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Workers, on strike at three Buenaventura gold and silver mines in Peru since 13 February, were forced to return to work on Saturday 20 February. Peruvian law requires mining companies to share 8% of profits with workers, and miners say Buenaventura has underreported its profits. Union leaders are demanding information regarding the company&rsquo;s finances for the period 2006-2009. 
 
Buenaventura is Peru&rsquo;s largest precious-metal mining house, and the struck mines included the ones at Orcopampa, Uchucchacua, and Antapite. 

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FNTMMSP Gen. Sec. Luis Castillo Carlos
The ICEM affiliate, National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (FNTMMSP), the country&rsquo;s largest mining union federation, was forced to end the strike at the weekend to avoid workers&rsquo; losing their jobs, as the Ministry of Labour ruled the strike was illegal. FNTMMSP General Secretary Luis Castillo Carlos, however, said that the 4,380 mineworkers of Buenaventura will likely strike again starting 3 March. 
 
Castillo announced that the union will hold workers&rsquo; assemblies over the coming days to vote on renewed strike action. He said renewed strike approval is expected to be granted. Peru&rsquo;s tax agency Sunat is reviewing Buenaventura&rsquo;s tax law compliance. 
 
Orcopampa and Antapite are gold producing mines, while Uchucchacua is a silver mine. The strike halted production at Orcopampa and Uchicchacua, while production continued at Antapite but at a reduced rate. 
 
In the third quarter of 2009, Buenaventura sold a total of 106,000 ounces of gold, and 3.76 million ounces of silver. Antapite, the smallest of the three mines, produced some 965,227 fine grams of gold in 2009. Orcopampa produced 8,549,730 fine grams of gold in 2009, while Uchucchacua produced 286,039 fine kilograms of silver. 
 
Globally, Peru is the largest producer of silver and the sixth largest producer of gold.

Peruvian Gold, Silver Miners End Strike, Still Seek Fair Profit Earnings

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The largest union at South African state-owned electric provider Eskom, ICEM-affiliated National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), has threatened national strike action if demands on housing allowances and promoting temporary workers to full-time positions are not met. 
 
The NUM engaged in marches and manifestations at Eskom facilities in three provinces last week, and a 16 February central march was undertaken by the union to present a petition of the demands to Eskom management at its at its Klerksdorp headquarters in Matlosana, North West province. 

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Those demands include delays in the finalization of housing allowances, deferred from last summer&rsquo;s collective negotiations; the banning of labour brokers and absorbing temporary workers onto full-time employment rolls; and opposition to the higher, proposed electricity tariffs of 35% in each of the next three years. 
 
&ldquo;We cannot have a situation in which some labour brokers are still around to exploit our members,&rdquo; said NUM Regional Coordinator Eldris Mphahlete, who also expressed his displeasure that the housing allowance issue is still unresolved. &ldquo;Strike action is on the horizon,&rdquo; he added. 

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The Congress of South African Unions (COSATU), and its regional branches are supporting the NUM in its demands. The NUM represents some 16,000 of Eskom&rsquo;s 28,000 employees in South Africa. 
 
Also last week, the NUM began an indefinite strike at Idwala Lime, a sodium carbonates and industrial materials business owned by Black Economic Empowerment company Tiso Group and private equity entities Ethos and Old Mutual. Operations are located near Danielskuil, Northern Cape province. A vast majority of the 300 workers have selected the NUM as bargaining representative, but management has refused formal recognition despite prolonged dialogue. NUM Regional Organizer Botshelo Lebelo said Idwala Lime is &ldquo;opting for a confrontational approach&rdquo; to labour-management relations.

Housing Allowances, Labour Brokers Bring NUM to Edge of Strike at Eskom

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German union IG Metall and the employers&rsquo; federation Gesamtmetall set the tone inside Germany for 2010-2011 bargaining when the two sides came to an early and enlightened accord on a pair of collective agreements covering 700,000 metal and electronics workers in North Rhine-Westphalia state. The agreement, two months ahead of schedule, is sure to serve as the boilerplate for collective agreements contracts covering 3.4 million German workers in the metals and electronics sectors. 
 
Most profoundly, the new North Rhine-Westphalia pilot contracts guarantee job security until the middle of 2012 and establish a precedent-setting protocol against job redundancies as a lesson to this global economic crisis. 
 
