UNI europa Gaming met with Mr. Jean Bergevin
UNI European Gaming Meeting Luxemburg 2010
Resolutie UNI Gaming over Online Gambling
Brief aan de regering van Paraguay
Nyon 2009 Jaarlijks congres UNI Gaming
Nyon 2008 Jaarlijks congres UNI Gaming
Buenos Aires 2007
Luxemburg 2007 Jaarlijks congres UNI Gaming
UNIGaming besteed aandacht aan de acties binnen HC
Geplaatst: 11-01-2012 www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/vwLkpByIdHome/4668F57500F2B23DC12579800050A330
Ook de wereldwijde vakbond Unigaming besteed aandacht aan de actie´s binnen HC
klik op onderstaande link.
UNI europa Gaming met with Mr. Jean Bergevin
Geplaatst: 23 jan 2011
On November 26, affiliates of UNI europa Gaming met with Mr. Jean Bergevin from the EC Internal Market and Services DG.
Mr. Bergevin informed about the Commission plans to to launch an extensive public consultation on all relevant public policy challenges and possible Internal Market issues resulting from the rapid development of both licit and unlawful on-line gambling offers directed at citizens located in the EU. He assured UNI europa would be invited to take part in the process which would be started early in 2011.
The European gaming affiliates expressed their interest to start closer co-operation with the DG and asked the Commission to call the gaming employers to start discussions on the sectoral social dialogue.
Belangrijkste conclusies:
UNI Gaming wordt betrokken bij de discussie in Europa over de wenselijkheid van en regelgeving betreffende internetgokken.
Op verzoek van UNI Gaming gaat de EC druk uitoefenen op de werkgevers in de sector (ECA) om deel te gaan nemen aan een Sociale Dialoog met de werknemers, zoals deze zijn vertegenwoordigd in UNI Gaming.
Namens UNI Gaming,
Pieter Heinink
UNI European Gaming Meeting Luxemburg 2010
Geplaatst: 10-03-2010
UNI European Gaming Meeting Luxemburg 2010 - pdf bekijken
Resolutie UNI Gaming over Online Gambling
Geplaatst: 20-10-2009
Resolutie UNI Gaming over Online Gambling - pdf bekijken
Deze resolutie is opgesteld door de deelnemers aan het congres van de Gaming Sector van UNI Global Union op 22 en 23 september 2009 te Nyon (Zwitserland).
De resolutie is ook aan de EC gestuurd.
Brief aan de regering van Paraguay
Geplaatst: 24-09-2009
Brief aan de regering van Paraguay - pdf bekijken
Unaniem gesteund door de leden van UNI Gaming is deze brief naar de regering van Paraguay gestuurd door UNI Global Union. Het initiatief hiervoor kwam van Aleara, de grootste vakbond van Zuid-Amerika in de Gaming Sector.
In Paraguay worden, na het invoeren va een nieuwe wet over kansspelen, licenties vergeven.
Hierbij is er onvoldoende aandacht besteed aan de rechten van werknemers.
Nyon 2009 Jaarlijks congres UNI Gaming
Geplaatst: 22-09-2009
UNI Gaming Global Union - Annual Meeting
Nyon, Switzerland, 22 & 23 September 2009
1.Opening
Pieter Heinink (co-president of the sector) opened the meeting and Philip Bowyer (Deputy General Secretary of UNI) welcomed the affiliates. Philip explained the staff-situation at the UNI-office and assures the affiliates that there will be a solution for the gaming sector in short notice.
The minutes of the 2008 meeting are adopted without changes.
2.Since there were no additions to the draft agenda, the schedule is set for the two day meeting.
3.All the affiliates gave an update on the situation in their country.
Argentina
The situation is not too bad, some reduction of jobs, no lay-offs, but reduction of working-time. Second half of 2009 seems to be going back to normal.
