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The Sub-Saharan Africa arm of ICEM&rsquo;s Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) Project held its regional conference in Accra on 25-26 October 2011. Next month marks the end of the first phase of the project, which began in 2009 with the support of Finnish solidarity organisation SASK, and Finnish trade unions TEAM and PRO. This CAL Project, coordinated by Joseph Toe, has been a great success in bringing CAL to the fore of trade union work in the project countries. 
 
Participants spoke about the various approaches, challenges and successes they had experienced over the three years of the project. 
 
A number of unions participating in the project have driven the adoption of legislation and industry guidelines on the use of CAL. In Senegal, for example, an innovative campaign by ICEM affiliate Sutids led to the signing of the President Decree to regulate short-term employment. This law limits the duration of a short-term contract to two years; makes the user-enterprise responsible for working conditions, as well as for salary obligations should the agency &ldquo;fail&rdquo;; requires that CAL workers must enjoy the same working conditions as similar workers at the user enterprise; and provides for the short-term worker, at the end of his or her contract, to receive a severance pay equal to 7% of the total gross remunerations paid since the start of the contract. 
<img alt="" src="" width="105" height="139" />
PENGASSAN General Secretary Bayo Olowoshile 
In Nigeria, ICEM affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN have worked closely together to raise awareness of CAL with the government, including through a three-day warning strike. Following pressure from the unions, the Ministry of Labour and Productivity convened a technical tripartite working group to review how CAL was being used in the oil and gas industries. This engagement led to the adoption of the Nigeria Guidelines on Labour Administration issues in Contract Staffing/ Outsourcing in the Oil and Gas Sector. These guidelines, according to PENGASSAN General Secretary Bayo Olowoshile, set the minimum standard for using CAL and are the first of their kind in any sector in Nigeria. 
 
Other unions reported a reversal of declining membership figures since efforts were focused on recruiting CAL workers and achievements in gaining permanent status for CAL workers. In Mozambique, about 400 workers have moved from CAL to indefinite contracts as a result of the work of the work of ICEM SINTIQUIAF. The union has also managed to recruit 360 CAL members. In Mauritius, from 2009-2011, a total of 3,000 contract workers joined ICEM affiliate CMCTEU. With the help of the CAL campaign, the union redefined its strategy to organise and bargain on behalf of contract workers, migrant workers, and workers in the informal economy. This included a decision to reduce the union&rsquo;s membership fees from Rs 50 to Rs 1 (one symbolic rupee) for the most vulnerable CAL workers. CMCTEU demanded that the government review the Domestic Workers Remuneration Order, which had been static for 25 years. This review led to domestic workers gaining an increase of 110% in salary, as well as other gains such as holiday leave, wedding leave, and end of year bonuses. 
<img alt="" src="" width="220" height="164" />
In South Africa, ICEM affiliate CEPPWAWU, with the support of an international delegation organised as part of the implementation of ICEM&rsquo;s Global Framework Agreement, encouraged Umicore in South Africa to change its practices with regard to CAL. Umicore signed an agreement stating that all new work contracts will be on a permanent basis, with all ensuing social protections. Unions participating in the conference declared that targeting multinationals must be a key component of future work on CAL and committed to increasing cross border trade union cooperation in this respect.

Sub-Saharan Africa Region Conference Reviews 3 Years of CAL Work

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN

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Mobilisation in the Netherlands toward strike action won 330,000 metalworkers a 25-month labour agreement in the small metals and electric-technical sector. The pay package of 4.45% exceeds Dutch inflation and is expected to set the pace for national contracts in the coming weeks in automotive and the big metals sectors. 
 
