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A study commissioned by ICEM Finnish affiliate Paperiliitto and the Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland (SASK) says a greenfield pulp mill in Brazil operated jointly by Stora Enso and Aracruz Celulose is too dependent on contract workers. 
The study, released 7 June by Observatorio Social, the research institute connected with the Brazilian trade union centre CUT, reports that the joint venture has so many contractors that it cannot adequately monitor them.
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The mill, called Veracel Florestal Ltda. and located in Eun&aacute;polis, state of Bahia, utilises contractors in the harvesting of eucalyptus for the mill, which causes immense environmental damage. Also, the mill relies on questionable contractors rather than permanent workers for most tasks at the mill, except for the actual production of pulp. 
 
The result is that overall salaries are driven down and labour contract terms circumvented. The study also reports that health and safety is compromised, and there is too much exposure to chemicals by both workers and those living in Eun&aacute;polis. The pulp mill went on line in 2005 and can produce 900,000 metric tonnes per year of eucalyptus pulp.

Stora Enso, Brazilian Aracruz Celulose Too Dependent on Contractors, Study Says

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Members of Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada at Stora Enso&rsquo;s Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, paper mill will meet this week and review a contract proposal presented by the company over the weekend. The Finnish-Swedish paper company presented CEP Local 972 with a proposal on 10 June, after four days of intense talks. 
 
On 30 May, Stora Enso issued an ultimatum to the 600 paperworkers to either finalise a new collective agreement by 24 June or face a closure of the coated papers and newsprint mill. The lockout started on 26 January 2006 over Stora&rsquo;s insistence on gaining more flexibility regarding outsourcing mill work than allowed under the pattern agreement for the paper industry in eastern Canada. 
 
In negotiations that resumed in early May, the company put forward a restructuring plan that included proposed wage and other cuts totalling between 14 and 18%. This recovery plan included wage cuts of 10%.
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Details of the 10 June proposal were not released until CEP Local 972 members have had an opportunity to review it. The 650 workers have been locked out now for 21 weeks.

New Stora Enso Offer Will Be Reviewed by CEP Branch at Canadian Paper Mill

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Further strike action against state-owned Petrotrin of Trinidad and Tobago occurred last week by ICEM affiliate Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU). Workers struck the company&rsquo;s Point-a-Pierre refinery on 5-6 June in protest to stalled wage talks, health and safety issues, and the suspension of two employees.
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On 11 May, onshore and offshore OWTU members, with the exception of staff at the 160,000 barrels-per-day refinery, downed tools due to stalled negotiations dating to last year. Workers at the refinery did strike twice in March 2006 in order to hasten a three-year renewal agreement. 
 
Last week&rsquo;s strike action was halted by the union after management pledged earnest talks to reach a new contract, but OWTU warned industrial actions would continue unless major progress did occur. The OWTU has been seeking meaningful dialogue with the company in order to put into effect a new labour agreement covering the period 2005 to 2008.

Trinidad, Tobago Oil Workers Strike Over Stalled Wage Talks

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The ICEM has a new Norwegian affiliate, the result of a merger between oil and gas union NOPEF and chemicals union Norsk Kjemisk. On 4 September in Oslo, the two unions officially merged during a day-long joint Congress to form Industri Energi. 
 
The merged union, with a combined membership of&nbsp;45,000 members, will have its headquarters in Oslo. 
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NOPEF President Leif Sande was elected Industri Energi&rsquo;s first president, while Liv Undheim, former Deputy President of Norsk Kjemisk, won election as Vice President. After a long and successful career as Norsk Kjemisk President, Olav Stoylen took a well deserved retirement, effective with the 4 September Congress. 
 
The union marriage marks the second such merger this year among Norway&rsquo;s trade unions. Last January, ICEM affiliate Fellesforbundet took in the Norwegian Graphical Workers&rsquo; Union, creating one big union for the pulp, paper, graphical and cardboard industry.

