English

Español

Français

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

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM encourages trade unionists to apply early for the Winter 2008-2009 Global Labour University&rsquo;s masters degree programmes, to be held in Brazil, Germany, India, and South Africa. The degree and curriculum is called Labour and Globalisation. Deadline for application is 1 April 2008 for the classes in Germany and India, 15 September 2008 for South Africa, and 1 October for the programme in Brazil. 
 
Courses are offered in English. Prospective students can choose one or two locations. 
<img height="91" alt="" src="" width="98" />
The programme offered at University of Kassel and the Berlin School of Economics in Germany concentrates on global governance and macroeconomics; the programme at the University of Witwaterstrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, centers on the politics of development; the programme at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), S&atilde;o Paulo State, centers on analyzing transnational companies; and the programme at the Tata Institute, Mumbai, India, deals with the informal economy.
ACTRAV, the ILO Bureau for Workers' Activities, offers study-related internships which help to bridge the gap between the academic world and trade union reality. Guest instructors from partner universities and international organisations complement the course offerings at the individual school. 
 
Further information and details about the application process, as well as possible scholarships, can be obtaining by clicking <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org">here</a>.&nbsp;

Applications Open for Global Labour University’s 2008 Programmes in Brazil, Germany, India, South Af

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The three-day Coal Conference for global trade unions, held in Calcutta, India, 14-16 December 2007, produced a report presenting an overview of the current, unprecedented growth rates in coal consumption and production, and how that relates to safety and health and trade unionism. That report can be found <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;doc=2552&amp;la=EN">here</a>. 
<img height="60" src="" width="70" alt="" />
The ICEM is grateful to its affiliated trade union, the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF), as well as to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), for hosting the conference, and to the ILO for its generous support.

Report Available from December’s Coal Conference in India

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A fresh report entitled &ldquo;Can Transnational Corporations Legally Apply Conditions to Companies That Supply Contract and Agency Labour?&rdquo; is now available on the ICEM web-site. The report, written as part of ICEM&rsquo;s ongoing campaign on Contract and Agency Labour, is a research effort that originated from the question whether or not a multinational company can impose social standards on its suppliers. 
 
The first of the three sections of the document deals with the international legal framework, examining existing language in labour law, commercial, trade and contract law. Issues dealt with include ILO Convention 181 on Private Employment Agencies and the ILO Recommendation 198, on the Employment Relationship. Other topics include the link between labour standards and global and regional trade agreements, and between contract law and labour standards. 
<img height="202" alt="" src="" width="142" />
The second section deals with corporate codes of conduct. The third section looks at national legal frameworks, both in labour and commercial law. Prominently focused in this last section is the question: what criteria determine the real employment relationship between a company and a worker, regardless of the contractual terms between them? 
 
Different countries are looked at in this respect, with examples, citing case law, from Canada, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, the Philippines, UK, France, and US. The full report can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801BMCALreport.pdf">here</a>.

Transnationals and Agency Labour: ICEM Research Report Available

The ICEM welcomes the news that Thaneth Jhanluechai, a paperworker at New Zealand-owned SIG Combibloc in the Rayong industrial area of Thailand, was reinstated to his job. Global trade union actions forced the reinstatement, particularly in New Zealand, where Rank Group, an equity house with a portfolio of forest product assets, bought the 420-worker SIG Combibloc paper packaging factory from a Swiss company last spring.
Thaneth Jhanluechai will return to work this week with full backpay and benefits dating to when he was unjustly sacked, 4 May&nbsp;2007. 
 
Jhanluechai is a leader of the SIG branch union of ICEM affiliate Paper and Printing Federation of Thailand (PPFT). He was sacked by SIG Combibloc for encouraging workers to honour the Songkran holiday. He did this while serving as vice president of the PPFT branch union and as a member of the factory&rsquo;s Employment Committee.
<img height="92" alt="" src="" width="200" />
The discharge came as SIG Combibloc was readying the plant for Rank Group&rsquo;s purchase. To do this, it eliminated the 8-hour work day for 12-hour shifts, a change that would reduce workers fixed pay and would cut their shift differential pay. Thaneth&rsquo;s call for workers to stay home on a legal Thai holiday was reason for discharge, said managers, because it damaged the business. 
 
