Unions oppose Xstrata - Glencore merger4 July, 2012IndustriALL Global Union joins the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) in Australia, the United Steelworkers (USW) in Canada and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa and takes the position against the planned merger of Xstrata and Glencore.
ArcelorMittal workers in Kazakhstan hold a warning strike29 June, 2012More than 3,000 workers took part in a three-hour warning strike at ArcelorMittal Temirtau, Kazakhstan, in support of their collective demands on 29 June.
UNIA fights to save jobs at Merck Serono28 June, 2012An angry strike in Geneva, Switzerland has today been suspended by members of the Swiss trade union UNIA, fighting against Merck Serono’s plans to close the Geneva and Coisins sites, which threatens 1,500 jobs. Strike action has been put on hold, as regional authorities demanded that pharmaceuticals giant’s management participate in mediation on the social plan. Conciliation will begin on 3 July.
Caterpillar locks out workers in Australia27 June, 2012Bucyrus, a member of Caterpillar group of companies, producer of mining machines in New South Wales, Australia locked out 150 workers, members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU). IndustriALL Global Union calls for solidarity.
Union members celebrate victory at FIAT27 June, 2012On 21 June 2012 the Italian federation of metalworkers FIOM-CGIL celebrated victory after the Court of Rome ruled that FIAT had discriminated against 145 workers at its factory in Pomigliano, near Napples and demanded their immediate reinstatement by the employer.
Unions want justice at Grupo Mexico26 September, 2012On 18 September unions took action in Mexico, Peru and the USA demanding that Grupo Mexico respect workers and unions at all of it’s operations.
Egyptian Schlumberger union launches website25 September, 2012Embattled workers at oilfield services company Schlumberger in Egypt have struggled to exercise their right to organize since April 2011, in face of strong union-busting by management. In spite of considerable obstacles the enterprise-level union has just launched its own website and continues to push for workers’ rights.
Swiss unions demonstrate to save industrial jobs25 September, 2012Thousands of workers gathered on 22 September in Bern, Switzerland demanding the industrial sector be saved. Four local unions called for the strengthening of the collective labour agreement (CLA) and secure jobs.
Canada reverses course on asbestos21 September, 2012In an important development, Canada's Industry Minister, Christian Paradis, announced 14 September that Canada would drop its efforts to prevent the listing of chrysotile asbestos as a dangerous substance under the Rotterdam Convention. This may be a turning point in international efforts to ban asbestos.
Unions are best way to prevent further disasters in Pakistan20 September, 2012IndustriALL Global Union argues that freedom of association and trade unions are the best way to prevent further workplace tragedies, after it is revealed that certification of the Ali Enterprise factory in Pakistan by a prominent monitoring group issued just weeks earlier did not prevent the fire that killed nearly 300 workers, many of them trapped behind locked exit doors.
