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A historical achievement happened in Indonesia late on Friday night, 28 October, when the country&rsquo;s Parliament passed the Social Security Providers Bill (BPJS), thus clearing the way for long-awaited pension, medical, job-related accident, unemployment and other benefits to millions of ordinary Indonesians. 
 
The House of Representatives gave approval to the new law through consensus in a plenary session when the six-party ruling coalition, which had worked to delay the legislation, was pressured by a mass rally outside Parliament to reach terms with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). 
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25,000 Manifested 28 October at Indonesian Parliament
That rally, organized by the trade union/civil society coalition, Action Committee for National Social Security (KAJS), saw 25,000 Indonesians engage in a boisterous sit-in demanding once and for all passage of the populist bill. BPJS means that the government must now implement compulsory social services mandated by the National Security System Law of 2004. 
 
Labour leaders, however, realize that the BPJS time frame for full implementation of the different social components leaves too much political maneuvering room, especially with federal elections coming in 2014. BPBJS I, or the scheme for heath care for all citizens, must come into effect by January 2014, while BPJS II &ndash; social benefits related to occupational accidents, pensions, old-age benefits, and death benefit schemes &ndash; must be implemented by July 2015. 
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D. Patombong Sjaiful
&ldquo;Yes, it was a momentous day,&rdquo; said ICEM Indonesian Affiliates&rsquo; Union Chairman D. Patombong Sjaiful, the leader of FSP-KEP, the Chemical, Energy, Mines, Oil &amp; Gas General Workers&rsquo; Union of confederation KSPI. 
 
&ldquo;But now it becomes a process to guard the intent of this new law and not let it get sidetracked by the political system.&rdquo; 
 
Said Iqbal, the KAJS General Secretary and President of the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers&rsquo; Unions (FSPMI), agreed, stating that the process must be closely monitored on formulating and calculating sufficient costs for the different benefits. 
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Said Iqbal
&ldquo;This marks a fundamental change in Indonesian social security,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now we are assured there will be a minimum level of pension benefits for all, that discrimination against the poor regarding health care will end, and that all working people will have some level of social benefits. 
 
&ldquo;We must now be vigilant that government and employers adequately fund these programmes.&rdquo; 
 
Said Iqbal led the KAJS coalition that included some 69 organisations, included 40 trade unions. The coalition, including farm organizations, fishery groups, and many more, included three of the country&rsquo;s main national labour centres, KSPI, KSBSI, and KSPSI. The coalition is expected now to be transformed into &ldquo;BPJS Watch.&rdquo; 
 
The new BPJS law re-makes the four state-owned insurance companies (PT Askes, PT Jamsostek, PT Taspen, and PT Asabari) into two non-profit public companies under the auspices of the President&rsquo;s office. PT Askes will function for the health care scheme, while PT Jamsostek will administer occupational accidents, pensions, old-age risks, and death benefits.

Indonesia Passes Provisions to Implement Social Security Law

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A 2.9-magnitude earthquake in Henan province, central China, caused a rock slide on 3 November claiming the lives of eight miners and trapping 59 others. Fourteen of the miners were rescued immediately, and 45 other trapped miners found freedom some 30 hours later on Saturday, 5 November, from 480 metres underground. This occurred at the Qianqiu colliery, operated by the large state-run Yina Coal Group. 
 
The earthquake near the city of Sanmenxia collapsed the walls inside shaft. The eight mine deaths in Henan province come just six days after 29 perished in a methane gas explosion in Hunan province, the worse Chinese mine tragedy in recent months. Two days earlier, on 27 October, seven miners died in another gas explosion in Henan province. 
The Hunan tragedy happened in a mine operated by the city of Hengyang called Xialiuchong Coal Mine. The mine was legally registered but provincial authorities had suspended its production license earlier this year for inadequate safety measures regarding methane gas build-up. The blast reportedly occurred when sparks from machinery ignited gas. Six miners were rescued. 
 
