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ICEM&rsquo;s 14 Turkish affiliates have launched into an organising campaign called &ldquo;Organising and Social Dialogue,&rdquo; which is being undertaken as a project with support from Dutch national labour centre FNV and its international solidarity arm, FNV Mondiaal. ICEM and its affiliate on The Netherlands, FNV Bondgenoten, are coordinating the effort. 
 
Approved by the ICEM Turkish Coordinating Committee in November 2008, the project started with an initial conference on 15-16 June in Ankara. Attended by more than 100 union officials, representatives, and experts, the conference examined different tools and instruments with a view to facilitate recruitment drives within unions. The conference also heard the experiences in other countries regarding organising and social dialogue. 

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FNV Bondgenoten President Henk Van der Kolk
At the opening session Henk Van der Kolk, President of FNV Bondgenoten, gave special attention to the importance of international cooperation for trade union success. &ldquo;Trade unions all over the world are losing their strength,&rdquo; he said. 
 
&ldquo;It is no longer a natural thing to join a trade union when you start work. A social Europe, a social world, cannot exist without respect for fundamental human and workers&rsquo; rights, as stated in ILO conventions,&rdquo; added Van der Kolk. &ldquo;The right to freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively on job conditions are basic. The right to a living wage, safe work, and social protections are also basic.&rdquo; 
 
Thanking FNV and Dutch trade unions with active involvement of the Turkish unions, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda underlined the significance of international work in new member recruitment. &ldquo;There are several examples, and one only needs to look within Turkey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The case of Novamed and the global support received by the courageous women of this company in the Antalya free trade zone is an excellent example. We need to build on such cases, and grow the labour movement both in Turkey and globally,&rdquo; Warda said. 
 
The mechanisms of the ILO, tools provided under the Guidelines of Multinational Companies of the OECD and the UN&rsquo;s Global Compact, and performance standards of the World Bank&rsquo;s International Finance Corporation were discussed. Also, the notion of trade union networks among multinational companies and Global Framework Agreements were also discussed. 
 
The conference also saw active participation from trade union delegates from the Asia/Pacific Region, and from Germany, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, and the US. All shared their experiences on organising and social dialogue with leaders from the Turkish unions. 
 
At the final session on 16 June, a panel composed of Turkish union representatives made an evaluation on the Turkish situation that was in line with the presentations and discussions during the two-day conference. 
 
Following this initial conference in Turkey&rsquo;s capital city of Ankara, the FNV Mondiaal project will continue with regional seminars with local union officers and shop-floor representatives. A first seminar will occur in the city of Izmit on 8-9 October, while a second one is scheduled for Izmir on 5-6 November. 
For the programme and presentations, please click <a href="/index.php?id=22&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3292">here</a>.

Dutch FNV Supporting Organising, Social Dialogue Project with ICEM in Turkey

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One of the ICEM&rsquo;s long-standing mining union affiliates, T&uuml;rkiye Maden-İş, lost its president last week, and the entire family of ICEM mourns his passing. Ekrem Fedai had been valiantly fighting lung cancer for some time, but the disease claimed his life on 26 June. He was 58. 

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Ekrem Fedai
Brother Fedai was a substitute member of the ICEM Executive Committee. He started his trade union career in the state-owned lignite company in the city of Tavşanli, and in 1986 was first elected as regional secretary-treasurer of the union in that city. He won election as regional chairman in 1996, and then was elected to the post of Secretary of Collective Bargaining and Legal Affairs for Maden-İş at union headquarters in Ankara. At an extraordinary congress in 2008, he was unanimously elected President of Maden-İş. 
 
In a letter to Maden-İş Vice President Murat Bekem today, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, &ldquo;We know his many contributions to your union and his many achievements across Turkey on behalf of miners.&rdquo; The ICEM extends its condolences to Ekrem Fedai&rsquo;s family and to all the union members of T&uuml;rkiye Maden-İş.

ICEM Mourns Death of Turkish Mines Leader, Maden-İş President Ekrem Fedai

The ICEM calls serious attention to activities on Friday, 26 June, as Day of Action against the Islamic Republic of Iran for the repressive and tyrannical means it uses to suppress the people of Iran. Specifically, ICEM stands with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Global Union Federations (GUFs), and Amnesty International in denouncing the illegal arrests of trade union leaders and others in Iran. 
 
