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Trade union leaders from Guinea, who have been leading efforts to topple the corrupt regime of President Lansano Cont&eacute; in the west African country, were in Brussels on 26-27 March, and they appealed to global trade unions to continue to apply pressure for democratic change there. 
 
The national centre leaders, which included the leader of ICEM&rsquo;s mining union affiliate in Guinea, visited the ICEM on 27 March. They told of the continued impasse to dissolve the corrupt and authoritative government of Cont&eacute; &ndash; despite the appointment of an acceptable prime minister &ndash; and they addressed the rampant poverty that has swallowed the resource-rich country, due primarily to that corruption. 
 
The three included: Rabiatou Sereh Diallo, General Secretary of the National Confederation of Workers of Guinea (CNTG); Dr. Ibrahima Fofana, General Secretary of the Trade Union of Workers of Guinea (USTG); and Yamodou Tour&eacute;, General Secretary of the National Organisation of Free Trade Unions of Guinea (ONSLG), who also heads the National Union of Mine and Quarry Workers (SYNAMIC). 
<img height="253" alt="" src="" width="380" />
From left to right: Ibrahima Fofana, Rabiatou Sereh Diallo, Manfred Warda and Yamodou Tour&eacute;
Guinea&rsquo;s trade unions have become the voice and courage for all of civil society as they led mass strikes against Cont&eacute; and his military regime last year, and again in January and February of this year. In January, the three leaders were arrested for leading the three-week general strike, and the arrests were interlocked with direct negotiations with Cont&eacute;, talks that did make modest progress toward democratic reform. 
Cont&eacute;'s presidential guards killed a total of 113 people during this year's crisis. 
 
The Brussels visit was made possible by the ITUC, and included a visit to the European Union&rsquo;s Commission. 
 
At the ICEM, Rabi Diallo said the January-February general strike was only a partial success, and civil society is now waiting for new Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate to re-shape a government that will address the needs of the people. &ldquo;The stumbling block is that the president is still in power,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The commitments we have gained have not been implemented, so our struggle continues. Nothing is a given yet.&rdquo; 
 
Dr. Fofana added, &ldquo;We have initiated the first step, that government must be responsible to the people. We took action, the state tried to stop us, but we have persevered.&rdquo; Fofana and the others are calling for an international conference of trade union and civil society groups to be held in Guinea this year. The conference is intended to promote proper social dialogue inside the country, as well &ldquo;as to show the whole world what is occurring in Guinea today,&rdquo; according to Fofana. 
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Yamodou Tour&eacute; said the two biggest obstacles facing workers in Guinea are corrupt bosses, and the need for overhaul and drastic revisions to labour code and collective labour agreements. The three trade union leaders specifically told ICEM of the problems in Guinea&rsquo;s mining sector, where taxes that are charged to global companies end up in personal accounts of Cont&eacute; and his cronies. 
 
The country holds roughly half of the world&rsquo;s reserves of bauxite, the chief mineral in the manufacture of aluminium, and also is a significant producer of copper, gold, and diamonds. 
 
The trade unionists said Russian bauxite producer RUSAL is a real problem in Guinea. The company, which operates the Friguia alumina plant, as well as serving as the managing partner in a joint venture with Cont&eacute;&rsquo;s corrupt regime, called Compagnie des Bauxite de Kindia, utilises child labour in many of its work areas. The company also relies heavily on subcontractors, &ldquo;phantom&rdquo; companies which are tied to Cont&eacute;&rsquo;s associates. 
 
These enterprises operate in the black, and are the worst abusers of workers&rsquo; rights in a country in which workplace rights are nearly non-existent. 
 
After meeting with ICEM Gen. Sec. Manfred Warda and ICEM staff, Warda stated, &ldquo;The people of Guinea deserve our support and solidarity. They are living and working under the worst circumstances imaginable. It is incumbent for global trade unions to follow the lead of Guinea&rsquo;s heroic unions, and to join their struggle for justice and democratic reforms.&rdquo;

Struggle Continues for Trade Unionists in Bringing Democracy to Guinea

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The International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) is heading a global union campaign to draw attention to occupational cancer, the most common work-related cause of death. Titled &ldquo;Occupational Cancer/Zero Cancer,&rdquo; the campaign is endorsed by all Global Union Federations, as well as the ITUC, and contains materials and useful information for preventing cancer in the workplace. 
 
Those materials, and background information, can be found at <a href="http://www.imfmetal.org/cancer">www.imfmetal.org/cancer</a>. 
 
