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The ICEM teamed with NOPEF, Norway&rsquo;s dominant oil workers&rsquo; union, to bring a set of highly successful workshops to women of Palestine&rsquo;s General Union of Petroleum, Mining and Chemicals Workers' Union. The Palestinian workshops occurred last month, 10-12 June,&nbsp;in&nbsp;neighboring Jordan.
Contents
&nbsp;<a href="#pal">1. Palestine &ndash; ICEM and NOPEF Hold Women&rsquo;s Training Session</a> 
<a href="#2">2. Botswana &ndash; ICEM African Women&rsquo;s Committee Meeting</a> 
<a href="#coun">3. Council of Europe &ndash; Inequality Has a Price</a>&nbsp; 
<a href="#3">4. Jordan &ndash; Women Workers are Discriminated Against</a>&nbsp; 
<a href="#4">5. Kuwait &ndash; Women Vote for the First Time</a> 
<a href="#5">6. Nepal &ndash; Third National Women&rsquo;s Conference Demands More Women&rsquo;s Representation</a> 
<a href="#6">7. Pakistan &ndash; Working Women Organization Protests Against 18th Century Laws in the 21st Century</a> 
<a href="#res">From our Readers</a> 
<a href="#8">8. Switzerland &ndash; Women Demand Equal Pay for Equal Work</a> 
<a href="#9">9. United Kingdom &ndash; Black Women are in Low Paid and Low-status Jobs</a> 
<a href="#10">10. United States &ndash; Goodyear Discriminates Against Women</a> 
<a href="#11">11. ILO: New Forms of Violence at Work Are on the Rise Worldwide</a> 
<a href="#12">12. Resources</a>
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1. Palestine &ndash; ICEM and NOPEF Hold Women&rsquo;s Training Session&nbsp; 
 
From 10-12 June 2006, the ICEM organised training for women women workers who are members of the General Union of Petroleum, Mining and Chemicals Workers' Union of Palestine in Amman, Jordan.
The course provided training on women&rsquo;s health as well as collective bargaining. The aim is to develop women&rsquo;s leadership in the union. The point was mostly to understand how gender affects men and women differently in all areas of life, from privatization to health issues. 
 
Turid &Oslash;ygard from NOPEF made a presentation on women in Norway and their roles in unions and working life. She also led group work on democracy in trade unions. 
 
