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20 milyon &uuml;yeli Uluslararası Kimya, Enerji, Maden ve Genel İş&ccedil;i Sendikaları Federasyonu (ICEM) Gazze'de derhal ateşkes ilan edilmesi ve Gazze halkına insani yardım sağlanabilmesi i&ccedil;in İsrail ile Filistin arasındaki sınırın ge&ccedil;işe a&ccedil;ılması talebine katılıyor. 
 
&ldquo;İsrail hava saldırılarında atılan bombaların Hamas'ın yanı sıra, &uuml;niversite, televizyon istasyonu, cami ve m&uuml;lteci kampları gibi, 1,5 milyon Filistinli'ye yurt olan bu Akdeniz kıyı b&ouml;lgesindeki salt sivil hedefleri de kapsadığını dehşetle sarsılarak g&ouml;rd&uuml;m,&rdquo; diyen ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda s&ouml;zlerini ş&ouml;yle s&uuml;rd&uuml;rd&uuml;: &ldquo;Masum Filistinlilerin hayatlarını kaybetmesi acı veriyor. Hem İsrail'in hem de Hamas'ın derhal harfiyen uyulacak bir ateşkes ilan etmesi tek &ccedil;ıkar yoldur.&rdquo; 
<img height="102" alt="" src="" width="170" />
Birleşmiş Milletler kaynaklarına ve Filistin makamlarına g&ouml;re, 27 Aralık Pazar g&uuml;n&uuml;nden bu yana hava saldırılarında 370'ten fazla Filistinli &ouml;ld&uuml;, &ouml;ld&uuml;r&uuml;lenlerin yaklaşık &uuml;&ccedil;te biri sivil, 60'tan fazlası ise kadın ve &ccedil;ocuk. Bir&ccedil;oğu ağır olmak &uuml;zere 1.000'den fazla Filistinli yaralı ve doktorlar temel tıbbi malzeme ve kan yokluğuyla boğuşarak yaralıları tedavi etmeye &ccedil;alışıyorlar. 
Hava saldırıları, bu ayın başında sona eren altı aylık ateşkesi Hamas'ın yenilememe kararından sonra Gazze'den İsrail'e yapılan ve d&ouml;rt İsrailli'nin &ouml;l&uuml;m&uuml;ne yol a&ccedil;an f&uuml;ze saldırılarına karşılık olarak yapılmıştı. Hamas'ın kaygı uyandırıcı eylemini Filistin y&ouml;netimi başkanı Mahmud Abbas şiddetle eleştirdi. Hamas İslamcı hareketi Filistin'de &uuml;&ccedil; yıl &ouml;nce yapılan se&ccedil;imleri kazanmış ve sonra ge&ccedil;en yıl Gazze'de kontrol&uuml; şiddet kullanarak ele ge&ccedil;irmişti. 
Birleşmiş Milletler'in insan haklarından sorumlu y&uuml;ksek komiseri Navi Pillay, İsrail'in kuvvet kullanımının &ldquo;&ouml;l&ccedil;&uuml;s&uuml;z&rdquo; olduğunu vurgularken, Birleşmiş Milletler'in Filistin topraklarındaki insan hakları &ouml;zel raport&ouml;r&uuml; Richard Falk BBC'yle yaptığı bir s&ouml;yleşide ş&ouml;yle dedi: &ldquo;İsrail savunmasız bir halka karşı modern silahlar kullanarak t&uuml;yler &uuml;rpertici bir vahşet uyguluyor, aylardır ağır bir abluka altında tutulan bir halka saldırıyor.&rdquo; 
İsrail ordusu 2.500 ihtiyat askerini daha g&ouml;reve &ccedil;ağırdı ve Gazze sınırında kara harek&acirc;tı i&ccedil;in hazırlıklar s&uuml;r&uuml;yor. İsrail sınır b&ouml;lgesini &ldquo;kapalı askeri b&ouml;lge&rdquo; ilan ederek gazetecilerin ve başkalarının buraya girişini yasakladı. B&ouml;lgeye denizden giriş de m&uuml;mk&uuml;n değil. 
ICEM ve G&uuml;ney Afrika Maden İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası Başkanı Senzeni Zokwana, b&uuml;t&uuml;n tarafları, Gazze'deki hayati insani ihtiya&ccedil;ları karşılamaya &ccedil;ağırdı ve ş&ouml;yle dedi: &ldquo;Gazze halkına yiyecek, su, yakacak ve tıbbi yardım sağlanması i&ccedil;in sınırın ge&ccedil;işe derhal a&ccedil;ılması gerekiyor. Gazze'deki İsrail ablukasının derhal kaldırılması ve tıbbi yardım ekiplerinin engellenmeden acil yardım ulaştırması gerekiyor.&rdquo; 
Filistin Sendikalar Federasyonu Genel Sekreteri Shaher Saed'den ICEM'e g&ouml;nderilen bir mesajda, Filistinliler'in &ccedil;ektikleri ayrıntılarıyla anlatılıyor ve Filistin halkının işgal ve silah tehdidi olmaksızın normal yaşamlarını s&uuml;rd&uuml;rme umudu vurgulanıyor. 
 
