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A tentative labour agreement reached 26 January will likely be ratified late tonight, ending the 18-month strike between Brazilian multinational Vale and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9508 in the Canadian province of Newfoundland/Labrador. The union is conducting the last of six explanation and ratification votes to members on the north coast of Labrador today, and by all indications the 124-member Local 9508 will approve a five-year labour agreement with Vale. 
 
The expected approval ends a bitter strike in which Vale &ndash; purchaser in 2006 of all mining assets of Canadian-based Inco &ndash; sought to roll back living conditions and work terms for 3,500 steelworkers in Voiseys Bay/Goose Bay, Labrador, and in Ontario. 
 
The Eastern Canadian tentative agreement last week came following intense pressure placed on Vale from a special provincial Industrial Inquiry Commission. That independent inquiry issued recommended solutions to end the strike early in January. (see recent ICEM report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4188-Vale’s-Arrogance-to-Eastern-Canadian-Miners-Communities-Government-Continues">here</a>.) The settlement, if approved tonight, comes just weeks before that same panel is scheduled to issue a second report on the integrity of Vale&rsquo;s operations in Labrador. 
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The company has been operating nickel, copper, and cobalt mining and processing operations with scab replacement workers. On 22 January, a leak from a retention pond in Voiseys Bay went undetected for eight hours, causing a processing plant there to stop production for nearly five days. 
 
On the last day of that shut-down, Vale managers called Local 9508&rsquo;s bargaining committee into talks and the two sides and with the aid of mediator Bill Wells struck a compromise deal. 
 
The new contract would begin tomorrow, 1 February, and run until 1 February 2016. A back-to-work protocol was also adopted in which all striking workers will be recalled to their jobs within a maximum of seven weeks. Workers returning will receive an immediate C$2,000 retention bonus and another such C$2,000 bonus after completing seven days of work orientation and training. 
 
USW Local 9508 achieved adequate wage increases, retained cost-of-living increases, and won excellent language regarding contracting-out practices. A compromise was made on a production bonus, the so-called nickel bonus. Although still achievable, several Vale-demanded components were added such as cash flow return on site investment and overall operational efficiency that are generally out of workers&rsquo; hands. 
<img alt="" src="" width="134" height="130" />
USW Local 9508 President Darren Cove
A C$.20-per-hour wage increase is gained in each year of the agreement, and workers&rsquo; starting wages, following return to work, will be lifted with the first increase plus accrued cost-of-living adjustments from 2009 and 2010. Future cost-of-living increases will be accrued quarterly and paid out on a yearly basis. 
 
Local 9508 won a extra&rsquo;s holiday, bringing from 11 to 12 the number of statutory holidays; staff working night shifts will receive a first-ever C$.30-per-hour shift differential; and a 10% work-site premium for work performed in remote areas will be added to salaries. 
 
The union&rsquo;s contracting-out language was expanded positively to prevent Vale from using outside contractors for the purpose of reducing full-time staff. 
 
The expected end of the 18-month strike today will likely mean settlements in the next few weeks of strikes by USW Local 9508 members at three contract companies on Vale&rsquo;s Labrador/Newfoundland properties. Those contractors represent security, catering, and a First Nation skilled-mechanics company called Ushitou Maintenance. Nearly 300 union members of Local 9508 have been on strike at those firms since mid-2010. 
 
The ICEM and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), Geneva-based Global Union Federations that have supported Canadian steelworkers in the long-running Vale disputes in Newfoundland/Labrador and Ontario, congratulate the members of Local 9508 for their resilience, as well as USW District Six in Canada for exemplary worker representation in facing off with an extremely adversarial mining house.

Pressure Mounts, Vale Settles in Eastern Canada

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A strike by 400 miners of ICEM affiliate Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia ended peacefully yesterday when management of Saknakhshiri, or Geo-Coal, gave recognition to the union and agreed to good-faith negotiations. 
 
Those negotiations will begin Monday, 7 February, and will commence over safety issues and pay for surface transportation workers, the lowest paid workers at Tkibuli-Mindeli, a set of two underground mines in the Imereti region of western Georgia. Saknakhshiri is wholly-owned by the Georgian Investment Group (GIG), a diverse conglomerate controlled by the Georgian political figure, Davit Bezhuashvili. 
 
The agreement yesterday, brokered between the company and the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemicals union and the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), gives parity to the union regarding social issues and gives the union full status on a commission to revamp safety and health conditions, a major contributing factor to the strike action this week. 
 
