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" />
The European Trade Union Confederation&rsquo;s (ETUC) 12th Congress in Greece from 16-19 May adopted the &ldquo;Athens Manifesto,&rdquo; calling for necessary financial governance and tax changes in a social Europe. The manifesto also rejects deregulation and flexibility measures as false solutions to the sovereign debt crises hovering over several European countries &ndash; including Greece. 
 
Some 500 delegates from 36 European nations attended, with those delegates consisting of representatives from 82 national labour centre federations and 12 continental union federations. 
 
The manifesto states that wages are not the enemy of the economy, but rather the motor of it and that the autonomy of social partners in collective bargaining must be respected. &ldquo;The ETUC will fight for a European New Deal for workers against austerity governance and for European economic governance that serves the interests of the European people and not the markets,&rdquo; ETUC said. It places a priority on combating youth unemployment and a priority to improve the working conditions of all European workers. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="206" />
Bernadette S&eacute;gol
The confederation said: &ldquo;The ETUC commits to demand effective and stringent regulation of financial markets and ratings agencies and to campaign and claim that fundamental social rights take precedence over economic freedoms and consequently enshrine this principle in a Social Progress Protocol in European treaties, in a revised Posted Workers Directive and in internal market regulation known as Monti II. An action day has been approved to promote the Manifesto's aims.&rdquo; 
 
The Congress also debated a minimum wage and pay coordination across national borders. Outgoing ETUC Secretary-General John Monks set the tone for the week on opening day, 16 May, by saying, &ldquo;Austerity is not working.&rdquo; 
 
In a letter to European finance ministers that accompanied an emergency resolution at the start of the Congress, Monks wrote, &ldquo;The ETUC calls on you to immediately change course. Brutal austerity, both in terms of public finance and in terms of wages, is not working but instead undermining the economies of countries such as Greece and Ireland.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="206" height="167" />
EMCEF Delegation at ETUC Congress
In a secret-ballot election, the longest-serving member of ETUC&rsquo;s executive committee, Bernadette S&eacute;gol, head of Uni Europa, was elected Secretary-General to replace Monks. A French national, she previously worked at the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) and at one of Uni&rsquo;s predecessor unions, the banking and commerce federation Euro-FIET. 
 
Elected Deputy General Secretaries were Patrick Itschert, General Secretary of ITGLWF and of ETUC-TCL, and Jozef Niemiec, the lone holdover from the Monks era on ETUC&rsquo;s seven-member Secretariat leadership team. Itschert is Belgian and advocates an ETUC that &ldquo;turns political developments into actions.&rdquo; Niemiec is Polish, was an engineer in Krakow and member of NSZZ Solidarność during trade union revival in Poland, and was involved in European integration of his home country. 
 
Elected confederal secretaries were Judith Kirton-Darling, formerly with the European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation; Veronica Nilsson, who worked at TUAC and since March 2010 served as special advisor to ETUC; Claudia Menne, previously with the German DGB national labour centre; and Luca Visentini, from the Italian labour centre UIL. 
 
ETUC statutes dictate a single term for the Presidency of the confederation. Wanja Lundby-Wedin of Sweden thus stepped down and Ignacio Fern&aacute;ndez Toxo, President of CC.OO of Spain, was elected President of ETUC for the next four years.

ETUC Adopts ‘Athens Manifesto’ at 12th Congress

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A study entitled &ldquo;Oil and Casualisation of Labor in the Niger Delta&rdquo; was released recently by the US Solidarity Center. It vividly depicts the social erosion occurring to the livelihoods of Nigerian oil workers due to casualisation, or contract or outsourced work. 
 
The <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1105.pubs_nigeria_degradationofwork.pdf ">study</a> can be found here. 
It states that casualisation in Nigeria&rsquo;s oil and gas sector is facilitated by the widespread poverty, joblessness, and plundering of natural resources along the Niger Delta. &ldquo;As a result, Nigerian oil workers are vulnerable to a new kind of attack &ndash; quiet but more potent &ndash; an industry-wide shift away from regular, full-time work toward forms of cheaper temporary labour and short-term contracting,&rdquo; reads a part of the executive summary of the study. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="180" />
Bayo Olowoshile
The 36-page study says that under one-half of the country&rsquo;s oil and gas workers are unionised, down from 60% in 2003. The rate of women in the union ranks is even less, 20%. It attributes the decline and low level of women in unions to increased use of casual workers in &ldquo;an attempt to replace full-time unionised workers with lower-paid, less-protected workers and to relegate legal and managerial responsibilities to one or more third-party contractors. 
 
