ILO WANTS TO BECOME MORE ENGAGED IN THE CHANGING WORLD OF LABOUR

Drinking a coffee and exchange information and experience during the iLO Conference. From left to right Martijn Hordijk, CNV representative for the Netherlands, Brorn van Heusden, WOW executive secretary, Bert van Caelenbergh, EUROFEDOP secretray general and Koffi Chrysanthe Zounnadjala, WOW Vice President, FPE secretary general, FENET secretary general Togo and deputy secretary CSTT Togo.

The question is how and what do you report about a Conference like the ILO Conference, held as usual in Geneva in the month of June, where nearly 5000 representatives discuss in several committees specific items, where there are daily meetings of the workers, employers and governments and where are held regularly plenary sessions? Without wishing to be without respect, I sometimes feel as being in a kind of circus with too many circus rings so I do not know where to look. May be the most important and interesting aspect of the ILO Conference is the opportunity to meet so many people from so many different corners of the world.

The following three partite committees (workers, employers and governments) were at work during the Conference: the Committe on Sustainable development, decent Work and 'Green Jobs', the Committee on Employment and Social Protection in the New Demographic Context (aging society), the Committee for the Recurrent Discussion on Social Dialogue and the usual Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations that examined this year 26 countries.The ILO Director General presented two reports for debate: “Towards the ILO centenary: Realities, Renewal and Tripartite commitment” and “The situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories.” The observations and conclusions from each Committee as well as the results of the debates on the ILO Director's Reports have been published on the ILO website.

WOW executive secretary Bjorn van Heusden meets during the ILO Conference ILO Actrav staff member Amrita Sietaram.

The most 'political' Committee is the one on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations. The Conference examined 25 individual cases of problems in the application of labour rights and one case of progress (Miyanmar). The 25 cases concern the following countries: Bangladesh, Belarus, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Fiji, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mauritania, Pakistan, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Spain, Swaziland, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.The Committee drew special attention to three cases: Belarus, Fiji and Uzbekistan.

The other important topics of this year were the social dialogue, 'green jobs' and aging society. On paper, all Member States of the ILO endorse the importance of social dialogue. That this is not always the case in practice, is to be expected in undemocratic countries. But for example, there are EU countries in South and Eastern Europe, that due to the crisis do not respect anymore the social dialogue. Countries with emerging economies, particularly in Latin America, see the crisis as an opportunity to strengthen the social dialogue. Especially in established economies, the social dialogue is under attack. The ILO calls this global trend a race to the middle.

WOW vice president Koffi Crysanthe Zounnadjala (in the middle between 2 colleagues) is also the WOW coordinator of WOW delegates to the ILO Conference.

The trend that companies are increasingly less bound by national borders, is continuing. Production often stretches out over several countries. That makes companies also responsible to respect the labor conventions in the international 'production chain' and not only in the country where their headquarters stands. The ILO intends to cooperate more directly with multinational corporations and trade unions. This enables companies and their suppliers to establish the same labour standards in different countries. To ensure compliance with these standards, it is necessary to support the creation of a good system of control. The ILO should therefore do more research and develop more activities about this globalization of production.

An important outcome of the discussion in the Committee on Social Dialogue is that the ILO will focus more on the sustainability of international production chains. A decision that undoubtedly is linked to the recent disaster in Bangladesh.The impact of the flexibilisation of the labor market on the social dialogue and on collective bargaining were also subject of discussion.

This topic is also clearly reflected in the agenda for the future presented by the ILO Director General Guy Ryder on the eve of the conference. He stressed that the ILO will engage in discussions about the changing world of labour(flexibility). At the end of the Conference he said that “a forward-looking examination of the place of work in our lives and societies is needed. It will frame policy choices and it will be appropriate to the marking of the ILO’s 100th anniversary.” He added to this, that “there was widespread interest in defining and implementing an ILO role in respect of global supply chains and more generally in respect of corporate social responsibility.”

For this blog I used texts of the blogs produced by Martijn Hordijk from CNV Netherlands and who was the official workers' representative in the Dutch delegation. 

REASON FOR EXISTENCE OF TRADE UNIONS

                           

                                              

REPORT OF THE SEMINAR "WHAT REASON DO TRADE UNIONS HAVE IN A MARKET WITH A DECLINING SUPPORT?"

Please note that this report soon will be available on the WOW website in Spanish, German and French.

