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Good living standards for Palestinian workers are crucial to peace in the Middle East, Israeli union leader Amir Peretz declared yesterday. &quot;Starving people do not believe in the Peace Process,&quot; Peretz added. 
 
He had just returned from Egypt, where he had discussions with President Mubarak. Peretz, who is Chairman of the Israeli general labour federation Histadrut, asked Mubarak to encourage closer relations between Egyptian and Israeli unions. At the global level, Histadrut is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), as are Egyptian chemical, petroleum and public utility unions. 
 
The Middle East peace process is essential to economic progress and development and to the well-being of all peoples living in the area, Peretz said on his return to Israel. Histadrut, he emphasised, stands firmly behind its policy that Palestinians must receive priority in employment opportunities, over foreign workers. 
 
Earlier, Peretz had taken part in a demonstration in Tel Aviv to demand Israeli government action against unemployment. The demonstration followed news of more factory closures in Israel.

Palestinian Living Standards Key, Israeli Union Leader Says

Potash workers in Belarus are leading the fight against anti-union measures brought in by the country's President, Alexander Lukashenko. 
 
The potash mining and fertiliser company Belkaliy, based in Soligorsk, has become the main focus of labour discontent with Lukashenko's rule. 
 
On 14 December, the Belarus Council of Ministers issued a decree banning the check-off of union dues. This was just the latest in a long series of anti-union measures ranging from the freezing of union bank accounts to surveillance by the state security service, the KGB. 
 
The unions are challenging the check-off ban in the courts, as the measure flouts existing collective agreements, labour laws and a previous ruling by the constitutional court. It also violates the international union rights standards set by the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) and ratified by Belarus. The ILO has repeatedly criticised breaches of freedom of association in Belarus. 
 
In Soligorsk on 11 January, two unions launched a campaign against the Lukashenko government's anti-union measures. Belkhimprofsouz and the Independent Union of Belarus held a rally at which workers unanimously condemned the illegal measures against trade unions and backed an appeal to end the persecution. They also demanded that the check-off ban be lifted by 1 February. Otherwise, a five-minute token strike would be held as a first protest, and other Belarussian unions would be invited to join. This was a powerful signal, as Belkaliy is the country's biggest earner of hard currency. 
 
At the global level, the unions at Belkaliy are affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
ICEM regional Vice-President Alexander Yurkin dispatched a protest letter to Lukashenko, while the ICEM's regional coordinator Andre Mrost sent a solidarity message to the rally in Soligorsk. Both documents were read out at the rally and were published in local union papers. 
 
Letters of protest to the Belarus government, and of solidarity to the Belarus unions, were also sent by the ICEM's Russian affiliates. Belarus and Russia have strong cultural ties. Indeed, a political union between the two countries has sometimes been mooted. Russian trade unions are therefore particularly concerned about recent developments in Belarus. Russia's President Putin is also understood to have pressed Lukashenko to reopen dialogue with the Belarussian unions. 
 
But Lukashenko has so far turned a deaf ear. Interviewed by the national press agency Belpan on 1 February, he repeated that he would not rescind the check-off ban. And he described trade unions as an &quot;army of idlers&quot;. 
 
 
 
 
OFFICIAL DISPUTE 
 
In another sign of the times, the planned token strike was declared illegal in advance by a Soligorsk court. The unions, already facing financial problems due to the check-off ban and other anti-union measures, were threatened with severe sanctions if they went ahead with the strike. 
 
So they decided instead to launch the procedure for declaring an official dispute with the company, even though the current labour legislation makes this a very time-consuming business. 
 
Amongst other things, it entails the holding of branch meetings to formulate the union's demands, followed by a conference of delegates who have to be specially elected for the occasion. 
 
As the two unions at Belkaliy have separate collective agreements, they were also required to hold separate conferences. First off was Belkhimprofsouz. The ICEM Vice-President and regional coordinator arrived on the eve of the conference and discussed final preparations with the union's President, Ludmila Grushetskaya. 
 
