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Global worker No1 2022

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Two tragic coal mine explosions in Colombia over the past nine days illustrates again how deadly the combination of high coal demand is with inadequate safety methods. Thirty-two miners perished in a methane gas explosion on 3 February at two inter-connected mines in Sardinata, Norte de Santander state, while eight people died at an illegal mine near G&aacute;meza, Boyac&aacute; state, on 6 February. 
 
Among the G&aacute;meza fatalities was a 13-year-old boy, killed with 3 others by an initial blast some 160 metres underground. Four others were either killed by a second explosion, or asphyxia, when they entered the mine shaft in a rescue attempt. The proprietor of the illegal mine, as well as the three others, including the wife of one trapped miner and the brother of another, were killed in the rescue attempt. 
<img height="219" alt="" src="" width="300" />
In the deadly 3 February explosion at the San Roque and La Preciosa Mines, colleries without union representation, miners were trapped and perished 400 metres underground. Two days after the blast, authorities were investigating whether or not the mines had the proper permits for operating. 
 
The two mining catastrophes come at a time when Colombia&rsquo;s government fails to adopt labour protections, as stated under ILO standards, into the nation&rsquo;s labour code. The mining deaths also occurred just days before a 90-day review process opens on the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, a market pact in which civil society is demanding those same labour standards be included. 
 
The Norte de Santander death toll of 32 nine days ago is the worst mining day in Colombia in 30 years, dating back to 1977 when 100 miners perished at the Amag&aacute; mines in Antioquia state. There are some 200 underground mines now operating in Norte de Santander state, which lies along the Venezuelan border. The high price and high demand for coal means operators are striving to meet maximum output, with little or no time for safety. 
 
The equipment at the San Roque and La Preciosa Mines was described as antiquated and rudimentary, while equipment at the G&aacute;meza mine was nearly non-existent. Mining there was artisan. Operators at nearly all of Colombia&rsquo;s small and mid-sized collieries employ short-term contract workers. 
<img height="96" alt="" src="" width="100" />
In Boyac&aacute; state, in central Colombia, it is estimated that some 100 coal mines operate illegally. In many, children between the ages of 10 and 18 are digging or carry coal to the surface. Many of the mines are unregistered collectives, unaffiliated with any company or enterprise. 
 
Much of the blame for last week&rsquo;s deaths can be placed squarely with the federal government, as can countless other safety deficiencies causing death and injury in Colombia&rsquo;s mines,. With a rigid priority of attracting foreign investment to Colombia, the Uribe government has been remiss to adopt global labour standards, while focusing instead on neo-liberal deregulation. 
 
Statutory changes, for instance, have weakened the role of state governments in monitoring and regulating work conditions, while federal oversight has been slow or non-existent. The proliferation of illegal mining in remote portions of different Colombian departments bears this out. 
 
The ICEM expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the 40 miners in Colombia, and promises to remain vigilant on the global front in pressing the Colombian government for safety and security, both on and off the job.
Click here for a joint ICEM-ITUC letter, in <a href="/en/?id=5&amp;doc=2146&amp;la=EN">English</a>, or in <a href="/en/?id=5&amp;doc=2146&amp;la=ES">Spanish</a>, to the President of Colombia on the disasters.

13-Year-Old Child Among 40 Dead in Colombian Mine Disasters

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Oil workers in Chad, two weeks ago, ended a three-day strike in the rich Doba oil fields, but warned further walkouts could occur. Some 500 workers are angry about job safety and security, as well as delays in meeting pay demands. US-based ExxonMobil operates the vast number of production sites in the Doba fields, as well as a controversial 1,063 kilometre pipeline to Kribi, the Atlantic port of neighbouring Cameroon. 
 
The oil workers, led by Chad&rsquo;s national labour centre UST, took three-day strike actions twice last July over pay disparities. The workers were then paid barely a third of what oil workers&rsquo; in Cameroon earn. Although the 2006 strikes did narrow that gap some, there is still a huge pay differential between oil workers in the two countries. 

<img height="147" alt="" src="" width="320" />
 
ExxonMobil operates the Chad-Cameroon pipeline with Patronas of Malaysia and Chevron of the US as partners. The rich Doba fields of southern Chad are now producing 150,000-barrels-per-day, and are expected to yield 200,000 in the near future. Doba has reserves estimated at 900 billion barrels over the next 25 years. 
 
