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<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/>
A major textile brand has come out against the sandblasting of jeans and said that it will not, has not, and now will join a global front led by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF) to stop the practice by suppliers and retailers in giving jeans a trendy, faded look. 
 
Italian-based Gianni Versace fashion house responded to a cyber campaign by change.org and announced on 20 July that it is in agreement with CCC and ITGLWF “that it is appropriate to take a proactive stance, and stand against the practice of sandblasting. 
 
“Versace has specifically asked every supplier (and will ask any new supplier as a condition to work with Versace) to certify that they are not using sandblasting.” The apparel marketer said any supplier using sandblasting in production “will be considered in breach of contract and dismissed accordingly.” 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1107.sand blasting lead.jpg" width="101" height="95"/>
Sandblasting releases silica dust which, when inhaled, causes infection and scarring in the lungs. Continued exposure can cause silicosis. Textile and clothing manufacturing in developing countries is notorious for long working hours, cramped and unventilated work spaces, and lack of safety or health protection. High pressure blasting of sand severely compounds health risks on workers. 
 
Versace now joins some ten other retailers in action to totally eliminate the practice throughout the world. The others include Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), Levi Strauss, Karen Millen, Espirit, Aurora Fashions, Bestseller, Inditex, New Look, Carrefour, and C&A. 
 
The ITGLWF welcomed the news from Versace last month. Spokeswoman Laura Carter, quoted in the Independent newspaper of the UK, said the company’s decision sends a huge message to the influential fashion names of Italy. The ITGLWF hopes more companies will join the campaign and ban the practice at a scheduled meeting next month. 
 
CCC said the decision by the Milan-based brand came after a long a campaign. "After many months of silence, Versace now say they agree that the sandblasting operators who make the finishings on the jeans run unacceptable health risks. Previously they had refused to join the call.”

Versace of Italy Responds to Pressure, Joins Anti-Sandblasting Campaign

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The ICEM was angered and shocked by the madness in Norway late last week, expressing disbelief to its Norwegian affiliated unions that such xenophobic lunacy could occur in such a model democratic social nation. General Secretary Manfred Warda, who was in the US at the time attending another affiliate’s convention, said in a message to Norwegian trade unionists that it was with “deep shock and sadness that I received the horrible news of the shootings and murders of so many young people and the losses from the terrible blast in Oslo. 
 
“I am sure all over the world ICEM-affiliated trade unions feel the sadness and extend sympathies to the families who lost loved ones. We all feel deep solidarity with the people of Norway, we offer our condolences, and these tragic events show how much we need to be on alert to right-wing extremism and intolerable fundamentalism.” 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0904Labourrose.JPG" width="80" height="105"/>
Norwegian Fellesforbundet President Arve Bakke, in a letter to global trade unions on the massacre of young Labour Party activists at Utøya and the Oslo bombing on 22 July, said: “We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for your solidarity and support following the shocking, violent and cowardly attacks that took place at Utøya and in Oslo. 
 
“Our thoughts are now with the families, relatives and friends of the victims and everyone affected by this tragedy. 
 
“It is with great shock and grief we were witness to the blackest day in Norwegian labour movement history. In just a few hours many union and political activists from the Norwegian labour movement were brutally deprived of their lives. Also democracy was hit at its core. The centre of national government was bombed beyond recognition and an important part of our future was massacred. 
 
“This is a time to stand firm to our ideals and we condemn the forces that want to destroy everything we believe in. I will make Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s words mine: ‘We must never give up our values. We must show that our open society can pass this test too. That the answer to violence is even more democracy. Even more humanity. But never naivety. This we owe the victims and their families.’ 
 
“Again, thank you for your concern and solidarity.”

Senseless Murders in Norway Met with Anger, Disbelief

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from International Metalworkers’ Federation 
 
Miners at Cananea, Sonora, Taxco, Guerrero and Sombrerete, Zacatecas, have now been on strike for four heroic years in defence of their labour and trade union rights. On 30 July and the following days, the miners will hold rallies to reaffirm their continued support for the strikes and the struggle of the Mexican Miners' Union. 
 
