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Less than a month after the US-based Ross International company agreed to joint talks with ICEM Colombian affiliate Sintravidricol at three factories, the company reversed course and said it would not recognise the union at two of those plants, or at two others in Colombia. The company manufactures metal moulding for the glass industry, and is a specific supplier to glassmaker Peldar, the Owens-Illinois subsidiary in South America. 
 
This labour relations shift is another attempt by owner Larry Ross to avert unionisation by both direct workers and contract workers at four of five of his Colombian factories. Sintravidricol has a collective agreement at Moldes Medellin, Ross&rsquo;s plant in Sabaneta, and it was in late October that the company agreed to hold joint, three-plant talks with Sintravidricol at Moldes Medellin, as well as at two other Ross businesses: Andes Tooling and Andes Cast Metals. 
<img height="248" alt="" src="" width="330" />
For over a year, the ICEM and its US affiliate, the United Steelworkers (USW), have campaigned, together with Sintravidricol, to pressure Ross, which established four other Colombian factories staffed with contract workers to weaken the union at Moldes Medellin. 
 
But in spite of the October guarantee by the company, Ross is not willing to recognise Sintravidricol at the other four plants. Colombian management recently informed the union that Larry Ross is not willing to sign any agreement that recognises trade union rights for workers in the other plants. 
 
Sintravidricol began a strike at the three factories on 27 November. In a letter to the company, the ICEM again reiterated its demand to Ross International that Sintravidricol workers are engaged in a basic &ldquo;struggle for trade union freedom.&rdquo; 
 
Among items Sintravidricol was hoping to resolve at the joint bargaining table are redress to low salaries, and a check on the widespread use of contract and agency labour. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
In the US as well, the USW has again picked up the campaign against the privately-held, Pennsylvania-based company. The union has nominated Larry Ross as &ldquo;Grinch of the Year&rdquo; within the US-based labour and community organisation, &ldquo;Jobs with Justice.&rdquo; The union has submitted Ross&rsquo;s name as an example of a company &ldquo;engaging in a global race to the bottom, in search of low wages and the ability to violate workers' rights.&rdquo; 
 
The USW is allied with &ldquo;Jobs with Justice,&rdquo; an activist grouping that holds an annual election to get the grinch which has done most to harm working families. To cast your vote for Larry Ross, please go here: <a href="http://www.jwj.org/grinchnominate.html">http://www.jwj.org/grinchnominate.html</a>.

US Ross Company Breaks Colombian Pledge, Glass Workers Strike

Mr. Seung Hwa Suh 
CEO Hankook Tire Co., Ltd. 
647-15 Yoksam-dong, Kangnam-gu 
Seoul, 135-723 
South Korea 
 
By Fax: +82-2-2222-1100 
 
 
Dear Mr. Suh, 
 
The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which represents 20 million workers from 118 countries, held its 4th World Congress in Bangkok last week, from 22 to 24 November. Present at the meeting were over 800 trade unionists, from 176 national trade unions in 75 countries, many of which are operating in the chemical and rubber sectors within their countries. 
 
After having heard about the ongoing dispute between the management of your company in Hungary and the local Hankook workers in Dunaujvaros, represented by ICEM Affiliate VDSZ (Federation of Trade Unions of the Chemical, Energy and General Workers in Hungary), the ICEM World Congress unanimously adopted a solidarity statement in response to the ongoing violation of workers&rsquo; rights by Hankook Tire Hungary Ltd. 
 
The statement reads: &ldquo;We protest, on behalf of 20 million workers, against this employer&rsquo;s behaviour, as it has been shown by Hankook Tire in South Korea and Hungary. It is unacceptable that the employer does not acknowledge an organisation set up by the workers voluntarily and rejects every request for bargaining. 
 
It is furthermore unacceptable that a multinational company keeps hurting the laws of countries and does not accept the rules relating to workers&rsquo; rights. 
 
ICEM cannot accept this behaviour and insists on the start of negotiations. Today, social partners all over the world promote bargaining, Hankook should not be an exception. Workers - who increase the value of the company through their work - want to bargain with the management of the company on the working conditions and the collective agreement. 
 
The behaviour by the owners and the leaders of the company against the workers is not acceptable. We support all the workers whose rights have been violated by Hankook Tire.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM, who agrees with VDSZ that refusing negotiations from your side is against the content of the Labor Code, therefore strongly insists for your company to enter into meaningful negotiations with the Hungarian Hankook workers, represented by VDSZ. 
 
