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Following 168 days of bargaining, management at the Pampilla refinery, in the Ventanilla district on the Western edge of capital Lima, continues to refuse to bargain in good faith. 
 
The refinery is a subsidiary of the Spanish multinational Repsol. With a daily capacity of 102,000 barrels, La Pampilla is responsible for over half the refining capacity of Peru. 
 
Fenupetrol, the Oil Workers&rsquo; Union in Peru, has found Repsol to behave very differently than the image that the company portrays &ndash; one of being an ethical company, with high regard for corporate social responsibility. 
 
Moises Ochoa, National Secretary of International Relations at Fenupetrol, reports that following management&rsquo;s failure to offer anything reasonable to the bargaining committee since negotiations began on 15 December 2009, the union has moved to request legal arbitration for bargaining. 

<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="139" />
As collective bargaining at the company enters its second stage, Fenupetrol reiterate its demands in light of recent large company profits and following five years with no increase in workers&rsquo; salaries. The Pampilla employees now earn 33% less than oil workers elsewhere in the country, for instance at Petroperu. Sales for the rest of 2010 are projected to be very high. The bargaining committee now seeks 25-30% rise in base salaries, improvements in the profit bonus and shift bonus, as well as a significant increase in the food allowance for workers. 
 
The Pampilla refinery reported revenues of US$802 million during the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 68.4% over last year. 
 
The ICEM calls on Repsol and the local Pampilla management to bargain in good faith, and come to terms with wages deficiencies incurred over the last five years.

Repsol Subsidiary in Peru Hinders Collective Negotiations with Oil Workers

Strike actions in April and a flurry of trade union activities over the past two weeks have succeeded in bringing formal recognition to the ICEM affiliate, Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia, at the Zestafoni Ferroalloys Plant and the Georgian Manganese mines, some 40 kilometres from Zestafoni in Chiatura. 
 
That was reinforced on 13 May after the union, backed by the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), and top managers met for a second conciliation commission session and made headway towards resolving a host of demands put forward by workers. 
 
Miners and metalworkers were buoyed massively when, ten days after a three-day strike ended on 25 April that got management&rsquo;s rapt attention, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan travelled to western Georgian to meet with workers. 

<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="225" />
(LtoR) Irakli Petriashvili, President of GTUC, Manfred Warda,&nbsp;GTUC interpreter, Kemal &Ouml;zkan 
Bringing pledges of solidarity from the ICEM and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), Warda told Georgian workers they were not alone. And speaking before regional news media and to workers directly, Warda assured all that the combined strength of the two federations was ready and willing to take this fight beyond central Asia if that was needed. 
 
The message underscored a resolve borne through several months of struggle, culminating in a series of April incidents, including grievous intimidation tricks (see prior ICEM report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3731-Miners-Metalworkers-Not-Intimidated-by-Georgian-Manganese-Managers">here</a>) by management that served only to bring more staff into the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; fold. 
 
Initially in the 13 May negotiations, managers and their attorneys sought involvement of an existing but dying &ldquo;yellow&rdquo; union in the talks. But the seven union members of the joint, bilateral commission threatened to walk out and begin renewed strike actions. The union and GTUC representatives then showed managers a large number of power-of-attorney statements by workers that expressed their allegiance to the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union. 

<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="142" />
Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union Members
Recognition was achieved. The numerous petitions that workers demand to improve their working lives were then open for discussion. Foremost among them were wages. In the hours leading up to the talks, the ICEM and IMF scrambled to gather and succeeded in delivering wage rates from associated ferroalloy plants in Ukraine, owned by the metals arm of PrivatBank. 
 
Miners at the Georgian Manganese complex are paid an average monthly wage of GEL (lari) 450, or US$238, &euro;192. Metalworkers at the ferroalloy plant in Zestafoni earn a monthly average of GEL 562, or US$298, &euro;240. With both sides having already agreed to 1 May as the effective date for salary adjustments, management proposed a 15% increase for shift workers and 8% for day workers. 
 
This is unsatisfactory to the union side of the commission. But they are confident that further negotiations on 17-18 May, and again on 20 May, will bring long overdue percentage increases higher. The union did get a commitment at the 13 May set of talks that the enterprises will begin to comply with Georgia labour law regarding sick leave payments, including retroactive compensation for those workers who have been denied such pay. 
 