The 25-month pair of agreements was crafted congenially in Dusseldorf between IG Metall and the employers&rsquo; federation in two sets of talks that concluded in the early hours of 18 February. One pact defers a wage increase until spring 2011, while the other assures no operational redundancies will occur before 30 June 2012. This agreement also sets new and far-reaching regulations on shortened work-time, including partial wage adjustments for short-term work and lowered costs for employers who utilize short-time work. 

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A key and unifying part of the job-security agreement, called the &ldquo;future in work&rdquo; pact, is a joint and vigorous call on the German government to extend crisis-fostered benefits beyond the end of this year for workers taking shorter work weeks. It also guarantees that shorter work weeks, from 35 to 28 hours with pay of 29.5 hours, will be an option, with that short-time work to be met with sickness, vacation, and Christmas benefits based on 12 months work. 
 
A 2.7% wage increase will take effect around April 2011, with Works Councils given the mandate to negotiate that sum within two months prior or two months after that date. Between May 2010 and March 2011, two single, one-off payments totaling &euro;320 per worker will be made. An important underlying element to the accord is that it allows employers to undertake the precise planning necessary to dig out of the crisis. 

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IG Metall President Berthold Huber
IG Metall President Berthold Huber termed the job protection provisions of the agreement &ldquo;a good result in securing jobs in the biggest economic crisis in 80 years.&rdquo; He added that the government must now do its part to supplement the agreement with extended social insurance benefits. And more precise to the German economy, the agreements serve as a bellwether statement that mass job losses weaken purchasing power far more than nominal wage increases do to spike buying power. 
 
The agreements not only will protect the jobs of hundreds of thousands of workers but equally, they assure that German enterprises will retain the skilled and seasoned staff in a sector so crucial to Germany&rsquo;s economy. 
 
By late last week, IG Metall and the metal, electronics employers were already tabling the accord in negotiations in Baden-W&uuml;rttemberg state. And this week the novel social contracts will come before the parties in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, talks that take place in Hannover.

German Metalworkers, Employers Reach Historic Job Security Pact

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Four French unions last week, 18 February, approved average wage increases for 60,000 EDF (Electricit&eacute; de France) workers of 4.4% for 2010. CFDT, CGT, CFTC, and CFE-CGC won workers a progressive and far-sighted wage accord that has a base salary increase, plus increases based on seniority, training, incentives, and promotions. 
 
The 80% state-owned EDF will see half of its workforce retire over the next ten years, with 45% of the company&rsquo;s nuclear workers alone set to retire by 2015. An industry-wide increase of 1.2% that was negotiated last November and took effect on 1 January is also factored into the 4.4% average boost in salaries. The agreement also includes individual incentives of up to 1.8%. 

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Over two-thirds of the 60,000 workers, those employed in distribution and high-voltage electric utility positions, will realize average wage packages increases of 4.2%. The agreement also prioritises training and career advancement opportunities, and likely will prevent the labour unrest within EDF that was characterized by several industrial actions in 2009. 
 
The CFDT termed the agreement satisfactory, while the CGT, which for the first time in many years joined the other unions in approving the results of this bargain, said the new agreement makes up some of the lost purchasing power of the recent past. 
 
The company characterized the wage agreement as &ldquo;not exorbitant&rdquo; and said it reflects the will of management to heighten social dialogue with the unions, particularly on job formation and skill upgrades. The positive global financial results posted by EDF in 2009 also contributed to the amiable wage negotiations, with the company stating that the various wage packages granted French workers should contribute to optimal operational performance in 2010. 
 
EDF is the world&rsquo;s largest operator of nuclear power plants, with some 17 plants and 58 reactors in France alone.

French Unions, EDF Agree to Positive 2010 Wage Terms

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Last month, Bosnia-Herzegovina became the 24th country to ratify ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. Passage by the Parliament and ratification by the President of the Balkan nation came along with adoption of nine other ILO Conventions, several of which relate to safety and health. 
 
An ILO official in Sarejevo, Lejla Tanovic, explained that the ratifications came after the ILO invited the government to submit all Conventions passed after 1993 to respective entities and social partners within the country for consultation in an effort to &ldquo;catch-up&rdquo; on approving social conventions following the war in the former Yugoslavia. 

