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Strike actions occurred in Europe in recent days against South African pulp and paper producer Sappi. Workers holding memberships in four Dutch unions continue to be in dispute with Sappi at two mills in the Netherlands, Nijmegen and Maastricht. 
 
And at one of two mills in Finland that Sappi purchased from M-real one year ago, Kirkniemi, members of the local branch of ICEM affiliate Paperiliitto took a four-day industrial action 19-23 November over serious safety issues. 
 
At Nijmegen on 26 November, workers staged a 24-hour strike over the company&rsquo;s failure to come to a terms in meeting minimal union demands for a new labour agreement. More actions are expected this week at Nijmegen and Maastricht. 

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On 24 November, Dutch unions FNV Bondgenoten, CNV Bedrijenbond, ACV, and De Unie issued a demand for a one-year wage increase, July 2009 to July 2010, of 1.5%. The unions, representing 800 workers at the two paper mills, also demand retention of &ldquo;seniorendagen,&rdquo; the annual reward days off for workers with long service careers. If this is to be lost in a new collective agreement, the unions said in a demands declaration, a financial equivalent for both senior workers and younger workers for the social benefit must be substituted. 
 
Sappi Europe has been stingy in its pay offer, as well as unfair in benefit takeaways. In mid-September, workers rejected a 21-month Sappi proposal that was deemed inferior by a 95% vote. On 15 October, in a protest joined by ICEM and its global pulp and paper unions, 50 of the two mills&rsquo; workplace leaders took a petition to Sappi&rsquo;s European headquarters in Brussels. (See InBrief No. 142 <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3455-Pulp-Paper-Unions-Assist-Dutch-Unionists-in-Contract-Dispute-with-Sappi-">here</a>.) 
 
Following a revised company offer a few days later, union leaders again decided to take the proposal to Dutch workers at Nijmegen and Maastricht for a vote. They rejected that with a 99% vote. 

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At Kirkniemi in Finland, earlier this year, Sappi thinned job ranks by 63 workers from a workforce of 400. The 19-23 November strike was over the fact that the remaining workers have taken on more work duties and occupational safety has been jeopardized. Sappi bought five European coated paper mills from M-real in early 2009 and intends to completely close one of those mills &ndash; Kangas, Finland &ndash; by the end of this year, thus giving the sack to 150 members of Paperiliitto. 
 
At a Sappi mill in North America, another labour dispute is coming to a head. Members of the United Steelworkers (USW), early in the week of 16 November, made a statement about a regressive Sappi contract proposal with an 82% rejection vote. Some 600 union members at a pulp and coated paper mill in Cloquet, Minnesota, have been without a current labour agreement since 1 May 2009. Sappi&rsquo;s less than adequate pay offer contains no retroactive wages to that date. It also falls short in meeting pension offsets and the company has ignored a USW request to assist Sappi in finding lower-cost private health care alternatives.

Paperworkers in Finland, Netherlands Take Strike Actions against Sappi

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ICEM participated in the 4th Congress of the Industrial Workers Union of Albania (FSPISH) on 14 November. The Congress took place in the Museum of History of Albania. The ICEM affiliate represents 22,000 members in the mining, oil, communication, metallurgy, and energy industries. It was the first time the ICEM had been involved with a Congress of the union. 

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The ICEM affiliate used the Congress to illustrate its increased focus on international work and solidarity. The FSPISH President, Br. Taf Koleci, outlined the current challenges and activities of the union and explained the main priorities of the union, moving forward. These include: increased priority given to relationship-building with other trade unions in Europe; increased cooperation especially with Mediterranean and Balkan trade unions through higher contributions to regional trade union bodies in energy, mining, chemicals, gas and petro-chemicals; continued solidarity work with foreign unions where cooperation already exists, through bipartite relationships and through the union&rsquo;s membership in ICEM, EMCEF, PSI, EPSU, ETUC, and RETUNSEE; FSPISH will &lsquo;fight&rsquo; for further development of its relationship with the ILO, seeking to build the foundations for strong tripartite social dialogue in Albania.

Albania’s FSPISH Congress Places Emphasis on International Solidarity

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ICEM will be closely monitoring the discussions at the climate change talks COP-15 (15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Copenhagen from 7-18 December. On 16 December at 2pm, we will be presenting the views of industrial unions at an event at the &ldquo;World of Work&rdquo; pavilion, in collaboration with the IMF, EMCEF, and EMF. 
 
