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The strike by Bridgestone workers at an aircraft tyre retreading plant in Frameries, Belgium, has ended after nine weeks of continuous striking. 
 
After the failure of conciliatory negotiations at the national level, a draft agreement at the local level was finally agreed. Workers ratified the agreement by 57% to 42% on 7 August. 
 
The agreement accepts the closure of the plant, but with a number of conditions. Those conditions include payment of compensation to workers in lieu of plant-closing notice, plus compensation based on seniority. Also, placement of each worker into another job in a different company near the worker&rsquo;s home also was a condition. 

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A bonus pay-out with an advance of &euro;500 was agreed to, as well, to compensate for the loss of job security. The bonus also covers early retirement options. The eight temporary workers were given permanent contracts, this qualifying them for the benefits, and Bridgestone has lifted all sanctions or punishment related to the strike. 
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The strike by all 140 workers, led by ICEM Belgian affiliate FGTB Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale, started on 11 June over eight job cuts. 
 
The Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale-FGTB is proud of its victory, standing up to a huge multinational, with courageous rubber workers earning the respect of many. The achievements were not the goals that the union had set out for, but they are notable. 
 
The FGTB issued a message of thanks to all those who expressed their solidarity during the struggle.

Bridgestone Strike at Belgian Airplane Tyre Factory Ends

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ICEM affiliate, Union Sindical Obrera de la Industria del Petroleo (USO), has been negotiating a new collective agreement with state-owned Ecopetrol. The period of negotiation was extended by 20 days and ended on Saturday, 22 August. The negotiators worked continuously for the final 24 hours of the 40 day talks. Agreement was reached on a new collective agreement for the period 2009-2014, and will be backdated from 1 July 2009. The agreement will apply to all Ecopetrol employees, as well as those employed by contractors working on Ecopetrol projects. 
 
Major demands of the union were health care for the families of temporary workers, the reinstatement of workers who had lost their jobs due to trade union activities, opposition to US military bases in the country, an increased wage scale, the recognition of a conventional wage for all activities of industry, employment regulations in Ecopetrol, and issues of trade union and human rights. 

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The agreement satisfies USO&rsquo;s demands on health, education, and housing, as well as on occupational health. Families of temporary workers will receive health care from the company, on the condition that they have been employed for a minimum period of six months. 
 
Considerable wage gains were achieved, with base salaries rising by between 6.87% and 18.74%, depending on the worker&rsquo;s category. All salaries will then rise incrementally, by around 1% per year, for the remaining five years of the agreement. 
 
Another proposed article in the collective agreement sought support from the company for sport and recreation of workers and their families. Funding should be provided by management towards clubs and societies, with 80% of membership fees subsidized by Ecopetrol. 

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The union was eager to seek a collective agreement to solve the conflict, but the message from the USO leadership was clear: &ldquo;If there is no agreement, there will be no production,&rdquo; said Moises Baron Cardenas, President of USO Barrancabermeja. 
 
As reported by the ICEM in InBrief 135, the early days of the negotiation process were marred by violence and intimidation. On Thursday, 17 July, riot police attacked workers at the Barrancabermeja refinery with tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun bombs, seriously injuring three workers. Police arrested two workers. The attack occurred two days after the start of the negotiations; USO suspended the meeting to focus on treating the injured and securing the release of detainees. USO President Germ&aacute;n Osman condemned the attack.

Colombian Oil Workers Union, USO, Reach New Agreement with Ecopetrol

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The members of ICEM affiliate, the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union (CEPPWAWU) have engaged in a protected strike in companies around the country. The strike began on 20 July. The Union&rsquo;s 40,000 striking workers are demanding wage increases of between 13-15%, while employers are willing to pay between 8-10%. The negotiations have taken over two months and a dispute was officially declared last month, Skhumbuzo Phakathi, CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s International Coordinator, informed the ICEM. 
 
A countrywide march is planned for today. Thabane Mdlalose, the deputy general secretary of CEPPWAWU says the pulp and paper section met with employers at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration last Monday, without agreement. &ldquo;All our members are still picketing,&rdquo; he added. The labour union also wants six months paid maternity leave and temporary employees to be made permanent staff members. 

