English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Sappi paperworkers at a Belgian mill staged a 24-hour strike on 5-6 July in protest of the South African company&rsquo;s restructuring plan. The paper mill&rsquo;s 700 workers seek to persuade the company not to cut 123 jobs from the pulp and coated papers mill. 
 
Management at the Lanaken mill claims the restructuring is merely a costs-savings measure, while the unions see it as mass redundancies and forced dismissals. The unions will use social dialogue to argue that cost-cutting should not go beyond not replacing those who retire combined with a tightening on the number of fixed-term contract workers that Sappi utilises. 
<img height="102" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Preliminary talks between the unions and management will occur on 18 July, with social dialogue on the restructuring plan to take place in September.

Sappi Paperworkers in Belgium Strike over Proposed Job Cuts

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The United Steelworkers (USW) in America on 30 June selected Michelin&rsquo;s BF Goodrich tyre operations as the bargaining template in order to achieve a master rubber contract for 27,000 workers in North America. Talks with three major tyre producers, Michelin, Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber, and Bridgestone/Firestone (BSF), have already started. 
 
The current master labour agreement for the US tyre-making sector expires with all companies on 22 July, but the USW and the major tyre producers generally go beyond that deadline in negotiations. Smaller manufacturers in the US, such as Yokahoma, also follow the bargaining pattern. 
<img height="53" src="" width="100" alt="" />
USW represents some 4,000 Michelin workers at three BF Goodrich plants, while it covers 17,000 Goodyear workers at 12 plants and 6,000 BFS workers at eight tyre facilities. 
 
&ldquo;Significant in the selection of BF Goodrich is the fact that we believe that we can set an industry pattern that looks after our retirees, enhances job security and protects standard of living for our active and retired members,&rdquo; stated USW Lead Negotiator and Executive Vice President Ron Hoover.

Michelin Chosen for Tyre Bargaining Pattern in US Talks

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
US affiliate United Auto Workers (UAW) has successfully organised two PPG Industries auto-glass plants in recent weeks, and has a US government-conducted election scheduled at a third on 27 July. 
 
On 28 June, workers at a flat-glass plant in Evansville, state of Indiana, voted for UAW bargaining representation, and a week earlier, glass staff at a PPG factory in Crestline, state of Ohio, joined the UAW. The Evansville&nbsp;plant employs nearly&nbsp;400 workers, while the Crestline factory&nbsp;has 260 bargaining unit jobs. 
The UAW election on 27 July is at a PPG Industries plant in O&rsquo;Fallon, state of Missouri. The operation, a former Chemfil company worksite, produces metal and other fastenings for glass destined for the auto industry. The UAW currently represents workers at four American PPG plants and is active in the 16-union Joint Union Council of PPG Industries in North America.

UAW in US Succeeding in Organising Auto-Glass Factories

The campaign to totally ban all forms of asbestos took a leap ahead last month when the Workers&rsquo; Group of the ILO Conference passed a decisive statement that all asbestos types, including white chrysotile, are cancer-causing. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s Mining/DGOJP Sector is currently initiating dialogue with mining affiliates on the correct path toward implementation of ILO Convention 162, the safety in the use of asbestos convention. This is in accord with the four-year work plan established at the ICEM&rsquo;s Mining and DGOJP World Conferences in 2004. 
<img height="94" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Last month&rsquo;s resolution at the annual ILO Conference states &ldquo;that the elimination of the future use of asbestos and the identification and proper management of asbestos currently in place means to protect workers from asbestos exposure and to prevent future asbestos-related diseases and deaths.&rdquo; It also supports elimination on any future use of the product, and calls for renewed efforts toward ratification by countries of ILO Conventions 162 and 139, the latter related to occupational cancer. 
 
The resolution was boosted some two weeks before its 14 June ILO passage when France became the 40th country to ban future asbestos use. South Africa, a leading mining nation, also is close to passing a complete ban on white asbestos mining, something Zimbabwe&rsquo;s government is fiercely resisting due to sizeable exports of the product to South Africa. 
 
