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Last week, ICEM North American affiliate United Steelworkers (USW) pulled out of talks with the American Petroleum Institute on developing two new safety standards, worker fatigue and a set of process-safety performance indicators. 
 
The discussions originated with a 2007 US Chemical Safety Board report investigating BP&rsquo;s deadly Texas City, Texas, oil refinery explosion, which killed 15 contract workers in March 2005. The Safety Board recommended that labour unions and the industry lead a working group to develop the two standards in the aftermath of the disaster. 
 
The USW formally withdraw from the process on 4 August, citing skewed industry representation on the committee and lack of earnestness toward transparency issues, overtime work, and contract labour questions inside US refineries regarding safety. 
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Gary Beevers 
&ldquo;This industry will simply not get serious about developing standards that have real meat in them,&rdquo; said USW Vice President and ICEM Executive Committee Member Gary Beevers. He added that USW realised its work on the committee was being met by industry wanting &ldquo;as few regulations and mandates as possible.&rdquo; 
 
USW sought to introduce transparency measures by proposing to make public all safety failures in facilities. The union also wanted manning levels monitored and increased due to an industry practice of constant overtime and continuous work that has led directly to worker fatigue. USW was met with resistance on this, saying industry has called it strictly a &ldquo;management rights issue, and their solution is to force overtime.&rdquo; 
 
In a news release announcing the withdrawal, the USW was sharply critical of an American Petroleum Institute statement claiming injury rates inside refineries average less than in other manufacturing sectors. In fact, the union said, the industry drew data only on refinery workers that are directly employed by a primary energy operator, and failed to account for injuries, accidents, and deaths of contract employees. 
 
The work group is charged with developing two new standards for the American National Standards Institute. It had been composed of representatives from 22 oil companies and only three trade union representatives, with government and other stakeholders serving as well. 
 
The American Petroleum Institute responded defensively to USW&rsquo;s withdrawal. In a statement, also issued on 4 August, it charged the union with undermining the process and &ldquo;trying to silence the voices of other stakeholders on the committee.&rdquo; Beevers, in an interview with the Houston (Texas) Chronicle newspaper, called industry&rsquo;s assertion &ldquo;absolutely ridiculous.&rdquo; 

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Leo Gerard
Amerca&rsquo;s largest industrial union forewarned of management&rsquo;s recalcitrance to improve safety and health inside the downstream oil and gas sector in collective agreement talks that concluded early in 2009. After making health and safety the primary topic in the negotiations, USW was stonewalled on the issue, with USW President Leo Gerard saying &ldquo;the industry refused to allow us to be equal partners with them in resolving health and safety problems.&rdquo; 
 
The USW will now conduct a survey related to the two proposed standards and then use it in a direct and targeted campaign in order to get the US Chemical Safety Board to recommend proper fatigue and process-safety standards.

Steelworkers Say US Oil Industry Tainting Safety-Practice Standards

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Contract workers at a Petrobras refinery called Get&uacute;lio Vargas, in Araucaria, Paran&aacute; state, achieved considerable advances in working conditions and salaries, following a strike. The 17-day work stoppage ended Monday, 27 July, after agreement was reached between the Central &Uacute;nica dos Trabalhadores do Paran&aacute; (CUT-PR) and the state-run company. 
 
The talks chaired by the National Ministry for Labour. 
 
Gains achieved by the unions include a minimum monthly salary of US$726, a 10% increase, a new food and housing allowance of US$150, and improvements to overtime. Overtime from Monday to Saturday will be paid at 60% above regular work rates, and on Sundays and holidays, 120%. Workers will now also receive a hazard allowance, health and life insurance, and bonuses linked to profits made by Petrobras. 
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Roni Anderson Barbosa 
&quot;The negotiation has fulfilled its purpose. We gained a good collective agreement for most workers,&quot; stated Parana State President of CUT, Roni Anderson Barbosa. 
 
There are 31 contract companies operating at the two plants in Araucaria, employing around 10,000 workers. The CUT Parana mobilised support and solidarity, nationally and internationally, for the workers of Repar Fosf&eacute;rtil, during negotiations.