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The union&rsquo;s Bargaining Council for the Wood and Paper Sector (NBCWPS), oversees the strike in the country&rsquo;s Pulp and Paper industry, focused at SAPPI and Mondi. The wage demand is 13% and the offer from the employer is 7.5%. 
 
CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s National Bargaining Council for Chemical Industries (NBCCI) has the following sectors currently on strike; Pharmaceutical, where the demand of 13.6% is countered with an offer of 7%, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), where the demand is 10% and offer is 8%, Industrial Chemicals, with a demand of 11% versus an offer of 8%. 
 
CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s compromise position is a rise of 10% across all sectors, for settlement. Employers have offered 8 percent, which was the rate of inflation in May. 

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The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has come out in support of the CEPPWAWU mass action, warning that if employers do not better their wage offer, the federation's 2 million members will come out in support of its affiliate. 
 
In the petroleum sector, employers have settled for an acceptable offer covering a two year period, with 40% for maternity leave. 
 
Some of the major companies currently facing strikes are; Adcock Ingram, Air Liquide, Aspen Pharmacare, Barloworld Decorative, Umicore Autocat. Others are Afrox, Johnson and Johnson, Plascon paints, Dulux Paints, Unilever, Colgate/Palmolive, Lake International, Mondi, Sappi, and&nbsp;others across the different&nbsp;sectors. 
 
The ICEM will report developments as&nbsp;strikes continue.

South African Wage Strikes Continue

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The ICEM has received information from the Federation of Workers Councils Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) that one of their leading women activists is under attack. The management of the General Company for Leather Industries (GCLI) has punished Sawsan Mahmoud, by transferring her to another company. The decision follows her leadership and participation in a strike at the beginning of April 2009, after protesting against the company's failure to make all outstanding payments due to workers in April. 
 
The company's management, in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, has transferred the trade union activist to Elez Company, a subsidiary of the Ministry. Sawsan has appealed to the Minister for the cancellation of the transfer. As a result the Ministry required the company&rsquo;s reasons for the transfer, which were reported by the company as being her participation and incitement of workers to go on strike at the beginning of last April, &ldquo;strike instigators are not keen on the stability of the country&quot;. The company reiterated its reply to the Ministry that the transfer was due to the recent events, referring to its workers' last strike. Subsequently the management of the company also proceeds now to punish another six workers for the same reasons. 

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FWCUI President Falah Alwan
The FWCUI has taken up her case and that of the other victimised workers, mounting a media campaign and a legal case against the company and the Ministry. They have called on the international trade union movement to publicise the case and protest the action of the Ministry and the company. ICEM has done so and is in communication with ITGLWF about further support action. 
 
In a letter to Fawzi Franso Hariri, the Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals, ITGLWF General Secretary Neil Kearney expressed his concern over the treatment of Sawsan Mahmoud. Kearney stated that the company&rsquo;s behaviour &ldquo;represents a blatant breach of the right of freedom of association which protects the right of workers to strike as a means of defending their interests. This fundamental right is enshrined in the Iraqi Constitution as well as in Conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labour Organisation, which apply to Iraq by virtue of its membership of the ILO&rdquo;.

Iraqi Labour Federation Protests Attack from Industry and Government Ministry

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Over 1,000 mineworkers at the Chinese owned Marcona mine in Peru, ended their indefinite strike action on 24 July, returning to work following a government resolution ordering increased wages, plus a one-off bonus. The workers are members of the ICEM affiliated Federaci&oacute;n Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros, Metal&uacute;rgicos y Sider&uacute;rgicos del Per&uacute; (FNTMMSP). 
 
Shougang Hierro Peru is the country&rsquo;s only iron producer, producing 7.5 million tones of iron ore in 2008. Production was halted at the Marcona mine, 217 miles south of the capital Lima in Ica Province, when workers downed their tools on July 13, starting an indefinite strike action for higher wages. 

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Shougang mineworkers in Marcona
The global financial crisis has lowered prices for most of Peru&rsquo;s metals exports; companies throughout the industry are using that as an excuse to avoid making overdue salary rises. &quot;Shougang has the capacity to raise our salaries, just with 4 percent of its profits,&quot; union leader Julio Ortiz stated at the outset of the strike. Nearly 10,000 mineworkers have lost their jobs in Peru since November 2008. 
 
