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Turkey&rsquo;s only petrochemicals company, Petkim Petrokimya, was auctioned off 5 July by the state&rsquo;s Privatisation Authority in a &euro;1.5 billion transaction that fails simple transparency criteria. The government has failed to provide clear backgrounds on some of the partners comprising the winning bid for a 51% stake in this important Turkish enterprise. 
 
That bid was won by a newly-chartered Kazakh-Russian company, Transcentral Asia Petrochem Holding. It is composed of three partners: JSK Caspi Neft, a Kazk-based oil exploration firm; Investment Production Group Eurasia, reportedly a Kazak-owned and Russian-based real estate investor; and GK Troika Dialogue, a function of Moscow-based Troika Capital Partners that now has its first foreign holding in Petkim Petrokimya.
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&nbsp;The Russian Oil and Gas Report calls it Russia&rsquo;s fourth largest foreign investment ever, and says it is the largest Russian investment acquisition in Turkey. Immediately after the award was made, an international debt-rating agency put a &ldquo;negative watch&rdquo; on the acquisition, a pointed market signal regarding the lack of transparency. 
 
Those facts and many more are not lost on Petrol-İş, ICEM&rsquo;s oilworkers&rsquo; union affiliate in Turkey. Petrol-İş will once again argue in Turkish courts that this buy-out, a majority stake in a profitable enterprise that is key to the Turkish plastics supply chain, will harm the public good. The union has previously proven it can win its arguments in Turkish courts on privatisation matters, and this one contains solid facts that have many unanswered sub-facts. 
 
The Turkish Privatisation Authority opened bidding on Petkim Petrokimya on 16 March 2007. Seven consortiums were invited to submit further bids two months later. They included a partnership between Azerbaijan state oil company SOCAR and the Kazakh national oil/gas company KazMunagGas, and ones comprised of India Oil Co. and Carmel Olefins Ltd., 50% held by Israeli-based Oil Refineries Ltd. 
 
It came down to the SOCAR partnership and Transcentral Asia Petrochemical Holding bidding against each other in the final round. Within Transcentral, JSK Caspi Neft is the only partner with a track record in energy. And that is oil and gas exploration and development in the eastern Caspian. The Russian interests have no energy experience, apparently anywhere. 
 
A majority stake at this particular time is critical. The Turkish government began the sale of this enterprise, composed of two petrochem plants in Aliaga and Yarimka, in 2005, when it sold over the third of the company&rsquo;s stock in a public offering. Some 40% is now traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The stake that Transcentral will win -- if it can get past Petrol-İş and several other legal challenges &ndash; consists of the 44% stake owned now by the Privatisation Authority and a 7% holding by Turkey&rsquo;s public pension monies.
<img height="202" alt="" src="" width="300" />
Petrol-İş&nbsp;demonstrates&nbsp;Against&nbsp;Non-Transparent Bid&nbsp; 
 

Even before Transcentral won the bidding, Petrol-İş and its members took to the streets to protect the 3,700 workers employed at Petkim Petrokimya. Marches and protests will be repeated as this privatisation becomes subject to the union&rsquo;s legal challenges, as well as full Turkish regulatory approval. Petrol-İş President Mustafa Oztaskin called into question the issue of the buyers&rsquo; financial stability in Turkey&rsquo;s press following 5 July&rsquo;s winning bid announcement. 
 
Turkey has seen a number of privatisation sales in recent years in many different sectors, as advised by the International Monetary Fund. Petkim Petrokimya is Turkey&rsquo;s only petrochemical plant, and it creates annual revenues of US$1.6 billion. It supplies most of Turkey with the raw and essential materials for the plastics, textile, and detergents markets. And one-quarter of output from workers at the two plants is then sold on export markets. This is one Turkish privatisation deal that will gain intense scrutiny in the coming months.

Petrochems: Transparency Suspect in Turkey’s Latest Petrol Privatising

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Bridgestone Corp. responded to toughening tyre talks in South Africa with a lockout. Rubber workers of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) at Port Elizabeth and Brits factories found themselves on the streets a week ago. 
 
NUMSA and three transnational rubbermakers have been locked in a pay dispute in South Africa, one of several ongoing labour dispute in the country. NUMSA and its 6,000 members in the rubber industry insist on not less than a 10% pay adjustment, while bosses are now just beginning to move upward from 7%.
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On 17 July, a shop stewards&rsquo; council decided to begin industrial actions against the three companies because several rounds of bargaining failed to resolve the wage issue. The work stoppages, and now Bridgestone&rsquo;s lockout, are having an adverse effect on production at the six tyre plants, admitted the head of the tyre employers&rsquo; association. 
 
