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The Executive Board of the Woodworkers Union has approved merger terms with ICEM affiliate USWA. Local branches of the 55,000-member Industrial Wood & Allied Workers of Canada (IWA-Canada) will now vote between 12 July and 27 August on the merger.

Canadian Woodworkers Set to Merge into USWA

Sixteen unjustly imprisoned Colombian trade unionists were released on Friday following representations by a visiting mission of the 20 million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
The sixteen, all members of the oilworkers' federation USO, were held without charge for several years, before being arraigned on a series of vaguely formulated terrorism charges. 
 
They were to have been defended by prominent human rights lawyer Dr. Umana Mendoza. But just after he agreed to take on their case, Dr. Umana was murdered. 
 
When the sixteen were brought to trial, two key witnesses for the prosecution testified anonymously and wearing masks, under Colombia's "faceless justice" system. Two other prosecution witnesses - members of the Colombian military special services - testified by name, but were subsequently found to have perjured themselves. Further checks revealed that the two "faceless" witnesses were, in fact, the same two perjurers all over again. 
 
The judge in the case was suspended for three months for his misconduct of the trial. The special prosecutor was also relieved of his duties. 
 
After all this, the authorities at first tried to renew the oilworkers' imprisonment - arguing that, since a gross miscarriage of justice had taken place, time was now needed to organise a proper trial! 
 
But strong lobbying by the ICEM mission secured the workers' release. Taking part in the mission were the ICEM's Vice-President Fred Higgs, General Secretary Vic Thorpe and the international's Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean, Roque da Silva. 
 
The mission met the detainees immediately after they were freed. They were, Thorpe said, "in good health, considering the circumstances." 
 
The sending of the special mission was mandated by the ICEM Executive, amidst growing alarm over anti-union repression in Colombia. Thousands of Colombian trade unionists and other social activists have been murdered in recent years. Many others have been seriously assaulted and so, in some cases, have their families. Oil, mining and electricity unions are among those often targeted by "death squads" and other assassins. More than 120 Colombian oil union leaders and members have been murdered over the past decade. 
 
The ICEM mission held talks with a wide range of Colombian trade unionists and public authorities, including the Labour Minister, the Deputy Minister of Energy (who is in charge of electric power), the State Prosecutor and the Procurator Fiscal. 
 
The Colombian authorities must create the conditions for the free exercise of trade union rights, the mission insisted. Denouncing the cycle of violence perpetuated by paramilitaries, guerillas, drug barons and others, the ICEM mission emphasised the positive role of trade unions in the building of a democratic society. A number of Colombian officials privately agreed with this view. Such is the climate of terror in the country, however, that few officers of government or of justice are prepared to go on the record in support of trade unionism. 
 
The mission did receive an assurance from the Labour Minister that any proven violations of the right to organise and the right to bargain would be investigated and those responsible would be punished. 
 
The ICEM representatives also emphasised the international's deep concern over the way in which Colombian electricity is being privatised. In a flagrant breach of existing collective agreements, electricity workers and their unions have not been properly consulted about the privatisation process.

ICEM Mission Secures Trade Unionists' Release - Colombian Oilworkers Freed

Eight thousand Indonesian oil rig workers ended a six-week strike on August 7, after winning many of their demands. 
 
The strikers are members of the Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI). They are employed in central Sumatra by PT Tripatra, a contractor for Caltex Petroleum, which is a joint venture between oil giants Chevron and Texaco. 
 
The workers had gone on strike on June 21, following PT Tripatra's failure to follow an Indonesian Ministry of Manpower directive to pay the workers compensation and make them permanent employees. PT Tripatra responded by firing all the strikers on July 6 and using the Indonesian security forces to harass and intimidate the strikers. In a July 23 incident, the security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd of strikers, shooting one in the head, and assaulting several others. 
 
The SBSI took its case to the Indonesian parliament, the National Commission on Human Rights and the US embassy in Jakarta on July 29, decrying the company's actions and its use of the Indonesian military to try to break the strike. 
 
The 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) mobilised protests by its oil worker affiliates around the world. Among those who took action were two ICEM Vice Presidents - Robert Wages of the US union PACE and Fred Higgs of the British TGWU - who immediately lodged protests with Chevron and Texaco. In addition, the ICEM and the the US labour federation AFL-CIO organised a demonstration of 150 people at Texaco's Washington offices. This drew media attention both in the USA and in Indonesia. 
 
As a result of the pressure in Indonesia and internationally, Caltex and PT Tripatra did an about-face. In an August 6 settlement mediated by a committee of the Indonesian parliament, the union agreed to end the strike and the company agreed to reinstate all the strikers. Although the workers did not win the severance payment they wanted, PT Tripatra did agree that when its five-year contract with Caltex expires in 2003, the workers will have permanent status and will receive the full compensation under the law. 
 
Muchtar Pakpahan, General Chairman of the SBSI, today thanked the ICEM, the AFL-CIO and the American Center for International Labor Solidarity for their efforts in support of the oil strikers. Together with the union's lobbying effort at the Indonesian parliament, he said, "this work helped bring the strike to a just conclusion." 
 
"As a result," Pakpahan said, "the 8,000 workers at PT Tripatra will work under fairer and more secure conditions." 
 
"We are gratified that a settlement could be reached that reinstates all the strikers with some measure of justice," said ICEM General Secretary Vic Thorpe. "We will remain vigilant to ensure that PT Tripatra and Caltex live up to their obligations to these workers."

Indonesian Oilworkers Win Strike With World Union Support

The United Steelworkers of America (USWA) has won new collective bargaining agreements for several thousand miners in the United States and Canada. 
 
