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<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
International pressure &ndash; both inside and out of Georgia &ndash; caused a change of course last week by police and political authorities in the aftermath of the belligerent 15 September strike-breaking at Euroasian Steels in Kutaisi. Not only were over 30 sacked workers offered their jobs back, but police questioned the Indian managing director and two aides at Euroasian, also known as Hercules Steel, on 29 September. 
 
The next day the top boss was sacked. An ongoing police investigation is underway over his conduct inside the steel mill. 
 
In the midst of this positive reversal, the ICEM, however, took deep exception to remarks made last week by the Georgian business ombudsman, George Pertaia. On 6 October, Pertaia said the September strike by workers was manipulated and instigated by ICEM affiliate Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union &ldquo;to justify its existence.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="125" height="166" />
Polish Solidarnoş&ccedil; Union Members and ICEM Meet with Hercules Steel Workers, 28 September
Pertaia said that workers at Hercules have individual contracts and had no right to strike. &ldquo;If the contract is signed, and you have already agreed with certain conditions, then you have no right to refuse those conditions,&rdquo; he said. 
 
The ICEM reminds Pertaia that global labour standards do exist, including the right to join a union and to bargain collectively. Considering that Euroasian Steels, or Hercules, has no wage schedule in place, no health and safety plan, it pays no overtime, and workers are forced to work mandatory and long work days, industrial action was justified. 
 
The ICEM also invites Mr. Pertaia to examine the working conditions of 130 Indian workers employed at Hercules. They live eight to a room in a dormitory adjacent to the mill, their passports were being head by the managing director, Raji Kumar Sureika, their salaries are sent back to India, and they are given a miniscule stipend to support themselves off the job. 
 
In fact, it is believed that the managing director was sacked and is under police investigation because of treatment of the Indian workers. 
 
On 18 September, three strike leaders &ndash; Emilo Gumberidze, Irakli Iobidze, and Malkhaz Gogiava &ndash; were rounded up and jailed by police on bogus charges. They were given ten day jail sentences. (A <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4673-Georgian-Trade-Union-Leaders-Jailed-for-Passing-Drug-Test">prior ICEM article</a> is here.)&nbsp; 
 
Upon release from the Kutaisi jail on 28 September, the three immediately called Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union President Tamazi Dolaberidze and pledged their continued support to the union. On 30 September, the new acting managing director of Hercules personally called each of the three to offer them their jobs back. The reversal gave Hercules metalworkers renewed momentum following the strike&rsquo;s crushing and that registered both with Georgian workers and with Indian workers. 
 
Several points of global and internal civil pressure caused deep embarrassment to the Georgian government. There was high-level diplomatic pressure involved, especially after an international delegation that included the ICEM and top leaders from Poland&rsquo;s Solidarnoş&ccedil; union exposed the fact that the Indian workers at Hercules might just be treated worse than Georgian workers. 
 
The strike last month by 200 Hercules metalworkers was sparked after the Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Union gained written support from a majority of the Georgian workers and then requested labour-management dialogue. After several weeks, the request was ignored and the strike started, including hunger strikes by four workers in front of the mill.

ICEM Rebuts Georgian Business Ombudsman for Remarks over Steel Mill Dispute

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Following the first joint mission in October 2007, ICEM and Rhodia again visited the company&rsquo;s Chinese operations from 19-21. This second visit came within the context of the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) that was signed in 2005 and renewed twice since. The objective of such missions is to monitor implementation of the principles and indicators set out in the GFA. Such joint missions by ICEM and Rhodia have also been made to Brazil in 2008, the US in 2009, and to South Korea in 2010. 
 
The ICEM was represented by its General Secretary Manfred Warda and Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs Kemal &Ouml;zkan. Rhodia had Jacques Kheliff, Group Vice-President for Sustainable Development, and Jean-Christophe Sciberras, Group Vice-President for Industrial Relations, on the mission. Rhodia&rsquo;s Asia &amp; Pacific Zone Chairman, Michel Ybert, Chinese General Manager Michael Zhu, and Asia &amp; Pacific Research and Development Director Pascal Metivier accompanied the joint mission. 
 
