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&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 140px;height: 68px" width="390" />

	In calling attention to jobs creation as equivalent economic growth, working people across Europe today led by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) are in a Day of Action in opposition to the European Council&rsquo;s adoption of a budget discipline treaty.

	The decentralised mobilisations are occurring in scores of cities and worksites with a common theme pointed at EU governments and decision-makers: &ldquo;Enough is enough! There are alternatives to austerity. Employment and social justice are the number one priorities.&rdquo;

	Today&rsquo;s ETUC Day of Action is taking the form of demonstrations, work stoppages and information postings inside workplaces and government institutions stating that the European summit&rsquo;s Treaty on Stability, Co-ordination and Governance is a straightjacket that will plunge the Eurozone into free-fall recession.

	The actions include two demonstrations in Brussels, site of the European Council&rsquo;s 1-2 March summit where the misguided treaty will intrinsically slash wages and social protections, restrict collective bargaining, and provide even more neo-liberal policies, hardly the remedies for economic growth to assure a sustainable future.

	Union leaders, led by ETUC General Secretary Bernadette S&eacute;gol, meet with Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Parliament President Martin Schulz at the European Council Building, while a mass rally takes place outside. Meanwhile, members of all Belgian trade unions will protest today outside the Belgian National Bank.

	A sampling of other actions today includes a mass demonstration organised by the Romanian national trade union centres between 14h and 16h at Victoria Square in Bucharest. In Rome, Italian labour federations CGIL, CISL and UIL will demonstrate at Pantheon Place at 16h, while Hungarian trade unions will hold a press conference and manifestation.

	In Greece, trade unions will take a three-hour work stoppage from 12h to 5h, while even in Georgia trade unions will protest Trade Union Action Day with a rally at Parliament in Tbilisi against their government&rsquo;s one-sided labour code and the economic harm it brings.

	&ldquo;In mobilising on the same day everywhere in Europe for the first time,&rdquo; said S&eacute;gol, &ldquo;European trade unions are reacting with anger and exasperation.&rdquo;

	In the UK, British trade unions used the day to gear up their defence of the National Health Service (NHS), which will happen across the UK massively on 7 March. Both the ETUC and Trades Union Congress (TUC) denounced austerity measures that always &ldquo;fall hardest on the shoulders of the weakest&rdquo; when public services are cut.

Europe’s Unions Protest ‘Straitjacket’ Treaty

<h3 style="text-align: justify">
	Packaging Workers Need Support!</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify">
	Des travailleurs de l&rsquo;emballage ont besoin de votre soutien!</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: justify">
	&iexcl;Trabajadores/as del empaque requieren tu apoyo!</h3>

	After engaging in lawful industrial actions earlier in February, 140 workers represented by Unite the Union in the UK were locked out by Austrian packaging firm Mayr-Melnhof on 20 February. The reason: so management could move product and equipment to another plant in event of a further stoppage. UK workers at this plant are vigilant over this misdeed and they deserve our prompt support.

	The lockout forced 40 workers to occupy the plant on 20 February. Unionised workers of Unite need our immediate support during this acrimonious dispute in the Bootle food packaging plant in Merseyside. Please cut and paste the message below, or write your own message in your own language to <a href="mailto:Tony.burke@unitetheunion.com; ian.tonks@unitetheunion.com; p-potter1@sky.com; mmpcanpaywontpay@unitetheunion.org">these workplace leaders</a>, and be sure to include the name of your union. Subject head: Support to Unite at Mayr Melnhof.

	Dear Comrades,

	We have heard of your dispute and the lockout imposed on you by Mayr-Melnhof. We understand that management has been completely unreasonable regarding a compromise offered over redundancies. It seems that Mayr-Melnhof wants it their way, or the alternative is a harsh lockout. Please know that our union stands with you and we will be watching this dispute very closely in the coming days. Best of luck and we stand with you in winning this dispute!

	(name)

	(union)

	For further information on this lockout, please see this <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4904-UK-Packaging-Workers-Face-Lockout-at-Mayr-Melnhof-Plant-in-Merseyside">ICEM report</a>&nbsp;from last week.

	Thank you for your Prompt Action on this.

	In Unity,

	Dick Blin

	ICEM Pulp and Paper Officer/Geneva
<hr />

	Des travailleurs de l&rsquo;emballage ont besoin de votre soutien!

