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Global worker No1 2022

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Contents&nbsp;
1. Chile &ndash; Government Publishes 
Gender Equity Guide 
2. France &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Position at EdF and GdF 
Worsens 
3. Germany &ndash; Men and Women 
Experience Stress Differently 
4. Kenya &ndash; Nairobi +21 Conference Held 
5. Korea &ndash; Equality Job Index&nbsp;Increases 
6. New Zealand &ndash; Government Prepares 
for Equal Pay Reviews 
7. Nicaragua &ndash; National Assembly Passes Total Abortion Ban 
8. South Africa &ndash; NUMSA Gender Awareness Quiz 
9. United Kingdom &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Pay Gap Narrows 
10. United States &ndash; Supreme Court&nbsp;To Hear Goodyear Case 
11. From Our Readers 
12. Resources 
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1. Chile &ndash; Government Publishes Gender Equity Guide 
 
SERNAM, the Chilean Women&rsquo;s National Office, published, on 9 November, a guide on gender equity in companies, called Gu&iacute;a para Impulsar la Equidad de G&eacute;nero en las Empresas. The guide contains examples of good practice, as well as tools to put the ideas into practice. 
 
With Chile&rsquo;s president Michelle Bachelet currently promoting corporate social responsibility, SERNAM found that discrimination against women continues to exist: women&rsquo;s average pay is still 30% below men&rsquo;s, with those in higher pay categories even earning 52% less. 
 
87% of all women work in services where they have less access than men to skills and management jobs. Chile ranks 110th out of 125 in terms of gender equity. There is, therefore, plenty of room for improvement. The SERNAM guide will soon be available on the Acci&oacute;n RSE site (in Spanish - <a href="http://www.accionrse.cl/">www.accionrse.cl</a>). 
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2. France &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Position at EdF and GdF Worsens 
 
In spite of the fact that an ambitious equal opportunities agreement was signed one and a half years ago, FCE-CFDT has found women&rsquo;s position worsening, or at best stagnating, at EdF (Electricit&eacute; de France) and GdF (Gaz de France). 
 
In 2005, the average number of hours&rsquo; training that women took advantage of went down, as did the number of women taking vocational training. There were also fewer men taking parental leave than the year before. In addition, new hires are generally found in technical areas, where fewer women are present. 
 
Women make up 23.1% of the workforce in the two companies, whereas they make up 49% of the precarious jobs. The union has also found that stereotypes still prevail &ndash; management still refuses men&rsquo;s requests to look after sick children, for example. 
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3. Germany &ndash; Men and Women Experience Stress Differently 
 
IGBCE has launched a pilot project to investigate stress factors at three companies in Germany. The aim is for employees to cope better with stress so that, for instance, they can go home free of stress in the evening. 
 
Since women and men experience stress differently, preventive and curing measures have to be applied differently according to gender. In general, men have more injuries and accidents, whereas women suffer more from psychological problems. 
Men are more afraid of failure and high performance standards; women suffer more from poor communication and lack of recognition. Strategies to manage stress also differ &ndash; women get rid of stress by doing yoga or relaxation exercises, while men play football. 
 
The Infracor Company has distributed a questionnaire to track stress factors. While still analysing the results, one finding is that work against deadlines, heavy workloads, lack of decision-making power, fear of job loss or the double burden of working and looking after the family are all possible causes of stress. 
 
Stress has physical and psychological effects, which, if not eliminated, often reduce performance and concentration. However, they also lead to allergies and cardiovascular ailments. The IGBCE found that managing stress and health on the job pays for itself. 
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4. Kenya &ndash; Nairobi +21 Conference Held 
 
The Nairobi +21 Conference was held in Nairobi on 27 October 2006 to reflect on what has happened since the first UN International Women&rsquo;s Conference, which was held in 1985. Women evaluated the progress made over the years, by following the development of strategies aimed at fostering the advancement of women. Speakers reminisced about times gone by, when women&rsquo;s issues were treated with disdain. 
 
However, 20 years later, things are different. Kenya now has 18 women parliamentarians, and many women have been appointed to the judiciary and senior public service positions. Many battles have been won, but the war for realizing gender equality is far from over. 
 
