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International pressure &ndash; both inside and out of Georgia &ndash; caused a change of course last week by police and political authorities in the aftermath of belligerent 15 September strike-breaking at Euroasian Steels in Kutaisi. Not only were over 30 sacked workers offered their jobs back, but police questioned the Indian managing director and two aides at Euroasian, also known as Hercules Steel, on 29 September.
The next day the top boss was sacked. 
 
Meanwhile, three strike leaders &ndash; Emilo Gumberidze, Irakli Iobidze, and Malkhaz Gogiava &ndash; who were jailed by police on bogus charges were released after serving ten-day sentences in the Kutaisi jail. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4673-Georgian-Trade-Union-Leaders-Jailed-for-Passing-Drug-Test">ICEM report here</a>.) 
 
They immediately called Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union President Tamazi Dolaberidze and pledged their continued support to the union. On 30 September, the new acting managing director of Hercules personally called each of the three to offer them their jobs back. The reversal gave Hercules metalworkers renewed momentum following the strike&rsquo;s crushing and that registered both with Georgian workers and about 130 Indian workers employed at the rolling mill.
<img alt="" src="" width="275" height="160" />
Georgia's Police Break Strike in Kutaisi, 15 September&nbsp;
Several points of global and internal civil pressure caused deep embarrassment to Georgia. There also was high-level diplomatic pressure involved, especially after an international delegation that included the ICEM and top leaders from Poland&rsquo;s Solidarnoş&ccedil; exposed the fact that the Indian workers at Hercules may be treated worse than anyone else. 
 
They live eight to a room in a dormitory adjacent to the mill, their passports were being head by the senior boss, and their salaries are sent back to India. It is believed that the top boss, Raji Kumar Sureika, was sacked because he was holding the passports. 
 
The strike last month by 200 Hercules metalworkers was sparked after the Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Union gained written support from a majority of the Georgian workers and then requested labour-management dialogue. After several weeks, the request was ignored and the strike started, including hunger strikes by four workers in front of the mill. 
 
Two days into the strike, police violently broke it up and literally <a href="/en/4-Chemicals-Pharmaceuticals/4667-ICEM-Scorns-Blatant-Police-Repression-in-Putting-Down-Georgian-Metal-Strike">forced workers</a> back to their jobs. Workers are angry that the two-year-old start-up mill has no salary schedule, no health and safety plan, and pays no overtime. Following last week&rsquo;s good news, the ICEM-affiliated Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Union again called on Hercules to enter peaceful, construction negotiations. 
 
The ICEM commends the leadership of the Georgia Trade Union Confederation (GTUC), and Tamazi Dolaberidze, for mobilising to organise, and the Global Union Federation pledges to remain active on the global front over the ever-reocurring abuse of trade union rights in Georgia.

Calm Restored as Georgian Metalworkers Rehired

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International pressure &ndash; both inside and out of Georgia &ndash; caused a change of course last week by police and political authorities in the aftermath of the belligerent 15 September strike-breaking at Euroasian Steels in Kutaisi. Not only were over 30 sacked workers offered their jobs back, but police questioned the Indian managing director and two aides at Euroasian, also known as Hercules Steel, on 29 September. 
 
The next day the top boss was sacked. An ongoing police investigation is underway over his conduct inside the steel mill. 
 
In the midst of this positive reversal, the ICEM, however, took deep exception to remarks made last week by the Georgian business ombudsman, George Pertaia. On 6 October, Pertaia said the September strike by workers was manipulated and instigated by ICEM affiliate Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union &ldquo;to justify its existence.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="125" height="166" />
Polish Solidarnoş&ccedil; Union Members and ICEM Meet with Hercules Steel Workers, 28 September
Pertaia said that workers at Hercules have individual contracts and had no right to strike. &ldquo;If the contract is signed, and you have already agreed with certain conditions, then you have no right to refuse those conditions,&rdquo; he said. 
 
The ICEM reminds Pertaia that global labour standards do exist, including the right to join a union and to bargain collectively. Considering that Euroasian Steels, or Hercules, has no wage schedule in place, no health and safety plan, it pays no overtime, and workers are forced to work mandatory and long work days, industrial action was justified. 
 
The ICEM also invites Mr. Pertaia to examine the working conditions of 130 Indian workers employed at Hercules. They live eight to a room in a dormitory adjacent to the mill, their passports were being head by the managing director, Raji Kumar Sureika, their salaries are sent back to India, and they are given a miniscule stipend to support themselves off the job. 
 
In fact, it is believed that the managing director was sacked and is under police investigation because of treatment of the Indian workers. 
 
