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Workers, on strike at three Buenaventura gold and silver mines in Peru since 13 February, were forced to return to work on Saturday 20 February. Peruvian law requires mining companies to share 8% of profits with workers, and miners say Buenaventura has underreported its profits. Union leaders are demanding information regarding the company&rsquo;s finances for the period 2006-2009. 
 
Buenaventura is Peru&rsquo;s largest precious-metal mining house, and the struck mines included the ones at Orcopampa, Uchucchacua, and Antapite. 

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FNTMMSP Gen. Sec. Luis Castillo Carlos
The ICEM affiliate, National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (FNTMMSP), the country&rsquo;s largest mining union federation, was forced to end the strike at the weekend to avoid workers&rsquo; losing their jobs, as the Ministry of Labour ruled the strike was illegal. FNTMMSP General Secretary Luis Castillo Carlos, however, said that the 4,380 mineworkers of Buenaventura will likely strike again starting 3 March. 
 
Castillo announced that the union will hold workers&rsquo; assemblies over the coming days to vote on renewed strike action. He said renewed strike approval is expected to be granted. Peru&rsquo;s tax agency Sunat is reviewing Buenaventura&rsquo;s tax law compliance. 
 
Orcopampa and Antapite are gold producing mines, while Uchucchacua is a silver mine. The strike halted production at Orcopampa and Uchicchacua, while production continued at Antapite but at a reduced rate. 
 
In the third quarter of 2009, Buenaventura sold a total of 106,000 ounces of gold, and 3.76 million ounces of silver. Antapite, the smallest of the three mines, produced some 965,227 fine grams of gold in 2009. Orcopampa produced 8,549,730 fine grams of gold in 2009, while Uchucchacua produced 286,039 fine kilograms of silver. 
 
Globally, Peru is the largest producer of silver and the sixth largest producer of gold.

Peruvian Gold, Silver Miners End Strike, Still Seek Fair Profit Earnings

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The largest union at South African state-owned electric provider Eskom, ICEM-affiliated National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), has threatened national strike action if demands on housing allowances and promoting temporary workers to full-time positions are not met. 
 
The NUM engaged in marches and manifestations at Eskom facilities in three provinces last week, and a 16 February central march was undertaken by the union to present a petition of the demands to Eskom management at its at its Klerksdorp headquarters in Matlosana, North West province. 

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Those demands include delays in the finalization of housing allowances, deferred from last summer&rsquo;s collective negotiations; the banning of labour brokers and absorbing temporary workers onto full-time employment rolls; and opposition to the higher, proposed electricity tariffs of 35% in each of the next three years. 
 
&ldquo;We cannot have a situation in which some labour brokers are still around to exploit our members,&rdquo; said NUM Regional Coordinator Eldris Mphahlete, who also expressed his displeasure that the housing allowance issue is still unresolved. &ldquo;Strike action is on the horizon,&rdquo; he added. 

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The Congress of South African Unions (COSATU), and its regional branches are supporting the NUM in its demands. The NUM represents some 16,000 of Eskom&rsquo;s 28,000 employees in South Africa. 
 
Also last week, the NUM began an indefinite strike at Idwala Lime, a sodium carbonates and industrial materials business owned by Black Economic Empowerment company Tiso Group and private equity entities Ethos and Old Mutual. Operations are located near Danielskuil, Northern Cape province. A vast majority of the 300 workers have selected the NUM as bargaining representative, but management has refused formal recognition despite prolonged dialogue. NUM Regional Organizer Botshelo Lebelo said Idwala Lime is &ldquo;opting for a confrontational approach&rdquo; to labour-management relations.

Housing Allowances, Labour Brokers Bring NUM to Edge of Strike at Eskom

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German union IG Metall and the employers&rsquo; federation Gesamtmetall set the tone inside Germany for 2010-2011 bargaining when the two sides came to an early and enlightened accord on a pair of collective agreements covering 700,000 metal and electronics workers in North Rhine-Westphalia state. The agreement, two months ahead of schedule, is sure to serve as the boilerplate for collective agreements contracts covering 3.4 million German workers in the metals and electronics sectors. 
 
Most profoundly, the new North Rhine-Westphalia pilot contracts guarantee job security until the middle of 2012 and establish a precedent-setting protocol against job redundancies as a lesson to this global economic crisis. 
 
