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The Sugar Worker, September 2004. News from the Sugar Sector

28-Sep-2004





The Sugar Worker
Information and Analysis for Unions in the Sugar Sector
Volume VI, Number 9
September 2004

Contents




Caribbean: CARICOM Sugar Meeting

>From 28-29 September, a Caricom meeting of the "stakeholders" of the Caribbean regional sugar industry was held in Georgetown, Guyana, to discuss the proposals of reform of the European Union (EU) Sugar Regime and the Caribbean position on future actions.
After hearing reports on the sugar sectors of the six producing countries in the Caribbean (Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Trinidad) and reviewing the international trade situation, the Caricom meeting, among several decisions:

The IUF-affiliated sugar unions (GAWU and NAACIE) were part of their national delegations, and the IUF Caribbean region also attended the meeting as part of the Guyana delegation.

Tanzania: TPAWU in Wage Negotiations

Wage and contract negotiations between the Tanzania Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (TPAWU) and Kilombero Sugar are to resume on 30 September, the union reports. Last month, cane cutters in Msolwa (Kilombero 1, K1) demanded that management stop collecting house rent as no evaluation had been done on the housing facilities, which workers consider very poor, and have become a matter of protests. The workers also wanted the company to resume collective bargaining negotiations with the union by 11 August. Workers at Ruembe (Kilombero 2, K2) made the same demands.

While the rent deductions were stopped, when the union and local government officials intervened, negotiations on wages and terms and conditions did not start on 11 August, and cane cutters in K1 went on strike. Only at the beginning of September, Kilombero, a subsidiary of Illovo Sugar, asked the union to start negotiations, with the management requesting to negotiate non-wage issues first. The workers accepted all terms and conditions from the previous contract and pushed for negotiations on wages. They demanded a minimum wage of 120,000 Tanzanian shillings (USD 113) per month, from the current 44,000 shillings (USD 41), and also asked the company to make its offer known. Management then requested the union to suspend negotiations in order for them to consult with Illovo's Durban headquarters. Negotiations are to resume on 30 September.

Meanwhile, a similar development took place in Mtibwa, near Morogoro. More than one thousand cane cutters went on strike demanding a minimum wage of 150,000 Tanzanian shillings (USD 141) per month, up from their current 53,000 shillings (USD 50). Collective bargaining negotiations in Mtibwa are scheduled for October. Poor housing facilities and high rents are also part of the workers' demands.

On the other hand, TPAWU concluded negotiations with the Tanganyika Planting Company (TPC) reaching a new minimum wage of 66,000 shillings (USD 62) for new employees and 75,000 shillings (USD 70) for current employees, up from the previous minimum wage of 55,000 shillings (USD 51) per month. The new minimum wage is retroactive to 1 July 2004.

Sugar production in the country is on the rise. In 2003/04, production was 223,843 tonnes, tel quel, compared to about 190,000 tonnes the previous season. Kilombero Sugar accounts for slightly over 47 percent of country's production, while the Tanganyika Planting Co. (TPC) produces 27 percent, and Mtibwa 22 percent. A fourth company, Kagera Sugar Limited is expected to produce 30,000 tonnes when reactivated. Tanzania's domestic consumption is about 375,000 tonnes per year.

Kilombero Sugar Company announced it would start producing refined sugar in July 2004, with an initial annual production of 10,000 tonnes. Sugar industrial users have complained, however, that Kilombero requested the government to have domestic traders buying the domestically produced sugar first, before imports. Industrial users said they pay between USD 320-350 per tonne (US 14.5-15.8 cents/lb) on imported sugar, against the USD 460 per tonne (US 20.8 c/lb) charged by Kilombero. Tanzania imports between 75,000-85,000 tonnes of refined sugar per year, mostly from Brazil, said an international source. (With reports from TPAWU.)

Zimbabwe: Anglo American's Mkwasine Estate Listed for Expropriation

The Mkwasine Estate, jointly owned by Anglo American and Tongaat-Hulett, has been listed for acquisition under the government's land redistribution program. The acquisition order on the 11,500-hectare estate came on 23 July, and management and staff have 90 days to end operations and vacate the property, said the local press. Close to 4,600 hectares of irrigated land are under cane, with an annual production of between 475,000 - 500,000 tonnes of cane. Mkwasine is located in the southeastern part of the country.

Anglo American, one of the largest mining companies in the world, owns 53 percent of Mkwasine through its subsidiary Hippo Valley Estates. On 23 September, Anglo American announced it would challenge the government's decision on Mkwasine.

