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Ref: ICEM10/EN LT70 
 
 
25 June 2010 
 
Mr Manzoor Nadir 
Minister of Labor, Human Services and Social Security 
Co-operative Republic of Guyana 
1 Water and Cornhill Streets 
Georgetown, Guyana 
 
Transmitted to e-mail <a href="mailto:manzoor.nadir@gmail.com">manzoor.nadir@gmail.com</a>&nbsp;and fax number +592 227 1308 
 
Dear Honourable Minister Nadir, 
 
I write to recap our meeting of 15 June 2010 in the offices of the ICEM in Geneva, Switzerland. Firstly, the ICEM Secretariat is grateful to you for initiating the meeting while you were in Geneva for the 99th gathering of the ILO&rsquo;s International Labour Conference. We agree with the assessment in your subsequent News Release that the meeting was cordial in nature and for the ICEM&rsquo;s part, we believe it could serve as an initial starting point to resolve the now seven-month dispute between the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers&rsquo; Union (GB&amp;GWU) and the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI). 
 
The hard work of engagement through tripartite voluntary dialogue must now commence, and we were happy to hear of your willingness to facilitate this dialogue between GB&amp;GWU and BCGI. Therefore, as you agreed to in our 15 June meeting, we call on you to immediately call both parties together to start open and honest talks. 
 
As we mentioned in the meeting, ICEM is troubled by what we believe has been undue pressure by BCGI management to intimidate and coerce workers of the mining company to de-authorize the GB&amp;GWU from their legitimate role as workers&rsquo; representative. We sincerely feel it is the role of the Labour Ministry to ensure that this does not happen, and if the matter of union representation does go to a poll of workers, we insist that the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board uphold global labour standards as set forth by the ILO, meaning that management of BCGI must not interfere in workers&rsquo; free choice for or against union representation. 
 
Besides attempting to reconcile the past difficulties between the two parties, ICEM stands hopeful that a facilitated meeting by you between GB&amp;GWU and BCGI can establish voluntary and mutually acceptable ground rules to be used in any recognition poll. For this, the ICEM sees unimpeded access to the workplace by GB&amp;GWU representatives to speak one-on-one with workers, as well as assuring that the 57 discharged workers, all union activists, have an opportunity to address fellow workers to tell their side of the firings. Since the government of Guyana retains 10% of this enterprise, we are hopeful that this can be guaranteed. 
 
As we told you in our meeting, the ICEM is ready and willing to participate in dialogue in Guyana to successfully resolve this dispute, or even to play the role of observer in a poll. I look forward to your response on this, and your follow-up to our meeting. 
 
Lastly, and as a separate issue from the GB&amp;GWU/BCGI dispute, we are encouraged by your willingness to introduce ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, in your country, and to begin the internal process toward ratification. As we told you in our 15 June meeting, Guyana has much to gain on the international level by ratifying this important ILO Convention, particularly at a time when mining accidents and resulting deaths are escalating due to demand and rapid extraction of mineral resources. 
 
The ICEM stands ready to assist the government of Guyana in any possible way in this regard to make Guyana the 25th country worldwide to ratify ILO Convention 176. 
 
Again, we are grateful to you for initiating the 15 June meeting, and we are hopeful this will be a harbinger of better tripartite relations between your government, BCGI, and GB&amp;GWU. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
 
 
Manfred Warda 
General Secretary 
 
Cc: Leslie Gonsalves, GB&amp;GWU

ICEM Letter to Guyana Labour Minister Nadir

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Colombia&rsquo;s worst mining disaster in over 30 years killed 73 workers on 16 June, amid urgent calls for action on health and safety in mines. The cause of the explosion was yet again methane gas, a cause which especially angers the ICEM as it is always avoidable under safe working conditions. This is the sixth deadly methane gas explosion around the world&rsquo;s mines in the last six months. 
 
The characteristics of all of theses tragedies are the same: lack of effective government oversight, employers putting profit and production ahead of safety, or the absence of a trade union and collective bargaining agreement that would have given miners the right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions without jeopardizing their jobs. 

<img alt="" src="" width="175" height="247" />
The San Fernando Coal mine in Amaga, North-West Colombia, is a non-union mine with a poor safety record. In November last year, workers broke through a wall into another shaft, causing mass flooding that killed 5. In another methane blast at the mine 3 years ago, 20 mineworkers were killed. 
 
Colombia's geological and mining institute, Ingeominas, have stated that results of an investigation into the accident are expected in the coming days. 
 
