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Global worker No1 2022

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Dear Sisters, Brothers and Comrades: 
 
You may have heard that I am departing the ICEM and returning to North America and my union, the United Steelworkers (USW). This was a very difficult decision for me, which was determined largely by personal factors. Manfred and the USW have worked out an arrangement for me to assist the ICEM in the transition with replacement staff, so feel free to contact me at jdrexler@usw.ca if I can be of assistance. 
 
While my original leave of absence to work at the ICEM was for two years, the leave was extended and I am finishing with almost 3 &frac12; years of service to the ICEM. I had an extraordinary opportunity that few trade unionists ever have. I was able to see the world through the eyes of wonderful colleagues and comrades in the many unions I came in contact with. Working together, we were able to build a stronger and more vibrant ICEM North America Region and make important strides in building power against greedy and sometimes brutal multinational employers. 
 
Serving as the ICEM Mining Sector Officer was particularly rewarding. Mining trade unions in much of the Global South play a pivotal role in the broader trade union movements and may well determine the future of civil society in many countries. The struggle to ensure responsible mining investment and sustainable development, the right to organize trade unions without employer interference, improved health and safety of miners, and stopping the scourge of tragic mining accidents remain major challenges. 
 
I express special thanks and appreciation to Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary; Senzeni Zokwana, ICEM President; Andrew Vickers, Chair of the ICEM Mining Sector; Ken Neumann and Dave Coles, Co-Chairs of ICEM North America; and the ICEM staff for their support and counsel throughout my tenure at the ICEM. 
 
I wish all the ICEM affiliates the very best in the future. I know with continued hard work and perseverance that we will build a new and better life for working people throughout the world. 
 
In solidarity, 
 
 
 
Joe Drexler 
 
ICEM - Director of Industry &amp; Corporate Affairs, Mining Secretary and North American Coordinator

Joe Drexler&#039;s Letter to ICEM affiliates on his departure

Calling for trade union rights in Mexico, the international trade union movement began a week of action by meeting with the Mexican Ambassador to the United Nations and holding a rally in Geneva, Switzerland today. 
 
Similar actions are scheduled to take place in at least 30 countries around the world until February 19, which coincides with the fifth anniversary of the deaths of 65 miners at the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster in Mexico on February 19, 2006. 
 
Since this time the Mexican Miners&rsquo; Union, the union that called for justice following the disaster, has faced systematic, frequently violent and escalating violations of worker and trade union rights by employers and the Mexican government. 
 
Other independent trade unions in Mexico seeking to improve the rights of working people have also increasingly come under attack in recent years through the tolerance, complicity and, on many occasions, the direct action of the Mexican state. 
 
A delegation of international trade union leaders, accompanied by a representative of the Swiss union UNIA, met with the Mexican Ambassador in Geneva this afternoon and demanded the Mexican government stop violating fundamental trade union rights and start complying with its own laws and international standards on human and trade union rights. 
 
&ldquo;It is now five years since 65 miners were killed in the February 19, 2006 explosion at the Grupo M&eacute;xico Pasta de Conchos coal mine. To this day, bereaved families have not received proper compensation, the miners&rsquo; bodies remain buried and violent and illegal attacks perpetrated by the Government and employers against the Mexican Miners&rsquo; Union continue,&rdquo; explained Fernando Lopes, Assistant General Secretary of the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation, a member of the delegation to the embassy in Geneva today. 
 
&ldquo;The political persecution of the Mexican Miners&rsquo; Unions and others like it must stop,&rdquo; demanded Lopes. 
 
Independent unions including the Mexican Miners' Union (SNTMMSRM), the Mexican Electrical Workers' Union (SME), the UNTyPP union representing workers in Mexico's state-owned petroleum company PEMEX, the National Union of General Tyre Workers of Mexico (SNTGTM) and the Union of the Autonomous University of Mexico's Workers (SUTUACM), as well as the Mexican Telephone Workers' Union (STRM), Authentic Workers' Front (FAT) and up to thirty other unions affiliated to the National Union of Workers (UNT) have all faced violent attacks, intimidation and repression of trade union rights. 
 
