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Not only did ICEM Thai affiliate Paper and Printing Federation (PPFT) win the reinstatement of Thanet Jhanluechai at SIG Combibloc 11 days ago, it also won assurances from the New Zealand&rsquo;s Rank Group that contract and agency labour language in the collective agreement will be honoured. 
 
That language reads exactly as the ICEM&rsquo;s policy on contract labour in collective agreements: the trade union must be consulted prior to any decision to sub-contract work, or hire temporary workers. The language is contained in a 2005 collective pact inside the 420-work Rayong province paper plant, and Rank Group now has agreed to adhere to it. 
<img height="253" alt="" src="" width="380" />
SIG branch leaders of PPTF
&nbsp;Rank Group purchased SIG Combibloc from its Swiss owners last spring. In readying the mill for sale, the packaging plant&rsquo;s managing director eliminated 8-hour work days in favour of 12-hour shifts. This cost workers a portion of their pay and of their shift differential pay. The agreement that was struck on 6 December also included the Rank Group&rsquo;s sacking of the plant&rsquo;s managing director, an individual blamed by workers for bringing deteriorating work and productivity conditions. 
 
A tightly-held private equity company led by New Zealand&rsquo;s richest man, Graeme Hart, Rank Group has moved rapidly into the forest products sector since buying, and taking private, Carter Holt Harvey in 2006. Since, it has increased its industry portfolio by buying papers mills and plants throughout the world. The ICEM commends the global trade union support that lead to justice being restored at SIG Combibloc, and particularly salutes New Zealand trade unions Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) and the National Distribution Union for their lead. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
Senior managers from Auckland-based Rank Group came to Rayong in late November and early December to resolve the dispute. This happened after global pressure. They also accepted &ndash; and agreed to correct &ndash; unfair work rules and other workplace issues that have led to extremely low morale. The ICEM congratulates PPFT and the workers at SIG Local Union for their great victory. Read more on the reinstatement of Thanet Jhanluechai <a href="/en/?id=19&amp;doc=2510&amp;la=EN">here</a>.

Thai Paperworkers Win More Than Just Reinstatement of Workplace Leader

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The European Union&rsquo;s Council of Ministers, on 5 December, backed away from passing an EU Directive on Agency Workers. The Directive, if passed, would have entitled agency workers to the same pay, benefits, and conditions of work as full-time staff after a six-week period. 
 
The proposed Directive, which was first drafted in 2002, has been blocked now for three years, primarily by UK&rsquo;s Labour Party government. In the 5 December meeting of the EU Employment Council, the Portuguese presidency was ready to ballot member countries under the EU&rsquo;s qualified-majority voting system, but the vote did not occur due to consideration of other UK positions. Besides the UK, Germany, Ireland, and Malta were member nations opposed. France and Poland had made compromises to accept the Directive. 
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The Agency Workers&rsquo; Directive is sure to be brought up again in early 2008, when Slovenia takes the presidency of the EU. The UK government&rsquo;s position has been bolstered by British business groups, who insist on flexible, disposable workforces in the name of competitiveness. 
 
Generally across Europe, temporary or agency workers are paid less, receive less training, and are prone to a higher rate of workplace accidents. 
 
Labour unions were incensed by the Brown government&rsquo;s continuation of Tony Blair policies. In leading up to the vote, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Secretary General John Monks, a British citizen, spoke before the UK&rsquo;s House of Commons on the issue. &ldquo;Agency workers are getting a second-class deal. And you &ndash; our government &ndash; are defending that, the indefensible.&rdquo; 
 
Following the 5 December non-action by the EU, UK Trades Union Congress General Secretary Brendan Barber stated, &ldquo;This is a bad day for rights at work across Europe, but especially in the UK. Contrary to business scare-mongering, this directive would not stop agencies providing temporary staff to employers. It would make it more difficult to undercut wages and conditions, and help slow the growth of a two-tier workforce.&rdquo;

EU Ignores Equal Treatment for Agency Workers in Failure to Pass Directive

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The Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia has called on the new Kevin Rudd government in Australia to reverse John Howard&rsquo;s policies on the environment. In a report released on 6 December, CFMEU is calling on the government to devote more funding to new technologies aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. 
 
