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<img alt="" src="" width="50" height="65" />
ICEM, as the pre-eminent global union for miners, continues its campaign for the ratification of ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines, and the adoption of its associated Recommendation 183. 
 
Although progress is slow, the Ukraine was finally persuaded to ratify Convention 176 in February of this year. The ICEM has meetings fixed or planned in several countries this year to push for ratification of this important ILO instrument. 
 
The year 2010 saw the world witness the dramatic rescue of 33 trapped miners from the depths of a mid-sized copper mine in Chile. It also saw the gruesome deaths of 29 miners at the Pike River coal mine in New Zealand, caused perhaps by ventilation fans located inside mine shafts instead of outside. Twenty-nine miners also died in the US on 5 April 2010 at the Upper Big Branch mine in the state of West Virginia, a tragedy that saw mine owner Massey Energy and its CEO shift blame &ndash; unbelievably &ndash; to the stringent safeguards enshrined in the US Mine Safety and Health Act. 
<a href="/en/209-ILO"><img alt="" src="" width="175" height="247" /></a>
Click here for ICEM 176&nbsp;Campaign
There were also mass mining deaths in Russia, Turkey, and the Ukraine in 2010. Mine deaths still occur on a weekly basis in China, and in South Africa, despite a somewhat decline from the highs of 2006-2008, mining deaths still occur regularly and public statements of satisfaction and accomplishment by the Chamber of Mines is delusional and fraught with contempt. 
 
The tragedies from 2010, as well as the deadly coal mine blast in Pakistan just last month, prove there is much left to be done to make the world's mines safer. It can start with ratification of Convention 176. But it can only occur with full implementation and then practice of the convention&rsquo;s principles. 
 
Convention 176 demands that employers perform risk assessments, and control identified hazards at source, through good engineering design and through personal protective equipment. Mines must be properly engineered, designed, and constructed for safety, with provision of at least two separate means of exit and adequate communications systems. Sufficient ventilation with monitoring for contaminants and fire prevention, detection, and firefighting systems must be provided. Emergency response plans must be developed and maintained, and if serious dangers are detected, operations must be stopped and workers evacuated. Workers are to be provided with information and training on the hazards and how to work safely. 
 
Accidents must be investigated and corrective actions taken. Workers have the right to report, and receive reports on, accidents and dangerous occurrences and hazards. Workers can request workplace inspections from employers and the regulatory authorities. Workers have the right to refuse unsafe work, and remove themselves from dangers. In addition, workers can select workplace health and safety representatives and they have the authority to participate in investigations and inspections, monitor health and safety matters, have recourse on advisers and experts, and consult with the employer and the government regulators. 
 
Within Convention 176, governments are expected to create a legislative and regulatory framework that protects workers&rsquo; safety and health. This is to be accomplished by requiring employers and workers to comply with the specifics of ILO Convention 176. In addition, the responsible authorities are expected to maintain adequate regulatory mine supervision and inspection, and require the reporting of accidents and maintenance of statistics. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="150" />
Mining is one of the world&rsquo;s most dangerous occupations and regulatory safeguards are essential. The following list prepared using mostly ILO statistics from the UN agency&rsquo;s LABORSTA database indicates the most dangerous countries for miners and workers in quarrying, as ranked by fatal injuries per 100,000 employees for a period from 1999-2008. 
<blockquote dir="ltr"><blockquote dir="ltr"><blockquote dir="ltr">
1. Turkey 
2. Korea, Republic of 
3. China 
4. Pakistan 
5. Cyprus 
6. Kyrgyzstan 
7. Togo 
8. Hong Kong, China 
9. Ireland 
10. Taiwan, China 
11. Costa Rica 
12. Lithuania 
13. Portugal 
14. Ukraine 
15. Philippines 
16. Spain 
17. Nicaragua 
18. Chile 
19. Argentina 
20. Malta 21. Moldova, Republic of 
22. India 
23. Brazil 
24. Bulgaria 
25. United States 
26. Tunisia 
27. Estonia 
28. Zimbabwe 
29. Slovenia 
30. Burkina Faso 
31. Denmark 
32. Romania 
33. Czech Republic 
34. Canada 
35. Finland 
36. Italy 
37. Kazakhstan 
38. Myanmar 
39. Austria 
40. Poland 41. France 
42. Latvia 
43. Slovakia 
44. Croatia 
45. Azerbaijan 
46. Australia 
47. Egypt 
48. Japan 
49. Sweden 
50. United Kingdom 
51. Sri Lanka 
52. Hungary 
53. Norway 
54. Trinidad and Tobago 
55. Bahrain 
56. Belgium 
57. Luxembourg 
58. Macau, China 
59. Mauritius 
60. Singapore
</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
The list, however, does not contain relevant statistics for all countries, thus the rankings of China, Ukraine, and Chile are estimated based on reports from private websites. There are no reliable estimates for Russia even though Russia is an extremely important mining country. 
 
