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

Safety Agreement Reached in South Africa; National Strike Tomorrow

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Less than a month after the US-based Ross International company agreed to joint talks with ICEM Colombian affiliate Sintravidricol at three factories, the company reversed course and said it would not recognise the union at two of those plants, or at two others in Colombia. The company manufactures metal moulding for the glass industry, and is a specific supplier to glassmaker Peldar, the Owens-Illinois subsidiary in South America. 
 
This labour relations shift is another attempt by owner Larry Ross to avert unionisation by both direct workers and contract workers at four of five of his Colombian factories. Sintravidricol has a collective agreement at Moldes Medellin, Ross&rsquo;s plant in Sabaneta, and it was in late October that the company agreed to hold joint, three-plant talks with Sintravidricol at Moldes Medellin, as well as at two other Ross businesses: Andes Tooling and Andes Cast Metals. 
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For over a year, the ICEM and its US affiliate, the United Steelworkers (USW), have campaigned, together with Sintravidricol, to pressure Ross, which established four other Colombian factories staffed with contract workers to weaken the union at Moldes Medellin. 
 
But in spite of the October guarantee by the company, Ross is not willing to recognise Sintravidricol at the other four plants. Colombian management recently informed the union that Larry Ross is not willing to sign any agreement that recognises trade union rights for workers in the other plants. 
 
Sintravidricol began a strike at the three factories on 27 November. In a letter to the company, the ICEM again reiterated its demand to Ross International that Sintravidricol workers are engaged in a basic &ldquo;struggle for trade union freedom.&rdquo; 
 
Among items Sintravidricol was hoping to resolve at the joint bargaining table are redress to low salaries, and a check on the widespread use of contract and agency labour. 
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In the US as well, the USW has again picked up the campaign against the privately-held, Pennsylvania-based company. The union has nominated Larry Ross as &ldquo;Grinch of the Year&rdquo; within the US-based labour and community organisation, &ldquo;Jobs with Justice.&rdquo; The union has submitted Ross&rsquo;s name as an example of a company &ldquo;engaging in a global race to the bottom, in search of low wages and the ability to violate workers' rights.&rdquo; 
 
The USW is allied with &ldquo;Jobs with Justice,&rdquo; an activist grouping that holds an annual election to get the grinch which has done most to harm working families. To cast your vote for Larry Ross, please go here: <a href="http://www.jwj.org/grinchnominate.html">http://www.jwj.org/grinchnominate.html</a>.

US Ross Company Breaks Colombian Pledge, Glass Workers Strike

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ICEM affiliate Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) in New Zealand has voiced its sentiments concerning mine safety on two fronts: at home and in China. The country&rsquo;s largest labour union, which represents nearly all of New Zealand&rsquo;s coal miners, issued a statement calling on mandatory mine check inspectors to be included in any new mining regulations. 
 
The EPMU&rsquo;s call follows news in New Zealand that the surviving spouse of a miner killed inside a shaft in 2006 plans to campaign for changes to New Zealand&rsquo;s mining regulations. 
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EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little said dedicated mine check inspectors would be a major improvement in mine safety. &ldquo;Having someone on-site whose express purpose is to check worksite safety, equipment standards, and make sure that the right procedures are followed, and who has the confidence of miners, would make mining that much safer,&rdquo; said Little. 
 
&ldquo;Mining remains one of the most dangerous jobs, and it is about teamwork and trust,&rdquo; he added. 
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EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little 
The EPMU also struck out at New Zealand&rsquo;s National Party for its cynical attack on Kiwi efforts to bring better safety techniques to China&rsquo;s mines. Leaders of the political party were sharply critical of a government-funded initiative to assist the Chinese. The initiative had the involvement of the EPMU, New Zealand&rsquo;s Council of Trade Unions, and state-run Solid Energy. 
 
&ldquo;The EPMU helps Chinese miners because we value human life,&rdquo; said Little in a statement. &ldquo;National&rsquo;s criticism of this (programme) is astonishingly short-sighted and petty, and makes clear where their party stands on decent labour standards &ndash; they don&rsquo;t care.&rdquo;

EPMU Strikes Hard on Mine Safety at Home, and in China

The ICEM Women&rsquo;s Committee concluded its two-day conference yesterday, 18 November, in Bangkok, Thailand, shaping a seven-point work plan for future activities. The 180 women present also elected a new vice president to the ICEM&rsquo;s Presidium. 
 
Angeline Chitambo, a leader in Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Energy and Electricity Workers&rsquo; Union (ZEEWU), was elected to one of two statutory positions for women on ICEM&rsquo;s Presidium. She replaces Binda Pandy of Nepal, who did not seek re-election due to her increased role in the national labour centre GEFONT in her home country. Evgenia Esenina, chair of the Women&rsquo;s Committee from the Russian Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union (ROGWU), was unanimously endorsed to continue serving in the other Women&rsquo;s seat. 
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Chair Evgenia Esenina and Vice-chair Angeline Chitambo
The forward work plan includes: Engaging in more research on best practices regarding maternity protection; active exchange of information through ICEM&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s newsletter on country by country activities concerning women and work; a continuation of work on the work-life balance, specifically maternity and paternity leave; and the strengthening of work toward and training of workers in informal sectors, including casual workers, migrant workers, and women workers in agency labour or on short-term labour contracts. 
 