Tkibuli-Mindeli employs some 1,050 Georgian workers, including 650 miners, 200 transportation workers, and 250 administrative personnel.
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&nbsp; 
Following a methane gas explosion on 21 January that killed one and seriously injured four others &ndash; the third deadly gas blast in less than a year at Tkibuli-Mindeli &ndash; workers and their new union demanded modern mine safety equipment than the Soviet-era devices in place, and demanded improved work and pay conditions. 
 
The situation was exasperated last week when police arrested two lower-tier managers for safety negligence in the 21 January explosion. In support of the two and as protest to the overall work and safety conditions, miners staged a two-hour warning strike on 31 January and then embarked on an open-ended strike on 1 February. 
 
That strike brought broad public support and generated regional media coverage. Meanwhile, the ICEM affiliate and GTUC were actively engaged with Saknakhshiri in addressing issues. Yesterday&rsquo;s agreement produced a 13-point commitment by the Georgian mining company to address all issues in respectful social dialogue, including new labour agreements that replace non-regular employment, pay and overtime concerns, and a joint safety structure to replace outdated equipment and correct deficiencies. 
 
For the union, it signed a four-point commitment to protect social guarantees of workers, take full part in development, training, and implementation of new safety features, and &ldquo;will popularize and foster social dialogue, between the administration and employees, as a means of civilized resolution&rdquo; of conflicts. 
 
GTUC Vice President Gocha Alexandria said the critical aspect to yesterday&rsquo;s agreement is time deadlines. The union and company have strict time frames to reach accord on different issues. For instance, a joint study and policy directive on mine safety will be completed by 20 February; a wage increase for transportation workers will be readied by 7 February, with implementation on 1 March; and pay and other conditions for miners must be introduced by 10 March and implemented soon afterward. 
 
Talks on Monday will also firmly resolve the issuance of protective wearing apparel for workers, another grievance that led to the dispute. Yesterday&rsquo;s accord also establishes a time frame in which a first collective agreement for Tkibuli-Mindeli miners of the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union will be achieved. That date is set at 20 March 2011. 
 
Workers began joining the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia following a 27 August 2010 methane gas explosion that killed four and severely injured six other miners. On 3 March, another gas explosion killed four, this time severely burning one miner. 
 
The ICEM salutes the union, the capable leadership at GTUC, and the workers at Tkibuli-Mindeli for taking direct that led to this successful outcome. A report this week can be found here on <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP/4228-ICEM-Supports-Safety-Strike-at-Georgian-Coal-Mine">ICEM support</a> for the Georgian miners.

Strike Ends, Georgian Miners Recognized at Tkibuli-Mindeli Colliery

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The ICEM today announced unequivocal support to striking coal miners of the Tkibuli-Mindeli coal mine Imereti region in western Georgia. Trade union members of ICEM affiliate Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers Trade Union of Georgia are justified in their stop-work actions because the owner of the mine, the Saknakshiri company, part of the Georgian Industrial Group (GIG), has neglected to install modern gas detection devices in its underground mine. 
 
The open-ended strike began yesterday, 2 February, and the ICEM supports the demands of 200 miners to remedy unsafe mine conditions and to improve work conditions. The strike yesterday came after a two-hour warning strike on 31 January, and 12 days after a methane gas explosion inside the Tkibuli-Mindel mine killed one worker and severely injured four others. 
 
Those workers knew methane gas levels were high but were told to retreat into the mine or face dismissal. Two days before the 21 January explosion, two other work units complained about high gas levels but were ordered to stay inside shafts.
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&quot;The information we have is the Tkibuli mine operates with inferior and out-dated detection and ventilation equipment,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;Following an August 2010 gas explosion that again killed miners, the company made only minor repairs rather than invest in a new and modern system.&rdquo; 
 
The 27 August 2010 explosion killed four miners and severely injured six others. On 3 March 2010, four miners were again killed and one seriously burned in another methane gas blast at the Tkibuli-Mindeli colliery. 
 
The ICEM backs the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers Trade Union of Georgia&rsquo;s demand that the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC) be given full participation in the special commission to probe the 21 January disaster. The ICEM calls on Saknakshiri to meet workers&rsquo; demands, including establishment of a compensation system for injured workers and the families of miners killed at work, hazardous duty pay, and proper protective clothing attire for work. 
 
Besides a healthy safety environment in which to work, Tkibuli-Mindeli miners also are seeking an end to non-regular employment, an overtime pay system, and wage indexation tagged to inflation, restitution of 2010-2011 outstanding arrears, and holiday pay.

