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The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has issued its annual call for compilation of all trade union violations occurring country-by-country in 2008. The confederation of national labour centres annually publishes a Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, and ICEM affiliates and other trade unions are encouraged to work through their national centres in order to submit information. 
 
The query is a comprehensive two-page questionnaire, covering respective legislation on trade unions and a reporting format for noting violations of trade union rights. 

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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
&ldquo;The ITUC&rsquo;s annual survey is a valuable resource that is often overlooked in importance,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We encourage trade unions throughout the world to respond to this call.&rdquo; Contact a national labour centre in your country for more information, or e-mail the ITUC&rsquo;s the Labour Rights Department at <a href="mailto:turights@ituc.csi.org">turights@ituc.csi.org</a> to see how you can contribute.

ITUC Issues Alert to Collect Trade Union Violations Occurring in 2008

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The ICEM was saddened to learn comrade Vitaly Ivanovic Butko, Vice-President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR), passed away on 4 January 2009. He was 59, and died from complications of an illness. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda sent a letter of condolence to Ivan Mohnachuk, President of the Russian Independent Coal Employees&rsquo; Union (Rosugleprof). &ldquo;We honour his important role in the establishment of democracy after the fall of the Soviet Union. We also remember him as a brilliant leader who made sure that the interests of the mineworkers were not neglected in the difficult years and many struggles of economic transition,&rdquo; stated Warda. That letter is <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Letter%20of%20condolence%20Vitaly%20Butko.pdf">here</a>. 

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Born in the city of Kemerevo, in the major coal mining region of the Kutnetsk Basin, 2,164 miles east of Moscow, Butko worked as a drift miner, a foreman, the trade union convener at the Kuzbas mine, and then as Chair of the Kuzbas Territorial TU Committee of the Coal Industry Workers&rsquo; Union of the USSR. From 1991 until 1998, Budko held the elected position of President of Rosugleprof. In 1998, he headed the Russian Federal Agency for Regulation of Natural Monopolies in Transportation. Since March 1999, he had worked as Vice President of FNPR. 
 
He will be remembered as an outstanding trade union leader, who dedicated his strength, experience and work to workers&rsquo; struggle.

ICEM Mourns Passing of Russian Trade Union Leader, Vitaly Butko

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Dutch delegates to the recent two-day Congress of FNV Bondgenoten re-elected Henk van der Kolk as chairman of the largest trade union in The Netherlands. The Congress was held in Rotterdam. 
 
Also re-elected were General Secretary Ellen Dekkers, Federal Secretary Anja Jongbloed, and Treasurer Willem Noordham. The end of the Congress on 30 January thus began third terms for this leadership team. 

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Henk van der Kolk FNV Bondgenoten Chairman
In his speech to open the Congress, van der Kolk called on Dutch social partners to initiate a new employment scheme come 1 March when the Working Hours Reduction plan expires. That plan was initially put in place in November 2008 to address the financial crisis, and was extended in January. It allows distressed companies to reduce the hours of workers, with those workers assured of receiving full pay through state funds. 
 
&ldquo;There must be something new after March 1,&rdquo; van der Kolk said, adding the crisis likely will continue throughout 2009 and into 2010. He said the government must be committed to re-training and job creation. He also warned the Social Affairs and Employment minister not to increase the pension age. 
 
Van der Kolk has headed Bondgenoten since the end of 2002, prior to which he was a director for the national centre, FNV. From 1989 to 1997, he worked for the General Union of Education Staff, the predecessor union to Algemene Onderwijsbond (AOb).

FNV Bondgenoten Congress Re-Elects Henk van der Kolk for 4-Year Term

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A general strike in the French West Indies territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique turned deadly last week when a fifty-year-old union leader, Jacques Bino, was killed as he approached a road block set up by disenfranchised youths in Point-&agrave;-Pitre, the largest city of Guadeloupe. His car was hit three times by 12-gauge shotgun slugs, one of which hit the tax and union official in the chest. 
 
Six policemen were also wounded in Guadeloupe that same evening, 17 February, as widespread rioting took place on the Caribbean island. It is thought that Bino may have been killed after being mistaken for a plainclothes policeman. 
 
The general strike started 20 January by a grouping of 50 trade unions and associations, under the banner &ldquo;Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon&rdquo; (Stand Up Against Exploitation). The strike is over a social caste system that harkens back to the days of slavery on the islands. 
 