Agreement Ends Oil Workers’ Contract Strike in Brazil

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A full season of biannual wage negotiations is nearly complete, following several fierce but short strikes in a handful of ICEM sectors. Other sectors, including public service and the construction trades witnessed raucous strikes in July. 
 
In mining, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) settled major gold and coal contracts covering 200,000 miners without strikes, while another ICEM affiliate, the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union (CEPPWAWU) was forced to take industrial actions against companies in the chemicals, pulp and paper, pharmaceutical, and fast Moving Consumer Goods in order to achieve wage objectives. 
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One set of negotiations that remains contentious is in electricity, with ICEM affiliates NUM and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) poised to take protest and industrial actions this week against Eskom. The state-run utility, Africa&rsquo;s largest electrical provider, and the unions are not far apart in negotiations, talks now being conducted by South Africa&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCCM). 
 
The agency presented a mediated offer of 9.5%, but the unions, including a third one, seek an increase in housing allowances on top of a first-year 9.5% increase. Eskom has remained fixed on offering only 8%, but that is likely to change this week as industrial actions draw closer. Some 29,000 workers are employed at Eskom, with NUM representing 16,000 and NUMSA covering 5,000. On 5 August, the two unions held a joint strategy meeting and charted a common course of action for the coming days. It will start with a march and mobilisation scheduled for Thursday this week, 13 August. 
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It is unclear what shape industrial actions will take against Eskom since, by law, the power generator and supplier is considered an essential service. A majority of workers at Eskom would be exempt from striking. But the unions are prepared to stretch the law in order to win fair wage gains. &ldquo;Our workers are angry, they are very angry and they are prepared to get fired by Eskom if need be,&rdquo; said NUM&rsquo;s Eskom Chief Negotiator, Paris Mashego. 
 
Elsewhere in South Africa, wage discussions that now are complete show better than inflation gains. The Consumer Price Index had been 8% or higher during most of the second quarter, but dropped to 6.9% late in June. The rand has weakened of late, which should help the country&rsquo;s export-oriented economy and the major hope is that the jobs situation will improve. 
 
CEPPWAWU used nine-day rolling strikes against several employers to win wage increases ranging from 8% to 10% for 45,000 workers. Companies that faced walkouts included industrial chemicals firms Sasol, Omnia, and Afrox; pulp and paper producers Sappi and Mondi; pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline, Pharma, and Indigo Cosmetics; and Fast Moving Consumer Goods, such as Unilever, Colgate, and Tiger Brands. Strikes lasted from 20 July to 29 July. 

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CEPPWAWU negotiates with industry associations or companies in ten separate areas, including petroleum, glass, sawmilling, tissue and allied, particle board, and Sasol Mines. In petroleum, a two-year accord was reached with such companies as BP, Shell, PetroSA, Engen, and Chevron&rsquo;s Caltex without a strike. The agreement calls for a 9.5% increase effective 1 July, with another 0.5% hike coming in January 2010 that will be based in June 2009 wages. 
 
In 2010, petroleum workers will receive the South African inflation rate then, plus 1.5%. They will get another 0.5% increase in January 2011. 
 
A priority for CEPPWAWU in this set of talks was extending paid maternity leave, and abolition of labour brokers and upgrading jobs held by casual workers to permanent status. In pharmaceuticals, where 10% gains were realised, and in Fast Moving Consumer Goods, maternity leave was extended to six months, at 33% of pay. 
 
As for the NUM, the gold and coal contracts were concluded for the first time without dispute resolution involvement by the CCCM. On 28 July, NUM settled with the mining houses in both sectors. In gold, with AngloGold, Harmony, and Goldfields leading the way, miners will see 10.5% for lower-classified staff and 9% for those in the higher categories. In 2010, the increase will be inflation plus 1%, with a minimum increases of 7.5% guaranteed. 
 
In coal mining, where BHP Billiton, AngloAmerican, and Xstrata dominate, lower-tiered miners receive 11% retroactive to 1 July, with higher classified workers getting 9%. 
 