Supporting the campaign, Joe de Bruyn, President of the UNI Global Union explains, &quot;For decades the Mexican government has facilitated low wages and suppressed worker voices through a pervasive web of employer-controlled protection contracts. We want to change the rules of the game in Mexico and ensure all workers can join the free and independent trade union movement.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;Calderon must begin to understand that trade union freedoms in Mexico will not disappear, no matter how hard he tries to ignore it,&rdquo; said ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana, also supporting the week of action. &ldquo;Global trade unions in fact are now keenly united on Mexico as a target for vast improvements on social labour rights. Momentum and pressure now become our tools.&rdquo; 
 
David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary, added, &quot;We have witnessed at first hand the deep running desire of Mexicans for representation and just and safe workplaces. The will and the need are there; it is actions like these ones that now take this struggle forward.&quot; 
 
&ldquo;Mexico must fulfill its international obligations to respect fundamental workers&rsquo; rights. The treatment of the Mexican Miners&rsquo; Union is a symptom of a much broader problem of violation of ILO standards in Mexico, and the fact that proper compensation still has not been paid is simply unacceptable,&rdquo; said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow. 
 
Trade unions in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Korea, Kosovo, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the U.S. are calling on the Mexican government to respect trade union rights in a series of actions from 14 to 19 February 2011. 
 
In Mexico itself, the independent trade union movement will be holding various actions across the country throughout the week to highlight the systematic abuse of trade union rights by the Mexican government. 
 
Together the trade unions are holding rallies, meeting with Mexican government representatives, and sending letters and thousands of emails all calling on the Mexican government to: 
1. Hold employer and government officials accountable for the Pasta de Conchos mine explosion that killed 65 miners on February 19, 2006. 
2. Abolish systemic violations of workers&rsquo; freedom of association, including employer-dominated &ldquo;protection contracts&rdquo; and interference in union elections. 
3. End the use of force&mdash;by the state or private parties&mdash;to repress workers&rsquo; legitimate demands for democratic unions, better wages and working conditions, and good health and safety conditions. 
4. End the campaign of political persecution against the Mexican Miners&rsquo; Union and the Mexican Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union. 
The action to support the democratic and independent unions in Mexico is being taken by trade unions around the world affiliated to the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), UNI Global Union and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). 
 
NOTES TO EDITORS: 
 
1. For additional information about trade union rights violations in Mexico please see: 
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Fact%20sheet_en.pdf">/wp-content/migration/icem/Fact%20sheet_en.pdf</a> &nbsp; 
 
2. For addition information about the actions taking place around the world this week, go to: 
&bull; IMF website at: <a href="http://www.imfmetal.org/mexico2011">www.imfmetal.org/mexico2011</a> &nbsp; 
&bull; ICEM website at: <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP">www.icem.org/en/5-Mining-DGOJP</a> &nbsp; 
&bull; UNI Global Union website at: <a href="http://www.uniglobalunion.org/MexicoAction">www.uniglobalunion.org/MexicoAction</a> &nbsp; 
&bull; Twitter hashtag #mexicoaction 
 
3. The International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and represents the interests of 25 million metalworkers in over 100 countries around the world. <a href="http://www.imfmetal.org">www.imfmetal.org</a> &nbsp; 
 
4. The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) also based in Geneva, represents 20 million workers worldwide. <a href="http://www.icem.org">www.icem.org</a> &nbsp; 
 
5. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) represents 4.6 million transport workers in 781 unions in 155 countries. <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a> &nbsp; 
 
6. UNI Global Union represents 20 million workers belonging to 900 skills and services trade unions worldwide. <a href="http://www.uniglobalunion.org">www.uniglobalunion.org</a> &nbsp; 
 
7. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) represents the interests of working people worldwide. It has 301 affiliated member organizations in 151 countries and territories, with a total membership of 176 million workers. <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org">www.ituc-csi.org</a> &nbsp; 
 
________________________________ 
For further information on the actions being taken, please contact:&nbsp;Tom Grinter, ICEM, +41 22 304 1853. <a href="mailto:tom.grinter@icem.org">tom.grinter@icem.org</a>, Anita Gardner, IMF, +41 22 308 5032. <a href="mailto:agardner@imfmetal.org">agardner@imfmetal.org</a>,&nbsp;Olga Vinogradova, UNI Global Union, +4179 4462703. <a href="mailto:olga.vinogradova@uniglobalunion.org">olga.vinogradova@uniglobalunion.org</a>,&nbsp;Sam Dawson, ITF. Tel: +44 (0)20 7940 9260. <a href="mailto:dawson_sam@itf.org.uk">dawson_sam@itf.org.uk</a>

Global Days of Action On Workers’ Rights in Mexico

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM applauds the unity and successful coordination of Colombian trade unions, in the launch of a new daily radio programme for workers, called &quot;Contacto Social.&quot; Included in the grouping of 12 unions were ICEM affiliates Sintraelecol and USO. The process was supported locally by ICEM&rsquo;s country coordinator Carlos Bustos. 
 