Industri Energi the Result of NOPEF, Norsk Kjemisk Merger in Norway

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Despite a compromised wage proposal by the union, ICEM affiliate Oilfield Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (OWTU) and Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s state oil company, Petrotrin, are no closer to an agreement on a new three-year contract, dating from 2005 to 2008. 
 
The two sides, however, with assistance from the Labour Ministry, continued intense negotiations through last week. 
 
Some 1,500 OWTU members at the company&rsquo;s lone refinery carried out another wave of industrial actions in the nine-month dispute, staging short work stoppages on 7 and 8 September. The action effectively shut production at the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery, and was the fourth such industrial action taken by OWTU members at the refinery since last March. 
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On 5 September, refinery workers marched on Petrotrin&rsquo;s main offices in Pointe-a-Pierre. They were joined by many of the 3,500 other members employed at Petrotrin, who also await updated labour agreements. 
 
In bargaining in early September, OWTU lowered its wage demands from 32% over three years, but Petrotrin has not moved upward from its 10% proposal. OWTU is attempting to negotiate fair and equitable settlements in five labour agreements, covering 5,000 workers. 
 
The credit ratings agency Moody&rsquo;s, meanwhile, has placed Petrotrin&rsquo;s foreign currency issue rating under review for possible downgrade due to the labour dispute. The review will &ldquo;assess the company&rsquo;s operations and debt servicing capabilities in light of its current labour unrest and the highly uncertain dynamics of labour negotiations,&rdquo; said Moody&rsquo;s in a statement. Roughly a quarter of refined output from the former Texaco refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre is for domestic use, with the remainder exported to eastern Caribbean islands, South America, and the east coast of the US.

Dispute in Trinidad and Tobago’s Oil Industry Continues

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Over 200 trade union leaders and activists throughout Zimbabwe were arrested last week, on 12 and 13 September 2006. A large number of them were treated in an extremely violent way by the police forces while in detention. 
 
Victims include the three top leaders of the national centre Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo and Secretary General Wellington Chibebe were so brutally assaulted that they could not stand up afterwards. First Vice President Lucia Matibenga could no longer walk. She was, as were others, severely beaten on the soles of her feet. 
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ZCTU General Secretary Wellington Chibebe
After being ill-treated at the Matapi Police station in Mbare on 13 September, the three top leaders were refused immediate medical attention. They were released later on bail. Speaking from his hospital bed, Brother Chibebe told the press afterwards he had been unconscious for over half a day. Police from Matapi later simply denied that the arrested were assaulted. 
 
Reportedly, their physical shape was such that senior police authorities refused to take them in custody at Harare&rsquo;s Central Police Station. Comrade Chibebe has a broken arm. Both he and Comrade Matombo suffered cranial/facial bruising and other head injuries. Many other arrested trade unionists equally suffered from the police violence, having their heads bashed against prison walls and being stamped and kicked in the head. 
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Police reports from last week suggest that the trade unionists could be charged under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), a commonly used law to deter trade union activists in Zimbabwe. 
Ruling party Zanu PF militia had started the repression last week by intimidating and blocking union marchers in many cities, including in Harare. The ZCTU&rsquo;s demonstration was against the country&rsquo;s inflation rate of 1,000 %, in demand of higher incomes, lower taxes and better access to antiretroviral drugs needed to fight HIV/AIDS. 
 
Some 256 ZCTU activists were arrested in total, in at least 16 cities. ZCTU offices were blockaded and sealed by the army and police forces. Meanwhile, the union leaders vow to continue their protest.

Bloody Repression against Trade Union Leaders in Zimbabwe

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Nigeria&rsquo;s two oil workers&rsquo; unions, PENGASSAN and NUPENG, suspended a three-day warning strike after day two on 14 September. The unions received assurances from the government and its oil ministry that security concerns along the Niger Delta and other grievances would be addressed. 
 
The assurances included establishing a commission to investigate the kidnapping and death last month of PENGASSAN member Nelson Ujeya, who was killed in a hail of gunfire by a military task force as he was about to be released. 
 
