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24 September, 2007
ICEM affiliate in Mozambique, the National Union of Chemical, Rubber, Paper, and Print Workers (SINTIQUIGRA), has forged a four-union merger with transportation and textile workers’ unions, in an effort to strengthen the union movement of the country.
The merger is partly in honour of Joaquim Fanheiro, former leader of SINTIQUIGRA, who died unexpectedly in March 2007 while serving as general secretary of the Mozambique Workers’ Organisation (OTM), the nation’s leading national labour centre. The other merger partners are the Union of Textile and Footwear Workers’ (SINTIVEC), the National Union of Port and Railway Workers’ (SINPOCAF), and the Ports and Allied Dockworkers’ Union (SINPEOC).
A name for the union has not yet been determined, but a founding general assembly meeting will occur in November 2007 and will address that and other matters.
Union merger discussions in Mozambique began last spring between SINTIQUIGRA and SINTIVEC. They were expanded in the summer to include the transport and dockworkers’ unions. The combined membership of the four unions will be about 25,000.
Comrade Fanheiro was a long-time trade union activist and main leader of SINTIUIGRA. He was a strong workers’ advocate in 1970-era production councils in Mozambique, which were predecessors to the OTM. Later, he became the distinguished leader of the OTM and played a key role in negotiations with the government over issues such as the annual increases to the statutory minimum wage and the revisions to Mozambique’s labour code.
Trade unions in Mozambique of late have been burdened by downsizings and redundancies, as many large companies have splintered their businesses off to smaller companies, which have cut staff and attempt to slash social costs. The four-union merger is expected to make the labour movement and the OTM stronger and more efficient.