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On September 16 over 800,000 workers participated in a National Day of Action organized by the Colombian trade unions including ICEM affiliates. Demonstrations and strikes took place throughout the country. The unions were protesting against a decree adopted by the new Colombian President, Alvaro URIBE, introducing more 'flexibility' in working relations. This will inevitably lead to many redundancies, as well as reducing salaries and cutting pensions. 
 
 

<img height="151" alt="" src="" width="250" />
Activists and ICEM Vice-President Paul Lootens 
demonstrate in front of the Colombian Embassy in Brussels (Photos: Lieven Vanhoutte, AC-CG) 
In a letter to President Uribe, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs warned against the kind of crisis that has hit other Latin-American countries: 'You must desist from the intention to cut rights obtained by workers through a tradition of struggle. Your proposals will inevitably lead to lower wages for the workers and this will in turn paralyze production as no-one can afford it.' Higgs further expressed the full support of the 20 million-strong ICEM for the Day of Action in Colombia and urged President Uribe to fully guarantee the democratic rights of Freedom of Assembly and the Right to Organize. 
 
Acts of repression were reported in many regions. ICEM's Belgian affiliate La Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale FGTB - De Algemene Centrale ABVV had sent an observer. This activist witnessed several serious acts of repression and was himself briefly detained. 
In their continued support to Colombian workers, La Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale FGTB - De Algemene Centrale ABVV (AC-CG), participated in a demonstration at the Brussels Colombian embassy on September 16 to coincide with the actions in Colombia. Demonstrators expressed their support for the Colombian workers' struggle for democracy and trade unions rights. AC-CG's Federal Secretary and ICEM Vice-President, Paul Lootens, handed the Ambassador an appeal to the Colombian President. In his letter, Lootens insisted that the Colombian President should 'encourage a political solution to the internal armed conflict, guarantee the constitutional right to expression and mobilization and fully protect the human rights of the struggling workers'. 
 
ICEM will continue to monitor the situation in Colombia and to support actions in favor of peace, democracy and trade union rights. 
<a href="/index.php?id=26&amp;la=ES&amp;doc=1236">For the full text of Fred Higgs' letter to President Uribe (in Spanish), click here.</a>

Solidarity with Colombian Workers

Oil multinational Mobil will raise issues of democracy and human rights with Nigeria's military regime. 
 
That was the pledge yesterday from Mobil Chairman Lucio Noto. He was speaking at the company's annual shareholders' meeting in Fairfax, USA. 
 
And, say observers at the meeting, Noto specifically undertook to raise the cases of jailed Nigerian oilworkers' leaders Frank Kokori and Milton Dabibi. 
 
Noto is due to meet leaders of Nigeria's military regime this autumn. While promising to raise rights issues with them, Noto yesterday denied that Mobil has any great influence with the Nigerian government. 
 
This view was countered by two Nigerian women who intervened in the debate from the floor of the meeting. 
 
Mobil and other oil multinationals have enormous clout, insisted Cordelia Kokori, because &quot;the Nigerian government eats, breathes and sleeps oil.&quot; In an emotive speech, she appealed directly to Noto to help bring about the release of her father, Frank Kokori. He is the General Secretary of Nigerian oil and gas workers' NUPENG, and he has been held without charge or trial by the Nigerian regime since 1994. His colleague Milton Dabibi, General Secretary of Nigerian oil and gas workers' union PENGASSAN, has similarly been detained without charge or trial since January 1996. Both men's health is continuing to deteriorate. Both are recognised by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience. 
 
Cordelia Kokori told the Mobil shareholders that she could not now return to Nigeria, as she would immediately be arrested. &quot;I don't know when I will see my father and mother again.&quot; 
 
The other Nigerian speaker at yesterday's meeting was Hafsat Abiola. Her father, detained politician Moshood Abiola, is thought to have won the Nigerian presidential elections that were annulled by the regime in 1993. Her mother, Kudirat Abiola, was also a politically prominent Nigerian. Kudirat was gunned down in 1996 while campaigning for her husband's release. 
 