Major producing countries of white chrysotile asbestos include Canada, Russia, Brazil, China and Zimbabwe. The amphibole asbestos types, blue amosite asbestos and brown crocidolite asbestos, are proven to cause asbestos-related respiratory diseases and are banned under World Health Organisation guidelines.

ILO Workers’ Group Takes Strong Stand on Asbestos Ban

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The sad reminder that the safety of trade union leaders is still not secure in South Africa was brought home when National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Branch Chairperson Elias Malaudzi was assassinated after leaving work on 3 July. 
 
Malaudzi, 46, was the NUM chairperson of Goldfields&rsquo; Driefontein gold mine in Carletonville, a worksite which has seen two previous union leaders killed by violent acts. Comrade Malaudzi has been credited by the NUM with playing a pivotal role in making his branch &ldquo;one of the most united structures, and the biggest branch in the Carletonville region.&rdquo; The husband and father was stopped by an armed man, who shot him in the head, and then once in the chest as he fell. 
<img height="60" src="" width="100" alt="" />
A 26-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal, who does not work at the mine, was apprehended soon after the murder. Comrade Malaudzi was a community leader in Carletonville area, serving as a town councillor. 
 
&ldquo;It is important that all of our members, and workers in general, at the mine remain calm in this face of tragedy,&rdquo; said NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni. &ldquo;Serious concerns were raised about the fact that another union leader from the same mine was once more killed by an unknown Zulu-speaking person. 
 
&ldquo;The union is concerned that these sentiments could invoke tribal and factional emotions that may be deep-seated in the area,&rdquo; added Baleni. &ldquo;We hope that the Goldfields management will play their part in this regard, too.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM backed Baleni&rsquo;s call for calmness in a letter sent to the NUM, further expressing condolences to the union and to the family of Comrade Malaudzi.

NUM Leader Gunned Down in Senseless South African Act

<img height="112" alt="" src="" width="300" />
<a name="back"></a><a name="back"></a>
The ICEM teamed with NOPEF, Norway&rsquo;s dominant oil workers&rsquo; union, to bring a set of highly successful workshops to women of Palestine&rsquo;s General Union of Petroleum, Mining and Chemicals Workers' Union. The Palestinian workshops occurred last month, 10-12 June,&nbsp;in&nbsp;neighboring Jordan.
Contents
&nbsp;<a href="#pal">1. Palestine &ndash; ICEM and NOPEF Hold Women&rsquo;s Training Session</a> 
<a href="#2">2. Botswana &ndash; ICEM African Women&rsquo;s Committee Meeting</a> 
<a href="#coun">3. Council of Europe &ndash; Inequality Has a Price</a>&nbsp; 
<a href="#3">4. Jordan &ndash; Women Workers are Discriminated Against</a>&nbsp; 
<a href="#4">5. Kuwait &ndash; Women Vote for the First Time</a> 
<a href="#5">6. Nepal &ndash; Third National Women&rsquo;s Conference Demands More Women&rsquo;s Representation</a> 
<a href="#6">7. Pakistan &ndash; Working Women Organization Protests Against 18th Century Laws in the 21st Century</a> 
<a href="#res">From our Readers</a> 
<a href="#8">8. Switzerland &ndash; Women Demand Equal Pay for Equal Work</a> 
<a href="#9">9. United Kingdom &ndash; Black Women are in Low Paid and Low-status Jobs</a> 
<a href="#10">10. United States &ndash; Goodyear Discriminates Against Women</a> 
<a href="#11">11. ILO: New Forms of Violence at Work Are on the Rise Worldwide</a> 
<a href="#12">12. Resources</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="pal"></a><a name="1"></a>
1. Palestine &ndash; ICEM and NOPEF Hold Women&rsquo;s Training Session&nbsp; 
 
From 10-12 June 2006, the ICEM organised training for women women workers who are members of the General Union of Petroleum, Mining and Chemicals Workers' Union of Palestine in Amman, Jordan.
The course provided training on women&rsquo;s health as well as collective bargaining. The aim is to develop women&rsquo;s leadership in the union. The point was mostly to understand how gender affects men and women differently in all areas of life, from privatization to health issues. 
 
Turid &Oslash;ygard from NOPEF made a presentation on women in Norway and their roles in unions and working life. She also led group work on democracy in trade unions. 
 
