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Since late 1997, dating from the merger between BP and Mobil the ICEM affiliated trade union in Greece, the Pan Hellenic Federation of Employees in Petroleum Products, refineries and Chemical Industry has faced a series of challenges from the company regarding increased outsourcing. 
 
Over the last ten years the outsourcing and transferring of the Accounting and Technical departments has taken place with numerous changes in the contracted company. In the initial instances the social plans offered to the workers were identical to those applied by BP Greece SA Oil Trading and Mobil Oil Hellas. 

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The latest conflict concerning the outsourcing of the Accounting and Technical departments and the intention to terminate the contract by BP Hellas is however different. This time it is clear that BP Hellas intends to end the contracts and new people will be employed on inferior terms and conditions of employment to circumvent the original conditions and to deny the workers their rights. Obviously this is completely unacceptable to our Greek affiliate. 
The union has the full support of our sister organization, EMCEF at European level in their claim that the proposed changes would be contrary to various European directives that give protection to the workers in question. EMCEF has already raised the issue with the relevant European Union structures. 
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ICEM is also fully behind our affiliate&rsquo;s claim and add our voice to their demand that there must be complete application of the directives to ensure that any structural changes in the business that impact on labour relation continue to benefit from the protection given by European Social Law. 
 
BP would be clearly violating both legal and ethical obligations, should it continue with its present proposals. It is essential that the company changes track and safeguards the legitimate rights of the relevant employees.

Outsourcing struggle at BP in Greece

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In the US, the ICEM intervened on behalf of the affiliated Teamsters Union in a strike that started on 3 November and ended 14 November against specialty chemicals manufacturer Rhodia. General Secretary Manfred Warda contacted the Paris-based company directly in efforts to bring the two sides together. 
 
The plant is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and it is part of Rhodia&rsquo;s Eco Services division, producing sulfuric acid and organic chemicals. The 135 members of Teamsters Local 5 went on strike following rejection of a company proposal given 1 November, but accepted a new three-year agreement with modifications on 13 November after managers and the bargaining committee reached agreement that day. 
 

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Teamsters Local 5 Members Last Week on Strike, a Strike that Ended on 13 November 
The strike was primarily over rising health care costs and co-payments that Teamster members were asked to make. The negotiated settlement includes wage increases in each of the three years. It also includes positive modifications for workers to an on-call procedure, or provisions for calling staff to work during their off hours. That was a further cause in the ten-day strike. 
 
The ICEM has a constructive Global Framework Agreement with Rhodia. The difficult American issue of private and for-profit health care delivery systems is generally the leading cause of US labour-management disputes.

Ten-Day Strike by US Union against Rhodia Ends on 14 November

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ICEM&rsquo;s two-year project in Turkey on Organising and Social Dialogue, supported by a Dutch labour confederation&rsquo;s international solidarity arm, FNV Mondiaal, moved forward with its second seminar on 5-6 November, this time in the western Turkish city of Izmir, where ICEM-affiliated trade unions have a strong presence. 
 
The overall objective of the project is to help contribute to the unions&rsquo; ability to recruit new members, as well as to discuss the establishment of a base to create a functioning industrial relations system, prioritizing human and trade union rights, and to promote healthy social dialogue in Turkey&rsquo;s industrial relations system. 
 
The seminar was opened by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, who presented the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s activities and current work plan. The 60 trade union leaders in attendance then heard a report from ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan called, &ldquo;In the Framework of Globalisation and the European Union Organising and Social Dialogue.&rdquo;
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Delagtes at&nbsp;ICEM/FNV Project Workshop in Izmir&nbsp;
Besides Turkish local trade union leaders, shop stewards, and militants in attendance, the meeting also saw participation by several international trade union leaders from the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. Celil &Ccedil;oban and Mail &Uuml;rker of FNV Bondgenoten, the Netherlands, exchanged their experiences and knowledge with Turkish colleagues, while Fons Welters, Chairman of Works Council of the Dutch chemicals company, Akzo Nobel, explained social dialogue inside his company. 
 
