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<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
ICEM affiliate IGBCE and German paper industry employers reached a new collective agreement on 16 May, covering 44,000 workers. The 17-month labour accord calls for wage increase of 3.2%, retroactive to 1 May 2007, with a further increase of 2% to take effect on 1 May 2008. 
 
The contract runs until 30 September 2008. 
Effective next month, a single payment for each worker was won, totalling &euro;95. Apprentices will receive &euro;35. Another achievement, reached in arbitration, was an add-on to the long-term savings plan for each worker. In addition to the &euro;478.57 each year paid per worker by an employer, an extra &euro;13 will be allotted for each &euro;100 contributed by the worker to this supplemental retirement plan. 
<img height="242" alt="" src="" width="150" />
IGBCE Chief Negotiator Holger Nieden commended workers&rsquo; solidarity in achieving the contract. &ldquo;We obtained a fair and equitable amount after substantial pressure was applied,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The proportional increases are appropriate, they correspond with the situation of the industry, and they fit the overall economic framework.&rdquo;

Wage Pact Reached in Germany’s Paper Industry

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Anglo Coal is the target of coal strikes in central Queensland, Australia, by two unions, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and the Construction, Forestry, Mining &amp; Energy Union (CFMEU). The unions took strike action again last week over concessionary terms that the subsidiary of Anglo American Group is attempting to impose at its massive Dawson mining complex near Moura, Queensland.
In the wake of an A$1.3 billion expansion that will lift coal output from 11 million tonnes annually to 16 million tonnes, Anglo Coal is seeking to extend 12-hour work shifts with another 45 minutes, as well as instituting further disciplinary and dispute procedures in the enterprise agreements. 
<img height="90" alt="" src="" width="90" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="93" alt="" src="" width="90" />
Miners are allotted only two 30-minute breaks at the sprawling open cast set of mines, which would lead to obvious safety hazards. They also reject the company&rsquo;s plan to conduct random and compulsory health and fitness exams. 
 
Some 700 AMWU members staged a 24-hour strike on 14 May, and plan another one today. The union did four-hour stop-work actions on 27 and 30 April. At the Dawson Central mine on 13 May, 360 CFMEU miners took strike action. They had previously conducted a warning strike in mid-March. 
 
Anglo Coal is connecting three large open pit mines, spanning some 120 kilometres across central Queensland, with its minority partner, Mitsui of Japan. Miners also seek a bigger pay package from Anglo Coal in the face of huge company profits and escalating housing costs in this booming coal-export region of Australia.

Australian Miners Strike Anglo Coal in Queensland

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada has filed a petition with the country&rsquo;s National Energy Board (NEB) to block construction of TransCanada&rsquo;s 2,970-kilometre Keystone Pipeline into the US. The union, together with the Alberta Provincial Federation of Labour, the Parkland Institute, and academics, filed the motion on 15 May with Canada&rsquo;s federal energy regulatory body. 
 
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re shipping our natural resources down to the US so they can create upgraded oil products,&rdquo; said CEP President Dave Coles. &ldquo;Meanwhile, we&rsquo;re missing out on the creation of 18,000 good Canadian jobs, and putting our gas supply at risk in the process.&rdquo; 
<img height="158" alt="" src="" width="120" />
CEP President Dave Coles
In its filing, CEP cites a study by an independent research firm, Informetrica, showing that 18,000 jobs could be lost by the export of unprocessed bitumen to the US. 
 
The CEP seeks bitumen from the tar sands to be made into refined petroleum products inside Canada. The Alberta oil sands are currently producing millions of barrels of diluted but unprocessed bitumen each day. 
 
The CEP charges that the NEB, and federal and provincial governments in Canada, have done too little to protect the environment and the social well-being of the public interest in the booming oil sands industry of western Canada. &ldquo;Hundreds of workers in refineries and petrochemical plants have already lost their jobs because the priority of the NEB has too often been fixed on serving the needs of the US rather than Canadian consumers,&rdquo; said Coles. 
 