Development of the Doba oil fields, together with the three-year-old pipeline to Kribi, has been mired in World Bank controversy. That included a year-long suspension of Bank funds for the project. Construction of the pipeline was also plagued by labour and human rights violations. Many contract workers for Chad-Cameroon Constructors, the building consortium put together by the oil companies, were not paid their wages. As well, an HIV/AIDS rate along the pipeline is three times the national averages of Chad and Cameroon, figures that reflect poorly on the partnering companies&rsquo; social responsibility.

Esso-Tchad Workers Strike for Higher Pay

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A string of three-day lockouts by management of Bridgestone Australia at a tyre plant near Salisbury has only toughened the resolve of members of three unions to gain fair wage increases. Managers locked out workers for three-day periods over the weekends of 23-25 March and again on 30 March to 1 April, and also from 27-29 March. 
 
The 500 workers and their unions have been locked in a pay dispute for nearly a year with the Japanese-based rubber company. Production workers, numbering about 450, are represented by ICEM affiliate Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU), while maintenance workers at the auto and truck tyre plant are represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical, and Plumbing Union (CEPU), both also ICEM affiliates.
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&nbsp;Bridgestone is offering a mere 2% wage increase for each year of a proposed three-year contract, while workers and their unions are seeking 4% per year. The cost-of-living in Australia is 3.3%. 
 
A LHMU spokesman said rubber workers have struggled over the past several years to win pay increases that keep pace with inflation. Prior to 2006, annual raises totalled just 3% and now Bridgestone seeks to pay even less.
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&nbsp;The lockouts have been described by union representatives as aggressive and irresponsible, and come as Bridgestone Australia is asking staff to make improved productivity changes, while earning less money. 
 
Beginning in early March, workers began job actions, which included four-hour strikes and overtime bans. The company has admitted that the job actions have significantly disrupted production during the month of March, but it remains unwilling to reopen talks with the union. Instead, Bridgestone re-issued its insufficient salary adjustments in letters to individual workers that included the lockout notices.

Lockouts Strengthen Resolve of Bridgestone Rubber Workers in Australia

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Labour relations in Trinidad and Tobago tilt pointedly toward turbulent unrest, as witnessed by mounted riot police and barricades that met 200 labour protestors on 29 March at Whitehall, the prime minister&rsquo;s offices in Port-of-Spain. The 200 peaceful marchers were forced by the barricades and mounted patrols away from the site of their strategic protest, and into an adjacent park.
<img height="92" alt="" src="" width="200" />
 
Workers employed at national and global companies &ndash; firms that have either stalled collective negotiations, or refused to engage in them &ndash; marched on Whitehall during a cabinet meeting with PM Patrick Manning in protest of high food prices and nagging inflation. This economic hit on workers comes at a time when bosses are delaying salary increases. 
 
ICEM affiliate Oilfields Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (OWTU) organised the demonstration, together with its national ally, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and Non-Government Organisations (FITUN). 
 
The 29 March demonstration comes amidst a wave of job actions on the Caribbean island nation, including a strike two weeks ago by OWTU members at state-owned oil company Petrotrin. Job actions also included a dockworkers&rsquo; strike last week. 
 
At the Whitehall standoff, workers from Petrotrin, Trinmar, PowerGen, Hilton Hotels, Telecommunications Service (TSTT), and University of West Indies (UWI) marched to the beat of a rhythm section right up to the barricades. TSTT and UWI workers demand that their employers negotiate with their chosen trade unions, while Hilton protested their management&rsquo;s refusal to negotiate a pension plan.
<img height="204" src="" width="200" alt="" />
Errol McLeod, OWTU President
Errol McLeod of OWTU said workers&rsquo; patience is grows thin due to the slow pace of wage negotiations at several private and public companies. Dockworkers, in fact, represented by Seamen and Waterfront Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (SWWTU), struck port facilities in Port-of-Spain because wage talks continue now for two years. 
 
McLeod said government officials and companies must realize that by settling wage demands will result in the desired effect of economic growth. The absence of that, he added, either by government, or on the part of management in the public or private sector, will bring only further unrest. 
 
&ldquo;If employers were to meet the just demands of unions, then there would be no need to protest,&rdquo; FITUN President David Abdullah said in a news report. FITUN has been heavily engaged with the Communications Workers&rsquo; Union (CWU) is its fight to get TSTT managers into meaningful collective bargaining. 
 
