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Eyl&uuml;l sonlarında, ICEM, Ortadoğu/Kuzey Afrika B&ouml;lgesi'ndeki (MENA) faaliyetlerini canlandırma &ccedil;alışmaları &ccedil;er&ccedil;evesinde, b&ouml;lgedeki kimya ve petrokimya sendikalarına y&ouml;nelik bir &ccedil;alışma toplantısı d&uuml;zenledi. Friedrich-Ebert Vakfı'nın (FES) katkılarıyla 28-29 Eyl&uuml;l g&uuml;nlerinde L&uuml;bnan'ın Beyrut kentinde ger&ccedil;ekleştirilen toplantıda iki g&uuml;n boyunca at&ouml;lye &ccedil;alışmaları yapıldı. 
 
Enerji ve &ouml;zellikle petrol, b&ouml;lge ekonomilerinin başlıca itici g&uuml;&ccedil;lerinden biri ve ICEM'in b&ouml;lgedeki &ccedil;alışmalarının konusu olmuştur. Ama ayrıca, b&ouml;lgede petrokimya, &ouml;zellikle etilen ve onun polietilen ve etilen glikol gibi t&uuml;revleri alanında genel &uuml;retim kapasitesi artmıştır. 
 
ICEM'in FES ile birlikte d&uuml;zenlediği &ccedil;alışma toplantısının konusu şuydu: &ldquo;Ortadoğu/Kuzey Afrika B&ouml;lgesi'nde (MENA) Petrokimya Sekt&ouml;r&uuml;nde Sendikal Temsilin, &Ccedil;alışma İlişkilerinin ve Sosyal Diyalogun G&uuml;&ccedil;lendirilmesi&rdquo; Semineri L&uuml;bnan Kimya Sendikası Başkanı S&uuml;leyman Hamdan y&ouml;netiyordu. 

<img alt="" src="" width="332" height="89" />
&Ccedil;alışmalara L&uuml;bnan, Mısır, &Uuml;rd&uuml;n, Yemen, Bahreyn, Irak, Fas, Tunus, Libya, Filistin, T&uuml;rkiye ve Fransa'dan 30 temsilci katıldı. ICEM Kimya Sorumlusu Kemal &Ouml;zkan'ın sekt&ouml;rdeki k&uuml;resel trendler konusundaki sunumundan sonra, &uuml;lke raporları sunuldu. 
 
At&ouml;lye &ccedil;alışmalarından birinin konusu şuydu: &ldquo;&Ccedil;alışma İlişkilerinin K&uuml;resel Boyutu: Uluslararası Mekanizmalar, Sosyal Diyalog, K&uuml;resel &Ccedil;er&ccedil;eve S&ouml;zleşmeler ve K&uuml;resel/B&ouml;lgesel Ağlar&rdquo;. &Ouml;b&uuml;r oturumun konusu ise ICEM'in taşeron iş&ccedil;iliği kampanyası bağlamında ş&ouml;yle belirlenmişti: &ldquo;&Ccedil;alışma Koşullarına Y&ouml;nelen Yeni Bir Tehdit: G&uuml;vencesiz İstihdam&rdquo;. 

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Toplantının bitiminde, katılımcılar, bir &quot;ICEM MENA B&ouml;lgesel Kimya/Petrokimya Sekt&ouml;r Ağı&rdquo; kurma kararı aldılar. B&ouml;lge ağı &ccedil;alışmalarını şu alanlarda s&uuml;rd&uuml;recek: sosyal diyalog ve &ccedil;alışma ilişkileri; &ccedil;alışma mevzuatı ve uluslararası ara&ccedil;lar; sekt&ouml;rdeki &ccedil;okuluslu şirketler; taşeron iş&ccedil;iliği ve g&uuml;vencesiz istihdam; iş sağlığı ve g&uuml;venliği. 
 