The women concluded that they needed more self-confidence and self-esteem. The intifada has influenced women. But women are able to fight and should be accepted as fighters. As a next step, the women seek to create more awareness among men on the role they are capable of fulfilling. 
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<a href="#back">Back Up</a> 
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2. Botswana &ndash; ICEM African Women&rsquo;s Committee Meeting 
The highlights of the meeting included the election of Baru Gaithoboge as vice-chair of the ICEM&rsquo;s African Regional Women&rsquo;s Committee. Baru&rsquo;s election will boost the representation of African women at ICEM events. Congratulations to Baru. 
The women reported that the general secretaries in Namibia and Zimbabwe were still resistant to forming joint ICEM women&rsquo;s structures. 
In Nigeria, the affiliated unions held a women&rsquo;s meeting in 2005 and are planning to hold another one in 2006. Ghana has embarked upon community development by training mineworkers&rsquo; wives. 
Fabian Nkomo, project coordinator for the shop steward development programme in Africa, reported on the project in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Tanzania. He said the project was supposed to increase the level of activity targeted toward women. Thus women would be enlisted to strengthen unions, not least of all in connection with dues payments. 
Thanks to Oluchi Okorie from NUPENG in Nigeria for providing this report! 
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3. Council of Europe &ndash; Inequality Has a Price <a name="coun"></a>
The Sixth European Ministerial Conference on Equality between Women and Men was held in Stockholm on 8-9 June 2006. The conference focused on the economic advantages that equality entails. 
According to the Swedish equality minister, economies in the most equal societies have higher growth rates. The highest cost to society is generated by domestic violence. 
Spanish figures show that violence toward women costs Spain &euro;2.4 billion a year, which entails hospital costs, psychological assistance, legal costs and work absenteeism. 
In Finland, inequality is estimated to cost &euro;17.4 per person. In the UK, inequality is estimated to cost each person up to &euro;555 per year in terms of health costs and social costs. UK authorities have calculated that if women participated in the labour market there to the same extent as men, the government would take in between &euro;22 billion and &euro;34.5 billion euros more per year. 
In Sweden, the argument is that women continue working after the birth of their children, which in turn yields more tax income to the government. This allows further investment in childcare, thus allowing more Swedish women to enter the workforce. In Sweden, 40% of women, however, work part-time, and that brings a dramatic effect to their pensions. With women on average living longer than men, they have less money available to them in retirement. 
For more information, see <a href="http://www.coe.int/equality-conference">www.coe.int/equality-conference</a>. 
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4. Jordan &ndash; Women Workers are Discriminated Against
In Jordan, women workers are discriminated against and are often paid below the legal minimum wage, even with the recent increase in the minimum wage. 
The government increased the monthly minimum wage to US$142 in May to help defray higher costs of living due to higher fuel prices. Some women were earning only US$60 before the wage increase for working 10 to 12 hour days, and may continue to not be paid the full legal wage. 
This is due to the fact that women are &ldquo;reluctant to file lawsuits against employers for fear of retaliation,&rdquo; and also because of inadequate implementation of labour laws, according to the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions. 
Over 200,000 Jordanians in the workforce are women, the majority of whom come from impoverished families. Unemployment is almost 15%, and one-fifth of the 5.5 million people living in Jordan live below the poverty line.
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
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5. Kuwait &ndash; Women Vote for the First Time 
Kuwait&rsquo;s first parliamentary elections in which women could vote were a victory for political reformists but a disappointment for female candidates, none of whom won a seat to the governing body. In total, 27 women ran in the recent elections. Women had won the right to vote and run for office last year. 
Female votes accounted for 57% of the electorate. Women turned out in large numbers to vote for the first time. Before women won the right to vote, members of Parliament had resisted granting them suffrage with the argument that it contradicted Islam. This year&rsquo;s elections were seen to be crucial, as they affected reforms and economic development programmes. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
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6. Nepal &ndash; Third National Women&rsquo;s Conference Demands More Women&rsquo;s Representation 
Nepal&rsquo;s Parliament adopted a declaration setting the minimum for women&rsquo;s participation at 33% at all levels. Now the question is to implement this standard. 
At the Third National Women&rsquo;s Conference, the representative of the All Nepal Women&rsquo;s Association presented a road map for women&rsquo;s participation. The other thematic issues had to do with the changes in laws to prevent discrimination. 
GEFONT Deputy General Secretary and ICEM Vice President Binda Pandey presented a comparative analysis on programmes, achievements and challenges between the Second and Third National Women Workers&rsquo; Conferences. Altogether, 616 women from the rank and file attended this most recent conference. The conference outcomes will be used to develop policy. 
 
Women in Nepal earn NPR 80, while men earn NPR 100-150 (NPR 100 = US$ 1.36). The rates have been frozen for ten years. Men are said to be stronger, work harder and produce more, which is why it is possible to pay women less. 
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7. Pakistan &ndash; Working Women Organization Protests Against 18th Century Laws in the 21st Century 
On 23 June, thousands of workers took to the streets all over Pakistan to protest against the amendments in labour laws that set minimum working time of 12 hour per day, and exclude piece rate workers from overtime payment. 
The Working Women Organization staged agitation and expressed their anger about workers&rsquo; poor conditions, shameful amendments to the laws and the violation of ILO standards. The changes in labour law will enable employers to exploit workers even more, and especially women workers who already have irregular work, long working hours, dangerous working conditions, very low wages and no right of organization. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
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From our Readers: 
 
Jumana Jodi Dreraghmi from the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions writes that she is now using the methods she learned in the course. She divides people up into groups and everyone gives their views. She is preparing a meeting on 7 July to share what she learned from the Amman workshops with other Palestinian women. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
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8. Switzerland &ndash; Women Demand Equal Pay for Equal Work 
 
