Solidarity summer 2013 14

Solidarity Workers in New Zealand helping workers overseas

The Newsletter of the Unions Aotearoa International Development Trust

New projects to start in the New Year

Issue Ten, Summer 2013-14 Contents Page 1 New projects to start in the New Year Dan Long Trust gives large donation

UnionAID is delighted that, after some time seeking a suitable Page 2 project partner in the Pacific, Pacific Project to help low wage workers in Fiji we are planning a project to Promoting Ethical Tourism in Myanmar assist low wage workers with the National Union of Factory Page 3 and Commercial Workers in Fiji.

Myanmar Military Legacy Lingers for Railway There is a possibility for this Workers project to link with a new union “Working More Effectively”: Field work project call centre to be established by in Chin state Fiji Trade Union Congress, using law student volunteers to lift Page 4 the profile of unions in Fiji and Season’s greetings to supporters provide legal advice generally, Promising project with nurses from northern which we are also planning to Thailand fund.

UnionAID action groups in Christchurch and In January another new project The ancient Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, a popular tourist Auckland will assist workers in the site hotel and hospitality sector in Myanmar to ensure they are not exploited as tourists swarm into the country. This is a new joint venture with the International Union of Food Workers (IUF) Asia-Pacific and will spearhead an international “Ethical Tourism in Myanmar” campaign.

We are also developing a new project in Sri Lanka, building on the earlier women’s organising project which was successfully completed this year, and we will explore a project with nurses from the Nursing Union of Thailand, who have requested support to The Dan Long Trust has given UnionAID a very generous donation of $1,485.41. address industrial issues for their membership in northern Thailand.

This represents the royalties from the recent biography of Dan Long, “White Collar These new projects will complement our current projects: the Radical” written by Mark Derby. Dan Long was general secretary of the PSA from Myanmar Railway Workers Organising pilot, the three year 1960 to 1976, and transformed it from a gentlemanly professional body into a economic development project in South India, due to finish in well resourced and highly effective trade union. We are extremely grateful to the June 2014, and the Occupational Training Centre in Mae Sot, which Dan Long family for its generosity which UnionAID has fully funded since MFAT funding finished in March. assists us to develop these new and exciting projects.

Dan Long Trust gives large donation

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Pacific project to help low wage workers in Fiji Keen to help our neighbourhood unionists in the Pacific, UnionAID has for some time been on the look out for a suitable project partner in this region.

With assistance from Laila Harre, who worked at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in the Pacific, the opportunity to partner with the Factory and Commercial Workers Union in Fiji has emerged. This union represents workers in shops, light industry, and garment manufacturing.

This project will pilot the development of training, promotion and organising resources and systems that extend the reach of union engagement to workers outside the reach of collective bargaining under the Employment Relations Promulgation. Links will also be established with a call centre project that the Fiji Trade Union Congress have asked us to fund.

This call centre would aim to lift the profile of unions but be available to anyone. Phones would be answered by law student volunteers who may also provide a legal advice centre.

Kuini Lutua (right), who will be our Project Manager, discussing work issues with women in the marketplace

Promoting ethical tourism in Myanmar Myanmar is universally hailed as a friendly and unspoilt tourist destination. If this reputation is to be preserved, however, the tourism industry cannot be allowed to exploit the workers who, through encounters in restaurants and hotels, often leave travellers with their fondest memories of the country.

Since becoming legal, unions have been forming at a rapid rate, but to date only one ‘labour organisation’ has been registered in the tourism hotel sector. This was established by workers at the Governor’s Residence Hotel in Yangon; an expensive boutique hotel with about sixty rooms. The major Traders Hotel has not yet been organised and a large Novotel is currently under construction. There are other large hotels in government ownership, as well as many other medium sized hotels under local ownership in Yangon, and the tourist centres of Bagan and Mandalay.

This project will be managed and

funded jointly by UnionAID and the International Union of Food Workers (IUF) Asia-Pacific, and it will also involve an international campaign for “Ethical Tourism in Myanmar”.

Moe Min Thaw, an alumni of our Burma Young Community Leaders Programme, has offered to be our ‘man on the ground’ to oversee the project.

Initially two local staff will be employed to research and map the major foreign owned hotels in Yangon to develop an evidence base relating to conditions of employment and issues for workers.

Organisers will be hired to develop and conduct training, and identify potential labour leaders for further training. Project staff will develop an international on-line “Ethical Tourism for Myanmar” campaign promoting appropriate standards - including labour standards - for Myanmar tourism, as part of a broader campaign which includes Laos and Cambodia.

