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Collective negotiations across all of Sweden&rsquo;s work sectors were fractious over the past month, but none as much than between the Paperworkers Union, Svenska Pappers, and Skogsindustrierna, the employers&rsquo; Forest Industry Association (SFIF). Late on Thursday, 1 April, a three-member mediation panel used its option under Swedish industrial relations rules and set back by one week planned job actions that Pappers was to begin today. 
 
The two sides had been making progress in the hours up to and beyond the 31 March midnight expiration of a prior three-year labour agreement that covers 18,000 paperworkers at 62 pulp and paper mills of ten companies. 
 
Pappers announced on 22 March that it would impose a total overtime ban beginning at 18h00 on 5 April, as well as a blockade of temporary and agency workers onto worksites. The one-time option by the mediation panel means such industrial actions cannot begin until 12 April. The union and SFIF are expected to return to the bargaining table either late on 7 April or 8 April. 

<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="145" />
In talks that lasted late into the evening on 1 April, the two sides were closing in on a 22-month contract before the panel called adjournment and postponed the industrial action. On wages, that agreement would look much like what was achieved in other Swedish industrial talks &ndash; 3.2%. 
 
What separates Pappers and SFIF is how the pay accord will affect the lowest-paid workers, meaning a supplement should be in order for those workers, and a reduction provision on the pension scheme. Pappers is insistent that the first part of the pay deal be made with a 2% increase on 1 April, with the remainder to take effect on 1 January 2011. An addendum also is under consideration regarding union consultation on temporary or labour agency work. 
 
If no agreement is reached this week, the overtime ban and blockade of non-regular workers will go ahead for 12 April, with industrial action to escalate to selective strikes after that. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="80" />
On 27 March, ICEM affiliate IF Metall reached agreement with Teknikf&ouml;retagen, the Swedish Engineering Industries Association, covering 160,000 workers. That agreement is for 3.2% over 22 months. A centerpiece of the agreement is that employers must negotiate with IF Metall before employing temporary staff for longer than one month. The union pressed this issue because employers should not be using labour agencies while full-time workers are either on layoff or working shortened work weeks. 
 
Also in accord with employers is the union GS, which signed a 22-month contract covering 35,000 workers in the forestry, wood, and furniture industries. Another part of GS, the graphical workers&rsquo; section, has an agreement expiring later this year.

Job Actions Delayed as Swedish Paperworkers, Employers to Keep Talking

Miners locked out of Rio Tinto&rsquo;s site in Boron, California for refusing to give in to demands by the company that could threaten their ability to work and support their families are highlighting their plight as shareholders attend the global mining giant&rsquo;s AGM in London today (Thursday). 
 
Almost 600 workers, all members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 30 branch, were refused entry to the Borax mine and processing plant owned by Anglo-Australian corporation Rio Tinto when they showed up for work on 31st January. This followed their refusal to accept the imposition of a new contract that threatened to convert good jobs into temporary, part-time or outsourced positions. 
 
Rio Tinto has used a firm with a notorious reputation for union busting, J.R. Gettier of Delaware, to bus replacement workers across picket lines to mine and process borates. Borates are used in numerous products, including detergents, glass, building materials and as an ingredient in chemicals. 
<img alt="" src="" width="205" height="154" />
In negotiations Rio Tinto sought to agree to a new contract which would give the company the right to award jobs to outside contractors; require miners in dangerous occupations to work overtime; and require the workers&rsquo; themselves to pay for the company&rsquo;s legal penalties, fines and damages if the company violates state and federal labor laws. 
 
Dave Irish, one of the locked out miners protesting at the AGM, said: 
 
&ldquo;After working the mine for generations, families are being jeopardized by a newly-proposed system of insecure working patterns and conditions, and dog eat dog struggles for jobs I believe. Rio Tinto wants to starve us into submission, forcing us to accept a contract that we fear will destroy decent, family-supporting jobs. When we tried to use our legitimate negotiation rights, we were locked out of our own jobs and replaced by union busters. We&rsquo;ve been forced to survive on unemployment insurance and handouts ever since. We are determined to fight for our jobs, our families and our community. 
 
