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<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39" alt=""/>
The International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF) is calling on the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA), as well as sourcing companies that use the Garib & Garib knitwear factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, to better compensate the families of 22 workers killed and 50 others injured in a factory fire on 25 February. 
 
The ITGLWF is demanding that the BGMEA and multinational sourcing companies join the Global Union Federation in setting up a relief scheme that fully meets the needs of families of the deceased, as well as those injured at Garib & Garib in Gazipur, some 30 kilometres outside of Dhaka. 
 
To date, the BGMEA has stepped forward with payment of 200,000 taka (€2,085) to each family, while owners of the Garib & Garib have given a mere pittance to families to cover funeral expenses – 2,085 taka (€150). 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1003.itschert.jpg" width="132" height="174" alt=""/>
Left, ITGLWF General Secretary, Patrick Itschert
Said ITGLWF General Secretary Patrick Itschert, “The establishment of a multi-stakeholder team to determine the needs of those affected, on the basis of field research into the demographics of the victims” is essential for fairness. “Involving the (BGMEA) in this exercise in particular is an important means of making them aware of the level of compensation necessary to assist families in such circumstances,” he added. 
 
The ITGLWF is offering to hold a round-table meeting in Dhaka with the employers’ association and the brand names to implement the compensation scheme. The union federation said that in 2005, following the collapse of the nine-story Spectrum garment factory that killed 64 and seriously injured 84 others in Savar, Bangladesh, ITGLWF and Spanish retailer Inditex established a compensation protocol that could serve as the model for victims and workers of Garib & Garib. 
 
To date, only H&M of Sweden and Teddy SpA (Terranova) of Italy have confirmed they source from Garib & Garib, but neither company has yet to announce its compensation to victims. 
 
In the evening of 25 February, an electric short-circuit on the second floor of the factory caused a fire, trapping workers because stairwells were blocked by goods and production materials. Many of the workers retreated up several flights of stairs, where they were consumed by rising black smoke and heat. Reportedly, security guards on duty did not know how to operate fire extinguishers and water hydrants. Of the 22 victims, 15 were women. 
 
Only seven months before, in August 2009, another fire at the Garib & Garib factory in Gazipur killed a firefighter and injured seven workers.

ITGLWF Demands Proper Pay Protocol in Aftermath of Deadly Bangladesh Apparel Fire

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Five members of the United Steelworkers (USW) were killed at a Tesoro Corp. oil refinery in Anacortes, US state of Washington, when an explosion occurred during a re-start of the refinery’s naphtha unit. Killed were three men at the scene, while two women died in the hours after the fiery explosion in a Seattle hospital. 
 
Two other workers remain in critical condition. 
 
The tragedy occurred in the early morning hours of 2 April. A Washington state labour investigator speculated that a fire and subsequent explosion occurred in a bank of boilers that heats fluids under high temperature and pressure in the production of naphtha, an extremely volatile hydrocarbon composite used as a feedstock in high-octane petrol. 
 
The three process operators killed at the scene were Matthew Bowen, 31, Darrin Hoines, 43, and Daniel Aldridge, 50. The women, who died from severe burns and other injuries in the Seattle hospital, 110 kilometres from Anacortes, were operators Kathryn Powell, 29, and Donna Van Dreumel, 36. All were members of USW Local 12-591. 
 
Severely injured were USW member Matt Gumbel, 34, and Lew Janz, 41, a supervisor who had been a long-time USW member. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0811GaryBeeversUSW.jpg" width="110" height="159"/>
Gary Beevers
USW Vice President Gary Beevers said it was vital that the cause of this blast is fully investigated so that “the rest of the oil industry (can) apply the lessons learned. There have been too many accidents and near-miss incidents in the oil refining industry. In honor of our brothers and sisters who were killed and seriously injured at the Tesoro refinery, we urge the industry to take steps to ensure an incident of this type never happens again.” 
 
USW District 12 Director Robert LaVenture said, “While we mourn now, we will seek justice.” 
 
US oil refineries are considered the least safe in the world due to age and poor safety processes. Last Friday’s Anacortes tragedy was the deadliest since the March 2005 explosion at BP/Amoco’s Texas City, Texas, refinery that killed 15 and injured 170. As a result of the BP explosion, the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and state inspection agencies began safety probes at all 150 US refineries. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/TexasCityExplosion[1].jpg" width="190" height="126"/>
BP explosion aftermath, 2005
From that, in April 2009, Tesoro’s Anacortes refinery was cited with 17 serious safety and health violations, defined as those with potential to cause death or serious injury. It fined the company US$85,700. Inspectors also found 150 instances of deficiencies and said Tesoro did not ensure safe work practices, and failed to update safety information when changes were made to equipment. 
 
