Preface

We are pleased to present our annual report 2023.

Portraits by Jan Banning of women working in the flower industry in Uganda

Impact in brief

We are happy to report that in 2023, together with our partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America and MENA (the Middle East and North Africa), we were able by way of the TUCP programme to improve the working conditions for 244,005 workers via 915 collective agreements and also that we achieved positive policy changes for 5.1 million people.

Many knowledge and solidarity exchanges

Looking back at 2023, we see exchange of knowledge and solidarity taking place on a number of different fronts, which is something that Mondiaal FNV wishes to facilitate. Exchange by trade unions at the climate summit in Dubai. By young people in the trade union gathering together in Uganda. By colleagues in the palm oil production in Colombia, Indonesia and the Netherlands, who we also had the pleasure of  welcoming to Utrecht for a week’s visit. And where we together exchanged knowledge and experience and officially established the Palm Oil Workers United network. You can read their remarkable accounts in the stories featured in the 2023 annual report.

‘Anti-look-away-law’ corporate sustainability due diligence law

Right at the end of 2023, the EU member states and the European Parliament came to a political  agreement on rules obliging companies to take steps to prevent, end or mitigate abuses such as child labour, climate damage and modern slavery. This corporate sustainability due diligence law is also unofficially referred to in the Netherlands as the ‘Anti-look-away law’ (‘anti-wegkijkwet’). In the Netherlands as well, a great deal of work went on to bring about legislation of this nature, which Mondiaal FNV actively fought to achieve. Our very first podcast, titled ‘Where there’s no will, is there a law?’ was on this issue, with a panel including  FNV president Tuur Elzinga and Europarlementarian Lara Wolters, the initiator of the European law. Following what was an initially astonishing blocking of the political agreement by the EU member states, the legislation was finally approved in March 2024, albeit in a watered-down form. The question remains as to the final outcome of the Dutch legislation. You can listen to the Dutch podcast via the Annual Stories 2023.

Portraits colleagues around the world 

She looks at you with full self-awareness: a young woman who works at the largest rose grower in Uganda. There is every likelihood that she is the one who makes your bouquet of roses, because this rose grower exports almost 100% of its roses to the Netherlands. She is one of the women who stood in front of photographer Jan Banning’s camera. Banning was commissioned by Mondiaal FNV to go to Uganda and Rwanda. In Uganda he made portraits of women who work at the rose grower’s. He photographed them while they were at work and at home with their families. And the same in Rwanda, where he made portraits of women working in the building industry. Most of the women portrayed are real fighters, and active union members. They earn a pittance but they organise other women, train them in labour law and in how to deal with sexual and other forms of harassment. Our consultant Hope conducted interviews with the women.

Photo exhibition 

The photos and interviews resulted in wonderful portraits, which we made into a mobile exhibition. This was already on display in The Hague during the Shaping Feminist Foreign Policy Conference 2023 organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as at the FNV International Solidarity Festival and in various trade union houses in the country. The portraits can be seen in our inspiring stories featured in our Annual Report for 2023.

Cooperation pays off

In November 2023, the government in Bangladesh raised the monthly minimum wage for RMG-workers to BDT 12,500 (USD 113). In the run-up to this achievement, the STITCH programme, for which Mondiaal FNV works with ETI and Fair Wear Foundation in Bangladesh, facilitated the coordination between unions in this country, enabling them to increase pressure at all levels and to propose a minimum wage of 23,000 BDT for RMG workers. With the support of STITCH, a series of activities was organised, including round table discussions, a national conference and press conferences to press for the increase in the minimum wage. The coordination between various different organisations paid off: the minimum wage was increased by 56.2%. Although this is still not a living wage, it does, however, represent real progress. Among the stories featured in this Annual Report is an interview with Nazma Akter, our partner in Bangladesh, where you can read about the story behind ‘Made in Bangladesh’.

These are just a few examples of the work carried out by our partners in 2023. Be sure to read on for more!

Thanks to all our partners, donors and stakeholders

Finally, we wish to express our thanks to all our partners, donors and stakeholders, who have supported us in our work over the past year. We continue to work to stand up for the rights of workers all over the world and we look forward to continuing our work in the coming years.

For your convenience, we have also created a printable pdf.

    
       Tuur Elzinga,                                 Karen Brouwer,
       President                                      Executive Director