Oil money &quot;purchased the guns to assassinate my mother,&quot; Hafsat Abiola told Noto. 
 
Yesterday's debate was sparked by a shareholder resolution pressing Mobil to review its investments in Nigeria in the light of continuing human rights violations there. 
 
The two Mobil shareholders tabling the motion were Franklin Research and Development Corporation, a US-based socially responsible investment firm with 500 million US dollars in client assets, and the Service Employees International Union Master Trust. 
 
Also backed by New York City's pension funds, another important Mobil shareholder, the motion asked the board of directors to review and develop guidelines for company investments in countries where &quot;there is a pattern of ongoing and systematic violation of human rights; a government is illegitimate; there is a call by human right advocates, pro-democracy organisations or legitimately elected representatives for economic sanctions; and Mobil's long-term financial performance may be potentially threatened by international criticism, economic sanctions and boycotts by consumers and local governments.&quot; 
 
The resolution notes that all of these factors are in place in Nigeria. Mobil is in direct partnership with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and has made payments, including royalties, fees and taxes, to the military government. The resolution further notes that the UN's International Labour Organisation has found Nigeria in violation of internationally-accepted labour standards and has demanded the release of Kokori, Dabibi and others held incommunicado without charge or trial. 
 
&quot;We welcome Mobil's commitment to take action on behalf of Kokori and Dabibi,&quot; said Andrew Stern, President of the 1.1-million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU). &quot;Reports from Nigeria indicate that these union leaders are very sick and may die in jail.&quot; Mobil, he insisted, must &quot;use its influence with the Nigerian government to seek the release of the duly elected leaders of its Nigerian employees.&quot; 
 
Like NUPENG and PENGASSAN, the SEIU is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which is leading a worldwide campaign to secure Dabibi's and Kokori's release. 
 
Opposed by Noto, the resolution nevertheless garnered more than the 6 percent of shareholder votes needed to reintroduce it next year if necessary. 
 
For the Franklin Research and Development Corporation, Simon Billenness emphasised that Noto &quot;specifically committed to bringing up the cases of Milton Dabibi, Frank Kokori and other prisoners. 
 
&quot;This is what we've been pressing Mobil to do,&quot; Billenness said. He felt &quot;sure that Mobil will live up to its commitment.&quot; 
 
&quot;Mobil's new pledge is certainly very welcome, and we congratulate them on their clear view of their own longer-term interests in Nigeria,&quot; commented ICEM General Secretary Vic Thorpe. &quot;We also congratulate the ICEM's American affiliates on their continuing campaign of pressure for our Nigerian brothers' release. 
 
&quot;The other major oil companies operating in Nigeria should now publicly make the same commitment as Mobil. The ICEM also renews its call to the world's governments to impose sanctions on Nigeria, including an oil boycott, unless the regime moves immediately to release the detainees and to restore full human rights, including trade union rights. In particular, we call on the heads of government of the G8 countries, meeting in England this weekend, to announce decisive and effective sanctions against the Nigerian regime until the repression ceases.&quot;

Nigerian Detainees: Mobil Mobilises

Trade unions representing Latin American energy workers have joined forces to combat &quot;neoliberal policies.&quot; They are pledged to defend union rights and workers' interests as privatisations and restructurings continue apace within Latin America's energy industries. 
 
24 electric power, oil and gas workers' unions from 14 countries attended the Regional Energy Conference held in Rio de Janeiro on May 11-14 by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). The conference was part of a long-term ICEM project on &quot;Energy Policies and Trade Union Strategies for Latin America and the Caribbean&quot;. 
 
The unions adopted a three-year action programme to defend public energy entreprises through modernisation and the elaboration of alternative proposals on energy policies and industry structures. They will be training a group of negotiators to help unions to formulate proposals and to campaign in favour of them. Unions will seek alliances with social groups and non-governmental organisations to ensure broadly based support. 
 