&ldquo;It is a big step forward,&rdquo; said Gocha Aleksandria, Vice President of the GTUC, who is a member of the 14-member conciliation commission. &ldquo;The administration now accepts our union, but the hardest part is still ahead. We intend to achieve the obvious, meaningful, and tangible results for our members and that is permanent labour contracts that address all issues.&rdquo; 

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Some of those issues include raising the number of yearly paid leave days from 30 (metal) and 32 (mining) to 35; creation of a joint contributory pension fund to supplement a miserly state pension; better safety and health conditions; and an upgrade to medical facilities. 
 
Even prior to the first commission negotiations, on 7 May, management reacted to workers&rsquo; militancy and ICEM&rsquo;s mission statement of that week by agreeing to permanent work contracts, as well as reinstatement of two union leaders who were discharged for strike activities. (At the 13 May session, management agreed to pay the two their full April salaries.) 
 
Another accomplishment in the recent bargaining is that union leaders will bring their demands directly to Georgian shareholders of the enterprises. The complex ownership of the ferroalloy plant and manganese mines has stock ownership by privately-held Stemcor Holdings of the UK, with shares also traded publicly on the Georgian bourse with Georgia entrepreneurs and the Ukrainian oligarch Gennadiy Boholyubov and his manganese empire that is tied to PrivatBank holding vast sums. 
 
For now, the 3,600 miners and 2,200 metalworkers have a free and democratic union they can call their own &ndash; the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Imereti Region. But as Aleksandria states, the journey now begins in earnest: erstwhile dialogue to gain the wage levels, benefits and work conditions that they justly deserve.

Recognition Realised for Georgian Miners, Metalworkers at Manganese Operations

The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission recently published the damning results of an inquiry into the recruitment and treatment of agency workers in the meat and poultry processing sector in England and Wales. 
 
Although the investigation focused exclusively on the meat and poultry industry, it was said that &ldquo;...the Commission has no evidence to suggest that supply chain practices in the meat processing sector are more detrimental to workers than in any other sector that makes significant use of low-paid, agency migrant labour.&rdquo; 
 
The Commission found evidence of widespread poor treatment of agency workers, especially among those who are migrants or who are pregnant, both by agencies and by user enterprises. In particular, the Commission found evidence of practices that contravene legal requirements, ethical trading standards, and basic human rights. Other types of treatment were described as being &ldquo;an affront to dignity.&rdquo; 
 
One-third of agencies told the investigators that they had acted unlawfully by recruiting workers of particular nationalities, by giving preference to candidates with particular nationalities they judged the user firm would prefer, or by discriminating against certain nationalities at the direct request of the user firm. 
<img alt="" src="" width="237" height="60" />
While flexibility is often cited as being an advantage of agency work by the industry, only two workers cited the flexibility of agency work as a positive aspect. Almost all workers said they would prefer permanent work due to the security and rights it offers. More than 80% of the interviewees said that agency workers were treated worse than permanent workers in every aspect of their job. The agency workers said they received poorer pay, were allocated the worst jobs, and were treated like inferiors. Not a single interviewee thought that agency workers were treated better than their permanent counterparts. 
 
Workers reported being refused toilet breaks, and enduring physical and verbal abuse. Concerns about health and safety were raised in over half the interviews, and many interviewees expressed concern that their personal protective equipment was poor quality, ill fitting, shared with other workers, or missing altogether. 
 
The Commission found that abusive treatment was less common in organised factories, and said that &ldquo;In workplaces where unions are recognised, or have a strong presence, we found that they provide a significant degree of protection for workers.&rdquo; However, some workers reported that their right to Freedom of Association had been restricted and reported instances where hostility of companies towards union activities discouraged people from joining a union for fear of retribution. 
 
The report concludes with a set of recommendations to key bodies in the industry to &ldquo;encourage a systematic change in behaviour,&rdquo; and improve the operations of the Gangmaster Licensing Authority (GLA). Although outside of its remit, the Commission said &ldquo;...that there is a case for broadening the GLA&rsquo;s remit to include other sectors where low-paid agency workers are at risk of exploitation&rdquo; and urged the government to positively consider this proposal. 
 
