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Pharmaceutical workers, members of US affiliate United Steel Workers (USW), were locked out off their jobs by Medco Health Solutions on 5 April. Some 500 pharmacy technicians at Medco's prescription mail-order business in Las Vegas, Nevada, are faced with an illegal and unilateral reduction of health care benefits. 
The lockout has been deemed illegal when the US National Labor Relations Board issued an unfair labour practice complaint against the company on 31 March for retaliating against technicians who took part in solidarity actions, protesting the health care cuts. 
Some 25% of the company's prescription business is done through union-sponsored health care plans, and Medco itself admits that six million union workers in the US are covered under Medco prescription plans. The USW has mounted a campaign among unions tied to those plans to protest directly to the Medco's CEO.

Union Prescription Drug Provider Locks Out USW Members in US

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National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) affiliated workers demonstrated in South Africa on April 4, protesting against potential plans by DeBeers to close its Koffiefontein mine in the southern Free State.
Handing a memorandum to the management of the mine, the workers were given a promise by the employer that they would be answered. According to the NUM Chairperson, Joseph Botile, closing the mine would mean making Koffiefontein into a ghost town. DeBeers is virtually the only employer in the area, providing income for almost 600 people and their families. With all these jobs gone, it would become impossible for the NUM Workers to support their families.

South African NUM Workers Demonstrate at DeBeers Koffiefontein Mine

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On April 26, 20 years will have past since the largest nuclear disaster the world has ever seen. On that day in 1986, in what now is the country of Ukraine, a deadly explosion inside Chernobyl&rsquo;s reactor No. 4 led to the release of a radioactive cloud that spread across large parts of the Soviet Union. A number of countries in Europe were also affected, but to a much lesser extent. Today, 20 years later, it is still difficult to identify the exact damage of the radioactive fallout. 
In the immediate aftermath of the accident, the Soviet Union, with the help of the international community, poured in a lot of money to build the infrastructure needed to minimise the immediate adverse effects of the catastrophe, mainly through sealing off the damaged reactor. 
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As years went by, however, it became clear that, where funding was still available for infrastructural work, there was less and less money to take care of the power station workers and others who had gone into the affected area to do the actual work. A large number of these workers, all members of ICEM affiliate Atomprofspylka, the Ukrainian Nuclear Power Workers&rsquo; Union, gave their lives fighting the disaster, or subsequently died within months or years. For those who survived, the situation is bleak today with little or no job security and a largely indifferent government. 
The anniversary of Chernobyl comes two days before the international Workers Memorial Day on 28 April, when trade unions everywhere commemorate workers who have lost their lives in workplace accidents.

Chernobyl 20 Years after

To: All ICEM affiliates in Nepal 
 
Brussels, 12 April 2006 
 
Dear friends and colleagues, 
 
Ever since the illegitimate takeover of power by King Gyanendra in February 2005, the ICEM has been closely following the courageous efforts of its affiliated trade unions and others in Nepal. We are proud to have been able to support you and other trade unions as you have staged and taken part in the many demonstrations and protests actions against the king&rsquo;s autocratic rule. 
 
As we follow the unfolding events of the present time, we look in disbelief at how the so-called government in Nepal clings on to power using a wide range of brutal measures which seem to be installed specifically to hurt its own people. 
 
The ICEM strongly protests against the many arrests in Nepal that have taken place over the last few days, including the many arrests of both ordinary trade union members as well as trade union leaders. We also condemn the increasing violence used against the people of Nepal. We forcefully support the actions of the independent trade unions in Nepal as part of the broader struggle for the restoration of democracy. 
 
In name of the 20 million members of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions from 122 countries, I would like you to congratulate you on your actions so far and let you know that we are firmly with you and the Nepalese people in your united struggle against the royal oppression during this strike and beyond. 
 
In Solidarity! 
 
