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&ldquo;Expanding borders from Brazil to other Mercosur countries&rdquo; was the central decision taken at the Fifth Meeting of the Solvay Trade Union Network in Curitiba, Paran&aacute;, Brazil, from 29-31 March. 
 
During the first day of the network meetings, the Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union of Bah&iacute;a Blanca of Argentina formally joined the multi-union network, which is now to be called the Solvay Mercosur Trade Union Network. 
 
Solvay is a Belgian-based chemicals company, and the network already had participation from workers at a number of Brazilian locations of the company. 
 
&quot;The principles guiding the network are the same principles guiding our own union work,&rdquo; said Oscar Strutenberg from the Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union of Bah&iacute;a Blanca. &ldquo;We are committed to be together, so we will officially work within the group to boost the network.&rdquo; 

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In fact, representatives from the Argentine union already had participated in two meetings of the network, but now membership is official, a move viewed very positively by the other unions present. 
 
&ldquo;I believe this formal new entry shows the growth and maturity of our network,&rdquo; stated Network Coordinator Juvenil Nunes da Costa from Sindicato dos Quimicos do ABC, a CUT-affiliated regional chemical workers&rsquo; union of S&atilde;o Paulo state. &ldquo;It is an important step in our process, because unions organising workers at the same company in different countries enhances our global alliance.&rdquo; 
 
With the arrival of the Argentine union, the Network is composed of Sindicato dos Quimicos do ABC, Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Ind&uacute;stria Qu&iacute;mica, Petroqu&iacute;mica (the Chemicals and Plastics Union of S&atilde;o Paulo), the Oil and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union of Osasco, and the Paran&aacute; Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union. 
 
The next steps for the network will be to create a logo, exchange further information, and schedule common actions of the workers&rsquo; representatives, including a possible trip to ICEM headquarters in Geneva later this year to discuss issues related to effective social dialogue.

Solvay Brazil Union Network Expands to Include Other Mercosur Countries

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The ICEM has issued stern rebuke to the cowardly perpetrators of an assassination attempt on two union officers of the National Oil Workers&rsquo; Union (USO) of Colombia, and calls on the government of President &Aacute;lvaro Uribe to apprehend and prosecute those responsible. On 27 March, in the city of Villavicencio, in Meta Department south of Bogot&aacute;, hired killers on a motorcycle fired automatic weapons at Fernando Navarro and Yesid Prieto, two USO subcommittee officers of Bogot&aacute;. 
 
Although both escaped unharmed, their bodyguard, Antonio Pedro Carre&ntilde;o, was shot and killed. 
 
The attack comes days after USO marked the eight-year anniversary of the assassination of the union&rsquo;s Director, Rafael Jaimes Torra, by paramilitaries. Rafael Jaimes&rsquo; nephew, the only witness to the attack, was also murdered shortly after. 

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ICEM-affiliated USO reported the attack to the Attorney General&rsquo;s office, as well as to national and regional government officials and to the government&rsquo;s ombudsman. USO and the ICEM call on Colombian authorities to investigate this attack as a matter or urgency and to bring those responsible to justice. The union wants assurances from the government, as well as from the state oil company Ecopetrol, that their right to life and right to conduct trade union activities are protected. 
 
Paramilitary groups, such as Cuchillo (Knife) and El Loco Barrera (the Crazy Barrera), intimidate workers and trade unionists in the oil fields without reprimand. Recent public statements by paramilitaries that they receive regular payment from oil companies, has added weight to USO&rsquo;s claim that complicity at many levels is involved in the trade union murder-for-hire racket. 
 
One recently example was the 13 March killing of the teachers&rsquo; union ADIDA activist, Duvian Dario Rojo Cadavid, who was gunned down together with his wife a day after speaking to media about armed groups who extort money from teachers. 

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="138" />
Manfred Warda
&ldquo;The ongoing deaths, assassination attempts, and common forms of threats and intimidation by telephone and other means against trade unionists have got to stop,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;If the Colombian government continues not to take action, then it is up to the world community to take sharp measures against the government of Colombia and its denial that violence impedes free, democratic trade unionism.&rdquo;

Assassination Attempt on USO Leaders in Colombia Kills Bodyguard

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from International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation website 
The ILO is urging the Mexican government to resolve its dispute with the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM) and considers the government has acted in a way that is incompatible with ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association. 
 
The ILO released on 26 March the interim recommendations of its Committee of Freedom of Association to the Mexican government in response to a complaint on interference in union autonomy lodged by the SNTMMSRM and the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) in March 2006, ILO Case No. 2478. 

