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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, in a letter to Prime Minister İrsen K&uuml;&ccedil;&uuml;k last week, expressed anger at the police violence in Cyprus on Monday, 2 August, when a peaceful protest was attacked by police in riot gear. Twenty-four trade unionists were briefly arrested. 
 
Labour relations in the territory have worsened of late, due mainly to the local administration&rsquo;s plans to reduce the size of the workforce, and remove fundamental workers&rsquo; rights. Trade unions have become especially frustrated by the refusal of İrsen K&uuml;&ccedil;&uuml;k&rsquo;s authority to meet trade union representatives over the issues. The ruling National Unity Party (UBP) was elected to govern in April 2009 on the understanding that it would not implement austerity package cuts. 
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Trade unionists gathered outside the National Assembly building in Nicosia on 2 August, protesting the proposed austerity and privatization legislation, and calling on the authority to meet with trade union leaders and discuss workers&rsquo; concerns. Among the unions protesting was the ICEM affiliate EL-SEN, the Turkish Electricity Authority of Cyprus Workers Trade Union. The peaceful protest was met with police violence, and among the 24 arrested were ten trade union presidents, including EL-SEN President Tuluy Kalyoncu. Ozan Elciner, an EL-SEN Executive Board member, was also arrested. 
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EL-SEN President Tuluy Kalyoncu
In the ICEM letter, Warda stated, &ldquo;The ICEM shares the belief of our affiliate EL-SEN that trade unions must be included in the social dialogue process and in all considerations over new legislation that will directly affect workers&rsquo; fundamental rights.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="252" height="169" />
Ozan Elciner, an EL-SEN Executive Board member
As was reported in ICEM last InBrief newsletter, No. 161, EL-SEN held its Congress recently under a banner of anti-privatisation, and a strong resolution was passed condemning the authority&rsquo;s lack of progress on holding the line on privatization and misleading the public on finances of the public companies up for sale. Those include KIBTEK, the electricity provider, the telecommunications network, and the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU).

ICEM Urges Northern Cyprus Administration End Trade Union Repression

After three days of a partial petrol blockade on the federal capital district of Abuja, Nigeria, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, and Mine Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) affiliate, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the union&rsquo;s tank-truck drivers, lifted the strike on 6 August. That occurred when government ministers and leaders of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, ICEM&rsquo;s Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association affiliate, met and crafted memorandums of understanding on both the worsening conditions of Nigerian roads and the repugnant and growing use of casual labour by oil and gas companies, particularly multinational concerns. 
 
NUPENG did, however, issue a 14-day strike notice to the government on another issue: that of rehabilitation of Nigeria&rsquo;s Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). If the federal government does not call together a forum to correct the lack of transparency and alleged willful mis-allocation of products to marketers, NUPENG will strike the oil and gas depots of several multinationals across the Niger Delta later in August. 
 
The Geneva, Switzerland-based ICEM supports NUPENG in its direct actions in Nigeria. 
 
&ldquo;There is serious corruption inside the allocation process of petroleum products,&rdquo; said NUPENG President Achese Igwe. &ldquo;We question the activities of the PPPRA in allocating products to marketers of unknown identity, and the PPPRA has shown no interest in revealing records or data on fuel allocations.&rdquo; 
 
Friday&rsquo;s meeting did create separate memorandums on road conditions and on casualisation. Meeting with Minister of Labour and Productivity Chukwuemeka Wogu, Minister of State for Works Chris Ogiemwonyi, officials of both the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) and the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Co. (NNLG), and the employers&rsquo; grouping of multinationals operating in Nigeria, the Oil Producers&rsquo; Trade Section (OPTS), leaders of NUPENG and PENGASSAN did get immediate commitments. 
 
Regarding casualisation and the ever increasing use of temporary or non-regular workers, a tripartite &ldquo;Technical Working Group on Casualisation and Contract Staffing in the Oil and Gas Sector&rdquo; was created. This working group will, between 30 and 90 days, produce a road map that will include analysis on why prior memorandums were not adhered to, and it must issue acceptable guarantees ensuring job security for casual workers. 
 
NUPENG and PENGASSAN insist that such staff, across all oil- and gas-producing companies, be given immediate opportunities for full-time staff positions if they have the prerequisite skills. When this is not possible, the unions demand that conditions of employment be published and strictly adhered to that grant temporary workers all work rights and social benefits that permanent workers get. 
 