The NUM is in dispute with Murray and Roberts, a contract mining and construction services company, and with Two Rivers Platinum, jointly owned by African Rainbow Minerals and Impala Platinum. Talks with the major platinum producers are continuing. 
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Fierce strikes were waged by the NUM in mid-July against construction companies, specifically on the FIFA 2010 World Cup stadium, and by the South African Municipal Workers&rsquo; Union (SAMWU) late in July. Satisfactory wage terms were reached in both, ending the strikes. The Communications Workers Union (CWU) is still in dispute with several companies, including Telkom.

Eskom Strike Looms, But South African Pay Talks Wind Down

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The mining strike in Canada by members of the United Steelworkers (USW) against Brazilian Vale-Inco intensified on 1 August when 450 staff at Voisey&rsquo;s Bay in the eastern province of Labrador and Newfoundland struck. Those nickel, copper, and cobalt mining and processing workers join 3,500 USW nickel and smelting staff of Vale, who have been on strike in Ontario since 13 July. 
 
There, USW Locals 6500 and 6200 in Sudbury and Port Colborne are resisting affronts to their work standards by Vale, including deep reductions to pension benefits, downgrading a production bonus, loss of value in cost-of-living increases, and greater company flexibility on outsourcing, something that stands as a serious threat to job security. The same set of concessions is before USW Local 9508 in Voisey&rsquo;s Bay in talks over a separate labour agreement. 
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(Visit the strike website here <a href="http://www.fairdealnow.ca">www.fairdealnow.ca</a> to learn more.) 
 
Although no formal talks have been held, USW and Vale-Inco in Ontario came to a picket-line protocol ten days ago that gives union officials on-site monitoring of contractors in order to protect bargaining-unit work. With the strike in Ontario hitting its one-month mark this week and global nickel prices starting to creep upward due to the walkout, the USW has launched a global campaign to pressure profitable Vale to drop demands that most certainly would bring social depravation to Canadian miners and their communities. 
 
The USW has rapidly activated the 150,000-worker Vale Union Network, a workers&rsquo; network started in 2006 with the &ldquo;Sudbury Accord&rdquo; that linked then-CVRD trade unions in Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Mozambique, and New Caledonia with one another. The network has expanded since, and with the start of the Canadian strike, mining and other unions in Australia, Germany, Peru, Sweden, South Africa, and within other countries have picked up the call of support. 
 
The &ldquo;Sudbury Accord&rdquo; contains six basic priorities, including stronger collective agreements, capitalisation by the company to ensure job security for miners, and the elimination of outsourcing and contract labour. 
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In the company&rsquo;s home country, the Brazilian labour federation Central &Uacute;nica dos Trabalhadores (CUT) reaffirmed its support of the unity accord by issuing a strong statement condemning Vale&rsquo;s corporate conduct. &ldquo;With the current international financial crisis, workers don&rsquo;t need to pay for a crisis they didn&rsquo;t create,&rdquo; said CUT President Artur Henrique da Silva Santos. CUT, the USW, and the entire Vale Union Network has designated 14 August as an International Day of Struggle on behalf of the Canadian strikers. 
 
The USW has dispatched teams of strikers to Brazil to explain the stakes, and the Canadians have been convincing in questioning Vale&rsquo;s rationale in its proposed social cuts. 
 
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also weighed in on the company social conduct. In a news magazine article, he scolded CEO Roger Agnelli for Vale&rsquo;s job-slashing and investment curtailments. Lula threatened to unleash the state development bank&rsquo;s investment arm and state-run pension monies on Vale in order to force better corporate behaviour. 
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Wayne Fraser
In northern Ontario, public sentiment around the Sudbury and Timmons mining towns is running strongly in favour of the strikers and of the belief &ndash; in the words of USW&rsquo;s lead negotiator and District Six Director Wayne Fraser &ndash; that the USW and local communities will not &ldquo;walk backwards&rdquo; with Vale&rsquo;s plans to negatively change the social culture of the region. 
 