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In 2008, the Council of Ministers at state levels inside Bosnia-Herzegovina did begin consultations on ten ILO Conventions and after their approval in 2009, the ten were passed on to the Parliament. Prior to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the last two countries to ratify Convention 176 were Peru and Luxembourg in 2008. 
 
First instituted in 1995, ratification of Convention 176 means that a national government will thoroughly and regularly inspect and investigate mining activity, and will assure that safe and reliable emergency procedures are put in place. It also allows that workers can freely and without prejudice notify authorities and management of unsafe conditions, and they have the right to leave a mining operation in the event of serious risk. 
 
Mining employers operating in a country that has ratified No. 176 must seek to eliminate all mining deaths and accidents by controlling and reducing inherent mining risks. They must provide the necessary equipment and communication systems to guarantee full security, and they must strive to preserve the land and the environment. As well, employers must assure the well-being of the communities and the people near their mining holdings. 

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The ten Conventions ratified in January 2010 by Bosnia-Herzegovina, besides Convention 176 are: Convention 94, the Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention; Convention 174, the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention; Convention 175, the Part-Time Work Convention; Convention 177, the Home Work Convention; Convention 181, the Private Employment Agencies Convention; Convention 184, the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention; Convention 186, the Seafarers&rsquo; Identity Documents Convention; the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006; and Convention 188, the Work in Fishing Convention. 
 
Besides the three above-mentioned countries, the other 21 nations to ratify ILO Convention 176 include: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Botswana, Brazil, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Lebanon, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Ratifies Safety, Health in Mines Convention 176

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The ICEM supports the ITUC-led trade union appeal for victims of the earthquake disaster in Haiti. The trade union relief work is being carried out primarily by ITUC&rsquo;s affiliates in the Dominican Republic, in cooperation with Haitian colleagues across the border. 
 
We urge ICEM affiliates to support this Appeal. 
 
Funds for the appeal can be transferred to the following ITUC bank account: 
No. 375-1008200-61 
Banque ING, Brussels Branch Institutionals, 1 rue du Trone, B-1000 Brussels 
Code IBAN: BE 62375100820061 
Code BIC/Swift: BBRUBEBB 

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The ITUC requests that the words &ldquo;SOS Solidarity &ndash; Haiti&rdquo; are included with each transfer to this account. 
 
ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder has called for the cancellation of Haiti&rsquo;s debt, in the aftermath of the disaster, to increase the country&rsquo;s chances of reconstruction. 
 
As has been widely reported in the mainstream media, the huge earthquake hit Haiti on 12 January, and was followed by a number of aftershocks. Along with the reported death toll of over 100,000, Haiti&rsquo;s infrastructure has been severely damaged, with many buildings and roads completely destroyed. The humanitarian situation is desperate and aid is needed. 
 
Once the immediate humanitarian effort passes, the solidarity campaign will continue to use funds raised to help Haitians in their recovery from this natural disaster.

ICEM Urges Haitian Relief Funds through ITUC

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The global recession&rsquo;s impact on the rubber industry, collective bargaining, work relationships, health and safety, global solidarity, and a plan of action to address these issues were key topics discussed in the US at the ICEM&rsquo;s World Conference for the Rubber Industries in Nashville, Tennessee, 12-13 May. 
 
The conference, which was hosted by US-based United Steelworkers (USW), attracted some 90 trade unionists from throughout the world. The swine flu epidemic and visa problems into the US prevented the conference from having even more participants. 
 
USW Secretary-Treasurer Stan Johnson, who leads the host union&rsquo;s rubber sector, opened the conference. A 22-year veteran of the tyre industry, Johnson led a successful strike as a local branch president against Italian tyre-maker Pirelli at a Nashville plant in the mid-1990s. He was unanimously elected as ICEM&rsquo;s permanent chairman for the Rubber Industry at this conference. 

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USW Secretary-Treasurer Stan Johnson
Johnson painted a picture of the current global economic crisis&mdash;a halt in the auto industry, collapse of the tyre market, and factories operating at low capacities. &ldquo;Our opportunity lies in making sure that work and the value of workers is once again important,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It is our responsibility individually and collectively to step forward and change our future.&rdquo; 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda pointed out that bad policies allowed irresponsible corporate conduct to occur. He said corporate greed was behind &ldquo;casino capitalism,&rdquo; and that national solutions alone will not work to end the crisis. A global response is needed with unions playing an integral role. 
 
