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In Brazil, the chemical workers union FEQUIMFAR in Sao Paulo, affiliated with CUT, won a reduction in weekly work time from 44 to 42 hours. The agreement was signed 8 March with pharmaceutical and other companies, and also includes a 2% increase in real wage terms for workers in chemicals, plastics, cosmetics, fertilizers and other industries. &ldquo;This is the first step toward a 40-hour week, which is our goal for all workers in all industries,&rdquo; declared FEQUIMFAR President Danilo Pereiro.

Chemical Workers in Brazil Win Gains Through Union

Elsewhere on 8 March, trade unions participated in the launch of a Letter to Humanity, written collectively in forums across all continents. The letter emphasizes freedom, justice, peace and solidarity. In Brazil, CUT organized a march in which 35,000 women participated and then passed the letter to activists in Argentina. CNG-CUT in Brazil demonstrated at factory gates and at other events denouncing violence against women.

South American Women Take Action on International Woman’s Day

Nepal&rsquo;s national labour centers GEFONT and NTUC, along with ICEM affiliates, had received permission from the district administrator to conduct silent commemorations on International Women&rsquo;s Day, 8 March. Banners and placards declaring support for gender equality in the workplace and in society were to be displayed by hundreds of trade union activists in Katmandu and in towns and cities across Nepal. But late the night of 7 March, security forces cancelled the permit and intermittent demonstrations the next day were met by baton-charging riot police. Some 226 arrested.

Nepal Cancels International Women’s Day Celebrations

Unions within global mining giant Rio Tinto recognise that the company has to be efficient and competitive, and they are prepared to work with Rio Tinto to achieve this. But the company, for its part, must recognise workers' right to form trade unions and to bargain collectively. There must also be independent monitoring of its compliance with basic labour rights. 
 
That is the message from the network of unions representing Rio Tinto workers worldwide. The offer came at the end of the network's meeting in Canberra, Australia, on 7-8 February. 
 
The unions' main declarations: 
 
- &quot;We recognise the need for Rio Tinto to be an efficient and competitive producer of minerals and mineral products and are prepared to work with the company to that end.&quot; 
 
- &quot;The cooperation of the workforce with the company in achieving its goals must be on the basis of company recognition of the rights of its workers to form trade unions and bargain collectively. To date the company has not met this basic obligation in many of its operations.&quot; 
 
- &quot;Continuing efforts by the company to fragment and isolate its workforce though the offering of individual employment contracts rather than bargain with unions are in direct contravention of this basic obligation.&quot; 
 
- &quot;Until the company respects the basic rights of its workers, the trade unions in the global network will campaign against the company in domestic and international forums and in cooperation with other organisations and peoples who have grievances with the company. We see the success of our campaign as linked with other campaigns over the protection of human rights (in particular, the rights of indigenous peoples in or near Rio Tinto operations) and the protection of the environment from poor mining practices. This campaign will take many forms, and be based on the problems that the company is causing in each operation.&quot; 
 
- &quot;At the global level, the unions in Rio Tinto operations will campaign, in conjunction with the wider labour movement, for the company to abide by the seven core labour standards of the UN&rsquo;s International Labour Organisation and the OECD&rsquo;s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. These standards cover freedom of association and the right to collectively bargain, the abolition of forced and child labour, equal pay and the prevention of discrimination in the workplace. Rio Tinto is currently in breach of these basic labour standards on many counts.&quot; 
 
- &quot;Any commitment the company may make in respect of these core labour standards must provide for an independent monitoring and compliance mechanism in which trade unions participate.&quot; 
 
- &quot;In an age of globalisation and ever-larger multinational corporations, it is increasingly important for the labour movement to organise internationally to protect and advance the position of working people. We see ourselves as leading the way in making global corporations accountable to the communities in which they operate. The globalisation of big business demands a global response from workers as well as governments. The Rio Tinto global union network is part of that response.&quot; 
 
Union delegates from Rio Tinto operations in Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, South Africa and the United States took part in the Canberra meeting. Messages of support were received from network unions in Brazil, Indonesia, Namibia, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Sweden and Zimbabwe. However, the meeting voiced concern that the company seemed to have prevented some delegates from attending. &quot;It appears that Rio Tinto chooses to act globally but wishes to prevent its own workers doing so,&quot; the network commented. 
 
Organising the Canberra event was the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). The host was ICEM-affiliated Australian mining and allied union the CFMEU, whose National Secretary John Maitland is the ICEM's President. 
 
Some of the international delegates are now visiting Rio Tinto sites in Australia to meet their colleagues there. But difficulties have arisen over access to certain sites. Urgent efforts are under way to resolve these problems with the company.

Rio Tinto Unions Offer To Work With Company If ...

With great sorrow, we announce the passing of Ann Browne, Projects Officer of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
Ann died peacefully in a Brussels clinic on Friday night, at the end of a long fight against cancer. She is remembered by her fellow trade unionists worldwide, both as a kind and charming colleague and as an effective builder of trade unions for those who need them most. 

