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Bargaining in the US tyre industry began on 9 June when the United Steelworkers (USW) kicked off talks when Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co. and America&rsquo;s largest industrial union exchanged proposals in Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
USW also begins talks with Michelin&rsquo;s North American subsidiary BF Goodrich this month, and bargaining with Bridgestone/Firestone begins on 14 June. The three companies represent the largest of the tyre firms which comprise the master rubber agreement in the US. The union represents some 17,000 Goodyear employees, 6,000 Bridgestone workers, and 4,000 at Michelin.
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USW is expected to select one of the three as the &ldquo;target&rdquo; company, in which it hopes to achieve a pattern contract that will be taken to the others. Current three-year contracts in the US tyre industry expire on 22 July.

US Tyre Talks Begin for 27,000 Workers

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A study commissioned by ICEM Finnish affiliate Paperiliitto and the Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland (SASK) says a greenfield pulp mill in Brazil operated jointly by Stora Enso and Aracruz Celulose is too dependent on contract workers. 
The study, released 7 June by Observatorio Social, the research institute connected with the Brazilian trade union centre CUT, reports that the joint venture has so many contractors that it cannot adequately monitor them.
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The mill, called Veracel Florestal Ltda. and located in Eun&aacute;polis, state of Bahia, utilises contractors in the harvesting of eucalyptus for the mill, which causes immense environmental damage. Also, the mill relies on questionable contractors rather than permanent workers for most tasks at the mill, except for the actual production of pulp. 
 
The result is that overall salaries are driven down and labour contract terms circumvented. The study also reports that health and safety is compromised, and there is too much exposure to chemicals by both workers and those living in Eun&aacute;polis. The pulp mill went on line in 2005 and can produce 900,000 metric tonnes per year of eucalyptus pulp.

Stora Enso, Brazilian Aracruz Celulose Too Dependent on Contractors, Study Says

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Members of Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada at Stora Enso&rsquo;s Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, paper mill will meet this week and review a contract proposal presented by the company over the weekend. The Finnish-Swedish paper company presented CEP Local 972 with a proposal on 10 June, after four days of intense talks. 
 
On 30 May, Stora Enso issued an ultimatum to the 600 paperworkers to either finalise a new collective agreement by 24 June or face a closure of the coated papers and newsprint mill. The lockout started on 26 January 2006 over Stora&rsquo;s insistence on gaining more flexibility regarding outsourcing mill work than allowed under the pattern agreement for the paper industry in eastern Canada. 
 
In negotiations that resumed in early May, the company put forward a restructuring plan that included proposed wage and other cuts totalling between 14 and 18%. This recovery plan included wage cuts of 10%.
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Details of the 10 June proposal were not released until CEP Local 972 members have had an opportunity to review it. The 650 workers have been locked out now for 21 weeks.

New Stora Enso Offer Will Be Reviewed by CEP Branch at Canadian Paper Mill

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Further strike action against state-owned Petrotrin of Trinidad and Tobago occurred last week by ICEM affiliate Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU). Workers struck the company&rsquo;s Point-a-Pierre refinery on 5-6 June in protest to stalled wage talks, health and safety issues, and the suspension of two employees.
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On 11 May, onshore and offshore OWTU members, with the exception of staff at the 160,000 barrels-per-day refinery, downed tools due to stalled negotiations dating to last year. Workers at the refinery did strike twice in March 2006 in order to hasten a three-year renewal agreement. 
 
Last week&rsquo;s strike action was halted by the union after management pledged earnest talks to reach a new contract, but OWTU warned industrial actions would continue unless major progress did occur. The OWTU has been seeking meaningful dialogue with the company in order to put into effect a new labour agreement covering the period 2005 to 2008.

Trinidad, Tobago Oil Workers Strike Over Stalled Wage Talks

The 20-million-member ICEM, the Global Union Federation for electric power industry trade unions, is calling on state-run Swedish utility Vattenfall AB to intervene with its German subsidiary to resolve a labour dispute with three German unions affecting 20,000 workers. 
 
