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Four French unions, led by the CGT and the CFDT, carried out four-hour strikes at Lafarge cement plants today, 6 June, in protest to the company&rsquo;s intended plans to shut its Frangey cement facility near L&eacute;zinnes, L&rsquo;Yonne province, some 170 kilometres southeast of Paris. Workers began blocking trucks this morning at the Frangey plant and work stoppages were occurring at other French Lafarge sites in support of the 74 workers who could lose their jobs. 
 
Besides CGT and CFDT, FO and CFTC endorsed the industrial actions at some 11 Lafarge plants in France. The CGT and CFDT are the unions with membership at the Frangey plant. 
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Lafarge announced on 25 May at an extraordinary Works Council meeting that it would close the plant in three stages between now and the end of 2012. However, the initial redundancies &ndash; expected in August &ndash; will likely reduce employment to only 20. The company used over capacity and the small market that the plant serves as reasons for closure. 
 
Lafarge also said environmental factors were part of the decision, although the facility has received environmental certification. The Frangey plant produces 300,000 tons of cement annually and a system of cogeneration covers 50% of the plant&rsquo;s energy needs. 
 
The company said workers would be offered a chance to transfer to other Lafarge facilities. CGT delegate Jean-Claude Rives said the decision is unjustified because the plant provides a major benefit both in wages and in cement production to the L&rsquo;Yonne department. 
 
Twenty contractors also work at Frangey and they likely will lose their jobs. The French unions left open the possibility that further job actions would occur to protest the announced closure.

French Unions Conduct 4-Hour Strike at Lafarge Today

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Mansour Osanloo, the leader and co-founder of Vahed Syndicate, a union of bus drivers in and around Tehran, Iran, was released from an Iranian jail on 2 June after four years imprisonment. But his freedom came conditionally. He needed to post payment of a bond and release was granted on grounds that he maintain &ldquo;good behaviour.&rdquo; 
 
His only offence against the state was to form a free and democratic union of bus drivers in 2005. 
 
In a statement by the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), which has been fighting for his freedom and full recognition of his union, General Secretary David Cockroft said, &ldquo;He is free because trade unions worldwide demanded justice. 
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&ldquo;That bail has been set falls short of the full pardon we all wanted, and which the Iranian government promised, but for now we can just take a moment to savour his richly deserved return to his family.&rdquo; (See the full <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/6047">ITF statement</a> here.)&nbsp; 
 
The ITF reminded that two of Osanloo&rsquo;s colleagues of the Vahed Syndicate, Reza Shahabi and Ebrahim Madadi, are innocent victims still locked inside Iran&rsquo;s prisons. 
 
Vahed Syndicate and Osanloo, 51, had been under heavy state repression since the founding of the union six years ago. Osanloo had been jailed twice between 2005-2006 and was beaten and had his tongue slit while in prison. Then in early summer 2007, just a month after he had been at a meeting of the ITF in London and another with trade union leaders of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in Brussels, he was jailed again and sentenced to five years for &ldquo;acting against national security&rdquo; and &ldquo;propaganda against the state.&rdquo; Last year, another year was added to his sentence. 
 
Osanloo is suffering from poor health from the harsh treatment inflicted on him in Iran&rsquo;s prisons. A previous <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/2439--�Dirty-Tricks-Imposed-by-Iranian-Government-over-Imprisonment-of-Mansour-Osanloo ">ICEM report</a> on his treatment can be found here, while <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/2327-Iran-Again-Arrests-Mansour-Osanloo-Following-His-European-Labour-Visits ">another ICEM report</a> of his 2007 arrest following his European trade union visit can be found here.

After Four Years, Mansour Osanloo Released from Iran Jail

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Some 10,000 workers employed at El Teniente by sub-contractors of Codelco, Chile&rsquo;s state-run copper and molybdenum miner, have been on strike now for 13 days. Even though the walkout falls outside Chile&rsquo;s labour law, the strike is legitimate: contract employees demand that Codelco engage their unions in direct dialogue. 
 