NUMSA is demanding full wage and benefit disclosure between hourly and salaried workers, as well as the pay increases over the past five years for executives, along with their perks. 
 
The union is seeking to limit the use of contractors at the rubber plants in this set of talks. NUMSA also seeks an incremental adjustment for certain employees, and an increase in the allowance for shift work.
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&nbsp; 
The talks between NUMSA and the tyre producers, through employers&rsquo; grouping New Tyre Manufacturing Industry, cover workers at the two Bridgestone plants, at Continental A.G.&rsquo;s plant in Port Elizabeth, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.&rsquo;s plant in Uitenhage, and Dunlop Tyres (Pty.) Ltd., a company owned by the Indian holding company Apollo Tyres Group, which has factories in Durban and Ladysmith, as well as rubber interests in Zimbabwe. 
 
The ICEM supports South African affiliate NUMSA in its fight for a fair and just labour agreement for the 6,000 rubber workers.

Bridgestone Locks Out NUMSA Members in South Africa

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The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) again mourns the deaths of miners in South Africa. On 20 July, two miners perished 3,000 metres underground at AngloGold Ashanti&rsquo;s Moab Khotsong mine near Orkney in Free State. 
 
The two miners became trapped when the ground around them caved in. Their bodies were recovered on 22 July. A third miner was rescued in the cave-in and was reported in stable condition in a hospital.
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The two deaths push AngloGold&rsquo;s death rate in South Africa to 11 this, and the total recorded number of recorded deaths in the country&rsquo;s mining sector to 110. AngloGold&rsquo;s sister company, AngloPlatinum, leads all mining concerns in South Africa in recorded deaths with 17.
A day after the bodies at Moab Khotsong mine disaster were found, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica visited the site. She took the unusual step of ordering the mine closed, pending an investigation. Speaking to reporters, she said that her ministry would begin more rigid inspections and that profits must not come before lives. 
 
Because of the rising death toll in South Africa&rsquo;s mines this year, the NUM has called for an urgent tripartite meeting to rescue South Africa's Mining Health and Safety Summit in order to address the current deficiencies in mine safety.

Two Workers Killed at AngloGold’s Mine in Free State, South Africa

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The national labour centres of South Africa and Zimbabwe are advising that the world better get ready for a humanitarian crisis, since Zimbabwe&rsquo;s economy is on the verge of a meltdown. 
 
In a joint statement, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said if current mediation efforts in Zimbabwe by the Southern Africa Development Community fail, the country&rsquo;s &ldquo;economy will collapse completely, with dire consequences for the poor of that country and the region.&rdquo;
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The statement came following meetings between COSATU and ZCTU in Johannesburg on 15 July, at which time COSATU committed to begin preparations for a possible humanitarian crisis. 
 
The two national centres agreed that now is the time to mobilize alliance partners and all of civil society for a humanitarian package for suffering Zimbabweans who have fled, and likely will flee in great numbers if Zimbabwe&rsquo;s current economic reality continues. COSATU Sec. Gen. Zwelinzima Vavi said 5,000 Zimbabweans are arrested each week now as they attempt to enter South Africa.

National Labour Centres in South Africa, Zimbabwe Predict Refugee Crisis

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ICEM German affiliate IGBCE is crediting worker actions in rubber company enterprises for producing a new labour accord in the sector. On 18 July, the union announced that a 15-month agreement had been reached for 60,000 rubber workers in Germany. 
 
The agreement, which will run until 31 August 2008, awards each worker a 3.7% increase effective 1 September 2007, with workers receiving monthly additions for June through August, 2007.
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&nbsp; 
 
Additionally, the agreement calls for a two-stage payment of 3.1% effective on 1 September 2007, and 0.6% on 1 June 2008. Rubber employers also agreed to lift pension compensation to offset reductions for those workers choosing to take early retirement. 
 
IGBCE said the economic situation in the rubber industry drove negotiators to a 15-month labour agreement. It also said employers needed a firm reminder that the union&rsquo;s pay demands were serious, and they got just that by numerous job actions inside the enterprises of rubber producers and manufacturers.

IGBCE, Workers’ Activism Nets Solid Gains in German Rubber Industry

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For over the past month, 200 workers at a paper mill in Giresun on the Black Sea in northeastern Turkey have picketed their worksite. The daily protests are just one further example of what can happen to workers when an enterprise is privatised. 
 