The trip coincided with 95% of Rhodia shares being tendered by Belgian-based chemicals company Solvay. Rhodia and Solvay together will create a chemicals company that will have &euro;12 billion in sales, with 40% of that generated in emerging markets. Rhodia will become the third sector of Solvay, in addition to its Chemicals and Plastics segments. This situation also made possible Olivier du Roy de Blicquy, President of Greater China of Solvay Group, being present during the first day of last week&rsquo;s joint mission. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="161" />
The mission first received a briefing at Rhodia&rsquo;s zone headquarters in Shanghai. Employing over 2,800 workers in the zone and producing 23% total sales, Rhodia has sites in China, South Korea, India, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, New Zealand, and Vietnam. The zone&rsquo;s sales in 2010 increased 36% over that of 2009. Rhodia also has shown rapid development in China where the chemical industry has grown on average by 24% from 2005 to 2010. The recent takeover of Feixiang Specialty Chemicals gives Rhodia a leading position in the amines and surfactants markets in China. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s Warda and &Ouml;zkan met with the chairperson and board members of the local trade union organizing employees of Rhodia at the Shanghai campus. Chairperson Jie Dong, who also serves as union representative for the Asia-Pacific region of the ICEM-Rhodia Global Safety Panel, gave a review of union activities at all plants of Rhodia, preparations for collective agreements, and social dialogue initiatives. 
 
She gave a specific attention to the joint training sessions between union and management representatives, which were launched through the GFA. Jie Dong&rsquo;s report stated that the local union committee got authorization from employees for collective consultation in early June. A questionnaire for getting views and demands of employees was answered with a high percentage. Salary and income (62.5%), insurance and welfare (62%), and rest and vacation (58.7%) were priority topics. 
 
She also reported that workers elected 35 representatives from each workplace section to prepare and negotiate a collective agreement. The collective agreement is expected to be signed at the end of 2011. 
 
ICEM and Rhodia representatives later met with the representatives of Association of International Chemical Manufacturers (AICM), which regroups multinational companies in China. Discussion focused on the Responsible Care initiative. The meeting then welcomed representatives of the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) from the Minhang area and Xinzhuang Industry Park. The parties exchanged information about union activities at multinational companies. 
 
The second day of the mission saw ICEM and Rhodia representatives travel to the city of Feixiang, where Rhodia recently acquired a plant that has been placed in its Novacare business. Warda and &Ouml;zkan met with union leaders and union members of the plant in a separate meeting where current topics were reviewed. 
 
During the mission&rsquo;s final day, representatives drove to a Rhodia plant located in Zhenjiang, where union delegates explained work conditions, union activities, and labour-management relations. This was followed by presentations on the site, business activities, employment-related matters, and how the GFA has been implemented at this site. 
 
Warda noted that there has been improvement and progression in union activities in the Chinese operations of Rhodia since the 2007 visit. &ldquo;The situation in China demonstrates how a GFA can prove instrumental in improving labour relations, even in China. Our clear hope and expectation is this good model of global industrial relations extends to the Solvay Group in the future.&rdquo;

ICEM, Rhodia Review Chinese Workplaces as Part of GFA

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) in Queensland, Australia, is a major global coal exporter to the metallurgical industry. In enterprise bargaining in the coal-rich Bowen Basin of Queensland, it has painted itself as a big bully. 
 
BMA and three Australian trade unions, the latter in unison in trying to preserve miners&rsquo; basic quality-of-life, have been locked in a ten-month dispute that has now become the bellwether on trade union rights under the nation&rsquo;s two-year-old Fair Work law. On issues of rosters, subcontracting, and other job conditions, BMA has tried to dictate, much like it could under the draconian WorkChoices Act of ousted Prime Minister John Howard a handful of years ago. 
 