Saed'in deyişiyle: &ldquo;İsrail y&ouml;netiminin Filistin halkına saldırılarını durdurmasını sağlamak i&ccedil;in her t&uuml;r &ccedil;abanın harcanması uluslararası topluluğun insani g&ouml;revidir. Filistin halkı sadece f&uuml;zelerden gelen &ouml;l&uuml;mle karşı karşıya değil; ekmek, ila&ccedil;, elektrik ve i&ccedil;me suyu bulunmadığı i&ccedil;in a&ccedil;lık ve &ouml;l&uuml;mle de karşı karşıya.&rdquo; 
 
ICEM, Gazze'deki sorunun ya da Ortadoğu'da genel barış arayışının askeri y&ouml;ntemlerle &ccedil;&ouml;z&uuml;lemeyeceğine inanıyor. Hem İsrail'in hem de Filistin'in toprağa, haklara ve barış i&ccedil;inde yaşama g&uuml;vencesine sahip olmasını sağlayacak uluslararası &ccedil;abaların ciddi bir şekilde artırılması gerekiyor. 
ICEM Uluslararası Sendikalar Konfederasyonu'nun (ITUC) ve &ouml;zellikle konfederasyon Genel Sekreteri Guy Ryder'ın şu a&ccedil;ıklamasını t&uuml;m&uuml;yle destekliyor: &ldquo;&Ccedil;atışmaya kesin bir son vermek ve İsrail ile Filistin'in iki demokratik devlet olarak barış i&ccedil;inde birlikte yaşamasının temelini atmak i&ccedil;in, saldırı ve tepki zincirinin yerini diyalogun alması gerekiyor.&rdquo; 
 