Fred Higgs 
General Secretary

ICEM letter of support for Nepalese affiliates

In the latest example of the appaling series of human and trade union rights violations in Colombia, the ICEM has learned of the murder of brother Daniel Cortez Cortez, a member of ICEM&rsquo;s Colombian affiliate Sintraelecol. 
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On Sunday April 2nd, brother Cortez was murdered in Puerto Parra, near the city of Barrancabermeja, the third largest city in Colombia, in a region known to be controlled by the paramilitaries. For the last 16 years, he has been working for the energy company Empresa Electrificadora de Santander, where he had been an active trade union member from the day he started. 
 
Daniel Cortez was assassinated at night on April 2nd. Attacked by a group of paramilitaries, he died instantly when he was shot in the face. He leaves behind a wife and four children and the ICEM offers its sincere&nbsp;condolences to his family, colleagues and friends. 
 
In a <a href="/index.php?id=26&amp;doc=1756&amp;la=EN">letter to the Colombian authorities</a>, the ICEM calls for an urgent, full and open investigation into the exact circumstances of this brutal assassination. Those responsible for the crime need to be brought to justice and convicted. 
 
The murder is, regrettably, not a stand alone case. Far more trade unionists are murdered in Colombia every year then anywhere else in the world. According to preliminary figures, over 70 murders on trade unionists were counted last year. In 2004, there were at least 99. 
 
&ldquo;This murder can not be just another addition to an already lengthy list. We need to keep realising that every time a trade unionist is killed in Colombia, a new tragedy unfolds. Each time, new families, other colleagues and different communities are faced with the loss of a family member, a colleague or a friend&rdquo; said Fred Higgs, General Secretary of the ICEM. &ldquo;It is imperative that we continue our demands on the Colombian government for effective protection for trade unionists in Colombia.&rdquo;

Member of Sintraelecol, ICEM Affiliate in Colombia, murdered

Meeting in Istanbul on 6 and 7 April, delegates at the ICEM&rsquo;s 3rd World Conference for the Rubber Industries ended two days of discussions and information exchange on Friday with the adoption of a plan for action. 
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Topics at the conference included current world-wide trends in the rubber industries, one of the most oligopolistic industrial sectors, and their effect on workers, as well as the need for multinational companies to guarantee respect for national and international workers&rsquo; rights. The conference was attended by over 100 representatives from 16 ICEM affiliated rubber sector trade unions from 14 countries. 
 
At the conference, two special resolutions were adopted. The first one dealt with the recently announced Goodyear plant closures in the UK and Poland, declaring international solidarity support towards the Goodyear workers in those countries. 
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The second resolution calls on Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli to &ldquo;exert common sense and to bargain in good faith&rdquo; with Turkey&rsquo;s ICEM affiliate Lastik-Iş. These three companies take a very harsh approach to collective bargaining in Turkey. They are not only demanding concessions in working conditions, they have also consistently called on the Turkish government to ban strikes, while simultaneously threatening to leave the country. 
 
The conference adopted an action plan for the next four years, setting out broad guidelines for international trade union action at both national and international level. An important priority in the action plan is the need for continued and improved dialogue with multinational companies in the rubber sector, including through global framework agreements and global trade union networks. Special emphasis also goes to health and safety issues. 
Other priority areas are the difficulties related to the increased use of contract and agency labour and the fight for gender equality. 
 
Leo Gerard, International President of ICEM&rsquo;s US affiliate USW (United Steelworkers), was re-elected as Chair of the ICEM rubber section. 
 
Speaking at the conclusion of the conference, ICEM general secretary Fred Higgs said that &ldquo;The discussions, resolutions and adoption of a forward looking action plan by the conference demonstrates that unions around the world in the rubber sector are determined to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing industry on the basis of mutual support and solidarity&rdquo;. 
 
 

For the resolution on the Goodyear plant closings in the UK and Poland, <a href="/index.php?id=164&amp;doc=1754&amp;la=EN">click here</a>. 
 
For the resolution on collective bargaining in Turkey, <a href="/index.php?id=164&amp;doc=1750&amp;la=EN">click here</a>.&nbsp;
For more information on this conference, including background documents and presentations, <a href="/index.php?id=164&amp;la=EN">click here</a>.