The Giresun newsprint mill had been operated by state-owned Turkiye Seluloz ve Kagit Fabrikalari (SEKA), a company that was privatized a few short years ago. A paper distributor called MILDA bought this SEKA mill.
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In late spring, with working conditions deteriorating and salaries not being paid on time for five consecutive months, workers joined ICEM affiliate Seluloz-Is, the paperworkers&rsquo; union in the country. As soon as managers learned of the unionization, wages that were due were paid but they demanded that workers quit the union. 
 
When workers rejected this, MILDA fired 250 of the 286-member workforce and closed the mill. This occurred on 15 June 2007. Seluloz-Is President Ergin Alsan has met with management, but they have used the excuse that lack of raw materials has resulted in the closure, not unionization.
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&nbsp;The fact that 250 workers who signed up with different were sacked says differently. 
 
Each day, the workers picket and protest MILDA&rsquo;s unfair dismissals. They are helped out financially by other unions in the region, as well as by NGOs in the area. 
 
The ICEM will continue to monitor the plight of these victimized paperworkers and assist them in any possible as their struggle continues.

Turkish Workers, Union Protest Sackings at Former SEKA Paper Mill

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South Korea&rsquo;s new Irregular Workers&rsquo; Protection Law went into effect on 1 July 2007, but even before then Korean civil society got a glimpse of how little protection the new law affords contract workers. 
 
A number of Korean employers fired irregular workers who had less than two years employment immediately before 30 June. 
 
The most notable of these companies is E-Land Group, a retail clothing outlet that operates a number of Homever and New Core stores. The company sacked 900 workers in June, including 300 cashiers, which caused two strikes. In July, thousands of labour activists &ndash; together with many women who had been sacked &ndash; conducted sit-ins in 13 stores.
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On 20 July, riot police used batons and police shields to forcibly break up the sit-ins. They hauled the protestors to police stations. Arrest warrants were then issued for the labour activists who organized the protests. The police force comes just a short month after the Labour Ministry granted 70,000 irregular workers in the public sector permanent status as an example for the private sector. 
 
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which calls for completely amending the new statute and proposes, in part, to have equal pay for equal work provisions in the law, has demanded reinstatement for the discharged E-Land workers. KCTU has mounted a campaign on behalf of the sackings. 
 
The firings violate provisions of a collective agreement between E-Land and unions, which state that those employed over 18 months would not face lay-offs. Many of the 900 workers were very close to two years service employment.
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In December 2006, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and his Grand National Party used political maneuvering to pass the irregular workers&rsquo; bill in the waning days of a National Assembly session. The law allows employers with 300 or more workers this year to use contract or agency workers for up to two years before making them permanent employees. 
 
The ICEM predicted that the new law would create a &ldquo;revolving door&rdquo; for employers to use and then discard contract workers within the two-year period. The example at E-Land bears this out. 
 
In order to evade relevant provisions in the new law, said the KCTU, E-Land, with help from the riot police and the Roh Moo-hyun government, terminated the contractors for cashiers and others. 
 
&ldquo;The KCTU has consistently asserted that the new bill would lead to more irregular workers because the law, which was suppose to give permanent status to irregular workers, has left the door open to evade such measures, such as outsourcing and termination of contracts,&rdquo; said the labour federation. 
 
Recent statistics by the South Korean government reveal the number of irregular workers is growing. A 2007 study found that a full 35.5% of Korea&rsquo;s 15 million workforce is in this category.

Actions by E-Land Group Proves Failures of Korea&#039;s Contract Workers’ Law

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The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) are calling for a &ldquo;Day of Action&rdquo; on 9 August 2007, demanding the immediate release of two trade unionists locked inside Iran&rsquo;s prisons. The two global federations are calling for pickets, protests, and letter-writing to Iranian embassies or consulates by trade unions in their home countries. 
 
The ICEM joins with the ITUC and ITF in demanding the release of Mansour Osanloo, the leader of the Tehran bus workers&rsquo; union, and the release of Mahmoud Salehi, the founding member of the Saqez Bakery Workers&rsquo; Association. The date of 9 August was chosen because it is the one-year anniversary of Osanloo&rsquo;s release from jail in 2006, following mass global trade union protests.
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&nbsp; 
Osanloo was arrested for the third time on 10 July 2007, following a tour of European labour institutions and labour unions, in which he spoke of the labour abuses and restrictions on freedom of association by Iran&rsquo;s Islamic regime. Witnesses said he was beaten as he was hauled off by secret police. Confirmation came two weeks ago that he is being held in Evin prison. 
 
Mahmoud Salehi is in ill-health and has been sent to a distant prison in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province. The ITUC said there is firm evidence that his life is in danger because of inadequate medial care at this prison. 
 
