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<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/>
The 30,000 technical and professional employees of PEMEX, Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company, finally won the right to unionize on their third attempt. The new union, Unión Nacional de Técnicos y Profesionistas Petroleros (UNTyPP), received its registration on 16 December 2009, and its leadership was officially recognized for the period 18 March 2008 to 17 March 2012. 
 
The first two attempts at unionization, with union acronyms of ONTCIP and UNTCIP, were denied registration by the government and the leaders fired. 
 
Following the successful court battle, culminating in registration from the Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare’s office for the Registration of Associations (STPS), members of the new union were informed by company management that in order to retain their jobs, they would be required to sign two documents: one calling for the cancellation of the registration, the other a resignation from the union. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Mexico.png" width="280" height="130"/>
Those who refused, along with organisers of the UNTyPP, were fired and violently removed from their workstations by paramilitaries, including the entire National Executive Committee of the union. These workers must be immediately reinstated, and their rights respected under both Mexican and international law. PEMEX is also being urged by the international labour movement to accept union calls to come to the bargaining table and establish a working relationship with them. 
 
UNTyPP organisers have faced continued intimidation and threats throughout their campaign for registration. 
 
PEMEX is the 10th largest oil company in the world, and is the sole supplier of all commercial petrol and diesel stations in Mexico. Annual company revenue is US$78 billion. 
 
Visit the Labourstart campaign website <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=654 ">here</a> to write to President Calderón and PEMEX management, condemning these violations of labour and human rights against the new UNTyPP trade union.

Despite Winning Recognition, Mexico’s White-Collar Pemex Workers Still Repressed

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PENGASSAN’s Peter Esele won re-election as President-General of Nigeria’s Trade Union Congress (TUC), the national trade centre for senior staff associations. Esele won a contested election for a second three-year term at the 8th Triennial National Delegates Conference in Benin, Edo State, from 17-20 March. 
 
Esele, a former President of the ICEM-affiliated Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), is credited – together with re-elected Secretary-General John Kolawole – of building permanent structures into the TUC, a federation comprised of 24 senior staff unions. 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/NigeriaPengassanPeterEsele.jpg" width="113" height="115" alt=""/>
Nigeria TUC President, Peter Esele
Esele is also credited with heightening the roles of women in the TUC, from mandating seats to women on TUC’s National Administrative Council to creating a Women’s Wing of the TUC to conducting ILO-sponsored workshops for development of women in trade union leadership roles. 
 
“I am proud to honour the diverse contributions of women in advancing the common cause of freedom, justice, and equality,” said Esele, who used International Women’s Day to call on the government to use 8 March as a work-free day in respect of what women have accomplished. 
 
Esele served as Deputy Vice President of PENGASSAN prior to 2005 and the tragic airplane crash of 10 December 2005 that claimed the life of PENGASSAN President Uche Okoro. He took over those duties then, winning re-election later in 2006. In 2008, already in his first term as TUC leader, he was defeated for the Presidency of PENGASSAN by Babatunde Ogun. 
 
The TUC is one of two national labour centres in Nigeria. The other, representing workers enrolled in the country’s blue-collar unions, is the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).

Peter Esele Re-Elected Head of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria

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ICEM’s Norwegian affiliated union, Industri Energi (IE), has established a trade union rights award in the name of the late trade unionist, Arthur Svensson. The award, to come with a cash prize, will be given to a person or organization for outstanding contributions for promoting trade union rights and the strengthening of trade unionism on the international and national levels. 
 
Deadline for nominations for this initial Arthur Svensson International Award for Trade Union Rights is 1 May 2010. The announcement of the winner will be made on 11 October 2010. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1003.Arthur.Svensson.jpg" width="150" height="168"/>
Arthur Svensson
The award comes with a prize of NOK 500,000, equal to €61,016 or US$82,784. ICEM Vice President Liv Undheim (also Vice President of IE) is coordinated the award. Nominations can be sent to her at <a href="mailto:liv.undheim@industrienergi.no">liv.undheim@industrienergi.no</a>, or faxed to +47 23 06 1360. 
 
Arthur Svensson was a long-time leader of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund, the Norwegian Chemical Workers’ Association, which merged with NOPEF on 4 September 2006 to form IE. Svensson died in 2008, but left a legacy in Norway and beyond as a man who promoted global peace, disarmament, and a nuclear weapons-free world. 
 
