Unite the Union, in partnership with the Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) and supported by the C40 Cities VISIBLE project, concluded a learning tour focused on modern methods of construction and workforce integration within the green economy on 2nd and 3rd September, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) have renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on addressing the challenges posed by climate change in cities and to promote a just transition within the construction industry.
BWI notes with deep concern the proposed legislation concerning administration of BWI affiliate Construction and General Division -CFMEU introduced into the Australian Parliament by the Federal Government.
The Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI), in collaboration with the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), has produced a policy brief on the prospects of green jobs in construction.
In a significant step towards enhancing workers’ health and safety, the French government has extended the compensation scheme for construction and public works (BTP) workers to include work stoppages due to heatwaves.
In a clear triumph for workers' rights, the BWI-affiliated Construction Workers’ Union of Mauritius (CMWEU) successfully negotiated a sectoral collective bargaining agreement applicable to workers in the construction sector.
Warsaw, Poland - The BWI Conference on Reconstruction in Ukraine, held on April 9-10, 2024, convened stakeholders to address the daunting task of rebuilding Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country. Participants engaged in firsthand reflections on the invasion's onset and strategic discussions on the path forward.
The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), particularly its Asia Pacific Regional Office, stands in solidarity with the 22 project-based workers of the Asian Development Bank -funded (ADB) Malolos-Clark Railway Project (MCRP) who are protesting against Cadcor Builders and Trading Corporation for delayed wages.
Construction workers in Nigeria, represented by the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW) and the Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association (CCESSA), staged a three-day strike over the non-implementation of wage awards in the industry.
The BWI-affiliated Trade Union of Construction and Building Materials of Montenegro (SGIGMCG) recently finalized an amended national collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Union of Employers of Montenegro (UPCG) last 23 January 2024.
The Heidelberg Materials Global Union Network, comprising 20 activists and leaders from trade unions in 10 countries affiliated with the Building and Wood Worker’s International (BWI), IndustriALL Global Union, and the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW), convened in Steinbach.
In Uttarakhand, India, forty one (41) construction workers were trapped on 12 November when the Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel collapsed during construction by the Navayuga Engineering Construction Limited (NECL).
A delegation by the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) went to Tanzania on 14 until 17 August 2023 and visited the Twiga cement company in Dar es Salaam, which is part of the Heidelberg Materials’ group of companies.
BWI is protesting the lack of social dialogue at the Calcia cement plant in Couvrot, France, one of the Heidelberg Materials group’s subsidiaries, as it continues to monitor a strike mounted by workers of the said plant on 6 September.
BWI on 5 September renewed its global framework agreement (GFA) with Veidekke at a ceremony coinciding with the company's yearly national gathering of around 70 local union representatives.
On August 22, embattled Filipino cement workers in Davao, Philippines, issued a notice of strike (NOC) against Holcim for negotiating in bad faith the provisions of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and committing numerous other unfair labour practices.
The TKTMS, a BWI affiliate in Southern India, formalised its existing social dialogue with the Confederation of Indian Industry – Indian Green Building Council (CII – IGBC) and the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on 27 July 2023 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
The Building and Woodworkers’ International (BWI), representing 12 million workers worldwide, expresses its full support and solidarity to the four Unite trade unionists who were dismissed from their jobs by Murphy International.
On 20 April, the Trade Union of Construction and Building Materials Industry Workers of Serbia, and the Sector for Construction, Building Materials, and Housing Industry of the Union of Employers of Serbia signed a nationwide special (branch) collective agreement covering workers in Serbia’s construction and building materials industry.
The Construction and Building Materials Workers Union of Sweden (Byggnads) started to collectively bargain for the renegotiation of five collective agreements that cover 100,000 construction workers, glass industry workers, plumbers, and assemblers.
“Holcim has money to join a super boat race and ‘commit’ to a circular economy, but what is the company doing to implement and promote good working conditions, and health and safety in its operations?”
The General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) gathered on 20 and 21 of October for a two-day wood and forestry social dialogue meeting.
The Turkish Wood and Paper Industry Workers’ Union (AGAC-IS) went on strike on 27 October as a response to the years-long union busting and other labour rights violations of ASD Laminat, a Turkish wood processing company infamous for its anti-union policies.
After six weeks, the woodworkers of Weyerhaeuser ended their strike and returned to work on 30 October after reaching a new agreement with the company.
Last 22 October, trade union members of the key global union players have come up with an action plan to establish social dialogue with the Heidelberg Materials Group. The event was held on 18 and 19 October with affiliates from IndustriALL Global Union, Building and Woodworkers’ International (BWI), and the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW).
The Société du Grand Paris (SGP), the Building and Woodworkers’ International (BWI) and its affiliated French trade unions have signed a charter on social commitments related to the Grand Paris Express (GPE) following a joint international visit to the construction site of the future Gustave-Roussy station in Villejuif, France. This is the first time that an international visit took place at the said site.
