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Global worker No1 2022

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Four French unions last week, 18 February, approved average wage increases for 60,000 EDF (Electricit&eacute; de France) workers of 4.4% for 2010. CFDT, CGT, CFTC, and CFE-CGC won workers a progressive and far-sighted wage accord that has a base salary increase, plus increases based on seniority, training, incentives, and promotions. 
 
The 80% state-owned EDF will see half of its workforce retire over the next ten years, with 45% of the company&rsquo;s nuclear workers alone set to retire by 2015. An industry-wide increase of 1.2% that was negotiated last November and took effect on 1 January is also factored into the 4.4% average boost in salaries. The agreement also includes individual incentives of up to 1.8%. 

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Over two-thirds of the 60,000 workers, those employed in distribution and high-voltage electric utility positions, will realize average wage packages increases of 4.2%. The agreement also prioritises training and career advancement opportunities, and likely will prevent the labour unrest within EDF that was characterized by several industrial actions in 2009. 
 
The CFDT termed the agreement satisfactory, while the CGT, which for the first time in many years joined the other unions in approving the results of this bargain, said the new agreement makes up some of the lost purchasing power of the recent past. 
 
The company characterized the wage agreement as &ldquo;not exorbitant&rdquo; and said it reflects the will of management to heighten social dialogue with the unions, particularly on job formation and skill upgrades. The positive global financial results posted by EDF in 2009 also contributed to the amiable wage negotiations, with the company stating that the various wage packages granted French workers should contribute to optimal operational performance in 2010. 
 
EDF is the world&rsquo;s largest operator of nuclear power plants, with some 17 plants and 58 reactors in France alone.

French Unions, EDF Agree to Positive 2010 Wage Terms

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Last month, Bosnia-Herzegovina became the 24th country to ratify ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. Passage by the Parliament and ratification by the President of the Balkan nation came along with adoption of nine other ILO Conventions, several of which relate to safety and health. 
 
An ILO official in Sarejevo, Lejla Tanovic, explained that the ratifications came after the ILO invited the government to submit all Conventions passed after 1993 to respective entities and social partners within the country for consultation in an effort to &ldquo;catch-up&rdquo; on approving social conventions following the war in the former Yugoslavia. 

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In 2008, the Council of Ministers at state levels inside Bosnia-Herzegovina did begin consultations on ten ILO Conventions and after their approval in 2009, the ten were passed on to the Parliament. Prior to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the last two countries to ratify Convention 176 were Peru and Luxembourg in 2008. 
 
First instituted in 1995, ratification of Convention 176 means that a national government will thoroughly and regularly inspect and investigate mining activity, and will assure that safe and reliable emergency procedures are put in place. It also allows that workers can freely and without prejudice notify authorities and management of unsafe conditions, and they have the right to leave a mining operation in the event of serious risk. 
 
Mining employers operating in a country that has ratified No. 176 must seek to eliminate all mining deaths and accidents by controlling and reducing inherent mining risks. They must provide the necessary equipment and communication systems to guarantee full security, and they must strive to preserve the land and the environment. As well, employers must assure the well-being of the communities and the people near their mining holdings. 

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The ten Conventions ratified in January 2010 by Bosnia-Herzegovina, besides Convention 176 are: Convention 94, the Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention; Convention 174, the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention; Convention 175, the Part-Time Work Convention; Convention 177, the Home Work Convention; Convention 181, the Private Employment Agencies Convention; Convention 184, the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention; Convention 186, the Seafarers&rsquo; Identity Documents Convention; the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006; and Convention 188, the Work in Fishing Convention. 
 
Besides the three above-mentioned countries, the other 21 nations to ratify ILO Convention 176 include: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Botswana, Brazil, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Lebanon, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Ratifies Safety, Health in Mines Convention 176

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Leaders from ICEM trade union affiliates in India met in Kolkata on 3-4 September and officially formed an Indian ICEM Affiliates&rsquo; Council, with BK Das of the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF) selected as coordinator. At last week&rsquo;s meetings, the 21 delegates also formed a strategy around ICEM&rsquo;s Contract and Agency Labour Campaign, aimed at recruiting such workers into their unions. 
 