Hippo Valley Estates, where Anglo American has a 49 percent stake, is also listed for acquisition, and has been notified that their large land holdings should be subdivided in small/medium size plots of land. If such a move is actually taken, it might have a real negative impact on cane growing and production. The estates were listed for acquisition in 2000, and, since then, the company has been in a lengthy legal process to get them "delisted."

Hippo Valley Estates, the largest sugar producer in the country, has seen its production fell as much as 10 percent in the past year. The company says that although milling performance has improved in certain areas, production is declining because of the low quality cane delivered by independent growers. International sources said that agricultural production has fallen by 60 percent in the past three years largely as a result of the land distribution program.

United States: Bakery / Grain Millers Signed Seven-Year Contract

Locals of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union finalised contract negotiations with American Crystal, and workers ratified a new seven-year contract on 1 September granting a 2 percent wage increase in each year of the contract, and includes no increase in workers' share of health costs, which has been a difficult issue in the negotiations.

The seven-year contract is a unique case in the United States and covers some 1,650 full-time and seasonal employees in American Crystal's operations in the Red River Valley, located between Minnesota and North Dakota. They are five beet-processing plants (Moorhead, East Grand Forks and Crookston in Minnesota, and Dayton and Hillsboro in North Dakota) and two-bulk sugar handling facilities (Mason City, Iowa, and Chaska, Minnesota). The previous contract was signed in 1999 and lasted for three years, and then it was extended for two years, until 2004. The current CBA will expire in July 2011.

A federal mediator helped the contract negotiations, after workers had overwhelmingly rejected a company proposal on 5 August, which had offered a 2 per cent wage increase in each of the three years of the contract, but also wanted to more than double deductibles on medical care and to increase co-payments on prescription drugs.

After the new seven-year contract was approved, a spokesperson for the company said that it "sets a good tone for the next seven years" and stressed the strong partnership with the union in political issues, referring to the opposition of the US domestic sugar sector to include sugar in any bilateral free trade agreements.

Meanwhile, the 20-member strong local of the Bakery / Grain Millers at the Michigan Sugar locations in Fremont and Findlay (Ohio) approved a new three-year contract on 12 September, ending its five-week strike, and its picketing of four Michigan Sugar's processing plants in Michigan (where workers did honour the picket lines and only returned to work on 13 September). The new contract will increase hourly rates in between USD 2.05 to 3.10 over the three years, and employees would have an option to choose between two different health care plans.

Dominican Republic: Tax on HFCS-sweetened Soft-Drinks

On 28 September, the Dominican government issued the so-called fiscal reform bill, part of its efforts to resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.. The bill includes a 25 percent tax on soft drinks using high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) imported from the United States, which, according to press reports, was not part of the first draft of the bill, but was added when the bill was under discussion in the C�mara de Diputados (representatives).

The Dominican Executive branch had requested the Senate to pass the fiscal reform without the HFCS tax, because, it said, it would risk the approval of the recently signed free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, which is yet to be seen by the US Congress. (The US-Dominican Republic FTA was added to the Central American FTA and the US-Costa Rica FTA, and would be submitted to US Congress as a package.)

Dominican sugar companies as well as cane farmers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the FTA. They believe that negotiations were not conducted in the best possible way, and for sugar and agriculture, the FTA is a "complete failure". The FTA with the US granted the Dominican Republic a 10,000-tonne immediate increase on its close to 180,000-tonne quota, and a 2 percent increase per year in the next 15 years. Some sugar groups say that, if HFCS imports are allowed, then domestic sugar production would in the medium-term collapse. They add that, from the seven mills that operated in the 2003/04 campaign, only the Central Romana, by far the largest producer in the country, would survive the competition.

The US Ambassador in the Dominican Republic told the local press that the HFCS tax goes against the FTA, and it would be difficult to recommend including the Dominican Republic in CAFTA. After issuing the fiscal reform bill, the Dominican Executive said it was preparing an amendment to send to Congress to leave the HFCS tax without effect.

(In June, the Dominican Republic said that it would request renegotiating sugar within the FTA, because the US had not agreed to open their sugar market to Dominican sugar, but the country opens the market to HFCS imports, which could mean some 100,000 tonnes annually.)

IUF Caribbean: Meetings in Guyana and Trinidad

Thirty-two delegates from the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the National Association of Agricultural Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) met for an IUF-sponsored seminar at GAWU headquarters from 6-8 September, in Georgetown.

