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Japanese tyre-maker Bridgestone&rsquo;s failure to listen to alternatives on redundancies in social talks has caused a fiery strike at the company&rsquo;s airplane tyre factory in Frameries, Belgium. The strike by all 140 workers and led by ICEM Belgian affiliate FGTB Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale started on 11 June over eight job cuts. 
 
A day into the strike, trade unionists convinced managers to stay away from the factory and the plant has been idle since. 

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Bridgestone seeks to unilaterally lay off eight workers. FGTB and the 140 workers say that decision ridicules a plant rule on job security. They also point to the fact that Bridgestone employs 14 workers on short-term contracts at Frameries. The FGTB states that Belgium&rsquo;s pre-pension plan qualifies 24 workers for leave, but Bridgestone will not consider other solutions to its reduction in force. 
 
The factory is a Bridgestone re-treading plant. The strike at the plant comes at a time when Bridgestone is boasting to global financial markets that its 2009 earnings sheet will be better that previously predicted because of a stronger yen and already-implemented expense reductions.

Bridgestone Tyre Strike in Belgium Erupts

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ICEM&rsquo;s Bridgestone Global Union Network held its 9th Steering Committee meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on 26-27 June, and is was hosted successfully by the ICEM&rsquo;s Japanese affiliate, Rubber Workers&rsquo; Unions Confederation (GOMU-RENGO) and its member organisation, the Bridgestone Workers&rsquo; Union. 
 
GOMU RENGO President Toshiaki Hojo chaired the meeting with the assistance of Akihiro Nagasawa and Gen Tashiro, President and Vice President, respectively, of the Bridgestone Workers&rsquo; Union. (Gen Tashiro also serves as secretary of the Network.) 
 
Following the general report by ICEM&rsquo;s Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan on developments and challenges in the tyre and rubber industry at global level, delegates to the meeting gave country and regional reports. They came from Japan, Spain, Brazil, and South Africa. 

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As the central focus to the Network, delegates deliberated on industrial accidents within Bridgestone across the world. Delegates were informed of the circumstances around serious recent accidents in Japan and Brazil. A lengthy discussion then ensued on measures to improve occupational health and safety at the Japan-based company. 
 
The meeting also saw an extensive report by ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan on the ongoing strike at a Bridgestone plant located in Frameries, Belgium, as well as problems in obtaining trade union recognition and health and safety concerns at a factory in Tatabanya, Hungary. 
 
The Japanese host union promised to put these problems before executives at Bridgestone headquarters in Japan. The delegates from Spain, Brazil, and South Africa extended solidarity both to ICEM affiliate FGTB Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale in Belgium and VDSz, the affiliated Chemical and Energy Workers&rsquo; Federation in Hungary. 
 
Along with Hojo, Nagasawa, Tashiro, and &Ouml;zkan, delegates attending included Daniel Demetrio and Batista Goncalves, Rubber Workers&rsquo; Union of Brazil (FUB); Jesus Delgado, Secretary of the European Works Council of Bridgestone and Eduardo Alonso, shop steward at Burgos, Spain, both members of the Federation of Related Industries of Spain (FIA-UGT); Nicholas Masilo from National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA); and Yoshio Sato, General Secretary of ICEM&rsquo;s Japanese Affiliates Federation (ICEM-JAF). 
 
The next meeting of the Steering Committee is scheduled to take place during the last week of June 2010 in Spain.

Bridgestone Global Safety Steering Meets in Tokyo

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ICEM&rsquo;s Brazilian affiliate, the ABC Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union of S&atilde;o Paulo state, chose the motto &ldquo;Strengthen Regional Integration and Decent Work&rdquo; for its 10th Congress, which was held from 16-19 May. Aimed at promoting discussions over key challenges faced by workers in the workplaces as well as in the communities, the Congress extended over a period of 60 days and was divided into three stages. 
 
At part one on 16 May, some 800 workers opened the Congress by starting political discussions over various topics dealing with more recruitment, and mobilization against the impact of global economic crisis. The session also took up the challenges at regional and national levels. 
 