A few explanations are in order in assessing the list. First, even the ILO database which is the most authoritative on such matters, is extremely unreliable. The ILO can only cite what member countries send them. And then there are difficulties from under-coverage, such as most countries report only compensable deaths, to under-reporting, such as many deaths, even traumatic ones, are simply not recorded as occupational. Then there is outright fraud, since without question it is in the economic interests of employers to under-report. It is also in the political interests of many countries to under-report. 
 
Furthermore, occupational disease claims more workers' lives than traumatic accidents &ndash; even in hazardous occupations like mining. Occupational cancer alone almost certainly kills more miners than accidents, and there are many other diseases (lung, skin, nervous system) that are fatal but are not cancer. These diseases are universally under-diagnosed and under-reported. 
 
In the country ranking above, Turkey and Korea become the countries with the most dangerous mines, ahead of China. This may seem surprising, but Turkey, which is not a major mining country has both an extremely poor safety record and perhaps a better record of reporting than other countries on the list. As for China, the statistics are estimated from on-line sources of unknown origin and can only be assumed to be gross underestimates. The real number could be double, or even triple, the reported rate. 
 
Finally, mining statistics often can be found in the form of deaths per million metric tonnes of ore/coal produced. This type of reporting tends to skew the statistics so that low-productivity mining nations such as China look relatively worse compared to highly mechanised mining nations such as the US, because more miners are required to produce the same number of tonnes of product. An example of <a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2007/08/two-chinese-coal-miners-lived-179-did.html ">this type of rating</a> can be seen here. 
 
The ICEM prefers to look at mining fatalities per 100,000 workers because what matters to a miner in considering whether a mine is safe or unsafe is whether he or she goes home intact at the end of the day. The number of tonnes mined in that day is secondary to that fact. 
 
Overall, safety statistics revealed above should be considered to be of only the most marginal value.

Mine Safety and ILO Convention 176: A Continued Priority for the ICEM

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Every April 28, the labour movement remembers the fallen. April 28 is known as International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers and is marked by trade unions and safety and health groups in over 140 countries. 
 
Globally, 2.3 million workers die as a result of their work every year, according to the ILO. The ICEM considers this number, shocking as it is, to be understated by at least a factor of ten. Many millions more are injured or made ill due to occupational disease. Every one of these deaths, injuries, and illnesses is needless; in fact, senseless. 
 
ICEM affiliated trade unions work in some of the most dangerous and toxic workplaces on the planet. High-profile tragedies such as explosions and fires at oil and gas facilities, out-of-control nuclear power plants, methane gas blasts and cave-ins at mines, and untold number of equipment failures in manufacturing that cause death, limb loss, other injuries are all part of a sad culture that the ICEM aims to reverse. 
<img alt="" src="" width="360" height="90" />
The continuing toll of deaths, injuries, and illnesses is quite simply unacceptable to the ICEM. That is why the ICEM is there to assist its affiliates on any occupational health and safety issue. It is the reason that the ICEM has led the way in bringing occupational health and safety into Global Framework Agreements. It is why the ICEM has an ongoing campaign for the ratification of ILO Convention 176, a long-standing project on HIV/AIDS, and it is also why the ICEM engages other international organizations for better standards and better cooperation in occupational health and safety. 
 
What would make workplaces safer? While employers and governments spend enormous sums seeking magical solutions, the ICEM knows that the answer is really quite simple, although burdensome to some in implementing: workers have rights, employers have obligations. 
 
Here then, is the answer. 
 
