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Germany&rsquo;s two biggest industrial unions, ICEM affiliate IGBCE and IG Metall, urgently called upon elected officials and employers within Germany to begin a constructive dialogue on overcoming the consequences of the current global crisis. The unions recently issued a joint statement to draw attention to the fact that economic and industrial policy challenges cannot be undertaken with mere &quot;cosmetic adjustments without a genuine substance.&quot; 
 
In cooperation with the Hans B&ouml;ckler Foundation, IGBCE and IG Metall organised a joint conference in Oberhausen, Germany, entitled &ldquo;Industrial Policy for Tomorrow.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;The industrial base of our economy must be strengthened to lay the foundations of sustained growth and prosperity,&rdquo; said IGBCE board member Michael Vassiliadis. 

<img height="109" alt="" src="" width="110" />
Added Berthold Huber, President of IG Metall, &ldquo;We need a bridge over the crisis and it must lead to the other shore and not back to the same shore. We must now have a model for a sustainable industrial policy.&rdquo; 
 
In the joint statement, the unions warn of the danger that industrial cores could be lost and entire value-chains in industrial processes might collapse. Therefore, the unions call on the German government to provide &ldquo;short term loans and guarantees, and to generate additional demand.&rdquo; 
 
Specifically, IGBCE and IG Metall call for a public equity fund, effective protections for companies to secure jobs, the adoption of a sustainable industrial policy that would replace unregulated markets, comprehensive social-democratic participation rights, decent work, regulated labour markets, and a coordinated industrial policy for all of Europe.

IGBCE, IG Metall in Germany Combine to Demand Sustainable Industrial Policy

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This month&rsquo;s 98th Session of the ILO Conference adopted a landmark Global Jobs Pact on 19 June. The accord, called a Jobs Pact, was agreed to by governments, trade unions, and employers, and lays out a template for economic recovery and reform. 
 
Jobs, workers&rsquo; rights, social protections, quality public services, and sustainability are at the heart of the proposal for a new system of global governance, said International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) General Secretary Guy Ryder. 

<img alt="" src="" width="129" height="97" />
ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder
Global labour unions fear that the ILO will return to a course of business as usual, and that world economic institutions will continue with the failed policies of free-market radicalism. Some commentators say that the financial crisis has already bottomed out and recovery is now imminent, but voices at the 19 June ILO session argue that the affect of lost jobs will be lasting and devastating. 
 
The Jobs Pact is seen as an alternative to shocking ILO projections that the crisis will push 50 million workers into unemployment, and that 200 million of the world&rsquo;s population will be pushed into extreme poverty. The creation of sustainable jobs is essential, as is the fight against climate change. 
 
Another aspect of the Jobs Pact is the high level of importance given to tripartite dialogue, social dialogue, and collective bargaining. High standards of working conditions and improved wages are vital, along with education and training programmes for the unemployed. The Jobs Pact calls for increased implementation of public-sector job creation schemes. 
 
The Global Jobs Pact signifies an important and significant step forward. Implementation must now occur. The ICEM supports demands for concrete results before the next G20 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, on 24-25 September 2009.

ILO’s Jobs Pact; a Solid Proposal for Exiting the Financial Crisis

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The ICEM reviewed and extended its Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with French-based chemical multinational Rhodia covering 15,000 workers in March 2008 with a series of new initiatives. One of those includes a joint initiative on workers&rsquo; health and safety through a global safety partnership committee. 
 
ICEM and Rhodia agreed to have an addendum to the agreement that clarifies terms and conditions of the global committee. This is expected to be finalised this autumn following ICEM consultations with its affiliated unions that represent Rhodia workers. 
 
While the discussions are ongoing, a first-ever joint activity regarding health and safety was held at Rhodia&rsquo;s subsidiary in Freiburg, Germany, on 19 June. 

<img alt="" src="" width="321" height="174" />
The ICEM was represented by Chemicals and Rubber Officers Kemal &Ouml;zkan and Health, Safety, and Sustainable Development Officer Brian Kohler, and representatives from German affiliated union IGBCE, which represents workers at the plant, attended. The IGBCE&rsquo;s Michael Wolters from union headquarters in Hannover was present, as was IGBCE regional representative Wilfried Pernshorn, and Works Council members Cornelia Kainz and Hans Peter Rich. 
 