The first part of the seminar focused on the recent developments in the European Union, in particular the proposed reforms to the sugar regime, and the impact of a possible 37 percent reduction in the EU/ACP Sugar Protocol price on the Caribbean sugar economies. Presentations were made by the Minister of Foreign Trade, the chairman of GuySuCo, the state-owned sugar company in Guyana, and an official of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC). The speakers, emphasized that the price reduction, if implemented, would represent a USD 35 million loss to GuySuCo, and an annual USD 90 million to the Caribbean industries. Under the EU/ACP Sugar Protocol, Guyana exports 167,000 tonnes annually, at prices close to US 26 cents/lb. On the other hand, the pace of implementation of the reforms would seriously hamper GuySuCo's expansion program, which, anchored in the construction of a new 100,000-tonnes of sugar factory in Skeldon, would help reducing GuySuCo's costs to US 10 cents/lb by 2008. In this discussion, the IUF global sugar coordinator outlined the role of the IUF and unions in ensuring decent jobs, a safe working environment, and adequate working conditions for workers as key aspect in the development talks between the European Union and Cariforum, the Caribbean states within ACP.

Discussions on Health and Safety and the HIV /AIDS program in the workplace were the second part of the seminar. A lively exercise to identify hidden health and safety hazards in the work place was carried out by participants, who also heard an in-depth presentation on HIV/ AIDS education and prevention program by the Minister of Health.

GAWU and NAACIE delegates were branch leaders and shop stewards from the Berbice and Demerara sugar estates. (With report from GAWU Research Department.)

Trinidad: Post-restructuring

The national council delegates of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Union (ATSGWTU) took part on a one-day workshop focussed on evaluating the situation in the sugar sector after the dismantling of Caroni (1975) Ltd., and a discussion on perspectives for the sector.

The workshop took place against the background of a reported production of 43,000 tonnes of sugar in the first post-Caroni harvest, a 18,000-tonne shortfall from the revised 65,000-tonne goal (already a reduced figure from the 75,000 tonnes announced in 2003), the lack of information on actual achievements in the workers' retraining program, and the absence of a national sugar policy.

The head of Caroni restructuring agency, an official of Caricom's Regional Negotiating Machinery, representatives from cane farmers associations, politicians, and the Chamber of Commerce of Point Lisas-Couva (where the cane growing areas are concentrated), in addition to the IUF, addressed the workshop. While the restructuring program is not achieving its proposed goals, the workshop showed a possibility for the sugar groups to discuss the future of the sector, beyond politics - which heavily permeates all policy discussions in the country.

The restructuring has dramatically changed the terms and conditions of service for workers, as all workers in the St Madeleine factory, about 400 of them, are hired on short-term contracts, with no protection, benefits, or possibility to organise. Agricultural workers hired by contractors, who bid on the harvesting of Caroni's cane lands, are even in a more precarious situation: they have no assurance they would be hired the next day. The All Trinidad has a claim for successorship rights in the sugar sector, based on the fact that workers do the same work they performed for Caroni, but the legal process might take several years to conclude.

Company News

India: Bajaj Hindusthan to Set Up New Factories

Bajaj Hindusthan is set to become by far the largest sugar producer in India, with four new projects announced in 2004. In addition to the factory under construction in Kinoni, Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), scheduled to come on line in December 2004, the company announced plans for three new factories, one in Thanabhavan (Muzaffarnagar), one in Bilai (Bijnor), and one in Bhaisana (Muzaffarnagar), all in Uttar Pradesh. Production in these three factories would start in October 2005.

Bajaj Hindusthan is reported to have invested a total of USD 115 million in the new projects, which would raise its production capacity from 430,000 tonnes to about one million tonnes of sugar per year. The new mills have a 7,000-tonne of daily crushing capacity, and the company says that cane availability is adequate to supply the mills; even in the company expands capacity in the future.

South Africa: Illovo Sugar Selling and Outsourcing

Umfolozi Mill
In a press release dated on 23 September, Illovo Sugar advised its shareholders that it had entered in negotiations to sell the Umfolozi sugar mill (6,000 tdc) at Matubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal, "as part of the process to re-align its assets in terms of its strategic objectives." Local press reported that a black empowerment group was the interested buyer. This would be the second mill to be sold by Illovo in 2004. Last May, the company sold the Gledhow mill, refinery and cane estates, to Grand Bridge Trading 40 (Pty) Ltd., a black empowerment group, in a USD 49 million transaction. (More information on Sugar Worker, May 2004.)

