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French ICEM affiliate F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Chimie Energie CFDT is calling for a tripartite commission to be established to resolve wage talks in the paper carton industry of France. The trade union rejects the inferior minimum levels put forward by the trade industry grouping Nationale des Industries Papeti&egrave;res pour les Affaires Sociales (l&rsquo;Unipas). FCE-CFDT says the heavy pressure to hold down wages will not be good for this papermaking sector since workers will become reluctant to take promotions into jobs requiring higher technical skills. <br />
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French Affiliate Seeks Wage Hikes in Paper Sector

Tomorrow, a general strike will occur throughout France, called by the nation&rsquo;s five major trade union confederations. French workers are saying no to privatisations, no to the new jobs contract proposed by the government, no to erosion of job security, and yes to public service investments and fair pay gains. Some 140 public demonstrations will be held across France, and a weekend opinion poll says 74% of French citizens support the day of actions. The strike has postponed&mdash;at least temporarily&mdash;a government campaign to promote partial privatisation of Electricit&eacute; de France (EDF). Release of analysts&rsquo; reports of EDF&rsquo;s initial public offering commissioned by the government have been ordered delayed until after 4 October strikes.

French Trade Unions Stage 4 October Actions

The Canadian government was target of a 9 September International Day of Protest against the export of asbestos products. Unions in Australia, Asia, India, Africa and Latin America joined the protest against Canada&rsquo;s government, which bans the sale of asbestos products to its own citizens yet profits by export of it. Canada is the world&rsquo;s third largest exporter of asbestos products. Demonstrators gathered in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, Australia, demanding a ban, and Canadian embassies in 12 countries were delivered strongly-worded letters asking for Canada to stop its asbestos exports. In Japan, where 60% of all asbestos comes from Canada, three unions sent a high-level delegation to the Tokyo embassy of Canada formally requesting that its export promotion policy be terminated.

Global Unions Protest Canada&#039;s Asbestos Exports

French oil refinery workers at Total began partial disruptions to production late on 6 September, successfully making the global oil company modify its disciplinary actions against four workers the next day. The four were exclusively blamed for a fuel leak on 7 August at a refinery in Marseille. The refineries in which job actions occurred included Donges, Saint-Nazaire; Normandie, LeHavre; Grandpuits near Paris; Feyzin, Lyon; and the Provence refinery, Marseille.

French Total Workers Strike over Disciplinary Measures

Eighteen Russian coalminers on Sakhalin Island ended their 11-day hunger strike 142 meters underground 9 September when they won backwages totaling four million roubles for 428 miners for the month of June at the bankrupt Sakhalinugol mining firm. They also won assurances that July and August wages due them will be paid this month through sale of mining equipment. The coalmine shut in August. Separate from the strike, the trustee of the mining enterprise in the Uglegorsk region, Tatyana Dmitriyeva, was arrested in early September and charged with profiteering from sale of mining and earth-moving equipment prior to the mid-August shutdown.

Sakhalin Miners End Strike

Eight trade union leaders of ICEM Malaysian affiliate National Union of Employees in Companies Manufacturing Rubber Products (NUECMRP) are still seeking reinstatement to their jobs at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Selangor after more than a year&rsquo;s time. The eight were dismissed for various reasons after the union called attention to unfair treatment of workers from Nepal, Burma and Vietnam. The union also has protested strongly against the contract and agency labour practices of Goodyear, which utilizes a firm that deploys workers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to avoid employment responsibility. Efforts at achieving justice for the eight have been blocked by the Malaysian Human Resource Minister&rsquo;s refusal to bring the dismissals before an industrial court. Goodyear has continued to exploit foreign workers at the 500-worker factory with lower pay, and denying them annual leave and medical leave per employment standards. The US-based company has also rebuffed NUECMRP&rsquo;s requests to create permanent, domestic jobs when vacancies occur at the factory. <br />

Malaysian Affiliate Still Sees Problems with Goodyear

In Nepal from 10-12 September, presence of top-level global trade union leaders made a march and working seminar entitled Wider National Workers&rsquo; Conference both peaceful and unprecedented for the Himalayan country. Some 1,800 workers and their representatives from Nepal&rsquo;s three national union centers marched from Dilli Bazaar in Katmandu into a mass meeting at Padmakanya High School in Naya Baneshwore on 10 September denouncing the Nepalese monarchy&rsquo;s autocratic rule and calling for an &ldquo;absolute democracy&rdquo; that ensures workers&rsquo; and human rights. The conference adopted a 15-point resolution and a declaration calling the weekend event a turning point for all Nepal&rsquo;s workers to escape the killings, torture, suppression and harassment imposed on them by both the ruling monarchy and extremist political forces inside Nepal. <br />

Nepal Conference to Challenge Authoritarian Rule

Mass protests rather than a general strike have begun in Nigeria to protest the government&rsquo;s 26 August fuel price hike. ICEM oil workers&rsquo; union affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN have joined the rallies, which began 14 September to continue for two weeks. The government hiked the price of gas and diesel fuels by 40% in efforts to reduce subsidies and bring the price in line with global prices. Despite being one of the world&rsquo;s leading exporters of crude, Nigeria depends on imports of refined fuels to meet domestic demand because the country&rsquo;s five refineries under-perform from lack of capitalization. Nigerian unions are using the protests to get the government to roll back the fuel price hikes, as well as to demand higher wages incorporating cost-of-living increases.

Nigerians to Stage Protests Against Fuel Price Hikes

France's five main trade union confederations have issued a call for day-long strikes and demonstrations on 4 October aimed at creating job protection and greater purchasing power from workers&rsquo; wages. Specifically, manifestations on that day will France&rsquo;s five main trade union confederations have issued a call for day-long protest the new and extended terms of temporary job contracts created by Prime Minister Dominque deVillepin, considered a crucial threat to job security. The five unions calling for workers both in the public and private sectors to take strike action are CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT and CGT-FO.strikes and demonstrations on 4 October aimed at creating job protection and greater purchasing power from workers&rsquo; wages. Specifically, manifestations on that day will France&rsquo;s five main trade union confederations have issued a call for day-long protest the new and extended terms of temporary job contracts created by Prime Minister Dominque deVillepin, considered a crucial threat to job security. The five unions calling for workers both in the public and private sectors to take strike action are CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT and CGT-FO.

Day of Action in France on 4 October 2005

Hundreds of thousands of Australian workers will take to the streets 15 November to protest the Howard government&rsquo;s proposed reforms to industrial relations, reforms that are expected to be tabled in Parliament by late October. Called a National Day of Community Protest, the event is being coordinated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and will feature a satellite link-up to hundreds of locations across Australia spelling out the loss of workers&rsquo; rights if the reforms are adopted. The nationwide Union Meeting, as it is billed, is expected to become a one-day national strike against the union-smashing measures being put forward by Prime Minister John Howard following the Conservatives new majority in the Parliament&rsquo;s Senate.

Australians to Protest Labour Reform 15 November

Archive

French Affiliate Seeks Wage Hikes in Paper Sector

French Trade Unions Stage 4 October Actions

Global Unions Protest Canada's Asbestos Exports

French Total Workers Strike over Disciplinary Measures

Sakhalin Miners End Strike

Malaysian Affiliate Still Sees Problems with Goodyear

Nepal Conference to Challenge Authoritarian Rule

Nigerians to Stage Protests Against Fuel Price Hikes

Day of Action in France on 4 October 2005

Australians to Protest Labour Reform 15 November

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