Ryder'ın s&ouml;zleriyle: Uluslararası topluluğun İsrail ve Filistin'in şiddet &ccedil;evriminden &ccedil;ıkmasını ve diyalog yoluna girmesini sağlayacak baskıyı kurması gerekiyor. Birleşmiş Milletler'in, onun G&uuml;venlik Konseyi &uuml;yelerinin ve bu konuda etkili olabilecek b&uuml;t&uuml;n diğer &uuml;lkelerin son derece acil bir şekilde bunu sağlaması gerekiyor.&quot; 
ICEM, G&uuml;ney Afrika Maden İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası'nın eski genel sekreteri ve G&uuml;ney Afrika Başkanı Kgalema Motlanthe'nin İsraillilerin ve Filistinlilerin şiddete son vermesi ve uluslararası topluluğun Ortadoğu'da barışa &ccedil;&ouml;z&uuml;m bulması &ccedil;ağrısını takdirle karşıladı. 
&quot;Ortadoğu'da şiddete son verecek bir &ccedil;&ouml;z&uuml;me varmak i&ccedil;in her iki taraf da elinden geleni yapmalıdır,&rdquo; diyen Motlanthe ş&ouml;yle devam etti: &quot;Şiddete şiddetle karşılık verilmesi ne İsraillilerin ne de Filistinlilerin davasına katkıda bulunacaktır. Filistin ve İsrail tarafları sorunlarına dostane bir &ccedil;&ouml;z&uuml;m bulmak i&ccedil;in &ccedil;aba harcamaktan ka&ccedil;ınmamalıdır.&quot; 
Motlanthe, g&uuml;venli sınırlar i&ccedil;inde bağımsız bir Filistin devletinin bir İsrail devletiyle birlikte yaşamasını &ouml;ng&ouml;ren iki devletli kalıcı bir &ccedil;&ouml;z&uuml;m &ccedil;ağrısı yaptı. 
ICEM Motlanthe'nin bu a&ccedil;ıklamasına t&uuml;m&uuml;yle katılıyor ve Ortadoğu'da barış i&ccedil;in &ccedil;alışmaya devam edecek. 
 
Merkezi Cenevre'de bulunan ICEM 141 &uuml;lkedeki 467 sendikayı temsil eden k&uuml;resel bir federasyondur.

ICEM Gazze&#039;de Derhal Ateşkese Gidilmesini Talep Ediyor

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The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has issued its annual call for compilation of all trade union violations occurring country-by-country in 2008. The confederation of national labour centres annually publishes a Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, and ICEM affiliates and other trade unions are encouraged to work through their national centres in order to submit information. 
 
The query is a comprehensive two-page questionnaire, covering respective legislation on trade unions and a reporting format for noting violations of trade union rights. 

<img height="151" alt="" src="" width="110" />
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
&ldquo;The ITUC&rsquo;s annual survey is a valuable resource that is often overlooked in importance,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We encourage trade unions throughout the world to respond to this call.&rdquo; Contact a national labour centre in your country for more information, or e-mail the ITUC&rsquo;s the Labour Rights Department at <a href="mailto:turights@ituc.csi.org">turights@ituc.csi.org</a> to see how you can contribute.

ITUC Issues Alert to Collect Trade Union Violations Occurring in 2008

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The ICEM was saddened to learn comrade Vitaly Ivanovic Butko, Vice-President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR), passed away on 4 January 2009. He was 59, and died from complications of an illness. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda sent a letter of condolence to Ivan Mohnachuk, President of the Russian Independent Coal Employees&rsquo; Union (Rosugleprof). &ldquo;We honour his important role in the establishment of democracy after the fall of the Soviet Union. We also remember him as a brilliant leader who made sure that the interests of the mineworkers were not neglected in the difficult years and many struggles of economic transition,&rdquo; stated Warda. That letter is <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Letter%20of%20condolence%20Vitaly%20Butko.pdf">here</a>. 

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Born in the city of Kemerevo, in the major coal mining region of the Kutnetsk Basin, 2,164 miles east of Moscow, Butko worked as a drift miner, a foreman, the trade union convener at the Kuzbas mine, and then as Chair of the Kuzbas Territorial TU Committee of the Coal Industry Workers&rsquo; Union of the USSR. From 1991 until 1998, Budko held the elected position of President of Rosugleprof. In 1998, he headed the Russian Federal Agency for Regulation of Natural Monopolies in Transportation. Since March 1999, he had worked as Vice President of FNPR. 
 
He will be remembered as an outstanding trade union leader, who dedicated his strength, experience and work to workers&rsquo; struggle.

ICEM Mourns Passing of Russian Trade Union Leader, Vitaly Butko

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Some 60,000 South Africans filled Absa Stadium in East London on 10 January for unveiling of the African National Congress&rsquo;s (ANC) 2009 election manifesto. And one of the main pieces of that five-year legislative plan &ndash; contained within a pledge to expand employment &ndash; is regulating the burgeoning number of labour brokers in the country. 
 
