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Golden Misabiko, President of the Association Africaine de d&eacute;fense des Droits de l'Homme in Katanga province (ASADHO/Katanga), has been released from&nbsp;custody in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), following his arrest last month. His organization had recently published a report alleging state complicity in illegal uranium mining in the country. 
 
State intelligence services arrested Misabiko on 24 July in the provincial capital of Lubumbashi, in the south east of the country. He was charged with &ldquo;threatening state security&rdquo; and &ldquo;defamation.&rdquo; Bail was initially rejected, following suspicions that the judiciary bowed to political pressure to keep him in custody. Subsequently, he has been released.&nbsp; 

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Golden Misabiko
The charges against Misabiko relate to the report published by his human rights organization on 12 July. The report alleges that the Shinkolobwe uranium mine, which was closed in January 2004 on national and public security grounds, had been the site of illegal mining in which the government was complicit. The mine should have been secured by the government, but instead mining was continued by parties from the military and from civil society. 
 
The report also criticised the national government for its role in the 26 March agreement with French nuclear energy company AREVA. The agreement grants the company the right to prospect and mine for uranium in the resource-rich country, and the agreement was criticized for a lack of transparency. 
 
Peaceful protests against Golden Misabiko&rsquo;s detention have been carried out in Katanga. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s 12 mining affiliates in the DRC repeatedly come up against police force and arrests during labour disputes.

Leading DRC Human Rights Defender Arrested

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A dispute between South Africa pulp and paper manufacturer Sappi and affiliate Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) at the company&rsquo;s Enstra mill there was resolved early in August. 
 
The dispute, which had garnered ICEM attention, was over the company&rsquo;s intent to severely discipline and even discharge 19 shop stewards and 24 other workers for engaging in safety strikes late in April and early May. The issue was covered by the ICEM and an earlier report can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3285-ICEM-">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
In a negotiated resolve to the issue, Sappi and CEPPWAWU arrived at a four-page memorandum that was signed on 5 August. There were no dismissals, and the union admitted that its shop-floor leaders had engaged in unprotected strikes. Instead, affected shop stewards and others were given relatively short, unpaid suspensions. And &ldquo;final written warning&rdquo; letters will stay in effect for only one year. 

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The ICEM congratulates both parties for using dialogue to resolve what had been a deeply contentious issue. We believe that the agreement is a sign that healing inside the Enstra pulp and paper might begin, as well as a new era in labour-management relations. As part of the memorandum, CEPPWAWU must write a letter to all Enstra workers condemning the illegal strikes. Sappi waives its claims on asset damages stemming from the unprotected industrial actions. 
 
Twenty-three workers received one-week suspensions and returned to work on 18 August 18. Fourteen shop stewards received a 2-week suspension and will return to their jobs this week. Five other shop stewards, plus one other worker, are suspended for one month and will return on 11 September. 
 
Many ICEM affiliates, health and safety activists worldwide, and scores of others issued protests at Sappi and gave the dispute a global voice over health and safety concerns. These protests, CEPPWAWU feels, played the major role in lessening the penalties for what were a series of three illegal strikes. The South African affiliate, as well as the ICEM, conveys sincere gratitude to those who voiced their concerns from every corner of the world.

CEPPWAWU, Sappi in South Africa Resolve Shop-Steward Disciplinary Measures

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Last week, 33,000 electric power workers in South Africa came to terms with state-owned electric provider Eskom, thus averting a string of strikes and industrial actions. ICEM affiliates National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and National Union of Metalworkers (NUMSA) are expected to sign a new labour accord today. 
 
On 19 August, Eskom, which supplies 90% of South Africa&rsquo;s power needs, presented the two unions and a third one with a 10.5% first-year wage increase. That is 2.5% higher than the utility was prepared to pay earlier in August when the dispute went before the country&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCCM). 
 