Tesoro appealed the fine and through a settlement negotiation process, in November 2009 the number of serious violations was reduced to three and the fine reduced to US$12,250. 
 
The US Chemical Safety board, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry, and USW’s Emergency Response Team and Safety and Health Department are all investigating the deadly 2 April explosion. 
 
Tesoro, an independent, downstream refiner and retail marketer of petroleum products based in San Antonio, Texas, operates seven refineries in the US states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, North Dakota, and Washington. The Anacortes, Washington, refinery has a production capacity of 130,000 barrels per day, and produces gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel from crude oil brought in from Alaska.

Five Steelworkers Killed in US Oil Refinery Blast on 2 April

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Collective negotiations across all of Sweden’s work sectors were fractious over the past month, but none as much than between the Paperworkers Union, Svenska Pappers, and Skogsindustrierna, the employers’ Forest Industry Association (SFIF). Late on Thursday, 1 April, a three-member mediation panel used its option under Swedish industrial relations rules and set back by one week planned job actions that Pappers was to begin today. 
 
The two sides had been making progress in the hours up to and beyond the 31 March midnight expiration of a prior three-year labour agreement that covers 18,000 paperworkers at 62 pulp and paper mills of ten companies. 
 
Pappers announced on 22 March that it would impose a total overtime ban beginning at 18h00 on 5 April, as well as a blockade of temporary and agency workers onto worksites. The one-time option by the mediation panel means such industrial actions cannot begin until 12 April. The union and SFIF are expected to return to the bargaining table either late on 7 April or 8 April. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0810PaperRollArt.jpg" width="240" height="145"/>
In talks that lasted late into the evening on 1 April, the two sides were closing in on a 22-month contract before the panel called adjournment and postponed the industrial action. On wages, that agreement would look much like what was achieved in other Swedish industrial talks – 3.2%. 
 
What separates Pappers and SFIF is how the pay accord will affect the lowest-paid workers, meaning a supplement should be in order for those workers, and a reduction provision on the pension scheme. Pappers is insistent that the first part of the pay deal be made with a 2% increase on 1 April, with the remainder to take effect on 1 January 2011. An addendum also is under consideration regarding union consultation on temporary or labour agency work. 
 
If no agreement is reached this week, the overtime ban and blockade of non-regular workers will go ahead for 12 April, with industrial action to escalate to selective strikes after that. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Sweden.IFMETALL.png" width="250" height="80"/>
On 27 March, ICEM affiliate IF Metall reached agreement with Teknikföretagen, the Swedish Engineering Industries Association, covering 160,000 workers. That agreement is for 3.2% over 22 months. A centerpiece of the agreement is that employers must negotiate with IF Metall before employing temporary staff for longer than one month. The union pressed this issue because employers should not be using labour agencies while full-time workers are either on layoff or working shortened work weeks. 
 
Also in accord with employers is the union GS, which signed a 22-month contract covering 35,000 workers in the forestry, wood, and furniture industries. Another part of GS, the graphical workers’ section, has an agreement expiring later this year.

Job Actions Delayed as Swedish Paperworkers, Employers to Keep Talking

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On the basis of a March 2008 provision mutually agreed to between ICEM and French-based specialty chemicals company Rhodia in a Global Framework Agreement (GFA), a joint Global Safety Forum was created in order to bring higher health and safety standards into the company for its 15,000 worldwide employees. 
 
Having agreed to an addendum to clarify terms and conditions of the global forum, ICEM and Rhodia recently signed and officially established the body. 
 
It will consist of nine members, three appointed from Rhodia Group’s general management, two from the ICEM Secretariat, and one Rhodia employee each from the company’s four operational zones (Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America), to be selected by the ICEM. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/KemalOzkan.jpg" width="100" height="130"/>   <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Brian.Kohler.b.JPG" width="99" height="149"/>
Kemal Özkan, Brian Kohler
The ICEM representatives will be Kemal Özkan, Rubber and Chemicals Officer, and Brian Kohler, Health, Safety, and Sustainability Officer. Following consultation with ICEM affiliates in the four regions, the regional representatives include Maurice Tritsch from France, Scott Harrington from the US, Thiago dos Reis Martins from Brazil, and Jie Dong from China. 
 