The manifesto cites an ANC mandate now to better regulate labour-hire agencies and short-term contract work. It states, &ldquo;to avoid exploitation of workers and ensure decent work for all workers as well as to protect the employment relationship, (the ANC will) introduce laws to regulate contract work, subcontracting, and outsourcing, address the problem of labour brokering, and prohibit certain abusive practices.&rdquo; 
 
The ANC&rsquo;s election platform is strong on labour and work rights, and clearly reflects the influence of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). The platform aims to generate jobs through creation of more labour-intensive production methods, as well as procurement policies that support local jobs. 

<img height="90" alt="" src="" width="150" />
The ANC intends to make the creation of decent work the central focus in all of the party&rsquo;s economic policies. The central points contained in the manifesto call for more public investment in infrastructure projects; expanding public employment; establishing assistance programmes in the fight against poverty; and introduction of a state-funded health insurance system. 
The manifesto was unveiled by ANC President Jacob Zuma, who called it a product of 15 years of ANC experience in governing South Africa. Zuma told those assembled in the stadium that South Africa would work earnestly to find solutions to the African continent&rsquo;s major flashpoints, from Zimbabwe to Somalia to the Democratic Republic of Congo. 
 
Parliamentarian elections in South Africa must be held by April, although no date has yet been set.

Curbing Labour Brokers Main Tenet of ANC Manifesto in South Africa

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A comprehensive study entitled &ldquo;Temporary Agency Work and Collective Bargaining in the EU&rdquo; expertly lays out the many differences in the 27-member union on laws and regulations, the broad shapes temporary work takes from country to country, and collects vital collective bargaining data on an issue that is the world&rsquo;s biggest threat to decent work. 
 
The study was compiled by surveying 28 national labour centres last March. It was done by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound). The research was done by Eurofound&rsquo;s European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO). 
 
The 48-page study can be found in pdf <a href="http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/docs/eiro/tn0807019s/tn0807019s.pdf">here</a>. 
The study charts agency work growth, country by country, from 2004 to 2007, both in numbers of workers and in revenue growth and it also graphs male, female ratios, and percentages in young and old workers. 

<img height="79" alt="" src="" width="120" />
Regarding laws relating to agency work, the study includes Norway&rsquo;s 1977 Work Environment Law as the earliest statute on the books in greater Europe. The late 1980s witnessed Belgium, Austria, and Portugal adopting statutes. Eurofound&rsquo;s study finds that today, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Malta are without clear legal frameworks. 
 
In Bulgaria, trade unions and businesses have sought a legal remedy for the triangular employment relationship, but disagreements on content in any proposed law has prevented passage both in 2006 and 2008. In Estonia and Lithuania, legislation is non-existent but there are licensing systems for agency labour firms. The study also points out that in Denmark, uniquely, strict regulation occurs inside the social dialogue process. The Danish model is considered by many to be the most evolved. 
 
In late October 2008, the European Parliament passed the Directive on Temporary Agency Work, premised on the principle of equal treatment for temporary workers. &ldquo;Temporary Agency Work and Collective Bargaining in the EU&rsquo;s&rdquo; value, clearly, can be found in the fact that this Directive allows countries to have exemptions or derogations, specifically with collective bargaining and social dialogue between partners. 
 
The study cites 10 countries that have umbrella employer associations which bargain collectively with trade unions on behalf of temp agency firms. All 10 are original EU member states. The study also says that, nearly without exception, there is not any role defined for collective bargaining in regulating temp work in the new member states. 
 