Women are still under-represented in policy making. Societal and cultural biases and practices, such as female genital mutilation, still pose a health risk to girls. Insecurity and conflicts continue to expose more women to hunger, poverty and assault, and HIV/AIDS destructs millions of women&rsquo;s lives in sub-Saharan Africa. 
 
One conclusion of the conference was to demand better resource allocation for gender ministries and to push for 50-50 representation in leadership. 
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5. Korea &ndash; Equality Job Index Increases 
 
Two recent findings by the Korea Labor Institute are that the labor status of women in Korea is lower than men&rsquo;s and that the labor status of workers over 50 has been declining. These findings are the result of an analysis of the Employment Equality Index in Korea, which includes factors such as gender, age, labor status and wage levels for the past 10 years. 
 
The Employment Equality Index consists of four sub-categories: the Labor Compensation Index, based on wage levels per hour; the Labor Participation Index, based on the ratio of wage workers; the Labor Status Index, based on the ratio of management level workers; and the Job Security Index, based on the ratio of regular workers. A figure above 100 indicates that the employment equality status is higher than that of men, whereas a figure below 100 indicates that the status is lower. 
 
With the male workers&rsquo; Employment Equality Index set at 100, the female workers&rsquo; index started at 50.1% in 1995, went down to 49.5% during the 1998 crisis, and reached 55.7% last year. 
 
According to the study, the women&rsquo;s Labor Status Index was 8.1%, indicating that the number of female management-level workers is less than one tenth that of men. The women&rsquo;s Labor Compensation Index stood at 69.4%, and the Job Security Index at 61.3%. The study also found that the labor status of older workers was gradually worsening. 
 
The Ministry of Labor hopes that more women will take management jobs after the government&rsquo;s affirmative action programs. The government also hopes to encourage workers over 50 to stay in the labor market. 
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6. New Zealand &ndash; Government Prepares for Equal Pay Reviews 
 
The New Zealand Cabinet has agreed on the terms of reference for the equal pay and employment equity reviews. Although the equal pay law has been in existence since 1972, women&rsquo;s average hourly earnings are still only 86.4% of men&rsquo;s. 
 
The public service, health and education sectors will all be subjected to a review designed to ensure that occupations dominated by women pay women fairly and provide equal employment opportunities. 
 
A template must be completed, which tests each occupation&rsquo;s job size and remuneration against a comparable occupation, before a pay equity or equal employment opportunity claim is lodged. A review will also be carried out before a claim is lodged. 
 
Depending on the review&rsquo;s findings, workers such as teachers, secretaries, librarians, dental therapists and nurses may have their pay boosted. 
 
New Zealand&rsquo;s Council of Trade Unions Vice-President Helen Kelly said that, with pay equity claims resolved, women would look at the state as a preferred employer, boosting the need for the private sector to undertake similar actions. 
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7. Nicaragua &ndash; National Assembly Passes Total Abortion Ban 
 
Nicaragua&rsquo;s national assembly has voted - 52 to 0 - to ban all abortions, even in those cases where the mother&rsquo;s life is at stake. Nicaragua already had restrictive anti-abortion laws, with women and doctors who take part in abortions facing prison sentences of up to six years. 
 
Members of Nicaragua&rsquo;s medical association and United Nations representatives opposed the timing of the vote, which coincided with the presidential elections on 5 November. They claimed the abortion debate had become too politicized. Hundreds of people protested outside the National Assembly in Managua before the vote took place, saying the law would be a death penalty for some. They fear the law will force women to die. 
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8. South Africa &ndash; NUMSA Gender Awareness Quiz 
 
NUMSA, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, has published a gender awareness quiz. Answer the questions and check where you stand on the public and private struggle. 
 
