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Following a fire in the first and second generation stations of the El-Missaub electrical heat generation station, the Federation of Works Councils Unions of Iraq (FWCUI) calls for improved safety equipment at the facility. Two workers needed to be taken to a hospital as they suffered from suffocation after trying to extinguish the fire. 
 
The union is asking the administration of the station for increased safety measures, such as supplying the different units with personal fire protection devices, organising training on safety issues and repairing broken down safety equipment. The union also points towards the non-existence of insurance for workers in case they become the victim of an industrial accident.

Fire In Iraq’s el-Missuab Power Generation Station.

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According to information received by the ICEM, last week saw the arrest of Javanmir Poradi, the head of the Electrical and Metal Workers&rsquo; Trade Association, in the western city of Kermanshah in Iran. He was reportedly released again yesterday evening. Given the regular and persistent ill-treatment of labour activists in Iran, Brother Moradi&rsquo;s disappearance was very concerning for his family. No information was available on Monday as to his treatment in detention. 
 
Iranian security forces allegedly told brother Poradi, on 12 September, to report to their offices the next day. Whereas his family was initially told on Wednesday that he was taken to the public prosecutor&rsquo;s house, this office later stated it did not have information as to his whereabouts. He is said to have been arrested for &ldquo;organising a May Day rally&rdquo; this year. 
 
Four other labour activists, from the Shaho and Kurdistan textile factories in the city of Sanandaj, were also arrested earlier last week, in relation to a planned protest against a number of dismissals. The four were badly treated while in detention, before being released.

One More Arrest and Ill-treatment of a Labour Activist in Iran

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A coalition of Hong Kong trade unions and NGOs is organising a series of actions around 13 September shareholder meeting of Hong Kong GP Battery Ltd, taking up the case of several hundred Chinese workers who suffer from serious cadmium-related health problems. 
 
The company in question, Gold Peak Industrial Holding (GP), which employs the workers, operates several battery-producing factories Guangdong province, and sells the batteries, under different brand names world-wide. 
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Back in 2004, workers at the company had to engage in strike action to overcome GP&rsquo;s refusal to carry out health tests. Workers were insistent on being tested after they learned about the dangers of working with cadmium, a toxic chemical, which can cause kidney failures and acute physical pain. Unaware of the dangerous consequences of working with the chemical, workers at the plants had been working with the toxic product with barely any protection. 
 
Official results of the tests indicated that ten workers were suffering from cadmium poisoning and that at least 400 others had abnormally high levels of cadmium. Most of them are women. Victims suffer from severe aches and pains, headaches and hair loss. The ten workers diagnosed with the cadmium poisoning were in a much worse condition. 
 
Three workers at a GP plant in Hong Kong have in the meantime also been diagnosed with cadmium poisoning, with another 21 having excessive cadmium levels. More recent reports mention a GP factory in Hunan province, where a subcontractor produces batteries using substandard health and safety measures. 
 
In spite of all this, workers did not get appropriate treatment, nor were they awarded compensation. Worse still, workers from China, in September 2004, have been threatened for being responsible for &ldquo;criminal responsibilities,&rdquo; should they complain to the central authority in Beijing. Furthermore, many workers have complained about the insulting arrangement under which health tests take place, where women are forced to undress and take showers under surveillance of unidentified people. 
 
A compensation fund, finally established in 2005, so far has only provided assistance to 4% of the 400 workers. The company seems to be much more interested in bringing organisations who talk about the scandal to court, as it currently does in Hong Kong, then to provide the affected workers fair and decent compensation, as is requested by these organisations.

Chinese Gold Peak Workers Suffer from Cadmium Poisoning

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Total said it will, between 2006 and 2012, close down several production lines at two different petrochemical sites in France: the TotalPetroChemicals Carling plant in the Lorraine region and the Gonfreville site in Normandy. This announcement by the company, which will result in the loss of another 300 jobs, comes only three months after the Arkema spin off, which already led to a serious reduction in the number of jobs at Total. 
 
