English

Español

Français

Русский

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Action Plan 2021-2025

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

Women

Youth

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

(Statement by International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation) Union leaders representing the international labour movement met with Santiago Canton, Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS, in Washington, DC, to urge immediate action on Mexico and investigate gross labour and human rights violations carried out by the Mexican government against the National Miners and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM). 
 
Led by Marcello Malentacchi, general secretary of the International Metalworkers' Federation and Juan Luis Zuniga of the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico, the delegation included: international representatives for the United Auto Workers (UAW) and United Steelworkers (USW); Manfred Warda, general secretary of International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM); Stan Gacek of the AFL-CIO; Victor Baez, general secretary of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA-ITUC); and petitioners Marco Del Toro and Luis Chavez from Del Toro Associates as legal representation to the Mexican miners' union. The high-level delegation put forward recommendations to the commission, among them, urging an immediate call on the Mexican government to:
■ return all frozen funds immediately to the SNTMMSRM, those seized in 2006 and in 2008;
■ lift all charges still pending against Napoleon G&oacute;mez Urrutia and other members of the SNTMMSRM;
■ prosecute in a court of law, immediately and transparently, all those responsible in the corruption of documents and facts; and
■ recognize Napoleon G&oacute;mez as the democratically elected general secretary of the National Mexican Miners and Metalworkers Union.
&quot;This case constitutes an important precedent for this commission which will mark its position on all acts of political persecution which prevent a person from aspiring to adequate defense against the abuse of power by a State,&quot; read the amicus curiae letter submitted by the delegation in support of the complaint filed with the commission by the Mexican miners' union. 
 
&quot;The interference by the administrative authorities in judicial matters has thwarted any possibility of defense with a view to obtaining speedy verdicts in accordance with the law. The guarantee of due process has clearly been overtaken by the bias of the judicial authorities,&quot; the letter read.
The delegation also urged the commission to take immediate &quot;precautionary measures&quot; regarding the government's recent illegal seizure of all union accounts and funds; the government's refusal to officially recognize Napoleon G&oacute;mez Urrutia as elected general secretary of the miners' union; and health and safety issues of miners on strike at three mines owned by Grupo M&eacute;xico, the largest and most powerful mining company in the country. &quot;Precautionary measures&quot; are measures for immediate action that the commission can take if there is a strong indication that irreparable harm may take place.
&quot;Clearly this is of moral and strategic importance to us,&quot; said Stan Gacek, speaking on behalf of the American labour movement. &quot;This is of significant importance to us at the national level, the regional level and the international level, as you can see given the representatives here. We have issues of irreparable harm here and we think that precautionary measures are absolutely critical.&quot;
Commissioner Santiago Canton thanked the delegation for their time and received the recommendations and evidence of human rights violations put forward by the international delegation of trade union leaders.

Trade Unionists Demand Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Action over Mexican SNTMMSRM Abuses

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda Meksika h&uuml;k&uuml;metinin uyguladığı sendikal baskıyı Burma ve Zimbabve rejimlerinin uygulamalarına benzetti. Meksika'da y&ouml;netim son olarak iki sendika y&ouml;neticisini tutukladı ve sendikanın banka hesaplarına el koydu. 
 
H&uuml;k&uuml;metin sistemli baskısı altındaki Meksika Maden ve Metal İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası (SNTMMSRM) &uuml;lkede demokratik bir &ouml;rg&uuml;t olarak varlığını korumak i&ccedil;in m&uuml;cadele ediyor. 
 
Son tutuklamalar &uuml;lkedeki en b&uuml;y&uuml;k bakır madeni şirketi Grupo M&eacute;xico ile diğer işverenlerin isteği &uuml;zerine yapıldı. ICEM başka sendikacıların da tutuklanmak &uuml;zere olduğuna dikkat &ccedil;ekiyor. 

<img height="157" alt="" src="" width="340" />
İki sendika y&ouml;neticisi, SNTMMSRM'nin Politik Sekreteri Carlos Pavon Campos ile sendikanın Genel Adalet Konseyi Başkanı Juan Linares Montufar, Grupo M&eacute;xico'nun Cananea bakır madeninin &ouml;zelleştirilmesinden sonra sendikaya verilen fonları &ccedil;almakla su&ccedil;lanıyor. Meksika'da Fresnillo, Madero, and Sabinas madenlerinin aralarında bulunduğu bir&ccedil;ok işyerindeki maden iş&ccedil;ileri tutuklamaları protesto etmek &uuml;zere iş bıraktılar. Madenciler iki sendikacının serbest bırakılmasını talep ediyorlar. 
Juan Linares'in yasadışı tutuklanması, federal ve eyalet g&uuml;venlik g&uuml;&ccedil;lerince 3 Aralık g&uuml;n&uuml; evinden alınmasıyla ger&ccedil;ekleşti. Carlos Campos'un keyfi ve yasadışı bir şekilde Camarones g&ouml;zaltı merkezine g&ouml;t&uuml;r&uuml;lmesi ise ertesi g&uuml;n ger&ccedil;ekleşti. 
Meksika y&ouml;netiminin baskı uygulamaları son &uuml;&ccedil; yıldır kaygı verici bir seyir izliyor. SNTMMSRM'nin Genel Sekreteri Napoleon Gomez Urretia iki kez sendikadan alınarak g&ouml;t&uuml;r&uuml;ld&uuml;, diğer sendika y&ouml;neticileri de haksız ve uydurma su&ccedil;lamalara maruz kaldı. Bu su&ccedil;lamaların bir&ccedil;oğu mahkemelerden d&ouml;nd&uuml;.