Specifically, the CFMEU is urging the Rudd government to take the global lead in promoting carbon capture and storage technology. The CFMEU also called on mining houses operating in Australia &ndash; BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Xstrata &ndash; to also invest at least A$1-per-tonne of coal produced into new technologies for carbon capture. CFMEU National President Tony Maher said coal companies currently are only placing A$0.20-a-tonne into clean coal research. 
<img height="120" src="" width="80" alt="" />
CFMEU's Tony Maher
&ldquo;While some call for extreme responses like banning coal altogether,&rdquo; said Maher, &ldquo;the real challenge is to accept that developing nations, in particular India and China, will be reliant on coal for some time and we need to reduce the impact of this energy source on the environment.&rdquo; 
 
Maher was part of the official Australia government delegation to the UN&rsquo;s Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia. That delegation, in stark reversal to Howard&rsquo;s policies, announced to a panel on 5 December in Bali that it supports a Kyoto protocol measure for Australia, calling for carbon emissions curtailment of 25-40% by the year 2020. 
 
&ldquo;Making carbon capture and storage a reality for our future is the brave step that Australia must take as it embarks as a global leader on climate change,&rdquo; said Maher on release of the CFMEU report. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why Australian coal miners have embraced the Kyoto process,&rdquo; he added, stating that the world&rsquo;s major coal producers ought to be investing at least A$1-per-tonne on clean technologies.

Australia’s CFMEU Calls for Cleaner Measures to Reduce Carbon Emissions

10 December 2007 
Honourable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 
President of the Democratic Republic of Liberia 
The Executive Mansion 
PO Box 9001 
Capitol Hill 
Monrovia, County of Monteserrado 
LIBERIA 
 
Dear President Sirleaf: 
 
I write in the wake of worker unrest at the Firestone Rubber Plantation in Harbel, Liberia. I also write on behalf of the ICEM&rsquo;s global family of trade unions, calling on you to expedite the certification process for one of those affiliated trade unions, the Firestone Agriculture Workers&rsquo; Union of Liberia (FAWUL). 
 
Last week&rsquo;s flare up of turbulence was unfortunate. However, we have been assured by leadership of FAWUL that they did all they could to get workers not to take strike action. We now understand that Liberian police have rounded up and arrested several workers, who are charged with instigating the strike and the subsequent actions. We ask that amnesty be granted them. 
 
We are convinced that a normalised work atmosphere, as well as a peaceful labor-management relationship is obtainable at Firestone Rubber Plantation if the proper trade union is registered, and that this union be fully allowed to conduct its lawful trade union activities in representing the Firestone Plantation workers. 
In the name of Free Trade Unions worldwide, we call on you to use your influence inside the Liberian government to recognise the legitimacy of the Firestone Agriculture Workers&rsquo; Union. We insist that your government certify the elected leaders of FAWUL, and ensure that local management at the Firestone Plantation engages in full and meaningful collective negotiations with this union. Last week&rsquo;s unfortunate strike in Harbel can only be blamed on the frustration of workers, who have been denied their legitimate voice on workplace matters for too many months now. 
Your attention and action on this above matter is urgently needed. Please, if there is any way the ICEM can assist in bringing reconciliation to the parties in this matter, do not hesitate to contact me. 
Sincerely, 
 
Manfred Warda 
General Secretary

ICEM Letter to President Sirleaf of Liberia Over Firestone Plantation Dispute

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The lockout by Rio Tinto Minerals on 560 union members of International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU) in Boron, California, is now eight days old, and there is no sign that management intends to engage in talks anytime soon. 
 
Instead, Rio Tinto has engaged the services of US security firm J.R. Gettier of Wilmington, Delaware, to bus replacement workers across picket lines and to give menacing, paramilitary looks to ILWU members and their families in the Mojave Desert town of Boron, 122 kilometres east of Los Angeles. 
 