&ldquo;Bu girişim b&ouml;lgede ICEM i&ccedil;in yeni bir &ccedil;alışma alanıdır&rdquo; diyen &Ouml;zkan ş&ouml;yle devam etti: &ldquo;Seminerdeki katılımcıların tutumu, b&ouml;lgede kurulacak petrokimya ağının b&uuml;y&uuml;k bir potansiyele sahip olduğunu g&ouml;steriyor. ICEM b&ouml;lgede sekt&ouml;rdeki faaliyetlerini g&uuml;&ccedil;lendirmeyi ama&ccedil;lıyor.&rdquo;

Ortadoğu ve Kuzey Afrika Kimya Sendikaları Ağ Kuruyor

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The 8th General Assembly of the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers&rsquo; Federation (EMCEF) was held on 30 June-1 July in Paris, France, hosted by the organisation&rsquo;s French affiliates within CFDT, CGT, FO and CFTC, with around 130 participants from various European countries. 
 
According to the statutes of EMCEF, during the period between Congress&rsquo;s, the General Assembly is convened as a forum to discuss important political issues with an authority to implement decisions taken by the Congress and to review EMCEF&rsquo;s policies, without the right to change the statutes. 
 
The General Assembly was attended by two guests, namely Kemal &Ouml;zkan, Chemical and Rubber Industries Officer of ICEM and Peter Scherer, General Secretary of the European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (EMF). Patrick Itschert, General Secretary of ITGLWF and ETUC:TCL could not be present in the meeting because of other obligations and sent his apologies. 
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EMCEF President Hubertus Schmoldt
In his opening speech, EMCEF President Hubertus Schmoldt pointed to the financial crisis, its effects on social issues and unemployment as well as joint European policies in the crisis environment. He particularly underlined mass youth unemployment in Europe, which is more than 20% on average, even around 40% in some European countries. Referring to the Presidium meeting which took place just before the General Assembly, Schmoldt explained the importance of the creation of a new European Industrial federation in the metal, chemical, energy, mine and textile sectors. 
 
EMCEF General Secretary Reinhard Reibsch submitted his Secretariat report to the General Assembly on the following issues: 
 
a. European Integration 
i. Lisbon Treaty, new EU Council President, new EU Commission, EU integration process (Iceland, Croatia, Turkey) 
ii. Belgium Presidency with an agenda of EU2020 Strategy, Financial Supervision, Social Issues, Energy and Climate Change, Strengthening EU&rsquo;s external action 
iii. Recent Elections in some EU countries, particularly in the UK and Hungary 
iv. Important Changes by the Reform Treaty 
v. Financial Policy 
 
b. Activities of EMCEF Committees: 
i. Industrial policy, health, safety and environment committee &ndash; implementation of REACH and ECHA, nanotechnology, climate change, impact of crisis 
ii. Social dialogue committee &ndash; sectoral social dialogues in chemical, electricity, gas, extractive industries and pulp/paper sectors. 
iii. European Works&rsquo; Councils committee &ndash; formation of new EWCs, renewal of list of country coordinators, joint work with EMF and ETUC:TCL 
 
EMCEF Political Secretary Jorma Rusanen gave a report on the activities of the Collective Bargaining Committee. He highlighted the collective bargaining database developed through the Eurocob@n project, Europe-wide collective negotiations at sectoral and company levels and mandate procedures, discussions on EU&rsquo;s Working Time Directive (WTD) and Posting Directive (PWD). 
 
Delegates from Spain, the UK, France, Poland, Italy and Germany took the floor and raised their concerns on modification of two EU directives which could result in precariousness in employment, climate change, future of Europe&rsquo;s energy sector through valorisation of national raw materials and reinforcing manufacturing jobs through innovation in the industries. The report of the Secretariat was unanimously adopted. 
 
One major agenda item of the General Assembly was the creation of a new European Industrial Trade Union Federation by EMCEF, EMF and ETUF:TCL. President Hubertus Schmoldt explained the situation, by making reference to the resolution of the previous General Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey in 2006 on closer cooperation with other European Industry Federations and the decision of the EMCEF Congress in Prague, Czech Republic in 2008 towards creation of a new European Federation as well as a number of decisions of the Presidium and Executive Committee. 
 
