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The UK&rsquo;s Transport &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union (TGWU) has enlisted a core of allies, including the ICEM, to resist 800 job redundancies and closures to English China Clay (ECC) operations in the South West by Imerys. TGWU has mapped a comprehensive community and global campaign against the French-based building materials group, which purchased ECC in 1999, in efforts to block the sackings.
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&nbsp; 
The TGWU, together with two other UK trade unions representing Imerys workers in the South West, Amicus and the GMB, have already placed the dire economic consequences of the sackings squarely in front of both local and national government officials. They will now engage a full community awareness campaign aimed at pressuring Imerys to honour a pledge made two short two years ago. That pledge, made after some jobs were lost in the South West, promised that 800 other jobs would remain. 
 
The campaign will consist of mass meetings, rallies, and a petition that will be taken door-to-door across towns and villages of the region. The campaign is also aimed at the British government in hopes that initiatives can be put in place to retain the jobs. The ICEM will head up the campaign on the global level. 
 
The proposed restructuring plan of Imerys fell like a bombshell on the economic fragile South West, where the average Imerys worker earns an annual salary of ₤23,000, some ₤4,500 higher than the local incomes average. Imerys&rsquo; surprise announcement in early July said that by the start of 2008, nearly all ECC mines and processing facilities across Cornwall, Devon and Lee Moor would be shuttered, as it moves production of kaolin and high-grade coatings for the paper industry to Brazil. The company cited high energy costs as the reason. 
 
At an emergency debate session in the House of Commons on 11 July, MP Matthew Taylor from the South West said one in five households in the region would be directly affected by the proposed restructurings, &ldquo;and the number is probably one in three when the knock-on effects are taken into consideration.&rdquo; Taylor said besides the 800 direct jobs on the line, 800 other jobs likely would be lost due to reduced spending power in the South West.
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&nbsp; 
The European Works Council (EWC) of Imerys responded with a terse 17 July message directed at the company. The statement condemned an Imerys decision to close a 100-member workplace in France, as well as the proposed mass layoffs in the UK. The EWC &ldquo;objects against the recent decisions of the group of closing a site in France and a huge restructuring in the United Kingdom,&rdquo; read the statement. 
 
&ldquo;This strategy of de-localisation of the activities, here to Hungary and to Brazil, is guided only by the search for higher profits. The members of the EWC Committee require Imerys, which is in excellent economic and financial health, to assume the full social consequences of these decisions, both in France and in the United Kingdom. The EWC will also be extremely vigilant on the conditions of employment for the workers in Hungary and Brazil. 
 
&ldquo;It is not enough that the director of Human Resources for the group, challenged on these subjects during the meeting of 6 July, claims to be open to social dialogue and negotiation. It is also his responsibility to make certain that this policy is applied by the local HR directors. As regarding social relations and also issues of health and safety, local management has carried out actions in total contradiction with principles posted by the Imerys group.&rdquo; 
 
The overall financial health of Imerys, according to first quarter 2006 disclosures, has not been affected by high global energy prices. The company&rsquo;s first quarter results show that sales had increased 10.8% over the same period in 2005, and net income was up 13.2% over that of the first quarter of last year.

Campaign Mounts to Block Shift of UK Jobs by Imerys

&nbsp; English: <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0606ICEMHIVAIDSManualEN.pdf">/files/PDF/Key_issues_pdfs/ AIDS/0606ICEMHIVAIDSManualEN.pdf</a>French: <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0606ICEMHIVAIDSManualFR.pdf">/files/PDF/Key_issues_pdfs/ AIDS/0606ICEMHIVAIDSManualFR.pdf</a>Spanish: <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0606ICEMHIVAIDSManualSP.pdf">/files/PDF/Key_issues_pdfs/ AIDS/0606ICEMHIVAIDSManualSP.pdf</a>

Training Manual on HIV/AIDS Bargaining

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The 2008 Olympics are still a full two years away, but ICEM Finnish chemicals union affiliate Kemianliitto-Kemifacket has already made an event out of a resolution it proposed &ndash; and passed &ndash; at the recent Congress of SASK, the Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland. 
<img height="233" alt="" src="" width="350" /> 
 
SAK's Lauri Ihalainen takes aim, while Kemianliitto President Timo Valliitu points the way
The resolution is coupled with an example of what &ldquo;Fair Play&rdquo; means when it comes to clothing, shoes and sporting equipment for the Beijing Games. Kemianliitto-Kemifacket showcased such ethically made apparel by sponsoring a Youth-10 girls football team whose players are outfitted with clothing made in Finland, and play only with balls certified by the Fair Trade Association. 
 
