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The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) concluded its 4th World Congress today, 24 November, in Bangkok, Thailand, with sharply worded motions calling for economic sanctions against the military regime in Burma, and on establishment of trade union rights in Iraq. The Iraq resolution also called for the earliest possible withdrawal of occupational military forces from the Middle Eastern country. 
 
A total of 840 trade union leaders from 176 global ICEM affiliates, representing 75 countries, attended the three-day Congress. 
 
The final day was marked by impassioned speeches from the General Secretary of the exiled Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB) and from central leaders of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU), a collection of ten oil workers&rsquo; union in southern Iraq, and from the Kurdistan General Workers&rsquo; Syndicate of Unions (KGWSU). 
<img height="285" alt="" src="" width="380" />
FTUB General Secretary Maung Maung at the ICEM Congress
Opening the last day&rsquo;s session was Maung Maung, General Secretary of the FTUB. He said the recent street protests in Burma are not over and Burmese people will carry their struggle for liberation and national democracy to the end. &ldquo;Economic sanctions and international pressure do hurt this regime,&rdquo; Maung said, urging as much international pressure as possible because &ldquo;the regime is cracking.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s motion calls on all global unions to &ldquo;exert their influence&rdquo; and &ldquo;to approach their governments so that the international community can jointly pressurize the military regime to restore democracy.&rdquo; 
 
Two key speakers from the oil and gas sector rose to support the motion. Gary Beevers, a Vice President and Oil Bargaining Chairman for the United Steelworkers in the United States, said his union has taken action against US-based Chevron for its gas dealings with the regime. 
 
And Marc Blanc, of the French trade union FCE-CFDT, announced that his union federation &ndash; together with four other French trade unions &ndash; will host the FTUB in Paris on December 20. The meeting will center on Total&rsquo;s activities in Burma, and will occur in conjunction with the Executive Committee of Total&rsquo;s European Works Council. 
 
On the Iraq motion, Hassan Juma&rsquo;a Awad al Assadi of the IFTU told delegates the US administration of George Bush came to Iraq with a Hydrocarbons Law that &ldquo;would steal our oil reserves.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;The Iraqi people are the only ones who should decide and control their oil wealth,&rdquo; he said. He also called upon the current Iraqi government and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to expedite legislation inside Iraq called the Labour and Social Security Law, which would secure legitimate labour rights for all Iraqi workers. 
 
Siddeeq Ramadhan of the KGWSU told delegates that Kurdistan is a &ldquo;devoted part of Iraq&rdquo; with a desire to live in peace with Iraq&rsquo;s neighbours. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s final session also passed a motion on installing more safety measures in the mining secure, and called for governments to pass ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines. The ICEM also passed a motion support the International Trade Union Confederation&rsquo;s (ITUC) Decent Work Initiative.

ICEM Congress Closes with Strong Motions on Burma, Iraq

The 4th World Congress of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) opened today, 22 November, in Bangkok, Thailand, with a full slate of speakers, as well as pointed discussion on the future course of the 20-million-member Global Union Federation (GUF). Some 840 trade union leaders from 176 national trade unions in 75 countries are attending the three-day Congress at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. 
 
Global union leaders also addressed the risks to workers of asset-stripping private equity firms, and delegates heard recent examples of job losses caused by such speculative financial tools. The quadrennial Congress, gathered under the banner &lsquo;Global Unity &ndash; Global Equality,&rsquo; continues on Friday, 23 November, with an address by Maung Maung, head of the exiled Burmese labour federation FTUB. 
 

<img height="253" alt="" src="" width="380" />
Italo Rodomonti and Manfred Warda signing ICEM-WFIW integration agreement
The Congress will also consider a host of motions, including one on Burma, labour disputes occurring in the host country, Thailand, a location change of the labour federation from Brussels, Belgium, to Geneva, Switzerland, and one on creating closer cooperation with other GUFs. The election of ICEM General Secretary and President will also occur on 23 November. 
 
