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Nigeria&rsquo;s two oil workers&rsquo; unions, PENGASSAN and NUPENG, suspended a three-day warning strike after day two on 14 September. The unions received assurances from the government and its oil ministry that security concerns along the Niger Delta and other grievances would be addressed. 
 
The assurances included establishing a commission to investigate the kidnapping and death last month of PENGASSAN member Nelson Ujeya, who was killed in a hail of gunfire by a military task force as he was about to be released. 
 
Meeting in a joint National Executive Committee (NEC) session on 14 September in Abuja, leaders of the two unions requested that 20,000 Nigerian oil and gas workers return to their jobs the following day after government officials promised earnest dialogue to find lasting solutions to security matters and other concerns. The first such discussion forum will be held 21 September. 
<img height="124" alt="" src="" width="120" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="113" alt="" src="" width="107" />
The strike on 13 and 14 September caused domestic disruptions as fuel depots shut, petrol stations closed, and fuel tanker lorries stayed off roads. Oil marketing companies in Lagos, Abuja, Warri, and Port Harcourt all stopped business. The strike also hampered oil and gas exploration and production facilities, although some offshore oil production and crude exports were allowed to continue. 
 
Besides the concerns over security, in which the government has failed to provide a safe and peaceful work environment, PENGASSAN and NUPENG seeks an honest and transparent process on the privatisation of state-owned assets. They cite the recent sale of the Eleme Petro Chemical Ltd. (EPCL) refinery in Port Harcourt and how the facility was under-valued and sold to a start-up company with little experience in the petrochemical business. (In meetings with Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, on 13 September, the NEC did receive a commitment for work guarantees for all current staff of EPCL.) 
<img height="50" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Other demands of the two ICEM-affiliated unions include social commitments that jobs and skills development will occur in the country&rsquo;s oil patch for young Nigerians. They also demand strict adherence to past agreements made by energy companies and the government on expatriate quotas in the oil, gas, and related industries. The unions also object to merging the Petroleum Training Institute into the University of Benin. 
 
PENGASSAN and NUPENG demands must now be met or further and longer strikes will occur in the immediate future. The short warning strike last week achieved the unions&rsquo; objective to gain the government&rsquo;s attention to the serious security concerns that oil and gas workers in Nigeria face.

Nigerian Warning Strike Succeeds in Grabbing Government’s Attention

Comrade Peter Esele 
President 
PENGASSAN 
PENGASSAN House 
288, Ihorodu Road, Anthony 
PO Box 10433 
Marina-Lagos 
NIGERIA 
 
Dear Comrade Peter, 
 
The ICEM has learned of the tragic and senseless death of one of PENGASSAN&rsquo;s members, Nelson Ujeya, earlier this week in the vicinity of Brass Creek or Biobou Creek, Bayelsa State. We understand that Brother Ujeya had been kidnapped on 8 August 2006 in Letugbene while performing his employment duties for Shell Petroleum Development Corporation. 
 
We also have unconfirmed reports that he died in a violent gun fight between Nigeria&rsquo;s Joint Military Task Force and militant youth groups on 20 August 2006 as he was about to be released after negotiations. 
 
The 20-million-member ICEM, the Global Union Federation for oil and gas workers, finds it reprehensible that such indiscriminate use of force by Nigerian government militia be used in such a situation. The ICEM stands firmly behind PENGASSAN in holding both the government of Bayelsa State initially responsible for the abduction of Brother Ujeya while in the presence of state officials, and the federal government for its new policy of &ldquo;force by force&rdquo; in dealing with kidnappings that occur in the Niger Delta. 
 
The ICEM calls on all energy companies operating in Nigeria to apply the same effort and resources in securing the release of kidnapped Nigerian workers as they do for their foreign national employees. 
 
Next week, on 30 August 2006, PENGASSAN and NUPENG will conduct a joint National Executive Council (NEC) in Benin City to discuss this and other security matters in the Niger Delta. The ICEM recognises that the combined voice of NUPENGASSAN in Nigeria has been one of reason and soundness in stemming the social instability occurring along the Niger Delta. We know that this combined voice has stood for education, skills training and other social development initiatives that will increase employment opportunities in the oil and gas sectors for Nigerians. We commend and fully endorse that stand. 
 
