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A strike by 400 miners of ICEM affiliate Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia ended peacefully yesterday when management of Saknakhshiri, or Geo-Coal, gave recognition to the union and agreed to good-faith negotiations. 
 
Those negotiations will begin Monday, 7 February, and will commence over safety issues and pay for surface transportation workers, the lowest paid workers at Tkibuli-Mindeli, a set of two underground mines in the Imereti region of western Georgia. Saknakhshiri is wholly-owned by the Georgian Investment Group (GIG), a diverse conglomerate controlled by the Georgian political figure, Davit Bezhuashvili. 
 
The agreement yesterday, brokered between the company and the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemicals union and the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), gives parity to the union regarding social issues and gives the union full status on a commission to revamp safety and health conditions, a major contributing factor to the strike action this week. 
 
Tkibuli-Mindeli employs some 1,050 Georgian workers, including 650 miners, 200 transportation workers, and 250 administrative personnel.
<img alt="" src="" width="220" height="101" />
&nbsp; 
Following a methane gas explosion on 21 January that killed one and seriously injured four others &ndash; the third deadly gas blast in less than a year at Tkibuli-Mindeli &ndash; workers and their new union demanded modern mine safety equipment than the Soviet-era devices in place, and demanded improved work and pay conditions. 
 
The situation was exasperated last week when police arrested two lower-tier managers for safety negligence in the 21 January explosion. In support of the two and as protest to the overall work and safety conditions, miners staged a two-hour warning strike on 31 January and then embarked on an open-ended strike on 1 February. 
 
That strike brought broad public support and generated regional media coverage. Meanwhile, the ICEM affiliate and GTUC were actively engaged with Saknakhshiri in addressing issues. Yesterday&rsquo;s agreement produced a 13-point commitment by the Georgian mining company to address all issues in respectful social dialogue, including new labour agreements that replace non-regular employment, pay and overtime concerns, and a joint safety structure to replace outdated equipment and correct deficiencies. 
 
For the union, it signed a four-point commitment to protect social guarantees of workers, take full part in development, training, and implementation of new safety features, and &ldquo;will popularize and foster social dialogue, between the administration and employees, as a means of civilized resolution&rdquo; of conflicts. 
 
GTUC Vice President Gocha Alexandria said the critical aspect to yesterday&rsquo;s agreement is time deadlines. The union and company have strict time frames to reach accord on different issues. For instance, a joint study and policy directive on mine safety will be completed by 20 February; a wage increase for transportation workers will be readied by 7 February, with implementation on 1 March; and pay and other conditions for miners must be introduced by 10 March and implemented soon afterward. 
 
Talks on Monday will also firmly resolve the issuance of protective wearing apparel for workers, another grievance that led to the dispute. Yesterday&rsquo;s accord also establishes a time frame in which a first collective agreement for Tkibuli-Mindeli miners of the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union will be achieved. That date is set at 20 March 2011. 
 
Workers began joining the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia following a 27 August 2010 methane gas explosion that killed four and severely injured six other miners. On 3 March, another gas explosion killed four, this time severely burning one miner. 
 
The ICEM salutes the union, the capable leadership at GTUC, and the workers at Tkibuli-Mindeli for taking direct that led to this successful outcome. A report this week can be found here on <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP/4228-ICEM-Supports-Safety-Strike-at-Georgian-Coal-Mine">ICEM support</a> for the Georgian miners.

Strike Ends, Georgian Miners Recognized at Tkibuli-Mindeli Colliery

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The ICEM today announced unequivocal support to striking coal miners of the Tkibuli-Mindeli coal mine Imereti region in western Georgia. Trade union members of ICEM affiliate Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers Trade Union of Georgia are justified in their stop-work actions because the owner of the mine, the Saknakshiri company, part of the Georgian Industrial Group (GIG), has neglected to install modern gas detection devices in its underground mine. 
 
The open-ended strike began yesterday, 2 February, and the ICEM supports the demands of 200 miners to remedy unsafe mine conditions and to improve work conditions. The strike yesterday came after a two-hour warning strike on 31 January, and 12 days after a methane gas explosion inside the Tkibuli-Mindel mine killed one worker and severely injured four others. 
 
