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ICEM Colombian affiliate Sintracarb&oacute;n averted a strike last week at the world&rsquo;s largest set of&nbsp;coal mines, and accepted a two-year labour accord with&nbsp;Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, the producer of rich thermal coal from La Guajira state that is owned jointly by AngloAmerican, BHP Billiton, and Xstrata. 
 
In a statement, the ICEM praised the new contract, calling it a result of respectful social dialogue, a process set in place with ICEM assistance back in 2004. The economic stakes counting down to a planned 8 February by 4,200 Sintracarb&oacute;n members were so high that Colombia Vice President Angelino Garz&oacute;n and Vice Minister of Labour Relations Ricardo Echeverry brokered final talks. 
 
The two-year labour accord between the mining union and Cerrej&oacute;n&nbsp;calls for a first-year wage increase of 6.5%, retroactive to 1 January 2011, and a 2012 increase of the greater between 5% or 2% above the Consumer Price Index. 
<img alt="" src="" width="232" height="174" />
But more importantly, Sintracarb&oacute;n continued to make improvements at the bargaining table for the communities surrounding the massive coal complex and tangible gains for over 5,500 contract workers employed at Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n and Puerto Bolivar, the company&rsquo;s deep-water port 150 kilometres from the mine. 
 
The union recorded improvements in health benefits for workers and their families, transportation stipends to reach medical care, education and scholarships for family members, and an increase in the number of housing loans for workers. 
 
Cerrej&oacute;n stood firm on a first-year wage offer of 6% but following a 27 January strike ballot in which workers voted 96.4% for industrial&nbsp;action, the company first raised its offer to 6.3% and then 6.5% in mediation in Bogot&aacute; with the Vice President. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="119" />
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
&ldquo;We have witnessed both sides reach the brink of negotiations in the past several sets of two-year talks,&rdquo; said General Secretary Manfred Warda in the ICEM statement. &ldquo;The fact that Sintracarb&oacute;n and Cerrej&oacute;n have not had a strike in over 20 years is testament to mutual respect and shared responsibility by both the union and management in looking after the welfare of communities, workers, and their families.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM congratulates the union members of Sintracarb&oacute;n for mobilising for job action and then winning a deserved 2011 pay increase of 6.5%, better than double Colombia&rsquo;s current 3.19% CPI. The ICEM notes that Cerrej&oacute;n is a highly profitable enterprise for the parent companies, as well as for Colombia, which exported 76 million tonnes of coal in 2010 &ndash; 31 million tonnes of which was generated by the members of Sintracarb&oacute;n.

Sintracarbón, Cerrejón Reach Satisfactory Terms in Colombia

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The lockout by U.S. Steel against 900 active workers and 9,000 retirees and widows at a steel mill in Hamilton, Ontario, gained national Canadian attention on 29 January when over 10,000 trade unionists assembled and manifested in wet snow in Hamilton. Some 75 busloads of citizens came to what&rsquo;s known in Canada as &ldquo;Steeltown,&rdquo; angry at their government and manifesting under the slogan &ldquo;The People vs. U.S. Steel.&rdquo; 
View video footage of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAb_uR-UFv0">Hamilton Rally</a>. 
 
The Hamilton Day of Action for locked-out members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1005 served as a national rallying cry against the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper and other parliamentarians have failed to make accountable foreign multinationals which buy Canadian assets and then immediately furlough workers and cut living standards. 
 
Both the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL/CLC) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) lent heavy support in making 29 January this rallying cry, as well as national signal that this unprovoked lockout marks undeniably that Canadian investment law is deeply flawed. 
<img alt="" src="" width="269" height="179" />
Quebec Steelworkers in Hamilton 
Photo: John Maclennan
The day&rsquo;s speeches, placards, and slogans stated just that that. Local 1005 is defending workers, retirees, and widows against an American predator that three years ago bought Ontario-based steelmaker Stelco but immediately began side-stepping a weakened Investment Canada Act. The OFL claims that contrary to provisions in the Investment Canada Act, U.S. Steel has cut 2,200 jobs Stelco jobs in Hamilton and the Nanticoke Works in those three years. 
 
