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An expected conclusion to the 11-day strike in Namibia at Skorpion Zinc yesterday did not occur, due to company insistence that wages be tied to ICEM affiliate Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Namibia (MUN) withdrawing a pending court case. During negotiations yesterday &ndash; talks that were expected to finalise a new labour agreement and end the strike &ndash; management &ldquo;took a full u-turn&rdquo; on many issues resolved over the weekend, according to MUN President Andries Eiseb. 
 
The MUN has suspended the strike, but has given no guarantee that a further walk-out by its 450 union members at the zinc mining and smelting operation near Rosh Pinah in southwestern Namibia will not occur. 
 
In talks yesterday, management linked a 12% pay offer to Skorpion, owned by major mining house AngloAmerican, gaining an exemption from Namibia&rsquo;s Labour Ministry to move to continuous operations. MUN gave the company a promise that it would support such an application to the government, but that pledge hinged on workers immediately gaining the pay hike 
 
Also, Skorpion management changed the effective date of any new agreement, from 1 May 2008 to the effective date of signing.
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The court matter, dating to 2004, involves compensation &ndash; specifically, overtime pay &ndash; on the operation&rsquo;s shift to continuous operations. MUN has argued that overtime pay be tied to the basic requirements contained in Namibia&rsquo;s labour code. 
 
&ldquo;The company&rsquo;s demand that the wage issue can only be settled once the court action has been withdrawn has crippled the whole negotiation process,&rdquo; said Eiseb. &ldquo;We feel we are being kept at ransom to a pending court case, said Eiseb, adding that the company&rsquo;s negotiation posture has been one of &ldquo;bad faith, intimidation, harassment, and arrogance.&rdquo; 
 
The strike by 680 miners at one of the world&rsquo;s richest zinc operations began on 9 May. The ICEM believes that the MUN and its membership has been a steadfast partner in an operation which has provided the London-based company with its largest profit contribution of late. Since Skorpion came fully on line in 2005, zinc prices on global markets have risen more than 300%.

Skorpion Reneges; Deal to Settle Zinc Dispute in Namibia is Scuttled

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The Council of Global Unions, the coordinating body for most of the 11 Global Union Federations, as well as the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee of OECD, has launched a new website, <a href="http://www.global-unions.org">www.global-unions.org</a>. 
 
The site will rely on RSS feeds from the representative global bodies and will provide relevant data and timely calls for action on issues concerning global trade unions. The site was launched on 1 May, and in the coming weeks will be further updated to include features. 
 
The website was a creation of a global union communicators&rsquo; task force, and had the technical expertise of the ITUC&rsquo;s Alex Gomes in design and innovation. Aidan White, General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, chaired the task force.
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&nbsp;Education International GS Fred Van Leeuwen
&ldquo;The website is just the latest way to improve how we talk to the world,&quot; stated Fred Van Leeuwen, General Secretary of Education International, who is also chairman of the Council of Global Unions. &ldquo;Global-unions.org is the new starting point for anyone, anywhere, who works and is looking to someone in fight in their corner.&rdquo;

Global Unions Raises New Website to Heighten Profile

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The ICEM filed strong protest with the government of South Korea last week over the detention and deportation of two leaders of the Migrants&rsquo; Trade Union (MTU). President Tornu Limbu and Vice President Abudus Sabur were arrested outside the union&rsquo;s offices in Seoul on 2 May, and held in the Cheongju Detention Centre. 
 
The two were deported by South Korea&rsquo;s Justice Ministry on 15 May, according to a release issued by Amnesty International. Due process was denied them, as they were not given legal rights to challenge the deportation order.
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&ldquo;It is very clear to the ICEM, and its 475 affiliates in 173 countries, that the two have been incarcerated because of their trade union activities, a clear violation of accepted international norms and standards,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda in a letter to the Korean head of Mission at the UN in Geneva last week. &ldquo;Migrant workers, like all other workers, deserve the respect and treatment afforded them under freedom of association, as enshrined in ILO Convention 87.&rdquo; Click <a href="/en/7-Asia-Pacific/2652-ICEM-Letter-to-Korea-Over-Detention-Expulsion-of-Migrant-Workers'-Leaders">here</a> to find the ICEM&nbsp;letter. 
 
Reportedly, both Tornu Limbu, a citizen of Nepal, and Abudus Sabur, from Bangladesh, were beaten while in detention. The crack-down occurred just following newly-elected South Korean President Lee Myung-bak&rsquo;s public vow that foreign workers in the country, who are without the necessary papers, will be flushed out of Korea even through use of force. 
 
