English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A group of union leaders from the energy sectors of Mexico, Canada, and the US, including several ICEM affiliates, met in Los Angeles, US, on 28-29 January and debated topics such as North American energy integration, energy policies and privatization, natural gas policies, and petroleum extraction &ndash; particularly offshore &ndash; and refining. 
 
The conference, hosted by ICEM affiliate Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA), also took up solidarity with the independent trade union movement of Mexico. 
 
Some of the conclusions drawn are that Canada and Mexico have become energy colonies of the US; privatization and deregulation have caused occupational health and safety to suffer; liberalisation of markets has basically seen environmental protection largely forgotten; and good jobs mean liveable, safe, secure, and unionized jobs. Anything less is unsustainable. 
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="55" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="110" height="58" />
Conference participants also concluded that decent jobs are being lost while privatized oil and gas companies exploit and export wealth. Delegates also rejected the notion that new electrical capacity must be private and deregulated, and identified this area as the next round of attacks to come. 
 
The conference also said indigenous peoples' rights are being trampled on or bought off, and countries face greater handicaps in assuring that their energy resources help their own citizens. 
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="67" />
The Tri-Nation Energy Workers&rsquo; Network in Los Angeles consisted of Canadian unions Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union, the Power Workers Union (PWU), Canadian Office &amp; Professional Employees&rsquo; Union (COPE 378), and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE); US unions included the UWUA, United Steelworkers (USW), and the International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (UWUA). 
 
And the Mexican unions included the Authentic Workers&rsquo; Front (FAT), the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), the National Union of Technical and Professional Petroleum Workers (UNTyPP), the Mexican Union of Electrical Workers (SME), and SUTIN, a nuclear workers&rsquo; union, and CNEE, an energy union.

Tri-Nation Energy Workers’ Network Convenes in Los Angeles, US

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
In Spain early this month, national union federations DGB of Germany and CC.OO and UGT of Spain were full social partners at the 23rd Spanish-German Summit. In common, they took the opportunity to issue a strong statement that government measures stemming from the economic crisis have benefited markets, but done nothing for social cohesion. 
 
The national trade union centers also took issue with German Chancellor Andrea Merkel&rsquo;s economic proposition heading into the summit to restrict wage growth by linking salaries to productivity and inflation. Leaders of the three federations &ndash; Michael Sommer of DGB, Ignacio Fern&aacute;ndez Toxo of CC.OO, and C&aacute;ndido M&eacute;ndez of UGT &ndash; were part of a tripartite event at the summit that also included CEOs from Telef&oacute;nica, Deutsche Telekom, Iberdrola, Siemens, Acciona, and other corporations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="49" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="90" height="90" /><img alt="" src="" width="120" height="67" />
In the statement, the federations said compliance with &ldquo;the agenda established at the G20 in London for new regulation of the international financial system&rdquo; must be a priority. They also gave full support to the European Trade Union Confederation&rsquo;s (ETUC) rejection of European Commission proposals for financial governance, and bluntly said, &ldquo;Today&rsquo;s European governments aim to lay the burden of the crisis on workers and pensions.&rdquo; 
 
Citing social inequality as a trigger to the economic collapse, the statement said structural reform and fiscal consolidation concerning pensions overhaul, welfare cut-backs, and weakening of collective bargaining laws &ldquo;will not lead to the recovery of the European economies. Quite the opposite. This erroneous conception is holding back a solution to the crisis and promoting social injustice.&rdquo; 
 
The statement also hit out at judgments from the European Court of Justice that wrongly regularize social and wage dumping, including the Vikking, Lava, R&uuml;ffert, and Luxembourg cases. 
 
The DGB, CC.OO, and UGT also said it agrees with analysts who say &ldquo;Europe is losing its values and its soul,&rdquo; and used as case example Tunisia and the fact that European governments held back until the very end condemnation of dictator Ben Ali and support for a people&rsquo;s democratic movement.

DGB, CC.OO, UGT Forge Common Ground on Euro Jobs, Economy

The second 24-hour strike at paperboard plants in Spain set for tomorrow, 3 March, was cancelled after ICEM&rsquo;s two affiliates and the employers&rsquo; association reached accord early today (2 March) in Madrid. 
 