Women in Switzerland called for the wage gap to be closed between women and men ten years after the equal opportunities law first came into force. The nationwide campaign is distributing cards shaped like 50-franc notes, which are depicted as being worth only CHF39, thus representing the reality of the workplace. 
Unia, an ICEM affiliate and the country&rsquo;s largest trade union, marked the campaign by calling on those in the retail sector to pay their female employees more. According to a study, women receive 12.7% less than their male colleagues, amounting annually to CHF1 billion. 
Unia reports that discrimination is also rampant in businesses that employ more than 2,500 employees. In 2004, women earned on average CHF4,781 gross per month, whereas the figure for men was CHF5,953, amounting to a difference of 19.7%. In 2002, that difference was 20.7%. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
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9. United Kingdom &ndash; Black Women are in Low Paid and Low-status Jobs 
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) of the UK released a report entitled Black Women and Employment, which was originally presented at the Black Workers&rsquo; Conference in 2006. The report looks at the barriers black women face to gaining employment and then progressing in their jobs. 
The government, according to the report, must take initiatives to combat race and sex discrimination in employment. Facts reveal that black and minority ethnic women are more likely to be unemployed or economically inactive than any other group in the labour market. 
Black and minority ethnic women suffer from cultural stereotyping by employers that result in them having to take jobs at lower skills levels than match their qualifications. Also, black and minority ethnic women are disproportionately likely to be working in temporary jobs. 
The TUC believes that there is a need for concerted and coordinated action by government and trade unions through collective bargaining to eliminate race and sex discrimination in the labour market and in society, through legislative and community-based initiatives. 
The organisation and recruitment of black women is vital if future progress is to be made in addressing the problems that black women face in the workplace, and in encouraging increased participation in the trade union movement. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
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10. United States &ndash; Goodyear Discriminates Against Women 
The US Labor Department has sued Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co., alleging hiring discrimination against hundreds of women who sought jobs in the late 1990s. The lawsuit seeks to force Goodyear to hire, pay back wages, and provide retroactive seniority and other benefits to the women who were denied employment. 
In 1998 and 1999, Goodyear followed a &ldquo;hiring process and selection procedures that discriminated against hundreds of female applicants for entry-level positions on the basis of gender,&rdquo; said the Labor Department in a statement. A spokesperson for Goodyear denied the charges and claims that Goodyear is working to resolve the matter. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
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11. ILO: New Forms of Violence at Work Are on the Rise Worldwide 
Violence at work, ranging from bullying and mobbing, to threats to psychologically unstable co-workers, sexual harassment and homicide, is increasing worldwide and has reached epidemic levels in some countries. This is according to the ILO study, Violence at Work, Third Edition. 
The global cost of workplace violence is enormous and costs untold millions of dollars in losses due to absenteeism and sick leave, among other causes. It also notes that professions that used to be sheltered from workplace violence such as teaching, social services, library services and health care are being exposed to increasing acts of violence in both developed and developing countries. 
Bullying, harassment, mobbing and similar behaviour can be just as damaging as outright physical violence, according to the report. 
Today, the instability of many types of jobs places huge pressures on workplaces, leading to more such violence. In developing countries, the most vulnerable workers include women, migrants and children, according to the report. 
In Malaysia, 11,851 rape and molestation cases at workplaces were reported between 1997 and mid-2001. Widespread sexual harassment and abuse were major concerns in South Africa, Ukraine, Kuwait and Hong Kong, states the report. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
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12. Resources: 
See <a href="http://www.payscale.com/">www.payscale.com</a> to compare your salary. 
 
ILO study on &ldquo;Decent Working Time: New Trends, New Issues,&rdquo; available at 
<a href="http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2006/28.htm">www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/ 
2006/28.htm</a> 
 
ILO study on &ldquo;Changing Patterns in the World of Work,&rdquo; available&nbsp;at 
<a href="http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc95/reports.htm">www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ 
ilc95/reports.htm</a>
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 13

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In New Zealand, the National Party&rsquo;s assault on workers&rsquo; rights in the form of the proposed 90-Day Probation Act has been met by a new website, <a href="http://www.workrights.org.nz">www.workrights.org.nz</a>. A campaign led by ICEM affiliate Engineering, Printing &amp; Manufacturing Union (EPMU) is in full swing aimed at stopping the legislation. 
 
The website will allow the public to e-mail members of a select committee of members of Parliament who are overseeing the bill, as well as MPs who currently support the anti-worker legislation. &ldquo;This bill is not about probationary periods, it&rsquo;s all about taking rights from all Kiwi workers,&rdquo; said EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little.
<img height="50" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The EPMU is leading weekly pickets and information handbilling against the proposed legislation, which would allow employers to fire workers with impunity during their first 90 days of work. The ICEM encourages trade unionists to visit the website to express to New Zealanders their opinion on the proposed bill.

New Website in New Zealand Opposes Proposed 90-Day Probation Bill

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The Australian labour movement will conduct protests against the Howard government&rsquo;s WorkChoices law on Wednesday, 28 June, in state capitals across Australia. The demonstrations are part of a week-long effort organised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in protest to the centre-right government&rsquo;s draconian labour law reform.
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The protests are countered by several major employers who say that staff will be penalised if they take leave from work to attend. The ACTU condemned such intimidation and bullying, saying workers have a democratic right to take part in public protests. 
 