Limbu, 42, and Sabur, 39, had been effectively organising migrant workers in the country for 16 and nine years, respectively. Limbu has been a vocal critic of the difficulties and unfairness inherent in the work permit process in Korea for foreign workers.
The MTU and the fight for rights for migrant workers have the backing of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. On 18 March, the plight of migrant workers in Korea was the central focus of a seminar in Geneva, which called on the United Nations to take strong action to ensure that migrant workers work with dignity as part of their basic human rights.

ICEM Protests Expulsions by Korea of Migrant Workers’ Union Leaders

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The Labour Government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown appears to have brokered a deal that will give agency workers new and better rights in the UK. Late last week, negotiators for both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Confederation of British Industry struck a deal that would bring the UK more in line with the European Union nations that seek a Temporary Workers Directive. 
 
Although some details of the proposed UK law concerning agency workers still need to be worked out, staff of agencies would get job protection rights after 12 weeks of work. Employer groups had sought up to a year&rsquo;s working time before a doctrine of unfair dismissal could take effect. Equal pay and similar work conditions for 1.4 million agency workers also is included in the UK dialogue, although details on those issues are still in discussions. 
 
Last week&rsquo;s news was a clear victory for the TUC and UK&rsquo;s trade unions, which mounted an effective campaign early in 2008 for work rights for agency workers. 
 
In a speech early last week, Brown tipped his hand to the impending agreement, promising legislation that &ldquo;will, for the first time, ensure new rules for the fair treatment of agency workers here in Britain.&rdquo;
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TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber&nbsp;
On Wednesday, 14 May, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said of Brown&rsquo;s draft legislative plan: &ldquo;I welcome the Prime Minister&rsquo;s clear recognition that agency workers get a raw deal. Unions will now step up their campaign to secure proper protection and a fair deal for agency workers.&rdquo; 
 
That campaign produced a record 136 MPs supporting a Private Member&rsquo;s Bill on the issue of rights for temp agency workers. That bill, by Labour MP Andrew Miller, which garnered a full third of the House of Commons in February, left little doubt that the Brown Government must act on a draft law. 
 
Winning work rights for agency workers in Britain will also have enormous significance inside the EU, where a directive has been blocked by only a handful of countries, including the UK. The proposed EU directive has a six-week period for temp workers to gain employment rights.

UK Moves Closer to Granting Agency Workers Better Rights

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African trade union leader&nbsp;&nbsp;Fran&ccedil;ois Yao announced that a 34-month dispute between ICEM affiliate National Union of Workers in Electricity, Gas, and Water (SYNASEG) in C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire and Compagnie Ivoirienne d&rsquo;Electricit&eacute; (CIE), a subsidiary of French-based Bouygues Group, ended recently with a framework labour agreement calling for continual social dialogue and respect for trade union rights. 
 
The framework accord was signed on 30 April 2008, after five months of intense negotiations between SYNASEG leaders and CIE. Yao, the SYNASEG General Secretary,&nbsp;announced the agreement at a 1 May, Workers&rsquo; Day, news conference. 
 
&ldquo;We have now opened a new spirit of tolerance and dialogue that will ensure harmony and cohesion within (our country&rsquo;s) electrical sector,&rdquo; he said. He termed the negotiations &ldquo;difficult, but frank and sincere,&rdquo; and credited Bouygues&rsquo; chief manager in C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, Marcel Zadi Kessy, with providing an atmosphere that made the draft agreement possible.
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The union will now begin informational meetings with electricity workers across the West African nation in order to inform them of the accord. 
 
The agreement calls for regular, quarterly meetings between the new social partners. It also pledges both parties to a common goal of profitability and lifting the living conditions of CIE&rsquo;s workforce. And specifically, SYNASEG won full participation in the affairs of the Mutual Investment Fund, a fund established years ago for training, placement, and workers&rsquo; needs. It was the company taking unilateral control of that fund in 2006-2007 that brought the dispute to a near strike in March 2007. Workers make contributions to the fund.
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&nbsp; 
The dispute itself began in 2005 when CIE began systematic attacks on SYNASEG. That was seen as retaliation against the union for its backing of a then government plan to renationalise the utility and end Bouygues&rsquo; 15-year contract. The ICEM had brought the dispute to both global attention, and to the attention of French social partners. 
 
The ICEM commends both its C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire affiliate and the Bouygues affiliate for reaching a framework agreement that will ensure social harmony. &ldquo;We are sure that this recently achieved milestone of mutual respect and joint confidence will carry the SYNASEG-CIE partnership to greater rewards for both workers and the company,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda.

Three-year Dispute Between Côte d’Ivoire’s SYNASEG and Bouygues Subsidiary Ends

13 May 2008 
 
Sung-joo Lee 
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea 
Avenue de l&rsquo;Ariana 1, CP 2 
CH-1211 Geneva 20 
Switzerland 
 
Transmitted to Fax Nos. 022 748 0001 and 031 356 2444, and e-mail mission.korea-rep@tie.itu.int 
 
Mr Sung-joo Lee: 
 
The International Chemical, Energy, Mine &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM), a Global Union Federation numbering 20 million workers, including tens of thousands in the Republic of Korea, writes to file sincere protest with the recent arrests and detentions of Torna Limbu and Abudus Sabur, the President and Vice President of the Migrants&rsquo; Trade Union (MTU) in your country. 
 