	Apr&egrave;s avoir entrepris des actions syndicales tout &agrave; fait l&eacute;gales d&eacute;but f&eacute;vrier, 140 travailleurs repr&eacute;sent&eacute;s par le syndicat britannique Unite ont &eacute;t&eacute; lockout&eacute;s par la firme d&rsquo;emballage autrichienne Mayr-Melnhof ce 20 f&eacute;vrier. Raison avanc&eacute;e&nbsp;: pour permettre &agrave; la direction de d&eacute;placer les produits et les &eacute;quipements vers une autre usine en cas de nouvel arr&ecirc;t de travail. Les travailleurs britanniques de cette usine font preuve de beaucoup de vigilance par rapport &agrave; cette agression et ils m&eacute;ritent notre soutien imm&eacute;diat.

	Ce lockout a oblig&eacute; 40 travailleurs &agrave; occuper le site le 20 f&eacute;vrier. Les syndiqu&eacute;s de Unite ont sans d&eacute;lai besoin de notre soutien dans le cadre de cet impitoyable conflit qui se d&eacute;roule &agrave; l&rsquo;usine d&rsquo;emballage de Bootle dans le Merseyside. Veuillez faire un copier-coller du message propos&eacute; ci-dessous, ou en r&eacute;diger un autre de votre cru dans votre langue et le faire parvenir &agrave; <a href="mailto:Tony.burke@unitetheunion.com; ian.tonks@unitetheunion.com; p-potter1@sky.com">ceux qui m&egrave;nent l&rsquo;action&nbsp;</a>, en prenant soin d&rsquo;y inclure le nom de votre organisation. Sujet&nbsp;: Soutien &agrave; Unite chez Mayr Melnhof.

	Chers Coll&egrave;gues,

	Nous avons eu connaissance du conflit chez Mayr-Melnhof et du lockout qui vous est impos&eacute;. Nous savons que la direction s&rsquo;est montr&eacute;e totalement d&eacute;raisonnable par rapport &agrave; un compromis qui lui &eacute;tait propos&eacute; &agrave; propos de licenciements. Il semble bien que Mayr-Melnhof ne veuille rien entendre et que sa seule alternative soit un lockout brutal. Sachez que notre organisation est derri&egrave;re vous et suivra ce conflit&nbsp; de tr&egrave;s pr&egrave;s dans ces prochains jours. Nous vous souhaitons bonne chance et sommes &agrave; vos c&ocirc;t&eacute;s pour emporter cette victoire&nbsp;!

	(nom)

	(organisation)

	Pour davantage d&rsquo;informations sur ce conflit, nous vous invitons &agrave; consulter <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4904-UK-Packaging-Workers-Face-Lockout-at-Mayr-Melnhof-Plant-in-Merseyside">l&rsquo;article que l&rsquo;ICEM</a> a publi&eacute; la semaine derni&egrave;re en anglais.

	Merci de bien vouloir agir rapidement.

	Bien fraternellement.

	Dick Blin

	Responsable P&acirc;te et Papier de l&rsquo;ICEM/Gen&egrave;ve
<hr />

	&iexcl;Trabajadores/as del empaque requieren tu apoyo!

	Despu&eacute;s de participar en paros legales de protesta durante el mes de febrero, 140 trabajadores/as miembros de Unite the Union en el Reino Unido resultaron v&iacute;ctimas de un cierre patronal impuesto el d&iacute;a 20 de ese mismo mes por la empresa austriaca de empaque Mayr-Melnhof. La administraci&oacute;n actu&oacute; as&iacute; para poder trasladar productos y equipos a otra planta en caso de producirse otra huelga. Los trabajadores de esta planta brit&aacute;nica est&aacute;n en estado de alerta a consecuencia de esta siniestra maniobra, y merecen nuestro apoyo urgente.

	El cierre patronal oblig&oacute; a 40 trabajadores/as a ocupar las instalaciones de la planta el 20 de febrero. Los trabajadores/as sindicalizados de Unite necesitan de nuestra ayuda inmediata durante este agrio conflicto en la planta de envasado de Bootle, en la regi&oacute;n de Merseyside. Rogamos copiar el mensaje que aparece a continuaci&oacute;n, o bien escribir su propio mensaje en su idioma, dirigido a <a href="mailto:Tony.burke@unitetheunion.com; ian.tonks@unitetheunion.com; p-potter1@sky.com">estos dirigentes sindicales</a>, sin olvidar de mencionar el nombre de su propio sindicato. Encabezamiento: Apoyar a Unite en Mayr-Melnhof.

