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The ICEM took part in the 21st International Mining Conference of Turkey, sponsored by the Turkish Chamber of Mining Engineers. The ICEM&rsquo;s campaign for ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, was continued there. The ICEM, the ILO, and Turkish mining affiliates met in Ankara during the first week of May, resulting in commitments from the unions to work towards ratification. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s mining programme established mechanisms for mining unions in Turkey to exchange successful strategies to combat the global financial crisis. Significant examples come from ICEM mining affiliates in Africa, where different forms of nationalisation and state mining enterprise are emerging to block mass job losses. The ICEM also showcased actions by African mining unions to head off efforts by employers in taking advantage of the financial crisis. 

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In other news, trade unionists in Istanbul carried out an historic May Day by ending a march in the city&rsquo;s Taksin Square. Workers&rsquo; had been banned from holding May Day rallies there by the military in 1980, and that ban was only lifted in the days before 2009&rsquo;s May Day celebration. Taksin Square is the site of the so-called &ldquo;Bloody May 1&rdquo; of 1977, in which 36 trade unionists were killed. It is significant to Turkish unions, standing as the symbol for the right to assemble and for free speech. 
 
In Turkey, 1 May this year was a public holiday for the first time, following a successful campaign of pressure by trade unions.

ICEM Campaign for ILO 176 Continues in Turkey

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The German social-democratic organisation, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), released a briefing paper entitled &ldquo;Comeback of Global Governance,&rdquo; outlining the need for reform of mechanisms for global political and monetary governance. The current financial crisis is seen by many as the opportunity to reform global financial bodies, which fail both in terms of representation and of effectiveness. 
 
The past year has seen a list of failures in terms of global governance, from the Doha round of world trade talks to follow-up of the Monterrey Financing for Development Conference. Even the preliminary rounds of discussion at Posnan, Poland, environment and sustainability forums have illustrated significant obstacles in commitments over combating climate change. 
 
Arguably the most vital changes needed are inside the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose failings have become all too apparent during this current global recession. The current financial crisis is a clear indication of how urgently an effective global regulatory framework is needed in order to come to grips with the present crisis and to contain future excesses. The days of the World Bank and IMF governing the world on a neo-liberal agenda now must end. 
 
The IMF&rsquo;s system of quotas and voting rights gives European countries an imbalanced amount of power that is no longer justified by their order in the world economy. Despite the limited voting-rights reform carried out in March 2008, the Benelux countries, for example, continue to have a higher quota than China. The reforms to the IMF that are on the agenda will go some way towards creating a fairer system, although they do not go far enough in &lsquo;giving a voice to the voiceless.&rsquo; 
 
The current economic climate offers many alternatives for change. US President Barack Obama seeks to establish a new disarmament and non-proliferation treaty. German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for a world economic council. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown advocate an international banking oversight commission. Germany and France, together with Russia and Brazil, promote a new global economic and financial architecture that has a special focus on regulating financial markets. 
 
Find the FES briefing paper <a href="http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/global/06319.pdf ">here</a>.

International Labour Calls for Reform of the Structures of Global Governance

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Following the release of the English and Arabic versions of the &ldquo;ICEM Guide on Contact and Agency Labour (CAL),&rdquo; the ICEM has now also released French, Spanish, and Russian versions of this important tool to assist unions around the world with their efforts in this growing area of work. 
 
The French version can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/icem%20manual%20frans%2026032009def.pdf ">here</a>. 
The Spanish version can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/icem%20manual%20spaans%20070420092.pdf ">here</a>. 
The Russian version can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/icemmanualrussiandef.pdf ">here</a>. 
 
The English and Arabic versions of the manual, as well as the ICEM&rsquo;s CAL campaign website can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM CAL Guide describes numerous problems faced by short-term contract workers, and by workers employed through temporary work agencies, containing a number of best - as well as worst - practices from around the world. 
 
The guide also provides an overview of some of the most recent changes in national and international labour laws and standards. It further deals with combating the phenomenon at company level through collective negotiations. Useful and encouraging examples, together with union strategies and ideas to counter the many abuses in this field, are also provided.