In a press communiqu&eacute;, ICEM affiliated FCE-CFDT called the restructuring exercise &ldquo;purely defensive.&rdquo; The company will take a &euro;300 million charge to end the production of Styrene - a colourless toxic liquid used to make, among other products, polymers and rubber - at Carling, with a partial transfer of production to the Gonfreville site. Another &euro;80 million charge on the company&rsquo;s books will go towards a better exchange of products between the two sites. 
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Not only does the union find it difficult to see the economic logic of the plan, it also warns against the environmental dangers for both workers and general public, as Total will have to start traversing France by train to get extra benzene and styrene from one plant to another. 
 
The union calls for an independent expert to look into the social and environmental risks. It will also approach the industry minister to present an alternative industrial project.

Total Announces It Will Do Away with another 300 Jobs in France

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French ICEM affiliate CGT Verre et C&eacute;ramique calls for a day of action on 9 October, following the withdrawal by MEDEF, the French employers&rsquo; association, from the &lsquo;hazardous jobs&rsquo; dialogue in the glass and ceramics sector. 
 
A 2003 French law calls for negotiations on the recognition of &lsquo;hazardous jobs&rsquo; to be finished by 31 December 2006. Ongoing negotiations between unions and employers so far have not yielded results. Worse still, MEDEF has now decided to leave the bargaining table, stating it will push back the whole effort until after the elections of 2007. According to the CGT, this is clearly an attempt to postpone discussions indefinitely, and therefore unacceptable. 
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The CGT Verre et C&eacute;ramique wants to keep the early retirement age at 55 and considers the recognition of &lsquo;hazardous jobs&rsquo; in the glass and ceramics industries to be one of its priorities. Several studies have indicated a critical reduction in workers&rsquo; life expectancies when operating in hazardous environments. 
 
The CGT calls upon its members to organise, together with the other professional Federations of the CGT, as well as with other unions in France, actions necessary on 9 October, ranging from petitions to strikes.

‘Hazardous Jobs’ Action Day in the French Glass and Ceramics Sector

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Some 7,000 demonstrators marched through Paris on 12 September, with many more demonstrating in other cities throughout France, all responding to a joint call for action by French unions CGT, FO, CGC, and CFTC. 
 
The manifestations, held to protest the government sponsored merger between state-owned Gaz de France (GDF) and privately-held Suez, came a week after the CGT and FO unions held a referendum among workers at GDF. The referendum, at which 60% of all 53,000 GDF workers took part, showed a very clear hostility towards the merger plans, with 94% voting against the privatisation idea. 
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The State of France currently holds an 80% stake in GdF, with a current law setting a minimum of 70%. The merger would automatically reduce the state&rsquo;s stake in GDF to about 34%. 
 
Whereas CGT, FO, CGC, and CFTC would prefer closer cooperation between Electricit&eacute; de France (EDF) and GDF, the FCE-CFDT union forwarded its own proposal to the government on 13 September. Equally opposed to the privatisation of GDF, FCE-CFDT sees possible advantages in developing partnerships between Suez and GDF. The union&rsquo;s increased cooperation project would, however, keep GDF in the public sector. 
 
The French government finds itself more and more isolated, with an increasing number of individuals and organisations joining the anti-privatisation call. French Labour representatives, currently in opposition, are also fiercely contesting the privatisation plan at the special parliamentary session on the subject.

Protests in France against Gaz de France – Suez Merger

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE JOINT NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL (NEC) MEETING OF THE PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS SENIOR STAFF ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (PENGASSAN) AND THE NATIONAL UNION OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS WORKERS (NUPENG) AT ROYAL MARBLE HOTEL BENIN CITY AUGUST 30, 2006. 
The Joint National Executive Council (NEC) of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) met on Wednesday August 30, 2006 in Royal Marble Hotel, Benin City. After an exhaustive deliberation on major national, industry, labour and industrial relations issues, the Joint NEC-in-Session resolves as follows: 
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VIOLENT DIMENSION TO THE NIGER DELTA CRISIS 
 
The Joint NEC-in-Session frowns at the heightening and unabating spate of abduction, hostage-taking and violent attacks in the Niger Delta by restive youths under banner of continued deprivation and neglects of the area by successive governments. 
 
