English

Español

Français

Русский

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Action Plan 2021-2025

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

Women

Youth

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
One year ago, New Zealand&rsquo;s labour unions, led by its national centre, the Council of Trade Union (NZCTU), successfully prevented a regressive bill from becoming law. The so-called Probationary Employment Amendment Bill would have made it easy for employers to hire and then sack temporary workers during their first 90 days of employment. 
 
The unions did it with mass demonstrations and outreach to many groupings that effectively generated mass support among New Zealanders. 
<img height="142" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Now labour unions and the CTU are pushing for passage of legislation that would aid contract workers. The Minimum Wage and Remuneration Amendment Bill is now before the Parliament, and the measure has a good change of passing. The proposed law would assure that people doing work under individual contracts are at least paid New Zealand&rsquo;s minimum wage. 
 
Currently, many of the people that are economically dependent on the sale of their labour are not defined by the law as employees, thus not afforded protections under the country&rsquo;s minimum wage law. 
<img height="115" src="" width="250" alt="" />
&ldquo;Most contractors in New Zealand are remunerated well above the minimum wage,&rdquo; stated CTU Secretary Carol Beaumont. &ldquo;But this bill would help certain groups of workers who are being unfairly disadvantaged by contracting relationships, and are being paid below the minimum wage.&rdquo; 
 
Added Beaumont, &ldquo;The minimum wage marks a minimum standard in New Zealand that is considered acceptable for anyone being paid for their efforts. That standard deserves to be extended to everyone.&rdquo; 
 
The bill was introduced in July and received its first reading late in August. It could pass NZ&rsquo;s Parliament next month.

New Zealand Labour Pushing Law to Protect Contract Workers

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A Youth Action Day by German affiliate IGBCE, on 19 September, produced a commitment by the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia to create 205 training positions, funded at &euro;10,000 each, to offset lost employment opportunities from the recent agreement in the coal industry. 
 
The commitment came after youth leaders of the IGBCE met with North-Rhine/Westphalia Employment Minister Karl Josef Laumann. 
 
Some 2,000 students and young workers of IGBCE&rsquo;s Youth Network protested in D&uuml;sseldorf on that day. They came from youth committees from several German companies, including BASF and Evonik Industries. Evonik is the new publicly-traded company created from state coal company RAG. It comprises RAG&rsquo;s power stations, chemicals, and real estate businesses, and was formed in discussions on the future of Germany&rsquo;s coal industry. 
&nbsp;<img height="133" src="" width="100" alt="" />
IGBCE's Michael Vassiliadis
&ldquo;The actions of the young workers of our union have made this a success,&rdquo; said Michael Vassiliadis, head of IGBCE&rsquo;s Youth Activities. &ldquo;Now we will undertake all efforts so that the 205 young persons will be afforded the opportunity to start their work lives with the necessary training.&rdquo; 
 
The IGBCE stressed that the &euro;10,000-per-job commitment from the state will fund only part of the training. Funds have been set aside for this purpose from the hard-coal agreement, and the union said social partners from the employer side must step forward to provide additional training funds.

