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In Madrid, Spain, on 4 November, a protocol agreement was signed that provides management recognition of the ICEM-supported Latin American/Spanish Repsol-YPF Trade Union Network. Management of the Madrid-based oil and gas company agreed to recognise the workers&rsquo; network as a collective body to represent the trade unions in the countries where both Repsol and its 85% owned subsidiary, YPF, operate. 
 
The agreement is the result of three years work. The Spanish Peace and Solidarity Foundation of one of Spain&rsquo;s national labour centres, CC.OO, promoted the project to bring together the trade unions representing workers of Repsol and YPF. Meetings in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Lima enabled the trade unions to establish themselves as a viable entity, as well as to prepare for recognition and social dialogue with Repsol-YPF senior management. 

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Both the trade union network and management signed the protocol agreement early this month, expressing a will to discuss labour issues important to men and women employed by the company, as well as questions involving global corporate policies in Latin America and Spain. 
 
The network is composed of trade union representatives of branch federations at Repsol and YPF workplaces, as well as ICEM representatives. The trade union network elected a coordinating body of ten people, whose role is to manage union activity and prepare the meetings of the entire network. The meetings see active exchanges of information, and serve to analyse working conditions at Repsol and YPF worksites in the countries. 
 
The annual meetings now will include full-day discussions with the group&rsquo;s management to deal with concerns put forth by the unions, and then Repsol and YPF&rsquo;s industrial situations will be reported, including results and investments broken down by country. 
 
At the meeting in Madrid, held from 3-4 November, the trade unionists decided to increase communication and the flow of information by providing more content to a website that was created last year. Specifically, they will prepare a report on working time at all worksites and the elements relevant to that, including weekly or annual working time, shift systems, schedules, and overtime. 

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At the 2009 meeting in Colombia, the network&rsquo;s Madrid deliberations resolved to deal specifically with problems that workers employed by contractors encounter. 
 
The signing of the protocol agreement with Repsol-YPF is a major progressive step involving trade union coordination. The agreement is sure to make it possible to improve future working conditions for all. Moreover, it is a step toward creating unified trade unionism in an age of globalisation in which working conditions in one country are shaped and determined by those that occur in other countries. 
 
Trade unions taking part in the Repsol Workers&rsquo; Network include: FASPyGP-CGT and SUPeH-CGT, Argentina; FSTPB, Bolivia; FUP-CUT, Brazil; USO-CUT, Colombia; Federaci&oacute;n Sindical Trabajadores del Petr&oacute;leo, Ecuador; FITEQU-CC.OO and FIA-UGT of Spain; SUT RELAPA, Peru; Oilfields Workers&rsquo; Union of Trinidad and Tobago; and SINUTRAPETROL, Venezuela.

Repsol Management Formally Recognises Workers’ Energy Network of Spain, Latin America/Caribbean

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On 13 November, ICEM, together with Norwegian affiliate Industri Energi (IE), reached a new Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with StatoilHydro. 
 
The agreement replaces ICEM&rsquo;s first global agreement with Norway&rsquo;s state-operated oil and gas producer, Statoil, which was signed in July 1998 in coordination with Norsk Olje og Petrokjemisk Fagforbund (NOPEF), the trade union covering Norway&rsquo;s oil and gas workers at the time. Subsequently, NOPEF merged with the chemical workers union (NKIF) to create Industri Energi, or IE. And Statoil acquired the oil and gas activities of Norsk Hydro. 
 
The Statoil agreement in 1998 was a landmark global accord for the ICEM. It set the standard for further agreements, covering trade union rights, health, safety and environmental commitments, and providing internal training programmes. The agreement was renewed and improved upon in March 2001; further updated and strengthened in August 2003; and again in June 2005. 

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IE&rsquo;s Lars Myhre, ICEM&rsquo;s Manfred Warda, and Erling Brevik and Aksel Stenerud, from StatoilHydro.
 
The provisions of the new global agreement are broadly similar to those of the predecessor agreement, however the accord now has a much wider scope. It covers 29,500 StatoilHydro workers in 40 countries. 
 
