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The newly-elected President of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BNP), Nikolai Zimin, sent his proposals on cooperation and social dialogue to the directors of enterprises in which BNP unions have membership and to leaders of local administrations recently. Most enterprises responded. 
 
Zimin, elected to head BNP in April, told of his first steps to establish contact with both employers and government officials: 
 
&ldquo;We are willing to work within the frameworks of a social partnership. The first thing that has been done after our Congress was to send letters to the employers and to local authorities in the regions. We offered our cooperation as a partner.&rdquo; 
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Nikolai Zimin
As reported by Zimin, positive responses came from the companies Belshina and Naftan. He said the BNP has already met the president of the Soligorsk Regional executive committee, Alexander Rimashevsky, and the acting director general of Belaruskali, Valery Kiriyenko. On 25 May, the BNP met with the deputy chairman of Belneftekhim, Anton Komyakov, on the implementation of a collective agreement by employers and trade unions. 
 
&ldquo;We plan to discuss the positions in the agreement, which, in our opinion, contain several shortcomings,&rdquo; said Zimin. 
 
&ldquo;During the meetings, we exchanged views on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. We discussed the prospects of possible cooperation,&rdquo; Zimin added. &ldquo;During the meeting with the Soligorsk Regional executive committee led by Rimashevsky, we did not discuss the issue of registration of the primary company, created in a sewing factory, but we will deal this issue in due course. We discussed with him the issue of supplementary medical insurance for employees. Rimashevsky has assured us that the unions will not be deprived of attention, dialogue will continue, and all issues will be resolved at the negotiating table.&rdquo; 
 
BNP hopes to get answers on proposals on cooperation from the companies Grodno Azot and Mozyr refineries.

Belarus Unions Submit Social Agenda to Employers

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ICEM&rsquo;s Swiss affiliate, UNIA, is playing a central role in organising a national day of action and strike on 14 June calling for equal rights for women workers. Hundreds of activities will be held marking the protest, expected to include 100,000 people from over 45 organisations. 
 
Events in each of Switzerland&rsquo;s main cities will educate and agitate around the issues of the gender gap in wages and in national legislation. Public administration buildings and main landmarks will be coloured with purple, including Geneva&rsquo;s water jet fountain, the jet d&rsquo;eau. 

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In Switzerland, women earn on average 19.8% less than men in performing the same job. Nurses are especially low paid, in relation to men performing similar roles, and the Swiss Nurses Union will be actively involved in the 14 June protest. 
 
Not only are women paid less than men in Switzerland, but they take on twice the amount of un-paid work, with a much higher challenge than men to coordinate family and professional life. Many women see their careers halted by family requirements. And an extremely low proportion of top-level managers in Switzerland are women, leading many in the movement to call for quotas enforced by law. 
 
Next week on 14 June marks 30 years since equality of the sexes was enshrined in Swiss law, and 20 years since the first women&rsquo;s strike in the country. The date also coincides with the expected adoption of an ILO Convention for Domestic Workers&rsquo; Rights, arguably the most precarious and lowest-paid work sector.

Swiss Women Set 14 June as ‘Equality Now’ Day

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The ICEM congratulates Comrade Babatunde Ogun on his re-election as President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). Ogun won re-election for a second three-year term. 
 
PENGASSAN branch and sector leaders elected Ogun on 2 June at the Third Triennial National Delegates&rsquo; Conference in Abuja. The conference also elected eight other members of the salaried staff&rsquo;s Central Working Committee. 
 
Ogun won a contested election with 287 votes, while his opponent, Ethelbert Uka, received 109 votes. 
<img alt="" src="" width="90" height="95" />
Ogun confirmed that the election of a new leadership team for PENGASSAN would &ldquo;energise a strong and modern industrial relations system in the oil and gas industry &hellip; and build a knowledge-based system in which all branch executives will be tutored on the emerging trends in industrial relations.&rdquo; 
 
Other election pledges of the re-elected President include pressure on the Labour Ministry&rsquo;s company inspectors to perform, improved safety auditing at refineries and other installations, equipping PENGASSAN&rsquo;s research department, and improving lobbying capabilities. 
 