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="145" />
The complaint documents how Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia, the democratically elected general secretary of SNTMMSRM, was forcefully removed from his position after speaking out against the Mexican government and mining company in response to a tragic mine accident in Pasta de Conchos that left 65 miners dead, many of them members of the union. The complaint also documents how the government illegally intervened in independent union activities, forced the dismissal of union leadership, seized union assets, and made government appointments to union elected positions. 
 
In subsequent submissions on Case No. 2478, the union and IMF has also documented ongoing interference and acts of violence by Grupo M&eacute;xico and the Mexican government, including using the national army and federal police to break strikes, kill workers, and arrest union leaders fighting for safer working conditions in Grupo M&eacute;xico-owned mines. 
 
In its recommendations to the ILO Governing Body, the Committee on Freedom of Association states that it &ldquo;considers that the labour authorities engaged in conduct that is incompatible with Article 3 of Convention No. 87, which established the right of workers to elect their representatives in full freedom.&rdquo; 
&ldquo;The Committee deplores the excessive length of the judicial procedures relating to various aspects of the case and the grave prejudice that this has caused to the complainant union&rdquo; and &ldquo;urges for a rapid conclusion of the judicial procedures.&rdquo; 

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The committee requests addition information from the government on several points and in particular on the question of the death of worker Reynaldo Hern&aacute;ndez Gonz&aacute;lez, the use of force by public security forces at the Cananea mine, continuing arrest warrants, freezing of union accounts, threats and acts of violence, including the death and injury of trade unionists. 
 
The Committee calls on all the parties concerned to continue to make efforts within the existing round of negotiations to resolve the collective dispute to which this case results. 
 
A copy of the report is published on the ILO website under Mexico, Freedom of Association Cases, and can be found <a href="http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/newcountryframeE.htm ">here</a>.

ILO Backs Los Mineros, Cites Mexican Government with Convention 87 Interference

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The Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (PCMLF) and the All-Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (APLF) jointly held a manifestation on 13 January at the Quetta Press Club to protest safety inaction by Balochistan provincial authorities in coal mining. In the first half of January, at least 21 miners perished in roof cave-ins and methane gas explosions. 
 
The federated mining unions expressed outrage that neither Balochistan authorities nor the Chief Inspectorate of Mines removed the bodies of five dead miners in the days following the tragedies. On 2 January, a gas explosion at the Al-Rahman mine near Marwar killed ten miners, including three Afghan workers. 

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The blast, which caused a cave-in, occurred 2,000 metres underground. And then on 11 January, two separate mine accidents occurred at the Habibullah Coal Mines Co. near Spin Karez. Three miners died when a roof collapsed, while eight others were trapped and killed following a blast at the mine in the Marwar coal fields. 
 
Speakers at the unions&rsquo; 13 January protest said governmental authorities demonstrated &ldquo;criminal silence&rdquo; over the loss of lives, as well as denouncing Balochistan officials for not extending financial assistance to the families of the deceased. 

<img src="" width="160" height="238" alt="" />
Sultan Muhammad Khan
PCMLF Secretary General Sultan Muhammad Khan called it a travesty that miners are denied social benefits, and he said the fact that five miners from the first incident are still entombed at Al-Rahman &ldquo;speaks volumes about the performance of the Mines Inspectorate.&rdquo; 
 
Other mine union officials that condemned the inaction, as well as the lack of preventative safety measures in the province&rsquo;s mines included Bakht Maweb Yousatzai, Abdul Sattar, Syed Altaf Ilussain Shah, Muhammad Jamil, And Rehmatullah Baloch. The mine union leaders said the average death rate in Balochistan coal mining, in southwestern Pakistan, had been 86 known deaths, but that this rate has increased of late because of lack of safety measures in mines.

Pakistan Mine Unions Protest Killings in Balochistan Coal Pits

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Hashmeya Muhssin Saadawi, ICEM Executive Committee member and President of the Basra Electricity Workers&rsquo; Union, has long been fighting for the rights and welfare of women, as well as for men, in Basra, Iraq, for many years. She has now launched a campaign inside the worn-torn country for social security, a campaign funded in large part by money awarded to her upon winning the Dutch Human Rights Award, the FNV&rsquo;s prestigious Febe Elisabeth Velasquez Trade Union Award. 

