UNIONAID ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Unions Aotearoa International Development Trust (UnionAID)An independent charitable trust established by the NZ Council of Trade Unions –Te Kauae Kaimahi as an independent international development agency with s focus on working people and their families.Registered Charity – Charities Commission Reg No CC42051P O Box 6689 Wellington 6141 admin@unionaid.org.nz www.unionaid.org.nz

BETTER WORK, BETTER WORLD

TRUSTEES’ REPORTWhile most of this financial year focused on the continuation or renewal of existing projects, a number of completely new projects have been approved to commence before the year end, including one in the Pacific. Solidarity donor numbers (167 by the end of March 2014) have continued to grow steadily with the accumulated funds enabling longer term planning.

Fundraising activities, such as our iRaffle and film screenings, are now a part of our regular routine and make an important contribution to our project funds. However, we continue to look to individual supporters to sign up as Solidarity members and commit through ongoing direct debits to regular donations to support our project work. This is the financial foundation for our work and our objective is to build this support so we can build our project work which provides such vital support to workers and their families in developing countries in our region.

Christine Ross and Nanette Cormack continued to manage UnionAID until Ross Wilson returned from Myanmar in July 2013 when he took up the Chair position again. UnionAID is heavily reliant upon volunteers, particularly with fundraising and project management. We are proud that we are able to achieve a high level of professionalism in our work while at the same time keeping administration costs to a minimum. The Trustees are grateful to our volunteers who play such a key role in our fundraising, and to Sue Windsor and Jane Elliott who ensure that our financial management is rigorous and transparent.

The Trustees are planning for the appointment of a part-time Executive Officer as the organisation moves in to the next stage of our development .

Peter ConwayHelen KellyMary-Jane RiversRoss Wilson

Union Foundation Members: NZ Council of Trade Unions –Te Kauae Kaimahi (CTU), Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union(EPMU), Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ), National Distribution Union (NDU), NZ Dairy Workers Union (NZDWU), NZEI Te Riu Roa; NZ Educational Institute, N Z Post Primary Teachers Organisation (PPTA), Public Service Association (PSA), Rail & Maritime Transport Union (RMTU), Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota (SFWU), Tertiary Education Union (TEU).

Raja Lakshmi, President of Gypsy Craft Cooperative

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MAE SOT OCCUPATIONAL SKILLS TRAINING CENTREFor the second consecutive year UnionAID has fully funded the Mae Sot Occupational Skills Training Centre in Thailand in partnership with the Federation of Trade Unions Myanmar (FTUM, previously the FTUB) after New Zealand Aid Programme funding ended in February 2012. This project provides industrial sewing skills to young migrant women from Myanmar, to avoid the very real risk they face of trafficking, and providing them with remittances to support their families back home. However recent changes to employment security in Thailand has seen training numbers fall, reducing the target for trainees from 350 to 300 this year. Trainees continued to find work either locally on the border or in Bangkok days after completing the course.

DEVELOPING FUTURE LEADERS FOR MYANMARMYANMAR YOUNG LEADERS PROGRAMME (MYLP)In late 2013, UnionAID learned from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) that the Minister, the Honorable Murray McCully, had confirmed a further three years of funding for what would be now known as the Myanmar Young Leaders Programme . Over talks with officials, it was decided to offer an expanded programme with two extra students, bringing the total intake each year to eight, and shifting the programme focus to encompass different needs as a result of the transition to democracy within the country . In addition it was agreed that there would be an annual conference in Myanmar for alumni to provide ongoing in-country support and professional development.

There was an overwhelming response to the first call for MYLP applications, with more than 40 young leaders interested in studying in New Zealand, and a very impressive group reflecting the rich ethnic diversity of Myanmar, was selected.

The focus of the programme curriculum has been adjusted to the rapidly changing situation in Myanmar with content on economic and social policy development and options, the development of research skills, and conflict resolution now being included. Now in its fifth year the MYL programme is recognised as playing an important role in building a new Myanmar. UnionAID is proud that we are able to contribute in this way and strengthen the ties between the two countries.