The union decided to put only one item on the conference agenda: a request to management to continue the check-off of union dues, in line with the collective agreement. Failure to meet this demand would automatically trigger an official dispute. 
 
Invited to the conference, Belkaliy managers argued that they could not comply, as the company is state-owned and has to obey the government. They also claimed that the threat of a dispute had led the firm's fertiliser customers in places as far away as South Korea to think twice about signing new contracts. 
 
To roars of laughter from the audience, a mineworker shouted back: &quot;You say that in South Korea, which is several thousand miles away, they've already heard about our dispute. Yet the leadership of our country, just 130 km away in Minsk, seem completely unaware of it. Why don't you, the company management, enlighten them?&quot; 
 
Guest speakers at the conference included Franz Vitko, the newly elected President of the Belarus Trade Union Federation, as well as the ICEM Vice-President and regional coordinator. 
 
A secret ballot produced overwhelming support for the demand: 359 in favour, 37 against and 14 abstentions, so the chemical union is now engaged in an official dispute on the check-off issue. The next steps will be negotiation and arbitration. This will pave the way for the chemical workers and other unions to use the same procedure against the check-off ban at other sites. The Independent Union of Belarus and its President, Viktor Babaed, have also launched this procedure. 
 
Meanwhile, the Belarus unions' national federations are planning a national day of action after 20 March. 
 
The ICEM's Eastern European unions are considering possible financial assistance, plus a wider appeal to ICEM affiliates elsewhere. Belarus unions favour the idea of picketing Belarussian embassies around the world. 
 
 
 
 
PRIVATISATION THREAT 
 
Privatisation is another issue now faced by the Belarussian chemical unions. The government has ordered the privatisation of the entire Belneftekhim Group before 19 March this year. The group's production ranges from chemicals through rubber and fertilisers to oil refining. 
 
The unprecedented speed of the privatisation suggests that the government intends to use the check-off dispute to exclude the unions from a say in the privatisation process. Recognising the danger, the Independent Union of Belarus has asked the ICEM to organise a series of workshops to prepare its local branches for an active role in the privatisation.

Belarus Potash Workers Lead Fight Against Anti-Union Decrees

An American union has won a recognition vote at plastics manufacturer DSM Polymer - with the active involvement of a Dutch union. 
 
Both the American union OCAW and the Dutch union FNV Bondgenoten are affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions. DSM Polymer is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dutch-based multinational DSM. 
 
In fact, this was the second union election at the plastics plant in Wytheville, Virginia. Back in January 1996, the workers there had already voted for the OCAW to represent them. But management refused to recognise the result of the first election. In more than 30 negotiating sessions, the company made only minor concessions. Management offered contract [collective agreement] provisions below the existing ones in order to keep the union from securing a contract. 
 
FNV Bondgenoten, which organises DSM workers in the Netherlands, was directly involved in the second election campaign at the US plant. In December, Dutch trade unionists travelled to Wytheville to investigate OCAW charges that DSM had engaged in union-busting there. And last week, just before the vote, another Dutch delegation visited the plant to talk to the workers about the importance of trade unions. 
 
The Bondgenoten's efforts helped to clinch the US ballot, the OCAW believes. Robert Wages, OCAW President and a member of the ICEM Executive, said the direct involvement of Dutch trade unionists in the election &quot;is unprecedented and signals a growing awareness of the necessity for unions to work together in the global economy.&quot; 
 
&quot;We extend our deep and profound appreciation to our Dutch brothers and sisters and congratulate the workers in Wytheville who have waged a long and bitter struggle for economic justice and worker rights,&quot; Wages declared. 
 
