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The ICEM&rsquo;s Sub-Sahara Africa Regional Organisation (SSARO), with the support of Germany&rsquo;s Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), conducted a very successful workshop on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Lusaka, Zambia, on 19-20 October. Participants from 12 countries, representing unions organising in the extractive industries, shared information on the impact of FDI in the mining and energy sectors. 
 
The participants were enriched with the input of a number of presenters, mainly from Zambia who gave excellent presentations on the subject. Trade unionists agreed on the need for FDI in the region, but realised that such investment, left unchecked, can do more damage than good if trade unions do not engage both Chinese and western-based multinationals on the inherent need to respect workers&rsquo; rights, communities, the environment, and to ensure that governments &ndash; on behalf of the population &ndash; benefits from FDI. 
 
It was further realised that unions and other stakeholders must guide against FDI corrupting governments and political leaders. 

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The workshop undertook to examine the shortfalls stemming from a similar ICEM workshop held in 2008 in Accra, Ghana. The failures were mainly on the issues of implementation and lack of communication, thus October&rsquo;s Zambian workshop undertook to do better in those areas. This recent workshop pledged to follow through with the resolutions adopted at the Ghana workshop, and further resolved to undertake the following: 
 
Data: All participating unions and other unions must send data to the SSARO regional office in Johannesburg with the following information: companies organised, sectors involved, ownership of companies, numbers of members in that company, unorganised workers in that company, and does the union have an agreement with the company? 
 
Legislation: Is there any legislation governing multinationals in the respective African countries? Is the legislation implemented and acted upon by the companies? Are the laws being reviewed, and if yes, when and are the difficulties? Are unions involved in the review? If not, why? If yes, how often does the review take place, and how do unions influence. All affiliates of the ICEM must take part in the reviews and try to influence the direction of the review and the outcome. 
 
Pan-African Standards: There must be Pan African Standards set that will be enforced by all countries in the region. There must be a model that will be applicable to regulate the operations of FDI, specifically Chinese investments. Efforts must be made by ICEM affiliates to ensure uniformity in terms of working conditions and economic emancipation. There is also a need for ICEM affiliates to promote effective networks in terms of information sharing, joint campaigns, and solidarity. There should be social dialogue between civil society, government, communities, and other stakeholders by assuring that there is adherence to all the laws governing FDI. 
 
Organising and Building Power: Strengthening our collaboration with NGOs to forge links and cooperation to confront the challenges posed by FDI /Chinese investments. Strengthening solidarity campaigns in terms of confronting the challenges. A need to strengthen the coordination mechanism of the ICEM in the region to effectively coordinate campaigns and solidarity, and to lobby our governments to support the position of labour and communities on these campaigns. 
 
Promote Corporate Social Responsibility and Awareness: To establish buy-in by the community and promote networking among trade unions. 
 
Campaigns: Determining which campaigns to take up and when, and when doing so, to lobby governments for direct involvement of trade unions in negotiation of agreements aimed at acquisition of raw materials and mineral rights; to lobby for transparency in these agreements; to lobby and demand labour rights, human rights, community and environmental standards in these agreements. 
 
In doing such, it is important to monitor International Finance Corporation/World Bank Performance standards, the ILO core labour standards, and standards set by the employer-based International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM). As well, there must be a commitment to follow through with the resolutions adopted by SSARO, such as letter to CEOs and the lobbying of governments. 
 
As an example of such campaigns, a day of mobilisation at Chinese embassies in Africa was suggested. This would include coordinated press conferences and protests on specific practices of Chinese employers and it would encompass support to ICEM affiliates which undertake actions against mining employers. (As an example, support to the Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Zambia in its efforts to organise a Chinese mine. As well, the ICEM will develop a model labour standard to be incorporated into agreements to acquire raw materials.