Igwe said that the vast number of casual workers in oil and gas have no pension scheme and are without health insurance. 
 
Regarding road conditions, which has caused the deaths of eight NUPENG tanker-truck drivers in the past three months, a Roads Monitoring Team was created that will consist of two members from NUPENG. Within a two-month time frame, this team will monitor roads and determine which ones need immediate improvement. 
 
Igwe stressed the importance of this issue by stating that poor road conditions have caused unnecessary stops, resulting in robberies and kidnappings of truck drivers. The risk to public safety is also inherent since poor roads causing accidents has meant monumental disasters, considering the inflammable cargos that lorries carry. 
 
On the issue of the PPPRA, Igwe said it remains a mystery as to which ministry or department of government the pricing authority reports to. The issue of transparency and accountability by the PPPRA is all-important in Nigeria with the country about to enact the Petroleum Industry Bill. 
 
The ICEM is a Global Union Federation composed of 467 trade union affiliates in 132 countries. 
 
For further information, contact ICEM Information Officer Dick Blin at <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, or +41 22 304 1842 (direct) or +41 79 734 8994 (mobile).

ICEM Supports Direct Action by NUPENG in Nigeria over Roads, Casualisation

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Trade unionists of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) ratified a three-year labour agreement with a subsidiary of Votorantim Cimentos of Brazil on 29 July, ending a 20-week strike at a cement plant in Bowmanville, Ontario. The ratification vote, by 58%, reflected dissatisfaction by the plant&rsquo;s 87 workers for getting stuck with an inferior pension plan in two years time. 
 
And the outcome of the strike itself depicts the uneven playing field in collective negotiations when an employer can dictate terms with no law in place to prevent the use of scab labour during a dispute. 
 
The chief issue was the Brazilian company&rsquo;s subsidiary, St. Mary&rsquo;s Cement, demand that a change was necessary from a defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution plan. Nowhere in negotiations could the company prove that the current pension plan needed the financial relief that a weaker defined contribution plan would deliver. St. Mary&rsquo;s was also seeking wage and work-rules cuts. 
 
Negotiations, which resumed only in mid-July, did see the company move on some points, but the new agreement will see the defined contribution plan take effect in September 2012. Cement workers will get a C$1,000 lump sum pay-out both in 2010 and 2011, and will get a 2% wage increase in 2012. 
<img alt="" src="" width="159" height="230" />
CAW President Ken Lewenza
CAW Local 222 members in southern Ontario did prevent the company from outsourcing quarry operations and control room positions. Under the back-to-work protocol, staff began reporting to jobs on 4 August, with the last of the workers to be back on 16 August. 
 
&ldquo;The situation we experienced at St. Mary&rsquo;s Cement over the last number of months is just one example of how foreign-owned corporations, in this case Votorantim Cimentos, have been allowed to buy Canadian resource companies and wreak havoc on the workforce with few, if any, obligations to the country,&rdquo; stated CAW President Ken Lewenza. 
 
&ldquo;Congratulations to these workers for having the courage to stand up for their hard earned gains, including their pension, where our government has failed to do so.&rdquo; 
 
Votorantim is a privately-held S&atilde;o Paulo-based industrial conglomerate that controls one-third of the Brazilian cement market. It purchased Lafarge&rsquo;s Blue Circle cement operations in the US and Canada in 2001 and revived the original name of the company, St. Mary&rsquo;s Cement.

Canadian Auto Workers, Brazilian Cement Company Reach Terms

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The ICEM affiliate, Turkish Electricity Authority of Cyprus Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (EL-SEN), conducted its General Assembly on 10 July 2010. The assembly was convened under the banner of anti-privatisation in the capital city Nicosia in central Cyprus. 
 
President Tuluy Kalyoncu was re-elected to continue as head of the trade union, with 171 votes, while a second candidate received 24 votes. 
 
The only candidate for General Secretary of EL-SEN, Huseyin Sonmezoglu, was re-elected to that position. The newly elected Executive Board will consist of Turgut Evlat, Ozan Alciner, Subhi Ozpasa, Ercan Koseoglu, Orhan Gurgoze, Ozgur Uzuner, Caglayan Cesurer, Toprak Altay, and Kamil Ozinal. 
<img height="159" src="" width="320" alt="" />
Bulent Erzeybek was elected as Assistant Secretary General, while Suphi Ozpasa was elected Financial Secretary, Ercan Koseoglu Education Secretary, Saffet Asiksoy Foreign Relations Secretary, Huseyin Korkmaz Organizing Secretary, Ozgur Uzuner Social Affairs Secretary, and Serhan Kayar was elected as Secretary of Propaganda. 
 
