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ICEM&rsquo;s global level company networks now include a new one: Akzo Nobel. Over 20 trade unionists from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Indonesia, Turkey, and Brazil decided to form a global network among the unions organising the Dutch-based chemicals company. 
 
The formation meeting which was held on 31 May-1 June 2010 in Amsterdam, upon invitation of ICEM&rsquo;s Dutch affiliate FNV-Bondgenoten. The host union considers international networking within multinational companies as a priority, and as a result, the union established the FNV Company Monitor some years ago as a tool for research on Dutch multinationals, and to build networks of unionists within them. 
 
AkzoNobel is the largest global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company employs 55,000 people in over 80 countries. 
The meeting was opened by Henk Van der Kolk, President of FNV-Bondgenoten. 
 
&ldquo;Organizing labour across borders is difficult and therefore much slower than transferring capital all over the world,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We all know that. And I wish you fruitful discussions about how we can cooperate in organizing and empowering workers at Akzo Nobel plants all over the world to strengthen our unions.&rdquo; 

<img alt="" src="" width="166" height="130" />
President of FNV-Bondgenoten, Henk Van der Kolk
After the presentation by Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industries&rsquo; Officer, on the global chemicals industry and Akzo Nobel&rsquo;s global picture, trade unionists gave country-based reports on labour relations in their respective countries. 
Ron Vos, FNV Bondgenoten&rsquo;s National Officer for Akzo Nobel, explained the situation in the company&rsquo;s homeland, the Netherlands, and he defined employment, pensions, wages, a flexible workforce and use of temporary workers, the health of an aging workforce, and sharing results with the company on a major trade union agenda. 
 
Sergio Carasso from Brazil reported national and regional level networking activities within Akzo Nobel and the former British company, ICI, now absorbed by the Dutch company. According to his report, the first network of Akzo Nobel workers in Brazil was formed in 2002, and yearly meetings began at national level. 
 
The range of this national network was later extended to Argentina and Mexico. The network conducted a research for making a comparison between different workplaces on various items. A strategy on communications was also developed through bulletins and a web- blog. 
 
Helmizan Sakrani from Indonesia reported on union activities at an Akzo Nobel plant located Cimanggis-Depok. He reported that his plant has 280 permanent employees and 167 of them are union members. Founded in 1983, the union has good relations with the company through plant level social dialogue with some positive result. 

<img alt="" src="" width="261" height="154" />
Erhan Kaplan and Hokan Ko&ccedil;ak from Petrol-Iş of Turkey reported their union&rsquo;s organizing activities in general and at unorganized Akzo Nobel plants. They reported a constructive cooperation and solidarity with the Dutch union on doing so. 
 
The situation and activities of the company&rsquo;s European Works Council (EWC) were also discussed by Belgian, Dutch, and German participants. It was agreed to handle the problems and challenges in this context. The meeting also communicated with union representatives from Akzo Nobel in the US, from ICEM affiliate United Steelworkers (USW) via teleconference. 
 
Following the presentation by Kemal &Ouml;zkan on ICEM&rsquo;s activities of networking, it was unanimously decided to form a global network of Akzo Nobel unions. In this, FNV Bondgenoten takes the lead for coordination of the network. It was also decided to develop an effective communications system among the participating unions, with an aim to enlarge it to non-participating organizations. 
 
&ldquo;After the successful organizing of this network, our intention is to develop a dialogue and an interaction with the company, hopefully with the goal to ultimately reach a Global Framework Agreement with Akzo Nobel, &ldquo;said &Ouml;zkan, who used the company&rsquo;s motto regarding this: &ldquo;Today, we find answers of tomorrow.&rdquo;

ICEM Affiliates Move to Form an Akzo Nobel Workers’ Network

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A first-ever, tri-nation forum to unite trade unions struggling for democratic autonomy in Mexico with US and Canadian unions was held in Toronto, Canada, on 20 June. Some 120 trade unionists, NGO representatives, and Canadian civil society activists gathered for the one-day &ldquo;Building Solidarity with the Democratic Labour Movement in Mexico&rdquo; conference. 
 