On 14 February, thousands of workers marched through the town of Le Moule to the chant, &ldquo;Guadeloupe is ours, it&rsquo;s not theirs.&rdquo; 

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Elie Domota
Elie Domota, spokesperson for the Stand Up Against Exploitation stated, &ldquo;Guadeloupe is a colony, because in a French department they would never have let the situation deteriorate this much before intervening.&rdquo; Demonstrators have targeted the island&rsquo;s &lsquo;b&eacute;k&eacute;s&rsquo;, descendants of white plantation owners who still control much of the island&rsquo;s economy. They account for less than 1% of Guadeloupe&rsquo;s 450,000 population. 
 
Citizens of Guadeloupe are victimised because most food is imported and is far more expensive than in France. However, wages are much lower and unemployment levels reach 20%. The Sarkozy administration in Paris has refused calls to recognise a demanded &euro;200 per month increase in the minimum wage, or to address a demand that price cuts to basic essentials such as food and fuel be lowered by 20%. 
 
It took until the fourth week of the strike, only last week, before Sarkozy did intervene. He spoke of the need for profound changes in the island&rsquo;s economy, but failed to give any concrete proposals. 
 
Similar demonstrations have occurred in neighbouring Martinique, while the strike has threatened to spread to the territories of French Guyana in South America, and the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. Protests could spread to mainland France in the coming days and weeks.

General Strike in Guadeloupe Turns Deadly; Finally Gets French Attention

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At a founding meeting in the US city of Pittsburgh, state of Pennsylvania, on 9 February, five unions organised the North American Cement and Building Materials Union Network. The founding of the network was sponsored by the ICEM, in cooperation with the Building and Woodworkers&rsquo; International (BWI). 
 
The unions include US affiliates of the ICEM: the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), the United Steelworkers (USW), the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), the Laborers International Union (LIUNA), and the Teamsters Union. 
 
The IBB and the USW will coordinate the network, and meetings will be held biannually. 
 
&ldquo;The creation of this network is a major step in dealing with multinational companies in this sector,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We believe companies will pay attention to our demands when the various unions are unified and working jointly together.&rdquo; 

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Global companies operating in North America, whose unionised employees make up the network, include Lafarge of France, Holcim of Switzerland, Buzzi Unicem and Essroc of Italy, Cemex of Mexico, and Heidelberg of Germany. Delegates to the initial conference passed a resolution in support of the UMWA at Lafarge&rsquo;s Joppa cement facility in Grand Chain, Illinois. The union has organised 120 workers at this Ohio River cement plant, but managers are attempting to decertify the UMWA as bargaining representative. 
 
The resolution calls for French senior managers of Lafarge to dispatch its Reference Group to the site to investigate whether or not American managers are violating the Global Framework Agreement, which ICEM and BWI are signatory to with Lafarge. 
 
The network&rsquo;s aims are presenting a unified message to the North American cement industry; pursuing organising neutrality at non-union worksites; enforcing Global Agreements in North America; promoting higher standards and better working conditions; developing coordinated collective bargaining strategies; recruiting and developing the next generation of union leaders; promoting labour-management dialogue on sustainable development; and continuing to coordinate with unions globally at key multinational employers.

ICEM Fosters Start-Up of North American Cement Unions’ Network

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The body count was still being tabulated early today in China&rsquo;s deadliest coal-mine accident in over 14 months. But at least 74 miners were confirmed dead, following a gas explosion that occurred at the Tunlan Coal Mine early Sunday, 22 February. The mine is owned by the Shanxi Jiaomei Group. 
 
Dozens more are still trapped and the death toll could rise to nearly 100. search and rescue efforts were called off at midday today, 23 February. The tragedy occurred at Gujiao City, Shanxi Province, at the company&rsquo;s Shanxi Coking Coal Co. 
 
Yesterday, family members of some of those trapped received mobile phone calls from miners&rsquo; deep underground, perhaps hearing their loved ones voices for the last time. 

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A total of 436 miners were working at the time of the explosion, and some 300 miners managed to escape. Some 114 of those had been hospitalised, and at least 21 of those faced death-threatening circumstances. The Shanxi Jiaomei Group is a private coal and petroleum company. 
 
The disaster was China&rsquo;s worst coal-mine blast since 105 miners perished on 5 December 2007 at the Xinyao coal mine, also in Shanxi Province. Four months earlier, 181 miners died inside shafts of two adjoining mines in Shandong Province when the mines flooded. 
 
