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Press

As the kick-off for soccer's World Cup approaches, national teams are getting into shape by playing friendly matches. 
 
One such warm-up in Holland tomorrow evening may prove a little warmer than most. It is between the Netherlands and Nigeria, and it will feature strong but peaceful protests against the human rights abuses of General Sani Abacha's Nigerian regime. 
 
The match is being televised live in Nigeria and the Netherlands, and TV stations in many other parts of the world will be carrying live or recorded coverage. 
 
Prominent among the organisers of the protests tomorrow are the Dutch trade union confederation FNV and Amnesty International. And among the Nigerian detainees whose plight will be highlighted by the protesters, two oilworkers' leaders will receive particular attention: Milton Dabibi and Frank Kokori. 
 
Kokori has been detained without trial in Nigeria since 1994 and Dabibi since January 1996. Both are in poor health, and their condition is reported to be deteriorating rapidly. They are still being denied access to the medical care that they need. They are also barred from contact with lawyers and with their unions, which are being run by government-imposed administrators. Dabibi and Kokori are both recognised by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience. 
 
The Dutch protests come as trade unionists and other rights campaigners worldwide step up their pressure for the release of Nigerian detainees. Dutch unions are playing an important part in the action through the FNV Bondgenoten, which is affiliated to the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), and the FNV confederation, which is affiliated to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). Both internationals have called for sanctions against the Nigerian regime over its continued flouting of basic trade union rights. 
 
This is not the first time that a Nigerian warm-up for the World Cup has attracted trade union attention. During a similar encounter in Germany recently, the ICEM affiliate IG BCE placed ads in major newspapers, highlighting the cases of Kokori and Dabibi. 
 
But should sports be used to turn up the heat on oppressive regimes? Some Dutch politicians think not. In a way, FNV President Lodewijk de Waal agrees with them - but then, he insists, the politicians must come up with better alternatives. "It would be much more effective to isolate the regime of Abacha with a boycott of Nigerian oil than with a sports boycott," the Dutch union leader said today. The Netherlands should, he said, now put the case at the European level for a boycott of Nigerian oil. 
 
Meanwhile, tomorrow's protests will include a press conference held in the football stadium itself, just before the match. One feature of the press conference will be a message from Nigeria's trade unions. And once the match gets under way, a number of Dutch celebrities will be making their views clearly and telegenically known from the terraces. Stay tuned. 
 
 
 
AMNESTY TV AD BANNED 
 
What Dutch TV viewers will not be seeing tomorrow night is a new ad from Amnesty International. Specially commissioned for screening during the commercial break at half-time, the ad yesterday got the thumbs-down from Ster, the foundation that sells Dutch TV's advertising slots. Ster has caused a stir. In broad-minded Holland, it is unusual for a commercial to be banned on any grounds at all. 
 
The offending ad opens with what seems to be a goalkeeper staring intently at a game in progress. But when the camera pulls back, the goalie turns out to be a condemned man in front of a firing squad. 
 
In fact, the ad exposes the double life of Nigeria's football stadiums. They have brought forth a strong contender for the World Cup. But they are also used for public executions in a land where the rule of law counts for nothing. 
 
TV ads "are there to praise products or services," Ster's director insisted. The mid-match commercial break would, he said, have featured "beer, life insurance, chocolates and then that Amnesty ad. Spot the odd man out." He also claimed the Amnesty commercial was unsuitable for children. 
 
But the ad shows "not a single drop of blood," an Amnesty spokeswoman countered. Many other TV commercials are much more violent, she pointed out. There is, she said, an overriding need to draw public attention to the Nigerian government's violations of basic rights - which are "many times worse than what happens in the ad."

World Cup Warm-Up: Protests At Tomorrow's Nigeria-Holland "Friendly"

What exactly were the links between Indonesia's recently ousted dictator Soeharto and the world's biggest mining company, Rio Tinto? 
 
Australia's main business newspaper, the Financial Review, examines that question in some depth today. 
 
"Will the hunt for former President Soeharto's ill-gotten billions, now rapidly gathering pace in Jakarta, cause trouble for Australian companies that had invested large sums in Indonesia?" the Financial Review wonders. "That question is being asked with increasing frequency around the stockmarket this week, and the company that's mentioned most often in connection with it is ASX[Australian Stock Exchange]-listed mining giant Rio Tinto plc." 
 