The workers and management of the Sagrex Heidelbergcement company in Belgium reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 6 September after a week of strike actions from trade unions.
150 workers have been on strike at the Sagrex-Heidelbergcement company in Belgium amidst a 31 August conciliation that has failed to deliver as expected.
The BWI-affiliated Indian National Cement Workers Federation (INCWF) and the All India Cement Employees’ Federation (AICEF), along with other leading trade union federations, submitted a “joint charter of demands” to the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA) regarding the provisions of the next wage increase agreement (1 April 2022–31 March 2026).
The Construction and Associated Industries Workers Union-Histadrut, the Israel Builders’ Association and the Association of Renovation Contractors, headed by Eran Siv, signed on 12 June 2022 a national collective agreement aimed at improving the workers' conditions in the construction industry and raising their wages, along with expanding the employers' commitment in the industry to maintaining the occupational safety. The validity of the agreement, which is an addition and update to the collective agreement from 2015, is for 5 years, subject to the issuance of an extension order by the government.
After being postponed last year due to the pandemic, BWI finally carried out a high-level mission to Ankara, Turkey on 24-27 May to promote greater solidarity and dialogue with members of the Cement, Ceramics, Pottery and Glass Industry Workers’ Union (CIMSE-IS).
“Chinese MNCs’ treatment of workers depends on the strength of unionists.” This was the takeaway point made by trade unionists who attended BWI’s Global Conference on China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
In a collective and sustainable effort to respond to the challenges imposed by the emergence of Chinese multinational companies in the global construction industry, BWI organised a Global Conference on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from 12 to 14 June in Manila, Philippines.
A mass gathering of workers attended no less by Argentinian President Alberto Fernández celebrated the recovery of 200,000 construction jobs that have been lost by the previous administration due to the pandemic.
On 14 May, the Extraordinary Assembly of the Trade Union of Construction and Building Materials Industry of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SGI IGM BiH) elected members of its Supervisory Board and the Statutory Commission, and verified the mandate of members of its Executive Board.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), one of the largest labor unions in North America, called for a total ban on all imports of Russian and Belarusian hardwoods and softwoods.
The IKEA trade unions Budowlani and Solidarność in Poland initiated a collective dispute process as a response to the company’s refusal to correct the inflation rate factored in the wages of its workers.
After a week of negotiations between governments, employers and trade unions, workers in the construction sector worldwide will now benefit from a new code of practice with concrete guidance on improving health and safety.
The United Federation of Workers in Denmark (3F), Denmark’s largest and strongest trade union federation with approximately 280,000 members, on 9 February visited BWI’s Regional Office for Africa Middle East in Johannesburg to help strengthen the trade union movement and defend the rights of construction workers in the region.
BWI condemned the misogynist manifestations made by Eduardo Bolsonaro, Deputy of National Congress, regarding the participation of women workers in the activities of Brazil’s construction and engineering industry.
Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister, joined BWI and its Belgian trade union affiliates in a visit at the Dubai Upper Tower construction site being built by BESIX and talked to migrant workers employed there.
Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David, Israel Builders Association President Raul Srugo and Construction Workers Union-Histadrut Chairman Yitzhak Moyal reached an agreement amidst severe shortage of workers in the industry
Pakistan dam worker complaint to proceed at World Bank watchdog following mass termination
Workers at the Karot Hydroelectric project in Northern Pakistan have won the right to a full investigation regarding a complaint it filed before the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on violations of freedom of association, health and safety and other labour rules.
On 25 January, Brazilian trade unions will mark the third year since the collapse of the Vale dam in Brumadinho (Minas Gerais) which took the lives of 270 people.
The European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on 16 December expressing its grave concern over the abuse of Vietnamese workers employed at the Linglong tire factory in Serbia.
The Building and Woodworkers’ International (BWI) and IndustriAll renewed its demand to cement giant, Holcim to take urgent action on the reported deaths of several workers employed at its plants in India.
On the Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day at COP26, C40 Cities has launched a new coalition of cities and construction sector companies today to tackle the urgent challenge of emissions from the global construction sector. This won’t happen without workers and has also launched a joint statement with Building and WoodWorkers International to ensure a just transition.
BWI, in collaboration with C40, participated in the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland by bringing the voices of workers and trade unions into the discussions on a “just transition” to a clean and green construction industry.
The impact of COVID-19 on the cement industry, health and safety, clean technology and workers’ rights were among the issues discussed when more than 70 trade unionists from 20 countries met online for the joint IndustriALL, BWI and EFBWW HeidelbergCement global union network meeting. The meeting was organised with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
IG Metall is demanding a 4.5 percent salary increase in the wood and plastic processing industry, as its presses with its collective bargaining negotiation, which started last September.
BWI expresses its alarm and concern over the death of two contractual workers in two Holcim-owned cements plants in India. The deaths, which happened in the span of just one week, are deeply disturbing.
Different BWI-affiliated trade unions in Burkina Faso cried the collapse of a building under construction at the Norbert Zongo University in Koudougou which resulted in the death of four people and one injured.
The Faber-Castell Global Union Network, an association of different trade unions working in the global company, distributed food packs to workers retrenched by Faber-Castell in Peru.
The BWI-affiliated Ukraine Construction and Building Materials Workers’ Union (PROFBUD) and the Woodworkers’ Trade Union of Ukraine signed an “association agreement” to jointly fight for labour rights and put a unified presence before employers and government authorities.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) condemned in the “strongest possible terms” the violent attack by an extremist mob on its CFMEU Victorian Branch office on Tuesday, which it said was heavily infiltrated by neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremist groups.
The Federation of Civil Construction Workers of Peru’s (FTCCP) campaign to reduce the weight of cement bags carried by workers gained momentum with the Federation of Cement and Premix Workers of Peru (FETRACEPPE) adding its voice to the advocacy.
17 trade unions from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru, under the leadership of the BWI Latin America and Caribbean, agreed to work together to protect workers’ health and safety by eradicating hazardous construction materials from workplaces.
Multinational cement giant LafargeHolcim and HeidelbergCement persist with their labour subcontracting schemes in Africa and the Middle East amidst a pandemic that continues to destroy millions of jobs and incomes worldwide.
UNITE, the United Kingdom’s biggest construction union, is fighting to secure union access to all HS2 sites from London to Birmingham to ensure that workers receive fair renumeration and enjoy healthy and safe working environments.
The Trade Union of Workers in Construction of Roads and Public & Private Works of the State of Parana (SINTRAPAV-PR) and the Trade Union Workers in the Construction and Furniture Industries of Telemaco Borba (SINTRACON-TB) successfully negotiated new salary terms with Klabin, Brazil’s largest exporter and producer of paper for packaging solutions.
BWI’s Dam Network and the social movements of Minas Gerais in Brasil called on multinational company (MNC) Vale to pay the government BRL 38 billion (USD 7.5 billion) to repair the damages caused by the collapse of its “Brumadinho” dam in January 2019, resulting in the death of 270 people, most of whom are members of the BWI-affiliated SITICOP-MG.
Five people were killed and another nine were critically injured at a construction site in Antwerp, Belgium on 19 June after a section of a school building under construction collapsed, pulling down the scaffolding supporting it.
On 9 June, nine people were killed and another eight were injured when a five-story building undergoing demolition collapsed and buried a bus carrying 17 passengers in Gwangju, South Korea.
Minha Casa Minha Vida ("My House, My Life”), Brazil’s biggest social housing program that aims to build a million homes, is compromised by budget cuts.
BWI’s “Caravan of IKEA Workers’ Stories” stopped at two Inter-IKEA factories in Poland where more than 5,000 workers, together with their unions, are in the middle of a campaign for fair wages.
In its 4 May Annual General Meeting, Holcim rewarded its shareholders with CHf 1.2 billion worth of dividends despite a 13 percent decline in sales due to the pandemic.
Representing 12 million workers from 367 trade unions located in 116 countries, the Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) endorsed the C40’s “Clean Construction Declaration” and the commitment made by mayors of pioneering cities around the world to ensure resource-efficient, resilient and decarbonised buildings and infrastructure.
The LafargeHolcim World Union Council, a gathering of all trade unions working at the cement giant, called on the multinational company to respect workers' rights, protect jobs, ensure workers' health and safety at work, and drastically reduce precarious work.
Majority of the workers of Italcementi in Reazzato, Italy went on a four-hour strike last 15 April to protest the company management’s bad behavior towards its employees and largely, the deteriorating industrial relations in the company.
The threat of a strike action by ninety one (91) workers prevented a HeidelbergCement subsidiary in Belgium from implementing labour subcontracting schemes.
BWI expressed its serious concerns over the dismissal of 17 trade unionists working at the Hima Cement Limited, a LafargeHolcim subsidiary in Kasese, Kampala, Uganda.
BWI expressed its concerns over the possibility that around 100 French workers of LafargeHolcim will be affected by the company’s alleged shift to alternative fuels.
BWI’s “IKEA Workers’ Caravan of Stories” for this year begins with the alarming story of trade union repression at the Nova DIPO company, an IKEA supplier in Gornji Podgradci, Republic of Srpska.
Work on France's single largest construction site, the 30,000 m2 Olympic Village, will start in the spring of 2021 after getting delayed by a month due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BWI-affiliated Progressive Trade Union Federation 47 (C-47) in Suriname emerged victorious in its labour dispute with Greenheart Group N.V., a global company focused on wood harvesting, lumber-processing, marketing and sales and provision of timber and lumber products.
The BWI-affiliated Thamizhaga Kattida Thozhilalargal Mathiya Sangam (TKTMS) and the Construction and Real Estate Coalition (CRIC) held a state-wide protest in Tamil Nadu on 4 February against what it called the “abnormal rise” in the prices of construction materials, such as cement and steel.
On 3 January 2020, a building being constructed in Kep, Cambodia collapsed, killing 36 workers. Already a year on, there has been zero justice and accountability.
The Building and Woodworkers Trade Union of Cambodia (BWTUC) on 3 January expressed disappointment over the government’s slow action in responding to the public’s demand for justice and accountability regarding the collapse of a building in Kep, Southern Cambodia a year ago which killed 36 workers and injured 26 more.
BWI asked the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on 15 December to explain the mass termination of 2,410 workers at the Karot Hydropower Project, a mega infrastructure project that it is financing in Pakistan.
BWI’s “IKEA Workers’ Caravan of Stories” shares the story of how a good union-management partnership at a workplace in Republika Srpska resulted in good working conditions for IKEA supply workers and increased productivity for the company.
Combining electronic, social media and traditional face-to-face interactions, BWI in partnership with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA), the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), and various solidarity support partners held a successful two-day Global Sports Conference on labour rights and the 2022 FIFA World Cup last 23 and 24 of November.
BWI is calling French authorities to leave no stone unturned in their investigation of leaked liquid into Paris’ Seine River from a plant belonging to Franco-Swiss cement giant LafargeHolcim, sparking public outrage.
Byggnads, the Swedish union of construction workers, has threatened to go on strike next week over employer federation Byggföretagen’s reluctance to address industry-wide work-related fatal accidents during their collective bargaining negotiations.
BWI German affiliate, The Trade Union for Building, Forestry, Agriculture and the Environment (IG BAU) welcomes the commitment of global cement and building materials companies, such as HeidelbergCement and LafargeHolcim to reduce their carbon emissions.
BWI released a mapping of HeidelbergCement and LafargeHolcim’s operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region reporting on the companies’ compliance to international and regional standards, and on their financial stakeholders.
Close to 2,000 workers at the Suki Kinari (SK) hydropower construction project in Northern Pakistan have been on a strike since 27 October to protest the curtailment of their freedom of movement, illegal terminations and denial of overtime wages, leaves and COVID-19 allowances.
The Cement, Lime and Allied Workers' Union of Zimbabwe (CLAWUZ) condemned the inhumane treatment of 150 workers employed at the Diamond Cement Company near Central Zimbabwe’s Kwekwe City.
The Progressive Trade Union Federation 47 (C-47), a BWI affiliated organisation in Suriname, is demanding the reinstatement of unionised workers and the release of their wages at the Greenheart Group N.V., a global company focused on wood harvesting, lumber-processing, marketing and sales and provision of timber and lumber products.
The BWI global cement network meeting with its affiliates around the world focused on key issues, including the Swiss Responsible Business Initiative, which represents hope for workers globally. This virtual meeting, held on 14 October, gathered around 40 participants.
About 40 participants from unions affiliated to Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) and IndustriALL Global Union met online on 13 October to discuss developments and challenges for employees of German building materials multinational HeidelbergCement.
Unions and civil society organisations in Cambodia are happy with news that the government has decided to appoint 362 inspectors to monitor, observe, research, inspect, collect evidence and promote the implementation of construction laws.
The EUR 100 billion COVID-19 stimulus package unveiled by Prime Minister Jean Castex on 3 September will allocate EUR 30 billion to an ecological transition plan, said to be the central element of the package, and another EUR 7.5 billion to the construction sector. T
To mark Brick Family Month this August, the Union Workers of Bricks Industry of the Republic of Argentina (UOLRA) held an online meeting with women brick workers to discuss their present issues and present the efforts made by the union to advance gender equality.
BWI-affiliated trade unions in India and Serbia joined hands in helping 51 Indian migrant workers who were left stranded without any work and salaries in the Balkan country.
The second leg of BWI’s “IKEA Workers’ Caravan of Stories,” a campaign to enable IKEA workers in different countries to share with one another their working lives and experiences, brings us to PT Integra Indo Cabinet located in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia.
BWI launched the “IKEA Workers’ Caravan of Stories” to enable IKEA workers in different countries to share to one another their working lives and experiences. The caravan’s first stop was at the IKEA Industry factory in Tikhvin, Russia which is in the North-West region of the country. The factory, which employs over 1,000 workers, produces IKEA furniture and consists of sawmill, components, and furniture departments.
Responding to the high number of work-related fatalities in the forestry sector, the Civil Servants’ Union of Agriculture, Forestry, Husbandry and Environment Sectors (TARIM ORMAN-IS) held an occupational health and safety (OHS) training to 45 rural forest workers on 18 July in a forest village in Northern Turkey.
Earthsight, a non-profit environmental organization, released an investigative report on “hot wood”, alleging that illegally logged timber from Western Ukraine with certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is being sold through a Romanian intermediary to Swedish multinational IKEA.
“The Building and Wood Workers’ International, BWI, condemns the cowardly attacks on the picket line of laid off workers at Holcim Cement Davao Plant in Davao Philippines on April 22, 2020 by unknown persons taking advantage of the COVID pandemic crisis and 'stay at home' order of the government “, says Ambet Yuson, BWI General Secretary.
