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15 July, 2001The IMF's Portuguese affiliate is asking for international solidarity support for workers at Johnson Controls.
PORTUGAL: The IMF's Portuguese affiliate SIMA (Sindicato das Industrias Metalurgicas e Afins) is requesting urgent solidarity support to help put a stop to a serious situation which has developed at Johnson Controls in Portalegre.
Management at the transnational company, a major automotive supplier producing seating and interior systems and batteries, is denying its workers their legitimate rights by refusing to apply the existing collective agreement for this sector of the industry. In addition, SIMA reports that union representatives and shop stewards at the company are being harassed and threatened by the management. At a meeting called for all its employees, the company even told them it did not intend to apply the collective agreement.
As a result of this gross abuse of their rights, workers at Johnson Controls in Portalegre, with the support of SIMA, have decided to call a strike for July 17, 18 and 19, in order to force the company to restore the agreement.
In a letter to Johnson Controls management in Portalegre, the IMF general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi, reminds the company that the government of Portugal has ratified all key ILO Conventions, including No. 87 on Freedom of Association and No. 98 on the Right to Collective Bargaining, and thus the company has an obligation to uphold the rights of its workers. Malentacchi adds that he will make sure these "illegal and unwarranted actions are brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities" and advises the company to negotiate with the democratically-elected officials of the trade union.
The IMF would ask all its affiliates to send protest letters directly to Johnson Controls in support of the workers, and demonstrating rejection at international level of the company's actions. Please write to:
Dr. Antonio Pinto, Managing Director
Johnson Controls
Zona Industrial
7300 Portalegre, Portugal
Fax.: +351 24 5362240
Kindly send a copy to SIMA on:
Fax: +351 21 8409851
E-mail: [email protected]
and to the IMF.
Management at the transnational company, a major automotive supplier producing seating and interior systems and batteries, is denying its workers their legitimate rights by refusing to apply the existing collective agreement for this sector of the industry. In addition, SIMA reports that union representatives and shop stewards at the company are being harassed and threatened by the management. At a meeting called for all its employees, the company even told them it did not intend to apply the collective agreement.
As a result of this gross abuse of their rights, workers at Johnson Controls in Portalegre, with the support of SIMA, have decided to call a strike for July 17, 18 and 19, in order to force the company to restore the agreement.
In a letter to Johnson Controls management in Portalegre, the IMF general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi, reminds the company that the government of Portugal has ratified all key ILO Conventions, including No. 87 on Freedom of Association and No. 98 on the Right to Collective Bargaining, and thus the company has an obligation to uphold the rights of its workers. Malentacchi adds that he will make sure these "illegal and unwarranted actions are brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities" and advises the company to negotiate with the democratically-elected officials of the trade union.
The IMF would ask all its affiliates to send protest letters directly to Johnson Controls in support of the workers, and demonstrating rejection at international level of the company's actions. Please write to:
Dr. Antonio Pinto, Managing Director
Johnson Controls
Zona Industrial
7300 Portalegre, Portugal
Fax.: +351 24 5362240
Kindly send a copy to SIMA on:
Fax: +351 21 8409851
E-mail: [email protected]
and to the IMF.