ICEM Meksika Hükümetinin Uyguladığı Sendikal Baskıyı Kınıyor

pulp and paper/pâte et de papier/pulpa y papel

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The deadline is 1 April 2009 for applications to two of the four Global Labour University (GLU) programmes offered in 2009-2010. Those programmes are at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India, and at Germany&rsquo;s University of Kassel and the Berlin School of Economics. 
 
The one-year course work leads to a Masters Degree in Labour and Globalisation. The programme at the Tata Institute, which begins in July 2009, is entitled &ldquo;Globalisation and Labour.&rdquo; In Germany, where course work starts in September 2009, the Masters Programme is called &ldquo;Labour Policies and Globalisation.&rdquo; 

<img height="87" alt="" src="" width="92" />
The other two GLU programmes have application deadlines of 20 September 2009, and are scheduled for the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and at Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), S&atilde;o Paulo State, Brazil. The South African programme is called &ldquo;Labour and Development, Economic Policy, Globalisation and Labour,&rdquo; which begins in January 2010, while the Campinas, Brazil, programme is entitled &ldquo;Social Economy and Labour,&rdquo; and begins in February 2010. 
 
Because of the enlargement of the GLU, there are additional scholarships available to trade unionists. This includes the possibility to support more European students. More details are available by visiting the GLU&rsquo;s website at <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org">www.global-labour-university.org</a>. 
 
Courses are offered in English, and applicants should, as a rule, be under the age of 40. The endorsement of a trade union is a requirement for a scholarship, and such scholarships are conditional on a &euro;1,500 contribution from a supporting trade union or another donor. GLU is an initiative of the ILO, with support from global trade unions, the respective academic institutions, and foundations.

Global Labour University Seeking Applicants for Germany, India Masters Programmes by 1 April

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The Main Workers&rsquo; Board of EPS Trade Union, representing 48,000 employees of Serbia&rsquo;s state-run Electric Power Industry, re-elected Milan Đorđević on 12 February as President. This is Đorđević&rsquo;s first full term, having succeeded Miroslav Veličković early in 2008. He had been Vice President. 
 
Đorđević is from the town of Barosevac, and worked for EPS as a coal miner at the Kolubara-Lazarevac open-cast coal mine, Serbia&rsquo;s largest colliery. He was a strong activist for miners&rsquo; rights and continues to be an effective advocate for all workers at EPS. 
 
Re-elected Vice President by the Main Board was Branko Tomić, who comes from an electric power distribution company in Kraljevo. 
 
EPS consists of 11 electric power distribution companies, 7 electric generating plants, and three coal production, process, and transport enterprises. The EPS Trade Union was founded in 1992.

EPS Trade Union of Serbia Re-elects Milan Đorđević as President

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
ICEM Belgian affiliate FGBT/ABVV stepped up its campaign calling for protection of workers&rsquo; rights in the glass and ceramics sector. 
 
Six hundred workers in the sector have lost their jobs, and over 1,000 contract workers have been sacked as global companies operating in Belgium face the worst economic downturn in decades. 
 
The FGTB/ABVV accused several companies of taking advantage of the crisis by shifting production to countries where wages and social payments are much lower. The Vesuvius group, for instance, is accused of closing a profit-making site in a &ldquo;race to the bottom.&rdquo; 
 
The economic downturn has seen scores of temporary and contract workers in glass and ceramics rendered jobless in Belgium without notice, prospect of job reclassification, or retraining. 
 
The 1,000 short-term contract workers represent between 11-12% of the total workforce in these sectors. 
 
Saint-Gobain, the Paris-based glass producer, announced last year that it would cut 4,000 jobs globally this year, many in Belgium. 
 
The FGTB/ABVV calls attention to the obvious fact that although workers are hardest hit by the crisis, production quotas remain high and dividends to shareholders continue to flow. 
 
Considering the government assistance and programmes available to employers, there should be no need for dismantling these sectors in Belgium. 
 
The union pledges to continue the struggle throughout 2009 to restore workers&rsquo; jobs and rights, as well as to ensure that workers have the necessary purchasing power in Belgium.