The 50,000-member trade union calls its campaign a public awareness effort to draw Nordic attention to the lack of bargaining rights and worker protections in many of the countries where big-name sporting companies produce their goods.

Finnish Chemical Workers’ Union Begins “Fair Play” Drive Toward Olympics

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Some 200 workers at a paper mill and converter owned by Smurfit Kappa Packaging in Argentina are on strike over the company&rsquo;s failure to pay a scheduled wage increase. The strike is at the company&rsquo;s mill and converting operations in Bernal and Espora. 
 
The workers, represented by a union affiliated to ICEM affiliate Federaci&oacute;n de Obreros y Empleados de la Industria del Papel, Cart&oacute;n y Qu&iacute;micos, struck because a 12% pay increase that was won in a long struggle after numerous social dialogue sessions with Smurfit has never been paid. 
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The company now is hiding behind the national work agreement in Argentina for the paper sector, and refuses to honour past commitments. Blas Juan Alari, Secretary General for Federaci&oacute;n del Papel, told the ICEM that the early promises made to workers are an acquired right, and that workers are refusing to bend to the pressure by the company.

Argentine Paperworkers Strike Smurfit Kappa over Non-Payment of Salary Agreement

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The steering committee of ICEM&rsquo;s Bridgestone Network met in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26-27 June, and resolved to prepare a comprehensive health and safety declaration at local plants, with support and cooperation from managers, for presentation at next year&rsquo;s conference. 
 
ICEM trade union affiliates from Brazil, Japan, South Africa and the US are represented on the steering committee, and Gomurengo, the Japanese Rubber Workers&rsquo; Union Confederation, chairs the network. 
This sixth meeting of the steering committee heard about the economic situations in each country, received reports on tyre sector activity, and reviewed industrial policies of the Japanese company within the different plants. 
<img height="144" alt="" src="" width="100" />. 
ICEM's Michael Wolters
ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Sector Officer Michael Wolters presented the main report on current developments inside the rubber industry, as well as on major technical innovations in tyre manufacture. Wolters also presented, and the steering committee, discussed a recent UN report stemming from an investigation on working and living conditions at a Firestone rubber plantation in Liberia.

ICEM’s Bridgestone Network Meets

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The Peruvian government has stipulated a wage and bonus, thus ending a strike by a union of FNTMMSP, ICEM&rsquo;s mining and metals affiliate in Peru. The nine-day shut down of the country&rsquo;s only iron ore operation forced the government to impose terms on Shougang Hierro Peru SA, which is wholly-owned by the Chinese government through its Shoulda Iron and Steel Group. 
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The government ordered a pay increase of more than half of what the union was seeking, and also imposed a one-time bonus. Shoungang&rsquo;s 800 miners had earned about US$13-per-day, while the average mining wage in Peru is $33-per-day. The imposed settlement for this year amounts to an 8% salary increase, and a bonus payment that exceeds US$300. 
 
The Chinese state-run company argued during talks that free water and electricity provided to iron ore miners offset the difference in pay schemes with other mining companies operating in Peru. Under Peru&rsquo;s labour law, the regional labour agency can intervene once a work stoppage has been declared legal. The strike lasted from 19-28 June.

Peru’s Government Imposes Wage Deal to Settle Iron Ore Strike

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An eight-week long mining and copper smelting dispute in Poland that included a 28 June threat to strike was resolved last week. Managers of state-owned KGHM Polska Miedz SA, a giant copper and silver conglomerate, agreed to a performance-based bonus plan tied to the company&rsquo;s handsome profits for the first five months of 2006. 
 
