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The worst US refinery explosion in over a decade happened at a BPAmoco complex in Texas City, Texas, on 23 March. PACE represents some 1,100 workers at the refinery with a total workforce of 1,800, counting contract employees. 
A total of 15 workers&mdash;all employed by contractors&mdash;died in the blast that occurred near an isomerization unit that boosts octane levels of petrol. The unit was being restarted at the time of the explosion after undergoing scheduled maintenance. 
Over 100 other workers were injured and about 80 of those are employed by contractors. Major contractors, who together with BP will share responsibility for the explosion, include Jacobs Engineering, JE Merit and Fluor.

BP Explosion in US State of Texas Deadly for Contract Workers

US affiliates United Steelworkers (USWA) and PACE will conduct concurrent conventions next week in which PACE members will vote on a merger agreement with the USWA. But continuing the unions&rsquo; two-year-old joint strategic pact developed to take up political and strategic social issues, USWA and PACE targeted 60 Weyerhaeuser forest products worksites last week in the US and Canada with the union message. PACE and the USWA are the ranking one, two North American unions representing Weyerhaeuser workers in forestry, solid wood products, pulp, paper and paperboard worksites. &ldquo;We are stronger as workers when we work together, and we are demonstrating that strength to (Weyerhaeuser),&rdquo; said Gerald Johnston, PACE Regional Vice President and Weyerhaeuser Union Council Chairman.

PACE, USWA in US Braced to Merge

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After one strike ultimatum given in March to Nigeria&rsquo;s oil industry was lifted to conduct further talks, affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN are prepared now to take three-day strike action beginning 11 April. Talks broke off 30 March between the two unions and several global oil companies and their contractors and mediation is being done by the country&rsquo;s Ministry of Labour and Productivity. 
At issue is the ever increasing number of expatriate workers entering Nigeria&rsquo;s oil sector, a fact that shatters set quota levels. The two unions also list among issues casualisation, deductions in worker salaries to fund pension benefits, and Nigeria&rsquo;s downstream restructuring programme which already has brought 4,700 redundancies. NUPENG and PENGASSAN members are wearing red shirts and other red items in the days leading up to the planned 11 April action.

Strike Threat in Nigerian Oil Industry Over Expat Workers

China recorded further mass deaths in yet another coal mine disaster over the weekend. On 19 March, a gas blast at Xishui colliery near Shuozhou, Shanzi province, killed 60, with another nine miners still missing. The explosion collapsed a wall in the adjacent Kangjiayao mine and several of the dead and trapped miners were working there. The Xishui mine was ordered shut last November for safety reasons, but mine owners&mdash;now being held by police&mdash;restarted production early this year in defiance of authorities. This latest disaster comes a mere two days after another gas explosion killed 19 miners in Chongquing in southwestern Sichuan province. And on 14 March, a gas blast at Qitaihe Coal Field Group killed 18 at the Xinfu mine in Qitaihe, Heilongjiang province.

Three Chinese Mine Accidents Kill 100

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South African chemicals company Sasol had yet another fatality at its Secunda, Mpumalanga, synfuels plant. And again it involved a contract worker. On 15 March, a worker for US contractor Fluor was killed in an accident inside the plant&rsquo;s pipe fabrication shop. 
The fatality is the seventh major incident at Sasol operations since a contract employee at Secunda allegedly caused a blast last September, killing ten and injuring 360. Welilo Nolingo, General Secretary of ICEM affiliate Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union, was on site following the death to talk to workers. 
CEPPWAWU said Sasol was refusing to take responsibility for this latest incident. Last month, CEO Pieter Cox said the company was reviewing safety procedures for all contractors after safety related incidents at both Secunda and a refinery in Sasolburg, Free State. A South African radio station reported after this latest death that another contractor performing maintenance work for Sasol was doing that work without the necessary permits.

Contract Worker Victim at Sasol Chemicals in South Africa

A strike by glass workers of several Belgian unions at Glaverbel&rsquo;s AGC Automotive Fleurus ended 15 March in a negotiated settlement over a restructuring plan. The strike, begun in December in the southern Belgian town of Fleurus, included ICEM affiliates CG-FGTB and white-collar SETCa-BBTK. Negotiators managed to soften the impact of those being retrenched by gaining additional severance pay, getting early retirement after age 50, and reducing the cuts from 284 to 247 at the 800- worker factory. Glaverbel is owned by Asahi Glass, the world&rsquo;s second largest glassmaker.