Pending a fair and swift solution to the problem, we will use our offices to make sure that this trade union violation is known to all, and act, together with our affiliates, towards an end of this violation of workers&rsquo; rights. 
 
 
Manfred Warda 
ICEM General Secretary 
 
 
Cc: VDSZ, Hungary 
Mr. Lee Eung Young, 2459 R&aacute;calm&aacute;s, Hankook t&eacute;r 1., Hungary 
FKCU - Federation of Korean Chemical Workers' Union 
KCTF - Korea Chemical &amp; Textile Workers' Federation

ICEM letter to Hankook Tyre Ltd.

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Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. of South Korea received sizeable development and training subsidies in 2006 from the Hungarian government when it built an auto and light truck tyre plant in Dunaujv&aacute;ros, south of Budapest. A year later and several months following the start of production, the pay-back has been broken labour laws and blatant discrimination of trade unionists. 
 
The world&rsquo;s seventh largest tyre producer, 10% owned by Michelin, has paid fines for labour code violations, has seen large portions of its subsidies suspended by the Hungarian government, and has sacked one leader of the VDSZ Tire Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union, while refusing to negotiate with the ICEM affiliate, the Federation of Chemical, Energy, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (VDSZ).
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Since production start-up early this year, the company has circumvented EU labour standards, and has violated ILO Conventions at its 28,500-unit-per-day tyre factory, now employing 800 blue-collar workers. Hankook Tire Magyarorszag Kft. has been found guilty or charged with non-payment of overtime pay, unsanitary work conditions, forcing a six-day work-week before a two-day leave, making work mandatory on public holidays, interrogating workers on their lawful right to join a union, and illegal dismissing workers. 
 
Besides using Hungarian subsidies to get the plant up and running this year, Hankook has used aid totalling nearly &euro;100 million from the European Commission. The company has reciprocated by paying fines for illegally employing 32 Korean workers and missing deadlines on registering employees to social security programmes. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
Hankook&rsquo;s anti-social behaviour in Dunaujv&aacute;ros was a major talking point in mid-September discussions between South Korean Prime Minister Han Duk Soo and Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcs&aacute;ny. 
 
VDSZ is adamant that Hankook respect EU, ILO, and Hungarian standards and regulations. The ICEM supports VDSZ in its struggle with Hankook. In a further letter to Hankook&rsquo;s managing director on 23 November, VDSZ President Gy&ouml;rgy Pasztern&aacute;k stressed that a Hungarian court has certified the union&rsquo;s Tire Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union as bargaining representative, and that the company must negotiate terms and conditions with the union, as well as deal with the VDSZ branch on matters related to EU Works Council elections.
At its 4th World Congress in Bangkok, from 22 to 24 November, the ICEM adopted unanimously adopted a solidarity statement in response to the ongoing violation of workers&rsquo; rights by Hankook Tire Hungary Ltd. The statement was conveyed by the ICEM in a <a href="/index.php?id=20&amp;doc=2495&amp;la=EN">letter to the company</a>.

Korea’s Hankook Tire Company Setting Bad Precedents in Hungary

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Tuesday, 4 December, is Unilever Day of Action in Europe, and beyond. European trade unions will manifest in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Unilever workers throughout the world are expected to take action. The Anglo-Dutch consumer products conglomerate is inflicting job cuts on 20,000 workers worldwide. 
 
Half those numbers are occurring in Europe. Already, Unilever&rsquo;s reorganisation has cost hundreds of jobs in The Netherlands, UK, and Italy. 
<img height="150" alt="" src="" width="150" />
The Rotterdam agenda tomorrow includes a 13h00 forum at De Doelen conference centre, Kruisplein 40, that will highlight adverse Unilever case studies of job abuse from six countries. European labour leaders will also speak. At 15h00, a march to Unileverhouse in central Rotterdam will happen. 
 
The ICEM has joined with the International Union of Food Workers&rsquo; Association (IUF) to call attention to this Action Day against Unilever in workplaces and at union meetings globally. Unilever initially avoided proper social dialogue in its recent European reorganisation, and the company has violated workers&rsquo; rights in India, Pakistan, Chile, Colombia, and South Africa. IUF has brought abuses in India and Pakistan before the UK National Contact Point for OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. 
 
ICEM and IUF encourages Unilever workers throughout the world to distribute the joint statement that can be found <a href="/index.php?id=154&amp;doc=2488&amp;la=EN">here</a>. 
Take action against Unilever on European Day of Action, 4 December!