Barloworld Logistics
Illovo Sugar has also outsourced its South African warehousing and distribution operations to Barloworld Logistics, in a transaction worth 3.8 billion South African rands (USD 595 million), said the Business Day. For the next 10 years, Barloworld Logistics would assume the management and operation of 18 Illovo distribution facilities, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal, which delivered about one million tonnes of sugar per year to over 2,500 destinations. One hundred and eighty three staff would transfer to Barloworld, which said it would invest close to USD 9 million in demand planning, warehouse management and transport-management systems. The deal is one of the largest of its kind in South Africa. (Business Day, 24 August 2004.) Barloworld Logistics markets its products and services in over 100 countries, employs around 23,000 people in 31 countries, and has an annual turnover of USD 3 billion.

Monitor Sugar
Illovo Sugar said in early August that, effective on 30 September 2004, the company is to sell Monitor Sugar, a company in the state of Michigan, United States, to Michigan Sugar, a cooperative of beet farmers, which owns four other beet processing plants in the state. The deal is worth USD 40 million, with USD 36 million in cash and USD 4 million in ten-year promissory notes. Illovo has the obligation to settle USD 20 million loans of Monitor Sugar, upon receiving the cash, and has the right to participate in future earning up to a maximum of USD 5 million over a ten-year period starting on 30 September 2005.

�Apoyen a los Trabajadores de South African Brewery!

28-Sep-2004





La organizaci�n sudafricana Food and Allied Workers' Union (FAWU) ha solicitado el apoyo internacional respecto al conflicto sobre derechos sindicales que mantiene con la empresa cervecera transnacional SABMiller, la ex South African Breweries (SAB).

En el a�o 2001, la compa��a llev� a cabo un gran procedimiento de reestructuraci�n en cinco f�bricas de cerveza bajo su actual programa �Fabricaci�n de Categor�a Mundial" (�World Class Manufacturing�). En la planta Newlands de Ciudad del Cabo, 138 trabajadores/as � con un promedio de 10 a�os de servicio � fueron cesados por no poseer supuestamente las aptitudes o calificaciones requeridas para continuar en la compa��a. El sindicato se opuso a los despidos, se�alando que representaban una contravenci�n de los convenios colectivos vigentes con la compa��a y violaban la importante legislaci�n post-Apartheid destinada a proteger a los/as trabajadores/as. Las Leyes de Formaci�n de Capacidades y de Equidad en el Empleo, cuyo prop�sito es atender los problemas espec�ficos de los/as trabajadores/as desfavorecidos por la pol�tica educativa discriminatoria del Apartheid, exigen a las compa��as que capaciten y readiestren a los/as trabajadores/as, en el contexto de la reestructuraci�n o de los cambios en el proceso de producci�n.

Cuando la compa��a procedi� a desconocer las objeciones de FAWU y continuar con las reducciones del personal, el sindicato impugn� la legalidad del procedimiento de reestructuraci�n ante la Corte Laboral de Ciudad del Cabo. El 3 de setiembre, la corte fall� en favor de los/as trabajadores/as y de su sindicato. Un grupo de trabajadores/as ha de ser reincorporado con paga retroactiva, en tanto que otro grupo ha de recibir indemnizaci�n monetaria en raz�n de violaciones en los procedimientos en sus casos. La corte orden� que la compa��a pagara los costes judiciales y los honorarios legales de FAWU (que totalizan aproximadamente SAR 1 mill�n, o sea m�s de USD 150.000).

El d�a 14 de setiembre, SABMiller inform� a FAWU acerca de su intenci�n de apelar la sentencia.

Una apelaci�n no s�lo har�a recaer en el sindicato el peso financiero de impugnar los despidos. Impondr�a a�n mayores dificultades sobre estos 138 trabajadores/as y sus familias en un momento de desempleo r�cord, ya que el proceso de apelaci�n puede durar de 3 a 5 a�os. Durante este per�odo, los/as trabajadores/as cesados no ser�an reincorporados, ni tampoco ning�n trabajador/a recibir�a indemnizaci�n financiera. La apelaci�n de la decisi�n tambi�n anular�a los esfuerzos para combatir los pasados y presentes cortes de personal en otras plantas de SABMiller, bajo la presi�n de la reducci�n "World Class". FAWU no contiende el derecho de la compa��a de apelar la decisi�n de la corte, pero se�ala que esto sucede en un momento en que muchas compa��as transnacionales en el pa�s aparentemente conf�an en mitigar una legislaci�n que ellas consideran como excesivamente favorable a los/as trabajadores/as, mediante la presentaci�n de apelaciones al m�s alto nivel judicial. En opini�n de FAWU y el movimiento sindical sudafricano, las Leyes de Formaci�n de Capacidades y de Equidad en el Empleo constituyen instrumentos esenciales para revertir d�cadas de discriminaci�n brutal. Por consiguiente, FAWU ha solicitado el apoyo y la solidaridad internacionales.

