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Contents&nbsp;
1. Chile &ndash; Government Publishes 
Gender Equity Guide 
2. France &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Position at EdF and GdF 
Worsens 
3. Germany &ndash; Men and Women 
Experience Stress Differently 
4. Kenya &ndash; Nairobi +21 Conference Held 
5. Korea &ndash; Equality Job Index&nbsp;Increases 
6. New Zealand &ndash; Government Prepares 
for Equal Pay Reviews 
7. Nicaragua &ndash; National Assembly Passes Total Abortion Ban 
8. South Africa &ndash; NUMSA Gender Awareness Quiz 
9. United Kingdom &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Pay Gap Narrows 
10. United States &ndash; Supreme Court&nbsp;To Hear Goodyear Case 
11. From Our Readers 
12. Resources 
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1. Chile &ndash; Government Publishes Gender Equity Guide 
 
SERNAM, the Chilean Women&rsquo;s National Office, published, on 9 November, a guide on gender equity in companies, called Gu&iacute;a para Impulsar la Equidad de G&eacute;nero en las Empresas. The guide contains examples of good practice, as well as tools to put the ideas into practice. 
 
With Chile&rsquo;s president Michelle Bachelet currently promoting corporate social responsibility, SERNAM found that discrimination against women continues to exist: women&rsquo;s average pay is still 30% below men&rsquo;s, with those in higher pay categories even earning 52% less. 
 
87% of all women work in services where they have less access than men to skills and management jobs. Chile ranks 110th out of 125 in terms of gender equity. There is, therefore, plenty of room for improvement. The SERNAM guide will soon be available on the Acci&oacute;n RSE site (in Spanish - <a href="http://www.accionrse.cl/">www.accionrse.cl</a>). 
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2. France &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Position at EdF and GdF Worsens 
 
In spite of the fact that an ambitious equal opportunities agreement was signed one and a half years ago, FCE-CFDT has found women&rsquo;s position worsening, or at best stagnating, at EdF (Electricit&eacute; de France) and GdF (Gaz de France). 
 
In 2005, the average number of hours&rsquo; training that women took advantage of went down, as did the number of women taking vocational training. There were also fewer men taking parental leave than the year before. In addition, new hires are generally found in technical areas, where fewer women are present. 
 
Women make up 23.1% of the workforce in the two companies, whereas they make up 49% of the precarious jobs. The union has also found that stereotypes still prevail &ndash; management still refuses men&rsquo;s requests to look after sick children, for example. 
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3. Germany &ndash; Men and Women Experience Stress Differently 
 
IGBCE has launched a pilot project to investigate stress factors at three companies in Germany. The aim is for employees to cope better with stress so that, for instance, they can go home free of stress in the evening. 
 
Since women and men experience stress differently, preventive and curing measures have to be applied differently according to gender. In general, men have more injuries and accidents, whereas women suffer more from psychological problems. 
Men are more afraid of failure and high performance standards; women suffer more from poor communication and lack of recognition. Strategies to manage stress also differ &ndash; women get rid of stress by doing yoga or relaxation exercises, while men play football. 
 
The Infracor Company has distributed a questionnaire to track stress factors. While still analysing the results, one finding is that work against deadlines, heavy workloads, lack of decision-making power, fear of job loss or the double burden of working and looking after the family are all possible causes of stress. 
 
Stress has physical and psychological effects, which, if not eliminated, often reduce performance and concentration. However, they also lead to allergies and cardiovascular ailments. The IGBCE found that managing stress and health on the job pays for itself. 
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4. Kenya &ndash; Nairobi +21 Conference Held 
 
The Nairobi +21 Conference was held in Nairobi on 27 October 2006 to reflect on what has happened since the first UN International Women&rsquo;s Conference, which was held in 1985. Women evaluated the progress made over the years, by following the development of strategies aimed at fostering the advancement of women. Speakers reminisced about times gone by, when women&rsquo;s issues were treated with disdain. 
 
However, 20 years later, things are different. Kenya now has 18 women parliamentarians, and many women have been appointed to the judiciary and senior public service positions. Many battles have been won, but the war for realizing gender equality is far from over. 
 
Women are still under-represented in policy making. Societal and cultural biases and practices, such as female genital mutilation, still pose a health risk to girls. Insecurity and conflicts continue to expose more women to hunger, poverty and assault, and HIV/AIDS destructs millions of women&rsquo;s lives in sub-Saharan Africa. 
 
One conclusion of the conference was to demand better resource allocation for gender ministries and to push for 50-50 representation in leadership. 
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5. Korea &ndash; Equality Job Index Increases 
 
Two recent findings by the Korea Labor Institute are that the labor status of women in Korea is lower than men&rsquo;s and that the labor status of workers over 50 has been declining. These findings are the result of an analysis of the Employment Equality Index in Korea, which includes factors such as gender, age, labor status and wage levels for the past 10 years. 
 
The Employment Equality Index consists of four sub-categories: the Labor Compensation Index, based on wage levels per hour; the Labor Participation Index, based on the ratio of wage workers; the Labor Status Index, based on the ratio of management level workers; and the Job Security Index, based on the ratio of regular workers. A figure above 100 indicates that the employment equality status is higher than that of men, whereas a figure below 100 indicates that the status is lower. 
 
With the male workers&rsquo; Employment Equality Index set at 100, the female workers&rsquo; index started at 50.1% in 1995, went down to 49.5% during the 1998 crisis, and reached 55.7% last year. 
 
According to the study, the women&rsquo;s Labor Status Index was 8.1%, indicating that the number of female management-level workers is less than one tenth that of men. The women&rsquo;s Labor Compensation Index stood at 69.4%, and the Job Security Index at 61.3%. The study also found that the labor status of older workers was gradually worsening. 
 
