ICFTU ONLINE...

249/981113/DD

Brussels November 13 1998 (ICFTU OnLine): The following is a summary of main trade union news for the last week. The numbers at the end of the paragraphs refer to the relevant issue of ICFTU OnLine.

Zimbabwe Strike - One dead: The ICFTU has written to President Mugabe deploring the death of a member of the public during a brutal attack by the authorities during the strike held on November 11, and has asked him to restore dialogue with the ZCTU. The strike, the first of the one day strikes to be held every Wednesday, was called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to protest at the 67 per cent increase in the price of fuel decreed at the beginning of November. The ZCTU has demanded that the increase be reversed until the government has discussed a report on corruption and fraud within the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe. The ZCTU is also maintaining its demand for an across the board 20 per cent pay rise to compensate for recent increases in the price of basic consumer goods. Last month the government relaxed its tight control on prices, allowing the private sector to introduce rises of up to 40% in the price of food products, including cornflour, the population's staple food. (OnLine 244)

Climate Conference Meeting: . A trade union delegation, coordinated through the ICFTU/ TUAC, at the Climate Change meeting in Argentina said that trade union support is crucial to the success of programmes to reduce greenhouse gases. A key issue for many workers, warns the ICFTU, is how measures being discussed for climate change will affect their employment prospects. In order to be able to lend their full support and use their expertise in such fields as eco-auditing, workers need to be sure that sustainable development will not lead to job cuts. "Workers are worried that (Kyoto) Protocol measures could leave them out in the cold and without a job," said Luis Anderson, speaking for the ICFTU, as he pointed to the thousands of workers in industries which contribute to COČ emissions, who risk losing their livelihoods if work in these sectors is cut or changed. Members of the trade union delegation are lobbying governments to adopt these trade union proposals and held a work shop to discuss the issue. (OnLine 245)

Debt relief for Central American Countries: The ICFTU has written to the international financial institutions asking them to suspend the debts of the Central American countries devastated by Hurricane Mitch. It pointed out that the cancellation of the unpayable debts of Honduras and Nicaragua would release resources that need to be spent on rebuilding the devastated countries. The ICFTU says that there is no possibility of these countries servicing their external debts in the current emergency or indeed in the foreseeable future, as a major part of their economic base which relies on agriculture has been destroyed. It is calling on the creditor countries and institutions to recognise this, and suspend or cancel all due debt repayments from these two countries immediately (OnLine 246)

Child labour and sexual discrimination in Trinidad/Tobago. An ICFTU report , brought out to complement the WTO's trade policy review, says that Trinidad and Tobago must take steps to stop child labour and to prevent discrimination against women workers. The report found a number of areas in which the Caribbean country fell short of international norms. Child labour is increasing in the informal sector, eg. street selling and the country's own laws allow child labour over the age of 12, in contravention of ILO norms. It also discovered discrimination in the recruitment and promotion of women workers, both in the private and public sectors. Finally it found that while generally observing ILO Conventions 87 and 98, the country prevents strikes in essential services, and defines "essential" in far too narrow a way. The ICFTU called on the WTO to remind the country that it promised to respect international labour standards.(OnLine 247)

Philippines: End of one more union-free zone: The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has ended the union-free status of yet another privately-operated economic (ecozone) Victoria Wave, near Manila. Its affiliate, the Philippine Transport and General Workers Organisation (PTGWO), won a certification election in October among the 100 workers in the Christo Wood Industries, which makes marine plywood for export. However, the union officers and members who were dismissed during organising efforts dating back to August 1997, are still fighting for their reinstatement. Victoria Wave has been referred to as "Casual City" because most workers are dismissed after six months, or order to prevent them getting the regular status under the law, enjoyed by workers of more than six months duration. The TUCP has found it increasingly difficult to organise in the ecozones because workers feel very insecure owing to the Asia crisis.

Korea: ICFTU supports FKTU Conference this weekend: ICFTU General Secretary Bill Jordan has sent a message of support for the Workers’ National Conference, which the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), are organising in Seoul on November 15. In his letter, Bill Jordan applauds the tremendous role played by FKTU in confronting the economic crisis, and says that the efforts to rebuild the shattered economy require the full participation of workers and the community. Trade unions which represent working people, are especially conscious of the social impact of the economic crisis on the vulnerable groups. The National Conference is to take the form of an outdoor rally, and it will be broadcast simultaneously round the world on the Internet (ref: http://www.jinbo.net.

APEC: The ICFTU is challenging APEC leaders meeting in Kuala Lumpur for the APEC summit to take immediate steps to resolve their region's financial and social crisis. The unions say APEC must take radical steps to reorient its work programme so that it addresses the social devastation caused by the economic crisis and the structural adjustment programmes which followed. The unions are proposing financial and economic reforms, giving development plans a social and employment dimension and setting up an APEC Social Action Plan. The ICFTU is asking APEC to include the Asian and Pacific Labour Network (APLN) in discussions about future regional plans, and to develop APEC into an institution which considers the impact of economic changes on the labour force and society at large. (OnLine: 248)

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