English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<p align="center"><img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" /></p>
<p align="justify">In South Africa, the 18-day petroleum strike by 70,000 union members mostly from the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Wood and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union (CEPPWAWU) ended on 28 July, two days after the South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA) presented satisfactory wage and other terms. <br />
<br />
But strikes in three other bargaining councils aligned with the chemical industries continue with some hint that issues in the Pharmaceutical sector will get resolved today when CEPPWAWU and that industry association meet in government mediation. In the Glass sector, the employers&rsquo; association and unions representing 6,000 workers came to terms late on 28 July in a one-year settlement similar to the petroleum industry. <br />
<br />
In two other sectors of the National Bargaining Council for the Chemical Industry, Industrial Chemicals and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, the union still awaits dates for mediation as strikes continue. CEPPWAWU represents some 40,000 workers in total in Pharmaceutical, Industrial Chemicals, and the consumer goods sector. Some of the companies affected included Sasol, Adcock Ingram, Aspen Pharmaceutical, Pharmacare, Revlon and Colgate. </p>
<p align="center"><img alt="" src="" width="240" height="160" /></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#ff0000">CEPPWAWU Members March in Johannesburg, 11 July</font></p>
<p align="justify">In the Wood, Pulp, and Paper sector, where workers employed by Sappi, Mondi, and others have been on strike since 14 July, talks mediated by the government&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) will take place this afternoon and an accord is expected. Settlement did come in Timber and Sawmilling on Friday, 29 July, where a nationwide strike began on 18 July. That agreement is now going to membership for their approval. <br />
<br />
In Fibreboard and Particleboard, negotiations have yet to be scheduled. A walkout there began on 11 July. <br />
<br />
In the Tissue and Allied Products sector, Kimberly Clark has been particularly troublesome. The American company has refused now to bargain. Many weeks ago, Kimberly Clark tabled a measly 4% wage increase for its 400 workers at two paper towel and tissue mills, nearly half the accurate inflation rate in South Africa. <br />
<br />
CEPPWAWU National Policy Coordinator John Appolis told the ICEM that Kimberly Clark is firmly set on driving down wages and work standards for competition reasons. The company had bargained jointly with Nampak as part of an employers&rsquo; association in the Tissue and Allied Products sector in years past, but Nampak broke from the multi-employer talks due to Kimberly Clark&rsquo;s bargaining-table recalcitrance. <br />
<br />
Nampak settled with CEPPWAWU and other unions early in July for an 8% raise without workers striking. </p>
<p align="center"><img src="" width="244" height="160" alt="" /></p>
<p align="justify">In the Timber and Sawmilling settlement, CEPPWAWU successfully negotiating a first-ever maternity leave. That will see women get four months of protected leave, in addition to 12% of their salaries to supplement their mandated unemployment compensation. Also, the minimum wage rate in Timber and Sawmilling will increase from ZAR 1,500 (US$225) to ZAR 1,775 (US$266). <br />
<br />
All wage settlements will be backdated to 1 July, including the much-publicized petroleum strike where some fuel shortages and panic buying brought wide, albeit over-stated South African press coverage. <br />
<br />
In petroleum, the unions and SAPIA agreed to an 8.5% increase, with a 10% hike gained for lower-waged workers. For them, the minimum salary increases from ZAR 4,000 (US$600) per month to 4,400 (US$660), while the unions maintained a 40-hour work-week. Women in the petroleum sector will receive a first-ever two days of leave for pre-natal maternity care. <br />
<br />
&ldquo;On the wage front,&rdquo; said Appolis, &ldquo;our improvements are slightly ahead of current buying power in South Africa, and we showed progress in several other areas.&rdquo; Besides the majority CEPPWAWU, others unions in these sector talks include the South African Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union (SACWU), the General Industrial Workers&rsquo; Union of south Africa (GIWUSA), and Solidarity. </p>

CEPPWAWU’s Petrol Strike Ends; Chemical Sectors Close, Kimberly Clark Recalcitrant

