International: overview of global union alliances

“United stand.”  A direct consequence of globalization, union action transcends borders in the form of international union alliances.  The last to date, the Ikea Global Union Alliance, ceremoniously launched in Istanbul in early March, gathers representatives from 14 countries and 20 different national unions.  At the same time, UNI Global Union, which initiated this network, published a report pointing to Ikea’s numerous violations of union rights and international labor standards.  The alliance will aim to “promote good working conditions” in the 41 countries where Ikea is present.  UNI general secretary Philip Jennings believes that organizing beyond borders is inherent in union action.  “At national level, unions have been forming alliances for a long time, drawing from the assumption that membership alone isn’t enough, that they need to be united to compare their actions and stand together.”  With businesses that are increasingly extended, “these international alliances aim to overcome the borders that separate workers from their management, which would otherwise seem vague, distant.”  While globalization keeps unions away from the company’s decision-making centers, global alliances let them keep an eye on things and lobby for workers’ interests.  “We gather information on the state of collective bargaining on each situation and the economic situation of different markets” explained Dick Blin, representatives of the International Chemistry, Energy and Mining workers (ICEM) before going to Indonesia where representatives from Asia Pulp&Paper (APP) from 40 different countries will meet to launch a global network.  “In recent years, APP has bought several sites in Canada.  It is the first time the Canadian unionists are going to meet their foreign counterparts.  They are now going to understand market stakes linked with high Chinese demand which is leading APP to prospect in Canada.”