&ldquo;The casualisation model enables employers to ignore workplace standards and workers&rsquo; social needs and to create a strong barrier against workplace organising.&rdquo; 
 
Bayo Olowoshile, the General Secretary of ICEM salaried staff affiliate PENGASSAN, told the ICEM that major multinationals are to blame. &ldquo;Companies have been allowed to adopt their human resource techniques and styles to deplete full-time staff and grant favour to dubious contractors.&rdquo; He also blamed neo-liberal business models and government agencies willing to go along with those models for the anti-social trend. 
 
Olowoshile said it is a common problem with his union and the blue-collar ICEM affiliate NUPENG, but that the union representing junior staff have had more opportunities to organise casual workers. 
 
Olowoshile said the issue of casualisation will get more attention in the coming weeks in Nigeria with the release of a tri-partite position paper stemming from a PENGASSAN/NUPENG strike last August. That strike centered on infringement of workers&rsquo; rights for casuals. He said the unions and employers may not agree on all tenets contained in the paper, but that it must serve as a basis for dialogue to correct the economic and social imbalances inherent in the trend toward irregular employment.

Study: Stark Effects to Casualisation in Nigeria’s Oil Sector

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the ICEM African Workshop on the ILO Decent Work Agenda and HIV and AIDS, on the work in Nigeria, on the UNAIDS report &ldquo;AIDS at 30: Nations at the Crossroads&rdquo; and a new ILO tool kit that is available for trade unions.
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
ICEM African Workshop on ILO Decent Work Agenda and HIV and AIDS 
 
In the framework of the ICEM HIV/AIDS project, sponsored by FNV Modiaal of the Netherlands and the Finnish SASK, an African Regional Workshop was organised in Johannesburg from 24-26 May. National coordinators and union activists from 11 countries participated in this workshop. The workshop was organised by the HIV/AIDS Project Coordinator, Paula Ndessomin, with technical assistance from Shirley Miller. 
 
The objectives of the workshop were to identify key elements of the Decent Work Agenda and understand how HIV and AIDS affect decent work and how, in turn, workplace action against the pandemic must be part of pursuing decent work. 
 
In an excellent presentation, the HIV/AIDS Focal Person of the ILO Pretoria office, Simphiwe Mabhele, linked decent work and HIV/AIDS in a rights-based approach using ILO Recommendation 200 concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work. The ICEM HIV/AIDS consultant focused on the ILO Global Action to promote the implementation of Recommendation 200 and global and national union action to this effect. 
 
In group work, participants explored challenges with respect to the Decent Work Agenda and fighting HIV and AIDS and discussed the difficulties of achieving decent work in the current worldwide economic crisis, including the difficulties of organising as more and more workers are forced into the ranks of the unemployed. They also identified workplace policies and collective bargaining agreements as tools to implement the Decent Work Agenda and eliminate stigma and discrimination. 
 
The workshop also gave an opportunity to Kettie Tembo from the British union Unite and Tsitsi Mariwo from the Public Services International (PSI) to present their HIV/AIDS projects and exchange information with participants. 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
HIV and AIDS Project in Nigeria Sponsored by the Canadian CEP 
 
For several years now, the Humanity Fund of the Canadian ICEM affiliate Communications, Energy and Paperworkers&rsquo; (CEP) Union, has sponsored an HIV and AIDS project in Nigeria in cooperation with the ICEM HIV/AIDS project and the ICEM affiliates in Nigeria, NUPENG, and PENGASSAN. 
 
In May, the ICEM HIV/AIDS consultant, who was accompanied by the national coordinator, Olawale Afolabi, visited Lagos and surrounding locations to assess the impact of the project. After having trained 210 peer educators cum counsellors and 120 community mobilisation agents, the unions focused on campaigns for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) at workplaces. Leaflets and handbills were produced for mass distribution. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="133" />
Prevention campaigns were mounted in some 40 workplaces across the country and about 20,000 individuals were reached with awareness and prevention messages. VCT was carried out at 20 sites with close to 10,000 individuals tested. 
 
