English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Meeting in Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, on 27 April, the ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Regional Committee gave strong support to non-ICEM affiliate Sintramienerg&eacute;tica in the aftermath of its safety strike against US-based Drummond Coal recently. (Details on that strike can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3151-Contract-Worker-Death-Causes-Safety-Strike-at-Drummond-in-Colombia">here</a>.) 
 
The regional committee adopted a resolution calling on both Drummond and the government of Colombia to be vigilant in implementing an adequate occupational safety and health prevention programme at Drummond&rsquo;s coal operations in C&eacute;sar state. The resolution also calls on the company to immediately re-employ some 600 miners who lost their jobs due to a legal strike by rail transport workers. 

<img height="83" alt="" src="" width="180" />
It calls on Colombia and Drummond, one of the owners of the rail transport line, Fenoco, to respect ILO Conventions 87 and 98, the Freedom of Association and Right to Organise Convention, and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention. 
 
Members of a Colombian Mechanics&rsquo; and Metal Workers&rsquo; Union, Sintraime, staged a month-long strike across Fenoco&rsquo;s coal transport rail lines from 24 March to 20 April for union recognition and workplace rights. The ICEM supports the efforts of these workers to gain their collective rights. 
 
Fenoco, or the Ferrocarrilies Nacionales de Colombia, was bought by the Colombian government in 2006, but immediately commissioned and re-privatised to a handful of multinationals that mine and sell thermal coal from the rich deposits of C&eacute;sar state. Fenoco&rsquo;s biggest shareholders are Drummond and Xstatra, the latter which recently gained a 40% stake of the rail line with transfer of the Prodeco mining enterprise from its Swiss-based holding company, Glencore. 
 
Workers seeking representation with Sintraime engaged in a days-long blockade of the rail line in mid-April. A regional Supreme Court in northern Colombia ruled the strike legal, but Fenoco has now appealed that decision to the Colombia Supreme Court. 
<img height="180" alt="" src="" width="120" />
Sergio Novais
In the resolution, the ICEM regional committee, headed by Chairman Sergio Novais of Brazil, also calls on the Colombian government to provide job security and protection to Drummond&rsquo;s miners, members of Sintramienerg&eacute;tica, and the document points to a current social and economic crisis caused by speculative capital and a failed neo-liberal economic model.

ICEM’s Latin Region Supports Sintramienergética in Colombia Dispute Against Drummond

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Although not occurring at the rate of mining deaths two years ago, the number of miners killed inside South African mines continues to rise this year following tragic deaths at Harmony Gold 11 days ago. And also in late April, two miners employed by AngloGold Ashanti died at the company&rsquo;s Moab Khotsong mine, and another miner went missing deep inside the Great Noligwa mine. 
 
ICEM South African affiliate, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), now says that the official death count is over 60 so far this year. The 2007 rate exceeded 160 official deaths. 

<img height="115" src="" width="250" alt="" />
The incident at Harmony&rsquo;s Tshepong mine, located in Free State, was particularly repugnant because the company apparently was engaged in both underground blasting and drilling on the same day, a taboo according to the country&rsquo;s mine safety laws. Besides the two who were trapped and died from a rock cave-in, another miner who was rescued had his leg amputated. 
 
The Tshepong tragedy wasn&rsquo;t Harmony&rsquo;s only mine killings in April. On 14 April, a contract worker was electrocuted at the company&rsquo;s Target mine in Free State. 
 
The NUM is continuing to do day-long, stop-work actions as &ldquo;Days of Mourning&rdquo; for miners killed on the job. On 20 April, Harmony miners stopped work to mourn, and further work stoppages were done last week at the other mines. 
 
The AngloGold Ashanti deaths occurred at the Moab Khotsong mine, where a collapse of ground killed two miners. At the Great Noligwa mine near Orkney also in the Witwatersrand Basin, a miner failed to surface on 25 April following his shift. 
 
