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<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A colliery in northern Notre de Santander state, Colombia, again became a death trap for miners. The La Preciosa coal mine in Sandinata municipality, where 38 miners have already perished over the past three years, was rocked by a methane gas explosion at the morning shift change on 26 January that saw 21 miners die. 
 
The locally-owned mine by La Preciosa Ltda. employs 110 staff and was ordered closed by the National Institute of Geology and Mines (Ingeominas) following the explosion. Twenty miners were killed inside a 600-metre horizontal shaft, while one worker died in an ambulance on the way to medical care. Six miners were rescued and are hospitalised in the city of C&uacute;cuta. 
 
The bodies of 16 miners were retrieved on the day of the disaster, while four were received on 27 January. 
<img alt="" src="" width="209" height="145" />
La Preciosa Miners Worry About Future
In unexpected candor, the Colombian government admitted that its mine safety laws and resources for stricter mine safety regulations are inadequate. Mining Minister Carlos Rodado arrived in Sandinata on 27 January and said the government lacks funds and staff &ndash; Ingeominas exploys only 17 mine inspectors &ndash; to monitor 6,000 legal mines. 
 
La Preciosa, which produces 3,000 tonnes of coal per month, is a legally-operated mine. But in October 2010, six miners died due to gas asphyxiation. In 2007, 32 miners died in a similar gas explosion to the one that occurred last Wednesday. In 2007, the mine stayed close for five months. 
 
A representative from an ICEM-affiliated miners&rsquo; union at another mine in Colombia said the government is too quick to award operating licenses to small- and medium-size companies which do not have the necessary mechanisms in place to monitor safe mining practices. Colombia has not ratified ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. 
 
At a funeral service in the mountain town of San Roque on 28 January where ten of the 21 miners were remembered, thousand of residents turned out to mourn, with most residents of the mountainous town affixing Colombian flag to their homes. The mayor of Sandinata, Yamile Ragel, called the tragedy &ldquo;a crime&rdquo; that will &ldquo;not go unpunished.&rdquo; The ten were buried in a local cemetery following a Roman Catholic service. 
 
Ingeominas said that in 2010, Colombia recorded 84 mine accidents in which 173 workers died.

Methane Blast in Colombian Coal Mine Kills 21

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An ICEM and Public Services International (PSI) affiliated trade union, Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA), has raised issue with the insolent social conduct of US managers of a subsidiary of GDF SUEZ. The conduct is pointedly contrary to standards GDF SUEZ only in November agreed to in a Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with three Global Union Federations (GUFs). 
 
The matter involves a US subsidiary of French-based GDF SUEZ, United Water Services Inc., a private utility that employs about 400 UWUA members in the US. UWUA called on the ICEM and PSI to rebuke United Water over an environment indictment levied in December by the US Justice Department, as well as troubling public comments made by United Water executives to minimize the seriousness of the alleged crimes. 
<img alt="" src="" width="112" height="112" />
After consulting with the third GUF that is signatory to the 16 November 2010 GFA, Building and Woodworkers International (BWI), the ICEM and PSI on 19 January issued the first complaint of this particular agreement, calling United Water&rsquo;s overall conduct a breach of GDF SUEZ corporate social responsibility. (That complaint can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/2.GDFSUEZunitedwatLet.pdf ">here</a>.) 
On 8 December, the US government issued a set of 26 indictments against United Water for conspiracy and felony violations of the US Clean Water Act. The GDF SUEZ subsidiary and two of its executives are charged with tampering and manipulating water quality measurements at a Gary, Indiana, wastewater treatment plant that it had operated on behalf of the municipality&rsquo;s Sanitation Board. 
 
Specifically, over a five-year period, the US Justice Department charged United Water with a scheme that increased chlorine input levels immediately before US government E.Coli monitoring samples were taken, and then lowering the input levels afterward as cost-savings measures. United Water is accused of doing this 68 times. 
<img alt="" src="" width="220" height="69" />
The practice, the US government claims, poses a serious health risk to the public. 
 
The UWUA, ICEM, and PSI also took serious issue following the US Justice Department indictment with public comments made by United Water&rsquo;s president and senior vice president for Corporate Communications downplaying the charges. They stated that the indictments are mere technical disagreements, with the president of United Water, Robert Iacullo, calling the government&rsquo;s environmental charges &ldquo;an abuse of prosecutorial discretion.&rdquo; 
 
In the addendum to the GFA, GDF Suez states that it has &ldquo;responsibilities to society&rdquo; and that &ldquo;it will respect national law and regulations.&rdquo; The agreement also states: &ldquo;Among it activities, GDF Suez distributes energy and water, essential to the health and well-being of society.&rdquo; The ICEM/PSI intervention notes, &ldquo;If the US government&rsquo;s charges prove true, the discharge of untreated, or sub-standard wastewater into waterways poses a serious public health threat.&rdquo; 
 
The GUFs are currently awaiting reply from GDF SUEZ over the complaint.