And Bondgenoten representative Henk Walravens commented: &quot;Both Dutch and American workers have sent a strong message to the DSM Board of Directors in the Netherlands that it is time to settle long-standing differences and negotiate fairly with OCAW and its workers.&quot; 
 
The workers' vote &quot;has decided the question of representation,&quot; emphasised OCAW International Representative Steve Gentry, who coordinated the two-year campaign. Now, he said, &quot;we can move on to develop a constructive collective bargaining relationship benefiting both the company and the workers.&quot;

US-Dutch Union Victory At DSM

Power multinational Endesa will meet unions from its operations worldwide in a regular global council, under an agreement signed at the company's headquarters in Madrid today. 
<img height="138" alt="" src="" width="350" />
Global union-management consultations are central to the ICEM's new agreement with Endesa. 
Photo: Endesa 
Union rights, health and safety, vocational training, labour relations, company prospects and employment trends are the main topics listed for consideration by the new council. 
<img height="70" alt="" src="" width="80" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="71" alt="" src="" width="70" />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="68" alt="" src="" width="50" />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="70" alt="" src="" width="70" /> 
 
The global agreement was signed by Endesa Chairman Rodolfo Mart&iacute;n Villa and CEO Rafael Miranda Robredo; by Josu Frade, General Secretary of the Spanish industrial workers' union FIA-UGT; by Ignacio Fern&aacute;ndez Toxo, General Secretary of the Spanish mining and metallurgy workers' federation FM-CC.OO; and by Fred Higgs, General Secretary of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). Both the Spanish unions are ICEM affiliates. 
<img height="136" alt="" src="" width="175" /><img height="137" alt="" src="" width="175" />
At the signing (l. to r.): FM-CC.OO's General Secretary Ignacio Fern&aacute;ndez Toxo; Endesa Corporate Human Resource Manager Germ&aacute;n Medina; the interpreter; ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs; FIA-UGT General Secretary Josu Frade; Endesa's CEO Rafael Miranda; Chairman Rodolfo Mart&iacute;n Villa; and Jos&eacute; Bogas, General Manager of Electricity Business. 
photos: Endesa 
 
The union rights, safety and training provisions of the new global agreement are specifically linked to the international standards set by the Conventions of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). The agreement also includes commitments to &quot;providing the highest possible standards of service&quot; and to &quot;support and maintenance of Endesa's expansion plans to enable its activities and employment to grow&quot;. 

<img height="199" alt="" src="" width="193" />
&nbsp;Endesa employs about 28,000 people worldwide in electricity, gas, mining and a number of other sectors. 
photo: Endesa 

The new global council will include one union representative from &quot;every country outside of Spain wherever Endesa has companies that it controls.&quot; All unions taking part must be affiliated to the ICEM. In addition, the ICEM gains the right to send a representative to the existing union-management meetings at the Spanish level, whenever these deal with topics that have an international dimension. 
 
Endesa is one of the world's major private electricity groups, with a total installed capacity of 43 000 MW, a distributed capacity of 165 000 GWh and 20 million customers in 12 countries. It also has interests in gas distribution, mining, water treatment, telecommunications and new technologies. It employs about 28,000 people worldwide, of whom approximately 15,000 are in Spain. 

<img height="208" alt="" src="" width="201" />
&nbsp;Union rights, health and safety, vocational training, labour relations, company prospects, employment trends - all topics for discussion in the new global union-management council. 
Photo: Endesa 

&quot;This new agreement is a major step forward both for Endesa's workers and for the company,&quot; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs in Madrid this afternoon. &quot;It ensures that ICEM-affiliated unions are fully recognised in the company's operations worldwide, and gives them a proper say. At the same time, it gives the company a guarantee of the workforce's commitment to the highest standards of service worldwide and to ENDESA's expansion plans. The linkage to ILO standards is an important yardstick. It also ensures that the agreement is fully compatible with the UN's Global Compact initiative and will hel&quot;We congratulate Endesa and our Spanish affiliates on their far-sightedness,&quot; Higgs added. &quot;We already have global agreements with the energy multinational Statoil and the materials multinational Freudenberg, and we are in the process of negotiating a number of other agreements with global companies in our sectors. In their own interests, as well as those of their workers, we urge multinationals in all the ICEM's industries to conclude global agreements with us as soon as possible.&quot;&nbsp;

Endesa Signs Global Framework Agreement

Nigerian oil workers' leaders Milton Dabibi and Frank Kokori are among trade unionists invited to take part in a UN-backed world conference on oil refining this month. 
 