As witnessed by the regime&rsquo;s conduct before and after the sham 12 June elections, global pressure must be steadfast against Iran&rsquo;s ruling zealots who commit untold human rights violations. The ICEM stands with the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF), and Education International (EI), as they call for this Day of Action together with the ITUC and Amnesty International. 
 
These GUFs have worked tirelessly to end trade union rights abuses in specific cases in Iran. More details on 26 June Day of Action, and on specific cases can be found at <a href="http://www.justiceforiranianworkers.org">www.justiceforiranianworkers.org</a>.
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In brief, the ITF champions the cases of Mansour Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi, leaders of the Syndicate of Workers&rsquo; of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, who are serving unjust jail terms. The IUF has sharply criticised the one-year jail terms of five union leaders and forced dissolution of their union, Haft Tapeh Sugar Workers&rsquo; Union, and EI has taken up the case of Farzad Kamangar, who was handed a death sentence last year. 
 
He is a leader of the banned Iranian Teachers&rsquo; Trade Association, an affiliate of EI, and has been convicted of &ldquo;endangering national security&rdquo; for his advocacy of teachers&rsquo; unions. The 26 June Day of Action also is aimed at freeing four activists who remain locked up from a 1 May manifestation at Laleh Park in Tehran. There, secret police violently attacked peaceful workers celebrating May Day, arresting between 100 and 150. 
 
Demonstrations tomorrow (26 June) will occur at Iranian embassies and missions include Belgium, France, Netherlands, Switzerland Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Nigeria, the UK, and in several other countries. The ICEM encourages trade unionists and others to take part. 
 
&ldquo;ICEM is in full support and will assist in every effort to free trade unionists and others who have been locked up because they dared to exercise free speech or free association in Iran,&rdquo; said General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;This brutal regime cannot be allowed immunity in its continuing escalation of human rights violations.&rdquo;

26 June: Day of Action Against Iran

&ldquo;National Project Conference of Turkey: 
Organising and Social Dialogue&rdquo; 
 
15 &ndash; 16 June 2009 
Ankara, Turkey 
 
A g e n d a 
 
 
15 June 2009, Monday 
 
09:30 - 10:30 Opening : 
 
Bayram Eren, General Education Secretary of Tes-İş 
Henk Van Der Kolk, President of FNV Bondgenoten, The Netherlands (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/henk.fnv.speech.pdf">speech</a>) 
Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary 
 
10:30 - 11:00 Break 
 
11:00 - 12:30 First Session: &ldquo;Organising and Social Dialogue: International Mechanisms&rdquo; 
 
G&uuml;lay Aslantepe, ILO Turkey Representative 
Zerg&uuml;l &Ouml;zbilgi&ccedil;, Undersecretariat of Treasury, General Directorate of Foreign Capital, Head of Department of International Relations (OECD Turkey National Contact Point) 
Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemical and Rubber Industries Officer 
Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary and Board Member of &ldquo;Global Compact&rdquo; (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.manfred.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
 
Discussions 
 
12:30 &ndash; 14:00 Lunch 
 
14:00 &ndash; 16:00 Second Session : &ldquo;Organising and Social Dialogue : International Trade Union Tools&rdquo; 
 
Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemical and Rubber Industries Officer (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.kemal.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
Marc Ferron, EDF Global Agreement TU Secretary, France (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.ferron.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
Y&uuml;cel Top, Coordinator of Turkey-EU Trade Union Integration Com. 
Jorgen Juul Rasmussen, Danks El-Forbund, Denmark (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.jorgen.pres.pdf">presentation</a>)&nbsp; 
 
Discussions 
 
16:00 - 16:30 Break 
 
16:30 &ndash; 17:30 Third Session : &ldquo;Different Country Trade Union Structures, Experiences and Strategies for Organising and Social Dialogue&rdquo; : Experiences from North America and Asia 
 
Joe Drexler, ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.drexler.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
Phee Jungsun, ICEM Materials Industry Officer (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.phee.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
 