The Joint NEC notes with dismay and apprehension that the genuine agitation of the Niger Delta people has been criminalised, and made an avenue for ransom seeking activities, and disruption of economic life and welfare of the people in the region. 
 
The Joint NEC-in-Session notes with concern the incessant abduction of expatriate workers even from night-clubs in the center of the township which has now resulted in most firms threatening to pull out of the Niger Delta &ndash; a situation that will compound employment problems, increase crime rate and compromise the much sought investment drive to the Niger Delta in particular and Nigeria in general. 
 
The Joint Meeting regrets that government&rsquo;s poor response has not helped matters leading to deepening insecurity in the region as the nation continues to witness more abduction of oil workers, hostage-taking and overrunning of oil installations and pollution of the environment in the region. 
 
The Meeting notes the hypocritical and non-challant attitude of the Niger Delta State Governments and their apparatus in the deteriorating state of insecurity and criminality which now pervades the entire region. 
 
The Joint NEC-in-Session views in very strong terms and with heavy heart that apathy on the part of government in dealing decisively with the Niger Delta agitations which has resulted in the killing of Comrade Nelson Ujeya &ndash; a grievous fratricidal sacrifice that arose from applying a negative approach to a genuine cause and concerted vanguard for justice in Niger Delta Region. 
 
The Joint NEC-in-Session is appalled that our communities in the Niger Delta known for hospitality and communal discipline have now lent their once peaceful domains for criminal activities and lawlessness 
 
 
VIOLATION OF DUE PROCES ON THE SALE OF ELEME PETROCHEMICAL COMPANY LIMITED (EPCL) 
 
The Joint NEC-in-Session expresses shock on the flagrant abuse and manipulation of the Memorandum of Understanding reached with the stakeholders on the sale and equity participation of Core Investor and Government at 51% : 49% which without consultation was reversed to 75% : 25% respectively. 
 
The Meeting noted that due diligence was not conducted on the Core Investor &ndash; Indorama Company which was why a Company that was registered in Thailand in 2003 was allowed to bid for a company of the magnitude of EPCL for a ridiculous offer of $225 million for an asset of $1.8 billion. 
 
Consequently, Joint NEC-in-Session demands that the sale of EPCL should be repudiated and Indorama should be made to forfeit all payments fraudulently made in this regard. 
 
 
STATE OF REFINERIES/PIPELINE VANDALISATION 
 
The Joint NEC-in-Session notes with regrets the adverse effect of pipeline vandalisation on the flow of crude and petroleum products to our Refineries and depots all over the Federation which had affected supply and distribution of petroleum products. 
 
The Meeting expresses displeasure on Government&rsquo;s reluctance to secure and maintain the pipelines, thereby abdicating its responsibility to other stakeholders in the industry. 
 
The Meeting believes that the current posture of Government in this respect negates the essence of Deregulation Policy to localise the production of petroleum products. 
 
The Meeting vehemently condemns the massive importation of refined petroleum products instead of emphasizing on local refining. 
 
The Meeting notes that the Refineries now serve as conduit for transportation and sale of imported petroleum products. 
 
 
PURPORTED CONVERSION OF PETROLEUM TRAINING INSTITUTE (PTI) TO A CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN 
 
The Joint NEC-in-Session frowns at the violation of the Extant Act that established the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) to provide middle level manpower to the Oil and Gas Industry. 
 
The Meeting notes the current move to rather affiliate the Institute to UNIBEN instead of providing it with adequate funding, staffing, and equipment to meet the manpower demand of the Industry. 
 
The Meeting calls on Government to retain the current status of PTI as an autonomous specialised Institute and should upgrade it to International Standard as enshrined in the Act that established it. 
 