We would look forward to having a report from the NEC&rsquo;s deliberations as soon after 30 August as possible in order to publicise your sensible positions on the global level. 
 
In conclusion, please convey sincere condolences from the ICEM and its family of global trade unions to the family of Wilson Ujeya. We are very distraught on the circumstances of his horrific death. Also, please express our deep concern to all trade union members of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, who are forced to work in such a difficult and terrifying environment. 
 
Fraternally, 
 
 
Fred Higgs 
General Secretary

ICEM letter to Pengassan

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A strike by glass workers in New Zealand enters its second week today. About a dozen night-shift workers at Pilkington Glass in the Auckland suburb of Mt. Wellington began the strike late on 30 August. They were joined by the plant&rsquo;s 50 other workers the next morning. 
 
The glass workers are represented by ICEM affiliate Engineering, Printing &amp; Manufacturing Union (EPMU). Workers are seeking the standard 5% contained in nearly all EPMU-negotiated collective agreements, but Pilkington, now a subsidiary of Nippon Sheet Glass, is offering only 4%. Union members are also seeking an increase in the daily shift allowance from NZ$3.25 to NZ$10.00. 
<img height="152" src="" width="100" alt="" /> 
EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little
&ldquo;(Workers) claims are quite modest &ndash; nothing more than the going rate,&rdquo; stated EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little. &ldquo;The company says it can&rsquo;t afford it, but the New Zealand operation made a NZ$14 million net profit in the year up to March 2005, with a global profit of more than NZ$600 million.&rdquo; 
 
The 60 glass workers started industrial action during the week of 7 August when they conducted two stop-work actions. The next week saw EPMU members begin a ban on all overtime work.

Pilkington Glass Workers in New Zealand Strike for 5% Pay Gains

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ICEM World Conference for the Rubber Industries 
6-7 April 2006 
Istanbul, Turkey 

Whereas while the ICEM conducts the World Conference for Rubber Industries in Istanbul, our brothers and sisters of Lastik-Iş are engaged in collective bargaining negotiations with the transnational tire companies Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli. 
 
Whereas the companies are exerting tremendous pressure on the workers, demanding concessions in working conditions, while stating publicly that labor costs are so high that they may quit production in Turkey. 
 
Whereas the companies are exerting pressure on the government to ban possible strikes, as they have done four times in ten years, even though the codes of Turkey and the ILO have issued decrees declaring the bans unlawful. 
 
Let it be resolved that the delegates to the ICEM World Conference for the Rubber Industries declare their total support for our brothers and sisters of Lastik-Iş and call upon Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli to exert common sense and bargain in good faith. 
 
Furthermore, let it be resolved that our conference calls upon the government of Turkey to uphold the laws of the country and the ILO regulations that protect the rights guaranteed to our Union brothers and sisters of Lastik-Iş.

ICEM Rubber Conference Resolution - Support for Lastik-Iş in negotiations with major tire companies

Dear friends,&nbsp; 
 
This is to inform you that ICEM affiliate, the Korean Chemical and Textile Workers&rsquo; Federation (KCTF), together with their national centre, KCTU, have launched, on 1 April 2006, a boycott campaign against the products of GS Caltex (formerly LG Caltex) in Korea, in a protest against the company&rsquo;s labour practices. 
<img height="225" alt="" src="" width="300" />
In July 2004, the GS Caltex union went on strike against this oil company after a deadlock in negotiations. Talks broke down over such issues as the demand for a five-day, 40-hour work-week and the call for the non-discrimination of contract workers. Instead of bargaining with the workers, the company retaliated against the strikers, with the help of the Korean government, through excessive use of riot police, which brutally suppressed the strike. 
 
After the end of the 20-day strike, management continued its aggressive anti-worker behaviour by screening returning workers, harassing families and dismissing almost all union officials, 30 in number. In addition, eight union leaders were arrested for their roles in the strike, and sentenced to periods of two to three years in prison. A total of 650 other workers were disciplined with three-month suspensions from work. 
 