The NUM represents 16,000 workers at Eskom, while NUMSA represents 5,000. Eskom employs about 29,000 workers in South Africa. 
<img src="" width="100" height="102" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="" width="100" height="103" alt="" />
A key item in talks up to and through last week&rsquo;s wage offer was over housing allowances. NUM and NUMSA are seeking a 5,000 rand (US$621) per worker housing subsidy. Resolve of this issue will continue in tripartite talks with the CCCM until 1 December 2009, when a process to finalise and implement the housing allowance will be put in place, said NUM chief negotiator Paris Mashego. 
 
Mashego said the NUM polled its members on the wage offer and housing deferral late last week, and 80% consented to take the offer. 
 
Meanwhile, a NUM strike against Impala Platinum that was set to start today was averted when the world&rsquo;s second largest platinum miner returned to the bargaining table Saturday and raised its offer. The company offered a 10% increase. The NUM, which represents 18,000 ImPlats workers, cancelled the strike and is currently weighing the offer.

South Africa’s Mineworkers, Metalworkers Agree to Wage Terms with Eskom

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The strike by Bridgestone workers at an aircraft tyre retreading plant in Frameries, Belgium, has ended after nine weeks of continuous striking. 
 
After the failure of conciliatory negotiations at the national level, a draft agreement at the local level was finally agreed. Workers ratified the agreement by 57% to 42% on 7 August. 
 
The agreement accepts the closure of the plant, but with a number of conditions. Those conditions include payment of compensation to workers in lieu of plant-closing notice, plus compensation based on seniority. Also, placement of each worker into another job in a different company near the worker&rsquo;s home also was a condition. 

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A bonus pay-out with an advance of &euro;500 was agreed to, as well, to compensate for the loss of job security. The bonus also covers early retirement options. The eight temporary workers were given permanent contracts, this qualifying them for the benefits, and Bridgestone has lifted all sanctions or punishment related to the strike. 
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The strike by all 140 workers, led by ICEM Belgian affiliate FGTB Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale, started on 11 June over eight job cuts. 
 
The Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale-FGTB is proud of its victory, standing up to a huge multinational, with courageous rubber workers earning the respect of many. The achievements were not the goals that the union had set out for, but they are notable. 
 
The FGTB issued a message of thanks to all those who expressed their solidarity during the struggle.

Bridgestone Strike at Belgian Airplane Tyre Factory Ends

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ICEM affiliate, Union Sindical Obrera de la Industria del Petroleo (USO), has been negotiating a new collective agreement with state-owned Ecopetrol. The period of negotiation was extended by 20 days and ended on Saturday, 22 August. The negotiators worked continuously for the final 24 hours of the 40 day talks. Agreement was reached on a new collective agreement for the period 2009-2014, and will be backdated from 1 July 2009. The agreement will apply to all Ecopetrol employees, as well as those employed by contractors working on Ecopetrol projects. 
 
Major demands of the union were health care for the families of temporary workers, the reinstatement of workers who had lost their jobs due to trade union activities, opposition to US military bases in the country, an increased wage scale, the recognition of a conventional wage for all activities of industry, employment regulations in Ecopetrol, and issues of trade union and human rights. 

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The agreement satisfies USO&rsquo;s demands on health, education, and housing, as well as on occupational health. Families of temporary workers will receive health care from the company, on the condition that they have been employed for a minimum period of six months. 
 
Considerable wage gains were achieved, with base salaries rising by between 6.87% and 18.74%, depending on the worker&rsquo;s category. All salaries will then rise incrementally, by around 1% per year, for the remaining five years of the agreement. 
 
Another proposed article in the collective agreement sought support from the company for sport and recreation of workers and their families. Funding should be provided by management towards clubs and societies, with 80% of membership fees subsidized by Ecopetrol. 

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The union was eager to seek a collective agreement to solve the conflict, but the message from the USO leadership was clear: &ldquo;If there is no agreement, there will be no production,&rdquo; said Moises Baron Cardenas, President of USO Barrancabermeja. 
 