Rhodia was represented by Yolene Coppin, Jacques Kheliff, and Jean Paul Perez, all from the company&rsquo;s Paris headquarters, and by Raimund Hinsen, Uwe M&auml;nnel, and Hans-Ulrich Lutz, managers at the Freiburg plant. 
 
That facility, called Rhodia Acetow, produces chemicals such as filters, flakes, and anhydrides. The joint mission heard presentations on the plant&rsquo;s economic and employment situation, and on health, safety, and environmental indicators. After touring the various sections of the plant, the group made an evaluation on the current situation of Rhodia Acetow and discussed a future action plan. 
 
&ldquo;This is an important step forward in the GFA with Rhodia,&rdquo; said the ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan. &ldquo;Dealing with health and safety at the global scale, using the substantial contributions offered on a plant by plant basis, will keep standards high and serve to harmonise the standards across all company plants throughout the world.&rdquo;

ICEM, Rhodia Take Health, Safety Agenda to Shop Floor in Freiburg, Germany

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The three-day Congress of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa late last week provided stark reminder that tensions do exist on certain issues between trade unions and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party. One such issue is the contentious matter of labour brokers. 
ANC General Secretary Gwede Mantashe, himself a former NUM General Secretary and ICEM Executive member, argued on the first day that certain actions by labour unions might prove &ldquo;counter-productive&rdquo; with the ANC and the new Zuma government. But earlier, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi told delegates that in current wage talks throughout the country, it is wrong to think that workers should pick up a share of the economic burden. 
Vavi called it &ldquo;scandalous&rdquo; that the first response to this economic crisis is for workers to lower their pay demands. &ldquo;I say No to the CEOs who have watched their salaries grow by 150% each year and now say it is workers who must lower their demands,&rdquo; Vavi said. 
<img alt="" src="" width="180" height="167" />
ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana
The NUM&rsquo;s Triennial Congress was held at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, near Johannesburg. The union conducted debates, deliberations, and their elections under two banners, &ldquo;Members First Today and Forever&rdquo; and &ldquo;Strengthen Solidarity, Deepen Class Consciousness.&rdquo; Delegates attended from all 11 regions of the 320,000-member NUM to this 12th policy-shaping Congress. 
One of the policies adopted is an outright ban on the use of labour brokers in South Africa. The NUM calls it the biggest threat to decent work in the country today. The NUM stands along side COSATU and other unions on the ban, while the ANC government has said it will introduce laws that more closely regulate contract work, subcontracting, and outsourcing. 
NUM President Senzeni Zokwana, who also is ICEM President, gave a forceful and moving speech to open the Congress on 28 May by stating, &ldquo;Let no one here believe we are going to settle for low wages. We will demand a living wage for mineworkers, construction workers, and energy workers.&rdquo; 
Zokwana called for an end to labour brokering, saying it is the creator of detrimental work conditions and the beginning of slave wages. 
South Africa Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana also criticised labour brokers. &ldquo;These companies send the labour of workers to the highest bidder and then they pay them the lowest possible wage,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It is an extreme form of free market labour capitalism. It allows workers to be traded for profit just as if they are meat or vegetables.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="180" height="165" />
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda told delegates that the Global Union Federation stands with them in calling for the ban, calling Contract and Agency Labour &ldquo;one of the worst plagues of globalisation.&rdquo; Warda added that &ldquo;the neoliberal model and the greed that it encouraged&rdquo; has led the whole world to the edge of economic disaster. &ldquo;We need a world of equality and regulated financial governance now more than at any previous time.&rdquo; 
Warda paid tribute to the NUM&rsquo;s leading role inside Africa related to trade-union building, and he also mentioned the union&rsquo;s exemplary work in HIV/AIDS prevention and in mine safety. Warda also used the NUM forum to issue a call for unity among the trade unions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 
Zokwana was re-elected President of NUM, while ICEM Executive member Frans Baleni won re-election as General Secretary.

NUM Stands Pat on Ban of Labour Brokers at 12th Congress

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Two fresh law suits under America&rsquo;s Alien Tort Claims Act were filed last week in US federal courtrooms. In the state of Alabama, Drummond Coal was again hauled to the dock for its complicity with right-wing death squads in Colombia, and in New York state, Shell Oil will have to answer to its alleged conspiracy with Nigerian security forces in the 1995 execution of Ken Saro-Wira. 
 
