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After seven years and over 310 consecutive editions of ICEM InBrief, this is the final issue. A new weekly newsletter will debut upon the founding of IndustriALL in June.

Discontinuation of ICEM InBrief

The ICEM is calling on Pulp and Paper Activists to take immediate action in support of 45 members of UK&rsquo;s Unite the Unite, dockworkers at the Port of Tilbury in Essex, who today are concluding their third round of strike action against Enterprise Distribution Centre and the Stora Enso parent rolls they handle in this North Sea port.

	(Stora Enso Logistics is the operator of a warehouse at the port, employs management personnel there, and from all indications is the company that is seeking rollbacks on work terms through the Port of Tilbury&rsquo;s enterprise that ultimately will affect pay.)

	Copy the message in italics below and send to <a href="mailto:Jane.jeffery@unitetheunion.org; Diana.holland@unitetheunion.org; tony.burke@unitetheunion.org; andygreen63@aol.co.uk?subject=Support%20for%20Tilbury%20Dockworkers%2C%20Represented%20by%20Unite%20the%20Unite!!&amp;body=Dear%20Tilbury%2045%2C%0D%0A%0D%0AWe%20have%20heard%20from%20the%20ICEM%20about%20your%20valiant%20struggle%20to%20retain%20your%20living%20standards%20at%20the%20Port%20of%20Tilbury%2C%20living%20standards%20that%20Enterprise%20Distribution%20Centre%20and%20Stora%20Enso%20are%20attempting%20to%20strip%20from%20you.%20Please%20know%20that%20my%20union%20is%20aware%20of%20your%20strike%20actions%2C%20we%20are%20in%20full%20support%2C%20and%20we%20will%20do%20everything%20in%20our%20power%20to%20spread%20the%20word%20of%20this%20unfair%20assault%20on%20your%20livelihoods.%0D%0A%0D%0A(Signed)%0D%0A(Name%20of%20Union)%0D%0A">Port of Tilbury Dockworkers </a>by clicking this mail link.

	The situation is this: On 1 March, without negotiating with Unite, Enterprise unilaterally changed work shifts to where the 45 dock and warehouse workers are only called when a ship loaded with paper arrives from Sweden. Previously, they worked full work shifts. The change means a reduction in pay between &pound;2,500 and &pound;5,000 per year.

	The Tilbury 45 staged a 24-hour strike action on 8 May, a 48-hour strike on 21-22 May, and a 48-hour one that ends tonight (29 May) at 22h00. Tomorrow, 30 May, the union and management will enter into the first formal set of negotiations, even though the work-time rollback occurred three months ago.

	And also today, the Swedish Dockworkers&rsquo; Union will begin the first of two 24-hour strikes at Stora&rsquo;s port in Goteborg blockading the two ships (one owned by Stora) used to ferry parent rolls from Sweden to the UK&rsquo;s Tilbury Port. Do your part, copy the following message or send one in your own hand to the dockworkers at Unite the Union.

	(Subject heding) Support for Tilbury Dockworkers, Represented by Unite the Unite!!

	Dear Tilbury 45,

	We have heard from the ICEM about your valiant struggle to retain your living standards at the Port of Tilbury, living standards that Enterprise Distribution Centre and Stora Enso are attempting to strip from you. Please know that my union is aware of your strike actions, we are in full support, and we will do everything in our power to spread the word of this unfair assault on your livelihoods.

	(Signed)

	(Name of Union)

	A copy of the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/42.ICEM%20UK%20Enterprise%20Distribution.29May.pdf">ICEM letter</a> sent in support of the Tilbury 45 is here. Thank you for your prompt action in support of these workers!

UK Dockworkers Handling Stora Enso Parent Rolls Need Immediate Support

IndustriALL Global Union will be founded on 19 June in Copenhagen, Denmark.&nbsp;Uniting 50 million workers along global supply chains, uniting the history, expertise, and passion of three proud international organisations, IndustriALL will fight for workers everywhere.<div class="rte">Over&nbsp;1,200 trade union delegates from every corner of the globe are meeting in Copenhagen&nbsp;18-20 June, 2012 to form IndustriALL Global Union, representing workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors.&nbsp;&quot;Among the delegates are heroes who have been on the front-line of the fight for democracy and workers&#039; rights,&quot; stated Jyrki Raina, the in-coming general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union.<img alt="" src="" style="width: 280px;height: 292px" width="390" />&quot;Workers and their unions, members of IndustriALL, have been at the forefront of the Arab Spring fight for democracy, the struggle against despots.&quot;In Copenhagen we will form a new union family of heroes, with strong bonds, ready to stick together through thick and thin - a new force in global solidarity taking up the fight for better working conditions and trade union rights around the world.&quot;IndustriALL will challenge the power of multinational companies like Rio Tinto and BHP,&quot; Jyrki Raina said. &quot;We will negotiate on a global level with the global giants.&quot;IndustriALL will fight for a new model of globalization, a new economic and social model that puts people first, based on democracy and social justice.&quot;IndustriALL will be founded in Copenhagen on 19 June 2012. The new organisation will bring together affiliates of the former global union federations: International Metalworkers&#039; Federation (IMF), International Federation of Chemical,&nbsp;Energy, Mine and General Workers&#039; Unions (ICEM) and International Textiles Garment and Leather Workers&#039; Federation (ITGLWF).IndustriALL Global Union will represent workers in a wide range of sectors from extraction of oil and gas, mining, generation and distribution of electric power, to manufacturing of metals and metal products, shipbuilding, automotive, aerospace, mechanical engineering, electronics, chemicals, rubber, pulp and paper, building materials, textiles, garments,&nbsp;leather and footwear and environmental services.The new website, <a href="http://www.industriall-union.org/">http://www.industriall-union.org/</a>, will go live at 14:00 on 19 June 2012.</div>&nbsp;

