English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy 

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2021-2025

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL 

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia 

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean 

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Logos of IndustriALL Global Union

Press

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39" alt=""/>
The Belgian-Flemish ICEM affiliate, LBC-NVK, held its Congress from 24-26 March 2010 in Mol, Limburg Province, bringing together 600 trade unionists for three days of workshops, discussions, and decision-making. 
 
Ferre Wyckmans, General Secretary of the LBC-NVK, was re-elected, and he is assisted by incumbent Deputy General Secretary, Marijke Persoone. The union’s President remains Robert Schuermans. 
 
Working on a number of themes, including “decent work,” “how to take action,” a “fair economy,” and an “active government,” delegates adopted, on the final Congress day, a wide range of principles dedicated to future work. Among them included priorities on decent salaries (as well as excessive bonuses), good fiscal regulations, the need for high-quality training and education, “how to deal with flexibility,” and the need for a “green economy.” 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1004.lbc.nvk.congress.2.jpg" width="195" height="192" alt=""/>
LBC-NVK Gen. Sec. Ferre Wyckmanns
On the flexibility issue, LBC-NVK calls for action against the omnipresent “increasing flexibility demands.” The union, while also calling for temporary and agency labour contracts to be made permanent and direct with a primary employer after six months, seeks to ensure that the already existing Belgian laws on agency and temporary work are better applied, monitored, and sanctioned. Open-ended and direct permanent contracts are – and need to remain – the benchmark. 
 
At the international level, the union stated it seeks to increase involvement in global and European activities, including through a more active participation in the Global Union Federations. Specifically highlighted was the need to make the international trade union movement stronger as a countervailing power to match that of multinational enterprises. Framework agreements with multinationals are seen as one of the possible ways forward in this respect. 
 
The LBC-NVK (Landelijke Bedienden Centrale - Nationaal Verbond voor Kaderpersoneel) is a trade union for white collar, professional, and managerial employees in Flanders, Belgium, that is affiliated to the Belgian national labour centre ACV-CSC. It had 315,000 members at the end of 2009, an increase of 6,000 members since 2008. Of all members, 188,000 are women and 127,000 are men.

Belgian-Flemish Affiliate LBC-NVK Conducts Congress in Limburg

As part of its strategy to improve working and living conditions for metalworkers in Europe, the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) has adopted a coordinated collective bargaining policy. 
 
The first coordinated, or common, demand was adopted in 2005 and called for the individual right to training, guaranteed by collective agreements. Last November, at the 6th EMF Collective Bargaining Conference, the 75 unions affiliated to the EMF agreed on a second common demand "for more secure employment - against precarious work." 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Bart%20Samyr.EMF.jpg" width="135" height="180"/>
EMF Deputy General Secretary Bart Samyn
“The last years have seen an incredible increase of precarious work and the number of insecure jobs has exploded in all European countries,” said EMF Deputy General Secretary Bart Samyn. “Everyone agrees that we can no longer deny this very real problem. Hence, the importance of this second common demand of the EMF and the willingness of all EMF affiliates to put the fight against precarious work central in their demands, in their upcoming collective bargaining rounds all over Europe.” 
 
EMF affiliates are developing specific demands, relevant to their national situation, on temporary agency workers (TAW), workers employed on fixed term contracts, the bogus self-employed, and those on projects-based and zero-hour contracts, and are including these demands in their collective bargaining. A number of EMF affiliates have also initiated awareness-raising campaigns for more secure employment. 
 
The EMF Second Common Demand brochure is available <a href="http://www.emf-fem.org/Press/Publications/EMF-Second-Common-Demand">here</a>.

European Metalworkers’ Second Common Demand for more secure employment 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/>
Next month, the ICEM and the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) will conduct a pivotal forum for industrial and manufacturing unions on sustainable development. On 18-19 June 2010, the two Global Union Federations – along with their Canadian affiliates – will host a conference titled “The Triple Crisis of Sustainability” in Toronto, Ontario, to precede the G8 and G20 summit meetings near there. 
 
