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A week-long strike by 28,000 contract employees working for employers doing business with Chilean state-run copper miner Codelco turned ugly on 25 June. Protestors blocked roads and burned buses leading into one of Codelco&rsquo;s five mines, El Teniente. 
 
On 28 June, they did the same at Radomiro Tonic, Codelco&rsquo;s second largest copper mine. The contract workers are members of the Copper Confederation of Workers (FTC), a union representing workers at some 400 sub-contractors of Codelco, the world&rsquo;s largest copper producer. 
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At the weekend, Chile&rsquo;s President Michelle Bachelet ordered government mediators to step in and resolve the dispute. The FTC, which is not affiliated to the ICEM, is seeking wage parity with Codelco&rsquo;s miners, as well as performance bonuses, better health care, housing, and education benefits. 
 
The contract employees earn roughly half of what Codelco&rsquo;s 15,000 miners receive. 
 
Codelco said the strike has costed the company US$20 million in lost production. It also said it has limited ability to conduct negotiations with the contract workers, since they are employed by other enterprises. 
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The strike is supported by Chile&rsquo;s national labour centre, the Central Workers Union (CUT), which has called for equality for all contract workers in the South American country. CUT has made it a priority to also improve labour conditions for contract and agency workers. 
 
The FTC and the Chilean private miners&rsquo; society, Sonami, did issue a statement condemning the violence that occurred throughout last week at El Teniente, Radomiro Tomic, Codelco Norte, El Salvadoe, Andina, and at a Codelco smelter in Ventanas. 
 
Scores of contract workers were arrested, and one was killed when he was struck by a truck owned by his company, Zublin engineering, while he was blocking a road. 
 
The strike by the contract workers was the second at Codelco&rsquo;s operations in the last 18 months. The workers staged a 17-day strike in January 2006, but did not receive wage parity or bonus payments at the time. They did, however, win some improvements in working conditions.

Contract Workers of Codelco Copper in Chile Strike

Mr. Mikhail E. Fradkov 
Chairman 
Government of the Russian Federation 
 
Fax: +7 495 205 67 70 
 
ICEM, 
Brussels, 
27 June 2007 
 
 
Dear Mr. Prime-Minister, 
 
I am writing you on behalf of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) representing over 20 million workers in 125 countries of the world. 
The Oil, Gas, and Construction Workers&rsquo; Union of RF, our Russian affiliate, has informed me that on June 25, 2007, 30 employees of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise State Institute of Organic Synthesis Technology (FGUP GITOS) began a hunger strike for an indefinite period. The employees were pushed towards this extreme measure by the still unresolved dispute over wage arrears dating back to 2003. 
The ICEM is highly concerned about the unacceptable situation at the FGUP GITOS and appeals to you to use your authority to ensure that the conflict is resolved and the wage arrears are settled in full and without delay. 

Sincerely Yours, 
Manfred Warda 
General Secretary 
ICEM 
 
 
Cc: 
Victor B. Khristenko, Minister of Industry and Energy of the RF 
Lev. A. Mironov, Chairman Russian Oil, Gas and Construction Workers&rsquo; Union

ICEM letter to Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation on FGUP GITOS hunger strike

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A third major methane gas explosion in a Russian coal mine has left 10 miners dead. This latest mine blast occurred on 25 June at the Komsomolskaya mine in Vorkuta, in the Russian region of Komi. 
 
Reports cite a popping noise, resulting in a power failure immediate before the explosion occurred. The miners who died were working in two shafts at depths of 900 metres for the company IAO Vorkutaugol. A total of 150 miners were brought from shafts following the blast, while four others were hospitalised with serious injuries. 
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The Vorkuta mining deaths come after a pair of earlier methane explosions in the Kemerovo Region claimed a total of 149 deaths. On 24 May, 39 miners died at the Yubileynaya mine. And earlier, on 19 March, the worst Russian mine disaster in decades occurred at the Ulyanovskaya mine, with 110 miners perishing. Both of these mines are operated by OAO Yuzhkuzbassugol, owned by Russia&rsquo;s second largest steel and metals company, Evraz Group. 
 
These latest mining deaths come just two weeks after Russia&rsquo;s environmental, technological, and nuclear safety agency, Rostekhnadzor, had asked the government to draft amendments to the Code of Administrative Violations, giving it a definite mandate to close unsafe mines. The workers&rsquo; safety watchdog has temporarily closed mines, but companies have used Russia&rsquo;s courts to immediately reopen such enterprises. 
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Rostekhnadzor, in a press release on the eve of OAO Vorkutaugol&rsquo;s mine disaster, said it has begun drafting a methane safety programme for Russian coal mines for the period 2007 to 2010. The agency said 80% of all coal mines contain high methane levels.