<img src="" width="175" height="118" alt="" />
Hashmeya Muhssin Saadawi
She was awarded that on 12 May 2009, after being nominated by the ICEM, for her courageous work under challenging circumstances and great personal risks, in the furthering of the trade union struggle in Iraq. (See report of that award <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3218-Dutch-FNV-Trade-Union-Award-to-Goes-to-Iraq’s-Hashmeyia-Muhsin-Saadawi ">here</a>.) 
 
The elements of the social security campaign are equality and social equality, as well as security, social security, work, housing, and education. Land needs to be redistributed, health insurance has to be provided, and cures for different diseases have to be found. Click <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/denicezelmalombard/IraqSocialSecurity#">here</a> to view the campaign manual in English.&nbsp; 
 
Hasmeya Muhssin is the first female trade union leader in the Arab-speaking world.

Hashmeya Muhssin Launches Social Security Campaign in Iraq

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The ICEM reported <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3571-Safety-Benefits-Won-by-Iraqi-Leather-Workers-after-53-Day-Strike">here</a> of the successful leather workers&rsquo; strike that concluded in December in Iraq, a strike that spawned a shorter strike in the clothing and textile sector in the Baghdad area. Both workers&rsquo; units come under the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI), a national labour centre that counts two ICEM affiliates to its rolls. 
 
In January, the Ministry of Industries has retaliated by predictably reverting to something that other Iraqi ministries have done: It has taken the leader of the textile strike, FWCUI President Falah Alwan, and transferred him from a Cotton Industry enterprise, under the State Company for Textiles, to another enterprise in order to suppress his union activities. 

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="119" />
Falah Alwan
The ICEM condemns this action and urges trade unionists and human rights activists globally to protest. The ICEM notes that global protests in the past produced reversals for other Iraqi trade unionists who were exiled for trade union building, including port workers of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) in Um Asr and eight leaders of ICEM-affiliated Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU) in the Basra area. 
 
Please send an e-mail in your own words to Minister of Industry and Minerals, Fawzi Hariri, <a href="mailto:minister.office@industry.gov.iq">here</a> and <a href="mailto:minister@industry.gov.iq">here</a>, and copy the State Company for Textiles <a href="mailto:textile@industry.gov.iq">here</a>. 
 
Trade unions in Iraq are under constant pressure, considering neither the occupation forces nor the Iraqi government has lifted the draconian Saddam era Decree150 that prohibits independent unions from existing in the all-encompassing public sector. The Iraqi government has also failed to pass into law a meaningful labour code, a set of fair and universally accepted statutes that have been drawn up by Iraqis with assistance from experts at the ILO.

Iraqi Government Reprimands Falah Alwan by Exiling His Work Posting

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The ICEM supports the International Trade Union Confederation-led trade union appeal for victims of the earthquake disaster in Haiti. The trade union relief work is being carried out primarily by ITUC&rsquo;s affiliates in the Dominican Republic, in cooperation with Haitian colleagues across the border. 
 
We urge ICEM affiliates to support this Appeal. 
 
Funds for the appeal can be transferred to the following ITUC bank account: 
 
No. 375-1008200-61 
Banque ING, Brussels Branch Institutionals, 1 rue du Trone, B-1000 Brussels 
Code IBAN: BE 62375100820061 
Code BIC/Swift: BBRUBEBB 

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The ITUC requests that the words &ldquo;SOS Solidarity &ndash; Haiti&rdquo; are included with each transfer to this account. 
 
ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder has called for the cancellation of Haiti&rsquo;s debt, in the aftermath of the disaster, to increase the country&rsquo;s chances of reconstruction. 
 
As has been widely reported in the mainstream media, the huge earthquake hit Haiti on 12 January, and was followed by a number of aftershocks. Along with the reported death toll of over 100,000, Haiti&rsquo;s infrastructure has been severely damaged, with many buildings and roads completely destroyed. The humanitarian situation is desperate and aid is needed. 
 
Once the immediate humanitarian effort passes, the solidarity campaign will continue to use funds raised to help Haitians in their recovery from this natural disaster.

ICEM Urges Haitian Relief Funds through ITUC

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The United Steelworkers (USW) reached tentative wage and benefit terms across the US oil and petrochemical industries last week for 24,000 workers, effectively setting a three-year pattern for refineries, pipelines, transportation, and other downstream services. But the union emerged from talks deeply disappointed that the industry did not take seriously the need for more stringent safety procedures. 
 
