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Facing tremendous pressure to refrain from taking action, the Korean Power Plant Industry Union (KPPIU), which represents around 3,000 members at five power plants that belong to the Korea Electric Power Corporation, or KEPCO, went on strike for 15 hours on 4 September 2006. 
 
The strike was a response to the unwillingness of KEPCO management to negotiate such issues as better working conditions, the rotation system, the expansion of the scope of trade union work and the reinstatement of fired colleagues. The trade union action followed a decision by the National Labour Relations Commission, a day earlier, to call for government arbitration over the labour dispute. 
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Both the company and the government took a very antagonistic stand towards the workers. Neither party was open to any negotiation whatsoever, administrative actions against strikers were announced, and the government warned against taking part in what it called an &ldquo;illegal strike.&rdquo; Reportedly, the government even had 3,500 emergency substitutes ready, just in case. 
 
Workers returned to work late Monday afternoon, as the government intervened to halt the strike, with union executives under threat of arrest. However, in the end, negotiations between labour representatives and the managements of the power plants resumed later the same day.

Short Strike by Korean Power Workers

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Rubber workers in the US, members of ICEM affiliate United Steelworkers (USW), expressed their displeasure with Continental AG at a pair of rallies in recent weeks. Union members protested the manner in which the German tyre-maker closed a factory in Charlotte, state of North Carolina, last spring. 
 
One rally occurred on 4 September in Charlotte, and then another one when USW members converged on the International Tire Exhibition and Conference in Akron, state of Ohio, protesting Continental&rsquo;s anti-worker practices. The company was an exhibitor at the trade fair. 
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Continental was cited by the US National Labor Relations Board with violations of the country&rsquo;s labour law when it refused collective bargaining with the USW over a new contract for 800 workers in Charlotte. The USW had attempted to reach a new labour agreement and keep the Charlotte plant open by offering the company US$16 million in cost-savings. But the company refused to consider the proposal and used 1 May as the date to announce all tyre production would cease at the plant. 
 
In early August, the USW formally called on the US State Department to initiate an investigation over alleged breaches of work practices under guidelines of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). &ldquo;The conduct of this German company and its apparent belief that it can violate US laws and (OECD) Guidelines with impunity is shocking,&rdquo; wrote USW President Leo Gerard to the US OECD National Contact Point (NCP). &ldquo;The full force of the US Government, including NCP intervention, should be brought to bear.&rdquo;

US Steelworkers Protest Continental Tyre’s Labour Policies

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ICEM affiliate FNV Bondgenoten has called attention to the continued high incidence rate of safety negligence in the chemicals industry in The Netherlands. In an article published in the union&rsquo;s magazine, &ldquo;Kadermagazine,&rdquo; Bondgenoten says the rate in the current annual report of the Labour Inspectorate is the same as it was in 2003. 
 
&ldquo;Since 2003, the Inspectorate has found a high level on incidents after FNV Bondgenoten revealed as much in a thorough survey of shop stewards&rdquo; inside the chemicals industry, stated the union&rsquo;s Egbert Schellenberg. The report was submitted to Parliament. Schellenberg said that there already had been vast concern among union members in 2003. &ldquo;Now, nothing has changed. When will something be done?&rdquo; he asked. 
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The survey by FNV Bondgenoten finds that an incident involving a dangerous substance occurs nearly once every day, on average. And a quarter of safety incidents involve casualties of one form or another. The union says that many occurrences happen during maintenance periods, with injuries due to inhaling fumes of dangerous substances or from burns. 
 
Schellenberg says that employers in the chemicals industry must shoulder the responsibility and respond in a manner that reduces injuries and illnesses. He also says that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment must also play a role in reducing the incidence rate in the chemicals industry. 
 
FNV Bondgenoten has scheduled a social dialogue session with the ministry on 21 September to discuss this serious concern.

