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 alt="" src="" width="110" height="50" />
At a side meeting in Geneva at the 2010 International Labour Conference of the ILO in June 2010, the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, Professor John Ruggie, requested the ILO&rsquo;s expertise in determining the impact of precarious work on human rights. 
 
In preparing to make operational the 2008, &ldquo;Respect, Remedy, Protect&rdquo; framework, Ruggie is consulting with a wide range of actors, including through an online consultation forum. Ruggie&rsquo;s request to the ILO follows online submissions by the Global Union Federations International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Association (IUF) and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), which both highlighted the fact that CAL and other forms of precarious work are being used to undermine the human rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. 
<img alt="" src="" width="145" height="73" />
John Ruggie
In its submission to the consultations, the IMF&rsquo;s statement said, &ldquo;It is our submission that precarious work threatens the very survival of stable employment and collective bargaining,&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;As with other human rights, exercise of the fundamental enabling rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining is severely constrained by fear. That fear comes from the vulnerability that employers are imposing on workers every day, in developed and developing countries alike, with the explosion of precarious work practices.&rdquo; 
 
Ruggie&rsquo;s &ldquo;Respect, Remedy, Protect&rdquo; framework is based on three pillars: it is a state duty to protect human rights abuses by third parties, including businesses; corporate responsibility to respect human rights; and that there must be greater access by victims to effective remedies, judicial and non-judicial.

UN Human Rights Special Representative Ruggie Seeks ILO Help on Precarious Work

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the results of the questionnaires on strength and weaknesses of the ICEM HIV/AIDS project; on treatment in earthquake devastated Haiti; and the call for union participation in the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, in July 2010. 
 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Annual Questionnaires Reveal Strength of ICEM HIV/AIDS Project 
 
Last year, the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project introduced year-end questionnaires in addition to the reporting of activities. The objective was to better assess the results compared to the objectives and to find out more about success stories and difficulties encountered in project implementation. 
 
The questionnaires show an increased focus not only on training of peer educators and counsellors but also their deployment in follow-up activities which reach more and more workers, their families, and the community. They also reveal more cooperation with employers, NGOs, and service providers. VCT campaigns in some countries were an overwhelming success, revealing how much can be done by unions when government agencies fail to respond. 
 
The introduction of a small budget allocation for material production was well accepted with the result that ICEM affiliates in the majority of project countries now have their own leaflets for use in awareness and prevention work. 
 
Difficulties encountered included the lack of time off granted by employers for peer educators to perform their duties and for meetings during working time; the lack of incentives for peer educators; the lack of resources to produce more campaign material and inadequate resources to cover more workplaces, especially in countries with a poor infrastructure and failing transport systems. 
 
What is still lacking, with a few exceptions, is the negotiation of HIV/AIDS workplace policies or collective bargaining agreements with HIV/AIDS clauses. In almost all countries, there is at least one employer with good practices on dealing with HIV/AIDS. Unions must become more active to build on good practices in their own country or in countries of a region to convince employers, who are lagging behind, to do more in the field of HIV/AIDS. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Global Union AIDS Programme Calls for Union Participation at the International AIDS Conference 
 
The Global Union AIDS Programme (GUAP) has called on Global Union Federations (GUFs) to sponsor unionists to participate in the International AIDS Conference (IAC), Vienna, Austria, 19 &ndash;23 July 2010. 
 
The last IAC took place in Mexico City in August 2008, and several GUF representatives attended the Conference, as well as the two-day Labour Forum. As a result of their participation and the efforts of ILO/AIDS, GUAP made significant progress in securing recognition of HIV/AIDS as a workplace issue and ensuring that the world of work was on the agenda. 
 