The unions, ICEM affiliate IGBCE, and IG Metall and Ver.di, are seeking a common collective agreement with Germany&rsquo;s third largest utility in order to remove wage disparities and harmonise all terms and conditions. The three unions will stage a mass protest tomorrow, 1 March, in Berlin at the annual general meeting of Vattenfall Europe AG, the German subsidiary. (Smaller rallies by the three unions have been held at three sites since 21 February in protest to the deadlock in negotiations.) 
 
 

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21 February 2006 : rally in Cottbus, Germany 
&ldquo;We feel the time is now that the Swedish parent step in and grant equitable wages and conditions to all its German employees,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;Vattenfall has integrated its acquisitions throughout Germany over the past few years, now it must harmonise wages and conditions.&rdquo; 
 
The three unions have been negotiating for a common accord with the Swedish subsidiary for two years. Besides bringing pay equity and uniform work conditions to workers, the unions are seeking an agreement from Vattenfall Europe AG that sale of any operations to another company will include the common collective agreement. 
 
IGBCE&rsquo;s Jobst Weissenborn, the union&rsquo;s chief negotiator in the energy sector, said the company&rsquo;s bargaining posture has provoked the rallies. He said the unions are prepared to take whatever steps necessary to ensure that the social standards of all Vattenfall workers in Germany come under a common agreement. 
 
 

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21 February 2006 : rally in Cottbus, Germany 
 
ICEM affiliate IGBCE is the dominant union in east Germany&rsquo;s power generation and distribution units, including the company&rsquo;s lignite mines and the former LAUBAG enterprise, now held by Vattenfall. In the 1990s, Ost-Bewag came under control of Bewag, which has been 90% owned Vattenfall since 2002. 
 
In 2001, Vattenfall acquired a majority stake in HEW, the Hamburg electric company that had previously been held by E.ON&rsquo;s Bewag subsidiary. IG Metall is the primary union in Hamburg. Vattenfall also acquired its Berlin operations through buy-up of Bewag, giving it control of over 80% of the power market in Berlin, as well as 30% of the heating market. The company also has telecommunications, water and gas interests in Berlin, and public-service union Ver.di is the dominant union there. 
 
Vattenfall&rsquo;s Europe division also includes utility holdings in Poland and&nbsp;The Netherlands. The company is a major electric and power producer and provider in the Nordic countries. 
 
Protests last week leading up to tomorrow&rsquo;s major demonstration in Berlin saw 2,000 workers take to the streets on 21 February. Anther demonstration was held in the east German mining community of Cottbus on the same day, while on 23 February, over a thousand protested in Hamburg.

ICEM Supports Common German Contract for Vattenfall Utility Workers

Some 500 delegates attended the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Women&rsquo;s Conference on 16-18 February in Rosherville, near Johannesburg. The South African union elected a national leadership team, put in place a workable plan of action, and developed a concise and practical programme that will be presented at NUM&rsquo;s National Congress in May.
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Delegates heard from three prominent women in South African labour: Minerals and Energy Minister Lindiwe Hendricks, COSATU Second Vice President Violet Sebone, and ANC Women&rsquo;s League&rsquo;s General Secretary Themba Kgasi. The NUM Women&rsquo;s Structure was formed in 1998, and since has become a leadership front for women both nationally and internationally. &ldquo;As women in the NUM, we have passed the stage of being told what to do,&rdquo; said Women&rsquo;s Structure Chairperson Rose Mohale. &ldquo;We have stood firm and demonstrated we can add our voice to programmes of the organisation.&rdquo;

NUM in South Africa Holds Women’s Conference

The ICEM is backing a struggle by workers affiliated with Brazilian union SINAP-CUT in the state of Maranh&atilde;o. Without warning and refusing to engage in dialogue with unions, Brazilian company Group Jo&atilde;o Santos sacked 227 workers last month in the remote northern town of Coelho Neto at its paper and agricultural enterprises, Itapag&eacute; SA and Agrimex SA.
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The company has refused to honour social payments due to workers, or to recognise the economic hardships created in the town. Group Jo&atilde;o Santos is responsible for 90% of the formal jobs in the rural town and controls 90% of the land around Coelho Neto. 
The workers and their families, backed by ICEM affiliate SINAP-CUT, together with an agricultural union, established a camp in front of the company&rsquo;s Coelho Neto offices. The camp&rsquo;s inhabitants have been threatened by military police, which has been summoned by the company. 
Workers and their unions issued &ldquo;claims guidelines&rdquo; against Group Jo&atilde;o Santos, calling for the company to return land to the community, maintain the town&rsquo;s schools and school personnel, and rehire the workers to employment levels as of November 2005. The ICEM supports such demands, and has expressed such in letters to Brazilian President Luiz In&aacute;cio Lula da Silva, the country&rsquo;s minister of Labour and Employment, and the state&rsquo;s General Attorney for Labour.