The three unions, negotiating as the Single Bargaining Unit (SBU), are the Construction, Forestry, Mine and Energy Union (CFMEU), the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU), and the Communications, Electrical, Plumbing Union (CEPU). They are making a stand for fair rights and equitable job protections on behalf of workers so those workers can determine their own terms and conditions of work. 
<img alt="" src="" width="260" height="131" />
SBU Picket at Goonyella Riverside Mine, July
That is a tenet to Fair Work Australia. Over the weekend of 17-18 September, BMA used FWA to suspend bargaining, circumvent the SBU, and take its rotten work proposals directly to 4,000 miners. A ballot will be held between 29 September and 5 October. Knowingly or not, but characteristic in itself, BMA scheduled the ballot during Australian school holidays &ndash; many workers will be away with family. 
 
Nonetheless, the ballot will receive near 100% rejection. Ever since a strike vote passed by 92% on 2 June, miners at six collieries have gained ever more strength and unity, and have developed the ironclad fortitude that extended work rosters and Howard-era management rights are not good for family life and destructive to job security. 
 
The ICEM will continue to champion the workers under the SBU banner of our three affiliated unions. Their fight is one that must be won so that the bad choices made in WorkChoices finally make their way to the dustbin. The ICEM has chronicled this struggle and the lawful industrial actions taken by the SBU, and a sampling of past developments can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4611-CFMEU-Still-Seeking-Australian-Coal-Agreement-with-BHP-Billiton-Mitsubishi ">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4506-Stop-Work-Meetings-Raise-Stakes-in-Queensland-Coal-Talks ">here</a>. 
 
In sync with BMA&rsquo;s recent ballot initiative, shift-long work stoppages occurred early last week at four of the six mines &ndash; Norwich Park, Saraji, Gregory, and Crinum. The SBU has effectively called for quality-of-life balances in print and media advertisements and industrial actions have continued at all mines in recent weeks.

Coal Boss Conceit: BMA Tries to Bully Aussie Labour Law Back to Howard Era

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French trade unionists employed at Lafarge last week began a hunger strike at the headquarters of the company in the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud. Some 12 unionists from the company&rsquo;s Frangey cement plant near L&eacute;zinnes, L&rsquo;Yonne province, are protesting the company&rsquo;s decision to close that facility. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4466-French-Unions-Conduct-4-Hour-Strike-at-Lafarge-Today">prior ICEM report</a> here).&nbsp; 
 
Meanwhile, CFDT and CGT &ndash; the unions representing the 74 workers at Frangey &ndash; have continued today their stop-work actions at 14 French cement plants of Lafarge. The strikes started last week and were expected to escalate today. 
 
Lafarge announced on 25 May at an extraordinary Works Council meeting that it would close the Frangey plant in three stages between August 2011 and the end of 2012. The company said over-capacity, the small market the Frangey plant serves, and environmental considerations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="161" />
6 June Strike at Frangey
On Saturday, 24 September, the hunger strikers were on day five of their protest outside the Lafarge offices. They include the mayor of one of the small towns in the Burgundy region of France. The strikers are grouped in five small tents and were visited Friday and Saturday by a number of French politicians, including parliamentarian Nicolas Dupont-Aignan from l&rsquo;Essone department. 
 
&ldquo;I cannot stand to see businesses close and workers thrown out like dogs,&rdquo; he said, refuting Lafarge&rsquo;s reasons for closure. 
 
The CFDT delegate taking part in the hunger strike, Florent Gaden, said strikers will remain in front of the company&rsquo;s offices until the world&rsquo;s largest cement producer rescinds the closure. 
 
The Frangey cement plant does operate with proper environmental certification. It produces 300,000 tons of cement annually and has a system of cogeneration that serves 50% of the plant&rsquo;s energy needs.

