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As reported in ICEM InBrief No. 152, ICEM&rsquo;s Norwegian affiliated union, Industri Energi (IE), has established a trade union rights award in the name of the late trade unionist, Arthur Svensson. The award, to come with a cash prize, will be given to a person or organization for outstanding contributions for promoting trade union rights and the strengthening of trade unionism on the international and national levels. 
 
Deadline for nominations for this initial Arthur Svensson International Award for Trade Union Rights is 1 May 2010. The announcement of the winner will be made on 11 October 2010. 

<img alt="" src="" width="150" height="168" />
Arthur Svensson
The award comes with a prize of NOK 500,000, equal to &euro;61,016 or US$82,784. ICEM Vice President Liv Undheim (also Vice President of IE) is coordinating the award. Nominations can be sent to her at <a href="mailto:liv.undheim@industrienergi.no">liv.undheim@industrienergi.no</a>, or faxed to +47 23 06 1360. 
 
Arthur Svensson was a long-time leader of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund, the Norwegian Chemical Workers&rsquo; Association, which merged with NOPEF on 4 September 2006 to form IE. Svensson died in 2008, but left a legacy in Norway and beyond as a man who promoted global peace, disarmament, and a nuclear weapons-free world. 
 
He was also a driving force from his leadership positions of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund in Norwegian environment law, and a strong proponent of clean energy to drive clean industries. But first and foremost, he was a dedicated trade unionist, maintaining membership in LO-Norway for 61 years, the final 48 of those years with the Chemical Workers. 
 
Announcement of the award can be found here.

1 May Deadline Approaching Fast, Arthur Svensson Labour Rights Award

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Colombian mining union Sintramienergetica are opposing the purchase of one of Colombia&rsquo;s most valuable gold properties, by Canadian company Medoro Resources Ltd. The three Frontino gold mines were left to the workers by the previous owner, with the decision to sell being taken with no consultation of the union. 
 
Frontino miners are currently owed back dates pension payments, and Medoro has offered to make these payments following the purchase of the mines. This would be insignificant for Sintramienergetica, and local people of the region who say they are the rightful owners. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
&quot;A coalition consisting of the workers, owners, and creditors of Frontino Gold Mines, along with the Segovia City Council and the people of the region, strongly and unanimously reject the attempts by Medoro Resources to take what is rightfully and legally ours, and demand that our voices be heard and that the law be respected,&quot; said Union leader Dairo Alberto Rua. 
 
A court-appointed liquidator in Colombia agreed to sell the properties to Toronto-based Medoro Resources Ltd. for about US$200-million, a fraction of the value of the mines, according to the union. The Colombian government has declared the sale legal and binding. Hernan Martinez Torres, Colombia&rsquo;s Minister of Mining publically supports the sale. 
 
Workers are also furious after the union was described by former Medoro board member Serafino Iacono as a guerilla or paramilitary group. Medoro plans to sell half of Frontino to a company controlled by Mr. Iacono. 
 
Earlier this year, Medoro bought the Mineros Nacionales gold mine located in Zona Baja, in Colombia&rsquo;s Marmato gold district, near Frontino. 
 
The Frontino mines, among Colombia's largest gold producers, are located in the department of Antioquia, around 200kms from department capital Medellin. The mines have been running for over 150 years. 
 
In 2009, Colombia produced 1.57 million ounces of gold with that figure predicted to double over the next year.

Colombian Gold Miners Protest Sale of Mines

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ICEM Presidium member Angeline Chitambo was re-elected President of the Zimbabwe Energy Workers' Union (ZEWU) in a fractious Congress recently in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. After two tied ballots, she bested ZEWU Vice President Joseph Sibanda in a third ballot, 36-30. 
 
Chitambo now begins her second three-year term as leader of ZEWU. She is credited with giving an international profile to the union, as well as bringing financial stability to a union operating inside a troubled country with an unenviable and unfavourable economic environment. 
 
&quot;For the first time in many years, (ZEWU) has managed to acquire assets and this is commendable,&quot; said one of the union's founders, Misheck Kanyarare. 

<img alt="" src="" width="260" height="195" />
Angeline Chitambo, right
Angeline Chitambo was elected as an ICEM Vice President in 2007 as one of two women representatives to the Presidium. 
 
ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana, also President of South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), attended the ZEWU Congress, as did NUM Health and Safety Chairman Peter Bailey. Also in attendance was Rayford Mbulu, ICEM Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Vice President, who leads the Mineworkers' Union of Zambia (MUZ). 
 