Trade unions FSC-CCOO and FIA-UGT reached agreement with Aspapel on a three-year national labour agreement for the paperboard sector that wins a 3% retroactive increase for 17,500 workers to 1 January 2010. Retroactive to 1 January 2011 will be a one percent salary increase, plus the amount of Spain&rsquo;s consumer price increase (CPI). 
 
In 2012, another one percent was won atop the CPI. The Spanish unions also succeeded in keeping sweeping flexibility changes out of the national agreement. A special commission will be established to study that for possible future implementation on the local level. 
 
Without question, the success of a 23 February day-long work stoppage can be attributed to Aspapel and paper industry employers finally moving on a lapsed 2010 national contract. It is obvious by the terms of this agreement that employers did not want another such strike, scheduled for 3 March. 
 
Some 120 paperboard factories come under the new agreement. 
 
The ICEM congratulates paperworkers of both Spanish federations for their resolve in gaining a fair and current collective agreement, and we also thank the many pulp and paper unions worldwide who sent messages of Solidarity to Spanish paperworkers. 
 
An <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4269-Spain’s-Paperworkers-Shut-Industry;-Will-Strike-Again-3-March">ICEM news piece</a> from 28 February, naming the companies involved and citing details on the 23 February general strike, is available for viewing.

2nd Spanish Paper Strike Called Off; Settlement Reached

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
In a powerful display of international solidarity, the &ldquo;Global Days of Action for Trade Union Rights in Mexico,&rdquo; 14-19 February, were marked by events in over 40 countries, on five continents, including 17 cities in the US and Canada. 
 
The International Textile, Garment, &amp; Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) called for fundamental rights in the Mexican garment sector, where &ldquo;protection contracts&rdquo; deny workers of their basic labour rights, as is the case throughout Mexico. 
 
In Mexico, the independent labour movement conducted over 27 actions throughout the country, including visits to embassies of 23 countries, a march and demonstration in Mexico City from the Angel of Independence to the offices of Grupo M&eacute;xico, seminars, and a protest rally at the Monument of the Revolution. Each day of action was marked inside Mexico. The leaders of Los Mineros and the SME signed a pact of national unity. 
<img alt="" src="" width="368" height="163" />
Mexico City
An agreement was reached with the US embassy in Mexico City to begin regular discussions on the complaints presented, in particular the cases of Los Mineros and SME.
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="150" />
Toronto, Canada
In Canada, high-level trade union delegations met with Mexican ambassadors and consuls in four cities, while pickets continued outside. The Vancouver action was marked by speeches from Los Mineros General Secretary Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez, SME General Secretary Martin Esparanza, and Jorge Castillo Maga&ntilde;a, Assistant General Secretary of the Telefonistas union. See video footage of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/D3Steel#p/a/u/0/Bu_BPIrvlaA">Vancouver, Canada, action</a> here. 
<img src="" width="250" height="175" alt="" />
Washington DC, USA
In the US, rallies, meetings with ambassadors and consuls, and pickets, sent the clear message to the Mexican Calder&oacute;n government that pressure is building inside the country&rsquo;s largest trading partner that labour rights abuses must end. See video footage of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usyexGRbDgI&amp;feature=player_embedded">Washington DC rally</a> in front of the Mexican Embassy here. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu83ni7mQHM&amp;feature=player_embedded">San Francisco</a>, <a href="http://www.fox11az.com/news/local/Mexican-consulate-picketed-by-angry-miners-116483178.html">Tucson Arizona</a>, <a href="http://www.house.state.tx.us/video-audio/press-conference/player/?ram=1102181PCB&amp;id=98&amp;session=82 ">Austin Texas</a>. 
<img alt="" src="" width="336" height="185" />
Geneva, Switzerland
In Switzerland, the office of the Ambassador to the United Nations was targeted by a rally, while ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, IMF Assistant General Secretary Fernando Lopes, and UNI SCORE Director Adriana Rosenzvaig met with the ambassador to convey the demands of the action. Ambassadors around the world expressed some concern, but generally denied wrongdoing by the Mexican government. Many made promises to follow-up on the demands. The dialogue and pressure will continue. 
<img src="" width="220" height="148" alt="" />
100 unionists rallied on the lawn in front of Parliament House in Canberra
See a video of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoImqEw00_M&amp;feature=player_embedded">Australia action</a> here, where a high-level, cross-sector delegation met with the Mexican Ambassador, and a large rally was organised in front of Parliament House in Canberra. 
 