EMF General Secretary Peter Scherer reported that creation of a new organisation is a political project rather than a technical one at a time when all the partners are in good situations in terms of finances and organisational structures which give great opportunity to focus on political aspects commonly affecting the whole manufacturing chain. The EMF was reported to be prepared to continue to work under&nbsp;one united&nbsp;umbrella organisation in Europe in the future which would make industrial unions much more powerful vis-&agrave;-vis employers and politics. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="150" />
A&nbsp;new European Industrial Federation, will provide an opportunity for each European trade union federation to share its strengths, in order to become a common force. In this period of massive crisis for industry, the new federation will aim first to meet the needs of local trade union and company representatives at European level. It is also mentioned that the identity of the 3 founding federations should therefore be reflected in the composition of the leadership of the new federation. The aim is also foreseen to: 
a. create a new industrial federation, and therefore no fusion/absorption; 
b. build around an ambitious, common platform; 
c. optimising strengths and complementarities, through the right balance between &ldquo;pooling certain elements/synergies&rdquo; 
d. while maintaining a strong sectoral identity, especially in view of the fact that EMCEF has the widest sectoral coverage of all 3 federations. 
 
It was also noted that the Presidents and General Secretaries of the three federations, at their meeting on 25 March 2010, came out in favour of setting up a joint working group. This working group will in its composition reflect the regional diversity of the three organisations and be composed of representatives from the affiliates who carry a political responsibility. The three general secretaries will function as the secretariat for this working group. In this way the need for conducting deliberations in a transparent and democratic manner will be ensured. The respective statutory bodies, as well as all affiliated organisations, will be informed and consulted systematically for each step of the works.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
The Presidium&rsquo;s motion on the future European federation was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly. 
 
The General Assembly also adopted the following resolutions: 
a. Mandate Procedures proposed by Presidium and Executive Committee 
b. <a href="http://www.emcef.org/Bodies/GA/2010/Motions/GA2010-DemographicPolicy-EN.doc">Pensions, retirement and lifelong work</a> &ndash; an EMCEF policy on demography proposed by Collective Bargaining Committee 
c. <a href="http://www.emcef.org/Bodies/GA/2010/Motions/GA2010-EWCPolicy-EN.doc">Multinational Company Policy</a> proposed by European Works Councils Committee 
d. <a href="http://www.emcef.org/Bodies/GA/2010/Motions/GA2010-ClimateChangeMotion-EN.doc">Climate Change Policies</a> proposed by Industrial Policy Committee 
e. <a href="http://www.emcef.org/Bodies/GA/2010/Motions/GA2010SDMotion-EN.doc">Instrumentalisation of Social Dialogue on European and national level</a> proposed by Social Dialogue Committee 
f. <a href="http://www.emcef.org/Bodies/GA/2010/Motions/FITEQA-CCOO-FIA-UGT-EmploymentRights-en.doc">Protection and development of the European social model depends on the protection and extension of employment rights worldwide</a> proposed by FITEQA-CC.OO. &amp; FIA-UGT (with some changes by the Motions Committee) 
g. <a href="http://www.emcef.org/Bodies/GA/2010/Motions/Petrolis-motion-en.doc">Dialogue with the Regional Energy Trade Unions Network of South Eastern Europe (RETUNSEE)</a> proposed by Turkish union Petrol-Is (with some modification by Motions Committee) 
h. <a href="http://www.emcef.org/Bodies/GA/2010/Motions/Petrol-Is-EmergencyMotionGaza.doc">Gaza blockade, separation wall and solidarity with Palestinian workers and their unions</a> proposed by Turkish union Petrol-Is (a new text prepared by the Motions Committee was adopted) The General Assembly condemned the &quot;brutal and unacceptable attack by Israeli forces on the peaceful humanitarian flotilla carrying aid to Gaza.&quot; 
i. <a href="http://www.etuc.org/IMG/pdf_04-EN-Supplement-Resolution-Crisis.pdf">The Worsening Crisis &ndash; Europe at Risk</a> &ndash; an ETUC resolution was passed 
 
The General Assembly ended with the closing speech of EMCEF President Hubertus Schmoldt. Defining the General Assembly as an historic one, he announced that on the basis of the mandate given by the General Assembly, the Working Group for the creation of a new European Industrial Federation will be organised on 8 July. EMCEF will be represented by a group to be composed of its President, General Secretary and five other members representing different regions. It was also announced that on 29 September there will be a demonstration organised by ETUC in Brussels where EMCEF affiliates should also be present.

