ITF lodges complaint against Madagascar government

The Madagascar government fired 43 dockworkers last month for joining a union known as SYGMMA.    The government of Madagascar has been hit with an International Labor Organization (ILO) complaint after firing 43 dockworkers last month for joining a union, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) reported.
   The complaint was filed by the ITF on behalf of Port of Toamasina workers and their union, “SYGMMA.”
   ITF General Secretary Steve Cotton said the global union federation took this action after the Madagascan government refused to obey a court order, which found the workers should be allowed to join a union and organize for better working conditions.
   “Many of these workers earn just $40 a month and were engaged in legitimate union activity to try and improve their working conditions. They face very dangerous working conditions and stood up in the face of intimidation and retaliation from management,” Cotton said. “The local union took action through the Madagascan Courts and won – yet the Government refuses to obey the court direction. None of the 43 workers who were dismissed for union activity have been reinstated.”
   The workers lost their jobs in February, which incited ITF protests outside Madagascar embassies around the world.
   The ICTSI-operated Port of Toamasina is one of the major gateways for textile products exported to Europe, South Africa and the United States. U.S. sanctions were previously instated against Madagascar after a coup in 2009, but the sanctions were lifted in 2014.
   The ITF, as an international union federation, represents 700 transport unions and 4.5 million workers worldwide.