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On 20-21 April, 82 trade union leaders from 14 countries participated in a wide-ranging conference of the ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific Region. The Sydney, Australia, meetings were expertly hosted and coordinated by the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia, which also provided generous support for many trade unions of the region to attend. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda was scheduled to attend, but scheduled flights out of Europe were grounded throughout that week due to volcanic ash from Iceland. Instead, Warda initiated a late-night telephone conference exchange with delegates from Geneva. 

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The ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific meetings were co-chaired by Kiyoshi Ochiai of UI Zensen, Japan, CFMEU&rsquo;s National President Tony Maher, and ICEM Asia-Pacific Regional Contact Person Phee Jung-sun. The CFMEU&rsquo;s John Sutton chaired the first day&rsquo;s union meeting. 
 
The regional forum had the distinction to hear representatives from the All China Federation of Labour (ACFTU) and the Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union of Vietnam. Representatives from both gave candid and vivid descriptions of multinational companies operating in their countries, and engaged with ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific delegates on a number of issues. 

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Left, Peter Tighe of Australia&rsquo;s Communications, Electrical, and Plumbing Union, and CFMEU&rsquo;s Forestry Division leaders Alex Millar and Michael O&rsquo;Connor
On 20 April, a morning session consisted of experiences and potential work of trade unions is in the region, while the afternoon session covered ICEM&rsquo;s Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) project in the region. Six unions from Australia and two from New Zealand also joined discussions in central coordination of activities and experiences with multinationals. 
 
Delegates passed two resolutions, one reiterating ICEM&rsquo;s CAL work, but also stating strong and aggressive policies are needed toward senior leaders of corporations that deny trade union and other rights to temporary workers. 
 
The other resolution is specific to Thailand. It states that violations of freedom of association and the right to collectively bargain are rampant against both regular workers and temporary workers, and that education, establishment of company networks, and raising necessary resources for Thai unions to develop are necessary so that they can resist such anti-worker biases.

Asia-Pacific ICEM Regional Conference Held in Australia

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The ICEM French trade union affiliate, the Federation of Chemical and Energy Workers (FCE-CFDT) Union, has launched a new section of their website that includes WebTV and online forum debates, open to all. 
 
Click <a href="http://www.fce.cfdt.fr/ ">here</a> to view. 
 
The forum, the union&rsquo;s first interactive online tool, enables dialogue between its members, employees, and activists. Personal questions and queries are explained by union staffers, with the explanations open for anybody, including workers considering joining the FCE-CFDT. This level of access to debates would not be possible using traditional tools. The new communicating tool is predicted to attract new members. 

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The forum was recently used by the union to conduct a poll on the union&rsquo;s popular new slogan, with the slogan &ldquo;Let us invent the CFDT of tomorrow!&rdquo; receiving the most votes. 
 
The WebTV gives free and open access to films and interviews on the work of the union, as well as news, federal campaigns, and actions underway. The ICEM applauds our French affiliate&rsquo;s initiative!

French FCE-CFDT Launches Online TV

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On 5 April, 29 American miners were killed at the Massey Energy Company&rsquo;s non-union mine of Upper Big Branch in the state of West Virginia. The catastrophe, caused by a methane gas explosion, was the worst mine tragedy to occur in the US in 40 years and it triggered a fierce debate in America over the merits of union mines versus non-union ones regarding safety. 
 
Three weeks after the disaster, non-union miners at Massey&rsquo;s Montcoal, West Virginia, colliery did what other non-union miners have done in recent times when company negligence has caused a disaster: they called on ICEM affiliate United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) to participate in the investigation. 
 
Under US mine safety law, non-union miners can request the expertise of the UMWA in the event of a disaster, or safety occurrence. That happened at the non-union Crandall Canyon mine in the state of Utah in August 2007, following an explosion that killed six miners, and then days later, three rescue workers. It happened at West Virginia&rsquo;s Sago Mine a year earlier when 12 miners perished due to an underground explosion. 

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UMWA President Cecil Roberts
Then, International Coal Group and its owner, New York investor Wilbur Ross, blocked UMWA safety experts from entering the mine even though miners had designated their participation. The UMWA and the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) had to sue International Coal to gain access and uphold the law. 
 
Despite Massey and its CEO Don Blankenship being vehemently anti-union, that recurrence did not happen when UMWA a safety expert showed up at Upper Big Branch on 23 April to investigate. He was allowed on to the property. 
 
On 27 April, a US Senate hearing on the West Virginia tragedy heard testimony that Massey&rsquo;s Upper Big Branch mine had been cited a total of 515 times for safety violations, and 124 times alone in 2009. The company was hit with fines totaling US$1.24 million, but paid less than US$180,000 because the fines were reduced through continual appeals. And those appeals generally delay the necessary safety corrections. 
 
