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Some 30,000 trade unionists took to the streets of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Saturday, 5 April, as European Union finance ministers met in the Balkan country. The unionists, marching behind a call by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), were protesting record-high inflation and declining purchasing power at a time when EU officials were calling for wage restraint. 
 
The EU ministers were meeting in nearby Brdo in talks to reform social welfare programmes. 
 
ETUC General Secretary John Monks told the assembled in the capital city&rsquo;s Congress Square that &ldquo;we cannot accept lectures that workers should be modest&rdquo; in pay deals. &ldquo;Getting a fairer deal for workers across Europe is a top ETUC priority.&rdquo; The trade union federation has produced evidence that wage moderation does not create more jobs, as some claim, but leads instead to stagnating domestic demand and weakened employment rates.
Since 1995, while wages have dropped as a share of Gross Domestic Product across the EU, corporate profits have risen. Top managers earn up to 300 times more than workers, leaving over 30 million people earning poverty-level wages. 
 
EU unionists that converged in Slovenia over the weekend demanded a rise in real salaries and purchasing power; efforts to create more and better jobs; creation of decent minimum wages to combat poverty; equal pay for men and women; stronger collective bargaining systems, and an end to social dumping; decent work and fair wages for public sector, temporary, and mobile workers; better opportunities for lifelong learning; and a limit to the income of top earners.

ETUC Call Brings 30,000 to Slovenia to Protest Wage Restraint

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A strike by energy workers against Shell-Gabon that stopped nearly one-half of all oil production and exports in the west African nation ended last week, 1 April, after direct mediation by Gabonese President Omar Bongo. The strike by 800 workers, which began in the early hours of 20 March by the National Organisation of Petroleum Workers (ONEP), ended a day after the union threatened a broader national strike. 
 
ONEP reported its demands had been met. The strike occurred due to non-compliance by Shell-Gabon&rsquo;s managing director over new work-time regulations, rules that had been set in place by an earlier government decree. The union was demanding the ouster of the managing director. Workers had been denied holiday leave.
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Shell-Gabon is 75% owned by Royal Dutch Shell and 25% by the government. The 11-day strike halted 60,000 barrels-per-day of crude production in the Gamba-Ivinga-Totous oil fields, as well as production from the Toucan and Rabi fields. Shipments of crude were also halted at an oil terminal in Gamba, stoppages which cost Shell US$11 million per day. 
 
The terminal was also shut to crude exports of Total-Gabon and Perenco, the latter a privately-held French oil and gas exploration and production company. The companies share the terminal with Shell-Gabon. Those amounts were estimated at 30,000 barrels-per-day. Gabon is the fifth largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa.

Oil Strike Against Shell in Gabon Ends

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In Russia&rsquo;s Sverdlovsk Region, a ten-day sit-in strike by 96 bauxite miners 800 metres below ground ended on Friday, 4 April, as the world&rsquo;s largest aluminium producer &ndash; United Company RusAl &ndash; agreed to dialogue and serious attention to strikers&rsquo; demands. Those strikers, members of one of four mining unions at RusAl&rsquo;s Sevuralboksitruda subsidiary, the Independent Miners&rsquo; Union of Russia, began the strike at the Krasnaya Shapochka (Little Red Riding Hood) Mine on 26 March. Their resolve was furthered on 1 April when they undertook a hunger strike on 1 April.
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The company, privately-owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, shut five other bauxite mines in the North Ural Mountains on 28 March, curtailing wages for 5,000 other miners in an effort to divide miners and pressure the striking union. That failed, with members of the other unions signing pledges of support for the strikers, as well as sending food and other supplies to them, until they started the hunger strike. 
 
An annual pay increase put in place late last year for all the unionised miners of the region by RusAl paled next to the company&rsquo;s vast profits and the 15% inflation rate of the region. The strikers of the Independent Miners&rsquo; Union sent a list of ten demands to the surface on 27 March. Those demands included a 50% pay increase on top of the average salary of US$760 per month, an end to weekend work, resumption of a company halted social welfare programme that took effect 1 January, and investment in other mines of the region.
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On 3 April, RusAl went to court to get the strike declared illegal. However, a pledge to meet their demands, and a promise of amnesty to the strikers, brought an end to the strike on Friday morning. The mine, located near the central Russian town of Severuralsk, is a former operation of Russian aluminium producer SUAL International, which together with Glencore of Switzerland&rsquo;s alumina assets merged with RusAl a year ago.