&bull; Unions make work safer, therefore the first and most important workplace health and safety programme stems from a strong union. To achieve this, we demand respect for the ILO Core Labour Conventions, especially those protecting freedom of association, the right to organize unions, and the right to collective bargaining. 
&bull; Workers&rsquo; rights: the fundamental rights of workers with respect to occupational health and safety include: the right to know about the hazards of work and to receive training in how to do the job safely; the right to refuse &ndash; and shut down, if necessary &ndash; unsafe work; the right to participate in the formulation and implementation of workplace health and safety policies, programmes, and procedures. This right is best achieved through a Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) that plays a central and obligatory role in an employer's internal responsibility system. 
&bull; Employers&rsquo; obligations: Employers should concentrate their efforts on making work safer. This means process safety management, identification and use of best available technologies, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, occupational disease recognition and investigation, and a precautionary approach to chemical, biological, physical and other hazards. 
&bull; Employers&rsquo; prohibitions: Employers should not be allowed to use methods and practices whose principal purpose is to blame victims, or suppress the reporting of accidents and artificially improve statistics in order to gain improved workers' compensation experience ratings, premium reductions and rebates, and public relations points. This includes prohibiting behaviour-based safety programmes, workplace drug and alcohol testing (particularly post-incident), safety incentives that encourage under-reporting of accidents, and waging fights against recognition of workplaces diseases. 
 
The theme, &ldquo;Unions Make Work Safer&rdquo; on April 28 and on every work day, is sometimes known as Workers&rsquo; Memorial Day. It is fitting because a major role that trade unions play in everyday work-life is to monitor &ndash; and improve &ndash; occupational safety and health. Trade union activists are encouraged to find an activity and to take meaningful action to better safe work practices through the strength of their union.

Commonality of April 28: Unions Make Work Safer

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Codelco, the state-owned mining company of Chile and world&rsquo;s largest copper producer, reached early terms with three of its five mining unions at El Teniente in Region VI ten days ago. The 40-month agreement will take effect on 1 July 2011 and will cover 2,500 of El Teniente&rsquo;s 4,000 miners. 
 
The branches of Federaci&oacute;n de Trabajadores del Cobre (FTC) that agreed to terms were Sindicato No. 5, Sindicato No. 7, and Sindicato de Trabajadores Caletones. One of the two other branches rejected the proposal, while the other was not included in bargaining. 
 
The package is expected to be considered by those mineworker trade union branches in the coming days. 
 
The collective agreement includes a 3.85% wage increase on 1 July and a CLP 12.3 million (&euro;17,680, US$25,324) bonus, which matches the bonus paid miners at other Codelco divisions in 2010. It also includes an optional loan of CLP 3 million, and a 10% increase in the annual bonus that comes on Chile&rsquo;s national day, 18 September.
<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
El Teniente is an underground mine that includes some 2,400 kilometres of shafts. It includes an ore processing operation producing molybdenum, and its output of copper lingots and copper anodes is 404,000 tonnes per year. In 2010, it accounted for 27.2% of Codelco&rsquo;s US$5.8 billion profit. 
 
At another Codelco copper operation, Chuquicamata, part of the El Norte division, FTC branches and management met 12 April to discuss staffing requirements. The Chuquicamata mine recently shed a number of jobs due to union-negotiated early retirements as the operation prepares for a conversion from an open-cast mine to an underground one. 
 
FTC Sindicato No. 1 Vice President H&eacute;ctor Roco said the union, and three other FTC branches at Chuquicamata, want workers to be given the opportunity to transfer to areas where retirements have lowered job rolls, and they also want a say in the planning of the transition to underground mining. 
 
Codelco employs 17,000 miners in Chile at five divisions: El Norte, Salvador, Andina, El Teniente, and Ventaras.

Early Accord Comes to One of Codelco’s Copper Mines in Chile

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Metalliliitto, Finland&rsquo;s Metalworkers&rsquo; Union, has reached a tentative agreement with KMW Engineering, preventing for now a blockade on construction of the nuclear power reactor Olkiluoto III. On 13 April, the Polish air-conditioning subcontractor agreed to compensate workers for shortfalls in pay required under Finnish labour standards. 
 
