English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Spring sunshine shone on March 2, 2011 as an unprecedented crowd, estimated by organisers at 70, 000 people, gathered in the central Inonu Square in the old part of Nicosia and at the nearby Kyrenia Gate at the north of the circular city wall. This was by far the largest of a number of recent demonstrations organised by the trade union movement in the north of this divided island. It was also largely peaceful with the police and military taking a low profile in comparison to earlier demonstrations. (See prior ICEM reports <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4211-Northern-Cyprus-Resists-Ankara’s-Reforms-">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3946-ICEM-Urges-Northern-Cyprus-Administration-End-Trade-Union-Repression">here</a>.) 
 
Unprecedented numbers? Well 70, 000 people is a truly incredible figure when you consider that the entire population of Turkish Cypriots is said to be 260,000. 
 
The protest was organised by a &ldquo;Trade Union Platform&rdquo; which brings together the entire trade union movement in the North of Cyprus and ICEM affiliate, EL-SEN, the Turkish Electricity Authority of Cyprus Workers Trade Union was at the forefront of the demonstration with almost all of their membership present, together with family members. The demonstration was called principally to fight privatisation, threatened as part of a series of austerity measures by the government, that would both attack trade union rights and enforce privatisation of the electric power company, the airport and even universities. All the trade union movement was present as were all of the opposition political parties, the latter at the rear of a demonstration that was clearly trade union organised and led. 
<img alt="" src="" width="288" height="192" />
Workers resent deep private and state sector salary cuts, which were announced last year, following negotiations between the Turkish Cypriot leadership and the government in Turkey, which bankrolls this area with about US$600 million a year. Turkish Cypriot trade unions have vowed to fight the austerity package, which includes rolling back entry level salaries by 40 per cent, taxing pensions and cutting the taxable income threshold from 17 to 10 per cent. The package also foresees selling off state enterprises to private Turkish business interests and such a massive privatisation is deeply unpopular, not only with effected trade unions and workers , but with the wider population. 
 
ICEM Energy Officer, Jim Catterson, joined our affiliate EL-SEN on the protest march and at the demonstration. The day began outside the trade union office by the head office of the electric power company where El-Sen members gathered in the morning, together with union President, Tuluy Kalyoncu and other leadership of the union. The atmosphere was both lively and friendly with many families present as well as a number of retired members &ndash; still eager to show their support for their union. Similar meetings of other unions were clearly taking place across the city. 
<img alt="" src="" width="256" height="192" />
After a series of short speeches, where ICEM solidarity on this and previous occasions were applauded, the EL-SEN contingent set out to march to the square and demonstration. Traffic was brought to a standstill but most motorists sounded their horns in support of the marchers. Gradually a whole series of marches coalesced into one and marched into the square, dominated by a massive stage, where in between speeches music was played to entertain the massive crowd. 
 
Despite this massive demonstration the government has so far refused to change policy. Indeed while the demonstration took place the government announced that the council of ministers will send the privatization proposed law to the parliament this week. 
 
The struggle continues. After the demonstration and after the government statement, the Trade Union Platform took a decision to take the next demonstration directly to the government. Unless these policies are changed, March 25 will see the next demonstration both in front of and inside the parliament building. 
 
Still facing the privatization of their employer our affiliate, EL-SEN has decided to call an indefinite strike to begin no later than 25 March, 2011. 
 
ICEM will continue to offer all support and solidarity to the brave struggle of our affiliated trade union.

El-Sen in N. Cyprus Conducts Historic Manifestation

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
In the US, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law on 11 March legislation that will strip 200,000 state public employees of their collective bargaining rights, as well as target them for deep health-care benefit cuts. The signing comes after a month of fierce citizen protest inside the state&rsquo;s capitol building in Madison, the likes of which had not been seen in America in decades. 
 
It also came just days after the state&rsquo;s Republican senators used a secretive and probably illegal legislative manoeuvre to circumvent the necessary 60% quorum to conduct a vote. With Democratic senators taking hiatus out of Wisconsin to block Republicans from pushing through the regressive measures (see <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4267-Five-Things-to-Know-About-Protests-in-US-State-Wisconsin ">prior ICEM article</a>), the majority party removed fiscal items from the legislation so that the bill needed only 50% present. Republicans control the senate in Wisconsin 19-13. 
 