The US$2.1 billion Keystone Pipeline is expected to be complete in 2009, and would transport 435,000 barrels-per-day of crude oil from the province of Alberta to the US state of Illinois.

Crude Oil Pipeline Will Mean Loss of Energy Jobs in Canada, CEP Warns

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At a spirited rally at the Rotterdam portion of Unilever&rsquo;s AGM on 15 May, ICEM Dutch affiliate FNV Bondgenoten issued a stern warning to the giant food and chemicals concern: focus more on long term stability and the concerns of all stakeholders, rather than on a current call by investors to restructure for quick profits. 
 
Union members and their allies, namely the 40,000-member Association of Shareholders, a collection of institutional and individual shareholders, called on the company to resist the break-up, the closure of certain businesses, or the selling-off to private equity funds, or other market capital funds. 
<img height="199" alt="" src="" width="300" />
ICEM's presence at Rotterdam rally, including&nbsp;Chemical officer Kemal Ozkan and ICEM Vice-President Ben Roodhuizen (centre)
The rally preceded Unilever&rsquo;s general meeting at Rotterdam&rsquo;s World Trade Centre. The following day, 16 May, the company held the London portion of its annual meeting, at which time Mike Treschow was installed as Unilever chairman. Treschow is a noted master of retrenchments, having previously maximized quick profits at the expense of jobs at Ericsson telecom and Electrolux. 
 
FNV Bondgenoten warned that the strategy of creating excessive shareholder value at Unilever is now playing too large a role. &ldquo;I fear that in the short term, Unilever will become prey to activist hedge funds,&rdquo; stated Bondgenoten President Henk van der Kolk. &ldquo;In the eyes of these funds, Unilever is a company from which more profit can be squeezed.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;Unilever has always been a company with a good name, a company that has looked out for the interests of its workers,&rdquo; van der Kolk added. &ldquo;Now workers are only seen as a cost factor. The less you have, the better. That now appears to be the thinking at Unilever.&rdquo; 
<img height="232" src="" width="200" alt="" />
FNV Bondgenoten President Henk van der Kolk
On 1 June, the union will submit a work plan to senior management of Unilever. FNV Bondgenoten is asking shareholders to support that plan, which couples social responsibility with curtailment of the power of shareholders. Jobs and job security are high on its agenda, as is upcoming collective bargaining in The Netherlands. Bondgenoten said that the first part of the work plan applies to Dutch operations of the multinational, but that the plan could also be applied more broadly to the company&rsquo;s 200,000 workers worldwide. 
 
Also speaking at the rally were a member of parliament and workers from Mumbai, India, which are members of the Hindustan Lever Employees Union. Their situation depicts Unilever at its worst. In order to avoid social dialogue with that union, which is an affiliate of the International Union of Food &amp; Allied Workers&rsquo; Association (IUF), management sold the operation to a shell company in order to avoid its lawful social obligations.

FNV Bondgenoten Warns of Unilever Break Up

PREAMBLE 
 
In this era of globalization, there is an undeniable need for unions to build alliances across the borders with each other to better protect workers from the escalating aggressions of corporate transnationals. 
This is especially so for unions with members employed at Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co., which operates in many countries around the world and is one of the world`s largest tire manufacturer. For the workers` and their unions` mutual defence and advancement, it is needed to share information and experiences and unite each other for common goals. 
It is affirmed the age-old labour movement adage that &ldquo;an injury, to one of us is an injury to all of us&rdquo; and pledge our unions` full support to help other Goodyear unions in need of our solidarity. 
 
To carry out this mission it is committed to create the ICEM Global Network of Goodyear Unions. The global network will be the means to carry out communications and solidarity efforts on behalf of the networks&rsquo; member unions. 
 
The network shall operate as follows: 
 
A - MEMBERSHIP OF NETWORK 
 
1. All democratic unions with members employed at Goodyear shall be entitled to participate in the network. All network participants are strongly encouraged to affiliate to the ICEM. 
 