During his visit, the consultant had discussions with the unions&rsquo; leadership, observed a VCT campaign, spoke to peer educators about their work, and met with the staff of the NUPENG HIV/AIDS Prevention Office. Over the years, the national coordinator has managed to access resources at national level. For example, the testing in May was facilitated by the Nigeria Business Coalition against AIDS (NIBUCAA) free of charge. The prevention office has been sponsored by SmartWork, the HIV/AIDS workplace programme of the US Academy for Educational Development. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
30 Years of HIV and AIDS 
 
As the world marks 30 years of HIV and AIDS, UNAIDS estimates that 34 million people are living with the HI-virus and nearly 30 million people have died of AIDS-related causes since the first case of AIDS was reported on 5 June 1981. An estimated 7,000 new infections occur every day (editor&rsquo;s note: these figures do not tally with those in the following article, according to which the new infection rate would be about 6,000). 
 
Although about 6.6 million people in low- and middle-income countries were receiving antiretroviral therapy at the end of 2010, which in itself is a great achievement, an estimated nine million people who would qualify for ARVs did not receive them. 

<img alt="" src="" width="125" height="137" />
Access to treatment will transform the AIDS response. According to UNAIDS, accelerating access and finding new treatment options not only stops people from dying but also prevents transmission of the virus. 
 
However, prevention efforts are still a priority and they are showing results: between 2001 and 2009, new HIV infections declined by nearly 25%. In India, the rate of new infections fell by more than 50% and in South Africa by more than 35%. India and South Africa are the two countries that have the largest absolute number of HIV-positive people. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS Press Release, New York/Nairobi, 3 June, on the report &ldquo;AIDS at 30: Nations at the Crossroads&rdquo;) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
UNICEF: Two Million Teenagers HIV-positive 
 
According to a recent report by UNICEF, jointly published with ILO, WHO, UNESCO, and The World Bank, worldwide two million teenagers in the age group to 19 years are infected with the HI-virus, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Young people in developing and newly-industrialised countries have an especially high risk of infection. 
 
Daily, some 2,500 adolescents in the age group 15 to 24 years get infected. That means that 41% of every new infection is in this age group. Girls and young women have the highest risk. UNICEF demands better access to awareness and prevention for young people. 
 
(Source: UNICEF website) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Global Fund Suspends Disbursement of China Grants 
 
Citing concerns about insufficient participation of civil society organisations in programme implementation, inadequate financial management and possible misuse of grant funds, the Global Fund Secretariat has temporarily suspended disbursements for all active Global Fund grants in China. 
 
Several articles about the suspensions have appeared in the mainstream press. The Global Fund has not made any public announcement concerning the suspensions, but it has responded to questions from journalists. 
 
According to the Global Fund website, China has four active grants: two for malaria, and one each for HIV and TB. China has been awarded 14 grants by the Global Fund, but in 2010 China went through an elaborate process of grant consolidation. The sole principal recipient (PR) for all of China&rsquo;s grants is and has been the (China) Center for Disease Control (CDC), a government entity. 
 
The suspensions appear rooted in a collision between the Fund&rsquo;s conviction that grass-roots organizations must be intrinsically involved in the fight to control diseases like AIDS, and the Chinese government&rsquo;s growing suspicion of any civil-society groups that are not directly under its control. They follow complaints by some AIDS activists that Chinese officials have sought to suppress their public-health activities, have shunted grant money to groups under government control, and have failed to account for how some funds were spent.&rdquo; 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 148 of 2 June. GFO is a free service of <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">Aidspan</a>; to receive GFO send an <a href="http://receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">email</a> here) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
ILO ACTRAV Tool Kit on HIV and AIDS 
 
In April, the ILO Bureau for Workers&rsquo; Activities (ACTRAV) published a tool kit to guide trade union responses to HIV and AIDS. The tool kit contains six factual booklets, collected learning exercises, case studies and information resources and a CD-Rom with key ILO publications on HIV and AIDS and the world of work. as well the DVD &ldquo;Workplaces in Africa respond to HIV and AIDS.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="143" height="49" />
Booklet 1 deals with Core Information on HIV and AIDS, the Impact and Global Response. Booklet 2 focuses on Respect for Rights: The Key to Labour and Workplace Responses. Booklet 3 has information on Workplace Action on HIV and AIDS: Contributing to Universal Access. Booklet 4 deals with Trade Union Education and Training on HIV and AIDS. Booklet 5 contains information on Mobilising Resources for Trade Union Action. Booklet 6 gives an overview on Project Development and Proposal Writing. All this is accompanied by a Guide to the tool kit. 
 