USW President Leo Gerard said: &ldquo;Our main focus in this round of National Oil Bargaining was health and safety, but the industry refused to allow us to be equal partners with them in resolving the health and safety problems that persistently are not being addressed across the whole industry. The oil companies were not willing to work with us to improve process safety.&rdquo; 
<img height="140" alt="" src="" width="120" />
USW President, Leo Gerard
The tentative contract now will be offered at branch union tables across the US, with the USW pledging it will not give up on improving health and safety. &ldquo;Let it be clear,&rdquo; said USW Vice President and head of Oil Bargaining Gary Beevers, &ldquo;we are not finished with our struggles for meaningful change in the health and safety arena.&rdquo; 
 
The tentative contract was reached with lead company Royal Dutch Shell and its joint-venture operations in Austin, Texas, on 3 February, two days after expirations of 70 local collective agreements. The USW and the oil industry agreed to rolling, 24-hour contract extensions on 31 January to avert mass strikes. The tentative accord means there will not be any major petroleum walkouts for the next three years, although disputes can now arise on local levels. 
 
Besides the 24,000 US oil workers with collective agreements expiring 1 February, another 6,000 USW members have contracts expiring in the coming months, and last week&rsquo;s accord sets the pattern for them as well. 

<img height="144" alt="" src="" width="100" />
USW Vice President and head of Oil Bargaining,&nbsp; 
Gary Beevers
In a statement, the USW said, &ldquo;Rather than launch a national strike over health and safety that would have hurt the American people at a time of economic crisis, the USW withdrew its health and safety proposal and focused on the economic package.&rdquo; 
 
That economic package contains 3% salary increases on 1 February in 2009, 2010, and 2011. It also includes a US$1,000 ratification bonus and a US$500-per-year payment to each worker to offset out-of-pocket health care costs. The USW succeeded in granting no retrogression of past contract terms, including company-paid health care at an 80% level. As well, the USW retained job security and successorship principles, the latter meaning collective agreements are assured and maintained in the event of a sale or takeover. 
 
The pattern agreement now goes to some 86 oil and petrochemical worksites operated by such companies as Shell and its operating partners, ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, BP, PDVSA, Valero, Tosco, Tesoro, Sun, Sunoco, LyondellBasell, Marathon, INEOS, Holly, and several other companies.

US Oil Workers Reach Wage Terms; Criticise Industry’s Overall Safety Neglect

ICEM affiliates&nbsp;responded in large numbers to a global survey on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL), allowing the Global Union Federation to analyse extensive data. 
 
The survey supports predictions that temporary work and work through labour agencies is becoming more common, and that workers employed through such work are in far worse economic and job security situations than permanent workers. The survey also illustrated how trade unions are prioritising the organising of temporary and agency workers. 
 
&ldquo;The response to this survey was impressive,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;But even more impressive is the depth to the responses. Both are an indication that this issue is growing in importance for virtually all workers and unions around the world.&rdquo; 

<img height="138" alt="" src="" width="100" />
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
Data was collected in the second half of 2008. In total, over 100 trade unions completed the survey. The responses came from all regions of the world and from all ICEM sectors, including energy, mining, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, rubber, pulp and paper, and building materials manufacturing. Click <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Overview%20of%20results%20of%20ICEM%20CAL%20Survey(1).pdf">here</a> for the visual representation of data collected. 
 
The ICEM survey follows a 2007 query by the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) of its affiliates, which allows certain comparisons between the two surveys. For instance, 20% of all ICEM respondents said wages of non-permanent workers are less than half that of permanent workers. Of IMF affiliates that indicated wages for precarious workers are lower than those of permanent workers, one-third indicated those wages are less than 50%. 
 
Another similarity is the level of fear bought on by the changing employment landscape. The ICEM survey reveals that 83% of unions responding cite fear among workers over job security as a major concern, while 9 of 10 IMF respondents say workers in their countries feel less secure because of the changing work relationship. 
 
In addition, the ICEM poll reflects that fear is by far the biggest obstacle to union organising of temporary workers, specifically the fear of getting fired for such activity. Government legislation, union rules and structures, and opposition by trade unionists are cited as lesser obstacles to overcome. (An overview to the ICEM survey, complete with the IMF similarities, can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/CALdbase/CALattachmentforFeb09NR-final.pdf">here</a>.) 
 
The results of the survey support the 20-million-member ICEM&rsquo;s four-and-a-half-year campaign to respond to the rampant increase in the use of contract and agency labour. An alarming number of respondents wrote that temporary and agency workers not only are paid less, but also do not receive pay for overtime and holiday work. 
 
