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T he 20-million-member ICEM, meeting at its quadrennial Congress in Stavanger, Norway, this week, issued a challenge to the major pharmaceutical companies of the world to begin providing-at no cost or at affordable prices-anti-retroviral drugs to AIDS victims to fight the HIV pandemic in developing countries. 
 
ICEM, with 400 affiliated unions in 121 countries, represents not only chemical workers in the pharmaceutical industry at the major drug-producing firms, but also industrial workers in sectors hardest hit by HIV-including energy, mining and mineral extraction in developing regions within sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. The ICEM has been in dialogue with high officials of the pharmaceutical industry over the past year to reach a consensus among the firms to make such a commitment. 
 
&quot;We feel the ICEM as a Global Union Federation (GUF) is strategically positioned to make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS,&quot; said General Secretary Fred Higgs. 
 
ICEM's World Congress in Stavanger, 28-30 August, is drawing 1,000 trade union leaders from the energy, mining, chemicals and bioscience industries, as well as pulp, paper, rubber and other industrial sectors together for adoption of strategies and to map a framework to uphold human rights and labour rights throughout the world. 
 
ICEM as a GUF is the leading labour federation to achieve Global Agreements with multinational firms. Such agreements commit a company to adhere to labour, health and safety and environmental standards wherever they have operations. One of those agreements, adopted in 1997 with Norwegian Statoil, was renewed on 23 August in Stavanger. Both parties, together with the Norwegian Union NOPEF, recognize the great advantages of the agreement and pledged further development to expand it in local areas. 
 
&quot;The experiences under the agreement have been beneficial to all parities,&quot; said Lars Myhre, International Officer of NOPEF. &quot;It is a lasting, living document that other global companies would be wise to emulate.&quot; 
 
ICEM's theme for the Congress is Globalisation: Local Problems, International Solutions By Solidarity. Higgs said the issue of globalisation is &quot;ever changing in a world in which industry is rapidly expanding to developing areas. That brings with it problems to unions and to workers represented in both industrialized nations and in the developing world. We aim to address those problems, identify solutions and then act in a unified way to bring solutions to our affiliates.&quot;

ICEM Issues HIV Drugs Challenge to Pharmaceutical Companies

The 20-million-member ICEM has vowed to strengthen the UN&rsquo;s Global Compact by pushing for integrity measures that would make the Compact more credible for corporations signing onto the principles of social responsibility. A week after a watershed Leaders Summit in New York City on UN General Security Kofi Annan&rsquo;s four-year-old initiative, General Secretary Fred Higgs issued a summary report on the Compact and laid out global labour&rsquo;s future involvement.
<img height="197" alt="" src="" width="350" />
 
Higgs was one of four members of the Global Compact&rsquo;s 17-member Advisory Committee charged with drafting integrity measures leading into the June 24 Leaders Summit. 
 
&ldquo;In developing these procedures,&rdquo; wrote Higgs, &ldquo;it became clear there would be a need to for some ultimate sanction if all other efforts in getting a company to comply failed.&rdquo; That sanction, he added, &ldquo;would be to de-list the company from the Global Compact register.&rdquo; 
 
Higgs also identified another hurdle to clear to make the Compact work. &ldquo;At the same time as these integrity measures were being developed, other logistical problems regarding management of the Global Compact initiatives were being realized. The most significant of these is the inadequate administrative resources available to manage an initiative involving now over 1,500 companies.&rdquo; 
<img height="166" alt="" src="" width="350" />
 
Higgs reiterated in the report what he said during a speech at the opening of the summit: &ldquo;A prerequisite for the ongoing support of the global unions for this initiative was that any reconstituted structure for taking the Compact forward would need to include integrity measures and an ultimate sanction for those companies that clearly have no intention of applying the ten principles for which they had signed up to.&rdquo; 

Higgs is one of two labour leaders on the Advisory Committee, and has been labour&rsquo;s voice on the Compact. Kofi Annan announced at the close of the Leaders Summit that a small group would examine the current structure and governance of the Global Compact over the next 12 months. 
 
The Global Compact&rsquo;s principles are now voluntary and encompass areas of human rights, labour standards and the environment. The labour standards include freedom of association, right to collective bargaining, abolition of forced, compulsory and child labour, and elimination of employment and job discrimination. At the summit, the tenth principle was added, an anti-corruption measure. The ICEM welcomed the addition and calls it &ldquo;a necessary standard that by its very nature calls for review through workable integrity measures.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM is the dominant trade union federation in mining, energy and process industries sectors with over 400 affiliates in 125 countries. 
For a report by Fred Higgs on the UN Global Compact Summit, <a href="/index.php?id=97&amp;doc=1395&amp;la=EN">click here</a>.