&ldquo;Our original agreement with Statoil set a model for international social dialogue that laid firm foundations for other GFAs the ICEM has been able to negotiate,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;From the beginning, the company made a commitment to ensure the agreement was a functioning one. 
 
&ldquo;I am delighted that this commitment to social dialogue and the agreement itself continues with the new company, and now has been extended to a wide range of workers in many more countries than the original.&rdquo; 

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On behalf of StatoilHydro, the agreement was signed by Erling Brevik, Vice President of Industrial Relations. Lars Myhre signed on behalf of IE. 
 
The parties agreed that early in 2009 there will be a meeting to share information and plan in detail how the global agreement will be implemented across the wide-ranging activities of the merged company, and to advance a joint social dialogue course. 
 
StatoilHydro was established on 1 October 2007, and is now the world&rsquo;s largest oil and gas firm in waters 100 metres deep or more. The company operates 39 oil and gas fields with production averages of over 1.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, and proven reserves of more than 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The company has more than 30 years of experience on the Norwegian continental shelf, pioneering complex offshore projects under rigorous condition.

ICEM Signs New Global Agreement with Norwegian Energy Concern, StatoilHydro

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ICEM leaders and senior managers of French-based chemicals multinational Rhodia travelled to Brazil from 2-5 December for a second round of monitoring the Global Framework Agreement. This kind of joint mission was first realised last year in China with a view toward making sure the agreement is properly implemented at specific workplaces. 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Vice-President S&eacute;rgio Novais, and Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan represented the ICEM, while Rhodia&rsquo;s Exeuctive Vice-President Bernard Chambon&ouml;, Sustainable Development Director Jacques Kheliff, and Communications Vice President Lucia Dumas participated, as did the Brazilian team of Rhodia, headed by Latin American President Marcos De Marchi. 
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The social partners discussed the global agreement in Brazil in general, and specifically, at the regional headquarters in S&atilde;o Paulo. The delegation visited plants in Paulinia, Santo Andr&eacute;, and Cubatao, and met with local trade union leaders at those worksites. 
The ICEM team was informed about products, technology, safety, health, and environmental matters, and received information on salaries, social benefits, staffing, and local community relations in the plant visits. 
In terms of trade union representation, all Rhodia workplaces are organised by six different unions, each with collective agreements. The ICEM proposed a network among these different unions so coordination can occur and a common dialogue can happen at the national level. 
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&ldquo;I am pleased by the positive results of our agreement with Rhodia,&rdquo; commented Warda. &ldquo;The successful visit to Brazil, coordinated effectively by management, has shown us that a GFA can be a positive tool in industrial relations at the global level. 
&ldquo;It also secures an understanding on how local and national level social dialogue can proceed in a cooperative manner,&rdquo; Warda added. The Global Framework Agreement with Rhodia was renewed in March 2008, and now contains succinct language related to union recruitment and company neutrality.

ICEM, Rhodia Monitor Global Agreement at Brazilian Plants

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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda compared the labour repression of the Mexican government to that of the regimes in Burma and Zimbabwe. This follows the recent arrests of two union officials and the seizure of the union&rsquo;s bank assets. 
 
The targeted National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM) is fighting to retain its democratic integrity as a trade union in Mexico. 
 
The recent arrests were clearly carried out on the request of Grupo M&eacute;xico and other employers. The ICEM points to reports that arrests of other trade unionists are imminent. The letter can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0812.President%20Calderon.pdf">here</a>.
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The two union leaders, Carlos Pavon Campos, SNTMMSRM&rsquo;s secretary of Political Affairs, and Juan Linares Montufar, president of the union&rsquo;s General Council of Oversight and Justice, are accused of stealing funds awarded the union after the privatization of Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s Cananea copper mine, according to Mexico&rsquo;s top prosecutor. Mexican miners at numerous sites laid down their tools in protest against the arrests, including Fresnillo, Madero, and Sabinas worksites, demanding the immediate release of the two. 
 