US Affiliate, UWUA, Challenges GDF SUEZ Inside Global Agreement

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The lockout by U.S. Steel against 900 active workers and 9,000 retirees and widows at a steel mill in Hamilton, Ontario, gained national Canadian attention on 29 January when over 10,000 trade unionists assembled and manifested in wet snow in Hamilton. Some 75 busloads of citizens came to what&rsquo;s known in Canada as &ldquo;Steeltown,&rdquo; angry at their government and manifesting under the slogan &ldquo;The People vs. U.S. Steel.&rdquo; 
View video footage of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAb_uR-UFv0">Hamilton Rally</a>. 
 
The Hamilton Day of Action for locked-out members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1005 served as a national rallying cry against the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper and other parliamentarians have failed to make accountable foreign multinationals which buy Canadian assets and then immediately furlough workers and cut living standards. 
 
Both the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL/CLC) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) lent heavy support in making 29 January this rallying cry, as well as national signal that this unprovoked lockout marks undeniably that Canadian investment law is deeply flawed. 
<img alt="" src="" width="269" height="179" />
Quebec Steelworkers in Hamilton 
Photo: John Maclennan
The day&rsquo;s speeches, placards, and slogans stated just that that. Local 1005 is defending workers, retirees, and widows against an American predator that three years ago bought Ontario-based steelmaker Stelco but immediately began side-stepping a weakened Investment Canada Act. The OFL claims that contrary to provisions in the Investment Canada Act, U.S. Steel has cut 2,200 jobs Stelco jobs in Hamilton and the Nanticoke Works in those three years. 
 
One of the main speakers of the day, USW President Leo Gerard, minced no words in describing the head-lock that corporations have on workers and governments: &ldquo;Everywhere on earth, these corporate bastards are trying to pick our pockets. I&rsquo;ll be damned if I&rsquo;m going to stand by and let them take our pensions. We have to demand that Harper stand up for Canada.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="231" height="169" />
USW President Leo Gerard. (At right, USW Canadian National Director Ken Neumann) 
Photo: John Maclennan
The Investment Canada Act is supposed to provide a &ldquo;net benefit&rdquo; to Canadians when foreign ownership acquires Canadian-based assets. Steelworkers of Local 1005, along with retirees and widows from the Hamilton Works, made the strong statement Saturday that they are victims, thrown off their jobs because they refuse to have their rightful benefits stripped from them.
The U.S. Steel lockout, now beginning its 13th week, centers on the company&rsquo;s demand that retirees and widows lose pension indexing calculations, a sum meant to meet inflation costs amounting to C$30 per year, depending on different pension levels. U.S. Steel also wants to close off the defined benefit plan for new workers, certainly no &ldquo;net benefit&rdquo; to young Canadian workers. 
<img alt="" src="" width="369" height="161" />
Photo: John Maclennan
Bus-loads of loyal steelworkers from Quebec arrived and made USW Local 1005 supporters proud that such national unity crosses provincial boundaries. Buses of steelworkers also came from Sudbury, Ontario, where a foreign multinational also has slashed jobs and living standards, as well as from U.S. Steel&rsquo;s Great Lakes mill in the US state of Michigan. 
 
Union delegations turned out in full from the Canadian Autoworkers&rsquo; Union (CAW), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The OFL and CLC led the larger call across Canada. Scores of trade union delegations from teachers&rsquo; unions, to the Ontario Public Service Union, to ICEM-affiliated Power Workers Union (PWU) and the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union also lent their support. 
<img alt="" src="" width="218" height="163" />
Bill Mahoney
Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina, an outspoken critic of U.S. Steel&rsquo;s conduct in his city, spoke at Saturday&rsquo;s &ldquo;The People vs. U.S. Steel&rdquo; manifestation, as did MP Chris Charlton, the leading national politician currently out to refine the Investment Canada Act. Other speakers included CLC President Ken Georgetti, OFL President Sid Ryan, and Bill Mahoney, a victim himself who has put to words what Local 1005&rsquo;s fightback symbolises. 
 
Called the &ldquo;Protest Poet,&rdquo; Mahoney has been retired from Stelco&rsquo;s Hamilton Works for five works and has penned some 25 poems on social erosion. One, entitled &ldquo;Scrooge Comes to Town,&rdquo; reads: 
We are fighting for our dignity, united young and old 
All across the country, the story is being told 
Of our proud community whose dignity won&rsquo;t be sold 
We are fighting for our country, Canada is our home. 
Prior ICEM reports on the struggle by USW Local 1005 in Hamilton can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4101-Flawed-Investment-Canada-Act-Again-Seen-in-Steel-Lockout ">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4190-Rally-Slated-29-January-in-Canada-to-Support-Locked-out-Steelworkers ">here</a>.

