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The ruling National Party in New Zealand took a correct industrial safety decision two weeks ago when the conservative government of Prime Minister John Key authorised NZ$1.5 million annually from an existing account to create a high hazards unit in the mining, and oil and gas industries. The decision comes in the wake of the tragic Pike River coal mine deaths nine months ago, a damning indictment on National&rsquo;s business-friendly agenda of the 1990s, but the decision also comes with strong voice that more must come regarding regulations and stringent deterrents to protect all workers on the job in New Zealand. 
 
New Zealand&rsquo;s Labour Party also said more must be done, stating check inspectors must be re-established on company payrolls to ensure monitoring and compliance. The Nationals eliminated mandatory worksite safety specialists in 1992 in deregulatory measures pushed by business. 
 
The ICEM states the hazards unit is a positive step coming just after first-phase hearings of the Pike River Royal Commission finished, and commends the New Zealand government for improving industrial safety in the country. The ICEM also encourages New Zealand through the Royal Commission to examine the safety structure at Pike River, compare it with best-practice standards of the world, and then begin a process to ratify and implement the tenets inside <a href="/en/209-ILO ">ILO Convention 176</a>. 
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Establishment of the high hazards unit also comes a year after a government review of health and safety and environmental issues in the offshore petroleum industry. The review recommended an increase in the number of safety inspectors. 
 
The high hazards unit will have three inspectors, plus a chief inspector each in the mines and energy sector, and a support and research staff of three. In comparison, New Zealand has only two mine inspectors &ndash; one position now being vacant &ndash; and it has only a single oil and gas inspector to cover upstream production over a wide expanse. 
 
The NZ$1.5 million will be funded from a special levy that the government has collected over the years in a Health and Safety in Employment Memorandum Account. 
 
Ged O&rsquo;Connell, Assistant National Secretary of the Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), said it was a breakthrough for the government, &ldquo;but more still needs to be done. There is the need for decent regulations and reinstatement of the check inspector role to provide the full check and balance required.&rdquo; 
 
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) President Helen Kelly said first-phase Pike River testimony before the Royal Commission made it clear that stronger mine safety regulations are critical. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t wait and risk another disaster when we already know that other measures are also necessary,&rdquo; said Kelly. 
 
Phase one of the Royal Commission&rsquo;s inquiry into the deadly string of Pike River Coal Mine explosions that took 29 lives ended on 22 July 2011. Phase two hearings will start on 5 September in Greymouth, near the Pike River mine on the South Island, and run until 23 September. Phase two will centre on time and circumstance of death for the 29, safety and rescue efforts, and site effectiveness in the horrid weeks after the 19 November 2010 initial explosion.

New Zealand Updates Energy, Mine Safety Regime

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By the narrowest of margins on 2 August, members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-669 in Metropolis, Illinois, ratified a three-year labour agreement with Honeywell, Inc., officially ending a lockout that began on 28 June 2010. The ratification vote came a full 13 days following conclusion of a negotiating settlement (see <a href="/en/3-Energy-Oil-and-Gas/4564-USW-Union-at-Honeywell-Reaches-Tentative-Labour-Agreement">ICEM 22 July report</a>), primarily because Honeywell managers at the uranium converting facility were negligent in giving explicit back-to-work assignments to locked-out workers. 

The 228 steelworkers at Honeywell convert milled uranium, known as yellow-cake uranium, into uranium hexafluoride (UF6) which is used in nuclear fuel enrichment. The lock-out was marked by Honeywell&rsquo;s decision to resume full production nine weeks into the company&rsquo; s work stoppage and then re-start operations with inexperienced scab replacement workers. Twice in the months that followed, the plant saw near-miss tragedies due to mishandling of dangerous chemicals. 

The period between the 20 July 2011 tentative agreement and yesterday&rsquo;s ratification was just as contentious as was the entire lockout. Honeywell managers told Local 7-699 that it wanted experienced workers to return to the jobs they knew best, but then submitted a back-to-work roster which saw job postings many of the locked-out workers had never worked before. 

It took Local 7-669 leaders enormous time and effort in the 13-day interval to sort out the return-to-work roster. Meanwhile, Honeywell managers publicly denounced the union for not conducting the ratification vote. &ldquo;They were trying to force a vote before our people knew exactly which job they would return to,&rdquo; said local union spokesman John Smith.
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Local 7-669 members will begin returning to work on 15 August. Some 150 workers will return then to training and re-certification by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Forty workers will return two weeks later for the same, and the remainder two weeks after that. The unionised workforce will number about 220 workers when the experienced and qualified USW members are fully back to work. 

