Transcript Slide 1

Campaign for Decent Work in
Urban Inventions
Piet Matosa
Deputy President – NUM,
President of BWI Africa & Middle East Region,
Vice President of BWI Africa, South Africa
BWI Campaign for Decent Work
Towards and Beyond 2010
Objective:
The 2010 Soccer World Cup
was used to facilitate growth
of union density in the sector
through promoting decent
work for non standard
workers in the construction
industry
CONTEXT OF WC 2010 CAMPAIGN IN
SOUTH AFRICA
• 70% of all construction workers earned below R2500
per month or 326 CHF per month
• About 94,000 women were employed in the
construction amounting to about 9.3% of the labour
force.
• Nearly 30,000 workers were engaged on the World
Cup Stadia
• About R30bn of public funds being spent on 2010
• Union membership increased by 27,000
Four Pillars of the
Campaign Strategy
Negotiations
Organising
Campaign
Research
Engaging FIFA in South Africa a
Success?
Engaging FIFA Zurich
WHAT DOES DECENT WORK AGENDA
MEANS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WC
2010 CAMPAIGN?
The Decent Work Agenda (DWA) was brought to the
fore in Mega Sporting activities:
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Right to Work under good and safe working conditions
Right to Organise
Right to Bargain
Right to a Living Wage
Right to Zero Accidents
Right to no Downward Variation
WHAT DOES DECENT WORK AGENDA
MEANS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WC 2010
CAMPAIGN (CONTINUE)
– Right to Health and Safety Awareness
– Right to skill development
– Right to quality and secure jobs that promote
dignity and not exploitation
– Right to equal pay and treatment
Sectoral Determination
Wages
Health
& Safety
Pension
Medical
Transport
Skills
Bonus
Over Sixteen thousand workers organized including
women workers
STRIKE BAROMETER
After two surprise wild cat actions at the
Green Point Stadium in August 2007 in
Cape Town workers received transport
allowances and free transport from the
railway station to the construction site.
This action led to a wave of strike action
across the country.
After a 12-day strike in November
2007 which included 1,200 workers at
the Moses Mabhida Stadium in
Durban workers received an
additional bonus payment of 6,000
Rand each. This demand set a nationwide trend in future strikes.
In Unity there is Strength!
Workers Won 12% wage increase in
July 2009 Strike!
• Unions managed to ensure that the subcontractors’ complied with
the statutory minimum wages across the 2010 stadiums. Other
demands workers won included the election of health & safety
representatives.
• NUM & BCAWU raised a dispute with civil engineering employers
regarding below inflation increase and successfully negotiate a 3%
across the board increase which became effective from October
2008.
• The level of unionisation on 2010 stadium construction sites
increased substantially since the beginning of the campaign in 2007.
In one and a half years, South African construction TUs recruited
over 10,000 new members and by 2009, they have recruited 27,458
(38.82%) workers.
• In March 2009 together with SLA and UNIA and the South African
trade unions in BWI was able to conduct a 2010 stadia inspection
with the assistance of the FIFA LOC. This is the first of its kind in
World Cup or mega-project history that a labour delegation has
been given so much media coverage and received a message of
support and commitment from FIFA.
• Unions were engaged in provincial public hearings to intervene in
the civil engineering sectoral determination processes to extend
minimum conditions of employment to all workers especially in
those provinces where there are no legally prescribed minimum
wages and conditions of work. This is the first time that unions have
unified and are working together to ensure a positive outcome.
CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNT
Need to develop an exit strategy for
thousands of workers who are being
phase out after completion of
construction of the stadia is being
assessed.
Opportunities are likely to emerge
from government policies of
continuing investing infrastructural
development and rural development
programmes
Unions are developing strategy for
membership sustenance beyond
2010
CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNT
• Linkages at national, regional and international
levels with fraternal organisations be enhanced to
strengthen Decent Work Agenda in development of
mega sport projects.
• Social dialogue be promoted among actors and
stakeholders involved in infrastructural development
to ensure social justice remain core values of
development of mega sports facilities in host
municipalities.
CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNT
• Although the South African model was successful there is a
need for a thorough model evaluation for future use.
• Governments where the mega sports events are held should
on condition be signatories to the ILO Decent Work
declarations,
• In line with BWI strategic objectives for 2010-2013, such
campaigns in mega sports projects offer opportunities in
future to follow and monitor procurement polices and
contract around municipalities to ensure respect of social
standards along the supply chains.
CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNT
• Need to continue fighting for Main Contractor
liability for Labour Brokers and Sub
Contractors.
• BWI organised Multi stakeholder Summit
bringing GUF’s and Unions to ensure that the
Decent Work agenda trickles down to all
sectors
• Unions or Solidarity work was enriched by
results of Research institutions such as LRS
EASTRADA, DA ÁFRICA DO SUL PARA O
BRASIL
Campaign Hand-Over to Brazil on 21-22 May 2010
in Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg