CNV Internationaal - A World that Works

Internationaal

the story ofElsa Paez Garcia page 25

the story ofSeynabou Dieng

page 6

the story ofIon Poia page 30

the story ofAngela Ciocirlan

page 33

the story ofSokhna Fall

page 9

the story ofNiver Alegria Florez page 22

the story ofAthit Kong page 17

the story ofSrun Sothy

page14

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CNV Internationaal’s purpose is to contribute to positive changein people’s lives through the programmes we implement. In "A World that works”, journalist Frank van Lierde and photo-grapher Bas de Meijer make the results of CNV International’swork vivid through a number of personal stories gathered from interviews with working people from four continents.

> Foreword

The core of international trade unionwork remains the same regardless ofwhere in the world it is found or howdifferent individual circumstancesmay be. It revolves around a decentstandard of work that enables peopleto provide for their own needs, inorder to live a safe and healthy life.They should be able to send theirchildren to school and be assured ofan income if they are ill and whenthey retire. Decent work means treating people fairly and respectingtheir rights.

I am very proud to say that CNV notonly seeks to promote decent work inthe Netherlands, but look beyond ourborders as well. You can read thestories of Sokhna and Seynabou from Senegal, Srun and Athit fromCambodia, Niver and Elsa from Colombia and Angela and Ion fromMoldova. They describe the impact

on their own lives of the programmesthat CNV Internationaal implements incooperation with local organisations.What is it like to work in a factory likethat? What do they struggle with?What remains of their childhooddreams? What does trade union workmean to them? Where do they find theinspiration to keep going?

Pieter de VenteChairman of CNV InternationaalGeneral Secretary of CNV TradeUnion Federation

Change in people’s lives

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> Project country Senegal

The story of Seynabou Dieng

Age: 42Occupation: fish processor Children: 4 sons, 1 daughter

Organisation: Cooperationaffiliated to UDTS

Seynabou Dieng is 42 and lives in a small town on the coast of Senegal. She works in the fishing industry, just like her parents and grandparentsdid before her. It is hardwork for little money, nocontract, no job security,and no social security.

The burden of fear was lifted from

our shouldersy father died when I wasseven. As a girl, I wanted to be a midwife or a teacher, butI left school when I was 10. I’m

married to a fisherman. Two of my sonswork with me in the fish processing andthe other two work on the boat with myhusband. My daughter is married.”Seynabou is a member of a cooperativeof 250 women and 50 men, all fish processors in the same coastal town.“Thanks to the help of l’Union Démocra-tique des Travailleurs du Sénégal (UDTS)and our cooperative, we’ve made a lot ofprogress. We obtained financial supportand were able to buy materials for work.”

“I’ve seen big changes in the fish- processing industry. Today cooperativemembers have broad wicker tables onwhich fish are laid to dry. We even havesmoking ovens. When I was younger wedidn’t have these facilities. My older sister and I went to the sea every

morning with my mother. We’d smokethe fish in the same place we sold them.The smoking process wasn’t hygienicand not profitable either. Fortunatelytimes have changed.”

“When we still had to borrow moneyfrom the bank we had to pay an interestrate of 18 per cent. The bank wasn’t forpoor people and in all the years thishasn’t changed. If you had nothing, youcould borrow nothing. That was the casefor most of us. If you wanted to borrowmoney, you had to provide collateral thatwas worth more. Borrowing meant livingin fear. No, in Senegal you can’t rely onthe bank to help you build an independentlife. For that you need group solidarity,It’s African logic. If you are not part of agroup you are nothing; the history of theone is the history of the other.”“Thanks to the UDTS we were allocatedland on which we could work and givena cooperative savings and credit fund

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The union makes us stronger, keeps us onour toes, offers us protection and helps us inour struggle against poverty

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that we had to manage ourselves. We pay an interest rate of 3 per cent.There’s just no comparison with the 18per cent we used to pay. We no longerneed to rely on the bank. The burden of fear was lifted from our shoulders.” “This helped to buy fish and the materialswe needed: buckets, bowls, wheel -barrows, gloves, boots, tarpaulin, dryingracks, cement wash basins... Individuallywe would not have been able to buy thesethings. But now we have them and wemake collective use of them. We workmore hygienically, have boosted ourproduction and the quality is better. Before, people looked down on the work that women did. Nowadays, wemake a significant contribution to thefamily income and people look at us a lot differently.”

“The union makes us stronger, keeps us on our toes, offers us protection andhelps us in our struggle against poverty.We’re all working in the fish industry in the coastal area. We are supportive

competitors. Together, we think about how we spend our money, whatmaterials we should buy and the bestways to get customers. We’d like to reduce the number of middlemen andget more direct access to the markets.This is a struggle we’re taking on withthe help of the union. In the meantime,we agree pricing among ourselves andwe speak with one voice. It’s a way ofprotecting us from middlemen who try to impose their pricing on us.”“I can hardly imagine what it would be like not to have to work for a wholeweek. I think I’d spend time caring formyself and enjoy some rest. I would alsolike to modernise the smoke ovens be-cause they are bad for our health. Ovensthat run on solar power would be great.”

And what is Seynabou’s long-termdream? “In ten years’ time I’d like toown several smoke ovens so I couldlease them to other people. I’d then beable to stop working myself becausethis work is just too demanding.”