The second portion of the Congress was realised from 29 May to 17 June when chemical workers and union members were invited to discuss union actions in four main areas: the workplace; local, regional, and national councils and committees covering health, social security, environment, employment, and development; the various segments of the chemical industry, including plastics, pharmaceuticals, paints, and petrochemicals; and the union movement at both national and international levels. 
 
In these sessions, participants adopted resolutions and elected delegates for the third and final step of the Congress programme, which will take place 17-19 July. This forum will approve and begin implementation of the main struggle points for the ABC Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union over the next three years. 

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ABC Chemical Workers' Union President, Paul Lage
The President of the union, Paulo Lage, stated: &ldquo;Instead of presenting prepared arguments and proposals to debate, we adopted a methodology that facilitates participation in the sessions and working groups, where arguments and resolutions are developed for debate and adoption at the final Congress round.&rdquo; 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s Latin American/Caribbean Region Vice-President S&eacute;rgio Novais, who is also an officer of the ABC Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union, also believes strongly in the innovative methodology of this process. He said it &ldquo;improves the organization in the workplace, facilitates the organization of workers&rsquo; networks to understand globalization, and it presents real challenges and opportunities in which to find solutions.&rdquo;

Brazil’s ABC Chemical Workers’ Union in Unique 60-day Congress Period

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A massive methane gas explosion in a coal mine in the West Sumatra province of Indonesia, 560 miles northwest of capital Jakarta, killed 31 mineworkers earlier in June. Shafts inside the mine, in Suwahlunto district, collapsed on Tuesday 16 June, following the explosion. 
 
The mine, owned by a local company without union representation, was unregulated by either the central Jakarta government or provincial authorities. 
 
The Sarana Arang Sejati mine has had a history of safety problems. A similar explosion happened in 2007, killing three workers and leading to public calls for the mine to be closed. Instead, the PT Dasrat mine was given a license to mine in December 2008, and then the local enterprise outsourced mining work to the same operator who had previously operated the pit. 

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Miners were left unprotected with the absence of modern safety measures, and were using traditional methods to mine the coal, including explosives. The ICEM contacted both its mining union affiliates in the country, and urged them to push for ratification of ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. 
 
The ICEM also called on the ILO to convene a tripartite meeting in Indonesia as soon as possible on the Convention. 
 
Indonesia is the Asia-Pacific&rsquo;s second largest coal exporter behind Australia, with a projected output this year of 230 million tones. It is the region&rsquo;s largest exporter of thermal. It is estimated that there are some 77,000 illegal mines in Indonesia, employing 465,000 workers. The informal mining sector exploits ten times the number of miners than that of the formal sector.

Colliery Deaths in Indonesia Reinforces Call for Ratification of ILO 176

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ICEM&rsquo;s 14 Turkish affiliates have launched into an organising campaign called &ldquo;Organising and Social Dialogue,&rdquo; which is being undertaken as a project with support from Dutch national labour centre FNV and its international solidarity arm, FNV Mondiaal. ICEM and its affiliate on The Netherlands, FNV Bondgenoten, are coordinating the effort. 
 
Approved by the ICEM Turkish Coordinating Committee in November 2008, the project started with an initial conference on 15-16 June in Ankara. Attended by more than 100 union officials, representatives, and experts, the conference examined different tools and instruments with a view to facilitate recruitment drives within unions. The conference also heard the experiences in other countries regarding organising and social dialogue. 

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FNV Bondgenoten President Henk Van der Kolk
At the opening session Henk Van der Kolk, President of FNV Bondgenoten, gave special attention to the importance of international cooperation for trade union success. &ldquo;Trade unions all over the world are losing their strength,&rdquo; he said. 
 
&ldquo;It is no longer a natural thing to join a trade union when you start work. A social Europe, a social world, cannot exist without respect for fundamental human and workers&rsquo; rights, as stated in ILO conventions,&rdquo; added Van der Kolk. &ldquo;The right to freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively on job conditions are basic. The right to a living wage, safe work, and social protections are also basic.&rdquo; 
 
Thanking FNV and Dutch trade unions with active involvement of the Turkish unions, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda underlined the significance of international work in new member recruitment. &ldquo;There are several examples, and one only needs to look within Turkey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The case of Novamed and the global support received by the courageous women of this company in the Antalya free trade zone is an excellent example. We need to build on such cases, and grow the labour movement both in Turkey and globally,&rdquo; Warda said. 
 