ZEWU, one of the strongest trade union affiliates inside the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, has several important bargains ongoing in 2010, including the Zimbabwe Electric Service Authority, other electric power operators, and a petroleum company called Petrozimline.

Angeline Chitambo Wins Contested Election in Zimbabwe

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The latest meeting of the Asia-Pacific Electric Power Industry Network took place in Seoul, South Korea, 5-6 April, 2010. Hosted by President Kim, Joo-young, of the ICEM-affiliated Korean National Energy Workers Union (KNEWU) the meeting brought together over 20 delegates from ICEM affiliated trade unions representing workers in the Electric Power Industry from, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) and Thailand as well as observer delegations from both the People's Republic of China and Vietnam. The Network meeting, which has now become an annual event, was supported by FES. 
 
After an opening session which included welcome speeches from the Director of the local FES office, Dr. Kamppeter and President Kim, the meeting unanimously elected, Seiichi Taneoka, the new President of the Japan Electric Power Confederation (Denryoku-Soren) as Chairperson of the Network. Denryoku-Soren has been an essential supporter of the Network since its foundation. 

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ICEM Energy Officer, Jim Catterson, gave a detailed overview of the industry globally and recent ICEM work, and following presentations on the Korean Labour situation from a representative of the Ministry of Labour, together with an introduction on Electric power in Korea by a representative of the national electric power company, Kepco, delegates shared information on their own national situations with the discussions on the first day focussed on the industry and sustainable development. All delegations made detailed reports which supplemented written reports and the results of a questionnaire which had been circulated in advance of the meeting. 
 
Delegates were particularly interested to hear the reports from Ms. Zhang Mengmeng, the head of the delegation, from the Peoples Republic of China and Vice-Chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese Energy and Chemical Workers' Union (ACFTU) and that of Brother. Tran Van Ngoc, President of the National Electricity Union, (VGCL) Vietnam. Both presentations emphasised their organisations wishes to work more closely with ICEM in the future in this globalised industry. 
 
Delegates left the conference room for proceedings on the second day to see the industry and trade union organisation at first hand in Seoul. The day's activities began with a meeting with the President of the KNEWU Seoul branch, Brother Kap-Soo Kang, who after a presentation on the history of the union branch and its present activities showed delegates the control room from which all electric power provision to Central and Southern Seoul was coordinated. After a question and answer session, delegates then visited a nearby centre of the Distribution Automation System (DAS) of KEPCO. DAS utilises recent advances in Information Technology and is an integrated control system operating the entire electric distribution system. It allows the distribution control center to remotely monitor and operate the automated switch on the distribution lines, that detect fault locations, and automatically collect operation data. A training simulator was shown to the delegation and a simulated major fault demonstrated. 
 
A detailed report on the meetings, together with an overview of the conclusions will be prepared and, together with the various national reports, loaded to the ICEM website. Delegates resolved that the 2011 meeting will take place in Thailand, hosted by our affiliate there EGAT-LU. ICEM staff attending the meeting were Jim Catterson, Energy Officer, Phee, Jungsun, Asia Pacific Regional Contact Person and locally based project coordinator, Yoon, Hyowon.

ICEM Asia-Pacific Electric Power Industry Network Meeting

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ICEM was represented by Jim Catterson at the 20th Anniversary Congress of this important affiliated trade union, held in Sibiu Romania 23 March, 2010. The Congress was attended by around 400 delegates. 
 
Following a report on delegates present, voting rights, and total votes available, the Congress opened with an excellent, professionally produced film of the first 20 years of the union, covering its foundation, activities and the role it has played internationally within both ICEM and EMCEF. International guests included a delegation from our Austrian affiliated union, PRO.GE., Romanian petroleum company, Industri Energi of Norway and the MOL trade union in Hungary. 
 
Petrom is now 51% owned by the Austrian headquartered multinational company, OMV. 

<img src="" width="233" height="113" alt="" />
Union President Liviu Luca 4th from the left
The Congress approved unanimously a detailed document on activities, past and proposed, and then accounts and a budget for the immediate future were approved. 
 
Two major issues at the Congress were firstly the fact that privatisation had led to the situation that workplace numbers have been under constant pressure since the OMV investment, with the union losing members as a result. 
 