IndustriALL Global Union to be New Force

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" /><div>In this last issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we cover aspects of the ongoing HIV/AIDS project, which comes to an end in December 2012.&nbsp;A new project proposal for sub-Saharan IndustriALL affiliates is being developed. Since 2005, the ICEM HIV/AIDS project has covered much ground. But without question, there is still much work left to be done.<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" />Dear Readers, Friends, ComradesAs announced in the May issue, this is the last issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin. We thank all readers for their interest and hope that we have succeeded in making a contribution to the dissemination of useful information over almost seven years.Next week, the ICEM, the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) will hold their dissolution congresses in Copenhagen. Immediately after that the Founding Congress of the new Global Union Federation, IndustriALL, will take place. </div>Editor: Hans J Schwass, ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" />HIV/AIDS is a Workplace Issue; Unions Have Central Roles to PlayThis has been the leading message of the ongoing HIV/AIDS project, which has been running since 2005. The first phase of the project was sponsored by LO/TCO Biståndsnämnd, Sweden, and FNV Mondiaal, Netherlands, and ran from 2005 to 2008, with an additional project year in 2009. After a thorough internal assessment in 2008, a new project was approved, running from 2010 to 2012, sponsored by SASK of Finland and FNV Mondiaal. ICEM affiliates in these countries gave strong support and contributed financially to the project.Throughout the project periods, national HIV/AIDS coordinators were trained in regional workshops. At national level, activities started off with peer education and awareness and prevention campaigns. Increasingly, however, VCT campaigns were organised and thousands of workers, their families and members of the community queued up to know their status.Some progress has also been made on the adoption of workplace policies and the insertion of HIV/AIDS clauses in collective bargaining agreements. Despite a sometimes adverse relationship over conventional bargaining issues, companies must be seen as partners in the fight against the epidemic since an effective HIV/AIDS policy cannot be implemented without the participation of employers.HIV/AIDS workplace policies should also draw on the resources of companies for skills training, awareness and prevention campaigns and for VCT and ART services. Cost-benefit analyses have shown that even small expenses by companies for HIV/AIDS activities result in reduced costs for medical schemes, higher productivity, and reduced expenditure for training. Unions must continue to convince employers that it makes business sense to invest in the fight against HIV/AIDS.At the heart of the ongoing HIV/AIDS project are annually-approved national HIV/AIDS programmes that run in each of the 11 project countries. These &ldquo;projects-within-a-project&rdquo; are applied for by the national coordinators to the Sub-Saharan HIV/AIDS project coordinator, who discusses, approves and monitors all these individual national plans for action.Women issues in relation to HIV and AIDS also received a boost with two women-only sub-regional workshops in 2010 and 2011. Women&rsquo;s empowerment in taking control of their reproductive rights and dealing with issues such as violence at home and sexual harassment at the workplace were at the heart of these workshops. The use of female condoms was also promoted. The sub-regional workshops in turn led to women activities organised at national level. Several of these were not only relevant with respect to HIV/AIDS, but also strengthened unions by integrating more women in their union work and by recruiting more female members.Fighting HIV and AIDS is a national policy matter. All target countries have national policies to fight the pandemic and a National AIDS Commission, which coordinates the efforts of all stakeholders. It is important that trade union activities fit into this general framework. For this to happen, unions must be recognised as partners in national policy implementation and, subsequently, they have to actively seek contacts with national HIV/AIDS bodies.As part of the fight against the pandemic, trade unions should also seek the participation of NGOs in their activities and build alliances with them. NGOs often have more expertise and experience as they concentrate on one issue. Of utmost importance is the involvement of organisations of People Living with HIV/AIDS to reduce stigma and to demonstrate that HIV and AIDS should be treated like any other condition or disease.From its adoption by the International Labour Conference of the ILO in June 2010, ILO Recommendation 200 concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, was promoted at in regional and national ICEM HIV/AIDS events. This is the first international human rights instrument to focus on HIV and AIDS and the world of work. All workers are protected by the new labour standard, including those in informal economies. As Recommendation 200 becomes more widely known and accepted, it has the potential to develop into a tool for unions to use.The Global Action Plan for the implementation of R200, as adopted by the ILO Governing Body in March 2011, seeks three outcomes for the period 2011 to 2015: reduction of stigma and discrimination, increased access to services, and scaled-up action by world of work actors.In our work, we also made a link to the broader ILO Decent Work Agenda, which is central in efforts to reduce poverty and to make occupational health and safety an integral part of the Decent Work Agenda. Important in this, as far as HIV/AIDS is concerned, is often not so much the job itself, but the conditions around it that can lead to behaviour that puts workers and their dependents at risk of acquiring HIV, such as working and living conditions of workers in remote mining areas, which contribute to an increasing infection rate.At global level, good cooperation was established with ILO/AIDS. Technical cooperation was not only extended by the ILO Head Office in Geneva but also by country offices where activities were organised. Special mention must be made of the cooperation with the ILO Delhi office, which greatly contributed to the success of the HIV/AIDS project in India, and of the collaboration with the ILO Pretoria office, which gave a boost to work on the ILO Decent Work Agenda and Recommendation 200.Work was initiated with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank (WB AIDS Campaign Team for Africa) and the World Bank&rsquo;s International Finance Corporation (IFC against AIDS) with the objective to promote the concept of public/private partnership and co-investment with the involvement of unions. The dictum has been that the private sector is business and organised labour, i.e. trade unions. When skills training, knowledge transfer and other assistance are extended to management, it should also be offered to unions. No HIV and AIDS interventions at the workplace are effective if workers and their representatives are not included. Unfortunately, these organisations have not been responsive to such legitimate demands.An HIV/AIDS e-bulletin has been published monthly since October 2005. A dedicated HIV/AIDS website provided access to useful materials and links to other websites. Materials have included a leaflet, a manual for collective bargaining on HIV and AIDS issues, and a guide for resources and finance for HIV/AIDS activities. Very important for union work at the national level, a model union policy and a workplace policy on HIV/AIDS were developed.Another element of the work at global level has been the successful acquisition of additional funding to expand the project beyond Africa. Corporate partnership and solidarity contributions from affiliates made it possible to run HIV/AIDS projects in India, Trinidad &amp; Tobago, Mongolia, and Colombia. Supplementary funding was also obtained for Sub-Saharan Africa, mainly earmarked for VCT campaigns in Tanzania and Nigeria. The Danish LO/FTF supported a three-year project (2009-2011) in the mining sector in Ethiopia.While a lot has been achieved in the past years, much more still needs to be done. It was therefore decided to seek a continuation of the HIV/AIDS project and look at developing a new project proposal for sub-Saharan African IndustriALL affiliates for the years 2013-2015. Discussions are ongoing with the donor community on this.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 81, June 2012