I urge you to convey to your government that such arrests and detentions are contrary to social conventions upheld by international organisations, such as the ILO. I also urge you to insist to your government that the Republic of Korea respect all human and trade union rights. 
 
Information received by the Geneva-based ICEM states that Torna Limbu was arrested in front of his office at 08h20 on 2 May 2008, and that one hour later, Abudus Sabur was also rounded up and arrested. We have received further information that the two are being held in Cheongju Detention Centre. 
 
It is very clear to the ICEM, and its 475 affiliates in 173 countries, that the two have been incarcerated because of their trade union activities, a clear violation of accepted international norms and standards. We call on you to insist that Korean authorities release the two and allow them to carry on their valuable trade union services to migrant workers. Migrant workers, like all other workers, deserve the respect and treatment afforded them under freedom of association, as enshrined in ILO Convention 87. 
 
Without further delay, I demand that the Republic of Korea release the President and Vice President of the MTU, and that your government ensures they are able to continue their legitimate work inside Korea on behalf of migrant workers. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Manfred Warda 
General Secretary

ICEM Letter to Korea Over Detention, Expulsion of Migrant Workers&#039; Leaders

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&nbsp;The ICEM has filed a stern protest with the Iranian government over its use of harsh and unnecessary force to break up a tyre strike at Kian Tyre, near Chahardangeh just west of Tehran. The police force occurred 12 April when troops smashed factory gates and climbed walls to get at strikers. 
 
Some 100 workers were brutalised with electric batons, and hauled off in police buses to incarceration, reportedly at Ahmad Abaad Mostofi police station. For the first 36 hours of detention, workers&rsquo; families had no news on those who were arrested.
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&nbsp; 
Eventually, most of the 100 were released conditionally, but only after police interrogated them to determine the strike&rsquo;s leaders. Reports say that at least ten are still being held, as are six firefighters who refused to disperse the strikers with hot-water cannons. 
 
Workers at the factory employing 1,200 took strike action on 9 April because of non-payment of wages. They had not been paid since autumn 2007, with the exception of one month&rsquo;s pay plus a US$120 New Year&rsquo;s bonus. 
 
Kian Tyre was established in 1958 as a joint venture with the American company B.F. Goodrich. In 1979, the enterprise became part of state-owned National Iranian Industries, and in 1994 it was sold to private Iranian owners. The plant had previously gone under the name Alborz Tire Mfg. Co.

ICEM Protests Iran’s Brutal Use of Force to Break Up Tyre Strike

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Following a precedent-setting master labour agreement achieved last year between ICEM affiliate United Steelworkers (USW) and International Paper Co. covering workers at 14 US pulp and paper mills, 2,800 USW members at paper converting plants of the US-based firm ratified a similar four-year agreement late in April.
&quot;Never before have we had a single agreement covering so many converter locations,&quot; said USW President Leo Gerard. Added USW Vice President Jon Geenen, who heads the union's paper industry bargaining, &quot;Our members' ratification of this new master agreement is an indicator of the qaulity of the agreement and a sign of progress in our relationship with International Paper.&quot;
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USW President Leo Gerard
The agreement covers workers at 32 paper converting facilities in 18 US states.
Wages will increase 8% over the term, and the pension scheme will see increases throughout the contract's four years. The new agreement contains a successorship clause, a vital contractual measure that ensures that if the company sells any one facility, the new owner must, as part of the sale agreement, retain all workers, recognise the USW as bargaining representative, and honour the collective agreement.
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Also contained in the master pact is a pledge by International Paper that it will not change the medical insurance plan, unless the union agrees to it. Local issues and non-economic bargaining will continue to be handled at local branch level bargaining tables, and local unions will still retain their own contract expiration dates.
Separately, in another matter involving International paper in the US, an explosion at a company pulp and paper mill in the state of Mississippi killed one contract worker, and seriously injured four others. A total of 17 contract workers were injured in the 3 May blast of a recovery boiler at the company's Vicksburg mill. The explostion occurred when a boiler inside the pulp mill was restarted following a maintenance shutdown.
&nbsp;

USW’s Converting Workers at International Paper Ratify Master Contract

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Last week proved to be a deadly for South African mining company Gold Fields Ltd. Fourteen miners were killed, including nine on 1 May at the firm&rsquo;s South Deep Mine near Randfontein, in the northeast province of Gauteng. 
 
