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 height="41" alt="" src="" width="100" />
An acceptable agreement was achieved in northern Brazil between workers represented by ICEM affiliate SINAP-CUT and Group Jo&atilde;o Santos. The Brazil-based company shut two of its subsidiaries near the town of Coelho Neto, the paper producer Itapag&eacute; SA and agricultural entity Agrimex SA. The company&rsquo;s intention is to use contractors in these enterprises, and sacked 227 workers in the process. 
<img height="213" src="" width="283" alt="" />
 
Workers and their families, who were camped in front of the company&rsquo;s Maranha&otilde; State regional headquarters, received a favourable agreement after dialogue between SINAP-CUT, the company, and the Court of Works of Caxias. 
It calls for full wage payments, according to social protocols; extensive company-paid re-training and re-certifications for dismissed employees; maintaining the Coelho Neto schools by Group Jo&atilde;o Santos; and written rights of local workers for jobs within contractors assuming company work. SINAP-CUT credited &ldquo;the strength and persistence of workers and leaders of Coelho Neto who with their force of fight had obtained these important advances.&rdquo;

Accord Reached in Brazil’s Paper Sector Stand-off

<img height="41" src="" width="100" alt="" />
An 18-day lockout of 58 members of Engineering, Printing &amp; Manufacturing Union in New Zealand ended on 21 February after workers ratified a mediated settlement with a North Island regional electrical provider, Top Energy. 
The two-year accord gives the linemen a 5% wage increase, backdated to 1 July 2005, and a 4% wage increase in July of this year. The agreement also retains for workers key work-rule conditions, items that the community-owned electric distributor tried to take from workers in initiating the lockout.

Lockout Ends at Top Energy in New Zealand

<img height="41" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Two jewellery workers from China and two gem polishers from India will travel to Basel, Switzerland, late this month to raise awareness of the deadly side effects of their jobs, particularly silicosis. 
The workers will attend a jewellery fair from 30 March to 4 April, and hope to have talks with a large number of organisations, including the ILO, in order to bring more preventative measures to their line of work. Silicosis kills workers slowly, often over long and painful illnesses. In the case of Asian workers, compensation is unheard of and most do not have the means to pay for medical bills. 
 
According to official Chinese figures, 440,000 workers&mdash;many of them migrant workers&mdash;have silicosis. Other estimates put that figure as ten times higher. The ICEM released a statement on the occasion of the Basel visit, which can be found at <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=1671">/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=1671</a>.

Asian Jewellery Workers Visit Europe over Silicosis

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
This Wednesday, 8 March, marks the 97th Anniversary of International Women&rsquo;s Day, a day of action in the continuing fight for equality and justice for all women. The ICFTU is in a fourth year of a &ldquo;Unions for Women, Women for Unions&rdquo; campaign in which the aim is to significantly increase unionisation rates of women workers in the informal economy, among migrant women workers, young women, and women in export processing zones. 
 
The ICEM on 8 March calls attention to the appalling conditions of women workers in the developing world, the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS that finds women making up over half of those infected, and the rise of militarisation throughout the world that adversely affects women is so many ways. The ICEM urges all trade union affiliates to put in practice policies and initiatives for equality, opportunity and fairness not only for working women, but for women in all walks of life.

International Women’s Day Action Urged for 8 March

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A proposed European energy deal,&nbsp;conceived as a blocking move, received trade union attention and analysis last week in Brussels at EMCEF, the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers&rsquo; Federation. Attended by Spanish trade unions FIA-UGT and FM-CC.OO, Italian union UILCEM and German union IGBCE, the meeting was held to formulate a common trade union position on the bidding outcome for Spanish energy company Endesa. 
 