Direct pressure on Polish ministry officials, as well on as the enterprise&rsquo;s supervisory board, produced the bonus, which came close to the month&rsquo;s salary that unions operating inside KGHM companies were seeking. The nine unions, all operating under the umbrella Trade Union of Copper Industry Employees (ZZPPM), together with a smaller grouping, ZZPP, won a bonus of 90% of the average monthly salary for the 17,000 KGHM workers. The bonus will be awarded this month. 
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The unions held a joint industrial action meeting and referendum from 28-30 June, which included a 95% strike vote, and on 30 June, thousands of KGHM workers took to the streets with an angry protest march on Poland&rsquo;s Finance Ministry. ZZPPM and ZZPP demands also include a tightening of the political turn-over plaguing KGHM&rsquo;s supervisory board, a fact playing a negative influence on the company&rsquo;s performance. The unions are also seeking more funds for the company&rsquo;s social fund. 
 
KGHM has benefited from high prices of copper on the international market, and saw a net earnings result of &euro;370.5 million for the first five months of 2006. 
 
Coal miners in Poland, represented by ICEM affiliate Miners&rsquo; and Energy Workers Union of Solidarnosc, among other unions, also won a bonus award in late May. That payout was based on 2005 profits from a number of state-owned coal companies, including Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa, Kompania Weglowa, and Katowicki Holding Weglowy. Part of the government&rsquo;s deal in awarding the bonus is to establish uniform collective agreements in Poland&rsquo;s hard coal sector.

Polish Copper Workers Win Bonuses Based on State Company’s Profits

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The two-week-old strike by miners in Chile against the world&rsquo;s largest copper producer, Minera Escondida Ltda., continues today despite negotiations over the weekend with lead company BHP Billiton. The talks were spurred by Chile&rsquo;s government following a blockade by strikers aimed at preventing the company from operating with replacement workers. 
 
Following talks that failed midway through last week, some 300 miners, members of Escondida Workers&rsquo; Union No. 1, blocked access roads leading to the operations near Antofagasta, some 1,400 kilometres north of the Chilean capital of Santiago. Police attempted to reopen roads, using water canons and other forceful methods. 
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Despite declaring force majeure following the start of the strike on 7 August, BHP Billiton, the majority owner of Minera Escondida, was using replacement workers to carry forth production. The company declared that it was maintaining copper smelting and cathode processing at 40% of capacity, or 3,600 tonnes per day, and extraction processes at 10% capacity using substitute workers. 
 
Miners and police clashed for two days, 17-18 August, before Chilean President Michelle Bachelet ordered Labour Minister Osvaldo Andrade to intercede with mediation efforts. Those talks were held throughout the weekend and BHP Billiton did increase its salary offer. 
 
Some 2,052 members of the union are on strike at Minera Escondida, representing 96% of the company&rsquo;s workers. The union lowered its wage demands from 13% to 10% since the strike began, and BHP&rsquo;s revised salary offer, issued on 19 August, did offer hope that the strike could be settled early this week. 
 
In bargaining last week, BHP Billiton did not move from its wage proposal of 3% above Chile&rsquo;s inflation rate. Escondida Workers&rsquo; Union No. 1 is also seeking a one-off bonus of US$29,629, while the company is offering significantly less. 
 
The union says its demands would only cost the company 1% of its profits for 2006. Since a prior labour agreement was negotiated in 2003, copper prices have increased nearly six fold. The union has secured individual loans totalling up to US$1,841 for each miner, if necessary, to cover their expenses through the end of the month. 
 
Rio Tinto, a Japanese consortium led by Mitsubishi, and the World Bank&rsquo;s International Finance Corp. are the other stakeholders at Escondida, a company that last year produced 8% of the world&rsquo;s copper supply. BHP Billiton owns 57.5% of the copper operation, and is the managing partner.

Chile’s Copper Strike Continues as Miners Clash with Police

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Riot police in southern Peru battled striking contract workers at Chinese state company Shougang Hierro Per&uacute; SA recently, leaving seven seriously injured, including the wives of three workers. Some 600 contract workers employed by three cooperatives began a strike at Peru&rsquo;s only iron ore operation late in the evening on 7 August. 
 