The 25-month pair of agreements was crafted congenially in Dusseldorf between IG Metall and the employers&rsquo; federation in two sets of talks that concluded in the early hours of 18 February. One pact defers a wage increase until spring 2011, while the other assures no operational redundancies will occur before 30 June 2012. This agreement also sets new and far-reaching regulations on shortened work-time, including partial wage adjustments for short-term work and lowered costs for employers who utilize short-time work. 

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A key and unifying part of the job-security agreement, called the &ldquo;future in work&rdquo; pact, is a joint and vigorous call on the German government to extend crisis-fostered benefits beyond the end of this year for workers taking shorter work weeks. It also guarantees that shorter work weeks, from 35 to 28 hours with pay of 29.5 hours, will be an option, with that short-time work to be met with sickness, vacation, and Christmas benefits based on 12 months work. 
 
A 2.7% wage increase will take effect around April 2011, with Works Councils given the mandate to negotiate that sum within two months prior or two months after that date. Between May 2010 and March 2011, two single, one-off payments totaling &euro;320 per worker will be made. An important underlying element to the accord is that it allows employers to undertake the precise planning necessary to dig out of the crisis. 

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IG Metall President Berthold Huber
IG Metall President Berthold Huber termed the job protection provisions of the agreement &ldquo;a good result in securing jobs in the biggest economic crisis in 80 years.&rdquo; He added that the government must now do its part to supplement the agreement with extended social insurance benefits. And more precise to the German economy, the agreements serve as a bellwether statement that mass job losses weaken purchasing power far more than nominal wage increases do to spike buying power. 
 
The agreements not only will protect the jobs of hundreds of thousands of workers but equally, they assure that German enterprises will retain the skilled and seasoned staff in a sector so crucial to Germany&rsquo;s economy. 
 
By late last week, IG Metall and the metal, electronics employers were already tabling the accord in negotiations in Baden-W&uuml;rttemberg state. And this week the novel social contracts will come before the parties in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, talks that take place in Hannover.

German Metalworkers, Employers Reach Historic Job Security Pact

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Four French unions last week, 18 February, approved average wage increases for 60,000 EDF (Electricit&eacute; de France) workers of 4.4% for 2010. CFDT, CGT, CFTC, and CFE-CGC won workers a progressive and far-sighted wage accord that has a base salary increase, plus increases based on seniority, training, incentives, and promotions. 
 
The 80% state-owned EDF will see half of its workforce retire over the next ten years, with 45% of the company&rsquo;s nuclear workers alone set to retire by 2015. An industry-wide increase of 1.2% that was negotiated last November and took effect on 1 January is also factored into the 4.4% average boost in salaries. The agreement also includes individual incentives of up to 1.8%. 

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Over two-thirds of the 60,000 workers, those employed in distribution and high-voltage electric utility positions, will realize average wage packages increases of 4.2%. The agreement also prioritises training and career advancement opportunities, and likely will prevent the labour unrest within EDF that was characterized by several industrial actions in 2009. 
 
The CFDT termed the agreement satisfactory, while the CGT, which for the first time in many years joined the other unions in approving the results of this bargain, said the new agreement makes up some of the lost purchasing power of the recent past. 
 
The company characterized the wage agreement as &ldquo;not exorbitant&rdquo; and said it reflects the will of management to heighten social dialogue with the unions, particularly on job formation and skill upgrades. The positive global financial results posted by EDF in 2009 also contributed to the amiable wage negotiations, with the company stating that the various wage packages granted French workers should contribute to optimal operational performance in 2010. 
 
EDF is the world&rsquo;s largest operator of nuclear power plants, with some 17 plants and 58 reactors in France alone.

French Unions, EDF Agree to Positive 2010 Wage Terms

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Last month, Bosnia-Herzegovina became the 24th country to ratify ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. Passage by the Parliament and ratification by the President of the Balkan nation came along with adoption of nine other ILO Conventions, several of which relate to safety and health. 
 
An ILO official in Sarejevo, Lejla Tanovic, explained that the ratifications came after the ILO invited the government to submit all Conventions passed after 1993 to respective entities and social partners within the country for consultation in an effort to &ldquo;catch-up&rdquo; on approving social conventions following the war in the former Yugoslavia. 