Late in the evening on 9 March, the 19 voted 18-1 to eliminate collective bargaining for public workers, except police and firefighters. This trickery exposed the real truth to Walker and right-wing America&rsquo;s assault on US trade unions as played out in Wisconsin: the legislation was never about public budget deficits, but rather stripping Wisconsin public-sector employers of their legitimate work rights. 
<img alt="" src="" width="291" height="218" />
But the manoeuvre appears to have violated Wisconsin&rsquo;s Open Meeting Law, which requires public notice of a meeting be given &ldquo;24 hours prior to the commencement of such meeting unless for good cause such notice is impossible or impractical.&rdquo; The late 9 March legislative vote was held on two hours notice. 
 
An emergency request for an injunction was immediately filed to block signing, but a judge on 11 March denied the emergency request. A further court hearing will occur this week to stop enactment on a non-emergency basis, and other court action has already been filed. 
 
Labour unions and other public groups have begun recall petition drives to throw Walker and eight Republican legislators out of office. But that could take a year for Walker and ten junior Republicans. In Wisconsin, the recall law states that elected officials must be in office for one year before being recalled. Walker has been governor of Wisconsin only since January. 
 
The law must now be officially and publicly published before it takes effect. If it does, it will make public workers contribute more to their pensions and health coverage, amounting to an 8% pay cut. It also eliminates their right to bargain collectively on anything except wages and only up to the rate of inflation. 
 
Walker&rsquo;s law makes all public-sector unions recertify each year with the approval of 50% plus one of workers eligible to vote. It stipulates all union fees be paid on a voluntary basis. 
 
Reaction last week by US trade unions was swift and sharp to the midnight raid on workers&rsquo; rights. United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard said the attack on workers in Wisconsin is far from isolated. &ldquo;This is a nation-wide campaign by billionaires and country-club conservatives, to terminate workers&rsquo; rights, giving unfettered power to corporations.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="189" height="175" />
Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt
Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt said Walker and Republicans &ldquo;have been lying throughout this entire process and we have been telling the truth.&rdquo; 
 
Neuenfeldt added: &ldquo;Republicans have exercised the nuclear option to ram through their bill attacking Wisconsin&rsquo;s working families in the dark of night. (They) acted in violation of state open meeting laws &hellip; and have demonstrated they will do or say anything to pass their extreme agenda that attacks Wisconsin&rsquo;s working families.&rdquo; 
 
Similar assaults on unions in America&rsquo;s statehouses are currently underway in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Nevada.

Wisconsin Eliminates Public Sector Bargaining; Resistance Continues

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />&nbsp;
Japan's strongest ever earthquake and consequent tsunami has caused devastation along Japan&rsquo;s North-eastern coast. The ICEM is shocked and extremely concerned for all those affected, including many union members. Large numbers of messages of support and solidarity are being communicated from unions around the world to Japan. ICEM have offered heartfelt condolences for the loss of life. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda wrote to Japanese affiliates, via ICEM-JAF General Secretary Yoshio Sato, and President Ochiai, &ldquo;It is with deep sadness that I and all in ICEM are receiving ever more news of the disastrous effects of the earthquake and Tsunami. All our solidarity is with the people of Japan. And our special thoughts are now with the comrades of Denryoku Soren. Please convey to them my best and heartfelt wishes that their members will be safe and the dangers that may come from the Fukushima power plant, which was so terribly hit by the earthquake, can be tackled.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="177" height="156" />
ICEM-JAF President, Kiyoshi Ochiai
The scale of the devastation and safety of union members and their families is now being assessed, and that process will take some time. Early reports are that all headquarter staff of ICEM affiliates, in Tokyo, are safe but there is much concern for their colleagues and members unaccounted for in the coastal region, especially the Tohoku area and workers in the electric and petroleum industries. ICEM-JAF General Secretary Sato today reported that the death toll in the Tokhoku Region could go well into the tens of thousands, and that the current situation there is desperate, with severe shortage of water, food, electricity, and gas. Train services have been severely disrupted, movement inside Japan is difficult. 
 