ICEM Releases Contract and Agency Manual in French, Spanish, Russian

La agrupaci&oacute;n Global Unions, que est&aacute; integrada por 13 federaciones sindicales internacionales, la Confederaci&oacute;n Sindical Internacional (CSI), y el TUAC de la OCDE, sabe cu&aacute;n importante es que en EE.UU. se apruebe el Acta de Libertad de Elecci&oacute;n de los Empleados (EFCA). Sabemos que para tener una econom&iacute;a fuerte, se tiene que dar a los trabajadores la oportunidad de afiliarse a un sindicato y realizar negociaciones colectivas para que se paguen sueldos justos y se eleven las prestaciones sociales de todos los ciudadanos de la sociedad. 
 
Creemos que &eacute;ste es el aspecto fundamental del Acta de Libertad de Elecci&oacute;n de los Empleados. Nuestro sindicato respalda firmemente a los sindicatos norteamericanos en el trabajo que realizan para lograr que el Congreso de Estados Unidos apruebe este proyecto de ley, que cuenta con el apoyo del Presidente Obama. Rogamos informar a los miembros de su sindicato, como tambi&eacute;n a sus funcionarios sindicales elegidos, que nuestro sindicato apoya plenamente el EFCA, y que consideramos que es un elemento esencial de una sociedad libre que permita a los trabajadores afiliarse a un sindicato, sin que les pongan obst&aacute;culos. 
 
(Firmado &hellip; Nombre del funcionario sindical) 
(Nombre del sindicato) 
(Pa&iacute;s)

Llamada Urgente: EFCA Letter ESP

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Three and a half thousand workers took to the streets on 23 April, in Hanover,&nbsp;Germany, to demonstrate for site preservation. Continental AG&nbsp;workers from across Germany, France, and Mexico turned out in solidarity for their IGBCE, IG Metall, and Verdi colleagues. The 3,500 demonstrated in front of the Conti-Shareholders' Annual General Meeting, for the preservation of the nearly 2000 jobs threatened. 
Several delegations of the European Forum of Continental AG (European Works Council), from Regensburg, Frankfurt, and Berlin, demonstrated alongside trade unionists. 
Werner Bischoff, a senior leader of the ICEM affiliate IGBCE, announced that the Corporate Executive Board can not make decisions alone, on matters of site closure. 
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Werner Bischoff 
As reported in InBrief No. 128, both factories recorded excellent financial figures for the year 2008. The ICEM supports the common declaration of the 2-3 April meeting of Continental AG workers&rsquo; representatives, in describing the proposed job cuts as &ldquo;morally despicable.&rdquo; 
 
One German trade unionist at the protest stated, &ldquo;It's the first time that French union members and German members of the BCE union have come together against the shareholders, who, as we have already said, are talking just about money, whereas we are talking about our families and our hearts&rdquo; 

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German labour representatives read a statement to shareholders that said &quot;we do not accept that the life of thousands of families, when suppliers are included, are sacrificed to your boundless appetite.&quot; 
Continental management has said that no definitive decision has yet been taken on the closure of the Clairoix plant. French workers have staged repeated protests over previous weeks, including the ransacking of administrative offices at the plant. The company had previously pledged to keep the French factory open until 2012 at least. 
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Workers are unanimous that if closure does occur, Continental will have to guarantee solid compensation packages for its employees. 
 
Continental slashed around 8,000 jobs worldwide last year, and 6,000 more in the first three months of 2009.

Hanover Demonstration to Preserve Continental Jobs

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With over 70 confirmed participants, the ICEM&rsquo;s quadrennial World Conference for the Rubber Industries will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, USA next week, on 12-13 May 2009. The conference, to be hosted be the United Steelworkers (USW), will be presided over by USW President Leo Gerard, Chairman of the ICEM Rubber Industry Sector. 

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Leo Gerard, Chairman of ICEM Rubber Industry Section &amp; USW President
The venue is the Sheraton Music City Hotel, Nashville. 
 
Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer, will make a presentation on &ldquo;Global Industry Trends and Challenges.&rdquo; 
 
The Conference&nbsp;will also feature five panel discussions: &ldquo;Effects of Global Crisis on the Industry and Trade Union Challenges,&rdquo; &ldquo;Rising Hardships and Distortion in Work Relationships,&rdquo; &ldquo;Global Agreements, Global/Regional Company and Sector Networks and Campaigns,&rdquo; &ldquo;How to Improve Health and Safety for Workers: What Kind of Industrial Policy for a Greener Environment for Securing Jobs,&rdquo; and &ldquo;How to Better Coordinate Global Union Solidarity, Support and Cooperation.&rdquo; 

Other presentations on the agenda will include: &ldquo;Collective Bargaining in the Rubber Industry,&rdquo; &ldquo;Global Trade Union Response Against Challenges,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Healthy and Safe Work, Environment and Sustainable Development.&rdquo; The conference will conclude in the afternoon of 13 May with &ldquo;Development of an Action Plan&rdquo; for trade unions of the global rubber sector.&nbsp; 
 
ICEM Health, Safety, and Sustainability Officer Brian Kohler will make&nbsp;the health, safety, and sustainable development presentations. 
 