Some of the other events around the world during the Global Days of Action included: 
<img src="" width="281" height="183" alt="" />
Mexico Embassy, Tokyo: meeting with the Japan Councils of the four GUFs, along with JTUC-RENGO 
<img src="" width="220" height="147" alt="" />
Sweden: IF Metall met with the Mexican Ambassador in Stokholm
Letters and press releases in Turkey 
 
Meetings and letters in Spain with Mexican Ambassador, Spanish Government, European Parliament. 
<img src="" width="365" height="179" alt="" />
A joint rally in Bangkok, Thailand, Ministry of Labour, as well as letters to the Mexican Ambassador. 
<img alt="" src="" width="252" height="192" />
A picket was conducted in front of the Mexican Embassy in Moscow, in temperatures of -25&deg;C, demands were transferred to the Ambassador
<img alt="" src="" width="242" height="203" />
In Brussels, the Mexican embassy was picketed, with a union delegation meeting the Ambassador, a meeting was conducted with the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee
<img src="" width="280" height="186" alt="" />
The Mexican Embassy in Peru was picketed
<img alt="" src="" width="279" height="210" />
Picket of the Mexican Embassy in Indonesia
<img src="" width="261" height="169" alt="" />
Picket of the Mexican Embassy in New Zealand
Letters were sent from affiliated trade unions from Poland to Puerto Rico, from Norway and Germany to Bangladesh, and many others. 
 
Join the <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=863">LabourStart campaign</a> here and join thousands of protestors in writing to Calder&oacute;n. 3,000 messages were sent via the campaign in the first week, and the numbers are growing every day. 
 
The actions took place around the fifth anniversary of the Pasta de Conchos mine explosion, where the continued failure to exhume and recover the bodies of 63 of the 65 miners who died there, or to take responsibility for the &ldquo;industrial homicide&rdquo; of those workers, and properly compensate their families continues to anger the international labour movement. 
 
The action in support of the democratic and independent trade unions in Mexico was initiated by unions from around the world affiliated to the ICEM, International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), UNI Global Union, and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Mexico Days of Action Occur Worldwide in Over 40 Countries

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Low-wage contract workers employed by OCS Group mounted a lawful two-day strike at Tata Steel in Port Talbot, UK, 14-15 February in protest to the cleaning and catering multinational&rsquo;s miserly pay offer. Some 70 members of UK union Community, most taking their first industrial action, blocked two entrances to Tata&rsquo;s Corus Strip Products mill in Port Talbot because a living wage has not been paid them since June 2010. 
 
The strikers took brave strike action under the banner &ldquo;OCS: Have a Heart&rdquo; in honour of the strike falling on Valentine&rsquo;s Day. The contract cleaners and Community call on OCS to make a pay offer that exceeds UK&rsquo;s minimum wage. Many OCS workers at Tata are paid as little as &pound;5.75 an hour. 
 
OCS responded to the strike by bussing in managers and others at 5h00 on 14 February to perform mill-site services. Corus Strip Products in Port Talbot employs 2,900. Reports quickly surfaced that unionised steelworkers at Tata were supporting the strike actions on the inside by not cooperating with scab cleaners. OCS, or Office Cleaning Services, is a Surrey-based property support service company that operates in 40 countries. 
<img alt="" src="" width="127" height="84" />
Community Region Campaigns Manager Susan Lewis termed the company&rsquo;s response to the strike a &ldquo;low blow. While bringing in staff from outside Port Talbot might be legal, it is most certainly not morally right and will do nothing to resolve this dispute. 
 
&ldquo;OCS workers do some of the toughest and dirtiest jobs on the plant,&rdquo; added Lewis. 
 
The strike action at Tata could re-occur. It comes at a time when India-based Tata is increasing employment at Port Talbot and another Strip Products division mill in Llanwern. A &pound;185 million investment is now underway on a blast furnace at Port Talbot, and a nearby coal deposit is being studied for extraction. Tata is utilising hundreds of agency workers inside the Port Talbot and Marjam mill, and very recently brought 75 of them into direct employment. 
 
Tata bought Anglo-Dutch Corus Steel in early 2007 for &pound;5.75 million. The Indian company recently sold its Teeside Cast Products mill in North-east England to Sahaviriva Steel Industries of Thailand in a move in which British unions successfully saved 700 jobs. 
Community is a union created in a 2004 merger between the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation and the National Union of Knitwear, Footwear, and Apparel Trades.

