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Press

Lee Myung Bak 
President 
Republic Of Korea 
December 11, 2008 

The ICEM, representing 20 Million Workers in Chemical, Energy and Mining Industry over 130 countries strongly protests at the arrest of Mr. Lee Suk-haeng, President of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). 

The ICEM has been informed that Bro. Lee Suk-haeng was arrested on 5 December, at 10:40 pm, in connection with his role in organising an &ldquo;illegal&rdquo; general strike on 2 July 2008 and in organising a solidarity action in support of the E-land Retail Precarious workers&rsquo; strike in 2007. 
We understand that Brother Lee Suk-haeng would be mainly charged with &ldquo;obstruction of business&rdquo; (provision in section 314 of the Penal Code) due to his role in these actions. 

The ICEM is appalled that trade union leaders are being arrested and detained merely for exercising fundamental workers' rights, like to the right to strike. The right to strike encompasses both the right for workers to pursue demonstrations concerning social and economic policies affecting its members, as well as solidarity actions. We are very concerned about the severe form and nature of the repression, especially the deprivation of liberty of those involved and the intrusion into the privacy of family members. The targeting of top union leaders is blatant anti-union repression and the ICEM is disappointed that the government has chosen to keep union leaders imprisoned for longer periods in this case. 

The ICEM is urging your government to order the immediate release of Mr. Lee Suk-haeng and all other imprisoned trade unionists and that all charges against them be dropped. It also urges you to ensure that the arrest warrants against all other labour leaders be withdrawn immediately. 

In the meantime, I trust that you will pay prompt attention to this very serious matter. 
Yours sincerely, 
 
Manfred Warda 
General Secretary 
ICEM

ICEM Letter to South Korean Government On Arest of Lee Suk-haeng

Find the following statement in Arabic <a href="/index.php?id=24&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=2957">here</a>. 

The 20-million-member International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Union (ICEM) has added its voice to the calls for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of border crossings between Israel and Palestine to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. 
 
&ldquo;It is with shock and horror that I have seen coverage of the bombardment of Gaza in what is now four days of Israeli air strikes that have targeted both Hamas and purely civilian structures, including a major university, a television station, and mosques, as well as refugee camps, which serve as homes to many of the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in this densely populated Mediterranean coastal area,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;The loss of innocent Palestinian lives is deplorable and an immediate and fully respected ceasefire by both Israel and Hamas is now clearly the only way forward.&rdquo; 

According to the United Nations, as well as Palestinian officials, more than 370 Palestinians have died in the air strikes, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reporting that about a third of those killed since Sunday, 27 December - about 90 Palestinians - were civilians including more than 60 women and children. Over 1,000 Palestinians are said to have been injured, many critically, and hospitals and doctors are struggling to treat the injured in the face of chronic shortages of basic medical supplies and blood.
<img height="72" alt="" src="" width="120" border="1" />
&nbsp; 
The air strikes have been in response to rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza that have reportedly caused the death of four Israelis and followed the decision of Hamas, which controls Gaza, not to renew a six-month cease fire that had brought a semblance of temporary and relative calm to the area until it expired earlier this month. The action by Hamas is also deplorable and has been strongly criticised by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas is the Islamist movement which won Palestinian elections three years ago and then violently seized full control of Gaza last year. 

The UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said Israel's use of force was &quot;disproportionate&quot; and Richard Falk, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, said in a BBC interview: &quot;Israel is committing a shocking series of atrocities by using modern weaponry against a defenceless population - attacking a population that has been enduring a severe blockade for many months.&quot; 

Israel has said it is ready for weeks of action to end the threat posed by rockets, one of which on Tuesday landed in Beersheba, 46 km (28 miles) from the Gaza Strip. An extra 2,500 reservists have been called up by the Israeli army and, on the frontier with Gaza, preparations continue for a possible Israeli ground operation. Israel has declared the border area a &quot;closed military zone,&quot; which prohibits journalists and others from entering. 

There is no entry by sea possible, either. Israeli naval vessels confronted pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break the Gaza blockade by boat about 45 miles (70km) off the Israeli coast in international waters. The activists said one vessel had rammed the Palestinians&rsquo; craft without issuing a warning during the confrontation. The boat put into port in Lebanon with heavy damage on one side.
ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana, also President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa called on all parties to address the serious humanitarian needs in Gaza. He said, &ldquo;There must be the immediate opening of border crossings to ensure that the people of Gaza are supplied with food, water, fuel and medical treatment. The Israeli blockade of Gaza must be immediately lifted and full, unimpeded and urgent access for medical teams allowed.&rdquo; 

ICEM has received a message from Shaher Saed, General Secretary of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade unions (PGFTU) where he graphically details the suffering Palestinians face, and how Palestinian people only hope to live normal lives without threats of the weapons of occupation. 
 