Under the agreement, KMW Engineering did give an accounting that showed arrears in Sunday and overtime pay. It agreed to compensate back wages and pledged to uphold Finnish terms of employment in the future. It also agreed to correct its deficient safety and health standards on the 1.6 gigawatt (1,600 megawatt) nuclear plant.
<img alt="" src="" width="337" height="190" />
Construction of Olkiluoto III 
Photo: YLE/Termonen Tapio&nbsp; 
&nbsp;
Metalliliitto had given the subcontractor until 15 April to comply with Finnish social standards, or face a construction-wide blockade that would have halted all work on Finland&rsquo;s fifth nuclear reactor. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4343-Finland’s-Metalworkers-close-in-on-Blockade-of-Nuclear-Plant-Work">ICEM report</a> from 28 March.) A Metalworkers&rsquo; blockade had endorsement and would have been honoured by Finland&rsquo;s Construction Trades Union, the Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union, and Proliitto, the union for salaried workers of Finland. 
 
A regional state labour agency of Finland&rsquo;s South-West found in late March that KMW did not keep overtime records as required under the working hours act. It also determined that payment of wages for Sunday and overtime work varied. Failure to comply could have brought state sanctions to the nuclear construction site, which would have affected other contractors. 
 
Metalliliitto Compliance Officer Jyrki Virtanen said the union will now fully monitor future social conduct by KMW Engineering. The Olkiluoto III nuclear power station is owned by private-sector energy concern Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO), and has as general contractor Areva of France. Olkiluoto III, a &euro;3.95 billion project that is now &euro;1.5 billion over budget, is the biggest investment in the history of Finnish industry.

Finnish Metalworkers, Polish Firm Agree on Backpay at Nuclear Plant

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM has joined the Swiss union Unia in a community campaign to save 550 paper mill jobs. Sappi, a global leader in the manufacture of coated papers, announced on 31 March that it intends to close its Biberist graphic papers mill, an asset it purchased late in 2008 along with three other European printing and writing papers mills from M-real. 
Unia, with membership numbering only one-tenth of the total Biberist workforce, has taken the lead to preserve jobs. Workers, managers, mill suppliers, and area businesses of Canton Soleure have joined the effort. Sappi&rsquo;s European Works Council (EWC) also has argued for retaining production. A <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Sappi%20Fine%20Paper%20Europe.pdf">Sappi EWC resolution</a>&nbsp;can be found here.
<img alt="" src="" width="265" height="149" />
&nbsp;Biberist: A Community United to Save Jobs
Unia held a manifestation in Biberist on 16 March that was attended by hundreds of area residents. The ICEM generated some 15 letters from pulp and paper trade unions around the globe supporting Biberist workers and managers who are in the fight to keep the mill open. Those letters were read at the rally. 
Workers also placed a vivid reminder, namely heavy paper rolls, at a round-about in Biberist to remind the public of what&rsquo;s at stake. A German-language <a href="http://www.papierfabrik-biberist.ch">special website for the workers&rsquo; campaign</a> can be found here.
<img alt="" src="" width="234" height="152" />
20,000 Motorists Daily Will Get a Stark Reminder
Unia&rsquo;s campaign asks Sappi to do one of three things, with a priority being the first: maintain operations because production, productivity and sales have been buoyant since Sappi bought the mill; re-think the decision to shutter the mill completely, and sell it to an enterprise that will operate it; if layoffs occur, ensure that superior severance is paid, and job re-training and other social criteria are met to the fullest. 
Sappi will begin consultations with workers&rsquo; representatives in mid-May, with the company scheduling a first set of layoffs as early as late May. The mill could close by late summer. 
In a 14 April letter to Unia Co-Presidents Renzo Ambrosetti and Andreas Rieger, General Secretary Manfred Warda said: ICEM finds it &ldquo;disgraceful that barely two years after Sappi bought four European graphical paper mills of M-real, they intend to close down the second one. To buy enterprises with the intent to shutter them in order to limit competition and maintain high pricing on a product grade is truly despicable.&rdquo;
<img alt="" src="" width="268" height="151" />
Unia Manifestation on 16 April&nbsp;in Biberist
The Global Union Federation also intervened at a Sappi EWC meeting on 20 April that was held in Maastricht, Netherlands, and that <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ICEMletters/33.ICEM.SAPPI.UNIA.18April.pdf">ICEM message</a> can be found in English here. At that meeting, Biberist was the main topic of discussion, with the EWC expressing dismay over Sappi&rsquo;s decision. 
The EWC argued that Sappi must try to find other paper product grades for manufacture from Biberist, or find a buyer for the mill. Sappi Europe CEO Berry Wiersum said if a good solution can be found, the company might re-consider. 
The EWC also stressed the importance of a substantial redundancy package for workers and if one is not presented, another special meeting of the EWC would be convened. The company responded that such a plan would be done in accord with Swiss law.

