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Nepal&rsquo;s despotic monarchy ordered a day-long curfew on 20 January, which prevented planned demonstrations in Kathmandu and neighbouring Lalitpur by pro-democracy political parties, including trade union federations GEFONT, DECONT, and NTUC.
Instead, protests sprang up across the capital city on 21 January and were met with excessive force by police using tear gas and brandishing firearms instead of bamboo batons. Some 300 demonstrators were arrested, and many of those remained in custody this morning. In addition, police arrested another 150 political and human rights activists on 19 and 20 January.
<img height="159" alt="" src="" width="139" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="157" alt="" src="" width="122" />
Gefont's Secretary General Binod Shrestha&nbsp;and 
&nbsp;Chairman Mukunda Neupane 
Senior GEFONT leaders&mdash;Chairperson Makunda Neupane and Secretary-General Binod Shrestha&mdash;were arrested on 19 January and remain in police custody. Leaders of a seven-party political alliance not already under arrest have called for a general strike across Nepal on 26 January in protest to King Gyanendra&rsquo;s absolute rule.
More: 
<a href="/index.php?id=7&amp;doc=1630&amp;la=EN">ICEM letter to the King of Nepal</a>

Nepal’s Pro-democracy Groups Call for 26 January General Strike

The ICEM is calling on Nepal&rsquo;s monarchy to immediately release the top two leaders of Nepalese trade union federation General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT), as well as scores of senior leaders of a seven-party political coalition who were rounded up yesterday and early today and placed under a 90-day detention order. Early today, authorities arrested GEFONT senior leaders Chairperson Mukunda Neupane and Secretary-General Binod Shrestha at their homes. 
 

<img height="44" alt="" src="" width="372" />
The Global Union Federation (GUF), covering 20 million workers from the energy and chemicals sectors to mining and process industry sectors, also is calling on King Gyanendra to immediately rescind a 16 January dictum that forbids peaceful protest and assembly in Kathmandu and neighbouring Lalitpur. 
 
The order banning all assemblies, processions and political sit-ins is aimed at blocking scheduled non-violent protests for tomorrow, 20 January, as well as future pro-democracy rallies. 
 
&ldquo;We call for immediate release of GEFONT&rsquo;s leaders and others,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;To arrest these people only deepens our resolve, and the resolve of pro-democracy voices inside Nepal for an end to the absolute rule of this monarchist regime.&rdquo; 
 
Higgs added, &ldquo;The political coalition that has taken shape in Nepal has proven through its peaceful mass protest in Janakpur on 12 January that non-violent dissent is a legitimate vehicle for an end to the suppression of political rights,&rdquo; said Higgs. &ldquo;The ICEM supports the people of Nepal to participate in such non-violent protests and demonstrations.&rdquo; 
 
Further, the ICEM condemns the regime&rsquo;s recent curfews, changes in media law placing stricter controls on radio stations, and today&rsquo;s cut-off of mobile phone transmissions. 
 
The Brussels-based GUF also voices its opposition to recent amendments to Nepal&rsquo;s Labour Code, which have been orchestrated by government ministries intended for the royal seal. Such amendments, the ICEM feels, will restrict workers&rsquo; rights and trade union rights, as well as imposing undue foreign influence inside Nepal&rsquo;s worksites.

ICEM Calls for Release of Nepal Trade Union Leaders, Restoration of Rights

The 20-million-member ICEM calls on the government of Serbia-Montenegro to meet the legitimate pay demands by ICEM-affiliated EPS Trade Union at three enterprises of the state-run electric power generation and distribution services, i.e. the PE Electric Power Industry of Serbia, the PE Elektromreža Srbije (the Serbian Transmission System and Market Operator) and the PE Underground Pit Mine Extraction. 
<img width="100" height="100" src="" alt="" />
Workers at these three enterprises are owed wage arrears for 2004 and 2005. The government has failed to respond to union demands, as well as to make an adequate wage offer for 2006. Workers at the three enterprises began a series of one-hour strikes on 10 January in protest of the non-payment of wages, and have conducted similar one-hour strikes every day since. 
 
&ldquo;The inflation rate in Serbia in 2005 reached 17%,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;It is unconscionable that the government is withholding payment of wages due for past years and refusing to make an acceptable offer this year.&rdquo; 
 
Serbia-Montenegro&rsquo;s government had requested that EPS Trade Union postpone any strike action until the end of February 2006. The ICEM says that such a request is irresponsible considering the non-payment of wages in 2004 and 2005. 
 
