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The ICEM&rsquo;s Fifth and perhaps last ordinary Congress opens in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this week, with some 800 delegates and guests expected to attend. The quadrennial Congress runs from 24-26 November, with the ICEM Presidium to be held today, 21 November, and an Executive Committee meeting to be held on 22 November. 
 
General Secretary Manfred Warda said Argentina was chosen as the venue for this Congress because of eight strong affiliates in the South American nation, including those affiliated to both national labour centres &ndash; the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the Argentine Workers&rsquo; Central Union (CTA). 
 
&ldquo;With industrial trade union unity taking shape on the global level, we felt it appropriate that our union affiliates from both confederations connect and continue pushing forward on the positive social agenda that has taken root in Argentina,&rdquo; said Warda. 
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The government of President Cristina Fern&aacute;ndez de Kirchner has followed the social plan of her late husband N&eacute;stor Kirchner by building a &ldquo;people first&rdquo; agenda in which public spending and consumer power serve as the fuel for economic growth and prosperity for all. That is reflected in the government enacting a 25% increase in the country&rsquo;s minimum wage this past summer, while at the same time expanding export markets by providing incentives to manufacturers. 
 
Warda said this contrasts with governments in other developed nations which now resort to &ldquo;anti-people, anti-social&rdquo; austerity measures to counter sovereign debt crises. 
 
The Congress quite likely will hear from President Fern&aacute;ndez on the opening day, as well as from the Argentina Minister of Labour and Social Security, Dr. Carlos Tomado. 
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The Congress will also consider a number of motions, including a forward-looking Action Plan that aims to continue the activist culture of the ICEM in future work and several specific motions on current and relevant world topics. Day two of the Congress will feature a panel discussion on Social Dialogue initiatives in Latin America, moderated by ICEM Latin American/Caribbean Regional Vice President Sergio Novais. 
 
On the final day of the Congress, 26 November, discussion will take place over the final integration steps in creating a new Global Union Federation (GUF) together with the International Textile, Garment, Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF). That is scheduled to happen in June 2012 in Copenhagen, making the next ICEM Congress a dissolution congress to occur at the same time. 
 
The ICEM union affiliates in Argentina cover nearly all the GUF&rsquo;s industrial sectors, including petroleum (FASPyGP), rubber (SUTNA), pulp and paper (FOEIPCyQ and SOEP), natural gas (STIGAN), nuclear (UOM), electricity (LYF-PAT) and mining (OSMA). The ICEM is grateful for their assistance in arrangements what will prove a memorable and successful Congress.

ICEM Congress Opens This Week in Buenos Aires, Argentina

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The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has launched a nation-wide campaign urging the government to repeal amendments to the Employment Act, which would legalize labour contractors. 
 
The MTUC has been lobbying against these amendments since the bill was originally submitted to Parliament in July 2010. At that time, due to opposition from other political parties and trade unions, the government withdrew the bill. The amendments were re-introduced, with minor changes, in June 2011. Since then, the MTUC has been outspoken against the bill but, despite a picket at the Parliament on 3 October, the bill was passed by the majority Members of Parliament of the Ruling Party on 6 October. 
 
The proposed amendments would introduce &ldquo;contractors for labour&rdquo; into Malaysian legislation and create triangular employment relationships in which workers would be employed and paid by a contractor, rather than by the company in which they work. The amendments would also open the way for unequal treatment of workers with respect to wages and benefits. 
 
The MTUC further opposes deferred payment of overtime which, as laid out in the bill, would mean that contract workers would not receive remuneration for overtime until one month later, so that the principal employer time to pay the contractor for labour that in turn pays the contract workers. 
 
The MTUC is committed to pursuing &ldquo;all avenues available&rdquo; until the amendments to the Employment Act are withdrawn.

Malaysian Nation Labor Centre Decries Legislation Opening Door for Contract Labour

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The Irish union, Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU), is fighting attempts by the government of Ireland to dilute the provisions of the European Union Temporary Agency Workers&rsquo; Directive, which comes into force across Europe on 5 December. 
 