From 26-30 March, some 400 OWTU took job actions at oil-well facilities of Petrotrin, and protested in front of the company&rsquo;s Santa Flora production headquarters. The OWTU is protesting improper safety practices, brought on mainly through under-staffing. OWTU members also protested Petrotrin&rsquo;s failure to upgrade temporary workers &ndash; some who have worked for as long as 25 years &ndash; to permanent and full-time jobs.

Workers in Trinidad/Tobago Fight High Food Costs, Delays to Wage Increases

The ICEM has condemned the killing of General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) Union Leader Najim Abd-Jasem in a communiqu&eacute; to Iraq&rsquo;s prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. 
 
The 20-million-member Global Union Federation (GUF) called this &ldquo;appalling murder another sign of a clearly systematic campaign underway in Iraq to eliminate the leadership of the newly formed independent and democratic unions that strongly oppose sectarianism.&rdquo;
Abd-Jasem, a husband and father of four children, was abducted in Baghdad on 27 March, and his body was found three days later, 30 March, with clear signs that he was tortured before his death. A staunch trade unionist, even as a member of the underground workers&rsquo; democratic movement during Saddam Hussein&rsquo;s ban on independent trade unions, Abd-Jasem was the elected General Secretary of the Mechanic Workers&rsquo; Union of the GFIW. 
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In the message to Nouri al-Maliki, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda cited recent attacks on the head office of the GFIW, as well as previous murders and abduction of trade union leaders. &ldquo;Workers and trade unionists must be able to carry out their normal activities in your country without fearing for their lives,&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;We call on you to ensure full respect for the fundamental human and trade union rights of workers.&rdquo; 
Abd-Jasem was leader of the Mechanics Workers&rsquo; Union since 2003. He was also a founder of the Iraq Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) and a trade union leader as the IFTU and two other labour federations merged to create the GFIW. During the Saddam regime, he worked as a mechanic in the Health Ministry, but was dismissed from that job for opposing Saddam&rsquo;s official union. 
 
The ICEM, a GUF representing 389 trade unions in 124 countries, expresses deep sorrow to the family of Najim Abd Jasem, as well as to the leadership of GFIW, which has lost a true martyr in the struggle for free and democratic trade unions in Iraq.

ICEM Condemns Killing of Iraqi Trade Union Leader

Trade union leaders from Guinea, who have been leading efforts to topple the corrupt regime of President Lansano Cont&eacute; in the west African country, were in Brussels on 26-27 March, and they appealed to global trade unions to continue to apply pressure for democratic change there. 
 
The national centre leaders, which included the leader of ICEM&rsquo;s mining union affiliate in Guinea, visited the ICEM on 27 March. They told of the continued impasse to dissolve the corrupt and authoritative government of Cont&eacute; &ndash; despite the appointment of an acceptable prime minister &ndash; and they addressed the rampant poverty that has swallowed the resource-rich country, due primarily to that corruption. 
 
The three included: Rabiatou Sereh Diallo, General Secretary of the National Confederation of Workers of Guinea (CNTG); Dr. Ibrahima Fofana, General Secretary of the Trade Union of Workers of Guinea (USTG); and Yamodou Tour&eacute;, General Secretary of the National Organisation of Free Trade Unions of Guinea (ONSLG), who also heads the National Union of Mine and Quarry Workers (SYNAMIC). 
<img height="253" alt="" src="" width="380" />
From left to right: Ibrahima Fofana, Rabiatou Sereh Diallo, Manfred Warda and Yamodou Tour&eacute;
Guinea&rsquo;s trade unions have become the voice and courage for all of civil society as they led mass strikes against Cont&eacute; and his military regime last year, and again in January and February of this year. In January, the three leaders were arrested for leading the three-week general strike, and the arrests were interlocked with direct negotiations with Cont&eacute;, talks that did make modest progress toward democratic reform. 
Cont&eacute;'s presidential guards killed a total of 113 people during this year's crisis. 
 
The Brussels visit was made possible by the ITUC, and included a visit to the European Union&rsquo;s Commission. 
 