The negotiated settlement preserves most of the key union-protection provisions that Honeywell was trying to strip away at the start of the lockout, including seniority, job bidding, overtime, and retention of a defined benefit pension plan for existing workers, as well as retiree medical benefits that go along with that plan. 

On wages, the new three-year collective agreement calls for no increase in the first year, 1% effective 15 August 2012, and 2% on 15 August 2013. Local 7-669 proposed in bargaining over a year ago a freeze on wages and continuation of all terms and conditions of a prior three-year contract. But Honeywell seemed intent on taking away pension, the accompanying health care benefits, as well as union-protection provisions. 

Honeywell abandoned most of those contract concessions, perhaps realising that it needed experienced steelworkers to effectively operate the plant safety and productively. Production had plummeted to a reported 35% of pre-lockout levels and Honeywell was not meeting it order demand for UF6. 

USW Local 7-669 President Darrell Lillie told the ICEM: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re highly appreciative of the tremendous support we have received from trade unions, those in the community and others throughout this long lockout. The donations, the international support, and the recognition by many here and abroad on what we were up against will never be forgotten.&rdquo;

Troubled to End, USW Union Ratifies US Honeywell Contract

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The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, a key ICEM global affiliate in the Materials Sector, held its quadrennial Convention in Las Vegas, US, from 25-28 July, and re-elected their top office-bearers with unanimous voice approval. The nine officers stood as the Proven Leadership Team. 
 
The convention marked the 32nd Convention of the US-Canadian union that has united boilermakers, cement workers, ship builders, forgers, and blacksmiths for the past 131 years in North America. 
 
Re-elected President was Newton B. Jones; Secretary-Treasurer, William Creeden; and Vice Presidents: Warren Fairley, US Southeast; James Pressley, Industrial Sector; Lawrence McManamon, US Great Lakes Region; Joseph Maloney, Western Canada; Edward Power, Eastern Canada; J. Tom Baca, Western US States; and David Haggerty, US Northeast. 
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Speaking on the closing day of the Convention, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda sincerely thanked Jones for accepting global responsibilities with the ICEM as a member of the Executive Committee and as Chairman of the ICEM Materials Sector. He also cited the importance of specific sector work, citing ICEM and European trade union influence in blocking Lafarge&rsquo;s attacks on retiree health insurance of IBB Local D-27 members in Sugar Creek, Missouri, in 2008 and 2009. 
 
&ldquo;I assure you the ICEM will always be prepared to mobilise global support and solidarity whenever you call and tell us of the need,&rdquo; said Warda. 
 
The ICEM leader also told of trade union repression by governments in Colombia, Iraq, and Mexico, and he reminded IBB delegates of the shameful deeds by US right-wing politicians in camouflaging deficit-reduction measures as direct attacks on trade unions. 
 
&ldquo;Wisconsin must be stopped before it becomes a virus spreading all around the world,&rdquo; said Warda to standing applause. 
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UMWA President Cecil Roberts
United Mine Workers&rsquo; of America (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts spoke on the convention&rsquo;s opening day and praised the leadership of the IBB. &ldquo;These people are the blood of your blood, the flesh of your flesh, and the soul of your soul,&rdquo; Roberts told delegates. &ldquo;They have shown the way for all of us.&rdquo;

US Boilermakers Hold 32nd Convention

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from International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation 
 
Miners at Cananea, Sonora, Taxco, Guerrero and Sombrerete, Zacatecas, have now been on strike for four heroic years in defence of their labour and trade union rights. On 30 July and the following days, the miners will hold rallies to reaffirm their continued support for the strikes and the struggle of the Mexican Miners' Union. 
 
The National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, affiliated to the ICEM and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) says it is willing &quot;to negotiate legal arrangements necessary to end the strikes, if a solution can be found that will respect the workers, recognize their collective agreements, definitively establish adequate health and safety conditions, and respect the miners' union led by Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia.&quot; 
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The three strikes continue because there has been no legal ruling to determine a definitive end to the strikes, explained the union. The union added that, throughout this period, the company has stubbornly refused to act peacefully and resolve the strikes in accordance with the law. 
 