<p align="center"><img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></p>
<p align="justify">Issues in the eight-day strike involving 150,000 members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in the coal industry, as well as a five-day strike covering the same number of NUM gold miners might be resolved when the union and Chamber of Mines meet today in mediation conducted by South Africa&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA). <br />
<br />
The NUM and Chamber are close on wage terms, with coal and gold mining houses said to be in agreement on finally awarding double- digit wage increases for 2011. The central issue today will be the new length of the collective agreement &ndash; either one or two years. Coal talks are scheduled for 10h00, while the gold negotiations commence at 14h00. </p>
<p align="center"><img alt="" src="" width="110" height="156" /></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#ff0000">Lesiba Seshoka</font></p>
<p align="justify">NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said past CBA durations have generally been two years, but this year could be different. In mediated bargaining with the CCMA on 28 July, the NUM and Chamber seemed in agreement on a retroactive 1 July pay rise of a double-digit figure. Seshoka said if a second year is agreed to, the 2012 increase would likely add up to inflation plus a certain percentage higher. <br />
<br />
NUM members at AngloCoal SA, Exxaro, Xstrata Coal, Delmas Coal, Optimum, Springlake and others shut down the country&rsquo;s coal industry on 24 July. That strike was followed four days later &ndash; on 28 July &ndash; by 150,000 NUM gold miners striking AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Goldfields, and Rand Uranium operations. <br />
<br />
Gold mining talks failed down on that day between the union and Chamber, two days after the NUM issued the mandatory 48-hour strike notice upon receiving CCMA certification of non-resolution. In coal, in meeting again with the Chamber on Friday, 29 July, labour and management narrowed their 2011 wage differences. <br />
<br />
In platinum mining, the NUM bargains individually with the three major producers, AngloPlatinum, Impala, and Northam. Although a dispute has been declared, the combined 8,000 miners have yet to down tools. But that could change this week. After 28 July talks with the world&rsquo;s number one producer, AngloPlatinum, the company and NUM remained far apart, AngloPlatinum offering 6-7% while NUM seeks 15%. Negotiations are slated for today with Impala and on Wednesday, 3 August, with Northam. <br />
<br />
A third and likely final round of negotiations is also scheduled for today between the NUM and state-run electricity provider Eskom. There has been no dispute declared in those talks. NUM represents 16,000 Eskom staff, while the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) covers 5,000. <br />
<br />
Maybe the most contentious NUM bargaining has occurred with the world&rsquo;s largest rough-cut diamond producer, DeBeers Consolidated Mines. Some 5,000 NUM members downed tools on 22 July at Venetia in Limpopo state, Voorspoed in the Free State, and a tailings treatment plant in Kimberly. </p>
<p align="center"><img alt="" src="" width="192" height="160" /></p>
<p align="justify">No talks have been slated. The NUM has demanded 15% while DeBeers, with record sales in the first half of 2011 of US$3.8 billion on production of 15.5 million carats, has offered a paltry 7.5%. &ldquo;We will make them move,&rdquo; stated the NUM&rsquo;s Chief Negotiator at DeBeers, Peter Bailey. <br />
<br />
&ldquo;The offer is totally unacceptable to us. Last year we settled for between 9.5% and 10%, now we are told 7.5%, plus an ex-gratia one-off payment of ZAR 2,500 (US$375). We totally reject this.&rdquo; </p>

South African Coal, Gold Strikes Face Key Talks Today

<p align="center"><img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" /></p>
<p align="justify">The ICEM condemns the cowardly assassination of Colombian mineworkers&rsquo; leader Rafael Tob&oacute;n Zea on 26 July. Tob&oacute;n was shot three times and killed by paramilitaries near his home in the city of Segovia, Antioqu&iacute;a department, about 220 kilometres north of Medell&iacute;n. <br />
<br />
Rafael Tob&oacute;n, 40, was a leader of the metal and mineworkers&rsquo; union Sintramieneg&eacute;tica, where he was a founding member of that union at Frontino Gold Mines Ltd. He worked there for 15 years and was still assisting discharged miners of Frontino after the Medell&iacute;n-based company liquidated and its underground mines were bought last year by Modoro Resources Ltd. of Canada and Gran Colombia Gold S.A. </p>
<p align="center"><img src="" width="358" height="75" alt="" /></p>
<p align="justify">He was working in a smaller gold mine in Antioqu&iacute;a department and organising workers there when he was killed last week. Sintramieneg&eacute;tica had reported threats to its leaders that were believed to be tied to the contested takeover of Frontino by Modora and Gran Colombia, and the sacking of all miners. <br />
<br />
The ICEM calls on the government of Colombia and the authorities in Segovia and Antioqu&iacute;a state to spare no resource in apprehending and bringing to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime. Let there be no impunity for the miscreants of Colombia who take the lives of trade unionists in cold blood. </p>