Nowadays, women make a significant

contribution to the family income

and people look at us a lot

differentlySeynabou Dieng

My husband and 2 sons work as fishermen Together, we think about the best ways to get customers

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The story of Sokhna Fall

Age: 51Occupation: Trader insmall building materialsChildren: 7 (between 10and 30 years)

Organisation: “Book Ndey”,a savings and credit groupfor women, affiliated to UDTS

Together we’re not afraid of anything

The union taught us how to manage money

ust like my sister, I started buyingand selling stuff. That’s how it allstarted.” Nowadays Sokhna hasseven children, all between 10

and 30 and she deals in building materi-als such as cement and paint. Sokhna:““Working in the informal circuit inDakar is tough and dangerous. There’s a lot of pilfering in this area. Our vul -nerability lies in the fact that we’re not recognized legally. I’m not registered, I pay no taxes and have no export license. As a result we have no protec-tion, no social security, no pension andwe’re stuck in the informal economy.”When asked why she joined the unionSokhna beats her chest. “It’s somethingI really wanted to do. In addition to improving my own situation I wanted to help other women too. There are somany women like me who have neverbeen to school and need support. We’re re all in the same boat.”

“The union holds us together. We worktogether and help one another. UDTSfights for dignified work, which for memeans having food on the table, a houseto live in, and being able to help my family and the people around me.”

Sokhna chairs the savings and credit cooperative called Book Ndey (‘havingthe same as your sisters’). “We have 36members, all of them have union cards.With loans from the UDTS we buy foodand household items in bulk such as oiland soap and pay less than you’d have to pay in the shop. Because we all storeeverything centrally group membersalso save on transport costs. We calledit ‘Food Solidarity’.”“The union also taught us how to manage money. Today we are not afraidof the bank, because now we manageour money ourselves. Together, we arenot afraid of anything. I see the people


“I still remember the firsttime I arrived in Dakar. It was all very modern!Electricity, telephones, so many cars! I married in 1983 and my husbandtook me to Dakar. It wasamazing, but I had no ideawhat kind of work I coulddo, without education. I was prepared to tackleany kind of job.”

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I work with as family members. Toge-ther, we make sure that nobody is leftwanting and that we stay one group.”“I never went to school, but today theunion is my school. We get to learn a lot about union work, management and financial matters. UDTS makes usmore independent. We’ve also learnedto make our businesses more visible to a larger audience, to develop new sales strategies and to think about the financial feasibility of our plans. All this makes us better entrepreneurs.This is important if you work in the informal sector.”

“The Union and our savings and creditgroup have changed much in my life. My business has grown, I find it easierto buy food than before. I can bettercover household costs, like healthcareor other things that my children need.This gives me more self-esteem andrespect of others.”“But we still have a long way to go.

When I hear that a minimum wage leveland effective social security systemsexist in other countries, I realise thatthis can serve as a good example for usto follow. I feel it’s important to bolsternational and international solidarity toachieve the same things in Senegal.”

“I really hope that with our women’s cooperative we’ll achieve a lot more. In 10 years time I’d like to think thatwe’ll all have our own businesses, alongwith all the necessary paperwork andpermits. And that we can then helpother women along the same path andmake the union movement stronger and bigger. That’s what we


The union has changed

much in my life. My self-esteemand the respect

of others have grown

Sokhna Fall

The union is my school In ten years I hope we will all have our own businesses

We are supportive competitors. Together, we think about how we spend our money,

what materials we should buy and the best ways to get customers

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Key facts and figures

Senegal

Senegal

Capital city: Dakar

Population: 13.7 milionThe Netherlands: 16.8 milion

Area: 196.190 km2

The Netherlands: 41.526 km2

Income per capita

Senegal

$ 2.000The Netherlands

$ 41.500

Life expectancySenegal

59.6 yearsThe Netherlands

80.8 years

Statistical data: http://hdr.undp.org/en/data

UDTS In Senegal, CNVInternationaal works withthe Union Démocratique desTravailleurs du Sénégal, oneof the nation’s largest tradeunions with a presence in allcorners of the country.

Diverseprofessions Workers from a very widerange of professions haveorganised themselvesthrough the UDTS:transport, industry, food and agriculture, textiles and clothing, education,public services, trade,lumber and construction.

CooperationThe UDTS has taken theinitiative to establishcooperation between the fourlargest unions in Senegal oncertain issues. This has broughtthem a strong position indiscussions with employers and authorities.

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Human develop-ment index

Senegal

154 of 187 The Netherlands

4 of 187

Gender equality index

Senegal


1 of 187

Literacy

Senegal

49.7% The Netherlands

99%

Open to those withoutfixed contractsOnly 250,000 of Senegal’s 6 million-strong workforce have a fixedcontract of employment. The UDTSis very active in helping to organisethose without a permanent job who earn - for example - their livingas street traders, market vendorsor taxi drivers.

Social securityJust 10% of the working populationcurrently has access to socialsecurity. The UDTS is working tocombat this via the Mutuelles deSanté. To place this problem highon the national agenda, the UDTS is collaborating with other tradeunion organisations to lobby andraise awareness.

Social dialogue at abusiness levelThe unions affiliated with the UDTSalso maintain a social dialogue withindividual employers at a businesslevel. The results vary from simpleconversations with regard to workinghours and wages to extensive anddetailed collective labour agreementsincluding arrangements for e.g.maternity leave and safety at theworkplace.

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> Project country Cambodia

The story of Srun Sothy

Age: 31Occupation: Garment worker and union leaderat Chus Sing factory Children: 1 son

Organisation: independentgarment workers’ unionCCAWDU

worked from seven in the morning tilleleven in the evening, for 30 dollars a month. No holidays, sick leave wasexceptional. And I was frightened of

ending up in the sex industry. Somegirls just disappeared. When I was 20people tried to lure me into it. No way, I said, I’m nobody’s possession.”

After three years in the factory Srun becomes a member of CCAWDU. Srun:“It was the first independent trade unionfor garment workers in the country.What a difference it made! We weregiven trainings, were informed aboutlabor rights, workers held meetings,formulated demands. We got the feelingthat as workers we could change thingsand solve problems.”