Meeting in a joint National Executive Committee (NEC) session on 14 September in Abuja, leaders of the two unions requested that 20,000 Nigerian oil and gas workers return to their jobs the following day after government officials promised earnest dialogue to find lasting solutions to security matters and other concerns. The first such discussion forum will be held 21 September. 
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The strike on 13 and 14 September caused domestic disruptions as fuel depots shut, petrol stations closed, and fuel tanker lorries stayed off roads. Oil marketing companies in Lagos, Abuja, Warri, and Port Harcourt all stopped business. The strike also hampered oil and gas exploration and production facilities, although some offshore oil production and crude exports were allowed to continue. 
 
Besides the concerns over security, in which the government has failed to provide a safe and peaceful work environment, PENGASSAN and NUPENG seeks an honest and transparent process on the privatisation of state-owned assets. They cite the recent sale of the Eleme Petro Chemical Ltd. (EPCL) refinery in Port Harcourt and how the facility was under-valued and sold to a start-up company with little experience in the petrochemical business. (In meetings with Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, on 13 September, the NEC did receive a commitment for work guarantees for all current staff of EPCL.) 
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Other demands of the two ICEM-affiliated unions include social commitments that jobs and skills development will occur in the country&rsquo;s oil patch for young Nigerians. They also demand strict adherence to past agreements made by energy companies and the government on expatriate quotas in the oil, gas, and related industries. The unions also object to merging the Petroleum Training Institute into the University of Benin. 
 
PENGASSAN and NUPENG demands must now be met or further and longer strikes will occur in the immediate future. The short warning strike last week achieved the unions&rsquo; objective to gain the government&rsquo;s attention to the serious security concerns that oil and gas workers in Nigeria face.

Nigerian Warning Strike Succeeds in Grabbing Government’s Attention

Comrade Peter Esele 
President 
PENGASSAN 
PENGASSAN House 
288, Ihorodu Road, Anthony 
PO Box 10433 
Marina-Lagos 
NIGERIA 
 
Dear Comrade Peter, 
 
The ICEM has learned of the tragic and senseless death of one of PENGASSAN&rsquo;s members, Nelson Ujeya, earlier this week in the vicinity of Brass Creek or Biobou Creek, Bayelsa State. We understand that Brother Ujeya had been kidnapped on 8 August 2006 in Letugbene while performing his employment duties for Shell Petroleum Development Corporation. 
 
We also have unconfirmed reports that he died in a violent gun fight between Nigeria&rsquo;s Joint Military Task Force and militant youth groups on 20 August 2006 as he was about to be released after negotiations. 
 
The 20-million-member ICEM, the Global Union Federation for oil and gas workers, finds it reprehensible that such indiscriminate use of force by Nigerian government militia be used in such a situation. The ICEM stands firmly behind PENGASSAN in holding both the government of Bayelsa State initially responsible for the abduction of Brother Ujeya while in the presence of state officials, and the federal government for its new policy of &ldquo;force by force&rdquo; in dealing with kidnappings that occur in the Niger Delta. 
 
The ICEM calls on all energy companies operating in Nigeria to apply the same effort and resources in securing the release of kidnapped Nigerian workers as they do for their foreign national employees. 
 
Next week, on 30 August 2006, PENGASSAN and NUPENG will conduct a joint National Executive Council (NEC) in Benin City to discuss this and other security matters in the Niger Delta. The ICEM recognises that the combined voice of NUPENGASSAN in Nigeria has been one of reason and soundness in stemming the social instability occurring along the Niger Delta. We know that this combined voice has stood for education, skills training and other social development initiatives that will increase employment opportunities in the oil and gas sectors for Nigerians. We commend and fully endorse that stand. 
 
We would look forward to having a report from the NEC&rsquo;s deliberations as soon after 30 August as possible in order to publicise your sensible positions on the global level. 
 
In conclusion, please convey sincere condolences from the ICEM and its family of global trade unions to the family of Wilson Ujeya. We are very distraught on the circumstances of his horrific death. Also, please express our deep concern to all trade union members of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, who are forced to work in such a difficult and terrifying environment. 
 