During these years, the workers on strike have been persecuted and some judges have ruled that the strikes were invalid. However, the courts have ruled in the union's favour in response to union requests for legal protection. Workers have been subjected to repression in these four years, for example on 6 June 2010 at the Cananea mine, which was occupied by 4,000 armed men who maintained a climate of terror against the miners. 
 
In addition to the rallies that will take place on July 30 to commemorate four years on strike, the union will hold meetings to discuss how to strengthen the strikes and to call on the local communities to continue their support for the miners. 
 
The miners and the local communities are deeply concerned that neither the government nor Grupo M&eacute;xico has taken any steps to resolve the disputes, recognise the collective agreements, and respect the National Miners' Union.

Los Mineros Commemorates Four Years on Strike Against Mexican Mine Companies

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A two-year campaign by the Building &amp; Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI), it&rsquo;s North American affiliate, the International Association of Machinists (IAM), and BWI affiliate GS of Sweden paid off on 27 July when union representation was won at IKEA&rsquo;s only Swedwood manufacturing plant in the US. 
 
Workers at the three-year-old plant in Danville, Virginia, voted by an astonishing 76% affirmation, 221-69, to have IAM represent them in a US government-supervised election. The vote brings relief to an agonising and frustrating period for BWI, IAM and GS, which sought to make IKEA live up to commitments in a Global Framework Agreement (GFA) that calls for voluntary recognition and good faith-dialogue when workers indicate a desire for a union. 
 
Swedwood is 100% owned by IKEA and exclusively provides home furnishings to the retailer. The Danville factory provides many of the furnishings to IKEA&rsquo;s 37 US stores. 
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Senior managers at IKEA rebuffed BWI at several junctures in the Global union Federation&rsquo;s efforts to get the company to acknowledge and correct anti-social practices at Swedwood in Danville. That included health and safety deficiencies, mandatory overtime at risk of punishment &ndash; something that is contrary to IKEA&rsquo;s written code of conduct &ndash; and failure to allow shop-flow freedom of association as outlined in the GFA. The only choice left was the government-mandated union certification process through the US National Labor Relations Board. 
 
Swedwood workers at Danville, to their credit, responded resoundingly last week. 
 
&ldquo;Despite the &lsquo;persuasive&rsquo; tactics and intervention strategies that the Swedwood management installed throughout the entire union election process, and to be frank, prior to that, the workers at Swedwood have emphatically said yes to the union,&rdquo; stated BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson. 
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BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson
Swedwood must now reach a first collective labour agreement in Danville, one that must come without stalling and through honest negotiating that meets the social needs of workers. 
 
The Director of IAM&rsquo;s Woodworking Department, Bill Street, said it best: &ldquo;IKEA, you have a choice to make. You can recognise what we&rsquo;ve been saying over the past is in fact true and then begin bargaining with us in good faith, or you can continue this fight.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM congratulates BWI, IAM, and GS for actively working with Swedwood workers in America to ensure they have a voice at work.

BWI, Machinists Succeed in Bringing Union to Swedwood’s US Plant

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In South Africa, the 18-day petroleum strike by 70,000 union members mostly from the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Wood and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union (CEPPWAWU) ended on 28 July, two days after the South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA) presented satisfactory wage and other terms. 
 
But strikes in three other bargaining councils aligned with the chemical industries continue with some hint that issues in the Pharmaceutical sector will get resolved today when CEPPWAWU and that industry association meet in government mediation. In the Glass sector, the employers&rsquo; association and unions representing 6,000 workers came to terms late on 28 July in a one-year settlement similar to the petroleum industry. 
 
In two other sectors of the National Bargaining Council for the Chemical Industry, Industrial Chemicals and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, the union still awaits dates for mediation as strikes continue. CEPPWAWU represents some 40,000 workers in total in Pharmaceutical, Industrial Chemicals, and the consumer goods sector. Some of the companies affected included Sasol, Adcock Ingram, Aspen Pharmaceutical, Pharmacare, Revlon and Colgate. 
<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="160" />
CEPPWAWU Members March in Johannesburg, 11 July
In the Wood, Pulp, and Paper sector, where workers employed by Sappi, Mondi, and others have been on strike since 14 July, talks mediated by the government&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) will take place this afternoon and an accord is expected. Settlement did come in Timber and Sawmilling on Friday, 29 July, where a nationwide strike began on 18 July. That agreement is now going to membership for their approval. 
 
In Fibreboard and Particleboard, negotiations have yet to be scheduled. A walkout there began on 11 July. 
 
