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Today in Brazil, the Central &Uacute;nica dos Trabalhadores (CUT) will begin a 100-kilometre, 10-day march from Campinas in S&atilde;o Paulo state to the city of S&atilde;o Paulo itself in honour of International Women&rsquo;s Day. The march, celebrating 100 years of the announcement of International Women&rsquo;s Day and under the banner &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll Keep Marching Until Every Woman is Free,&rdquo; will highlight the continuing fight for common rights and public services, peace and demilitarization, economy autonomy, and an end to violence against women. 
 
A main objective of the pilgrimage will be CUT&rsquo;s drive for total wage equality between men and women. Even though Brazil has ratified ILO Convention 100, the 1951 Equal Remuneration Convention, the South American country has a long ways to go in order to achieve wage parity. 

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CUT Secretary of Working Women, Rosane Silva, said that every nation that has ratified ILO Convention 100 must speed up laws and practices to ensure that the articles of the convention are met. In Brazil, as a means to enhance subsidies to meet that goal, CUT has done a national study on wage disparities. Throughout 2010, the national labour centre will present those figures before governing bodies and employers to get them to comply with Convention 100. 
 
Also today in S&atilde;o Paulo, Sindicato Nacional dos Papeleiros (SINAP), the ICEM pulp and paper affiliate that is part of CNQ/CUT, will conduct a manifestation demanding equal rights for women in front of the Suzano paper mill.

CUT-Brazil to Conduct 100-kilometre, 10-Day Women’s March

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Today, International Women&rsquo;s Day, was marked in Geneva with a large demonstration at plaine de Plainpalais, between 12pm and 2pm. The ICEM, along with other Geneva-based Global Union Federations turned out in support. 
 
The manifestation, organized by ICEM&rsquo;s Swiss affiliate UNIA, protested the issues of raising the retirement age of women, fighting for gender equality on wages, the effective application of equality legislation, protesting against the proposed lengthening, in Switzerland, of opening hours of shops, this sector employs more women than men. 

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Today&rsquo;s action will be followed by a national Women&rsquo;s March in Bern on Saturday 13 March. Saturday&rsquo;s march is again organized by UNIA, pick up from Geneva will be 10am from Place des 22 cantons. Call the UNIA Secretariat at +41 22 949 1200 to sign up to Saturday&rsquo;s action. 
 
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has recently published a report &ldquo;An examination of the factors influencing women&rsquo;s decisions for work&rdquo;, view that document <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-report-decisions-for-work.html ">here</a>. 
 
Visit the official website of International Women&rsquo;s Day <a href="http://www.internationalwomensday.com/default.asp ">here</a>, to see what actions are being organized in your home country.

Geneva Marks International Women’s Day

ICEM International Women’s Day Bulletin: 8 March 2010 / Boletín de la ICEM

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Two global trade union federations whose affiliates represent over 45 million workers, together with four Norwegian trade unions, have asked the Council on Ethics of the Government Pension Fund of Norway to divest its holdings in the Mexican mining conglomerate Grupo Mexico because of alleged labor and environmental violations. 
 
The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mining and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) and the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) sent a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Ltr_to_Ethical_Council-Mexico.pdf">letter</a> requesting the divestment to the Council on Ethics, which is charged with overseeing responsible investments of the Government Pension Fund, the second largest pension fund in the world. Grupo Mexico is accused of labor rights violations, environmental destruction and shareholder fraud. The letter also requests divestment in Southern Copper, Grupo Mexico&rsquo;s wholly-owned subsidiary. 

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Arve Bakke, Fellesforbundet President
&ldquo;We are supporting this action on behalf of trade unionists in Mexico to call attention to the extreme abuses of Grupo Mexico and to ask the Council on Ethics to drop Grupo Mexico as an investment in accordance with the Fund&rsquo;s very high standards and Norwegian law,&rdquo; said Fellesforbundet President Arve Bakke. &ldquo;The wealth of future generations in Norway must not be invested in companies which systematically attack labor unions and damage the environment, as Grupo Mexico has done.&rdquo; 
 
Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary, stated, &ldquo;We have national mining unions in over 60 countries, and nowhere have we found more despicable behavior than that demonstrated by Grupo Mexico.&rdquo; 
 
The overt attempt by Grupo Mexico to crush the National Union of Mine and Metal Workers of the Mexican Republic (SNTMMSRM or Los Mineros) and gross violations of workers&rsquo; rights to freely associate and collectively bargain as defined by the International Labor Organization are core arguments for divestment set forth in the letter. 
 