Over 10,000 Manifest in Hamilton Against Canadian Government, U.S. Steel

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The global mobilization of trade unions affiliated to four Global Union Federations, calling for trade union rights in Mexico, is now two weeks away. Affiliates of the ICEM, International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), and UNI have planned coordinated actions across the world during the week that marks the five-year anniversary of the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster. 
 
In February 2006, an explosion happened in that mine and 65 miners were killed. The tragic blast followed continued pleas by the Mexican Miners Union, Los Mineros, for improved safety conditions at the mine. 
 
The campaign has now made available posters, hand-bills, and information backgrounders in various languages, available <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP">here</a>.&nbsp; 
<img alt="" src="" width="368" height="87" />
In Geneva, a high-level delegation from the four coordinating GUFs will meet with the Mexican ambassador to the UN in the Swiss city, to communicate the demands of the global action and seek explanations on sustained efforts to bust unions by the Calder&oacute;n government. An action in front of the Mexican mission in Geneva will be joined by other Global Union Federations, including the Building and Woodworkers International (BWI), Public Services International (PSI), and the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF). 
 
Mexico&rsquo;s assault against trade unions, specifically against Los Mineros, continued last Monday, 24 January, when a US representative of the USW, Manny Armenta, was arrested by Mexican customs police on his way to assist attorneys for Los Mineros. He was accused of driving a stolen vehicle. Armenta immediately presented documentation for the car, but was still instructed to pay a fine to a corrupt officer of US$15,000. On refusing to pay, Armenta was arrested and detained, until Los Mineros posted a bond of US$7,500 for his release. Armenta&rsquo;s car is still impounded and his wallet was returned to him by police minus US$700. 
<img alt="" src="" width="261" height="177" />
USW's Manny Armenta in Mexican Prison Cell
Steelworker President Leo Gerard stated, &ldquo;It is ironic that although Mexican courts have issued 20 warrants for Germ&aacute;n Larrea &ndash; the owner of Grupo M&eacute;xico &ndash; the government has never been able to arrest him. Yet they can arrest Manny because he is in Mexico helping the mineworkers defend their rights.&rdquo; 
 
In a further clear example of the Calder&oacute;n government&rsquo;s complicit support for union-busting efforts, three leaders of the Los Mineros Section 142 were arrested at 5.30am on 26 January. Ministerial police violently pulled the men from their homes, still in their underwear in an effort to intimidate the section, currently on strike at the El Cubo mine, in Guanajuato. 
 
Those arrested were Juan Andr&eacute;s Villa Licea, President of the Strike Committee, Mart&iacute;n Reina Cruces, and Jorge Ram&oacute;n Monsiv&aacute;is Ortega, all senior members of the union.

14-19 February Mexico Days of Action Draws Near

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Uluslararasi Sendika Federasyonlari IMF, ICEM, ITF ve UNI, &uuml;ye sendikalarını 14 Şubat tarihinden,&nbsp;Pasta de Conchos trajedisinin 5. yıld&ouml;n&uuml;m&uuml; olan 19 Şubat tarihine kadar eyleme davet etmektedir.
T&uuml;m &uuml;ye sendikalarımızdan Meksika H&uuml;k&uuml;meti&rsquo;ne y&ouml;nelik aşağıdaki &ccedil;ağrımıza katılması istemekteyiz: 
 
1. İşverenden ve Meksika h&uuml;k&uuml;meti yetkililerinden 19 Şubat 2009 tarihinde ger&ccedil;ekleşen ve 65 madencinin hayatına malolan Pasta de Conchos patlamasının hesabı sorulmalıdır. 
 
Patlamanın nedenleri bağımsız bir şekilde soruşturulmalıdır. Sorumlular hakkında hukuki kovuşturma başlatılmalıdır. H&uuml;k&uuml;met tarafından kurbanların ailelerinin haklarının adil bir şekilde karşılanması, g&ouml;&ccedil;&uuml;k altında kalan madencilerin cesetlerinin &ccedil;ıkarılması ve cenaze t&ouml;reninin yapılması gerekiyor. Meksika, madenlerdeki iş sağlığı ve g&uuml;venliği mevzuatını geliştirerek İLO S&ouml;zleşmeleri ile uyumlu hale getirmek i&ccedil;in harekete ge&ccedil;melidir. 
 
2. İşveren g&uuml;d&uuml;ml&uuml; &ldquo;koruma s&ouml;zleşmeleri&rdquo; ve sendika se&ccedil;imlerine m&uuml;dahaleyi de i&ccedil;eren &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenmeye y&ouml;nelik sistematik ihlallere son verilmelidir. 
 
