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Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

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As part of its strategy to improve working and living conditions for metalworkers in Europe, the European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (EMF) has adopted a coordinated collective bargaining policy. 
 
The first coordinated, or common, demand was adopted in 2005 and called for the individual right to training, guaranteed by collective agreements. Last November, at the 6th EMF Collective Bargaining Conference, the 75 unions affiliated to the EMF agreed on a second common demand &quot;for more secure employment - against precarious work.&quot; 
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EMF Deputy General Secretary Bart Samyn
&ldquo;The last years have seen an incredible increase of precarious work and the number of insecure jobs has exploded in all European countries,&rdquo; said EMF Deputy General Secretary Bart Samyn. &ldquo;Everyone agrees that we can no longer deny this very real problem. Hence, the importance of this second common demand of the EMF and the willingness of all EMF affiliates to put the fight against precarious work central in their demands, in their upcoming collective bargaining rounds all over Europe.&rdquo; 
 
EMF affiliates are developing specific demands, relevant to their national situation, on temporary agency workers (TAW), workers employed on fixed term contracts, the bogus self-employed, and those on projects-based and zero-hour contracts, and are including these demands in their collective bargaining. A number of EMF affiliates have also initiated awareness-raising campaigns for more secure employment. 
 
The EMF Second Common Demand brochure is available <a href="http://www.emf-fem.org/Press/Publications/EMF-Second-Common-Demand">here</a>.

European Metalworkers’ Second Common Demand for more secure employment

The annual ICEM Asia-Pacific Regional Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) seminar took place in Singapore on 18-19 April. The seminar, hosted by the ICEM with the assistance of Germany&rsquo;s Friedrich-Ebert Foundation (FES), brought together 52 delegates, including representatives of the ICEM, the Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI), International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF), Public Services International (PSI), and Union Network International (UNI). 
 
Union leaders and activists from 14 Asian countries, members of the Western European Team of experts from Denmark and Sweden, and representatives of the ICEM Secretariat and the FES attended the meeting, spoke about the impact of precarious employment in their countries, and shared strategies which they had developed to deal with CAL issues. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda had been scheduled to attend the seminar, but was unable to do so because of the disruption to European flights caused by volcanic ash from Iceland. 
<img alt="" src="" width="241" height="181" />
Participants discussed how CAL is being used to undermine the right to freedom of association, by companies who are letting go of permanent staff and hiring temporary workers in their place. Participants also discussed how the global economic crisis is being used by multinational companies as an excuse to reduce their permanent workforce, despite the fact that CEOs are receiving ever increasing pay packages. 
 
The participants proposed a number of next steps, including that unions should make CAL a priority issue and prioritise organising of CAL workers; that they should cooperate in campaigning at a national level for legislation which would make user enterprises responsible for agency workers;, and that collective bargaining should fully include CAL issues. 
 
Participants also proposed that a workshop be arranged to discuss how dialogue can best be arranged with labour-hire agencies to assure that labour rights and standards are upheld.

Global Union Federations Gather in Asia-Pacific Region to Develop CAL Tactics

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ICEM Hungarian affiliate, the Federation of Chemical Workers Union at the MOL B&aacute;ny&aacute;sz Szakszervezet (MOL RT), held its Congress in Budapest, 27 March. 
 
The Congress unanimously elected L&aacute;szl&oacute; Biri as the new President of the union. He replaces the outgoing J&oacute;zsef Kudela, who has retired. In letters between outgoing J&oacute;zsef Kudela and ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, each of the two thanked the other for a long period of friendship and close cooperation, protecting the interests of Hungarian oil and gas workers, and developing international trade unionism in the region. 

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ICEM congratulates L&aacute;szl&oacute; Biri on his election, and looks forward to continuing good relations and successful work together. 
 
The MOL Group is an integrated oil and gas company, also present elsewhere in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. With 34,000 employees in total, MOL is the second largest company in Central and Eastern Europe.