The Ministry of Labor hopes that more women will take management jobs after the government&rsquo;s affirmative action programs. The government also hopes to encourage workers over 50 to stay in the labor market. 
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6. New Zealand &ndash; Government Prepares for Equal Pay Reviews 
 
The New Zealand Cabinet has agreed on the terms of reference for the equal pay and employment equity reviews. Although the equal pay law has been in existence since 1972, women&rsquo;s average hourly earnings are still only 86.4% of men&rsquo;s. 
 
The public service, health and education sectors will all be subjected to a review designed to ensure that occupations dominated by women pay women fairly and provide equal employment opportunities. 
 
A template must be completed, which tests each occupation&rsquo;s job size and remuneration against a comparable occupation, before a pay equity or equal employment opportunity claim is lodged. A review will also be carried out before a claim is lodged. 
 
Depending on the review&rsquo;s findings, workers such as teachers, secretaries, librarians, dental therapists and nurses may have their pay boosted. 
 
New Zealand&rsquo;s Council of Trade Unions Vice-President Helen Kelly said that, with pay equity claims resolved, women would look at the state as a preferred employer, boosting the need for the private sector to undertake similar actions. 
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7. Nicaragua &ndash; National Assembly Passes Total Abortion Ban 
 
Nicaragua&rsquo;s national assembly has voted - 52 to 0 - to ban all abortions, even in those cases where the mother&rsquo;s life is at stake. Nicaragua already had restrictive anti-abortion laws, with women and doctors who take part in abortions facing prison sentences of up to six years. 
 
Members of Nicaragua&rsquo;s medical association and United Nations representatives opposed the timing of the vote, which coincided with the presidential elections on 5 November. They claimed the abortion debate had become too politicized. Hundreds of people protested outside the National Assembly in Managua before the vote took place, saying the law would be a death penalty for some. They fear the law will force women to die. 
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8. South Africa &ndash; NUMSA Gender Awareness Quiz 
 
NUMSA, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, has published a gender awareness quiz. Answer the questions and check where you stand on the public and private struggle. 
 
1. Your wife/partner wants to stand as a shop steward in her union. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Say that she cannot stand because you are worried that the children will be neglected and it will interfere with the cooking and the cleaning of the household. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Support her and say that together as a family you will all discuss how she can be active in the union and how the family will accommodate her. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
2. Your wife/partner is a shop steward and wants to attend NUMSA National Congress for five days. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Say she cannot go because a NUMSA National Congress is not a good place for a woman to be. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Encourage her to go and together with your family work out how you will all manage. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
3. Your workplace has many women workers. In shop steward elections, workers voted for three new women shop stewards. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Carry on having your shop steward committee meetings after work as you have always done. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Ask the new women shop stewards if the time is all right for them or if they want to suggest an alternative time. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
4. Your workplace has always had many women workers but no women have ever stood as shop stewards. Shop steward elections will take place in 18 months time. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Assume that it&rsquo;s because women are not committed and that&rsquo;s why they don&rsquo;t stand as shop stewards. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Speak to workers and set up a gender committee in your factory. Link the gender committee to the shop stewards committee and provide training to the gender committee reps so that they can learn the job of the shop steward. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
5. You are holding a shop steward council in your local. The meeting was meant to start at 9h00 and finish at 12h00. However some of the male office bearers are late and the meeting only started at 10h30. At 12h00 many people start to leave, especially the women comrades. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Complain that those leaving are not committed. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Apologise to those that are leaving for having started the meeting late and appeal to all those present to respect the times so that next time the meeting can start and finish on time. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
ANSWERS: If you answered mostly (a) then you need to seriously look at your views on gender and your relationship with your wife/partner. If you answered mostly (b) then you have opened the door to challenge patriarchy. Congratulations but don&rsquo;t stop here! 
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9. United Kingdom &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Pay Gap Narrows 
 
Women are closing the pay gap with men, as indicated by recent government figures. The gap between male and female pay is at its lowest since 1938, the year when recording began. 
 
Men&rsquo;s average pay went up by 3.5%, while women&rsquo;s pay rose by 4.2%. Women now earn, on average, 12.6% less than men, compared to 13% last year. A man&rsquo;s weekly average earnings stands at 487 pounds. A typical woman is paid 387 pounds a week. The reason for the large gap is that men work more overtime. 
 
A key reason behind the change is that more women now work in high-earning professions. In the 22-29 age group, women actually earn more than 1.5% more than men. But beyond the age of 29, male earnings greatly outstrip those of women, as women returning to the workplace after childbirth tend to miss out on several years of pay rises. 
 
The Equal Opportunities Commission estimates that the pay gap means that the average women working full time will lose out on about 330,000 pounds over her working life. That means 19 years of down payments on a house, 15 new cars or 10,500 nights out. 
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10. United States &ndash; Supreme Court To Hear Goodyear Case 
 
On 27 November, the US Supreme Court will hear the arguments on a pay discrimination case involving a former Goodyear employee. Ms. Ledbetter charged that she earned 15% less than the next lowest paid manager in her work group. She claimed that she had been underpaid for her management positions since she was first hired. 
 
Goodyear claims her lower salary was based on low performance ratings. Ledbetter, however, claimed her evaluations had been falsified, at least in part because one of those who reviewed her job performance was an immediate supervisor whose sexual advances she had rebuffed. 
 
A jury in the US District Court awarded Ledbetter nearly US$234,000 in back pay, almost US$5,000 for mental anguish and nearly US$3,3 million in punitive damages. In the end, the court was required by statute to limit the verdict to US$360,000. Goodyear is appealing this verdict. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
FROM OUR READERS: 
 
Oluchi Okorie from Nupeng, Nigeria, comments about Bulletin 16: 
 
 
&ldquo;It is surprising that Indian women still face these problems of dowry to their husbands. Unlike in our country Nigeria, the reverse is the case. 
 
