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 2025-2029

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

Press

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Pointed with direction from ICEM Norwegian affiliate Industri Energi, the Nordic country's national labour centre, LO, has advised state oil company Statoil not to open an office in Iraq. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The reason cited is Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani's letter from July 2007, which bans trade unions in the public sector. His decree replicates the ban on unions in the country's oil sector imposed by both the regime of Saddam Hussein and the occupational forces following the 2003 invasion. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/2357-Reckless-and-Repressive-Union-Busting-by-Iraqi-Oil-Minister">here</a> for more). 
Statoil is planning to open the office in the northern Iraq city of Erbil. According to a Norwegian press report, LO President Roar Fl&aring;then said the opening of the office shows poor judgement on Statoil's part. The LO has also officially called on Norway's government to block Statoil from moving into Iraq at this time. The Norwegian government is the majority shareholder of Statoil. 
<img height="150" alt="" src="" width="150" />
LO Norway's President Roar Fl&aring;then 
LO and Industri Energi's stand on this issue is also supported by the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFOU), a collection of some ten oil workers' unions in southern Iraq. IFOU President Hassan Jumaa Awad al Assadi has warned both Statoil and Norway's government that, until full recognition of trade unionism occurs, the company should not carry out any activity inside Iraq.

Norway&#039;s Unions Tell Statoil to Stay Out of Iraq for Now

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The workers at the chrome Bulqiza mine in Albania resumed their earlier industrial action on 13 August, following the death of Mr. Zaim Hysa, the Secretary of a trade union of the Bulqiza mine on Friday 10 August 2007. 
 
The unfortunate accident came just over one month after the workers signed an agreement with the management at the largest mine in Albania. That particular agreement was only reached after demonstrations and a hunger strike by the workers, and following intense negotiations that saw the involvement of senior managers of Darfo, the Italian company which owns the chrome mines and a ferrochrome smelter (click <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/2330-Chrome-Hunger-Strikes-End-in-Albania ">here</a> for more). 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
The July agreement dealt, in addition to salary issues, with health and safety and working conditions, areas where, as can sadly be seen from the death of the trade union leader, very little to no progress was made over the last few weeks. 
 
Miners at the Bulqiza mine refused to enter the mine on 13 August and claimed, at a rally with 600 workers, that they would not start working again until the company fulfilled their demands for better working conditions. Reportedly, workers have to work with inadequate equipment that comes from other bankrupt mines throughout the country. Miners, which have already seen four fatalities in the mine this year, are also asking for proper employment contracts. 
 
Mr. Zaim Hysa, 40 years old, was married and had children. He was known for having complained repeatedly about the poor working conditions in the mine.

Tragedy Continues for Workers at the Albanian Bulqiza Mine as Trade Union Leader Dies

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Negotiation partners reached an agreement in early August on the future of the mining sector in Germany. Following months of discussions, a programme was agreed that sets out a path on how to deal with Germany's 200-year-old coal industry over the coming years. The agreement, which was brokered by, among others, the cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and ICEM affiliate IGBCE, intends to have a gradual phase-out of coal subsidies. 
 
The plan will now go to the parliament&rsquo;s lower and upper houses for approval. A fully approved law is needed, so that compensation payments can be prepared for the industry&rsquo;s 34,000 workers. Besides payments to the workers, the plan also projects to deal with the overall social and environmental effects of coal mining in the country. 
<img height="200" alt="" src="" width="200" />
Germany's federal and state governments will, as per the agreement, subsidise the coal sector with an estimated &euro;21.6 billion until 2018. In addition, the agreement foresees the creation of a foundation for the coal company RAG, which will hold a substantive share of the company. This foundation will administer, until 2018, the funds for the eight remaining German coal mines, as well as the money that is intended to go to the mining workers. 
 
Shares in RAG, currently a consortium in which ThyssenKrupp, Arcelor, E.On and RWE are involved, will be transferred to the new foundation. Besides that, preparations have also been made to float RAG shares (for its profitable non-mining activities, such as power stations, real estate and chemicals production) on the stock exchange as of next year. This initial public offering is expected to yield &euro;5 to 8 billion, which will also be used to help cover the costs of the phasing out of the coal industry. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Following efforts by the IGBCE, a clause was added to the agreement, which calls for a serious re-examination of the plan in 2012, taking into account not only the possibility of an unexpected drop in energy reserves, but also that other energy sources might become prohibitively expensive 
 
IGBCE President and ICEM Vice President Hubertus Schmoldt called the decision one of &ldquo;historic consequence.&quot; The union&rsquo;s members will be given the opportunity to end their careers gradually and the miners that work in those mines that will close earlier will receive compensation when they loose their jobs.

Agreement on Future of the German Coal Industry

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Kimberly Clark has, after more than three weeks of strike action at its two South African tissue plants, finally settled its industrial dispute with the ICEM-affiliated Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union (CEPPWAWU). 
 
