English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

The oil sector's first-ever globally applicable agreement on industrial relations was signed in Copenhagen on 7 July between energy multinational Statoil and the trade unions. 
 
A major player in oil, gas and related industries, Statoil has operations in 27 countries and employs more than 18,000 people. 
 
The agreement covers basic trade union rights, health, safety and the environment, information and training. 
 

<img height="145" src="" width="200" alt="" />
IN GLOBAL ACCORD: (l. to r.) Statoil's Jostein Gaasemyr, ICEM's and NOPEF's Lars Myhre and ICEM's Vic Thorpe. 
(photo: ICEM) 

Signing for the unions were Lars Myhre and Vic Thorpe.
Myhre is President of the Norwegian oil and petrochemical workers' union NOPEF and chairman of the oil industry section of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
Thorpe is the ICEM's General Secretary. 
 
For Statoil, the agreement was signed by Jostein Gaasemyr, Vice-President of Labour Relations. 
 
The declared aim of the agreement is to &quot;create an open channel of information between NOPEF/ICEM and Statoil Management about industrial relations issues in order to continuously improve and develop good work practices in Statoil's worldwide operations.&quot; It applies to &quot;all Statoil operations over which the company has direct control, i.e. Statoil is the operator.&quot; 
 
Statoil, NOPEF and the ICEM &quot;affirm their support for fundamental human rights in the community and in the place of work.&quot; They also &quot;recognise the importance of protecting health, safety and well-being at work&quot; and share concerns about the impact that &quot;production and distribution may have upon the natural and human environment.&quot; 
 
Many of the agreement's specific provisions are linked to the relevant standards (Conventions) set by the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). 
 
In particular, the unions' new global agreement with Statoil includes the following commitments [quote]: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>the right of every employee to be represented by a union of his or her own choice and the basic trade union rights as defined by ILO Conventions 87 and 98. Statoil therefore agrees not to oppose efforts to unionise its employees. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>to employ no forced or bonded labour as proscribed in the ILO Conventions 29 and 105 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>to employ no child labour as proscribed by ILO Convention 138 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>to exercise equality of opportunity and treatment in employment as required by ILO Conventions 100 and 111 
 to pay fair wages and benefits according to good industry standards in the country concerned 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>to provide a safe work environment, deploying common &quot;best practice&quot; standards. 
 [end of quote] </div>
 </li>
</ul>
 
NOPEF/ICEM and Statoil will meet annually to review progress in implementing the agreement. In addition to general industrial issues and matters concerning health, safety and the environment, the annual meeting may address the following topics [quote]: 
<ul>
 <li>the economic and financial position of the company and the development of its business, major industrial and technological projects 
 </li>
 <li>general corporate policy on employment/occupational health, safety and environmental issues affecting the company 
 </li>
 <li>training matters 
 </li>
 <li>issues affecting the exercise of trade union rights 
 </li>
 <li>any other issues mutually agreed upon. 
 [end of quote] </li>
</ul>
The agreement gives full protection to union officers and to employees who provide information on its observance and implementation. Statoil itself undertakes to make available &quot;relevant information and other agreed facilities&quot; to union delegates, in return for a commitment by the unions to respect the commercial confidentiality of the information provided. 
 
The global agreement explicitly does not replace local-level industrial relations, and it embodies &quot;the principle that industrial relations issues are best resolved as close as possible to the place of work.&quot; 
 
&quot;NOPEF/ICEM and Statoil will both contribute to specific training programmes,&quot; the agreement states. This will include health and environment &quot;best practice&quot; training for union delegates from countries where Statoil is the operator and management training programmes within Statoil. &quot;In case of NOPEF/ICEM contributions to Statoil training programmes, costs may be covered by Statoil subject to agreement.&quot; 
 
Commented Statoil's Jostein Gaasemyr : &quot;This is an important step for Statoil, because we see the implementation of human rights as a crucial challenge in some of the environments in which we do business. This is an extension to the global level of the constructive, problem-solving relationship that Statoil has maintained with NOPEF for the past twenty years. We have long worked together with NOPEF,and NOPEF has now provided the link forward to our new global cooperation with the ICEM&quot;. 
 
The new agreement is &quot;a major step forward for global industrial relations in the oil industry,&quot; Lars Myhre commented. &quot;It will benefit the workers and the company. Not for the first time, Statoil has shown itself to be a far-sighted employer with a good understanding of its own longer-term interests.&quot; 
 
&quot;This is an important day for the ICEM and for the world trade union movement,&quot; said Vic Thorpe. &quot;Statoil has recognised that it makes sense for a global company to relate to trade unions globally, as well as nationally and locally. We are confident that more such agreements will follow soon in the oil industry and in other sectors where the ICEM represents the world's workers.&quot;

Oil Company and Unions Sign First Worldwide Agreement

&quot;Global unionism&quot; is a must for the world's rubber manufacturing workers' unions. To achieve it, they launched a new action plan in Kuala Lumpur today. 
 