Several Canadian unions have sent delegations to join picket lines in Ontario. Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Mine, Mill Local 598 in Sudbury, a union itself in a jobs dispute with Xstrata and one with a contrct expiration coming early in 2010, marched alongside USW strikers in a 24 July manifestation and contributed C$5,000 to the local USW strike fund. A public employees union in Ontario joined picket lines and contributed C$2,800. 
 
Delegations from another USW branch representing Vale-Inco workers in Canada, Local 6166 in Thompson, Manitoba province, arrived last week in northern Ontario and lent valuable support. The same outpouring will now be extended to USW Local 9508 in Voisey&rsquo;s Bay. 
 
As for the ICEM, which closely monitored last spring&rsquo;s negotiations and then the extended contract talks in both Ontario and Labrador from May to July in unsuccessful USW efforts to move Vale off the destructive proposals, it calls on global unions and all of civil society to resist Vale&rsquo;s agenda in Canada. 
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Manfred Warda
Noting the company&rsquo;s overall profitability and its role with two other major mining houses to ratchet up iron ore prices worldwide, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda said, &ldquo;We demand that Vale return to negotiations and retreat from this harsh social agenda, an agenda that is socially irresponsible of a national company that is aggressively entering global mining markets. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM and its global family of trade unions worldwide say &lsquo;no&rsquo; to Vale&rsquo;s assault on the living standards of Canadian workers and we call on Vale to fulfil the social promises that it made when it acquired Inco in 2006.&rdquo; 
 
Further, the ICEM notes that Vale boasts of its reduced operating margins, as measured by earnings minus tax and interest. In first quarter of 2009, operating margins have decreased a full 12%. That is just one reason why Canadian miners have drawn a line in this struggle by refusing to accept social cuts and contractual take-aways. 
 
As markets now begin to be affected by these Canadian strikes, the ICEM reaffirms its global support to the 4,000 strikers of Vale-Inco, and encourages all unions to provide visible help. The fight by USW Locals 6500 and 6200 in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario, and USW Local 9508 in Voisey&rsquo;s Bay, is a flash-point inside the financial crisis &hellip; and more specifically, recovery. Preserving social benefits that protect people is a fight, at this particular time, that deserves broad support. 
 
Again, please visit the strike website here <a href="http://www.fairdealnow.ca">www.fairdealnow.ca</a> and learn what you can do to help.

No Talks, But Solidarity on the Rise in Canadian Nickel Strike

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on, among other items, the progress made in Nigeria on Canadian CEP&rsquo;s donor work, on the work of a new ILO instrument on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, and on PEPFAR, the US President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. 
 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are already engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
 
Editor: Hans J Schwass, ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant 

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Progress in Nigeria 
 
In the May issue of the e-bulletin, we gave a summary of programmes planned in 2009 in target countries. We will continue to inform you on the progress and report on implemented activities in selected countries. 
 
In Nigeria, ICEM oil and gas workers&rsquo; affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN have continued their successful HIV/AIDS work, which started more than two years ago. The project has seen a tremendous boost in the uptake of voluntary and confidential counselling and testing in major worksites. The project is co-sponsored by the Humanity Fund of the ICEM&rsquo;s Canadian affiliate Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union, the Nigerian affiliates themselves, and the ICEM&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS project. Additional support was received from the Nigeria branch of the international NGO, SMARTWork of the US Academy for Educational Development. 

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More than 150 workers attended sensitisation meetings and advocacy for voluntary counselling and testing at Engine Lubricant Dealers in Lagos and at the KRPC Depot in Kaduna in April. The meetings were conducted by peer educators and counsellors trained in the ICEM project in Nigeria. 
 
A major new activity was practical training exercises for peer educators and counsellors, an activity first conducted in May at the NNPC/PPMC Satellite Petroleum Product Depot in Ejigbo, Lagos State. Professional counsellors assisted eight unionists in counselling services and close to 300 people went for testing. The activity was carried out in close cooperation with the Nigeria Business Coalition against AIDS. 
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International Labour Conference Discusses New HIV/AIDS Instrument 
 
Discussions have commenced at the 98th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC), the annual conference of the ILO, with a view to adopt a new instrument on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. 
 