The Colombian case against Drummond is the second such case against the US-based coal producer. Drummond&rsquo;s alleged involvement in the 2001 assassinations of union leaders Valmore Lacarno, Victor Oracasita, and Gustavo Soler, all leaders of the mining union Sintramienerg&eacute;tica, was the first Alien Tort Claims Act case to reach trial. In 2007, after key Colombian witnesses were prevented from testifying, a federal judge dismissed the case against Drummond and an appeals court failed to reverse that decision in December 2008. 
 
This time Drummond, between 1999 and 2006, is accused of complicity with right-wing paramilitary squads in the murders of 63 men and four women. The suit, filed by a state of Florida law firm on behalf of 252 relatives of the slain, who are entitled to compensatory damages from Drummond if the company is proven guilty. The lawsuit claims Drummond specifically paid millions to the United Self-Defense Forces (AUC), who &ldquo;terrorised&rdquo; women and children &ldquo;in their homes, on their way to and from work, and often murdered&rdquo; others &ldquo;on behalf of Drummond.&rdquo; 

<img src="" width="180" height="83" alt="" />
Ken Saro-Wiwa is a martyr because, as leader of the non-violent Movement for the Survival of the Ogani People (MOSOP), he was among the first Nigerians to stand up against environmental degradation and human exploitation in the Niger Delta. His strong voice earned him a hasty trial and execution by the repressive regime of General Sani Abacha. The New York suit will attempt to prove that Shell was complicit in a campaign of terror undertaken by Abacha&rsquo;s security forces. 
 
The Alien Tort Claims Act, on US law books since 1789, allows non-Americans access to US civil court action in order the hold accountable US-based or other corporations to violations of international law. Because of the US&rsquo;s historic economic power throughout the world, Alien Tory Claims cases are seen as a leading way in which human rights conduct gets heard in America.

Drummond, Shell Called to US Courts to Answer on Human Rights Charges

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On 12 June, civil society across everywhere will mark World Day Against Child Labour, this year coming on the 10th anniversary of adoption of ILO Convention 182, the convention that condemns the worst forms of child labour. In step with this year&rsquo;s International Labour Conference gender theme, the ILO will focus 12 June on the exploitation of young girls in child labour. 
 
The ILO estimates that 100 million girls are involved in child labour. The ICEM believes that the first and most important instrument toward decent work is education. A child and young adult&rsquo;s education is the surest and securest way to escape poverty, and to grow as an adult into a decent and secure livelihood. 

<img src="" width="139" height="200" alt="" />
On this World Day Against Child Labour, the ICEM draws attention to our trade union affiliate at the Firestone Rubber Plantation in Liberia, a union that still must carry the fight to leave behind the scars of child labour. Despite a new collective agreement, Firestone has not implemented parts of it, including reductions on quotas for rubber tapping. It was these quotas that demanded children be used in order to fulfil production. 
 
The ICEM calls attention to the rescue of 37 children in New Delhi, India, last week, who were restrained and bonded while performing needle-stitch work. For every such rescue, there are scores more illegal worksites that cheat and exploit children. The ICEM also makes note of a report from an NGO in Uzbekistan that the use of child labour in cotton fields is growing and becoming an even bigger menace. In Thailand, we know, it is common to abuse Lao and Burmese children while at work in sweatshops. 
 
There are countless stories that certify child labour as the number one obstacle to decent work. The ICEM encourages everyone to acknowledge 12 June, but also to use it as the day to make a year-long commitment to expose and eradicate all forms of child labour.

12 June, Day Against Child Labour, Another Bold Reminder

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ICEM-affiliated Sintravidricol of Colombia won a much-heralded victory in December 2007, achieving recognition and a collective agreement at three metal-moulding plants owned by US-based multinational Ross International. The victory followed a 23-day strike, and a three-year struggle that garnered international support through the ICEM. 
 
The agreement made all 240 workers at the three plants full-time employees, whereas the majority were previously on fixed-term contracts. 
 
That four-year agreement is now seven months from expiration, and Sintravidricol&rsquo;s Section Presidents for La Estrella and Sabaneta, Brahyan Sanchez Henao and Heriberto Giraldo Hernandez, are calling for the company to come to the table and discuss a new agreement for all employees of the group.
The union seeks improvements on paid leave for union activity, and greater stability and formalisation of employment to stop the increasing use of outsourcing at the plants. Sintravidricol formally submitted their list of demands on 5 April to the company. 
<img height="174" width="232" src="" alt="" />
Outsourced employees at two of the three worksites, Andes International Tooling Limited and Andes Cast Metals Foundry Limited, were successfully&nbsp;brought into Sintravidricol in 2007&nbsp;through a campaign supported by the ICEM and the United Steelworkers (USW) and its Flint/Glass Section, after those plants were opened in 2004. Workers at Moldes Medellin Ltd. had organised with Sintravidricol previously. 
 
