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A book authored in part by Paul Lootens,&nbsp;FGTB's&nbsp;Federal Secretary in Belgium, reveals the comprehensive legal&nbsp;maneuvering following the nation's worst mining accident. In August 1956, near the&nbsp;Belgian city of Charleroi, 262 coalminers perished due to equipment failure and subsequent chain of events.
<img height="134" alt="" src="" width="120" />
FGTB's Paul Lootens&nbsp;&nbsp;
The aftermath of this tragic&nbsp;worksite story is depicted in a book entitled Tutti Cadaveri: The Trial of the Catastrophe at the Bois du Cazier in Marcinelle by&nbsp;Lootens, also an ICEM vice president,&nbsp;and historians Marie-Louise De Roeck and Julie Urbain. The book&rsquo;s title, Tutti Cadaveri, comes from the Italian rescuer who, after surfacing from the mine, said, tragically, &ldquo;All corpses.&rdquo; 
 
The book takes the reader through the legal wranglings of an employer intent on avoiding guilt over safety shortcomings, and the victims&rsquo; families who seek the truth. 

On 5 July, some 3,000 people turned out&nbsp;near the Belgian town of Marcinelle, just south of Charleroi,&nbsp;to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the country&rsquo;s worst coal mining tragedy in history. The event occurred in Bois du Cazier, where on 8 August 1956, 262 miners perished in a fiery inferno caused by an electrical blast from a shaft elevator. 
<img height="213" alt="" src="" width="320" />
The majority at the 5 July event were descendants and friends of 136 Italian miners, who together with the 152 others, died from the fire and subsequent carbon monoxide poisoning when the elevator blocked the flow of fresh air. 
The commemoration also was vitalized by trade union members and the colours of the Belgian socialist union FGTB, as well as their comrades from the Italian trade union, Patronato INCA-CGIL. 
 
The commemoration also included the unveiling of a sculpture marking the tragic event, a bronze globe commissioned by INCA-CGIL and made by Italian artist Antonio Nocera. The sculpture sits in front of the main mine shaft, now a museum, in which miners from 12 different nations died in 1956. 
<img height="300" alt="" src="" width="200" />
A surviving miner in front of Antonio Nacero's sculpture
At Bois du Cazier on the actual day of the 50th anniversary, 8 August, a bell tower clock will ring out 262 times, beginning at 08h00, with the name of each victim read out. At 10h00, flowers will be laid at the monument dedicated to the many accidents occurring at the mine, from 1901 to the 8 August 1956 underground firestorm. At 11h00, a ceremony will occur at the Marcinelle cemetery, and then at 12h30, another commemoration will occur at Bois du Cazier. 
 
The French language book, Tutti Cadavreri, by Lootens, De Roeck and Urbain,&nbsp;was&nbsp;published only on 1 May 2006, but is already in its second printing. It is available from Aden Publishers for &euro;22, and can be ordered by contacting Aden at <a href="mailto:editionsaden@skynet.be">editionsaden@skynet.be</a>, or calling +32 2534 46 61. 
More information on the book can also be found&nbsp;<a href="http://www.aden.be/tutti_cadaveri.html">here</a>. It can be ordered online <a href="http://www.rezolibre.com/librairie/detail.php?article=526 ">here</a>.

Book Depicts Aftermath of Belgium&#039;s Bois du Cazier Mine Tragedy

South African trade unions today, led by national centre COSATU and ICEM affiliate National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), picketed the Johannesburg offices of BHP Billiton over the company&rsquo;s labour policies in Australia.
BHP Billiton, the world&rsquo;s largest diversified mining, energy and steel company, has been quick to follow the Howard government in Australia in instituting the draconian effects of the country&rsquo;s new WorkChoices law. In resource-rich Western Australia, for example, BHP Billiton is currently stretching state labour statute in order to align with the new federal law by demanding from workers that they sign individual employment contracts rather than adhering to traditional enterprise agreements. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <img height="98" alt="" src="" width="90" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="103" alt="" src="" width="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp; 
The COSATU and NUM protest, joined by five other South African unions from 11h00 to 13h00 (GMT) today, 29 June,&nbsp;is in solidarity with week-long protests sponsored by the Australian Council of Trade Union (ACTU) that are currently underway in protest to the WorkChoices law. ICEM affiliate Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) in South Africa also participated in the Johannesburg protest.&nbsp; 
 
In New Zealand, ICEM affiliate Engineering, Printing &amp; Manufacturing Union (EPMU), together with other trade unions there, are also showing support to the ACTU by conducting demonstrations at Australian targets in Auckland and Wellington. 
 