Those workers knew methane gas levels were high but were told to retreat into the mine or face dismissal. Two days before the 21 January explosion, two other work units complained about high gas levels but were ordered to stay inside shafts.
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&quot;The information we have is the Tkibuli mine operates with inferior and out-dated detection and ventilation equipment,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;Following an August 2010 gas explosion that again killed miners, the company made only minor repairs rather than invest in a new and modern system.&rdquo; 
 
The 27 August 2010 explosion killed four miners and severely injured six others. On 3 March 2010, four miners were again killed and one seriously burned in another methane gas blast at the Tkibuli-Mindeli colliery. 
 
The ICEM backs the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers Trade Union of Georgia&rsquo;s demand that the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC) be given full participation in the special commission to probe the 21 January disaster. The ICEM calls on Saknakshiri to meet workers&rsquo; demands, including establishment of a compensation system for injured workers and the families of miners killed at work, hazardous duty pay, and proper protective clothing attire for work. 
 
Besides a healthy safety environment in which to work, Tkibuli-Mindeli miners also are seeking an end to non-regular employment, an overtime pay system, and wage indexation tagged to inflation, restitution of 2010-2011 outstanding arrears, and holiday pay.

ICEM Supports Safety Strike at Georgian Coal Mine

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Senior management of Statoil, responsible for the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with the ICEM and Norwegian trade union affiliate, IndustriEnergi (IE), met at the ICEM on 16 December 16, 2010, together with Lars Myhre, chair of the ICEM Energy Industries Sector, and ICEM General Secretary, Manfred Warda, to sign the latest version of the GFA. 
 
The Statoil GFA was the first one that ICEM reached with any company in any sector in July 1998, and it is seen as a major benefit to both management and unions around the world. The Statoil delegation was led by Siv Oftedal, newly appointed Vice President of Human Resources, and also included Erling Brevik and Aksel Stenerud. 
 
The text of the agreement remains substantially unchanged, with all agreeing that in its present form, it has served all parties well. 
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After signing of the renewal, detailed discussions took place that focussed on the company&rsquo;s investments in Iraq, where it is junior partner with Russian-based Lukoil in the development of the West Querna 2 field. It was agreed that it would be useful to hold a future exchange of information on Iraq early in 2011, with a view to continued contact and the consideration of joint activities. 
 
Another focus was the company&rsquo;s increased activities in the Caspian Sea. Here it was agreed to consider the introduction of regional social dialog in the Caspian, building on both the work IE has done in Azerbaijan and the ICEM&rsquo;s Caspian Sea Workers&rsquo; Network. Two years ago, ICEM affiliates in the Caspian made a declaration on social rights and last year held a first meeting in which Statoil attended with the Azerbaijan national oil and gas company, SOCAR. 
 
Finally discussions covered offshore safety, particularly in the light of the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon disaster last year in the Gulf of Mexico.

ICEM Renews GFA with Statoil

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The cement workers&rsquo; union, Sintraincehsa, an affiliate of the Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI), wrote to the chief labour inspector of the Ministry of Labour in Honduras, Selvin Ram&oacute;n Mart&iacute;nez, on 21 January to decry the union-busting tactics of local management. The union accused&nbsp;French-based Lafarge of&nbsp;breach of&nbsp;the collective agreement, national and international labour legislation, and the Global Framework Agreement signed by ICEM, BWI, and Lafarge. 
 
Local management of Lafarge Cementos in the city of Comayagua have arbitrarily begun&nbsp;alcohol and drug testing on employees as a means to sack union leaders. The tests are not observed by a third party and were initiated without consultation with the union.
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Sintraincehsa requests that inspectors from the Ministry of Labour&nbsp;oversee the testing. The union asked&nbsp;management in June 2010&nbsp;to work together with it&nbsp;in cases where workers were found to be breaking rules on alcohol and drugs. The union wants&nbsp;to&nbsp;rehabilitate and educate those failing drug or alcohol tests. 
 