8th General Assembly of EMCEF, 30 June - 1 July, 2010, Paris, France

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Participants of the recent Joint ICEM-IMF World Conference on Sustainability, June 18-19, Toronto, Canada, adopted unanimously a statement regarding the British Petroleum (BP) oil well blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
The statement demands an independent and open inquiry into the causes of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, a process to which trade unions should be granted full insight. 
 
In the years prior to the 20 April oil rig explosion that caused the current disaster, BP had repeatedly made assurances that &ldquo;best available technology&rdquo; is in use in all its operations. It has since become clear that this was not true at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig operation. The Statement demands that &ldquo;blow out prevention (BOP) systems should have remote control capabilities, for instance acoustic signal actuators, in addition to traditional BOP controls&rdquo;.
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="86" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="90" height="88" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="85" height="85" />
The participants at the Toronto Conference included 270 trade union leaders from the industrial and manufacturing sectors of some 50 countries, affiliated to the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM), and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF). In total, the number of workers represented by these organisations and their affiliates exceeds 55 million people and includes the most important unions in the petroleum sector, worldwide. 
 
Local sponsors of the event in Canada included the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), the Power Workers Union (PWU), the United Steelworkers (USW), and the International Association of Machinists (IAM). 
 
See the full statement <a href="/en/97-Sustainable-Development-Health-and-Safety/3897-Global-Governance-Includes-Better-Governance-of-Oil-Companies">here</a>.

ICEM, IMF, ITGLWF Affiliates Demand Better Governance of Oil Industry

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The ICEM Latin American and Caribbean Regional Committee met on 28 June in Recife in Northeastern Brazil. The meeting was preceded by a one-day meeting on contract and agency labour (CAL). It was likewise followed by the 6th Statutory Congress of CNQ/CUT, the CUT chemical union. 
 
The workshop was attended by ICEM affiliates from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Uruguay. They spoke about how CAL is being used to undermine trade unions, for example in Sintracarb&oacute;n in Colombia where trade union activists are being transferred from permanent positions into what are known as &lsquo;rubbish contracts&rsquo;. Affiliates also spoke about the problems of triangular employment relationships, with CAL workers not being clear on who is ultimately responsible for their working conditions. 
 
Participants exchanged information on the increasing efforts being made to halt the outsourcing of employment and abusive use of short-term contracts. The ICEM is working to create networks to facilitate ongoing exchange of experience and information between affiliates. Affiliates shared how their unions are integrating CAL issues in their policy development, and how they are exploring new ways of organising CAL workers. The Brazilian Petrobras union reported how two-thirds of the company&rsquo;s workforce is employed on short-term contracts or through employment agencies, but how the union had succeeded in getting the company to establish a fund to protect these workers against unemployment. 
<img alt="" src="" width="266" height="180" />
Manfred Warda and the project coordinators from left to right: Sergio Novais, ICEM Regional Vice-President, Ashling Seely, Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary, Marilane Oliveira Teixeira, Patricio Sambonino, Rosane Sasse, Elias Soares 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda closed the meeting, saying that Governments must be made aware that ILO Conventions apply equally to contract and agency workers, and that where there are obstacles to full rights for CAL workers these should be tackled with legal actions. Warda also spoke about the need to work against the practices of the World Bank and the IFC, organisations which are still advising governments that they need to create what they call more &lsquo;flexible&rsquo; labour markets. Warda concluded by calling on participants to inform the ICEM when there are CAL-related problems with companies. 
 
The regional committee meeting evaluated the activities carried out in the region since 2008 on the basis of the strategic plan drawn up in Uruguay. Three new unions were also ratified as new affiliates. The ICEM General Secretary spoke to the meeting about the ongoing effects of the global financial crisis, especially in Europe. He also updated the group on the talks with other GUF&rsquo;s on cooperation and building new international structures.

ICEM Regional Committee, CAL Workshop Meet in Recife, Brazil

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The ICEM Colombian affiliate, USO (Uni&oacute;n Sindical Obrera) has again been targeted with an assassination of one of their activists. Nelson Camacho Gonz&aacute;lez was shot repeatedly by hired killers on motorbikes, 16 June, as he waited at a bus stop for his bus to work. 
 
