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USA: The IMF-affiliated United Steelworkers of America announced in a press release issued in Washington, D.C. on July 6, 2001, that it is filing a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). 
The USWA originally brought federal suit in July 1998, charging NAFTA is unconstitutional because it is by definition a treaty and therefore required a two-thirds vote of the U.S. Senate before being implemented. In February this year, the Federal Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia, ruled that the Steelworkers' challenge raised a "political question" beyond that Court's jurisdiction. 
The USWA president, Leo Gerard, has stated that "NAFTA continues to demonstrate it is a bad trade policy for American workers. Our members' lives are being profoundly affected by a treaty that has never been properly voted on by their elected representatives. Americans continue to lose jobs and family security. Communities are losing their economic base, and America continues to lose manufacturing plants. Given the magnitude of harm being inflicted, it is incumbent on the Supreme Court to render a decision in this case." 
According to the USWA, it was at the urging of the Clinton Administration that NAFTA was approved by simple majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate in 1993. The Senate approved NAFTA by a vote of 61 to 38, short of the two-thirds margin needed for a treaty. The USWA argues that NAFTA is a far-reaching agreement having major impact not only on jobs and the economy, but on domestic laws as well, and that NAFTA plainly constitutes the kind of agreement that under the U.S. Constitution cannot be adopted without approval of a two-third's Senate vote.

The Steelworkers' union will challenge the constitutionality of NAFTA.

USWA petitions U.S. Supreme Court

ARGENTINA: According to the IMF-affiliated autoworkers' union SMATA, workers at ZF, the German multinational which mainly produces supplies for the auto industry, learned in April 2001 that the company intended to cease its production activities in Argentina. The decision was made even though earlier ZF had signed an agreement with the union that employment would be maintained at least through December 31, 2002. 
The union said the company had promised job security in return for employees accepting to work at its new plant 100 km away from the previous one and to devote over 75 extra hours a month in commuting time. 
Now, not only are the workers losing their livelihood, but the company says it will only offer them 50 per cent severance pay. 
Among the various initiatives taken by SMATA and its general secretary, José Rodriguez, to seek a solution to the situation have been meetings with Labour Ministry officials, plus a protest organised in front of the German Embassy in Buenos Aires, during which a list of claims was submitted for German government authorities. 
When workers staged a peaceful attempt to prevent dismantling of equipment at the plant, ZF changed the name of the facility to Pilar Partes S.A., then claimed it was a new company and fired all 128 workers. 
The IMF has forwarded this information to its metalworkers' affilate in Germany, IG Metall, along with SMATA's request to persuade the German-based transnational to lean on its Argentine subsidiary to respect the job security agreement it signed with the union in Argentina.

In spite of promising employment security, the German transnational will shut down its plant.

ZF breaches agreement with Argentine workers

ITALY: The FIOM-CGIL metal union has declared strike action for tomorrow, July 6. 
Over the last few months, collective bargaining for salary increases in the national contract has been taking place involving two major contracts with two different employer associations: one for the larger companies and the other for small and medium-sized firms. The three metal unions concerned -- the FIOM-CGIL, plus the UILM-UIL and FIM-CISL -- outlined together a common base for both sets of negotiations. 
After much bargaining and a couple of strikes, the last one on May 16, 2001, the three unions and Confapi, the employers' association for small and medium-sized enterprises, reached an agreement which was signed on July 3. Regarding negotiations with Federemeccanica, which represents the larger companies, however, the deal was signed by only two of the three unions, the UILM-UIL and FIM-CISL, with FIOM-CGIL deciding against it. The main reason for its rejection and subsequent decision to take industrial action is over the sum of 13,000 Italian lira per month ($5.60, Euro 6.70) that Federemeccanica is ready to give, but only as an account on coming increases.

Although a bargaining deal was reached for smaller companies, some disagreement remains in negotiations for the major firms.

Italian metal union takes strike action

When the powerful economies of the West found that it was much easier to reach decisions when only the wealthier were present, they agreed to form the G-5. "G" stands for Group, and 5 for the USA, Japan, Germany, France and Great Britain. 

Later, because of pressure from Italy, the G-5 was expanded to G-7, to include both Italy and Canada. Then, to make sure that Russia, after the collapse of the Soviet system, would not escape any control, the G-7 became G-8. The decision to include Russia was not motivated by its economic strength but rather by its weakness, which represented a danger for the whole of the West. 

Following the example of this gathering, other groupings have been formed, with the common denominator to defend a smaller or larger number of countries against other groups. 

The G-8 has no rules. It meets and decides the agenda without any kind of democratic process or transparency. 

Undoubtedly, when political leaders meet to discuss matters that concern everybody it is a good thing. Both bilateral and multilateral contacts are necessary to create and maintain a balance in the world and its different regions. Such contacts, however, can only be fruitful and apply to everybody if they happen in a global context. 

If decisions are made over the heads of the people concerned, they will never be accepted, even if they are good ones. The riots in Gothenburg, Prague, Davos, Nice, Washington, Seattle and Sydney etc. are a clear signal of this. 

International institutions for world governance are too weak today and should be strengthened. Reforms to make them transparent and to incorporate an effective social dimension in their rules are badly needed. It is well within their scope to give the answers to the many questions which the so-called "people of Seattle" - but also others - are asking, and they must be given the necessary tools to do it. 