The ICEM fully supports the strikes, and has offered assistance to the 43,000-member EPS Trade Union in meeting their pay demands.

ICEM Calls on Serbia to Pay Backwages, Reach 2006 Pay Terms

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Global unions worldwide condemned the government of Iran&rsquo;s brutal suppression of bus drivers in Tehran and surrounding areas on 15 February. The condemnations came from the Global Union Federations, national unions and the ICFTU, but also were heard strongly from transport and oil unions in Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco and Tunisia. Rail workers and maritime unions in some of those North African and Middle East countries also participated in the Day of Action in support of Iranian bus drivers.
The government&rsquo;s Intelligence Ministry and its security militia, Basij, has deployed brute force since spring 2005 to put down strikes by drivers who have been seeking unpaid wages. And since December, the repression has become more violent with the government using a variety of means to silence drivers&rsquo; protests. 
On 28 January, 30 drivers were seriously injured and up to 1,400 were jailed for demonstrating. A few days later, family members and spouses of the jailed drivers gathered outside Iran&rsquo;s parliament, Majiles, and were met by security forces. The leader of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Co. (Sherkat-e Vahed), Mansour Osanloo, has been held since the government arrested leaders of the union on 22 December.
Because Iranian security teams have used beatings to force drivers out on routes, workers have resorted to a continual &ldquo;lights on&rdquo; protest of buses to draw attention to the violent crack-down of workers&rsquo; rights by Iran&rsquo;s authorities. The ICEM sent a strong letter of protest to the government of Iran on the 15 February Day of Action, which can be found at <a href="/index.php?id=24&amp;doc=1658.&amp;la=EN">/index.php?id=24&amp;doc=1658.&amp;la=EN</a>

Iranian Bus Drivers Given Global Union Support

Nepalese King Gyanendra&rsquo;s statement over the weekend that he has invited political parties for dialogue on democracy will be a hollow promise unless the monarchy frees all trade union and political prisoners. The king yesterday, 19 February, used a new twist to deflect mounting international pressure and growing pro-democracy protests at home, with an offer to the seven-party political coalition &ldquo;to come forth to fully activate, at the earliest, the stalled democratic process.&rdquo;
<img height="201" alt="" src="" width="380" />
The king&rsquo;s first public statement in his now year-long absolute rule that suspended basic rights, came in a state-run newspaper just before 3,000 demonstrators took to the streets in another set of peaceful protests challenging the monarchy. 
Gyanendra&rsquo;s rhetoric is meaningless, the ICEM believes, until all trade union leaders of GEFONT and NTUC are released, as well as other human rights activists who have been imprisoned without cause. Several trade unionists were released last week after weeks of detention, but some leaders of the two labour federations&mdash;plus several leaders of education unions&mdash;remain incarcerated.
<img height="151" alt="" src="" width="160" />
GEFONT, NTUC and another labour federation, DECONT, on 13 February, gave the government a 35-day deadline to act on its and the ILO Actrav&rsquo;s Charter of Demands for both formal and informal work. The Charter calls on the government to strengthen the labour code on wage increments, adopt an integrated social security fund, formalise basic labour rights commitments, and implement non-discrimination practices, particularly regarding women workers.

King’s Rhetoric in Nepal on Democracy Belies Trade Union Arrests

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Tuesday, 7 February, will mark a full year that US members of United Steelworkers (USW) in Cincinnati, Ohio have been on strike against Cognis, a German chemicals company. 
USW Local 14340 will observe the anniversary by placing further attention on Cognis and its joint-venture partner who are operating the plant at great environmental risk, and with known health and safety deficiencies. 
Workers struck because Cognis would not agree to union recognition through a &ldquo;successorship&rdquo; clause in the labour agreement when Cognis and Malaysian Golden Hope Plantations formed a joint venture to run the oleochemicals division of the plant. The company is now refusing to accept strikers back to work even if the strike is ended. 
In a letter to Cognis CEO Antonio Trusi Oliva, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs called this &ldquo;unacceptable&rdquo; and urged him to use his &ldquo;influence inside this new enterprise to assure that a settlement to this strike will include jobs for all USW union members who wish to return to work.&rdquo;

