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Global worker No1 2022

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Day eight of the strike by 6,000 members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) against four global tyre producers begins today with negotiations continuing. NUMSA and the New Tyre Manufacturing Employers&rsquo; Industry Association (NTMEIA) have been locked in a dispute since mid-August over pay, term of agreement, labour brokers and short-term contract workers, and other conditions of work. 
 
The four tyre companies affected include Bridgestone/Firestone, Continental, Goodyear, and Apollo-Dunlop. Bridgestone/Firestone and Continental had served notices of lockout to NUMSA prior to the strike. 
 
The employers&rsquo; association is seeking a three-year agreement, while NUMSA prefers a one-year deal. The two sides remain far apart on wages. NUMSA is seeking an 11% initial year increase while bosses have offered 8.5%, with the exception of Bridgestone which is offering 7%. Employers are offering a second-and third-year increase pegged at the consumer price index (CPI) plus 1%, or 5%, whichever is higher. 
 
If it is to agree on a three-year pact, NUMSA is insistent on year two containing either a 12% increase or CPI plus 2%, whichever is greater, and a third year increase of 14% or CPI plus 3%, whichever is higher. 
 
The union seeks consultation over all short-term or temporary employment contracts, as well as abolishment of all labour brokers in the South African tyre industry. It also wants direct temporary workers to be made permanent, full-time staff at six months of service. Other contentious issues include a 70% local content requirement regarding sourcing, premium pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and an adequate training pool and training to occur during work-time hours. 
<img alt="" src="" width="189" height="128" />
(Photo: International Metalworkers' Federation)
NUMSA and the NTMEIA have been negotiating since April 2010 on a renewal agreement to a three-year pact that expired on 30 June. 
 
On 1 September, NUMSA also launched a strike against both the Retail Industry Motor Association and the Fuel Retailers&rsquo; Association. Carrying out those strikes are 70,000 NUMSA members at garages, auto component shops, petrol stations, and various workshops and retail outlets that make auto components. 
 
Besides a 40-hour work-week, the union is seeking 15% across-the-board increases for notoriously low-paid workers in these areas, while the associations are offering only 6.6%. Already, one auto assembly plant, Volkswagen in Utinhage, has had to shut operations and send workers home due to a shortage of auto components. 
 
On 2 September, the ICEM sent affiliated NUMSA and its General Secretary, Irvin Jim (photo on site), a message of solidarity, stating, &ldquo;We have learned that your 6,000 members in the tyre industry, overwhelmingly at the multinational companies namely Bridgestone, Continental, Apollo-Dunlop, and Goodyear, as well as 50,000 members in the auto-supplier industries, are now striking following the failure of collective negotiations due to your rightful demands not being accepted by employers. 
 
&ldquo;On behalf of the whole ICEM family, I cordially salute the heroic strikes engaged by NUMSA and its members in both industries. I am also proud to announce our heartfelt solidarity and support to you. We have already alarmed our affiliated unions in those sectors throughout the world who are shoulder-to-shoulder with you.&rdquo; 
 
The strikes in all three South African auto-related industries come just two weeks after 31,000 NUMSA auto workers struck seven car makers affiliated to the Automobile Manufacturers Employers&rsquo; Association. That strike lasted eight days, until 19 August.

South Africa Tyre Strike Continues into Week Two

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US President Barack Obama has named United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard to the President&rsquo;s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations. The committee is a private sector initiative established by the US Congress in 1974 to ensure that US trade policy and trade negotiating objectives adequately reflect US commercial and economic interests. 
 
&ldquo;I am grateful to President Obama for the confidence he has shown in me, and I pledge to work closely with the Administration to help resolve some of the issues we face in maintaining a fair trading system among nations,&rdquo; said Gerard. The appointment was made on 15 September.
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The USW under Gerard&rsquo;s stewardship has been stalwart in protecting American jobs in the face of unfair trade advantages. Only last week, Gerard testified both before a House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee on legislation aimed at addressing China&rsquo;s unfair trade advantages because of its currency undervaluation, and before the US Federal Trade Commission on dumping of coated paper products into the US by China and Indonesia.

Obama Names USW’s Leo Gerard to American Trade Policy Panel

Global Unions have released a set of principles to protect the rights of workers by focusing on the impact of temporary employment agencies on employment. The principles address both the exploitation and abuse of workers provided by temporary work agencies as well as the damage to regular employment relationships caused by the misuse of these agencies. 
 