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="45" />
A global ICEM Conference dedicated to discussing CAL took place immediately prior to the ICEM Fifth Statutory Congress in Buenos Aires on 23 November. The Conference brought together more than 400 delegates from 69 countries to exchange stories of best practice, to evaluate work done on CAL, and to probe the future fight against Contract and Agency Labour (CAL). 
 
The meeting was chaired by Sergio Novais, ICEM Vice President for Latin America/Caribbean, with an introduction by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, who said, &ldquo;This conference is about an issue that has been one of the highest on the political agenda of the ICEM for many years. But despite our efforts, CAL is still spreading. In some countries it has become the regular employment situation.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="215" height="160" />
Sergio Novais
For individual workers, Warda said, there is more job insecurity, less regular hours, lower and irregular pay, fewer benefits, and in many cases no access to social benefits and an increased health and safety risk. There is evidence that CAL is being used by employers to deny workers their right to freedom of association, and in many countries CAL workers are either legally or in practice prevented from joining a union. 
 
The conference began with ICEM CAL Project Coordinators and J&ouml;rgen Juul Rasmussen, General Secretary of DEF Denmark, introducing the CAL situation in Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. Aranya Pakapath, ICEM CAL Coordinator for Asia, shared a number of recent developments in the fight against CAL. In India, following a number of training workshops conducted by the ICEM, the Indian mineworkers&rsquo; union managed to negotiate a clause on CAL in a new mining sector agreement. The language states that companies should not engage contract workers on work of a permanent nature and that payment of contract workers will either be by cheque or bank transfer &ndash; so there is proof there is a relationship. 
 
In Malaysia, said Pakapath, the government last year attempted to introduce legislation to legalise employment agencies. After a conference the ICEM held with the Malaysian Trades Union Confederation (MTUC), the confederation petitioned the government to withdraw the bill. The bill was withdrawn, but last month was reintroduced and Parliament approved it. Pakapath highlighted the efforts of unions in Indonesia &ndash;where the paper unions have been actively organising outsourced workers and succeeded in recruiting 580 workers &ndash; and the Philippines where unions have been trying to ban employment agencies through legislation and the industrial courts. 
 
In Pakapath&rsquo;s home country, she noted that at the Electric Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), EGAT-LU, with the solidarity and support of the Danish Electricians&rsquo; Union, managed to make fixed term workers into permanent workers, who are now entitled to social benefits. 
 
The ICEM and German affiliate IGBCE supported the Linde union in their struggle to get the industrial gas company to take responsibility for and respect the rights of CAL workers which finally resulted in the signing of an agreement between the company and the union. 
 
Elias Pintado of Brazil &ndash; who works together with Rosane Sasse to coordinate the CAL project in Latin America &ndash; highlighted some of the work carried out by ICEM affiliates to fight CAL and to improve legislation on outsourcing. Pintado explained that, with the exception of Brazil, all countries in the region have specific legislation to regulate outsourcing. 
 