Holland
Holland Casino is firing 25% of its personal. A good social plan has been achieved by the unions. The proposals of Holland Casino for a new collective agreement, would cost even more jobs. The unions are still negotiating, but there is not much chance of an agreement.
Finland
Casinos have some reduction in gambling. So far no effect on employment. Some psychological warfare by the employers prior to the collective bargaining.
France
Fewer visitors, less spending. Turnover is minus 20% in 2009. Employers use the crisis to threaten the employees. Unions had to settle for +0% in 2008 and +0% in 2009.
Germany
Financial crisis, smoking ban and high taxes have affected the casinos. In 2 of the 25 casinos employees have been fired.
USA
Gaming Business lost 24-38% in the first quarter of 2009. Dramatic loss of jobs and financial problems for the workers. Dealers are still not organized by unions. Aleara (Argentina) offers to support Unite Here in an effort to accomplish this.
Spain
The crisis has a big impact on the game-industry. 17 - 20 % unemployment. Job protection first. New casinos to be opened soon.
Italy
Casinos officially don’t exist. There are 4 casinos with a long history. No collective-agreement for the dealers Job losses, caused by the crisis.
Malaysia
Business as usual. The crises doesn’t seem to have much influence on the gaming industry in Malaysia.
Nepal
Pokhrel Lekhnath gave us an emotional presentation on the situation in his country, where there is no political stability. He thanked UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings again for sending a letter to the government of Nepal that led to his release from prison. Pokhrel was arrested during a union-demonstration and tortured. He spend 47 days in prison.
4. Online Gambling
Long and intensive discussions on this subject and to formulate a resolution.
The discussions were spread over the two days. The resolution will be formulated by Arto Halonen and Pieter Heinink, send by email and added to these minutes after approval.
5. Items concerning Casino personnel
Exchange of experiences concerning:
Health and safety, ergonomics, customer abuse, tipping of gaming staff.
Pieter promised the British representatives to share with them a piece on “dealing with Aggression” from Holland Casino.
6. Organizing in multinational companies
Robert Vijendren Henry of Malaysia proudly shared with us the results of his work concerning migrant workers in his region. His union (RWEU) has created an International Union Membership Card, that proves the holder to be a member RWEU and UNI Global Union.
The idea was received enthusiastically by other unions and may be useful in South America and other parts of the world.
7. Presidency, evaluation and elections
Current situation, elected in 2008
Co-Presidents :
Robert Vijendran Henry of RWEU, Malaysia
Pieter Heinink of Vakbond ABC, The Netherlands
Vice Presidents:
Daniel Amoroso of ALEARA, Argentina
Pilar Rato Rodriguez of FECOHT-CC.OO, Spain.
The following proposal was made by Pieter Heinink
The world in three regions, from west to east.
* One Vice- World President, also President of the Americas
* One World President, also President of Europe and Africa
* One Vice- World President, also President of Asia, Australia and New Zealand
There is general support for the idea.
Arto Halonen suggested keeping the current situation till the next meeting on 22&23 June 2009 in Nyon. All agreed on this. The affiliates will consider the proposal and make a decision about it in the next meeting.
Daniel Amoroso asked the meeting to support his initiative to send a letter to the government of Paraguay, in which UNI Global Union demands that authorities respect the rights and working conditions of Gaming workers. There should be more attention for this in the bidding process to award concessions for the exploitation of lottery games in Paraguay. A letter, signed by Philip Bowyer, has been sent right after the meeting.
Pieter Heinink complimented Daniel Amoroso on Aleara’s monthly “UNI Americas Gaming Sector Bulletin”. He asked the European and Asian affiliates to take this as an example. Once per quarter would be a great start.
In a discussion with Philip Bowyer there was a demand for an extra European Gaming Meeting, to be held in Luxemburg in February 2010. Philip agreed on this.