Contract Workers Strike Tata Steel’s UK Plant in Wales

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 100px;height: 39px" width="390">

	On 7 March, the US National Mediation Board (NMB) announced that the International Association of Machinists (IAM) won exclusive bargaining status for 16,720 United Airlines employees, staff who work as passenger service, gate agents and reservation workers for the Chicago-based airline.

	In a mail ballot over the preceding seven weeks, 8,305 of the airline&rsquo;s ground workers chose IAM, while 5,865 voted for no union. The ballot, conducted through the auspices of the US Rail Labor Act, became necessary following the December 2010 merger of United with Continental Airlines, the latter a predominately non-union airline.

	The IAM had represented United&rsquo;s passenger services staff since 1998 but with the Continental merger, a new certification election became necessary. The union now represents 31,500 workers at the world&rsquo;s largest airline, including ramp service, baggage handlers, and stock and store workers. The election also included passenger service employees of Continental Micronesia Airlines, which operates between the state of Hawaii and some Asia-Pacific nations and previously had another union.

	The election was marked by fierce resistance by United. Airline management tried to exclude 1,000 fleet service workers from voting but the NMB ruled that those workers have the right to join a union.

	IAM Transportation Vice President Sito Pantoja said the election &ldquo;preserves IAM representation rights for pre-merger United employees and extends that benefit to their new co-workers from Continental and Continental Micronesia.

	&ldquo;The win provides all IAM members at United with the advantages of size and strength that airlines themselves are seeking through consolidation.&rdquo;

US Machinists Win Bargaining Status for 17,000 United Airlines Workers

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 100px;height: 39px" width="390" />

	Dave Oliver, National Secretary of the ICEM affiliate Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU), this month accepted the nomination of Secretary of the national labour centre, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). He will succeed Jeff Lawrence at May&rsquo;s triennial Congress of the ACTU in Sydney.

	Lawrence, from United Voice, which prior to March 2011 was the Liquor, Hospitality &amp; Miscellaneous Union (LHMU), said on 8 March he would not seek another term at ACTU. Oliver, 48, has headed AMWU since May 2007, and is credited with driving Australia&rsquo;s manufacturing policies since the financial crisis with an agenda of job preservation and job creation.

	He is also known as a proponent of union campaigning and establishing pattern bargaining throughout AMWU&rsquo;s different sectors. His toughest task will be to guide the country&rsquo;s trade unions during 2013 federal elections and retaining the Fair Work Act. Business groups, as well as Conservative and Liberal politicians, seek to roll back labour legislation to elements contained in the dead-and-gone WorkChoices law.

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 110px;height: 110px" width="390">&nbsp;

	As a teenager, Oliver worked as an apprentice mechanic in the lift industry, and got his first taste of trade unionism at the age of 19 when he began work in the construction industry in Sydney. He served as Assistant National Secretary of the 130,000-member AMWU from 1996 to 2001, and from 2002 to his election in 2007 he was the Victorian Branch Secretary of the union.

	Oliver was endorsed two weeks ago by several unions, including the Australian Workers&rsquo; Union (AWU), the Transport Workers&rsquo; Union (TWU), and on 9 March, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union&rsquo;s (CFMEU) National Executive Committee endorsed him.

	With that endorsement, CFMEU National Secretary Michael O&rsquo;Connor paid tribute to Lawrence, calling him &ldquo;a consistent advocate for working people across decades&rdquo; and thanking the 59-year-old Lawrence &ldquo;for his tireless efforts in working for the abolition of the ABCC,&rdquo; the Australian Building and Construction Commission, the body given broad anti-worker powers under the government of former Prime Minister John Howard.

	In a statement to AMWU members upon accepting the nomination as ACTU Secretary, Oliver said a prime focus of his will be &ldquo;the growing threat to jobs and the economy, particularly in those sectors impacted by the mining boom and the high Australian dollar, not only in manufacturing but in finance, tourism and the service sector.&rdquo;

AMWU’s Dave Oliver Tagged as Next Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 100px;height: 39px" width="390" />

	Following renewal of the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) between ICEM, the International Metalworkers&#039; Federation (IMF), and the Belgian company Umicore last September, the Monitoring Committee conducted a visit to one of the company&rsquo;s US operations in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That monitoring mission occurred 6-7 March 2012.