ICEM Supports Safety Strike at Georgian Coal Mine

6 January 2011 
 
To All ICEM Affiliated Unions: 
 
 
 
Job Posting for ICEM Mining/DGOJP Officer 
 
Firstly, I extend the Best Wishes from ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana and myself to all of you in the New Year. 
 
I write to inform you that the ICEM is seeking applicants for the position of Mining/Diamond, Gems, Ornaments, and Jewelry Production Officer. Joe Drexler, who has served in that capacity, has decided to leave the ICEM and resume his duties with the United Steelworkers. 
 
I attach a job description in English for the post, which will be based in Geneva, Switzerland. I would be grateful if you could distribute details of this vacancy throughout your trade union organisation, and should a candidate wish to apply for the position, please have them send full details of their background in cover letter in English, along with their CV, to myself, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, manfred.warda@icem.org, and Finance and Administration Officer Marie-France Sarfati, mariefrance.sarfati@icem.org, or it can be faxed to Manfred Warda and Marie-France Sarfati at +41 22 304 1841. 
 
Fluent written and spoken English is essential, and IT skills also are essential. There also is a requirement for some travel from Geneva. The deadline for application is February 15, 2011. 
 
Thank you for your kind attention in distributing this announcement throughout your organisation. 
 
Fraternally, 
 
 
 
 
Manfred Warda 
General Secretary 
 
Enclosure: Job Description (EN)

Job Posting for ICEM Mining/DGOJP Officer

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The Building &amp; Woodworkers International (BWI) is calling for trade unionists to register protests with the Indonesia minister of Manpower and Transmigration over jailing of a trade union leader of SP KAHUTINDO, a BWI affiliate. 
 
Sister Nurimah, a KAHUTINDO plant level chairperson at the San Yu Frame Moulding company in Semarang, was detained on 9 December and is still being held at a state prison in Bulu, Semarang, for an alleged assault charge from June 2006. Her arrest conveniently comes at a time when the KAHUTINDO branch was pressing for its first negotiation with the wood-products manufacturer. 
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In June 2009, 434 of the company&rsquo;s 700 workers registered for KAHUTINDO representation. A series of union actions had forced the company to the bargaining table, but BWI believes the arrest of Nurimah has been orchestrated by management to intimidate workers and halt bargaining. 
 
To register your protest with the Indonesian government, click <a href="http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?index=3236&amp;Language=EN ">here</a>.

Take Up Protest for Woman Trade Unionist Jailed in Indonesia

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After a sustained campaign by Bangladesh&rsquo;s garment sector trade unions, the government last week announced an 80% rise to the minimum wage for workers in the sector. The minimum wage rise, from US$24 to US$43 per month falls far short of the US$72 (5,000 taka) figure that trade unions had pushed for. 
 
According to a report released in June by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Bangladeshi garment workers are the &quot;world's most poorly paid&quot; workers. The vast majority, some 80% of the 3.5 million garment workers in Bangladesh are women, earning far less than a living wage, with many working 12-14 hour days, six days a week, under appalling and hazardous conditions. Common practice is for factory owners to not pay overtime, to pay workers late, and to pay less than the minimum wage. 
 
The target figure of US$72 per month, which the Bangladeshi government refused to implement, is approximately half the minimum wage of China. Calculations suggest that a realistic living wage in Bangladesh is around US$150 per month. 
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The government&rsquo;s decision was described as inadequate by labour leaders in the country, and was met with garment workers protesting in the streets of Dhaka, the nation&rsquo;s capital. &quot;We have tried our best to meet the demands of the workers,&quot; stated Labour Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain. The country&rsquo;s garment exports, mainly to the US and Europe, are worth over US$12 billion per year, nearly 80% of the total export income of Bangladesh. 
 
Affiliates of the International Textile, Garment &amp; Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) responded to the increase with a series of demands for social benefits to supplement the minimum wage. The Bangladesh National Council (BNC) of Textiles Garment and Leather Workers called for provisions on food, housing, healthcare, and childcare if workers&rsquo; basic needs are to be met. The BNC has also urged government to implement the wage increase with immediate effect, instead of waiting until November. 
 
The ITGLWF is urging buyers to insist that their suppliers respect workers&rsquo; rights to freedom of association and to take account of the cost of paying a decent wage during price negotiations. 
 