The National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, affiliated to the ICEM and the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) says it is willing "to negotiate legal arrangements necessary to end the strikes, if a solution can be found that will respect the workers, recognize their collective agreements, definitively establish adequate health and safety conditions, and respect the miners' union led by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia." 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1005.los.mineros.jpg" width="205" height="154"/>
The three strikes continue because there has been no legal ruling to determine a definitive end to the strikes, explained the union. The union added that, throughout this period, the company has stubbornly refused to act peacefully and resolve the strikes in accordance with the law. 
 
During these years, the workers on strike have been persecuted and some judges have ruled that the strikes were invalid. However, the courts have ruled in the union's favour in response to union requests for legal protection. Workers have been subjected to repression in these four years, for example on 6 June 2010 at the Cananea mine, which was occupied by 4,000 armed men who maintained a climate of terror against the miners. 
 
In addition to the rallies that will take place on July 30 to commemorate four years on strike, the union will hold meetings to discuss how to strengthen the strikes and to call on the local communities to continue their support for the miners. 
 
The miners and the local communities are deeply concerned that neither the government nor Grupo México has taken any steps to resolve the disputes, recognise the collective agreements, and respect the National Miners' Union.

Los Mineros Commemorates Four Years on Strike Against Mexican Mine Companies

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The ICEM joins the wide condemnation of the Malawi government’s vicious crackdown on human and trade union rights. A raft of recent legislative changes has systematically curtailed civil liberties, freedom of the press, and increased impunity of government agencies and officials. 
 
In the African nation, Section 46 of the Penal Code was amended, allowing the Minister of Information to ban publications which are deemed to be contrary to the public interest. The Civil Procedure Bill was also amended, denying plaintiffs the right to instant relief when their rights are under threat by a government agency or officer. This latter amendment also allows police to search any house without a search warrant.</div>
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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Civil society groups have given President Mutharika until 17 August to respond to their grievances. "If nothing happens, the nation will hear from us," stated Robert Mkwezalamba, General Secretary of the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU), referring to a petition of grievances submitted to the President. 
 
Nationwide popular protests on 20 July were brutally repressed by shocking police violence, leaving 19 people dead including a 13-year-old boy. The violence used by the Malawi government has been widely condemned, and attention is now on Mutharika’s regime to peacefully reach agreement with protest groups, and reverse the country’s archaic legislation. 
 
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has initiated an <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1074">electronic campaign</a> through LabourStart. Please support it here. </div>

Campaign to Halt the Bloody Repression of Malawi Trade Unionists

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ICEM-affiliated United Steelworkers (USW) in the US is fighting to keep pension and healthcare benefits for 125 highly skilled mould repairmen at Owens-Illinois, and 175 at Ross International. US-based glass packaging manufacturers Owens-Illinois and Ross International are attempting to discriminate against younger workers by providing inferior retirement benefits to new staff. 
Also under attack in current negotiations are healthcare benefits contained in the two-tier proposals. The ICEM condemns this draconian stance of Owens-Illinois and Ross International in their collective negotiations. 
 
As reported by ICEM in July this year, Owens-Illinois has been attempting to squeeze more profit out of its operations elsewhere in the world by cutting workers’ benefits. In Colombia, ICEM-affiliated Sintravidricol members were forced to work dangerously long periods after restructuring at the plants in Envigado, Cogua, and Soacha. The company filled gaps by outsourcing work unilaterally, ignoring Sintravidricol’s pleas for dialogue. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1108.tim tuttle.jpg" width="150" height="161"/>
Tim Tuttle
Ross International also has a record of bitter disputes with ICEM affiliates. However, Sintravidricol in Colombia did achieve recognition and a collective agreement from the company following a 23-day strike in 2007. 
 