Hungarian Chemical Workers’ Congress Elects New President, József Kudela Retires

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ICEM affiliate the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF) led a joint protest of all coal worker unions in India, against the proposal of the Indian Government to disinvest shares of Coal India Ltd., a state owned body. All coal mines in the country were nationalised by former President Indira Gandhi, because of malpractice throughout the industry, and the inadequate rate of progress in the development of the industry. The unions jointly submitted a strong statement condemning the decision to amend the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act and calling on the government to desist. 
 
The statement is signed by INMF President, Shri Rajendra Prasad Singh and INMF Secretary General, Shri S.Q. Zama, along with the leaders of the other coal mining unions of India. The statement argues that Coal India is competent as is, and a more effective way of improving its operations would be for the government to provide adequate facilities, and also for the coal industry to be given &ldquo;infrastructure status&rdquo;. All the trade unions in the Indian coal industry pledge, in the statement, to work together to faster develop the industry and achieve the goal of producing enough coal to satisfy domestic need, and avoid importing it. 

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Coal India Ltd. made a profit in 2008 of US$1.8 billion. Raw coal production during 2008-09 went up by 7.90 per cent to 493.20 million tonnes. Coal India Ltd. is one of 40 publically owned companies targeted for privatisation in India. 
 
The Board of Coal India Ltd. has recommended that 5 to 10 per cent government equity can be disinvested. Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal accepts the recommendation and will now approach Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Jaiswal plans for the shares to be offered first to employees, secondly to those whose land was transferred to CIL, and then remaining shares will be open to all buyers. 
 
The unions oppose the allocation of virgin coal blocks to private companies, as well as the transfer of areas currently controlled by Coal India Ltd. (CIL). The statement points to the private sector&rsquo;s record of exploitation of mineworkers, and the extremely low wages paid by private companies currently operating in the industry. &ldquo;We demand that all the blocks should be handed over to Coal India for further production of coal.&rdquo; 
 
Further demands made in the joint statement are for an industry-wide wage to be enforced by the National Coal Wage Board, and for the prevention of outsourcing coal industry jobs to private agencies. &ldquo;We demand that the contract workers should not be allowed to be engaged in permanent and perennial nature of jobs and in other coal sectors they should be paid minimum of the scale in coal industry.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM supports the campaign to oppose disinvestments and privatisation of the Coal Industry in India.

Indian Mining Unions Oppose Privatisation

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ICEM affiliate the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), this month, has stepped up its campaign for improved safety and health conditions for its members, working at BHP Billiton&rsquo;s operations in Western Australia. The concerns follow two rockslides at the Leinster mine in a month. 
 
Workers refused to work in the unsafe conditions until the mine had been officially declared safe. West Australia Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore had &ldquo;serious safety concerns&rdquo; for the entire site; the Minister raised the possibility that the Perseverance mine could be closed on safety grounds. &ldquo;I have asked the state mining engineer to give me his professional advice whether there is reason to stop the Perseverance mine from continuing operations.&rdquo; 
 
The moral of workers at the site was reported to be low. &ldquo;The crew are not in a good state of mind and are traumatised,&rdquo; stated one mineworker. 

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The first rock fall, on 10 June, triggered by a small tremor, brought down 500 tonnes of rock. Twenty-five tonnes of the rock fell close to a worker, Jason Rose, who was trapped more than a kilometre below ground for 16 hours 
 
The July rock fall was triggered by a seismic tremor, up to ten times more severe than that of the previous month. A driller was trapped underground for more than two hours, and another was injured 
 
AMWU secretary Steve McCartney said that these incidents added to a long string of safety problems at BHP mines. He added that repeated calls by the union to local government, to improve mine safety in Western Australia, had been ignored. 

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Five BHP employees have been killed in the last 10 months on the company&rsquo;s iron ore sites in the Pilbara region, in the north of Western Australia. There are disproportionally more accidents at BHP Billiton mines, in the state, than at mines run by other companies. 
 
Further safety concerns over BHP workers at the Leinster nickel mine have been worrying the AMWU and ICEM. It has emerged that when workers return home for their break, the majority drive long distances after 18 hours without sleep. This is equivalent to taking the road with a blood alcohol level over the limit. The company acknowledge the danger but have refused to change the shift times, or flight times home back to Perth. 
 