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In 2008, the Council of Ministers at state levels inside Bosnia-Herzegovina did begin consultations on ten ILO Conventions and after their approval in 2009, the ten were passed on to the Parliament. Prior to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the last two countries to ratify Convention 176 were Peru and Luxembourg in 2008. 
 
First instituted in 1995, ratification of Convention 176 means that a national government will thoroughly and regularly inspect and investigate mining activity, and will assure that safe and reliable emergency procedures are put in place. It also allows that workers can freely and without prejudice notify authorities and management of unsafe conditions, and they have the right to leave a mining operation in the event of serious risk. 
 
Mining employers operating in a country that has ratified No. 176 must seek to eliminate all mining deaths and accidents by controlling and reducing inherent mining risks. They must provide the necessary equipment and communication systems to guarantee full security, and they must strive to preserve the land and the environment. As well, employers must assure the well-being of the communities and the people near their mining holdings. 

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The ten Conventions ratified in January 2010 by Bosnia-Herzegovina, besides Convention 176 are: Convention 94, the Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention; Convention 174, the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention; Convention 175, the Part-Time Work Convention; Convention 177, the Home Work Convention; Convention 181, the Private Employment Agencies Convention; Convention 184, the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention; Convention 186, the Seafarers&rsquo; Identity Documents Convention; the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006; and Convention 188, the Work in Fishing Convention. 
 
Besides the three above-mentioned countries, the other 21 nations to ratify ILO Convention 176 include: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Botswana, Brazil, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Lebanon, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Ratifies Safety, Health in Mines Convention 176

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Two global trade union federations whose affiliates represent over 45 million workers, together with four Norwegian trade unions, have asked the Council on Ethics of the Government Pension Fund of Norway to divest its holdings in the Mexican mining conglomerate Grupo Mexico because of alleged labor and environmental violations. 
 
The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mining and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) and the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) sent a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Ltr_to_Ethical_Council-Mexico.pdf">letter</a> requesting the divestment to the Council on Ethics, which is charged with overseeing responsible investments of the Government Pension Fund, the second largest pension fund in the world. Grupo Mexico is accused of labor rights violations, environmental destruction and shareholder fraud. The letter also requests divestment in Southern Copper, Grupo Mexico&rsquo;s wholly-owned subsidiary. 

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Arve Bakke, Fellesforbundet President
&ldquo;We are supporting this action on behalf of trade unionists in Mexico to call attention to the extreme abuses of Grupo Mexico and to ask the Council on Ethics to drop Grupo Mexico as an investment in accordance with the Fund&rsquo;s very high standards and Norwegian law,&rdquo; said Fellesforbundet President Arve Bakke. &ldquo;The wealth of future generations in Norway must not be invested in companies which systematically attack labor unions and damage the environment, as Grupo Mexico has done.&rdquo; 
 
Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary, stated, &ldquo;We have national mining unions in over 60 countries, and nowhere have we found more despicable behavior than that demonstrated by Grupo Mexico.&rdquo; 
 
The overt attempt by Grupo Mexico to crush the National Union of Mine and Metal Workers of the Mexican Republic (SNTMMSRM or Los Mineros) and gross violations of workers&rsquo; rights to freely associate and collectively bargain as defined by the International Labor Organization are core arguments for divestment set forth in the letter. 
 
&ldquo;The illegal practices of Grupo Mexico, unfortunately supported by a corrupt Mexican government, include seizing the union&rsquo;s assets, attempting to replace the legitimate union with one selected by the company, and launching a protracted campaign of repression against the union&rsquo;s leadership,&rdquo; said IMF General Secretary Jryki Raina, 
 
In August 2007 the government and Grupo Mexico forced workers at eight mines to join a company-sponsored union using &ldquo;elections&rdquo; in which workers had to vote publicly in front of their employer. One union leader has been imprisoned without bond since December 2008. There are also credible allegations that Grupo Mexico is responsible for the violent deaths of two workers on two separate occasions. 
 
Despite these attacks, Los Mineros continues to negotiate wage increases across the country that average twice the government-imposed wage cap, which unions believe is a major motivation for Grupo Mexico&rsquo;s attacks. It is especially noteworthy that Los Mineros maintains non-confrontational labor relations with most employers and has some 70 collective bargaining agreements with multinational employers such as Goldcorp, Bombardier and ArcelorMittal. 

