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The Global Union Federation representing workers in the food, agriculture, and services sector, the International Union of Food and Allied Workers&rsquo; Association (IUF), has written to John Ruggie, UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, requesting that the relationship between precarious work and the effective realisation of human rights be incorporated into his investigations and recommendations as a matter of priority. 
 
In June 2008, Ruggie proposed a policy framework which was unanimously welcomed by the Human Rights Council. The &quot;Protect, Respect, Remedy&quot; framework is made up of three pillars: the state duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business; the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, by avoiding infringing on the rights of others; and greater access by victims to effective remedy, judicial and non-judicial. 
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John Ruggie 
In preparing to make operational the framework, Ruggie is currently consulting with a wide range of actors, including through an online consultation forum, that can be found <a href="http://www.srsgconsultation.org">here</a>, the forum for which the IUF used for its submission. 
 
In that submission, the IUF argues that a meaningful investigation of the relationship between business and human rights must address how the degeneration of traditional employment relationships has impacted on workers&rsquo; human rights. Non-traditional forms of working arrangements, such as agency work, contract work and bogus self-employment, are being used to undermine trade union organising and bargaining. Says the IUF, this is a &ldquo;fundamental human rights issue demanding a strong response rooted in a comprehensive human rights framework.&rdquo; 
 
The IUF draw attention to the ILO&rsquo;s 2008 report on industrial relations at Coca-Cola&rsquo;s Colombia bottlers, which found that the company was systematically denying and restricting the ability to join a union by outsourcing many core jobs. In order to redress this and ensure that workers are capable of fully exercising their rights the global union calls for urgent, systematic action by governments and business to restrict the use of precarious work.

IUF Urges UN Special Representative to Probe Precarious Work

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EMF, EMCEF ve ETUF:TCL 25 Mart 2010'da Avrupa'da imalat sekt&ouml;r&uuml;nde tek bir sendikal federasyon oluşturmak i&ccedil;in &ccedil;alışma programlarını ve kongrelerinde onayladığı &ouml;nergeleri nasıl takip edecekleri konusunu değerlendirdi. 
 
&Ouml;zellikle bazı konular -Avrupa entegrasyonu, k&uuml;reselleşme, kriz ve ulusal federasyonların birleşmesi- &uuml;&ccedil; federasyon arasındaki işbirliğinin daha da gelişeceğine işaret ediyor. Bu işbirliği Avrupa'da imalat sekt&ouml;r&uuml;nde istihdam edilen sekiz milyondan fazla iş&ccedil;iyi temsil eden birleşik bir Avrupa sendikalar federasyonunun kurulmasıyla sonu&ccedil;lanabilir. 

<img alt="" src="" width="201" height="151" />
Bu s&uuml;reci Avrupa'daki sendikal federasyonlar arasındaki işbirliğinin geliştirilmesi i&ccedil;in verilecek &ccedil;aba belirleyecek. Bu s&uuml;re&ccedil; aynı zamanda tek bir Avrupa İmalat Federasyonu kurulması konusunda yapısal değişime neden olacak. İlgili federasyonların Genel Başkan ve Genel Sekreterleri olası bu değişimin federasyonların kaynaklarının azaltılmasına y&ouml;nelik neden olarak kullanılmasının aksine bu kaynakların daha etkin ve verimli kullanılmasını sağlayacağının altını &ccedil;izdiler. 
 
İlgili federasyonların Genel Başkan ve Genel Sekreterleri ortak bir sendikal &ouml;rg&uuml;t oluşturma konusunda kapsamlı bir tartışma s&uuml;recinin federasyonların kendi t&uuml;z&uuml;ksel organlarında yaşanmasını sağlayacak. Ortak &ccedil;alışma grubu bu tartışma s&uuml;reci ile ilgili bir yol haritası ve &ccedil;alışma takvim hazırlayacak.

EMF, EMCEF ve ETUF:TCL Birleşik bir Sanayi Federasyonu Yolunda İlerliyor

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As reported in ICEM InBrief No. 152, ICEM&rsquo;s Norwegian affiliated union, Industri Energi (IE), has established a trade union rights award in the name of the late trade unionist, Arthur Svensson. The award, to come with a cash prize, will be given to a person or organization for outstanding contributions for promoting trade union rights and the strengthening of trade unionism on the international and national levels. 
 