The other elected officials on 2 June were Adamu Emmanuel Umoru, Deputy President; Hygenius Chika Onuegbu, National Industrial Relations Officer; Segun Jaiyeola, Auditor; Segun Timimene Amanah,&nbsp;Auditor 1; Sunday Ogadi, National Financial Secretary; Zaid Kolawole, National Publicity Secretary; Ijeoma Dom-Nwachukwu, Chairperson of Women-in-PENGASSAN; and David Amanah, Auditor 2; Musa Achimugu, National Treasurer; Rev. Sunday Folorunso Oginni, Lagos Zone Chairman; Friday Otono, Port Harcourt Zone Ag. chairman; Elvis Irefo, Warri Zone Chairman; Muhammed Bulama Saidu, Kaduna Zone Chairman; Fidelis O. Osuagu, Lagos Zone Secretary; Micahel Amadi, Port Harcourt Zone Secretary; Emmanuel Ojugbana, Warri Zone Secretary; and&nbsp;Temitope Oyegbade, Kaduna Zone Secretary.
Bayo Olosohile remains the appointed General Secretary of PENGASSAN, while Lumumba Okugbawa is the appointed Deputy General Secretary.&nbsp;

PENGASSAN Re-elects Babatunde Ogun as President

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The ICEM&rsquo;s Sub-Sahara Africa Regional Organization (SSARO), together with the United Steelworkers (USW) and the US Solidarity Center, conducted a three-day mine investment conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, last month. Entitled &ldquo;Making Mining Investment Work for Workers and Communities,&rdquo; the workshop primarily centered on capitalization projects that the Brazilian mining company Vale is involved in on the African continent. 
 
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) of South Africa hosted the conference. NUM Deputy President Piet Matosa opened the conference by stating economic opportunities are welcome in Africa, but the concept of decent work must underpin the inflow of all foreign direct investment. 
 
He said the negative impact of mining on communities must be addressed and social networks created to secure local benefits from mine investment initiatives. He said consultation with communities is most important in the negotiation of concession agreements, and communities must be empowered to facilitate negotiations in these concession agreements. 
<img alt="" src="" width="74" height="111" />
NUM Deputy President Piet Matosa
Representatives from Central &Uacute;nica dos Trabalhadores (CUT) of Brazil were in attendance to present a global overview of Vale. Reports were heard from a representative of the ICEM affiliate, the United Workers&rsquo; Union of Liberia (UWUL) on the role it is playing between the Liberian government and Vale over iron ore concessions there, and from the Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Zambia (MUZ) on its intervention with Vale in the southern Africa country. 
 
Other reports on the Brazilian company came from the unions FSPMICA/CNTG, SYNAMIC/ONSLG, and FESMICA/USTG of Guinea, and SINTICIM of Mozambique. The ICEM affiliate Tanzania Mines and Construction Workers&rsquo; Union (TAMICO) gave a report on its difficulties with AngloGold Ashanti and Barrick Gold. 
 
The workshop held three panel forums, including ones on Organising Unions at Mining MNCs, Collective Bargaining at Mining MNCs, and Mining Concessions Agreements: Making Sure They are Transparent and Benefit Workers and Communities. The Southern African Resource Watch also presented the topic &ldquo;Labour Movements, Transparency and Accountability in the Extractive Industries.&rdquo; The report highlighted that mining, without robust engagement by unions, is often a zero sum game, and noted the poverty around mine sites when vibrant unions are not present. 
 
The issue of ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, was discussed within the context of inclusion in bargaining concession agreements in efforts to leverage the ratification of Convention 176 in countries. 
 
The conference adjourned with passage of a resolution intended to cement the unions into a multi-MNC ongoing network. That <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Resolution%20Joburg%20Vale%20May%2011.pdf ">resolution</a> can be found here.

ICEM, USW Hold Mine Investment Workshop in South Africa

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A study conducted by a Stanford University Law School professor reveals that there are significantly fewer fatalities and injuries in underground unionized coal mines in the US than in non-union ones. Alison Morantz examined coal mine safety statistics between 1993 and 2008 and found that traumatic injuries in unionized mines were from 17-33% fewer than in non-union mines, and the rate of fatalities ranged from 33-72% less. 
 
Of specific note, Professor Morantz found that the non-traumatic injury rate in US coal mining is higher and she suggested that is because injury reporting practices are more common in union mines than non-union mines. 
 