The Directive, which was passed in 2008, states that &ldquo;The basic working and employment conditions of temporary agency workers shall be, for the duration of their assignment at a user undertaking, at least those that would apply if they had been recruited directly by that undertaking to occupy the same job.&rdquo; 
 
The Directive applies from day one of an assignment, and further states that temporary agency workers have the right to be informed about permanent employment opportunities in the user enterprise and must have improved access to training and childcare facilities in periods between assignments, in order to enhance employability. 
 
Under the Directive derogation from the principle of equal treatment is permitted provided an agreement can be reached between a state&rsquo;s social partners. In an eleventh hour attempt, Irish Minister for Enterprise and Jobs Richard Bruton has called for a derogation which would mean that an agency worker would only be entitled to equal treatment after six months, rather than from the first day of employment. 
 
In a letter to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Bruton said, &ldquo;Without the benefit of some leeway in transposing the directive in the shape of a framework agreement, Ireland will be in a position of significant competitive disadvantage, vis-a-vis our European trading partners,&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;In the current climate and with the significant challenges that face us on the road to economic recovery, we must avail of the flexibilities afforded by the directive.&rdquo; 
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Patricia King
Patricia King, Vice President of SIPTU, has made clear that the union is opposed to any attempt by the government to seek a derogation. King said, &ldquo;We do not see any reason for a derogation to be applied. Why would we? If someone is entitled to equality of treatment, they are entitled to it and there is no reasonable argument being put forward, that I can see, for us to agree to the derogation.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;If somebody is employed to do a job, which commands a certain skill, background knowledge and experience, and they put themselves forward for that job and are capable of producing the goods, why would they not get the rate of pay on an equal basis as somebody who was doing the job already and who is going to work alongside them?&rdquo; 
 
Commenting on Bruton&rsquo;s claims that implementing the Directive would have a negative impact on jobs and economic growth, King said, &ldquo;All that is a code for not paying the rate and keeping people in low pay&rdquo;.

SIPTU Fights Attempts to Dilute EU Agency Workers Directive

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Three regions of the ICEM held Regional Conferences in the last three weeks. 
 
The ICEM Asia-Pacific Regional Conference was held in Bangkok on 28-29 June, with 124 participants from 15 countries. The first day was dedicated to discussion on priority issues &ldquo;Organizing Multinational Corporations (MNCs)&rdquo; and &ldquo;Contract Labour&rdquo;. During the second day, delegates were briefed about the merger process. The strong sense of solidarity and positivity towards merger with the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and the International Textile, Garment &amp; Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) was manifested by participants. ICEM Asia-Pacific affiliates are well acquainted with the merger process. Eleven representatives of the IMF and ITGLWF joined the meeting and had an opportunity to interact with ICEM member unions, and discuss future joint activities. 
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The Central Europe ICEM Regional Conference was held on 15 June in Balatonszemes, Hungary. Participants were from ICEM member organisations in Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Serbia. The host organisation was the Federation of Trade Unions of Chemical, Energy and General Workers, (VDSz), under President Tamas Szekely. Guests from the IMF and ITGLWF also took part in the conference. 
 
During the conference, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda gave a summary report on the activities of ICEM, campaigning and global framework agreement developments. The creation of a new international industrial federation was discussed. Anatoly Surin reported on ICEM activities in the region, and Mato Lalic on ICEM project activities in the region. 
 
Juraj Blahak, President of EKHOZ Slovakia was re-elected as President of the ICEM Regional Council of Central Europe. All the participants agreed with the application of the Independent Trade Union of Energy workers of Kosovo to become an ICEM member organisation. 
 
The North America Regional Conference on 13-14 June in Ottawa, Canada, passed two resolutions firstly supporting the Sindicato &Uacute;nico de Trabajadores de la Empresa Industria Vidriera del Potos&iacute; S.A. de C.V. (SUTEIVP) glass workers in their conflict with Industria Vidriera del Potosi S.A. The second resolution was a wide commitment of the region to continue support in solidarity for trade union rights in Mexico. The Conference discussed and supported the creation of a new International.