	Estimados compa&ntilde;eros/as:

	Hemos sabido de su conflicto y el cierre patronal que les impusiera Mayr-Melnhof. Entendemos que la administraci&oacute;n ha sido completamente irracional con respecto a una soluci&oacute;n intermedia que afectar&iacute;a a los trabajadores despedidos. Parece que Mayr-Melnhof quisiera imponer a la fuerza su intransigencia: la alternativa es un inflexible cierre patronal. Por favor sepan que nuestro sindicato est&aacute; con ustedes y que en los pr&oacute;ximos d&iacute;as vamos a estar vigilantes ante este conflicto. &iexcl;Cuenten con nuestro apoyo para ganar este conflicto!

	(nombre)

	(sindicato)

	Para mayor informaci&oacute;n sobre este cierre patronal, ver el <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4904-UK-Packaging-Workers-Face-Lockout-at-Mayr-Melnhof-Plant-in-Merseyside">informe de la ICEM</a> que se public&oacute; la semana pasada, en ingl&eacute;s.

	Agradecemos su pronta atenci&oacute;n a este asunto.

	Unidos en solidaridad,

	Dick Blin

	Encargado del Sector Pulpa y Papel de la ICEM/Ginebra

Packaging Workers Need Support!

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
From the IMF website
ICEM, IMF and ITGLWF will hold the joint event &ldquo;Cutting emissions - transforming jobs&rdquo; at the UN climate change conference in Durban (COP17) to discuss a sustainable foundation for Just Transition and develop a common industrial strategy for the future of industrial workers. 
 
GLOBAL: The 17th conference of the parties (COP17) to the UN framework convention on climate change will be held in Durban, South Africa, from November 28 to December 9, 2011. The international trade union movement led by ITUC will urge the governments to agree on a legally-binding climate regime and a concrete climate finance scheme, including provisions for a Just Transition. 
 
To support ITUC's contribution, ICEM, IMF and ITGLWF will hold a joint event, &quot;Cutting Emissions - Transforming Jobs&quot; on November 30 at 14.30-16.00 in the COP17 World of Work Pavilion, at the Civil Society Space - University of KwaZulu, Howard College Campus, King George Av., Berea, Durban. 
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="134" />
The event will promote a common industrial workers' position to ensure the &quot;greening&quot; of existing jobs, the creation of new, sustainable jobs, and a Just Transition, with concrete policies for green technology innovation and a sustainability fund securing the future for both today's and tomorrow's workers. 
 
The discussions will focus on: 
 
&bull;Post Kyoto framework: Could a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol be a solution to avoid a gap in emission reduction commitments and to re-build the legally-binding framework covering all countries in the future negotiation process? 
&bull;Building a Foundation-Climate Finance: How should the funding be designed/realized to achieve sustainable jobs and a Just Transition? What are the components of a strong financing scheme e.g. mandatory contributions from governments, the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), levy on maritime transportation &amp; aviation, or? 
&bull;Just Transition: What kinds of programme are needed for industrial workers who are most dramatically affected by the climate change issues? How can both today's and tomorrow's workers benefit from the transformation to a sustainable economy? What support will be needed? 
&bull;Developing Industrial Strategy: Industrial strategies which aim towards sustainable production, the transformation and enhancement of existing jobs, and the creation of new, greener jobs are needed at local, national, regional and international levels. How could developed and developing countries be engaged to harmonize/develop respective industrial policies. 
&bull;Union&rsquo;s role for the future: How should unions get involved to transform industry and create new, greener jobs be designed and implemented with the full participation? 
 
For more information on the ICEM, IMF and ITGLWF event, contact Brian Kohler, ICEM Health, Safety and Sustainability officer (<a href="mailto:Brian.Kohler@icem.org">Brian.Kohler@icem.org</a>) or Kan Matsuzaki, IMF Director of Shipbuilding-shipbreaking, Non-Manual Workers and climate change (<a href="mailto:kmatsuzaki@imfmetal.org">kmatsuzaki@imfmetal.org</a>). 
 
See also ITUC's contribution to COP17 at <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ituc_durbancontribution.pdf">http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ituc_durbancontribution.pdf</a>. 
 
More information on COP17 WoW will be posted at 
ITUC: <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/climate-change-and-green-economy.html">http://www.ituc-csi.org/climate-change-and-green-economy.html</a>.