Sato-san also reports that brave members of Denryoku Soren are risking their lives working to contain the difficult situation at the Fukushima Power Plants, following explosions at reactors 1 and 3. They managed to prevent the spread of radiation, but continuing hydrogen explosions have injured operators. Engineers from Toshiba, members of the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation are working on the Fukushima reactors. The International Atomic Energy Agency and experts from abroad are present and assisting at the Fukushima plant. 
<img alt="" src="" width="156" height="222" />
ICEM-JAF General Secretary, Yoshio Sato
&ldquo;We are touched with and appreciate from our heart your support and solidarity!&rdquo; stated ICEM-JAF. 
 
ICEM affiliates can send <a href="mailto:icemjaf@blue.ocn.ne.jp">messages of condolence</a> and support to ICEM-JAF General Secretary Bro. Yoshio Sato here. Sato-san has explained that the ICEM-JAF are very grateful for the numerous offers of assistance, and that they need to first assess the situation and respond once it is known where the help is needed most. 
 
Top-level union officials are meeting today on coordinating volunteer rescue efforts and an aid fund. 
 
Dangerous aftershocks will continue, hindering rescue efforts. And another tsunami has not been ruled out. Damage to energy plants is causing wide reaching power-cuts, beginning today in Tokyo.

ICEM Concern for the People of Japan

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM has been joined by Global Union Federations, national unions, and trade union activists the world over in pressing the government of Chile the ratify ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. 
 
Since ICEM and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) delivered a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/11.ICEM.IMF.Chile176.1March.pdf">joint call</a>. 
 
to their respective affiliates on 2 March to write Chile President Sebasti&aacute;n Pi&ntilde;era demanding he begin mine-safety reforms, some 70 affiliates have responded with <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ENGLISH%20ChileModLet%20(2).doc ">letters</a> like this. 
 
The International Union of Food, Agricultural Workers' Association (IUF) picked up the call, sending an action alert that generated over 1,000 messages to Pi&ntilde;era. And then last week LabourStart initiated a campaign and 2,500 messages so far have been sent to Chile Mine Minister Laurence Golborne. Join the <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=891">LabourStart campaign</a> with a message to Golborne, who during the Michele Bachelet administration was a supermarket chain manager. 
<img alt="" src="" width="175" height="247" />
Hazards, the vibrant safety and health newsletter of UK&rsquo;s Trades Union Congress (TUC), then sent a Chile mine safety message through its listserv of hundreds of global health/safety specialists at unions, NGOs, and educational institutions, many of whom responded with their own pointed message to the Pi&ntilde;era government. 
 
It didn&rsquo;t stop there. The global campaign was joined simultaneously by unions affiliated with Chile&rsquo;s two main mine union federations, representing workers at both state-run copper company Codelco and at the major mining companies that own large-scale copper and gold operations. Leaders of branch leaders at both federations were versed on what the ICEM was doing globally in pressing Pi&ntilde;era and Golborne and it is those Chilean mine union leaders that know more than anybody the frailties of the country&rsquo;s mine safety culture. 
 
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) General Secretary Sharon Burrow wrote to Pi&ntilde;era stating, &ldquo;It is our belief that Chile&rsquo;s sustainable development must start from a cohesive and coherent mine safety culture, that includes representation by mineworkers and their trade unions and the respect of their rights, and is composed of necessary components of monitoring, technical expertise, and judicial powers&rdquo;.
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="97" />
Late last week the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) sent a release, stating, &ldquo;After soaking up the publicity, the government is now backing away from its commitments. Journalists groups in Latin America and around the world are shocked by this cynical behaviour and we fully support the trade union demand that Chile cleans up its act and gets into line with international mining standards. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s decision targeting Chile to overhaul its mine regulations and to ratify Convention 176 stems from a brash world statement made by Pi&ntilde;era to the world while basking in the success of the rescue of 33 miners on 13 October 2010. While in London five days later, he told the world that Chile had learned its lesson; it would amend its mine safety laws and adopt global standards enshrined in Convention 176 &ldquo;within 90 days.&rdquo; 
 
In mid-January, ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana and General Secretary Manfred Warda met with then Chilean Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Camila Merino over that pledge. The ICEM was told Convention 176 is not on Chile&rsquo;s agenda, but that it might consider the more general ILO Convention 187, the Promotional Framework for Occupational Health and Safety Convention. 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="89" height="100" />
The ICEM reminded that just as Pi&ntilde;era and Golborne lifted the nation&rsquo;s world status during the San Jos&eacute; copper mine rescue, Chile is of major global consequence because it is a rich exporter of basic metals and minerals. If it is to be world-class in any way, it must implement world-class safe mining practices for Chilean workers who dig those riches. 
 