There is little question that the economic collapse, environmental degradation, and the resulting negative social impacts have badly affected workers, their families, and their communities. Contributing to the magnitude of these crises is the absence of effective global regulations and lagging financial governance of markets. 
 
Toronto’s World Conference on Sustainability will produce a declaration that will be forwarded to the G8 and G20 summits. It will demand that global economic and political leaders take decisive action to reverse the downward social spiral felt by most of the world’s people, and begin implementing real, worker-friendly solutions on climate change and a sustainable economic future. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEM100.jpg" width="100" height="86"/>    <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/IMF100.jpg" width="90" height="87"/>
The Conference will include panel discussions, as well as keynote speeches from notable experts on the economic crisis, sustainability, and global governance. In addition, there will be ample opportunities for trade union leaders of ICEM and IMF affiliates, as well as others to tell their own stories of how workers have responded to a crisis not of their own making. 
 
The Conference will be held in the Dominion Ballroom of the Sheraton Centre Hotel, Toronto, 123 Queen Street West. The ICEM has reserved a block of rooms. The registration form for the Conference and hotel rooms can be found <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/EN%20sust.dev%20Attendance%20form.pdf" type="internal">here</a>, and it should be returned forthwith to <a href="mailto:Fanja.rasolomanana@icem.org">Fanja.rasolomanana@icem.org</a> in order to assure prompt booking. 
 
Workers have a central role to play in building a future that lifts people out of poverty, while protecting the environment. The ICEM and IMF believe that the systematic looting of the global economy by unscrupulous speculators must be stopped. The Jobs Pact, developed by the ILO, is one proposal for exiting a financial crisis brought about by greed and lack of financial oversight. 
 
Regarding the environment, industrial unions did deliver a message in Copenhagen that a fair, ambitious, and legally binding agreement on global greenhouse gas emissions is necessary, but that the legitimate concerns of workers for decent work, social justice, and long-term, sustainable jobs must be forefront. It cannot be jobs or the environment, it must be both, or it will ultimately be neither. 
 
The crises of failing economies, environmental inaction, and social disorder are interconnected. It will be the goal of the ICEM/IMF conference to ensure that the voices of workers are heard on these matters at the highest level. Jobs, workers’ rights, social protections, quality public services, and sustainability are at the heart of this agenda.

Global Trade Union Sustainability Conference in Toronto Fast Approaching

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/>
A 15-week lockout by Rio Tinto on 760 members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 30 in Boron, California, ended over the weekend, following a 75% approval of a new collective agreement by union members who voted Saturday, 15 May. 
 
The six-year labour accord at a borax mine and processing operation in California’s Mojave desert comes minus nearly all of the job-destroying contract proposals that Rio Tinto Minerals sought over nine months, and stands as testament to the courage and resolution of ILWU Local 30 members. 
 
It came after three straight days of non-stop bargaining last week, negotiations in which ILWU President Bob McEllrath hammered home the fact that loyal and dedicated workers did not deserve the harsh contract-language takeaways that the company sought. Rio Tinto listened. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1004.rio.tinto.agm.sign.jpg" width="168" height="256"/>
“Bob brought something else, something completely different to the table,” said a Local 30 Bargaining Committee member. “His resolve to get this dispute ended, get these unfair issues wiped clean made all the difference.” 
 
Last week’s negotiations took place at the offices of the US Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) in Glendale, California. 
 
Boron workers will begin reporting on 18 May for four days of US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) refresher training in Palmdale, California, training for which they will receive 40 hours pay from the company. Rio Tinto will remove the company that provided replacement workers this coming weekend, and Local 30 members will be back to work on 24 May. 
 
The six-year agreement, which takes effect 15 May, provides for a 2.5 percent wage increase each year. In addition, workers receive a US$5,000 ratification bonus.  
 