(Source: ILO/AIDS website &ndash; for the <a href="http://www.ilo.org/aids/publications/lang--en/index.htm ">toolkit</a>&nbsp;click here&nbsp;or go to the ICEM website, see below) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
New Resources on the ICEM Website 
 
The <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS">ICEM HIV/AIDS website</a> has been updated to include ILO Recommendation 200 concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, as well as the Global Action Plan to promote and implement the Recommendation. The latter was adopted by the ILO Governing Body in March 2011. You can also find the brand new tool kit on HIV and AIDS, developed by the ILO Bureau for Workers&rsquo; Activities (ACTRAV) &ndash; see article in this e-bulletin. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">ITF</a>) in its latest HIV/AIDS update No. 107 of 15 May, reports on the on the High Level Meeting (HLM) of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which takes place in New York from 8-10 June. The meeting will adopt an outcome document (a new UNGA Declaration) that will aim at recommitting governments on universal access to HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support. Thanks to trade union advocacy, the zero draft of the HLM outcome document does feature reference to the role of trade unions and ILO Recommendation 200 on HIV and AIDS and the world of work. It is, however, not certain whether this reference will survive in negotiations between governments for the final draft. 
 
The May <a href="void(0);/*1307697779467*/">Newsletter</a> of PSUFASA (Public Sector Unions Fighting AIDS in Southern Africa) gives a first preliminary survey of the findings of the evaluation of the project and reports on two regional seminars in February and March, the latter on collective bargaining and HIV and AIDS. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Five Years Ago: From the June 2006 Issue (No. 9) 
 
The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In current issues, we refer to an article from the same month five years ago and reflect on developments. 
 
In the June 2006 issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin, we reported on the mission to Ghana together with representatives of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This was the first joint mission of a Global Union with the Global Fund. In 2011 we can say that it probably was also the last. 
 
Although the ICEM concept to target clinics operated by companies for HIV and AIDS services for workers and the surrounding communities with the involvement of unions had found recognition, little concrete follow-up activities resulted from this mission. Companies did engage in public/private partnerships and the Global Fund promoted co-investment projects but the ICEM&rsquo;s claim that the private sector includes business and unions went unheard. 
 
On the positive side, it should be mentioned that roll-out of antiretroviral drugs accelerated considerably and that major mining companies provided prevention, care and support services to their workers and dependents. 
 
We also referred to the report by FNV Mondiaal, &ldquo;Trade union support in the struggle against HIV/AIDS,&rdquo; which cited the ICEM project as a good example of integrating HIV/AIDS issues in collective bargaining and global framework agreements and gave credit to our efforts to build partnerships. 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 69, July 2011

ICEM Women’s Bulletin: Will and Conquests

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM Presidium on 23 May endorsed the appointment of Kemal &Ouml;zkan as new Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs effective 1 June. He picks up the new role in addition to his current duties of Chemical and Rubber Industries&rsquo; Officer, a position he has held since coming to the ICEM early in 2007. 
 
As an engineer with a master&rsquo;s degree in economics and business administration, &Ouml;zkan worked at ICEM&rsquo;s Turkish affiliate Petroleum, Chemical and Rubber Workers&rsquo; Union for some 15 years before joining the ICEM. Coming from a family of trade unionists, &Ouml;zkan&rsquo;s father was imprisoned for four years for union activity during the military coup d&rsquo;&eacute;tat in Turkey in 1980. 
 
&ldquo;I am honoured to be named as new Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs of ICEM,&rdquo; said &Ouml;zkan. &ldquo;It gives me more responsibility to ensure the success of our organization. I will continue to do my best efforts to reinforce ICEM activities in the sectors and in industrial relations.&rdquo; 
 
Added General Secretary Manfred Warda, &ldquo;Kemal &Ouml;zkan is a worthy person for this position with his knowledge, success, and activism. He has always shown his preparedness for taking further responsibility at the ICEM. I am sure with his new assignment he will again demonstrate his readiness to carry our flag into the future.&rdquo; 
 
&Ouml;zkan is 42 years old and married to Selma Basak.

Özkan Named ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Some 5,000 metalworkers from the regional Metallurgical and Mining Industry Workers&rsquo; Union (MMIWU) of Ukraine marched in Zaporizhzhya on the state administration building on 31 May, demanding an industrial policy that protects jobs in smelting and metalworking sectors. Protestors conducted a mock funeral signifying an end to a proud industrial base in Zaporizhzhya province in southeastern Ukraine. 
 