Industrial strategy on climate change to be discussed

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The threat of a walkout last week by union members of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) served to force German tyre and auto-parts manufacturer Continental AG to back away from a concession-ridden labour contract at a research and development center in Chatham, Ontario. 
 
Members of CAW Local 35 voted by 83% for a three-year renewal agreement at strike deadline 15 November in an accord that preserved full rights for new hires, including inclusion in a defined benefit pension plan, all other post-retirement benefits, and the same level of work benefits as existing staff. 
<img alt="" src="" width="150" height="75" />
The CAW branch union also won annual wage increases totaling over 9% for the three years, improved retirement incentives, and a signing bonus. The union represents 37 highly skilled workers employed at a research and development for engine management systems. 
 
&ldquo;We fought hard to preserve the rights of new hires and to prevent the creation of two tiers of workers in this workplace,&rdquo; said CAW National Representative Richard Laverty. &ldquo;This small group of workers stood together and pushed back numerous concession demands from this profitable and huge multinational corporation.&rdquo; 
 
The union agreed to take contract concessions in 2008 during the onset of the financial crisis and subsequent collapse of North American manufacturing segments. This came a year after Continental bought this and other automotive parts operations from Siemens VDO. Then, the Chatham plant made parts for emission control systems but with the sale to Continental, the German company cut the workforce and turned the operation into a R&amp;D centre.

CAW Preserves Benefits for New Hires at Continental AG in Canada

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union of the Chemical, Energy, Mine Workers Union (CEMWU), or SP KEP SPSI, resumed wage negotiations this morning with Freeport-McMoRan&rsquo;s Indonesian subsidiary tomorrow in hopes of getting the 93% owner of the world&rsquo;s largest recoverable gold and copper deposits to increase its pay offer. 
 
A strike that has crippled all production at the 175,000-ton-per-day mine is now in its ninth week. 
 
From 14-18 November, the union covering 10,000 miners at US-based Freeport-McMoRan&rsquo;s Grasberg mining complex in Papua province did engage in give-and-take negotiations and although some progress was made on wage differences, the two sides remain far apart. 
 
Earlier, the union had given PT Freeport Indonesia, the Indonesian government, and local government leaders official notification that the strike would be extended another 30 days to 15 December. The ICEM, which has been directly involved in the dispute, responded to the extension by putting a call out to trade unions to assist the union in feeding striking families. 
<img alt="" src="" width="288" height="160" />
That call can be found in this <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/134.ICEM.Indonesia%20Mine%20Request.10November.pdf ">10 November ICEM letter</a> and trade unions and others are encouraged to send contributions to the union&rsquo;s official name in Papua province, the SPSI Freeport Indonesia Dana Perjuangan, at the bank numbers listed in this letter. 
 
The union has been feeding 10,000 workers and their families from five open-air kitchens in southern Papua province near the port city of Timika. The ICEM was informed by the branch&rsquo;s parent union in Jakarta, as well as by ICEM Indonesian Affiliates&rsquo; Chairman D. Patombong Sjaiful, that food staples are running low and a Solidarity Fund is short of money. Several ICEM affiliates immediately responded to the call, and more financial assistance is needed now. 
 
The union and management also met two weeks ago for four days, from 7-10 November, with management increasing its two-year wage offer to 35% from 30%. The company is offering 24% in 2011 and 11% next year. 
<img alt="" src="" width="170" height="78" />
Prior to the start of the 15 September strike, Grasberg miners earned a wage of between US$2.13 per hour and US$3.54. The union recently lowered its demands from US$7.50 to US$4 for lower-paid workers in 2011-2012, and proposed a US$3.50 wage increase on 1 October 2012. 
 
There are also a number of other issues still in dispute, including a metal bonus, a production bonus, and housing, education and vacation benefits. The major difference in all these issues is the company&rsquo;s insistence that they be based on variable costs, while the union wants them set at fixed costs. 
 
The PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union continues to enforce a road blockade at Mile 28 that has hampered Freeport-McMoRan&rsquo;s ability to produce and caused the company to declare force majeure on 22 October. A ruptured set of pipelines that carry gold and copper concentrate 114 kilometres from Grasberg to Timika, again site of this week bargaining, is now being repaired, with the company using helicopters to ferry construction crews and materials to the damaged portions of the lines. 
 
In late October and early November, police threatened to break the blockade with force. But that threat &ndash; which was certain to have been met by resistance and bloodshed &ndash; is no longer there and police are no longer present at Mile 28. But rather, strikers and their families are forced onto reduced food rations as union funds have dried up. 
 