Deadline for nominations for this initial Arthur Svensson International Award for Trade Union Rights is 1 May 2010. The announcement of the winner will be made on 11 October 2010. 

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Arthur Svensson
The award comes with a prize of NOK 500,000, equal to &euro;61,016 or US$82,784. ICEM Vice President Liv Undheim (also Vice President of IE) is coordinating the award. Nominations can be sent to her at <a href="mailto:liv.undheim@industrienergi.no">liv.undheim@industrienergi.no</a>, or faxed to +47 23 06 1360. 
 
Arthur Svensson was a long-time leader of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund, the Norwegian Chemical Workers&rsquo; Association, which merged with NOPEF on 4 September 2006 to form IE. Svensson died in 2008, but left a legacy in Norway and beyond as a man who promoted global peace, disarmament, and a nuclear weapons-free world. 
 
He was also a driving force from his leadership positions of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund in Norwegian environment law, and a strong proponent of clean energy to drive clean industries. But first and foremost, he was a dedicated trade unionist, maintaining membership in LO-Norway for 61 years, the final 48 of those years with the Chemical Workers. 
 
Announcement of the award can be found here.

1 May Deadline Approaching Fast, Arthur Svensson Labour Rights Award

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Colombian mining union Sintramienergetica are opposing the purchase of one of Colombia&rsquo;s most valuable gold properties, by Canadian company Medoro Resources Ltd. The three Frontino gold mines were left to the workers by the previous owner, with the decision to sell being taken with no consultation of the union. 
 
Frontino miners are currently owed back dates pension payments, and Medoro has offered to make these payments following the purchase of the mines. This would be insignificant for Sintramienergetica, and local people of the region who say they are the rightful owners. 

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&quot;A coalition consisting of the workers, owners, and creditors of Frontino Gold Mines, along with the Segovia City Council and the people of the region, strongly and unanimously reject the attempts by Medoro Resources to take what is rightfully and legally ours, and demand that our voices be heard and that the law be respected,&quot; said Union leader Dairo Alberto Rua. 
 
A court-appointed liquidator in Colombia agreed to sell the properties to Toronto-based Medoro Resources Ltd. for about US$200-million, a fraction of the value of the mines, according to the union. The Colombian government has declared the sale legal and binding. Hernan Martinez Torres, Colombia&rsquo;s Minister of Mining publically supports the sale. 
 
Workers are also furious after the union was described by former Medoro board member Serafino Iacono as a guerilla or paramilitary group. Medoro plans to sell half of Frontino to a company controlled by Mr. Iacono. 
 
Earlier this year, Medoro bought the Mineros Nacionales gold mine located in Zona Baja, in Colombia&rsquo;s Marmato gold district, near Frontino. 
 
The Frontino mines, among Colombia's largest gold producers, are located in the department of Antioquia, around 200kms from department capital Medellin. The mines have been running for over 150 years. 
 
In 2009, Colombia produced 1.57 million ounces of gold with that figure predicted to double over the next year.

Colombian Gold Miners Protest Sale of Mines

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ICEM Presidium member Angeline Chitambo was re-elected President of the Zimbabwe Energy Workers' Union (ZEWU) in a fractious Congress recently in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. After two tied ballots, she bested ZEWU Vice President Joseph Sibanda in a third ballot, 36-30. 
 
Chitambo now begins her second three-year term as leader of ZEWU. She is credited with giving an international profile to the union, as well as bringing financial stability to a union operating inside a troubled country with an unenviable and unfavourable economic environment. 
 
&quot;For the first time in many years, (ZEWU) has managed to acquire assets and this is commendable,&quot; said one of the union's founders, Misheck Kanyarare. 

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Angeline Chitambo, right
Angeline Chitambo was elected as an ICEM Vice President in 2007 as one of two women representatives to the Presidium. 
 
ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana, also President of South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), attended the ZEWU Congress, as did NUM Health and Safety Chairman Peter Bailey. Also in attendance was Rayford Mbulu, ICEM Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Vice President, who leads the Mineworkers' Union of Zambia (MUZ). 
 
