MULTINATIONAL COMPANY UNION
NETWORKS BULLETIN
Social Observatory Institute
Nº 31, March 16, 2004.

Português

Latest edition

For CUT, III Exchange qualifies the union-company relationship

German, Dutch and Brazilian union leaders gave positive reviews to the 3rd Union Exchange, an event that took place from March 6 - 12. Nearly 100 people participated, including union leaders from three countries, company representatives, researchers and translators. The activities involved seminars, meetings between unions and companies and visits to factories of the six German and Dutch companies in Brazil.

The first treasurer of CUT, Ari do Nascimento, said the partnership is very advantageous and will be expanded. "We will include the participation of Spanish companies in the studies. We also thought that we should study the Brazilian multinationals in greater depth, such as Petrobrás". One of the main advances of the Exchange, according to Nascimento was the qualification of the relationship between unions and companies.

He emphasized that getting to know the reality of other countries is important in this moment in Brazil, when union and labor reforms are being discussed. "In Germany for example, there is strong organization in the workplace. International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 87 which concerns freedom of association, was always defended by CUT and is the basis of the German union organizations", he added.

The following pages offer evaluations by Dutch and German union leaders of the event. Page 6 presents the final document prepared by the participants of the III Exchange.

uDutch delegation analyzes the advances and challenges of the Exchange

uGerman union director says event had positive results

uMeeting ends between Finnish, Swedish and Brazilian unions

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March 10 - 16 - Exchange of unions in the paper sector with Finnish, Swedish and Brazilian directors.
São Paulo (SP).

March 24 - 25 - Information Technology Workshop, for union leaders in the clothing sector in São Paulo, Ceará and Rio Grande do Sul. São Paulo (SP).

March 24 - 25 - Seminar about Banking Security. Curitiba (PR).

June 13 - 18 - XI UNCTAD Conference in São Paulo (SP).

Dutch delegation analyzes advances and challenges of the Exchange

"The 3rd exchange exceeded our expectations", said the representative of the Dutch union central FNV, Jeroen Strengers. "These meetings have been a great advance, both for the understanding and motivation of the Dutch unionists as well as for our colleagues in Brazil". Jeroen noted that a recurring problem demonstrated in the Social Observatory Institute (SOI) studies is the lack of recognition by Dutch multinationals in Brazil of the role of the unions. "But at least at two companies - Akzo Nobel and Philips -we observed a great advance. They are committed to establishing a social dialogue with the workers' representatives. In the case of Unilever we still have many steps to take". Here is a summary of the visits to each company:

Akzo Nobel - A delegation of the Dutch and Brazilian union leaders visited the São Bernardo do Campo, SP (automotive painting), Santo Amaro/São Paulo (Organon Farmacêutica do Brasil) and Raposo Tavares (paints). The group was received by corporate managers at the three units. There was no contact with workers. The company accepted initiating a social dialogue with the unions in a meeting set for August 26, 2004, after the first meeting of workers with Akzo Nobel, which will be held on August 25 - 26. The main demands presented include:
- The right to union representation at the company factory units and the exchange of information between union members of different units.
- A company commitment to send information to workers through the unions and to respect the right to unionization.
- Acceptance of a National Collective Convention at Akzo Nobel.
- Support from the company in the formation of a Factory Commission at each unit, with the right to representation of the candidates indicated by the Union.
- Unification in a single representation on the negotiating commissions such as the Internal Accident Prevention Commission, for the Profit Sharing Plan and others.

Philips - The union delegation visited a company factory in the Manaus Free Trade Zone, where it was received by management. The group saw the production line and spoke with workers. Philips did not make any commitment to dialogue on a national scale. Nevertheless, its directors showed that they were willing to meet with union representatives whenever invited to do so. According to the participants of the exchange, significant advances were made in the strengthening of solidarity and the exchange of information between Brazilian and Dutch workers. The Social Observatory Institute, the SO Europe, and the FNV intend to conduct a meeting this year of all the Brazilian unions with Philips workers and company management.

Unilever - Unilever had a position that was very different than the other Dutch companies that participated in the Exchange. It is clear that the position of Unilever Brasil is to impede the opening of dialogue and negotiation with the Interunion Committee, diverging from the policy of headquarters in Europe. The Brazilian unionists that integrated the delegations were impeded from participating in the visit to the Valinhos (SP) unit. The company did not make any agreement with workers. It only showed interest in meeting the factory commissions from Holland. The Unilever workers from the two countries decided to improve communication, by translating documents and creating a discussion list by e-mail. The intention is to constantly seek a unified stand to strengthen their position in negotiations.

German union director said event had positive results

The representative of the German union center DGB, Manfred Brinkmann, said the results of the Exchange program were extremely positive. "We were able to agree with the unions and in some cases with the companies to form national union networks at the three German companies that are part of the project. In some cases we have set the dates for meetings". Manfred mentioned other progress: the management of ThyssenKrupp at Barra do Piraí (RJ), where many occupational health problems were identified presented a detailed action plan to resolve them. "We were able to prepare a new form of international solidarity that is not limited to declarations, but advances to the construction of national and international networks". See below the report of the visits to the three German companies:

Bayer - The meeting with the President and management of the company dealt with the following themes: creation of a National Workers Network; alteration of the Factory Commission by-laws; Profit Sharing; the impact of the creation of a new company Newco; and representation of workers at Bayer CropScience on the Factory Commission. The company agreed to not impede the creation of a network and to immediately discuss the Factory Commision by-laws for the elections in April, in Belford Roxo. The Unions and Factory Commission at Bayer in Brazil agreed with their German colleagues to continue the construction of the national network and to maintain a communication channel in Germany. The first meeting will be in April 2004.

Bosch - The delegation was received by the president of the company in
Campinas (SP) and by management at all of the units. There were visits to the production lines. Bosch agreed to review the Social Observatory study report and based on the problems raised, prepare a positive agenda for national negotiations. Among the principal concerns of the Brazilian unionists are the difficulties in negotiations, RSI and out-sourcing. The Bosch National Committee will be formed by workers to encourage union organization, collective bargaining with Europe and cooperation with the Factory Committee and the union movement.

ThyssenKrupp - The union delegation asked for support from company management to conduct a national meeting of the ThyssenKrupp Union Committee in Brazil in August. It received an agreement to review the demand. The TKE and TKF companies indicated specific actions that they would take in relation to all the critical points raised in the SOI study. The unionists agreed that some improvements had occurred in the two factories. The positive points of the meeting include the presentation of the action plans, the positive response from the company to the Committee and the existence of a climate of confidence between the union and the company in Campo Limpo. In November 2004, a meeting is planned with the Human Resources directors in Germany to present a common agenda of demands at the Brazilian factories.

Dutch and Brazilian entities plan new actions over ABN Amro

Dutch union center FNV, the National Confederation of Bank Workers (CNB/CUT) and the Social Observatory Institute (SOI) decided to improve cooperation between the three entities to act on the issue of ABN Amro. In 2003, the Dutch bank purchased Sudameris and promoted a restructuring that until now has caused the loss of 1,500 jobs. The three entities will conduct a new study at the bank about working conditions. They also studied the idea of filing complaints at the National Contact Point (NCP) and with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). According to the worker entities the company is violating one of the OECD guidelines, since it promoted restructuring and mass layoffs without union negotiations.