&ldquo;The illegal practices of Grupo Mexico, unfortunately supported by a corrupt Mexican government, include seizing the union&rsquo;s assets, attempting to replace the legitimate union with one selected by the company, and launching a protracted campaign of repression against the union&rsquo;s leadership,&rdquo; said IMF General Secretary Jryki Raina, 
 
In August 2007 the government and Grupo Mexico forced workers at eight mines to join a company-sponsored union using &ldquo;elections&rdquo; in which workers had to vote publicly in front of their employer. One union leader has been imprisoned without bond since December 2008. There are also credible allegations that Grupo Mexico is responsible for the violent deaths of two workers on two separate occasions. 
 
Despite these attacks, Los Mineros continues to negotiate wage increases across the country that average twice the government-imposed wage cap, which unions believe is a major motivation for Grupo Mexico&rsquo;s attacks. It is especially noteworthy that Los Mineros maintains non-confrontational labor relations with most employers and has some 70 collective bargaining agreements with multinational employers such as Goldcorp, Bombardier and ArcelorMittal. 

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The company is accused of gross health and safety violations at the Pasta de Conchos mine, where 65 workers died in an explosion in 2006, and the copper mine at Cananea, where workers have been on strike since July 2007. 
 
Studies of Grupo Mexico smelter operations in Mexico illuminate the company&rsquo;s shameful environmental record where abnormal levels of toxic minerals such as lead, zinc, copper, cadmium, mercury, and magnesium were found among the general populations, including high levels of arsenic and cadmium among children. In Peru, Grupo Mexico was forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to remediate its contamination of water and air. In Chile the company is accused of developing a mining project on indigenous land without consultation with local natives or assessing environmental damage. 
 
According to sources cited by the trade unions submitting the letter, the cost to shareholders of Grupo Mexico&rsquo;s abysmal labor practices exceeds $3 billion (USD) on top of the hundreds of millions required to remediate the company&rsquo;s environmental destruction in Peru. Grupo Mexico was convicted by a U.S. court in 2009 of defrauding shareholders of a wholly-owned subsidiary. Another subsidiary has been linked to drug trafficking. 
 
Covalence Ethical Quotation System, which tracks the ethical reputation of multinational companies, ranked Grupo Mexico 573rd out of 581 global companies in 2009. 
 
The trade unions and labor federations submitting the request for disinvestment anticipate that the Council on Ethics will thoroughly investigate the information and make an expedient decision to divest. 
 
Los Mineros is affiliated with both the ICEM and IMF. The Norwegian trade unions signing the letter include Fellesforbundet, Handel og Kontor i Norge, Industri Energi and Norsk Arbeidsmandsforbund. 
 
The ICEM represents 467 trade unions in 132 countries and the IMF covers over 200 trade unions in 100 countries. 
 
For more information see the <a href="http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?n=663&amp;l=2 ">IMF</a> and <a href="/en/67-Search-ICEM-site?keywords=los+mineros">ICEM</a> websites. 
________________________________ 
 
For further information, please contact: 
Dick Blin, ICEM, +41 22 304 1842 
Anita Gardner, IMF, +41 22 308 5032

Trade Unions Ask Norwegian Pension Funds to Divest of Grupo Mexico Shares

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The 30,000 technical and professional employees of PEMEX, Mexico&rsquo;s large state-owned petroleum company, finally won the right to unionize upon their third attempt. The new union, &ldquo;Uni&oacute;n Nacional de T&eacute;cnicos y Profesionistas Petroleros&rdquo; (UNTyPP), received its registration on 16 December, and its leadership was officially recognized for the period beginning 18 March, 2008 through 17 March, 2012. The first two attempts at unionization (ONTCIP and UNTCIP) were denied registration by the government and the leaders fired. 
 
Following the successful court battle, culminating in registration from the Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare&rsquo;s office for the Registration of Associations (STPS), members of the new union were informed by company management that in order to retain their jobs they were required to sign two documents, one calling for the cancellation of the registration and the other a resignation from the union. 
 