ZEWU, one of the strongest trade union affiliates inside the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, has several important bargains ongoing in 2010, including the Zimbabwe Electric Service Authority, other electric power operators, and a petroleum company called Petrozimline.

Angeline Chitambo Wins Contested Election in Zimbabwe

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A relentless, two-year campaign by ICEM US affiliate, the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA), against Covanta gave 140 workers in the state of Massachusetts their first labour agreement last week. The collective agreement, actually two contracts with one giving workers huge retroactive backpay and bonus awards, punctuates a capitulation by the American waste-to-energy company in resisting full workers&rsquo; rights following a successful organizing drive. 
 
That recruitment drive by UWUA Local 369 at an incinerator in Rochester, Massachusetts, that burns solid waste for conversion to electricity occurred in May 2008. Following the union vote, conducted by the US labour board, Covanta did what so many American companies do following union certification; engage in &ldquo;surface bargaining,&rdquo; never intending to reach a first labour agreement, and they punish workers for voting union by withholding scheduled pay gains.
<img alt="" src="" width="216" height="160" />
Under US labour statute, after a one-year period has elapsed from the certification vote, workers have an option to de-authorise the union as bargaining representative. 
 
But at Covanta in Massachusetts, the UWUA would have none of it. The Washington, DC-based union began an unyielding campaign that blocked the publicly-traded Covanta from expanding its waste-to-energy business into Canada, Ireland, the UK, and the Netherlands. That meant engaging trade unions, civic organizations, and environmental groups as Covanta sought to gain municipal contracts to collect trash and the necessary permits to built incinerations in those countries in order to sell power to electric grids. 
 
UWUA impeded Covanta both at home and abroad by highlighting the company&rsquo;s negligent health and safety ledger, its environmental record, and its appalling labour relations conduct, which included serious and malicious breaches of US labour law (see earlier ICEM dispatches <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3694-UWUA-Wins-US$1-Million-Judgment-for-Covanta-Workers-">here</a>, <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3532-US-Labour-Board-Issues-Stern-Injunctive-Relief-against-Covanta">here</a>, and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3039-Covanta-Energy-Violates-US-Labour-Law">here</a>).&nbsp; 
 
The end result was a three-year collective agreement, plus a separate contract granting workers sizeable backpay and bonus payments that had been withheld. Local 369 members at Covanta&rsquo;s SEMASS facility voted to accept the pair of agreements by a wide margin on 22 April. The pay and other gains are exceptional, and the working agreement now in place contains the best features of US union contracts. 
 
The backdated bonus and pay accord gives the 140 workers a retroactive wage increase of 3% to early 2009; an incentive bonus of 8.1% of total wages for 2008; an annual wage increases backdated to 1 January 2010 of 2.7%; and a further missed incentive bonus of 4.85% of total wages for 2009. Added up, these retroactive gains average US$17,000 per worker. 
 
And on top of that, comes the three-year pay, bonus, and other union protection items took effect 14 April 2010. That includes a 2.8% increase each year, a ratification bonus of US$1,250 per worker, additional incentive bonuses of up to 7% in each year of the contract, as well as new safety and health protections, including a medical surveillance programme to monitor workers&rsquo; blood levels from handling hazardous materials, and limits on sub-contracting.
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="133" />
UWUA President D. Michael Langford&nbsp;
The ICEM considers UWUA&rsquo;s campaign and the end result of the Local 369-Covanta contract exemplary and an inspiring example inside America on how best to fight a recalcitrant employer attempting to deny its employees their lawful rights. In congratulating UWUA President D. Michael Langford, General Secretary Manfred Warda termed the initial labour agreement an excellent one that &ldquo;all UWUA members &ndash; in fact, all union members in America &ndash; can be justly proud of.&rdquo; (See the full letter <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/33%20Letter%20to%20UWUA%20Presiden%20-%20Michael%20Langford.pdf">here</a>.) 
 
