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The global ICEM family last week congratulated the victory by South Africa&rsquo;s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) to block Brazilian mining group Vale&rsquo;s efforts to invest in the country, and to operate elsewhere in the region. Vale&rsquo;s anti-union behaviour throughout the world, most notably against the United Steelworkers (USW) in Canada, led NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni to describe the company as &ldquo;one of the world&rsquo;s leading labour exploiters.&rdquo; 
 
The base-metals mining company Metorex, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, had been a long-term acquisition target for Vale. The South Africa-based miner has extensive copper and cobalt mining operations, and prospective growth projects, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Zambia. 
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Frans Baleni
The announcement that Vale were pulling out of the Metorex bid, due to strong pressure from the union, was welcome news on 12 July. If the mining multinational had continued its pursuit, NUM was set to challenge the takeover in the South African Competition Commission. 
 
The alternative bidder for Metorex, the Chinese company Jinchuan, also has a negative labour relations history and is not being welcomed by the NUM. The defeat of Vale will give a stark warning to Jinchuan of the NUM&rsquo;s strength. Baleni warned Jinchuan that &ldquo;when in South Africa, do as South Africans do.&rdquo; 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda congratulated Baleni on the victory, describing it as &ldquo;another example of the strength of Africa&rsquo;s predominant trade union.&rdquo; 
 
Jinchuan has offered R 9.1 billion (&euro;930 million) for Metorex, and the company&rsquo;s board has recommended that shareholders accept the offer.

NUM Succeeds in Blocking Vale’s Bid for Metorex in Southern Africa

The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) today signed a Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with Petr&oacute;leo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, the world&rsquo;s third largest energy company. The agreement, the 20-million-member ICEM&rsquo;s 16th since 1998, was signed at the Brazilian company&rsquo;s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, and Petrobras Director for Gas and Industry, Maria Das Gracas Silva Foster, Executive Director for Human Relations, Diego Hernandes, and Joao Antonio de Moraes, General Coordinator of FUP (the Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Unified federation of Brazil). 
 
A GFA is a social pact between a multinational company and a Global Union Federation that puts in place the very highest standards regarding trade union and human rights, health, safety, and environmental practices, and quality of work principles across all of a company&rsquo;s global operations. 
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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda signs Petrobras GFA
&ldquo;This is ICEM&rsquo;s fourth such agreement with an oil and gas concern,&rdquo; said Warda, &ldquo;and it embodies many of the social principles that we expect companies in extractive industries to adhere to.&rdquo; The ICEM has previously negotiated GFAs with Statoil of Norway, Eni of Italy and Lukoil of Russia. 
 
The agreement was signed with approval from ICEM Brazilian trade union affiliate, the Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Unified Federation (FUP), whose leaders were present at the signing together with ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Regional Vice President Sergio Novais of Brazil. Support from both FUP and Sergio Novais was important in reaching the agreement. 
 
The agreement commits Petrobras to recognizing the right of freedom of association and to bargain collectively for all employees, as well as establishing formal dialogue channels between staff and management. It also promotes working conditions that are favorable to a balance between work, personal, and family life. 
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ICEM, Petrobras, FUP
The GFA states that Petrobras &ldquo;will strive to get all service providers to comply&rdquo; with nine labour relations points contained in the agreement, including health and safety and providing necessary equipment, permanent institutionalization of negotiation channels, and equal opportunities and promotion of training opportunities. 
 
The agreement also recognizes global standards contained in the ILO Tripartite Declaration on Principles for Multinational Corporations and Social Policy, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Corporations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the UN Global Compact. 
 
Warda and Petrobras CEO Jos&eacute; S. Gabriella de Azevedo initiated talks on the ICEM-Petrobras GFA as board members of the Global Compact some three years ago. 
 
Petrobras, 56% owned by the Brazilian government, has 80,500 employees and operates in some 30 countries. The company is a leader in exploration and production of oil, and operates 16 refineries as well as numerous petrochemical, biofuels, pipelines and other installations. The ICEM is composed of 255 national trade unions operating in 94 countries. 
 
For further information, contact ICEM&rsquo;s Dick Blin (+41 79 734 8994, <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>) or Tom Grinter (+41 22 304 1842, <a href="mailto:tom.grinter@icem.org">tom.grinter@icem.org</a>).

ICEM Signs 16th Global Agreement with Petrobras of Brazil

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Finland&rsquo;s papermaking unions, Paperiliitto and Ammattiliitto Pro, have new 25-month labour agreements with the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) that take effect in March 2012. That was assured yesterday, 28 November, after the employers&rsquo; association in the transport, ports, and shipping industry signed&nbsp;an accord with AKT, the Transport Drivers&rsquo; and Port Workers&rsquo; Union. 

