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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. 
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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

On August 2nd, Unilever announced to the financial community its intention to cut 20,000 jobs world-wide over the next three years, with 60 factories to be closed or disposed of. 
 
Under pressure from shareholders and ratings agencies, Unilever has over the last 7 years closed or sold off over 125 factories around the world, halving the global workforce to 179,000. Over these years, profits have steadily risen. 
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Systematic outsourcing has led to the elimination of permanent jobs at Unilever in many parts of the world and the creation of vast complexes of precarious labour. Outsourcing is now set to increase from 15 to 25% of volume. Many workers who produce for Unilever have been employed on renewable, &quot;temporary&quot; contracts for over a decade! 
 
By looting its own resources, Unilever management has been paying itself bonuses and buying back its own shares with cash made available through job cuts and outsourcing. Cash freed up through restructuring will be used to finance &euro;25-30 billion in dividends and share buybacks. The money will not be invested in the long-term future of the company. 
 
Through closures, job cuts, outsourcing and labour contracting, Unilever is destroying jobs and livelihoods across the globe, harming communities, and weakening the collective strength of Unilever unions. 
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Europe is now being targeted in a major way: 10-12,000 of the announced job cuts will be carried out there. 
 
On Tuesday, December 4th, Unilever unions in Europe will organise a day of action featuring a protest march and public assembly in Rotterdam. Concurrently and throughout the week, unions will stage actions at Unilever plants throughout Europe. 
 
Unilever's attack on jobs in Europe is only the latest in a continuing world-wide attack on employment. Unilever unions throughout the world are called on to support their comrades in Europe and to take global action as part of the fight to halt the global job destruction and to expand global union power at Unilever!

4 December 2007 Joint ICEM/IUF Unilever Message

The ICEM Women&rsquo;s Committee concluded its two-day conference yesterday, 18 November, in Bangkok, Thailand, shaping a seven-point work plan for future activities. The 180 women present also elected a new vice president to the ICEM&rsquo;s Presidium. 
 
Angeline Chitambo, a leader in Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Energy and Electricity Workers&rsquo; Union (ZEEWU), was elected to one of two statutory positions for women on ICEM&rsquo;s Presidium. She replaces Binda Pandy of Nepal, who did not seek re-election due to her increased role in the national labour centre GEFONT in her home country. Evgenia Esenina, chair of the Women&rsquo;s Committee from the Russian Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union (ROGWU), was unanimously endorsed to continue serving in the other Women&rsquo;s seat. 
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Chair Evgenia Esenina and Vice-chair Angeline Chitambo
The forward work plan includes: Engaging in more research on best practices regarding maternity protection; active exchange of information through ICEM&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s newsletter on country by country activities concerning women and work; a continuation of work on the work-life balance, specifically maternity and paternity leave; and the strengthening of work toward and training of workers in informal sectors, including casual workers, migrant workers, and women workers in agency labour or on short-term labour contracts. 
 
The other three points include: Building alliances with NGOs and other civil society organisations, and changing men&rsquo;s mentality to expand gender equality; continuation of women&rsquo;s leadership training and expanding women&rsquo;s representation; and continuing work specifically in Burma, Colombia, Iraq, Nepal, Palestine, Zimbabwe, and other countries in which the fight for trade union and human rights must be engaged. 
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On the left, GUEWT President Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein
A special feature of the Women&rsquo;s Committee meeting, which leads into this week&rsquo;s 4th ICEM World Congress, was a presentation by Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, president of the General Union of Iraq Electricity Workers and Technicians (GUEWT). The union became ICEM&rsquo;s first affiliate earlier this year from war-torn Iraq. She told the assembled about the difficulties fledging trade unions face in Iraq, as well as the struggle to shape a secular society in which women play major roles. 
 
Other reports came from pro-democracy groups in Burma, the continuing fight to form a just society in Nepal, and work being done by women in Thailand to bring full rights and permanent jobs to contract workers. The conference also included two break-out sessions; one on work-life balance and maternity protection, the other on resolutions submitted to this week&rsquo;s ICEM Congress, which runs 22-24 November at the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre in Bangkok.

ICEM Women Elect New Vice President, Adopt 7-Point Programme

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The ICEM mourns the passing of Heribert Maier. He died suddenly in Graz, Austria, on 6 November, from a cerebral haemorrhage. He was 75. 
 