As Dave Coles, President of the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada said, the meeting brought together trade union leaders from Mexico who never would be allowed to similarly gather inside Mexico. Those leaders included Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia, the exiled President of the National Union of Mine, Metalworkers&rsquo;, and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), Mart&iacute;n Esparza Flores of the Mexican Union of Electrical Workers (SME), Francisco Hern&aacute;ndez Ju&aacute;rez of the Mexican Telephone Workers&rsquo; Union (Telefonistas), and others mentioned below. 

<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="200" />
Los Mineros General Secretary, Napole&oacute;n Gomez
The conference consisted of presentations by two Mexican-based labour attorneys, who told of the legal and political institutional obstacles to a free and democratic trade union movement in Mexico, and it also detailed the dreaded but common protection contracts, which inhibit true trade union rights. 
 
A central focus throughout the conference was the continuing harmful effects of the now 16-year-old North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico, and the US. 

<img alt="" src="" width="160" height="106" />
Ben Davis, US Solidarity Center
Ben Davis of the US Solidarity Center did provide several inspiring examples on how SNTMMSRM, or Los Mineros, continues to organize workers despite overt suppression by the Mexican government. He also outlined work done at the US federal level to press the Obama administration to take a stronger stance against Mexican trade union repression. And on the global level, Davis told of work being done at the ILO over protection contracts, as well as institutional shareholder pressure against Grupo M&eacute;xico, the major corporate protagonist of Los Mineros. 
 
Jorge Robles of the Mexican Authentic Workers&rsquo; Front (FAT) addressed inherent deficiencies in current labour law reform inside Mexico, while Alberto Espinosa Rocha, Secretary-General of the National Union of General Tire/Continental Workers&rsquo; Union (SNTGTM), spoke on the harmful effects of the free trade agreement. 

<img alt="" src="" width="199" height="182" />
Alberto Espinosa Rocha, Secretary-General SNTGTM
Espinosa said NAFTA has been &ldquo;evil for Mexico&rdquo; since previous good wages and benefits have eroded. He said in both the tyre industry and auto-parts industry, &ldquo;year-to-year, employers are taking contractual rights away.&rdquo; 
 
Espinosa was fired in 2003 for impeding General Tire&rsquo;s agenda during collective negotiations, but remained a union activist for the three years he was off the job. In 2006, he was reinstated as a maintenance mechanic and in 2008, was elected Secretary-General of SNTGTM. 
 
At the conference conclusion, delegates shaped a strategic plan that includes insertion of strict worker protections in NAFTA, continuation of work on Mexican protection contracts, and solidarity and campaign work on specific Mexican labour struggles. 
 
The conference was sponsored by several North American trade unions, the ICEM, the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and Union Network International (UNI).

Mexican Teach-in Charts North American Union Solidarity

7 June 2010 
 
 
Felipe de Jes&uacute;s Calder&oacute;n Hinojosa 
President 
United States of Mexico 
Residencias Oficial de los Pinos 
Case Miguel Alem&aacute;n 
Col San Miguel Chapultepec 
11850 M&egrave;xico, D.F. 
 
Sent to fax numbers +52 55 5093 4901, +52 55 52772376, 
e-mail <a href="mailto:felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx">felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx</a> &nbsp;
 
Dear President Calderon: 
 
On behalf of our --- members, I urge you to stop the violent actions taken yesterday and today by your government against trade union members and their families of Section 65 of Mexican National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union (SNTMMSRM) in Cananea, Mexico. 
 
The ICEM has continually urged a negotiated end to the conflict in Cananea, and we condemn your decision to send in federal police and attack trade union members. 
 
We call upon you to immediately withdraw your forces, and seek a peaceful and negotiated end to the conflict. 
 