Normally, there would be nothing unusual in that. They are, after all, the elected representatives of Nigeria's oil workers. 
 
 

<img height="158" src="" width="110" alt="" /><img height="158" src="" width="123" alt="" />
Jailed oilworkers' leaders Milton Dabibi (left) and Frank Kokori. 
Will they be freed in time for the UN-backed conference? 

The only problem is that they are both in jail. Kokori has been detained without charge or trial by the Nigerian military regime since 1994, and Dabibi since January 1996. 
 
The oil refining conference, to be held on 23-27 February in Geneva by the UN's International Labour Organisation, will bring together representatives of the world's governments, oil companies and oil unions. In line with usual practice, the ILO Governing Body has invited named employer and worker representatives from the countries involved, on the basis of nominations submitted by its employer and worker groups. 
 
Together with Milton Dabibi and Frank Kokori, Nigerian government and oil company representatives have been invited to take part in the ILO conference, officially titled the Tripartite Meeting on Employment and Industrial Relations Issues in Oil Refining. 
 
But if the Nigerian oil workers' elected leaders are not let out of jail to attend, the Nigerian delegation may find its credentials under challenge by the world's oil worker representatives, led by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). Both the Nigerian unions are ICEM affiliates. 
 
Frank Kokori, General Secretary of oil and gas workers' union NUPENG, and Milton Dabibi, General Secretary of oil and gas workers' union PENGASSAN, are recognised by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience. 
 
Both men have been refused access to lawyers and to their unions. 
 
Dabibi and Kokori are now in very poor health and are being denied medical treatment. A number of other detainees have died in Nigerian jails over the past few months. 
 
The world trade union movement as a whole has called on Nigerian Head of State General Sani Abacha to release Milton Dabibi and Frank Kokori without further delay. The union internationals have put the Nigerian government on notice of targeted action against Nigerian oil exports if the two men are not freed. 
 
World union, employer and government delegates within the ILO have repeatedly ruled that Nigeria is flouting international Conventions on basic labour rights. 
 
Topics at this month's Geneva meeting will include how to promote freedom of association and collective bargaining in the oil refining industry. The views of the Nigerian government and employer delegates, if they are still there, should prove fascinating. The Nigerian oil workers' unions are currently under direct government administration, while their elected leaders rot in jail. 
 
The Nigerian economy is almost entirely dependent on oil exports. Can the country's authorities now move fast enough to prevent a major embarrassment in full view of the world's governments, oil companies and oil unions?

Jailed Nigerian Union Leaders Nominated For World Oil Industry Meet

Trade unions with membership in the Rio Tinto corporation today launched a worldwide network to defend workers' pay and rights within the minerals giant. 
 
The decision came at the end of a three-day conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. Organised by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), the Johannesburg conference brought together 45 delegates from unions in 14 countries where Rio Tinto is particularly active. 
 
Rio Tinto is the biggest global minerals company. It employs some 51,000 people directly worldwide, and many more through subcontractors. Its anti-union stance in many parts of the world has made it a priority target for ICEM action. 
 
This morning, the Johannesburg conference decided [full text of resolution]: 
 
1. to establish a network of trade unions with membership within Rio Tinto mines and plants. This structure will have the capacity to exchange information rapidly and efficiently on matters such as conditions of work and pay, social and environmental issues. Resources will be allocated to ensure that this structure is sustainable in the long term. 
 
2. to build up a thorough understanding of the company's operations and policies. A database of information will be established which will be shared with the members of the network and with the public at large. 
 
3. to adopt a concerted strategy to ensure that Rio Tinto respects basic human and trade union rights. This concerted strategy is backed by an action programme which will unfold in the coming months. The action programme will be implemented together with other international trade union bodies, community groups, environmentalists, churches and other progressive organisations which recognise the damaging impact of Rio Tinto's operations. One essential part of the action programme is that union action at local level will be backed by the entire network globally. 
 