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very easy to game the system,&rdquo; said Joe Main, who heads MSHA as an Assistant US Labor Secretary. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a catch me if you can mentality,&rdquo; added Main, who once served as Health and Safety Director of the UMWA. 
 
UMWA President Cecil Roberts testified, &ldquo;The miners who work for Massey are scared to death. They&rsquo;re intimidated. This company is run like its 1921, not the present day.&rdquo; 
 
A day after the US Senate hearings in the state of Kentucky, two coal miners were killed when an underground roof collapsed. These deaths occurred at the Dotiki mine, owned by Alliance Resource Partners.

US Mine Workers’ Union Designated to Investigate Massey Coal Mine Killings

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The European Mine, Chemical, and Energy Workers&rsquo; Federation (EMCEF) and the European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (EMF) joined together on 22 April in a Brussels manifestation, demanding a secure future for industrial sites across the 27 Member States of the European Union. 
 
Marching under the banner &ldquo;Power to Jobs in Europe! Time to Act!&rdquo; 1,200 people marched and then leading figures of EMCEF, EMF, and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) met with EU Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner L&aacute;szl&oacute; Andor and Industry and Entrepreneurship Commission Antonio Tajani to stress the impact that climate change, energy prices, and high raw material costs have on jobs. 

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EMCEF General Secretary Reinhard Reibsch 
 
Photo: Andy Michaelis
Demonstrators in Europe&rsquo;s capital city also called for stricter regulation of financial markets and the necessity to add needed social dimensions to EU emission-trading schemes. 
 
A simultaneous EMCEF/EMF manifestation occurred in the German city of Duisburg, home to the large German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp. 
 
Buses and trains replete with industrial workers waving the colours of their unions descended into Brussels. One busload of workers came from Scunthorpe in the Yorkshire region of the UK, where the steel-maker Tata Corus has shed jobs. 
 
&ldquo;We are uniting in Brussels to ensure workers come before profits,&rdquo; said Unite the Union National Steel Officer Terry Pye. &ldquo;Rising electricity prices are damaging our already weakened industries, making windfall profits for electricity companies. Pressure on raw material prices is also heightened by financial market speculators trying to make a quick buck on the back of our industries.&rdquo; 

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Photo: Andy Michaelis
Belgian ACV-CSC Metea President Marc De Wilde said industrial production in the Benelux country dropped by 30% in 2009, with a 10% reduction in the number of workers as a consequence. He said previously, suppliers and others provided long-term contracts that assured steady pricing and workplace stability. &ldquo;Now, only short-term contracts&rdquo; are given and that means instability for both workers and enterprises. 
 
EMCEF General Secretary Reinhard Reibsch spoke at the manifestation. He said, &ldquo;We need a clear policy of the European Union that is in the interest of our jobs and the economic future of Europe.&rdquo; Reibsch added that the economic success of Europe has historically been the industrial model, and that industrial production must remain the basis for creating a just and equitable society. 
 
Reibsch, EMF General Secretary Peter Scherrer, and ETUC Secretary Jozef Niemiec then met with EU officials. An open letter from the European labour federations to Commission President Jos&eacute; Manuel Barroso, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, and the heads of government of all 27 Member States stated that the time to act for preservation of industrial enterprises is now.&nbsp;

EMCEF, EMF Join to Demand European Preservation of Industrial Sectors

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In October 2009, Paperiliitto of Finland faced a re-opener inside a 22-month labour agreement. Then, the state of the Finnish pulp and paper industry was so depressed that employers were certain to seek deep concessions from the union&rsquo;s 20,000 members. 
 
Instead, Paperiliitto opted to let the collective agreement terminate and wait until spring 2010 to renew bargaining. Even though the industry is not much better off now than it was last year, that strategy has worked. In recent weeks, the union and the Finnish Forest Industries Federation came to agreement on a two-year contract that began 8 April and runs until 31 March 2012. 
 
The new agreement contains no concessionary items. In fact, several forward-looking contract language provisions have been inserted in the agreement. Finnish paperworkers will realize a modest 2010 wage increase of 0.5%. A second-year wage increase and possible further language modifications will be negotiated before 15 March 2011. 

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Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen
&ldquo;Paperiliitto&rsquo;s Union Council believes this new agreement creates a good foundation for Finnish employers to secure continuous production at the endangered mills and gives our members the job security they deserve,&rdquo; said President Jouko Ahonen. 
 