Photo: from right Aleara President Daniel Amoroso, World Presidents Pieter Heinink and Robert Henry
Nyon 2008 Jaarlijks congres UNI Gaming
Geplaatst:
“Building union power in the Gaming sector”
DRAFT AGENDA
1. Opening
• Adoption of the minutes of the last meeting on 13/14 April 2007, Luxemburg
Building union power in the Gaming sector
2. Industry overview & Key challenges
• UNI survey Building union power in the Gaming sector
3. Case Studies on national organising initiatives (Presentations, discussion and workshop)
• LHMU, Australia
• LPSDPS, Lithuania
• Unite-Here, USA
Building union power in the Gaming sector
4. Organising in multinational companies (Presentations, discussion and workshop)
• Building global union alliances in multinational companies
• Organising national unions though regional union cooperation
• Developing international union organising alliances for Japan and Singapore Building union power in the Gaming sector
5. Strengthening union organisation
• Regional initiatives and industry developments
• UNI-Apro Regional Gaming Meeting, 12/13 June 2007, Macau
• UNI-Americas Regional Gaming Meeting, 4-6 September 2007, Buenos Aires
• UNI-Europa Meeting with the European Commission, 20 September 2007, Brussels
6. Elections
7. Any other business
Photo: New Co-Presidents Robert Henry and Pieter Heinink
Buenos Aires 2007
Geplaatst:
UNI-Americas Gaming Workshop.
On 4-6 September 2007, the "Organizing Gaming Workers in the Americas" workshop was held at Hotel Cambremon, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The event was organized by UNI-Americas Regional Office, with the close collaboration of ALEARA, and was attended by trade union representatives from nine countries:
FENTIAHBETA, the Dominican Republic; Asociación de Empleados del MEF, Panama; Sindicato de Casinos de Viña del Mar, Chile; Sindicato Industrial Racing, Chile; Sindicato Dos Empregados em Casas de Diversões de São Paulo e Região, Brazil; Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores em Turismo e Hospitalidade (CONTRATUH), Brazil; Sindicato de Trabajadores de Juegos de Azar, Entretenimiento, Esparcimiento, Recreación y Afines de la República Argentina (ALEARA), Argentina; Sindicato Nacional de Vendedores de Quiniela, Bingo, Juegos de Azar y Afines (SINTRAQUIBA), Paraguay; CUT-A, Paraguay; Union of Members Clubs and Lottery Workers (UMCLW), Trinidad and Tobago; Communication Workers of Suriname, Suriname; Algemene Bond Casinopersoneel, the Netherlands; and FNV Bondgenoten, the Netherlands.
Besides the above organizations, the opening ceremony was also attended by UNI's Assistant General Secretary Raúl Requena, UNI-Americas President Rubén Cortina, IUF Regional Secretary Gerardo Iglesias and ALEARA's General Secretary Daniel Amoroso.
The workshop tackled all the items on the agenda. In the course of the event, the speakers masterfully addressed the subjects they had been assigned. Also, the representatives of the guest organizations contributed very valuable information about the gaming industry in their countries of origin, highlighting the speedy growth experienced by the sector and the main problems endured by Ontmoeting met de gekozen
Burgemeester van Buenos Aires,
Mauricio Macrigaming workers. They underscored the organizational weakness seen in some countries and the absence of gaming unions in others. Participants reviewed several factors that reflect the existing potential to get the sector's workers organized.
Throughout the workshop, they outlined the priorities that will guide UNI-Americas Gaming Sector in the strengthening of the sector's trade unions in the Americas. It was agreed that only through strong and well-organised trade unions rallied together in an international organization such as UNI will we be able to defend workers' interests and struggle for the elimination of the obstacles that prevent the full development of their and their families' capabilities.
That is the reason why the workshop adopted as a guideline the project funded by Holland Casino, whose general objective is to better organize and train gaming workers in our region, as a way to foster trade unionism.
Goals:
Cooperation to encourage the development of gaming unions in the Dominican Republic and Panama.
Technical support aimed to improve the operational capacity of SINTRAQUIBA, and political support to organize the sector with a view to entering into a collective agreement.
