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Three miners were shot by the Zimbabwe Republic Police on 25 September, when police forced the end of a three-week wage arrears strike at the Shabanie asbestos mine in the southwestern town of Zvishavane. During the peaceful protest of that day, police fired tear gas into a crowd of 1,000 miners and their families. 
 
The three, two men and one woman, were seriously injured with gunshot wounds to the legs and hands. Incredulously, three days after the police violence, the three were hauled into a local courtroom in wheelchairs and charged with public violence. Scores others were also arrested. 
 
The names of the three who were shot are Alois Zhou, Taurai Zhao, and Simbarashe Mashuku. 

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The 2,280 striking miners, of the Shebanie Mine Workers Union, part of the ICEM-affiliated Associated Mine Workers of Zimbabwe (AMWZ), had not been paid their full wages since January 2009. Shabanie, along with Mashaba, two of the largest asbestos mines in Zimbabwe, had been taken over by the government in 2004 under Mugabe regime&rsquo;s Reconstruction of State-Indebted Insolvent Companies Act. 
 
The mines had been operated by Shabanie Mashaba Mine Holdings (SMMH), a company controlled by businessman Mutumwa Mawere, a Zimbabwean living in South Africa who is accused of taking some US$80 million in assets out of Zimbabwe. 
 
By all appearances, the Shebanie mine was productive and profitable under a government-appointed administrator. But calls for payment of wages were ignored. 
 
The police brutality ten days ago produced immediate and terse condemnation by a number of organizations. Wellington Chibebe of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) called for the resignation of the two co-Home Affairs Ministers for their indifference to the incident. 

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In condemning the unprovoked shootings, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said the strike by asbestos miners started on 31 August. &ldquo;However, the striking workers have been forced to go back to work after being visited by gun-toting policemen and the dreaded Central Intelligence Operatives. The state security agents together with Shebanie Mine security officers visited workers in their homes on 29 September threatening them that if they did not return to work the following day, the workers should vacate not only the mine house they occupy but also get out of town.&rdquo; 
 
COSATU also reported the home of ZCTU Zvishavane District Secretary Ndodana Sithole was raided and ransacked on 30 September, with police demanding to know what action ZCTU was planning in response to the 25 September police violence. 
 
The ICEM supports the ZCTU in its call for a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the September police actions in Zvishavane.

Three Miners Shot, Hundreds Gassed in Zimbabwe Near Asbestos Mine

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ABD'nin en b&uuml;y&uuml;k ulusal sendikal merkezi AFL-CIO'nun Pennsylvania eyaletinin Pittsburgh kentinde yapılan 26. olağan genel kurulunda delegeler Richard Trumka'yı başkan se&ccedil;ti. ICEM &uuml;yesi ABD Birleşik Maden İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası (UMWA) &uuml;yesi Trumka 1995'ten bu yana AFL-CIO mali sekreterliği g&ouml;revini y&uuml;r&uuml;t&uuml;yordu. 
 
Batı Pennsylvania'da madenci bir ailenin &uuml;&ccedil;&uuml;nc&uuml; kuşağından gelen Trumka, sendikaların saflarına gen&ccedil;leri kazanarak Amerikan sendikal hareketini canlandırmayı vaat ediyor. G&ouml;revi devralırken yaptığı konuşmada, Trumka, &ldquo;değişen ekonomide Amerikalıların ihtiya&ccedil;larını karşılayacak yeni bir sendikal hareket&rdquo; inşa edeceğini vurguladı. 
 
AFL-CIO'ya &uuml;&ccedil; d&ouml;nem başkanlık yapan John Sweeney'den g&ouml;revi devralan Trumka sendika avukatlığı da yaptı. 1974'te UMWA'nın Hukuk Servisi'nde &ccedil;alışmaya başladı. 1982'de maden sendikasına başkan se&ccedil;ildi. 1995'te Sweeney'nin AFL-CIO y&ouml;netim ekibinde yer alana kadar bu g&ouml;revi y&uuml;r&uuml;tt&uuml;.
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Arlene Holt-Baker, Richard Trumka ve Liz Shuler
56 sendikadan toplam 10 milyon &uuml;yeyi &ccedil;atısı altında toplayan federasyonun mali sekreterlik g&ouml;revini ge&ccedil;en hafta Trumka'dan devralan Liz Shuler Elektrik İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası'ndan (IBEW) geliyor. Başkan yardımcılığı g&ouml;revine se&ccedil;ilen Arlene Holt-Baker ise kamu y&ouml;netimi &ccedil;alışanlarının sendikası AFSCME'den geliyor. 
 