And problems there are. “Thousands ofwomen, many of them with children athome, worked in exhausting and un -

healthy circumstances. Poverty forcesthem to trade in their days off for extrasalary. But what if your child is sick?What if you’re sick yourself? The management is not very willing to grant care leave. And then there are thework accidents. Needles going throughfingers, fingers lopped off in cutting machines, electrocutions, respiratoryproblems, exhaustion. Every week a few women faint. The union trained me in health and safety at work and my colleagues know where to comewhen the need arises.”

In 2009 Srun was elected CCAWDUunion factory leader by about 1,000union members. Sometimes her posi-tion causes her problems. “In the begin-ning I received threats. ‘We have a gunand bullets, and we’re going to kill you’,that sort of thing. I just carried on.”What has Srun achieved with her union

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The union prevents workers fromsinking further into poverty

No time to be homesick

When her father fell ill and lost his job, Srun Sothy had to quit school.There was only one option: go to Pnom Penhand earn money. That’swhat she did. “I stitchedtrousers in Chus Sing Factory. I was a peasantgirl in a huge city. I felt lonely but had no time to be homesick.

work these past few years? “We arenow more free to exercise our rights,we’re less harassed. It’s more demo-cratic in the factory today. We’ve beenable to extend maternity leave; womenreceive three months full pay duringtheir maternity leave, cash-in-handwhen leaving the factory. The minimumwage for garment workers was raisedto 61 dollars a month. It was so excitingto stop work and protest at the factorygates. It felt great to represent 1,000people and get the crowd on your side.”Asked what she wants to achieve in tenyears, Srun replies: “In ten years, I hopewe’ll earn a real living wage, that workerswill be able to build up some pension,that the ventilation system works properly, that workers can live in decentaccommodation, that food remains affordable for them.”

Enough work to be done as a union leader. One would almost forget that inaddition to her union work Srun has ajob. For fourteen years she has been

working in Chus Sing. Together with herson and husband she lives in a three-by-three metre room in a tenementblock a stone’s throw from the factory.

What has union work given Srun on apersonal level? Srun: “CCAWDU hasmade me a stronger person. I can nowexpress myself forcibly, mobilize peopleand hold my own when negotiating with the management.”

When asked where she finds the energyto keep going, as a union activist, as aworker and as a mother, tears well upin her eyes. “It’s the first time in my lifethat someone asks me what I think andfeel. It’s difficult. I’m constantly stan-ding up for the rights of others, but nobody is there for me when I have aproblem. Being a union leader is lonelywork. It’s also difficult because povertyis constantly overtaking us. Every timewe win a pay rise, the costs of living alsogo up. Through hard work and negotia-tion we’ll prevent ourselves from sinking further into poverty, which is alot in itself. But it’s not enough to pullourselves out of poverty.”


In 10 years, I hope to earn a living wage and be able to build up some

pensionSrun Sothy

Working conditions are exhausting and unhealthy The trade union has made me a stronger person

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The story of Athit Kong

Age: 33Occupation: Started as garment worker at laundryof a jeans factory, Vice-chairman of CCAWDUChildren: 1 daughter

Organisation: Independentgarment workers' unionCCAWDU

Sweat, struggle and dreams

Union work has increased the participationof millions of workers. It made this countrya more social and democratic place

e knows what factory life is like.“When I was 17 my parents weretoo poor to let me continue myeducation. I went to the city and

started to work in a big garment factory. I had nothing, not a dollar, no employ-ment contract, nothing to eat. I shared aroom that was just three square metreswith seven other people. I was ashamedto be so poor. The first year I worked for 365 days, from seven in the morningtill ten at night. I didn’t have a single day off. Sick leave was non-existent.”Labour conditions were terrible. Athit: “Iwashed pairs of jeans with abrasive sto-nes, bleaches and dyes. You had to put upwith chemicals, the stench and being wetall day long. I earned 30 dollars a month.”

“Like everybody else I didn’t have a clueabout workers’ rights. But I knew whatwas human and what wasn’t. I saw mana-gers swear at workers and fire them for

no apparent reason, and employees who worked themselves to a frenzy justto meet their production quotas. Every -one there was at the mercy of the boss.Who wouldn’t protest at that? I did.”In 2000 Athit joins a union. “I did learn thebasis of union work: listening to people,formulating complaints and demands,defending workers in negotiations.”In the same year Athit loses his job. “I found my notice of dismissal on thefactory gate.” Athit had defended the caseof 90 middle-aged women who workedpart-time. “They did very heavy work inthe washing section. When production levels fell they were laid off for threemonths, without salary. I raised the issuewith my boss. The management thought I was a troublemaker. One day, duringnightshift, security people came for me.That’s when there were still armed guards at the factory. For a year I was jobless and completely broke.”

Athit Kong is driven by adream. “I want to live in acountry where people canlive and work in decency,not in a country that’sruled by the need forgrowth and export andwhere most people have to slave away for 80 hoursa week without makingends meet.”


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In the year he lost his job, Athit and fiveothers start up a new trade union calledCCAWDU. Athit: “We had one objective: to set up a union that would not be controlled by the employer or by political parties. We wanted the peoplewho toil on the deafening, stinking andoppressively hot work floor to have areal say in what goes on in the plush offices of directors and ministers.”

Athit, 20 at the time, is the youngestfounder of CCAWDU. Today this tradeunion boasts some 50,000 members,working in 60 factories. It’s not the biggest union. But according to Athit it’s one of the few trade unions in the garment sector that can claim to be really independant and democratic.We accompany Athit on a visit to Sut Lick Trading, one of the biggest garmentfactories in Phnom Penh. “This plant was built for a few thousand workers,”explains Athit. “A lot less than the 7800people working here now. The workershave an average working space of just

over a square metre each.” In the base-ment, where the electricity is generated,truckloads of tree trunks disappear in roaring furnaces, “You’re looking at the most powerful union department,”shouts Athit. “If they strike here thewhole factory comes to a standstill.”Bare chested men tell us what CCAWDUhas achieved in the six months they havebeen active in Sut Lick. “Minimum wagehas increased and we can get sick leave.But most importantly, we are now per-mitted to organise ourselves, and say whatwe want. A year ago this conversationwith you would have been unthinkable.”