However, since December 2010, management has increased its unilateral testing, without agreement or dialogue with the union. Sintraincehsa says that this is the latest tactic in the company&rsquo;s union-busting campaign, which has seen membership of the union decrease five-fold in recent years. Local management continues to outsource jobs, with 23 sub-contracting firms&nbsp;now operating on site, jobs Sintraincehsa says should be held by direct and permanently employed workers of Lafarge Cementos. 
 
Sintraincehsa and&nbsp;Lafarge Cementos&nbsp;have had a collective agreement in place since March 2005.

Cement Giant Lafarge in Breach of GFA in Honduras

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Some 1,600 American trade union and environmental leaders met in Washington, D.C., last week in a historic, three-day BlueGreen Alliance conference that concluded on 10 February with visits to US legislators urging a green industrial future for America. 
 
The BlueGreen Alliance Foundation, formed in 2006 between the United Steelworkers (USW) and the Sierra Club, has now grown to include eight US unions, several environmental organisations, and a handful of trade groups. 
 
The 2011 &ldquo;Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference&rdquo; featured US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson as keynote speaker, and consisted of many workshops, including one entitled &ldquo;11 Workers Killed and the Worst Environmental Disaster Ever; How Do We Respond to the Deepwater Horizon Explosion?&rdquo; 
<img src="" width="246" height="71" alt="" />
A familiar chord throughout the conference was how to compete against trading nations such as China and Germany that have developed better industrial policies concerning green technologies. Participants took that question, demanding legislative solutions, to lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington. 
 
USW President Leo Gerard opened the conference by urging delegates to push leaders of both US political parties to act in the long-term interests of the US. Another pair of themes weaved throughout the conference is that clean energy does create jobs, and good jobs and achievement of a safe environment are mutually inclusive. 
 
BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director Dave Foster said the participants at last week&rsquo;s conference, who represent 8.5 million American workers, &ldquo;are willing to answer President Obama's call to out-build, out-educate, and out-innovate to win the future. 
 
&ldquo;Congress,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;must (now) get moving on critical policies that build a healthy and prosperous America.&rdquo;

USW-led BlueGreen Alliance Champions Job Growth in America

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A group of union leaders from the energy sectors of Mexico, Canada, and the US, including several ICEM affiliates, met in Los Angeles, US, on 28-29 January and debated topics such as North American energy integration, energy policies and privatization, natural gas policies, and petroleum extraction &ndash; particularly offshore &ndash; and refining. 
 
The conference, hosted by ICEM affiliate Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA), also took up solidarity with the independent trade union movement of Mexico. 
 
Some of the conclusions drawn are that Canada and Mexico have become energy colonies of the US; privatization and deregulation have caused occupational health and safety to suffer; liberalisation of markets has basically seen environmental protection largely forgotten; and good jobs mean liveable, safe, secure, and unionized jobs. Anything less is unsustainable. 
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="55" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="110" height="58" />
Conference participants also concluded that decent jobs are being lost while privatized oil and gas companies exploit and export wealth. Delegates also rejected the notion that new electrical capacity must be private and deregulated, and identified this area as the next round of attacks to come. 
 
The conference also said indigenous peoples' rights are being trampled on or bought off, and countries face greater handicaps in assuring that their energy resources help their own citizens. 
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="67" />
The Tri-Nation Energy Workers&rsquo; Network in Los Angeles consisted of Canadian unions Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union, the Power Workers Union (PWU), Canadian Office &amp; Professional Employees&rsquo; Union (COPE 378), and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE); US unions included the UWUA, United Steelworkers (USW), and the International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (UWUA). 
 
And the Mexican unions included the Authentic Workers&rsquo; Front (FAT), the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), the National Union of Technical and Professional Petroleum Workers (UNTyPP), the Mexican Union of Electrical Workers (SME), and SUTIN, a nuclear workers&rsquo; union, and CNEE, an energy union.