Following Rank Group&rsquo;s purchase of the Rayong paper converting facility in June, ICEM took up Thaneth&rsquo;s case. In a letter to Rank&rsquo;s CEO, Graeme Hart, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda said this &ldquo;matter concerns the employment status of Thaneth Jhanluechai, a conscientious lab technician who was unjustly fired by managers of the Swiss-based company, shortly before the purchase by your company of SIG Combibloc. He is a 10-year employee who has always gone above and beyond the call of duty at this enterprise.&rdquo; 
 
New Zealand labour unions, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) and the National Distribution Union (NDU), both ICEM affiliates, played key roles in this just reversal, as did Union Network International (UNI). 
 
The pressure, including a manifestation at the New Zealand embassy in Bangkok during the recent ICEM Congress, forced Rank Group to send a senior manager to Rayong. A meeting between the branch union committee, PPFT, and Rank Group representatives occurred on 27 November. Managers listened to six major grievances, and heard first-hand how workplace leaders felt over the unfair treatment of Thaneth. 
 
Two separate meetings occurred next, both on 6 December, one to address the sacking, the other to address the issues. The firing was reversed and the issues, including obstruction of union activity, contract labour matters, unfair work rules, discrimination and favouritism, now get full hearing. The ICEM congratulates everyone involved with the result of this 9-month struggle for justice.

Justice Restored with Reinstatement of Thai Paperworker, Thaneth Jhanluechai

Ref: ICEM07/ENGC/124 
 
 
 
 
Tony Burke, 
Assistant General Secretary 
AMICUS 
 
 
Brussels, 13 November 2007 
 
 
Dear Brother Tony, 
 
It is with great sadness that I&rsquo;ve learnt about the death of Christopher Massey at the Kimberly-Clark tissue mill in Cumbria. On behalf of the ICEM members and its staff I ask you to convey our deepest condolences to brother Massey&rsquo;s family and his colleagues. 
 
This fatal accident has yet again shown with terrible clarity the importance of the unions&rsquo; continuous HSE work with the companies as the only way to make sure that such tragedies never happen again; and the ICEM is prepared to assist you in this work in all possible ways. 
 
Fraternal Greetings, 
 
Manfred Warda 
General Secretary 
ICEM

ICEM Letter of Condolences Over Kimberly-Clark, Barrow, UK, Death

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Several Belgian trade unions, as well as NGOs, will be forming a human rights chain at the Brussels Palace of Justice on 10 December, International Human Rights Day. Among the Belgian trade unions that have signed on to the event are ICEM-affiliated La Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale FGBT/ABVV, ACV/CSC, LBC-NVK, and CNE. 
 
Also taking part will be the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists, the Global Union Federation for journalists and allied workers. 
<img height="56" src="" width="220" alt="" />
Focussing on the dangerous situations for trade unionists around the world, participating organisations will target a number of specific countries where trade unionists are in every-day danger of violence, kidnapping, or even assassination. The 10 December event in Brussels will highlight the cases of Jonas Burgos from the Philippines, Pedro Zamora from Guatemala, and Ana Sylvia Melo de Rodr&iacute;guez from Colombia. 
<img height="203" alt="" src="" width="200" />
All are people who were either murdered or disappeared in 2007. Jonas Burgos, an agriculturist working with peasant groups in the Philippines, disappeared on 28 April. He is the son of free speech advocate and opposition newspaper owner Malaya Jose Burgos. Ana Sylvia Melo, a trade unionist with CGT-SINDIMANUELA in Colombia, was assassinated on 19 May. And Pedro Zamora, the leader of Guatemalan dockworkers&rsquo; union STEPQ, who campaigned to rid corruption in the privatisation of Puerto Quetzal, was murdered on 15 January. 
 
The action starts at 19h30 on Monday, 10 December. For more information in Dutch, click <a href="http://www.wereldsolidariteit.be/dmdocuments/10.12.07_affiche%20+%20pamflet%20ned ">here</a>. For the French version, click <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/affiche%20+%20pamflet%20fra%20def.pdf">here</a>.

Trade Union/Human Rights Chain Happening in Brussels 10 December

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Health and safety in the US oil refining sector is as dangerous now as it was nearly three years ago when a blast at a Texas City, Texas, BP refinery claimed the lives of 15 contract workers. So say the results of an in-depth survey of health and safety conditions in US refineries, published by North American affiliate United Steelworkers, the Tony Mazzocchi Center for Health, Safety and Environmental Education, and New Perspectives Consulting Group. 
 