The spate of deaths and accidents comes just over two months since a safety audit was released in South Africa, showing that overall safety in mines was running at a dismal average of just 66%. The safety audit prioritised the maintenance of infrastructure as a necessity for improvement. 
<img height="128" alt="" src="" width="90" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="117" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Frans Baleni &amp; Senzeni Zokwana
&ldquo;No condition should justify why a worker should lose a life,&rdquo; said NUM President Senzeni Zokwana at the time of the audit&rsquo;s release. Added NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni, &ldquo;Safety should be a constitutional right of all workers.&rdquo;

South Africa Mine Deaths Continue to Rise

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Son on yılda, &ccedil;okuluslu lastik şirketleri Orta Avrupa'yı yatırım cenneti olarak g&ouml;rd&uuml;ler, &uuml;retimi hızla oraya kaydırdılar ve tesisleri genişlettiler. Son olarak, ABD k&ouml;kenli Goodyear Polonya'nın Debica kentindeki tesislerine 100 milyon dolar yatırdı, Japonya'daki Bridgestone ise yine Polonya'da ikinci bir tesis kurmak &uuml;zere oraya gitti. 
 
G&uuml;ney Kore'den Hankook Macaristan'da bir &uuml;retim birimi kurdu, Bridgestone'un yeni tesisi ise faaliyete ge&ccedil;mek &uuml;zere. Hindistan'dan Apollo Tyre'ın Macaristan'da bir tesisi var. Keza, Romanya'da, Slatina'da, Pirelli &ccedil;elik kord &uuml;retmek &uuml;zere Continental AG ile birlikte kurduğu bir tesisi faaliyete ge&ccedil;irdi. 

<img height="205" alt="" src="" width="283" />
Ne var ki, Orta Avrupa'daki bu b&uuml;y&uuml;me, iş koşulları ve sendikal temsil konusunda bazı sonu&ccedil;lar doğuruyor. Bu b&ouml;lgedeki &uuml;cretler, &ccedil;alışma koşulları, iş sağlığı ve g&uuml;venliği kuralları Batı Avrupa &uuml;lkelerindeki d&uuml;zeyin hayli gerisinde kalıyor. Yeni tesislerin bazılarında sendikal haklar g&ouml;rmezden geliniyor ya da şirketler işyeri ve şirket sendikalarını tercih ediyorlar. 
 
Bu gelişmeler karşısında ICEM, ulusal sendikaların bu koşulların &uuml;stesin gelmesini sağlamak &uuml;zere lastik sendikalarının bir b&ouml;lge ağı kurmasını &ouml;nerdi. Macaristan, Slovakya, Romanya ve Slovenya'dan sendika y&ouml;neticileri ekonomik krizin etkilerinin yanı sıra bu sorunları g&ouml;r&uuml;şmek &uuml;zere 8-9 Nisan'da Budapeşte'de bir araya geldiler. 
ICEM'in Macaristan'dan &uuml;yesi VDSz'nin evsahipliğini yaptığı ve Friedrich Ebert Vakfı'nın desteklediği toplantıya Fransa ve İspanya'dan sendika temsilcileri ve EMCEF katıldı. 
<img height="123" alt="" src="" width="170" />
VDSz Başkanı Gy&ouml;rgy Paszternak 

Sekt&ouml;rdeki k&uuml;resel durum &uuml;zerine ICEM'in yaptığı sunumdan sonra, katılımcılar, &uuml;lkelerindeki durum hakkında raporlar sundular. Macaristan b&ouml;lgedeki lastik end&uuml;strisinin her zaman merkezi olmuştur, ama sendikal &ouml;rg&uuml;tl&uuml;l&uuml;k d&uuml;zeyi son yıllarda d&uuml;şt&uuml;. Hankook ve Bridgestone gibi bazı şirketlerde sendikaların serbest&ccedil;e kurulması ve faaliyet g&ouml;stermesi engelleniyor. 
 