During the bitter dispute of 2007 which culminated in the first agreement, the company signed two parallel agreements with non-unionised staff. A central goal of this negotiating round will be to scrap those divisive agreements and reach a settlement to cover all staff. Sintravidricol bargaining representatives will be seeking improved guarantees on development of mature industrial relations at the three plants. 
 
Messages of support can be sent to the union <a href="mailto:sintravidsab@unet.net.co; sintravidestrella@yahoo.com">here</a>. Messages to the employer can be sent <a href="mailto:daniel.posada@moldesmedellin.com.co; rubilem@yahoo.com">here</a>.

Colombian Glass Workers Seek to Build on Gains Made in 2007

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Trade union activists around the world are focussing on Mexico again this week and next in the vitally important struggle to block regressive labour legislation which stands to further legitimise Mexico&rsquo;s breaches of international labour standards.
The proposed labour code revisions would legitimise the illegitimate and pervasive use of &ldquo;protection contracts,&rdquo; increase the undermining of freedom of association through outsourcing and temporary contracts, sharply curtail the right to strike, and restrict the contesting of unfair dismissals. 
 
The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), in proposing the harsh provisions, is widely seen as pandering to big business in the build-up to presidential elections in 2012. The draconian revisions have the full backing of President Felipe Calder&oacute;n&rsquo;s ruling National Action Party (PAN). 
 
Legislators are planning to fast-track the bill through&nbsp;public consultations, in which high-level trade union delegations are contributing, so that the legislative commission of labour can approve the proposal in the final days of this parliamentary session, ending 18 April. The next stage of the bill will likely occur during the Easter holiday. Legislators are refusing to discuss the 30 most contentious articles of the new legislation during the consultation stage.
<img alt="" src="" width="80" height="97" />
During these critical days, write with your organisation&rsquo;s opposition to the proposed labour legislation to parliamentary coordinators of the parties <a href="mailto:jcarlos.ramirez@congreso.gob.mx; frnrojas@congreso.gob.mx; alejandro.encinas@congreso.gob.mx; josefina.vazquez@congreso.gob.mx; alfonso.rios@congreso.gob.mx; jjguerra@congreso.gob.mx; pedro.jimenez@congreso.gob.mx">here</a>. 
 
Further dangers posed by the proposed&nbsp;changes include a cap on backpay when a worker is found unjustly sacked. The proposed cap of 12 months salary, when legal proceedings commonly take five years, effectively gives employers a green light to sack workers arbitrarily with impunity. 
 
Another concern is over a&nbsp;proposal that would&nbsp;give employers the right to negotiate individually with workers on terms other than what is&nbsp;in a collective agreement. This would outrageously destroy the process of collective bargaining, enshrined in international labour law. 
 
Mexican labour law can never begin to resemble acceptable standards without first addressing &ldquo;protection contracts,&rdquo; which make democratic trade union organising near impossible, and the &ldquo;toma de nota,&rdquo; which allows authorities to remove elected union leaders arbitrarily and without legal basis. Legislators from the PRI and PAN political parties ignored trade union demands on these issues and other amendments, including establishing a 40-hour work week and improving seniority bonuses and the holiday system. 
 
Also ignored by the authors of these legal changes was the 23 March report of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association, which discusses the complaints of the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) and identifies &ldquo;protection contracts&rdquo; as a priority issue which must be dealt with through social dialogue with trade unions. 
<img alt="" src="" width="310" height="212" />
The Z&oacute;calo
A trade union demonstration marched from Mexico City&rsquo;s main square, the Z&oacute;calo, to the Congress on 31 March, where discussions over the regressive labour bill&nbsp;continue. Then, last Thursday, 7 April, a large national day of demonstration was conducted against the proposed labour law. 
 