Another Coal Mine Blast in Russia Kills 10

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Jeff Lawrence, the 17-year president of ICEM affiliate Liquor, Hospitality, and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU), won selection last week as Secretary-elect of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). 
 
He will succeed Greg Combet, who will stand down late this year as the day-to-day leader of the Australia&rsquo;s national labour centre and run for Parliament from the New South Wales district of Charlton in 2007 elections. Combet has served as secretary of the 1.9-million-member ACTU since the year 2000. 
<img height="187" alt="" src="" width="200" />
Jeff Lawrence, new ACTU Secretary-elect
Lawrence, 55, was the only person nominated for the post at the ACTU&rsquo;s Organising Conference on 13 June at the University of New South Wales. He began his trade union career in 1977 for the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union, one of several predecessor unions to the 130,000-member LHMU. 
 
&ldquo;I am determined to work hard to see off the Howard government and its unfair IR laws,&rdquo; Lawrence stated. &ldquo;As ACTU Secretary, I want to work with Australian working families to ensure that they and their rights are given respect. (That includes) respect for them to be heard &hellip; in the workplace and in society in general; respect for their role as parents and carers; (and) respect for their skills and their ability to improve themselves. 
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&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what WorkChoices, the Howard government&rsquo;s industrial law, has taken away.&rdquo; 
ACTU President Sharan Burrow called Lawrence a trade unionist who has led the charge against the Howard government&rsquo;s draconian labour relations reforms. &ldquo;He is from a union that has members at the forefront of the impact of WorkChoices,&quot; she said. &ldquo;I look forward to working with Jeff Lawrence and to developing a new partnership to lead the community campaign to restore the rights of working Australians taken away by the Australian government.&rdquo;

LHMU’s Jeff Lawrence to Succeed Greg Combet as head of Australian Council of Trade Unions

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Stefan L&ouml;fven was elected President of Nordic IN at a Congress held 15 June in Reykjavik, Iceland. Nordic IN is a regional trade union federation, representing 1.2 million workers of 22 affiliated national unions in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. 
 
L&ouml;fven, who is the president of Swedish ICEM affiliate, IF Metall, the metal and chemical workers&rsquo; union, succeeds Kjell Bj&oslash;rndalen, who retired. Nordic-In&rsquo;s biennial Congress, attended by 70 delegates, also elected Thorkild Jensen, from Denmark's CO-industri, and Mari-Ann Krantz, from Sweden's Sif, as vice presidents. Jyrki Raina continues as general secretary. 
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New Nordic IN President Stefan L&ouml;fven
The federation&rsquo;s action programme 2008-2009 adopted at the Reykjavik Congress states that Nordic unions will work together to: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>safeguard the Nordic model with a high unionisation rate, strong collective agreements, social security and workers' participation; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>work towards fair globalisation and to ensure the respect of trade union rights in all parts of the world; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>promote proactive trade, energy and environmental policies; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>train union officers and European Works Council members on networking and on how to handle cross-border restructuring cases in multinational companies; and to </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>promote recruitment of new members and stronger union structures in the Baltic states. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
As part of the Congress, a thematic session was held that included participation by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and trade union leaders representing the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF), the European Metal Workers&rsquo; Federation (EMF), and the European Mine, Chemical, and Energy Workers&rsquo; Federation (EMCEF). 
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Nordic IN General Secretary Jyrki Raina
That session centered on discussion on the future of the trade union movement in the global economy. &ldquo;The work Nordic IN is doing is a prime example of what can be accomplished when trade unions unite and follow a common agenda,&rdquo; said the ICEM&rsquo;s Warda. 
 
Nordic IN, founded on 1 January 2006 with the merger of Nordic Metal and the Nordic Industry Workers&rsquo; Federation (NIF), has as a basic mission to coordinate the policies and action of Nordic trade unions, especially within European industry federations EMF, EMCEF and the European Textile, Clothing, and Leather Federation, as well as within ICEM, IMF, and ITGLWF. 
 
The Congress confirmed that Nordic unions will continue to work to bring industrial workers into one federation in Europe and in the world, in order to maximise our resources in a globalised world.

Nordic IN Holds Biennial Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland

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One of ICEM&rsquo;s UK affiliates, Unite, has released a comprehensive study detailing the use and misuse of agency workers in the UK. The union, Britain&rsquo;s largest and the product of a recent merger between Amicus and the Transport and General Workers Union, released the results of the study to the Department of Trade and Industry early this month. 
 
