English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

After losing a contempt of court case against leaders of the Botswana Mining Workers Union (BMWU) last month, diamond-mining monopoly Debswana has chosen a different retaliatory route following a 13-day strike late last summer: internal disciplinary measures against BMWU leaders. Debswana, a joint venture between DeBeers and the government of Botswana, has summoned individual leaders of the union for hearings on the spontaneous strike action that broke out in only a few areas of the company&rsquo;s wide-ranging operations. Despite company rhetoric calling for healing and reconciliation over the August-September strike that saw participation by 450 of the firm&rsquo;s 7,000 workers, this latest action is proof that the company has no intention of forgiving and forgetting.

Debswana Continues to Retaliate Against Botswana&#039;s Miners

A strike by 21,000 members of NUM of South Africa ended in the Free State 6 April when the union and Harmony Gold came to terms over a number of issues, including an independent audit panel to examine racism issues at Harmony&rsquo;s Free State operations. Other issues resolved include conversion of hostels into family units with increased housing allowances, rectification of inaccurate pay deductions and workers&rsquo; rights to choice in health care treatments. Although the agreement did not cover the unilateral retrenchment of 4,900 miners in the Free State, talks are expected to continue on that issue.

NUM Ends Strike Against Harmony Gold in South Africa

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
NUPENG and PENGASSAN, ICEM affiliates in Nigeria&rsquo;s energy sector, reached agreement with oil companies and the country&rsquo;s Ministry of Labour and Productivity on 6 April, five days ahead of a threatened three-day warning strike. 
The signed accord compels all parties to monitor compliance of quotas on expatriate workers in the oil industry, as well as regulating casualisation and contract workers, redundancies and pensions.

Nigerian Unions, Government Reach Accord Over Issues

Nepal&rsquo;s monarchy continues its irrational restriction of civil liberties by targeting labour leaders for arrest on even the slightest provocation. On 8 April, national center GEFONT&rsquo;s Vice Chairman Lalit Basnet and Hetaunda Zonal Chairman Madhusudan Khatiwada were jailed for speaking out against curtailment of basic trade union rights, including assembly. 
Similarly, GEFONT&rsquo;s Bara Zonal Chairman Kamalesh Jha was arrested in Kalaiya while protesting King Gyanendra&rsquo;s harsh authoritative measures. GEFONT&rsquo;s Kanchanpur Zonal Chairman Dharmananda Panta was arrested 25 March hours after he was re-elected. He was released 6 April. Official government response to his incarceration: &ldquo;(Dharmananda Panta&rsquo;s) continued freedom would allow him to conduct interviews which are against the spirit of His Majesty&rsquo;s proclamations, and would further escalate unrest, thus hampering peace and tranquillity.&rdquo;

Nepal Clamping Down on Trade Union Leaders, Trade Union Rights

UPM Kymmene and other Nordic paper companies are retaliating against affiliate Paperiliitto and paperworkers in Finland over industrial action banning overtime. At a UPM Kymmene mill in Kajaani, the company refused to pay workers already on the job when a paper machine was forced to stop because of the overtime ban. Other paper companies are applying the same tactic, unusual in such circumstances. 
Workers demonstrated late last week at Stora Enso mills in Kaukop&auml;&auml; and Tainionkoski over lack of progress in paper industry bargaining, and demonstrations also occurred earlier at Mets&auml;-Botnia mills in Joutseno and Rauma. Paperiliitto called the overtime ban because the Forest Industries Federation of Finland, after dropping from the national incomes policy agreement, is stalling in reaching agreement for 29,000 paperworkers.

Finnish Paper Companies Taking Hard Approach Against Union

America&rsquo;s second and fourth largest industrial unions merged 12 April, creating North America&rsquo;s largest industrial union. ICEM affiliates United Steelworkers and PACE are officially one following a resounding voice vote of approval from delegates representing PACE local unions at a special convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Steelworkers&rsquo; Executive Board had already approved the merger in January. The merged union now has 850,000 members and is called the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied-Industrial and Service Workers International Union, or simply USW.