But more importantly, Local 30 and the ILWU leadership resisted Rio Tinto proposals to restrict job bidding and job transfers based on seniority; protected full-time employment against creation of part-time and temporary work; gained an agreement that prohibits sub-contracting unless union members cannot fulfill company assignments; and beat back a company proposal to eliminate one day of holiday leave each year. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1004.rio.tinto.london.3.jpg" width="205" height="154"/>
The union did concede a few issues. It granted the company some flexibility regarding overtime, in that workers must give one week’s advance posting if they will be available to work overtime; sick leave was reduced from 14 to ten days per year, but workers are allowed to maintain up to 200 hours of banked sick leave pay atop the ten days; and new hires will fall into a different pension-savings scheme. 
 
There was pressure on Rio Tinto Minerals to end the lockout, since orders for sodium borates were picking up and replacement workers provided by the private-security company were unable to handle processing work. The mineral is used in detergents, glass, building materials, and other uses such as an ingredient in chemicals. 
 
The ICEM congratulates ILWU President Bob McEllrath, Secretary-Treasurer Willie Adams, Vice President Ray Familathe, and the entire membership of Local 30 for standing together, refusing to settle for less, and sending a signal to all that fiercely resisting a multinational company’s family-wrecking agenda can succeed. 
 
The ICEM also commends the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, for providing continual aid and assistance to Local 30 members and their families.

ILWU Beats Back Concessions in Rio Tinto US Collective Agreement

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/>
Canadian steelworkers forced on strike by Brazilian mining house Vale last summer got another ally late last week. In West Africa, the Forestry, Logging, and Industry Workers of Liberia (FLIWUL) called on their President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, to look closely at Vale’s social record before the Liberian government grants Vale a rail and logistics link through the country from newly gained iron ore mines in Guinea. 
 
In the 13 May letter to President Johnson-Sirleaf, FLIWUL said Vale “infringes human rights, exploits both male and female workers, imposes precarious working conditions, destroys nature, and disrespects traditional communities” in several countries, including Mozambique, Brazil, Canada, Peru, Chile, Germany, Italy, and New Caledonia. 
 
Early in May, Vale bought a 51% stake of BSG Resources, which holds concessions to rich iron ore deposits near Simandou in south-eastern Guinea. Vale paid US$2.5 billion, with an initial payment of US$500 million for the stake and expects to begin production there in 2012. BSG Resources is owned by Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Liberia.png" width="250" height="115"/>
Parts of the deposits near Simandou were once owned by Rio Tinto, but the government of Guinea confiscated the blocks in a development dispute. 
 
The ICEM reacted favourably to FLIWUL’s challenge to Vale’s investment in Liberia, citing the fact that the world’s largest iron ore producer has a forced a bitter strike – now in its eleventh month – on 3,500 nickel and copper miners in Canada. 
 
General Secretary Manfred Warda said the ICEM will also raise Vale’s new investment in Guinea with trade unions there, as well as with the military government of Guinea, which has shown a willingness to halt worker abuses by multinationals. 
 
In the FLIWUL letter to President Johnson-Sirleaf (seen <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/fliwul.letter.liberia.1005.pdf" type="internal">here</a>), Secretary-General David Sackoh said, “We are aware of many serious issues surrounding Vale and its mistreatment of workers and communities where it operates around the world. 
 
“We are disturbed at the treatment that Vale has given to its workforce in Canada. The company provoked a strike through its demands for deep concessions from its workers despite the fact that the company has made billions of dollars in profit in recent years. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0912.USW.Sudbury.png" width="284" height="113"/>
“Madame President, following many years of civil war and turmoil the Liberian people finally enjoy peace and have a promising future under your leadership. This behemoth Vale with its suspect actions could potentially destroy our fragile economy for the benefit of a greedy few. As key stakeholder in the infrastructural and economic development of Liberia, FLIWUL wishes to urge the government to carefully study the situation and ensure that transitional companies investing in Liberia do so responsibly.” 
 
