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US-based Halliburton, the giant construction and oil services company so closely linked to the Bush government, is intent on supplanting a national union at its Indonesian operations in oil-rich Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. 
The company is challenging the certification of Chemical Energy, Mines, Oil &amp; Gas and General Workers&rsquo; Union (FSP KEP) at a regional labour agency, claiming a plant union is in place. FSP KEP has been the registered union at Halliburton&rsquo;s energy services base in Balikpapan since 2001. 
Even prior to last month&rsquo;s challenge favouring a company union, Halliburton systematically has attempted to weaken FSP KEP&rsquo;s representation status by refusing to recognise the union&rsquo;s shop-floor leaders, and then threatening to discharge FSP KEP leaders who step forward in the course of their union responsibilities. 
Halliburton got a foothold in Indonesia&rsquo;s oil and energy industries some 30 years ago under the Suharto regime.

Halliburton Out to Break Energy Union in Indonesia

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Works Councils in Europe of chemical/foods conglomerate Unilever will handbill company plants in Germany and The Netherlands on the first of December. 
The actions, along with press attention and mass meetings, are in protest to Unilever&rsquo;s decision to outsource 2,500 finance and shared services jobs to outside companies. 
The December date was chosen because it is then that the company will announce to workers outsourcing of human resource and shared services jobs to employment agency Accenture, and finance jobs to IBM. 
Unilever sites most heavily affected will be Rotterdam and Hamburg.

Workers at Unilever in Europe Take Protest Actions

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Canadian ICEM affiliate Power Workers&rsquo; Union (PWU), part of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), is calling on Ontario&rsquo;s provincial government to rethink its plans to close all coal-fuelled electric generation plants in Canada&rsquo;s largest province. 
Within the next few weeks, the Ontario Power Authority will release a report recommending the power source mix for the future and it is expected coal-fired plants&mdash;now 17% of Ontario&rsquo;s power supply&mdash;will be targeted for closure. 
PWU President Don MacKinnon said in a 24 November address that abandoning coal for generation will harm the industrial economy of the province. &ldquo;Given price and supply issues, it would be unwise to eliminate any one source of energy from our electrical generating mix,&rdquo; he said. PWU is urging the government to retrofit plants with clean-coal technology.

Power Workers Seek Retention of Coal-Fired Power Generation in Ontario

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China&rsquo;s second worst mine disaster of 2005 occurred yesterday when a gas explosion struck the Dongfeng Coal Mine in Qitaihe, Heilongjiang province. Some 250 miners were inside shafts of Heilongjiang Longme Group, a consortium of four state-owned coal businesses, when the explosion hit. The bodies of 51 miners were recovered, another 160 are still trapped, and 40 managed to escape. 
Year 2005&rsquo;s worst mine disaster in China occurred on 14 February when 214 coal miners perished when a gas explosion rocked a mine in Liaoning province. Last Thursday, 24 November, 17 miners drowned inside shafts after flooding at the Gaocun Coal Mine, Tuancheng Township, Hebei province.

Gas Blast in China on 27 November Kills Hundreds

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South Korea&rsquo;s two national labour centres, KCTU and FKTU, have pledged to call a general strike after the first of December. The strike would be in response to the government&rsquo;s plans to push labour reform through the National Assembly, including irregular workers legislation granting more flexibility to employers to use temporary workers and contract labour. 
The KCTU&mdash;Korean Confederation of Trade Unions&mdash;conducted a sit-down strike at the National Assembly on 22 November to call attention to the stalemate over the irregular workers&rsquo; bill. The two labour centres, the government and the Korean Employers Federation did return to tripartite consultations over this issue on 14 November, with talks scheduled to continue to 30 November. 
The discussions center on how long a company should be allowed to use temporary workers.