ICEM'den, her iki şirketteki sendikal tanınma m&uuml;cadelesini desteklemeye devam etmesi isteniyor. Slovakya'da, mali kriz &uuml;retimin &ouml;nemli &ouml;l&ccedil;&uuml;de d&uuml;şmesine yol a&ccedil;tı, iş saatleri d&uuml;ş&uuml;r&uuml;ld&uuml; ve genelde iş&ccedil;ilere normal &uuml;cretlerinin y&uuml;zde 60'ı &ouml;deniyor. Slovenya'da iş haftasının kısaltılmasını &ouml;ng&ouml;ren bir yasa &ccedil;ıkarıldı ve sendikalar bu yasayı destekledi. 
 
Slovenya'da kriz otomotiv end&uuml;strisini ve tedarik&ccedil;i firmalardan oluşan sekt&ouml;r&uuml; ağır bir şekilde etkiledi. Başlangı&ccedil;ta, &uuml;cretler kısılmadı, ama iş&ccedil;iler yıllık izinlerini kullanmaya zorlandı. Kriz derinleştik&ccedil;e, &uuml;cretler ve iş saatleri d&uuml;ş&uuml;r&uuml;ld&uuml;. Keza Romanya'da, otomotiv end&uuml;strisinde yaşanan ağır kriz araba lastiği sekt&ouml;r&uuml;n&uuml; ciddi bi&ccedil;imde etkiliyor. Tek olumlu gelişme, sendikanın Slatina'da yeni faaliyete ge&ccedil;en Pirelli fabrikasındaki 1.500 iş&ccedil;iyi &ouml;rg&uuml;tleyerek &uuml;cretlerde y&uuml;zde 10 artış sağlaması. Toplantıda, ayrıca, EMCEF kriz &uuml;zerine bir tebliğ sundu. 
 
&ldquo;Krizin &ouml;nceki kazanımlarımızı yok etmesine izin vermemeliyiz&rdquo; diyen VDSz Başkanı Gy&ouml;rgy Paszternak s&ouml;zlerini ş&ouml;yle s&uuml;rd&uuml;rd&uuml;: &ldquo;İşverenlerin mevcut koşulları k&ouml;t&uuml;ye kullanmasına izin vermemeliyiz. Toplumsal geleceğimiz sendikaların tanınmasına, sendikal temsile, &uuml;cretlerin ve &ccedil;alışma standartlarının y&uuml;kseltilmesine bağlıdır.&rdquo;

Orta Avrupa&#039;daki lastik sendikaları mali kriz konusunda ortak stratejiler oluşturuyorlar

<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report, among other items, on the new HIV/AIDS project in Ethiopia in cooperation with the LO/FTF and on the HIV/AIDS project in India, sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are already engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
 
Editor: Hans J Schwass, ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant 
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
HIV/AIDS Workplace Project in India on Track 
 
During his recent visit to India, which was organised by Project Coordinator BK Das who is also the General Secretary of the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation, the ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant could confirm that the HIV/AIDS project in India, sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, has made excellent progress. 
 
&ldquo;So far we have trained 330 peer educators from ICEM affiliates in the coal mining, chemical, cement and diamond sectors in India&rdquo;, said BK Das. &ldquo;The project is on track&rdquo;, he added. The Consultant participated in a training course for peer educators and attended HIV/AIDS awareness meetings conducted by peer educators in remote mining villages in the region where Eastern Coal Ltd (ECL), around Asansol, some 250 km northwest of Kolkata, operates. 
 
He also had the opportunity to meet with peer educators of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) in Dhanbad. Both companies are subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd. (CIL). The Deputy Chief Medical Officer of BCCL, Dr Anurag Verma, said that there has been a significant increase in the uptake of VCT as reported back by the two Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres in the region. Peer educators have also taken the initiative to campaign among commercial sex workers and they cooperate with organisations of people living with HIV and AIDS. 
 
In Kolkata, the Consultant participated in a master trainers&rsquo; course, which was facilitated by HIV/AIDS specialists SM Afsar and Divya Verma from the ILO Delhi Office. The cooperation with the ILO Delhi Office has been outstanding: two master trainer courses were facilitated; material was made available and contacts with organisations of HIV+ people and state AIDS control societies were made. The ILO has also lobbied CIL, and in a meeting with Board member R Mohan Das, further HIV/AIDS activities to be undertaken by the company at its eight subsidiaries were discussed. 
 
