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

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
In Spain early this month, national union federations DGB of Germany and CC.OO and UGT of Spain were full social partners at the 23rd Spanish-German Summit. In common, they took the opportunity to issue a strong statement that government measures stemming from the economic crisis have benefited markets, but done nothing for social cohesion. 
 
The national trade union centers also took issue with German Chancellor Andrea Merkel&rsquo;s economic proposition heading into the summit to restrict wage growth by linking salaries to productivity and inflation. Leaders of the three federations &ndash; Michael Sommer of DGB, Ignacio Fern&aacute;ndez Toxo of CC.OO, and C&aacute;ndido M&eacute;ndez of UGT &ndash; were part of a tripartite event at the summit that also included CEOs from Telef&oacute;nica, Deutsche Telekom, Iberdrola, Siemens, Acciona, and other corporations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="49" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="90" height="90" /><img alt="" src="" width="120" height="67" />
In the statement, the federations said compliance with &ldquo;the agenda established at the G20 in London for new regulation of the international financial system&rdquo; must be a priority. They also gave full support to the European Trade Union Confederation&rsquo;s (ETUC) rejection of European Commission proposals for financial governance, and bluntly said, &ldquo;Today&rsquo;s European governments aim to lay the burden of the crisis on workers and pensions.&rdquo; 
 
Citing social inequality as a trigger to the economic collapse, the statement said structural reform and fiscal consolidation concerning pensions overhaul, welfare cut-backs, and weakening of collective bargaining laws &ldquo;will not lead to the recovery of the European economies. Quite the opposite. This erroneous conception is holding back a solution to the crisis and promoting social injustice.&rdquo; 
 
The statement also hit out at judgments from the European Court of Justice that wrongly regularize social and wage dumping, including the Vikking, Lava, R&uuml;ffert, and Luxembourg cases. 
 
The DGB, CC.OO, and UGT also said it agrees with analysts who say &ldquo;Europe is losing its values and its soul,&rdquo; and used as case example Tunisia and the fact that European governments held back until the very end condemnation of dictator Ben Ali and support for a people&rsquo;s democratic movement.

DGB, CC.OO, UGT Forge Common Ground on Euro Jobs, Economy

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A national settlement was signed on 11 February in Delhi bringing significant wage improvements to 125,000 workers in the Indian cement industry. Workers will receive an increase of up to 3,500 Indian Rupees (US$77) per month. 
 
The ICEM-affiliated Indian National Cement Workers&rsquo; Federation (INCWF) led the negotiations under President Sanjeeva Reddy. There was good cooperation with all other Cement Workers' Federations in the talks with the Cement Manufacturers' Association, representing 23 major employers in the sector. The INCWF is also affiliated to the Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI). 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="136" />
Sanjeeva Reddy
Negotiations were chaired by Chief Labour Commissioner N. K. Prasad. The settlement is valid for a period of four years from 1 April 2010. Continuous negotiations have been occurring since then when the INCWF submitted its demands for an agreement, following the termination of the previous settlement of April 2005. The repeated failures of the parties to reach agreement led them to request arbitration by the Chief Labour Commissioner. 
 
The new agreement includes improved allowances for education of workers&rsquo; children and for travel. The raise is equal across all grades of the pay scale. Arrears will be paid in April and August this year. 
 
The INCWF and other trade union signatories to the agreement have distributed it widely and hope that it will serve as a model for workers in cement companies outside of the Cement Manufacturers' Association, of which there are 18.

Finally, Excellent Wage Gains Won by Indian Cement Workers

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Effective 1 March, some 200 transport workers at the Tkibuli-Mindeli coal mines in Imerti region, Georgia, will receive between 20-40% salary increases, depending on job classification, thanks to a 1-2 February strike by 600 members of the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union. 
 
That strike, on the heels of a methane gas explosion that killed one miner and seriously injuring four others, proved highly successful at 1,050-worker Saknakhshiri, or Geo-Coal, with management immediately agreeing to recognise the ICEM affiliate. Saknakhshiri is owned by Georgian Investment Group (GIG), a diverse conglomerate controlled by Georgian politician Davit Bezhuashvili. 
 