1. Your wife/partner wants to stand as a shop steward in her union. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Say that she cannot stand because you are worried that the children will be neglected and it will interfere with the cooking and the cleaning of the household. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Support her and say that together as a family you will all discuss how she can be active in the union and how the family will accommodate her. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
2. Your wife/partner is a shop steward and wants to attend NUMSA National Congress for five days. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Say she cannot go because a NUMSA National Congress is not a good place for a woman to be. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Encourage her to go and together with your family work out how you will all manage. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
3. Your workplace has many women workers. In shop steward elections, workers voted for three new women shop stewards. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Carry on having your shop steward committee meetings after work as you have always done. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Ask the new women shop stewards if the time is all right for them or if they want to suggest an alternative time. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
4. Your workplace has always had many women workers but no women have ever stood as shop stewards. Shop steward elections will take place in 18 months time. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Assume that it&rsquo;s because women are not committed and that&rsquo;s why they don&rsquo;t stand as shop stewards. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Speak to workers and set up a gender committee in your factory. Link the gender committee to the shop stewards committee and provide training to the gender committee reps so that they can learn the job of the shop steward. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
5. You are holding a shop steward council in your local. The meeting was meant to start at 9h00 and finish at 12h00. However some of the male office bearers are late and the meeting only started at 10h30. At 12h00 many people start to leave, especially the women comrades. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Complain that those leaving are not committed. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Apologise to those that are leaving for having started the meeting late and appeal to all those present to respect the times so that next time the meeting can start and finish on time. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
ANSWERS: If you answered mostly (a) then you need to seriously look at your views on gender and your relationship with your wife/partner. If you answered mostly (b) then you have opened the door to challenge patriarchy. Congratulations but don&rsquo;t stop here! 
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9. United Kingdom &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Pay Gap Narrows 
 
Women are closing the pay gap with men, as indicated by recent government figures. The gap between male and female pay is at its lowest since 1938, the year when recording began. 
 
Men&rsquo;s average pay went up by 3.5%, while women&rsquo;s pay rose by 4.2%. Women now earn, on average, 12.6% less than men, compared to 13% last year. A man&rsquo;s weekly average earnings stands at 487 pounds. A typical woman is paid 387 pounds a week. The reason for the large gap is that men work more overtime. 
 
A key reason behind the change is that more women now work in high-earning professions. In the 22-29 age group, women actually earn more than 1.5% more than men. But beyond the age of 29, male earnings greatly outstrip those of women, as women returning to the workplace after childbirth tend to miss out on several years of pay rises. 
 
The Equal Opportunities Commission estimates that the pay gap means that the average women working full time will lose out on about 330,000 pounds over her working life. That means 19 years of down payments on a house, 15 new cars or 10,500 nights out. 
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10. United States &ndash; Supreme Court To Hear Goodyear Case 
 
On 27 November, the US Supreme Court will hear the arguments on a pay discrimination case involving a former Goodyear employee. Ms. Ledbetter charged that she earned 15% less than the next lowest paid manager in her work group. She claimed that she had been underpaid for her management positions since she was first hired. 
 
Goodyear claims her lower salary was based on low performance ratings. Ledbetter, however, claimed her evaluations had been falsified, at least in part because one of those who reviewed her job performance was an immediate supervisor whose sexual advances she had rebuffed. 
 
A jury in the US District Court awarded Ledbetter nearly US$234,000 in back pay, almost US$5,000 for mental anguish and nearly US$3,3 million in punitive damages. In the end, the court was required by statute to limit the verdict to US$360,000. Goodyear is appealing this verdict. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
FROM OUR READERS: 
 
Oluchi Okorie from Nupeng, Nigeria, comments about Bulletin 16: 
 
 
&ldquo;It is surprising that Indian women still face these problems of dowry to their husbands. Unlike in our country Nigeria, the reverse is the case. 
 
The bride&rsquo;s family receives the bride price and other gifts from the groom and his family. Some extended family members of the bride also make their demands which, if not met, sometimes will lead to the threat of withdrawing from the marriage contract. 
 
The major problem with this in some cases is that the groom will start maltreating the bride after the marriage must have been contracted with the belief that he bought her expensively. There are other cases where the groom may not have enough resources to take care of the bride after marriage. 
 