The daily programme has now been broadcasting since 1 February, Monday to Friday, in the areas around Bogot&aacute;, Cundinamarca, Boyac&aacute;, Meta, and Tolima, and is also available globally online. The organizers of the project plan to expand its reach in the future and become a major media tool in Colombia, communicating views to workers, and supplying an outlet to those whose voices cannot otherwise be heard. 
<img alt="" src="" width="150" height="99" />
Trade unionists and supporters are encouraged to call and join the on-air debate at +57 4176970 
 
One story that was&nbsp;reported today on &quot;Contacto Social&quot; is the Colombian national Labour center&nbsp;CUT organising a workers' picket at&nbsp;the office of the Vice President, ahead of a high-level meeting with the ILO. 
Unions in the South American country&nbsp;demand that Colombia be re-added to the list of countries evaluated by the ILO's Committee of Experts. CUT President Tarsicio Mora decried the continuing dangers facing trade unionists in Colombia, where&nbsp;46 were murdered in 2010 and three so far this year. There are currently over 40 labour disputes ongoing, many caused by the erosion of labour&nbsp;rights and working conditions by employers. 
 
Listen to the <a href="http://www.icemcolombia.com/index2.php?option=com_radio">daily radio programme</a> of Colombian workers here.&nbsp; 
See more on the <a href="http://www.icemcolombia.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=frontpage&amp;Itemid=1">ICEM Colombia website</a>.

Trade Unions Coordinate Launch of Daily Radio in Colombia

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Over 400 delegates and guests attended the 5th Congress of the ICEM-affiliated Russian Oil, Gas, and Construction Workers&rsquo; Union (ROGWU) 22-23 December 2010, at the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. 
 
The Congress re-elected Lev Mironov as President in a closely fought three-way election. ROGWU also elected two Vice Presidents, Vladimir Kosovich and Nadezhda Zvyagintseva. 
 
The Congress also marked 20 years of the union in its present form, having been established in December 1990 with the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Russian Federation as an independent state, making it necessary to restructure trade union work. However, the origins of the Oil, Gas, and Construction Workers&rsquo; Union dates back to 1906 and the first organisation of workers at the oil plants in the Caspian Sea city of Baku, now Azerbaijan. 
<img alt="" src="" width="259" height="182" />
Today the union represents around 1.4 million members. Functioning in 63 subjects of the Russian Federation are some 2,700 primary union organizations, 28 territorial elective bodies, and six inter-regional trade union organizations of the companies Lukoil, Gazprom, Sibur-Holding, Tatneft, Novatech, and Sodrujestvo. 
The Congress approved the basic directions of activity for ROGWU for 2011-2015 and adopted amendments to the Charter of Oil, Gas, and Russia, as well as a resolution on the institutional strengthening of trade unions, a resolution dealing with the urgent issues of social protection, labour rights, and economic interests of workers, union policies on youth, on information and analytical work regarding gender equality, as well as an appeal to employers organizations of the oil and gas industry. 
 
Jim Catterson and Anatoly Surin represented the ICEM Secretariat at the Congress, with a number of important oil industry affiliated unions, including Norway&rsquo;s IndustriEnergi (IE) also present. 
 
ROGWU has posted material about the Congress <a href="http://rogwu-center.ru/en/news/detail.php?ID=9584 ">here</a>.

ROGWU Re-Elects Lev Mironov at Fifth Congress in Moscow

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9346 went on strike at 20h on&nbsp;Sunday, 30 January, following a break down in contract negotiations with management at the Elkview metallurgical coal mine in&nbsp;south-eastern British Columbia, Canada. The mine is operated by Teck Coal Ltd., a subsidiary of Canada's largest diversified mining company, Teck. 
 