Worldwide employment in the rubber manufacturing sectors has been heavily impacted over the past five years by the twin pressures of technology and industry concentration. 
 
 

<img height="317" alt="" src="" width="240" />
ICEM's George Becker: 
 
&quot;We will add a new global - global unionism.&quot; 
 
(Photo: USWA) 

Unions representing rubber manufacturing workers of all continents met in the Malaysian capital today and yesterday to assess the effects of these trends and to draw up a strategic plan of action. The union leaders were taking part in the World Rubber Industry Conference of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
&quot;The largest tyre manufacturers all have global strategies,&quot; George Becker pointed out. Becker is President of the ICEM-affiliated United Steel Workers of America (USWA), which organises rubber workers. &quot;With the help of the ICEM,&quot; he said, &quot;the major unions in the tyre industry are putting together a team to develop our own strategic plan.&quot; 
 
Becker chaired the discussions in Kuala Lumpur and was unanimously re-elected as chairman of the ICEM Rubber Industry Section. 
 
Elements of the rubber unions' new worldwide action plan include: 
 
Regular detailed information exchange between unions on company strategies and terms and conditions of employment. This will assist unions' preparations for collective bargaining. 
 
An integrated global support system between unions in the industry. This will uphold and extend the organisation of workers in independent and strong unions. 
 
Where necessary, recourse to the international standards and monitoring mechanisms of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the protection of basic trade union rights. Special attention will be paid to the concerns of women, who often form the majority of the workforce in the rubber industry's important non-tyre sector. 
 
Strategic planning through a newly established Steering Group which will identify targets and coordinate support and solidarity activities on an ongoing basis. 
 
Intensified work on building trade union networks within key rubber multinationals. These Company Networks involve trade union representatives and officials who negotiate with the company in question. 
 
A higher profile for health, safety and environment issues within the industry. Action will include a campaign to &quot;responsibilise&quot; the various company &quot;Responsible Care&quot; programmes and to ensure trade union involvement in all such initiatives. 
 
Global companies need to be confronted by global unions, the Kuala Lumpur delegates insisted. A key trade union demand must, they said, be the establishment of international agreements guaranteeing basic trade union rights and accepting the principle of universal &quot;best practice&quot; health and safety standards throughout each company's worldwide operations. 
 
&quot;We are constantly reminded of the global economy and global trade,&quot; Becker concluded. &quot;Well, we will add a new 'global' - global unionism.&quot;

Rubber Unions Go Global

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Two fresh law suits under America&rsquo;s Alien Tort Claims Act were filed last week in US federal courtrooms. In the state of Alabama, Drummond Coal was again hauled to the dock for its complicity with right-wing death squads in Colombia, and in New York state, Shell Oil will have to answer to its alleged conspiracy with Nigerian security forces in the 1995 execution of Ken Saro-Wira. 
 
The Colombian case against Drummond is the second such case against the US-based coal producer. Drummond&rsquo;s alleged involvement in the 2001 assassinations of union leaders Valmore Lacarno, Victor Oracasita, and Gustavo Soler, all leaders of the mining union Sintramienerg&eacute;tica, was the first Alien Tort Claims Act case to reach trial. In 2007, after key Colombian witnesses were prevented from testifying, a federal judge dismissed the case against Drummond and an appeals court failed to reverse that decision in December 2008. 
 
This time Drummond, between 1999 and 2006, is accused of complicity with right-wing paramilitary squads in the murders of 63 men and four women. The suit, filed by a state of Florida law firm on behalf of 252 relatives of the slain, who are entitled to compensatory damages from Drummond if the company is proven guilty. The lawsuit claims Drummond specifically paid millions to the United Self-Defense Forces (AUC), who &ldquo;terrorised&rdquo; women and children &ldquo;in their homes, on their way to and from work, and often murdered&rdquo; others &ldquo;on behalf of Drummond.&rdquo; 

<img src="" width="180" height="83" alt="" />
Ken Saro-Wiwa is a martyr because, as leader of the non-violent Movement for the Survival of the Ogani People (MOSOP), he was among the first Nigerians to stand up against environmental degradation and human exploitation in the Niger Delta. His strong voice earned him a hasty trial and execution by the repressive regime of General Sani Abacha. The New York suit will attempt to prove that Shell was complicit in a campaign of terror undertaken by Abacha&rsquo;s security forces. 
 
