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	Mobilizing for living wages by Jyrki Raina General Secretary, IndustriALL   March 2015   All over the world, the Global Union family is mobilizing for a living wage for all workers. In 2014, steps forward were taken in Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and elsewhere. But there is a long way to go.   In December 2014, one million workers took to the streets again in major cities of Indonesia, demanding higher wages. As a result, new minimum wages now reach US$ 240-260 per month in the biggest production areas. Thanks to strategic action and major mobilizations, Indonesian workers have doubled their salaries since 2011. And they will continue to demand their fair share of corporate profits.   Cambodia was campaign ground most of the year. After security forces killed five workers in demonstrations in January 2014, IndustriALL launched strategic action with our union and NGO allies and major clothing brands to build a bargaining process that would lead to living wages for 500,000 garment workers.   After two global action days, two rounds of talks with leading brands, the Cambodian government and employers, and more united action by unions, the prime minister confirmed the new monthly minimum wage of US$ 128 in November. It is still far away from a living wage, yet 70 per cent higher than in 2013.   Wages are rising all over Asia. In January 2015, Vietnam raised its minimum wage from 128 to 146 dollars per month, and China’s main industrial production areas have reached US$ 300. Myanmar will confirm its first ever minimum wage this year.   Guaranteeing a living wage for all workers in our industries is one of key campaigns of IndustriALL Global Union. Workers have to be paid enough during regular working hours to cover the costs of housing, food, health care and education. Only this way can we manage to reduce excessive overtime which shockingly led to the death of three Cambodian garment workers last year.   Our strategy is focused on three key elements: Supporting affiliates in national minimum wage campaigns; Increasing unions’ bargaining capacity through workshops in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Sub-Saharan African, and Middle East and North Africa; Engaging global brands to support freedom of association and collective bargaining throughout their supply chains.   We are in discussions with key brands in our biggest sector, the textile and garment industry which employs 60 million workers in the world, to develop industry level bargaining and enable living wages through their purchasing practices. The brands have considerable leverage with their suppliers and host country governments. They need to pay more for their products.   Nothing will however change if we do not have union strength and unity on the ground. Organizing and mobilization of workers in joint action remain indispensable for success in our fight for living wages.   Jan 2015   Why was there no mention of workers at Davos?   As leaders from government and business attend Davos for the World Economic Forum, working people are ignored in this year’s theme on the ‘new global context’.   “Global prosperity depends on workers and yet they feel powerless,” says Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, who is participating at Forum meetings in Davos.   In the new global context, working people are increasingly alienated from structures and corporations. Wages drop while corporate profits and CEO salaries go through the roof, fuelling the lack of trust in multinational companies and in governments’ power to control them.   “Hundreds of millions of people are toiling on poverty wages, leading to suffering and unrest, which is bad for business,” adds Raina.   IndustriALL, representing 50 million workers worldwide, is fighting for living wages for all workers to reduce income inequality, increase economic growth and create new jobs.   A handful of multinational corporations recognize that wage levels in many developing countries are unsustainable. That’s why IndustriALL is working with global fashion brands such as H&M and Inditex to pay living wages to garment workers in their supply chains.   Throughout the world, stable employment is being replaced by temporary jobs with low pay and no career prospects, job security or social benefits. Young people, in particular, are finding it harder than ever to find a decent and secure job.   “You can’t build an economy on poverty wages and insecure jobs,” says Raina. “Inclusive and sustainable global development depends on a constructive relationship between business and workers. Unions are essential to ensuring a fair distribution of the fruits of industry and must be regarded as partners to business, not rivals.”   IndustriALL works with multinational companies to achieve this balance. We have global framework agreements with 43 multinational companies including World Economic Forum industry partners GDF Suez, Siemens, Volkswagen and Statoil, to protect the interests of workers throughout the operations and supply chains of multinational companies.   “In a world challenged by climate change, workers and the poorest in society are the most vulnerable,” says Raina. “IndustriALL Global Union calls on state and business leaders in Davos to wake up and take action to stop global warming before we face a catastrophic grab for resources in a world of diminishing means.”   http://www.industriall-union.org/issues/social-justice-and-globalization/living-wage http://fightfor15.org/april15/ http://chinalaborwatch.org/links.aspx http://www.ituc-csi.org/ Visit the related web page
	Conflict Minerals in Europe by Global Witness, Walk Free, Congo Calling, agencies   Conflict minerals regulation is being discussed in Europe. MEPs will vote on it in Spring 2015. This is a landmark occasion. For too long, the trade in minerals and other natural resources has funded brutal conflicts and fuelled human rights abuses worldwide.   The EU is responsible for almost a quarter of the global trade in tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold. But it has no legislation in place to check if the minerals funded conflict or violence overseas, making it very hard for consumers to know if their purchases are linked to conflict and human rights abuses.   Until now. The European Commission has proposed a conflict minerals regulation that would cover Europe for the first time. The problem is that it is toothless. The voluntary scheme will have no significant impact on the trade in conflict minerals. But the European Parliament and Council still have the chance to strengthen it.   In the Central African Republic, Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the minerals trade has been partly responsible for fuelling deadly conflicts that have displaced 9.4 million people. This is a global problem.   The minerals can enter global supply chains and end up in products, such as your mobile phone, laptop, jewellery, car or light bulb.   The US and 12 African countries have measures in place requiring companies to source minerals responsibly. Despite being a key player, the EU has none.   Except a weak proposal that is on the table. The European Commission’s scheme mainly covers minerals imported in their raw forms. This leaves out companies that bring minerals into Europe as part of products, such a mobile phones, cars, and jewellery. In fact, the proposal only covers a paltry 0.05 per cent of European companies involved in the trade.   It only covers four minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold), excluding other important resources such as diamonds, gem-stones, chromite, and jade. What’s more – it is voluntary. Companies won’t even have to abide by it.   More than 65 international campaigning organisations have also joined the call for change.   Parliamentarians, alongside our governments, must overhaul the regulation in order to change the way companies source natural resources from conflict-affected areas. First and foremost, it needs to be binding. But it also needs to cover enough companies and resources to be meaningful.   This regulation is not just about doing the right thing. Getting companies to carry out supply chain due diligence – whereby companies identify, mitigate and report on risks along their supply chains – is essential to any top-performing and sustainable business.   More than 130 Bishops joined the call for strong, binding conflict minerals legislation in Europe, as have investors representing more than €855 Billion in assets under management. Dr. Denis Mukwege, the winner of the European Union’s most distinguished human rights award (the Sakharov Prize), called for a strong mandatory regulation when he accepted his award in 2015.   “The EU is at risk of breaching its international obligations. Our governments have a duty under European human rights law to ensure businesses do not cause or contribute to human rights abuses“, says - Ed Zwick, the Director of film Blood Diamond.   "We urgently need a strong law in the EU which stops companies ignoring the harms their purchases fuel in countries like the Congo.. international scrutiny of the sector has triggered real progress which the EU’s voluntary scheme would undermine. It would allow European companies to profit at the expense of local people", says Gautier Muhindo Misonia, coordinator of the Centre for Research and Investigation into the Environment, Democracy and Human Rights, in DRC.   European industry can’t afford to get left behind. We need politicians to put strong conflict minerals regulation in place now.   http://www.congocalling.org/ http://www.walkfree.org/tackle-conflict-minerals-trade/ Visit the related web page
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