Workers have been without a contract since the previous agreement expired on 31 October 2010. Talks, on-going since last September, broke off on 30 January after management delivered an unacceptable offer to Local 9346&rsquo;s bargaining committee. The committee could not recommend members to accept the package since it failed to address key demands of the union. The main issues for the union that were not included in the company&rsquo;s offer relate to an increase in employer contributions to its employee-registered pension plan and the extension of medical benefits to retirees.
<img src="" width="243" height="179" alt="" />
Of 620 union members voting, 609 voted in favour of a strike, sending a strong message to Teck Coal that they must seriously address these issues. The total workforce at the Elkview mine is 850. Local 9346, led by President Chris Nand, represents heavy equipment operators, maintenance workers, and labourers. 
 
There are no talks scheduled,&nbsp;although Local 9346's&nbsp; Nand has made it clear to Teck that the bargaining committee stands ready to negotiate with management. 
<img src="" width="288" height="170" alt="" />
Other outstanding issues for the union that the company refuses to&nbsp;address in their offer are: Christmas Shutdown, a sunset clause on certain contractual language, stat pay for 10- and 12-hour shifts, dental plan improvements, retroactive pay starting from 1 November&nbsp;2010,&nbsp;and improvements to vacation time. 
 
During the strike, the union is paying the members&rsquo; medical insurance, as well as strike pay. 
 
Teck reported last week a profit of US$361 million for the quarter ending 31 December. The Elkview mine has an annual capacity of 5.6 million tonnes of coal production, second to Teck&rsquo;s Fording River mine, 100 kilometres&nbsp;north of Elkview, which has an annual output&nbsp;of 8 million tonnes. The collective agreement at Fording River expires 30 April.

Steelworkers Strike at Teck Coal in Western Canada Continues

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM held its North America Regional meeting in San Francisco, US, on 26-27 January, and General Secretary Manfred Warda expressed thanks to Joe Drexler for the excellent work he has done, and introduced Brian Kohler as the new ICEM Contact Person for North America.
&quot;Joe brought a strong work ethic to the ICEM and he made dynamic and progressive contributions,&quot; said Warda. &quot;These traits&nbsp;we will strive&nbsp;to replicate at&nbsp;the ICEM.&quot;&nbsp;(See <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=4259">Drexler's farewell letter</a>.)&nbsp; 
 
The meeting also saw Warda report on trade union rights violations in Mexico, Colombia, Iraq, Nigeria, and other countries, such as Zambia. He said ICEM Sub-Sahara Africa Regional Vice-President Rayford Mbulu has been ordered by the Zambian government to step down from his union position and leave the country. 
 
Warda also reported on the meeting he and ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana had with the then minister of Labour and Social Welfare. The Santiago meeting proved the government is a nowhere to ratifying ILO 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, despite the promise of to Chilean President Sebasti&aacute;n Pi&ntilde;ero late last year in the wake of the San Jos&eacute; mine rescue. Warda said the ICEM and others, including affiliates, will continue to press Pi&ntilde;ero. He urged North American unions to join this campaign. 
<img alt="" src="" width="336" height="157" />
The host union for the meeting, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) reported on efforts to organize a Bayer pharmaceutical plant in northern California. North American ICEM affiliates agreed to form a committee to study a multi-site union recruitment initiative at Bayer&rsquo;s American plants. 
 
Drexler, the former ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs and Mining Officer who returned early this year to employment at the United Steelworkers (USW), reported on Mexican Days of Action, from 14-19 February, in support of free trade unions in Mexico. There will be simultaneous protests in many countries at the five-year anniversary of the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster in Mexico, 19 February, he said. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="150" />
Joe Drexler
The National Union of General Tire/Continental Workers&rsquo; Union (SNTGTM), the union representing Continental Tire workers in Mexico, made a presentation on their union and their current situation with the German multinational, as well as with the Mexican government. Following their presentation, union delegates moved to accept SNTGTM into the North America regional meetings of ICEM. 
 