ICEM Joins Swiss Workers’ Campaign to Keep Sappi Paper Mill Open

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Six weeks after an earthquake and tsunami decimated the six nuclear reactors inside the Fukushima power plant in northeastern Japan, union members and staff of Denryoku Soren, the ICEM-affiliated Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Workers&rsquo; Union of Japan, work voluntary week-long shifts to contain radiation leakage. They work inside a 20-kilometre zone in which Japanese rescue teams searching for the dead are prohibited from entering due to radiation levels. 
 
Few know it, but inside the offices of Denryoku Soren in Tokyo most work stations are empty. The reason is most union staff workers have volunteered to fill the shortage of workers needed at Fukushima. 
They sleep on concrete floors at Fukushima and consume only bottled water and biscuits for fear that food sources are contaminated. <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Japanese%20Nuke%20Measures.pdf">Denryoku Soren&rsquo;s letter</a> to the ICEM describing what it is up against can be found here. 
<img alt="" src="" width="170" height="172" />
Last week, ICEM Asia-Pacific Contact Person Phee Jungsun visited Denryoku Soren offices in Tokyo and filed this report: 
 
&ldquo;It is&nbsp;painful to see union officers here in Tokyo, who are exhausted and worried about their fellow workers at the Fukushima site. Those who have returned after their one-week voluntary shifts are calm and doing paperwork, but signs of fatigue show on their faces. 
 
&ldquo;President Seiichi Taneoka, who himself has been to the site, is working hard every minute, organising volunteer shift teams and talking to TEPCO control centre officials on a dedicated telephone line. He is also trying to get assistance from local units of government and local police to locate and reach those union members and their families who are missing and haven&rsquo;t been heard from.&rdquo; 
 
Although the exact total death count is impossible to know, some ICEM affiliates in Japan have started to make assessments. JEC Rengo, the Japanese Federation of Energy and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Unions, confirms that well over 100 of its members are missing, with destruction of members&rsquo; homes totaling over 1,000 in the northeastern Prefecture. The same number is estimated by Zenkoku, the Federation of Gas Workers&rsquo; Unions in Japan. 
 
Other ICEM affiliates in Japan have registered plants and workplaces that have been affected. The Japanese Pulp and Paper Workers&rsquo; Federation has reported mills of Nippon Paper, Mitsubishi Paper Mills, and Oji mills closed or running on limited production. The same is reported at Sumitoma Rubber by Gomu-Rengo, the Rubber Workers&rsquo; Union. UI Zensen, the Textile, Chemical, Food and Commercial Union, also has reported damages and vast devastation to workers, their homes, and places of employment. 
 
Six days after the disaster, the ICEM put a call out to affiliates to provide funds to the ICEM Japanese Affiliates&rsquo; Federation (JAF) for disaster relief. The response was unprecedented, with over US$1 million sent to date to JAF. ICEM Asia-Pacific Region Vice President Kiyoshi Ochiai and JAF General-Secretary Yoshio Sato, through the ICEM, expressed gratitude for the solidarity and generosity: &ldquo;We got heartfelt sympathy and encouragement from all over the world. We deeply appreciate the solidarity and fraternity of ICEM affiliates. We really feel that ICEM is one big family.
<img alt="" src="" width="177" height="156" />
&nbsp;Kiyoshi Ochiai
&ldquo;Our brave members of Denryoku Soren are working hard to speed up recovery efforts in a very difficult situation. The Japanese people are working together to overcome numerous hardships and to get things back to normal with effort and patience. And ICEM JAF keeps engaging in the reconstruction effort.&rdquo; 
 
In typical Japanese fashion, on 28 March, Denryoku Soren withdrew its wage demands on TEPCO that was part of the spring offensive &ldquo;shunto.&rdquo; The union&rsquo;s decision reflects the belief that it cannot continue negotiations for now because of the ongoing tragedies of human life and the devastation in the electric power sector at Fukushima.
Due to a misunderstanding of information that ICEM received there was an incorrect description of events in this article, for which ICEM apologised. See the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ICEMletters/37.ICEM.IMFJC.Japan.27April.pdf">letter to IMF-JC</a> here.