&ldquo;It seems that the workers at Leinster are not only subjected to safety problems at work but this latest information shows they are also at risk on their way home,&rdquo; AMWU Secretary McCartney said.

Rockslides at Australia’s BHP Billiton, Concerns over Mine Safety

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Earlier this month 10,500 electricians in Ireland took strike action, seeking an 11 % wage increase, which is three years overdue. The strike affected work at construction sites and factories throughout the country. Pickets were suspended after a week, on 12 July, following Labour Court pay rise proposals. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) was balloting its members for an all-out strike to support the electricians in the lead up to the compromise. 
 
The compromise deal offered by the Labour Court includes a 5 % pay increase. Employer the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA) accepted the agreement, as did the 10,500 member Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU); however another employer the Association of Electrical Contractors of Ireland (AECI) derailed the settlement when they rejected the compromise last week. 
 
If the AECI, an association representing three hundred small electrical contractors does not reverse its decision to reject the compromise package, Ireland&rsquo;s electricians will take strike action again from 1 September. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan has announced that she will intervene to encourage agreement between employers and the union. 

<img src="" width="140" height="180" alt="" />
TEEU General Secretary Owen Wills
TEEU general secretary Owen Wills welcomed Tanaiste Coughlan&rsquo;s intervention, but stressed that the investigation must be handled speedily if strike action is to be averted. If the electricians are forced out on strike again, it is highly likely that an all out strike of other ICTU unions will be launched in the construction industry. 
 
Employers in the dispute had sought a 10 % pay cut for their contractors, but abandoned those demands following highly visible picket lines at international companies, such as Microsoft and Intel. 
 
Element Six, formerly de Beers diamonds, dumped 370 Shannon workers out of work last week, and is only giving redundant workers one week's pay for each year worked. Ireland currently has the worst economic situation of all countries in the euro zone and is set to contract by around 8 % in 2009. Taoiseach Brian Cowen is attempting to garner support for the extremely unpopular spending cuts that have been recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

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SIPTU President Jack O'Connor
Union leaders reacted furiously last week when Brian Lenihan, the finance minister, appeared to contemplate a cut in the minimum wage if the rate is &quot;inhibiting job creation in any particular sector&quot;. Jack O'Connor, the president of ICEM affiliate Services, Industrial, Professional, Technical Union (SIPTU), called on taoiseach Brian Cowen, to &quot;rein in the hawks&quot; in the Department of Finance who were pursuing &quot;slash-and-burn policies&quot;. The government has now called for a two-year freeze in the minimum wage, currently at &euro;8.65 an hour.

Ireland: Electricians Seek Action to Avert New Strike

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="86" />&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="100" height="97" />&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="145" height="69" />
Leaders of mining and metal workers&rsquo; unions from around the world on 13 July condemned the Mexican government&rsquo;s failure to bring justice to the families of the 65 mineworkers who died in an explosion at the Pasta de Conchos mine on 19 February 2006. 
 
&ldquo;The Mexican labour authorities are guilty of a triple failure,&rdquo; said Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), in Nueva Rosita, Coahuila. &ldquo;They failed to prevent the disaster at Pasta de Conchos, they have failed to accomplish justice for the families of the victims, and they have failed to take the necessary measures to prevent future disasters.&rdquo; 
 
A special committee of the ILO, in a report issued in April, concluded: &ldquo;the Government of Mexico did not do all that was reasonably expected of it to avoid or minimize the effects of the Accident which had such devastating effects with the loss of life of as many as 65 miners.&rdquo; 

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The union leaders from Argentina, Canada, Peru, South Africa, and the US met with family members of the victims and with the rescue team that is working to recover the 63 bodies that remain entombed in the mine. At the entrance to the mine, they placed wreaths in memory of the workers who died. 
 
&ldquo;Mineworkers around the world are one family,&rdquo; said Tim Baker, an occupational health and safety specialist for ICEM-affiliated United Mineworkers of America (UMWA). &ldquo;We mourn the deaths of our brothers at Pasta de Conchos and we are outraged that Grupo Mexico and the labour authorities who are responsible for their deaths have gone unpunished, while the government continues to attack the Mineworkers&rsquo; Union.&rdquo; 
 
United Steelworkers (USW) District 3 Director Steve Hunt pledged his union&rsquo;s support for the families&rsquo; effort to recover the bodies of the victims, and challenged other unions to commit their resources to the cause. 
 