The study finds systematic abuse and misuse of agency and temporary workers at some of the most visible corporations operating in UK, including Coca-Cola, BMW, Harper Collins Publishers, Norwich Union, Honda, Unisys, and WH Smith. The study was conducted by Unite&rsquo;s Amicus section, throughout the sectors of manufacturing, finance, construction, and graphical/media. 
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&ldquo;Regardless of how you define a McJob, many employers are using agency workers to undermine pay and conditions, and replace permanent workers with cheaper, less qualified labour, leaving hundreds of thousands in a cycle of insecure and low-paid employment,&rdquo; stated Derek Simpson, Unite Joint General Secretary. 
 
The study cites a situation at Unisys in which a contract employer, Right4Staff Agency, had up to five South African data-processing workers share one bed. The workers took turns sleeping, with those not sleeping being at work. At a Honda Civic plant in Swindon, due to growth in sales, the Japanese automaker found it needed an additional 800 workers. But rather than hire and train full-time, permanent staff, local managers turned to an agency called Best Connection. Workers from this agency are paid ₤2-an-hour less than the Honda starting rate and receive a third less holidays. 
 
At Coca-Cola in Wakefield, an agency specifically recruits Polish workers to do quality checking at ₤7-an-hour, nearly half the hourly wage negotiated by Amicus at the plant, and they miss out on a 38% shift allowance. At a BMW plant in Hams Hall, the company&rsquo;s canteen operates with a two-tier pricing system &ndash; with prices higher for temporary staff. Some temp workers at BMW here have laboured for more than five years without being called for full-time employment. 
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Unite blames the UK government with failing to provide equal employment rights to agency and temporary workers, despite a commitment from the 2004 Warwick agreement to do so. That agreement saw the Blair government pledge to implement the measures contained in the proposed EU Directive on Temporary and Agency Workers. Nothing was done. 
 
&ldquo;We expect the new leadership of the Labour government to right this wrong, and implement the measures contained in the proposed (directive),&rdquo; said Simpson. 
 
Earlier this year, a private member&rsquo;s bill in Parliament brought by Labour MP Paul Farelly of Newcastle-under-Lyme was introduced that would have given agency workers the same rights, pensions, and working conditions as full-time workers. But the bill was talked out and denied a vote in the House of Commons.

Unite Study in UK Finds Rampant Abuse of Agency Workers

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With the last hurdle cleared on 13 June for the public stock listing next year of German mining, energy, and chemicals company RAG, IGBCE succeeded in getting workers&rsquo; future security guaranteed, as well as winning retirement security for coalminers in the event mining of anthracite coal ceases in 2018. 
 
The central tenet to a negotiated agreement between German politicians, IGBCE, RAG CEO Werner M&uuml;ller, and others is the creation of a new foundation that will hold a 25.1% in the company, which is expecting a new name once it is listed. The foundation would sell shares in the chemicals, energy, and real estate portion of RAG, with proceeds estimated to range from &euro;6 billion to &euro;8 billion to cover pension and other liabilities. 
<img height="83" alt="" src="" width="66" />
Additionally, RAG will make &euro;3 million available to immediately assist workers at the insolvent Deilmann Haniel Mining Co. in Dortmund. IGBCE President Hubertus Schmoldt thanked M&uuml;ller for his leadership during the six months of difficult talks. IGBCE also endorsed the decision for M&uuml;ller to hold the central strategic position of the new public-traded company. 
 
&ldquo;It is now finally clear that we will go forward to the stock exchange with an integrated company involving chemicals, energy, and real estate,&rdquo; stated Schmoldt. &ldquo;This is a solid basis for future jobs,&rdquo; adding that financial promises also have been made for the loss of coal-mining jobs, thus meeting that social obligation. 
 
The 13-member board of the new company will include Schmoldt, as well as the current Works Council chairman of RAG.

German IGBCE Wins Financial Security for Workers of RAG

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The demands of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU) that caused pipeline strikes near Basra during the week of 4 June were met, thus precluding further strike action that was to occur last week. 
 
On 11 June, leaders of the IFOU met with Iraq&rsquo;s Minister of State for Parliament Affairs, who directly represented Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Pledges that al-Maliki made to the union in mid-May were put into effect, including establishing a committee to deal with oil workers&rsquo; grievances. Those grievances, numbering 16, include salaries, work conditions, health and safety concerns, and a demand for consultation over the future of Iraq&rsquo;s oil industry. 
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In a statement, IFOU President Hassan Jumaa Awad Alasady said, &ldquo;Finally, the workers have won in demanding their legitimate rights. That is why an enlarged meeting was held with his Excellency, Minister of State for Parliament Affairs, lasting five hours (and) resulting in the cessation of all the failings resulting from the conduct of the Iraqi Oil Minister and (his) irresponsible stance. 
 