Often these laws stipulate joint responsibility for employers who use outsourcing. In Brazil, the national congress is currently debating 26 bills to regulate outsourcing, most of which make it possible to outsource almost all functions. Brazilian unions are currently trying to collect one million signatures in support of one particular bill that would safeguard workers. 
 
Other Latin America unions have brought legal cases on the basis of legislation in force in countries, and in some cases have met with success. As a result of the many cases taking place in Brazil, the Higher Labour Court held a consultation on outsourcing. The chemical workers&rsquo; union has negotiated a code of conduct with Bayer in Brazil on outsourcing, which states that the employer is required to discuss CAL with the unions and inform the unions of the reasons why certain sectors would be subject to outsourcing. The code guarantees that user enterprises will pay wages and taxes for the CAL workers if the agency fails to do so. 
 
Before agencies can work for Bayer they must prove that they have no responsibility regarding workers&rsquo; wage arrears. Pintado informed delegates that on 28 July 2011, the Latin America Day against CAL was launched at a seminar in Colombia. Following the seminar, ICEM affiliates wrote to the head of Mercosur proposing unique legislation in the region on CAL. Many trade unions in the region have modified their statues and set up secretariats dedicated to CAL to monitor implementation of contracts and to represent workers. There are also shop stewards elected from among the CAL workers. 
 
The Sub-Saharan Africa strand of the ICEM CAL project has carried out activities in Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa and Namibia. In the multitude of cases, the region has the aim of strengthening union negotiations and campaigns, to find solutions to negative practices, and to influence governments to introduce binding regulations on the use of CAL. 
 
A report by Joseph Toe, ICEM CAL Project Coordinator for the region, highlighted the fact that unions are joining forces on these common objectives. In Guinea, the three ICEM affiliates have formed a CAL Steering Committee; in Nigeria, the two ICEM affiliates in the oil and gas sectors are working closely together, and there is close cooperation between ICEM&rsquo;s affiliates in South Africa and Namibia. 
 
Toe highlighted how Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) with Anglo Gold Ashanti and Umicore have been used to create space for collective agreements that cover all workers. In Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Labour has an action plan to stop the extension of agencies. In Nigeria, the Ministry for Petrol has published guidelines to control the activities of agencies. 
 
The guidelines cover industrial relations, collective bargaining for CAL workers, employment security and vocational training for CAL workers. In Mozambique, SINTIQUIAF has recruited into their ranks 300 CAL workers &ndash; the majority of whom are women aged 18-30. There is excellent cooperation between the labour inspectorate and the leadership of SINTIQUIAF, and labour inspectorate officials have attended all ICEM CAL seminars. The statutes of some unions have been amended &ndash; for example, Mauritius and Senegal &ndash; to make it possible for unions to recruit CAL workers. 
<img alt="" src="" width="213" height="160" />
Introducing the CAL situation in Europe, J&ouml;rgen Juul Rasmussen of Denmark, said that insecure work is the most rapidly-growing form of employment in Europe said that about 14% of all workers in Europe are on precarious jobs. At a company level, said Rasmussen, it is vital that shop stewards address the problem. In Denmark, the unions are fighting at the national level to include language on CAL in CBAs and the labour courts have ruled that when you have an agreement it must also apply to CAL workers. 
 
In Europe, for many years unions have demanded a Directive on agency work &ndash; this was agreed in 2008. All EU member states are implementing the Directive, although some countries are finding national solutions. Globally, unions can use ILO Conventions and Recommendations and, where necessary, engage in global campaigns. 
 
European labour organisations EMCEF, EMF, and ETUF: TCL have agreed that CAL is a major negotiating priority. 
 
Rasmussen highlighted some inspirational examples from Europe. For instance in Denmark, there is a major industrial agreement with a paragraph that says CAL workers should have the same rights as permanent workers. In Sweden, the unions and employers have joint committees to authorise the use of agencies and agency workers must have the same average wages as their permanent equivalents. 
 
A 2010 agreement, states that companies cannot hire agency workers if they have dismissed permanent workers over the previous six months. IF Metall in Sweden has agreed that employers must negotiate with the union before taking on agency workers for more than one month. In the construction sector in Belgium, the unions managed to ban the use of one-day contracts through collective agreements. 
 
The second part of the conference saw the exchange of best practice examples, with panels composed of ICEM affiliates from Mauritius, India, the Netherlands, Colombia, Senegal, Malaysia, Turkey and Argentina. Sascha Meijer described how FNV Bondgenoten is working to protect the rights of between 3,000 and 4,000 migrant workers involved in a major construction project in the Netherlands. The migrant workers, the vast majority of whom work through agencies or subcontractors, put in long days for low wages, do not get extra pay for working weekends, and are deducted amounts for accommodation and transport. 
 
The wrong social security regime is being used and the cheapest CBA &ndash; the wrong one &ndash; is being applied, all amounting to unequal pay for the same work. FNV Bondgenoten in the Netherlands developed a new, flexible approach to organising workers in this challenging context. They are building relationships with the workers, using the media to name and shame the exploitative agencies and employers, and making sure that relevant questions are put to Parliament. 
 
