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The Global Safety Partnership Committee was agreed to by Rhodia as part of its commitments to ICEM in the Rhodia-ICEM Global Framework Agreement. The committee is intended to monitor safety and related issues, provide ongoing dialogue regarding these issues between the company and its workers, and make recommendations for their improvement. With ICEM's help, Rhodia will strive to lead the industry in health, safety, and environmental performance. 
 
At the committee&rsquo;s first official meeting, held 7-8 October at a company Eco Services plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, representatives of Rhodia and representatives from ICEM's affiliates met to review and discuss some of Rhodia's policies, programs, and procedures. Among topics discussed were accident investigation procedures, and the choice of indicators of safety performance. In addition, panel members toured the Baton Rouge facility, one of the company's most important North American sites and one in which workers are represented by Teamsters Local 5. The Baton Rouge site, divided into two manufacturing centres, produces products ranging from artificial vanilla flavouring to sulphuric acid, as well as recycling and disposing of certain industrial wastes. 
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Rhodia management was represented by: Jacques Kheliff, Group Vice-President - Sustainable Development; Jean-Christophe Sciberras, Vice-President and Group Industrial Relations Director; Deborah Sherwen, Manager Health Safety and CAERS; James Harton, North America Zone President; John Heffernan, Rhodia North America Vice-President, Human Resources; and Marcus Lewis, Vice-President Industrial North America. Baton Rouge site managers also attended and hosted the Committee's visit and site tour. Yol&egrave;ne Coppin, Rhodia's Group Vice-President Human Resources, was unable to attend. 
 
The ICEM team was represented by Juarez Nogueira of Sindquim, Brazil; Scott Harrington of the US United Steelworkers (USW); Maurice Tritsch of CFDT, France; Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM's Chemicals Officer, and Brian Kohler, ICEM's Officer for Health, Safety and Sustainability. Jie Dong, of China, was unable to attend. 
 
The committee also met with Teamsters Local 5 representatives Jason Day and Bryan Hare.

ICEM, Rhodia Global Safety Committee Holds Meetings at US Plant

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The ICEM and the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) jointly stated on 15 October that they reject the recommendation by the European Commission (EC) to establish a central set of pan-European safety standards for the offshore oil and gas industries. 
 
The two Global Union Federations (GUFs) were responding to EC Energy Commissioner G&uuml;nther Oettinger&rsquo;s rolled back recommendation for a &ldquo;centralised and prescriptive&rdquo; set of safety standards on 13 October. The recommendation follows the European Parliament&rsquo;s rejection of a moratorium on deepwater drilling on 7 October by a 323-285 vote. 
 
The moratorium proposal was in response to BP&rsquo;s Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Both the ICEM and ITF, as well as the industry group Oil and Gas UK, believe that a uniform safety regime imposed by the EC would infringe on union-management best practices already in place in the North Sea. 
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Lars Mhyre and Norrie McVicar
Responding to the recommendation that member states should consider suspending offshore licensing in advance of possible new EU-wide safety standards, Norrie McVicar, Chair of the ITF&rsquo;s Offshore Task Force Group (OTFG), said: &ldquo;This is the wrong position to take and the wrong time to take it. The EC should be protecting the safety gains made in the UK offshore sector, not eroding them by dumbing them down to a lowest common denominator.&rdquo; 
 
Said Lars Myhre, ICEM Energy Sector Chair, &ldquo;You can never be too safe and we would never condone complacency, but the British and Norwegian sectors are generally good examples of best practice. They should be studied, learned from and, where necessary, improved. They shouldn&rsquo;t be remodeled into a one size fits all &ndash; but not very well &ndash; Euro model.&rdquo; 
 
McVicar added: &ldquo;One very positive feature of the UK industry is OSPRA, the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group, which brings together regulators, industry bodies and trade unions such as Unite and the RMT in a joint effort to ensure that we get the oil and gas we need as safely and cleanly as possible. It&rsquo;s that kind of good practice that we&rsquo;d like to see adopted by the rest of the global oil and gas sector, not weakened here in Europe.&rdquo;

ICEM, ITF Reject EC’s Common Safety Prescription in Offshore Oil, Gas

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IndustriEnergi (IE), ICEM&rsquo;s strong Norwegian energy and chemicals affiliate, awarded its first Arthur Svensson International Award for Trade Union Rights to Wellington Chibebe, the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). The award came at the opening of IE&rsquo;s Congress in Oslo on 11 October. 
 