Fate of South Korea’s Irregular Workers’ Bill Coming Due

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PENGASSAN, ICEM&rsquo;s white-collar oil workers&rsquo; affiliate in Nigeria, insisted that the government agency charged with product pricing and regulation reverse current petroleum prices in line with the recent decreases to international oil prices. 
Meeting at its National Executive Council last week in Benin City in conjunction with a workshop on &ldquo;Labour and Challenges of Reforms in Oil and Gas Sectors,&rdquo; the President of the union, Uche Okoro, said it was time longstanding disputes over excessive use of expatriate and contract workers be met with firm action. 
PENGASSAN&rsquo;s President also expressed outrage at a campaign by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria to alter the country&rsquo;s constitution to allow President Olusegun Obasanjo to stand for a third four-term term in 2007. &ldquo;PENGASSAN suffered untold hardships and persecution in the struggle to bring about this democracy,&rdquo; said Okoro. &ldquo;We will not watch people abort it because of selfish interest. The first step to protecting democracy is to respect the constitution. There is no such provision as a third term in the constitution.&rdquo;

PENGASSAN Says No Third Term for Nigeria’s President

The 20-million-member ICEM has declared its support for trade unionists in Thailand who protest tomorrow, 24 November, in front of the country&rsquo;s Labour Ministry on Mitmitree Road, Dindaeng, Bangkok, over the misdirected use of contract and agency labour. 
 
The protest comes at a time when Thai Prime Minister Dr Thaskin Sinawatra is visiting the ministry. ICEM, a Global Union Federation representing 389 affiliated trade unions in 122 countries, including six in Thailand, has written the Prime Minister urging his direct involvement on this workplace issue. 
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Discharged workers at Goodyear's Bangkok tire plant
ICEM affiliates in Thailand have been faced with serious affronts of late from multinational employers intent on replacing permanent, full-time workers with employees from agencies. 
 
One glaring example in Thailand is at a Goodyear tyre factory. Some 18 workers in the warehouse and rubber stock area of the plant&mdash;all who worked under individual year-long contracts for as many as ten years&mdash;were sacked after joining the Goodyear union that is affiliated to ICEM member Petroleum and Chemical Federation of Thailand (PCFT). 
 
As the ICEM raised attention and global pressure on Goodyear management to change the practice, local management reacted by disengaging itself from short-term contracts, and brought in a labour agency to do the work. The agency refused to hire any of the 18. The ICEM finds such labour policies reprehensible, and the global union federation has protested in the strongest terms possible. 
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&ldquo;The Goodyear case is just one example in Thailand in which the issue of contract and agency labour is detrimental to the livelihoods of workers,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;We witness Goodyear and other employers say over and over how they want a loyal and proud workforce with a stake in the company. How is this possible when workers are not employed by the company?&rdquo; 
 
In the ICEM letter to Prime Minister Thaskin Sinawatra, Higgs cites a number of current labour disputes in Thailand, the issue of contract and agency labour is central in nearly all of them. He urges the Thai leader to give the matter serious attention and &ldquo;to consider the harm such labour practices bring to the overall social development in Thailand.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;I write this prior to a group of trade unionists&mdash;many of whom are members of trade unions affiliated to the ICEM&mdash;bringing this issue forward in a rally outside the Ministry of Labour,&rdquo; writes Higgs, &ldquo;and I implore you to hear their voice as it calls forth the ill-effects brought to workers, their families, entire communities when permanent jobs are replaced by contractors and agencies.&rdquo; 
 
Brussels-based ICEM is leading a global campaign on the issue of contract and agency labour. The federation is calling for proper controls on such labour practices in order to avoid displacement of direct employees. The ICEM is also calling on employers, governments and inter-governmental agencies to adopt simple and precise language on the use of contract workers and agency labour, stating that trade union representatives be consulted and dialogue occurs prior to when contracts for such labour practices go into effect. 
<hr />
Read the ICEM letter to the Thai Prime minister <a href="/index.php?id=73&amp;doc=1521&amp;la=EN">here</a>.
<hr />

Contract, Agency Labour Becomes Focal Workplace Issue in Thailand

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The global paper industry and its many individual workplaces face a large number of risks and dangers in the area of health and safety for workers. In addition to that, the industry also knows many environmental challenges, some of which are well known, such as the impact on the environment from forestry. 
 
At the ICEM World Conference for the Pulp and Paper Industry, in Brussels, on 15-16 November 2005, a comprehensive overview of these risks and challenges was presented by Reg Green, ICEM officer for Health, Safety &amp; Environment. 
 
His presentation, entitled &lsquo;Sustainability in the Pulp and Paper Sector&rsquo;, deals with the many hazards and dangers in this sector. Amongst other things, it discusses some of the key health and safety issues, such as the different problems related to the paper making equipment. Other issues include acute and chronic respiratory disorders and cancer. 
 
The presentation also discusses the main causes of injury in the pulp and paper sector. Towards the end, it suggests to&nbsp;increase the&nbsp;use of global framework agreements as&nbsp;a partial solution to the problem. 
 