Major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Gap, H&amp;M, Marks &amp; Spencer, and Tesco source much of their production from Bangladesh. While the international buyers are forcing prices to remain low in the so-called race to the bottom, workers are paying for it by receiving poverty-level wages. Minister of Labour Khondker Mosharraf Hossain previously stated, &quot;The problem Bangladesh faces is that giant multinational retailers will not pay for a wage increase. Every year the multinationals slash the prices they are willing to pay per unit, which drives down wages.&rdquo; 
 
Labour leaders have been forced into hiding, to escape retaliatory beatings and arrests by the Bangladeshi authorities.

Bangladesh Garment Workers Protest Low Wage Increases, Continued Repression

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The 42nd Congress of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) was convened in Mexico City, 5-12 August, under the theme &lsquo;Strong Unions &ndash; Sustainable Transport&rsquo;. The more than 1,000 Congress delegates saw outgoing ITF president Randall Howard deliver his last address as president, as he stands down also from his position as general secretary of the SATAWU South African transport workers&rsquo; union. Howard, who was elected at the 2006 Durban Congress, was appointed as an advisor to the South African minister of public services and administration last year. Newly elected president Paddy Crumlin was recommended by ITF&rsquo;s executive board and unanimously endorsed by the Congress&rsquo; 1,500 delegates. 
 
&quot;The ITF finds itself at a critical time for workers around the world following the global collapse of international economies. It is now our responsibility to protect the rights and futures of all transport workers against the excesses of capitalism set against a slow and uncertain recovery of transport related industries.&quot; stated Crumlin in his acceptance speech. 
<img alt="" src="" width="194" height="122" />
Paddy Crumlin, incoming ITF President
Paddy Crumlin, National Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), is seen as a driving force in the development of regional strategic alliances and is widely respected for his central role in trade union development in East Timor and Papua New Guinea. He was previously the Chair of the strong Dockers&rsquo; section of the ITF. 
 
General Secretary David Cockcroft was reelected by Congress. 
 
One important delegate to the Congress was missed, Mansour Osanloo, the leader of the Vahed Syndicate Tehran bus workers&rsquo; union in Iran is still in prison, in spite of a fierce international campaign for his release, and in spite of an announcement last month by the Iranian authorities that he soon would be released. There are 52 other trade unionists in prison currently in Iran. 
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The ICEM participated in the Congress in Mexico City and, together with the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) sought to highlight the struggle of Los Mineros to delegates. 
 
On Sunday 8 August the Congress sponsored a forum on freedom of association, where Los Mineros were centrally featured, along with the Electricians Union SME. The two unions have recently formed an alliance. ICEM Director of Industry &amp; Corporate Affairs Joe Drexler appealed to unions in attendance to join a broad solidarity committee, currently being formed for those free trade unions under attack in Mexico. The symposium educated 400 trade union leaders about the repressive conditions faced by Mexican trade unions.

42nd ITF Congress in Mexico City Elects MUA&#039;s Paddy Crumlin President

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The ICEM&rsquo;s statutory quadrennial World Energy Industries Conference will be held in Stavanger, Norway, 6-8 September, followed by the annual ICEM International Nuclear Workers&rsquo; Union Network (INWUN) on 9 September. Some 115 global delegates representing ICEM affiliates and others are expected to attend. 
 
The World Energy Conference will feature four panel discussions, including ones on Future Energy Resources, Global Framework Agreements in the sector (Statoil, EDF, Lukoil), Campaign Experiences from five countries, and ICEM&rsquo;s various Energy Networks and the ongoing networking occurring in those workers&rsquo; networks. 
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="121" />
ICEM&rsquo;s Energy sector Chair, Lars Mhyre
The conference will also feature a representative from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate speaking on Offshore Safety and Environmental Protection, challenges stemming from deepwater drilling. 
 
The Energy Conference will highlight a presentation by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda on the building of a new global union trade structure in manufacturing. The ICEM&rsquo;s Energy sector is chaired by Lars Myhre of IndustriEnergi (IE) of Norway. 
 
The ICEM World Energy Conference and the INWUN Conference will be held at the Radisson Blu Atlantic Hotel in Stavanger, beginning at 9h30 on 6 September with welcoming and opening by IE President Leif Sande.

ICEM Energy Conferences Coming to Stavanger, Norway, 6-9 September

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In what has been described as a move to win back support from France&rsquo;s right-wing, President Nicholas Sarkozy is pushing adoption of new legislation to push back the retirement age, and increase public sector workers&rsquo; pension contributions in France. Trade unions plan a national protest strike on 7 September. 
 
