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The UNI Global Union Breaking Through Awards are in recognition of outstanding organizing success by a UNI affiliate to meet the organizing objectives of the UNI Global Union Breaking Through strategy.

The Awards are presented annually at a ceremony organized either at the UNI World Congress in Congress years or at the World Executive Board meeting in non Congress years.

The first UNI Global Union Breaking Through Awards were presented during the UNI World Congress in Nagasaki in November 2010.
 

Winners of the 2012 UNI Global Union Breaking Through Awards

The UNI-Nigeria Liaison Council (UNI NLC) for their work in increasing UNI’s membership in Nigeria

The Council was established over 10 years ago to appraise the then 10 affiliates in Nigeria of the aims and objectives of UNI Global Union. From 2010 to 2012, 4 new unions from Nigeria, with a combined paying membership of 11,500, were affiliated to UNI. In addition, 5 unions already affiliated to UNI increased their paying membership by a combined total of 3,541 new members.

Gabriel Babalola, Chairman of the UNI Nigeria Liaison Council, receives the UNI Breaking Through Award from Joe de Bruyn, President of UNI Global Union

UNION, Colombia for their outstanding organising work in Carrefour Colombia

Since November 2011, the union has has recruited 3,200 workers and has union reps, elected by secret vote, in each of the 72 national workplaces. The union is now the largest private sector union in the country and provides online legal and information services to the mainly young workforce (85% are under 35). The first ever collective agreement in the retail sector of Colombia covering the 12,000 workers at Carrefour was finalised at the end of April 2012.

Luz Marina Díaz, President of the Carrefour Workers’ Union in Colombia, receives the UNI Breaking Through Award from Joe de Bruyn, President of UNI Global Union

UI ZENSEN, Japan for their successful transformation of membership in line with industrial and employment structures

UI ZENSEN’s membership was transformed through planning and implementation of long and mid-term organising strategies in line with changes in industrial and employment structures. From its base in the textile sector in the 1970s, the union expanded its organising drive not only to textile-related retailers but to other commerce and service retail sectors. In the 1990s the union launched an organising drive aimed at the growing numbers of part-time workers. UI ZENSEN now represents 550,000 part-time workers out of its total membership of 1,130,000. Another organising drive aimed at temporary agency workers and nursing care workers led to the establishment of the Nippon Careservice Craft Union (NCCU) which now represents 60,000 nursing care workers and to the gathering of union branches for temporary agency workers to form the General Union for Agency Workers (JSGU).

On behalf of UI Zensen, Naoto Ohmi, President of UA Zensen, receives the UNI Breaking Through Award from Joe de Bruyn, President of UNI Global Union

FIEUN, Nepal for their successful organising campaigns in 13 banks and insurance companies

From August 2011 to July 2012, the union organised 2,100 employees from 13 banks and insurance companies and concluded 7 CBAs, with 6 more CBAs under process. The CBAs have increased benefits by 30-50% and provided social security coverage and the regularization of 205 workers. During its campaigning, FIEUN faced many threats and challenges to protect workers’ rights and jobs, particularly of those identified as activists, as employers and managements of private banks and the insurance sector continue to remain hostile and harbour anti-union attitudes to workers’ rights and the trade union movement.

Lekha Prasad Burlakoti of FIEUN, Nepal, receives the UNI Breaking Through Award from Joe de Bruyn, President of UNI Global Union

TUFIB, Romania for their successful organising campaigns in banks and insurance companies.

Out of a potential membership of 109,000 employees in the banking and insurance sector, TUFIB recruited 16,000 members. Between January 2011 and September 2012, TUFIB affiliated 5 new trade unions, with a total of 2,400 members. The union has initiated an organising process in non unionised companies, talking with the employees and helping them to obtain statutory trade union recognition. This is the first step of an ambitious plan to reach 50% union density and obtain the legal status for collective bargaining.

Paraschiv Constantin, President of TUFIB, Romania, receives the UNI Breaking Through Award from Joe de Bruyn, President of UNI Global Union

Tez-Koop-Is, Turkey for their successful campaign in Tesco Kipa.

Tez-Koop-Is stands out as one of the few unions in Turkey which have been successful in organising in the private sector and in consolidating its membership basis, which now stand at around 45,000 members. The union was faced with an intense campaign by Tesco Kipa against union membership, involving a sustained management campaign of anti-union discrimination and intimidation to persuade employees to resign from the union. Unionists were denigrated during “motivation meetings”, duties of unionised workers were changed and union members were denied promotion. Following the recruitment of some 4,000 of Tesco Kipa’s 7,600 employees, thus securing membership of nearly 60% of all employees, in July 2012 Tez-Koop-Is union finally gained registration and recognition with the Ministry of Labour, thus successfully concluding a struggle that began in 2003.
 

Osman Gursu, President of Tez-Koop-Is, receives the UNI Breaking Through Award from Joe de Bruyn, President of UNI Global Union