Sub-Saharan Africa Region of ICEM Holds Workshop on Foreign Direct Investment

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Tens of thousands of Nigerian citizens took to the streets in the federal capital territory of Abuja on 29 October in a visible display at protest over the government&rsquo;s plan to deregulate the downstream oil sector. The manifestation was led by the nation&rsquo;s two national labour centres, the blue-collar Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the white-collar Trades Union Congress (TUC). 
 
Both ICEM trade union affiliates in the energy sector, NUPENG and PENGASSAN, were forefront in the manifestation, turning out thousands of members. The government&rsquo;s plan to deregulate also would end fuel subsidies to the nation&rsquo;s citizenry, an insensitive move that would &ndash; the labour federations claim &ndash; immediately lift fuel costs from 65 naira per litre (US$.43) to 95 naira (US$.63). 

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Three Arms Monument at the National Assembly
Such an increase on heating, cooking, and transport fuel costs would drive millions of people in Africa&rsquo;s most populous country deeper into poverty. 
 
Last Thursday&rsquo;s protest culminated at the Three Arms Zone in front of the National Assembly, where union and civil society leaders delivered a letter intended for President Umaru Musa Yar&rsquo;Adua. It called on the government to conduct a citizens&rsquo; referendum on the question of deregulation. 
 
The letter was jointly signed by NLC President Abdulwahed Omar, TUC President Peter Esele, and Dr. Dipo Hasfhina, co-chairman of the Labour and Civil Society Coalition. The manifestation started at Berger Junction in Abuja and marched passed several key buildings, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) Towers, the Court of Appeals, and the Nigerian Television Authority, locations where the march halted for rallying speeches. 

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Both NUPENG and PENGASSAN believe that deregulation can only occur when there is increased local refining capacity from Nigeria&rsquo;s five oil refineries. NUPENG President Peter Akpatason said deregulating the downstream sector would allow shadowy marketers to limit supplies, thus boosting prices and their profits, &ldquo;spelling misery to the teeming poor of the country.&rdquo; 
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NUPENG President Peter Akpatason
Withdrawing fuel subsidies, he added, when the domestic market is dependent on 80% imported supplies is a recipe for civil strife. The country&rsquo;s refineries have a combined stated capacity of 445,000 barrels-per-day, but have never operated at that due to neglect, negligible NNPC and government capitalisation, and lack of reliable feedstock supplies. Even if run at full optimisation, the refineries would produce just barely half of the 32 million litres of petrol, kerosene, and other fuel products demanded daily. 
 
PENGASSAN President Babatunde Ogun also expressed skepticism at the current government process toward deregulation. &ldquo;We vehemently reject import-driven deregulation. We need the free and uninterrupted flow of petroleum products across the country,&rdquo; he said, adding that means the government must focus on developing more domestic refining capacity and creating jobs for Nigerians. 

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PENGASSAN President Babatunde Ogun
A major complaint by labour and civil service leaders is the arrogance of Rilwanu Lukman, Nigeria&rsquo;s Minister of Petroleum Resources, who has concluded publicly that deregulation and the end of price subsidies is now irreversible. His neo-liberal thinking, some believe, is tied to his own relationships with marketers. 
 
The mass number of Nigerians who assembled last week in Abuja resent the government&rsquo;s fast-track effort to deregulate oil supplies. As NLC President Abdulwahed Omar said at one rally stop, &ldquo;Nigeria belongs to all of us and if the government is for the people, then the voice of the people must count. If they think that deregulation is a popular policy, let them subject it to a referendum and let Nigerians decide.&rdquo; 
 
Although the government has been silent on the exact date that liberalisation would occur, indicators such as vessel arrivals and ramping up supply access signal that perhaps it will be soon. But following last week&rsquo;s mass mobilization, the government may very well have backed off immediate deregulation and an end to subsidies until more public discourse is heard.

Nigerian Labour, Citizenry Protest to Fuel Oil Deregulation

On the recent call by the Iraqi government to form a new preparatory committee for the election of the GFIW leadership. 
 
 
The Higher Ministerial Committee overseeing the implementation of Governing Council's decision No.(3) for the year 2004 officially announced recently that nominations are open to establish a national preparatory committee with responsibility to organize and supervise the GFIW leadership election across Iraq. 
 