In Vienna, GUAP needs to do even better. The year 2010 is a significant year for the global HIV/AIDS response and for the world of work in particular. This year is the target year for the G8 commitment to achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care made in 2005, and for achieving the second target of Millennium Development Goal 6, universal access to treatment. What is more, the new ILO instrument on HIV/AIDS in the world of work will be discussed and hopefully adopted at the International Labour Conference in June. The IAC will be an important forum to disseminate the instrument, explain its significance, and promote its use 
 
GUAP calls on GUFs to earmark funds to enable representatives to participate in the IAC so that labour&rsquo;s voice will be heard. 
 
(Source: GUAP Circular, 2 February) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Combating AIDS through Workplace Action in Uganda 
 
TUC Aid &ndash; the development arm of the British trade union movement &ndash; is working in partnership with the National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU) in Uganda in a two-year workplace initiative to combat AIDS. The activities planned for the second half of 2009, under the Workers' AIDS Project (WAP) launched in July 2009, with a view to reducing stigma and discrimination associated with workers living with HIV/AIDS and negotiating for treatment, care, and support for such workers through collective bargaining arrangements with employers were successfully completed. 
 
The Project, funded by the Bill Morris Testimonial Fund for HIV/AIDS in Africa through TUC Aid, has contributed to greater awareness of risks of infection and of the potential for effective action through workplace. 
 
(Source: TUC website <a href="http://www.tuc.org.uk">www.tuc.org.uk</a>, with contribution from Robert E. Lovelace, GUAP HIV/AIDS Consultant, Washington, D.C.) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Global Fund Ensures AIDS Treatment in Haiti 
 
As Haiti begins the process to rebuild the country after the devastating earthquake that hit on 12 January, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is focusing its effort to ensure that the thousands of people living with AIDS will be able to access the drugs they need to stay alive. 
 
Haiti has the highest HIV infection rate outside southern Africa, and 36,000 people are currently receiving antiretroviral treatment to stay healthy, 13,000 of these depend on programmes financed by the Global Fund. With many health centres destroyed and health workers killed, people moving away from their home areas and with transport difficult, there is an acute danger that many people will run out of the drugs they need. This would not only lead to many deaths, but the disruption of treatment would also lead to a high chance of drug resistance among those who stop and start their treatment. 
 
The Global Fund is making an emergency provision of US$800,000 for a supply of six months of stocks of antiretroviral medicines. The Global Fund is working closely with the U.S. President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and UNAIDS to ensure an uninterrupted flow of life-saving AIDS medicines to these patients. 
 
(Source: Global Fund website) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
ILO Announces Strategy to Fight the Pandemic in Ghana 
 
Over a period of two years, the ILO/AIDS Workplace Programme will train about 195 senior officers from 20 trades associations on the removal of stigmatization and discrimination at the workplace, reaching out to more than 55,400 vulnerable people in the informal economy. In addition, 390 Peer Educators will be trained to assist some 100 companies with formulating and implementing HIV/AIDS workplace policies. The programme will also distribute two million condoms. 
 
Mrs. Akua Ofori-Asumadu, ILO/AIDS Workplace HIV National Programme Co-ordinator, announced this at the ILO/HIV and AIDS Programme Advisory Board meeting in Accra, which was attended by the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, Ghana AIDS Commission, Ghana Employers Association, Ghana Business Coalition against AIDS, and Ghana Trades Union Congress. 
 
She also said that the programme would develop kits and user guides necessary for workplace representatives to build comprehensive HIV/AIDS workplace programmes. 
 
(Source: Ghana News Agency, posted on <a href="http://www.peacefmonline.com">www.peacefmonline.com</a> on 13 January) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Lack of Resources Could Undermine HIV Response in Pakistan 
 
Pakistan&rsquo;s capacity to effectively respond to the HIV epidemic could be hindered due to the lack of resources to implement its National Strategic Framework. A priority is to address the increasing levels of HIV infections among injecting drug users (IDUs). 
 
Despite having an HIV prevalence rate of less than 0.1% among its general population, Pakistan&rsquo;s HIV epidemic has transitioned from low to a concentrated one, as the prevalence among IDUs has steadily increased from 10.8% in 2005 to nearly 21% in 2008. 
 