Mineworkers’ Leader, Rafael Tobón, Gunned Down in Antioquía, Colombia

<p align="center"><img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></p>
<p align="justify">The ICEM-affiliated Teamsters Union (IBT) in the US has mounted a voracious campaign against Germany&rsquo;s BMW Group to preserve 68 auto-parts warehousing jobs in Southern California. The campaign to stop the outsourcing of family-supporting parts distribution jobs from a BMW warehouse in Ontario, California, has stretched eastward across America and now has gotten very active support from Unite the Union in the UK and IG Metall in Germany. <br />
<br />
In early June, the 7,500-member IBT Local 495 of Covina, California, was told by North American BMW that it intended to terminate a collective agreement upon expiration on 31 August and outsource the jobs of Teamster members to an un-named logistics provider. Instead of rolling over and negotiating severance packages, the union and its members fought back. <br />
<br />
They began a pressure campaign that has seen trade unionists and supporters handbilling BMW auto dealerships across the US, and Local 495 has zeroed in specifically on the Jackson Lewis LLP law firm. Jackson Lewis is a union-busting legal firm that regrettably BMW North America retained for anti-worker services in industrial relations. </p>
<p align="center"><img alt="" src="" width="368" height="121" /></p>
<p align="justify">The IBT has gained support and mobilisation of other American unions at BMW&rsquo;s five parts distribution depots in the US, as well as from trade unionists at BMW workplaces in Europe. <br />
<br />
The union has established a lively website entitled <a href="http://www.bmwultimatemisery.com/ "><font color="#ff0000">&ldquo;BMW: The Ultimate Misery&rdquo;</font></a> and produced a video from a spirited 26 July protest in front of the Jackson Lewis law offices in Los Angeles. (View the <a href="http://vimeo.com/26990405 "><font color="#ff0000">video</font></a> here.) <br />
<br />
Earlier, on 21 July, a Day of Action was held in not only BMW&rsquo;s US warehouses, but also inside BMW facilities in the UK. Workers wore stickers supporting the California Teamsters and passed out leaflets demanding that BMW not destroy California jobs. Members of the International Longshoremen&rsquo;s Association (ILA) at an import distribution centre in the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey two years ago successfully fended off outsourcing, as did United Auto Workers (UAW) members at a BMW parts warehouse in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. </p>
<p align="justify">Both unions now assist the California workers in resisting closure. IBT local unions in America&rsquo;s eastern states are handbilling BMW dealerships on a daily basis. The Ontario warehouse workers use weekends away from the job to draw attention to BMW&rsquo;s unfair decision by handbilling dealerships up and down the US West Coast, from Southern California to the state of Washington. </p>
<p align="center"><img alt="" src="" width="308" height="161" /></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#ff0000">Teamsters handbilling in Seattle</font></p>
<p align="justify">In the UK, Unite Assistant General Secretary and head of Manufacturing, Tony Burke, is now spearheading a petition drive aimed at BMW&rsquo;s European Works Council (EWC). Unite members are demanding that an extraordinary meeting of the EWC meeting slated for 10 September be moved up to August in order to place the scheduled Ontario closure squarely on the agenda. They want BMW to reverse the North America decision. <br />
<br />
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll continue to expand this campaign inside the US and internationally in the weeks to come,&rdquo; said Local 495 Secretary-Treasurer Bob Lennox. &ldquo;Working with other US unions and now with unions in Europe, we&rsquo;re convinced that we&rsquo;ll get a positive resolution for our members and that means retaining our jobs.&rdquo; <br />
<br />
The Ontario, California, warehouse handles 200,000 auto parts for just-in-time delivery to BMW car dealerships and other auto-supply outlets on the West Coast. The ICEM believes such work is best done by experienced and direct-employed BMW workers and urges the German company to retain loyal Teamster members for the good of its business and to preserve family-sustaining jobs. </p>

