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GERMANY:  Around 45,000 union members from all parts of Germany came to the Frankfurt Stadium on Saturday September 5 to participate in the day of action organised by the IMF affiliate IG Metall. The action was part of the campaign 'Together for a good life' (Gemeinsam für ein gutes Leben) organised by IG Metall and aimed at expressing workers' discontent with current policies in the country and to state workers' demands for a 'good life', the most important of which is job security. For more information go to: <a href="http://www.gutes-leben.de/">http://www.gutes-leben.de/</a>The day of action composed several stages starting with a morning rally of young IG Metall members. Young workers worried about their future prospects in terms of job security and permanent employment went through Frankfurt streets and chanted: &quot;This must be different!The future belongs to us!&quot;Later the action continued at Frankfurt stadium where union members demanded fundamental changes in business and politics of the country and a fairer society. The day of action was held on the eve of German Federal elections. IG Metall's call for a good life and job security echoes the call that metalworkers from around the world will make during the global week of action from October 3 to 10 in the campaign against precarious work. The impact of the global financial crisis on workers is the theme of IMF's action this year. Affiliates are taking the fight to governments, calling on them to strengthen legislation to prevent employers from using precarious employment in place of permanent and direct employment.

45,000 people participate in IG Metall rally call for a good life with secure jobs.

German metalworkers call for secure jobs

Three Global Union Federations (GUFs), representing 55 million industrial workers, call on G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Pittsburgh, USA, this week to prioritise the global jobs crisis in their deliberations, and to create real measures that stop the epidemic of job losses throughout the world.The GUFs, the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), and the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), stress the immediate need for economic ministers to recognise that true recovery can only happen if job retention and job creation become the priorities.The three workers' federations join to state that the full ripple effect of the year-old crisis is only now being felt as tens of millions of jobs are cut, with a forecast of more job losses to occur in 2010 and 2011. The ITGLWF, ICEM, and IMF stand staunchly behind the International Trade Union Confederation's (ITUC) statement last week that &quot;any talk of recovery has little meaning until people are getting back to work.&quot;The federations call attention to the &quot;Pittsburgh Declaration,&quot; a statement by the ITUC, the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD, and all GUFs that demands a changed mindset by international financial institutions regarding jobs, human and trade union rights, and more stringent financial governance and market regulation.The declaration, found <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/0909t_g20_Pittsburgh_en_2_.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>, calls on the G20 to implement the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Jobs Pact, developed in June 2009, as well as adding the ILO's Decent Work Agenda to the G20's Charter for Sustainable Economic Activity. Such adoption would effectively incorporate workers' rights, social protections, and meaningful social dialogue between business, labour, and government to economic and social decision making.The &quot;Pittsburgh Declaration&quot; also calls for the G20 to prioritise the creation of green jobs and protecting workers who are unfairly affected by actions related to climate change.Stated Neil Kearney, General Secretary of ITGLWF, &quot;For workers in textiles, where nearly 13 million jobs have been lost in the past year, the global crisis is deepening, not bottoming out. Stimulus packages must be continued and extended to promote sustainable manufacturing that provides decent work and a living wage, leading to a consumer-demand recovery.&quot;ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda added, &quot;Talk of recovery now is not only premature, but inhumane in view of unemployment rates rising into double digits in many countries. A new social model must take hold, starting with this G20 meeting, and it must begin with serious reforms to the neoliberal financial model, as well as a sustainable social plan that addresses the needs of millions of people that have been negatively impacted by this crisis.&quot;&quot;What has occurred thus far,&quot; said IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina, &quot;is that huge sums have been poured into financial institutions, while these same institutions have failed to manage their fundamental task - to finance a viable industrial economy. We demand that governments address the critical issue of employment, particularly the human adversity brought on by precarious labour, a form of work that undermines the industrial structures of the global north and destroys equitable development opportunities in the south.&quot;The G20 meeting in Pittsburgh is scheduled for 24-25 September. The ITGLWF is the global voice for 217 trade unions in 110 countries; the ICEM represents 467 trade unions in 132 countries; and the IMF covers over 200 trade unions in 100 countries.