Genel Kurul'da alınan 70 kadar karardan ikisi Irak'la ilgili. Kararlardan biri, Obama y&ouml;netimini, Irak'ta sendikaların meşruluğunu g&uuml;vence altına alan, ILO normlarına uygun bir iş yasası &ccedil;ıkarılması i&ccedil;in Irak y&ouml;netimi &uuml;zerindeki n&uuml;fuzunu kullanmaya &ccedil;ağırıyor. &Ouml;b&uuml;r karar ise ABD y&ouml;netiminin askeri işgale son vermesini ve askeri birliklerini bu &uuml;lkeden hızla geri &ccedil;ekmesini istiyor. 
 
Bir diğer kararda ise ABD'nin Honduras'taki askeri rejime yaptırım uygulaması isteniyor. Bu yaptırım &ccedil;er&ccedil;evesinde, Manuel Zeleya demokratik Honduras'ın meşru başkanı olarak tekrar g&ouml;revine d&ouml;nene kadar, ABD el&ccedil;isinin geri &ccedil;ekilmesi, Haziran 2009 darbesinden sorumlu kişilerin malvarlıklarının bloke edilmesi ve Honduras'la b&uuml;t&uuml;n ticari ilişkilerin askıya alınması &ouml;neriliyor.

ABD Maden İşçileri Sendikası&#039;ndan Richard Trumka AFL-CIO Başkanı

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ICEM Orta Avrupa ve Doğu Avrupa/Kafkaslar'da anat&uuml;z&uuml;k uyarınca b&ouml;lge toplantıları d&uuml;zenledi. 12 Eyl&uuml;l'de Orta Avrupa toplantısı Hırvatistan'ın Sibenik kentinde yapıldı. 
 
Toplantıya Bosna-Hersek, Hırvatistan, Macaristan, Makedonya, Romanya, Sırbistan, Slovakya ve Slovenya'dan sendika temsilcileri katıldı. Toplantıyı y&ouml;neten Slovakya kimya sendikasının başkanı Juraj Blah&aacute;k, tekrar b&ouml;lgeyle ilgili ICEM Başkan Yardımcısı se&ccedil;ildi. Blah&aacute;k, ayrıca, Orta Avrupa b&ouml;lge komitesinin başkanlığı g&ouml;revine de yeniden se&ccedil;ildi.
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Orta Avrupa toplantısındaki sekiz &uuml;lke sendikasının temsilcileri&nbsp;
Delegeler &uuml;lke raporları sundular, b&ouml;lgesel &ccedil;alışmalar &uuml;zerinde durdular ve k&uuml;resel ekonomik krizin her bir &uuml;lke &uuml;zerindeki etkilerini tartıştılar. ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda ise ICEM'in k&uuml;resel faaliyetlerini a&ccedil;ıkladı ve Cenevre'de Haziran ayında yapılan ICEM Y&ouml;netim Kurulu toplantısında &ouml;zellikle ekonomik kriz &uuml;zerine yapılan g&ouml;r&uuml;şmeler ve alınan kararlar konusunda bilgi verdi. 
 
16 Eyl&uuml;l g&uuml;n&uuml; Ukrayna'nın başkenti Kiev'de Azerbaycan, Belorusya, Rusya, Ukrayna ve &Ouml;zbekistan sendikalarının temsilcileri Doğu Avrupa/Kafkaslar b&ouml;lge toplantısı i&ccedil;in bir araya geldiler. Toplantıyı, Rusya maden iş&ccedil;ilerinin sendikası Rusugleprof'dan, ICEM Başkan Yardımcısı ve B&ouml;lge Başkanı İvan Mohna&ccedil;uk y&ouml;netti.
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&nbsp;İvan Mohna&ccedil;uk (solda), &ccedil;evirmen Eugene Kuprin ve ICEM'den Manfred Warda 

ICEM &uuml;yelik aidatları konusunun da g&ouml;r&uuml;ş&uuml;ld&uuml;ğ&uuml; toplantıda, bu konunun gelecek ay yapılacak ICEM Başkanlar Kurulu toplantısına g&ouml;t&uuml;r&uuml;lmesi kararlaştırıldı. Delegelerin &uuml;lke raporlarından sonra, Manfred Warda ICEM Y&ouml;netim Kurulu toplantısı konusunda bilgi verdi. 
 
