English

Español

Français

Русский

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Action Plan 2021-2025

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

Women

Youth

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

Industrial employers must do much more to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. 
 
That was one of the main calls when trade union representatives from Africa and Asia met in South Africa this Monday to discuss ways of tackling the pandemic. 
 
Taking part were unions affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which organised the conference. Support came from the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Swedish metal and allied workers' union Metall and the Danish general workers' union SiD. 
 
Unions also have an important part to play in the fight against HIV/AIDS, delegates emphasised. The ICEM and its affiliated unions should focus on workplace activities, as well as undertaking and disseminating research on HIV/AIDS in the ICEM's sectors. This research should include the cost/affordability and availability of HIV/AIDS drugs. 
 
The conference was held in Africa in view of the especially serious HIV/AIDS problem in many African countries. From the discussions, it was clear that the nature of the HIV/AIDS challenges, the profiles of the spread of HIV/AIDS and the perceived priorities differ from country to country and from region to region. However, the participants agreed on the key challenges and priorities. 
 
In particular, it was felt that employers in ICEM sectors have much further to go in accepting the reality of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and their responsibilities for preventing the spread. Employer action should include the provision of medical resources for tackling HIV/AIDS in their workplaces. 
 
Given the clear links between single-sex hostel accommodation for male workers in a number of ICEM sectors and the spread of HIV/AIDS, the participants demanded that employers provide proper family housing for such workers. Employers' &quot;hostel culture&quot; attitudes should be eliminated. 
 
Employers must meet the HIV/AIDS challenge through effective partnerships with organised labour. These must include joint cooperation to fight the stigmatisation and/or victimisation of those living with HIV/AIDS. 
 
Many participants felt that the ICEM and its affiliated unions could and should do a lot more to help fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and support those living with HIV/AIDS. 
 
At the same time, it was recognised that the ICEM and its affiliates needed to concentrate their efforts where they are likely to make the most impact. Many other groups and organisations are working on the HIV/AIDS issue. They have special skills and expertise which it would be pointless for unions to try to duplicate. So the ICEM should focus mainly on the workplace. Activities there would also provide opportunities to promote HIV/AIDS awareness in the broader community. 
 
In this regard, it would be important to work with the ILO and seek ILO funding. The prevention of discrimination and/or victimisation of those living with HIV/AIDS could be helped through the development of an ILO Convention, or the modification of existing relevant Conventions. It was felt that the ILO could be particularly useful in providing &quot;training the trainers&quot; assistance, as well as other means for diffusion of best practices. 
 
It was recognised that ICEM-affiliated unions would sometimes need help in developing negotiating positions, as well as in fighting the social exclusion of those living with HIV/AIDS - and of their families. 
 
Given the need to focus activities on the workplace, it was felt that the ICEM should consider inviting employers from ICEM industries to an ICEM conference or conferences on HIV/AIDS. Additionally, there would be an ongoing need to lobby employers' associations in order to raise the profile of HIV/AIDS and the importance of tackling it in the workplace. 
 
One important use of the ICEM's influence would be to put pressure on governments - in addition to companies - to ensure the wider availability of medical treatment. It should also address international financial institutions and seek funding for targeted HIV/AIDS activities in ICEM sectors. 
 
The ICEM's HIV/AIDS activities must strongly emphasise the importance of programmes for the empowerment of women, the conference insisted.

HIV/AIDS: African and Asian Unions&#039; Action Call

Trade unions in Belarus are holding a National Day of Action today to demand a living wage and an end to restrictions on trade union rights. 
 
The 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) is &quot;alarmed by recently published facts and figures which clearly indicate an unprecedented decline of the standards of living in Belarus,&quot; writes ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs in a message of support to ICEM-affiliated unions there. 
 
&quot;Existing structures have prevented the effective development of the national economy and triggered severe inflation,&quot; Higgs argues. &quot;Workers' salaries no longer reflect their true contribution to the society and can hardly keep them from the brink of poverty or ensure physical survival.&quot; 
 
The Belarus unions &quot;stand as the only force that defends the right of the workers and their families to a decent life,&quot; Higgs writes. &quot;This determined attitude has put the unions under severe attack by the authoritarian regime, which the world community is observing with growing concern. I have addressed President Alexander Lukashenko and the Belarus government on several occasions, strongly protesting against the violations of union rights in Belarus.&quot; 
 
Pledging full international support to the Belarus unions' campaign, Higgs urges the country's government to &quot;finally negotiate and sign a General Tariff Agreement with the unions&quot;.

Belarus Union Action Gains Global Support

All Fijians should stay at home next Monday to show their support for a return to constitutional rule. 
 
