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Unions organising employees of the world&rsquo;s largest coal producer, Coal India Ltd., achieved a significant hike in profit-linked annual bonuses for 300,000 members on 17 October. The annual bonus for permanent employees will now be INR21,000 (US$438), up from 17,000. 
 
Negotiators also achieved a bonus for contract and agency workers, who have never before received bonuses at Coal India. Unions compromised on their original 23,500 INR demand. 
 
The settlement, which also includes an INR1,000 INR Diwali gift to all workers, avoided a proposed three-day strike last week. 
 
When negotiations broke down at earlier stages, all five trade union confederations in India, INTUC, BMS, HMS, AITUC and CITU, jointly organised large actions, and jointly backed strike actions. Strong unity throughout the campaign is a positive development for all Indian workers. 
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INMF General Secretary B. K. Das
Talks were brokered by the Indian Coal Minister, between Coal India, and the ICEM affiliate Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF) and other unions, following a concerted campaign which included a one-day strike by 300,000 miners on 10 October at eight coal producing subsidiaries of Coal India. In reaching settlement, all parties agreed to seek to finalise negotiations for the next national annual wage agreement by 31 December 2011. 
 
Coal India&rsquo;s decision to reward shareholders with a 39% dividend pay-out on profits strengthened the workers&rsquo; resolve with all 400,000 employees standing to share only 13% of all profits. 
 
Coal India is India&rsquo;s largest employer. Last financial year, it posted a 12.9% (US$2.4 billion) jump in net profit. 
 
There was more positive labour news in India on 17 October, as the government&rsquo;s Minister of Labour and Employment, Mallikarjun Kharge, told the Standing Labour Committee in New Delhi that the Labour Ministry is making efforts to extend all benefits now available to permanent workers to contract workers. Specifically, unions campaigned for amending the Contract Labour Act of 1970 so that contract workers would be automatically absorbed into permanent employment, especially when contract labour is blocked. 
 
The Minister also gave positive indications on the need for a National Labour Code for minimum wages, maximum hours of work, and minimum standards of safety and health at the workplace.

Strike Averted as Indian Coal Miners Win Improved Bonuses

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Queensland mineworkers employed by the BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) soundly rejected a direct company enterprise agreement proposal by 92% on 12 October. The 4,000 miners, represented by three Australian unions that are negotiating as the Single Bargaining Unit (SBU), then launched the longest work stoppage since strikes began in June. 
 
They staged a 30-hour walkout from midnight on 18 October to 06h00 on 20 October. 
 
The strike cut production at the world&rsquo;s largest supplier of seaborne metallurgical coal. The strike and contract rejection also sent another sharp message to BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi that miners at BMA&rsquo;s seven collieries in central Queensland will not accept compromises on work-life balance, or to their job security. 
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&ldquo;The result shows that our members currently have little trust in the company as a whole, and they have seen through the waffle and spin,&rdquo; said Stephen Smyth, District Vice President of the Construction, Forestry, Mine and Energy Union (CFMEU), the largest of the three unions. 
 
After some 32 bargaining days dating back ten months, BMA used a part of the Fair Work Australia law to take its unwanted contract proposal directly to miners. The mail ballot, conducted between 29 September and 12 October, was rejected by a vote of 2,432 to 201. &ldquo;(BMA) can&rsquo;t ignore the message that the workers themselves have delivered,&rdquo; said Smyth. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t get a clearer picture than this.&rdquo; 
 
SBU and BMA resumed bargaining over this past weekend for three days in Rockhampton, Queensland. The other two unions comprising the SBU are the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU) and the Electrical Trades Union of the Communications, Electrical, Plumbing Union (CEPU). All three unions are ICEM affiliates. 
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Even though BMA says it will put a 5% pay rise on the table, the SBU first wants agreement that there will not be a lowering of working conditions or diminished quality-of-life standards. SBU is resisting unwanted extensions on work rosters, which will negatively affect family life, and they oppose BMA in its will to gain contracting out flexibility. BMA wants to move from a five-day weekly roster to a seven-day one, and also seeks greater rule over operators&rsquo; jobs. 
 
