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A general strike in the French West Indies territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique turned deadly last week when a fifty-year-old union leader, Jacques Bino, was killed as he approached a road block set up by disenfranchised youths in Point-&agrave;-Pitre, the largest city of Guadeloupe. His car was hit three times by 12-gauge shotgun slugs, one of which hit the tax and union official in the chest. 
 
Six policemen were also wounded in Guadeloupe that same evening, 17 February, as widespread rioting took place on the Caribbean island. It is thought that Bino may have been killed after being mistaken for a plainclothes policeman. 
 
The general strike started 20 January by a grouping of 50 trade unions and associations, under the banner &ldquo;Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon&rdquo; (Stand Up Against Exploitation). The strike is over a social caste system that harkens back to the days of slavery on the islands. 
 
On 14 February, thousands of workers marched through the town of Le Moule to the chant, &ldquo;Guadeloupe is ours, it&rsquo;s not theirs.&rdquo; 

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Elie Domota
Elie Domota, spokesperson for the Stand Up Against Exploitation stated, &ldquo;Guadeloupe is a colony, because in a French department they would never have let the situation deteriorate this much before intervening.&rdquo; Demonstrators have targeted the island&rsquo;s &lsquo;b&eacute;k&eacute;s&rsquo;, descendants of white plantation owners who still control much of the island&rsquo;s economy. They account for less than 1% of Guadeloupe&rsquo;s 450,000 population. 
 
Citizens of Guadeloupe are victimised because most food is imported and is far more expensive than in France. However, wages are much lower and unemployment levels reach 20%. The Sarkozy administration in Paris has refused calls to recognise a demanded &euro;200 per month increase in the minimum wage, or to address a demand that price cuts to basic essentials such as food and fuel be lowered by 20%. 
 
It took until the fourth week of the strike, only last week, before Sarkozy did intervene. He spoke of the need for profound changes in the island&rsquo;s economy, but failed to give any concrete proposals. 
 
Similar demonstrations have occurred in neighbouring Martinique, while the strike has threatened to spread to the territories of French Guyana in South America, and the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. Protests could spread to mainland France in the coming days and weeks.

General Strike in Guadeloupe Turns Deadly; Finally Gets French Attention

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A two-month dispute between Michelin in Thailand and rubber workers backed by ICEM affiliate Petroleum and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation (PCFT) at a factory in Laem Chabang, Chonburi Province, ended favourably last week. The resolve came via tripartite dialogue and after strong intervention by the ICEM, FCE-CFDT of France, and Michelin&rsquo;s European Works Council. 
 
The dispute ended in the early morning hours of 28 April when state mediators, PCFT representatives, and Michelin&rsquo;s Laem Chabang managers reached a six-point accord that hopefully ends retaliatory punishment of 383 of the plant&rsquo;s 1,500 workers and ends a lockout that began on 25 March. 
 
Workers agreed to end mass protests at Michelin&rsquo;s plant gates effective on 28 April, and the company agreed to reinstate all workers who had been victimised by local management for refusing to withdraw their names from a petition circulated in early March. That petition called on management to engage in consultation with workers and PCFT representatives before implementing a 13% wage cut. 

<img height="129" alt="" src="" width="270" />
Michelin Laem Chabang PCFT union leaders, from left, Thanakorn Somsin, Rangsan Monchaisong, and Samai Koonswat 
Instead, management imposed a 35% wage cut on workers who refused to retract the petition and some nine days later imposed a lockout on them. 
 
Provincial mediators from Chonburi&rsquo;s Labour Protection and Welfare Office got both sides together, but on 20 April, local managers would not budge from the harsh, retaliatory 35% cut. The union at that mediation session proposed acceptance of the 13% cut for all until October 2009, but called on Michelin to pay a 2008 two-month bonus that the company had already announced. 
 
The ICEM again intervened on 21 April, calling the attitude of local managers &ldquo;arrogant and punitive, (warranting) immediate intervention from Michelin corporate headquarters in France.&rdquo; 

<img height="150" alt="" src="" width="251" />
Photo from Bangkok Post
Last week&rsquo;s negotiated settlement will see Michelin pay the two-month bonus, with all workers seeing a 13% cut. For those workers not choosing to return to work, they will receive assistance money as set forth under severance provisions of the Labour Protection Act. Michelin also agreed to drop legal and criminal complaints against workers who protested at plant gates. 
 
However, on the eve of the settlement, police arrested 18 of the locked-out workers, plus another worker from a nearby factory for a 20 April protest at the factory. As of today, it is not clear if those charges have been dropped. 
 