Secondly Petrom, and other ICEM affiliated trade unions in Romania, are under strong attack by the government in an attempt to reduce both their power and their independence. ICEM is in discussion with our affiliates in the country, including Petrom, as to the best way to support their struggle internationally.

20th Anniversary Congress of Federatia Sindicatelor Libere Independente Petrom

Urgent Solidarity: Messages to Paperworkers in United Kingdom 
 
At the Iggesund Paper Mill in Cumbria, UK, a mill owned by the Swedish company Holmen, members of Unite the Union will be taking a ballot for industrial action over the next 10 days. 
 
The situation is urgent and Pulp and Paper Unions everywhere need immediately to respond. Iggesund is cutting 99 out of 480 jobs at this mill, which is not so unusual in today&rsquo;s global climate, but what is unusual is that local mill management is deliberately ignoring UK labour law related to mandatory consultation with the union. 
 
A human resource manager simply says that she finds no use in the mandatory process. What&rsquo;s more, this neglect is a rebuff to the UK employers association, the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), which advises its member-companies to consult with Unite the Union before making such cuts. 
 
Further, when a shop-floor committeeman posted on a bulletin board the manager&rsquo;s letter that she finds it senseless to consult over the redundancies, he was suspended from work. 
 
The ICEM calls for immediate messages of solidarity to Unite the Union, which can be sent to <a href="mailto:peter.ellis@unitetheunion.com">peter.ellis@unitetheunion.com</a>, who will make sure workers receive the messages. A model letter is below. Please cut and paste it, or write your own e-mail message to Peter Ellis, with a copy to <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>. The Iggesund operation is a softwood pulp mill, with two paper machines that produce paperboard for boxes and cartons. 
 
Model Letter: 
 
Dear Peter Ellis, 
 
We have heard through the ICEM of the horrible attitude by managers of Iggesund in Workington, UK, in their failure to properly consult with your union over job redundancies. We also know of the repercussions given to one union committee in particular for attempting to carry out his legitimate union activities. 
 
We find this conduct deplorable. The ICEM tells us Unite the Union is about to carry out a ballot for industrial action at this mill because of the company&rsquo;s failure to comply with British labour code. Please convey our union&rsquo;s solidarity to the workers inside the Iggesund mill of Holmen AB, and tell them they not only have our whole support, but that our union will be watching this situation in the UK very closely in the coming weeks. 
 
In Solidarity, 
 
(your name and union)
&nbsp;
<hr />
&nbsp;
Urgent &ndash; Solidarit&eacute; : Message aux travailleurs du papier du Royaume-Uni
Les adh&eacute;rents du syndicat Unite de l'usine de papier Iggesund du comt&eacute; de Cumbria, au Royaume-Uni, propri&eacute;t&eacute; du groupe su&eacute;dois Holmen, vont voter sur l'opportunit&eacute; d'entamer une action collective dans les 10 prochains jours. 
 
La situation est critique et les syndicats du secteur de la p&acirc;te et du papier du monde entier doivent r&eacute;agir sur-le-champ. Iggesund supprime 99 postes sur les 480 de l'usine, ce qui n'a rien d'inhabituel &agrave; l'&eacute;poque que nous traversons; en revanche, ce qui est moins habituel est que la direction ne tient aucun compte de la l&eacute;gislation britannique en mati&egrave;re de consultation obligatoire des syndicats. 
 
Une directrice des ressources humaines a simplement d&eacute;clar&eacute; qu'elle ne voyait aucune utilit&eacute; &agrave; cette proc&eacute;dure obligatoire. De plus, cette attitude constitue un camouflet pour l'association des employeurs britanniques, la Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), qui conseille &agrave; ses membres de consulter le syndicat Unite avant de proc&eacute;der &agrave; de telles compressions d'effectifs. 
 
De plus, lorsqu'un d&eacute;l&eacute;gu&eacute; d'atelier a appos&eacute; &agrave; un tableau d'affichage la lettre de la DRH disant qu'elle juge insens&eacute; de consulter sur les licenciements, il a &eacute;t&eacute; suspendu. 
 
L'ICEM demande que des messages de solidarit&eacute; soient envoy&eacute;s imm&eacute;diatement au syndicat Unite, &agrave; <a href="mailto:peter.ellis@unitetheunion.com">peter.ellis@unitetheunion.com</a> qui les transmettra aux travailleurs. Vous trouverez ci-dessous une lettre-type. Veuillez la copier-coller ou adresser votre propre message &eacute;lectronique &agrave; Peter Ellis ainsi qu'une copie &agrave; <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>. L'usine d'Iggesund est une usine de p&acirc;te de bois r&eacute;sineux &eacute;quip&eacute;e de deux machines &agrave; papier produisant du carton d'emballage. 
 