UN’s Global Compact Needs Enforcement Mechanism, Says ICEM

The 20-million-member ICEM, the predominant global trade union federation in the oil industry, today applauded the victory by Union Sindical Obrera de la Industria Del Petroleo (USO) in Colombia in the 37-day strike that concluded yesterday with state-owned Ecopetrol. 
 
An agreement was reached 26 May between USO and the Colombian government that will roll back newly written contracts with favorable terms to the oil multinationals on the exploration and production of oil fields, thus preserving the company and keeping oil reserves in the hands of the citizens of Colombia. 
 
&quot;We extend our congratulations to the leaders and members of USO in this pivotal strike to keep in Colombia what rightfully belongs in Colombia,&quot; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. 
 
The victory, in essence, avoids the privatisation of Ecopetrol. The new agreement calls for oil fields now operated by outside firms to revert to Ecopetrol control once the contracts expire. 
 
Some 250 USO members including President Gabriel Alvis who were sacked after the government declared the strike illegal will retain their full pension rights and have an opportunity to win their jobs back through the arbitration process. Ecopetrol management and the government had sought to eliminate oil workers' pensions, as well as reducing the workforce. 
 
The strike, which began 22 April, has caused production losses of up to 500 million Colombian pesos per day (US$180,000), according to published reports by analysts. The government has claimed that contingency plans put in place prior to the strike would not affect refinery or oil field production. 
 
The ICEM spearheaded a global drive among energy unions and other affiliates to back USO by registering direct protests with the Colombian government of President Alvaro Uribe.

Colombia Oil Strike Ends in Victory

A Global Framework Agreement was signed today in Moscow by ICEM, the global union federation's affiliate, Russian Oil, Gas and Construction Workers Union (ROGWU), and OAO Lukoil, the major Russian oil and energy firm. It marks the first time a new Russian-headquartered multinational has signed a Global Framework Agreement. 
 

<img height="181" src="" width="384" alt="" />
Seated from left: ICEM Gen. Sec. Fred Higgs, Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov and ROGWU President Lev Mironov.
Global Agreements between trade unions and multinationals commit companies to internationally recognised standards and principles on workers' rights, employment and corporate social responsibility regarding workplace health and safety, plus an adherence to sound environmental practices. 
 
The Lukoil Agreement is now the 20-million-member ICEM's eighth Global Framework Agreement signed with a multinational. 
 
&quot;Lukoil is the leading Russian oil company on the international scene,&quot; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &quot;I see this Agreement as taking Lukoil's partnership with trade unions in Russia to recognition of trade unions and workers' rights across the world.&quot; 
 
ROGWU President Lev Mironov commented, &quot;I see the signing of the Global Agreement between Lukoil, ICEM and our union as an important landmark in both Russian and in international contexts. 
 
&quot;Firstly, it would be excellent if other successful Russian companies followed the Lukoil example and became actively engaged in the practical building of the socially oriented state, which is so often discussed here. Secondly, it is inspiring that the first truly transnational company from Russia emerging as an active player in the global economy declares its commitment to the traditional Russian value of caring for working people.&quot; 
 
OAO Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov stated, &quot;Today's document is the first Global Agreement signed by the ICEM with a company from the former Socialist countries and the CIS. I'm very pleased that this company is Lukoil. The fact that one of the most powerful international trade union organisations invites us on a mission of cooperation witnesses that Lukoil fulfills Russian law, but also meets the world standards in labour relations.&quot; 
 
The Agreement links a Lukoil pledge on human rights to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and on trade union rights as enshrined in ILO Conventions and the UN's Global Compact. 
 
The Agreement, in which a review will occur annually to assure joint actions are undertaken to further develop sound work practices, states in its preamble: &quot;Lukoil and ICEM affirm their support for fundamental human rights in the communities affected by Lukoil Group activities and in the workplace. Furthermore, the Parties recognise the importance of protecting the health, safety and well being of those at work, and share a sense of joint responsibility for the impact that work and company practices may have on the natural and human environment.&quot; 
 
The ICEM now is signatory with three global oil firms to Global Agreements: Norwegian Statoil, Italian Eni and Lukoil. Other Global Agreements in other industrial sectors for ICEM includes Agreements with the Spanish power firm Endesa, Norwegian pulp and paper producer Norske Skog, German rubber products maker Freudenberg &amp; Co., South African minerals group AngloGold, and Swedish forest products group Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA). 
 