As reported by the ICEM in InBrief 135, the early days of the negotiation process were marred by violence and intimidation. On Thursday, 17 July, riot police attacked workers at the Barrancabermeja refinery with tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun bombs, seriously injuring three workers. Police arrested two workers. The attack occurred two days after the start of the negotiations; USO suspended the meeting to focus on treating the injured and securing the release of detainees. USO President Germ&aacute;n Osman condemned the attack.

Colombian Oil Workers Union, USO, Reach New Agreement with Ecopetrol

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After five days of talks intended to probe solutions to Canada&rsquo;s forest products crisis, negotiations ended 6 March between ICEM affiliate Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) and AbitibiBowater, the major paper producer in the Canadian East. 
 
&ldquo;CEP members came to these negotiations one year early to achieve more stability for the Canadian pulp and paper industry and to stop the bleeding of thousands of jobs,&rdquo; stated CEP President Dave Coles. &ldquo;However, instead of working with the union and their employees, the negotiations were ended by the company because CEP would not agree to major concessions concerning the pension plan and other issues.&rdquo;
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CEP President Dave Coles&nbsp; 
 

In February, delegates from the union&rsquo;s pulp and paper sector voted to enter talks early for 5,500 AbitibiBowater workers at some 13 eastern Canadian pulp and paper mills. The talks, a full 13 months before contracts for 20,000 paperworkers in eastern Canada were set to expire, were aimed at getting contract extensions and initiating productivity and efficiency practices inside Canadian mills. 
 
&ldquo;We are very disappointed in this outcome,&rdquo; added Coles. But &ldquo;we must send a clear and strong message to the industry that our position will not change one year from now when our contracts expire.&rdquo; 
 
In the Canadian West, the CEP is currently in talks with paper companies. Contracts there expire on 1 April 2008.

Early Talks Fail with AbitibiBowater in Eastern Canadian Pulp, Paper Industry

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ICEM affiliate Toimihenkil&ouml;unioni TU has taken the global forestry company Stora Enso to a Court of Law in Finland over a breach of the country&rsquo;s statutes. The salaried workers&rsquo; union of Finland is holding the Nordic-based company responsible for violating the Act of Cooperation Within Untertakings, a 1978 statute and part of the country&rsquo;s labour code. 
 
That is according to TU News, the union&rsquo;s newsletter. The suit alleges that Stora Enso began unilaterally cutting back operations at its Summa paper mill in southeast Finland before statutory consultations with stakeholders had begun. This related to Stora&rsquo;s harsh restructuring announcement in October 2007, in which the company said it would close mills in Finland and Sweden, and cut jobs elsewhere in Europe as well. 
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Toimihenkil&ouml;unioni notes that the mandatory consultation process began in early November 2007, and ran until January 2008. Yet, Stora&rsquo;s marketing team was told in October not to book any further orders from the newsprint and book papers mill, and the company cancelled all raw material orders then as well. The newsletter states that no 2008 budget for the mill was ever in planning.
Union President Antti Rinne was astonished that the Finnish government, a sizeable stockholder of Stora Enso, was not informed of the company&rsquo;s abrupt curtailments. The alleged illegal actions by Stora surfaced when Finnish Defense Minister Jyri H&auml;k&auml;mies, the statutory head of all enterprise ownership, admitted at a union forum in Helsinki on 29 January that the government had not been given advance notice. 
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A day later, Stora shut one paper machine at the 450-worker Summa mill, and then the next day &ndash; 31 January &ndash; the company switched off the mill&rsquo;s other paper machine, effectively closing the operation. 
 
&ldquo;During negotiations, it was no longer a question of a plan to close the mill,&rdquo; said the newsletter, but it became evident in talks that &ldquo;the decision itself&rdquo; had been &ldquo;implemented simultaneously with the negotiations.&rdquo; Finland&rsquo;s Act on Cooperation Within Undertakings is intended to improve work conditions and to further cooperation between employers and staff. 
 
Under Finnish law, the suit brought by Toimihenkil&ouml;unioni on behalf of its members, if successful, could mean pay-outs of up to &euro;30,000 for each worker who was sacked.