B - STEERING COMMITTEE COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONING 
 
2. The Network shall have a Steering Committee, which will guide the work of the network. The Steering Committee shall consist of one representative from each of the following regions : 
 
a. Africa 
b. Asia and Pacific 
c. Europe 
d. Latin America and Caribbean 
e. North America 
 
In the event that Goodyear expands to other regions, the Steering Committee can and should be expanded to include those regions. 
 
3. Steering Committee members shall be chosen at the Network Meeting by the respective regional sub-groups from the unions which are affiliates in good standing of the ICEM. 
 
4. The North American regional representative shall serve as chairperson of the Steering Committee and the Network. 
 
5. S/he shall convene steering committee meetings on an as-needed bases, but not less than biannually. Meetings will be primarily held by tele-conference. 
 
6. The Steering Committee shall also include as an ex-officio member a designated person from the ICEM Secretariat, who shall assist in staffing the network 
 
7. Steering Committee members shall serve until the next meeting of the Network, at any rate no longer than a period of 4 years. 
 
8. In case that a Steering Committee position becomes vacant, a replacement for that region will be selected by mutual agreement of unions participating in the network in that region. 
 
C - DUTIES OF STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS 
 
9. Steering Committee members shall commit to consulting with the other unions in their respective regions and reporting back to them about the work of the steering committee between the meetings, and activating unions in their region when there is a need for action. Steering Committee members will help to organize participation in the Network activities within their respective regions. 
 
10. The Steering Committee shall also serve as a negotiating body in the event that negotiations at global level with Goodyear management are possible beginning immediately with Occupational Health, Safety and Environment. 
 
11. Steering Committee members shall gather information relevant to the Network in their respective regions and forward this information to the Network Chairperson. 
 
D - COLLECT, DISSEMINATE AND PUBLICIZE INFORMATION 
 
12. Goodyear Global Union Network shall strive to produce a Network Newsletter at least biannually. The Network Chairperson shall take a lead role in producing this newsletter. 
 
13. Goodyear Global Union Network shall explore other media instruments, including online communications tools to communicate the Network news to union members and other audiences. 
 
14. Goodyear Global Union Network shall establish a database of contacts to facilitate communication of network news and events. Steering Committee members shall work to build this database through gathering contact information for appropriate union representatives in their respective regions, and forwarding this contact information to the Network Chairperson. 
 
E - OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTICIPATING UNIONS 
 
15. Unions participating in the Network shall gather and communicate news pertaining to Goodyear and relevant to the Network to their regional Steering Committee member. 
 
16. Unions participating in the Network shall share Network news, including the Network Newsletter, to their members employed by Goodyear. 
 
17. Unions participating in the Network shall seek the full support and solidarity of their members in the Network activities, including support actions for the unions in disputes with Goodyear.

(Modified by the Goodyear Global Union Network Meeting held on March 19 – 20, 2007 in Akron, Ohio, USA)

Rules of the Goodyear Global Union Network

<img height="285" alt="" src="" width="380" />
FETIESC Women march at Itapema on 25 March for equality and dignity
<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
1. Australia &ndash; Professional Women Are Remaining Childless 
2. Brazil &ndash; Sao Paulo Electricity Workers Commemorate Women&rsquo;s Day 
3. Peru &ndash; Adoption of Equal Opportunities Law 
4. Russia &ndash; ILO/FNPR Seminar Held on Gender Audits in Russian Unions 
5. Senegal &ndash; Parliament Passes Bill on Gender Balance in the Legislature 
6. Spain &ndash; Guidelines are Proposed for Company Equality Plans 
7. Venezuela &ndash; New Law Defends Women&rsquo;s Rights 
8. Resources
<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
1. Australia &ndash; Professional Women Are Remaining Childless
A recent study by the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists, and Managers of Australia found that many working women are not having children because it would be detrimental to their careers. 
 
A full 34% of women with children had not taken any maternity leave, and 26% more would not be paid for time they might take off. And more than half claimed that by taking time off, it would be detrimental to their careers. 
 
In addition, women are leaving their careers faster than men. Women cite the difficulty of balancing work and life, workplace culture and lack of senior job roles for them as being the most common obstacles they face in their career paths. 
 
