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The ICEM congratulates RadioLabour on reaching the significant milestone of 30,000 listeners worldwide. RadioLabour is the &ldquo;labour movement&rsquo;s radio service&quot;, broadcasting views, issues, and events daily Monday to Friday. In a world where media is dominated by a handful of conglomerates, RadioLabour service is unique and important. The service is less than two years old. 
 
The ICEM is proud to provide access to this important labour communications tool. Click on the RadioLabour logo at the bottom-right of any ICEM webpage. 
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The Solidarity News shows are five minutes long Monday to Thursday, the Friday show is ten minutes long and summarises the news of the week. 
 
RadioLabour's news programmes are presented by noted international labour educator, Marc B&eacute;langer, and broadcaster, Irma Arkus. 
 
RadioLabour is also accessible via its <a href="http://www.radiolabour.net/">website</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/radiolabour">Facebook</a>, mobile phones, <a href="http://www.radiolabour.net/itunes-instructs.html">iTunes</a>, UnionBook and <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/radiolabour">Twitter</a>. 
 
B&eacute;langer&rsquo;s team specialises in news about workers and unions in the developing world. Access RadioLabour interviews with union leaders from the Global South on their website.

RadioLabour Achieves Significant Milestone

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Trade unionists are encouraged to apply for the Masters programme at Witwatersrand University, South Africa. The deadline for applications is 31 July. The course on Labour Globalisation is one of the specialised Masters programmes offered by the Global Labour University (GLU). 
 
Participants of GLU courses have the unique opportunity to engage in a diploma course that puts individuals on the front lines of current labour policies in the rapid globalisation of trade and commerce. 
 
The two 14-week semesters of the course compliment an internship placement for participants at trade unions and labour research institutions, offering the chance to engage in the labour movements in different countries and at the international level. 
 
For details, including application and scholarship availability, visit the <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org">site</a> here. <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/54.html">Application forms</a> can be downloaded here. Applications should be sent to <a href="mailto:engage@uni-kassel.de">engage@uni-kassel.de</a>. 
 
The GLU, part of the ILO, has trained trade unionists in economics and in social sciences from 49 countries in its short existence, giving national and local trade union staff the opportunity to pick up specific curriculums tailored to improve their skills at home. 
 
The GLU awards a limited number of scholarships for participants from developing and transition countries. Applicants need to have the endorsement of a trade union to apply for a scholarship.

Global Labour University Masters Application Deadline 31 July

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The ICEM-affiliated FGTB-ABVV reached a settlement last Friday, 15 July, with management of the Belgian Refining Corporation (BRC), over the unjust sacking of three employees. Negotiations were held following a strong manifestation of solidarity, nationally and internationally, calling for the workers&rsquo; reinstatement. 
 
Two of the three dismissed employees were FGTB-ABVV union reps. A heated month of protest followed the sackings over invented charges of harassing a security guard. Joint protests were launched by all six Belgian unions representing oil workers, and were supported by ICEM and the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers&rsquo; Federation (EMCEF). 
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FGTB-ABVV made clear that the solidarity efforts had been important in reaching a settlement, and thanked all BRC workers and trade union activists involved in pickets and other actions during the month. 
 
The union&rsquo;s General Secretary, Paul Lootens, and President Alain Clauwaert said that members at BRC would now put the conflict behind them, and hope to restore good relations and social dialogue with the Swiss-based refiner. 
 
The BRC refinery is located north of the Port of Antwerp at the centre of the ARA region, owned by European refiner Petroplus Holdings. BRC has production capacity of 107,500 barrels per day, and sells primarily inside the Benelux countries.

BRC Belgium Conflict Settled, Sacked Oil Workers Reinstated

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The National Garment Workers Federation of Bangladesh (NGWF) organised a hunger strike on 8 July in the capital city of Dhaka. The hunger protest was done due to appalling conditions for workers in the industry, and focused on four current disputes. 
 
The NGWF is a highly active member trade union of the International Textile, Garment &amp; Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF). 
 