Hunger Strikers Protest Lafarge’s French Cement Plant Closing

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Fraught by failed efforts in August to give contract workers their legitimate rights in the oilfields of south-central Colombia, Canada-based Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and the government of Juan Manuel Santos will get a second chance to rectify the low pay, horrid work conditions, and sub-standard working terms of contract workers. 
 
That came because ICEM affiliate Uni&oacute;n Sindical Obrera (USO) led 4,000 contract workers in Meta Department, Colombia, on a strike and blockade early last week that cut output of South America&rsquo;s third largest oil producer by 25%. The road blockades started on 18 September and continued until 21 September in rural areas near wells in the Rubiales and Quifa oilfields and in the city of Puerto Gaitan. 
<img alt="" src="" width="146" height="66" />
The strikes were violently broken up by 300 Colombia national riot police wielding batons and pitching tear gas. Police ordered a curfew for Puerto Gaitan. The strike, however, forced a tripartite agreement on 21 September between USO, the government&rsquo;s Interior minister, and Pacific Rubiales after six hours of talks. 
 
The protocol agreement calls for a permanent arbitration board to be set up in Bogot&aacute; to address the issues of irregular workers labouring in the oilfields. Those issues include regularisation of employment, better pay and working conditions, and the right to join a union and bargaining collectively. USO, once the representative of only workers at state-run Ecopetrol, has championed the rights of contract workers in Colombia&rsquo;s burgeoning oil sector. USO also is championing the re-hire of 800 contract workers who have been sacked in the recent past for trade union activity. 
<img alt="" src="" width="213" height="160" />
Last week&rsquo;s accord is not the first time that a tri-partite forum was set up to address and solve these issues. In August, Colombian Vice President Angelino Garz&oacute;n chaired a meeting in which nine tripartite working groups made recommendations for fairness and justice. None of the submitted recommendations by the working groups were accepted by contractors or by Ecopetrol, prompting last week&rsquo;s strike and blockades. 
 
USO is intent that poverty wages, exhausting work hours, and unlimited days of consecutive work disappear from the Colombian energy landscape. Several contractors along with Pacific Rubiales exploit irregular workers in the Llanos basin and other oil-rich basins of central and eastern Colombia. Pacific Rubiales, which owns Colombian oil company Meta Petroleum, operates oilfields in eastern Meta Department jointly with Ecopetrol and has been a magnet for labour unrest over the past several months. 
 
Two weeks ago, contract workers led by USO conducted similar strikes and blockades in Casanare department at the Corcel and Guatiquia upstream operations. Those facilities are run by another Canadian company, Petrominerales Ltd., which holds extensive Colombian production facilities both by itself and with Ecopetrol.

Colombia Oilfields: Government Must Now Address Contract Workers’ Issues

<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="54" />
International pressure &ndash; both inside and out of Georgia &ndash; caused a change of course last week by police and political authorities in the aftermath of belligerent 15 September strike-breaking at Euroasian Steels in Kutaisi. Not only were over 30 sacked workers offered their jobs back, but police questioned the Indian managing director and two aides at Euroasian, also known as Hercules Steel, on 29 September.
The next day the top boss was sacked. 
 
Meanwhile, three strike leaders &ndash; Emilo Gumberidze, Irakli Iobidze, and Malkhaz Gogiava &ndash; who were jailed by police on bogus charges were released after serving ten-day sentences in the Kutaisi jail. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4673-Georgian-Trade-Union-Leaders-Jailed-for-Passing-Drug-Test">ICEM report here</a>.) 
 
They immediately called Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union President Tamazi Dolaberidze and pledged their continued support to the union. On 30 September, the new acting managing director of Hercules personally called each of the three to offer them their jobs back. The reversal gave Hercules metalworkers renewed momentum following the strike&rsquo;s crushing and that registered both with Georgian workers and about 130 Indian workers employed at the rolling mill.
<img alt="" src="" width="275" height="160" />
Georgia's Police Break Strike in Kutaisi, 15 September&nbsp;
Several points of global and internal civil pressure caused deep embarrassment to Georgia. There also was high-level diplomatic pressure involved, especially after an international delegation that included the ICEM and top leaders from Poland&rsquo;s Solidarnoş&ccedil; exposed the fact that the Indian workers at Hercules may be treated worse than anyone else. 
 