Saed stated: &ldquo;It is the human responsibility of the international community to devote all efforts to pressure the Israeli government to stop their aggression and attacks on Palestinian people, who not only face death by the missiles, but also face hunger and death due to the lack of bread, medicine, electricity, and drinking water.&rdquo; 
 
Clearly, the ICEM believes, there is no military solution to the situation in Gaza or the wider search for peace in the Middle East. There must be a seriously increased international effort to ensure that both Israel and Palestine have the land, rights, and security to live in peace. 

ICEM fully endorses the recent statement by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and in particular the statement by ITUC General Secretary, Guy Ryder, that &ldquo;the cycle of attack and reaction must be be replaced with dialogue, to bring a definitive end to the conflict and establish the basis for the co-existence of Israel and Palestine as two democratic states in peace.&quot; 
Ryder added, &quot;The international community must bring real pressure to bear to ensure that Israel and Palestine step back from the cycle of violence and follow the path of dialogue. The UN, its Security Council members and all other countries which could use their influence to bring this about, must do so as a matter of the utmost urgency.&quot; 

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, a former General Secretary of the NUM trade union, is also commended by ICEM for having urged Israelis and Palestinians to stop the violence and asked the international community to find a solution for peace in the Middle East. 

&quot;Both parties must do everything their power to come to a solution in order to end the violence in the Middle East,&quot; Motlanthe said in a statement. &quot;Violence and counter-violence would not advance the cause of both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Strength and efforts must not be spared by the Palestinians and the Israelis to find an amicable solution to their problem.&quot; 

Motlanthe called for a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state co-existing with an Israel state within secure borders as a lasting solution to the ongoing Middle East conflict. 

ICEM fully agrees with this statement and will continue to work for peace in the Middle East. The Geneva-based ICEM is a Global Union Federeation representing 467 trade unions in 141 countries.

ICEM Calls for Immediate Ceasefire to Ease Gaza Hostilities

The 13-month lockout by Petro-Canada of 260 refinery workers in Montr&eacute;al, Quebec, likely will end tomorrow when unionized members of Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Local 175 vote on a new collective agreement. 
 
Since 2 December, the union and management of Canada&rsquo;s second largest oil company have been engaged in private mediation with Special Mediator Lucien Bouchard, who served as Premier of Quebec Province in Canada from 119 to 2001. That mediation apparently has paid off. The two sides agreed to a tentative agreement late last week. 
 
CEP Local 175 will ballot members tomorrow evening, 23 December. 
 
The union is not releasing terms of the proposed contract until members vote on it, but CEP Local 175 is recommending the proposal for acceptance to membership. CEP Representative Daniel Cloutier said the union&rsquo;s bargaining committee &ldquo;is glad to submit the proposal to the membership,&rdquo; and he predicted it would be accepted. 
 
Petro-Canada locked out workers at the 130,000 barrels-per-day refinery on 17 November 2007. The company was attempting to break from the collective bargaining pattern of the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Programme, ironically negotiated first between the union and Petro-Canada at an oil refinery in Edmonton, Alberta, in spring 2007.

Likely End to Petro-Canada Lockout to Come Tomorrow

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A breakthrough came this month in the dispute over trade union rights for workers employed by subcontracting companies of Unilever at warehouses in Turkey. International pressure by three Global Union Federations (GUFs) &ndash; the ICEM, the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), and the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF), together with Turkish affiliates &ndash; can be credited with this first and major step toward resolving the dispute. 
 
Management of the subcontracting companies, &Ccedil;ipa and Şimşek, agreed to a protocol agreement with T&Uuml;MTIS, the Turkish Motor Vehicles&rsquo; Workers Union, an affiliate of the ITF, which addresses some of the issues in the dispute. This occurred in December, some six weeks after the GUFs, and ICEM affiliate Petrol-&Iuml;ş and IUF affiliate Tek-Gida-&Iuml;ş, met in a summit in Turkey, and pledged to bring pressure against Unilever on behalf of T&Uuml;MTIS and the subcontracting workers.
<img height="255" src="" width="340" alt="" />
The protocol agreement does not yet give T&Uuml;MTIS recognition status for hundreds of warehouse workers in Gebze, near Istanbul, but it does resolve some issues surrounding the sacking of 87 workers who joined the union. And the employers did agree not to oppose union activity inside the warehouses. 
 