Commenting on the findings, Nicola Smith, Senior Policy Officer at the UK&rsquo;s Trades Union Congress (TUC), said, &ldquo;This strongly evidenced based report demonstrates the scale of mistreatment that continues across low paid industries, where temporary workers with insecure employment status face some of the greatest risks. The TUC remains concerned that such exploitative practices are not confined to the meat processing sector.&rdquo;

Report on Abusive Treatment of Agency Workers in the UK

Lacking job security and decent working conditions creates a great deal of stress, particularly in people who are struggling to support a family. Medical researchers discovered, in the 1930s, that stress by itself could produce physical effects. Since then, there has been an ongoing effort to better understand the stress response. 
 
The strict scientific definition of stress is &quot;any stimulus, or group of stimuli, that provokes a physiological or psychological response.&quot; A more useful definition of stress in the work context might be &quot;conditions that exceed a person's normal coping capacity.&quot; In occupational health, we are particularly concerned with the stressful effects on workers of conditions in the workplace. 
 
What are the negative effects of excessive stress on health - and by health, we mean all aspects of physical, mental, and social well-being? 
 
The symptoms of stress are generally thought to arise from the &quot;fight or flight response.&quot; In our evolutionary history, human beings were adapted to respond to a threat by preparing to either fight, give chase, or run away. The body instinctively reacts in certain ways designed to prepare itself for a sudden, short-term, all-out effort to survive. 
<img alt="" src="" width="126" height="95" />
At first, the sense heightens, blood pressure goes up, heart rate accelerates, respiration increases, blood flow to the muscles is increase, muscles tense, and the digestive system shuts down. Your body temperature may change, provoking sweating. In our evolutionary past, these responses prepared you mentally and physically to meet a threat that would be resolved, for better or for worse, within a few minutes. 
 
The problem in modern terms is that our bodies seem unable to distinguish between the &quot;threat&quot; posed by a cave-bear, a bullying boss, or perpetual fear of job loss. The fight-or-flight response, maintained or repeated too often, results in chronic or long-term damage. These can include hypertension and cardiovascular disease, ulcers, colitis, compromised immune systems, headaches, and psychological changes. 
 
To further complicate things, different people respond to chronic stress in different ways and with different symptoms. Faced with the same workplace stressors, Jane may experience diseases of her digestive system while John may develop high blood pressure. These inconsistent symptoms have made it very difficult to get stress symptoms recognized as a legitimate occupational disease. 
 
All working people experience some degree of career stress; but workers who toiled under Contract and Agency Labour (CAL), who lack even minimal job security and often work for lower wages and in poorer conditions than their full-time counterparts, experience much more. Career stress should be thought of as adding to all the other stresses caused by every aspect of a person's life. 
 
To control stress in the workplace, the same hierarchy of controls that are considered in the control of any other hazard should be used. Control the hazard at the source, if possible; failing that, control the hazard before it reaches the worker (along the exposure path); and as a last resort, control the hazard at the worker. 
 
CAL workers have less scope to seek these controls. They may be subjected to heavy work demands, a poor workplace environment, harassment or bullying, shift work, role uncertainty, a lack of training, unrealistic expectations, lack of input or control over the work, poor ergonomic factors, a high degree of scrutiny or monitoring, and of course job insecurity. Stress at work can have a synergistic effect on stress away from work, capable both of exacerbating and being exacerbated by: family problems, financial problems, sleep and fatigue problems, financial problems, and a feeling of powerlessness and low self worth. 
 
Unlike full-time workers, who often experience a level of loyalty to their employer and their work, CAL workers can feel less commitment. In the long term, this can increase the risk of burn-out. Job performance will come to consist of doing just enough to get by, and this can spill over into personal life as the burned out worker fails to look after their own health, relationships, and families. 
 
Stress is not a trivial condition that can be dealt with simply by willing it away. It is a serious problem, and a proven cause of a wide range of medical conditions 
 
Control of the hazard at the source, would in this case mean the conversion of contract and agency jobs to secure, decent work. 
 
Contract and Agency Labour can and does make workers sick.

Contract and Agency Labour … and Stress

The Global Union Federation representing workers in the food, agriculture, and services sector, the International Union of Food and Allied Workers&rsquo; Association (IUF), has written to John Ruggie, UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, requesting that the relationship between precarious work and the effective realisation of human rights be incorporated into his investigations and recommendations as a matter of priority. 
 
