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In October 2009, Paperiliitto of Finland faced a re-opener inside a 22-month labour agreement. Then, the state of the Finnish pulp and paper industry was so depressed that employers were certain to seek deep concessions from the union&rsquo;s 20,000 members. 
 
Instead, Paperiliitto opted to let the collective agreement terminate and wait until spring 2010 to renew bargaining. Even though the industry is not much better off now than it was last year, that strategy has worked. In recent weeks, the union and the Finnish Forest Industries Federation came to agreement on a two-year contract that began 8 April and runs until 31 March 2012. 
 
The new agreement contains no concessionary items. In fact, several forward-looking contract language provisions have been inserted in the agreement. Finnish paperworkers will realize a modest 2010 wage increase of 0.5%. A second-year wage increase and possible further language modifications will be negotiated before 15 March 2011. 

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Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen
&ldquo;Paperiliitto&rsquo;s Union Council believes this new agreement creates a good foundation for Finnish employers to secure continuous production at the endangered mills and gives our members the job security they deserve,&rdquo; said President Jouko Ahonen. 
 
The new agreement contains five amendments intended to protect workers in terms of job security. One major aspect of the accord is creation of six labour-management sub-groups that will engage in continuous negotiations on select items. 

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Paperiliitto achieved trial language in the contract that makes alternative work due to injury or sickness to be non-compulsory, with any assigned alternative work subject to the individual employee&rsquo;s consent. A work-time bank was also established, thus opening flex-time scheduling at the local level through negotiations between Paperiliitto&rsquo;s chief shop stewards and mill management. And a prior, tentative provision from 2008 giving workers three-day sick leave without a medical certificate was made permanent, a precedent inside Finland. 
 
In ratifying the agreement last month, Paperiliitto&rsquo;s Union Council sounded warning to Finland&rsquo;s government that upcoming decisions on energy supply for the pulp and paper industry must be made with job retention in mind. As well, the Council noted, &ldquo;The government can secure raw material supplies to the forestry industry in a far better way than previously. Besides close cooperation between the government and social partners, timely measures are required to secure the sustainability of employment, growth, and public financing.&rdquo;

Paperiliitto Ratifies Improvements to Labour Accord in Finland’s Pulp, Paper Sector

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The ICEM German affiliate, IGBCE, accomplished substantive commitments for youth apprenticeship positions inside an 11-month national labour agreement with the chemical employers&rsquo; association, the BAVC. Those commitments will carry over for the next three years, and will mean another 27,000 young people will have career opportunities in Germany&rsquo;s keystone chemicals industry through apprenticeships. 
 
The 11-month length of the contract is a concession to chemical employers, with hopes that all 1,900 enterprises will regain solid financial footing before the IGBCE and BAVC resume bargaining for wage increases early in 2011. A wage freeze takes effect now for 550,000 workers, with ratification bonuses awarded instead. 

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IGBCE President Michael Vassiliadis
&ldquo;It is a good conclusion&rdquo; for the present, stated IGBCE President Michael Vassiliadis. &ldquo;It is fair considering the varying conditions in the industry and it helps build a bridge between the economic crisis and recovery.&rdquo; 
 
Foremost in the new accord is a social-partners commitment for life-long job opportunities for young people, which includes &euro;25 million in money provided by companies of the industry. The employers agreed to create 1,000 permanent jobs for young people in each of three years, with the fund used to subsidize companies at &euro;1,000 per month for each worker given a permanent position. 
 
The IGBCE negotiated the requirement that subsidies can only be given for workers that are IGBCE members. 
 
The ratification bonuses, to be included in workers&rsquo; salary pay checks this month, amount to &euro;550 for day-shift workers, &euro;611 for workers on five- or six-day swing shifts, and &euro;715 for night-shift and workers required to work across seven days per week. 

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Workers in enterprises that have not suffered due to the economic crisis will receive a further &euro;200 bonus on top of their stipends. For enterprises still facing difficulties, and with the consent of the respective European Works Councils, the overall bonus can be reduced, but not below &euro;300. 
 
Peter Hausmann, IGBCE Governing Board member, who heads the union&rsquo;s Collective Bargaining Department, said the new collective agreement reflects a stronger set of initiatives created by social partners for the industry. We have created &ldquo;new perspectives created for young people,&rdquo; as well as better job security provisions for existing workers, said Hausmann. 
 
The agreement was reached on 21 April in W&uuml;rzburg, following two days of national talks.

Youth Job Guarantees Won by IGBCE in German Chemicals Agreement

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Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s sustained attack on the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, was set back on 23 April, when a criminal court in the Federal District of Mexico dismissed a criminal complaint filed against Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia, the union&rsquo;s general secretary. 
 