FNV Bondgenoten, CNV Vakmensen, and De Unie reached a tentative agreement with the Metaal &amp; Techniek industry asssociation, representing 30,000 employers, late on 6 April, which now prevents another two weeks of scheduled mobilisation that could have led to industrial actions. A prior agreement in the sector covering metal fabrication, installation, as well as plumbing, heating, and electrical installation expired 1 April.&nbsp; 

<img alt="" src="" width="95" height="127" />
FNV Bondgenoten&rsquo;s Jan Berghuis 

&ldquo;The employers didn&rsquo;t want a fight and we were quickly mobilising toward strike action,&rdquo; said Jan Berghuis, head of the sector for FNV Bondgenoten, who called the pact &ldquo;trendsetting.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;With inflation expected to be less than 2%, this is a very good result and it will likely prove very important in the big metal and automotive sectors.&rdquo; 
 
Some 150,000 metalworkers in basic steel and other heavy metal production resume talks through their unions on 19 April. The agreement in that sector expires 1 May. The automotive sector, where 90,000 workers are employed, has a social agreement expiring on 1 June. 
 
The accord in light metals and electric-technical provides exceptional training opportunities and investment of such for workers, a key part of the deal. Berghuis also said the unions won language regarding the use of short-term contract labour that specifies this work can only go to labour-hire firms that have collective agreements with the unions. 
 
The 4.45% pay increase will come in four steps over the next 18 months. Berghuis said the only disappointment came in not securing a higher wage or a stipend for young workers. But young workers brought into the sector during the financial crisis will benefit by the 4.45%. 
 
The three unions and Metaal &amp; Techniek industry had been at a bargaining stalemate since late February, and only a week ago mobilisation meetings and union activity indicated there could be a rare Dutch strike in this sector. But a compromise on wages, extending the agreement into a second year, the unions gaining the necessary continuing education and training criteria, and workable language on contract labour means the agreement will be recommended for ratification by all three unions.

Dutch Unions Agree to ‘Trendsetting’ Terms in Light Metals, Electric Sector

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ICEM-affiliated Sintravidricol of Colombia won a much-heralded victory in December 2007, achieving recognition and a collective agreement at three metal-moulding plants owned by US-based multinational Ross International. The victory followed a 23-day strike, and a three-year struggle that garnered international support through the ICEM. 
 
The agreement made all 240 workers at the three plants full-time employees, whereas the majority were previously on fixed-term contracts. 
 
That four-year agreement is now seven months from expiration, and Sintravidricol&rsquo;s Section Presidents for La Estrella and Sabaneta, Brahyan Sanchez Henao and Heriberto Giraldo Hernandez, are calling for the company to come to the table and discuss a new agreement for all employees of the group.
The union seeks improvements on paid leave for union activity, and greater stability and formalisation of employment to stop the increasing use of outsourcing at the plants. Sintravidricol formally submitted their list of demands on 5 April to the company. 
<img height="174" width="232" src="" alt="" />
Outsourced employees at two of the three worksites, Andes International Tooling Limited and Andes Cast Metals Foundry Limited, were successfully&nbsp;brought into Sintravidricol in 2007&nbsp;through a campaign supported by the ICEM and the United Steelworkers (USW) and its Flint/Glass Section, after those plants were opened in 2004. Workers at Moldes Medellin Ltd. had organised with Sintravidricol previously. 
 
During the bitter dispute of 2007 which culminated in the first agreement, the company signed two parallel agreements with non-unionised staff. A central goal of this negotiating round will be to scrap those divisive agreements and reach a settlement to cover all staff. Sintravidricol bargaining representatives will be seeking improved guarantees on development of mature industrial relations at the three plants. 
 
Messages of support can be sent to the union <a href="mailto:sintravidsab@unet.net.co; sintravidestrella@yahoo.com">here</a>. Messages to the employer can be sent <a href="mailto:daniel.posada@moldesmedellin.com.co; rubilem@yahoo.com">here</a>.

Colombian Glass Workers Seek to Build on Gains Made in 2007

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Trade union activists around the world are focussing on Mexico again this week and next in the vitally important struggle to block regressive labour legislation which stands to further legitimise Mexico&rsquo;s breaches of international labour standards.
The proposed labour code revisions would legitimise the illegitimate and pervasive use of &ldquo;protection contracts,&rdquo; increase the undermining of freedom of association through outsourcing and temporary contracts, sharply curtail the right to strike, and restrict the contesting of unfair dismissals. 
 
The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), in proposing the harsh provisions, is widely seen as pandering to big business in the build-up to presidential elections in 2012. The draconian revisions have the full backing of President Felipe Calder&oacute;n&rsquo;s ruling National Action Party (PAN). 
 