&ldquo;Having us back in our jobs is in the best interests of shareholders, too. As experienced workers, we are much better able to guarantee the quality and quantity of production to meet customer demand. We hope the shareholders will listen to us and demand that the corporation ends the lock out and negotiates a fair contract with us so that we can get back to work.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="163" height="231" />
Dave Irish left, locked out Local 30 worker, and ILWU VP Ram Familathe 
Ray Familathe, International Vice-President of the ILWU, said: &ldquo;We have come to London to highlight the courage of ordinary workers and their families in standing up to a powerful global business. The Boron miners simply want to work hard and to be treated fairly and with respect. This seems the latest example of appalling behaviour by Rio Tinto around the world in terms of the way it treats its workers, communities and the environment. This is not just a problem for the small community in Boron, California which relies on the mine for its survival but a global threat when a corporate giant such as Rio Tinto gets away with riding roughshod over its employees.&rdquo; 
 
The action against Rio Tinto is a joint initiative of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), which is based in the UK; the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Union; and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF). It is supported by a range of other organisations, including the London Mining Network. 
 
ITF General Secretary David Cockroft said: &ldquo;The lockout is the lowest reaction of the employer to a workforce that strives for dialogue. We support the fight of the miners and applaud their strength and courage and support the ILWU&rsquo;s call for an end to the lockout and proper negotiation to reach agreement on staff contracts.&rdquo; 

<img alt="" src="" width="205" height="154" />
Four Rio Tinto executives were found guilty of bribery and commercial espionage by a Chinese court at the end of March. This follows a case against the company by residents of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea accusing it of complicity in human rights abuses by the operation of its copper-gold mine. Rio Tinto has also been alleged to have colluded with the Apartheid government in South Africa and some of the world&rsquo;s most despotic regimes, including Suharto&rsquo;s in Indonesia. 
 
Workers from South Africa, Australia, Turkey, New Zealand, Canada, Europe and Papua New Guinea have expressed solidarity with the locked out Boron miners in the USA. 
View the Fact Sheet on the&nbsp;Rio Tinto lockout in&nbsp;Boron&nbsp;<a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3705">here</a>. 
 
 
For further information, please contact: 
&bull; about the Boron lockout &ndash; Craig Merrilees, Communications Director, ILWU, on +1 (0) 415 775 0533 ext 113 or <a href="mailto:craig@ilwu.org">craig@ilwu.org</a> &nbsp; 
&bull; about the AGM protest or to interview Dave Irish or Ray Familathe &ndash; Dee Sullivan on 020 8613 8071, 07949 010639 or <a href="mailto:dee@greenshootsconsultants.co.uk">dee@greenshootsconsultants.co.uk</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

Unions Protest Rio Tinto&#039;s US Lockout at AGM

Tonight at 18h00 European time, the Swedish Paperworkers Union (Svenska Pappers) begins job actions at 62 pulp and paper mills over a national collective agreement in Sweden still not in place. 
 
The union needs your support and messages of solidarity and they need it now. Please send, in your own words, a note of encouragement, in your own language, to Mikke Sterbeck at <a href="mailto:mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se">mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se</a>. 
 
The union has told the ICEM that all messages will get to the local branch unions. Not only that, but Pappers tells the ICEM that such messages already received to date have greatly buoyed the rank-and-file, 18,000 union members at some ten pulp and paper companies. 
 
The industrial actions that begin tonight, 12 April, include a ban on all overtime and a plant blockade on contract and agency workers from coming into any mill to perform work. If no resolution comes by this Friday, 16 April, the union will begin selective strikes at six mills: Billerud Skarblacka (a kraft sulphate pulp mill that makes packaging and kraft papers, including flute papers); Holmen Braviken (a mechanical pulp mill that makes newsprint, and printing and writing papers); the Holmen Iggesund mill in Korsnas (a kraft sulphate pulp mill that produces boxbard/cartonboard); Stora Enso&rsquo;s Skoghall Mill (a kraft, sulphate pulp mill making containerboard, boxboard, and white-top, mottled paperboard; SCA Packaging in Munksund (a kraft sulphate pulp mill making containerboard and kraft linerboard; and Sodra Cell Varo (a pulp mill). 
 
