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

ICEM Vice President and Women&rsquo;s Vice-Chair Binda Pandey was arrested 10 April in Katmandu, Nepal, for protesting with the pro-democracy masses against the country&rsquo;s absolute monarchy. Early April in Nepal spawned several mass protests that resulted in some 4,000 arrests with royal troops and security forces using tear gas, rubber bullets and baton charges to disperse protestors. Nepal became a total monarchy in October 2002 when King Gyanendra dissolved Parliament and took absolute powers. Pandey, a leader of the Nepal Independent Chemical and Iron Workers&rsquo; Union, was released following her 10 April arrest and she thanks the ICEM and all affiliates for support. She also reports that unionists from GEFONT that were detained were also released.

Nepal Arrests ICEM Women’s Leader Binda Pandey

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled that a shareholder resolution offered by PACE Union must be submitted to shareholders of DuPont on the chemical firm&rsquo;s 2004 Proxy Statement. The resolution urges DuPont&rsquo;s board of directors to adopt, implement and enforce a company-wide human rights policy based on the ILO&rsquo;s Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

PACE of US Will Bring DuPont Resolution to AGM

After intense bargaining going back to December, affiliate Papersindustriarbetaref&ouml;rbundet reached a labour accords 18 March with social partners. The wage hikes negotiated in pulp and paper are expected to be the benchmark for Swedish workers in all sectors, and fall within the functioning pay determination system of Swedish inflation. As negotiated by the union, pulp and paper sector workers will receive increases of 2.5% in 2004, 2.1% in 2005 and 2.1% in 2006. Achievements were also made to narrow the gender pay gap.

Swedish Pappers Union Gets Pay Accord in Pulp and Paper

The CEP of Canada has chosen Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. as lead company for paper industry bargaining in eastern Canada. CEP represents 4,200 workers at 14 Abitibi worksites from Ontario to Newfoundland. The agreement with Montreal based Abitibi will be used as a pattern for talks with other paper companies covering 21,000 CEP members. The current labour agreement in pulp and paper in the eastern half of the country expires 30 April.

Abitibi Chosen as Lead in Canadian CEP Paper Bargaining

ICEM Dutch affiliate FNV Bondgenoten and four other unions at DSM&rsquo;s chemical plant in Geleen engaged in a stop-work march and rally 12 April at the firm&rsquo;s headquarters in nearby Heerlen in the southern NL province of Limburg. Some 2,500 workers participated in this first-ever such action against DSM. Under the slogan &ldquo;Stop the Breakdown of DSM Employment in Limburg,&rdquo; the unions protested DSM&rsquo;s recent announcement that 1,000 workers at sprawling industrial chemicals operations would be made redundant this year. DSM intends to replace the 1,000 with 500 contractors. The Geleen complex once had 15,000 employees. Prior to this most recent announcement, it employed 5,000.

FNV Bondgenoten Protests DSM’s Retrenchments in the Netherlands

The National Union of Mineworkers in South Africa still has not received answers to the sudden lay-offs of 400 diamond miners employed by Antwerp-based Rex Diamond Mining at the Loxton Mine in the Northern Cape. Despite inquiries by the NUM and ICEM over the status of the miners, the firm has said only the retrenchments are of a &ldquo;short term arrangement,&rdquo; yet has provided no information that would clarify the benefits due the workers.

South Africa’s NUM Awaits Answers from Rex Diamond

The Communications, Energy, Paperworkers Union of Canada picked Suncor Energy last month as the pattern-setter for this year&rsquo;s round of oil talks. That means some 10,000 CEP members at five majors and several smaller companies will have similar terms in pay hikes, shift increases and other wage-related premiums at their bargains. General pay hikes agreed to at Suncor are 3%, 3.5% and 3% over three years. The Suncor agreement has a unique company contribution to CEP&rsquo;s Humanity Fund, the union&rsquo;s assistance fund to workers in developing nations. Union leaders have made it clear that CEP members across Canada&rsquo;s oil sector are determined to get the same terms as those achieved at Suncor.

Canadian CEP Sets Oil Pattern with Suncor

A dispute has surfaced between ICEM affiliate Associated Mineworkers of Zimbabwe and that country&rsquo;s Council of Mines. The employers&rsquo; group walked out of negotiations after refusing to award reasonable wage and salary adjustments, and then unilaterally granted inferior pay hikes amounting to half of what AMWZ considers a liveable wage. Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Ministry of Labour has intervened and ordered the matter be put before conciliation.
&nbsp;

Mining Dispute in Zimbabwe Centers on Wages

ICEM affiliate NUM has called for the South African government to revoke the mining license of Durban Roodeport Deep (DRDGold). NUM cites DRDGold&rsquo;s atrocious safety record, as well as its negative labour relations practices. On 9 March, an earth tremor struck the firm&rsquo;s North West mine operations at Hartebeestfontein leaving scores of miners trapped for several hours due to DRDGold&rsquo;s insufficient rescue abilities. Two miners died and 23 were injured. And then a week later the company suddenly closed the Blyvooruitzicht mine near Carltonville without giving the necessary statutory notice. Some 300 women who haul waste rock from that mine for residual gold processing by DRDGold lost their jobs. NUM wants DRDGold to exit the mining business and hand operations off to a company with more integrity and more concern for workers.

NUM in South Africa Seeks License Revocation of DRDGold

A 15 March manifestation in Paris over Total&rsquo;s decision to cut jobs at a petrochemical plant in Saint-Auban, Alpes-de-Haute Provence, has pushed the company off rationalisation of its Ark&eacute;ma subsidiary. Total&rsquo;s plan was to cut 548 jobs, 380 of them at the plant in southeastern France. ICEM affiliate FCE-CFDT, along with CGT, took action with workers of the subsidiary in Paris and the company suspended the plan. Worker representatives and managers at the 1,000-worker Saint-Auban plant will now sit down to examine worker proposals for costs savings. FCE-CFDT predicted economic disaster for all workers in management&rsquo;s restructuring had occurred.

French Strike Cancels Total’s Chemical Plant Restructuring

Archive