Following the model seen in other countries in Asia, also known as the Asian Epidemic Model, the epidemic in Pakistan is characterised by high prevalence among IDUs and potential spill-over into other risk populations such as commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men. 
 
Lack of financial resources and constraints in the health infrastructure could jeopardise an effective and timely response. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>, Feature Stories, posted 5 February) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Spotlight on the Middle East and North Africa 
 
The HIV epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, while seldom highlighted, is steadily growing. In 2008, there were an estimated 310,000 people living with HIV, up from 200,000 in 2001. Approximately 35,000 people became newly infected. 
 
Stigma and discrimination remain key barriers to an effective regional response. In many countries, the criminalisation of higher risk behaviours pushes affected communities, such as men who have sex with men, underground thereby limiting access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care and support services. 
 
UNAIDS works closely with government and civil society partners in the region to advocate the removal of punitive laws and policies that block an effective response. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>, Feature Stories, posted 27 January) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Zimbabwe: HIV-positive People Want Constitutional Rights 
 
AIDS activists in Zimbabwe have launched a major drive to ensure that the rights of people living with HIV are enshrined in the new constitution. 
 
The Global Political Agreement, signed in September 2008 between Zimbabwe's political rivals, which gave rise to the coalition government in February 2009, includes writing the new constitution expected to be introduced in 2010. 
 
The Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (ZNPP+) and the Southern Africa AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS), a regional non-profit AIDS organisation, call for a meaningful involvement of HIV-positive people in the constitution-making process. They note that the current constitution did not have any explicit reference to the right to healthcare and was &quot;silent on HIV.&rdquo; 
 
SAFAIDS and ZNNP+ are calling for a bill of rights that would promote better access to health services. The estimated two million people who are living with HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe, one of the countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, have never before been actively involved in such legislation. 
 
(Source: PlusNews, 4 February) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
A Beginner&rsquo;s Guide to the Global Fund 
 
AIDSPAN recently published a beginner&rsquo;s guide to the Global Fund. The purpose of this guide is to provide a broad introduction to the Global Fund for people who have little or no prior experience of the Fund &ndash; ranging from new CCM members, to NGOs, to trade unions, to government officials, to new sub-recipients, to journalists who have to write about the Fund. This guide comes in three versions: the full guide (about 60 pages), an eight-page summary, and a two-page summary. 
 
All three versions of this guide are available at <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">www.aidspan.org/guides</a> in English, French, Spanish, and Russian. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 114 of 19 January. GFO is a free service of Aidspan (<a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>); to receive GFO send an email to 
<a href="http://receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">http://receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
News from Global Unions 
 
The latest Newsletter of Public Sector Unions Fighting AIDS in Southern Africa (PSUFASA) gives a full summary of the many HIV/AIDS activities organised by the project. The project office is based in Johannesburg and the project is now coordinated by Tsitsi Mariwo. The project is sponsored by the Department for International Development (DfID, UK) and the British affiliate of Public Services International, UNISON. The website of PSUFASA is <a href="void(0);/*1265880702106*/">www.psufasa.org</a>. 
 
(Source: PSUFASA Newsletter January 2010) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="void(0);/*1265880720731*/">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 53, February 2010

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
A 1 March deadline looms for applicants seeking admission to ILO&rsquo;s coming Global Labour University (GLU) Masters Degree programmes in Germany and India. The year-long course work is through the University of Kassel and Berlin School of Economics and Law in Germany, and Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India. 
 
In India, course work will be categorized under &ldquo;Globalisation and Labour&rdquo; and will critically evaluate the social, economic, and political processes that influence labour under globalisation. In Germany, where the first semester is at Kassel and the second at Berlin, the programme is called &ldquo;Labour Policies &amp; Globalisation&rdquo; and focuses on global challenges to labour, international labour rights, economics, and processes of globalisation. 