In Mexico City, protestors marched from the Angel Monument of Independence to the Z&oacute;calo and heard speakers from trade unions of all Mexico&rsquo;s democratic unions. Los Mineros General Secretary Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia, exiled to Canada, sent his message to the demonstration, calling the proposed changes a &ldquo;robbery of labour rights in Mexico,&rdquo; and called for Labour Minister Javier Lozano Alarc&oacute;n to resign immediately so that he does not cause &ldquo;more damage to industrial relations and social peace of the republic.&rdquo; 
 
Public opinion on Mexico around the world is repeatedly drawn away from the shocking denial of human and workers&rsquo; rights toward the bogus war on drugs, funded by the Obama administration as a way to finance Calder&oacute;n&rsquo;s military strength, which in turn is used to crush trade union campaigns such as in <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3975-ICEM-Condemns-Repression-of-Workers-by-Mexican-Government-Grupo-Mexico">Cananea</a>. 
 
An international tribunal on trade union freedoms will be held on 29 April in Mexico City and that body will hear a strong globally-supported case against the proposed labour law, as well as specific cases from affected unions. 
 
The&nbsp;government-business campaign to weaken trade unions in Mexico was again highlighted by an avoidable methane gas explosion which killed two mineworkers in Barroter&aacute;n, Coahuila, on Saturday, 26 March. The explosion at Mine No. 7 belonging to Northern Steel, took the lives of 33-year-old Juan Francisco Rodr&iacute;guez Piedra and 43-year-old Jos&eacute; Camacho Grimaldo. The accident has been described as &ldquo;industrial homicide&rdquo; due to dangerous and negligent&nbsp;safety conditions in the mine. Union leadership at Barroter&aacute;n was forced onto workers through coercion. 
<img alt="" src="" width="73" height="108" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="65" height="108" />
Mario Alberto Castillo and H&eacute;ctor &Aacute;lvarez
Next week, 20 April, Los Mineros will honour the five-year anniversary of the two miners killed at L&aacute;zaro C&aacute;rdenas, Michoac&aacute;n, in 2006. Mario Alberto Castillo and H&eacute;ctor &Aacute;lvarez were murdered by federal and state police in&nbsp;violent&nbsp;suppression of a strike at the Sicartsa steel plant.

Next Two Weeks Crucial to Block Harsh Mexican Labor Law Revisions

Solidarity Needed: Finnish UPM Paper Strike 
 
Dear Activists in Pulp/Paper Sector, 
 
At 6h00 on Wednesday, 6 April, 1,000 members of the ICEM affiliate Ammattiliitto Pro in Finland began a two-week strike against UPM, the target paper company in a break-down of talks with the Finnish Forest Industries Federation. In an insult to these dedicated paperworkers, the industry failed to give white-collar and technical workers a national wage adjustment, despite giving a second year 2.5% increase to blue-collar workers, members of Paperiliitto. Members of PRO deserve at least the same! 
 
(A full ICEM story on this&nbsp;can be found by <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4342-Finnish-Paper-Sector-Wage-Accords-Divert-Between-ICEM-Affiliates">following this link</a>.) 
 
This is most insulting because in the past few years, paper companies in Finland have downsized the ranks of Pro by 30% through redundancies. It means more work and greater responsibilities have been placed on the 4,000 members of Pro remaining in Finland&rsquo;s paper sector. Thus, Pro has targeted UPM&rsquo;s six mills and 20 workplaces throughout Finland with industrial action. 
 
The ICEM is asking you to immediately send the following message of support to Pro President Antti Rinne (<a href="mailto:Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi">Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi</a>) and Chief Paper Sector Negotiator Jukka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml;inen (<a href="mailto:jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi">jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi</a>). 
 
Please cut and paste this message, or something similar, and send today to the e-mail addresses above: 
 
Dear Brothers Antti and Jukka, 
We have heard through the ICEM of your strike, targeting UPM, from April 6 to April 20. We understand the work stoppage to be justified because the Finnish employers&rsquo; federation has failed to deliver a justified wage increase on the national level. To tell your union&rsquo;s members to go negotiate an increase on the local level is insulting considering the tremendous sacrifices they have made over recent years in keeping Finland&rsquo;s paper sector operating. Please tell all Pro members working in the paper sector that our union supports them! 
 