Salaried Trade Union, Toimihenkilöunioni, Places Stora in the Dock in Finnish Court

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Two days ago, on Saturday, 8 March, the world celebrated International Women&rsquo;s Day (IWD). The day was first officially recognised as a day to honour the achievements of women at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1911, but it actually had its origin in a women&rsquo;s march in New York City three years earlier. 
 
Then, in 1908, 15,000 women marched through the streets of New York demanding shorter hours, better pay, and voting rights in the US. The first national women&rsquo;s day was declared in the US on 28 February 1909. It wasn&rsquo;t until 1977 that the UN established 8 March as IWD.
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This year, events, reports, and surveys worldwide drew attention to accomplishments by women in both work and in life, as well as highlighting the necessity to continue the fight for gender equality. Perhaps nowhere is 8 March celebrated like it is in Russia, where, in 1917, it was declared a national holiday. 
 
It was in that year that Russian women gained the right to vote. Today, 8 March is a day of tribute to all women of Russia, with flowers presented to them and road police commonly ignoring minor traffic violations committed by women. Two days ago, women of Nizhny Novgorod in the Volga region played chess on a giant carpet in the city square, using men as the chess pieces. Women commanded their every move, as the men were dressed in masks and gowns. 
 
In Latvia, a poll shows that 53% of all citizens consider IWD an important holiday and they celebrate it, despite the government downgraded the day after separation from the former USSR in 1991. In Georgia, women who are beyond the ages of 90 and 100, received special gifts from their government this year.
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But in many countries, actions took a more serious note over the weekend. In Iraq on Saturday, hundreds of women gathered or a rally in front of the Babylon Hotel in Baghdad&rsquo;s central Karada neighbourhood to call for an end to violence toward women in the war-torn country. 
 
The Iraqi call also was for women to be granted the freedom to choose their husbands themselves, as well as their careers. Following the rally, a conference on women&rsquo;s rights was held in a hotel. One of the speakers was the Iraqi Minister for Women&rsquo;s Rights, Nariman Mahmoud Othman, who earlier had led a delegation of women to the offices of Mahmoud Mashhadani, head of Parliament, with a list of women&rsquo;s rights issues. 
 
Also in Iraq, an NGO report, issued two days before IWD, showed that 64% of Iraqi women surveyed say that violence against them had increased since the 2003 invasion by occupation military forces.
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Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas used IWD to give a speech at his Ramallah headquarters, calling for peace between the impoverished nation and Israel. &ldquo;Despite all the Israeli attacks, we call for peace and we are keen on peace built through international legitimacy,&rdquo; said Abbas, in calling for renewed peace talks with Israel. 
 
In the Philippines, over 1,000 women on 8 March marched to the presidential palace of Gloria Arroyo. The march was led by feminist groups, who called on Arroyo to resign over allegations that her husband and a political ally sought financial kickbacks from a Chinese company in a national internet broadband deal. 
 
Arroyo used the day prior to IWD to announce two programmes aimed at giving Filipino women technical training and to assist them in entrepreneur endeavours.
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Taiwan Vice President Annette Lu dedicated the opening of the Taiwan National Women&rsquo;s Hall in Taipei on Saturday. It will serve as a venue for women&rsquo;s groups to hold exhibitions, meetings, and to host international women&rsquo;s delegations. &ldquo;Usually people think history is the story of men, hence the word &lsquo;history&rsquo;,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But in the future, there should also be the story of &lsquo;herstory,&rsquo; and when the two words are combined, they become &lsquo;human story&rsquo;,&rdquo; she remarked. 
 
In Australia, IWD was marked by a celebratory rally in Sydney&rsquo;s Hyde Park in honour of a new domestic violence law that took effect in the state of New South Wales (NSW). The law introduces a specific change regarding domestic violence that allows the state to name and shame offenders. 
 