Read the documents <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3452-Cut-Emissions-Transform-Jobs ">here</a> for further information on ICEM&rsquo;s positions on climate change. 
 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s sustainability policy can be found <a href="/?id=204$">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
Watch for frequent reports of the discussions on the ICEM website.

ICEM Prepares for Copenhagen Climate Change Talks

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ICEM Mexican affiliate Los Mineros continue to face government repression, and joint government-company action against them. Wednesday 25 November saw a convoy of 10 buses, carrying 400 members and supporters to a peaceful protest in the city of Zacatecas, blocked by riot police and held at Las Arcinas, in the municipality of Sain Alto, 25km from the city. The passengers were told that if they got off the buses, they would be beaten. 
 
The protest was planned as a call for justice over the murder of fellow mineworker Jeventino Flores-Salas in June this year, and also to show support for their exiled leader Napoleon Gomez-Urrutia. Miners from throughout Mexico travelled to Zacatecas on Tuesday 24 November, but were blocked by police the following day from entering the city. The strong suspicion is that Grupo Pe&ntilde;oles asked the federal police to act in this manner. The Mexican Constitution gives citizens the right to move freely, to peaceful demonstration and expression. All of these rights were denied by the police action. Although the workers were finally allowed entry into the city, they were not left alone by the police, and were not allowed to join the manifestation. 

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The union has criticised the state government of Amalia Garcia-Medina, who is supposedly left-wing, but still sides with the right-wing repression of the federal government. 
In other news regarding Los Mineros, the Australian Government is putting pressure on the Calderon Government to rethink its campaign of repression against the Mexican miners. This follows a resolution of the National Executive of ICEM affiliated CFMEU condemning the actions of the Mexican government following the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster in 2006. CFMEU lobbying to the Australian government has resulted in the Australian government making a strong statement of support for the international labour movement&rsquo;s campaign for improved trade union rights in Mexico.

Mexican Riot Police Block Buses of Unionists on Way to Peaceful Protest

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In the US, the ICEM intervened on behalf of the affiliated Teamsters Union in a strike that started on 3 November and ended 14 November against specialty chemicals manufacturer Rhodia. General Secretary Manfred Warda contacted the Paris-based company directly in efforts to bring the two sides together. 
 
The plant is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and it is part of Rhodia&rsquo;s Eco Services division, producing sulfuric acid and organic chemicals. The 135 members of Teamsters Local 5 went on strike following rejection of a company proposal given 1 November, but accepted a new three-year agreement with modifications on 13 November after managers and the bargaining committee reached agreement that day. 
 

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Teamsters Local 5 Members Last Week on Strike, a Strike that Ended on 13 November 
The strike was primarily over rising health care costs and co-payments that Teamster members were asked to make. The negotiated settlement includes wage increases in each of the three years. It also includes positive modifications for workers to an on-call procedure, or provisions for calling staff to work during their off hours. That was a further cause in the ten-day strike. 
 
The ICEM has a constructive Global Framework Agreement with Rhodia. The difficult American issue of private and for-profit health care delivery systems is generally the leading cause of US labour-management disputes.

Ten-Day Strike by US Union against Rhodia Ends on 14 November

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ICEM&rsquo;s two-year project in Turkey on Organising and Social Dialogue, supported by a Dutch labour confederation&rsquo;s international solidarity arm, FNV Mondiaal, moved forward with its second seminar on 5-6 November, this time in the western Turkish city of Izmir, where ICEM-affiliated trade unions have a strong presence. 
 
The overall objective of the project is to help contribute to the unions&rsquo; ability to recruit new members, as well as to discuss the establishment of a base to create a functioning industrial relations system, prioritizing human and trade union rights, and to promote healthy social dialogue in Turkey&rsquo;s industrial relations system. 
 
The seminar was opened by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, who presented the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s activities and current work plan. The 60 trade union leaders in attendance then heard a report from ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan called, &ldquo;In the Framework of Globalisation and the European Union Organising and Social Dialogue.&rdquo;
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Delagtes at&nbsp;ICEM/FNV Project Workshop in Izmir&nbsp;
Besides Turkish local trade union leaders, shop stewards, and militants in attendance, the meeting also saw participation by several international trade union leaders from the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. Celil &Ccedil;oban and Mail &Uuml;rker of FNV Bondgenoten, the Netherlands, exchanged their experiences and knowledge with Turkish colleagues, while Fons Welters, Chairman of Works Council of the Dutch chemicals company, Akzo Nobel, explained social dialogue inside his company. 
 