By institutionalising self-nominated powerful groups like the G-8, the work of internationally-recognised agencies such as the UN, ILO, UNCTAD, UNDEP, FAO etc. will be further undermined. 

Officially, the G-8 does not make any decisions, but there is no doubt about the effect their discussions have on the global economy. One should not forget that the countries of the G-8 together control the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. 

Why not have the G-8 within the framework of the United Nations and under the chairmanship of its General Secretary?

The G-8 - what is it?

KOREA, REP: The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has called a political strike for July 5, and the main force to lead the strike will be the Korean Metal Workers Federation (KMWF). 
The decision for the general strike was made after Mun Sung-hyun, president of the KMWF, strongly called for general strikes to stop the neoliberal drive of the government and to attain the KCTU's demands. Mun also added that auto industry workers from Hyundai, Kia, and Ssangyong are already taking procedures for the general strike on July 6, and union representatives for shipbuilding industry workers made resolutions to organise strikes. In response to Mun, members of KCTU Central Committee demanded leaderships to declare a general strike with the participation of all 600,000 KCTU members on the same day. 
After the unanimous decision for the political strike was made, the second agenda to step up the KCTU's campaign for the resignation of the government was discussed. At the end of the discussion members of the Central Committee requested to call a KCTU emergency National Congress to decide a possible Seoul rally with the participation of 100,000 KCTU members from all over the country in case the government continues oppressing the KCTU. 
These are the KCTU demands: 
- stop neoliberal restructuring plans and projected layoffs; 
- stop discrimination against casual and irregular workers; 
- secure the rights to form a union of public service workers and university professors; 
- extend the public education system and public medical system; 
- abolish the National Security Laws; 
- drop the warrants of arrest against the KCTU leadership and stop oppression against the KCTU; 
- resignation of the Kim Dae-jung government.

The KCTU declares strikes for resignation of Kim Dae-jung government in response to a grave provocation by the government.

KCTU goes on overall strike

The last few years front pages of the newspapers and TV- and radio news have been dominated by the so called. new economy.
What's that? 
It is simply the way stock markets brokers call new companies in the electronics, computers and telecommunication sectors. 
It is also a definition of companies which values at the stock exchanges around the world have been boasted artificially through speculation. 
The worse is that the value of the companies concerned is not a real one but is just bubble that has now busted leaving thousands and thousand of workers both blue and white collars out of job. 
News about easy money in "new-economy" companies, Microsoft, Compaq, Nokia, Ericsson, Vodafone etc, have created the wrong perception that the traditional strong manufacturing industries such as steel, automobile, white goods-companies or textile, chemicals etc are out of fashion. 
The message is simply that manufacturing is not the future of a modern economy.
But, this is just nonsense. 
Or as the new secretary of trade and industry in UK expressed at the AEEU conference in Blackpool, UK, on June 13th 2001: 
"There are not two economies, one old and a new one, there is just one economy." 
Manufacturing remains the most important factor in the economy of a modern country.
While it is true that service sector of the economy is growing faster than manufacturing, bear in mind that services are linked directly to manufacturing. 
For example, physical goods need maintenance, their production and distribution requires transport, information, communications, insurance and real estate services, etc. In other words much of the growth of the services sector is result of growth in manufacturing. 
It is true that number of jobs in the manufacturing is shrinking and will shrink even more. 
New technologies and new products will constantly change the way things, necessary and less necessary for our life, are manufactured. But the total value of this in the economic system will not be less. On the contrary it will be higher. 
The demand must increase if we want to create a sustainable growth over the whole world. To satisfy that, enormous amount of funds are to be invested in production of goods. 
At the same time the investment will create jobs and purchasing power for the workers and their family to enable them to buy what they produce and a little more. 
Economist, brokers at stock exchanges, neo-liberal politicians, they tend to forget sometime that manufacturing is needed to make necessary goods to make easier for every body to enjoy the life. 
Speculations on the other hand only create problems and wealth just for few.

The message that manufacturing is not the future of a modern economy is just nonsense.


Manufacturing is still&lt;br&gt;the most important

SOUTH AFRICA: The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) reports that the first day of strike action at the X-Strata Chrome company in Rustenburg has received overwhelming and favourable support from the 800 workers who have vowed to continue with the strike until their demands are met. 
Last week, Numsa and the chrome-making company failed to resolve the two-month-old dispute in the conciliation meeting with the Engineering Bargaining Council. The union declared a dispute against the company's voluntary separation package and the layoff of 200 workers. The company is paying laid-off workers 25 per cent of their basic salary, including attendance bonus and housing subsidy, plus 50 per cent of their provident fund contribution, and is guaranteeing insured benefits. It has suspended workers' medical aid membership. 
According to the union, the company acted in breach of its obligations by refusing to accede to Numsa demands on severance packages and layoffs. Workers are taking the industrial action because the company failed to conclude the matter through normal dialogue. 
The response of the employers has not been at all dignified, says Numsa. "The only conclusion we can draw from these illogical responses is that the company is opening up old wounds."

Numsa says that the X-Strata Chrome company is opening up old wounds.

Numsa's demands

Overwhelming support for strike action

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