Chibebe won the award as one of the trade unionists leading the courageous struggle in Zimbabwe for workers&rsquo; rights. IE&rsquo;s Arthur Svensson Award is named after a longtime leader of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund, the Norwegian Chemical Workers&rsquo; Association, which merged in 2006 with NOPEF to form IE. 
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Wellington Chibebe, ZCTU General Secretary
Chibebe told African radio upon wining the award that Zimbabwe&rsquo;s unions must continue fighting for its rightful &ldquo;democratic space&rdquo; in Zimbabwe&rsquo;s economic society. The global significance to the award, said Chibebe, is that the world now knows that Zimbabwe has appeared before the ILO Standards Committee every year since 2002, &ldquo;culminating in the commission on enquiry which came to Zimbabwe last year and a report that moved the government to address the problems that have been facing unions.&rdquo; 
 
Chibebe and others in Zimbabwe have been effective global voices against the brutish trade union abuses that occur in the country. In May 2008, he and ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo were locked up and charged with an absurd &ldquo;communicating falsehoods&rdquo; complaint against the state. In September 2006, Chibebe was beaten in police custody after being one of some 200 trade unionists seeking satisfactory work rights. He began his trade union career in 1988 as an apprentice railway worker. He became president of the railway union and then joined ZCTU in 2001. 
 
In praise of Chibebe&rsquo;s award last week, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said in a statement that he has &ldquo;courage, passion, and firmness of principle. We believe the African trade union movement in particular and the global trade union movement in general has an asset in him and we are yet to see more of his outstanding contributions as we intensify our struggle for justice.&rdquo; 
 
The Arthur Svensson International Award for Trade Union Rights comes with a cash prize of NOK 500,000 (&euro;60,000).

Zimbabwe’s Wellington Chibebe Receives First Norwegian Labour Prize

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Proposed amendments to Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Labour Relations Act have rattled the country&rsquo;s employers&rsquo; grouping, but the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) is having none of it. Bosses&rsquo; hue and cry over fairness changes to the labour code doesn&rsquo;t add up, union leaders say. 
 
The controversy is over ILO draft recommendations regarding severance packages, contract workers&rsquo; rights, and other common social entitlements. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CFI) met the press in the southern African nation on 11 October, and told them the changes would be burdensome and costly. 
 
ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo countered by saying enterprises covered by the CFI have been paying the lowest wages in southern Africa for a long time. &ldquo;Those who are against this idea are people who have gotten used to profiteering,&rdquo; Matombo told the Harare Herald. 
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ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo
The ILO&rsquo;s review of Zimbabwe&rsquo;s labour law recommends establishment of a minimum set of retrenchment criteria, including education and re-training, and includes severance benefits and other social rights for contract workers, as long as they were on the job for three years. The CFI said severance payments to contract workers would not be sustainable for businesses to survive. 
 
The recommendations include a number of fair-minded social improvements, including paid sick leave, and specifically, revising maximum vacation leave from 30 calendar days to 30 work days. An amendment also calls for daily breast-feeding by working women to be increases from one to two hours for up to18 months. 
 
At the 11 October press briefing, the CFI said the revisions would stifle enterprise and said Zimbabwe&rsquo;s workers must &ldquo;accept the concept of delayed gratification.&rdquo; The CFI argued that business is not just about paying workers, but also earning dividends. 
 
The ICEM supports the progressive social amendments being introduced in Zimbabwe, and stands with the ZCTU and its own affiliates.

Zimbabwe’s Unions, Employers Clash on Labour Code Revisions

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On 29 September, ten million bitter people demonstrated across Europe. They protested government imposed austerity measures brought on by a financial crisis not their fault, or the fault of those now feeling the pain from crisis-caused social cuts. 
 
In the weeks since, that bitterness and anger has not gone away. In fact, it is manifesting itself day by day through differing circumstances in different countries. What the angst and anger have in common from one country to another is the feeling that those that caused the pain do not share in it now. 
 