Legislators are planning to fast-track the bill through&nbsp;public consultations, in which high-level trade union delegations are contributing, so that the legislative commission of labour can approve the proposal in the final days of this parliamentary session, ending 18 April. The next stage of the bill will likely occur during the Easter holiday. Legislators are refusing to discuss the 30 most contentious articles of the new legislation during the consultation stage.
<img alt="" src="" width="80" height="97" />
During these critical days, write with your organisation&rsquo;s opposition to the proposed labour legislation to parliamentary coordinators of the parties <a href="mailto:jcarlos.ramirez@congreso.gob.mx; frnrojas@congreso.gob.mx; alejandro.encinas@congreso.gob.mx; josefina.vazquez@congreso.gob.mx; alfonso.rios@congreso.gob.mx; jjguerra@congreso.gob.mx; pedro.jimenez@congreso.gob.mx">here</a>. 
 
Further dangers posed by the proposed&nbsp;changes include a cap on backpay when a worker is found unjustly sacked. The proposed cap of 12 months salary, when legal proceedings commonly take five years, effectively gives employers a green light to sack workers arbitrarily with impunity. 
 
Another concern is over a&nbsp;proposal that would&nbsp;give employers the right to negotiate individually with workers on terms other than what is&nbsp;in a collective agreement. This would outrageously destroy the process of collective bargaining, enshrined in international labour law. 
 
Mexican labour law can never begin to resemble acceptable standards without first addressing &ldquo;protection contracts,&rdquo; which make democratic trade union organising near impossible, and the &ldquo;toma de nota,&rdquo; which allows authorities to remove elected union leaders arbitrarily and without legal basis. Legislators from the PRI and PAN political parties ignored trade union demands on these issues and other amendments, including establishing a 40-hour work week and improving seniority bonuses and the holiday system. 
 
Also ignored by the authors of these legal changes was the 23 March report of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association, which discusses the complaints of the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) and identifies &ldquo;protection contracts&rdquo; as a priority issue which must be dealt with through social dialogue with trade unions. 
<img alt="" src="" width="310" height="212" />
The Z&oacute;calo
A trade union demonstration marched from Mexico City&rsquo;s main square, the Z&oacute;calo, to the Congress on 31 March, where discussions over the regressive labour bill&nbsp;continue. Then, last Thursday, 7 April, a large national day of demonstration was conducted against the proposed labour law. 
 
In Mexico City, protestors marched from the Angel Monument of Independence to the Z&oacute;calo and heard speakers from trade unions of all Mexico&rsquo;s democratic unions. Los Mineros General Secretary Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia, exiled to Canada, sent his message to the demonstration, calling the proposed changes a &ldquo;robbery of labour rights in Mexico,&rdquo; and called for Labour Minister Javier Lozano Alarc&oacute;n to resign immediately so that he does not cause &ldquo;more damage to industrial relations and social peace of the republic.&rdquo; 
 
Public opinion on Mexico around the world is repeatedly drawn away from the shocking denial of human and workers&rsquo; rights toward the bogus war on drugs, funded by the Obama administration as a way to finance Calder&oacute;n&rsquo;s military strength, which in turn is used to crush trade union campaigns such as in <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3975-ICEM-Condemns-Repression-of-Workers-by-Mexican-Government-Grupo-Mexico">Cananea</a>. 
 
An international tribunal on trade union freedoms will be held on 29 April in Mexico City and that body will hear a strong globally-supported case against the proposed labour law, as well as specific cases from affected unions. 
 
The&nbsp;government-business campaign to weaken trade unions in Mexico was again highlighted by an avoidable methane gas explosion which killed two mineworkers in Barroter&aacute;n, Coahuila, on Saturday, 26 March. The explosion at Mine No. 7 belonging to Northern Steel, took the lives of 33-year-old Juan Francisco Rodr&iacute;guez Piedra and 43-year-old Jos&eacute; Camacho Grimaldo. The accident has been described as &ldquo;industrial homicide&rdquo; due to dangerous and negligent&nbsp;safety conditions in the mine. Union leadership at Barroter&aacute;n was forced onto workers through coercion. 
<img alt="" src="" width="73" height="108" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="65" height="108" />
Mario Alberto Castillo and H&eacute;ctor &Aacute;lvarez
Next week, 20 April, Los Mineros will honour the five-year anniversary of the two miners killed at L&aacute;zaro C&aacute;rdenas, Michoac&aacute;n, in 2006. Mario Alberto Castillo and H&eacute;ctor &Aacute;lvarez were murdered by federal and state police in&nbsp;violent&nbsp;suppression of a strike at the Sicartsa steel plant.