Laem Chabang rubber workers received strong support from staff employed at Bridgestone and Goodyear factories in Thailand, as well as from workers at other Michelin plants in the country. 
 
&ldquo;This is a hopeful sign, that workers, managers, together with government mediators can resolve differences through proper social dialogue,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;The ICEM views this dispute as a result of the paralysing global financial crisis and our wish now is that this tyre plant recovers so that renewed orders and sales will benefit workers.&rdquo;

ICEM, French Trade Union Pressure Brings End to Michelin Dispute in Thailand

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The Labour Ministry of Liberia threw out ArcelorMittal&rsquo;s claims that an 11 April representation election for potentially 2,000 miners and other workers should be declared invalid. ICEM affiliate Forestry, Logging, and Industrial Workers&rsquo; Union of Liberia (FLIWUL) won the election by a 10-to-one margin over a rival union in a Labour Ministry-supervised vote that was flawed by management and a Liberian parliamentarian who attempted to halt balloting after it began. (See a prior ICEM report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/?date=2009-04-20#3153">here</a>.) 
 
In the company&rsquo;s protest, it claims that the Labour Ministry failed to define the correct bargaining unit and that it failed to follow procedural matters leading up to the vote. 

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In a 21 April letter, Acting Labour Minister John Josiah determined that several meetings were held prior with representatives of both unions that set forth the election timetable, ballots, and other matters. In the letter certifying FLIWUL, Josiah also said that despite a series of consultations with ArcelorMittal&rsquo;s Liberian management, &ldquo;you seem to be bent on ignoring fundamental principles both in keeping with (Liberia&rsquo;s) Labour Practices Law and Relevant ILO Conventions.&rdquo; 
 
The government then reprimanded the company for its &ldquo;desire to delay the elections&rdquo; by sending a list of its employees only two days ahead of the vote, instead of the mandated seven as prescribed by the Labour Code. &ldquo;We &hellip; understood that this was only a scheme to postpone the elections but to no avail.&rdquo; 
 
The certification letter also pointed out that after balloting began in one of the two locations, managers discouraged workers from voting by stating the vote had been cancelled when, in fact, it had not. One of ArcelorMittal&rsquo;s election observers left the Buchanan polling area shorting after voting began on 11 April, but returned later in the day with a Liberian parliamentarian to declare the vote cancelled. 

<img height="112" alt="" src="" width="149" />
FLIWUL activists in Harbel
Related to this, Acting Minister Josiah&rsquo;s letter stated: &ldquo;The Ministry of Labour would like to note that it will continue to abhor in the strongest term any or all acts of arbitrariness by one party over the other during Union/Management Representation Elections. The fact that remedies are available to every process should have given you every basis to allow the process and later seek redress rather than obstruct the exercise for hours. This we are still studying to determine the appropriate course of action. 
 
&ldquo;Meanwhile, we are pleased to state that the recent Union/Management Representation Election held was in line with normal procedure at the Ministry, and as such the results are authentic.&rdquo; 
 
ArcelorMittal stated in its objections to the election that even if the vote was certified, it would file an appeal on that decision. But on 28 April, FLIWUL leadership was contacted by management and a 22 May meeting has been set up between the two sides to discuss the next step. 
 
ArcelorMittal is currently engaged in a US$1.5 billion iron ore re-development project in Nimba County, near the Liberian-Guinea-C&oacute;te d&rsquo;Ivorie border. The project also encompasses a 250-kilometre rail link to the Atlantic Ocean port of Buchanan. Some 2,000 Liberian workers are expected to be employed.

Liberia Government Certifies FLIWUL to Represent ArcelorMittal Workers

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Meeting in Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, on 27 April, the ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Regional Committee gave strong support to non-ICEM affiliate Sintramienerg&eacute;tica in the aftermath of its safety strike against US-based Drummond Coal recently. (Details on that strike can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3151-Contract-Worker-Death-Causes-Safety-Strike-at-Drummond-in-Colombia">here</a>.) 
 
The regional committee adopted a resolution calling on both Drummond and the government of Colombia to be vigilant in implementing an adequate occupational safety and health prevention programme at Drummond&rsquo;s coal operations in C&eacute;sar state. The resolution also calls on the company to immediately re-employ some 600 miners who lost their jobs due to a legal strike by rail transport workers. 

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It calls on Colombia and Drummond, one of the owners of the rail transport line, Fenoco, to respect ILO Conventions 87 and 98, the Freedom of Association and Right to Organise Convention, and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention. 
 