Perhaps nowhere is the anger more pronounced than in France, where last week&rsquo;s strikes at refineries, pipelines, shipping, and transportation centres were compared to strikes in 2006. The country could be literally shut down this week if the strikes &ndash; focused on President Nicolas Sarkozy&rsquo;s pension reforms &ndash; continue. Prior 24-hour strikes were extended to continuous strikes last week, and another mass day of action is set for tomorrow, 19 September. 
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The CFDT said 3.5 million workers taken to the streets by mid-week last. Although Sarkozy has pushed through portions of pension reform, he still seeks legislation to increase the minimum pension age from 60 to 62 and increase the age for a full retirement package from 65 to 67. As the strikes grew throughout last week, a poll showed 69% of French citizens support the strikes. 
 
In Romania on 13 October, Finance Ministry workers stopped work in a spontaneous strike and occupied the Finance Ministry overnight. They were joined by public-sector workers from the Work, Heath, and Post Office, all protesting elimination of bonus payments from July, totaling between &euro;100-150 per month. That accounts for up to 60% of public-sector salaries. 
 
Continual protests in the Central European nation have now had an effect. Late in the week, the finance minister agreed to restore the bonuses for August and September. And a pension reform bill that would have lifted the retirement age for both men and women was sent back to Parliament for amendments because of &ldquo;people mobilisation&rdquo; and pressure from trade unions. The protests could become even bigger this week, since the menace behind Romania&rsquo;s austerity cuts &ndash; the International Monetary Fund &ndash; is scheduled for an evaluation visit on 22 October. 
 
In the Slovak Republic on 12 October, thousands of trade unions marched in Bratislava and assembled in the city&rsquo;s SNP Square, protesting the government&rsquo;s harsh reductions in the 2011 budget. The measures include cutting one-seventh of the entire state budget, including cutting the pay of all public-sector workers by 10%. The Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ) said the average family of four throughout the country will see a reduction in income of &euro;400 a year, and instead calls for higher taxation on dividend earnings and granting relief measures to ordinary citizens. 
 
In the Czech Republic, trade unions are on strike alert today, anticipating the worst scenario on how a 10% pay cut in across the public sector will be implemented. A poll in the Czech Republic revealed that 58% of people polled believe the austerity measures will result in slower economic recovery. On 21 September, 40,000 Czech public-sector workers took to the streets because of the pay cuts. 
 
In Athens, Greece, protesters that are owed up to two year&rsquo;s back pay barricaded themselves inside the Acropolis and had to be removed by police force. Other tense confrontations appear to be hotting up for Slovenia, Portugal, and the UK. 
 
Instead of pension reform, wage cuts, and budget curtailments, trade unions see jobs and economic growth as the catapult to recovery. Unions bear witness that most victims of austerity cuts are workers and the working poor, victims of an economic crisis set off by bankers and traders and aided then by the same neo-liberal governmental policies that now call out for social cuts.

Deep Anger to Austerity Continues Across Europe

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As the world rejoiced last week on the release of 33 trapped miners in Chile, questions arise over a chain of events at Campa&ntilde;ia Minera San Esteban Primera&rsquo;s San Jos&eacute; copper mine leading up to the massive 5 August roof collapse and rock slide that entombed miners for a record 69 days. 
 
While Chile President Sebasti&aacute;n Pi&ntilde;era basks in the global spotlight of a heroic rescue marshaled by the world&rsquo;s very best mine engineering and technical expertise, answers to those questions likely will remain hazy. Pi&ntilde;era has pledged there will be no impunity for mine owners and has commissioned an enquiry that will report findings by 22 November. 
 
But the very make-up of that commission explains just one of the structural deficiencies inherent in Chilean mine safety: no trade union representatives will be involved. Chile&rsquo;s mining unions say the government for decades has been unwilling to engage in tri-partite dialogue to improve mine safety, telling workers&rsquo; representatives their job is to negotiate over economic issues, not to participate on health and safety matters. 
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The unions say government officials and mine industrial representatives have consistently refused initiatives to discuss ratification of ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, because it would dislodge strict industry-government control. One trade union leader told the ICEM that with vast private-sector investment already in Chile&rsquo;s mining industry, he has witnessed a steady stream of World Trade Organisation (WTO) people, but never a representative from the ILO. 
 