H&uuml;k&uuml;met, &Ccedil;alışma Bakanlığı yetkililerinin, y&uuml;r&uuml;rl&uuml;ğe girmeden &ouml;nce sendika se&ccedil;imlerinin sonu&ccedil;larını onaylamasını gerekli kılan &ldquo;toma de nota&ldquo; uygulamasını ortadan kaldırmalıdır. Los Mineros ve SME sendikalarının se&ccedil;ilmiş y&ouml;neticileri bir an &ouml;nce tanınmalıdır. İş&ccedil;ilerin kendilerini temsil edecek sendikayı korkusuzca ve &ouml;zg&uuml;rce se&ccedil;ebilmeleri i&ccedil;in işveren g&uuml;d&uuml;ml&uuml; &ldquo;koruma s&ouml;zleşmeleri&rdquo; uygulaması sona erdirilmeli ve iş&ccedil;iler toplu s&ouml;zleşmenin bir kopyasını alma hakkına sahip olmalıdır. 
 
3. İş&ccedil;ilerin kendilerine daha iyi &ccedil;alışma koşulları ve daha y&uuml;ksek &uuml;cret, daha sağlıklı ve g&uuml;venli &ccedil;alışma koşulları sağlayacak olan &ldquo;demokratik sendika&rdquo; meşru talebini baskı altına almak amacıyla devlet veya &ouml;zel hukuk kişileri tarafından kuvvet kullanılmasına son verilmelidir. 
 
H&uuml;k&uuml;met, Federal Polis Kuvvetlerini bir an &ouml;nce Cananea ve diğer b&uuml;t&uuml;n işyerlerinden &ccedil;ekmelidir. 
 
Los Mineros &uuml;yeleri Hector Alvarez Gomez, Mario Alberto Castillo Rodriguez, Reynaldo Hernandez Gonzalez, Juventino Flores Salas, ve FLOC &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme sorumlusu Santiago Rafael Cruz'un katledilmesinin sorumluları adalete teslim edilmelidir. 
 
4. Meksika Maden İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası ve Meksika Elektrik İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası'na y&ouml;nelik sistematik politik baskı kampanyasına son verilmelidir. 
 
H&uuml;k&uuml;met haksız yere cezaevinde tutulan sendika liderleri; Juan Linares Montufar ve Miguel Marguez'i serbest bırakmalı, Genel Sekreter Napoleon Gomez Urrutia ve diğer Los Mineros liderleri hakkındaki ceza kovuşturmalarını d&uuml;ş&uuml;rmeli, sendikanın dondurulan banka hesaplarındaki kaynakları geri vermeli ve SNTMMSRM ve SME'ye y&ouml;nelik sistematik politik baskıya sonlandırmalıdır. 
 
H&uuml;k&uuml;met Mexico City b&ouml;lgesine elektrik enerji dağıtımını yapacak yeni bir kamu şirketi kurmalı. İşe iadelerini talep eden işten atılmış iş&ccedil;ileri yeniden işe almalı ve SME'yi toplu s&ouml;zleşme tarafı olarak tanımalıdır. 
 
Sizleri, bu talepleri desteklemeniz i&ccedil;in diğer sendikalar ile birlikte 14-19 Şubat 2011 tarihleri arasında aşağıdaki eylem bi&ccedil;imlerinden uygun bulduklarınızı uygulamaya &ccedil;ağırmaktayız. 
 
&bull; Meksika H&uuml;k&uuml;meti&rsquo;ne protesto mektubu g&ouml;ndererek, &uuml;lkenizdeki Meksika B&uuml;y&uuml;kel&ccedil;iliği ya da Konsolosluğu &ouml;n&uuml;nde g&ouml;steriler ve toplantılar d&uuml;zenlenebilir. 
&bull; İnsan hakları ve sendikal haklar alanında uluslararası m&uuml;zakereler yoluyla Meksika H&uuml;k&uuml;meti &uuml;zerinde etkili olabilecek politikacılarla toplantı ve brifingler yapılabilir. 
&bull; Temel haklara y&ouml;nelik bu ihlalleri a&ccedil;ıklamak i&ccedil;in ilgili Meksika şirketlerinin m&uuml;şterileri ve yatırımcıları ile toplantılar organize edilebilir. 
&bull; Kamuoyunun dikkatini Meksika'daki duruma &ccedil;ekmek i&ccedil;in basın a&ccedil;ıklamaları yapılarak, medyaya y&ouml;nelik etkinlikler d&uuml;zenleyin, gazete edit&ouml;rlerine mektuplar g&ouml;nderilebilir. 
 
Bu k&uuml;resel eylem haftasının koordine edilmesinde bize destek olmak i&ccedil;in &uuml;yesi olduğunuz ilgili K&uuml;resel Federasyonu ne t&uuml;r eylem planladığınıza ilişkin en kısa sure i&ccedil;erisinde bilgilendirmenizi istirham etmekteyiz. 
 