At the global level, the USWA is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
USWA miners at three mines operated by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. have now ratified a new, five-year contract. The agreement covers wages and working conditions at the Empire and Tilden iron ore mines in Michigan and the Hibbing Taconite Mine in Minnesota. 
 
In a joint statement, USWA District 11 Director Dave Foster and company spokesman Richard Novak said, "This is a very comprehensive agreement that provides for improvements in wages, pensions and other employee benefits and is patterned after agreements negotiated by US Steel and Bethlehem Steel companies." 
 
Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest supplier of iron ore products to the North American steel industry. 
 
USWA miners in Canada also have something to rejoice about. On August 29, workers at the Highland Valley copper mine in Kamloops, British Columbia, approved a new five-year agreement after a three-month shutdown. 
 
Highland Valley, co-owned by a consortium of Cominco Ltd., Rio Algom Ltd., Teck Corp., and Highmont Mining, is Canada's largest open-pit base metals mine. The new agreement, which was brokered by a British Columbia government mediator, covers 1,100 members. 
 
"We were able to negotiate a decent settlement that looks nothing like the company's original offer," said USWA official Steve Hunt. "The company started by calling for well over 50 concessions, most of which were designed to eliminate jobs. Instead, we were able to bargain improvements to the pension plan and wages. There is also a Job Protection Agreement that will ensure the mine stays open for the next five years as long as copper prices stay above 60 (US) cents per pound." 
 
"The company's decision to shut down the mine was heartless," said USWA Western Canada Director Ken Neumann. "They toyed with the lives of people in several communities - Ashcroft, Merritt, Logan Lake and Kamloops. In the end, what did they gain? Economic blackmail should not be part of the bargaining process." 
 
The USWA also reached a new agreement in mid-July at the Wabush Mines in Wabush, Labrador, covering 730 workers. The new five-year agreement improves workers' incomes and benefits. "This is an agreement that provides long-term stability both for the company and for the workers," said USWA Atlantic Coordinator Cal Luedee. 
 
The USWA continues its negotiations with Inco Ltd. for a new contract covering 1,100 workers at the company's nickel mine operations in Thompson, Manitoba. The current agreement is set to expire on 15 September. 
 
The union was buoyed by the recent rise in world nickel prices, but is angry at the company's latest contract proposal which asks for concessions by the miners. 
 
"We certainly are in a hell of a lot of a better bargaining position than we were during the last round of bargaining," said Bob Desjarlais, president of USWA Local 6166 in Thompson. "We're in very good shape as far as the Steelworkers (USWA) are concerned." 
 
The current agreement, which included substantial increases in wages and pensions, was reached in 1996 following a two-week lockout by Inco of its employees. Inco was also hit by a strike in June 1997 when 4,670 workers walked off the job at the company's Sudbury, Ontario operation. The strike was settled after four weeks. 
 
Lawrence McBrearty, the USWA's National Director for Canada, said the union's recent good record in achieving settlements in the mining sector should send a message to non-union miners. 
 
"The more members we have in the mining sector, the stronger position we are in at the bargaining table," McBrearty said. "We are actively organising miners in the far north, where we now represent some of world's most northern miners."

US And Canadian Miners Win Better Deal

The ICEM’s North American Women’s Committee was prominent in Ottawa, Canada, at a rally and march aimed at forcing the government to maintain Canada’s public, non-profit health care system. The ICEM women, meeting in Ottawa, were asked to deliver a live webcam message on the issue.

North American Women’s Committee at Canadian Health Care Rally

A 24-hour strike 20 September by FNV Bondgenoten largely shut down the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The following day saw thousands of workers protesting in The Hague, Utrecht, Arnhem and Eindhoven. FNV and other Dutch unions are protesting government proposals to slash social protections and healthcare. A mass strike over the issue will occur this Saturday, 2 October, beginning at 12:00 noon in Amsterdam.

Bondegenoten Shuts Rotterdam in Protest to Proposed Social Cuts

Malaysian ICEM affiliates together with national center MTUC conducted nationwide pickets on 28 September protesting the government’s lack of response over complaints on failure to implement ILO Convention 87. Malaysian unions have been beset by undue court delays over union recognition and collective bargaining cases, and by ministerial delays over trade union disputes that include worker discharge cases. The government has ignored the calls for response and instead has introduced further restrictions on trade union activity.

Malaysian Unions Protest Government’s Labor Rights Abuses

Leaders from the Botswana Mining Workers’ Union face continued legal harassment by Debswana, the diamond-mining joint venture between DeBeers and the government of Botswana. The union faces a 15 October deadline to file affidavits on why leaders should not face jail terms. Debswana is seeking jail sentences of the leaders over a two-week strike staged by some union members at Debswana despite a BMWU plea to continue bargaining. Debswana had received a positive ruling from a Botswana’s Industrial Court in early August declaring any strike illegal. The ruling came at the peak of a bitter wage dispute.

Debswana Taking Hard Line Against Botswana’s Miners

A Swiss mega-union was created 16 October with the merger of four unions. The new union, called Unia, includes ICEM affiliate Syndicat Industrie & Batiment (SIB) and now represents over one million workers. Unia covers Swiss workers from engineering to construction industries, and also in retail and catering sectors.

Four Unions Merge in Switzerland to Inform Unia

Just as Australian unions, asbestos victims and renegade building materials firm James Hardie were getting close last week to resolving an A$2 billion shortfall in an asbestos liability fund, the company’s CEO and CFO resigned, taking a combined A$10 million severance package. Peter Macdonald and Peter Shafron still face Australian criminal charges on misleading investors and other deceptive stock market practices by establishing and then underfunding an asbestos victims fund. Hardie had cut its own liability in constructing the fund.

James Hardie’s Executives Take Massive Severance Payouts

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