Industrial GUFs, ITGLWF, ICEM, IMF, demand jobs focus from this week's G20 Meeting

Industrial unions demand jobs focus at G20 meeting

was an organic intellectual schooled by concrete realities and  conditions on the ground. He was humble and down to earth and always prioritized the workers. He was the jewel in our crown. It is sad  when leaders from whom we are supposed to draw inspiration when we are visited by misfortune in our organisations are leaving us behind.   When I started working at Volkswagen in 1994 PJ was already the president of Cosatu and a VW full-time shop steward. In 1995 there was a campaign in the plant that he must not be re-elected as a shop steward because he was serving Cosatu head office and not his constituency at plant level. But throughout the process Gomomo remained resilient, patiently engaging comrades constructively. He did not lose focus because he knew the challenges which go with a leadership position. He did not declare those who differed with him as his enemy. He held on and absorbed the pressure. Throughout this process, he accumulated a lot of experience. He became a politically mature comrade, a time-tested revolutionary, an embodiment of the (ANC, COSATU and SACP) Alliance. He pushed for strategic unionism, where the role of Cosatu was to be concerned with broader social and political issues as well as the immediate needs of its members. He believed that the Union is a social force for transformation. It was important for the Union to remain committed to worker control and democracy, it must maintain its character as the movement and move with the challenges of the time.  He was able to see and identify dangers to the workers years before they could happen.He was consistent in saying that we can not use strategies of the 1970s to address 1997 challenges. In 2003, when Volkswagen was celebrating its 50 years anniversary he was invited by management to address the gathering. He advocated that the role of the union is to be proactive and effective. It must be able to monitor complex agreements with government and employers. It must be able to make important contributions to national and economic and social development. What he warned us about in 2003 and before is currently happening in the company: there are temporary employees on long term contracts, there are retrenchments, there is short time, there is inflation targeting and there is no massive employment. PJ was a good negotiator and a problem solver. Even though he spent most of his time in Johannesburg at Cosatu he always prioritized Numsa work at plant level. He was efficient to intervene on critical issues in the plant. He first took plant level negotiations to provincial level in the structure called the Eastern Cape Industrial Council where only General Motors, VWSA and Ford were parties. Later he helped found the National Bargaining Forum (NBF) where Numsa and auto employers negotiate every three years. When the employer locked workers out for eight days due to an illegal strike, he led the negotiations with the company. He demanded that workers be paid four days out of that eight days. But the human resources manager, BK Smith, told workers to "go to hell". Gomomo responded by saying "we will meet in hell!" Workers with the help of Numsa lawyers returned to work with eight days pay, but only for Numsa members. After that every worker joined Numsa!    He was also a disciplinarian. He once he led a delegation of Numsa shop stewards to Germany. Some shop stewards misbehaved and did not attend meetings. PJ and other shop stewards sent those shop stewards back home. They instructed them to report to members the reasons for them to come back early. PJ lived, not because he could breathe He did not live, because blood flowed through his veins PJ lived, because he surrendered his very being to the people PJ had a vision and a purpose in life PJ ceased to be himself and became the parapet of the people While Cosatu lives While Numsa lives PJ cannot die Adapted from an article  in Numsa News No 1 March 2008 by Xolani Tshayana,  Numsa's Education and Training Officer at Volkswagen.