Strong regulatory frameworks are essential to ensure democratic control over this strategic sector, instead of leaving it to multinational energy companies, said the unions. 
 
&quot;As the privatisations in Latin American energy industries show, implementing neoliberal policies designed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will only lead to massive loss of jobs, higher prices and increasing inequality,&quot; said Luiz Gonzaga, President of the Brazilian Urban Workers' Federation (FNU). Gonzaga was elected to lead the work of the electricity workers' network in the region. 
 
The oil and gas workers' group will be coordinated by Hernan von Hausen, President of the Chilean Oil Workers' Federation (Fenatrapech). 
 
The ICEM energy project also aims to examine processes of regional integration and the impact of reforms on health, safety and the environment, and to promote the participation of women in union activities. Latin American unions will join ICEM global networks for energy companies. 
 
Representatives of Spanish and French unions were present in Rio to discuss major investments made in the region by companies such as Electricite de France, Endesa and Ibedrola. 
 
The conference pledged support to energy workers facing disputes in Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia and Trinidad. 
 
While the conference was going on in Rio, two members of the oil workers' union USO were assassinated and a local union leader wounded in an attack in Colombia. A special protest was sent to the President of Colombia, urging efficient measures to end violence and violations of trade union rights. 
 
In a separate meeting, the energy unions' commission of Mercosur (the common market linking Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay) decided on concrete measures to deepen cooperation in this sub-region. Mercosur energy unions will campaign in support of the Uruguayan electricity workers, who are out to obtain a referendum on a new law concerning the regulatory framework ofr the Uruguayan power industry. If 25 percent of the electorate turn out for a consultative vote on June 17, the Uruguayans will have a chance to plebiscite on the draft law. 
 
As the unions point out, the law, designed mainly by a global consultancy, would open the way for privatisation and deregulation. This is against official government policies and flouts the outcome of a referendum in 1992, in which the people rejected the privatisation of public services in Uruguay.

Latin American Energy Unions Step Up Action

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The governing body of Metalliliitto, Finland&rsquo;s Metalworkers&rsquo; Union, gave leadership of the union authority to establish a blockade of construction at Olkiluoto III, the country&rsquo;s long-delayed fifth nuclear power reactor now underway on the southwestern coast. The approval for industrial action was given because of wage arrears and noncompliance of Finnish social standards by a Polish subcontractor, KMW Engineering. 
 
The blockade could come as early as this week and will largely depend on an audit report by a regional state agency, and on further negotiations between the union and contractors. The blockade has the support of Finland&rsquo;s Construction Trades Union, the Finnish Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union, and Pro, the union for salaried workers in Finland. 
<img alt="" src="" width="337" height="190" />
Photo: YLE/Termonen Tapio
The Polish company is hundreds of thousands of euros in wage arrears, has failed to keep overtime pay records, and reportedly has been negligent over health and safety matters. Metalliliitto has asked for pay records for all of 2009 and 2010. The union also claims that KMW&rsquo;s employment practices are substandard to those established in the national metal sector collective agreement. 
 
The French nuclear company Areva is the main contractor for Olkiluoto III , which is being built alongside two other nuclear reactors by the private-sector Finnish energy company Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Metalliliitto has attempted to negotiate with all parties connected to the 1.6 gigawatt (1,600 megawatt) nuclear project but none have been willing to hold KMW responsible for its social dumping. KMW is building cooling units at Olkiluoto III. 
<img alt="" src="" width="96" height="128" />
Metalliliitto President Riku Aalto
Metalliliitto President Riku Aalto said the union has consistently been denied even the bare minimum of data on its information requests. He said social dumping continues at Olkiluoto III, in part, because unions in Finland are restricted from filing legal cases to stop such practices. Aalto said that is not the case in countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Germany. 
 