Even though the FFIF came to terms with the two ICEM affiliates separately in the pulp and paper sector last Wednesday, 23 November, the FFIF was unwilling to sign off on the agreement until they had a guarantee that&nbsp;strikes would not&nbsp;occur in the transportation and export of pulp and paper products.
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The agreement in the paper sector follows a framework agreement made between the three national trade union confederations &ndash; SAK, STTK and STTK &ndash; and the Confederation of Finnish Industries on 13 October. 

In March 2012, Ammattiliitto Pro members&nbsp;will receive a 1.6% across-the-board wage increase, in addition to an average 0.8% increase that will be negotiated locally and is part of a new salary structure. That amount will reward new work demands, personal skill developments, and greater efficiencies by workers on the local level.
Paperiliitto members will receive a 1.5% increase, with&nbsp;0.9%&nbsp;to be negotiated locally. 

Essentially, this new salary structure was recognized by employers through strike actions taken last spring by Ammattiliitto Pro, Finland&rsquo;s white-collar and clerical workers&rsquo; union, which represents about 4,000 staff at some 50 paper enterprises. 

In April 2013, the wage increase for Ammattillio Pro&nbsp;will be 1.3%, with a 0.6% award won on the new locally-negotiated salary structure. Paperiliitto's 2013 increase will be 1.2%, with 0.7% awarded locally.
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Two other important aspects of the pulp and paper agreement include extra protection for workers when mills close. In effect, employers take on more responsibility for re-training and skill development, as well as workers given the flexibility to take new work in another enterprise and still qualify for redundancy benefits. 

Also, shop stewards and safety representatives who receive slightly higher pay for their responsibilities will get a 10% supplement on top of that higher pay. The two unions also won a universal three-day paid leave annually for vocational training and education. 

Both Petri Vanhala, President of Paperiliitto, and Markku Palokangas, Pro&rsquo;s Vice President for the Industrial Sector, expressed satisfaction with the 25-month agreement, especially with&nbsp;the gains made&nbsp;through the national framework agreement. Paperiliitto represents some 19,000 blue-collar workers across Finland&rsquo;s pulp and paper industry.

Finnish Pulp, Paper Unions Make Gains in 2012-2014 Industry-wide Pacts

Trade unionists of SPPTTEL, part of ICEM affiliate FSP2KI in Indonesia, began a strike today and they need your support. The strike is over bullying and bargaining table intimidation by management of PT Tanjung Enim Lestari, almost totally owned by the Marubeni Corp. of Japan. 
 
The ICEM today sent a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/87.ICEM.PTTanjungEnimLestari.Indonesia.pdf">protest letter</a> to mill managers. Please copy all of the letter or better yet, put your own few words into effect and send to the <a href="mailto:ykanbe@telpp.com; eko.ganefianto@telpp.com; amrodji@telpp.com">mill management team</a>. Tell them how you feel about threats and intimidation of legitimate shop-floor union representatives. 
 
The situation is this: collective negotiations began in late June and continued on 12 July and 15 July. They were done in tripartite fashion with involvement from the local government of South Sumatra. But the company managers named above completely stonewalled any movement toward agreement, instead threatening the union committee with termination if they continued their persistence for a collective contract. These managers also threatened layoffs and stated that if paperworkers went on strike, police force would be used. 
 
Today, 26 July, began the first day of the strike. SPPTTEL is expected to continue the strike through to 30 July. 
 
As well, please cut and paste the following support message and send to the unions involved and SPPTTEL union leader below: 
 
We have heard of your strike at PT Tanjung Enim Lestari and we offer you our full support and solidarity. Please let all the workers know they have the support of out union. (signed) 
 
The solidarity messages should go to <a href="mailto:sppttel@telpp.com; mediacentre.fsp2ki@gmail.com; irzanz@yahoo.co.id">SPPTTEL and FSP2KI</a>. 
 
PT Tanjung Enim Lestari is a market pulp mill that employs about 1,000 workers and produces 450,000 metric tonnes per year of market pulp.

Indonesian Paperworkers On Strike at Japanese Marubeni Pulp Mill

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The ICEM congratulates RadioLabour on reaching the significant milestone of 30,000 listeners worldwide. RadioLabour is the &ldquo;labour movement&rsquo;s radio service&quot;, broadcasting views, issues, and events daily Monday to Friday. In a world where media is dominated by a handful of conglomerates, RadioLabour service is unique and important. The service is less than two years old. 
 
The ICEM is proud to provide access to this important labour communications tool. Click on the RadioLabour logo at the bottom-right of any ICEM webpage. 
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The Solidarity News shows are five minutes long Monday to Thursday, the Friday show is ten minutes long and summarises the news of the week. 
 