Akzo Nobel operates in Turkey without union representation. In this framework, FNV Bondgenoten and ICEM Turkish affiliate Petrol-İş made a pact to cooperate on organising Akzo Nobel&rsquo;s staff in Turkey. 
 
Other speakers, giving their respective country perspectives and presenting their trade union structures, included Michael Mersmann, Head of the International Department, Germany&rsquo;s IGBCE; Jorgen Juul Rasmussen, the General Secretary of Dansk El-Forbund, Denmark&rsquo;s Electricians&rsquo; Union; and Mats Svensson, Advisor to the President of IF Metall in Sweden.
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A presentation by ICEM&rsquo;s Information, Campaigns, Pulp &amp; Paper Officer, Dick Blin, on the trade union situation in the US attracted much attention, specifically by participants who compared the many similarities to the current Turkish union model &ldquo;imported&rdquo; from America in the late 1940s following World War II. 
 
The last presentation was made by &Uuml;zeyir Ataman, Director of Education and Collective Bargaining of Turkish union Lastik-İş, who covered the history and current situation of the union movement in his country. 
 
Comrade Ataman&rsquo;s presentation focused on Power and Weak Points, Challenges and Opportunities, and Concrete Organising Targets inside Turkey. Each of the near 60 participants took the floor and put forward his opinions on these issues in Turkey. 
 
&ldquo;Our seminars in Izmit and Izmir have clearly shown that there is a major need in Turkey to reinforce capacity of trade union leaders on organising and social dialogue,&rdquo; said the ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan, who runs the project. &ldquo;Turkey has big potential in terms of trade union growth, and our objective is to mobilise this growth. So far, we are gaining on that objective.&rdquo; 
 
The FNV project will encompass several more issue-focused seminars through 2010. The next one will be a special women&rsquo;s seminar, scheduled for 15-16 December in İstanbul. In 2010, there will be seminars in the cities of Adana and Bursa, as well as in the region of Tracia.

FNV’s Organising, Social Dialogue Forum in Turkey Comprehensive

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Rolling work stoppages began at a Peabody Energy coal mine in central Queensland on 7 November. The legal industrial actions, brought on by the American company&rsquo;s proposed rollbacks in an enterprise labour agreement at its North Goonyella mine, could intensify in coming weeks, as members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) balloted this weekend on whether or not to take further industrial actions. 
 
A prior enterprise agreement expired early in 2008. But that was extended one year, until 31 March 2009. The dispute now centers on work rosters, rates of pay, and conditions of living in a mining camp. 
 
The CFMEU members took four three-hour work stoppages over a 24-hour period in the middle of last week. Further three-hour industrial actions could occur this week, and if this weekend&rsquo;s ballot passes, legalized work stoppages could extend to 24- or 48-hour periods. Unrelated to the dispute, Peabody announced on 11 November that 34 miners would be made redundant by year&rsquo;s end at North Goonyella.
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Peabody owns other coal-mining operations in Queensland and New South Wales, and is the major stakeholder of other collieries that operate with sub-contractors. All miners at these enterprises are represented by the CFMEU. Peabody bought the North Goonyella colliery from RAG AG as part of a three-mine purchase in 2003. 
 
The US multinational began mining coal in Australia through predecessor companies in the 1950s. Over the years, the CFMEU has developed close ties with the US mining union, ICEM affiliate United Mine Workers&rsquo; of America (UMWA), over Peabody&rsquo;s collective agreements and organizing efforts.

CFMEU Begins Job Actions at Peabody Coal in Australia

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On Sunday evening, 8 November, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) President Lovemore Matombo and four other trade union leaders were arrested in the Victoria Falls region of their country, after they met with the regional ZCTU Executive there. 
 
After four nights in jail, they were released late on Thursday, 12 November. They were arrested for violating Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Public Order and Security Act (POSA), a Mugabe device meant to stifle freedom of association. Under the POSA, participants must get police permission before conducting a public meeting. 
 
Besides Matombo, the other four ZCTU leaders jailed were Michael Kandukutu, Percy Mncijo, Dumisani Ncube, and Nhawu Ndlovu. 
 