German E.ON recently outbid Spain&rsquo;s Gas Natural for Endesa, and both E.ON and Gas Natural will have one further opportunity in a sealed-bid process under Spanish energy and market rules. EMCEF issued a statement following the 28 February meeting in Brussels calling for maintaining Endesa as it is today and avoiding the splitting of businesses, and not to contract out integrated parts of the company; no refinancing through sale of assets; and keeping on track investments for renewed production and for build up of new electrical capacities. 
<img height="88" alt="" src="" width="90" />
Regarding the social impact of any Endesa takeover, EMCEF and the unions insist on no redundancies or layoffs; continuation of all collective agreements; further investment and support for worker training; social dialogue with trade unions on all matters of industrial policy; and recognition of all existing national labour relations matters as part of the European social model.
The EMCEF statement also cites, as good practice, a model of mutual recognition and well-developed agreements on social issues between unions and companies, and said ICEM&rsquo;s Global Agreement with Endesa is &ldquo;one example of this good practice on the global level that needs to be incorporated also for other companies in the future.&rdquo;

EMCEF, European Unions Announce Priorities on Endesa

Chemicals and pharmaceuticals multinational Novartis stands accused of anti-unionism and bad faith bargaining in Korea. 
 
Local subsidiary Novartis Agro Korea (NAK) has an &quot;anti-labour business system and philosophy,&quot; says the Korean Chemical and Textile Workers' Federation (KCTF). At the global level, the KCTF is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
Last October, the KCTF organised a company-level union at NAK. The management responded by transferring all union activists away from the company's headquarters to remote branch offices. By the use of threats, it also forced 20 of the new union's original 76 members to withdraw from the union. 
 
Management then ignored all collective bargaining requests by the company-level union, which therefore mandated the KCTF to negotiate on its behalf. 
 
After a campaign which included protests from the company's customers, as represented by the Korean Farmers' Association, NAK reluctantly agreed to open negotiations with the KCTF. However, it still refused to recognise the company-level union. 
 
So union members in the sales department launched a strike on 6 March, and three days later this industrial action spread to the company's Iksan factory. After 14 days, NAK promised to bargain in good faith, and the strikers returned to work. 
 
In fact, though, the company tabled an offer below what it had proposed to the KCTF before the strike. The union reports that its members are now &quot;getting angry&quot; over the company's bad faith. 
 
Novartis Agro Korea's opposition to wage bargaining is in breach of Korean law, the KCTF says. 
 
NAK's reluctance to recognise the union is, the KCTF points out, partly due to the &quot;abnormal employment system&quot; in the Iksan factory. Only 69 of the workers there are on permanent contracts. The other 130 are temporary. This set-up is &quot;against Korean business culture,&quot; the union says, and &quot;reflects NAK's intention to hire and fire at will.&quot; 
 
The KCTF is continuing its campaign for real collective bargaining, and says it is confident of victory. It points out that a defeat for &quot;NAK's illegal activities&quot; would strengthen the hand of all Korean workers employed by multinationals.

Novartis&#039; Bad Faith Sparked Korean Dispute

The nationwide strike in Finland's paper industry is likely to end tomorrow afternoon, following union and employer acceptance of a mediated settlement that meets the union's main demands. 
 
Paper is one of Finland's main export industries, and the strike could have caused major disruption both to Finnish trade and to newspaper, magazine and book production in various countries. The industrial action began on 11 April, following the employers' rejection of a previous mediation bid. 
 
The Executive Committee of the paperworkers' union Paperiliitto accepted the new settlement proposal this afternoon, as did the employers. The proposal now goes to Paperiliitto's National Council for approval. The National Council is likely to end the strike tomorrow, with effect from 2.00 pm local time. 
 
The settlement provides for: 
 
 
- tighter regulation of outsourcing in the paper industry 
 
- better national-level provisions against compulsory redundancies 
 
- a start on regulating the bonus system, which was previously more or less at the employer's discretion 
 
- one extra day's holiday per year for workers on daily and weekly shift rosters 
 
- an across-the-board pay rise totalling 4 percent this year 
 
- improved workplace equality provisions. 
 
The agreement runs for three years, but the pay provisions are for one year. The union therefore has the right to lodge further pay claims in 2001 and 2002, and to strike in support of them if necessary. 
 