NGWF President Amirul Haque Amin reports that the four on-going disputes are all occurring in Dhaka. At Onyx Knitex, a knitwear manufacturer, management arbitrarily closed the plant on 14 June, with no prior discussion or warning to the union or to the government. The 250 workers at the plant are now jobless and they received no salaries or overtime pay due them for the months of May and June. Onyx Knitex paid no compensation for the factory closure. The NGWF filed a complaint to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on 15 June, and are awaiting action toward a resolution. 
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NGWF President Amirul Haque Amin
The second conflict is at Benson Apparels, a clothing manufacturer supplying markets in North and South America. The company sacked 97 workers on 14 March. The NGWF lodged a complaint with the BGMEA on 25 March, but the company management has rejected calls for negotiation with BGMEA or the union. 
 
A similar story occurred at Hong Kong-based Riz Fashion, a manufacturer selling mainly in Eastern Europe. On 14 December, management of Riz Fashion in Dhaka fired 28 workers. Following an official complaint by the NGWF, negotiations were conducted with the company director via the BGMEA. Negotiations reached a solution, whereby management would pay outstanding wages, overtime, and compensation. However, those payments have never been made. 
 
On 24 December, management of Indian manufacturer ADITI Apparels fired 27 workers. Similarly to the Riz Fashion case, talks at the BGMEA in the presence of ADITI management, concluded that management must pay outstanding wages, overtime, and compensation. Again, compensation due has not been made. 
 
These four labour-abuse complaints have been brought to the government&rsquo;s attention. The ICEM and the ITGLWF is hopeful that the government of Bangladesh will pressure employers to respect labour rights, instead of allowing companies to abuse workers with impunity.

Bangladesh Garment Workers’ Take Hunger Strike Actions over Delinquent Employers

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The ICEM-affiliated Brazil Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Unified Federation (FUP) conducted three days of selected work stoppages from 6-8 July at selected workplaces of state-controlled Petr&oacute;leo Brasileiro, or Petrobr&aacute;s. The protests reflect the union&rsquo;s disgruntlement with the profit-sharing plan of the company, and work slowdowns occurred at some 65 worksites. 
 
FUP is seeking higher profit-sharing payouts than the current and outdated 12% put in place in 2008. The union is demanding that workers receive an amount equal to the 25% dividend payments made to Petrobr&aacute;s shareholders. The company, which ranks in the top of the world&rsquo;s oil and gas producers, saw profits grow last year to R$35.2 billion, or US$22.7 billion. 
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FUP demands also call on the 56% state-owned company to drop special bonus payments to executives. 
 
The strikes began 6 July at 35 offshore platforms in the ultra-deep Campos Basin off Brazil&rsquo;s southeastern coast and spread the next day to exploration and production worksites in northern Bahia and Cear&aacute; states. Reduction of work hours on 7 July also occurred at the Cacimbas gas production plant in Espirito Santo state in southeastern Brazil. 
 
On 8 July, FUP members delayed the start of their work day at the Campo do Amaro and Rancho da Forquiha on-land oilfields in northeastern Rio Grande do Norte state. And job actions also occurred at several of the company&rsquo;s 11 refineries, bio-diesel plants, and administrative offices. 
 
Petrobr&aacute;s is Brazil&rsquo;s largest corporation, the country&rsquo;s leader retailer of oil and fuel-based products, and operates subsidiaries in 27 countries.

FUP Members in Brazil Conduct Short Strikes at Petrobrás

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The second union-wide Conference for the Electric Power Industry was held in Boston USA on 12-13 July, with 60 delegates from 19 countries attending. The ICEM conference was aptly hosted by the Utility Workers&rsquo; Union of America (UWUA), which turned out delegates from several electric power branch unions. 
 
Delegates adopted a strong statement condemning recent trends in electric power that prioritise profit-making at the expense of the public good. The statement said unions must continue to promote democratic energy policies, and noted, &ldquo;Increased globalisation in the Electric Power sector necessitates increased international contacts between unions in the parent multinational country with unions in the countries subject to new investments by these companies.&rdquo; (The full ICEM Electric Power <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1Conclusions%20of%20ICEM%20World%20Conference%20for%20the%20Electric%20Power%20Industry%20Boston%20July%2012.pdf">Conference conclusions</a> can be viewed here.)&nbsp;
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Denryoku Soren&rsquo;s Manabu Sasaki
A highlight of the event was a thorough presentation on the work done to save the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant station in Japan following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. Members of the ICEM-affiliated Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Workers&rsquo; Union of Japan, or Denryoku Soren, gave heart-rendering descriptions of their work to cool down reactors after the tsunami cut power to the northeast Japan power station. 
 
