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The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued labour law violations against Asarco LLC, the Grupo Mexico copper subsidiary that 1,550 USW members struck in early July in the states of Arizona and Texas. 
The violations include illegally intimidating workers, which the NLRB says had provoked and prolonged the strike. Grupo Mexico, the world&rsquo;s third largest copper mining concern that placed Asarco in US bankruptcy proceedings following the strike&rsquo;s start, said 2005 would be a record-breaking year for profits. High metal prices are expected to bring the company net earnings of US$2.5 billion.

Labour Code Citations in US Mining Strike

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IGBCE&rsquo;s Third Congress in Hannover concluded last week, and ICEM&rsquo;s German affiliate passed a strong call for global trade union solidarity. 
 
In a resolution spelling out both the roles of ICEM in the world and EMCEF in greater Europe, the union said the global trade union movement must prove its structures and methods to meet new challenges brought forth by globalisation. The resolution asks ICEM to maximize its efforts to achieve Global Framework Agreements, particularly with IGBCE for such pacts with German multinationals. 
 

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Hubertus Schmoldt was re-elected president and a resounding moment to this IGBCE quadrennial Congress came with a moving and emotional farewell speech on 12 October by outgoing German Chancellor Gerhard Schr&ouml;der, a close friend of Schmoldt&rsquo;s.

IGBCE&#039;s Congress Pays Fond Farewell to Schröder

The 20-million-member ICEM, the Global Union Federation for electric power industry trade unions, is calling on state-run Swedish utility Vattenfall AB to intervene with its German subsidiary to resolve a labour dispute with three German unions affecting 20,000 workers. 
 
The unions, ICEM affiliate IGBCE, and IG Metall and Ver.di, are seeking a common collective agreement with Germany&rsquo;s third largest utility in order to remove wage disparities and harmonise all terms and conditions. The three unions will stage a mass protest tomorrow, 1 March, in Berlin at the annual general meeting of Vattenfall Europe AG, the German subsidiary. (Smaller rallies by the three unions have been held at three sites since 21 February in protest to the deadlock in negotiations.) 
 
 

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21 February 2006 : rally in Cottbus, Germany 
&ldquo;We feel the time is now that the Swedish parent step in and grant equitable wages and conditions to all its German employees,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;Vattenfall has integrated its acquisitions throughout Germany over the past few years, now it must harmonise wages and conditions.&rdquo; 
 
The three unions have been negotiating for a common accord with the Swedish subsidiary for two years. Besides bringing pay equity and uniform work conditions to workers, the unions are seeking an agreement from Vattenfall Europe AG that sale of any operations to another company will include the common collective agreement. 
 
IGBCE&rsquo;s Jobst Weissenborn, the union&rsquo;s chief negotiator in the energy sector, said the company&rsquo;s bargaining posture has provoked the rallies. He said the unions are prepared to take whatever steps necessary to ensure that the social standards of all Vattenfall workers in Germany come under a common agreement. 
 
 

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21 February 2006 : rally in Cottbus, Germany 
 
ICEM affiliate IGBCE is the dominant union in east Germany&rsquo;s power generation and distribution units, including the company&rsquo;s lignite mines and the former LAUBAG enterprise, now held by Vattenfall. In the 1990s, Ost-Bewag came under control of Bewag, which has been 90% owned Vattenfall since 2002. 
 
In 2001, Vattenfall acquired a majority stake in HEW, the Hamburg electric company that had previously been held by E.ON&rsquo;s Bewag subsidiary. IG Metall is the primary union in Hamburg. Vattenfall also acquired its Berlin operations through buy-up of Bewag, giving it control of over 80% of the power market in Berlin, as well as 30% of the heating market. The company also has telecommunications, water and gas interests in Berlin, and public-service union Ver.di is the dominant union there. 
 
Vattenfall&rsquo;s Europe division also includes utility holdings in Poland and&nbsp;The Netherlands. The company is a major electric and power producer and provider in the Nordic countries. 
 
Protests last week leading up to tomorrow&rsquo;s major demonstration in Berlin saw 2,000 workers take to the streets on 21 February. Anther demonstration was held in the east German mining community of Cottbus on the same day, while on 23 February, over a thousand protested in Hamburg.