The survey of labour organisations cites 10 countries with having estimates of trade union density for agency workers. It ranges from Denmark (50%) and Finland (44%), to Slovenia (0.18%), France (0.9%), Italy (1.4-1.7%), to Austria and Luxembourg (5% each), and the Netherlands (17%). In Sweden, a difference is noted between white-collar (17%) and blue-collar (50%), the latter figure, the study says, &ldquo;might reflect higher exposure to trade unions in the user companies.&rdquo; 
 
The study notes that the CGT in France was the earliest to sign a collective agreement with a temp firm &ndash; Manpower in 1968 &ndash; and that all three Italian trade union organisations (CGIL, CISL, UIL) established, in the late 1990s, internal units to represent temporary workers. It says the trend now in most countries is for agency workers to join the trade union closest to their sector or job. 
The study contains scores of useful pieces of information, best characterising the broad effects the issue paints across all worklife in EU countries. In Austria and Germany, for instance, agency work is found more often in the blue-collar jobs of metalworking and manufacturing. In Finland, some two-thirds of agency workers are employed by firms for less than a year, with an average assignment of 94 days. In Denmark, 13% of the government&rsquo;s &ldquo;work and stay&rdquo; permissions since 2004 have been granted to east Europeans hired through labour agencies. Temporary workers in France have the shortest average work lengths, 1.9 weeks, while in the UK, one in five agency workers have been on a single job&nbsp;for an average of&nbsp;18 months. 
 
Eurofound&rsquo;s 2008 study compilation, done by its EIRO research arm, is a valuable document in terms of developing a substantive view on the effects and proliferation of agency labour in Europe.

Temp Agency Work in EU Clearly Defined in Eurofound Study

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Representatives of the ICEM affiliate, Associated Mineworkers Union of Zimbabwe (AMWZ), will meet with the Chamber of Mines on Thursday 15 January, to put forward their demand to be paid in United States dollars instead of local currency. 
 
Workers are ready to down tools if they receive their next salary payment in Zimbabwe dollars. &ldquo;Mineworkers are reeling in poverty and are starving because they are being paid in local currency when almost everything is being charged in US dollars,&rdquo; stated AMWZ president Tinago Ruzive. &ldquo;The situation is quite bad. If we are not paid in United States dollars, we will go on a collective job action.&rdquo; 

<img height="140" alt="" src="" width="140" />
The mining industry in Zimbabwe is in a near-critical condition, especially in the gold sector where the Reserve Bank is said to owe miners at least US$30 million backdated to 2007. Mining industry management has called the union&rsquo;s ultimatum irrational and unrealistic, considering the current crisis. Ruzive responded, arguing that workers have the right to a decent wage. 
 
Salaries in the local currency do not represent a decent wage as it is no longer being accepted for commercial purposes. This near total dollarization of the economy has rendered the local currency virtuously worthless. 
 
Should the miners decide to strike, they will join the country&rsquo;s teachers and nurses who have been on strike since late 2008.

Zimbabwean Miners Demand Payment in US Dollars

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Australia&rsquo;s Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union&rsquo;s (CFMEU) fight to preserve mining jobs against a MNC&rsquo;s callousness, making workers the victims of an economic downturn, got a ruling in the Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) last week. That ruling, delivered on 8 January, calls for a one-week consultation period &ndash; beginning today &ndash; in which Xstrata must justify its ill-taken decision to sack 230 coal miners at Oaky Creek No. 1 Mine in Queensland. 
 
The case stands as a key test in Australia regarding a company shifting the burden of the recent economic collapse onto workers. CFMEU is not alone at present in fiercely resisting job cuts because of a failed neo-liberal economic agenda. From Russia to Chile, at Europe&rsquo;s largest zinc deposits in Ireland&rsquo;s County Meath, where 670 were retrenched by Tara Mines, to the hundreds of thousands of migrant miners across the world who are out of work with no place to go, it is workers who are paying the unjust price of capital&rsquo;s failure. 
 
The CFMEU fightback is just one example of the necessary, the pivotally necessary response that is needed to re-shape a social agenda. 
 
In Bolivia, the FSTMB mine union federation staged protests on 9 January calling on the country&rsquo;s leftist government to allow no layoffs. That came just after Xstrata&rsquo;s holding partner &ndash; Swiss-based Glencore International &ndash; announced job cuts of 700 zinc and lead mines, and at the Sinchi Wayra smelting plant. Workers threatened to take over the operations if the sackings came. 