The 20-40% salary hikes for mine transport workers was agreed to in initial bargaining on 7 February. On 20 February, the union and management, together with the President of the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), Irakli Petriasvili, will resume talks on behalf of 650 underground miners over safety, pay, and other work terms. 
<img src="" width="220" height="165" alt="" />
Left -&nbsp;Irakli Petriashvili, President of GTUC
Following the methane gas explosion on 21 January &ndash; the third such deadly blast in less than a year at Tkibuli-Mindeli &ndash; workers and their new union demanded modern mine safety equipment to replace Soviet-era equipment in place, and demanded improved work and pay conditions. 
 
The situation was exasperated days after the blast when police arrested two low-level managers as scapegoats for last month&rsquo;s deadly accident. In support of the two and as protest to the overall work and safety conditions, miners staged a two-hour warning strike on 31 January and then began an open-ended strike on 1 February. The strike ended the very next day when management recognised the union and agreed to begin immediate talks with a series of set deadlines leading to a collective agreement no later than 20 March. 
 
Workers began joining the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union after a 27 August 2010 gas blast that killed four and severely injuring six others. On 3 March 2010, another gas explosion filled four and severely burned one other miner. 
 
The Tkibuli-Mindeli coal deposits are the second major set of Georgian workplaces that the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union has organised using direct action in recent months. Last spring, the union staged strike actions at the Zestafoni Ferroalloys plant and Georgian Manganese mines, winning work rights for 5,800 miners and metalworkers. 
Please view an <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP/4229-Strike-Ends-Georgian-Miners-Recognized-at-Tkibuli-Mindeli-Colliery ">ICEM report</a> from last week on the union&rsquo;s recent success at the Tkibuli-Mindeli mines.

Two-Day Strike Wins Georgian Miners, Metalworkers 20-40% Pay Hike

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Copper mining unions at Chuquicamata in Chile&rsquo;s northern Region II are poised to take job action against state-owned Codelco if certain terms and benefits aren&rsquo;t met. Codelco&rsquo;s largest copper mine is undergoing a restructuring that includes a drop in production, retirement severances in order to thin job ranks, and then a multi-year US$2 billion investment to develop and extract copper from underground deposits. 
 
Miners of four local branches of Sindicato Minera Codelco Norte are upset that Codelco has reneged on certain conditions regarding retirement severance benefits. They are also upset that Codelco has refused to negotiate a social plan for job growth at the new underground project, called Chuquicamata Subterr&aacute;nea, a nine-year copper and molybdenum project that will extend Chuquicamata&rsquo;s life span 42 years. 
 
Codelco announced last year that it was cutting production by one-third over the next three years to prepare for the project. In December, senior managers of the national company clashed with supervisors when they pressured bosses to meet retirement quotas in order to set examples at both the Chuquicamata and Radomiro Tomic open-pit operations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="92" />
Now, Codelco has agitated 800 copper workers by reneging on severance entitlements and refusing &ndash; as is the practice in Chile &ndash; to engage legitimate trade unions in meaningfully talks on business development. 
Refusal is common as well regarding trade union engagement over health and safety matters. At a smelting plant that is part of the Chuquicamata mine complex, a worker died following a traumatic injury near a refining furnace. The death occurred on 11 January, 13 days after the accident occurred. In October 2010, a contract worker was killed in a pit when a ten ton rock fell on him. And in December, another contract worker suffered serious spinal injuries while working near a crusher. 
 
Codelco has split apart Chuquicamata and Radomiro Tomic by dissolving its Codelco Norte division and making each mining operation a separate division. The strategy distinctly indicates a move toward privatising. 
Codelco is the world&rsquo;s biggest copper producer and Chuquicamata is the world&rsquo;s second largest copper mine, behind Chile&rsquo;s Escondida mine, owned by BHP Billiton (57.5%) and Rio Tinto (30%). In January 2010, Chuquicamata mining unions staged a two-day strike that won workers sizeable pay gains.