For a continuation of the project when funding from Boehringer Ingelheim ends in December 2009, CIL and its subsidiaries as well as state AIDS control societies have to be targeted. With companies taking the threat of the pandemic more seriously, and with state AIDS control societies recognising the workplace as a major place of HIV/AIDS intervention, the prospects for sustainable HIV/AIDS work among ICEM affiliates in India are good. 
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
New HIV/AIDS Project in Ethiopia 
 
As reported in the March issue of the e-bulletin, the LO/FTF Council, the Danish Solidarity Support Organisation, has obtained funding for a three-year HIV/AIDS project in Ethiopia in cooperation with the ICEM-affiliated National Industrial Federation of Energy, Chemical and Mine Trade Unions (NIFECM). 
 
The main objectives of the project are to reduce HIV/AIDS stigmatisation and discrimination in the high-risk mining sector and to increase the capacity of the Federation and its affiliated unions to deal with HIV/AIDS at the workplace, negotiate agreements with employers, and thus protect workers, their families, and the wider community in remote mining areas. 
 
After a fact finding mission in December 2008, the first project activities took place in March. Two workshops were organised for the leadership and union activists of NIFECM; the first on basic facts about HIV/AIDS and awareness and prevention and the second with the objective to develop an HIV/AIDS policy for the Federation. Both workshops were facilitated by the ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant and could count on the cooperation of the ILO office in Addis Ababa. The draft HIV/AIDS policy is expected to be adopted by the NEFECM Congress in July. 
 
Further activities in 2009 include a study tour to South Africa, the preparation of materials and the development of a negotiation guide and an HIV/AIDS toolbox, which should be validated in a workshop in October. At that time, a meeting of the Project Advisory Committee is also envisaged. 
 
The training of master trainers will lead to workshops for a total of 220 local union leaders and activists who will then be capable of promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention campaigns at the workplace and in mining communities. Parallel to this, the competence of union leaders in negotiations and bargaining for HIV/AIDS issues such as non-discrimination and anti-victimisation as well as reducing stigmatisation will be developed. 
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
UNITAID to Raise Funds through Travel Web Sites 
 
Philippe Douste-Blazy, former French foreign minister and head of UNITAID, announced recently that he is in talks with the online travel industry to allow air travellers booking online to make a $2 per-flight donation to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria efforts worldwide. The global financial crisis has placed some governments' foreign aid budgets &quot;under pressure,&quot; and the United Nations is &quot;turning to private industry and individuals to finance the battle against&quot; the three diseases. Several companies are working with UNITAID to develop system for micro-contributions that could also be adopted by other industries. 
 
UNITAID aims to raise more than US$1 billion annually for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria efforts. It has raised US$600 million during the past two years through a tax on airline tickets implemented by 12 participating countries. One flight with 300 passengers could raise enough funds to provide 60 HIV-positive children with treatment for one year. 
 
(Source: Financial Times, 11 March) 
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
Haiti Making Progress against HIV/AIDS 
 
Some good news is coming from Haiti, one of the countries hardest hit by the epidemic. Data show that about 2.2% of Haiti's population -- or 120,000 people -- are living with HIV/AIDS and that AIDS-related deaths in the country have decreased in recent years. This compares with an HIV/AIDS prevalence of 6.1% in 2001. The percentage of HIV-positive test results among pregnant women has decreased by 50% over the past 10 years. 
 
Haiti's progress has been particularly significant for a country where 60% of the population lives below the poverty line of US$2 per day. Only four of every 10 Haitians have access to potable water and there is only one doctor for every 10,000 inhabitants. 
 