One of the main speakers of the day, USW President Leo Gerard, minced no words in describing the head-lock that corporations have on workers and governments: &ldquo;Everywhere on earth, these corporate bastards are trying to pick our pockets. I&rsquo;ll be damned if I&rsquo;m going to stand by and let them take our pensions. We have to demand that Harper stand up for Canada.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="231" height="169" />
USW President Leo Gerard. (At right, USW Canadian National Director Ken Neumann) 
Photo: John Maclennan
The Investment Canada Act is supposed to provide a &ldquo;net benefit&rdquo; to Canadians when foreign ownership acquires Canadian-based assets. Steelworkers of Local 1005, along with retirees and widows from the Hamilton Works, made the strong statement Saturday that they are victims, thrown off their jobs because they refuse to have their rightful benefits stripped from them.
The U.S. Steel lockout, now beginning its 13th week, centers on the company&rsquo;s demand that retirees and widows lose pension indexing calculations, a sum meant to meet inflation costs amounting to C$30 per year, depending on different pension levels. U.S. Steel also wants to close off the defined benefit plan for new workers, certainly no &ldquo;net benefit&rdquo; to young Canadian workers. 
<img alt="" src="" width="369" height="161" />
Photo: John Maclennan
Bus-loads of loyal steelworkers from Quebec arrived and made USW Local 1005 supporters proud that such national unity crosses provincial boundaries. Buses of steelworkers also came from Sudbury, Ontario, where a foreign multinational also has slashed jobs and living standards, as well as from U.S. Steel&rsquo;s Great Lakes mill in the US state of Michigan. 
 
Union delegations turned out in full from the Canadian Autoworkers&rsquo; Union (CAW), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The OFL and CLC led the larger call across Canada. Scores of trade union delegations from teachers&rsquo; unions, to the Ontario Public Service Union, to ICEM-affiliated Power Workers Union (PWU) and the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union also lent their support. 
<img alt="" src="" width="218" height="163" />
Bill Mahoney
Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina, an outspoken critic of U.S. Steel&rsquo;s conduct in his city, spoke at Saturday&rsquo;s &ldquo;The People vs. U.S. Steel&rdquo; manifestation, as did MP Chris Charlton, the leading national politician currently out to refine the Investment Canada Act. Other speakers included CLC President Ken Georgetti, OFL President Sid Ryan, and Bill Mahoney, a victim himself who has put to words what Local 1005&rsquo;s fightback symbolises. 
 
Called the &ldquo;Protest Poet,&rdquo; Mahoney has been retired from Stelco&rsquo;s Hamilton Works for five works and has penned some 25 poems on social erosion. One, entitled &ldquo;Scrooge Comes to Town,&rdquo; reads: 
We are fighting for our dignity, united young and old 
All across the country, the story is being told 
Of our proud community whose dignity won&rsquo;t be sold 
We are fighting for our country, Canada is our home. 
Prior ICEM reports on the struggle by USW Local 1005 in Hamilton can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4101-Flawed-Investment-Canada-Act-Again-Seen-in-Steel-Lockout ">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4190-Rally-Slated-29-January-in-Canada-to-Support-Locked-out-Steelworkers ">here</a>.

Over 10,000 Manifest in Hamilton Against Canadian Government, U.S. Steel

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The global mobilization of trade unions affiliated to four Global Union Federations, calling for trade union rights in Mexico, is now two weeks away. Affiliates of the ICEM, International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), and UNI have planned coordinated actions across the world during the week that marks the five-year anniversary of the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster. 
 
In February 2006, an explosion happened in that mine and 65 miners were killed. The tragic blast followed continued pleas by the Mexican Miners Union, Los Mineros, for improved safety conditions at the mine. 
 
The campaign has now made available posters, hand-bills, and information backgrounders in various languages, available <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP">here</a>.&nbsp; 
<img alt="" src="" width="368" height="87" />
In Geneva, a high-level delegation from the four coordinating GUFs will meet with the Mexican ambassador to the UN in the Swiss city, to communicate the demands of the global action and seek explanations on sustained efforts to bust unions by the Calder&oacute;n government. An action in front of the Mexican mission in Geneva will be joined by other Global Union Federations, including the Building and Woodworkers International (BWI), Public Services International (PSI), and the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF). 
 