ICEM Lends Support to Brazilian Paperworkers’ Union

ICEM Zambian affiliate National Energy Sector and Allied Workers Union (NESAWU) is facing retaliation and union repression for bringing to light mismanagement at the state power authority Zambia Electric Supply Corp. (ZESCO).
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The company has fired union President Peter Chupa, along with several branch leaders, and has cancelled the legitimate union responsibilities of General Secretary Yotam Mtayachalo. Since early last year, ZESCO has consistently been months late paying wages to utility workers. Lately, it has resorted to costly bank overdrafts to pay salaries. The utility has also failed to remit workers&rsquo; pension contributions. 
On 20 April 2005, ZESCO withdrew NESAWU&rsquo;s recognition agreement because of a week-long strike in early March 2005 for unpaid wages and a demand by the union for resignation of ZESCO&rsquo;s managing director. Retaliatory measures have only intensified since.
The union supported casual workers who struck early this year over low salaries and late payments at a new addition to the Kafue Gorge power plant, and ZESCO responded by locking 30 of the strike&rsquo;s leaders from their jobs. 
On 10 January, Chupa was blocked by three dozen police officers from entering a ZESCO board meeting that was convened to choose a new chairman for the utility. But the existing chairman ran the meeting and had no intention of resigning. 
ZESCO has been plagued by power outages and transformer malfunctions due to management&rsquo;s ineffectiveness in making capital improvements in equipment and infrastructure, particularly in areas affecting households. NESAWU has been outspoken on the many misdeeds that have caused such failures.

Mismanaged Zambian Electric Firm Targets Power Sector Union

Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadjinejad 
President of the Republic 
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection 
Tehran 
Islamic Republic of Iran 
 
By Fax: + 98-21-66.48.06.65 and + 98-21-649.58.80 
 
 
Brussels, 13 February 2006 
 

Dear Mr. President, 
 
 
Re: Sherkate Vahed (Tehran Bus Company) 
 
The ICEM, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, after having been informed by the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) and the International Confederation of Trade Unions (ICFTU) about the recent developments in regard to the dispute between the Iranian authorities and the workers of the Sherkate Vahed in Tehran, adds its voice, in the name of the 20 million members that it represents in 122 countries around the world, to the world-wide protest against the hostile and brutal repression of the Sherkate Vahed workers at the occasion of the International Day of Action, on 15 February 2006. 
 
Following a series of arrests late last year, combined with a new wave of repression at the end of January, a large number of Sherkate Vahed trade union members reportedly still remain in detention, many of them arrested during a demonstration on 28 January 2006. This harassment of trade union members and officials is most definitely in breach of the internationally recognised fundamental trade union rights. 
 
The ICEM is also very concerned about the continued detention of Mansour Osanloo, the President of the Executive Board of Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs United Bus Company (Sandikaye Kargarane Sherkate Vahed Otobosrani Tehran va Hoomeh). Our concern is not only that Brother Mansour Osanloo is imprisoned for none other than doing standard trade union work, but also that he is detained while in bad health. 
 
Together with the ICFTU, the ITF and the other Global Unions partners, the ICEM urges you to release Mansour Osanloo at once and drop all charges against him. Also, an immediate end needs to be put to the unjustified pressure that the Sherkate Vahed workers are facing. All trade unionists that remain detained because of their participation in regular trade union actions need to be released as a matter of urgency. Finally, genuine discussions with the representatives of the workers need to be restarted so that a fair solution can be found to this crisis. 
 
I trust you will take these matters seriously and urgently act in accordance. 
 
Sincerely Yours, 
 
Fred Higgs 
General Secretary 
ICEM

ICEM letter in support of the Iran Sherkate Vahed workers

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