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All communication was cut off to and from Nepal late last week and the ICEM was unable to ascertain the safety and whereabouts of leaders of its affiliated unions, including ICEM Vice President Binda Pandey of the Independent Chemical and Iron Workers&rsquo; Union and GEFONT. King Gyanendra of Nepal on 1 February dissolved his handpicked government and declared a state of emergency. At the weekend army forces were going after Maoist rebels. GEFONT leadership and ICEM leaders and contacts inside Nepal are not connected with the insurgency. ILO Director- General Juan Somavia reminded Nepal&rsquo;s king on 4 February that emergency decrees &ldquo;aimed at anti-social disruptive elements should not be applied against workers for exercising their legitimate trade union rights, including the right to organize public meetings.&rdquo;

Emergency Law in Nepal Suspends All Human, Labour Rights

ICEM affiliate Indian National Cement Workers&rsquo; Federation&rsquo;s annual Congress was held in mid-December and G. Sanjeeva Reddy was elected as President. Re-elected as General Secretary was N. Nanjappan. C.L. Dudhia chaired the union&rsquo;s general meeting, held at Mumbai.

India’s Cement Workers’ Conduct Congress

Three months after European chemical unions and employers jointly applied for Social Dialogue with the European Commission, the EC granted it last month. New Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Vladimir Spidla, welcomed the formal establishment of the Dialogue Committee on 14 December. EMCEF, lead organization for the unions, and the European Chemical Employers Group intend to use the formalized dialogue in the interests of both workers and the industry to create initiatives and enhance competitiveness of the European chemical industry.

European Social Dialogue Will Begin in Chemicals Sector

ICEM affiliate General Workers&rsquo; Union of Malta is protesting that government&rsquo;s introduction of legislation aimed at eliminating all public holidays that fall on weekends. This means workers&mdash;if the bill is passed as an amendment to Legislation on Public Holidays&mdash;will not get an additional leave day for holidays occurring on weekend days, as mandated in Malta&rsquo;s Industrial and Employments Relations Act. In 2005, if passed, workers will lose three holidays, including the 1 May holiday and Christmas Day.

Maltese Union Protests Government’s Public Holiday Elimination

Progress was made in the 10-month dispute between Argentine affiliate SUTNA and Bridgestone/Firestone. Last October, the firm sacked 90 workers at a tyre factory near Buenos Aires when it illegally imposed a rationalization plan without bargaining with SUTNA. Following an eight-day blockade of the plant in late June and early July preventing suppliers from delivering raw materials, BS/FS agreed to talks through efforts of the provincial labour minister. A handful of the 90 workers have been so far recalled and negotiations not only continue for reinstatement of the remaining, but on a new collective agreement for which the company refused to discuss last year.

Argentine Affiliate Continuing to Pressure Bridgestone Tyre

<p>Canadian Steelworkers will be in a position to strike Rio Tinto subsidiary Iron Ore Company of Canada in mid-July after rejecting harsh concessionary proposals at operations in Newfoundland and Quebec. Mediated negotiations broke off 25 June and following the conciliator&rsquo;s report to the Labour Ministry, three branches of the USWA representing 1,400 workers can legally strike 15 days hence. Despite peak demand and booming market for iron ore, Rio Tinto is seeking concessions that amount to C$7-an-hour per worker. A prior labour agreement expired 1 March.</p>

USWA Members in Canada Set to Strike Rio Tinto

The ICEM has protested ExxonMobil&rsquo;s decision in C&ocirc;te d&rsquo; Ivoire to sack oil workers without dialogue and negotiations with affiliate SYNTEP-CI. The US-based firm is unilaterally moving on a plan called &ldquo;functional alignment&rdquo; that closes workstations and produces collective redundancies. Since ExxonMobil did negotiate with unions in neighbouring countries, the ICEM called it &ldquo;the highest level of discrimination,&rdquo; as well as &ldquo;violations of workers&rsquo; and union rights.&rdquo;

ICEM Calls Attention to ExxonMobil’s Harsh Côte d’ Ivoire Actions

The initial conference of ICEM&rsquo;s ExxonMobil Workers&rsquo; Global Network has been set for 3-4 November 2004 in the US city of Houston, Texas. US affiliate PACE is the lead union of the network. Unions representing ExxonMobil workforces are encouraged to attend. A call letter went out last month and trade union leaders can contact Gino Govender at ICEM or Keith Romig at PACE for further information.

First Global Meeting of ExxonMobil Network to Meet in US

Australian affiliate CFMEU criticized building firm Kavernar Clough for reprehensible conduct following an accident in which a crane dropped a 75-tonne steel vessel through a smelting tower. The accident occurred 1 June at Rio Tinto&rsquo;s Hi Smelt nickel plant in Kwinana, West Australia. The CFMEU halted work for 48 hours to insure the smelting tower was fully inspected and certified safe. The construction firm, however, instructed its men to continue with a concrete pour just minutes after the accident directly beneath the tower.

Union Critical of Firm’s Safety Procedures at Rio Tinto Jobsite

ICEM&rsquo;s Global Agreement, as well as US affiliate PACE&rsquo;s strategic accord with Swedish paper producer SCA were instrumental in bringing union representation to state of Arizona workers. In a two-day vote 27-28 May conducted by the US government, workers at a tissue plant in Bellemont, Arizona, voted for PACE 88-50. The union and SCA agreed to a &ldquo;principles of behavior&rdquo; code during the election campaign, which came as a result of ICEM&rsquo;s Global Agreement signed with the company in April, as well as PACE&rsquo;s cooperative accord signed with SCA in October 2003.

PACE in US Wins Union Recognition for SCA Workers

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