The Report for the Conference will be up on the ICEM website (<a href="http://www.icem.org">www.icem.org</a>) under ICEM Sectors: Rubber by late this week, as will the agenda and other background documents.

ICEM’s World Rubber Conference Set for Next Week in Nashville USA

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The announced 5.5% wage cut for 15,000 employees of Czech mining company OKD will not occur and instead, through negotiations with mining unions, a compromise has been reached. That compromise, occurring on 30 April, calls for a decrease in the number of agency workers used, and a partial reduction in the number of employees from supplier companies. 
 
The demand for cuts is due to the impact of the world&rsquo;s financial crisis. 

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The company originally proposed an across-the-board decrease in salaries of 5.5%, cancellation of some bonuses, and a reduction in staff of 2,600 regular employees and 900 workers employed by supplier companies. The negotiated compromise preserves all full-time jobs, with job reductions coming from among the 3,000 agency workers that OKD used and from staff of some suppliers. 
 
A mining union spokesman called the compromise the lesser of two evils. 
 
OKD, the Czech Republic&rsquo;s largest hard coal producer, is wholly owned by New World Resources of the Netherlands, an investment company focusing on assets in Central Europe. In 2008, OKD produced 12.7 million tonnes of coal, of which 7.4 million tonnes was coking coal.

Czech Mining Unions Preserve Pay; OKD to Cut Agency Staff, Suppliers’ Staff

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On 15-16 April, the ICEM organised an Asia/Pacific-wide conference on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) in Singapore. The conference, attended by 50 trade unionists, was held with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) of Germany. 
 
Participants spoke candidly on the ongoing problems of short-term contract and agency work, and other forms of precarious work, and how it affects their daily lives. The experiences expressed made it abundantly clear that the phenomenon is wide-spread, still on the rise, and detrimental to labour relations in Asia-Pacific countries. Such contributions, in addition to those from the ICEM and the FES, came from Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Korea, as well as from Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. 
 
An omnipresent problem is that, in almost every Asian country, regular, permanent, and direct-employed workers are being replaced by CAL workers, who are often paid less than permanent workers. They never get the same benefits, nor do they have much of a job future. In Malaysia, for example, it was said that CAL in the past used to be almost uniquely a problem for migrant workers. This is no longer so. In Pakistan, trade unionists note a sharp increase in the use of &ldquo;piece-rate workers.&rdquo; 

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A concurrent issue expressed by all participants is the fear factor. Contract and agency workers are afraid even to discuss union issues, let alone join a union, since this often translates to an end to their fixed-term contracts. It appears to be a simple matter for companies operating in Asia to remove workers from their workforce, or to shift them to less secure jobs. 
 
Among the numerous other problems mentioned was the lack of respect for law where there is some semblance of existing legal protections, such as in the Philippines, India, or Indonesia. Another problem voiced is that oftentimes there are too many unions in some countries, making cooperation difficult. 
 
The positive news is that unions, slowly but surely, are starting to deal with the problem at all three levels that the global ICEM campaign on CAL is aimed at: legislative changes that not only protect workers from abuses, but also leading to more direct and permanent employment (a promising bill is being readied in the Philippines); work at company level, including making the issue key in collective bargaining as well as an organising priority; and evaluating internal union structures to ensure that CAL workers can effectively join trade unions. This has occurred in Thailand, Malaysia, India, Singapore, and Korea. 
 
An important concern on this latter point, as acknowledged by all, is the need to organise more trade union work at industry or sector level, steering away from company-unionism, where it is often easy for employers to &ldquo;divide and conquer&rdquo; the two sets of workers. 
 
Unfortunately, there are currently still many more problems than success stories. One specific example is the continuing problem in stemming the number of CAL workers at Linde in Thailand, an industrial gases company, and granting full-time, permanent employment to such workers. 
 