<img src="" width="92" height="87" alt="" />
The application (in six languages) can be found at the bottom of this page <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/ on the left hand side">http://www.global-labour-university.org/ on the left hand side</a>. 
 
Courses are offered in English, women are strongly encouraged to participate, applicants should, as a rule, not be over age 40, and the endorsement of a trade union is a requirement for a scholarship. The scholarship is combined with a &euro;1,500 contribution made by a trade union or other donor. 
 
The nearly six-year-old GLU has trained trade unionists in economics and in social sciences from 49 countries in its short existence. The GLU has also developed and is initiating this year a shorter, six-month programme intended for trade union workers and others around a targeted and specific curriculum. 
 
More on that programme, with the next application deadline coming 1 November 2010, can be found <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/216.html">here</a>.&nbsp;

1 March Deadline for Global Labour University Courses in Germany, India

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
On 12 January, European unions and the European Mine, Chemical, Energy Federation (EMCEF) formally signed an agreement creating a European Works Council (EWC) for American pulp and paper producer, International Paper (IP). Chartered under the UK transposition of the EU Directive on EWCs, the council will cover IP worksites in Poland, France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. 
 
Discussions on creating a EWC with the American-based company have been two years in the making. IP employs some 8,000 direct employees inside EU nations. The EWC composition will consist of two representatives from Poland, and one each from France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. EMCEF and Belgium will be represented by Peter Ellis, a National Officer for UK&rsquo;s Unite the Union, who negotiated the agreement along with trade union representatives from the countries. 

<img alt="" src="" width="180" height="109" />
&ldquo;This has been a long set of negotiations, held in the main, in a cordial and professional manner,&rdquo; said Ellis. He added that the manner and procedures conducted during negotiations &ldquo;bodes well for a constructive and fully-functional European Works Council.&rdquo; 
 
Ellis said the new EWC will benefit by the fact that it will hold two meetings per year and that, in addition, two meetings annually of a select committee will also be held, a panel to serve as a steering committee. IP will also fund a union expert to be in attendance at all meetings, with that representative to be EMCEF&rsquo;s Belgium delegate. 
 
IP operates two integrated pulp and paper mills in Europe, the Saillant mill in Saillat-sur-Vienne, central France, and the Kwidzyn, Poland, mill. In addition it operates 19 corrugated packaging plants: eight in Spain, including two in the Canary Islands; 7 in France, including one on the island of Guadeloupe, and four in Italy.

Trade Unions, Work Partners Form EWC with International Paper

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Four contractors of Royal Dutch Shell, who were kidnapped in Nigeria while enroute to work at a power plant on 12 January, were released early last week. The four, three British nationals and one Colombia national, work for Shell sub-contractor NETCO-Dietsmann NV. The Colombian expatriate, Fabien Sanchez, was hospitalized after winning his freedom with shrapnel wounds. 
 
The four were abducted by despicable thugs between on the northeast border of Rivers State where it junctures with Abia State. A police escort was shot and killed, and the driver was wounded. The criminals reportedly demanded a US$2 million ransom. Police put up a US$16,000 reward for information leading to the crime. It was not clear if ransom money was paid to win the freedom of the expatriate workers or not. 

<img src="" width="250" height="115" alt="" />
The Rivers State branch of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) condemned the crime. Branch Chairman Hyginus Chika Onuegbu called on state police forces in all the oil-rich states surrounding Port Harcourt to beef up road patrols around border junctions, since this is where kidnappings and killings happen. 
 
The kidnapped workers are part of a team of contractors working on the Afam VI power station, managed and 30% owned by Shell. They work for the sub-contractor NETCO-Dietsmann, a 40/60 joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation subsidiary, National Engineering and Technical Co., and Dietsmann, an upstream oil services company based in the Netherlands. Capital improvements are being made on Afam VI in order that higher flows of liquid natural gas will double the power plant&rsquo;s capacity to 650 megawatts. 
 