A Tribute From The Volkswagen Shopfloor To Comrade PJ Gomomo

The IV National Delegate Congress convened by Sintime was held in Chimoio, Mozambique 22-23 October 2007. Over fifty nine delegates and various national and international guests participated at the event. Bro Mateus Filipe Muianga was elected General Secretary of SINTIME.  The new national office bearers include workers from the shop floor, one of whom is a woman, from strategic plants in Mozambique. The congress provided a good platform to discuss many challenges facing workers and the union. The action plan approved in the last congress was not fully implemented during the period between May 2000 and May 2007 by former union office bearers and delegates were deeply concerned about the situation. They also noted lack of interaction between union structures and also between shop stewards and workers from different plants across the country.   Some delegates claimed never have seen union leadership visiting their provinces and providing them any assistance. They reported that in the last five years many workers have been retrenched without compensations from their employers. Workers in some companies have salaries in arrears. Although they do have union plant committees, those are very weak and fragmented with shop stewards not trained in union activities. The congress resolved to set up a shop stewards forum to enable shop stewards from different companies to meet every three months to interact themselves and share their experiences. The congress also resolved to set up an organizing department in the union.    The congress resolved to set up within the union a department to deal with youth workers issues. It was indicated that a young worker from Mozal plant will be responsible for this department .He has participated in IMF training and also attended a health and safety workshop in Canada with the assistance of the IMF and Numsa. Whilst the country has experienced economic growth in the last few years, this has not trickled down to workers and communities and poverty is still rife. HIV and AIDS prevalence also remain high and is one of the challenges facing workers and unions in the country. The current industrial minimum wage is just 1.443 meticais (USD 55.7) a month, which unions say cover only 50 per cent of the most basic needs of a worker and his or her family.    Trade unions in Mozambique have been burdened by downsizings and redundancies. Since Mozambique's first structural adjustment programmes, most of the country's large state owned companies have been replaced by smaller private firms, which pose difficulties for unionization and the mediation of labour conflicts.   New labour laws have been approved recently by Parliament but is not yet in force as it is still subject to correction before publications. The employers and unions reached consensus on most clauses in the bill, but the unions are still fighting to maintain favourable redundancy pay terms that are in the current legislation. Employers however claim that decent redundancy term affect their competitiveness and they want to make it much cheaper to fire workers. OTM-CS, the biggest national centre in the country has encouraged unions to merge and form strong, democratic and self reliant unions.  However, former SINTIME leadership has not seriously engaged in discussions with other unions to merge. It is hoped that under new leadership, SINTIME will once again pursue a merger.

Mozambique Affiliate SINTIME Holds Its Fourth National Congress

Last year, IMF affiliates in Africa recommended that special attention be given to the Chinese presence in various countries of Africa, with regard in particular to the impact of its fast growing trade and investments on development and on workers' life. In response, IMF held a workshop in June 2007 bringing together African affiliates, trade experts and IMF secretariat and regional staff to discuss the impact of Chinese trade and investment in Southern Africa. The workshop provided metalworkers unions, especially those in Southern Africa with an opportunity to learn from others, including trade unionists from Asia and Latin America, about the reality of China's expansion  and discuss the fast growing Chinese presence in Africa and its impact on employment, workers' rights and development. The meeting served as an opportunity for trade union leaders in the region to share their experiences and better understand an increasingly complex situation of foreign investments and trade that have direct repercussions on the working and living conditions of their members. Main themes were the evolution of the Chinese presence in Africa; comparing trade union experiences of the growing protagonism of China in different areas of the world; Chinese companies in SADC countries; regional integration processes and South/South relations; Chinese loans to African countries. Presentation was also made by the Southern Africa Clothing and Textile Workers Union on their experience with Chinese investment in the clothing and textile sector. The comparison of trade union experiences in different sectors and countries proved very interesting and useful. The discussions built on the participants' concrete experiences and remained focused on the repercussions on workers jobs, employment conditions and  organising even when more abstract issues of macro-economic policies were addressed by the speakers. The question of violations of fundamental human, workers and trade union rights in China and by Chinese investors abroad emerged as a major concern in all discussions. The interests and the development model that are clearly visible behind the various forms of Chinese presence in Africa were the subject of much of the debate throughout the programme. Participants worked on building a trade union response to Chinese trade and investment that included national strategies for quality employment, renewed South-South and North-South solidarity and regional and international metalworkers' campaign actions. The strategic importance of regional co-operation was addressed and the need for trade unions to play an active role in it was stressed. Participants also agreed that the presence and influence of China in Africa needs to be kept under scrutiny and trade unions must interact with governments and have a say on the conditions for foreign investments as well as on their governments' policies with regard to loans and aid and development projects. However the key and primary responsibility for IMF affiliates is at the national level, where their action must focus on the employment and working conditions at Chinese companies. Unions should ensure that workers employed by Chinese or other foreign investors are organised, in particular where jobs are precarious and laws are not respected. &nbsp;