The women concluded that they needed more self-confidence and self-esteem. The intifada has influenced women. But women are able to fight and should be accepted as fighters. As a next step, the women seek to create more awareness among men on the role they are capable of fulfilling. 
<img height="230" alt="" src="" width="350" />
<a href="#back">Back Up</a> 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="2"></a>
2. Botswana &ndash; ICEM African Women&rsquo;s Committee Meeting 
The highlights of the meeting included the election of Baru Gaithoboge as vice-chair of the ICEM&rsquo;s African Regional Women&rsquo;s Committee. Baru&rsquo;s election will boost the representation of African women at ICEM events. Congratulations to Baru. 
The women reported that the general secretaries in Namibia and Zimbabwe were still resistant to forming joint ICEM women&rsquo;s structures. 
In Nigeria, the affiliated unions held a women&rsquo;s meeting in 2005 and are planning to hold another one in 2006. Ghana has embarked upon community development by training mineworkers&rsquo; wives. 
Fabian Nkomo, project coordinator for the shop steward development programme in Africa, reported on the project in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Tanzania. He said the project was supposed to increase the level of activity targeted toward women. Thus women would be enlisted to strengthen unions, not least of all in connection with dues payments. 
Thanks to Oluchi Okorie from NUPENG in Nigeria for providing this report! 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="2"></a>
3. Council of Europe &ndash; Inequality Has a Price <a name="coun"></a>
The Sixth European Ministerial Conference on Equality between Women and Men was held in Stockholm on 8-9 June 2006. The conference focused on the economic advantages that equality entails. 
According to the Swedish equality minister, economies in the most equal societies have higher growth rates. The highest cost to society is generated by domestic violence. 
Spanish figures show that violence toward women costs Spain &euro;2.4 billion a year, which entails hospital costs, psychological assistance, legal costs and work absenteeism. 
In Finland, inequality is estimated to cost &euro;17.4 per person. In the UK, inequality is estimated to cost each person up to &euro;555 per year in terms of health costs and social costs. UK authorities have calculated that if women participated in the labour market there to the same extent as men, the government would take in between &euro;22 billion and &euro;34.5 billion euros more per year. 
In Sweden, the argument is that women continue working after the birth of their children, which in turn yields more tax income to the government. This allows further investment in childcare, thus allowing more Swedish women to enter the workforce. In Sweden, 40% of women, however, work part-time, and that brings a dramatic effect to their pensions. With women on average living longer than men, they have less money available to them in retirement. 
For more information, see <a href="http://www.coe.int/equality-conference">www.coe.int/equality-conference</a>. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="3"></a>
4. Jordan &ndash; Women Workers are Discriminated Against
In Jordan, women workers are discriminated against and are often paid below the legal minimum wage, even with the recent increase in the minimum wage. 
The government increased the monthly minimum wage to US$142 in May to help defray higher costs of living due to higher fuel prices. Some women were earning only US$60 before the wage increase for working 10 to 12 hour days, and may continue to not be paid the full legal wage. 
This is due to the fact that women are &ldquo;reluctant to file lawsuits against employers for fear of retaliation,&rdquo; and also because of inadequate implementation of labour laws, according to the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions. 
Over 200,000 Jordanians in the workforce are women, the majority of whom come from impoverished families. Unemployment is almost 15%, and one-fifth of the 5.5 million people living in Jordan live below the poverty line.
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="4"></a>
5. Kuwait &ndash; Women Vote for the First Time 
Kuwait&rsquo;s first parliamentary elections in which women could vote were a victory for political reformists but a disappointment for female candidates, none of whom won a seat to the governing body. In total, 27 women ran in the recent elections. Women had won the right to vote and run for office last year. 
Female votes accounted for 57% of the electorate. Women turned out in large numbers to vote for the first time. Before women won the right to vote, members of Parliament had resisted granting them suffrage with the argument that it contradicted Islam. This year&rsquo;s elections were seen to be crucial, as they affected reforms and economic development programmes. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="5"></a>
6. Nepal &ndash; Third National Women&rsquo;s Conference Demands More Women&rsquo;s Representation 
Nepal&rsquo;s Parliament adopted a declaration setting the minimum for women&rsquo;s participation at 33% at all levels. Now the question is to implement this standard. 
At the Third National Women&rsquo;s Conference, the representative of the All Nepal Women&rsquo;s Association presented a road map for women&rsquo;s participation. The other thematic issues had to do with the changes in laws to prevent discrimination. 
GEFONT Deputy General Secretary and ICEM Vice President Binda Pandey presented a comparative analysis on programmes, achievements and challenges between the Second and Third National Women Workers&rsquo; Conferences. Altogether, 616 women from the rank and file attended this most recent conference. The conference outcomes will be used to develop policy. 
 