The Sut Lick company lawyer is someonewho knows Athit very well. “CCAWDU isthe union that costs me most of mytime,” concedes the lawyer. “It’s moreactive and applies more pressure thanthe other unions. But sometimes unionmembers overstep the mark though, and break the law. That’s wrong.” Athit replies: “Young garment workers wantquick solutions because they are very

poor. Yet democratic processes and negotiations need time. As a union youneed to learn to cope with this tension.The starting point is always to maintain a dialogue with the employer, and at ahigher level with the government. But ifthe management stonewalls our demandsseveral times, then we resort to action.Sometimes that will be in the form ofminor protests in the factory, other timesit can escalate to national strikes.”

Aside from Sut Lick, how has CCAWDUchanged workers’ lives in the 60 otherfactories? Athit looks back at more thana decade of struggle. “Before, there was nowhere they could go to report anomalies or to complain. Workers werelittle more than wage slaves, working 15hours a day for 25 dollars a month. Todaythey are allowed to unite and defend their interests. The minimum wage has increased to 71 dollars, workers get 7dollars a month rent allowance, they receive an attendance bonus if they workfor 26 consecutive days. They can get sick


Roaring furnaces generate electricity for the factory We are now permitted to organise ourselves

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leave. Before, being sick meant dismissal.The factories are still unhealthy and un -safe, but they are a lot healthier and saferthan they were. These are all milestones.”“Union work has increased the partici -pation of millions of workers. It madethis country a more social and democra-tic place. But it’s only with good gover-nance and good political leadership atthe highest level that we can really riseabove poverty, injustice and corruption.”

“You know what really inspires me?Dutch cycle paths! I see them when I visitCNV Internationaal. For me they are anexpression of everyone’s right to a safeand pleasant living environment. In andaround the factories in Pnom Penh thereis a lot of stench, chaos and insecurity.That’s when I think about the Dutch cyclepaths. They remind me that it is possibleto live in a society without corruption, poverty, exploitation and environmentalpollution. As long as I can contribute tomake this a reality in Cambodia, I’ll keepon fighting and dreaming.”


The first year I worked for 365days, from 7 in the

morning till 10 at night. I was only 17

You know what really inspires me?Dutch cycle paths!For me they are an expression

of everyone’s rightto a safe and

pleasant living environment.

Athit Kong

“

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Talking Dress AppCNV Internationaal has alsocontributed to the develop -ment of the Talking DressApp by Marieke Eyskoot,alongside ASN Bank, whichmakes it easier for Dutchconsumers to find EthicalFashion in their local area.

EmploymentThe clothing industry is by far the major source ofemployment in Cambodia,mainly employing youngwomen. The economic declinein the Western world currentlyhas a direct effect onemployment in Cambodia.

CLC and C.CAWDUCNV Internationaal supports thework of the young trade union federation CLC in Cambodia.TheCambodian Labour Confederation(CLC) was founded in 2006 by theclothing sector union C.CAWDU. This Cambodian Apparel WorkersDemocratic Union has only existedsince 2000.

Cambodia

Capital city: Phnom Penh


Area: 181.035 km2


Income per capita

Cambodia


$ 41.500

Life expectancyCambodia


80.8 years



Cambodia

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South-south cooperationCNV Internationaal is helpingthe young CLC organisation through the facilitation of“south-south cooperation”with comparable trade unionorganisations that are further developed, such as the SBSI inIndonesia and the KCTU inSouth Korea.

Living minimum wageC.CAWDU has grown from 5,000members in the year 2000 to over 50,000today! They are working step by step to improve the working conditions ofclothing factory labourers. A minimumwage - though very far from a living wage -has since been established in the textiles sector.

WellMadeAlongside the development of tradeunion organisations around theworld, CNV Internationaal retains anactive presence in the Netherlands,working with the Fair WearFoundation to take the initiative inorganising WellMade workshops atfashion fairs across Europe (seewww.wellmade.org). WellMadeexplains to clothing purchasers atEuropean fashion stores whatthey can do to improve thesituation in factories theyprocure from. The Well -Made project isco-financed by theEuropean Union.


Cambodia


4 of 187


Cambodia


1 of 187 Literacy

Cambodia


99%

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> Project country Colombia

The story of Niver Alegria Florez

Age: 36Occupation: started as miner, Construction worker, sugarcane cutterin the Cauca valley Children: 2 daughters

Organisation: Trade unionfor sugarcane workersSintraindulce

iver now has a well-paid job asa safety inspector at Mayaguëz,a medium-sized sugar refineryin the Valle del Cauca employ -

ing 4,400 people. It wasn’t always like this. “When I was six me and my familylooked for gold in the open mines. It wasdangerous. One day I fell into a deepcrevasse. When the mines were exhaus-ted, we moved to Puerto Tejada. I was10 years old when we left. The only possessions we had were the clothes on our backs and our bus fare.”In the new town, 10 year old Niver takeson one job after the other. “I carriedbricks in a brick factory, worked in a supermarket, dredged sand from theriver for a building company. When I wasin pain, I always thought to myself: ‘it’snot about today, it’s about tomorrow’.The prospect of a better tomorrow iswhat has kept me going all my life.”For seven years Niver combines working

and going to secondary school. In themeantime he’d started courting Lisa, a girl from the same street. “She was 15 and I was 16. We fell in love.” Theymarried, moved in together and hadtheir first daughter. Niver: “We lived on a dollar-and-a-half a week. The elec-tricity was often cut off, meat was too expensive and our friends had to raisemoney to help us survive. Fortunately, a friend helped me find full-time workstacking shelves in another supermarket.I got fired there. I was 23, had a child and was at my wit’s end.”Niver’s father, an experienced cortadoror sugarcane cutter on the Mayagüezsugarcane plantations and a member ofthe Sintraindulce union, helps his son by finding him work as cortador. Niver:“It was new and I had to be very carefulhow I used the machete. Sometimes Iwas cutting for 15 hours a day, throughthe baking heat, through cold hailstorms.”