The facts behind San Esteban&rsquo;s shoddy safety record must come to light to accurately illuminate the structural barriers blocking safe mine practices in Chile. As early as 2004, the single entity trade union at San Jos&eacute;, Union No. 2 of Compania Minera San Esteban, presented legal challenges in courtrooms to close the mine because of unsafe conditions. Those went unheeded. 
 
In January 2007, following a rock slide that killed a worker, the National Service of Geology and Mining (SERNAGEOMIN) did order closure of the mine, but a replacement supervisor for the agency ordered it re-opened several months later. Reportedly, the order to reopen came because of political pressure. 
 
The re-opening was conditional, with the two owners promising to construct a second escape route, improve ventilation, and make other capital improvements inside a mine prone to rock falls after blasting. None of the promises were carried out and no inspections were made. 
 
Six months before 5 August, San Esteban&rsquo;s safety consultant resigned when he couldn&rsquo;t deal with the multitude of safety infractions. He spoke of roof meshing not in place, roof bolts being shorter and interspaced further than standard requirements, and huge rocks not cleared following blasting. In short, all the prerequisites contained in ILO Convention 176 &ndash; a second exit route, regular inspections, trade union consultation, regulatory bodies with the authority to shut and keep shut unsafe mines, workers&rsquo; rights to refuse unsafe work &ndash; were missing in the San Jos&eacute; mine, and no doubt in countless other Chilean mines. 
 
(To view ICEM&rsquo;s global campaign for the ratification of ILO Convention 176, click <a href="/en/209-ILO ">here</a>.) 
 
What is for certain is Pi&ntilde;era, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne, and others, including leaders of state-run copper company Codelco, did assemble a world-class operation that successfully rescued the 33 San Jos&eacute; miners. Chile is a world-class minerals producer. But there is little question that procedural safety processes at the country&rsquo;s mine sites are far from world class. 
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In the aftermath of the recue, scores of ICEM affiliates issued public statements. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) congratulated the Chileans &ldquo;on the successful rescue operation&rdquo; and said that since expert technical aid came from South Africa, South African miners should expect more at home in terms of fewer mine deaths. 
 
&ldquo;Over 90 mine workers have died from January to date and the mining industry in South Africa continues to move snail-paced in safety terms and continues to fool itself and those who believe there is significant improvement&rdquo; inside the country&rsquo;s mines, read the statement. 
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The Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia said that in August, it &ldquo;set about the task of raising funds to help (the 33 miners) and their families. These are people who have nothing and work under some of the most draconian conditions in the world. (CFMEU&rsquo;s) campaign raised 20 million pesos, about A$40,000, and is still growing. 
 
The Australian union created a video tribute that can be seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceX6ftvKgi4 ">here</a>. 
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The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) said, &ldquo;&hellip; while we celebrate, we must also look at this event as a learning opportunity for those who regulate mining at home and abroad. Every mine in the world, regardless of location and engineering challenges, must operate in an environment that puts the safety of miners above every other consideration. 
 
&ldquo;Even the most stringent mine safety laws are only effective when regulators have the will and the means to rigorously enforce them. As we rejoice in the rescue of our Chilean brothers, let us also learn from the mistakes that put their lives at enormous risk.&rdquo; 
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In Germany, the IGBCE stated that this misfortunate must draw on lessons to support Chilean miners in their fight for safe work conditions. The ICEM rightfully uses this mine disaster to call on governments all over the world to ratify and adhere to the safety standards contained in the ILO Convention. 
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And Los Mineros, the Mexican National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), contrasted the all-out effort to rescue the Chilean miners with its own government&rsquo;s refusal to search or to conduct any kind of inquiry into the February 2006 mine disaster that killed 65 miners. 
 
The 33 miners in Chile are now safe and together with their families. But exactly how they came to be at death&rsquo;s door, and whether or not the Chilean government will make corrective structural changes in mine safety, remains an open question.

Chile’s Rescue Illuminates Country’s Mine Safety Shortfalls

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ICEM&rsquo;s Danish affiliated union 3F conducted its second Congress, 11-17 September, in the Aalborg Culture and Congress Centre. There were 855 delegates to the Congress, including ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, who attended as an international guest. 
 