The names of the British contractors that were kidnapped are John Bennet, Kevin Gray, and Martin Phillip.

Kidnapped Shell Workers in Nigeria Released, One Injured

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
The publicity and organising campaign launched in the town of Duzce, Turkey, (see report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3333-Turkey’s-Petrol-Is-Launch-Creative-Organising-Campaign">here</a>), by ICEM affiliate Petrol-İş, Turkey's Oil, Chemical and Rubber Workers Union, in mid-2009, has now been built on in the towns of Bursa and Gebze, both areas that have a high density of workers. 
 
The main aim of the campaign is to strengthen public confidence in unions, and to convey the union's positive message about unionising, not only to unorganised workers at their worksites, but also to families and within the local communities. 
 
The campaign adopted an approach which seeks to break down the negative public prejudices and attitudes towards unions. Petrol-İş plans to expand the drive to cover all Turkey. 

<img src="" width="280" height="210" alt="" />
Petrol-İş President Mustafa Oztaskin launches recruitment drive 
Using campaign materials, including local newspaper ads, billboard posters, local TV and radio spots and adverts, the union calls on workers to exercise their constitutional right to unionise. 
 
The campaign's key slogan, &ldquo;Be unionized,&rdquo; is accompanied by the messages &ldquo;Union is your strength,&rdquo; &ldquo;Union is your right,&rdquo; &ldquo;Union is the future,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Union means solidarity&rdquo;. The campaign website and brochures give specific information about unions, and the importance of &ldquo;being unionized,&rdquo; designed for potential new members. 
 
The Petrol-İş campaign aims to ensure that workers can freely, legitimately, and effectively exercise their right to organise, a basic human right.

Petrol-Iş Continues Aggressive Recruitment Drives in Turkey

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
At a factory blockade of a Michelin tire plant in Laem Chabang, Thailand, on 20 March 2009, workers protested against a harsh 35% pay cut. Following the manifestation, 22 union activists were arrested, suspended from their jobs, with management taking out criminal charges against them. (See ICEM news release on that <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/3132-ICEM-Condemns-Lockout-of-Thai-Workers-by-Michelin ">here</a>.) 
 
Those 22 unionists, members of ICEM-affiliated Petroleum and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation (PCFT), were finally reinstated to their jobs on 18 January, after attending a special training session specifically for them. 
 
However, despite this positive but delayed piece of justice, the conflict is far from over. Ten of the 22 are still facing criminal charges, charges the ICEM believes are unjust because they relate to legitimate trade union activity. The president of the Michelin Tyre Workers&rsquo; Union of the PCFT is one of those facing criminal proceedings, scheduled to take place at the Criminal Court of Pattaya by the public prosecutor of the province. The trade unionists have been forced to take bail. 

<img alt="" src="" width="270" height="129" />
Michelin Tyre Workers&rsquo; Union leaders of the PCFT, from left, Thanakorn Somsin, Rangsan Monchaisong, and Samai Koonswat
The cases are expected to be processed in the next month. 
 
Trade union members continue to face discrimination on a daily basis inside the Michelin factory, a workplace that employs 1,500. They receive lower pay than non-union members and have witnessed management take away holiday allowances in 2009. 
 
The March 2009 bargaining dispute was settled through successful tripartite discussions, brought forth by pressure from the ICEM, FCE-CFDT of France, and Michelin&rsquo;s European Works Council. The parties called for immediate intervention by Michelin headquarters then in France. 
 
In other Michelin Asia-Pacific news, the company announced closure of a Japanese factory in Ota, 50 kilometres north of Tokyo. The closure will occur in July 2010 and will see 380 employees sacked from their jobs. The reason given by Michelin is that production costs at the plant are too high. Michelin has entered into talks with the union to relocate workers from the Ota plant into other jobs.