Codelco Copper Miners in Chile Ready Strike Actions at Chuquicamata

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Another methane gas blast inside a Colombian coal mine killed five workers, and seriously injured one. This time it occurred on 1 February at the semi-legal La Escondida colliery in Cunduinamarca department, in a community called Sutatausa, 100 kilometres north of Bogot&aacute;. 
 
Last time was only a fortnight ago when 25 miners died 600 metres inside the La Preciosa Ltda. coal mine in Norte de Santander department. That 26 January tragedy now stands as Colombia&rsquo;s second worst mine disaster in less than a year, behind the San Fernando mine blast on 16 June 2010, where 73 perished in North-West Colombia state. 
 
Following the recent mine deaths, both Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Mines and Energy Minister Carlos Rodado Noreiga admitted the country&rsquo;s Institute of Geology and Mining (Ingeominas) is ill-equipped to handle mine safety and compliance in the nation&rsquo;s burgeoning mining industry. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="146" />
Ingeominas has 17 mine inspectors to handle some 6,000 mines that are currently licensed. Roughly 19% are coal operations, with the vast majority of them underground mines operated by small- and medium-sized businesses. The ICEM reminds that Colombia has many illegally operating mines, with estimates that of every 100 mining enterprises, 51 are operated illegally. 
 
The Escondida mine is in an area called Pe&ntilde;as de Boquer&oacute;n in the central department of Cunduinamarca and was operating under a temporary permit granted by Ingeominas. A day before the tragedy, miners had complained that the ventilation system was not operating adequately and gas levels were rising. 
 
The San Fernando mine blast in June 2010 was Colombia&rsquo;s worst mining accident in 30 years. A preliminary investigation found breach of existing safety regulations, faulty monitoring and detection devices, lack of training and qualification, and unfamiliar explosives used inside the mine. 
 
The list was even more extensive, with all contributing factors listed as preventable. Colombia&rsquo;s underground mine safety regulations fall under the out-dated Decree 1335 of 1987, a regulatory code that is easily breached by small- and medium-size companies. The problem is complicated by the fact that Ingeominas has been too quick to award mining licenses without the proper safety culture or safety equipment. 
 
Colombia has become the world&rsquo;s fifth largest exporter of coal, behind Australia, Russia, South Africa, and Indonesia. There are reported to be 5,800 new mines in various phases of exploration and development and unless the government revamps its internal mine safety structure, and adopts global mine safety standards as outlined in ILO Convention 176, more tragedies are certain to occur.

Colombia’s Second Mine Blast Brings More Alert; 5 More Dead

<img height="39" width="100" src="" alt="" />
Actions around the world have begun, marking the Global Days of Action for trade union rights in Mexico, 14-19 February. Support the campaign now by writing to the Mexican government through the <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=863">LabourStart campaign</a> here.&nbsp; 
 
Today, an international trade union delegation met with the Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. Gomez Camacho, to deliver the demands of the global campaign. Some 60 labour activists turned out. 
<img height="182" width="201" src="" alt="" />
Adriana Rosenzvaig, Manfred Warda, Fernando Lopes
Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary, Fernando Lopes, Assistant General Secretary of the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and Adriana Rosenzvaig, SCORE Director at UNI, met inside with the Ambassador while a demonstration continued outside the Mission. 
Warda said the one-hour-and-twenty-minute meeting proved that Camacho had been briefed on the manifestation's purpose. &quot;The only issue he was not familiar with is protection contracts in Mexico,&quot; said Warda. &quot;We had to explain how these contracts infringe on genuine trade union&nbsp;rights.&quot;
A 50,000 strong march in Mexico City on 31 January saw trade unionists protest shoulder to shoulder against the repressive policies of the Calder&oacute;n regime. The National Union of Miners marched with the Electricians Union, Pilots&rsquo;, Teachers&rsquo;, and farmers&rsquo; organisations, calling for social, political, and economic change. 
<img height="190" width="189" src="" alt="" />
Geneva police question ICEM's Tom Grinter and UNIA's Luis Blanco over rally permit
The Calder&oacute;n government must heed the warnings of this global movement, and end abuses of trade union rights in Mexico. 
 