The ICEM continues to advocate for the union&rsquo;s wage and other demands to be met. Miners work 12-hour shifts some 4,200 metres high in the Sudirman Range and most spend another four unpaid hours each day getting to and from the Grasberg site via buses. Workers of the PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union also undergo an excruciating roster schedule in which they work five days on, two days off, followed by six days of work and one day off, and then four days on, three days off.

Indonesian Miners Resume Talks Again Today with Freeport-McMoRan

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
ICEM and National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) President Senzeni Zokwana said the drive for profit by mining companies operating in South Africa was undercutting safety, and corporate executives must prioritize their values in order to save lives. 
 
Zokwana was speaking last week at the Mine Heath and Safety Council Summit, a tripartite forum set up in 2008 to address the mounting deaths and diseases inside South Africa&rsquo;s mining industry. And despite the conference&rsquo;s theme, &ldquo;Zero Harm,&rdquo; it was obvious from the facts, figures and rhetoric presented at the conference that South Africa&rsquo;s mine safety culture is nowhere near zero levels. 
 
&ldquo;The continuation of people dying in the industry is unacceptable,&rdquo; said Zokwana. &ldquo;Unless the CEOs take (the deaths and injuries) as seriously as they do to meet financial targets, we&rsquo;ll always have problems.&rdquo;
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="144" />
Zokwana also addressed the NUM&rsquo;s habit of taking a day of mourning at a mine site when a fatality occurs. &ldquo;Some companies view the mourning of death by their employers as a strike. But we need a more caring industry,&rdquo; he said. 
 
Zokwana was one of a handful of trade union leaders and government officials who called production bonuses rather than higher monthly salaries as a leading cause of safety lapses. The Minister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, said there were &ldquo;unintended consequences created by the current bonus incentive scheme. It is time that this industry stops mindless risk-taking. I challenge the employer and employee to really address this matter because it does contribute to fatalities.&rdquo; 
 
Shabangu was also critical of industry for its profit-making, while ignoring the inherent danger of South African mining where mines are some of the deepest in the world and where rock slides &ndash;particularly in gold and platinum extraction &ndash; account for 40% of all fatalities. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="84" />
&ldquo;I do not understand how mining companies that make billions in profit fail even to buy the latest available and proven ground monitoring and detection equipment,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;These can cut down the number of potential fatalities considering the fact that the equipment is widely available and has been used by the civil engineering industry for a number of years.&rdquo; 
 
Shabangu promised that her ministry would increase the number of safety audits through the rest of 2011 and into 2012, and stern action would be taken against companies that do not comply with established standards. The safety council summit, a by-product of the Mine Health and Safety Council that was a statutory requirement from South Africa&rsquo;s 1996 Mine Health and Safety Act, was held on 17-18 November at Kempton Park outside of Johannesburg. 
 
Through the first ten months of 2011, 116 registered mine fatalities have occurred in the South African industry. That compares with 168 official deaths in 2009 and 127 in 2010, but the unofficial rate is certain to be much higher. 
 
In the days just preceding the summit, four miners were killed in industrial accidents: an engineering contract worker at Eastern Platinum&rsquo;s Crocodile River mine near Brits in North West Province; a Harmony Gold employee at the Kusasaletha mine near Carltonville, western Gauteng province; a miner employed by First Uranium at the Ezulwini mine in Westonaria, Gauteng province; and a miner working at the Consolidated Murchison gold mine near Gravelotte, Limpopo province.

Senzeni Zokwana Calls Out Bosses on South African Mine Safety

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A dramatic month-long occupation of an M-real paper mill in Alizay, France, ended on 18 November after trade unions CGT-Filpac and CFE-CGC signed an agreement with the Finnish company to end the blockade and release stockpiled printing papers. The strike began on 19 October after M-real dropped plans to sell the mill to one of two remaining buyers, and announced redundancies for 330 French paperworkers. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4726-French-Paperworkers-Continue-Protest-Today-to-Keep-M-real-Mill-Operating">ICEM report</a> of 24 October.) 
 
The workers voted in front of plant gates at the Haute-Normandie mill by 95% on 15 November to stop the occupation and leaders of the two unions signed an agreement with M-real on 17 November that provides a temporary reprieve to the plant closure, plus financial and other considerations. 
 
