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On 6 October, leaders of Indonesian FSP-KEP (SPSI), the Trade Union of Chemical, Energy, and Mine Workers (CEMWU), officially extended a 30-day strike at the world&rsquo;s largest gold and third largest copper mine one more month &ndash; until 15 November &ndash; because of mine management&rsquo;s absence at a provincial forum to address issues in the dispute. 
 
Community leaders also formed a committee and visited different locations of the vast mining complex in order to assess the number of outside workers recruited to break the strike. The committee visits were fired upon, with reports today that one protestor was shot dead. 
 
The Grasberg mine in Papua Province, New Guinea Island, is 91% owned by US-based Freeport-McMoRan. The PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union of CEMWU is in dispute with its subsidiary, PT Freeport Indonesia, over unwillingness to meet the salary demands of 10,000 miners. 
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A two-year labour agreement expired on 1 October. The company is offering only an 11% increase in each year of a new two-year agreement, below that recommended by Indonesian government mediation last month. 

Last week, government officials of West Papua Province, leaders of the province&rsquo;s Parliament, the Papua Peoples&rsquo; Council of seven indigenous groups, a human rights committee, and the PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union of CEMWU waited patiently for mine managers to show up to address issues. None did. 
 
This came a week after the ICEM intervened with Freeport-McMoRan&rsquo;s chairman asking him to personally step in to resolve the dispute, which threatens global copper and gold supplies. The ICEM received a response from a senior vice president of Freeport-McMoRan Copper &amp; Gold stating the executive had full confidence in managers of PT Freeport Indonesia. 
 
The response stated, &ldquo;The union maintains its unrealistic demands for compensation, which are grossly inconsistent with Indonesian wage levels and, substantially in excess of the wages of mining workers in other countries performing similar duties.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Freeport-McMoRan posted a net profit of US$1.37 billion in the second quarter of 2011 and the person ICEM and the CEMWU is trying engage to resolve the dispute, James Moffet, took in a total compensation package in 2010 of US$21.5 million. 
 
The community forum meeting in West Papua took a decision to write PT Freeport Indonesia managers to halt the threats and intimidation of workers in attempting to get them to quit the strike. They also sent a statement to the US embassy in Jakarta encouraging a diplomatic initiative to get Moffet to resolve the bitter strike. 
 
PT Freeport Indonesia managers have broken global labour norms by pressuring strikers to sign statements that they will quit the strike. And they have also removed the job duties of 138 shop stewards, as well as isolating union leaders from workers by posting security guards around them. 
 
The ICEM will continue to support the PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union of CEMWU in the union&rsquo;s fight for justice, dignity, and a fair 2011-2012 wage package.

Indonesian FSP-KEP (SPSI) Miners Extend Freeport-McMoRan Strike, One Shot Dead

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The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) held its first mass mobilisation since a new team took over the 82-member confederation last spring. The 17 September march and manifestation in Wroclaw, Poland, against austerity platforms delivered the obvious: jobs and wages are not the enemy of the economy, but the engine. 
 
Some 40,000 trade unionists, representing national labour centres across Europe, manifested in the southwestern Polish city to meet head on the two-day meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). They demanded that austerity measures not be part of any revamped European financial integration. 
 
While Member State economic and finance ministers were in Poland to craft greater monetary discipline in crisis-time Europe, unionists and their leaders said better economic governance must come in improved employment opportunities and higher social standards. 
<img alt="" src="" width="241" height="160" />
The ETUC condemned the European Central Bank, the Commission, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for pressuring Member States &ldquo;to adopt an overambitious pace of fiscal consolidation, to deregulate job and social protection systems, to weaken and decentralise wage formation and collective bargaining systems.&rdquo; 
 
ETUC General Secretary Bernadette S&eacute;gol said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re here to tell our politicians that they shouldn&rsquo;t be sawing through the branch they are sitting on.&rdquo; She said salary cuts and social benefit reductions do not lead to growth and do not reduce debt. 
 