Day of Action on Unilever Rings Tomorrow in Europe

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An important new law was enacted in the US state of Illinois on 6 August 2007, when the state&rsquo;s governor, Rod Blagojevich, signed into force a bar on construction companies falsely classifying workers as &ldquo;independent contractors.&rdquo; The new law in the midwestern state is seen as a harbinger for what could occur across the US nationally, considering the coming political ballots, and George Bush&rsquo;s mandatory departure. 
 
&ldquo;Misclassification of employees as independent contractors is one of the devices that greedy employers use to cheat workers out of their benefits,&rdquo; said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who joined Blagojevich and other proponents of the regulation at the 6 August signing ceremony. 
<img height="120" src="" width="120" alt="" />
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney
The measure, passed by the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives early in the year, had broad support, including labour and scores of legitimate construction companies. These firms, relying on skilled, generally unionised workers, have been left at a competitive disadvantage by unscrupulous employers, who deliberately mis-classify workers as contractors in order to reduce their operating costs. In Illinois, estimates say that such nefarious enterprises save an average of 24% in submitting bids on projects. 
The law in Illinois, introduced as the Employee Classification Act, presumes all workers are regular employees unless certain conditions exist, such as being a partner or sole proprietor, a specific business or profession, or providing a service outside of the usual course of business. The law, the fifth such statute among the US&rsquo;s 50 state laws, includes US$2,500 penalties on companies that deliberately misclassify construction workers. Repeat offenders can face felony charges. 
<img height="202" alt="" src="" width="142" />
A university study found Illinois losing an average of US$125.7 million annually in tax revenue over a five-year period in the early 2000s. Cut-rate employers avoid paying Social Security, workers&rsquo; compensation benefits, jobless relief, state and federal taxes, and other social costs. Sweeney stated that such tax revenue losses deprive governments of immediate funds that could address &ldquo;so many vital programs.&rdquo; 
 
The US Congress, in the House of Representatives, took up the independent contractor issue in hearings last March, but has yet to act on legislation that could update US labour code on this crucial workplace issue.

US Building Workers Win Ban on Contract Labour in Illinois State

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ICEM affiliate Unite and the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee (OILC) have jointly called on the UK&rsquo;s Health &amp; Safety Executive (HSE) to investigate Royal Dutch Shell&rsquo;s safety practices at five North Sea energy platforms. The installations are currently up for sale, and Unite and OILC say low morale, coupled with departures of key staff that are familiar with safety procedures, creates very risky conditions. 
 
The five platforms include Cormorant Alpha, Dunlin Alpha (CADA), Tern, Eider, and North Cormorant (TENC). Some 400 Shell workers are affected. 
<img height="108" alt="" src="" width="92" />
In early August, Shell experienced a blackout at its Brent Bravo rig in the North Sea, stranding 61 workers for 48 hours. Shell said it did not want to risk a rescue at night, but the company faced questions on its slow response time in rescue. In 2003, a gas leak on the same rig killed two workers. Now, with key personnel leaving five other Shell rigs, safety again is a major issue. 
 
&ldquo;Many platform areas are now not covered by trained and competent people and certain HSE safety critical roles are not fully supported,&rdquo; Unite said in a joint statement. &ldquo;The gaps in these safety-critical positions could be so severe that, in the event of an emergency, staff may be unable to cope.&rdquo; 
 
Unite said such conditions are leading to a breakdown in communications between Shell and its workers, and it is affecting morale. 
 
Upstream publication reported last week that claims reveal safety deficiencies in control room operations, shift supervisors, and technical capacities regarding instrumentation and electrical. &ldquo;It is reported that on some platforms there is now a lack of suitable trained fire team leaders,&rdquo; reported the oil and gas trade weekly. 
<img height="203" alt="" src="" width="200" />
Meanwhile, separately, the head of the HSE&rsquo;s Offshore Division, Ian Whewell, delivered a stark address to industry leaders at an Offshore Europe forum in Aberdeen. He called it unfortunate that offshore companies consider it a regulatory nuisance to comply with safety standards. 
He also fully endorsed worker involvement in safety, and his comment on participation counters the reality now occurring at Shell: &ldquo;The commitment of many in the offshore workforce is undoubted, but HSE believes that unless the workforce is encouraged to actively participate, the industry is missing a key opportunity.&rdquo; 
 
ExxonMobil&rsquo;s Esso division also announced in June 2007 that it would divest in North Sea production facilities.

