In this webinar, Jesus Rea Campos, Director of our local monitoring partner CISEP, shares his insights into the precarious working conditions in Bolivia's cooperative tin mines.

Minerals like nickel, cobalt, tin and lithium are used in the production of electronic goods and batteries which are essential for low emission vehicles. Companies in the tin supply chain benefit from Bolivian production, often at the expense of miners' health and safety. Jesus explores the risks that cooperative tin miners face, including unfair and delayed payment from state and private sector buyers, lung disease, dangerous working conditions underground, and the challenge of maintaining their livelihoods while pursuing compliance with national environmental legislation.

The webinar also discusses potential solutions that workers have identified, and the barriers to implementing them. We also talk about the need for supply chain transparency to be able to trace the mineral from its source to the product models purchased by public buyers.

In the electronics industry, a very small minority of production workers are members of legitimate democratic trade unions. Fewer still benefit from collective bargaining agreements. Many union leaders fall victim to harassment and intimidation to stop them from claiming their human rights at work. Some have been killed. Yet, the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are fundamental labour rights and universal 'enabling' human rights. Without these rights, it is difficult for workers to defend themselves against workplace abuses, protect their health and safety, and strive for decent working conditions.

Watch the first of a two-part discussion on the freedom of association in the electronics industry and why unions matter to public procurement. Learn about the vital role of trade unions in workplaces and society. Find out how they can help public buyers ensure social and environmental responsibility in supply chains. We will hear from workers who benefit from a functioning trade union and discuss the challenges electronics unions face.

Guest Speakers:
Mary Ann Castillo, Secretary General, Metalworkers Alliance of the Philippines (MWAP), and President, Nexperia Workers Union
Gemma Freedman, International Officer, International Unit, UNISON
Bruno Gentil Periera, General Secretary, Electronic Industry Employees Union Western Region Peninsular Malaysia (EIEUWRPM)
Idawati binti Idrus, Deputy General Secretary of Electronics Industry Employee Union Southern Region Malaysia (EIEUSR) and Co-Chair of IndustriALL Malaysia women's committee
Kan Matsuzaki, Director, ICT, Electrical & Electronics, Shipbuilding and Shipbreaking, IndustriALL Global Union

Worker protests over pay disputes at electronics suppliers in India and China at the end of last year briefly directed the world's attention to precarious work in electronics supply chains. In the case of Wistron in Bangalore, India, 90% of the workforce were contractual workers who were paid late and less than they had been promised. This case well illustrates why workers often tell Electronics Watch that their precarious work situation is what they would most like to change.

In this public webinar, researchers and Electronics Watch monitoring partners discuss the issues stemming from contractualization and other forms of precarious work, especially in the current context of the pandemic. Electronics Watch affiliates explore these issues from a procurement angle, looking at the cycle of production and procurement in the industry, and how their own purchasing practices can help drive solutions.

Guest speakers:

• Jenny Chan, Assistant Professor of Sociology and China Studies, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

• Aneesh Manjunath, Coordinator for Legal Research and Training, Cividep India.

• Kristin Tallbo, Sustainability Strategist, SKL Kommentus Central Purchasing Body, Sweden.

• Angus Warren, Chief Executive, Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges.

In this webinar, we hear from experienced public sector bodies about their journey to greater transparency in their supply chains and the difference its' making. Learn about how you could help your workplace do the same. UNISON is proud to work with Electronics Watch, an organisation which has developed a world-leading impact model to help public buyers achieve genuine improvements in the working conditions of the electronics factory workers that make the products they purchase.

Speakers:

Tim Rudin, Greater London Authority
Mercè Torrens, Catalan Government
Pauline Göthberg of the Swedish Regions
Björn Claeson, Director of Electronics Watch
Harpreet Paul, Electronics Watch UK Representative
Chair: Andy Davies, Procurement Manager, Natural History Museum