The ICEM calls for a full investigation of the causes of this accident, and joins with other mining unions around the world which have called for criminal prosecution of those responsible for these tragic accidents. Moreover, we call upon the International Labour Organization to greatly intensify its efforts to promote the ratification of Convention 176 on Health and Safety in Mines which is a needed first step in safeguarding the lives of miners. 

<img alt="" src="" width="287" height="215" />
Manfred Warda Addresses ILC
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda addressed the International Labour Conference of the ILO, 15 June, on the vital need for action on ILO Convention 176. Warda questioned how &ldquo;miners in the 21st Century should have to endure such dangers when clearly the science, technology and training are present to eliminate these so-called accidents&rdquo;. 
 
Warda heavily criticised the common tactic of mine employers, to give employees substandard basic salaries which must be complemented by production bonuses, this contributes to workers continuing in unsafe conditions, in order to meet quotas. 
 
The US Massey mine disaster of April this year illustrates the need not only for ratification of Convention 176, but also strict implementation, as the mine was consistently cited with safety violations by the inspecting authorities. &ldquo;Effective government oversight of mining operations must improve dramatically&rdquo; Warda told ILC delegates.

Deadly Colombia Mine Blast, ICEM Presses ILC on Convention 176

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Aggressive police attacks on workers and their families at Cananea and Pasta de Conchos on 6 June have moved the United Steelworkers (USW) and the National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Related Workers of the Mexican Republic (SNTMMRM), or Los Mineros, closer together. The two trade unions have formed a commission, charged with increasing strategic cooperation and exploring a fusion together that would form a potential union of one million workers in Mexico, Canada, the US and the Caribbean. 
 
Although the bi-lateral trade union commission had been operating for some time, Los Mineros General Secretary Napoleon Gomez announced its formation at the global &quot;Triple Crisis of Sustainability&rdquo; conference in Toronto on 19 June. 
 
The commission is made up of five members from each of the union&rsquo;s leaderships. The USW represents 850,000 workers in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, while Los Mineros represents about 180,000 in Mexico. 
<img alt="" src="" width="142" height="150" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="150" height="150" />
Napole&oacute;n Gomez, Leo Gerard
In signing a 20 June joint declaration, announcing the establishment of the commission, Napoleon Gomez and USW President Leo Gerard affirmed their unions&rsquo; &quot;common commitment to democracy, equality, and solidarity for working men and women throughout North America and throughout the world&quot;. 
 
The declaration describes the ongoing systematic campaign of persecution against Los Mineros by the government of Felipe Calder&oacute;n, which is motivated by the government policy of suppressing Mexican workers&rsquo; rights and wages, in order to attract foreign investment. While this policy has made enormous profits possible for corporations in Mexico, the strength and advances of Los Mineros has lead to them being attacked physically, financially, in the media, in the justice system, and with industrial homicide due to poor health and safety standards. The Los Mineros General Secretary Gomez is still forced to lead his union from exile in Canada, and has been supported there by the USW. 
 
The two unions have worked closely together for years, marked by the Global Strategic Alliance, jointly signed on 13 April 2005, which committed to build power by increasing communication and coordination across national borders. While in recent times, they share similar experiences of long mining strikes, as the strike at Cananea nears the three-year mark, and USW&rsquo;s strike in Canada against Vale Inco is into its 11th month. 
 
See the full declaration on the USW website <a href="http://www.usw.org">here</a>.

USW, Los Mineros Announce Unification Commission

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Rio Tinto Zimbabwe Ltd. (RioZim), operator of the Renco Gold Mine in Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Masvingo province, has maliciously taken revenge on members of the Associated Mine Workers&rsquo; of Zimbabwe (AMWZ) immediately after the end of a five-day national mine strike in mid-May. The company has discharged 70 miners, suspended 370, and given a total of 760 of Renco&rsquo;s 1,000 workers final warnings for taking part in the strike. 
 
Management&rsquo;s disciplinary actions come despite the fact that all strikers at Renco returned to work within the mandatory 24-hour period after Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Labour Ministry stopped the strike with a &ldquo;show-cause&rdquo; order on 14 May. 
 
&ldquo;Our concern now is that other mining enterprises will use this as a precedent to fire workers who took strike action,&rdquo; said AMWZ President Tinago Ruzive. &ldquo;In fact, as soon as we received the order, we informed all strikers to return to their jobs and we were successful in communicating this.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
(A 17 May ICEM briefing on the strike&rsquo;s end can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3779-Zimbabwe-Mine-Strike-Suspended-by-Decree-of-Labour-Ministry">here</a>.) Ruzive and the AMWZ attempted to meet with Renco management over the unfair disciplinary measures, but management refused the meeting. The union must now take the matter to a labour court. 
 