Until now, there has been no sign from the company that it wants to end its unfair labour practices or reinstate the dismissed union leaders. This led to the decision by the union to announce the boycott of LG-Caltex products inside Korea. GS Caltex Korea is 50% owned by Chevron and 50% by the Korean GS Holding.&nbsp;
We would like to ask you to support our Korean affiliate by sending <a href="/index.php?id=155&amp;doc=1752">a protest letter to the Korean government</a>. A model protest letter is attached for that purpose. 
The letter can be addressed to: 
President Roh Moo-hyun 
1 Sejong-no, Jongno-ku, 
Seoul 110-820 
Republic of Korea 
Fax: +82-2-770.03.44 
E-mail <a href="mailto:president@cwd.go.kr">president@cwd.go.kr</a> 
Please also send a copy to the Korean Ministry of Labour at <a href="mailto:chun-79@hanmail.net">chun-79@hanmail.net</a>. 
We also strongly encourage you to send a message of support to the KCTF. A <a href="/index.php?id=155&amp;doc=1751">sample letter of solidarity</a> is also attached. As with the protest letter to the government, please feel free to modify this letter, or to draft a similar one. Messages of support can be sent to: 
BAE, Kang-wook 
President, KCTF-KCTU 
Fax: + 82 2 2632 4755 
E-mail : <a href="mailto:kctfim@hanmail.net">kctfim@hanmail.net</a> 
Please send a copy of your support letter to: <a href="mailto:info@icem.org">info@icem.org</a>. 
 
Fraternally, 
 
Fred Higgs 
General Secretary 

 
For more background, please consult two earlier ICEM stories on the dispute.&nbsp;

<ul>
 <li><a href="/?id=78&amp;doc=278&amp;la=EN">LG Caltex Punishes Workers Who Struck in Korea</a> </li>
 <li><a href="/?id=77&amp;doc=1149&amp;la=EN">ICEM Blasts LG Group, ChevronTexaco for Stance in Korean Dispute</a> </li>
</ul>

KCTF-KCTU Seeks International Solidarity on Boycott of GS Caltex in Korea


ICEM calls for support for Korean trade union campaign against Caltex

UK Trade unionists of Amicus at International Paper Co.&rsquo;s Inverurie mill in Scotland will extend industrial actions into next week, giving notice to the US-based company that another four-hour strike will occur on Monday, 10 April, and then an eight-hour downing of tools on Thursday, 13 April. It will be the fifth time since 23 March that the 231-strong workforce will have struck, and the 13 April action will mark the first eight-hour strike. 
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The two sides met on 4 April. The union was heartened that company negotiators moved off a pay freeze for 2006, but the company attached unacceptable conditions to the sub-standard, two-year pay offer. It sought not to make the pay offer retroactive to 1 January, and the company also wants to make the first two days of January mandatory work days each year. 
 
Amicus union officials consulted with union members, and informed management today that their offer was unacceptable. &ldquo;We will keep the door open to further bargaining,&rdquo; said Amicus Asst. Branch Secretary Willie Wallace. &ldquo;We have suggested that ACAS get involved and we sincerely wish to resolve this dispute,&rdquo; he added. ACAS is the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service of the UK, an independent but public-funded mediation service with a longstanding reputation. 
 
Amicus branch leaders and trade unionists at the Inverurie mill are perplexed by the company&rsquo;s bargaining posture. Absent in bargaining is good-faith and a fair exchange of ideas and proposals. Instead, managers come to talks with &ldquo;take-it-or-leave-it&rdquo; proposals, void of any desire or willingness for dialogue, according to Wallace. International Paper has presented three &ldquo;last, best and final offers&rdquo; in recent bargaining sessions, a fact not lost on Inverurie paperworkers as they&rsquo;ve united more through this dispute than ever before. 
 
This week&rsquo;s bargaining is a case in point. Amicus members know the company has never had a problem operating paper machines on 1 and 2 January. The voluntary system of working those days has never failed in the past. Considering also the company&rsquo;s demand that any wage increase for first quarter of 2006 is lost, this week&rsquo;s restructured &ldquo;last, best and final offer&rdquo; was easy to reject. 
 