&ldquo;We believe there are other options,&rdquo; said S&eacute;gol, &ldquo;such as European (finance) obligations, taxing financial transactions, ending tax havens and tax evasion&rdquo; and implementing a fair system of taxation. (See the <a href="http://www.etuc.org/a/9013 ">ETUC statement to ECOFIN</a> here.) 
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The Wroclaw manifestation was held jointly with ETUC&rsquo;s two Polish national labour centres, Solidarność and the All Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ). The colourful march started at Olympic Stadium and passed in front of Centennial Hall conference centre &ndash; venue for ECOFIN &ndash; before ending up in Wroclaw&rsquo;s old city. Throughout, the chants of jobs, workers&rsquo; rights, social rights, and solidarity were heard. 
 
ETUC President Ignacio Fern&aacute;ndez Toxo, the President of CC.OO of Spain, said neoliberal financial ideology has proven to be a failure and warned that current austerity agendas will not solve the crisis but only deepen it. ETUC Deputy General Secretary Jozef Niemiec, a former engineer from Krakow, Poland, and stalwart of NSZZ Solidarność, reiterated those comments, stating austerity measures &ldquo;will only worsen the current economic and social situation.&rdquo; 
 
The ETUC rally was attended by trade unionists from Spain, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Hungary, Lithuania, and Slovenia, with the largest delegation hailing from Poland, which currently holds the presidency of Europe.&nbsp;

Economic Growth Through Jobs, ETUC Tells Euro Finance Ministers

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On 18-20 June 2012, a new Global Union Federation (GUF) will see daylight at a founding congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. 
 
But what shall the new International be called? Now you have the chance to make a proposal. 
 
The organization will unite 50 million workers in more than 140 countries in mining, energy, metal, electronics, chemicals, paper, rubber, materials, garments, shoe, leather textile industries. 
 
It aims to connect workers, fight for labour rights and build global solidarity across entire supply chains. It will be a strong counterweight to multinational companies and promote social justice, democracy and a sustainable future for the whole world. 
 
Such a powerful organization needs a fresh and identifiable name. Your contribution is welcome. Please send your proposal by e-mail to <a href="mailto:imf.icem.itglwf@gmail.com">imf.icem.itglwf@gmail.com</a> at the latest by 31 October 2011. 
 
A joint Executive Committee meeting of the IMF, ICEM, and ITGLWF will decide upon a name at the end of February 2012.

What Name for New GUF? Suggest It!

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Three trade union leaders at Euroasian Steels in Kutaisi, Georgia, will be released from jail late this week after serving ten-day administrative arrests. Emilo Gumberidze, Irakli Iobidze, and Malkhaz Gogiava were rounded up in a marketplace in Kutaisi eight days ago, three days after <a href="/en/4-Chemicals-Pharmaceuticals/4667-ICEM-Scorns-Blatant-Police-Repression-in-Putting-Down-Georgian-Metal-Strike">Georgian police brutally broke a strike</a> there by ICEM affiliate Metallurgical, Mining and Chemical Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia. 
 
The three were charged with narcotics possession/consumption and given drug tests. All three plainly passed. But in expressing the ridiculousness of the charge, the three were cited with disrespecting police. On 19 September, the Kutaisi City Court sentenced Gumberidze, Iobidze, and Gogiava to ten days in jail. 
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The sentence was a ruse to lock up trade unionists who are leading a legitimate workers&rsquo; movement decrying a two-year-old worksite that has no wage structures, no plan on safety and health, no adherence to global labour standards, no overtime pay, but limitless and mandatory work at low pay. When workers exercised their global right to strike under such conditions, they were met by a police crackdown reminiscent of a police state. Twenty-nine steelworkers at Euroasian, or known locally as Hercules, have been fired in recent weeks for exerting their voice over the horrid and despicable working conditions. 
 