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I thank God, my father and the unionthat today I have a house and a goodjob, sugarcane worker Colombia

The boy who always thought of

tomorrow

Niver and his family live ina small house not far fromthe road that serves as ademarcation line betweenFARC guerillas and para-militaries. Remnants ofhouses that were robbedand wrecked by criminalgangs are scattered hereand there.

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But Niver is an indirecto, he works formiddle men, not for Mayaguëz. As suchhe has hardly any rights. His father urgeshim to join the union. It was the only wayhe’d be eligible to get a direct employ-ment contract with the employer. Niver:“Once I was a member of Sintraindulceeverything changed. I obtained a directcontract with Mayaguëz and earned almost four times as much for doing the same work. The work was alsomuch safer. I was given gloves, leg pro-tectors, a uniform and safety shoes too.Something else I’d never experiencedbefore were the excursions organisedby Sintraindulce for workers. I was in my mid-twenties, I’d worked for almost20 years and for the first time in my lifeI could go to a finca, or park, go swim-ming with other workers, enjoy an icecream, together with my wife anddaughter.”“Thanks to the union there was some-thing else I was able to do what pre-viously had been unthinkable: borrowmoney, first to buy a house, later to

study. The employees at Mayaguëz ran acredit cooperative, with which the unioncollaborated closely. This is how I wasable to buy this house here in Floridaeight years ago.”Niver’s house is located in a tough neigh -bourhood. “Until three years ago it wasquite safe. That’s when young strangerswith guns started arriving. They terrori-sed families and burgled their homes.Sometimes they wreck houses and sell

everything they can: doors, windows,even the roofs. They tried to rob me too, but the fact I am a member of astrong union deterred them. There’s a great deal of solidarity among unionmembers. We stick by one another.”In 2003 Niver embarks on a one-day-a-week university education programmeon occupational health. “The union encouraged me to continue studying andarranged an additional loan.” At work hewas twice promoted before he graduated.Today he is responsible for the safety of all Mayaguëz’s harvesting activities,which include some 800 cortadores.”

This last promotion poses a difficult dilemma for Niver. “When I received the contract I was told that the positionprecluded me from remaining a member of the union. I didn’t want toleave the union, but I had no choice. It’s particularly painful because it’sthanks to the union that I got this job.Sintraindulce changed my destiny; I’m not the same. My life has changed.”


The union encouraged me to continue studying Today Niver is responsible for the safety of 800 sugarcane cutters

I obtained a direct contract

with Mayaguëz andearned almost

four times as muchfor doing the same work.

Niver Alegria Florez

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The story of Elsa Paez Garcia

Occupation: Teacher in theBuen Pastor women’s prisonand chairperson of UTP.Children: 2 daughters (deceased) and 1 son

Organisation: UTP tradeunion for penal insitutionworkers

Living in the shadow of death

Thanks to the union, prisons have become more humane places

f the need arises she’s not afraid ofaccusing prison directors and seniorgovernment officials of being corruptand abusing power.

Over the course of the years Elsa lost 18 union compañeros, all murderedOnce there was a dead chicken on thedoorstep with a message attached:“This is how you’ll end up”. Anothertime a wreath was delivered to herhome with a message of condolence, for her own death. It got really bad whenshe was chased by paramilitary hit-men.Or the time they tried to kidnap herdaughter. Today, she doesn’t leave herhouse without body guards, virtually living the life of a guarded prisoner, living in the shadow of death every day.

She is the chairperson of the Unidad de Trabajadores Penitenciarios (UTP),the result of a recent merger of 44smaller unions representing workers

in Colombian penal institutions. Elsa:“All UTP members work in prisons, either as prison officers, in administra-tive jobs, or as teachers like me. Weknow what really goes on behind thesewalls. From our office, located in thebuilding of INPEC, the central govern-mental body that’s responsible for theprison system, we denounce the corrup-tion, abuse and human rights violationsthat go on in Colombia’s notorious prisons. Usually corruption is in the prison management, and so we some -times denounce senior managers, ourown bosses, people from the army and the government.”

It is not surprising that Elsa and her fellow unionists sometimes encounterstrong opposition. “In 1999 and 2000 wewere forcibly ejected from our officesand we were all fired. The CGT, the confederation of Colombian unions,

For 28 years Elsa Paez has worked and battled inwhat are the world’s mostcorrupt and dangerouspenal institutions. She’s a single mother and she’slost two daughters and ahusband. She works over a hundred hours a weekdoing three jobs.


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defended us all the way up to Geneva.We won.”The union is Elsa’s life. Here UTP colleagues are unanimous: without thefighting spirit and leadership qualitiesof Elsa Paez there would no longer be a critical, independent union in theColombian prison system.

It is amazing how long Elsa has been ableto endure the hardships of the prison system. More than that, she became aleader in that world. At home thoughElsa does not have that many people to fall back on. “My youngest daughterdied of cancer three years ago. Beforethat, my first daughter also died, shortlyafter childbirth. My husband succumbedto sickness and died after just sevenmonths of marriage. Juan Diego, myadopted son, is all I’ve got.”

“I was 19 when I started work in the notorious Picota prison in Bogota. Itwas really scary. I was surrounded bymurderers, psychopaths and guerrillas,

The situation has improved as

result of ourwhistle-blower roleand human rights

courses for penitiairy workers

Elsa Paez Garcia

Usually corruption is in the prison management, and so we sometimes denounce

senior managers, our own bosses, people from the army and the government.