ICEM’s World Rubber Conference Reacts to the Challenges of Globalisation

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On 19 May, ICEM&rsquo;s French affiliate F&eacute;d&eacute;chimie CGT-FO elected, unanimously, Herv&eacute; Quillet as its new general secretary at an extraordinary National Committee meeting. 
 
The new general secretary replaces long-serving and popular general secretary Michel Decayeux, who is retiring, but will remain on as a member of the organisation&rsquo;s Bureau F&eacute;d&eacute;ral as well as of its Commission Ex&eacute;cutive Conf&eacute;d&eacute;rale until the union&rsquo;s next congress. He also remains in charge of European and international relations. Decayeux is a former ICEM Materials Section chairman and an Executive Committee Member of the ICEM.

Michel Decayeux Steps Down as GS of Fédéchimie CGT-FO in France

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ICEM Norwegian affiliate NOPEF and other unions achieved a 2006 wage increase of 4.5% in the offshore oil sector. The accord came on 17 May after offshore workers rejected a 2.5% offer from the Oil Industry Association (OLF). 
 
The agreement covers 6,200 workers and also lays a framework for further dialogue on work conditions including the rising demand for skilled workers in Norway&rsquo;s offshore oil sector. A total of 2.4 million barrels of oil daily is pumped from rigs off the Norwegian continental shelf.

Norway’s Offshore Energy Workers Negotiate 4.5% Raise

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In Russia over the past ten days, three miners were killed and one is still missing in two separate accidents 
in the coal-rich Kuzbass area of central Siberia. The accidents involve the same company, Prokopyevskugol coal mines, a subsidiary of the metallurgical company Novo-Lipetsk. 
 
At the Voroshilovskaya mine the town of Prokopyevsk, a roof collapsed on 22 May, causing two deaths. Fifteen miners managed to escape. On 18 May at the Ziminka mine, one miner was killed when water broke through a clay wall. One other miner is still missing, while 12 managed to escape. 
 
The accidents prompted the governor of the Kemerovo Region of Russia, Vladimir Lisin, to write to the chairman of the board of Novo-Lipetsk to increase financing of measures to ensure proper industrial safety and mineworker protections.

Separate Mishaps, Same Company in Russian Coal Fatalities

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Two strikes in the Colombian coal mining sector broke out recently, giving 3,000 miners of unaffiliated Sintramienerg&eacute;tica a loud voice to express disapproval over working conditions in this resource-rich sector of the South American country. 
A strike by 1,000 miners broke out at Swiss-owned Glencore International&rsquo;s Carbones La Jagua operations in Jagua de Ibirico, Cesar state, on 17 May, and one numbering 2,000 miners started on 22 May at US-based Drummond Coal&rsquo;s LaLoma mines in Cesar, and spread to the company&rsquo;s transport and export terminal operations in Cienaga and Santa Marta. 
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The Drummond strike centers on subcontractors. The privately-held US company refuses to extend collective bargaining rights to thousands of contract workers, mostly at the transport and terminal sites. Sintramienerg&eacute;tica is insisting for these jobs to be made permanent, with full social rights as well as the necessary health care benefits both on and off the job. 
 
Wages are also a major issue with both companies, since coal&rsquo;s high prices and the rich value of Colombian&rsquo;s high-grade resource in America and Europe has left miners short-changed. Miners&rsquo; demands also include significant investment, particularly by Glencore, on environmental projects, and for both companies to begin providing medical assistance to communities that have been adversely affected by the mining enterprises. 
 
Columbia&rsquo;s national labour center, Central Unitaria de Trabajores (CUT), has warned that company security units have made the strike scenes extremely volatile, and has called for constructive dialogue from both the national government and the two companies. CUT, saying the two strikes are lawful, said the companies refused to find solutions to the union&rsquo;s demands over the past two months, and that the demands have the overwhelming support of the miners. 
Glencore recently sold its 33% share in another rich coal mining and export operation in eastern Colombia, Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, to Xstrata, a global mining house in which Glencore owns a 15% stake.

Colombia’s Coal Industry Hit with Two Strikes

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