The Seminar Room

Billund, 01 February 2013 – In the past trade unions have played an important role in, amongst others, promoting social dialogue, bargaining for collective agreements, and supporting its members in case of disputes. Today, however, the role of unions is under pressure. Throughout Europe one can detect a decline of membership affecting the position of trade unions. But what does this say about the support for unions? What future do trade unions have?

This was the topic during a two-day European seminar which took place in Billund, Denmark. Focus of the seminar, which was organized by the Christian Trade Union KRIFA (Kristelig Fagbevægelse) and the European Organization of the World Organization of Workers – EO/WOW in cooperation with the European Centre for Workers’ Questions (EZA) and with the support of the European Union.

The seminar with the theme “What reason for existence do trade unions have in a market with declining support?” was well-visited by trade union leaders from over 17 EU Member States. This clearly showed that the them of the seminar is very topical and does not stop at the borders. All countries are faced with the same development to a more or lesser extent. We as trade unions have to find ways to countries these developments in order to remain a representative bargaining power.

The trade union STING delegation of Croatia at work with Lego learning to build and to communicate.

The way in which the economy is organized has changed. Whereas in the past people often worked for the same employee for forty years, these days people shift from one job to the other. Not always by choice, but in most instances it is by choice. People are continuously trying to improve and challenge themselves. This is also something they expect form their employer. If the employer does not do this people look for greener pastures.

What can be seen is that society as a whole has become more individual. There are a number of reasons for that, but one important characteristic is the speedy development of certain kind of media. Another characteristic is the fact that (young) people want to shape their own future more and more and not be dependent on an organization such as, for example, the trade union. But it can also be seen when looking at the lower interest in being part of a community (football-club, music-band, volunteers-work). People in general feel a lesser need to belong somewhere.

The individualization greatly affects the role of unions as well. People not only shift from one job to the other, they may also, because of this, may shift from one branch to the other. Trade union will have to act on this development. Create means to keep members first and to attract new members second. A way to do this is to do as the Romans do. Meaning that if society is becoming more individual, the unions should have a more individual approach as well. Of course without forgetting their role as collective bargainers. Unions are, in principle, for the collective. But certain developments in society are now leading to necessary changes.

EZA President Bartho Pronk, former Member of the European Parliament, opened the seminar with some critical and optimistic remarks.

But not all has to be bad. The current crisis may be of benefit. As Bartho Pronk, EZA President, explained: “A crisis leads to restructuring. It is easier to make these changes with social dialogue than without. New Liberalism has proven its wrongs. The market is important, but without social dialogue it is not functioning as well as it could. The effect of this all is that social dialogue has gotten a prominent role in the Lisbon Treaty. So the crisis has caused a turn-around in thought.”

Indeed crises often lead to positive changes. People are forced to rethink certain strong-held strategies and ways of acting. A trend which started some years ago is the increase of so-called part-time and a-typical jobs. “In Austria, Günther Trausznitz, European President of the WOW, stated, 59% of the jobs are a-typical (typical jobs are from 9 to 5). This makes it difficult to find common grounds for collective bargaining”. True, the interests of the workers is different making certain general agreements difficult to achieve.

Although many trade unions are losing members this is not the case in all countries. In the case of Austria, for example, there has been a steady growth form the fifties of the last century. Lately, what can be seen is that half of the new members within the FCG/GPA-DJP (private services sector) are female.

In Denmark, as in other countries in Scandinavia, trade union membership is quite high. There are various factors that cause this, but the most important is possibly the unemployment insurance scheme. Laust Høgedahl said that: “This so-called Ghent-system allows trade unions to administer government-subsidized unemployment insurance funds (Norway excluded). In the Danish context these funds were trade- and profession-specific. Unions thereby had a monopoly. This does of course not necessarily explain the high density of membership. But what happens in practice is that is that people experience a lack of transparent institutional separation. Wage earners perceive the trade union and UIF as the same thing!”.

When we look at the role of the employer and their expectancy of the future cooperation with trade unions, it becomes clear that they have quite a different perception. Knud Nørbo of the Jyske Bank sees developments on which they do not have influence, but is affecting them as a company. “While the Jyske Bank complies to the standard collective agreement for the Employers Association and Financial Services Union, they also have their own local company agreements (within the framework of the standard collective agreement). This company agreement is more purpose and intent than actual rules. We belief people on the spot know best!”.

EO/WOW President Guenther Trausznitz spoke during his words of welcome on the growth of the so called a-typical jobs, also in his country Austria.