Adverse examples given of &ldquo;CAL employment techniques&rdquo; in Asia include the use of standard 17-month contracts, in which the collective agreement calls for more rights and benefits for workers after 18 months. Another is supervisors who openly discriminate against CAL workers linked to a union. In the Philippines, companies have used blank resignation letters, asking CAL workers to sign before they even start work. Other workers have been asked to re-enter their current job, but under another name, thus preventing them from gaining increased benefits, or becoming part of the permanent workforce.

ICEM Singapore Conference Illuminates Problems for Contract, Agency Workers in Region

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Arjantin'e giden bir ICEM heyeti k&uuml;resel krizin &uuml;lke &uuml;zerindeki etkilerini inceledi, ayrıca ICEM'in 2011'de Buenos Aires'de yapılacak kongresi i&ccedil;in &ouml;n incelemelerde bulundu. ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda federasyonun Arjantin'deki &uuml;yeleri ile 29 Nisan'da bir araya gelerek ekonomik kriz konusunda g&ouml;r&uuml;ş alışverişinde bulundu. Ayrıca, ekonomik kriz konusunda ICEM &uuml;yesi olmayan sendikaların da g&ouml;r&uuml;şlerini aldı ve onlarla ICEM'e &uuml;yelikleri konusunu g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. 
 
ICEM'in Cenevre'de 23-24 Haziran g&uuml;nlerinde yapılacak Y&ouml;netim Kurulu'nda Beşinci D&uuml;nya Kongresi'nin yapılacağı yer konusunda karar alınacak. Arjantin sendikaları Kongre'ye evsahipliği yapmak istiyorlar. 

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Warda, ICEM'in Latin Amerika İrtibat Sorumlusu Carol Bruce ile birlikte, Arjantin Kau&ccedil;uk İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası SUTNA, Enerji ve Petrol İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası FeTERA ve &ouml;zel sekt&ouml;rdeki Petrol ve Gaz İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası FASPyGP ile g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. ICEM heyeti, n&uuml;kleer enerji iş&ccedil;ilerini temsilen ICEM'e katılmak isteyen Uni&oacute;n Obrero Metal&uacute;rgical (UOM) sendikasının yanı sıra, Arjantin ulusal sendikal merkezine (CTA) bağlı sendikalarla da ICEM'e katılım konusunu g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. 
 
Carol Bruce Arjantin'de iki g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;ne katıldı. 22 Nisan'daki g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;n&uuml; d&uuml;zenleyen ulusal sendikal merkez CTA, Arjantin'de işten &ccedil;ıkarmalar konusunda 180 g&uuml;nl&uuml;k bir moratoryum ilanını ve iş&ccedil;ilerin &uuml;cret kayıplarını karşılamak &uuml;zere devletin bir acil durum &ouml;demesi yapmasını talep ediyor. 
 
30 Nisan'da ise, Bruce, &ouml;b&uuml;r b&uuml;y&uuml;k ulusal sendikal merkez CGT'nin, krizin ve işsizliğin sorumlusu neoliberal politikalara karşı d&uuml;zenlediği g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;ne katıldı.

ICEM Heyeti Arjantin&#039;deki Krizi İnceledi

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ICEM, 15-16 Nisan g&uuml;nlerinde Singapur'da, Asya/Pasifik b&ouml;lgesinde taşeron iş&ccedil;iliği &uuml;zerine bir konferans d&uuml;zenledi. Konferansa sendikalardan 50 temsilci katıldı. 
 
Katılımcıların aktardıkları deneyimler taşeron iş&ccedil;iliğinin b&ouml;lgede yaygınlaştığını ve &ccedil;alışma ilişkilerine zarar verdiğini ortaya koydu. ICEM ve Friedrich Ebert Vakfı'nın yanı sıra, Singapur, Tayland, Filipinler, Malezya, Hindistan, Endonezya, Nepal ve Kore sendikaları ile İsve&ccedil;, Danimarka ve Almanya sendikalarının temsilcileri g&ouml;r&uuml;ş ve deneyimlerini sundular. 
 
D&uuml;zenli, s&uuml;rekli ve doğrudan istihdam edilen iş&ccedil;ilerin yerine daha d&uuml;ş&uuml;k &uuml;cretli taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin getirilmesi aşağı yukarı her Asya &uuml;lkesinde yaygın bir sorun. 