In either way, none is perfect because the whole thing falls back on women. We pray there should be a remedy to this in this modern age.&quot;
<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
RESOURCES 
 
Falling Through the Floor lets young Chinese women workers tell us in their own words about their arduous experiences of trying to earn a decent living in the boomtowns of the Chinese economic miracle today. See at: <a href="http://www.china-labour.org.hk/public/main">http://www.china-labour.org.hk/public/main</a>.&nbsp; 
 
WOMANKIND Worldwide helps women in developing countries - silenced or isolated by harmful traditions, conflict, violence and intimidation or the sheer exhaustion of surviving in poverty &ndash; to have a distinctive say in what goes on in their family, community and country. See <a href="http://www.womankind.org.uk/">http://www.womankind.org.uk</a>. 
 
Public Services International has done an evaluation of its 2002-2006 Pay Equity Campaign. The evaluation can be obtained from ICEM &ndash; write to <a href="mailto:carol.bruce@icem.org">carol.bruce@icem.org</a>.

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 17

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A founding Congress in Vienna, Austria, on 3 November gave birth to a new global union confederation for national labour centres. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) was formed, taking the place of its two founding members, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). 
 
The new ITUC will represent 168 million workers from 306 affiliates in 154 countries. In addition to affiliates from the former ICFTU and WCL, eight other national trade unions, who were not affiliated to a global union organisation prior, are now affiliated to the new organisation. These include Nepal&rsquo;s GEFONT, France&rsquo;s CGT, Poland&rsquo;s OPZZ, Argentina&rsquo;s CGT and Colombia&rsquo;s CUT. 
<img height="166" alt="" src="" width="250" />
ITUC&nbsp;General Secretary Guy Ryder
At the Vienna Congress, the new organisation stressed the need to tackle the adverse consequences of economic globalisation and the devastating effect this has had on millions of workers. Specifically highlighted problems included off-shoring, abuse of workers&rsquo; rights, and increased levels of poverty. 
Fred Higgs, ICEM General Secretary, said the unification of ICFTU and WCL is an &ldquo;inevitable and welcome development, which we hope will lead to others uniting, creating a single global union confederation.&rdquo; 
 
He also said that the unity at the national centre level was preceded &ldquo;by agreements at sectoral level, including the one on integration between the ICEM and the World Federation of Industrial Workers (WFIW).&rdquo; 
 
Guy Ryder, former head of the ICFTU, was elected General Secretary of the ITUC, while Sharan Burrow of the Australian Council of Trade Unions won election as president. While those two were ICFTU incumbents, at the levels of deputy GSs and deputy presidents, each organisation will have one seat. 
 
Mamounata Ciss&eacute; (ICFTU) and Jaap Wienen (WCL) became the deputy GSs, while Michael Sommer (DGB-Gemany) and Luc Cortebeeck (CSC-Belgium) will serve as deputy presidents. The new ITUC will undergo a four-year transitional process, after which vice presidential seats and representation will be based on the organisation&rsquo;s affiliation protocol. 
 
The new website of the organisation is: <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org">http://www.ituc-csi.org</a>.

ITUC Founding: A New International Trade Union Confederation

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The joint ICEM-IUF project for South East Europe has developed a website to better assist participating unions in the project. The ICEM and the International Union of Food Workers&rsquo; have been running this union-building project since 1998. 
 
The site, which is available in English and Croatian, can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://icemiufsee.org/index.php?lang=en">http://icemiufsee.org/index.php?lang=en</a>.&nbsp; 
 
The South East Europe project of the two Global Union Federations aims to increase social dialogue and negotiations between the participating unions and the employers and governments of Balkan nations. Activities focus on workplace representatives for engaging in workplace actions that support dialogue with managements and governments, specifically during industrial restructurings and privatisations.

Joint ICEM-IUF Project in Balkans Gets Website

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A total and complete shutdown of subsea contractors in the UK&rsquo;s North Sea oil fields by divers and their support staff proved effective, with all 900 of them gaining a 44% wage increase over two years. 
 