In recent decades, the use of temporary agencies to supply workers has exploded all over the world, spreading also to sectors and occupations that had previously depended on directly employed workers. Not only do temporary agency workers typically receive lower pay and fewer benefits, when the financial crisis rapidly became an employment crisis, temporary agency workers were among its first victims. Many companies simply terminated their contracts with temp agencies so that the workers did not receive the minimum compensation or social benefits that they would have received as direct employees. 
 
The expansion of temporary agency labour, together with other forms of temporary, casual and precarious employment, has been promoted by international organisations like the World Bank, the IMF and the OECD as &ldquo;labour market flexibility.&rdquo; It has contributed to a general erosion of workers' ability to exercise their rights to join trade unions and bargain collectively with their employers, thereby posing a major challenge to the labour movement. These principles seek to address that challenge. 
 
Although there are varying approaches taken by trade unions in different countries and sectors to dealing with temporary employment agencies, ranging from total bans to partial bans to strict regulation, all Global Unions have reached agreement on a number of key principles. 
 
They include: 
 
1.) the primary form of employment should be permanent, open-ended and direct; 
2.) agency workers should be covered under the same collective bargaining agreement as other workers in the user enterprise: 
temporary agency workers should receive equal treatment in all respects; 
3.) the use of temporary agencies should not increase the gender gap on wages, social protections, and conditions; 
4.) temporary work agencies must not be used to eliminate permanent and direct employment relationships; and 
5.) the use of agency workers should never be used to weaken trade unions or to undermine organising or collective bargaining rights. 
 
The Global Unions&rsquo; principles also emphasise the special dangers for migrant workers, who are often engaged by temporary agencies or other intermediaries. Abuses of migrant workers supplied by agencies are all too common. They include the denial of trade union and other human rights, human trafficking, confiscation of passports, deceptive practices with respect to wages and working conditions, and the denial of legal redress in the countries in which they work. 
 
Governments are called on to seriously address the problems of workers supplied by temporary agencies through legislation that defines the employment relationship and ensures that triangular, or indirect, employment does not result in any loss of rights or social protections. Governments are urged to pay special attention to occupational health and safety hazards faced by agency workers and to strengthen labour inspection, so that laws are properly implemented and respected. 
 
Manfred Warda, General Secretary of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) and chair of group which developed the principles for the Council of Global Unions (CGU), stated: &ldquo;The Global Unions agreement on Principles on Temporary Work Agencies will lead to better collective action by the international trade union movement. 
 
&ldquo;Global Unions are rightly focusing on the rights of contract and agency workers and on the impact of precarious employment, a growing practice that is one of the primary reasons for the widespread violation of rights and growing inequalities among workers in our societies. Workers dispatched by temporary work agencies all suffer from the lack of a direct employment relationship with the very employer that controls their work and determines their working conditions. 
 
&ldquo;If we want more, rather than less social justice, this issue must become a priority not only for trade unions, but for governments and employers throughout the world.&rdquo; 
 
For the full text of &ldquo;Global Union Principles on Temporary Work Agencies,&rdquo; click <a href="/en/73-Contract-and-Agency-Labour/3861-Global-Union-Principles-on-Temporary-Work-Agencies">here</a>. 
 
&ldquo;Global Unions&rdquo; is a term for Global Union Federations (GUFs), which represent national trade unions by sector and occupation, together with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD, which represent national trade union centres (multi-sectoral).For more information on Global Unions, visit its site <a href="http://www.global-unions.org">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
For further information, contact Fons Vannieuwenhuys, ICEM, <a href="mailto:fons@icem.org">fons@icem.org</a>, +32 2 224 0341 or +32 473 18 6770 (mobile); or Jenny Holdcroft, International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), <a href="mailto:jholdcroft@imfmetal.org">jholdcroft@imfmetal.org</a>, +41 22 308 5034 or +41-79-616 0103 (mobile).

Global Unions Adopt Set Principles on Temporary Agency Work

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At the Fifth Congress of the Mining and Metallurgical Trade Union of Kyrgyzstan (MMTUK) in Bishkek on 3 June, the union&rsquo;s Central Committee reported grave safety conditions in both mining and metal operations. The committee said the number of accidents continues to grow yearly, and cautioned its report does not give the full picture since inspections were only carried out in and around 34 union-represented installations. 
 