In June 2008, Ruggie proposed a policy framework which was unanimously welcomed by the Human Rights Council. The &quot;Protect, Respect, Remedy&quot; framework is made up of three pillars: the state duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business; the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, by avoiding infringing on the rights of others; and greater access by victims to effective remedy, judicial and non-judicial. 
<img alt="" src="" width="145" height="73" />
John Ruggie 
In preparing to make operational the framework, Ruggie is currently consulting with a wide range of actors, including through an online consultation forum, that can be found <a href="http://www.srsgconsultation.org">here</a>, the forum for which the IUF used for its submission. 
 
In that submission, the IUF argues that a meaningful investigation of the relationship between business and human rights must address how the degeneration of traditional employment relationships has impacted on workers&rsquo; human rights. Non-traditional forms of working arrangements, such as agency work, contract work and bogus self-employment, are being used to undermine trade union organising and bargaining. Says the IUF, this is a &ldquo;fundamental human rights issue demanding a strong response rooted in a comprehensive human rights framework.&rdquo; 
 
The IUF draw attention to the ILO&rsquo;s 2008 report on industrial relations at Coca-Cola&rsquo;s Colombia bottlers, which found that the company was systematically denying and restricting the ability to join a union by outsourcing many core jobs. In order to redress this and ensure that workers are capable of fully exercising their rights the global union calls for urgent, systematic action by governments and business to restrict the use of precarious work.

IUF Urges UN Special Representative to Probe Precarious Work

The Executive Committee of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) Federation, meeting today 26 May in Geneva, passed three key resolutions. Firstly, the Executive drew sharp attention on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its role to improve safety conditions in the world&rsquo;s mines. 
 
The ICEM also passed resolutions reiterating its strong support to the United Steelworkers in Canada in its 11-month strike against Brazilian-based Vale, and support to the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), also known as Los Mineros, in its lengthy struggle against Grupo Mexico and the government of Mexico. 
 
The adopted statement on mine safety called on the ILO to do more to press member states to ratify Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. Recent mining tragedies in Turkey and Russia served as a backdrop for the Executive issuing strong rhetoric for immediate action by the ILO. 
 
&ldquo;Our statutory body strongly feels that the ILO must become more pro-active in investigating causes of safety negligence, and insist on a greater trade union role in promoting safe work conditions,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. 
 
In Turkey, the ICEM endorsed today&rsquo;s three one-hour work stoppages by 10,000 miners, strikes that were led by ICEM affiliate Genel Maden-Is. The strikes across the coal-mining region of Zonguldak follow the deadly 17 May methane explosion in the Karadon mine, which killed 30 non-union and short-term contract workers. The strikes were meant as a message to the Turkish government, demanding safe work conditions inside mines, as well as ratification of Convention 176.
The ICEM Executive also condemned faulty pay schemes in mining in several countries, including Russia where monthly salaries are kept extremely low, with miners expected to achieve high production quotas to supplement their pay. This likely was the case at the Raspadskaya mine in the Kemerovo region, where 90 workers died due to methane gas explosions in early May. 
 
The safety statement also addressed a rash of accidents in both the upstream and downstream oil and gas industries, including a refinery explosion in the US state of Washington that killed seven and the Gulf of Mexico disaster. &ldquo;While much is made of the environmental destruction along the United States Gulf coast brought about by the oil rig explosion, which indeed merits attention, little is made of the fact that 11 offshore workers died and 15 others were seriously injured,&rdquo; read the statement. See full resolution <a href="/index.php?id=97&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3794">here</a>. 
 
The resolution regarding the USW strike at three locations of Vale in Canada called attention to the company&rsquo;s ongoing aversion to negotiate in good faith with the union. The global campaign for justice at Vale, by the ICEM, the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and affiliates from around the world has improved conditions for workers, said the resolution. See full document <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3796">here</a>. 
 
The third resolution, on Los Mineros&rsquo; struggle against Grupo Mexico and the government of Felipe Calderon, condemns the recent brutal and unprovoked attacks by the Mexican Federal Police on members of the union. The attack is seen as a direct attack on the autonomy of Los Mineros. Police fired on, detained, and physically attacked the workers in the city of L&aacute;zaro C&aacute;rdenas, Michoac&aacute;n. Among those attacked was Mario Garc&iacute;a Ort&iacute;z, Los Mineros&rsquo; special delegate for the State of Michoac&aacute;n, also the Alternative General Secretary of the union and President of the recent Convention of the union. 
 