Click <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0511REGpaperppt.ppt">here</a> for the complete presentation. 
<hr />

For more information on this conference, including background documents and presentations, click <a href="/index.php?id=147">here</a>.
<hr />

ICEM presentation on the Health and Safety risks in the Pulp and Paper Industry

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A lot of health and safety dangers exist at the many different locations and workplaces in the global materials industries, which includes the glass, cement and ceramics sectors. In addition, these industries also face a huge number of environmental challenges. 
 
At the ICEM World Conference for the Materials Industries, in Brussels, on 17-18 November 2005, a comprehensive overview of these risks and challenges was presented by Reg Green, ICEM officer for Health, Safety &amp; Environment. 
 
The presentation, entitled &lsquo;Towards a Safe and Sustainable Materials Sector&rsquo;, provides an in depth overview of the hazards and health dangers for each of the industrial sectors in the materials industries. It discusses a wide range of issues, going from the use of irritant coloring agents over toxic substances, heat problems or noise pollution to the many products used, such as asbestos, that are know to cause cancer. 
 
The document also suggests a hierarchy of preventive controls to avoid problems to happen in the first place, as prevention is, or - at least - should be, one of the key priorities in this area. 
Click <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0511REGmaterialsppt.ppt">here</a> for the complete presentation.
For more information on this conference, including background documents and presentations, click <a href="/index.php?id=148">here</a>.

ICEM presentation on the Health and Safety risks in the Materials Industries

The ICEM&rsquo;s two-day World Conference for the Materials Sector, covering the cement, glass and ceramics industries, discussed several labour disputes plaguing these industries, and took definitive action to build global trade union unity around these disputes. 
 
&ldquo;We call on all our affiliates to take note of the companies that have brought adverse labour relations to these workplaces,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs, &ldquo;and we also call on trade unions worldwide within these companies to bring these disputes to the attention of their own managements.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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From left to right: ICEM Materials officer Phee Jungsun, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs, vice-chairperson of the Materials conference Michel Decayeux and the newly elected chairperson Jim Hickenbotham.
Three of the ongoing disputes are in the US and involve two French-based companies, in addition to a Spanish concern. The fourth dispute happened in Belgium earlier this year, and was instigated by a glass company from Japan. 
 
In the US, Imerys, a French building materials company, continues to victimize members of the United Steelworkers (USW) at a calcium carbonate operation in Sylacauga, Alabama. Despite a vote by the 500 workers at the mine and processing plant to retain the union in a US government-conducted election, local managers discriminate against union members and violate terms of the collective agreement. 
 
At another workplace in the American South, a strike at Giant Cement in Harleyville, South Carolina, in August and September by the USW was met by local managers permanently replacing the strikers. This action was done by the company - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cementos Portland Valderrivas of Madrid, Spain - on the eve of strikers abandoning the strike on 23 September 2005. 
 
Delegates to the ICEM&rsquo;s Materials Sector conference also discussed the reprehensible actions by American managers of French-based Saint Gobain at an abrasives factory in Worcester, Massachusetts. A majority of 770 workers voted for representation by the United Auto Workers (UAW) in August 2001 and despite nearly four years and some 140 collective bargaining sessions, Saint Gobain managers refused to enter into an agreement. In January of this year, in a decertification vote against the union, the US government found management had used illegal means to influence the vote. 
 
The fourth dispute also was a strike, and involved a unilateral decision by Japanese management of Asahi Glass to shift production and make redundant over a quarter of 840 workers at Glaverbel&rsquo;s AGC Automotive glass plant in Fleurus, Belgium. The company initially refused social dialogue with ICEM affiliates CG-FGTB and SETCa-FGTB. 
 
The Materials Conference&nbsp;elected a new chairperson for the coming four-year period. Jim Hickenbotham, an officer for the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) from the US, was elected by acclamation, while Michel Decayeux, general secretary of CGT-FO F&eacute;d&eacute;chimie in France was elected vice chairperson. 
<hr />
To read the Declaration that&nbsp;was adopted at the conference, click <a href="/?id=77&amp;doc=1511">here</a>.
<hr />
For more information on this conference, including background documents and presentations, click <a href="?id=148">here</a>.
<hr />

Materials Conference Takes Global Approach in Countering Local Disputes

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