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China recorded further mass deaths in yet another coal mine disaster over the weekend. On 19 March, a gas blast at Xishui colliery near Shuozhou, Shanzi province, killed 60, with another nine miners still missing. The explosion collapsed a wall in the adjacent Kangjiayao mine and several of the dead and trapped miners were working there. The Xishui mine was ordered shut last November for safety reasons, but mine owners—now being held by police—restarted production early this year in defiance of authorities. This latest disaster comes a mere two days after another gas explosion killed 19 miners in Chongquing in southwestern Sichuan province. And on 14 March, a gas blast at Qitaihe Coal Field Group killed 18 at the Xinfu mine in Qitaihe, Heilongjiang province.

Three Chinese Mine Accidents Kill 100

Fifty-three Serbian miners won job protections and guaranteed work rights with a seven-day hunger strike at the Kostolac coal mine. The workers, part of mine maintenance and geological research of Serbian power company EPS now coming under a new enterprise called Georad, will retain the same contract provisions and rights under the EPS collective agreement. They also won job protections from EPS if the new enterprise fails. The miners’ action plus skilled bargaining tactics by leaders of ICEM affiliate EPS Trade Union Workers won the guarantees. The strike lasted one full week, 18-24 March.

Serbian EPS Union Wins Rights for Mine Maintenance Workers

After three weeks of futile bargaining, talks broke off last week between Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) of Canada Local 689 and UPM Kymmene over efforts to end a four-month paper mill strike in Miramichi, New Brunswick. The Finnish paper company still will not submit the pattern labour agreement for the paper sector of eastern Canada to the striking 700 CEP members, which is the central issue to the strike. Rather, UPM Kymmene was pressuring Local 689 to force a vote of union members on a substandard proposal. Union members 14 April vehemently rejected taking a vote on anything short of the pattern agreement.

CEP, UPM Kymmene Fail in Canadian Talks to End Strike

Meanwhile, coal miners in South Africa, fearful they would be sacked by the sale of Zululand Anthracite Colliery by Ingwe Holdings’parent BHP Billiton to Riverdale Holdings, staged an underground strike for several days beginning 10 April. Supported by the NUM, the strikers are seeing assurances that any redundancies at the colliery in northern KwaZulu-Natal State will be met with adequate payments. Another underground mine sit-in occurred in the Free State by 400 NUM members at Star Diamond near Theunissen. Miners were protesting the sackings of two workers who refused to work in dangerous conditions.

South African Coal Miners Stage Underground Strike

EPMU members at a Colgate-Palmolive factory in Petone, NZ, are continuing a series of one-day strikes over the pay issue. While the global chemicals and detergents company shows record earnings in New Zealand, it offers Petrone workers a 5% increase covering 15 months, rather than the 5% yearly increase sought by the EPMU.

Strikes Occurring in New Zealand at Colgate-Palmolive

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Legislation in South Korea to revise how contract and agency labour is regulated became deadlocked in the country's National Assembly. The country's two national labour centers--FCTU and FKTU--have joined hands and said passage in the bill's existing form would ensure a general strike across Korea. 
Employers are seeking a top pay rate of 70% coupled with the use of contract and non-regular labour on an unlimited basis. The union federations, whose top two leaders 22 April announced they would start a hunger strike over the issue, back a recommendation from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea which states the bill must provide part-time workers with full labour pay rates, and contain guarantees of full rights and safeguards against discrimination.

Korean Reform Legislation On Contract Labour

EPMU members at a new tyre plant of Bridgestone began picketing that jobsite on 26 April in protest of the Japanese company's failure to meet demands. The 24 strikers are highly skilled electricians, engineers and mold changers who are also seeking the 5%, as well as shift allowances and a minimum nine statutory holidays. The actual work stoppage began 9 April.

Discord by Skilled Workers at Bridgestone Tyre in New Zealand

Dutch citizens are expressing themselves in mass dissent at the center-right coalition government’s austerity measures that targets valued social programs. Led by trade unions such as ICEM affiliate FNV Bondgenoten, some 300,000—better than three times the expected number—protested in Amsterdam 2 October. A full spread on the protests in NL will be featured in the upcoming issue of the ICEM print magazine Global-Info.

300,000 Dutch Citizens Turn Out to Say 'No' to Social Cuts

A 4-day strike paralyzed Nigeria the week of 11 October, and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) is gearing for a second, heavier general strike aimed at getting the government to reverse a fuel price hike. A 2-week break in the strike ends this week and NLC leadership and leaders of the federation’s 29 affiliates meet tomorrow to schedule another general strike if the government does not rescind September’s 25% petrol hike.

Four-Day Nigerian General Strike Over Fuel Prices

Nigeria’s House of Representatives will carefully scrutinize an already amended Labour Reform Bill passed by the Senate. The measure, introduced by President Olusegun Obasanjo to punish NLC and trade unions for opposing past fuel price hikes with strikes, did have “no strike” language removed by the Senate before passage, but other restrictive measures that would weaken the NLC and trade unions remain. House leaders promise comprehensive hearings to ensure Nigerian people are heard on the legislation. Further amendments are likely.

Nigerian Labour Seeks to Further Weaken Labour Reform Bill

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