This murder is the latest in the ongoing violent persecution of the oil workers union, as USO activists are involved in collective struggles with the multinational British Petroleum in Casanare, with Ecopetrol and with TGI (Transportadora de Gas del Interior). 
 
The murder occurred three days after another trade union activist was assassinated, Ibio Efr&eacute;n Caicedo, on 19 June. The trade unionist from the Antioquia Teachers&rsquo; Association (ADIDA) was the seventh unionised teacher to be murdered in 2010 in the Antioquia region, northern Colombia. He was killed the day before the presidential elections in the country. 
<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
The total number of trade unionists assassinated in Colombia in 2010 is 32. As was recently reported by ICEM, in 2009 there were 101 trade unionists murdered around the world, 48 of them in Colombia. Nearly 3,000 trade unionists have been murdered in Colombia in the last 24 years. When Uribe hands power to President-elect Juan Maunel Santos, his legacy will be 529 union leaders killed while conducting collective bargaining, with the hired killers from paramilitary groups acting with impunity. 
 
The ICEM joins USO in calling for a full investigation into this latest crime, to be lead by Colombia&rsquo;s Attorney General. 
 
These killings occurred four weeks after the ILO&rsquo;s Committee on the Application of Standards removed Colombia from the list of 25 countries sanctioned for trade union rights abuses. The surprising decision to remove the most dangerous country for trade unionists from the list was passed on the condition that a high level tripartite ILO delegation to Colombia would take place. The mission was in Bogot&aacute; 6-9 July, conducting a series of meetings with government, employers, and workers. 
 
The delegation took part in numerous meetings with workers rallying outside. Last Wednesday, 7 July, as the delegation met with the Colombian Ministry of Social Protection, hundreds of workers outside chanted slogans such as &ldquo;down with the repressive policies of the Uribe government and the Ministry of Social Protection!&rdquo;. The rally was, as is the norm, under constant intimidation by the notorious ESMAD riot police. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda expressed anger and grief, on behalf of all ICEM affiliates, in a letter to USO President Germ&aacute;n Osman this week.

USO Activist Murdered, ILO Delegation Arrives in Colombia

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Labour, management, and the Liberian government celebrated the signing on 28 June of the second collective agreement between ICEM-affiliated Firestone Agricultural Workers&rsquo; Union (FAWUL) and Firestone Rubber Plantation. Some 4,500 workers and their families will again benefit when the two-year contract takes effect in December 2010. 
 
The ever-evolving labour-management relationship between FAWUL and Firestone is fast becoming a showcase in modern industrial relations for the administration of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. 
<img alt="" src="" width="350" height="262" />
Labour Minister Taiworn Gongloe stated at the celebration that the social relationship &ldquo;has broken from the past,&rdquo; and thanks to enlightened leadership coming from the President, the rights of workers and the interests of the company both are now guaranteed. Added Firestone Managing Director Charles Stuart, &ldquo;What we're celebrating here is the result of management and employees working in a peaceful and respectful manner. Without you we are nothing and together, anything can happen.&rdquo; 
 
It was only a short three years ago that FAWUL was fighting the last vestiges of an illegitimate yellow union that had been propped up by Firestone management for decades. Following free and open elections, and an ambitious years-long union-building project by the US-based United Steelworkers (USW), FAWUL won union certification in 2007. (See ICEM reports <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/2511-ICEM-Calls-on-Liberia-to-Recognise-Correct-Trade-Union-at-Firestone-Rubber-Plantation ">here</a> and <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/2526-ICEM-Welcomes-Liberia's-Certification-of-Legitimate-Firestone-Union ">here</a>.) 
 
A year later, on 27 July, FAWUL won its first collective agreement, giving workers a 24% pay increase backdated 19 months, reducing a quota system on tapping natural rubber from trees, and granting new schools and free tuition for the sons and daughters of workers. 
<img alt="" src="" width="320" height="231" />
This second contract goes further: a 3.5% wage increase, the construction of more schools and school transportation, and perhaps the most important gain, a mechanized transport system to haul the rubber latex to weigh stations. For decades, workers had to haul 150-pound buckets of rubber sometimes miles on their shoulders to the stations. 
 