Bondgenoten is establishing better relations with unions in the home countries of the workers, and has signed a framework agreement with the energy employers on CAL matters, which includes a procedure for resolving conflicts and it also necessitates regular dialogue. Meijer highlighted the need for stronger international cooperation between unions to make union membership more worthwhile for migrant workers. 
 
Panellists shared examples of actions being taken at national, company and trade union levels in the fight for permanent direct employment and for equality of treatment. At the national level, Sutids, the industrial workers&rsquo; union of Senegal, launched an awareness-raising media campaign, communicated with employers and lobbied the President of Senegal, the national assembly, the Senate and the Ministry of Labour. These actions contributed to the passing of a bill on employment agencies. 
 
The provisions include employers can only use temporary workers to carry out specific tasks, and not for more than two years; that CAL workers must be paid the same as permanent workers; and that at the end of the contract the agency must pay 7% of the total gross remuneration during the whole period of the contract. Sutids also recruited 1,200 new CAL members. 
In Mauritius, in October, the ICEM affiliate SYNDICATRAVAYER signed the first ever collective agreement in the construction sector where permanent and CAL workers are both covered &ndash; there is a 15% wage increase for all workers and, most importantly, all workers doing work of the same value must be equally remunerated. 
 
ICEM Turkish affiliate Petrol-Is drew attention to the protocol signed with T&uuml;praş, Turkey&rsquo;s largest industrial enterprise, which states that CAL workers must become permanent employees once they have worked at the company for seven months. The Chemical Mazdoor Federation of India reported that an affiliated union managed to recruit all 650 CAL workers in a chemical plant, who then got almost all the benefits given to permanent workers. 
 
At the same time, there are several cases pending in the Indian courts as unions have filed complaints against employers for using &ldquo;sham and bogus&rdquo; contracts. For more than ten years, Sintracarbon of Colombia has been organising CAL workers. Some 6,000 of the 11,000 workers at Carbones del Cerrejon, the world&rsquo;s largest open cast coal mines, are contract workers &ndash; they work long days, are far from their families, and are paid the minimum possible. Recently, the union had successes in organising mechanical workers and is working on a set of demands with the supplier company. Now 20% of Sintracarbon&rsquo;s members are contract workers. 
 
The panellists also discussed actions unions are taking to improve recruitment, active involvement and representation of CAL members. In India, dedicated unions have been established for CAL workers and others have opened their door to CAL workers &ndash; for example the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation has succeeded in organising 10,000 CAL members. In Mauritius, SYNDICATRAVAYER amended their rules and reduced membership fees from 50 Rupees to 1 Rupee. The union constructed a two-story building which members can use, created an IT school were CAL workers and their families can receive free training and established a credit union where members can take out loans. Within 18 months, 3,000 new members have been recruited in the construction sector alone. 
 
The final panel of the day, comprising the General Secretaries of the IMF, the ICEM and the ITGLWF and chaired by the Coordinator of the Council of Global Unions, Jim Baker, discussion centered on future strategies. Jyrki Raina, IMF General Secretary, said that the fight against precarious work must be one of the key priorities of the new global union federation, which will be founded in June 2012. Raina explained that cooperation with the ITUC and all other GUFs is vital as we are facing the powerful lobby of MNEs and Ciett who want to use international institutions to legitimise the spread of precarious work. 
<img alt="" src="" width="214" height="160" />
Employers argue that temporary agencies create new jobs but, said Raina, the fact is that temporary agencies make decent jobs, with social protections, precarious jobs. Unions should work to limit the use of precarious work in all its forms and if precarious work is used unions should work to guarantee the same level of wages and benefits for all workers. 
 
According to ILO figures, 80% of all workers have no social security protection &ndash; this has to be a priority for the new global union. ICEM&rsquo;s Manfred Warda reflected on the First Global CAL Conference in Bangkok in 2007, where the problem of CAL was identified. Since then, Warda said, serious work has been taken by ICEM affiliates and the affiliates of other GUFs, which must form the foundations for future work. 
 
The first task is organise, organise, organise. CAL workers must be included in the bargaining unit, and unions should help them gain permanent employment status. Warda highlighted that factors contributing to recent mining disasters included that workers did not get adequate safety training and were not employed directly. Following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP said that the responsibilities were shared by various subcontractor companies. 
 
Klaus Priegnitz, ITGLWF General Secretary, spoke about how conditions in textile plants in countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh are being driven down even further by the growing use of CAL. The only objective, he said, is to have cheaper and cheaper labour. 
 
He said we must fight this at a national level &ndash; organise, recruit and become stronger. We can use GFAs as tools to fight precarious work. We should also use the revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. In summary, the General Secretaries drew attention to the importance of continuing and expanding the joint work carried out through the Council of Global Unions Work Relationships Group. They said that the ICEM, the IMF and the ITGLWF must increase cooperation and the founding of a new GUF is the right next step &ndash; the three GUFs will be stronger together.