The company&rsquo;s court case had accused the Los Mineros head of guilt in regard to financial irregularities during the creation and then dissolution of a workers&rsquo; trust. With Grupo M&eacute;xico alleging that $US 55 million had been embezzled by Los Mineros leadership, the court found this to be not true, with no evidence of any crime committed by the union. 

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Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez
The ICEM has repeatedly reported on Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s attempts to block the rights of its workers to organise and bargain collectively. As general secretary, Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia is forced to operate the union remotely from exile in Canada, and the 23 April decision in Court Number 32 acquits him of the only valid arrest warrant against him. 
 
The court decision needs ratification from the criminal division of the country&rsquo;s High Court of Justice, where the Attorney General will appeal. However, the ruling does have &ldquo;Res judicata,&rdquo; meaning that the decision is final and the defendant cannot be tried twice under the same charges. 
 
Since 2006, when the first criminal charges were made against him, the authorities together with Grupo M&eacute;xico have sustained judicial pressure through numerous cases and intricate legal disputes. 

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The ICEM is attending the 36th Congress of Los Mineros, starting today, Monday, 3 May in Mexico. One issue high on the agenda is the struggle of workers at the Cananea mine in Sonora State, where some 1,200 workers have been on strike since July 2007. As reported, Grupo M&eacute;xico has again teamed with the Mexican government to seek to end the strike, while the picket line has held firm. The Mexican Supreme Court recently backed Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s decision to close the mine. 
 
Los Mineros activists have refused to allow Cananea to be handed over to the company, and responded to the Supreme Court decision with a promise to destroy the mine if the authorities attempt to take it by force. &ldquo;We plan to burn it, if they attempt to force us out,&rdquo; stated Los Mineros spokesman Sergio Bultran. 
 
The ICEM, and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), participated in a demonstration outside the headquarters of Grupo M&eacute;xico in Mexico City on 23 April following a regional meeting of the IMF. The demonstration by some 300 mineworkers and others called on the company to come to the bargaining table to negotiate, and to resolve strikes at Sections 65, 201, and 17 of SNTMMSRM. 

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Demonstrators urged the company and the government not to violently move strikers out of Cananea. IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina was refused the right to deliver a letter to company Chairman and CEO German Larrea, or to any company official. The letter reiterating the support for joint ICEM/IMF affiliate Los Mineros, and the call for justice was finally delivered to a security guard at the front door. 
 
Raina criticised the company for refusing to meet. &ldquo;We are looking to Mr. Larrea, but they tell us they do not have time. Is it because they are counting their pesos or dollars?&rdquo;

Acquittal for Los Mineros General Secretary Napoleón Gómez

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The page was visibly turned in Turkey on 1 May as 150,000 workers marched from three directions into Taksim Square in Istanbul, marking the first time in 33 years that the historic square was officially open for Workers&rsquo; Day. May Day was officially designated as a workers&rsquo; holiday by Turkey&rsquo;s government in 2009, and with it came reopening of the symbol that marks Turkish worker rights &ndash; Taksim Square. 
 
It was on &ldquo;Bloody May 1&rdquo; of 1977 that 37 workers were killed celebrating May Day in Taksim and a few years later, the military banned demonstrations inside Taksim. Only two years ago, in 2008, small groups of trade union leaders attempted to assemble there. They were met by tear gas and police force. Over 500 were arrested. 

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Photo: Mac Urata/ITF
This year was different. On Saturday, a festive mood prevailed, with many speakers remembering the fallen of 33 years ago. 
Mustafa Kumlu, President of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (T&Uuml;RK-İŞ), President of the Turkish Electricity, Water, and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union (Tes-İş), and an ICEM Executive Committee member, spoke: &ldquo;We remember the friends we lost from the depths of our hearts. We rejoice in the fact that Taksim Square has been opened, and we thank our friends who struggled for this cause.&rdquo; 
 
A day before the celebration, the global unions came together in Istanbul to discuss the current state of trade union rights inside Turkey and to share experiences. According to ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, the meeting is certain to increase coordination for Turkish trade unions by global union federations. 

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Photo: Mac Urata/ITF 
&ldquo;The global unions explained their strategies for boosting solidarity, while their Turkish trade union affiliates put forward their successful campaigns through the support of the international organizations,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The end result will be more joint activities, more joint campaigns, with the struggle for full workers&rsquo; rights in Turkey defined as a priority by the global union movement. 
 
