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The Geneva, Switzerland-based International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) announces that it gives its unequivocal support to the 560 miners of US affiliated union, International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU), who were locked off their jobs by the Rio Tinto subsidiary, US Borax and Chemical Corp., on Sunday, 31 January. 
 
The workers were refused entry to the mine and processing plant in Boron, California, when they showed for their work shift at 06h00 on Sunday. 
 
&ldquo;We note that all 500 members of ILWU Local 30 voted against the company&rsquo;s contract proposal on Saturday night,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;This should have served as a message to Rio Tinto Minerals to continue negotiating, continue seeking the necessary compromises in order to achieve a mutually acceptable collective agreement.&rdquo; 
 
A prior contract expired on 4 November 2009. Management is seeking unprecedented changes to workers&rsquo; seniority, shift and overtime assignments, and the way in which promotions are made, as well as seeking unilaterally to impose flexibility changes that favour the company to the detriment of workers. 
 
The ICEM condemns the company for its announcement that it will continue production with replacement workers during the company-initiated lockout. The ICEM will use its role, as the leading Global Union Federation in the mining industry, to alert trade unions around the globe, particularly those representing Rio Tinto workers, of the lockout and urge them to take action on behalf of ILWU Local 30 in California. 
 
Borax, or sodium borate, is a mineral used in detergents, glass, building materials, and other uses such as an ingredient in chemicals. The ICEM represents 20 million workers worldwide that are part of 467 affiliated trade unions in 132 countries. 
The ICEM urges all affiliates and supporters to send their own letter to Rio Tinto, condemning the lockout.&nbsp; Click <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3600">here</a> for a model, paste the text onto your letterhead, and send to Rio Tinto CEO Albanese at <a href="mailto:tom.albanese@riotinto.org">tom.albanese@riotinto.org</a>, copied to <a href="mailto:joe.drexler@icem.org">joe.drexler@icem.org</a> and <a href="mailto:info@ilwu.org">info@ilwu.org</a>.

ICEM Pledges Support to Locked-Out Rio Tinto Workers in US State of California

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The Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (PCMLF) and the All-Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (APLF) jointly held a manifestation on 13 January at the Quetta Press Club to protest safety inaction by Balochistan provincial authorities in coal mining. In the first half of January, at least 21 miners perished in roof cave-ins and methane gas explosions. 
 
The federated mining unions expressed outrage that neither Balochistan authorities nor the Chief Inspectorate of Mines removed the bodies of five dead miners in the days following the tragedies. On 2 January, a gas explosion at the Al-Rahman mine near Marwar killed ten miners, including three Afghan workers. 

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The blast, which caused a cave-in, occurred 2,000 metres underground. And then on 11 January, two separate mine accidents occurred at the Habibullah Coal Mines Co. near Spin Karez. Three miners died when a roof collapsed, while eight others were trapped and killed following a blast at the mine in the Marwar coal fields. 
 
Speakers at the unions&rsquo; 13 January protest said governmental authorities demonstrated &ldquo;criminal silence&rdquo; over the loss of lives, as well as denouncing Balochistan officials for not extending financial assistance to the families of the deceased. 

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Sultan Muhammad Khan
PCMLF Secretary General Sultan Muhammad Khan called it a travesty that miners are denied social benefits, and he said the fact that five miners from the first incident are still entombed at Al-Rahman &ldquo;speaks volumes about the performance of the Mines Inspectorate.&rdquo; 
 
Other mine union officials that condemned the inaction, as well as the lack of preventative safety measures in the province&rsquo;s mines included Bakht Maweb Yousatzai, Abdul Sattar, Syed Altaf Ilussain Shah, Muhammad Jamil, And Rehmatullah Baloch. The mine union leaders said the average death rate in Balochistan coal mining, in southwestern Pakistan, had been 86 known deaths, but that this rate has increased of late because of lack of safety measures in mines.

Pakistan Mine Unions Protest Killings in Balochistan Coal Pits

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Hashmeya Muhssin Saadawi, ICEM Executive Committee member and President of the Basra Electricity Workers&rsquo; Union, has long been fighting for the rights and welfare of women, as well as for men, in Basra, Iraq, for many years. She has now launched a campaign inside the worn-torn country for social security, a campaign funded in large part by money awarded to her upon winning the Dutch Human Rights Award, the FNV&rsquo;s prestigious Febe Elisabeth Velasquez Trade Union Award. 