ICEM Regional Conferences Support Creation of New International

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The <a href="/en/219-5th-statutory-congress">website</a> for the Fifth ICEM Statutory Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 24-26 November 2011 is now live.&nbsp; 
 
The site will be a source of information for Congress delegates and others in the lead-up to Congress and during the event, available in the seven statutory languages of the ICEM plus Turkish. 
 
A live video feed of the event in Buenos Aires will be broadcast on the site, and sections will include practical information for participants, Congress News, the Congress Work Plan, submitted and passed resolutions, documents and speeches, the Secretariat Report, and information regarding the Contract and Agency Labour Conference of 23 November. 
 
Congress is the supreme authority of the International and meets once every four years to set policy and elect its officers. The Fifth ICEM Statutory Congress will bring around 900 participants from all over the world. The Congress will be held at the Hilton Hotel, Buenos Aires. 
 
Affiliated unions must submit motions for consideration at Congress to the Secretariat before Friday 22 July, 2011. 
 
Colleagues requiring a visa to travel to Argentina are requested to return their participation forms to the Secretariat immediately, as the process can take several months.

ICEM Congress Website Live

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As with CEPPWAWU, the National Union of Metalworkers' of South Africa (NUMSA) has today begun strike action following a failure of negotiations with the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA). NUMSA has lowered its demand for a 20 per cent salary increase, to 13 per cent, however SEIFSA only offered 7 per cent, and refused to seriously negotiate the other key NUMSA demand for labour brokers to be banned in all companies with NUMSA members employed. 
 
Further NUMSA demands include a two-year wage agreement, as opposed to three years sought by employers, a one-day medical test for all workers, a five-day family responsibility leave per occurrence, and a 20 per cent night shift allowance. 
 
Talks between NUMSA and the Metal and Engineering Industry Sectors Bargaining Council ended on Thursday with a certificate of non-resolution being issued, paving the way for a strike. 
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The indefinite mass countrywide action is likely to include upwards of 300,000 workers. David Carson, executive director of SEIFSA, responded to impending strike action on Thursday, declaring 48 hours&rsquo; notice before initiating lockouts at various firms. 
 
Strikers convened at the Workers&rsquo; Library in Johannesburg from 9am today. Led by NUMSA General Secretary Irwin Jim and the general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Zwelinzima Vavi, workers marched to submit a memorandum at Metal Industries House on Anderson Street in Johannesburg. 
 
Demonstrations also took place in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and East London. A march in Northern Cape will take place tomorrow. 
 
Employer&rsquo;s regressive demands in the failed negotiations included protecting their right to outsource work via labour brokers, introducing incredibly low entry level salaries, increasing the working week from 40 hours to 45, and exempting companies with fewer than 50 employees from many of their responsibilities towards workers.

South African Metalworkers&#039; Strike

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South African ICEM affiliate, the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) representing over 70,000 workers begins strike action today in the petroleum, pharmaceutical, industrial chemicals, tissue and allied industries, and plastics industries, as employers continue to stone-wall negotiations for the period 2011-2012. 
 
The Strategic Committee of CEPPWAWU met on 23 June and decided unanimously to strike during the week of 4 July 2011. CEPPWAWU members today, 4 July 2011 are joining NUMSA in the national strike in the MEIBC (Metal and Engineering) sectors. 
 
Negotiations have been deadlocked with employers on wages and conditions in three national bargaining councils - the National Bargaining Council for Chemical Industries, National Bargaining Council for the Wood and Paper Sectors and the Metal Engineering Industries Bargaining Councils. 
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CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s demands include a wage rise of 11-13 per cent across the board, a minimum wage of R6 000 (615 Euros) monthly, annual wage discussions, outsourced and temporary workers to become permanently employed, plus various sector specific social demands including on housing, transport, and maternity benefits. 
 
Employers are offering 4 per cent and 7 per cent, an offer that CEPPWAWU describes as an &ldquo;insult&rdquo; to workers. Union negotiators point to discrepancies between the official rate of inflation, 4.6 per cent, and the real inflation of living costs, as the price of basic items has risen dramatically over the last two years. 
 
