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A vote by two UK unions for industrial action against Imerys has moved the French materials company back to the negotiations table over a contentious pension issue. Union members of ICEM affiliates Transport &amp; General (T&amp;G) and GMB voted to take industrial action at Imerys&rsquo; English China Clay at several southwestern UK worksites. Rather than face an angry 2,500 workers ready to disrupt operations over pensions being chopped, Imerys agreed to negotiate after a meeting between T&amp;G General Secretary Tony Woodley and corporate managers of the company. 
Imerys previously had refused any dialogue over its plan to close the pension scheme to new workers and cut anywhere from 33-40% in pension benefits to existing workers. In the US, Imerys workers in Dry Branch, Georgia, represented by another ICEM affiliate, USW, ratified a three-year agreement with the company, but fellow USW union members in Sylacauga, Alabama, still seek a commitment from management that it cease union-busting.

UK Unions, Imerys Agree to Re-start Pension Talks

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Paperiliitto in Finland rejected a second federal mediator&rsquo;s proposal last week that again falls far short of preserving the continuity of family-sustaining papermaking jobs. 
The paper employers&rsquo; association last week extended a lockout on 25,000 workers that began 18 May to a seventh week, or until 15 July. The mediator&rsquo;s proposal, if it had been accepted, would have given paper companies the unlimited right to outsource work, thus transferring all maintenance, security and cleaning work to non-regular employees. The proposal again rejects Paperiliitto&rsquo;s compromise on for continuous operation of paper mills. In paper converting, companies could schedule 12-hour work-shifts without overtime compensation. 
Global support among workers remains strong for Paperiliitto, with French affiliate FILPAC-CGT issuing a powerful statement of solidarity. In North America, union members of seven unions&mdash;including ICEM affiliates USW in US and CEP in Canada&mdash;demonstrated in support of the Finnish union at mills of Stora Enso and UPM Kymmene, two leading Finnish companies behind the employers&rsquo; association. In the UK, Amicus also voiced strong support at UK paper mills on behalf of Paperiliitto. 
And EMCEF&rsquo;s presidium, meeting in Greece 14 June, issued a communiqu&eacute; fully supportive of Finnish workers in its &ldquo;fight to fend off the harsh concessionary demands put forward by the Finnish Forest Industries. The demands are totally unacceptable and the EMCEF presidium is shocked by the behaviour of the Finnish employers in this conflict.&rdquo;

Finnish Paper Union Again Rejects Mediator&#039;s Proposal

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Both South Korea&rsquo;s national centers are ready for a general strike in early July if the ruling Uri Party pushes through a non-regular workers&rsquo; bill, aimed at undermining workplace rights and union protections. Members of the Democratic Labor Party, backed by trade unions, have staged sit-ins in the Assembly to block the measure, which would give companies in 26 business sectors the right to extend contract or agency labour for up to three years. 
The FKTU is joined by the larger and generally more conservative Korean Federation of Trade Unions in calling for the general strike. &ldquo;The Parliamentary committee on labor and environmental issues is poised to railroad the bill as drafted by government regardless of the argument made during the three-party negotiations. We will not hesitate to launch a general strike,&rdquo; FKTU said in a statement.

South Korea Braces for General Strike over Irregular Workers&#039; Bill

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A branch leader of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) was run over and killed by a cement mixing truck 14 June while striking with ICEM-affiliated FKTU-Chemical Workers Union. Kim Tae-hwan, leader of the Chungju branch of FKTU, was killed when police ordered a replacement driver through a picket line at cement company Sajo Remicon. 
Drivers are seeking to unionise with FKTU-Chemical Workers Union and gain permanent work status, as well as qualify for full rights under Korea&rsquo;s Labor Standards Act. They have been on recognition strikes since 8 June at three cement companies. The drivers are considered selfemployed contract workers, contrary to union beliefs. On 18 June, 6,000 workers together with other activists rallied at the city hall of Chungju demanding accountability for Kim&rsquo;s murder, including accountability of ten police officers that were at the picket line scene on 14 June.

Korean Labour Leader Killed on the Picket Line

ICEM affiliate National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) is in dispute with German rubber producer Continental Tyre over shift changes and restructuring at a Port Elizabeth factory. Up to 200 of the plant&rsquo;s 1,400 workers could be retrenched under a company plan to cut weekend shift operations and manpower in various departments. Because management imposed the restructuring without consultation with NUMSA&mdash;a violation of the tyre industry agreement&mdash;over 300 workers staged spontaneous stop-work actions last week.