Ortiz then reported last Friday &quot;We have lifted the indefinite strike following a (pay) increase granted by the Ministry of Labour, although we don't agree with the increase,&quot; 
 
The Chinese Shougang Group, which has run the mine since 1993, had previously offered an hourly wage increase of US$0.23 but that was rejected by the union. The Peruvian government instead passed a resolution ordering a US$1.1 a day increase, plus a one-off bonus of US$433. The 1,124 striking workers had been seeking a US$3.3 increase on their US$18.3 daily wage. The rise is backdated to 31 March 2009. 
 
Local press had reported that the strike had cost the company over US$6 million, the claims were denied by the company. Negotiations between the union and company management were brokered by Labour Minister Manuela Garc&iacute;a, and provincial Governor R&oacute;mulo Trive&ntilde;o. 
 
Peru is the world's top producer of silver, and second top producer of copper and zinc.

Peruvian Miners Achieve Wage Gains at Chinese Owned Iron Mine

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Negotiations are presently taking place between the ICEM-affiliated, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU) and the Iraqi Drilling Company, following demonstrations and a workplace strike 24 June, 2009. 
 
Management called in Iraqi security forces, who cordoned off the demonstrators and workplaces. We are informed that only the demonstrators&rsquo; determination and good will prevented violence, given that the management had informed the military forces that the demonstrators were terrorists. Workers left at the end of their working hours but returned on the second day, gathering in front of the worksites and halting operating machines. 
 
Workers submitted their demands to the management which include: reopening the trade union, which had been closed by the Director-General, upon the Minister's directive; re-activating the productivity allowances payments and various other allowances; and moreover, the workers called on the ministry to be patient in the signing of licensing contracts which the ministry want to conclude. 

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Iraq&rsquo;s oil workers are legally prevented from forming unions, based on remaining Saddam Hussein-era laws. The workers have organized nonetheless. The 2005 Constitution calls for new labour laws. 
 
Iraqi oil unions have repeatedly protested working conditions; including pay and housing, and opposition to the draft oil law, viewed as too open to foreign investment. The Oil Ministry has instructed its state oil companies not to deal with the unions and has come down hard in the past, as often reported by the ICEM. See recent ICEM reports on Iraq <a href="/en/67-Search-ICEM-site?keywords=IFOU">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
Iraq has the world&rsquo;s third largest oil reserves, with considerable potential for increased levels of production. Iraq earns around 95 percent of state income from oil sales, nearly $62 billion last year. 
 
Negotiations are continuing with workers at the Iraqi Drilling Company. The ICEM will report further developments in this brave struggle for trade union rights.

Iraqi Oil Workers Struggle for Trade Union Rights

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At the ICEM&rsquo;s World Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, in November 2007, a resolution was adopted in support of the World Day for Decent Work. This global day of action and mobilisation &ndash; 7 October 2008 &ndash; is organised by the Decent Work, Decent Life campaign, led by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Council of Global Unions, Solidar, the Global Progressive Forum, Social Alert International, and the European Trade Union Confederation. 
 
ICEM has a special interest in Decent Work, particularly in view of the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s strong work over the past several years on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL). For this reason, the ICEM is focusing its 7 October action day events, and the period to follow, on CAL. ICEM is also working together with the other Global Union Federations, through the Council of Global Unions, on the CAL issue.
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As part of ICEM&rsquo;s overall campaign, we will intensify our activities on this date to ensure equal rights and equal treatment for temporary and agency workers. The ICEM will use the Global Day of Action as the start of a global push to organise contract and agency workers. This campaign will run until December 2008. 
 
Affiliates will be asked to give special attention to contract and agency workers during this period, as well as to give priority to the issue as a whole. 
 
Campaign materials will be published to help affiliates address the issue at local, national, and international levels. With this special InBrief newsletter, we would also like to call your attention to the issue of Contract and Agency Labour globally, as well as also within particular work sectors. The aim of distribution the information is to share and to learn from experiences.
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In the upcoming months, further useful materials will be published and distributed, and we will also send you information on how you and your union can become active on this issue as the 7 October World Day of Action arrives. 
 