But despite police winning an initial court bid on 11 November to keep the five in a jail in Hwange, a Magistrate threw out the charges and ordered their release, stating that trade union activity is exempt under the POSA.
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Last week&rsquo;s illegal incarcerations brought prompt protest and severe condemnation from the International Congress of Trade Unions (ITUC), the European Union, and other labour bodies around the world. 
 
Following release of the five, the ZCTU called for the resignations of the co-ministers of Home Affairs, including Giles Mutsekwa, representing the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, the partner in the failing power-sharing pact with Mugabe&rsquo;s ZANU-PF party. Mutsekwa had been silent on the trade union arrests, and on other repressive crackdowns of late. It was Mutsekwa and the MDC that was to take the lead in internal affairs following last year&rsquo;s formal power-sharing arrangement. 
 
It was the second time in less than a year that Lovemore Matombo had been arrested. In early December 2008, he was grabbed by Zimbabwean police after delivering a petition of protest to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe Trade Union Leaders Jailed, then Released 12 November

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In the US, the ICEM intervened on behalf of the affiliated Teamsters Union in a strike that started on 3 November and ended 14 November against specialty chemicals manufacturer Rhodia. General Secretary Manfred Warda contacted the Paris-based company directly in efforts to bring the two sides together. 
 
The plant is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and it is part of Rhodia&rsquo;s Eco Services division, producing sulfuric acid and organic chemicals. The 135 members of Teamsters Local 5 went on strike following rejection of a company proposal given 1 November, but accepted a new three-year agreement with modifications on 13 November after managers and the bargaining committee reached agreement that day. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="188" />
Teamsters Local 5 Members Last Week&nbsp;on Strike, a Strike that Ended on 13 November&nbsp;
The strike was primarily over rising health care costs and co-payments that Teamster members were asked to make. The negotiated settlement includes wage increases in each of the three years. It also includes positive modifications for workers to an on-call procedure, or provisions for calling staff to work during their off hours. That was a further cause in the ten-day strike.&nbsp; 
 
The ICEM has a constructive Global Framework Agreement with Rhodia. The difficult American issue of private and for-profit health care delivery systems is generally the leading cause of US labour-management disputes.

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The ICEM French trade union affiliate, the Federation of Chemical and Energy Workers (FCE-CFDT) Union, will conduct a day of action this week, 19 November, against the country&rsquo;s plastics manufacturers over a long simmering wage dispute. Some 150,000 workers in plastics, employed by 3,700 big and small plastics companies, have not seen any wage increase since 2006. 
 
Early in 2008, the employers&rsquo; federation abrogated a 2004 labour agreement which automatically gave liveable wage increases that at least matched French inflation. In the more than three years since the last pay hike, three pay grids in French plastics have fallen below the nation&rsquo;s minimum wage levels. 
 
Despite ongoing negotiations since May 2008, the employers&rsquo; grouping and French unions have been unable to reach acceptable wage standards, or a threshold on maximum seniority pay.
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The manifestation will occur at 10h30 on Thursday, 19 November, in front of the F&eacute;d&eacute;ration de la Plasturgie, at 65 rue de Prony in Paris. A joint union-management commission charged with resolving the longstanding impasse will again meet that day. 
 
FCE-CFDT said in a statement that many companies in the sector have profited handsomely from the three-year wage freeze, adding that thousands of workers are expected to take advantage of sick leave provisions on 19 November in plant-level protests. The union will hold a press conference on the foot-dragging by employers on Wednesday, 18 November. 
 
Since spring 2008, several manifestations have occurred across France over the lack of a current wage accord in this sector. 

&nbsp;

French Plastics Workers to Do Another Manifestation This Week

Archive

Paperworkers in Finland, Netherlands Take Strike Actions against Sappi

Albania’s FSPISH Congress Places Emphasis on International Solidarity

ICEM Prepares for Copenhagen Climate Change Talks

Mexican Riot Police Block Buses of Unionists on Way to Peaceful Protest

Ten-Day Strike by US Union against Rhodia Ends on 14 November

FNV’s Organising, Social Dialogue Forum in Turkey Comprehensive

CFMEU Begins Job Actions at Peabody Coal in Australia

Zimbabwe Trade Union Leaders Jailed, then Released 12 November

Ten-Day Strike by US Union against Rhodia Ends on 14 November

French Plastics Workers to Do Another Manifestation This Week

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