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Good relations between the ICEM affiliate Mexican National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, and Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal have made it possible for the union to post 14% overall gains in renewal negotiations recently. 
 
The contract covers 4,000 steelworkers at massive ArcelorMittal&rsquo;s L&aacute;zaro C&aacute;rdenas SA de CV complex in Michoacan state. 
 
The new agreement was signed on Wednesday, 4 August, in Vancouver, Canada, between Los Mineros General Secretary Napole&oacute;n Gomez Urrutia, Sergio Beltr&aacute;n Reyes, Javier Zu&ntilde;iga Garc&iacute;a of the union&rsquo;s executive, and Mario Garc&iacute;a Ort&iacute;z of Los Mineros in Michoacan state, with William Chisholm, CEO of ArcelorMittal Mexico, and Jose Luis Fuentes Quiroz Director of Human Resources. 
<img alt="" src="" width="229" height="172" />
from left, ArcelorMittal&rsquo;s Jose Luis Fuentes Quiroz-Pacheco and William Chisholm, Los Mineros General Secretary Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez, Sergio Beltr&aacute;n Reyes, the union&rsquo;s Secretary of Interior, Exterior and Acts
The agreement was signed in Canada where Napole&oacute;n Gomez continues to lead the union while in exile. 
 
There was no involvement by the Mexican Ministry of Labour in the negotiations. 
 
The new agreement increases direct wages by 8%, and benefits by 6%, to be paid retroactively from 1 May 2010. The agreement also includes a one-time payment of US$1,300 to each worker for outside social benefits, including those permanently employed and those employed through subcontractors. 
 
Los Mineros and ArcelorMittal had been negotiating for several weeks prior to a 1 August expiration of a prior agreement. It was extended by three days to allow the Los Mineros leadership to attend the 14th National Mineworkers Forum on 30 July in Cananea, marking the third anniversary of the Cananea copper strike in northern Sonora state. 
<img alt="" src="" width="230" height="145" />
Standing: Javier Zu&ntilde;iga Garc&iacute;a, Los Mineros Secretary of Labor, and Mario Garc&iacute;a Ort&iacute;z, Los Mineros Section 271 Special Delegate from Michoacan 
ArcelorMittal posted net profits in second quarter 2010 of US$1.7 billion. This compares to a net loss of US$792 million for the same period in 2009. At L&aacute;zaro C&aacute;rdenas, Los Mineros gave approval in May for merger of the company&rsquo;s four business units, a move that will give the company greater flexibility and mobility of raw materials and resources between its flat steel and slab steel production processes. 
 
Prior to the signing of the ArcelorMittal collective agreement, meetings were held in Canada between Napole&oacute;n Gomez and another General Secretary of an ICEM-affiliated Latin American mining trade union, Luis Castillo Carlos of the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (FNTMMSP). 
 
Meeting in Vancouver on 21-24 July, the two General Secretaries discussed regional issues facing mineworkers, looking towards building a strategic regional alliance. 
 
The two unions share common difficulties with Grupo M&eacute;xico, the mining corporation that is accused of corrupt ties with the Calder&oacute;n government in Mexico. Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s Southern Copper subsidiaries in Peru include mines at Toquepala and Cuajote, and smelters and refineries in the Moquegua and Tacna regions. FNTMMSP has been attempting to negotiate with Southern Peru Copper for eight months in the Tacna region, but has faced repeated refusals from management on union demands. 
 
Both unions face governments that systematically side with employers in disputes with workers. Currently, the Peruvian Minister of Labour, Manuela Garc&iacute;a Cochagne, is refusing to mediate talks to resolve the Tacna conflict. Instead, he is carrying out bilateral discussions with the company. This is in breach of the Peruvian Constitution.

Los Mineros of Mexico Achieves 14% Gains with ArcelorMittal

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A deadly accident killed four maintenance workers at the Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n mine complex in La Guajira department, north-eastern Colombia, on Wednesday, 4 August. The ICEM affiliated trade union at the mine, Sintracarb&oacute;n, represents 3,500 direct employed workers, and has been fighting to organise many of the 4,000 outsourced at Cerrej&oacute;n, Latin America&rsquo;s largest coal mine. 
 
