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The ICEM is demanding that the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina intervene on behalf of 1,250 workers in the northern city of Lukavac. The workers have had their pay slashed and are owed wage arrears by India-based Global Infrastructure Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of the Ispat Group, owned by the Mittal steel-making family. 
 
The company is the minority owner but manages a coke-chemicals enterprise called Global Ispat Koksana Industtrija Lukavac (GIKIL), which sells to steel mills throughout Central Europe, Turkey, and in India. The local government of the Canton of Tuzla is majority stakeholder. 
 
In a 21 January letter (see <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/3%20ICEM-IMF.Bosnia.pdf ">here</a>) to Bosnia-Herzegovina Prime Minister Mustafa Mujezinovic and to Canton of Tuzla Prime Minister Enes Mujić, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda &ndash; together with International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) General Secretary Jyrki Raina &ndash; called on both the federal government and regional government to ensure that restoration of previous pay levels dating to 2003 are restored, that wage arrears are paid, and that the governments be more vigilant on potentially serious health risks existing inside GIKIL. 

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The ICEM is pursuing justice for Lukavac workers on behalf of one of those affiliates, the Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non-Metal Workers of Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM has probed Global Infrastructure Holdings, its parent, the steel-maker Ispat Group, and Pramod Mittal himself.&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;What we find is a history of depraved conduct placed on people in many countries and total disregard for global social standards, as well as statutes enshrined in European law.&rdquo; 
 
In Lukavac, workers have carried out lawful strikes twice in six months, laying claims to salaries owed them. Despite all workers taking membership in the union, GIKIL&rsquo;s Indian managing director, Guttupalli Jagannadham, has bypassed the union in slashing pay to 55% of previous earnings. That level is below the minimum wage standard contained in the national collective agreement for chemistry and non-metals, and amounts to just above &euro;200 per month (400 marka), putting it well under the minimum wage threshold for the sector in Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
 
Workers staged a strike from 6 January to 14 January after salaries had not been paid in October, November, and December 2009. During the strike, the October and November pay was made, but December salaries are still in remiss. A mediated agreement that ended a three-day strike in July 2009 called on GIKIL management to honour the collective agreement, and pay all wages due by 31 December 2009. 
 
The ICEM and IMF also stated concern for workers&rsquo; health at GIKIL in the letter to the Bosnia-Herzegovina government. The Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non-Metal Workers believes a number of workers have acute cases of cancer due to lack of safeguards around coke ovens. 
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ICEM and IMF General Secretaries, Manfred Warda, Jyrki Raina
In the joint letter, the combined 45-million-member ICEM and IMF cautioned the government not to lose oversight over labour-management relations at GIKIL. &ldquo;We think this a mistake, considering the recent history of wage arrears, asset stripping, and general social depravation brought by Global Infrastructure Holdings.&rdquo; 
 
In Nigeria in 2008, Kogi state steelworkers, over 500 Indian nationals, and many Ukrainian expatriate workers protested due to ten months of non-payment of wages. The Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ISSSAN) counted 60 deaths among workers because of the lengthy pay arrears, including 21 suicides. In April 2008, the Nigerian government revoked a privatisation contract it had with Global Infrastructure Holdings to operate the Ajaokuto Steel mills and Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Co., as well as Delta Steel, when it discovered the Indian company was cannibalizing equipment and then exporting it. 
 
Also in 2008 in Libya, where Global Infrastructure Holdings had a contract to manage Libya Iron and Steel Co. Ltd., workers &ndash; including 120 Indian nationals in high-skilled jobs &ndash; went as long as seven months without pay. In Bulgaria, Pramod Mittal and Ispat&rsquo;s Global Steel Holdings bought 71% of the country&rsquo;s largest steel mill, Kremikovtsi Steel, in 2005, renamed it Finmetals Holdings, and the enterprise was declared insolvent in August 2008. Lack of promised investment was the cause. 
 
