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A potentially deadly offshore oil disaster was averted last week in the North Sea by quick action from platform firefighting teams. The incident occurred at Shell Exploration &amp; Production&rsquo;s 180-worker Tern Alpha platform, 105 miles northeast of Shetland Islands, and caused the evacuation of 128 workers. 
 
The fire started in the early hours of 16 March when a high voltage electrical motor in the gas compression module overheated. Onboard emergency teams fought the fire for four hours, during which time coast guard helicopters from the UK and Norway, as well as a BP rescue team, ferried the 128 to other platform installations. 
 
The fire, in an area of compressed gas, could have triggered a major disaster had it not been for the trained emergency teams. Shell Exploration operates Tern Alpha for Shell and Esso in the Hudson fields of the North Sea. The platform began production in 1989.

Emergency Response Teams Prevent North Sea Catastrophe

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China&rsquo;s latest coal mine fatalities occurred Saturday, 18 March, when 28 miners were trapped by flooding in Shanxi province. The incident happened at the Fanjiashan mine, owned by the Zhaoxian township in Luliang city. 
 
Prior to this, 12 major accidents claimed the lives of over 100 miners over a two week span dating back to 5 March. And separate to this, near Baishan, Jilin province, seven accidents over a two-week period in March occurred at local mines, killing a total of 10 workers. 
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On 13 March, a gas blast at the Rongsheng mine in Erdos city, Inner Mongolia, killed 22. Also on that day, nine were found dead after an explosion at the Qitaihe Taihe mine in Heilongjiang province. The cause of this latter blast was cited as illegal smoking inside the mine. On 23 February, a coal dust explosion killed 18 in Shandong province at a mine owned by the Zaozhuang Mining Group. The cause here was listed as failure to dampen an underground coal seam prior to drilling. 
 
In Hunan province, which already reports 79 mining deaths this year&mdash;29 more than last year&mdash;33 miners perished at three of the major accidents since 5 March. Provincial officials this month moved to close 400 unsafe mines in Hunan province. 
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Other actions are occurring at the national level to curb mining deaths. The government has recently blocked some US$70 million worth of coal mine investments on behalf of government officials. A government probe found that 4,578 officials in China have investments in the country&rsquo;s coal mines. Chinese workplace safety officials admit an estimated 60% of Chinese mines ordered to close in 2005 still continue to operate. The State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) reported at the National People&rsquo;s Congress last week that their mandate is to reduce coal mine deaths by 3.5% this year. 
 
In 2005, China had an official death rate of 5,986, with unofficial estimates ranging up to four times higher. If March 2006 is any indication, Chinese coal mines will need to make fast improvements in safety in order to reach this goal.

March a Deadly Month So Far for Chinese Mine Workers

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Canadian paperworkers and hundreds of supporters marched in Nova Scotia on 18 March, angry over an imposed lockout by Stora Enso. The march and rally drew about 2,500 in the town Port Hawkesbury. Some 600 members of ICEM affiliate Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) were locked-out on 26 January 2006 by the Swedish-Finnish paper company, now the world&rsquo;s largest forest products concern. 
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The key issue separating CEP Local 972 and Stora Enso is one covering contracting-out policies. The company is intent on breaking from the pattern acceptance on contract labour provisions by other paper manufacturers in eastern Canada. Coming just seven months after a Finnish paper sector lockout led by Stora Enso, the lockout in Nova Scotia has caught the attention of scores of national trade unions. 
The company&rsquo;s Works Council made a strong statement in support of the CEP branch union at its 8-9 March meetings, and an ICEM Circular produced an unprecedented stream of protests to Stora Enso CEO Jukka H&auml;rm&auml;l&auml; in Finland. CEP Local 972 received earnest solidarity from scores of national trade unions, as well. 
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Finnish Paperiliitto President and ICEM Paper Sector Chairman Jouko Ahonen wrote, &ldquo;Your struggle is our struggle, as last year our struggle was your struggle. We were not alone last summer and you are not&mdash;and will not be&mdash;alone in this dispute. You can be also sure that the brave struggle of your Local and its members enjoys sympathy and admiration of Finnish people.&rdquo; 
 
The Works Council resolution states: &ldquo;Stora Enso has refused to accept the Eastern Canada Pattern Settlement and wants to outsource jobs. These demands are completely different from local traditions and also different from collective agreements with other companies. Stora Enso must understand that this kind of activity does not lead to any kind of good result; on the contrary, it will cause immense suffering for everybody involved.&rdquo; 
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The 18 March event was led by CEP President Brian Payne and a number of local dignitaries attended, including provincial New Democratic Party leader Darrell Dexter attended. Local union members, however, were disappointed that Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald, who is from a nearby town heavily populated by paperworkers, failed to attend.