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The company is accused of gross health and safety violations at the Pasta de Conchos mine, where 65 workers died in an explosion in 2006, and the copper mine at Cananea, where workers have been on strike since July 2007. 
 
Studies of Grupo Mexico smelter operations in Mexico illuminate the company&rsquo;s shameful environmental record where abnormal levels of toxic minerals such as lead, zinc, copper, cadmium, mercury, and magnesium were found among the general populations, including high levels of arsenic and cadmium among children. In Peru, Grupo Mexico was forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to remediate its contamination of water and air. In Chile the company is accused of developing a mining project on indigenous land without consultation with local natives or assessing environmental damage. 
 
According to sources cited by the trade unions submitting the letter, the cost to shareholders of Grupo Mexico&rsquo;s abysmal labor practices exceeds $3 billion (USD) on top of the hundreds of millions required to remediate the company&rsquo;s environmental destruction in Peru. Grupo Mexico was convicted by a U.S. court in 2009 of defrauding shareholders of a wholly-owned subsidiary. Another subsidiary has been linked to drug trafficking. 
 
Covalence Ethical Quotation System, which tracks the ethical reputation of multinational companies, ranked Grupo Mexico 573rd out of 581 global companies in 2009. 
 
The trade unions and labor federations submitting the request for disinvestment anticipate that the Council on Ethics will thoroughly investigate the information and make an expedient decision to divest. 
 
Los Mineros is affiliated with both the ICEM and IMF. The Norwegian trade unions signing the letter include Fellesforbundet, Handel og Kontor i Norge, Industri Energi and Norsk Arbeidsmandsforbund. 
 
The ICEM represents 467 trade unions in 132 countries and the IMF covers over 200 trade unions in 100 countries. 
 
For more information see the <a href="http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?n=663&amp;l=2 ">IMF</a> and <a href="/en/67-Search-ICEM-site?keywords=los+mineros">ICEM</a> websites. 
________________________________ 
 
For further information, please contact: 
Dick Blin, ICEM, +41 22 304 1842 
Anita Gardner, IMF, +41 22 308 5032

Trade Unions Ask Norwegian Pension Funds to Divest of Grupo Mexico Shares

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The 30,000 technical and professional employees of PEMEX, Mexico&rsquo;s large state-owned petroleum company, finally won the right to unionize upon their third attempt. The new union, &ldquo;Uni&oacute;n Nacional de T&eacute;cnicos y Profesionistas Petroleros&rdquo; (UNTyPP), received its registration on 16 December, and its leadership was officially recognized for the period beginning 18 March, 2008 through 17 March, 2012. The first two attempts at unionization (ONTCIP and UNTCIP) were denied registration by the government and the leaders fired. 
 
Following the successful court battle, culminating in registration from the Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare&rsquo;s office for the Registration of Associations (STPS), members of the new union were informed by company management that in order to retain their jobs they were required to sign two documents, one calling for the cancellation of the registration and the other a resignation from the union. 
 
Those who refused, along with organisers of the UNTyPP, were fired and violently removed from their workstations by paramilitaries, including the entire National Executive Committee of the union1. These workers must be immediately reinstated, and their rights respected under both Mexican and International law. PEMEX is also being urged by the international labour movement to accept union calls to come to the bargaining table and establish a working relationship with them. 
 
UNTyPP organisers have faced continued intimidation and threats throughout their campaign for registration. 
 
PEMEX is the 10th largest oil company in the world, and is the sole supplier of all commercial petrol and diesel stations in Mexico. Annual company revenue is US$78 billion. 
 
Visit the Labourstart site to write to President Calder&oacute;n and the PEMEX management, condemn the violations of labour and human rights of members and officers of the new UNTyPP trade union.

Mexican PEMEX Workers Win Registration for New Union, Face Continued Repression

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ICEM North American affiliate Power Workers Union (PWU) was one of several hosts for the 50th Canadian Nuclear Association&rsquo;s (CNA) annual meeting, held 24-26 February in Canada&rsquo;s capital city, Ottawa. The PWU is a proud promoter of Canada&rsquo;s nuclear power industry, and uses the forum to generate policy discussion with industry leaders, company officials, and human resource people. 
 