Participating in the day-long meeting, besides the ICEM, were the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Education International (EI), International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF), International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), the International Union of Food and Allied Workers&rsquo; Association (IUF), Public Services International (PSI), and Union Network International (UNI).

Istanbul’s Taksim Square Reopens on May Day; Global Union Conference Held

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Four members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) will travel from Australia to Zug, Switzerland, this week to make their voices heard before shareholders of Xstrata, the global mining company with a dual base in Zug and London. The CFMEU, to be assisted by the ICEM, will be at Xstrata&rsquo;s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 5 May. 
 
CFMEU will contrast the 41% pay increase given to CEO Mick Davis with the aggressive demands made on coal miners in the profitable collieries of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. Davis saw his annual salary jump in 2009 to US$7.75 million from US$5.5 million in 2008. 
 
At the Tahmoor colliery in New South Wales, Xstrata used a week-long lockout in February in efforts to force mineworkers to take unfair concessions. Some 300 miners there have been without a collective enterprise agreement for nearly 14 months. Miners are preparing to take further industrial action by mid-May if conciliation efforts by Fair Work Australia do not succeed. 

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The union has also protested against unfair staff cuts at the Ulan and Bulga mines in New South Wales. At Bulga, a three-year enterprise agreement between CFMEU and Xstrata did come into effect this spring, but not without protests and resistance to the company&rsquo;s attempt to rollback language that was consistent with former Prime Minister John Howard&rsquo;s draconian WorkChoices laws. 
 
Xstrata also has tried to weaken working conditions at its Newlands, Oaky Creek, Rolleston, and Togaro North coal mine in Queensland. In NSW, the CFMEU is also resisting Xstrata and its attempt to return to Howard&rsquo;s individual work agreements at the Liddell and Glendell mines. 
 
CFMEU Mining and Energy Vice President Wayne McAndrew said Xstrata&rsquo;s coal mining operations in Australia are some of the company&rsquo;s most profitable worldwide. &ldquo;Yet one quarter of Xstrata&rsquo;s Australian coal mining operations currently face industrial disputes or unrest because of the company&rsquo;s anti-worker stance.&rdquo; 
 
McAndrew, who will be accompanied to Zug by Tahmoor miner Lee Webb, Newslands miner Ben Davison, and CFMEU Northern NSW District President Grahame Kelly, added, &ldquo;Xstrata is a company that is engaging in activities that are harming the future profits of the company and this has the potential to affect its overseas mergers and acquisitions.&rdquo;

CFMEU to Take Australia Coal Dispute to Xstrata’s AGM

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The ICEM this week will be on-site to investigate freedom of association and trade union violations in Georgia on behalf of the ICEM affiliate, the Metallurgical,&nbsp;Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of the Central Asian country. The union and its national labour centre, the Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC), are in a serious confrontation with managers at Zestafoni Ferroalloys Plant and the Georgian Manganese mines in nearby Chiatura. 
 
A representative&nbsp;majority of the 6,000 workers at the Chiatura mines and&nbsp;ferroalloy smelter in the western Georgian city of Zestafoni staged a three-day&nbsp;strike from 23-25 April. Their demands are for recognition of the free and democratic Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Imereti Region, a branch of the Tbilisi-based union, and a halt to horrid working conditions and blatant management harassment and intimidation of scores of trade union members. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan will meet with union leaders on 5 May to get a listing of a multitude of work rights infractions and intervention with the parent company and Georgian government likely will follow. A majority of the stock ownership of both enterprises is held by privately-held, London-based Stemcor Holdings, a global steel-producing, marketing, and distribution firm that has its roots in the Oppenheimer family of businesses. 
 
Managers at Zestafoni Ferroalloys refused to renew labour agreements after 31 March, in part because the union has won the allegiance of an overwhelming number of miners at Georgian Manganese in Chiatura, who seek to replace a company-dominated &ldquo;yellow&rdquo; union. The Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Union was democratically established at the set of eight open cast and underground mines in October 2009. 

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Workers' strike, 23-25 April
In the days leading up to the warning strike, off-site meetings between smelting-plant workers and miners in both Zestaponi and Chiatura were watched over by managers, with photos taken and threats of violence made against those attending. At one meeting, attended by Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Union President Tamaz Dolaberidze and leaders of the GTUC, the company&rsquo;s security director attempted to provoke a melee by grabbing a union activist outside the meeting hall. 
 
And at the Itkhvisi mine, manager Nugzar Jokhadze physically attacked Merab Yakobidze, one of nine strike committee leaders. Despite these blatant and cowardly acts, the involvement of workers and miners has steadily increased as the dispute escalates. 
 
The Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Imereti Region demands immediate recognition, resumption of meaningful bargaining, and permanent work contracts. Strike committee Chairman Goga Bregvadze said the union&rsquo;s demands also include improvements to occupational safety and health equipment and updating of medical facilities; transparent rules on hours of work, days off, public holidays; protective clothing and boots; and sanitary break areas and safe food to eat. 
 
The Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Union demands a sizeable salary increase, and establishment of a minimum salary at the mining complex. The union also demands reinstatement and back compensation for two union activists, Giorgi Giorgidze and Shakro Bregvadze, who were sacked for their trade union activities. 
 
Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia, together with the GTUC, is prepared to launch further and extended strike actions if these demands are not met. Such a strike would receive global labour support. 
 
The GTUC has filed a complaint with the ILO Committee of Freedom of Association over the blatant violations at the Zestafoni Ferroalloys Plant and the Georgian Manganese mines, a petition supported by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). 
 
The ICEM will join the fight for the legitimate workplace rights of staff at these two combined enterprises. Before departing for Georgia early today, Warda contacted International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) General Secretary Jyrki Raina to inform him of the situation. Raina extended the full support and solidarity of the IMF to the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical&nbsp;Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union.

Miners, Metalworkers Not Intimidated by Georgian Manganese Managers

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A week-long blockade by several hundred contract workers at Chile&rsquo;s third largest copper mine ended 12 May, but issues remain unresolved. The blockade, takeover of equipment and operations, and reported kidnappings of direct employees at the Collahuasi mine in northern Region I ended only when Special Forces of the Chilean police arrived to break up the strike. 
 
The contract workers then took the strike 180 kilometres to the west to the town of Iquique. Negotiations to resolve the dispute had been ongoing with the Tarapac&aacute; governor, and reports circulate that talks would again start today. Collahuasi, which is 44% owned by Xstrata, 44% by AngloAmerican, with the rest held by Japanese investors connected to Mitsui &amp; Co., declared force majeure on 10 May. 

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The mining enterprise said it suspended production then because of the on-site takeover, but began operating again on 12 May. Collahuasi employs 2,000 direct employees, while another 4,000 work for some scores of sub-contractors. 
 
Collahuasi is currently in the first phase of a US$750 million expansion and reports linked the contract workers to a Chilean engineering firm involved in that expansion. Their strike and blockade is over demands that include on-site housing similar to that of direct-employed staff, and bonuses for successfully concluding wage negotiations in April. 
 
The strike and blockade began 7 May. Copper prices on the London Metals Market rose slightly due to the shutdown. The Collahusi mine provides 3.3% of the world&rsquo;s copper supply, with 2009 production at 535,000 tonnes of processed copper. The expansion, due to be complete by 2015, will boost that production figure to 600,000 tonnes.

Contract Workers’ Strike Flares at Chile’s Collahuasi Copper Mine

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Iranian authorities experienced a wide backlash of anger from throughout the world, following their decision to secretly execute teacher and trade unionist Farzad Kamangar on 9 May. 
 
Farzad Kamangar was hanged at Evin Prison in Tehran, along with three other Kurds and one other man, without their families or legal representatives being told beforehand. The draconian executions followed a legal process which failed to meet any semblance of accepted international standards, or even Iranian standards of fair trials. 
 
The ICEM has long been involved in the campaign against repression and violations of human rights in Iran, including the illegal arrests of other trade unionists. Increased solidarity and support is now needed for those who are illegally imprisoned, with fears spreading that their fates might meet the same as Farzad Kamangar&rsquo;s. 

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Photo: Mac Urata (ITF)
The Global Union Federation for teachers and educators, Education International (EI), has been fighting Farzad Kamangar&rsquo;s case since his arrest in May 2006. He was given the death sentence in February 2008, following a trial lasting less than five minutes. The 35-year-old member of the Teachers&rsquo; Union of Kurdistan, was accused of &quot;endangering national security&quot; and &ldquo;moharebeh&rdquo; or &quot;enmity against God.&quot; 
 
Farzad Kamangar was held for seven months prior to being allowed to see his family. He was repeatedly tortured. He was whipped, held in a freezing room and physically abused by guards. He was not given the chance to say goodbye to his family. 
 
The news comes one month before the 26 June, the Day of Action against the Islamic Republic of Iran for the repressive and tyrannical means it uses to suppress its people. (View that campaign website <a href="http://www.justiceforiranianworkers.org ">here</a>.) 
 