NSW now places a &ldquo;black mark&rdquo; next to the names of repeat offenders, so that such people are highlighted before the justice system. Previously, domestic violence offenders were tagged only with general assault charges. Meanwhile, the Kevin Rudd government has begun the process toward making Australia a partner to the optional protocol of the UN&rsquo;s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
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In Nepal, women&rsquo;s and human rights groups activists staged protests calling for an end to the statutory 35-day limitation in the Himalayan country for filing rape charges. Jagaran Nepal, an NGO working for women&rsquo;s rights, peace, and governance, also conducted events, as did the organisation Walking for Working Women, which held a march in Kathmandu that culminated in music and performance at Three Kings Monument in the city. 
 
In Pakistan, Working Women Organisation (WWO) organised a seminar on Saturday at the Lahore Press Club. Human rights activists presented their thoughts regarding women&rsquo;s role in building democracy and justice. &ldquo;Even though the situation is extremely gloomy&rdquo; in Pakistan, said a WWO letter, &ldquo;one thing which keeps our hopes alive is that workers, women&rsquo;s organisations, trade unions, lawyers, and media never stop to raise their voices against government suppression.&rdquo; 
 
Also in Pakistan, social service organisations, NGOs, and some political parties paid tribute to the contributions of women in the fields of politics, science, education, the medical profession, and arts and literature. The Pakistan People&rsquo;s Party directed all of its branch offices across the country to hold ceremonies in honour of its slain chairperson, Benazir Bhutto. 
 
In Ireland on 7-8 March, the Irish Council of Trade Unions held a Women&rsquo;s Conference in Tralee that focused on gender pay and the pension gap, support for working families, childcare, equality, and women in leadership. Some 180 delegates attended.
<img height="74" src="" width="59" alt="" />
A motion from the trade union SIPTU to the conference centered on pay inequality. The union stated that traditional ways of measuring the pay gap between men and women does not fully reflect the real disparities. &ldquo;Issues such as pensions and paid leave must be factored in,&rdquo; read SIPTU&rsquo;s motion. 
 
The union called for research to be commissioned in Ireland in order to provide more accurate and holistic statistics for comparing income throughout the life cycle. SIPTU also calls on trade unions to place the pensions disparity between men and women forefront in future collective negotiations. 
 
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) used IWD to release a survey on women&rsquo;s presence in leadership positions inside trade unions. The ETUC survey, the first of what will become an annual poll of member organisations on gender issues, reveals a paradox between women in trade union leadership positions and the fact that women&rsquo;s job growth is sharply curbing the decline in union membership. 
 
Eighteen European national labour centres have reported rises in female union membership, ranging from 0.2% to 2.5% over just the past year. This compares with a general drop in union membership for men. &ldquo;There is significant room for improvement and it is time to implement concrete measures&rdquo; for more women leadership roles in trade unions, states the ETUC.
<img height="82" src="" width="220" alt="" />
Meanwhile, the ITUC last week issued a report on the occasion of IWD, entitled The Global Gender Pay Gap. Using statistics from 63 countries, the report puts the worldwide gender pay gap on average at 16% less for women than for men. 
 
The report does show that collective bargaining by trade unions in some countries swerves to narrow the gap in salaries. But the report cautions that the actual pay gap may be higher than 16% when considering the hundreds of millions of informal workers toiling in low-wage jobs today. 
 
Another report last week was issued by the ILO. Called Global Employment Trends 2008, the report says creation of greater gender equality is dependent on access to decent work and productive employment. The report states that even though women are entering the workforce in greater number, the jobs women get are generally low-paid and vulnerable, leaving them with few social protections or basic rights. 
 
The ILO noted that the most successful region in terms of economic growth over the past 10 years &ndash; East Asia &ndash; is also the region with the highest employment-to-population ratio for women at 65.2%. East Asia is characterized as a region with low jobless rates for both men and women, and relatively small gender gaps in pay and status. 
 
IWD is observed officially as a national holiday by 14 nations. They include: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Global Events Mark International Women’s Day, 8 March

Brussels, 7 March 2008 
 
Dear Colleagues, 
 
Following a decision taken by our Congress, last November 2007, the ICEM will move its headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland. 
 
