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Seven trade unions representing Continental AG rubber workers in six countries gathered 18-19 October in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, to discuss the German manufacturer&rsquo;s labour practices. The meeting was hosted by the independent SNTGTM in Mexico. 
 
A declaration resulted from the conference on undertaking future work, including a Day of Action at Continental&rsquo;s global worksites on 13 December 2006. The declaration includes a call to IGBCE of Germany, as the major trade union of Conti workers there, to conduct a meeting of Continental trade unions in order to work toward creation of a global union network. 
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Continental Tyre unionists 
in front of the San Luis Potosi plant
Trade unionists from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, Mexico and the US attended the meeting in San Luis Potosi. The host union described how management at this plant sacked some union leaders, with SNTGTM taking the matter to court in order to get reinstatements. With that successful, the union has still found it difficult to bargain with the company each year. 
 
Mark Cieslikowski, a local union leader from US affiliate United Steelworkers (USW), told delegates of the harsh manner in which Continental closed a tyre factory in Charlotte, state of North Carolina, this year. Brazilian trade unionists told how, despite a collective agreement in place, managers at a facility in Cana&ccedil;ari block union representatives from entering the plant to speak with or organise workers. 
 
J&ouml;rg Schustereit, IGBCE member and member of the works council of ContiTech, called &ldquo;Euroforum,&rdquo; spoke about the process and workings of that council, while ICEM&rsquo;s Rubber Sector Officer, Michael Wolters, reported on Conti&rsquo;s economic situation, as well as the company&rsquo;s current business strategy. 
 
The ICEM will update Rubber Sector trade unions about developments at Continental, as well as alert unions at Continental worksites about the Day of Action, 13 December 2006.

Rubber Unions Gather to Discuss Continental; Issue Declaration

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Neo-conservative Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, issued sharp criticism at China last week for the way in which the country runs its investment projects in developing countries. According to Wolfowitz, Chinese banks should stop their current practice of ignoring workers and human rights when investing abroad. 
 
A key point in Wolfowitz&rsquo;s assertion was the fact that Chinese banks fail to adhere to the international Equator Principles. 
 
Earlier this year, dozens of commercial banks and lenders signed up to a revised version of the Equator Principles. These principles are a voluntary benchmark for the financial industry, consisting, among other things, of a set of environmental and social standards that should be met by banks when they fund global projects. To date, some 80% of all commercial banks have adopted the guidelines. 
 
Trade unionists everywhere might take an interest in this, since the Equator Principles are partially based on the social and environmental loan conditions of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank&rsquo;s lending arm for the private sector. Cause for some optimism is that the IFC, earlier this year, also adopted a new of social standards. These new IFC standards now include a commitment to respect all ILO's core labour standards, including the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. 
 
When all is tallied, this means that a majority of the world&rsquo;s operating banks, of whom many are involved in mining, oil, gas or other extraction projects in developing countries, have now declared, albeit voluntarily, to demand the respect for the core ILO standards in their projects. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="100" /> 
 
Reg Green,&nbsp;ICEM&rsquo;s Health, 
Safety and Environment Officer
In reacting to a Financial Times article on this subject, Reg Green, ICEM&rsquo;s Health, Safety and Environment Officer, wrote in a letter-to-the-editor that the World Bank&rsquo;s quest for further endorsements of the Equator Principles a sound idea. However, in addition to endorsing the principles, he said that countries could, and should, go a step further. 
 
Green wrote, &ldquo;The single most important asset that African countries currently possess is their mineral wealth. It is also well known that where mineral wealth is concerned there are major temptations to corruption.&rdquo; 
 
Green said more African countries would do well to commit themselves to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) principles, an international effort to &ldquo;improve governance in resource-rich countries through the full publication and verification of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining.&rdquo; ICEM has been supportive of the EITI initiative. In his Financial Times letter, Green describes the EITI as a promising development, even though it is still very young. 
 
Finally, and ironically, the World Bank, which criticises Chinese banks for not abiding by the Equator Principles and the ILO standards, recently issued a highly-circulated publication entitled &ldquo;Doing Business,&rdquo; which encourages violation of a number of ILO Conventions by countries in order to make their economies more &quot;investment friendly.&quot; 
 
For more information: 
EITI : <a href="http://www.eitransparency.org">http://www.eitransparency.org</a> 
Equator Principles: <a href="http://www.equator-principles.com">http://www.equator-principles.com</a> 
IFC adopting ILO standards: 
<a href="http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991223448&amp;Language=EN">http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991223448&amp;Language=EN</a>&nbsp;

On International Social and Environmental Principles

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The two Spanish ICEM affiliates in the oil and gas sector, FIA-UGT and FITEQA-CC.OO., jointly issued a call for a two-day general strike of all gas and petrol station workers, set for 7-8 November. In total, the strike would affect 41,500 workers, spread over some 8,700 petrol stations across Spain. 
 