In spite of the fact that there is a skills shortage in many areas, women are not able to fill the gap because of work-life difficulties. Moreover, women are still earning about 40% less than men for the same work. The OECD ranks Australia 45th out of 115 countries in terms of wage equality. 
 
This research shows that many women are still being forced to choose between children and a career. 
&nbsp;<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
2. Brazil &ndash; Sao Paulo Electricity Workers Commemorate Women&rsquo;s Day 
On 7 March, the Sao Paulo Electricity Workers celebrated International Women&rsquo;s Day with the slogan, &ldquo;Women and Agenda 21, a Commitment to a Better World.&rdquo; Agenda 21 was the commitment signed by 170 countries in the UN framework to promote sustainable development. 
 
The event stressed the importance of guaranteeing youth representation, both women and men, in labour and environmental fora, and youth representatives from the union in international bodies were present. 
 
Questions that concerned the conservation of the Amazon were also discussed at the meeting. It was said that women have a historic role to play in conservation and preservation of forests, biological diversity, and maintaining ecosystems. 
 
At the meeting, the Sao Paulo Electricity Workers endorsed the Manifest for the Protection of the Amazon, an initiative also promoted by many Brazilian artists. 
&nbsp;<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
3. Peru &ndash; Adoption of Equal Opportunities Law 
On 8 March, the Congress of Peru adopted the law on equal opportunities between women and men, after a number of debates in various areas. The law establishes public policies to guarantee the right to gender equality. 
 
It also guarantees the respect of the pluricultural and multilingual character of the Peruvian nation. The Executive is also called upon to carry out programmes to eliminate poverty and extreme marginalization. 
 
On 8 March, women in the three trade union national labour centres participated in a rally in Lima to demand effective policies to guarantee the real implementation of their rights. Article 7 of the law contains work-related guarantees such as the following: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>Guarantee of the right to productive work exercised in freedom, equity, security and human dignity; measures to avoid all kinds of work-related discrimination between women and men in access to employment, training, promotion, working conditions and the same pay for work of equal value. These guarantees also include protection against sexual harassment and the promotion of compatibility between family and work-related responsibilities. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>Guarantee of the protection of men and women workers in the informal economy, in urban and rural areas, in order to promote the formalization of the economy, as well as the protection of those who are in an unprotected and excluded situation. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>Guarantee of non-discriminatory treatment for men and women domestic workers. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>Recognition of reproductive work done at home and in the community to generate the conditions to improve the situation of those doing the work and to promote shared family responsibilities. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
Now the trade union centres are starting their work to ensure that the law is applied. 
&nbsp;<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
4. Russia &ndash; ILO/FNPR Seminar Held on Gender Audits in Russian Unions 
<img height="172" alt="" src="" width="230" /> 
 
ICEM women&rsquo;s chair Genia Esenina, front row, at left 
From 26-28 March FNPR, the Russian trade union central organisation, held a workshop together with the ILO on gender audits in Russian trade unions. A total of 23 participants and members of the gender equality commission were trained in the theory and methodology of gender audits in this first seminar, which served as the pilot project covering gender audits. 
&nbsp;<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
5. Senegal &ndash; Parliament Passes Bill on Gender Balance in the Legislature
On 27 March, the Senegalese Parliament adopted a bill that introduced gender parity on election lists that political parties present for elections on the basis of proportional representation. 
 
The passing of the bill will mean that more women will be elected to parliament in Senegal in the future. 
 
Religious leaders, however, were concerned that this bill was out of step with a Muslim country. 
 