�Act�en Ya!


Env�en un mensaje (en ingl�s) al jefe de relaciones laborales de SABMiller, instando a que la compa��a renuncie a la apelaci�n. (Pueden leer a continuaci�n una traducci�n del texto). Ustedes pueden remitir el mensaje haciendo clic aqu�. Las copias ser�n trasmitidas autom�ticamente a FAWU y a la secretar�a de la UITA.

Les agradecemos por anticipado su solidaridad y apoyo.


Al: Sr. Kobus Burger, Gerente de Relaciones Laborales, SABMiller

Se�or Gerente:

Nos hemos enterado de la intenci�n de su compa��a de impugnar el dictamen del d�a 3 de setiembre de la Corte Laboral de Ciudad del Cabo referido a la ilegalidad de los despidos de trabajadores/as en el a�o 2001 en la planta Newlands. La apelaci�n de esta decisi�n ser�a equivalente a castigar a los/as trabajadores/as � muchos de los cuales han prestado servicios en su compa��a durante largo tiempo � por las desigualdades y las pol�ticas discriminatorias de la �poca del Apartheid. Por otra parte, la Corte sostuvo el argumento de FAWU respecto a que las Leyes de Formaci�n de Capacidades y del Empleo exigen a las compa��as readiestrar en lugar de despedir, en el contexto de los cambios en los m�todos de producci�n. La impugnaci�n de este principio ser�a ampliamente percibida como un rechazo de dos de los instrumentos legales m�s importantes adoptados como herramientas de pol�ticas en la Sud�frica democr�tica y post-Apartheid.

En consecuencia, le instamos a acatar la decisi�n de la Corte y a abandonar su intenci�n de apelar este fallo.

Atentamente,

St�d sydafrikanska bryggeriarbetare!

28-Sep-2004





Sydafrikanska livsmedelsarbetarf�rbundet FAWU (Food and Allied Workers' Union) ber om internationellt st�d i en r�ttstvist med transnationella bryggerij�tten SABMiller, tidigare South African Breweries.

2001 genomf�rde f�retaget stora omstruktureringar p� fem bryggerier i enlighet med sitt l�pande program "World Class Manufacturing". P� Newlandsanl�ggningen i Kapstaden sparkades 138 arbetare � med en genomsnittlig anst�llningstid p� 10 �r � under t�ckmantel av att de saknade den kompetens eller de kvalifikationer som kr�vdes f�r att arbeta i f�retaget. Facket motsatte sig upps�gningarna och p�pekade att de stred mot befintliga kollektivavtal med f�retaget samt br�t mot viktig lagstiftning som inf�rts efter apartheidtiden f�r att skydda arbetstagarna. Enligt kompetensutvecklingslagen (Skills Development Act) och lagen mot diskriminering i arbetslivet (Employment Equity Act) � som specialutformats med tanke p� de problem som drabbar arbetstagare till f�ljd av diskrimineringen under apartheid�rens utbildningspolitik � m�ste f�retagen utbilda och omskola anst�llda inom ramarna f�r omstruktureringar eller �ndringar i tillverkningsprocessen.

N�r f�retaget struntade i FAWU:s inv�ndningar och fortsatte med nedsk�rningarna v�nde sig facket till Kapstadens arbetsdomstol med �rendet. Den 3 september gav domstolen facket och de anst�llda r�tt. En grupp anst�llda ska f� jobben tillbaka med retroaktiv l�n, och en annan grupp ska kompenseras ekonomiskt eftersom f�retaget brutit mot g�llande regelverk. Domstolen �lade f�retaget att betala FAWU:s r�tteg�ngskostnader som uppgick till runt 1 miljon ZAR (ca 1,1 miljoner SEK).

Den 14 september meddelade SABMiller FAWU att de t�nkte �verklaga domen.

En �verklagan l�gger inte bara den ekonomiska b�rdan f�r ifr�gas�ttandet av upps�gningarna p� facket. Den g�r dessutom livet �nnu sv�rare f�r de 138 arbetarna och deras familjer i en tid av rekordarbetsl�shet, eftersom ett �verklagande kan ta mellan tre och fem �r. Under den perioden kan de avskedade arbetarna inte �terg� till jobbet eller f� ekonomisk kompensation. Om domen �verklagas omintetg�rs �ven anstr�ngningarna i kampen mot tidigare och aktuella World Class-nedsk�rningar p� andra SABMilleranl�ggningar. FAWU ifr�gas�tter inte f�retagets r�tt att �verklaga domstolsutslaget, men p�pekar att detta sker vid en tidpunkt n�r m�nga transnationella f�retag i landet genom att �verklaga till h�gsta instans verkar hoppas kunna ta udden av lagar som upplevs som alltf�r arbetarv�nliga. F�r FAWU och den sydafrikanska fackf�reningsr�relsen �r kompetensutvecklingslagen och lagen mot diskriminering i arbetslivet viktiga verktyg f�r att komma tillr�tta med f�ljderna av �rtionden av brutal diskriminering. FAWU ber d�rf�r om internationellt st�d och solidaritet.