Political support to and solidarity towards the trade unions that protect bingo workers in Brazil, given the lack of laws to regulate bingo halls in this country.
Action Plan:
Panama
Conducting a survey to get to know the specific problems endured by casino workers.
Publishing the survey results.
Meetings to make contact with potential leaders from among workers.
Training course for potential union leaders.
International mission in the local scenario.
Dominican Republic
Meetings to make contact with local potential leaders from among casino workers.
Visit by UNI-Americas Gaming Sector Regional Director.
Training course for potential union leaders.
Brazil
Visit to make contact with bingo unions.
Coordinating the political support given to trade unions in connection with the regulation of bingo halls in Brazil.
Paraguay
Technical support to improve organizational capabilities.
Visit by UNI-Americas Gaming Sector President and UNI-Americas Regional Director to give political support to gaming workers.
Coordinating the support given to SINTRAQUIBA with a view to entering into a collective agreement on behalf of the sector's workers.
Trinidad and Tobago
Follow-up on the project presented by the Union of Members Clubs and Lottery Workers (UMCLW), in order to attain the regulation of the gaming industry.
Conclusions:
- The workshop was a good starting point, since it provided an opportunity to openly discuss the objectives behind the creation of UNI-Americas Gaming Sector and to embark on what will hopefully be a close relationship between member organizations.
- The event provided sufficient inputs to adequately implement the project conceived by the three Dutch trade unions and funded by Holland Casino.
- We must start to compile a database with relevant information that allows us to play an active role in the sector.
- In coordination with the Global UNI Gaming Sector, UNI-Americas will lay down the profiles of the organising campaigns to be implemented in Panama and the Dominican Republic as well as their specific objectives. UNI's Development and Regions Department (DDR) will give support to the organising activities. Both UNI's capabilities and those of the national organizations will be used to reinforce our work.
- A monitoring mechanism will be implemented, aimed to assess whether the actions taken are consistent with the set objectives.
- Regular reports will be drawn up and sent to Holland Casino and to the committee responsible for the project's coordination. An annual report will also be made, in order to inform the level of compliance and the results attained.
The participants elected President of UNI-Americas Gaming Sector the current General Secretary of ALEARA, Daniel Amoroso, who is also a member of the troika that chairs the global UNI-Gaming Sector.
Participants:
ABC, Netherlands: Pieter Heinink, President of ABC and President of UNI Gaming Global Union
ALEARA, Argentina: Rodrigo Miño, Gerardo Ruggiero, Pedro Schiuma, Ariel Fassione, Germán Martínez, Hernán Gómez and Vanesa Díaz
Asociación de Empleados del Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas, Panama: Eduardo Kivers
CONTRATUH / NCST, Brazil: Moacyr Roberto Tesch Auersvald
CUT Auténtica, Paraguay: Pedro González
CWOS, Suriname: Henk Shields
SINDIVERSOES, Brazil: Elissom Zapparolli
FENTIAHBETA, Dominican Republic: Juadimir Jerez
FNV BONDGENOTEN, Netherlands: Ralph Smeets
Sindicato Industrial Racing, Chile: Luis Jofre Hernández
Sindicato Industrial Racing, Chile: Luis Fernández
Sindicato de Casinos de Viña del Mar, Chile: Exequiel Arredondo
SINTRAQUIBA, Paraguay: Maria Magdalena Ortiz
UMCLW, Trinidad and Tobago: Cindy Gibbs Nicholas
Panama, 18 September 2007
Alberto Barrow
UNI-Americas Gaming Sector Regional Director
Photo: UNI Gaming President Pieter Heinink meets Buenos Aires Major Mauricio Macri
Luxemburg 2007 Jaarlijks congres UNI Gaming
Geplaatst:
Union Meeting 12 en 13 april 2007 in Luxemburg.