That is the call from a broadly-based democracy coalition in which the country's unions are playing a leading role. 
 
The call by the Fiji First movement comes as the country's military-backed &quot;interim administration&quot; is seeking to overturn a pro-democracy court ruling. 
The appeals court is due to begin hearing the regime's appeal against a high court judgement last November, which upheld the 1997 constitution. The high court therefore recognised the elected president and parliament who were in office prior to the coup staged last May by businessman George Speight. 
 
Speight's coup was eventually thwarted, but instead of handing power back to the democratic parliament and government, the military imposed their own &quot;interim administration&quot;. 
 
Fiji First, which has called for Monday's stayaway, includes the Fiji's Blue movement. This is spearheaded by the Fijian trade unions, who have received strong backing from organised labour worldwide. Particular concern had been caused by the interim administration's moves to curb trade union rights.The political turmoil has also led to widespread job losses. 
 
The restrictions on union rights have merely strengthened labour's resolve to back the democracy campaign, says Daniel Urai. 
 
He is President of the FTUC and General Secretary of the Fiji Electricity Authority Staff Association, which is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). The ICEM has strongly backed the Fijian unions' democracy campaign. 
 
For an interview with Urai, see ICEM UPDATE 80/2000. 
 
As well as the unions, Fiji First includes employers' federations, civic rights groups and women's group. 
 
Although the group is determined to keep the protests peaceful, the authorities may have opted for confrontation. 
 
Yesterday, the Police Commissioner threatened to detain the Fiji First chairman, businessman Mick Beddoes. This follows Beddoes' release of a statement on 9 February, in which he called on &quot;all citizens of Fiji, including school children, workers and businesses to STAY HOME AND INDOORS on Monday February 19th.&quot; 
 
After Beddoes had been quizzed by the police, Fiji First Deputy Chairman Ratu Meli Vesikula stated yesterday: &quot;I fully endorse and support the call of Mick Beddoes to all Fiji citizens to express their collective view by staying home, and I urge all employers to make arrangements for a skeleton crew but not penalise anyone who wants to express their support to our call for the immediate return to democratic rule.&quot;

Fiji: Monday Stay-Home Call By Democracy Campaign

Perseverance paid off for workers in the US state of Alabama. They have just gained their first contract [collective agreement] at the 400-person Imerys calcium carbonate plant in Sylacauga. 
 
Global labour solidarity played an important part in their campaign. 
 
Union members ratified the new agreement on Tuesday night by an over 70 percent margin. The result was announced yesterday by their union, PACE. 
 
The contract is the culmination of a campaign that began in June 1999 after Imerys had withdrawn recognition of the union. Imerys is a leading materials and minerals multinational headquartered in France. 
 
At the global level, PACE is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). PACE and the ICEM waged a global campaign that resulted in a successful organising drive at Sylacauga in June 2000. This in turn led to negotiations for a first contract. 
 
&quot;We congratulate the Sylacauga workers and PACE on their endurance,&quot; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs today. &quot;Their victory is our victory.&quot; 
 
The three-year contract provides for a pension up to 2.08 percent of earnings for each year of service; annual raises of 3.5, 3.0 and 3.0 percent; a cap on health insurance premiums paid by workers; incentive bonuses; a company-backed retirement savings scheme; overtime pay after eight hours; and increases in shift differentials and holiday pay. The contract also eliminates the older &quot;tech system&quot; for promotions and job classifications and replaces it with one based 
largely on seniority and job bidding rights. 
 
&quot;After 42 days and nights of negotiations over the last six months, we were able to come to an agreement with management that will better the lives of Imerys' workers,&quot; said PACE negotiator Jimmy Colston. &quot;The company and union were able to work together on this, which we believe has led to a much better relationship after a rocky start.&quot; 
 
PACE Region Five Vice President Don Langham thanked Colston along with local union president Keith Fulbright and the union negotiating committee &quot;for their hard work and skilled negotiations.&quot; He also thanked Joe Drexler of PACE's special projects division, the ICEM's Fred Higgs and the unions in other countries who pressed Imerys to recognise the union in Sylacauga. These included unions representing Imerys employees in France, where the company is headquartered, in Britain, in Belgium and in Australia. Also featuring in the campaign were a widely publicised PACE and ICEM lobby of the Imerys shareholders' meeting in Paris and a special PACE/ICEM website. 
 
&quot;For the first time, workers here will be able to advance in a fair manner and with equal rights to improve their livelihoods and the welfare of their families,&quot; said PACE local union president Keith Fulbright yesterday. &quot;The contract has brought about unity, pride and dignity that we never had before, and the company will also benefit from this.&quot;

US Imerys Workers Secure Agreement

Trade unions in tyre multinational Goodyear have launched a worldwide newsletter. 
 