The 27 October gas blast occurred at the Jiulishan Coal Mine in Jiaozuo, Henan province. Eighteen managed to escape. The mine was operating legally and is owned by state-owned Henan Coal Chemical Industry Group, a Fortune 500 company. 
 
Last week&rsquo;s earthquake caused a settling of earth that crushed against mine walls, causing a sudden and deadly release of stored energy one-half kilometre underground. Fortunately, enough air was squeezed in through the mine shaft for ventilation and then rescue. It took 200 workers to dig a rescue tunnel 750 metres in length to reach the 45 trapped miners, and serves as a stark reminder on the necessity of a second egress as mandated in ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention.

Chinese Earthquake Kills 8 Coal Miners, Bringing Recent Fatality Toll to 44

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The ICEM North American affiliate, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), issued a report on 25 October accusing Massey Energy and its managers of &ldquo;industrial homicide&rdquo; in the 5 April 2010 explosion that killed 29 non-union miners at Upper Big Branch in the state of West Virginia. 
 
In the 90-page report, the UMWA said that Massey management &ldquo;deliberately flouted&rdquo; well-established safety and health laws in the US even after the mine was cited multiple times for violations by state and federal agencies. 
 
The union cites many factors throughout the report that led to the deadly explosion, but concludes in stating &ldquo;there is only one source for all of them: a rogue corporation, acting without real regard for mine safety and health laws and regulations, that established a physical working environment that can only be described as a bomb waiting to go off.&rdquo; 
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The full UMWA report, called &ldquo;<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/134334-Upper-Big-Branch.pdf">Industrial Homicide</a>,&rdquo; can be accessed here.&nbsp; 
 
The UMWA demands criminal prosecution for some 18 Massey Energy managers, including CEO Don Blankenship, who retired in December 2010, two months before the thermal coal company was sold to Alpha Natural Resources for US$8.5 billion. The report also recommends over a dozen changes in both state and US federal mine safety laws, mainly concerning tougher penalties on deviant mine operators and stronger protections for whistleblowers who report safety infractions. 
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Dan Kane
&ldquo;Don Blankenship knew exactly what was going on at that mine,&rdquo; said UMWA President Cecil Roberts. &ldquo;He got production reports several times a day. He saw the levels of safety citations and (safety) orders going up. But instead of taking the needed steps to correct the problems, they just kept on running coal.&rdquo; 
 
Added UMWA Secretary-Treasurer and ICEM Executive Committee Member Dan Kane: &ldquo;It is unconscionable in the 21st Century for a mine to be operated in the manner that Upper Big Branch was.&rdquo; 
 
A <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/UMW%20UBB%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf ">fact sheet</a> on the Massey&rsquo;s horrid Upper Big Branch mine disaster of April 2010 is here.

Massey US Coal Mine Deaths Termed ‘Industrial Homicide’ by UMWA

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With Singapore&rsquo;s Retirement and Re-Employment Act (RRA) set to take effect on 1 January 2012, two of ICEM&rsquo;s affiliated unions in the city-state have successfully entered into Memorandums of Agreement with employers and employer organisations stating that salary decreases will not happen once companies are mandated to offer jobs to workers when they reach age 62. 
 
The United Workers of Petroleum Industry (UWPI) and the Singapore Shell Employees&rsquo; Union (SSEU) announced last week that the agreements go beyond what will be required in the new law by guaranteeing that salaries and bonus payments will be maintained for workers between the ages of 62 and 65. 
 
The RRA amends a 1999 law that mandates retirement at age 62. The new Act requires employers to offer re-employment to a worker who reaches age 62 after January 2012, but a provision allows bosses to make &ldquo;reasonable&rdquo; adjustments in salaries, employment terms, and job assignments. 
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Last week, the UWPI got 13 employers to agree to the memorandum stating no lowering of salaries or elimination of bonus payments for oil or petrochemical workers choosing to continue to work after age 62. SSEU reached a similar deal with the Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary in Singapore two months ago. UWPI must now convince 13 other companies to do the same, and the precedent created by the Shell memorandum and last week&rsquo;s deal is expected to convince most to sign such accords with UWPI. 
 