The progress in fighting HIV/AIDS in Haiti is due in large part to the efforts of dedicated people who work in NGOs founded to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS. More than 400 workers have been trained to administer no-cost antiretroviral drugs within communities. But many challenges remain as the majority of Haitians still lack sufficient sex education. Only 15% of women and 28% of men between ages 15 and 24 know HIV prevention methods, and both boys and girls are becoming sexually active at earlier ages. 
 
(Source: Cesar Chalala in Miami Herald, 12 March) 
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The Education International reports in its EI Newsletter &ndash; <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids">www.ei-ie.org/efaids</a> - of 9 April on HIV/AIDS initiatives by its affiliates in Namibia and Swaziland and reviews the recent UNESCO publication &ldquo;Heroes and Villains,&rdquo; which assesses the interaction between the education sector and the AIDS crisis and highlights the important contribution of teacher unions in the fight against the pandemic. 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS update of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) of 15 March reports on the launch of an HIV/AIDS workplace policy at Mombasa port and on a UNDP report that female migrant workers from Asia have become highly vulnerable to HIV (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 
 
 
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe or Translate? 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line. 
Unfortunately, the e-bulletin can only be published in English. 
For a free automated (non-ICEM) translation of this HIV-AIDS bulletin into other languages, you may want to try <a href="http://www.google.com/language_tools">http://www.google.com/language_tools</a> and insert the following URL into the window &quot;Translate a Web page&quot;: <a href="/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3179">/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3179</a>
Or click directly on the links below: 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3179&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=fr&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Cliquez ici pour une traduction automatique en fran&ccedil;ais.</a> 
Cette traduction est faite automatiquement par un logiciel internet gratuit. L&rsquo;ICEM n&rsquo;assume aucune responsabilit&eacute; &agrave; cet &eacute;gard. Elle est approximative, mais peut n&eacute;anmoins vous donner une id&eacute;e g&eacute;n&eacute;rale du contenu de l&rsquo;article. 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3179&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=de&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Hier Klicken f&uuml;r eine maschinelle &Uuml;bersetzung ins Deutsche.</a> 
Diese &Uuml;bersetzung, f&uuml;r die die ICEM keine Verantwortung &uuml;bernimmt, erfolgt durch eine frei zug&auml;ngliche Internetsoftware. Diese &Uuml;bersetzung ist nicht perfekt, gibt aber eine ann&auml;hernende Idee, wor&uuml;ber der Artikel handelt. 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3179&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=ru&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Щелкните мышью здесь для получения машинного перевода на Русский.</a> 
Этот перевод выполняется автоматически с помощью бесплатной Интернет-программы, и ICEM не несет за него ответственности. Перевод приблизительный, но все же может дать общее представление о содержании статьи. 
日本語への翻訳について、無料オン� ��イン翻訳サービス利用されたい方<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3179&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=ja&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">はここをクリ</a>ックしてください。ただし、当該サ� ��ビスを利用した翻訳の質等について 、ICEMは一切責任を負いませんので、� ��了承ください。 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3179&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=es&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Haga clic aqu&iacute; para una traducci&oacute;n autom&aacute;tica en espa&ntilde;ol.</a> 
Esta traducci&oacute;n se hace autom&aacute;ticamente con tecnolog&iacute;a libre del Internet. La ICEM no se responsabiliza de ella. La traducci&oacute;n es aproximada, pero puede proveer una idea general del contenido del art&iacute;culo. 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3179&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=sv&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Klicka h&auml;r f&ouml;r en maskin&ouml;vers&auml;ttning till svenska.</a> 
Denna &ouml;vers&auml;ttning utf&ouml;rs automatiskt med kostnadsfri internetteknik. ICEM tar inget ansvar f&ouml;r den. Den &auml;r inte helt korrekt men ger dig &auml;nd&aring; en allm&auml;n uppfattning om vad artikeln handlar om.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 43 April 2009

The ICEM is using the occasion of April 28, the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers, to announce the renewal of its campaign for the formal ratification of International Labor Organization ILO Convention 176 on Health and Safety in Mines. 
 