Olkiluoto III is already three years behind schedule, with construction now scheduled to end late in 2012. Commissioning of the reactor would then happen late in 2013. The original &euro;3.95 billion project is reported to be &euro;1.5 billion over budget and has been marked by litigation among contractors and between contractors and TVO.

Finland’s Metalworkers close in on Blockade of Nuclear Plant Work

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Second-year salary adjustments for some 20,000 white- and blue-collar Finnish pulp and paper workers ran separate courses over the past 12 days, with ICEM affiliate Ammattiliitto Pro &ndash; representing 4,000 salaried professionals &ndash; issuing a strike notice on 23 March against one company. A two-week strike will begin on 6 April at all UPM operations if official government mediation beginning today fails. 
 
Meanwhile, Paperiliitto, representing 16,000 workers at some 60 paper operations, agreed to terms with the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) on 16 March. Workers will receive a guaranteed 2.5%, or &euro;.41-per-hour increase. The union also granted other adjustments in the collective agreement. 
 
Both ICEM affiliates have been negotiating separately with the FFIF on wage terms for the back end of a two-year labour agreement. The parties had until last week to reach accord, or bargaining is automatically shifted into the government&rsquo;s dispute resolution process. 
 
Ammattiliitto Pro, formerly Toimihenkil&ouml;unioni or TU prior to a merger in December with the insurance and banking union Suora, gave the strike warning because FFIF refused to put forward a similar national pay offer as the one given and accepted by Paperiliitto. Instead, there was no increase extended on the national level, with employers saying wage hikes will only be negotiated on a mill-by-mill basis. That stand quickly became an insult to dedicated staff.
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="129" />
Jukka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml;inen
&ldquo;We seek a binding pay formula in this portion of the collective agreement,&rdquo; said Jukka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml;inen, chief Pro negotiator for the paper sector. &ldquo;We want a system that recognizes the increased work and greater responsibility taken on by our members.&rdquo; H&auml;m&auml;l&auml;inen said only a short few years ago, there were 6,000 white-collar workers in Finland&rsquo;s pulp and paper sector. That number is now 4,000. 
 
The union will begin an overtime ban on 1 April, the date the current two-year agreement is terminated if no resolve is realized. And then at 06h00 on 6 April, a full strike by 1,000 Pro members at UPM will commence that is certain to affect production at the Helsinki-based company&rsquo;s Finnish mills. 
 
In the accord between Paperiliitto and the FFIF, blue-collar workers receive effective today a 1.5%, or &euro;.24-per-hour increase, and then another 1% (&euro;.17) will be negotiated on the local level. If that isn&rsquo;t accomplished by 21 April, then it reverts back to the national level where a process is established to guarantee that increase retroactive to 28 March. 
 
Paperiliitto also agreed to grant local branches the option to increase work shifts from ten hours per day to 12, although it is mandated that there be no accumulative increase in yearly working hours. The union also agreed to a mobility clause, granting paper firms the flexibility to make short-term transfers of new hires employed in maintenance areas to other company operations. For current maintenance workers, companies must get one-time or more consent agreements from the individual for such a temporary transfer. 
 
The union agreed to the mobility language as deterrent to the use of outside contract or agency labour, and to assure that maintenance work will continuously be performed by Paperiliitto members.

Finnish Paper Sector Wage Accords Divert Between ICEM Affiliates

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Co-hosted by two of ICEM&rsquo;s Spanish affiliated trade unions, FIA-UGT and FITEQA-CC.OO, the ICEM World Women&rsquo;s Conference brought together over 230 delegates from 47 countries to Seville on 23-25 March. The theme of the conference was &ldquo;Conquests and Dreams.&rdquo; 
 
The historic conference was the largest ever and women resolved to focus efforts on building and developing structures for improved coordination for the women of the ICEM. Coordinating committees already exist in some countries and this will now be extended to create a women&rsquo;s committee in each country where there is more than one ICEM affiliate. This will then be followed with a women&rsquo;s network in Europe, and several sub-regional networks. 
<img alt="" src="" width="317" height="188" />
Women&rsquo;s Officer Carol Bruce talks to Spanish TV
ICEM women look forward to combining strength and resources with the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) and the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) in the creation of a new international trade union federation. While the three organizations have differing levels of women&rsquo;s membership and activities, the ICEM women&rsquo;s sector will work to combine the best practices. 
 