An example is in the commission Pi&ntilde;era appointed to investigate the cause of the 5 August San Jos&eacute; accident. There were no workers&rsquo; representatives invited to join that commission. Chile&rsquo;s mine unions do sound the alarm frequently over safety deficiencies and on the reasons why accidents happen. But they are told from government and industry alike that it is the union&rsquo;s duty to negotiate economic issues, not to involve itself in safety or health. 
<img alt="" src="" width="152" height="160" />
Chile Mine Minister Laurence Golborne 
Chile has over 8,000 mines from north to south. It has a total of 16 mine inspectors to cover those operations. It has an archaic system of overlapping safety agencies covering all sectors of work, including mining, that reside in six different ministries. And none of the agencies have judicial powers to enforce the few regulations in place or the technical capabilities to inspect and prevent accidents before they happen. 
 
Regarding mining in Chile, all the prerequisites contained in Convention 176 are missing: regular inspections, set procedures to report and investigate dangerous occurrences and accidents, trade union consultation, regulatory bodies with the authority to shut and keep shut dangerous mines, a miner&rsquo;s right to refuse unsafe work, workers&rsquo; rights to select their own health and safety representatives, and employer obligations to provide safety training and safety programmes. 
 
That is why the ICEM and the IMF &ndash; and now unions everywhere &ndash; have targeted Chile for reformation of internal mine safety laws and for ratification, implementation, and adherence to standards set down in ILO Convention 176. Do your part. Contact Chile&rsquo;s political leaders and insist in change.

Global Unions Target Chile for Mine Safety Overhaul

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Co-hosted by two of ICEM&rsquo;s Spanish affiliated trade unions, FIA-UGT and FITEQA-CC.OO, the ICEM World Women&rsquo;s Conference brought together over 230 delegates from 47 countries to Seville on 23-25 March. The theme of the conference was &ldquo;Conquests and Dreams.&rdquo; 
 
The historic conference was the largest ever and women resolved to focus efforts on building and developing structures for improved coordination for the women of the ICEM. Coordinating committees already exist in some countries and this will now be extended to create a women&rsquo;s committee in each country where there is more than one ICEM affiliate. This will then be followed with a women&rsquo;s network in Europe, and several sub-regional networks. 
<img alt="" src="" width="317" height="188" />
Women&rsquo;s Officer Carol Bruce talks to Spanish TV
ICEM women look forward to combining strength and resources with the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) and the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) in the creation of a new international trade union federation. While the three organizations have differing levels of women&rsquo;s membership and activities, the ICEM women&rsquo;s sector will work to combine the best practices. 
 
Two campaigns launched at the conference included: the campaign to put a stop to violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and campaign for wider use of female condoms to prevent the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Two other major work plans will also receive increased focus: preventing violence against women and creating better self-esteem. 
 
View the full <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/EN%20resolution%20to%20ICEM%20Congress.pdf">conference resolution</a> here.&nbsp; 
<img alt="" src="" width="367" height="164" />
Delegates Respect Victims of Japan&rsquo;s Earthquake/Tsunami
In his opening remarks, ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana called delegates to stand and mark a minute&rsquo;s silence in memory of those affected by the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda then said, &ldquo;Gender will be a major part of the ICEM Action Plan to be discussed at the Executive Committee and then at our Congress. We are proud of the work of the women inside the ICEM, marking this milestone conference.&rdquo; 
 
The conference attracted local- and national-level female politicians. Matilde Fern&aacute;ndez, former Social Affairs Minister, highlighted the importance of the fight for gender equality in Spain, a country where women are paid 15% less than men, meaning that they would have to work 51-52 days per year more than men to achieve wage parity. 
<img alt="" src="" width="158" height="199" />
M&uuml;zeyyen Acunal of Turkish Sel&uuml;loz-İş
&ldquo;Changes to legislation have been necessary, but they still are not sufficient,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We need to change the attitudes of the society.&rdquo; 
 
The conference unanimously re-elected Russia&rsquo;s Evgenia Esenina as President of ICEM&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s Committee and Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Angeline Chitambo as Vice-Chair. 
 