Lettre-type : 
 
Cher Peter Ellis, 
 
Nous avons &eacute;t&eacute; mis au courant par l'ICEM de l'attitude ex&eacute;crable de la direction d'Iggesund &agrave; Workington (Royaume-Uni) qui n'a pas consult&eacute; ton syndicat comme elle devait le faire &agrave; propos des licenciements collectifs. Nous avons aussi appris les cons&eacute;quences subies par le comit&eacute; syndical en particulier pour avoir voulu s'acquitter de ses activit&eacute;s syndicales l&eacute;gitimes. 
 
Nous jugeons ce comportement d&eacute;plorable. L'ICEM nous a aussi appris que Unite va organiser un scrutin de gr&egrave;ve dans l'usine pour r&eacute;agir au refus de la direction de respecter le code du travail britannique. Nous te prions d'exprimer notre solidarit&eacute; aux travailleurs de l'usine Iggesund de Holmen AB et de leur faire savoir qu'ils peuvent non seulement compter sur notre soutien inconditionnel mais aussi que notre syndicat va suivre de tr&egrave;s pr&egrave;s l'&eacute;volution de la situation au cours des prochaines semaines. 
 
Salutations solidaires. 
 
(ton nom et celui de ton syndicat)
&nbsp;
<hr />
&nbsp;
&nbsp; 
Mensaje urgente de solidaridad para los trabajadores papeleros del Reino Unido
Los trabajadores de Unite the Union que laboran en la planta papelera de Iggesund, situada en Cumbria, en el Reino Unido, en los pr&oacute;ximos 10 d&iacute;as decidir&aacute;n por votaci&oacute;n la huelga. Esta planta pertenece a la empresa sueca Holmen. 
 
La situaci&oacute;n es urgente, y los sindicatos de pulpa y papel de todo el mundo deben responder inmediatamente. Iggesund quiere eliminar 99 de un total de 480 puestos de trabajo en la planta, lo cual no es tan ins&oacute;lito en el contexto mundial actual, pero lo que s&iacute; es descomunal es que la administraci&oacute;n local de la planta no haga caso de la legislaci&oacute;n laboral brit&aacute;nica que exige consultaci&oacute;n obligatoria con el sindicato. 
 
Una directora de recursos humanos ha se&ntilde;alado simplemente que considera que no sirve el proceso obligatorio. Lo que es m&aacute;s, esta negligencia es un desaire para la asociaci&oacute;n empresarial de Reino Unido, la Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), que recomienda a sus empresas asociadas consultar con Unite the Union antes de introducir cortes de esta naturaleza. 
 
Adem&aacute;s, cuando un miembro del comit&eacute; de los trabajadores de la planta coloc&oacute; en un tablero la carta de la administradora en la cual se se&ntilde;alaba que consideraba sin sentido la consulta sobre los despidos, el trabajador se&ntilde;alado fue suspendido. 
 
La ICEM solicita se dirijan inmediatamente mensajes de solidaridad a Unite the Union, que se pueden enviar a <a href="mailto:peter.ellis@unitetheunion.com">peter.ellis@unitetheunion.com</a>, quien procurar&aacute; que los mensajes lleguen a los trabajadores. A continuaci&oacute;n se halla una carta modelo. Rogamos copiarla, o redactar su propio mensaje por e-mail, dirigido a Peter Ellis, con copia a <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>. La planta de Iggesund produce pulpa de madera blanda, con dos m&aacute;quinas de papel que producen cart&oacute;n para cajas y envases. 
 
Carta modelo: 
 
Estimado Peter Ellis: 
 
Por v&iacute;a de la ICEM, nos hemos enterado de la horrorosa actitud de los administradores de Iggesund, en Workington, Reino Unido, al no consultar apropiadamente con su sindicato acerca de una serie de despidos. Tambi&eacute;n hemos sabido de las represalias que se han tomado espec&iacute;ficamente contra un miembro del comit&eacute; sindical por haber intentado realizar sus actividades sindicales leg&iacute;timas. 
 