Two campaigns launched at the conference included: the campaign to put a stop to violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and campaign for wider use of female condoms to prevent the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Two other major work plans will also receive increased focus: preventing violence against women and creating better self-esteem. 
 
View the full <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/EN%20resolution%20to%20ICEM%20Congress.pdf">conference resolution</a> here.&nbsp; 
<img alt="" src="" width="367" height="164" />
Delegates Respect Victims of Japan&rsquo;s Earthquake/Tsunami
In his opening remarks, ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana called delegates to stand and mark a minute&rsquo;s silence in memory of those affected by the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda then said, &ldquo;Gender will be a major part of the ICEM Action Plan to be discussed at the Executive Committee and then at our Congress. We are proud of the work of the women inside the ICEM, marking this milestone conference.&rdquo; 
 
The conference attracted local- and national-level female politicians. Matilde Fern&aacute;ndez, former Social Affairs Minister, highlighted the importance of the fight for gender equality in Spain, a country where women are paid 15% less than men, meaning that they would have to work 51-52 days per year more than men to achieve wage parity. 
<img alt="" src="" width="158" height="199" />
M&uuml;zeyyen Acunal of Turkish Sel&uuml;loz-İş
&ldquo;Changes to legislation have been necessary, but they still are not sufficient,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We need to change the attitudes of the society.&rdquo; 
 
The conference unanimously re-elected Russia&rsquo;s Evgenia Esenina as President of ICEM&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s Committee and Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Angeline Chitambo as Vice-Chair. 
 
In closing the conference, President Senzeni Zokwana built enthusiasm for the future, in terms of gender work, and of the overall hopes heading into a new international. &ldquo;We will be new and strong, let us breed unity, breed oneness. We can achieve more together!&rdquo;

Largest Number Ever Attend ICEM Women’s Conference in Spain

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Upwards of a half million people marched through London on Saturday in a turnout that British trade unions said exceeded their highest predictions. The manifestation, heard around the world, was called &ldquo;The March for the Alternative: Cuts are not the Cure&rdquo; and was direct push-back to the deep, rapid, and unfair public sector cuts in the pipeline by the ruling UK Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition. 
 
Turnout for the march and rally at Hyde Park in London&rsquo;s West End was so massive that the rear of the march had just left the Victoria Embankment staging area when the Hyde Park rally &ndash; five kilometres away &ndash; began. The front of the march left Victoria and passed by Parliament four hours earlier. 
<img alt="" src="" width="365" height="192" />
photo: Mac Urata
Using the argument that fiscal austerity is needed to reduce UK&rsquo;s financial deficit, the right-wing government led by David Cameron wants to cripple a social welfare system that will see cuts to people and curtailment of British services. And both will fall disproportionately on the poor and on the workers of Britain. 
 
Deep cuts to education, pensions, and Britain&rsquo;s 62-year-old National Health Service (NHS) are being laid out on the Con-Dem chopping block. And Saturday&rsquo;s manifestation &ndash; the biggest in London since 2003 and an anti-Iraq war protest &ndash; validated the fact that tens of thousands of teachers, doctors, nurses, police and prison guards, municipal council workers, joined by students, retirees, private-sector workers fiercely resist this agenda. 
 