Agera nu!


Skicka ett protestbrev (p� engelska) till SABMillers personalchef och kr�v att f�retaget drar tillbaka sin �verklagan. (Nedan f�ljer texten i svensk �vers�ttning.) Klicka h�r f�r att skicka protestbrevet. Kopior av protestbreven skickas automatiskt till FAWU och IUL:s sekretariat.

Vi tackar p� f�rhand f�r ert solidariska st�d.

Till: Kobus Burger, Industrial Relations Manager, SABMiller

B�ste Kobus Burger!

Det har kommit till v�r k�nnedom att ditt f�retag t�nker �verklaga domen i Kapstadens arbetsdomstol 3 september g�llande de olagliga upps�gningarna 2001 av arbetare p� Newlandsanl�ggningen. Att �verklaga domen vore liktydigt med att straffa arbetarna � som i flera fall arbetat l�nge i f�retaget � f�r apartheid�rens or�ttvisor och diskriminering. Domstolen godk�nde dessutom FAWU:s argument att kompetensutvecklingslagen och lagen mot diskriminering i arbetslivet �l�gger f�retag att omskola snarare �n avskeda i samband med att produktionsmetoderna �ndras. Om den principen �verklagas skulle det i vida kretsar ses som ett tillbakavisande av tv� av de viktigaste r�ttsinstrumenten och policyverktygen i det demokratiska Sydafrika.

Vi uppmanar dig d�rf�r att acceptera domstolsutslaget och inte �verklaga domen.

H�lsningar

St�d sydafrikanska bryggeriarbetare!

28-Sep-2004





Sydafrikanska livsmedelsarbetarf�rbundet FAWU (Food and Allied Workers' Union) ber om internationellt st�d i en r�ttstvist med transnationella bryggerij�tten SABMiller, tidigare South African Breweries.

2001 genomf�rde f�retaget stora omstruktureringar p� fem bryggerier i enlighet med sitt l�pande program "World Class Manufacturing". P� Newlandsanl�ggningen i Kapstaden sparkades 138 arbetare � med en genomsnittlig anst�llningstid p� 10 �r � under t�ckmantel av att de saknade den kompetens eller de kvalifikationer som kr�vdes f�r att arbeta i f�retaget. Facket motsatte sig upps�gningarna och p�pekade att de stred mot befintliga kollektivavtal med f�retaget samt br�t mot viktig lagstiftning som inf�rts efter apartheidtiden f�r att skydda arbetstagarna. Enligt kompetensutvecklingslagen (Skills Development Act) och lagen mot diskriminering i arbetslivet (Employment Equity Act) � som specialutformats med tanke p� de problem som drabbar arbetstagare till f�ljd av diskrimineringen under apartheid�rens utbildningspolitik � m�ste f�retagen utbilda och omskola anst�llda inom ramarna f�r omstruktureringar eller �ndringar i tillverkningsprocessen.

N�r f�retaget struntade i FAWU:s inv�ndningar och fortsatte med nedsk�rningarna v�nde sig facket till Kapstadens arbetsdomstol med �rendet. Den 3 september gav domstolen facket och de anst�llda r�tt. En grupp anst�llda ska f� jobben tillbaka med retroaktiv l�n, och en annan grupp ska kompenseras ekonomiskt eftersom f�retaget brutit mot g�llande regelverk. Domstolen �lade f�retaget att betala FAWU:s r�tteg�ngskostnader som uppgick till runt 1 miljon ZAR (ca 1,1 miljoner SEK).

Den 14 september meddelade SABMiller FAWU att de t�nkte �verklaga domen.