Gettier advertises itself as a full-service company with strike security teams that &ldquo;comes to your site to manage a labor-management dispute.&rdquo; JRG Services, a division of J.R. Gettier, provides clients with temporary or replacement workers that &ldquo;assist in meeting your company&rsquo;s &hellip; needs.&rdquo; 

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The lockout will be the central focus when the International Mining and Maritime Unions meet in Palmdale, California, on 15 February, which includes the ICEM and the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF). The multi-union organisation, which includes the predominately maritime and dockworkers&rsquo; ILWU, based in San Francisco, has already issued a statement in support of the locked-out workers: 
 
&ldquo;Our solidarity goes to ILWU Boron miners and their families in particular who have suffered these attacks on the morning of January 31 for defending workers&rsquo; rights and refusing to capitulate to the bullying tactics of Rio whose agenda is to break the union in order to slash wages and benefits.&rdquo; 
The ICEM issued a statement on 1 February, stating that it will use its role as the leading Global Union Federation in the mining industry &ldquo;to alert trade unions around the globe, particularly those representing Rio Tinto workers, of the lockout and urge them to take action on behalf of ILWU Local 30.&rdquo; That full statement can be found <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/3599-ICEM-Pledges-Support-to-Locked-Out-Rio-Tinto-Workers-in-US-State-of-California">here</a>. 
 
And the ITF, on 5 February, in a message to the ILWU, said the &ldquo;lockout can be seen as the lowest reaction of the employer to a workforce that strives for dialogue &hellip; we acknowledge you and your families&rsquo; fight, your strength and courage to stand up together against a corporation that is doing all in its power to confront the workforce and weaken the union.&rdquo; 

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ILWU President Bob McEllrath said, &ldquo;We are going into a big battle, and it is going to be a long and hard fought one,&rdquo; in thanking unions which have already expressed support. 
Please visit Local 30's website <a href="http://boraxminers.com/index.html">here</a>.
A previous contract for ILWU Local 30 expired on 4 November 2009. On 29 January, management presented workers with a concessionary proposal with the orders to either accept it or face a lockout. On 30 January, all 500 union members who attended a union meeting to discuss the proposal rejected it. The company seeks unprecedented changes to workers&rsquo; seniority, shift and overtime assignments, and the manner in which promotions are made, as well as seeking unilaterally changes on flexibility that will allow it greater latitude to sub-contract jobs. 
 
The global mining house Rio Tinto posted pre-tax profits on US$16 billion in 2008. Rio Tinto Minerals, which also operates globally, is based in the US state of Colorado and the borax, or sodium borate mine in California is the world&rsquo;s second largest borates mine in the world, producing 42% of the world&rsquo;s refined borates compounds. 
 
The ICEM urges all affiliates and supporters to send protest letters to Rio Tinto, condemning the lockout. Click <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3600">here</a> for a model, paste the text onto your letterhead, and send to Rio Tinto CEO Albanese at <a href="mailto:tom.albanese@riotinto.com">tom.albanese@riotinto.com</a>, copied to <a href="mailto:joe.drexler@icem.org">joe.drexler@icem.org</a> and <a href="mailto:info@ilwu.org">info@ilwu.org</a>.

Rio Tinto Engaged in Savage Union Busting at California Borates Mine

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On 21 January, ICEM Colombian affiliate Union Sindical Obrera de la Industria del Petrolero (USO) presented demands to management of Schlumberger Surenco, the world's largest oilfield services corporation with operations in approximately 80 countries. The multinational has been operating in Colombia since 2001 with the state-run petroleum company, Ecopetrol, at the Casabe site, near Barrancabermeja, the country&rsquo;s most important refinery. 
 
Schlumberger has contracts with Ecopetrol at a majority of production sites in Colombia. 

<img src="" width="130" height="130" alt="" />
The company entered into bargaining with the USO negotiating committee on 3 February. USO will be aiming to improve conditions and salaries for workers at a global oil services company that posted operating revenues in 2008 totaled US$27.16 billion. 
 
The ICEM will continue to monitor these talks, and pledges full support to USO in achieving the best terms and conditions possible. 
 