US Teamsters Ardently Resist BMW’s Auto Parts Outsourcing

<div><br />
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
<p><span lang="EN">Union members of Sindicato No. 1 de Trabajadores de Minera Escondida, a branch of Chile&rsquo;s Federation of Miners (FMC), returned to work on 5 August after a 15-day strike at the world&rsquo;s largest copper mine, majority owned by BHP Billiton. Mineworkers voted by 65.5% to 34.5% on 4 August to end the strike after their leaders negotiating the previous two days with Escondida management. <br />
<br />
Those talks produced a memorandum of agreement providing a remedy to a dispute over a 2010 production bonus. But equally important, the memorandum addressed several grievances and breaches by Escondida management from a 2009 labour agreement. <br />
<br />
Sindicato No. 1, representing Escondida&rsquo;s 2,375 direct-employed miners, said of the memorandum, &ldquo;the company promises to solve a series of labour issues such as establishing a new attendance policy, regularising a certification system based on competency for promotions, and reformulating the criteria for calculating a production bonus.&rdquo; These were just some of the issues in dispute inside a four-year labour agreement that was signed in November 2009. <br />
<br />
In 2010, Escondida &ndash; 57.5% owned by operator BHP Billiton, 30% by Rio Tinto, and 12.5% by Japanese holding companies connected to Mitsubishi &ndash; saw profits of US$4.3 billion, up 35% over that of 2009. Last week&rsquo;s amended bonus to each worker amounts to CHP 2.65 million (pesos), or US$5,800. Miners will receive that on 25 August.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN"><img alt="" src="" width="245" height="161" /><br />
</span><span lang="EN"><br />
<font color="#ff0000">Sindicato No. 1 Files Papers in a Labour Court in Late July</font></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Escondida called the strike illegal and said throughout that it would not negotiate with the union. But as the days wore on and production was crippling revenue from the rich mining complex, that changed. In a statement after signing the memorandum of agreement, the company said workers had ended their &ldquo;illegal work stoppage&rdquo; and &ldquo;this action is due to the success of talks between the parties. <br />
<br />
&ldquo;Minera Escondida reiterates that dialogue and respect are the foundation for maintaining a beneficial relationship with its workers.&rdquo; <br />
<br />
Besides the aforementioned issues, that respect includes a more transparent system for the production bonuses; restoration of a housing allocation that lifts restrictions on where miners may use those stipends; safer and higher-quality bus transport service, and compensation for tickets; no retaliation, redundancy, or punishment for union or strike activity; and review on why the company installed surveillance cameras. <br />
<br />
Miners will also be paid their salaries for the 15-day strike. Sindicato No. 1 de Trabajadores de Minera Escondida had filed labour court charges on several of the issues involved in the strike. <br />
<br />
For its part, the union said it hopes to maintain and deepen channels of communication with management, but also will stay vigilant that the issues agreed to in the memorandum will get addressed and resolved. <br />
<br />
Minera Escondida consists of two open-pit copper mines some 170 kilometres southeast of Antofagasta, in Chile&rsquo;s Region II. It also consists of two concentrator plants, Los Colorados and Laguna Seca, which have a combined capacity of 330,000 tonnes per day. The company operates two pipelines and a filter plant on the Pacific Ocean Port of Coloso. <br />
<br />
In 2010, Escondida&rsquo;s production totaled 1.087 million tonnes, consisting of 786,603 tonnes of copper concentrate and 300,098 tonnes of copper cathodes. The Escondida mine complex provides 7% of the world&rsquo;s copper supply.</span></p>