Michelin Unionists at Thai Tyre Factory Still Face Discrimination

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The Guyana Bauxite &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union (GB&amp;GWU) is seeking justice against the union-smashing affront by Russian metals company RusAL, the world&rsquo;s second largest aluminum producer. The union has filed a racial discrimination complaint over RusAl&rsquo;s sacking of 57 union activists, a move made necessary when neither the prime minister nor the minister of Labour, Human Services, and Social Security intervened to protect Guyana&rsquo;s labour law. 
 
The dispute started in November 2009, following pay talks between GB&amp;GWU and RusAl, the 90% owner of Bauxite Co. of Guyana Inc. (BCGI) at the Aroaima and Kwakwani mines in central Guyana. RusAl managers submitted three counter-proposals for the workforce of 500 to consider, and after miners voted to accept one, the company rescinded it and announced on 1 December that it no longer recognized GB&amp;GWU, a blatant violation of the Trade Union Recognition Act. 

<img alt="" src="" width="220" height="101" />
Allegedly, the company subsequently said at a workplace meeting that those responsible for promoting the accepted offer would be the first in line for retrenchments. BCGI had hoped to tie a wage increase with some 70 redundancies, a counter-proposal that miners did not accept. 
 
Miners began a lawful strike on 21 November at the Aroaima mine. Three days into the strike, BCGI issued letters of termination to 57 strike leaders, all African descendants. Despite several urgent calls and letters to government officials to press RusAl on the law infractions, very little has been done. The discharge letters judged the workers &ldquo;insubordinate, refusing to obey instructions&rdquo; and guilty of &ldquo;misconduct.&rdquo; 
 
The race charge was heard before the Ethnic Relations Commission on 8 January. The GB&amp;GWU is asking the commission to convene a full public inquiry into the alleged discriminatory sackings because a &ldquo;bilateral initiative &hellip; to engage the union; then engage the company; then engage the Minister &hellip; will not work.&rdquo; 
 
An 8 January letter by the union and the 57 discharged miners to Prime Minister Samuel Hinds expressed frustration at government inaction: &ldquo;We were never charged, never summoned to answer the charges &hellip; never given a hearing yet the company has pronounced us guilty of charges. Today, as we continue to take a stand for our rights, the Minister of Labour has thus far taken the position that we do not have any rights or any recourse for justice.&rdquo; 

<img alt="" src="" width="115" height="192" />
GB&amp;GWU General President Charles Sampson
GB&amp;GWU General President Charles Sampson, in a letter to Labour, Human Services, and Social Security Minister Mansoor Nadir, said he was &ldquo;appalled&rdquo; that you &ldquo;have not seen it fit to intervene &hellip; to immediately put an end to this national insult.&rdquo; Nadir, for his part, publicly stated in December that &ldquo;we should let this festive (holiday) season of goodwill take its course and hopefully both parties will exercise more generosity towards each other.&rdquo; 
 
Six weeks later, there is little generosity shown the 57 mining families who are now impoverished in a poverty-stricken country. Guyana&rsquo;s Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board did hold a 12 January hearing on the unilateral de-authorization pronouncement by RusAl, and it also heard first-hand how BCGI is now coercing workers to sign waivers to abandon the union. 
 
The ICEM is disturbed that Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, himself a former miner and human rights proponent, has not been in the forefront of this dispute, seeking reinstatement for the 57 and prohibiting RusAl from trampling on the country&rsquo;s labour code. The ICEM also cites the Russian mining and metals multinational with yet another glaring example of the company&rsquo;s complete disregard toward international labour and human rights standards.

Guyana Bauxite Workers’ Union Bitter at RusAl, Government

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Negotiations between United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9508 and Brazilian mining company Vale broke off late last night, 24 January, in St. John, Newfoundland, in failed efforts to end the 25-week strike by 250 union members at Goose Bay and Voiseys Bay, Labrador. Three days of steady talks over the weekend, guided by a provincial mediator from Newfoundland/Labrador, failed to bring the two sides any closer to terms. 
 