The union last week threatened to bring protests to national leaders in Kiev if government fails to address the rampant loss of jobs. The problem is extremely high electricity prices and government&rsquo;s failure to pay VAT arrears due to the debt crisis. The result has been production declines and workers losing their jobs. Metalworkers and miners from Donetsk, Mariupol, Dnipropetrovsk, Kryvy, Rih, and Dniprodzerzhynsk joined the MMIWU protest in Zaporizhzhya last Wednesday. 
<img alt="" src="" width="210" height="160" />
Metalworkers in Zaporizhzhya on 31 May
The regional MMIWU called on Ukraine&rsquo;s President, the Cabinet of Ministers, and Parliament members to take immediate steps to save the metalworking industry in the region. 
 
MMIWU regional leader Valeriy Kozub said 18,000 metalworkers are unemployed in the region, and very soon that number will grow by 7,000. At one time, the region&rsquo;s smelters, foundries, and steel mills employed 60,000. 
 
Two plants that face imminent closure are the OJSC Zaporizhia aluminum plant and the Zaporizhia steel-rolling mill. In January, the Ukrainian Privat Group brought production at its Zaporozhye plant, a major silico-manganese producer, down to 75%. And in May, it reduced output even further to 50% because of large spikes in electricity pricing. Some 2,000 workers are facing unemployment. At Zaporozhye Ferro Alloy (ZZF), the board chairman complained that the state is selling electricity to Moldova at 60% lower than what it is charging local companies. 
 
Many Ukrainian industrial sites are operating, but several employers are months behind in the payment of salaries. The Kharkov State Aircraft Mfg. is one example. Metalworkers at last week&rsquo;s rally said they were ready to dismantle idled operations merely to reclaim the value of scrap steel.

Metalworkers Rally to Demand Jobs in Ukraine

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Security forces in Iraq are still holding 27-year-old Jihad Jalil, a leader of the Mechanics&rsquo; and Printers&rsquo; Union of ICEM-affiliated General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW). Jalil and three other young activists have been held at the Al Muthana airport detention centre since they were picked up on their way to a protest at Tahrir Square in Baghdad on 27 March. (See <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/4449-ICEM-Demands-Release-of-Iraq-Mechanics-Union-Leader ">ICEM news release</a> of 30 May.) 
 
Iraqi authorities had promised release the four within 24 hours at the weekend, but their expected freedom and trial on 5 June never materialized. In a statement released yesterday, the GFIW said their families and attorneys had not been allowed to meet with them at Al Muthana. 
 
The four, including Jalil and students Ahmed Alaa al Baghdaddi, Moyaid Fasil al Taib, and Ali Abdul-Khaliq, were initially charged with inciting violence. But those charges were retracted and new charges placed on them accusing them of carrying false identities. 

<img alt="" src="" width="206" height="160" />
Tahrir Square Rally this weekend
Tahrir Square near the Green Zone in central Baghdad has become a staging ground for regular protests for legitimate workers&rsquo; rights, jobs, basic public services, and against government corruption. The ICEM believes that the government of Nouri Al-Maliki has escalated repression of trade unions, thus cutting hope that a stable, safe, and secure society can take hold through democratic institutions such as trade unions. 
 
The ICEM also points to the forced relocation of trade union leaders from there regular jobs with the sole purpose of removing them from pockets of worker activism at enterprises. In late May, this happened to Jamal Abdul-Jabbar Akram, the President of the GFIW&rsquo;s Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union of Kirkuk. His crime is that he led a walkout in support of contract workers at the state-run Northern Oil Company (NOC). 
<img alt="" src="" width="320" height="38" />
He had been verbally warned by Iraq&rsquo;s Oil Ministry to stop his trade union activities. On 29 May, he was given a ministerial order that he was to be immediately transferred from his job at a Kirkuk oil facility to a remote location. 
 
In a 30 May letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda protested the suppression of democratic freedoms in both the arrests of the four near Tahrir Square and the transfer of Abdul-Jabbar Akram. He wrote, &ldquo;By restricting trade unions and the right of workers to freely engage in democratic assemblies that will benefit their work lives, and Iraqi society as a whole, your government appears to be stepping back in time.&rdquo; (View the full <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Iraq%20Letter.pdf ">ICEM letter</a> to Iraq&rsquo;s government here.)