ICEM Supports Common German Contract for Vattenfall Utility Workers

Some 500 delegates attended the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Women&rsquo;s Conference on 16-18 February in Rosherville, near Johannesburg. The South African union elected a national leadership team, put in place a workable plan of action, and developed a concise and practical programme that will be presented at NUM&rsquo;s National Congress in May.
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Delegates heard from three prominent women in South African labour: Minerals and Energy Minister Lindiwe Hendricks, COSATU Second Vice President Violet Sebone, and ANC Women&rsquo;s League&rsquo;s General Secretary Themba Kgasi. The NUM Women&rsquo;s Structure was formed in 1998, and since has become a leadership front for women both nationally and internationally. &ldquo;As women in the NUM, we have passed the stage of being told what to do,&rdquo; said Women&rsquo;s Structure Chairperson Rose Mohale. &ldquo;We have stood firm and demonstrated we can add our voice to programmes of the organisation.&rdquo;

NUM in South Africa Holds Women’s Conference

The ICEM is backing a struggle by workers affiliated with Brazilian union SINAP-CUT in the state of Maranh&atilde;o. Without warning and refusing to engage in dialogue with unions, Brazilian company Group Jo&atilde;o Santos sacked 227 workers last month in the remote northern town of Coelho Neto at its paper and agricultural enterprises, Itapag&eacute; SA and Agrimex SA.
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The company has refused to honour social payments due to workers, or to recognise the economic hardships created in the town. Group Jo&atilde;o Santos is responsible for 90% of the formal jobs in the rural town and controls 90% of the land around Coelho Neto. 
The workers and their families, backed by ICEM affiliate SINAP-CUT, together with an agricultural union, established a camp in front of the company&rsquo;s Coelho Neto offices. The camp&rsquo;s inhabitants have been threatened by military police, which has been summoned by the company. 
Workers and their unions issued &ldquo;claims guidelines&rdquo; against Group Jo&atilde;o Santos, calling for the company to return land to the community, maintain the town&rsquo;s schools and school personnel, and rehire the workers to employment levels as of November 2005. The ICEM supports such demands, and has expressed such in letters to Brazilian President Luiz In&aacute;cio Lula da Silva, the country&rsquo;s minister of Labour and Employment, and the state&rsquo;s General Attorney for Labour.

ICEM Lends Support to Brazilian Paperworkers’ Union

ICEM Zambian affiliate National Energy Sector and Allied Workers Union (NESAWU) is facing retaliation and union repression for bringing to light mismanagement at the state power authority Zambia Electric Supply Corp. (ZESCO).
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The company has fired union President Peter Chupa, along with several branch leaders, and has cancelled the legitimate union responsibilities of General Secretary Yotam Mtayachalo. Since early last year, ZESCO has consistently been months late paying wages to utility workers. Lately, it has resorted to costly bank overdrafts to pay salaries. The utility has also failed to remit workers&rsquo; pension contributions. 
On 20 April 2005, ZESCO withdrew NESAWU&rsquo;s recognition agreement because of a week-long strike in early March 2005 for unpaid wages and a demand by the union for resignation of ZESCO&rsquo;s managing director. Retaliatory measures have only intensified since.
The union supported casual workers who struck early this year over low salaries and late payments at a new addition to the Kafue Gorge power plant, and ZESCO responded by locking 30 of the strike&rsquo;s leaders from their jobs. 
On 10 January, Chupa was blocked by three dozen police officers from entering a ZESCO board meeting that was convened to choose a new chairman for the utility. But the existing chairman ran the meeting and had no intention of resigning. 
ZESCO has been plagued by power outages and transformer malfunctions due to management&rsquo;s ineffectiveness in making capital improvements in equipment and infrastructure, particularly in areas affecting households. NESAWU has been outspoken on the many misdeeds that have caused such failures.

Mismanaged Zambian Electric Firm Targets Power Sector Union

Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadjinejad 
President of the Republic 
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection 
Tehran 
Islamic Republic of Iran 
 
By Fax: + 98-21-66.48.06.65 and + 98-21-649.58.80 
 
 
Brussels, 13 February 2006 
 

Dear Mr. President, 
 
 
Re: Sherkate Vahed (Tehran Bus Company) 
 
The ICEM, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, after having been informed by the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) and the International Confederation of Trade Unions (ICFTU) about the recent developments in regard to the dispute between the Iranian authorities and the workers of the Sherkate Vahed in Tehran, adds its voice, in the name of the 20 million members that it represents in 122 countries around the world, to the world-wide protest against the hostile and brutal repression of the Sherkate Vahed workers at the occasion of the International Day of Action, on 15 February 2006. 
 