As prior ICEM reports indicated, organising efforts were countered with harassment and persecution by contractors, while Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n management refused to intervene. 
 
This latest fatal accident underlines the urgent need for free trade unions among all the contractors of Cerrej&oacute;n in order to end unsafe working conditions. Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, and its owners Xstrata, AngloAmerican, and BHP Billiton, cannot continue to turn a blind eye to anti-union contractors. 
<img alt="" src="" width="220" height="185" />
Wednesday&rsquo;s accident occurred at 19h50, when a high platform holding 16 workers collapsed and fell. Contract employees of Conconcreto and Ticom were carrying out repair work in one of two coal storage silos in the massive facility&rsquo;s crushing plant. 
 
Three workers died at the scene. While 12 of the 16 were injured and taken to hospital, one died en-route. The bodies of the three dead workers could not be recovered until late into the night. 
 
Seven of the hospitalized workers have since been discharged, and the others are all in stable condition. 
 
Sintracarb&oacute;n, as well as communicating shock and sadness, moved quickly to demand a full inquiry into the accident, with a view to fully understanding its causes, and establishing a strict safety policy throughout the Cerrej&oacute;n operations. The company has responded, with external investigators due to release findings in two weeks. 
 
Production at Cerrej&oacute;n reached 30.5 million tonnes in 2009, and is expected to reach 40 million tonnes by 2011.

Contract Workers Killed at Colombia’s Cerrejón Mine, Renewing Cry for Unionisation

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After three days of a partial petrol blockade on the federal capital district of Abuja, Nigeria, ICEM affiliate Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the union&rsquo;s tank-truck drivers lifted the strike on 6 August. That occurred when government ministers and leaders of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, ICEM&rsquo;s Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association affiliate, met and crafted memorandums of understanding on both the worsening conditions of Nigerian roads and the repugnant and growing use of casual labour by oil and gas companies, particularly multinational concerns. 
 
NUPENG did, however, issue a 14-day strike notice to the government on another issue: that of rehabilitation of Nigeria&rsquo;s Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). If the federal government does not call together a forum to correct the lack of transparency and alleged willful mis-allocation of products to marketers, NUPENG will strike the oil and gas depots of several multinationals across the Niger Delta later in August. 
<img alt="" src="" width="165" height="220" />
NUPENG President Achese Igwe
&ldquo;There is serious corruption inside the allocation process of petroleum products,&rdquo; said NUPENG President Achese Igwe. &ldquo;We question the activities of the PPPRA in allocating products to marketers of unknown identity, and the PPPRA has shown no interest in revealing records or data on fuel allocations.&rdquo; 
 
Friday&rsquo;s meeting did create separate memorandums on road conditions and on casualisation. Meeting with Minister of Labour and Productivity Chukwuemeka Wogu, Minister of State for Works Chris Ogiemwonyi, officials of both the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) and the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Co. (NNLG), and the employers&rsquo; grouping of multinationals operating in Nigeria, the Oil Producers&rsquo; Trade Section (OPTS), leaders of NUPENG and PENGASSAN did get immediate commitments. 
 
Regarding casualisation and the ever increasing use of temporary or non-regular workers, a tripartite &ldquo;Technical Working Group on Casualisation and Contract Staffing in the Oil and Gas Sector&rdquo; was created. This working group will, between 30 and 90 days, produce a road map that will include analysis on why prior memorandums were not adhered to, and it must issue acceptable guarantees ensuring job security for casual workers. 
 
NUPENG and PENGASSAN insist that such staff, across all oil- and gas-producing companies, be given immediate opportunities for full-time staff positions if they have the prerequisite skills. When this is not possible, the unions demand that conditions of employment be published and strictly adhered to that grant temporary workers all work rights and social benefits that permanent workers get. 
<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
Igwe said that the vast number of casual workers in oil and gas have no pension scheme and are without health insurance. 
 
Following Friday&rsquo;s meeting, Wogu was thankful the short, targeted blockade of fuel products to the Abuja region was terminated, and stated, &ldquo;The strike was capable of scuttling the economy because NUPENG is too strategic.&rdquo; 
 
Regarding road conditions, which has caused the deaths of eight NUPENG tanker-truck drivers in the past three months, a Roads Monitoring Team was created that will consist of two members from NUPENG. Within a two-month time frame, this team will monitor roads and determine which ones need immediate improvement. 
 