Shell’s Redundancies Causing Safety Deficiencies on North Sea Platforms

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Belgium&rsquo;s FGTB Union has raised awareness to the number of workplace fatalities occurring in Saint-Gobain operations, particularly in China. The ICEM affiliate is voicing concern because of the French multinational&rsquo;s own admittance that it counts 21 fatalities so far in 2007. 
 
Three of those fatalities have come in Chinese operations of the Paris-based company since June. The FGTB is calling for a trade union analysis of the company&rsquo;s safety procedures, and a greater emphasis on preventative measures. 
<img height="54" src="" width="160" alt="" />
The union also stresses that support and solidarity to Saint-Gobain must occur when accidents and fatalies do happen, including stop-work actions to attend funerals and communiqu&eacute;s and distribution of information when accidents occur. 
 
The company has cited a worker at a Beijing, who was crushed to death by a falling machine part on 22 June; another worker killed in a Hanglas plant in Wehai City on 27 June by an &ldquo;unexplained fall of a heavy metallic piece;&rdquo; and a woman killed at another Hunglas plant in Kunshan on 12 July by a loaded fork-lift. In addition, a sub-contractor was killed in Gunsan, South Korea, on 20 June during a gas leak in a confined space, and a French delivery driver was buried when a wall collapsed in Cagnes sur Mer on 18 July. 
<img height="67" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Saint-Gobain also reported heart attacks occurring on the job in Brazil, South Korea, and the US, and workers dying due to road accidents in France and Brazil. Early in 2007, the company was fined &pound;10,000 by UK&rsquo;s Health &amp; Safety Executive due to a four-tonne runaway truck seriously injuring a worker at a facility in Ilkeston, UK.
And last year, the French company lost a US$3.06 million judgement after a gas blast severely burned sub-contractors sued for damages. They had been hired at a Grandview, state of Missouri, glass plant of Saint-Gobain Calmar to remove a heating unit line, and were told by the company that all gas had been removed from the line. 
 
Last year, the company said the average rate of daily injuries occurring in its global operations had been reduced to six.

Questions Raised on Number of 2007 Workplace Tragedies by Saint-Gobain

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French unions have vowed to mobilise in the coming weeks over the news that European energy companies Gaz de France and Belgian-Franco Suez Group are finally on cue to merge. French trade unions CGT, CFDT, FO, CGF-CGC, and CFTC pledged last week that they will again escalate resistance to further consolidation of Europe&rsquo;s energy markets. 
 
The French unions have banded together many times in the past to place roadblocks and barriers in the form of lawsuits and social dissent against the long planned merger. French President Nicholas Sarkozy has now become the catalyst to push the deal through. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <img height="99" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The merger that would create the world&rsquo;s third largest utility contradicts a European Commission priority to place more competition in gas and electric markets. It angers the French unions, and French citizens alike, who remember Sarkozy as the Finance Minister that promised Gaz de France would never fall below 70% of a state-controlled public asset. 
 
The &euro;90 billion merger would reduce France&rsquo;s stake in the combined company to roughly 35% from 80.2%. The Sarkozy government now heralds a 35% stake as &ldquo;controlling&rdquo; and says the state will be a &ldquo;rational shareholder.&rdquo; 
 
The French unions, however, must now wrestle with the effects of a potential deal with sell-offs, redundancies, and likely cost cutting by equity stakes that sweep in on mandated divestitures. Such businesses that will be separated include waste disposal and water, with a new GDF Suez to become Europe&rsquo;s largest supplier of natural gas and the world&rsquo;s largest storage terminal operator for LNG. 
<img height="203" alt="" src="" width="200" />
The five unions will build resistance through consumer groups and political pressure, as well as mass mobilisations across France. They announced they will also conduct a national petition. 
 
The CGT predicted that consumers will be harmed by rising prices, and said the French stake at 35% will offer little in protection of workers or consumers. The CFDT said European partners ought to take Sarkozy&rsquo;s new claim, &ldquo;at the very least, as arrogant&rdquo; and the Commission itself must consider the social consequences that mandated divestitures will bring to public utilities. CFDT said the current merger plan essentially dismantles the Suez Group, while effectively privatising Gaz de France.