The Minister of the Interior defended the legislation with the argument that women, as the majority in the country, should be adequately represented in Parliament. At present, 23 women old seats in Parliament out of a total of 120, and new women members are certain to be added at the next election because of this legislation. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
6. Spain &ndash; Guidelines are Proposed for Company Equality Plans 
Ramon Parra from FITEQA CCOO has drafted the following guidelines for company equality plans in the wake of new legislation in Spain that requires companies to draw up such plans: 
 
1. Create a commission for real equality between women and men. 
 
2. The commission should be made up of the company and the signatory trade unions. 
 
3. This commission will do a diagnosis of the situation on the basis of all data that a company provides, which will always be broken down by sex: 
<blockquote dir="ltr">
&bull; Work site, fixed employees, casuals, type of contract; 
&bull; Departments; 
&bull; Work groups, seniority; 
&bull; Wages and salaries; 
&bull; Schedules, shifts (night), working time; 
&bull; Reductions in working time, flexibility; 
&bull; Leave time; 
&bull; Training, continuous, how much training per year; 
&bull; Content of risk assessment; 
&bull; Is the mutual society elected in consent with trade union consent?; 
&bull; Are there agreements with the mutual society for more benefits?; 
&bull; Are examinations extended with specific proof?; 
&bull; Are there suitable jobs for pregnant women? 
 
and also
</blockquote>
<ul>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Composition of the Works Council; </div>
 </li>
 <li>Composition of the Health and Safety Committee; 
 Composition of the Environmental Protection Committee; </li>
 <li>Composition of the Equality Committee. 
 </li>
 <li>What sector does the company belong to? </li>
 <li>What agreement is applied? </li>
 <li>How many sites does it have? </li>
 <li>If it is a multinational, in what countries is it present? </li>
 <li>Does it have a committee to coordinate the different sites and how is it made up? </li>
 <li>Do trade unions participate? </li>
 <li>Do they meet regularly? </li>
 <li>Is there some plan or equality project? </li>
</ul>
A company must provide this data to the commission, and once it has studied it, the commission will define a work plan for each site to follow. Then, as a result, the objectives must be fixed to eliminate inequalities. 
 
For that purpose, deadlines, measures, and resources must be identified, both human and financial resources. 
 
On the basis of this diagnosis, the commission can decide what steps it needs to take and what advice it requires in order to establish measures, such as establishing a code of good practice, which, among other criteria, will explain the kinds of conduct and abuse that would be punishable, or even lead to dismissal in case of sexual harassment or sex discrimination. 
 
These are the two types of discrimination that violate the integrity of the person. The commission will ensure that these situations do not happen, and if they do, that they are punishable. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
7. Venezuela &ndash; New Law Defends Women&rsquo;s Rights 
A recent law passed in Venezuela calls for jail terms from 6 to 18 months for those who offend, humiliate, or threaten women. The law, called the Law on Women&rsquo;s Right to a Life Free of Violence, punishes all those who attack women&rsquo;s emotional and psychological stability. 
 
The law also condemns to prison terms for 20 months those who harass, threaten, insult women, and establishes more severe punishments for lascivious acts, such as forced prostitution, sex slavery, and work-related violence. 
 
Thus, the protection of the dignity, physical, psychological, sexual integrity, property, and legal rights of women is established in public and private. 
&nbsp;<img height="31" alt="" src="" width="25" />
8. Resources
A toolkit has been published by EMCEF and EPSU on equal opportunities in the electricity sector in Europe, and is available at 
<a href="http://www.eurelectric.org/equalitydiversity">http://www.eurelectric.org/equalitydiversity</a>
The ILO has compiled links to ILO publications and sources for statistics and standards. It and can be found at 
<a href="http://www.ilo.org/public/spanish/support/lib/resource/subject/gender.htm">http://www.ilo.org/public/spanish/support/lib/ 
resource/subject/gender.htm</a> (in Spanish) 
 
The ILO has published trends in women&rsquo;s employment in 2007, and can be found at 
<a href="http://www.ilo.org/public/french/employment/strat/download/getw07.pdf">http://www.ilo.org/public/french/employment/ 
strat/download/getw07.pdf</a> (in French) 
 
The WHO has published a document on the relationship between gender and health and safety problems, which can be found at 
<a href="http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/genderwork/en/index.html">http://www.who.int/occupational_health/ 
publications/genderwork/en/index.html</a> 
 