Knud Nørbo sees a few challenges for the future. The challenges, which are global, are the individualization which does not fit well into rigid rules, meaning that a one fits all approach is no longer possible. Secondly, the time, place, nature of the work, and life-style is changing (eg. work-life balance).

This growing individualization is reoccurring point of attention. Particularly what can be done to work within this trend. As Laust Høgedahl stated: “You can change yourself or you can change your members. What is easiest”. Trade unions will have to work with the current parameters. They have more influence on themselves than on their (potential) members. In Austria they are acting with this in mind. They have sent mailings to non-members just before difficult collective negotiations. This to more prominently show what it is they are doing and for whom. Also by offering a reduced membership-fee (or no fee at all) in the first period of membership is a means to attract members, thereby hoping that they will continue their membership.

The same developments can be detected in other countries as well. Not only when there is a decline of membership, but also just to attract more members and thus become more representative. All unions are searching for ways to attract people. Only by showing that you have an important role in collective bargaining is no longer enough. The people demand more. It is always: ‘What’s in it for me?’

Wolfgang Pischinger, President of the Christian Fraction of the Austrian trade union GPA-dj was one of the speakers at the seminar.

“Trade unions should be more introspective” stated Jesper Wengel, CEO of KRIFA. “I cannot create jobs, but what I can do is make sure that the people in KRIFA have high-competences, and deliver a high service and quality to the members”.

And this is exactly what is needed. “Attracting members is one thing. Keeping them another”, said Guy van Gyes, Research Manager at the University of Leuven, Belgium. “There is a high-turn-over. People leaving the unions, but also people going form one union to the other”.

There are various reasons for people to leave or switch unions. Important reasons were the price of membership and the fact that the former union supported certain political parties. Perhaps an even more important reason is the that the former union did not attend the member’s interests (Høgedahl). This clearly shows the importance of being attractive for the individual as well as for the collective.

“What is striking is that the sympathy for and feeling of legitimacy of trade unions is quite high, although this does not necessarily comes back in an increase of new members. In that respect trade unions should question themselves about the ‘logic of influence’ and the ‘logic of membership/participation’. Of course taking the current societal changes into account”, stated Guy van Gyes. People want to know what is in it for them. “They demand a quick response and a personal approach”.

There will always be a future for trade unions, since there will always be a relationship between employer and employee. This is always a power-relationship and this relationship changes over time. How trade unions will be organized in the future is to be seen. Trade unions should be, more than now, a movement organization establishing a community experience (community unionism).

The need for unions remain so there will always be a future. Trade unions will, however, have to reinvent themselves, without disregarding their core-values and traditional role for the collective. Not everything is for sale. Changing oneself is easier than changing the other.

As Laust Høgedahl stated: “In order to be an attractive trade union in the future, trade unions must strike a balance between relevant individual services and a reasonable membership fee apart from delivering collective goods”. 

Report made by Bjorn van Heusden, executive Secretary WOW

TOGO: A POLICY OF APPEASEMENT IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CHALLENGES

It is a pleasure to present the Conclusions as published in a Report of Non Governmental Organisations and Trade Unions in Togo on the actual situation. The original French text you will find below the English text.

CONCLUSIONS

Two years after the re-election of Faure Gnassingbe as president of the Republic, 10 civil society organizations questioned the situation in terms of political dialogue, human rights and social dialogue.

With the demonstrations of the Republican Front for Political Alternation and Change (FRAC), Togo shows still a degraded image outside the country,  gradually relayed by sectoral trade union claims, the denunciations of organizations defending human rights and freedom of press. The government, initially, reacted quite brutal on these events, what has seemed to express the hesitation of an newly legitimized power through the ballot box between the attempt to stifle political  and social protest and its concern about the pressure from civil movements.

Civil Society Organizations, authors of this report, have doubts about the real level of progress of the settlement of the political crisis. They agree to remark that the ruling power has still time regarding the effective implementation of the Global Political Agreement signed in 2006. They argue that the created Permanent Framework for Dialogue and Consultation (CPDC) , even in its extended form, has not yet managed to create conditions for a genuine political consensus for real constitutional and institutional reforms. Yet these reforms are necessary in order that political alternation becomes really possible paving the way for an easing of political life. Nevertheless, these organizations welcome the political opening of government policy and the priority given to dialogue and consultation in stead of repression.