On 18 September, three strike leaders &ndash; Emilo Gumberidze, Irakli Iobidze, and Malkhaz Gogiava &ndash; were rounded up and jailed by police on bogus charges. They were given ten day jail sentences. (A <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4673-Georgian-Trade-Union-Leaders-Jailed-for-Passing-Drug-Test">prior ICEM article</a> is here.)&nbsp; 
 
Upon release from the Kutaisi jail on 28 September, the three immediately called Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union President Tamazi Dolaberidze and pledged their continued support to the union. On 30 September, the new acting managing director of Hercules personally called each of the three to offer them their jobs back. The reversal gave Hercules metalworkers renewed momentum following the strike&rsquo;s crushing and that registered both with Georgian workers and with Indian workers. 
 
Several points of global and internal civil pressure caused deep embarrassment to the Georgian government. There was high-level diplomatic pressure involved, especially after an international delegation that included the ICEM and top leaders from Poland&rsquo;s Solidarnoş&ccedil; union exposed the fact that the Indian workers at Hercules might just be treated worse than Georgian workers. 
 
The strike last month by 200 Hercules metalworkers was sparked after the Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Union gained written support from a majority of the Georgian workers and then requested labour-management dialogue. After several weeks, the request was ignored and the strike started, including hunger strikes by four workers in front of the mill.

ICEM Rebuts Georgian Business Ombudsman for Remarks over Steel Mill Dispute

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The ICEM North American affiliate International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU) won a new collective agreement with Bayer AG after several months of struggle. ILWU Local 6 in Berkeley, California, mounted an aggressive campaign for its 420 pharmaceutical workers at a Bayer HealthCare plant in blocking the company from imposing from higher employee health care costs, and winning job security in a new collective agreement. 
 
The new four-year contract is expected to be ratified by union members on Wednesday, 12 October. 
<img src="" width="110" height="111" alt="" />
The ILWU used intervention by IGBCE of Germany, and established a Bayer Workers&rsquo; Council in America involving other unions that represent workers at the German company&rsquo;s US operations. On 24 August, the day a prior labour agreement expired, workers at the other US plants wore stickers and conducted informational picketing on behalf of Berkeley workers. 
 
Those unions include the United Steelworkers (USW), the International Association of Machinists (IAM), and the International Chemical Workers Union (ICWU), part of the United Food &amp; Commercial Workers (UFCW). 
 
The agreement freezes workers&rsquo; share of health care premiums at 18% and it contains new provisions against outsourcing, in essence giving workers enhanced job security. In 2009, Bayer threatened to move jobs away from the Berkeley plant, but reversed that decision when the ILWU marshaled political support in gaining tax subsidies for the company. The union used that same political support to remind Bayer of its duty to keep family-sustaining jobs in the plant. 
 
The new agreement, if ratified this week, will give workers a 3.1% wage increase in each of the first three years, and a 3.2% increase in year four, or 2014. The Berkeley plant manufactures Bayer&rsquo;s profitable drug Kogenate, a hemophilia or blood-clotting medicine.

Pressure Campaign Wins ILWU New Bayer Pact in US State of California

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The day prior to the opening of ICEM&rsquo;s Fifth Statutory Congress on 24 November in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a day-long conference on the lessons, best practices, and future strategies of the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) campaign will take place at the Congress&rsquo;s venue. 
 
Sponsored by the German Freidrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), the conference will cover legal and national legislative efforts around CAL, company level initiatives, and strategies undertaken at the trade union level. ICEM project coordinators will present their findings on this, and J&oslash;rgen Juul Rasmussen of Dansk El F&ouml;rbund of Denmark will give an overview on the temporary and fixed-term employment situation in Europe, as well as progress on implementing the European Union directive on temporary work. 
<img border="0" alt="" src="" width="140" height="204" />
An afternoon session will review specific initiatives on combating the rampant growth of temporary and short-term employment in four countries, while the concluding session will be a panel discussion on future strategies under a new integrated International. General Secretaries from the ICEM (Manfred Warda), the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (Jyrki Raina), and the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (Klaus Priegnitz) will comprise that panel. 
 
ICEM Latin America and Caribbean Regional Chairman Sergio Novais will chair the day-long session.

CAL Conference Takes Shape at ICEM’s 5th Congress

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Loyal to the organisation&rsquo;s motto &ldquo;an injury to one is an injury to all,&rdquo; 10,000 members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) marched to the Chamber of Mines in Johannesburg in early October demanding safer working conditions. 
 
Deadly mine accidents continue to take the lives of some around 100 South African miners each year. The 4 October demonstrators also used the occasion to remember comrades killed at work. 
 