Earlier this month, on 13 February, eight Chinese miners were killed in a gas explosion inside the Zhijin mine in Zhijin County, Guizhou Province, which is in the China&rsquo;s southwest region. Those victims were identified as migrant workers from nearby Chongquing. Twenty-five miners managed to escape that explosion.

Mine Explosion Brings Weekend Death Toll to 74 at Major Chinese Colliery

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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda last week congratulated mining unions in India, especially the ICEM affiliated Indian National Mineworkers'&nbsp; Federation (INMF)&nbsp;and its General Secretary BK Das, who took&nbsp;a leading role in achieving a new wage agreement. 
 
The National Coal Wage Agreement (NCWA-VIII) gives 500,000 miners across India pay increases totalling 24% over five years. 
 
The agreement, signed in New Delhi on 24 January, also improves working conditions. MK Pandhe, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) President, commended the successful negotiations that were made possible by the unified work of five national federations, CITU, INTUC, BMS, AITUC, and HMS. 
 
The agreement provides a minimum benefit hike of 24% of gross wages effective 1 July 2006, and an annual increment of 3% with cumulative effect. It provides for an open-ended pay scale which ensures no wage stagnation for any employee during the period of the agreement. The agreement also gives a 50% increase in all allowances, effective 1 January 2009. The underground allowance will be 12.5% of the basic scale, and will be treated as part of the basic wage. 

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The agreement will ensure a minimum weekly base wage for a coalminer at INR 9,346 (US$188), the highest in the Indian public sector. 
 
Under the agreement, employees will be provided with a uniform and a monthly washing allowance of INR 75, as well as a transport subsidy of at least INR 10.50 per day. The underground allowance will continue to be paid at 12.5% of the revised basic salary, along with an attendance bonus of 10% of basic pay and a special dearness allowance of 17.95% of the attendance bonus. Annual leave with wages will continue to be governed by the provisions of the Indian Mines Act of 1952. 
 
The unified mining workers rebuffed efforts by management to make the agreement ten years in length. 
 
Current challenges facing INMF are the struggle against privatization, outsourcing, corruption, unsafe working conditions, and the rise of Contract and Agency Labour in the Indian mining sector. 
 
The ICEM joins INMF, CITU, and other union federations in appealing to all coal miners to strengthen the unity achieved with this contract to continue bringing short-term contract and agency workers into the union fold. 
 
During a visit to India recently by Warda, he met with the Committee of the Indian Mineworkers&rsquo; Union on Health and Safety, encouraging the union to work towards an ICEM-sponsored tripartite meeting late this year on Indian ratification of ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. 
 
Warda also inaugurated a workshop on Contract &amp; Agency Labour (CAL) that was held in Puri on 15-16 February that was attended by 28 contract workers from the Mahanadi Coalfields, Ltd. He supported the efforts of CITU to organise fixed-term and agency workers. It was reported that since the federation started its campaign to organise, 30,000 CAL workers had joined unions. 

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Kanti Mehta
The ICEM General Secretary also unveiled the life-size bronze statue of the late Kanti Mehta, the founder of the INMF, who passed away on 20 October 2007 at the age of 87. The unveiling occurred on 15 February, on what would have been his 90th birthday.

ICEM Salutes Indian Mining Unions in Wage Accord for 500,000 Miners

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The US labour board has issued a blanket unfair labour practice complaint against Covanta Energy at more than 50 worksites across America. The charge was brought by ICEM-affiliated Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA), which organised Covanta staff at a worksite in Rochester, Massachusetts, in May 2008, but has since been unable to secure a first collective agreement because of company intransigence. 
 
Covanta is a waste-to-energy company that operates incinerators and then sells electric power generated from those incinerators to local grids. The ICEM has assisted the UWUA in its first contract fight over the past several months by tracking the company as it seeks new contracts in Ireland and the UK. The ICEM has alerted trade unions, public officials, and environmental groups of the Chicago-based company&rsquo;s anti-union bias. 
 