USW Members in Ohio Seek Justice from Chemicals Producer

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
In New Zealand, 58 members of&nbsp;Engineering, Printing &amp; Manufacturing Union (EPMU) were suddenly locked out on 3 February by Top Energy, a community-owned electricity distributor. The linemen were seeking EPMU&rsquo;s standard 5% wage hike, but have been met by unrealistic expectations from managers such as a 45-hour work-week without overtime. 
&ldquo;We have been negotiating for nearly six months, and have agreed to look at modernising the collective agreement, but we will not accept cuts to pay and conditions in an industry that's already relatively poorly paid and facing a severe labour shortage,&rdquo; stated EPMU President Andrew Little to the New Zealand Press. 
The company supplies power to customers in New Zealand&rsquo;s North Island from Whangarei to the North Cape.

Lockout at Electrical Distributor in New Zealand

A week before the Thai government holds a public hearing on privatisation of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), the 20-million-member ICEM has again questioned the logic of privatizing an essential service and is asking for specific criteria if the government's plan moves forward. 
 
In a call to all 400 ICEM affiliates in 120 nations to protest the spin-off of the public power industry into shares of a holding company-and in a second letter to Prime Minister Dr. Thaskin Sinawatra-the ICEM has again reinforced the position of Thai affiliate EGAT-LU that it be heard on the matter. The ICEM's Asia-Pacific Region has already urged affiliates comprising the ICEM's Asia-Pacific Electric Power Network to voice opposition. 
 
&quot;It is a matter of public record that our affiliate strongly desires that EGAT remain a state-owned utility with a public mandate to provide a reliable, affordable and accessible service,&quot; wrote ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs to Dr. Sinawatra. 
 
Thailand's government is acting to privatise electric power under its 1999 Corporatisation Act, a measure designed to satisfy an economic reform programme designed by the International Monetary Fund following the Asian economic fallout of the mid-1990s. But the government had refused to meet with leaders of EGAT-LU over the issue until late last year when it set up a tripartite committee. The Finance Ministry's representative to this committee had no real decision-making power, the union quickly learned. 
 
The public hearing set for 25 January is seen as a final effort to appease the union representing the interests of 17,600 workers employed by the utility. The government has set a target date of first quarter 2004 when the holding company will be officially registered and shares of it are listed on Thailand's stock exchange. 
 
Higgs, in reaffirming EGAT-LU's position on the inevitable, said a set of principles must be adhered to in the structural transfer of the power industry: the process must be transparent and democratic; Thailand retain a majority equity of EGAT; domestic investment be encouraged and made a priority; price regulation be stable and affordable to workers and the poor; job security be guaranteed; EGAT-LU be fully involved in the transition; Union leadership be given the facilities to consult freely with workers and to report to workers on negotiations over the transition; and full agreement be reached before the new policy is implemented. 
 
Higgs added: &quot;&hellip; our members and the public at large oppose your current policies and are extremely concerned. The ICEM fully shares these concerns and together with our brothers and sisters in the Asia-Pacific Electric Power Network, we are keenly awaiting the outcome of your consultations and negotiations with EGAT-LU. We believe if your government follows the above recommended approach of dialogue, your policies stand a better chance of achieving credibility &hellip;&quot; 
 
EGAT-LU is planning to have over 1,000 workers attend the public hearing. The union and other unions representing public sector employees will conduct a mass rally on 30 January seeking government revision of some 11 economic reform bills in which privatisation aspects are part of. 
 
Higgs is asking all ICEM affiliates to register opposition to Thai privatisation initiatives and voice support for EGAT-LU's position. The global union federation is specifically calling on energy and power affiliates in some 65 countries-representing 9 million workers-to make a stand against privatisation with EGAT-LU.

ICEM Again Protests Thai Electric Privatisation

A global call for support and attention directed at one the world's leading glass producers halted a Colombian labour dispute, giving ICEM affiliate Sintravidricol a new two-year collective agreement with that country's number one glass maker. 
 
Peldar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of leading US glass manufacturer Owens Illinois agreed to the labour contract at its four plants on the eve of a strike and after ICEM and affiliates lodged official protests to the company over negligent labour practices in Colombia. 
 