The strike started 25 May against over 20 contracting firms and Codelco. It is happening at El Teniente, one of five Codelco divisions, which is the world&rsquo;s largest underground copper mine located 90 kilometres south of Santiago. Contract workers at cleaning, catering, supply and other firms want a primary employer to come to the table to address failed bonus schemes, unpaid hours, no job security and other grievances. They also demand that there be no recriminations over strike actions, a clear sign of the fear, precariousness, and trade union discrimination at El Teniente. 
Codelco is standing by the &ldquo;acuerdo marco,&rdquo; or framework agreement of 2007 in maintaining it has no obligation to address grievances of contract workers. Codelco CEO Diego Hern&aacute;ndez said the company&rsquo;s legal responsibility ends at health and safety compliance, and social security compliance of the sub-contracting firms. Unions representing contract workers want a re-write of the marco agreement. 
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Contract Workers Strike at El Teniente
The job actions have gained the support of civic officials and political leaders in the region and the ICEM commends contract workers at El Teniente for taking direct action in an effort to get a primary company to address its concerns. 
 
The three branches of the Federaci&oacute;n de Trabajadores del Cobre (FTC) at El Teniente, representing 2,300 direct Codelco workers, issued a statement on 30 May, in part, stating that the Cobres federation &ldquo;has always maintained a stance of solidarity with the legitimate aspirations of the employees of sub-contractors. The FTC has been a key player to open talks between unions representing workers, contractors themselves, and the client company Codelco, in order to see positive agreements. 
 
&ldquo;The FTC expresses its solidarity with the contract workers and their representative trade union organizations, and we clearly do not support the manipulation and exploitation of a legitimate movement to promote interests other than that of workers.&rdquo; 
 
The dispute was peaceful during the first nine days of the strike, but turned unruly on Friday, 3 June, when contract workers blocked roads leading to the mine complex. The blockade caused buses carrying regular workers to be turned away. 
 
Codelco, the world&rsquo;s largest copper producer, saw its first quarter pre-tax profit balloon to US$2.31 billion due to high copper and molybdenum prices. That is an 87% increase over the same period in 2010 and is partially due to the state company&rsquo;s sell-off of its 40% share of electrical producer Edelnor. 
 
Separately, the Federaci&oacute;n de Sindicatos de Supervisores y Profesionales Rol A Codelco (FESUC), the supervisory and professional union federation at Codelco, charged that senior managers are transforming the company solely for the purpose of privatisation. This comes at a time when supervisors at some divisions are being furloughed without the option to transfer. 
 
FESUC President Ricardo Calder&oacute;n said layoffs, precarious employment, and outsourcing are the precursor for privatization, while another FESUC leader called on CEO Hern&aacute;ndez to publicly state the company would not be sold off to private investors.

Contract Workers Strike Codelco at El Teniente Mine in Chile

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The US Solidarity Centre has released a new report detailing the Nigerian oil industry&rsquo;s shift from permanent, direct employment towards outsourced and temporary labour &ndash; known in Nigeria as &ldquo;casualisation.&rdquo; The report argues that the casualisation of labour is industry-wide, and is a clear attempt to reduce the cost of doing business while simultaneously breaking workers&rsquo; strength. 
 
The Solidarity Centre engaged with leaders and members of the ICEM-affiliated Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to examine industry trends and their impact on workers&rsquo; lives. A key trend, highlighted by almost every programme participant, was the degeneration of permanent employment and the increasing casualisation of labour. 
 
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1105.pubs_nigeria_degradationofwork.pdf ">The study</a>, in English, can be found here. 
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According to NUPENG and PENGASSAN, for every full-time oil worker there are four casual workers. The unions argue in the report that the shift away from permanent employment is an attempt to replace unionized employees with lower paid and less protected workers, as well as to transfer employment responsibilities to subcontractors. 
 
Casual workers perform the same tasks as permanent workers, but without any job security and under &ldquo;never-ending probation.&rdquo; They are frequently laid off, particular just before they would become entitled to permanent contracts. Most casual workers are not union members. They receive lower wages &ndash; the report estimates between 15-50% of union workers&rsquo; wages &ndash; and fewer benefits. 
 
