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The ICFTU’s Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights Violations was released 18 October, covering the year 2004. 
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The union confederation of national labour centers found a total of 145 murders of trade union leaders in 2004, 16 higher than in 2003. And again in 2004, Colombia leads the world with 99 killings of union leaders. 
The report, which documents over 700 violent attacks on trade union leaders in 136 countries, can be found at <a href="http://www.icftu.org/survey2005">www.icftu.org/survey2005</a>.

99 Colombian Trade Unionists Murdered in 2004, Says ICFTU

The Canadian government was target of a 9 September International Day of Protest against the export of asbestos products. Unions in Australia, Asia, India, Africa and Latin America joined the protest against Canada’s government, which bans the sale of asbestos products to its own citizens yet profits by export of it. Canada is the world’s third largest exporter of asbestos products. Demonstrators gathered in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, Australia, demanding a ban, and Canadian embassies in 12 countries were delivered strongly-worded letters asking for Canada to stop its asbestos exports. In Japan, where 60% of all asbestos comes from Canada, three unions sent a high-level delegation to the Tokyo embassy of Canada formally requesting that its export promotion policy be terminated.

Global Unions Protest Canada's Asbestos Exports

US affiliate United Steel Workers (USW) will exert language in its collective agreement with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. to ensure that 2,250 union members at Goodyear’s engineered products plants are protected in the event of a sale at any of the seven plants. Goodyear announced two weeks ago that it is exploring such a sale, and the company has acknowledged its contractual commitment with the USW. Under terms of “successorship” negotiated in 2004, USW must reach agreement with any new enterprise before a Goodyear plant is sold. “While the prospect of change always breeds anxiety for workers in these types of scenarios, our members need to know that they will be vigorously represented in the course of any possible transactions,” stated USW Executive Vice President Ron Hoover.

Goodyear Spinoffs Will Remain Under Contract with USW

And USW’s Gulf Coast hurricane relief fund got another US$50,000 boost when the union announced it would inject that amount to victims of Hurricane Rita. The USW originally placed US$50,000 into a fund immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck in late August, and that was matched by $50,000 from USW-Canada’s Humanity Fund. The $150,000 has swelled to over $300,000 due to contributions from USW members, local branch unions, and others.

USW Hikes Hurricane Relief Fund in US

Colombian oil workers’ Union Sindical Obrera de la Industria Del Petroleo (USO) held a day of manifestation 22 September calling for workers and citizens of the South American nation to resist privatisation of Colombia’s second largest refinery, a state-run Ecopetrol refinery in Cartagena. 
The Uribe government has received letters of interest from three multinational oil companies to invest S$850 million for expansion of the refinery, which would effectively transfer 51% ownership to the winning bidder. In it’s call to resist privatisation, USO demands greater unity between workers and the public in Colombia to protect the interests of the nation and it’s citizens for generations to come.

Colombia's Oil Union Rejects Refinery Privatisation

Hundreds of trade union members of an unaffiliated electrical workers’ union in Costa Rico marched on the country’s Legislative Assembly 26 September in protest against CAFTA, the free trade agreement between the US, Central American nations, and the Dominican Republic. The workers of Instituto de Electricidad (ICI) presented a petition to the Assembly during the manifestation calling for it to invoke terms of a 1988 law that protects the autonomy and independence of ICI against multinational companies. It also called on Costa Rico not to impose capitalization limitations on the public utility in order to attract transnationals.

Costa Rican Union Protests CAFTA

The ICEM-hosted International Nuclear Workers Unions’ Network (INWUN) will meet in Brussels on 8-10 November. INWUN and the ICEM are encouraging nuclear workers’ trade unions worldwide to participate and further information can be obtained by contacting chairman Dave Shier of the Canadian Power Workers Union at dshier@pwu.ca. INWUN currently has ten trade unions as members from eight countries.

Nuclear Network Meeting Coming to Brussels in November

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Per Capita Affiliation Fees: Effective 1 January 2004, annual per capita affiliation increases from CHF 2.1 to CHF 2.4. On 1 January in the following years: 2005, 2006, 2007; annual per capita affiliation fee increases with the rate of Belgian inflation effective in those years. 
Allocation of Regional Seats/Voting Procedures: Change Article 19 to reflect the distribution of allocated seats between countries within each Representative Region shall be by vote of the member unions within that region, voting on the basis of actual, paid up membership averaged over the three full calendar years prior to the year in which the Congress takes place, or pro rata for those organisations that have joined the International since the previous Congress. 
 
Time Period Between Congresses: That the next Congress, in 2007, revert back to the month of November. 
Minimum Affiliation Fees: Change Article 10 to remove the reference to minimum service fee payment under Category D of Affiliation fees. 
 
Central Europe Category Change: An emergency resolution that did receive the signatures of five affiliates from five separate countries, this resolution granted the move of Central Europe affiliates from Category B designation under Affiliation Fees to Category C. 
 
Nuclear Power: A general motion that the ICEM promote “best practices” in the nuclear energy industry to ensure the highest degree of health, safety and environmental protection, that was amended to include language adopted at the ICEM’s Rome Energy Conference with reference to the ICEM shall turn to the Atomic Energy Agency and the ILO for unified standards within the industry. 
 
ICEM to be Part of the World Peace Movement: With an amendment, the ICEM will encourage its regions to forge alliances in campaigns for peace and social justice. The amendment calls for the ICEM’s Executive to decide the guidelines concerning such regional alliances based on ILO Core Conventions and ICEM policies, and that the respective regions will keep the ICEM informed of developments. 
 