The ICEM statement calls on the Mexican government to acknowledge the result of the democratic election of the Los Mineros Congress, in which Napoleon Gomez Urrutia was elected. See the full document <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3795">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM is a Global Union Federation consisting of 467 trade unions in 132 countries, representing in total 20 million workers. 
 
For further information, contact ICEM Information Officer, Dick Blin, <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, or +41 79 734 8994 (mobile), or Tom Grinter, ICEM Communications and Campaigns, <a href="mailto:tom.grinter@icem.org">tom.grinter@icem.org</a>, +41 79 693 4499 (mobile).

ICEM Executive Demands ILO Action on Mine Safety, Justice in Canada and Mexico

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A week-long blockade by several hundred contract workers at Chile&rsquo;s third largest copper mine ended 12 May, but issues remain unresolved. The blockade, takeover of equipment and operations, and reported kidnappings of direct employees at the Collahuasi mine in northern Region I ended only when Special Forces of the Chilean police arrived to break up the strike. 
 
The contract workers then took the strike 180 kilometres to the west to the town of Iquique. Negotiations to resolve the dispute had been ongoing with the Tarapac&aacute; governor, and reports circulate that talks would again start today. Collahuasi, which is 44% owned by Xstrata, 44% by AngloAmerican, with the rest held by Japanese investors connected to Mitsui &amp; Co., declared force majeure on 10 May. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
The mining enterprise said it suspended production then because of the on-site takeover, but began operating again on 12 May. Collahuasi employs 2,000 direct employees, while another 4,000 work for some scores of sub-contractors. 
 
Collahuasi is currently in the first phase of a US$750 million expansion and reports linked the contract workers to a Chilean engineering firm involved in that expansion. Their strike and blockade is over demands that include on-site housing similar to that of direct-employed staff, and bonuses for successfully concluding wage negotiations in April. 
 
The strike and blockade began 7 May. Copper prices on the London Metals Market rose slightly due to the shutdown. The Collahusi mine provides 3.3% of the world&rsquo;s copper supply, with 2009 production at 535,000 tonnes of processed copper. The expansion, due to be complete by 2015, will boost that production figure to 600,000 tonnes.

Contract Workers’ Strike Flares at Chile’s Collahuasi Copper Mine

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Iranian authorities experienced a wide backlash of anger from throughout the world, following their decision to secretly execute teacher and trade unionist Farzad Kamangar on 9 May. 
 
Farzad Kamangar was hanged at Evin Prison in Tehran, along with three other Kurds and one other man, without their families or legal representatives being told beforehand. The draconian executions followed a legal process which failed to meet any semblance of accepted international standards, or even Iranian standards of fair trials. 
 
The ICEM has long been involved in the campaign against repression and violations of human rights in Iran, including the illegal arrests of other trade unionists. Increased solidarity and support is now needed for those who are illegally imprisoned, with fears spreading that their fates might meet the same as Farzad Kamangar&rsquo;s. 

<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="159" />
Photo: Mac Urata (ITF)
The Global Union Federation for teachers and educators, Education International (EI), has been fighting Farzad Kamangar&rsquo;s case since his arrest in May 2006. He was given the death sentence in February 2008, following a trial lasting less than five minutes. The 35-year-old member of the Teachers&rsquo; Union of Kurdistan, was accused of &quot;endangering national security&quot; and &ldquo;moharebeh&rdquo; or &quot;enmity against God.&quot; 
 
Farzad Kamangar was held for seven months prior to being allowed to see his family. He was repeatedly tortured. He was whipped, held in a freezing room and physically abused by guards. He was not given the chance to say goodbye to his family. 
 
The news comes one month before the 26 June, the Day of Action against the Islamic Republic of Iran for the repressive and tyrannical means it uses to suppress its people. (View that campaign website <a href="http://www.justiceforiranianworkers.org ">here</a>.) 
 
Protests were carried out in several countries, following the executions. See the Turkey march <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lki_FBw68_s&amp;feature=related">here</a>. See all photos of the London rally <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/workers_in_action/sets/72157623937198125/detail/ ">here</a> (photos by Mac Urata)

World Appalled at Execution of Iranian Trade Unionist

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A general strike in Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula that started on 15 May got the ICEM&rsquo;s attention and immediate support today. Called by the General Labour Union (GLU) of Yemen, the strike started because Prime Minister Ali Mujawar did not respond to demands for higher wages in the face of rampant inflation and a devalued currency. 
 