Russian Bauxite Strike Ends With Pledge of Higher Pay, Better Work Conditions

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In the strongest terms possible, the 20-million-member ICEM has condemned the vile and ruthless murder of trade union leader Adolfo Gonz&aacute;lez Montes of mining affiliate Sindicato Nacional de los Trabajores de la Industria del Carbon (Sintracarb&oacute;n) in Colombia. Comrade Montes was tortured and killed early in the morning of 22 March at his home in Riohacha, La Guajira state, northern Colombia. 
 
&ldquo;We denounce this vile and atrocious murder before the international community and the people and government of Colombia,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We demand that the government of Colombia capture, charge, and convict the cowardly persons responsible for this crime against humanity and affront to democratic trade unionism.
&ldquo;We also call on the multinationals AngloAmerican, BHP Billiton, and Xstrata, the shareholders of Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, to heighten security for workers and trade unionists in the wake of this heinous act.&rdquo; Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n is one of world&rsquo;s largest coal producers. Managers of the enterprise and 4,000-member Sintracarb&oacute;n are engaged in a model Social Dialogue exchange for Colombia, a programme fostered by the ICEM.
<img height="319" src="" width="380" alt="" />
Miners of Sintracarb&oacute;n mourned the killing of fellow worker Adolfo Gonz&aacute;lez Montes 
Comrade Adolfo Gonz&aacute;lez Montes was a committeeman of the Barrancas Section. At 6h00 on 22 March, while he was finishing his rest prior to a work turn, the assailants entered his home. He was tortured and then murder in front of his four young children. Following the murder, other leaders of Sintracarb&oacute;n received telephone threats. 
 
He becomes the 13th trade unionist in Colombia reported to be assassinated so far this year. In March alone, when the eyes of the world had been focused on trade union killings in the South American nation over the stalled free trade agreement with the US, six unionists were murdered. Besides Montes, Hospital Workers&rsquo; Union leader Carlos Burbano was killed on 11 March; ADIDA unionist Gildario Antonio Gomez Alzate on 7 March; Rafael Boada of Union Nacional de Empleados Bancarios on 7 March; Leonidas Gomez Rozo of CUT on 5 March; and Carmen Cecilia Carvajal Ramirez of ASINORT on 4 March.

ICEM Condemns the Assassination of Colombian Sintracarbón Leader, Adolfo González Montes

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The ICEM Global Framework Agreement with French specialty chemicals producer Rhodia took a major forward step with inclusion of specific neutrality language. The two parties formally signed the renewal agreement in Paris on 25 March. 
 
The Global Agreement, originally signed on 31 January 2005, also includes stronger language regarding responsible behaviour by the company&rsquo;s suppliers and subcontractors, as well as integration of the agreement with the &ldquo;Rhodia Way,&rdquo; a set of principles aimed at continuous progress on social and environmental responsibility.
<img height="186" alt="" src="" width="280" />
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Rhodia CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu at the 25 March signing&nbsp; 
 

The renewal agreement is supported by ICEM French affiliates Fedechemie CGT-FO and Federation Chimie Energie CFDT. It follows a favourable assessment of the terms of the agreement carried out over that past two years that included a joint trip to China last fall to observe work conditions at Rhodia&rsquo;s operations there. 
 
&ldquo;We feel we have taken the agreement with Rhodia to a new level,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;The commitment for trust and earnest dialogue is genuine.&rdquo; 
 
The agreement did contain, and still does, adherence to ILO Core Labour Conventions 87 and 98 regarding freedom of association, and the right of representation and collective bargaining, but it now goes further. Under a section entitled Labour-Management Dialogue, a clause now states: &ldquo;Rhodia respects the right of employees to be collectively organised and shall remain strictly neutral concerning their choices in this matter.&rdquo; 
 
Further to that section, &ldquo;Rhodia pledges to not practice any discrimination due to unionisation either when hiring or when managing employees&rsquo; careers.&rdquo; 
 
Rhodia also pledges to take a hands-on approach in assuring that suppliers and subcontractors adhere to the framework of the Global Agreement, as well as all laws and human rights standards. 
 