The National Assembly&rsquo;s social affairs committee voted in favour of the Bill on 22 July, enabling it to go to Plenary debate in France&rsquo;s lower house on 7 September, and to the Senate in October. The Bill would raise the legal retirement age from 60 to 62 in the year 2018, and increase the number of years of contributions to 41.5 before workers receive a full pension. 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="93" />
Sarkozy&rsquo;s low opinion poll ratings were recently compounded by claims of his and UMP party former chief fundraiser Eric Woerth&rsquo;s financial misconduct, accepting illegal political cash from L&rsquo;Or&eacute;al heiress Liliane Bettencourt. With the President seeking re-election in 2012, defeat of his pension reform bill would conserve workers&rsquo; conditions, but also strike a significant blow to Sarkozy&rsquo;s right-wing UMP party&rsquo;s election chances. 
 
The mass mobilization planned by France&rsquo;s trade unions will coincide with the Plenary Session in the lower house, debating the pension bill. The action will seek to fight the proposed pension reforms, and also defend jobs and demand government action for economic recovery. 
 
ICEM French affiliated union FCE-CFDT describes the pension reform and other government austerity measures as &ldquo;carriers of social injustice&rdquo;, adding that it is unacceptable that all the financial burden of the economic downturn is passed onto employees in both the public and private sector.

French Trade Unions to Strike in Protest of Sarkozy’s Cuts to Pensions

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ICEM Serbian affiliate Sindikat Nezavisnost, the Chemical, Non-Metal, Energy, and Mining Industries Union, will decide today if a proposal by the pharmaceutical concern Srbolek AD is good enough to end a 15-day strike by some 70 workers in Belgrade. On Friday, 20 August, a Serbian state mediation agency moderated an exchange of proposals between the union and company regarding this most recent strike over wage arrears. 
 
The strike began on 9 August, and workers and Nezavisnost leaders have been subjected to physical and psychological abuse by managing director Jovica Stefanovic Nini and his hired security team. Workers of the privatized pharmaceutical producer and distributor have not been paid in six months, with social contributions, taxes, statutory severance packages, and retirement earnings also withheld. 
 
A four-day strike in May 2010 resulted in retaliatory action being taken by the managing director against strike leaders. He unilaterally reduced the pay of union leaders by 60% then. Another strike over wage arrears occurred in August 2009. 
<img alt="" src="" width="252" height="189" />
The ICEM intervened on 11 August in the most recent strike, calling into question the extreme anti-social behavior of management, including overt discrimination against women workers who are pregnant or who have given birth since August 2009. 
 
Following the first day of strike activity on 9 August, the company made a proposal through a state mediator that it would pay one month&rsquo;s salary if workers halted the strike. Nezavisnost declined to consider the offer. The very next day, another trade union at a plant of Srbolek affiliated with the Sindikat Samostalni Federation of Serbia (SSSS) joined the strike, thus ratcheting up pressure on Stefanovic Nini. 
<img alt="" src="" width="252" height="189" />
But again security of Serbia&rsquo;s third largest pharmaceutical company undertook brute tactics by prohibiting union leaders from entering the state mediation agency&rsquo;s offices. 
 
Finally, following near constant negotiations last week, state mediators crafted a set of proposals that appears to satisfy the strikers. Srbolek, for the first time since the outset of the strike, also submitted a proposal on 20 August that could end the strike. It is that proposal which union leaders and strikers will examine today. 
 
The ICEM will continue to monitor the dispute and even if proposals are accepted to end the current strike, the Geneva-based Global Union Federation will follow future labour-management developments between Srbolek and trade unions.

Wage Arrears Again Fuel Bitter Serbian Pharmaceutical Strike

Archive

Pressure Mounts, Vale Settles in Eastern Canada

Strike Ends, Georgian Miners Recognized at Tkibuli-Mindeli Colliery

ICEM Supports Safety Strike at Georgian Coal Mine

Job Posting for ICEM Mining/DGOJP Officer

Take Up Protest for Woman Trade Unionist Jailed in Indonesia

Bangladesh Garment Workers Protest Low Wage Increases, Continued Repression

42nd ITF Congress in Mexico City Elects MUA's Paddy Crumlin President

ICEM Energy Conferences Coming to Stavanger, Norway, 6-9 September

French Trade Unions to Strike in Protest of Sarkozy’s Cuts to Pensions

Wage Arrears Again Fuel Bitter Serbian Pharmaceutical Strike

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