IMF (E-posta: <a href="mailto:unionrights@imfmetal.org">unionrights@imfmetal.org</a>) 
ICEM (E-posta: <a href="mailto:tom.grinter@icem.org">tom.grinter@icem.org</a>) 
ITF (E-posta: <a href="mailto:cortes_isabel@itf.org.uk">cortes_isabel@itf.org.uk</a>) 
UNI (<a href="mailto:Olga.Vinogradova@uniglobalunion.org">Olga.Vinogradova@uniglobalunion.org</a>)

Meksika`da Sendikal Haklar icin Eylem Haftasi - 14/19 Subat 2011

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
ICEM ve Uluslararası Metal İş&ccedil;ileri Federasyonu (IMF), ekonomik, &ccedil;evresel ve sosyal krizler arasındaki ilişkileri ele alan, &ldquo;Emisyonu Azaltmak &ndash; İstihdamı D&ouml;n&uuml;şt&uuml;rmek&rdquo; konulu ortak bir panel d&uuml;zenledi. 7 Aralık'taki panel, COP16 &ccedil;er&ccedil;evesinde, &ldquo;Emek D&uuml;nyası&rdquo; genel başlığı altında, Meksika'nın Cancun kentindeki Universidad del Sur'da ger&ccedil;ekleşti. 
 
İnsana yakışır ve s&uuml;rd&uuml;r&uuml;lebilir istihdamın korunması ve yaratılması ve iklim değişikliğiyle m&uuml;cadelede sendikaların rol&uuml; konusunda bir&ccedil;ok tanınmış sendikacı g&ouml;r&uuml;şlerini dile getirdi. 
 
IMF Japonya'dan Şoi&ccedil;iro Kaneko, &uuml;lkenin teknolojik ilerlemeden yararlanarak karbon emisyonlarının denetiminde kaydettiği gelişmeyi ve &ouml;nerilen iklim fonuna verilen desteği vurguladı. Ne var ki, Kaneko, yeni anlaşma b&uuml;t&uuml;n b&uuml;y&uuml;k emisyon kaynaklarını kapsamayacak ve uygulanabilir nitelik taşımayacak olursa, karbon sızıntısının s&uuml;rebileceği kaygısını dile getirdi. 
<img alt="" src="" width="233" height="166" />
Soldan sağa: ICEM'den Brian Kohler, CFMEU'dan Michael O'Conner, ITUC'tan James Howard, IMF-Japonya'dan Şoi&ccedil;iro Kaneko
Avustralya İnşaat, Orman, Maden ve Enerji Sendikası (CFMEU) Ulusal Sekreteri Michael O'Connor, Tasmanya'da yeni bir k&acirc;ğıt ve k&acirc;ğıt hamuru fabrikasının ekonomik potansiyelini ortaya koymak i&ccedil;in &ccedil;evre gruplarıyla kendi sendikasının nasıl bir &ccedil;alışma ilişkisi kurduğunu anlattı. 
 
O'Connor burada dikkat edilecek noktanın, sendikanın iş&ccedil;ileri temsil ettiğini hatırlamak ve iş&ccedil;ilerin sesinin duyulmasını sağlamak olduğunu s&ouml;yledi. 
 
Uluslararası Sendikalar Konfederasyonu'ndan (ITUC) James Howard, ITUC'un Adil Ge&ccedil;iş politikası konusunu ele aldı. Adil Ge&ccedil;iş hi&ccedil; de basit bir s&uuml;re&ccedil; değildir; ancak araştırma, diyalog, sendika-işveren anlaşmaları, g&uuml;&ccedil;l&uuml; sosyal programlar, sanayi yatırımları ve iş&ccedil;ilerin eğitimiyle ger&ccedil;ekleşecektir. 
 
Ana konuşmacı, Japonya'nın Ekonomi, Ticaret ve Sanayi Bakanlığı'ndan İzura Kobayaşi idi. Kobayaşi devam eden iklim g&ouml;r&uuml;şmelerini a&ccedil;ık s&ouml;zl&uuml; bir tavırla &ouml;zetledi.
<img alt="" src="" width="220" height="128" />
İzura Kobayaşi ve Michael O'Connor
İzura Kobayaşi, Japonya'nın g&ouml;r&uuml;ş&uuml;n&uuml; (ki Japonya, Kyoto s&uuml;recinin karbon sızıntısını &ouml;nleme konusunda yeterli &uuml;lke desteğine sahip olmadığı g&ouml;r&uuml;ş&uuml;nde) a&ccedil;ıklamasının yanı sıra, &ouml;nemli bir&ccedil;ok &uuml;st d&uuml;zey g&ouml;r&uuml;şme ve &ouml;zel &ccedil;alışma gruplarının &ccedil;alışmaları hakkında bilgi de verdi. 
 