Sincerely,

Calderón Model Letter

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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Uni&oacute;n Obrera Metal&uacute;rgical (UOM), the national Metalworkers&rsquo; Union of Argentina, reached accord with six employers&rsquo; associations recently in wage negotiations for 2010. Some three weeks after mandatory government reconciliation stopped a scheduled 10 April strike, the UOM and four employer groups agreed to a two-phase wage increase for 2010 that totals 26.5%. 
 
In early May, two other employer federations &ndash; the household goods association (FEDEHOGAR) and the metallurgical industry association (ADIMRA) &ndash; agreed to the salary package, which gives a 15% increase backdated to 1 April with another 10% due on 1 July 2010. The latter increase will be adjusted according to inflation, and workers should realize 11.6%. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="116" />
The contracts cover 260,000 workers and will run until 31 March 2011. The four employer federations that initially agreed to terms included the small and mid-size metallurgical chamber (CAMINA), the auto and other component association (AFAC), electronic parts manufacturers (AFARTE), and the related metals industry association (CAIAMA). The UOM affiliates to the ICEM on its members in the nuclear power sector. 
 
The union had sought a one-stage 25% adjustment, which it said would cover what was lost due to Argentina&rsquo;s high inflation rate in 2009. Initially, employers offered 15% in three stages, but amended that to 20% in three phases upon the threat of a strike. 
 
The metals pact in Argentina is expected to serve as the benchmark for bargaining in other industrial sectors. Javier Sanchez of the UOM&rsquo;s Nuclear Branch credited UOM Secretary-General Antonio Cal&oacute; with leading difficult negotiations in delivering just wage adjustments for metalworkers without an industrial conflict.

Metalworkers in Argentina Negotiate 2010 Wage Gains of 26.5%

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The ICEM affiliated Kuwaiti union, the Oil and Petrochemical Industries Workers&rsquo; Confederation, vehemently opposed a Privatisation Bill that passed through the Persian Gulf country&rsquo;s Parliament, especially the inclusion of the oil industry of the country. 
 
The ICEM had closely monitored the situation since the legislation received strong backing in Parliament, on Thursday 15 April. Thirty-three MPs backed it, including the entire cabinet. This backing moved processing of the Bill to the Financial and Economic Committee of Parliament, where significant opposition moved the Committee&rsquo;s secretary, MP Yusif Zalzlah, to announce on 3 May that the panel advised against the inclusion of the oil and natural gas sectors in the legislation. 
 
The ICEM will remain alert to the threat of this legislation returning in the future, as MP Zalzlah stated that the government will remain &ldquo;very flexible&rdquo; on the issue in the future. 

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="120" />
The Oil and Petrochemical Industries Workers&rsquo; Confederation opposed privatisation of the oil sector, seeing it as a transfer of government assets into the hands of a small number of wealthy individuals. The confederation, which serves as the umbrella organisation for six unions representing Kuwaiti workers in the sector, pointed to the recent privatisation of petrol stations in Kuwait, which saw high levels of job losses. 
 
A total of 94% of Kuwait&rsquo;s revenues come from oil. ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, in a letter to members of the Kuwaiti Parliament, stated, &ldquo;Kuwait&rsquo;s system of cradle-to-grave welfare is an example to all around the world; we believe strongly that the handing over of your oil assets would seriously jeopardise this welfare system.&rdquo; See the full letter <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/39.ICEM.Kuwait.Parliament.Oil.10May.pdf">here</a>. 
 
The Privatisation Bill was passed by Kuwait&rsquo;s Parliament on 5 May, but did exclude oil and gas production, as well as health and education. The bill angers Kuwaiti trade unionists, especially in sectors that were privatised. One trade union leader was forcibly removed from the public gallery during the parliamentary debate, for shouting slogans against the law. 
 
The new law will be effective in six months time and opens up public services to private ownership. A &ldquo;Higher Privatisation Council&rdquo; will be created, to be headed by the Prime Minister, and this council will oversee sale of public assets. 
 