Igwe stressed the importance of this issue by stating that poor road conditions have caused unnecessary stops, resulting in robberies and kidnappings of truck drivers. The risk to public safety is also inherent since poor roads causing accidents has meant monumental disasters, considering the inflammable cargos that lorries carry. 
 
On the issue of the PPPRA, Igwe said it remains a mystery as to which ministry or department of government the pricing authority reports to. The issue of transparency and accountability by the PPPRA is all-important in Nigeria with the country about to enact the Petroleum Industry Bill.

Horrid Roads, Casualisation Force Direct Action by NUPENG in Nigeria

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At the ICEM World Conference for the Energy Industry today in Stavanger, Norway, global trade union leaders issued the following statement:
Protest Note to the EU Commission on EU Coal Production 
 
Interfering in national legislation, the European Union (EU) Commission presented a law to close coal mines all over Europe until 2014 for reasons of austerity and liberal market policies regarding state aid. 
 
ICEM declares its solidarity with the unions in Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain and in all other countries which oppose the EU Commission&rsquo;s proposal and which defend miners&rsquo; rights to employment now and in future for a sustainable energy supply that includes coal in their respective counties under safe, secure and decent work conditions.

ICEM Energy Conference Takes Issue with EU Coal Policy

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All of France&rsquo;s main trade union confederations will strike tomorrow throughout the country, protesting President Sarkozy&rsquo;s bid to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, increase public sector workers&rsquo; pension contributions, and increase the pension required contribution period to 41.5 years before a worker is entitled to a full state pension. 
 
The national strike will be held tomorrow, 7 September, to coincide with the Plenary debate of the bill in the National Assembly. The stoppage will be conducted from 7pm this evening, until midnight Tuesday. Stoppages are predicted across sectors, from public transport, power generation, teaching, telecommunications, while hospital staff will guarantee only emergency services. The action will seek to fight the proposed pension reforms, and also defend jobs and demand government action for economic recovery.
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="87" />
The proposed pension reform is extremely unpopular in France, and unions are aiming to build on the 2 million people mobilised in June to protest the changes. Union activists plan strategy meetings on 8 September to consider next steps in the campaign. 
 
President Sarkozy is seen to be scrambling at present, with record low levels of public support, 18 months before presidential elections, the president&rsquo;s government last week scrapped plans to cut student accommodation subsidies, in an effort to reduce student support for tomorrow&rsquo;s protest. Defeat of the pension reform bill would conserve workers&rsquo; conditions, but also strike a significant blow to Sarkozy&rsquo;s right-wing UMP party&rsquo;s election chances in 2012. 
 
ICEM French affiliated union FCE-CFDT describes the pension reform and other government austerity measures as &ldquo;carriers of social injustice&rdquo;, adding that it is unacceptable that all the financial burden of the economic downturn is passed onto employees in both the public and private sector. 
 
Sarkozy is also suffering heavy criticism for his crime crackdown which is targeting the Roma community. The president&rsquo;s decision to target a group based on their ethnicity has concerned many, including members of his own cabinet.

French to Strike Tomorrow in Protest Against Retirement Age Rise

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ITF&rsquo;s (International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation) Turkish affiliate TUMTIS&rsquo; (the union of road transport workers) ongoing dispute with UPS, was the centre of a global day of action, attracting solidarity and support from throughout the world, on 1 September. Those participating in the day of action called upon UPS in unison to &ldquo;Deliver Justice not Abuse&rdquo;. 
 
Local management of UPS, the global messenger company based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, has reacted disgracefully to an organising drive of its workers by TUMTIS. While management have used physical intimidation on workers not to join the union, 157 employees of UPS and its contractors in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir have been sacked since April 2010 when the drive began, because of their support for TUMTIS. 
<img height="195" alt="" src="" width="137" />
(Photos: ITF)
Out of the 157 total, 126 were sacked at 3 UPS facilities in Istanbul, and 27 in Izmir. In Izmir one manager fired gunshots near the TUMTIS picket line, while other protesting workers were attacked by riot police. This is in direct breach of Turkish labour legislation, and certainly not in line with the company&rsquo;s pledges on corporate social responsibility, in which UPS promises to never obstruct its employees from joining a union. 
 