Working Together...IMF Workshop On Chinese Trade And Investment In Africa

Although contact and trade between China and Africa dates back to the 15th century and indirect trade some 3000 years, China has not played the same role of dominance and destruction in Africa as the traditional colonial powers. China's modern engagement begins after the 1949 revolution. During the cold war period China supported Africa's liberation movements the impact of which however was undermined by the destructive effects of the cold war on Africa and rivalry between China and the Soviet Union in their dealings with the continent. Chinese involvement in Africa has been relatively limited for the past few decades during the time of domination of the Washington Consensus. This is changing. Most agree that this renewed engagement in Africa is driven by China's economic needs for raw materials to fuel industrialization and markets. In this way it has similarities to the European scramble for Africa in the 19th Century and subsequent colonial and neo colonial periods and is quite different from China's previous engagement which tended to be more ideological. If China's motivation for engagement with Africa is now similar to that of the West, what are the likely direct and indirect impacts into the future and how different will these be from what Africa has come to be used to from the West? The indirect impact of China's growth, and India's for that matter, has already been significant for Africa. China has grown by 9% per year for the last 10 years. China's need for raw materials is indeed very large. China alone was responsible for 40% of the global increase in oil demand between 2000 and 2004. As a number of observers have commented, the change in foreign engagement by China is quite visible at the point at which China became a net oil importer towards the beginning of the decade. Africa has certainly started to gain indirectly from the growth of China and India's economies and markets. As these economies demand huge quantities of raw materials the price of these commodities has gone up. Africa as a supplier of raw materials has benefited. According to the African Economic Outlook Sub-Saharan Africa's real GDP (i.e. after inflation) increased by an average of 4.4% in 2001-04, 5.5% in 2005 and is expected to increase further in 2006/7, as compared with 2.6% between 1998 and 2000. But growth has not been equal, with the same publication pointing out that oil exporting countries faired better than other countries. The other caution is that whilst there has been significant economic growth this has been slow to impact on social indicators. Opinions on the potential impact of more direct forms of Sino-African engagement are quite divided. One argument says, it is a bad thing that will lead to erosion of rights and a swamping of Chinese goods and labour into Africa taking African opportunities for local industrial development and jobs. This opinion is explained by deputy chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs Moletisi Mbeki in 2005, saying, "Africa sells raw materials to China and China sells manufactured products to Africa. This is a dangerous equation that reproduces Africa's old relationship with colonial powers. The equation is not sustainable for a number of reasons. First Africa needs to preserve its natural resources to use in the future for its own industrialisation. Secondly China's export strategy is contributing to the de-industrialisation of some middle-income countries." Others feel that China presents a new development model for Africa. This view tends to see China as a salvation for Africa in terms of infrastructure development and relatively condition free loans to cash strapped African Governments still labouring under years of failed policy interventions of the international finance institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and many western donors and their agencies. Whilst China's growth in influence clearly is beginning to provide an alternative to the Washington consensus, that has achieved nothing but deepening poverty and misery in Africa, there are also some cautions being sounded here.   One such caution states that the undemocratic nature of China which is still enjoying significant growth would serve as a support for undemocratic regimes in Africa who are able to argue that democracy is not a precursor for development. Zimbabwe's Look East campaign a case in point, Sudan another questionable engagement. It of course depends on whether you define development in terms of social indicators or GDP. Liberal democracy is not a human development precursor, as Cuba has repeatedly demonstrated and neither is it a guarantee against human and labour rights abuses. Other commentators have pointed to the fact that China's non interference (respect of sovereignty policy) in effect interferes very deeply on the side of ruling elites in divided societies. As such some have argued that India as another rapidly emerging giant, with stronger democratic tendencies also provides alternate models which should be examined. Another caution in regard to the Chinese model as applied to Africa lies in China itself. Stephen Marks in African Perspectives of China in Africa refers to "Even official sources in China and abroad are aware of the social costs of China's free-market great leap forward. Members of the legislature have warned of the country's impending employment crisis and the World Bank has confirmed that China's poor are getting poorer. As for the environment, no less a figure than Pan Yue, deputy director of China's State Environmental Protection Administration, sparked controversy with a recent essay On Socialist Ecological Civilisation when he openly charged that: 'The economic and