Fraternally, 
 
 
Fred Higgs 
General Secretary

ICEM letter to Pengassan

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A strike by glass workers in New Zealand enters its second week today. About a dozen night-shift workers at Pilkington Glass in the Auckland suburb of Mt. Wellington began the strike late on 30 August. They were joined by the plant&rsquo;s 50 other workers the next morning. 
 
The glass workers are represented by ICEM affiliate Engineering, Printing &amp; Manufacturing Union (EPMU). Workers are seeking the standard 5% contained in nearly all EPMU-negotiated collective agreements, but Pilkington, now a subsidiary of Nippon Sheet Glass, is offering only 4%. Union members are also seeking an increase in the daily shift allowance from NZ$3.25 to NZ$10.00. 
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EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little
&ldquo;(Workers) claims are quite modest &ndash; nothing more than the going rate,&rdquo; stated EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little. &ldquo;The company says it can&rsquo;t afford it, but the New Zealand operation made a NZ$14 million net profit in the year up to March 2005, with a global profit of more than NZ$600 million.&rdquo; 
 
The 60 glass workers started industrial action during the week of 7 August when they conducted two stop-work actions. The next week saw EPMU members begin a ban on all overtime work.

Pilkington Glass Workers in New Zealand Strike for 5% Pay Gains

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The mining world&rsquo;s largest stop-work action so far in 2006 ended on 31 August when Chilean copper miners of the Escondida Workers&rsquo; Union No. 1 voted, 1,607 to 121, to accept a 40-month collective agreement. 
A settlement, which ended the 25-day strike, occurred the day before when the union and BHP Billiton, the lead company in Minera Escondida Ltda., agreed to salary and bonus terms with the regional Labour Ministry serving as mediator. The Escondida mine is located in Chile&rsquo;s northern Region II. 
 
Miners won a satisfactory share of the huge profits made by the world&rsquo;s biggest copper producer. The union&rsquo;s 2,052 miners will receive a salary increase of 5% above Chile&rsquo;s inflation rate, or 8%, and a one-off bonus of US$17,000 per miner. The union had amended its demands in last week&rsquo;s bargaining to 8% above the inflation rate and a bonus of US$29,000. 
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The new agreement also includes universal health care coverage, education allowances, and interest-free loans, totalling about US$4,000 per miner. Workers began returning to their jobs late last week, with full production expected by the end of this week. 
 
Under Chilean labour law, workers can sign individual contracts and return to work after 16 strike days. BHP Billiton was hoping this would occur as it called for strike-breakers and a return to normal production. However, the company&rsquo;s scab plan failed and it increased a final pay offer when it became apparent that only a handful of miners &ndash; estimated at 20 &ndash; abandoned the strike. 
 
BHP Billiton, a 57.5% stakeholder in Minera Escondida, said in a statement that it is &ldquo;convinced that the final result of this large process will prove beneficial to both sides.&rdquo; The company and other stakeholders have seen profits triple from Escondida during the first six months of 2006, from US$936.9 million in the first half of 2005 to US$2.92 billion. The strike at the operation producing 8% of the world&rsquo;s copper supply stoked fears of a global shortage of the red metal. The current copper market is one of high demand, causing high pricing. 
 
The settlement will now loom large in negotiations between Chilean state-run copper company Corporacion Nacional del Cobre (Codelco) and its unions, covering 17,000 miners. Codelco&rsquo;s workers are among the lowest paid miners in Chile, while Escondida workers are now the highest. Negotiations between Codelco and unions at three of its four divisions begin in October 2006, with contract expirations coming on 30 November and 31 December. 
 
Codelco stands as the world&rsquo;s biggest copper company, with huge reserves at its Andina, Norte, El Salvador, and El Teniente mines. Some 25% of the world&rsquo;s total supply of copper originates from Chile.

Chile’s Copper Strike at BHP Billiton’s Minera Escondida Ends

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