In last year&rsquo;s negotiations workers made sacrifices as the country was badly affected by the global recession. This year some employers are seeking to extend those concessions. 
 
CEPPWAWU has asked the South African public to be patient during the strike, as it will result in shortages of drugs in hospitals, of fuel, paper, chemicals. CEPPWAWU remains committed to dialogue towards a solution. 
 
The strike was able to be legally launched today after an attempt by employers of the Plastics Converters Association (PCA) failed in the Gauteng Labour Court, with the judge ruling the strike legal and ordering the PCA to pay legal costs. 
 
An eleventh hour bid to interdict a strike by workers in the metals and plastics sectors failed on Friday, when the Labour Court turned down an application from the Plastics Converters Association (PCA) and ordered it to pay costs.

CEPPWAWU Downs Tools in Demand for Living Wage

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ICEM&rsquo;s Turkish affiliate Sel&uuml;loz-Is, Pulp, Paper and Products Workers&rsquo; Union has been picketing in front of the plant of Form Mukavva Ambalaj Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd.Şti located in Torbali, close to the country&rsquo;s third biggest city Izmir. The Sel&uuml;loz-Is picket-line is in protest over the dismissals of sixteen union members by the Turkish-based cardboard packaging company Form Mukavva following recent successful organising drives of the union which lasted several months.
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Sel&uuml;loz-Is applied to the Ministry of Labour on 9 May 2011 for the authorisation documentation showing that the union organises more than the legally-required 50% of workers at the workplace. The Ministry sent the authorisation paper, confirming the union&rsquo;s majority. At the time of the application to the Ministry, Sel&uuml;loz-Is had much more than the legally required minimum 50% registered union members. But when the management received the paper from the Ministry, they first filed a case at local labour court claiming that the union did not hold the required legal majority to become a bargaining partner, a common tactic by employers in Turkey for union de-recognition, subsequently 16 pioneering members of Sel&uuml;loz-Is were kicked out on 20 June 2011. Since then Sel&uuml;loz-Is has conducted industrial action calling for the reinstatement of those dismissed workers and for union recognition. The action is receiving wide support from the families of workers and the local community. 
 
&ldquo;The reason for the dismissal of our members was that they enjoyed trade union rights guaranteed by the country&rsquo;s constitution&rdquo; said Ergin Alşan, President of Sel&uuml;loz-Is. &ldquo;We vehemently protest dismissals of our members because of their joining our union. We clearly announce that our struggle will continue until our members are reinstated&rdquo; added Alşan.
<img src="" width="146" height="110" alt="" />
President Ergin Alşan
In his letter to Yılmaz Mineli, Owner and General Director of Form Mukavva, the ICEM General Secretary urged the company that sixteen dismissed workers must be immediately reinstated without delay. &ldquo;This targeted and systematic attack by your management to block your employees from exercising their right to organise and bargain collectively will cause much anger. We expect the hindrance of union rights at Form Mukavva Ambalaj in Turkey to be solved without further intervention&rdquo; added Warda. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/65.ICEM.Form%20Mukavva%20Ambalaj.Turkey.27June.pdf">protest letter</a> can be found here. Support letters to Sel&uuml;loz-Is can be sent to <a href="mailto:selulozis@selulozis.org.tr">selulozis@selulozis.org.tr</a>.

Turkey’s Selüloz-Is struggles for recognition at Form Mukavva

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In New Zealand over the weekend, ICEM joined host union, Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia in calling for recovery of the bodies of 29 miners killed inside Pike River Coal Ltd.&rsquo;s colliery. The unions want the miners&rsquo; remains returned to families before the mine is sold and reopened. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, ICEM Japanese Affiliates Federation (JAF) General Secretary Yoshio Sato, and Asia-Pacific Regional Contact Person Phee Jungsun joined EPMU leaders on 1 July in making the demand at Greymouth and then again the next day at the Pike River mine in New Zealand. 
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At a press briefing in Greymouth, the trade unionists said it was morally irresponsible for New Zealand&rsquo;s government to allow the trustee of the mine, PricewaterhouseCoopers, to sell the mine and allow production to begin before bodies are recovered. The unionists also met with families of the deceased miners, their representative Bernie Monk, and Greymouth District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn, who is adamant that victims&rsquo; families get a full accounting of events of the November 2010 methane gas explosions. 
 