The ICEM has been lobbying the ILO to dramatically increase its efforts to promote ratification of the convention to improve health and safety laws in many countries. A recent seminar in Mongolia, the first in a series of proposed seminars, showed a new committment by the ILO to become more actively engaged in a campaign for ratification. (See story on Mongolia seminar in InBrief No. 129 <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3162-ILO-Mongolia-Seminar-Launches-Asia-Campaign-for-Ratification-of-Mine-Safety-Convention-176">here</a>)

ICEM Campaigns for ILO Convention 176

<img height="39" src="" width="100" alt="" />
An ICEM mission to Argentina has gained first-hand accounts on how the global recession has affected the South American country, as well as laying the groundwork for ICEM&rsquo;s 2011 Congress in Buenos Aires. ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda met the GUF&rsquo;s Argentine affiliates on 29 April in an exchange of views on the economic collapse, and also met with non-affiliated trade unions on the crisis and their plans to affiliate. 
 
A decision on the location for the Fifth World Congress will be taken at the ICEM Executive Committee meetings, 23-24 June in Geneva. Argentina trade union affiliates are enthusiastic on hosting the Congress. 
 
Warda, along with ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Contact Person Carol Bruce, met with the Rubber Workers&rsquo; Union of Argentina, SUTNA, as well with the Energy and Oil Workers&rsquo; union, FeTERA, and the private-sector Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union, FASPyGP. The ICEM delegation also met with Uni&oacute;n Obrero Metal&uacute;rgical (UOM), which is interested in joining ICEM on behalf of nuclear workers that the union represents, as well as with trade unions affiliated with the national centre Central de Trabajores de la Argentina (CTA) on joining the ICEM. 

<img height="198" src="" width="264" alt="" />
Bruce participated in two manifestations while in Argentina. On 22 April, she marched with the CTA in which the national centre&rsquo;s secretary-general, Hugo Yasky, called for a 180-day moratorium in Argentina on job layoffs and an emergency outlay of state money to cover lost wages of workers. 
 
On 30 April, she marched with the other major labour centre, Confederaci&oacute;n General del Trabajo (CGT), in its support of the government of Cristina Kirchner in late June elections, and against neo-liberal policies that created the crisis and job losses, estimated to be some 50,000 in Argentina. 
 
The ICEM mission was supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Germany, which also provided a presentation on the impact of the economic crisis in Argentina.

ICEM Mission to Argentina Probes Crisis

Calling it a &ldquo;complete and total victory,&rdquo; ICEM Vice President and Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union President Dave Coles said today that CEP Local 175 ratified a three-year labour agreement yesterday with Petro-Canada, ending a 57-week lockout at a refinery in the Canadian province of Quebec. 
 
&ldquo;The pattern agreement for the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy Bargaining Programme has been achieved, the employer has recognized this programme, and we can now truly call this a major victory for both the international and national labour movements,&rdquo; said Coles. 
 
The 260 members of CEP Local 175 at the Montr&eacute;al refinery voted on 23 December by 94.6% to approve the retroactive contract.
<img height="266" src="" width="200" alt="" />
CEP Local 175 Members Were&nbsp;Solid in&nbsp;Their Resolve to Achieve the Canadian Oil and&nbsp;Gas Pattern Agreement&nbsp;
Coles said the mediated settlement contains a commitment by both sides to undertake measures to improve the labour relationship between CEP and Petro-Canada at all locations across the country. The two sides began private mediation early in December with Special Mediator Lucien Bouchard, Premier of Quebec from 1996 to 2001, in efforts to resolve the lockout, which began on 17 November 2007. 
 
The mediated settlement preserves the pattern labour agreement in Canada&rsquo;s oil, gas, and petrochemicals industry, thus granting Local 175 members a basket-full of wage and benefit improvements at year end 2008. 
 
They will receive a retroactive pay increase of 5% dating to 1 February 2007, with further increases of 4.5% in 2008, and 4.5% on 1 February 2009. In addition, each worker will receive a C$4,000 bonus, an accrued holiday or vacation payment averaging C$6,000, and a 2007 profit-sharing payment of C$3,800. 
 