environmental inequalities caused by a flawed understanding of growth and political achievement, held by some officials, have gone against the basic aims of socialism and abandoned the achievements of Chinese socialism.' The march of neo-liberalism within China and its impact on the Chinese people has advanced hand-in-hand with China's growing imperialist role abroad." The unemployment crisis he refers to as reported in China's daily on line is 34.5 million people new entrants to the labour market between 2006-2010. To balance this impression, bear in mind China's economically active population is around 760 million, approximately half of whom are agriculturally based, while the total population is 1.3 billion, again about half of whom are agriculturally based. China measures unemployment in urban areas. Unemployment in urban areas has increased from 3.1% in 1999 to 4.2% in 2005. Dorothy Guerrero makes a similar point arguing, "China is now the world's fourth-largest economy and many developing countries envy its record of economic progress. However, China's phenomenal growth is producing a big misconception in that it is viewed as a big winner of globalisation. Although it is true that market reforms and China's opening to the global economy gave millions of people there an increased standard of living, more Chinese people are suffering the consequences of its rapid transition to a market-based economy. The majority of the Chinese people are not too concerned about when China will become the world's largest economy. Rather, they are asking, 'When will the benefits of China's rise to superpower status start to affect our lives positively?" Another argument that has been raised is the human and labour rights abuses commonly associated with Chinese investment. The reality is whilst the track record of many of these companies is appalling it is probably in terms of global impact quite small in comparison to the violations committed all over the world by western MNCs. While some companies have reformed their public image in fear of loosing market share or investment this has largely meant the use of subcontracted supply chains where the pressure around production targets and delivery guarantees the abuse of worker and social rights in any event. The corporations then cynically deny responsibility. Similarly China increasingly makes noises about improving human and labour rights issues as they become more integrated global players. On the eve of the First Africa summit the state council, China's cabinet, issued 'Nine Principles' to 'Encourage and Standardise Enterprises' Overseas Investment'. The principles require Chinese companies operating overseas to 'abide by local laws, bid contracts on the basis of transparency and equality, protect the labour rights of local employees, protect the environment, implement corporate responsibilities and so on'. As state backed companies from china begin to brand and become global players they too will become more sensitive publicly to these issues as result of market influences. In both instances though, the system that drives these superficial changes is itself brutal, quite literally inhuman, always answering to the logic of competition and increasing returns. In time there will be little to distinguish these investment forms save perhaps the tendency for China to want to export labour along with investment and development initiatives. There is also a position that the west has never done as well as the economies developing in the east in providing goods cheap enough for Africans to buy. Bicycles, blankets etc. The West has however dumped huge quantities of used clothes, used cars, used parts, used machinery, used computers and the list goes on, on Africa. All have made these commodities more accessible to people, still allowing a tidy profit off of the waste of these societies. Against these two sets of goods, cheap consumer goods from the vast and often super exploitative factories of the east and the scraps of the societies of the west, African industrial development has not progressed. People must buy these cheap things as they have no jobs to buy anything else whilst the price of the things we really need; houses electricity, water and health care go up and become more unreachable. People live in debt to buy the few consumer items they can and in the mean time the social fabric of communities is constantly broken down by competition for scarce jobs and resources. The rolling back of public service provision has only aggravated this situation.   Whilst there are clear similarities to be found in the motives, practices and potential impacts of Chinese and Western contemporary engagement with Africa the introduction of an alternate power centre (for trade and development engagements) and rising commodity prices certainly presents some significant strategic opportunities for Africa. The stranglehold International Finance Institutions and economic imperialist nations have had on economic policy for over two decades is being challenged. More capital should be available as well as technical cooperation. Increased prices mean a stronger bargaining position in trade terms as well. Achieving positive social benefits from this window of opportunity will however very much depend on Africa's ruling elite making decisions and taking actions that serve the people and not those of their own pockets and/or egos or the interests of the traditional and emerging global economic dynasties. Internal trade and development must play a central role in spreading the benefits across countries in Africa to avoid these opportunities simply creating new enclaves of wealth and power in an otherwise sea of poverty and destitution. Civil society in Africa has an historical role to play in ensuring this.