MMTUK&rsquo;s technical labour inspection has investigated 111 accidents over the past few years, and found a total of 525 violations. The Central Committee said that between 2005 and 2009, the number of industrial accidents in which persons were injured or killed increased five-fold.
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It said that number most probably is much higher if inspections were to be done in workplaces without the presence of a union. The union&rsquo;s statistics also did not take into account illnesses brought on by occupational disease. 
 
MMTUK said four workers died in its operations in 2009. It also said that antiquated equipment was a partial reason for the increased accident reason, and also reported that one-third of all the accidents that the union investigated occurred in road-traffic accidents involving industrial transport. 
 
The Congress also noted that despite several trans-national companies taking up operations in Kyrgyzstan, the global financial crisis, as well as the social, political, and economic upheaval inside the Central Asian country, has caused deteriorating work conditions. 
 
In April, citizens&rsquo; unrest forced the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyey and since, civil strife has been a regular occurrence in the southern part of the country.

Mining, Metallurgical Union of Kyrgyzstan Reports Upsurge in Safety Mishaps

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The Hungarian Labour Inspectorate levied a fine recently against Hankook Tyre Magyaroszag Kft. for obstructing the duties and activities of a branch of ICEM-affiliated Federation of Chemical, Energy, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (VDSZ). Although the fine was small in monetary amount, &euro;3,646, it was significant in the fact that Hankook, at its burgeoning tyre factory in Dunaujvaros, has proven again its unwillingness to accept a trade union. 
 
According to VDSZ President Tam&aacute;s Sz&eacute;kely, Hungary&rsquo;s labour agency fined Hankook for refusal to allow lawful entry to the plant of a VDSZ official and a member of the company&rsquo;s supervisory council. Management then refused to recognise the capacity of the union leader.
<img src="" width="166" height="221" alt="" />
&nbsp;VDSZ President Tam&aacute;s Sz&eacute;kely 
 

The violation comes on top of other breaches of Hungarian labour law, as well as European Union statutes. When the factory at Dunaujvarous started up in June 2007, low pay, excessive overtime, and a forced six-day work-week made the then 800 workers turn to the VDSZ Tyre Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union for representation. 
 
Management would not recognise the union and even after a labour tribunal granted certification, the company appealed the decision through the courts. The company interrogated workers on their lawful right to join VDSZ and illegally dismissed union activists. Ultimately, Hungarian jurisprudence fully recognised the union, but that did not stop Hankook from interfering with union involvement in formation of a European Works Council (EWC). 
 
VDSZ proved successful in EWC elections, but the most recent Labour Inspectorate fine proves the Korean-based company still is not ready for the European-style social model, despite the fact that the European Commission funds totaling &euro;100 million were used in start-up of the Dunaujvaros factory. A Hankook spokeswoman said the company will appeal the latest fine. 
 
Meanwhile, Hankook, the world&rsquo;s seventh largest tyre manufacturer which is 10% owned by Michelin, is preparing to increase its Hungarian workforce from the current 1,250 to 2,000 by next year. The company plans to double tyre production at Dunaujvaros to 30,000 tyres per day. The company in late May won an exclusive supply contract with Volkswagen to produce tyres for all models of vehicles. In March, it signed a development contract with BMW that the company expects will lead to a supply contract. 
 
Hankook has faced numerous labour battles in its home country, specifically with the Korean Metalworkers&rsquo; Union two years ago at its ASA aluminum wheel subsidiary in Guemsam, South Chungcheong Province.

Hankook Tyre in Hungary Fined for Impeding Union Activities

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Two ICEM Belgian affiliates and members of the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (CSC/ACV) consummated a merger Congress in the city of Gent on 5 June. CSC/ACV Energy and Chemicals Union and CSC/ACV Construction Union merged to create a stronger union structure representing 284,000 Belgian workers.
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="59" />
The union will be known in French as CSC B&acirc;timent-industrie &amp; &Eacute;nergie (CSC-BIE), while its Flemish name is ACV Bouw-industrie &amp; Energie (ACV-BIE). The merged union will cover workers in many sectors, including construction, chemicals, gas, electric, and oil, graphical and paper, pharmaceutical, wood products, leather, and even hairdressing and beauty fitness.
<img alt="" src="" width="180" height="120" />
Vice President Alfons De Potter and President Luc Van Dessel&nbsp; 