&ldquo;The mood among members is hardening,&rdquo; said Amicus Asst. General Secretary Tony Burke. &ldquo;The company does not understand that they cannot keep rehashing previous offers which have found no favour amongst our members.&rdquo;

Eight-Hour Strike Next Week at International Paper’s Scottish Mill

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A decision on 23 March by Thailand&rsquo;s Supreme Administrative Court to nullify two 2005 royal decrees calling for partial privatisation of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) was heralded by ICEM affiliate EGAT-LU as a national turning point against the corrupt practices of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. 
The country&rsquo;s highest court ruled the process, which led to the Thaksin government float of 25% of EGAT on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, as lacking transparency in that public hearings were incomplete. The court also said that if the partial privatisation had gone ahead, unfair competitive advantages would have been created. 
EGAT-LU Chairman Sirichai Mai-ngam said the union will now team up with consumer groups and others to roll back privatisations of the Metropolitan Electric Authority, the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority, the Provincial Electric Authority and the Provincial Waterworks. 
The union has also called on EGAT&rsquo;s board of directors to resign. They ask the same of Thaksin himself and of Energy Minister Viset Choopiban. 
EGAT-LU is meeting with top managers of the state-run power company today. The union will seek refunds plus interest for the shares purchased by EGAT staff, reimbursement of taxes levied, and for directors and government officials to take responsibility for the millions in advisory fees paid in preparation for last November&rsquo;s initial public offering. 
&ldquo;We are uncertain whether the next government will try to privatise EGAT,&rdquo; said Mai-ngam. &ldquo;However, we will continue to cooperate with civil groups in the fight to maintain the state enterprise status of the power utility.&rdquo;

High Court in Thailand Nullifies EGAT Privatisation

<img height="41" src="" width="100" alt="" />
US-based Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co. could face a strike this week in South Africa if it doesn&rsquo;t abide by an ICEM affiliate&rsquo;s demand to retain 300 contract workers. Goodyear and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) will meet tomorrow, 4 April, in efforts to resolve differences. If no movement occurs, some 1,700 NUMSA members could strike at the tyre factory by week&rsquo;s end. 
The issue is Goodyear&rsquo;s refusal to permanently hire the 300 contract workers who have worked at the plant for up to five years. The 300 are employed by Kelly Services, a staffing agency, which allegedly has denied medical assistance and provident fund benefits to the workers. NUMSA is also in dispute with Goodyear for its abuse of trainees, who work shifts and weekends in violation of work agreements. They also are paid at lower pay grades for longer periods, which violate work rules.

Goodyear Could Face South African Strike

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French ICEM affiliate FCE-CFDT has called an eight-hour strike for tomorrow, 4 April, at all Total worksites across France in protest to the government&rsquo;s contrat premi&eacute;re embauche (CPE), the &ldquo;first job contract&rdquo; labour reform being imposed on young workers. 
<img height="130" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The union is asking all Total workers to join tomorrow&rsquo;s inter-sectoral day of action, and has asked all trade union delegates to organise general staff assemblies in preparation. 
French labour federations are united in efforts to push the government and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin off CPE, which passed Parliament by decree without dialogue with social partners. The reform would allow employers to sack workers under age 26 in their first two years of employment without needing justification. 
French President Chirac announced last week the scaling back of the two-year period to one year. FCE-CFDT, who together with other unions rejected the Chirac compromise, has called the strike tomorrow at Total without saying exactly when the eight-hour work stoppage would begin.

FCE-CFDT Calls Total Workers Out on Strike

<img height="41" alt="" src="" width="100" />
An agreement in principle has been won by three German unions with Vattenfall Europe for some 20,000 utility workers in Germany to be covered by one collective agreement. 
The unions, ICEM affiliate IGBCE, IG Metall and Ver.di, have been negotiating with the Swedish-based company for two years in efforts to get all workers under a single agreement in order to achieve pay equity and uniform work terms. 
That pledge for agreement came recently when the supervisory board of Germany&rsquo;s third largest utility changed its position and agreed to a common agreement. Management also agreed to allow workers who are in enterprises that get sold off by the company to remain in the agreement until a new collective agreement is negotiated with that business. 
<img height="62" alt="" src="" width="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <img height="63" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The three unions had joined together in a number of protests against the company&rsquo;s indifference to a common contract, including a demonstration numbering 5,000 at Vattenfall Europe&rsquo;s 1 March AGM in Berlin. 
In March, Swedish trade union SEKO began a campaign at home to assist the German unions with achieving a common contract. In Germany, Vattenfall Europe consists of several former utility companies that the Swedish firm has purchased over the past six years, including Bewag, HEW, Laubag and Veag.

German Unions, Vattenfall Come to Terms

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