The illegal arrest of Juan Linares was carried out at his home on 3 December, with a heavy presence of federal and state forces. The equally arbitrary and illegal arrest of Carlos Campos came the following day, with Campos being taken to the Camarones detention centre. 
 
These repressive actions of the Mexican government continue a worrying trend of the last three years, which has seen SNTMMSRM&rsquo;s General Secretary Napoleon Gomez Urretia twice removed from office, and other union officials charged falsely, with several of those charges dismissed in court rooms.

ICEM Condemns Union Repression by Mexican Government

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On 11 December, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda met with Argentine affiliates in Buenos Aires. The meeting was held with the support of Friedrich Ebert-Siftung (FES), a German-based labour foundation. It included unions representing paper workers, private-sector energy and gas workers, and others. 
 
Manfred Warda welcomed to the meeting the metal workers&rsquo; union of Argentina, a union seeking affiliation to ICEM on behalf of nuclear energy workers. 

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The meeting focused on recent ICEM initiatives, with attention to what is planned and occurring in the Latin American/Caribbean Region. Issues regarding energy and the different networks that operate with regional involvement in energy and chemicals were of special interest. The participants of the meeting voiced their concerns on contract and agency labour, and sustainable development. Gender and youth issues were other focuses. 
 
Warda expressed gratitude that the Argentine affiliates are prepared to welcome the next ICEM Congress in 2011. The Congress will be a resounding success, not least because of the enthusiasm shown on the part of Argentine affiliates.

ICEM Convenes Meeting of Argentine Affiliates; Agreement on 2011 Congress in Buenos Aires

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On 1-2 December, in Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, union leaders of ICEM affiliate Sintracarb&ograve;n delivered a list of demands to management of Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, the world-class coal mining operation owned by BHP Billiton, AngloAmerican, and Xstrata. The workers are seeking solutions regarding serious problems in health, education, low wages, outsourcing of labour, and effects on the local community. 
 
Preliminary discussions were carried out on 3-4 December at company headquarters in the city of Barranquilla, where a course was set forth for the negotiations to continue. The direct settlement stage of discussions began 9 December, where both parties again agreed on the required methodology in approaching negotiation of the union demands. 
 
This massive open-pit mining enterprise in the northern state of Guajira produces highly desirable low-carbon thermal coal. The mine produces 32 million tones annually, with a majority of that shipped to Europe, with exports to North America second in scope.
<img height="252" src="" width="300" alt="" />
Miners of Sintracarb&ograve;n in Colombia&nbsp; 
 

Since January 2007, when the ICEM assisted Sintracarb&ograve;n in achieving its current and now expiring labour contract, the number of health problems of workers has increased dramatically, up to 700, leading to the demand for a better health care system for both workers and their families. Aims to reduce the numbers of outsourced workers at the mine would develop economic stability for miners and their families, as well as efficient unionization of the workforce enabling collective bargaining. 
 
The union represents some 4,500 full-time Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n workers, with another 4,000 employees working for service providers. Sintracarb&ograve;n is requesting solidarity again from its global affiliation, as well as from national level unions in Colombia as the talks progress in December.

Sintracarbòn Enters Critical Talks with Carbones del Cerrejon in Columbia

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ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs Joe Drexler reports that progress is being made with Russian and Ukrainian governments by ICEM-affiliated mining affiliates in promoting the ratification of the ILO Convention 176 on Health and Safety in Mines. 
 
Russia experienced a major mining disaster last week when 12 people were killed at an apatite mine near Kirovsk, in the Murmansk region, and Ukraine has the most dangerous coal mines in Europe. Apatite is used in fertilizer production. 
 
In a week-long trip that included stops in Moscow, Russia, and Kiev and Donetsk, Ukraine, Drexler met with union leaders, employers, and government officials including the Deputy Minister of Health and Social Development in Russia and the Minister of Coal in Ukraine. The meetings with the ministers were set up by Ivan Mokhnachuk, President of the Russian Independent Coal Employees&rsquo; Union, and Victor Turmanov, Chairman of the Trade Union of Workers&rsquo; of the Coal Industry of Ukraine. 