In addition, the renewal agreement sets formal ICEM involvement in tracking &ldquo;Rhodia Way&rdquo; performance; it creates a joint safety issues discussion group; allows the agreement&rsquo;s application to be audited by an outside expert jointly chosen by the two parties; and, following the successful Chinese mission, sets up an annual mission to a country to assess terms of the accord. The next such visit will be to Brazil.
The English and French versions of the agreement can be found <a href="/en/?id=98&amp;la=EN">here</a>.
Rhodia, which generated sales of &euro;5.1 billion in 2007, supplies chemicals for the automotive, tyre, electronics, perfume, and health, beauty, and home care markets. It employs 15,500 workers worldwide.

Renewal Rhodia Global Pact Has Specific Neutrality Language

Global Fund Calls for Round 8 Proposals 

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has issued its Eighth Call for Proposals. The application form and support documentation are available in six languages at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. 
 
Proposals have to reach the Global Fund by 1 July 2008. 
 
All proposals submitted by the closing date of 1 July 2008 will be reviewed by the Secretariat to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria. Eligible proposals will then be forwarded to the Technical Review Panel (TRP) for consideration. The TRP will make recommendations on the basis of which the Global Fund Board will decide.
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How does the Global Fund work? 
The Global Fund, itself a public/private partnership, is a funding mechanism. Since it was registered in January 2002, and up to December 2007, the Global Fund has approved grants with a total commitment of US$14.5 billion, more than half of it targeted for HIV/AIDS projects. 
 
The Global Fund is based in Geneva. It does not have any country representation. The proposal process and the implementation of grants are devolved to the national level. The Global Fund gives the policy framework and issues guidelines on various aspects of its operations. It raises money, spends it, and proves it &ndash; the Global Fund is performance based. 
 
All proposals have to go through the Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM). The composition of the CCMs is supposed to be representative of all stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS, including civil society, the private sector, and organisations of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
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How can unions get involved? 
The role of the workplace in the fight against HIV/AIDS is recognised. The workplace is an important entry point for HIV/AIDS services and no workplace activities can be efficiently implemented without unions. The role of national unions and their international bodies, the Global Unions, is acknowledged by international organisations such as the ILO, the WHO, and UNAIDS. 
 
The Global Fund is supportive of public/private partnerships, or co-investment arrangements. Without the involvement of the private sector universal access to voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), and to anti-retroviral treatment (ART), it is not possible to qualify, or projects will be further delayed. The private sector is business and trade unions, as the workers&rsquo; representatives. For the first time, the Guidelines for Round 8 proposals mention unions under eligible organisations of the private sector. 
 
The manpower capacities of unions are limited. Unions must tend to other day-to-day business. Unions are not single-issue NGOs. They have to look for partners and build alliances with companies and NGOs. 
 
Very few CCMs include unionists. While we continue to call for union representation on CCMs, in the short term, it is vital that unions work through members of the CCMs who are sympathetic to their cause. It is important that unions find cooperating partners who can develop their project ideas into proposals for the CCM. 
 
The German Organisation for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) operates the BACKUP Initiative (Building Alliances &ndash; Creating Knowledge &ndash; Updating Partners), which provides support. GTZ is represented in more than 130 countries. A lot of USAID offices have HIV/AIDS Coordinators and certain embassies, notably of Nordic countries, The Netherlands, the UK, and the European Union may be able to give assistance. Global Unions and the WHO have agreed to use the potential of unions in up-scaling and accelerating access to VCT and ART. The ILO and its workplace programme, ILOAIDS, has focal points on HIV/AIDS in a number of offices. 
 
The most significant new feature in Round 8 is that the Global Fund is recommending that applicants specify one (or more) Principal Recipients (PRs) from the government sector and one (or more) from the various non-government sectors, including the private sector which includes unions (dual-track financing).
<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
What are your next steps? 
&bull; Put down your ideas about a workplace programme on one page and prepare a draft budget. 
&bull; Get to know the members of your country&rsquo;s CCM and lobby those potentially sympathetic to union causes for the inclusion of workplace programmes in Round 8 proposals. Country-specific information is accessible at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. 
&bull; Contact GTZ, USAID, the ILO, UNAIDS, and WHO offices in your country. 
&bull; Build alliances with companies; remind them of their social responsibility. 
&bull; Cooperate with NGOs and organisations of PLWHA. 
&bull; Access the website <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">www.aidspan.org/guides</a> on which a guide to Round 8 applications is available.
<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
How can the ICEM help? 
The ICEM Global Coordinator has good working relations with all the organisations mentioned. He can help you with contacts and links to materials. Send your ideas about a workplace programme and inquiries to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. The ICEM has Global Agreements with 13 multinational companies. These companies should be engaged in the fight against the pandemic.
Above all 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>Start today if you want to do something.&nbsp;</div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>Remember that the private sector includes business and unions as the workers&rsquo; representatives.&nbsp;</div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>Remember that you have allies who can be mobilized and who can give assistance.&nbsp;</div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>Write to the ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator at <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a> for further information and help. </div>
 </li>
</ul>