	Umicore is a global materials and technology firm that focuses in four business areas, Catalysis, Energy Materials, Performance Materials, and Recycling. The Umicore Group has industrial operations on all continents and serves a global customer base. It generated turnover of &euro;14.5 billion (&euro;2.3 billion excluding metal) in 2011 and currently employs some 14,600 people.

	Umicore Autocat USA Inc.in Tulsa was purchased from Delphi in 2007 andis organized by the IMF affiliate Union Auto Workers (UAW) through its Local 286. Geographically close to major auto assembly plants in the US, the plant produces catalysts used in automotive emission abatement systems for both light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles.

	&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 137px;height: 159px" width="390" />&nbsp;

	Umicore Monitoring Committee

	Along with the Umicore Monitoring Committee members, Ignace De Ruijter, Senior Vice President of Human Resources; Guy Ethier, Senior Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety; Mark Dolfyn, Director of Corporate Human Resource; Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs (who represented IMF as well); Peter Kamm, Umicore&rsquo;s European Works Council and member of ICEM German affiliate IGBCE, the visit was joined by local company managers and UAW local representatives.

	The Monitoring Committee followed the same pattern of work as in three previous missions to China, Brazil, and South Africa. A wide range of information regarding employment, training and education, health and safety, environmental issues, social policies and working conditions, social dialogue, and relations with the local community was delivered and discussed during the visit.

	Since the plant supplies major auto producers, the plant suffered severely during the financial crisis period starting in 2008 with a substantial decline in jobs. However when recovery in the US auto industry started in 2009, Umicore&rsquo;s Tulsa plant began seeing an uptick in business and some jobs were restored, although still far below the level of the pre-crisis period.

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 227px;height: 159px" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

	Kemal Ozkan,&nbsp;UAW Representatives

	Local management and UAW local union representatives explained how the crisis period was handled through the industrial relations system at the plant. It was further reported that during collective bargaining negotiations in 2009, a more institutionalised procedure for conducting such periods was defined and agreed.

	&Ouml;zkan and Kamm, together with UAW local shop stewards and James Cyr, Bargaining Chair; Warren McKinley, Co-Chair; Lance Boyd and Curtis Storey, both UAW Representatives, met in a separate union meeting to exchange information and discuss the labour situation at the plant. The union meeting examined current working conditions, the collective agreement and social dialogue at the plant, which was followed by a briefing on the nature and content of the GFA. It was agreed that communication would be continued between the UAW local union and the European Works Council.

	In evaluating the visit, the parties jointly committed to quality labour relations and social dialogue at the plant. Particular attention and appreciation was expressed for high quality health and safety practices conducted by joint union-management committee for safety inside the workplace. The Monitoring Committee will finalize its report at a meeting scheduled for the end of May.

Umicore Monitoring Committee of Global Agreement Visits US Plant in Oklahoma

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 100px;height: 39px" width="390">

	The ICEM is following with concern the implementation process of the new Industrial Relations law in Pakistan, a process which should include trade unions. Writing to Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani on 13 March, the day before the Industrial Relations Bill went before the National Assembly, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda urged against further delays to the process

	&ldquo;The five ICEM affiliated trade unions in Pakistan have the support of an influential network of trade unions in 132 countries. These unions and all workers in Pakistan are entitled to proper legislation protecting their basic human and labour rights, legislation that provides proper industrial dispute adjudicating mechanisms, and most importantly the right for trade unions to exist,&rdquo; stated Warda. (See the full <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/27.ICEM%20Pakistan%20Labour%20Legislation.pdf">ICEM letter</a> here.)

	The urgency was due to the pending expiration of the promulgated Industrial Relations Ordinance 2011 on 17 March. In a legal vacuum following earlier expirations of labour legislations, labour issues were devolved to the provinces by the subsequent 18th Amendment to the Constitution. A 2 June 2011 ruling by the country&rsquo;s Supreme Court abolished the role of the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) because the relevant federal legislation no longer existed.

	&nbsp;<img alt="" height="185" src="" width="246" />&nbsp;

	Leaders&nbsp;of ICEM&#039;s&nbsp;Pakistan Affiliates

	The legal existence of trade unions in Pakistan was thus threatened. Encouragingly, the new bill was passed by the National Assembly on 14 March without amendment, as it was by the Senate on 7 March. The Pakistani government announced the new legislation as a landmark achievement that will promote harmonious employer-employee relations and protect the rights of the labour community. Politicians across political parties agreed that mature systems of industrial relations in Pakistan will contribute to industrial and economic growth.