Besides the individual work agreements, known as AWAs in Australia, the WorkChoices law places prohibitions on workers from attending union-provided health and safety training, removes protections from unfair dismissals, reduces a union&rsquo;s involvement in dispute resolution, and opens the way for employers to use contract labour and employment agencies in place of full-time, permanent employees. 
 
Earlier this month, the ILO&rsquo;s International Labour Conference in Geneva placed the Howard government&rsquo;s anti-worker labour law on its agenda, specifically on whether or not it adheres to labour rights Convention 98, the Right to Organise and Bargain Collectively Convention, a core convention that Australia ratified in 1973. 
 
The South African protests against BHP Billiton come at the exact time in which Prime Minister John Howard is in China pushing more export of Australian iron ore and natural gas, resources in which BHP Billiton is a leading producer of from Western Australia.

BHP Billiton Targeted in South Africa over Australian Labour Conduct

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A protest in Kiev tomorrow, organised by the Ukrainian Trade Union Federation (FPU), is expected to turn out over 100,000 people. The demonstrations and march, deliberately organised a day before Ukraine&rsquo;s Constitution Day, are an attempt to block further increases by the government on utility tariffs. 
<img height="293" src="" width="390" alt="" />
On 21 June, FPU organised regional demonstrations against the hike in gas and electricity tariffs which brought out 200,000 protestors across Ukraine. In the eastern cities of Donetsk and Kharkiv, 10,000 marchers, displaying FPU banners turned out, demanded a moratorium on utility tariffs, while thousands more protested in the western city of Lviv and the southern city of Kherson. 
 
Ukraine&rsquo;s National Electric Regulatory Commission increased the tariffs for customers on 1 May, and then again on 1 June. The government has scheduled another increase on 1 July that will, in total, result in an 85% increase in less than 60 days.
<img height="138" alt="" src="" width="100" /> 
&nbsp;Alexander Yurkin
FPU, headed by former ICEM Regional Vice President Alexander Yurkin, has promised continued street mobilisations until the government relents. The labour federation sponsored a 24 May demonstration in Kiev that mobilised well over 100,000 citizens. Thus far, Yurkin said, &ldquo;the protests have not produced any reaction from the government.&rdquo; He said public pressure by the labour federation will be escalated until fairness comes to consumers.

Major Protest in Kiev on 27 June Over Unfair Utility Tariff Hikes

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM participated in a United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) conference in Geneva, Switzerland, 19-21 June over implementation of SAICM &ndash; the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management. 
 
The conference, attended by 90 participants from governments, industry, trade unions and NGOs, discussed how to implement SIACM principles at national level, in order to raise awareness among workers, communities and customers of chemicals, ensuring safety and risk-free management. 
 
The conference&rsquo;s workshops served as the first follow-up to the adoption of SAICM ambitious goals by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) in February 2006. Many recommendations and suggestions were developed during last week&rsquo;s conference. ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Officer Michael Wolters represented the Global Union Federation at the meeting.

Management in Chemicals Sector Gets Hearing at UN’s Training and Research Agency

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, Rengo, continues to post solid gains for part-time workers in this spring&rsquo;s set of wage negotiations. The labour federation has targeted raises for temporary workers as a priority in this spring&rsquo;s shunto, or spring wage offensive, as well as delivering improved working conditions for part-timers. 
 
Rengo is also encouraging part-time workers to file lawsuits against enterprises which are not in compliance with a court ruling that says they must not receive less than 80% of full-time pay. Speaking at a meeting of representatives from local chapters on 16 June, Rengo President Tsuyoshi Takagi said the labour umbrella group would assist part-time workers to pursue such lawsuits.