IGBCE Youth Action Network Wins Training Positions

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
ICEM affiliate Chemical, Non-Metallic, and Rubber Workers&rsquo; Union (KNG) of Slovenia and the Sava management of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. at Kranj came to wage terms at a tyre factory this summer, but the new contract still needs attention. At issue is how management is &ndash; or rather, is not &ndash; implementing language recently inserted into the collective agreement. 
<img height="100" src="" width="100" alt="" />
In addition to winning a &euro;90-per-month increase, the 900 workers also agreed to a plan to reduce sick leave in exchange for a sizeable bonus scheme. Management has failed to adequately implement this plan, as well neglecting other aspects of the new agreement. Shop-floor leaders at the Kranj tyre and engineered products plants, Goodyear&rsquo;s prize operations in Eastern and Central Europe, together with and KNG&rsquo;s Andrej Zorko, are eager for managers to put the new collective agreement into effect. 
Goodyear produces auto, truck, and bus tyres in Kranj. It makes Sava tyre brands there, as well as its trademarked Avant A3 steer-axle tyre and the Orjak 03 drive-axle tyre. In 2006, Goodyear exceeded all business targets at the Kranj plants. It also made its one millionth tyre there. Goodyear is one of Slovenia&rsquo;s largest exporters. 
<img height="120" src="" width="118" alt="" />
The company entered into a majority-stake joint venture with the Sava Group in 1998, which gave it 60% of the tyre-making plant and 75% of the engineered products operation. Goodyear paid US$120 million for those stakes. Previously, Continental AG of Germany held a 28% share of Sava.In 2002, Goodyear bought another 20% stake in of operations for US$38.5 million, and, two years later, the company bought up the remaining shares to give it full ownership. 
 
Besides being affiliated to the ICEM, KNG Trade Union is a proud affiliate of the Association of Free Trade Unions (ZSSS) of Slovenia, which is currently leading an effort in the country to offset inflation with increases in salaries for all workers.

Contract Settled, But Problems Persist at Goodyear’s Slovenia Tyre Plant

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A Network of Brazilian trade unions that organises nine workplaces of the Belgian-based Solvay Group came together on 12-14 September in S&atilde;o Paolo to create enhanced communication and union solidarity. 
This initiative is a part of the Brazilian confederation CUT&rsquo;s multinational project, and has support and involvement from the ICEM and the National Confederation of Chemical Workers of Brazil, CNQ-CUT. 
 
The meeting&rsquo;s agenda contained reports on ILO global standards, an open exchange on experiences of building and construction trade unions regarding formation of national networks, and boundaries to social dialogue as a tool in negotiations. 
<img height="73" alt="" src="" width="73" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="77" alt="" src="" width="54" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img height="79" alt="" src="" width="77" />
<img height="72" alt="" src="" width="101" align="absMiddle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="43" alt="" src="" width="150" align="absMiddle" />
The eight plants of Group Solvay in Brazil are: Dacarto Benvic/Osasco, Dacarto Benvic/Bahia, Solvay Farma/S&atilde;o Paolo, Solvay Indupa, Solvay Solexis (Santo Andre), Energy Automotive Systems, Peroxides, and Chemicals Solvay/Paran&aacute;. 
 
The meetings reached consensus to call the organisation would be called the &ldquo;Network of Workers in Solvay Group in Brazil.&rdquo; The next meeting will occur in March 2008. The Network will publish a bulletin that will be distributed to workers in all plants. The Network also will adopt a document of principles, in which roles for the ICEM and CUT will be spelled out. 
<img height="233" alt="" src="" width="350" />
The initial meeting also explored problems in labour relations between the unions and Solvay. A company reorganization has seen the dismissal of workers, and acquisitions, mergers, and business moves that have created a rash of subcontracting. Shop-floor leaders at Solvay in Brazil also discussed environmental effects, safety and heath concerns, and they exchanged information on collective agreements and plant-by-plant negotiations. 
 
The initial meeting also resolved to send a letter to human resource managers at each plant, informing them of the Network, and offering meaningful social dialogue with the company. The Network also resolved to expand the March 2008 meeting to Solvay unions in the whole of Latin America.

Brazilian Workers of Belgian Chemicals Company Solvay Unite

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
 
The ICEM and ACTRAV, the ILO Bureau for Workers' Activities, urge union leaders to take note of the possibility to apply to, and participate in the Global Labour University&rsquo;s upcoming degree programmes. Programmes will be held in South Africa, in January 2008; Brazil, in February 2008; and in Germany, September 2008. 
 