This government action was done without any prior knowledge or consultation with GFIW despite the government claim that it is organizing this (election) in line with current labour law[ Law 52 of 1987] and the internal rules of the GFIW [GFTU Rules]. 
 
The Executive Committee of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers states that the current move by the High Ministerial Committee completely violates Labour Law number (52) of 1987 and the internal rules of the GFIW [GFTU]. 
 
The High Ministerial Committee overseeing the implementation of Governing Council's decision No. (3) for the year 2004, should have implemented what it had issued before ( reference to the letter of the Ministry of State for Civil Society No c s / 106 On 13 September, which lead to the formation of a national preparatory committee on 2/2008 set up with the task of preparing and supervising workers election. A date for election was set on 22 June 2008 and then on 1 March 2009 but all this was cancelled without any justification by an order ( No 86 on 1March 2009) issued by the Minister of Civil Society. 
 
The GFIW stressed repeatedly that workers have the right to form and join union is and it believes that this is a legitimate democratic practice endorsed by international Labour organization (ILO) standards and guaranteed by article 22 of by the permanent Iraqi constitution. 
 
Convention No. 87 of 1948 of the ILO and Convention No. 8 of 1977, of the Arab labour organization obliges Member States to provide workers with freedom to form trade unions and compel states not to interfere in internal affairs of the unions. 
 
The main aim of organizing workers into trade union is to strengthen industrial relations and improve social and cultural conditions for workers so that they can help in the reconstruction of Iraq. 
 
The GFIW/IFTU while rejecting the current government interference in its internal affairs, Is calling on Iraqi workers to stand up to defend their legitimate rights and is appealing to the wider trade union movement, professional associations and civil society organizations, political parties and members of the Iraqi parliament for support and assistance and for the solidarity support of the international trade union movement in order to put an stop to all government interference. 
 
GFIW Executive 
October 2009

GFIW Statement

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The world&rsquo;s biggest steelmaker announced to workers and trade unions at its December European Works Council (EWC) that the company likely will continue to reduce its global workforce in 2010. Trade union projections suggest that ArcelorMittal plans to cut some 10,000 jobs, or 3.5% of its total global workforce, as the company seeks cost savings of US$500 million. 
 
Arcelor Mittal currently employs 285,300 people worldwide. The Luxembourg-based company aims to regain lost market share. Company spokesman Bill Steers told the EWC at a plenary meeting on 9 December that &ldquo;global workforce reductions [will be] due mainly to natural attrition and optimisation of production.&rdquo; 

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The company has said that most of the cuts will affect US and Europe, where its growth potential is limited. ArcelorMittal workers in South Africa were relieved to be told that the announcement of 10,000 job losses would not affect them. Some of ArcelorMittal's facilities in the U.S. and South America are struggling, particularly those producing flat rolled steel for the auto industry. 
 
Dave McCall, District 1 director for the ICEM-affiliated United Steelworkers (USW), said the union did not expect mass job cuts in the US, as demand there is picking up some in the wake of the financial crisis. 
 
Overall, demand for steel is rising again, after most steelmakers took a major hit in 2009 and were forced to cut their production in response to a slump in demand. ArcelorMittal has put a bid down on Zimbabwe's Zisco; it has invested in a mill in India; and is looking at further Brazilian operations to match iron-ore supplies there. The company has operations in 60 countries around the world. 
 
The cuts are expected to affect workers who were temporarily laid off at plants idled last year. 
 
The company had originally planned to eliminate 9,000 positions in its administrative and commercial functions during 2009, but ended up cutting 36,000 jobs, of which 50 percent were in Europe.

ArcelorMittal to Cut 10,000 Jobs This Year

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While the campaign for retention of coal-mining jobs and a fair contract by the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) with Xstrata in Australia continues, another union is resisting proposed mining and metallurgical job cuts by the Anglo-Swiss mining house. 
 