The 26 March manifestation sponsored by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) was civil and peaceful. But the beat of drums, whistles, and chants of resistance made it clear that anger is real. Anger at the fact that for every &pound;4 in spending cuts, there is a &pound;1 tax hike and that mainly is a higher VAT; anger that 50,000 jobs will disappear when the NHS is cut; anger that the brutal cuts will cost 170,000 public-sector jobs. 
<img alt="" src="" width="265" height="189" />
photo: John MacLennon
Instead of cuts, the &ldquo;alternative&rdquo; should be a crackdown on tax avoidance totalling &pound;25 billion alone taken by City of London operators; initiating a Robin Hood tax on banks and financial institutions over their transactions; a stop to exorbitant executive bonuses; and a gradual, sensible, and sustainable deficit reduction plan based on jobs, growth, and tax justice. 
 
At the afternoon rally, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: &ldquo;We will fight these savage cuts and we will not let them destroy services, jobs, and lives. Today we are speaking for the people of Britain, and David Cameron, if you want to meet the Big Society, we&rsquo;re here in Hyde Park.&rdquo; 
 
Unite the Union General Secretary Len McCluskey called it the greatest demonstration in London in a generation, and said there is &ldquo;palpable anger in the country. If the government was brave enough, it would tackle the tax avoidance that robs the British taxpayer.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="133" height="150" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="105" height="160" />
Unite's Len McCluskey, USW's Leo Gerard 
photos: John MacLennon
Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis, whose public-sector union chartered 500 coaches to get people to London, told the assembled at Hyde Park that he wants the Con-Dems &ldquo;to feel the fear and anger of people who have come here today from every part of the UK to vent their frustration and to stand up for a fairer future.&rdquo; 
 
Another speaker was USW President Leo Gerard of North America who drew the link between the purge of public services in the UK to what is happening in several US states. He said the real culprits are the greedy banks and corporations who pull the strings of politicians. 
 
&ldquo;It is their reckless speculation that took down the world economy,&rdquo; said Gerard, adding, The best way to rob a bank is to manage one. We will stand together, we will march together, and we will fight together to demand that our governments protect the rights of public employees and of all workers.&rdquo;

500,000 Protest Con-Dem Coalition’s Public Sector Cuts in London

The Building &amp; Woodworkers' International (BWI), followed by the ICEM, is targeting a message campaign at Holcim Cement, prior to the Swiss company's Annual General Meeting this week.
Please join that campaign by hitting the <a href="http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?Index=3442&amp;Language=EN&amp;send=1">BWI link</a> here to register your protest against Holcim and its anti-social labour policies in India.
Thank you.
ICEM Pulp &amp; Paper Sector
&nbsp;

Joint BWI, ICEM Message Protest at Holcim Cement

<img src="" width="100" height="90" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="" width="100" height="86" alt="" />
The ICEM joined&nbsp;the Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI), yesterday in launching a global campaign for equal rights of Holcim CAL workers in India.
Join the <a href="http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?Index=3442&amp;Language=EN">campaign yourself&nbsp;by sending a&nbsp;message to the Holcim CEO</a> via the BWI website here. 
The Indian Cement Workers Federation (INCWF) an affiliate of both global union federations, has conducted a long-running campaign calling for equal rights, conditions, and salaries for contract workers, as stipulated under Indian law. Holcim India continuously neglects this legislation, specifically at its subsidiaries ACC in Bhilai and Ambuja Cement in Baloda Bazar.
The State High Court of Chhattisgarh ruled in favour of contract workers at Holcim Jamul Unit, instructing the company to regularise CAL employees and replace the &quot;sham&quot; contracts currently in place. Holcim India is yet to act positively on the court ruling. Workers at Jamul have conducted a &quot;sit in&quot; protest since 3 April.
On Holcim's purchase of ACC and Ambuja Cement, both companies were members of the Cement Manufacturer's Association and signatories to the National Wage Agreement for the sector. It is extremely unfortunate that under Holcim's ownership, this has been reversed, removing employee's protection from the National Agreement, blocking their right to bargain collectively.
See a recent <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4245-Finally-Excellent-Wage-Gains-Won-by-Indian-Cement-Workers">ICEM report</a> on the positive national settlement for the Indian cement industry here.
The INCWF, backed by BWI, ICEM, and joint Swiss affiliate UNIA, are calling on the company to enter into dialogue so as to resolve these issues, respect global labour standards, Indian law, and end the discriminatory&nbsp;treatment of contract workers at Holcim.
Holcim is the second largest producer of cement in the world. An average salary for Indian contract workers is US$2.17 a day, and a high amount on limestone are factors moving Holcim to shift production to India from countries such as Spain and the US.
See the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Holcim%20Akermann%2028%204%202011.pdf">joint BWI-ICEM letter to Holcim</a> CEO Markus Akermann here.