ACTRAV will award a limited number of scholarships, for which the deadline is fast approaching. The deadline for submissions to the Brazil and South African sessions is 1 September 2007. Deadline for the German programme is 1 April 2008. 
<img height="48" src="" width="86" align="absMiddle" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <img height="87" src="" width="80" align="absMiddle" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="49" src="" width="186" alt="" />
The courses take place at the University of Witwaterstrand in South Africa, at Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, and at Germany&rsquo;s University of Kassel and the Berlin School of Economics. Course titles are &ldquo;Labour and Development&rdquo; (South Africa), &ldquo;Social Economy and Labour&rdquo; (Brazil), and &ldquo;Labour Policies and Globalisation&rdquo; (Germany). 
 
The ILO scholarships are open to applicants from developing and transitional economies. Applicants need to have the endorsement of a trade union to apply for a scholarship. The grant is conditional on a contribution from the supporting trade union, or other donor. 
 
The courses are endorsed by COSATU in South Africa, CUT in Brazil, and DGB in Germany, as well as backed by Germany&rsquo;s Hans Boeckler Foundation and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Deadline Approaches for Scholarship Submissions to Global Labour University in Brazil, South Africa

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The main points at the ICEM Latin American and Caribbean Regional Conference, held on 27 and 28 June in Salvador, Brazil, were presentations on the different industrial sectors and regional networks, on Contract and Agency Labour, and on women issues. 
 
The BASF South American network was a particular highlight. The network has regular meetings at regional level, and all its costs are borne by BASF. Also, Elena Gutierrez from ICEM affiliate SITRAPEQUIA in Costa Rica reported on the workshop on HIV/AIDS and women workers held in May in Sao Paulo. 
<img height="236" alt="" src="" width="236" />
Re-elected ICEM Vice President Sergio Novais 
from CNQ/CUT Brazil
A new and expanded regional committee was elected which includes all countries and industries, as well as 30% women members. Certain amendments to the regional statutes were also approved. The region welcomed the prospect of new energy, women's and mining projects, as well as the continuation and expansion of the work on networks. Sergio Novais, CNQ/CUT of Brazil was re-elected as regional vice president. 
The ICEM regional conference was preceded by the regional Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) conference on 25 and 26 June, also in Salvador, organised with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES). The conference was attended by some 60 representatives from ICEM affiliates in Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil. 
<img height="142" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The main conclusions of that meeting included that: 
&bull; a company's core functions must not be outsourced; 
&bull; the number of contract workers should be limited, and the terms of their contracts have to be limited; 
&bull; trade unions must be consulted in contracts that affect permanent workers' terms and conditions; 
&bull; contract workers should have the same terms and conditions as permanent workers; 
&bull; outsourcing must not lead to redundancies of permanent workers; 
&bull; contract workers must not finish work started by a permanent worker; 
&bull; collective agreements must include mechanisms for trade unions to monitor the use of contract workers; 
&bull; international organisations such as ILO, OECD, Global Compact, the Interamerican Court can be called for issues relating to Contract and Agency Labour; 
&bull; trade union representation of contract workers in the main company must be guaranteed; 
&bull; CAL must be included in networks, global agreements and social dialogue, and 
&bull; ICEM should launch a campaign against outsourcing permanent jobs.

ICEM Latin American and Caribbean Regional Conference held in Salvador, Brazil

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
China's second worst coal mine disaster in modern history came on 17 August 2007, when 181 miners were trapped and died inside two mines in the Shandong Province. The tragedy was the result of both flash flooding and negligence by privately-owned Huayuan Mining Co. when a levee broke on the nearby Wenhe River. 
 
Two smaller mines in the same area were evacuated due to heavy rains near the town of Xintai, in this eastern Chinese province. But Huayuan company officials kept mining operations going in crowded mine shafts, some 860 metres below the surface. A total of 584 miners managed to escape the flash flooding, after a 50-metre wide gap in the levee gave way adjacent to the mine. 
<img height="88" src="" width="200" alt="" />
It is believed this mine disaster only trails a February 2005 gas explosion at the Sunjiawan coal mine in Liaoning Province, killing 214 miners, as China's worst mining tragedy. 
 