The unions are protesting against a series of bad working conditions. Workers often work extra hours just in order to cope financially; they earn only &euro;800-900 euros a month, before taxes. They also face &ldquo;excessive rotation and temporary work,&rdquo; including shift and weekend work. Other issues include dangerous working conditions, specifically regarding frequent robberies, and the fact that workers are expected to perform extra shop duties without extra pay. 
<img height="80" alt="" src="" width="80" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="81" alt="" src="" width="100" />
UGT and CC.OO. want a new three-year collective agreement to include a substantial salary increase and a reduction in average working hours. The unions say their demands are very reasonable, certainly given the current profits by the multinationals that control the distribution sector. 
 
And they remain open to negotiations with the employers. A meeting last week, however, failed to bring parties closer to an agreement. The unions and employers are meeting again tomorrow, in a last attempt to avoid a strike. Hopes are not that high though, since negotiations for this sector have been stalled since March.

Spanish Petrol Station Workers Threaten Two-Day Strike

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The Seventh National Convention of ICEM affiliate Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada was held 15-19 October in Vancouver, British Colombia province, and Dave Coles was selected by acclamation as president of the union. 
 
He succeeds Brian Payne, ICEM Vice President, who has served in that capacity since 2000. After 28 years service to the CEP, and before that, ten years as a shop-floor activist in a British Colombia paper mill, Payne retired effective at the close of the convention. 
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New CEP President Dave Coles (at right), with Finnish Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen, ICEM's Paper Sector Chairman
Over 1,000 delegates and alternates moved fervently to adopt a resolution that will significantly boost the union&rsquo;s organising fund. They also debated fiercely the Canadian military&rsquo;s involvement in Afghanistan, a situation which has left over 70 Canadian soldiers and diplomats dead. 
In a softer but equally passionate testimony, delegates expressed their emotions and thanks to Payne for his leadership at CEP, particularly by forging unity and consensus among the union&rsquo;s 150,000 members in forest products, oil and gas, media, and telecommunications sectors. Payne&rsquo;s resolve to protect the interests of CEP members, from defence resources to pattern-bargaining, was lauded. His effort to bring a successful 14-year pay equity battle to closure at Bell Canada telephone was also recognised. 
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Retiring CEP President Brian Payne and his wife Verna
Coles has been CEP&rsquo;s Western Region Vice President. He began his union career in the early 1970s at a pulp mill in British Columbia and has over 30 years of labour and community activism, including work as a CEP organiser in both Alberta and British Colombia provinces.
&ldquo;Thanks to the debate and direction provided at this convention,&rdquo; Coles said at the close of it, &ldquo;we head into the next two years resolved to build an effective, dynamic union. We will make progress through collective bargaining and rise to new levels of social unionism.&rdquo; 
 
Ga&eacute;tan M&eacute;nard, a National Representative who began his union career in 1984 at Local 11, Masson, Quebec, was elected CEP Secretary-Treasurer.

Dave Coles Succeeds Retiring Brain Payne as President of Canada’s CEP

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ICEM affiliate, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), again called for an absolute zero level of tolerance on health and safety incidences inside South Africa&rsquo;s mining industry. 
 
That message again had to be delivered following a pair of seismic events, which caused death on 23 October at AngloGold Ashanti&rsquo;s TauTona gold mine near Carletonville, South Africa. The tremors brought cave-ins and resulted in the deaths of five miners, who were working some 2,700 metres underground in one of the world&rsquo;s deepest mines. 
The NUM questions why miners are even working in an environment so hazardous. AngloGold&rsquo;s TauTona mine had already seen the deaths of another five miners, with ten others severely injured, earlier this year in similar rock falls. Tremors struck the mine southwest of Johannesburg in separate occurrences in January and February. In July 2005, two more miners were killed at TauTona when a tremor caused a rock slide. 
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The two 23 October tremors, which struck near a production seam nearly three kilometres inside the earth, occurred 25 minutes apart, and registered magnitudes of 1.9 and 2.3 on the Richter scale. The resulting rock slides also injured two other miners, one seriously. 
 
South African Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjea questioned the logic of miners working so deep in such environments. &ldquo;In view of an industry-accepted target of zero fatalities, gold mines are the worst performers,&rdquo; she said, in a statement on the most recent TauTona tragedy. 
 
AngloGold produced 120,000 ounces of gold from TauTona in fiscal quarter ending in June 2006. That figure represents 8.5% of the company&rsquo;s total global gold production.

Earth Tremors Bring Death in AngloGold’s South African TauTona Mine

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Japanese trade union federation UI Zensen is engaged in summer bonus negotiations with employers at company level and to date, results exceed those posted in 2005. 
 
As of 13 June, 271 plant-level unions have completed negotiations with individual employers. Some 17 plant-level unions in the chemicals sector that are affiliated with UI Zensen have concluded talks, and those negotiations produced noticeable bonuses.
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&nbsp;At Shikoku Chemical, workers achieved a bonus of 2.993 months in salary, while at Nihon Fine Chemicals, three months was won. At Toyo Chemical, 2.415 months of salary was achieved in negotiations and at Terumo, 2.91 months of salary was won as a bonus.

