, Asociación Bancaria is going through public demonstrations and rallys demanding tax reduction for workers, urgent finantial reform and better pensions for workers. Yesterday, thousands of banking workers from all over the country marched through Buenos Aires city downtown towards the national Congress building demanding a finantial reform and other demands. The finance union is preparing to get into negotiations with the whole sector and specifically with multinational banks. Read More>>>

Contact: marcio.monzane@uniglobalunion.org



UNI americas Gamming Sector Electronic Bulletin

It is a pleasure for us to inform you that the 22^th edition of the Electronic UNI americas Gamming Bulletin, November 2010, is available. Link>>>



Contribution

We thank our readers for sending their comments, suggestions and collaborations to the editorship of UNI americas info, through E-mail mario.sanchez@uniglobalunion.org; Fax (507) 317-0170, and/or by mail, to: Apartado Postal 0819-06290, El Dorado, Panamá, República de Panamá.