An IMF cancer prevention guide, for instance, states that an occupational cancer death occurs once every 52 seconds. The IMF maintains that one in ten cancer cases can be prevented because that percentage, at the very least, is due to predictable workplace exposure. 
 
&ldquo;Asbestos alone accounts for an estimated 100,000 deaths each year and yet there is not a worldwide ban on its use,&rdquo; said IMF Gen. Sec. Marcello Malentacchi. The IMF says too little attention is given to preventing workplace hazards by employers and government regulators, and Malentacchi points to the fact that &ldquo;only a small minority of countries have signed up to the ILO conventions on occupational cancer and asbestos.&rdquo;

IMF Spearheads Global Campaign on Occupational Cancer

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Another victory for workers in Iraq was won last week with major significance. A sit-in by street vendors in the southern city of Nasiriya produced a compromise by authorities in negotiations. Street vendors are represented by the Union of Unemployed in Iraq (UUI), part of the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI). 
 
On 22 March, scores of street vendors staged a sit-in and protest aimed at municipal and occupational authorities, who previously have evicted the vendors under a &ldquo;reconstruction plan of cities&rdquo; dictum. Last week&rsquo;s action forced negotiations with street vendor leaders, the UUI, and authorities. The compromise gives street vendors &ldquo;an alternative location to set up their kiosks/carts on which they depend to support their families,&rdquo; according to UUI Nasiriyah Branch President Almad Salem. 
 
&ldquo;This agreement is a first-timer in the recent history of our class struggles with the governorate and will mobilise more of the exploited and oppressed to come forward in unified ranks around their real representatives in order to demand their rights,&rdquo; he added.
<img height="165" src="" width="220" alt="" />
Iraqi street vendors' protest on 22 March&nbsp;
Stated FWCUI Nasiriya Branch Head Ahmad abdel-Sattar, &ldquo;Authorities did not move towards solving the problem or planning in any way to rid the hundreds of thousands of the unemployed from this decades&rsquo; old situation (of poverty). Moreover, they have deepened the crisis by dividing work opportunities among sectarian and political party groups. These authorities further exposed their irresponsibility when they announced their plan of eviction of all street vendors.&rdquo; 
 
Last week&rsquo;s breakthrough is only the initial victory in the long fight for Iraqi workers in their attempt to live and earn decent livings under dire and frightful circumstances. The FWCUI has issued a call to all the people of Nasiriyah to support the street vendors&rsquo; just and humane demands, and the ICEM supports that call to trade unions everywhere.

FWCUI in Iraq: Sit-in Action Moves Nasiriya Authorities to Respect Street Vendors

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A scheduled strike was set to begin this morning, 26 March, by union members of Le Syndicat National des Agents du Secteur de l&rsquo;Electricit&eacute; (SYNASEG), ICEM&rsquo;s electric affiliate in the Ivory Coast. The strike is against CIE, the country&rsquo;s electricity operator and a subsidiary of French-based Bouygues Group. 
 
The dispute is over pay. SYNASEG and CIE last negotiated on 20 March, with officials of the Labour Ministry, Mines and Energy Ministry, and a representative of Ivory Coast&rsquo;s work inspectorate mediating. When the company did not provide a response to the union&rsquo;s ultimate proposal by late last week, the strike was called for early today. A meeting is scheduled for 15h00 today in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast.
<img height="171" src="" width="120" alt="" />
SYNASEG Gen. Sec. Fran&ccedil;ois Yao
&ldquo;We agreed to lower our salary demands from 25% to 15%,&rdquo; stated SYNASEG Gen. Sec. Fran&ccedil;ois Yao. &ldquo;We consider this our final offer.&rdquo; 
 
CIE and government officials held a private meeting late last week on the dispute, but did not inform the union of the contents of that meeting, an obvious breach of common social dialogue. 
 
Besides a 15% salary hike for workers, SYNASEG is demanding 12% for supervisors. CIE&rsquo;s did increase its salary proposal in talks prior to 20 March, but only to 7% for workers and 5% for supervisors.

Electric Workers Strike Set to Begin Today in Ivory Coast

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A Unity Accord was developed 19-21 March in Canada for unions representing workers at Brazilian-based Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD). Last year, the giant Brazilian iron ore, coal, and metal mining company took over Canadian-based, the western world&rsquo;s leading nickel producer. 
 
