English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

The ICEM is calling on Nepal&rsquo;s monarchy to immediately release the top two leaders of Nepalese trade union federation General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT), as well as scores of senior leaders of a seven-party political coalition who were rounded up yesterday and early today and placed under a 90-day detention order. Early today, authorities arrested GEFONT senior leaders Chairperson Mukunda Neupane and Secretary-General Binod Shrestha at their homes. 
 

<img height="44" alt="" src="" width="372" />
The Global Union Federation (GUF), covering 20 million workers from the energy and chemicals sectors to mining and process industry sectors, also is calling on King Gyanendra to immediately rescind a 16 January dictum that forbids peaceful protest and assembly in Kathmandu and neighbouring Lalitpur. 
 
The order banning all assemblies, processions and political sit-ins is aimed at blocking scheduled non-violent protests for tomorrow, 20 January, as well as future pro-democracy rallies. 
 
&ldquo;We call for immediate release of GEFONT&rsquo;s leaders and others,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;To arrest these people only deepens our resolve, and the resolve of pro-democracy voices inside Nepal for an end to the absolute rule of this monarchist regime.&rdquo; 
 
Higgs added, &ldquo;The political coalition that has taken shape in Nepal has proven through its peaceful mass protest in Janakpur on 12 January that non-violent dissent is a legitimate vehicle for an end to the suppression of political rights,&rdquo; said Higgs. &ldquo;The ICEM supports the people of Nepal to participate in such non-violent protests and demonstrations.&rdquo; 
 
Further, the ICEM condemns the regime&rsquo;s recent curfews, changes in media law placing stricter controls on radio stations, and today&rsquo;s cut-off of mobile phone transmissions. 
 
The Brussels-based GUF also voices its opposition to recent amendments to Nepal&rsquo;s Labour Code, which have been orchestrated by government ministries intended for the royal seal. Such amendments, the ICEM feels, will restrict workers&rsquo; rights and trade union rights, as well as imposing undue foreign influence inside Nepal&rsquo;s worksites.

ICEM Calls for Release of Nepal Trade Union Leaders, Restoration of Rights

The 20-million-member ICEM calls on the government of Serbia-Montenegro to meet the legitimate pay demands by ICEM-affiliated EPS Trade Union at three enterprises of the state-run electric power generation and distribution services, i.e. the PE Electric Power Industry of Serbia, the PE Elektromreža Srbije (the Serbian Transmission System and Market Operator) and the PE Underground Pit Mine Extraction. 
<img width="100" height="100" src="" alt="" />
Workers at these three enterprises are owed wage arrears for 2004 and 2005. The government has failed to respond to union demands, as well as to make an adequate wage offer for 2006. Workers at the three enterprises began a series of one-hour strikes on 10 January in protest of the non-payment of wages, and have conducted similar one-hour strikes every day since. 
 
&ldquo;The inflation rate in Serbia in 2005 reached 17%,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;It is unconscionable that the government is withholding payment of wages due for past years and refusing to make an acceptable offer this year.&rdquo; 
 
Serbia-Montenegro&rsquo;s government had requested that EPS Trade Union postpone any strike action until the end of February 2006. The ICEM says that such a request is irresponsible considering the non-payment of wages in 2004 and 2005. 
 
The ICEM fully supports the strikes, and has offered assistance to the 43,000-member EPS Trade Union in meeting their pay demands.

ICEM Calls on Serbia to Pay Backwages, Reach 2006 Pay Terms

&nbsp;<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
ICEM Norwegian affiliate Fellesforbundet has taken in the Norwegian Graphical Workers&rsquo; Union in a merger that will give the union greater strength in the graphical, cardboard and packaging sectors of Norway. The merger became effective 1 January. 
Fellesforbundet&rsquo;s executive board will increase by four seats with the addition of three members from the Graphical Division, plus former President Ander Skattkjaer, who will also direct Fellesforbundet&rsquo;s Collective Bargaining Department.