In North America, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) launched a campaign in northern Ontario in mid-December to preserve 676 copper and nickel smelting and refining jobs at Xstrata&rsquo;s Kidd Creek metallurgical plants in Timmons, Ontario. The company announced on 8 December that it was permanently shuttering a smelter and refinery, effective 1 May 2010, thus heaping further economic havoc on a region already beset by job losses and a strike. 

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The proposed job losses come on top of 725 mineworker layoffs by Xstrata in February 2009, when it temporarily shut three mines in the region. CAW Local 598 of Sudbury, Ontario, which is currently engaged in negotiations with Xstrata Nickel toward a 1 February contract expiration, has made recall of those jobs its number one bargaining table priority. 
 
In Timmons, CAW Local 599 has started a public campaign aimed at drawing business and government pressure on Xstrata Copper Canada to reverse the Kidd Creek closure. A major part of the campaign is aimed at the federal government, which, the union contends, must protect Canadian jobs as part of the C$19 billion sale of these former Falconbridge assets to Xstrata in 2006. 
 
That issue is similar to one included in the campaign by the United Steelworkers (USW) in its strike against Brazilian Vale. The CAW has supported USW Local 6500 on picket lines and with financial support in its current six-month strike against Vale, and it has also joined USW in calling on the Canadian Parliament to enact legislation that would give transparency to deals made under the Investment Canada Act. 
 
In the corporate takeovers of both Vale buying Inco and Xstrata paying a premium to get Canadian-based Falconbridge, many details between the federal government and the foreign mining houses were kept secret, and the job-slashing now &ndash; the unions feel &ndash; could have been prevented had more disclosure come in 2006. 
 
CAW Local 599 is pursuing an aggressive petition campaign calling for both retention of the Kidd Creek facility and for government action on the proposed job cuts. Visit the union&rsquo;s website <a href="http://www.caw599.ca">here</a> to learn more and to join the petition. 

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In Australia, CFMEU&rsquo;s campaign against Xstrata in New South Wales on redundancies and lack of a current enterprise agreement continues. Last summer, Xstrata announced it was cutting 180 coal-mining jobs at two collieries, Tahmoor and Ulan. 
 
The union has been engaged in lawful industrial actions at Tahmoor over the past several months (see past ICEM coverage <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/">here</a>), with miners conducting a march through Tahmoor on 21 December to coincide with a 24-hour work stoppage. Other industrial actions included the refusal to load coal on to trains for shipment to Port Kembla. 
 
Early in the new year, the industrial actions were halted so coal could be loaded on to trains and eventually shipped to German steelmaker ZKS. That request came from metalworkers in Germany due to low inventories and in order to keep operations at ZKS in production. 
See the CFMEU's campaign website <a href="http://www.xstratafacts.com/">here</a>.

Mine Unions in Australia, Canada Reject Xstrata’s Job Cuts

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At a press conference on 8 January in Mexico City, during an ICEM North American Regional Coordinating Committee meeting there, Canadian and US ICEM leaders denounced the Mexican government of Felipe Calder&oacute;n Hinojosa&rsquo;s anti-union conduct in dissolving the Mexican Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union (SME) and its continuing persecution of the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM, or Los Mineros) and its General Secretary Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia. 
 
The regional forum, led by ICEM North American Vice Presidents Ken Neumann of the United Steelworkers (USW) and Dave Coles of the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada, stressed that the repressive tactics heaped upon trade unions by the Calder&oacute;n government is an affront to human rights and that these actions will receive world-wide attention. 

<img alt="" src="" width="261" height="196" />
ICEM North American leaders at press conference 
The North American ICEM leaders also said the anti-union policies subject millions of Mexican workers to poverty. They also called attention to Mexican trade union leaders like Los Mineros&rsquo;s Juan Linares Mont&uacute;far who have been jailed for their legitimate union activities. The press conference was attended by members of Los Mineros, by several ICEM North American delegates, and by ICEM&rsquo;s Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs Joe Drexler. 
 
Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez himself has escaped jail in Mexico by fleeing to Canada, with the Mexican government now seeking his extradition. 

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="145" />
Neumann, the USW&rsquo;s National Director for Canada, said that there is evidence that the charges against Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez are unfounded and purely an invention by the Mexican government in sync with the mining company, Grupo M&eacute;xico. &ldquo;Mexico is a NAFTA partner with Canada and the United States and we will not sit back and allow these repressions to occur,&rdquo; said Neumann. 
 
On 10 October 2009, the Calder&oacute;n government swept in with federal agents and armed police to shut down the country&rsquo;s second largest utility, the Mexico City regional Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFC), or Central Light and Power. Calder&oacute;n used an executive decree to merge the electric power distributor with the Federal Electricity Commission and to disband the 95-year-old and 60,000-member SME. 
 
The North American ICEM representatives condemned the government for not proceeding through legal channels if it suspected there were misdeeds inside the utility.

ICEM North Americans Use Mexican City Press to Condemn Calderón’s Labour Policies

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On 14 December 2009, the Supreme Court of Namibia struck down a two-year-old government law that banned labour hire agencies. In a unanimous, five-judge decision, the court said that government must first try to regulate irregular work imposed by labour hire firms before imposing a ban on them. 
 
The court&rsquo;s decision also cited the law as unconstitutional because it fails to protect the right to practice &ldquo;occupation, trade or business.&rdquo; In 20-year-old Namibia, images of an entrenched contract labour system through apartheid are recent, and this labour issue has both the emotions and the memories to make it a leading story in all of Africa. 
 
The Supreme Court itself called it &ldquo;an emotive and politically charged&rdquo; issue, and both opponents and proponents of agency labour expressed sharp differences on the court&rsquo;s ruling. 
 
The decision was the second time within a year that the High Court in Namibia has taken up the case. It had earlier upheld the ban on labour hire agencies, contained inside Section 128 of the 2007 Labour Act. But Namibia&rsquo;s largest temporary employment agency, Africa Personnel Services (APS), appealed the constitutionality of this section of the labour code on the eve of it taking effect. The 14 December ruling overturns the High Court&rsquo;s earlier decision, and now places responsibility on the government and civil society to implement stringent regulatory measures on the operations of labour agencies. 
The head of the Namibia Employers&rsquo; Federation, Tim Parkhouse, heralded the court&rsquo;s decision, calling it an investment attraction. 

<img src="" width="133" height="133" alt="" />
But the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) reacted angrily to the court&rsquo;s decision, while Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Immanuel Ngatjizeko, said that although the government must abide by the decision, he pledged the government of President Hifikepunye Pohamba will not allow the labour-hire system to continue in its current form. 
 
Ngatjiseko, in a Windhoek newspaper, said: &ldquo;It is ironic that a provision of the Namibia Constitution that was intended to eradicate apartheid practices that subjected black workers to the injustice and humiliation of job reservation, influx control and the like has now been interpreted to turn a blind eye to commercial arrangements for the rental of human labour in order to avoid the protections afforded to workers by the labour laws.&rdquo; 
 
Ngatjiseko said the current system in Namibia, where labour hire firms are allowed to employ people who then provide these people to clients, is exploitative and reminiscent of the apartheid contract labour system because workers in Namibia with few or no other options for gainful employment fall into the clutches of labour agencies. 
 
The NUNW, linked in history with the ruling South West African People&rsquo;s Organisation (SWAPO) 
political party and a union itself banned in the pre-Namibia days of the 1970s and 1980s because it dared to challenge the apartheid labour system, was more blunt in its assessment of the court&rsquo;s decision. &ldquo;We firmly believe that one cannot regulate slavery and thereby give it a human face,&rdquo; said the federation. 

<img src="" width="146" height="66" alt="" />
The court&rsquo;s decision last month provoked wide opinions, proving again the intensity of the labour hire issue inside Namibia and in all of Africa. 
 