Signing the accord, which contains six priorities for the trade unions, were the United Steelworkers (USW) of Canada, host of the unity event in Sudbury, Ontario, and trade unions from Brazil, Mozambique, and New Caledonia. ICEM Vice President Ken Neumann, USW&rsquo;s National Director for Canada, opened the conference.
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USW Canadian National Director Ken Neumann&nbsp;
The unions participating include the National Confederation for Workers in the Mineral Sector (CNTSM) and Sindi-Metals (CNM-CUT) of Brazil, the National Union of ConstructionWorkers (SINTICIM) of Mozambique, and Union des Syndicate d'Ouvriers et Employ&eacute;s de Nouvelle-Cal&eacute;donie (USOENC) of New Caledonia, the largest mining union on the French territorial islands. They were joined by branch unions of the USW from five CVRD/Inco locations in Canada.
<img height="77" alt="" src="" width="140" />
USW President Leo Gerard, a former miner at Inco in Sudbury, said the Unity Accord was not signed in an adversarial or confrontational manner. &ldquo;When there are companies as big as CVRD, it is tremendously important that workers come together in solidarity and unity, in order to build on each other&rsquo;s victories and to minimize each other defeats,&rdquo; said Gerard at a press conference, as reported in the Sudbury Star newspaper. 
 
Added USW District Canadian District 6 Director Wayne Fraser, &ldquo;As companies become more global, it&rsquo;s no longer a matter of flag-waving for your union. You need to be a global union network, because you are dealing with a global, transnational company.&rdquo; 
 
The six priorities of the CVRD Unity Accord include: stronger collective agreements; pushing for more capital expenditures to ensure job security in mining communities; safe and healthy workplaces, and environmentally sustainable operations; respecting the human rights within communities, including the right to organise and bargain collectively; full access from CVRD on acquisitions, mergers, or other reorganizations; and eliminating outsourcing and contract labour.

Union Mining Alliance Comes Together Around CVRD of Brazil

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Sector level national negotiations in Argentina&rsquo;s rubber industry will continue tomorrow at the Labour Ministry, announced ICEM South American affiliate Sindicato Unico Trabajadortes del Neum&aacute;tico Argentino (SUTNA). 
 
The union aims to get fair and equitable wage terms for 4,000 of the nation&rsquo;s rubber workers at companies such as Bridgestone, Pirelli, and FATE, which employ the majority of rubber workers in Argentina. 
 
Prior talks occurred on 19 March. SUTNA Gen. Sec. Pedro Wasiejko said no worker in the rubber industry should earn less than ARS2,741 (&euro;600) per month. SUTNA is demanding a 38% pay increase.
<img height="130" src="" width="280" alt="" />
&ldquo;This is a sector where the salary costs are only between 4 and 6% of total production costs,&rdquo; said Wasiejko, adding that 38% &ldquo;would not tremendously affect the sales price of the product, or be a change to the consumer.&rdquo; 
 
He added, &ldquo;The private sector today has huge profits and workers need to make sure that these profits are distributed in a fair and equal way.&rdquo;
<img height="120" src="" width="120" alt="" />
SUTNA has conducted meetings in all rubber plants and tomorrow&rsquo;s union agenda reflects the wishes of workers in those plants. The union expressed its faith in honest collective bargaining, and said it is convinced that a transparent and participatory negotiations system is in the best interests of all. 
 
The outcome of the national talks will not only determine working terms at the three big Buenos Aires tyre plants of Bridgestone, Pirelli, FATE, but at hundreds of smaller rubber producers and rubber suppliers.

Argentine Rubber Union, SUTNA, Continues Rubber Talks Tomorrow in Buenos Aires

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Over 100 Chinese miners were killed in eight gruesome coal mine tragedies over the past three weeks. The China mine deaths again occur under odd and peculiar circumstances, including mine-owner cover-ups and careless safety practices. The eight tragedies represent only those deadly mine tragedies that have been reported in the Chinese press. 
 
Three separate incidents over the past week were marked by initial cover-ups by mine owners. On 22 March at the Shangjiwu mine in Ruzhou city, Henan province, 15 miners died after flooding and high levels of methane gas encapsulated mine shafts. Mine owners attempted failed rescue attempts and only alerted mine safety officials two days later, on 24 March.
<img height="175" src="" width="240" alt="" />
&nbsp; 
Two other cover-ups occurred in the aftermath of a pair of tragedies on 18 March at illegal mines. At the Miaojing mine near Jincheng city, southeast Shanxi Province, 21 miners died in a gas explosion. Two days later, on 20 March, the mine owner and 10 others were arrested, charged with operating an illegal mine and failing to report the explosion. 
 
The mine owner of the Dongfang No. 1 coal mine in Liaoning Province was arrested on 21 March after a deadly fire occurred in his mine. He tried to hide the incident and the deaths from work safety officials. Six miners were killed and 15 injured in this tragedy near Dongliang Township in the Fuxin Mongolian autonomous county. 
 