UI Zensen Unions Negotiating Successfully in Japan’s Summer Bonus Talks

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Soaring gas and electricity prices, coupled with Britain&rsquo;s pension funding crisis, has caused the closure of a recycled paper mill in Fife, Scotland. Smith, Anderson &amp; Co. Ltd. announced closure of its Fettykill Mills operation, resulting in the loss of 106 jobs. 
 
ICEM affiliate Amicus has been working with the owners of the 146-year-old mill to get the government to address high energy prices, rates which have risen 50% since last year when a restructuring plan was implemented in efforts to save the mill.
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&nbsp;&ldquo;Once again, high energy prices and the pension crisis in the UK have contributed towards the decision to close another mill,&rdquo; stated Amicus Assistant General Secretary Tony Burke. &ldquo;This is a devastating blow to the paper industry in the UK and manufacturing in Scotland,&rdquo; said Burke, adding the union&rsquo;s priority now is to work with staff in order that they find other jobs. 
 
Smith, Anderson &amp; Co. will continue to run paper converting operations for the manufacture of paper bags from two Scottish plants, employing 245 staff, but the company&rsquo;s recycling collection company, Securecycle, will likely be sold. 
In Scotland over the past eight years, 11 paper mills have been closed, leaving only six in operation. In the past two years alone, 800 Scottish paperworkers have faced redundancies.

Energy Prices, UK’s Pension Crisis Leads to Closure of Scottish Paper Mill

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Locked-out members of Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) of Canada Local 972 ratified a collective agreement with Stora Enso on 20 June, thus ending a five-month labour dispute and ensuring that the paper mill in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, remains open. 
 
The 600 paper mill workers ratified the contract by the narrowest of margins, 54%, while a separate clerical unit gave approval by an even slimmer margin. The coated paper and newsprint mill was threatened with shutdown by Stora Enso unless a new labour agreement was not ratified by 24 June.
<img height="99" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&nbsp; 
The mill is plagued by Stora&rsquo;s insistence on cutting paper capacity, and the current high value of the Canadian dollar in relation to the US dollar. Stora Enso has now petitioned the province&rsquo;s utility commission in order to gain a power rate reduction before it re-starts the mill.
The province of Nova Scotia has already given preliminary approval to a C$65 million, seven-year property tax decrease so that the company would continue to operate the mill. 
 
Throughout the 23-week lockout, CEP Local 972 received vast support from several sources. 
In a letter announcing the ratification, Local 972 stated, &ldquo;This support came from other CEP Locals across the country, other unions across Canada and many other countries, numerous other unions, associations, affiliates, local businesses, local individuals, and our own members who also cared and looked out for one another. This tremendous show of support will be long remembered.&rdquo;

Stora Enso Lockout in Canada Ends with Ratification Vote

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ICEM affiliate in Germany, IGBCE, has taken deep exception to a report published by a research institute that all energy supplies be left to market forces.
The RWI, an economic research think tank supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs for the state of North Rhine/Westphalia, proposes that all state subsidies for coal and other energy sources be removed.
<img height="62" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&ldquo;Those who claim that energy supplies are not the state&rsquo;s responsibility and should be left to markets, have lost all sense of reality,&rdquo; said IGBCE President Hubertus Schmoldt. He added that the risks associated with an energy crisis is the concern of the entire Germany economy, stating that it is easy for those &ldquo;in an ivory tower that is 80% funded by public monies&rdquo; to preach such free market ideas. 
 
The IGBCE believes German policy for safe and secure energy supply cannot be left alone to markets.

IGBCE Disputes Research Institute’s Energy Supply Thesis

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Colombian mining union Sintramienerg&eacute;tica ended two coal strikes recently that had begun to impact markets. On 22 June, the union agreed to a two-year agreement with US-based Drummond that ended a month-long strike at the La Loma mines in Cesar state. 
 
Sintramienerg&eacute;tica, in addition to winning social benefits, achieved an 8% wage increase for this year, and will receive 1.5% above the inflation rate in 2007. Strike-ending mediations took place under the guidance of the Ministry of Social Protection.
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Some 2,000 miners struck Drummond on 22 May, and the walkout directly affected another 1,000 contract workers, as well as some 5,000 employees of transport, terminal and other service companies connected to Drummond&rsquo;s coal export business. The company exports some 22 million tonnes of coal annually from its Puerto Drummond, Colombia, deep-water port. 
 
Non-ICEM-affiliated Sintramienerg&eacute;tica also came to terms on 6 June with Swiss-based Glencore International at the Carbones de la Jagua mining operation. About 1,000 miners there began a strike on 17 May. 
 
The settlement gives workers a 7.5% salary increase, and the new agreement also grants social benefits to both Glencore workers and contract employees. Glencore mines some 12 million tonnes annually from this Jagua de Ibirico location in Cesar state.

Colombian Mine Union Ends Coal Strikes at Drummond, Glencore

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