Those who refused, along with organisers of the UNTyPP, were fired and violently removed from their workstations by paramilitaries, including the entire National Executive Committee of the union1. These workers must be immediately reinstated, and their rights respected under both Mexican and International law. PEMEX is also being urged by the international labour movement to accept union calls to come to the bargaining table and establish a working relationship with them. 
 
UNTyPP organisers have faced continued intimidation and threats throughout their campaign for registration. 
 
PEMEX is the 10th largest oil company in the world, and is the sole supplier of all commercial petrol and diesel stations in Mexico. Annual company revenue is US$78 billion. 
 
Visit the Labourstart site to write to President Calder&oacute;n and the PEMEX management, condemn the violations of labour and human rights of members and officers of the new UNTyPP trade union.

Mexican PEMEX Workers Win Registration for New Union, Face Continued Repression

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ICEM North American affiliate Power Workers Union (PWU) was one of several hosts for the 50th Canadian Nuclear Association&rsquo;s (CNA) annual meeting, held 24-26 February in Canada&rsquo;s capital city, Ottawa. The PWU is a proud promoter of Canada&rsquo;s nuclear power industry, and uses the forum to generate policy discussion with industry leaders, company officials, and human resource people. 
 
PWU also hosted several international guests, including guests from the CGT of France and AWU of Australia. PWU President Don MacKinnon also hosted former PWU President Kealy Cummings, a pioneer in Canada&rsquo;s nuclear sector and a former Canadian labour attach&eacute; to the UK, who was at many of the early CAN annual gatherings. 

<img src="" width="231" height="190" alt="" />
PWU President Don MacKinnon and CGT-F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Mines Energie&rsquo;s Alain Vassaux. Seated, at left: former PWU President Kealy Cummings
The Canadian Nuclear Workers&rsquo; Council was also represented at the forum, as was the ICEM. Some 700 people participated in the conference. The nuclear sector is a C$6.6 billion industry in Canada, employing 21,000 people directly, and responsible for another 40,000 indirect jobs. 
 
&ldquo;This conference has become much more than a typical annual industry gathering,&rdquo; said new CAN President and CEO Denise Carpenter. It has evolved into &ldquo;a fully integrated and interactive trade show, career fair, and education symposium.&rdquo;

Canadian PWU Involved in Nation’s Nuclear Sector

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ICEM&rsquo;s three Italian affiliates, FILCEM&ndash;CGIL, FEMCA&ndash;CISL, UILCEM&ndash;UIL, are campaigning together against a recent decision by British multinational Glaxo Smith Kline to close its research centre in Verona, and put 550 employees out of work. 
 
A joint trade union delegation met four government ministers from the Ministries of Economic Development, and of Welfare and Health. The trade union leaders argued that the plant is profitable and also contributes to the profitability and growth of the company worldwide. Government Ministers were in agreement with the trade union arguments, and rejected the explanation of the company that the closure is part of the overall restructuring of the company. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="102" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" width="95" height="116" />&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="126" height="71" />
The Italian Government Ministers Scaiola, Sacconi, Fazio, and Martini, have announced the establishing of an arbitration committee, which will seek to analyse in detail the reasons for Glaxo&rsquo;s decision to close its Verona facility, and hope to find a solution that will reverse their decision. The arbitration committee will be formed next month. 
 
The Verona employees of Glaxo who are set to lose their jobs have taken to the street in protest of the decision. See a slideshow of photos of the demonstrations <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cgilnazionale/sets/72157623383165437/show/">here</a>.&nbsp;

Italian Pharmaceutical Workers Protest Plant Closure, 550 Jobs Lost

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The methane gas explosion on 23 February that killed 13 Turkish coal miners in northwest Balikesir Province could have prevented, according to the ICEM and its affiliate, Maden-Iş. The private mine, owned by Erhan Ortakoylu and his Şentaş Mining Company, had experienced a similar gas blast on 2 June 2006 killing 17 miners, and indications this time reveal that warning safeguards used to detect methane accumulation was inadequate. 
 
As well, it is suspected that a ventilation system failed to clear the deadly methane gas. 
 
The explosion injured 33 miners. Five of the 13 victims died in a hospital after rescue due to severe burns. The tragedy occurred 250 metres deep in the Odakoy mine, some 20 kilometres from the city of Dursunbey. 