The bargaining situation is this: the union and Employers&rsquo; Industry Association (SFIF) met until 20h on Saturday night, 10 April. A three-panel paper industry mediation board submitted a proposal, but Pappers rejected it, while employers approved it. The proposal fell short of the union&rsquo;s wage demands. It was for 22 months, with a 0.9% increase proposed for 1 June 2010, and 2.1% effective June 1, 2011. The contract expiration was 31 March 2010, and Pappers is insistent that a wage increase above Swedish cost-of-living take effect on 1 April 2010. The cost-of-living in Sweden for first quarter 2010 exceeds 1%, and Swedish paperworkers should not have to accept anything less. Other issues unresolved are aspects to retiree pension scheme, and the fact that employers are not willing to adjust upward the salaries of the lowest paid workers. Employers are also unwilling to give Pappers the same language regarding use of short-term contract workers and workers coming through labour agencies that other employers in other Swedish work sectors have given unions. 
 
Representatives of the employers&rsquo; association were to meet today amongst themselves, with the strategy to impose lockouts on Pappers members at certain mills. That meeting was postponed, perhaps because public opinion in Sweden is clearly on the side of the union. The union will now go ahead with the overtime ban and the blockade on contract and agency workers. They have also written to the employers&rsquo; today and requested that bargaining resume on Tuesday, 13 April, in the offices of Pappers, an unprecedented venue. 
 
It is very clear that the momentum in this contract dispute is with the union. But please write a short message to Svenska Pappers c/o <a href="mailto:mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se">mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se</a> and express that notion, and that your union is with them in this critical week. Again, these messages will get to local branches and make them even stronger than they are today!

Urgent Action Needed: Swedish Paperworkers/Appel à l&#039;aide d&#039;urgence: Travailleurs du secteur pâte et

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From the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation website 
 
Hungarian unions demonstrated on 1 October in front of the Parliament in Budapest, rallying against a proposed new regressive labour code. 
 
The proposed bill includes serious roll-backs in worker's rights. It makes it easier to terminate employees, cuts down on the number of vacation days and allows employers to vary work schedules between 36 and 44 hours per week. 
 
See the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/116.ICEM.Hungary%20Solidarity.30September.pdf">30 September ICEM letter</a> supporting the action here.&nbsp; 
<img src="" width="216" height="161" alt="" />
Photo: IMF
The government wants the state to withdraw from the regulation of the labor market. Not only state-imposed &quot;bureaucratic&quot; measures, but collective bargaining rights would be removed. IMF affiliate VASAS rejects the proposed legislation, saying it would pose a serious threat to the basic rights of Hungarian workers and their social protection. 
 
Furthermore the proposed amendments would be incompatible with, as well as being below the social standards laid down in the European Social Charter. 
 
At the request of Hungarian and European trade union leaders L&aacute;szl&oacute; Andor, European Commissioner responsible for employment and social affairs met the presidents of six Hungarian trade union confederations and Bernadette S&eacute;gol, secretary general of the European Trade Union Confederation on September 2. The union leaders informed the Commissioner about their objections, stressing that if the Parliament adopts the present proposal, it will seriously threaten the basic rights and social situation of Hungarian workers, and clash with the standards set in the European Social Charter and the democratic practice of European countries. 
 
On 12 September, thousands of union protesters took to the streets around the Hungarian Parliament to express their opposition against the proposed amendment of the Labour Code. 
 
A petition signed by four Hungarian national union confederations has been sent to all Hungarian members of parliament: 
 
&quot;You are pushing the employees into a downgraded, subjugated situation. Should you vote in favour of this bill, it would mean falling salaries, increased working time, that employees will be left unprotected, and that protection of the collective agreements will cease. It will leave the workers to the mercy of the employers, and forced agreements will be brought on.&quot; 
 
The IMF lends its full support to the Hungarian metalworkers in their struggle.

Thousands Demonstrate In Front of Hungarian Parliament against Attack on Trade Union Rights

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Seventeen Chinese miners died last week at the Anping coal mine in southwest Guizhou province, as a new wave of coal mine explosions, cave-ins, and floods hit the country&rsquo;s mining industry. The latest happened at the Anping mine in the Lihua township of Libo county, when an early morning methane gas blast happened on 4 October. 
 