The delegation was organized by the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), the IMF, and the United Steelworkers.&nbsp; This was the last of the six-day series of events, which included a rally over the weekend.
<img alt="" src="" width="270" height="192" />
Joe Drexler, ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs, who also met with family members, commented, &quot;we believe that the refusal of the government and Grupo Mexico to recover the bodies is an effort to cover up the real causes of the mining disaster and the inadequacy of rescue efforts.&quot;
In addition to the USW and UMWA, the other ICEM affiliates to meet with the widows were the National Union of Mineworkers, South Africa&nbsp;(NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union, South Africa&nbsp;(CEPPWAWU), and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), alongside ICEM affiliate Los Mineros.

Global Union Leaders Demand Justice for Mexican Families at Pasta de Conchos Mine

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A unified strike by members of three unions at Saint-Gobain glass plants in Belgium ended Friday, 10 July. But not before Auvelais workers at the French multinational made a defining stand in this industrial action: no company will be allowed to use the financial crisis as a pretext to implement common restructuring! 
 
Workers returned to their jobs 11 July, after voting 58 to 48% to end the nine-day strike, a strike that saw two plants totally blockaded for most of that time. A mediated agreement was put forward on 8 July. The dispute started in February 2009, when Saint-Gobain proposed 241 job cuts. Over the ensuing months, Saint-Gobain resisted all practical alternatives put forward by social partners. 
 
Some 880 are employed at the twin plants of Saint-Gobain Sekurit and Saint-Gobain Knell near Charleroi, in southern Belgium. 
When the strike started &ndash; 2 July, after months of fruitless bargaining &ndash; the company still wanted 215 job cuts. The unions, including ICEM affiliates Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale-FGTB/ABVV and the CSC/ACV, proposed constructive options to the job cuts. But these proposals were ignored. Saint-Gobain as well sought cuts to worker entitlements, such as pre-pension benefits, transfer compensation, and severance on voluntary departures. 

<img alt="" src="" width="332" height="162" />
&ldquo;The absence of meaningful dialogue is an insult to what is now demanded,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We know that Saint-Gobain is guilty of social dumping and we also know that this conduct is not related to the financial crisis.&rdquo; 
 
Trade union strikers blocked access to all company assets at Saint-Gobain Knell throughout the strike, and at Sekurit, a blockade was lifted partially in the sixth day of the strike. Other restructurings have occurred in these Wallonian plants. In May 2008, 100 jobs were cut. The Sekurit plant makes flat glass, while the Knell operation makes glass in building and construction products. 
 
The ICEM extended support to the strikers during the labour action. &ldquo;The ICEM questions Saint-Gobain and its motives in using the world&rsquo;s economic crisis to gain financial strength in the restructuring of the Belgian factories,&rdquo; the Global Union Federation wrote Belgian union members. &ldquo;The ICEM and its family of trade unions worldwide stand with you in Auvelais as you take justified industrial actions.&rdquo; 
 
Saint-Gobain has faced fierce resistance to job cuts in other parts of Europe, as well. Strikes in Italy and France occurred in April and May, and European trade union federations manifested at Saint-Gobain offices in Paris on 20 May. 
 
Currently, CGT in France has called for urgent talks with the company at Mers-les-Bains over 100 proposed job cuts, and social partners at Saint-Gobain Desjonqu&egrave;res in Real Sitio, Spain, began deep discussions over a proposed six-week shutdown in August and September, affecting 180 workers. 
 
In Germany, IGBCE, EWC, and Saint-Gobain completed social talks related to transfer and re-skilling at Saint-Gobain Vetrotex operations.

Financial Stress Brings Industrial Unrest to Belgian Glass Sector

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Workers at the Bridgestone aerospace tyre plant in Frameries, Belgium, will hit the five-week mark on strike this Thursday, 16 July. The strike was brought on by the Japanese-based company&rsquo;s refusal to negotiate. A company decision on whether or not to close down a 140-worker re-treading factory in Frameries has not been communicated to workers and their majority representative, Belgian affiliate Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale-FGTB, and the union exhausted all legal means before striking on 11 June. 
 