China In Africa

Attività dell'OS KOVO connesse alla Giornata di azione globale contro il lavoro precario <h1 style="margin: 12pt 0cm 3pt 18.7pt;text-indent: -18pt;text-align: left" align="left">·         L'informativa sulla Seconda domanda comune FEM "PER UN'OCCUPAZIONE PIÙ SICURA, CONTRO IL LAVORO PRECARIO" è inclusa nella Guida Metodologica per la contrattazione aziendale collettiva</h1>·          Promozione della Seconda domanda comune FEM nella Guida Metodologica, settimanale OS KOVO Kovák, presso la sede centrale di OS KOVO e le riunioni del Consiglio (incluso <a href="http://www.precariouswork.eu/">www.precariouswork.eu</a>)·         Cooperazione per il film della FEM "Occupazione precaria" per la Conferenza della FEM sulla contrattazione collettiva ·          Proposte di nuovi accordi collettivi di categoria  (Seconda domanda comune FEM)·          Intervista con J. Souček, Vice presidente di OS KOVO sul settimanale Kovák relativamente alla campagna globale contro il lavoro precario ·          Distribuzione dei manifesti ed opuscoli della campagna globale della FISM ·         Pubblicazione sul settimanale Kovák della Risoluzione della FISM sul lavoro precario a fronte della crisi economica adottata dal Congresso della FISM ·         Informativa sulla Seconda domanda comune FEM a Sondy -- Rivista di tematiche sociali·         Integrazione della Seconda domanda comune FEM e delle tematiche relative al lavoro precario nelle attività educative e formative di OS KOVO ·         Inviata ai parlamentari la Dichiarazione di OS KOVO, adottata dalla Direzione centrale di OS KOVO e dal Consiglio, sul lavoro precario inviata ai parlamentari, ai partiti politici ed ai candidati alle elezioni generali ·         Partecipazione attiva alla Conferenza della FEM sulla contrattazione collettiva a Madrid·          Opuscolo speciale dell'OS KOVO nella serie "OS KOVO consiglia, informa, raccomanda" sul lavoro precario

REPUBBLICA CECA

In Belgien wird am Freitag, dem 9. Oktober in Brüssel eine Sitzung und eine Demonstration stattfinden (am ‚Tour &amp; Taxis' in der nähe des Brüsseler Nordbahnhofs). An dieser Veranstaltung werden mindestens 2.000 aktive Gewerkschafter teilnehmen. Die Aktivitäten werden von den beiden größten Verbänden ACV-CSC und ABVV-FGTB unter dem Motto „menschenwürdige Arbeit gegen die Krise&quot; organisiert. Die beiden Gewerkschaften werden der belgischen Regierung ihre Prioritäten darlegen.

BELGIEN

BRAZIL: When the employers' side began to make excuses during the annual round of negotiations on pay, metalworkers organised rallies, protests and demonstrations. This struggle by IMF affiliates CNM and CNTM has resulted in major gains for metalworkers.After a series of demonstrations and protests by workers, FEM-CUT/SP, affiliated to CNM/CUT, negotiated major gains for the 53,000 metalworkers employed by Volkswagen, Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Scania, Toyota and Honda in Sao Bernardo and Taubate. Employers agreed to a 6.53 per cent pay rise and agreed to pay an additional R$2,800 (US$1570) bonus. The 6.53 per cent takes account of the annual inflation rate of 4.44 per cent, based on the National Consumer Price Index (INPC) and includes a real increase of 2 per cent. The agreement also included a series of social benefits.Meanwhile, 6,000 metalworkers at Renault-Nissan and Volvo, affiliated to CNTM/FS unions, won the biggest pay rise in the country's manufacturing sector this year, according to the trade union research institute DIEESE. They won a real increase of 3% plus the 4.44 inflation rate, totalling 7.57 per cent, and a bonus payment of R$2,000 (US$ 1,110) for each worker. &quot;The pay rise won by the Curitiba Metalworkers' Union for Renault and Volvo workers is important and will have a positive influence on other negotiations that are scheduled to take place over the next six months&quot; said Miguel Torres, president of the São Paulo and Mogi das Cruzes Metalworkers' Union and vice president of Força Sindical.Valter Sanches, CNM General Secretary, said that the agreement in the auto sector &quot;is a major victory after a year in which Brazil, especially the metalworking sector, was affected by the international crisis. The sector has lost approximately 210,000 jobs since October 2008, after a gain of 700,000 since 2003.&quot; Sanches said that at the beginning of the year, metalworkers took the lead in negotiations with employers and the government about how to deal with the crisis and avoid job losses.