Women in Nepal earn NPR 80, while men earn NPR 100-150 (NPR 100 = US$ 1.36). The rates have been frozen for ten years. Men are said to be stronger, work harder and produce more, which is why it is possible to pay women less. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="6"></a>
7. Pakistan &ndash; Working Women Organization Protests Against 18th Century Laws in the 21st Century 
On 23 June, thousands of workers took to the streets all over Pakistan to protest against the amendments in labour laws that set minimum working time of 12 hour per day, and exclude piece rate workers from overtime payment. 
The Working Women Organization staged agitation and expressed their anger about workers&rsquo; poor conditions, shameful amendments to the laws and the violation of ILO standards. The changes in labour law will enable employers to exploit workers even more, and especially women workers who already have irregular work, long working hours, dangerous working conditions, very low wages and no right of organization. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="res"></a>
From our Readers: 
 
Jumana Jodi Dreraghmi from the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions writes that she is now using the methods she learned in the course. She divides people up into groups and everyone gives their views. She is preparing a meeting on 7 July to share what she learned from the Amman workshops with other Palestinian women. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
<a name="8"></a>
8. Switzerland &ndash; Women Demand Equal Pay for Equal Work 
 
Women in Switzerland called for the wage gap to be closed between women and men ten years after the equal opportunities law first came into force. The nationwide campaign is distributing cards shaped like 50-franc notes, which are depicted as being worth only CHF39, thus representing the reality of the workplace. 
Unia, an ICEM affiliate and the country&rsquo;s largest trade union, marked the campaign by calling on those in the retail sector to pay their female employees more. According to a study, women receive 12.7% less than their male colleagues, amounting annually to CHF1 billion. 
Unia reports that discrimination is also rampant in businesses that employ more than 2,500 employees. In 2004, women earned on average CHF4,781 gross per month, whereas the figure for men was CHF5,953, amounting to a difference of 19.7%. In 2002, that difference was 20.7%. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="9"></a>
9. United Kingdom &ndash; Black Women are in Low Paid and Low-status Jobs 
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) of the UK released a report entitled Black Women and Employment, which was originally presented at the Black Workers&rsquo; Conference in 2006. The report looks at the barriers black women face to gaining employment and then progressing in their jobs. 
The government, according to the report, must take initiatives to combat race and sex discrimination in employment. Facts reveal that black and minority ethnic women are more likely to be unemployed or economically inactive than any other group in the labour market. 
Black and minority ethnic women suffer from cultural stereotyping by employers that result in them having to take jobs at lower skills levels than match their qualifications. Also, black and minority ethnic women are disproportionately likely to be working in temporary jobs. 
The TUC believes that there is a need for concerted and coordinated action by government and trade unions through collective bargaining to eliminate race and sex discrimination in the labour market and in society, through legislative and community-based initiatives. 
The organisation and recruitment of black women is vital if future progress is to be made in addressing the problems that black women face in the workplace, and in encouraging increased participation in the trade union movement. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="10"></a>
10. United States &ndash; Goodyear Discriminates Against Women 
The US Labor Department has sued Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co., alleging hiring discrimination against hundreds of women who sought jobs in the late 1990s. The lawsuit seeks to force Goodyear to hire, pay back wages, and provide retroactive seniority and other benefits to the women who were denied employment. 
In 1998 and 1999, Goodyear followed a &ldquo;hiring process and selection procedures that discriminated against hundreds of female applicants for entry-level positions on the basis of gender,&rdquo; said the Labor Department in a statement. A spokesperson for Goodyear denied the charges and claims that Goodyear is working to resolve the matter. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="11"></a>
11. ILO: New Forms of Violence at Work Are on the Rise Worldwide 
Violence at work, ranging from bullying and mobbing, to threats to psychologically unstable co-workers, sexual harassment and homicide, is increasing worldwide and has reached epidemic levels in some countries. This is according to the ILO study, Violence at Work, Third Edition. 
The global cost of workplace violence is enormous and costs untold millions of dollars in losses due to absenteeism and sick leave, among other causes. It also notes that professions that used to be sheltered from workplace violence such as teaching, social services, library services and health care are being exposed to increasing acts of violence in both developed and developing countries. 
Bullying, harassment, mobbing and similar behaviour can be just as damaging as outright physical violence, according to the report. 
Today, the instability of many types of jobs places huge pressures on workplaces, leading to more such violence. In developing countries, the most vulnerable workers include women, migrants and children, according to the report. 
In Malaysia, 11,851 rape and molestation cases at workplaces were reported between 1997 and mid-2001. Widespread sexual harassment and abuse were major concerns in South Africa, Ukraine, Kuwait and Hong Kong, states the report. 
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="12"></a>
12. Resources: 
See <a href="http://www.payscale.com/">www.payscale.com</a> to compare your salary. 
 