He was also a driving force from his leadership positions of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund in Norwegian environment law, and a strong proponent of clean energy to drive clean industries. But first and foremost, he was a dedicated trade unionist, maintaining membership in LO-Norway for 61 years, the final 48 of those years with the Chemical Workers. 
 
Announcement of the award can be found <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/industrienergi_annonse_ENG.pdf" type="internal">here</a>.

Norway’s IE Union Announces Arthur Svensson Labour Rights Award

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Gabon’s oil workers agreed to call off a strike that was to begin 13 March, when government officials entered into negotiations with the 20,000-member National Organisation of Petroleum Workers (ONEP). The strike was set to commence over Gabon’s set of revised regulations governing the sector. 
 
The government has angered workers in the sector by proposing to place the energy sector onto the list of services that must remain uninterrupted, together with health services and transport. The move would make it impossible for workers to take legitimate strike action in future disputes, and would undermine an equal playing field regarding collective bargaining. The industry already suffers from unequal and low salary levels, as well as inadequate protection over working hours. 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Gabon.png" width="250" height="115" alt=""/>
Both sides have announced their commitment to reaching agreement soon, and open negotiations are continuing in the West African country. 
 
The strike threatened to halt production of about 250,000 barrels of crude per day in Gabon, Africa's seventh largest producer.

Strike Avoided in Gabon’s Oil Sector

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The latest in a series of Caspian Sea Oil & Gas Workers’ Network meetings took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 22-23 February, again with support fro the German Friedrich-Ebert Foundation (FES). FES’s local representative in Baku, Rashad Huseynli, actively participating in the event. 
 
Lars Myhre, chair of ICEM’s Energy Industries Section and a founder of Norwegian affiliate Industri Energi (IE), again headed this year’s discussions. IE has played a strong role in the network since its inception and has carried out extensive bilateral programmes and exchanges with the host union, the Oil and Gas Workers Union of Azerbaijan. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1003.baku.conference.jpg" width="280" height="174"/>
Some of the participants at the Caspian Workers’ Network 
Delegates attending came from the Russia Oil & Gas Workers’ Union (ROGWU), led by President Lev Mironov, and included representatives from the trade union structures of both Gazprom and Rosneft. The host union delegation, led by President Jahangir Aliev, included a representative from the Lukoil trade union in Azerbaijan, as well as the newly-elected chairman of the trade union branch at the Caspian Shipyard Company. 
 
Workers here had seen the success of oil workers’ organising at various contract company operations and began organising themselves. The union is the latest branch structure to affiliate to the Oil and Gas Workers’ Union of Azerbaijan, which has successfully organised over 400 of the 650 workers at the shipyard. Apologies for absence were received from ICEM affiliates Petrol-Iş of Turkey and the Oil Workers of Kazakhstan, active members of the network. Both unions were unable to attend because of important meetings in their respective countries. 
 
After an opening session and delegate introductions, updates were given on ICEM activities in Eastern Europe/Central Asia by ICEM Regional Coordinator Anatoly Surin. Jim Catterson, ICEM’s Energy Industries Officer, gave an overview of the oil and gas sectors globally. Delegates then shared detailed information on the latest situations in their country’s energy sectors, covering such issues as organising, terms and conditions of employment, and recent investments by various multinational companies. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1003.baku.conference.2.JPG" width="290" height="194"/>
Front, from left: Oil and Gas Workers’ Union of Azerbaijan Leader Jahangir Aliyev, ICEM’s Anatoly Surin, and Lev Mironov, President of ROGWU 
Lars Myhre gave a detailed presentation on the various agreements that IE has covering Statoil in Norway. 
 
The previous meeting of the Network had formulated a declaration of common social standards to aim for in national negotiations, and this meeting focused on the potential for engaging the multinational companies operating in the Caspian region in a regional social dialog forum. Detailed presentations covering their operations in the Caspian were given by management representatives of both Statoil of Norway and SOCAR, the state-owned company of Azerbaijan that is in the process of expanding regionally, having recently purchased a refinery in Turkey. Both presentations led to lively question and answer sessions. 
 