[end of resolution] 
 
The Johannesburg conference included a meeting with South African President Nelson Mandela yesterday. Heading the ICEM delegation at those talks was former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Rio Tinto is engaged in a particularly aggressive union-busting campaign in Australia, with the support of the current anti-union federal government there. 
 
For more on the Mandela-Hawke talks, see ICEM News release 7/1998.

Rio Tinto: World&#039;s Unions Launch Action Network

&quot;We condemn in the strongest terms any government or multinational company that does not allow collective bargaining.&quot; That was the clear statement from South African President Nelson Mandela this morning in Johannesburg. He was meeting representatives of unions worldwide that organise within the biggest global minerals company, Rio Tinto. 
 
 

<img height="257" alt="" src="" width="380" />
UNITED FOR LABOUR RIGHTS 
l. to. r. former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, South African miners' President James Motlatsi, South African President Nelson Mandela, Australian miners' President John Maitland, ICEM General Secretary Vic Thorpe 
(photo: Oscar G.) 
As for South Africa, Mandela said, &quot;Collective bargaining is firmly entrenched in our laws.&quot; 
 
South Africa is one of the countries where Rio Tinto is under fire for anti-trade union policies. 
 
Another is Australia, where the multinational is embroiled in major disputes over its attempts to de-unionise mines and halt collective bargaining. 
 
Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke headed the delegation from the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) which met President Mandela this morning. 
 
The ICEM's aim is to make Rio Tinto &quot;a good corporate citizen,&quot; Hawke told a press conference. The minerals giant, which operates more than 60 mines in 40 countries, employs some 51,000 people directly, and many more through subcontractors. Its anti-union stance in many parts of the world has made it a priority target for ICEM trade union networking. 
 
Hawke mocked the company's &quot;psycho-babble&quot; about its &quot;relationship&quot; with its workers. In fact, Hawke said, Rio Tinto are &quot;mining our resources while they undermine our unions.&quot; 
 
The Hawke-Mandela meeting will come as a blow to Australia's anti-union federal government, which has given political and legislative support to Rio Tinto's union-busting. 
 
Organised by the ICEM, the Johannesburg conference is continuing until Monday 9 February. It involves some 40 representatives of unions from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Namibia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Sweden, South Africa, UK, USA and Zimbabwe. All represent workers in major Rio Tinto operations. 
 
Hosting the event is South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The union's President James Motlatsi, who is an ICEM Vice-President, said the NUM was targeting Rio Tinto and other mining companies operating in South Africa because of the &quot;atrocities&quot; in their work practices. The Johannesburg conference is part of something new and big in world trade unionism, Motlatsi said. &quot;We realise this will be a long-term process, and we are ready for the long haul.&quot; 
 
&quot;It is time that we called Rio Tinto to account,&quot; ICEM Australian Vice-President John Maitland told the Johannesburg conference. Maitland is General President of the ICEM-affiliated mining and allied workers' union CFMEU, which has been the main target of Rio Tinto's anti-union strategies in Australia. 
 
Rio Tinto &quot;says it plays by the rules, but where it doesn't like the rules it gets them changed,&quot; Maitland told his international audience. &quot;Mike Angwin, a senior Rio Tinto manager, was lent to the [Australian federal] government expressly for the purpose of rewriting Australian laws to make it harder for unions to represent workers.&quot; 
 
And Maitland warned unions from other countries: &quot;If Rio Tinto hasn't come for you yet, it is only a matter of time until they do.&quot; Globally, Maitland insisted, &quot;we must say that fundamental labour rights are not negotiable. That the right to freedom of association and to bargain collectively should not only be a right but should be actively promoted. That as a global corporate citizen Rio Tinto must respect these basic labour rights.&quot; 
 
All this implied that unions must organise globally, as well as nationally and locally. The ICEM is, Maitland said, &quot;an international union which has repeatedly proven its worth in taking on the big and the unaccountable of this world.&quot; 
 
The call for global union organising around the Rio Tinto issue was backed by ICEM General Secretary Vic Thorpe. The Johannesburg meeting would develop strategies to tackle Rio Tinto's practices, Thorpe said. This would entail mobilising the ICEM's 20 million members on all continents, but would also mean building alliances with other groups that identify Rio Tinto as a &quot;rogue company.&quot; The minerals giant has come under growing attack by community groups worldwide over its poor social and environmental record.