That strike came when Bridgestone unilaterally decided to dismiss all 8 workers in one area of the factory without proper social talks. Many of those workers had been on the job for over 20 years. One of the dismissed workers is a senior trade union officer and secretary of the Works Council, who has been working at the plant since 1980. 

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Bridgestone has disrupting social harmony in Frameries, despite a formal commitment to protect jobs in the current collective bargaining agreement. Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale-FGTB insisted that the company exam all options to safeguard employment, including part-time redundancy, early retirement, in-house transfers, time credit, or other such social options. The union also stresses that 14 workers are employed at Frameries on short-term contracts. 
 
Local management at Bridgestone-Frameries has continued its anti-labour practices throughout the strike. Instead of seeking reasonable solutions through dialogue, managers will not even answer telephone calls to address issues. 

<img alt="" src="" width="276" height="183" />
Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale-FGTB condemns such practices, calling them immoral and reprehensible and also condemns the company for criminalizing its own workers who are only defending their rights. 
 
The ICEM also condemns such social behaviour. &ldquo;At the heart of Europe, in Belgium, a multinational company is deciding on issues of employment outside the lawful prerequisites of the social model,&rdquo; said General Secretary Manfred Warda. He added that ICEM&rsquo;s Bridgestone Global Union Network addressed this strike recently in its deliberations and put the issue forward to Japanese senior management. 
 
Bridgestone on the corporate level has not responded. The ICEM is asking global affiliates to send a solidarity message in your own words and your own language to Bridgestone-Frameries workers by clicking <a href="mailto:alain.denooze@accg.be">here</a>.

Bridgestone Tyre Re-treading Strike Continues in Belgium

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The ten-year existence of the ICEM&rsquo;s BASF Workers' Network in South America was celebrated on 30 June 2009 in S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil. The event was attended by more than 100 guests, partners from the trade union movement, employers, workers, and managers from throughout the chemicals industry in Brazil. 
 
As the experiences of the first ten years of the network's operations were recalled from both trade union and company point of view. The network coordinator mentioned the main struggles that occurred and went into the network's future challenges. Those include the issues of subcontracting, health and safety, and unfair dismissals. 

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The ten-year anniversary celebration of ICEM&rsquo;s most successful regional workers&rsquo; network came between two, full working days of the Network, on 29 June and July 1. 
 
The presentation by Wagner Brunini, BASF Human Resources Director for South America, gave evidence to the company&rsquo;s commitment to the network and its appreciation to all forms of workers' representation. Brunini defined one challenge: informing and training all management staff to create a new management culture. 

<img src="" width="180" height="153" alt="" />
Michael Vassiliadis 
Thematic panels were also held during the event on social dialogue, presented by IGBCE Board Member Michael Vassiliadis, and on sustainable enterprises, presented by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. 
 
Vassiliadis emphasised that the workers' experience at BASF in South America ought to serve as a social dialogue example for other companies. According to Vassiliadis, society's interest in this labour relations practice has to be awakened. 
 
&quot;We need trade unions and trade unionists who cultivate a sensible relationship with companies,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;It is necessary to define our requirements and to know where we need to go with dialogue.&quot; 
 
Warda pointed to important fundamentals for sustainable enterprises: &quot;Listen to what the other side is saying, comprehend its needs, and exercise mutual respect.&quot; 
<img alt="" src="" width="344" height="160" />
At the end of the ceremony, an excellent publication was distributed, entitled, &quot;Rede de Trabalhadores na BASF Am&eacute;rica do Sul: 10 anos de Solidariedade Sindical e Di&aacute;logo Social,&quot; a homage to those who conceived of and founded the network. 
 
ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Vice President Sergio Novais coordinated the event, which was also attended by the IGBCE International Officer Michael Wolters, and the President of BASF South America, Dr Rolf-Dieter Acker.

BASF South American Network Celebrates Ten Fruitful Years

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