Consideramos censurable esta conducta. La ICEM nos ha informado que Unite the Union est&aacute; a punto de realizar una votaci&oacute;n para decidir una huelga de protesta en la planta debido a que la empresa ha violado el c&oacute;digo laboral brit&aacute;nico. Rogamos comunicar la solidaridad de nuestro sindicato a los trabajadores de la planta Iggesund de Holmen AB, dici&eacute;ndoles que no s&oacute;lo cuentan con nuestro pleno apoyo, sino que tambi&eacute;n en las pr&oacute;ximas semanas nuestro sindicato estar&aacute; muy atento a esta situaci&oacute;n en el Reino Unido. 
 
En solidaridad, 
 
(su nombre y nombre de su sindicato)

Urgent Support Needed/Appel à l&#039;aide d&#039;urgence/Solicitud de solidaridad urgente

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At the 26th Constitutional Convention of the US&rsquo;s largest national labour center last week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, delegates elected Richard Trumka as president. Trumka, a member of ICEM-affiliated United Mine Workers&rsquo; of America (UMWA), had been serving as secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO since 1995. 
 
A third generation miner from western Pennsylvania, Trumka pledged to reinvigorate the American labour movement by recruiting more young people into the ranks of organised labour. In his acceptance speech, Trumka promised to build &ldquo;a new kind of labour movement &ndash; one shaped to meet the needs of Americans in a changing economy.&rdquo; 
 
Trumka succeeds John Sweeney of the Office, Professional Workers&rsquo; Union, who retired after three terms as head of the AFL-CIO. A labour attorney by training, Trumka worked in the Legal Department of the UMWA starting in 1974. In 1982, he was elected as president of the UMWA, a position he held until joining Sweeney as part of a new AFL-CIO leadership team in 1995.
<img src="" width="180" height="200" alt="" />
Arlene Holt-Baker, Richard Trumka, and Liz Shuler&nbsp; 
 

Elected last week to replace Trumka as secretary-treasurer of the 56-union, ten-million-member federation was Liz Shuler, a member of the Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union (IBEW) from the state of Oregon. She served most recently as executive assistant to the president of the IBEW. Elected as executive vice president was Arlene Holt-Baker. A member of the public employees&rsquo; union, AFSCME, she has held that position since 2007 after being appointed by the AFL-CIO Executive Council . 
 
Among some 70 resolutions passed, two dealt with Iraq. One called on US President Barack Obama&rsquo;s administration to use its influence on the Iraqi government to adopt internationally-accepted work rights, including passage of an ILO-written labour law that assures the legitimacy of trade unions in Iraq. The other calls on the US government to end its military occupation and bring a speedy withdrawal home of both troops and US armed contractors from the Middle Eastern country. 
 
Another resolution calls on the US to sanction the military regime in Honduras by withdrawing the US ambassador, freezing assets of those responsible for the June 2009 coup, and for the US government to seriously consider suspending all trade with Honduras until Manuel Zeleya is restored as President of a democratic Honduras.

US Mineworker, Richard Trumka, Elected Head of AFL-CIO

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ICEM French affiliate F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Chimie-Energie (FCE-CFDT) denounced market reforms that the government of France recently announced and has planned for EDF, the state-run electricity provider. In a statement issued 17 September, FCE-CFDT said reforms proposed by the government would put at risk the entire enterprise if it had to share revenues from nuclear generation with competitors.
<img src="" width="80" height="109" alt="" />
Electricity market reform in France, with a proposed effective date of 1 July 2010, would destabilize the company, FCE-CFDT warns, with competitors able to buy power at rates far below EDF&rsquo;s production costs. The union said such reforms would also prevent the competition from engaging in their own investments, and calls for a plan that would mandate all electricity providers to make investments. 
 
Further, FCE-CFDT states that although there are supposed safeguards in the reform plan, nothing in the plan would protect consumers from electricity price hikes. The union is calling for the French energy regulatory body, the Commission Champsaur, to re-work its proposals, giving redress to economic development issues, social cohesion, and climate change challenges.

FCE-CFDT Issues Caution Against French Electric Reform Concerning EDF

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The profitable electrical and gas distributor National Grid Plc. has provoked industrial actions in the UK with plans to outsource service work to India. British trade unions GMB and Unison, representing some 2,500 workers, are planning further strike actions in company operations in the near future. 
 