Global Campaign Launched for Indian Cement Contract Workers

<img alt="" src="" width="283" height="93" />
The ICEM has joined with the 11 other Global Union Federations (GUFs), as well as the International Trade Union Confederation and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD in issuing a joint 1 May statement. That statement follows below. 
Winds of change for social justice and democracy 
 
1 May 2011
Today as trade unionists around the world celebrate the role of workers in the fight for democracy and social justice, the international union movement takes inspiration from winds of change sweeping across Arab countries. 
 
Global Unions salute the courage of working men and women and the independent trade unions in the vanguard of this historic fight for freedom. 
 
We pledge our support to their struggle and we condemn without reservation the tyranny of regimes, in the Middle East and elsewhere, who continue to deny their people fundamental rights and who use violence to silence voices of dissent. We urge the international community to act to end this oppression. 
 
At the same time, in the name of hundreds of millions of working people who yearn for an end to inequality, discrimination and exploitation, Global Unions reaffirm their demand for a full-scale transformation of the world economy. 
We seek an end to the culture of political and corporate neglect that has created a gulf between rich and poor and we call for new commitments to respect workers&rsquo; rights, to create the framework for social justice and to combat the scourge of unemployment. 
 
The time has come to turn away from the failed policies of the past. We must abandon programmes of austerity that tear into the fabric of society and that diminish people&rsquo;s lives. We must end the scandal of falling living standards caused by the growth of informal, unprotected and precarious work and, particularly, the grotesque exploitation of migrant workers. There must be action now to rescue a lost generation of young people who yearn for jobs and a decent future. 
But none of this will happen unless governments put their people first by regulating the finance sector and by curbing the excesses of corporate power. 
All governments must invest in job creation, in education and training, in programmes to strengthen investment in quality public services and in providing a universal social protection floor. The largest and most powerful economies, in the G20, must provide the lead for this. 
Governments must put finance at the service of the real economy and reclaim the wealth needed to put the world economy to rights by taxing banks and finance, including urgent action to introduce a financial transactions tax. 
States must confront corporations who profit from scandalous exploitation of vulnerable workers and who fail to respect union rights and global labour standards. 
Unless there is an immediate change of direction in governance and management of the world economy, the noble aspirations of the Millennium Development Goals will not be met and there will be no progress to stop the catastrophe of climate change. 
 
Globalisation can only work if it brings sustainable wealth for all and promotes action for a just transition to a sustainable world built around principles of strong economies, social justice, and green jobs. 
 
Global Unions will work together to expose governments who refuse to change and who are withdrawing from provision of services, imposing fiscal cuts and attacking public sector workers with devastating effect on the lives of all people, particularly women. 
 
We will continue to isolate, condemn and target those companies that are reckless in their disregard for labour standards and who prey upon the weakest in the workforce. 
 
Finally, Global Unions in the Middle East and elsewhere will continually strive for peace in the face of dictatorship and corruption. Exploitation and political instability caused by an absence of the rule of law and democracy and economic injustice means that war and social conflict is a constant risk. 
 
Today the global challenges are as great as we have ever faced, but the union movement is in good heart. Our proud traditions of solidarity are the foundations of 
social progress, democracy and peace, and they give us the strength to make real the dream of a global economy based upon justice, equality, humanity and sustainability.

Global Labour’s Joint 1 May Statement

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