The new agreement contains five amendments intended to protect workers in terms of job security. One major aspect of the accord is creation of six labour-management sub-groups that will engage in continuous negotiations on select items. 

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Paperiliitto achieved trial language in the contract that makes alternative work due to injury or sickness to be non-compulsory, with any assigned alternative work subject to the individual employee&rsquo;s consent. A work-time bank was also established, thus opening flex-time scheduling at the local level through negotiations between Paperiliitto&rsquo;s chief shop stewards and mill management. And a prior, tentative provision from 2008 giving workers three-day sick leave without a medical certificate was made permanent, a precedent inside Finland. 
 
In ratifying the agreement last month, Paperiliitto&rsquo;s Union Council sounded warning to Finland&rsquo;s government that upcoming decisions on energy supply for the pulp and paper industry must be made with job retention in mind. As well, the Council noted, &ldquo;The government can secure raw material supplies to the forestry industry in a far better way than previously. Besides close cooperation between the government and social partners, timely measures are required to secure the sustainability of employment, growth, and public financing.&rdquo;

Paperiliitto Ratifies Improvements to Labour Accord in Finland’s Pulp, Paper Sector

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The ICEM German affiliate, IGBCE, accomplished substantive commitments for youth apprenticeship positions inside an 11-month national labour agreement with the chemical employers&rsquo; association, the BAVC. Those commitments will carry over for the next three years, and will mean another 27,000 young people will have career opportunities in Germany&rsquo;s keystone chemicals industry through apprenticeships. 
 
The 11-month length of the contract is a concession to chemical employers, with hopes that all 1,900 enterprises will regain solid financial footing before the IGBCE and BAVC resume bargaining for wage increases early in 2011. A wage freeze takes effect now for 550,000 workers, with ratification bonuses awarded instead. 

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IGBCE President Michael Vassiliadis
&ldquo;It is a good conclusion&rdquo; for the present, stated IGBCE President Michael Vassiliadis. &ldquo;It is fair considering the varying conditions in the industry and it helps build a bridge between the economic crisis and recovery.&rdquo; 
 
Foremost in the new accord is a social-partners commitment for life-long job opportunities for young people, which includes &euro;25 million in money provided by companies of the industry. The employers agreed to create 1,000 permanent jobs for young people in each of three years, with the fund used to subsidize companies at &euro;1,000 per month for each worker given a permanent position. 
 
The IGBCE negotiated the requirement that subsidies can only be given for workers that are IGBCE members. 
 
The ratification bonuses, to be included in workers&rsquo; salary pay checks this month, amount to &euro;550 for day-shift workers, &euro;611 for workers on five- or six-day swing shifts, and &euro;715 for night-shift and workers required to work across seven days per week. 

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Workers in enterprises that have not suffered due to the economic crisis will receive a further &euro;200 bonus on top of their stipends. For enterprises still facing difficulties, and with the consent of the respective European Works Councils, the overall bonus can be reduced, but not below &euro;300. 
 
Peter Hausmann, IGBCE Governing Board member, who heads the union&rsquo;s Collective Bargaining Department, said the new collective agreement reflects a stronger set of initiatives created by social partners for the industry. We have created &ldquo;new perspectives created for young people,&rdquo; as well as better job security provisions for existing workers, said Hausmann. 
 
The agreement was reached on 21 April in W&uuml;rzburg, following two days of national talks.

Youth Job Guarantees Won by IGBCE in German Chemicals Agreement

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Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s sustained attack on the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, was set back on 23 April, when a criminal court in the Federal District of Mexico dismissed a criminal complaint filed against Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia, the union&rsquo;s general secretary. 
 
The company&rsquo;s court case had accused the Los Mineros head of guilt in regard to financial irregularities during the creation and then dissolution of a workers&rsquo; trust. With Grupo M&eacute;xico alleging that $US 55 million had been embezzled by Los Mineros leadership, the court found this to be not true, with no evidence of any crime committed by the union. 

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Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez
The ICEM has repeatedly reported on Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s attempts to block the rights of its workers to organise and bargain collectively. As general secretary, Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia is forced to operate the union remotely from exile in Canada, and the 23 April decision in Court Number 32 acquits him of the only valid arrest warrant against him. 
 
The court decision needs ratification from the criminal division of the country&rsquo;s High Court of Justice, where the Attorney General will appeal. However, the ruling does have &ldquo;Res judicata,&rdquo; meaning that the decision is final and the defendant cannot be tried twice under the same charges. 
 
Since 2006, when the first criminal charges were made against him, the authorities together with Grupo M&eacute;xico have sustained judicial pressure through numerous cases and intricate legal disputes. 