Past ICEM reports on this crucial Australian labour struggle can be found <a href="-BMA-Tries-to-Bully-Aussie-Labour-Law-Back-to-Howard-Era">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4463-Aussie-Coal-Miners-Vote-92-to-Strike-BHP-Billiton-Mitsubishi-Alliance ">here</a>. 
 
The Bowen Basin mines of BMA have aided BHP Billiton in giving the world&rsquo;s largest extractive resource company fiscal 2011 net profits of US$23.65 billion, 86% higher than in 2010 and a record for an Australian-based company. BMA&rsquo;s seven mines produce 58 million tonnes of coking coal annually.

Australian Miners Reject BMA’s Contract Proposal by 92%

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The ICEM Norwegian affiliate, IndustriEnergi (IE), announces 2012 nominations are now open for its third annual Arthur Svensson International Award for Union Rights. The award, which comes with a cash prize of NOK 500,000 (&euro;63,000), is given to a person or organization for outstanding contributions for promoting trade union rights and strengthening of trade unionism on the international and national levels. 
 
The deadline for nominations is 31 January 2012, and the award will be bestowed to the serving recipient on 14 June 2014. Nominations must include valid arguments on behalf of the nominee, and it must be made clear the organization or person making the nomination, and the nominator&rsquo;s relationship with the candidate. 
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Arthur Svensson
Nominations, in Norwegian, English, French or Spanish, must come from representatives or employees of Norwegian and international trade unions. The nominations should be made to Espen L&oslash;ken at <a href="mailto:espen.loken@industrienergi.no">espen.loken@industrienergi.no</a>, or faxed to +47 23 06 1360. 
 
The inaugural winner in 2010 was <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4056-Zimbabwe-s-Wellington-Chibebe-Receives-First-Norwegian-Labour-Prize ">Wellington Chibebe</a>, Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, while this year&rsquo;s winner was <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4418-Palestine-s-Shaher-Sae-d-Winner-of-Norwegian-Arthur-Svensson-Union-Rights-Award ">Shaher Sae&rsquo;d</a>, Secretary-General of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU). 
 
Arthur Svensson was the longtime leader of Norsk Kjemisk, the Norwegian Chemical Workers&rsquo; Association, which merged with NOPEF in September 2006 to form IE. He died in 2008, but left a legacy in Norway and beyond as a man who promoted peace, disarmament, and a nuclear weapons-free world. 
 
Mr. Svensson was a driving force from his various leadership positions with the Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union for implementation of Norwegian environmental law and a proponent of clean energy in driving clean industries.

2012 Nominations Open for Norwegian Arthur Svensson Trade Union Award

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The strike by 32,000 Finnish metalworkers that began on 21 October could end tomorrow following a new proposal presented by National Conciliator Esa Lonka last night, 23 October. ICEM affiliate Ammattiliitto Pro, the trade union of salaried workers in Finland, and Metalliliitto, the country&rsquo;s Metalworkers&rsquo; Union, will consider the proposal later today in separate meetings. 
 
The two unions began a first wave of strike actions last Friday against 45 metal and engineering companies that was to run until 7 November, with a second wave of strikes against another 35 firms to begin on that day.
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Lonka&rsquo;s new proposal addresses the unions concerns on a wage package over the next two years, while Finland&rsquo;s government is expected to legislate the other key issue in the dispute &ndash; a three-day annual training and education leave in which employers sought to use its own discretionary control. 
 
Metalliliitto&rsquo;s 38-member Union Council will consider the proposal at 16h today in Helsinki, while Ammattiliitto Pro&rsquo;s Executive Committee will meet at 17h to take up the government conciliator&rsquo;s proposal. If both bodies accept, the 32,000 workers &ndash; 25,000 metalworkers and 7,000 represented by Ammattiliitto Pro &ndash; will be back to work tomorrow, 25 October. 
 
The major discord was over a 4.3% wage increase for two years, an amount Finnish social partners agreed to on 13 October. Metal and technical employers, under the auspices of the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, or Teknologiateollisuus, sought to structure that pay rise whereby many metalworkers and white-collar workers would not get the full amount. The new proposal given by Lonka last night, 23 October, proposes that it be granted across the board to all 200,000 workers in the country&rsquo;s metal and engineering sector. 
 