Employers in Singapore, many of whom have begun offering re-employment ahead of the new law, have argued that pay cuts for older workers are necessary because seniority-based salary schemes inflate payrolls. Last week&rsquo;s signing was praised as a &ldquo;win-win&rdquo; result by one governmental minister who said the companies benefit from the loyalty and experience of the older workers. 
 
About half of Singapore&rsquo;s 5,000 oil and petrochemical workers are now covered by the no-cut agreements. The RAA, passed by Singapore&rsquo;s Parliament on 11 January 2011, is aimed at giving more financial security to older citizens, and these labour agreements recently signed in the ICEM sectors now go further to fulfil this.

Singapore’s Oil, Chemical Unions Blocking Pay Cuts after Age 62

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The Action Plan of the ICEM World Conference for the Chemical Industries held in October 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey, defined developing and improving company and sector global and regional network activities as a key priority. 
 
The Conference then endorsed the Secretariat to organize the first meeting of the ICEM Global Pharmaceutical Unions&rsquo; Network in consultation with the unions in the sector. As a result of this, around fifty representatives of ICEM affiliates in the pharmaceutical sector from Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey and USA met on 28 October in Geneva to discuss current developments in the industry and possible actions in the future. 
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The meeting received a detailed report from Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs, on the global pharmaceutical industry, including an economic and social overview; and impacts of changing health care systems. The report showed that although patent expirations and limits on drug spending can hamper growth of drug sales in developed countries, global pharmaceutical sales are in a growth trend. A substantial rise comes from emerging markets, and the great majority of the expansion is driven by growth in China, the world&rsquo;s third-largest market in the sector. 
 
The participants shared their experiences from respective countries. &ldquo;Due to low birth rate and an ageing population, the costs of the social security system including pension, health care and welfare have been rapidly increasing, which led to a need for reform of tax and social security systems&rdquo; reported Naramato Masafumi, President of Karoken, Council of Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union of Japan, who spoke on behalf of Japanese unions.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;Moreover, currently Japan has many problems affecting the socio-economy such as deflation, highly appreciated yen, increased non-regular employees, and the recovery from the devastating Great Earthquake and Tsunami,&rdquo; said Naramato. In his report Ghosalkar Ravindra Govind, President of ICEM&rsquo;s India affiliate Chemical Mazdoor Federation (HMS), underlined considerable changes in his country. 
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Naramato Masafumi, President of Karoken
&ldquo;My country accounts for a relatively large share of the world&rsquo;s disease burden. And while India&rsquo;s burgeoning middle class has greater access to excellent healthcare, the vast majority of citizens still have limited access to basic care,&rdquo; Ghosalkar stated. Other participants gave similar reports about their individual countries and companies. 
 
The participants also largely discussed the current status of restructuring in the industry with mergers and acquisitions, and delocalization and closures of production and research facilities by multinational corporations. 
 
The biggest sale of a private company was Japanese Takeda&rsquo;s acquisition of Swiss pharmaceutical company Nycomed. As an immediate effect of the meeting, representatives of Takeda from Japan, Indonesia and Germany, in a side event, came together to establish a continuous cooperation and networking with each other. 
 
The participants were also shocked to hear the recent announcement of Swiss-based company Novartis with two thousand job losses and two factory closures in Switzerland and Italy, which resulted in an immediate solidarity message to employees and unions there. Fran&ccedil;oise Pierre of FCE-CFDT from France, secretary of the EWC of Sanofi Aventis, reported on a difficult situation at her company where management has announced more restructuring in research and development. 
 