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin: Special Issue, 20 March 2008

Will the Netherlands have just one big trade union by the year 2006? 
 
Dutch labour's old ideal of full unity is now within grasp, following a historic union congress in Amsterdam last Thursday (29 January). 
 
 

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THE BONDGENOTEN MACHINE 
Four big Dutch unions merged to set it in motion. 
More mergers on the way? 

FNV Bondgenoten (FNV Allies) is the name of the new Dutch super-union founded last week by the merger of four unions organising across a wide range of sectors. These include chemicals, energy and other process industries, transport, metalworking, food, agriculture and services. 
 
With around half a million members, the Bondgenoten is by far the biggest union in the Netherlands. Among its global affiliations is the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
 

<img height="240" alt="" src="" width="380" />
 
FNV Bondgenoten got straight down to global union business. Its first act was to hand a cheque for two million guilders (almost a million US dollars) to Dutch trade union confederation FNV for international solidarity work. In future, half a percent of all members' dues will go into FNV Bondgenoten's own global solidarity fund. 
 
And in cooperation with the FNV confederation, the Bondgenoten will be putting a lot of effort into raising Dutch workers' awareness - already high - about the global context of trade unionism. 
 
In fact, Bondgenoten President Henk Krul did plenty of consciousness-raising himself in his policy speech to the founding congress. Contributions to global trade unionism are &quot;money well spent,&quot; he said. &quot;If we look a little beyond our own part of the world, we can see the power of big money and the multinationals growing at a frightening pace. Ten or twenty years ago, a financial crisis in Asia wouldn't have been our problem. Today it is. The freedom and the speed with which capital, including our pension and insurance premiums, races around the world is increasing all the time. Correspondingly, the opportunities to exert political influence are shrinking. In fact, national governments are vying more and more for the investors' favour.&quot; 
 
 
<img height="209" alt="" src="" width="380" />
MAKING GLOBAL TRADE UNIONISM A PRIORITY 
Bondgenoten President Henk Krul 
(photos: FNV Bondgenoten) 

Krul also announced a special Bondgenoten project to monitor developments in Dutch-based multinationals and to help stimulate trade union networking within them. 
 
Bondgenoten is perhaps the only trade union in history to call for its own disappearance at its founding congress. The new union is just an &quot;intermediate step&quot;, Krul told delegates. &quot;I want to state plainly here that we will do our utmost to ensure that by the year 2006, the centenary of the modern Dutch trade union movement, we all merge into one, undivided FNV.&quot; 
 
Meanwhile, the big new Bondgenoten will in fact be getting closer to its grassroots, Krul emphasised. Fifteen sections will deal with special membership interests. Workplace-level reps will be placed at the centre of the union's action as Dutch collective bargaining continues to decentralise. Geographically, too, the union will be near the rank-and-file. To applause, Krul announced plans to have a union service point within 25 kilometres of every member's home. The union would be open to workers in the broadest sense of the term, including the self-employed and benefits claimants such as the unemployed and retirees. In fact, there would be room for everyone except &quot;sexists, racists or homo-haters.&quot; 
 
Krul had a clear message, too, for the Dutch employers and government: the workers must get their full share of the much-vaunted Dutch economic miracle, and they must get it fast. Dutch growth and employment had certainly increased, he said, but neither the new wealth nor the new jobs had been fairly distributed. 
 
&quot;Yes, yes,&quot; Krul told visiting Prime Minister Wim Kok, &quot;I know we mustn't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. But we can help ourselves to the eggs from time to time. In fact, that's what geese are for.&quot;

Dutch Unions Merge. One Big Union by Year 2006?

World business, labour and civil society leaders met in New York today at the first session of the Advisory Council on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Global Compact initiative. 
 