Mittal, the younger brother of ArcelorMittal Chairman Lakshmi N. Mittal, left a debt trail that included bondholders and huge sums owed Bulgarian state utility NEC, gas company Bulgargaz, and railway operator BDZ. 
 
Some 5,000 Bulgarian steelworkers also were not paid their wages on time throughout the latter half of 2008. 
 
&ldquo;We take the breach of contract, failure to engage the union in social talks, and wage issues very seriously,&rdquo; said Warda of the current Lukavac dispute. &ldquo;Either the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina corrects the wrongs imposed on workers, or we carry this dispute to different levels.&rdquo;

ICEM, IMF Decry Mittal’s Pay Delinquencies in Bosnia-Herzegovina

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

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

ICEM Urges Haitian Relief Funds through ITUC

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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda met with the Trade Union of Workers of the Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS-TU) and affiliate Nezavisnost in Belgrade, as well as toured the successful national pharmaceutical, Galenika, on a recent visit to the country. 
 
At EPS-TU, Warda met with Milan Dordevic, National President of EPS-TU, Miodrag Rancovic, the President of the union at Kolivara inside EPS-TU, and Milan Kovasevic, the former President of the regional energy network Retunsee. 
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Both parties pledged renewed high levels of coordination in the ICEM South East European Energy Network. The ICEM is also becoming more relevant to the EPS company in regard to foreseeable strategic partnering between the union and global energy companies setting up in Serbia. The ICEM will be invited to oversee a dialogue between EPS and other Serbian unions, where relations have recently been poor. 
 
Warda then met with another ICEM Serbia affiliate, Nezavisnost, and President Milorad Panovic and Dragan Vesic at the union&rsquo;s head office in Belgrade. A dividing issue within Serbia&rsquo;s trade union movement has been privatisation. The ICEM is intent to see Nezavisnost and EPS-TU sit down to commence dialogue on this important issue. There is agreement between Nezavisnost and another ICEM affiliate, the Autonomous Union of Employees in Science and Research of Serbia (SSS), based on a study that both unions underwent some time ago. Nezavisnost would like to see the study serve as a base for all unions to develop a joint strategy. 

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Warda went on to visit the national pharmaceutical company Galenika, which employs some 2,500 workers. Workers at the company are represented by Nezavisnost and SSS. Both trade union representatives and management at the company described labour relations as a best case example in Serbia, with a good contract and social programme in place. The company is currently seeking strategic partnerships with foreign companies.

ICEM Visits Serbian Trade Unions, Model Pharmaceutical Plant in Balkans Mission

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Metalworkers, Employers Reach Historic Job Security Pact

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

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

French Unions, EDF Agree to Positive 2010 Wage Terms

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

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

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

Bosnia-Herzegovina Ratifies Safety, Health in Mines Convention 176

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Today, International Women&rsquo;s Day, was marked in Geneva with a large demonstration at plaine de Plainpalais, between 12pm and 2pm. The ICEM, along with other Geneva-based Global Union Federations turned out in support. 
 
The manifestation, organized by ICEM&rsquo;s Swiss affiliate UNIA, protested the issues of raising the retirement age of women, fighting for gender equality on wages, the effective application of equality legislation, protesting against the proposed lengthening, in Switzerland, of opening hours of shops, this sector employs more women than men. 

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Today&rsquo;s action will be followed by a national Women&rsquo;s March in Bern on Saturday 13 March. Saturday&rsquo;s march is again organized by UNIA, pick up from Geneva will be 10am from Place des 22 cantons. Call the UNIA Secretariat at +41 22 949 1200 to sign up to Saturday&rsquo;s action. 
 
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has recently published a report &ldquo;An examination of the factors influencing women&rsquo;s decisions for work&rdquo;, view that document <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-report-decisions-for-work.html ">here</a>. 
 
Visit the official website of International Women&rsquo;s Day <a href="http://www.internationalwomensday.com/default.asp ">here</a>, to see what actions are being organized in your home country.

Geneva Marks International Women’s Day

ICEM International Women’s Day Bulletin: 8 March 2010 / Boletín de la ICEM

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