In the Tissue and Allied Products sector, Kimberly Clark has been particularly troublesome. The American company has refused now to bargain. Many weeks ago, Kimberly Clark tabled a measly 4% wage increase for its 400 workers at two paper towel and tissue mills, nearly half the accurate inflation rate in South Africa. 
 
CEPPWAWU National Policy Coordinator John Appolis told the ICEM that Kimberly Clark is firmly set on driving down wages and work standards for competition reasons. The company had bargained jointly with Nampak as part of an employers&rsquo; association in the Tissue and Allied Products sector in years past, but Nampak broke from the multi-employer talks due to Kimberly Clark&rsquo;s bargaining-table recalcitrance. 
 
Nampak settled with CEPPWAWU and other unions early in July for an 8% raise without workers striking. 
<img src="" width="244" height="160" alt="" />
In the Timber and Sawmilling settlement, CEPPWAWU successfully negotiating a first-ever maternity leave. That will see women get four months of protected leave, in addition to 12% of their salaries to supplement their mandated unemployment compensation. Also, the minimum wage rate in Timber and Sawmilling will increase from ZAR 1,500 (US$225) to ZAR 1,775 (US$266). 
 
All wage settlements will be backdated to 1 July, including the much-publicized petroleum strike where some fuel shortages and panic buying brought wide, albeit over-stated South African press coverage. 
 
In petroleum, the unions and SAPIA agreed to an 8.5% increase, with a 10% hike gained for lower-waged workers. For them, the minimum salary increases from ZAR 4,000 (US$600) per month to 4,400 (US$660), while the unions maintained a 40-hour work-week. Women in the petroleum sector will receive a first-ever two days of leave for pre-natal maternity care. 
 
&ldquo;On the wage front,&rdquo; said Appolis, &ldquo;our improvements are slightly ahead of current buying power in South Africa, and we showed progress in several other areas.&rdquo; Besides the majority CEPPWAWU, others unions in these sector talks include the South African Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union (SACWU), the General Industrial Workers&rsquo; Union of south Africa (GIWUSA), and Solidarity.

CEPPWAWU’s Petrol Strike Ends; Chemical Sectors Close, Kimberly Clark Recalcitrant

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Issues in the eight-day strike involving 150,000 members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in the coal industry, as well as a five-day strike covering the same number of NUM gold miners might be resolved when the union and Chamber of Mines meet today in mediation conducted by South Africa&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA). 
 
The NUM and Chamber are close on wage terms, with coal and gold mining houses said to be in agreement on finally awarding double- digit wage increases for 2011. The central issue today will be the new length of the collective agreement &ndash; either one or two years. Coal talks are scheduled for 10h00, while the gold negotiations commence at 14h00. 
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="156" />
Lesiba Seshoka
NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said past CBA durations have generally been two years, but this year could be different. In mediated bargaining with the CCMA on 28 July, the NUM and Chamber seemed in agreement on a retroactive 1 July pay rise of a double-digit figure. Seshoka said if a second year is agreed to, the 2012 increase would likely add up to inflation plus a certain percentage higher. 
 
NUM members at AngloCoal SA, Exxaro, Xstrata Coal, Delmas Coal, Optimum, Springlake and others shut down the country&rsquo;s coal industry on 24 July. That strike was followed four days later &ndash; on 28 July &ndash; by 150,000 NUM gold miners striking AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Goldfields, and Rand Uranium operations. 
 
Gold mining talks failed down on that day between the union and Chamber, two days after the NUM issued the mandatory 48-hour strike notice upon receiving CCMA certification of non-resolution. In coal, in meeting again with the Chamber on Friday, 29 July, labour and management narrowed their 2011 wage differences. 
 
In platinum mining, the NUM bargains individually with the three major producers, AngloPlatinum, Impala, and Northam. Although a dispute has been declared, the combined 8,000 miners have yet to down tools. But that could change this week. After 28 July talks with the world&rsquo;s number one producer, AngloPlatinum, the company and NUM remained far apart, AngloPlatinum offering 6-7% while NUM seeks 15%. Negotiations are slated for today with Impala and on Wednesday, 3 August, with Northam. 
 
A third and likely final round of negotiations is also scheduled for today between the NUM and state-run electricity provider Eskom. There has been no dispute declared in those talks. NUM represents 16,000 Eskom staff, while the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) covers 5,000. 
 
