28 August, 2014IndustriALL Global Union is calling on all affiliates to once again mobilize their members to STOP Precarious Work, in conjunction with the World Day for Decent Work on 7 October 2014.
Regular, permanent and direct employment remains under constant attack from multinationals and other forces that are promoting precarious work. We strongly encourage affiliates to take action and denounce precarious employment and the insecurity, which is becoming everyday life for more and more workers around the world.
This Global Action is a cornerstone of the IndustriALL campaign to STOP Precarious Work. Mass global action helps to bring visibility to the issue and to strengthen national campaigns as well as IndustriALL’s position in challenging multinational companies, governments and the institutions of global governance. Every year, this mass mobilization sends a powerful message that workers everywhere will stand up to protect their rights.
In 2013, affiliates from 46 countries took part, and in many countries IndustriALL affiliates took action together. Actions included mass mobilisations in marches and rallies, distribution of campaign materials in workplaces, thematic workshops and conferences, demands on government, flash mobs, public hearings and protests outside company headquarters. Reports and photos of affiliates taking action can be found on the IndustriALL site at http://www.industriall-union.org/stop-precarious-work.
Some affiliates have already planned actions for 7 October 2014. In Canada, UNIFOR will organize a national Good Job Summit (3-5 October) as part of its campaign “Join the Revolution for Good Jobs”. The Summit will be a national dialogue between workers, students, government, employers and communities, aimed at finding new approaches to jobs and the economy.
The Rio Tinto Global Union Network will hold a global day of action against precarious work as part of the global campaign at Rio Tinto. The billion-dollar company is increasingly introducing precarious forms of work at its operations around the world. Other trade union networks in multinational corporations are strongly encouraged to take action this year, since MNCs and their supply chains are among the main drivers of the rampant spread of precarious work.
IndustriALL affiliates in Cambodia will target Export Process Zones (EPZs) where workers rights are largely undermined. Workers in a bus and on motorcycles, holding IndustriALL flags, will do rounds in the EPZs as part of a “caravan for decent work":
Please, send information as soon as possible about the actions that your union intends to undertake to [email protected]. This information will be posted under a special section on the campaign page STOP Precarious Work. Don’t forget to send photos after the event as well.
A new IndustriALL publication Negotiating Security: Trade union bargaining strategies against precarious work is available for download. The publication reports about creative and progressive agreements that unions are pursuing to limit precarious work and protect workers.