The mechanisms of the ILO, tools provided under the Guidelines of Multinational Companies of the OECD and the UN&rsquo;s Global Compact, and performance standards of the World Bank&rsquo;s International Finance Corporation were discussed. Also, the notion of trade union networks among multinational companies and Global Framework Agreements were also discussed. 
 
The conference also saw active participation from trade union delegates from the Asia/Pacific Region, and from Germany, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, and the US. All shared their experiences on organising and social dialogue with leaders from the Turkish unions. 
 
At the final session on 16 June, a panel composed of Turkish union representatives made an evaluation on the Turkish situation that was in line with the presentations and discussions during the two-day conference. 
 
Following this initial conference in Turkey&rsquo;s capital city of Ankara, the FNV Mondiaal project will continue with regional seminars with local union officers and shop-floor representatives. A first seminar will occur in the city of Izmit on 8-9 October, while a second one is scheduled for Izmir on 5-6 November. 
For the programme and presentations, please click <a href="/index.php?id=22&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3292">here</a>.

Dutch FNV Supporting Organising, Social Dialogue Project with ICEM in Turkey

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One of the ICEM&rsquo;s long-standing mining union affiliates, T&uuml;rkiye Maden-İş, lost its president last week, and the entire family of ICEM mourns his passing. Ekrem Fedai had been valiantly fighting lung cancer for some time, but the disease claimed his life on 26 June. He was 58. 

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Ekrem Fedai
Brother Fedai was a substitute member of the ICEM Executive Committee. He started his trade union career in the state-owned lignite company in the city of Tavşanli, and in 1986 was first elected as regional secretary-treasurer of the union in that city. He won election as regional chairman in 1996, and then was elected to the post of Secretary of Collective Bargaining and Legal Affairs for Maden-İş at union headquarters in Ankara. At an extraordinary congress in 2008, he was unanimously elected President of Maden-İş. 
 
In a letter to Maden-İş Vice President Murat Bekem today, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, &ldquo;We know his many contributions to your union and his many achievements across Turkey on behalf of miners.&rdquo; The ICEM extends its condolences to Ekrem Fedai&rsquo;s family and to all the union members of T&uuml;rkiye Maden-İş.

ICEM Mourns Death of Turkish Mines Leader, Maden-İş President Ekrem Fedai

The ICEM calls serious attention to activities on Friday, 26 June, as Day of Action against the Islamic Republic of Iran for the repressive and tyrannical means it uses to suppress the people of Iran. Specifically, ICEM stands with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Global Union Federations (GUFs), and Amnesty International in denouncing the illegal arrests of trade union leaders and others in Iran. 
 
As witnessed by the regime&rsquo;s conduct before and after the sham 12 June elections, global pressure must be steadfast against Iran&rsquo;s ruling zealots who commit untold human rights violations. The ICEM stands with the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF), and Education International (EI), as they call for this Day of Action together with the ITUC and Amnesty International. 
 
These GUFs have worked tirelessly to end trade union rights abuses in specific cases in Iran. More details on 26 June Day of Action, and on specific cases can be found at <a href="http://www.justiceforiranianworkers.org">www.justiceforiranianworkers.org</a>.
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In brief, the ITF champions the cases of Mansour Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi, leaders of the Syndicate of Workers&rsquo; of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, who are serving unjust jail terms. The IUF has sharply criticised the one-year jail terms of five union leaders and forced dissolution of their union, Haft Tapeh Sugar Workers&rsquo; Union, and EI has taken up the case of Farzad Kamangar, who was handed a death sentence last year. 
 
He is a leader of the banned Iranian Teachers&rsquo; Trade Association, an affiliate of EI, and has been convicted of &ldquo;endangering national security&rdquo; for his advocacy of teachers&rsquo; unions. The 26 June Day of Action also is aimed at freeing four activists who remain locked up from a 1 May manifestation at Laleh Park in Tehran. There, secret police violently attacked peaceful workers celebrating May Day, arresting between 100 and 150. 
 