After a general presentation by Jim Catterson on ICEM activities regarding Social Dialog including Global Framework Agreements (GFAs), presentations were made by Myhre and Lev Mironov on the GFAs that ICEM has with Statoil and Lukoil. 
 
In conclusion, delegates emphasized that the meeting had been extremely useful and had led to a considerable exchange of valuable information. It was time, however, to make the work of the Network more comprehensive and to ensure an effective information exchange occurs between network meetings. 
 
With this in mind, ICEM was asked to create a section of the ICEM website which would initially include the background material and presentations made at the meeting, as well as a report on the discussions. ICEM would also circulate a questionnaire asking all network members to detail the companies that operate in their section of the Caspian and give information on workforce numbers, trade union organization, and terms and conditions of employment. 
 
The results of the questionnaire would also be published. The study would also give a basis as to which companies to approach in order to establish routine social dialog at this regional level. Since ROGWU is considering introducing a system of video-conferencing for routine communication with regions across the Russian Federation, ICEM will also explore the use of this technology for more frequent exchanges. 
 
The work of the Caspian Sea Oil & Gas Workers’ Network will also form part of the agenda of the forthcoming ICEM World Conference for the Energy Industries, to be held in Stavanger, Norway, from 6-8 September.

Energy Workers’ Network of Caspian Meets in Baku

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The first round of collective negotiations in the German chemicals and pharmaceutical industries proved futile, with the employers’ BAVC Chemical Industry Association infuriating ICEM affiliate IGBCE and its 550,000 chemical workers by citing the economic crisis as the reason for not offering pay rises. 
 
Bargaining at the different state levels broke off the week of 22 March. The second round of talks will take place now at the federal level in Würzburg, Germany, on 20-21 April. Contracts for workers at some 1,900 companies expired on 31 March in some states, and expire in other German states on 30 April. 
 
At a press conference at IGBCE headquarters in Hannover on 31 March, the union made it clear that a wage increase is in order because the country’s chemicals industry has weathered the crisis, with a substantive upswing realized in the second half of 2009. 
 
Much of that can be attributed to sacrifices of workers in helping their companies cope with the crisis, including shortened work hours at reduced pay. Also in 2009, some 130,000 workers at 347 companies did not take scheduled pay increases because of the crisis. 
 
The union also cites job security as paramount in this round of negotiations. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1004.peter.hausmann.igbce.jpg" width="250" height="188"/>
Peter Hausmann
Peter Hausmann, IGBCE Governing Board member, who heads the union’s Collective Bargaining Department, said employers in the opening round of talks completely missed the union’s initiatives to continue strengthening the industry. IGBCE stressed that job and skills retention and avoiding compulsory redundancies is essential for competitiveness. The union also proposes to continue to create training opportunities for young workers. 
 
Hausmann said the employers’ response to the dedication made by German chemical workers during the economic crisis was one of ridicule, as well as ignoring the sacrifices that were made. “It was a completely absurd assessment of the economic situation,” said Hausmann, adding such posturing is not conducive to productive social dialogue. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMchemical2.jpg.JPG" width="140" height="138"/>
The IGBCE maintains that recovery in Germany’s chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors in 2009 and a bright forecast in 2010 means these industries are better positioned for immediate wage growth than other industries to resuscitate the economy. The BAVC, almost assuredly, is using February’s early settlement in the German metals and electronics sectors as a blueprint for all industries. In that, IF Metall deferred a wage increase until spring 2011. 
 
IGBCE is calling on the BAVC to return to bargaining by meeting the union’s call for further negotiated training positions to assure future competiveness. Through novel negotiating between the two parties, life-long opportunities for young workers to take skilled jobs in chemicals and pharmaceuticals increased by 9.4% between 2003 and 2008. But between 2008 and 2009, those opportunities decreased, largely due to the crisis. 
 
IGBCE is willing to take a 12-month contract in the upcoming Würzburg talks. Traditionally, the union and BAVC have negotiated two-year agreements.

German Chemicals Pact Elusive in First Round of Talks

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On 23 March, 8,000 members of the ICEM affiliate in the UK, GMB, voted for strike action against British Gas by 82%. Upon releasing the ballot results, GMB General Secretary Paul Kenny said, “It is now time for them to sit up and take notice. We are giving British Gas a week to give us a constructive response.” 
 
