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On June 12, the ILO will focus a day on child labour in the mining sector in celebration of its fourth World Day Against Child Labour. The ICEM and mining employers&rsquo; organisation International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) last week signed an accord calling for an end to child labour in all mining and quarrying activity. 
The ILO&rsquo;s International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) has found that most child miners are employed in small-scale enterprises which are unregulated and undocumented. IPEC has undertaken pilot projects on child labour in mining in Mongolia, Tanzania, Niger and the Andean countries of South America. Results show the best way to halt such practices is direct involvement in local mining communities and providing access to quality education with real prospects of meaningful employment when children leave school.

ILO’s Child Labour Focus to be on Mining Sector

Oil workers in France at Total won a major victory to preserve holidays by successfully conducting a five-day strike in mid-May. The job actions at five Total refineries saw the French supermajor back down by agreeing to keep Pentecost as a holiday even though the French government abandoned it as a national holiday this year. That means Total will assume all government payouts, giving workers the extra paid day in 2005. Total also agreed to pay workers during the 16-20 May strike. The unions involved were the CFDT, CGT and Force Ouvriere. The Total refineries that were shut: Gonfreville, in northern France; Feyzin and La Mede plants in the south; Grandpuits near Paris; and Donges in western France.

Strike at Total in France Protects Holidays

Also in Brazil, the Brazilian National BASF Network of ICEM&rsquo;s Latin American BASF Network took place 4-6 May in Sao Paulo. Delegates defined priorities to be proposed for the first national social dialogue, and met with BASF managers regarding problems workers confront in BASF&rsquo;s Brazilian facilities. In attendance were members of the Factory Commission of German-based BASF, IGBCE chemical sector representatives, as well as delegates from the Secretariat and International Relations Department of CUT. The ICEM&rsquo;s Regional Coordination Committee meeting of the BASF Network along with social dialogue talks with the company is occurring over the next several days.

ICEM’s Regional BASF Network Meets in Brazil

Twenty-four tradesmen, members of EPMU in New Zealand, agreed to a two-year deal this week with Bridgestone at a tyre factory in Christchurch, ending a four-week strike. The agreement was termed satisfactory, but not reflective of the intense effort put in by the bargaining unit composed of highly skilled electricians and engineers. 
Contract labour will be a continual issue, and EPMU Southern Operations Director Ged O&rsquo;Connell said, &ldquo;We have a significant problem with contractors and agency temps who are able to work in our plants and are not covered by our Collective Agreements.&rdquo; Although the union prevented contractors from doing bargaining unit work during the strike, salaried staff performed some of that work, and that is an issue with the EPMU. A separate bargaining unit represents about 200 production workers at the tyre factory on the South Island.

Skilled Trades Workers Reach Accord with Bridgestone in NZ

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Strike action by ICEM affiliate Paperiliitto against Finland&rsquo;s paper manufacturers intensified this week with near total shutdowns on 16-17 May of all paper mills following failure of mediated talks over the weekend. Employers now threaten a two-week lockout beginning 18 May in retaliation. 
After pulling out late last year from the national incomes policy agreement, the employers&rsquo; Forest Industries Federation is now seeking rash concessions including eliminating Christmas and mid-summer shutdown days, greater flexibility including 12-hour shifts and sick leave cuts, making the first two days unpaid. 
That proposal, however, was tempered some in recent mediation. Paperiliitto&rsquo;s resistance to the irrational proposals has been boosted by the commitment of ICEM affiliate Svenska Pappers. The union has imposed a ban on overtime in its papermills in Sweden, and will refuse to perform work shifted into Swedish paper mills from mills in Finland. Some six major companies are involved: Stora Enso, UPM Kymmene, M-Real, Mets&auml; Tissue, Ahlstr&ouml;m and Myllykoski.

Finnish Paper Union Strikes Against Harsh Concessions

ICEM affiliates of the Asia-Pacific Electric Power Unions Network met in Tokyo last week. Some 20 trade unionists from eight countries committed to collectively continue to insist on proper social dialogue for preserving clear regulations in all privatisation and liberalisation matters. The meeting was hosted by Japanese affiliates ICEM-JAF and Denryoku Soren. Major discussion occurred around the EGAT privatisation in Thailand and the dire political situation in Nepal.

ICEM’s Asia-Pacific Power Unions Meet in Tokyo

In Ukraine, ICEM affiliates are seeking to block a section of labour reform currently in the country's legislative assembly, the Rada. The specific section is Chapter 3, Book 4 of the draft labour code, which would grant loopholes to small businesses regarding union membership. Such an exclusion would not only run counter to ILO Conventions, but also infringe on Ukraine's Constitution and existing law. To exclude this particular section, ICEM affiliates and labour activists are encouraged to write to Volodymyr Lytvyn, chairman of the Rada, at fax +38 044 255 41 70, or Yuriy Yekhanurov, chairman of the Industry Policy Committee, at fax +38 044 255 2495.

Ukrainian Unions Seek to Block Business Loopholes in New Law

ICEM affiliate General Workers' Union (GWU) of Malta is using the 1 May celebration to protest that government's elimination of all public holidays that fall on weekends. A legislative change enacted earlier this year means that workers will not get a day of entitlement for holidays that occur on weekends, such as this 1 May holiday. The CWU is considering launch of a referendum to reverse the new legislation.

Affiliate in Malta Protests Government’s Holiday Elimination

Brazils' FUP oil workers' union might call a five-day strike on Petrobras if management of the state-owned company does not provide adequate increases to a profit-sharing plan. Some 38,000 oil workers could take part in the strike that could occur as early as this week. In March, FUP staged a 24-hour strike on the same issue, but that strike was not intended to disrupt production.

Brazilian Oil Union Braces for Strike Against Petrobras

In a new self-help move by some of the world's poorest workers, the National Union of Working Women (NUWW) last Friday launched a health protection scheme for its more than 300,000 informal sector workers in Chennai, India. The announcement came as the Asia-Pacific Women's Committee of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) was meeting there. The NUWW is an ICEM affiliate. 
 
Like most newly industrialising and developing countries, India has many &quot;informal sector&quot; workers who earn a pittance from unrecognised jobs on the fringes of the formal economy. The informal sector does not have access to social security or other public services. Nor is it covered by labour legislation. Overall, less than 10 percent of the Indian population have access to social security. 
 
Among the informal workforce are NUWW members working on the bottom rung of society. They do such jobs as making incense sticks, matchsticks and fireworks. Although they are making a contribution to society, they are still neglected. 
 
NUWW members pay 24 Rupees per year in subscriptions to their union. 
 
In 1981, a life insurance scheme was started. But it was discovered that, in fact, medical expenses are the biggest burden for the worst-off women workers in the informal sector. After childbirth, for example, they are heavily indebted. So the NUWW members decided to launch health programmes. They negotiated with an insurance company an annual premium of 70 Rupees, which provides coverage for up to 15,000 Rupees of medical expenses a year. It also provides them with good-quality health services and hospitalisation. 1,000 NUWW members have already registered for the scheme.

Indian Informal Workers Launch Health Scheme

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