Demonstrations tomorrow (26 June) will occur at Iranian embassies and missions include Belgium, France, Netherlands, Switzerland Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Nigeria, the UK, and in several other countries. The ICEM encourages trade unionists and others to take part. 
 
&ldquo;ICEM is in full support and will assist in every effort to free trade unionists and others who have been locked up because they dared to exercise free speech or free association in Iran,&rdquo; said General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;This brutal regime cannot be allowed immunity in its continuing escalation of human rights violations.&rdquo;

26 June: Day of Action Against Iran

&ldquo;National Project Conference of Turkey: 
Organising and Social Dialogue&rdquo; 
 
15 &ndash; 16 June 2009 
Ankara, Turkey 
 
A g e n d a 
 
 
15 June 2009, Monday 
 
09:30 - 10:30 Opening : 
 
Bayram Eren, General Education Secretary of Tes-İş 
Henk Van Der Kolk, President of FNV Bondgenoten, The Netherlands (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/henk.fnv.speech.pdf">speech</a>) 
Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary 
 
10:30 - 11:00 Break 
 
11:00 - 12:30 First Session: &ldquo;Organising and Social Dialogue: International Mechanisms&rdquo; 
 
G&uuml;lay Aslantepe, ILO Turkey Representative 
Zerg&uuml;l &Ouml;zbilgi&ccedil;, Undersecretariat of Treasury, General Directorate of Foreign Capital, Head of Department of International Relations (OECD Turkey National Contact Point) 
Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemical and Rubber Industries Officer 
Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary and Board Member of &ldquo;Global Compact&rdquo; (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.manfred.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
 
Discussions 
 
12:30 &ndash; 14:00 Lunch 
 
14:00 &ndash; 16:00 Second Session : &ldquo;Organising and Social Dialogue : International Trade Union Tools&rdquo; 
 
Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemical and Rubber Industries Officer (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.kemal.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
Marc Ferron, EDF Global Agreement TU Secretary, France (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.ferron.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
Y&uuml;cel Top, Coordinator of Turkey-EU Trade Union Integration Com. 
Jorgen Juul Rasmussen, Danks El-Forbund, Denmark (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.jorgen.pres.pdf">presentation</a>)&nbsp; 
 
Discussions 
 
16:00 - 16:30 Break 
 
16:30 &ndash; 17:30 Third Session : &ldquo;Different Country Trade Union Structures, Experiences and Strategies for Organising and Social Dialogue&rdquo; : Experiences from North America and Asia 
 
Joe Drexler, ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.drexler.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
Phee Jungsun, ICEM Materials Industry Officer (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.phee.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
 
Discussions 
 
19:00 &ndash; 22:00 Dinner 
 
16 June 2009, Tuesday : 
 
09:30 &ndash; 10:30 Fourth Session : &ldquo;Different Country Trade Union Structures, Experiences and Strategies for Organising and Social Dialogue&rdquo; (continuation) : Experiences from Europe-1 
 
Michael Wolters, IG BCE, Germany (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.wolters.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
Marc Blanc, FCE-CFDT, France (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.blanc.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
 
Discussions 
 
10:30 - 11:00 Break 
 
11:00 &ndash; 12:30 Fifth Session : &ldquo;Different Country Trade Union Structures, Experiences and Strategies for Organising and Social Dialogue&rdquo; (continuation) : Experiences from Europe-2 
 
Isidor Boix, FITEQA-CC.OO., Spain (<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/fnv.bois.pres.pdf">presentation</a>) 
Lob&eacute; Gevaerts &ndash; Mail &Uuml;rker, FNV Bondgenoten, The Netherlands 
 
Discussions 
 
12:30 &ndash; 14:00 Lunch 
 
14:00 &ndash; 15:30 Sixth Session : &ldquo;In line with discussions, Strategy and Action Plan for Developing Organising and Social Dialogue in Turkey&ldquo; 
 
Fikret Sazak, T&uuml;rkiye Maden-İş (mining) 
&Uuml;zeyir Ataman, Lastik-İş (rubber and chemical) 
İsmail Hakkı Kurt, Petrol-İş &amp; Belediye-İş (oil/public service) 
Resul Limon, Tes-İş (Energy) 
Bahri Top&ccedil;u, T&uuml;rkiye &Ccedil;imse-İş (Materials) 
 