The report gives examples of some of NUPENG and PENGASSAN&rsquo;s organising and advocacy efforts which, it highlights, are often thwarted as employers shift bargaining responsibilities from one subcontractor to another, or even resort to violence. Ensuring respect for workers&rsquo; rights is particularly challenging in a context in which the Nigerian state plays the dual role of enforcer of labour legislation and majority shareholding partner or owner of most Niger Delta oil companies in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC). 
 
Recognising NUPENG and PENGASSAN&rsquo;s long history of supporting transparency and democracy, the report concludes by emphasising the important role the unions have to play in the struggle against the downward pressure on decent work and other human rights in the Niger Delta.

Damning Casualisation Report in Niger Delta

Unions Make Work Safer: Today, 28 April, Every Day

Dear Colleagues, 
 
Svenska Pappers, the Swedish Paperworkers Union, and the Forest Industry Employers&rsquo; Association (SFIF) reached excellent union-friendly terms on a collective agreement last night, 26 April, just minutes before a second wave of strike action at six further Swedish pulp and paper mills was to begin. (See ICEM report of a week ago <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3709-Swedish-Paper-Strike-Continues">here</a>.) 
 
The union and its negotiating committee, led by President Jan-Henrik Sandberg, deserves a solid congratulatory note from all for holding firm against a business-backed employers&rsquo; group that was attempting to use the financial crisis to short-change workers. Indeed, the terms of this settlement reflect the very best industrial package achieved in and beyond Sweden of late, and Pappers truly deserves your congratulations. Please send a note in your own words, and your own language to Mikke Sterbeck at <a href="mailto:mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se">mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se</a>. 
 
Pappers is very pleased with the settlement, as well they should be. Following an 11-day strike at six mills, and on the verge of striking another six mills, the employers agreed to terms giving 18,000 paperworkers a 3.3% wage increase over 22 months. The first year&rsquo;s increase will be given 1 May, instead of the 1 June date that employers sought, and the second increase comes on 1 April 2011, again ahead of when the employers wanted to give it. Actually, in calculating the total pay package, it comes out to 3.4%, considering other items, including a 0.4% additional increase for the lowest paid workers in the sector. 
 
Pappers won excellent language regarding workers (and on behalf of these workers) who are hired through labour agencies, and the union won company-paid compensation for retirees in an aspect of the pension scheme that was at issue. In addition, Pappers won an additional month of company-paid maternity/paternity leave. The union is holding a teleconference with branch unions on Tuesday morning, 27 April, to explain this excellent package, a package that came about mainly due to the fact that 99.9% of its members were willing and did take industrial action. For this, the union deserves a congratulatory note from everyone in the global pulp and paper sector. Again, send to <a href="mailto:mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se">mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se</a>.

Settlement in Sweden; Union Deserves Congratulations

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Started in 2009 with the support of the Dutch national labour centre FNV, ICEM&rsquo;s Organising and Social Dialogue Project in Turkey continued regional seminars last month in the city of Adana in the Cukurova region, where important trade union representation exists, particularly in ICEM sectors. 
 
Adana is an industrialized city in Turkey&rsquo;s south that has large-scale industries such as textiles, leather, oil and gas, electricity, chemicals, automotive, and food processing. In recent years, Adana&rsquo;s importance has increased due largely to the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil and gas pipeline from the Caspian region in Azerbaijan. Adana claims to be the future &ldquo;Rotterdam&rdquo; of Turkey, particularly since another new pipeline will come on line, this one from the Black Sea port city Samsun, which will move oil from Russia. ICEM&rsquo;s intensive trade union energy activities in the Caspian and the Middle East region are closely connected to Adana and the surrounding Mediterranean area. 

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With the overall objective to build Turkish unions&rsquo; ability to recruit new members, as well as to discuss the establishment of a base to create a functioning industrial relations system, prioritizing human and trade union rights, and to promote healthy social dialogue, this seminar of the FNV project was attended by more than 60 local trade union leaders, shop stewards, and militants from the ICEM affiliated unions. 
 