Affiliates Reaffirm CAL Fight at 2nd Global Conference

<img src="" width="120" height="59" alt="" />
Local 27 members of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union were locked out at the New Year by Caterpillar Inc.&rsquo;s Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) in a callous display of corporate might that could lead to corporate flight from Canada. The 650 CAW members in London, Ontario, voted by 98% on 30 December for strike action and 24 hours later &ndash; just as they were returning to jobs on New Year&rsquo;s Eve following a holiday shutdown &ndash; they were locked out. 

The lockout indignation comes on the heels of deeper indignation: Caterpillar&rsquo;s EMD &ndash; run as part of the US company&rsquo;s Progress Rail Services Corp. &ndash; attempt to extract unreasonable wage and benefit concessions from Canadian union members as excuse to shift production of electric-powered diesel engines and associated railroad components to a start-up and lower wage plant in Muncie, US state of Indiana. 

EMD began operations in Muncie in October 2011. Until Saturday night&rsquo;s lockout, CAW and EMD had bargained under a seven-month contract extension, something the two sides agreed to in May 2011. However, EMD never once wavered from an initial, hostile and family-wrecking proposal demanding wage cuts from C$35-per hour to C$16.50, health benefits cut in half, and elimination of a pension scheme. 

At the same time, EMD was advertising for a Human Resources manager in Muncie with the stipulation that he/she have &ldquo;experience with providing union-free culture and union avoidance.&rdquo; 

EMD is paying average salaries between US$12-16-per hour in Muncie. Caterpillar and its wholly-owned Progress Rail Services is seeking to dislodge General Electric&rsquo;s (GE) Transportation Division as the US&rsquo;s premiere supplier of train locomotives at a time of government stimulus funding for infrastructure and transport needs. GE operates three major rail division plants that are unionised and pay average salaries of US$30-per hour or more. 

EMD&rsquo;s London, Ontario, plant was purchased by Caterpillar in August 2010 for US$820 million from Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners. The two capital companies in turn bought the manufacturing plant in 2005 for a quarter of that amount from General Motors when GM was shedding its non-auto making businesses.
<img src="" width="130" height="188" alt="" />
CAW President Ken Lewenza&nbsp; 

Then, Caterpillar was interested in buying the southwestern Ontario plant but CAW opposed the deal because of Caterpillar&rsquo;s horrid labour relations record in the US. Now, with Caterpillar in control and deploying obvious whipsawing of CAW members against non-union Muncie workers that will number 650 this year, CAW Local 27 is forced to blockade the London plant to prevent equipment from leaving for the Indiana city 350 miles to the south. 

On Saturday, CAW President Ken Lewenza called the lockout &ldquo;a serious attack on working people, their families and the greater community of London. 

&ldquo;If (Caterpillar) is not going to do business in Canada, this wage cut is designed as a mechanism to blame workers,&rdquo; Lewenza said in a published report, referring to production flight and a possible plant closing. In mid-December, the CAW lodged a formal complaint with the government over Caterpillar&rsquo;s violation of the Investment Canada Act. 

EMD has other railroad manufacturing facilities in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, and Sahag&uacute;n, Hidalgo state, Mexico, a facility it operates jointly with Bombardier. EMD sells locomotives, replacement parts, and diesel powered engines for marine propulsion, oil drilling and power generation in 130 countries, and currently has major contracts with companies providing equipment for state railways in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. 

Caterpillar&rsquo;s deep contract concession proposals, the lockout, matched with lucrative incentives from Indiana&rsquo;s anti-union state government for the Muncie start-up are a cause of great concern, particularly for two countries that each lack socially-minded industrial policies in the wake of a financial crisis.

CAW Members Victimized in Lockout by Caterpillar’s Rail Division

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With collective bargaining set to resume in two weeks time, Honeywell Inc. continues to place the residents of Metropolis, Illinois, in the US at risk by operating a uranium conversion plant with inexperienced scab workers. On 28 June 2010, Honeywell Inc. ruthlessly locked 228 American steelworkers off their jobs and nine days ago, on 25 June, those union members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-669, together with 800 supporters, held a one-year anniversary rally in the Metropolis town square. 
 
The mood at the 25 June rally was somber and angry due to Honeywell&rsquo;s economic stranglehold on workers&rsquo; lives. It was also defiant because the company has dared to risk the safety and well-being of 6,400 residents of this Ohio River city. 
 
When the lockout began, Honeywell assured the union that it would not operate the plant. The company reversed itself a month into the lockout, and now has exhibited the same disrespect in collective negotiations by rescinding contract provisions immediately after agreeing to them. 
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In Metropolis, Honeywell mills yellow-cake uranium into uranium hexafluoride (UF6) that is frozen and then sold to companies for nuclear power applications. For the past nine months, Honeywell has been using scabs provided by a contractor to do this dangerous work. The results show in Honeywell&rsquo;s environmental and health and safety record. 
 
At the 25 June mobilisation, workers and community members took notice once again to the dangers an outside workforce brings to their city: on 22 June, the US Labor Department&rsquo;s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) levied 17 serious workplace safety violations against the company and its scab workers. 
 
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have also cited Honeywell with major violations since the lockout began in June 2010. Three months ago, Honeywell pleaded guilty and was sentenced by the US government to a fine of US$11.8 million for knowingly storing hazardous waste without a permit. 
 