(Signed) 
(Name of Union)
&nbsp;
<hr />
&nbsp;
Appel &agrave; la solidarit&eacute;: gr&egrave;ve des papetiers d&rsquo;UPM en Finlande 
 
Chers Militants de la Section P&acirc;te et Papier, 
 
A 6h00 ce mercredi 6 avril, un millier de membres du syndicat finlandais Ammattiliitto Pro, affili&eacute; &agrave; l&rsquo;ICEM, ont entam&eacute; une gr&egrave;ve de quinze jours contre UPM, entreprise cibl&eacute;e dans le cadre de la rupture de leurs pourparlers avec la F&eacute;d&eacute;ration des Industries foresti&egrave;res de Finlande. Dans une attitude insultante pour ces travailleurs appliqu&eacute;s, les entreprises ont refus&eacute; d&rsquo;accorder un ajustement salarial aux cols blancs et techniciens en d&eacute;pit d&rsquo;une seconde augmentation salariale annuelle de 2,5% accord&eacute;e aux membres de Paperiliitto, le syndicat des cols-bleus. Les membres de PRO m&eacute;ritent un traitement &eacute;gal ! 
 
Un r&eacute;cit complet de l&rsquo;ICEM, en anglais, sur ce sujet peut &ecirc;tre lui en <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4342-Finnish-Paper-Sector-Wage-Accords-Divert-Between-ICEM-Affiliates">suivant ce lien</a>. 
 
Ce geste est tr&egrave;s insultant parce qu&rsquo;au cours des derni&egrave;res ann&eacute;es, les entreprises papeti&egrave;res en Finlande ont r&eacute;duit les rangs de Pro de 30% en raison des licenciements. Cela signifie que davantage de travail et de responsabilit&eacute;s reposent maintenant sur les &eacute;paules des 4000 membres de Pro qui subsistent dans le secteur du papier en Finlande. En cons&eacute;quence, Pro a cibl&eacute; pour cette action les six usines et vingt sites d&rsquo;activit&eacute; d&rsquo;UPM en Finlande. 
 
L&rsquo;ICEM vous demande d&rsquo;envoyer imm&eacute;diatement le message de soutien suivant au Pr&eacute;sident de Pro Antti Rinne (<a href="mailto:Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi">Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi</a>) et au n&eacute;gociateur en chef pour le secteur du papier Jukka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml;inen (<a href="mailto:jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi">jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi</a>). 
 
Veuillez faire un couper-coller de ce message ou en composer un similaire et l&rsquo;envoyer aux adresses &eacute;lectroniques mentionn&eacute;es: 
 
Chers Camarades Antti et Jukka, 
 
Par l&rsquo;interm&eacute;diaire de l&rsquo;ICEM, nous avons pris connaissance de votre gr&egrave;ve qui cible UPM du 6 au 20 avril. Nous sommes inform&eacute;s que votre arr&ecirc;t de travail est motiv&eacute; par le refus de la F&eacute;d&eacute;ration patronale finlandaise d&rsquo;accorder une hausse de salaire justifi&eacute;e au plan national. Dire aux membres de votre syndicat d&rsquo;aller n&eacute;gocier leurs augmentations au plan local est une insulte compte tenu des sacrifices consid&eacute;rables qui ont &eacute;t&eacute; consentis ces derni&egrave;res ann&eacute;es pour maintenir en activit&eacute; le secteur papetier en Finlande. Dites &agrave; tous les membres de Pro occup&eacute;s dans le secteur du papier que notre syndicat les soutient ! 
 
(Signature) 
(Nom du Syndicat.) 
<hr />

&nbsp;
 
Llamado de solidaridad: huelga de trabajadores de UPM, sector papelero de Finlandia 
 
Estimados activistas del Sector de Pulpa y Papel: 
 
El mi&eacute;rcoles 6 de abril pasado, se inici&oacute; la huelga de trabajadores de la empresa papelera UPM, que estuvo involucrada en el colapso de las conversaciones con la Federaci&oacute;n de Industrias Forestales de Finlandia. Siendo las 6 de la ma&ntilde;ana del d&iacute;a indicado, 1.000 miembros de Ammattiliitto Pro, organizaci&oacute;n finlandesa afiliada a la ICEM, comenzaron una huelga de dos semanas en UPM, a consecuencia de la insultante negativa de esa industria, de no conceder un aumento salarial nacional a los dedicados trabajadores t&eacute;cnicos y de oficina, a pesar de haber otorgado a los trabajadores manuales un aumento del 2,5% por segundo a&ntilde;o consecutivo. Los trabajadores manuales son miembros de Paperiliitto: &iexcl;los miembros de PRO merecen por lo menos el mismo trato! 
 
(Haga clic en este enlace para ver un art&iacute;culo completo de la ICEM, en ingl&eacute;s, <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4342-Finnish-Paper-Sector-Wage-Accords-Divert-Between-ICEM-Affiliates">sobre este problema</a>.) 
 