Affiliates in attendance made reports on their sectors, including energy, chemicals, paper, cement and materials, mining, and rubber. Many sectors are being affected by the economic crisis, globalization, technological change, and contracting out. In the case of electric, gas, and water utility workers, privatization is also an ongoing threat. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="93" />
IMF General Secretary, Jyrki Raina
On day two of the meeting, International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) General Secretary Jyrki Raina joined by teleconferencing, and he and Warda reviewed ongoing discussions on building a new industrial Global Union Federation (GUF). Warda reported that the ICEM is fiscally very healthy and well-prepared to meet the issues for creation of a new global union structure, to include ICEM, IMF, and the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF). 
 
Both Warda and Raina said there are many examples of cooperation between the three GUFs, and hopefully there will be significant progress to report at the time of ICEM&rsquo;s Fifth Statutory World Congress, to be held 24-26 November, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 
 
The North America affiliates expressed strong support for continuation of ICEM's sectoral work. Regionally in a new global industrial trade union federation, the North American region should be able to adapt easily to an increase in the number of affiliated unions. 
 
The issue of Mexico, with strong economic ties to North America and equally strong linguistic and cultural ties to Latin America, was also discussed on day two. Both Warda and Raina said the wishes of Mexican unions should be respected, but that one possibility could be to consider them member-affiliates of both regions. 
<img alt="" src="" width="99" height="150" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="114" height="150" />
ICEM North American Region Chairs Ken Neumann and Dave Coles
The ICEM&rsquo;s North American Region is co-chaired by USW Canadian National Director Ken Neumann and Dave Coles, President of the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada, both ICEM Vice Presidents. 
 
The next ICEM North America Regional meeting will be 13 June, at the national office of the CEP in Ottawa, Canada.

ICEM North American Regional Meeting Held in San Francisco, US

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
In historic levels of unity among members of ICEM-affiliated IGBCE in Germany, the union's chemical workers announced on&nbsp;Friday, 11 February,&nbsp;they will seek a 7% pay increase in contract talks beginning this week on 16 February. The wage round covers 550,000 workers in 1,900 companies of the chemicals sector for a period of 12 months. 
 
Negotiations will be held on a regional basis, with the North-Rhine region to begin first, followed shortly after by other regions. 
 
Peter Hausmann, IGBCE Governing Board member, who heads the union&rsquo;s Collective Bargaining Department, said the figure of 7% had been agreed following production growth in the sector for 2010&nbsp;of 11%, and companies realising an average 17.5% increase in revenues. The industry is on its way to returning to levels before the global recession, as Europe's largest economy&nbsp;recorded its best figures last year since the reunification of Germany. 
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="177" />
Hausmann explained that intensive plant-level talks had been on-going since December, in all nine regions. The unanimity of the position of all districts is significant, and rare in recent years. 
 
Last year&rsquo;s agreement saw IGBCE agree to a concessionary wage freeze in view of the financial&nbsp;crisis.&nbsp;IGBCE President Michael Vassiliadis stating at the time, &ldquo;It is fair considering the varying conditions in the industry and it helps build a bridge between the economic crisis and recovery.&rdquo; 
 
Similar pay compensation will be sought by Verdi and IG Metall, and in the clothing and insurance sectors.

IGBCE Aims for 7% Increase in German Chemicals Sector

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
US state of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker wasted no time starting a major union-busting effort. Just a month into office, Walker is using budget deficit hysteria as excuse to eliminate public-sector unions by eliminating their right to bargain&nbsp;collectively over wages and benefits. 
 
The firestorm of legitimate protests that has overtaken Madison, the state capital of Wisconsin, has spread to other states, where different legislative measures have surfaced by ultraconservative lawmakers that would unequivocally, and overnight, turn the clock back in America by 80 years. 
 
(The ICEM&rsquo;s North America Region entered the protests in Madison last week by sending representatives from both Canada and the US to the state, and issued a terse letter to Walker. The letter by ICEM Regional Vice Presidents Ken Neumann and Dave Coles states that Walker has &ldquo;drawn an ideological, anti-labour and undemocratic line in the sand.&rdquo; The full <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Letter%20to%20Gov%20Walker.pdf ">ICEM North American letter</a> can be viewed here.) 
<img alt="" src="" width="93" height="128" />
In Madison, and indeed, throughout the US and in many places in the world, resistance to Walker&rsquo;s numerous and draconian public spending cuts has drawn an ideological line in the sand. In the early morning hours of 25 February, Republicans who control the Assembly, Wisconsin&rsquo;s lower legislative chamber, used tomfoolery to pass the cuts. 
 