Maybe the most contentious NUM bargaining has occurred with the world&rsquo;s largest rough-cut diamond producer, DeBeers Consolidated Mines. Some 5,000 NUM members downed tools on 22 July at Venetia in Limpopo state, Voorspoed in the Free State, and a tailings treatment plant in Kimberly. 
<img alt="" src="" width="192" height="160" />
No talks have been slated. The NUM has demanded 15% while DeBeers, with record sales in the first half of 2011 of US$3.8 billion on production of 15.5 million carats, has offered a paltry 7.5%. &ldquo;We will make them move,&rdquo; stated the NUM&rsquo;s Chief Negotiator at DeBeers, Peter Bailey. 
 
&ldquo;The offer is totally unacceptable to us. Last year we settled for between 9.5% and 10%, now we are told 7.5%, plus an ex-gratia one-off payment of ZAR 2,500 (US$375). We totally reject this.&rdquo;

South African Coal, Gold Strikes Face Key Talks Today

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The ICEM condemns the cowardly assassination of Colombian mineworkers&rsquo; leader Rafael Tob&oacute;n Zea on 26 July. Tob&oacute;n was shot three times and killed by paramilitaries near his home in the city of Segovia, Antioqu&iacute;a department, about 220 kilometres north of Medell&iacute;n. 
 
Rafael Tob&oacute;n, 40, was a leader of the metal and mineworkers&rsquo; union Sintramieneg&eacute;tica, where he was a founding member of that union at Frontino Gold Mines Ltd. He worked there for 15 years and was still assisting discharged miners of Frontino after the Medell&iacute;n-based company liquidated and its underground mines were bought last year by Modoro Resources Ltd. of Canada and Gran Colombia Gold S.A. 
<img src="" width="358" height="75" alt="" />
He was working in a smaller gold mine in Antioqu&iacute;a department and organising workers there when he was killed last week. Sintramieneg&eacute;tica had reported threats to its leaders that were believed to be tied to the contested takeover of Frontino by Modora and Gran Colombia, and the sacking of all miners. 
 
The ICEM calls on the government of Colombia and the authorities in Segovia and Antioqu&iacute;a state to spare no resource in apprehending and bringing to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime. Let there be no impunity for the miscreants of Colombia who take the lives of trade unionists in cold blood.

Mineworkers’ Leader, Rafael Tobón, Gunned Down in Antioquía, Colombia

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The ICEM has joined trade unions of Australia, New Zealand, and the UK in protesting flagrant trade union abuses by the military dictatorship in Fiji. On Saturday, 13 August, just two days after dictator Josaia Voreque Bainimarama tried to assure a high-level ILO delegation, including Deputy General Director Guy Ryder, that trade union rights in Fiji were being upheld, police showed up at the opening of Fiji Trades Union Congress&rsquo;s (FTUC) national council meeting and revoked the national centre&rsquo;s meeting permit. 
 
That came ten days after Daniel Urai, formerly of the ICEM-affiliated Fiji Electricity Workers&rsquo; Union, who is President of the FTUC, and union activist Dinesh Gounder were arrested under Fiji&rsquo;s new Public Emergency Regulation for meeting with trade unionists without a permit. They were charged with unlawful assembly in meeting with hotel workers over a pending collective agreement. 
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="120" height="120" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="120" height="120" /></div>
<div> 
Daniel Urai, Dinesh Gounder</div>
 
Both were released on bail on 4 August and are due to appear in the Nadi Magistrates Court on 2 September on those charges. (See <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/98.ICEM.Fiji%20Prime%20Minister.10August.pdf">ICEM protest letter</a> here.) 
 
The arrests, along with broader trade union repression, specifically against FTUC National Secretary Felix Anthony, are seen as recrimination against Fiji union leaders visiting Australia and New Zealand to speak out against the military dictatorship of Commodore Bainimarama. 
 
Australian unions, led by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), have begun a number of direct actions against Fiji, which have raised the stakes against Bainimarama&rsquo;s strong-armed tactics. For example, the Australian Transport Workers&rsquo; Union (TWU) has threatened to not load or refuel Qantas air flights headed to Fiji, which would severely impact the Pacific country&rsquo;s tourism trade. The blockade would also include Air Pacific, a Qantas partner and Fiji&rsquo;s flag carrier. 
 
