Kathmandu Post Reports ITUC Needs To Do More For Nepali Migrant Workers : Pity The Workers

Tek Bahadur Gurung may no longer be Nepal’s labour minister, but he has left behind a legacy with his ‘zero-cost migration policy’, perhaps, for the wrong reasons. All that minister Gurung had to do was consult with all the concerned stakeholders— manpower agencies, trade unions and foreign hiring companies among others—before making the migration policy public, but he seemed to be in a hurry, with just three months left in office.

Source : kathmandupost.ekantipur.com : http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2015-12-27/pity-the-workers.html    Written by Nagesh Koirala is associated with Nepali Congress

As per the new migration policy, migrant workers from Nepal will no longer be required to bear the stinging cost of airfare and visa processing fees, but there are wider implications. It will, among other things, enable countries like Bangladesh to seize Nepal’s quota of employment opportunities in Malaysia and the Gulf region. As a result, over 30 percent of Nepali workers will be jobless. The minister, though, did not find this alarming.

Kumud Khanal, vice-president of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), was direct and precise on this matter: “When Tek Bahadur got the news of his ministership, he transferred the shares of his manpower companies in his son and other relatives’ name. Soon after, he entered into a deal with an American company, Flextronics, for manpower supply. He even managed to extract a sweet deal—free visa and tickets for his workers—and it was all done underhand through one of his Bangladeshi agents, named Amin. It is suspected that it was only after experiencing the benefits of the zero cost policy that he introduced the policy in the country.” He added, “A few months back, he lambasted the Gulf countries for poor treatment of labourers because it served his interests. He hardly spoke on the subject prior to that because earlier he was reaping benefits.’’

Because the issue is related to the well-being of the workers, the role of the International Trade Union Confederation(IUTC) becomes relevant. It is a different matter, though, that the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation has maintained deafening silence, even after three Nepali trade unions are affiliated to it and the Nepali workers, from whose pockets annual contribution goes to the global body, suffer.

“The local affiliates pay huge sums of money every year, but nothing comes back to them. We are speaking with local union leaders to demand more from ITUC and if they continue to show ignorance, we will even lodge a formal complaint with the International Labour Organisation. Making sympathetic statements on the plight of Nepali workers, from thousands of miles away does not help. Least developed countries like ours should not be exploited,” said Khanal.

Pushkar Acharya, Member of Parliament from the Nepali Congress and a trade union veteran, believes it may not be completely true. When pressed on the specific issue of whether the benefits reach the workers at the ground level, MP Pushkar Acharya did concede failure on the part of ITUC. “I must admit that the workers are not reaping any benefits out of our association with the confederation.”

Khilanath Dahal, president of the ITUC-affiliate, Nepal Trade Union Congress, was cautious in his opinion on the Brussels-based body: “They send solidarity messages from time to time, but we need more than that.”

Nepal has finally received a constitution, a new lady president, prime minister and labour minister. But the lives of the Nepali migrant workers remain the same. Will workers get a fresh lease of life? Only time will tell.

Le Qatar veut remettre les pendules à l'heure

source :  http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/geneve-internationale/qatar-veut-remettre-pendules-heure/story/31348448

Par Alain Jourdan

Le Qatar est en train de s’aligner sur les plus hauts standards en matière de droit du travail et il tient à le faire savoir. Une petite explication de texte pourrait bien avoir lieu cette semaine à l’occasion de la 325e session du conseil d’administration de l’Organisation internationale du travail (OIT) réuni à Genève jusqu’au 12 novembre. Les représentants de l’émirat en ont assez du Qatar bashing. En 2013, le Guardian publiait une enquête dans laquelle il révélait les «conditions lamentables de travail des ouvriers étrangers employés sur les chantiers de la Coupe du monde de football de 2022» qui doit se tenir à Doha. Révélations auxquelles s’ajoutaient les rapports alarmistes de l’OIT et de la Confédération syndicaleinternationale (CSI-ITUC) sur la Kafala, un système de parrainage moyenâgeux en vigueur parmi les émirats et qui rend l’ouvrier étranger totalement dépendant du bon vouloir de son employeur, favorisant ainsi des formes modernes d’esclavagisme.