Union leaders from the Mining, Chemicals, Cement, and Diamond Polishing sectors took part in the two-day meeting, sponsored in part by the FES India office. The forum was organised as part of a strategic planning workshop on the impact of the economic crisis over employment conditions and challenges faced by unions.
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ICEM Gen. Sec. Manfred Warda Indian trade union leaders&nbsp; 

It was attended by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Phee Jungsun, ICEM Materials Officer and Asia-Pacific Regional Contact Person. 
 
Warda assured the Indian affiliates that they will receive sufficient resources to recruit contract and agency workers, as well as for the fight against HIV/AIDS. The ICEM is readying to staff a full-time project coordinator in India. 
 
India&rsquo;s ICEM affiliates agreed to select two delegates each to the Affiliates&rsquo; Council, with meetings held twice annually. A key emphasis will be improving the weak financial structures of most national level unions, with each affiliate promising to produce a report on its existing financial structure by December 2009. 
 
Delegates also committed to organize a level of 10% of contract or agency workers into their unions, as well as to construct a new joint project proposal on union-building with a priority on contract and agency workers. 
 
The Council also committed to explore ICEM affiliation with Indian petroleum unions, trade unions in the electric power sector, as well as those in the country&rsquo;s burgeoning pharmaceutical sector. 
 
While in India, Warda also attended a master training programme on HIV/AIDS awareness and education, sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer. He said this particular project in India has dedicated and committed trade unionists, people &ldquo;who are focused on bringing attention and then eradicating the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the Indian sub-continent.&rdquo; 

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ICEM Affiliates in India Form Council, Ready to Organise Contract and Agency Workers’

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Global labour&rsquo;s World Day for Decent Work next month will reveal a wide swath of economic, social, and gender neglect that assails millions of workers, but nowhere is that neglect as evident anywhere as it is to contract and agency workers. The ICEM, in unity with several other Global Union Federations (GUFs) and the Council of Global Unions, will use the day &ndash; 7 October, and indeed, the days before and after &ndash; to highlight the need to bring respectability and work rights to contract and agency workers.
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As part of ICEM&rsquo;s ongoing Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) Campaign, we are cooperating with other GUFs and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to call on affiliated trade unions and their members to participate actively in events in their countries. The ITUC is continually updating a website that lists events country by country. It can be found <a href="http://www.wddw.org">here</a>. 
 
The ITUC has produced a Campaign Guide for World Day for Decent Work, which can be found at that site, complete with ideas for actions, media events, and providing literature for worksites. The <a href="http://cal.icem.org/">ICEM&rsquo;s CAL Campaign site</a> contains the ICEM's CAL manual and other useful tools. 
In addition, the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) has produced material on Precarious Work for this years'&nbsp;7 October, which can be used by all, as all Global Union Federations, as well as the ITUC, signed of on it. The&nbsp;<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/PW_English.pdf ">booklet</a>, entitled, &ldquo;Precarious Work Affects Us All&rdquo;, as well as the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/PW_Poster_Print2.pdf">poster</a> can be, along with other materials for 7 October, found on the <a href="http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?n=696&amp;l=2">IMF's campaign site</a>. 
 
The global economic collapse over the past year has adversely affected most workers in nearly all sectors. But none more so than workers on the fringes of society, workers who live and toil in the shadows of humanity in conditions that will never be termed decent. Equal rights and equal treatment for temporary and agency workers is a prerequisite for a fair and just way of life for all.
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Workers&rsquo; representatives from throughout the world will speak in a unified voice in the days leading up to and following 7 October. That voice will call for a new globalisation that includes stable and quality jobs, better social protections, assurances that every worker has the right to form and join a trade union, to bargain collectively for the betterment of all, and most especially, a voice aimed at lifting the lowest among us to better and sustainable livelihoods. 
 