Akzo Nobel operates in Turkey without union representation. In this framework, FNV Bondgenoten and ICEM Turkish affiliate Petrol-İş made a pact to cooperate on organising Akzo Nobel&rsquo;s staff in Turkey. 
 
Other speakers, giving their respective country perspectives and presenting their trade union structures, included Michael Mersmann, Head of the International Department, Germany&rsquo;s IGBCE; Jorgen Juul Rasmussen, the General Secretary of Dansk El-Forbund, Denmark&rsquo;s Electricians&rsquo; Union; and Mats Svensson, Advisor to the President of IF Metall in Sweden.
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A presentation by ICEM&rsquo;s Information, Campaigns, Pulp &amp; Paper Officer, Dick Blin, on the trade union situation in the US attracted much attention, specifically by participants who compared the many similarities to the current Turkish union model &ldquo;imported&rdquo; from America in the late 1940s following World War II. 
 
The last presentation was made by &Uuml;zeyir Ataman, Director of Education and Collective Bargaining of Turkish union Lastik-İş, who covered the history and current situation of the union movement in his country. 
 
Comrade Ataman&rsquo;s presentation focused on Power and Weak Points, Challenges and Opportunities, and Concrete Organising Targets inside Turkey. Each of the near 60 participants took the floor and put forward his opinions on these issues in Turkey. 
 
&ldquo;Our seminars in Izmit and Izmir have clearly shown that there is a major need in Turkey to reinforce capacity of trade union leaders on organising and social dialogue,&rdquo; said the ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan, who runs the project. &ldquo;Turkey has big potential in terms of trade union growth, and our objective is to mobilise this growth. So far, we are gaining on that objective.&rdquo; 
 
The FNV project will encompass several more issue-focused seminars through 2010. The next one will be a special women&rsquo;s seminar, scheduled for 15-16 December in İstanbul. In 2010, there will be seminars in the cities of Adana and Bursa, as well as in the region of Tracia.

FNV’s Organising, Social Dialogue Forum in Turkey Comprehensive

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Rolling work stoppages began at a Peabody Energy coal mine in central Queensland on 7 November. The legal industrial actions, brought on by the American company&rsquo;s proposed rollbacks in an enterprise labour agreement at its North Goonyella mine, could intensify in coming weeks, as members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) balloted this weekend on whether or not to take further industrial actions. 
 
A prior enterprise agreement expired early in 2008. But that was extended one year, until 31 March 2009. The dispute now centers on work rosters, rates of pay, and conditions of living in a mining camp. 
 
The CFMEU members took four three-hour work stoppages over a 24-hour period in the middle of last week. Further three-hour industrial actions could occur this week, and if this weekend&rsquo;s ballot passes, legalized work stoppages could extend to 24- or 48-hour periods. Unrelated to the dispute, Peabody announced on 11 November that 34 miners would be made redundant by year&rsquo;s end at North Goonyella.
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Peabody owns other coal-mining operations in Queensland and New South Wales, and is the major stakeholder of other collieries that operate with sub-contractors. All miners at these enterprises are represented by the CFMEU. Peabody bought the North Goonyella colliery from RAG AG as part of a three-mine purchase in 2003. 
 
The US multinational began mining coal in Australia through predecessor companies in the 1950s. Over the years, the CFMEU has developed close ties with the US mining union, ICEM affiliate United Mine Workers&rsquo; of America (UMWA), over Peabody&rsquo;s collective agreements and organizing efforts.

CFMEU Begins Job Actions at Peabody Coal in Australia

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On Sunday evening, 8 November, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) President Lovemore Matombo and four other trade union leaders were arrested in the Victoria Falls region of their country, after they met with the regional ZCTU Executive there. 
 
After four nights in jail, they were released late on Thursday, 12 November. They were arrested for violating Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Public Order and Security Act (POSA), a Mugabe device meant to stifle freedom of association. Under the POSA, participants must get police permission before conducting a public meeting. 
 