Activities that affiliates can consider doing, include: 
 
&bull; Issuing press communications, highlighting 7 October as a the start of a campaign on organising contract and agency labour workers; 
&bull; Active distribution of the ICEM campaign material; 
&bull; Organising workshops with members discussing the CAL issue, and coming up with union responses; 
&bull; Organising public debates on CAL; 
&bull; Go out and start organising campaigns that specifically target contract and agency workers. 
 
The ICEM also continues to call on all its affiliates, and their members, in both developing and developed countries, to sign the call to action at <a href="http://www.decentwork.org">http://www.decentwork.org</a>.
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In addition, in the last several weeks, the ICEM has invited all affiliates to fill in an online survey. Through this survey, we aim to gather information on CAL in your industrial sectors and countries. Is CAL a growing phenomenon? How does your union respond? What means and methods are you using to organise temporary workers? The answers will give us valuable information &ndash; information to inform other affiliates on best practices and successful strategies used by fellow unions. 
 
Many of you have already filled in this survey, and we would like to ask others who have not, to do so in the near future. If you have not received an invitation to participate in the survey, please send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:contract.labour@icem.org">contract.labour@icem.org</a>.

ICEM’s Focus on 7 October World Day for Decent Work: Contract and Agency Labour

ICEM Contract and Agency Labour Newsletter

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Negotiations concluded on 19 June in Baku, Azerbaijan, between ICEM affiliate Oil and Gas Industry Workers&rsquo; of Azerbaijan (OGWUA) and the Caspian Shipyards Co. Ltd., producing wage gains and health and safety improvements for some 1,000 contract employees. 
They work in the construction of offshore rigs for Agip, a subsidiary of Italian energy firm Eni, as well as repairing and upgrading other offshore equipment.
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The mostly Azeri workforce staged a wildcat strike on 11 June over disparate pay and unfair working conditions. 

The workers at Caspian Shipyards, majority owned by Keppel FELS of Singapore, will now have a legitimate workplace organisation under OGWUA. The negotiations result in a US$78 increase to offset inflation, as well as a 6% wage increase retroactive to 1 June 2008. Minimum salaries have also been increased from a low of $US140-per-week to US$300. Further wage talks will occur annually, beginning in February 2009. 

Management at Caspian Shipyards also agreed to continue dialogue on making health and safety improvements, signing long-term contracts, annual paid leave, and reducing the disparity between foreign workers and Azeri workers.
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&ldquo;Our union views the results of these negotiations to resolve the Caspian Shipyards conflict as positive,&rdquo; said OGWUA Chairman Jahangir Aliyev. &ldquo;At the same time, we fully realise that not all of the issues have been resolved. However, the work to resolve the social and economic issues will now continue and appropriate monitoring and implementation has been put in place.&rdquo;

Azerbaijan Oil and Gas Workers’ Union Again Wins Recognition, Pay Gains for Contractors

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A second four-day strike by contract drivers of Royal Dutch Shell in the UK was not necessary for 20-23 June. ICEM affiliate Unite, representing 600 tank-truck drivers of Hoyer and J.W. Suckling Transport Ltd., won a two-year, 14% pay increase for the drivers instead, thanks to a strike two weeks ago that pressured Shell. 
 
The agreement came in the days following the end of the first industrial action on 17 June. Drivers voted by a 453-56 margin to accept a pay package that will give them a 9% this year, and 5% in 2009. The wage gains met Unite&rsquo;s goal of lifting drivers&rsquo; gross pay to &pound;36,000 per year.
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A strike from 13 June to the early morning hours of 17 June stopped petrol supplies at Shell&rsquo;s 950 retail stations in the UK, and severely impacted delivery of fuel for BP, Total, and Esso. Most drivers for those companies refused to cross picket lines at Shell depots and terminals. 
 
The dispute was unique for contract workers, since it saw a union successfully bring pressure on a primary company over low contract fees paid to service providers. Unite&rsquo;s pressure on Shell brought the wage increases for drivers, who are directly employed by Hoyer UK, a transport company based in Germany, and J.W. Suckling, wholly owned by the UK equity firm, Harris Holdings.

Tank-Truck Contract Drivers’ Dispute Ends in UK with Pressure Against Shell

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