Safety in Netherlands Chemicals Industry Not Improving, Bondgenoten Reveals

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Belgian ICEM affiliate La Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale / de Algemene Centrale, together with its national centre FGTB/ABVV organised a series of actions on 13 September in Belgium at the occasion of its second &ldquo;Day on the Rights of Temporary Agency Workers.&rdquo; 
 
About 300.000 copies of the &lsquo;Interim Times,&rsquo; a special free &ldquo;newspaper&rdquo; dedicated to the issue of agency labour, were distributed at train stations throughout the country. The Francophone version of newspaper is available online on the union&rsquo;s site <a href="http://www.accg.be/sec/be-fr/ser/inte/news/20060913%20Interim%20Times%20FR.pdf ">here</a>. For the Flemish (Dutch language) version, click <a href="http://www.accg.be/sec/be-du/ser/inte/news/20060913%20Interim%20Times%20NL.pdf ">here</a>. 
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Among other things, the paper contains a series of personal stories, revealing a large number of problems related to agency labour. These include obvious insecure job situations and the often all too vague promises for permanent work &ldquo;later on.&rdquo; Possibly less obvious, but equally omnipresent, are several other problems, such as the difficulty to fight for one&rsquo;s rights, which opens the door for abuse, or simply not being able to get a loan from a bank. 
 
The &ldquo;Interim Times&rdquo; paper was also available on many shop floors, where meetings were held by health and safety committees or company councils to discuss the issue of agency labour. The FGTB wanted all relevant bodies to talk to their managements about the problems connected to agency labour. 
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The FGTB warns that temporary agency work tends to replace more and more permanent jobs. The union also observes many legal violations in the sector. Under Belgian law, temporary agency labour can only be used in three circumstances: when a worker with a permanent contract needs to be replaced temporarily; in case of a temporary increase of the work volume at a company; or when extraordinary work needs to be performed. 
 
However, there is an ongoing discussion on the subject of a &ldquo;fourth category,&rdquo; which would allow employers to also use temporary agency workers as an &ldquo;in-flow&rdquo; method. The FGTB&rsquo;s position is clear in this: there is to be no agreement as long as there are no guarantees towards permanent employment and towards solid trade union verification. The FGTB also rejects the idea of temporary agency work in the public sector. 
 
On the occasion of the day of action, the FGTB encouraged all its members to consider a few key questions: does the company inform the workers&rsquo; representatives and/or company councils adequately on its use of agency labour? Does management stick to the rules in those cases where it needs to have an agreement from the workers representatives on agency labour? Is agency labour only used for temporary work, as required by law?

Agency Labour Day in Belgium

Today, on World AIDS Day, 1 December, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs announced the collapse of talks on a promising global HIV/AIDS initiative which had the potential to save countless lives of those living with HIV/AIDS in the world&rsquo;s least developed countries, and improve their quality of life. 
 
The announcement was made in Trinidad and Tobago on the final day of the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s World Conference for the Chemicals Industries. 
 
Much to his personal regret, Higgs declared that the proposed ICEM - Pharmaceutical Industry HIV/AIDS initiative, which he had hoped would develop into a highly visible and effective partnership, is now as good as dead. The initiative, which had developed following discussions with the pharmaceutical industry, would have opened the door for more affordable medicines for tens of thousands of poor people living with HIV/AIDS. 
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ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs
Higgs stated, &ldquo;This initiative would have given access to affordable drugs to individuals living with HIV/AIDS in all 50 of the United Nations-listed Least Developed Countries, including many in sub-Saharan Africa.&rdquo; 
 
The draft agreement, held in confidence by Higgs during the whole of the discussions, would have included the following statement: 
 
&ldquo;Leading companies in the research-based pharmaceutical industry pledge to provide high-quality HIV/AIDS medicines and related products for impoverished people in sub-Saharan and other least-developed countries at no-profit prices, through donation programs, and through alternative methods that include deeply discounted prices and licensing of propriety technology on mutually agreed concessionary terms.&ldquo; 
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Lost Opportunity 
 
The ICEM first engaged with the industry on this matter in 2003. Throughout the process, Pfizer was the only company that continued to recognise the need for a new substantive industry initiative, and supported further debate on the ICEM-led initiative. 
 