Last week, GMB got that constructive response. The electric and gas utility that is owned by Centrica Plc. began positive discussions with the union and as a result, threatened strike action was halted. 
 
GMB and management of British Gas issued a joint statement saying a new relationship will be “built on trust and the ability to have frank, honest debate.” The two sides will use the month of April to engage in substantive negotiations on pay and work conditions. “Neither party will be seeking to undermine the other in these talks,” read the statement. 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0911.Paul.Kenny.GMB.png" width="68" height="100" alt=""/>
Paul Kenny
As a start, the company has separated a performance management process from arbitrary discipline, something that had been used indiscriminately in recent months to reprimand engineers, service and repair mechanics, and other workers. The union and company also agreed to zero tolerance on bullying, an issue brought forward through a GMB workers’ survey that revealed overwhelmingly that a “bullying management culture” had set in. 
 
The two sides agreed also to job times. Kenny said last week’s “discussions have not been easy, but we do now have a platform on which to build relations. 
 
“It is positive that the company respects the position of GMB.” 
 
British Gas Managing Director Phil Bentley stated, “We remain committed to growth and as British Gas grows we want to create an environment in which our union relationships develop with us. Looking forward, we have the opportunity to work together with GMB to agree a new and exciting future for our engineers.” 
 
GMB’s 21 national shop stewards at British Gas will meet this week with management to formalise the process forward. A short two months ago, GMB and British Gas were completely polarised, as reflected in <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3604-GMB-to-Take-Strike-Ballot-at-British-Gas-This-Week " type="internal">this</a> ICEM dispatch then. The ICEM commends our British affiliate, and senior management of the company, in establishing the proper social protocol to resolve outstanding issues.

GMB Lifts Strike Action Against British Gas; Positive Dialogue Takes Hold

Tom Albanese 
 
CEO 
 
Rio Tinto plc 
2 Eastbourne Terrace 
London 
W2 6LG 
United Kingdom 
 
Fax: +44 (0)20 7781 1800 
 
<a href="mailto:tom.albanese@riotinto.com">tom.albanese@riotinto.com</a> 
 

Dear Mr. Albanese: 
 
We are writing to condemn Rio Tinto for the vicious attack on members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) at your mine in Boron, California in the United States. The lockout by Rio Tinto is clearly aimed at destroying the union and the community that has sustained the mine for over 90 years. 
 
Our union still remembers the successful ICEM campaign against Rio Tinto in 2000 that stopped your company’s effort to destroy trade unions in Australia, U.S. and elsewhere. The damage to Rio Tinto’s reputation still lingers, and it hard for any trade union to believe your claims about practicing sustainable development when you continue to attack trade unions and communities. 
 
Rio Tinto’s insistence on having the right to dismiss some workers for any reason; award jobs at will to outside contractors; dismiss miners in dangerous occupations for refusing to work overtime; and discriminate against union supporters and older workers are in violation of the fundamental principles of the International Labor Organization. 
Norway's Government Pension Fund divested $850 million (USD) of Rio Tinto shares in 2008 due to your company’s unethical practices which further damaged your company’s reputation. It is apparent that Rio Tinto cares little for its standing among the investment community or the public. 
 
We fully support the ILWU and the campaign being launched by the ICEM against your company. We demand that you end this unjust lockout immediately and return to the bargaining table. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
 
Name of Union Officer ____________ 
 
Name of Union __________________

Letter of Condemnation of Rio Tinto Lock Out

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In Thailand, a 28 February deadline awaits for some two million migrant workers from Burma, Cambodia, and Laos to either register through a complex “Nationality Verification” process, or leave the country. The Royal Thai Government’s Cabinet of Ministers issued this binding and unjust ultimatum on 19 January. 
 
But a groundswell of momentum, both inside and outside of Thailand, is taking shape to convince the government that this is a bad idea, considering alone that 80% of these workers are Burmese who face persecution and imprisonment on ethnic and political grounds if they return to Burma. For migrant workers who have valid 2009 Thai work permits, they will have to submit biographical information to their home governments by 28 February. For those who do not enter the “Nationality Verification” process, they will be deported. 
 