Nihai sonucu tahmin etmek zor, ama bazı &ouml;nemli konularda ilerleme kaydedildi. Japonya, elbette, imalat sanayilerinde verimli enerji kullanmasının ve yeni teknolojilere yatırım yapmasının ilerlemeyi sağlayan ana y&ouml;ntemlerden biri olduğu g&ouml;r&uuml;ş&uuml;nde. 
 
ICEM'den Brian Kohler ve IMF'den Kan Matusuzaki her iki k&uuml;resel federasyonun politikalarını ve Uluslararası Tekstil ve Deri İş&ccedil;ileri Federasyonu'yla (ITGLWF) birlikte Haziran'da d&uuml;zenlenen S&uuml;rd&uuml;r&uuml;lebilirlik &Uuml;zerine D&uuml;nya Konferansı'nın sonu&ccedil;larını a&ccedil;ıkladılar. Ayrıca, &ldquo;Değişimi &Ouml;ng&ouml;rmek&rdquo; konusunda bir sunum yaptılar. 
 
ICEM ile IMF'nin Emek D&uuml;nyası adlı etkinliğine katılım iyiydi ve panel son derece olumlu tepkiler aldı.

İklim Konferansı&#039;ndaki ICEM-IMF Forumunda Sanayiye Yaklaşım Tartışıldı

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
In the 19 days since 29 miners were pronounced dead in New Zealand&rsquo;s worst mine disaster in 114 years, recovery of the remains of those that perished is still far off, and Pike River Coal Ltd. has given redundancy notices to 90 full-time workers. 
 
That happened on 8 December. 
 
Pike River has already severed its relationship with 70 contract workers at the coking coal mine near Atarua on the west coast of the South Island. 
 
Meanwhile, police and Labour Ministry interviews of Pike River workers over mine safety became contentious when the company insisted on having its lawyers sit in on the interviews. The Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) objected to that, saying it might inhibit the investigation into criminal liability. 
 
&ldquo;We have objected &ndash; it&rsquo;s a clear conflict of interest,&rdquo; said EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little. &ldquo;Police are looking for criminal liability among workers or management &ndash; or both. It&rsquo;s improper for the company to be represented by lawyers in those interviews.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="124" />
EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little
Pike River issued the mandatory four-week layoff notices to its permanent staff last week, meaning that 90 miners will not get paid beyond mid-January. Pike River Coal Ltd. has already launched a commercial feasibility study assessing whether or not it will continue mining the rich Brunner coal seam, but investors say it will take NZ$200 million to re-start the mine. 
 
But it&rsquo;s estimated that it could still take several weeks &ndash; or months &ndash; before the remains of the dead miners are recovered. A local coroner has visited relatives of the deceased to get DNA samples, indicating the difficulty that lies ahead to identify the 29. 
 
The initial 19 November methane gas blast at the Paparoa Range mine most likely killed all 29 miners. Following a subsequent explosion on 24 November, the miners were declared dead. In the days that followed, two further explosions occurred, with coal-stoked fires raging deep in the horizontal shafts of the mine until the middle of last week. 
 
On 29 November, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced formation of a three-member Royal Commission of Inquiry to determine causes of the tragedy. That Commission, headed by High Court Justice Graham Panckhurst, with two international mine safety experts on it, will be given broad latitude and it could take up to two years to assemble findings. In the meantime, area police, the Labour Ministry, and the EPMU will conduct separate investigations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="157" />
NZ Congress of Trade Unions President Helen Kelly with Ian Murray and Tim Whyte, CFMEU Australia at the&nbsp;2 December Memorial Service
Police ended supervision of the mine-site last week and turned recovery procedures back to the company. A Polish-designed G&oacute;rbniczy Agregat Gaśniczy (GAG) jet engine inertisation unit was brought in from the Queensland, Australia, Mine Rescue Unit and on 2 December began to suppress the fires and neutralize combustible gases with inert gases, such as nitrogen. 
 
While this continued over this weekend, a metal cap was placed over the main shaft to allow back pressure in the mine and to further inert deadly gases inside the mine. Early speculation to the cause of the initial explosion was a power outage to a ventilation fan that was some 100 metres into the mine. Methane quickly built-up, followed by a massive explosion. 
 
When an electrician went inside to check the outage during the fateful afternoon of 19 November, the explosion deeper in the mine blew him off his feet. He did manage to rescue an equipment operator who was thrown from a machine, and the two escaped 108 metres up a ladder in a ventilation shaft. Whether or not the giant ventilation fan had been topside, making it easier to re-start, will surely be one of the many issues in upcoming investigations, including the Royal Commission Inquiry. 
 
Several disaster relief funds have been established, and the ICEM is recommending donation be sent to EPMU&rsquo;s &ldquo;Pike River Miners&rsquo; Family Support Trust.&rdquo; The ICEM&rsquo;s New Zealand affiliate said half of everything contributed will go to the Grey District Labour Council community fund, with the other half used to establish a dedicated fund for the education of the children of those miners killed. 
 