&ldquo;Recovery cannot mean the status quo,&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;A sustainable economy must be created. There is a great need to build trade union unity to combat the excesses of unregulated globalization.&rdquo; 
 
Warda also presented a resolution on the US Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), important legislation currently before the American government that would eliminate the unfair advantages that employers commonly use to restrict workers from organising. (See the Resolution <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/EFCA%20Resolution.pdf">here</a>.) 

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USW scribe Lynne Baker (left) interviews Forestry, Logging, and Industrial Workers&rsquo; Union of Liberia&rsquo;s (FLIWUL) Austin Natee and Edwin Cisco. At right, USW&rsquo;s&nbsp;Marilyn Brown 
Photo: Kenny Carlisle, USW Communications Department 
But the conference centered primarily on the global economic crisis. Presenters mapped out the problems confronting rubber workers throughout this crisis and the opportunities for positive change. The problems cited were common to all: layoffs, reductions in pay and hours worked, outsourcing to low cost countries, leave without pay, wage freezes, use of contract and agency labour, shutdowns, production declines, and lack of investment, all factors leading to increased family and community stress. 
 
Presenters told how some employers were using the economic crisis to avoid their commitments to workers, and rather to create new work structures, including the use of non-regular and short-term contract workers. 
 
&ldquo;Trade unions need to be at the vanguard of developing a new model that guarantees globalization of rights, an agenda to decrease poverty, and to better regulate the financial sector,&rdquo; said Fabio Lins from Brazil&rsquo;s CNQ/CUT union in Brazil. 

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Fabio Lins of CNQ/CUT, Brazil
Peter Bakvis, director of the International Trade Union Confederation/Global Unions office in Washington, D.C., presented a five-point strategy for the ICEM and other global unions to tackle the economic crisis and build a fairer and more sustainable world economy. 
 
The strategy focuses on job creation through public investment, including active labour market policies and protection of the most vulnerable; nationalization of insolvent banks and new roles and mechanisms to control global finance; extension of collective bargaining coverage and strengthening of wage-setting institutions; negotiation of an ambitious international agreement on climate change; and governance reform of the global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation. 

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ICEM Rubber Conference participants
At the conclusion of the conference on 13 May, Chemicals and Rubber Industry Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan presented an ICEM action plan that included campaigning for basic trade union rights and union organising; providing immediate solidarity during conflicts; providing effective and active solidarity for collective bargaining; striving for decent work in the rubber sector, meaning campaigning for sector-wide standards on use of contract and agency labour, equal pay initiatives, and use of Global Framework Agreements to address such issues. 

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ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industry Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan 
Photo: Kenny Carlisle, USW Communications Department 
As well, the work includes improving, strengthening, and creating new workers&rsquo; networks; creating a global level of industrial relations through existing instruments; establishing industry and company-wide standards for health, safety, and sustainable jobs; seeking to improve cooperation between Global Union Federations in the auto-parts and auto supply industries along the global production chain; and providing special solidarity to US unions for passage of the EFCA, to tyre workers at Hankook and Bridgestone in Hungary, to French and German workers of Continental AG, and to Mexican miners. 
To view the action plan in its entirety, as well as to see the presentations made by speakers, click <a href="/index.php?id=20&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3207">here</a>.
Special thanks to Contributor Lynne Baker, USW Communications Department.

ICEM’s Rubber Conference Focuses on Problems, Opportunities in Economic Crisis

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The prestigious Febe Elisabeth Velasquez Trade Union Award was given last week to a woman trade unionist from Iraq, Hashmeyia Muhsin Saadawi, the President of ICEM-affiliated General Union of Electricity Workers and Technicians. 
 
The award is presented by FNV, a national labour centre in the Netherlands, and is given to a trade union leader who has worked under difficult circumstances, taken enormous personal risks, but has defended trade union rights in countries where such rights are routinely violated. 
 
Hashmeyia Muhsin, the tenth recipient of the award, was nominated by the ICEM. She was honoured at the FNV Congress in Amsterdam, and presented the award on 12 May. 