The Social Watch Gender Equity Index has been published, and can be found at 
<a href="http://www.socialwatch.org/en/avancesyRetrocesos/IEG/index.htm">http://www.socialwatch.org/en/avancesyRetrocesos/ 
IEG/index.htm</a>
The European Union has published a report on Equality and non-discrimination in the framework of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. 
<a href="http://web20.s112.typo3server.com/fileadmin/pdfs/Reports/Annual_Reports_2006/annualrep06_en.pdf">http://web20.s112.typo3server.com/fileadmin/pdfs/ 
Reports/Annual_Reports_2006/annualrep06_en.pdf</a>
On 13 March, the European Parliament adopted a roadmap on equality between women and men, which can be found at 
<a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?Type=TA&amp;Reference=P6-TA-2007-0063&amp;language=EN">http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?Type=TA&amp;Reference=P6-TA-2007-0063&amp;language=EN</a>
IRIN has launched a new book on sexual violence against women and girls in conflict. 
<a href="http://www.irinnews.org/pdf/sow/IRIN-TheShameofWar-fullreport-Mar07.pdf">http://www.irinnews.org/pdf/sow/IRIN-TheShameofWar-fullreport-Mar07.pdf</a>&nbsp; 
 
CLADEM has published a report on the killings of women in Central American and Mexico. 
<a href="http://www.cladem.org/espanol/regionales/Violenciadegenero/Docs/Estudio%20Feminicidio%20en%20centroamerica%20y%20méxico.asp">http://www.cladem.org/espanol/regionales/ 
Violenciadegenero/Docs/Estudio%20Feminicidio%20en%20centroamerica%20y%20m&eacute;xico.asp</a> (in Spanish) 
 
CLADEM has another study on sexual violence and armed conflict in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru. 
<a href="http://www.cladem.org/espanol/regionales/Violenciadegenero/Docs/CLADEM%20Estudio%20Conflicto%20Armado.asp">http://www.cladem.org/espanol/regionales/ 
Violenciadegenero/Docs/CLADEM%20Estudio%20Conflicto%20Armado.asp</a>
The Inter-Parliamentary Union has done a survey on women in parliament worldwide. 
<a href="http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/wmn06-e.pdf">http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/wmn06-e.pdf</a>&nbsp; 
 
The Belgian Union FGTB organised a meeting on work-life balance on 8-9 March, the results of which can be found at 
<a href="http://www.fgtb.be/code/fr/c18_0000.htm">http://www.fgtb.be/code/fr/c18_0000.htm</a> (in French and Dutch)

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN 21

<img height="48" src="" width="120" alt="" />
ICEM Turkish affiliate CIMSE-Iş, the Cement, Ceramic, Soil, and Glass Workers&rsquo; Union, signed a successful collective agreement on 29 March for 6,000 ceramics workers at 11 factories. The agreement was signed with the employers&rsquo; association for ceramics. 
 
Retroactive to 1 January, workers will receive monthly salary increases of 5%, plus a bonus of new TRL55, effective also on 1 January 2007. 
 
Regarding social benefits, a press release issued by CIMSE-Iş on 3 April reports that, on average, a 25% increase was won for all union members.

CIMSE-Iş in Turkey Wins 5% Pay Gains, Benefit Increases for 6,000 Ceramics Workers

<img height="48" src="" width="120" alt="" />
ICEM affiliate United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE) Union won a decision by an ILO committee in favour of public-sector bargaining rights in the US state of North Carolina. The Freedom of Association case is now passed on to the ILO&rsquo;s Governing Body with a recommendation that it monitor progress. 
 