Iraq Fails to Release GFIW Mechanics’ Union Leader, Others as Promised

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Australian coal miners of three unions, led by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), gave leadership a strong mandate for industrial action against the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) on 2 June. Some 4,000 miners and coal-processing workers in central Queensland voted by 92% to authorize union leaders to embark on varying industrial actions. 
 
Better than 90% of the 4,000 miners and export facility workers voted in the on-site, two-week ballot. The three unions &ndash; CFMEU, the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU) and the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) &ndash; are jointly bargaining with the world&rsquo;s number one exporter of metallurgical coal and have been stymied since January by BMA&rsquo;s radical proposals for work rule changes. 
 
The strike ballot was preceded by BMA&rsquo;s breach of Australia&rsquo;s privacy act when it sent text messages to wives and partners of workers telling them that voting was not compulsory. The company used emergency contact numbers of the workers. In order for the ballot to be legal, better than 50% of workers needed to vote, and the strike ballot had to be passed by a simple majority to be valid. 
<img src="" width="99" height="74" alt="" />
BMA is seeking a seven-day roster, instead of a five-day one, flexibility on operators&rsquo; jobs, and retention of bygone WorkChoices-era employment practices. The pay package is also expected to be an issue. 
 
&ldquo;There is a massive concern amongst the workforce about BMA&rsquo;s desire for increasingly family-unfriendly working conditions,&rdquo; said CFMEU Queensland Region Vice President Steve Pierce, referring to the seven-day roster. Pierce expressed concern that many experienced miners would quit their jobs if forced onto non-family-friendly shift schedules. 
 
The unions are seeking job security and enhanced training opportunities. The two sides will resume negotiations on 10 June. 
 
BMA is a 10-year-old joint venture that mines some 58 million tones yearly of coking coal from the Bowen Basin. It consists of seven mines &ndash; Blackwater, Broadmeadow, Goonyella Riverside, Peak Downs, Saraji, Norwich Park, and Gregory Crinum &ndash; as well as the Hay Point coal export terminal near Mackay on Australia&rsquo;s east coast. The CFMEU represents about 80% of the unionized employees.

Aussie Coal Miners Vote 92% to Strike BHP Billiton/Mitsubishi Alliance

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Ten US trade unions, working together as the Coordinating Bargaining Council (CBC) of General Electric (GE) Unions, are negotiating with the industrial and financial giant toward a 19 June expiration of a four-year agreement covering 15,000 workers. 
 
The ICEM-affiliated United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and the International Union of Electronic Workers/Communications Workers (IUE/CWA) are the largest US unions at GE, representing 11,000 industrial workers. Collective agreements for the UE and IUE are national in scope. 
 
UE Local 506 in Erie, Pennsylvania, hosted a CBC rally on Saturday, 4 June, in which a larger-than-expected gathering of 4,000 trade unionists took part. The bargaining manifestation was held at Gannon University in the western Pennsylvania city. 

<img alt="" src="" width="285" height="160" />
UE-led Bargaining Rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on 4 June
Negotiations began in New York City on 24 May and after five rounds of bargaining it is evident that pension issues and health care costs have become the main agenda items. GE is trying to separate all new hires from a defined pension plan and shift them to an inferior plan. It also wants higher cost-sharing on medical insurance from workers and introduction of inferior option plans. The unions and GE resume bargaining tomorrow, 7 June. 
 
In opening bargaining statements delivered on 24 May, UE President John Hovis spoke of GE&rsquo;s role in the financial crisis in which a bursting real estate bubble and accompanying credit crunch had dramatically cut GE&rsquo;s stock price, its dividend payouts, and loss of GE&rsquo;s AAA credit rating. Hovis reminded GE executives they had &ldquo;lectured more than once in past negotiations&rdquo; how GE Capital represented a more important and profitable component of the company than its industrial and manufacturing businesses. 
 
&ldquo;The irony did not escape UE members when in the wake of the crisis, GE scrambled to persuade investors that it should once again be viewed as an industrial company,&rdquo; Hovis said. 
<img alt="" src="" width="153" height="161" />
Despite the crisis, GE is faring well in the marketplace and American unions will resist any rollbacks to pension schemes and health care costs. And they will seek a significant yearly wage increase and cost-of-living improvements. GE paid out three dividends to shareholders in the past year and recorded US$14.2 billion in gross profits in 2010. GE&rsquo;s cash surplus was US$82 billion in first quarter 2011, and UE claims GE workers produced an average of US$42,000 each in net profit for the company last year. 
 