Tri-Nation Energy Workers’ Network Convenes in Los Angeles, US

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In Spain early this month, national union federations DGB of Germany and CC.OO and UGT of Spain were full social partners at the 23rd Spanish-German Summit. In common, they took the opportunity to issue a strong statement that government measures stemming from the economic crisis have benefited markets, but done nothing for social cohesion. 
 
The national trade union centers also took issue with German Chancellor Andrea Merkel&rsquo;s economic proposition heading into the summit to restrict wage growth by linking salaries to productivity and inflation. Leaders of the three federations &ndash; Michael Sommer of DGB, Ignacio Fern&aacute;ndez Toxo of CC.OO, and C&aacute;ndido M&eacute;ndez of UGT &ndash; were part of a tripartite event at the summit that also included CEOs from Telef&oacute;nica, Deutsche Telekom, Iberdrola, Siemens, Acciona, and other corporations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="49" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="90" height="90" /><img alt="" src="" width="120" height="67" />
In the statement, the federations said compliance with &ldquo;the agenda established at the G20 in London for new regulation of the international financial system&rdquo; must be a priority. They also gave full support to the European Trade Union Confederation&rsquo;s (ETUC) rejection of European Commission proposals for financial governance, and bluntly said, &ldquo;Today&rsquo;s European governments aim to lay the burden of the crisis on workers and pensions.&rdquo; 
 
Citing social inequality as a trigger to the economic collapse, the statement said structural reform and fiscal consolidation concerning pensions overhaul, welfare cut-backs, and weakening of collective bargaining laws &ldquo;will not lead to the recovery of the European economies. Quite the opposite. This erroneous conception is holding back a solution to the crisis and promoting social injustice.&rdquo; 
 
The statement also hit out at judgments from the European Court of Justice that wrongly regularize social and wage dumping, including the Vikking, Lava, R&uuml;ffert, and Luxembourg cases. 
 
The DGB, CC.OO, and UGT also said it agrees with analysts who say &ldquo;Europe is losing its values and its soul,&rdquo; and used as case example Tunisia and the fact that European governments held back until the very end condemnation of dictator Ben Ali and support for a people&rsquo;s democratic movement.

DGB, CC.OO, UGT Forge Common Ground on Euro Jobs, Economy

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A national settlement was signed on 11 February in Delhi bringing significant wage improvements to 125,000 workers in the Indian cement industry. Workers will receive an increase of up to 3,500 Indian Rupees (US$77) per month. 
 
The ICEM-affiliated Indian National Cement Workers&rsquo; Federation (INCWF) led the negotiations under President Sanjeeva Reddy. There was good cooperation with all other Cement Workers' Federations in the talks with the Cement Manufacturers' Association, representing 23 major employers in the sector. The INCWF is also affiliated to the Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI). 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="136" />
Sanjeeva Reddy
Negotiations were chaired by Chief Labour Commissioner N. K. Prasad. The settlement is valid for a period of four years from 1 April 2010. Continuous negotiations have been occurring since then when the INCWF submitted its demands for an agreement, following the termination of the previous settlement of April 2005. The repeated failures of the parties to reach agreement led them to request arbitration by the Chief Labour Commissioner. 
 
The new agreement includes improved allowances for education of workers&rsquo; children and for travel. The raise is equal across all grades of the pay scale. Arrears will be paid in April and August this year. 
 
The INCWF and other trade union signatories to the agreement have distributed it widely and hope that it will serve as a model for workers in cement companies outside of the Cement Manufacturers' Association, of which there are 18.

Finally, Excellent Wage Gains Won by Indian Cement Workers

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Effective 1 March, some 200 transport workers at the Tkibuli-Mindeli coal mines in Imerti region, Georgia, will receive between 20-40% salary increases, depending on job classification, thanks to a 1-2 February strike by 600 members of the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union. 
 
That strike, on the heels of a methane gas explosion that killed one miner and seriously injuring four others, proved highly successful at 1,050-worker Saknakhshiri, or Geo-Coal, with management immediately agreeing to recognise the ICEM affiliate. Saknakhshiri is owned by Georgian Investment Group (GIG), a diverse conglomerate controlled by Georgian politician Davit Bezhuashvili. 
 