During the 15-year period that was studied, there was a decrease in the number of mine-related injuries per hours worked, although the number of traumatic injuries has remained relatively level. During the same period, the rate of unionization in US mining dropped from 21% in 1993 to 10% in 2008. 
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UMWA President Cecil Roberts 

Morantz used numbers pegged to per man-year, or the average time worked in a year. She found that there are .037 traumatic injuries per man-year at union mines, and .047 at non-union mines. Regarding fatalities, the rate is .0003 per man-year at unionized mines and .0006 at non-union mines. The aggregate injury rate, reflecting better reporting at union mines, is .126 at union mines and .115 at non-union ones. 
 
Morantz concluded of her finding that there is &ldquo;a strong presumption that a union safety effects exists in US coal mining.&rdquo; 
 
The study parallels the exemplary work that ICEM affiliate United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) has done over the past decades regarding safety and health in mines, including getting the US government to ratify ILO Convention 176 in the late 1990s. The UMWA has institutionalised comprehensive safety programmes and advanced training for on-the-job safety experts in its represented mines. 
 
&ldquo;Miners have long known that there is a union safety effect, as the study calls it,&quot; said UMWA President Cecil Roberts. &ldquo;Working in a union-represented mine, with the backing of our Local Union safety committees and our International Union safety experts, makes a huge difference. I am pleased to see that has been confirmed by a comprehensive, independent scientific study.&quot; 
 
Dr. Morantz&rsquo;s independent study was funded by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/110304MorantzCoalMineSafetyUnions.pdf">full study</a> can be accessed here.

In US, Unionised Coal Mines Far Safer, Study Discloses

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As a policy from ICEM&rsquo;s 2007 Congress in Bangkok, meaningful social dialogue with employers at global level is intended to build trust, understanding, and the search for a climate to conduct joint actions and initiatives. In this framework, the action plan by ICEM&rsquo;s World Conference for the Chemical Industries last year instructed the Secretariat to continue to wage efforts to develop social dialogue forums with global employers&rsquo; organisations. 
 
This included to organisation of a special event with the chemical industry employers in a short time frame. 
 
With this, the ICEM and the International Chemical Employers&rsquo; Labour Relations Committee (LRC) jointly organized a first &ldquo;Global Social Dialogue Meeting in the Chemical Industry&rdquo; on 26 May in Geneva. The meeting was attended by more than 30 representatives from both LRC and ICEM, as well as union and employers&rsquo; representatives from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Norway, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and UK. ILO Sector, ILO ACTEMP, and International Employers&rsquo; Organization (IOE) representatives were also present. 
<img alt="" src="" width="288" height="160" />
The meeting was co-chaired by Wolfgang Goos, President of LRC, and Tomas Nieber, Chairman of the ICEM Chemical Industries Sector. Both expressed their commitment to social dialogue at the outset. ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana stressed that political decisiveness for social dialogue initiatives in the chemical industry is one of the best examples of this commitment. Lutz M&uuml;hl, LRC General Secretary, and Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary, presented structures and major priorities of their respective organisations at the meeting. 
 
Both ICEM and LRC consider ILO platforms and meetings as important instruments for developing social dialogue. The meeting received a detailed report from Yasuhiko Kamakura of ILO Sector on agenda, technical details, and preparations for forthcoming ILO meetings in the chemical industry. The ILO will be organizing a Tripartite Meeting on Promoting Social Dialogue on Restructuring and its Effects on Employment in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries in Geneva on 24-27 October 2011, and a Global Dialogue Forum on initiatives to promote decent and productive work in chemicals, which will be held in Geneva in 2012-2013. The 26 May meeting fully supported ILO meetings on developing social dialogue in the industry. 
 
Participants discussed cooperation framework, principal topics, and follow-up for developing global social dialogue in the chemical industry. The meeting also took up the globally celebrated &ldquo;International Year of Chemistry &ndash; 2011&rdquo; with a role and contribution in social dialogue. Following deliberations, the meeting agreed to release a joint ICEM and LRC statement called the &ldquo;<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/lrc%20joint%20declaration.pdf">Geneva Declaration</a>.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM&rsquo;s Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs, and the Chemical and Rubber Industries&rsquo; Officer, underlined ICEM&rsquo;s commitment for social dialogue: &ldquo;The industry has a long-standing culture of social dialogue in major chemical-producing countries. Our duty as social partners at global level is to do our best to strongly follow-up the initiative which we established at this meeting.&rdquo;