Both companies are now targeting USW members’ social benefits and those of future generations. These workers repair the moulds used to manufacture containers in the beer, wine, spirits, and food sectors of glass and other packaging. 
 
Tim Tuttle, Chairman of USW’s Glass Industry Conference, reports that a further meeting with management is scheduled for Wednesday, 31 August, the same day the current agreement expires. Additional dates in September will be sought to continue discussions. 
 
In a letter to Owens-Illinois CEO, Albert Stroucken, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda condemned the company’s stance against a fair contract for employees. “This is an attempt by Owens-Illinois to bolster its bottom line on the backs of vulnerable retirees. It also appears to be a cynical attempt by Owens-Illinois to undermine the union by sewing divisions within it between current workers and newly hired workers,” stated Warda. 
 
As Warda warned the CEOs of both glass packaging manufacturers, the ICEM will mobilise international support if managements fail to alter their regressive stance in North American bargaining.

USW Resists Concessions in Owens-Illinois, Ross International Bargaining 

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At the triennial United Steelworkers Convention in Las Vegas, US, on 16 August, the union covering members in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean moved closer to formalising a unified North American trade union together with oppressed National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros. 
 
Los Mineros President Napoleón Gómez Urrutia addressed the 3,000 delegates via teleconference from Canada, where he has been in exile for the last five years. These same charges blocked Gómez from travelling to the Las Vegas Convention. His wife, Oralia, gave an emotional speech instead. It had been planned that Los Mineros leader Juan Linares would sign the agreement, but he was blocked from leaving Mexico by authorities who are conducting a relentless campaign against Los Mineros. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1108.mineros usw alliance.png" width="246" height="161"/>
“A strong, unified union is needed to fight for workers from the northern tip of Canada to the most southern tip of Mexico, particularly in the age of the North American Free Trade Agreement,” stated USW President Leo Gerard. 
 
Among other things, the agreement establishes worker councils for employees at multinationals in the three countries, "to facilitate exchange of information, strategic cooperation, solidarity support, and organizing initiatives." 
 
The two trade unions formed a commission, charged with increasing strategic cooperation and exploring a fusion together following the aggressive police attacks on workers and their families at Cananea and Pasta de Conchos on 6 June 2010, announcing the bi-lateral trade union commission at the global "Triple Crisis of Sustainability” conference in Toronto on 19 June 2010. 
 
The commission was made up of five members from each of the union’s leaderships, and will now be expanded to include the USW general counsel and director of international affairs. Los Mineros will get two additional representatives. 
 
The USW represents 850,000 workers in the US, Canada and the Caribbean, while Los Mineros represents about 180,000 in Mexico.

USW, Mexico’s Los Mineros Strengthen Alliance

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ICEM Belgian affiliate Centrale Générale-FGTB and the chemicals company Clariant Benelux made temporary peace nine days ago in a pitched industrial strike by blue-collar workers in Louvain-la-Neuve. Following talks between the union and the Swiss-based company, the blue-collar workforce accepted reinstatement of one of two discharged shop stewards (see previous <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4604-FGTB-Delegates-Sacked-at-Clariant-Chemicals-Plant-in-Belgium" type="internal">ICEM article</a>) and resumption of social dialogue based on trade union rights and safeguards of freedoms.  
 
Mohamed Loukili and Kemal Bennaceur were sacked by Clariant on 27 July for faithfully carrying out union responsibilities inside the workplace. The recent negotiations came after a spirited strike manifestation and in the talks, FGTB won reinstatement for Loukili, while Bennaceur decided earlier to accept a pay-out package and depart the company. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1108.clariant%20settlement.jpg" width="231" height="164"/>
Strikers Surround Mohamed Loukili (top, center) at 17 August Manifestation
The 17 August strike manifestation at Clariant plant gates in Louvain-la-Neuve saw 200 workers and supporters call on Clariant to reverse the anti-social sackings. Three days before the annual summer shut-down, managers announced dismissal of the two union representatives. That caused a strike by the entire 45-worker blue-collar unit, a strike that threatened the safety of some 100 white-collar staff when work resumed two weeks ago. 
 
