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

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A 2.9-magnitude earthquake in Henan province, central China, caused a rock slide on 3 November claiming the lives of eight miners and trapping 59 others. Fourteen of the miners were rescued immediately, and 45 other trapped miners found freedom some 30 hours later on Saturday, 5 November, from 480 metres underground. This occurred at the Qianqiu colliery, operated by the large state-run Yina Coal Group. 
 
The earthquake near the city of Sanmenxia collapsed the walls inside shaft. The eight mine deaths in Henan province come just six days after 29 perished in a methane gas explosion in Hunan province, the worse Chinese mine tragedy in recent months. Two days earlier, on 27 October, seven miners died in another gas explosion in Henan province. 
The Hunan tragedy happened in a mine operated by the city of Hengyang called Xialiuchong Coal Mine. The mine was legally registered but provincial authorities had suspended its production license earlier this year for inadequate safety measures regarding methane gas build-up. The blast reportedly occurred when sparks from machinery ignited gas. Six miners were rescued. 
 
The 27 October gas blast occurred at the Jiulishan Coal Mine in Jiaozuo, Henan province. Eighteen managed to escape. The mine was operating legally and is owned by state-owned Henan Coal Chemical Industry Group, a Fortune 500 company. 
 
Last week&rsquo;s earthquake caused a settling of earth that crushed against mine walls, causing a sudden and deadly release of stored energy one-half kilometre underground. Fortunately, enough air was squeezed in through the mine shaft for ventilation and then rescue. It took 200 workers to dig a rescue tunnel 750 metres in length to reach the 45 trapped miners, and serves as a stark reminder on the necessity of a second egress as mandated in ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention.

Chinese Earthquake Kills 8 Coal Miners, Bringing Recent Fatality Toll to 44

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM North American affiliate, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), issued a report on 25 October accusing Massey Energy and its managers of &ldquo;industrial homicide&rdquo; in the 5 April 2010 explosion that killed 29 non-union miners at Upper Big Branch in the state of West Virginia. 
 
In the 90-page report, the UMWA said that Massey management &ldquo;deliberately flouted&rdquo; well-established safety and health laws in the US even after the mine was cited multiple times for violations by state and federal agencies. 
 
The union cites many factors throughout the report that led to the deadly explosion, but concludes in stating &ldquo;there is only one source for all of them: a rogue corporation, acting without real regard for mine safety and health laws and regulations, that established a physical working environment that can only be described as a bomb waiting to go off.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="327" height="161" />
The full UMWA report, called &ldquo;<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/134334-Upper-Big-Branch.pdf">Industrial Homicide</a>,&rdquo; can be accessed here.&nbsp; 
 
The UMWA demands criminal prosecution for some 18 Massey Energy managers, including CEO Don Blankenship, who retired in December 2010, two months before the thermal coal company was sold to Alpha Natural Resources for US$8.5 billion. The report also recommends over a dozen changes in both state and US federal mine safety laws, mainly concerning tougher penalties on deviant mine operators and stronger protections for whistleblowers who report safety infractions. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="172" />
Dan Kane
&ldquo;Don Blankenship knew exactly what was going on at that mine,&rdquo; said UMWA President Cecil Roberts. &ldquo;He got production reports several times a day. He saw the levels of safety citations and (safety) orders going up. But instead of taking the needed steps to correct the problems, they just kept on running coal.&rdquo; 
 
Added UMWA Secretary-Treasurer and ICEM Executive Committee Member Dan Kane: &ldquo;It is unconscionable in the 21st Century for a mine to be operated in the manner that Upper Big Branch was.&rdquo; 
 
A <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/UMW%20UBB%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf ">fact sheet</a> on the Massey&rsquo;s horrid Upper Big Branch mine disaster of April 2010 is here.

Massey US Coal Mine Deaths Termed ‘Industrial Homicide’ by UMWA

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
With Singapore&rsquo;s Retirement and Re-Employment Act (RRA) set to take effect on 1 January 2012, two of ICEM&rsquo;s affiliated unions in the city-state have successfully entered into Memorandums of Agreement with employers and employer organisations stating that salary decreases will not happen once companies are mandated to offer jobs to workers when they reach age 62. 
 