Besides Matombo, the other four ZCTU leaders jailed were Michael Kandukutu, Percy Mncijo, Dumisani Ncube, and Nhawu Ndlovu. 
 
But despite police winning an initial court bid on 11 November to keep the five in a jail in Hwange, a Magistrate threw out the charges and ordered their release, stating that trade union activity is exempt under the POSA.
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Last week&rsquo;s illegal incarcerations brought prompt protest and severe condemnation from the International Congress of Trade Unions (ITUC), the European Union, and other labour bodies around the world. 
 
Following release of the five, the ZCTU called for the resignations of the co-ministers of Home Affairs, including Giles Mutsekwa, representing the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, the partner in the failing power-sharing pact with Mugabe&rsquo;s ZANU-PF party. Mutsekwa had been silent on the trade union arrests, and on other repressive crackdowns of late. It was Mutsekwa and the MDC that was to take the lead in internal affairs following last year&rsquo;s formal power-sharing arrangement. 
 
It was the second time in less than a year that Lovemore Matombo had been arrested. In early December 2008, he was grabbed by Zimbabwean police after delivering a petition of protest to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe Trade Union Leaders Jailed, then Released 12 November

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In the US, the ICEM intervened on behalf of the affiliated Teamsters Union in a strike that started on 3 November and ended 14 November against specialty chemicals manufacturer Rhodia. General Secretary Manfred Warda contacted the Paris-based company directly in efforts to bring the two sides together. 
 
The plant is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and it is part of Rhodia&rsquo;s Eco Services division, producing sulfuric acid and organic chemicals. The 135 members of Teamsters Local 5 went on strike following rejection of a company proposal given 1 November, but accepted a new three-year agreement with modifications on 13 November after managers and the bargaining committee reached agreement that day. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="188" />
Teamsters Local 5 Members Last Week&nbsp;on Strike, a Strike that Ended on 13 November&nbsp;
The strike was primarily over rising health care costs and co-payments that Teamster members were asked to make. The negotiated settlement includes wage increases in each of the three years. It also includes positive modifications for workers to an on-call procedure, or provisions for calling staff to work during their off hours. That was a further cause in the ten-day strike.&nbsp; 
 
The ICEM has a constructive Global Framework Agreement with Rhodia. The difficult American issue of private and for-profit health care delivery systems is generally the leading cause of US labour-management disputes.

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The ICEM French trade union affiliate, the Federation of Chemical and Energy Workers (FCE-CFDT) Union, will conduct a day of action this week, 19 November, against the country&rsquo;s plastics manufacturers over a long simmering wage dispute. Some 150,000 workers in plastics, employed by 3,700 big and small plastics companies, have not seen any wage increase since 2006. 
 
Early in 2008, the employers&rsquo; federation abrogated a 2004 labour agreement which automatically gave liveable wage increases that at least matched French inflation. In the more than three years since the last pay hike, three pay grids in French plastics have fallen below the nation&rsquo;s minimum wage levels. 
 
Despite ongoing negotiations since May 2008, the employers&rsquo; grouping and French unions have been unable to reach acceptable wage standards, or a threshold on maximum seniority pay.
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The manifestation will occur at 10h30 on Thursday, 19 November, in front of the F&eacute;d&eacute;ration de la Plasturgie, at 65 rue de Prony in Paris. A joint union-management commission charged with resolving the longstanding impasse will again meet that day. 
 
FCE-CFDT said in a statement that many companies in the sector have profited handsomely from the three-year wage freeze, adding that thousands of workers are expected to take advantage of sick leave provisions on 19 November in plant-level protests. The union will hold a press conference on the foot-dragging by employers on Wednesday, 18 November. 
 
Since spring 2008, several manifestations have occurred across France over the lack of a current wage accord in this sector. 

&nbsp;

French Plastics Workers to Do Another Manifestation This Week

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The ICEM received a report over this past weekend from the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions (FWCUI) that a workers&rsquo; demonstration in Baghdad was fired upon by armed forces. The demonstration and use of armed force occurred on 6 October near the Green Zone in central Baghdad. 
 