In the days following the Huayuan coal mine disaster, at least three other mining accidents in China claimed the lives of another 22 miners. 
 
On 23 August, a water break at a coal mine in Panzhihua city, in the south-western province of Sichuan, drowned eight miners. A gas explosion on 24 August at the Xinglong Mine in Chongqing claimed the lives of seven miners, while 18 others escaped. 
<img height="101" src="" width="100" alt="" />
And on 25 August, another gas blast killed seven. That occurred at the Liyuan coal mine in Huolin city, Inner Mongolia. The Liyuan mine was undergoing reconstruction and should not have been producing coal. 
 
China's State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) Director Li Yizhong has targeted closure of another 1,000 small mines by the end of the year, bringing up to 10,000 the number of such mines officially closed. These mines are defined as producing less than 30,000 tonnes per year, and are generally considered as unsafe or operating illegally. 
 
In contrast, the Huayuan mine in Shandong Province, which was state-owned until 2004, produces between 600,000 and 700,000 tonnes of coal per annum.

Floods Kill 181 in China&#039;s Second Most Deadly Mine Disaster

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Occupational health and safety, as well as environmental protection, are fundamental areas of work for the chemical industry. It is with this in mind that the ICEM&rsquo;s German affiliate IGBCE, already in August 1987, reached an agreement with German Chemical Employers&rsquo; Federation BAVC on protection of the environment. 
 
Through the agreement, GIBUCI (Joint Initiative for Keeping Works Council Members Informed about Environmental Protection in the Chemical Industry - www.gibuci.de) was born, the first common mechanism of social dialogue in the industry. It was the partner&rsquo;s conviction that co-operation between workers and trade unions would lead to a better safeguarding of the environment. 
 
So far, about 4,000 works council members have been trained through GIBUCI on environmental issues, including Responsible Care, laws on environmental issues, industrial safety, water protection, and environmental management. 
<img height="143" src="" width="164" alt="" />
GIBUCI - Commitment for Environment 
GIBUCI was celebrated and evaluated, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary in Berlin, on 23 August 2007, in the presence of about 150 participants, representing the social partners. Participants included representatives from IGBCE and BAVC, but also from companies. A number of politicians were also present. The ICEM was represented by its Chemicals and Rubber Industry Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan. 
 
Hubertus Schmoldt, IGBCE President and Vice President of ICEM, in his speech, called the agreement &ldquo;a milestone&rdquo; for German industry and social history, and said &ldquo;GIBUCI has showed that, through partnerships and a trusted co-operation effort, important things can be realised.&rdquo; He added that &ldquo;co-operation between works councils and managements on environmental protection is a cornerstone for the social dialogue in the chemical industry.&rdquo;

GIBUCI, 20-year Old Social Dialogue in German Chemical Industry, Celebrated and Evaluated

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
On Monday 20 August, a one-month long strike ended in the South African tyre sector, in which 6,000 members of the ICEM affiliated National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) had been participating. The strike included workers from six major tyre manufacturing plants, including Goodyear and Continental in Port Elizabeth, Dunlop in Durban and Ladysmith, and Bridgestone in Port Elizabeth and Brits, North West. 
 
The strike ended after the union reached a historic agreement with the South African Employers&rsquo; New Tyre Industry Association. 
<img height="102" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The three-year agreement brings important achievements for the union members. Wage increases are set at 8% for the first year, and at 7.5% for the second and third year. Other advantages gained include skill-based development grading, five months maternity leave, an annual leave of 15 working days, and a 10.5% increase in employers&rsquo; contribution to the provident (or pension) fund. Agreement was also reached on another important NUMSA demand, namely on the scrapping of the use of labour brokers. 
 