The day was organised following a unanimously adopted emergency resolution at the ITF Congress in Mexico City 5-12 August, reported InBrief No. 163 <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3970-42nd-ITF-Congress-in-Mexico-City-Elects-MUA's-Paddy-Crumlin-President">here</a>. 
 
The global day of action saw trade unionists protesting in front of national UPS offices in Australia, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia, among others. See more about the day of action <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/ups-justice.cfm">here</a>. 
<img height="113" alt="" src="" width="170" />
TUMTIS&rsquo; national labour centre, TURK-IS has supported the union&rsquo;s daily picket since the start of the conflict. 
 
The ITF urges supporters around the world to contact their local UPS management and transfer this <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Model_letter_UPS_CEO.doc">model letter</a> condemning the union busting in Turkey. Locate your nearest UPS office <a href="http://www.ups.com/content/corp/worldwide/index.html?WT.svl=SubNav">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
Workers at the 80% UPS-owned subsidiary &lsquo;Unsped Global Logistic Ticaret AS&rsquo; receive a monthly wage of 382 euros, while contract and agency (CAL) workers earn far less. The vast majority of UPS&rsquo; 5,000 employees in Turkey are CAL workers, often working over 70 hours per week. 
 
The ICEM supports demands of the ITF that all 150 sacked UPS employees are reinstated unconditionally, and that anti-union harassment is stopped immediately and fully at UPS and its subcontractors in Turkey. 
 
There will be a second global day of action on 15 September if the workers are not reinstated. 
 
Support the LabourStart campaign <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=750">here</a>.&nbsp;

Day of Action for UPS Workers in Turkey

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Successful bargaining between the ICEM affiliated Argentine Trade Union of Tyre Workers (SUTNA), Argentina&rsquo;s Chamber of Commerce, and the Ministry of Labour culminated in agreement on 23 August, in Buenos Aires. A new collective agreement for the sector, covering the period July 2010 to June 2011, provides a salary increase of 27.5 percent, plus improved conditions and a lump sum for members. 
 
The agreement lays out a reclassification of jobs in the sector which improves social benefits by an average of 12 percent. All workers will also receive a lump sum of 1,000 pesos (US$250) and a further payment of 500 pesos in January. 
<img alt="" src="" width="149" height="164" />
SUTNA General Secretary Pedro Wasiejko
Of the 27.5 percent pay rise, 22.2 percent will be retroactive to 1 July 2010, with the remaining 5.3 percent increase coming on 1 January 2011. SUTNA General Secretary Pedro Wasiejko commended the corporate commitment to negotiate in good faith, with talks to reopen in the first half of 2011, &ldquo;there will be further improvements to these gains&rdquo; stated Wasiejko. 
 
The collective agreement was accepted by 75.5 percent of workers balloted, with a turnout of over 80 percent. 
 
The ICEM salutes SUTNA and its General Secretary Pedro Wasiejko for achieving such significant advances for its members. 
 
Argentina was hard hit by the global economic crisis.

Argentina’s Rubber Workers Achieve Significant Wage Gains

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Meeting under the banner Med Dig, F&ouml;r Dig, N&auml;ra Dig (With You, For You, Close to You), Pappers, Sweden&rsquo;s Paperworkers Union, held its 23rd Congress from 3-5 September in Norrk&ouml;pping. The weekend Congress came two weeks before national elections in Sweden, elections that quite likely will determine whether or not the modern Swedish social model will survive. 
 
That point was driven home by Pappers President Jan-Henrik Sandberg, Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) President Wanja Lundby-Wedin, and Mona Sahlin, the leader of the Social Democrats and the desired Prime Minister-to-be in the 19 September elections. 
<img alt="" src="" width="205" height="154" />
Pappers President Jan-Henrik Sandberg
Sandberg told delegates in his opening remarks that the socialistic and democratic ideals of the party of Olof Palme had traditionally prioritized and delivered policies good for all people, not just a few people. He also reminded delegates that after four years of a conservative governing alliance masquerading as a party of the people, all that has occurred is a shredded social safety net, a spike in unemployment, and fewer opportunities for the young people of Sweden. 
 
