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The worst forms of trade union repression are being conducted by the authorities and business leaders of Bahrain, punishing workers for protesting and carrying out a general strike on 13-22 March 2011. The general strike led by the national trade union centre, General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU), was called in support of pro-democracy protests in the Persian Gulf island-state. 
 
The crackdown was immediate, with a campaign of mass sackings, intimidation, and violence against all workers involved, although the agreement to end the strike included a promise to GFBTU, an affiliate of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), by authorities that strikers would not suffer repercussions. 
 
As trade unionists around the world condemned the violent repression, the worst estimates then were that over 1,000 workers would be sacked for strike activity, including staff at Alba Aluminum Bahrain BSC, Bahrain Telecommunications Company, Gulf Air, Bahrain Airport Services, and APM Terminals Bahrain at the Khalifa Sea Port. 
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Now, more than 2,600 workers have been sacked for their involvement in the uprising, including over 100 government workers in recent weeks, including health, education, and municipal workers. Reacting to international pressure, the Bahraini authorities have promised the reinstatement those illegally sacked. However, GFBTU reports that only 134 workers have been reinstated, with many only brought back in return for promises never again to join political activities &ndash; or a trade union. 
 
Jailed trade unionists and others are being passed through tribunal hearings in which they are not given an opportunity to mount a defense. 
 
The global union federation for teachers, Education International (EI), has issued a new appeal to Bahraini authorities to release Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi 'Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb, Vice-President and President of the Bahraini Teachers Association (BTA), who face trial by a military tribunal. Send appeals to the Bahraini authorities on <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/en/uaas/uaa_details/31">EI&rsquo;s site</a> here.&nbsp; 
 
Six members of the GFBTU Executive Board remain dismissed, as well as 44 executive board members of GFBTU-affiliated unions.

Kingdom of Bahrain’s Trade Union Repression Continues

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The ruling National Party in New Zealand took a correct industrial safety decision two weeks ago when the conservative government of Prime Minister John Key authorised NZ$1.5 million annually from an existing account to create a high hazards unit in the mining, and oil and gas industries. The decision comes in the wake of the tragic Pike River coal mine deaths nine months ago, a damning indictment on National&rsquo;s business-friendly agenda of the 1990s, but the decision also comes with strong voice that more must come regarding regulations and stringent deterrents to protect all workers on the job in New Zealand. 
 
New Zealand&rsquo;s Labour Party also said more must be done, stating check inspectors must be re-established on company payrolls to ensure monitoring and compliance. The Nationals eliminated mandatory worksite safety specialists in 1992 in deregulatory measures pushed by business. 
 
The ICEM states the hazards unit is a positive step coming just after first-phase hearings of the Pike River Royal Commission finished, and commends the New Zealand government for improving industrial safety in the country. The ICEM also encourages New Zealand through the Royal Commission to examine the safety structure at Pike River, compare it with best-practice standards of the world, and then begin a process to ratify and implement the tenets inside <a href="/en/209-ILO ">ILO Convention 176</a>. 
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Establishment of the high hazards unit also comes a year after a government review of health and safety and environmental issues in the offshore petroleum industry. The review recommended an increase in the number of safety inspectors. 
 
The high hazards unit will have three inspectors, plus a chief inspector each in the mines and energy sector, and a support and research staff of three. In comparison, New Zealand has only two mine inspectors &ndash; one position now being vacant &ndash; and it has only a single oil and gas inspector to cover upstream production over a wide expanse. 
 
The NZ$1.5 million will be funded from a special levy that the government has collected over the years in a Health and Safety in Employment Memorandum Account. 
 
Ged O&rsquo;Connell, Assistant National Secretary of the Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), said it was a breakthrough for the government, &ldquo;but more still needs to be done. There is the need for decent regulations and reinstatement of the check inspector role to provide the full check and balance required.&rdquo; 
 
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) President Helen Kelly said first-phase Pike River testimony before the Royal Commission made it clear that stronger mine safety regulations are critical. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t wait and risk another disaster when we already know that other measures are also necessary,&rdquo; said Kelly. 
 