Workers of Denryoku Soren Face Dire Plight at Fukushima Nuclear Site

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The General Secretary of the Ghana Mine Workers&rsquo; Union (GMWU), Prince William Ankrah, was elected regional chairman of ICEM&rsquo;s Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Organisation (SSARO) at mid-month. Over 100 delegates from nearly all sub-Saharan African countries attended SSARO&rsquo;s 14-15 April regional conference and meeting in Accra, Ghana. 
 
Comrade Ankrah replaces Rayford Mbulu of the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) as the ICEM Vice President for the region. Mbulu resigned the position at the meeting. 
 
The meeting also adopted three resolutions and put forth an action plan based on those resolutions. One resolution called for political stability and sustainable development for creation of jobs, especially for the youth of Africa. Noting the political upheaval and suppression of citizens by despotic rulers in several countries, the resolution condemns military and police repression on people who peacefully advocate for a political system based on economic and social justice. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="150" />
The resolution also condemns &ldquo;the role of the United Nations and the international community which seek to influence the African political landscape to the benefit of the West at the expense of the African people.&rdquo; 
 
A second resolution calls on governments to create an environment for economic growth and job creation, including a realization that 10% of national budgets be allocated to agriculture for food security. It also states that MNCs be allowed to invest in Africa on terms favourable to improving economic growth, preventing environment degradation, creating employment, and improving working conditions. 
 
The third resolution noted African trade unions being weak in membership, collection of fess, and other union-provided services, and calls for continuation of trade union organizational building to reverse those stigmas. It also signaled the proposed integration of the ICEM, International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) as &ldquo;a progressive move that unites workers and builds international solidarity.&rdquo; 
 
The body pledged to continue current campaigns, including HIV/AIDS awareness and testing processes, decent work and decent pay, continued safety training on radiation in mining, shop steward and other interchanges between unions of different countries, promotion of the ILO&rsquo;s Maternity Protection Convention 183, and pressing countries to ratify the Mine Safety and Health Convention, ILO No. 176, a campaign in which the GMWU is charged with heading. 
 
The African Regional Organisation Secretary-General of the International Trade Union Confederation, Kwasi Adu-Amankwah of Ghana, addressed delegates. 
<img alt="" src="" width="118" height="132" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img alt="" src="" width="114" height="132" />
Christine Olivier&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kwasi Adu-Amankwah
Christine Olivier, Second Vice President of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), was elected as SSARO Women&rsquo;s Chairperson, replacing Jane Ragoo of Mauritius, while Frans Baleni of South Africa, Achese Igwe of Nigeria, and Paul Felex Bayiha of Cameroon were confirmed as ICEM Executive Committee members for three of SSARO&rsquo;s seats on the governing body.

ICEM’s African Region Elects Prince William Ankrah as Chairman

<img alt="" src="" width="50" height="65" />
Glyphosate, known by its International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) name phosphonomethylamino or acetic acid, is manufactured for use as a herbicide. Depending on specific purpose, it may be used as such, or as an ammonium salt, isopropylamine salt, or potassium salt. 
 
It is most well-known as the main active ingredient in the chemical company&rsquo;s Monsanto's &quot;Roundup.&quot; But since the Monsanto patent has expired, it is also used in similar formulations by a number of manufacturers. It works as a plant hormone inhibitor, by interfering with this metabolic process in plants, it kills the plants. 
 
In handling glyphosate, it is essential to have an up-to-date Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), which can be obtained from a company that manufactures products with it in it. It is also essential to minimise exposure through engineering controls, isolation, effective ventilation, and where worker exposure is unavoidable, personal protective equipment. 
There are two stories on glyphosate, one by its original manufacturer, Monsanto, and unfortunately accepted by most regulatory agencies worldwide, the other by opponents of glyphosate use, who claim much information about it has been suppressed. 
 