The United Workers of Petroleum Industry (UWPI) and the Singapore Shell Employees&rsquo; Union (SSEU) announced last week that the agreements go beyond what will be required in the new law by guaranteeing that salaries and bonus payments will be maintained for workers between the ages of 62 and 65. 
 
The RRA amends a 1999 law that mandates retirement at age 62. The new Act requires employers to offer re-employment to a worker who reaches age 62 after January 2012, but a provision allows bosses to make &ldquo;reasonable&rdquo; adjustments in salaries, employment terms, and job assignments. 
<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="51" />
Last week, the UWPI got 13 employers to agree to the memorandum stating no lowering of salaries or elimination of bonus payments for oil or petrochemical workers choosing to continue to work after age 62. SSEU reached a similar deal with the Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary in Singapore two months ago. UWPI must now convince 13 other companies to do the same, and the precedent created by the Shell memorandum and last week&rsquo;s deal is expected to convince most to sign such accords with UWPI. 
 
Employers in Singapore, many of whom have begun offering re-employment ahead of the new law, have argued that pay cuts for older workers are necessary because seniority-based salary schemes inflate payrolls. Last week&rsquo;s signing was praised as a &ldquo;win-win&rdquo; result by one governmental minister who said the companies benefit from the loyalty and experience of the older workers. 
 
About half of Singapore&rsquo;s 5,000 oil and petrochemical workers are now covered by the no-cut agreements. The RAA, passed by Singapore&rsquo;s Parliament on 11 January 2011, is aimed at giving more financial security to older citizens, and these labour agreements recently signed in the ICEM sectors now go further to fulfil this.

Singapore’s Oil, Chemical Unions Blocking Pay Cuts after Age 62

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The Action Plan of the ICEM World Conference for the Chemical Industries held in October 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey, defined developing and improving company and sector global and regional network activities as a key priority. 
 
The Conference then endorsed the Secretariat to organize the first meeting of the ICEM Global Pharmaceutical Unions&rsquo; Network in consultation with the unions in the sector. As a result of this, around fifty representatives of ICEM affiliates in the pharmaceutical sector from Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey and USA met on 28 October in Geneva to discuss current developments in the industry and possible actions in the future. 
<img alt="" src="" width="278" height="161" />
The meeting received a detailed report from Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs, on the global pharmaceutical industry, including an economic and social overview; and impacts of changing health care systems. The report showed that although patent expirations and limits on drug spending can hamper growth of drug sales in developed countries, global pharmaceutical sales are in a growth trend. A substantial rise comes from emerging markets, and the great majority of the expansion is driven by growth in China, the world&rsquo;s third-largest market in the sector. 
 
The participants shared their experiences from respective countries. &ldquo;Due to low birth rate and an ageing population, the costs of the social security system including pension, health care and welfare have been rapidly increasing, which led to a need for reform of tax and social security systems&rdquo; reported Naramato Masafumi, President of Karoken, Council of Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union of Japan, who spoke on behalf of Japanese unions.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;Moreover, currently Japan has many problems affecting the socio-economy such as deflation, highly appreciated yen, increased non-regular employees, and the recovery from the devastating Great Earthquake and Tsunami,&rdquo; said Naramato. In his report Ghosalkar Ravindra Govind, President of ICEM&rsquo;s India affiliate Chemical Mazdoor Federation (HMS), underlined considerable changes in his country. 
<img alt="" src="" width="148" height="160" />
Naramato Masafumi, President of Karoken
&ldquo;My country accounts for a relatively large share of the world&rsquo;s disease burden. And while India&rsquo;s burgeoning middle class has greater access to excellent healthcare, the vast majority of citizens still have limited access to basic care,&rdquo; Ghosalkar stated. Other participants gave similar reports about their individual countries and companies. 
 
The participants also largely discussed the current status of restructuring in the industry with mergers and acquisitions, and delocalization and closures of production and research facilities by multinational corporations. 
 
The biggest sale of a private company was Japanese Takeda&rsquo;s acquisition of Swiss pharmaceutical company Nycomed. As an immediate effect of the meeting, representatives of Takeda from Japan, Indonesia and Germany, in a side event, came together to establish a continuous cooperation and networking with each other. 
 
The participants were also shocked to hear the recent announcement of Swiss-based company Novartis with two thousand job losses and two factory closures in Switzerland and Italy, which resulted in an immediate solidarity message to employees and unions there. Fran&ccedil;oise Pierre of FCE-CFDT from France, secretary of the EWC of Sanofi Aventis, reported on a difficult situation at her company where management has announced more restructuring in research and development. 
 