FAWUL Secretary-General Edwin Cisco said the months long bargaining was hard and arduous, but that a &ldquo;new day of social dialogue between management and workers has begun and the days of confrontation and agitation are over.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;This is a major success story in so many ways,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, &ldquo;and we should never lose sight of the fact that the Steelworkers Union of America did the hard and difficult work up front to make it happen. We commend the workers, FAWUL leadership, and Firestone Rubber management, and see a long, productive, and precedent-setting relationship unfolding inside Liberia.&rdquo;

FAWUL, Firestone Rubber Plantation in Liberia Sign Second Two-Year Pact

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Elections for Germany&rsquo;s Works Councils occur every four years, with votes cast in May and June 2010. The ICEM-affiliated IGBCE received strong backing in these elections. With some results still to be analysed, around 81.2% of newly-elected council members in the union&rsquo;s industrial sectors are IGBCE members. 
 
IGBCE is present in approximately 3,450 companies in Germany. The 2010 results show a stabilisation of the turnout (74.3%) and of IGBCE&rsquo;s strong position, with very little change from the 2006 and 2002 elections. The number of council chair-people who are members of IGBCE has risen slightly, to 92%, as did the number of women who were elected &ndash; 26.2%. 
 
The IGBCE is now running a support project for newly-elected Works Councils in small companies, with less than 200 employees. The coaching lasts 14 weeks, and includes an online password protected forum, where views and guidance can be exchanged for newly elected council members. 
 
IGBCE also recently won a legal case, entitling Works Council members to have internet access in the workplace. Employers are now obliged to supply council members with a computer connected to the internet, in addition to an office. 
 
Works councils are employee representative bodies with a range of co-determination, information, and consultation rights with respective companies. 
<img alt="" src="" width="150" height="112" />
IGBCE Deputy Chairman Ulrich Freese
The recent results are seen as a clear indication of trust and confidence in the IGBCE. &ldquo;We have played a major role in ensuring that the financial crisis did not break through on jobs. Strong unions and strong works councils have prevented redundancies and ensured stability,&rdquo; stated IGBCE Deputy Chairman Ulrich Freese.

German Works Council Elections Cement IGBCE’s Strong Mandate

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The 14-year exchange and engagement between ICEM and the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) took a major step forward recently when a 13-member ICEM delegation, led by President Senzeni Zokwana, visiting Beijing for top level meetings with several leading ACFTU officials. 
 
The 15-16 July meetings, attended by 45 people, found discussions centering on the theme &ldquo;The Global Crisis and Job Protection.&rdquo; The meetings mark a new crest in ICEM-ACFTU relations, following participation by ACFTU representatives in ICEM Asia-Pacific activities this year. The activities include the regional committee meetings in Sydney, Australia, in April, and an electricity network meeting in Korea. 
 
In the near future, ACFTU representatives will take part in an oil and gas workers&rsquo; workshop in Vietnam in August and a pharmaceutical unions&rsquo; workshop in Indonesia in September. 
<img alt="" src="" width="343" height="154" />
The mid-July Beijing forum opened with presentations by Zokwana and Jiang Guangping, ACFTU&rsquo;s Director-General of the International Department, who welcomed the ICEM by stating engagement with an active industry-based Global Union Federation is crucial to the ACFTU. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda gave reports related to Contract and Agency Labour, ILO Convention 176 (the Health and Safety in Mines Convention), Sustainable Development and Just Transition efforts, Global Framework Agreements, and Social Dialogue initiatives. Chinese industry sector leaders then reported on coal, electric power, petroleum, petrochemical, chemicals, pharmaceutical, and land resource matters in China. 
 
Other ACFTU officials that lead structures within the Chinese Defense Industry, Postal and Telecommunications Workers&rsquo; Union, the Chinese Finance, Commerce, Light Industry, Textile and Tobacco Workers&rsquo; Union, and the Machinery, Metallurgical and Building Materials Workers&rsquo; Unions also gave reports. 
 