At the ICEM, Rabi Diallo said the January-February general strike was only a partial success, and civil society is now waiting for new Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate to re-shape a government that will address the needs of the people. &ldquo;The stumbling block is that the president is still in power,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The commitments we have gained have not been implemented, so our struggle continues. Nothing is a given yet.&rdquo; 
 
Dr. Fofana added, &ldquo;We have initiated the first step, that government must be responsible to the people. We took action, the state tried to stop us, but we have persevered.&rdquo; Fofana and the others are calling for an international conference of trade union and civil society groups to be held in Guinea this year. The conference is intended to promote proper social dialogue inside the country, as well &ldquo;as to show the whole world what is occurring in Guinea today,&rdquo; according to Fofana. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
Yamodou Tour&eacute; said the two biggest obstacles facing workers in Guinea are corrupt bosses, and the need for overhaul and drastic revisions to labour code and collective labour agreements. The three trade union leaders specifically told ICEM of the problems in Guinea&rsquo;s mining sector, where taxes that are charged to global companies end up in personal accounts of Cont&eacute; and his cronies. 
 
The country holds roughly half of the world&rsquo;s reserves of bauxite, the chief mineral in the manufacture of aluminium, and also is a significant producer of copper, gold, and diamonds. 
 
The trade unionists said Russian bauxite producer RUSAL is a real problem in Guinea. The company, which operates the Friguia alumina plant, as well as serving as the managing partner in a joint venture with Cont&eacute;&rsquo;s corrupt regime, called Compagnie des Bauxite de Kindia, utilises child labour in many of its work areas. The company also relies heavily on subcontractors, &ldquo;phantom&rdquo; companies which are tied to Cont&eacute;&rsquo;s associates. 
 
These enterprises operate in the black, and are the worst abusers of workers&rsquo; rights in a country in which workplace rights are nearly non-existent. 
 
After meeting with ICEM Gen. Sec. Manfred Warda and ICEM staff, Warda stated, &ldquo;The people of Guinea deserve our support and solidarity. They are living and working under the worst circumstances imaginable. It is incumbent for global trade unions to follow the lead of Guinea&rsquo;s heroic unions, and to join their struggle for justice and democratic reforms.&rdquo;

Struggle Continues for Trade Unionists in Bringing Democracy to Guinea

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The International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) is heading a global union campaign to draw attention to occupational cancer, the most common work-related cause of death. Titled &ldquo;Occupational Cancer/Zero Cancer,&rdquo; the campaign is endorsed by all Global Union Federations, as well as the ITUC, and contains materials and useful information for preventing cancer in the workplace. 
 
Those materials, and background information, can be found at <a href="http://www.imfmetal.org/cancer">www.imfmetal.org/cancer</a>. 
 
An IMF cancer prevention guide, for instance, states that an occupational cancer death occurs once every 52 seconds. The IMF maintains that one in ten cancer cases can be prevented because that percentage, at the very least, is due to predictable workplace exposure. 
 
&ldquo;Asbestos alone accounts for an estimated 100,000 deaths each year and yet there is not a worldwide ban on its use,&rdquo; said IMF Gen. Sec. Marcello Malentacchi. The IMF says too little attention is given to preventing workplace hazards by employers and government regulators, and Malentacchi points to the fact that &ldquo;only a small minority of countries have signed up to the ILO conventions on occupational cancer and asbestos.&rdquo;

IMF Spearheads Global Campaign on Occupational Cancer

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Another victory for workers in Iraq was won last week with major significance. A sit-in by street vendors in the southern city of Nasiriya produced a compromise by authorities in negotiations. Street vendors are represented by the Union of Unemployed in Iraq (UUI), part of the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI). 
 
On 22 March, scores of street vendors staged a sit-in and protest aimed at municipal and occupational authorities, who previously have evicted the vendors under a &ldquo;reconstruction plan of cities&rdquo; dictum. Last week&rsquo;s action forced negotiations with street vendor leaders, the UUI, and authorities. The compromise gives street vendors &ldquo;an alternative location to set up their kiosks/carts on which they depend to support their families,&rdquo; according to UUI Nasiriyah Branch President Almad Salem. 
 