Elsewhere regarding USO, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda last week sent a letter to Colombian President &Aacute;lvaro Uribe, calling on his government to improve security for trade unionists in Colombia. The letter follows yet another serious attack on USO President Germ&aacute;n Osman. Warda called on both the government and Ecopetrol to do more to guarantee the safety and rights of trade unionists and their families, in light of the continuing attacks by Colombian mafia groups such as the &ldquo;&Aacute;guilas Negras,&rdquo; or Black Eagles. 
 
Colombia has the reputation for being the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists, with 49 trade union leaders murdered in 2009 and 2,712 since 1986. The ICEM and Warda&rsquo;s letter in Spanish can be viewed <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1.ICEM.Col.Pres.Uribe..pdf">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM has a website dedicated to its work in Colombia, run by Colombia Coordinator Carlos Bustos. View that website here <a href="http://www.icemcolombia.com">www.icemcolombia.com</a>. Write to Carlos <a href="mailto:icemcol@hotmail.com">here</a>.

Colombia Oil Union USO Presents Demands to Service Provider Schlumberger

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The second ICEM, International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) survey on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) shows a continuing increase in the number of workers employed precarious contracts, despite an economic crisis that gripped many countries during 2009 and led to massive lay-offs of short-term contract workers. 
 
The result is surprising since it is generally the practice that CAL workers are the first to be made redundant when companies restructure, and could perhaps indicate that many companies who have begun hiring again are doing so with fixed-term or temporary workers. 
 
A total of 66% of ICEM and IMF affiliates that responded indicated that there has been an increase in temporary or part-time work in their sectors and in their countries in 2009. Only 22% of affiliates reported that they had seen a decrease, with a further 12% stating that there had been no change. This builds on information collected in 2008, when 88% of all ICEM affiliates stated that short-term and temporary employment increased over the past five years. Noteworthy is also the fact that quite a few unions signaled a sharp increase in precarious labour, with one in three ICEM affiliates indicating an increase of over 10% over the past year. 
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="95" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="100" height="97" /> 

Two-thirds of the ICEM and IMF affiliates who replied indicated that the wage and benefit gap between direct, permanently employed workers and CAL workers had increased over the last year as a result of the global economic crisis. This growing wage gap between permanently employed workers and contract workers seems to be more pronounced outside of countries in the OECD area. 
 
Another important factor is that unions are taking action against the proliferation of precarious jobs, with 40% of ICEM and IMF affiliates saying that they are already taking measures to avoid an increase in precarious work once the economy begins to improve. Another 39% are currently reflecting on how to take action on this issue. Only 14% indicated that they had not yet taken any action, and a mere 7% of affiliates stated that this is not a problem for them. 
 
Recruiting short-term or temp agency workers into unions remains a challenge, with only 28% of affiliates reporting that their union has more contract and agency worker members than it did last year. A full 37% of ICEM and IMF affiliates indicated that the amount of members employed as contract and agency workers had remained the same, and 35% said that there had been a decrease in membership of workers employed on a contract or agency basis. 
 
A total of 252 ICEM and IMF affiliates responded to the multilingual survey. Responses were received from all regions, with Africa, Asia, and Europe/Eurasia each being responsible for about one third of all responses. A further 8% of replies came from the Americas and 2% from the Asia-Pacific region. A more detailed visual representation of all the results is available <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ICEM-IMF%20survey%20results%20in%20graphics.pdf">here</a>.

Despite Recession, ICEM/IMF CAL Survey Shows Precarious Work Growing

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In Thailand, a 28 February deadline awaits for some two million migrant workers from Burma, Cambodia, and Laos to either register through a complex &ldquo;Nationality Verification&rdquo; process, or leave the country. The Royal Thai Government&rsquo;s Cabinet of Ministers issued this binding and unjust ultimatum on 19 January. 
 
But a groundswell of momentum, both inside and outside of Thailand, is taking shape to convince the government that this is a bad idea, considering alone that 80% of these workers are Burmese who face persecution and imprisonment on ethnic and political grounds if they return to Burma. For migrant workers who have valid 2009 Thai work permits, they will have to submit biographical information to their home governments by 28 February. For those who do not enter the &ldquo;Nationality Verification&rdquo; process, they will be deported. 
 