Rallies and meetings with Mexican Ambassadors will be conducted simultaneously in over 30 countries this week, in a coordinated effort by unions affiliated to the ICEM, IMF, UNI, the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation, and the ITUC. 
Where demonstrations are not possible, unions are sending written protests and demands to the Mexican government from around the world. 
<img height="163" width="368" src="" alt="" />
Mexico City
Australia: The global campaign will hold a launch event with the support of Australian trade unions on 15 February. Co-ordinated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), with support from the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU), the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU), the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), the Australian Workers&rsquo; Union (AWU), and others, a rally and meeting with the Mexican ambassador is planned for 18 February. At the biennial delegates&rsquo; conference of the AWU tomorrow, IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina will address the global campaign on Mexico. 
 
Canada: With coordinating support from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada, the Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW), Transport Workers&rsquo; Union (TWU), and the United Steelworkers (USW), leading actions will occur in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. These will include a meeting with the Mexican ambassador in Canada, and demonstrations, depending on the local circumstances. 
<img height="150" width="200" src="" alt="" />
Toronto, Canada
France: Unions in France are organizing for a delegation to visit the Mexican Embassy in Paris. In addition, through their existing relationship with managers, French unions are also contacting French transnationals on situations of companies&rsquo; production plants in Mexico regarding unions, collective bargaining, and wage and working conditions. 
 
Mexico: Unions in Mexico are planning to take action over the entire week, including a press conference in the capital, rallies at embassies of countries where others are taking action, and a march and seminar on 19 February. The Mexican Miners&rsquo; Union is also planning a series of events in Pasta de Conchos, Puebla, and elsewhere where the union has strong presences. 
<img height="210" width="279" src="" alt="" />
Jakarta, Indonesia
The Netherlands: FNV Bondgenoten will continue its trade union freedom campaign during the global week of action, including media work and asking five Dutch multinationals with protection contracts in Mexico to start dialogue with the trade union. Those companies are AkzoNobel, Heineken, ING, Philips, and Unilever. For more go to: <a href="http://tradeunionfreedom.fnvcompanymonitor.nl/">http://tradeunionfreedom.fnvcompanymonitor.nl/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
<img height="203" width="242" src="" alt="" />
Brussels, Belgium
Russia: Unions in Russia were awarded the right to protest at the Mexican Embassy and are preparing a letter to give to the Mexican ambassador and articles and press coverage on the issue. 
<img height="192" width="252" src="" alt="" />
Moscow, Russia, -25&deg;C
Turkey: Unions in Turkey will mobilize members to visit the Mexican embassy, present a protest letter, and take picket action in front of the embassy. 
<img height="185" width="336" src="" alt="" />
Geneva, Switzerland
US: AFL-CIO and affiliates, including USW are holding events in 14 cities. The ICEM-affiliated United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) is organising actions also in many cities. The priority is to meet with Mexican embassy/consulate officials, supplemented by demonstrations and press work where appropriate. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usyexGRbDgI&amp;feature=autoplay&amp;list=ULOqVyVe-7Clo&amp;index=2&amp;playnext=2">Washington D.C. picket</a>. 
 
Download the <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP">campaign materials</a> here.

Mexico Days of Action Begin

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="59" />
Tomorrow, 8 March, marks the 100th anniversary of International Women&rsquo;s Day (IWD). It is also 16 days before the ICEM&rsquo;s largest Women&rsquo;s Conference ever, when 160 participants from 40 countries convene in Sevilla, Spain. 
 
(There is still time to register and attend the ICEM Women&rsquo;s Conference from 23-25 March. Please refer to the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/En%20Draft%20Agenda_Nove2010%201.pdf">invitation</a>, <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/EN%20Women%20Attendance%20Form-March%202011.doc">registration form</a>, and <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/En%20Draft%20Agenda_Nove2010%201.pdf">tentative agenda</a>. The cover art for this article is courtesy of ICEM German affiliate IGBCE, which has as theme this year, &ldquo;Lay Tomorrow&rsquo;s Foundation Today.&rdquo;) 
 
