2015 ITUC Global Rights Index - Mali

2015 ITUC Global Rights Index Rating: 4

Government tries to avoid collective bargaining with national centre:

The national workers' union of Mali, the UNTM, called a general strike on 21 August 2014 over its frustration that the government was not taking negotiations seriously. The union had tabled its demands in May, yet had to wait until August to sit down at the negotiating table. After four days, agreement was reached on some of their demands, but not on five key demands such as the level of the minimum wage and income tax. The strike was so widely followed in both Bamako and around the country that it was extended for a second day. The strike did have the effect of forcing the government back to the negotiating table and they eventually reached an agreement at the end of October.

Minister tries to avoid collective bargaining with miners' union:

Contract workers in the mining industry also went on strike, on 3 and 4 November 2014, over the government's attitude to collective bargaining. Many of the workers in the sector are hired as contract labour, and were seeking better social protection. Their demands also included the payment of salary arrears, as they had not been paid for five months by the time of the strike. In April the trade union committee for mining and industry (SECNAMI) sent a list of demands to the Minister for Mines, Boubou Cissé, but instead of meeting them himself he sent his head of cabinet, said the union's General Secrtary, Cheich Tidiani Fofana. Three months later, the workers had not been paid, no solution had been found, and although the Minister did finally meet with the union he said he could not do anything, he would have to write to the Finance Ministry for financial support. By November the workers' demands had still not been met, and they decided to call the strike. According to Mr. Fofana the Finance Minister, Mrs. Bouaré Fily Sissoko, threatened to cut the contract workers' salaries by 50% and if the situation persisted to sack them and replace them by other workers.

Hotel staff dismissed for going on strike to protest at management's failure to engage in collective bargaining:

The staff union at the Laïco El Farouk hotel spent years trying to negotiate a set of basic demands with the management. To simplify matters they reduced their demands to five key points, medical visits, filling empty posts through internal promotions, bonuses for night work, a permanent contract for one of their colleagues, and new rules of procedure. The assistant general manager claimed he could not do anything because he had "no power". The general manager had returned home to Tunisia during the events of 2012 and had not been replaced. The hotel management did however decide it had the power to impose new rules of procedure, applying the initial draft as a definitive text, without consulting the staff union, and ignoring all its requests for changes to the draft. Finally the union lost patience and called a three day strike from 18 to 20 February 2015. The hotel retaliated by not renewing fixed term contracts.

Union dues withheld at milk company following strike over arrest of union official:

The National Workers' Union of Mali, the UNTM, reported that following a strike at Mali Lait in September, the company withheld the payment of union dues, despite a check-off agreement. The strike that began on 5 September had been held to demand the release from custody of three colleagues, including a trade union official, Dramane Diallo. The General Secretary of the Mali Lait s.a. workers' union, Karamoko Kané, believed the three workers had been arrested on trumped up charges of theft. The supposed theft had occurred at night, but Mr. Diallo was working a day shift. Mr. Diallo had been one of the few people to face up to management when it failed to respond to demands, dating back to 2013, for a pay rise and overtime pay, and an end to unfair dismissals.

The ITUC Global Rights Index Ratings:

1 // Irregular violation of rights
Collective labour rights are generally guaranteed. Workers can freely associate and defend their rights collectively with the government and/or companies and can improve their working conditions through collective bargaining. Violations against workers are not absent but do not occur on a regular basis.

2 // Repeated violation of rights
Countries with a rating of 2 have slightly weaker collective labour rights than those with the rating 1. Certain rights have come under repeated attacks by governments and/or companies and have undermined the struggle for better working conditions.

3 // Regular violation of rights
Governments and/or companies are regularly interfering in collective labour rights or are failing to fully guarantee important aspects of these rights. There are deficiencies in laws and/or certain practices which make frequent violations possible.

4 // Systematic violation of rights
Workers in countries with the rating 4 have reported systematic violations. The government and/or companies are engaged in serious efforts to crush the collective voice of workers putting fundamental rights under threat.

5 // No guarantee of rights
Countries with the rating of 5 are the worst countries in the world to work in. While the legislation may spell out certain rights workers have effectively no access to these rights and are therefore exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labour practices.

5+ // No guarantee of rights due to the breakdown of the rule of law
Workers in countries with the rating 5+ have equally limited rights as countries with the rating 5. However, in countries with the rating 5+ this is linked to dysfunctional institutions as a result of internal conflict and/or military occupation. In such cases, the country is assigned the rating of 5+ by default.