Those nine were killed in an inexcusable safety breach that saw a chain attached to an elevator cage snap, causing death when the cage plummeted 60 metres inside a mine shaft. Eight of the nine were contract workers, including one woman. Those eight were employed by the subcontracting firm, Murray and Roberts.
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Two days earlier, on 29 April, three miners were killed and one seriously injured, this time inside another shaft of the South Deep complex. They were killed and injured by a rock fall caused by a seismic event. Also on a same day, a driller&rsquo;s assistant employed by Gold Fields was killed at the Twin Shafts mine from a rock slide. 
 
The week&rsquo;s spate of accidents caused South Africa&rsquo;s second largest gold producer to suspend mining operations in the country, a move mandated by the Department of Energy and Minerals in order to secure a full review of safety procedures. 
 
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) General Secretary Frans Baleni said branch unions at Gold Fields will observe a full day of mourning over the tragedies. NUM Regional Chairperson Thamsanqa Joko said the company is not doing enough to protect workers. &ldquo;We feel that more should have been done to improve safety conditions,&rdquo; he said in a South African newspaper.
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&nbsp;NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni 
 

And the country&rsquo;s Minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, who met with NUM leaders and management at South Deep following the elevator collapse, was sharp with her criticism of the company. &ldquo;I see it as gross negligence, which can only be due to lack of maintenance.&rdquo; She called it &ldquo;inexcusable&rdquo; and promised those responsible will be held accountable, even if it means prosecution. 
 
Following the near tragedy of 3,200 miners who were trapped at Harmony Gold&rsquo;s Elandsrand Mine last October, the South Africa government ordered a full safety audit of all the country&rsquo;s mines. That audit is expected to be complete by the end of May 2008.

14 Killed in Gold Fields’ South African Mines Last Week

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Four members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) will travel from Australia to Zug, Switzerland, this week to make their voices heard before shareholders of Xstrata, the global mining company with a dual base in Zug and London. The CFMEU, to be assisted by the ICEM, will be at Xstrata&rsquo;s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 5 May. 
 
CFMEU will contrast the 41% pay increase given to CEO Mick Davis with the aggressive demands made on coal miners in the profitable collieries of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. Davis saw his annual salary jump in 2009 to US$7.75 million from US$5.5 million in 2008. 
 
At the Tahmoor colliery in New South Wales, Xstrata used a week-long lockout in February in efforts to force mineworkers to take unfair concessions. Some 300 miners there have been without a collective enterprise agreement for nearly 14 months. Miners are preparing to take further industrial action by mid-May if conciliation efforts by Fair Work Australia do not succeed. 

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The union has also protested against unfair staff cuts at the Ulan and Bulga mines in New South Wales. At Bulga, a three-year enterprise agreement between CFMEU and Xstrata did come into effect this spring, but not without protests and resistance to the company&rsquo;s attempt to rollback language that was consistent with former Prime Minister John Howard&rsquo;s draconian WorkChoices laws. 
 
Xstrata also has tried to weaken working conditions at its Newlands, Oaky Creek, Rolleston, and Togaro North coal mine in Queensland. In NSW, the CFMEU is also resisting Xstrata and its attempt to return to Howard&rsquo;s individual work agreements at the Liddell and Glendell mines. 
 
CFMEU Mining and Energy Vice President Wayne McAndrew said Xstrata&rsquo;s coal mining operations in Australia are some of the company&rsquo;s most profitable worldwide. &ldquo;Yet one quarter of Xstrata&rsquo;s Australian coal mining operations currently face industrial disputes or unrest because of the company&rsquo;s anti-worker stance.&rdquo; 
 
McAndrew, who will be accompanied to Zug by Tahmoor miner Lee Webb, Newslands miner Ben Davison, and CFMEU Northern NSW District President Grahame Kelly, added, &ldquo;Xstrata is a company that is engaging in activities that are harming the future profits of the company and this has the potential to affect its overseas mergers and acquisitions.&rdquo;

CFMEU to Take Australia Coal Dispute to Xstrata’s AGM

Archive

Skorpion Reneges; Deal to Settle Zinc Dispute in Namibia is Scuttled

Global Unions Raises New Website to Heighten Profile

ICEM Protests Expulsions by Korea of Migrant Workers’ Union Leaders

UK Moves Closer to Granting Agency Workers Better Rights

Three-year Dispute Between Côte d’Ivoire’s SYNASEG and Bouygues Subsidiary Ends

ICEM Letter to Korea Over Detention, Expulsion of Migrant Workers' Leaders

ICEM Protests Iran’s Brutal Use of Force to Break Up Tyre Strike

USW’s Converting Workers at International Paper Ratify Master Contract

14 Killed in Gold Fields’ South African Mines Last Week

CFMEU to Take Australia Coal Dispute to Xstrata’s AGM

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