The addendum defines the role of the Global Safety Forum as a monitor for “the safety situation within the Group.” The forum is to meet at least once yearly, with each annual meeting to be held at a Rhodia plant chosen by the nine-member committee. With a commitment to a continuous progress approach to health and safety, the forum shall “issue observations and recommendations for improvement.” 
 
Having realised a first-ever joint activity on health and safety at Rhodia’s subsidiary in Freiburg, Germany, on 19 June 2009, the Global Safety Forum will have its first official meeting in the second half of 2010. 
 
View this addendum to the ICEM-Rhodia GFA <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1004.Rhodia.Agreement.pdf" type="internal">here</a>.

Formal Safety Forum Adopted Inside Rhodia Global Agreement

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Peruvian mineworkers at the US-owned Doe Run mine operations at Cobriza have settled a strike dispute by accepting a deal that gives all workers at the copper mine a one-time productivity bonus of 3,500 soles (US$1,232). The bonus will be paid to workers in two installments; the first 1,500 soles will be paid on 9 April, with the remainder paid on 20 August. 
 
The work stoppage was started on 23 March by the ICEM-affiliated National Miners’ and Metalworkers’ Union (FNTMMSP), the country’s largest mining union federation. FNTMMSP General Secretary Luis Castillo has personally led the negotiations for the miners of Doe Run. Castillo argued that the collective agreement had not been fulfilled by management a year into the five-year agreement in 2008. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0910PeruFNTMMSPLuis%20Castillo.jpg" width="160" height="120"/>
FNTMMSP General Secretary, Luis Castillo Carlos
It took a strike by the 890 workers at Doe Run’s Cobriza copper mine to bring management to the bargaining table. Company officials immediately began tripartite negotiations with FNTMMSP and the Labour Ministry, following a two-day stoppage that initially started on 28 February. 
 
As repeatedly reported recently by ICEM, the Peruvian Ministry of Labour typically sides with the company and declares mineworkers’ strikes “inadmissible,” moving trade unions to respond with short, rolling strikes to avoid losing their jobs. 
 
Production at the Cobriza copper mine in the Huancavelica Province affects operations at Doe Run Perú’s polymetallic smelter in La Oroya, in Junín Province. The Cobriza mine produces around 30% of the copper concentrates processed by the smelter, which has been operating sporadically since creditors halted their support in March 2009. Doe Run Perú, a unit of the US-based Renco Group, has been hard hit by the recession. Cobriza was Peru's sixth largest copper mine last year, producing 18,519 metric tonnes. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Peru.png" width="250" height="116"/>
Elsewhere in Peru, 1,500 workers at the Marcona mine, owned by China's Shougang state steel company, went on strike on 29 March, seeking better wages and conditions. "The strike is total and of indefinite length," said Julio Ortiz of FNTMMSP. "The factory has already cut salaries and has proposed a ridiculously low offer after already having cut workers' pay by 8% across the board.” 
 
The mine, located in the city of Marcona, 350 kilometers south of Lima, has a history of poor industrial relations. ICEM sided with Shougang workers’ and backed their strikes last July and September, also in protest to low wages and poor labour conditions. Shougang Hierro Peru SAA is Peru's only iron producer. Iron production at Shougang, reached 4.4 million tons in 2009. 
 
A national strike in Peru’s mining sector involving 50,000 unionized workers at 18 mines is taking shape for 30 June 30. The FNTMMSP took that decision on 27 March during the union's annual meeting. 
 
The FNTMMSP is demanding that Peru's government implement two laws. A pension law, which was approved by Peru’s Congress on 27 October 2009, has yet to be implemented, and a second law, which increases profit-sharing at mining companies, also has not gone into effect.

Peru’s Doe Run Miners Reach Agreement, Ending Strike

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“Expanding borders from Brazil to other Mercosur countries” was the central decision taken at the Fifth Meeting of the Solvay Trade Union Network in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, from 29-31 March. 
 
During the first day of the network meetings, the Chemical Workers’ Union of Bahía Blanca of Argentina formally joined the multi-union network, which is now to be called the Solvay Mercosur Trade Union Network. 
 
Solvay is a Belgian-based chemicals company, and the network already had participation from workers at a number of Brazilian locations of the company. 
 
"The principles guiding the network are the same principles guiding our own union work,” said Oscar Strutenberg from the Chemical Workers’ Union of Bahía Blanca. “We are committed to be together, so we will officially work within the group to boost the network.” 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1004.solvay.network.png" width="235" height="197"/>
In fact, representatives from the Argentine union already had participated in two meetings of the network, but now membership is official, a move viewed very positively by the other unions present. 
 