The &ldquo;show-cause&rdquo; order called for a 20 May hearing on the pay strike in Harare. But the Labour Ministry cancelled that hearing and no new date has been scheduled. Some 20,000 miners struck 45 different mining companies affiliated to the Chamber of Mines in mid-May over non-payment of wage adjustments made in an arbitration award last year. 
 
Mining companies affiliated to the chamber have also neglected to remit contributions to the Mining Industry Pension Fund, monies owed to the National Employment Council for the Mining Industry, and to the AMWZ for subscriptions, a further cause of miners taking legal strike action after the AMWZ issued the mandatory 14-day strike notice in late April. 
 
RioZim is the country&rsquo;s largest resource company listed on Zimbabwe&rsquo;s bourse. Besides the Zenco Gold Mine, its assets include 22% of the Murowa diamond mine (with Rio Tinto Group holding 78%), the Empress nickel refinery in Kadoma, which processes matte from Botswana, and 50% of the Senga coal fields in Gokwe North.

Rio Tinto Sacks 70, Suspends 370 Following Zimbabwe Mine Strike

The Executive Committee of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) Federation, meeting today 26 May in Geneva, passed three key resolutions. Firstly, the Executive drew sharp attention on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its role to improve safety conditions in the world&rsquo;s mines. 
 
The ICEM also passed resolutions reiterating its strong support to the United Steelworkers in Canada in its 11-month strike against Brazilian-based Vale, and support to the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), also known as Los Mineros, in its lengthy struggle against Grupo Mexico and the government of Mexico. 
 
The adopted statement on mine safety called on the ILO to do more to press member states to ratify Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. Recent mining tragedies in Turkey and Russia served as a backdrop for the Executive issuing strong rhetoric for immediate action by the ILO. 
 
&ldquo;Our statutory body strongly feels that the ILO must become more pro-active in investigating causes of safety negligence, and insist on a greater trade union role in promoting safe work conditions,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. 
 
In Turkey, the ICEM endorsed today&rsquo;s three one-hour work stoppages by 10,000 miners, strikes that were led by ICEM affiliate Genel Maden-Is. The strikes across the coal-mining region of Zonguldak follow the deadly 17 May methane explosion in the Karadon mine, which killed 30 non-union and short-term contract workers. The strikes were meant as a message to the Turkish government, demanding safe work conditions inside mines, as well as ratification of Convention 176.
The ICEM Executive also condemned faulty pay schemes in mining in several countries, including Russia where monthly salaries are kept extremely low, with miners expected to achieve high production quotas to supplement their pay. This likely was the case at the Raspadskaya mine in the Kemerovo region, where 90 workers died due to methane gas explosions in early May. 
 
The safety statement also addressed a rash of accidents in both the upstream and downstream oil and gas industries, including a refinery explosion in the US state of Washington that killed seven and the Gulf of Mexico disaster. &ldquo;While much is made of the environmental destruction along the United States Gulf coast brought about by the oil rig explosion, which indeed merits attention, little is made of the fact that 11 offshore workers died and 15 others were seriously injured,&rdquo; read the statement. See full resolution <a href="/index.php?id=97&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3794">here</a>. 
 
The resolution regarding the USW strike at three locations of Vale in Canada called attention to the company&rsquo;s ongoing aversion to negotiate in good faith with the union. The global campaign for justice at Vale, by the ICEM, the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and affiliates from around the world has improved conditions for workers, said the resolution. See full document <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3796">here</a>. 
 
The third resolution, on Los Mineros&rsquo; struggle against Grupo Mexico and the government of Felipe Calderon, condemns the recent brutal and unprovoked attacks by the Mexican Federal Police on members of the union. The attack is seen as a direct attack on the autonomy of Los Mineros. Police fired on, detained, and physically attacked the workers in the city of L&aacute;zaro C&aacute;rdenas, Michoac&aacute;n. Among those attacked was Mario Garc&iacute;a Ort&iacute;z, Los Mineros&rsquo; special delegate for the State of Michoac&aacute;n, also the Alternative General Secretary of the union and President of the recent Convention of the union. 
 
The ICEM statement calls on the Mexican government to acknowledge the result of the democratic election of the Los Mineros Congress, in which Napoleon Gomez Urrutia was elected. See the full document <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3795">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM is a Global Union Federation consisting of 467 trade unions in 132 countries, representing in total 20 million workers. 
 