<img height="279" alt="" src="" width="200" />
Ann Browne was born on 18 October 1949 in Strabane, Northern Ireland. After her studies, she joined the Chile Solidarity Campaign and was particularly active in its programme for refugees. Many people in Chile remember her from those days. 
 
In 1982, she joined the Miners' International Federation (MIF), a forerunner of the present ICEM. At the MIF, she had responsibility for projects and particularly for Latin America. After the MIF's merger into the ICEM, she became the ICEM Projects Officer. 
 
Whilst Ann was rigorous in her presentation of projects, reports and accounts, she was never a bureaucrat. She saw her work as that of a militant serving the affiliated trade unions. Never afraid to speak out, she was also no stranger to physical risks and hardship, particularly during her work with trade unions in Latin America. After one visit to Peru, the newspapers there described her as a dangerous activist. 
 
She will also be remembered for initiating the Global Health and Safety Project in the mining industry, for her work with women in mining communities and for her campaigns against the use of child labour in mines. Year after year, she played a crucial role in supporting the Colombian coal miners' union Sintracarbon as it struggled against repression and for the right to collective bargaining. Today, Sintracarbon is one of Latin America's most militant and effective miners' unions. 
 
Ann's struggle against cancer began ten years ago. It was a difficult and often painful fight. Everyone admired her ability to surmount the disease and to carry on her important work in spite of it. Her determination to keep on serving her ideals helps explain her remarkably long resistance to cancer. 
 
Ann's ready laughter, her fine sense of humour and her kindness were blended with a huge working capacity and great willpower. Her address book was full of friends all over the world. She could not conceive of visiting affiliates or attending conferences without arranging side meetings from dawn until late at night. 
 
Yet she had time for people. She cared deeply. And she is deeply missed.

Ann Browne: A Tribute

Successful negotiations were concluded between Colombian affiliate Sintracarb&oacute;n and Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, the profitable coal mining and export company owned jointly by Anglo-American, BHP Billiton and Glencore International. The two-year agreement calls for 8% pay raises in addition to three monthly bonus payments as compensation for agreement on legislative changes.

Sintracarbon in Colombia Posts Excellent Gains at Coal Firm

December proved to be another deadly month for mine workers in China. No less than four major accidents were recorded and publicized, claiming the lives of 100 workers. On 9 December, a gas explosion at the Daxian mine near Yangquan, Shanxi Province, killed 33, including five workers as they were being rescued. In Guizhou Province on 12 December, 36 workers were trapped and drowned when the Xujiuabe Tianchi mine was flooded. Two days later near the town of Tanjiashan, Hunan Province, another gas blast killed 18 workers. Then on 22 December, 13 workers were killed at the Nanwugou mine near Linfen in northern Shanxi Province when a build up of gas overcame the workers in a mineshaft.

Mining Deaths Continue to Plague China’s Coal Industry

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa is targeting Hernic Ferrochrome following a 13 December underground mine disaster that crushed and then drowned seven miners in Brits, North West Province. Managers refused to allow NUM representatives to investigate South Africa&rsquo;s deadliest 2004 mine disaster caused by a flood from a dislodged valve that brought a ventilation lattice wall down. &ldquo;The behaviour of this company demonstrates absolute arrogance in the face of calamity,&rdquo; said NUM Gen. Sec. Gwede Mantashe. &ldquo;We will leave no stone unturned in our commitment to ensuring that families of these workers see justice being done.&rdquo; The NUM will be present 15 February when an official Department of Minerals and Energy inquiry commences. Hernic, a high-carbon ferrochrome producer that is just now ramping production up at the Brits mine, is 53.2% owned by Japan&rsquo;s Mitsubishi, 25% by the South African government&rsquo;s Industrial Development Corp., 11.5% by Elg Hansel of Germany, and 7.5% by mine management.

South Africa’s NUM Takes On Hernic Ferrochrome Over Safety

Hubertus Schmoldt, president of ICEM German affiliate IGBCE, drew attention to the challenges and opportunities facing the union movement in an end-of-the-year message. Schmoldt noted that international competition has grown stiffer with no let up in sight and said global trade union work stressing solidarity is welcome, but unions are only at the beginning of such positive developments. He described biogenetics and nanotechnology as key industries for the future but&mdash;particularly in the case of gene technology&mdash; Germany may soon lose research, development and production capacities. Schmoldt stressed the importance of education and training from early childhood to university levels as key.

Germany’s IGBCE Gives Year-End Challenges

That rebuilding effort, however, is proving as troublesome under the provisional Iraqi administration as it was under Saddam&rsquo;s rule, according to the Workers&rsquo; Council of the National Company for Chemicals and Plastics Industries in Baghdad. A statement by the fledgling union says &ldquo;the same fascistic policies of the former regime&rdquo; are still in place including punishments, dismissals, threats and dismissals. The council is demanding raises in the minimum wage to match inflation, rescinding punishments and full pay for 25 workers, and distributing the yearly gains of the company to workers.

Iraqi Occupation Hindering Workplace Progress

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