	The ICEM hopes that the new law will effectively rationalise the labour law in Islamabad and at the trans-provincial level with regards to formation of trade unions, trade union federations, and to regulate employer-worker relations.

	A key stipulation of the bill instructs the government to constitute a NIRC with the power to adjudicate and rule on industrial disputes in the capital and at the trans-provincial level, also on industrial disputes of national importance. Local level industrial relations will remain covered by provincial labour governance.

	Elsewhere in Pakistan, yesterday, 20 March, the Labour Appellant&nbsp;Tribunal dismissed appeals of local Syngenta management and ruled in favour of the ICEM-affiliated Pakistan Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Union (PCEM) in declaring all 50 workers of a factory as permanent&nbsp;employees of Syngenta Pakistan. The ICEM salutes the PCEM in its victory in regularising these workers to permanent employee status.

	Shockingly, the Swiss-based agrichemicals multinational Syngenta has ignored past court rulings in favour of the contract workers&rsquo; right to full time employment. The Syngenta Employees Union Pakistan, belonging to PCEM, has faced serious violations, including unjustified dismissals of its leaders. See last year&rsquo;s <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4219-ICEM-Fights-for-Reinstatement-of-Union-Leader-in-Pakistan-">ICEM report</a> here.

Pakistan Enacts New Labour Legislation with Pressure from Unions

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 100px;height: 39px" width="390" />

	Patience is running thin for a trade union alliance demanding proper labour rights for Holcim Cement workers in India. Management at both Indian subsidiaries of Holcim are flouting Indian law by employing contract workers in the core production process.

	Contract workers there receive only one-third of the salary paid to permanent employees, and efforts to organise and bargain collectively are met by intimidation, a yellow union&rsquo;s corruption, and bribery of local officials.&nbsp; During the struggle for recognition, three union members have been shot dead by police while protesting for the legitimate rights of Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) workers.

	The contract workers are organising into the ICEM-affiliated Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh (PCSS) but after 16 years of existence, the union only achieved dialogue with management following victory in a six-year-long court case.

	&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 115px;height: 183px" width="390" />&nbsp;

	Global pressure has forced Holcim to pay attention to the violations of contract workers in India, but when Holcim Executive Paul Hugentobler visited ACC Jamul recently, contract workers were all moved to a different shift and workers&rsquo; representatives were banned from taking part in the meeting with him. Instead, representatives of the sham company union, OP Banchore, were involved.

	The leader of this yellow union is the brother of the president of the local municipal authority, Rekhram Banchore. Together they have built a loathsome alliance, including allegedly settling local community violations by out of court settlements for issues such as failure to pay full taxes to the local Nagar Panchayat Jamul body, and encroachment onto government land.

	This yellow union at the plant repeatedly certifies management violations of contract workers who attempt to organise into the PCSS union. Management has forced a total of 200 contract workers into &ldquo;voluntary&rdquo; retirement by denying them wages and work during litigation processes for the regularisation process.

	This is illegal under Indian national law, but legitimised by the company union that signed these workers&rsquo; voluntary retirement scheme documents.

	Every contract worker active in the union is currently facing five-to-eight phoney criminal cases registered by management. PCSS leader Bhagwati Sahu has been in jail for ten months on spurious charges.

	Holcim&rsquo;s international management has undisputedly been aware of these abuses since 2008. One worker found guilty of informing Holcim&rsquo;s international management of violations was punished with a forced relocation to a different worksite hundreds of miles away.

	India is the second largest cement manufacturer in the world with capacity predicted to continue growing and Holcim is the largest producer of cement in India.

	Solidarity for the PCSS Holcim workers is being led by ICEM and the Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI), Swiss union affiliate UNIA, and continues to grow throughout the world. Thai affiliates of the two Global Union Federations plan a solidarity picket at Holcim in Thailand in early April.

	PCSS activists will visit Switzerland 10-18 April and hold a series of meetings and demonstrations.

	See more on the <a href="http://blogs.bwint.org/mnc/">BWI Company Monitor</a> page here or the ICEM&rsquo;s Report &ldquo;<a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/Cement%20Report.pdf">Contract and Agency Labour in Asia&rsquo;s Cement Industry</a>&rdquo; here.

ICEM Again Calls on Holcim Cement to Stop Exploiting Indian CAL Workers

Archive