The UN called the meeting &quot;unprecedented&quot;, and said it marked &quot;the creation of the first UN advisory body composed of both public and private sector leaders, who together will assist the Secretary-General in his effort to promote cooperative solutions to the dilemmas and challenges of globalisation.&quot; 

<img height="272" alt="" src="" width="342" />
 
Annan launched the Global Compact at the Davos economic forum in 1999, when he called on world business to: 
 
- support and respect the protection of international human rights within their sphere of influence 
 
- make sure their own corporations are not complicit in human rights abuses 
 
- uphold freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining 
 
- uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour 
 
- uphold the effective abolition of child labour 
 
- uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation 
 
- support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges 
 
- undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility 
 
- encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies. 
 
These &quot;Nine Principles&quot; - including freedom of association and collective bargaining - form the Global Compact. 
 
&quot;The Global Compact, an entirely voluntary initiative, has attracted the participation of several hundred companies from countries such as Russia, China, Brazil, India, Germany, Norway, Indonesia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other UN member states from both North and South,&quot; the UN says. 
 
&quot;The world is currently involved in an ongoing historical experiment: attempting to create a truly global and inclusive market,&quot; Annan told the Advisory Council today. 
 
&quot;We must work to underpin the marketplace with solid and stable foundations,&quot; Annan insisted, &quot;and open the door to full participation by all people, including and especially the world's poor. The Global Compact gives us a tool for achieving that. 
 
&quot;Good progress has been made in many areas,&quot; he said. &quot;More and more companies are responding to the call, changing strategies and actions to inform entrepreneurship with society's needs.&quot; 
 
He challenged the Advisory Council to &quot;think creatively about measures that might enhance the quality and concrete impact of participation in the Compact.&quot; The 17 members of Advisory Council - all acting in their individual, rather than institutional capacities - have been asked by the Secretary-General to serve rotating terms of two and three years. The Advisory Council will convene for formal meetings twice a year. 
 
After an open discussion with Annan about the goals and objectives of the Global Compact, today's meeting examined current operations as well as the procedures and policies governing participation. They then held further in-depth discussions before briefing the UN Secretary-General on specific recommendations. 
 
Labour representatives on the Advisory Council are Fred Higgs, General Secretary of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) and Bill Jordan, General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). 
 
&quot;The Global Compact, like any successful voluntary initiative, needs to be a dynamic, credible process, subject to ongoing review and development,&quot; Higgs said. &quot;I believe the advisory process is extremely important to ensure that the Global Compact continues to be relevant and credible.&quot; 
 
Business leaders on the Advisory Council include Barbara Krumsiek, President and CEO of Calvert; Marjorie Yang, Chairman of the Esquel Group; Dr. Rolf Breuer, CEO of Deutsche Bank AG; Robert Hormats, Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs; Sam Jonah, Chief Executive, Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited; Namakau Kaingu, CEO, Kaingu Mines; Mark M. Moody-Stewart, retired CEO, Royal Dutch Shell; N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and CEO, Infosys Technologies Limited; Wolfgang Sauer, retired CEO, VW of Brazil; Marjorie Scardino, CEO, Pearson plc and David Bell, Executive Director, Pearson plc. 
 
Civil society organisation representatives and academic experts include Achim Steiner, Director-General of the World Conservation Union; Irene Khan, Secretary-General, Amnesty International and Colm O'Cuanachain, Chairperson of Amnesty International's Executive Committee; Jessica Mathews, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Professor John Ruggie, of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. 
 
The Permanent Representatives of five UN member states - from both North and South - are serving on the Advisory Council in their personal capacity, as observers.

Global Compact: Unions On New Advisory Council

Detained Nigerian oil workers' leaders Milton Dabibi and Frank Kokori should be released without further delay. That was the personal call issued to Nigerian Head of State General Sani Abacha today by organisations representing more than 125 million trade unionists worldwide. 

<img height="163" src="" width="127" alt="" />&nbsp; <img height="162" src="" width="113" alt="" />
Still held without trial: 
Nigerian oil workers' leaders Milton Dabibi (left) and Frank Kokori.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) issued their call to mark the second anniversary of Milton Dabibi's arrest (January 25 1996). 
 
Frank Kokori, General Secretary of oil and gas workers' union NUPENG, and Milton Dabibi, General Secretary of oil and gas workers' union PENGASSAN, the oil industry's staff federation, are being held without charge or trial, and are being denied access to lawyers or to their unions. Both men are in poor health and are being denied medical attention. Both are recognised by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience. 
 