Trade unions and many of the state governments in Australia have filed legal challenges to Prime Minister John Howard&rsquo;s reform, which went into effect on 27 March. Workers at some enterprises have also engaged in strikes, challenging the new work laws. Among other things, the broad-ranging gutting of workers&rsquo; rights has dismantled Australia&rsquo;s enterprise bargaining system in favour of individual contracts, and exempts employers with fewer than 100 workers from unfair dismissal cases.

Australian Unions Set for 28 June Protests Against the Howard Government’s Draconian Labour Laws

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Japanese trade union federation UI Zensen is engaged in summer bonus negotiations with employers at company level and to date, results exceed those posted in 2005. 
 
As of 13 June, 271 plant-level unions have completed negotiations with individual employers. Some 17 plant-level unions in the chemicals sector that are affiliated with UI Zensen have concluded talks, and those negotiations produced noticeable bonuses.
<img height="67" src="" width="100" border="1" alt="" />
&nbsp;At Shikoku Chemical, workers achieved a bonus of 2.993 months in salary, while at Nihon Fine Chemicals, three months was won. At Toyo Chemical, 2.415 months of salary was achieved in negotiations and at Terumo, 2.91 months of salary was won as a bonus.

UI Zensen Unions Negotiating Successfully in Japan’s Summer Bonus Talks

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Soaring gas and electricity prices, coupled with Britain&rsquo;s pension funding crisis, has caused the closure of a recycled paper mill in Fife, Scotland. Smith, Anderson &amp; Co. Ltd. announced closure of its Fettykill Mills operation, resulting in the loss of 106 jobs. 
 
ICEM affiliate Amicus has been working with the owners of the 146-year-old mill to get the government to address high energy prices, rates which have risen 50% since last year when a restructuring plan was implemented in efforts to save the mill.
<img height="102" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&nbsp;&ldquo;Once again, high energy prices and the pension crisis in the UK have contributed towards the decision to close another mill,&rdquo; stated Amicus Assistant General Secretary Tony Burke. &ldquo;This is a devastating blow to the paper industry in the UK and manufacturing in Scotland,&rdquo; said Burke, adding the union&rsquo;s priority now is to work with staff in order that they find other jobs. 
 
Smith, Anderson &amp; Co. will continue to run paper converting operations for the manufacture of paper bags from two Scottish plants, employing 245 staff, but the company&rsquo;s recycling collection company, Securecycle, will likely be sold. 
In Scotland over the past eight years, 11 paper mills have been closed, leaving only six in operation. In the past two years alone, 800 Scottish paperworkers have faced redundancies.

Energy Prices, UK’s Pension Crisis Leads to Closure of Scottish Paper Mill

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Locked-out members of Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) of Canada Local 972 ratified a collective agreement with Stora Enso on 20 June, thus ending a five-month labour dispute and ensuring that the paper mill in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, remains open. 
 
The 600 paper mill workers ratified the contract by the narrowest of margins, 54%, while a separate clerical unit gave approval by an even slimmer margin. The coated paper and newsprint mill was threatened with shutdown by Stora Enso unless a new labour agreement was not ratified by 24 June.
<img height="99" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&nbsp; 
The mill is plagued by Stora&rsquo;s insistence on cutting paper capacity, and the current high value of the Canadian dollar in relation to the US dollar. Stora Enso has now petitioned the province&rsquo;s utility commission in order to gain a power rate reduction before it re-starts the mill.
The province of Nova Scotia has already given preliminary approval to a C$65 million, seven-year property tax decrease so that the company would continue to operate the mill. 
 
Throughout the 23-week lockout, CEP Local 972 received vast support from several sources. 
In a letter announcing the ratification, Local 972 stated, &ldquo;This support came from other CEP Locals across the country, other unions across Canada and many other countries, numerous other unions, associations, affiliates, local businesses, local individuals, and our own members who also cared and looked out for one another. This tremendous show of support will be long remembered.&rdquo;

Stora Enso Lockout in Canada Ends with Ratification Vote

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ICEM affiliate in Germany, IGBCE, has taken deep exception to a report published by a research institute that all energy supplies be left to market forces.
The RWI, an economic research think tank supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs for the state of North Rhine/Westphalia, proposes that all state subsidies for coal and other energy sources be removed.
<img height="62" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&ldquo;Those who claim that energy supplies are not the state&rsquo;s responsibility and should be left to markets, have lost all sense of reality,&rdquo; said IGBCE President Hubertus Schmoldt. He added that the risks associated with an energy crisis is the concern of the entire Germany economy, stating that it is easy for those &ldquo;in an ivory tower that is 80% funded by public monies&rdquo; to preach such free market ideas. 
 