Several thousand mine, construction and energy sector employees downed their tools to mark the day of mourning and protest. The central business district of Johannesburg was brought to a standstill by the march to state-run electricity provider Eskom, the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors, and the government departments of labour and mineral resources. 
<img src="" width="214" height="161" alt="" />
The Marchers were addressed by the Leadership of the National Union of Mineworkers, The President of the NUM and the ICEM, The General Secretary of the ICEM and the Chairman of the ICEM Mining and DGJOP Sector. 
 
The Chamber of Mines, incidentally, joined the strike to improve national awareness over mine health and safety. 
 
The NUM showed its might in July with a widely celebrated victory, blocking Brazilian mining group Vale&rsquo;s efforts to invest in the country and to operate in the region. Vale&rsquo;s anti-union behaviour throughout the world, most notably against the United Steelworkers (USW) in Canada, led NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni to describe the company as &ldquo;one of the world&rsquo;s leading labour exploiters&rdquo; and an employer not welcome in South Africa. 
 
Vale had long targeted base-metals mining company Metorex for its extensive copper and cobalt mining operations, and prospective growth projects, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Zambia. But strong NUM opposition forced Vale to withdraw their bid for Metorex on 12 July.

NUM Strikes for South African Mine Safety Improvements

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A tripartite regional workshop on improving safety and health in mining was held in Lima, Peru on 26-27 September, with participation from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico. The well-attended meeting studied ILO Convention 176 in detail, with near consensus on the importance of ratification and proper implementation. ICEM Mining Officer Glen Mpufane and Health, Safety and Sustainability Officer Brian Kohler, were speakers. 
 
Peru is rich in natural resources, and is one of 25 countries to have ratified the important convention. Peruvians have the right, outlined in the country&rsquo;s Constitution, to protect their health, including at work. Addressing the meeting, Peru's Deputy Minister of Labour Pablo Checa reiterated the importance of ILO Convention 176. However Peru is a strong example of the importance of effective implementation of Convention 176 and Recommendation 183 subsequent to ratification. The latest studies show a continuing lack of health and safety in mines, and there is much work needed to build a culture of prevention in Peru. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="169" />
The meeting clearly illustrated problems facing precarious workers and workers in informal mining who are exposed to many health and safety risks; concerns about diseases, not just accidents. Precarious workers were shown to strongly need clear governmental authority and regular inspections, to be safe at work. 
 
Martin Hahn of the ILO, chairing the meeting, and others, attempted to bring the meeting to a conclusion with consensus on a text of recommendations from the participants. The adoption of a meeting resolution calling for ratification of ILO Convention 176 was blocked by a handful of participants, led by employer representatives. ICEM's Glen Mpufane and Brian Kohler objected strongly to the lack of a strong outcome. Employer representatives would not agree to a statement calling for ratification of ILO 176. 
 
As any tangible result from the meeting was blocked by the group of employer representatives, the mining unions drafted a declaration and presented it to the ILO Regional Director. The unions declared the following: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">In the context of strengthening the global trade unions, our organizations will be working hard to build trade union unity of the mining unions in our region</div>
 </li>
 <li>Promoting the signing and ratification in all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, of ILO Convention 176 on safety and health in mines.</li>
 <li>Ending outsourcing in our industry, and declare that it is a mechanism of job insecurity.</li>
 <li>Reducing working hours in mining occupations.</li>
 <li>Supporting the development of regulated small-scale mining.</li>
 <li>Actively participating in the bills in each of our countries.</li>
 <li>Promoting sustainable production methods, allowing sustainable development friendly to environment and communities.</li>
 <li>Finally, declaring freedom of association as a fundamental right.</li>
</ul>

ILO Convention 176 Meeting in Peru, Importance of Implementation Underlined

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Metalliliitto, Finland&rsquo;s Metalworkers&rsquo; Union, has reached a tentative agreement with KMW Engineering, preventing for now a blockade on construction of the nuclear power reactor Olkiluoto III. On 13 April, the Polish air-conditioning subcontractor agreed to compensate workers for shortfalls in pay required under the Finnish labour standards. 
 
Under the agreement, KMW Engineering did give an accounting that showed arrears in Sunday and overtime pay. It agreed to compensate back wages and pledged to uphold Finnish terms of employment in the future. It also agreed to correct its deficient safety and health standards on the 1.6 gigawatt (1,600 megawatt) nuclear plant.
&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" width="337" height="190" />
Construction of Olkiluoto III 
Photo: YLE/Termonen Tapio&nbsp; 

Metalliliitto had given the subcontractor until 15 April to comply with Finnish social standards, or face a construction-wide blockade that would have halted all work on Finland&rsquo;s fifth nuclear reactor. (See <a href="http:// /en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4343-Finland’s-Metalworkers-close-in-on-Blockade-of-Nuclear-Plant-Work">ICEM report</a> from 28 March.) A Metalworkers&rsquo; blockade had endorsement and would have been honoured by Finland&rsquo;s Construction Trades Union, the Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union, and Proliitto, the union for salaried workers of Finland. 
 