The ICEM strongly encourages affiliated trade unions to take some form of meaningful action on 9 August in support of their releases.

9 August Designated as ‘Day of Action’ for Jailed Iranian Trade Unionists

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Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc. Rescinded the suspensions it had imposed on laid-off white-collar oilworkers&rsquo; in bargaining with PENGASSAN on 26 July. Following a terse 20 July letter from the ICEM Nigerian affiliate to the Mobil Oil&rsquo;s managing director, ExxonMobil backed down from full collision with PENGASSAN, and a new labour agreement is now possible if the company meets remuneration demands. 
 
Pay talks will continue early this week, and a settlement with Mobil Oil Nigeria will complete PENGASSAN&rsquo;s 2007-2008 oil sector bargaining. The union had completed satisfactory negotiations with Chevron, Total, African Petroleum Plc., and other energy concerns, but the world&rsquo;s largest one, ExxonMobil &ndash; bargaining last &ndash; attempted to reduce labour standards from those negotiated with the others.
<img height="92" src="" width="200" alt="" />
&nbsp; 
The company committed a serious breach when it contacted and then coerced many PENGASSAN members due to retire to sign voluntary retirement letters. This action in July came while the union and Mobil Oil were in talks, and the issue of early retirement incentives was alive. The voluntary letters were a ploy to reduce the statutory amount of separation benefits that the company would have to pay in restructuring. 
 
PENGASSAN called is &ldquo;repugnant to statutory stipulations, local and international labour conventions, and best practices&rdquo; already in place in Nigeria&rsquo;s oil and gas sectors. The breach flagrantly violated the collective agreement between the two parties as well. 
 
But in Thursday&rsquo;s talks, ExxonMobil apologized to PENGASSAN and to the sacked workers, and reversed itself by rescinding the letters and reversing the firings.
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&nbsp;Now the issue of pay for 2007 and 2008 must be addressed. PENGASSAN Gen. Sec. Bayo Olowoshile said Mobil Oil Nigeria must live up to its market share in the industry and its profit sheet. The conflict now, he said, &ldquo;is on the reluctance of Mobil to pay competitive remuneration that aligns with the company&rsquo;s market share and its own remuneration policy.&rdquo; 
 
PENGASSAN represents over 200 engineers, technicians, accountants, and administrators of Mobil Oil Nigeria at some ten locations. The majority of the white-collar workers are employed at Apapa in Lagos.

ExxonMobil in Nigeria Backs Down from Conflict with PENGASSAN

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FNV Bondgenoten, the largest trade union in The Netherlands, will resist the coalition Dutch government&rsquo;s plans to erode employment protections, specifically regarding dismissals. The coalition Balkenende government is proposing to make it easier and less costly for employers to discard workers, and without providing adequate or proper rationale or reasoning. 
 
On 31 August, the union held a public forum in The Hague on this planned erosion of workers&rsquo; rights. 
&ldquo;This will affect every ordinary employee,&rdquo; warned FNV Bondgenoten Chairman Henk van der Kolk, saying the current agenda by the government is unacceptable. Further dialogue must occur on the issue, and the current plan must be laid aside, he added. 
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That plan would side-step current Centre for Work and Income (CWI) and court processes in assessing redundancies. It would also allow employers to discard workers with modest severance packages, and it would reduce advanced notice from two and three months to four weeks. The Balkenende plan also would allow employers to deduct re-training costs from severance packages, and places the burden of legal fees for workers daring to challenge dismissals on the individual worker. 
 
FNV Bondgenoten adamantly opposes the Dutch government&rsquo;s plan to make the labour market more flexible through the reduction of statutory employment protections. The union is liaising closely with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to prevent erosion of such social protections enshrined in law.

Dutch Affiliate, FNV Bondgenoten, Pledges to Protect Unfair Dismissal Laws

Archive

Petrochems: Transparency Suspect in Turkey’s Latest Petrol Privatising

Bridgestone Locks Out NUMSA Members in South Africa

Two Workers Killed at AngloGold’s Mine in Free State, South Africa

National Labour Centres in South Africa, Zimbabwe Predict Refugee Crisis

IGBCE, Workers’ Activism Nets Solid Gains in German Rubber Industry

Turkish Workers, Union Protest Sackings at Former SEKA Paper Mill

Actions by E-Land Group Proves Failures of Korea's Contract Workers’ Law

9 August Designated as ‘Day of Action’ for Jailed Iranian Trade Unionists

ExxonMobil in Nigeria Backs Down from Conflict with PENGASSAN

Dutch Affiliate, FNV Bondgenoten, Pledges to Protect Unfair Dismissal Laws

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