State statutes in North Carolina, as well as in some other US states, prohibit public employees from having collective bargaining rights. The UE, on behalf of municipal and state workers in North Carolina, filed the ILO complaint, and the committee requested that certain sections of the state statute be repealed. It also asked that the government promote the establishment of a collective bargaining framework.
<img height="114" src="" width="260" alt="" />
The committee noted that ILO Conventions 87, 98 and 151 are being violated. &ldquo;Although these Conventions have not been ratified by the United States, the complainants rely on the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in support of the argument that the government is obligated to respect, promote and realize the principles embodied in these Conventions regardless of ratification.&rdquo; 
 
The committee&rsquo;s conclusions cited, &ldquo;&hellip; the failure to assure compliance with freedom of association principles in North Carolina has resulted in grievous working conditions for many public sector workers who report health and safety violations in their workplace, unconscionable wages, unreasonable and unsafe hours of work, extreme under-staffing, unreasonable forced overtime, favouritism, and disrespectful treatment from supervisors, as well as inconsistent grievance procedures devoid of any notion of due process.&rdquo; 
 
The UE took the international action on behalf of members of its Local 150 in North Carolina. That branch union is comprised of low-wage, public-sector workers such as janitors, garbage haulers, housekeepers, groundskeepers, medical helpers, and bus drivers.

US Union Gets Affirmation that Public Sector Bargaining Applies in North Carolina

<img height="48" alt="" src="" width="120" />
Workers, members of three of Peru&rsquo;s mining and metals unions, struck the copper and lead smelting operations of Doe Run Company last week for three days. The strike and blockade of smelting operations in the city of La Oroya caused nearly a 70% production decline, which affected markets. 
 
The 2,000 miners and metal workers took the job action to protest the company&rsquo;s 2006 dividend pay awards. The workers took struck action from 2-4 April and completely blocked the central motorway near La Oroyo from Lima on 1 April. La Oroyo is 175 kilometres away west of Lima. 
 
A branch union of ICEM affiliate FNTMMSP is one of the three unions involved in the pay dispute. The strike was called off after workers&rsquo; representatives and managers met on the afternoon of 4 April.
<img height="130" src="" width="280" alt="" />
Doe Run is a privately-held US company that began operating in Peru in 1997. It mines, mills, and smelts some 59,000-tons-per-yar of copper, 129,000 of lead, 40,000 of zinc, and minor amount of gold and silver. In the US, Doe Run operates in the states of Arizona, Missouri, and Washington in lead recycling and lead smelting. 
 
Last month, public health and environmental groups filed a petition against Peru before the human rights division of the Organisation of American States over contamination from Doe Run&rsquo;s La Oroya operations. The complaint charges the Peruvian government with failing to put in place pollution controls, thus trampling &ldquo;the human rights of the town&rsquo;s citizens.&rdquo;

Strike Crimps Production at US-based Firm’s Peruvian Mining, Smelting Operations

<img height="48" alt="" src="" width="120" />
Oil workers in Chad, two weeks ago, ended a three-day strike in the rich Doba oil fields, but warned further walkouts could occur. Some 500 workers are angry about job safety and security, as well as delays in meeting pay demands. US-based ExxonMobil operates the vast number of production sites in the Doba fields, as well as a controversial 1,063 kilometre pipeline to Kribi, the Atlantic port of neighbouring Cameroon. 
 
The oil workers, led by Chad&rsquo;s national labour centre UST, took three-day strike actions twice last July over pay disparities. The workers were then paid barely a third of what oil workers&rsquo; in Cameroon earn. Although the 2006 strikes did narrow that gap some, there is still a huge pay differential between oil workers in the two countries. 

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ExxonMobil operates the Chad-Cameroon pipeline with Patronas of Malaysia and Chevron of the US as partners. The rich Doba fields of southern Chad are now producing 150,000-barrels-per-day, and are expected to yield 200,000 in the near future. Doba has reserves estimated at 900 billion barrels over the next 25 years. 
 
Development of the Doba oil fields, together with the three-year-old pipeline to Kribi, has been mired in World Bank controversy. That included a year-long suspension of Bank funds for the project. Construction of the pipeline was also plagued by labour and human rights violations. Many contract workers for Chad-Cameroon Constructors, the building consortium put together by the oil companies, were not paid their wages. As well, an HIV/AIDS rate along the pipeline is three times the national averages of Chad and Cameroon, figures that reflect poorly on the partnering companies&rsquo; social responsibility.

Esso-Tchad Workers Strike for Higher Pay

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