27

people that are commonly treated asthe ‘dregs of society’. I thought I’d beable to stick it out for a few months, but I’m still here after 28 years. First I worked as a secretary, later as a teacher. I am not a prison guard, I don’tneed to act repressively towards inma-tes. I can be humane towards them. If you don’t have any experience of whatlife is like in the tough prison world youcan’t imagine the effect that a simplesmile can have.”But sometimes things go wrong. In1986, for example, she was taken hos-tage by inmates. “We were held in theclassroom and threatened with knives.Earlier in his criminal career, the ring-leader had murdered a nun. Fortunatelywe were released after nine hours.”

On average Elsa works more than onehundred hours a week. A third of hertime she works as a prison officer atBuen Pastor. Elsa: “Officially I’m a teacher, but in practice I’m a teacher,social worker, psychologist, lawyer and

confessor all rolled into one. A specialpart of my work is with female inmateswho live in the prison with children upto three years old.”

“But most of my time is spent on UTP union work, improving living andworking conditions in all prisons. I alsowork as a human rights specialist forthe CGT, the confederation of Colombianunions. And one day a week I give lessons to street kids between the ages of 8 and 16.” “With the UTP we register complaints in prisons throughout the country. Allforms of abuse, fraudulent practicesand human rights violations are addres-sed and exposed. The last major casewe dealt with was in May last year. The manager of a small prison outsideBogota had embezzled money that wasmeant for inmates’ social programmes.In the end he was dismissed. Of course,I received telephone calls with anony-mous threats at the time. Then thereare the prison guards who extort inma-

tes or physically abuse them. Thanks to our efforts many of them have beendisciplined, fired or prosecuted.”

What have been the main results of Elsa’s union work? “There are many results,” she says. “To start with we’vebeen able to avoid the privatisation ofINPEC. 16,000 people would have losttheir jobs. It’s also thanks to the unionthat prison officers are still entitled to a full pension after 20 years of service.President Uribe wanted to raise it to 30 years of service.”“Thanks to the union, prisons have become much more humane places.They are still odd pockets of violenceand corruption but the situation has improved. This is a result of the whistle-blower role played by the union and themany human rights training courses weorganised for prison officers and otherpersonnel.”


We denounce corruption and abuse in prisons Officially I’m a teacher, but in practice I’m also social worker and lawyer

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Broad social movementThe Confederación General de Trabajadores (CGT)is a broad and politically independent socialmovement with 819,200 supporters, from streettraders to large farmers’ associations. The CGTincorporates over 300 affiliated unions andassociations divided into 6 regional organisations.This is unusual as Colombia is globally acknow -ledged as the most dangerous countryfor union members; 26 were killed fordefending workers’ rights and 13leaders escaped attempts ontheir lives in 2013.

Provincial member baseThe CGT sees itself as a broad socialmovement that not only deals withlabourers on the shop floor, butaccommodates their social environmentas well. A considerable proportion of themembers have no permanentemployment, but make their livingthrough street sales. A number offarmers’ associations and working-classdistricts are also affiliated to the CGT.

Colombia

Capital city: Bogota


Area: 1.138.914 km2



Colombia


4 of 187

Literacy

Colombia


99%



Colombia

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Result-orientedCNV Internationaal has developed a system for planning, monitoringand evaluation (PME) with a clearfocus on union work. This helpsthe work of trade union federati-ons such as the CGT and its asso-ciated bodies to be result-orientedand financially reliable. The CNVhas trained up local PME coachesto disseminate good practice wit-hin their own organisations.

ImpunityWhy is there no end to the anti-unionviolence in Colombia? Impunity is amajor stumbling block. If you can’t find who’s done wrong, you can’t help.Legal powers are very limited andjustice doesn’t function, because ofthis the offender is almost never found and prosecuted.

Growth‘CNV Internationaal isimportant to us’ emphasisesCGT leader Julio RobertGomez Esguerra. ‘Nobodybelieved in us thirty yearsago when we were justanother sapling. But the CNVhad confidence in us andtheir support has enabled us to grow.’

Income per capita

Colombia

$ 10,700 The Netherlands

$ 41.500Gender equalityindex

Colombia


1 of 187

Life expectancyColombia


80.8 years

National levelThe CGT is a very activeand major partner inbipartite and tripartitediscussions focussingon social security andthe minimum wage.

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> Project country Moldova

The story of Ion Poia

Age: 35 Occupation: former migrant, and now advertising entre-preneur in Ungheni

Organisation: Fundatia Muncii

oldova, former Soviet state between Romania andUkraine, is the poorest countryin Europe. It gained indepen-

dence in 1991, but the communists were in power till 2009. EU membershipcould provide opportunities, but so farFort Europe has not opened its gate.

Many young Moldovans try their luck abroad. One of them is Ion Poia, a singleman in his thirties. Ion: “There are sofew opportunities for young people here.Unemployment, alcohol and poverty…that’s about all that’s on offer. About 70 per cent of my friends are currentlyabroad.”Ion lives in the city of Ungheni, near theRomanian border. From his third-floorapartment he sees the village where hegrew up. “It was good during the Sovietera. The adults had jobs and the kidshad fun. My father worked as a tractordriver for the kolkhoz, or farming col-

lective. My mother was a receptionist fora horse-breeding company, also state-run.But it wasn’t healthy work. My fathersprayed pesticides. In 2001, he startedhaving respiratory problems and lost hisjob. He was 50. Now he has cancer. Hegets an invalidity pension of €40 a month,along with his pension of €80 a month.”As a child Ion is crazy about sport, especially football. “My brother was the national 800-metre champion. I starteddoing athletics when I was 13 and wentto a sports boarding school till my 19th

birthday. It was prestigious but it alsovery tough and strict.”Ion’s athletic prowess is such that thestate university offers him a contract.“Running for the university meant beingable to study for free. I agreed, studiedaccountancy and took part in athleticscompetitions.” Around that time Ion startshis first job. “I’d buy cognac and we’dsell it for double the price, all illegal.”“My first real job was with the police.