Participants shared country experiences on trade union actions, and also discussed plant-level responses and solutions regarding for job protection. Germany&rsquo;s Petra Kronen, for instance, the head of the Works Council and a supervisory board member of Bayer, explained flexible work-time arrangements taken between her union, IGBCE, and Bayer in order to avoid layoffs during the financial crisis. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="94" />
Besides Zokwana and Warda, the ICEM delegation consisted of ICEM leaders from several affiliated unions, including: Per S&ouml;rensen of 3F Union, Denmark; Mats Svensson of IF Metall, Sweden; Michael Mersmann and Petro Kronen of IGBCE, Germany; Isidor Boix of FITEQA-CC.OO, Spain; Fran&ccedil;ois Laurent, CSC B&acirc;timent, Industrie &amp; Energie, Belgium; Yoshio Sato of ICEM-JAF, Japan; Ian Murray of Construction, Forestry, Mining, Energy Union (CFMEU), Australia; and Robert Reid of the National Distribution Union (NDU), New Zealand. Also in attendance were Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemical and Rubber Industries&rsquo; Officer, and Phee Jung-sun, ICEM Materials Industries&rsquo; Officer and Regional Contact Person for Asia-Pacific Region. 
 
The ACFTU officials participating included Zheng Chengfu, President of the Chinese Energy and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union; Fang Dan, Vice President of Chinese Defense Industry, Postal and Telecommunications Workers&rsquo; Union; Cai Ruixia, Vice President of Chinese Finance, Commerce, Light Industry, Textile and Tobacco Workers&rsquo; Union; Ma Hua, Director of Chinese Machinery, Metallurgical and Building Materials Workers&rsquo; Union; Zhang Jianguo, Director General of the Collective Bargaining Department of the ACFTU; Enyi Xu, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Energy &amp; Chemical Worker&rsquo;s Union; Guo Wencai, Director General of ACFTU&rsquo;s Organizing Department; Xie Liangmin, Deputy Director General of the Law Department of the ACFTU; and Chen Jieping, Deputy Director of ACFTU&rsquo;s Social Security Department. 
 
A full and detailed report on the mission, prepared by the ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan, can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ACFTU%20Edited.pdf">here</a>.

ICEM, ACFTU Complete High Level Mission in China

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Chemical workers employed by French-based Rhodia in University Park, Illinois, chose the United Steelworkers (USW) in a US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) union certification election on 15-16 July. The vote for USW representation, by an overwhelming 62-11 count, came after the union enforced plant management neutrality through the ICEM&rsquo;s Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with Rhodia. 
 
When University Park workers contacted the USW in spring 2010, they were seeking a voice at work and economic parity with other unionised Rhodia workers in the US. Rhodia bought the specialty surfactants, polymers, and cosmetic preservatives plant earlier in 2009 from privately-held McIntyre Group of US. Among seven Rhodia plants in the US that are organised by the USW, three are in the Chicago, Illinois, area, so University Park workers did not have far to go to do comparisons. 
 
But their bosses had a different idea. They began traditional efforts to dissuade workers from joining the USW, including pay offers and work-time meetings in which anti-union messages were delivered. 
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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Rhodia CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu at the 25 March, 2008,&nbsp;signing
The USW responded by reaching out to corporate leadership in France through the ICEM in order to halt local management&rsquo;s violation of the GFA neutrality commitment. With ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan working directly with senior leaders of Rhodia in Paris, a joint ICEM-Rhodia declaration was distributed in early July to University Park workers by both the USW and local managers. 
 
It was signed by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Rhodia Group Vice President Pascal Jeury, with CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu endorsing the joint message. The declaration reminded that Rhodia&rsquo;s &ldquo;commitment to remain strictly neutral&rdquo; in workers&rsquo; unionization campaigns is intact, and cited seven points in Article 3, Paragraph 7 of the GFA (found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0809RhodiaGFAEnglish.pdf">here</a>), including the point: &ldquo;Rhodia respects the right of employees to organise themselves collectively and will remain strictly neutral concerning their choices in this matter.&rdquo; 
 
&Ouml;zkan also secured a pledge from the corporate office to stop the in-plant managers&rsquo; meetings. 
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With the government-supervised election nearing, workers became unconstrained by management rhetoric and harassment and voted for USW by 86%. Warda said the vote reflects a promising future for labour-management harmony at University Park, and thanked corporate Rhodia for its immediacy. 
 