The ICEM encourages everyone to take part in activities around the Global Day of Action for Decent Work. 

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World Day for Decent Work, 7 October, Points to Plight of Contract, Agency Workers

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In a month&rsquo;s time, global trade unions will begin actions around the World Day for Decent Work, 7 October. And similarly to last year, the 20-million-member ICEM will focus activities on its Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) campaign, with specific emphasis this year on events in Thailand and Turkey. 
 
In Thailand, the ICEM&rsquo;s Thai Affiliates&rsquo; Committee has already begun joint preparations with Thai Electronics, Automotive, and Metalworking (TEAM) affiliates and trade unions affiliated to the Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) to bring unionization to CAL workers. The emphasis as well will be on stopping victimization and interference in union activities by both the Thai government and multinational employers. 

World Day for Decent Work in Thailand will also focus on the necessity for the government to ratify ILO Conventions 87 and 98, the freedom of association and right to organise and right to collective bargaining conventions. In addition, the ICEM Thai Affiliates&rsquo; Committee will work with the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers&rsquo; Association (IUF) on injustices committed by Unilever.
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Thai activities are likely to include a national trade union seminar, a march, media outreach, and literature and posters made available inside worksites. A further planning meeting on Thai actions around 7 October will occur this week. 
 
In Turkey, the Work Relations Group of the Council of Global Unions, together with Turkish trade union federations, will conduct activities throughout the early days of October against a backdrop of the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Those meetings are to be held on 6-7 October in Istanbul. 
 
On 1 October, the ICEM will lead Turkish affiliated unions and others into a meeting in Ankara with the country&rsquo;s Minister of Labour and Social Security. The purpose of that will be to press the Turkish government for full work rights for temporary and precarious workers. On 2 October, in Istanbul, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) General Secretary Guy Ryder, and other global labour leaders will hold a press conference related to World Day for Decent Work.
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Four Turkish trade union federations &ndash; T&Uuml;RK-İŞ, DİSK, KESK, and HAK-İŞ &ndash; have been asked to produce examples of abuse to precarious workers. T&Uuml;RK-İŞ is organizing a series of symposiums across the country on the issues of unemployment insurance and hired labour. One such forum is scheduled at Gazi University in Ankara on 7 October. 
 
In July, the ICEM teamed with affiliated Turkish unions and the federations to block a &ldquo;Private Labour Offices&rdquo; bill, proposed legislation that would have made it easy for individuals to register as labour brokers and then to dispatch temporary workers to enterprises. 
 
The draconian legislation was vetoed on 9 July by President Abdullah G&uuml;l. Although the immediate political climate is not suitable for the bill&rsquo;s return, it is far from dead and ICEM and trade unions hope to use 7 October activities to bury the measure for good. An ICEM report on the legislation can be found <a href="-Labour-Hire-Veto-Applauded-More-Work-Demanded">here</a>.&nbsp;

ICEM’s World Day for Decent Work Focus on Thailand, Turkey

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The ICEM was informed last week of Albanian President Sali Berisha&rsquo;s announcement to the national media, that the government will pass a bill in parliament to sequester all properties of Albanian trade unions. 
 
The announcement was made on 19 August, with the promise to push the Bill through within three months. 

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Trade unions in Albania have suffered continued discrimination from the national government in recent years. On 1 August 2007, both of the country&rsquo;s Trade Union Confederations, the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania (BSPSH) and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania (KSSH), were expelled from their headquarters and prohibited from exercising their normal activity. All property and documents inside the offices were destroyed by police. 
 
The threat of expropriation and police occupation of trade union premises has been continuous for many years. Since July 2006, the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) has called on the prime minister to start a dialogue with the Albanian trade union movement, in order to find a solution safeguarding the continuity of the social dialogue in Albania. 
 
The ICEM condemns this attack on the democratic trade unions of Albania. There will be a joint ILO-International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) delegation to Albania starting today, 24 August.