Norwegian Fellesforbundet, Graphical Union Merge

&nbsp;<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
In Nepal, GEFONT along with two other labour federations and the Teachers&rsquo; Union of Nepal have called on the Maoist Communist Part of Nepal to continue its cease-fire. The unions also ask the same from the monarchist regime. A four-month cease-fire by the Maoist front ended New Year&rsquo;s Day. 
Nepal&rsquo;s labour unions are in the lead calling for a peaceful restructuring of society toward democracy. The autocratic King Gyanendra has refused to listen to such a call. Instead, he is turning his back on initiatives from a 7-party coalition seeking peace and restoration of democracy. &ldquo;We demand with both the regime and Maoists not to push the nation and people towards bloodshed and the game of death again,&rdquo; read the declaration by the trade union federations.

Nepalese Unions Take Lead for Peace, Democracy

&nbsp;&nbsp;<img height="67" alt="" src="" width="60" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <img height="58" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Trade unions from Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, and UK, representing the industrial gases sector, met in Blankenberge, Belgium, last month to discuss economic aspects of the industry, as well as the companies comprising the sector.
The conference was jointly sponsored by ICEM affiliates CG-FGTB of Belgium and Dutch FNV Bondgenoten. ICEM provided research and a presentation on the sector, available at <a href="/?id=4&amp;doc=1576&amp;la=EN">/?id=4&amp;doc=1576&amp;la=EN</a>.
The forum, attended by 35 trade unionists, pledged to develop further trade union cooperation, as well as to open the next conference to global trade unionists in the sector, as start to a world network for industrial gases. Companies that came under discussion included Air Liquide, Air Products, BOC, Linde and Praxair.

Unionists Meet in Belgium over Industrial Gases Sector

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Contract workers in Azerbaijan&rsquo;s oil and gas construction industry continue to unionise, following the successful lead by Azeri workers, employed by US contractor McDermott International, late in November 2005.
Some 2,000 workers at McDermott, BP and state-run SOCAR&rsquo;s largest contractor, engaged in strike actions to win 30% wage gains, medical care, and union recognition with ICEM affiliate Oil and Gas Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Azerbaijan (OGWU). Union Chairman Jahangir Aliyev now estimates 5,000 to 7,000 contract workers are seeking unionisation, as Azeri workers employed by western oil service companies seek equivalent pay to that of foreign nationals employed on Caspian energy projects.
On 19 December 2005, 1,600 workers employed at the offshore BosShelf site, a French-Azeri construction project partially owned by Bouygues, officially organised with OGWU following a strike.
Responding to the rush of workers to organise, BP Azerbaijan President David Woodward conceded, &ldquo;This is their right and no one can stop them from doing this. If they wish, we see the right for employees to take collective action.&rdquo;
In a related Caspian labour development, OGWU and another ICEM affiliate, ROGWU, Russia&rsquo;s powerful oil and gas workers&rsquo; union, agreed at ROGWU&rsquo;s Congress in Moscow 21-22 December 2005 to begin joint union-building activities in 2006 intended to lead to a protocol agreement between the two unions.

Contract Workers Organising in Caspian Oil/Gas Fields

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
International Coal Group (ICG), the US-based company responsible for 12 mining deaths last week in the state of West Virginia, operates 21 US coal mines in America, all non-union. Yet, three emergency-response teams from nearby United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) staffed mines, plus the ICEM affiliate&rsquo;s Health and Safety director were involved in rescue efforts at ICG&rsquo;s Sago mine on 2 January after 13 miners became trapped following a gas explosion.
ICG has become a major eastern US coal supplier to utility companies at a time of high demand and high prices. The company is a creation of Wilbur L. Ross, a bankruptcy buyout opportunist who has a two-decade-long record in steel, textile and now coal bankruptcies. Ross uses US court bankruptcy proceedings to gain tax deferrals and cancel workers&rsquo; bargaining rights, pension benefits and retiree health care.
<img height="48" alt="" src="" width="150" />
ICG bought bankrupt Horizon Natural Resources, Anker Coal Group and CoalQuest Development, among others over the past few years. ICG gained a stake in Anker, the former owner of Sago, in the early 2000s and increased his holding as the company weakened and entered bankruptcy in 2002.
He only recently finalised buyout of the company for US$173 million, adding some eight coal mines and loading facilities to ICG. Also in late 2005, Ross took ICG&mdash;founded only in 2004&mdash;public, infusing US$250 million cash into the firm, and causing Ross to state: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all new money for the company. Neither my firm nor the founding shareholders are selling any stock on the offering at all.&rdquo; Ross&rsquo;s controlling stake increased from 9.2% to 13.7% on the initial public offering. 
 