The strike ended on 16 August, but not before police used excessive force to seriously injure the seven, including one person who nearly died. Twenty-eight other workers were detained during the police violence, which occurred on 9 and 10 August as strikers blocked roads leading to the mine in Marcona, department of Ica.
<img height="150" alt="" src="" width="200" /> 
 
C&eacute;sar Garc&iacute;a Hern&aacute;ndez, a contract worker, 
injured by police
One of Peru&rsquo;s national labour centres, the Confederaci&oacute;n General de Trabajores del Per&uacute; (CGTP), which helped resolve the eight-day strike, decried the violence, calling it an &ldquo;inexplicable act by police to protect the interests of a foreign company.&rdquo; Reportedly, police used heavy sticks, their boots and threw tear gas canisters at the strikers in order to disperse them. Eyewitness accounts said police were particularly abusive to women by kicking them as they cooked for the strikers. 
 
The strike had the effect of shutting the mine since some 900 permanent workers, trade unionists of ICEM affiliate Federaci&oacute;n Nacional de Trabajores Mineros, Metal&uacute;rgicos Y Sider&uacute;rgicos del Per&uacute; (FNTMMSP), honoured strike lines. In June, following a week-long strike, the union won wage and bonus increases for the permanent workforce. 
In a statement, FNTMMSP condemned the social conditions that contract workers of the three cooperatives work under, including failure by the companies to recognise workers&rsquo; collective bargaining rights. FNTMMSP called the establishment of the cooperatives a scam &ldquo;to evade all kinds of legal responsibilities and obligations.&rdquo; The union said the contracting companies fail to provide a decent and just salary, violate standard work rule requirements, and do not provide extra wages for night work or allow contract workers to take holidays. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The three cooperatives are Sercolima Sac, La Cooperativa del Solar Ltda., or Coopsol, and Cooperativa Santo Domingo de Intermediaci&oacute;n Laboral de Shougang. 
 
The strike ended after negotiations occurred between the primary employer, the subcontractors, the CGTP, and the government. Contract workers did not achieve all salary objectives, but did gain a US$1-per-day salary increase. The parties also reconciled some of the outstanding grievances, including the immediate reinstatement of three workers who had been discharged.

Police Attack Striking Contract Workers at Peru’s Iron Ore Mine

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Copper Miners in Chile at Minera Escondida Ltda. were set to strike today, at 08h00, following an unacceptable wage offer made by management on Friday, 4 August. With 8% of the world&rsquo;s copper supply originating from Escondida in northern Chile, this dispute is being watched closely because it could send copper prices to new highs. 
 
Escondida Workers&rsquo; Union No. 1, representing over 2,000 copper miners, said over the weekend that an improved company offer still fell short of union demands. Management, led by BHP Billiton, had asked the government for the mandatory five-day cooling off period last week, making any strike before today illegal. 
 
The company&rsquo;s offer Friday raised a one-off traditional pay bonus for each worker to US$21,481 from US$15,000, but it held firm on its prior salary offer of 3% above Chile&rsquo;s inflation rate. The proposal also promises social improvements in the community of Antofagasta, as well as interest-free loans to workers. 
 
The union is seeking a 13% salary increase due to high inflation rates plaguing Chile&rsquo;s booming mining areas. It also seeks zone allocation pay and a US$29,629 one-off bonus. Workers&rsquo; Union No. 1 also claims that management has failed to address certain conditions for working women, particularly truck drivers. 
 
Any Escondida salary settlement is expected to be the defining pattern for upcoming wage and benefit negotiations with other mining enterprises in Chile, including bargaining units within huge state-run copper company Codelco. 
 
Minera Escondida Ltda., with two open pit mines in Chile&rsquo;s northern Region II, is 57.5% owned by BHP Billiton, 30% by Rio Tinto, 10% by a consortium of Japanese companies led by Mitsubishi, and 2.5% by the World Bank&rsquo;s International Finance Corporation.

Copper Miners Poised to Strike Today in Chile

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