The bride&rsquo;s family receives the bride price and other gifts from the groom and his family. Some extended family members of the bride also make their demands which, if not met, sometimes will lead to the threat of withdrawing from the marriage contract. 
 
The major problem with this in some cases is that the groom will start maltreating the bride after the marriage must have been contracted with the belief that he bought her expensively. There are other cases where the groom may not have enough resources to take care of the bride after marriage. 
 
In either way, none is perfect because the whole thing falls back on women. We pray there should be a remedy to this in this modern age.&quot;
<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
RESOURCES 
 
Falling Through the Floor lets young Chinese women workers tell us in their own words about their arduous experiences of trying to earn a decent living in the boomtowns of the Chinese economic miracle today. See at: <a href="http://www.china-labour.org.hk/public/main">http://www.china-labour.org.hk/public/main</a>.&nbsp; 
 
WOMANKIND Worldwide helps women in developing countries - silenced or isolated by harmful traditions, conflict, violence and intimidation or the sheer exhaustion of surviving in poverty &ndash; to have a distinctive say in what goes on in their family, community and country. See <a href="http://www.womankind.org.uk/">http://www.womankind.org.uk</a>. 
 
Public Services International has done an evaluation of its 2002-2006 Pay Equity Campaign. The evaluation can be obtained from ICEM &ndash; write to <a href="mailto:carol.bruce@icem.org">carol.bruce@icem.org</a>.

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 17

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A founding Congress in Vienna, Austria, on 3 November gave birth to a new global union confederation for national labour centres. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) was formed, taking the place of its two founding members, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). 
 
The new ITUC will represent 168 million workers from 306 affiliates in 154 countries. In addition to affiliates from the former ICFTU and WCL, eight other national trade unions, who were not affiliated to a global union organisation prior, are now affiliated to the new organisation. These include Nepal&rsquo;s GEFONT, France&rsquo;s CGT, Poland&rsquo;s OPZZ, Argentina&rsquo;s CGT and Colombia&rsquo;s CUT. 
<img height="166" alt="" src="" width="250" />
ITUC&nbsp;General Secretary Guy Ryder
At the Vienna Congress, the new organisation stressed the need to tackle the adverse consequences of economic globalisation and the devastating effect this has had on millions of workers. Specifically highlighted problems included off-shoring, abuse of workers&rsquo; rights, and increased levels of poverty. 
Fred Higgs, ICEM General Secretary, said the unification of ICFTU and WCL is an &ldquo;inevitable and welcome development, which we hope will lead to others uniting, creating a single global union confederation.&rdquo; 
 
He also said that the unity at the national centre level was preceded &ldquo;by agreements at sectoral level, including the one on integration between the ICEM and the World Federation of Industrial Workers (WFIW).&rdquo; 
 
Guy Ryder, former head of the ICFTU, was elected General Secretary of the ITUC, while Sharan Burrow of the Australian Council of Trade Unions won election as president. While those two were ICFTU incumbents, at the levels of deputy GSs and deputy presidents, each organisation will have one seat. 
 
Mamounata Ciss&eacute; (ICFTU) and Jaap Wienen (WCL) became the deputy GSs, while Michael Sommer (DGB-Gemany) and Luc Cortebeeck (CSC-Belgium) will serve as deputy presidents. The new ITUC will undergo a four-year transitional process, after which vice presidential seats and representation will be based on the organisation&rsquo;s affiliation protocol. 
 
The new website of the organisation is: <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org">http://www.ituc-csi.org</a>.

ITUC Founding: A New International Trade Union Confederation

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The joint ICEM-IUF project for South East Europe has developed a website to better assist participating unions in the project. The ICEM and the International Union of Food Workers&rsquo; have been running this union-building project since 1998. 
 
The site, which is available in English and Croatian, can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://icemiufsee.org/index.php?lang=en">http://icemiufsee.org/index.php?lang=en</a>.&nbsp; 
 
The South East Europe project of the two Global Union Federations aims to increase social dialogue and negotiations between the participating unions and the employers and governments of Balkan nations. Activities focus on workplace representatives for engaging in workplace actions that support dialogue with managements and governments, specifically during industrial restructurings and privatisations.

Joint ICEM-IUF Project in Balkans Gets Website

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A total and complete shutdown of subsea contractors in the UK&rsquo;s North Sea oil fields by divers and their support staff proved effective, with all 900 of them gaining a 44% wage increase over two years. 
 
The ten-day strike, led by UK&rsquo;s Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union, an affiliate of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), and an important member of the ICEM/ITF Global Oil and Gas Industry Trade Union Alliance, ended Friday, 10 October, after divers and their support teams ratified the agreement with an 84% vote.
<img height="99" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&quot;By any standard, this is a tremendous victory for a group of workers who have displayed grit, determination, and complete solidarity in their campaign to win a fair pay increase,&rdquo; said RMT General Secretary Bob Crow. 
&ldquo;The strike was total from the first moment, and it is to our members&rsquo; immense credit that not one diving support vessel was operational throughout the stoppage.&rdquo; 
 
The strike shut down seven oil-service companies who operate in both UK and Norwegian waters. RMT divers working in the energy sector in Egypt and Singapore also reportedly joined the strike. 
Late in October, divers and support teams rejected by better than a two-to-one margin an employer association offer of 37% over three years. They struck on 1 November, and the rock-solid strike proved too much for the companies, who attempted to get divers to sign individual agreements. The divers do installation and maintenance on underwater wells and pipelines. 
<img height="130" alt="" src="" width="200" />
The RMT members, who have some of the most dangerous jobs in the North Sea working at depths of up to 130 feet, or 40 metres, won an immediate 25% pay increase, with a further 5% increase coming in April 2007. And then further increases occur throughout 2007 and 2008. They also won entitlement pay for eight public holidays, up from the four that they previously had. 
 
The seven employers that are party to the UK Offshore Diving Industry Agreement include: Acergy, Technip, KD Marine, Integrated Subsea Services (ISS), RBG Ltd., Subsea7, and Well-Ops.

