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Members of UK&rsquo;s Transport &amp; General Workers Union at Michelin&rsquo;s Stoke tyre plant in the Midlands are in their 11th day of industrial action following the French company&rsquo;s refusal to consolidate a pay offer with pension, holiday and other benefits. The 400 workers rejected a non-consolidated pay offer 10 March for the second time and are refusing overtime and all cooperative programmes with management. Tying the pay offer of 3% also to pensions and other benefits would cost Michelin less than the revised offer the company made last week that included performance-related payments, said T&amp;G. Workers staged a mass protest outside the factory 15 March, the same day Michelin announced its 2004earnings topped those of 2003 by 60%, &pound; 358 million to 220 million.

Industrial Action at Michelin in the UK

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South Korea&rsquo;s unions are joining to block an anti-worker Contract Labour Bill expected to come before the National Assembly next month. The legislation, put forth by the government and business groups, was delayed in February. 
Among other regressive measures, it would liberalise contract labour by extending terms of service from two to three years. Some 45% of the country&rsquo;s workforce is now comprised of contract workers who, on average, receive half the salaries of full-time workers, but oftentimes work 50% more hours. 
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said on 18 March it would return to tripartite labour, management, government dialogue to prevent further liberalization on contract labour. KCTU is working with the country&rsquo;s other national center&mdash; the Federation of Korean Trade Unions&mdash;to block the measure. &ldquo;Our top priority is to protect irregular workers,&rdquo; stated KCTU General Secretary Lee Soo-Hu.

Korean Unions to Block Labour Reform Bill over Contract Workers

FCE-CFDT is challenging Electricit&eacute; de France&rsquo;s (EDF) plan to reduce maintenance services in the utility&rsquo;s hydraulic division. EDF wants to cut maintenance activities 20-30% which would include redundancies of 500 jobs in this 3,700-worker area. FCE-CFDT condemns the decision and calls on EDF hydraulic workers to stand and resist the rationalization.

French Unions Seek to Preserve EdF Maintenance Levels

Tomorrow, 22 March, marks a global day of solidarity for Nepal&rsquo;s trade unions. On 1 February, King Gyanendra issued a decree suspending the government and declared martial law. The decree also banned trade union activities. ICEM has issued a Circular to all affiliates containing a sample letter and urges trade unions to register protests to Nepal&rsquo;s embassies. ICEM affiliate Nepal Independent Chemical and Iron Workers&rsquo; Union had received permission from a district administrator to conduct its national conference 1-2 April, but security forces have now cancelled that written permission.

Nepal’s Unions Rallying Global Labour Movement Against King

Frank Hanley, president of US affiliate International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) since 1989, retired effective 1 March. Secretary-Treasurer Vincent Giblin will serve the remainder of Hanley&rsquo;s term to April 2008.

Operating Engineers President In US Retires

Canadian nickel mining concern Inco Ltd. has caused a labour dispute at a mine and processing operation at Saroako on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The company sacked 250 workers on 25 January and has refused dialogue with the legitimate union, FSP KEP, the Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Union affiliated with the Indonesian Trade Union Congress. Although none of the workers are members of SPSK, a rival, former Suharto-aligned union, Inco contacted this group on the reductions in efforts to undermine FSP KEP. The ICEM will continue to investigate Inco&rsquo;s unfair treatment of the miners and FSP KEP.

Dispute Caused by Canadian Inco Mining in Indonesia

UK&rsquo;s BPB Paperboard announced suddenly 3 March that it was closing a plasterboard liner-paper mill in Aberdeen, Scotland, throwing 276 workers out of jobs. The announcement of the closure, to occur in June, brought sharp rebuke from ICEM affiliate Amicus. The UK union&rsquo;s Graphical, Paper and Media Section recently went through a 90-day consultation period with paper mill management of the building materials company, and no mention of the closure occurred. &ldquo;The decision to close had evidently been made well before the formal consultative period started,&rdquo; said Amicus&rsquo; Scottish Branch Secretary Jimmy Robertson.

Amicus in UK Resists Paper Mill Closure

ICEM Belgian affiliate CG-FGTB has condemned Glaverbel Glass and its Japanese parent Asahi Glass in management&rsquo;s continued refusal to engage in dialogue on irrational restructuring at AGC Automotive Fleurus in southern Belgium. The union, along with white-collar SETCa-FGTB, has been on strike now for three months after the company announced in December 284 job cuts at the 840-worker flat glass factory. Glaverbel has unilaterally said it would relocate some production from Fleurus, drastically rationalize both production and maintenance, insert forced flexibility by use of agency labour, and now has discredited and even blacklisted union delegates in their efforts to achieve dialogue over the restructuring. CGFGTB insists that only through real consultation with workers and their delegates will the operation become &ldquo;liveable, profitable and productive.&rdquo; ICEM is applying maximum pressure on the Japanese company to resolve the strike and begin good-faith dialogue with the Belgian unions.

Belgian Union Resisting Asahi’s Glass Plant Restructuring

An eight-day lockout of CFMEU miners at an Xstrata coal mine operated by Thiess Contracting Pty. ended a week ago when Thiess and the union agreed to a three-year deal. CFMEU won 4% pay hikes for the 250 miners in each year, higher superannuation increases and a payout to workers living in their own homes in Collinsville, Queensland. The miners were locked out after they had planned a four-day strike.

Lockout of CFMEU Members at Australian Coal Mine Ends

Nigerian ICEM affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN 28 February issued an ultimatum to Shell and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) to correct workforce deficiencies or face industrial action. In a joint statement, the unions demand consultation on all future redundancies, an end to contract employment, a stop to abuse of expatriate quotas, and a review of the government&rsquo;s downstream deregulation policy. If management of Shell and state-owned NNPC do not address these issues, industrial action could commence 21 March.

Nigerian Oil Affiliates Issue Ultimatum to Shell, NNPC

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