Phase one of the Royal Commission&rsquo;s inquiry into the deadly string of Pike River Coal Mine explosions that took 29 lives ended on 22 July 2011. Phase two hearings will start on 5 September in Greymouth, near the Pike River mine on the South Island, and run until 23 September. Phase two will centre on time and circumstance of death for the 29, safety and rescue efforts, and site effectiveness in the horrid weeks after the 19 November 2010 initial explosion.

New Zealand Updates Energy, Mine Safety Regime

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The President of an ICEM affiliate in Chile, Fenatrapech, the National Federation of Oil Workers, passed away at 5h30 on 23 August. Comrade Jorge Matute was 61 years old and dedicated 41 years to trade union work for Chile&rsquo;s oil workers. Twenty of those years were with Fenatrapech. 
 
Matute was the key oil workers&rsquo; leader during pivotal moments and struggles in Chile&rsquo;s energy. Unpopular Chilean President Sebasti&aacute;n Pi&ntilde;era has attempted to sell off the nationalised oil assets into private hands, along with other major nationalised industries. Workers at the National Petroleum Company, ENAP, have been under attack over the last two years, as government attempts to weaken the union to facilitate privatisation. 
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Jorge Matute was central in fighting to protect workers in this process, negotiating redundancy packages and against job cuts. 
 
An example of this struggle led by Matute was at the Bio Bio refinery in Central Chile. In tribute, his remains were taken there on the day of his death, before moving him to Valparaiso for his funeral on 24 August. 
 
Matute had suffered the disappearance of his son, Jorge Matute Johns. Trade union comrades in Chile now take comfort in the belief that Matute is reunited with his son. 
 
Words of support and mourning have been offered from many sides for the popular union leader. ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda conveyed sincere condolences to Fenatrapech on behalf of the ICEM, calling for his good work and struggles on behalf of workers to be continued. &ldquo;We honour the life of a great fighter,&rdquo; said Warda. 
 
ENAP oil workers&rsquo; union President Alejandro Avenda&ntilde;o said that Matute had &ldquo;taught us the important value of the struggle for workers rights in Chile.&rdquo;

Jorge Matute: 1950-2011

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Madhukar Kashinath Pandhe, a steadfast champion of workers in India and elsewhere, died of a heart attack on 20 August in a New Delhi hospital. M K Pandhe was a champion for decades in India of carving gains for all workers, from unorganised workers in the informal sector to the skilled workers that drive India&rsquo;s economy. He was 86. 
 
Pande was an early leader of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). When he died, he was Vice President of CITU. He had served as the trade union&rsquo;s Secretary, General Secretary, and President. 
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He was also President of the All India Coal Workers&rsquo; Federation. The ICEM knew him as a tireless and dedicated partner on coal supply, work rights, pay, health, safety and other issues in the mining industry. 
 
Pande was born in Pune, Maharashtra, and joined the Communist Party in 1943. He joined the Goa liberation struggle against the Portuguese and after the Communist Party in India divided, be became a leader a CPI(M) &ndash; the Communist Part India (Marxist) party. 
 
His high prestige in India as a trade union negotiator who delivered for the working class was earned because Pandhe did it across all industrial sectors, from mining, steel, energy to all forms of transport, and from navy to shipping to aviation to many other jobs. He served on numerous national level bodies formed by the government, and his steady voice inside all of them never wavered from the defense of the working class. 
 
M K Pandhe is survived his wife, Pramile, a key leader in CPI(M) and also leader in the All India Democratic Women&rsquo;s Association, and a son.

M K Pandhe: 1925-2011

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At the triennial United Steelworkers Convention in Las Vegas, US, on 16 August, the union covering members in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean moved closer to formalising a unified North American trade union together with oppressed National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros. 
 
Los Mineros President Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia addressed the 3,000 delegates via teleconference from Canada, where he has been in exile for the last five years. These same charges blocked G&oacute;mez from travelling to the Las Vegas Convention. His wife, Oralia, gave an emotional speech instead. It had been planned that Los Mineros leader Juan Linares would sign the agreement, but he was blocked from leaving Mexico by authorities who are conducting a relentless campaign against Los Mineros. 
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&ldquo;A strong, unified union is needed to fight for workers from the northern tip of Canada to the most southern tip of Mexico, particularly in the age of the North American Free Trade Agreement,&rdquo; stated USW President Leo Gerard. 
 
