An ICEM global union federation report has found that the rights of workers in the cement industries of the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and India are being routinely violated through the use of precarious forms of employment.
In many of the plants covered by the research, contract and agency labour (CAL) is being used to restrict or prevent workers from exercising their right to freedom of association.
Lafarge in the Philippines, for example, has been using CAL workers to fill permanent positions ever since workers took part in industrial actions as far back as 2000.
At one Lafarge plant in Indonesia, all permanent workers are union members, whereas none of the CAL workers are.
In India, contract workers at Holcim were dismissed after they joined the union. To make it worse, the company started criminalising the union leaders.
ILO Conventions 87 and 98 apply to all workers, as explicitly stated in the 350th report of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association: ‘The Committee emphasises that all workers, without distinction whatsoever, whether they are employed on a permanent basis, for a fixed term or as contract employees, should have the right to establish and join organisations of their own choosing.’
The report further specifies that the non-renewal of a contract for anti-union reasons constitutes a prejudicial act within the meaning of Article 1 of Convention 98.
In all five countries covered by the research, contract and agency workers earn less than permanent workers – despite performing work of equal value – and are denied access to many of the benefits enjoyed by their permanent counterparts.
In both the Philippines and Thailand, permanent workers are increasingly being used only in supervisory roles.
This division of responsibilities highlights the fact that it is often contract and agency workers who are performing core labour tasks.
CAL workers in many cement plants live with the burden of uncertainty.
As one interviewee explained, he felt his job would continue only ‘as long as I will cooperate’.
In the Philippines, some CAL workers reported that they do not even have written contracts.
In many cases and countries, CAL workers are also not clear who is responsible for their welfare.
In Thailand, agency workers are the most likely to suffer workplace accidents, yet in many plants they are denied the same health care benefits as permanent workers.
The ICEM ‘decries these exploitative practices, and demands that multinational cement companies such as Lafarge and Holcim that operate in Asia guarantee equal rights for CAL workers and take urgent steps to bring their practices in line with not only the various applicable national legislations, but also with all existing international labour standards – including ILO Conventions 87 and 98 and the Employment Relationship Recommendation 198.’
The ICEM added: ‘Cement companies must also act to ensure that they meet their obligations under the OECD Guidelines for MNEs and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.’
Meanwhile, the devastating floods which killed more than 600 people in Thailand have had a serious impact on the livelihoods of contract and agency workers.
Many agency workers were not paid as plants have been shut down since the crisis began in October 2011.
As the flooding continued in November and December, hundreds of thousands of agency workers were laid off.
The electronic sector, which employs a high proportion of precarious workers, has been amongst the hardest hit by the flooding. In the Ayutthaya and Pathumthani provinces, north of Bangkok, thousands of electronic factories located across several industrial estates remain swamped by more than two metres of water.
Several companies have announced lay-offs and plans to relocate production facilities from Ayuttaya to Malaysia.
The Thai government is providing a package to assist companies to retain their workforces.
Companies that commit to a policy of no lay-offs, maintain the same level of worker benefits, and pay workers no less than 75 per cent of their wages are eligible for this relief package.
Some unionised companies have continued to pay wages – from 100 per cent of wages in the first month, to 75 per cent and 50 per cent for November and December.
The Goodyear Tyre company paid full wages to both regular and fixed-term workers since its only plant in Rangsit, north of Bangkok, was hit by the floods on October 21.
Production had not yet resumed at the plant by January 5th, but management and the union are working hand-in-hand in the recovery process.
Fixed-term workers at Goodyear, whose contracts came to an end on 30th November 2011, did not have their contracts renewed.
At the same time, several companies in the eastern seaboard which were not directly affected by the flood have used the flood as an excuse to delay CBA negotiations or to avoid implementing CBAs.
• A global ICEM Conference dedicated to discussing Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) took place immediately prior to the ICEM Fifth Statutory Congress in Buenos Aires on 23 November 2011.
The Conference brought together more than 400 delegates from 69 countries to exchange stories of best practice, to evaluate work done on CAL, and to probe the future fight against CAL.
The meeting was chaired by Sergio Novais, ICEM vice-president for Latin America/Caribbean, with an introduction by ICEM general secretary Manfred Warda.
Warda said: ‘This conference is about an issue that has been one of the highest on the political agenda of the ICEM for many years.
‘But despite our efforts, CAL is still spreading. In some countries it has become the regular employment situation.’
For individual workers, Warda added, there is more job insecurity, less regular hours, lower and irregular pay, fewer benefits, and in many cases no access to social benefits and an increased health and safety risk.
There is evidence that CAL is being used by employers to deny workers their right to freedom of association, and in many countries CAL workers are either legally or in practice prevented from joining a union.