The ICEM delegation on 2 July laid a wreath in memory of the 29 at the Pike River colliery, New Zealand&rsquo;s largest underground mine laden with seams of premium metallurgical coal under the Paparoa Range of the South Island. 
 
On 19 November 19, a horrid methane gas blast killed 29 miners, including 11 members of ICEM affiliate EPMU. It was the worst New Zealand mine disaster in 119 years, killing 24 Kiwi nationals, two Australians, two UK citizens, and one South African. A subsequent explosion occurred on 24 November, after which authorities declared the miners dead, and in the days that followed two further explosions occurred. 
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Warda lays wreath
&ldquo;Mine workers have a special bond with one another and we will use our influence globally to assure that production at Pike River does not re-start until the bodies are recovered,&rdquo; said Warda. 
 
EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little and Assistant National Secretary Ged O&rsquo;Connell were part of the delegation. Little said New Zealand&rsquo;s government must be mindful that the Pike River catastrophe had reverberations world-wide, highlighting the nation&rsquo;s lax mine-safety regulations. 
 
O&rsquo;Connell said recovery of miners&rsquo; bodies remains a priority for the EPMU. The trustee or prospective owners, he said, &ldquo;must have a recovery plan for those bodies to the satisfaction of the families before they consider mining coal, or making money out of that mine.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="215" height="161" />
Name badges of those miners still to be recovered from the mine
PricewaterhouseCoopers became receiver of the mine in January after Pike River Coal Ltd., an enterprise previously owned by New Zealand Oil &amp; Gas Ltd. with minority stakes held by Indian and Asia steel-making concerns, filed for bankruptcy due to the tragedy. The mine ramped up to full production only in 2010. It contains reserves of 17.6 million tones of hard coking coal. 
 
PricewaterhouseCoopers had hoped to sell the mine&rsquo;s assets by June, but a possible sale has now been pushed backed until later in the year. Meanwhile, a Royal Commission conducting an inquiry into the search and rescue attempts, and the safety and government regulatory policies surrounding the Pike River tragedy. The Commission held a preliminary hearing in Greymouth on 5 April (see <a href="/en/97-Sustainable-Development-Health-and-Safety/4385-Royal-Commission-Convenes-over-Pike-River-New-Zealand-Mine-Deaths ">ICEM report</a> here), and will begin full proceedings on 11 July. 
 
Prior to visiting the South Island and the Pike River mine site, the ICEM delegation laid a wreath in the city of Christchurch near the Canterbury Television site in memory of a Turkish student, 31-year-old Didem Yaman, who was killed there by an earthquake earlier this year. She is the niece of a member of ICEM-affiliated Petrol-Is in Turkey.

New Zealand: ICEM Wants Bodies Recovered from Inside Deadly Pike River Mine

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The second union-wide Conference for the Electric Power Industry was held in Boston USA on 12-13 July, with 60 delegates from 19 countries attending. The ICEM conference was aptly hosted by the Utility Workers&rsquo; Union of America (UWUA), which turned out delegates from several electric power branch unions. 
 
Delegates adopted a strong statement condemning recent trends in electric power that prioritise profit-making at the expense of the public good. The statement said unions must continue to promote democratic energy policies, and noted, &ldquo;Increased globalisation in the Electric Power sector necessitates increased international contacts between unions in the parent multinational country with unions in the countries subject to new investments by these companies.&rdquo; (The full ICEM Electric Power <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1Conclusions%20of%20ICEM%20World%20Conference%20for%20the%20Electric%20Power%20Industry%20Boston%20July%2012.pdf">Conference conclusions</a> can be viewed here.)&nbsp;
<img alt="" src="" width="245" height="160" />
Denryoku Soren&rsquo;s Manabu Sasaki
A highlight of the event was a thorough presentation on the work done to save the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant station in Japan following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. Members of the ICEM-affiliated Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Workers&rsquo; Union of Japan, or Denryoku Soren, gave heart-rendering descriptions of their work to cool down reactors after the tsunami cut power to the northeast Japan power station. 
 