The union&rsquo;s policy officer, Takashi Wakasugi, who hails from Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), said that no one has died from radiation exposure at Fukushima, although two young workers were trapped and killed by the tsunami in the turbine building basement of the 4th reactor. That reactor was on a maintenance shutdown at the time. Eleven Denryoku Soren members and another 180 family members lost their lives away from the plant and over 6,000 homes of union members have been destroyed. 
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NUM Education Chairperson Helen Diatile Inspired Delegates for Greater Solidarity
Since mid-March, the union has dispatched some 3,500 volunteers from Denryoku Soren in aid and rescue missions. The Japanese unionists, including Kiyoaki Kotabe and Manabu Sasaki, stressed that the natural disaster also affected coal-fired power stations in Fukushima Prefecture, including the Haramachi power plant where some workers were killed. Nuclear power, Sasaki said, accounts for less than 30% of Japan&rsquo;s power mix. With total electric supply decreasing to 55% after the twin natural disasters, the bulk of the loss came from outages at coal- oil- and gas-fired plants. 
 
The unionists were critical of Japan&rsquo;s current government administration for laying blame on the utilities and on workers. They said the government insists on imposing indemnity on the affected utilities, and has submitted a bill to Parliament that ultimately would encourage layoffs of Denryoku Soren members and the lowering of working conditions to the bare minimum. 
 
&ldquo;We at Denryoku Soren will continue to fight to stabilise the situation at Fukushima Daiichi,&rdquo; stated Sasaki, the union&rsquo;s Social and Industrial Policy Officer. &ldquo;We will face all predicaments bravely to secure the safety of the Japanese people and by all and any means, we will restore and revitalize East Japan, which suffered devastating damage. 
 
&ldquo;What has supported us while we fight for this has been the strong solidarity by the member unions of the ICEM.&rdquo; 
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UWUA President Mike Langford
The Electric Conference also included panels on campaigning and on networking, with the latter including the ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific Electric Power Workers&rsquo; Network by Japanese Affiliates&rsquo; Federation (JAF) General Secretary Yoshio Sato, the Nuclear Workers&rsquo; Network by David Shier, and an inspired presentation by&nbsp;Ndlela Radebe of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on the newly created Southern Africa Energy Network. 
 
Campaign presentations were made by UWUA Local 389 President Dave Leonardi on the successful UWUA-ICEM campaign to achieve a first collective agreement with waste-to-energy company Covanta in the US, and on privatisation fight-backs by David Black of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees (COPE) in British Colombia and by Saffet Asiksou and Huseyln Sonmezoglu of the Turkish Electricity Authority of Cyprus Workers&rsquo; Union (El-Sen). 
 
UWUA President Mike Langford also directly addressed the &ldquo;virus&rdquo; of the US that is slowly permeating both developed and developing nations of the world, and said trade unions must rise up to unite against such &ldquo;anti-people, anti-society practices.&rdquo;

ICEM’s Electric Conference Condemns Profiteering by Private-Sector Providers

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The two-week strike by 120,000 members of the National Union of Metalworkers&rsquo; of South Africa (NUMSA) ended over the weekend when union members accepted a three-year contract from the Steel and Engineering Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA), the main metal employers&rsquo; federation in South Africa. 
 
NUMSA members will receive a first-year pay rise of 10% effective 1 July 2011. In the second and third years, metalworkers will receive no less than 8% in each year. If the consumer price index (CPI) is less than that percentage, the 8% increases will take hold; if it exceeds 8%, workers will receive 2% above the CPI. 
 