Subcontracted workers in LafargeHolcim’s Cement plant in Sokhna, Egypt are assigned the most hazardous jobs in the plant, one of the many discriminatory labour practices uncovered by an independent research study.
Since 2018, HeidelbergCement in Egypt has reduced its workforce by at least 2,000 through attrition and by not extending fixed term contracts. In December 2019, an independent study found that almost half of the 474 workers are contract workers at its Suez plant, one of four plants owned by HeidelbergCement in Egypt, where discriminatory labour conditions are a concern.
More than two thirds of the total workforce at the Cement Fuheis Plant suffer from asthma, undoubtedly related to their exposure to dust at the workplace. To make matters worse, workers who do not pass health tests are not entitled to paid sick leave or paid sick retirement. These findings of an independently-conducted research raised concerns among BWI affiliates for these workers as respiratory illness increases the risk of complications should a worker contract COVID-19.
Workers at the Chakrey Ting cement factory in Kampot, Cambodia have concluded an agreement with the company at the Regional Labour Department that will see the reinstatement of its union vice president, Houn Houen.
On 26 May, 2020 the Swiss National Contact Point released its initial assessment on a case, referred to as a “specific instance”, submitted by the BWI on 12 December 2019 based on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The NCP concludes, “This report on the initial assessment by the Swiss National Contact Point (hereafter “Swiss NCP”) concludes that the issues raised in this submission merit further consideration on the specific context of the Philippines as well as on the global group level.”
The Building and Wood Workers’ International, together with IndustriAll Global Union and the EFBWW, calls in a joint statement addressed to the shareholders of the LafargeHolcim Annual General Meeting to be held on 12 of May 2020 to prioritize the protection of employment, income and the health and safety of all those who work for them worldwide.
Participants at the first European Regional Youth Assembly that took place in Stockholm, Sweden partook in an action at Sergel square at the city centre to protest the high level of deadly workplace accidents in the construction sector and send a clear message that every worker has the right to safe working conditions, as the right to live comes before profit.
On 25 March 2019 in Chisinau, Moldova, the Trade Union Federation of Construction and Building Materials Workers of the Republic of Moldova (SINDICONS), and the Federation of Construction and Woodworking Unions of Israel (Histadrut) signed a cooperation Agreement to ensure the protection Moldovan migrant workers working construction sites in Israel.
On 6 March Venezuelan construction trade unions, including three BWI affiliates (FENATCS, FETRAMAQUIPES and FETRACONSTRUCCION) reached an agreement with the two chambers that groups construction employers (CVC and CBC).
SNSCAASC and FITCM-N, BWI affiliates in Nicaragua, signed a Regulatory Framework Agreement with the Nicaraguan Chamber of Construction (CNC) to ensure workers from subcontracting companies and outsourcing agencies receive legal and occupational protection, in accordance with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement for the construction sector in the country.
The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour, and Social Affairs (MADLSA) and Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) organised a Community Leaders’ Forum on Workers’ Welfare on 15 February 2019 in Doha, Qatar.
On 29 January 2019, the management of Global Hydropower Associate with the help of local goons beat up the workers who were organizing plant level trade union at the workplace.
Hundreds of workers throughout Peru took the streets on January 15, against labor flexibilization promoted by employers and to demand to the government of President Martín Vizcarra, the reactivation of the construction industry.
3 December 2018: Turkish construction union, Turkish Union of Road, Construction and Building Workers (YOL-IS) have issued a harsh press statement denouncing the lack of safety and health in all sectors including construction throughout Turkey.
In Seoul, South Korea at the National Assembly the Korean Federation of Construction Industry Trade Union (KFCITU) held a photo exhibit show casing a series of photos highlighting women working in the construction industry in South Korea. The exhibit is a collection of photos submitted by photo journalists, freelancers, and others as part of the photo contest.
The threat of a strike action at the 870MW Suki Kinari hydro project in Northern Pakistan has compelled China Gezhouba Group to accept key workers’ demands, according to the Pakistan Federation of Building and Wood Workers’ (PFBWW).
To avoid a general strike the trade union Histadrut and the Israeli government finally reached an agreement on better safety regulations at workplaces, particularly on construction sites.
The global union network at HeidelbergCement held two days of intensive discussions and exchanges on 1 and 2 November in Frankfurt, Germany, about the situation in different countries where the company is present.
On 19th of October 2018, at the 10th Assembly of the Trade Union of Industry of Construction (SGH), the delegates re-elected Jasenka Vuksic as president and adopted the SGH Program Orientation for 2018-2022.
Members of the Sabah timber union are elated after yesterday’s decisive secret ballot election victory at Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) in Sipitang, Malaysia, clearing the way for them to begin collective bargaining.
On 1-4 October the BWI participated in the Human Rights Advisory Board’s visit to Doha, Qatar. The Board met with FIFA’s Local Organising Comitte and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy which is responsible for building the infrastructure around the World Cup.