Indonesia's Grasberg mine is the main focus of the Financial Review article. Grasberg is owned by US-based Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc, of which Rio Tinto in turn owns 33 percent. The Financial Review notes that Rio Tinto "bought into Freeport-McMoran and Grasberg in 1995 for US$1.3 billion." Much of that price was, the Australian newspaper argues, "based on the assumption of winning approval to expand the size of the Grasberg mine." Rio Tinto also "has a 40 per cent direct stake in any expansion of the Grasberg mine." 
 
Last December, in one of his "last major industrial policy decisions", Soeharto "authorised the $1 billion expansion of the Grasberg mine throughput from around 130,000 tonnes per day to more than 200,000 tonnes per day." 
 
The Soeharto family themselves had also bought into Grasberg. The Financial Review examines complex business deals which meant that "in essence, Freeport-McMoran financed the Soeharto family into the Grasberg mine." 
 
Hence, perhaps, the expansion permit. Hence too another of Soeharto's decrees. Last August, he exempted PT Freeport Indonesia - the local company that operates Grasberg - from paying Indonesian company tax. 
 
"Freeport Indonesia," the Financial Review reports, "was the only foreign-controlled company to be granted the tax exemption, worth tens of millions [of dollars] annually." 
 
Meanwhile, the status of the expansion permit for Grasberg has come under scrutiny in Jakarta. Though signed by Soeharto, the permit may never have been ratified by the Indonesian parliament. 
 
"Around the stockmarket," the Financial Review concludes, "fear that the Grasberg expansion permit will be rescinded or delayed because of the expected Soeharto asset hunt is being blamed for some of the recent weakness in Rio Tinto and Freeport share prices." 
 
Rio Tinto's Indonesian operations have been highlighted recently by a broadly-based global campaign against the company's environmental damage and violations of human rights. In particular, Rio Tinto's attacks on trade union rights in many parts of the world have made it a priority target for networking by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM).

Rio Tinto Linked To Soeharto

Brazil's legislators yesterday voted unanimously to grant an amnesty to oil unions facing massive fines. The amnesty still has to be approved by the Brazilian President, Fernando Henrique Cardoso. 
 
Fines imposed on the oil unions for holding a legal strike three years ago now total more than 60 million US dollars. At the time, Brazil's Higher Labour Court ruled that the unions bore legal responsibility for a fuel shortage resulting from the strike. This decision led to the sequestration of oil union assets and the freezing of union bank accounts. 
 
 
<img height="245" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/braz.gif" width="372" alt=""/>
Brazil's oilworkers: 
Fined 60 million dollars for a legal strike. 
(Photo: ICEM) 

The local unions involved are members of the Brazilian oil workers' federation FUP, which in turn is part of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). The ICEM has been pressing the Brazilian government to overturn the "scandalous" verdict, and the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) has repeatedly ruled that the fines violate international standards on collective bargaining and the right to strike 
 
In fact, this is not the first time the Brazilian parliament has voted to waive the fines and unfreeze the oil unions' accounts. But to general consternation, the parliament's previous attempts to bring in an amnesty were vetoed by the President. 
 
Now, though, the prospects are brighter, according to the FUP's Carlos Spis. He says the amnesty legislation has been more tightly drawn this time, so that it would apply purely to the oil sector, and he is optimistic that President Henrique Cardoso will sign it into law. The measure is due to go to the President next week, after which he has fifteen days to consider it.

Brazil: Fines Amnesty For Oil Unions?

I n years past, Tian Chua was a valued and highly-respected labour activist who held close ties and worked intimately with ICEM on several projects. Such work was halted in April 2001 when Tian Chua and others were jailed under the country's Internal Security Act (ISA), a controversial law in Malaysia that among other things allows for indefinite detention without trial. 
 
Twice, in December 2002 and again in May 2003, the ISA Review Board recommended the release of Tian Chua and the others, but the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed refused. The matter has now escalated and evidence from a 9 May assault and beating of Tian Chua at the Kemunting detention centre in Perak state indicates the government has no plans to release him. 
 
Tian Chua and the others were detained under the ISA and no evidence has ever been made public. In September 2002, a Malaysian Federal Court panel ruled that three of the detainees, including Tian Chua, had been unlawfully held since their April 2001 arrests. Chief Justice Mohamded Dzaiddin said their detention was merely for intelligence gathering with no link to national security. "... they were not interrogated on the militant actions and neither were they questioned about getting explosives and weapons. I find that there is much force ... that the detentions were for the ulterior purpose and unconnected with national security," wrote the chief justice. 
 
The ICEM Executive Committee in June 2002 called on the Malaysian goverment to relase Tian Chua and the others, and to abolish the draconian ISA. That pronouncement was reinforced with stronger language at the ICEM Executive on 23 May 2003. 
 