As Monsanto tells it, glyphosate is generally considered to be one of the safest herbicides. There is a fairly well-established potential for temporary skin and eye irritation, and gastrointestinal irritation if ingested. These can even be severe if the chemical is encountered in its pure form and not promptly washed off the skin. A survey of recent MSDSs reveals that it is officially considered practically non-toxic, and, in several animal studies, has produced no officially recognized evidence of carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, or teratogenicity. 
 
However, MSDSs are often less than complete. There are some rather alarming suggestions of a link between glyphosate exposure and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) by some researchers. Monsanto's claim that there is no severe adverse effect has been traced back to Swedish researcher Hans-Olov Adami, who in turn has been linked to a consulting group called Exponent. 
 
Exponent has ties to Monsanto and other chemical companies and is known for its rebuttals of concerns about chemicals in the environment. Findings about glyphosate that contradict Monsanto have rarely been given much attention. 
 
There are suggestions that it may be an endocrine disruptor or a genotoxin. For example, Gilles-Eric S&eacute;ralini, a French biochemist, has claimed that his studies of the effects of glyphosate on human embryonic cells, fetal cells, and placental cells; and that glyphosate is likely an endocrine disruptor in humans. This effect was shown for &ldquo;Roundup&rdquo; formulations, rather than pure glyphosate. Indeed, one of the issues with any chemical testing is how it will affect humans or the environment in the complex mixture of chemicals encountered in the real world, as compared with its study in isolation in a laboratory. 
The statistical significance of the association between glyphosate and NHL is low. Monsanto's defenders have suggested that errors in the assessment of exposure levels, or chance, are the likely explanations for the association between glyphosate exposure and NHL. As for S&eacute;ralini's observations, it is unclear whether the effects S&eacute;ralini observed were due to the glyphosate, or the surfactants (detergents) that are always part of a pesticide formulation. 
 
Regardless, from a pure occupational health point of view, the best way to handle any chemical is with caution. Minimise the opportunities for worker exposure with the best possible engineering designs that isolate the chemical from human contact. Install effective drainage and ventilation systems to safely remove any chemical that escapes from the closed system. Finally, since despite these precautions some chance of exposure may remain, appropriate personal protective equipment must be provided and maintained. 
 
The safest level of exposure is always no exposure.

Handling and Use of Pesticide Glyphosate: Things to Know

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="59" />
Metalliliitto, Finland&rsquo;s Metalworkers&rsquo; Union, has reached a tentative agreement with KMW Engineering, preventing for now a blockade on construction of the nuclear power reactor Olkiluoto III. On 13 April, the Polish air-conditioning subcontractor agreed to compensate workers for shortfalls in pay required under the Finnish labour standards. 
 
Under the agreement, KMW Engineering did give an accounting that showed arrears in Sunday and overtime pay. It agreed to compensate back wages and pledged to uphold Finnish terms of employment in the future. It also agreed to correct its deficient safety and health standards on the 1.6 gigawatt (1,600 megawatt) nuclear plant.
&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" width="337" height="190" />
Construction of Olkiluoto III 
Photo: YLE/Termonen Tapio&nbsp; 

Metalliliitto had given the subcontractor until 15 April to comply with Finnish social standards, or face a construction-wide blockade that would have halted all work on Finland&rsquo;s fifth nuclear reactor. (See <a href="http:// /en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4343-Finland’s-Metalworkers-close-in-on-Blockade-of-Nuclear-Plant-Work">ICEM report</a> from 28 March.) A Metalworkers&rsquo; blockade had endorsement and would have been honoured by Finland&rsquo;s Construction Trades Union, the Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union, and Proliitto, the union for salaried workers of Finland. 
 
A regional state labour agency of Finland&rsquo;s South-West found in late March that KMW did not keep overtime records as required under the working hours act. It also determined that payment of wages for Sunday and overtime work varied. Failure to comply could have brought state sanctions to the nuclear construction site, which would have affected other contractors. 
 
Metalliliitto Compliance Officer Jyrki Virtanen said the union will now fully monitor future social conduct by KMW Engineering. The Olkiluoto III nuclear power station is owned by private-sector energy concern Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO), and has as general contractor Areva of France. Olkiluoto III, a &euro;3.95 billion project that is now &euro;1.5 billion over budget, is the biggest investment in the history of Finnish industry.