Discussions 
 
19:00 &ndash; 22:00 Dinner 
 
16 June 2009, Tuesday : 
 
09:30 &ndash; 10:30 Fourth Session : &ldquo;Different Country Trade Union Structures, Experiences and Strategies for Organising and Social Dialogue&rdquo; (continuation) : Experiences from Europe-1 
 
Michael Wolters, IG BCE, Germany (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.wolters.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
Marc Blanc, FCE-CFDT, France (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.blanc.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
 
Discussions 
 
10:30 - 11:00 Break 
 
11:00 &ndash; 12:30 Fifth Session : &ldquo;Different Country Trade Union Structures, Experiences and Strategies for Organising and Social Dialogue&rdquo; (continuation) : Experiences from Europe-2 
 
Isidor Boix, FITEQA-CC.OO., Spain (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.bois.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
Lob&eacute; Gevaerts &ndash; Mail &Uuml;rker, FNV Bondgenoten, The Netherlands 
 
Discussions 
 
12:30 &ndash; 14:00 Lunch 
 
14:00 &ndash; 15:30 Sixth Session : &ldquo;In line with discussions, Strategy and Action Plan for Developing Organising and Social Dialogue in Turkey&ldquo; 
 
Fikret Sazak, T&uuml;rkiye Maden-İş (mining) 
&Uuml;zeyir Ataman, Lastik-İş (rubber and chemical) 
İsmail Hakkı Kurt, Petrol-İş &amp; Belediye-İş (oil/public service) 
Resul Limon, Tes-İş (Energy) 
Bahri Top&ccedil;u, T&uuml;rkiye &Ccedil;imse-İş (Materials) 
 
15:30 &ndash; 16:00 Break 
 
16:00 - 17:00 Wrapping-up of two-day works and Proposals for the future 
 
17:30 End of the Conference

FNV Turkey Project Conference

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Members of the ICEM&rsquo;s Executive Committee discussed and deliberated on the effects of the world&rsquo;s financial crisis on day two of the statutory body&rsquo;s annual meetings 24 June. The discussion started with ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda outlining the unified strategy that Global Union Federations (GUFs), together with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and TUAC of the OECD, are pursuing in order to shift from the failed policies of global capital. 
 
Those strategies include stricter engagement with the world&rsquo;s financial institutions in order to make meaningful structural changes. The ICEM invited Peter Bakvis, the GUFs&rsquo; and ITUC coordinator in Washington, DC, who monitors activity of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the regional development banks. 
 
Bakvis gave the underlining causes to the crisis, and the warning signs that were given by global labour to the institutions in the years leading up to the 2008 crisis. He also told ICEM Executive members of the trade union response since the collapse of last autumn. His presentation can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/icem%20pb%20geneva.bakvis.pdf">here</a>. 

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ICEM Executive Committee, Tuesday 23 June
Some 25 members of the Executive then gave overviews and crisis responses from their unions and countries. Their testimony saw reviews of safety nets in various countries for the growing number of unemployed, as well as specific situations within ICEM sectors that have been deeply affected. 
 
A resolution on the crisis was presented. That document was amended by delegates to warn against governments adopting stringent protectionist measures, and it also denounced trends toward racism, xenophobia, and any move toward political parties that reflect such anti-social conduct. 
 
Delegates also denounced companies which have used the crisis as a pretext to implement destructive social measures. The ICEM Executive Committee&rsquo;s Resolution can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ExecResFinCri2009EXEC.pdf">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM will continue to update trade union responses to the financial crisis on its website under &ldquo;Financialisation,&rdquo; and the first effort in that regard can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/EFFECTS%20of%20the%20GLOBAL%20FINANCIAL%20CRISIS%20on%20WORKERS.pdf">here</a>.

Financial Crisis Effects Key Focus of ICEM Executive

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North American&rsquo;s offshore oil and gas industry now has its second collective agreement in place after a Newfoundland-Labrador provincial arbitrator issued a 38-month labour contract between employers on the Hibernia platform and the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada. Some 450 workers at Hibernia, whose managing company is US supermajor ExxonMobil, will receive yearly wage increases, plus backpay to 1 July 2004 totalling, on average, C$9,168. 
 