On 15 March, six people were crushed to death when the coal mine tailings area they were on gave way due to a massive sinkhole. This occurred near Huludao city, southwest Liaoning Province. The five women and one man who died were on land directly above an abandoned mine site. 
 
On 8 March, eight miners died inside shafts after a gas leak near the city of Xingyang, northern Henan Province. The mine was being operated illegally. On the same day in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, a cave-in at a colliery operated by the town government of Changle killed two miners. 
 
China&rsquo;s worst mine disaster in March occurred at state-owned Fushun Group&rsquo;s Laohutai mine near the city of Fushun, Liaoning Province. On 10 March, 29 miners were swept to their deaths off a mine platform, following a mass release of water. The mine is one of Fushun&rsquo;s main operations and contains several unused pits.
<img height="80" src="" width="120" alt="" />
The government ordered some 900 private coal mines shut in the province for a week after this disaster, and State Administration of Work Safety Director Li Yizhong issued pointed statements on its cause. &ldquo;This accident could have been averted if the mine knew about the conditions in the unused pit and taken measures to prevent floods,&rdquo; he said in an online interview. 
 
On 6 March in Hunan Province, 15 miners died during illegal operation of the Hongfa coal mine in Shaodong County. The mine had been shut for safety maintenance repairs, and the methane gas blast was caused by damaged ventilation shafts and illegal electrical systems in areas where miners were working. 
 
In Li Yizhong&rsquo;s mid-March interview, he said China leads the world in coal mine deaths with an average of 2.041 people killed for every million tons of coal mined. That is four times higher than death rates in Poland, Russia, and South Africa.

Rash of China Coal Mine Deaths Occur in March

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The death toll in the tragic coal mine explosion in Russia on 19 March is 110 miners, most of them members of ICEM affiliate Russian Independent Coal Miners&rsquo; Union (ROSUGLEPROF). The country&rsquo;s worst mining accident in decades occurred at the Ulyanonskaya mine near the city of Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo, in southern Siberia. 
 
At the weekend, rescue workers began operating a second pump to remove water from shafts, where the bodies of two miners are believed to be. Authorities have identified 100 of the 108 bodies recovered so far. It is thought to be the worst mining tragedy in the coal-rich Kuznetsk coal fields in 60 years.
<img height="88" src="" width="200" alt="" />

&ldquo;The enormity of this disaster is reflected in the great number of trade unions around the world that have reached out to ROSUGLEPROF with words of sympathy and solidarity,&rdquo; said ICEM Gen. Sec. Manfred Warda. &ldquo;The ICEM is joined in this period of grief with the families of the miners, and the managers who perished. This tragedy will mark a time when the world&rsquo;s mining unions will double its efforts for safe mines.&rdquo; 
 
The methane gas explosion occurred when some 20 senior managers and technicians of Yuzhkuzbassugol were underground checking a newly-installed gas detection system. All were fatalities due to the explosion. Managers and technicians included the mine&rsquo;s chief engineer, deputy production manager, deputy chief engineer for technology, technical director, chief mechanic, and a senior mechanic. 
 
Also dying was a British technician, who worked for the company that installed the system, and his interpreter.
<img height="110" alt="" src="" width="200" />
&nbsp;&quot;Danger Zone&quot; sign (at entrance to Ulyanovskaya mine)
The Ulyanovskaya mine, operating only since 2002, is considered one of the safest and most modern in Russia. ROSUGLEPROF Vice President Ruben Badalov remains at the mine site as part of the official federal investigatory team probing the cause of the disaster. Two investigation commissions will simultaneously work to determine the cause; the federal team and a parallel regional commission headed by Kemerovo Governor Aman Tuleyev. Russia&rsquo;s workplace Technical Inspectorate will also participate. 
 
Yuzhkuzbassugol is 50% owned by Russia&rsquo;s second largest steel and metals company, Evraz Group SA, with the other 50% held by a management team.

110 Deaths in Siberian Coal Mine Last Week is Russia’s Worst Disaster in Decades

Two days after 70 members of ICEM affiliate Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) voted to take another strike action, managers at Bridgestone&rsquo;s Salisbury tyre plant near Adelaide, South Australia, locked them out. In a wage dispute turning more and more bitter, managers locked maintenance workers off their weekend shifts on 23 March. 
 