The prior president of the Construction Union, Luc Van Dessel, was elected President and Alfons De Potter, previously the President of the Energy and Chemicals Union, was elected Vice President. De Potter will continue in his role as a member of the ICEM Presidium, and two of the newly-elected National Secretaries of the merged union, Justin Daerden and Franćois Laurent, will also remain active in ICEM structures.
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="143" />
Newly elected leadership of ACV-BIE/CSC-BIE
The merger Congress was a celebratory event, with song and dance throughout. It also contained an overview of the union&rsquo;s new statutes. CSC/ACV Confederation President Luc Cortebeeck delivered a video speech from Geneva, where he was attending the 99th Session of ILO&rsquo;s International Labour Conference. ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda also attended the congress.
The new union will have 15,000 elected shop-floor delegates.

CSC Chemicals and Energy, Construction Unions Merge in Belgium

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The ICEM affiliate in Peru, the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (FNTMMSP), have ended a 10 day strike at Chinese-owned iron ore miner Shougang Hierro Peru and accepted a deal proposed by Ica region's labour department (DRTI). Acting as arbitrator to the dispute, the DRTI proposed a 3.1 sol (US$1.10) per day raise for the 1,600 mineworkers and a 93 sol (US$35) per month increase for non-mineworkers, as well as a one-time bonus of 1,000 soles. 
 
The original proposal, made by the national Ministry of Labour, offered workers a one-time bonus of 900 soles, as well as a wage increase of 87 soles for non-mineworkers and 2.9 soles for miners. Rejecting this offer, workers began an indefinite strike on 28 June. Operations at the Marcona mine were also halted in March as a result of a three-day strike by workers, see ICEM report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3697-Peru’s-Doe-Run-Miners-Reach-Agreement-Ending-Strike">here</a>. 
 
Shougang is Peru's only iron ore producer, output in the first quarter of 2010 was 1.47 million tonnes, a 45.4% increase on last year. 
 
The strike, halting production, caused the company major losses and Shougang was forced to declare force majeure on iron ore shipments. 
<img alt="" src="" width="160" height="120" />
FNTMMSP General Secretary, Luis Castillo Carlos
Elsewhere in Peru&rsquo;s mining industry, US-owned Doe Run continues to refuse to restart operations at the polymetallic smelter in the town of La Oroya, as a 27 July deadline approaches. Before restarting operations, the company is asking for flexibility to pay taxes and fines, as well as modification of a 1997 privatization agreement that would protect the firm and its parent company from environmental lawsuits abroad. 
 
Doe Run Peru also requested the government to delay application of environmental standards at the La Oroya complex. The area is described as one of the most polluted areas in the world. 
 
While the company continues to dodge government demands, workers have been without work. One possible solution considered by Doe Run Peru is to relocate operations entirely, this would decimate the economy in La Oroya and neighbouring Junin region, and Doe Run Peru workers will not accept relocation plan. 
 
Doe Run Peru is an affiliate of the New York-based Renco Group.

Peru’s Shougang Mineworkers End Strike, Achieve Wage Gains

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ICEM Brazilian affiliate, Confedera&ccedil;&atilde;o Nacional do Ramo Qu&iacute;mico (CNQ/CUT), at its 6th congress, elected Antenor Eiiji Nakamura, of the Chemical Workers Union of S&atilde;o Paulo, known affectionately as &lsquo;Kazu&rsquo; to the position of National Coordinator. CNQ Congress was held from 28 June to 2 July in Recife. 
 
The unanimity of the vote was important for Kazu who praised the internal unity of the CNQ, even more significant as the 1 July Congress was the organisation&rsquo;s largest in terms of number of participants. 
 
Kazu, elected for the period 2010-2013, identified expansion of the organisation as a key challenge now. 
<img alt="" src="" width="182" height="219" />
CNQ/CUT National Coordinator, Antenor Eiiji Nakamura
Antenor Eiiji Nakamura, Kazu, began political participation in the Ministry of Youth in the East Zone of S&atilde;o Paulo. He participated in the student movement while studying Philosophy at University, and working in the chemical industry. Joining the union in 1988, he moved on to head the Department of Education and International Relations at CNQ-CUT. 
 