They live eight to a room in a dormitory adjacent to the mill, their passports were being head by the senior boss, and their salaries are sent back to India. It is believed that the top boss, Raji Kumar Sureika, was sacked because he was holding the passports. 
 
The strike last month by 200 Hercules metalworkers was sparked after the Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Union gained written support from a majority of the Georgian workers and then requested labour-management dialogue. After several weeks, the request was ignored and the strike started, including hunger strikes by four workers in front of the mill. 
 
Two days into the strike, police violently broke it up and literally <a href="/en/4-Chemicals-Pharmaceuticals/4667-ICEM-Scorns-Blatant-Police-Repression-in-Putting-Down-Georgian-Metal-Strike">forced workers</a> back to their jobs. Workers are angry that the two-year-old start-up mill has no salary schedule, no health and safety plan, and pays no overtime. Following last week&rsquo;s good news, the ICEM-affiliated Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Union again called on Hercules to enter peaceful, construction negotiations. 
 
The ICEM commends the leadership of the Georgia Trade Union Confederation (GTUC), and Tamazi Dolaberidze, for mobilising to organise, and the Global Union Federation pledges to remain active on the global front over the ever-reocurring abuse of trade union rights in Georgia.

Calm Restored as Georgian Metalworkers Rehired

The ICEM is calling on Pulp and Paper Activists to take immediate action in support of 45 members of UK&rsquo;s Unite the Unite, dockworkers at the Port of Tilbury in Essex, who today are concluding their third round of strike action against Enterprise Distribution Centre and the Stora Enso parent rolls they handle in this North Sea port.

	(Stora Enso Logistics is the operator of a warehouse at the port, employs management personnel there, and from all indications is the company that is seeking rollbacks on work terms through the Port of Tilbury&rsquo;s enterprise that ultimately will affect pay.)

	Copy the message in italics below and send to <a href="mailto:Jane.jeffery@unitetheunion.org; Diana.holland@unitetheunion.org; tony.burke@unitetheunion.org; andygreen63@aol.co.uk?subject=Support%20for%20Tilbury%20Dockworkers%2C%20Represented%20by%20Unite%20the%20Unite!!&amp;body=Dear%20Tilbury%2045%2C%0D%0A%0D%0AWe%20have%20heard%20from%20the%20ICEM%20about%20your%20valiant%20struggle%20to%20retain%20your%20living%20standards%20at%20the%20Port%20of%20Tilbury%2C%20living%20standards%20that%20Enterprise%20Distribution%20Centre%20and%20Stora%20Enso%20are%20attempting%20to%20strip%20from%20you.%20Please%20know%20that%20my%20union%20is%20aware%20of%20your%20strike%20actions%2C%20we%20are%20in%20full%20support%2C%20and%20we%20will%20do%20everything%20in%20our%20power%20to%20spread%20the%20word%20of%20this%20unfair%20assault%20on%20your%20livelihoods.%0D%0A%0D%0A(Signed)%0D%0A(Name%20of%20Union)%0D%0A">Port of Tilbury Dockworkers </a>by clicking this mail link.

	The situation is this: On 1 March, without negotiating with Unite, Enterprise unilaterally changed work shifts to where the 45 dock and warehouse workers are only called when a ship loaded with paper arrives from Sweden. Previously, they worked full work shifts. The change means a reduction in pay between &pound;2,500 and &pound;5,000 per year.