On August 22, when the CEPPWAWU was determined to step up support for their striking Kimberly Clark members by launching a secondary strike that would have targeted the company&rsquo;s raw material suppliers and retailers, Kimberly Clark decided to accept the terms of the Pulp and Paper Employers Association, as negotiated in the Wood and Paper Bargaining Council just before July 30. The terms include, among other things, an 8.5% wage increase and demands for permanent employment of temporary workers. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
The CEPPWAWU victory in the Kimberly Clark industrial dispute, during which the union received international support from various parts of the world, ended the last of the national strikes which the union launched across its sectors on July 30, after negotiations at the Chemical and Wood and Paper Bargaining Councils became deadlocked. 
 
The ICEM congratulates its affiliate on this resounding success which vividly demonstrated that international solidarity support can effectively augment the strength unions derive from the unity and resolution of their members and leadership.

Kimberly Clark Settles South African Paper Dispute with CEPPWAWU

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
US paperworkers employed at International Paper Co., members of ICEM affiliate United Steelworkers (USW), voted to accept a precedent-setting master labour agreement with the firm on 23 August. 
 
The four-year accord covering workers at 14 pulp and paper mills in the US contains wage increases on top of negotiated local (or mill-by-mill) agreements, improvements in health insurance benefits, and lays the groundwork for improved health and safety standards, as well as labour-management cooperation on public policy issues. 
 
But perhaps most importantly, the framework pact contains a &quot;successorship clause,&quot; meaning if the company sells any of its unionised mills, the new owner must, as part of the sale agreement, retain all workers, recognise the USW as bargaining representative, and honour the collective bargaining agreement. 
<img height="82" src="" width="150" alt="" />
&quot;The overwhelming support for this agreement shows how united our members are in pursuing master agreements in the paper industry,&quot; said USW President Leo Gerard. 
 
&quot;Successorship clauses protect workers from the unconscionable behaviour of corporations that sell a mill, then disregard the union and the collective bargaining agreement and summarily fire hundreds of people who have dedicated their lives to work there,&quot; added Gerard. 
 
The wage portion of the agreement amounts to a 2% increase upon expiration of local agreements, and another 2% on the second anniversary of the contracts. In addition, workers will receive a US$1,000 lump sum payment on the first and third anniversaries of the contracts. The USW represents 8,200 International Paper employees at mills, paper converters, and packaging plants in the US.

US Steelworkers Ratify Master Framework Agreement with International Paper

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN 25

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
At the 61st United Nations General Assembly, on 13 September 2007, member nations formally adopted the important Declaration on Rights of Indigenous People, a UN milestone that was marked by 25 years of debate. The vote was 143 nations in favour, four against, with 11 abstentions. 
 
The four nations that rejected the Declaration are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US. 
<img height="50" src="" width="100" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="50" src="" width="100" alt="" />
<img height="50" src="" width="100" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<img height="53" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The non-binding charter protects the human rights of 370 million native people, and sets out individual and collective rights to protect their lands and resources, as well as to maintain their unique cultures and traditions. The declaration includes provisions on fundamental needs, including food, health, and education. It also prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them. 
 
The UN&rsquo;s Human Rights Council adopted the Declaration in June 2006. The General Assembly deferred consideration of the Declaration late last year over member nations&rsquo; objections to language defining self-determination and indigenous people. 
 
The 107th and 108th Meetings of the 61st General Assembly produced the historic passage of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. UN Delegates from Peru introduced the Declaration. The 11 nations that abstained in the vote include: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burundi, Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, Samoa, and Ukraine.

UN General Assembly Adopts Historic Indigenous Peoples Declaration

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Following the lead taken by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the ICEM has registered strong condemnation of the heavy jail sentences given to six labour activists by Burma&rsquo;s military junta. On 7 September, a closed trial inside Insein prison sentenced four of the activists to 28 years in prison, while two others received 20-year sentences. 
 
The ICEM calls the prison terms &ldquo;unjustified and scandalous.&rdquo; 
 
Four of the six were charged with attending a labour rights seminar at the American Centre of the US Embassy on 1 May 2007, and two others were unjustly convicted for bringing attention to the arrests days later. The six were found guilty of sedition and organising an unlawful gathering. 
The six men, all labour activists in their 20s, were among 30 Burmese citizens detained at the Labour Day event. While most of those attending were released within hours, Thurein Aung, Kyaw Kyaw, Shwe Joe, Wai Lin, Aung Naing Tun, and Nyi Nyi Zaw were held. On 4 May, Shwe Joe and Aung Naing Tun were released. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
Thurein Aung, Wai Lin, Myo Min, and Kyaw Win were sentenced to 28 years, while Nyi Nyi Zaw and Kyaw Kyaw received 20-year prison terms. Kyaw Win and Myo Min were arrested on 10 May for travelling to the Thai-Burmese border to get word out of the country about the May Day arrests.&nbsp;
In the ICEM protest letter to the senior leader of the military junta, the global union federation stated that it &ldquo;learned all six men were found guilty of &lsquo;inciting hatred or contempt for the government&rsquo; during a trial held inside Rangoon&rsquo;s Insein prison, and that some were convicted for being members of &lsquo;illegal associations.&rsquo;&rdquo; 
 
The letter added, &ldquo;&hellip; detaining and sentencing workers who exercise their right to freedom of association is a clear violation of international labour standards, including ILO Convention 87, which has been ratified by your country.&rdquo; 
 
The Burmese junta has a long history of unwarranted attacks on the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB), the legitimate labour organisation that defends workers&rsquo; rights in Burma. 
 