15:30 &ndash; 16:00 Break 
 
16:00 - 17:00 Wrapping-up of two-day works and Proposals for the future 
 
17:30 End of the Conference

FNV Turkey Project Conference

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Members of the ICEM&rsquo;s Executive Committee discussed and deliberated on the effects of the world&rsquo;s financial crisis on day two of the statutory body&rsquo;s annual meetings 24 June. The discussion started with ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda outlining the unified strategy that Global Union Federations (GUFs), together with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and TUAC of the OECD, are pursuing in order to shift from the failed policies of global capital. 
 
Those strategies include stricter engagement with the world&rsquo;s financial institutions in order to make meaningful structural changes. The ICEM invited Peter Bakvis, the GUFs&rsquo; and ITUC coordinator in Washington, DC, who monitors activity of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the regional development banks. 
 
Bakvis gave the underlining causes to the crisis, and the warning signs that were given by global labour to the institutions in the years leading up to the 2008 crisis. He also told ICEM Executive members of the trade union response since the collapse of last autumn. His presentation can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/icem%20pb%20geneva.bakvis.pdf">here</a>. 

<img alt="" src="" width="337" height="181" />
ICEM Executive Committee, Tuesday 23 June
Some 25 members of the Executive then gave overviews and crisis responses from their unions and countries. Their testimony saw reviews of safety nets in various countries for the growing number of unemployed, as well as specific situations within ICEM sectors that have been deeply affected. 
 
A resolution on the crisis was presented. That document was amended by delegates to warn against governments adopting stringent protectionist measures, and it also denounced trends toward racism, xenophobia, and any move toward political parties that reflect such anti-social conduct. 
 
Delegates also denounced companies which have used the crisis as a pretext to implement destructive social measures. The ICEM Executive Committee&rsquo;s Resolution can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ExecResFinCri2009EXEC.pdf">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM will continue to update trade union responses to the financial crisis on its website under &ldquo;Financialisation,&rdquo; and the first effort in that regard can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/EFFECTS%20of%20the%20GLOBAL%20FINANCIAL%20CRISIS%20on%20WORKERS.pdf">here</a>.

Financial Crisis Effects Key Focus of ICEM Executive

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In August, this Contract and Agency Labour newsletter reported that the Supreme Court of Korea had issued a groundbreaking ruling that in-house subcontract workers employed for two years at Hyundai Motor in Ulsan, South Gyeongsang province, must be made permanent employees. 
 
On 12 November, a similar ruling was made, this time by the Seoul High Court. This case was brought by seven former subcontract workers at the Asan Plant of Hyundai Motor. In line with the Supreme Court decision, the ruling states that in-house subcontractors&rsquo; employees, who worked continuously for two or more years, should be treated as the employees of the user enterprise. 
 
The Seoul High Court ruling is particularly significant as it has broad coverage over several production departments at the plant. 
<img alt="" src="" width="180" height="83" />
Shortly after the Korean Supreme Court ruling on 22 July, the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), asked Hyundai to conduct collective bargaining with the union over direct employment for the subcontract workers. But Hyundai Motor refused, stating that it would appeal the Supreme Court decision. 
 
On 4 November, KMWU filed a lawsuit against Hyundai demanding that a total of 1,900 in-house subcontractors with service of two or more years should be made full-time Hyundai workers, moved into regular jobs, and compensated for lost wages. (On average, contract workers at Hyundai earn 50 to 60% less than that of direct employees.) 
 
On 5 November, KMWU submitted an application for mediation of an industrial dispute over collective bargaining with Hyundai Motor to the National Labor Relations Commission. 
 
The Supreme Court&rsquo;s ruling, and Hyundai&rsquo;s intransigence in elevating subcontract workers to permanent status, has spurred workers to dramatically disrupt production at the Ulsan city factory in continuous sit-in strikes that began on 15 November. (See the ICEM CAL newsletter article on the Hyundai strike <a href="/index.php?id=73&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=4148">here</a>.)

Seoul Court Rules Subcontract Workers Full-time after Two Years

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