The FEM-CUT/SP, affiliated to CNM/CUT, and the Greater Curitiba Metalworkers' Union, affiliated to the CNTM/FS, have won a pay rise that will have a positive influence on other negotiations in the sector.

Brazilian metalworkers win major gains in annual pay round

Text: Kristyne Peter  -----------------------------------------------------------------Under the stare of guards at the Young-Deng-po Correctional Justice facility on the outskirts of Seoul, prisoner Gab-Deuk Jung, President of the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), appears relaxed despite a potential three-year jail sentence hanging over his head.Jung, who is facing criminal charges of &quot;obstruction of business&quot;, was arrested on September 18 following a series of strikes demanding industry-wide collective bargaining and protesting U.S. beef imports. The stakes are high, should a judge decide that the strikes Jung called are illegal, not only will the union lose its President to imprisonment but lawsuits filed against the union by some 90 companies, totalling in billions of wons for alleged damages, could bankrupt the KMWU, setting a dangerous precedent for future labour struggles.&quot;If I am found guilty [of organising illegal strikes] I fear the three rights [right to collectively bargain, right to strike and right to form a union] will be greatly compromised so I hope people outside of Korea will press for a positive outcome,&quot; said Jung while being interviewed in prison. Jung points out that what is at issue is the employers' resistance to industry-wide collective bargaining. &quot;By saying that the strikes are illegal they argue that industry-level bargaining has nothing to do with workers' wages and conditions, that it is political.&quot;Born in 1958, the year of the dog, Jung has a reputation for meeting adversity with decisiveness and courage, a quality many Koreans remark is common among men who share his birth year. Jung started out at Hyundai Motors in 1984 when independent trade unions such as the Hyundai Motor Workers' Union (HMWU), now the Hyundai Motors Branch, were forced to operate underground. He went on to serve as president of the HMWU twice, and later became the eighth president of the Hyundai Group Trade Union Federation, one of three precursor organizations of the Korean Metal Workers' Federation (now KMWU). In 2007, Jung was elected as KMWU President. For most Korean trade unionists, serving jail time for participating in strike actions is part of the job. Jung is no exception. In the 1990s he was imprisoned twice for his involvement in massive strikes over restructuring; in 2002 he was jailed for demonstrating against the GM/Daewoo takeover; and imprisoned again, then released on bail, following last year's protests against a KOREA/US Free Trade Agreement. Charges for obstruction of business related to the KOREA/US FTA are still pending.&quot;The repression in Korea is getting more sophisticated,&quot; says Jung referring to employers' widely used provision in Korea's criminal code that allows companies to seek damages and incarcerate union leaders for obstruction of business. &quot;The capital forces and the government are not abiding by the law. On paper, workers are entitled to form a union, but in realty there is no freedom to join a trade union. We have the legal foundation but we are not guaranteed the protection of these laws,&quot; Jung said adding, &quot;Korea is the only country among the OECD members to arrest labour union leaders for obstruction of business.&quot;Jung also noted that prison sentences for labour leaders have become more severe. &quot;With the strike against the KOREA/US FTA, putting it into perspective, it was only a 14 hour strike, yet the prosecution asked for two to three years of imprisonment as the sentence. In contrast in the early 1990s, we had a goliath struggle - we had tens of thousands of workers demonstrating in the street, cars were set on fire, and a large number of people back then were arrested, and at that time they only asked for one-year sentences.&quot;Jung argues that the government's neoliberal economic policy is the reason for the growing repression against unions in his country. &quot;Only the super rich minority is benefiting at the cost of workers and ordinary people. So we cannot help but resist it and we will continue to struggle against it.&quot;One month after the interview was conducted, Jung was released on bail. He is currently awaiting trial.

Arrest and imprisonment has not deterred Gab-Deuk Jung, president of the KMWU, from fighting for industry-wide collective bargaining and protecting the rights of workers to form unions.

Profile of Gab-Deuk Jung Download pdf file with illustrations >>

The right to strike is at the centre of Korea&#039;s labour struggle

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