Author: des

Pandemic and Beyond: Workers Organizing for a Public Future

A Series of Virtual Meetings during July, August and September 2020

In response to the ongoing public health and economic crises, more than 30 trade union bodies from 18 countries have come together to convene a global assembly. Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) has been working with the convening unions to coordinate preparations for the Assembly.

Titled “Pandemic and Beyond: Workers Organizing for a Public Future,” the Assembly will take place as a series of 2-hour, virtual meetings during July, August and September 2020. The opening session will take place on July 9th. The final session will take place on September 10th. The full program is available on the Assembly website.

The aim of the Assembly is to further build North-South solidarity and deepen our analysis of the many impacts of COVID19, both immediate and longer term. The convening unions see the Assembly as a means to further promote bold, pro-public solutions that can help address the deep structural flaws in the current system.

The Assembly is open to all trade union members, activists and leaders, as well as movement allies. Please register here.

Sessions will be scheduled to accommodate as many time zones as possible (evening hours for the Asia-Pacific region; mid-afternoon for Europe and Africa; early morning in the Americas).
Interpretation will be available for English, Spanish and French; with accommodation for additional languages if possible, depending on registrations and resources.

This is an urgent appeal from the Greater Manchester Social Action Branch (NW389) of Unite the Union on behalf of the Amalgamated Transport & General Workers Union (ATGWU) in Uganda to raise funds for the protection of union members and activists during the current coronavirus crisis which is sweeping through Africa.

Branch members work closely with ATGWU in supporting their astonishingly successful organisation of informal transport workers which has seen membership grown from 8,000 members to 100,000 in just five years, mostly minibus (‘taxi’) and motorcycle taxi (‘boda-boda’) workers, the backbone of Uganda’s passenger transport industry.

Today ATGWU and these workers face a major crisis.

On 25 March, with just four hours’ notice, President Museveni declared a suspension of all public transport. Many thousands of livelihoods were instantly cut off. Uganda has virtually no social security system and an impoverished health service. Some of the workers had meagre savings, which have now run out. The majority have nothing. Families are stuck at home with no food. Taxi and boda-boda industry workers are among the most vulnerable.

It is imperative that the taxi and boda-boda crews are able to get back to work as soon as possible, both to earn a livelihood, but also for the millions of people who depend on their service to get to work. ATGWU urgently needs support to mobilise organisers and provide members with training and PPE equipment, including masks, sanitisers, temperature guns and soap, for them to return to work.

If you can, please donate to ATGWU’s emergency fund, through:

gofundme https://uk.gofundme.com/f/support-ugandan-transport-workers-provide-ppe

Or directly through the bank account reserved for this purpose, with ‘ATGWU’ in the reference:

Account: GLI Network Ltd           Sort code: 40-11-56           Account Number: 10350702

For further information about the appeal or background information on ATGWU’s work in Uganda, please contact us at gli-uk@global-labour.net

Sean Sweeney from Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) has written an article titled “‘Weaponizing the Numbers’: The Hidden Agenda behind Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform”.

Originally written for the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies’ journal, New Labor Forum, the article unpacks the differences between producer and consumer subsidies, digs into the numbers behind the calls for reform, and uncovers a disturbing reality. On close inspection, Sweeney argues, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that elite institutions are actually inflating the numbers — not in order to put pressure on fossil fuel interests, but to wage war on state regulation of energy prices. Sweeney concludes that “subsidy reform” would hurt workers in the global South, while doing little or nothing to reduce fossil fuel use or dependency.

The full article is available in English, Spanish and Korean.

On April 3rd, 2020, Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) hosted a Global Web Forum on how unions are responding to the evolving global public health, economic and social crises set in motion by the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly 200 participants from 70 unions in 25 countries.

Speakers on the call reported from the USA, South Korea, the Philippines, India, South Africa and Australia.

Reports highlighted:

• The immediate struggles facing workers and working class communities around the globe.
• The impact of decades of austerity and privatization under neoliberalism, that have left so many vulnerable in dealing with existing conditions.
• The need to work together to formulate responses that can advance international solidarity and pro-public solutions to the immediate challenges.
• The enduring ecological crisis that we must still address no matter how the immediate crises play out.

You can find additional information from the call below:

• Videorecording of the meeting
• Agenda
• List of Participants (missing some late additions)
• Union Statements and Resources on COVID-19
• Chat Box Record (actions, resources, questions, information)

There is also a short report of the meeting from Nancy Romer of the Professional Staff Congress—American Federation of Teachers (PSC-AFT), addressed to other members of her union’s environmental justice working group, available here.

In light of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 global health crisis, Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) will convene a Global Web Forum this Friday, April 3rd, at the following times:

• 10:00-11:30am New York
• 3:00-4:30pm London
• 4:00-5:30pm Paris, Rome, Johannesburg
• 11:00pm-12:30am, Seoul

The call will hear from healthcare and public service unions from the USA, Italy, South Africa, India, South Korea, Australia and elsewhere regarding their responses to the COVID-19 emergency. The goal of the call is to share ideas and strategies, and to identify opportunities for further solidarity and support.

If you want to take part, please RSVP on this form.

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is the signature project of the International Program for Labor, Climate & Environment at the Murphy Institute, City University of New York and is part of the Global Labour Institute Network.

For more information on how your union can be part of TUED, see here.

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Global Labour University (GLU) are launching an online course combining the knowledge of trade unionists, labour activists and academics. This online course provides concise knowledge on how trade unions are using power resources to improve working conditions and transform themselves in the process. The course provides also possibilities to discuss and network with trade unionists, labour activists and researchers from around the world.