En �verklagan l�gger inte bara den ekonomiska b�rdan f�r ifr�gas�ttandet av upps�gningarna p� facket. Den g�r dessutom livet �nnu sv�rare f�r de 138 arbetarna och deras familjer i en tid av rekordarbetsl�shet, eftersom ett �verklagande kan ta mellan tre och fem �r. Under den perioden kan de avskedade arbetarna inte �terg� till jobbet eller f� ekonomisk kompensation. Om domen �verklagas omintetg�rs �ven anstr�ngningarna i kampen mot tidigare och aktuella World Class-nedsk�rningar p� andra SABMilleranl�ggningar. FAWU ifr�gas�tter inte f�retagets r�tt att �verklaga domstolsutslaget, men p�pekar att detta sker vid en tidpunkt n�r m�nga transnationella f�retag i landet genom att �verklaga till h�gsta instans verkar hoppas kunna ta udden av lagar som upplevs som alltf�r arbetarv�nliga. F�r FAWU och den sydafrikanska fackf�reningsr�relsen �r kompetensutvecklingslagen och lagen mot diskriminering i arbetslivet viktiga verktyg f�r att komma tillr�tta med f�ljderna av �rtionden av brutal diskriminering. FAWU ber d�rf�r om internationellt st�d och solidaritet.

Agera nu!


Skicka ett protestbrev (p� engelska) till SABMillers personalchef och kr�v att f�retaget drar tillbaka sin �verklagan. (Nedan f�ljer texten i svensk �vers�ttning.) Klicka h�r f�r att skicka protestbrevet. Kopior av protestbreven skickas automatiskt till FAWU och IUL:s sekretariat.

Vi tackar p� f�rhand f�r ert solidariska st�d.

Till: Kobus Burger, Industrial Relations Manager, SABMiller

B�ste Kobus Burger!

Det har kommit till v�r k�nnedom att ditt f�retag t�nker �verklaga domen i Kapstadens arbetsdomstol 3 september g�llande de olagliga upps�gningarna 2001 av arbetare p� Newlandsanl�ggningen. Att �verklaga domen vore liktydigt med att straffa arbetarna � som i flera fall arbetat l�nge i f�retaget � f�r apartheid�rens or�ttvisor och diskriminering. Domstolen godk�nde dessutom FAWU:s argument att kompetensutvecklingslagen och lagen mot diskriminering i arbetslivet �l�gger f�retag att omskola snarare �n avskeda i samband med att produktionsmetoderna �ndras. Om den principen �verklagas skulle det i vida kretsar ses som ett tillbakavisande av tv� av de viktigaste r�ttsinstrumenten och policyverktygen i det demokratiska Sydafrika.

Vi uppmanar dig d�rf�r att acceptera domstolsutslaget och inte �verklaga domen.

H�lsningar

Unterst�tzt s�dafrikanische Brauereiarbeitnehmer!

28-Sep-2004





Die s�dafrikanische Gewerkschaft der Lebensmittel- und anverwandten Arbeitnehmer (FAWU) hat in einem Konflikt �ber Rechte mit dem transnationalen Brauereikonzern SABMiller, vormals South African Breweries, um internationale Unterst�tzung gebeten.

2001 f�hrte das Unternehmen im Rahmen seines Programms "Weltklasseproduktion" einschneidende Umstrukturierungen in f�nf Brauereien durch. Im Betrieb Newlands in Kapstadt wurden 138 Arbeitnehmer - mit durchschnittlich zehnj�hriger Betriebszugeh�rigkeit - entlassen, weil sie angeblich nicht die erforderlichen Fertigkeiten oder Qualifikationen f�r eine Weiterbesch�ftigung beim Unternehmen besa�en. Die Gewerkschaft widersetzte sich den Entlassungen und wies darauf hin, dass sie mit den geltenden Tarifvereinbarungen mit dem Unternehmen unvereinbar seien und wichtige Rechtsvorschriften zum Schutz der Arbeitnehmer verletzten, die nach der Apartheid erlassen worden waren. Nach dem Fortbildungsgesetz und dem Gesetz �ber Gleichstellung in der Besch�ftigung, mit denen die besonderen Probleme der durch die diskriminierende Bildungspolitik der Apartheid benachteiligten Arbeitnehmer angegangen werden sollen, m�ssen Unternehmen im Fall von Umstrukturierungen oder �nderungen der Produktionsprozesse Arbeitnehmer ausbilden und umschulen.

Als das Unternehmen die Einw�nde der FAWU unbeachtet lie� und die Entlassungen weiter betrieb, erhob die Gewerkschaft beim Arbeitsgericht Kapstadt Einspruch gegen die Rechtm��igkeit des Umstrukturierungsverfahrens. Am 3. September entschied das Gericht zu Gunsten der Arbeitnehmer und ihrer Gewerkschaft. Eine Gruppe von Arbeitnehmern soll nunmehr unter Nachzahlung ihrer Geh�lter wiedereingestellt werden, w�hrend eine andere Gruppe angesichts der in ihren F�llen festgestellten Verfahrensfehler Entsch�digungszahlungen erhalten soll. Das Gericht wies das Unternehmen an, die Gerichts- und Rechtskosten der FAWU (im Umfang von rund 1 Million Rand oder mehr als 150 000 US-Dollar) zu zahlen.