In closing the conference, President Senzeni Zokwana built enthusiasm for the future, in terms of gender work, and of the overall hopes heading into a new international. &ldquo;We will be new and strong, let us breed unity, breed oneness. We can achieve more together!&rdquo;

Largest Number Ever Attend ICEM Women’s Conference in Spain

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Upwards of a half million people marched through London on Saturday in a turnout that British trade unions said exceeded their highest predictions. The manifestation, heard around the world, was called &ldquo;The March for the Alternative: Cuts are not the Cure&rdquo; and was direct push-back to the deep, rapid, and unfair public sector cuts in the pipeline by the ruling UK Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition. 
 
Turnout for the march and rally at Hyde Park in London&rsquo;s West End was so massive that the rear of the march had just left the Victoria Embankment staging area when the Hyde Park rally &ndash; five kilometres away &ndash; began. The front of the march left Victoria and passed by Parliament four hours earlier. 
<img alt="" src="" width="365" height="192" />
photo: Mac Urata
Using the argument that fiscal austerity is needed to reduce UK&rsquo;s financial deficit, the right-wing government led by David Cameron wants to cripple a social welfare system that will see cuts to people and curtailment of British services. And both will fall disproportionately on the poor and on the workers of Britain. 
 
Deep cuts to education, pensions, and Britain&rsquo;s 62-year-old National Health Service (NHS) are being laid out on the Con-Dem chopping block. And Saturday&rsquo;s manifestation &ndash; the biggest in London since 2003 and an anti-Iraq war protest &ndash; validated the fact that tens of thousands of teachers, doctors, nurses, police and prison guards, municipal council workers, joined by students, retirees, private-sector workers fiercely resist this agenda. 
 
The 26 March manifestation sponsored by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) was civil and peaceful. But the beat of drums, whistles, and chants of resistance made it clear that anger is real. Anger at the fact that for every &pound;4 in spending cuts, there is a &pound;1 tax hike and that mainly is a higher VAT; anger that 50,000 jobs will disappear when the NHS is cut; anger that the brutal cuts will cost 170,000 public-sector jobs. 
<img alt="" src="" width="265" height="189" />
photo: John MacLennon
Instead of cuts, the &ldquo;alternative&rdquo; should be a crackdown on tax avoidance totalling &pound;25 billion alone taken by City of London operators; initiating a Robin Hood tax on banks and financial institutions over their transactions; a stop to exorbitant executive bonuses; and a gradual, sensible, and sustainable deficit reduction plan based on jobs, growth, and tax justice. 
 
At the afternoon rally, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: &ldquo;We will fight these savage cuts and we will not let them destroy services, jobs, and lives. Today we are speaking for the people of Britain, and David Cameron, if you want to meet the Big Society, we&rsquo;re here in Hyde Park.&rdquo; 
 
Unite the Union General Secretary Len McCluskey called it the greatest demonstration in London in a generation, and said there is &ldquo;palpable anger in the country. If the government was brave enough, it would tackle the tax avoidance that robs the British taxpayer.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="133" height="150" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="105" height="160" />
Unite's Len McCluskey, USW's Leo Gerard 
photos: John MacLennon
Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis, whose public-sector union chartered 500 coaches to get people to London, told the assembled at Hyde Park that he wants the Con-Dems &ldquo;to feel the fear and anger of people who have come here today from every part of the UK to vent their frustration and to stand up for a fairer future.&rdquo; 
 
Another speaker was USW President Leo Gerard of North America who drew the link between the purge of public services in the UK to what is happening in several US states. He said the real culprits are the greedy banks and corporations who pull the strings of politicians. 
 