The General Assembly adopted four resolutions. Delegates resolved to struggle for peace and a solution to the Cyprus problem. Also prioritised was the need to continue education programmes for members. 
 
Delegates adopted a strong resolution against the government&rsquo;s moves toward privatisation of the Turkish Electricity Authority of Cyprus (KIB-TEK). Congress accused the government of misleading the public on the financial condition of the company. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda wrote to congratulate EL-SEN on its successful Congress.

Turkish-Cypriot Electricity Workers’ Take Stand Against Privatisation

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The ICEM-affiliated Mongolian union, the Federation of Energy, Geology and Mining Workers' Trade Unions (MEGM), hosted ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Asia-Pacific Regional Contact Person Phee Jung-sun recently. 
 
Warda commended accelerated development in Mongolia over recent years, noting significantly improved infrastructure in the country. It is positive for the country that foreign investment has increased rapidly, and resource-rich Mongolia can benefit from such investment through exploration and development of gold mines and construction of power plants. Major investors are from Canada, China, and the US. 
 
MEGM President Gambold indicated that union members are facing new challenges through this period of foreign investment. Government and employers are attempting to change current labour laws toward creating a more &ldquo;flexible&rdquo; labour market in order to &ldquo;adapt to the global economy.&rdquo; 
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This means fewer restrictions on temporary work agencies, increasing the numbers of precarious jobs in the country. This is being countered by trade unions of Mongolia, which have created a new working group that will submit a counter proposal to the proposed legislation. 
 
The government is introducing a programme of privatisation of state-owned enterprises in the telecommunication and energy sectors. A number of major investment contracts with foreign companies are due to be signed during the second half of 2010. 
 
The ICEM, working with the local ILO office, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and other Global Union Federations, will be supplying technical assistance for these critical issues to be addressed, so as to build a firm foundation for sustainable development in Mongolia, in line with ILO international labour standards. 
 
The experiences in many Asian countries, notably Korea and Vietnam, on business contracts with foreign companies are that these foreign companies often demand long-term contracts that are unacceptable with respect to labour protections and profit sharing. 
 
&ldquo;It is my sincere hope and firm belief that Mongolian government should listen to opinions of social partners. Through social dialogue and consensus, the government can build the confidence and mutual faith,&rdquo; stated Warda.

ICEM Shores Up Support to Mongolian Affiliate to Combat Privatisation, Contract Labour

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Thailand&rsquo;s Tripartite Industrial Relations Committee (IRC) ruled that French-based Michelin has violated provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1975, and ordered that management at the Laem Chabang tyre factory reinstate 12 activists &ndash; members of ICEM-affiliated Petroleum and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation (PCFT) &ndash; to their rightful jobs. 
 
The ruling was given on 24 June, but notification and official documentation of the unfair labour practices complaint did not come to the PCFT until 20 July. The12 had been unfairly discriminated against by Michelin since leading a two-month dispute and company lockout at the plant in March and April 2009. 
 
The 12 had been kept on Michelin&rsquo;s payroll, but were assigned to a government-run skills centre in efforts to keep them away from the 1,800-member workforce. They refused the assignments, citing violations of their rights. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="181" />
Standing, center, Michelin plant-level PCFT President Thanakorn Somsin (fist raised) and Secretary Sommoi Prawai (on his left), together with founders of the PCFT branch union 
The IRC ruling orders Michelin to provide work inside the factory to the 12 in positions not lower than their previous postings, and to do so within ten days. 
 
The dispute started when Michelin, in March 2009, attempted to institute 35% wage cut to everyone at the Chonburi Province plant. A petition surfaced protesting the unilateral cuts and managers then punished workers who refused to remove their names from the petition by locking them out of the factory. After unionists blockaded the plant, some were jailed, while Michelin supervisors filed criminal complaints against the union organisers. 
 
Even though tri-partite negotiations produced a partial resolve on 28 April, including recognition of the newly-formed plant union as part of PCFT, Michelin continued to discriminate against union leaders. The recent IRC ruling means that all union activists should be legally reinstated. 
 