The Alien Tort Claims Act, on US law books since 1789, allows non-Americans access to US civil court action in order the hold accountable US-based or other corporations to violations of international law. Because of the US&rsquo;s historic economic power throughout the world, Alien Tory Claims cases are seen as a leading way in which human rights conduct gets heard in America.

Drummond, Shell Called to US Courts to Answer on Human Rights Charges

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
On 12 June, civil society across everywhere will mark World Day Against Child Labour, this year coming on the 10th anniversary of adoption of ILO Convention 182, the convention that condemns the worst forms of child labour. In step with this year&rsquo;s International Labour Conference gender theme, the ILO will focus 12 June on the exploitation of young girls in child labour. 
 
The ILO estimates that 100 million girls are involved in child labour. The ICEM believes that the first and most important instrument toward decent work is education. A child and young adult&rsquo;s education is the surest and securest way to escape poverty, and to grow as an adult into a decent and secure livelihood. 

<img src="" width="139" height="200" alt="" />
On this World Day Against Child Labour, the ICEM draws attention to our trade union affiliate at the Firestone Rubber Plantation in Liberia, a union that still must carry the fight to leave behind the scars of child labour. Despite a new collective agreement, Firestone has not implemented parts of it, including reductions on quotas for rubber tapping. It was these quotas that demanded children be used in order to fulfil production. 
 
The ICEM calls attention to the rescue of 37 children in New Delhi, India, last week, who were restrained and bonded while performing needle-stitch work. For every such rescue, there are scores more illegal worksites that cheat and exploit children. The ICEM also makes note of a report from an NGO in Uzbekistan that the use of child labour in cotton fields is growing and becoming an even bigger menace. In Thailand, we know, it is common to abuse Lao and Burmese children while at work in sweatshops. 
 
There are countless stories that certify child labour as the number one obstacle to decent work. The ICEM encourages everyone to acknowledge 12 June, but also to use it as the day to make a year-long commitment to expose and eradicate all forms of child labour.

12 June, Day Against Child Labour, Another Bold Reminder

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A unique happenstance followed an ICEM workshop on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) in Guinea recently: the Industrial Relations manager of Russian bauxite and steel producer RUSAL was expelled from the country following revelations at the conference of the company&rsquo;s horrid labour practices in Guinea. 
 
Mineworkers in Guinea, backed by leaders of the trade union federations, provided vivid evidence on working conditions, including child labour, at Compagnie des Bauxite de Kindla, RUSAL&rsquo;s joint venture bauxite mining concern with the government. 
 
The testimony resulted in the government, led by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, to expel Anatoly Pantchenko from Guinea. 
 
Trade unionists told how the RUSAL manager had organized a culture of outsourcing at the mine and at RUSAL&rsquo;s wholly-owned Friguia alumina smelting plant. The company utilises some 120 outsourcing companies. Discussion centered on how the system has aggravated poverty and created extremely poor work conditions and salaries, leaving workers under RUSAL&rsquo;s umbrella with little means for improved living conditions. 

<img alt="" src="" width="350" height="233" />
From left to right: Ibrahima Fofana, Rabiatou Sereh Diallo, Manfred Warda and Yamodou Tour&eacute;
The report was not new to the ICEM. In 2007, after street protests in Guinea loosened the dictatorial powers of President Lansana Cont&eacute;, Rabiatou Sereh Diallo, General Secretary of the National Confederation of Workers of Guinea (CNTG), visited the ICEM in Brussels. She and other trade union leaders from Guinea then told how RUSAL relies heavily on &ldquo;phantom&rdquo; subcontracting companies that are tied to Cont&eacute; associates. 
 
In December 2008, following the death of Cont&eacute;, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara and a team of military officers took over the country. They immediately forged relations with the three main trade union federations and pledged to end corruption in the mining sector. 
 
Since then, relations between RUSAL and the government have been tenuous, and ICEM&rsquo;s CAL workshops in May provided all the evidence Moussa Camara needed to expel RUSAL&rsquo;s top manager from Guinea. In mid-April, workers at the Friguia refinery staged a strike, and RUSAL &ndash; now the world&rsquo;s second largest steelmaker &ndash; said the work stoppage was instigated by the government. 