<img height="99" alt="" src="" width="140" />
In Brazil, iron ore miners of Vale stopped work last Thursday, 8 January, at a mine in Itabira over the mining company&rsquo;s decision to retrench 1,300 jobs. Itabira, in Minas Gerais state, is where Vale was founded. Mining union Metabase says that as many as 10,000 miners could lose their jobs in Brazil because of economic cuts. 
 
In South Africa, estimates say that 40,000 miners could be out work through 2009 because of the economic meltdown. Many will be migrant workers. ICEM and National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) President Senzeni Zokwana predicted the social impact of such sudden and unprecedented joblessness will be far-reaching and disturbing. 

<img height="117" alt="" src="" width="100" />
ICEM President Senzeni Sokwana
In Australia on 16 December, Anglo-Swiss Xstrata levelled a surprise on the 1,800-person town of Tieri, central Queensland, by announcing that the jobs of miners at one part of Oaky Creek&rsquo;s rich coal seams would be indefinitely suspended. 
 
ICEM-affiliated CFMEU took the matter to the AIRC to prevent the sackings. In arbitration hearings on 22 December, and again from 6-7 January in Brisbane, CFMEU argued that Xstrata&rsquo;s price drops are a speck in comparison with its recent coal pricing history has reverted only to early 2008 thermal coal prices to meet slowing demand from the steel industry. Xstrata has an industry-wide reputation, especially over Oaky Creek&rsquo;s high-quality coking coal, of driving prices upward in tight markets, thus making it the industry&rsquo;s price-setter during boom times. 
 
The CFMEU sought a four-week period for the consultative process. The AIRC gave the process a week to work. The CFMEU seeks to get Xstrata to place retrenched workers in its other Queensland operations, specifically Oaky Creek North, a separate longwall operation. The company resists. The union has charged Xstrata with stonewalling the AIRC process, relying on former Howard government work laws to justify its privilege to inflict social degradation on workers. 
 
&ldquo;Xstrata has chosen to take advantage of John Howard&rsquo;s WorkChoices laws and argues heartlessly that they are not required to afford workers natural justice in the redundancy process,&rdquo; said CFMEU Mining and Energy Vice President Stuart Vaccaneo. &ldquo;This really is corporate cowboy stuff.&rdquo; 
 
For the company&rsquo;s part, in December, a spokesman called CFMEU guilty of political posturing by wasting the AIRC&rsquo;s time in bringing the legal case. Vaccaneo called that the &ldquo;height of arrogance,&rdquo; given what 230 Queensland families face. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not about politics&mdash;it&rsquo;s about the future of (these) workers and their families.&rdquo; 
 
Following the 8 January AIRC ruling mandating this week as the week for labour-management consultation, a company spokesman said Xstrata will talk to the union, but &ldquo;we have appropriately managed those people&rdquo; affected. 
 
Some 450 job cuts were announced in December in Queensland. Although the Xstrata Oaky Creek case is the most high profile one, other mining enterprises in the region like Macarthur Coal Ltd. and Oz Minerals, a zinc producer, have also fired miners. 
 
Oaky Creek, first starting production in 1983, was bought by Xstrata when it took over MIM Holdings in 2003. Xstrata owns 55% of Oaky Creek, while Japanese companies Sumisho Coal, Itocho Coal, and ICRA OC Ltd. hold remaining ownership. Oaky Creek exports 11 million metric tonnes annually to steel mills in Europe, Japan, and North and South America.