Whether or not &Ccedil;ipa and Şimşek does recognize and bargain with T&Uuml;MTIS is a now a matter that will be resolved in a Turkish labour court. The union agreed to end a continual manifestation in front of warehouses. 
 
Within the protocol agreement, some workers who were fired received payments from employers, while others &ndash; which had won court cases over unfair dismissals &ndash; received add-ons to their indemnity payments. Some workers did get reinstated, while the union is still seeking reinstatement for others. 
 
T&Uuml;MTIS General Secretary G&uuml;rel Yilmaz reported that the protests, and the global labour support, have seen the number of workers who have taken up union membership soar to over 200. He said this has given momentum and renewed motivation among the trade unionists to continue recruitment efforts. 
 
Yilmaz, however, is urging the union partners who joined hands in the 20 October summit to continue their efforts. The ITF will continue to press its trade union rights case in the matter under terms of the OECD&rsquo;s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. 
 
The ICEM, in concert with the ITF and IUF and Turkish trade unions, will continue to monitor this Unilever subcontractors&rsquo; case, and press for union recognition and a collective agreement for the subcontracting workers. &Ccedil;ipa and Şimşek are companies that handle and distribute Unilever products in Turkey and throughout the Middle East.

Joint Global Union Action Gives Contract Workers of Unilever First Grasp of Victory in Turkey

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ICEM leaders and senior managers of French-based chemicals multinational Rhodia travelled to Brazil from 2-5 December for a second round of monitoring the Global Framework Agreement. This kind of joint mission was first realised last year in China with a view toward making sure the agreement is properly implemented at specific workplaces. 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Vice-President S&eacute;rgio Novais, and Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan represented the ICEM, while Rhodia&rsquo;s Exeuctive Vice-President Bernard Chambon&ouml;, Sustainable Development Director Jacques Kheliff, and Communications Vice President Lucia Dumas participated, as did the Brazilian team of Rhodia, headed by Latin American President Marcos De Marchi. 
<img height="210" alt="" src="" width="280" />
The social partners discussed the global agreement in Brazil in general, and specifically, at the regional headquarters in S&atilde;o Paulo. The delegation visited plants in Paulinia, Santo Andr&eacute;, and Cubatao, and met with local trade union leaders at those worksites. 
The ICEM team was informed about products, technology, safety, health, and environmental matters, and received information on salaries, social benefits, staffing, and local community relations in the plant visits. 
In terms of trade union representation, all Rhodia workplaces are organised by six different unions, each with collective agreements. The ICEM proposed a network among these different unions so coordination can occur and a common dialogue can happen at the national level. 
<img height="210" alt="" src="" width="280" />
&ldquo;I am pleased by the positive results of our agreement with Rhodia,&rdquo; commented Warda. &ldquo;The successful visit to Brazil, coordinated effectively by management, has shown us that a GFA can be a positive tool in industrial relations at the global level. 
&ldquo;It also secures an understanding on how local and national level social dialogue can proceed in a cooperative manner,&rdquo; Warda added. The Global Framework Agreement with Rhodia was renewed in March 2008, and now contains succinct language related to union recruitment and company neutrality.

ICEM, Rhodia Monitor Global Agreement at Brazilian Plants

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After four years of existence, the Global Union Research Network (GURN), a joint ILO and global unions research forum, unveiled a more user-friendly and attractive web site. Users will find it much easier to navigate and search for documents and information on the many topics covered by the institute. 
 
A new addition to the site is the topic on Public-Private Partnership, which allows GURN to provide information on eleven important research topics: Corporate Governance; Economic Alternatives and Poverty Eradication; Global Trade Union Strategies (Union Renewal); Health Politics and Trade Unions; Migration; OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) &amp; International Financial Institutions (IFIs); Public-Private Partnerships; Sustainable Development; Trade; and Wages and Collective Bargaining 
 
The new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) page is created to shed light on the issues and concerns related to PPPs in different countries. 
 
GURN is a platform for trade unionists and researchers dealing with the challenges of globalization from a labour perspective. Partners to it include the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) of the OECD, the Global Union Federations, the ILO&rsquo;s Bureau for Workers&rsquo; Activities (ACTRAV), and the ILO&rsquo;s Institute for Labour Studies. 
 
The new site can be found <a href="http://www.gurn.info/en/">here</a>.