It is evident Ross&rsquo;s &ldquo;new money&rdquo; and current coal revenue profit-taking are not intended for miners&rsquo; social welfare, whether it be retirement benefits or job safety. On 30 August 2004, 17 UMWA members were arrested by police when they and 800 others protested before a US bankruptcy court in Louisville, Kentucky. Some 3,000 UMWA members, both active and retired, were about to lose job security, and health care coverage as Ross and IGC took control of Horizon at a discount value in the bankruptcy court.
Early last week, the UMWA was actively involved in saving lives at the Sago mine. In a statement by the union expressing deep sadness to miners&rsquo; families, and reflecting on the &ldquo;inexplicable confusion&rdquo; over initial reports that the miners were alive, President Cecil Roberts said, &ldquo;Though not members of UMWA, the miners who work in the Sago mine include neighbors and relatives of UMWA members.&rdquo; The efforts of rescuers, he added, &ldquo;demonstrate once again that we are all brothers and sisters in the coal fields, and we pull together to help each other in times like these.&rdquo;
Roberts had another message last week, published in a West Virginia newspaper. It concerned the effect that energy demand and high coal prices have on marginal properties with inferior safety records when pressed into service: &ldquo;We hope we don&rsquo;t lose the focus on how dangerous this business is,&rdquo; stated Roberts.

Sago Mine Disaster: Safety, Workers’ Rights Victimized by Bankruptcies

<img height="99" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Things are definitely changing in the industrial gases sector. Mergers and acquisitions are decreasing the number of global players. In addition, there is a rising demand in industrial gases for the steel and petrochemical sector, with the biggest investments in new plants taking place in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. 
 
At the conference on industrial gases, organised by ICEM affiliates Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale (Belgium) and FNV Bondgenoten (Netherlands), in Blankenberge, Belgium, on 14-15 December 2005, the ICEM presented an overview of the economic situation in the sector, as well as of the big 5 global players. The presentation also includes a brief forecast for the next years. 
 
The continuous growth in the industrial gases sector and the many new applications for industrial gases, for example in the medical sector, are good news for employees. The shift from manufacturing plants to so-called low-cost countries, however, is a real challenge for the workers and their unions. 
 
The presentation explains how workers in the sector from different countries can cooperate and how a communication network can be built between the workers&rsquo; representatives in the different European countries. Another important question that is touched upon is how the different systems of industrial relations work in each country of the EU. 
 
Click <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0512michaelindgases.ppt">here</a> for the complete presentation.

ICEM Powerpoint Presentation on Industrial Gases

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
ICEM affiliate and Russian power workers&rsquo; union El&egrave;ctroprovsoy&ugrave;z held its Congress in Moscow on 7-8 December. Debate centered on electric utility RAO UES&rsquo;s reform plan.
RAO UES is dividing the utility&rsquo;s assets in the drive for profits, which brings a severe threat to jobs and workers&rsquo; protections. Val&egrave;ry Vakhr&ugrave;shkin was elected president, and the union reinforced its commitment to international trade union cooperation through the ICEM in the face of globalisation.
El&egrave;ctroprovsoy&ugrave;z, which numbers 775,000 members, celebrated 100 years of trade unionism in Russia at this Congress, which drew 310 delegates of whom more than a third were women.

Russia’s Electric Power Workers’ Union Holds Congress

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The issue of changing the work schedule for contract employees of Esso Australia Resources Ltd. and BHP Billiton Resources in the offshore oil and gas industry will likely reappear in talks now underway between employers, including the ExxonMobil subsidiary, and Australian unions.
In spring 2004, Esso and the contractors locked out workers for a three-week period in an attempt to terminate the enterprise labour agreement in order to impose a two-week on, two-week off work schedule. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission rejected the application, and Esso and contractors, led by Halliburton&rsquo;s KBR subsidiary, the joint venture of Worley Group and ABB, and Corke Instrument, appealed the decision.
The current work schedule is a seven-day roster, which workers and their unions contend is more family friendly. Esso and BHP operate oil and rigs in waters of the Bass Straight off Victoria, and Esso also runs energy processing plants in Longford and Long Island Point, Victoria.

ExxonMobil and Contractors in Australia Return to Bargaining

Archive