Locked-Out Canadian Paperworkers Hold Rally

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A United Steel Workers (USW) local union in the US is alleging Bridgestone/Firestone (BFS) blocked a plant-gate effort to raise money for Firestone rubber plantation workers in Liberia. This would violate workplace rules as defined under the national US labor law statute. 
USW Local 1055 in LaVergne, state of Tennessee, filed the charges last month with the US government over management&rsquo;s action at a BSF auto/truck tyre plant employing 1,500 workers. The branch union was blocked by the company from collecting funds and sending the voluntary proceeds to some 6,000 plantation workers in war-infested Liberia, who, with their families, have been exposed to toxic chemicals in the cultivation of natural rubber. 
 
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve stood for years collecting for members who are ill or other locals on strike,&rdquo; said USW Local 1055 President Lewis Beck. &ldquo;Most recently, we collected to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.&rdquo; The US government&rsquo;s labor board will now investigate the charges and issue a ruling.

Steelworkers in US Press Charges Against Bridgestone Management

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South African and North American members of the Sappi Workers&rsquo; Network attended the paper company&rsquo;s AGM in Johannesburg on 6 March to protest lack of fruitful negotiations at mills in the US, and broken promises on education and over promotion opportunities in South Africa. 
Representatives of the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood &amp; Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) of South Africa and United Steel Workers (USW) of the US learned at the meeting that CEO Jonathan Leslie would resign, and the USW issued a statement the day following the meeting that it would welcome a change in course of industrial relations. 
 
&ldquo;Sappi now has an opportunity to take a new direction if it chooses,&rdquo; said USW Vice President Dick LaCosse, leader of the union&rsquo;s Paper Division. &ldquo;We would welcome a new approach to our talks with the company to better secure our jobs, our communities and our future.&quot;

South Africa, US Unions Attend Sappi’s Annual Meeting

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The ICEM has responded to a call issued by Industrianst&auml;llda I Nordic (Nordic IN), the new five-nation trade union federation of industries, to protest Estonia&rsquo;s proposed changes to their labour code. The proposed Employees&rsquo; Representatives Act, which would weaken trade union protections, was the main focus in meetings today between Estonia&rsquo;s trade unions and the Ministry of Social Affairs. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s disapproval of the proposed changes, in a letter to Estonia Prime Minister Andrus Ansip is at <a href="/index.php?id=23&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=1702">/index.php?id=23&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=1702</a>.

ICEM Responds to Estonia’s Proposed Labour Law Changes

Mr. Andrus Ansip 
Prime Minister 
Republic of Estonia 
Tallinn 
Estonia 
 
Brussels, 20 March 2006 

Dear Prime Minister Ansip, 
 
I write on behalf of the 20-million-member ICEM, the Global Union Federation representing workers in the energy, chemicals, mining and processed industries. Estonian unions, along with Nordic IN, a five-nation trade union federation of workers in basic industries, informed us about your country&rsquo;s proposed Employees&rsquo; Representatives Act, which would replace a labour law which has been in effect since 1993. 
 
The ICEM, and its 389 trade union affiliates in 122 countries, objects to the proposed amended law as an attempt to weaken the role of trade unions in Estonia. We also view the proposal as an erosion of the role and duties that union shop stewards perform. 
 
I specifically refer to the way your government is planning to transpose a European Union directive (2002/14/EC), on informing and consulting employees, into the proposed new Estonian law. Article 1.2 of that Directive, which is also contained in ILO Convention No. 135 on Workers&rsquo; Representatives, states that information and consultation must be developed, taking into account national law and existing practices. The proposed Estonian law would exclude trade union shop stewards from these information and consultation procedures, and shop stewards would lose all their existing rights and guarantees. 
 
Furthermore, even though it is required in ILO Convention Number 98, trade union representatives would no longer have protection from dismissals. On top of that, trade union shop stewards would lose the ability to carry out their legitimate responsibilities on the job because the proposed statute significantly reduces the allowed amount of time for this to occur. 
 