According to Higgs, the ICEM had to overcome its initial hesitation at getting involved in a partnership since &ldquo;we might have been seen as defending the industry against an un-defendable track record.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;But, as a global trade union organisation, we represent both union members employed by pharmaceutical companies, and members in sectors with high HIV infection levels. Also, many of our affiliates are trying to deal with HIV/AIDS in the developing world. So, we believe we have a responsibility to seek to persuade the industry to do more to meet the challenge related to HIV/AIDS.&rdquo; 
 
Higgs added: &ldquo;The ICEM recognises the fact that GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Roche, Abbott Laboratories, Gilead Science, and Boehringer Ingelheim, through the Accelerating Access Initiative (AAI), an organisation formed to coordinate individual company initiatives in the area of HIV/AIDS, do valuable work to assist people affected by the Aids pandemic.&rdquo; 
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&ldquo;Although substantial, what they do via the AAI is not sufficient to either keep pace with the increasing numbers of those infected who have, due to cost, no access to the drugs they need. Nor does it help change the public perception of the industry from being part of the problem, to being part of the solution.&rdquo; 
 
Higgs reported at today&rsquo;s conference in Port-of-Spain on the early discussions with representatives of three AAI member companies &ndash; Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Abbott Laboratories &ndash; in a meeting hosted by Pfizer, which is not a member of the AAI. 
 
&ldquo;It was agreed at the time to discuss the ICEM proposal, as well as each company&rsquo;s programme to provide access to affordable medicines and treatment on an individual basis with each AAI member company, to satisfy antitrust concerns.&rdquo; 
 
Individual company meetings were held between December 2003 and April 2004, which expanded to include GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, and Merck. A meeting with Boehringer Ingelheim was scheduled, but did not occur. Meetings also took place with representatives of the US industry trade association, the European industry trade association, and the International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. The initiative&rsquo;s draft text was substantially amended to reflect concerns raised during these meetings, including those related to anti-trust implications. 
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The Road to Nowhere 
 
In September 2004, Higgs wrote to the CEO of each AAI member company asking for a response to the redrafted document, and requesting a meeting with each of them to discuss the proposed initiative and its possibilities. 
 
Disturbingly, Higgs received almost the same response from each CEO, directing him back to the staff executives that he had spoken with earlier. No CEO directly addressed the proposal, or offered to meet. 
 
The AAI did, however, start to take an active interest in other ongoing ICEM HIV/AIDS projects. As welcome as that was, Higgs made it clear that the two issues must be kept separate. 
 
In July 2005, Higgs got back to the AAI, asking for a decision by 30 September 2005, on whether a meeting could be arranged with AAI CEOs to further discuss the ICEM proposal. The AAI failed to respond to the request in time. In April 2006, an AAI representative indicated that an AAI meeting would be arranged to chart a path forward with the ICEM. 
 
Following four months of further delay, a brief e-mail was finally received indicating that the AAI would not be able to proceed on the draft ICEM initiative. 
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The Future 
 
According to WHO and UNAIDS, the AAI companies are providing nearly 430,000 people in the developing world with Anti-Retroviral (ARV) medicines. Another 440,000 are reportedly receiving generic ARVs under the full international effort. In total, only around 15% of the estimated 6.5 million people in immediate need are getting treatment.&nbsp; 
 
This means that some 5.5 million people are still in immediate need of affordable medicines, with the price of those medicines continuing to be a major obstacle. 
 
&ldquo;The failure of pharmaceutical company leaderships to sit down with international labour and talk will remain a shameful episode,&rdquo; stated Fred Higgs. &ldquo;It is all the more sad when you realise that, at no time during the three-year-long discussions, did any representative of any one of the companies indicate that the initiative would be too expensive or unrealistic. No one ever said it wasn&rsquo;t possible. They just didn&rsquo;t want to do it.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;In the future,&rdquo; continued Higgs, &ldquo;ICEM will focus on working on with international organisations and employers that understand labour&rsquo;s capabilities to move HIV/AIDS treatment programmes forward in developing nations.&rdquo; He noted that he has had positive discussions with officials of the United Nations, with the ILO, and with certain pharmaceutical companies, including the Chief Executive of Pfizer. 
The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) represents 20 million workers from 384 industrial trade unions in 125 countries.

Pharmaceutical Industry Fails in Developing Industry-Wide HIV/AIDS Initiative

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Unions from France and Belgium convened early this month in Montreuil, France, to discuss a complete lack of information to workers over the merger plans of Owens Corning&rsquo;s Reinforcements Business with Saint-Gobain&rsquo;s Reinforcement Composites Businesses, known as Vetrotex. 
 