ICEM, Chemical Employers Begin Global Level Social Dialogue Process

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In a first for the European chemical sector, the European Mine, Chemical, and Energy Workers&rsquo; Federation (EMCEF) and the European Chemical Employers&rsquo; Group (ECEG) signed a framework agreement outlining job profiles for process operators and front-line supervisors.
Signed during a 15 April conference between the social partners that was held at the offices of CSC B&acirc;timent-Energie in Brussels, the agreement is termed &ldquo;Competence Profiles for Process Operators and First Line Supervisors in the Chemical Industry.&rdquo;
<img alt="" src="" width="312" height="125" />
&nbsp;ECEG&rsquo;s Simon Marsh, EMCEF&rsquo;s&nbsp;Reinhard Reibsch, ECAG&rsquo;s Jean Pelin
The pact defines a set of four minimum core competencies and training for both occupations and is described by EMCEF as &ldquo;a strong example of how the trade unions and employers in the chemical sector have worked to help businesses and workforces through the global economic crisis and build a platform for sustainable growth.&rdquo; 

The agreement is set up to deliver equal quality and value of education and training across EU nations, and was negotiated to support the &ldquo;Europe 2020&rdquo; goals of the EU. It also references mobility across Europe in the chemical sector and establishes core competence benchmarks for national qualifications, national vocational education and training for both workers and managers in their human resource development. It also contains a principle encouraging dialogue between workers and companies on job design and development. 
The framework compact says it is not an alternative to national provisions already underway in place, nor shall it impact collective bargaining agreements or remuneration levels in the European chemicals sector. Yearly reports on actions taken under the agreement will be presented to the sector&rsquo;s social dialogue forum, and full evaluation will take place after three years. 
The signing came during a day-long social partners&rsquo; conference entitled &ldquo;Framework Agreement in the Field of Education, Training, and Lifelong Learning.&rdquo; A panel on the topic of the agreement included Alfons de Potter of CSC B&acirc;timent-Energie, Belgium, and Jan Kilmes of Odborovy svaz ECHO of the Czech Republic.
<img alt="" src="" width="112" height="100" />
Coincidentally, on the same day &ndash; 15 April &ndash; the European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation and the Council of European Employers of the Metal, Engineering and Technology-based Industries (CEEMET) issued a joint statement, both applauding the European Commission on recognising the importance of an industrial base and urging the body take further decisive action to strengthen that base in order to meet &ldquo;Europe 2020.&rdquo; 

In part, the statement calls on the Commission to exhibit leadership and responsibility, urging strong coordination between the different Directorate Generals. &ldquo;CEEMET and the EMF underline that there are strong links between industrial and social policy. Only sustainable competitive industries can create high quality jobs and an effective industrial policy fosters the social dimension of Europe.&rdquo; 

In addressing restructurings, the statement credits sector and company level decisions in finding temporary solutions to recent economic challenges. But it also states that in a quickly changing economic landscape, &ldquo;there will still remain a need for rules on employment which provide sufficient adaptability and flexibility for companies to meet that chance.&rdquo;

EMCEF, Chemical Employers Sign Process Operators, Front-line Supervisors Pact

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Pressure on the Finland Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) ratcheted upward last week, even as a <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4363-Proliitto-Strike-in-Finland-Against-Paper-Firm-UPM-Continues">two-week strike by Ammattiliitto Pro</a> &ndash; representing 1,000 white-collar, technical, and clerical workers &ndash; ended at 20 workplaces of leading Finnish paper producer, UPM. 

That pressure was mainly caused by Stora Enso, which has tried to bully shift managers and others in breaking an overtime ban by the ICEM affiliated salaried workers&rsquo; union, Ammattiliitto Pro. If there is no result from national conciliation talks set for tomorrow, a second two-week strike will start on Tuesday, 26 April, a day earlier than originally planned because of employers abusiveness,&nbsp;and&nbsp;will target Stora Enso and Mets&auml;liitto, which include the latter&rsquo;s partly-owned paper companies &ndash; Mets&auml;-Botnia, M-real, and Mets&auml; Tissue. 
 
Some 1,500 Ammattiliitto Pro are prepared to take legal stop-work actions this week in this second full strike. 
 
