YANGON – 60 trade union leaders from textile and apparel hubs across South East Asia gathered in Myanmar recently where they resolved to collaborate more closely to combat a rising tide of threats and harassment from factory owners. IndustriALL Global Union affiliates from seven countries in South East Asia – Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – resolved to build stronger networks as they met for IndustriALL’s regional textile, garment, shoes and leather meeting on organising in supply chains. The meeting comes at a pertinent time, with the past year having seen significant factory/government clampdowns on organised labour groups in the likes of Cambodia and Bangladesh.
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At the meeting, Cambodian affiliates condemned the “dirty tactics” used by Cambodian employers to thwart unions’ efforts in organising supply chains, including termination of union leaders.
Nenden Hirawati from National Industrial Workers Union Federation (SPN) said Indonesian employers were equally hostile to trade unions. She added that employers often hire thugs to intimidate unions’ organising efforts and workers were fearful that factories would be shut down and relocated to other regions.
Nonetheless, affiliates also highlighted their successes in building worker power in the supply chain.
Unionists shared a variety of organising strategies to overcome obstacles, including direct negotiation with employers, mediation with the assistance of global brands, and the use of ILO conventions.
“Outsourcing is a common phenomenon in the TGSL sector, that’s why IndustriALL has four key strategies to build industrial relations in the supply chain. We need to create networks amongst our affiliates that support organising in the sector,” said Christina Hajagos-Clausen, IndustriALL’s director for the textile and garment industry.
She gave a briefing on how IndustriALL’s affiliates could be active in holding brands accountable for the business practices through the OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector. She said trade unions should also use global framework agreements to establish relationships with brands and resolve disputes within supplier companies.
“Currently, IndustriALL has 10 union network meetings in the region every year and we have many successful stories. In solidarity with their counterparts in other countries, our regional affiliates shared useful information about multinational companies, such as wage structure, health and safety issues, and direct dialogue strategy with employers,” said IndustriALL’s South East Asia regional secretary, Annie Adviento.
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