There were 28 miners in pits at the time of the blast. Thirteen died instantly, while rescue efforts pulled 15 from the mine. Four died in a hospital within a day following the explosion. The mine is owned by privately-held Liuzhou Zhengling Group Ltd., a machine tool manufacturer based in the autonomous Guangxi Zhuang region. 
<img src="" width="221" height="160" alt="" />
The mine only started trial production in June and initial conclusions found that safety rules had been breached and inadequate measures were practiced that failed to relieve the build-up of methane gas. 
 
On 25 September, at least five miners died when a shaft collapsed at a mine in Yunnan province owned by the partially stated-owned Yunwei Group of Yunnan Coal Chemical Group Ltd. The cave-in happened at a colliery near the city of Qujing. Twenty-three miners were working at the time of the collapse, with 16 escaping and only two of the seven who were trapped managed to be rescued. 
 
And on 16 September, ten miners died in flooding at a mine in Shanxi province owned by the China National Coal Group. Official Chinese statistics for the first seven months of 2011 reveal 1,083 mine deaths. The Chinese state said there were 2,433 fatalities in 2010 and 2,631 in 2009, although the real number of mine deaths is thought to be many times more because thousands of mine deaths go unreported in China.

Coal Mine Accidents Raise Death Toll in China’s Collieries

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The latest meeting of the ICEM Repsol &ndash; YPF Network took place in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, 26-28 September, 2011. Set up in 2005, the Repsol Network brings together unions organising workers within the Spanish energy multinational Repsol from Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain. In attendance at the latest meeting, together with our Spanish affiliates, FITEQA-CCOO and FITAG-UGT, were trade unions from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru as well as from the host country Bolivia. ICEM Vice-President for the Latin American and Caribbean Region, Sergio Novais, represented ICEM together with Energy Officer Jim Catterson. 
 
The meeting followed a well-established pattern with the first day a union-only gathering to update each other on the latest situation in the respective countries as well as to prepare interventions for the following day where management from both the Madrid Headquarters and the Bolivian operations of the company were in attendance. The final day was again restricted to trade union delegates for discussion on the previous day&rsquo;s business and plans for the future. A protocol agreement signed in November 2008 provides management recognition of the 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 majority owned subsidiary, YPF, operate. 
<img alt="" src="" width="276" height="160" />
Also on the first day Sergio Novais updated participants on the latest situation regarding the forthcoming ICEM World Congress to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 24-26, 2011 and Jim Catterson gave a presentation on ICEM work priorities in the Oil and Gas Industry, following the 2010 World Energy Conference in Stavanger as well as an update on the industry globally and in Latin America in particular. Both presentations led to lively discussions and comparisions with their own situations. It was agreed that interventions would be made the following day expressing concerns at the company&rsquo;s increasing use of temporary and contract and agency workers, Occupational Safety and Health, and the need to recognise and facilitate trade union organising in all operations. Participants also agreed to request the company to open discussions about reaching a Global Framework Agreement with ICEM. 
 
The second day of discussions opened with detailed presentations by the company representatives covering their global operations, planned expansions and the operations in Bolivia in particular. There were then detailed discussions following question and answer sessions. The discussions focused on many of the issues raised by the unions on the first day and the company representatives gave detailed replies and made commitments to recognise trade unions in their operations. 
 
During the course of the meeting union participants were shocked and appalled to hear of the vicious murder of an activist of USO in Colombia. A strong condemnation of the assassination was agreed and sincere condolences sent to the family of the deceased. 
 
The final day decided that the network needed to prioritise Contract and Agency labour work and participants were interested to hear of the ICEM global campaign on the subject. Occupational Safety and Health continued to be an area of key concern and participants agreed it was important to press for a Global Framework Agreement with the company. It was also important to improve outreach to other trade unions, in particular Trinidad and Cuba where the company had important investments. 
 
Finally it was agreed that the next meeting of the steering committee of the network would take place in Spain, probably Barcelona, in 2012 with a follow up meeting of the full network planned for Ecuador in 2013. 
 