The other three points include: Building alliances with NGOs and other civil society organisations, and changing men&rsquo;s mentality to expand gender equality; continuation of women&rsquo;s leadership training and expanding women&rsquo;s representation; and continuing work specifically in Burma, Colombia, Iraq, Nepal, Palestine, Zimbabwe, and other countries in which the fight for trade union and human rights must be engaged. 
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On the left, GUEWT President Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein
A special feature of the Women&rsquo;s Committee meeting, which leads into this week&rsquo;s 4th ICEM World Congress, was a presentation by Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, president of the General Union of Iraq Electricity Workers and Technicians (GUEWT). The union became ICEM&rsquo;s first affiliate earlier this year from war-torn Iraq. She told the assembled about the difficulties fledging trade unions face in Iraq, as well as the struggle to shape a secular society in which women play major roles. 
 
Other reports came from pro-democracy groups in Burma, the continuing fight to form a just society in Nepal, and work being done by women in Thailand to bring full rights and permanent jobs to contract workers. The conference also included two break-out sessions; one on work-life balance and maternity protection, the other on resolutions submitted to this week&rsquo;s ICEM Congress, which runs 22-24 November at the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre in Bangkok.

ICEM Women Elect New Vice President, Adopt 7-Point Programme

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The ICEM mourns the passing of Heribert Maier. He died suddenly in Graz, Austria, on 6 November, from a cerebral haemorrhage. He was 75. 
 
Heribert Maier was one of the champions in the achievement of workers&rsquo; rights on the global level in the 1970s and 1980s, and beyond. &ldquo;We have much to be thankful for because of his work on the ILO&rsquo;s Freedom of Association Committee,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;The recognition of basic ILO Conventions is a tribute to Heribert Maier.&rdquo; 
 
Warda also lauded Maier for giving strong support to the Mineworkers&rsquo; International Federation (MIF) in getting the Health and Safety in Mines Convention 176 through the ILO. 
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He joined OGB, the Austrian national labour centre, in 1955, and rose from there to prominent careers at the ICFTU and the ILO. He also served as General Secretary of FIET, which merged with two other global unions to become UNI in 2000, from 1973-1979. He was a pioneer then, among global trade union leaders, to work extensively and successfully in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 
 
He held several distinguished positions at the ILO, including Governing Body member, Vice President of Conference, ACTRAV spokesman in the Freedom of Association Committee, and a co-drafter of the 1977 ILO Tripartite Declaration on Multinationals. 
 
The ICEM extends its deepest condolences to Heribert Maier&rsquo;s immediate family, his wife Ren&eacute;e, daughter Christina, and to affiliated unions of UNI on the sad occurrence of his death.

ICEM Mourns Death of Heribert Maier, Ex-FIET General Secretary

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Three retired workers from Continental AG in the US visited Germany with their union, the United Steelworkers (USW), in early November to protest the company&rsquo;s cut-off of medical benefits when it closed two tyre plants. Hosted by ICEM German affiliate IGBCE, the trade unionists, B.A. Hodges, Larry Little, and Jerry McChellan had several meetings with IGBCE shop stewards of the Hanover-based company and handbilled a tyre plant in Aachen. 
<img height="82" alt="" src="" width="150" align="absMiddle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="83" alt="" src="" width="66" align="absMiddle" />
The IGBCE arranged a regional press briefing for the Americans, and they also met with Werner Bischoff, board member of IGBCE and vice chairman of Continental AG&rsquo;s Supervisory Board. The USW members met with IGBCE shop stewards at Continental&rsquo;s technical centre in Northeim, and also explained the US situation of the company to shop stewards and others at IGBCE&rsquo;s training centre outside of Hanover. 
 
The three USW retirees come from closed Continental North America tyre plants in Mayfield, state of Kentucky, and Charlotte, North Carolina. They were accompanied by USW staff member Shawn Gilchrist. 
<img height="285" alt="" src="" width="380" />
Retired USW members B.A. Hodges, Larry Little, and Jerry McChellan 
Continental closed three US operations in 2006, including the Mayfield and Charlotte plants, as well as one in Byron, Ohio. Some 2,000 retirees were left without company-paid medical benefits, and, strongly supported from the USW, filed a class action lawsuit against the company. 
 
In late July 2007, a US federal court judge ruled in a summary judgment that the company had improperly reduced the benefit levels for retirees and their spouses. The judge&rsquo;s decision stated that since the company was unable to force its terms with the USW during contract talks, it unilaterally and illegally began implementing the cuts. Continental has said it will appeal the judge&rsquo;s ruling.

Retired US Continental Tyre Workers Take Protest to Germany

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After months of negotiations with employers, ICEM affiliate Chemical Industries Employees&rsquo; Union (CIEU) of Singapore has signed a fair employment practices contract with 20 chemical companies operating in the nation-city. The pact covers 1,700 workers, and came under the auspices of Singapore&rsquo;s Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices, formed in 2006. 
 