Workers receive a &euro;3,000 bonus for ending the occupation, &euro;1,500 immediately and the remainder in January. M-real commits to running the 230,000-tonne-per-year mill until 7 March 2012 and pledges not to remove equipment or machinery prior. In addition, workers will be paid their salaries during the 30-day strike. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="136" />
The negotiated agreement and ending of the occupation came just before French police were to move in and force opening of warehoused paper. The plant closing standoff reached the highest levels of French government, after the unions petitioned the state to expropriate the paper mill assets, and spilled into European Parliament meetings in Strasbourg, France, last week, when French political leaders met with Finnish parliamentarians to complain of intransigence by M-real and its 40% owner, Mets&auml;liitto, a forest products company based in Finland. 
 
&ldquo;No one should believe that we capitulated,&rdquo; stated CGT-Filpac plant delegate Thierry Philippot. &ldquo;We will continue to make sure that this company pays for the moral and physical suffering of workers.&rdquo; Workers filed harassment complaints with French authorities over the psychological effects of M-real changing its plans. 
 
M-real announced on 4 May a major restructuring to exit office and printing paper manufacturing and focus instead on paperboard used for packaging. It meant putting two fine paper mills up for sale, the Alizay mill near Pont-de-l&rsquo;Arche and the Gohrsm&uuml;hle mill in Germany, as well as discontinuing carbon paper production at the Reflex mill in Germany. 
 
After paring a potential 65 bidders for Alizay down to two, M-real last month stopped negotiations with a Thai paper company and a French-based equity company and said it would shutter the mill. 
 
That set off the anger of French paperworkers of CGT-Filpac and CFE-CGC and the occupation began, which included placement of large vehicles in front of plant gates that were locked with heavy chains. The unions also brought the case into a French district court in Evreux over failure by M-real to provide the necessary documents on a possible sale. Statutory consultations over the plant closure did start on 8 November but were quickly suspended due to high tensions, and those talks must begin again separate of last week&rsquo;s protocol agreement to end the occupation.

French Paperworkers End Mill Occupation in Deal with M-real

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The prelude to ICEM&rsquo;s Fifth Statutory Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this week will be a day-long conference on the successes and best practices achieved in the longstanding Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) campaign. The event will take place at the Congress venue, the Hilton Hotel Buenos Aires, on Wednesday, 23 November, the day before Congress opens. 
 
With activities now in over 25 countries, the six-year-old ICEM campaign is now operating on all cylinders and has reached a level of maturity not only seen in tangible results, but has produced ICEM project coordinators who possess the skills and have honed the tools to make a difference for irregular workers the world over. 
<img alt="" src="" width="184" height="140" />
Several of those coordinators will highlight CAL campaign successes at the conference this week. For example, CAL Asian Coordinator Aranya Pakapath will tell how 1,500 contract workers in Chhattisgarh state, India, formed a cement workers&rsquo; union. She will describe how Indonesian outsource workers did the same in that country&rsquo;s paper industry, as well as struggles cement workers in the Philippines face in building unions. 
 
Joseph Toe, CAL Coordinator in Sub-Saharan Africa, will address ICEM campaigns in Guinea, Nigeria, Namibia, Sierra Leone and other countries where major shifts and successful organising have taken place regarding casual employment. Seyni Mbaye Ndiaye, General Secretary of ICEM affiliate SUTIDS in Senegal, will speak on how his union and the ICEM Sub-Saharan CAL project brought about a Presidential Decree in the west African nation for protection of rights of short-term contract workers. 
 
A report will be given by Igor D&iacute;az of ICEM affiliate Sintracarb&oacute;n in Colombia on the hurdles that union encounters in organising and bringing collective agreements to workers of sub-contractors at the world&rsquo;s biggest coal mine. 
<img alt="" src="" width="214" height="140" />&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="214" height="160" />
FNV Bondgenoten Message at Eemshaven, Netherlands, CAL Asian Coordinator Aranya Pakapath&nbsp;&nbsp;
And Sascha Meijer of FNV Bondgenoten in the Netherlands will show the tools used by that union in bringing dignity and wage justice to migrant workers from Europe&rsquo;s east at energy plants in the Dutch port city of Eemshaven. 
 
J&oslash;rgen Juul Rasmussen of Dansk El F&ouml;rbund of Denmark will give an overview on the temporary and fixed-term employment situation in Europe, as well as progress on implementing the European Union directive on temporary work. 
 