The BWI has published a new report summarizing the findings of a damning investigation by the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman to the International Financing Corporation (IFC), an independent monitoring mechanism for the World Bank’s IFC.
Members of the Construction and General Site Workers’ Union (CSGWU) in Hong Kong have joined protests on Sunday 14 October against a Government plan to build several artificial islands to ease Hong Kong’s overcrowding problem.
On 28 September the BWI and its Japanese Affiliates Council (BWI-JAC) held an international forum looking at the risks to human rights involved in the preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
The unions representing the workers of Votorantim Cimentos SA in Brazil and Argentina have decided to request for a meeting with the company to analyze proposals for a unified system of collective bargaining and social dialogue in Brazil.
The BWI condemns the recent attacks on construction workers who are exercising their fundamental rights at a construction site project at the New Istanbul Airport.
In 2016 the Israeli tower crane operator Keti Karolov got fired after refusing to continue working in stormy weather. Now, a court has ruled the dismissal illegal and that her employer violated safety rules.
Migrant workers building the Imperial Pacific casino and resort on the island of Saipan, which is part of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, have suffered abuses such as unpaid wages, severe injuries, and retaliation.
150 workers at the construction company RG Engenharia in Dourados in central Brazil are on strike after their employer refused to sign a collective bargaining agreement.
The Building and Wood Workers’ International has been informed by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in Qatar that a 23-year old Nepalese man was killed yesterday morning, the 14th of August, while working on the project site of Al Wakram Stadium, one of the facilities for the 2022 World Cup games.
The German construction workers union IG BAU has reached an agreement with the construction company Hochtief that will give construction workers a pay rise of 7,14 per cent in three stages until 2020.
Last week 18 000 construction workers went out on the streets of Zürich to demonstrate against a proposal from the employers to raise the retirement age.
In May 2018 the Ministry of Labour issued an act for the extension of the application of the Collective Bargaining Agreement to all employers in the construction industry in Croatia.
Today, on the opening of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, the BWI and its 12 million members around the world express condolences to the families of the twenty-one construction workers who died during construction of World Cup stadiums.
On 5 June 2018, the Swiss National Compact Point (NCP) responsible for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises concluded its follow-up on the BWI complaint against FIFA that focused on the 2020 World Cup Games in Qatar.
April 30 2018 - On the eve of May Day in Doha, close to 200 participants attended the BWI “Community Leaders Forum on Workers’ Welfare in the Construction and Allied Sectors” in Doha, Qatar.
For the first time, the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) commemorated International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) in Qatar by supporting the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (ADLSA) 2nd National OSH Conference and participating in various site-level activities to raise awareness on safety and health.
Today, as the 2018 Winter Olympics begin in PyeongChang, South Korea, the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) and the Korean Federation of Construction Industry Trade Unions (KFCITU) have released a joint report outlining violations of construction workers’ rights throughout the Olympic construction process.
A local police inquiry has begun into the death of two contract workers that occurred at the Ambuja Cement Plant in Baloda Bazar in the Indian State of Chhattisgarh.
A few hours ago leaders of the Sabah Timber Industry Employees’ Union (STIEU) emerged from the Court of Appeal in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Malaysia), elated from the news that Sabah Forest Industries’ (SFI) latest attempt to frustrate union recognition had been thrown out by the Court.
The Construction Workers’ Union of the Republic of Argentina (UOCRA) is organizing an International Film Festival about work dedicated to promote and give visibility to socio-labor issues.
More than 200 timber mill workers remain locked out at Australia’s largest plywood mill at Myrtleford, Victoria, after failing to meet an agreement with the company. The mill is owned by the New Zealand multinational timber firm Carter Holt Harvey (CHH), who have a record of lockouts and poor faith in collective bargaining negotiations.
The BWI recently completed a solidarity mission to Ankara, Turkey, on April 10th and 11th 2017. The delegation included BWI President Per Olof Sjoo, Assistant Education Secretary Jasmin Rezpedovic, Vasyl Andreyev, PROFBUD President, Ukraine, and Co- Chair of the BWI Ad-hoc Working Group on Youth, and Dr. Fabiola Mieres, Global Project Coordinator. Gülsah Doruk, BWI's Project Coordinator in Turkey worked with BWI's Turkish affiliates in the preparations of the mission.
The trade unions in Argentina paralyzed the country during the strike called on 6 April 2017 against the measures of economic adjustments imposed by President Mauricio Macri.
The dispute was declared on the background of the deadlock in negotiations to arrange the employment conditions of approximately 1,200 crane operators in all the construction sites in the country
BWI presents a position paper to contribute to the global discussions on measurement of the conditions of forestry workers towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Today at a meeting in Jogjakarta the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Global Social Chamber supported and endorsed the Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) initiative to having core labour standards embedded in all FSC policy standards.
The BWI and the Supreme Committee for Delivery (SC) and Legacy signed a Memorandum of Understanding last November 2016 and took effect in January 2017.
Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and like clockwork this has been proceeded by the annual rise in protests over wage arrears, as migrant workers prepare to return to their family to celebrate. This year protest activity has been particularly acute in the construction industry, according to the China Labour Bulletin.
Industri Enregi has a long history of cooperation with BWI in Africa which started in Zimbabwe and Swaziland, about HIV/AIDS, Ethiopia on the same issue of HIV/AIDS and now with the Timber and Woodworkers Union of Ghana in the Furniture sector.
A study implemented to 113 cement companies in 40 countries who cover most regions of the world, confirms the difficulty of the industry to integrate unions in its policy, "even when the sample of the plants studied is atypical," said SECAFI Groupe Alpha, the entity who performed the analysis.
This September 28th, in Panama City, initiated the Global Conference Cement with a participation of 150 leaders of unions affiliated to BWI in 43 countries worldwide, in order to make a study on labor relations, outsourcing, health and safety, change climate, remuneration and social protection in the cement industry.
This month union leaders at the Theng Sreng Import Export Co. Ltd, a supplier of building materials (including window and door frames and roofing) to one of Cambodia’s largest house-building firms, were terminated from their employment after forming a union and holding elections.
The BWI is supporting the struggle of 55 maintenance workers at Carlton United Breweries (CUB), members of BWI-affiliate the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and our partner the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU).
The mining project that risks destroying the forests, jobs and water for the people in the Artvin province in Turkey has been halted following a court decision.
The Belgian National Contact Person (NCP) of the OECD has accepted a complaint filed by the Building and Wood Workers’ International and its Argentinian affiliate — Ceramic Workers' Union of the Republic of Argentina (FOCRA) — against the Belgian ETEX Group under the OECD Multinational Enterprise Guidelines.
The IVth Congress of the Trade Union of Civil Engineering, Industry and Planning of Republic of Macedonia, SGIP, held on 21 May 2016 in Krusevo Macedonia, gathered 39 delegates, with a participation of more than 30 per cent of young and women delegates.
A group of over one hundred rail workers in Hong Kong held a sit-in strike on Monday to protest the failure of their employer to pay HKD$7 million wages (~USD$900,000) owed to them over a month and a half period.
The biggest 'blacklisting' scandal in UK construction industry history has seen the court case end in victory as 256 workers are set to receive more than £10 million in compensation.
The deceased bodies of at least 35 out of 41 missing Chinese construction workers have now been found, after a massive landslide hit a hydropower construction site in China’s Fujian Province early on Sunday morning.
On 29 April 2016, press releases were issued by construction firms and unions involved in the High Court trial on blacklisting of union members in the UK.
At the recent Congress of the Swedish Painters’ Union close to 150 delegates elected a new leadership to lead the Malareforbundet under the banner of “Equal Values for the Trade Union Movement in the Future.”
The BWI and the Ceramic Workers' Union of the Republic of Argentina (FOCRA) has filed a complaint against Etex Group under the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises of the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Due the importance that the Building and Wood Worker´s International (BWI) gives to the recent conflicts in various countries resulted of the restructuring that Etex Group has carried out since 2013, we published a note of the representatives of Etex Group in Europe.
A statement of last January 8th, sent to the Regional Office of the Building and Wood Worker´s International (BWI) from its subsidiary in Argentina, Ceramic Workers' Union of the Republic of Argentina (FOCRA), reports that the trade union if workers of the Company Ceramica San Lorenzo, belonging to the Plant Azul began a few days ago a total labor strike since the Etex Group fired a "hundred" workers.
Earlier this month, leaders of BWI affiliates in Sweden was awarded for their hard-work on ensuring better working and living conditions for workers in the construction sector in relation to international mega-sports events.
On 21 March Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that he will dissolve both Houses of Parliament if the Senate doesn’t pass bills to reconstitute the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), a move which could pave the way for an election on 2 July.
BWI affiliate Rakennusliitto ry – Byggnadsförbundet rf – Construction Trade Union has produced the following material in different languages for International Workers Memorial day.
More than two weeks after the tragic death of Juanito B. Pardillo and injuries sustained by his two Filipino colleagues at their job site, the investigation report has yet to be concluded by the Qatari authorities.
The Construction and Unorganised Workers Federation (CUWF) – a state-wide federation led by the BWI affiliate TKTMS –organized its State Level General Body meeting on 19th January 2016 at Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu State, India.
After extensive negotiations in 2015, the Trade Union of Construction and Building Materials of Montenegro, SGIGMCG, concluded with the Employers Association of Montenegro the national branch Collective Bargaining Agreement on amendments to the CBA for the construction and building materials industry.
“Working as a welder in a construction company where the majority of workers are men is a big challenge for me,” said Melody Lavarez, Chair of the Pinay Tradeswomen.
“The coverage of all workers and employers will have multiple positive effects”, says Jasenka Vuksic, president of the SGH in Croatia and member of the World Council of the BWI.