According to Sophia Kisting, Director of ILO/AIDS, the new instrument should help to establish a basis for an institutional tripartite presence within national AIDS authorities; better coordinate ILO action on HIV/AIDS in the world of work and combat discrimination; improve monitoring and reporting and strengthen the contribution of the workplace to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. 
 
While the ILO Governing Body, in March 2007, put the item on the agenda of the ILC with a view to the adoption of an Autonomous Recommendation, workers&rsquo; delegates and some governments are strongly in favour of adopting a more binding instrument &ndash; a Convention. 
 
Discussions in the HIV/AIDS Committee of the ILC take place on the basis of a report reflecting the views of the constituents. Based on these discussions and further consultations, a draft text will be prepared for consideration and final adoption at the 99th session of the ILC in June 2010. 

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PEPFAR Head Nominated 
 
US President Barrack Obama&rsquo;s choice of Eric Goosby as Global AIDS Coordinator for the President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was welcomed by a number of organisations. Goosby has more than 25 years of experience working on HIV/AIDS issues and served in leading positions during the Clinton administration. 
 
The US AIDS Healthcare Foundation has, however, chided Obama that he proposed only US$6.6 billion in 2010, while just last year &ndash; as a US Senator from Illinois &ndash; he had voted for US$9.6 billion in annual funding for PEPFAR. The President&rsquo;s Global Health Initiative foresees investments of US$63 billion cumulative over six years to 2014 of which 70 percent or US$44 billion are earmarked for PEPFAR. 
 
(Source: Lab Law Weekly, 15 May, South African Broadcasting Corporation - Reuters, 28 April and White House Press Release, 5 May) 

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India: Sexuality Minorities Organising 
 
Sexuality minorities in India are planning to mobilise themselves in a trade union to ask for fair wages for their work in HIV/AIDS awareness programmes that are funded by the government and various supporting agencies across the states. 
 
A public meeting organised by the Karnataka Sexuality Minority Forum in Bangalore discussed the need for fair wages and benefits for peer educators in accordance with the labour laws of the country. A representative of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) urged them to organise a trade union for their cause. There is a big gap in wages between those in the top rungs of the HIV/AIDS programmes and volunteers who earn as little as INR 1,500 (about US$30). 
 
(Source: The Hindu, 4 June) 
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Sex Workers in Pakistan on HIV Prevention 
 
Although the recorded HIV prevalence in Pakistan is relatively low, health officials are concerned that a concentrated epidemic of the virus among injection drug users could carry over to commercial sex workers and other high risk groups in the country. To address the issue, the National AIDS Control Program and the United Nations Population Fund recently held a meeting, called the National Consultation on HIV and Sex Work, in an effort to improve HIV prevention efforts targeted at sex workers by consulting with workers in the field. 
 
Sex workers at the meeting made various recommendations, including HIV testing, referrals, and increased efforts to decrease stigma. Pakistan&rsquo;s Ministry of Health reports that female sex workers were at a high risk of HIV. A survey of 4,639 female sex workers found that less than 25% reported condom use. A female sex worker at the meeting said, &quot;It is very hard for us to convince partners to put on a condom, but I feel that a female condom would put us in a position where we can protect ourselves against HIV and sexually transmitted infections.&quot; 
 
She added that female condoms are not widely available. Legalizing sex work would make it easier for sex workers to protect their rights, another female sex worker at the conference said. 
 
(Source: IRIN/PlusNews, 19 May, reprinted from <a href="http://www.kaisernetwork.org">www.kaisernetwork.org</a>) 

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Women at Risk in the Caribbean 
 
An increasing number of women living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean face stigma, discrimination, and gender-based violence that is linked to the spread of the disease. UNAIDS reports that women overall now account for half of the population living with HIV in the Caribbean, compared with 30% in 1999. Women, ages 15 to 24, account for 62% of the entire HIV-positive population in the Caribbean. 
 