Euroasian Steels is an Indian-Georgian enterprise, 87.5% owned by Manaksia Ltd.&rsquo;s Euroasian Ventures, and 12.5% by Paata Chkhenkeli, a Georgian construction engineer who has close ties with a government eager for business but void of labour or regulatory statutes. Hercules is a mini-mill that rolls rebar and steel billet from molten iron scrap and then sells the steel bar to central Asia&rsquo;s construction industry. 
<img alt="" src="" width="275" height="160" />
Georgian police brutally break strike: 15 September 
Photo: RIA Novosti 
It employs 400 workers, including 130 Indian nationals who are segregated from the Georgian workers and who themselves are treated like indentured servants. Their passports are held by management, their salaries sent back to India, and they are given a small stipend to live on. On 21 September &ndash; separate from the Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union&rsquo;s clash &ndash; Indian workers went on a two-hour work stoppage to protest their dire conditions. It was their second strike in recent months. 
 
The situation at Euoasian Steels in Kutaisi is gaining widespread attention, which cannot be good for the Georgian business climate or the country&rsquo;s social record. The ICEM sent a sharp letter of protest to Georgia President Mikheil Saakasvhili and Prime Minister Nika Gilauri on 19 September over the previous week&rsquo;s blatant human rights abuses by police and government authorities. (An <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/4668-ICEM-Condemns-Georgia-Police-in-Suppressing-Union-Rights-at-Euroasian-Steels">ICEM news release</a> is here.)&nbsp; 
 
LabourStart has started a new <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1101">Georgia campaign</a> on the most recent repression and can be found here.&nbsp;And several protest actions by the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), NGO, and others in Georgian civil society were held last week at government ministries in Tbilisi and provincial offices in Kutaisi. These will continue this week, culminating in a mass action at Georgia&rsquo;s parliament on 1 October.

Georgian Trade Union Leaders Jailed for Passing Drug Test

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Government-mediated talks broke off last week and labour relations further soured between Freeport-McMoRan and 8,000 striking Indonesian miners of ICEM affiliate FSP-KEP (SPSI), the Trade Union of Chemical, Energy, and Mine Workers (CEMWU). The PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union of CEMWU this week meets the halfway mark of its 30-day strike that now could be prolonged at the world&rsquo;s largest gold and third largest copper mining complex &ndash; Freeport McMoRan&rsquo;s Grasberg mine in eastern Papua Province, New Guinea Island. 
 
Management spite was apparent at the strike&rsquo;s start on 15 September and it worsened following the breakdown of three days of talks with the Manpower Ministry in Jakarta on 22 September. PT Freeport managers relieved 138 union shop stewards of their job duties on Friday. The union responded by stating the strike likely will be extended beyond 15 October. 
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Since the wage, pension, and community funds strike started, managers have coerced workers to return to work with threats of dismissal, they have pressed contractors&rsquo; employees into production, and now they try to decimate the union by sacking union stewards and isolating the branch union&rsquo;s other leaders. 
 
PT Freeport management has attempted to coerce workers to sign a statement saying they will return to work or face getting fired. But despite this, only 500 workers are manning operations and many are staff of contractors. (See a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1109.indo%20contractors.docx ">list of contractors</a> here.) 
 
Freeport-McMoRan last week issued a statement last week saying it was losing three million pounds of copper production daily, and 5,000 ounces of lost gold output daily. To increase pressure on miners to abandon the strike, the company also warned of lost revenues to the Indonesian government and to the seven native groups around Timika, Papua, that Freeport-McMoRan is obliged to support. 
 
The opening salvo came at the strike&rsquo;s outset when Managing Director Armando Mahler announced a &ldquo;no-work, no-pay&rdquo; policy. After last week&rsquo;s mediation failure, union and government sources said &ldquo;complete distrust&rdquo; exists between Mahler and his team and the union. 
 