Some ICEM affiliates have already held IWD events. In Thailand, ICEM-affiliated unions joined other civil society groups in a 6-7 March symposium at Thammasat University in Bangkok. A key point made was that hundreds of thousands of Thai women work longer than eight hours per day at low wages and without social benefits.
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="215" />
ICEM Thai Project Coordinator Aranya Pakapath and GOPTU&rsquo;s Araya Kaewpradap
Araya Kaewpradap of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation Labour Union (GOPTU) said at the symposium that the majority of Thai women are employed under short-term, fixed contracts, although in reality most have worked 20 or more years in such jobs. She said women are discriminated from entitlements, upward wage adjustments, social benefits, maternity protection, and they do not have access to the national social security scheme. 
 
The importance of Thailand ratifying ILO Convention 183 on Maternity Protection was also brought out at the symposium, which was televised throughout the country. Symposium participants and thousands of others will march tomorrow from Democracy Monument to the Government House in Bangkok to mark IWD.
<img alt="" src="" width="320" height="141" />
IWD Thai Symposium at Thammasat University 
In Spain, ICEM&rsquo;s two affiliated trade union federations, UGT and CC.OO, which will jointly co-host the Sevilla Women&rsquo;s Conference in two weeks time, issued a common IWD statement that is critical of Spain&rsquo;s government for labour revisions, &ldquo;which, far from creating employment, is contributing once again to the dismantling of too few labour guarantees.&rdquo; 
 
The statement also said: &ldquo;The elimination of the Ministry of Equality (now part of the Ministry of Health) means a step backwards on gender polices and a violation of the commitments of equality made at European and international levels that instruct governments to treat equality themes at high levels of responsibility.&rdquo; 
<img src="" width="150" height="52" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="" width="90" height="90" alt="" />
Across the world, a great number of &ldquo;bridge walks&rdquo; will occur tomorrow and throughout the rest of the week. The bridge walks, developed last year by programme directors for Women International in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), symbolise awareness toward women facing crises in war-torn countries. 
 
That is sadly reflected now in many countries of North Africa and the Middle East. And it was also on vivid display on Saturday, 5 March, when Israeli border police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinian women, who were holding an IWD manifestation at the Qalandiya border crossing north of Jerusalem. 
 
IWD is meant to be a global day to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future, regardless of national, ethnic, or social divisions. In 1910, Clara Zetkin of Germany&rsquo;s Social Democratic Party tabled the idea at the Second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Denmark. 
 
A year later, on 19 March, IWD was officially recognised by Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. In 1913, IWD was moved to 8 March. Today, it is an official holiday in 25 countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, Laos, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia. 
 
In the US, March is Women&rsquo;s History Month and it will take on special significance this month. It was in New York City, on 25 March 1911, when 146 mostly girls and young women, ages 14 to 23, perished in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. The seamstresses were unable to escape the burning building after owners had locked stairwells and exits. US trade unions will commemorate this horrible affront to working women in several different events across the month of March. 
 
ICEM affiliates are encouraged to report their IWD actions and activities to <a href="mailto:carol.bruce@icem.org">Carol Bruce</a>, ICEM&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s Officer.

100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day!

The second 24-hour strike at paperboard plants in Spain set for tomorrow, 3 March, was cancelled after ICEM&rsquo;s two affiliates and the employers&rsquo; association reached accord early today (2 March) in Madrid. 
 
Trade unions FSC-CCOO and FIA-UGT reached agreement with Aspapel on a three-year national labour agreement for the paperboard sector that wins a 3% retroactive increase for 17,500 workers to 1 January 2010. Retroactive to 1 January 2011 will be a one percent salary increase, plus the amount of Spain&rsquo;s consumer price increase (CPI). 
 
In 2012, another one percent was won atop the CPI. The Spanish unions also succeeded in keeping sweeping flexibility changes out of the national agreement. A special commission will be established to study that for possible future implementation on the local level. 
 
Without question, the success of a 23 February day-long work stoppage can be attributed to Aspapel and paper industry employers finally moving on a lapsed 2010 national contract. It is obvious by the terms of this agreement that employers did not want another such strike, scheduled for 3 March. 
 