The New Era, a Windhoek publication, predicted, &ldquo;There is no denying that labour hire is a niece of the contract labour system that we have supposedly got rid, but when weak regulations are approved, the Supreme Court would be left with no choice but to stick to what is lawful on paper.&rdquo; 
 
An editorial in The Namibian, another Windhoek newspaper, stated, &ldquo;The principal of labour hire may be an important one, especially in a country with a very high unemployment rate, but it cannot be allowed to perpetuate exploitation of workers to the benefit of middlemen; to provide ways around employer adherence to the Labour Code; and to shut out unions.&rdquo; 
 
On 5 July 2007, the country&rsquo;s National Assembly passed an amendment to the labour code stating that &ldquo;no person may, for reward, employ any person with a view to making that person available to a third party to perform work for the third party.&rdquo; The law was to take effect on 1 March 2009. But on 27 February, the High Court suspended implementation of the law to hear APS&rsquo;s appeal.

Namibian Supreme Court Strikes Down Labour Hire Bill

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The struggle continues for trade union rights for contract workers at Colombia&rsquo;s vast mining complex, Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n. ICEM mining affiliate Sintracarb&oacute;n has been fighting to organize the contract workers at the mine. 
 
Following the successful organization of mechanics and machinists of the company Chaneme at Cerrej&oacute;n in November (see InBrief No. 144 <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/">here</a>), the new union Sintrachaneme was formed and recognized by Chaneme. Since, the company has refused to discuss even the slightest improvements to salaries and working conditions with either Sintrachaneme or Sintracarb&oacute;n. 

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="108" />
A second union of contract workers under Sintracarb&oacute;n&rsquo;s guidance, Sintrans, representing transport workers of the Sotrans company, has seen that employer refuse to recognise the union or to consider any of the bus drivers&rsquo; demands. In fact, the sacking of union activists among bus drivers has brought fear and reluctance by workers to engage in union activity. 
 
Sintracarb&oacute;n, with the full support of ICEM, is focusing efforts towards the consolidation of Sintrachaneme and pressuring the mechanical maintenance contractor to accept the demands of workers. International support is important in the push for a collective agreement between Chaneme and its 300 staff, an accord that will guarantee the existence of the union. 
 
&ldquo;The Chaneme management, Carbones de Cerrej&oacute;n management, and the Colombian Ministry of Social Protection must all commit to the process,&rdquo; said Sintracarb&oacute;n representative Jaime Deluquez. 

<img alt="" src="" width="146" height="66" />
Since workers of Chaneme and Sotrans at Cerrej&oacute;n took the step to organize, they have suffered a campaign of harassment and persecution from employers. Sintracarb&oacute;n, consisting of 3,500 direct employed miners at Cerrej&oacute;n, has denounced complicity by their employer of denial of work rights by contractors, saying Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n has &ldquo;turned a blind eye to the abuses.&rdquo; 
 
Harassment has included workers being visited at home, with threats of dismissal or offers of perks in return for loyalty to the contractors and a turn against the newly-formed unions. 
 
Cerrej&oacute;n management is also criticised by its mining workforce for applying double standards, claiming on the one hand that it respects human and trade union rights with rhetoric that it support the free association into unions of workers of contractors, while working covertly with the contractors and units of government to destroy the trade union organization process. 
 
These abuses of the right of association and collective bargaining contravene national law, the Colombian Constitution, and ILO Conventions 87 and 98, ratified by Colombia. 
 
An ICEM Project on Social Dialogue, organized by Colombian Coordinator Carlos Bustos and counting Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n as a participant, has achieved exemplary results. The multinational companies holding stakes in one of the world&rsquo;s largest open-cast coal mining operations &ndash; Xstrata, AngloAmerican, and BHP Billiton &ndash; must now prove that a commitment to the Social Dialogue Project and to global labour standards is genuine by stepping forward to defend the rights of outsourced workers at its mining operation in La Guajira department in northeastern Colombia.