“I believe this formal new entry shows the growth and maturity of our network,” stated Network Coordinator Juvenil Nunes da Costa from Sindicato dos Quimicos do ABC, a CUT-affiliated regional chemical workers’ union of São Paulo state. “It is an important step in our process, because unions organising workers at the same company in different countries enhances our global alliance.” 
 
With the arrival of the Argentine union, the Network is composed of Sindicato dos Quimicos do ABC, Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Indústria Química, Petroquímica (the Chemicals and Plastics Union of São Paulo), the Oil and Chemical Workers’ Union of Osasco, and the Paraná Chemical Workers’ Union. 
 
The next steps for the network will be to create a logo, exchange further information, and schedule common actions of the workers’ representatives, including a possible trip to ICEM headquarters in Geneva later this year to discuss issues related to effective social dialogue.

Solvay Brazil Union Network Expands to Include Other Mercosur Countries

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The Belgian-Flemish ICEM affiliate, LBC-NVK, held its Congress from 24-26 March 2010 in Mol, Limburg Province, bringing together 600 trade unionists for three days of workshops, discussions, and decision-making. 
 
Ferre Wyckmans, General Secretary of the LBC-NVK, was re-elected, and he is assisted by incumbent Deputy General Secretary, Marijke Persoone. The union’s President remains Robert Schuermans. 
 
Working on a number of themes, including “decent work,” “how to take action,” a “fair economy,” and an “active government,” delegates adopted, on the final Congress day, a wide range of principles dedicated to future work. Among them included priorities on decent salaries (as well as excessive bonuses), good fiscal regulations, the need for high-quality training and education, “how to deal with flexibility,” and the need for a “green economy.” 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1004.lbc.nvk.congress.2.jpg" width="195" height="192" alt=""/>
LBC-NVK Gen. Sec. Ferre Wyckmanns
On the flexibility issue, LBC-NVK calls for action against the omnipresent “increasing flexibility demands.” The union, while also calling for temporary and agency labour contracts to be made permanent and direct with a primary employer after six months, seeks to ensure that the already existing Belgian laws on agency and temporary work are better applied, monitored, and sanctioned. Open-ended and direct permanent contracts are – and need to remain – the benchmark. 
 
At the international level, the union stated it seeks to increase involvement in global and European activities, including through a more active participation in the Global Union Federations. Specifically highlighted was the need to make the international trade union movement stronger as a countervailing power to match that of multinational enterprises. Framework agreements with multinationals are seen as one of the possible ways forward in this respect. 
 
The LBC-NVK (Landelijke Bedienden Centrale - Nationaal Verbond voor Kaderpersoneel) is a trade union for white collar, professional, and managerial employees in Flanders, Belgium, that is affiliated to the Belgian national labour centre ACV-CSC. It had 315,000 members at the end of 2009, an increase of 6,000 members since 2008. Of all members, 188,000 are women and 127,000 are men.

Belgian-Flemish Affiliate LBC-NVK Conducts Congress in Limburg

As part of its strategy to improve working and living conditions for metalworkers in Europe, the European Metalworkers’ 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 "for more secure employment - against precarious work." 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Bart%20Samyr.EMF.jpg" width="135" height="180"/>
EMF Deputy General Secretary Bart Samyn
“The last years have seen an incredible increase of precarious work and the number of insecure jobs has exploded in all European countries,” said EMF Deputy General Secretary Bart Samyn. “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.” 
 
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 

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Next month, the ICEM and the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) will conduct a pivotal forum for industrial and manufacturing unions on sustainable development. On 18-19 June 2010, the two Global Union Federations – along with their Canadian affiliates – will host a conference titled “The Triple Crisis of Sustainability” in Toronto, Ontario, to precede the G8 and G20 summit meetings near there. 
 
There is little question that the economic collapse, environmental degradation, and the resulting negative social impacts have badly affected workers, their families, and their communities. Contributing to the magnitude of these crises is the absence of effective global regulations and lagging financial governance of markets. 
 
Toronto’s World Conference on Sustainability will produce a declaration that will be forwarded to the G8 and G20 summits. It will demand that global economic and political leaders take decisive action to reverse the downward social spiral felt by most of the world’s people, and begin implementing real, worker-friendly solutions on climate change and a sustainable economic future. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEM100.jpg" width="100" height="86"/>    <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/IMF100.jpg" width="90" height="87"/>
The Conference will include panel discussions, as well as keynote speeches from notable experts on the economic crisis, sustainability, and global governance. In addition, there will be ample opportunities for trade union leaders of ICEM and IMF affiliates, as well as others to tell their own stories of how workers have responded to a crisis not of their own making. 
 