Members of a Colombian Mechanics&rsquo; and Metal Workers&rsquo; Union, Sintraime, staged a month-long strike across Fenoco&rsquo;s coal transport rail lines from 24 March to 20 April for union recognition and workplace rights. The ICEM supports the efforts of these workers to gain their collective rights. 
 
Fenoco, or the Ferrocarrilies Nacionales de Colombia, was bought by the Colombian government in 2006, but immediately commissioned and re-privatised to a handful of multinationals that mine and sell thermal coal from the rich deposits of C&eacute;sar state. Fenoco&rsquo;s biggest shareholders are Drummond and Xstatra, the latter which recently gained a 40% stake of the rail line with transfer of the Prodeco mining enterprise from its Swiss-based holding company, Glencore. 
 
Workers seeking representation with Sintraime engaged in a days-long blockade of the rail line in mid-April. A regional Supreme Court in northern Colombia ruled the strike legal, but Fenoco has now appealed that decision to the Colombia Supreme Court. 
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Sergio Novais
In the resolution, the ICEM regional committee, headed by Chairman Sergio Novais of Brazil, also calls on the Colombian government to provide job security and protection to Drummond&rsquo;s miners, members of Sintramienerg&eacute;tica, and the document points to a current social and economic crisis caused by speculative capital and a failed neo-liberal economic model.

ICEM’s Latin Region Supports Sintramienergética in Colombia Dispute Against Drummond

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Although not occurring at the rate of mining deaths two years ago, the number of miners killed inside South African mines continues to rise this year following tragic deaths at Harmony Gold 11 days ago. And also in late April, two miners employed by AngloGold Ashanti died at the company&rsquo;s Moab Khotsong mine, and another miner went missing deep inside the Great Noligwa mine. 
 
ICEM South African affiliate, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), now says that the official death count is over 60 so far this year. The 2007 rate exceeded 160 official deaths. 

<img height="115" src="" width="250" alt="" />
The incident at Harmony&rsquo;s Tshepong mine, located in Free State, was particularly repugnant because the company apparently was engaged in both underground blasting and drilling on the same day, a taboo according to the country&rsquo;s mine safety laws. Besides the two who were trapped and died from a rock cave-in, another miner who was rescued had his leg amputated. 
 
The Tshepong tragedy wasn&rsquo;t Harmony&rsquo;s only mine killings in April. On 14 April, a contract worker was electrocuted at the company&rsquo;s Target mine in Free State. 
 
The NUM is continuing to do day-long, stop-work actions as &ldquo;Days of Mourning&rdquo; for miners killed on the job. On 20 April, Harmony miners stopped work to mourn, and further work stoppages were done last week at the other mines. 
 
The AngloGold Ashanti deaths occurred at the Moab Khotsong mine, where a collapse of ground killed two miners. At the Great Noligwa mine near Orkney also in the Witwatersrand Basin, a miner failed to surface on 25 April following his shift. 
 
The spate of deaths and accidents comes just over two months since a safety audit was released in South Africa, showing that overall safety in mines was running at a dismal average of just 66%. The safety audit prioritised the maintenance of infrastructure as a necessity for improvement. 
<img height="128" alt="" src="" width="90" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="117" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Frans Baleni &amp; Senzeni Zokwana
&ldquo;No condition should justify why a worker should lose a life,&rdquo; said NUM President Senzeni Zokwana at the time of the audit&rsquo;s release. Added NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni, &ldquo;Safety should be a constitutional right of all workers.&rdquo;

South Africa Mine Deaths Continue to Rise

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An ICEM mission to Argentina has gained first-hand accounts on how the global recession has affected the South American country, as well as laying the groundwork for ICEM&rsquo;s 2011 Congress in Buenos Aires. ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda met the GUF&rsquo;s Argentine affiliates on 29 April in an exchange of views on the economic collapse, and also met with non-affiliated trade unions on the crisis and their plans to affiliate. 
 
A decision on the location for the Fifth World Congress will be taken at the ICEM Executive Committee meetings, 23-24 June in Geneva. Argentina trade union affiliates are enthusiastic on hosting the Congress. 
 
Warda, along with ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Contact Person Carol Bruce, met with the Rubber Workers&rsquo; Union of Argentina, SUTNA, as well with the Energy and Oil Workers&rsquo; union, FeTERA, and the private-sector Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union, FASPyGP. The ICEM delegation also met with Uni&oacute;n Obrero Metal&uacute;rgical (UOM), which is interested in joining ICEM on behalf of nuclear workers that the union represents, as well as with trade unions affiliated with the national centre Central de Trabajores de la Argentina (CTA) on joining the ICEM. 