Union, Contract Workers Continue Fight for Work Rights at Cerrejón in Colombia

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A 53-day strike by 1,500 leather workers in Iraq concluded successfully on 7 December 2009, after the state-run Enterprise of Leather Industries and Iraq&rsquo;s Ministry of Industry acceded to demands of workers on safety benefits. The leather workers, part of the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions of Iraq (FWCUI), won added payments totaling 25-30% of salaries for working in hazardous conditions. 
 
The workers&rsquo; committee, led by Sa&rsquo;ad Issa and Munadhil Atiya, displayed persistence and resolve throughout long negotiations with the state, and even after reaching a deal with state administrators in the early days of December, the strike continued for three days until all workers were paid the safety stipend in cash. 

<img alt="" src="" width="304" height="228" />
Munadhil Atiya (above) and Sa&rsquo;ad Issa (lower, centre) implore leather workers to continue the fight during 53-day strike 
The leather workers are employed in two factories in Baghdad and a third in Al Kūfah, some 160 kilometres south of the capital city. They produce shoes, bags, and clothing items such as leather coats. The strike began in mid-October and was brought on by workers having to deal with hazardous chemicals and operate dangerous equipment. 
The leather workers&rsquo; strike served as an inspiration for 4,000 textile workers. Following the early December end of the leather strike, Baghdad-area textile workers embarked on an 18-day strike of their own and won partial safety stipends from a separate state-run enterprise inside the Ministry of Industry. 
 
&ldquo;The strike organizers showed an ability to lead and maintain a determination among the ranks that lasted for more than seven weeks,&rdquo; said FWCUI President Falah Alwan. &ldquo;We learned a valuable lesson in this strike. That lesson is not to respond to hollow promises intended to slow or extinguish the movement of workers. 

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="119" />
Falah Alwan
&ldquo;The victory of the workers in the leather industries is the beginning of a new drive for the workers&rsquo; movement in the public sector and in all sectors.&rdquo; 
 
The strike was marked by continual dialogue with state administrators, but talks that produced only false promises and nothing substantive. Anticipating this, strike leaders engaged fellow workers to conduct constant demonstrations, marches, and public gatherings demanding safer work conditions and safety benefits. 
 
Leather workers also participated in a peaceful 6 October Baghdad manifestation, in which protestors were met by Iraqi armed troops firing rubber bullets. (See InBrief No. 143 <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3531-Iraqi-Trade-Unionist-Murdered">here</a>.)&nbsp;In that clash, FWCUI strike leader Munadhil Atiya was beaten and then arrested for his participation. 
 
Nearly 90% of all industry in Iraq is incorporated in state hands and the country still abides by the Saddam-era Decree 150 of 1987 that prohibits independent trade unions in the public sector. Thus the need for persistent and ongoing direct action by workers is in order to gain labour rights from the al-Maliki government. The ICEM commends the leather and textile workers of the FWCUI for their heroic and historic actions in late 2009.

Safety Benefits Won by Iraqi Leather Workers after 53-Day Strike

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The Global Labour University (GLU), together with the ILO, recently founded the International Centre for Development and Decent Work (ICDD). The centre announced last week that it is offering 20 PhD scholarships for students from developing and transition countries. 
 
The ICDD is an interdisciplinary and international scientific network, with headquarters at the University of Kassel, Germany, which works with partner universities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. 

<img src="" width="98" height="91" alt="" />
The PhD school will offer three areas of research: Sustainable Value Creation for Decent Work; Instruments for Promoting Decent Work; and Strategies of Empowerment for Decent Work. 
 
Applicants for the scholarships are encouraged to apply soon, with a deadline scheduled for 15 November 2009. The start date for the programme is 1 March 2010. 
 
Visit GLU&rsquo;s website <a href="http://www.global-labour-univeristy.org">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
Find more details, and the application form, visit the link <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/fileadmin/download/ICDD_Graduate_School_Call_for_Applications.pdf ">here</a>.

GLU’s Centre to Offer Decent Work PhD Scholarships

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