In a joint release issued by UWUA Local 369 and Covanta, Local 369 President Gary Sullivan stated, &ldquo;Our UWUA Bargaining Committee has done an outstanding job pressing for a fair and just contract. We are hopeful this is the first step to a productive relationship with Covanta.&rdquo;

US Affiliate UWUA Achieves Exceptional First Contract with Covanta

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With the ashes from the global financial crisis still about us, the ICEM has joined with the 11 other Global Union Federations (GUFs), as well as the International Trade Union Confederation and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD in issuing a joint 1 May statement. That statement follows below. 
May Day 2010 
Jobs, Justice and Public Services &ndash; Getting the Economy to Work 
The Council of Global Unions, the voice of the global labour movement, has issued the following statement to mark May 1, 2010 
 
On today of all days, trade unionists around the world demand fresh steps to reform the global economy in favour of social justice, investment in jobs and fairness in society. This is no time for business as usual. 
 
Neo-liberal economists and reckless financial dealings have created a crisis that has put millions of people out of work and forced many more into precarious employment to survive. Social safety nets are being torn apart. Public spending that provides for cohesive communities is being savagely cut. 
 
With all of this in mind, Global Unions call on policymakers and democrats everywhere to support a new paradigm of recovery and social justice that will: 
 
&bull; Reassert in government at all levels the primacy of public interest over private gain and ensure that the protection of citizens&rsquo; rights is made a cornerstone of social and economic development; 
 
&bull; Defend the rights of workers and trade unions; 
 
&bull; Mobilise for the creation of sustainable, secure and good quality jobs for all workers, that allow workers and their families to live in dignity; 
 
&bull; Ensure that social justice is a central mission of government and take concrete measures to reduce income disparities and increase equality, in particular gender equality; 
 
&bull; Eliminate market abuse through short-term speculation and manipulation of financial markets by imposing binding and effective regulation; 
 
&bull; Promote sustainable development with job-centred policies, effective social protections and reversal of global warming and environmental degradation; 
 
&bull; Renew commitment to public service values in society and enhance the contribution of quality public services to fairer and more efficient societies, and to finance these services through progressive systems of taxation that provide sufficient resources while improving social equity; 
 
&bull; Commit to education for all and provide resources needed to achieve the enrichment of society that comes from high quality education and training; 
 
&bull; Improve the quality of people&rsquo;s lives by providing universal access to health care and other vital social welfare services, as well as such fundamental issues as clean water and adequate nutrition, and breathing new life into efforts to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. 
 
May Day 2010 is a moment to change course, to meet the aspirations of workers and communities for a new beginning, to put to flight self-serving politics and corporate greed, and, above all, to build a new solidarity in society in support of people-centred values that will enrich the lives of all. 
 
 
The PDF of the statement can be found <a href="http://www.world-psi.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&amp;CONTENTFILEID=29028&amp;TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm">here</a>.

Global Labour’s Joint 1 May Statement

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On 20-21 April, 82 trade union leaders from 14 countries participated in a wide-ranging conference of the ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific Region. The Sydney, Australia, meetings were expertly hosted and coordinated by the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia, which also provided generous support for many trade unions of the region to attend. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda was scheduled to attend, but scheduled flights out of Europe were grounded throughout that week due to volcanic ash from Iceland. Instead, Warda initiated a late-night telephone conference exchange with delegates from Geneva. 

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The ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific meetings were co-chaired by Kiyoshi Ochiai of UI Zensen, Japan, CFMEU&rsquo;s National President Tony Maher, and ICEM Asia-Pacific Regional Contact Person Phee Jung-sun. The CFMEU&rsquo;s John Sutton chaired the first day&rsquo;s union meeting. 
 
The regional forum had the distinction to hear representatives from the All China Federation of Labour (ACFTU) and the Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union of Vietnam. Representatives from both gave candid and vivid descriptions of multinational companies operating in their countries, and engaged with ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific delegates on a number of issues. 

<img src="" width="320" height="148" alt="" />
Left, Peter Tighe of Australia&rsquo;s Communications, Electrical, and Plumbing Union, and CFMEU&rsquo;s Forestry Division leaders Alex Millar and Michael O&rsquo;Connor
On 20 April, a morning session consisted of experiences and potential work of trade unions is in the region, while the afternoon session covered ICEM&rsquo;s Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) project in the region. Six unions from Australia and two from New Zealand also joined discussions in central coordination of activities and experiences with multinationals. 
 
