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ICEM German affiliate IGBCE is crediting worker actions in rubber company enterprises for producing a new labour accord in the sector. On 18 July, the union announced that a 15-month agreement had been reached for 60,000 rubber workers in Germany. 
 
The agreement, which will run until 31 August 2008, awards each worker a 3.7% increase effective 1 September 2007, with workers receiving monthly additions for June through August, 2007.
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&nbsp; 
 
Additionally, the agreement calls for a two-stage payment of 3.1% effective on 1 September 2007, and 0.6% on 1 June 2008. Rubber employers also agreed to lift pension compensation to offset reductions for those workers choosing to take early retirement. 
 
IGBCE said the economic situation in the rubber industry drove negotiators to a 15-month labour agreement. It also said employers needed a firm reminder that the union&rsquo;s pay demands were serious, and they got just that by numerous job actions inside the enterprises of rubber producers and manufacturers.

IGBCE, Workers’ Activism Nets Solid Gains in German Rubber Industry

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For over the past month, 200 workers at a paper mill in Giresun on the Black Sea in northeastern Turkey have picketed their worksite. The daily protests are just one further example of what can happen to workers when an enterprise is privatised. 
 
The Giresun newsprint mill had been operated by state-owned Turkiye Seluloz ve Kagit Fabrikalari (SEKA), a company that was privatized a few short years ago. A paper distributor called MILDA bought this SEKA mill.
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In late spring, with working conditions deteriorating and salaries not being paid on time for five consecutive months, workers joined ICEM affiliate Seluloz-Is, the paperworkers&rsquo; union in the country. As soon as managers learned of the unionization, wages that were due were paid but they demanded that workers quit the union. 
 
When workers rejected this, MILDA fired 250 of the 286-member workforce and closed the mill. This occurred on 15 June 2007. Seluloz-Is President Ergin Alsan has met with management, but they have used the excuse that lack of raw materials has resulted in the closure, not unionization.
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&nbsp;The fact that 250 workers who signed up with different were sacked says differently. 
 
Each day, the workers picket and protest MILDA&rsquo;s unfair dismissals. They are helped out financially by other unions in the region, as well as by NGOs in the area. 
 
The ICEM will continue to monitor the plight of these victimized paperworkers and assist them in any possible as their struggle continues.

Turkish Workers, Union Protest Sackings at Former SEKA Paper Mill

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South Korea&rsquo;s new Irregular Workers&rsquo; Protection Law went into effect on 1 July 2007, but even before then Korean civil society got a glimpse of how little protection the new law affords contract workers. 
 
A number of Korean employers fired irregular workers who had less than two years employment immediately before 30 June. 
 
The most notable of these companies is E-Land Group, a retail clothing outlet that operates a number of Homever and New Core stores. The company sacked 900 workers in June, including 300 cashiers, which caused two strikes. In July, thousands of labour activists &ndash; together with many women who had been sacked &ndash; conducted sit-ins in 13 stores.
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On 20 July, riot police used batons and police shields to forcibly break up the sit-ins. They hauled the protestors to police stations. Arrest warrants were then issued for the labour activists who organized the protests. The police force comes just a short month after the Labour Ministry granted 70,000 irregular workers in the public sector permanent status as an example for the private sector. 
 
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which calls for completely amending the new statute and proposes, in part, to have equal pay for equal work provisions in the law, has demanded reinstatement for the discharged E-Land workers. KCTU has mounted a campaign on behalf of the sackings. 
 
The firings violate provisions of a collective agreement between E-Land and unions, which state that those employed over 18 months would not face lay-offs. Many of the 900 workers were very close to two years service employment.
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In December 2006, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and his Grand National Party used political maneuvering to pass the irregular workers&rsquo; bill in the waning days of a National Assembly session. The law allows employers with 300 or more workers this year to use contract or agency workers for up to two years before making them permanent employees. 
 
The ICEM predicted that the new law would create a &ldquo;revolving door&rdquo; for employers to use and then discard contract workers within the two-year period. The example at E-Land bears this out. 
 
In order to evade relevant provisions in the new law, said the KCTU, E-Land, with help from the riot police and the Roh Moo-hyun government, terminated the contractors for cashiers and others. 
 
&ldquo;The KCTU has consistently asserted that the new bill would lead to more irregular workers because the law, which was suppose to give permanent status to irregular workers, has left the door open to evade such measures, such as outsourcing and termination of contracts,&rdquo; said the labour federation. 
 
Recent statistics by the South Korean government reveal the number of irregular workers is growing. A 2007 study found that a full 35.5% of Korea&rsquo;s 15 million workforce is in this category.