Thus, PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union asked that US-based Freeport-McMoRan Chairman James Moffett enter discussions. Mine union leaders remember Moffett&rsquo;s visit a few years ago when he encouraged workplace leaders to engage in &ldquo;win-win&rdquo; principles of labour relations. 
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At last week&rsquo;s mediation, PT Freeport, 91% owned by Freeport-McMoRan and 9% by Indonesia&rsquo;s government, said it would not budge from a wage offer of 11% in each year of a two-year accord. (The bi-annual contract comes due on 1 October.) The average miner&rsquo;s wage rate at Grasberg is US$1.50-per-hour. The union was seeking a doubling of that to US$3-an-hour but in mediation last week, the FSP-KEP miners&rsquo; branch union offered a compromise and proposed a 65% increase. The company would not move from 11%. 
 
It has offered slight increases in education and housing support and in shift pay, but has said it would not deviate from wage increments that other foreign investors pay in Indonesia. It also refuses to base a pension scheme &ndash; 50% paid into by workers &ndash; on multiplied years of service, or hear the union&rsquo;s demands for enhanced development and opportunities for the indigenous people of Papua. 
 
Grasberg is Freeport-McMoRan&rsquo;s biggest revenue maker and a year ago, the company&rsquo;s chief financial officer called it &ldquo;very low cost and a high cash flow generating asset with a very long life.&rdquo; The company&rsquo;s revenues this year from Grasberg are expected to be lower because it is mining lower-grade sections of the open pit mine. But Freeport-McMoRan is bullish on the future; it is developing a deep underground mine adjacent to Grasberg that contains high grades of copper and gold in the same ore body. 
 
The ICEM has intervened in this dispute and through its Indonesian Affiliates&rsquo; Union Chairman, D. Patombong Sjaiful of FSP-KEP, is giving direct aid and support to the Grasberg strikers. They need the solidarity and support of all miners and all trade unions in mining and other industrial sectors. Please send a short message in your own words to the <a href="mailto:Puk.fsp.kep.spsi.ptfi@yahoo.com; 2391936@gmail.com; Sudiro_930haulage@yahoo.com; pp.fspkep_spsi@yahoo.co.id; parorronganjuli@gmail.com; me2union@yahoo.co.id">PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union</a>. 
 
In ICEM outreach to the union, when asked to characterise the strike, one officer responded by saying, &ldquo;determination. That&rsquo;s the one word that describes workers. We&rsquo;re determined to change our future through the work we do for this company.&rdquo;

PT Freeport Mine Managers Turn Rabid on Indonesian Grasberg Strikers

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From the International Textile, Garment &amp; Leather Workers' Federation
A historic agreement has been signed, 7 June,&nbsp;regarding trade union rights in factories in Indonesia. The pact was signed by Indonesian textile, clothing and footwear unions, major supplier factories and the major sportswear brands, including Adidas, Nike and Puma. A keynote speech was delivered by Mr. Muji Handoyo, General Director of Labour Inspection, who expressed his appreciation of the efforts of the parties to ensure that freedom of association is respected. 
 
Workers in Indonesia and in other countries producing sportswear are frequently prevented from organizing at sportswear supplier factories and from carrying out union activities. Recent research covering 18 factories in Indonesia found that all had taken anti-union measures. 
 
&ldquo;This protocol is important because our law does not cover technical implementation of freedom of association. It also ensures brands take responsibility to ensure respect for union rights&rdquo; states Lilis Mahmudah, Head of Program for SPN. &ldquo;Our members have been waiting for this agreement to be concluded. It will help us in our bargaining efforts&rdquo; adds Emelia Yanti, General Secretary of GSBI. 
 
The agreement has been made possible by the Play Fair campaign, which since 2004 has been campaigning for global sportswear brands to take concrete steps to improve conditions in their supply chains. The campaign was represented at the signing by Oxfam Australia, the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation and the Clean Clothes Campaign. 
 