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Left, Joe Drexler, ICEM Director for Industry and Corporate Affairs; right, Ivan Mokhnachuk, President of the Russian Independent Coal Employees' Union (Rosugleprof)
In Russia, the Chemical and Allied Industries Workers Union, which represents some 50,000 largely phosphate and potash miners, and the Russian Trade Union of Metal Workers in the Nickel, Cobalt, and Platinum Industries, representing miners at Norlisk Nickel, offered strong support for the ratification of ILO Convention 176. Valery Glaskov, president of the metal mining union, also said he would open direct talks with Norlisk about a Global Framework Agreement. The talks will include the ICEM and trade unions outside of Russia. Norlisk has mining operations in Africa and the US.
It is in Ukraine where the prospect of achieving ratification of ILO Convention 176 in the near-term appears most likely. Victor Turmanov, who is also a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, has been leading the effort along with Mikhail Volynets of the ICEM affiliated Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine, and also a member of Parliament. A meeting was also held with Vasyl Khara, President of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, and yet another member of Parliament. Although much of the research and proposed changes to mining laws and regulations have been prepared, unified political pressure will be required to ensure ratification. 
&ldquo;I think we can say with confidence that Ukraine will become the 23rd nation to ratify ILO 176,&rdquo; said Turmanov after a meeting with Viktor Poltavets, the Minister of Coal, who gave his whole-hearted commitment to push for ratification in 2009. 
 
The ICEM has been lobbying the ILO to step up its own efforts to promote the ratification of the convention. The ILO is setting up workshops about ratification in India and Mongolia, but after several months of discussion, no meeting dates have been set. 
 
Indian unions have grown frustrated over the slow progress by the ILO and are actively engaged in lobbying efforts with government and employers. The Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia has received a commitment from the new Labour government that it will also proceed next year toward ratification. 
 
Ratification of ILO Convention 176 will result in needed improvements in mining regulations and laws in most countries which have not yet ratified. Experience has shown that good mining laws and regulation will make mines safer.

ILO Mine, Safety Convention 176 Moves Closer to Realty in Russia, Ukraine

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A critical meeting was held in Basra at the headquarters of the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) on 29 November. Iraqi union leaders of FWCUI&rsquo;s branches met in a general session with an emphasis on preparing for elections in the oil sector. 
 
The meeting was attended by 36 trade union leaders of the oil sector, including workers&rsquo; representatives from the northern Rumaylah fields, the southern Rumaylah fields, as well as the Birjisiya, Shiayba, and Saltt stations, the pipelines company, the petrochemical company, and the headquarters unit of the Southern Oil Co. 

<img height="200" alt="" src="" width="267" />
The meeting was chaired by Thair Ismaieel, coordinator of FWCUI&rsquo;s preparatory committee, and was attended by Raiad Mahmoud and Haydar Abd Alilah, charged with administrative and financial affairs, for the union, and by Kareem Johi, Secretary of FWCUI&rsquo;s Petro-Chemicals Branch. 
 
The meeting produced a set of recommendations intended to determine responsibilities of the union&rsquo;s supreme committee regarding elections, and a call to respect the instructions issued by this committee. 
 
The recommendations also include mechanisms to empower union members to shape the federation as an independent organization, to encourage women to join unions of the federation, a call to unionists to be willing and able to support workers&rsquo; activities in all sectors, and publishing and distribution of FWCUI&rsquo;s newspaper in all workplaces. 
 