Petro-Canada dropped a demand to eliminate the refinery&rsquo;s health and safety prevention officer; its proposal to accelerate a training programme that would place safety at greater risk; and backed away from plans to alter shift schedules and job assignments.
<img height="160" src="" width="140" alt="" />
&nbsp;CEP President Dave Coles 
 

The settlement provides for an automatic extension of the collective agreement when it expires on 1 February 2010 based on the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy Bargaining agreement with the company at its Edmonton, Alberta, refinery. 
 
Coles credits the start of a nationwide boycott against Petro-Canada&rsquo;s retail products, as well as vast support both from CEP members, and from union members throughout the world, with bringing the company to terms of the pattern agreement. 
 
&ldquo;It was clear that the world&rsquo;s trade unions were pulling in behind our courageous members of Local 175,&rdquo; said Coles. &ldquo;We had international support from energy unions around the globe organized by our international federation, ICEM. There is no doubt that this outcome owes much to this watershed of labour solidarity that was organized in support of our members.&rdquo; 
 
The other message, Coles said, is that boycotts work. &ldquo;Canadians from all trade unions had begun executing a flawless boycott, and the company took notice.&rdquo;
<img height="263" src="" width="350" alt="" />
ICEM's Manfred Warda, left,&nbsp;in Ottawa with CEP members&nbsp;
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, who had walked the picket line at the Montr&eacute;al refinery, as well as protested at company petrol stations in Ottawa, extended the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s congratulations to the CEP and Local 175. 
 
&ldquo;This is a tremendous victory. The perseverance and resolve of the 260 refinery workers to protect 40 years of pattern bargaining &ndash; backed by CEP members across Canada &ndash; is an inspiration to us all,&rdquo; stated Warda. &ldquo;This will be acclaimed by energy trade unions across the world.&rdquo; 
 
The back to work agreement calls for CEP Local 175 members to return to their jobs and begin ramping up production to the refinery&rsquo;s 130,000 barrel-per-day capacity on 12 January 2009. The CEP agreed to drop all legal charges and complaints arising from the dispute.

CEP’s Montréal Refinery Workers Victory ‘Total and Complete,’ Lockout Ends

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
With less than 18 months in existence, the Latin American trade union network of Belgian-based Solvay has taken important steps in expanding to other employees in the region. 
 
The third meeting of Brazilian Trade Union Network of the chemicals, pharmaceutical, and plastics multinational was held in S&atilde;o Paulo on 1-3 December, with trade union participates coming from Argentina, Belgium, and the European Works Council of the company, as well as from five Brazilian unions. The meeting was also attended by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan. 
 
The participants discussed the importance of international trade union networking, especially in the face of the global financial crisis and its possible consequences in the world of work. The precariousness of labor relations, such as outsourcing and subcontracting, and the need to ensure the health and safety of workers in all localities were priorities at the meeting. 
 

<img height="148" alt="" src="" width="300" />
&quot;This network has shown a great willingness to grow, adding strength of colleagues from different Latin American plants, so that together we can initiate dialogue with Solvay in order to improve working conditions and the lives of workers,&rdquo; said Juvenil Youth Nunes da Costa, coordinator of the network. 
 
&rdquo;I am very happy to take part in such an important initiative, which is becoming a model for workers&rsquo; solidarity,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;This network has become a success in a very short period of time, and it is clear that we must unify our efforts to combat common problems.&quot; 
 
Among the major decisions taken at the early December meeting was to strengthen the role of representation of the network, along with the role of workers in Solvay&rsquo;s direction in Brazil; disclosure of the network in Argentina so that further extension can occur in other Mercosur countries; dissemination of the commitments on &quot;Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility,&quot; as made by the company to workers in Argentina and Brazil; and drafting a proposal related to a Communication Policy Network. 
 
The next meeting is scheduled to be held in July 2009. The Network of Workers at the Solvay-Brazil Group was created in September 2007, and representation covers the 14 units of the group in the country.