The IGBCE believes German policy for safe and secure energy supply cannot be left alone to markets.

IGBCE Disputes Research Institute’s Energy Supply Thesis

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Colombian mining union Sintramienerg&eacute;tica ended two coal strikes recently that had begun to impact markets. On 22 June, the union agreed to a two-year agreement with US-based Drummond that ended a month-long strike at the La Loma mines in Cesar state. 
 
Sintramienerg&eacute;tica, in addition to winning social benefits, achieved an 8% wage increase for this year, and will receive 1.5% above the inflation rate in 2007. Strike-ending mediations took place under the guidance of the Ministry of Social Protection.
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Some 2,000 miners struck Drummond on 22 May, and the walkout directly affected another 1,000 contract workers, as well as some 5,000 employees of transport, terminal and other service companies connected to Drummond&rsquo;s coal export business. The company exports some 22 million tonnes of coal annually from its Puerto Drummond, Colombia, deep-water port. 
 
Non-ICEM-affiliated Sintramienerg&eacute;tica also came to terms on 6 June with Swiss-based Glencore International at the Carbones de la Jagua mining operation. About 1,000 miners there began a strike on 17 May. 
 
The settlement gives workers a 7.5% salary increase, and the new agreement also grants social benefits to both Glencore workers and contract employees. Glencore mines some 12 million tonnes annually from this Jagua de Ibirico location in Cesar state.

Colombian Mine Union Ends Coal Strikes at Drummond, Glencore

President Roh Moo-hyun 
1 Sejong-no, Jongno-ku, 
Seoul 110-820 
Republic of Korea 
 
By fax: +82-2-770.03.44&nbsp; 
By e-mail <a href="mailto:president@cwd.go.kr">president@cwd.go.kr</a> 
 
 
Dear Mr. President, 
 
I am writing, after having been informed by the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), to protest against the ongoing trade union repression in your country of the members of the Korean Chemical and Textile Workers&rsquo; Federation (KCTF) at GS Caltex. 
 
The anti-union behaviour by GS Caltex started in 2004 when the company, with the help of the Korean police, aggressively retaliated against a strike that was organized by the workers at GS Caltex. The strike was the result of the company&rsquo;s decision to disregard a set of reasonable union demands, which were on issues such as a five-day, 40-hour work-week and the non-discrimination of contract workers. 
 
After the brutal suppression of the strike, GS Caltex continued to hit back at the union&rsquo;s members and leaders by selecting at the gate who could return and who could not. This also happened with the assistance of the police, who remained stationed inside the company for 52 days. GS Caltex also harassed families of workers and ended up dismissing almost all union officials, 30 in number. In addition, eight trade union leaders were arrested and sentenced to periods of two to three years in prison. A total of 650 other workers were disciplined with three-month suspensions from work. 
 
Since then, the company has refused to bargain in good faith with the workers, whose situation and future remains extremely insecure. I am calling upon your government to assist in ending the desperate situation of the KCTF members. GS Caltex needs to come to a fair and honest agreement with its workers and end its unfair labour practices. Also, the dismissed union leaders must be reinstated. 
 
Thanking you in advance for your kind cooperation 
 
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
 
(Name) 
(Title) 
(Union)

Model protest letter to Korean government

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ICEM World Conference for the Rubber Industries 
6-7 April 2006 
Istanbul, Turkey 

Whereas while the ICEM conducts the World Conference for Rubber Industries in Istanbul, our brothers and sisters of Lastik-Iş are engaged in collective bargaining negotiations with the transnational tire companies Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli. 
 
Whereas the companies are exerting tremendous pressure on the workers, demanding concessions in working conditions, while stating publicly that labor costs are so high that they may quit production in Turkey. 
 
Whereas the companies are exerting pressure on the government to ban possible strikes, as they have done four times in ten years, even though the codes of Turkey and the ILO have issued decrees declaring the bans unlawful. 
 
Let it be resolved that the delegates to the ICEM World Conference for the Rubber Industries declare their total support for our brothers and sisters of Lastik-Iş and call upon Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli to exert common sense and bargain in good faith. 
 
Furthermore, let it be resolved that our conference calls upon the government of Turkey to uphold the laws of the country and the ILO regulations that protect the rights guaranteed to our Union brothers and sisters of Lastik-Iş.

ICEM Rubber Conference Resolution - Support for Lastik-Iş in negotiations with major tire companies

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