The meeting took up the challenges to the 1987 Saddam-era Decree 150 &ndash; still in force &ndash;which prohibits independent trade unions in the public sector, and also explored ways to expand membership. FWCUI is focused on making its unions power tools in the hands of workers.
<img height="80" alt="" src="" width="120" />
A week after the meeting, on 5 December, FWCUI issued a strong statement against the so-called &ldquo;Security Agreement&rdquo; between the US and the government of Iraq. That statement rejects the agreement and invites other Iraqi parties that reject the agreement &ldquo;to place their opposition in the political arena (in order) to widen the public discourse and to transform the rejection of this agreement to an empowerment of the people.&rdquo; 
 
FWCUI members of the supreme committee for elections includes: Thaier Ismaieel, President; Mustapha Ahmed and Mahdi Bishara, Vice Presidents; Raid Abd Alqader, Secretary; Ghazi Abd Alqader, Secretary Assistant; Dhaher Auda, Administrative and Financial Affairs Officer; Nashwan Faisal, Administrative/Financial Assistant; Kareem Johi, Communications Officer; Mukhlis Faisal, Public Relations Officer; and Saffa Talib and Muayad Hamad, respective assistants in those latter areas.

FWCUI in Iraq Holds Crucial Meeting Leading Up to Elections

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A call for action was made by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) on 8 December, following the arrest of KCTU President Lee Suk-haeng three days earlier. 
 
The alleged reason for the arrest was Lee Suk-haeng&rsquo;s role in organizing a general strike on 2 July, deemed as &ldquo;illegal.&rdquo; The Korean labour leader&rsquo;s solidarity action, supporting the E-land contract labour strike in 2007, had drawn the wrath of South Korean authorities then, and resulted in his arrest early this month. 
 
The general strike was called to gain the right to re-negotiate on health and safety, specifically the 2007 Protocol on US beef imports, on food-safety grounds. The KCTU had organized various solidarity actions in support of the strike by the E-land workers, protesting against sudden termination of contracts and illegal subcontracting, which clearly violated the Korean Irregular Workers law of July 2007. 
 
The charge against KTCU President Lee Suk-haeng is &ldquo;obstruction of business,&rdquo; under section 314 of the Penal Code. However, freedom of association and the right to strike under collective bargaining are clearly protected by ILO Core Conventions 87 and 98. 
 
The 8 December KCTU call for pressure on the Korean government, to stop trade union repression, respect health and safety consultation, and to show proof that ILO conventions are being practiced, is important. It is also important in gaining the immediate release of Bro. Lee Suk-haeng. 
 
The call has been answered by the ICEM; the ICEM letter can be found <a href="/index.php?id=7&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=2927">here</a>; the ICEM encourages trade unions to copy or excerpt the letter, and to lodge their own protests with the South Korean government.

ICEM Joins Wide Protest of Korean Trade Union President’s Arrest

Lee Myung Bak 
President 
Republic Of Korea 
December 11, 2008 

The ICEM, representing 20 Million Workers in Chemical, Energy and Mining Industry over 130 countries strongly protests at the arrest of Mr. Lee Suk-haeng, President of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). 

The ICEM has been informed that Bro. Lee Suk-haeng was arrested on 5 December, at 10:40 pm, in connection with his role in organising an &ldquo;illegal&rdquo; general strike on 2 July 2008 and in organising a solidarity action in support of the E-land Retail Precarious workers&rsquo; strike in 2007. 
We understand that Brother Lee Suk-haeng would be mainly charged with &ldquo;obstruction of business&rdquo; (provision in section 314 of the Penal Code) due to his role in these actions. 

The ICEM is appalled that trade union leaders are being arrested and detained merely for exercising fundamental workers' rights, like to the right to strike. The right to strike encompasses both the right for workers to pursue demonstrations concerning social and economic policies affecting its members, as well as solidarity actions. We are very concerned about the severe form and nature of the repression, especially the deprivation of liberty of those involved and the intrusion into the privacy of family members. The targeting of top union leaders is blatant anti-union repression and the ICEM is disappointed that the government has chosen to keep union leaders imprisoned for longer periods in this case. 

The ICEM is urging your government to order the immediate release of Mr. Lee Suk-haeng and all other imprisoned trade unionists and that all charges against them be dropped. It also urges you to ensure that the arrest warrants against all other labour leaders be withdrawn immediately. 

In the meantime, I trust that you will pay prompt attention to this very serious matter. 
Yours sincerely, 
 
Manfred Warda 
General Secretary 
ICEM

ICEM Letter to South Korean Government On Arest of Lee Suk-haeng

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