Actions by E-Land Group Proves Failures of Korea&#039;s Contract Workers’ Law

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The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) are calling for a &ldquo;Day of Action&rdquo; on 9 August 2007, demanding the immediate release of two trade unionists locked inside Iran&rsquo;s prisons. The two global federations are calling for pickets, protests, and letter-writing to Iranian embassies or consulates by trade unions in their home countries. 
 
The ICEM joins with the ITUC and ITF in demanding the release of Mansour Osanloo, the leader of the Tehran bus workers&rsquo; union, and the release of Mahmoud Salehi, the founding member of the Saqez Bakery Workers&rsquo; Association. The date of 9 August was chosen because it is the one-year anniversary of Osanloo&rsquo;s release from jail in 2006, following mass global trade union protests.
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&nbsp; 
Osanloo was arrested for the third time on 10 July 2007, following a tour of European labour institutions and labour unions, in which he spoke of the labour abuses and restrictions on freedom of association by Iran&rsquo;s Islamic regime. Witnesses said he was beaten as he was hauled off by secret police. Confirmation came two weeks ago that he is being held in Evin prison. 
 
Mahmoud Salehi is in ill-health and has been sent to a distant prison in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province. The ITUC said there is firm evidence that his life is in danger because of inadequate medial care at this prison. 
 
The ICEM strongly encourages affiliated trade unions to take some form of meaningful action on 9 August in support of their releases.

9 August Designated as ‘Day of Action’ for Jailed Iranian Trade Unionists

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Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc. Rescinded the suspensions it had imposed on laid-off white-collar oilworkers&rsquo; in bargaining with PENGASSAN on 26 July. Following a terse 20 July letter from the ICEM Nigerian affiliate to the Mobil Oil&rsquo;s managing director, ExxonMobil backed down from full collision with PENGASSAN, and a new labour agreement is now possible if the company meets remuneration demands. 
 
Pay talks will continue early this week, and a settlement with Mobil Oil Nigeria will complete PENGASSAN&rsquo;s 2007-2008 oil sector bargaining. The union had completed satisfactory negotiations with Chevron, Total, African Petroleum Plc., and other energy concerns, but the world&rsquo;s largest one, ExxonMobil &ndash; bargaining last &ndash; attempted to reduce labour standards from those negotiated with the others.
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&nbsp; 
The company committed a serious breach when it contacted and then coerced many PENGASSAN members due to retire to sign voluntary retirement letters. This action in July came while the union and Mobil Oil were in talks, and the issue of early retirement incentives was alive. The voluntary letters were a ploy to reduce the statutory amount of separation benefits that the company would have to pay in restructuring. 
 
PENGASSAN called is &ldquo;repugnant to statutory stipulations, local and international labour conventions, and best practices&rdquo; already in place in Nigeria&rsquo;s oil and gas sectors. The breach flagrantly violated the collective agreement between the two parties as well. 
 
But in Thursday&rsquo;s talks, ExxonMobil apologized to PENGASSAN and to the sacked workers, and reversed itself by rescinding the letters and reversing the firings.
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&nbsp;Now the issue of pay for 2007 and 2008 must be addressed. PENGASSAN Gen. Sec. Bayo Olowoshile said Mobil Oil Nigeria must live up to its market share in the industry and its profit sheet. The conflict now, he said, &ldquo;is on the reluctance of Mobil to pay competitive remuneration that aligns with the company&rsquo;s market share and its own remuneration policy.&rdquo; 
 
PENGASSAN represents over 200 engineers, technicians, accountants, and administrators of Mobil Oil Nigeria at some ten locations. The majority of the white-collar workers are employed at Apapa in Lagos.

ExxonMobil in Nigeria Backs Down from Conflict with PENGASSAN

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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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A tentative agreement was reached late on 3 April between ICEM affiliate United Steelworkers (USW) and Bridgestone/Firestone North America. The agreement covers some 5,200 rubber workers at six US plants, and concludes master rubber bargaining at North America&rsquo;s three major tyre companies that have multiple plants. 
 
&ldquo;The tentative agreement and contract proposals follow the pattern established in the BF Goodrich (Michelin) and Goodyear contracts,&rdquo; said USW Executive Vice President Ron Hoover. The USW announced that informational meetings for Bridgestone/Firestone workers and secret-ballot ratification votes will occur at all six plants by 25 April 2006.
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USW Executive Vice President Ron Hoover
If ratified, the three-year contract will be backdated to last summer, and will run to 18 July 2009. The contract covers plant locations in Akron, Ohio; Noblesville, Indiana; Des Moines, Iowa; Russelville, Arkansas; La Vergne, Tennessee; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a plant in which Bridgestone discontinued tyre production in December 2006. Workers at two other Bridgestone/Firestone plants, Warren County, Tennessee, and Bloomington, Illinois, are also represented by the USW and are considering proposed agreements separate from the master rubber contract. 
 