Next Two Weeks Crucial to Block Harsh Mexican Labor Law Revisions

Solidarity Needed: Finnish UPM Paper Strike 
 
Dear Activists in Pulp/Paper Sector, 
 
At 6h00 on Wednesday, 6 April, 1,000 members of the ICEM affiliate Ammattiliitto Pro in Finland began a two-week strike against UPM, the target paper company in a break-down of talks with the Finnish Forest Industries Federation. In an insult to these dedicated paperworkers, the industry failed to give white-collar and technical workers a national wage adjustment, despite giving a second year 2.5% increase to blue-collar workers, members of Paperiliitto. Members of PRO deserve at least the same! 
 
(A full ICEM story on this&nbsp;can be found by <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4342-Finnish-Paper-Sector-Wage-Accords-Divert-Between-ICEM-Affiliates">following this link</a>.) 
 
This is most insulting because in the past few years, paper companies in Finland have downsized the ranks of Pro by 30% through redundancies. It means more work and greater responsibilities have been placed on the 4,000 members of Pro remaining in Finland&rsquo;s paper sector. Thus, Pro has targeted UPM&rsquo;s six mills and 20 workplaces throughout Finland with industrial action. 
 
The ICEM is asking you to immediately send the following message of support to Pro President Antti Rinne (<a href="mailto:Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi">Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi</a>) and Chief Paper Sector Negotiator Jukka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml;inen (<a href="mailto:jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi">jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi</a>). 
 
Please cut and paste this message, or something similar, and send today to the e-mail addresses above: 
 
Dear Brothers Antti and Jukka, 
We have heard through the ICEM of your strike, targeting UPM, from April 6 to April 20. We understand the work stoppage to be justified because the Finnish employers&rsquo; federation has failed to deliver a justified wage increase on the national level. To tell your union&rsquo;s members to go negotiate an increase on the local level is insulting considering the tremendous sacrifices they have made over recent years in keeping Finland&rsquo;s paper sector operating. Please tell all Pro members working in the paper sector that our union supports them! 
 
(Signed) 
(Name of Union)
&nbsp;
<hr />
&nbsp;
Appel &agrave; la solidarit&eacute;: gr&egrave;ve des papetiers d&rsquo;UPM en Finlande 
 
Chers Militants de la Section P&acirc;te et Papier, 
 
A 6h00 ce mercredi 6 avril, un millier de membres du syndicat finlandais Ammattiliitto Pro, affili&eacute; &agrave; l&rsquo;ICEM, ont entam&eacute; une gr&egrave;ve de quinze jours contre UPM, entreprise cibl&eacute;e dans le cadre de la rupture de leurs pourparlers avec la F&eacute;d&eacute;ration des Industries foresti&egrave;res de Finlande. Dans une attitude insultante pour ces travailleurs appliqu&eacute;s, les entreprises ont refus&eacute; d&rsquo;accorder un ajustement salarial aux cols blancs et techniciens en d&eacute;pit d&rsquo;une seconde augmentation salariale annuelle de 2,5% accord&eacute;e aux membres de Paperiliitto, le syndicat des cols-bleus. Les membres de PRO m&eacute;ritent un traitement &eacute;gal ! 
 
Un r&eacute;cit complet de l&rsquo;ICEM, en anglais, sur ce sujet peut &ecirc;tre lui en <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4342-Finnish-Paper-Sector-Wage-Accords-Divert-Between-ICEM-Affiliates">suivant ce lien</a>. 
 