Op 12 en 13 april 2007 vond het jaarlijkse congres van de wereldvakbond voor Gaming-werknemers plaats in Luxemburg. Op de agenda stond hier, naast een aantal belangrijke onderwerpen, het benoemen van een nieuwe voorzitter.
Als afgevaardigde van Vakbond ABC en door De Unie en FNV Bondgenoten ondersteund als kandidaat voor het voorzitterschap vertrok ik op 11 april naar Luxemburg.
Die avond werd er al meteen een agendavergadering belegd met de vorige(Finland), de huidige(Argentinië) en de toekomstige voorzitter (Nederland) evenals drie mensen van het UNI hoofdkantoor.
Op donderdag de 12de begon het congres. Aanwezig waren de vertegenwoordigers van de meeste Europese landen alsmede Argentinië, Maleisië, Zuid-Afrika, Nepal en de VS. Daar waar sprake is van meerdere vakbonden zijn er ook meer afgevaardigden. Zo was er namens De Unie ook vakbondsbestuurder Theo Fikke.
Onderwerpen op dag 1 waren:
- Terugblik en het aannemen van moties, resoluties en conclusies van de vorige vergadering.
- Occupational health & safety (gezondheid en veiligheid) met als belangrijkste bespreekpunt een rapport van de vakbond ALEARA (Arg.) over stress bij casinopersoneel.
- Problem Gambling over gokverslaving en de maatregelen die er hiertegen in de lidstaten worden genomen, maar ook als het gaat om gokverslaving onder casinopersoneel.
- Organising &Multinational Companies: De ontwikkelingen in de diverse landen en de bewegingen van Multinationals in de casinowereld. De activiteiten die landen ontplooien om monopolies te behouden alsmede de aanvallen die hierop gepleegd worden.
Op dag 2 hadden wij als gastspreker: de heer Jean Bergevin, Head of Unit Services van de European Commission Internal Market and Services Directorate-General. Kortom de afdeling die over kansspelen gaat.
Onderwerpen hierbij waren de ontwikkelingen in de gaming-sector en online gambling. Na de presentatie van Jean Bergevin volgde een levendige discussie waarbij de situatie m.b.t. online gambling in alle lidstaten aan bod kwam.
Hierna werd het programma vervolgd met:
- Een resolutie van de Duitse vakbonden betreffende het totale verbod op internetgokken.
- De stand van zaken rond Cao's in de diverse landen
- De verkiezing van een nieuwe voorzitter
- Wat verder ter tafel komt.
De resolutie van de Duitse vakbonden kon niet worden overgenomen voor heel Europa. Er liggen nog teveel gevoeligheden. Zo hebben de Finnen bezwaar tegen een totaal verbod op internetgokken omdat zij als monopolist loterijen ook via internet aanbieden.
Spanje heeft een groot belang bij het aanbieden van Bingo via internet en Holland Casino staat op het punt om, met toestemming van de overheid, een proef met een internetcasino te starten. Wel hebben de deelnemers besloten om de resolutie te steunen met de beperking dat deze zich alleen richt op het totale verbod in Duitsland. Hiermee konden de Duitsers wel leven. Het standpunt voor wat betreft de rest van Europa moet nu nog wel worden geformuleerd.
Het voorzitterschap van de wereld Gaming Vakbond bestaat uit een driemanschap (Troika).
Voor de periode van 1 jaar is de samenstelling nu:
Pieter Heinink (Nederland) voorzitter
Daniel Amoroso (Argentinië) vize voorzitter
Enrique Cuevas (Frankrijk) vize voorzitter
Voor het daaropvolgende jaar wordt Frankrijk voorzitter, Nederland vize voorzitter, Argentinië verlaat de troika en Duitsland komt erbij als vize voorzitter.
Voor degene die meer wil weten over de UNI Global Union:
www.union-network.org
Over verdere internationale ontwikkelingen en de Global Union for Gaming houd ik jullie graag op de hoogte.
Pieter Heinink