The USW&rsquo;s last set of talks with a tyre producer is currently underway in the state of Virginia. Japan-based Yokohama Tire Co. and the union are in talks over a new contract for some 700 rubber workers at an auto and light truck tyre plant in Salem, Virginia. The current contract there expires on 15 April. 

&nbsp;

USW Members in US to Vote on New Bridgestone Tyre Contract

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The Finnish Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union succeeded in a four-month campaign, winning &euro;700,000 in backpay and reciprocity for 88 Polish electricians. The electricians worked on construction projects in Finland. 
 
The union discovered that a Gdansk, Poland-based contractor, MSB, was violating Finnish pay guidelines at a huge construction site near Tampere in November 2006. 
 
The electricians were earning &euro;5-per-hour, while the average electrician&rsquo;s pay in Finland is about &euro;14-per-hour.
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When the Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union sought information from MSB on working conditions in November, the company did not respond. The union then commenced a blockade against MSB, preventing the Polish company from performing any work in Finland. The union demanded that all companies, and their workers, abstain from working with MSB on any construction project. 
 
The Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union also pressed Finnish state authorities to intervene in the company&rsquo;s illegal work practices, as well. 
 
The pressure campaign worked. In early February, MSB came to agreement with the union on the process for paying wage arrears, as well as social security and tax reciprocation with Poland&rsquo;s government. Last week, Trade Union News from Finland reported that the agreement calls for wages to be brought up to levels common in Finnish collective agreements &ndash; &euro;12.30- to &euro;14-per-hour &ndash; and that of the &euro;700,000 sum, &euro;330,000 will be transferred to the Polish tax and social security authorities. 
 
&ldquo;This case is a strong message to companies that employ foreign labour,&rdquo; the Electrical Workers&rsquo; Keijo Rimmist&ouml; told Trade Union News. &ldquo;Respect, voluntarily, the Finnish collective agreements, as, in case you don&rsquo;t, our union will compel you to pay the arrears payments. Letting things go &hellip; you not only risk your reputation, but also risk waking the interest of the police.&rdquo;

Boycott Pressure Forces Polish Firm to Pay Back-Wages in Finland

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The deadly 19 March methane explosion at the Ulyanovskaya coal mine in Russia is still under review, with dozens of possible causes being prematurely suggested. The safety technical inspectorate of Russia will issue a report on the tragedy in April, two weeks after the official on-site inquiry ends. 
 
Meanwhile, the inspectorate, early in April, closed 29 other coal mines in the Kutnetsk coal fields of Kemerovo region, as well as four other collieries in the Rostov region. Several of the mines belong to Yuzhkuzbassugol, owner of the Ulyanovskaya mine and Russia&rsquo;s largest coal producer. Others belong to Sibirsky coal.
<img height="155" src="" width="280" alt="" />
&quot;Danger Zone&quot; (entrance at Ulyanovskaya mine)
&nbsp;The head of the state inspectorate agency ordered work at the 33 mines halted for five days, so the agency could check for compliance of technological documentation per estimated project capacity, as well as safety regulations and changes in project designs. 
 
The Ulyanovskaya mine disaster of 19 March 2007 is Russia and the Soviet Union&rsquo;s worst in decades. It has claimed 110 lives. Recovery efforts have found the bodies of 108 miners, while two others remain deep inside mine shafts. 
 
The Ulyanovskaya mine is recognised as having the most current and sophisticated gas control equipment of any coal mine in Russia. Some 20 senior managers and technicians were inside the mine when the blast occurred, killing all of them. Included among them was a British technician of the company that designed the system, and his interpreter.
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ROSUGLEPROF President Ivan Mokhnachuk
Nearly all of the 1,068 miners employed at Ulyanovskaya are members of ICEM Russian affiliate Independent Coal Miners&rsquo; Union (ROSUGLEPROF). The union&rsquo;s vice president, Ruben Badalov, served on the official investigation team of the Russian state commission at the mine site. He recently returned to Moscow, and the investigative report on the cause of the tragedy is due in the coming weeks.

Cause of Russian Coal Mine Deaths to be Announced Shortly

Archive

IGBCE, Workers’ Activism Nets Solid Gains in German Rubber Industry

Turkish Workers, Union Protest Sackings at Former SEKA Paper Mill

Actions by E-Land Group Proves Failures of Korea's Contract Workers’ Law

9 August Designated as ‘Day of Action’ for Jailed Iranian Trade Unionists

ExxonMobil in Nigeria Backs Down from Conflict with PENGASSAN

Stop Illegal Trade Union Activity in Mexico

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

USW Members in US to Vote on New Bridgestone Tyre Contract

Boycott Pressure Forces Polish Firm to Pay Back-Wages in Finland

Cause of Russian Coal Mine Deaths to be Announced Shortly

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