Virtual Conference held on Wednesday, October 28 from 13:00- to 16:30CET
The unions and their affiliated federations from the British multinational company COATS Group PLC and IndustriALL leadership and headquarter and regional officials met via Zoom (with translation into Bangla, Turkish, Bahasa, Vietnamese, English, Spanish, German, and Portuguese) on a virtual Global Trade Union Network meeting to discuss the following agenda items:
- Mapping of COATS Global Trade union
- Presentation on developing union power
- Reports from regions on COVID impacts and union actions. Country representatives considered: eemployment and working conditions, union membership, workers health and safety, union and management actions
Participants
TGSL Co-chair: Aikiko Gono (Japan)
TGSL SC members: Edgar Romney (US)
Union Network Members: Kutubuddin Ahmed (Bangladesh), Abdul Majid (Bangladesh), Sheikh Abdul Mannan (Bangladesh), Jaganathan V.R (India), Gurusamy Kumaraswamy (India), K. Rajasekaran (India), Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoan (Vietnam), Nguyen Huu Chung (Vietnam), Luu Thi Hang Phu (Vietnam), Trần Thị Vân Trinh (Vietnam), Eka Pria Sukmani (Indonesia), Nurul Huda Yuliyanti (Indonesia), Iwan Kusmawan (Indoensia), , Szabolcs Beothy-Fehler (Hungary), Manfred Bussmann (Germany),Claudia Rahman (Germany), Saffet Unal (Turkey), Nilgun Metin (Turkey), Incigul Senturk (Turkey), Josenildo Melo (Brazil), Jose Roberto (Brazil), Jose Nogueira Filho (Brazil), Maria Da Conceição Lima da Silva (Brazil), Evangelina Argueta (Honduras), William Marquez (Honduras), Marco Garcia (Honduras), Jerónimo Sanchez (Mexico), José Leonardo Rincon Ochoa (Columbia), Froilan Londono (Colombia), Luis Cesar Urrego Alcaraz (Colombia), Jane Ragoo (Mauritious).
Secretariat: Valter Sanches-general secretary, Christina Clausen- sector director for TGSL, Raisul Islam Khan-global researcher and campaigner, Amandine Iwachow-administrative coordinator, Thilagam Ramalingam (SAO office), Laura Carter (LARO).
Opening remarks by Akiko Gono
Akiko Gono emphasized the importance of the first global network meeting in the sector. The pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities with its greatest impact in the TGSL sector. According to the latest ILO report published in July, 245 million workers will lose their jobs at the end of this year. She commended the efforts of IndustriALL stating that engagement is best at the local level. She hopes that this platform for information exchange can help to increase social dialogue throughout COATS.
Opening remarks by Valter Sanches
Valter Sanches highlighted the importance that IndustriALL, as a global union, puts its resources to the services of its affiliates. The highest priority is to keep workers in good health and then to preserve jobs and income throughout supply chains. The textile and garment sector are one of the hardest hits as global consumption decreases which is linked to lockdowns and income losses. He further emphasized that this network can influence COATS from the bottom-up, as the company has 30,000 manufacturing customers. IndustriALL sent a letter to the company in March, but the company did not reply.
Presentation by Christina Hajagos-Clausen
IndustriALL connects trade unions in order to increase exchange and communication amongst trade unions and aims to increase the trade union presence. Christina Clausen pointed to the importance of this meeting as the first global trade union network meeting. COATS was chosen as the global sector steering committee advised to start with a multinational manufacturer. In the case of COATS, there is significant union density and the ability to organize those who are not unionized.
Christina Clausen then introduced IndustriALL’s actions during the pandemic, which include defending worker’s rights, confronting global capital and identifying bad actors, building union power and developing a sustainable industrial policy under ILO’s Call to Action.
Presentation by Raisul Islam Khan: Network update and Union Mapping
In his presentation, Raisul Islam Khan gave an update on the network activities so far, communication among the network during Covid-19 pandemic, overall financial performance of COATS Group in 2020 and its underpinning actions to tackle Covid-19 impact on its business and operations, and an overview of trade union presence within COATS along with the overall factory mapping of COATS worldwide. The factory and union mapping revealed that till there are a lot of facilities left to organize among COATS value chain and the overall financial and business operation of COATS during the pandemic revealed that the company operated on low profit and generated decreased revenues on 2020 due to the global pandemic.