The Conference will be held in the Dominion Ballroom of the Sheraton Centre Hotel, Toronto, 123 Queen Street West. The ICEM has reserved a block of rooms. The registration form for the Conference and hotel rooms can be found <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/EN%20sust.dev%20Attendance%20form.pdf" type="internal">here</a>, and it should be returned forthwith to <a href="mailto:Fanja.rasolomanana@icem.org">Fanja.rasolomanana@icem.org</a> in order to assure prompt booking. 
 
Workers have a central role to play in building a future that lifts people out of poverty, while protecting the environment. The ICEM and IMF believe that the systematic looting of the global economy by unscrupulous speculators must be stopped. The Jobs Pact, developed by the ILO, is one proposal for exiting a financial crisis brought about by greed and lack of financial oversight. 
 
Regarding the environment, industrial unions did deliver a message in Copenhagen that a fair, ambitious, and legally binding agreement on global greenhouse gas emissions is necessary, but that the legitimate concerns of workers for decent work, social justice, and long-term, sustainable jobs must be forefront. It cannot be jobs or the environment, it must be both, or it will ultimately be neither. 
 
The crises of failing economies, environmental inaction, and social disorder are interconnected. It will be the goal of the ICEM/IMF conference to ensure that the voices of workers are heard on these matters at the highest level. Jobs, workers’ rights, social protections, quality public services, and sustainability are at the heart of this agenda.

Global Trade Union Sustainability Conference in Toronto Fast Approaching

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/>
A 15-week lockout by Rio Tinto on 760 members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 30 in Boron, California, ended over the weekend, following a 75% approval of a new collective agreement by union members who voted Saturday, 15 May. 
 
The six-year labour accord at a borax mine and processing operation in California’s Mojave desert comes minus nearly all of the job-destroying contract proposals that Rio Tinto Minerals sought over nine months, and stands as testament to the courage and resolution of ILWU Local 30 members. 
 
It came after three straight days of non-stop bargaining last week, negotiations in which ILWU President Bob McEllrath hammered home the fact that loyal and dedicated workers did not deserve the harsh contract-language takeaways that the company sought. Rio Tinto listened. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1004.rio.tinto.agm.sign.jpg" width="168" height="256"/>
“Bob brought something else, something completely different to the table,” said a Local 30 Bargaining Committee member. “His resolve to get this dispute ended, get these unfair issues wiped clean made all the difference.” 
 
Last week’s negotiations took place at the offices of the US Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) in Glendale, California. 
 
Boron workers will begin reporting on 18 May for four days of US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) refresher training in Palmdale, California, training for which they will receive 40 hours pay from the company. Rio Tinto will remove the company that provided replacement workers this coming weekend, and Local 30 members will be back to work on 24 May. 
 
The six-year agreement, which takes effect 15 May, provides for a 2.5 percent wage increase each year. In addition, workers receive a US$5,000 ratification bonus.  
 
But more importantly, Local 30 and the ILWU leadership resisted Rio Tinto proposals to restrict job bidding and job transfers based on seniority; protected full-time employment against creation of part-time and temporary work; gained an agreement that prohibits sub-contracting unless union members cannot fulfill company assignments; and beat back a company proposal to eliminate one day of holiday leave each year. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1004.rio.tinto.london.3.jpg" width="205" height="154"/>
The union did concede a few issues. It granted the company some flexibility regarding overtime, in that workers must give one week’s advance posting if they will be available to work overtime; sick leave was reduced from 14 to ten days per year, but workers are allowed to maintain up to 200 hours of banked sick leave pay atop the ten days; and new hires will fall into a different pension-savings scheme. 
 
There was pressure on Rio Tinto Minerals to end the lockout, since orders for sodium borates were picking up and replacement workers provided by the private-security company were unable to handle processing work. The mineral is used in detergents, glass, building materials, and other uses such as an ingredient in chemicals. 
 
The ICEM congratulates ILWU President Bob McEllrath, Secretary-Treasurer Willie Adams, Vice President Ray Familathe, and the entire membership of Local 30 for standing together, refusing to settle for less, and sending a signal to all that fiercely resisting a multinational company’s family-wrecking agenda can succeed. 
 
The ICEM also commends the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, for providing continual aid and assistance to Local 30 members and their families.

ILWU Beats Back Concessions in Rio Tinto US Collective Agreement

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