<img height="198" src="" width="264" alt="" />
Bruce participated in two manifestations while in Argentina. On 22 April, she marched with the CTA in which the national centre&rsquo;s secretary-general, Hugo Yasky, called for a 180-day moratorium in Argentina on job layoffs and an emergency outlay of state money to cover lost wages of workers. 
 
On 30 April, she marched with the other major labour centre, Confederaci&oacute;n General del Trabajo (CGT), in its support of the government of Cristina Kirchner in late June elections, and against neo-liberal policies that created the crisis and job losses, estimated to be some 50,000 in Argentina. 
 
The ICEM mission was supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Germany, which also provided a presentation on the impact of the economic crisis in Argentina.

ICEM Mission to Argentina Probes Crisis

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Union and community leaders in the UK&rsquo;s northeast have mounted a campaign to save over 100 jobs at a chemicals plant. UK-based Elementis Plc., the EU&rsquo;s only producer of chromium chemicals used in superalloy production, timber treatments, and metal finishing, is currently in a 90-day consultation period with ICEM affiliate Unite the Union and workers at a plant in Eaglescliffe, near Teesside. 
 
In February, the specialty chemicals company &ndash; the world&rsquo;s largest producer of chromium chemicals &ndash; announced the plant was under &ldquo;a strategic review&rdquo; that could lead to a shutdown by July 2009. 
<img height="138" src="" width="140" alt="" />
Workers and community leaders are petitioning MPs and engaging in other activities to keep the profitable plant operating. Elementis, which also produces surfactants and specialty chemicals for paints, coatings, inks, and cosmetics, saw its chromium chemicals business post an operating profit of &pound;27.7 million in 2008, compared to a &pound;14.2 million profit in 2007. Sales in the division rose to &pound;168.6 million in 2008 from &pound;115.9 million in 2007. 
 
Unite Regional Secretary Bob Bolam stressed that production from the plant was crucial for the EU. &ldquo;If this plant were to close, the EU would be reliant on Kazakhstan and China. We intend to put together a case for the (Elementis) board to keep this site.&rdquo; 
 
The company&rsquo;s other chromium chemicals plants are in the US &ndash; Corpus Christi, Texas, and Castle Hayne, North Carolina. Raw materials used by Elementis come from South Africa and other parts of Africa, and are processed at the Eaglescliffe plant before being shipped to US facilities and other locations. The company&rsquo;s chromium chemicals business produces dichromate, chrome sulphate, chromic acid, chromic oxide, chromide hydrate, and sodium sulphate. 
 
Elementis senior executives have stated that no final decision on closure has been taken. The ICEM supports workers in the Teesside and Wilton area in their buoyant efforts to preserve jobs in this sector.

UK Workers, Community, Unite the Union Fight to Protect Jobs at Elementis Chemicals

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The UK&rsquo;s National Union of Mineworkers and Australia&rsquo;s Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) largely financed the Second International Coal Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, last month. The others on the preparatory committee were the ICEM, CITU and INMF of India, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) of South Africa, and FNME-CGT of France. The ICEM raised US$7,000 from the ILO to ensure attendance of delegates from Colombia, Mexico, Vietnam, and Mongolia. In total, 120 delegates from 20 coal-mining unions in17 countries attended. 

<img height="93" alt="" src="" width="90" />
The declaration of the conference included two items put forward by the ICEM. One related to the situation with Mexico&rsquo;s National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, and the other with the urgency for countries to ratify ILO Convention 176, the Health and Safety in Mines Convention. 
 
Delegates were appalled by trade union rights abuses reported by Mexican representatives present, especially compliance of the Mexican government with such abuses. The delegates declared their full support of Los Mineros, as well as ICEM-affiliated Sintracarb&oacute;n of Colombia. 
 
&ldquo;We pledge to provide as much political, financial, and moral support as are within the means of our national unions and call on our internationals to similarly focus on supporting these struggles,&rdquo; read the declaration. Unions pledged to send a delegation of trade unionists and members of parliament to Mexico within 90 days of the Edinburgh meeting to protest the efforts of Grupo Mex&iacute;co and the Mexican government to destroy Los Mineros. 
 
All those present at the conference demanded the ratification of ILO Convention 176, by all member states of the United Nations. Also demanded was a dramatically increased focus on ratification by the ILO itself, including the adoption of Convention 176 as a core convention, and focusing on its ratification in countries where there are the most deaths and injuries at work. India, for example, has yet to ratify the Convention. 
 