In Estonia&rsquo;s 1993 statute, a well-formulated list exists of issues over which employees must be consulted. This has been changed in the proposed amendment with a short, unclear formulation. 
Additionally, the sanction or penalty for an individual employer representative who neglects the information and consultation section of this proposed law would be less than &euro; 1,000. That is about the same penalty that an employee representative would face for failing to keep confidential information. Article 8.2 of the European Directive stipulates that there should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions in the event of infringement. The ICEM feels this is not the case in the proposed Employees&rsquo; Representatives Act of Estonia. 
 
If adopted as the draft now stands, this legislation would be a major step backwards in the development of balanced labour market structures and mechanisms, as specified under the common EU social dialogue agenda.
The appointment of workplace employee representatives in parallel and alongside legitimate trade union shop stewards is directly contrary to this social model. Unfortunately, the proposed Employees&rsquo; Representatives Act would provide this option to employers doing business in Estonia. 
 
I urge you to use your influence to amend the proposed Act in such a way to ensure that the legitimate and universally accepted role of trade unions, and their elected shop stewards, is maintained. The ICEM will closely follow developments on this matter, and we intend to report directly to our affiliated trade unions on whether or not Estonia adopts the principle of a balanced social partnership between democratic and free trade unions, and employers. 
 
 
Sincerely Yours, 
 
 
Fred Higgs 
General Secretary 
ICEM

ICEM letter to Estonian Prime Minister on Employees’ Representatives Act

The FNV labour federation in The Netherlands is engaged today, 9 March, in an emergency meeting with the nation&rsquo;s tripartite Social Economic Council to address the misuse by Dutch employers of workers from Central and Eastern Europe.
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ICEM affiliate FNV Bondgenoten is conducting a protest outside the Council&rsquo;s building as the meeting is in progress.&nbsp;The meeting will also focus on the negative effects of a new health insurance system introduced in the country. 
Workers from Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries have flocked to The Netherlands in search of work. They have often been met by unscrupulous employers who use these workers on a term-limited contract basis, or as self-employed workers, in an effort to undermine collective bargaining agreements. The resulting payment of lower wages has a direct effect on all Dutch citizens. 
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FNV Bondgenoten has been successful in its &ldquo;Equal Pay for Equal Work&rdquo; campaign, which has brought union membership to a significant number of Central and Eastern European workers, particularly Poles. &ldquo;We are not against Polish workers coming to The Netherlands for employment, but we insist they be treated fairly, and so do they,&rdquo; said FNV President Agnes Jongerius.

Dutch Protest Today Points at Exploitation of Central and Eastern European Workers

Following a two-day strike on 22 and 23 February, a two-week cooling off process is now underway between ICEM Belgian affiliate ABVV-FGTB and ExxonMobil at a polymers plant near Antwerp. The entire workforce of 350 totally shut down operations at the Zwijndrecht plant in a contract dispute for a 2006-2007 renewal. 
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Workers were incensed at the wage offer presented to them. Also in dispute is management&rsquo;s proposal to reduce staff by increasing automation. 
Determined worker unity under the guidance of ABVV-FGTB brought the company back to the table, where a conciliator did remove some obstacles to a new agreement on 27 February, the day the two-week cooling off period took effect. Labour and management will return to talks on 14 March.

Belgian ExxonMobil Strike Over; Talks will Resume 14 March

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ChevronTexaco Nigeria Ltd. and one of its contractors, US-based Elper Engineering, face strike actions if the companies do not live up to terms of a collective agreement put in place five years ago. ICEM affiliate NUPENG met again last week in Nigeria with the two companies to resolve the dispute over back wages and severance, but the employers rebuffed efforts to settle the issue. 
The union declared its intent to resolve the dispute through social dialogue, but warned that NUPENG members working inside the two companies would strike if ChevronTexaco and Elper continue to avoid the issue. The two firms have granted the contractual obligation to a few employees, but have denied it to most. Contract workers at ChevronTexaco&rsquo;s massive Escravos operations in Ugborodo, Delta State, and its shallow-water platform Funiwa off Bayelsa State are affected.

Dispute Festering in Nigeria Between NUPENG, ChevronTexaco

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