In the conclusions, the ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda mentioned that the network will continue to exchange information and company-level networking drives will be strengthened. It was also agreed to provide immediate solidarity with the unions facing challenges of restructuring. The network elected a representative of the Japanese unions as chairman, while the next meeting is scheduled for the second part of 2012 in Japan.

ICEM Affiliates in Pharmaceutical Sector Strengthen Networking

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The ILO Tripartite Meeting on Promoting Social Dialogue on Restructuring and its Effects on Employment in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries, held from 24-27 October, ended with key conclusions. The purpose of the meeting was to examine best practices of social dialogue, which can facilitate a constructive and conducive atmosphere during restructurings, including mergers and acquisitions. 
 
It was also to adopt conclusions that include proposals for action by governments, employers, and workers&rsquo; organizations, and the ILO. 
 
The meeting was composed of interested governments, 15 employer representatives, and 15 workers&rsquo; representatives appointed by the Governing Body based on nominations submitted by the ILO Director-General after consultations with the respective groups. 
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In addition, representatives of intergovernmental organizations and observers representing certain NGOs also attended the meeting. Coordinated by the ICEM, in cooperation with International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and ILO ACTRAV, the workers&rsquo; group elected Tomas Nieber, Chairman of the ICEM Chemical Sector and Head of Department Economic and Industrial Policy for Germany&rsquo;s IGBCE as chairperson, while Alfons de Potter, Vice-President of Belgian CSC Construction, Energy and Industry was selected spokesperson and Linda McCulloch, National Officer of UK&rsquo;s Unite the Union was selected vice-chairperson. ICEM&rsquo;s Kemal &Ouml;zkan was secretary for the group. 
 
The meeting handled eight discussion points: employment changes in both qualitative and quantitative terms occurring in restructuring processes; ILO&rsquo;s Global Jobs Pact implementations; skills and qualifications, as well as vocational training and education programmes that are conducive to sustainable development; making the industries more attractive to young workers and women, and provide better opportunities for long-term career development; challenges and opportunities by contract and agency labour; best practices of social dialogue in facilitating a constructive and conducive atmosphere for better industrial relations during restructuring; role of social dialogue in improving sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises, contributing to promoting decent work; and possible activities the ILO should take to promote social dialogue and good employer&ndash;employee relations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="216" height="161" />
from left to right: Linda McCulloch, Tomas Nieber, Kemal &Ouml;zkan, Alfons de Potter
Following long deliberations, a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/TMCPI-conclusions-2011-En.pdf">set of conclusions</a> were unanimously adopted at the plenary session. It was agreed that &ldquo;social dialogue between worker representatives and employers is a valuable means to manage the process of restructuring in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, thereby contributing to equitable outcomes for all concerned parties whether at global, regional, national or the enterprise levels.&rdquo; 
 
The groups also underlined that &ldquo;restructuring in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors should not affect the principles and rights at work as defined by the 1998 ILO Declaration.&rdquo; 
 
An important step forward was achieved on Contract and Agency Labour. The conclusions state: &ldquo;Where the use of contract and agency labour becomes necessary, chemical and pharmaceutical firms should at all times ensure that national occupational safety and health laws, regulations and good practice are applied to this category of workers in accordance with the ILO&rsquo;s fundamental principles and rights at work and relevant international labour standards. Contract and agency workers should enjoy the same fundamental rights at work as the firm&rsquo;s directly recruited workers.&rdquo; 
 
At the meeting&rsquo;s end, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda said that workers, employers, and governments worked in a constructive manner with a view to securing employment issues in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. &ldquo;These conclusions are an important guidance tool for all of us,&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;It is now time to make proper follow-up activities for making sure these they have practical applications.&rdquo;

Conclusions Adopted at ILO Tripartite Chemicals, Pharmaceutical Meeting

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The ICEM has been saddened and concerned by the worst flooding in Thailand for five decades. The flood is causing immediate danger, already killing 350 people, but also is threatening industrial production and the country&rsquo;s economy as waters creep toward capital city Bangkok. Rough early estimates suggest 400,000 workers will lose their employment, at least in the short term, because of the flooding. 
 