 
ENABLING ACT FOR DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES (DPR) AS AN AUTONOMOUS PETROLEUM INSPECTORATE COMMISSION 
 
The Joint NEC-in-Session hereby calls on Government to urgently grant autonomy to the Department of Petroleum Resources to enable it play its role effectively as Oil and Gas Industry Regulator. 
 
 
RESOLUTION: 
 
From the foregoing therefore, the Joint NEC-in-Session hereby resolves that it can no longer fold its hands and watch the viable industry in Nigeria slide into a state of anomie. 
 
Consequently, the Joint NEC-in-Session henceforth agrees to undertake the following measures to protect its members&rsquo; interest as follows: 
 
1. The Joint NEC-in-Session directs that with effect from Wednesday 13th September 2006, all members of NUPENG and PENGASSAN should embark on a 3-day Warning Strike. 
 
2. The Joint NEC-in-Session agrees that if after the 3-day Warning Strike, Government fails to address the issues raised in this Communique and provide a peaceful and safe environment in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country for Oil Workers in particular and Nigerians in general to go about their lawful duties, NUPENG and PENGASSAN will have no other option but to withdraw their services indefinitely.

NUPENGASSAN Communiqué

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At a parliamentary session of South Korea&rsquo;s National Assembly last week, the government, along with the ruling Uri Party, vowed that approval of the so-called irregular workers&rsquo; bill will be a priority. The measure was temporarily stopped in the Assembly by procedural manoeuvres last April by the Democratic Labor Party and the Grand National Party. 
 
The legislation, on the government&rsquo;s agenda now for two years, would grant all temporary workers permanent status after two years. But the bill is opposed by South Korea&rsquo;s two labour federations because the necessary safeguards and protections do not exist in the proposed legislation. The bill would create a massive pool of temporary workers for the benefit of businesses. Both the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) say the bill does nothing to defend the basic rights of contract and agency workers and, as it now stands, threatens permanent jobs with a flood of two-year temporary jobs. 
 
The KCTU withdrew from South Korea&rsquo;s Tripartite Commission over workplace governance issues last April because of the irregular workers&rsquo; bill. The federation has since re-joined the official state commission, which has conducted social discussions lately on the legislation. The Tripartite Commission also has on its agenda some 40 other labour reform measures, including a single negotiations vehicle for multi-union workplaces and cutting company salaries to trade union leaders. 
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The government and Uri Party leaders say they will push ahead with the reform measures even if agreement is not reached in the Tripartite Commission. 
 
Leaders of both KCTU and FKTU met with ILO Director-General Juan Somavia on 26 August in Seoul on the irregular workers&rsquo; bill and other contentious labour problems. The federations are seeking ILO support to help resolve the issues fairly. The occasion for the meeting with Somavia was the ILO&rsquo;s Asian Regional Meeting, which was held last week in Busan, South Korea&rsquo;s largest port city.

South Korea’s Irregular Workers’ Bill Again Before Parliament

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In New Zealand, protest and resistance became the formula to beat back a piece of proposed legislation that would have made it easy for employers to hire and then sack temporary workers during their first 90 days of employment. Last week, on 23 August, just as 5,000 trade unionists assembled in Auckland&rsquo;s Aotea Square to protest the National Party&rsquo;s anti-worker bill, Members of Parliament from the Maori Party announced they were shifting course and would not support the measure. 
 
For the past three months, trade unionists of ICEM affiliates Engineering, Printing &amp; Manufacturing Union (EPMU) and the National Distribution Union (NDU), have been leading the opposition against the business-friendly proposal under the banner &ldquo;Work Rights &hellip;Our Right!&rdquo; The campaign generated mass support among New Zealanders. 
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The bill had cleared a first reading in Parliament earlier this year with a 63-58 vote, with three of the four Maori MPs supporting the measure. With those four votes now opposing the measure, the ruling Labour Party, Green Party and Maoris now have the leverage to stop the anti-worker bill during a second reading. 
 