The ten-day strike, led by UK&rsquo;s Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union, an affiliate of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), and an important member of the ICEM/ITF Global Oil and Gas Industry Trade Union Alliance, ended Friday, 10 October, after divers and their support teams ratified the agreement with an 84% vote.
<img height="99" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&quot;By any standard, this is a tremendous victory for a group of workers who have displayed grit, determination, and complete solidarity in their campaign to win a fair pay increase,&rdquo; said RMT General Secretary Bob Crow. 
&ldquo;The strike was total from the first moment, and it is to our members&rsquo; immense credit that not one diving support vessel was operational throughout the stoppage.&rdquo; 
 
The strike shut down seven oil-service companies who operate in both UK and Norwegian waters. RMT divers working in the energy sector in Egypt and Singapore also reportedly joined the strike. 
Late in October, divers and support teams rejected by better than a two-to-one margin an employer association offer of 37% over three years. They struck on 1 November, and the rock-solid strike proved too much for the companies, who attempted to get divers to sign individual agreements. The divers do installation and maintenance on underwater wells and pipelines. 
<img height="130" alt="" src="" width="200" />
The RMT members, who have some of the most dangerous jobs in the North Sea working at depths of up to 130 feet, or 40 metres, won an immediate 25% pay increase, with a further 5% increase coming in April 2007. And then further increases occur throughout 2007 and 2008. They also won entitlement pay for eight public holidays, up from the four that they previously had. 
 
The seven employers that are party to the UK Offshore Diving Industry Agreement include: Acergy, Technip, KD Marine, Integrated Subsea Services (ISS), RBG Ltd., Subsea7, and Well-Ops.

UK’s North Sea Divers and Support Staff Win 44 Percent Salary Increases

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Spanish petrol station workers went on strike last week, 7-8 November, as last minute negotiations between unions and employers yielded no resolve earlier in the week. 
 
The two-day strike, held prior to a long weekend in Spain due to a national holiday, had been called by Spanish ICEM affiliates FIA-UGT and FITEQA-CC.OO. Strikes affected stations throughout Spain, except for two provinces, which have a separate collective agreement.
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
According to the unions, the strike&rsquo;s success was &ldquo;massive,&rdquo; with approximately 70-80% of all petrol station workers taking part. Some 1,811 petrol and gas stations, some 20% of the entire petrol market in Spain, were forced to remain open on 7-8 November due to a Spanish law intended to guarantee minimum service.
The mass industrial action was brought on because of a series of bad working conditions: long, often unpaid or poorly paid working hours; excessive rotation and temporary work, including shift and weekend work; job-related health and safety problems; and extremely low remuneration. 
 
Workers in the sector earn gross pay totalling &euro;800&ndash;900 a month. Considering that the price of petroleum has tripled over the last three years, even though it has dipped of late, Spanish unions are seeking only modest salary increases for petrol station operators. 
<img height="78" src="" width="78" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="80" src="" width="98" alt="" />
Employers&rsquo; statements indicate that the union demands &ldquo;do not correspond to reality.&rdquo; But the reality is that Spanish petrol stations employ nearly 42,000 workers at 8,700 stations, with 50% of them immigrant workers. And of those immigrant workers, 60% are women. It is employers who reject upgrading wages and working conditions for Spanish petrol station workers. 
 
A union representative said it is important that employers now &ldquo;change their rigid behaviour and agree to a fair collective agreement for the workers in the gas and petrol stations so that they can work in decent conditions.&rdquo; 
 
Discussions are scheduled to continue this week. However, the unions have said their options would remain open, with further strikes possible.

Spanish Gas Station Workers Strike for Realistic Working Conditions

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A central labour court in Thailand on 31 October ruled that Goodyear Thailand&rsquo;s termination of contract worker Chalom Kongnok was illegal, and ordered the company to reinstate him and award him backpay and full collective bargaining benefits for the past ten years. 
 
This case is one of 16 cases that ICEM affiliate Petroleum and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation (PCFT) now is pursuing on behalf of long-term contract workers employed in the warehouse and rubber stock department of Goodyear&rsquo;s Bangkok tyre factory. They were fired in October 2005 for attempting to exert their legitimate right to collective bargaining. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Several, such as Kongnok, had been working for Goodyear for up to ten years under one-year contracts. The labour court&rsquo;s ruling on 15 other sacked contract workers is expected on 30 November. 
 