Vale has attempted to break the strike by 3,100 miners in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario, and another 400 in Goose Bay and Voiseys Bay, Labrador/Newfoundland, by using replacement workers to continue production. That practice is outlawed in two Canadian provinces, and generally discouraged in the others. In Sudbury and Port Colborne, where Untied Steelworkers Locals 6500 and 6200 share a common labour agreement, bargaining did resume for the second time since the strike began on 13 July 2009. But those mediated sessions, 5-7 May, broke off when Vale refused to retreat from its intractable demands for steep cuts to living and working conditions.

ICEM Affiliate in Liberia Balks at Vale Rail Link Through Country

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39" alt=""/>
The ICEM participated in the 36th Ordinary Congress of the Mexican National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union (SNTMMSRM), known as Los Mineros, in Mexico City, 3-4 May. Also included in the international delegation were ICEM affiliates, the United Steelworkers (USW), the Canadian Office and Professional Employees’ Union (COPE) of British Colombia, and Ken Georgetti, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), and the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF). 
 
The ICEM intervention called, on behalf of all affiliates, for Grupo México and President Felipe Calderón to find a negotiated and peaceful end to the conflict at the Cananea mine. 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1005.los.mineros.jpg" width="205" height="154" alt=""/>
Napoleón Gómez Urrutia addressed the Congress through video conferencing, and was greeted with enthusiastic chants of “Napo, Napo, Napo.” He was endorsed by members to serve as General Secretary for another four-year term. Napoleón Gómez is leading the union from exile in Vancouver, Canada, while sham criminal charges against him are still pursued by Grupo México and Calderón. Gómez continues to receive death threats in Vancouver. 
 
A press conference that followed the Congress decried the efforts of Grupo México and the Mexican government to form a yellow union and undermine Los Mineros. CLC President Ken Georgetti stated that Canadian workers would take action if the Mexico did not scale back its attacks on Mexican workers and unions soon, adding that the Canadian government must step up its pressure on Calderón, and the CLC will be calling on them to do so. 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1005.los.mineros.2.jpg" width="205" height="154" alt=""/>
The international delegation moved from the Congress in Mexico City to the Reclusio Norte prison on the outskirts of the city, to visit Los Mineros official Juan Linares, imprisoned since 2008, when he was arrested at an airport on his return from a labour conference in British Colombia. Mexico’s law courts have dismissed the charges against Juan Linares, but he is forced to remain in prison while the Calderón government files appeals. 
 
Linares has held firm in his loyalty to his sisters and brothers in Los Mineros. He told the visiting delegation that while in prison, representatives of Grupo México have visited him and offered 5 million Mexican pesos (US$400,000) in return for him denouncing Napoleón Gómez and Los Mineros. Linares was also offered to freely leave the prison with his money, in return for this statement. He refused and remains in jail. “I will walk out of here with my dignity,” he stated. 
 
From Reclusio Norte, the delegation went to the Cananea copper mine where some 1,200 striking workers at Cananea in the northern Sonora state have occupied the Grupo Mexico mine for over 1,000 days. The visiting delegation was welcomed by hundreds of striking Los Mineros Section 65 workers and their families. Receiving special mention at the Cananea conflict are the “Mujeres de Los Mineros” of the community, women who are seen as the backbone of the solidarity and of the striking community. 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1005.los.mineros.3.jpg" width="161" height="215" alt=""/>
The company has also lodged numerous lawsuits against the striking workers and strike leaders for alleged damage at the mine. The union has asked Grupo México to withdraw those actions, and instead negotiate a revised collective agreement with Los Mineros that will raise salaries and benefits, and improve safety and hygiene, chief among reasons why miners struck in the first place. 
 
Recently there have been some major breakthroughs in the campaign, finally getting the attention of the US government. When Calderón comes soon to the US and Canada, demonstrations and actions are planned. USW President Leo Gerard and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka have had two meetings with the Mexican Minister of Labour, and Gerard has been invited by US President Barack Obama to a state dinner “in honor” of Calderón. 
 
Grupo México reported profits of US$348million for the first quarter of 2010.