<img alt="" src="" width="146" height="66" />
The ICEM&rsquo;s CAL conference agreed on a plan of action for Guinea&rsquo;s mining sector, which will see trade unions and the government push for a review of the national mining convention, a code that became obsolete and neglected under the corrupt Cont&eacute; regime. Such a review will make it possible to properly address outsourcing, as well as to include guarantees on working conditions in employment contracts. 
 
A new committee was established with the government that is tasked with carrying out the review. The committee is composed of 13 members, two of whom are trade union leaders. 
 
The West African nation of Guinea holds two-thirds of the world&rsquo;s bauxite deposits. A second multinational bauxite miner, called Halco, also operates in Guinea. But trade unionists tell the ICEM that work conditions there are far superior&nbsp;to those existing at RUSAL. Halco is an enterprise 51% owned by US-based Alcoa World Alumina and Alcan of Canada, with the remainder owned by Guinea&rsquo;s government.

ICEM’s Contract Labour Forum in Guinea Forces Expulsion of Russian Mine Boss

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM calls on South African pulp, paper, and woodlands company Sappi to cease disciplinary matters against 19 shop stewards and 23 other workers at the Enstra mill in Gauteng province. The ICEM supports its South African affiliate, Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU), in its rigorous defense of the 42. 
 
The paperworkers are charged with inciting three safety strikes in May at the 700-worker pulp, printing, and graphics paper mill near Johannesburg. The incident started when shop stewards prevented a worker from doing unsafe work. That worker is now one of the 23 workers still on the job that Sappi now wants to suspend for one week without pay, and issue final written warnings to. 
 
The 19 shop stewards, the mill&rsquo;s entire CEPPWAWU representation team, have already been suspended, and await further discipline at meetings on 7-8 July. 

<img height="109" alt="" src="" width="180" />
The safety strikes took place on 5 May, 8 May, and 28 May. The worker was assigned to do cleaning in a part of the paper mill that a piece of equipment normally performs. When shop stewards protested the unsafe act, management hardened and the safety strikes began. The matter was compounded when a joint labour-management report on the safety incident and subsequent strikes was ignored by the mill manager. 
 
In a 16 June ICEM letter to Sappi, the Global Union Federation told Sappi to drop the disciplinary procedures at the Enstra mill and to &ldquo;get on with building a trusting labour-management relationship at Enstra.&rdquo; The ICEM noted in the letter that Sappi had been engaged over the past six months in building a better labour relations climate at the mill, but failure to follow through with the findings contained in the joint investigatory report was a breach of trust. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM strongly believes the first and most important component in building a trusting and lasting relationship in labour-management relations must be safety,&rdquo; read the letter. 
 
The ICEM also believes Sappi violates global labour standards at Enstra, not least of which was suspending all CEPPWAWU shop stewards and discrimination in bringing separate sets of charges against the 23 workers and the 19 duly-elected shop stewards. 
 
Some 90% of Enstra workers are CEPPWAWU members.

ICEM Calls on Papermaker Sappi to Halt Safety Discipline

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM hosted leaders of its two oil and gas workers&rsquo; unions of Nigeria on 18 June. Elected officers from NUPENG, the blue-collar union, and PENGASSAN, representing white-collar workers, visited the ICEM&rsquo;s headquarters in Geneva. 
 
With General Secretary Manfred Warda and Energy Officer and Director of Organisation Jim Catterson present, the Nigerian trade unionists discussed the difficulties of security for workers in the Niger Delta brought on violence and kidnappings, and also the growing casualisation arising in oil and gas in Nigeria. 
<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="159" />
Taking part in the discussions were PENGASSAN General Secretary Bayo Olowoshile and NUPENG General President Peter Akpatason, as well PENGASSAN leaders Stephen Ereyukomhen, Sunday Oginni, and Adamu Unoru. 
 
On the issue of physical security in the Niger Delta, the trade union leaders said it was wrong for the government to be shifting responsibility to the oil and gas operators in the region. The Nigerians also outlined labour law changes enacted over the past few years that are detrimental to workers. 

<img alt="" src="" width="90" height="95" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="100" height="103" />
Regarding casualisation, there is constant abuse of agree-upon quotas for expatriate workers, and the oil and gas workers&rsquo; leaders emphasized that with the use of more and more casual workers, career development and job careers for Nigerians is being marginalized. 
 
They also expressed concern that outsourcing is being directed at incompetent and poorly trained workers, and that is creating safety hazards in the industry. They expressed regret that the government has not committed to stem the growing use of casual workers. 
 
Finally, NUPENG and PENGASSAN leadership discussed with the ICEM the rising number of Chinese exploration and development companies that are entering the oil patch of southern Nigeria.