PACE and USWA in US Officially Merge

Moss Evans, an outstanding leader of the British and international trade union movements, died in England on 12 January at the age of 76. 
 
 

<img height="267" alt="" src="" width="239" />
 
He was born into an impoverished Welsh mining family which later moved to the industrial city of Birmingham in search of work. There, the young Moss Evans took a series of industrial jobs and soon became involved in trade unionism. By 1951, he was a shop steward, and in 1956 he became a full-time district union officer. In 1966, he moved to the London headquarters of the Transport and General Workers Union (T&amp;G), where he consecutively led its sections for engineering, oil and chemicals and the motor industry. He was elected as the T&amp;G General Secretary in 1978. 
 
An active internationalist, Moss Evans was from 1983 to 1986 the President of the ICEF, a forerunner of the present-day International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). With great skill, he guided the International through the most difficult period of its history, and the ICEM owes much of its strength to his dedication and foresight. 
 
Throughout his retirement, he maintained a lively interest in the ICEM and its campaigns. In November 1999, he was a guest of honour at the ICEM World Congress in Durban, South Africa, where he took part in the Unite And Organise march held by delegates from ICEM unions worldwide. (Our photo was taken at that rally). 
 
ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs comments: &quot;Having known Moss Evans ever since we were officers of the same union, and having served under his leadership at the T&amp;G, I know he was a giant in terms of his ability as a trade union leader. He was always great company and support for all of those around him and he will be sorely missed by his family, his friends and the whole of the trade union movement.&quot;

Tribute To Moss Evans

South African President Nelson Mandela is likely to meet next week with leaders of trade unions organising worldwide in Rio Tinto, the world's biggest minerals company. 
The talks with Mandela are scheduled as part of a meeting in Johannesburg on 7-9 February, aimed at establishing a global network of unions with members in Rio Tinto. Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke will also be taking part in the meeting, which will draw up a long-term trade union strategy vis-a-vis Rio Tinto. 
 
The company's anti-union stance in many parts of the world is of growing concern to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which is organising the Johannesburg meeting. Rio Tinto is also under attack by many community groups because of its poor social and environmental record. 
 
Some 40 representatives of unions from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Namibia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Sweden, South Africa, UK, USA and Zimbabwe will attend the talks. All participants will represent workers in major Rio Tinto operations. 
 
Hosting the event is South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), whose President James Motlatsi will be among the principal speakers. Motlatsi is a Vice-President of the ICEM. 
 
One country where unions have been feeling the full brunt of Rio Tinto's de-unionisation attempts recently is Australia. John Maitland, ICEM Vice-President and General President of Australian miners' union the CFMEU, will make a major presentation on the aims of the planned new Rio Tinto union network, as will ICEM General Secretary Vic Thorpe. 
 
The meeting will also hear from British solicitor Richard Meeran. He is acting on behalf of Scottish engineer Edward Connelly, who is currently pursuing Rio Tinto through the British courts. Connelly contracted cancer of the larynx after working at Rio Tinto's Rossing uranium mine in Namibia.

Mandela to Meet World&#039;s Unions Over Rio Tinto Abuses?

<img height="65" alt="" src="" width="75" />&nbsp; <img height="69" alt="" src="" width="163" />&nbsp; <img height="73" alt="" src="" width="55" />
Leading nonwoven and allied products multinational Freudenberg has renewed its global agreement with the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
First signed in July 2000, the agreement covers trade union rights, workplace equality, protection of health, safety and the environment and a ban on child labour and forced labour. It has now been prolonged, without amendment, up to 31 December 2002. 
 
 

<img height="222" alt="" src="" width="300" />
photo: Fritz Kopetzky 

The agreement with the ICEM encompasses Freudenberg's long-standing business principles, notably &quot;the social commitment that the Freudenberg Group has towards all its employees.&quot; It specifically recognises that full cooperation and consultation with workers and their unions are the best way of furthering the interests of the company and its shareholders. 
 