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The ICEM is attending the 36th Congress of Los Mineros, starting today, Monday, 3 May in Mexico. One issue high on the agenda is the struggle of workers at the Cananea mine in Sonora State, where some 1,200 workers have been on strike since July 2007. As reported, Grupo M&eacute;xico has again teamed with the Mexican government to seek to end the strike, while the picket line has held firm. The Mexican Supreme Court recently backed Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s decision to close the mine. 
 
Los Mineros activists have refused to allow Cananea to be handed over to the company, and responded to the Supreme Court decision with a promise to destroy the mine if the authorities attempt to take it by force. &ldquo;We plan to burn it, if they attempt to force us out,&rdquo; stated Los Mineros spokesman Sergio Bultran. 
 
The ICEM, and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), participated in a demonstration outside the headquarters of Grupo M&eacute;xico in Mexico City on 23 April following a regional meeting of the IMF. The demonstration by some 300 mineworkers and others called on the company to come to the bargaining table to negotiate, and to resolve strikes at Sections 65, 201, and 17 of SNTMMSRM. 

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Demonstrators urged the company and the government not to violently move strikers out of Cananea. IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina was refused the right to deliver a letter to company Chairman and CEO German Larrea, or to any company official. The letter reiterating the support for joint ICEM/IMF affiliate Los Mineros, and the call for justice was finally delivered to a security guard at the front door. 
 
Raina criticised the company for refusing to meet. &ldquo;We are looking to Mr. Larrea, but they tell us they do not have time. Is it because they are counting their pesos or dollars?&rdquo;

Acquittal for Los Mineros General Secretary Napoleón Gómez

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The page was visibly turned in Turkey on 1 May as 150,000 workers marched from three directions into Taksim Square in Istanbul, marking the first time in 33 years that the historic square was officially open for Workers&rsquo; Day. May Day was officially designated as a workers&rsquo; holiday by Turkey&rsquo;s government in 2009, and with it came reopening of the symbol that marks Turkish worker rights &ndash; Taksim Square. 
 
It was on &ldquo;Bloody May 1&rdquo; of 1977 that 37 workers were killed celebrating May Day in Taksim and a few years later, the military banned demonstrations inside Taksim. Only two years ago, in 2008, small groups of trade union leaders attempted to assemble there. They were met by tear gas and police force. Over 500 were arrested. 

<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="154" />
Photo: Mac Urata/ITF
This year was different. On Saturday, a festive mood prevailed, with many speakers remembering the fallen of 33 years ago. 
Mustafa Kumlu, President of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (T&Uuml;RK-İŞ), President of the Turkish Electricity, Water, and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union (Tes-İş), and an ICEM Executive Committee member, spoke: &ldquo;We remember the friends we lost from the depths of our hearts. We rejoice in the fact that Taksim Square has been opened, and we thank our friends who struggled for this cause.&rdquo; 
 
A day before the celebration, the global unions came together in Istanbul to discuss the current state of trade union rights inside Turkey and to share experiences. According to ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, the meeting is certain to increase coordination for Turkish trade unions by global union federations. 

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Photo: Mac Urata/ITF 
&ldquo;The global unions explained their strategies for boosting solidarity, while their Turkish trade union affiliates put forward their successful campaigns through the support of the international organizations,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The end result will be more joint activities, more joint campaigns, with the struggle for full workers&rsquo; rights in Turkey defined as a priority by the global union movement. 
 
Participating in the day-long meeting, besides the ICEM, were the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Education International (EI), International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF), International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), the International Union of Food and Allied Workers&rsquo; Association (IUF), Public Services International (PSI), and Union Network International (UNI).

Istanbul’s Taksim Square Reopens on May Day; Global Union Conference Held

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Four members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) will travel from Australia to Zug, Switzerland, this week to make their voices heard before shareholders of Xstrata, the global mining company with a dual base in Zug and London. The CFMEU, to be assisted by the ICEM, will be at Xstrata&rsquo;s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 5 May. 
 
CFMEU will contrast the 41% pay increase given to CEO Mick Davis with the aggressive demands made on coal miners in the profitable collieries of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. Davis saw his annual salary jump in 2009 to US$7.75 million from US$5.5 million in 2008. 
 
At the Tahmoor colliery in New South Wales, Xstrata used a week-long lockout in February in efforts to force mineworkers to take unfair concessions. Some 300 miners there have been without a collective enterprise agreement for nearly 14 months. Miners are preparing to take further industrial action by mid-May if conciliation efforts by Fair Work Australia do not succeed. 