Top-level supervisors at Stora Enso have proven to be the serious offenders in this month-long dispute. After attempting to force overtime on salaried personnel at the Imatra mill ten days into the lawful overtime ban of 1 April, 350 white-collar employees of Stora Enso and maintenance contractor Efora walked off jobs for two days on 14 April. That was repeated by 100 Pro members of Stora and Efora at the Oulu mill on 21 April when supervisors threatened and coerced workers to break the overtime ban.
<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="200" />
Stora Enso Imatra&nbsp; 

The problem started when management verbally attacked and then threatened Pro shop stewards who were trying to enforce the overtime ban. In Finland, it is illegal to apply pressure or sanctions on workers over lawful industrial actions. Pro&rsquo;s job actions were legally certified by the Finnish government in March. 

&ldquo;We have zero tolerance when a company attacks our shop stewards over actions that are legal,&rdquo; said Ammattiliitto Pro's chief negotiator for Pulp and Paper, Jukka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml;inen. &ldquo;These actions have only hardened our members&rsquo; desire to get what they justly deserve.&rdquo; 

The dispute, with Stora Enso now the antagonist, was compounded last week when Stora management at its global financial service centre in Kotka ordered 35 clerical workers to train replacement workers brought in from Tallinn, Estonia, in preparation for the two-week strike starting now on 26 April. Workers refused and on Wednesday morning, 20 April, the Pro members began their Easter weekend early. 

Although FFIF did offer a token national pay increase in government talks on 19 April, that offer still falls short of what Pro and 4,000 of its members employed in pulp and paper demand. That is a pay package structured on current work skills and work requirements in a sector that has seen rampant job losses in Finland. 

Considering the egregious actions by one employer, the labour relations climate in this sector is pitched, traditionally an aberration in Finnish labour relations but something occurring more and more frequently. The growing discontent of Pro members caused by the heavy-handedness of one company, in turn, has put pressure on FFIF to reach satisfactory terms to end the dispute.

Paper Dispute in Finland Worsens; Strike Expands

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
from the ITGLWF 
 
The Global Union representing workers in the garment industry last week released a damning report on working conditions in Asian sportswear supply chains. 
 
Says Patrick Itschert, General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF): &ldquo;This report highlights how factories supplying multinational sports and garment brands, many of whom will be fitting out teams for the London 2012 Olympics, are routinely breaking every rule in the book when it comes to labour rights.&rdquo; 
 
The report focuses on conditions in 83 factories in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia which together employ over 100,000 workers.
<img alt="" src="" width="180" height="138" />
ITGLWF General Secretary Patrick Itschert
Through worker interviews and surveys, researchers uncovered a litany of workers&rsquo; rights abuses, including the widespread suppression of the human right to join or form a trade union by means of harassment, bribes, the failure to renew short-term contracts, and even factory closure. In Indonesia, the majority of trade union officials reported that they were denied the basic facilities to enable them to adequately perform their duties. In Sri Lanka, the Board of Investment promotes the use of Employee Councils as a form of worker representation, but the workers interviewed had no way of raising concerns at these Councils and unions expressed frustration that they are used to undermine true freedom of association. 
 
Not one of the 83 factories surveyed was reported to pay a living wage, and workers in the Philippines explained that they were so destitute by the months&rsquo; end they had no choice but to pawn their ATM cards in exchange for loans. Some factories denied workers the legal minimum wage, while others linked the payment of basic wages to unachievable production targets which workers struggled desperately to meet. 
 
Although international labour standards restrict overtime to 12 hours a week on a voluntary basis, workers told researchers they regularly work up to 100 hours of overtime per month. In many cases workers could not refuse overtime. In Sri Lanka, workers who tried to leave at the end of their shift were denied permission to go and harassed by their supervisors. 
 
Contract, agency and other precarious workers, who comprised 25% of the workforces covered, were found to be particularly likely to suffer exploitation. Although these workers were paid even less than their permanent counterparts, they told researchers they feared they would lose their job if they complained. 
 