Ce geste est tr&egrave;s insultant parce qu&rsquo;au cours des derni&egrave;res ann&eacute;es, les entreprises papeti&egrave;res en Finlande ont r&eacute;duit les rangs de Pro de 30% en raison des licenciements. Cela signifie que davantage de travail et de responsabilit&eacute;s reposent maintenant sur les &eacute;paules des 4000 membres de Pro qui subsistent dans le secteur du papier en Finlande. En cons&eacute;quence, Pro a cibl&eacute; pour cette action les six usines et vingt sites d&rsquo;activit&eacute; d&rsquo;UPM en Finlande. 
 
L&rsquo;ICEM vous demande d&rsquo;envoyer imm&eacute;diatement le message de soutien suivant au Pr&eacute;sident de Pro Antti Rinne (<a href="mailto:Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi">Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi</a>) et au n&eacute;gociateur en chef pour le secteur du papier Jukka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml;inen (<a href="mailto:jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi">jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi</a>). 
 
Veuillez faire un couper-coller de ce message ou en composer un similaire et l&rsquo;envoyer aux adresses &eacute;lectroniques mentionn&eacute;es: 
 
Chers Camarades Antti et Jukka, 
 
Par l&rsquo;interm&eacute;diaire de l&rsquo;ICEM, nous avons pris connaissance de votre gr&egrave;ve qui cible UPM du 6 au 20 avril. Nous sommes inform&eacute;s que votre arr&ecirc;t de travail est motiv&eacute; par le refus de la F&eacute;d&eacute;ration patronale finlandaise d&rsquo;accorder une hausse de salaire justifi&eacute;e au plan national. Dire aux membres de votre syndicat d&rsquo;aller n&eacute;gocier leurs augmentations au plan local est une insulte compte tenu des sacrifices consid&eacute;rables qui ont &eacute;t&eacute; consentis ces derni&egrave;res ann&eacute;es pour maintenir en activit&eacute; le secteur papetier en Finlande. Dites &agrave; tous les membres de Pro occup&eacute;s dans le secteur du papier que notre syndicat les soutient ! 
 
(Signature) 
(Nom du Syndicat.) 
<hr />

&nbsp;
 
Llamado de solidaridad: huelga de trabajadores de UPM, sector papelero de Finlandia 
 
Estimados activistas del Sector de Pulpa y Papel: 
 
El mi&eacute;rcoles 6 de abril pasado, se inici&oacute; la huelga de trabajadores de la empresa papelera UPM, que estuvo involucrada en el colapso de las conversaciones con la Federaci&oacute;n de Industrias Forestales de Finlandia. Siendo las 6 de la ma&ntilde;ana del d&iacute;a indicado, 1.000 miembros de Ammattiliitto Pro, organizaci&oacute;n finlandesa afiliada a la ICEM, comenzaron una huelga de dos semanas en UPM, a consecuencia de la insultante negativa de esa industria, de no conceder un aumento salarial nacional a los dedicados trabajadores t&eacute;cnicos y de oficina, a pesar de haber otorgado a los trabajadores manuales un aumento del 2,5% por segundo a&ntilde;o consecutivo. Los trabajadores manuales son miembros de Paperiliitto: &iexcl;los miembros de PRO merecen por lo menos el mismo trato! 
 
(Haga clic en este enlace para ver un art&iacute;culo completo de la ICEM, en ingl&eacute;s, <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4342-Finnish-Paper-Sector-Wage-Accords-Divert-Between-ICEM-Affiliates">sobre este problema</a>.) 
 
Esto es un gran insulto porque en a&ntilde;os recientes las empresas papeleras de Finlandia han despedido a muchos trabajadores, reduciendo en un 30% el n&uacute;mero de miembros de Pro. Debido a esto, se han recargado con m&aacute;s trabajo y responsabilidades a los 4.000 afiliados de Pro que quedan en el sector papelero de Finlandia. Por este motivo, Pro ha declarado la huelga en seis plantas y 20 lugares de trabajo de UPM en diferentes partes de Finlandia. 
 
La ICEM les ruega enviar inmediatamente el siguiente mensaje de apoyo a Antti Rinne, Presidente de Pro, (<a href="mailto:Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi">Antti.Rinne@proliitto.fi</a>) y a Jukka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml;inen, Negociador Principal del Sector del Papel (<a href="mailto:jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi">jukka.hamalainen@proliitto.fi</a>). 
 