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The union has also protested against unfair staff cuts at the Ulan and Bulga mines in New South Wales. At Bulga, a three-year enterprise agreement between CFMEU and Xstrata did come into effect this spring, but not without protests and resistance to the company&rsquo;s attempt to rollback language that was consistent with former Prime Minister John Howard&rsquo;s draconian WorkChoices laws. 
 
Xstrata also has tried to weaken working conditions at its Newlands, Oaky Creek, Rolleston, and Togaro North coal mine in Queensland. In NSW, the CFMEU is also resisting Xstrata and its attempt to return to Howard&rsquo;s individual work agreements at the Liddell and Glendell mines. 
 
CFMEU Mining and Energy Vice President Wayne McAndrew said Xstrata&rsquo;s coal mining operations in Australia are some of the company&rsquo;s most profitable worldwide. &ldquo;Yet one quarter of Xstrata&rsquo;s Australian coal mining operations currently face industrial disputes or unrest because of the company&rsquo;s anti-worker stance.&rdquo; 
 
McAndrew, who will be accompanied to Zug by Tahmoor miner Lee Webb, Newslands miner Ben Davison, and CFMEU Northern NSW District President Grahame Kelly, added, &ldquo;Xstrata is a company that is engaging in activities that are harming the future profits of the company and this has the potential to affect its overseas mergers and acquisitions.&rdquo;

CFMEU to Take Australia Coal Dispute to Xstrata’s AGM

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The ICEM this week will be on-site to investigate freedom of association and trade union violations in Georgia on behalf of the ICEM affiliate, the Metallurgical,&nbsp;Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of the Central Asian country. The union and its national labour centre, the Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC), are in a serious confrontation with managers at Zestafoni Ferroalloys Plant and the Georgian Manganese mines in nearby Chiatura. 
 
A representative&nbsp;majority of the 6,000 workers at the Chiatura mines and&nbsp;ferroalloy smelter in the western Georgian city of Zestafoni staged a three-day&nbsp;strike from 23-25 April. Their demands are for recognition of the free and democratic Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Imereti Region, a branch of the Tbilisi-based union, and a halt to horrid working conditions and blatant management harassment and intimidation of scores of trade union members. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan will meet with union leaders on 5 May to get a listing of a multitude of work rights infractions and intervention with the parent company and Georgian government likely will follow. A majority of the stock ownership of both enterprises is held by privately-held, London-based Stemcor Holdings, a global steel-producing, marketing, and distribution firm that has its roots in the Oppenheimer family of businesses. 
 
Managers at Zestafoni Ferroalloys refused to renew labour agreements after 31 March, in part because the union has won the allegiance of an overwhelming number of miners at Georgian Manganese in Chiatura, who seek to replace a company-dominated &ldquo;yellow&rdquo; union. The Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Union was democratically established at the set of eight open cast and underground mines in October 2009. 

<img alt="" src="" width="160" height="120" />
Workers' strike, 23-25 April
In the days leading up to the warning strike, off-site meetings between smelting-plant workers and miners in both Zestaponi and Chiatura were watched over by managers, with photos taken and threats of violence made against those attending. At one meeting, attended by Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Union President Tamaz Dolaberidze and leaders of the GTUC, the company&rsquo;s security director attempted to provoke a melee by grabbing a union activist outside the meeting hall. 
 
And at the Itkhvisi mine, manager Nugzar Jokhadze physically attacked Merab Yakobidze, one of nine strike committee leaders. Despite these blatant and cowardly acts, the involvement of workers and miners has steadily increased as the dispute escalates. 
 
The Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Imereti Region demands immediate recognition, resumption of meaningful bargaining, and permanent work contracts. Strike committee Chairman Goga Bregvadze said the union&rsquo;s demands also include improvements to occupational safety and health equipment and updating of medical facilities; transparent rules on hours of work, days off, public holidays; protective clothing and boots; and sanitary break areas and safe food to eat. 
 
The Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Union demands a sizeable salary increase, and establishment of a minimum salary at the mining complex. The union also demands reinstatement and back compensation for two union activists, Giorgi Giorgidze and Shakro Bregvadze, who were sacked for their trade union activities. 
 
Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia, together with the GTUC, is prepared to launch further and extended strike actions if these demands are not met. Such a strike would receive global labour support. 
 
The GTUC has filed a complaint with the ILO Committee of Freedom of Association over the blatant violations at the Zestafoni Ferroalloys Plant and the Georgian Manganese mines, a petition supported by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). 
 
The ICEM will join the fight for the legitimate workplace rights of staff at these two combined enterprises. Before departing for Georgia early today, Warda contacted International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) General Secretary Jyrki Raina to inform him of the situation. Raina extended the full support and solidarity of the IMF to the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union.

Miners, Metalworkers Not Intimidated by Georgian Manganese Managers

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