&quot;Defend Collective Bargaining&quot; Mandela Tells World&#039;s Rio Tinto Unions

Moss Evans, an outstanding leader of the British and international trade union movements, died in England on 12 January at the age of 76. 
 
 

<img height="267" alt="" src="" width="239" />
 
He was born into an impoverished Welsh mining family which later moved to the industrial city of Birmingham in search of work. There, the young Moss Evans took a series of industrial jobs and soon became involved in trade unionism. By 1951, he was a shop steward, and in 1956 he became a full-time district union officer. In 1966, he moved to the London headquarters of the Transport and General Workers Union (T&amp;G), where he consecutively led its sections for engineering, oil and chemicals and the motor industry. He was elected as the T&amp;G General Secretary in 1978. 
 
An active internationalist, Moss Evans was from 1983 to 1986 the President of the ICEF, a forerunner of the present-day International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). With great skill, he guided the International through the most difficult period of its history, and the ICEM owes much of its strength to his dedication and foresight. 
 
Throughout his retirement, he maintained a lively interest in the ICEM and its campaigns. In November 1999, he was a guest of honour at the ICEM World Congress in Durban, South Africa, where he took part in the Unite And Organise march held by delegates from ICEM unions worldwide. (Our photo was taken at that rally). 
 
ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs comments: &quot;Having known Moss Evans ever since we were officers of the same union, and having served under his leadership at the T&amp;G, I know he was a giant in terms of his ability as a trade union leader. He was always great company and support for all of those around him and he will be sorely missed by his family, his friends and the whole of the trade union movement.&quot;

Tribute To Moss Evans

South African President Nelson Mandela is likely to meet next week with leaders of trade unions organising worldwide in Rio Tinto, the world's biggest minerals company. 
The talks with Mandela are scheduled as part of a meeting in Johannesburg on 7-9 February, aimed at establishing a global network of unions with members in Rio Tinto. Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke will also be taking part in the meeting, which will draw up a long-term trade union strategy vis-a-vis Rio Tinto. 
 
The company's anti-union stance in many parts of the world is of growing concern to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which is organising the Johannesburg meeting. Rio Tinto is also under attack by many community groups because of its poor social and environmental record. 
 
Some 40 representatives of unions from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Namibia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Sweden, South Africa, UK, USA and Zimbabwe will attend the talks. All participants will represent workers in major Rio Tinto operations. 
 
Hosting the event is South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), whose President James Motlatsi will be among the principal speakers. Motlatsi is a Vice-President of the ICEM. 
 
One country where unions have been feeling the full brunt of Rio Tinto's de-unionisation attempts recently is Australia. John Maitland, ICEM Vice-President and General President of Australian miners' union the CFMEU, will make a major presentation on the aims of the planned new Rio Tinto union network, as will ICEM General Secretary Vic Thorpe. 
 
The meeting will also hear from British solicitor Richard Meeran. He is acting on behalf of Scottish engineer Edward Connelly, who is currently pursuing Rio Tinto through the British courts. Connelly contracted cancer of the larynx after working at Rio Tinto's Rossing uranium mine in Namibia.

Mandela to Meet World&#039;s Unions Over Rio Tinto Abuses?

<img height="65" alt="" src="" width="75" />&nbsp; <img height="69" alt="" src="" width="163" />&nbsp; <img height="73" alt="" src="" width="55" />
Leading nonwoven and allied products multinational Freudenberg has renewed its global agreement with the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
First signed in July 2000, the agreement covers trade union rights, workplace equality, protection of health, safety and the environment and a ban on child labour and forced labour. It has now been prolonged, without amendment, up to 31 December 2002. 
 
 

<img height="222" alt="" src="" width="300" />
photo: Fritz Kopetzky 

The agreement with the ICEM encompasses Freudenberg's long-standing business principles, notably &quot;the social commitment that the Freudenberg Group has towards all its employees.&quot; It specifically recognises that full cooperation and consultation with workers and their unions are the best way of furthering the interests of the company and its shareholders. 
 