In the conclusions, the ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda mentioned that the network will continue to exchange information and company-level networking drives will be strengthened. It was also agreed to provide immediate solidarity with the unions facing challenges of restructuring. The network elected a representative of the Japanese unions as chairman, while the next meeting is scheduled for the second part of 2012 in Japan.

ICEM Affiliates in Pharmaceutical Sector Strengthen Networking

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ILO Tripartite Meeting on Promoting Social Dialogue on Restructuring and its Effects on Employment in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries, held from 24-27 October, ended with key conclusions. The purpose of the meeting was to examine best practices of social dialogue, which can facilitate a constructive and conducive atmosphere during restructurings, including mergers and acquisitions. 
 
It was also to adopt conclusions that include proposals for action by governments, employers, and workers&rsquo; organizations, and the ILO. 
 
The meeting was composed of interested governments, 15 employer representatives, and 15 workers&rsquo; representatives appointed by the Governing Body based on nominations submitted by the ILO Director-General after consultations with the respective groups. 
<img alt="" src="" width="288" height="160" />
In addition, representatives of intergovernmental organizations and observers representing certain NGOs also attended the meeting. Coordinated by the ICEM, in cooperation with International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and ILO ACTRAV, the workers&rsquo; group elected Tomas Nieber, Chairman of the ICEM Chemical Sector and Head of Department Economic and Industrial Policy for Germany&rsquo;s IGBCE as chairperson, while Alfons de Potter, Vice-President of Belgian CSC Construction, Energy and Industry was selected spokesperson and Linda McCulloch, National Officer of UK&rsquo;s Unite the Union was selected vice-chairperson. ICEM&rsquo;s Kemal &Ouml;zkan was secretary for the group. 
 
The meeting handled eight discussion points: employment changes in both qualitative and quantitative terms occurring in restructuring processes; ILO&rsquo;s Global Jobs Pact implementations; skills and qualifications, as well as vocational training and education programmes that are conducive to sustainable development; making the industries more attractive to young workers and women, and provide better opportunities for long-term career development; challenges and opportunities by contract and agency labour; best practices of social dialogue in facilitating a constructive and conducive atmosphere for better industrial relations during restructuring; role of social dialogue in improving sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises, contributing to promoting decent work; and possible activities the ILO should take to promote social dialogue and good employer&ndash;employee relations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="216" height="161" />
from left to right: Linda McCulloch, Tomas Nieber, Kemal &Ouml;zkan, Alfons de Potter
Following long deliberations, a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/TMCPI-conclusions-2011-En.pdf">set of conclusions</a> were unanimously adopted at the plenary session. It was agreed that &ldquo;social dialogue between worker representatives and employers is a valuable means to manage the process of restructuring in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, thereby contributing to equitable outcomes for all concerned parties whether at global, regional, national or the enterprise levels.&rdquo; 
 
The groups also underlined that &ldquo;restructuring in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors should not affect the principles and rights at work as defined by the 1998 ILO Declaration.&rdquo; 
 
An important step forward was achieved on Contract and Agency Labour. The conclusions state: &ldquo;Where the use of contract and agency labour becomes necessary, chemical and pharmaceutical firms should at all times ensure that national occupational safety and health laws, regulations and good practice are applied to this category of workers in accordance with the ILO&rsquo;s fundamental principles and rights at work and relevant international labour standards. Contract and agency workers should enjoy the same fundamental rights at work as the firm&rsquo;s directly recruited workers.&rdquo; 
 
At the meeting&rsquo;s end, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda said that workers, employers, and governments worked in a constructive manner with a view to securing employment issues in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. &ldquo;These conclusions are an important guidance tool for all of us,&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;It is now time to make proper follow-up activities for making sure these they have practical applications.&rdquo;

Conclusions Adopted at ILO Tripartite Chemicals, Pharmaceutical Meeting

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Following a full year of negotiations, ICEM German affiliate IGBCE and the Northeastern Chemical Employers Association, or AGV Nordostchemie, reached terms on a trendsetting work-time agreement in Germany&rsquo;s eastern states. 
 