&ldquo;We ran a successful action,&rdquo; NUMSA General Secretary Irvin Jim said of the strike that began 4 July. &ldquo;We applied excellent pressure, workers were firm in their determination, and the timing for settling was good before the country&rsquo;s economy was bruised.&rdquo; 
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NUMSA Manifestation on 12 July
Jim said another fundamental issue resolved concerned labour brokers. Contract language was improved whereby labour brokers are allowed to deploy workers for only a four-month period. If a labour broker is retained for more than that period that broker&rsquo;s workers will win full-time, permanent positions with the primary employer inclusive of all social benefits. Workers will begin returning to jobs today and tomorrow, 19 July. 
 
Meanwhile, talks between the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union (CEPPWAWU) and several employers&rsquo; federations resume today. Some 70,000 CEPPWAWU members have been striking since 11 July against scores of employers in the petroleum, pharmaceutical, glass, plastics, industrial chemicals, fast-moving consumer goods, and pulp, paper, and wood products sectors. 
 
By far the biggest impact of those strikes has been in petroleum distribution businesses. The CEPPWAWU strike there has created panic buying and fuel shortages, with the seven members of the South African Petroleum Industry Association unable to move supplies to market from the country&rsquo;s 130 fuel depots.
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CEPPWAWU Members March in Johannesburg, 11 July
CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s strikes were joined last week across several sectors by 14,000 members of the South African Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union (SACWU) and 10,000 members of the General Industrial Workers&rsquo; Union of South Africa (GIWUSA). 
 
The unions are seeking wage increases ranging from 11% to 13%, while respective industries are offering only 6.5% to 7%. ICEM-affiliated CEPPWAWU seeks a complete ban on labour brokers, a minimum month wage of R6,000 (&euro;615), six months paid maternity leave, and a 40-hour work-week. 
 
The strike, specifically in regard to fuel shortages and transport, is expected to be exacerbated starting today with the start of the third trimester of school in South Africa. Some of the companies affected are petrol giants BP Southern Africa, Chevron SA, Engen Petroleum, PetroSA, Shell SA, and Total SA; pharmaceutical companies Adcock Ingram, Aspen Pharmaceutical, and Pharmacare; consumer companies Revlon and Colgate; the industrial chemicals company Sasol, as well as Nampak Glass and paper companies Sappi and Mondi. 
 
South African strikes were amplified this winter by a PricewaterhouseCoopers&rsquo; report showing that executive pay trends of the 40 top-listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange saw median pay increases of 23.3%, while executive bonuses rose 56%.

Metal Strike Ends in South Africa; CEPPWAWU Resumes Talks Today

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In a landmark ruling issued 25 July by the full bench of Australia&rsquo;s Federal Court, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) successfully short-circuited Rio Tinto&rsquo;s 2008 decision to unilaterally put into effect a non-union collective agreement. The ruling voids Rio Tinto&rsquo;s sham five-year agreement with ten new hires in July 2008 that was intended to cover thousands of iron ore miners in West Australia, both signed under bygone individual work agreements under the John Howard government and future employees. 
 
The practice was done to avoid law changes then coming under Fair Work Australia. 
 
The 20-page ruling likely will serve as a precedent and a key portal for CFMEU to recruit miners in the mostly non-union Pilbara mining areas and then enter into legitimately negotiated enterprise labour agreements. Besides Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton also implemented long-term phoney collective agreements as a means to escape the CFMEU once the Fair Work Act took effect. 
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CFMEU's Gary Wood
&ldquo;Rio and other employers that went down that path were, obviously, looking to shield themselves from the new legislation which brought fairness into the workplace, particularly around bargaining,&rdquo; said CFMEU West Australia Mining and Energy Secretary Gary Wood. 
 
The CFMEU challenged the validity of Rio Tinto&rsquo;s 2008 non-union contract last year, but Justice Robert Buchanan ruled in August 2010 that it was valid. On CFMEU appeal, however, the full bench of Justices Peter Gray, Bruce Lander, and Anna Katzmann overturned Buchanan&rsquo;s decision, determining that the contract was not an &ldquo;employee collective agreement&rdquo; as defined by the new legislation. 
 
The case centered on Rio&rsquo;s subsidiary Pilbara Iron Company Pty. Ltd. and a so-called Pilbara Iron Employee Agreement that was intended to last until 2013. The CFMEU argued that the company could not properly describe employees scheduled to work under the agreement when it was signed on 28 July 2008.