PWU also hosted several international guests, including guests from the CGT of France and AWU of Australia. PWU President Don MacKinnon also hosted former PWU President Kealy Cummings, a pioneer in Canada&rsquo;s nuclear sector and a former Canadian labour attach&eacute; to the UK, who was at many of the early CAN annual gatherings. 

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PWU President Don MacKinnon and CGT-F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Mines Energie&rsquo;s Alain Vassaux. Seated, at left: former PWU President Kealy Cummings
The Canadian Nuclear Workers&rsquo; Council was also represented at the forum, as was the ICEM. Some 700 people participated in the conference. The nuclear sector is a C$6.6 billion industry in Canada, employing 21,000 people directly, and responsible for another 40,000 indirect jobs. 
 
&ldquo;This conference has become much more than a typical annual industry gathering,&rdquo; said new CAN President and CEO Denise Carpenter. It has evolved into &ldquo;a fully integrated and interactive trade show, career fair, and education symposium.&rdquo;

Canadian PWU Involved in Nation’s Nuclear Sector

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ICEM&rsquo;s three Italian affiliates, FILCEM&ndash;CGIL, FEMCA&ndash;CISL, UILCEM&ndash;UIL, are campaigning together against a recent decision by British multinational Glaxo Smith Kline to close its research centre in Verona, and put 550 employees out of work. 
 
A joint trade union delegation met four government ministers from the Ministries of Economic Development, and of Welfare and Health. The trade union leaders argued that the plant is profitable and also contributes to the profitability and growth of the company worldwide. Government Ministers were in agreement with the trade union arguments, and rejected the explanation of the company that the closure is part of the overall restructuring of the company. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="102" />&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" width="95" height="116" />&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="126" height="71" />
The Italian Government Ministers Scaiola, Sacconi, Fazio, and Martini, have announced the establishing of an arbitration committee, which will seek to analyse in detail the reasons for Glaxo&rsquo;s decision to close its Verona facility, and hope to find a solution that will reverse their decision. The arbitration committee will be formed next month. 
 
The Verona employees of Glaxo who are set to lose their jobs have taken to the street in protest of the decision. See a slideshow of photos of the demonstrations <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cgilnazionale/sets/72157623383165437/show/">here</a>.&nbsp;

Italian Pharmaceutical Workers Protest Plant Closure, 550 Jobs Lost

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The methane gas explosion on 23 February that killed 13 Turkish coal miners in northwest Balikesir Province could have prevented, according to the ICEM and its affiliate, Maden-Iş. The private mine, owned by Erhan Ortakoylu and his Şentaş Mining Company, had experienced a similar gas blast on 2 June 2006 killing 17 miners, and indications this time reveal that warning safeguards used to detect methane accumulation was inadequate. 
 
As well, it is suspected that a ventilation system failed to clear the deadly methane gas. 
 
The explosion injured 33 miners. Five of the 13 victims died in a hospital after rescue due to severe burns. The tragedy occurred 250 metres deep in the Odakoy mine, some 20 kilometres from the city of Dursunbey. 

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Maden-Iş stated that the mine had undergone insufficient safety audits. Even though the government claimed an audit had occurred in the weeks prior to the explosion, the union said that infractions detected were not corrected. Oftentimes in Turkey, safety audits of mines by the Labour and Social Security Ministry are not done on-site, but rather through queries to mine owners from afar. Nizamettin Tiryaki, a mining engineer for Maden-Iş, said that it is also not uncommon for mine inspectors to be paid off by private mine operators. 
 
The ICEM believes that expenditures on modern and efficient safety equipment by private miners are also sacrificed in order to maximize profits. At the time of the explosion, the ICEM, together with the ILO, was leading a symposium in Ankara on the necessity for Turkey to ratify ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. 
 
In a letter of condolence to Maden-Iş Presidnt Ismail Aslan, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda said, &ldquo;The explosion illustrates the importance of our shared work in improving safety standards in Turkey&rsquo;s mines, and moving the Turkish Government towards ratification and proper implementation of ILO Convention 176.&rdquo; The complete letter can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/19.Maden-Is.Condolences.24Feb.pdf">here</a>.

Gas Blast in Turkey, Killing 13, Needs Thorough Investigation

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