Among other things, the agreement establishes worker councils for employees at multinationals in the three countries, &quot;to facilitate exchange of information, strategic cooperation, solidarity support, and organizing initiatives.&quot; 
 
The two trade unions formed a commission, charged with increasing strategic cooperation and exploring a fusion together following the aggressive police attacks on workers and their families at Cananea and Pasta de Conchos on 6 June 2010, announcing the bi-lateral trade union commission at the global &quot;Triple Crisis of Sustainability&rdquo; conference in Toronto on 19 June 2010. 
 
The commission was made up of five members from each of the union&rsquo;s leaderships, and will now be expanded to include the USW general counsel and director of international affairs. Los Mineros will get two additional representatives. 
 
The USW represents 850,000 workers in the US, Canada and the Caribbean, while Los Mineros represents about 180,000 in Mexico.

USW, Mexico’s Los Mineros Strengthen Alliance

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ICEM-affiliated United Steelworkers (USW) in the US is fighting to keep pension and healthcare benefits for 125 highly skilled mould repairmen at Owens-Illinois, and 175 at Ross International. US-based glass packaging manufacturers Owens-Illinois and Ross International are attempting to discriminate against younger workers by providing inferior retirement benefits to new staff. 
Also under attack in current negotiations are healthcare benefits contained in the two-tier proposals. The ICEM condemns this draconian stance of Owens-Illinois and Ross International in their collective negotiations. 
 
As reported by ICEM in July this year, Owens-Illinois has been attempting to squeeze more profit out of its operations elsewhere in the world by cutting workers&rsquo; benefits. In Colombia, ICEM-affiliated Sintravidricol members were forced to work dangerously long periods after restructuring at the plants in Envigado, Cogua, and Soacha. The company filled gaps by outsourcing work unilaterally, ignoring Sintravidricol&rsquo;s pleas for dialogue. 
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Tim Tuttle
Ross International also has a record of bitter disputes with ICEM affiliates. However, Sintravidricol in Colombia did achieve recognition and a collective agreement from the company following a 23-day strike in 2007. 
 
Both companies are now targeting USW members&rsquo; social benefits and those of future generations. These workers repair the moulds used to manufacture containers in the beer, wine, spirits, and food sectors of glass and other packaging. 
 
Tim Tuttle, Chairman of USW&rsquo;s Glass Industry Conference, reports that a further meeting with management is scheduled for Wednesday, 31 August, the same day the current agreement expires. Additional dates in September will be sought to continue discussions. 
 
In a letter to Owens-Illinois CEO, Albert Stroucken, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda condemned the company&rsquo;s stance against a fair contract for employees. &ldquo;This is an attempt by Owens-Illinois to bolster its bottom line on the backs of vulnerable retirees. It also appears to be a cynical attempt by Owens-Illinois to undermine the union by sewing divisions within it between current workers and newly hired workers,&rdquo; stated Warda. 
 
As Warda warned the CEOs of both glass packaging manufacturers, the ICEM will mobilise international support if managements fail to alter their regressive stance in North American bargaining.

USW Resists Concessions in Owens-Illinois, Ross International Bargaining

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In the midst of national unrest facing Chile President Sebasti&aacute;n Pi&ntilde;era, Mineworkers&rsquo; Federations meet together today in Iquique to push forward support for 1,500 union members of Sindicato de los Trabajadores de Collahuasi, a major affiliate of Chile Federation of Miners (FMC), the trade union covering miners and workers employed by the world&rsquo;s major mining houses. 
 
The Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Collahuasi and FMC have set 2 September as a 24-hour day for industrial action, mainly in protest to the company sacking six workers during the last 24-hour strike, on 29-30 July. The union&rsquo;s planned strike is also in protest to the miners&rsquo; employer, Do&ntilde;a Ines de Collahuasi, reneging on collective agreement conventions put in place in the past. 
 