The regressive measures would have already been signed into law by Walker&rsquo;s pen had it not for Wisconsin Democrats in the state Senate. Republicans hold a 19-14 in that chamber, but need 20 senators present to take legislative action. All 14 Democrats have left the state in order to prevent a quorum. 
 
The proposed cuts are far more than just the elimination of public-sector bargaining. The 144-page bill contains sweeping cuts to health care for low-income families, it would reduce by US$976 million over the next two years state aid to local units of education, and it would allow the governor to unilaterally privatise any state public utility without soliciting bids and without Public Service Commission consent. And in just one further insult to public employees, the proposed legislation mandates a 5% cut in salaries with that savings going to public-sector pension funds. 
 
The battle in Wisconsin has become a vanguard against right-wing extremism in the US. But why should it matter to the rest of the world? Considering the US is still the world's largest economy, here are five things to understand about the Wisconsin struggle. 
 
1. It is not really about deficits or austerity measures; this is an excuse. Wisconsin was on track for a modest budget surplus of US$120 million this year. However, by taking a worst-case estimate of some real and potential shortfalls in Medicaid, legal aid, prisons, and debts owed to other states, Walker creates the appearance of a US$137 million shortfall. 
 
To put Walker&rsquo;s budget deficit fabrications into perspective, the American film documentary producer Robert Greenwald points out that withdrawing just 151 US troops from Iraq would save more money than Walker&rsquo;s trumped-up deficit. Demanding that wealthy individuals and corporations pay a reasonable share of the tax burden would also solve the problem. The earnings of just the top 13 US hedge-fund managers (about US$1 billion each), if taxed as ordinary income instead of capital gains, a US tax loophole, would provide enough new revenue to hire 68,000 teachers. 
 
2. It is not about union intransigence. Public sector unions in Wisconsin have agreed to cuts in wages and benefits. However, they will not agree to permanent removal of their right to negotiate future wages and benefits. That is what Walker is demanding. 
<img alt="" src="" width="291" height="218" />
3. Public sector workers are not the cause of Wisconsin's problems. However, public sector workers are the last major segment of the US workforce with significant rates of unionization. Resistance in Wisconsin is resistance to a new demagoguery inside the US to destroy public sector unions as the final bastion unionisation strength in America. Wisconsin and Walker and the conservative business-led foundations pressing this assault clearly are using the Midwest state as a test case. A defeat in Wisconsin will mean sweeping attacks on unions elsewhere in the US. 
 
4. To accomplish this, well-funded business organisations and right-wing media outlets have incessantly worked the American mainstream against public sector workers. Their ploy is to direct private-sector worker resentment on the things that they do not have, or have been taken from them like adequate pensions and benefits, towards public-sector workers who still have them. To divide and conquer, and distract from the rich who have sucked up nearly all of America&rsquo;s wealth, is the name of the game here. 
 
5. Most poignantly, the battle in Wisconsin is about the national political credibility of the US union movement. There are many politicians who do not believe that it is worth their while to pay any attention to union demands. A loss in Wisconsin would cement the view that unions are too weak to matter. 
 
Pure and simple, what is now happening in Wisconsin is nothing less than a class war. 
 
The ICEM is adamant that Governor Walker in Wisconsin must be stopped. A <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/8.ICEM.IMF.Wisconsin.21Feb.pdf">joint letter from the ICEM and International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF)</a> is here. Write letters of protest to <a href="mailto:govgeneral@wisconsin.gov">govgeneral@wisconsin.gov</a>, for fax to: +1 608 267 8983. And please copy ICEM when you do at <a href="mailto:info@icem.org">info@icem.org</a>.

Five Things to Know About Protests in US State Wisconsin

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
ICEM&rsquo;s two mine union affiliates in Ukraine played crucial roles in the ratification 15 February of ILO Convention 176 by the country&rsquo;s Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. <a href="/en/209-ILO ">Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention</a>, is a major priority for the ICEM. 
 