The agreement guarantees equal opportunities for workers regarding recruitment, job allocation, and career advancement. Perhaps the single most achievement of the pact is that it guarantees employment enhancement for older workers, age 50 and above, an age range in which 20% of the 1,700 workers fall. 
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&ldquo;CIEU is confident that the 20 companies will translate their commitments to fair employment practices into action when it comes to fair hiring and in-employment practices,&rdquo; stated Sister Cham Hui Fong, CIEU&rsquo;s Executive Secretary. &ldquo;We believe this is both a pro-worker and pro-business initiative.&rdquo; 
 
The union highlights the fact that a worker who is treated fairly is better motivated to contribute to the success of the company. 
 
Representatives of the companies and CIEU held a ceremony over the agreement at Singapore&rsquo;s National Trade Union Congress on 24 October. Some of the 20 chemical companies signatory to the pact include: Aventis Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Eastman Chemicals of Singapore, FujiFilm/Hunt Chemicals, Glaxo Wellcome, and Total Pharmaceuticals.

Chemical Workers’ Union of Singapore Signs Pact with 20 Firms

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The ICEM affiliate, Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union of Azerbaijan (AzOGWU), came to terms over a historic social development contract, covering 65,000 workers of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). 
 
Announcement of the pact came at AzOGWU&rsquo;s Third Ordinary Congress in Baku on 2 November, by the union&rsquo;s president, Jahangir Aiyev, and Socar President, R&ouml;vneq Abdullayev. The agreement amounts to a detailed social plan for all departments, sections, and workplaces of SOCAR. It also comes immediately after sizeable wage gains and working conditions were negotiated. 
<img height="100" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Foremost to the social plan is a SOCAR commitment to provide free of charge housing to 6,000 employees between now and 2010. Assurances of health and safety upgrades is part of the social development plan. Employees in all departments will also realise better transportation allowances, and safer and more modern sea transportation to offshore worksites. The social plan also spells out better catering, creation of sports and cultural centres, and other amenities for workers. 
 
AzOGWU&rsquo;s Congress, attended by 250 delegates, re-elected Jahangir Aiyev as President, and Fetullah Mustafayev as Vice President. Special guests at the Congress included Lev Mironov, ICEM Vice President and President of the Russian Oil and Gas Workers Union (ROGWU); Ivan Mochnachuk, also an ICEM Vice President and President of the Russian Independent Coal Employees&rsquo; Union; Mustafa &Ouml;ztaskin, President of Turkey&rsquo;s Petrol-Iş; and Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM&rsquo;s Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer.

Azeri Oil and Gas Workers’ Union Achieves Historic Pact with SOCAR

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The 4th ICEM World Congress begins this Thursday, 22 November, and participants and others can find Congress information on a special sub-section of the ICEM website. Through <a href="/congress">www.icem.org/congress</a>, you will find all background information, including several Congress documents, as well as practical information on the venue, the Queen Sirikit Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand. 
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The week-long set of meetings around the Congress, which runs 22-24 November, actually began this past weekend. A two-day Women&rsquo;s Conference was held 17-18 November, and a Contract and Agency Labour Conference will run on Wednesday, 21 November. 
 
In addition, a special meeting of the ICEM&rsquo;s Pulp and Paper Sector will occur, also on 21 November. 
 
During the Congress, this web-page will also be the place to look for updates and news on the Congress.

ICEM Website Set for GUF’s World Congress

The 20-million-member International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) is lending its support to the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation Local Union (GPOLU), and its allies, in calling for defeat of draft legislation that would, effectively, privatise Thailand&rsquo;s pharmaceutical drug industry. 
The ICEM is in full support of a manifestation on Monday, November 12, at the Ministry of Public Health in Nonthaburi. That rally, beginning at 13h00, is being organised by GPOLU, the Confederation of State Enterprise Unions (SERC), and allied consumer and civil society organisations. The ICEM encourages Thai citizens to attend. 
<img height="255" alt="" src="" width="300" />&nbsp;
Rawai Pupaga, GPOLU President and 
Chairman&nbsp;of the ICEM Thai Labour Committee
&ldquo;We lend the name of the global trade union for all chemical and pharmaceutical workers to defeat this bill,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We believe that removing the government as a provider of essential health needs, in any form, is a recipe for higher costs, with a bigger portion of the population going without adequate health care.&rdquo; 
In a letter to be read at the manifestation, the ICEM pledged to stand with the GPOLU as they &ldquo;prevail upon current government ministers and lawmakers &hellip; that government procurement of pharmaceuticals, first and foremost, must benefit Thailand&rsquo;s citizens.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM, representing 384 trade unions in 118 countries, will be holding its 4th Congress, 22-24 November, at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok. Some 880 trade union leaders from national unions representing workers in the oil, gas, mining, chemicals, pharmaceutical, and processed industries such as pulp, paper, cement, rubber, glass industries will attend the ICEM&rsquo;s quadrennial Congress.

Global Union Federation, ICEM, Calls for Defeat of Thai Public Health Amendments

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