UNI 1st World Congress
Friday 7th September
Deutsch - English

All News:
Protection for the new workers of the new economy 09.09
Maj-Len elected 2nd UNI President 09.09
UNI Solidarity: Zimbabwe & Argentina 09.09
No racism here says youth 08.09
Call to end repression in Burma 08.09
Share power can re-shape globalisation 08.09
Union alliances key to countering multinationals 08.09
Annan and Riester back union rights 08.09
Workers rights endangered in Colombia 07.09
Impact of UNI’s launch 07.09
Congress gets down to organising, organising, organising 07.09
Long petition highlights imprisonments of trade unionists in Korea 07.09
World needs UNI says Kurt 07.09
Unions can stop merry-go-round says Frank 06.09
Congress call to free imprisoned trade unionists 06.09
People lose out in unstable new economy 06.09
‘Freedom Roll’ highlights human rights at UNI Congress 05.09
We are all UNI family 05.09
World needs UNI says Kurt 05.09
Millions paying price for unstable New Economy 05.09

Friday 7th September News:
Workers rights endangered in Colombia
Impact of UNI’s launch
Congress gets down to organising, organising, organising
Long petition highlights imprisonments of trade unionists in Korea

Impact of UNI’s launch

The launch of UNI has been one of the most significant changes in the international trade union movement in decades, Bill Jordan, General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, told Congress.
"It has been seen as a practical and far-sighted response to the need for international trade union solidarity," he told delegates.
Co-operation between UNI and the ICFTU - which represents 156 million trade unionists in 148 countries through their trade union centres - has already has an major impact.
He highlighted the global framework agreements on trade union and worker rights with multi national corporations – "a form of global industrial relations" – and efforts to improve the behaviour of corporations through codes of conduct and the recently revised guidelines for the behaviour of multinationals agreed by the OECD.
"We have called the bluff of many of the company generated codes that were no more than public relations declarations and we have pushed companies to agree to real social dialogue."
Together the global unions have also widened the United Nations’ Global Compact beyond a UN-business arrangement into a full partnership in which fundamental labour standards are combined with global social dialogue.
The ICFTU is reviewing its future profile through a Millennium Review that, he said, is the property of all the global union partners.
The first fruits of this Review are being studied by the ICFTU executive board this November.
"Our goal is to have a more coherent and effective trade union movement, one capable of responding collectively and instantly whenever and wherever trade unions or trade unionists are under attack," he said.
David Cockcroft from the ITF  told Congress that "global unions demand that acceptance of core labour standards and decent work is a precondition for participation in any world trade system".
Work is underway to review the sectoral work of the International Labour Organisation.
"Kick out the obstructive and unrepresentative employers and bring global companies and framework agreements in," he urged.

Congress gets down to organising, organising, organising

Organise, organise, organise – is the title of a key background paper for Congress and a good motto for delegates to take away from Berlin.

The Youth presented their goals and objectives through an exciting show on a range of issues

A cheque of 2001 CHF is handed over to the African delegates to buy of computer equipment

The message of the background paper is one of success and example – with a roundup of good news stories about organising from around the world.
As Joe de Bruyn, UNI Asia & Pacific President, told Congress: "the most important task for any trade union today is undoubtedly union membership recruitment".
Youth delegates gave their own ideas for recruiting and involving the new workers.
US affiliate SEIU showed a movie on their campaign to recruit mainly migrant janitor workers and tackle the issues that they face.
"The working poor," was how one speaker in the movie described them.
It’s all about unions changing – and changing their strategies.
"They must renew their efforts at organising and recruiting," said Joe.
And as the global corporations become ever more dominant there needs to be international co-ordination and assistance provided through UNI.
"Much more can be done by affiliates working together through UNI," he told delegates.
"I would like to see more instances where unions – dealing with a particular multi-national – are brought together by UNI to discuss how they can cooperate to increase union organisation and improve collective bargaining outcomes."
Organise, organise, organise outlines some of the campaigns UNI and its founding partners have fostered – including in call centres and mobile phone operators.
And it gives lots of details of the initiatives being launched by affiliates around the world including:

• Radio ads to get across the message that unionised US grocery workers get better pay and benefits (UFCW).
• A campaign to organise the dot.com workers of Amazon.com (CWA).
• A four month campaign that recruited 80% of staff at the Greet mobile company COSMOTE (OME-OTE).
• The phenomenal growth of ASPEK in Indonesia which has grown from 5,000 members in March 1999 to over 100,000 members today.
• Young worker workshops have boosted recruitment in Zambia (Guards Union).
• Recruiting among students in Denmark.
• One member recruits three more programme (even for other unions) in Singapore (NTUC).

A wall is built to symbolise the necessity to organise: Join a Union!

And unions need to break a few moulds and go wider to reach new workers.
"This means recruiting women workers as well as male workers; part time and casual workers as well as full time workers," said Joe in his keynote speech.
"Young workers, including teenagers with part time employment while they continue their education. It means recruiting in new industries as rapid technological change and improved communications change the nature and spread of industries where workers find their employment."
And to conclude Joe reported on a recent success story in his own union the shopworkers affiliate SDA in Australia where 205 workers out of 216 workers approached in a department store in a northern suburb of Sydney joined the union.
A majority of these new members work part time of casual and many young – some in their teens.
"Workers of all types will join the union if an effective case for joining is presented".

Long petition highlights imprisonments of trade unionists in Korea

A seven metre long petition demanding the release of imprisoned trade unionists in South Korea was today (Friday) delivered to the Korean Embassy in Berlin.
About 50 Korean and other delegates from Asia and the Pacific carried the petition that was begun yesterday at the UNI World Congress, being held at the Estrel Convention Centre in Berlin.
The presidents of two UNI affiliated unions – Lee Yong-Deuk of the Korean bank workers union KFIU and Yang Kyung-Kyu of the public services union KPSU – are currently in prison in Seoul along with scores of other trade union officials and activists.
"The use of national security laws to imprison trade unionists is totally inappropriate and we protested in the strongest possible terms’" said Joe de Bruyn, who is President of UNI’s Asia and Pacific region.
Mr Lee was sent to prison for "interfering with business" in encouraging strike action by bank workers facing mass redundancies in the wake of the Asian financial crisis.
"He has been jailed for action that would be considered normal for trade union leaders in most other countries," said Mr de Bruyn.
Mr de Bruyn and Korean delegate Park Hee-Suk were the only two allowed into the building to deliver the petition and the embassy refused to discuss the issues with them.
They also delivered copies of the statement approved by UNI’s Congress deploring attempts by the police and authorities in Korea to repress unions by mass arrests and detentions.
Lee Yong-Deuk is a member of the UNI World Executive and an empty chair stands on the Congress stage to symbolise his absence.
UNI’s World Congress is this week highlighting the abuse of trade union rights in Colombia, Burma and Zimbabwe – as well as in the Republic of South Korea.
Also at the Korean Embassy protest were UNI President, Kurt van Haaren; UNI Vice-President Maj-Len Remahl and UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings.
* UNI (Union Network International) is the new global union for skills and services that was launched on January 1 last year. It represents more than 15 million members in 1000 unions from 150 countries.

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