RadioLabour's news programmes are presented by noted international labour educator, Marc B&eacute;langer, and broadcaster, Irma Arkus. 
 
RadioLabour is also accessible via its <a href="http://www.radiolabour.net/">website</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/radiolabour">Facebook</a>, mobile phones, <a href="http://www.radiolabour.net/itunes-instructs.html">iTunes</a>, UnionBook and <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/radiolabour">Twitter</a>. 
 
B&eacute;langer&rsquo;s team specialises in news about workers and unions in the developing world. Access RadioLabour interviews with union leaders from the Global South on their website.

RadioLabour Achieves Significant Milestone

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Trade unionists are encouraged to apply for the Masters programme at Witwatersrand University, South Africa. The deadline for applications is 31 July. The course on Labour Globalisation is one of the specialised Masters programmes offered by the Global Labour University (GLU). 
 
Participants of GLU courses have the unique opportunity to engage in a diploma course that puts individuals on the front lines of current labour policies in the rapid globalisation of trade and commerce. 
 
The two 14-week semesters of the course compliment an internship placement for participants at trade unions and labour research institutions, offering the chance to engage in the labour movements in different countries and at the international level. 
 
For details, including application and scholarship availability, visit the <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org">site</a> here. <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/54.html">Application forms</a> can be downloaded here. Applications should be sent to <a href="mailto:engage@uni-kassel.de">engage@uni-kassel.de</a>. 
 
The GLU, part of the ILO, has trained trade unionists in economics and in social sciences from 49 countries in its short existence, giving national and local trade union staff the opportunity to pick up specific curriculums tailored to improve their skills at home. 
 
The GLU awards a limited number of scholarships for participants from developing and transition countries. Applicants need to have the endorsement of a trade union to apply for a scholarship.

Global Labour University Masters Application Deadline 31 July

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The ICEM-affiliated FGTB-ABVV reached a settlement last Friday, 15 July, with management of the Belgian Refining Corporation (BRC), over the unjust sacking of three employees. Negotiations were held following a strong manifestation of solidarity, nationally and internationally, calling for the workers&rsquo; reinstatement. 
 
Two of the three dismissed employees were FGTB-ABVV union reps. A heated month of protest followed the sackings over invented charges of harassing a security guard. Joint protests were launched by all six Belgian unions representing oil workers, and were supported by ICEM and the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers&rsquo; Federation (EMCEF). 
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FGTB-ABVV made clear that the solidarity efforts had been important in reaching a settlement, and thanked all BRC workers and trade union activists involved in pickets and other actions during the month. 
 
The union&rsquo;s General Secretary, Paul Lootens, and President Alain Clauwaert said that members at BRC would now put the conflict behind them, and hope to restore good relations and social dialogue with the Swiss-based refiner. 
 
The BRC refinery is located north of the Port of Antwerp at the centre of the ARA region, owned by European refiner Petroplus Holdings. BRC has production capacity of 107,500 barrels per day, and sells primarily inside the Benelux countries.

BRC Belgium Conflict Settled, Sacked Oil Workers Reinstated

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The National Garment Workers Federation of Bangladesh (NGWF) organised a hunger strike on 8 July in the capital city of Dhaka. The hunger protest was done due to appalling conditions for workers in the industry, and focused on four current disputes. 
 
The NGWF is a highly active member trade union of the International Textile, Garment &amp; Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF). 
 
NGWF President Amirul Haque Amin reports that the four on-going disputes are all occurring in Dhaka. At Onyx Knitex, a knitwear manufacturer, management arbitrarily closed the plant on 14 June, with no prior discussion or warning to the union or to the government. The 250 workers at the plant are now jobless and they received no salaries or overtime pay due them for the months of May and June. Onyx Knitex paid no compensation for the factory closure. The NGWF filed a complaint to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on 15 June, and are awaiting action toward a resolution. 
<img alt="" src="" width="131" height="133" />
NGWF President Amirul Haque Amin
The second conflict is at Benson Apparels, a clothing manufacturer supplying markets in North and South America. The company sacked 97 workers on 14 March. The NGWF lodged a complaint with the BGMEA on 25 March, but the company management has rejected calls for negotiation with BGMEA or the union. 
 
A similar story occurred at Hong Kong-based Riz Fashion, a manufacturer selling mainly in Eastern Europe. On 14 December, management of Riz Fashion in Dhaka fired 28 workers. Following an official complaint by the NGWF, negotiations were conducted with the company director via the BGMEA. Negotiations reached a solution, whereby management would pay outstanding wages, overtime, and compensation. However, those payments have never been made. 
 