FMC Copper Union at Escondida Wins Dialogue Guarantees

<br />
<div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
<br />
The ICEM has joined trade unions of Australia, New Zealand, and the UK in protesting flagrant trade union abuses by the military dictatorship in Fiji. On Saturday, 13 August, just two days after dictator Josaia Voreque Bainimarama tried to assure a high-level ILO delegation, including Deputy General Director Guy Ryder, that trade union rights in Fiji were being upheld, police showed up at the opening of Fiji Trades Union Congress&rsquo;s (FTUC) national council meeting and revoked the national centre&rsquo;s meeting permit.<br />
<br />
That came ten days after Daniel Urai, formerly of the ICEM-affiliated Fiji Electricity Workers&rsquo; Union, who is President of the FTUC, and union activist Dinesh Gounder were arrested under Fiji&rsquo;s new Public Emergency Regulation for meeting with trade unionists without a permit. They were charged with unlawful assembly in meeting with hotel workers over a pending collective agreement. <br />
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="120" height="120" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="120" height="120" /></div>
<div><span><br />
Daniel Urai, Dinesh Gounder</span></div>
<br />
Both were released on bail on 4 August and are due to appear in the Nadi Magistrates Court on 2 September on those charges. (See <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/98.ICEM.Fiji%20Prime%20Minister.10August.pdf"><font color="#ff0000">ICEM protest letter</font></a> here.)<br />
<br />
The arrests, along with broader trade union repression, specifically against FTUC National Secretary Felix Anthony, are seen as recrimination against Fiji union leaders visiting Australia and New Zealand to speak out against the military dictatorship of Commodore Bainimarama.<br />
<br />
Australian unions, led by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), have begun a number of direct actions against Fiji, which have raised the stakes against Bainimarama&rsquo;s strong-armed tactics. For example, the Australian Transport Workers&rsquo; Union (TWU) has threatened to not load or refuel Qantas air flights headed to Fiji, which would severely impact the Pacific country&rsquo;s tourism trade. The blockade would also include Air Pacific, a Qantas partner and Fiji&rsquo;s flag carrier.<br />
<br />
On 2 September &ndash; the date that Urai and Gounder will be in a Fiji courtroom &ndash; the ACTU will organise two manifestations in front of Fiji consular offices in North Sydney and in Deakin near Canberra.<br />
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="160" height="160" /><br />
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Dictator Bainimarama with ILO Representatives Last Week</div>
<br />
On 8 August, UK&rsquo;s Trades Union Congress and ICEM affiliate GMB called on British sugar multinational Tate &amp; Lyle to challenge the Bainimarama regime&rsquo;s abusive tactics. Tate &amp; Lyle purchases 100% of Fiji&rsquo;s sugar exports and the illegitimate Fijian ruler has a controlling stake in sugar production.<br />
<br />
On the same day that Urai and Gounder were arrested, 3 August, a dictum was issued by Bainimarama &ndash; Fiji&rsquo;s self-appointed Prime Minister following a 2006 coup &ndash; called the Essential National Industries Employment Decree. It bans all industrial actions, will ban workers from being covered by collective agreements in 60 days time, and restricts wage and benefit growth.<br />
<br />
Despite this, Bainimarama told the ILO delegation last week he was not trying to ban unions or take away workers&rsquo; rights. Not many in the international community believe this, least of all the government of Australia, which has recalled its envoy from Fiji.<br />
<br />
On 4 August, the day Urai and Gounder were released, Australian Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Martin Ferguson, issued a statement saying: &ldquo;Since 2006 the Bainimarama regime has abrogated the constitution; detained political leaders; sacked the independent judiciary; censored the media; and restricted meetings of civil society, including church groups.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Despite commitments to hold elections in 2014, it is not clear the regime intends to make good on its promise.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;The restriction of labour rights is part of a concerted campaign to curtail the human rights of the people of Fiji. The rights of workers in Fiji have been targeted through a series of decrees restricting labour rights, the most recent of which was aimed at essential industries.&rdquo;</div>