Belgian Unions End Strike at Glass Plant

Members of UK&rsquo;s Transport &amp; General Workers Union at Michelin&rsquo;s Stoke tyre plant in the Midlands are in their 11th day of industrial action following the French company&rsquo;s refusal to consolidate a pay offer with pension, holiday and other benefits. The 400 workers rejected a non-consolidated pay offer 10 March for the second time and are refusing overtime and all cooperative programmes with management. Tying the pay offer of 3% also to pensions and other benefits would cost Michelin less than the revised offer the company made last week that included performance-related payments, said T&amp;G. Workers staged a mass protest outside the factory 15 March, the same day Michelin announced its 2004earnings topped those of 2003 by 60%, &pound; 358 million to 220 million.

Industrial Action at Michelin in the UK

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South Korea&rsquo;s unions are joining to block an anti-worker Contract Labour Bill expected to come before the National Assembly next month. The legislation, put forth by the government and business groups, was delayed in February. 
Among other regressive measures, it would liberalise contract labour by extending terms of service from two to three years. Some 45% of the country&rsquo;s workforce is now comprised of contract workers who, on average, receive half the salaries of full-time workers, but oftentimes work 50% more hours. 
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said on 18 March it would return to tripartite labour, management, government dialogue to prevent further liberalization on contract labour. KCTU is working with the country&rsquo;s other national center&mdash; the Federation of Korean Trade Unions&mdash;to block the measure. &ldquo;Our top priority is to protect irregular workers,&rdquo; stated KCTU General Secretary Lee Soo-Hu.

Korean Unions to Block Labour Reform Bill over Contract Workers

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On 26 October, ICEM Asia-Pacific Region&rsquo;s Working Women&rsquo;s group met in Jakarta, Indonesia, to continue its work on maternity protection. This work has been ongoing for at least a year, and was reflected from the seven points that arose out of the 2007 Women&rsquo;s World Conference. 
 
The meeting was attended by women from ICEM affiliates in Indonesia, Japan, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Australia. The women came from different industries &ndash; mining, cement, chemicals, glass, pharmaceuticals, and electric power. 
 
Pregnant women and new mothers continue to face discrimination in most countries of the world. The global financial crisis just makes this discrimination more acute. 
 
Women&rsquo;s needs for maternity protection, or parents&rsquo; rights, differ greatly in the Asia-Pacific Region. Due to the ageing societies and skills shortages in Japan and Australia, for instance, it is dawning on decision-makers that providing women with incentives to bear children may provide the solution. In other countries, women&rsquo;s rights are under threat due to outsourcing. 
 
It was decided to campaign for the ratification of ILO Convention 183, the Maternity Protection Convention, since no country in the region has ratified it. Nevertheless, many unions have successfully achieved some level of maternity protection through collective bargaining, and these efforts must be continued and strengthened.

Maternity Protection Theme of ICEM’s Asia-Pacific Working Women’s Group

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With the announcement the week before last by US-based International Paper Co. that its Inverurie printing and writing papers mills is &ldquo;unprofitable and not financially viable,&rdquo; ICEM UK affiliate Unite the Union said it will do everything possible to save the mill and the jobs. 
 
The company says the 255,000-tonne-per-year could shut next year. At stake are 371 well-paying jobs in recession-bitten Scotland. A mandatory three-month consultation period between International Paper (IP) and Unite representatives and shop stewards must now commence before any final is taken. 
 
&ldquo;Our first concern is for our members and their families at the mill,&rdquo; said Unite Assistant General Secretary Tony Burke. &ldquo;This is another body-blow to the papermaking industry in Scotland and to manufacturing throughout the UK.&rdquo; 
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An MP in the area near Aberdeen met with both the union and local mill management on 23 October. Alex Salmond told the Herald of Glasgow newspaper that two things are clear following the meeting: &ldquo;One, and it is agreed by everyone, is that the plant continues throughout the consultation period and that means well into next year. Secondly, the management has confirmed that all options are on the table for consideration.&rdquo; 
 
IP&rsquo;s Inverurie mill is some 40 kilometres inland from Aberdeen. It has two paper machines, with the No. 4 machine having been rebuilt in 1996. IP&rsquo;s tentative plans are to cease papermaking and develop the site into other uses. 
 
The mill has been a mainstay in the area since papermaking began near Inverurie in 1852. The American company, Federal Paper Board, bought the family-owned Tait paper mill in 1989. In 1996, IP acquired the mill when it took over Federal Paper Board and its three paper mills, several wood operations, and some 700,000 acres of forestlands, mainly in the US southeast.

Unite the Union in UK Will Fight to Save International Paper Mill in Scotland

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