The US labour law complaint, issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), cites the company with numerous illegal work rules, as outlined in its employees&rsquo; manual. Such violations include threatening to terminate workers for providing any information &ndash; such as environmental or health and safety &ndash; to government regulators, news media, or other &ldquo;outside representatives.&rdquo; 

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The NLRB complaint also challenges a Covanta rule prohibiting distribution of &ldquo;unauthorised&rdquo; material on &ldquo;company property&rdquo; or on &ldquo;company time,&rdquo; a form of anti-union bias that has been illegal in the US for 60 years. Other Covanta workplace policies ruled illegal include guidelines prohibiting workers from discussing their wages with each other, or from wearing &ldquo;political slogans&rdquo; while at work. 
 
The UWUA filed the charge in Massachusetts but since Covanta uses the same employees&rsquo; manual at all US worksites, the NLRB issued the nationwide complaint at all company locations. Only a handful of Covanta&rsquo;s 50 plus workplaces are unionised. 
 
&ldquo;We want Covanta employees everywhere to know that our union will stand up for their rights, not only in Massachusetts but at every other Covanta location,&rdquo; said Gary Sullivan, President of UWUA Local 369, which represents the 130 Covanta workers in Massachusetts. 
 
As Covanta seeks to expand its trash to electric energy business globally, the ICEM will continue to alert social partners of its anti-worker policies in the US.

Covanta Energy Violates US Labour Law

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The ICEM has intervened in efforts to prevent harsh discipline this week against an Iraqi trade unionist, who is being persecuted for leading a protest in order to gain wage arrears for workers at the State Company for Petrochemical Industries (SCPI). (See previous story&nbsp;<a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3024-Iraqi-State-Petrochemical-Company-Uses-Military-to-Bust-Peaceful-Protest">here</a>.) 
 
The ICEM learned over the weekend that Kareem Johi Sahan, a trade union leader for the Petrochemical Workers&rsquo; Union of Basra, is scheduled to be punished Thursday, 26 February, for his role in leading the 28 January workers&rsquo; protest. Following several weeks of interrogation of Johi and three other union leaders, Johi faces the possibility of immediate discharge, or reductions to his salary. 
 
The ICEM also has learned that the severe interrogations have inflicted Johi with heart problems. 

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Kareem Johi (centre) handling leaflets at an October 2008 demonstration
SCPI is 100% owned by Iraq&rsquo;s Ministry of Industry and Minerals. In a letter dated today to MIM Minister Fawzi al-Hariri, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda urged the ministry to intervene directly with management of the enterprise to prevent any form of discipline this week. (See that letter <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/16%20letter%20to%20Petrochem%20Iraq%20-%2023%20Feb09.pdf">here</a>.) 
 
Kareem Johi, 51, is a recognised trade union leader of the Petrochemical Workers&rsquo; Union of Basra at SCPI, who, since the end of 2006, has used internationally-recognised free speech and assembly to draw attention to remuneration claims, cuts in fuel subsidies to workers, and other regressive policies by SCPI management. 
 
SCPI is Iraq&rsquo;s only petrochemicals complex, employing 5,000 workers, and its six plants produce ethylene, polyethylene, vinyl chloride, and other chemicals.

ICEM Seeks Halt to Discipline of Iraqi Trade Union Leader at Petrochemicals Complex

The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) today applauded US President Bill Clinton and the US Senate for ratifying Convention 176 of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO), concerning safety and health in mines. 
 
The White House today confirmed to the ICEM that President Clinton has signed the document ratifying Convention 176. The US Senate gave its consent to the Convention on September 20, 2000. The President's signature makes this the 14th ILO Convention ratified by the United States government. 
 
The tripartite (union/employer/government) ILO General Conference approved Convention 176 on June 22, 1995, following an international campaign by the ICEM for its approval. The ICEM represents over 20 million workers globally, including more than 2 million mine workers. 
 
&quot;It is outrageous that in the 21st century, mine workers anywhere in the world are still forced to sacrifice their lives and limbs to make a living,&quot; said Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), which is affiliated globally to the ICEM. 
 
&quot;This ILO convention seeks to set minimum health and safety standards for the mining industry globally and that is a very worthy objective that must be enforced,&quot; he said. UMWA and ICEM officials played prominent roles in the ILO workers' group which was instrumental in drafting and securing adoption of this Convention. 
 
&quot;The ICEM applauds President Clinton and the US Senate for ratifying this important ILO Convention,&quot; said Fred Higgs, ICEM General Secretary. &quot;When it comes to health and safety, there must be no double standards in the world's mining industry. 
 
&quot;The US government's ratification sends an important signal to other countries with significant mining industries that mine worker health and safety must be treated seriously,&quot; Higgs added. 
 