UK’s North Sea Divers and Support Staff Win 44 Percent Salary Increases

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Spanish petrol station workers went on strike last week, 7-8 November, as last minute negotiations between unions and employers yielded no resolve earlier in the week. 
 
The two-day strike, held prior to a long weekend in Spain due to a national holiday, had been called by Spanish ICEM affiliates FIA-UGT and FITEQA-CC.OO. Strikes affected stations throughout Spain, except for two provinces, which have a separate collective agreement.
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
According to the unions, the strike&rsquo;s success was &ldquo;massive,&rdquo; with approximately 70-80% of all petrol station workers taking part. Some 1,811 petrol and gas stations, some 20% of the entire petrol market in Spain, were forced to remain open on 7-8 November due to a Spanish law intended to guarantee minimum service.
The mass industrial action was brought on because of a series of bad working conditions: long, often unpaid or poorly paid working hours; excessive rotation and temporary work, including shift and weekend work; job-related health and safety problems; and extremely low remuneration. 
 
Workers in the sector earn gross pay totalling &euro;800&ndash;900 a month. Considering that the price of petroleum has tripled over the last three years, even though it has dipped of late, Spanish unions are seeking only modest salary increases for petrol station operators. 
<img height="78" src="" width="78" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="80" src="" width="98" alt="" />
Employers&rsquo; statements indicate that the union demands &ldquo;do not correspond to reality.&rdquo; But the reality is that Spanish petrol stations employ nearly 42,000 workers at 8,700 stations, with 50% of them immigrant workers. And of those immigrant workers, 60% are women. It is employers who reject upgrading wages and working conditions for Spanish petrol station workers. 
 
A union representative said it is important that employers now &ldquo;change their rigid behaviour and agree to a fair collective agreement for the workers in the gas and petrol stations so that they can work in decent conditions.&rdquo; 
 
Discussions are scheduled to continue this week. However, the unions have said their options would remain open, with further strikes possible.

Spanish Gas Station Workers Strike for Realistic Working Conditions

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A central labour court in Thailand on 31 October ruled that Goodyear Thailand&rsquo;s termination of contract worker Chalom Kongnok was illegal, and ordered the company to reinstate him and award him backpay and full collective bargaining benefits for the past ten years. 
 
This case is one of 16 cases that ICEM affiliate Petroleum and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation (PCFT) now is pursuing on behalf of long-term contract workers employed in the warehouse and rubber stock department of Goodyear&rsquo;s Bangkok tyre factory. They were fired in October 2005 for attempting to exert their legitimate right to collective bargaining. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Several, such as Kongnok, had been working for Goodyear for up to ten years under one-year contracts. The labour court&rsquo;s ruling on 15 other sacked contract workers is expected on 30 November. 
 
The 16 had won a previous Industrial Court Commission ruling last spring that called for reinstatement. But when they turned up at the factory for work on 3 May 2006, management refused entry. 
 
Seven months before, Goodyear&rsquo;s Thai management acted hastily in sacking the workers when they demanded collective bargaining benefits and protections. They had been deducting dues from the contract workers for, in some cases, up to four years. In an effort to avoid unionisation in this area of the plant, Goodyear later in 2005 halted direct employment of the contract workers and brought in a labour agency as employer. 
 
The ICEM will continue to stand with the PCFT and its plant-level affiliate, the Tyre Makers&rsquo; Union, in its rightful quest for full rights and permanent employment for all contract workers at Goodyear Thailand Ltd.

Goodyear Ordered to Take Back Thai Contract Worker with Ten Years’ Backpay

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
North America&rsquo;s bitter industrial strike in the rubber sector between the United Steelworkers (USW) and Goodyear Tire and Rubber will see the antagonists come face to face tomorrow, 14 November, when the parties commence bargaining. It will be the first set of talks since the strike by 15,000 US and Canadian rubber workers began on 5 October. 
 
USW President Leo Gerard said: &ldquo;We look forward to productive discussions whereby our members can return to making quality products and sincerely hope that this is a good faith attempt by Goodyear to solve problems and not place further obstructions in the path to reaching a fair and equitable agreement.&rdquo; 
 
Good faith is something Goodyear is a stranger to in this 40-day strike. The US-based rubber-maker announced during the strike it was closing a plant in Tyler, Texas, potentially sacking 1,100 workers, even though the issue of job security and closures was still open on the bargaining table. 
 
Goodyear CEO Robert Keegan breached ethical social conduct by stating to investment analysts that the company would bypass the union in order to force Goodyear&rsquo;s agenda of jobs cuts, work reorganisation resulting in lower pay, and devastating attacks on pensioners&rsquo; benefits. 
 
The company has been relentless in its messages to strikers to abandon the walkout. The most recent example is a letter that company coverage of health care would only be guaranteed if staff returned to work by 3 January 2007.
<img height="50" alt="" src="" width="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <img height="51" src="" width="96" alt="" />
The ICEM-affiliated USW has made it clear that it is returning to the bargaining table tomorrow with expectations that management is ready for serious dialogue. The union maintains that Goodyear has not negotiated, but rather dictated the terms it seeks to impose on workers. &ldquo;We stand ready to bargain a fair labour agreement,&rdquo; said USW International Vice President Tom Conway, &ldquo;and assume (by Goodyear&rsquo;s return to bargaining) that the company has abandoned its destructive position on closing plants and slashing health care.&rdquo;
The USW will continue its campaign to protect jobs and livelihoods of North American rubber workers. On Saturday, 18 November, USW members will again distribute thousands of handbills to both customers and auto dealership managers over the possible safety risk Goodyear is creating by pushing for certain levels of production during the strike. The union has also taken that message to rubber sector and auto-parts trade shows that are attended by thousands of corporate representatives involved in sales and marketing. 
 