Rogamos copiar este mensaje, o algo semejante, y enviarlo a las direcciones de e-mail que se se&ntilde;alan m&aacute;s arriba.: 
 
Estimados Cros. Antti y Jukka: 
La ICEM nos ha informado sobre la huelga que han declarado en UPM, del 6 al 20 de abril. Parece justa esta paralizaci&oacute;n de los labores, debido a que la federaci&oacute;n empresarial de Finlandia no ha concedido un aumento salarial justo a nivel nacional. Tomando en cuenta los enormes sacrificios que han hecho estos sindicalistas en los &uacute;ltimos a&ntilde;os para que contin&uacute;en las operaciones del sector papelero de Finlandia, constituye un insulto que les digan a los miembros de su sindicato que vayan a negociar un aumento salarial a nivel local. &iexcl;Rogamos informar a todos los miembros de Pro que laboran en el sector del papel que nuestra federaci&oacute;n sindical est&aacute; con ellos! 
 
(Firmado) 
(Nombre del sindicato) 

&nbsp;

Action Needed/ Votre intervention est souhaitée/ Se requiere acción urgente

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="49" />
Bahrain&rsquo;s authorities and business leaders are retaliating to a general strike led by the national trade union centre GFBTU with a campaign of mass sackings, intimidation, and violence against all workers involved. The general strike was called on 13 March, and ended 22 March, in support of pro-democracy protests inside the island state near the western shore of the Persian Gulf. The agreement to end the strike included a promise to GFBTU, an affiliate of the International Trade Union Confederation, by authorities that strikers would not suffer repercussions. 
 
Estimates suggest over 1,000 workers will be laid-off during the crackdown including at employers Aluminium Bahrain BSC, Bahrain Telecommunications Company, Gulf Air, Bahrain Airport Services and APM Terminals Bahrain at the Khalifa Sea Port. All sackings were due to worker absence during the strike. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="169" />
BAPCO President Abdul Ghaffar Abdul Hussain
The president of the union at Bahrain Petroleum (BAPCO), Abdul Ghaffar Abdul Hussain, has been sacked for his absence during the strike and also for &ldquo;inciting workers to strike&rdquo;. The company will begin legal prosecution of Hussain this week or next. Hussain was central in the creation of the GBFTU. All employees at BAPCO are now fearful of losing their jobs in the coming days. Absenteeism of BAPCO employees on 16-17 March was 60%. 
See <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/27.ICEM.Bahrain.6April.pdf">ICEM's letter to the King of Bahrain</a> here. 
 
Security forces have closed down the GBFTU headquarters and are expected to soon call the organisation&rsquo;s president, Salman Mahfooz, in for questioning. Roads leading to the union office were closed and workers were blocked from reaching the headquarters, most of those workers had been seeking guidance from their union following their sacking. The GBFTU website has been closed. Parliament is calling on the government to immediately refer trade union leaders involved in the strike to the public prosecution office. 
 
All members of the GBFTU executive, spanning all industries, have been suspended from work pending investigations. On top of this cynical multi-faceted attack on Bahrain&rsquo;s independent trade unions, companies are now planning legal cases against the unions in a further attempt to permanently end their activities. 
 
Over 300 activists have been arrested with many missing, and at least 20 killed since protesters took to the street in February, inspired by popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The violent suppression of the Bahraini people&rsquo;s reform protest has been facilitated with armed forces from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. 
 
This disgraceful attack on core human and trade union rights of the Bahraini people must end immediately.

ICEM Angered by Brutal Attack on Trade Unions in Bahrain

Commonality of April 28: Unions Make Work Safer

<img alt="" src="" width="50" height="65" />
Recent administrative and other changes regarding health and safety governance in the UK clearly reflects the policies of the governing Tory, Liberal Democrat coalition. In late March, Employment Minister Chris Grayling announced a shift of emphasis from safety and health monitoring by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in order to ease regulatory burdens on business. 
 