Mexico&rsquo;s assault against trade unions, specifically against Los Mineros, continued last Monday, 24 January, when a US representative of the USW, Manny Armenta, was arrested by Mexican customs police on his way to assist attorneys for Los Mineros. He was accused of driving a stolen vehicle. Armenta immediately presented documentation for the car, but was still instructed to pay a fine to a corrupt officer of US$15,000. On refusing to pay, Armenta was arrested and detained, until Los Mineros posted a bond of US$7,500 for his release. Armenta&rsquo;s car is still impounded and his wallet was returned to him by police minus US$700. 
<img alt="" src="" width="261" height="177" />
USW's Manny Armenta in Mexican Prison Cell
Steelworker President Leo Gerard stated, &ldquo;It is ironic that although Mexican courts have issued 20 warrants for Germ&aacute;n Larrea &ndash; the owner of Grupo M&eacute;xico &ndash; the government has never been able to arrest him. Yet they can arrest Manny because he is in Mexico helping the mineworkers defend their rights.&rdquo; 
 
In a further clear example of the Calder&oacute;n government&rsquo;s complicit support for union-busting efforts, three leaders of the Los Mineros Section 142 were arrested at 5.30am on 26 January. Ministerial police violently pulled the men from their homes, still in their underwear in an effort to intimidate the section, currently on strike at the El Cubo mine, in Guanajuato. 
 
Those arrested were Juan Andr&eacute;s Villa Licea, President of the Strike Committee, Mart&iacute;n Reina Cruces, and Jorge Ram&oacute;n Monsiv&aacute;is Ortega, all senior members of the union.

14-19 February Mexico Days of Action Draws Near

Rhodia and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) today announced the renewal of the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ICEM%20AGREEMENT_17%20FEB%202011.pdf">&ldquo;Social Responsibility&rdquo; agreement</a> first signed in 2005. This agreement, designed to drive continuous improvement and the only one of its type signed with a chemical company, confirms Rhodia&rsquo;s commitment to sustainable development and its determination to ensure that high labor standards are maintained on all its sites. 
 
By renewing its partnership with ICEM for the second time, Rhodia is reasserting its commitment to apply worldwide: 
&bull; The international labor standards defined by the International Labor Organization, 
&bull; The principles of the UN Global Compact, 
&bull; Its labor standards in the fields of health and safety at work, managing occupational hazards and protection of environment. 
 
In order to verify the correct implementation of the commitments specified in the agreement and to continuously improve its content, annual assessments will be conducted at a local level by representatives of Rhodia and ICEM. 
<img src="" width="339" height="185" alt="" />
For 2011, the main amendments to the text of the agreement are: 
&bull; The creation of an innovative body &ndash; the &ldquo;Global Safety Panel&rdquo; &ndash; to ensure that the dialogue between management and employee representatives is firmly anchored in the realities of the Group&rsquo;s industrial activities. Comprised of ICEM members representing each of the Group&rsquo;s different geographical regions in addition to members of Rhodia&rsquo;s General Management team and a delegation of ICEM representatives, this panel is responsible for monitoring the Group&rsquo;s safety policies and results worldwide, 
&bull; The adoption of monitoring indicators to follow the situation regarding employment and the subcontracting policy of the Group, 
&bull; The extension of the validity of the agreement by increasing it from three to five years. 
Lastly, both parties agree to continue to reflect on the terms and conditions making it possible to develop a worldwide social dialogue within the Group. 
 
&ldquo;Rhodia is the only chemical group to have signed a global social and environmental responsibility agreement with ICEM. Since it was first signed in 2005, the assessments conducted regularly on the ground by ICEM and Rhodia have made us progress and the agreement has been broaden each time it has been renewed. Through this exacting partnership, Rhodia is confirming its social commitments and submitting its practices to vigilant appraisal by the ICEM. It shows our determination to foster an innovative culture of social dialogue within Rhodia,&rdquo; said Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Chairman and CEO of Rhodia. 
 
&ldquo;The Rhodia framework agreement is an effective, working document for the ICEM and its affiliates,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;Rhodia has proven to be a responsive and responsible social partner and ICEM looks forward to many further renewals with the Group.&rdquo; 
 
Rhodia is an international chemical company resolutely committed to sustainable development. As a leader in its businesses, the Group aims to improve its customers&rsquo; performance through the pursuit of operational excellence and its ability to innovate. Rhodia is the partner of major players in the automotive, electronics, flavors and fragrances, health, personal and home care markets, consumer goods and industrial markets. The Group employs around 13,600 people worldwide and generated sales of &euro;4.03 billion in 2009. Rhodia is listed on Euronext Paris.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
ICEM, a federation of trade unions representing a number of industries around the world, was comprised of 467 unions in 132 different countries. It is the largest federation of trade unions in the chemicals industry. 
 