Sandberg also endorsed the platform of the red-green alliance that was put forward on 31 August. The alliance of the Social Democrats with the Left Party and the Green Party stands as the best chance, he said, for return to fair taxation and security of income. Improvement to the platform could occur, Sandberg added, if it were to include an energy policy that prioritized replacement of outdated nuclear reactors. 
 
Lundby-Wedin said that four years of a right-wing government has not destroyed Sweden&rsquo;s social model, but cautioned regional and section leaders of the 18,000-member union that four more years of conservative rule will indeed destroy the model. 
<img alt="" src="" width="168" height="146" />
The leader of Sweden&rsquo;s Social Democrats, Mona Sahlin 
Sahlin, speaking on day two of the Congress, said she was &ldquo;provoked and angry&rdquo; that the right-wing alliance of four parties has defined itself as the new workers&rsquo; party. She said a true workers&rsquo; party does not eliminate welfare schemes for those sick and disabled; it does not disqualify 500,000 from an unemployment fund; and it does not allow one in four young people to go without jobs. 
 
She also outlined six policy initiatives in which the red-green alliance will prioritise job creation, including keeping the energy provider Vattenfall a state-owned company, an entity the &ldquo;arrogance alliance&rdquo; seeks to fully privatize over the next four years if it remains in power. 
<img alt="" src="" width="193" height="124" />
The Congress featured a series of break-outs, as well as an interesting pair of workshops involving managing directors from three Swedish forest products companies (Holmen, SCA, and S&ouml;dra) speaking frankly on future sustainability initiatives inside the paper industry. The other workshop produced frank discussion on whether or not a small union can survive in the new industrial age, or if a merger might become a matter of necessity. That issue likely will be revisited by Pappers after its new four-year Congress period. 
 
Sandberg was re-elected President, while Bengt Sj&ouml;holm was re-elected Secretary and Henry Heini&ouml; was re-elected Treasurer. The six other members of Pappers&rsquo; nine-member governing board also won re-election. They include Lars-Olof Pettersson, Carina Magnusson-Fernlund, Lars-G&ouml;ran Johansson, Pelle Eriksson, Mikael Lilja, and Nils-Erik Andersson. 
 
A total of 149 delegates from the union&rsquo;s 60 sections attended the Congress.

Pappers Conducts Congress at Crucial Political Juncture in Sweden

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A lockout of 230 steelworkers by the American-based electronics firm Honeywell continues into month four at the company&rsquo;s uranium hexaflouride (UF6) plant in the state of Illinois. Honeywell locked out members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-669 on 28 June over workers&rsquo; refusal to accept steep out-of-pocket increases to their health care plan, as well as complete elimination of retiree health care coverage. 
 
The company&rsquo;s demands are a slap in the face to workers who must toil inside an industry rife with hazards and long-term health risks. The plant in Metropolis, Illinois, on the Ohio River, is America&rsquo;s only facility that mills &ldquo;yellow cake&rdquo; uranium into frozen fluid UF6 for enrichment use in nuclear reactors. 
 
The health risks to the community have become even more pronounced because Honeywell seeks to regain lost production by using temporary replacement workers, a draconian American management practice used in employer-imposed lockouts. Although the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not as yet authorized untrained scab workers to operate the Metropolis facility, Honeywell has retained a nuclear contracting firm called the Shaw Group to supply replacement workers. 
<img alt="" src="" width="128" height="192" />
The mayor of Metropolis, Billy McDaniel, expressed concern over community safety in a report in the St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch newspaper last month. With trained union workers represented by the former Oil, Chemical, Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) operating the facility dating back 46 years before that union&rsquo;s 2005 merger with the USW, McDaniel said, &ldquo;I never went to bed at night worried about the men being trained and capable of doing their jobs. I want to do that every night.&rdquo; 
 
Added Chief Sheriff&rsquo;s Department Deputy Ted Holder of Massac County, the governmental unit responsible for evacuation and emergency response in the event of a disaster, the use of non-regular employees to restart the facility is &ldquo;a little concerning.&rdquo; 
 
USW Local 7-669 offered to continue working under a prior three-year labour agreement that expired on 21 June 2010. The union is seeking no salary adjustments, but seeks to retain current health coverage. When the USW did not concede to granting management a 24-hour strike notice prior to any potential strike, Honeywell locked workers off their jobs. 
 