Expropriation of Albanian Trade Unions’ Property Condemned

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The Solvay workers of Brazil met for the fourth time under the auspices of the Solvay Network. The conference met 11-13 August, in Salvador de Bahia, on the northeast coast of Brazil. A new website was launched by the conference, as well as a new Action Plan for 2009-2010. See the new website <a href="http://redesolvaybrasil.ning.com">here</a>. 
 
The new website is designed to assist communication and coordination, and also participation of workers at the 14 Brazilian locations of the Belgian-based company. 
 
The new Action Plan lays out the Network&rsquo;s intentions to consolidate a new database of the different conditions and working relationships currently affecting members, a study into the inclusion of workers in the profits made by the company, and analysis of the commitment made by Solvay to the Charter on Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility. 

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That was signed in November 2008 between the company and the European Works Council (EWC). 
 
The meeting included visits to Solvay plants at Sim&otilde;es Filho, and brought together workers and trade unionists from organisations such as the Sindicato dos Quimicos do ABC, and Confederac&atilde;o Nacional dos Ramos Quimicos (CNQ/CUT), as well as from CUTMulti Project, Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Ind&uacute;stria Qu&iacute;mica, Petroqu&iacute;mica, the Chemicals and Plastics Union of S&atilde;o Paulo, the BASF Cama&ccedil;ari, and the Petrochemical and Allied Workers of Bahia Blanca (Argentina). 

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Network Coordinator, Juvenil Nunes da Costa
ICEM Vice-President for the Latin America/Caribbean Region, Sergio Novais, informed the Network that there will be a meeting next month with company management in Brussels, and called for meetings of the Network on training and exchange of experiences, in the month of November, in S&atilde;o Paulo. 
 
There is a strong prospect of a new process of social dialogue with the company. One priority of the Network is to make the Solvay management formally recognise the Solvay Network. 
 
The coordinator of the Network, Juvenil Nunes da Costa, described the meeting as a great success.

Solvay Workers’ Network Meets for Fourth Time in Brazil

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Slovakia declared 11-12 August a period of national mourning, after 20 miners died in an underground explosion in the town of Handlova, central Slovakia. It was the worst mining disaster in the country&rsquo;s history. 
 
All state institutions flew the nation&rsquo;s flag at half mast, starting at 08h00 on 11 August until 08h00 12 August following the 10 August mine blast at the Hornonitrianske Banke Mining Company&rsquo;s lignite coal mine. A public memorial for the departed miners was held on 20 August in Handlova. 
 
Hornonitrianske Banke Prievidza is Slovakia's top brown coal producer, supplying fuel to the nearby Novaky heating plant. 

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Recovery teams continued last week to search for the bodies of the fallen mineworkers, however finding survivors was impossible not a possibility. The mine&rsquo;s Director, Peter Cicmanec, stated that heat caused by the blast, and the high concentration of poisonous gases, put it beyond doubt that any of the missing miners would still be alive. 
 
Cicmanec has been criticised inside Slovakia for not making public condolences on the mine tragedy until the memorial service last week. 
 
The disaster was caused by a methane gas explosion, 330 metres underground, at around 09h30 on 10 August. Several of the deceased were fire fighters, who were in the shaft to put out small fires of self-igniting coal. The gases had been left in the shaft by previous &ldquo;imperfect combustion.&rdquo; 
 
Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek stated that nine workers were recovered from the mine and treated in a local hospital on Monday. 
 
Slovakian Prime Minister, Robert Fico, has promised financial aid to the families of the victims in the amount of &euro;33,000. He has also ordered an independent investigation into the cause of the accident. 
 
The mine produces 2.2 million tonnes of lignite per year and Hornonitrianske Banke Prievidza has plans to open new mines in the region after the discovery of deposits of some 7.2 million tonnes. 
 
A total of 445 people have lost their lives in the mines surrounding Handlova since 1915. But over the past 17 years, only 12 have died.

Slovakia Holds National Days of Mourning Following Mine Tragedy

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Seventy-seven Russian electric utility workers are dead following a massive explosion at a hydroelectric plant 17 August in the Khakassia Region of south Siberia. Workers at the site, Sayano-Shushenskaya, owned by the 60% state-run company RusHydro, are organised by ICEM affiliate Electroprofsoyuz. 
 