Meanwhile, 3,100 striking Steelworkers marked six months on picket lines opposite Vale in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario, a fortnight ago. The company, on 19 January, upheld its promise to re-start the Copper Cliff nickel smelter using managers and replacement workers to fire one of two furnaces. 
 
In eastern Canada, an announcement a week ago that the first full round of negotiations since February 2009 would begin on 22 January brought hope that copper, nickel, and cobalt mining in Goose Bay, as well as operations at a slurry facility in Voiseys Bay would resume. Vale had submitted the framework of an agreement ten days ago, but this past weekend&rsquo;s bargaining proved Vale is seeking the same set of concessions. 

<img alt="" src="" width="257" height="233" />
Hong Kong flagged ship operators receive Voiseys Bay Petition, 9 October 2009
&ldquo;The company here still insists on removing the nickel bonus and they didn&rsquo;t deal at all with our issues,&rdquo; lead negotiator and USW District 6 Representative Boyd Bussey told the ICEM Sunday evening. &ldquo;If Vale thought they were picking off a weak link in this strike, they were wrong. We&rsquo;ll be on picket lines until we get a good deal.&rdquo; 
 
The key item that separated the two sides in talks remains Vale&rsquo;s insistence on removing the nickel bonus, a wage supplement that is tied to the rise and fall of the market price of nickel. Contract language, monetary issues, and a company demand to give it more latitude on use of temporary workers also separates the two sides. Local 9508 is an amalgamated USW branch union with five units, three &ndash; miners, catering staff, and security &ndash; that have been on strike against Vale since 1 August 2009. Another unit, a Vale sub-contracted group of port workers employed by an Aboriginal-owned company called TSI, has a separate labour agreement expiring early in 2010. 

<img alt="" src="" width="290" height="218" />
The focus will now be on whether or not Vale will restart copper and nickel mining in Goose Bay using replacement workers. The speculation is that Vale needs nickel concentrates to feed its smelting operations in Thompson, Manitoba, as well as nickel for the re-start of Copper Cliff, where USW Local 6500 is on strike. The company might also be expected to capitalize on high copper prices, with the high-grade red metal mined and processed in the maritime province moved to market. In 2008, the company produced 77,500 tonnes of contained nickel and 55,400 tonnes of high-grade copper concentrates from its Vale-Inco Newfoundland and Labrador operations. 
 
The start-up of the Copper Cliff smelter was long advertised by the company. Operation of one of two furnaces at Copper Cliff, however, is not expected to give Vale anywhere near 50% of smelting capacity from the Sudbury-area facility. Vale is getting minimal production from two of six mines in northern Ontario, as well as token output from its Claribelle refining operation. 
 
On 13 January, the six-month mark of the strike in Sudbury and Port Colborne, the USW filed a bad-faith bargaining complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board in Toronto on Vale-Inco&rsquo;s entrenched negotiations stand. Included in that complaint is an internal June 2009 Vale document that the company intends to pare mining jobs in northern Ontario, as well as strategically mine only high-grade ore from the region, thus reducing life expectancy of nickel reserves. The USW believes this indicates Vale is not managing the province&rsquo;s reserves in the long-term best interests of workers and rural communities. 
 
On the six-month anniversary of the Ontario mining strike, over 1,000 miners and their families marched and manifested in Sudbury. The event included an environmentally-friendly balloon release, with each balloon set aloft representing C$4 million of Vale&rsquo;s profits that has fled from Canada. 
 
The ICEM, together with the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), will continue ratcheting up pressure on the Brazilian company so that Vale returns to bargaining tables both in Labrador/Newfoundland and Ontario with fair contract offers. The USW Local 6500 strike website can be found here <a href="http://www.fairdealnow.ca">www.fairdealnow.ca</a>.

Talks Prove Futile in Ending Vale’s Eastern Canada Mine Strike

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
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. 

<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="92" />
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. 
<img alt="" src="" width="102" height="140" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="99" height="140" />
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

Archive