"The ICEM Executive Committee ... calls on the Malaysian government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed to immediately release Tian Chua and the other detainees without any conditions, and to allow an investigation by the special representative of the Untied Nations General Secretary on Human Rights over their detention and physical abuse while incarcerated. 
 
"The ICEM also calls on the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) to raise the detention of Tian Chua at the 91st Session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva from the 2nd - 19th June 2003. 
 
"The ICEM calls on the Malaysian government not to interfere with Tian Chua's pursuit of his Doctorate Degree." 
 
Tian Chua was handcuffed and then beaten on 9 May after security guards confiscated a laptop computer from his barracks at the Kemunting detention center where he is now being held.

Demand Malaysian Release of Tian Chua

Two British unions have promised more industrial actions against French-based chemical producer Rhodia unless the firm drops its proposal to exclude new workers from a pension plan. Some 625 workers at two UK Rhodia plants - members of ICEM affiliates GMB and Amicus - struck late 17 July and 18 July at Oldbury, West Midlands, and Widnes, Chesire. 
 

<img height="264" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/rhodia2b.jpg" width="350" alt=""/>
GMB General Secretary Kevin Curran (fourth from left) joined GMB and Amicus members on picket lines at Widnes on 18 July in their one-day industrial action against Rhodia. In foreground, at right, with sign is GMB Convenor Chris Wright. 
The two 24-hour walkouts are the first time British workers have struck to defend their pensions. Talks broke off 1 July when the specialty chemicals maker refused to address its pension curtailments on new employees. The company then failed to respond 11 July to a letter from the unions inviting the firm back to negotiations. GMB and Amicus members then immediately voted to take industrial action at the two plants. 
 
"GMB members know that closing the scheme to new members puts the long term viability of the scheme at risk," stated GMB General Secretary Kevin Curran. "Their security in retirement is being put in jeopardy by the decisions being made by the company now. 
 
"Rhodia have refused to have a proper debate on our members' pensions and have left us with no option but to strike so their united voice can be heard." 
 
Amicus Joint General Secretary Derek Simpson added, "This will be the first in a wave of strike actions that will gather pace as more and more workers realize that they face an old age of poverty. The workers at Rhodia are not just fighting for the future of the scheme, it is for the future of their children and their communities." 
 
By 21 July, the unions were again attempting to re-start talks with Rhodia to address the pension issue. Rhodia has been alerted that another 24-hour work stoppage at the Widnes plant is set for 15 August, while the Oldbury plant will be struck for a full day on 5 September. And intermittent, shift-long actions will occur every few days until then at both sites to protest the pension cuts. 
 
Companies have used dismal stock market performances by funds holding pension assets as an excuse to attack the sanctity of workers' pensions. And Rhodia's decision to restrict new workers from the pension plan and push them instead into a money-purchase scheme comes after years of the firm underfunding the pension plan. Rhodia has dropped its contributions from 18% to 14% over the past three years. 
 
Roger Lyons, Joint General Secretary of Amicus, said, "The willingness to take action by Rhodia employees is the first rumblings of the groundswell of public opinion which will drown us all in old age unless we deal with the pension crises today." 
 
GMB's Curran added, "Our members recognise that closing the scheme to new workers is just the first step to eventually stripping current workers of their hard-earned pensions. Employers need to get the clear message that they cannot back off from their duty." 
 
GMB represents process workers at the two plants in which industrial action occurred 17-18 July, while Amicus represents engineering staff. The Oldbury plant, employing 500, makes flame-retardants, water treatment products, food ingredients and various industrial chemicals. The Widnes plans employs 125 union members and manufactures food ingredients and industrial phosphate chemicals. 
 
The company was created in 1998 when Rhone-Poulenc S.A. spun off two major divisions, Chemicals & Fibers and Polymers, to create publicly-traded Rhodia.

UK Unions Take Industrial Action at Rhodia

T he 20-million-member ICEM has demanded that Rhodia corporate executives in France step in to resolve an escalating pension dispute in the United Kingdom between the company and affiliates, two of which -Amicus and GMB-have engaged in industrial actions. The dispute rapidly deteriorated following talks 6 August before an independent conciliation service when UK managers failed to budge from its position. 
 
 
At issue is the French multinational's insistence that new employees be dropped from a defined benefit pension scheme and placed instead in a money-purchase plan. Amicus and GMB members at two plants-Widnes, Chesire, and Oldbury, West Midlands-have begun a series of rolling, 24- hour walkouts. 
 
