Am 17. November 2019 haben Arbeiter der Chrom-Mine des Unternehmens AlbChrome in Bulqiza die Gründung ihrer eigenen neuen Gewerkschaft (englisch: Trade Union of United Mineworkers of Bulqiza) bekannt gegeben. Die AlbChrome ist mit Abstand das größte Unternehmen der Region, in der es als „Alternative“ für Bergleute auch weit verbreitet „informellen Bergbau“ gibt, oftmals in enger Verbindung mit kriminellen Strukturen. Die Reaktion des Unternehmens – in enger Verbindung mit „Regierungs-Strukturen“ – war eindeutig: Der gewählte Gewerkschaftsvorsitzende wurde entlassen, was mit einem Streik beantwortet wurde, der zuerst einen Polizeieinsatz samt weiteren Entlassungsdrohungen – und dann, da der Polizeieinsatz ihn nicht beenden konnte – mit einer Zusage der regionalen Arbeitsinspektion beantwortet wurde, die Entlassung auf ihre Rechtmäßigkeit zu prüfen. In der „Letter Union of United Mineworkers of Bulqiza“ vom 06. Dezember 2019 (die wir im folgenden dokumentieren) informieren die albanischen Bergleute die internationale Gewerkschaftsbewegung über diese Vorgänge. Sie schildern ausführlich ihre Lebens- und Arbeitsbedingungen und begründen, warum sie sich von der Bergarbeitergewerkschaft im albanischen Gewerkschaftsbund (KSSH) nach 12 Jahren Untätigkeit nicht mehr vertreten fühlten und berichten auch von der Reaktion dieser Gewerkschaft, die sich in der gesamten Auseinandersetzung offen auf die Seite des Unternehmens gestellt hat. In der Gründung der eigenen neuen Gewerkschaft sehen sie das Ergebnis einer Bewegung in der Belegschaft, die sich erstmals im April 2018 zeigte, als sowohl die Hungerlöhne, die die Gewerkschaft vereinbart hatte, kritisiert wurden, wie auch die Tatsache, dass es sieben Jahre lang weder Neuwahlen noch auch nur eine Gewerkschaftsversammlung gegeben habe… Siehe dazu unsere (englische) Dokumentation des Briefes der Union of United Mineworkers of Bulqiza vom 06. Dezember 2019:
6 December 2019
Dear brothers and sisters of international trade unions,
We are writing to inform you of the dire situation we find ourselves in and of our resistance, and to comradely ask for your solidarity and support in our struggle.
We, the mineworkers of Bulqiza, have paid the highest price for the export revenues generated by the chromium mines in Albania, which amounted to over 100 million euros in 2018. We live in one of the poorest regions of the country and work in what are notoriously known as the “death shafts”, so that before we start working, we greet each other “May you come out alive!” In the informal mines, which are run in a mafia-style by people connected with the crime, the situation is extremely dangerous, and it is here where instances of child labour are also found. The wages, however, are higher than in formal mines such as AlbChrome. This pushes many workers, especially young workers, to work in such mines despite the imminent danger to life.
Over the last decades, the unholy alliance between the state and private operators has left our communities poor and devastated from lost lives of our friends and family members.
And it is not that we have accepted this quietly. We have tried to resist. We have protested and we have gone in hunger strikes, but we have been betrayed over and over again by the existing trade unions.
The trade union federation of mineworkers, which is affiliated to the Confederation of Albanian Trade Unions (KSSH), claims to represent mine workers in Bulqiza for 12 years. This union, however, has ceased to be our voice and has instead become an advocate of the employer’s interests. In the biggest mine in the region, AlbChrome, which has a collective agreement, or rather a “sweet deal”, with KSSH-affiliated trade union, wages and the bonuses have fallen since the last hunger strike in 2011. Meanwhile, the production targets have at least doubled. Before 2011, the food allowance was additional to the wage we received. Now it is part of the wage. We no longer receive compensations for job hazards and seniority. Although the health and safety situation is relatively better than in the informal mines, we have to go through a very long procedure just to be equipped with gloves. Boots are only provided every four months. One needs to have some connections to be able to access basic PPE. Meanwhile, gas explosion is a daily threat.
Our poverty wages are the direct result of the way in which our voice and interests are undermined by the obscure functioning of the KSSH-affiliated trade union in Bulqiza. The collective agreements are negotiated in secrecy by a small group of people. There has never been any consultation with us workers of what should be negotiated. The provisions of the collective agreement are unknown to us as we have never seen the collective agreement.
The individual contract is agreed between the management and the headquarters of the trade union. So, when asked to sign the agreement, workers are forced to accept the conditions, or the union will be the first to ask them to leave the job. Again, workers are not even given a copy of their individual contract.
The KSSH-affiliated trade union has not called a general assembly meeting or conducted any leadership elections for the local trade union for more than 7 years. The local leadership is handpicked by the trade union federation in Tirana. There are no documents available to the members for the functioning of the local trade union or how the membership fees are used. In some occasions, where workers have self-organised themselves and prepared petitions, they have been fired or given disciplinary measures. The KSSH-affiliated trade union has failed to listen to workers’ grievances, more so present these grievances to the employer and protect workers. Even worse, it has even helped the management prepare the list of workers to be disciplined for self-organising.