NUMSA Takes Issue with Continental Tyre&#039;s Restructuring

The USW is protesting against the Bush government&rsquo;s weakening of mine safety regulations regarding underground fumes. Bush&rsquo;s Department of Labor (DOL) relaxed rules on necessary engineering controls in monitoring metal and non-metal mines in favour of a new standard that expands the use of respirators for workers. 
But DOL&rsquo;s Mine Safety &amp; Health Administration (MSHA) did not go far enough in requiring employers to medically test workers for their ability to use respirators safely, an obvious slight for miners with undiagnosed heart and lung problems. USW Health, Safety and Environment Director Mike Wright called it &ldquo;a gift to (Bush administration) supporters in the mining industry. It&rsquo;s entirely political, and I suspect the decision was made over the objections of MSHA health staff, who certainly know better.&rdquo; The USW said it would challenge the respiration revisions in court.

Steelworkers Protest Mine Fumes Standard to US Government

United Steelworkers (USW) and Bridgestone-Firestone in the US reached tentative labour agreements on 8 June covering 6,000 workers at eight plants. The proposed agreements include the union&rsquo;s master rubber contract for plants in Akron, Ohio, Des Moines, Iowa, LaVergne, Tennessee, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Noblesville, Indiana, and Russellville, Arkansas, and accords at plants in Bloomington, Illinois, and Warren County, Tennessee. Steelworker members at those locations will review and vote on the proposals over the next few weeks. 
The labour agreements will run until 23 July 2006. If ratified, the Bridgestone agreement will complete master rubber bargaining in America the USW, which represents 70,000 workers in the industry. Prior contracts were achieved with Goodyear, Michelin&rsquo;s BF Goodrich tyre unit, and Yokohama Corp.

Steelworkers Reach Accord with Bridgestone in US

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ICEM affiliate FNV Bondgenoten will find out today how serious Shell Nederland is to resolving a pension dispute. The company will present an alternative over a prior, inadequate proposal to the union and the Central Works Council. 
If the offer does not improve and further bargaining is not renewed by 21 June, Bondgenoten is prepared to commence strikes by late summer. Shell needs to maximize premium payments for workers under the Dutch pension system so they too, like nearly all Dutch workers, become eligible for early retirement.

FNV Bondegenoten, Shell Work to Resolve Pension Issues

ICEM German affiliate IGBCE entered a second round of bargaining with chemical employers 7 June with hopes of achieving a real wage increase for 550,000 workers, as well as special bonuses for trade union members. IGBCE also seeks to include more mid-level and small chemical employers in mandatory industry pension plans. The union and chemical employers association BAVC, representing 1,900 companies, did make progress in May talks toward increasing the number of trainees in the chemicals sector and establishing a fund to pay special stipends to workers in the event of job displacement.

IGBCE, Employers Continue Efforts to Resolve Chemical Talks

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Bargaining will resume today in the lockout of 25,000 paperworkers in Finland. The Executive Committee of Paperiliitto on 5 June rejected a mediator&rsquo;s proposal that, on the whole, sided with many of the concessionary proposals put forward by the Finnish Forest Industries Federation. Those proposals would have given paper companies the unlimited right to outsource work that would see as many as one-third of all full-time paper sector jobs disappear, and would have weakened worker protections against layoffs. 
Employers have now extended the lockout to six weeks, or until 29 June. EMCEF announced that it will investigate whether Finnish paper firms forced the lockout in order to increase paper prices through reduced supply and the ICEM continues to encourage paper sector unions across Europe not to accept work orders from Finnish paper mills and converters.

Finnish Affiliate Rejects Paper Companies Harsh Concessions

Archive

UK Unions, Imerys Agree to Re-start Pension Talks

Finnish Paper Union Again Rejects Mediator's Proposal

South Korea Braces for General Strike over Irregular Workers' Bill

Korean Labour Leader Killed on the Picket Line

NUMSA Takes Issue with Continental Tyre's Restructuring

Steelworkers Protest Mine Fumes Standard to US Government

Steelworkers Reach Accord with Bridgestone in US

FNV Bondegenoten, Shell Work to Resolve Pension Issues

IGBCE, Employers Continue Efforts to Resolve Chemical Talks

Finnish Affiliate Rejects Paper Companies Harsh Concessions

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