ICEM Hosts Nigerian Union Leaders from NUPENG, PENGASSAN

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Two miners in South Africa died on 20 June deep inside South Africa&rsquo;s biggest gold mine, the Driefontein mine owned by Gold Fields. They died when an earth tremor, registering 3.5 on the Richter scale, caused a shift of rock. Eight other miners were rescued, three of whom were hospitalized. One miner is suffering with serious injuries. 
 
It was the second accident caused by a shift ground at Gold Fields&rsquo; mines in a month. On 20 May, two miners died deep in the earth at the company&rsquo;s Kloof mine near Westonia in West Rand. A day earlier, one miner at Kloof died in a similar but separate accident. 

<img src="" width="90" height="90" alt="" />
The tragedy that occurred 20 June at Driefontein near Carletonville caused mine production to halt for four days. The spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Lesiba Seshoka, called the latest accident deeply disappointing. &ldquo;There doesn&rsquo;t seem to be any willingness to improve safety,&rdquo; he said. 
 
Gold Fields, the world&rsquo;s fourth largest gold miner with operations in Australia, Ghana, Peru, and South Africa, said in a statement to financial markets late last week that it has had 20 mining fatalities since July 2008. All have occurred in South Africa. In the first six months of 2008, 23 of 87 mine fatalities in South Africa occurred in mines operated by Gold Fields.

Gold Fields Struck by 5 South African Mining Deaths in Past Month

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Germany&rsquo;s two biggest industrial unions, ICEM affiliate IGBCE and IG Metall, urgently called upon elected officials and employers within Germany to begin a constructive dialogue on overcoming the consequences of the current global crisis. The unions recently issued a joint statement to draw attention to the fact that economic and industrial policy challenges cannot be undertaken with mere &quot;cosmetic adjustments without a genuine substance.&quot; 
 
In cooperation with the Hans B&ouml;ckler Foundation, IGBCE and IG Metall organised a joint conference in Oberhausen, Germany, entitled &ldquo;Industrial Policy for Tomorrow.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;The industrial base of our economy must be strengthened to lay the foundations of sustained growth and prosperity,&rdquo; said IGBCE board member Michael Vassiliadis. 

<img height="109" alt="" src="" width="110" />
Added Berthold Huber, President of IG Metall, &ldquo;We need a bridge over the crisis and it must lead to the other shore and not back to the same shore. We must now have a model for a sustainable industrial policy.&rdquo; 
 
In the joint statement, the unions warn of the danger that industrial cores could be lost and entire value-chains in industrial processes might collapse. Therefore, the unions call on the German government to provide &ldquo;short term loans and guarantees, and to generate additional demand.&rdquo; 
 
Specifically, IGBCE and IG Metall call for a public equity fund, effective protections for companies to secure jobs, the adoption of a sustainable industrial policy that would replace unregulated markets, comprehensive social-democratic participation rights, decent work, regulated labour markets, and a coordinated industrial policy for all of Europe.

IGBCE, IG Metall in Germany Combine to Demand Sustainable Industrial Policy

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
This month&rsquo;s 98th Session of the ILO Conference adopted a landmark Global Jobs Pact on 19 June. The accord, called a Jobs Pact, was agreed to by governments, trade unions, and employers, and lays out a template for economic recovery and reform. 
 
Jobs, workers&rsquo; rights, social protections, quality public services, and sustainability are at the heart of the proposal for a new system of global governance, said International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) General Secretary Guy Ryder. 

<img alt="" src="" width="129" height="97" />
ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder
Global labour unions fear that the ILO will return to a course of business as usual, and that world economic institutions will continue with the failed policies of free-market radicalism. Some commentators say that the financial crisis has already bottomed out and recovery is now imminent, but voices at the 19 June ILO session argue that the affect of lost jobs will be lasting and devastating. 
 
The Jobs Pact is seen as an alternative to shocking ILO projections that the crisis will push 50 million workers into unemployment, and that 200 million of the world&rsquo;s population will be pushed into extreme poverty. The creation of sustainable jobs is essential, as is the fight against climate change. 
 
Another aspect of the Jobs Pact is the high level of importance given to tripartite dialogue, social dialogue, and collective bargaining. High standards of working conditions and improved wages are vital, along with education and training programmes for the unemployed. The Jobs Pact calls for increased implementation of public-sector job creation schemes. 
 
The Global Jobs Pact signifies an important and significant step forward. Implementation must now occur. The ICEM supports demands for concrete results before the next G20 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, on 24-25 September 2009.

ILO’s Jobs Pact; a Solid Proposal for Exiting the Financial Crisis

Archive