We urge affiliates and supporters to provide all possible relief aid through international humanitarian aid agencies in their home countries, such as the International Red Cross. 
<img src="" width="214" height="160" alt="" />
ICEM Thai Project Coordinator Aranya Pakapath
ICEM Thai Project Coordinator Aranya Pakapath&rsquo;s house is under water after large amounts of water entered the area where she lives on 18 October, she was evacuated by truck that evening. 
 
Roughly one third of all Thai provinces are affected. Authorities are attempting to drain the flood water from areas east and west of Bangkok, out to sea. However the sheer volume of water building from heavy monsoon rains since the end of July have forced authorities to open the sluice gates outside Bangkok and northern parts of the city are now under water.

Thailand Floods Kill 350, Threaten Industry

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Unions organising employees of the world&rsquo;s largest coal producer, Coal India Ltd., achieved a significant hike in profit-linked annual bonuses for 300,000 members on 17 October. The annual bonus for permanent employees will now be INR21,000 (US$438), up from 17,000. 
 
Negotiators also achieved a bonus for contract and agency workers, who have never before received bonuses at Coal India. Unions compromised on their original 23,500 INR demand. 
 
The settlement, which also includes an INR1,000 INR Diwali gift to all workers, avoided a proposed three-day strike last week. 
 
When negotiations broke down at earlier stages, all five trade union confederations in India, INTUC, BMS, HMS, AITUC and CITU, jointly organised large actions, and jointly backed strike actions. Strong unity throughout the campaign is a positive development for all Indian workers. 
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INMF General Secretary B. K. Das
Talks were brokered by the Indian Coal Minister, between Coal India, and the ICEM affiliate Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF) and other unions, following a concerted campaign which included a one-day strike by 300,000 miners on 10 October at eight coal producing subsidiaries of Coal India. In reaching settlement, all parties agreed to seek to finalise negotiations for the next national annual wage agreement by 31 December 2011. 
 
Coal India&rsquo;s decision to reward shareholders with a 39% dividend pay-out on profits strengthened the workers&rsquo; resolve with all 400,000 employees standing to share only 13% of all profits. 
 
Coal India is India&rsquo;s largest employer. Last financial year, it posted a 12.9% (US$2.4 billion) jump in net profit. 
 
There was more positive labour news in India on 17 October, as the government&rsquo;s Minister of Labour and Employment, Mallikarjun Kharge, told the Standing Labour Committee in New Delhi that the Labour Ministry is making efforts to extend all benefits now available to permanent workers to contract workers. Specifically, unions campaigned for amending the Contract Labour Act of 1970 so that contract workers would be automatically absorbed into permanent employment, especially when contract labour is blocked. 
 
The Minister also gave positive indications on the need for a National Labour Code for minimum wages, maximum hours of work, and minimum standards of safety and health at the workplace.

Strike Averted as Indian Coal Miners Win Improved Bonuses

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Queensland mineworkers employed by the BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) soundly rejected a direct company enterprise agreement proposal by 92% on 12 October. The 4,000 miners, represented by three Australian unions that are negotiating as the Single Bargaining Unit (SBU), then launched the longest work stoppage since strikes began in June. 
 
They staged a 30-hour walkout from midnight on 18 October to 06h00 on 20 October. 
 
The strike cut production at the world&rsquo;s largest supplier of seaborne metallurgical coal. The strike and contract rejection also sent another sharp message to BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi that miners at BMA&rsquo;s seven collieries in central Queensland will not accept compromises on work-life balance, or to their job security. 
<img src="" width="121" height="110" alt="" />
&ldquo;The result shows that our members currently have little trust in the company as a whole, and they have seen through the waffle and spin,&rdquo; said Stephen Smyth, District Vice President of the Construction, Forestry, Mine and Energy Union (CFMEU), the largest of the three unions. 
 