A regional state labour agency of Finland&rsquo;s South-West found in late March that KMW did not keep overtime records as required under the working hours act. It also determined that payment of wages for Sunday and overtime work varied. Failure to comply could have brought state sanctions to the nuclear construction site, which would have affected other contractors. 
 
Metalliliitto Compliance Officer Jyrki Virtanen said the union will now fully monitor future social conduct by KMW Engineering. The Olkiluoto III nuclear power station is owned by private-sector energy concern Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO), and has as general contractor Areva of France. Olkiluoto III, a &euro;3.95 billion project that is now &euro;1.5 billion over budget, is the biggest investment in the history of Finnish industry.

Polish Engineering Firm Concedes to Finland’s Metalliliitto at Nuclear Plant

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 67, April 2011

The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Union (ICEM), a Geneva, Switzerland-based global union federation represented rubber workers across the world, announced today that it would lend its full support to the National Union of Metalworkers&rsquo; of South Africa (NUMSA) in its fight to keep Bridgestone South Africa compelled to wage terms negotiated in the New Tyre Manufacturing Employers&rsquo; Industry Association (NTMEIA). 
 
South African management of the Japanese-based company locked out 1,200 members of NUMSA at two former Firestone tyre producing plants, Brits and Port Elizabeth, on 22 March. At issue is Bridgestone South Africa&rsquo;s defiance of a private&nbsp;arbitrator's award that the tyre manufacturer is bound to certain wage terms contained in a three-year collective agreement that was negotiated between NUMSA and NTMEIA that ended a 30-day strike against four tyre producers on 29 September 2010. 
 
In a 31 March letter to Bridgestone South Africa CEO Kenji Shoda, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda said, &ldquo;Please know that the current situation in Brits and Port Elizabeth will be communicated to all Bridgestone facilities throughout the world and if your current labour relations conduct is not halted, we will begin to mobilise within these facilities.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM will support NUMSA as it ramps up a campaign against Bridgestone inside South Africa. And it will take that campaign into Bridgestone tyre plants from Japan and throughout Asia, to Europe and in North and South America. The ICEM is adamant that wage rates negotiated by the NTMEIA for 4,000 other rubber workers at Continental, Goodyear, and Apollo-Dunlop factories in South Africa also be instituted at Bridgestone&rsquo;s two factories. 
 
The ICEM is the global union federation for 20 million workers in the energy, chemical, rubber, mining, and other industrial sectors. It is composed of 467 trade unions in 132 countries. 
 
For further information, contact ICEM Information Officer Dick Blin, <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, +41 22 304 1842, +41 79 734 8994.

Global Union Federation Supports Besieged Tyre Workers in South Africa

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Labour strife broke out late last week at Kumho tyre plants Korea. Members of the Kumho Tyre Workers&rsquo; Union, affiliated to the Korean Metal Workers&rsquo; Union (KMWU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), staged a one-day warning strike on 25 March at two of three Kumho plants in Korea &ndash; Gwungju and Gokseong. 
 
Management immediately retaliated that day and on 26 March with a lockout. When some 3,400 workers at the two plants in southwestern Korea tried to return to their jobs, Kumho managers insisted they sign individual agreements pledging not to strike. 
 
The KMWU branch unit issued a statement calling on Kumho to negotiate over a set of disputed issues, and said, &ldquo;The company forced union workers to confirm that they would not take part in (further) strikes.&rdquo; The Kumho Tyre Workers&rsquo; Union is strongly encouraging workers not to sign the statement and not to return to work while the lockout is in force. 
<img src="" width="252" height="189" alt="" />
Kumho&rsquo;s Gwungju Tyre Plant, 25 March
By a 72% vote count, rubber workers on 10 March voted to launch the warning strike. Central among issues is management&rsquo;s refusal to negotiate paid time-off inside the factories for KMWU branch leaders to handle grievances and perform other union business. The union also seeks labour-management dialogue in order to cut excessive noise pollution in the factories, and wants revisions to severance packages. 
 
Kumho, a subsidiary of the Kumho Asiana Group, has shed a great number of jobs over the past two years due to a heavy debt burden and shifting of work to start-up plants in China. Earlier last week, Kumho was hit by a massive recall of tyres made in those Chinese plants because recycled content exceeded the allowable requirements. 
 
Kumho is Korea&rsquo;s second largest tyre manufacturer and the world&rsquo;s tenth biggest. Workers at the company&rsquo;s third tyre plant in Korea, in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi province, where the KMWU also represents staff, are not affected by the current labour strife.

Warning Strike Leads to Lockout at Kumho Tyre Factories in Korea

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