Following a welcome by Kyoshi Ochiai of Japanese labour federation UI Zensen, chairman of ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific Region, delegates heard from Rawi Pupaga, head of ICEM&rsquo;s Thai umbrella of labour unions. He delivered news that a negotiated settlement is near at hand with Thailand&rsquo;s Health Ministry to halt the interim government&rsquo;s plan to privatise the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation. 
Today&rsquo;s session included formal integration of the World Federation of Industrial Workers into the ICEM, a Christian-based network of trade unions. 
 
Featured speaker in the opening session was Guy Ryder, General Secretary of the 168-million-member International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). Ryder&rsquo;s comments centered on the shifting and real sentiment inside global trade unions of consolidation and closer cooperation. He spoke on the founding in January 2007 of the Global Unions Councils, an action-oriented structure to link the work of the world&rsquo;s 11 GUFs, as well as the ITUC and the Trade Union Advisory Committee of the OECD. 
<img height="285" alt="" src="" width="380" />
ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana
&ldquo;This will not be a dead piece of administration bureaucracy,&rdquo; Ryder promised. &ldquo;We now have the opportunity to work together to identify common priorities, and to design and fund work plans which will benefit from our combined talents, expertise, and strength. 
 
In a keynote speech delivered by ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana, the president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) of South Africa, he addressed growing trade union concern on the increasing number of deaths occurring in the mining industry. &ldquo;How many more deaths, anguish, and sorrow must be visited upon innocent mineworkers, their families, and the communities in which they live before we can say enough is enough?&rdquo; he asked. 
 
The Congress opened to the sad news that 100 coal miners had perished in a methane gas explosion in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. And Zokwana&rsquo;s own union, the NUM, has now planned a one-day strike for 4 December across the entire mining sector of South Africa to protest the lack of regard for health and safety by mining houses operating in the mineral-rich nation. It will mark the first total shutdown of all mines in South Africa in 20 years. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda presented the GUF&rsquo;s Secretariat Report, and cited several examples on where union action or voter power has changed the agenda for capital markets. &ldquo;We should never agree with any government&rsquo;s argument that they cannot control the so-called invincible forces of globalisation,&rdquo; he said. 
 
Warda highlighted the ICEM&rsquo;s work on helping to stop the spread of the HIV/AIDS around worksites of the extractive industries, as well as giving instances in which engagement with multinational companies on meaningful social dialogue has produced tangible results. 
 
Henk Van Der Kolk, president of the national union FNV Bondgenoten in The Netherlands, addressed the issue of private equity, and how the rapid movement of capital has undermined workers&rsquo; rights and created mass job losses. He challenged the ICEM to examine how private equity funds are violating the code of conduct of the OECD, as well as rules of the WTO. He also suggested the time might be ripe for the ICEM, or the ITUC, to seek Global Framework Agreements with private equity concerns in order to bring a social dimension to such capital funds. 
 
The Bangkok Congress of the ICEM is featuring speeches and appearances by seven Iraqi trade unionists coming from the oil sector as well as the electric power sector.

ICEM Congress Opens with Cry of Better Mine Safety, Curbs to Capital Markets

Throughout a one-day, 21 November, ICEM conference on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL), taking place prior to the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s 4th ICEM World Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, speaker after speaker confirmed that the trend of industry subcontracting is rapidly increasing throughout the world. 
 
Predominant is the continuing trend of subcontracting in developing nations. With few exceptions, the 300 trade unionists attending cited specific problems with agency, temporary, short-term contract, or self-employment labour, relating directly to the lack of a (decent) employment relationship. 
 
For many of the world&rsquo;s workers, affecting most industries, a prior, normal relationship has been reduced to one of much lesser quality. For others, the relationship has changed to a mere commercial one, with workers&rsquo; taking the job security risks, and an erosion of social benefits affecting both workers and society. 
<img height="113" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM conference produced several examples in which subcontracting is becoming rampant on several continents. In the mining and diamond sector of India, virtually all miners are contract labourers. In Thailand and Korea, examples were cited where CAL work is omnipresent. 
 
Africa was described as globalisation&rsquo;s play ground. In the mining sector of sub-Saharan Africa, many problems are created by investors who think anything in the employment realm is possible. Other examples came from a wide variety of countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, United States, Japan, Tanzania, Peru, and the UK. 
 
A special contribution came from Hassan J&rsquo;Aama, President of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU). 
 