Concludes Itschert: &ldquo;The multinational companies sourcing from these factories need to live up to their rhetoric and ensure that every single workplace in their supply chains complies with national law and international labour standards.&rdquo; 
 
Key findings of the report (based on research carried out in the final quarter of 2010): 
 
Freedom of Association: 
 
 Freedom of Association is widely suppressed by means of harassment, bribes, the failure to renew short-term contracts and even factory closure. 
 Employees Councils are used by employers to undermining freedom of association in Sri Lanka. 
 Trade Union officials in Indonesia are targeted with huge workloads that are designed to prevent them from conducting union activities at lunch or after work. They face abuse if they fail to meet those targets. 
 In one factory in the Philippines the majority of the CAL workers unionised and notified the employer. The employer immediately began a sustained harassment of union members and subsequently decided to close the factory without any prior notice or payment of wages, severance payments and benefits due. 
 
Contract and Agency Labour (CAL): 
 
 Up to 85% of employees in the factories in Indonesia and the Philippines are employed on short term contracts or on a temporary basis. 
 Systematic circumvention of the law through the use of 5 month contracts in the Philippines. 
 CAL workers are paid less, rarely receive legally mandated benefits, and have lower levels of unionisation for fear or non renewal of contracts. 
 
Forced Overtime: 
 
 Workers in all three countries are frequently forced to work in excess of 100 hours overtime per month. 
 In Sri Lanka workers at one factory workers are forced to work 130 hours overtime per month - the equivalent of 3 full weeks additional work each month. 
 At one factory in Indonesia researchers recorded that management had locked 40 workers that failed to meet production targets in a small room, without water or ventilation for 3 hours at time. This is reportedly a regular occurrence at the factory. 
 At the same factory workers are forced to work up to 160 hours overtime per month. 
 
Wages: 
 
 Not one of the 83 factories surveyed pays a living wage. 
 30% of surveyed workers in the Philippines are paid below the minimum wage. 
 CAL workers earn as little as 33% of the wage of a permanent employee. 
 The wages of some workers in Sri Lanka are linked to productivity targets rather than the legally stipulated daily rates. 
 At two factories in Indonesia workers would have to work 15-20 years to secure a loyalty bonus to make up for non payment of minimum wage. This bonus has never been paid to a worker. 
 
Gender: 
 
 On average 76% of the workforce is female 
 In the Philippines women are more likely to be employed on short term and temporary contracts 
 4 factories in Sri Lanka forced prospective employees to take pregnancy tests before an offer of employment is made.

ITGLWF Finds Horrid Work Conditions in Asian Sportswear Chains

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The Thai Industrial Gases Labour Union (TIGLU), part of ICEM affiliate Petroleum and Chemicals Workers&rsquo; Federation of Thailand (PCFT), benefited from a two-day training course presented by the German union, IGBCE, in Saraburi province, Thailand. The union achieved a new collective agreement with Linde at 13 Thai worksites immediately after, indicating the success of the workshop. 
 
The agreement, signed last week on 20 April and running for three years, will see Linde pay 50% to the provident fund for workers with one-to-two years&rsquo; service, and 100% after two years. It also grants three days of paid paternity leave and increases the number of holidays for more senior workers. 
 
Paid union leave was also won, which will prove valuable for trade union leaders in training and labour education, and health care coverage is now extended to retirees until the end of the calendar year in which they retire. TIGLU has had a rather contentious relationship with Linde Thai management, and the IGBCE training is seen as perhaps a benchmark toward a new, more positive relationship. 
 
The new agreement covers 851 workers at the 13 workplaces.
<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="180" />
The 16-17 April training was a follow-up to last year&rsquo;s founding of an Asia-Pacific Network of Workers for trade unions of Linde, a German-based global producer of industrial gases. 
 
The training was expertly organised by Yoon Hyowon, ICEM Asia-Pacific Project Coordinator, and included IGBCE&rsquo;s Michael Wolters presenting an explanation of the German system of collective agreements and how to improve relationships with management. ICEM Thai Project Coordinator Aranya Pakapath also participated.
<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="180" />
The workshop provided information on trade unions, the labour laws and political situation in Thailand, and a writing session to improve the writing skills of TIGLU colleagues. Further, Wolters organised a work group to prioritise bargaining demands and to gather collective arguments related to each demand. 
 
All 18 participants from TIGLU felt secure in their upcoming arguments with management and gained realisation of the German management perspective. TIGLU and Linde&rsquo;s prior 21-month collective agreement expired on 21 March.

German IGBCE’s Training with Thai Union Ends in New Linde CBA

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