On 2 November, the social partners announced completion of a collective agreement that reduces work-time for both younger and older staff, as well as further harmonizing pay and other remuneration with chemical workers in western Germany. The social contract covers 36,000 employees at some 130 companies operating in the five eastern states. 
 
The key component is creation in 2013 of a monetary fund that employers will subsidize through 2.5% of their total annual payrolls, which will initially come to &euro;30 million. It will be used to maintain wage levels for older workers, age 60 and above, who choose to work one less day every other week. For shift workers of the same age, they have the option to work one day less per week. 
<img alt="" src="" width="175" height="132" />
IGBCE Chief Negotiator Peter Hausmann
The fund will also work for younger workers in order for them to tend to family and child care responsibilities. Their normal 40-hour work week in the east will be reduced by 3.5 hours with a minimal pay cut, but not proportional to the time off. In the chemicals sector in western states, the work week is 37.5 hours and the agreement is seen as harmonizing working hours without loss of pay. 
 
It is also seen as a means to retain skilled workers in eastern chemical enterprises, particularly with 70% of eastern workers between the ages of 44 and 59. The agreement bridges the demographic divide by rewarding older workers with sector knowledge and experience, specifically with the statutory retirement age expected to increase upwards from 65. The agreement also creates a &ldquo;work-time bank&rdquo; that allows staff to accumulate extra hours. 
 
&ldquo;We have agreed on a work-time model that provides a collective response to demographic changes,&rdquo; said IGBCE Chief Negotiator Peter Hausmann. &ldquo;For employees with children or dependents, for shift workers and for our older colleagues, this creates significant work-life opportunities.&rdquo; 
 
And IGBCE Northeast Regional Director Petra Reinhold-Knape said, &ldquo;We put in place a very innovative work-time model,&rdquo; adding the agreement will bring to parity the remaining differences between the east and west by &ldquo;putting more money in the pockets&rdquo; of eastern chemical workers. 
 
That was achieved by lifting eastern workers&rsquo; 13th month Christmas salary payment in two stages to match the 95% that western workers get by 2014. Workers in the east now receive 65% for the 13th month. 
 
As well, pay increases for job levels will be harmonised between east and west. Currently, the wage increases within each level are different, with those in the west 8% higher. Next year, that divide will be halved, with parity coming in 2014, the time when IGBCE and AGV Nordostchemie enter the next round of bargaining.

IGBCE Reaches Novel ‘Work Time’ Pact in Eastern Chemicals Sector

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Union members of Teamsters (IBT) Local 495 approved a long-term agreement with the successor employer to BMW at an auto-parts distribution warehouse in Ontario, California. Local 495 members, who waged a <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4570-US-Teamsters-Ardently-Resist-BMW-s-Auto-Parts-Outsourcing">summer-long campaign</a> to retain their jobs after BMW said it would terminate the labour agreement and outsource the operation, ratified a new accord 46-2 on 28 October. 
 
The ratification means that none of the 70 workers currently employed by BMW North America will be laid off and they will begin employment under a logistics company called the 2 AM Group on 1 January with full seniority and full union rights. The contract also contains nearly the same wage and benefit package as currently paid by BMW. 
 
The 2 AM Group is a logistics provider for BMW at assembly plants in the US states of South Carolina and Alabama, and also operates services for the luxury automaker in Munich, Germany, and Puebla, Mexico. 
<img alt="" src="" width="308" height="161" />
Teamsters handbilling in Seattle
This is the first collective agreement for 2 AM Group in the US. 
 
Although the agreement calls for a slight pay decrease from the base US$25-per-hour wage to US$23.50, the upcoming contract contains performance incentives that could lift overall pay. 
 
Local 495 and its Washington, DC-based parent union, the IBT, ran a pressure campaign against BMW in Germany, the UK, and across the US aimed at job retention and continued union representation at BMW&rsquo;s Southern California warehouse. That campaign won partial success on 9 August when the two sides agreed to extend a collective agreement expiring on 31 August for another six months. (Read <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4610-Campaign-Action-Wins-US-Teamsters-BMW-Contract-Extension">ICEM report</a> here.)&nbsp; 
 
The new accord with 2 AM completes the victory and proves that active campaigning by a trade union when confronted with workplace restructuring can reverse a company&rsquo;s intended plans. 
 