	The Tilbury 45 staged a 24-hour strike action on 8 May, a 48-hour strike on 21-22 May, and a 48-hour one that ends tonight (29 May) at 22h00. Tomorrow, 30 May, the union and management will enter into the first formal set of negotiations, even though the work-time rollback occurred three months ago.

	And also today, the Swedish Dockworkers&rsquo; Union will begin the first of two 24-hour strikes at Stora&rsquo;s port in Goteborg blockading the two ships (one owned by Stora) used to ferry parent rolls from Sweden to the UK&rsquo;s Tilbury Port. Do your part, copy the following message or send one in your own hand to the dockworkers at Unite the Union.

	(Subject heding) Support for Tilbury Dockworkers, Represented by Unite the Unite!!

	Dear Tilbury 45,

	We have heard from the ICEM about your valiant struggle to retain your living standards at the Port of Tilbury, living standards that Enterprise Distribution Centre and Stora Enso are attempting to strip from you. Please know that my union is aware of your strike actions, we are in full support, and we will do everything in our power to spread the word of this unfair assault on your livelihoods.

	(Signed)

	(Name of Union)

	A copy of the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/42.ICEM%20UK%20Enterprise%20Distribution.29May.pdf">ICEM letter</a> sent in support of the Tilbury 45 is here. Thank you for your prompt action in support of these workers!

UK Dockworkers Handling Stora Enso Parent Rolls Need Immediate Support

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 100px;height: 39px" width="390" />

	The abuse of basic labour rights in Iraq, and the bravery of Iraqi workers to continue to organise under extreme pressure of aggressive employers supported by viciously anti-trade union legislation from the Saddam era is continuing. A raft of recent attacks on trade union activity of oil workers is attracting wide condemnation from international trade unions, and includes fines, forced demotions, and relocation of union officials.

	The Court of Appeal has ruled against Ibrahim Radi, vice-president of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU), confirming a fine of 34 million Iraqi dinars (US$30,000), an amount far beyond the trade union leader&rsquo;s ability to pay. In case of non-payment, Radi will face jail, and also the possible dismissal from his job. Hassan Jumaa Awad Al Assadi, President of IFOU calls for solidarity and assistance from trade union comrades abroad.

	<img alt="" height="266" src="" width="200" />

	Hassan Jumaa

	IFOU President Hassan Jumaa has himself recently been disciplined for trade union activity, being arbitrarily demoted three years seniority including a substantial drop in salary.

	In May 2011 ICEM reported on the Sadrist-controlled Ministry of Labour controlling trade union elections, appointing a &ldquo;Ministerial Preparatory Committee&rdquo; (MPC), consisting of un-elected, politically bias officials, mostly from the Sadrist Party. MPC officials distributed union membership cards, arbitrarily choosing members favourable to their faction. Union offices were taken over with support from police and military personnel, and the union elections were held inside the Sadrist Party offices. Following international outcry, those election results were voided, but today the Ministry of Labour recognised the 2011 election results and asked the same preparatory committee to oversee a new round of worker elections on 2 June. The elections stand to appoint worker representatives at all levels, and will be marred with fraud and misconduct.

	A LabourStart campaign will be launched in the coming days gathering online messages to the Iraqi authorities. Join the campaign which also calls for justice in a number of further cases, connected to a peaceful protest of workers at the Maysan Oil Company for which they are charged and disciplined for &ldquo;inciting unrest&rdquo;.