For further information, contact ICEM Information Officer, Dick Blin, <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, or +41 79 734 8994 (mobile), or Tom Grinter, ICEM Communications and Campaigns, <a href="mailto:tom.grinter@icem.org">tom.grinter@icem.org</a>, +41 79 693 4499 (mobile).

ICEM Executive Demands ILO Action on Mine Safety, Justice in Canada and Mexico

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A week-long blockade by several hundred contract workers at Chile&rsquo;s third largest copper mine ended 12 May, but issues remain unresolved. The blockade, takeover of equipment and operations, and reported kidnappings of direct employees at the Collahuasi mine in northern Region I ended only when Special Forces of the Chilean police arrived to break up the strike. 
 
The contract workers then took the strike 180 kilometres to the west to the town of Iquique. Negotiations to resolve the dispute had been ongoing with the Tarapac&aacute; governor, and reports circulate that talks would again start today. Collahuasi, which is 44% owned by Xstrata, 44% by AngloAmerican, with the rest held by Japanese investors connected to Mitsui &amp; Co., declared force majeure on 10 May. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
The mining enterprise said it suspended production then because of the on-site takeover, but began operating again on 12 May. Collahuasi employs 2,000 direct employees, while another 4,000 work for some scores of sub-contractors. 
 
Collahuasi is currently in the first phase of a US$750 million expansion and reports linked the contract workers to a Chilean engineering firm involved in that expansion. Their strike and blockade is over demands that include on-site housing similar to that of direct-employed staff, and bonuses for successfully concluding wage negotiations in April. 
 
The strike and blockade began 7 May. Copper prices on the London Metals Market rose slightly due to the shutdown. The Collahusi mine provides 3.3% of the world&rsquo;s copper supply, with 2009 production at 535,000 tonnes of processed copper. The expansion, due to be complete by 2015, will boost that production figure to 600,000 tonnes.

Contract Workers’ Strike Flares at Chile’s Collahuasi Copper Mine

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Iranian authorities experienced a wide backlash of anger from throughout the world, following their decision to secretly execute teacher and trade unionist Farzad Kamangar on 9 May. 
 
Farzad Kamangar was hanged at Evin Prison in Tehran, along with three other Kurds and one other man, without their families or legal representatives being told beforehand. The draconian executions followed a legal process which failed to meet any semblance of accepted international standards, or even Iranian standards of fair trials. 
 
The ICEM has long been involved in the campaign against repression and violations of human rights in Iran, including the illegal arrests of other trade unionists. Increased solidarity and support is now needed for those who are illegally imprisoned, with fears spreading that their fates might meet the same as Farzad Kamangar&rsquo;s. 

<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="159" />
Photo: Mac Urata (ITF)
The Global Union Federation for teachers and educators, Education International (EI), has been fighting Farzad Kamangar&rsquo;s case since his arrest in May 2006. He was given the death sentence in February 2008, following a trial lasting less than five minutes. The 35-year-old member of the Teachers&rsquo; Union of Kurdistan, was accused of &quot;endangering national security&quot; and &ldquo;moharebeh&rdquo; or &quot;enmity against God.&quot; 
 
Farzad Kamangar was held for seven months prior to being allowed to see his family. He was repeatedly tortured. He was whipped, held in a freezing room and physically abused by guards. He was not given the chance to say goodbye to his family. 
 
The news comes one month before the 26 June, the Day of Action against the Islamic Republic of Iran for the repressive and tyrannical means it uses to suppress its people. (View that campaign website <a href="http://www.justiceforiranianworkers.org ">here</a>.) 
 
Protests were carried out in several countries, following the executions. See the Turkey march <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lki_FBw68_s&amp;feature=related">here</a>. See all photos of the London rally <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/workers_in_action/sets/72157623937198125/detail/ ">here</a> (photos by Mac Urata)

World Appalled at Execution of Iranian Trade Unionist

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The multinational pharmaceutical company Menarini was put on notice 15 January by Italian unions to improve its social contract with workers, or face a first eight-hour strike on 30 January. In a statement by the tri-union Coordinating Committee of the Menarini Group, FILCEM-CGIL, FEMCA-CISL, and UILCEM-UIL jointly gave warning that pay and profit-sharing increases must be made to Italian workers, and greater participation in corporate strategies must be granted workers. 