Last week&rsquo;s industrial actions also included an overtime ban across all employers in those industrial sectors. An <a href="/en/23-Nordic-Countries/4723-Strikes-Begin-in-Finnish-Metal-Technology-Sector">ICEM report</a> on the start of the strike from last week can be found here.

Conciliator’s New Proposal Expected to End Short Finnish Metalworkers Strike

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By a 61% vote on 15 October, members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1005 in Hamilton, Ontario, ended U.S. Steel&rsquo;s total chokehold on the livelihoods of 900 Canadian workers. Union members accepted a three-year labour agreement that ends a 49-week lockout at the steel mill. 
 
The agreement means workers will begin returning to jobs tomorrow, 18 October, for week-long health and safety training. The new pact is not altogether satisfactory because it creates a two-tier pension scheme with new hires placed in an inferior plan, and it ends cost-of-living indexing for 9,000 retirees, a key issue in the 14-month dispute.
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U.S. Steel pressured steelworkers into submission by first imposing the lockout on 7 November 2010, and then supplying its Canadian customers from the former Stelco mill in Hamilton with finished steel from American mills. In the end and after nearly one year, most of Local 1005&rsquo;s members were on the verge of losing unemployment insurance funds, which coupled with the USW&rsquo;s C$200-a-week strike benefit gave workers about two-thirds of their normal income. 
 
The agreement contains a C$3,000 ratification bonus, to be paid within 60 days of Saturday&rsquo;s vote, and it also includes a lump sum pay-out of C$1,000 to retirees taking in less than C$1,500-per-month in lieu of annual pension indexing. Active workers will also see reduced cost-of-living annual increases. 
 
A profit-sharing plan for active employees will be implemented in the fourth quarter 2011. It will come from a pool of money totalling 6.5% above C$25 million in earnings from the Hamilton Works and could mean an added C$3,500 in income per worker. Union members will receive credited service for the 11 months of the lockout, meaning some workers will be closer to taking retirement. 
 
All workers will be recalled and they will be guaranteed 26 weeks of employment at 40 hours per week. That countered a U.S. Steel proposal from mid-September in which the company sought call-back language that would have left many workers without jobs long after ratification and the end of the lockout. 
 
In the new agreement, which takes effect today, new hires will not be included in the existing defined benefit pension scheme and placed in a union-administered plan that will see U.S. Steel contribute C$2.50-per-hour worked. 
 
On USW Local 1005&rsquo;s website, union leaders said, &ldquo;We have made a huge effort so that the members can make an informed vote on whether to accept or reject this contract. We wanted to ensure that they are fully aware of the situation they face and of the responsibilities towards not just themselves and their families, but also towards the retirees, the future generation of workers, their union and their community. This whole process has shown that there are serious challenges facing us going forward.&rdquo;

Canadian Steelworkers Ratify U.S. Steel Pact, Lockout Ends

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ICEM Austrian affiliate PRO-GE and GPA djp, the Salaried Employees, Print, Journalism, Paper Union, sent stern warning last week to metal and industrial employers on 2011 wage packages. After second round bargaining failed on 12 October to close pay differences, workers surprised the industry by launching one-to-three hour warning strikes the very next day. 
Some 300 Austrian employers witnessed workers&rsquo; reaction last Thursday to the bosses&rsquo; proposal of a miserly half-percent above the 3.1% offer tabled in the opening round on 4 October. The strikes escalated on 14 October when the unions targeted 60 employers for 24-hour work stoppages. 
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PRO-GE and GPA djp are negotiating on behalf of 170,000 metal, mining, and energy workers in Austria. Workers and their unions are steadfast that 5.5% is due them on 1 November. Their rationale is that productivity gains combined with healthy balance sheets and a September inflation rate of 3.6% warrants nothing less than the 5.5%. 
&ldquo;We know that the money is there,&rdquo; said PRO-GE Chief Negotiator Rainer Wimmer. 
PRO-GE and GPA djp have laid down a precision perfect strategy of rapid mobilization keyed on bargaining developments, or non-developments as was the case last week. The unions held hundreds of meetings with workers inside companies from 5-7 October after first round talks went nowhere, and then they held 400 mobilization meetings on 10-11 October in preparation for the 12 October second round. 
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Rainer Wimmer
Going into Friday&rsquo;s escalated industrial actions, leaders of the two unions offered to continue talks over the weekend but a shell-shocked employers&rsquo; association representative would only say that 20 October is the next scheduled bargaining date. That means more job actions are likely to occur early this week, with the ICEM learning that the number of enterprises in which workers chose strike actions last week grew exponentially. 
Industrial workers realize that a 5.5% wage increase is fair compensation for inflation and a fair share of the expected 2011 economic growth of 3% that has been brought on by industrial productivity. In 2009, during the height of the financial crisis, metal/industrial negotiations produced a 1.45% salary increase, while in 2010 that increase was 2.45%. Now, Austria is posting strong export numbers and purchasing power during the first half of 2011 is on the climb. 
In a joint statement, Wimmer and GPA djp Deputy Federal Director Karl Proyer said, &ldquo;The fact that sustainable wage and salary increases are economically viable means that we can further support and strengthen purchasing power, thus boost the economy of Austria.&rdquo; 
Just some of the workplaces where 24-hour stoppages took place on Friday include the engine-maker MAN in Steyr, Opel assembly at Aspern Airfield, Opel powertrain at Donaustadt, Schindler-Aufz&uuml;ge in Vienna, Doppelmayr chair lifts in Wolfurt, Bosch in Hallein, Magna car parts in Steyr, Andritz AG in Graz, and Salinen AG salt mines in Ebensee.