Named Global Solidarity, the bulletin will help coordinate union information and action within Goodyear on all continents. 
 
This is the latest initiative from a global Goodyear workers' network set up in 1999 by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
The ICEM is building up union networks within major multinationals in its sectors. At the same time, it is working to conclude global agreements with companies, covering issues such as trade union rights, equality and health, safety and the environment. 
 
ICEM-affiliated unions in the company concerned establish and run a network, with unions in the company's headquarters country often taking on a key role. In this case, Global Solidarity is published by the ICEM-affiliated United Steelworkers of America (USWA), which organises workers in the US tyre industry. 
 
The first issue of the newsletter includes labour stories from Goodyear operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Guatemala, Indonesia, the UK and the USA. It also covers regional union action and gives background information on the company. 
 
Print copies are currently being distributed in English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish. Online versions in each language are now available on this site:
&nbsp;&nbsp; 
<a href="/index.php?id=111&amp;doc=1224&amp;la=EN">English version</a>
<a href="/index.php?id=111&amp;doc=1224&amp;la=FR">French version</a>
<a href="/index.php?id=111&amp;doc=1224&amp;la=ES">Spanish version</a>
<a href="/index.php?id=111&amp;doc=1224&amp;la=DE">German version</a>

Goodyear Union Network Launches Global Bulletin

Taiwan's trade unions have won their fight to reduce legal working hours. 
 
This month, the standard working week has been cut from 48 hours to 42. 
 
A law to that effect had in fact been passed by the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's parliament, last June. This followed a strong trade union campaign. But employers had been lobbying hard against the measure, and the government at one stage intended to raise the limit back up to 44 hours. 
 
The Taiwanese unions fought back with a further high-profile campaign. Global trade union support played a vital role in their victory. 
 
The Chinese Federation of Labour (CFL) is Taiwan's trade union centre, with 3,600 affiliated unions. The Confederation of Industrial Trade Unions (CITU) groups 18 major Taiwanese industrial unions. Dual affiliations to the two bodies are held by the petroleum workers' TPWU and the power workers' TPLU, both of which are affiliated at the global level to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions. 
 
At the parliament buildings in Taipei last month, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs joined the Taiwanese unions in talks with Deputy Prime Minister Lau Ching-Chi and other legislators. 
 
&quot;Your visit to Taiwan and the meeting with the parliamentary leaders was one of the key factors in the victory of our struggle,&quot; Huang Ching-Hsien told Higgs today. 
 
Huang, who played a prominent part in the parliamentary talks, is President both of the CITU and of the TPWU. He said the Taiwanese unions would be networking closely and actively with the ICEM.

Taiwanese Unions Win Worktime Cuts

The bitter labour dispute at America's Crown Central Petroleum company is over. 
 
Members of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) in Pasadena, Texas, have ratified a new agreement with Crown, the union announced today. 
 
The vote yesterday by members of the union's Local 4-227 ends a dispute marked by a five-year lockout at the Crown refinery in Pasadena and by a sophisticated union campaign against the company. 
 
&quot;We are pleased that our members are returning to work under a union contract that provides essential guarantees and protections,&quot; said PACE President Boyd Young. &quot;It is time to put rancour aside and work with Crown to improve the operation of the refinery and its environmental compliance, while ensuring long-term job security and fundamental rights for our members.&quot; 
 
&quot;The return of PACE members to the refinery is a great victory, and we are grateful that peace has been declared by both sides,&quot; said PACE Executive Vice-President Robert Wages, who directed the settlement talks. &quot;We look forward to an improved relationship with the company.&quot; 
 
Wages paid particular tribute to the Norwegian oil workers' union NOPEF and to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) for their role in the campaign. Former NOPEF President Lars Myhre, who chairs the ICEM energy section, lobbied oil multinational Statoil to put pressure on Crown over the dispute. 
 
&quot;We express our profound appreciation to Lars Myhre and NOPEF along with the ICEM for informing Statoil about Crown's labour record,&quot; Wages said. &quot;In October 2000, this led Statoil to cancel its contract for the processing of Statoil's crude oil at Crown's Pasadena refinery.&quot; 
 
Crown was undoubtedly keen to recover the valuable Statoil contract, which used 35 percent of the Pasadena refinery capacity and 20 percent of Crown's overall capacity. 
 
The ICEM has a global agreement with Statoil on trade union rights and other issues. Both PACE and NOPEF are ICEM affiliates. 
 