Heribert Maier was one of the champions in the achievement of workers&rsquo; rights on the global level in the 1970s and 1980s, and beyond. &ldquo;We have much to be thankful for because of his work on the ILO&rsquo;s Freedom of Association Committee,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;The recognition of basic ILO Conventions is a tribute to Heribert Maier.&rdquo; 
 
Warda also lauded Maier for giving strong support to the Mineworkers&rsquo; International Federation (MIF) in getting the Health and Safety in Mines Convention 176 through the ILO. 
<img height="235" alt="" src="" width="150" />
He joined OGB, the Austrian national labour centre, in 1955, and rose from there to prominent careers at the ICFTU and the ILO. He also served as General Secretary of FIET, which merged with two other global unions to become UNI in 2000, from 1973-1979. He was a pioneer then, among global trade union leaders, to work extensively and successfully in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 
 
He held several distinguished positions at the ILO, including Governing Body member, Vice President of Conference, ACTRAV spokesman in the Freedom of Association Committee, and a co-drafter of the 1977 ILO Tripartite Declaration on Multinationals. 
 
The ICEM extends its deepest condolences to Heribert Maier&rsquo;s immediate family, his wife Ren&eacute;e, daughter Christina, and to affiliated unions of UNI on the sad occurrence of his death.

ICEM Mourns Death of Heribert Maier, Ex-FIET General Secretary

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Three retired workers from Continental AG in the US visited Germany with their union, the United Steelworkers (USW), in early November to protest the company&rsquo;s cut-off of medical benefits when it closed two tyre plants. Hosted by ICEM German affiliate IGBCE, the trade unionists, B.A. Hodges, Larry Little, and Jerry McChellan had several meetings with IGBCE shop stewards of the Hanover-based company and handbilled a tyre plant in Aachen. 
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The IGBCE arranged a regional press briefing for the Americans, and they also met with Werner Bischoff, board member of IGBCE and vice chairman of Continental AG&rsquo;s Supervisory Board. The USW members met with IGBCE shop stewards at Continental&rsquo;s technical centre in Northeim, and also explained the US situation of the company to shop stewards and others at IGBCE&rsquo;s training centre outside of Hanover. 
 
The three USW retirees come from closed Continental North America tyre plants in Mayfield, state of Kentucky, and Charlotte, North Carolina. They were accompanied by USW staff member Shawn Gilchrist. 
<img height="285" alt="" src="" width="380" />
Retired USW members B.A. Hodges, Larry Little, and Jerry McChellan 
Continental closed three US operations in 2006, including the Mayfield and Charlotte plants, as well as one in Byron, Ohio. Some 2,000 retirees were left without company-paid medical benefits, and, strongly supported from the USW, filed a class action lawsuit against the company. 
 
In late July 2007, a US federal court judge ruled in a summary judgment that the company had improperly reduced the benefit levels for retirees and their spouses. The judge&rsquo;s decision stated that since the company was unable to force its terms with the USW during contract talks, it unilaterally and illegally began implementing the cuts. Continental has said it will appeal the judge&rsquo;s ruling.

Retired US Continental Tyre Workers Take Protest to Germany

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After months of negotiations with employers, ICEM affiliate Chemical Industries Employees&rsquo; Union (CIEU) of Singapore has signed a fair employment practices contract with 20 chemical companies operating in the nation-city. The pact covers 1,700 workers, and came under the auspices of Singapore&rsquo;s Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices, formed in 2006. 
 
The agreement guarantees equal opportunities for workers regarding recruitment, job allocation, and career advancement. Perhaps the single most achievement of the pact is that it guarantees employment enhancement for older workers, age 50 and above, an age range in which 20% of the 1,700 workers fall. 
<img height="115" src="" width="250" alt="" />
&ldquo;CIEU is confident that the 20 companies will translate their commitments to fair employment practices into action when it comes to fair hiring and in-employment practices,&rdquo; stated Sister Cham Hui Fong, CIEU&rsquo;s Executive Secretary. &ldquo;We believe this is both a pro-worker and pro-business initiative.&rdquo; 
 
The union highlights the fact that a worker who is treated fairly is better motivated to contribute to the success of the company. 
 
Representatives of the companies and CIEU held a ceremony over the agreement at Singapore&rsquo;s National Trade Union Congress on 24 October. Some of the 20 chemical companies signatory to the pact include: Aventis Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Eastman Chemicals of Singapore, FujiFilm/Hunt Chemicals, Glaxo Wellcome, and Total Pharmaceuticals.

Chemical Workers’ Union of Singapore Signs Pact with 20 Firms

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The ICEM affiliate, Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union of Azerbaijan (AzOGWU), came to terms over a historic social development contract, covering 65,000 workers of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). 
 