Andrew Vickers of CFMEU presented a paper to the conference on the effects of the financial crisis on the coal sector worldwide, pointing the blame for millions of job losses to greed and deregulation of bankers. He noted that demand for coal will be reduced in developed countries, but greatly increased in developing nations. China, Vietnam, and India plan massive expansion in their capacity to produce coal. Vickers called for collective worldwide efforts to protect the interests of coal miners. 
 
The declaration found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0904.mining.pdf">here</a>, was passed unanimously amid enthusiasm of the delegates.

Second International Coal Conference held in Scotland

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A strike by 190 Turkish paperworkers, members of ICEM affiliate T&uuml;mka-İş, against Procter &amp; Gamble ended on 30 March. The end came when workers voted in front of the plant gates in Gebze, Turkey, for a two-year agreement. 
The negotiated agreement is a significant improvement over the American company&rsquo;s proposed wage freeze in the first year of the agreement. Workers will receive a 3.9% increase, an improvement over the 2% offer made by Procter &amp; Gamble 11 days into the strike. In addition, all workers will receive a lump-sum TL 1,250 payment upon returning to work. 
<img height="97" src="" width="160" alt="" />
The second year&rsquo;s wage increase, to come on 1 September 2009, will equal the rate of Turkish inflation. The company&rsquo;s offer in early March was two-thirds the inflation rate. T&uuml;mka-İş retained all work rights already in the collective agreement, and won increases in certain compensations, including night-shift premium pay. 
 
T&uuml;mka-İş General President Kemal Yilmaz thanked the ICEM and the many pulp and paper unions throughout the world which supported workers during the strike. &ldquo;For success to come in a struggle against a giant multinational company such as P&amp;G, international solidarity is a necessity,&rdquo; said Yilmaz. &ldquo;When it is coupled with the decisiveness of workers on the front lines, success can come easily.&rdquo; 
Procter &amp; Gamble manufactures paper towels, tissue, and hygiene products, including nappies, at the Gebze plant outside of Istanbul.

Turkish Paperworkers at Procter &amp; Gamble End 37-Day Strike

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In September 2007, ICEM and the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) jointly signed a Global Framework Agreement with Belgian-based Umicore, a chemicals, metals technology, and catalysts systems company. In line with a relevant article of the agreement calling for the parties to have an annual mission to a Umicore worksite to monitor compliance, a visit to a plant in Shanghai, China, producing cobalt and zinc powders for battery application was made from 16-20 March. 
 
The ICEM was represented by Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, while IMF General Secretary Marcello Malentacchi, IMF Director of Education, Health and Safety Magnus Palmgren, and Jef Peeters, chairman of Umicore&rsquo;s European Works Council also were along. The company was represented by Ursula Saint L&eacute;ger, Senior Vice-President of Human Resources. 

<img height="190" alt="" src="" width="298" />
 
Umicore&rsquo;s corporate officials presented the topics covered in the global agreement related to social objectives, human rights, working conditions, and environmental issues. Both Global Union Federations explained their activities regarding multinational companies, and Peeters provided information on the structure of the company&rsquo;s European section. The union side commented on the reports given and put forward expectations for the future. 
 
The delegation then visited the company's subsidiary in Shanghai, called Shanghai Blue Lotus. Employing 88 workers &ndash; 71 men and 17 women &ndash; the plant does have trade union representation. ICEM and IMF had the opportunity to meet Lu Yaozhong, chairman of the branch union at Shanghai Blue Lotus, and discussed working conditions and trade union rights. 
 
Commented &Ouml;zkan on the visit, &quot;This first joint activity has created hopeful expectations for the future. In&nbsp;view of the importance of international industrial relations, the global agreement between ICEM/IMF and Umicore will continue to serve to improve working conditions of the company worldwide.&quot;

ICEM, IMF Join Umicore on a Joint Mission to Shanghai, China, Plant

Archive

General Strike in Guadeloupe Turns Deadly; Finally Gets French Attention

ICEM, French Trade Union Pressure Brings End to Michelin Dispute in Thailand

Liberia Government Certifies FLIWUL to Represent ArcelorMittal Workers

ICEM’s Latin Region Supports Sintramienergética in Colombia Dispute Against Drummond

South Africa Mine Deaths Continue to Rise

ICEM Mission to Argentina Probes Crisis

UK Workers, Community, Unite the Union Fight to Protect Jobs at Elementis Chemicals

Second International Coal Conference held in Scotland

Turkish Paperworkers at Procter & Gamble End 37-Day Strike

ICEM, IMF Join Umicore on a Joint Mission to Shanghai, China, Plant

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