The 16 had won a previous Industrial Court Commission ruling last spring that called for reinstatement. But when they turned up at the factory for work on 3 May 2006, management refused entry. 
 
Seven months before, Goodyear&rsquo;s Thai management acted hastily in sacking the workers when they demanded collective bargaining benefits and protections. They had been deducting dues from the contract workers for, in some cases, up to four years. In an effort to avoid unionisation in this area of the plant, Goodyear later in 2005 halted direct employment of the contract workers and brought in a labour agency as employer. 
 
The ICEM will continue to stand with the PCFT and its plant-level affiliate, the Tyre Makers&rsquo; Union, in its rightful quest for full rights and permanent employment for all contract workers at Goodyear Thailand Ltd.

Goodyear Ordered to Take Back Thai Contract Worker with Ten Years’ Backpay

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
North America&rsquo;s bitter industrial strike in the rubber sector between the United Steelworkers (USW) and Goodyear Tire and Rubber will see the antagonists come face to face tomorrow, 14 November, when the parties commence bargaining. It will be the first set of talks since the strike by 15,000 US and Canadian rubber workers began on 5 October. 
 
USW President Leo Gerard said: &ldquo;We look forward to productive discussions whereby our members can return to making quality products and sincerely hope that this is a good faith attempt by Goodyear to solve problems and not place further obstructions in the path to reaching a fair and equitable agreement.&rdquo; 
 
Good faith is something Goodyear is a stranger to in this 40-day strike. The US-based rubber-maker announced during the strike it was closing a plant in Tyler, Texas, potentially sacking 1,100 workers, even though the issue of job security and closures was still open on the bargaining table. 
 
Goodyear CEO Robert Keegan breached ethical social conduct by stating to investment analysts that the company would bypass the union in order to force Goodyear&rsquo;s agenda of jobs cuts, work reorganisation resulting in lower pay, and devastating attacks on pensioners&rsquo; benefits. 
 
The company has been relentless in its messages to strikers to abandon the walkout. The most recent example is a letter that company coverage of health care would only be guaranteed if staff returned to work by 3 January 2007.
<img height="50" alt="" src="" width="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <img height="51" src="" width="96" alt="" />
The ICEM-affiliated USW has made it clear that it is returning to the bargaining table tomorrow with expectations that management is ready for serious dialogue. The union maintains that Goodyear has not negotiated, but rather dictated the terms it seeks to impose on workers. &ldquo;We stand ready to bargain a fair labour agreement,&rdquo; said USW International Vice President Tom Conway, &ldquo;and assume (by Goodyear&rsquo;s return to bargaining) that the company has abandoned its destructive position on closing plants and slashing health care.&rdquo;
The USW will continue its campaign to protect jobs and livelihoods of North American rubber workers. On Saturday, 18 November, USW members will again distribute thousands of handbills to both customers and auto dealership managers over the possible safety risk Goodyear is creating by pushing for certain levels of production during the strike. The union has also taken that message to rubber sector and auto-parts trade shows that are attended by thousands of corporate representatives involved in sales and marketing. 
 
The Goodyear strike is one of the largest North American industrial strikes in this decade, affecting 12 plants in the US and four in Canada. Besides production from two non-union operations, Goodyear is attempting to maintain its customer base with limited production from plants that are on strike, using management personnel and temporary workers.

Steelworkers, Goodyear Return to Bargaining in Six-week Tyre Strike

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Namibia (MUN) ended a 13-day strike last Friday, 10 November, by 360 miners at the Kumba Resources&rsquo; Rosh Pinah zinc and lead mine in the south of the country. 
 
Miners won salary increases of 10% for workers in lower pay grades and 9% for those in higher grades. MUN General Secretary Joseph Hengari said miners also won a benefit of one month&rsquo;s salary when they resign or are retrenched. The collective agreement is for one year.
&ldquo;At first, the company refused to move from its salary position,&rdquo; said Hengari. &ldquo;So the final settlement is an improvement over what the company originally offered.&rdquo; South African-based Kumba had offered miners wage increases of 8% and 9%, while workers were seeking an across-the-board increase of 13%. 
<img height="66" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Besides a pay increase reflecting the high prices and demand for Rosh Pinah&rsquo;s major export, zinc concentrates, strikers were seeking better housing subsidies and relocation allowances. They were also seeking to bridge the parity gap that exists between Kumba&rsquo;s workers in South Africa and Namibia. 
 