Rengo Continues Spring Offensive on Behalf of Part-Time Workers

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
In Peru, 800 iron ore miners, members of Sindicato de Obreros Mineros, an affiliate of Federaci&oacute;n Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros, Metalurgicos y Siderurgicos del Peru (FNTMMSP) began a strike 19 June against Chinese state-run Shouda Iron and Steel Group (Shougang). 
 
The strike at Peru&rsquo;s only iron ore mine at Marcona, 350 kilometres south of Lima, was caused when managers of Shougang Hierro Peru failed to meet wage demands of miners, who are among the lowest paid in the country&rsquo;s mining industry.
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The mine union, connected with ICEM affiliate FNTMMSP, is seeking wage increases equivalent of US$1.69-a-day, while Shougang offered only the equivalent of US$0.42-a-day. Shougang&rsquo;s miners earn a salary of only US$13-a-day, far below the average Peruvian mining salary of US$33-a-day, according to Peru&rsquo;s National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy. 
 
Union members at the mine last week blocked the entrance, preventing the company from using contract work to continue the work. Meanwhile, Peru&rsquo;s government has declared the strike a legal one, meaning the company must continue negotiating with the union and the Labour Ministry can impose an increase to workers&rsquo; salaries if work is to be re-started. 
 
Shougang declared force majeure on all iron ore exported from Peru, the majority of which is destined for Japan and China. The Chinese state company bought the mine in 1992 from a state-run Peruvian company for US$118 million, and has increased production since 2002 by an average of 20% per annum. 
The increased production has caused numerous safety concerns, which have not been addressed, and Peru&rsquo;s Energy and Mines Ministry says the company has not met investment commitments tied to the sale.

Miners Strike Chinese Iron Ore Operations in Peru

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The European Mine, Chemical, and Energy Workers&rsquo; Federation (EMCEF) held its 7th General Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey, 15-16 June under the banner &ldquo;The Future of European Integration.&rdquo; Attended by 200 delegates, the assembly notably adopted a motion on trade union rights and freedoms in Turkey that included support of the country in its negotiations with the EU for accession. 
 
In a letter to Turkish social policy ministers and to Turkey&rsquo;s chief negotiator with the EU, EMCEF noted the &ldquo;significant progress&rdquo; in accession talks, but &ldquo;that from a trade union perspective a lot remains to be done in terms of collective bargaining and trade union rights and freedoms. Full democratization is the only way towards integration.&rdquo;
<img height="66" alt="" src="" width="100" />&nbsp; 
 

The motion on the subject states that EMCEF &ldquo;supports membership negotiations between Turkey and the EU, (and) should end up with full membership of Turkey with all requirements being fulfilled. Additionally, (EMCEF) calls upon the government of the Republic of Turkey to take radical steps towards securing fundamental rights and freedoms within the framework of trade union rights and freedoms.&rdquo; 
 
The General Assembly also included a panel and plenary session on &ldquo;Perspective of European Integration in Light of Global Challenges.&rdquo; The discussion focussed on the future of EMCEF activities that could strengthen the social dimension of European integration. EMCEF intends to get trade unions at both national and European levels to inject more initiatives on this most important issue.

EMCEF’s General Assembly Addresses Turkey’s Accession, Social Dimensions to Integration

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
ICEM Costa Rican affiliate Sindicato de Trabajadores Petroleros, Qu&iacute;micos y Afines (SITRAPEQUIA) has criticised the government of Dr Oscar Arias S&aacute;nchez for continuing rhetoric favouring privatisation of state oil company RECOPE. 
In a 15 June circular, the union points out that the company has operated effectively and efficiently since it was nationalised in 1974, a fact that finds other Central American governments attempting to replicate such management. 
 
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t understand how our government can pretend to imitate the way these Central American governments have operated, meaning handing this important activity into the hands of multinational oil companies,&rdquo; the statement read. 
SITRAPEQUIA&rsquo;s strong rebuke comes as Arias is using political measures to ratify the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the US, an agreement which could lead to the sell-off of successful and highly-profitable state companies. The Costa Rican president made such overtures before an ILO audience in Geneva, Switzerland, on 7 June. 
<img height="28" src="" width="250" alt="" />
The union contends RECOPE has fulfilled its role on national development over the past decades, and that the oil company can serve to reduce poverty and as a means toward better redistribution of wealth. It also says that privatisation proposals of basic industries have consistently failed at the legislative level due to legitimate rejection by the public. 
 
