6 October, 2011For the first time the Finnish IMF affiliates presented their national collective bargaining demands together. On October 4, after negotiations broke down, they declared an overtime ban in the metal industry. The Metalworkers' Union and Pro have given notice for a strike beginning October 21.
19 August, 2011A ten per cent wage increase will be implemented at the Vyshnevogorsky mining and processing plant in Chelyabinsk, Russia, in November 2011. The union cancelled the public action scheduled for August 18. Earlier the workers had demanded a 30 per cent wage increase.
19 August, 2011The agreement with the company also includes a one-off payment for union members, employment contracts for temporary workers and company contributions to the cost of school materials for the children of union members.
19 August, 2011On Sunday, August 7, 45,000 Verizon workers on the US East Coast, represented by the IMF affiliate Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), went on strike. The company attempts to force massive concessions from the unions, and make them give up gains they had won over many years of struggle and negotiation in previous contract fights.
17 August, 2011An unbroken chain of solidarity and staunch resolve by all 157 members of Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Local 2228 staved off contract concessions in Canada recently. On 8 August, union members ratified a three-year agreement with Sandvik Materials Technology Canada, a subsidiary of Swedish industrial giant Sandvik AB, with an 80.6% vote, ending a successful strike that began on 13 July.
16 August, 2011A new report launched by ArcelorMittal, European Metalworkers' Federation, United Steelworkers, and the International Metalworkers' Federation reviews how unions and management have been working together globally to deliver better safety results for ArcelorMittal. The report called "Together for Safety, Global Agreement, Local Impact", chronicles the work undertaken since signing the Steel industries first ever global agreement on Health and Safety.
29 August, 2011Producing steel is a dangerous task at the best of times. When workers are faced with intense heat during ten months of the year problems become even greater. Despite this fact the safety performance at the ArcelorMittal LaPlace Steel Plant in New Orleans, USA is steadily improving, as discovered by a visiting group of experts from the ArcelorMittal Joint Global Health and Safety Committee.
23 August, 20112000 production workers and 500 white collar and maintenance workers in the factory in Busan in Korea belonging to Renault Samsung Motors decide to join IMF affiliate Korean Metal Workers' Union. The company totals 5650 employees, and has a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year.
23 August, 2011Obituary Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada and a strong ally of trade unions, died of cancer on August 22, at the age of 61.
23 August, 2011IMF-affiliated Communications Workers of America (CWA), and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), reached agreement with Verizon on August 20 on how bargaining will proceed and how it will be restructured.