All sites of German-headquartered Freudenberg and its subsidiaries worldwide are covered by the agreement. It was negotiated in cooperation with the ICEM-affiliated German mining, chemical and energy workers' union IG BCE, which is a co-signatory. 
 
Freudenberg employs more than 30,000 people in over 40 countries. It processes elastomers and plastics to obtain a broad product range, including seals, moulded plastic components, vibration control products, nonwovens for a variety of applications, special lubricants, flexible printed circuit boards and household products, floor coverings and footwear. In 2000, its sales reached &euro;4154m (about US$3700m). 
 
 

<img height="242" alt="" src="" width="186" />
Union rights, workplace equality, health, safety and environment are all part of the agreement, as is a ban on child labour and forced labour. 
(photo: Fritz Kopetzky) 

The emphasis in the global agreement is strongly on trade union rights and other human rights. Specifically cited as touchstones are the relevant Conventions of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). Through the agreement with the ICEM, Freudenberg undertakes to respect, as a minimum, Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining; Convention 135 on non-discrimination against union reps; Conventions 100 and 111 on equal opportunities and treatment; Conventions 29 and 105 on forced labour; and Convention 138 on child labour. 
 
Significantly, the agreement provides for ICEM monitoring and for annual meetings between Freudenberg's global management and the ICEM. Both sides commit themselves &quot;to contact each other directly and immediately in case any conflicts or violations of the agreement arise, in order to seek a common solution.&quot; 
 
This is the crucial difference between a global agreement and the internal codes of conduct adopted by many multinationals. The Freudenberg agreement is fully verifiable by the ICEM. 
 
The agreement clearly acknowledges &quot;the right of the employees in the Freudenberg Group to freely join trade unions of their choice, to elect workers' representatives and represent their interests in negotiations concerning collective bargaining agreements.&quot; It is &quot;part of the cooperation and confidence&quot; between Freudenberg and its workers that &quot;wherever the employees wish to organise themselves in trade unions, and trade unions apply for recognition, ways are sought to develop good labour relations in joint dialogue.&quot; This &quot;rules out any kind of unequal treatment, discrimination or sanctions against trade union organisation.&quot; 
 
Freudenberg also commits itself to &quot;sustainable protection of the environment and natural resources&quot; and to ensuring the safety of the workplace and of its products. 
 
It further &quot;condemns involvement in unethical or illegal business&quot; and undertakes not to produce &quot;weapons or any kind of war materials similar to weapons.&quot; 
 
&quot;Confidence and cooperation between management, employees and their representatives, innovation and flexibility in work organisation are the basis for the employees' future success and that of the Freudenberg Group,&quot; the agreement says. Every effort will be made to achieve &quot;a consensus about the introduction of flexible, efficient and customer-oriented forms of work organisation&quot;, while taking account of &quot;the needs of the employees.&quot; 
 
&quot;The renewal and extension of this agreement show that it is working both for the company and for the unions,&quot; commented ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &quot;Over the coming year, both the company and ourselves are committed to improving communication for both management and workers, to ensure that there is full understanding of the agreement and of its commitments and objectives. We believe that it is in the best interests of all multinationals in our sectors to negotiate such agreements with the ICEM.&quot;

Freudenberg Renews Global Labour Agreement With ICEM

Archive

Palestinian Living Standards Key, Israeli Union Leader Says

Belarus Potash Workers Lead Fight Against Anti-Union Decrees

US-Dutch Union Victory At DSM

Endesa Signs Global Framework Agreement

Jailed Nigerian Union Leaders Nominated For World Oil Industry Meet

Rio Tinto: World's Unions Launch Action Network

"Defend Collective Bargaining" Mandela Tells World's Rio Tinto Unions

Tribute To Moss Evans

Mandela to Meet World's Unions Over Rio Tinto Abuses?

Freudenberg Renews Global Labour Agreement With ICEM

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