Esto es un gran insulto porque en a&ntilde;os recientes las empresas papeleras de Finlandia han despedido a muchos trabajadores, reduciendo en un 30% el n&uacute;mero de miembros de Pro. Debido a esto, se han recargado con m&aacute;s trabajo y responsabilidades a los 4.000 afiliados de Pro que quedan en el sector papelero de Finlandia. Por este motivo, Pro ha declarado la huelga en seis plantas y 20 lugares de trabajo de UPM en diferentes partes de Finlandia. 
 
La ICEM les ruega enviar inmediatamente el siguiente mensaje de apoyo a Antti Rinne, Presidente de Pro, (<a href="mailto:Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi">Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi</a>) y a Jukka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml;inen, Negociador Principal del Sector del Papel (<a href="mailto:jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi">jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi</a>). 
 
Rogamos copiar este mensaje, o algo semejante, y enviarlo a las direcciones de e-mail que se se&ntilde;alan m&aacute;s arriba.: 
 
Estimados Cros. Antti y Jukka: 
La ICEM nos ha informado sobre la huelga que han declarado en UPM, del 6 al 20 de abril. Parece justa esta paralizaci&oacute;n de los labores, debido a que la federaci&oacute;n empresarial de Finlandia no ha concedido un aumento salarial justo a nivel nacional. Tomando en cuenta los enormes sacrificios que han hecho estos sindicalistas en los &uacute;ltimos a&ntilde;os para que contin&uacute;en las operaciones del sector papelero de Finlandia, constituye un insulto que les digan a los miembros de su sindicato que vayan a negociar un aumento salarial a nivel local. &iexcl;Rogamos informar a todos los miembros de Pro que laboran en el sector del papel que nuestra federaci&oacute;n sindical est&aacute; con ellos! 
 
(Firmado) 
(Nombre del sindicato) 

&nbsp;

Action Needed/ Votre intervention est souhaitée/ Se requiere acción urgente

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Bahrain&rsquo;s authorities and business leaders are retaliating to a general strike led by the national trade union centre GFBTU with a campaign of mass sackings, intimidation, and violence against all workers involved. The general strike was called on 13 March, and ended 22 March, in support of pro-democracy protests inside the island state near the western shore of the Persian Gulf. The agreement to end the strike included a promise to GFBTU, an affiliate of the International Trade Union Confederation, by authorities that strikers would not suffer repercussions. 
 
Estimates suggest over 1,000 workers will be laid-off during the crackdown including at employers Aluminium Bahrain BSC, Bahrain Telecommunications Company, Gulf Air, Bahrain Airport Services and APM Terminals Bahrain at the Khalifa Sea Port. All sackings were due to worker absence during the strike. 
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BAPCO President Abdul Ghaffar Abdul Hussain
The president of the union at Bahrain Petroleum (BAPCO), Abdul Ghaffar Abdul Hussain, has been sacked for his absence during the strike and also for &ldquo;inciting workers to strike&rdquo;. The company will begin legal prosecution of Hussain this week or next. Hussain was central in the creation of the GBFTU. All employees at BAPCO are now fearful of losing their jobs in the coming days. Absenteeism of BAPCO employees on 16-17 March was 60%. 
See <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/27.ICEM.Bahrain.6April.pdf">ICEM's letter to the King of Bahrain</a> here. 
 
Security forces have closed down the GBFTU headquarters and are expected to soon call the organisation&rsquo;s president, Salman Mahfooz, in for questioning. Roads leading to the union office were closed and workers were blocked from reaching the headquarters, most of those workers had been seeking guidance from their union following their sacking. The GBFTU website has been closed. Parliament is calling on the government to immediately refer trade union leaders involved in the strike to the public prosecution office. 
 
All members of the GBFTU executive, spanning all industries, have been suspended from work pending investigations. On top of this cynical multi-faceted attack on Bahrain&rsquo;s independent trade unions, companies are now planning legal cases against the unions in a further attempt to permanently end their activities. 
 
Over 300 activists have been arrested with many missing, and at least 20 killed since protesters took to the street in February, inspired by popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The violent suppression of the Bahraini people&rsquo;s reform protest has been facilitated with armed forces from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. 
 
This disgraceful attack on core human and trade union rights of the Bahraini people must end immediately.

ICEM Angered by Brutal Attack on Trade Unions in Bahrain

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