As regards the human rights, the organizations that wrote this report, acknowledge the efforts of the government and the significant progress on freedom of speech, press, public meetings. However, they believe that torture and other degrading and inhuman treatment is still too often practiced by the security forces. These organizations recognize however that these practices have declined in recent years and are asking the government to do everything that they completely disappear.

In terms of social rights, civil society organizations and trade unions also agreed to recognize the efforts of the government and testify to the deepening of the social dialogue that is reflected by taking important provisions for legislation: a new social Security Code extending social protection to the informal sector of the economy, a law on compulsory health insurance for state employees and the like, a new law on free zones opening up the sector to the unconditionally application and without detour of the Labor Code, and grooming of an Interprofessional Collective Convention which, among other things, raises the minimum wage of 28.000 to 35.000 FCFA (Central African Franc) accompanied by a  more advantageous payment scale. Several social agreements on sector and global level have also been made with some of them already implemented.

In general, civil society organizations and trade unions - authors of this report – believe that the government must do more to ensure that Togo finally comes out of its political crisis and that the living conditions of the people will become better.

TOGO: Une politique d’appaisement face aux contestations socio-economiques et politiques

CONCLUSIONS 

Deux années après la réélection de Faure Gnassingbé à la présidence de la République, 10 organisations de la société civile se sont interrogées sur la situation en termes de dialogue politique, de droits de l'Homme et de dialogue social.

Le Togo montre encore une image dégradée à l'extérieur du pays avec, au cours de ces dernières années, des manifestations du Front Républicain pour l'Alternance et le Changement (FRAC) contre le gouvernement, peu à peu relayées par des mouvements de revendications sectorielles des organisations syndicales, des dénonciations des organisations de défense des droits de l'homme et de la presse. Le gouvernement a, dans un premier temps, réagi de manière assez brutale à ces manifestations, ce que a semblé traduire les hésitations d'un pouvoir rélégitimé par les urnes à la fois tenté d'étouffer les contestations politiques et sociales mais aussi soucieux de la pression des mouvements citoyens.

Les organisations de la société civile auteurs de ce rapport ont des doutes sur le réel niveau d'avancement du règlement de la crise politique. Elles s'accordent à dire que le pouvoir a termoie encore quant à la mise en oeuvre effective de l'Accord Politique Global pourtant signé en 2006. Elles soutiennent que le Cadre Permanent de Dialogue et de Concertation (CPDC) mis en place, même dans sa forme élargie, n’est pas encore parvenu a créer les conditions d'un veritable consensus politique pour envisager les veritables réformes constitutionelles et institutionelles. Ces réformes sont pourtant indispensables afin que l'alternance politique devienne réellement possible ouvrant ainsi la voie à un apaisement de la vie politique. Néanmoins, ces organisations saluent l'ouverture politique du gouvernement et la priorité donnée au dialogue et à la concertation au détriment de la répression.

Par rapport aux droits de l'homme, les organisations auteurs du rapport reconnaissent les efforts du gouvernement et les progrès sensibles concernant la liberté d'expression, de presse, de manifestations et de réunion publique. Cependant, elles estiment que la torture et d'autres traitements dégradants et inhumains sont encore trop souvent practiqués par les forces de sécurité. Ces organisations reconnaissent toutefois que ces practiques ont diminué depuis quelques années et demandent au gouvernement de tout faire pour qu'elles soient totalement évincées.

Sur le plan des droits sociaux, les organisations de la société civile et les organisations syndicales s'accordent également à reconnaitre les efforts du gouvernement et témoignent de l'approfondissement du dialogue social que c' est traduit par la prise d'importantes dispositions législatives: un nouveau Code de sécurité sociale élargissant la protection sociale au secteur de l'economie informelle, une loi sur l'assurance maladie obligatoire pour les agents de l'Etat et assimilés, une nouvelle loi sur la zone franche ouvrant le secteur à l'application sans condition et sans détour du Code du Travail, et le toilettage de la Convention Collective Interprofessionelle qui a, entre autres, relevé le SMIG de 28000 à 35000 F CFA assortie d'une grille salariale plus avantageuse. Plusieurs accords sociaux sectoriels et global ont également été consentis dont certains déjà mis en oeuvre.

D'une manière générale, les organisations de la société civile et les organisations syndicales auteurs de ce rapport estiment que le gouvernement doit s'engager davantage pour que le Togo sorte enfin de la crise politique et que les conditions de vie des populations s' améliorent.