In total, the CNQ-CUT leadership is made up of 39 activists; this list was confirmed by Congress, also for the term of 2010-2013. ICEM Vice-President Sergio Novais was elected as treasurer.
<img alt="" src="" width="279" height="186" />
Photos - Dino Santos 
 
The congress debated a host of issues from international trends to the national situation which is marked by the elections scheduled for later in the year. CNQ sectors were analysed in detail together with the production chains. In addition there was an in-depth discussion of the paper, oil and pharmaceuticals industries, which are currently booming in Brazil. Other topics that were debated were trade union structures and organisation, contract and agency labour, reductions in working time, health and safety, profit sharing, corporate social responsibility, gender and race relations and youth. A special publication was presented on women which includes research on the profile of women workers in the chemical industry in five Brazilian states. The publication was sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES). 
CNQ/CUT is the largest industrial trade union federation in Brazil, representing workers in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, rubber, glass, ceramics, and other process manufacturing sectors. 
 
In the framework of these visits to Brazil, ICEM General Secretary made a stopover for talks with BASF management in order to get social dialogue with the workers&rsquo; regional network back on track.

Brazilian CNQ-CUT Elects New Leader

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The ICEM French trade union affiliate, the Federation of Chemical and Energy Workers (FCE-CFDT) Union, elected Jean-Fran&ccedil;ois Renucci to the post of General Secretary, with the 48 year-old succeeding Patrick Pierron, who&nbsp;served seven years as General Secretary. 
 
Jean-Fran&ccedil;ois Renucci was unanimously proposed by the union&rsquo;s Federal Executive and subsequently elected by the Federal Steering Committee. Renucci began in his new role on 1 June, as the federation&rsquo;s third general secretary. 
 
The FCE-CFDT has described their new General Secretary as a dedicated trade unionist, with the necessary determination and experience to lead the trade union action of the federation, during turbulent financial conditions, globalisation, and ever-changing social conditions. 
<img alt="" src="" width="197" height="222" />
Jean-Fran&ccedil;ois Renucci
Jean-Fran&ccedil;ois has identified social dialogue as the key in the effort to improve conditions and rights of workers, individually and collectively. According to the new general secretary, collective bargaining is the only way to ensure fair treatment of employees in small, medium, and large sized companies. Jean-Fran&ccedil;ois has been involved in negotiating collective agreements in all sectors and at all levels, local, national and international, and he has consistently identified mutual respect, trust and confidence as key factors to success of collective bargaining. 
 
Jean-Fran&ccedil;ois has made communication and participatory debate a priority for effective decision making, and the internal democracy of the federation. He hopes that in changing the general secretary, the organisation will not change its line or direction, but will give a renewed impetus to continue to implement decisions agreed collectively. 
 
The ICEM salutes and thanks outgoing Patrick Pierron, and congratulates Jean-Fran&ccedil;ois Renucci.

Jean-François Renucci Becomes FCE-CFDT General Secretary

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The negative impacts of the Thai government&rsquo;s unjust National Verification process continue to hit Burmese migrant workers in the country, as they are deported to Burma and suffer human rights abuses at the hands of Burmese ethnic militia, Thai officials and numerous brokers. 
 
The ICEM supports calls for an independent investigation into the claims, to be headed by the United Nations, especially in light of Thailand holding the Presidency of the UN Human Rights Council currently. The allegations are very grave indeed, with mentions of torture, forced labour and systematic corruption. 
 
Migrant workers from Burma in Thailand make up 5-10% of the Thai labour force. 
 
According to fresh reports, Burmese migrants who are arrested by Thai officials are transported to a checkpoint on the Thai-Burmese border, on the Moei River, known as &ldquo;Gate Zero&rdquo;. The checkpoint is controlled by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a proxy militia of the Burmese regime. 
<img src="" width="250" height="115" alt="" />
In the weeks since the National Verification order was issued, thousands of migrant workers have been arrested throughout Thailand and sent by police bus to Mae Sot, where their personal details are recorded and they are deported by boat across the river to Gate Zero. 
 
Upon arrival at Gate Zero the DKBA demands 1,200 baht (US$37) for a deported person's release, and offers a return trip to Bangkok for 10,000 baht. 
 
Local labour activists believe the proceeds from these fines are shared between the DKBA, brokers and Thai officials. 
 
The fine is huge for migrant workers, and many are unable to pay. In these cases, the worker&rsquo;s family is informed of the need to pay the release money, with the worker detained and in some cases tortured.

Burmese Migrant Workers in Thailand Suffer Gross Human Rights Abuses at Border

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