&ldquo;You begin to wonder about Honeywell&rsquo;s credibility when you consider the nearly US$12 million in federal fines Honeywell was forced to pay this past March for violations cited by the EPA,&rdquo; said Local 7-669 President Darrell Lillie. 
 
The OSHA violations issued in late June stem from a 22 December 2010 release of hydrogen fluoride (HF) vapors. (See <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/USW%20reacts%20to%20latest%20federal%20safety%20citations%20at%20Honeywell.pdf">USW Local 7-669 release</a>.) Honeywell refused OSHA's right to conduct its inspection with an employee representative despite the OSHA inspectors holding a federal warrant to do so.&nbsp; 
 
Honeywell put the city of Metropolis and Massac County, Illinois, at risk just weeks into the lockout when it decided to operate the workplace. On 5 September 2010, two days after the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission unbelievably gave approval for Honeywell to re-start the final two steps of a four-step uranium hexafluoride converting process, Metropolis was shook by a loud boom. 
 
Inside the plant, accumulated hydrogen reacted with fluorine gas during a venting process, causing the boom. Fortunately, the accident occurred in a non-regulated area of operation, meaning away from the handling of yellow cake uranium. 
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For workers and community supporters who gathered on 25 June, these incidents have become a daily reminder of the threats posed by a hugely profitable company as it unnecessarily attempts to spiral downward work terms on a skilled and dedicated workforce. 
 
To be sure, USW Local 7-669 and Honeywell would already have a new labour contract and experienced workers would be back on the job if it had not been for the company reneging on a deal. In bargaining on 6 June, the two sides reached a compromise and a tentative agreement was imminent. Honeywell&rsquo;s negotiators said it would draft the agreed-upon language and formally present it the next day in talks. 
 
But on 7 June, the company withdrew the proposed agreement from the day before that would maintain overtime pay after eight and 12 hours worked, and returned to its original and regressive proposal of time-and-a-half pay only after 40 hours had been worked. Local 7-669&rsquo;s bargaining team already had made compromises to end the lockout. But the bad-faith reversal meant Honeywell was not ready for the lockout to end. 
 
The effect was another insult aimed at the community and at steelworkers of Local 7-669, who most assuredly will return &ndash; perhaps soon &ndash; to their jobs but with a bitter taste in their mouths about all things Honeywell. 
 
On Friday, 1 July, the two sides agreed to resume bargaining on 19-20 July. 
 
The overtime issue is now paramount. Other issues to be resolved, but not considered deal threatening, are company insistence that workers who take Family and Medical Leave under the US federal statute, must concurrently take vacation leave; a different pension pan for future new hires; and company-paid meal allowance for staff who work overtime hours. 
 
At the Saturday, 25 June rally, USW District 7 Director Jim Robinson headlined the event. He and steelworkers and retirees from Chicago and northern Indiana travelled seven hours on buses to support Local 7-669. The ICEM calls on Honeywell to stop its hazardous conduct in America&rsquo;s heartland, and to reach satisfactory terms with USW Local 7-669.

Honeywell Threatens Safety by Extending Lockout of USW Members

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General Electric (GE) workers in America ratified a four-year labour agreement in late June that now sets a pattern for 15,200 unionised GE workers in the US. Members of both ICEM-affiliated United Electrical, Radio, Machine Workers&rsquo; of America (UE) and the International Union of Electrical Workers / Communication Workers of America (IUE/CWA), representing 11,500 of those workers, gave approval to the deal in local-by-local voting at some 40 union branches in late June. 
 
The new collective agreement came together on the final expiry day of the past contract, 19 June. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4501-Tentative-Pact-Reached-in-US-for-15-000-General-Electric-Workers">ICEM news article</a> of 20 June here.) The contract calls for adequate wage, bonus, and retirement provisions over the next four years, but it also contains concessions on health care coverage.&nbsp; 
 
The UE said the new contract &ldquo;contains some improvements as well as some major deficiencies,&rdquo; and blamed the deficiencies on a difficult bargaining climate and GE&rsquo;s anti-union tendencies in the US. Nevertheless, the UE-GE Conference Board of America&rsquo;s independent union recommended acceptance of the four-year proposal on 23 June. 
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The IUE/CWA also recommended the agreement. &ldquo;These were difficult negotiations in a difficult economic climate,&rdquo; stated said IUE-CWA GE and Aerospace Conference Board Chairman Bob Santamoor. &ldquo;Members evaluated the package as whole and found it acceptable.&rdquo; Thirty-four IUE/CWA local branches, representing 7,800 GE workers, voted accumulatively by 70% in separate branch referendums for overall acceptance. The UE did not announce its vote tally. 
 
The agreement calls for a first-year bonus due this month of US$5,000, with benefit increases in proportion to that award. In June 2012, workers will get a 2.25% increase, while in 2013 and 2014, wage hikes of 2.5% and 3% will go into effect. GE will outlay US$76 million for the first-year bonuses. 
 
Union members will receive modest pension benefits over the life of the agreement, and will see an improved cost-of-living formula each year. That benefit represents a 12% improvement over the past formula in inflation protection. The unions also won an additional sick day per year and added vacation days. 
 