The strike started with one-hour work stoppages on 15 May and again yesterday, and will escalate to three-hour stoppages today and Tuesday, 18 April. If the government still does not respond in a week&rsquo;s time, the strike will occur over the whole day on 24 May. 
 
&ldquo;Following the sharp rise in prices and cost of living that has been afflicting Yemeni citizens in the last two years, GLU demands a rise in wages and salaries and the establishment of a minimum wage of at least US$300, instead of the current monthly salary of less than US$100,&rdquo; stated GLU President Mohamed al-Jedri. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
The GLU is also demanding a reduction in taxes, improved health conditions for workers, giving fixed and permanent jobs to contract workers, and improvements in living conditions. The government earlier had agreed to set up a joint committee to address GLU concerns, but that has never materialized. 
 
The strike was called for all workers in the public and private sectors, with the exception of emergency health workers, electricity, water, and air traffic control workers. The ICEM-affiliated General Union of Oil, Mining, and Chemicals Workers&rsquo; were expected to join the strike. 
 
The GLU consists of 12 general unions, 15 branches in various governorates, and totals 520,000 workers as union members.

General Strike in Yemen Gains ICEM Support

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Pulp and paper mill staff belonging to the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada saved their pensions at AbitibiBowater, but more importantly, they assured a future for the world&rsquo;s largest newsprint producer. 
 
And in the US, the United Steelworkers (USW) did its part to keep AbitibiBowater solvent and operating. USW members ratified a four-year agreement that grants the company immediate financial relief, but aligns four US mills into a first-time master labour contract and gives workers future job and union security, as well as preserving some of the best terms in the American paper industry. 
 
CEP members at 12 AbitibiBowater mills in eastern Canada ratified a five-year agreement in recent days with a 63.5% vote that grants cost reductions to AbitibiBowater, currently in creditor protection proceedings both in Canada and the US, but preserving pensions for both current and future retirees. 
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="108" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="185" height="102" />
A full year after pulp and paper collective agreements expired in Canada&rsquo;s east, the CEP declared at its Eastern Pulp and Paper Caucus on 14 May that the AbitibiBowater contract &ndash; covering 3,500 workers &ndash; is &ldquo;extraordinary&rdquo; because the Montreal-based firm is in Canada&rsquo;s Companies&rsquo; Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA). But the contract terms and future wage increases negotiated a month earlier with AbitibiBowater will set the standard for the eastern pulp and paper industry. 
 
&ldquo;CEP members remain committed to pattern bargaining and this declaration of our pattern for the industry is our best effort to negotiate a fair and balanced standard for the industry,&rdquo; said President Dave Coles. 

<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="145" />
CEP President, Dave Coles
Provincial finance ministries in both Ontario and Quebec must still approve the company&rsquo;s restructuring under CCAA before the CEP agreement goes into effect. The agreement, dating back to April 2009 and extending until April 2014, calls on AbitibiBowater to contribute C$500 million into a union-operated pension fund over the next ten years. 
 
Coles said a newly-established defined benefit pension plan guarantees that &ldquo;never again&rdquo; will AbitibiBowater workers have their pension savings jeopardized. The agreement also includes a 10% wage cut, with wage increases to resume in 2012 and 2013. 
 
&ldquo;Our feeling is that you can always get wages back, but retrieving lost benefits, particularly on pensions is something else,&rdquo; stated Coles. 
 
In the US, USW-represented workers will take an immediate 3% wage cut, but will also recoup those cuts in 2012 and 2013. The master labour agreement, covering four mills in the US southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee, will have mill-level expiration dates within months of each other in 2014. 

<img alt="" src="" width="125" height="165" />
USW VP Jon Geenen
It also contains a &ldquo;successorship&rdquo; clause, meaning in the event a plant is sold, union representation remains, and neutrality language guaranteeing AbitibiBowater&rsquo;s non-interference when USW attempts to recruit workers at non-union worksites. International Vice President Jon Geenen, who heads USW&rsquo;s pulp and paper sector, said that although negotiations were difficult due to the company being in bankruptcy, the new agreement gives the USW important bargaining table leverage for the future.

CEP, USW Rescue AbitibiBowater from Liquidation in North American Paper Talks

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