Le 27 octobre, le Qatar a promulgué une nouvelle loi qui enterre ce système et instaure le contrat de travail généralisé. L’accueil a été mitigé notamment de la part des ONG qui restent toujours circonspectes quand aux promesses faites par les pays du Golfe. Or, c’est justement là que ça coince. Le Qatar veut en finir avec les amalgames, surtout lorsqu’il est associé à des voisins avec lesquels il ne partage ni la même vision du monde ni les mêmes objectifs. Du coup, les représentants du Qatar pressent leurs détracteurs de bien lire chaque ligne de la nouvelle loi qui instaure un droit protecteur pour le travailleur et astreint l’employeur à des obligations. Le permis de sortie est ainsi abrogé. L’employé ne pourra plus se voir confisquer son passeport de manière arbitraire. Les salaires devront être obligatoirement versés par virement bancaire pour couper court aux abus. Le nombre d’inspecteurs du travail va être lui aussi augmenté et des sanctions pourront être prises contre les employeurs indélicats. Voilà résumés quelques-uns des dispositifs mis en place.

Compte tenu de l’ampleur de cette réforme qui constitue une première pour la région, le Qatar suggère à l’OIT et à ses organes de faire preuve de plus de mesure à son égard. Après l’Inde, l’émirat est le deuxième pays à protester ces dernières semaines contre «l’instrumentalisation de la question du droit du travail à des fins politiques». L’émirat voit dans les campagnes qui l’ont visé ces derniers mois la main d’autres pays opposés à la montée en puissance des Al-Thani dans le jeu régional, que ce soit à travers la diplomatie où leur volonté de faire de Doha un hub mondial du sport et de la culture. L’OIT, antichambre de guerres d’influence? L’hypothèse n’est pas à exclure même si les représentants des syndicats et les défenseurs des droits de l’homme y voient un argument de circonstance pour échapper aux critiques.

(TDG) http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/geneve-internationale/qatar-veut-remettre-pendules-heure/story/31348448

Qatar working on labor laws, ITUC allegations false again

http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/geneve-internationale/qatar-veut-remettre-pendules-heure/story/31348448

Qatar wants to put the record straight

Qatar is never bad, but now it's better place for workers like never before

The emirate would like it gives him act efforts and reforms made to modernize its labor law.

The Qatar is in the process of alignment with the highest standards of labor law and he wishes to know. A small explanation of text could well take place this week on the occasion of the 325th session of the governing council of the International Labor Organization (ILO) met in Geneva until 12 November.

The representatives from the Emirate have had enough of the Qatar bashing. In 2013, the Guardian published a survey in which he revealed the "appalling conditions of work of the foreign workers employed on the yards of the football World Cup of 2022" to be held in Doha.

Revelations which were added the alarmist reports of the ILO and the international trade union Confederation (ITUC-ITUC) on the Kafala, a system of sponsorship mediaeval in force among the emirates and which makes the foreign worker totally dependent on the good will of his employer, thus favoring the modern forms of slavery.

On 27 October, the Qatar has enacted a new law that buried this system and introduced the labor contract generalized. The reception has been mixed especially on the part of the NGOS which remain always wary when the promises made by the countries of the Gulf. However, it is precisely there that ca stuck. Qatar wants to finish with the amalgam fillings, especially when it is associated with the neighbors with which it does not share the same vision of the world nor the same objectives.

Suddenly, the representatives of Qatar are urging their detractors to read each line of the new law, which establishes a right guard for the worker and obliges the employer to obligations. The exit permit is thus repealed. The employee will not be able to see confiscate his passport in an arbitrary manner. The wages shall be compulsorily paid by bank transfer to cut short the abuse.

The number of labor inspectors will be him also increased and sanctions may be taken against offending employers. That is summarized some of the arrangements being put in place.

Given the magnitude of this reform, which is a first for the region, Qatar suggested to the ILO and its bodies to demonstrate greater extent to its respect. After India, the emirate is the second country to protest these past few weeks against "the instrumentalisation of the question of labor law for political purposes".

