Breaking Through in 2013: A year in review

Published: 20 December 2013

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For UNI Global Union and our regional and sector global unions, 2013 was another Breaking Through year.

The number of challenges facing our movement is growing as quickly as the global economic divide. Governments are building the wall higher between the top one per cent and working families. For every member of the one per cent there are millions more denied a living wage, and unable to plan for their families’ future or a secure retirement.

The coin is dropping that the neo-liberal charge to deregulate labour markets and dismantle collective bargaining is leading to growing economic inequality and holding back growth.

Bangladesh Accord

If we ever needed a reminder of the peril workers face without a voice on the job, we received one eight months ago on a tragic day in Bangladesh.

A factory in the suburbs of the capital Dhaka collapsed and rained down eight stories of rubble onto the workers trapped below. It was to become the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry, costing the lives of 1,131 people.

In the face of this, UNI Global Union and IndustriALL demanded a new way. We produced a legally binding agreement for fire and building safety in Bangladesh. Today, more than 120 global brands have signed up and 1,800 factories are covered by strict, independent safety regulations. The Accord is the first of its kind and embodies a commitment by the brands to a sustainable garment industry in Bangladesh.

Our aim, working with IndustriALL and ITF, is to change race-to-the-bottom supply chain labour practices. We are pleased to learn that the 2016 ILO conference will focus on supply chain activity.

Organising and global agreements

UNI is driving change through its organising push to grow unions worldwide and in part by securing global framework agreements with multinational companies to enable workers to organise without fear.

What follows is a snapshot of some organising and global agreement achievements in 2013.

Telenor signed the first Global Agreement of 2013 in January. The telecommunications multinational said it recognised the importance of unions in representing employee interests, and “the role UNI can take in this regard, based on UNI’s knowledge and competence concerning labour relations.” Following the signing, work continues to achieve recognition for Telenor unions in Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia.
Codere signed a Global Agreement in March 2013. As one of the world’s largest players in the private gaming sector, Codere’s signature marks a huge step forward in UNI’s efforts to organise workers in the gaming sector.
A top goal for UNI Property Services is to win a global agreement with Prosegur and the campaign has been heating up. Despite the company's track record of dismissing strikers, the workers in Peru were able to win a strike in 2013 after intense international solidarity. UNI submitted a case with the Spanish government alleging that the company's track record violates the OECD Guidelines late in the year.
The UNI Walmart Alliance continues to lead the global fight for better union rights and working conditions at Walmart. UNI held a global week of action with unions in 12 countries participating in 2013. The alliance is establishing direct interaction between workers in South Africa, Argentina and the United States and UNI Commerce continues to grow union membership in many countries.
UNI and the ITF escalated the global campaign for a global agreement with DHL in 2013. UNI and ITF's case concerning violations of the OECD Guidelines was accepted by the German government and as of the time of writing, the process was still underway. The biggest progress so far has been the recognition of TUMTIS in Turkey, a union for 1900 workers.
The joint ITUC/CWA/ver.di/UNI campaign to win organising rights for 23’000 T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom) workers in the USA and elsewhere continues. There is an unprecedented partnership between US and German workplaces.
A joint CONTRAF/UNI/CWA campaign is underway to organise bank workers in the USA through use of the Global Agreement with Banco do Brasil. The Brazilian bank workers union has been the driving force behind this campaign.
UNI MEI achieved an organising breakthrough in ASTRO broadcasting company, with the recruitment of more than 60% membership in Malaysia.

The Road to Cape Town

As we enter a Congress year in 2014, we look towards Cape Town with a renewed sense of pride for what has been achieved, and a determination to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. The World Congress will take place on the 20th anniversary of South Africa’s freedom from apartheid and one year since the loss of Nelson Mandela. The theme of the conference will be Including You/Ubuntu! The concept of Ubuntu can be defined as: “I am who I am because of whom we are.”

The Congress will be built around three vital, interlinking themes in which UNI will focus its attention:

Including you to win union growth
Including you in a new world of work
Including you in taking back our economies

Including You aims to achieve economic and social change by including working people in the national political discussion, in sharing the benefits of economic growth, in proper welfare provision, from education to health; in collective bargaining and decent work provision.

Regional breakthroughs

UNI Africa has broken through with tens of thousands of new members in 2013. A regional conference was held in Nairobi earlier this year, and we look forward to what UNI Africa has in store for us in Cape Town.

UNI Apro Sector Conferences for MEI, Finance, ICTS, Commerce, Post and Graphical all took place in August and September in Bangkok, highlighting dozens of examples of organising in every sector around the region.

UNI Europa continues to work to defend the right of social partners as EU co-legislators. UNI Europa has adopted a Manifesto for Services in which it presents strategic options for an alternative approach to EU policies affecting services.

UNI Americas had a string of breakthroughs in 2013, particularly in Colombia where, with UNI Graphical and Packaging, they achieved union recognition at a Kimberly Clark. Colombia is one of the most difficult countries in the world in which unions operate and this success is a sign of what is achievable throughout the packaging industry in Latin America.

50th Global Agreement

We are delighted to announce the signing of UNI’s 50th Global Framework Agreement. Loomis AB, an international cash handling business headquartered in Stockholm, is largely concentrated in Europe and the US, employing approximately 22,000 workers in 14 countries. UNI Property Services is continuing to break through in the security sector, with G4S, ISS and Securitas and now Loomis signed up to global agreements.

Sports stars

We look forward to welcoming some of the world’s top sports stars into the UNI family in 2014. UNI Sport Pro is due to receive affiliations from unions and federations from sports such as football (soccer), rugby, cricket, American football, basketball, ice hockey, baseball.

Increasing visibility

Increasing the visibility of UNI and the labour movement as a whole is a key part of UNI’s Breaking Through strategy for 2014. We are already well underway having introduced a new website and e-bulletin in 2013 and having developed our social media following to industry-leading levels. The UNI Global Union Facebook page has received more than 50,000 likes, the UNI Walmart Alliance has over 90,000 likes, and UNI Prosegur Alliance page has over 75,000 likes. On Twitter, Philip Jennings is one of the world’s most-followed labour leaders, currently with over 90,000 followers. Our digital strategy for 2014 will see us continue to develop ever-stronger multimedia material in order to break through with an even wider audience.

Selected international media from 2013

Forbes – Bangladesh: Will corporate deeds go unpunished?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardlevick/2013/08/12/bangladesh-will-good-corporate-deeds-go-unpunished/

The Guardian - UNI's Philip Jennings: Work should 'lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it'

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/un-global-compact-leaders-union-busters-wage-gap

Los Angeles Times - Amazon employees in Germany strike just before Christmas

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-amazon-germany-strike-20131216,0,4243870.story#ixzz2nprE8ArM

Le Matin - L’Europe se moque des coiffeuses en talons aguilles

http://www.lematin.ch/monde/europe/L-Europe-se-moque-des-coiffeuses-en-talons-aguilles/story/23745428

Daily Telegraph - Top retailers open Bangladesh factories to inspections

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10166237/Top-retailers-open-Bangladesh-factories-to-inspections.html

CNBC - Financial workers fall sick due to stress