The Dominican Republic and Haiti, which make up the island of Hispaniola, have some of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the region, according to UNAIDS. Women account for 51% of the 60,000 HIV-positive people in the Dominican Republic, while they account for 60% of the 120,000 HIV-positive people in Haiti. Myrna Flores Chian &ndash; head of the gender rights program of Profamilia, a nongovernmental organization involved in reproductive rights efforts in the Dominican Republic &ndash; stated, &quot;There are physiological factors that put women and girls at greater risk of infection in unprotected sexual relations.&quot; 
 
She added that &quot;the feminization of AIDS is due above all to social discrimination, gender inequality, and lack of empowerment for women.&quot; She went on to say that gender violence and women's inability to negotiate condom use with partners or other conditions are directly linked to the spread of HIV. 
 
(Source: Inter Press Service, 11 May) 

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News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS update of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) of 15 April reports, among other items, on a new partnership project, designed to put HIV awareness on the seafaring agenda. The group &ndash; called the Global Partnership on HIV and Mobile Workers in the Maritime Sector &ndash; brings together representatives from eight organisations, including the United Nations, non-governmental organisations, unions, and employers (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 

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This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe or Translate? 
 
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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 45 June 2009

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The issue of forced labour in Burma was prominent during the opening days of the 98th session of ILO&rsquo;s International Labour Congress, with a general session held on the issue on 6 June. The debate centered on what the Burmese military junta has done to eradicate forced labour, and how the ruling regime conspires to block any meaningful reform on forced labour in the southern Asian country. 
 
The session provided grim evidence that Burma is nowhere near fulfilling progress toward ratification of ILO Conventions 29 and 87, the Forced and Compulsory Labour Convention (1930) and the Freedom of Association Convention (1948). The debate also proved the regime is doing too little to bring the issue into effect through local statutes in towns and villages. The 6 June ILO debate was the ninth time the ILO has taken up the despicable Burmese work practice of forced labour in special session. 

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FTUB President Maung Maung has been in exile in Thailand
Representatives from the ILO workers&rsquo; group, Actrav, presented several examples aside horrid statistics to prove the illegitimate government has failed to adequately address the issue. The employers&rsquo; representative, despite few employer delegates being present at the general session, said &ldquo;words are not enough&rdquo; in giving failing marks on the junta&rsquo;s progress on the issue. 
 
The governments of China and other Asian nations claimed progress is being made. For example, the re-signing earlier this year of a &ldquo;supplementary understanding&rdquo; between the ILO and the military rulers was cited. But the employer representative&rsquo;s remarks and the facts prove differently. 
 
One such fact, cited by Chihiro Ikusawa of Japanese trade union federation JTUC-Rengo, is that despite the common opinion that international divestment from Burma must occur, direct investment in 2008 over 2007 increased 93%. She said a good portion of this is Chinese investment, and most specifically in mining. 

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The Korean workers&rsquo; delegate, C.K. Lee of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), called attention to specific Korean investments in Burma and said his government &ldquo;has betrayed our confidence&rdquo; in endorsing such business ventures. A Brazilian workers&rsquo; delegate said forced labour violations are too numerous, and banking and financial ties with Burma must be broken. 
 
A vivid connection between labour and agriculture was also mentioned by one speaker, who said government decrees mandating a portion of a farmer&rsquo;s lands for a specific state purpose is, in and of itself, forced labour. The issue of child conscription into military duty was addressed. And the EU representative present &ndash; from the current EU chair, the Czech Republic &ndash; said Burma&rsquo;s rulers &ldquo;lack any credibility&rdquo; until they release some 2,000 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Other speakers noted the timing of the Nobel peace laureate&rsquo;s current incarceration with upcoming 2010 elections. 
 
In a report issued by a panel of ILO experts, a recommendation is offered to the ruling government to amend part of its new constitution giving it power to conscript Burmese citizens into captive labour jobs. That will likely be ignored, and the political and financial windfall that has driven forced labour will continue.