The seminar also welcomed several international trade union leaders from the Netherlands, France, and Belgium. Celil &Ccedil;oban and Mail &Uuml;rker of FNV Bondgenoten in the Netherlands, Marc Blanc of French FCE-CFDT, and Chris Vanmol of Belgium&rsquo;s CSC-Chimie Energie exchanged experiences and knowledge from their countries. ICEM Energy Officer Jim Catterson, who was on an oil and gas fact-finding mission in southeast Turkey prior to the seminar, shared his experiences from the UK, where he worked in the trade union movement prior to joining the ICEF/ICEM. 
 
The seminar also heard a presentation from the Turkish trade union expert &Uuml;zeyir Ataman, Director of Education and Collective Bargaining of Lastik-İş, on union history and the current labour relations situation in Turkey. Later, the seminar focused on Power and Weak Points, Challenges and Opportunities, and Concrete Organising Targets inside Turkey, with contributions and inputs by participants from the different regions, namely Adana, Mersin, Adiyaman, Batman, and Elazig. 

<img alt="" src="" width="153" height="204" />
&Uuml;zeyir Ataman
&ldquo;This seminar in Adana has given great happiness and hope for the future,&rdquo; said ICEM Rubber and Chemicals Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, who coordinates the two-year project and did a workshop on globalisation and labour relations. &ldquo;The active involvement and enthusiasm of participants clearly shows that Turkish unions have an important role to play in shaping a society moving towards a real democracy based on fundamental human rights, which, of course, includes trade union rights.&rdquo; 
 
The FNV project will continue with further regional seminars in the Thrace region in April, and in Gebze in May. The Adana seminar was held 11-12 March.

ICEM’s Organising and Social Dialogue Project Continues in Turkey

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ICEM affiliates FCE-CFDT of France, FIA-UGT of Spain, and FEMCA-CISL of Italy established a joint entity called Association Pour L&rsquo;Europe Solidaire et Pour la Coop&eacute;ration Mediterranean, or the Association of Solidarity Europe and Mediterranean Cooperation (AESCOOMED). The new organization has an aim to develop a common European vision, and an information exchange between trade unions regarding economic, social issues, environmental matters, collective bargaining, industrial relations, and common social dialogue platforms. 
 
AESCOOMED&rsquo;s vision is to develop common work on European Works Councils, and promote the consultation and participation of workers within the member unions, as well as enhance cooperation with countries in the Mediterranean region. 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="93" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="100" height="85" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="90" height="90" />
The newly-formed organization held its first conference in Barcelona on 8-9 March 2010 under the banner &ldquo;Energy, Industrial Policy, and Social Dialogue in the Mediterranean Region.&rdquo; Trade unions from seven countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey, together with the presence of the ICEM, debated industrial and energy issues in the region during the initial meetings. 
 
Issues of energy supply security, energy conditions in industrial development, and the environmental impact in Mediterranean countries were discussed. Acknowledging the fact that the environment is fragile and deteriorating, protecting and improving eco-systems has become a key issue in the Euro-Mediterranean region, especially in view of new industrial dynamics. This Euro-Mediterranean cooperation includes issues of water scarcity and water quality, the reform of environmental standards, improving infrastructure, and preserving the environment. 
<img alt="" src="" width="226" height="79" />
The place and role of social dialogue in all countries of the Mediterranean was also highlighted. Common challenges were defined as population growth, aging population, job creation, modernization of labor markets, maintaining high levels of social protection, and dissemination of knowledge and innovation. All participants were convinced of the need to strengthen cooperation between the union organisations from countries bordering the Mediterranean basin. 
 
The ICEM was invited to the two-day conference and was represented by Rubber and Chemicals Kemal &Ouml;zkan. He made a presentation on ICEM&rsquo;s activities regarding social dialogue on the global level and union building and union-support activities in the Middle East/North African Region (MENA). 
In conclusion, all participants welcomed the AESCOOMED initiative and measured the importance of international solidarity between workers.

Trade Unions Form Euro-Mediterranean Cooperative Organisation

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Peruvian mineworkers at the US-owned Doe Run mine operations at Cobriza have settled a strike dispute by accepting a deal that gives all workers at the copper mine a one-time productivity bonus of 3,500 soles (US$1,232). The bonus will be paid to workers in two installments; the first 1,500 soles will be paid on 9 April, with the remainder paid on 20 August. 
 