In addition, Goodyear in Port Elizabeth agreed to absorb about 100 contract workers into its permanent staff, out of a total of 250 employees hired under labour brokerages. A consolidated process to phase out the remaining 150 agency jobs will be started. 
<img height="100" src="" width="100" alt="" />
During the strike, NUMSA organised many different actions, including protest marches at Bridgestone-Firestone, Goodyear and Continental. About 4,000 union members handed over a memorandum to the New Tyre Manufacturing Industry Association&rsquo;s spokesperson Attie Higgs at the Continental plant. Another 2,000 strikers in Durban and Ladysmith gave their memoranda to the Dunlop management, as did the workers of Bridgestone in Brits. 
 
The Union had also organised industry-wide solidarity protest actions, which involved more than 15,000 employees in the auto manufacturing industry, where NUMSA has already signed an agreement which substantially improves the conditions of employment, while, at the same time, taking a long-term view to the continued growth of this sector.

One-month Tyre Industry Strike Ends in South Africa with Historic Agreement

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Similar to non-union coal miners at the fateful Sago mine in the US state of West Virginia (<a href="-Safety-Workers’-Rights-Victimized-by-Bankruptcies">click here for more</a>), miners at Murrau Energy Corp., in the state of Utah, have designated ICEM affiliate United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) as their representative in discussions with the company and the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). 
 
Those discussions and subsequent investigation follow the tragic cave-in at Murray's non-union Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, which killed six trapped miners on 6 August and another three miners on 16 August during a rescue effort. The disaster took place at 600 metres underground. 
<img height="109" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Under US mine safety law, non-union miners can request the expertise of the UMWA in the event of a disaster, or safety occurrence. That happened at the Sago Mine in early 2006 when 12 miners perished due to an underground explosion. Then, International Coal Group and its owner, New York investor Wilbur Ross, blocked UMWA safety experts from entering the mine following the blast. The union and MSHA had to sue the non-union company to gain access in order to uphold the law. 
 
In this month's Utah tragedy, again, production and the pursuit of profit led to mining deaths. Murray Energy had been engaged in retreat mining at the south end of the 5,000-acre Crandall Canyon Mine when a bump -- or shift of earth and rock resulting from excavation -- occurred. 
 
Retreat mining is when grids supporting a shaft's ceiling are deliberately removed in order to cause a controlled cave-in. Murray, which bought the mine in 2006, had been ordered by MSHA to halt the practice of retreat mining on the north end of the mine in March 2007, but the federal agency did grant permits for retreat mining on the south side. 
<img height="88" alt="" src="" width="200" />
The UMWA termed the practice &quot;a recipe for disaster,&quot; since mining was happening between two sections that already had been excavated. On 16 August, another bump occurred during the rescue, killing the three rescue workers and injuring six others. 
 
Cleveland, Ohio-based Murray Energy is owned by the controversial Robert Murray, holder of 19 coal mines in five US states. His mines have been hot with 32 serious safety infractions so far this year. He also violated US labour law previously when he threatened to sack UMWA members at a mine in the state of Pennsylvania if they talked openly about a brewing labour dispute. 
 
Murray told reporters last week that he would permanently close the Crandall Canyon Mine, thus entombing the six miners. But he reversed that public stand the very next day.

US Non-Union Miners Turn to UMWA in Aftermath of Utah Coal Tragedy

Archive

New Zealand Labour Pushing Law to Protect Contract Workers

IGBCE Youth Action Network Wins Training Positions

Contract Settled, But Problems Persist at Goodyear’s Slovenia Tyre Plant

Brazilian Workers of Belgian Chemicals Company Solvay Unite

Deadline Approaches for Scholarship Submissions to Global Labour University in Brazil, South Africa

ICEM Latin American and Caribbean Regional Conference held in Salvador, Brazil

Floods Kill 181 in China's Second Most Deadly Mine Disaster

GIBUCI, 20-year Old Social Dialogue in German Chemical Industry, Celebrated and Evaluated

One-month Tyre Industry Strike Ends in South Africa with Historic Agreement

US Non-Union Miners Turn to UMWA in Aftermath of Utah Coal Tragedy

About IndustriALL

Follow us

Contact us