The Goodyear strike is one of the largest North American industrial strikes in this decade, affecting 12 plants in the US and four in Canada. Besides production from two non-union operations, Goodyear is attempting to maintain its customer base with limited production from plants that are on strike, using management personnel and temporary workers.

Steelworkers, Goodyear Return to Bargaining in Six-week Tyre Strike

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Namibia (MUN) ended a 13-day strike last Friday, 10 November, by 360 miners at the Kumba Resources&rsquo; Rosh Pinah zinc and lead mine in the south of the country. 
 
Miners won salary increases of 10% for workers in lower pay grades and 9% for those in higher grades. MUN General Secretary Joseph Hengari said miners also won a benefit of one month&rsquo;s salary when they resign or are retrenched. The collective agreement is for one year.
&ldquo;At first, the company refused to move from its salary position,&rdquo; said Hengari. &ldquo;So the final settlement is an improvement over what the company originally offered.&rdquo; South African-based Kumba had offered miners wage increases of 8% and 9%, while workers were seeking an across-the-board increase of 13%. 
<img height="66" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Besides a pay increase reflecting the high prices and demand for Rosh Pinah&rsquo;s major export, zinc concentrates, strikers were seeking better housing subsidies and relocation allowances. They were also seeking to bridge the parity gap that exists between Kumba&rsquo;s workers in South Africa and Namibia. 
 
Kumba is a Black Empowerment Enterprise of South Africa that was spun off from the global mining house, Anglo American. The company is currently undergoing a further split, separating some of its iron ore operations from base metal and coal operations. The latter, which will be called Exxaro Resources, will be the company that the Rosh Pinah operations will be part of. Anglo American will still control 19% of Exxaro. 
 
Rosh Pinah produces 70,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates annually, the majority of which is exported to South Africa for processing. It also produces 28,000 tonnes of lead. Kumba announced during the strike last week that a special &ldquo;unbundling dividend&rdquo; of the company will occur shortly, based on surplus cash after costs. 
 
The MUN also negotiated salary adjustments recently for some 100 uranium miners who had engaged in a two-day work stoppage at Roessing Uranium in late October. Roessing Uranium accounts for 7% of the world&rsquo;s uranium supply.

Kumba’s Namibian Mining Strike Ends in One-Year Agreement

The world&rsquo;s leading forest products company, Stora Enso of Finland, has discarded meaningful relations with its workforce and their workers&rsquo; representatives in order to impose job sackings in both Finland and France. That became evident last week as trade union events in Finland and Brussels protested the company&rsquo;s one-sided dictums over job cuts and paper machine shutdowns. 
 
Last week&rsquo;s stinging criticisms to Stora Enso&rsquo;s intractable position of restructuring-by-job-cuts comes a month after the company&rsquo;s disclosure that two paper mills in Germany and The Netherlands will close in 2007. Paperworkers in Reisholz, Germany, and Berghuizer, NL, had already been absorbed in a successful two-year restructuring project to cut costs and improve productivity, but Stora Enso issued a death warrant for the two mills in early October anyway. Nearly 700 jobs will be lost at those two operations. 
<img height="126" alt="" src="" width="150" />
Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen
ICEM Paper Sector Chairman and Finnish Paperiliitto Union President, Jouko Ahonen, expressed sharp denunciation of the company&rsquo;s &ldquo;lack of will&rdquo; to engage fairly with the company&rsquo;s workers and their representatives. Ahonen, speaking on behalf of himself, said&nbsp;the company&rsquo;s unwillingness to consider local branch recommendations to prevent job losses at the Varkaus Mill in Finland, as well as on the company&rsquo;s broken agreement to sell two paper machines at the Corbehem mill in France, so that an alternative business plan ensuring sustainable development could flourish. 
 
Ahonen prefaced his remarks by calling attention to a statement by Stora Enso CEO Jukka H&auml;rm&auml;l&auml;, made in reference to social dialogue with trade unions. H&auml;rm&auml;l&auml;, who will step down as CEO in March 2007, commented that if it was not possible to agree with workers or their representatives with a pistol pointing their way, then a shotgun might be needed. 
One does not think it possible to hear this kind of talk from an educated person in a leading position,&rdquo; said Ahonen. &ldquo;With this kind of attitude and behaviour, it is no wonder the company carries out its harsh agenda worldwide. But what has become of Stora&rsquo;s motto that &lsquo;Personnel is Our Most Important Resource?&rsquo;&rdquo; 
 
The Varkaus mill, a newsprint, printing papers and paperboard mill in central Finland, is a case in point. Stora sought job cuts totalling 25 of the mill&rsquo;s 800-member staff. Despite the local branch of Paperiliitto making proposals for considerable savings and for heightened efficiency in order to avoid the dismissals, the company refused the initiatives. 
 
The Varkaus union of Paperiliitto called the firings a breach by Stora of a joint report entitled &ldquo;Working Group on the Future of the Finnish Paper Industry.&rdquo; The report emphasizes trust, transparency, and a full and complete information exchange during restructurings when the jobs of personnel are at risk. Stora&rsquo;s decision to cut the 25 jobs anyway has resulted in the local branch declaring a moratorium on all cooperative efforts with the company. 
 
&ldquo;The local union branch and Paperiliitto were ready to agree on equivalent cost savings,&rdquo; stated Ahonen. &ldquo;And the company has constantly stressed the importance of such costs savings. But the reality is this company&rsquo;s only aim is dismissals, and I feel this is to create an atmosphere of fear. This kind of style cannot be in the best interests of the company, and the owners of the company should be paying attention.&rdquo; 
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One of those owners is the Finnish state, which holds 12% of Stora Enso&rsquo;s shares. Ahonen and Paperiliitto representatives have met several times with Parliamentarians and government officials on Stora Enso&rsquo;s anti-people, anti-worker policies. 
 