ILO: Burmese Junta Hammered Again on Forced Labour

Sappi: pulp &amp; paper/p&acirc;te et de papier/pulp y papel 
Urgent Alert, Sappi/South Africa: Voice Opposition, Support CEPPWAWU 
 
ICEM is calling for immediate action to a union-smashing affront by Sappi at its Enstra mill in Springs, South Africa. Sappi suspended 19 shop stewards and 23 other workers due to their union affiliation with Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU), a longtime ICEM affiliate. 
Starting on 6 May, SAPPI systematically and maliciously began taking disciplinary actions against CEPPWAWU leaders inside the 650-worker Enstra sulfate pulp and printing papers mill. The allegations: inciting workers (90% of whom are CEPPWAWU members), harassment, and use of company property for union purposes. At a 28 May meeting, SAPPI said it would start disciplinary hearings on them, hearings that will be one-sided and unfair. The ICEM urges that messages get sent and that this posting gets wide attention: union bashing will not be tolerated in South Africa! 
 
ICEM finds it reprehensible that SAPPI refuses meeting participation by CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s National Coordinator for Sappi branches, and called it &ldquo;a blight on Sappi everywhere,&rdquo; in a letter to SAPPI house in South Africa. The ICEM calls it a blatant violation of basic trade union rights and this union-bashing merits immediate condemnation. Respond! 
 
Take the message below, and send to Enstra manager Dave Glazebrook at <a href="mailto:dave.glazebrook@sappi.com">dave.glazebrook@sappi.com</a> and <a href="mailto:Wikus.van.Zyl@sappi.com">Wikus.van.Zyl@sappi.com</a>, <a href="mailto:Jan.labuschagne@sappi.com">Jan.labuschagne@sappi.com</a>, and then pass it to others to do the same: 
 
Sappi: Hands Off Union at Enstra. 
 
NO!!! &hellip; Union Bashing in South Africa! 
No &hellip; no suspending Union Rights in South Africa! This is malicious, anti-democratic, and anti-people &hellip; there is no room for it in economic recovery. Sappi cannot afford disrepute now or ever in its paper businesses. Reinstate the workers&rsquo; representatives and others at Enstra Now. These trade union members have been incriminated because they represent Sappi&rsquo;s biggest trade union in South Africa. It is deplorable labour-relations and employment conduct &hellip; and a cancer inside South Africa. Trade union rights at Enstra &ndash; anywhere at Sappi &hellip; Europe, North America, or in South Africa &ndash; are guaranteed and will never be denied! 
 
 
Please send solidarity messages to CEPPWAWU: <a href="mailto:secretariat@ceppwawu.org.za">secretariat@ceppwawu.org.za</a>

SAPPI: Act Now!!

Sappi: pulp &amp; paper/pâte et de papier/pulp y papel

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Early this week, workers of a transportation subcontractor at the world&rsquo;s largest open-pit coal mines, Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n in Colombia, will present their demands to managers. Backed by powerful Sintracarb&oacute;n, the ICEM affiliate representing 4,000 Cerrej&oacute;n miners, one of those presenting the demands will be Vincente Pomarico, the leader of a transport workers&rsquo; organising effort who was summarily dismissed recently on expiration of his short-term contract. 
 
The new union, called SINTRAS, would be the first union of subcontractors at Cerrej&oacute;n, owned jointly by BHP Billiton, AngloAmerican, and Xstrata, to organize. Sintracarb&oacute;n, recognizing the social harm inflicted by a key contractor who only gives fixed-term contracts to its workers of six months or up to one-year, seeks to make that happen and set a precedent for workers employed by other subcontracting firms on the mine site. 
 
SINTRAS, now counting some 80% of 150 drivers and others as bonafide members, has met fierce resistance in gaining recognition from SOTRANS, the transport company that grew from a very small Guajira department transport firm to a major service-provider at the world&rsquo;s richest coal reserves. Contract workers, together with Sintracarb&oacute;n members, have not backed down, conducting recent mobilizations, marches, and meetings with several work groups at Cerrej&oacute;n. 

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The contract company has shown willingness to talk with workers&rsquo; representatives, but has adamantly refused to enter into a collective agreement. 
 