&Ouml;zbekistan Enerji, Kimya ve Jeoloji İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası'ndan Mavcuda Halilova b&ouml;lge toplantısına Kadın Komitesi'nin raporunu sundu.

ICEM Orta Avrupa, Doğu Avrupa/Kafkaslar&#039;da Bölge Toplantıları Yaptı

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ABD'nin Pittsburgh kentindeki G20 toplantısıyla ilgili olarak, ICEM &uuml;yesi Birleşik Elektrik, Radyo ve Makine İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası (UE), Pittsburgh United adlı bir sivil toplum grubuyla birlikte, bir dizi etkinliğin d&uuml;zenlenmesine &ouml;nc&uuml;l&uuml;k ediyor. Bu etkinlikler, G20 maliye bakanlarının ve k&uuml;resel ekonomik kurumların &ldquo;&ouml;nce insan&rdquo; g&uuml;ndeminin yerine &ldquo;k&acirc;r hırsı&rdquo;ndan oluşan neoliberal g&uuml;ndemi nasıl ge&ccedil;irdiklerini g&ouml;stermeyi ama&ccedil;lıyor. 
 
ABD'de sivil toplum grupları ile sendikalardan oluşan, &ldquo;Halkın Sesi: G20'nin Şirketlerin K&uuml;reselleşmesi G&uuml;ndeminin Sorgulanması&rdquo; adlı geniş bir ağ, Orta ve G&uuml;ney Amerika'daki benzer &ouml;rg&uuml;t ve gruplarla birlikte, 23-25 Eyl&uuml;l g&uuml;nlerinde d&ouml;rt forum d&uuml;zenleyecek. Forumlarda, d&uuml;nyanın d&ouml;rt bir yanında yoksulluğa, eşitsizliğe, işsizliğe ve &ccedil;evresel yıkıma yol a&ccedil;an G20 g&uuml;ndemi tartışılacak.
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&nbsp;23 Eyl&uuml;l'de ilk etkinlik olarak d&uuml;zenlenecek panelde, G20 politikaları ve toplumsal yaşam &uuml;zerindeki etkileri tartışılacak. Panele ABD Birleşik &Ccedil;elik İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası (USW) Başkanı Leo Gerard ve Nobel &Ouml;d&uuml;ll&uuml; iktisat&ccedil;ı Joseph Stiglitz de katılacak. 
 
24 Eyl&uuml;l akşamı d&uuml;zenlenecek bir başka panel, &ldquo;Halkın Sesi: K&uuml;resel/Yerel Bir Alışveriş&rdquo; adını taşıyor. Ayrıca, aynı g&uuml;n&uuml;n gecesi d&uuml;zenlenecek bir &ldquo;Halk Mahkeme&rdquo;nde G20'nin ekonomik &ouml;ncelikler g&uuml;ndemi yargılanacak. 25 Eyl&uuml;l g&uuml;n&uuml; d&uuml;zenlenecek &ldquo;Latin Amerika'dan Sesler&rdquo; adlı oturuma ise Bolivya, Honduras, Meksika ve Peru'dan sendika ve sivil toplum aktivistleri katılacak.

ABD&#039;de Sivil Toplum Grupları Pittsburgh&#039;da Alternatif G20 Forumları Düzenliyor

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Young trade unionists around the world marked International Youth Day, on 12 August, around the theme, &ldquo;Sustainability: Our Challenge, Our Future.&rdquo; As young workers struggle everywhere for the right to have sustainable, decent, green jobs, the days was marked as such. 
 
The youth of the international labour movement are focusing more and more on the issue of sustainable jobs in the face of climate change. Climate change is the cause of increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events, of the loss of biodiversity, of the future&rsquo;s food and water supplies, diseases, and employment. These impacts will hit the poor and vulnerable hardest. 

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The voice of the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC) Youth Committee called for intra and inter-generational solidarity in solving climate change. Measures must be taken to move more quickly towards a low-carbon economy. Young trade unionists want to be part of the solution for a fairer, environmentally responsible society, one that respects trade union rights. 
 
Organisers of the International Youth Day stressed the need to support and assist the most vulnerable, and the need to build a sustainable green economy that creates new jobs that combat social inequalities and environmental damage.