3F is the largest trade union in Denmark, with 352,588 members from the following sectors: Transport, Building &amp; Construction, Manufacturing industries, Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture/Market Gardens, Cleaning, Hotel &amp; Restaurants, Delivery and distribution of newspapers and magazines. 
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3F President Poul Erik Christensen
The 3F Congress sets policy and elects the union&rsquo;s leadership and Executive Committee members. The six sections of 3F held separate conferences to discuss internal affairs of the section and to elect representatives to be put forward for election to the Federation&rsquo;s Executive Committee. Also elected in the section conferences are the section leaders, and negotiation secretaries. Those six sections are: Industry, Public-Sector, Transport, Construction, Private-Sector Services, and Green. 
 
Among those re-elected at the Congress were President Christensen, and Per Soerensen 3F&rsquo;s delegate to the ICEM Executive Committee. 
 
3F President Poul Erik Christensen proposed the at the union makes large financial backing to enact a change in government of Denmark, his proposal was accepted by Congress. Christensen will spend US$1million, &ldquo;The question is not whether we can afford to support this, but whether we can afford not to,&rdquo; stated President Christensen. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda addressed an event at the Congress for international guests. Warda praised 3F for its international solidarity work.

Denmark’s 3F Conduct 2nd Congress

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The ICEM offers continued solidarity to glass workers of Tyneside Safety Glass, members of UK affiliate Unite the Union, as they begin today, 4 October, a second week-long industrial action against an intransigent employer. Some 72 Unite members at two glass factories of the privately-held, family-owned Tyneside Glass/Suntex Glass Industries company in North-East England have been without pay increases for two years, and are now being asked to work longer hours. 
 
The company has refused to negotiate, with the last bargaining occurring in June. Workers subsequently voted for industrial action in a strike ballot and went on the first seven-day work stoppage on 20 September. On 25 September, they met to consider further action, and buoyed by a number of union support letters, voted to issue the mandatory seven-day notice for ongoing action. 
 
That leaves the possibility for further action throughout the autumn. The ICEM rallied to the support of Tyneside glass workers during the first walk-out, and that letter can be found here. As well, other support to glass workers in Gateshead, near Newcastle, came including hearty support from the Glass Section of the United Steelworkers (USW) union in the US through its Chairman, Tim Tuttle. 
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Unite North East Regional Officer, Bill Green
Unite and the USW originated Workers Uniting, a trans-Atlantic workers&rsquo; cooperative that is a registered trade union in four countries. 
 
Tyneside Safety Glass pays just barely over the British minimum wage and used the financial crisis to deny wage increases over the past two years. Now, with salaries even closer to the minimum, the company seeks to preserve a freeze, yet also wants to change shift patterns that would see staff working another ten hours per week. 
 
As stated in the ICEM letter, this would compromise safety on the job, particularly because the company has already made workers redundant and closed a third factory at Gateshead. &ldquo;The ICEM is deeply concerned that longer work hours will result in unsafe work conditions at the glass factories of Tyneside in the North-East,&rdquo; said General Secretary Manfred Warda, adding that management of late has noted a pick up in orders so restoration of lost wages could be made. 
 
&ldquo;We have experienced bullying and harassment by management, but no willingness to continue bargaining,&rdquo; stated Unite Region Officer Bill Green, adding that Unite members gathering at the 25 September meeting were fortified by global trade union support for a relatively small labour dispute. 
 
Tyneside Safety Glass and Suntex Glass Industries is a specialty glass producer that toughens and laminates glass windshields. It buys sheet glass from nearly Pilkington factories, owned by the Japanese company Asashi, and treats the glass for use in earth-moving and heavy equipment. Caterpillar, JCB, and other heavy-industry equipment makers comprise the company&rsquo;s customer list.

UK Glass Workers Begin Second Week of Industrial Actions

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In an attempt to oust a legitimate trade union at tyre multinational Continental, the Mexican government of Felipe Calder&oacute;n again sided with a corporate employer to support a company-supported union that does not have workers&rsquo; support. Workers at the Llantera Potosinafactory of Continental, in San Luis Potos&iacute;, Central Mexico, are members of the National Union of Tyre Workers of Mexico (SNTGTM). 
 