Country Reporting
Representatives from Vietnam reported a great impact of the pandemic, but the situation has come back to normal. The company has reduced working hours, workers have Saturdays off and some even reduced the salary. There is no impact on union activities and the number of unions. The company requires all staff to measure the temperature before entering the factory, to wear a mask, sanitize hands before entering and keep two meters distance. The company is also responsible on the handling of waste which can cause infections and set up a task force.
Representatives from Indonesia reported no significant impact on workers. During pandemic, the number of workers has declined, some workers retired, and some took sick leave. The company opened an area for new workers at COATS and takes good care of the health of their workers. Workers are asked to to use hand sanitizer, rest and take their temperature. In relation to pay and benefits, the pandemic has changed the working system. We went from 6 working days and 1 day off to 5 working days and 2 days off which lessened the salary, but we will go back 6 working days and 1 day off. The union has set up an isolation area to handle Covid and is intended for those affected or who have symptoms. The situation at COATS has been better than in many workplaces in Indonesia during the lockdown. However, representatives note that there are many issues that have an impact on workers during the pandemic: workers were fired, salaries were cut by 50% and contracts are not prolonged. Therefore, members who do not have an extended contract are greatly impacted. The worker union informed all their members that occupational safety and health is a priority because it has an impact on productivity. The union makes sure that the wage is up to standard, benefits be given as usual and overtime is given an addition. The union informs the workers on this and provides training and information.
Representatives from Bangladesh reported an initial impact of Covid on workers and some financial challenges, but the union later took steps to overcome this. The annual wage increase was given and regular meetings are taking place. In May, some workers were laid off, but the authorities re-employed them later and in October new workers were temporarily employed. The company shared important guidelines by the government and the union took important steps such as distributing free masks and hand sanitizers. The union also started a bus service so that workers can avoid public transportation. Two workers died. The family members of the deceased people were helped.
In India, workers were afraid to go to work in March. Due to initiatives by the management and from the union side, workers returned. In India, more than 90% haven’t paid wages to workers during Covid especially in April, May, and June. However, the COATS management has paid wages for the three months continuously. Temporary workers were also paid during the lockdown. The company also did well when it comes to health and safety issues and local union leaders have spoken to the management to follow the rules. Unions provided masks for workers and raised awareness. There was no loss of union membership.
Representatives from Turkey reported that their factory was not impacted badly. All workers were tested, and temperature checks became mandatory. The company employs shuttle buses carrying workers to the factory. Social distancing and masks are mandatory both on the shuttle buses and at the workplace. Since March, some departments went on shorter work time, but this did not necessarily decrease wages. State support was given, pregnant women and colleagues with chronic diseases were sent on paid leave and the day-care facility was closed. Orders are increasing again, so there is a recruitment new worker who have become our members. There was no increase in union membership and the layout of factory was changed to enable social distancing. Those with certain symptoms and contacts are tested rapidly. We have shown solidarity in the workplace and asked for overtime to be eliminated in order to prevent the spread of the virus. We also distributed flyers to workers and hold regular meetings to inform workers on new developments. We had 6/7 cases this month, but none before.
Hungary has two COATS factories. The factories have seen declining sales and orders. Fortunately, the number of union members is stagnant. The representatives emphasized the importance to follow health and safety rules. A strict protocol has been introduced and no cases at the company have been reported. Covid has affected working conditions, reduced working hours and working weeks and salaries fell. Therefore, as the representatives stress, a Global Framework Agreement which contains a minimum salary would be important. The representatives note that this global meeting is a good opportunity to build union power. The union has cooperated with the National Employer Organization, has good social partnerships to national and international projects and cooperates with Turkish and Portuguese colleagues. The social dialogue with the national government is important to develop the economic recovery plan from the EU budget which could support wages.
Factories in Germany have adopted the same measures as other representatives have reported which are strictly followed. No cases have been reported. In February and March, sales have decreased substantially. No workers were laid off, but the company made use of “Kurzarbeit” (short term working). Internal agreements that were in place with COATS before, boosted paid wages from 50% to 80%. Almost all collogues are represented in unions (95%). No layoffs are planned, although some part of the production will move abroad. There was a request that the network put the German colleagues in contact with the Turkish.