Global Labour Celebrates International Youth Day, 12 August

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Golden Misabiko, President of the Association Africaine de d&eacute;fense des Droits de l'Homme in Katanga province (ASADHO/Katanga), has been released from&nbsp;custody in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), following his arrest last month. His organization had recently published a report alleging state complicity in illegal uranium mining in the country. 
 
State intelligence services arrested Misabiko on 24 July in the provincial capital of Lubumbashi, in the south east of the country. He was charged with &ldquo;threatening state security&rdquo; and &ldquo;defamation.&rdquo; Bail was initially rejected, following suspicions that the judiciary bowed to political pressure to keep him in custody. Subsequently, he has been released.&nbsp; 

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Golden Misabiko
The charges against Misabiko relate to the report published by his human rights organization on 12 July. The report alleges that the Shinkolobwe uranium mine, which was closed in January 2004 on national and public security grounds, had been the site of illegal mining in which the government was complicit. The mine should have been secured by the government, but instead mining was continued by parties from the military and from civil society. 
 
The report also criticised the national government for its role in the 26 March agreement with French nuclear energy company AREVA. The agreement grants the company the right to prospect and mine for uranium in the resource-rich country, and the agreement was criticized for a lack of transparency. 
 
Peaceful protests against Golden Misabiko&rsquo;s detention have been carried out in Katanga. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s 12 mining affiliates in the DRC repeatedly come up against police force and arrests during labour disputes.

Leading DRC Human Rights Defender Arrested

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A dispute between South Africa pulp and paper manufacturer Sappi and affiliate Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) at the company&rsquo;s Enstra mill there was resolved early in August. 
 
The dispute, which had garnered ICEM attention, was over the company&rsquo;s intent to severely discipline and even discharge 19 shop stewards and 24 other workers for engaging in safety strikes late in April and early May. The issue was covered by the ICEM and an earlier report can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3285-ICEM-">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
In a negotiated resolve to the issue, Sappi and CEPPWAWU arrived at a four-page memorandum that was signed on 5 August. There were no dismissals, and the union admitted that its shop-floor leaders had engaged in unprotected strikes. Instead, affected shop stewards and others were given relatively short, unpaid suspensions. And &ldquo;final written warning&rdquo; letters will stay in effect for only one year. 

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The ICEM congratulates both parties for using dialogue to resolve what had been a deeply contentious issue. We believe that the agreement is a sign that healing inside the Enstra pulp and paper might begin, as well as a new era in labour-management relations. As part of the memorandum, CEPPWAWU must write a letter to all Enstra workers condemning the illegal strikes. Sappi waives its claims on asset damages stemming from the unprotected industrial actions. 
 
Twenty-three workers received one-week suspensions and returned to work on 18 August 18. Fourteen shop stewards received a 2-week suspension and will return to their jobs this week. Five other shop stewards, plus one other worker, are suspended for one month and will return on 11 September. 
 
Many ICEM affiliates, health and safety activists worldwide, and scores of others issued protests at Sappi and gave the dispute a global voice over health and safety concerns. These protests, CEPPWAWU feels, played the major role in lessening the penalties for what were a series of three illegal strikes. The South African affiliate, as well as the ICEM, conveys sincere gratitude to those who voiced their concerns from every corner of the world.

CEPPWAWU, Sappi in South Africa Resolve Shop-Steward Disciplinary Measures

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Last week, 33,000 electric power workers in South Africa came to terms with state-owned electric provider Eskom, thus averting a string of strikes and industrial actions. ICEM affiliates National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and National Union of Metalworkers (NUMSA) are expected to sign a new labour accord today. 
 
On 19 August, Eskom, which supplies 90% of South Africa&rsquo;s power needs, presented the two unions and a third one with a 10.5% first-year wage increase. That is 2.5% higher than the utility was prepared to pay earlier in August when the dispute went before the country&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCCM). 
 
The NUM represents 16,000 workers at Eskom, while NUMSA represents 5,000. Eskom employs about 29,000 workers in South Africa. 
<img src="" width="100" height="102" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="" width="100" height="103" alt="" />
A key item in talks up to and through last week&rsquo;s wage offer was over housing allowances. NUM and NUMSA are seeking a 5,000 rand (US$621) per worker housing subsidy. Resolve of this issue will continue in tripartite talks with the CCCM until 1 December 2009, when a process to finalise and implement the housing allowance will be put in place, said NUM chief negotiator Paris Mashego. 
 
Mashego said the NUM polled its members on the wage offer and housing deferral late last week, and 80% consented to take the offer. 
 