Kumba is a Black Empowerment Enterprise of South Africa that was spun off from the global mining house, Anglo American. The company is currently undergoing a further split, separating some of its iron ore operations from base metal and coal operations. The latter, which will be called Exxaro Resources, will be the company that the Rosh Pinah operations will be part of. Anglo American will still control 19% of Exxaro. 
 
Rosh Pinah produces 70,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates annually, the majority of which is exported to South Africa for processing. It also produces 28,000 tonnes of lead. Kumba announced during the strike last week that a special &ldquo;unbundling dividend&rdquo; of the company will occur shortly, based on surplus cash after costs. 
 
The MUN also negotiated salary adjustments recently for some 100 uranium miners who had engaged in a two-day work stoppage at Roessing Uranium in late October. Roessing Uranium accounts for 7% of the world&rsquo;s uranium supply.

Kumba’s Namibian Mining Strike Ends in One-Year Agreement

<img height="48" src="" width="120" alt="" />
In Mexico, the urgent necessity to confront the hijacking of trade unionism was given priority by global trade unions recently. The ICEM was one of seven Global Union Federations that signed on to an ITUC/ORIT declaration calling for an end to &ldquo;employer protection contracts,&rdquo; or simply, yellow unionism. 
 
At a 3 April conference in Mexico, the GUFs, national and other global unions, and NGOs joined with ITUC/ORIT, calling on Mexico to halt the practice of company-dominated unions, where workers are victimised, ORIT says, by a &ldquo;triple sham: pseudo-unions, pseudo labour relations, and pseudo labour authority.&rdquo; 
 
The campaign, themed &ldquo;For Liberty, Autonomy and Union Democracy,&rdquo; kicked off with testimony from workers&rsquo; representatives from six sectors. Some workers wore hoods to prevent reprisals, including one from the big US retailer, WalMart.
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The hijacking of honest trade unionism comes in the form of employer protection contracts, which are invariably signed by a manager or owner of an enterprise, and a pre-selected trade union operative. Workers have no say in terms or conditions, and government labour commissions are powerless, since the &ldquo;sham&rdquo; labour contracts negotiated between owners and &ldquo;ghost&rdquo; labour unions are binding. 
 
ITUC/ORIT, and the global unions and other affiliates, will press &ldquo;Liberty, Autonomy, Union Democracy&rdquo; inside Mexico, and before international governing bodies, including the UN Commission and the International Court of Human Rights, and at the ILO.

Stop Illegal Trade Union Activity in Mexico

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Mediated negotiations to end a strike by the United Steelworkers (USW) against Rio Tinto&rsquo;s Iron Ore Co. of Canada occurred 1-3 April, but halted needlessly when management walked away from the table. Some 1,300 USW members at a mine and pellet plant in Labrador City, Newfoundland, and an iron ore export facility in Sept-Iles, Quebec, have been on strike since 8 March and 14 March, respectively. 
 
USW District Six Director Wayne Fraser said the two sides were not far apart to end the month-long strike, except that managers abruptly got up and left bargaining on 3 April. &ldquo;For the company to simply walk away shows remarkable disrespect to both the process and, more importantly, to the employees, who do not take the decision to be on strike likely.&rdquo;
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USW District Six Director Wayne Fraser
Chief among remaining concerns for the three USW local branches that are involved are recognition of seniority, ensuring that employees&rsquo; benefits are not capped, and meeting the pay parity of other mining companies in Quebec. 
 
&ldquo;This fight is about recognising the intrinsic value our members bring to this operation,&rdquo; stated USW Local 5795 President George Kean. &ldquo;(The years) 2005 and 2006 broke all production records and our members gave the company the biggest profit in its history.&rdquo; 
 
Iron Ore Co. of Canada is 59% owned by Rio Tinto.

Rio Tinto’s Canadian Managers Walk Away from Talks to End Strike

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