Polish Engineering Firm Concedes to Finland’s Metalliliitto at Nuclear Plant

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ICEM&rsquo;s Asia Pacific Rubber Workers&rsquo; Unions held its second meeting on 22-23 April in Seoul, South Korea. The meeting was attended by 30 trade union representatives from Japan, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, and South Korea. 
 
Two affiliates of the ICEM, the Federation of Korean Chemical Workers&rsquo; Unions (FKCU) and Korean Chemical and Textile Workers&rsquo; Union (KCTF) hosted this meeting of the Network, supported by the German Friedrich-Ebert Foundation (FES). The meeting also welcomed the ICEM Secretariat and the Japanese Affiliates&rsquo; Federation (ICEM-JAF) to Seoul. 
 
&ldquo;Given the growing importance of the Asia Pacific region in the rubber industry, our network has a very crucial role in unifying the unions of the sector,&rdquo; said Toshiaki Hojo, President of Japanese Rubber Workers&rsquo; Confederation (GOMU RENGO), who chairs this Asia Pacific workers&rsquo; network. 
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&ldquo;The meeting coincided with a very critical time in South Korea because of modifications to South Korean labour code have potential dangers on rights and freedoms,&rdquo; said the FKCU Vice President Yoon Jinsoo. &ldquo;Mobilizations at Kumho Tire&rsquo;s two plants in South Korea gave us a burning need for solidarity in the rubber industry,&rdquo; added KCTF General Secretary Im Youngguk. 
 
The meeting also received a detailed report from ICEM-JAF General Secretary Yoshio Sato on the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Sato thanked all ICEM affiliates who showed solidarity to Japanese unions by sending messages and donations. 
 
ICEM Chemical and Rubber Industry Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan presented major developments and challenges in the global rubber industry and profiles on the multinational companies. The rubber industry did start to recover following the global financial crisis, but such recovery is no cause for celebration due to continued high unemployment and deteriorating pay and work conditions. 
 
Participants then gave country reports. According to the report of GOMU RENGO, the Japanese rubber industry suffered severely from the economic crisis and now from the accident, reflected by automobile production dropping by 600,000 units, which now is causing extreme after-shocks in the global supplier segments. 
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In Indonesia and Malaysia, performing union activities is difficult. Representatives of China&rsquo;s Chemical and Energy Workers&rsquo; Union reported that the union at Bridgestone successfully established a collective wage consultation system, in which in 2010 saw salaries increase by 16%. A Sri Lankan delegate spoke on organising against transnationals such as Trelleborg, Ansel, and Loadstar. 
 
The Thailand report included review and dissection of problems at Michelin, Goodyear, Sumitomo, and Yokohama companies. Vietnam is also attracting investment in the rubber industry. The country&rsquo;s national chemical company, Vinachem, operates five rubber factories, including two Vietnamese-Japanese joint ventures, Yokohama and Inoue. The Korean Metal Workers Union (KMWU) reported on its struggle with Kumho and thanked the ICEM for support. KMWU identified three areas of difficulty in Kumho in Korea, namely wage, bargaining, and disciplinary actions. 
 
The meeting also produced an extensive discussion on the rising trend of Contract and Agency Labour. It was agreed that the network should continue to handle precarious employment issue as one of its main working areas. 
 
Delegates broke into working groups according to their companies, with the Goodyear and Bridgestone working groups establishing details to continue further communications. Korean and Vietnamese participants agreed to closely cooperate on Kumho, since the Vietnamese operations are organized. 
 
The meeting also adopted two resolutions: one to <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1105.Resolution%20on%20Solidarity%20with%20Japan.pdf ">support Japanese workers</a> in the aftermath of the great natural accident and the second to <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Resolution%20on%20Keum%20Ho%20Tire.pdf ">support the KMWU in Korea on its struggle at Kumho</a>. Participants, most of whom are local level union representatives, collected symbolic donations for their Japanese sisters and brothers. 
 
The next meeting of ICEM&rsquo;s Asia Pacific Network is scheduled in 2013 in Malaysia.

ICEM Asia-Pacific Rubber Workers’ Network Held in Seoul Last Month

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