Contacts Rhodia 
Relations Media 
Roxanne Diarra +33 (01) 53 56 59 62 <a href="mailto:roxanne.diarra@eu.rhodia.com">roxanne.diarra@eu.rhodia.com</a> &nbsp; 
 
Investor Relations 
Maria Alcon  +33 (0)1 53 56 64 89 <a href="mailto:maria.alcon-hidalgo@eu.rhodia.com">maria.alcon-hidalgo@eu.rhodia.com</a> &nbsp; 
Benjamin Bruneau  +33 (0)1 53 56 64 42 <a href="mailto:benjamin.bruneau@eu.rhodia.com">benjamin.bruneau@eu.rhodia.com</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
Contact ICEM 
Dick Blin  +41 79 734 8994 <a href="mailto:Dick.Blin@icem.org">Dick.Blin@icem.org</a> &nbsp;

Rhodia and ICEM Reinforce Global Social and Environmental Responsibility Agreement

Dear Sisters, Brothers and Comrades: 
 
You may have heard that I am departing the ICEM and returning to North America and my union, the United Steelworkers (USW). This was a very difficult decision for me, which was determined largely by personal factors. Manfred and the USW have worked out an arrangement for me to assist the ICEM in the transition with replacement staff, so feel free to contact me at jdrexler@usw.ca if I can be of assistance. 
 
While my original leave of absence to work at the ICEM was for two years, the leave was extended and I am finishing with almost 3 &frac12; years of service to the ICEM. I had an extraordinary opportunity that few trade unionists ever have. I was able to see the world through the eyes of wonderful colleagues and comrades in the many unions I came in contact with. Working together, we were able to build a stronger and more vibrant ICEM North America Region and make important strides in building power against greedy and sometimes brutal multinational employers. 
 
Serving as the ICEM Mining Sector Officer was particularly rewarding. Mining trade unions in much of the Global South play a pivotal role in the broader trade union movements and may well determine the future of civil society in many countries. The struggle to ensure responsible mining investment and sustainable development, the right to organize trade unions without employer interference, improved health and safety of miners, and stopping the scourge of tragic mining accidents remain major challenges. 
 
I express special thanks and appreciation to Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary; Senzeni Zokwana, ICEM President; Andrew Vickers, Chair of the ICEM Mining Sector; Ken Neumann and Dave Coles, Co-Chairs of ICEM North America; and the ICEM staff for their support and counsel throughout my tenure at the ICEM. 
 
I wish all the ICEM affiliates the very best in the future. I know with continued hard work and perseverance that we will build a new and better life for working people throughout the world. 
 
In solidarity, 
 
 
 
Joe Drexler 
 
ICEM - Director of Industry &amp; Corporate Affairs, Mining Secretary and North American Coordinator

Joe Drexler&#039;s Letter to ICEM affiliates on his departure

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The second meeting of the Latin American Trade Union Network of Dutch multinational Akzo Nobel was held on from 7-9 December 2010 in S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil. The meeting was jointly organized by the project called CUTMulti, CUT`s International Relations Secretariat, and ICEM&rsquo;s Dutch trade union affiliate, FNV Bondgenoten. 
 
The meeting was attended by trade union representatives from Brazil, the Netherlands, US, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia, together with representatives from the Brazilian national labour centre CUT, ICEM, and Brazil&rsquo;s Social Observatory Institute. 
 
At the opening session, the general coordinator of ICEM affiliate CNQ/CUT &ndash; the National Workers Confederation of the Chemical Sector &ndash; Antenor Nakamura (Kazu) congratulated the initiative to expand the committee, and highlighted the importance of trade union networking in the chemicals sector. 
<img alt="" src="" width="320" height="147" />
Delegates put forward their expectations from the network. Marcel Tesselaar, representative of FNV Bondgenoten, the union representing headquarters workers of AkzoNobel, acknowledged that the company has different behaviours in the Netherlands from the rest of the world. &ldquo;Through meetings like this, we can create a real social dialogue process,&rdquo; he said. 
 