The conference also delivered, however, case studies in which unions and trade unionists have succeeded in rolling back the trend. One such example came from Brazil. At the oil firm Petrobras four years ago, there were three contract workers for each permanent worker. Today, after sound bargaining by trade unions, the ratio is one permanent worker to every one-and-a-half contract worker. 
 
Chile, Uruguay, South Africa, Macedonia, and Croatia were also quoted as countries where progress has been made, both legislatively and at the collective bargaining table. 
<img height="333" alt="" src="" width="250" />
Hassan J&rsquo;Aama, President of Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU)
Given the difficult situation in many countries, and the need by many to hear how others deal with temporary or agency labour, the ICEM was called upon to continue and intensify its three-year-old campaign on this employment issue. 
 
A key ingredient of this work is the need to guarantee that all CAL workers - everywhere - are entitled to the same wages, benefits, and work rights as the permanent workers. 
 
Also stressed was the importance of legislation efforts in regard to contract and agency labour, preferably at nation-wide level. The principles of the ILO Recommendation 198, the Employment Relationship Recommendation, will be an important tool in this. 
 
Finally, it was agreed that unions need to reach out to short-term contract or temporary workers. In too many countries, such workers have faced resentment from trade union members. Setting up unions, or union divisions, for CAL workers, or &ndash; by many, the preferred option &ndash; simply bringing CAL workers into existing union structures, is seen as an important and needed accomplishment.&nbsp;

Contract and Agency Labour - a Global and Negative Phenomenon

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Calling South Africa&rsquo;s mining industry &ldquo;the killing fields within our economy,&rdquo; the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) submitted a report on mine safety 14 November to the National Parliament&rsquo;s Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy. 
 
The NUM listed eight recommendations needed to reduce the number of accidents and deaths occurring in South African mines. They include obtaining better detection technology on seismic geological events; legislation that will provide steeper fines on mining houses, up to imprisonment for executives when tragedies do occur; enabling legislation to nationalise mines when mining companies are found negligent in death-related accidents; and a mandatory review and heightened training of safety representatives by companies and the government, which must include risk assessment criteria enabling miners to detect and report hazardous conditions. 
<img height="115" src="" width="250" alt="" />
The report cited the number of deaths and injuries per million hours worked in South Africa&rsquo;s mines since the year 2000. And it specifically highlighted the fact that, even though the Mine Health and Safety Act of 1996 sets forth a procedure for legal prosecution in mine safety negligence, no such prosecution has occurred dating back to the year 2000. 
 
&ldquo;Given the gravity of this situation and the need to send a clear message to employers that profit maximisation must not be pursued at the cost of our members&rsquo; lives,&rdquo; the NUM report concludes, we have no alternative but &ldquo;to embark on a National Strike.&rdquo; 
 
In mid-October, the NUM filed for certification for such a strike with the Commission on Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA). That governmental agency, along with the NUM and the Chamber of Mines, is currently in the consultation process that is mandatory before any legal strike can occur.

NUM Recommends Broad Mine Safety Changes to South Africa’s Parliament

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
New Zealand&rsquo;s Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) is giving support to a Private Member&rsquo;s Bill put forward by an MP that would give labour agency workers the right to be covered by a collective agreement. 
 
Labour MP Darien Fenton has submitted the legislation to New Zealand&rsquo;s Parliament, saying contract labourers and agency workers are often placed in a workplace to do the same job that full-time workers perform. But, he added, they are paid less and have fewer rights. 
 
The proposed legislative change is called the Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill. 
<img height="50" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Fenton saw first-hand the unfairness faced by temporary workers. He recently visited a worksite where temporary workers from an agency are employed. &ldquo;Entitlements are few and far between,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There are no entitlements to breaks apart from lunch. There are no shift payments, no overtime rates, no weekend rates or other allowances, even though directly-employed workers receive these things. 
 
&ldquo;Under my bill, workers like these will be able to join the collective agreement in force at the workplace, thus ensuring they have the same pay and rights as directly-employed workers.&rdquo; 
 
Since Fenton&rsquo;s bill is a Private Member&rsquo;s Bill, in New Zealand it means that it will have to wait to be drawn from the ballot before it is brought before Parliament.