Los Mineros Continues Struggle Against Grupo México, Calderón 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39" alt=""/>
The ICEM is demanding that PT Kayan Putera Utama Coal (KPUC), an Indonesian company, stop its attacks on the SPE-SBSI Mining Union in eastern Borneo in Indonesia. Recently, the Samarinda-based company dismissed seven trade union leaders at the Desa Separi mine near Tenggarong in the Kalimantan Timur coal fields and enlisted another organisation to attack the union. 
 
In a letter to KPUC managing director Arifin Harun in Samarinda, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda said, “If you do not cease and desist from your actions, we will take further steps to bring the weight of the ICEM and its affiliates comprising some 20 million members to bear on this situation.” A copy of the letter was also sent to Andrew Vickers, Chairman of ICEM’s Mining Sector and General Secretary of the Mining Division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia.
<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Indonesia.png" width="200" height="92" alt=""/>
The ICEM cited clear violations of ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom association and collective bargaining in the letter. The letter can be seen <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1006%20Indonesia%20KPUC.pdf" type="internal">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM intends to conduct a full investigation of the situation if it is not resolved. It will work closely with its affiliate, the Indonesia Prosperity Trade Union Central Board, the largest trade union representing miners in Indonesia. Indonesia is a major supplier of coal to China, and is now the largest exporter of thermal coal in the world. In the wake of the surge in coal mining in Indonesia, employers have become increasingly hostile to trade unions. 
 
PT Kayan Putera Utama Coal is listed as Indonesia’s 42nd largest coal producer, with the latest figures citing it produced 322,826 tonnes of coal in 2008.

Indonesian-based Coal Mining Company Sacks 7 Union Leaders

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/>
At the Fifth Congress of the Mining and Metallurgical Trade Union of Kyrgyzstan (MMTUK) in Bishkek on 3 June, the union’s Central Committee reported grave safety conditions in both mining and metal operations. The committee said the number of accidents continues to grow yearly, and cautioned its report does not give the full picture since inspections were only carried out in and around 34 union-represented installations. 
 
MMTUK’s technical labour inspection has investigated 111 accidents over the past few years, and found a total of 525 violations. The Central Committee said that between 2005 and 2009, the number of industrial accidents in which persons were injured or killed increased five-fold.
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Kyrgyzstan.png" width="230" height="106"/>
It said that number most probably is much higher if inspections were to be done in workplaces without the presence of a union. The union’s statistics also did not take into account illnesses brought on by occupational disease. 
 
MMTUK said four workers died in its operations in 2009. It also said that antiquated equipment was a partial reason for the increased accident reason, and also reported that one-third of all the accidents that the union investigated occurred in road-traffic accidents involving industrial transport. 
 
The Congress also noted that despite several trans-national companies taking up operations in Kyrgyzstan, the global financial crisis, as well as the social, political, and economic upheaval inside the Central Asian country, has caused deteriorating work conditions. 
 
In April, citizens’ unrest forced the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyey and since, civil strife has been a regular occurrence in the southern part of the country.

Mining, Metallurgical Union of Kyrgyzstan Reports Upsurge in Safety Mishaps

Global Unions have released a set of principles to protect the rights of workers by focusing on the impact of temporary employment agencies on employment. The principles address both the exploitation and abuse of workers provided by temporary work agencies as well as the damage to regular employment relationships caused by the misuse of these agencies. 
 
In recent decades, the use of temporary agencies to supply workers has exploded all over the world, spreading also to sectors and occupations that had previously depended on directly employed workers. Not only do temporary agency workers typically receive lower pay and fewer benefits, when the financial crisis rapidly became an employment crisis, temporary agency workers were among its first victims. Many companies simply terminated their contracts with temp agencies so that the workers did not receive the minimum compensation or social benefits that they would have received as direct employees. 
 