IBT Director of Global Strategies Tim Beaty expressed the appreciation of the union on behalf of General President Jim Hoffa and Local 495 Secretary-Treasurer Bob Lennox to the trade unions in Europe and the US that helped bring the message to BMW over the summer.

US Teamsters Win Job Security with BMW’s Auto Parts Successor

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Negotiations to end the eight-week strike by 10,000 workers of the PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union (SP KEP SPSI) at Freeport-McMoRan&rsquo;s Papuan mine complex called Grasberg got back on track today. But union and management at the world&rsquo;s largest recoverable gold and copper deposit are far apart. 
 
Production at the 175,000-ton per day operation has completely ceased due to a road blockade by strikers and family members. The blockade has prevented the US-based company from getting construction crews to a set of slurry pipelines that were ruptured by vandals. 
 
The pipelines carry gold and copper concentrate 114 kilometres from the Grasberg mine 4,200 metres high in the Sudirman Range to the port city of Timika, where today&rsquo;s bi-lateral talks are being held. A diesel fuel line running from the Timika airport up to the mine also has been slashed. 
<img alt="" src="" width="288" height="160" />
Last week an ICEM-led global trade union delegation met separately with both the union and mine managers doing the bargaining. The delegation successfully convinced the union (see <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/4747-Global-Trade-Union-Delegation-Urges-Restraint-Good-Faith-Talks-to-Resolve-Grasberg-Mine-Strike">ICEM news release</a>) to return to talks, while PT Freeport Indonesia tried unsuccessfully to get the ICEM team to have SP KEP SPSI lift the blockade.&nbsp; 
 
The company said it was stockpiling ore with some 3,000 temporary workers and contractors&rsquo; employees, which is a violation of Indonesian labour law. The ICEM met as well with Indonesian ministry officials and an MP from Papua. In another meeting with a commissioner of the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights, the delegation was told the strikers are within their rights to engage in strike activity at the blockade points. 
 
But the situation is tense at Miles 27 and 28, the points near Timika were the blockade is in force. Twice last week local police issued 24-hour ultimatums for the strikers and their families to move, or be met with police force. Both times the warnings passed and nothing occurred. The ICEM delegation was told by multiple sources, including members of the union committee, that workers will not be moved and will fight in resistance. 
<img alt="" src="" width="241" height="160" />
Mile 28 Blockade
On Friday, 4 November, police did approach the blockade. Skirmishes broke out and police fired over the heads of strikers before retreating. The stand-off is compounded by mass media reports last week that Freeport-McMoRan was subsidizing local police in the amount of US$14 million for mine security. 
 
When confronted with this by the ICEM, management said it has been completely transparent on these costs and that figure was for 2010. Managers said 2011 security payments to public law enforcement have yet to be calculated. They also said 80% of such costs are for in-kind services, including all-terrain vehicles, food, fuel and other necessities for police. 
 
On 1 November, ICEM North American affiliate United Steelworkers (USW) lodged a complaint with the US Department of Justice over such payments being illegal under America&rsquo;s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. (The <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/usw%20fcpa%20freeport%201%20Nov%202011.pdf ">USW letter</a> can be seen here.) 
In Timika, in Indonesia&rsquo;s eastern-most Papua province, the two sides are wide apart. When bargaining halted on 27 October, the company had increased a prior 25% wage offer first to 28% and then to 30%. The union is seeking an average hourly wage of US$7.50, which is some 250% above the current rate US$2.13 for non-staff miners and US3.54 for staff. Some seven other issues also need to be negotiated, including educational assistance, dependent care, housing loans and assistant, and aspects to a savings plan programme. 
 
The PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union is supporting the 10,000 strikers and their families with five mass open-air feeding kitchens some 500 metres in distance. But supplies are running short and the union&rsquo;s Solidarity Fund is low. This week the ICEM will put a call out to affiliates to replenish that fund in order that the union can continue nourishing strikers and their families.

Grasberg Talks Resume, But Tensions High in Papua, Indonesia

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Settlement was reached on 25 November to end the conflict between ICEM affiliated Sintracarb&oacute;n and Glencore subsidiary Prodeco SA in northern Colombia. ICEM reported two weeks ago the <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4783-Sintracarb%C3%B3n-Launches-Strike-at-Glencore-s-Calenturitas-Mine-in-Colombia">resounding vote to strike</a> by 1,200 miners after repeated efforts to bargain with company management toward a new collective agreement failed.&nbsp; 
 
The Calenturitas mine is located in Cesar department&rsquo;s La Jagua de Ibirico municipality. 
 