The ICEM is a global union federation with 390 affiliated unions in 120 countries. The industrial sectors of ICEM involvement include oil, energy, mining, chemicals and bioscience, rubber, pulp and paper, precious minerals, and glass, ceramics and cement industries.

ICEM, Russian Affiliate, Lukoil Sign Global Agreement

As the world's labour unions get ready to observe 1 May activities, the ICEM salutes affiliate EGAT-LU in Thailand for its steadfast resilience in preventing the government thus far from privatising the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). 
 
Tomorrow marks the 66th consecutive day that EGAT-LU's 27,500 union members and tens of thousands of other Thai citizens have taken to the streets to protest the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra's plan to privatise the utility. And EGAT-LU members today concluded a three-day &quot;patriotic leave from work&quot; period with united protests across Thailand in opposition to the plan. 
 
As with all protests including the continued pickets around EGAT's headquarters in Bang Kruai, Nonthaburi, EGAT-LU has maintained its pledge to Thai citizens that electric power will not be cut during the strikes and protests. ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs, on a visit to picket lines earlier this week at Bang Kruai, noted that EGAT-LU members are working their regular shifts at the utility and then joining strikes and protests in their off hours. 
 
&quot;Your struggle is an important struggle for workers in your industry throughout the world where we are opposing privatisation in many, many countries,&quot; said Higgs at a rally on 26 April. &quot;I join you in calling on the Thai government to abandon their misguided intention of privatisation.&quot; 
 
The momentum created by EGAT-LU to push the government off the privatisation track has been nothing short of astounding. In February, the union accurately detailed the lack of transparency in the government's plan to sell its stake to the listed energy firm Banpu. In return, Banpu had planned to secretly sell its 15% stake in Ratchaburi Holding Plc to EGAT so a privatised EGAT would hold a controlling stake of 60% in Ratchaburi. 
 
Union exposure and mass protests scuttled the plan. And then on 1 March, Prime Minister Thaksin announced that the listing of EGAT due to occur in May on the Thailand Stock Exchange would be delayed indefinitely. The announcement was seen as a response to the growing public street protests against the plan. 
 
And more recently, on 23 April, the new chairman of EGAT signed a memorandum with EGAT-LU that the state utilities of electricity and water would not be privatised, and the State Enterprise Act of 1999 that forms the legal basis for the government's privatisation plans would be abandoned. The Thaksin government on 26 April then created confusion by announcing despite the agreement, privatisation would go forward. 
 
Higgs promised anti-privatisation supporters on 26 April that the ICEM will be squarely behind EGAT-LU in its resistance. &quot;The ICEM will make sure that workers around the world are kept informed of the events of your struggle, and that the unions of the world will continue to express their support for your fight,&quot; said Higgs.

ICEM Heralds Affiliate EGAT-LU in Thai Privatisation Fight

The 20-million-member ICEM is calling on its 425 global affiliates to come to the assistance of Colombian oil workers, members of Uni&ograve;n Sindical Obrera (USO), who have been on strike now for eight days against the country's national oil company, Ecopetrol. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs is calling on trade unions across the globe to write to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to protest not only government actions that caused the strike, but the Uribe Administration's response to the strike. A day after the strike began on 22 April, the government declared the walkout illegal on the ill-conceived notion that petroleum refining is an &quot;essential service&quot; of a nation. 
 
&quot;Declaring the strike by members of USO illegal and citing petroleum refining as an essential service to Colombia contradicts ILO jurisprudence on what constitutes a nation's essential services,&quot; wrote ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs to President Uribe. &quot;Case after case has omitted oil refining from that category.&quot; 
 
Higgs also said in the letter the act of making the strike illegal, &quot;considering Colombia's volatile political circumstances&quot; has brought &quot;harsh repercussions&quot; to the striking oil workers. 
 
The strike, affecting 5,500 workers, is primarily over the government's decision to restructure Ecopetrol, which likely will mean a reduction in workers' benefits. USO is also seeking a new collective wage agreement through the strike. 
 
Since declaring the strike illegal, the Colombian government has placed legal sanctions on the officers of USO, arrested 17 strike leaders from different petrol plants and has threatened military force to bust the strike. Police have announced that anti-terrorism measures will be taken against striking workers, and the USO reports a great many death threats have been made against workers and USO leaders alike. 
 