OVERSEAS PROJECTS

Yin Yin and La Ka Prae Moo

MYANMAR RAILWAY WORKERS ORGANISING PROJECTWhile Ross Wilson was working at the ILO in Myanmar, a project was established in March 2013 to assist the organisation of Myanmar railway workers. Two thirds of this project was funded by an anonymous donor and one third by UnionAID.

Project activities have involved the establishment of an office in Yangon and three level training courses:

• Level 1: basic awareness about the role of a union;

• Level 2: union leadership roles and responsibilities for union leaders;

• Level 3: union organising and recruitment for union leaders.

The formation of local unions under the new legislation has been slow but the momentum is expected to pick up over the next year.

MYANMAR HOTEL WORKERS PROJECTThis project is conducted in partnership with the International Union of Food Workers (IUF) Asia Pacific and underpinned by an international Ethical Tourism campaign, with two phases. Firstly an office was established in March 2014 and two researchers contracted for six months to map the situation of hotel workers in the main international chains in Yangon. Data is to be collected through interviews with hotel staff and online searches. Once this is completed towards the end of 2014, phase two will move into training and organising workers and establishing unions.

SRI LANKA TAMIL WOMEN’S ORGANISING AND SUPPORT PROJECTWhen the civil war in Sri Lanka ended, garment factories were set up in the north and east of the country to take advantage of the cheap labour and in response to the government’s intention to establish Free Trade Zones there. Under our project conducted in partnership with the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union (FTZGSE), a branch office has been established and two organisers, Ms Sody and Mr Ramachandran, were appointed. Their success in managing unlawful dismissals, termination of jobs, failure to pay wages or overtime, and ethnic discrimination, has seen a rapid growth in union membership among the mainly female workforce. Two of the five factories now have 100% unionization.

This project was completed successfully in December 2013, and in February 2014 a new project commenced. This aims to improve living and working conditions of garment factory and tea plantation workers, and initially a baseline survey will be conducted to collect data on the socio-economic and work situation and living standards of these women workers.

TAMIL NADU DALIT AND TRIBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTThis three year project with the Tamil Nadu Labour Union (TNLU) is due to be completed in June 2014. A UnionAID midterm monitoring visit in March 2013 and reports from the TLU project leaders indicate that this is successfully meeting annual objectives. In addition from observation and discussions with participants, the local project staff are confident that the three main survey indicators (income, household debt and children’s schooling) will show positive outcomes.

(TAMIL NADU DALIT AND TRIBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE)

UnionAID will evaluate the project on completion, and the online survey data will be analysed by Susan Iversen from Karo Data Management. Susan has provided supervision for and financial support to this part of the project evaluation.

We are very grateful to Gareth Morgan for generously supporting this project by matching UnionAID fundraising dollar for dollar up to $30,000 per year.

And last but not least the Trustees acknowledge the generous support from our donors. Without your financial support we wouldn’t be able to provide the assistance to workers in developing countries through our projects. Those workers are very grateful and we can all feel proud that the projects are making a real positive difference to their lives and to the future for their families.

FIJI LOW WAGED WORKERS ORGANISING PROJECTEarly project development work with the National Union of Factory and Commercial Workers (and FTUC) has been conducted by Laila Harre. The aim of this project in Suva is to extend the reach of union engagement to low wage workers under Wage Regulation Orders (WROs) outside collective bargaining. The objectives are to focus on targeted workplaces to

• increase the understanding and improve the perception of unions by the estimated 60% of workers who are not in collective agreement workplaces but are covered by WROs

• increase the involvement of these workers in the Wages Council process to strengthen that process and achieve more for workers

• increase compliance with WROs

• provide a platform for organising non-unionised workers into collective bargaining and union membership

Kuini Lutua (right) will be the project manager of the Fiji project