A delegation from Federaci&oacute;n de Trabajadores del Cobre (FTC), the Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation representing state-run copper company Codelco&rsquo;s staff, will likely participate in today&rsquo;s meeting. 
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Do&ntilde;a Ines de Collahuasi, the world&rsquo;s third largest copper mine, is jointly owned through 44% stakes each by AngloAmerican and Xstrata. The 29-30 July strike at Collahuasi was also done in support of a strike at another FMC major branch, Sindicato No. 1 de Trabajadores de Minera Escondida. Then, 2,375 miners where in a middle of a 15-day strike at Minera Escondida, the world&rsquo;s largest copper producer, owned by BHP Billion (57%) and Rio Tinto (23%). 
 
In the past few weeks, FMC President Cristi&aacute;n Arancibia has visited several mines where workers are represented by FMC branches and urged support for Collahuasi miners as the global copper enterprise ramps up for even more production. 
 
Today&rsquo;s meeting comes on the heels of a prior successful FMC-FTC solidarity meeting in Antofagasta &ndash; on 28 July &ndash; just prior to Collahuasi miners joining Escondida miners in a symbolic day-long shutdown of 10% of the world&rsquo;s copper supply. Another coordinating meeting between the Collahuasi mineworkers&rsquo; branch and the Escondida branch on 20 August produced official support from the Escondida union. And the Cobres have met amongst themselves to discuss ways to support the FMC Collahuasi miners, as well as narrowing issues in which to engage Codelco on. 
 
Dialogue has occurred between mine management at Collahuasi and Sindicato de los Trabajadores de Collahuasi, reports FMC branch President Manuel Mu&ntilde;oz, but that dialogue is undermined by supervisors intentionally giving workers mis-information. Relations between Do&ntilde;a Ines de Collahuasi and mineworkers have been frayed for over a year and the two sides were pitted in a bitter 33-day strike late last year that still is being felt. 
 
In a 24 August letter to the company, Mu&ntilde;oz said that the company&rsquo;s Human Resource facilities have failed and the company is vulnerable to workers and supervisors leaving Collahuasi for other employment. He alluded to common misunderstandings that could get resolved in honest negotiations, but instead have become serious confrontations. 
 
Meanwhile, Codelco recognised that popular Chilean unrest in both mining and the general society is not good for the country&rsquo;s business climate. Last week, the company and the Cobres signed a framework agreement intended to remove communication barriers between labour and management. The agreement sets the conditions under which workers&rsquo; opinions are fostered for shaping the future direction of the company. 
 
FTC President Raimundo Espinoza said the framework agreement gives FTC stature to help develop Codelco&rsquo;s divisions &ldquo;including an analysis of the current and future workforce and compliance with the law for contract workers.&rdquo; The framework agreement results from a one-day strike on 11 July at Codelco mines over privatisation threats.

Mine Federations Meet Today in Support of Collahuasi Strike

An oddity has struck Germany: as unemployment has reached the lowest levels in decades, the number of precarious workers in low-wage temporary jobs has risen dramatically. The increase in temporary work in 2010 jumped 32.5% over the previous year, reports Germany&rsquo;s Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden. 
 
A full 75% of all recruitments in 2010 came in the temporary sector and temporary work accounted for 50% of all salaried recruitments, data that places a different light on Germany&rsquo;s economic success story. 
 
This trend has not caught Germany&rsquo;s unions by surprise, with national labour centre DGB making it a priority at its May 2010 Congress to campaign for equal pay, equal rights, and fixed probation periods on temporary workers at its May 2010 Congress. Replacing permanent employees with temp workers (&ldquo;Stammbelegschaft&rdquo;) is regressive and Germany&rsquo;s unions look upon it as wage slashing. In the metal industry alone, wages of temporary workers average &euro;776 per month less than permanent staff. 
 
In 2010, according the Wiesbaden Office, 7.4 million people took low-wage temporary work, or &ldquo;mini-jobs&rdquo;, as created by 2003 legislation with the intent that such work would lead to a full-time, permanent job. It has not as evidenced by Germany&rsquo;s temporary employers&rsquo; federation predicting that double-digit jumps in temp work will occur in 2011 and beyond. 
 