There will be some regulation, with the law ensuring that when a public company is sold, 40% of its shares must first be offered for sale to Kuwaiti citizens, followed by 20% to be held by government, and 5% to Kuwaiti employees. The remaining 35% will be sold at auction to a local or foreign investor. 
 
In Kuwait&rsquo;s oil sector, striking workers at the Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery returned to work 14 May after a five-day strike was resolved. Workers at the utility unit, employed by the Kuwait National Petroleum Co., were protesting a cut in the workforce. Mohammad al-Hamlan, deputy president of the workers' union, reported that management had agreed to the union&rsquo;s demands, ending the strike. The utility unit workers had been joined in solidarity by the facility&rsquo;s tank farm workers since 11 May. The refinery is the country&rsquo;s largest, with production of 460,000 barrels per day.

Kuwaiti Oil Workers Succeed in Damping Sector from Privatisation

As part of its strategy to improve working and living conditions for metalworkers in Europe, the European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (EMF) has adopted a coordinated collective bargaining policy. 
 
The first coordinated, or common, demand was adopted in 2005 and called for the individual right to training, guaranteed by collective agreements. Last November, at the 6th EMF Collective Bargaining Conference, the 75 unions affiliated to the EMF agreed on a second common demand &quot;for more secure employment - against precarious work.&quot; 
<img alt="" src="" width="135" height="180" />
EMF Deputy General Secretary Bart Samyn
&ldquo;The last years have seen an incredible increase of precarious work and the number of insecure jobs has exploded in all European countries,&rdquo; said EMF Deputy General Secretary Bart Samyn. &ldquo;Everyone agrees that we can no longer deny this very real problem. Hence, the importance of this second common demand of the EMF and the willingness of all EMF affiliates to put the fight against precarious work central in their demands, in their upcoming collective bargaining rounds all over Europe.&rdquo; 
 
EMF affiliates are developing specific demands, relevant to their national situation, on temporary agency workers (TAW), workers employed on fixed term contracts, the bogus self-employed, and those on projects-based and zero-hour contracts, and are including these demands in their collective bargaining. A number of EMF affiliates have also initiated awareness-raising campaigns for more secure employment. 
 
The EMF Second Common Demand brochure is available <a href="http://www.emf-fem.org/Press/Publications/EMF-Second-Common-Demand">here</a>.

European Metalworkers’ Second Common Demand for more secure employment

The annual ICEM Asia-Pacific Regional Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) seminar took place in Singapore on 18-19 April. The seminar, hosted by the ICEM with the assistance of Germany&rsquo;s Friedrich-Ebert Foundation (FES), brought together 52 delegates, including representatives of the ICEM, the Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI), International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF), Public Services International (PSI), and Union Network International (UNI). 
 
Union leaders and activists from 14 Asian countries, members of the Western European Team of experts from Denmark and Sweden, and representatives of the ICEM Secretariat and the FES attended the meeting, spoke about the impact of precarious employment in their countries, and shared strategies which they had developed to deal with CAL issues. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda had been scheduled to attend the seminar, but was unable to do so because of the disruption to European flights caused by volcanic ash from Iceland. 
<img alt="" src="" width="241" height="181" />
Participants discussed how CAL is being used to undermine the right to freedom of association, by companies who are letting go of permanent staff and hiring temporary workers in their place. Participants also discussed how the global economic crisis is being used by multinational companies as an excuse to reduce their permanent workforce, despite the fact that CEOs are receiving ever increasing pay packages. 
 
The participants proposed a number of next steps, including that unions should make CAL a priority issue and prioritise organising of CAL workers; that they should cooperate in campaigning at a national level for legislation which would make user enterprises responsible for agency workers;, and that collective bargaining should fully include CAL issues. 
 
Participants also proposed that a workshop be arranged to discuss how dialogue can best be arranged with labour-hire agencies to assure that labour rights and standards are upheld.

Global Union Federations Gather in Asia-Pacific Region to Develop CAL Tactics

ICEM Contract and Agency Labour Newsletter

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