More information on the meeting, including conclusions in Spanish are available <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Santa%20Cruz%202011%20-%20Borrador%20para%20las%20Conclusiones.doc">here</a>.&nbsp;

Repsol Workers’ Network Meets in Bolivia

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Following the disaster at the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico the ICEM-affiliated trade union in Norway, Industri Energi (IE), appointed a reference task force to: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Review reports and data on the accident </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Draw lessons and how to implement these lessons in their Health and Safety work both nationally and internationally </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Evaluate the consequences of the accident for the offshore business in Norway and elsewhere around the world </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Advise the trade union&rsquo;s decision-making body concerning the accident and the consequences of it. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
<img src="" width="90" height="121" alt="" />
The taskforce had its first meeting on 16 February 2011 to discuss the mandate and working methods as well to review the material at hand. Since then they have conducted 6 meetings and submitted their report at the beginning of September 2011. 
 
The <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1110.IE%20deepwater%20Eng_Rapport_Deepwater_s.pdf">report</a>, dedicated to the &ldquo;11 offshore workers who lost their lives on the altar of greed&rdquo; is now available in English here.&nbsp; 
 
It has been produced by a team from the union who have examined in detail the relevant official reports available on the disaster and made comparisons with the legislative and industrial situation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. As can be seen from the report the authors have a depth of knowledge and experience of the offshore oil industry which makes their conclusions particularly important. The report also highlights the lack of trade union membership and representation as a significant factor in the series of events which led to the disaster. 
 
If you have any questions on the report please contact <a href="mailto:lars.a.myhre@industrienergi.no">Lars Myhre</a>, ICEM Energy Industries Section Chairperson.&nbsp;

Industri Energi Publishes Report into Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Under strong intimidation and threats, 6,500 workers at the government-owned Mahshahr Bandar Imam Petrochemical complex, in the South-West of Iran, took strike action on 28 September, demanding an end to management&rsquo;s use of subcontracting firms at the plant. Workers&rsquo; rights are continuously undermined by intermediary companies, in a familiar pattern seen around the world. Workers are not directly employed by the factory where they work, and so are unable to bargain collectively with management, forced to work in substandard conditions with low wages and allowances, all based on precariously temporary contracts. 
 
Workers at the Tabriz petrochemical company at the plant conducted an 11-day strike in March this year on the same demands. That strike was suspended after an empty government promise to respond to workers&rsquo; demands within three months. While CAL workers do not receive their production and efficiency bonuses, their contract agency collects those benefits. Despite of management threats and arrests of union activists, the union is committed to continuing the action until their demand is met. 
 
On paper, the management has supposedly committed itself to eliminating the subcontracting firms for some time but its actual implementation in most facilities is yet to happen. 
 
The Free Union of Iranian Workers reports that on the seventh day of the strike, three oil workers were summoned to the security office and immediately put under arrest. These were Mansour Abbasi, a worker with the Khawrazmi subcontracting company and a workers&rsquo; representative; Mohammad Bagher Bagheri, worker at Fars Industries contracting company and a workers&rsquo; representative; and Jasem Bandarani, another worker at the Khawrazmi subcontracting company. The arrests followed protest rallies near the main offices of the petrochemical complex which included marches and chants. The three arrested workers have since been released. 
 
Reports suggest over 70% of Iranian workers are employed on temporary contracts, with no job security. Many other shocking abuses are reported, from poverty wages often beneath the low minimum wage, non-payment of salaries for up to 18 months, extremely dangerous working conditions, and little to no legislative protections.

Iranian Petrochemical Workers Strike, Demanding Elimination of Subcontractors

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
We have been informed by the Federation of Workers Councils Unions of Iraq (FWCUI) of two particularly difficult disputes in the country. 
 
Firstly we understand that in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region 174 workers in the Taq Taq Oil Operation Company, jointly owned by Genel Enerji and Addax Petroleum International have submitted a complaint against the company expressing their concern over working conditions and a complete lack of equality for Kurdish workers. 
 
Workers are concerned at the complete absence of hazard protection in the workplace where the constant danger of hydrogen sulphide gas is said to threaten the workers lives. There is also said to be significant discrimination in treatment between the Kurdish and expatriate workers in terms of safety equipment and clothing provided as well as in both food and rest facilities. Indeed we are informed that in scenes reminiscent of the apartheid era in South Africa expatriate workers have access to training and sports halls in their free time that local workers are refused access to and their living accommodation and restrooms are far inferior to those enjoyed by the expatriates. Expatriate worker wages are also considerably higher than those paid to Kurdish workers, many of whom are university and institute graduates. 
<img src="" width="160" height="109" alt="" />
The union is calling upon the company and the Kurdistan Regional Government to guarantee equal treatment at work. 
 