James Carvin, a sub-district director of ICEM&rsquo;s North American Affiliate, the United Steelworkers (USW), told the meeting that his union&rsquo;s intention is to intensify the work with the network and promised to reproduce work done in Brazil in the US. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s Kemal &Ouml;zkan reported on the current situation of the chemical industry worldwide. A international labor standards and other tools for union action presentation was made by Jos&eacute; Drummond, with emphasis on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ILO tripartite declaration for multinationals, UN Global Compact, Socio-Labor Declaration of Mercosur, ISO 26000, and various companies codes of conduct. Data on the AkzoNobel restructuring process was presented by the DIEESE. 
<img alt="" src="" width="266" height="161" />
The meeting also included country reports on existing situations at AkzoNobel plants. A plant visit to Mau&aacute;, discussions on communication of the network, its expansion and political coordination, and strengthening of the Latin American network were the major topics of the meeting programme. 
 
The activities closed on 10 December with a social dialogue session with the participation of the company`s management for South America. Some eight managers attended, including human resource managers and union relations consultants hired specially to deal with the workers network. The social dialogue debates included a presentation of the company on strategic investments in China, a report of the network on the proposals put forward in this second Latin American meeting, international labor standards, the social dialogue process, organization at the workplace, corporate social responsibility, the company&rsquo;s code of conduct, and a proposal on training and labour/union relations for the management of the company.

Latin American Union Network for AkzoNobel Held in São Paulo, Brazil

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Cements workers and others of Jindal Cement and its parent, Indian steel conglomerate Jindal Group or JSW, had a demonstration busted up by riot police firing gunshots over their heads in Gadivemula, India. The 4,000 demonstrators were protesting on 23 January over the misery sum Jindal offered to pay the family of a construction worker who fell and died at the cement plant. 
 
Managers called area Kurnool police used near-deadly force to disperse the workers, who then hurled rocks and other objects at police, damaging a police vehicle. Some workers were injured when they jostled with police while trying to gain entry to the cement plant. 
<img src="" width="180" height="83" alt="" />
Workers claim it was Jindal&rsquo;s negligence that led to the death of the 43-year-old worker, Bikakalagudur, who fell from a high beam while employed on construction of the company&rsquo;s Gadivemula cement works. 
 
Jindal Cement at first offered to pay only one-half the standard ex-gratia to the dead worker&rsquo;s family. 
 
Mumbai-based JSW Group, a US$8 billion concern, is busy constructing cement plants adjacent to many of the company&rsquo;s steel mills in order to take advantage of slag and flyash for use in cement manufacture.

Cement Workers in India Vehemently Protest Over Dead Colleague

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM directed criticism at Advanced Chemical Industries Ltd. (ACI) of Bangladesh last week over 22-23 January protests inside a pharmaceutical factory in Siddhirganj, central Narayanganj district, that left one worker dead. The ICEM believes that both full-time and temporary workers were pushed to their limits by ACI Plant Manger Ishtiaque Ahmed, who exhibited notoriously cruel behaviour to workers with constant threats of dismissal. 
 
Following peaceful worker protests on 22 January, ACI management responded by calling for armed police action against nearly all 400 workers inside the plant on the following day. The ICEM learned that management refused several times in recent months to engage in earnest discussions over workers&rsquo; grievances. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s protest to ACI can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/2.GDFSUEZunitedwatLet.pdf ">here</a>. Police fired rubber bullets and 30 canisters of tear gas on 23 January to break up the in-plant protests. One worker, 25-year-old temporary worker Enamul Huq, died from wounds suffered by he police assault. Over 100 others, including some police officers and the plant manager himself, were hospitalised. 
<img alt="" src="" width="123" height="151" />
Arrest Warrant: Beaten Worker
In the early days of last week, local Narayanganj police issued arrest for 30 named workers and another 300 whose names were not listed. 
 
The ICEM finds that the mayhem is attributable to ACI, which for too long neglected the pleas of workers and their plant-level trade union to address issues. Those issues include extended temporary work status to deserving workers, denying those workers union representation, and employing temporary workers at a sub-par level of benefits. Some temporary staff at ACI Pharmaceutical in Siddhirganj have worked as long as 12 years in unsecured job postings. 
 