The report the ICEM received from the FWCUI said many of the 2,000 protestors were hit with rubber bullets. The ICEM condemns such military action against workers, and calls it one further example why Iraq must enact legitimate labour law and recognise free and independent trade unions. 

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Industrial workers had requested and received a permit from the Baghdad military to hold the demonstration, a protest over pay remunerations since 2008, safety benefits, and to settle cases of workers dismissed from jobs for political reasons under the Saddam regime. 
 
The march on 6 October started at Al Tahreer Square, and crossed Al Jumhoria Bridge towards the Green Zone, where armed forces indiscriminately fired upon and beat demonstrators. Four workers were severely beaten and arrested: Thamir Hameed and Muhammad Khangar from a battery manufacturing industry; Muhammad Khamees from an electrical facility; and Munadhil Attia from the leather manufacturing industry. 

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The FWCUI declared the attack &ldquo;an unprecedented act of terror that will not be forgiven,&rdquo; and called upon authorities to fire the soldiers responsible and to try them criminally. A representative of the Ministries&rsquo; Council admitted of an unprovoked armed confrontation and said the council stood ready to issue a formal statement of apology. 
 
The ICEM has two affiliated trade unions that are part of the FWCUI, and the Geneva-based Global Union Federation calls on workers&rsquo; organizations everywhere to support the FWCUI in their efforts to bring those responsible for this cowardly attack on workers to justice. 
 
The ICEM also supports FWCUI in its efforts for security and just economic entitlements for workers of its federation.

Iraqi Armed Troops Fire at Peaceful Demonstration in Baghdad

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Trade Unions in Iraq are faced with increasing interference and outright repression from government as they organize and increase their influence. Despite the right to organize being clearly guaranteed in the new constitution, Iraq&rsquo;s government falls back on blatantly anti&ndash;union legislation, some of it dating to the Saddam era, to hamper and restrict trade union activity. 
 
But trade unions are fighting back. On 24 October, hundreds of workers marched on the streets of Basra. Members of 12 unions gathered in front of the headquarters of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) there with banners demanding the central government stop interfering in internal workers&rsquo; issues, before marching towards the government administration building in Basra. 

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ICEM Executive Committee Member, Hashmeyia Saadawi
The GFIW is a Iraqi national centre of trade unions to which two ICEM-affiliated trade unions are members. Among the leaders of this demonstration was Hashmeyia Saadawi, President of the General Union of Electricity Workers and Technicians (GFIW), and a member of the ICEM Executive Committee. 
 
Slogans prominently displayed during the march demanded implementation of new ILO compliant labour law, as well as abolition of Saddam&rsquo;s Law 150 of 1987, and ministerial Order 8750 of August 2005. 
 
The immediate issue at stake in the 24 October action is the government&rsquo;s attempt to form a government committee to implement workers&rsquo; elections for unions &ndash; under the old laws and without involving GFIW's executive board. This would continue to prevent workers in the public-sector from unionising, since public-sector workers are not officially allowed to join trade unions under the old legislation. 

<img alt="" src="" width="260" height="183" />
Given that both the oil and gas industry, and the electric power industry remain publicly&ndash;owned, this makes elections in those unions, as well as many others, farcical. The problems are compounded by the continued use by authorities of a controversial decree, Order 8750 of 2005, which froze all trade union assets and financial accounts, making it impossible for unions to function effectively. 
 
On arrival at the local government offices, workers met with local officials who promised to support and pass along their demands to the central government. 
 
But this crucial struggle will continue. The Iraqi trade union movement is about to launch a national campaign calling on the government and Parliament to implement a fair and just labour code that gives all workers, in both public and private sectors, the right to join trade unions. Once such a law is in place, then elections must be held, elections that are free from government interference. 

<img alt="" src="" width="260" height="195" />
The campaign has already attracted international attention and support. In the UK, Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary Brendan Barber has written to Foreign Secretary David Miliband asking him to press Iraq to drop its interference, and instead put in place the ILO-compliant labour code that has been drafted, allowing all workers the right to form, join, and have a say in the running of trade unions. That letter is <a href="http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-17128-f0.cfm ">here</a>. 
 