ILO study on &ldquo;Decent Working Time: New Trends, New Issues,&rdquo; available at 
<a href="http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2006/28.htm">www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/ 
2006/28.htm</a> 
 
ILO study on &ldquo;Changing Patterns in the World of Work,&rdquo; available&nbsp;at 
<a href="http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc95/reports.htm">www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ 
ilc95/reports.htm</a>
<a href="#back">Back Up</a>

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 13

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Namibia (MUN) has scored an important victory for fixed-term contract workers at a diamond-cutting and polishing factory in the capital city of Windhoek. Last week, ICEM affiliate MUN successfully completed negotiations with the Namibian managers of Israel-based Lev Leviev Diamonds LLD. The agreement will make 356 mainly young workers into permanent employees, complete with rights and benefits. 
 
&ldquo;Workers are happy about the fact they have representation,&rdquo; MUN General Secretary Joseph Hengari told the ICEM. &ldquo;There have been many shortcomings in work procedures since this factory started and our duty now is to bring these technicalities to a close to the benefit of workers.&rdquo; 
<img height="237" src="" width="200" alt="" />
In late July, about a quarter of the workers at the Lev Leviev enterprise struck after they were given an ultimatum by managers to sign new 12-month-long individual contracts for the third time. Strike leaders contacted the MUN, whose intervention ended the strike and began collective negotiations with the company. 
 
MUN&rsquo;s involvement also proves beneficial to the company, which had been operating without knowledge of local laws, without a functioning human resources department, and without a proper method of salary calculations. In fact, one major grievance that led to the 27 July strike was the fact that individual contracts disqualified the workers from getting a basic salary unless they reached certain production quotas. 
 
MUN will soon become the official bargaining representative at the Lev Leviev plant. During two weeks of intense negotiations in August that covered a number of employment issues including salary and remuneration, MUN and the company agreed to make the 356 workers permanent effective 1 September. All 356 applied for membership to the MUN. In addition, another 56 were classified as trainees, but will progress from that status to permanent workers in the near future. The company also says it intends to bring another 120 trainees into the plant, with the aim of having a total of over 500 permanent workers. 
 
The diamond-cutting and polishing operation opened in mid-2004 and has a capacity to produce 25,000 carats of polished stones monthly. The factory currently is dependent on rough stones mined from another Lev Leviev enterprise, the Sakawa Mining Corporation of The Netherlands, located in offshore areas of southern Namibia. But the company is attempting to convince the Namdeb Diamond Corporation, the country&rsquo;s joint venture with DeBeers, to supply rough stones to the factory in order to fully promote local beneficiation of Namibian diamonds.

ICEM Namibian Affiliate Succeeds in Making Diamond Polishing Jobs Permanent

Nigerian oil workers&rsquo; unions NUPENG and PENGASSAN demand the immediate release of a comrade recently kidnapped in Bayelsa State. Nelson Ujeya, the Community Liaison Officer for Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd, a trade union member of white-collar PENGASSAN, was abducted on 8 August following an official visit to the Letugbene community to examine community projects. 
 