M

Fundatia Muncii helped me to seize opportunitiesin a very difficult labour market. You don’t learnthat in school or in university

I learned to think in terms of opportunities

“I dreamed of havingmy own house and family. But on just€200 a month it wasan impossible dream.I had to leave.”

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They asked me to represent them compe -titively in all sorts of sport. I became apolice officer, was given an employmentcontract, but didn’t do any police work. I was a kind of sports slave, for €200 amonth.”When he is 23 Ion decides to go abroad.“I dreamed of one day being able to livein my own house with my girlfriend andhaving children. But on just €200 amonth it was an impossible dream. AndI dreamed of being a professional foot-baller. A friend of mine had contacts inan Irish club. So I left on a tourist visa to Paris, then to Spain and then enteredIreland illegally.”The Irish adventure lasts for three years.“I broke both my knees, one after theother, playing football. My dream wasshattered. In the mean time I earnednothing. I started doing odd jobs to buyfood, like trimming hedges. My worldimploded, my girlfriend and I broke upand I started drinking more. But I pulledmyself up, delivering flyers for Domino’spizzas in all the districts of Dublin,

working in the building trade, liftingconcrete blocks between eight in themorning and five in the afternoon.”All the while Ion’s stay in Ireland is illegal. He has no social security, nopension, no health insurance. Only afterhe finally gets his Romanian passport,something a lot of Moldovans apply for,Ion is given a working permit. “My lastjob in Ireland was as a security guard. Itwas a good contract, my pay was €2,000a month. I saved more than half of it.But after a year I was fired. Last in, first out. With my savings I returned to Ungheni, the city near the villagewhere I was born.”

“But what was I to do in Moldova? Mydegrees wouldn’t get me a job anywherethere. My savings quickly dwindled andlike most returned emigrants I felt forlorn, depressed and desperate.”Then one day, at the end of 2009, Ionwatches a campaign film by FundatiaMuncii the job opportunity programmeof the FACLIA youth organisation. Ion:

“I took a course there for five weeks.Five key weeks that gave me a new perspective of the future. Employersand entrepreneurs gave workshops, I learned how to present myself, improved my CV. Something changed inside of me. I learned to think in terms ofopportunities and to believe in myself.”Ion went to work for his sister’s adverti-sing business in the capital and assistedby Fundatia Muncii he starts up his ownadvertising business in Ungheni. Busi-ness is going well. Ion’s printing workcan be seen on every street in the citycentre. Ion: “Without Fundatia Muncii Iwouldn’t have managed it. They providetraining, give you confidence and helpyou to seize employment opportunitiesin a very difficult labour market. Thingsyou don’t learn in school or in university.”He lives in a small, one-person apart-ment but he hasn’t abandoned hisdream of one day having his own houseand a family of his own. “I’m working onit. I’m saving hard, I have a good job andI’m my own boss. And my future wife?


Ion’s advertising business is going well Five key weeks gave me a new perspective of the future

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The story of Angela Ciocirlan

Age: 42Profession: Teacher,now driving force behindFaclia and FundatiaMunciiChildren: 2 daughters

Organisation: Youth centre Faclia

Torchbearer for change

600 new jobs for young people are 600 victories for Moldova

ngela Ciocirlan is the director of Faclia (‘torch’), a youth centre she founded in 2004 inUngheni, a provincial town near

the Romanian border. “We help young people to stay in Moldova and make something of their lives. We give voca-tional training and help them to find ajob. We’re the only NGO in the countrydoing that.”

Angela is a bridge builder. She helpsyoung people to span the gap betweenan out-of-date education system and a difficult labour market. But she’s also helping a small country to makethe transition from communism to an unstable free market economy. It’s also the transition Angela made in her personal life.

“I grew up in a small village where thekolkhoz, the state owned collective

farm, ruled everything. Every householdwould listen on the radio to the revisedproduction targets and instructions.Mostly it was waiting for your name to be called. If you did better than was expected, you’d be praised. If you’d turned up at work late or worse, drunk,you’d be humiliated, over the radio! People lived in constant fear of what theneighbours, managers or colleaguesmight think of them.”

At age 14 Angela goes to a boardingschool in the provincial town of Calaraj.“Here too there were strict rules. If youdid something wrong you’d be humiliatedin front of the class. It was just like akolkhoz.”

“Eventually I started teaching in a boarding school for orphans in Ungheni, a town near our village. When I was 19 I married a local boy from our village.

25% of all Moldovans work abroad, legally orotherwise. “What do youexpect?” asks Angela Ciocirlan. “40% live underthe poverty line. Factoriesare closing down, farmersare struggling with exportbarriers. People never learned to seize opportuni-ties during the communistera. That’s something I want to change.”


A

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I gave birth to my first son, Igor, thatsame year. My husband worked as a vetat the kolkhoz.”

“I wanted to start a revolution in educa-tion! Away with dogmatic learning byheart, away with the priviliges of richkids! I’d lay out the school desks in acriss-cross manner, invited people fromthe village in the classroom, I’d organisemusical performances and discos. Toearn more money I was teaching at theprimary and secondary schools andworking at a crèche too.”By the end of the nineties Angela is divorced, has two small children and

three jobs, which earn her just 100 dollars a month. The former kolkhozeconomy had fallen apart and nothingreplaced it. Angela: “I decided to leave;we were hardly earning enough for thebasics. My mother agreed to look afterOctavio, who I was still breast-feeding at the time. I got sick on the way. My breasts hurt and I had a fever of 40 degrees when I arrived in Moscow.” Angela stays in Russia for three years. “I worked as a nanny for a rich couplewho were journalists. Those years inMoscow were tough; but they openedmy eyes. In the end I missed my childrentoo much and went back.”