The ICEM demands the immediate and unconditional release of the six. The ICEM protest letter can be found <a href="/en/7-Asia-Pacific/2397-ICEM-protest-letter-to-Burmese-Junta">here</a>.

28-Year Prison Sentences Given to Labour Activists Inside Burma

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Contract workers represented by ICEM UK affiliate Unite began the first of industrial actions at a Kimberly-Clark paper mill in Northfleet, Kent, on 12 October. The 38 workers of TDG, formerly called Transport Development Group, staged a 12-hour strike on that day, and they plan a further 24-hour strike over tomorrow and Wednesday, 23-24 October. 
<img height="302" alt="" src="" width="200" />
The London-based employer responded by replacing the members of the Amicus section of Unite on 12 October. The dispute is over lack of parity in 2007 pay raises between Kimberly-Clark workers at Northfleet, also members of Unite, and the TDG workers. In previous years, the company had matched raises that Kimberly-Clark workers received. 
 
At another UK tissue mill of Kimberly-Clark near Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria in northwest England, TDG did just that this year, granting a 4.5% pay increase. The TDG workers at both sites work in the warehouses of the American-based company. TDG has provided contract services for the paper-maker since 2002, and is a major European logistical and supply-chain distributor of chemicals and consumer goods. 
 
Trade unionists are encouraged to send letters of support to Unite&rsquo;s representative, Paul Baker, at <a href="mailto:paul.baker@unitetheunion.org">paul.baker@unitetheunion.org</a>.

Paper Mill Logistic Workers Take Industrial Action in UK

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Despite increased labour and human rights pressure on the Islamic regime, Iran&rsquo;s government is still refusing access and giving misleading reports on the condition of imprisoned transport union leader Mansour Osanloo. The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) is calling recent efforts to reach Osanloo by Indonesian activists a &ldquo;cynical catalogue of dirty tricks&rdquo; by Iran. 
 
The government assured Indonesian trade unionists seeking to visit Osanloo in Tehran&rsquo;s Evin prison the week of 8 October that the he was receiving treatment for a two-year-old eye injury. The Indonesian activists, as well as Osanloo&rsquo;s wife, Parvenah, were told by authorities that they could not visit the 47-year-old trade unionist because he was receiving treatment.
<img height="101" alt="" src="" width="120" />
But a prison doctor admitted to the Indonesians later that, if he is not treated within the next two weeks, he could go blind. The Indonesians that visited Iran were Hanafi Rusrandi, Seafarers' Union president and ITF's national coordinating committee chairman, and Syukur Sarto, the general secretary of national centre FSPSI.
&ldquo;The Iranian government is piling outrage on outrage, digging deeper and deeper into a barrel of dirty tricks,&rdquo; said ITF general David Cockroft. &ldquo;All the evidence we have is that this is a cold blooded and deliberate attempt to weaken and undermine the most significant union leader in Iran today.&rdquo; 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Osanloo was arrested for the third time on 10 July 2007, following a tour of European labour institutions and labour unions, in which he spoke openly of labour abuses and restrictions on freedom of association in Iran. He has been in prison since. In May 2005, he sustained eye injuries when beaten by Iranian security forces. Osanloo is the leader of Sherkat-e Vahed, the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Workers&rsquo; Union. 
 
The ITF, last week, released a video entitled &ldquo;Freedom Will Come&rdquo; on his story and the story of bus workers&rsquo; efforts to organise in Tehran. It was posted late last week on YouTube and will shortly be available on DVD. The London-based Global Union Federation has also launched a petition campaign in support of Osanloo. It can be found <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/freeosanloo.cfm">here</a>.&nbsp;

‘Dirty Tricks’ Imposed by Iranian Government over Imprisonment of Mansour Osanloo

Archive

Norway's Unions Tell Statoil to Stay Out of Iraq for Now

Tragedy Continues for Workers at the Albanian Bulqiza Mine as Trade Union Leader Dies

Agreement on Future of the German Coal Industry

Kimberly Clark Settles South African Paper Dispute with CEPPWAWU

US Steelworkers Ratify Master Framework Agreement with International Paper

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN 25

UN General Assembly Adopts Historic Indigenous Peoples Declaration

28-Year Prison Sentences Given to Labour Activists Inside Burma

Paper Mill Logistic Workers Take Industrial Action in UK

‘Dirty Tricks’ Imposed by Iranian Government over Imprisonment of Mansour Osanloo

About IndustriALL

Follow us

Contact us