Health and safety conditions are far worse for temporary workers, and often they are not entitled to medical benefits. ICEM-affiliated unions also note that unskilled temp workers are abused more than skilled workers. 
 
Some positive points for trade unions did come out of the study. For instance, unions are increasingly aware of the importance of organising precarious workers and some 87% stated that they are actively engaged in organising such workers. For 62% of the respondents, organising part-time and agency workers is a priority and 69% of unions inform their members on issues related to part-time and precarious work. 
 
For the ICEM, the survey&rsquo;s outcome confirms that CAL will remain a focal issue for the coming years. Establishing communication networks in order to inform trade unions on this growing menace to the concept of decent work, as well as bringing unionisation to non-organised workers will therefore remain high on the ICEM&rsquo;s agenda.

ICEM Contract and Agency Labour Survey Shows Troubling Trends

<img height="59" alt="" src="" width="120" />
The ICEM fully supports the work of the National Federation of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Workers of Pakistan, an affiliate of the International Union of Food Workers&rsquo; Association (IUF). The 723 contract labourers at Unilever&rsquo;s last directly-owned and operated Lipton Tea factory in Pakistan have organised to form the Unilever Mazdoor Union Khanewal. The newly organised workers, with the support of the IUF and ICEM, are preparing a new round of public action to press their case. 
 
The ICEM and IUF call for international support for the cause of these contract workers to form their union. To support their struggle click <a href="http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/campaigns/show_campaign.cgi?c=396">here</a> to send a message to Unilever. Tell corporate management that the Lipton Khanewal temporary workers must be given permanent employment status - and the way to implement this is through direct negotiations with the affiliated National Federation of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Workers of Pakistan. 
 
Unilever's Khanewal factory employs 22 permanent workers, union members who are covered by a collective agreement. But another 723 workers are hired through six contract labour agencies. The union is assisting contract agency workers to file petitions in the Labour Court to secure their right to permanent employment. 

<img height="158" alt="" src="" width="300" />
The permanent workers receive a monthly base wage of PKR 18,000 - some US$226. The basic wage for non-permanent workers is PKR 6,000, if they are lucky enough to work a minimum 26 days per month. Otherwise the daily wage is PKR 232 - less than three US dollars a day. Where permanent workers receive double for overtime/holiday work, agency workers simply receive the basic hourly wage. Disposable workers have no annual or medical leave. From one week to the next, they do not know their assignments or work schedules - or whether they will have work. Through exploiting workers in this way, Unilever was able to send CEO Niall Fitzgerald into retirement with a &pound;17 million golden handshake. 
 
Unilever employees at the site are illegally blocked from becoming permanent workers, as national legislation states that after nine consecutive months employed under a temporary contract, an employee must be offered a permanent contract to stay. The majority of agency workers at the Khanewal site have been on the job for more than 10 years, with some there for as long as 30 years. But since they are not formally employed by Unilever, they are barred from joining a union of Unilever workers and bargaining with Unilever as their employer. The labour agencies who supply the temporary employees to the factory do not have any other client, and operate their offices inside the Unilever factory itself, clearly a false way of flouting labour law. 
Two Lipton workers dismissed in August after 30 years of working at Unilever's Khanewal tea factory at minimum wage and received no social security, medical benefits or pension. 
<img height="66" alt="" src="" width="146" />
The Lipton workers are fighting for the right of workers everywhere to decent work - secure employment, a living wage, health and retirement benefits, and the right to join a trade union with a collective bargaining relationship to their real employer. 
 
Copies of your messages will be sent to Unilever corporate and Pakistan management, to the union, and to the IUF secretariat. 
 
You can give additional support by taking a moment to visit <a href="http://www.unilever.com/sustainability">http://www.unilever.com/sustainability</a>. Scroll down the page to a section on the lower right entitled &quot;Sustainability during the credit crunch&quot; There you can &quot;vote&quot; yes/no to the question, &quot;Do you consider sustainability in your product purchasing decisions?&quot; This is followed by &quot;Please tell us what actions you are taking to make the world more sustainable,&quot; with fields for name/message. Please take a moment to send the following response, or a message of your own: 
 
&quot;Sustainability is about investing in sustainable jobs - over 700 workers at the Khanewal Lipton factory are disposable workers hired through labour hire agencies, with no employment security and inferior wages and benefits though many have worked continuously for decades. Make the Khanewal workers permanent through direct negotiations with the National Federation of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Workers of Pakistan!&quot;

Support Needed for Contract, Agency Workers Forming Union at Unilever Tea Factory in Pakistan

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