Indian authorities must do more to protect the rights of workers abroad. This message was delivered at a trade union conference in Chennai in South Indian state Tamil Nadu organized by the construction workers’ union TKTMS.
“The coverage of all workers and employers will have multiple positive effects”, says Jasenka Vuksic, president of the SGH in Croatia and member of the World Council of the BWI. A new Collective Bargaining Agreement for the construction industry was concluded in Croatia on the occasion of the Construction Workers Day on 25 September 2015 and issued on 15 December 2015.
After the successful negotiations of the Trade Union of Construction Industry of Croatia, SGH, and the Construction Industry Association of Croatia HUP-UPG last year, both social partners also signed a joint proposal submitted to the Ministry of Labour and Retirement System for the coverage of all workers and employers, including those that are not members of the SGH and HUP-UPG, by the signed Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement introduced few innovations in terms of rights and obligations of the workers’ health and safety representative, education and training for work, and in particular, working time, breaks and leaves. The CBA regulates also the salaries/tariffs, allowances and material rights of workers and the conditions for work of the trade union. The rights of posted workers is regulated in an additional annex to the CBA. With the accession of Croatian in the EU in 2013 Croatian workers can freely work, without restrictions in more than 15 EU countries.
For Jasenka Vuksic: ”Among others equalization of the material and social situation of the workers, the removal of unfair competition in the construction industry because of using cheaper and exploited labour force and mitigating undeclared work and the gray economy, control of calculation and payment of gross salary.”
SGH and HUP-UPG are continuously developing their partnership. In the frame of an EU funded project, implemented by the UATUC (to which SGH is affiliated) and the HUP, a joint data base, including 200 collective bargaining agreements out of 550 that are in force in the country - 29 related to the construction industry, has been developed and presented in October 2015. In addition, the data includes 150 indicators for each CBA which allows an analysis of the content and provides statistics. See www.kolektivni-ugovori.info
Among the various initiatives, the SGH has, recently initiated the discussion about the development of paritarian funds in the construction industry and is continuing with its organising drives in infrastructure projects.
The Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016 has informed the Building and Wood Workers‘ International (BWI) that they have partially incorporated the BWI OHS Protocol as their policies.
The crackdown against the labour movement in South Korea continues. On the 29th of December, Kim Gi-hong who is a member of the Korea Plant Construction Workers' Union was arrested in his home for taking part in the rally on 14 November 2015.
The Autonomous Trade Union of Road Maintenance Workers of Serbia, ATURMW, initiated a round table on the topic „Law on Public Procurement in the Light of the New EU Directive on Public Procurement to be adopted during the second quarter of 2017.
107 union representatives and shop stewards gathered in Antalya, Turkey, to learn and share experiences on how to organise new members to fight for better working conditions – especially for rural forest workers and migrants who work in precarious employment.
With the creation of the Workers' Trade Union of Faber-Castell in Peru a new step is given towards the genuine social dialogue and labour relations between the German multinational and its workers at the facilities of the city of Lima, Peru.
Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) held a one-day National Workshop on Forest Sustainability Certification and Labor in Jakarta, Indonesia on 17 December 2015.
“Allied industries and trade” include various subsectors like mining and quarrying, sawmilling and planing of wood, manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products, construction of buildings, civil engineering and specialised construction activities, and architectural and engineering activities.
The construction sector comprises a wide range of economic activities and it is one of the biggest global employment provider – around 7 per cent of the labour force. The BWI struggles for the protection of workers´ rights mainly through enforcement of legislation and regulations and by promoting decent working conditions together with the social dimension of sustainable development in economic growth, environmental conservation and society.
The building materials sector is a fast-growing sector parallel with the building and construction sector. It includes a diverse range of suppliers, from cement manufacturers to glass and ceramic manufacturers, as well as providing a large market for paint and wiring manufacturers, and a host of other related industries. It has a key role to generate the transition to a low-carbon economy by producing alternative building materials to replace the hazardous building materials causing environmental and health concerns.
It is estimated that 30% of the world's area is covered by forests and some 13,2 million people are employed in the formal forestry sector. The BWI works for both the protection of wood and forest workers´ rights and we foster the idea that workers can play a key role in maintaining our forests, provided that their rights are respected. We also support the forest certification systems to create economically, environmentally and socially sustainable forests.
The construction sector comprises a wide range of economic activity and it is one of the biggest global employment provider – around 7 per cent of labour force. The BWI struggles for the protection of workers´ rights mainly through enforcement of legislation and regulations and by promoting decent working conditions together with the social dimension of sustainable development in economic growth, environmental conservation and society.
The building materials sector is a fast-growing sector parallel with the building and construction sector. It includes a diverse range of suppliers, from cement manufacturers to glass and ceramic manufacturers, as well as providing a large market for paint and wiring manufacturers, and a host of other related industries. It has a key role to generate the transition to a low-carbon economy by producing alternative building materials to replace the hazardous building materials causing environmental and health concerns.