Protests were carried out in several countries, following the executions. See the Turkey march <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lki_FBw68_s&amp;feature=related">here</a>. See all photos of the London rally <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/workers_in_action/sets/72157623937198125/detail/ ">here</a> (photos by Mac Urata)

World Appalled at Execution of Iranian Trade Unionist

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A general strike in Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula that started on 15 May got the ICEM&rsquo;s attention and immediate support today. Called by the General Labour Union (GLU) of Yemen, the strike started because Prime Minister Ali Mujawar did not respond to demands for higher wages in the face of rampant inflation and a devalued currency. 
 
The strike started with one-hour work stoppages on 15 May and again yesterday, and will escalate to three-hour stoppages today and Tuesday, 18 April. If the government still does not respond in a week&rsquo;s time, the strike will occur over the whole day on 24 May. 
 
&ldquo;Following the sharp rise in prices and cost of living that has been afflicting Yemeni citizens in the last two years, GLU demands a rise in wages and salaries and the establishment of a minimum wage of at least US$300, instead of the current monthly salary of less than US$100,&rdquo; stated GLU President Mohamed al-Jedri. 

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The GLU is also demanding a reduction in taxes, improved health conditions for workers, giving fixed and permanent jobs to contract workers, and improvements in living conditions. The government earlier had agreed to set up a joint committee to address GLU concerns, but that has never materialized. 
 
The strike was called for all workers in the public and private sectors, with the exception of emergency health workers, electricity, water, and air traffic control workers. The ICEM-affiliated General Union of Oil, Mining, and Chemicals Workers&rsquo; were expected to join the strike. 
 
The GLU consists of 12 general unions, 15 branches in various governorates, and totals 520,000 workers as union members.

General Strike in Yemen Gains ICEM Support

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Pulp and paper mill staff belonging to the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada saved their pensions at AbitibiBowater, but more importantly, they assured a future for the world&rsquo;s largest newsprint producer. 
 
And in the US, the United Steelworkers (USW) did its part to keep AbitibiBowater solvent and operating. USW members ratified a four-year agreement that grants the company immediate financial relief, but aligns four US mills into a first-time master labour contract and gives workers future job and union security, as well as preserving some of the best terms in the American paper industry. 
 
CEP members at 12 AbitibiBowater mills in eastern Canada ratified a five-year agreement in recent days with a 63.5% vote that grants cost reductions to AbitibiBowater, currently in creditor protection proceedings both in Canada and the US, but preserving pensions for both current and future retirees. 
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="108" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="185" height="102" />
A full year after pulp and paper collective agreements expired in Canada&rsquo;s east, the CEP declared at its Eastern Pulp and Paper Caucus on 14 May that the AbitibiBowater contract &ndash; covering 3,500 workers &ndash; is &ldquo;extraordinary&rdquo; because the Montreal-based firm is in Canada&rsquo;s Companies&rsquo; Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA). But the contract terms and future wage increases negotiated a month earlier with AbitibiBowater will set the standard for the eastern pulp and paper industry. 
 
&ldquo;CEP members remain committed to pattern bargaining and this declaration of our pattern for the industry is our best effort to negotiate a fair and balanced standard for the industry,&rdquo; said President Dave Coles. 

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CEP President, Dave Coles
Provincial finance ministries in both Ontario and Quebec must still approve the company&rsquo;s restructuring under CCAA before the CEP agreement goes into effect. The agreement, dating back to April 2009 and extending until April 2014, calls on AbitibiBowater to contribute C$500 million into a union-operated pension fund over the next ten years. 
 
Coles said a newly-established defined benefit pension plan guarantees that &ldquo;never again&rdquo; will AbitibiBowater workers have their pension savings jeopardized. The agreement also includes a 10% wage cut, with wage increases to resume in 2012 and 2013. 
 
&ldquo;Our feeling is that you can always get wages back, but retrieving lost benefits, particularly on pensions is something else,&rdquo; stated Coles. 
 
In the US, USW-represented workers will take an immediate 3% wage cut, but will also recoup those cuts in 2012 and 2013. The master labour agreement, covering four mills in the US southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee, will have mill-level expiration dates within months of each other in 2014. 

<img alt="" src="" width="125" height="165" />
USW VP Jon Geenen
It also contains a &ldquo;successorship&rdquo; clause, meaning in the event a plant is sold, union representation remains, and neutrality language guaranteeing AbitibiBowater&rsquo;s non-interference when USW attempts to recruit workers at non-union worksites. International Vice President Jon Geenen, who heads USW&rsquo;s pulp and paper sector, said that although negotiations were difficult due to the company being in bankruptcy, the new agreement gives the USW important bargaining table leverage for the future.

CEP, USW Rescue AbitibiBowater from Liquidation in North American Paper Talks

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