Under Honeywell&rsquo;s proposal, out-of-pocket health coverage will increase to US$8,500 per worker each year. And besides eliminating company-paid health coverage for current retirees, Honeywell&rsquo;s regressive proposals include establishing a two-tier pension scheme with future hires relegated to an inferior plan. 
<img alt="" src="" width="123" height="148" />
On 7 August, 3,000 union supporters traveled from across the American Midwest to Metropolis to lend support to Local 7-669. Earlier, and directly in front of the uranium enrichment facility, the Steelworker local branch erected 42 Christian crosses in memory of former workers who have died over the years from cancer. They erected another 27 smaller crosses as symbols of workers currently diagnosed with cancer. 
 
&ldquo;What we do is a very, very dangerous job,&rdquo; stated Local 7-669 President Darrell Lillie. &ldquo;We deal with the worse acids known to man.&rdquo;

Lockout of USW-represented Uranium Processing Plant in US Continues

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Day eight of the strike by 6,000 members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) against four global tyre producers begins today with negotiations continuing. NUMSA and the New Tyre Manufacturing Employers&rsquo; Industry Association (NTMEIA) have been locked in a dispute since mid-August over pay, term of agreement, labour brokers and short-term contract workers, and other conditions of work. 
 
The four tyre companies affected include Bridgestone/Firestone, Continental, Goodyear, and Apollo-Dunlop. Bridgestone/Firestone and Continental had served notices of lockout to NUMSA prior to the strike. 
 
The employers&rsquo; association is seeking a three-year agreement, while NUMSA prefers a one-year deal. The two sides remain far apart on wages. NUMSA is seeking an 11% initial year increase while bosses have offered 8.5%, with the exception of Bridgestone which is offering 7%. Employers are offering a second-and third-year increase pegged at the consumer price index (CPI) plus 1%, or 5%, whichever is higher. 
 
If it is to agree on a three-year pact, NUMSA is insistent on year two containing either a 12% increase or CPI plus 2%, whichever is greater, and a third year increase of 14% or CPI plus 3%, whichever is higher. 
 
The union seeks consultation over all short-term or temporary employment contracts, as well as abolishment of all labour brokers in the South African tyre industry. It also wants direct temporary workers to be made permanent, full-time staff at six months of service. Other contentious issues include a 70% local content requirement regarding sourcing, premium pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and an adequate training pool and training to occur during work-time hours. 
<img alt="" src="" width="189" height="128" />
(Photo: International Metalworkers' Federation)
NUMSA and the NTMEIA have been negotiating since April 2010 on a renewal agreement to a three-year pact that expired on 30 June. 
 
On 1 September, NUMSA also launched a strike against both the Retail Industry Motor Association and the Fuel Retailers&rsquo; Association. Carrying out those strikes are 70,000 NUMSA members at garages, auto component shops, petrol stations, and various workshops and retail outlets that make auto components. 
 
Besides a 40-hour work-week, the union is seeking 15% across-the-board increases for notoriously low-paid workers in these areas, while the associations are offering only 6.6%. Already, one auto assembly plant, Volkswagen in Utinhage, has had to shut operations and send workers home due to a shortage of auto components. 
 
On 2 September, the ICEM sent affiliated NUMSA and its General Secretary, Irvin Jim (photo on site), a message of solidarity, stating, &ldquo;We have learned that your 6,000 members in the tyre industry, overwhelmingly at the multinational companies namely Bridgestone, Continental, Apollo-Dunlop, and Goodyear, as well as 50,000 members in the auto-supplier industries, are now striking following the failure of collective negotiations due to your rightful demands not being accepted by employers. 
 
&ldquo;On behalf of the whole ICEM family, I cordially salute the heroic strikes engaged by NUMSA and its members in both industries. I am also proud to announce our heartfelt solidarity and support to you. We have already alarmed our affiliated unions in those sectors throughout the world who are shoulder-to-shoulder with you.&rdquo; 
 
The strikes in all three South African auto-related industries come just two weeks after 31,000 NUMSA auto workers struck seven car makers affiliated to the Automobile Manufacturers Employers&rsquo; Association. That strike lasted eight days, until 19 August.

South Africa Tyre Strike Continues into Week Two

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