<img alt="" src="" width="150" height="201" />
The 90-page study, which critiques operating practices in some 64 variants inside 51 US refineries, sets forth five &ldquo;Urgent and Critical Actions&rdquo; for the US downstream industry, as well as another five &ldquo;Necessary Support Actions.&rdquo; The recommendations represent an imperative call for better health and safety conditions by oil refiners in the US. 
 
Entitled &ldquo;Beyond Texas City: The State of Process Safety in the Unionized US Oil Refining Industry,&rdquo; the survey takes into account a number of criteria, including use of atmospheric vents on process units, failed instrumentation or alarm systems, allowance of non-essential personnel in restricted areas, and entire process safety systems as they relate to start-ups and shut-downs. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="140" />
USW President Leo Gerard
The urgent actions recommended include establishing a Process Safety Team that includes members selected by the trade union; ensuring that Process Hazard Analyses are reviewed and revalidated at least once every three years; redress to four distinct conditions arising from the 23 March 2005 Texas City disaster; developing and implementing full safety reviews prior to start-ups and shut-downs; and providing adequate and skilled staff to ensure safe working conditions. 
 
&ldquo;These proposals are doable, and while we can&rsquo;t bring back the 15 workers killed at the BP Texas City refinery, they can make it harder for future deaths and injuries to occur,&rdquo; said USW President Leo Gerard. 
The BP Texas City explosion occurred near an isomerisation unit that boosts octane levels of petrol. The unit was being restarted at the time of the explosion after undergoing scheduled maintenance. Contract company trailers and traffic were operating nearby the unit. Besides the contract workers who died, 80 workers suffered injuries.

US Steelworkers Release Insightful Safety Study on Downstream US Oil Industry

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
An 11-day strike ended peacefully and successfully for ICEM mining affiliate FSP KEP of Indonesia at PT International Nickel (PT-Inco), a unit of Canadian-based/Brazilian-owned CVRD-Inco. The business is the world&rsquo;s largest nickel operation, located on the Indonesia island of Sulawesi. 
 
The strike started on 15 November and ended on 26 November. FSP KEP won bonus payments similar to those paid to Inco North American workers, won internal promotion procedures, made advances on local hiring versus outside contractors, and PT International agreed to hold no recriminations on workers who waged the effective, gain-filled strike. 
<img height="254" alt="" src="" width="380" />
The strike was successful due to global unity between miners and steelworkers in North America and Brazil. A year ago, when Brazilian mining giant Cia Vale do rio Doce (CVRD) bought Canadian-based Inco, unity came quickly between CVRD and INCO workers on several continents. The Indonesian strike at Sorowako, South Sulawesi, was done by 2.500 dedicated trade unionists, who won gains for 3,500 workers at a nickel mine and matte smelting operation. CVRD-Inco holds the mineral rights to Sorawki until 2025. 
 
The strike saw FSP KEP diligently follow all legal requirements. Sjaiful Patombong, President of FSP KEP, said, &ldquo;Nobody is allowed to prevent workers from using their right to strike legally, orderly, and peacefully.&rdquo; Ten days into the strike, on 25 November, management was ready for talks and presented a proposal. It called for the two sides &ldquo;to honour and maintain harmonious industrial relations between both parties without prejudice to the prevailing laws and regulations, including the Collective Bargaining Agreement.&rdquo; 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
The accord produced a third quarter 2007 bonus, an item PT Inco was denying, citing uncertainty by Brazilian CVRD owners. Workers won, in addition, a production bonus in 2008 that is based on global nickel prices. If prices reach US$13-per-pound, all workers receive a 12% monthly bonus. The strike also produced a company sum for scholarships targeted to the children of PT Inco employees. 
 
FSP KEP President Patombong recognised the global solidarity. &ldquo;The ICEM and our friends in Canada (USW), the USA (USW), and in Brazil have firmly performed the global unity and solidarity between workers around our globe, particularly within the ICEM family.&rdquo; 
 
PT Inco is 61% owned by CVRD-Inco Ltd. of Canada. A 20% stake is held by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. of Japan. The company has a US$1 billion plan on the boards to expand nickel operations on Sulawesi Island, with construction of two new processing plants.