FWCUI has also informed us of severe difficulties at the facilities of the Northern Fertilizer Company, around 220km north of Baghdad. This company employs approximately 2400 workers and has recently been privatized. The company produces chemical fertilizers. Since privatisation, according to FWCUI and their Salah ad-Din branch structures, workers have faced massive deterioration of their working conditions. They are forced to work additional hours, numerous worker benefits have been unilaterally cancelled and the employer denies their rights to join a trade union. 
 
Despite these attacks workers there have organized a committee, affiliated to FWCUI, and are now finding it impossible to hold union elections inside the company, they will be holding their elections in FWCUI's office. 
 
We salute the bravery of Iraqi workers, continuing to organise despite being faced with widespread employer attacks against a background of viciously anti-trade union legislation from the Saddam-era. We will keep you informed of these particular disputes as we receive further information.

Oil Workers in Iraq Bravely Fight to Organise

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Contract workers in the oilfields of Colombia are fighting for fair conditions and union rights with multinational sub-contractors and state-run Ecopetrol in eastern departments of the country. ICEM&rsquo;s militant affiliate Uni&oacute;n Sindical Obrera (USO) is leading the fight on behalf of exploited contract workers and has recruited over 4,000 workers since July. 
 
A solidarity caravan sets off today from capital Bogot&aacute; to a major rally at the Campo Rubiales oil sites. Tomorrow the caravan will hold a forum in Puerto Gait&aacute;n with discussions to cover trade union rights across the sector in Colombia and the history of the current struggle. The caravan will then spend 12 October visiting various oil fields of Puerto Gait&aacute;n. On 14 October, the alliance of national and international trade union groups will return to Bogot&aacute; and hold a large action in the capital, bringing attention to the campaign. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="130" />
Contract workers cut oil production by 25% by blockading major roads in Puerto Gait&aacute;n 18-21 September and forced Colombia&rsquo;s Interior Minister to the table. 
 
The grievances aired by staff of oil service subcontractors include poverty wages, sub-standard housing, poor sanitation, poor transport, degrading treatment, all imposed on a workforce precariously employed on fixed-term contracts for two-to-three years. Conditions in workstations in the oilfields around Puerto Gait&aacute;n are described as similar to concentration camps. 
 
The campaign has achieved recent improvement from Pacific Rubiales, the company agreed to fill 100% unskilled positions with local people, to build 3,000 housing units, and donate US$1million to a local hospital. 
 
Significantly workers and local communities have been united in protest to great effect, targeting specifically the environmental degradation taking place, high local unemployment with many jobs not filled by area residents, and a lack of social investment in local health and education. 
 
Guilty companies include Canadian-based Pacific Rubiales and Petrominerales, Cepcolsa, a subsidiary of Spanish-based CEPSA, and 90% state-owned Ecopetrol itself. Pacific Rubiales is funding a large disinformation campaign labeling USO trade unionists as &quot;armed criminals, forcing work stoppages.&quot; 
 
Canada&rsquo;s Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union and USO have formed a united front, adding leverage against the Canadian-based multinationals.

Colombian Oil Workers Continue Battle for Rights, Solidarity Caravan 10-14 October

Archive

Job Actions Delayed as Swedish Paperworkers, Employers to Keep Talking

Unions Protest Rio Tinto's US Lockout at AGM

Urgent Action Needed: Swedish Paperworkers/Appel à l'aide d'urgence: Travailleurs du secteur pâte et

Thousands Demonstrate In Front of Hungarian Parliament against Attack on Trade Union Rights

Coal Mine Accidents Raise Death Toll in China’s Collieries

Repsol Workers’ Network Meets in Bolivia

Industri Energi Publishes Report into Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster

Iranian Petrochemical Workers Strike, Demanding Elimination of Subcontractors

Oil Workers in Iraq Bravely Fight to Organise

Colombian Oil Workers Continue Battle for Rights, Solidarity Caravan 10-14 October

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