On 2 September &ndash; the date that Urai and Gounder will be in a Fiji courtroom &ndash; the ACTU will organise two manifestations in front of Fiji consular offices in North Sydney and in Deakin near Canberra. 
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="160" height="160" /> 
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Dictator Bainimarama with ILO Representatives Last Week</div>
 
On 8 August, UK&rsquo;s Trades Union Congress and ICEM affiliate GMB called on British sugar multinational Tate &amp; Lyle to challenge the Bainimarama regime&rsquo;s abusive tactics. Tate &amp; Lyle purchases 100% of Fiji&rsquo;s sugar exports and the illegitimate Fijian ruler has a controlling stake in sugar production. 
 
On the same day that Urai and Gounder were arrested, 3 August, a dictum was issued by Bainimarama &ndash; Fiji&rsquo;s self-appointed Prime Minister following a 2006 coup &ndash; called the Essential National Industries Employment Decree. It bans all industrial actions, will ban workers from being covered by collective agreements in 60 days time, and restricts wage and benefit growth. 
 
Despite this, Bainimarama told the ILO delegation last week he was not trying to ban unions or take away workers&rsquo; rights. Not many in the international community believe this, least of all the government of Australia, which has recalled its envoy from Fiji. 
 
On 4 August, the day Urai and Gounder were released, Australian Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Martin Ferguson, issued a statement saying: &ldquo;Since 2006 the Bainimarama regime has abrogated the constitution; detained political leaders; sacked the independent judiciary; censored the media; and restricted meetings of civil society, including church groups. 
 
&ldquo;Despite commitments to hold elections in 2014, it is not clear the regime intends to make good on its promise. 
 
&ldquo;The restriction of labour rights is part of a concerted campaign to curtail the human rights of the people of Fiji. The rights of workers in Fiji have been targeted through a series of decrees restricting labour rights, the most recent of which was aimed at essential industries.&rdquo;</div>

Trade Union Repression in Fiji Mounting

<div> 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
Following an opening meeting in October 2010, the Global Safety Panel of ICEM and French chemicals company Rhodia under the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) held its second meeting at a Rhodia operation called Sertow in Serpukhov, Russia, on 19-20 July.
The safety forum was included in an amendment to the GFA in February 2010. The safety panel has duties to monitor Rhodia&rsquo;s health and safety policies and practices, as well as to continue ongoing dialogue between the company and its workers and make recommendations on improvements.
The Sertow plant is part of the group&rsquo;s Acetow company and makes cigarette filters for the global tobacco industry. Operated by Rhodia since 1994, the plant uses cellulose acetate flakes as a key raw material. The plant does stress the importance to health and safety issues since a fatal accident happened on 12 September 2000. The plant since has gone for over ten years without a lost-time accident.
<div><img alt="" src="" width="290" height="161" /></div>
The ICEM delegation was composed of Juarez Nogueira of Sindquim, Brazil; Scott Harrington of the United Steelworkers (USW), US; Maurice Tritsch of CFDT, France; Jie Dong from China; and Kemal &Ouml;zkan and Brian Kohler from the ICEM headquarters. The delegation first met with the elected representatives of the site concerning industrial relations and the health and safety situation.
Local level labour relations were set up using the example of the German Works Council system as it exists at Acetow&rsquo;s centre, located in Freiburg, Germany. There is close collaboration between the workforce leaders of both operations, and the Sertow Works Council is actively involved in labour-related matters such as collective agreements, personnel health improvement, support of sporting events, and involvement in renovation of the social room. The Works Council has regular meetings with management as part of social dialogue.
Following presentations about Rhodia, Acetow, and the Sertow plant with key figures presented on economic, social, and personnel-related matters, the meeting received a report on Rhodia Way, the company&rsquo;s integrated management system regarding sustainable development.
The participants also heard a report from Rhodia managers on the five-year plan of personal safety that covered records of 2011, as well as projections for the period of 2011-2015. The report put forward a plan to significantly reduce the number of irreversible and chemical accidents until 2015. The targets cover Rhodia&rsquo;s temporary and sub-contact employees and its own staff.
Having made comments on the report, the ICEM&rsquo;s Kohler presented his health and safety recommendations to plant-level and corporate management. A specific discussion was made on Rhodia&rsquo;s investigatory method named after the &ldquo;Casual Tree&quot; accident. The meeting also received a presentation from the Sertow management on practices and results regarding safety compliance. The participants later toured the facility.
The meeting was finalized with an assessment of the discussions and future activities. It was agreed to deepen co-operation for reflecting the work of the Global Safety Panel to workplace level in all of Rhodia&rsquo;s operations worldwide.

ICEM, Rhodia Global Safety Panel Hold Second Meeting in Russia

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