Bank transfers can be made to Kiwibank in New Zealand. Account number 38-9011-0165987-00, with checks written to: EPMU Pike River Miners&rsquo; Family Support Trust, c/o PO Box 14-277, Kilbirnie, Wellington, NZ 6241. 
 
Several labour organisations across the globe have already contributed, including A$100,000 by the Australian Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Construction Union (CFMEU) and C$10,000 by the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Union.

Pike River Aftermath: Layoffs, Lawyers and Long Investigations

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The global trade union for the mining industry, the ICEM, congratulates the miners of Carbones del Cerrejon and their union, Sintracarb&oacute;n, as well as management of the coal enterprise in la Guajira state in reaching contract terms early this week in Colombia. In a statement, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda noted that through respectful social dialogue &ndash; a process instituted with the assistance of the ICEM seven years ago &ndash; the two parties reached a mutually acceptable collective agreement, thus abandoning a planned strike. 
 
The two-year labour accord between the 4,000-member ICEM-affiliated mining union and the company operating the world&rsquo;s largest set of open pit coal mines, owned jointly by AngloAmerican, BHP Billiton, and Xstrata, was reached with the assistance of Colombia Vice President Angelino Garz&oacute;n and Vice Minister of Labour Relations Ricardo Echeverry late last week. That mediation illuminates the importance of social dialogue at the highest level in a country usually devoid of such labour-management tools. It also averts a costly strike that would have placed a heavy toll both on union members of Sintracarb&oacute;n and Cerrejon. 
 
&ldquo;We have witnessed both sides reach the brink of negotiations in the past several sets of two-year talks,&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;The fact that Sintracarb&oacute;n and Cerrejon have not had a strike in over 20 years is testament to mutual respect and shared responsibility by both the union and management in looking after the welfare of communities, workers, and their families.&rdquo;
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The 2011-2012 labour agreement calls for a first-year wage increase of 6.5% and a 2012 increase of two percent over next year&rsquo;s Consumer Price Index. But more importantly, the ICEM noted, Sintracarb&oacute;n continued to make improvements at the bargaining table for the communities surrounding the massive coal complex in north-east Colombia, improvements in health benefits for workers and their families, and education benefits for family members. 
 
The ICEM commends the involvement of Vice President Garz&oacute;n, Vice Minister Echeverry, and the Cerrejon management for recognizing in this set of talks that contract workers not directly employed by Cerrejon have the right of association and the right to form a union of their own choosing without interference from sub-contracting companies of Cerrejon, or the mining enterprise itself. 
 
The ICEM congratulates the bargaining committee of Sintracarb&oacute;n for achieving a deserved 2011 pay increase of 6.5%, better than double Colombia&rsquo;s current 3.19% CPI. The ICEM&rsquo;s notes that Cerrejon is a highly profitable enterprise for the parent companies, as well as for Colombia, the world&rsquo;s fifth biggest exporter of coal. 
 
&ldquo;The union&rsquo;s organised process of collective negotiations and it&rsquo;s method of mobilising 4,000 workers behind the bargaining team is an example to all unions worldwide,&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;In this set of bargaining, they succeeded in raising the bar on work standards inside Colombia that should be an aspiration to all workers.&rdquo;

Sintracarbón, Cerrejon Reach Commendable Contract in Colombia

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The Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI) has launched an international campaign calling on the Swedish furniture multi-national IKEA and its wholly-owned Swedwood subsidiary to uphold commitments on trade union and worker rights throughout its supply chain. The campaign comes in response to Swedwood and its appalling labour practices at a US factory in Danville, Virginia. 
 
Swedwood is the primary wood manufacturer for IKEA. 
 
In behaviour which has brought comparisons to Walmart, local management in Danville has blocked trade unions access to its 275 factory workers since commencing operations at the site in 2006. The Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Administration in October found Swedwood guilty of numerous unsafe work practices and improper record keeping, hiding the true numbers of serious accidents of workers. 
<img src="" width="130" height="130" alt="" />
Other abuses occurring at Swedwood in the US factory include forced overtime without advance notice, workers forced to work 30 days consecutively, managers manipulating work schedules to cut overtime, workers not allowed bathroom breaks, and most importantly, workers denied their right to trade union representation, and forced to work in an unsafe environment. 
 
BWI has always regarded dialogue in its Global Framework Agreement with IKEA as a model. In that agreement, BWI&rsquo;s first ever, IKEA clearly commits to follow the ILO core labour standards throughout its global operations. Since signing the agreement in 1998, those commitments have been respected in Poland, Russia, and elsewhere, and the Gene3va-based Global Union Federation (GUF) insists that local managers in Danville must be forced to open its doors to the BWI North American affiliate, the International Association of Machinists (IAM). 
 