The USW effectively put the language of the agreement in motion, and won US government certification. &ldquo;Rhodia has committed to strict neutrality under an ICEM agreement and pledge,&rdquo; said USW Organising Director Mike Yoffee. &ldquo;While the US managers did not fully live up to this, it still had somewhat of an impact on neutralizing the company&rsquo;s campaign, and gave our organizers the opening to make an issue of whether the US managers could be trusted to live up to their commitments.&rdquo; 
 
The new bargaining unit at the 18-month-old Rhodia-owned plant numbers 83. 
 
The USW also won union bargaining rights for miners in British Colombia, Canada, last week. Some 260 workers at molybdenum mines and operations owned by US-based Thompson Creek Metals had their union finally certified by the provincial labour board. They voted 26-28 May, but details prevented the BC labour board from opening the ballot box until 22 July. The miners work at the Endako Mines and now are proud members of USW Local 1-424 based in Prince George, BC.

In America, USW Forces Neutrality to Win Labour Rights for Rhodia Workers

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Global trade union and civil society outrage was heard loud and clear last week by the latest setback to reconstruction in Iraq. The Iraqi government, on 20 July, invoked a ministerial order to shut and seize all offices and property of electrical workers&rsquo; trade unions. 
 
Within a day of the order, police were inventorying equipment, furniture, and files of several electrical workers&rsquo; union across Iraq, including those of two ICEM affiliates &ndash; the Electrical Power Workers&rsquo; Union of the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Council Unions of Council (FWCUI) and the General Union of Electricity Workers and Technicians (GUEWT), affiliated to the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW). GUEWT President Hashmeya Muhsen Al-Saadawi said the police were polite, yet forceful in cataloging and closing offices. 
 
In Iraq, issuance of the order and implementing it within a day is a record. Normally, administrative orders can take weeks and months to put in place. In this case, the anti-union bias of Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani is evident. He has only recently been appointed Acting Minister of Electricity. The order states that trade union leaders who stand in the way of the closures will be charged under Iraq&rsquo;s 2005 Terrorism Act. 
<a href="http://www.iraqitradeunions.org/cgi-bin/campaign1.cgi"><img alt="" src="" width="320" height="184" /></a>
-Click for campaign website 
 
Last week&rsquo;s targeting of electrical trade unions stands as a malicious muscle-play by the government to keep a ban on all public-sector unions. That ban, Order 8750, was imposed by the occupation forces in August 2005, and, in turn, had upheld a Saddam law from 1987 that banned free and independent trade unions. The electrical raids also serve as stark reminder that meaningful labour law in Iraq will be very difficult under leaders of this government. 
 
The ICEM and many other unions and NGOs, including Amnesty International, immediately protested. On 22 July, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda wrote to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki: &ldquo;This order is a direct affront to all trade unions in Iraq, particularly trade unions such as the GUEWT that ICEM and its affiliated unions across the world have been working with in order to establish free and democratic institutions for the betterment of all Iraqi people.&rdquo; (The full letter is <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/76.ICEM.Iraq.Electric.22july.pdf">here</a>.) 
 
In another letter, this one to new UK Foreign Secretary William Hague by Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary Brendan Barber, the decree was labeled &ldquo;a violation of the Iraqi constitution, and one of the most draconian acts by the Iraqi Government since the fall of Saddam. It comes from Hussain al-Shahristani, the Minister for Oil, who has recently taken over the electricity portfolio and has a worrying track record of using Saddam-era labour laws against trade unions.&rdquo; 
 
The TUC began a campaign on LabourStart to protest this willful action, and that can be joined <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=740 ">here</a>. 
 
In Iraq by week&rsquo;s end, there was discrimination against trade union leaders who attempted to gather to discuss the sudden closures and seizures. At one such gathering that took place outside the offices of an electric enterprise, police came by to verbally assault trade unionists. In Basra on 22 July, union leaders did meet with some members of the Basra Governorate Council to discuss the aggressive and illegal, under Article 22 of the Iraqi Constitution, ministerial order 
 
The ICEM urges trade unions and activists to engage the Iraqi government by joining the LabourStart campaign.

Outrage at Iraq’s Raids Closing Electrical Workers’ Offices

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