Companies now realise that it makes sense

to invest in the training of young people

I wanted young people in

my country to learnto think more

openly and more freely.

Angela Ciocirlan

35


“Back home in Moldova there was nothing but poverty. We lived off themoney I’d saved in Moscow. That’s whenI realized what I wanted. I wanted youngpeople in my country to learn to thinkmore openly and more freely. I wantedto set up my own organisation. Eventually it became Faclia.”

Angela enters into a public-private partnership with the city council. Ungheni gives her an abandoned schoolbuilding and pays the water and energybills. Angela’s team give the building a facelift, attract young people and trainers and run the youth centre. “We started with a fitness centre and a computer room. Something for thebody and something for the mind.”

In 2008 Faclia starts to work with CNVInternationaal; together they set up Fundatia Muncii, a youth employmentprogramme. Angela: “Fundatia Munciiserves as a springboard for young jobseekers. Our training courses are short,

a few months at the most. Job seekersbadly need money and want to find a job as fast as possible. We work closelywith local businesses and employers.They need people, we make the match.We were hoping to help 300 young people find permanent jobs in fouryears. We managed to do so for 600.”

With Faclia and Fundatia Muncii Angelais not only changing the lives of youngMoldovans, she’s changing Ungheni society. “You now see more and moreyoung men and women in leading positi-ons with companies and government institutions. Companies now realise thatit makes sense to invest in the trainingof young people.”

If it’s up to Angela and her team, Moldova is a country that will reinventitself. “During the Soviet era everyonelived to please others. What did theneighbours think? What did the bossthink? What did your father think? Everyone spied on everyone else.

As long as you stuck to the rules you’dbe able to breathe. But real changecomes from inside yourself. Who am I?What do I want? Where can I find the opportunities? This also applies to Moldova. To realise the change wewant, we shouldn’t just wait for thatdream of EU membership to materia-lise. To make the transformation, we must get to work ourselves. That’swhat we are doing with Faclia and Fundatia Muncii.”

The training courses serve as a springboard for young job seekers We work closely with local businesses and employers

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CNSMCNV Internationaal alsosupports trade unionorganisations in a number ofEast European nations. InMoldova, one of the poorestcountries in Europe, CNV is collaborating with theConfederatia a Sindicataladin Moldova (CNSM).


Moldova

Moldova

Capital city: Chisinau

Population: 4,3 milionThe Netherlands: 16,8 milion

Area: 33.843 km2


Income per capita

Moldova


$ 41.500

AgeingUnemployment is high. Too manypeople in the prime of their lives are leaving the country to seekemployment elsewhere. Entirecountryside villages are emptying.This creates a huge problem interms of the ageing population;every worker currently has tosupport two pensioners.

Colleagues from the cleaning sectorAs part of the international support providedthrough collective labour agreements, the Dutchcleaning sector contributed to a three-monthcourse in domestic cleaning services of group of women from the countryside last year. Dutch training materials were also translated so they could be used in Moldova.


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DevelopmentSocial dialogue andindependent union workare still in development inthis former Communistnation.

IndependenceMoldova, a former Sovietstate lying between Romaniaand the Ukraine, is the poorest European country. It gained independence in1991, but the old Communists remained in power until 2009.


Moldova


4 of 187


Moldova


1 of 187

Life expectancy

Moldova


80.8 years

Literacy

Moldova


99%

SpringboardCNV Internationaal has workedwith the Moldovan organisationFaclia to found the FundatiaMuncii, an unemploymentprogramme for young people. “It’s a springboard for youngpeople looking for work. Ourtraining courses are short, a fewmonths at most. We work closelywith local businesses and otheremployers. They’re looking forstaff, we match them up.”

Sharing knowledgeand experienceCNV Internationaal’s support is notlimited to financial contributions.CNV union leaders also shareknowledge and experience with theirpeers in other countries. SiwardSwart from CNV Trade Professionalsand Arie Kasper from CNV ServiceProfessionals have provided trainingfor Moldovan union colleagues. “We showed them the importance of involving members throughout the negotiation process.”

CNV InternationaalP.O. Box 24753500 GL UtrechtThe Netherlands

T 31 30 751 1260E [email protected] www.cnvinternationaal.nl

twitter.com/cnv_internat

Facebook: facebook.com/cnv.internationaal

Bank account for donations:IBAN NL16INGB0001255300

This text is written for CNV Internationaal

Interviews: Frank van LierdeTranslation: John WidenPhotography: Bas de MeijerEditors: Corita Johannes, Eugène LitamahuputtyDesign: Rick van Westerop, WAT ontwerpersPrinting: Sauterelle


Copyright CNV InternationaalFebruary 2014

A World that worksAs the second trade union federation in the Netherlands, CNV is committed to itsmembers and workers in the Netherlands. However, our commitment does notstop at the border. Through CNV Internationaal we also strive for decent work incountries where conditions are often much more difficult and where mostworkers have very limited resources.

CNV Internationaal currently supports trade unions in 16 countries. We promotedecent work both financially and through lobby and campaigning activities,we also share knowledge and expertise with our partner organisations.

In A World that works journalist Frank van Lierde and photographer Bas deMeijer illustrate how the work carried out by trade unions supported by CNVInternationaal, has changed peoples lives.

What does union work mean to Sokhna and Seynabou from Senegal, Srun andAthit from Cambodia, Niver and Elsa from Colombia, and Angela and Ion fromMoldova? How did their lives change? How do they manage to provide for theirlivelihood? What do they struggle with? What motivates them to keep going?What are their dreams?

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CNV Internationaal - A World that Works

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