&ldquo;The signing of this freedom of association protocol is an important first step in improving the situation for the hundreds of thousands of sportswear workers facing low wages and poor conditions&rdquo; says Jeroen Merk of the CCC. &ldquo;The real test, however, will be in its implementation&rdquo; adds Ashling Seely of the ITGLWF. 
 
In the run up to the London 2012 Olympics the Play Fair Campaign will be encouraging other sportswear and garment brands to sign up to the <a href="http://www.play-fair.org/media/wp-content/uploads/FOA-Protocol_English-translation_May-20112.pdf">protocol</a>.

Indonesia:  Historic Pact Strengthens Sportswear Workers&#039; Union Rights

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ICEM affiliates in the chemicals industry in South-East Europe met in a sectoral regional conference from 9-10 June in Belgrade, Serbia. The meeting came within the framework of the joint ICEM, European Mine, Chemical, Energy Federation (EMCEF), International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (EMF), International Union of Food and Agriculture Association (IUF), and the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) project, which is supported by the German Friedrich-Ebert Foundation (FES). 
 
The attending unions saw representation from some 30 unionists from KNG of Slovenia, EKN of Croatia, SSHNFBIH of Bosnia/Herzegovina, and SSHNS and GS HNER Nezavisnost of Serbia. 
<img src="" width="170" height="128" alt="" />
Mato Lalic
Chaired by Mato Lalic, coordinator of the joint project, the conference welcomed a representative from Serbia&rsquo;s Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, who spoke on problems arising from company restructurings in the chemicals industry, resulting in job losses and bankruptcies. Comment from participants included the issue of unpaid wages as a result of company liquidations. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs, Kemal &Ouml;zkan, gave an overview on global trends in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. He spoke on trends in employment, wages, and overall working conditions. 
 
At plenary sessions, particular country reports were delivered by Danijel &Scaron;pičak and Ivan Tomac from Croatia, Tomaž Kumer from Slovenia, Kata Iveljić from Bosnia/Herzegovina, and Zoran Pantelić from Serbia. All reports indicate that recovery is occurring after the global economic crisis, except that employment levels are still low. 
 
The conference also addressed the issue of rising precarious employment through a presentation by Jacim Milunovic, one of the coordinators of the joint project, who guided participants on ways to defend standard forms of employment, and to resist Contract and Agency Labour (CAL). 
 
The participants were given ICEM&rsquo;s CAL Guide amd IUF&rsquo;s manual on outsourcing. One point that was emphasized is that legislative environments in South-East Europe are not favorable for workers, which gives important responsibilities to trade unions. The conference concluded with a a joint committment to keep solidarity alive among the unions of the region in the chemicals and non-metal sectors. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan also travelled to Bosnia/Herzergovina at the invitation of Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non Metal Workers&rsquo; Union (SSHNFBIH), led by Kata Iveljić. He visited the Canton of Tuzla, since the region is a large industrial zone. SSHNFBIH has large membership in workplaces in the cities of Tuzla and Lukavac, but some industrial relations challenges exist related to social dialogue. 
 
With a purpose to show global support to SSHNFBIH, the ICEM met with Prime Minister Sead Causevic and Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining Zeljko Knezicek, both of the Canton of Tuzla. The group later was welcomed by Dzevad Mujkic, mayor of the Lukavac community. &Ouml;zkan was interviewed by several local and cantonal televisions about purpose and results of the visit. 
 
The ICEM delegation also visited Sisecam Soda, subsidiary of a Turkish multinational company located at Lukavac, and met with General Director Umut Baris S&ouml;nmez together with local union officials. Turkey&rsquo;s Sisecam Group purchased 80% of shares of Soda Factory Lukavac Bosna i Hercegovina following a privatisation bid in 2006. 
<img src="" width="212" height="159" alt="" />
Since then, Sisecam Soda and SSHNFBIH developed a constructive social dialogue and industrial relations&rsquo; system on restructuring the workplace. Since there had been no sector-wide agreement covering workers, an individual company agreement had been signed but due to economic challenges, yearly wage agreements were not signed for 2009 and 2010. ICEM and SSHNFBIH stressed clear expectations that the company re-start dialogue with immediate effect. SSHNFBIH and Sisecam Soda are expected to settle pending issues very soon.