Last November, General Abacha announced that he would be releasing all detainees who were not a threat to public security. According to reports, not one single detainee has yet been released, as a secret list of potential releases is still in the hands of the Police Commissioner. 
 
&quot;We are calling on General Abacha to implement the promise he made last November and to release Milton Dabibi and Frank Kokori without further delay,&quot; insisted ICEM General Secretary Vic Thorpe. 
 
Next week in Amsterdam, the two detained Nigerian trade union leaders will be awarded the Febe Velasquez prize of the Dutch trade union confederation FNV, for their work in defence of trade union rights. Members of their families will receive the prize on their behalf. 
 
The world trade union movement has been campaigning for the release of the Nigerian oil workers' leaders ever since they were arrested. 
 
The ICFTU has pledged support for an ICEM call, backed by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), for targeted international trade union action against Nigerian oil exports unless Dabibi and Kokori are released without further delay. 
 
Several international labour missions to Nigeria over recent years have pressed the military rulers to release Dabibi and Kokori and to end government intervention in the running of PENGASSAN, NUPENG and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). The ICEM/ICFTU have submitted two complaints on Nigeria to the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). World union, employer and government delegates to the ILO ruled that Nigeria is flouting international Conventions on basic trade union rights. Last December, the UN General Assembly expressed deep concern at &quot;continuing grave violations of human and fundamental rights in Nigeria,&quot; and called for the &quot;release of all political prisoners.&quot; Last October, Commonwealth heads of state decided to maintain Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth and threatened to bring in a boycott of Nigerian oil if the country is not returned to democratic rule by October 1998. 
 
The ICFTU is to call for an ILO Commission of Enquiry on the trade union situation in Nigeria. If established, such a Commission would constitute a major political embarrassment for the ruling junta. The ICFTU is also contemplating sending a further mission to Nigeria later this year, and is calling on affiliated organisations around the world to step up their actions if Dabibi and Kokori are not released.

NIGERIAN DETAINEES: WORLD&#039;S UNIONS PRESS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

French workers today ended their occupation of a factory belonging to US-based multinational Kimberly-Clark, following concessions from the company. 
 
Last November, the paper products giant announced the &quot;sale, closure or downsizing of up to 18 manufacturing facilities worldwide and a workforce reduction of approximately 5,000 employees.&quot; The declared aim of the cut-backs in Kimberly-Clark's 37-country manufacturing operation is to bring the company &quot;closer to achieving its 'stretch' financial target of doubling earnings per share from operations between 1995 and the year 2000.&quot; 
 
For the Saint Cyr en Val site, near Orl&eacute;ans in France, the company earlier this month decreed a complete shutdown, with the loss of 177 jobs. The news caused particular anger because the plant had originally been set up with the aid of generous local taxpayer subsidies. Immediately after the announcement, the workers at Saint Cyr en Val launched their two-week occupation of the site. 
 
Now, Kimberly-Clark has agreed to tripartite meetings between the union, management and local government technical advisers. Management is now also talking in terms of selling the plant off, rather than simply shutting it down. 
 
So the workers voted this Saturday 17 January for a return to work. But they &quot;remain vigilant&quot; and &quot;have not regained their confidence in Kimberly-Clark&quot;. A demonstration next Saturday 24 January in Orl&eacute;ans will hammer home their message that &quot;jobs must take precedence over the Dollar.&quot; 
 
At the global level, the FCE-CFDT is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which has supported the French workers' campaign.

Kimberly-Clark Accepts Consultations Over French Closure

Archive

ETUC Call Brings 30,000 to Slovenia to Protest Wage Restraint

Oil Strike Against Shell in Gabon Ends

Russian Bauxite Strike Ends With Pledge of Higher Pay, Better Work Conditions

ICEM Condemns the Assassination of Colombian Sintracarbón Leader, Adolfo González Montes

Renewal Rhodia Global Pact Has Specific Neutrality Language

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin: Special Issue, 20 March 2008

Dutch Unions Merge. One Big Union by Year 2006?

Global Compact: Unions On New Advisory Council

NIGERIAN DETAINEES: WORLD'S UNIONS PRESS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kimberly-Clark Accepts Consultations Over French Closure

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