The ICEM is proud that SNTGTM has applied for ICEM affiliation and a positive recommendation will likely come at the Presidium meeting in Istanbul, 26 October. 
 
The SNTGTM refused to accept the yellow union, forcing an arbitration meeting with the Labour Ministry in August. The Labour authority, in an attempt to destabilise the SNTGTM effort, called the meeting with only one day&rsquo;s notice. Employees of the Continental plant voted at the meeting 640 to 1 in favour of the SNTGTM. 
 
We salute this victory of democratic trade unionism in Mexico, against a fierce anti-union effort by federal and state governments. 
<img alt="" src="" width="199" height="182" />
Alberto Espinosa Rocha, Secretary-General SNTGTM
Collective agreements with yellow unions, known as Protection Contracts, are prevalent in San Luis Potos&iacute; and throughout Mexico. 
 
This victory enabled the San Luis Potos&iacute; plant workers to use their legitimate bargaining power with management to bring back 200 workers who were made redundant due to the global recession. As production at the plant has seen significant growth in recent months, local Continental managers sought to make workers fulfil six days&rsquo; work in five days, and to fill new posts with outsourced contract workers. 
 
The SNTGTM resisted these efforts, forcing management to follow stipulations in the collective agreement. Job positions were offered to those ex-employees who held them previously. Many of the returning workers were, and still are, SNTGTM members. The financial crisis was used by management as an opportunity to sack trade union activists. 
 
The struggle to reinstate those workers has seen 135 returned to their jobs last month, and a further 87 will return early next year. The San Luis Potos&iacute; local of SNTGTM, led by General Secretary Jos&eacute; Alberto Espinosa Rocha, has received solidarity and support from a number of national unions across several sectors.

Mexico’s National Tyre Workers Rebuff Government’s Yellow Union

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A 30-day strike by 6,000 rubber workers of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) at six tyre plants ended on 29 September when the union accepted the three-year wage and other terms put forward on behalf of three of four global rubber companies by the New Tyre Manufacturing Employers&rsquo; Industry Association (NTMEIA). 
 
But NUMSA and one of the tyre manufacturers operating in South Africa, Bridgestone/Firestone, remain at odds over a current agreement. The union suspended the strike last week at two Firestone plants that employ 2,500 of those 6,000 rubber workers, and an internal meeting among NUMSA national, regional, and shop-floor leaders at the two Firestone plants &ndash; Brits near Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth &ndash; will be held in mid-October to shape a strategy over this unresolved bargain. 
 
Bridgestone/Firestone, through the NTMEIA, is offering two percent less each year in wages than the other three companies, Continental, Goodyear, and Apollo-Dunlop. 
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="78" />
With those companies, NUMSA secured fair wage gains over the three years, as well as higher gains for workers who had been stuck in low-end pay grades of many job classifications. NUMSA also won important new language on the use of labour brokers. 
 
A first-year increase, backdated to 1 July, was set at 9%. The second- and third-year increases will each be 7.5% or South Africa&rsquo;s consumer price index in 2011 and 2012, whichever is higher. In comparison, Bridgestone has on the table increases of 7%, 5%, and 5%. 
 
Commencing in July 2011, for those workers with three or more years of service, the difference between the minimum and maximum pay grades in several job categories, about 10% now, will be bridged over a three-year time frame beginning. Thus, roughly half of all rubber workers in South Africa&rsquo;s six factories will see well over the 7.5% increases both in 2011 and 2012. 
 
Regarding labour brokers, NUMSA and the NTMEIA agreed to continue a policy of non-usage of brokers and adopted a policy to begin phasing out all labour brokers. The two parties agreed to a joint monitoring committee on the issue, and that work will begin early in 2011. Goodyear and Continental factories do not rely on labour brokers, but the Firestone and Apollo-Dunlop plants do. 
 
NUMSA has hardened its policy against labour brokers and has won company-paid social benefits and medical aid for contract workers. Along with many South African unions, NUMSA was seeking a total ban on labour-hire firms, with an alternative plan to give contract workers full-time and permanent jobs.

South African Tyre Strike Ends; NUMSA Still in Conflict with Bridgestone

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