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In nominating her, the ICEM said Hashmeyia Muhsin &ldquo;has dedicated herself to the protection of both trade union rights and wider human rights in a country which remains under occupation &hellip; and which continues to apply trade union legislation from the Saddam era.&rdquo; 
 
She is the first woman to head a national trade union in Iraq, and is believed to be the first woman to lead a union anywhere in the Arabic-speaking world. The ICEM noted her courage in leading marches, demonstrations, and strikes in the Basra area, while under the threat of death. She also is a dedicated advocate for electricity access to all citizens of Iraq. 

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First elected to head the Electricity Workers and Technicians in September 2003, she has been re-elected twice since, and also is Vice Chairman of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW). In 2007, she was elected to the ICEM&rsquo;s Executive Committee. 
 
The Febe Elisabeth Velasquez Award was named after a Salvadorian trade union leader and former General Secretary of Fenastras. Velasquez was killed on 31 October 1989 when a bomb exploded at the offices of the trade union centre. Previous FNV award recipients include Kim You Mee of Korea, Frank Kokori and Milton Dabibi of Nigeria, Maria Alieva of Belurus, Dr. Taye Woldesmiate of Ethiopia, and Mansour Osanloo of Iran.

Dutch FNV Trade Union Award to Goes to Iraq’s Hashmeyia Muhsin Saadawi

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Hundreds of ICEM affiliates from every continent responded to an ICEM Circular to lend support to American trade unions in their legislative battle to pass the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). In recent weeks, support letters arrived in droves to ICEM&rsquo;s nine US trade union affiliates, which together with the rest of the American trade union movement are waging a bitter fight against a rabid business lobby in order to enact the first meaningful labour law reform measure in the US in 50 years. 
 
The EFCA would simplify and make the process fairer for workers who choose to organise and win US government certification for collective bargaining. The proposed law would give workers the choice of union representation if a simple majority in any given workplace signed a card or petition seeking unionisation. 
 
Currently, it is the employer that chooses which of two methods &ndash; &ldquo;card-check&rdquo; recognition or a one-sided election procedure &ndash; to certify a bargaining representative. In nearly all instances, a company chooses the election method because the government-conducted vote is held at the worksite and trade unions have no on-the-job access to workers in the 30-45 days leading up to the vote. 

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Instead, over the past three decades, employers have fine-tuned the process, using stop-work meetings to vilify the union, sacking workers who support the union, and utilising threats and intimidation by stating that if the union is voted in, layoffs or plant closures will occur. Although such union-avoidance tactics currently do violate US labour law, no penalties are attached so bosses have crafted the election process to their distinct advantage. 
 
If the EFCA is passed, financial penalties will be levied on employers who deploy such tactics. Perhaps most significantly, the proposed legislation contains a first-contract arbitration provision in which contract proposals are submitted to a government mediator if an initial collective agreement cannot be reached. Oftentimes at present, management&rsquo;s strategy following a union win in a government-supervised election is to &ldquo;surface bargain&rdquo; without ever intending to come to an agreement. After one year, the union can then be decertified. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s call to its global affiliates came immediately after Global Unions, comprising the 11 Global Union Federations, plus the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) of the OECD, issued a statement, demanding passage of the EFCA: &ldquo;There is no defense for employers who interfere in workers&rsquo; decisions to form trade unions &hellip; It is time for the United States to join the other democracies around the world that respect the fundamental rights of workers to form trade unions and bargain collectively with their employers. Members of the US Congress should muster the courage to resist a massive, multi-million dollar employer campaign of propaganda, scare tactics, and distortion. 

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&ldquo;We, the Global Unions, representing around 200 million workers on all continents and in all industries, call on the United States Government to adopt the EFCA.&rdquo; 
 
Many of the ICEM affiliates that wrote to the US unions alluded to the current global economic crisis, and the best means to rise out of that crisis. &ldquo;We know that a strong economy depends on workers given the opportunity to join a trade union and to bargain collectively so that fair wages and social benefits are lifted for all in a society.&rdquo; 
 
The letters concluded by stating: &ldquo;Please pass to your union membership, as well as to your elected officials, that our union fully supports EFCA, and that we consider it an essential element in a free society that workers be allowed to join a trade union in an unobstructed way.&rdquo; 
 
American trade unions are currently pushing members of the US Senate to adopt the bill. US unions played the major role in electing members of the Democratic Party to substantial majorities in both the Senate and US House in last year&rsquo;s elections. But a number of supposed pro-worker Democrats in the Senate have come under the influence of the business lobby&rsquo;s misinformation campaign putting passage of EFCA in jeopardy. 