Modifications were made regarding the Special Early Retirement Option (SERO), with a window reopener in 2011 for 400 applicants ages 55 to 59 with 30 years of service. A Voluntary Retirement Incentive Payment (VRIP) window was also negotiated for workers 60 years or older. 
 
The health care concession is higher yearly deductibles on medical care and benefit reductions to a co-payment system for health care visits and prescription drugs. These regressive contract changes regarding health care costs bring unionized workers down to levels unilaterally imposed by GE for non-union salaried workers. 
 
Of the majority of 11,500 GE workers represented by the IUE/CWA and UE, the IUE/CWA covers workers at GE Appliance and Lighting Division factories in Louisville, Kentucky, Aviation Division plants in Lynn, Massachusetts, and an Energy Division plant in Schenectady, New York. The UE represents GE Transportation Division workers in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Energy Division workers in Fort Edward, New York. The unions also represent scores of workers at smaller GE worksites that supply products to these bigger factories. 
 
The contract also serves as the template for collective agreements for eight other US unions that represent GE workers.

Four-year GE Pact Takes Effect in USA

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The ICEM-affiliated Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, celebrated its 29th Constitutional Convention on 22-25 June, in Las Vegas, USA. The Convention was conducted under the motto &ldquo;Shaping Our Future, Building Our Industries&rdquo; 
 
The UWUA were able to celebrate a successful four-year period since the previous Convention, in which time the union has organised increased strength and industry density, successfully influenced national elections in 2008 and 2010, and was elected to the AFL-CIO&rsquo;s Executive Council for the first time. During the period the UWUA also achieved a number of significant collective bargaining successes, in a time of increased corporate aggression. A key victory was at Covanta Energy in April 2010, where a first union contract was won for workers at the plant in south-eastern Massachusetts. (See the <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3741-Utility-Workers-of-America-Gets-Excellent-First-Labour-Pact-with-Covanta">ICEM report</a> on Covanta here)&nbsp;
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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, addressing the Convention, wholeheartedly congratulated the UWUA for the success in the two-year struggle at Covanta, &ldquo;It has been inspiring to many of our affiliated unions in their struggle against greedy companies and unfair labour practices &hellip; We are proud to have contributed to that campaign, with PSI, by mobilising unions in Canada, Ireland, the UK, and Netherlands to block Covanta expanding in their countries until it accepted the rights of workers in the US.&rdquo; 
 
Guest speakers at the Convention included Dr. Steven Chu, US Secretary of Energy; and David Foster, Executive Director of BlueGreen Alliance. 
 
Among the numerous important Convention resolutions on occupational health and safety, union rights, and sustainable jobs, the Convention adopted a resolution on International Labour Solidarity in which the UWUA resolved to continue to support international solidarity struggles throughout the world, and to continue active participation in the ICEM and PSI. The resolution also resolved to push the US Congress to ratify Core ILO Conventions 87 and 98. 
 
The ICEM congratulates the UWUA elected Officers, who were all re-elected at the Convention.

UWUA 29th Constitutional Convention

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Three regions of the ICEM held Regional Conferences in the last three weeks. 
 
The ICEM Asia-Pacific Regional Conference was held in Bangkok on 28-29 June, with 124 participants from 15 countries. The first day was dedicated to discussion on priority issues &ldquo;Organizing Multinational Corporations (MNCs)&rdquo; and &ldquo;Contract Labour&rdquo;. During the second day, delegates were briefed about the merger process. The strong sense of solidarity and positivity towards merger with the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and the International Textile, Garment &amp; Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) was manifested by participants. ICEM Asia-Pacific affiliates are well acquainted with the merger process. Eleven representatives of the IMF and ITGLWF joined the meeting and had an opportunity to interact with ICEM member unions, and discuss future joint activities. 
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The Central Europe ICEM Regional Conference was held on 15 June in Balatonszemes, Hungary. Participants were from ICEM member organisations in Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Serbia. The host organisation was the Federation of Trade Unions of Chemical, Energy and General Workers, (VDSz), under President Tamas Szekely. Guests from the IMF and ITGLWF also took part in the conference. 
 
During the conference, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda gave a summary report on the activities of ICEM, campaigning and global framework agreement developments. The creation of a new international industrial federation was discussed. Anatoly Surin reported on ICEM activities in the region, and Mato Lalic on ICEM project activities in the region. 
 
Juraj Blahak, President of EKHOZ Slovakia was re-elected as President of the ICEM Regional Council of Central Europe. All the participants agreed with the application of the Independent Trade Union of Energy workers of Kosovo to become an ICEM member organisation. 
 
The North America Regional Conference on 13-14 June in Ottawa, Canada, passed two resolutions firstly supporting the Sindicato &Uacute;nico de Trabajadores de la Empresa Industria Vidriera del Potos&iacute; S.A. de C.V. (SUTEIVP) glass workers in their conflict with Industria Vidriera del Potosi S.A. The second resolution was a wide commitment of the region to continue support in solidarity for trade union rights in Mexico. The Conference discussed and supported the creation of a new International.

ICEM Regional Conferences Support Creation of New International

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