Ukraine became the 25th country to ratify Convention 176 since 1995 and that was due mainly to the efforts of the Coal Industry Workers&rsquo; Union of Ukraine (PRUPU) and the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine. Leaders of both unions, Victor Turmanov and Mikhail Volynets, are members of the Rada. 
<img alt="" src="" width="115" height="115" />
PRUPU's Victor Turmanov
Turmanov said the effort began in earnest in 2008 when the unions and Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FPU) Chairman Vasyl Khara began meeting with federal coal industry officials, as well as with managing directors of mining enterprises. Khara was chairman of the Donetsk Region Council of Trade Unions. He is also an MP. 
 
A major barrier was broken when senior leaders of the Donetsk region&rsquo;s coal to electric energy company, DTEK, agreed to support ratification, after Coal Industry Minister Viktor Poltavets &ndash;a one-time mining engineer at Sverdlov Anthracite &ndash; agreed to the global Convention. 
 
&ldquo;We took an important step in ratification because it will provide a more holistic approach to mine health and safety in Ukraine,&rdquo; said Turmanov. &ldquo;This will strengthen protection for miners, toughen the responsibilities placed on employers, and finally place national precedence on mine safety issues.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="90" height="133" />
Mikhail Volynets, Independent Trade Union of Miners
Volynets said most Ukrainian mines have antiquated equipment and use old technologies, and he said implementation of Article 7 of Convention 176 will be important in Ukraine. Article 7&rsquo;s nine provisions refer to an employer&rsquo;s responsibility to minimize all risks in mining, including such standards that two exits of separate egress must come from underground mines. 
 
Volynets said Ukraine&rsquo;s coal mining industry is the world&rsquo;s second most hazardous behind China, and Ukraine is home to thousands of illegal mines. &ldquo;It is critically important for Ukrainian unions, with ICEM support, to address the issue of illegal mines in ILO committees,&rdquo; said Volynets. 
 
&ldquo;But, in fact, every mine whether state-owned or private has its own violations or infractions of safe mining and that should get solved in implementing Convention 176 here.&rdquo; 
 
Convention 176 will take full effect in 12 months in Ukraine, with the expectation that the country&rsquo;s national laws on mine safety will get updated to comply with global standards. 
 
The Convention spells out responsibilities for government, employers, and workers and their trade unions, and specifically gives miners the right to report hazards, dangerous conditions and accidents, as well as the right to refuse unsafe work. 
 
For employers, Convention 176 places responsibility on them to not only remove workplace hazards, but remove the causes of those hazards. The Convention also mandates that employers provide adequate safety training programmes to workers and ensure a regular routine of occupational health surveillance of miners. 
 
Of vital importance, the Convention gives workers and their trade unions participation in inspections and accident investigations, and allows workers to select their own safety and health representatives in full partnership with employers and governmental regulatory bodies. 
 
Ukraine is the first major mining country to ratify Convention 176 since Peru ratified it in June 2007.

Ukrainian Mine Unions Ratify ILO Convention 176 on Mine Safety

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Juan Linares Montufar was released from jail today, in what trade unionists around the world are calling a victory for international solidarity against the repressive Mexican government. The release, in which more details will be forthcoming, comes one week after trade unions around the world conducted a week-long &quot;Global Days of Action&quot; for trade union rights in Mexico. 
 
Linares was a political prisoner, held illegally since 3 December 2008 and without bond since his arrest. The sham charges against him all relate to the transfer of funds from a Trust created by his trade union, the National Union of Mine, Metal and Steel Workers (SNTMMSSRM) to the union. His detention is one part of the campaign of trade union intimidation and repression by the Mexican government.
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Juan Linares is the President of the Oversight and Justice Council of the SNTMMSSRM, also known as Los Mineros. 
The transfer of the trust funds was perfectly legal under Mexican law; in addition to being a protected exercise of trade union autonomy under ILO Convention 87. Two state charges against Linares were dismissed during his time incarcerated, but a federal charge against him was dragged out while the courts denied him bail. 
Linares was held at the Reclusorio Norte prison in Mexico City. He received regular visits from his family, other Mineros leaders, and international trade union delegations from around the world. To all his visitors, Linares had one message: &ldquo;I could walk out of this jail tomorrow if I were willing to betray my union. But I will never do that.&rdquo;

Mexican Trade Unionist Juan Linares Released from Jail

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Ukrainian Mine Unions Ratify ILO Convention 176 on Mine Safety

Mexican Trade Unionist Juan Linares Released from Jail

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