Trade Union Repression in Fiji Mounting

<div><br />
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Following an opening meeting in October 2010, the Global Safety Panel of ICEM and French chemicals company Rhodia under the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) held its second meeting at a Rhodia operation called Sertow in Serpukhov, Russia, on 19-20 July.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">The safety forum was included in an amendment to the GFA in February 2010. The safety panel has duties to monitor Rhodia&rsquo;s health and safety policies and practices, as well as to continue ongoing dialogue between the company and its workers and make recommendations on improvements.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">The Sertow plant is part of the group&rsquo;s Acetow company and makes cigarette filters for the global tobacco industry. Operated by </span><span>Rhodia since 1994, the plant uses cellulose acetate flakes as a key raw material. The plant does stress the importance to health and safety issues since a fatal accident happened on 12 September 2000. The plant since has gone for over ten years without a lost-time accident.</span></p>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="290" height="161" /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">The ICEM delegation was composed of Juarez Nogueira of Sindquim, Brazil; Scott Harrington of the United Steelworkers (USW), US; Maurice Tritsch of CFDT, France; Jie Dong from China; and Kemal &Ouml;zkan and Brian Kohler from the ICEM headquarters. The delegation first met with </span><span>the elected representatives of the site concerning industrial relations and the health and safety situation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Local level labour relations were set up using the example of the German Works Council system as it exists at Acetow&rsquo;s centre, located in Freiburg, Germany. There is close collaboration between the workforce leaders of both operations, and the Sertow Works Council is actively involved in labour-related matters such as collective agreements, personnel health improvement, support of sporting events, and involvement in renovation of the social room. The Works Council has regular meetings with management as part of social dialogue.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Following presentations about Rhodia, Acetow, and the Sertow plant with key figures presented on economic, social, and personnel-related matters, the meeting received a report on Rhodia Way, the company&rsquo;s integrated management system regarding sustainable development.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>The participants also heard a report from Rhodia managers on the five-year plan of personal safety that covered records of 2011, as well as projections for the period of 2011-2015. The report put forward a plan to significantly reduce the number of irreversible and chemical accidents until 2015. The targets cover Rhodia&rsquo;s temporary and sub-contact employees and its own staff.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Having made comments on the report, the ICEM&rsquo;s Kohler presented his health and safety recommendations to plant-level and corporate management. A specific discussion was made on Rhodia&rsquo;s investigatory method named after the &ldquo;Casual Tree&quot; accident. The meeting also received a presentation from the Sertow management on practices and results regarding safety compliance. The participants later toured the facility.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>The meeting was finalized with an assessment of the discussions and future activities. It was agreed to deepen co-operation for reflecting the work of the Global Safety Panel to workplace level in all of Rhodia&rsquo;s operations worldwide.</span><span lang="EN-GB"></span></p>

ICEM, Rhodia Global Safety Panel Hold Second Meeting in Russia

<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /><br />
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Three days before the annual two-week summer shutdown at a Clariant plant in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, management of the Swiss-based chemicals company fired two Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale-FGTB union representatives. Kamel Bennaceur and Mohamed Loukili were sacked on 27 July for doing the trade union work they were elected to do by co-workers.<br />
<br />
Management of Clariant Benelux SA unilaterally installed two other workers to fill their duties. Managers cited &ldquo;breach of trust&rdquo; as the reason for dismissing the two delegates, who are of Moroccan origin. The ICEM last week in Switzerland registered a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/99.ICEM.Clariant.Belgium.10August.pdf"><font color="#ff0000">strong protest</font></a> with Clariant Chairman J&uuml;rg Witmer and CEO and Director Hariolf Kottman, and intends to press the breach of international labour standards on the global level unless the two are reinstated. <br />
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="129" height="161" /><br />
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Kemal Bennaceur, Mohamed Loukili<br />
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
ICEM Swiss affiliate UNIA also has written to the Belgian trade unionists expressing its support.<br />
<br />
The FGTB has prioritised the dismissals and will hold a day of action at the plant on Wednesday, 17 August. The action will start at 09h30. It will occur on day three after the re-start of work at Louvain-la-Neuve, a city in Belgium&rsquo;s Wallonia federal region some 40 kilometres southeast of Brussels. The plant is part of Clariant&rsquo;s Masterbatches division and produces colour additives for inks and textiles.<br />
<br />
FGTB says the real reason for the firings is the pair are just too conscientious in the performance of their duties. They conducted work inspections and were in constant communication with the 45 other blue-collar workers employed at Clariant regarding work rules and social legislation. The 45 solidly support the union stalwarts, Bennaceur and Loukili.<br />
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="212" height="159" /></div>
<div><span><br />
FGTB Adjunct Regional Secretary Enzo Gramaglia Talks to Clariant Workers</span></div>
<br />
The union held two abbreviated meetings with plant managers &ndash; on 28 July and 10 August &ndash; but bosses refused to discuss the sackings or consider immediate reinstatement. FGTB said that recent and similar firings at <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4558-BRC-Belgium-Conflict-Settled-Sacked-Oil-Workers-Reinstated"><font color="#ff0000">Belgian Refining Corporation (BRC)</font></a> in which shop stewards were also dismissed, but subsequently reinstated, will provide the template for this breach of Belgian work law and international labour standards. <br />
<br />
The ICEM vows to assist its Belgian affiliate in the entire legal process.<br />
</div>