All sites of German-headquartered Freudenberg and its subsidiaries worldwide are covered by the agreement. It was negotiated in cooperation with the ICEM-affiliated German mining, chemical and energy workers' union IG BCE, which is a co-signatory. 
 
Freudenberg employs more than 30,000 people in over 40 countries. It processes elastomers and plastics to obtain a broad product range, including seals, moulded plastic components, vibration control products, nonwovens for a variety of applications, special lubricants, flexible printed circuit boards and household products, floor coverings and footwear. In 2000, its sales reached &euro;4154m (about US$3700m). 
 
 

<img height="242" alt="" src="" width="186" />
Union rights, workplace equality, health, safety and environment are all part of the agreement, as is a ban on child labour and forced labour. 
(photo: Fritz Kopetzky) 

The emphasis in the global agreement is strongly on trade union rights and other human rights. Specifically cited as touchstones are the relevant Conventions of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). Through the agreement with the ICEM, Freudenberg undertakes to respect, as a minimum, Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining; Convention 135 on non-discrimination against union reps; Conventions 100 and 111 on equal opportunities and treatment; Conventions 29 and 105 on forced labour; and Convention 138 on child labour. 
 
Significantly, the agreement provides for ICEM monitoring and for annual meetings between Freudenberg's global management and the ICEM. Both sides commit themselves &quot;to contact each other directly and immediately in case any conflicts or violations of the agreement arise, in order to seek a common solution.&quot; 
 
This is the crucial difference between a global agreement and the internal codes of conduct adopted by many multinationals. The Freudenberg agreement is fully verifiable by the ICEM. 
 
The agreement clearly acknowledges &quot;the right of the employees in the Freudenberg Group to freely join trade unions of their choice, to elect workers' representatives and represent their interests in negotiations concerning collective bargaining agreements.&quot; It is &quot;part of the cooperation and confidence&quot; between Freudenberg and its workers that &quot;wherever the employees wish to organise themselves in trade unions, and trade unions apply for recognition, ways are sought to develop good labour relations in joint dialogue.&quot; This &quot;rules out any kind of unequal treatment, discrimination or sanctions against trade union organisation.&quot; 
 
Freudenberg also commits itself to &quot;sustainable protection of the environment and natural resources&quot; and to ensuring the safety of the workplace and of its products. 
 
It further &quot;condemns involvement in unethical or illegal business&quot; and undertakes not to produce &quot;weapons or any kind of war materials similar to weapons.&quot; 
 
&quot;Confidence and cooperation between management, employees and their representatives, innovation and flexibility in work organisation are the basis for the employees' future success and that of the Freudenberg Group,&quot; the agreement says. Every effort will be made to achieve &quot;a consensus about the introduction of flexible, efficient and customer-oriented forms of work organisation&quot;, while taking account of &quot;the needs of the employees.&quot; 
 
&quot;The renewal and extension of this agreement show that it is working both for the company and for the unions,&quot; commented ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &quot;Over the coming year, both the company and ourselves are committed to improving communication for both management and workers, to ensure that there is full understanding of the agreement and of its commitments and objectives. We believe that it is in the best interests of all multinationals in our sectors to negotiate such agreements with the ICEM.&quot;

Freudenberg Renews Global Labour Agreement With ICEM

To warm applause from thousands of Dutch trade union delegates, two imprisoned Nigerian oil workers' leaders were awarded one of the world's most important prizes for the defence of trade union rights. 

<img height="205" src="" width="265" alt="" />
UNION RIGHTS DEFENCE HONOURED 
Dabibi's and Kokori's award was presented to Mrs. Dabibi and John Odah by FNV President Lodewijk de Waal. 
(photo: FNV Bondgenoten) 
Milton Dabibi, General Secretary of oil and gas workers' union PENGASSAN, has been held without charge or trial in Nigeria since January 1996 and Frank Kokori, General Secretary of oil and gas workers' union NUPENG, since 1994. 
 