Meanwhile, a NUM strike against Impala Platinum that was set to start today was averted when the world&rsquo;s second largest platinum miner returned to the bargaining table Saturday and raised its offer. The company offered a 10% increase. The NUM, which represents 18,000 ImPlats workers, cancelled the strike and is currently weighing the offer.

South Africa’s Mineworkers, Metalworkers Agree to Wage Terms with Eskom

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A week of industrial actions against AngloGold Ashanti by miners aligned with ICEM affiliate Ghana Mineworkers&rsquo; Union (GMWU) was avoided late last month when the union and company came to a Memorandum of Understanding that settles a three-year dispute over an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP). 
 
The dispute dates back to November 2006, when Ashanti Goldfields fully merged with South Africa-based AngloGold. Then, GMWU proposed an ESOP for Ashanti staff at the Obuasi and Iduapriem gold mines who did not receive a US$1,000 &ldquo;goodwill package&rdquo; at the time of the merger. 

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AngloGold refused to take up the proposal, resulting in a two-and-a-year stalemate. In October 2008, the two sides resumed talks on the ESOP with GMWU giving the negotiations process six months to produce an ESOP. By 24 April, when Ghana management of the mining house still would not move toward ESOP parity for the Ghana miners with their South Africa counterparts, GMWU issued a press release calling it &ldquo;morally wrong for AngloGold Ashanti to discriminate in its employee relations,&rdquo; and stating a week of protests would result. 
 
But on 28 April, the two sides, meeting in Accra, agreed to an ESOP called for the 5,000 affected miners to receive 20 shares each of AngloGold stock, to be paid across four years in five-share increments. The first such award was made in May 2009. 
 
In a joint statement, GMWU General Secretary Prince William Ankrah and company Vice President for Ghana, Keith Faulkner, said: &ldquo;We are very pleased that this matter has been finalised. We see it as an important further step towards improved cooperation between the company and the union which we are convinced will advance the interests of both the company&rsquo;s employees and its shareholders.&rdquo;

ESOP Accord reached Between Ghana Mineworkers and AngloGold, Averting Industrial Actions

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Six miners are likely dead following a roof collapse at the Novodzerzhynska coal mine in Dzerzhynsk, Donetsk region, on 4 May. In a release issued by the Ukrainian Trade Union Federation, ICEM-affiliated Coal Mining Industry Workers&rsquo; Union (PRUPU) President Viktor Turmanov said the disaster was likely &ldquo;caused by gross safety violations&rdquo; due to the shift of rock underground. 
 
Three mines died instantly, while three others were rescued after nearly three days underground. The remaining three miners are unaccounted for and their exact underground location was still unknown as of last week. Fourteen miners were working inside the mine at the time of the collapse, with five able to immediately escape. 

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Turmanov said the search would continue this week, with restoration of the roof needed to carry on with a possible rescue attempt. But after two weeks, it is unlikely the three miners will be found alive. It the area where the roof collapsed, some 250 square metres of rubble accumulated. The tragedy happened 58 metres underground. 
 
Turmanov and PRUPU were instrumental in the days following the deaths in getting Ukraine&rsquo;s Cabinet of Ministers to set aside a large sum of money for better safety conditions at the Novodzerzhynska mine, which included compensation to the mining victims&rsquo; families. 
 
The mine in eastern Ukraine mine was reorganised last year and became a state enterprise connected to the Coal Industry Ministry of Ukraine.

Mine Deaths in Donetsk Region, Ukraine, Raises PRUPU Safety Call

Archive

Three Miners Shot, Hundreds Gassed in Zimbabwe Near Asbestos Mine

ABD Maden İşçileri Sendikası'ndan Richard Trumka AFL-CIO Başkanı

ICEM Orta Avrupa, Doğu Avrupa/Kafkaslar'da Bölge Toplantıları Yaptı

ABD'de Sivil Toplum Grupları Pittsburgh'da Alternatif G20 Forumları Düzenliyor

Global Labour Celebrates International Youth Day, 12 August

Leading DRC Human Rights Defender Arrested

CEPPWAWU, Sappi in South Africa Resolve Shop-Steward Disciplinary Measures

South Africa’s Mineworkers, Metalworkers Agree to Wage Terms with Eskom

ESOP Accord reached Between Ghana Mineworkers and AngloGold, Averting Industrial Actions

Mine Deaths in Donetsk Region, Ukraine, Raises PRUPU Safety Call

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