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples said the minority Maori people, with an 18% jobless rate, have too many low-end jobs on the employment ladder. &ldquo;So, it&rsquo;s really important that, one, Maori get employed, and two, that Maori are protected,&rdquo; Sharples said. &ldquo;The bill was solely to encourage employers to employ like hell in the knowledge that they could get rid of their workers if it didn&rsquo;t work out.&rdquo; 
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EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little rejoiced with the workers&rsquo; victory. &ldquo;This bill has been beaten by workers acting together through their unions. It just goes to show the power of collective action.&rdquo; 
 
Little added, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve done more than just defeat this vicious piece of legislation. We&rsquo;ve demonstrated our strength as a movement and we&rsquo;ve made it clear to the National Party that &lsquo;Work Rights are Our Rights,&rsquo; and that they are not up for negotiation.&rdquo; Trade unions will now ask MPs of the NZ First and United Future Parties to examine their working-class priorities in order to stop any future reappearance of the National party bill. 
 
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions estimates that, had the bill gone into law, a class of disposable workers numbering 300,000 would have been at risk of losing their jobs in each 90-day period.

New Zealand’s Trade Unions Block 90-day Temporary Workers Bill

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The Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) of Canada, an ICEM affiliate, is seeking immediate intervention from both the province of Ontario and the federal government to protect the jobs of Dow Chemical workers in Sarnia, Ontario. US-based Dow announced last week that it would close factories in Canada and Italy by 2008, eliminating 750 jobs. 
 
The CEP is asking Ontario&rsquo;s premier to attend a meeting with workers and municipal leaders of Sarnia to explore all options to keep the plant open. The jobs of 340 workers are at stake. Dow has complained that high energy costs have affected earnings. 
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On the national level, CEP President Brian Payne called for federal level intervention. &ldquo;Dow Chemical&rsquo;s announcement is a clear indication of what we have told the government &ndash; Canada&rsquo;s petrochemical industry is suffering because of our mad rush to export raw product from Alberta&rsquo;s oil patch, thus cutting off needed natural gas and other feed stock to the domestic market,&rdquo; said Payne. 
 
&ldquo;This has to stop and we intend to do our utmost to protect our domestic industry and our jobs,&rdquo; continued Payne. &ldquo;We need to step back, slow the tar sands development down and create a national strategy which would see value added production and jobs created in Alberta and across Canada.&rdquo; 
 
In Italy, Dow workers, members of ICEM affiliate FILCEM-CGIL, staged a 24-hour strike on 22 August at Porto Marghere near Venice, as it became apparent that Dow would violate a signed agreement and not re-start the plant after a maintenance shutdown. 
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The Dow operation in Porto Marghere produces toluene diisocyanate (TDI), a product for making polyurethanes. Closure of the plant could have a ripple effect, possibly leading to the loss of up to 5,000 petrochemical jobs. Managers at other chemical plants in Italy, dependent on TDI from Dow, have expressed their concerns over the immediate Porto Marghere closure. 
 
FILCEM-CGIL has distributed handbills to workers of other petrochemical companies. The union also organised a mass meeting of all workers to tell of Dow&rsquo;s unwillingness to engage with workers&rsquo; representatives. &ldquo;They know the effects of a definitive closure of the Marghera plant for the Italian chemical industry,&rdquo; said FILCEM-CGIL&rsquo;s Franco Baldan. 
 
At Sarnia in Canada, Dow will shut four chemical processing plants. The company&rsquo;s announcement said production of low-density polystyrene plastic will cease in the coming weeks, while a full shutdown of all polystyrene plastic will occur by the end of this year. Production of latex and derivatives of propylene oxide will cease during 2008. Dow&rsquo;s announcement also said the company will close two of seven plants in the Canadian city of Fort Saskatchewan, province of Alberta, which manufacture chlorine, caustic soda, and ethylene dichloride.

Canadian, Italian Unions Want Answers to Dow Chemical’s Closures

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