Private Member’s Bill Surfaces in New Zealand on Agency Labour

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
French rubber workers at the Goodyear-Dunlop twin plants in Amiens rejected a company restructuring plan that would increase work hours. With a 65% vote, the two factories, totalling 2,700 workers, said &lsquo;no&rsquo; to the American company&rsquo;s plan to reduce weekly rotation teams from five to four, and cut weekend pay for each worker by 10%. 
<img height="150" alt="" src="" width="115" />
All the primary French unions at the plants, including ICEM affiliate CFDT, recommended that workers reject the plan, and following the vote, they urged a quick return to dialogue to re-shape the restructuring plan. 
 
Goodyear&rsquo;s plan would also eliminate 450 jobs over three years through attrition. The company is seeking reorganisation of the plants in northern France in order to implement a &euro;52 million modernisation plan to produce high-performance tyres. But the reorganisation would increase work time by rotation of shifts every eight days. Weekend work would also have increased from 28 to 35 hours, had workers accepted the plan.

French Goodyear Workers Reject Reorganisation that would Increase Work Hours

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Trade unions in the UK are campaigning behind a Private Member's Bill that would give equal treatment to the more than one million contract and agency workers employed in the UK. 
Both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and UK&rsquo;s largest union, Unite, are campaigning for legislation that will give agency workers the same rights as full-time, permanent staff. Also on board are the unions GMB, Unison, Communication Workers Union, and the Union of Construction, Allied Trades, and Technicians (UCATT). 
<img height="108" alt="" src="" width="92" align="absMiddle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="90" alt="" src="" width="90" align="absMiddle" />
The campaign begins after draft legislation, called the Temporary Agency Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Bill, was brought by Labour MP Paul Farrelly. The unions are also pressing that a European Directive on full rights for contract and agency workers be adopted before the end of the Portuguese Presidency, which ends at year&rsquo;s end.
The TUC said if negotiations on an EU Directive fail to make progress, the British government must pass domestic legislation. The Blair government broke a pledge to support a 2006 Private Member&rsquo;s Bill by Farrelly, a promise that was made in the 2004 Warwick Agreement. Farrelly's bill did get the support of more than 100 Labour MPs. 
<img height="72" alt="" src="" width="155" />
&quot;Too many employers are replacing permanent staff with badly paid, insecure agency staff,&rdquo; said TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber. &ldquo;Far from providing a bridge to permanent work, this runs the risk of creating a whole underclass of temporary workers.&rdquo; 
Barber said the simple solution is an EU Directive that would give UK agency workers new rights to equal treatment from the first day on the job. But UK&rsquo;s government has led a blocking minority at the EU, which has prevented progress on a Directive that would provide equal treatment for contract and agency workers.

UK Unions Campaign for Legislation Granting Agency Workers Full Rights

Contract and Agency Labour Newsletter

Motion on ICEM Project work 
ICEM Executive Committee, June 2008 
 
Whereas it is acknowledged that there is a need for a clear, transparent and open ICEM policy in regard to ICEM projects and ICEM project related activities; 
 
Whereas, due to the global structure of the ICEM, the number of affiliates in need exceeds the number of affiliates that are able to offer structural assistance. 
 
Whereas it is commonly known that the expectations and demands of affiliates for international support action exceed the services that the ICEM can provide to its affiliates as a global union organisation, working only through income from affiliation fees; 
 
Whereas it is recognised that there is a wide array of possible external funding organisations, ranging from traditional donor organisations, usually trade union organisations themselves, or organisations set up by unions, over union-friendly and/or union-related organisations and governmental, or government-related, organisations, to companies and/or corporate or employer organisations; 
 
Whereas project related activities can consist of ICEM-organised activities and programs through extra-budgetary funding, as well as through in-kind contributions by external organisations; 
 
Whereas there is a need, given the envisaged closer cooperation of ICEM with other Global Union Federations, in particular IMF, ITGLWF and BWI, to also recognise their work, specific experience, and objectives in the area of project work; 
 
Whereas projects are expected to contribute to the general development aid objectives of creating world-wide justice and equality, concentrating especially on decent work, trade union building, the strengthening of unions at national level, as well as on the strengthening of international mutual support at the regional and global level, 
 
Whereas the ICEM, as part of these discussions, decided at its Executive Committee meeting in Bangkok, in November 2007, on a list of activities that should be given priority in 2008/2009; 
 
 
There is need for a regular evaluation of ongoing projects in regard to targets set, as well as for a timely discussion on future activities; 
 
Linked to the above, good and regular follow-up and input from ICEM affiliates is required, including at ICEM-meetings at regional and international level; 
 
It is recommended that the internal debate in the ICEM should be based on the principles, views and objectives listed here below. 
 