Consider: in hotel and catering work, there is one temp for each German worker in which full social contributions are paid. In trade and retail, that ratio is two to one. 
 
One answer advocated by German unions is a cross-sector minimum wage through legislation, and tougher legislative measures to discourage all forms of precarious work. Equal pay for equal work has become a battle cry for Germany&rsquo;s trade union movement and moving toward that will restore a fairer order of the labour market.

In Germany, Precarious Labour Spikes Even with Low Joblessness

Working groups established by the Executive Committees of the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) took steps to finalize the Statutes and launched the discussion on an Action Plan for the new Global Union Federation. Members representing affiliates from all five continents met on 30-31 August in Geneva. 
 
The Statutes Working Group examined the key points agreed at a joint Executive Committee meeting in May and made some final adjustments in the draft Statutes. The new International will be governed by an Executive Committee of 60 members until 2016, after which it will be reduced to 40 members. At least 30% of the members shall be women. 
 
The Statutes foresee regional structures and offices that will implement the organization&rsquo;s general policies and address matters specific to the region. There will also be 14 industrial sectors as well as sections for women and non-manual workers. 
 
The Action Plan Group agreed on producing a short and punchy program, which will summarize the main priorities for the new global union. Some of the suggested headlines are building union power by organizing workers throughout supply chains and creating a powerful counterweight to transnational companies by uniting the workers in networks for solidarity and joint action. 
 
Later the same week, the IMF, ICEM, and ITGLWF held a first joint global staff seminar in Geneva. The participants shared their experiences about the way of working of the three organizations and identified opportunities to combine strengths for more powerful action. 
 
The Statutes and Action Plan will be discussed at the decision-making bodies of the three partner federations, including ITGLWF&rsquo;s Executive Committee in September, ICEM&rsquo;s Congress in November and IMF&rsquo;s Central Committee in December. The final proposals are expected to be adopted at a second joint Executive Committee meeting in February 2012, to be presented to the Founding Congress in June 2012 in Copenhagen.

Working Groups Pave Way for New Global Union Federation

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st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }The Confederaci&oacute;n Nacional de los Metal&uacute;rgicos (CNM) affiliated to the CUT trade union central, and globally to the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), is mobilising workers for a 2011 wage campaign. The one-million-strong metalworker federation represents 50% of all Brazilian metalworkers, and is now pushing for deserved pay increases in collective agreements across the sector.</div>
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<div>Some regions have made good gains, while negotiations continue elsewhere, ahead of a 1 September deadline.</div>
The campaign in S&atilde;o Paulo State was kick-started on 21 July when 2,000 unionists of 14 trade unions manifesting in front of Industry Federation of S&atilde;o Paulo (FIESP). CNM/CUT President Paulo Cayres addressed the gathering, along with the presidents of the 14 unions, representing 250,000 workers in the state. 
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<div>Included in the demands is the extension of maternity leave from 120 days to 180. Other demands include: automatic increase of salary in line with inflation, increased wages, improved minimum wage, freedom of organisation in all workplaces, reduction of work week to 40 hours with no reduction in wages.</div>
Demands were delivered to the Industry Federation of the Minas Gerais region on 29 July.
Metalworkers of Sapiranga, Southern Brazil, settled on an 8% salary increase and 10% hike in the minimum wage, as well as solid improvements to social allowances, including education, child care, and pensions.
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CNM/CUT President Paulo Cayres
ABC regional workers in S&atilde;o Bernardo rejected an offer last Tuesday from management and issued a strike warning.
Metalworkers of Itu, Porto Feliz, Boituva, and Cabre&uacute;va, 100 kilometres west of S&atilde;o Paulo, were organising united fronts at plants from 3-10 August, ahead of difficult bargaining with management.
United in the struggle for a fair wage increase, workers in the southern city of S&atilde;o Leopoldo halted production at two large companies in the area last week. Unionists linked arms at the gates of Rossi and Taurus 05, paralysing the sites for four hours on Thursday morning, 11 August. Similar scenes occurred in neighbouring Inpel on Wednesday 10 August, where a large mobilisation caused a one-and-a-half hour work stoppage.

CNM/CUT in Brazil Mobilises Campaign for Salary Gains

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