Some 120 paperboard factories come under the new agreement. 
 
The ICEM congratulates paperworkers of both Spanish federations for their resolve in gaining a fair and current collective agreement, and we also thank the many pulp and paper unions worldwide who sent messages of Solidarity to Spanish paperworkers. 
 
An <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4269-Spain’s-Paperworkers-Shut-Industry;-Will-Strike-Again-3-March">ICEM news piece</a> from 28 February, naming the companies involved and citing details on the 23 February general strike, is available for viewing.

2nd Spanish Paper Strike Called Off; Settlement Reached

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
In a powerful display of international solidarity, the &ldquo;Global Days of Action for Trade Union Rights in Mexico,&rdquo; 14-19 February, were marked by events in over 40 countries, on five continents, including 17 cities in the US and Canada. 
 
The International Textile, Garment, &amp; Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) called for fundamental rights in the Mexican garment sector, where &ldquo;protection contracts&rdquo; deny workers of their basic labour rights, as is the case throughout Mexico. 
 
In Mexico, the independent labour movement conducted over 27 actions throughout the country, including visits to embassies of 23 countries, a march and demonstration in Mexico City from the Angel of Independence to the offices of Grupo M&eacute;xico, seminars, and a protest rally at the Monument of the Revolution. Each day of action was marked inside Mexico. The leaders of Los Mineros and the SME signed a pact of national unity. 
<img alt="" src="" width="368" height="163" />
Mexico City
An agreement was reached with the US embassy in Mexico City to begin regular discussions on the complaints presented, in particular the cases of Los Mineros and SME.
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="150" />
Toronto, Canada
In Canada, high-level trade union delegations met with Mexican ambassadors and consuls in four cities, while pickets continued outside. The Vancouver action was marked by speeches from Los Mineros General Secretary Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez, SME General Secretary Martin Esparanza, and Jorge Castillo Maga&ntilde;a, Assistant General Secretary of the Telefonistas union. See video footage of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/D3Steel#p/a/u/0/Bu_BPIrvlaA">Vancouver, Canada, action</a> here. 
<img src="" width="250" height="175" alt="" />
Washington DC, USA
In the US, rallies, meetings with ambassadors and consuls, and pickets, sent the clear message to the Mexican Calder&oacute;n government that pressure is building inside the country&rsquo;s largest trading partner that labour rights abuses must end. See video footage of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usyexGRbDgI&amp;feature=player_embedded">Washington DC rally</a> in front of the Mexican Embassy here. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu83ni7mQHM&amp;feature=player_embedded">San Francisco</a>, <a href="http://www.fox11az.com/news/local/Mexican-consulate-picketed-by-angry-miners-116483178.html">Tucson Arizona</a>, <a href="http://www.house.state.tx.us/video-audio/press-conference/player/?ram=1102181PCB&amp;id=98&amp;session=82 ">Austin Texas</a>. 
<img alt="" src="" width="336" height="185" />
Geneva, Switzerland
In Switzerland, the office of the Ambassador to the United Nations was targeted by a rally, while ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, IMF Assistant General Secretary Fernando Lopes, and UNI SCORE Director Adriana Rosenzvaig met with the ambassador to convey the demands of the action. Ambassadors around the world expressed some concern, but generally denied wrongdoing by the Mexican government. Many made promises to follow-up on the demands. The dialogue and pressure will continue. 
<img src="" width="220" height="148" alt="" />
100 unionists rallied on the lawn in front of Parliament House in Canberra
See a video of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoImqEw00_M&amp;feature=player_embedded">Australia action</a> here, where a high-level, cross-sector delegation met with the Mexican Ambassador, and a large rally was organised in front of Parliament House in Canberra. 
 