&ldquo;It is their reckless speculation that took down the world economy,&rdquo; said Gerard, adding, The best way to rob a bank is to manage one. We will stand together, we will march together, and we will fight together to demand that our governments protect the rights of public employees and of all workers.&rdquo;

500,000 Protest Con-Dem Coalition’s Public Sector Cuts in London

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="49" />
Bahrain&rsquo;s authorities and business leaders are retaliating to a general strike led by the national trade union centre GFBTU with a campaign of mass sackings, intimidation, and violence against all workers involved. The general strike was called on 13 March, and ended 22 March, in support of pro-democracy protests inside the island state near the western shore of the Persian Gulf. The agreement to end the strike included a promise to GFBTU, an affiliate of the International Trade Union Confederation, by authorities that strikers would not suffer repercussions. 
 
Estimates suggest over 1,000 workers will be laid-off during the crackdown including at employers Aluminium Bahrain BSC, Bahrain Telecommunications Company, Gulf Air, Bahrain Airport Services and APM Terminals Bahrain at the Khalifa Sea Port. All sackings were due to worker absence during the strike. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="169" />
BAPCO President Abdul Ghaffar Abdul Hussain
The president of the union at Bahrain Petroleum (BAPCO), Abdul Ghaffar Abdul Hussain, has been sacked for his absence during the strike and also for &ldquo;inciting workers to strike&rdquo;. The company will begin legal prosecution of Hussain this week or next. Hussain was central in the creation of the GBFTU. All employees at BAPCO are now fearful of losing their jobs in the coming days. Absenteeism of BAPCO employees on 16-17 March was 60%. 
See <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/27.ICEM.Bahrain.6April.pdf">ICEM's letter to the King of Bahrain</a> here. 
 
Security forces have closed down the GBFTU headquarters and are expected to soon call the organisation&rsquo;s president, Salman Mahfooz, in for questioning. Roads leading to the union office were closed and workers were blocked from reaching the headquarters, most of those workers had been seeking guidance from their union following their sacking. The GBFTU website has been closed. Parliament is calling on the government to immediately refer trade union leaders involved in the strike to the public prosecution office. 
 
All members of the GBFTU executive, spanning all industries, have been suspended from work pending investigations. On top of this cynical multi-faceted attack on Bahrain&rsquo;s independent trade unions, companies are now planning legal cases against the unions in a further attempt to permanently end their activities. 
 
Over 300 activists have been arrested with many missing, and at least 20 killed since protesters took to the street in February, inspired by popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The violent suppression of the Bahraini people&rsquo;s reform protest has been facilitated with armed forces from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. 
 
This disgraceful attack on core human and trade union rights of the Bahraini people must end immediately.

ICEM Angered by Brutal Attack on Trade Unions in Bahrain

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="49" />
The ICEM Secretariat was stricken with grief on 4 April upon learning of the death of Liv Undheim, former Vice President of Norwegian trade union affiliate IndustriEnergi (IE). Liv Undheim died at 07h00 that morning in an Oslo hospital after a period of illness. She was 61. 
 
She was an ICEM Vice President, representing the Nordic region, and had served on ICEM statutory bodies for the past 20 years, dating to her tenure as an officer of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund, the Norwegian Chemical Workers&rsquo; Association. She was the driving force inside ICEM in the development of gender equality and women&rsquo;s activities. 
 
In a letter to IE President Leif Sande, General Secretary Manfred Warda said her advocacy in this regard made the ICEM a leading Global Union Federation on gender issues. 
 
She began working in an industrial setting in the late 1960s at Figgjo AS, a ceramics and pottery manufacturer near Stavanger. She then became a federal secretary of the Chemical Workers&rsquo; Association and served in that capacity for nine years before being elected organisation secretary of the Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions (LO). In that capacity in 1997, she also became deputy minister with responsibility for energy issues. 
 
In 2001, she became Vice President of the Chemical Workers&rsquo; Association and in 2006, upon the merger of that union with the Norwegian Oil and Petrochemicals Workers&rsquo; Federation (NOPEF), she was elected Vice President of IE. She retired in October 2010 but retained the exemplary role she always performed as IE&rsquo;s head of international affairs.
<img alt="" src="" width="112" height="150" />
She also had served on a number of boards and public bodies, including the research institute FAFO, Norway&rsquo;s Labour Directorate, the Labour Inspection Authority, and many others. 
 