The United States is the sixteenth government to ratify ILO Convention 176. Other governments which have signed up are Armenia, Austria, Botswana, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Lebanon, Norway, Philippines, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Zambia. The ICEM is continuing its campaign to convince further governments to similarly ratify the Convention. 
 
Under the Convention, states commit themselves to consult with unions and employers for the introduction of a coherent health and safety policy in mining. This policy is to include proper monitoring and inspection, plus investigations and reports on accidents and occupational diseases. Workers' representatives have the right to be fully involved in the inspections, investigations and reporting. The new standard places on employers the responsibility for risk elimination and reduction, ensuring that workers are evacuated from the mines if a serious danger arises, drawing up emergency action plans for each mine and providing full safety equipment and safety training. 
 
The Convention also calls for workers to be fully informed of the health and safety risks in each mine. Most importantly, they are to have the right to stop work and leave the mine if they have reasonable grounds for believing that they are in serious danger. 
 
More than 30 million people are employed worldwide in the mining industry and approximately 15,000 mine workers are killed per year around the world. There were 85 mine fatalities in the US in 2000. More than 127,000 miners were killed in the United States in the 20th century. 
 
Many mining accidents go unreported. Major known mining disasters in 2000 included: 
 
December 28, 2000. Donestsk Region, Ukraine, a windlass overturned and crushed two crane operators at the Bazhanov coal mine: two killed. 
 
December 19, 2000. Atakumoso, Nigeria, a landslide at an illegal gemstone mine: 15 killed. 
 
December 11, 2000. Baise city, Guangxi province, China, a roof collapse at a gold mine: 15 killed, four injured. 
 
December 3, 2000. Hejin city, Shanxi province, China, an explosion at the Tianlong coal mine: 42 killed, six missing. 
 
November 28, 2000. North West province, South Africa, a rock fall at Anglo American Platinum's Rustenburg platinum mine: two killed. 
 
November 27, 2000. Sichuan province, China, poison gas released at the Red Star Coal Mine: nine killed. 
 
November 25, 2000. Hulun Buir League of Inner Mongolia, China, a coal gas explosion at the Dayan Coal Co. mine: 51 killed, 12 injured. 
 
November 19, 2000. Gokcesu hin Mengen township, western Bolu province, Turkey, a gas explosion: three killed, four others missing. 
 
November 5, 2000. Liaoyuan district, Jilin province, China, a gas explosion at the Xian Coal Mine: 13 killed; 18 others missing. 
 
November 1, 2000. Nanchange, China, a fire in the Pinghu coal mine: 13 killed and one missing. 
 
October 20, 2000. Guangxi, China, an impoundment failure at a copper mine resulted in a landslide: 30 miners killed, 50 injured and another 100 missing. 
 
October 13, 2000. Thabazimbi, South Africa, a rock fall at a Northam Platinum mine: two killed. 
 
October 11, 2000. Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China, a gas explosion at the Zhangergou coal mine: 25 killed. 
 
October 11, 2000. Mianzhu, Sichuan Province, China, a landslide at a phosphate mine: at least 20 killed. 
 
September 28, 2000. Shuicheng, Guizhou province, China, an underground explosion at the Muchonggou coal mine: 161 killed; 43 critically wounded. 
 
September 28, 2000. Driefontein, South Africa, a rockburst at a Gold Fields mine: two killed and ten injured. 
 
September 27, 2000. Carletonville, South Africa, a rock fall at the Gold Fields Kloof gold mine: four killed, four injured. 
 
July 9, 2000. Gansu province, China, a fire at a coal mine: 17 killed. 
 
June 17, 2000. Henan province, China, a gas explosion at a coal mine: seven killed, four injured and another 7 missing. 
 
June 16, 2000. Mianzhu, Sichuan province, China, a coal mine explosion: seven miners and 5 rescuers killed. 
 
May 15, 2000. Welkom, South Africa, an underground explosion at the Gold Fields Ltd Beatrix gold mine: seven killed. 
 
April 15, 2000. Shanxi province, China, a gas explosion in a coal mine: 40 killed and three missing. 
 
April 6, 2000. Welkom, South Africa, a rock fall at the African Rainbow Minerals gold mine: three killed. 
 
January 10, 2000. Orkney, South Africa, a rockburst at an African Rainbow Minerals gold mine: six killed.

US Ratifies ILO Mine Safety Convention

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