Delegates passed two resolutions, one reiterating ICEM&rsquo;s CAL work, but also stating strong and aggressive policies are needed toward senior leaders of corporations that deny trade union and other rights to temporary workers. 
 
The other resolution is specific to Thailand. It states that violations of freedom of association and the right to collectively bargain are rampant against both regular workers and temporary workers, and that education, establishment of company networks, and raising necessary resources for Thai unions to develop are necessary so that they can resist such anti-worker biases.

Asia-Pacific ICEM Regional Conference Held in Australia

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The ICEM French trade union affiliate, the Federation of Chemical and Energy Workers (FCE-CFDT) Union, has launched a new section of their website that includes WebTV and online forum debates, open to all. 
 
Click <a href="http://www.fce.cfdt.fr/ ">here</a> to view. 
 
The forum, the union&rsquo;s first interactive online tool, enables dialogue between its members, employees, and activists. Personal questions and queries are explained by union staffers, with the explanations open for anybody, including workers considering joining the FCE-CFDT. This level of access to debates would not be possible using traditional tools. The new communicating tool is predicted to attract new members. 

<img src="" width="240" height="221" alt="" />
The forum was recently used by the union to conduct a poll on the union&rsquo;s popular new slogan, with the slogan &ldquo;Let us invent the CFDT of tomorrow!&rdquo; receiving the most votes. 
 
The WebTV gives free and open access to films and interviews on the work of the union, as well as news, federal campaigns, and actions underway. The ICEM applauds our French affiliate&rsquo;s initiative!

French FCE-CFDT Launches Online TV

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On 5 April, 29 American miners were killed at the Massey Energy Company&rsquo;s non-union mine of Upper Big Branch in the state of West Virginia. The catastrophe, caused by a methane gas explosion, was the worst mine tragedy to occur in the US in 40 years and it triggered a fierce debate in America over the merits of union mines versus non-union ones regarding safety. 
 
Three weeks after the disaster, non-union miners at Massey&rsquo;s Montcoal, West Virginia, colliery did what other non-union miners have done in recent times when company negligence has caused a disaster: they called on ICEM affiliate United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) to participate in the investigation. 
 
Under US mine safety law, non-union miners can request the expertise of the UMWA in the event of a disaster, or safety occurrence. That happened at the non-union Crandall Canyon mine in the state of Utah in August 2007, following an explosion that killed six miners, and then days later, three rescue workers. It happened at West Virginia&rsquo;s Sago Mine a year earlier when 12 miners perished due to an underground explosion. 

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="167" />
UMWA President Cecil Roberts
Then, International Coal Group and its owner, New York investor Wilbur Ross, blocked UMWA safety experts from entering the mine even though miners had designated their participation. The UMWA and the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) had to sue International Coal to gain access and uphold the law. 
 
Despite Massey and its CEO Don Blankenship being vehemently anti-union, that recurrence did not happen when UMWA a safety expert showed up at Upper Big Branch on 23 April to investigate. He was allowed on to the property. 
 
On 27 April, a US Senate hearing on the West Virginia tragedy heard testimony that Massey&rsquo;s Upper Big Branch mine had been cited a total of 515 times for safety violations, and 124 times alone in 2009. The company was hit with fines totaling US$1.24 million, but paid less than US$180,000 because the fines were reduced through continual appeals. And those appeals generally delay the necessary safety corrections. 
 
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very easy to game the system,&rdquo; said Joe Main, who heads MSHA as an Assistant US Labor Secretary. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a catch me if you can mentality,&rdquo; added Main, who once served as Health and Safety Director of the UMWA. 
 
UMWA President Cecil Roberts testified, &ldquo;The miners who work for Massey are scared to death. They&rsquo;re intimidated. This company is run like its 1921, not the present day.&rdquo; 
 
A day after the US Senate hearings in the state of Kentucky, two coal miners were killed when an underground roof collapsed. These deaths occurred at the Dotiki mine, owned by Alliance Resource Partners.

US Mine Workers’ Union Designated to Investigate Massey Coal Mine Killings

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