Some 700 workers at Laem Chabang have taken up PCFT membership. Michelin has a 90% stake in three Thai tyre plants, the PCFT-represented Phra Padaeng factory in Samut Prakarn, the non-unionised Nong Khae plant in Sarburi, and Laem Chabang. The Siam Cement Group owns the minority shares in the three tyre plants.

Thai Labour Court Orders 12 Michelin Union Activists Back to Work

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US public criticism against a CEO and against his company in the wake of the deadly West Virginia coal mine explosion on 5 April has triggered measures for better and tighter overall workplace safety standards in the US Congress. The proposals stand as the first significant overhaul to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) in its 40-year history. 
 
A panel of the US House of Representatives&rsquo; Education and Labor Committee gave approval, with a 30-17 vote on 21 July, to HR 5663, the Miner Safety and Health Act. The proposed legislation would finally put teeth into America&rsquo;s federal safety and health statute, and comes at a time when the US public is angry over the arrogance and power exhibited by companies following job-place deaths and ecological disasters, like BP&rsquo;s Deepwater Horizon explosion and deaths in the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
The lightning rod for the tougher safety standards in the US continues to be Massey Energy and its CEO, Don Blankenship. It was at Massey&rsquo;s Upper Big Branch mine near Montcoal, West Virginia, on 5 April, that a methane gas blast killed 29 non-union miners in a colliery where workers were ignored when they spoke up against poor air quality. Blankenship has used the deaths, contemptibly, to argue for less oversight by the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and more reliance on business instincts in order to improve safety. 
<img src="" width="110" height="110" alt="" />
The proposed legislation is sweeping, and would lift the US statute to the level of some of the best safety laws in the world. OSHA violators could be charged with felony crimes, carrying heavy jail sentences and fines. It would grant expedited hearing, review, and protection in all-important whistle-blower cases, and it would give the US Labor Department&rsquo;s safety agency heightened power to shut unsafe workplaces. 
 
An existing but non-functioning &ldquo;pattern of violation&rdquo; status in the existing law would be given tougher enforcement mechanisms with strong penalties attached, and families and relatives of victims would receive more rights in the proposed legislation. 
 
Also in mining, workers would be given the undeniable right to refuse unsafe work and MSHA would have the power to shut down a mine without waiting for a company&rsquo;s appeals to exhaust, a common tactic used by Massey to continue production after safety violations are issued. At Upper Big Branch, Massey had been repeatedly cited for dust and ventilation problems, but the company&rsquo;s appeals caused penalties to be reduced and safety deficiencies to continue. 
 
Business and industry interests at the committee hearings in Washington, DC, opposed an updated OSHA, saying the proposed revisions are too much, too fast. 
 
That caused United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts to say, &ldquo;If we&rsquo;re asking ourselves, &lsquo;Are we moving too fast?&rsquo; maybe we should ask ourselves if we&rsquo;re moving too slow, because miners keep dyin&rsquo; in our nation&rsquo;s coal mines.&rdquo; 
<img src="" width="100" height="139" alt="" />
UMWA President Cecil Roberts
The increase in US mining deaths to date in 2010 is markedly up, and on a pace not seen since the 1980s when US mining employment was half what it is now. So far in 2010, 40 miners have been killed, nearing the most recent record of 47 in 2006. 
 
Thirty-one of the 40 deaths have occurred at Massey collieries. On 1 July, an electrician was crushed to death by a coal-laden shuttle car inside Massey&rsquo;s non-union White Buck Coal Co. mine in West Virginia. And on 10 May, another miner was crushed between machinery and a longwall at Massey&rsquo;s non-union Ruby Energy mine, also in West Virginia. He died a week later in a hospital. 
 
Besides the BP disaster that occurred in American waters in the Gulf of Mexico on 20 April, killing 11 workers, the updated safety legislation is spurred by the 3 April explosion at Tesoro&rsquo;s oil refinery in the state of Washington that killed seven &ndash; all members of the United Steelworkers (USW) &ndash; and another explosion at a power station of Kleen Energy Systems in the state of Connecticut in February, killing six. These accidents raise among Americans a late-to-arrive consciousness that perhaps the cost of profits over people in a free society has come at too steep a price. 
 
The full US House of Representatives must now take up the safety bill, while the US Senate is standing back awaiting House action before it takes up the legislation.

Massey Arrogance Fuels Tougher Workplace Safety Standards for US

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Thanks to dogged persistence by ICEM affiliate Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada, the fate of the 133,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery Shell refinery in Montr&eacute;al is still open and subject to sale. Last week, following a second court injunction prohibiting dismantling of the refinery until 10 September, Shell announced it again would negotiate with the Delek Group of Israel over purchase of the refinery. 
 