Sindravidricol had a collective agreement in place with Peldar since 1999 but following Owens Illinois purchases of other glass operations, Peldar refused to negotiate a current contract. The Colombian glass union had continuously requested dialogue on social issues, but the efforts were rebuffed. 
 
Last week, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs contacted Peldar's management urging resolution, and that came after a pointed letter arrived at the firm's Colombian headquarters from ICEM's Latin America/Caribbean regional office. 
 
Simultaneously, the Flint/Glass Industry Conference of the United Steelworkers of America and other US glass unions, meeting in Pennsylvania, protested directly to Owens Illinois co-CEOs Terry Wilkinson and Thomas Young. 
 
&quot;In spite of the company's positive financial results, Peldar refuses to discuss the union's ideas and initiatives to improve working conditions,&quot; wrote Flint/Glass Conference Chairman Timothy Tuttle. &quot;Our respective organizations in North America have always enjoyed a productive and progressive working relationship that has been mutually beneficial. It is beyond my comprehension why you would not embrace the same relationship with Glass Workers in Colombia.&quot; 
 
The attention-plus Sintravidricol members commencing plans for strike actions-convinced Peldar to negotiate. The union lauded the agreement reached 9 January that gives workers a first-year 8.8% wage increase (retroactive to 21 November 2003) and a second-year hike equal to the Colombian consumer cost index plus 1%. In addition, Sintravidricol won bonuses for education and for health. 
 
&quot;We're thankful for the support of the workers, their conviction and their strength to defend their rights in the face of extreme circumstances,&quot; said Sintravidricol's Peldar Unit President Luis Fernando Pel&aacute;ez Montoya. &quot;In the same way, we recognize and thank most sincerely the international and national organizations who brought support. There is not doubt that this agreement is a triumph for workers and for the union.&quot; 
 
Peldar is the leading glassmaker in Brazil, Peru and Colombia, as well the second biggest in Venezuela, Ecuador and Puerto Rico, and its brands comprise the largest supply chain of glassware and tableware in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

<a href="/index.php?id=77&amp;la=PT&amp;doc=1114">Click here for the Portuguese version of this ICEM News release</a>

Glass Affiliate in Colombia Wins Major Victory

T he sacking of 24 jewelry workers in Thailand for union activities has brought the ire of ICEM to the doorstep a German firm. MKS Jewelry International Co. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of German-based J.E. Hammer &amp; Sohne GmbH, fired the 24 after they registered for union status with the Thai Ministry of Labour. 
 

<img height="241" src="" width="350" alt="" />
ICEM staffers Phee Jung-sun and Yamina Zebchine-DeLaet help organize jewelry workers in Thailand 
The workers, part of a 450-person labor force at a Bangkok casting and polishing factory in which 90% are women, were organizing with an ICEM affiliate over management's undignified body searches on suspicion of theft. Last spring, after 36 workplace leaders filed for union registry with the ministry while the remainder waited outside the plant, MKS Jewelry faxed a letter to a ministry officer in Pravate District stating employees were welcome to return to work without fear of punishment. 
 
But weeks later and following official approval by the ministry as a union, the 24 were not only sacked but MKS distributed their names to the many other firms operating in jewelry-producing Gemopolis Industrial Estate of Pravate. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs filed a strong protest against MKS's actions with J.E. Hammer &amp; Sohne, a 140-year-old luxury jewelry maker based in Pforzheim, Germany. 
 
&quot;One of the reasons for workers at MKS creating a union &hellip; was the obscene way in which body searches were done,&quot; wrote Higgs. &quot;These workers were stripped of their clothes and subjected to body touching. When workers lodged complaints, management replied they will continue this practice and simple suspicion will be enough to continue this undignified practice. It must be noted that no company property or materials were found on the workers, and nothing was reported even to be lost.&quot; 
 
Higgs said MKS's firings violate core ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organize, and Convention 158, terminating employment on the grounds on union membership. 
 
ICEM requested that J.E. Hammer &amp; Sohne intervene in Thailand to reinstate the workers, and to commence good-faith dialogue with the Thai union to reach accord on employment terms and working conditions. ICEM also informed the German parent that the global union federation was compiling a list of clients and retailers of the company in order to alert them to the harsh actions by managers in Thailand.&nbsp; 

&nbsp;

ICEM Stands Firm with Thai Jewelry Workers

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