The restructuring, announced in June 2003, has seen the government sign new and extended contracts over exploration and production of oil fields with private sector operators, most of which are foreign based. USO contends that such rewritten contracts with relaxed terms will plunder Colombia's natural resources and eventually will lead to the privatization of Ecopetrol. 
 
&quot;We know that the national economy, the workers, and Colombian people in general will be seriously affected,&quot; said USO Secretary General Juan Ramon Rios in a public statement. 
 
USO calls the Ecopetrol dispute the most important strike in Colombia in over 20 years and is asking oil and petrochemical unions across the world to monitor exports of refined products to Colombia in the event the country's reserves dwindle. The union is also asking the global trade union movement to protest directly to Colombian embassies in their home countries. 
 
The ICEM issued a circular today to its affiliates asking them to write letters of protest to: Alvaro Uribe Velez, Presidente de la Rep&uacute;blica de Colombia, Casa de Narino, Bogota DC (obserdh@presidencia.gov.co).

ICEM Condemns Colombian Government over Oil Strike

The 20-million-member ICEM has called for more global exposure to the pro-democracy mass movement against the absolute monarchy of King Gyanendra in Nepal. The global trade union federation said despite a remote location with barely any international press coverage to the growing insurrection, the royal government in Nepal is trampling human and labour rights on a daily basis. 
<img height="225" src="" width="344" alt="" />
Binda Pandey, left, arrested on 21 April (photo: Gefont) 
Today, 22 April, marks the 22nd consecutive day that thousands of Nepalese citizens have taken to the streets to defy a government ban on protest and mass assembly. Some 4,000 have been arrested, including trade union leaders of GEFONT-the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions-as well as another national union, the Nepal Trade Union Congress. 
 
The political situation grows ever more dangerous as Nepal plunges closer to full martial law with royal authorities declaring riot zones and curfews now for the entirety of Katmandu and Lalitpur cities. The monarchy's troops and security forces have responded to peaceful sit-ins and marches by violently arresting the leaders of the trade union federations and political parties after dispersing mass assemblies with tear gas, rubber bullets and baton charges. Those detained are held in crowded facilities, undergoing severe questioning and void of any charges brought upon them. 
<img height="189" src="" width="300" alt="" />
Binda Pandey, ICEM Vice-President, speaking at 
the ICEM Congress in Norway last August 
The vast majority of Nepal's populace is seeking an end to the October 2002 proclamation dissolving the country's elected House of Representatives and government, and replacing it with executive powers solely vested in the monarchy. Gyanendra has installed a loyalist as prime minister, Surya Bahadur Thapor. 
The list of trade union leaders who in April have been detained and then released a day or two after arrest numbers 30, including ICEM Vice President Binda Pandey who has three times been arrested-once on 10 April, held until 11 April, again on 13 April, and again once more on 21 April. Pandey, who also serves as ICEM Women's Committee vice chair, is an officer of the Nepal Independent Chemical and Iron Workers' Union (NICIWU) and is education secretary of GEFONT. 
 
&quot;Dozens of the demonstrators are being injured and hundreds are being arrested every day,&quot; said Pandey. &quot;Mass participation is occurring every day and as that happens, suppression by the authorities grows each day as well.&quot; 
 
Besides Pandey, many other trade union leaders have been arrested including GEFONT Secretary General Bishnu Rimal, Vice Chairman Lalit Kumar Basnet, Treasurer Binod Shresthathus far in April been arrested include Secretary General Bishnu Rimal, NICIWU Member Radhika Khanal, ICEM-affiliated Garbage Cleaners' Union Central Member Madan Deula. The top leaders of NTUC including President Laxman Basnet, Deputy General Secretary Prem Singh Bohara, and Vice Presidents Puskar Acharya and Bam Bahadur DC have also been held. 
 
On 18 April, royal authorities arrested 160 journalists who gathered despite a no assembly ban in a Katmandu central square protesting the detention of 70 working journalists who had been rounded up on 16 April. 
 