The strike lasted nine days, with all Colombian ICEM affiliates present at the picket, Sintraelecol, Fenaltec, Sintracarcol, Sintravidricol, USO and Sintracarbon. Worker unity, in face of concerted company efforts to intimidate and harass, led to agreement on a new contract set to last two years. Operations at Calenturitas were resumed in the afternoon of 25 November after the signing, while at the same time ICEM affiliates gathered for the ICEM Congress in Buenos Aires were planning international solidarity efforts to support the strike. 
<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="161" />
Prodeco Picket
Workers achieved a salary increase of 1.5% above the consumer price index and a settlement bonus of 1.5mn pesos (US$773) per worker. The agreement benefits all employees of Prodeco, strengthening their rights association, collective bargaining, and right to strike. And importantly the agreement improves job security. 
 
The effective strike caused the company to lose more than 30,000t/d of coal production, according to reports. 
 
As is almost always the case in labour disputes in Colombia, the Ministry of Labour made clear that if pushed they would declare the strike illegal, empowering the courts to disregard the collective will of mineworkers at Calenturitas. 
 
Calenturitas produces over five million tonnes of coal a year. Prodeco produced 10 million tonnes of coal in 2010 and aims to increase production to 19.9 million tonnes in 2013 and 20.7 million tonnes in 2015. 
 
For every 100 pesos of Prodeco&rsquo;s cost structure, only 5 pesos are spent on their payroll.

Colombia Prodeco Mine Dispute Settled

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) today signed a Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with Petr&oacute;leo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, the world&rsquo;s third largest energy company. The agreement, the 20-million-member ICEM&rsquo;s 16th since 1998, was signed at the Brazilian company&rsquo;s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, and Petrobras Director for Gas and Industry, Maria Das Gracas Silva Foster, Executive Director for Human Relations, Diego Hernandes, and Joao Antonio de Moraes, General Coordinator of FUP (the Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Unified federation of Brazil). 
 
A GFA is a social pact between a multinational company and a Global Union Federation that puts in place the very highest standards regarding trade union and human rights, health, safety, and environmental practices, and quality of work principles across all of a company&rsquo;s global operations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="214" height="160" />
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda signs Petrobras GFA
&ldquo;This is ICEM&rsquo;s fourth such agreement with an oil and gas concern,&rdquo; said Warda, &ldquo;and it embodies many of the social principles that we expect companies in extractive industries to adhere to.&rdquo; The ICEM has previously negotiated GFAs with Statoil of Norway, Eni of Italy and Lukoil of Russia. 
 
The agreement was signed with approval from ICEM Brazilian trade union affiliate, the Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Unified Federation (FUP), whose leaders were present at the signing together with ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Regional Vice President Sergio Novais of Brazil. Support from both FUP and Sergio Novais was important in reaching the agreement. 
 
The agreement commits Petrobras to recognizing the right of freedom of association and to bargain collectively for all employees, as well as establishing formal dialogue channels between staff and management. It also promotes working conditions that are favorable to a balance between work, personal, and family life. 
<img alt="" src="" width="315" height="161" />
ICEM, Petrobras, FUP
The GFA states that Petrobras &ldquo;will strive to get all service providers to comply&rdquo; with nine labour relations points contained in the agreement, including health and safety and providing necessary equipment, permanent institutionalization of negotiation channels, and equal opportunities and promotion of training opportunities. 
 
The agreement also recognizes global standards contained in the ILO Tripartite Declaration on Principles for Multinational Corporations and Social Policy, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Corporations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the UN Global Compact. 
 
Warda and Petrobras CEO Jos&eacute; S. Gabriella de Azevedo initiated talks on the ICEM-Petrobras GFA as board members of the Global Compact some three years ago. 
 
Petrobras, 56% owned by the Brazilian government, has 80,500 employees and operates in some 30 countries. The company is a leader in exploration and production of oil, and operates 16 refineries as well as numerous petrochemical, biofuels, pipelines and other installations. The ICEM is composed of 255 national trade unions operating in 94 countries.

ICEM Signs 16th Global Agreement with Petrobras of Brazil

Archive