View a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ueunion?blend=24&amp;ob=5">UE YouTube video</a> of 2011 bargaining here.&nbsp; 
 
The CBC of GE Unions in the US consists of the UE, the IUE/CWA, International Association of Machinists (IAM), NABET/CWA, the United Steelworkers (USW), the United Auto Workers (UAW), the International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees (IFPTE), the Electrical Workers (IBEW), Sheet Metal Workers Union (SMWIU), the United Association of Plumbing and Pipefitting Union (UA), the Firemen &amp; Oilers division of the Service Employees Union (SEIU). 
 
The national set of talks for UE is occurring on behalf of GE Transportation workers in Erie and for GE Energy staff at Fort Edward, New York, while the IUE/CWA has a common pact for GE Aviation in Lynn, Massachusetts, and GE Appliances in Louisville, Kentucky. Simultaneous bargaining for single-site agreements with the same 19 June expiry date also continues for the UAW and IAM at GE Aviation in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as at some 30 other GE worksites, including plastics and chemical operations. 
 
Jim Clark, the head of IUE/CWA, is chairman of the CBC.

American Unions in Tough Talks for 15,000 General Electric Staff

<img alt="" src="" width="160" height="49" />
Since last year, ICEM affiliates in Colombia have been participating in a project to create strong national unions for IMF affiliates in Colombia, Fetramecol and Utrammicol. The project&rsquo;s objective is to strengthen trade union unity. 
 
The ICEM and the IMF have a common interest in strengthening trade unions in Colombia and both federations have been concerned about the situation of Colombian trade unions. Union membership is among the lowest in Latin America due to anti-trade union practices and to the obstacles to trade union activity created by the government. The creation of &ldquo;employment cooperatives&rdquo; (cooperativas de trabajo asociado - CTAs) has led to a deterioration in the quality of jobs, nullified inalienable workers&rsquo; rights and made jobs precarious. 
 
In 2009, a project was started to create national unions for the IMF affiliates in Colombia, Fetramecol and Utrammicol. This project was supported by IF Metall and LO-TCO of Sweden and its main objective was to strengthen metalworkers&rsquo; unions, improve co-operation between affiliates at the national level and strengthen trade union unity. 
 
Three regional workshops and one national workshop take place four times a year and the project is due to conclude in 2012. To date, these workshops have discussed such issues as collective agreements and collective bargaining and developed proposals to deal with the problems that face trade unionism at the national level. This year&rsquo;s central theme is trade union structures. 
 
When the project began, the main objective was to create the conditions to unite IMF affiliates in Colombia into one national organisation. However, the project, which also covers Chile, is now focusing on the creation of broader industrial unions and political alliances in the regions, in the context of the merger of three major international trade union federations (IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF). 
 
In 2010, Carlos Bustos, ICEM coordinator in Colombia, invited IMF affiliates to participate in the federation&rsquo;s current activities and in various national meetings. Meanwhile, Colombian ICEM affiliates began to attend the project seminars, explains Nohora Tovar, of Fetramecol and joint national coordinator of the project. 
 
Bustos adds that this year it was decided to increase participation of ICEM colleagues in the three regions where the project is operational (Bogot&aacute;, Boyac&aacute; and Medell&iacute;n). Luis Vel&aacute;zquez of Utrammicol, who is the other joint national coordinator, says that participation has been very good and IMF affiliates have welcomed the initiative as well. 
 
Both explain that at the end of 2010 the National Council formed by Fetramecol and Utrammicol was renamed the Unity Council and extended to include the ICEM affiliates. This council established committees to draft statutes and, along with ICEM colleagues, established an action plan with a dual focus: first, initiatives to promote unity and second, development of education and training. 
 
Marino Vani, from the IMF&rsquo;s Regional Office, explains that the project has forced each organisation to assess the situation and promote joint actions to strengthen their unions and formulate common objectives. The project proposal to discuss particular issues with a view to developing a trade union agenda has provoked discussion and resulted in new trade union practices, although the unions have yet to develop a broader consensual strategy with a unified agenda and action. It is hoped that the project will encourage union members to learn and to understand the need to create united and representative national trade unions that include precarious and outsourced workers and in this way strengthen the position of all members.

Creating strong unions in Colombia

Archive