The work stoppage was started on 23 March by the ICEM-affiliated National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (FNTMMSP), the country&rsquo;s largest mining union federation. FNTMMSP General Secretary Luis Castillo has personally led the negotiations for the miners of Doe Run. Castillo argued that the collective agreement had not been fulfilled by management a year into the five-year agreement in 2008. 

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FNTMMSP General Secretary, Luis Castillo Carlos
It took a strike by the 890 workers at Doe Run&rsquo;s Cobriza copper mine to bring management to the bargaining table. Company officials immediately began tripartite negotiations with FNTMMSP and the Labour Ministry, following a two-day stoppage that initially started on 28 February. 
 
As repeatedly reported recently by ICEM, the Peruvian Ministry of Labour typically sides with the company and declares mineworkers&rsquo; strikes &ldquo;inadmissible,&rdquo; moving trade unions to respond with short, rolling strikes to avoid losing their jobs. 
 
Production at the Cobriza copper mine in the Huancavelica Province affects operations at Doe Run Per&uacute;&rsquo;s polymetallic smelter in La Oroya, in Jun&iacute;n Province. The Cobriza mine produces around 30% of the copper concentrates processed by the smelter, which has been operating sporadically since creditors halted their support in March 2009. Doe Run Per&uacute;, a unit of the US-based Renco Group, has been hard hit by the recession. Cobriza was Peru's sixth largest copper mine last year, producing 18,519 metric tonnes. 

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Elsewhere in Peru, 1,500 workers at the Marcona mine, owned by China's Shougang state steel company, went on strike on 29 March, seeking better wages and conditions. &quot;The strike is total and of indefinite length,&quot; said Julio Ortiz of FNTMMSP. &quot;The factory has already cut salaries and has proposed a ridiculously low offer after already having cut workers' pay by 8% across the board.&rdquo; 
 
The mine, located in the city of Marcona, 350 kilometers south of Lima, has a history of poor industrial relations. ICEM sided with Shougang workers&rsquo; and backed their strikes last July and September, also in protest to low wages and poor labour conditions. Shougang Hierro Peru SAA is Peru's only iron producer. Iron production at Shougang, reached 4.4 million tons in 2009. 
 
A national strike in Peru&rsquo;s mining sector involving 50,000 unionized workers at 18 mines is taking shape for 30 June 30. The FNTMMSP took that decision on 27 March during the union's annual meeting. 
 
The FNTMMSP is demanding that Peru's government implement two laws. A pension law, which was approved by Peru&rsquo;s Congress on 27 October 2009, has yet to be implemented, and a second law, which increases profit-sharing at mining companies, also has not gone into effect.

Peru’s Doe Run Miners Reach Agreement, Ending Strike

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The International Trade Union Congress (ITUC) today launched the third and final stage of a new Youth Campaign. The campaign video was released 18 March, and that can be seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWvuOqCEU9U">here</a>. 
 
On 19 March, the campaign blog and brochure were released, so visit the blog <a href="http://youth.ituc-csi.org/ITUC-launches-Youth-Campaign-STEP,224 ">here</a> and view the brochure <a href="http://youth.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/Youth_EN_Final.pdf">here</a>. 
 
The Youth Blog has been redesigned and modernised, with new functionalities such as Facebook and Twitter. The brochure is a best practice guide on organising young people, informing young people about trade union work at the global, as well as national level. 

<img alt="" src="" width="256" height="82" />
The ITUC calls on supporters to redistribute the materials of its Youth Campaign, and to share the video and become involved via online social networking platforms. For hard copies of the brochure, contact the ITUC here <a href="mailto:youth@ituc-csi.org">youth@ituc-csi.org</a>. 
 
The various tools made available through this campaign are of valuable use for trade unions throughout the world in order to complement their existing organising work for new young members. The tools will especially assist unions in illustrating the international side of their work. 
 
Today, the new Youth Campaign website will be made available online. Visit the page <a href="http://www.changetheworld-now.com/ ">here</a>.

ITUC Launches Youth Campaign

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