Some of the other events around the world during the Global Days of Action included: 
<img src="" width="281" height="183" alt="" />
Mexico Embassy, Tokyo: meeting with the Japan Councils of the four GUFs, along with JTUC-RENGO 
<img src="" width="220" height="147" alt="" />
Sweden: IF Metall met with the Mexican Ambassador in Stokholm
Letters and press releases in Turkey 
 
Meetings and letters in Spain with Mexican Ambassador, Spanish Government, European Parliament. 
<img src="" width="365" height="179" alt="" />
A joint rally in Bangkok, Thailand, Ministry of Labour, as well as letters to the Mexican Ambassador. 
<img alt="" src="" width="252" height="192" />
A picket was conducted in front of the Mexican Embassy in Moscow, in temperatures of -25&deg;C, demands were transferred to the Ambassador
<img alt="" src="" width="242" height="203" />
In Brussels, the Mexican embassy was picketed, with a union delegation meeting the Ambassador, a meeting was conducted with the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee
<img src="" width="280" height="186" alt="" />
The Mexican Embassy in Peru was picketed
<img alt="" src="" width="279" height="210" />
Picket of the Mexican Embassy in Indonesia
<img src="" width="261" height="169" alt="" />
Picket of the Mexican Embassy in New Zealand
Letters were sent from affiliated trade unions from Poland to Puerto Rico, from Norway and Germany to Bangladesh, and many others. 
 
Join the <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=863">LabourStart campaign</a> here and join thousands of protestors in writing to Calder&oacute;n. 3,000 messages were sent via the campaign in the first week, and the numbers are growing every day. 
 
The actions took place around the fifth anniversary of the Pasta de Conchos mine explosion, where the continued failure to exhume and recover the bodies of 63 of the 65 miners who died there, or to take responsibility for the &ldquo;industrial homicide&rdquo; of those workers, and properly compensate their families continues to anger the international labour movement. 
 
The action in support of the democratic and independent trade unions in Mexico was initiated by unions from around the world affiliated to the ICEM, International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), UNI Global Union, and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Mexico Days of Action Occur Worldwide in Over 40 Countries

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Low-wage contract workers employed by OCS Group mounted a lawful two-day strike at Tata Steel in Port Talbot, UK, 14-15 February in protest to the cleaning and catering multinational&rsquo;s miserly pay offer. Some 70 members of UK union Community, most taking their first industrial action, blocked two entrances to Tata&rsquo;s Corus Strip Products mill in Port Talbot because a living wage has not been paid them since June 2010. 
 
The strikers took brave strike action under the banner &ldquo;OCS: Have a Heart&rdquo; in honour of the strike falling on Valentine&rsquo;s Day. The contract cleaners and Community call on OCS to make a pay offer that exceeds UK&rsquo;s minimum wage. Many OCS workers at Tata are paid as little as &pound;5.75 an hour. 
 
OCS responded to the strike by bussing in managers and others at 5h00 on 14 February to perform mill-site services. Corus Strip Products in Port Talbot employs 2,900. Reports quickly surfaced that unionised steelworkers at Tata were supporting the strike actions on the inside by not cooperating with scab cleaners. OCS, or Office Cleaning Services, is a Surrey-based property support service company that operates in 40 countries. 
<img alt="" src="" width="127" height="84" />
Community Region Campaigns Manager Susan Lewis termed the company&rsquo;s response to the strike a &ldquo;low blow. While bringing in staff from outside Port Talbot might be legal, it is most certainly not morally right and will do nothing to resolve this dispute. 
 
&ldquo;OCS workers do some of the toughest and dirtiest jobs on the plant,&rdquo; added Lewis. 
 
The strike action at Tata could re-occur. It comes at a time when India-based Tata is increasing employment at Port Talbot and another Strip Products division mill in Llanwern. A &pound;185 million investment is now underway on a blast furnace at Port Talbot, and a nearby coal deposit is being studied for extraction. Tata is utilising hundreds of agency workers inside the Port Talbot and Marjam mill, and very recently brought 75 of them into direct employment. 
 
Tata bought Anglo-Dutch Corus Steel in early 2007 for &pound;5.75 million. The Indian company recently sold its Teeside Cast Products mill in North-east England to Sahaviriva Steel Industries of Thailand in a move in which British unions successfully saved 700 jobs. 
Community is a union created in a 2004 merger between the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation and the National Union of Knitwear, Footwear, and Apparel Trades.

Contract Workers Strike Tata Steel’s UK Plant in Wales

Archive