Indonesian Strike Wins Gains for CVRD-Inco Nickel Miners

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Thirteen days after an explosion inside an eastern Ukrainian coal mine killed 101 workers, a second methane blast at privately-held Zasyadko&rsquo;s mine near Donetsk sent 44 miners to the hospital. This second explosion happened at 05h00 on Saturday, 1 December. 
 
And then on Sunday, 2 December, a third blast inside the stricken mine killed five rescue workers. Thirty-three rescue workers and 33 other miners were injured in this third blast. Many of the hospitalised are in serious condition. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
The explosions follow the worst Ukrainian coal disaster in recent years. The death count from the 18 November explosion, deep inside several shafts of Zasyadko&rsquo;s Donbass region mine, reached 101 on 29 November, when a worker died in a Donetsk hospital. Ten miners remain unaccounted for from that methane explosion, which occurred 1,000 metres below ground. Another 40 miners remain hospitalised. 
The ICEM had sent its condolences to both the Ukrainian Coal Industry Workers&rsquo; Union (PRUP) and the Independent Miners&rsquo; Union of Ukraine. 
The cause of the 18 November explosion is believed to be defect electrical equipment. Reportedly, sensors did not show a build-up of methane gas. The mine was privatised by state-run Donetskugol and assets transferred to prominent Ukrainian politician Efim Zvyagilsky. Igor Gryaznov serves as director of the enterprise. It yields 10,000 tons per day, and is one of Ukraine&rsquo;s larger collieries. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The Zasyadjo mine has a history of tragedies. One worker died in February 2007, while in September 2006, 13 miners were killed due to a methane blast. In 2002, 20 miners were killed in the same manner, a tragedy which brought criminal charges to six managers of the mine for violation of safety procedures. Other tragedies happened at Zasyadjo in 2001, when 55 lives were lost, and in 1999, when 50 miners perished. 
 
Also in Ukraine, on 25 November, two miners were killed and one seriously injured when a rock slide caused a shaft to collapse. That occurred at the Arbis coal mine, also eastern Ukraine, but in the Lugansk region. The same day, a fire occurred inside a shaft in the Belorechenskaya mine in the same region. There were no fatalities there.

String of Blasts Hit Ukraine’s Zasyadko Coal Mine, Killing 5 More, Injuring 44 Workers

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
South Africa&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) granted the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) certification to go on a 24-hour strike. The strike occurs on 4 December. The CCMA simultaneously worked out agreement between the powerful 300,000-member South African trade union and the Chamber of Mines over a safety protocol. 
 
Tomorrow&rsquo;s walkout marks the first time in 20 years that a general strike has occurred across the gold, diamond, platinum, and coal mining sectors in South Africa. Some 60 companies will be affected. 
<img height="103" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The strike certification comes with a successful protocol pact between the NUM and the Chamber of Mines, one that includes the right to a national mine-safety strike on 4 December. The agreement cites &ldquo;involvement of all role players&rdquo; to improve mine health and safety, including least senior employees in mining enterprises. 
 
It also creates a high-level, senior task force between the NUM, the mining houses, and the Department of Minerals and Energy that will engage and take actions early in 2008. The companies, through the Chamber, agreed to cooperate with all union structures to improve workplace conditions, and will better utilise NUM&rsquo;s health and safety representatives. The two sides agreed to expeditiously review and analyze existing recommendations regarding health and safety. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
NUM and the Chamber also agreed to hold a full dialogue on the outcome of a presidential audit on mine health and safety. That audit will start this month in over 700 South African mines, and is a direct result of 3,200 miners being trapped at Harmony Gold&rsquo;s Elandsrand mine in October. 
 
In the meantime, the death rate in and around South African mines keeps climbing. 
 
Goldfields recorded two deaths within a day of each other on 23-24 November at separate worksites, and the same happened at two South African mines of Australian-based Aquarium Platinum &ndash; on 15 November and 24 November. Also, a NUM member at Impala Platinum&rsquo;s Marula mine in Limpopo province was killed on 22 November. All of these recent deaths were due to rock slides, except one of at Goldfields, where a worker was struck and killed by a train at Driefontein.

Safety Agreement Reached in South Africa; National Strike Tomorrow

Archive