The union&rsquo;s policy officer, Takashi Wakasugi, who hails from Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), said that no one has died from radiation exposure at Fukushima, although two young workers were trapped and killed by the tsunami in the turbine building basement of the 4th reactor. That reactor was on a maintenance shutdown at the time. Eleven Denryoku Soren members and another 180 family members lost their lives away from the plant and over 6,000 homes of union members have been destroyed. 
<img alt="" src="" width="129" height="161" />
NUM Education Chairperson Helen Diatile Inspired Delegates for Greater Solidarity
Since mid-March, the union has dispatched some 3,500 volunteers from Denryoku Soren in aid and rescue missions. The Japanese unionists, including Kiyoaki Kotabe and Manabu Sasaki, stressed that the natural disaster also affected coal-fired power stations in Fukushima Prefecture, including the Haramachi power plant where some workers were killed. Nuclear power, Sasaki said, accounts for less than 30% of Japan&rsquo;s power mix. With total electric supply decreasing to 55% after the twin natural disasters, the bulk of the loss came from outages at coal- oil- and gas-fired plants. 
 
The unionists were critical of Japan&rsquo;s current government administration for laying blame on the utilities and on workers. They said the government insists on imposing indemnity on the affected utilities, and has submitted a bill to Parliament that ultimately would encourage layoffs of Denryoku Soren members and the lowering of working conditions to the bare minimum. 
 
&ldquo;We at Denryoku Soren will continue to fight to stabilise the situation at Fukushima Daiichi,&rdquo; stated Sasaki, the union&rsquo;s Social and Industrial Policy Officer. &ldquo;We will face all predicaments bravely to secure the safety of the Japanese people and by all and any means, we will restore and revitalize East Japan, which suffered devastating damage. 
 
&ldquo;What has supported us while we fight for this has been the strong solidarity by the member unions of the ICEM.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="151" height="162" />
UWUA President Mike Langford
The Electric Conference also included panels on campaigning and on networking, with the latter including the ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific Electric Power Workers&rsquo; Network by Japanese Affiliates&rsquo; Federation (JAF) General Secretary Yoshio Sato, the Nuclear Workers&rsquo; Network by David Shier, and an inspired presentation by&nbsp;Ndlela Radebe of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on the newly created Southern Africa Energy Network. 
 
Campaign presentations were made by UWUA Local 389 President Dave Leonardi on the successful UWUA-ICEM campaign to achieve a first collective agreement with waste-to-energy company Covanta in the US, and on privatisation fight-backs by David Black of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees (COPE) in British Colombia and by Saffet Asiksou and Huseyln Sonmezoglu of the Turkish Electricity Authority of Cyprus Workers&rsquo; Union (El-Sen). 
 
UWUA President Mike Langford also directly addressed the &ldquo;virus&rdquo; of the US that is slowly permeating both developed and developing nations of the world, and said trade unions must rise up to unite against such &ldquo;anti-people, anti-society practices.&rdquo;

ICEM’s Electric Conference Condemns Profiteering by Private-Sector Providers

Archive

ICEM Congress Opens This Week in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Malaysian Nation Labor Centre Decries Legislation Opening Door for Contract Labour

SIPTU Fights Attempts to Dilute EU Agency Workers Directive

ICEM Regional Conferences Support Creation of New International

ICEM Congress Website Live

South African Metalworkers' Strike

CEPPWAWU Downs Tools in Demand for Living Wage

Turkey’s Selüloz-Is struggles for recognition at Form Mukavva

New Zealand: ICEM Wants Bodies Recovered from Inside Deadly Pike River Mine

ICEM’s Electric Conference Condemns Profiteering by Private-Sector Providers

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