The emirate sees in the campaigns which have referred these last few months the hand of other countries opposed to the rising power of the Al-Thani in the regional game, be it through diplomacy or their willingness to make Doha a hub world of sport and culture. The ILO, antechamber of wars of influence? The hypothesis is not to exclude even if the representatives of the trade unions and the defenders of human rights see it as an argument of circumstance to escape criticism.

Global trade union ITUC under govt investigations

A report prepared by intelligence agencies says ITUC is managing its activities through its Indian affiliates. Thegovernment is investigating the role of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) ,  in leading labour strikes against the government.

Read full : http://www.pressreader.com/india/hindustan-times-lucknow/20151022/281960311603593/TextView

A report prepared by intelligence agencies says ITUC is managing its activities through its Indian affiliates — the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha and SEWA.

“ITUC (headed by its general secretary Sharan Burrow) and its affiliates are accusing India and its government of poor compliance with international labour standards, especially with regard to child labour. Most such strikes are a politically motivated agenda against the ruling government,” the dossier said. Pointing out the affiliation of INTUC (affiliated to Congress), the dossier said it had participated in the nationwide strike against the NDA government on September 2.

INTUC general secretary Rajendra Prasad Singh said the trade union had nothing to hide and the government was more than welcome to investigate anything it wanted. “All our funding is accounted for. We receive it through cheques and it is duly audited. We are ready for any kind of investigation,” he said.

“We are not creating any trouble for the government. We are as nationalist as any other organisation and if the government wants to investigate our activities, it can do so,” said AD Nagpal, secretary, Hind Mazdoor Sabha.

SEWA national coordinator Renana Jhabvala said though the union was affiliated to ITUC, it did not receive any funding from it and had participated in the September 2 strike with other central trade unions.

The practices of ITUC criticized again

The zeal of the CSI-ITUC to expose the exploitation of workers in Qatar has made it worth to become the target of strong criticism itself.

Accustomed to denounce the abuses committed everywhere in the world at the expense of workers, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has this time came under the fire of criticism. Since several months, the trade union organization backed on to the International Labour Organization (ILO) is increasingly contested. Mandated to assist unions and orchestrate awareness campaigns worldwide for respect for worker’s rights, the ITUC has built strong hostility from some governments.

Recently, the vice president of the ITUC-CSI, G. Sanjeeva Reddy, also a former minister, criticized the methods and practices within the trade union confederation. G. Sanjeeva Reddy was surprised financial resources deployed by the ITUC-CSI to put his country in the dock and sabotage at the same time a negotiation process at the national level between the government and unions. A protest accompanied by accusations against companies and agents paid by the ITUC to conduct its communication campaigns.

Charges with a little more information came across internet in recent weeks, but anonymously. Main targets being Australian Sharan Burrow, ITUC general secretary and his closest collaborators, who orchestrated media campaigns that were extremely effective but also extreme costly. Attention is particularly drawn to the case of an employee who was also paid in respect of his company for telling lie against his working conditions, concerning communication in the media and on social networks.

One of the last campaigns of the ITUC-CSI was against Qatar and FIFA. The trade union confederation has produced a damning report in which it denounced the situation of workers employed on the site of the World Cup 2022 Football. For Sharan Burrow, this workforce is "tantamount to modern slavery”. The campaigns of the ITUC-CSI for Qatar result from a choice clearly expressed by the ILO policy office has found it necessary to make a focus on the situation of workers in this country. However, voices continue to rise behind the scenes to be surprised by the difference in treatment between Qatar and other Gulf monarchies.

Why did not she ITUC expressed the same zeal to denounce the treatment of workers in Saudi Arabia? Can we know? These repeated attacks are not surprising Burrow. "We are the target for several months of a disinformation campaign based on dissemination of false documents. This is intended to divert attention from the situation of workers in Qatar, "said the general secretary of the ITUC.

Source: Tribune deGeneve (TDG), Switzerland   

http://www.tdg.ch/news/standard/pratiques-union-syndicats-denoncees/story/17111553