SITRAPEQUIA union members massed with other Costa Rican trade unions affiliated to national centre Confederaci&oacute;n de Trabajadores Rerum Novarum (CTRN) in a march and demonstration in the capital city of San Jose. 
The 7 June mass demonstration, numbering 10,000, was over both Arias&rsquo;s intended remarks at the ILO, as well as over a constitutional court ruling that weakens union protections for public sector workers, an adjustment in accordance with CAFTA.

SITRAPEQUIA Out to Protect State-run, Costa Rican Oil Company

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM&rsquo;s joint project with affiliate General Union of Petroleum, Mining and Chemical Workers of Palestine (GUPMCWP) to develop leadership of women began 10-12 June in Amman, Jordan. Heavily supported by NOPEF, Norway&rsquo;s dominant oil union, the seminar was attended by 23 women from GUPMCWP.
&nbsp;<img height="60" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Workshops dealt with collective bargaining and health issues, and were led by ICEM Women&rsquo;s Officer Carol Bruce and Turid &Oslash;ygard of NOPEF. ICEM&rsquo;s two Jordanian affiliates, General Union of Petrol and Chemical Workers Union, and the General Trade Union of Workers in Mining and Metal Industries, cooperated in developing the workshops. 
 
Union-building work with GUPMCWP, as well as work in support of unions in Iraq, has been identified as a priority by the ICEM&rsquo;s Middle East/North Africa Region, and the initial women&rsquo;s project with ICEM&rsquo;s Palestinian affiliate was agreed to in 2005 by the ICEM&rsquo;s Secretariat and GUPMCWP leadership.
A report of the meeting can be found in <a href="/index.php?id=71&amp;doc=1967&amp;la=AR">Arabic here</a> and in <a href="/index.php?id=71&amp;doc=1967&amp;la=EN">English here</a>.

ICEM’s Palestinian Women’s Project Begins with Training Workshops

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The Thai subsidiary of French-based public relations giant Publicis Groupe has withdrawn its ill-brought libel lawsuit against Junya Lek Timprasert and the Thai Labour Campaign (TLC). Lawyers for the company dropped the suit, which was before Bangkok&rsquo;s Southern Criminal Court, on 20 June. 
 
The TLC, with Lek as coordinator, has received strong support from the ICEM over the years in its efforts to reveal human rights and labour rights violations in Thailand. Their &ldquo;crime&rdquo; in the Publicis Thailand case was to republish an article from CSR Asia Weekly on the TLC website regarding an unfair dismissal case brought forward by five women workers of the public relations subsidiary.
<img height="67" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The company, in 2005, had charged TLC and Lek with &ldquo;defamation by propagation&rdquo; in the Thai court. Lek faced jail time, while TLC might have had to pay monetary damages and seen limitations to its valuable work, had global pressure not been brought against the French public relations company to drop the lawsuit. 
 
&ldquo;It is frustrating that we, who are directly in contact with workers that produce for the world and witness many rights violations, cannot bring situations to the attention of the world without the risk of being sued,&rdquo; said Lek. &ldquo;Furthermore, workers who report to us, of course, face all kinds of pressures and risk being dismissed.&rdquo;

Lawsuit Dropped by French PR Firm Against Thai Labour Campaign

Archive

Book Depicts Aftermath of Belgium's Bois du Cazier Mine Tragedy

BHP Billiton Targeted in South Africa over Australian Labour Conduct

Major Protest in Kiev on 27 June Over Unfair Utility Tariff Hikes

Management in Chemicals Sector Gets Hearing at UN’s Training and Research Agency

Rengo Continues Spring Offensive on Behalf of Part-Time Workers

Miners Strike Chinese Iron Ore Operations in Peru

EMCEF’s General Assembly Addresses Turkey’s Accession, Social Dimensions to Integration

SITRAPEQUIA Out to Protect State-run, Costa Rican Oil Company

ICEM’s Palestinian Women’s Project Begins with Training Workshops

Lawsuit Dropped by French PR Firm Against Thai Labour Campaign

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