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ICEM affiliate, the Korean Chemical and Textile Workers’ Federation (KCTF), and its national centre, KCTU, decided to launch a boycott against the products of GS Caltex (formerly LG-Caltex) in Korea. GS Caltex is a joint venture between Chevron and Korean GS Holding, operating mainly on the oil refinery sector. 
The decision to call for a boycott, which was taken earlier this month, comes after years of fruitless negotiations with the company. The origin of the dispute goes back to July 2004, when the GS Caltex union went on strike after negotiations had broken down with the company. Main issues included the union’s demand for a five-day, 40-hour work-week and their call for the non-discrimination of contract workers. 
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Union demands were not only met by an unwilling employer, but also by riot police, sent in by the Korean government, which brutally suppressed the striking workers. After a 20-day strike, the company, while still refusing to give in to any of the union’s demands, displayed its ruthlessness by retaliating against returning workers by selecting, at the gate and with police assistance, who could enter and who could not. 
The company dismissed nearly all union officials. It also harassed families of workers with warnings of dismissal. In addition, eight trade union representatives were arrested and sentenced to two or three years in prison. In total, 650 workers were disciplined with a three-month work suspension. 
In support of the boycott, Brother Bae, President of KCFT, went on hunger strike for an indefinite period on 1 April.

Korean KCTF Calls for Korean Boycott of GS Caltex

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Turkish ICEM affiliate Cimse-Is (Cement, Ceramics, Pottery and Glass industry Workers' Union) announced this week its plan to start a series of strikes at 43 different cement plants throughout Turkey. 
The decision by the union’s Executive Board follows the failure of negotiations with the Turkish employers’ organisation, which had started on March 17. Both parties were unable to reach a consensus, despite various efforts by the union. Actions will start at 23 plants on May Day, with an additional 20 plants being struck as of May 8.

Strikes Announced at 43 Different Cement Plants in Turkey

Paperworkers at International Paper (IP) Co.’s Inverurie Mill in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, voted by a three-to-one margin to accept a new two-year accord. The vote is a union victory, preventing the US-based paper giant from imposing harsh and unnecessary contract measures. 
ICEM affiliate Amicus, which successfully negotiated the agreement, credited the solid resolve of workers at the printing and writing papers mill, as well as the ICEM’s IP Global Workers’ Network with the win. 
After a series of industrial actions, which included four 4-hour strikes from 23 March to 6 April, International Paper moved from a pay freeze to agreeing to 2% wage increases, both in 2006 and 2007. The company also backed away from a proposal, inserted late into the negotiations, to only grant the 2% pay hike after workers ratified the agreement, with the 2007 raise kicking in a year later. Amicus succeeded in getting the 2006 pay raise backdated to the standard 1 January, with another 2% awarded on 1 January 2007. 
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“Our membership did a magnificent job in standing up to one of the biggest pulp and paper groups in the world,” said Amicus Assistant General Secretary Tony Burke. “We had instant solidarity throughout the world, not only from unions at other International Paper mills, but from paperworkers’ unions everywhere.” Burke added that Inverurie Mill workers were “energised” by such support, and that the industrial actions carved “fierce resistance” among workers, with 40 more workers electing to join the union during the dispute. 
International Paper agreed to the non-concessionary terms on 11 April, two days before workers were set to escalate the dispute into an 8-hour strike. The vote was counted by Amicus in Aberdeenshire today. 
 
Throughout the month-long industrial dispute, Amicus was publicly calling for outside mediation to bring the two parties together but IP management refused, preferring a “negotiations-by-ultimatum” style. Managers finally gave up that approach in day-long talks on 11 April, with the UK’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) participating. 
 
“We appreciate the effort the ICEM put forward, as well as the efforts of all affiliated trade unions that showed such strong support,” said Burke. “The wage package, with it now backdated to January 1st, is a good result and it runs roughly in line with the current inflation rate in the UK.” 
 
Upon hearing the bargaining result, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs congratulated Amicus and its membership at the Inverurie Mill. “The credit belongs with the workers and with their Union,” he said. “They stood strong and the ICEM is proud to have played a role in this successful outcome.” 
 
For more background information on this dispute: 
 
<a href="/?id=112&doc=1747&la=EN" type="internal">Eight-Hour Strike Next Week at International Paper’s Scottish Mill</a> (ICEM InBrief - 6 April 2006)

UK’s Amicus Union Triumphs in International Paper Settlement

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In Finland on 1 May, a new policy takes effect that will no longer restrict the free movement of labour from the new EU Member States. Over the past two years, since the addition of ten new countries into the EU, Finnish control mechanisms have been put in place through a subscriber liability law. The legislation now makes it harder to abuse foreign workers, and also puts meaningful stops to the grey economy. 
 
