Workers across the world face the liberalization of the labour market, in part the consequence of globalization. It makes the position of workers vulnerable. Yet, fewer and fewer Dutch workers are member of a trade union. TIE-Netherlands has invited experienced trade unionists from Brazil and Chile to train respectively Dutch truck drivers and staff of the Dutch Lidl supermarkets in production mapping, a method that empowers workers.

Description

Workers empowered by production mapping

Workers across the world face the liberalization of the labour market, in part the consequence of globalization. It makes the position of workers vulnerable. Yet, fewer and fewer Dutch workers are member of a trade union. TIE-Netherlands has invited experienced trade unionists from Brazil and Chile to train respectively Dutch truck drivers and staff of the Dutch Lidl supermarkets in production mapping, a method that empowers workers.

Membership of a trade union

In many rich countries like the Netherlands workers consider membership of a trade union not the obvious thing to have. In the Lidl chain of supermarkets less than 10 percent of staff is a member of a trade union. When workers are members, they often regard a trade union as a services provider.

Years of dictatorship ruined the work of trade unions in Chile. Unionists were being prosecuted, imprisoned and killed. Nowadays legislation still allows trade unions only to work technical issues and not to work on strengthening workers’ positions. TIE-Chile has though succeeded in building the capacity of independent democratic organisations. They are very experienced in a method whereby workers take charge of their problems: through production mapping.

Knowledge about the production process

Workers themselves build knowledge about the production process, and their own role in it. Based on this analysis they draw up an action plan to improve labour conditions. This method has proven to be successful. It has, among others, delivered higher wages and better secondary labour conditions to workers in other countries where it was applied.

Number plates

After the successful visit of Brazilian trade union activists of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) to Dutch union activists in 2010, several union activists of the Dutch FNV trade union from the transport sector visited Brazil in 2011 for an intensive training in the method of production mapping. The truck drivers, from FNV Bondgenoten, decided then to map abuse in their sector. They went about taking down the number plates and taking pictures of trucks hired to flaunt the rules. Since then they use this information to force employers to give their foreign colleagues proper remuneration.

In 2012 and 2013 E-Motive exchanges were organized for the supermarket sector. FNV union activists working for Lidl Netherlands were taught production mapping by union activists of the Chilean Autonomous Federation of Trade Unions working for Wal-Mart. In Chile their use of this method has raised the organization level to 95% of all workers. The arrival of an international delegation further raised their standing.

Lidl boxes too heavy

Lidl staff in turn learned how to use production mapping to keep track for a whole year of how they lifted boxes too high, too long or that were too heavy. They used this information in a national trade union campaign and presented it at the head office of Lidl, and thus achieved media attention. Both groups learned to use social media effectively and plan to further cooperate in the near future.

Marten van de Berge of TIE-Netherlands:

“It was an eye-opener to find out that Dutch supermarket workers lifted heavier boxes than their Chilean colleagues.”

“The Chileans were shocked about the age of many shelve-stackers. ‘Does the Netherlands have child labour?’ they asked. In Chile children below 18 are not allowed to work.

 

Edwin Atema of FNV Bondgenoten:

‘Someone from outside has shown us that you can approach trade union work totally differently. That you have to start on the workfloor. And that you aren’t just the eyes and ears of people, but also have to make them responsible for finding the solution.’

Method

How production mapping works

Production mapping is a method, developed by TIE in Brazil, whereby workers themselves, independent of their employers, acquire knowledge on their company’s international production process, and their own role in it. Employees of different companies, for instance, map the working hours, wages and product range, and compare the data with that of their colleagues. This helps them to highlight international differences.

Cutting unequal power relations

As a result workers often draw different conclusions than their employers, who weigh information with certain interests in mind, such as a planned merger. The method cuts through the unequal power relations during negotiations. Production mapping emancipates. It can also motivate workers who are difficult to get organized, such as youths or women. This is in particular relevant for supermarkets, where relatively many (Dutch) youths view their job as a temporary affair.

Social media

Important too is the use of social media: Skype, Clownfish and Ortsbo to overcome any language problems, and webinar functions like BigBlueButton which makes it easy to talk, chat and share documents at the same time. Via Unionbook (trade union equivalent of Facebook) participants can discuss data confidentially. Also skype and Riseup (a secure equivalent of Facebook) were useful.

Unfair competition

Dutch truck drivers face unfair competition from foreign transport companies that charge lower rates. All too often, Dutch businesses break the rules by hiring them disproportionately. In order to tackle the issue, truck drivers have collected as many number plates as possible of trucks driving in the Netherlands.

Partners

TIE-Netherlands

TIE-Netherlands is committed to building an independent and democratic trade union, in the Netherlands, but also internationally.

TIE-Brazil

TIE-Brazil is committed to building an independent and democratic trade union, in Brazil, but also internationally.

TIE-Chile

TIE-Chile is committed to building an independent and democratic trade union, in the Netherlands, but also internationally.

FNV Bondgenoten

FNV Bondgenoten is the largest Dutch trade union in the private sector and is part of the FNV trade union federation. Its mission is to represent the interests of its members: people employed in the private sector, even when they are difficult to reach and organize.

Federation of Autonomous Trade Unions (Central Única dos Trabalhadores – CUT)

Federation of Autonomous Trade Unions [Central Única dos Trabalhadores – CUT] is a national trade union organization in Brazil, autonomous and democratic, and committed to protecting the historical and immediate interests of the working classes. Based on the principles of equality and solidarity, its goals are to organize, represent and lead the workers’ struggle, in the cities and the countryside, in the public and private sectors, for better living and working conditions and for a fair and democratic society.

CUT is present in all economic sectors in the country, and is the largest trade union central in Brazil and Latin America, and the fifth largest in the world, with 3,806 affiliated entities, almost 8 million members representing over 23 million workers. Since its founding 25 years ago, CUT has played a crucial role in the economic, political and social changes in Brazil, Latin America and the world. The achieved advances include proposals for a democratic system of labour relations, and the election of a working class man to the presidency of Brazil in 2002.

 

Contact Details

TIE-Netherlands M. van den Berge marten@tie-netherlands.nl www.tie-netherlands.nl

TIE-Brasil S. Bertoni Bertoni@tie-brasil.org www.tie-brasil.org

TIE-Chile I. Saldias sindical2007@yahoo.es