Labour Law in Peru: A general motion that states the ICEM supports immediate approval of the New General Labour Law of Peru and that the government adhere to specific labour standards including respecting the right to organize, engage in collective bargaining and the right to strike. It also calls on Peru to ratify ILO Convention 176 on health and safety in mining, that mining MNCs respect the environment and that the country’s Mining Levy be distributed in its entirety to communities where the mineral deposits are extracted. 
 
ICEM’s Rio Tinto Global Union Network: Resolution proclaiming that the Rio Tinto Network will continue working on behalf on Rio Tinto workers, and will continue the united front to protest the mining company’s anti-union practices. 
 
World Poverty: That ICEM affiliates exert influence over their national governments to eradicate world poverty by increasing the means for development cooperation, specifically through support of a minimum levy on currency speculation. 
 
Solidarity Compact: With such mobility in the labour force at present, that the ICEM study and assess the need for introducing a system where workers transferring between one country and another have the ability to consult and join the respective trade union in the new country. 
 
Global Union Reserves: The ICEM strive to intensify global union contacts with a view to promoting cooperation between national union organisations in the manufacturing sector and that the union structure of the future be made a theme of discussion at global union conferences. Also, a special study be made to highlight successful trade union cooperative efforts and mergers, and that a draft proposal of such be drawn up for the next ICEM Executive. 
 
Global Solidarity Projects: That the ICEM initiate closer cooperation with donors and that the International prepare projects ever more carefully and that the experience of the various projects be disseminated to the appropriate partners. With such projects, priority is given to regional coordination for follow-up and trade unions be identified as partners for future coordination. 
 
Global Agreements: That the work of achieving Global Agreements be intensified and that new Trade union networks be created and existing ones reinforced. This resolution calls on greater responsibility be given the regions to monitor and follow up on Global Agreements. 
 
Young Workers: That the ICEM Presidium be directed to develop a strategy of organising and promoting involvement of young workers into ICEM activities and structures. The resolution also calls for establishment of an ICEM youth committee to thus encourage follow-up at local, regional and national levels. 
 
Education and Training Curriculum: That the ICEM Presidium and Executive consider whether or not to establish a small committee charged with carrying out project work as it relates education and training of various aspects of globalisation. 
 
Burma: A resolution from Japanese affiliates firmly putting the ICEM on record condemning the military junta for its repressive regime of forced labour and denying democratic rights, and pledges the ICEM to stand with other global union federations seeking the immediate release of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders in the National League for Democracy of Burma currently being retained. 
 
ICEM Solidarity to Goodyear Workers in Guatemala: Support to the Goodyear tyre workers in Guatemala. 
 
Post Congress Activities Working Group: Endorsement and adoption by the 3rd ICEM World Congress of the document entitled Post Congress Activities Working Group, detailing priorities of the Secretariat in the next four-year period. 
 
Resolution on Colombia (Referred from Congress to Presidium; Presidium passed resolution, 9/10/03): A broad resolution calling for ICEM and other GUFs to provide necessary resources to heighten awareness to murders of workers and union officials in Colombia; denouncing government’s position at ILO in 2003 denying fact-finding commission; urging country’s Ministry of Mines and Energy to change privitisation policy; to censure and urge company Union Fenosa in Electri Costa and Electri Caribe to halt union busting; and to create a glass network in preparation for a future Global Agreement.

ICEM Adopts Four-year Programme

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Nigerian ICEM affiliates PENGASSAN and NUPENG has stopped privatisation plans of the country’s four oil refineries and a separate petrochemical plant until job security demands are met. 
Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Enterprises has been attempting to sell off assets of state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), owner of the facilities. Both the white-collar and blue-collar oil workers’ unions are united in seeking a total severance package including full pensions and benefits for workers before any state asset is sold. 
The unions also seek new negotiations with prospective investors of any of the plants. The NNPC is seeking to transfer workers to its other business divisions instead. 
PENGASSAN and NUPENG have mobilized union members to prevent possible buyers from entering and examining the facilities until demands are met.

Nigerian Oil Unions Halt Privatisation Plans

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In Canada, joint union-management rescue teams succeeded in bringing 72 potash miners who were trapped one kilometre deep in Saskatchewan province to safety. The incident occurred on 29 January when a fire started inside the world’s largest potash mine, owned by US-based Mosaic Co., which is controlled by giant foods group Cargill. 
Mine rescue teams from Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union Locals 890 and 892 began tried and tested methods of progressive procedures to rescue the 72 after being trapped for 25 hours. The miners had retreated to sealed refuge stations after the fire—caused by a cutting torch—that ignited polyethylene piping. 
Union-management rescue teams, backed by similar rescue teams from nearby unionised potash mines, extinguished the suffocating fires, reached the miners, cautiously vented toxic gas and smoke, and then brought the 72 safely to the surface. The mine has 3,000 miles of underground roads and tunnels covering a 20-mile-wide surface area. 
“It really looks like a textbook recovery to me,” one former US mine director observed. The trapped miners, however, were unimpressed by the food inside the wet-clay-sealed refuge stations. “Ample water but the food sucks … dry biscuits that are like eating gravel or sand,” complained one miner in a local newspaper.

CEP Mine Safety Teams Rescue Potash Miners

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