The package of proposed changes includes eliminating unannounced workplace safety inspections and placing more emphasis on high-hazard worksites and those with histories of unsafe conditions. The ruling government will also conduct a review of all existing health and safety regulations with the notion to scrap measures that are not needed and those that place an unnecessary burden on business. 
 
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) disagrees with the new mandate, seen as a means to chop government spending out of the HSE. 
&ldquo;The possibility of an unexpected visit from either the HSE or a local authority safety inspector helps keep employers on their toes,&rdquo; said TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber. &ldquo;Even now, workplaces can go decades without ever seeing an inspector. 
 
&ldquo;If government cuts to HSE funding do result in fewer safety inspections, unscrupulous employers will simply assume they can get away with taking risks, without fear of ever being prosecuted.&rdquo; 
 
Another change in the UK is a Ministry of Justice proposal for reform of local courts structures regarding who is responsible for legal fees in workplace compensation and other cases. The proposed change, which is under public consultation until June 30, would require plaintiffs that win their cases in courts to carry the burden of paying their own legal fees, regardless of damages. 
 
This &ldquo;no win, no fee&rdquo; proposal is seen as means to reduce the number the number of filings against employers by workers who suffer industrial accidents in order to eliminate a so-called &ldquo;compensation culture&rdquo; in the UK. The Ministry of Justice&rsquo;s aim is also to push more cases out of courtrooms and into mediation. The TUC&rsquo;s Hazards Campaigns sees it as a sham since less than 10% of all workers injured at work receive compensation and, as well, free legal counsel for victims seeking workers&rsquo; compensation has been cancelled by the state. 
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="65" />
On another note in the UK, this one a milestone, the first company to be convicted of corporate manslaughter under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act of 2007, which became effective in April 2008, occurred on February 15, 2011. Cotswold Geotechnical Ltd., a small geological company, was found guilty by a jury of Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire, in the negligent death of 27-year-old Alexander Wright. In 2008, Wright was working alone in an unsupported 12-foot pit. He died from asphyxia when soil from the collapsed pit buried him. The court fined the company &pound;385,000.

Health, Safety Changes Mirror Con-Dem Policies in UK

<img alt="" src="" width="50" height="65" />
In the 2010 special ICEM newsletter on April 28, the ICEM stressed that the key to getting a global ban on asbestos lies in Canada. If Canadian support for the asbestos industry fails, then a global asbestos ban will succeed. Everyone who cares to examine the evidence by now knows that the link between all forms of asbestos (asbestosis, mesothelioma, other cancers) is irrefutable. 
 
An important step forward was taken by the Conf&eacute;d&eacute;ration des Syndicats Nationaux (CSN) at the union federation&rsquo;s 11 March congress. The congress decided to withdraw the federation&rsquo;s traditional support of the Qu&eacute;bec asbestos industry. This was truly an historic and courageous stand, in a province where the asbestos industry is so closely tied with labour history. 
<img alt="" src="" width="150" height="107" />
Claudette Carbonneau, President of the 300,000 member organization, told the congress: &ldquo;Qu&eacute;bec, like many advanced industrial societies, has been shaken by the use of a resource which sows death. If health and safety conditions do not prevent these deadly illnesses in Qu&eacute;bec, it is difficult to pretend that there can be safe use of asbestos in developing countries.&rdquo; 
 
However, for every step forward, there seems to be at least one step backwards. Just this month, the Qu&eacute;bec government approved a C$52 million economic aid package to expand the Jeffrey asbestos mine, whose products will be exported principally to India, Indonesia, the Philippines and other Asian countries. Proof, once again, that the industry would not be viable without heavy government subsidies. 
 
Meanwhile, the body which regulates place-names in Qu&eacute;bec has given permission for the regional body known as MRC de L&rsquo;Amiante to delete the Amiante (Asbestos) from its title and rename itself &ldquo;MRC des Appalaches.&rdquo; So, evidently there are people even in the region of Qu&eacute;bec that mines asbestos who are perhaps disgusted by the shameless hypocrisy of politicians and profiteers and would prefer not to be associated with the export of this deadly fibre.

Québec Labour Federation CSN Takes Heroic, Historic Stand on Asbestos

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