On 7 November, the same day that the Varkaus branch union declared the cooperation moratorium, another group of workers&rsquo; representatives was meeting in Brussels with a high-level member of the Finnish Finance Ministry, Pertti Rauhio, with the same message. This meeting involved Stora&rsquo;s anti-people position at the Corbehem mill in northern France. While dozens of French and Belgian trade unionists rallied outside the EU&rsquo;s Parliament, representatives of French unions FCE-CFDT and Filpac-CGT met inside, along with European-level trade union organisations, to tell of Stora&rsquo;s bad-faith decision at the French paper mill. 
 
Following the closure of two paper machines there last summer, Stora entered into an agreement to sell the machines to a French start-up company called Green Recovery, and a workers&rsquo; association called les G&eacute;ants de Papier Solidaires (LGPS). The enterprise delivered a business plan, backed by the French government, which called for reopening of one machine last month, which would make lightweight coated papers, while the other would restart in 2007. The business plan envisioned paper for degradable, fibre bags to replace plastic sacks, which are coming under an increasing level of public scrutiny for being environmentally unsound. 
 
Running of the two machines would have ensured 280 of the mill&rsquo;s 500 jobs. 
 
Instead, Stora suddenly reneged on the agreement, preferring to keep the machines down to keep paper capacity off the market. 
<img height="47" alt="" src="" width="70" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img height="46" alt="" src="" width="74" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="44" alt="" src="" width="66" border="1" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="43" alt="" src="" width="76" border="1" />
&ldquo;The paper sector, perhaps more so than any other industrial sector, needs sustained operational development and long-term planning,&rdquo; said Ahonen. &ldquo;Stora Enso is only concerned with &lsquo;quarterly-returns&rsquo; thinking. Even while talking profitability, the company would rather close mills and lose money rather than sell assets to get money.&rdquo; 
 
Ahonen expressed deep concern for Stora&rsquo;s abandonment of the Finnish social model in the situations occurring at Corbehem, at the German Reisolz mill, and the Dutch Berghuizer mill. 
 
&ldquo;Shutting mills and machines is always catastrophic, irrespective of where it happens,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It shakes the very foundation of life for thousands of people. We are truly ashamed of the irresponsible behaviour of Stora Enso&rsquo;s Finnish management.&rdquo; 
 
Corbehem paperworkers, behind their French trade unions, have vehemently lodged several public protests to Stora Enso reneging on the sale of the paper machines. Workers demonstrated in front of both Finnish and Swedish embassies in Paris (Stora Enso is a 1990s merger of two Finnish and Swedish paper concerns), and they began industrial action that blocked production from the company&rsquo;s third machine at Corbehem. 
 
Stora Enso&rsquo;s current policy of short-term market conditions first, human concerns last is best depicted in an analysis on the closing of the Berghuizer mill near Zwolle in northern Holland. Finnish management commended workers and Dutch managers for cutting fixed costs and for creating strong results through a quality programme. But European overcapacity and pricing in printing and writing papers meant the mill must be shut, Finnish managers said. 
 
They told Berghuizer workers that the company would not consider selling the mill. Stora Enso justified this position by stating that any third party buying the mill would face the same economic problems. 
 
Ahonen believes that Stora&rsquo;s business-first mentality should not be exclusive of the merits gained in running a set of business units humanely. &ldquo;The key to being competitive in the marketplace is with a skilled, professional, and motivated staff,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And the motivation part of this equation is highly affected by the way in which personnel are treated.&rdquo;

Stora Enso Ignores Honest Social Dialogue in European Cutbacks

ペルーの鉄鉱山で警察隊、契約労働者を攻撃 
 
ペルー南部で警察機動隊が、8月9日ー10日に、中国国営企業のペルー子会社でストライキ中の契約労働者のグループと衝突し、労働者の妻三人を含む七人が負傷し、内一人は重傷。3ヶ所の協同組合に雇用されている600人の契約労働者は8月7日の夕方からペルー唯一の鉄鉱山でストライキを開始した。 
 
ストライキは8月16日に終了したが、マルコーナ鉱山につながる道路をストライキ労働者が封鎖したため、28人の労働者が逮捕された。 
 
ペルーのナショナルセンターの一つ、Confederaci&oacute;n General de Trabajores del Per&uacute; (CGTP)が8日間続いたストライキ問題の解決に努力したが、警察の暴力について、外資系企業の利益を保護するための警察の行為は不可解だ、と明言した。 報道によれば、警察はストライキを制圧するために、警棒と足で労働者を殴り、催涙ガス団をストライキ労働者に向けて投げた、という。目撃者の証言によれば、警察はストライキ労働者と同様に労働者の妻たちに対しても暴力を行使した。 
 
ICEM加盟組織のペルー全国鉱山金属労連に加入する900人あまりの正規社員ストライキはがストライキ労働者のピケを超えなかったため、ストライキのために操業を停止せざるを得なかった。6月、1週間のストの後、同労組は正規労働者のために賃上げとボーナス値上げを獲得した。 
 
FNTMMSPは労働者の団体交渉権の認知 をしなかった会社側の失態を含め、3つの協同組合で働く契約労働者の労働条件及び社会保険条件について批判する声明を出した。共同組合の設置は法的責任と義務を回避するための隠れ蓑であり、適正な賃金を支給せず、労働基準に違反している、とFNTMMSPは言っている。また、契約労働者に対して深夜労働手当を給付せず、彼らが休暇を取ることを許可していない。 
 
親会社、下請会社、CGTP及び政府間で行われた交渉では賃上げ要求事項すべてを獲得することはできなかったが、1日1ドルの賃上げを確保することができた。 
 
 
チリの銅鉱山労働者、警察隊と衝突 
 
総労働者の96％の鉱山労働者、2052人が参加する世界最大の銅鉱業Minera Escondida Ltdaのストライキは2週間を過ぎた。代替労働者を使って会社側が操業を継続するのを阻止しようとストライキ労働者が封鎖した事を受け、チリ政府が交渉再開を求めたため、週末に株主筆頭会社のBHPビリトンをはじめとする経営側と交渉したが、妥結には及ばなかった。 
 