Xstrata, CFMEU in Australia Battle Over Mining Jobs in Economic Downturn

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Find this article in Arabic <a href="/index.php?id=78&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=2994">here</a>.
The first cargo plane full of humanitarian supplies for the people of Gaza landed last week, 8 January, at Al-Areesh, Egypt, courtesy of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF). Both the ITF and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) are actively engaged in trade union relief operations to deliver food, water, and medical assistance to Gaza, following nearly three weeks bombing by Israel.
The supplies, collected from transport trade unions and other across the Middle East, were passed to the Red Crescent in Gaza. ITF Representative for the Arab World, Bilal Malkawi, also chief leader of Jordan&rsquo;s General Trade Union of Workers in Air Transport and Tourism, supervised a cargo that included mostly vital medical supplies purchased by the ITF. 

<img height="141" alt="" src="" width="130" />
Bilal Malkawi was aboard the aircraft as it landed in Egypt late last week. The ITF-affiliated union has headed up the collection of essential supplies that were transported on Royal Jordanian planes, donated by the airline for the cause. Further relief flights will follow. 
 
&ldquo;We hope that this will be the first of several mercy flights carrying humanitarian supplies,&rdquo; said ITF General Secretary David Cockroft. &ldquo;Vital though these medical supplies are, they do not lessen in any way the need for an immediate cease fire in Gaza.&rdquo; 

<img height="90" alt="" src="" width="150" />
The ICEM called for an immediate cease fire in a statement issued on 31 December. &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; the&nbsp;ICEM statement read.&nbsp; 
 
Labour groups worldwide, particularly in the Middle East, have condemned Israel&rsquo;s disproportionate attacks on Gaza. Late last week, the ICEM-affiliated General Trade Union of Public Utilities of Egypt issued a call for the international community &ldquo;to exercise and exert pressure on Israel to bring an end to Palestinian suffering, and to stop the violent and atrocious aggression on the armless people of Gaza.&rdquo; 

<img height="95" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ITUC is working in cooperation with national labour centres in Palestine and Jordan (the PGFTU and GFJTU) to bring trade union aid for Gaza&rsquo;s citizens. The ITUC has set up an account called &ldquo;Trade Union Aid for Gaza.&rdquo; Information on bank transfer donations can call +32 2 224 0211 for information. 
 
Union wishing to contribute to the ITF, Jordanian Air Transport Workers Union efforts can do so by contacting Bilal at <a href="mailto:malkaw_bilal@itf.org.uk">malkaw_bilal@itf.org.uk</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Relief Aid Begins Reaching Gaza through ITF and ITUC Efforts

Calling it a &ldquo;complete and total victory,&rdquo; ICEM Vice President and Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union President Dave Coles said today that CEP Local 175 ratified a three-year labour agreement yesterday with Petro-Canada, ending a 57-week lockout at a refinery in the Canadian province of Quebec. 
 
&ldquo;The pattern agreement for the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy Bargaining Programme has been achieved, the employer has recognized this programme, and we can now truly call this a major victory for both the international and national labour movements,&rdquo; said Coles. 
 
The 260 members of CEP Local 175 at the Montr&eacute;al refinery voted on 23 December by 94.6% to approve the retroactive contract.
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CEP Local 175 Members Were&nbsp;Solid in&nbsp;Their Resolve to Achieve the Canadian Oil and&nbsp;Gas Pattern Agreement&nbsp;
Coles said the mediated settlement contains a commitment by both sides to undertake measures to improve the labour relationship between CEP and Petro-Canada at all locations across the country. The two sides began private mediation early in December with Special Mediator Lucien Bouchard, Premier of Quebec from 1996 to 2001, in efforts to resolve the lockout, which began on 17 November 2007. 
 
The mediated settlement preserves the pattern labour agreement in Canada&rsquo;s oil, gas, and petrochemicals industry, thus granting Local 175 members a basket-full of wage and benefit improvements at year end 2008. 
 
They will receive a retroactive pay increase of 5% dating to 1 February 2007, with further increases of 4.5% in 2008, and 4.5% on 1 February 2009. In addition, each worker will receive a C$4,000 bonus, an accrued holiday or vacation payment averaging C$6,000, and a 2007 profit-sharing payment of C$3,800. 
 