AMWU members staged a one-day strike on 20 March, and voted the next day for another 24-hour strike, this time to occur on 27 March. Workers represented by both AMWU and fellow ICEM affiliate Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU) turned out at a shareholders meeting on 20 March to voice their displeasure over Bridgestone Australia&rsquo;s bargaining posture.
&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="100" src="" width="100" align="absMiddle" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="39" src="" width="240" align="absMiddle" alt="" />
Management enraged the AMWU and intensified the dispute by hiring contract workers during last week&rsquo;s industrial action. An AMWU spokesman said this action was like &ldquo;putting fuel in the fire,&rdquo; adding the mood of workers&rsquo; has gone &ldquo;from frustration to anger.&rdquo; 
 
Both LHMU, representing 500 production workers at the Salisbury plant, and AMWU have been locked in pay talks with Bridgestone for over a year. LHMU took a series of industrial actions earlier in March, and currently is banning all overtime work by members. Local managers have retaliated against the LHMU, as well, by issuing temporary suspensions to some production workers.
<img height="120" alt="" src="" width="120" />
Bridgestone currently is offering 6% over three years, while the unions are seeking a 12% increase over the same period. Management is also trying to put in place a voluntary retirement plan at the 42-year-old auto and truck tyre plant. 
 
At last week&rsquo;s shareholders meeting of Bridgestone Australia Ltd., a A$50 million share buy-back plan was approved, which effectively makes the Australian company privately-held and wholly-owned by Bridgestone of Japan.

Bridgestone Locks Out Maintenance Workers at Australian Tyre Plant

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ICEM affiliate United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) issued a detailed safety report on the gas explosion at International Coal Group&rsquo;s (ICG) Sago mine in the state of West Virginia. The report states unequivocally that the tragedy that killed 12 on 2 January 2006 at ICG&rsquo;s non-union mine was preventable, and never should have occurred. 
 
The 68-page report, which also contained 20 appendices, was released at a Washington, D.C., press conference in the US Capitol Building on 15 March. The press conference was attended by the two US senators from West Virginia, as well as a US congressman from the coal-producing state. 
 
&ldquo;Twelve men are dead who should not be,&rdquo; stated UMWA President Cecil Roberts. &ldquo;Their deaths came as the result of a series of bad decisions made by the company and the federal mine safety regulatory agency.
&nbsp;&ldquo;Had the government done its job and (IGC&rsquo;s) Sago mining done their job, all of these miners would be alive.&rdquo;
<img height="167" alt="" src="" width="120" />
UMWA President Cecil Roberts
The tragedy was the worst US mining disaster in years, and captured the attention of the American public in the early days of 2006. IGC&rsquo;s management first reported that all the trapped miners were safe, bringing joyous relief to family members gathered at the mine site. Only hours later, the company admitted that the news was premature. It then took 41 hours to reach the miners. Only one miner was found alive, and he had suffered brain damage due to high levels of carbon monoxide. 
 
Stated the daughter of one Sago miner at the UMWA&rsquo;s press conference, &ldquo;It breaks my heart to have to think that those men barricaded, wondering and waiting when they were going to be rescued, knowing now that they did not have to die. It&rsquo;s not fair.&rdquo;
<img height="122" alt="" src="" width="120" />
The UMWA report cited several conditions that led to the deaths. It said the company&rsquo;s substandard mine seals, the mine&rsquo;s ventilation system, the lack of adequate oxygen devices inside mine shafts, no safety chambers, no two-way communications, no tracking devices, and no onsite, experienced mine rescue teams all played roles in the tragedy. 
 
The union alleged the US Mine Safety and Health Administration allowed Sago&rsquo;s owners to build coal mine seals using lightweight Oemga Blocks, rather than sturdier and explosion-proof mine seals, as specified under the US&rsquo;s Mine Safety Act. The report also provides dozens of recommendations for tougher standards aimed at preventing such needless mine deaths in the future.
<img height="172" alt="" src="" width="120" />
UMWA Sec.-Treas. Dan Kane
&ldquo;We cannot afford to wait,&rdquo; said UMWA Sec.-Treas. Dan Kane at the press conference. &ldquo;The sooner we implement these recommendations, either as law or regulations, the more secure miners will be in the knowledge that their jobs are as safe as possible. As this report indicates, we&rsquo;ve got a long way to go before we reach that point.&rdquo; 
 
Six days after the UMWA was released, ICG temporarily closed the Sago mine doe to a downturn in coal prices. IGC, owned by New York-based investor Wilbur L. Ross, is a seven-year-old coal company that has specialised in buying abandoned coal operations from bankruptcy proceedings, and then mining them. The company now operates 11 coal mines in the eastern US, all of them using non-union miners.

UMWA Says Sago Mine Tragedy in US Could Have Been Prevented

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