Course Structure

The course focuses on three interrelated themes:

• The concepts of power resources and capabilities
• Varieties of power resources
• Power resources in context and in practice

You can follow this course with an online tutor starting on 31 March 2020, or you can study at your own pace; no prior knowledge on the topic is required. You are also encouraged to form your own group of trade unionists or friends from work to study together.

Enrol now at: www.iversity.org/en/courses/trade-unions-in-transformation

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) has published its thirteenth working paper: Transition in Trouble? The Rise and Fall of “Community Energy” in Europe

This working paper aims to help reframe discussions among unions and others fighting for energy democracy on how to cultivate meaningful and broad-based community engagement in the transition to a more sustainable and just future. While community energy projects can bring certain benefits to those who are participating, the evidence suggests that they do not provide a means for the levels of local involvement that many consider either necessary or desirable, nor for the scale and speed of decarbonization required to limit the serious dangers from a changing climate.

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is the signature project of the International Program for Labor, Climate & Environment at the Murphy Institute, City University of New York and is part of the Global Labour Institute Network.

For more information on how your union can be part of TUED, see here.

“Destruction of the Natural World is a Criminal Act”

TUED participating unions and allies in the Asia-Pacific region have been actively involved in monitoring and responding to the devastating bushfires in Australia, and have issued a statement.

Signed by well over 50 union bodies from 17 countries across the region, the statement is an impressive show of international solidarity for climate justice.

The statement is available on the TUED website, here.

Signatory Unions

• International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) Asia-Pacific
• Public Services International (PSI), Asia Pacific
• UnionsACT, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
• Australian Education Union, Australia
• Electrical Trades Union, Australia
• National Tertiary Education Union, Australia
• United Workers Union, Australia
• Australia Asia Worker Links
• Climate Justice Union WA, Australia
• Sentro ng mag Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), Philippines
• General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT), Nepal
• Bangladesh Free Trade Union Congress, Bangladesh
• National Workers Congress (NWC), Sri Lanka
• All Pakistan Workers Confederation, Pakistan
• Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union – APVVU, India
• Telengana Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union-TVVU, India
• Karnataka Vyavasaya utpathidarula Union-KVVU
• Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union (KPTU), South Korea
• The Labor and Civil Society Network on Energy, South Korea
• National Centre for Labour(an apex body of Unorganised workers unions in India)- NCL-India
• National Agricultural Workers Forum, India – NAWF
• New Zealand Public Service Association (PSA), New Zealand
• All Sindh Lady Health Workers and Employees Union, Pakistan
• Indian National Defence Workers Federation, India
• Confederation of Public Sector Independent Trade Unions, Sri Lanka
• National Organisation of Government Employees, India
• Union of Public Services in Nepal, Nepal
• Federation of Hotel, Restaurant, Plaza, Apartment, Catering and Tourism Workers’ Free Union (FSPM), Indonesia
• National Federation of Food and Beverage Workers (FSBMM), Indonesia
• Kesatuan Pekerja Pekerja Perkilangan Perusahaan Makanan/Food Industry Employees’ Union (KPPPM/FIEU), Malaysia
• Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour Federation (BAFLF)
• Jatiyo Kisani Shramik Samity – National Women Farmers & Workers (NWFA), Bangladesh
• Nestlé Employees’ Union (NEU), Bangladesh
• Perfetti van Melle Employees Union (PVMEU), Bangladesh
• Catering & Hotels Industries Employees General Union (CHIEGU), Hong Kong
• Nestlé Workers Union (NWU), Hong Kong
• Swire Beverages Hong Kong Employees General Union (SBHKEGU)
• Vitasoy Employees Union, Hong Kong
• Cambodian Food and Service Workers’ Federation (CFSWF)
• Gujarat Khet Kamdar Sangathan’s (Gujarat Agricultural Labour Union) (GALU), India
• Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), India
• Pakistan Food Workers’ Federation (PFWF)
• Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM)
• National Union of Hospitality, Catering and Tourism Industries Employees (NUHCTIE), Fiji
• Cooks and Servers Workers’ Union (CSWU), Thailand
• Phuket Federation of Hotel and Service Labour (FHSL), Thailand
• Schreiber Dynamix Dairies Employees Union, India
• Imsofer (Ferrero) Manufacturing Employees Union, India
• Haryana Breweries Limited Mazdoor Union, India
• Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial and General Workers’ Union (CMU), Sri Lanka
• AFFM- Food Allied Workers, Myanmar/Burma
• Hotel Chitthu Township Labour Organization, Bagan-Nyaung Oo (HLOB), Myanmar/Burma
• Agriculture and Farmers Federation of Myanmar [AFFM], Myanmar/Burma
• Etu, New Zealand
• NZ Dairy Workers Union, New Zealand
• Unite Union, New Zealand

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) has released its 2019 Annual Report: ‘Defending and Reclaiming Public Energy on the Global Stage.’

The report (which can be read here) details the growth of the TUED network with new unions becoming involved from the global South and North. It also highlights working papers developed by TUED, and international conferences and events held and supported by TUED.

Organisational Highlights

• The TUED network has grown to include 76 participating union bodies representing workers in 24 countries, including 4 Global Union Federations, 3 regional organizations, and 9 national centers, as well as 11 allied policy, academic and advocacy organizations. Nine union bodies from seven different countries, joined TUED during 2019, as well as one new movement ally. These unions represent more than 1.5 million members.
• The TUED e-Bulletin now reaches more than 3,000 union staff, officers, activists and allies—an increase of roughly 20% from one year earlier. Archived bulletins are here.
• Bi-monthly TUED “Global Web Forums” now regularly see participation by at least 60 union staff and officers from around the world, and as many as 90.

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections. TUED is the signature project of the International Program for Labor, Climate & Environment at the Murphy Institute, City University of New York and is part of the Global Labour Institute Network.

For more information on how your union can be part of TUED, see here.