&quot;Today's proposal is a satisfactory outcome which significantly improves the pay and conditions of Finnish paperworkers,&quot; commented Paperiliitto's President Jarmo L&auml;hteenm&auml;ki this afternoon. 
 
An important role in the settlement had, he said, been played by international solidarity coordinated through the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), to which Paperiliitto is affiliated. 
 
&quot;We received messages of support and offers of practical help from paperworkers' unions worldwide,&quot; L&auml;hteenm&auml;ki pointed out. &quot;This support drew considerable attention in the Finnish media - notably our sister unions' readiness to black any attempted production transfers to Sweden or other countries. We thank the ICEM and paperworkers everywhere for this effective solidarity.&quot;

Finnish Paper Strike Settled

Latin American union networks within the leading tyre and rubber multinationals were the main topic when rubber workers' leaders from nine countries in the region met in Brazil on 13-16 April. 
 
They also gave the green light for future coordinated Latin American bargaining with the main rubber and tyre companies. 
 
The structure of international union networks in Goodyear, Bridgestone-Firestone and Titan was discussed, and the conference laid the foundations for Latin American networks of unions in Pirelli, Michelin and Continental. 

<img height="183" src="" width="380" alt="" /> 
 
 
Taking part in the Brazil conference were leaders of some 70,000 Latin American tyre and rubber workers. The event was organised by the Latin American Rubber and Tyre Workers' Federation (FUTINAL), which groups 20 unions in the sector. Support came from the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which organises rubber and tyre workers worldwide. Also backing the conference was the ICEM-affiliated North American rubber workers' union USWA, together with the Solidarity Center of US national labour federation the AFL-CIO. 
 
The experience of ICEM-coordinated international campaigns such as those on Bridgestone and Continental featured strongly in the discussions on networking. The USWA and FUTINAL were at the heart of these campaigns. 
 
&quot;FUTINAL firmly believes that only through international action will we be able to resist the attacks of the multinational tyre corporations in the region,&quot; commented FUTINAL administrative secretary Terezinho Martins da Rocha. &quot;That is why we have a slogan - An Injury To One Is An Injury To All.&quot; 
 
The conference denounced anti-union practices by Goodyear subsidiaries in Colombia and Guatemala. It also condemned the Venezuelan government's attacks on basic union rights, and opposed a trade agreement between Chile and Korea which would damage the Chilean tyre industry. 
 
A comprehensive socio-economic study of the rubber industry in Latin America will form the basis for regional-level union policies in the sector. 
 
A coordinated list of bargaining demands will be the aim of the next FUTINAL meeting, scheduled for this October. The unions then intend to propose regional-level negotiations with tyre and rubber multinationals operating in Latin America. The October meeting will also be supported by the ICEM, the USWA and the AFL-CIO.

Regional Bargaining Is Latin American Rubber Unions&#039; Aim

Finland's mighty paper industry was brought to a virtual standstill from 1.00 p.m. local time today. 
 
Some 30,000 paperworkers nationwide - almost the entire active workforce in the sector - were called out by their union Paperiliitto after mediation broke down at about 3.00 a.m. this morning. 
 
Paper is one of Finland's main exports. The indefinite strike could have a major impact both on Finnish trade figures and on newspaper, magazine and book production in other countries. 
 
The dispute is over union demands in this year's collective bargaining round. During the night, the mediator tabled a proposal on one issue - outsourcing. The suggested compromise was accepted by the union but rejected out of hand by the employers. In the circumstances, the mediator felt that there was no point in continuing the talks, so the union confirmed its strike call. 
 
Solidarity was immediately declared by the Swedish paperworkers' union Pappers. The Finnish employers had threatened to shift production to neighbouring Sweden, but Pappers has made it clear that it will black any additional paper production for companies affected by the Finnish strike. 
 
Paperiliitto and Pappers are both affiliated at the global level to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
______________ 
 
This afternoon, the ICEM warned paperworkers' unions worldwide that Finnish paper firms may attempt to move production abroad during the dispute. 
 