The first such strike, a 24-hour one, occurred on 11 September when workers at a service center in Newcastle walked off jobs and manifested at a public square. Some 181 invoicing, procurement, and other jobs could be lost in Newcastle if National Grid gets its way to offshore jobs. Hundreds of other jobs are at risk in the company fulfills its planned agenda.
<img src="" width="140" height="139" alt="" />
&nbsp; 
Further job actions likely will occur in Warwick and Newcastle. National Grid is the major owner and operator of electric grid distribution and gas distribution in England and Wales, serving 52 million customers. It also controls lucrative electric and gas distribution networks through its private enterprises in the US. 
 
GMB National Secretary Gary Smith says it is &ldquo;absolutely immoral&rdquo; that the company would consider turning its back on UK workers and transferring work to India. &ldquo;It is a shameful example of corporate greed that a hugely profitable UK business is threatening to sack loyal and dedicated staff.&rdquo; 
 
National Grid posted profits of &pound;3 billion in 2008 and the company and workers have identified &pound;3 million in cost savings. Yet, National Grid has already narrowed a search to two contract companies that would outsource the service work to India. 
 
GMB and Unison are getting strong support from North American ICEM affiliate Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA). In a recent trip to the US, Smith met with UWUA-represented workers employed by National Grid subsidiaries in the state of Massachusetts, and engaged first-hand with the UWUA in is first contract battle with waste-to-energy company Covanta. ICEM-affiliated GMB, as well as other UK unions, have assisted the UWUA in bringing to light Covanta&rsquo;s derisive anti-worker practices in the US just as the company attempts to expand into the UK.
<img src="" width="100" height="100" alt="" />
In a letter to GMB&rsquo;s Commercial Services Section, UWUA President Michael Langford called National Grid &ldquo;one of the most profitable, privatised monopolies in the world.&rdquo; He added, &ldquo;In our view, it is unacceptable (for the company) to turn its back on the employees who have sacrificed so much to make National Grid a success.&rdquo; 
 
On 7 September, GMB and Unison counted ballots, revealing a 97% vote for industrial action. Those strikes likely will occur in the coming weeks if the electric/gas distributor does not retreat from its outsourcing plans.

UK Unions GMB, Unison Begin Industrial Actions Against National Grid

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The ICEM extends its condolences to the families of miners killed and injured in a deadly Polish mine explosion on Friday, 18 September, as well as to all mining unions representing workers at the Katowicki Holding Weglowy (KHW) company. 
 
A methane gas explosion followed by a fire at KHW&rsquo;s Wujek-Slask mine in the coal-dominated Silesa region of southwestern Poland killed 13, and seriously injured 18 other miners with severe burns. A total of 40 miners were hospitalized following the explosion. 
 
The deadly blast and fire, Poland&rsquo;s second worst in recent years, ripped through mine shafts 1,050 metres underground at mid-morning on Friday near the town of Ruda Slaska. 
 
The Polish government has declared today and Tuesday, 22 September, a two-day national period of mourning due to the horrible workplace tragedy.
<img src="" width="120" height="120" alt="" />
&nbsp; 
 
A Polish website, Pracownik, reported that a miner at the Wujek-Slask colliery made a video last April, showing methane measurements over four times the levels that are considered safe from such an accident occurring. The video was aired on a Polish TV station late Friday. 
 
Mine-safety activists in Poland hinted that any investigation must centre on whether or not methane reading instruments inside shafts had been tampered with in order to boost production. 
 
State-run KHW had merged the Wujek and Slash collieries in 2004 into a single enterprise in order to save costs. In November 2006, 23 miners perished in another Ruda Slaska mine called Halemba, owned by the state-operated Kampania Weglowa (KW). This was the worst Polish mine tragedy in three decades. The Halemba mine had been idled for eight months then, and the company had sent workers 1,000 metres below the surface to retrieve equipment when the blast occurred.

13 Perish in Poland’s Worst Coal Mine Disaster Since 2006

Archive

1 May Deadline Approaching Fast, Arthur Svensson Labour Rights Award

Colombian Gold Miners Protest Sale of Mines

Angeline Chitambo Wins Contested Election in Zimbabwe

ICEM Asia-Pacific Electric Power Industry Network Meeting

20th Anniversary Congress of Federatia Sindicatelor Libere Independente Petrom

Urgent Support Needed/Appel à l'aide d'urgence/Solicitud de solidaridad urgente

US Mineworker, Richard Trumka, Elected Head of AFL-CIO

FCE-CFDT Issues Caution Against French Electric Reform Concerning EDF

UK Unions GMB, Unison Begin Industrial Actions Against National Grid

13 Perish in Poland’s Worst Coal Mine Disaster Since 2006

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