Broken Sarkozy Promise on Gaz de France and Suez Means French Unions Will Mobilise

Bangkok, 17-18 November 2007 
&ldquo;Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre&rdquo;, Bangkok
<img height="38" alt="" src="" width="30" />
Day 1 
 
9:30&nbsp; Opening
Evgenia Esenina, Chair of ICEM Women&rsquo;s Committee 
Senzeni Zokwana, President of ICEM 
Manfred Warda, General Secretary of ICEM 
 
Greetings from: Elsa Ramos, ILO, Vesna Rodic, FES 
 
THEME ONE: PEACE 
 
Contributions from: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>Burma</div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>Sintraelecol, Colombia</div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>General Union of Electricity Workers and Technicians, Iraq</div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>General Union of Petroleum, Mining Chemicals and Similar Substances Workers in Palestine</div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>Zimbabwe Electricity and Energy Workers Union </div>
 </li>
</ul>
11:00 Coffee break 
 
11:30 Conference reconvenes 
 
 
THEME TWO: CONTRACT AND AGENCY LABOUR 
 
Presentations by: Thailand and India 
 
Discussion 
 
13:00 Lunch 
 
14:30 Conference reconvenes 
Two presentations by Government Pharmaceuticals Organisation 
 
 
THEME THREE: HEALTH 
 
Presentations by Brazil and Germany 
 
17:00 Meeting of ICEM women from Central Europe, Northern Europe, Western Europe 
 
18:00 End of Day One 
 
 
Day Two 
 
9:00 Presentation by Japanese Affiliates on work-life balance 
 
9:30 Working Groups on work-life balance 
 
10:30 Report Back from Working Groups 
 
11:00 Coffee break 
 
11:30 Conference reconvenes 
 
13:00 Lunch 
 
14:30 Conference reconvenes 
 
14:30 Working Groups on Motions 
 
16:00 Elections of Chair and Vice-Chair of Women&rsquo;s Committee 
 
17:00 End of Women&rsquo;s Conference

4th ICEM World Congress - Women’s Conference

<a href="#PPT">For a collection of Powerpoint presentations at the meeting, click here</a>
<img height="113" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Draft Agenda 
Chair of the meeting: Sjaiful DP, FSP KEP Indonesia
<ul>
 <li>9.00. Opening by Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary 
 </li>
 <li>9.10 Welcome by Vesna Rodic, Resident Director FES Thailand 
 </li>
 <li>9.15. Aranya Pakapath, ICEM Project coordinator, overview of the contract and agency labour situation in Asia 
 
 9.30. Sergio Novais, ICEM Vice-President, overview of the contract and agency labour situation in Latin America 
 
 9.45. Kenny Mogane, ICEM Project coordinator, overview of the contract and agency labour situation in Sub-Saharan Africa 
 
 10.00. J&oslash;rgen Juul Rasmussen, DEF, Denmark, overview of the contract and agency labour situation in Western and Northern Europe 
 
 </li>
 <li>10.15. - 10.45. Break 
 </li>
 <li>10.45. - 12.30. Additional speakers 
 
 Bambang Surjono, FSPKEP, Indonesia, Indonesian case study 
 Mato Lalic, ICEM Project coordinator, on the situation in Central Europe 
 Tony Burke, UNITE, UK, UK case study * 
 Carol Fraser, CEP Canada, on the situation in North America 
 Lev Mironov, ROGWU, Russia, on the situation in Eastern Europe 
 Olucha Umeh, NUPENG, Nigeria, case study 
 Maria Angelica Vera Horma, FENATRAPECH, Chile, Chilean case study * 
 Hassan J&rsquo;Aama, IFOU, Iraq, on the situation in Middle East * 
 
 </li>
 <li>12.30. - 14.00. Break </li>
</ul>
<img height="202" alt="" src="" width="142" />
<ul>
 <li>14.00. ILO representative* 
 
 14.15. Jim Baker, Council of Global Unions Coordinator, on the impact for organising and bargaining 
 
 14.30. Evgenia Esenina, ICEM Vice-President, ROGWU, Russia, on the gender aspect 
 
 </li>
 <li>14.45. Plenary debate 
 </li>
 <li>15.00. Break 
 </li>
 <li>15.30. Brendan Martin, ICEM Project consultant, past and future of the ICEM contract and agency labour campaign 
 
 15.50. Discussion 
 
 </li>
 <li>16.50. Conclusion 
 </li>
 <li>17.00. End of meeting </li>
</ul>
* to be confirmed
Conference facilitator: Jeannette van Dongen, ICEM Project Officer
<a name="PPT"></a><img height="60" alt="" src="" width="70" align="absMiddle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="60" alt="" src="" width="121" align="absMiddle" />
&nbsp;<img height="55" alt="" src="" width="61" align="absMiddle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="44" alt="" src="" width="200" align="absMiddle" /><a name="PPT"></a>
Presentations from the Meeting
&nbsp;

ICEM Contract and Agency labour Conference

Archive