A NUPENGASSAN union communiqu&eacute; said the kidnapping occurred &ldquo;in the full glare of a team of senior Bayelsa State Government officials&rdquo; following the coordinated visit with officials to Letugbene. 
The two ICEM affiliates demanded in the statement &ldquo;that the Government and good people of Bayelsa should immediately produce our member whom they invited to a Community-related assignment.&rdquo; 
<img height="135" alt="" src="" width="130" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="126" alt="" src="" width="120" />
&ldquo;On our part, considering the escalation of kidnapping and other violent acts in the Niger Delta Region, we are under tremendous pressure to take action that will guarantee the safety of lives and properties of our members.&rdquo; 
 
In Nigeria, NUPENG and PENGASSAN have been consistent in the call for a stop to the senseless kidnappings of oil workers&rsquo; of any nationality, but also for state and federal governments, as well as oil industry enterprises, to do more inside Niger Delta communities. 
 
The two unions, operating under the aegis NUPENGASSAN, call for education and skill development, and other meaningful social protections that improve the quality of life in these oil-rich areas. The ICEM stands behind the efforts of NUPENGASSAN, and applauds their trade union voice on this extremely serious problem in the global oil industry.

Call for Release of Kidnapped PENGASSAN Member in Nigeria

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Two UK trade unions, the Transport &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union (TGWU) and Amicus, received a new pay offer last week after they issued a date for a one-day work stoppage. Pirelli of Italy increased its pay offer made to 1,100 tyre workers in the British Midlands to 3%, after attempting to force an unacceptable 2.2% raise on workers. 
<img height="50" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Workers and their union leaders at a Pirelli tyre plant in Carlisle and at another facility in Burton-on-Trent chose this coming Friday, 24 August, for industrial action. TGWU and Amicus members will now consider the offer in consultations. A Pirelli spokesman said the company was hoping to &ldquo;move forward from our national dispute&rdquo; to an agreement. 
 
The company offered 1.1% when bargaining began in April. Workers voted for industrial action by 75% after the company had revised the pay offer to 2.2%. TGWU represents most workers at the two Pirelli worksites, including the auto and light truck tyre plant in Carlisle.

Pirelli Heads Off UK Industrial Action with New Tyre Offer

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
In a meeting with French building materials company Imerys last week, British trade union Transport &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union (TGWU) asked the company to reconsider its plans to cut 800 jobs by the beginning of 2008 in Cornwall, Devon, and Lee Moor in the country&rsquo;s South West. 
 
TGWU said the job cuts, which would bring economic devastation to the region, are &ldquo;totally unjustified&rdquo; and said the company must give serious consideration to counter proposals put forward at the 15 August meeting. 
<img height="55" alt="" src="" width="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="62" alt="" src="" width="120" />
&ldquo;The company is in a strong position to have a bright future in Cornwall, and everything should be done to persuade them to stay,&rdquo; said TGWU National Secretary Jennie Formby. &ldquo;(Imerys has) a hardworking, long-serving workforce who deserve better than being dismissed with massive job cuts and a redundancy offer that will in no way compensate for their lost employment.&rdquo; 
 
Added Malcolm Mellow, TGWU Convenor at Imerys in the South West: &ldquo;Members have been rocked by the news that they will lose their jobs after devoting years of loyal service to Imerys. The workforce and their families deserve better.&rdquo; 
 
Imerys cut some jobs in the region in 2004, but promised then that the remaining 800 jobs would be secure. That pledge was breached early in July 2006 when a proposed restructuring plan surfaced saying the vast majority of jobs in kaolin mining and processing at former English China Clay operations would be lost, and the work transferred to Brazil. Imerys bought English China Clay in 1999. 
 
The ICEM is working with affiliate TGWU, as well as with UK affiliated trade union Amicus, which represents a smaller number of Imerys workers in the South West, to preserve the jobs and the region&rsquo;s economic viability.

UK’s TGWU Meets with Imerys to Dissuade Job Cuts

Archive