Wage Shame Drives Austrian Metalworkers into Warning Strikes

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With the United Steelworkers (USW) currently voting local-by-local on adoption of a US National Oil Bargaining Policy, one thing is certain when talks with oil refiners get underway early in 2012: union-initiated process safety improvements will lead the agenda. 
 
Some 300 local USW leaders convened in Dallas, Texas, in late September and adopted a bargaining policy. That policy is now up for ratification by USW branch unions representing oil workers and once 75% of local unions agree, the agenda will be tabled when bargaining begins early in 2012. A current three-year labour agreement between USW and a majority of US downstream oil and petrochemical employers expires 1 February 2012. 
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Gary Beevers
USW Vice President Gary Beevers, who heads the sector, said achieving process safety will be the main issue in this round of talks. &ldquo;We must have meaningful and enforceable safety provisions if we are going to save lives, and we are prepared to strike, if necessary, to get that,&rdquo; said Beevers, an ICEM Executive Committee member. 
 
Process safety refers to a safe and functioning engineering and management controls system that prevents explosions, fires, and toxic releases caused by the highly hazardous chemicals used in refining. USW will strive to get a union-trained safety specialist in each of the 69 refineries where it represents workers as part of that process safety system. 
 
The USW reports that during the term of the current labour agreement, up through early September 2011, there were 131 reported fires in US refineries, about one per week. The USW lost seven union members, including some who were Local 12-591 leaders, in the deadly 2 April 2010 explosion at Tesoro Corp.&rsquo;s Anacortes, Washington, refinery. 
 
The Tesoro explosion was caused by a heat exchanger in a naphtha unit that blew apart due to cracks in a welded area, an obvious flaw in process safety. The Washington State Department of Labour and Industry determined that the Texas-based company failed to test equipment for cracks and fined Tesoro US$2.39 million, a fine the company appealed. 
 
The USW represents 30,000 workers at a total of 168 production, refining, marketing, transportation, and pipeline installations, and its membership in the US&rsquo;s 69 oil and petrochemical refineries gives it representation covering 64% of all workers in the US downstream sector. 
 
Oil bargaining in the US is termed pattern bargaining in which USW selects a lead company to negotiate with and then those terms are presented and expected to be accepted by other companies. Traditionally, the USW and its predecessor unions have selected Royal Dutch Shell as the lead company.

Safety Central Issue in Upcoming US Downstream Oil Talks

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On 30 November, the ICEM, International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation, and the International Textile, Garment, Leathers Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) collaborated on an event entitled &ldquo;Cutting Emissions - Transforming Jobs.&rdquo; It was a key part of World of Work side events that were coordinated by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) at COP-17 in Durban, or the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 
 
It has become a tradition for trade unions to hold side events under the World of Work banner at COP meetings since COP-15 in 2009 in Copenhagen. 
 
The three Global Union Federations, speaking for workers in the resource, industrial, processing and other industries, held the event to discuss a sustainable foundation for Just Transition and to develop a common industrial strategy for the future of industrial workers. 
 