The expansion of temporary agency labour, together with other forms of temporary, casual and precarious employment, has been promoted by international organisations like the World Bank, the IMF and the OECD as “labour market flexibility.” It has contributed to a general erosion of workers' ability to exercise their rights to join trade unions and bargain collectively with their employers, thereby posing a major challenge to the labour movement. These principles seek to address that challenge. 
 
Although there are varying approaches taken by trade unions in different countries and sectors to dealing with temporary employment agencies, ranging from total bans to partial bans to strict regulation, all Global Unions have reached agreement on a number of key principles. 
 
They include: 
 
1.) the primary form of employment should be permanent, open-ended and direct; 
2.) agency workers should be covered under the same collective bargaining agreement as other workers in the user enterprise: 
temporary agency workers should receive equal treatment in all respects; 
3.) the use of temporary agencies should not increase the gender gap on wages, social protections, and conditions; 
4.) temporary work agencies must not be used to eliminate permanent and direct employment relationships; and 
5.) the use of agency workers should never be used to weaken trade unions or to undermine organising or collective bargaining rights. 
 
The Global Unions’ principles also emphasise the special dangers for migrant workers, who are often engaged by temporary agencies or other intermediaries. Abuses of migrant workers supplied by agencies are all too common. They include the denial of trade union and other human rights, human trafficking, confiscation of passports, deceptive practices with respect to wages and working conditions, and the denial of legal redress in the countries in which they work. 
 
Governments are called on to seriously address the problems of workers supplied by temporary agencies through legislation that defines the employment relationship and ensures that triangular, or indirect, employment does not result in any loss of rights or social protections. Governments are urged to pay special attention to occupational health and safety hazards faced by agency workers and to strengthen labour inspection, so that laws are properly implemented and respected. 
 
Manfred Warda, General Secretary of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) and chair of group which developed the principles for the Council of Global Unions (CGU), stated: “The Global Unions agreement on Principles on Temporary Work Agencies will lead to better collective action by the international trade union movement. 
 
“Global Unions are rightly focusing on the rights of contract and agency workers and on the impact of precarious employment, a growing practice that is one of the primary reasons for the widespread violation of rights and growing inequalities among workers in our societies. Workers dispatched by temporary work agencies all suffer from the lack of a direct employment relationship with the very employer that controls their work and determines their working conditions. 
 
“If we want more, rather than less social justice, this issue must become a priority not only for trade unions, but for governments and employers throughout the world.” 
 
For the full text of “Global Union Principles on Temporary Work Agencies,” click <a href="/en/73-Contract-and-Agency-Labour/3861-Global-Union-Principles-on-Temporary-Work-Agencies" type="internal">here</a>. 
 
“Global Unions” is a term for Global Union Federations (GUFs), which represent national trade unions by sector and occupation, together with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD, which represent national trade union centres (multi-sectoral).For more information on Global Unions, visit its site <a href="http://www.global-unions.org">here</a>.  
 
For further information, contact Fons Vannieuwenhuys, ICEM, <a href="mailto:fons@icem.org">fons@icem.org</a>, +32 2 224 0341 or +32 473 18 6770 (mobile); or Jenny Holdcroft, International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), <a href="mailto:jholdcroft@imfmetal.org">jholdcroft@imfmetal.org</a>, +41 22 308 5034 or +41-79-616 0103 (mobile).

Global Unions Adopt Set Principles on Temporary Agency Work

International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM)
 International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF)
International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) 
Stronger Together - Fighting for a Sustainable Future 

We, the global industrial trade union federations representing workers in the metal, chemical, energy, mining, paper, rubber, textiles, materials, and related sectors, believe we have a golden opportunity to demand that the global economy be transformed from an unsustainable “casino” model into something that supports a sustainable environment and a sustainable society. 
 
The financial crisis that very nearly destroyed the world’s economy is only the most obvious recent result of the same short-sighted thinking that has jeopardized the global environment, threatened human health, and destabilized society. In particular, the runaway gambling by banks, hedge funds and other finance institutions has had catastrophic implications for millions of working people. 
 
