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Kenya 1 (Monica Musau) |
| Report: Session 3 |
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SESSION THREE
20th April 1998
ATTENDANCE
- Francisca Wambua
- Emily Latan
- Emily Opini
- Naomi Mulee
- Sarah Munguti
- Benedicta Kilonzo
- Monica Musau
- Michael Otieno
- Amina Shabani
- Nkongoli Lagwida
Activity One
- The experience of globalisation in other countries.
- We have received four reports from Belgium, Estonia, UK and
Sweden
- We managed to grasp some information from Belgium, UK and a
bit of information from Sweden
- We discovered that most of the problems we encounter TNCs are
similar to those mentioned in the above countries e.g. problems imposed by IMF and the
World bank because they are very powerful in countries where an agreement has been signed
for their operation
- We have discovered that IMF and World Bank maintain higher
votes in richer countries
- The UK report has talked of elderly workers being replaced
with young ones and have been faced by sub-contracts which have been offered to other TNCs
with employment and with less pay. This highly affects the local community.
- Decaying infrastructure is leading to less job opportunities,
less education leading to low pay
- Globalisation has caused a high rate of unemployment in UK
through the introduction of contractual jobs reducing the number of permanent employees
- The contractors receive less pay and also temporary employees
receive less social benefits
- The workers benefits in some TNCs in UK are disheartening and
we are suggesting that there is need for workers solidarity world wide
- We suggest that there is a need to strengthen international
consumer boycott to pressurise the TNCs into accepting some of the conditions laid down on
the working policies worldwide. TNCs should respect the laws and regulations of the host
countries
- Workers to launch campaigns through pressure to lobby the
government against accepting TNCs proposals
- There should be a workers international solidarity to
pressurise their government against signing the MAI
- Other reports from some study circles are not very clear. Also
we need to get the names of some of the study circles
ACTIVITY 2
CASE STUDIES OF POSITIVE ACTION:
Q(1) (a) What should be the role of global company councils
in TNCs?
- The role of global company councils should be:-
- To extend their services/information to other employees
employed by TNCs world wide
- To create awareness on the existence of the global company
councils
- To act as consultants of workers representative and TNCs
employers world wide
- Should not discriminate against nations or countries where
TNCs are in operation
- Should help workers employed by TNCs to strengthen the
international solidarity
- TNCs in conjunction with the host governments should ensure
that contractual jobs are limited to fixed periods approximately three months
- The company councils memorandum should have provisions for
better terms and conditions of service
Q2 What other methods can workers use to organise in
transnational companies?
- The methods workers can use to organise in transnational
companies are:-
- Encourage affiliation with other workers organisation
representing workers of the same TNCs
- Organise lobbying and consumer boycotts
- Organise demonstration with placards containing messages
- International Trade Secretariates should discourage
segregation imposed by the global company councils
- Trade Union should act in solidarity to promote uniformity of
terms and conditions of service in the same TNCs
- Organise go slow strikes within the same TNCs globally
- ITSs should assist their affiliates to build strong plant and
higher level of trade union structures in the countries where TNCs are operating
- The ITSs should demand to be included in the company councils
to negotiate on behalf of workers of the same TNCs