Under the auspices of the F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Nationale du Verre et de la C&eacute;ramique CGT, the CGT Owens Corning l&rsquo;Ardoise and V&eacute;trotex St Gobain Chamb&eacute;ry met with representatives of the Belgian FGTB et CSC, representing Owens Corning workers in Battice, Belgium. 
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The consultations concluded with the unionists condemning the fact that neither Owens Corning, a US multinational, nor French Saint-Gobain had taken the trouble to answer the questions posed by the unions since the announcement of the merger was made last July. Workers are extremely concerned about the planned merger&rsquo;s impact, including a possible sale of one or more of the two companies&rsquo; entities. 
 
The trade unionists from the French and Belgian unions said that they have not been provided information on either a social or industrial plan, thus creating the fear of the negative consequences that workers could face if the merger becomes reality.

French, Belgian Unions Meet Over Possible Owens Corning, Saint-Gobain Merger

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A court in France last week sided with French energy trade unions, who argued that Gaz de France (GDF) needed to provide more information first to its European Works Council (EWC) before it can merge with Franco-Belgian utility group Suez. The court decision is likely to have serious repercussions on the planned &euro;80 billion merger between GDF and Suez. 
 
The unions filed the complaint after GDF failed to provide EWC members with crucial information, needed to get an informed opinion back to the company. The consultation process between the GDF and its EWC is one of the necessary steps in the merger process. The French judge last week ruled that GDF cannot take any decision on the merger before the EWC has given its opinion on the deal. 
 
Trade unions are requiring from GDF information on the &ldquo;social impact&rdquo; of the planned merger. The unions are particularly concerned over the impact on employment, and seek details on the consequences of possible job losses and/or relocations in countries like France, The Netherlands, Italy and UK. 
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Because of the court decision, it became impossible for the boards of the companies to meet and take decisions last week, making it, in turn, impossible for shareholders to vote on the merger before the end of the year. That means that a vote on the merger will be postponed to some time early next year, possible until March or even later. 
 
With French public opinion strongly in favour of state-controlled utility services, and with the French presidential elections looming early next year, unions representing GDF workers now believe it possible that the entire merger will be abandoned, particularly if the Socialist Party in France wins election. 
 
On a separate issue, French unions at GDF strongly protested the planned decision by the presidents of GDF and Suez to assign only three seats, out of a total of 24, of the Administrative Council of the merged group to union representatives. That number would be the bare legal minimum. At GDF, unions have six seats out of 18. 
 
A joint French trade union front, consisting of CGT, FNEM FO, CFE-CGC, and CFTC, has been resisting the government&rsquo;s forced privatisation of Gaz de France, through the merger with the French-Belgian water and power concern. Another energy union, FCE-CFDT, while also hostile to the privatisation of GDF, suggests a separate solution, advocating a partnership between GDF and Suez. In a press release last week, FCE-CFDT repeated that position, saying it would have solved a lot of the current problems.

Unions Win Important Legal Battle in GDF-Suez Merger Saga

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The worst Polish mining tragedy in three decades claimed 23 lives on 21 November, as a methane gas explosion struck deep inside the Halemba mine in Ruda Slaska in Poland&rsquo;s southern Silesia industrial region. The mine, which had not been operating since March 2006, is owned by the state-run Kampania Weglowa (KW), the EU&rsquo;s largest mining company. 
 
The miners were some 1,000 metres underground when the methane gas ignited. They were sent into the 50-year-old mine to retrieve equipment, valued by the company at US$23 million. The shafts in which they were working had been closed last spring, due to dangerously high concentrations of gas. 
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Poland&rsquo;s President, Lech Kaczynski, visited the area and declared a three-day national period of mourning from 23-25 November. All cultural and sports events across the country were cancelled. The government also announced a special fund totalling US$234,700 for family members of the victims. 
 
Some 60 persons, including 23 surviving children, will share the compensation award, expected to amount to about US$10,000 per person. 
 
Poland&rsquo;s Higher Authority for Mining set up a special commission to investigate the tragedy, with work beginning on 24 November. The KW supervisory board will meet on 11 December to take up the reasons and consequences of the catastrophe. Meanwhile, KW has dismissed general directors at all 17 of its collieries in Poland, and the mines will be managed by technical and administrative personnel.