Companies are now obligated to investigate the handling of taxation, social security payments and work practices of their subcontractors. The Finnish government will also seek to tighten control over foreign agency labour through a new policy that requires foreign workers from EU states to register at an employment bureau within two weeks of arrival. Finnish trade unions have fully endorsed the policy changes. 
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In the United States on May Day, a day that bosses in the late 19th century stripped of significance so that American workers would not have the same Labour Day, immigrant workers will wage a general strike as well as a consumer strike. The strikes are further protests against restrictive measures against immigrants that have surfaced in the US Congress. 
The day will vividly illustrate not only the jobs that immigrants fill in America, but also the purchasing power they have in the marketplace. Leading up to the twin strikes, businesses and companies in several large US cities have fired thousands of migrant workers who participated in marches in March and April. 
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In Belgium on 1 May, trade unionist Paul Lootens and historians Marie-Louise De Roeck and Julie Urbain will unveil their new book, Tutti Cadaveri: The Trial of the Catastrophe at the Bois du Cazier in Marcinelle. The book depicts the aftermath of Belgium’s worst mining tragedy in history, a fire that raged inside a coal mine near the Wallonian town of Marcinelle, killing 262 miners. 
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The tragedy occurred on 8 August 1956 and the book marks the 50th anniversary of the devastating loss of so many lives. The book’s title, Tutti Cadaveri, comes from an Italian rescuer who, after surfacing from the mine, said, “All corpses.” 
The book is available from Aden Publishers for €22 and can be ordered from Aden by contacting editionsaden@skynet.be, or calling +32 2534 46 61. The ICEM will bring further attention to the 50th Anniversary events as the August date draws closer. 
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On Monday, 1 May, German IGBCE President Hubertus Schmoldt will deliver a major speech in Osnabrück on some fundamental issues affecting Germany and its trade unions, including joblessness, health reform and an energy policy. 
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The trade union leader will warn against the notion that the German economy can be strengthened by lowering wages, or through increasing the number of hours in the work week. IGBCE also calls for minimum standards, including wage levels, to be maintained for all sectors of the economy. 
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From Argentina on May Day comes a greeting from ICEM affiliate SUTNA. The union reminds us of the origins of International Workers’ Day—the fight for an eight-hour workday in the US city of Chicago, which produced a mass general strike that was met by brutal repression and then execution of those leading the strike by the state. “SUTNA salutes, on the occasion of this International Workers’ Day, all workers who continue the excellent work that was started by the martyrs of Chicago.” 
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The All Pakistan Trade Union Federation, which has organised huge May Day rallies for Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi/Islamabad and Quetta, sends this message: “The growing economic might of multinationals and transnational corporations, and the imposition of policies of globalisation, have led to an unprecedented large-scale offensive against the democratic and social achievements of working people, and against the trade union movement.” 
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And from Azerbaijan, Jahangir Aliyev, chairman of the Oil and Gas Industry Workers Trade Union (OGWU), expresses “health, happiness and great progress for the welfare of all labour people.”

May Day Actions, Greetings from Around the World

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A coal mine blast in China that killed four women on 6 April has drawn angry responses from women’s groups. Nine miners died when the explosion occurred at Dongtang Coal Mine in central Hunan Province. Production at the mine had been suspended earlier this year when owners had failed to apply for a work safety certificate. Since 1993, Chinese mine safety law forbids women from working in underground mines. 
 
The gas blast, in which five miners—including two women—managed to escape, caused local police to detain owners and investors of the enterprise. But the production manager of the Dongtang Mine and his wife fled the area as soon as word of the blast occurred. 
 
In a another mine catastrophe, seven miners died and four were injured on 11 April when a shaft collapsed at the Tanhan Coal Mine in Shanxi Province.

Chinese Coal Mine Blast Kills Four Women

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Protests occurred both outside and inside DuPont’s annual general meeting in the US state of Delaware on 26 April, as labour unions led by the United Steelworkers (USW) and environmental allies pressed the world’s second largest chemicals company to phase out production of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The chemical is used to produce coatings for cookware and stain-repellent coatings for carpets, textiles and fast-food wrappers. 
 
USW is part of a coalition entitled “Dupont Shareholders for Fair Value” that pressed for adoption of a resolution calling on management to produce a report on options to accelerate the phase-out of PFOA. The proxy question put before shareholders garnered a 27.3% vote, considered extremely high on matters of social and ethical responsibility for US-based companies. Further information on the union’s shareholder actions can be found through the USW site <a href="http://www.uswa.org/uswa/program/content/2916.php">here</a>.

Protest of PFOA at DuPont’s Annual Meeting

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A dispute has been settled and a first collective agreement is in place in Malaysia’s paper industry. ICEM assisted its affiliate Paper and Paper Products Manufacturing Employees’ Union (PPPMEU), as did Norwegian trade union Fellesforbundet in achieving recognition and a contract at a Malaysian Newsprint Industries mill in Pahang. 
 
Malaysian Newsprint is 34% owned by Norske Skog, with whom ICEM and Fellesforbundet have a Global Framework Agreement. The matter was brought before the Norwegian-based company by Fellesforbundet. 
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A union was formed at the nine-year-old mill in October 2004 and, in March 2005, a government ministry verified PPMEU certification. The union submitted proposals toward a first collective agreement in July 2005, but the company stalled in meeting its bargaining obligations. When the company finally did meet with the union, it informed the union that 70 of 220 workers were in “executive” capacities and exempt from the union, even though they perform manual tasks. 
 