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B&uuml;t&uuml;n katılımcılar ortak bir sorun olan korku fakt&ouml;r&uuml; &uuml;zerinde durdular. Taşeron iş&ccedil;ileri, işlerini kaybetme kaygısıyla, sendikalaşmak bir yana, sendikal konuları konuşmaktan bile korkuyorlar. 
 
Bu alandaki sorunlardan biri de, &ouml;zellikle Filipinler'de, Hindistan'da ve Endonezya'da olduğu gibi, yasalara uyulmamasıdır. Katılımcıların dile getirdiği bir başka sorun ise bazı &uuml;lkelerde sendika sayısının &ccedil;okluğunun işbirliğini zorlaştırmasıdır. 
 
Bu alandaki olumlu gelişme ise, sendikaların ICEM k&uuml;resel kampanyasının hedeflediği şu &uuml;&ccedil; d&uuml;zeyde ağır ama emin adımlarla ilerlemeye başlamasıdır: yasa değişiklikleri (Filipinler'de bir yasa tasarısı hazırlanıyor); şirket d&uuml;zeyinde &ccedil;alışmalar (sorunu toplu s&ouml;zleşme g&ouml;r&uuml;şmelerinin ve &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenmenin ana ve &ouml;ncelikli konusu haline getirmek); taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin sendikalara katılabilmesini sağlayacak sendika i&ccedil;i yapılar oluşturmak. Tayland, Malezya, Hindistan, Singapur ve Kore'de bu ger&ccedil;ekleşti. 
 
Bu bağlamda herkesin kabul ettiği &ouml;nemli bir sorun, sendikal &ccedil;alışmayı şirket d&uuml;zeyiyle sınırlı tutmayıp işkolu ya da sekt&ouml;r d&uuml;zeyinde &ouml;rg&uuml;tleme ihtiyacıdır. &Ccedil;&uuml;nk&uuml; işverenlerin şirket d&uuml;zeyinde iki iş&ccedil;i grubunu (taşeron iş&ccedil;ileri ile s&uuml;rekli iş&ccedil;ileri) &ldquo;b&ouml;l&uuml;p y&ouml;netmesi&rdquo; genellikle daha kolaydır. 
 
Ne var ki şu sıralar başarı hik&acirc;yelerinden ziyade sorunlar ağır basmaktadır. Bunun somut &ouml;rneklerinden biri, Tayland'da bir sanayi gazı şirketi olan Linde'de istihdam edilen taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin sayısındaki artışın &ouml;n&uuml;n&uuml;n alınması ve taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine tamg&uuml;n ve s&uuml;rekli istihdam olanaklarının sağlanmasıdır. 
 
Asya'da &ldquo;taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin istihdam teknikleri&rdquo; ile ilgili olumsuz &ouml;rneklerden bazıları şunlardır: 17 aylık standart s&ouml;zleşmelerin bitiminden itibaren, toplu s&ouml;zleşmeler, iş&ccedil;ilerin haklarının artırılmasını &ouml;ng&ouml;rmektedir. Bir diğer &ouml;rnek ise, denet&ccedil;ilerin taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine sendikal &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme konusunda a&ccedil;ık&ccedil;a ayırımcılık uygulamasıdır. Filipinlerde, şirketler, işe başlamadan &ouml;nce taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine istifa mektupları imzalatmaktadır. Bir kısım iş&ccedil;iden ise &ccedil;alıştıkları işe başka bir adla yeniden girmeleri istenmektedir. B&ouml;ylece iş&ccedil;ilerin s&uuml;rekli iş&ccedil;i sayılması &ouml;nlenmektedir.

ICEM&#039;in Singapur Konferansı Bölgedeki Taşeron İşçilerinin Sorunlarını Ele Aldı

Archive

ICEM Campaign for ILO 176 Continues in Turkey

International Labour Calls for Reform of the Structures of Global Governance

ICEM Releases Contract and Agency Manual in French, Spanish, Russian

Llamada Urgente: EFCA Letter ESP

Hanover Demonstration to Preserve Continental Jobs

ICEM’s World Rubber Conference Set for Next Week in Nashville USA

Czech Mining Unions Preserve Pay; OKD to Cut Agency Staff, Suppliers’ Staff

ICEM Singapore Conference Illuminates Problems for Contract, Agency Workers in Region

ICEM Heyeti Arjantin'deki Krizi İnceledi

ICEM'in Singapur Konferansı Bölgedeki Taşeron İşçilerinin Sorunlarını Ele Aldı

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