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15 January, 2016IndustriALL Global Union Indonesian garment and textile affiliates, Garteks and SPN, are actively preparing for an intensive year of organizing in 2016.
At the end of 2015, IndustriALL's Indonesian affiliates participated in a series of four capacity building trainings to promote decent work in the global supply chains of Inditex (Zara) and H&M.
IndustriALL's Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) with H&M and Inditex cover more than 2.5 million garment workers. The workshops were focused on educating local affiliates in strategic organizing and were jointly sponsored by IndustriALL and ACTRAV, part of the International Labour Organization.
IndustriALL's textile and garment director Christina Hajagos-Clausen said:
Such capacity building workshops are key to building worker power in the industry. GFAs are living documents and IndustriALL's affiliates need to be able to actively employ these agreements in order to build stronger unions.
Sis Elly, President of Garteks, said:
The workshops were very valuable, especially for workers in factories that produce for Inditex and H&M. Global Framework Agreements are very useful for workers and it is important to introduce these agreements to rank and file garment workers. Hopefully in the future we can continue this cooperation so that the message can touch the entire work force who manufacture for both Inditex and H&M.
Under the H&M GFA, Indonesia will be a one of the first countries to set up a national monitoring committee in 2016 to ensure that the agreement is implemented from the factory floor upwards. Training for both management and union representatives on employers' responsibilities, workers' rights and obligations, industrial relations, and collective bargaining agreements are also key elements that will be handled by the national monitoring committees.