In Brazil, there was no negative impact of the pandemic on the employment rate. On the contrary, the pandemic had a positive impact on the sector as the company hired 100 additional employees. The union density is on a stable level. The company has complied with obligations, employees are keeping social distance, masks were provided, the number of people inside the canteen has been limited to 20 people, and few workers are working from home/ remote. Representatives confirm that company has taken care of their workers and production has been stable.
Honduras has three COATS factories. Out of the 475 employees about 400 are workers and part of union. The impact of the pandemic has not been very great compared to other countries. However, there was a conflict with what is stated in the collective agreement and 15 people lost their job. Despite that, representatives report they were able to maintain the headcount and they hope to engage in new negotiations to re-integrate those 15 persons. A mediation process was initiated to reintegrate the people who were laid off. When the virus hit in March, the company maintained the salaries and afterwards suspended part of the staff which was approved by the government. A lot of these people went back to their villages. When workers were asked to come back to the factory, it was often difficult due to travel restrictions and one person was not able to return. The health of workers was given priority as necessary equipment was provided and health provisions were respected. Salaries were modified in agreement with demand. There was a reduction in demand and in working hours at the beginning of the pandemic, but basic salaries were maintained. Benefits of collective agreements were maintained but some were no longer extended and are not being paid until today. The trade union will develop a series of health practices in conjunction and in cooperation with local workers. Unionisation in Honduras has increased, and initiatives were started to improve working conditions.
In Mexico, there are 3 COATS facilities, 2 production factories and one distribution centre. The representatives work with the management to get a clear picture how the plants are working. In terms of the workforce, we haven’t had a heavy impact and we were able to negotiate with the company to prevent job losses. Representatives reported around 90% of union membership among the workers and emphasized that high unionization is important to look after their members. They are also trying to come to an agreement with their employer to prevent any layoffs. Regarding health and safety, there were problems in some of the plants and at one in particular. At the beginning of the lockdown in March, we had to shut down for a while and organized on behalf of our workers to ensure workers health and safety was looked after. In the beginning of May, one worker was infected with Covid and the factory had to shut down. Several deaths were reported, but the number of infections is otherwise quite low and has been monitored by the company. We have medical facilities on site and the working conditions changed particularly in April when 50 % of wages were paid when the company was shut down. In May, workers received their full payment, even those who stayed home were paid in full. In June, when orders were falling and production was reduced, an agreement was made with the company that 80% of wages would be paid. Initially, the company wanted to cut wages by 30%. After that, orders recovered, and production increased and now we are more or less back to normal. Representatives pointed out that the company and workers jointly agreed to what needs to be done in its health and safety approach. The trade unions have been consulted.
Concluding remarks by Valter Sanches
Valter Sanches concluded the meeting by summarizing the reports. In general terms, the reports showed that the company managed to go through the crisis by redirecting production to PPP and new products. COATS seems not as affected as other companies in textiles and garments. However, Valter Sanches also pointed to the fact that some representatives reported challenges. He hopes this network is a good tool for exchange and support so that we can help each other in solidarity. We will insist on contact with the company because we have a significant number of plants that are organized, the company should be in dialogue with IndustriALL. He further wants to convey a sub meeting with Europe because there are ongoing issues such as production transfers. Therefore, it would be good to have a coordinated discussion with the company on a regional level. He closed his remarks by confirming that IndustriALL will keep doing everything possible to support the work of this network, either at regional or global level.
Concluding remarks by Christina Hajagos-Clausen
Christina Clausen concluded the meeting by emphasizing the importance of a network to exchange information and act on that information. We have the explicit goal for more formal dialogue with the company on a global level. The key work at IndustriALL and goal of this network is to negotiate a GFA with COATS. We have the strength to do it, we have a strong density, the will and we have many GFA’s with their customers. We will set up the network and go in dialogue with the company, the regional network work continues. Christina Clausen also mentioned the need for worker education at the plant level, IndustriALL will work with the network on that. We have the resources to continue the network and the will from our members. She concluded the meeting by mentioning the Facebook group that was created to facilitate further informal exchange and dialogue.
Conclusions
The meeting concluded with the following steps:
- The social dialogue will continuously be strengthened also via informal channels such as the Facebook group.
- A regional discussion with the company is envisaged with European representatives.
- IndustriALL keeps on working towards the goal of a GFA with COATS and will facilitate a dialogue with the company.
- IndustriALL will work with the network to facilitate worker education at the plant level.
- The regional network work continues.