Am 14. September teilte SABMiller der FAWU mit, dass das Unternehmen gegen das Urteil Berufung einzulegen gedenke.

Eine Berufung w�rde nicht nur der Gewerkschaft die finanzielle Belastung aufb�rden, die mit einem Einspruch gegen die Entlassungen verbunden ist. Sie w�rde noch gr��ere H�rten f�r die betroffenen 138 Arbeitnehmer und ihre Familien bedeuten, und das zu einer Zeit, da die Arbeitslosigkeit im Lande eine Rekordh�he erreicht hat, denn das Berufungsverfahren kann sich �ber drei bis f�nf Jahre hinziehen. In diesem Zeitraum w�rden die entlassenen Arbeitnehmer nicht wiedereingestellt werden, und kein einziger Arbeitnehmer erhielte eine finanzielle Entsch�digung. Eine Berufung gegen den Beschluss w�rde ferner alle Bem�hungen zunichte machen, gegen fr�here und aktuelle Entlassungen in den anderen SABMiller-Betrieben vorzugehen, die unter dem Druck der mit dem Programm "Weltklasseproduktion" verbundenen Personalk�rzungen vorgenommen werden. Die FAWU bestreitet nicht das Recht des Unternehmens, gegen einen Gerichtsbeschluss Berufung einzulegen, weist jedoch darauf hin, dass dies zu einem Zeitpunkt geschieht, da zahlreiche transnationale Unternehmen ihn dem Land offensichtlich die Hoffnung hegen, Gesetze au�er Kraft zu setzen, die sie f�r allzu arbeitnehmerfreundlich halten, indem sie Berufungen bis zur h�chsten Rechtsinstanz weiterziehen. F�r die FAWU und die s�dafrikanische Gewerkschaftsbewegung sind das Fortbildungsgesetz und das Gesetz �ber die Gleichstellung in der Besch�ftigung unerl�ssliche Instrumente, um die jahrzehntelange brutale Diskriminierung umzukehren. Deshalb hat die FAWU um internationale Unterst�tzung und Solidarit�t gebeten.

Handelt jetzt!


Schickt eine Botschaft (in Englisch) an den Leiter des Bereichs Arbeitsbeziehungen bei SABMiller und fordert das Unternehmen auf, auf seine Berufung zu verzichten (nachstehend findet ihr die �bersetzung). Ihr k�nnt diese Botschaft senden, indem ihr hier klickt. Kopien eurer Botschaften gehen automatisch an die FAWU und das IUL-Sekretariat.

Wir danken euch im Voraus f�r eure Solidarit�t und Unterst�tzung.

Herrn Kobus Burger, Leiter des Bereichs Arbeitsbeziehungen, SABMiller

Sehr geehrter Herr Burger,

Wir haben von der Absicht Ihres Unternehmens erfahren, gegen den Entscheid des Arbeitsgerichts Kapstadt vom 3. September betreffend die unrechtm��igen Entlassungen von Arbeitnehmern im Betrieb Newlands im Jahr 2001 Berufung einzulegen. Gegen diesen Entscheid vorzugehen, w�rde bedeuten, dass Arbeitnehmer - darunter viele mit langer Zugeh�rigkeit zu ihrem Unternehmen - f�r die Ungleichheiten und diskriminierenden Ma�nahmen der Apartheid-�ra bestraft w�rden. Hinzu kommt, dass sich das Gericht dem Argument der FAWU angeschlossen hat, wonach das Fortbildungsgesetz und das Gesetz �ber die Gleichstellung in der Besch�ftigung von den Unternehmen verlangt, in Verbindung mit �nderungen der Produktionsmethoden Arbeitnehmer umzuschulen, statt zu entlassen. Diesen Grundsatz in Frage zu stellen, w�rde weithin als Ablehnung von zwei der wichtigsten Rechtsurkunden betrachtet werden, die in dem demokratischen S�dafrika der �ra nach der Apartheid als grundsatzpolitische Instrumente angenommen wurden.

Wir bitten Sie deshalb dringend, den Entscheid des Gerichtes zu respektieren und Ihre Absicht aufzugeben, Berufung gegen dieses Urteil einzulegen.

Hochachtungsvoll

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27-Sep-2004





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