Iraqi Oil Workers Union under Government Attack

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 100px;height: 39px" width="390" />The Colombian subsidiary of US-based glass company Ross International, Moldes Medellin, is attempting to dismiss the majority of its employees at the Sabaneta and Estrella Antioquia plants, despite social bargaining agreements protecting the workers&rsquo; rights to their jobs.The workers are members of ICEM-affiliated Sintravidricol and the union is leading the campaign against the dismissals. So far 20 employees have been forced out either through unilateral decisions of management or under the pretence of a &ldquo;voluntary agreement&rdquo; which has no other possible alternative than the worker losing their job.The fear now is that Moldes Medellin will cut its workforce by half, condemning 60 workers and their families to unemployment. Management is accused of targeting the unionised workers in the cuts, punishing the exercising of freedom to organise.<img alt="" height="174" src="" width="232" />If the mass dismissal is not stopped, Moldes Medellin will effectively crush the Sintravidricol plant-level unions. Sintravidricol then calls for solidarity and support in this conflict for labour rights and job stability.Write in protest to the company&rsquo;s legal representative Doctor Carlos Daniel Posada DuqueSolicitamos a todos pronunciarse, enviando notas de protesta y exigiendo el respeto por el derecho al trabajo y la estabilidad laboral, al representante legal de la empresa, <a href="mailto:Daniel.posada@moldesmedellin.com.co">Doctor CARLOS DANIEL POSADA DUQUE</a>, and to the Colombian Minister of Labour, <a href="mailto:dtantioquia@mintrabajo.gov.co">Doctor Gustavo Alberto Areiza</a>. Send copies to the union addresses: <a href="mailto:icemcol@hotmail.com">icemcol@hotmail.com</a>, <a href="mailto:sintravidestrella@gmail.com">sintravidestrella@gmail.com</a>, <a href="mailto:sintravidsab@une.net.co">sintravidsab@une.net.co</a>.Sintravidricol organised Ross International subsidiaries through a hard fought victory in December 2007, achieving recognition and a collective agreement following a 23-day strike, and a three-year struggle that garnered international support through the ICEM, with key support from the United Steelworkers (USW). The agreement made all 240 workers at the three plants full-time employees, whereas the majority were previously on fixed-term contracts.Those hard-won advances are now at serious risk.

Support Colombian Glass Workers Facing Mass Dismissal

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 100px;height: 39px" width="390" />

	With an 80% approval vote last week, 105 members of Canadian Auto Workers Local 551 in Camrose, Alberta, ratified a four-year labour agreement, ending a near three-week by Evraz North America, a subsidiary of the multinational steel and mining company, Evraz Group.

	The union won wage and pension increases, and agreed to a modified pension plan for new hires, the main issue in the dispute. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/5020-Evraz-Pipe-Shamefully-Locks-Out-Members-of-Canadian-Auto-Workers">ICEM report</a> from 16 May.) CAW Local 551 preserved a hybrid blend of a defined benefit and defined contribution pension scheme that will be fully paid by the company.

	&ldquo;The overriding factor in agreeing to the settlement wasn&rsquo;t anything to do with money,&rdquo; said CAW National Representative Todd Romanow, &ldquo;but rather the company agreeing to keep the defined pension plan in the agreement for new hires and the company agreeing to limit supervisors and foremen working outside the bargaining agreement to hold their seniority rights for one a one-year time frame, while previously it was open ended.&rdquo;

	&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 120px;height: 157px" width="390" />&nbsp;

	Todd Romanow&nbsp;

	The Evraz Camtose facilities include two pipe-making plants, one making up to 16-inch electric-resistance piping and casing for oil drilling and transport of oil and natural gas, the other producing larger tubular piping for transmission lines.

	CAW Local 551 won a 4.5% wage increase over the four years, as well as C$3 in increases on the pension scheme for current workers over the term of the contract. The first year 1.5% wage increase is retroactive to 1 February 2012 &ndash; the date a prior labour agreement expired &ndash; and further 1.5% increases in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Workers also receive a C$1,000 ratification bonus.

	The deciding factor in workers ratifying the agreement, said Romanow was the limitation of one year for supervisors and foremen to return to the bargaining unit with full seniority.&nbsp;

	Evraz North America is based in Chicago, USA, and Luxembourg-based Evraz Group is controlled by holding companies primarily owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, also owner of UK&rsquo;s Chelsea football club of the English Premier League.

CAW Local Branch Fends Off Pension Cuts, Ending Evraz Pipe Lockout in Canada

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