On 24 December, management of Indian manufacturer ADITI Apparels fired 27 workers. Similarly to the Riz Fashion case, talks at the BGMEA in the presence of ADITI management, concluded that management must pay outstanding wages, overtime, and compensation. Again, compensation due has not been made. 
 
These four labour-abuse complaints have been brought to the government&rsquo;s attention. The ICEM and the ITGLWF is hopeful that the government of Bangladesh will pressure employers to respect labour rights, instead of allowing companies to abuse workers with impunity.

Bangladesh Garment Workers’ Take Hunger Strike Actions over Delinquent Employers

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The ICEM-affiliated Brazil Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Unified Federation (FUP) conducted three days of selected work stoppages from 6-8 July at selected workplaces of state-controlled Petr&oacute;leo Brasileiro, or Petrobr&aacute;s. The protests reflect the union&rsquo;s disgruntlement with the profit-sharing plan of the company, and work slowdowns occurred at some 65 worksites. 
 
FUP is seeking higher profit-sharing payouts than the current and outdated 12% put in place in 2008. The union is demanding that workers receive an amount equal to the 25% dividend payments made to Petrobr&aacute;s shareholders. The company, which ranks in the top of the world&rsquo;s oil and gas producers, saw profits grow last year to R$35.2 billion, or US$22.7 billion. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="140" />
FUP demands also call on the 56% state-owned company to drop special bonus payments to executives. 
 
The strikes began 6 July at 35 offshore platforms in the ultra-deep Campos Basin off Brazil&rsquo;s southeastern coast and spread the next day to exploration and production worksites in northern Bahia and Cear&aacute; states. Reduction of work hours on 7 July also occurred at the Cacimbas gas production plant in Espirito Santo state in southeastern Brazil. 
 
On 8 July, FUP members delayed the start of their work day at the Campo do Amaro and Rancho da Forquiha on-land oilfields in northeastern Rio Grande do Norte state. And job actions also occurred at several of the company&rsquo;s 11 refineries, bio-diesel plants, and administrative offices. 
 
Petrobr&aacute;s is Brazil&rsquo;s largest corporation, the country&rsquo;s leader retailer of oil and fuel-based products, and operates subsidiaries in 27 countries.

FUP Members in Brazil Conduct Short Strikes at Petrobrás

The ArcelorMittal Health and Safety Committee, created in June 2008 in a common effort by the company and unions to improve safety in ArcelorMittal, issued its first report of activities on 15 August called &ldquo;Together for Safety.&rdquo; The number of fatalities has declined since 2008, but remains unacceptably high in the company. 
 
In 2008, ArcelorMittal management and unions signed an agreement to create a Joint Health and Safety Committee to address the high number of fatalities in the company&rsquo;s units. The Committee is composed of representatives of the IMF, the European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation, the United Steelworkers (USW), CNM-CUT, a mining area representative, and company Health and Safety representatives. 
 
On 15 August, the Joint Global Health and Safety Committee launched its first report, concluding it has had a positive impact on the number of fatalities, which it ascribes to good workplace cooperation between trade unions and management. 
 
Since its inception, the Committee has created local health and safety committees and made site visits in priority company sites in Kazakhstan, Brazil, Mexico, Czech Republic, Romania, South Africa, USA, Argentina, and Ukraine. During these visits, local union members and management met with committee members to review the local safety situation and develop a health and safety action plan. The committee has then arranged follow-up visits. 
 
The committee concludes that it has had a positive impact on the number of accidents in the workplace, especially fatalities, and helped reduce risk faced by workers. It has also helped to improve communication and cooperation between unions and management, locally and globally. 
 
The committee, however, also notes an increase in the number of fatalities in the last year &ndash; from 36 in 2009 to 41 in 2010, which is considered to be unacceptably high by both unions and management. 
 
There remain issues of dispute between unions and management. The company has publicised a set of &ldquo;Golden Rules&rdquo; for safety and associated actions, including penalties for violations, while unions fear that this violations policy will impede safety by dissuading workers to report about minor accidents and near misses, thereby creating a lazy safety management culture. 
 
There is also joint criticism of inconsistent responses to requests for health and safety training, and a deficient dialogue on the subject at some business units and work sites. 
 
The parties remain committed to the committee&rsquo;s work, and see the joint report and accompanying union and management statements as evidence for a working dialogue and commitment to building a positive workplace culture. 
 
The report, &ldquo;Together for Safety,&rdquo; has been issued in English, and will be published also in French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese. 
 
For further details, contact Joint Committee co-chair Rob Johnston at <a href="void(0);/*1316099350265*/">rjohnston@imfmetal.org</a>.

Common Efforts Input to Workers’ Safety at ArcelorMittal

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