The panellists included: Philemon Shiburi, National Treasurer, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA); Arvind Shrouti, Analyst, Option Positive, India; Anne Panneels, Senior Advisor on Sustainable Development, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC); Bob Baugh, Executive Director, Industrial Union Council/AFL-CIO, US; and David Macatha, the National Treasurer of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), South Africa.
<img alt="" src="" width="160" height="138" />
Anne Panneels&nbsp;
All panellists were asked to consider the following points, from their particular regional and sectoral perspective: 
 
Post Kyoto Framework: Could a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol be a solution to avoid a gap in emission reduction commitments and to re-build the legally-binding framework covering all countries in the future negotiation process? 
 
Building a Foundation-Climate Finance: How should the funding be designed/realized to achieve sustainable jobs and a Just Transition? What are the components of a strong financing scheme, e.g. mandatory contributions from governments, Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), levy on maritime transportation &amp; aviation, or other? 
 
Just Transition: What kinds of programmes are needed for industrial workers who are most dramatically affected by the climate change issues? How can both today's and tomorrow's workers benefit from the transformation to a sustainable economy? What support will be needed? 
 
Developing Industrial Strategy: Industrial strategies which aim towards sustainable production, the transformation and enhancement of existing jobs, and the creation of new, greener jobs are needed at local, national, regional and international levels. How could developed and developing countries be engaged to harmonize/develop respective industrial policies? 
 
Union&rsquo;s Role for the Future: How should unions get involved to transform industry and create new, greener jobs be designed and implemented with the full participation?
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="113" />
Each panellist made a thought-provoking presentation. Philemon Shiburi emphasized the importance of a second Kyoto commitment period to Africans. Finance and technology transfer are essential. Existing jobs must be protected alongside new ones as renewable energy is developed. 
 
Arvind Shrouti identified inequalities as a barrier to sustainability and urged strengthened industrial democracy with worker participation in decision-making. Anne Panneels outlined some of the European efforts to design a long-term industrial strategy through social dialogue, for green and decent jobs that includes a Just Transition. 
 
Bob Baugh showed that in the USA many unions are committed to an industrial policy that endorses the concepts of &quot;green job&quot; transformation and creation through deployment of technology and training and education. David Macatha said that nothing can be accomplished without the efforts of workers to demand change, decent work, and a democratic renewal. 
 
The presentations showed that workers globally share a vision of an industrial and social strategy that promotes the transformation of existing jobs to a more sustainable model, as well as the creation of new, sustainable jobs that fulfil the ILO goals of &quot;decent work.&quot; The path towards a sustainable future for both today's and tomorrow's workers is strong investment in technological innovation, and a Just Transition.

COP-17 Union Panel Stresses Sustainable Industry in Climate Change Debate

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On 2 December, representatives of the ICEM Canadian affiliate Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union participated in a discussion on trade union perspectives on the Canadian bituminous sands, or tar sands or oil sands. 
 
Organized by the Cornell Global Labor Institute and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) with the CEP, the session was part of the international trade union World of Work events held at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-17) in Durban, South Africa. 
 
Jim Britton, CEP Western Region Vice-President, introduced the CEP and its membership. The CEP is Canada's energy union.
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="100" />
Britton explained why the question of the tar sands cannot be separated from the question of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a new pipeline connecting the province of Alberta with US refineries. CEP has been opposed to the Keystone pipeline, and several previous pipeline proposals, for two reasons: the value-added processing of Canada's bitumen should take place in Canada; and the pipelines stand as a symptom of the lack of a sustainable energy policy in Canada, which is desperately needed. 
 
Sadly, these concerns have not found traction with Canada's present Conservative government, nor with the regulatory bodies or courts in Canada. 
 
An intelligent energy policy could ensure a rational continued development of the tar sands, with the creation of high-quality permanent jobs and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Canadians, including those who mine and process bitumen, want adequate regulation that ensures job creation, environmental protection, respects First Nations' rights, a growing economy and reduced risks for business. 
 