Five major political parties inside Nepal have unified over the call to reverse the absolute powers of the monarchy. The two major trade union centers, cutting across all segments of work that employ much of Nepal's 24 million populace, also have unified and are in concert with the political coalition seeking an end to the monarchy's abolishment of Nepal's Constitution and its implementation of emergency decrees banning free speech, assembly and other means of peaceful dissent. In a recent joint declaration, the two trade union centers issued a joint plea for &quot;all working people and trade unions in every level for a nationwide go-ahead against this inhumane act of the government which has kicked all norms and limitations of constitution and rule of law.&quot;

ICEM Calls for More Attention to Nepal

The 20-million-member ICEM has pledged total support to our member trade unions stand with the pro-democracy movement in Nepal. The Brussels-based global union federation of 425 affiliates--including four in Nepal--also condemned harsh government acts in attempting to put down peaceful, pro-democractic demonstrations that have erupted in April in opposition to the actions of Nepal's absolute monarchy. 
<img height="200" src="" width="260" alt="" />
&quot;We are in constant contact with our affiliates. Together with Nepal's five-party coalition they are defying government repression by seeking a democratic state, and they have our whole and undivided support,&quot; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. 
 
Nepal's monarchy has banned political dissent, including assembly and print literature in recent days. The Royal Administration authorities have posted curfews in certain areas and the monarchy's troops and security forces have met marches and rallies with rubber bullets, tear gas and baton charges. 
<img height="197" src="" width="258" alt="" />
 
The pro-democracy masses have defied the crackdown by staging sit-ins in public areas and at major traffic intersections, resulting in nearly a thousand arrests over the past few days including trade union leaders and leaders of the five-party coalition opposed to total control by King Gyanendra.
&quot;We strongly oppose the continued beastly suppression of the peoples democratisation by this unconstitutional royal government,&quot; stated a joint release of two national trade unions centers of Nepal on 5 April. &quot;We appeal to all working people and trade unions in every level for nationwide go-ahead against this inhumane act of the government which has kicked all norms and limitations of constitution and rule of law.&quot; 
 
Despite a government ban ICEM affilates responded by launching a 9 April protest march from Asan to Naradevi inside Katmandu that was met with the arrests of seven National Executive members as well as others. 
 
The ICEM's Higgs also issued severe condemnation against Nepal for imposing the archaic Essential Services Act of 1957 on Nepalese society, which effectively bans trade union rights of workers. &quot;Nepal's monarchy must know that applying restrictive bans on democratic rights and on internationally-recognised labour rights is totally unacceptable to the international community. We demand the immediate release of all those arrested and join our affiliates call for the resignation of this royal government&quot; 
 
 
INTERNATIONAL CHEMICAL, ENERGY, MINING AND GENERAL WORKERS' FEDERATION (ICEM) 
NATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE IN NEPAL 
 
April 5, 2004 
 
JOINT PRESS RELEASE 
 
Through the Royal step of Retrogression in October 2002, the nation has been continuously being pushed towards autocracy. The attack has been intensified on the rights gained through the popular mass movement of 1990 and on the constitution. The latest example is the imposition of Essential Services Act 1957 in order to ban the trade union rights of workers. 
 
The Royal Government is trying to suppress the peaceful popular mass movement of five major political parties launched for democracy and progress. Currently, the royal government has attempted to suppress the fast moving phase of the movement being conducted from April 2, 2004 in an inhumane &amp; savage manner. Hundreds of activists and leaders of the political parties have been injured by the cruel lathi-charge, tear gas full of hazardous chemicals and plastic bullets. Even the workers working in the factories/offices and coming to and from office including general people walking on the streets have been victimized by the inhumane suppression. 
 
We strongly oppose the continued beastly suppression of the people's demonstration by this unconstitutional Royal government. We appeal all working people &amp; trade unions in every level for nationwide go ahead against this inhumane act of the government, which has kicked all norms, and limitations of constitution and rule of law. Through this statement we call our local Affiliates/Committees, member and working masses to come forward against retrogression and in favor of democracy &amp; peace. Only in democracy, rights of the working class can be ensured and work can be run smoothly. So we request all entrepreneurs and employers as well to participate and assist this movement from their own places and stands. 
 
Signatories 
Mr. Janak Chaudhary President of NICIWU 
Ms. Bina Shrestha President of IGWUN 
Mr. Kumar Ojha President of NEAEU 
Mr. Ramkumar Shrestha President of NEAE

ICEM Backs Pro-Democracy Efforts in Nepal

A mass rally in the city of Izmit underscored the unease of the Turkish government's continued insistency to intervene on the side of employers in a labour dispute. 
 
Some 10,000 members and supporters of ICEM affiliate Lastik-Is march and rallied 24 March against both severe concessions proposed by tyre manufacturers and Turkey's decree of 21 March banning a strike by the country's petrol, chemical and rubber union, citing that such a strike would be a threat to &quot;national security.&quot; 
<img height="263" src="" width="350" alt="" />
Leaders of Lastik-Is at 24 March rally in Izmit 
The union and multinational tyre producers Goodyear, Pirelli and Brisa Bridgestone Sabanci entered collective bargaining in December for renewal of labour agreements covering 4,000 workers at six tyre factories. But the negotiations proved one-sided at the outset as the employers presented a set of concessionary demands and refused good-faith bargaining. 
 