&ldquo;The activation of the committee formed by the Prime Minister to deal with the outstanding problems was affirmed. And after deliberations within our union, the two sides agreed to halt the strike and to use dialogue in dealings to resolve the outstanding issues.&rdquo; 
 
Basra-area pipeline workers, part of the 26,000-member IFOU, shut down oil pipelines leading to Baghdad on 4 June, and again on 5 June, over the decision by the country&rsquo;s oil minister, Hussein Shahrastani, and the general manager of the pipeline company, Adel Aziz, to void Prime Minister al-Maliki&rsquo;s pledge to IFOU. 
<img height="115" src="" width="250" alt="" />
The strike was suspended late on 5 June when Iraqi military forces surrounded the strikers. Also, IFOU learned that a number of union and strike leaders faced arrest warrants. The ICEM was on the front lines of this dispute, together with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the US Solidarity Center, and the UK&rsquo;s Trades Union Congress, in drawing attention to the plight of strikers. 
 
The ICEM is extremely grateful to its affiliates who quickly responded with messages of support to IFOU, a point that was also made by Comrade Hassan Jumaa Awad: &ldquo;We extend our thanks to all, from across the world, who have campaigned and written to express solidarity with the oil workers and the IFOU.&rdquo;

Iraqi Oil Workers Declare ‘Tactical Victory’ in Southern Strike

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The Finnish Chemical Workers Union, Kemianliitto, signed a new national labour agreement on 8 June with chemical employers. The 30-month accord, coming 15 weeks before a current, two-year agreement is set to expire, covers 20,000 workers in Finland&rsquo;s chemicals, plastics, oil, and petrochemical industries. 
 
It provides for wage increases that are substantially higher than the country&rsquo;s predicted 2% inflation rate will be. 
 
On 12 June, Kemianliitto finished negotiations with rubber sector employers on a similar contract, covering 2,000 rubber workers. And, last night, 17 June, Finland&rsquo;s Union of Salaried Employees&rsquo; Union, Toimihenkil&ouml;unioni, began bargaining with the same employers for a renewal contract to replace the one expiring on 30 September 2007, applying to 6,500 white-collar workers in the chemicals industries.
<img height="57" src="" width="100" border="1" alt="" />
Both Kemanianlitto and Toimihenkil&ouml;unioni are ICEM affiliates. 
 
The pact for the 20,000 blue-collar workers includes an immediate bonus this month of between &euro;250 and &euro;305. On 1 October 2007, a pay increase of 3.4% was won, and another 2.5% is due in September 2008. Industry workers will receive a third percentage increase of 2.5% in May 2009, with the contract expiring on 31 January 2010. Additionally, the package includes performance-related increases for 2008 and 2009 that will be negotiated at plant-level, and which should result in a 0.4% bonus each year. 
 
The 8 June accord was the first in this round of bargaining under Finland&rsquo;s incomes policy agreement. The strength of the wage package makes it clear that workers were not harmed by certain industrial employer associations, which chose to forego income policy bargaining at the national confederation level, i.e. centralised bargaining across all Finnish work sectors, and instead, sought national bargaining on a sector-by-sector basis.

Finnish Chemical, Oil Workers Set Pay Patterns for the Country

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Whereas, the dispute between the workers of the National Federation of &ldquo;Chemistry&rdquo; &ndash; CL &ndash; &ldquo;Podkrepa, ICEM affiliate in Bulgaria, and their employer, Turkey-based Sisecam, continues at two glass plants of the Group in Targovishte, Bulgaria; 
 
Whereas, the workers have been on strike since May 19, 2007, demanding a proper payment for night work, as well as for work performed during overtime, beyond the country&rsquo;s legal minimum wage; 
 
Whereas, the workers merely demand their rights, as already guaranteed under existing Bulgarian labour law, and a signed collective agreement with their company; 
 
Whereas, the company continues its resistance toward a reasonable collective agreement and engages in blatant anti-union behaviour; 
 
 
Be it resolved, that the participants at the ICEM regional conference for Central Europe, meeting in Hungary on 5 and 6 June 2007,&nbsp;strongly support the Sisecam workers in their legitimate struggle for justice; 
 
Be it further resolved that the participants vigorously condemn the actions taken by the company to threaten workers, as well as the Bulgarian Government, with withdrawing investment in Bulgaria if existing labour laws are not changed, and if the union does not halt the strike.

ICEM resolution on Sisecam dispute in Bulgaria

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