And LabourStart has begun an electronic campaign, in which workers can show their support. Join this campaign by hitting the link <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=588 ">here</a>. 
 
A statement issued by the GFIW can be found <a href="/index.php?id=24&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3467">here</a>.

Iraq: Confronting Government Repression, Interference of Unions

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ILO'ya bağlı İş&ccedil;i &Ccedil;alışmaları B&uuml;rosu (ILO ACTRAV) 12-15 Ekim 2009 g&uuml;nlerinde Cenevre'de &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme ve toplu pazarlık hakkı konulu uluslararası bir sempozyum d&uuml;zenledi. 

<img alt="" src="" width="326" height="190" />
Sempozyum ulusal sendikal merkezlerden, ulusal işkolu sendikalarından, k&uuml;resel federasyonlardan ve ITUC'tan, akademik &ccedil;evrelerden ve ILO'dan 60'ın &uuml;zerinde katılımcıyı bir araya getirdi. ICEM'i Jim Catterson ve Phee Jungsun temsil ediyordu. Tartışmalarda, &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme ve toplu pazarlık haklarının sendikalarda &uuml;ye sayısının d&uuml;şmesinden, &ccedil;alışma ilişkilerinin giderek bireyselleşmesinden ve k&uuml;reselleşme bağlamındaki dizginsiz rekabet ve esneklik arayışından kaynaklanan sorunlarla karşı karşıya bulunduğu olgusu &uuml;zerinde duruldu. Bu sorunlarla başa &ccedil;ıkabilmek, &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme ve toplu pazarlık haklarını ve diğer temel hak ve ilkeleri yaşama ge&ccedil;irebilmek i&ccedil;in sendikaların g&uuml;&ccedil;lendirilmesi gerekiyor. 

<img alt="" src="" width="328" height="194" />
Sempozyum şunları ama&ccedil;lıyordu: 
- Toplu s&ouml;zleşme ve &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme haklarının uygulanmasındaki son gelişmeleri ve trendleri incelemek. 
- İnsana yakışır &ccedil;alışmanın sosyal ve ekonomik ama&ccedil;ları ile toplu pazarlık arasındaki ilişkiyi tartışmak. 
- Sendikaların &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme ve toplu pazarlık kapasitesini g&uuml;&ccedil;lendirecek politika ve stratejileri saptamak. 
- &Ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme ve toplu pazarlık hakkının genel ve yaygın bir bi&ccedil;imde uygulanmasını sağlamanın y&ouml;ntem ve ara&ccedil;larını saptamak. 
 
Toplantının oturumlarından biri k&uuml;resel &ccedil;er&ccedil;eve s&ouml;zleşmeler konusuna ayrıldı. &Ouml;zg&uuml;r Berlin &Uuml;niversitesi'nden Dr. Michael Fichter'in yaptığı genel girişten sonra, Rhodia ile ICEM arasında bağıtlanmış olan k&uuml;resel s&ouml;zleşme &uuml;zerinde duruldu. Bu konuda ICEM adına sunumu Jim Catterson yaptı.

ILO&#039;nun 98 nolu Sözleşmesinin 60. Yıldönümü

Archive

Outsourcing struggle at BP in Greece

Ten-Day Strike by US Union against Rhodia Ends on 14 November

FNV’s Organising, Social Dialogue Forum in Turkey Comprehensive

CFMEU Begins Job Actions at Peabody Coal in Australia

Zimbabwe Trade Union Leaders Jailed, then Released 12 November

Ten-Day Strike by US Union against Rhodia Ends on 14 November

French Plastics Workers to Do Another Manifestation This Week

Iraqi Armed Troops Fire at Peaceful Demonstration in Baghdad

Iraq: Confronting Government Repression, Interference of Unions

ILO'nun 98 nolu Sözleşmesinin 60. Yıldönümü

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