<img height="116" alt="" src="" width="95" />
The unions are attempting to secure a four-year social compact with the privately-held, Florence-based company, which specialises in development and manufacture of cardiovascular, respiratory, and other drugs. The three unions are still in search of a satisfactory contract with a term stretching from 2008 to 2011. 
<img height="80" alt="" src="" width="110" />
The statement, issued after a 14 January meeting of the Coordinating Committee in Florence, demands a profit-sharing scheme using a different measure and one weighted more heavily on productivity. The three unions also seek wage quotas that meet the industry medium. 
<img height="71" alt="" src="" width="126" />
In addition, the unions demand working conditions, job classifications, and job re-organisation which will give workers more say in decision-making. Menarini, Europe&rsquo;s 19th largest pharmaceutical company, employs 3,850 of its global workforce of 12,500 in Italy. Besides several other Italian worksites, it operates a large bio-technical centre in Pomezia. 
 
In March 2007, the ICEM intervened on behalf of Turkish affiliate Lastik-İş when Menarini&rsquo;s subsidiary in Istanbul, İbrahim Ethan İla&ccedil;lari A.S., sacked union leaders who were seeking Lastik-İş representation. The company&rsquo;s refusal to abide by a court decree recognising the union caused a plant occupation by workers.

Italian Unions Put Demands on Gruppo Menarini, Plan 30 January Manifestation

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
French trade unions will mobilise in Paris on 29 January, the result of failed social talks within the public electric and gas companies. The issues are job retention, re-training, and fair pay, and failure thus far to meet social accord is the fault of the federal government and Medef, the employers&rsquo; council in France, say the unions. 
<img height="59" alt="" src="" width="175" />
Eight unions, including federations CGT, CFDT, FO, CFE-CGC, and CFTC, decided in early January to set the mobilisation date, with resumption of social talks scheduled early in February. The three-page declaration is described as a compromise among workers&rsquo; representatives at several French gas and electric worksites over the pay issue. The declaration calls for urgent measures to prioritise job retention, remunerations, and economic revival, beginning first at the workplace. 
<img height="112" alt="" src="" width="81" />
The declaration also said now is the time to increase low wages, social minimums, and to enhance re-training opportunities, an area of general agreement between the three parties. But the unions forcefully denounce French federal government plans to fire 30,000 people from civil service jobs. 
<img height="93" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The French trade union federations&rsquo; call for mass participation on 29 January is urgent, and it is a legitimate &ldquo;workers&rsquo; awakening&rdquo; in the resistance of the neo-liberal agenda.

French Unions Unite in Gas, Electric Sectors for Jobs, Training, Fair Wages

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Leaders of Nigerian ICEM oil and gas affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN are mobilising workers as a 21-day ultimatum to the national government draws near demanding revocation to a contract with US-based Cobalt International covering pre-shipment services on oil exports. 
 
If the government does not, strikes will occur. 
 
NUPENG last week sent a petition to the Minister of Petroleum, Rilwan Lukman, clarifying that the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) is statutorily required to carry out the work of pre-shipment services, and that instead of hiring an outside firm at great cost, the government should allow Nigerians and DPR workers to do the work. 
<img height="135" alt="" src="" width="128" /><img height="145" alt="" src="" width="140" />
NUPENG said the contract with Cobalt &ldquo;should be abrogated with immediate effect,&rdquo; and demands the Nigerian state use its oil and gas revenues to acquire the necessary equipment &ldquo;to enhance its supervisory role in the oil and gas industry. 
 
&ldquo;The contract with Cobalt International Ltd. should not be allowed to stand because it serves as a conduit pipe for siphoning money by agents of multinationals from our national treasury,&rdquo; stated NUPENG. 
 
Elsewhere in Nigerian labour, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Adetokumbo Kayode, called for increased levels of dialogue between labour and the federal government during these times of economic difficulty. This positive move by the new minister for closer cooperation encouraged trade union leaders in Nigeria. &ldquo;Government, in order to move the country forward, will engage labour in a constructive dialogue on labour matters,&rdquo; said Kayode. 
 
This occurred while NUPENG was endorsing an electronic loading system, to be introduced across the energy-rich country by the Petroleum Equalization Fund. The system will monitor diversion of petroleum products, track information, and assure accurate billing and payment of products both at loading and receiving terminals. Some of the most dangerous work in Nigeria&rsquo;s oil patch is done by tank-truck drivers, who are members of NUPENG. 
 
Both NUPENG and PENGASSAN again addressed the security problem facing their union members in the Niger Delta region. The two unions issued a joint statement demanding further government intervention to ensure workers&rsquo; security at work.

Nigerian Oil Workers’ Move Closer to Strike Action on Outsourcing

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