 
The ICEM considers project work, where well chosen and effectively managed, to be a strategically important addition to the regular day-to-day activities of the ICEM; 
 
ICEM project work should concentrate on assisting those in need and those that need our international assistance the most. This issue does not only need to be looked at from a geographical angle. To some extent, sectoral issues also come in to play. The mining sector is an example of an area with, on the one hand, a great deal of activity in developing countries, and, on the other, a decreasing membership base in the majority of the OECD countries. 
 
The ICEM continues to believe that project work should be an integral part of the normal national and international daily trade union activities. Project work will be planned with links to, and in support of, other ICEM day-to-day work, or otherwise contribute directly to the main ICEM goals. In addition, and in return, the aim should be that where a donor funds a particular project, it gets the assistance of the whole international organisation; 
 
Projects will therefore be selected, chosen and agreed upon, on the basis of their capacity to advance the realisation of key ICEM priorities, especially those set at ICEM Congresses; 
 
Project work can be used, as long as it is linked to the ICEM&rsquo;s key priorities, to realise both the organisation&rsquo;s overall general global main objectives, as well as certain specific, at times, detailed goals; 
 
The ICEM believes that its work can not only greatly profit from cooperation with the traditional, trade-union-friendly solidarity support organisations (SSOs), but also from cooperation with other donors, including private/public partnerships, provided the integrity and independence of the ICEM as an international trade union organisation is not compromised; 
 
The ICEM does recognise, nevertheless, that there is a need to continue to monitor, at all times, the risk to become too dependent on external funding. Internal assessments shall therefore be made, including through appraisals on a continuous basis; 
 
Wherever possible, project work will make an effort to simultaneously advance different ICEM priorities. Particular emphasis in social dialogue, or framework agreement discussions, for example, could go to such ICEM key issues as contract and agency labour, HIV/AIDS, or health and safety. Reinforcing unions through improving negotiations skills on these issues, as a union-strengthening effort, is a similar example; 
 
It is agreed that the following are among the most important priorities for ICEM project work: 
 
&bull; The strengthening/modernisation of trade unions continues to be a high priority for the ICEM. Many of our affiliates still are in need of external and international assistance. Indeed, many affiliates identified this kind of solidarity as an important contribution to become equal partners to the world&rsquo;s (multinational) companies, as well as to their governments. Related to this is the continued need, within numerous affiliates, to improve internal structures, and to train union leadership, shop stewards and trade union members on a range of subjects, from basic trade union issues, over international economy and international trade union rights, to globalisation issues and ways to deal with multinational companies. Examples of specific subject matters include International Financial Institutions, Global Framework Agreements, ILO standards and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; 
 
&bull; Of specific importance for project work in this area is the need to build strong branch or industrial unions, at national and/or regional level. Many affiliates use this project support to move away from company unionism; 
 
&bull; Linked to the above is the need for union consolidation at national level. In too many cases, unions are in competition with each other at national level, and, as a result, not strong enough to bargain effectively with their employers; 
 
&bull; Defending basic trade union rights, and fighting violations thereof, also continues to be an essential part of project work, albeit to various extents, depending on national situations and practices; 
 
&bull; The work on multinational companies is one of the major focal points of the ICEM&rsquo;s project work. The many priorities here include work and discussions on global framework agreements and, most certainly, international company networks, which already centre prominently in the ICEM&rsquo;s current project work. The setting up of such international networks for ICEM affiliates and their members, working with and for the same multinational company, or within the same industry, has proven to be a valuable tool for workers and is widely seen, for various reasons, as one of the main achievements within the ICEM&rsquo;s project work; 
 