&ldquo;This agreement is a first-timer in the recent history of our class struggles with the governorate and will mobilise more of the exploited and oppressed to come forward in unified ranks around their real representatives in order to demand their rights,&rdquo; he added.
<img height="165" src="" width="220" alt="" />
Iraqi street vendors' protest on 22 March&nbsp;
Stated FWCUI Nasiriya Branch Head Ahmad abdel-Sattar, &ldquo;Authorities did not move towards solving the problem or planning in any way to rid the hundreds of thousands of the unemployed from this decades&rsquo; old situation (of poverty). Moreover, they have deepened the crisis by dividing work opportunities among sectarian and political party groups. These authorities further exposed their irresponsibility when they announced their plan of eviction of all street vendors.&rdquo; 
 
Last week&rsquo;s breakthrough is only the initial victory in the long fight for Iraqi workers in their attempt to live and earn decent livings under dire and frightful circumstances. The FWCUI has issued a call to all the people of Nasiriyah to support the street vendors&rsquo; just and humane demands, and the ICEM supports that call to trade unions everywhere.

FWCUI in Iraq: Sit-in Action Moves Nasiriya Authorities to Respect Street Vendors

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A scheduled strike was set to begin this morning, 26 March, by union members of Le Syndicat National des Agents du Secteur de l&rsquo;Electricit&eacute; (SYNASEG), ICEM&rsquo;s electric affiliate in the Ivory Coast. The strike is against CIE, the country&rsquo;s electricity operator and a subsidiary of French-based Bouygues Group. 
 
The dispute is over pay. SYNASEG and CIE last negotiated on 20 March, with officials of the Labour Ministry, Mines and Energy Ministry, and a representative of Ivory Coast&rsquo;s work inspectorate mediating. When the company did not provide a response to the union&rsquo;s ultimate proposal by late last week, the strike was called for early today. A meeting is scheduled for 15h00 today in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast.
<img height="171" src="" width="120" alt="" />
SYNASEG Gen. Sec. Fran&ccedil;ois Yao
&ldquo;We agreed to lower our salary demands from 25% to 15%,&rdquo; stated SYNASEG Gen. Sec. Fran&ccedil;ois Yao. &ldquo;We consider this our final offer.&rdquo; 
 
CIE and government officials held a private meeting late last week on the dispute, but did not inform the union of the contents of that meeting, an obvious breach of common social dialogue. 
 
Besides a 15% salary hike for workers, SYNASEG is demanding 12% for supervisors. CIE&rsquo;s did increase its salary proposal in talks prior to 20 March, but only to 7% for workers and 5% for supervisors.

Electric Workers Strike Set to Begin Today in Ivory Coast

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A Unity Accord was developed 19-21 March in Canada for unions representing workers at Brazilian-based Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD). Last year, the giant Brazilian iron ore, coal, and metal mining company took over Canadian-based, the western world&rsquo;s leading nickel producer. 
 
Signing the accord, which contains six priorities for the trade unions, were the United Steelworkers (USW) of Canada, host of the unity event in Sudbury, Ontario, and trade unions from Brazil, Mozambique, and New Caledonia. ICEM Vice President Ken Neumann, USW&rsquo;s National Director for Canada, opened the conference.
<img height="157" alt="" src="" width="140" />
USW Canadian National Director Ken Neumann&nbsp;
The unions participating include the National Confederation for Workers in the Mineral Sector (CNTSM) and Sindi-Metals (CNM-CUT) of Brazil, the National Union of ConstructionWorkers (SINTICIM) of Mozambique, and Union des Syndicate d'Ouvriers et Employ&eacute;s de Nouvelle-Cal&eacute;donie (USOENC) of New Caledonia, the largest mining union on the French territorial islands. They were joined by branch unions of the USW from five CVRD/Inco locations in Canada.
<img height="77" alt="" src="" width="140" />
USW President Leo Gerard, a former miner at Inco in Sudbury, said the Unity Accord was not signed in an adversarial or confrontational manner. &ldquo;When there are companies as big as CVRD, it is tremendously important that workers come together in solidarity and unity, in order to build on each other&rsquo;s victories and to minimize each other defeats,&rdquo; said Gerard at a press conference, as reported in the Sudbury Star newspaper. 
 
Added USW District Canadian District 6 Director Wayne Fraser, &ldquo;As companies become more global, it&rsquo;s no longer a matter of flag-waving for your union. You need to be a global union network, because you are dealing with a global, transnational company.&rdquo; 
 
The six priorities of the CVRD Unity Accord include: stronger collective agreements; pushing for more capital expenditures to ensure job security in mining communities; safe and healthy workplaces, and environmentally sustainable operations; respecting the human rights within communities, including the right to organise and bargain collectively; full access from CVRD on acquisitions, mergers, or other reorganizations; and eliminating outsourcing and contract labour.

Union Mining Alliance Comes Together Around CVRD of Brazil

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