Brazilian Network of Solvay Eyes Latin Expansion

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A strike deadline in Nigeria has been extended through this week in order that talks can continue between ICEM&rsquo;s two oil and gas union affiliates &ndash; NUPENG and PENGASSAN &ndash; and the Ministers of Labour and Petroleum on the urgent need to guarantee security and safety for workers and their families in the Niger Delta. 
 
A deadline by the unions to pull their workers out of Niger Delta oil and gas installations was due to expire today. But on Friday, 6 February, after a meeting with Rivers States Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the unions agreed to more talks this week. Leaders of the two unions will meet in Abuja beginning today with Minister of Work and Productivity Adetokunbo Olyukayode and Minister of Petroleum H. Odein Ajumogobia on viable solutions to the security situation. 
 
Port Harcourt, other parts of Rivers State, as well as neighbouring Niger Delta states have been hit by a rash of kidnappings against family members of PENGASSAN and NUPENG members in the past few weeks. Armed groups are calling for ransoms of up to US$100,000 after grabbing at gunpoint innocent family members of oil and gas workers. 
 
Another incident occurred Friday, 6 February. An ambush at a Shell Petroleum Development Corp. (SPDC) gas plant in Utorogun, Delta State, resulted in three militants being killed. First reports cite that no workers were harmed, although that has not always been the case in such attacks. 
<img height="105" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Earlier in the week, a Nigerian worker of Agip, a subsidiary of Italian ENI, was kidnapped. He was released without the company acknowledging whether or not a ransom was paid. On 29 January, the 11-year-old daughter of a PENGASSAN member, SPDC employee Samuel Awolesun, was murdered when she and her nine-year-old brother were kidnapped on their way to school. The young girl was shot while resisting the kidnap. 
 
In a PENGASSAN communiqu&eacute; of 6 February, the union announced the boy had been released last week. 
 
PENGASSAN and NUPENG count 12 kidnappings of oil and gas staff, their spouses, or family members since 24 January in Port Harcourt alone. Reports say that there have been at least ten attacks on vessels in waters off the Niger Delta since the first of the year. 
 
&ldquo;The insecurity in the delta has taken a new dimension,&rdquo; NUPENG National President Peter Akpatason told the ICEM. &ldquo;The government is not doing enough to protect staff and their families and this now has become a very serious industrial relations matter.&rdquo; 
 
PENGASSAN General Secretary Bayo Olowoshile said it is up to the government and state-run petroleum companies to prove why &ldquo;our services should not be withdrawn from all upstream facilities until security is improved in the region.&rdquo; 
 
In the joint announcement Friday to all NUPENG and PENGASSAN zonal chairmen and branches, in which a new strike deadline was set for 13 February, the unions said, &ldquo;We wish to inform (all workers) to await further directives as we engage the Federal and Rivers State Governments at this trying moment.&rdquo; 
 
Separately, the unions are also pressing the government and oil companies to address gaps in pay, working conditions, and social welfare benefits for casual workers and workers on fixed-term contracts. They are also building a case for better empowerment and employment opportunities for Nigerian nationals in the oil and gas industry, as well as support for liberalisation in the downstream sector if the existing private-sector employers commit to investments.

PENGASSAN, NUPENG Give Government Week to Rectify Recent Rash of Niger Delta Kidnappings

Contract and Agency Labour Newsletter

Archive

ICEM’s Latin Region Supports Sintramienergética in Colombia Dispute Against Drummond

South Africa Mine Deaths Continue to Rise

Orta Avrupa'daki lastik sendikaları mali kriz konusunda ortak stratejiler oluşturuyorlar

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 43 April 2009

ICEM Campaigns for ILO Convention 176

ICEM Mission to Argentina Probes Crisis

CEP’s Montréal Refinery Workers Victory ‘Total and Complete,’ Lockout Ends

Brazilian Network of Solvay Eyes Latin Expansion

PENGASSAN, NUPENG Give Government Week to Rectify Recent Rash of Niger Delta Kidnappings

Contract and Agency Labour Newsletter

About IndustriALL

Follow us

Contact us