Working women and men, their families, and the communities that depend on them have paid heavily for the crash of the casino economy through massive job losses, decreased wages, and reduced benefits. The global trade union movement strongly opposes any attempt to make working people assume the major burden of the financial crisis through regressive tax reforms. We believe it is time for the people who caused this mess to pay to clean it up. 
 
The failure of world leaders in December 2009 in Copenhagen to reach an ambitious, fair and binding agreement on greenhouse gases is another example of short-term greed trumping long-term need. The price of inaction will be paid by future generations. From broad concerns like global warming to more specific examples like the Deepwater Horizon disaster, nothing about a de-regulated market ensures the protection the environment. 
 
The inability of the deregulated financial market to value the long-term health of the economy, the environment, or society must now be clear to any thinking person. The ICEM, IMF and ITGLWF are showing the way to a sustainable future by calling for re-regulation of the global financial market, including among other instruments the introduction of a financial transaction tax that would raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change. We believe this will generate substantial revenues to pay for the costs of the crisis, climate change measures, and official development assistance while reducing the pressures that could cause a renewed financial crisis. Coupled with fair and binding environmental regulations, and strong social programs, we can shape a prosperous and sustainable future. 
 
Industrial workers have a central role to play in building a future that lifts people out of poverty while protecting the environment. Through industrial and political action, our three global federations demand that the world’s leaders take decisive actions to solve the economic, social and environmental crises. 
 
The economic crisis has not just been about how things are made, bought and sold, but also about people. Evidence shows that many companies that have begun hiring again are doing so with fixed-term or temporary workers. Such precarious work is bad for all workers. It creates cut-price labor that drives down wages. It increases the gap between rich and poor and amplifies the unfair practices that already disadvantage women, young and migrant workers. 
 
We believe the upcoming G8 and G20 summit meetings in Canada provide an opportunity for world leaders to address the legitimate concerns of industrial workers for social justice and long-term employment policies. The solution lies in global governance. Financial markets must be re-regulated, and the environment must be better protected. Jobs, workers’ rights, social protection, quality public services, and sustainability are at the heart of our proposal for a new system for global governance. 
 
We therefore call on world leaders to: 
• Ensure that global financial markets are regulated, including as an initial step better disclosure of transactions, strengthened monitoring schemes and regulation of leveraging; 
• Ban the creation or use of financial instruments with no verifiable real-world value, such as certain derivatives and swaps; 
• Introduce an international financial transaction tax system to be levied on transactions between financial institutions. A tiny tax on financial transactions would make a massive difference in the way we face up to the challenges of today. Even at just 0.05 percent experts have estimated that an international transaction tax system could eventually raise as much as $400 billion every year - money that could be used to save our planet and build a future fairer for all. 
• Make sustainable development a criteria of trade and investment deals; with balanced and fair access to markets, and transparent monitoring mechanisms of all trade and investment deals past and future; 
• Assess the social, economic and environmental sustainability impact of potential trade agreements prior to the conclusion of negotiations; 
• Consider the employment repercussions of trade liberalization in the negotiation of multilateral and bilateral trade agreements – to be assessed with full involvement of trade unions; 
• Respect fundamental workers' and trade union rights as set out in the ILO Core Labour Standards; to be included in all bilateral and multilateral agreements on trade and investments along with effective enforcement mechanisms; 
• Create jobs that meet the ILO definition of “decent work”. We recognize that industrial change is happening, but challenge the legal and political rules that allow precarious work to flourish; 
• Reach an ambitious, fair, and binding, agreement on greenhouse gases at COP16 in Mexico; and 
• Ensure that funds in the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund earmarked as part of the Copenhagen Accord are available to trade unions for vocational and educational purposes as part of the broader principle of Just Transition. 
 
In short we believe that world leaders can no longer ignore the big problems facing the world today. We are calling for an innovative, international regulatory response that will boldly deal with global issues.

ICEM-IMF-ITGLWF Declaration: Toronto, Canada, 19 June 2010

Archive