&quot;If necessary,&quot; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs, &quot;we will be ready to block the transfer of paper production from Finland to any other country for as long as the dispute continues. We are asking all our paper industry unions to be on the alert.&quot; 
 
______________ 
 
 
 
Paperiliitto's main demands are for: 
 
- better job security 
 
- proper bonus system provisions within the collective agreement (at present, bonuses are paid more or less at the employer's discretion) 
 
- work time cuts totalling 8 hours this year (annual working hours are currently 1,619 - about 34.5 hours a week) 
 
- a substantial wage increase of around 4 or 5 percent (annual inflation is about 2.5 to 3 percent). 
 
 
Outsourcing, over which the employers destroyed the mediation bid, has been a bone of contention in the Finnish paper sector for some years now. In Finland, the outsourcing of jobs is in principle subject to the agreement of the industry union concerned. However, the employers have been increasingly keen to flout this provision. They want to outsource jobs such as maintenance and cleaning, although the union emphasises that this would not necessarily produce any real cost savings. 
 
The mediator's proposal, accepted by Paperiliitto, was that any employer plan for outsourcing should be negotiable in the first instance at the local level. If no agreement were reached, negotiations would shift to the national trade union level. Only after that, if there were still no agreement, would the outsourcing request be considered to have been rejected. This was the compromise that the employers turned down in the small hours of this morning. 
 
Both sides are now digging in for what could be a protracted dispute. 
 
The prospects for a union victory are good. Last month, Finland's chemical and energy workers chalked up a major success after a strike in which international solidarity played a similar role.

Finnish Paperworkers Launch Nationwide Strike

Global Companies Need Global Unions. So says a headline in the online edition of the Financial Times, over a guest article by Fred Higgs, General Secretary of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
Global agreements are in the companies' own best interests, writes Higgs. &quot;If they are to convince a sceptical public of their good intentions, the big global corporations will have to put some content into their ethics. They will also have to go beyond self-proclaimed and self-evaluated codes of conduct.&quot; 
 
&quot;All these agreements, both company-level and sectoral, will specify the unions' right to monitor implementation and to raise any breaches of the agreements with the global corporate management or the international industry federation,&quot; Higgs emphasises. &quot;This is the crucial difference between a global agreement and a company's own code of conduct. 
 
&quot;To workers and the public, a global agreement gives the assurance that standards are being systematically monitored and raised,&quot; he points out. &quot;To corporations, it gives credibility.&quot; 
 
At the present stage of globalisation, the agreements will not be about pay, Higgs believes. Rather, they &quot;will set a framework for global industrial relations in each company and each sector.&quot; They will also &quot;ensure that corporations maintain the same high standards in all their operations as regards the protection of health, safety and the environment - a sphere in which regional variations are unjustifiable and unacceptable.&quot; 
 
The ICEM already has a company-level global agreement with oil multinational Statoil and is currently in talks on a number of others. At the sectoral level, good progress has been made on an agreement with the chemical companies' international body ICCA, under which the ICEM would help to ensure that the chemical industry's Responsible Care programme really does deliver the highest health, safety and environmental standards worldwide. 
 
&quot;Our door is open,&quot; Fred Higgs concludes, &quot;in the companies' interests as well as ours.&quot;

Global Companies Need Global Unions, Higgs Writes in FT

Archive

Accord Reached in Brazil’s Paper Sector Stand-off

Lockout Ends at Top Energy in New Zealand

Asian Jewellery Workers Visit Europe over Silicosis

International Women’s Day Action Urged for 8 March

EMCEF, European Unions Announce Priorities on Endesa

Novartis' Bad Faith Sparked Korean Dispute

Finnish Paper Strike Settled

Regional Bargaining Is Latin American Rubber Unions' Aim

Finnish Paperworkers Launch Nationwide Strike

Global Companies Need Global Unions, Higgs Writes in FT

About IndustriALL

Follow us

Contact us