The ICEM congratulates the FGTB on winning this important union rights test, and takes note that it is the second time in a month that Belgium’s Socialist Union has won reinstatement rights for sacked job leaders. It happened at Belgian Refining Corp. (BRC), near the Port of Antwerp, when two union delegates were reinstated through dialogue on 15 July between FGTB-ABVV and BRC managers. (See that <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4558-BRC-Belgium-Conflict-Settled-Sacked-Oil-Workers-Reinstated" type="internal">ICEM story</a> here.)  
 
Clariant’s chemical plant in Louvain-la-Neuve is part of the Swiss company’s Masterbatches division and produces colour chemicals for inks and textiles.

Belgium: FGTB Succeeds in Getting Staff Rep’s Job Back at Clariant

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Madhukar Kashinath Pandhe, a steadfast champion of workers in India and elsewhere, died of a heart attack on 20 August in a New Delhi hospital. M K Pandhe was a champion for decades in India of carving gains for all workers, from unorganised workers in the informal sector to the skilled workers that drive India’s economy. He was 86. 
 
Pande was an early leader of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). When he died, he was Vice President of CITU. He had served as the trade union’s Secretary, General Secretary, and President. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/India.CITU.png" width="127" height="121"/>
He was also President of the All India Coal Workers’ Federation. The ICEM knew him as a tireless and dedicated partner on coal supply, work rights, pay, health, safety and other issues in the mining industry. 
 
Pande was born in Pune, Maharashtra, and joined the Communist Party in 1943. He joined the Goa liberation struggle against the Portuguese and after the Communist Party in India divided, be became a leader a CPI(M) – the Communist Part India (Marxist) party. 
 
His high prestige in India as a trade union negotiator who delivered for the working class was earned because Pandhe did it across all industrial sectors, from mining, steel, energy to all forms of transport, and from navy to shipping to aviation to many other jobs. He served on numerous national level bodies formed by the government, and his steady voice inside all of them never wavered from the defense of the working class. 
 
M K Pandhe is survived his wife, Pramile, a key leader in CPI(M) and also leader in the All India Democratic Women’s Association, and a son.

M K Pandhe: 1925-2011

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The ICEM and the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) renewed a Global Framework Agreement last week with Umicore, the Brussels-based global materials technology group with expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy, operating in four business groups, namely catalysis, energy materials, performance materials and recycling, with some 14,400 employees.
First signed in September 2007, the agreement has been the basis for joint union-management activities for proper implementation of the principles set out in the text. Representatives of the company, both Global Union Federations (GUFs) and the European Works Council conducted joint missions in China in 2008, in Brazil in 2009, and in South Africa in 2010, in addition to the regular monitoring activities defined in the agreement. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1109.Umicore Renewal picture - 1.jpg" width="332" height="160"/>
(left to right) Ignace de Ruijter, Marc Grynberg, Jyrki Raina, Kemal Özkan
The four-year renewal was done with a ceremony held on 6 September in the Belgian capital with Umicore’s Marc Grynberg, Chief Executive Officer, and Ignace de Ruijter, Senior Vice-President Human Resources, as well as IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina and ICEM’s Kemal Özkan, Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs on behalf of General Secretary Manfred Warda. 
The agreement was also re-affirmed by the Belgian trade unions through the signatures of Marc De Wilde, President of ACV-CVC Metea, Paul Heykants, Secretary of LBC-NVK, Said Zaoudi, Secretary of CNE-GNC, Georges De Batselier, Vice-President ABVV Metaal, Angelo Basile, Deputy General Secretary of MWB-FGTB and Guy Vertommen, Secretary BBTK and Kurt Marysse, National Responsible of ACLVB/CGSLB. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1109.Umicore Renewal picture -2.jpg" width="226" height="160"/>
(left to right) Kemal Özkan, Marc Grynberg, Jyrki Raina
The agreement covers six major chapters, namely Human Rights, Working Conditions, Environment, Implementation of Agreement, Monitoring, and Validity of Agreement. Under Human Rights, Umicore pledges to adhere to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, as well as adherence to ILO core labour standards. The latter specifically includes ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, and other Conventions regarding child labour, forced labour, and non-discrimination and equal opportunities' practices. With the renewal, the parties re-confirmed their political decisiveness over their global level commitments within the framework of the agreement. 