Sponsored by the German Freidrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), the conference promises to be a wellspring of strategies and best case studies aimed at combating the rampant growth of temporary and short-term employment that affects us all. 
 
The day will conclude with a panel moderated by Council of Global Unions Coordinator Jim Baker that will include General Secretaries from the ICEM (Manfred Warda), the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (Klaus Priegnitz), and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (Jyrki Raina) that will look at future strategies of the campaign within the framework of integrating the three Global Union Federations. 
 
ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Regional Vice President Sergio Novais will chair the day-long session.&nbsp;

ICEM Congress: Contract, Agency Labour Forum to Showcase Achievements

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The ICEM&rsquo;s Fifth and perhaps last ordinary Congress opens in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this week, with some 800 delegates and guests expected to attend. The quadrennial Congress runs from 24-26 November, with the ICEM Presidium to be held today, 21 November, and an Executive Committee meeting to be held on 22 November. 
 
General Secretary Manfred Warda said Argentina was chosen as the venue for this Congress because of eight strong affiliates in the South American nation, including those affiliated to both national labour centres &ndash; the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the Argentine Workers&rsquo; Central Union (CTA). 
 
&ldquo;With industrial trade union unity taking shape on the global level, we felt it appropriate that our union affiliates from both confederations connect and continue pushing forward on the positive social agenda that has taken root in Argentina,&rdquo; said Warda. 
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The government of President Cristina Fern&aacute;ndez de Kirchner has followed the social plan of her late husband N&eacute;stor Kirchner by building a &ldquo;people first&rdquo; agenda in which public spending and consumer power serve as the fuel for economic growth and prosperity for all. That is reflected in the government enacting a 25% increase in the country&rsquo;s minimum wage this past summer, while at the same time expanding export markets by providing incentives to manufacturers. 
 
Warda said this contrasts with governments in other developed nations which now resort to &ldquo;anti-people, anti-social&rdquo; austerity measures to counter sovereign debt crises. 
 
The Congress quite likely will hear from President Fern&aacute;ndez on the opening day, as well as from the Argentina Minister of Labour and Social Security, Dr. Carlos Tomado. 
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The Congress will also consider a number of motions, including a forward-looking Action Plan that aims to continue the activist culture of the ICEM in future work and several specific motions on current and relevant world topics. Day two of the Congress will feature a panel discussion on Social Dialogue initiatives in Latin America, moderated by ICEM Latin American/Caribbean Regional Vice President Sergio Novais. 
 
On the final day of the Congress, 26 November, discussion will take place over the final integration steps in creating a new Global Union Federation (GUF) together with the International Textile, Garment, Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF). That is scheduled to happen in June 2012 in Copenhagen, making the next ICEM Congress a dissolution congress to occur at the same time. 
 
The ICEM union affiliates in Argentina cover nearly all the GUF&rsquo;s industrial sectors, including petroleum (FASPyGP), rubber (SUTNA), pulp and paper (FOEIPCyQ and SOEP), natural gas (STIGAN), nuclear (UOM), electricity (LYF-PAT) and mining (OSMA). The ICEM is grateful for their assistance in arrangements what will prove a memorable and successful Congress.

ICEM Congress Opens This Week in Buenos Aires, Argentina

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The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has launched a nation-wide campaign urging the government to repeal amendments to the Employment Act, which would legalize labour contractors. 
 
The MTUC has been lobbying against these amendments since the bill was originally submitted to Parliament in July 2010. At that time, due to opposition from other political parties and trade unions, the government withdrew the bill. The amendments were re-introduced, with minor changes, in June 2011. Since then, the MTUC has been outspoken against the bill but, despite a picket at the Parliament on 3 October, the bill was passed by the majority Members of Parliament of the Ruling Party on 6 October. 
 
The proposed amendments would introduce &ldquo;contractors for labour&rdquo; into Malaysian legislation and create triangular employment relationships in which workers would be employed and paid by a contractor, rather than by the company in which they work. The amendments would also open the way for unequal treatment of workers with respect to wages and benefits. 
 
The MTUC further opposes deferred payment of overtime which, as laid out in the bill, would mean that contract workers would not receive remuneration for overtime until one month later, so that the principal employer time to pay the contractor for labour that in turn pays the contract workers. 
 
The MTUC is committed to pursuing &ldquo;all avenues available&rdquo; until the amendments to the Employment Act are withdrawn.

Malaysian Nation Labor Centre Decries Legislation Opening Door for Contract Labour

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