Unions in Chemicals Continue Struggle in South-East Europe

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&ldquo;The Chemical Industry in 2020 &ndash; a New Direction is Possible&rdquo; is the motto of the project initiated by ICEM&rsquo;s Brazilian affiliate, the ABC Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union, with business, trade unions, local governments, and civil society. The project was launched at a panel discussion held on 10 June in Santo Andr&eacute; that addressed economic dimensions of chemical industry. 
 
On 8 July and 12 August, respectively, further debates will ensue on social and environmental dimensions. The final international conference will then take place on 26-28 September. 
 
For composition of panel discussions and conferences, the ABC Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union contacted with individuals from labour, business, and local and federal government agencies, as well as with the ILO, Dieese, Inmetro, and others. The idea is also finish off with a conference to include former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. 
<img src="" width="127" height="189" alt="" />
&quot;In the International Year of Chemistry, we want workers to enter into debates in chemicals over economic, social, and environmental responsibilities with a view to contribute to discussions for reaching the Rio +20 goals (year 2020 goals),&rdquo; said ABC Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union President Paul Lage. &ldquo;Our initiative aims to discuss with all social actors the promotion of sustainable development in the Brazilian chemical industry on social dialogue and decent work.&quot; 
 
The project received support from industry. &quot;It's an opportunity to take stock of all actions that meet the goals for 2020,&rdquo; said Luis Paulo Bresciani of the Inter-municipal Consortium of the Greater ABC Region. He added that the initiative is attune to the present with a view toward the future through an objective discussion on sustainability. 
 
&ldquo;The future of the chemical industry is the future of our region,&rdquo; Bresciani said, referring to the ABC region of seven municipalities around S&atilde;o Paulo. The industry will benefit not only from the debates but also in terms of public policies that will come from them, he said. 
 
&ldquo;ICEM is proud of this important initiative led by our affiliate ABC Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union,&rdquo; said ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs Kemal &Ouml;zkan. &ldquo;This is a clear example on how our affiliates in chemicals mobilize for industrial policy and sustainable development.&rdquo;

Brazil’s ABC Chemical Workers’ Union Launches Social Dialogue Project

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Delegates to the 26th Congress of ICEM Turkish affiliate Lastik-İş, the Rubber, Chemical, Petroleum Workers&rsquo; Union belonging to DISK national labour centre, unanimously re-elected Abdullah Karacan as President for the upcoming four-year period. The Congress was held from 18-19 June in Istanbul, with 300 delegates and 150 guests attending, including ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs Kemal &Ouml;zkan and European Mine, Chemical, Energy Federation (EMCEF) Political Secretary Sylvain Lefebvre. 
 
The Congress also welcomed two prominent ex-officials of DISK, former President S&uuml;leyman &Ccedil;elebi and former General Secretary Musa &Ccedil;am, who were elected to the Turkey National Assembly as deputies during recent 12 June general elections. 
 
The Congress opened with a 40-minute documentary on 62-year-old Lastik-İş and then discussion occurred on activities of the union over the last four years with the challenges and successes. 
<img src="" width="214" height="160" alt="" />
Lastik-İş Executive Committee, from left, Muharrem &Ouml;zen, Alaaddin Sarı, Abdullah Karacan, İhsan Malko&ccedil;, Nejdet Ulusoy
&ldquo;The Turkish trade union movement has been facing very difficult changes in terms of trade union rights and freedoms and as a result, the number of workers covered by collective agreements has dropped below 700,000 across the entire country,&rdquo; said Karacan in his opening address. &ldquo;Turkey does not deserve this picture and we need to reverse the trend.&rdquo; 
 