“We believe that this agreement offers benefits for all stakeholders. All parties have benefited from the constructive relationship fostered by the original agreement and we look forward to this continuing in the coming years,” said Raina, speaking on behalf of both GUFs. 
 
“We are so proud of this international agreement with IMF and ICEM. This gives a big value in our policies towards the issues of sustainable development,” said Umicore’s Grynberg. “This agreement supports Umicore’s global vision on social issues and reflects our diversity and international presence. It will help us in our journey towards sustainability and in being considered a great place to work,” added Umicore Vice-President de Ruijter.

ICEM and IMF Renew Global Agreement with Umicore

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In a contentious Congress that almost collapsed without being completed, South African ICEM affiliate Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union (CEPPWAWU) re-elected Simon Mofokeng as General Secretary 2 September in Durban. Some 299 delegates represented the union’s seven regions at the 4th Congress from 31 August to 2 September. 
 
Mofokeng was the only one of six national office bearers to win re-election, besting former General Secretary Welile Nolingo 178-114 in a secret ballot delegate vote. Thamsango Mhlongo, a shop steward at Mondi’s pulp and paper mill at Richard’s Bay, KwaZula-Natal, won election as President. He defeated incumbent President Jacob Mabhena by a margin of 200-97. 
<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1109.ceppwawu president.jpg" width="166" height="160" alt=""/>     <img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1109.ceppwawu gs.jpg" width="175" height="160" alt=""/>
CEPPWAWU President Thamsanga Mhlongo, General Secretary Simon Mofokeng
The Congress was marked by heated debate on the final day over a Secretariat Report that was one day late in distribution per statutory requirements. The union has been mired in a years-long conflict with the investment manager of its investment arm, CEPPWAWU Investments, a conflict now in South Africa’s courts that has frozen most of CEPPWAWU’s assets. 
 
The final day’s debate caused all of the Congress’s resolutions to be postponed, as well as proposed constitutional amendments and other important statutory business. Following a recommendation from an officer of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), delegates moved to hold a Special Congress to complete the business of the 4th Congress. That likely will be held in the first quarter of 2012. 
 
The final day’s business concluded with election of officers, with all seats being contested. 
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Earlier, the Congress heard from COSATU President Sidumo Dlamini and South African Land and Public Enterprise Minister Malusi Gigaba, who represented the African National Congress (ANC) at the Congress. Gigaba told delegates that the ANC political party – together with South Africa’s trade unions – must enforce the revolutionary discipline that toppled the apartheid regime in reference to the current split in the party caused by the ANC’s Youth League. 
 
Gigaba also reminded delegates that land reform is still incomplete in South Africa and said the supply of food to the nation’s impoverished depends on water development and rural land re-use. Dlamini urged CEPPWAWU delegates to overcome its current stalemated position, and he reminded that the union was the first union in South Africa to won the 40-hour work-week. 
 
Dlamini also praised CEPPWAWU for being the leader in engagement of foreign capital in order to create jobs, affirmative action, and respect for workers’ rights. Dlamini also said CEPPWAWU must be the leader in forging a state-owned pharmaceutical company in South Africa, a persistent theme throughout the Congress. 
 
Results of elections for other national office bearers: Lucas Mashego, First Deputy Vice President; Eunice Dlodlo, Second Deputy Vice President; Samuel “Chief” Seathlolo, Deputy General Secretary; and Thulasizwe Nsibande, National Treasurer.

CEPPWAWU Holds Heated 4th Congress in South Africa

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