She was diagnosed with cancer several months ago and in February 2011 was stricken and hospitalised with pneumonia, which prevented cancer treatment. The ICEM&rsquo;s Warda said she always delivered a great deal of energy and passion to global trade union work, and &ldquo;we held hope that this same energy and passion would allow her to overcome this illness.&rdquo; 
 
He added: &ldquo;Her passing at the age of 61 is a sad moment for us here. The extraordinary work she performed for the ICEM &ndash; and for all trade unions &ndash; will carry on in her honour. We pledge to re-dedicate the many workers&rsquo; issues that she championed in her memory.&rdquo; 
 
In a statement this week from Oslo, IE President Sande said, &ldquo;Following her long and devoted service to the labour union movement we all felt with all our hearts that Liv had deserved a long and pleasant retirement together with her dear Elisabeth. The holiday to Thailand was booked and she was looking forward to spending her time reading, travelling and generally enjoying life. Instead she was struck down with cancer, having to spend her last days in a hospital. It seems so unfair. She will be deeply missed.&rdquo;
Liv Undheim's funeral will be 14 April in Oslo. Following, a memorial and commemoration of her life will be held at&nbsp;IE's offices&nbsp;there.&nbsp;

ICEM Mourns Death of Presidium Member Liv Undheim

<img src="" width="120" height="59" alt="" />
The ICEM expressed satisfaction today that the Kumho Tyre subsidiary of Kumho Asiana Group lifted its eight-day lockout on 3,400 rubber workers, members of the Korean Metal Workers&rsquo; Union (KMWU). Korea&rsquo;s second biggest tyre maker locked out workers on 25 March at factories in Gwungju and Gokseong following a one-day warning strike. 
 
The lockout ended at 14h30 today. The company rescinded its demand that workers sign individual work agreements promising not to engage in further work stoppages. In return for lifting the lockout, the Kumho Tyre Workers&rsquo; Union said it would end its industrial actions in front of the two plants. 
 
The union executed the warning strike on 25 March because Kumho refused to engage in dialogue over relevant issues in the middle of a two-year labour agreement. Those issues included giving workplace union leaders the right to maintain their union representation duties while on the job, revisions to severance packages, and health factors inside the factories. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4347-Warning-Strike-Leads-to-Lockout-at-Kumho-Tyre-Factories-in-Korea">ICEM report</a> from 28 March.) 
 
In lifting the lockout, the Kumho Tyre Workers&rsquo; Union recognised the company&rsquo;s fragile financial and market situation. The ICEM is encouraged that the two sides engaged in meaningful dialogue to end the mid-term dispute.

Kumho Tyre Lifts Lockout on Metal Workers Union in Korea

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 130px;height: 63px" width="390" />Affiliates of the ICEM, IMF, and ITGLWF are uniting in action around the world in support of the United Steelworkers (USW) campaign to push Rio Tinto &ldquo;Off the Podium&rdquo;. Scores of affiliates are writing to and taking action at the national representatives of the International Olympics Committee in their home countries. Take another action now to express our collective anger that Rio Tinto can tarnish the London Olympics with their abuse of worker rights and the environment, by casting your <a href="http://c.plma.se/?q=55761153701412040024">vote here</a>. As has been widely reported, the metal used for medals at the upcoming London Olympics comes from Rio Tinto&rsquo;s Kennecott Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, USA, and its Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.<img alt="" src="" style="width: 190px;height: 160px" width="390" />A great advert for the mining conglomerate, scandalously linking Rio Tinto to the high ideals of the Olympic games. The multinational has a record of catastrophic pollution, and violation of human rights and public health. But the lockout of 780 workers at the aluminium smelter in Alma, Quebec has particularly angered the international trade union movement, as workers there are being punished for rejecting management attempts to halve salaries and outsource the workforce. The Kennecott union, USW Local 392, whose members mined the metal for the majority of the 4,700 medals also want the company &ldquo;Off the Podium&rdquo; because of the labour violations in Alma. Vote now on the <a href="http://c.plma.se/?q=55761153701412040035">London Mining Network&rsquo;s campaign</a> and ensure Rio Tinto is properly portrayed as a company not deserving of a relationship with the Olympics.

Vote to Condemn Rio Tinto as Olympics Medals Provider

Archive