BWI took the campaign to an IKEA outlet in Vernier, Geneva, on 7 December. Trade union leaders from over 25 countries conducted the protest and sent a clear message to IKEA that they were united against workers&rsquo; rights abuses in Danville, USA. See video footage of the campaign <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxrfPUe-2Kc">here</a>. 
 
The GUF is calling on supporters to send a Christmas card to IKEA CEO Mikael Ohlsson, demanding an end to labour rights abuses in Danville. The card states that IKEA&rsquo;s customers should be assured &ldquo;that the furnishing products they buy from your stores have been made by workers whose human rights are fully respected.&rdquo; Click <a href="http://www.goiam.org/ikea/">here</a> to send your Christmas message to IKEA.

BWI Launces Holiday Campaign Against IKEA’s Swedwood on Abusing Trade Union Rights

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By a vote of 521 to 398 on 6 December, members of Sindicato de los Trabajadores de Collahuasi voted to end a 32-day strike against the world&rsquo;s third largest copper miner, located in Chile. The Union of Workers of the Collahuasi Copper Mine and Do&ntilde;a Ines de Collahuasi, owned jointly through 44% stakes each by AngloAmerican and Xstrata, resumed talks on 29 November with help from Roman Catholic Prelate Marco Antonio &Oacute;rdenes, Bishop of Iquique. 
 
The union's Second Director, Carlos Daniel Rojas, told the ICEM that Bishop &Oacute;rdenes succeeded &quot;in opening the door&quot; with the company when there appeared little hope that talks would resume, and the union took it from there to work out a settlement. 
 
The final resolve came in negotiations on 5-6 December, with an acceptable compromise. 
 
The vote during the evening of 6 December ended the longest private-sector Chilean copper strike, surpassing one of 26 days in 2006 at the Escondida mine, owned 57.5% by BHP Billiton and 30% by Rio Tinto. 
<img alt="" src="" width="190" height="142" />
Members of the Union Vote to Ratify 42-month Contract on Monday, 6 December
Terms of the settlement will give the 1,551 miners of Collahuasi a wage increase of 16.3% over a 42-month period, and a bonus payment of 12 million pesos (US$25,160). Other key issues in the strike, which began on 5 November, were company-paid health care and education costs for miners&rsquo; children. The union did make significant advances in both these areas from prior levels paid by the company. 
 
The Collahuasi Miners&rsquo; Union also won bonuses for work performed on national holidays, even more of a bonus on Christmas, a 40,000-peso-per-month improvement in the housing allowance, a 400,000-peso housing loan, and dependent scholarship awards for both primary school and university education. 
 
Union President Manuel Mu&ntilde;oz said the contract&rsquo;s outcome would increase monthly benefits by 120,000 pesos, or US$252 per month. 
 
The strike was marked by a united workforce led by Mu&ntilde;oz and Second Director Rojas. The miners of Collahuasi took up residency in the Santa Mar&iacute;a School in Iquique, and staged peaceful and near-daily manifestations in that city. Those demonstrations were strategic in order to draw attention to their cause of gaining adequate health coverage and educational stipends from an employer that posted net profits in 2009 of US$1.56 billion due to high copper pricing. 
 
The 6 December vote took place inside the Santa Mar&iacute;a School. Collahuasi miners returned to return to work high in the Atacama desert of Chile&rsquo;s northern Region I, some 285 kilometres from the port city of Iquique, during the evening of 7 December. 
 
&quot;The Collahuasi miners and their families showed strength and fortitude in a dignified and peaceful way against an enterprise intent on maintaining production and turning profits,&quot; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &quot;For that, they have earned the pride and admiration of the world's mining unions.&quot; 
 
ICEM coverage of this heroic strike throughout November can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4117-Chile’s-Collahuasi-Copper-Strike-Now-in-Crucial-Stage">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4102-Miners-Dig-In-at-Chile’s-Collahuasi-Copper-Strike">here</a>.

ICEM Applauds Resolve of Collahuasi Miners in Chile at Strike’s End

Archive

Methane Blast in Colombian Coal Mine Kills 21

US Affiliate, UWUA, Challenges GDF SUEZ Inside Global Agreement

Over 10,000 Manifest in Hamilton Against Canadian Government, U.S. Steel

14-19 February Mexico Days of Action Draws Near

Meksika`da Sendikal Haklar icin Eylem Haftasi - 14/19 Subat 2011

İklim Konferansı'ndaki ICEM-IMF Forumunda Sanayiye Yaklaşım Tartışıldı

Pike River Aftermath: Layoffs, Lawyers and Long Investigations

Sintracarbón, Cerrejon Reach Commendable Contract in Colombia

BWI Launces Holiday Campaign Against IKEA’s Swedwood on Abusing Trade Union Rights

ICEM Applauds Resolve of Collahuasi Miners in Chile at Strike’s End

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