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Hashmeya Muhssin Saadawi
She was awarded that on 12 May 2009, after being nominated by the ICEM, for her courageous work under challenging circumstances and great personal risks, in the furthering of the trade union struggle in Iraq. (See report of that award <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3218-Dutch-FNV-Trade-Union-Award-to-Goes-to-Iraq’s-Hashmeyia-Muhsin-Saadawi ">here</a>.) 
 
The elements of the social security campaign are equality and social equality, as well as security, social security, work, housing, and education. Land needs to be redistributed, health insurance has to be provided, and cures for different diseases have to be found. Click <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/denicezelmalombard/IraqSocialSecurity#">here</a> to view the campaign manual in English.&nbsp; 
 
Hasmeya Muhssin is the first female trade union leader in the Arab-speaking world.

Hashmeya Muhssin Launches Social Security Campaign in Iraq

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The ICEM reported <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3571-Safety-Benefits-Won-by-Iraqi-Leather-Workers-after-53-Day-Strike">here</a> of the successful leather workers&rsquo; strike that concluded in December in Iraq, a strike that spawned a shorter strike in the clothing and textile sector in the Baghdad area. Both workers&rsquo; units come under the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI), a national labour centre that counts two ICEM affiliates to its rolls. 
 
In January, the Ministry of Industries has retaliated by predictably reverting to something that other Iraqi ministries have done: It has taken the leader of the textile strike, FWCUI President Falah Alwan, and transferred him from a Cotton Industry enterprise, under the State Company for Textiles, to another enterprise in order to suppress his union activities. 

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Falah Alwan
The ICEM condemns this action and urges trade unionists and human rights activists globally to protest. The ICEM notes that global protests in the past produced reversals for other Iraqi trade unionists who were exiled for trade union building, including port workers of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) in Um Asr and eight leaders of ICEM-affiliated Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU) in the Basra area. 
 
Please send an e-mail in your own words to Minister of Industry and Minerals, Fawzi Hariri, <a href="mailto:minister.office@industry.gov.iq">here</a> and <a href="mailto:minister@industry.gov.iq">here</a>, and copy the State Company for Textiles <a href="mailto:textile@industry.gov.iq">here</a>. 
 
Trade unions in Iraq are under constant pressure, considering neither the occupation forces nor the Iraqi government has lifted the draconian Saddam era Decree150 that prohibits independent unions from existing in the all-encompassing public sector. The Iraqi government has also failed to pass into law a meaningful labour code, a set of fair and universally accepted statutes that have been drawn up by Iraqis with assistance from experts at the ILO.

Iraqi Government Reprimands Falah Alwan by Exiling His Work Posting

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The ICEM supports the International Trade Union Confederation-led trade union appeal for victims of the earthquake disaster in Haiti. The trade union relief work is being carried out primarily by ITUC&rsquo;s affiliates in the Dominican Republic, in cooperation with Haitian colleagues across the border. 
 
We urge ICEM affiliates to support this Appeal. 
 
Funds for the appeal can be transferred to the following ITUC bank account: 
 
No. 375-1008200-61 
Banque ING, Brussels Branch Institutionals, 1 rue du Trone, B-1000 Brussels 
Code IBAN: BE 62375100820061 
Code BIC/Swift: BBRUBEBB 

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The ITUC requests that the words &ldquo;SOS Solidarity &ndash; Haiti&rdquo; are included with each transfer to this account. 
 
ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder has called for the cancellation of Haiti&rsquo;s debt, in the aftermath of the disaster, to increase the country&rsquo;s chances of reconstruction. 
 
As has been widely reported in the mainstream media, the huge earthquake hit Haiti on 12 January, and was followed by a number of aftershocks. Along with the reported death toll of over 100,000, Haiti&rsquo;s infrastructure has been severely damaged, with many buildings and roads completely destroyed. The humanitarian situation is desperate and aid is needed. 
 
Once the immediate humanitarian effort passes, the solidarity campaign will continue to use funds raised to help Haitians in their recovery from this natural disaster.