Lastik-Is issued a call to strike for 22 March at Turkey's largest tyre producer, Italian-based Pirelli in Izmit. But a day prior, the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued the decree under Article 33 of Turkey's Law on Collective Agreements, Strikes and Lockouts. 
 
It was the third consecutive set of negotiations since year 2000 that the Turkish government has used Article 33 to prohibit a strike in the tyre industry. 
<img height="266" src="" width="354" alt="" />
Earlier, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs wrote the prime minister and warned that prohibiting the right to strike violated ILO Conventions 87, 98 and 158, core labour principles that Turkey has ratified. 
 
&quot;Tyre employers have made unacceptable demands on Lastik-Is,&quot; said Higgs in his letter. &quot;Such demands, if imposed, would lower the living standards and increase the work-life burdens of workers in the industry, thus reducing working terms and conditions in this particular sector to far below those of European standards.&quot; 
 
In the tyre producers only exchange with the union, employers seek to remove paid health insurance from workers, seek an increase in working hours by changing shift schedules and seek the unlimited use of temporary workers. Employers also want a separate salary structure for new employees, and propose decreases in current salaries and social payments for current employees. 
 
&quot;If the employers want to continue this forced agenda of their demands, then our fight will increasingly continue,&quot; said Lastik-Is General President Abdullah Karacan. &quot;I do believe that our will and resolve, together with international solidarity, will be the winner in this dispute.&quot; 
Meeting in Brussels on 24 March, the governing board of ICEM, the Presidium, pledged full support to affiliate Lastik-Is and issued a call to all global affiliates to protest the government's decree in protest letters to Prime Minister Erdogan.

Turkish Government Bans Strikes in Tyre Industry

T he nearly two-year-long labour dispute between ICEM affiliate and leading Turkish glass producer Sisecam Group ended this week. 
 
A signed agreement between the company and Turkey's dominant glass workers' union reinstates 350 union members sacked at a plant in Eskisehir, grants pay increases for both 2003 and 2004 to workers, and gives Kristal-İş full recognition rights at most Sisecam glass factories, the underlying principle in the lengthy dispute. 
 
The accord comes after both the ICEM and the European Mining, Chemical, Energy Workers' Federation (EMCEF) brought full attention to the dispute both globally and within the European community. It also came following the Turkish government twice prohibiting Kristal-İş from mounting a strike in the country's glass sector despite a Supreme Court ruling that such a strike was lawful. 
 
 
 
The main points to the settlement: 
 
&middot; Sisecam agreed to withdraw its legal obstacles to recognizing Kristal-İş in some 13 of 15 glass factories that employ 5,000 workers; 
 
&middot; The two parties agreed that social dialogue and goodwill will now become the norm for solutions to future problems; 
 
&middot; The 350 union activists who were sacked last September at a Pasabahce plant in Eskisehir following some 700 workers and contractors becoming Kristal-İş members will be reinstated; 
 
&middot; A shop steward who was also fired for his union activities will be reinstated; 
 
&middot; In line with Turkey&rsquo;s consumer price index, glass workers will receive a retroactive pay increase of 14% for the first half of 2003, 10% for the second half, and 12% for 2004. 
 
&quot;The ICEM applauds the determination and endurance of Kristal-İş members and their leaders in the most successful end result of this dispute,&quot; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &quot;We are delighted to have played a role, but the credit truly goes to Turkey's glass workers and their union for mobilizing and persevering in the face of nothing less than an orchestrated union-busting effort.&quot; 
 
In an era when more and more companies use contractors to avoid unionization, Higgs commended Kristal-İş for organising into its ranks contract workers at the Eskisehir plant. 
 
Kristal-İş President Mustafa Bagceci and Sisecam CEO Dogan Arikan released a joint communiqu&eacute; in which they promised to start a new phase of social dialogue in labour relations. &quot;This settlement means a new starting point between Kristal-İş and Sisecam,&quot; stated Bagceci. &quot;We have decided to look ahead instead of at the past.&quot; Bagceci added that international initiatives played a vital role in reaching the agreement and expressed appreciation to ICEM and EMCEF for strong support and solidarity.

Victory for Kristal-İş in Turkish Glass Dispute

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