At stake are the jobs of 500 workers represented by the CEP. In January 2010, Shell announced plans to radically restructure its global downstream operations, including closure of the Montr&eacute;al East refinery by 1 June. 
 
The Anglo-Dutch multinational said it would continue operating part of the site as a terminal and distribution centre for scores of Shell retail outlets scattered across Qu&eacute;bec and Canada&rsquo;s Maritime Provinces. Such continuance, however, would require only 30 workers. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="120" />
The CEP and its Montr&eacute;al branch union, Local 121, has battled relentlessly to find a buyer, as well as to press provincial and federal authorities to keep the refinery operating. Shell rejected bids by potential operators last spring and union members believe Shell wants the refinery shut, with imported petroleum products distributed through the terminal. 
 
On 8 July, a Qu&eacute;bec Superior Court granted the union a ten-day injunction preventing any cannibalizing of the refinery. &ldquo;We believe that maintaining the equipment in good condition until we get satisfactory answers to our questions about offers to but the facility&rdquo; is in everybody&rsquo;s best interests, said Local 121 President Jean-Claude Rocheleau. 
 
On 16 July, that injunction was extended into September. Meanwhile, last week on 20 July, Shell stated at a federal parliamentary hearing of the House of Commons that it re-open talks with Delek, a holding company in which its wholly-owned subsidiary, US Holdings Inc., operates a crude pipeline, refinery, and hundreds of gasoline retail outlets in the southern US. 
 
Delek had been an earlier bidder for the refinery, but Shell rejected the bid as too low. The ICEM remains hopeful that CEP will succeed in achieving sale of the refinery, preserving jobs for the union&rsquo;s energy workers. Shell operates two smaller Canadian refineries, in Sarnia, Ontario, and in Edmonton, Alberta.

CEP Fights to Keep Shell’s Montréal Oil Refinery Operating

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In the rush to get copper production from the Cananea mine back on world markets, is Grupo M&eacute;xico disregarding the safety and health of contract workers? So it seems by an apparent undocumented rash of on-the-job accidents and injuries in the short six weeks since federal police opened the mine in Sonora State for the company. 
 
Following a 16 July accident in which a sub-contract worker was hospitalised after a five-metre fall, military police secured the perimeter of the hospital, not allowing anybody to enter. When leaders of Section 65 of the Mexican National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM) tried to lend assistance to the injured worker, they were turned away by &ldquo;a violent and arrogant grenadier,&rdquo; according to a report. 
 
Workers of Los Mineros at Cananea claim there have been 20 such accidents with injuries since mine rehabilitation began following the military takeover on 6 June. But this cannot be confirmed because safety reporting, if it exists, is never verified. This non-transparency at a major copper recovery project is a pox on Grupo M&eacute;xico and a pox on federal Labour and Interior Ministries, and on the State of Sonora, the latter governmental agencies that have all taken up reconciliation roles. 
<img alt="" src="" width="220" height="148" />
Federal police violently take control at Cananea, 6 June 
Photo - IMF
The pitiful irony is that Grupo M&eacute;xico and federal police used brute force to reopen the Cananea mine on 6 June, crushing a strike that began over health and safety in 2007. Now they are at breakneck pace, using disposable contract workers, to re-start Cananea at a time &ndash; during first quarter 2010 &ndash; that world copper supply fell short of refined usage. 
 
In a media interview in late June, Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s Isaac Lopez Arzola, the director-general of Southern Copper&rsquo;s Mexicana de Cobre S.A., which functions as the company&rsquo;s copper operating and servicing subsidiary, said 700 workers are now employed at the mine, all non-direct to Grupo M&eacute;xico and Southern Copper, and the responsibility of individual contractors. That number is expected to climb to 1,700. 
 
Compared to a global investment strategy totaling US$2.8 billion, Grupo M&eacute;xico is spending only US$114 million to bring Cananea into production, rushing to get it done by first quarter 2011 to meet continued high copper prices. In turn, Southern Copper will double its global copper output over the next few years, making it the world&rsquo;s third largest copper producer. 
 
With copper prices doubling in early 2010 over copper pricing in early 2009, and considering that every 1% jump in the copper price equates to an estimated 1.3% rise in Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s equity value, should the company concern itself with safety, or the injuries of non-direct workers? 
 