Firstly, workers are unionizing because they want stability in employment. They want full-time and permanent status. Besides Pomarico, one other SOTRANS worker saw his employment severed because he was promoting the union. Both have been designated as bargaining committee members. 
 
Secondly, workers want pay increases and levels of social benefits that meet minimum standards in Colombia. SOTRANS workers deserve monthly salaries that are better than the US$250 they now receive, particularly with the profitability of the company. 
 
Contract workers are receiving much assistance from Sintracarb&oacute;n and its President, Jairo Quiroz Delgado, as well as from the regional committee of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia (CUT) in Guajira department. Who they are not receiving support from is the multinational Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n. 

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Sintracarb&oacute;n&rsquo;s Jairo Quiroz rejects his employer&rsquo;s &ldquo;passive&rdquo; stance on the matter, and states that Cerrej&oacute;n&rsquo;s claim of &ldquo;enterprise autonomy&rdquo; is unacceptable, considering the mining concern&rsquo;s own social pact with his union and miners and communities in the region. Jairo Quiroz says many contract employees at Cerrej&oacute;n are employed in &ldquo;semi-slave or enslaved&rdquo; conditions. 
 
CUT-Guajira charges SOTRANS with denial of basic freedom of association by coercing and frightening workers. It also challenges Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n to fulfill its social obligations by pressing for the right of trade union representation at its transport contracting agent. 
 
The ICEM supports formal establishment of the new transportation union, SINTRAS, and pledges to monitor the rights of contract employees at Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n.

Sintracarbón Seeks Unionisation for Subcontractor at Cerrejón in Colombia

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The ICEM has again registered sharp complaint to the Iraqi government over anti-social conduct at its State Company for Petrochemical Industries&rsquo; set of plants in Basra. The latest incident finds a new state manager harassing, and then filing police charges against Mohammed Zaki Ibrahim, the leader of ICEM affiliate Petrochemical Workers&rsquo; Union of Basra. 
 
Last month, Mohammed Zaki was verbally assaulted by the new general manager, who stated his trade union activity was an &ldquo;obstacle&rdquo; to the way he intended to operate the company. The manager also charged Zaki with being under the influence of &ldquo;external forces.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM was compelled to harshly condemn that violation of freedom of association in a letter to Iraq&rsquo;s Minister of Industry and Minerals. 
 
The letter also pointed out that after Zaki left the abusive meeting &ndash; witnessed by other managers &ndash; he was immediately charged by police with trade union activity, and labelled as a danger to the Iraqi national economy. As the Zaki case illustrates, managers have been vindictive in upholding Saddam&rsquo;s decades-old decree banning trade unions in the public sector, a draconian labour code that continued under the occupation forces. 
On 28 January, a workers manifestation over wage arrears at the enterprise resulted in management calling in the army. Managers targeted four union leaders with leading the protest, and then brought cruel and unjust discipline on to one of them: Kareem Johi Sahan was banished from the petrochemicals enterprise for six months and his pay grade was lowered. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM has paid close attention to events at the Basra facility,&rdquo; said General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;The Iraqi government must also. This must become a worksite where trade union rights are respected and we will continue working from the outside with trade unionists on the inside to fulfil that.&rdquo; 
 
The state-owned petrochemical facility employs 5,000 workers and contains six plants making ethylene, polyethylene, vinyl chloride, and other chemicals. The Basra Petrochemical Workers&rsquo; Union is affiliated to the Iraq Oil Workers&rsquo; Federation (IFOU).

Iraq: ICEM Again Condemns Union Harassment at Basra Petrochem

Archive

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Agreement Ends Oil Workers’ Contract Strike in Brazil

Eskom Strike Looms, But South African Pay Talks Wind Down

No Talks, But Solidarity on the Rise in Canadian Nickel Strike

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 45 June 2009

ILO: Burmese Junta Hammered Again on Forced Labour

SAPPI: Act Now!!

Sappi: pulp & paper/pâte et de papier/pulp y papel

Sintracarbón Seeks Unionisation for Subcontractor at Cerrejón in Colombia

Iraq: ICEM Again Condemns Union Harassment at Basra Petrochem

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