The ICEM and Fellesforbundet attention to the dispute, and no doubt the formal intent-to-strike notice issued by PPPMEU on 15 May, brought pressure on management to settle. The initial three-year collective agreement will be backdated to 1 October 2005. Even though the scope of the bargaining unit wasn’t resolved, it will now be submitted to a Malaysian Industrial Court. Other partners in the newsprint mill include the Hong Leong Group of Malaysia (34%), the New Straits Times newspaper (21%), and Rimbuan Hijau Group of Malaysia (11%).

Global Agreement, Strike Threat Brings First Accord to Malaysian Paper Mill

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ICEM’s rubber and chemical workers’ affiliate in Turkey, Lastik-Īş, announced late in April that it would strike the four Turkish plants of three major tyre producers if the companies did not take a different track in negotiations. But that announcement was pre-empted by one of the companies, Goodyear Lastikleri AS, which locked out 1,300 workers at its two Turkish factories. 
 
Lastik-Īş has been negotiating with Goodyear, Pirelli Lastikleri, and Brisa Bridgestone Sabanci since mid-December over a renewal agreement covering 3,500 workers. Demands by employers for concessions on health care provisions, lower rates of pay for new workers, reductions in paid holidays, and flexibility regarding the use of contract workers caused the union’s Executive Board to call strikes at the plants starting on 22 May. 
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In a statement issued by Lastik-Īş, the union said: “The main reason why the conflict has continued so far is not the demands of our union, but the attitudes of employers who insist on dismantling our gained rights.” 
 
Goodyear Lastikleri AS, 74.6% owned of Goodyear Tire and Rubber of the US, sacked a total of 109 workers at its tyre plants in Izmit and Adapazari in November 2005, as part of a restructuring move. Brisa Bridgestone Sabanci, in which Bridgestone of Japan controls a 40% stake, employs 1,000 workers at a plant in Izmit, while Italian Pirelli employs another 1,100 workers at a facility, also in Izmit.

Goodyear Jumps Gun; Locks Out Turkish Tyre Workers

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ExxonMobil in France has been found guilty of trade union discrimination, and ordered to pay €322,000 to four trade union representatives affiliated with French federation CGT. The ruling was issued on 5 May from a court of conciliation in Nanterre. 
 
Three of the four CGT delegates work at Esso’s Port-Jérôme refinery, while the fourth is employed at an Esso facility at Fos-sur-mer. The largest award — €210,000 — went to a key union person who had been on the job for 34 years. 
 
CGT said the court’s findings and awards stand as a call to young workers that it is allowed for militant trade union members “not to think like the boss, but on the contrary be free to think differently, not having your professional career sanctioned” because you do.

Guilty: ExxonMobil in France for Trade Union Discrimination

Probes into deadly coal mine disasters in the Americas earlier this year are now coming into focus. And at two of the worst – the Sago mine blast in the US state of West Virginia on 2 January and the 19 February explosion at Grupo Mexico’s Pasta de Conchos No. 8 mine in Mexico’s Coahuila state – inadequate government safety monitoring and a reckless company safety culture are just part of the causes.
                      
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In Mexico, a report issued last week by the government’s National Human Rights Commission said, in 2004, safety officials of Mexico’s Labour Department identified 48 major problems in Grupo Mexico’s Minera Mexicana mine. The report added, however, that nothing was done to correct the deficiencies until just 12 days before the explosion. Sixty-five miners were killed in the February 2006 mine blast, the majority of them contract workers who were given no training and inadequate oxygen supply devices. Some 25 of the miners killed were members of Mexico’s Miners & Metalworkers Union (SNTMMSRM). 
 
The Human Rights Commission stated that Labour Department officials tolerated carelessness and neglect on behalf of company safety representatives, and that they “had full knowledge of the working conditions of the mine where the catastrophe occurred (that) infringed on security standards,” said a statement from the agency. The government knew of problems with lighting and underground signal systems, as well as gas and oil leaks and a faulty smoke-release system. 
 
In the US, a joint state and federal investigation into the Sago disaster that killed 12 miners has found that company officials had workers falsify documents. Testimony saw workers admitting they had signed documentation brought to them by bosses that they had attended safety classes and training, when, if fact, they had not. Sago is owned by the Wolf Run Mining Co., one of many coal mines in the eastern United States bought in bankruptcy proceedings by US-based investment house International Coal Group (IGC).
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 An in-depth investigation done by a Pennsylvania newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also found that seals inside the non-union Sago mine’s safety chambers were poorly constructed, using materials unable to withstand the force of a methane explosion. 
 
IGC attempted to bar safety officials from ICEM affiliate United Mineworkers of America (UMWA) from playing a role in the Sago disaster’s investigation, even though miners and family members of victims sought such help. Under mine safety regulations in the US, such union assistance in non-union worksites is permissible if so requested. IGC had private security forces physically stop UMWA safety officials from entering the mine property following the explosion, and the US government had to sue the company in order that the mine safety law was honoured. A US District Court ruled in favour of UMWA involvement late in January, but IGC appealed that ruling to a higher court. Last month, the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s verdict.

Mine Safety Probes in the Americas Progress

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