After some 32 bargaining days dating back ten months, BMA used a part of the Fair Work Australia law to take its unwanted contract proposal directly to miners. The mail ballot, conducted between 29 September and 12 October, was rejected by a vote of 2,432 to 201. &ldquo;(BMA) can&rsquo;t ignore the message that the workers themselves have delivered,&rdquo; said Smyth. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t get a clearer picture than this.&rdquo; 
 
SBU and BMA resumed bargaining over this past weekend for three days in Rockhampton, Queensland. The other two unions comprising the SBU are the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU) and the Electrical Trades Union of the Communications, Electrical, Plumbing Union (CEPU). All three unions are ICEM affiliates. 
<img src="" width="80" height="80" alt="" />
Even though BMA says it will put a 5% pay rise on the table, the SBU first wants agreement that there will not be a lowering of working conditions or diminished quality-of-life standards. SBU is resisting unwanted extensions on work rosters, which will negatively affect family life, and they oppose BMA in its will to gain contracting out flexibility. BMA wants to move from a five-day weekly roster to a seven-day one, and also seeks greater rule over operators&rsquo; jobs. 
 
Past ICEM reports on this crucial Australian labour struggle can be found <a href="-BMA-Tries-to-Bully-Aussie-Labour-Law-Back-to-Howard-Era">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4463-Aussie-Coal-Miners-Vote-92-to-Strike-BHP-Billiton-Mitsubishi-Alliance ">here</a>. 
 
The Bowen Basin mines of BMA have aided BHP Billiton in giving the world&rsquo;s largest extractive resource company fiscal 2011 net profits of US$23.65 billion, 86% higher than in 2010 and a record for an Australian-based company. BMA&rsquo;s seven mines produce 58 million tonnes of coking coal annually.

Australian Miners Reject BMA’s Contract Proposal by 92%

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The ICEM Norwegian affiliate, IndustriEnergi (IE), announces 2012 nominations are now open for its third annual Arthur Svensson International Award for Union Rights. The award, which comes with a cash prize of NOK 500,000 (&euro;63,000), is given to a person or organization for outstanding contributions for promoting trade union rights and strengthening of trade unionism on the international and national levels. 
 
The deadline for nominations is 31 January 2012, and the award will be bestowed to the serving recipient on 14 June 2014. Nominations must include valid arguments on behalf of the nominee, and it must be made clear the organization or person making the nomination, and the nominator&rsquo;s relationship with the candidate. 
<img alt="" src="" width="143" height="160" />
Arthur Svensson
Nominations, in Norwegian, English, French or Spanish, must come from representatives or employees of Norwegian and international trade unions. The nominations should be made to Espen L&oslash;ken at <a href="mailto:espen.loken@industrienergi.no">espen.loken@industrienergi.no</a>, or faxed to +47 23 06 1360. 
 
The inaugural winner in 2010 was <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4056-Zimbabwe-s-Wellington-Chibebe-Receives-First-Norwegian-Labour-Prize ">Wellington Chibebe</a>, Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, while this year&rsquo;s winner was <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4418-Palestine-s-Shaher-Sae-d-Winner-of-Norwegian-Arthur-Svensson-Union-Rights-Award ">Shaher Sae&rsquo;d</a>, Secretary-General of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU). 
 
Arthur Svensson was the longtime leader of Norsk Kjemisk, the Norwegian Chemical Workers&rsquo; Association, which merged with NOPEF in September 2006 to form IE. He died in 2008, but left a legacy in Norway and beyond as a man who promoted peace, disarmament, and a nuclear weapons-free world. 
 
Mr. Svensson was a driving force from his various leadership positions with the Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union for implementation of Norwegian environmental law and a proponent of clean energy in driving clean industries.

2012 Nominations Open for Norwegian Arthur Svensson Trade Union Award

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