Following a series of arrests late last year, combined with a new wave of repression at the end of January, a large number of Sherkate Vahed trade union members reportedly still remain in detention, many of them arrested during a demonstration on 28 January 2006. This harassment of trade union members and officials is most definitely in breach of the internationally recognised fundamental trade union rights. 
 
The ICEM is also very concerned about the continued detention of Mansour Osanloo, the President of the Executive Board of Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs United Bus Company (Sandikaye Kargarane Sherkate Vahed Otobosrani Tehran va Hoomeh). Our concern is not only that Brother Mansour Osanloo is imprisoned for none other than doing standard trade union work, but also that he is detained while in bad health. 
 
Together with the ICFTU, the ITF and the other Global Unions partners, the ICEM urges you to release Mansour Osanloo at once and drop all charges against him. Also, an immediate end needs to be put to the unjustified pressure that the Sherkate Vahed workers are facing. All trade unionists that remain detained because of their participation in regular trade union actions need to be released as a matter of urgency. Finally, genuine discussions with the representatives of the workers need to be restarted so that a fair solution can be found to this crisis. 
 
I trust you will take these matters seriously and urgently act in accordance. 
 
Sincerely Yours, 
 
Fred Higgs 
General Secretary 
ICEM

ICEM letter in support of the Iran Sherkate Vahed workers

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ICEM ASIA MNC Project

More than 1500 trade unionists participated in a torch-lit march in the city centre of Gent, Belgium, yesterday, protesting against the shocking behaviour of the management of Stora Enso&rsquo;s paper mill in Langerbrugge, near Gent. 
 
 

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At the heart of the demonstration were the two Belgian trade union representatives&nbsp;that Stora Enso, a Finnish-Swedish multinational headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, dismissed at the end of last year for their union activities. For the full background see: <a href="/?id=77&amp;doc=1638&amp;la=EN">Stora Enso Retaliates Against Union Leaders in Gent, Belgium (3 February 2006)</a>. 
 
 

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An ICEM delegation, led by Fred Higgs, ICEM General Secretary,&nbsp;participated in the protest march. The presence of the ICEM highlighted the international character of the dispute, as the ICEM representatives carried the banner of the Canadian Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), another ICEM affiliate also facing an attack by Stora Enso management. 
 
One similarity between the disputes in Canada and Belgium is the desire of the company to have unchecked freedom in contracting out jobs, thereby seriously jeopardising job security at Stora Enso facilities. Another similarity is the blatantly anti-union behaviour. Stora Enso is becoming increasingly known as a company showing little or no regard for the rights of its workers and their unions in its chase of higher profitability. 
 
 

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At the march, flags were exchanged between representatives of the ICEM, in the name of CEP, and the Belgian ACCG, in a display of solidarity between the Canadian unionists and the Belgian protesters. Discussions took place between the two unions and the ICEM in Brussels last week. 
 
 

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Protest March Against Stora Enso Behaviour in Belgium

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An ICEM News release on 3 February mentions current Belgian political debate on the legal status of a trade union. It said Swedish-Finnish paper company Stora Enso has now joined that debate on the side of right-wing political parties to re-classify unions across Belgium. 
Something basic and fundamental is at play at Stora Enso&rsquo;s Langerbrugge mill in Gent. The company is systematically attempting to carve further job rights from workers at Gent&rsquo;s Langerbrugge mill. 
Intimidations, bullying and divide-to-conquer tactics are the means. The company&rsquo;s intention is for the 300 members at Langerbrugge to concede 70 jobs to subcontractors, to agree on flexibility at the expense of working conditions, and to give up their long-term right to 1 January as a shutdown day. 
That is reason enough to march in Gent tomorrow night (7 February, 19h00) to condemn Stora Enso&rsquo;s intentions. The ICEM News release can be found at <a href="/?id=77&amp;doc=1638">/?id=77&amp;doc=1638</a>.

Stora Enso Readies Itself for More Cuts at Belgian Paper Mill

Archive

Labour Code Citations in US Mining Strike

IGBCE's Congress Pays Fond Farewell to Schröder

ICEM Supports Common German Contract for Vattenfall Utility Workers

NUM in South Africa Holds Women’s Conference

ICEM Lends Support to Brazilian Paperworkers’ Union

Mismanaged Zambian Electric Firm Targets Power Sector Union

ICEM letter in support of the Iran Sherkate Vahed workers

ICEM ASIA MNC Project

Protest March Against Stora Enso Behaviour in Belgium

Stora Enso Readies Itself for More Cuts at Belgian Paper Mill

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