先週、交渉が暗礁に上がった後、Escondida 労組の300人あまりの組合員は事業所に通じる道路を封鎖した。警察は、チリ大統領が争議斡旋の命令を出す前の8月17日及び18日に放水車などを使い、力で封鎖解除を試みた。 
 
8月7日、ストライキ開始後、不可抗力であるにもかかわらず、Edcondidaの過半数経営権を持つBHP Billitonは代替要員を導入し、銅精錬の稼働率40％（1日3600トン生産）および採掘作業の10％を保持している。 
 
大統領命令での斡旋の過程で、組合側は13％の賃上げレベルを10％まで下げた結果、BHPも8月19日、修正案を提示したため、今週の初め、争議は妥結する可能性も出てきた。 
Escondidaの経営権を持っている企業はBHP Billiton（57.5%）、リオティント、三菱商事、世界銀行のInternational Finance Corp。 Escondidaは昨年、世界の同窓生産量の８％を担った会社である。 
 
 
英国のTGWU、 イメリーズと会談し、雇用削減を断念するよう求める 
 
先週、TGWUの代表はパリのイメリーズ本社ビルで同社の経営中枢と協議し、2008年の初めにデヴォンとリームアの工場で８００の雇用機会を削減する計画について再検討するよう求めた。 
 
TGWU は、今回の雇用機会削減は当該地域に経済の悪化をもたらし、まったく正当化できないものであるとし、会社側は8月15日の交渉時に修正案を提示することについて真剣に考えるべきである、としている。 
 
「会社側はコーンウォール工場について明るい見通しを持てる状況にあり、会社が継続して操業するために全力を尽くすべきである。また、イメリーズには永年勤続している熱心な労働者が働いている。これらの労働者は大量解雇だれるべきではない。また、雇用に代わる解雇手当はない。」とTGWU部会長、ジェニー・フォームビーは語った。 
 
イメリーズは2004年に当該地域で雇用削減を実施したが、その時、残りの800人の雇用は保持すると公約した。しかし、同社は、2006年7月初めに、前のイングリッシュ・チャイナ・クレー（１９９９年イメリーズが買収）のカオリン鉱業及び加工事業内の大半の雇用機会は削減され、事業はブラジルに移転する形となるリストラ案を提示し、この公約は破った。 
 
ICEM は同地域の雇用保持と経済活動のレベルを保持するため,TGWUとAmicus（リームア工場の労働者を組織）を支援している。 
 
 
USW、ブラジル企業にカナダ鉱山会社買収に際し、労働者と周辺住民社会の原則順守を求める 
 
世界最大の鉄鉱企業であるブラジルのCompanhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD)はカナダの鉱山会社Inco買収の入札に200億ドルで現金買収を提示した。 
 
全米鉄鉱労連はCVRDが昨年末、ライバルのカナダ企業Falconbridge.とIncoの買収劇を演じた際と同様に労働者の原則を順守するだろう、と期待をかけている。 
 
「組合としては、どのような会社がIncoを買うにしても、組合が提示する原則を順守してほしいと考えている。そのため、CVRDと率直な対話の場を持ちたいと思う。」と全米鉄鋼労連のカナダ支部長のケン・ノイマンは述べた。 
 
ノイマンは、「最低限、組合員、その家族、退職者および周辺住民社会を絶対守ることが目的だ。それに加えて、カナダ政府がカナダ国民に対する責任としてカナダにとってベストな選択はどの会社であるか、チェックするべきである、と考える。」、と述べた。 
 
以下は全米鉄鋼労連が提示する原則 
<ul>
 <li>USW組合員、組合、及び労働協約の尊重&nbsp; </li>
 <li>現労働者及び退職労働者の年金及び給付金支給義務の尊重&nbsp; 
 契約労働者を使用するよりもむしろ、現従業員の再教育及び能力開発へのコミットメント&nbsp; </li>
 <li>安全衛生及び環境問題について組合の関与と職場に於ける重要な役割を侵害しないこと。&nbsp; </li>
 <li>全事業の継続操業及び全ての事業所への大幅投資へのコミットメント&nbsp; </li>
 <li>企業計画並びに会社売買がもたらす住民、雇用及び環境へのインパクトの即時かつ全面的開示&nbsp; </li>
 <li>労働者の声の尊重と現地労組の幹部とのフォーラムを含む労使対話へのコミットメント&nbsp; </li>
 <li>及び会社を売る場合、組合の関与を認めること。 
 
 </li>
</ul>
カナダ電力労組、原発建設を支持 
 
ICEM 加盟のカナダ電力労組 (PWU)はオンタリオ州の民間企業の原発建設推進を支援している。 
 
「オンタリオ州政府はオンタリオの電源ミッスクに原発を含む政策を明言している。私たち労働組合も原発計画の開始を支持する。」と同労組のドン・マッキーノンは語った。 
 
ブルース・パワー社は現在、６基の原子炉を稼動させており、2009年稼動開始の予定で、あと２基の建設を急いでいる。同社はオンタリオ州の電力供給の20％を担っており、発電能力は6200メガワット。また、同社はカナダ環境アセスメント法下のカナダ原子力安全委員会の許可を受け、2015年以降、さらに多くの原子炉を稼動させたいとしている。 
 
PWU はオンタリオ州最大の電力労組で、同州内の原子力、水力、火力発電所、並びに電力関連規制当局並びに研究所に働く労働者を組織している。 
 
 
NUPENGと PENGASSAN、ナイジェリアの石油化学事業の民営化案を非難 
 
ICEMに加盟するナイジェリアの石油ガス２労組、NUPENG及び PENGASSANは同国のEleme Petro Chemical Ltdをタイ系持ち株会社に売る案を非難した。8月10日にラゴスで開催された共同記者会見において、両労組はポートハーコートにあるオレフィン精製所のIndorama Petrochem Co. Ltdへの売却は透明性に欠けていると批判した。 
 