The KSSH-affiliated trade union has not called a general assembly meeting or conducted any leadership elections for the local trade union for more than 7 years. The local leadership is handpicked by the trade union federation in Tirana. There are no documents available to the members for the functioning of the local trade union or how the membership fees are used. In some occasions, where workers have self-organised themselves and prepared petitions, they have been fired or given disciplinary measures. The KSSH-affiliated trade union has failed to listen to workers’ grievances, more so present these grievances to the employer and protect workers. Even worse, it has even helped the management prepare the list of workers to be disciplined for self-organising.
The anger of workers towards the existing trade union has increased over the years. In April 2018, the president of the KSSH, who has led the existing trade union for many years and continues to do so indirectly, came in Bulqiza for a public meeting regarding the Statute of the Mineworker. That public meeting turned into a protest against the leadership of KSSH.
The failure to achieve the Statute of the Mineworker was seen a direct result of the subordinate relation that KSSH and its affiliates have with the Socialist Government. The leadership of KSSH has publicly and actively campaigned for the Socialist Party, the chairman of which has infamously invited the Italian entrepreneurs to invest in Albania, because, in his words “there are no trade unions here”. The same situation is with the other trade union confederation, BSPSH, which has given to the historic leader of the right-wing party (the Democratic Party) the highest honour title in the organisation.
Against this bleak reality of exploitation from the employers, the total lack of attention from the Government, and the complete failure of existing trade unions to protect us and their betrayal of our interests, we the mine workers of Bulqiza have decided to exercise our right to establish a democratic and accountable trade union run by us and able represent and negotiate in our own interests, and not in the interests of the employers.
Thus, on 17 November 2019 we declared the formation of our trade union. The public announcement, which took place in the town centre, was filled with anger for the severe poverty, the death of so many mine workers, the hazardous working conditions and feelings of betrayal by existing trade unions. But there was also hope at what a truly independent, worker-driven trade union could achieve.
Mere days after the public announcement, the leaders and activists of the new union were faced with an onslaught of intimidation, pressure and threats, all meant to destroy an 3 independent, legitimate trade union, before it gains strength. On November 22, the chairman of our union, Elton Debreshi, who works at AlbChrome, was dismissed. Few days later, some of the members of the executive committee have been detained and interrogated by the local police about the organising drive. They have been threatened with dismissal if they continued their involvement in the union. On December 3, another member of the Executive Committee, Beqir Duriçi, was fired from work.
In response to this situation, the majority of workers in AlbChrome boycotted the work demanding the immediate reinstatement of our trade union leader. Few days later, the demands included higher wages and a review of the production targets which, as stated earlier, have doubled.
AlbChrome, at all its levels of management, engaged in a campaign of threats of penalisation, downgrading and dismissal to pressure workers to stop the strike. Worse, in total violation of the Rules for Technical Security, AlbChrome forced workers who were reporting to work to perform work that is out of their profile of work, their experience and training. The company also ordered these workers to work more than one shift. All these actions, which violate the basic safety rules, exposed workers to very dangerous situations, potentially leading to very serious accidents.
Unfortunately, we are faced with an even more vicious attack by the existing KSSH-affiliated trade union and the KSSH leadership that have openly sided with the employer asking workers to stop the strike. They have threatened workers that if they do not resume work, they will not receive the 13-th month pay. Using a typical employer language, the KSSH leadership cited as reasons for stopping the strike, the fluctuating chromium prices in the international markets as well as other mines closing down. In a painful irony, the KSSH leadership used the informal mines, where they have failed to organise, as a threat to end the strike: “you will lose your jobs and end in the informal mines”.
The threats of the KSSH leadership to the workers have been accompanied by a smear campaign not only against our organising drive but also against the labour activists, who have supported our organising by calling them all sorts of names “manipulators of mineworkers”, “extremist-communists”, “Marxists”, “Che Guevara-inspired”, “careerists”, “kamikaze”, “vagabonds from Tirana who are financed by trafficking”, “people with devil intentions, probably to bankrupt the AlbChrome”. The unbelievable mix of characterisations for the activists is an expression of the deep fear of the existing trade unions of any genuine organising drive.
We, mineworkers of Bulqiza, are deeply offended that the KSSH leadership thinks and declares that we are being anipulated by the labour activists, who are our sons and daughters from working class families. It angers us that the KSSH leadership clearly underestimates our ability to analyse and understand the real culprits of our tragic situation. It also rages us that the KSSH leadership cannot comprehe d that after 30 years of exploitation and betrayals, we want to have a say over our work democratic organisation and elect our own leaders, we want fair wages, we are bringing in the pockets of the company and in the Albanian respect.
Dear brothers and sisters of the international trade union family, this is what forced us to form our own trade union, run by democratically choose and accountable to us. Under attack from and the KSSH-affiliated trade union, as well as under a total me clearly decided to side with the richest man in Albania, we are closin Our fight, however, continues. We earnestly hope for your support- We exercise the right to establish free democratic and independent bargain for our interest and not for the interests of the employer the international standards.
In solidarity,Trade Union of United Mineworkers of Bulqiza
Kurzlink: https://www.labournet.de/?p=159217
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