On 21 August, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs wrote to Rhodia Chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Tirouflet: "As you must be aware, two ICEM affiliated unions … have already exercised their lawful right to take industrial action over the issue, and more is sure to follow if this dispute is not resolved amicably. The ICEM stands staunchly behind the efforts of our affiliates to retain the pension scheme currently in place for both new and existing Rhodia employees. The ICEM is also prepared to bring this dispute to the attention of Rhodia employees worldwide, as well as to out many affiliated unions in the chemical sector throughout the world. 
 
"Therefore, I call on you and Rhodia executives in France to intervene to create a constructive atmosphere that will ensure an acceptable settlement to the parties involved." 
 
GMB National Secretary Gerry Veart earlier this week had written to Tirouflet, stating, "It is my view that this dispute will increasingly become more and more bitter if an acceptable solution cannot be found. I am therefore writing to you to suggest that a meeting be arranged with executives from your office with a view to reaching a settlement acceptable to all parties." 
 
The 625 union members at the two plants voted per UK law in early July to commence industrial actions despite management inundating them with letters and explanations on why they shouldn't. Then on 17-18 July, workers walked out for 24-hour periods. Again on 15 August, the Widnes workers struck, and Oldbury workers have issued notice that they will withhold their services 5 September and again 19 September. 
 
Rhodia operates five chemical plants in the UK with the Widnes and Oldbury sites former Albright and Wilson plants that have seen pension contribution levels rise steadily to 8% over recent years.

ICEM Demands Rhodia Corporate Involvement

In the mining industry in Canada, 1,300 members of two locals of the United Steelworkers (USW) began a strike 19 July in Trail, British Columbia, against Vancouver-based Teck Cominco Ltd. Workers are seeking to re-gain wage and pension ground given to the company when it was in financial trouble in the 1990s. Teck Cominco operates a refinery for zinc, lead and other metals in Trail. The mine and processing plant provides 3% of the world’s zinc production. The company declared force majeure on all metal and chemical products sales due to the strike. Meanwhile, in the southwestern US, 1,550 USW members continue strikes in two states that began 2 July and 6 July that has crippled cooper production of Asarco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grupo Mexico.

Steelworkers Strike Teck Cominco Refinery in Canada

UK affiliate Amicus won an important court case over the EU’s Work Time Directive for North Sea offshore oil workers. A Scottish employment tribunal ruled 26 July that offshore contractors and oil companies cannot deny annual leave to workers because of the irregular pattern of work on offshore rigs. The European Commission had previously upheld Amicus’ claim to the four-week leave provision, and last month’s court decision from Aberdeen—considered a precedent-setting test case—negates employers’ arguments that the Work Time Directive does not apply to worksites beyond the 12-mile limit of UK’s territorial waters.

UK Union Wins North Sea Work-time Directive

Just two years past a bitter 84-day strike, New Zealand paperworkers of ICEM affiliate Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) and Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) are again locked in a bargaining dispute at the Kinleith mill. CHH, majority owned by US-based International Paper Co., has refused to meet EPMU’s pay demands for over 500 workers at the market pulp and containerboard mill. The union has campaigned since February in all NZ bargaining renewals for “5% in ‘05” but Australia and New Zealand’s biggest paper company has offered only 4% this year and 3% in 2006. EPMU members at Kinleith have threatened industrial action if the dispute over pay and a pay parity issue with workers at another CHH pulp mill is not resolved. At a plywood mill next door to the Kinleith mill near Tokoroa, North Island, EPMU is in consultation with CHH to save and cushion job losses. The company announced it would cut 55 of 250 woodsector jobs at this mill effective 23 August. The US parent of CHH, meanwhile, has also announced that the entirety of the firm’s assets in New Zealand and Australia are now for sale.

Paper Mill Dispute Again Surfaces in New Zealand

Australian unionists protested further job cuts at two plants of Pilkington Glass in Geelong and Laverton following an announcement by General Motors Holden. The automobile manufacturer said it would discontinue its supply of windshield glass from Pilkington and begin import of the product from Thailand, thus costing 120 Pilkington jobs. Workers at the two plants, members of CFMEU, staged a three-hour stop-work protest at Holden’s Port Melbourne auto assembly plant last week. The 120 job cuts would come only four months after Pilkington made 660 workers redundant. Unionists blame both Holden and Pilkington. The glass-maker has been unwilling to make the necessary investment for continual supply to Holden, while the auto-maker is taking advantage of a free-trade agreement the Howard government put in place with Thailand.

Cuts at Glass Plants in Australia Bring Protests to General Motors

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