Apparently not, except to surround them with militia so their stories cannot be heard.

Grupo México’s Infamous Safety Legacy Lives on at Cananea

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="45" />
A global ICEM Conference dedicated to discussing CAL took place immediately prior to the ICEM Fifth Statutory Congress in Buenos Aires on 23 November. The Conference brought together more than 400 delegates from 69 countries to exchange stories of best practice, to evaluate work done on CAL, and to probe the future fight against Contract and Agency Labour (CAL). 
 
The meeting was chaired by Sergio Novais, ICEM Vice President for Latin America/Caribbean, with an introduction by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, who said, &ldquo;This conference is about an issue that has been one of the highest on the political agenda of the ICEM for many years. But despite our efforts, CAL is still spreading. In some countries it has become the regular employment situation.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="215" height="160" />
Sergio Novais
For individual workers, Warda said, there is more job insecurity, less regular hours, lower and irregular pay, fewer benefits, and in many cases no access to social benefits and an increased health and safety risk. There is evidence that CAL is being used by employers to deny workers their right to freedom of association, and in many countries CAL workers are either legally or in practice prevented from joining a union. 
 
The conference began with ICEM CAL Project Coordinators and J&ouml;rgen Juul Rasmussen, General Secretary of DEF Denmark, introducing the CAL situation in Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. Aranya Pakapath, ICEM CAL Coordinator for Asia, shared a number of recent developments in the fight against CAL. In India, following a number of training workshops conducted by the ICEM, the Indian mineworkers&rsquo; union managed to negotiate a clause on CAL in a new mining sector agreement. The language states that companies should not engage contract workers on work of a permanent nature and that payment of contract workers will either be by cheque or bank transfer &ndash; so there is proof there is a relationship. 
 
In Malaysia, said Pakapath, the government last year attempted to introduce legislation to legalise employment agencies. After a conference the ICEM held with the Malaysian Trades Union Confederation (MTUC), the confederation petitioned the government to withdraw the bill. The bill was withdrawn, but last month was reintroduced and Parliament approved it. Pakapath highlighted the efforts of unions in Indonesia &ndash;where the paper unions have been actively organising outsourced workers and succeeded in recruiting 580 workers &ndash; and the Philippines where unions have been trying to ban employment agencies through legislation and the industrial courts. 
 
In Pakapath&rsquo;s home country, she noted that at the Electric Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), EGAT-LU, with the solidarity and support of the Danish Electricians&rsquo; Union, managed to make fixed term workers into permanent workers, who are now entitled to social benefits. 
 
The ICEM and German affiliate IGBCE supported the Linde union in their struggle to get the industrial gas company to take responsibility for and respect the rights of CAL workers which finally resulted in the signing of an agreement between the company and the union. 
 
Elias Pintado of Brazil &ndash; who works together with Rosane Sasse to coordinate the CAL project in Latin America &ndash; highlighted some of the work carried out by ICEM affiliates to fight CAL and to improve legislation on outsourcing. Pintado explained that, with the exception of Brazil, all countries in the region have specific legislation to regulate outsourcing. 
 
Often these laws stipulate joint responsibility for employers who use outsourcing. In Brazil, the national congress is currently debating 26 bills to regulate outsourcing, most of which make it possible to outsource almost all functions. Brazilian unions are currently trying to collect one million signatures in support of one particular bill that would safeguard workers. 
 
Other Latin America unions have brought legal cases on the basis of legislation in force in countries, and in some cases have met with success. As a result of the many cases taking place in Brazil, the Higher Labour Court held a consultation on outsourcing. The chemical workers&rsquo; union has negotiated a code of conduct with Bayer in Brazil on outsourcing, which states that the employer is required to discuss CAL with the unions and inform the unions of the reasons why certain sectors would be subject to outsourcing. The code guarantees that user enterprises will pay wages and taxes for the CAL workers if the agency fails to do so. 
 
Before agencies can work for Bayer they must prove that they have no responsibility regarding workers&rsquo; wage arrears. Pintado informed delegates that on 28 July 2011, the Latin America Day against CAL was launched at a seminar in Colombia. Following the seminar, ICEM affiliates wrote to the head of Mercosur proposing unique legislation in the region on CAL. Many trade unions in the region have modified their statues and set up secretariats dedicated to CAL to monitor implementation of contracts and to represent workers. There are also shop stewards elected from among the CAL workers. 
 