Abdullah Karacan added, &ldquo;According to the international statistics, Turkey, together with Mexico and Chile, are the top countries globally where income equality is the worst.&rdquo; 
 
Turkey&rsquo;s poor record on health and safety was also underscored, with statistics revealing that three workers are killed on average each day in work-related accidents. Lastik-İş delegates also voiced their intense struggle to limit precarious employment which shows a rising trend. The Congress applauded the Executive Committee with its performance in recruiting new members in existing and new plants, some of which are multinational companies such as Henkel from Germany, KCC from South Korea, as well as financial management and the performance of the union with new projects establishing social facilities that serve union members. The delegates also announced strong support for creation of new industrial union federations at global and European levels. 
 
At the end of the Congress, the new Executive Committee was introduced following re-election of President Karacan. The Executive is composed of Alaaddin Sarı, General Secretary; Nejdet Ulusoy, Head of Education, Press, Publication and Legal Affairs; Muharrem &Ouml;zen, Head of Collective Bargaining and Organizing; and İhsan Malko&ccedil;, Head of Financial Affairs.

Turkish Lastik-İş Re-elects Abdullah Karacan President

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The ICEM Turkish affiliate &Ccedil;IMSE-İş, the Cement, Ceramics, Pottery and Glass Industry Workers&rsquo; Union, announced the successful conclusion of a sector-wide labour agreement in the cement industry for 5,800 workers at 45 cement plants. 
 
The new two-year collective agreement will run from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2012 and averts a strike called by the union&rsquo;s presidential committee on 2 June. The agreement calls for a 7% increase in salaries plus an added YTL 25, as well as an increase in social benefits ranging from 7.6% to 27.81%. &Ccedil;IMSE-İş also managed to achieve a 100% extra payment for work performed on weekends. 
<img src="" width="250" height="112" alt="" />
The union negotiated the agreement with the Cement Industry Employers&rsquo; Federation (CEIS) for which it had been bargaining with since 7 January. 
 
&Ccedil;IMSE-İş also reported that it had concluded talks in the ceramics industry, which it had been negotiating with the Soil Industry Employers&rsquo; Association of Turkey. The employers grouping covers such Turkish companies as Eczacıbaşı Yapı Gere&ccedil;leri Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, Vitra Karo Sanayi AŞ, Matel Hammadde (Serel Seramik) Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, T&uuml;tk Ytong Sanayi AŞ, Ege Seramik Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, and Ege Vitrifiye Sağlık Gere&ccedil;leri Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ. 
 
This agreement covers 3,200 workers and is union members and is also valid from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2012. Wages will increase by 7% with an added YTL 30, while social benefit increases will average about 20%. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM salutes the achievement of &Ccedil;IMSE-İş,&rdquo; said General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;After a severe period in the materials industries brought on by the financial crisis, these two sector-wide agreements bring important improvements to Turkish workers and serve as excellent examples of mature industrial relations and social dialogue.&rdquo;

Cement Agreement Reached in Turkey, Strike Averted

Archive

Indonesian FSP-KEP (SPSI) Miners Extend Freeport-McMoRan Strike, One Shot Dead

Economic Growth Through Jobs, ETUC Tells Euro Finance Ministers

What Name for New GUF? Suggest It!

Georgian Trade Union Leaders Jailed for Passing Drug Test

PT Freeport Mine Managers Turn Rabid on Indonesian Grasberg Strikers

Indonesia: Historic Pact Strengthens Sportswear Workers' Union Rights

Unions in Chemicals Continue Struggle in South-East Europe

Brazil’s ABC Chemical Workers’ Union Launches Social Dialogue Project

Turkish Lastik-İş Re-elects Abdullah Karacan President

Cement Agreement Reached in Turkey, Strike Averted

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