Announcement of the pact came at AzOGWU&rsquo;s Third Ordinary Congress in Baku on 2 November, by the union&rsquo;s president, Jahangir Aiyev, and Socar President, R&ouml;vneq Abdullayev. The agreement amounts to a detailed social plan for all departments, sections, and workplaces of SOCAR. It also comes immediately after sizeable wage gains and working conditions were negotiated. 
<img height="100" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Foremost to the social plan is a SOCAR commitment to provide free of charge housing to 6,000 employees between now and 2010. Assurances of health and safety upgrades is part of the social development plan. Employees in all departments will also realise better transportation allowances, and safer and more modern sea transportation to offshore worksites. The social plan also spells out better catering, creation of sports and cultural centres, and other amenities for workers. 
 
AzOGWU&rsquo;s Congress, attended by 250 delegates, re-elected Jahangir Aiyev as President, and Fetullah Mustafayev as Vice President. Special guests at the Congress included Lev Mironov, ICEM Vice President and President of the Russian Oil and Gas Workers Union (ROGWU); Ivan Mochnachuk, also an ICEM Vice President and President of the Russian Independent Coal Employees&rsquo; Union; Mustafa &Ouml;ztaskin, President of Turkey&rsquo;s Petrol-Iş; and Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM&rsquo;s Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer.

Azeri Oil and Gas Workers’ Union Achieves Historic Pact with SOCAR

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The 4th ICEM World Congress begins this Thursday, 22 November, and participants and others can find Congress information on a special sub-section of the ICEM website. Through <a href="/congress">www.icem.org/congress</a>, you will find all background information, including several Congress documents, as well as practical information on the venue, the Queen Sirikit Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand. 
<img height="126" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The week-long set of meetings around the Congress, which runs 22-24 November, actually began this past weekend. A two-day Women&rsquo;s Conference was held 17-18 November, and a Contract and Agency Labour Conference will run on Wednesday, 21 November. 
 
In addition, a special meeting of the ICEM&rsquo;s Pulp and Paper Sector will occur, also on 21 November. 
 
During the Congress, this web-page will also be the place to look for updates and news on the Congress.

ICEM Website Set for GUF’s World Congress

The 20-million-member International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) is lending its support to the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation Local Union (GPOLU), and its allies, in calling for defeat of draft legislation that would, effectively, privatise Thailand&rsquo;s pharmaceutical drug industry. 
The ICEM is in full support of a manifestation on Monday, November 12, at the Ministry of Public Health in Nonthaburi. That rally, beginning at 13h00, is being organised by GPOLU, the Confederation of State Enterprise Unions (SERC), and allied consumer and civil society organisations. The ICEM encourages Thai citizens to attend. 
<img height="255" alt="" src="" width="300" />&nbsp;
Rawai Pupaga, GPOLU President and 
Chairman&nbsp;of the ICEM Thai Labour Committee
&ldquo;We lend the name of the global trade union for all chemical and pharmaceutical workers to defeat this bill,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We believe that removing the government as a provider of essential health needs, in any form, is a recipe for higher costs, with a bigger portion of the population going without adequate health care.&rdquo; 
In a letter to be read at the manifestation, the ICEM pledged to stand with the GPOLU as they &ldquo;prevail upon current government ministers and lawmakers &hellip; that government procurement of pharmaceuticals, first and foremost, must benefit Thailand&rsquo;s citizens.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM, representing 384 trade unions in 118 countries, will be holding its 4th Congress, 22-24 November, at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok. Some 880 trade union leaders from national unions representing workers in the oil, gas, mining, chemicals, pharmaceutical, and processed industries such as pulp, paper, cement, rubber, glass industries will attend the ICEM&rsquo;s quadrennial Congress.

Global Union Federation, ICEM, Calls for Defeat of Thai Public Health Amendments

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An ICEM affiliate in New Zealand, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), has rebuked a report from the New Zealand Institute, which suggests the country ought to follow rather than lead the climate control debate to avoid having businesses leave due to &ldquo;carbon flight.&rdquo; 
 
EPMU challenged that assertion, and said the country can not afford to follow on climate change, saying that a policy response &ldquo;must ensure a just transition for workers in emission-intensive industries.&rdquo;
<img height="50" src="" width="100" alt="" />
EPMU said the report brings forth the debate on just transition. 
 
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want to see good, highly skilled jobs going offshore with no thought about how that skilled labour may be redeployed,&rdquo; said the EPMU in a statement. &ldquo;A just transition means encouraging investment in new technologies that demand new skills and therefore investment in training for the future. 
 
&ldquo;However, this should not be used as an excuse to drag our heels on climate change as the New Zealand Institute and other business lobby groups appear to be suggesting. The long term economic consequences of doing nothing are far more costly than emission-reduction actions now.&rdquo; The EPMU represents 50,000 New Zealanders, including workers in coal mining, manufacturing, electricity generation, and oil extraction.

EPMU Says New Zealand Must Lead, Not Follow Climate Change Transition

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