Australia’s CFMEU Wins Major Bargaining Ruling Against Rio Tinto

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The ICEM was angered and shocked by the madness in Norway late last week, expressing disbelief to its Norwegian affiliated unions that such xenophobic lunacy could occur in such a model democratic social nation. General Secretary Manfred Warda, who was in the US at the time attending another affiliate&rsquo;s convention, said in a message to Norwegian trade unionists that it was with &ldquo;deep shock and sadness that I received the horrible news of the shootings and murders of so many young people and the losses from the terrible blast in Oslo. 
 
&ldquo;I am sure all over the world ICEM-affiliated trade unions feel the sadness and extend sympathies to the families who lost loved ones. We all feel deep solidarity with the people of Norway, we offer our condolences, and these tragic events show how much we need to be on alert to right-wing extremism and intolerable fundamentalism.&rdquo; 
 
Norwegian Fellesforbundet President Arve Bakke, in a letter to global trade unions on the massacre of young Labour Party activists at Ut&oslash;ya and the Oslo bombing on 22 July, said: &ldquo;We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for your solidarity and support following the shocking, violent and cowardly attacks that took place at Ut&oslash;ya and in Oslo.
<img src="" width="150" height="116" alt="" />
&nbsp;Fellesforbundet President Arve Bakke 

&ldquo;Our thoughts are now with the families, relatives and friends of the victims and everyone affected by this tragedy. 
 
&ldquo;It is with great shock and grief we were witness to the blackest day in Norwegian labour movement history. In just a few hours many union and political activists from the Norwegian labour movement were brutally deprived of their lives. Also democracy was hit at its core. The centre of national government was bombed beyond recognition and an important part of our future was massacred.
<img src="" width="80" height="105" alt="" />
&ldquo;This is a time to stand firm to our ideals and we condemn the forces that want to destroy everything we believe in. I will make Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg&rsquo;s words mine: &lsquo;We must never give up ourvalues. We must show that our open society can pass this test too. That the answer to violence is even more democracy. Even more humanity. But never naivety. This we owe the victims and their families.&rsquo; 
 
&ldquo;Again, thank you for your concern and solidarity.&rdquo;

ICEM Expresses Anger, Disbelief at Norwegian Carnage

Trade unionists of SPPTTEL, part of ICEM affiliate FSP2KI in Indonesia, began a strike today and they need your support. The strike is over bullying and bargaining table intimidation by management of PT Tanjung Enim Lestari, almost totally owned by the Marubeni Corp. of Japan. 
 
The ICEM today sent a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/87.ICEM.PTTanjungEnimLestari.Indonesia.pdf">protest letter</a> to mill managers. Please copy all of the letter or better yet, put your own few words into effect and send to the <a href="mailto:ykanbe@telpp.com; eko.ganefianto@telpp.com; amrodji@telpp.com">mill management team</a>. Tell them how you feel about threats and intimidation of legitimate shop-floor union representatives. 
 
The situation is this: collective negotiations began in late June and continued on 12 July and 15 July. They were done in tripartite fashion with involvement from the local government of South Sumatra. But the company managers named above completely stonewalled any movement toward agreement, instead threatening the union committee with termination if they continued their persistence for a collective contract. These managers also threatened layoffs and stated that if paperworkers went on strike, police force would be used. 
 
Today, 26 July, began the first day of the strike. SPPTTEL is expected to continue the strike through to 30 July. 
 
As well, please cut and paste the following support message and send to the unions involved and SPPTTEL union leader below: 
 
We have heard of your strike at PT Tanjung Enim Lestari and we offer you our full support and solidarity. Please let all the workers know they have the support of out union. (signed) 
 
The solidarity messages should go to <a href="mailto:sppttel@telpp.com; mediacentre.fsp2ki@gmail.com; irzanz@yahoo.co.id">SPPTTEL and FSP2KI</a>. 
 
PT Tanjung Enim Lestari is a market pulp mill that employs about 1,000 workers and produces 450,000 metric tonnes per year of market pulp.

Indonesian Paperworkers On Strike at Japanese Marubeni Pulp Mill

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