&quot;Lars Myhre's visit with our locked-out workers in Pasadena, Texas and his acts of international solidarity will long be remembered,&quot; Wages said. 
 
Joe Campbell, Financial Secretary of Local 4-227, said: &quot;Our locked-out members stood tall for five years, and we express our deep thanks to our International union for its financial support and successful campaign, and to our PACE members and locals who contributed generously to our hardship fund.&quot; 
 
Mack Hickerson, Local 4-227 President, gave special recognition to &quot;the thousands of labour, civil rights, religious and environmental activists who rallied around our cause and gave life to our campaign.&quot; 
 
The new agreement provides wage increases of approximately 11.5 percent in the first thirteen months, with additional wage increases based on forthcoming national oil bargaining. Importantly, it protects seniority rights; preserves jobs and the union contract if the refinery is sold; keeps Crown's Pasadena refinery as part of national oil bargaining; and encompasses a collective bargaining agreement that keeps standards consistent within the industry. 
 
The lockout of 252 PACE members from Crown's main refinery in Pasadena, Texas began on 5 February 1996. 
 
PACE represents 320,000 workers in the paper, chemical, energy, atomic and automotive supply industries.

Five-Year US Oil Lock-Out Ends

Disturbing new evidence of a link between breast cancer and night work is to be published soon by a Danish researcher. 
 
The findings were previewed at a conference held jointly last Thursday by the Danish Cancer Society (Kraeftens Bekaempelse), the Danish Women Workers' Union (KAD) and the Danish General Workers' Union (SiD). 
 
They show a 50 percent higher risk of primary breast cancer among 30- to 54-year-old women who work night shifts in selected trades for at least half a year. 
 
The risk tends to increase somewhat in women who work nights long-term, researcher Johnni Hansen told the conference. Among women with over six years of employment in trades with predominantly night work, the risk of breast cancer is 70 percent higher than among women daytime workers in the same age range. However, the group of women night workers in this category is small. 
 
Hansen is a specialist at Copenhagen's Institute of Cancer Epidemiology. He has just completed a study of breast cancer among women who work at night. Although a number of descriptive studies in the past have shown significantly higher breast cancer rates among night workers, this is thought to be the first survey that uses reliable nationwide statistics. 
 
His findings will be published in EPIDEMIOLOGY, January 2001, Vol 12, No. 1, pp 74-77. 
 
The increased risks revealed by the new survey are probably not statistical flukes - especially as the study was conducted on a very large sample and was based on Denmark's detailed registry of employment records, health records and population. 
 
The study looked at all 7,035 Danish women who fulfilled all of the following conditions: they had confirmed primary breast cancer, they were born in the period 1935-59, they were aged 30-54 at the time of diagnosis and they had been in employment. 
 
Each case was then matched against a &quot;control&quot;, who was a woman drawn at random from the files of the central population registry but whose year of birth was the same as the corresponding case. &quot;Controls&quot; were women who were alive, without cancer, and who had been in employment before the date of diagnosis of the corresponding case. 
 
Women were considered to work predominantly at night if they had been employed for at least half a year in one or more of the trades in which at least 60 percent of the female respondents had night-time schedules. 
 
Appropriate adjustments were made for other factors known to affect rates of breast cancer, such as socio-economic status, the number of children to which the women had given birth and the women's age at the time of the births. The study also looked at alcohol consumption, which is a known risk factor for breast cancer. In Denmark, as in many countries, alcohol consumption is higher among night workers than in the population as a whole - but the gap would probably not explain all of the difference in the breast cancer rates. 
 
So the explanation must be sought elsewhere, and by far the most likely candidate is a lack of melatonin. 
 
Melatonin is produced naturally in the human body, where it helps to regulate body rhythms, sleep and, possibly, tumour growth. In women, it may also help to prevent overproduction of oestrogen. Concentrations of melatonin have been shown to inhibit the growth of human breast cancer cells. 
 
The body's production of melatonin is regulated, via the retina of the eye, by the daily cycle of light and darkness. It is produced mainly at night. Thus, a person who regularly stays awake all night under artificial lighting will produce less melatonin. 
 
For complex reasons linked to the light/dark cycle, this melatonin deficit is unlikely to be made up by sleeping during daylight hours. Totally blind women are known to have an approximately 50 percent lower relative risk of breast cancer than sighted women. 
 
But whatever the causes of the higher breast cancer rates among night workers, the socio-economic effects could be very serious. Trade unions have long fought for full equality of opportunity at work, and women's status in the workplace has improved significantly in most parts of the world as a result. 
 
