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In a very active week, UNI G celebrated several meetings in Sidney and Bangkok: Multinationals, Organizing, Newspapers crisis were on the spot



At a meeting organized in Sydney on February 19, 2009, Steve Walsh (AMWU, Australia), Robert Reid (NDU, New Zealand), Paul Tolich (EPMU, New Zealand) and Adriana Rosenzvaig (UNI G) analyzed the need to undertake a global dialogue with the Rank Group after the campaign organized due to the persecution targeting a union leader in Thailand in 2007. “The Rank Group is ever more global, and we need to establish a global dialogue so that situations that affect everyone equally do not happen again,” underscored Steve Walsh, President of UNI APRO Graphical.



The meeting served also to analyze the priorities of UNI G in the region. During 2008, some encouraging results were achieved in terms of organizing new members in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and India, and new perspectives for union organizing opened up in Vietnam and Indonesia.



New Collective Bargaining Agreement in SIG, Thailand



After a strike of almost 48 hours, the SIG union in Thailand signed a collective bargaining agreement, in effect from January 2009 to December 31, 2010. One of the items of the agreement states that in the event of disciplinary actions, representatives of the union are authorized to observe the investigation to be carried out. This is a key matter, bearing in mind certain prior situations experienced at the plant, especially as a result of penalties applied against a leader of the union, Brother Thanet. Another fundamental item of the agreement is that the trade union committee is authorized to take part in the process of selecting the operators that compete for contracts linked to social services for the workers, such as, for example, transportation. The contract envisages a 6% salary increase.



Robert Reid met the Executive Committee of the SIG Union, during the workshop organized by UNI G and the PPFT on February 22, 2009.

Rank Group is Majority Shareholder of SIG, Thailand. These days, rumor has it that the Group is one of those interested in buying ALCAN Packaging. In 2007, UNI Graphical established a network in which the most representative unions of this company participate.



Print and Paper Federation of Thailand Continues Gaining New Members



With unions organized in two new companies in the packaging and label production sector, the recovery of the Bangkok Post Newspaper Union, and the drafting of a strategic plan for 2009, the Federation is gaining a firm hold over its new space and winning over new members.



Meeting to Analyze the Future of the Daily Press in Asia-Pacific



On February 20, Steve, Paul and Adriana met with Chris Warren of the International Federation of Journalists on jointly organizing a meeting to take place at the end of the year in Chennai, India. “The right to organize is a central issue for us,” Chris told us. “But, in order to be effective in this arena we need to analyze the future of the industry and the profiles of its workers,” he pointed out.



The role of multimedia groups was discussed in depth. “We can’t understand how a communication media can define itself as a defender of democracy when it persecutes workers who attempt to organize themselves and carry out collective bargaining,” stated Adriana Rosenzvaig. “The unions must demand real coherence between the discourse of these media and their everyday practices,” underscored Adriana.



For more information: Adriana.rosenzvaig@uniglobalunion.org