23 Miners Killed inside Poland’s Halemba Coal Pit

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The ICEM has written to the leaders of Maoist political parties in Nepal, protesting against the recent attacks on trade union representatives by Maoist groups in the country. 
 
The latest of these assaults took place on Saturday, 18 November, at a mill owned by Bhrikuti Pulp and Paper Nepal Ltd., in Gaindakot in the Nawalparasi district of Western Nepal. 
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NICIWU's Tika Ram Paudel
Tika Ram Paudel, the Central Treasurer of ICEM affiliate Nepal Independent Chemical &amp; Iron Workers&rsquo; Union (NICIWU), and Shree Mahato, the NICIWU Vice President at Bhrikuti&rsquo;s mill, were brutally attacked by Maoists.
Both were beaten after Paudel, who had been receiving Maoist threats over the last few months, was summoned &ldquo;for consultation&rdquo; by Maoists, who had suddenly appeared at the plant.
Regrettably, more reports on violence against trade unionists have come out of Nepal recently. The ICEM was also informed by its affiliates of an attack on GEFONT trade unionists by Maoists in Hotel Malla. 
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These violent incidents are deplorable in view of the fact that the country is just months out of a period of brutal repression by the government. Last spring, the people of Nepal removed their autocratic King Gyanendra from power. And within the past month, a peace agreement was signed between Maoists rebels and the government, ending a ten-year period of fighting. 
 
In the ICEM letter, the Global Union Federation joined the call by NICIWU to &ldquo;strongly demand the Maoist leadership to respect the peace code of conduct,&rdquo; as well as &ldquo;to investigate the incidents immediately.&rdquo; Reportedly, the Maoist leadership has already committed itself to investigate the incident. However, earlier such promises have been broken. The ICEM will continue to monitor the fragile state of peace and security not only in the Himalayan country as a whole, but also inside the workplaces of Nepal.

Situation Remains Precarious for Nepalese Trade Unionists

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French multinational Saint-Gobain, one of the world&rsquo;s largest companies in the building materials sector, has quickly taken advantage of the Howard government&rsquo;s WorkChoices law in Australia to undermine enterprise bargaining in favour of individual labour agreements. 
 
The company has imposed the practice at two plant sites in the Sydney area, intending to break collective representation by ICEM affiliate National Union of Workers (NUW). 
 
As a result, Saint-Gobain Abrasives Pty. Ltd. staff at the Lidcombe and Wetherill Park worksites are currently on strike, seeking a new collective bargaining agreement. The strike started after it had become clear that Saint-Gobain, instead of starting negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement, was applying to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to terminate the existing one. 
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As part of the same process, Saint-Gobain is attempting to have employees sign Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). AWAs are individual contracts, whose key characteristics are that they prohibit the right of employees to bargain collectively and exercise other rights of union membership.
The use of AWAs, and the refusal to bargain collectively, is inconsistent with international law. This was recognised, in July 2005, by the Special Committee on the Application of Standards of the ILO, which found that Australia is not meeting its obligations to protect the rights of workers through the provision of AWAs. 
 
On top of all that, on 8 November, the Federal Court of Australia determined that Saint-Gobain unlawfully terminated the employment of two NUW delegates. The two employees, Jeff Gearin and Tony Seymour, who had been working at the site for 18 and 30 years, were dismissed, according to the company, for lack of skills. In court proceedings, it became apparent that the necessary training would have taken &ldquo;two to three hours&rdquo; and that one of the two had earlier asked for the training, a request that management had denied. 
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NUW delegates Jeff Gearin and Tony Seymour
In a letter to the company, the NUW quotes the third principle - on freedom of association and collective bargaining - of the UN&rsquo;s Global Compact, which the company joined in June 2003. 
 
The ICEM has been in direct contact with its French affiliates in the materials sector in an effort to press Paris-based senior management of Saint-Gobain to respect freedom of association at the Australian plant. The ICEM and French unions are also seeking an end to Australian management&rsquo;s pressure on Lidcombe and Wetherill Park employees to accept individual contracts, and want management to begin earnest negotiations with the NUW toward a new collective agreement.

Saint-Gobain Initiates Regressive WorkChoices Law in Australia

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