GURN Launches New Website

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM has received a request for affiliation by the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), a progressive trade union of 250,000 members. Although formal acceptance of the affiliation is subject to approval by the regional committee and the ICEM Executive Committee, it is anticipated that approval will be unanimous. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, in a letter to SNTMMSRM Secretary General Napoleon G&oacute;mez Urrutia and the union&rsquo;s executive board, welcomed the application for affiliation: &ldquo;We view your affiliation as an historic step to not only align with mining unions throughout the world but also to further integrate the struggle for free and democratic trade unionism in Mexico with both the North America and Latin America regions of the ICEM.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM has joined a global campaign, initiated by the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF), to bring more public attention and pressure on the Mexican government to stop efforts to destroy the union. Numerous ICEM affiliates have sent letters to Mexican President Felipe Calder&oacute;ne, protesting the collaboration of the government with Grupo M&eacute;xico to crush one of the few examples of democratic trade unionism in the country. The ICEM encourages additional letters, please refer to <a href="/index.php?id=155&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=2797">here</a>. 
 
Napoleon G&oacute;mez and his family, fearing assassination or incarceration on trumped up charges by the Mexican government, have been in exile in Canada under the sponsorship of the United Steelworkers. In May 2008, he was unanimously was re-elected as general secretary while in exile. 
 
In February 2006, a coal mine explosion killed 65 miners and only two bodies were ever recovered. The government has refused to investigate the cause of the accident. The government has also refused to investigate Grupo Mexico&rsquo;s involvement in the murder of Reynaldo Hern&aacute;ndez Gonz&aacute;lez, a miner who was applying for reinstatement, and the detention and torture of union members in Nacozari, Sonora. 
 
In April 2006, the government of Mexico sent 1,000 armed officers in an unsuccessful attempt to crush a strike in the State of Michoacan which resulted in two workers being killed and more than 100 persons injured. Strikes, prompted partly by health and safety concerns, continue at Grupo M&eacute;xico mines.

ICEM Welcomes Affiliation Request from Mexico’s National Miners’ and Metalworkers’ Union

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A methane gas explosion killed 13 miners and wounded 14 others at the Petrila site of the National Coal Co. in the Jiu valley, Romania. The tragedy occurred 15 November. 
 
Among the dead were four emergency workers who were killed by a second explosion four hours later. They were attempting to rescue survivors, and recover bodies. All rescue activities were put on hold for 48 hours following the second blast. The final miner died of cardiac arrest early last week at a Bucharest hospital. 
 
The mine was shut down for two weeks, and reopened on 27 November. Workers held a memorial service on 18 November. The company paid the wages and seniority bonuses for the mine&rsquo;s 1,490 workers during the two-week shutdown. 

<img height="200" alt="" src="" width="200" />
Romania&rsquo;s worst mining disaster in 28 years, the two Petrila explosions on 15 November had attracted serious attention by the country&rsquo;s President. Both called for tougher scrutiny of safety at Romanian mining sites. &ldquo;This is too big a tragedy not to wonder about the causes,&rdquo; stated President Traian Basescu. &ldquo;The inquiry will determine if all protective measures were taken when the first miners went down the shafts and if the rescuers&rsquo; intervention was done according to the rules,&rdquo; said Varujan Vosganian, Romania&rsquo;s Minister of Economy and Commerce. 
 
Rumours were backed up by relatives that miners had been forced to continue working despite high readings of methane levels six days before the disaster. Smaller gas explosions had occurred in the mine. 
 
Ovidiu Jurca, Vice President of a national trade union bloc, BNS, said, &ldquo;Its criminal negligence to let these people work when the accepted methane gas level has been topped.&rdquo;

Thirteen Dead in Romania Mine Blast

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Mine safety in South Africa was enhanced on 21 November when the country&rsquo;s Parliament passed amendments to the Mine Health and Safety law. The legislation must now go to President Kgalema Motlanthe for his signature before becoming effective. 
 
But South Africa&rsquo;s government is still withholding a presidential audit on health and safety in the mining industry. And ICEM&rsquo;s largest affiliate in Africa wants the report brought into the open. 
<img height="94" alt="" src="" width="140" />
South Africa President, Kgalema Motlanthe
At its National Executive Meeting (NEC) in Vereeniging, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) called for the immediate release of the national audit. &ldquo;The way the report has been held up gives suspicion that it may contain controversial safety details. We believe that the audit will reveal the true status of safety standards in the various mining companies,&rdquo; said NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni. 
 