Petro-Canada dropped a demand to eliminate the refinery&rsquo;s health and safety prevention officer; its proposal to accelerate a training programme that would place safety at greater risk; and backed away from plans to alter shift schedules and job assignments.
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&nbsp;CEP President Dave Coles 
 

The settlement provides for an automatic extension of the collective agreement when it expires on 1 February 2010 based on the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy Bargaining agreement with the company at its Edmonton, Alberta, refinery. 
 
Coles credits the start of a nationwide boycott against Petro-Canada&rsquo;s retail products, as well as vast support both from CEP members, and from union members throughout the world, with bringing the company to terms of the pattern agreement. 
 
&ldquo;It was clear that the world&rsquo;s trade unions were pulling in behind our courageous members of Local 175,&rdquo; said Coles. &ldquo;We had international support from energy unions around the globe organized by our international federation, ICEM. There is no doubt that this outcome owes much to this watershed of labour solidarity that was organized in support of our members.&rdquo; 
 
The other message, Coles said, is that boycotts work. &ldquo;Canadians from all trade unions had begun executing a flawless boycott, and the company took notice.&rdquo;
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ICEM's Manfred Warda, left,&nbsp;in Ottawa with CEP members&nbsp;
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, who had walked the picket line at the Montr&eacute;al refinery, as well as protested at company petrol stations in Ottawa, extended the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s congratulations to the CEP and Local 175. 
 
&ldquo;This is a tremendous victory. The perseverance and resolve of the 260 refinery workers to protect 40 years of pattern bargaining &ndash; backed by CEP members across Canada &ndash; is an inspiration to us all,&rdquo; stated Warda. &ldquo;This will be acclaimed by energy trade unions across the world.&rdquo; 
 
The back to work agreement calls for CEP Local 175 members to return to their jobs and begin ramping up production to the refinery&rsquo;s 130,000 barrel-per-day capacity on 12 January 2009. The CEP agreed to drop all legal charges and complaints arising from the dispute.

CEP’s Montréal Refinery Workers Victory ‘Total and Complete,’ Lockout Ends

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Two Finnish trade unions began membership voting last week on a merger of six industrial unions. Kemianliitto, the ICEM-affiliated chemicals, rubber, glass, and textile union, and the Finnish Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (Metalli) began separate voting on 5 February, with balloting by both unions to close on 19 February. 

The proposed new name for the merged union is to be TEAM. If all six unions ratify the merger, TEAM will have 360,000 members in Finland. Other unions that have been in the longstanding merger discussions, including the Wood and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union, Finnish Media Union, Finnish Railwaymen&rsquo;s Union, and ICEM-affiliated Finnish Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union, will conduct other ratification processes in the coming months. The date for the merger to take effect is 1 January 2010. 
 
Kemianliitto&rsquo;s membership balloting this month is binding, while the vote by metalworkers is a consultative ballot. The Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union numbers some 48,000 members and Metalli has 167,000 members. 
 
TEAM&rsquo;s bargaining structure would consist of 51 collective agreements, and the merged union would be divided into seven sectors, each operating relatively independent. The cumulative number of local branch unions will remain the same at 1,120, with each retaining its autonomy. A proportional delegate Congress will be seated every five years, with the Congress electing a General Council and Executive Committee. The General Council, in turn, would elect Sectoral Executive Committees and Sectoral Directors. 
 
In Kemianliitto&rsquo;s endorsement of the merger, the union said TEAM would constitute an adequate counterforce to current employer power. &ldquo;A big union would be stronger and more efficient in safeguarding membership interest both locally, nationally, and internationally. The smaller sectors would benefit from the strength of a big union. Regional activities would gain more efficiency, and the expertise available within the union would benefit all.&rdquo;

Voting Begins on 6-Way Union Merger in Finland

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CEP’s Montréal Refinery Workers Victory ‘Total and Complete,’ Lockout Ends

Voting Begins on 6-Way Union Merger in Finland

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