NUPENG とPENGASSANは、ナイジェリアの民営化行政当局BPEはIndoramaが買収資金を集めることができなかったため、ポリエチレン及ポリプロピレン精製所の政府所有の75％経営権を同社に市場価格の30％である2億5000万ドルで売却し、政府はまだ同社の3億ドルの負債を抱えている事実を示唆する文書を提示した。 
 
両労組によれば、バンコクに本社を置くIndoramaは設立3年の会社であり、同社を所有しているのは英国のIndorama International Finance Co. Ltd. で、石油化学産業への関与は皆無の会社である。. 
 
両労組は今回の経営権売却を真っ向から非難し、組合員の将来を損ない、ナイジェリア経済と国民の利益にはならない、との言質を与えた。 
 
 
アイルランドのICEM加盟組織、スムルフィットカッパに対し労働争議行為を行使 
 
アイルランドのICEM加盟組織、SIPTUの組合員130人は経営側が提案した病欠休業無給制度の導入に反対し、8月14日、コークにあるスムルフィットカッパ紙加工工場で1日ストを行使した。問題が解決しない場合には、ストは今日及び月曜日にも継続される予定。 
 
保険料が倍になり、長期病欠時の週間賃金額が平均１２７ユーロまで下がるという労働裁判所の調停案を拒否した後、労働者らはストに入った。 
 
SIPTUの代表は、「労働者たちは永年、適正な病欠有給制度の導入を求めて闘ってきた。私たちは,スムルフィットは労働者の負担なしで病欠有給制度を負担する財力他あると考えている。工場の業績は良い。昨年度は200万ユーロの出来高であった。スムルフィットグループ全体で何十億ユーロもの出来高を記録している。」と語った。当該工場の労働者はまた、時間外労働を拒否し、作業ルールに従った働くキャンペーンを実施している。 
 
 
ピレリ、賃上げ案修正で、英国の労働争議行為を回避 
 
英国の2労組、TGWUとAmicusは先週、1日ストを会社側に通告したが、この後、会社側から賃上げ修正案を受け取った。ピレリは英国のミッドランド工場に働く1100人の労働者に対して前回回答の2.2％から、3％に賃上げ率を修正する回答を示した 
 
もう一つの工場の労働者と労働組合リーダーは8月24日にストを行使することに決定した。TGWU とAmicusの組合員は現在、会社側の回答について検討中である。ピレリのスポークスマンは、会社側としては全国レベルで展開されている労働争議を解決し、協約妥結に持って行きたい、と考えている。 
 
会社側は4月の団体交渉では賃上げ率1.1% の回答を示した。2回目の回答は2.2％であった。これを受け、組合員の75％は労働争議行使について賛成の票を投じた。TGWUはピレリの2工場に働く大半の労働者を組織している。 
 
 
IGBCE 、ドイツ政府に遺伝因子工学について見解提示を求める 
 
ドイツの加盟組織、IGBCEは 、先週、連邦政府に対して、ハイテク雇用機会創出を通じて製造業の市場競争性を助長するよう、改めて要請した。同労組は、北ライン／ウェストファリア州政府の科学技術省とともに、安全な遺伝因子工学に向けて明確な法規制を策定するよう、連邦政府に対し、共同で緊急要請した。 
 
IGBCE と同科学技術省は、ドイツは環境にやさしい遺伝因子工学の開発研究ではで世界のリーダーであるため、政府はこの世界的評価を保持するためにも明確な行動を取るべきである、と強調した。 
 
共同声明の中で、IGBCEのフベルタス・シュモルト会長と州政府化学技術省のアンドレアス・ピンクワルト教授は、連邦政府が技術革新関連する具体的な法規を策定できないために、ドイツが世界市場において不利な立場となるような事態になってはいけない、との言質を与えるとともに、連邦政府に対して、ライフサイエンスの分野での研究開発と技術の起業の可能性を開き、雇用創出及び拡大に向けて努力するべきである、と求めた。 
 
IGBCEはドイツ国内でバイテク産業の技術発展を求める労働組織として有名であり、ハイテク労働者のフレキシブルで良い労働条件の獲得という面では、主導的立場を保持している。

ICEM InBrief 2006年８月21日　６3号

Archive

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 17

ITUC Founding: A New International Trade Union Confederation

Joint ICEM-IUF Project in Balkans Gets Website

UK’s North Sea Divers and Support Staff Win 44 Percent Salary Increases

Spanish Gas Station Workers Strike for Realistic Working Conditions

Goodyear Ordered to Take Back Thai Contract Worker with Ten Years’ Backpay

Steelworkers, Goodyear Return to Bargaining in Six-week Tyre Strike

Kumba’s Namibian Mining Strike Ends in One-Year Agreement

Stora Enso Ignores Honest Social Dialogue in European Cutbacks

ICEM InBrief 2006年８月21日　６3号

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ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 17

ITUC Founding: A New International Trade Union Confederation

Joint ICEM-IUF Project in Balkans Gets Website

UK’s North Sea Divers and Support Staff Win 44 Percent Salary Increases

Spanish Gas Station Workers Strike for Realistic Working Conditions

Goodyear Ordered to Take Back Thai Contract Worker with Ten Years’ Backpay

Steelworkers, Goodyear Return to Bargaining in Six-week Tyre Strike

Kumba’s Namibian Mining Strike Ends in One-Year Agreement

Stora Enso Ignores Honest Social Dialogue in European Cutbacks

ICEM InBrief 2006年８月21日 ６3号

ICEM InBrief 2006年８月21日　６3号