The ICEM noted that nearly 400 of the plant&rsquo;s 407 workers took part in last weekend&rsquo;s protests. The ACI plant employs 167 full-time and 240 temporary workers. 
 
The ACI plant produces drug aids for human use. The plant employs 167 full-time workers and is a major Asian manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of drug aids, agri-chemical and pesticide products, and basic consumer products.

ICEM Says Bangladesh Chemical Company Provoked Riot that Killed One

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Release from International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) 
 
The Global Union representing workers in the garment industry is convened a meeting of jeans&rsquo; brands and retailers to raise awareness of the need to eliminate the use of sandblasting, a method used to give jeans a fashionably faded look. 
 
Patrick Itschert, General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF), said, &ldquo;Sandblasting is an extremely harmful process which can cause silicosis. The meeting on January 20 in Brussels provides an opportunity to hear contributions by experts, to examine best practices, to exchange points of view and to discuss further steps for action. 
<img src="" width="130" height="106" alt="" />
ITGLWF General Secretary Patrick Itschert
&ldquo;In Turkey, the world&rsquo;s third largest exporter of jeans and the only country so far where the impact of sandblasting on the health of workers has come under scrutiny, 550 former sandblasting workers have been diagnosed with silicosis since 2005 and 46 have so far died of the disease. These officially-documented cases are just the tip of the iceberg both in Turkey and globally. 
 
&ldquo;Clearly, government regulation is needed to ban the process or to enforce existing bans. However, in the absence of effective government regulation brands and retailers urgently need to take voluntary action. 
 
&ldquo;Even if brands and retailers adopt rigorous standards regarding sandblasting, there will always be suppliers that do not enforce those standards, thus putting unsuspecting workers at risk. Therefore the best policy is to ban sandblasting altogether in the garment industry. Several leading brands have already done so and we believe others should now do the same&rdquo;. 
 
Speakers at the meeting, entitled &ldquo;Towards the Elimination of Sandblasting in the Garment Industry,&rdquo; were trade union health and safety experts as well as brands that have taken the step to ban sandblasting.

ITGLWF Convenes Meeting of Jeans’ Companies on Perils of Sandblasting

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
In early January, the ICEM learned of a major workers&rsquo; protest in al-Ferdous Square in Baghdad by Iraqi public employees and civil servants. More details are now available on that 4 January manifestation, thanks to the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI). This legitimate protest was held to uphold work rights for Politically Dismissed Workers. 
 
An inquiry commission is about to wrongly verify documentation acknowledging the sackings of hundreds of workers from ministries and agencies within Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, Irrigation, and other departments of government over political allegiances.
<img src="" width="231" height="155" alt="" />
Public Workers Carry a Symbolic Coffin in Baghdad
The demonstration was vocal and visual, by all accounts. 
 
The manifestation&rsquo;s first demand called for the cancellation of all decisions by the inquiry commission. Secondly, the 4 January rally and march demanded that sacked workers&rsquo; dismissal periods count as actual employment and thirdly, the 500 protesters demanded a stop to proceedings of verification against the politically dismissed workers. 
<img src="" width="230" height="173" alt="" />
FWCUI President Falah Alwan
After trade union activists spoke at al-Ferdous Square, demonstrators carried a coffin as a death symbol to government officials destroying any semblance of global labour standards in this particular case. The march wound its way in central Baghdad to Square Wiz and then back again to al-Ferdous Square. 
 
The protest was widely covered by Baghdad television, radio, and print media outlets. 
 
The ICEM gives global support to Iraqi workers who exercise their legitimate rights under international labour standards.

Public Sector Workers Demand Justice for Sacked Workers in Iraq

Archive

Sintracarbón, Cerrejón Reach Satisfactory Terms in Colombia

Over 10,000 Manifest in Hamilton Against Canadian Government, U.S. Steel

14-19 February Mexico Days of Action Draws Near

Rhodia and ICEM Reinforce Global Social and Environmental Responsibility Agreement

Joe Drexler's Letter to ICEM affiliates on his departure

Latin American Union Network for AkzoNobel Held in São Paulo, Brazil

Cement Workers in India Vehemently Protest Over Dead Colleague

ICEM Says Bangladesh Chemical Company Provoked Riot that Killed One

ITGLWF Convenes Meeting of Jeans’ Companies on Perils of Sandblasting

Public Sector Workers Demand Justice for Sacked Workers in Iraq

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