The Sub-Saharan Africa strand of the ICEM CAL project has carried out activities in Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa and Namibia. In the multitude of cases, the region has the aim of strengthening union negotiations and campaigns, to find solutions to negative practices, and to influence governments to introduce binding regulations on the use of CAL. 
 
A report by Joseph Toe, ICEM CAL Project Coordinator for the region, highlighted the fact that unions are joining forces on these common objectives. In Guinea, the three ICEM affiliates have formed a CAL Steering Committee; in Nigeria, the two ICEM affiliates in the oil and gas sectors are working closely together, and there is close cooperation between ICEM&rsquo;s affiliates in South Africa and Namibia. 
 
Toe highlighted how Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) with Anglo Gold Ashanti and Umicore have been used to create space for collective agreements that cover all workers. In Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Labour has an action plan to stop the extension of agencies. In Nigeria, the Ministry for Petrol has published guidelines to control the activities of agencies. 
 
The guidelines cover industrial relations, collective bargaining for CAL workers, employment security and vocational training for CAL workers. In Mozambique, SINTIQUIAF has recruited into their ranks 300 CAL workers &ndash; the majority of whom are women aged 18-30. There is excellent cooperation between the labour inspectorate and the leadership of SINTIQUIAF, and labour inspectorate officials have attended all ICEM CAL seminars. The statutes of some unions have been amended &ndash; for example, Mauritius and Senegal &ndash; to make it possible for unions to recruit CAL workers. 
<img alt="" src="" width="213" height="160" />
Introducing the CAL situation in Europe, J&ouml;rgen Juul Rasmussen of Denmark, said that insecure work is the most rapidly-growing form of employment in Europe said that about 14% of all workers in Europe are on precarious jobs. At a company level, said Rasmussen, it is vital that shop stewards address the problem. In Denmark, the unions are fighting at the national level to include language on CAL in CBAs and the labour courts have ruled that when you have an agreement it must also apply to CAL workers. 
 
In Europe, for many years unions have demanded a Directive on agency work &ndash; this was agreed in 2008. All EU member states are implementing the Directive, although some countries are finding national solutions. Globally, unions can use ILO Conventions and Recommendations and, where necessary, engage in global campaigns. 
 
European labour organisations EMCEF, EMF, and ETUF: TCL have agreed that CAL is a major negotiating priority. 
 
Rasmussen highlighted some inspirational examples from Europe. For instance in Denmark, there is a major industrial agreement with a paragraph that says CAL workers should have the same rights as permanent workers. In Sweden, the unions and employers have joint committees to authorise the use of agencies and agency workers must have the same average wages as their permanent equivalents. 
 
A 2010 agreement, states that companies cannot hire agency workers if they have dismissed permanent workers over the previous six months. IF Metall in Sweden has agreed that employers must negotiate with the union before taking on agency workers for more than one month. In the construction sector in Belgium, the unions managed to ban the use of one-day contracts through collective agreements. 
 
The second part of the conference saw the exchange of best practice examples, with panels composed of ICEM affiliates from Mauritius, India, the Netherlands, Colombia, Senegal, Malaysia, Turkey and Argentina. Sascha Meijer described how FNV Bondgenoten is working to protect the rights of between 3,000 and 4,000 migrant workers involved in a major construction project in the Netherlands. The migrant workers, the vast majority of whom work through agencies or subcontractors, put in long days for low wages, do not get extra pay for working weekends, and are deducted amounts for accommodation and transport. 
 
The wrong social security regime is being used and the cheapest CBA &ndash; the wrong one &ndash; is being applied, all amounting to unequal pay for the same work. FNV Bondgenoten in the Netherlands developed a new, flexible approach to organising workers in this challenging context. They are building relationships with the workers, using the media to name and shame the exploitative agencies and employers, and making sure that relevant questions are put to Parliament. 
 
Bondgenoten is establishing better relations with unions in the home countries of the workers, and has signed a framework agreement with the energy employers on CAL matters, which includes a procedure for resolving conflicts and it also necessitates regular dialogue. Meijer highlighted the need for stronger international cooperation between unions to make union membership more worthwhile for migrant workers. 
 
Panellists shared examples of actions being taken at national, company and trade union levels in the fight for permanent direct employment and for equality of treatment. At the national level, Sutids, the industrial workers&rsquo; union of Senegal, launched an awareness-raising media campaign, communicated with employers and lobbied the President of Senegal, the national assembly, the Senate and the Ministry of Labour. These actions contributed to the passing of a bill on employment agencies. 
 