CEP won a guarantee that workplace certification of the platform and terms of the agreement apply to all successor companies or oil-service firms at Hibernia. The interest arbitration award lays out a three-week on, three-week off work rotation schedule. That includes 84 paid hours each workweek, divided into seven 12-hour days while on the platform. 
Hibernia workers were the first offshore oil workers anywhere in North America to organise a union, voting for the CEP in 2001. Workers at the Terra Nova platform, an oil rig also in the North Atlantic that is managed by Petro-Canada, voted for CEP representation in 2003 and the 120 workers there received a first collective agreement through an interest arbitration award issued on 30 September 2005. Legislation in several Canadian provinces provides for such a process in achieving first collective agreements, and also prohibits strikes or lockouts during that period.

Labour Agreement in Place at Hibernia’s Offshore Platform

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The 16-week-old lockout by Stora Enso at a paper mill in Canada will continue into the foreseeable future. The Finnish-Swedish company, which locked 600 members of Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union off their jobs on 26 January 2006, returned to the bargaining table on 8 May. 
 
But the session was short and discouraging. In a return-to-work agreement, Stora Enso demanded a 10% pay cut from workers in mid-April, and the union&rsquo;s counter-proposal last week was met with bitter rejection. The company then bypassed the union-management process by mailing to each worker its plea for acceptance, including the concessionary &ldquo;Recovery Plan&rdquo; that seeks to cut costs inside the Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, mill. With a proposed wage freeze staring at them, workers would actually see an 18% cut in earnings if the proposal were to be accepted. 
 
Stora Enso has brokered C$65 million in subsidies from the province of Nova Scotia, covering seven years. But the aid package is contingent on a new collective agreement between the company and CEP Local 972, and CEP paperworkers in the maritime province will not slash their livelihoods to meet Stora&rsquo;s outrageous demands.

Stora Enso’s Demands Prolong Canadian Paper Mill Lockout

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In South Korea, trade union federations and legislators of the Democratic Labor Party have prevailed on the governing Uri Party not to table the controversial irregular workers&rsquo; bill in the National Assembly, at least not for now. In a series of daring political manoeuvres occurring in April, opposing forces to the pro-business legislation were joined by the major opposition party, Grand National Party, in successful efforts to sideline the proposed bills involving temporary workers. 
 
The legislation, if passed, would grant all temporary workers permanent status after two years. However, as it stands now, the bill woefully lacks the safeguards to prevent employers from discarding temporary workers through the two years. Trade unions and democratic advocates maintain that enactment of the law would mean more, not less, of Korea&rsquo;s workforce would be made up of temporary workers. 
 
In early April, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions launched a five-day general strike against the Uri Party initiative.

South Korea’s Irregular Workers’ Bill Sidetracked

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Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero signed, on 9 May, into law a labour reform measure aimed at decreasing the abuse by employers of temporary work contracts. The new law, which becomes effective in July 2006, makes any employee who has held two or more temporary contracts totalling at least 24 months, within a 30-month period, a permanent employee with full social benefits. 
 
Companies, meanwhile, will receive incentives in the form of subsidies for transferring temporary workers to full-time status, as well as reductions in social security contributions for the same. 
Spain&rsquo;s two trade union federations &mdash; CCOO and UGT &mdash; and the employers&rsquo; organisation CEOE, along with the government, have been negotiating this positive reform for the past 14 months in hopes of an overall reduction in the use of temporary workers and to reduce the work-life stress that fixed-term contract labour brings.

New Temp Workers’ Law in Spain Has Positive Aspects

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ExxonMobil in France has been found guilty of trade union discrimination, and ordered to pay &euro;322,000 to four trade union representatives affiliated with French federation CGT. The ruling was issued on 5 May from a court of conciliation in Nanterre. 
 
Three of the four CGT delegates work at Esso&rsquo;s Port-J&eacute;r&ocirc;me refinery, while the fourth is employed at an Esso facility at Fos-sur-mer. The largest award &mdash; &euro;210,000 &mdash; went to a key union person who had been on the job for 34 years. 
 
CGT said the court&rsquo;s findings and awards stand as a call to young workers that it is allowed for militant trade union members &ldquo;not to think like the boss, but on the contrary be free to think differently, not having your professional career sanctioned&rdquo; because you do.

Guilty: ExxonMobil in France for Trade Union Discrimination

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