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Maden-Iş stated that the mine had undergone insufficient safety audits. Even though the government claimed an audit had occurred in the weeks prior to the explosion, the union said that infractions detected were not corrected. Oftentimes in Turkey, safety audits of mines by the Labour and Social Security Ministry are not done on-site, but rather through queries to mine owners from afar. Nizamettin Tiryaki, a mining engineer for Maden-Iş, said that it is also not uncommon for mine inspectors to be paid off by private mine operators. 
 
The ICEM believes that expenditures on modern and efficient safety equipment by private miners are also sacrificed in order to maximize profits. At the time of the explosion, the ICEM, together with the ILO, was leading a symposium in Ankara on the necessity for Turkey to ratify ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. 
 
In a letter of condolence to Maden-Iş Presidnt Ismail Aslan, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda said, &ldquo;The explosion illustrates the importance of our shared work in improving safety standards in Turkey&rsquo;s mines, and moving the Turkish Government towards ratification and proper implementation of ILO Convention 176.&rdquo; The complete letter can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/19.Maden-Is.Condolences.24Feb.pdf">here</a>.

Gas Blast in Turkey, Killing 13, Needs Thorough Investigation

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Swiss specialty chemical company Clariant has announced a further 400 job cuts at the Muttenz site, near Basel, as the company seeks to move production and increase profits. Clariant CEO, Hariolf Kottmann, oversaw the cutting of 137 jobs last year. Clariant turnover is around $8 billion and the company is a world leader in the supply of chemicals and colors for the textile, leather, paper, packaging, plastics, and printing. The proposed further job cuts will be made between now and 2012, as the company seeks to relocate production to Asia, where production costs are lower. 
 
The mass job cuts would be in breach of the collective agreement and of Swiss labour law. Workers are legally entitled to a period of consultation where alternative employment opportunities can be examined, before any jobs can be cut. 

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ICEM Swiss affiliate UNIA, together with the Clariant Workers Council, is pressing the company to first preserve these jobs, or at least provide acceptable redundancy packages. Demands include replacement jobs for every worker affected by the cuts, practical training and education programs, and no further cuts at the Schweizerhalle pharmaceuticals site. 
 
UNIA and the Clariant workers are organising a demonstration at Clariant headquarters on Thursday 11 March, starting at 5.15am. From there the demonstration will move to Liestal, meeting at the train station at 9am, before marching to the local government building &lsquo;Landratsgeb&auml;ude&rsquo; to call on district councilors to step in to preserve local jobs. 
 
The protesting Clariant workers have a Facebook page with more information.

Swiss Chemical Workers Protest Job Cuts

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The negotiations towards a new national collective agreement for the manufacturing industry in Denmark had been deadlocked, see ICEM report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3634-Danish-Contract-Negotiations-Deadlocked-on-National-Level">here</a>, but the renewal of the agreement was signed on Monday 22 February by the ICEM-affiliated general union, Central Organization of Industrial Employees in Denmark (CO-industri) and the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI). However the HK private trade union rejected the agreement. 
 
Gains for workers across the sector include two additional weeks for parental leave, improved redundancy pay, improved monitoring of health and safety for night-shift workers, improved working conditions for shift workers, and newly created authority on equal pay. 
 
The collective bargaining round directly affects 240,000 workers in the manufacturing industry. But it also indirectly affects an additional 350,000 workers in the private sector. As previously reported by ICEM, historically, the manufacturing agreement is used as a blueprint for other negotiations. 

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Both Hans Christensen, the negotiator for DI business, and Co-industri President Thorkild E. Jensen, were content with the renewed agreement, after negotiators worked through the night to beat a deadline which would have moved negotiations to a tribunal. Jensen described the agreement as &ldquo;balanced and guaranteed our members&rsquo; jobs&rdquo;. The agreement is valid for the period 1 March 2010 to 1 March 2012. 
 
Night workers were a priority for trade union negotiators in the talks, with free health exams provided every two years and for those employees who are advised against night work, their employer must find them another job. Night workers will also be eligible for up to ten extra days off annually. Changes to the rules on pension contributions will discourage employers from moving to precarious contracts. Apprentices see a 4.5% pay increase over the two years. 
 
The deal has been described as a &ldquo;crisis agreement&rdquo; and sees trade unions agreeing to only a small pay increase and for the first time since 1991, no increase in pension contributions.

Danish Manufacturing Collective Agreement in Place

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