In recent years, these equality drives have included the opening of night work to women in a growing number of sectors, and the lifting of regulations that previously limited their access to these higher-paying jobs. For many women workers around the world, night work is both an economic necessity and a step up the promotion ladder. 
 
Breast cancer is by no means the only physical and psychological health risk faced by night workers - whether women or men. And accident rates are significantly higher on the night shift than during the day. Also, it may be wondered if a melatonin deficit may not produce other ill-effects in men and women alike. 
 
So tackling the problem of breast cancer among night workers will, in part, depend on negotiation and on attitude - particularly the attitude of the employers. Trade unions have always insisted that jobs should be designed for people, rather than people for jobs. It may also be even more necessary in future for collective agreements to state that biological factors must not impede equality of pay and opportunity. 
 
Lillian Knudsen is the President of the Danish Women Workers' Union (KAD). She is also on the executive of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), to which both the KAD and the SiD are affiliated at the global level. 
 
&quot;Internationally, I have always insisted that women should work on an equal footing with men - at whatever time of day or night,&quot; Knudsen says. &quot;But this new report has made me nervous, because it would seem that, if we women can sleep in darkness, we produce a hormone that helps to protect us against breast cancer. But we're not stupid. We know full well that some sectors - hospitals and care homes for instance - will always have to work right around the clock. And we must avoid creating a panic. Clearly though, more research is needed into this mechanism, so that we can find out how to design jobs better and minimise the risk of breast cancer.&quot;

Night Work Linked To Breast Cancer

More than 700,000 coal workers in India have won major improvements in pay and allowances. 
 
Agreement came after their unions had served notice of a six-day nationwide strike, which had been scheduled to start this Monday. 
 
The deal is between the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF), three other unions and the management of the coal industry, led by the public sector Coal India Limited (CIL). At the global level, the INMF is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
Following the strike threat, India's Coal Ministry and the coal industry management invited the INMF and its allies for discussion. The Office of the chief Labour Commissioner of the Ministry of Labour also intervened and called both the parties for conciliation. 
 
Negotiations led to a new Memorandum of Understanding, replacing a previous one whose interpretation and implementation had been disputed. 
 
The new understanding provides for pay rises of between 15 and 33 percent. A wide range of allowances will also be increased. And all workers are guaranteed to receive four promotions during the standard 30-year period of service. Provident funds and life insurance have been improved, as have the ex-gratia payments by employers if a worker dies in a mine accident. 
 
The memorandum has been ratified by the conciliation officer and the labour commissioner. On 23 December, it will be converted into a National Coal Wage Agreement when the Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry meets. 
 
Coal workers all over India hailed the agreement and supported the decision of the INMF and its allies to withdraw the strike call.

Big Pay Rises For Indian Coal Workers After Strike Threat

For the first time ever, employers and unions are close to reaching a worldwide agreement covering a whole industrial sector. 
 
Workplace health and safety and environmental protection are the theme of a working document drawn up in Tokyo at the end of last month by the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) and the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA). 
 
The paper focuses on union participation in the chemical industry's voluntary initiative, Responsible Care. The Responsible Care programme aims to ensure uniformly high occupational health and safety and environmental standards wherever the industry operates. 
 
Two years of negotiations have gone into the Tokyo document, which recognises that workers and their unions have a vital role to play in ensuring the highest standards. 
 
The ICCA is a council of leading trade associations representing chemical manufacturers worldwide. It deals with issues of international significance to the chemical manufacturing industry. 
 
The ICEM is a global federation of industrial trade unions representing more than 20 million workers on all continents. 
 
&quot;A joint working document was agreed in Tokyo and will be recommended to the industry,&quot; explained ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs in Brussels today. &quot;It includes six policy objectives which are essential if Responsible Care is to gain the credibility it needs in order to secure our full support. We hope the document can be signed as a formal agreement between the ICCA and the ICEM before the end of next April.&quot; 
 
This would be a world first, Higgs said. &quot;It would be a historic development in international industrial relations - the first-ever world agreement between the representative body of employers in a whole sector and a global federation of workers.&quot;

Chemicals: Worldwide Union-Employer Agreement?

Archive

HIV/AIDS: African and Asian Unions' Action Call

Belarus Union Action Gains Global Support

Fiji: Monday Stay-Home Call By Democracy Campaign

US Imerys Workers Secure Agreement

Goodyear Union Network Launches Global Bulletin

Taiwanese Unions Win Worktime Cuts

Five-Year US Oil Lock-Out Ends

Night Work Linked To Breast Cancer

Big Pay Rises For Indian Coal Workers After Strike Threat

Chemicals: Worldwide Union-Employer Agreement?

About IndustriALL

Follow us

Contact us