Since the early 1990s, Thai authorities have conducted a somewhat cumbersome, yearly, 30-day registration period in which illegal migrant workers register for a work permit, receive a one-year amnesty to work in Thailand, and then fill many jobs in a bustling economy that most Thai workers do not want. But now with last month&rsquo;s change, and in just five weeks time, migrant workers have been thrown into unsecure futures where exploitation and possible malicious job treatment await. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
The ICEM has joined Thai affiliated unions and NGOs in seeking to relax this ruling. Other Global Union Federations also are expected to take up the call. The ICEM stands behind the 170,000-member State Enterprise Workers&rsquo; Relations Confederation (SERC), the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, and other unions and NGOs who are working to repeal this rule. 
 
An ICEM letter to the Thai Prime Minister can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/10.prime.minister.thailand.pdf">here</a>, and ICEM also has written to ILO Director-General Juan Somavia and to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, under the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, calling the 28 February deadline impractical. 
 
From ICEM&rsquo;s Thai affiliates, and from the Migrant Justice Programme of the Human Rights and Development Foundation, the ICEM has learned that of tens of thousands of migrant workers in Thailand right now are living in fear, confused by the &ldquo;Nationality Verification&rdquo; process and concerned whether or not they will have to live and work underground. 
 
The ICEM is deeply concerned that unregulated labour brokers are already duping migrant workers in charging excessive fees to handle the filing process. Reports indicate that fees in the range of 6,000 to 7,000 Thai baht (&euro;130-150) are being charged, despite the official Thai processing fees for &ldquo;Nationality Verification&rdquo; being only a fraction of that. 
 
The ICEM is also disturbed that the Thai government has done little in public awareness to make the directive and the deadline known. This has only propagated the confusion and fear of migrant workers. 
 
And one fact underlines the entire Thai migrant policy resolution of 19 January: the overwhelming numbers of migrant workers employed in Thailand are Burmese and ethnic minorities from inside Burma. In many cases, registry with the military junta there, or expulsion from Thailand for failing to register altogether, is a sure ticket to persecution of Burmese workers if they are returned, or of family members if they are not.

Resistance Builds Against Thai Migrant Worker Expulsion

Tom Albanese 
 
CEO 
 
Rio Tinto plc 
2 Eastbourne Terrace 
London 
W2 6LG 
United Kingdom 
 
Fax: +44 (0)20 7781 1800 
 
<a href="mailto:tom.albanese@riotinto.com">tom.albanese@riotinto.com</a> 
 

Dear Mr. Albanese: 
 
We are writing to condemn Rio Tinto for the vicious attack on members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) at your mine in Boron, California in the United States. The lockout by Rio Tinto is clearly aimed at destroying the union and the community that has sustained the mine for over 90 years. 
 
Our union still remembers the successful ICEM campaign against Rio Tinto in 2000 that stopped your company&rsquo;s effort to destroy trade unions in Australia, U.S. and elsewhere. The damage to Rio Tinto&rsquo;s reputation still lingers, and it hard for any trade union to believe your claims about practicing sustainable development when you continue to attack trade unions and communities. 
 
Rio Tinto&rsquo;s insistence on having the right to dismiss some workers for any reason; award jobs at will to outside contractors; dismiss miners in dangerous occupations for refusing to work overtime; and discriminate against union supporters and older workers are in violation of the fundamental principles of the International Labor Organization. 
Norway's Government Pension Fund divested $850 million (USD) of Rio Tinto shares in 2008 due to your company&rsquo;s unethical practices which further damaged your company&rsquo;s reputation. It is apparent that Rio Tinto cares little for its standing among the investment community or the public. 
 
We fully support the ILWU and the campaign being launched by the ICEM against your company. We demand that you end this unjust lockout immediately and return to the bargaining table. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
 
Name of Union Officer ____________ 
 
Name of Union __________________

Letter of Condemnation of Rio Tinto Lock Out

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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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