After months-long lobbying to derail the safety reform bill by the Chamber of Mines, Parliament passed the measure ten days ago. A memorandum attached to the final version of the bill called it &ldquo;premised on the principle that the responsibility for health and safety lies with the employers.&rdquo; 
 
The reform measure includes insistence that mine safety investigations be carried out within ten days of occurrence, and that the reports are issued within 30 days. The reform also contains a criminal liability clause in which company executives can face a five-fold increase in fines and penalties if convicted of responsibility in health and safety accidents or deaths. 
 
Although NUM applauded passage of the stricter safety enforcement, it insists that the Mbeki safety audit must be forthcoming immediately. The audit was commissioned by former president Thabo Mbeki in October 2007, after 3,200 workers were trapped underground at Harmony Gold's Elandsrand mine. Miraculously, they were all rescued. The Mbeki national safety report, despite at least two pronouncements that it would be issued, has still has not been made public. 

<img height="200" alt="" src="" width="141" />
NUM Gen. Sec. Frans Beleni
&quot;The NEC noted with serious concern the escalating number of workers who perish in the line of duty,&rdquo; said the NUM&rsquo;s Baleni. &ldquo;Over 180 mineworkers have died (this year) and thousands others have been injured, while thousands more suffer from respiratory diseases,&quot; he added. He called on the government to &quot;beef up inspectors&rdquo; to ensure that companies operating mines and building sites adhere to proper safety measures.&quot; 
 
Following the Elandsrand accident 14 months ago, the NUM called for an independent safety audit of mines and facilities. The national audit instead was carried out by the inspectorate of the Mines and Energy Department. 
 
More recently, the NUM presented an impact assessment report to a discussion forum on health risks to miners. The NUM proved that the blasting process produces large amounts of dust in both air and water. According to the NUM, this dust causes most miners to suffer for respiratory diseases, such as pulmonary tuberculosis and silicosis, as well as asbestos-related, skin and eye diseases, acute diarrhoea or noise-induced hearing loss. 
 
Meanwhile, the death toll continues to mount in the country&rsquo;s mines. Deaths in recent weeks have included: two miners killed at AngloGold Ashanti&rsquo;s TauTona mine near Carltonville, on 27 and 31 September; a miner killed at Harmony&rsquo;s Elandsrand operation in a cave-in; a miner killed at Gold Fields&rsquo; Driefontain mine following an earth tremor on 16 October; a fatality caused by electrocution from underground machinery at AngloCoal&rsquo;s Greenside Colliery, 19 October; a Northam Platinum employee who died in an underground industrial accident near Thabazimbi on 11 November; and a miner employed by DeBeers at its Finsch mine in the Northern Cape died on 17 November.

South African Parliament Passes Mine Safety Reform; Year-long Safety Audit Still Held-up

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A recently released study by the Human Science Research Council of South Africa&rsquo;s Witwatersrand University reveals that the country&rsquo;s mining industry is becoming more and more reliant on short-term contract workers and casual labour. The survey found, for instance, that over 60% of the platinum mines in the Rustenburg area use non-regular workers in order to avoid accountability and reduce their costs.
Overall nationally in South Africa, 36% of all platinum mines use subcontract labour, with researchers finding that many of the workers come from other southern African countries. That gives employers less direct responsibility in the event of injury or economic liability. 
 
The Witwatersrand study said the number of subcontractors in South Africa&rsquo;s mining sector increased from 90,231 in 2003 to 122,589 in 2005. 

<img height="108" alt="" src="" width="180" />
The study, commissioned by the government&rsquo;s Labour Department, reveals that the trend is growing alarmingly. A spokesperson for the study, Professor Edward Webster, said a lesson can be drawn that the informal economy of three decades ago, which drew workers from the urban poor into unregistered enterprises, has now been replaced by formal enterprises utilizing more and more casual and subcontract workers. 
 
The research also found that most employers surveyed do not adhere to stipulated wage minimums, resulting in exploitation and disempowerment of workers, and threats of dismissals are common if casual workers attempt to align with trade unions. 
 
Labor Department Acting Director-General Les Kettledas told a news agency that the state has adequate laws and policies to prevent exploitation of short-term contract workers, but strategies to implement those policies and laws fall short. He said the aim of commissioning the university&rsquo;s Sociology of Work Programme for the study was to assure corrective measures are implemented. 
 
Kettledas admitted the findings are a reflection of the reality that now exists in the formal sectors.

South African Study Shows Contract Labour ‘Growing Alarmingly’ in Mining

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