The 20-40% salary hikes for mine transport workers was agreed to in initial bargaining on 7 February. On 20 February, the union and management, together with the President of the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), Irakli Petriasvili, will resume talks on behalf of 650 underground miners over safety, pay, and other work terms. 
<img src="" width="220" height="165" alt="" />
Left -&nbsp;Irakli Petriashvili, President of GTUC
Following the methane gas explosion on 21 January &ndash; the third such deadly blast in less than a year at Tkibuli-Mindeli &ndash; workers and their new union demanded modern mine safety equipment to replace Soviet-era equipment in place, and demanded improved work and pay conditions. 
 
The situation was exasperated days after the blast when police arrested two low-level managers as scapegoats for last month&rsquo;s deadly accident. In support of the two and as protest to the overall work and safety conditions, miners staged a two-hour warning strike on 31 January and then began an open-ended strike on 1 February. The strike ended the very next day when management recognised the union and agreed to begin immediate talks with a series of set deadlines leading to a collective agreement no later than 20 March. 
 
Workers began joining the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union after a 27 August 2010 gas blast that killed four and severely injuring six others. On 3 March 2010, another gas explosion filled four and severely burned one other miner. 
 
The Tkibuli-Mindeli coal deposits are the second major set of Georgian workplaces that the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union has organised using direct action in recent months. Last spring, the union staged strike actions at the Zestafoni Ferroalloys plant and Georgian Manganese mines, winning work rights for 5,800 miners and metalworkers. 
Please view an <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP/4229-Strike-Ends-Georgian-Miners-Recognized-at-Tkibuli-Mindeli-Colliery ">ICEM report</a> from last week on the union&rsquo;s recent success at the Tkibuli-Mindeli mines.

Two-Day Strike Wins Georgian Miners, Metalworkers 20-40% Pay Hike

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Copper mining unions at Chuquicamata in Chile&rsquo;s northern Region II are poised to take job action against state-owned Codelco if certain terms and benefits aren&rsquo;t met. Codelco&rsquo;s largest copper mine is undergoing a restructuring that includes a drop in production, retirement severances in order to thin job ranks, and then a multi-year US$2 billion investment to develop and extract copper from underground deposits. 
 
Miners of four local branches of Sindicato Minera Codelco Norte are upset that Codelco has reneged on certain conditions regarding retirement severance benefits. They are also upset that Codelco has refused to negotiate a social plan for job growth at the new underground project, called Chuquicamata Subterr&aacute;nea, a nine-year copper and molybdenum project that will extend Chuquicamata&rsquo;s life span 42 years. 
 
Codelco announced last year that it was cutting production by one-third over the next three years to prepare for the project. In December, senior managers of the national company clashed with supervisors when they pressured bosses to meet retirement quotas in order to set examples at both the Chuquicamata and Radomiro Tomic open-pit operations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="92" />
Now, Codelco has agitated 800 copper workers by reneging on severance entitlements and refusing &ndash; as is the practice in Chile &ndash; to engage legitimate trade unions in meaningfully talks on business development. 
Refusal is common as well regarding trade union engagement over health and safety matters. At a smelting plant that is part of the Chuquicamata mine complex, a worker died following a traumatic injury near a refining furnace. The death occurred on 11 January, 13 days after the accident occurred. In October 2010, a contract worker was killed in a pit when a ten ton rock fell on him. And in December, another contract worker suffered serious spinal injuries while working near a crusher. 
 
Codelco has split apart Chuquicamata and Radomiro Tomic by dissolving its Codelco Norte division and making each mining operation a separate division. The strategy distinctly indicates a move toward privatising. 
Codelco is the world&rsquo;s biggest copper producer and Chuquicamata is the world&rsquo;s second largest copper mine, behind Chile&rsquo;s Escondida mine, owned by BHP Billiton (57.5%) and Rio Tinto (30%). In January 2010, Chuquicamata mining unions staged a two-day strike that won workers sizeable pay gains.

Codelco Copper Miners in Chile Ready Strike Actions at Chuquicamata

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