Tourists in a hot air balloon drift at sunset over the pagodas of Bagan

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You can help vulnerable workers in developing countries in our region get a fairer deal by making a small monthly donation by direct debit by emailing admin@unionaid.org.nz with your contact details. We will then contact you and make the arrangements. Unions Aotearoa International Development Trust is a registered charity - Reg. No.CC40251

Myanmar military legacy lingers for railway workers In spite of moves towards democracy in Myanmar since 2011, the legacy of the military regime still lingers on, as Wayne Butson, General Secretary of the New Zealand Rail and Maritime Union, found when he visited the country recently. Wayne was there to forge links between railway workers here and their fellow unionists in Myanmar who are learning how to organise for decent work, thanks to a UnionAID pilot project.

Government departments in Myanmar are typically headed by retired ex-army officers. This means that there is often little support for – or downright hostility towards - union activity. As a result, Wayne reported, the unionists Executive members of the Insein union with (back row): Min Lwin, UnionAID project manager (2nd from left); Howard from the Insein workshop in Yangon Phillips, vice president of RMTU (3rd from left) and Wayne Butson (right) could meet with him only after they finished work at 5pm. In marked contrast, executive members from two Mandalay unions, where the railway managers are civilians, were given two days off to travel to Yangon to meet with the delegation. One manager also We are now optimistic that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Murray McCully, will approve new funding brought back union material for his for our highly successful project which brings young leaders from Burma- Myanmar to New Zealand for workers from a recent visit to Germany. six months of intensive English language and development studies. Discussions with MFAT officials are Wayne reported that the organising continuing and we expect that a revamped programme will resume in mid 2014. project is going well. Union membership is now over 1000 thanks to There are now 23 alumni of this UnionAID programme contributing to the moves towards democracy monthly training workshops run by Min in Myanmar and two (Ko Khin Maung Htwe and Ko Ko Si Thu) have since won NZ Government ASEAN Lwin, our project partner in Yangon. scholarships to allow them to study for Masters degrees at Victoria University.

Newsflash!

‘Working more effectively’: Field work project in Chin state

Victor (back row 2nd right) with representatives from local NGOs at workshop

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The most impoverished state in Burma, Chin, is over-run with small non-government organisations (NGOs) which traditionally do not work together. Victor, who attended our Burma Young Community Leaders Programme (BYCLP) last year, has just completed a small project aimed at bringing these NGOs together in Kalay in a series of monthly workshops. The aim was to break down religious and ethnic barriers through better networking and sharing of information to ensure the more effective provision of services to Chin peoples.

Victor is just one of eight alumni of the BYCLP who have been funded through UnionAID to carry out field work for their organisations and build their capacity.

Season’s greetings Best wishes and thanks to all our UnionAID supporters. I have been in Burma for much of the year working for the International Labour Organisation and I would like to acknowledge and thank Christine Ross and Nanette Cormack for taking additional responsibilities in my absence.

We are also particularly grateful to our Solidarity members for their regular monthly contributions. Without them it would be impossible to plan for future projects. As a small token of our appreciation we have enclosed a voucher for a free coffee at Maranui Cafe, Queens Drive, in Lyall Bay, Wellington.

We apologise to our out-of-town supporters, and have allowed a lengthy period of validity in the expectation that you might visit Wellington in the near future.

We have some exciting new projects and next year promises to be another year of growth and challenge for us. Have a relaxing and safe summer.

Ross Wilson Executive Chair

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Promising project with nurses from northern Thailand

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Nurses from an area of northern Thailand have requested some help to address industrial issues. They are members of the Nursing Union of Thailand and, at a conference on Quality Public Services in Thailand recently, they approached the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Union for assistance with addressing industrial issues for their members. UnionAID has agreed to follow this up and consider the possibility of helping with funding and resources.

UnionAID P O Box 6689 Wellington

Auckland Action Group Following a UnionAID training workshop in Auckland a very keen action group has been established in Auckland. If you would like to know more please contact Karen Newson karenn@nzctu.org.nz

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or email the details above to: admin@unionaid.org.nz

UnionAID devonshire tea a treat for Christchurch supporters The UnionAID Christchurch group has been actively fundraising for UnionAID for some time. This year the May Day Dinner and Auction were a great success and now plans are now afoot for a Devonshire Tea picnic in the new year. If you are interested in joining the group and being involved locally please contact Lynley Mulrine at lynleym@nzno.org.nz

You can help vulnerable workers in developing countries in our region get a fairer deal by making a small monthly donation by direct debit by emailing admin@unionaid.org.nz with your contact details. We will then contact you and make the arrangements. Unions Aotearoa International Development Trust is a registered charity - Reg. No.CC40251