Since the early 1990s, Thai authorities have conducted a somewhat cumbersome, yearly, 30-day registration period in which illegal migrant workers register for a work permit, receive a one-year amnesty to work in Thailand, and then fill many jobs in a bustling economy that most Thai workers do not want. But now with last month’s change, and in just five weeks time, migrant workers have been thrown into unsecure futures where exploitation and possible malicious job treatment await. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Thailand.png" width="250" height="115"/>
The ICEM has joined Thai affiliated unions and NGOs in seeking to relax this ruling. Other Global Union Federations also are expected to take up the call. The ICEM stands behind the 170,000-member State Enterprise Workers’ Relations Confederation (SERC), the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, and other unions and NGOs who are working to repeal this rule. 
 
An ICEM letter to the Thai Prime Minister can be found <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/10.prime.minister.thailand.pdf" type="internal">here</a>, and ICEM also has written to ILO Director-General Juan Somavia and to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, under the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, calling the 28 February deadline impractical. 
 
From ICEM’s Thai affiliates, and from the Migrant Justice Programme of the Human Rights and Development Foundation, the ICEM has learned that of tens of thousands of migrant workers in Thailand right now are living in fear, confused by the “Nationality Verification” process and concerned whether or not they will have to live and work underground. 
 
The ICEM is deeply concerned that unregulated labour brokers are already duping migrant workers in charging excessive fees to handle the filing process. Reports indicate that fees in the range of 6,000 to 7,000 Thai baht (€130-150) are being charged, despite the official Thai processing fees for “Nationality Verification” being only a fraction of that. 
 
The ICEM is also disturbed that the Thai government has done little in public awareness to make the directive and the deadline known. This has only propagated the confusion and fear of migrant workers. 
 
And one fact underlines the entire Thai migrant policy resolution of 19 January: the overwhelming numbers of migrant workers employed in Thailand are Burmese and ethnic minorities from inside Burma. In many cases, registry with the military junta there, or expulsion from Thailand for failing to register altogether, is a sure ticket to persecution of Burmese workers if they are returned, or of family members if they are not.

Resistance Builds Against Thai Migrant Worker Expulsion

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The workers’ trade union of Cosmos Petroleum Services, Peru, has begun an indefinite strike action following two years of unsuccessful attempts to halt abuses of labour rights in the country. Cosmos is an outsource contractor to Brazilian oil and gas multinational Petrobras. Petrobras Peru’s centre of operations is located at Lote X in the El Alto Province, where the conflict is now occurring with workers calling on Petrobras to take responsibility for the conduct of its contractor. 
 
The minimum monthly wage for a Peruvian Petrobras employee is 950 soles, or US$330, and workers of Cosmos are demanding an increase to receive at least that minimum. 
 
Union General Secretary Julio Rigoberto Alarcón Fiestas points to the contract agreed between Petrobras and Cosmos on 28 February 2008, that sets forth the extremely low for contract workers. He said that service contract did not account for overtime or bonuses, and in fact was in breach of Peruvian national legislation. 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMOil.JPG" width="140" height="142" alt=""/>
He added that even the minimal contractual responsibilities of Cosmos to its staff have not been respected and the union cites numerous abuses, including wage and social benefits below the contractual minimum and information not being made available to workers. 
 
The workers’ union of Cosmos Petroleum Services asks for support in getting their employer to meet its contractual obligations on wages, and on where and how withheld money is used. 
 
The strike is a brave step for the union, as Cosmos management previously had illustrated its contempt toward union activists in the third quarter of 2008 by suspending workers. The company said financial concerns as the reason, despite that period being a boom in the industry. The suspensions were followed by the cancelling of the workers’ reemployment, along with cancellation of all redundancy payments. 
 
These actions were then endorsed by Petrobras but were later met by rulings from Peruvian labour authorities that opposed the unilateral actions. These rulings were ignored by Cosmos management. 
 
Union officials at Cosmos also criticize management for refusing to seek a solution during collective bargaining when the previous agreement ended last year. 
 
The ICEM calls on Petrobras to take responsibility for its outsourced workers at Cosmos Peru, and encourages the Brazilian company to step in and settle this conflict. 
 
Petrobras is the largest company in Latin America and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere, with output of more than two million barrels of oil equivalent per day. It is also a major distributor of oil products.

Workers of Petrobras Contractor in Peru Take Strike Action

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