As from 1st April the new address for ICEM will be: 
54bis route des Acacias 
1227 Geneva, Switzerland 
<img height="43" alt="" src="" width="50" />
The transfer of the headquarters will implement some technical issues with the transfer of the IT server to Geneva. Indeed ICEM will be &lsquo;cut&rsquo; from any internet, e-mail or network communication from 21 March 2008 until most probably 6 April 2008 included. 
 
We apologies for the inconvenience the situation could cause you and we thank you very much in advance for your understanding. 
In case of emergency situation or issues, you can contact us by fax on +32-2/648-43-16 and we will do our best to help you. 
 
Looking forward to welcoming you in Geneva. 
 
In solidarity, 
 
Manfred Warda 
General Secretary

ICEM is moving to Geneva

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Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc. has become an anti-social force blocking workplace solutions to the downstream oil section of Nigeria. And the company&rsquo;s actions last week leave no doubt as to its intentions &ndash; it seeks to operate its technical and white-collar work units in downstream production with non-union staff. 
 
The company, 100% owned by US-based ExxonMobil, refused to attend a mandated mediation meeting called by the Nigerian Labour Ministry, on 3 March 2008, to resolve differences on work practices and severance procedures with white-collar oil workers&rsquo; trade union, PENGASSAN.
<img height="50" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Through much of 2007 and into 2008, ICEM-affiliated PENGASSAN and Mobil Oil &ndash; as they did similarly with other oil refiners &ndash; engaged in negotiations over severance packages. Some intermediate agreements had occurred, but implementing practical application of job separation was elusive. 
 
That process spilled into the Labour Ministry. Senior Nigerian managers of three downstream firms operating in Nigeria did attend the meeting with Nigeria&rsquo;s Labour and Industrial Relations Director a week ago. But Mobil Oil Nigeria failed to show up. 
 
In the days following that 3 March meeting, the American company displayed its prejudice: it unilaterally sacked PENGASSAN branch leaders, including the zonal Financial Secretary and the union&rsquo;s National Treasurer. It now has severed from employment all PENGASSAN bargaining committee members who represent workers in collective negotiations. 
 
It also has fired shop stewards and others identified with the union, rising to over 100 the number of full-time workers sacked. In last year&rsquo;s talks, PENGASSAN and Mobil Oil Nigeria had agreed to staff cuts of just over 40, mostly to accommodate a new data processing system. The company did employ about 400 white-collar staff permanently, but that number has now decreased, with contract and agency workers now taking many of those jobs.
<img height="92" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&nbsp;PENGASSAN Gen. Sec. Bayo Olowoshile 

&ldquo;Mobil Oil Nigeria has betrayed our trust,&rdquo; stated PENGASSAN General Secretary Bayo Olowoshile. &ldquo;These recent actions are pre-meditated attempts to victimise and harass union officers, frustrate legal justice, and they amount to a serious breach of our existing labour agreement, national industrial law, and global labour standards.&rdquo; 
 
Olowoshile said Mobil has violated terms of the 2007-2008 labour agreement; breached Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, which grants rights to membership in trade unions; ignored Section 9 of the Nigerian Labour Code; and disregarded ILO Convention 135, the Worker&rsquo;s Representatives Convention. 
 
With the company failing to turn up for 3 March mediation session, the Labour Ministry is now expected to side with PENGASSAN in a National Industrial Court matter over the company&rsquo;s unilateral actions. The three downstream companies that did engage in last week&rsquo;s mediation session included Chevron, African Petroleum Plc., and Oando Plc. The labour relations of Shell Nigeria&rsquo;s downstream operations are not affected in these talks. 
 
The ICEM steadfastly stands behind PENGASSAN and its illegally sacked leaders at Mobil Oil Nigeria, and will work toward reinstatement. The Global Union Federation notes that the company, in 2004, replaced all its permanent blue-collar workers in the downstream sector with agency workers. Those full-time staff had been represented by ICEM affiliate NUPENG.

ExxonMobil Viciously Victimises Union Staff at Nigerian Downstream Operations

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