Russia&rsquo;s Emergency Situations Ministry warned in 1998 that the country&rsquo;s largest hydroelectric plant was desperately in need of major repairs, but little work had been done. The explosion occurred in the turbine hall of the dam, reportedly when a faulty turbine combined with a rise in pressure inside pipes caused the horrific explosion. 
 
On Saturday, 22 August, rescuers recovered 19 more bodies, bringing the death count to 66. Another 11 workers are thought to have perished, perhaps swept down the Yenisei River. 

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A day earlier, on 21 August, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the scene and announced families of the dead will each receive one million rubles (US$31,450) in compensation from RusHydro. Putin said the Russian government will match that amount. 
 
Workers were killed by drowning and crushed by crumbling debris. Some 40 tonnes of transformer oil spilled into the Yenisei. Five of ten turbines were destroyed as the explosion blew out walls and flooded the turbine hall. It is expected that reconstruction will take up to four years, at a cost of US$1.2 billion. 
 
The accident is expected to hike energy prices in the region by as much as 30%. The facility generates one-fourth of RusHydro&rsquo;s total power output and the plant supplies power to two aluminium smelters of RusAl. The company&rsquo;s director of corporate strategy said that 500,000 tons of annual aluminium production capacity is under threat, bringing expected production this year down from 4.4 million tonnes to 3.9 million. 
 
Last Wednesday, 19 August, was designated as an official day of mourning in the Khakassia region, some 3,000 km east of Moscow.

Blast at Russian Electric-Power Dam Kills 77

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Eight years after the murders of two trade unionist leaders, Valmore Locarno Rodriguez and Victor Hugo Orcasita Amaya, the Colombian judiciary has handed down the first convictions for their killers. 
 
The two leaders of Sintramienergica worked for the American mining multinational, Drummond. Jairo Charris Jesus, a member of the paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for his role in the murders. 
 
Locarno and Orcasita, president and vice president of Sintramienergetica, were killed on 12 March 2001, when they left the mine at the end of a working day. The bus in which they were travelling was intercepted by an armed group of the Northern Bloc of the AUC, in the village of Casa de Zinc, in El Paso province. 

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Victor&nbsp;Orcasita
Locarno was murdered there, while Orcasita was taken by the paramilitaries in a van, and found dead in a rural area the following day. Locarno&rsquo;s replacement in the union&rsquo;s leadership was Gustavo Soler Mora, who was murdered seven months after replacing Locarno. 
 
Charris was employed as &ldquo;security coordinator&rdquo; at the time of the killings for the contracting firm Industrial Food Services (ISA), a company that provided food to the mining camps of Drummond in Cesar department. Charris was found by the court to have given the order for the union leaders to be killed. 
 
Jairo de Jesus Charris sent written correspondence to the court, during his case, explaining that the murders had been planned with Colombian and American company executives. 

<img height="181" alt="" src="" width="205" />
Orcasita right, with other Sintramienergetica miners
Earlier this year Tolemaida Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, the Commander of the Bloque Norte, was extradited to the US for his part in the killings. 
 
Drummond has denied all links to paramilitary organisations, and all allegations of complicity in the killings. On 26 July 2007, a US federal district court in Alabama acquitted Drummond of any responsibility in a case brought under the US&rsquo;s Alien Tort Claims Act. A US appellate court later upheld the acquittal, despite the fact that witnesses from Colombia were not allowed to testify in the US federal court case. 
 
However, in May 2009, an attorney for Colombian plaintiffs &ndash; the families of Locarno and Orcasita &ndash; filed another US lawsuit against Drummond, accusing the company of paying paramilitaries to murder union and community leaders, as well as paying paramilitaries to protect the transport of coal by rail from Drummond&rsquo;s minds to the port of Cesar Ci&eacute;naga.

Murderer Convicted of Killing Colombian Drummond Trade Unionists

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