The Febe Elisabeth Velasquez Prize is presented every two years by the Dutch trade union confederation FNV to outstanding defenders of trade union rights. Receiving the award in Amsterdam on 29 January for her detained husband was Omininibara Dabibi. In brief and necessarily cautious remarks, she thanked the Dutch unions and the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) for their support in the campaign to secure his release. Frank Kokori's award was received for him by Nigerian trade unionist John Odah. 
<img height="193" src="" width="350" alt="" />
&quot;WE ALL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY IN THIS&quot; 
FNV Bondgenoten President Henk Krul (left) with Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok. 
(photo: FNV Bondgenoten) 
The award presentations by FNV President Lodewijk de Waal were a highlight of the founding congress of new Dutch super-union the FNV Bondgenoten. The merged union has around half a million members, including oil workers, seafarers and port workers (more details in ICEM UPDATE 5/1998). FNV Bondgenoten is affiliated to several union internationals, including the ICEM and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF). PENGASSAN and NUPENG are both ICEM affiliates. 
 
Earlier this January, Nigerian head of state Gen. Sani Abacha received a personal call from the ICEM, the ITF and the 125-million-member International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) to release Kokori and Dabibi without further delay. 
 
The ITF and ICFTU have pledged full support for targeted ICEM action against Nigerian oil exports if the two men are not freed. In his policy speech to the founding congress, FNV-Bondgenoten President Henk Krul put the new union firmly behind that action. 
 
Dabibi and Kokori were imprisoned &quot;without any legal charges whatsoever,&quot; Krul told delegates. &quot;Because of their fate, and the fate of the Nigerian working class as a whole, we have joined the international boycott of Nigerian oil.&quot; 
 
The ICEM put the Nigerian authorities on official notice of targeted action last October. Less than a month later, Gen. Abacha announced that he would be ordering the release of all detainees who no longer posed a threat to Nigeria's national security. Sources close to the Nigerian government say that Dabibi's and Kokori's names are on a list of candidates for release. The Nigerian authorities have not given any official confirmation of this, however, and the list is now said to be in the hands of the Inspector-General of Police. To date, no detainees have been released. 
 
&quot;If red tape is now keeping our colleagues in jail, then the red tape must be cut without further ado,&quot; an ICEM spokesman told a press conference in Amsterdam. &quot;The responsibility for cutting it rests with Gen. Abacha. There is no valid reason why Frank Kokori and Milton Dabibi should not be freed immediately and unconditionally.&quot; 
 
The Dutch media also reported the ICEM's view that leading oil companies, including Shell, should be doing more to help secure Dabibi's and Kokori's release. 
 
Guests at the FNV Bondgenoten congress included Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, himself a former President of the FNV. &quot;I took the opportunity to ask him if the Dutch government shouldn't be doing more to bring about Kokori's and Dabibi's release,&quot; Henk Krul told ICEM UPDATE. &quot;I think we all have a responsibility in this. The ICEM is doing the right thing.&quot; 
<img height="160" src="" width="125" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="162" src="" width="113" alt="" />
Jailed award-winners Milton Dabibi (left) and Frank Kokori. The two oil workers' leaders are still being detained without charge or trial in Nigeria. 

Both Kokori and Dabibi are in poor health, and are being denied the medical attention that they need. They are also being denied access to lawyers and to their trade unions. Visits by their families are severely restricted. Their trade unions have been subjected to government intervention ever since the Nigerian oil workers' strike of 1994. Both men are recognised by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience.

Dutch Honour Jailed Nigerian Oilworkers&#039; Leaders

Archive

Debswana Continues to Retaliate Against Botswana's Miners

NUM Ends Strike Against Harmony Gold in South Africa

Nigerian Unions, Government Reach Accord Over Issues

Nepal Clamping Down on Trade Union Leaders, Trade Union Rights

Finnish Paper Companies Taking Hard Approach Against Union

PACE and USWA in US Officially Merge

Tribute To Moss Evans

Mandela to Meet World's Unions Over Rio Tinto Abuses?

Freudenberg Renews Global Labour Agreement With ICEM

Dutch Honour Jailed Nigerian Oilworkers' Leaders

About IndustriALL

Follow us

Contact us