ICEM Urges Haitian Relief Funds through ITUC

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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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The founding congress of PRO.GE was held 26 November in Vienna, a union that is the result of a merger of the former Chemical Workers&acute;Union (GdC) and the GMTN (metal, textile, food, energy, and mining union). Rainer Wimmer, originally from the foodworkers, was elected President, while Alfred Artm&auml;uer (former President of the chemical workers), Karl Hass, Franz Riepl (metalworkers) and 6 others were elected vice-presidents. Peter Schissler (former General Secretary of the chemical workers and Executive Committee member of the ICEM) and Manfred Anderle were elected new executive federal secretaries. Manfred Anderle will remain as contact to the European and International Trade Union organizations. 

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The Congress was held under the motto &quot;Self-confident, combative, solidary&quot;, and brings together over 250,000 blue collar members in Austria. The new union will be negotiating some 140 sectoral collective agreements in 16 different sectors. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda addressed the congress and congratulated delegates on the successful merger which, he said, sets a good example to those at the international level, who also seek to unite unions in the manufacturing industries.

Founding Congress Takes Place of New Austrian Manufacturing Union PRO.GE

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The ICEM participated in the Congress of its affiliate the Vdsz, the Hungarian chemical workers union, in Budapest, 18-20 November. Tamas Szekely was elected as the union&rsquo;s new president, replacing the retiring Gyorgy Paszternak. Tamas, who is 40 years old has served the union as vice-President for several years. Bela Kiss, 53 years old, was elected Vice-President. 

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New Vdsz President, Tamas Szekely 
Congress reports showed that there are still many uncertainties about economic developments in the sectors that the union covers. However, although the chemical industry made 40 percent of the workforce redundant earlier this year, many companies have started to rehire. The tyre sector seems to be profiting from the German car-scrappage program, and has in recent weeks even started with overtime work. 
The union was successful in the Works Council elections in Hankook, but still faces problems about trade union recognition with that company and with Bridgestone-Firestone. Tamas and the union contributed considerably to action against Unilever, as part of the 7th October World Day of Decent Work activities in Budapest. He is planning now to start a campaign to organise Unilever (foodworkers are very poorly organized in Hungary and split into several very small unions). 

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Retiring President, Gyorgy Paszternak
Another future plan of Vdsz is to develop cooperation with the construction workers union and seek a future merger with them. Vdsz serves as a bridge between various splits between unions in the manufacturing industries of Hungary, as they are affiliated to the autonomous confederation but maintain close cooperation with the major confederation Mszos. Both confederations were invited to the congress and made speeches, as did ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda.

Hungarian Chemical Workers’ Congress Elects New President

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A subsidiary of Russian multinational RuSAL, the world&rsquo;s largest producer of aluminium and a major mining house in key resources, has terminated a labour agreement for 600 Guyanese workers over a wage dispute. Rusal announced it no longer recognizes the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers&rsquo; Union, something illegal under Guyana&rsquo;s law and deeply condemned by the ICEM. 
 
General Manager of the Guyanese subsidiary, Sergey Kostyuk, sent a letter to Union President Charles Sampson, stating that the collective agreement between the two entities, and through the Labour Ministry, was &ldquo;terminated with immediate effect.&rdquo; 

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Guyana&rsquo;s Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir reacted by ordering mandatory arbitration, citing the importance of the bauxite industry to the economy of the country. The Bauxite and General Workers&rsquo; Union began a lawful strike on 21 November and that strike is on-going, thus hampering production at a processing plant. 
The union called the strike when RuSAL managers failed to give a promised 10% pay raise to workers in Berbice, located in the centre of Guyana. RuSAL also angered workers and their union by sacking 56 for &ldquo;insubordination, refusal to obey instructions and misconduct,&rdquo; a dubious charge considering workers were engaged in a lawful strike action. 

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A Guyanese political party, Working People&rsquo;s Alliance (WPA), has intervened by pressuring the government to protect the workers&rsquo; constitutional rights. WPA stated that the conflict has &ldquo;grave implications for the entire trade union movement in Guyana,&rdquo; if RuSAL Bauxite Company of Guyana (BCGI) is not stopped in its total disregard for trade union rights. 
 
The ICEM condemns RuSAL for its ignorance of essential global labour standards and for the negative influence this conduct brings to Guyanese labour relations. The ICEM is calling on RuSAL to reinstate the discharged workers at its bauxite plant and to immediate adopt better industrial relations practices in Guyana.

RuSAL’s Labor Conduct in Guyana’s Bauxite Industry Strongly Questioned

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