The provisions include employers can only use temporary workers to carry out specific tasks, and not for more than two years; that CAL workers must be paid the same as permanent workers; and that at the end of the contract the agency must pay 7% of the total gross remuneration during the whole period of the contract. Sutids also recruited 1,200 new CAL members. 
In Mauritius, in October, the ICEM affiliate SYNDICATRAVAYER signed the first ever collective agreement in the construction sector where permanent and CAL workers are both covered &ndash; there is a 15% wage increase for all workers and, most importantly, all workers doing work of the same value must be equally remunerated. 
 
ICEM Turkish affiliate Petrol-Is drew attention to the protocol signed with T&uuml;praş, Turkey&rsquo;s largest industrial enterprise, which states that CAL workers must become permanent employees once they have worked at the company for seven months. The Chemical Mazdoor Federation of India reported that an affiliated union managed to recruit all 650 CAL workers in a chemical plant, who then got almost all the benefits given to permanent workers. 
 
At the same time, there are several cases pending in the Indian courts as unions have filed complaints against employers for using &ldquo;sham and bogus&rdquo; contracts. For more than ten years, Sintracarbon of Colombia has been organising CAL workers. Some 6,000 of the 11,000 workers at Carbones del Cerrejon, the world&rsquo;s largest open cast coal mines, are contract workers &ndash; they work long days, are far from their families, and are paid the minimum possible. Recently, the union had successes in organising mechanical workers and is working on a set of demands with the supplier company. Now 20% of Sintracarbon&rsquo;s members are contract workers. 
 
The panellists also discussed actions unions are taking to improve recruitment, active involvement and representation of CAL members. In India, dedicated unions have been established for CAL workers and others have opened their door to CAL workers &ndash; for example the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation has succeeded in organising 10,000 CAL members. In Mauritius, SYNDICATRAVAYER amended their rules and reduced membership fees from 50 Rupees to 1 Rupee. The union constructed a two-story building which members can use, created an IT school were CAL workers and their families can receive free training and established a credit union where members can take out loans. Within 18 months, 3,000 new members have been recruited in the construction sector alone. 
 
The final panel of the day, comprising the General Secretaries of the IMF, the ICEM and the ITGLWF and chaired by the Coordinator of the Council of Global Unions, Jim Baker, discussion centered on future strategies. Jyrki Raina, IMF General Secretary, said that the fight against precarious work must be one of the key priorities of the new global union federation, which will be founded in June 2012. Raina explained that cooperation with the ITUC and all other GUFs is vital as we are facing the powerful lobby of MNEs and Ciett who want to use international institutions to legitimise the spread of precarious work. 
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Employers argue that temporary agencies create new jobs but, said Raina, the fact is that temporary agencies make decent jobs, with social protections, precarious jobs. Unions should work to limit the use of precarious work in all its forms and if precarious work is used unions should work to guarantee the same level of wages and benefits for all workers. 
 
According to ILO figures, 80% of all workers have no social security protection &ndash; this has to be a priority for the new global union. ICEM&rsquo;s Manfred Warda reflected on the First Global CAL Conference in Bangkok in 2007, where the problem of CAL was identified. Since then, Warda said, serious work has been taken by ICEM affiliates and the affiliates of other GUFs, which must form the foundations for future work. 
 
The first task is organise, organise, organise. CAL workers must be included in the bargaining unit, and unions should help them gain permanent employment status. Warda highlighted that factors contributing to recent mining disasters included that workers did not get adequate safety training and were not employed directly. Following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP said that the responsibilities were shared by various subcontractor companies. 
 
Klaus Priegnitz, ITGLWF General Secretary, spoke about how conditions in textile plants in countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh are being driven down even further by the growing use of CAL. The only objective, he said, is to have cheaper and cheaper labour. 
 
He said we must fight this at a national level &ndash; organise, recruit and become stronger. We can use GFAs as tools to fight precarious work. We should also use the revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. In summary, the General Secretaries drew attention to the importance of continuing and expanding the joint work carried out through the Council of Global Unions Work Relationships Group. They said that the ICEM, the IMF and the ITGLWF must increase cooperation and the founding of a new GUF is the right next step &ndash; the three GUFs will be stronger together.

Affiliates Reaffirm CAL Fight at 2nd Global Conference

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