FGTB Delegates Sacked at Clariant Chemicals Plant in Belgium

<div>
<div><br />
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
<br />

st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }<span lang="EN-GB">The Confederaci&oacute;n Nacional de los Metal&uacute;rgicos (CNM) affiliated to the CUT trade union central, and globally to the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), is mobilising workers for a 2011 wage campaign. The one-million-strong metalworker federation represents 50% of all Brazilian metalworkers, and is now pushing for deserved pay increases in collective agreements across the sector.</span></div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><span lang="EN-GB">Some regions have made good gains, while negotiations continue elsewhere, ahead of a 1 September deadline.</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The campaign in S&atilde;o Paulo State was kick-started on 21 July when 2,000 unionists of 14 trade unions manifesting in front of Industry Federation of S&atilde;o Paulo (FIESP). CNM/CUT President Paulo Cayres addressed the gathering, along with the presidents of the 14 unions, representing 250,000 workers in the state. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><img alt="" src="" width="242" height="160" /></span></p>
<div><span lang="EN-GB">Included in the demands is the extension of maternity leave from 120 days to 180. Other demands include: automatic increase of salary in line with inflation, increased wages, improved minimum wage, freedom of organisation in all workplaces, reduction of work week to 40 hours with no reduction in wages.</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Demands were delivered to the Industry Federation of the Minas Gerais region on 29 July.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Metalworkers of Sapiranga, Southern Brazil, settled on an 8% salary increase and 10% hike in the minimum wage, as well as solid improvements to social allowances, including education, child care, and pensions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><img alt="" src="" width="160" height="161" /></span></p>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">CNM/CUT President Paulo Cayres</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">ABC regional workers in S&atilde;o Bernardo rejected an offer last Tuesday from management and issued a strike warning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Metalworkers of Itu, Porto Feliz, Boituva, and Cabre&uacute;va, 100 kilometres west of S&atilde;o Paulo, were organising united fronts at plants from 3-10 August, ahead of difficult bargaining with management.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">United in the struggle for a fair wage increase, workers in the southern city of S&atilde;o Leopoldo halted production at two large companies in the area last week. Unionists linked arms at the gates of Rossi and Taurus 05, paralysing the sites for four hours on Thursday morning, 11 August. Similar scenes occurred in neighbouring Inpel on Wednesday 10 August, where a large mobilisation caused a one-and-a-half hour work stoppage.</span></p>

CNM/CUT in Brazil Mobilises Campaign for Salary Gains

<br />
<div><img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
<div><br />
The ICEM joins the wide condemnation of the Malawi government&rsquo;s vicious crackdown on human and trade union rights. A raft of recent legislative changes has systematically curtailed civil liberties, freedom of the press, and increased impunity of government agencies and officials.<br />
<br />
In the African nation, Section 46 of the Penal Code was amended, allowing the Minister of Information to ban publications which are deemed to be contrary to the public interest. The Civil Procedure Bill was also amended, denying plaintiffs the right to instant relief when their rights are under threat by a government agency or officer. This latter amendment also allows police to search any house without a search warrant.</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="240" height="159" /><br />
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Civil society groups have given President Mutharika until 17 August to respond to their grievances. &quot;If nothing happens, the nation will hear from us,&quot; stated Robert Mkwezalamba, General Secretary of the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU), referring to a petition of grievances submitted to the President.<br />
<br />
Nationwide popular protests on 20 July were brutally repressed by shocking police violence, leaving 19 people dead including a 13-year-old boy. The violence used by the Malawi government has been widely condemned, and attention is now on Mutharika&rsquo;s regime to peacefully reach agreement with protest groups, and reverse the country&rsquo;s archaic legislation.<br />
<br />
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has initiated an <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1074"><font color="#ff0000">electronic campaign</font></a> through LabourStart. Please support it here. </div>

Campaign to Halt the Bloody Repression of Malawi Trade Unionists

Archive