This is an area where everyone could win. Instead, Canada is sacrificing energy security and sustainability for short-term and short-sighted profits. It cannot be jobs &quot;or&quot; the environment, it must be both. CEP members expect it and the CEP will fight for it.
<img alt="" src="" width="150" height="132" />
Roland Lefort&nbsp;
Roland Lefort, President of CEP Local 707, representing thousands of oil sands workers, explained that his position was based on CEP policies on energy, the environment, and Just Transition that have been developed over many years and affirmed at successive CEP Conventions. Together, these call on Canada to develop a plan for the sustainable development of the oil sands. 
 
This plan would ensure, among other things: energy security for Canadians; carbon capture and storage for all new tar sands projects; the promotion of energy conservation; a well-funded Just Transition plan for energy workers and energy-dependent regions of the country; a fulfilment of Canada's commitments to stabilize and then cut greenhouse gas emissions. 
 
Oil sands workers in Canada believe in the science of climate change, the rights of aboriginal peoples, and the protection of Canada's resources. Their position is one of sustainable development. It disagrees with the proposition that there are only two positions on the issue of oil sands development &ndash; all or nothing. 
 
The present Canadian government and industry want to extract the oil sands without impediments or controls, while the environmental lobby, which is getting stronger by the day, wants to shut down the oil sands. The CEP believes that there is a position in between, a position of balance, a position for sustainability. 
 
To that effect, the CEP has been working to bring together government, labour, First Nations, and environmentalists to the table to develop the plan on energy as stated in our policies. 
 
Lefort's strong presentation in Durban, backed by his personal credibility as a miner and President of Canada's largest group of unionized oil sands workers, made a huge impact on the audience. 
 
Another panelist was Roger Toussaint of New York City and the Transport Workers&rsquo; Union (TWU). He stated that the issues involved in the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline affected everyone and his union decided it could not be silent on the issue. Instead of uncontrolled development, there is a potential to move towards a lower-carbon and just economy, with the creation of millions of good jobs in renewable energy, mass transportation, energy-efficient buildings, and the like. Toussaint believes that the global labour movement can lead this change and pointed out the forward-looking policies of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) as an example.
<img alt="" src="" width="90" height="106" />
Asking a question from the floor, Anthony Jacobs, Director of National Construction Agreements for the ICEM-affiliated and US-based International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) stated that he understood Lefort's position, but passionately defended his union's support for the Keystone XL pipeline and the potential construction jobs it represented. Lefort said that he accepted and understood the IBB position but hoped that he understood CEP's. 
 
Other considerations in the debate on the Keystone XL pipeline include the US's dependency on foreign oil and the potential mutual economic benefit to Canada and the US. 
 
The event illustrated the value of unions' direct participation in international events such as COP-17. The value of an opportunity to hear directly from those affected is impossible to overstate.

Canada’s Tar Sands, Keystone Pipeline Gets Aired at COP-17

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The US-based United Autoworkers&rsquo; Union (UAW) exhibited exemplary trade union solidarity with the Korean Metal Workers&rsquo; Union (KMWU) recently when American autoworkers turned out to picket and handbill Hyundai auto dealerships in the US. 
 
Customers at some 75 Hyundai dealerships on 30 November learned of the injustice afforded a contract worker at a Hyundai Motor Group factory in South Chungcheong province, who was sacked after she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Korea.
<img alt="" src="" width="260" height="171" />
The UAW took on the mid-day action at Hyundai dealerships from California to New York to inform American car buyers of this contract worker&rsquo;s current plight. The KMWU, affiliated to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), is championing the 45-year-old woman&rsquo;s case especially after the Korea Workers&rsquo; Compensation and Welfare Service, in investigating the complaint, inexplicably added to the harassment in outrageous questioning of the woman. 
 
Hyundai claims it is not responsible for liability, since the 14-year service worker was employed by Glovis, a symbiotic contractor of Hyundai. Among other forms of harassment in 2010, the woman had received inappropriate text messages and late night telephone calls from supervisors. 
 
Following the NHRC awarding her compensation of nine million won (US$7,725), Glovis fired her and has since refused to pay her the penalty. The woman has been holding a protest vigil in Seoul since June of this year. 
 
Said UAW President Bob King, &ldquo;The UAW has embraced a global vision of social justice and will mobilize its membership to defend labour rights here and in other parts of the world.&rdquo;

UAW Pickets US Hyundai Dealers over Sexual Harassment in Korea

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