&bull; A key priority in the work with MNEs, but also with other companies, is the issue of social dialogue. The ICEM will give priority to projects that deal with this issue. Not only as they are in high demand, but also as this is an area where the ICEM has a good and longstanding expertise, and because it is an area where the organisation can make a difference. Closely related to social dialogue, collective bargaining, and improvements thereof, also remains a highly important priority within the ICEM&rsquo;s project work; 
 
&bull; Another key aspect, and obvious necessity in relation to multinational companies, but also beyond, is the organising of new members. Almost all ICEM projects already support organising efforts; 
 
&bull; The issue of contract and agency labour &ndash; unquestionably one of the key threats currently for not only the ICEM, but also many other global union federations, as well as countless unions around the world &ndash; is not only an important factor in our strengthening-of-unions exercises, it also plays a vital role in the ICEM&rsquo;s work vis-&agrave;-vis multinational enterprises; 
 
&bull; The work on HIV/AIDS will also continue to be a key project priority, given the success of the current HIV/AIDS project. This can not only be measured by the goals it has already achieved, but also because of the positive effects it has in attracting lesser-traditional funding in this area; 
 
&bull; The gender dimension is a central part of all ICEM project work. This work includes efforts to look at how to better involve women in union work, and improve their participation in leadership structures; 
 
&bull; Health and safety also remains a priority for the ICEM&rsquo;s project work, including as a topic for international social dialogue. Health and safety in the mining sector is a concrete example of an issue where the ICEM could be highly instrumental in making further progress at the international level. Project activities should, where possible, support the ICEM&rsquo;s campaign to sign on to the principles of the ILO Convention 176 on health and safety in mining; 
 
&bull; Linked to the work on health and safety is the subject of sustainable development, an subject matter that is increasingly gaining in importance, not only in project-related work. On a slightly different level, but also related to the sustainability effort is the work on corporate social responsibility; 
 
&bull; As, of course, not all multinational companies are equally looking forward to working with the international trade union movement, failed efforts to establish a meaningful and positive social dialogue can, and in many cases, should be offset by corporate campaigns, which can also be a substantial part of project work; 
 
&bull; Finally, particular emphasis will go to the problems of trade unions in those regions and countries that were given priority in the most recent set of ICEM Congress resolutions, such as the Middle East, Iraq, Burma, Colombia, Palestine and Zimbabwe.

ICEM Executive Committe Motion on Project Work

The ICEM today said Stora Enso must do more to meet its social responsibilities regarding layoffs at two pulp and paper mills in Finland, as well for white-collar workers in the Nordic nation that are also getting the sack. The ICEM supports this week&rsquo;s strike by workers at Stora Enso in Finland. 
 
The Global Union Federation, representing 20 million workers in several industrial sectors, predicted in November that further strikes in the Finnish pulp and paper sector would occur if Stora Enso did not present alternatives to its latest restructuring plan. (That release can be found <a href="/en/?id=19&amp;doc=2442&amp;la=EN">here</a>.)
<img height="143" alt="" src="" width="140" />
On 25 October, the Finnish-Swedish company announced that 1,400 jobs would be cut in Finland, Sweden, and other European nations.&nbsp;Some 1,100 of those jobs were to be lost in Finland. Yesterday&rsquo;s announcement by Stora Enso that mill closures and job cuts totalling 985 is unacceptable, and the ICEM joins with Finnish trade union affiliate Paperiliitto by calling on the company to develop new technologies and new products that will retain workers. 
 
&ldquo;The strikes in Finland are a clear indication that workers themselves are not satisfied with the company&rsquo;s approach,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;As a sizeable minority shareholder in Stora Enso, the Finnish government has an obligation to do more to preserve these jobs.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM reiterates its solidarity to the workers at the Kemij&auml;rvi and Summa Mills in Finland, as well as the Norrsundet paperworkers in Sweden, and white-collar workers in the two countries and in other administrative offices in Europe. &ldquo;They have displayed great strength through their respective trade unions, and the ICEM will ensure that this strength becomes a chain of strength for paperworkers throughout the world,&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;We call on Stora Enso to implement strategies that grow jobs, not destroy them.&rdquo;

Stora Enso Must Do More to Fulfill Social Responsibilities

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