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As committees of Congress prepare to debate EFCA, Democrats in the Senate are suggesting compromises, such as workers submitting &ldquo;card-check&rdquo; authorization directly by mail to the US labour board, or proposing alterations to the first-contract arbitration procedure. 
 
This is the fourth time in recent years that EFCA has been proposed in the US Congress, but the first time it has a realistic chance of enactment. This is due to President Barack Obama&rsquo;s pledge to sign it, as well as the US labour movement&rsquo;s yeoman work in elections six months ago that gave a political mandate to do away with George Bush&rsquo;s draconian policies. 
 
In March 2007, the last time the measure was before Congress, it passed the US House by a 241-185 vote. But it died in the US Senate when proponents failed to gain the 60 votes necessary to invoke cloture, or the vote to shut down filibustering on a piece of legislation. In the coming weeks, Democrats are expected to have exactly 60 seats in the 100-seat Senate. Labor&rsquo;s strategy this time is to first gain passage of EFCA in the US Senate before taking it to the House.

Trade Unions Worldwide Respond to ICEM’s Call for Fair Organising in the US

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The Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada launched a national fight-back campaign Friday, 15 May, in front of the Montr&eacute;al headquarters of AbitibiBowater, the world&rsquo;s biggest producer of newsprint. AbitibiBowater is seeking to avoid its pension obligations through bankruptcy filings. 
 
The ICEM affiliate&rsquo;s main target, however, is the Canadian government. The federal government has done too little to protect the jobs of forestry workers, asserts the CEP. 
 
&ldquo;Workers are not responsible for the crisis in the forest industry, but we are the ones facing demands for cuts to our wages and pensions,&rdquo; said CEP President Dave Coles. 
 
&ldquo;It is totally unfair that a company like AbitibiBowater can use bankruptcy protection to avoid paying severance and making payments to the pension plan,&rdquo; he added. 

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CEP President Dave Coles
On 7 May, a Superior Court in the Province of Qu&eacute;bec issued an order that the paper company could suspend pension payments into its unfunded liabilities account for workers, thus shrinking that account and pushing workers&rsquo; pension payments on Abitibi&rsquo;s creditors list. 
 
&ldquo;There is something seriously wrong with a system that puts workers&rsquo; pensions in the same category as hedge fund credit,&rdquo; said CEP Secretary-Treasurer Ga&eacute;tan M&eacute;nard. &ldquo;When workers go to work to earn a living and a pension, they certainly don&rsquo;t see themselves as venture capitalists making a risky investment. 
 
Last Friday&rsquo;s CEP action in Montr&eacute;al was the first in a string of manifestations that the union will do in attempts to shake the Conservative government of Stephen Harper into taking action on behalf of forest industry jobs. CEP is demanding that the Canadian federal government weigh in with loan guarantees to halt paper and wood mill closures, and to protect jobs and pensions. 
 
&ldquo;There will be a lot of pressure,&rdquo; said Coles. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to take to the streets and we&rsquo;re going to make noise until we&rsquo;re heard.&rdquo; Further actions will target Canadian federal cabinet ministers and a mass rally is scheduled in the capital city of Ottawa on 2 June. 
 
Meanwhile, due to AbitibiBowater&rsquo;s bankruptcy filing, the CEP and ICEM American affiliate, the United Steelworkers (USW), have taken a wait-and-see position before entering into bargaining with AbitibiBowater. The CEP and USW have agreed to coordinate bargaining at the newsprint producer&rsquo;s 12 mills in eastern Canada, where the CEP represents 7,000 workers, and at a USW-represented mill in the state of South Carolina. 
 
A pulp and paper collective agreement covering the entire industry in eastern Canada, with AbitibiBowater expected as the lead negotiating company, expired on 30 April, while a labour agreement in Catawba, South Carolina, covering 1,000 workers expired on 24 April for USW branch locals there.

CEP Launches Canadian Forest Jobs Campaign; Demands Canadian Government Support

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