Belgian FGTB/ABVV Outlines Steps in Glass, Ceramics to Meet Economic Crisis

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM expressed concern recently at the actions of Sinotex Lanka, Ltd., a garment producer which is owned by Hong Kong-based Cristal-Martin Group. The company has closed two factories after operating 27 years in Sri Lanka. 
 
Members of the Sri Lanka Free Trade Zone and General Services Employees Union, who recently applied for affiliation to the ICEM, have called for international solidarity for the 2,500 workers that have lost their jobs. The ICEM insists that the company make the correct pay settlements to workers, in line with national legislation. 
 
Reports suggest that Sinotex has already made arrangements for the factories to reopen with new workers, a clear illustration of how a company uses the global economic crisis to destroy a trade union. Most of the Sinotex workers are women, and many are migrants from rural villages far from the factories in the Investment Promotion Zone of Katunayake. 
 
Many of the workers were sacked after up to 20 years employment. 

<img height="138" alt="" src="" width="200" />
The Joint Secretary of the union, Anton Marcus, sent a letter early in February to the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa. That letter urged him to organize &ldquo;dialogue between social partners in order to overcome the challenges posed by the world economic crisis.&rdquo; 
 
The legislation that must be upheld is the Termination of Employment of Workmen (Special Provisions) Act No. 45 of 1978. In order for a different settlement to be agreed outside of the terms of this law, it must be carried out under a Memorandum of Settlement, covered in section 12(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act of Sri Lanka. This must be based on negotiations between the employer and employees before the Commissioner of Labour. 
 
Sinotex Lanka, Ltd. has violated all of these legal provisions, summoning workers one by one, and then terminating their services with a small stipend. Neither the union nor the Commissioner of Labour had been consulted, even though the union had requested a meeting. 
 
The ICEM believes this has set a dangerous precedent for other anti-union companies across Sri Lanka. Members of the union at Wheel Works Private, Ltd. have also been threatened by managers with discharge if they do not resign their membership.

Global Economic Crisis Used to Destroy Union in Sri Lanka

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
According to Brazilian health and safety standards, employers in all sectors must promote a yearly &ldquo;Workplace Accident and Disease Prevention Week,&rdquo; or SIPAT. This obligation creates an opportunity for trade unions to discuss the main issues related to health and safety, such as hazardous chemicals, HIV/AIDs, women&rsquo;s health, and emerging issues such as the health effects arising from the increasing use of nanotechnologies. 
 
The collective agreement in Brazil&rsquo;s chemicals sector thus requires chemical companies to include nanotechnologies and environment in workers&rsquo; training programmes. The agreement provides that companies can ask for the assistance of public health services when needed, and some of them do allow a trade union technical adviser. 

<img height="123" alt="" src="" width="130" />
Trade unions in the chemical industries in S&atilde;o Paulo State have been working closely with the Fundacentro&acute;s National Occupational Health and Safety Institute, and a trade union advisory body &ndash; Departamento Intersindical de Estat&iacute;sticas e Estudos S&oacute;cio-Econ&ocirc;micos (DIEESE) &ndash; to frame a strategic approach to the risks. 
 
The collective agreement signed in December 2008 between employers and the CUT-affiliated Chemicals Trade Union Federation of S&atilde;o Paulo State (FETQUIM) &ndash; representing 125,000 workers in the petrochemical, chemical, plastics, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, paints, and other industrial sectors &ndash; also includes recommendations that the companies share their environmental programmes and initiatives with workers during the SIPAT week. 
 
Currently, the main objective of Sindicato dos Qu&iacute;micos of the ABC Region, an affiliate of both FETQUIM-SP/CUT and ICEM, is to promote workers&rsquo; participation in workplace programmes regarding protection of the environment, as well as workers&rsquo; health from the impacts of the unknown risks of nanotechnologies.

Brazil: Collective Agreement in Chemicals Requires Nanotech, Environmental Training

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Last week, on 17 February, US-based International Paper Co. announced closure of its Inverurie mill following a 90-day consultation period with ICEM UK affiliate Unite the Union. The closure of the Aberdeenshire, Scotland, mill will happen at the end of March, and will cost 371 paperworkers their jobs. 
 
However, Unite and local politicians, during the mandatory consultation period, did find potential buyers for Britain&rsquo;s last uncoated freesheet paper mill. But International Paper (IP) refused to even consider selling the mill. 
 
Unite Assistant General Secretary Tony Burke said it was IP&rsquo;s intention all along to close the site and replace British paper production with paper made elsewhere. 

<img height="97" alt="" src="" width="160" />
That also is the position of a former owner of the mill, Thomas Tait, whose family began papermaking in the village of Inverurie in 1852. Tait, who sold the mill to another American paper company in 1987, told an Aberdeen newspaper late last week that IP received an offer from another paper manufacturer that could have saved the jobs, and perhaps even created more job opportunities. 
 
&ldquo;I know they were not willing to sell to another paper-making operation which made an offer,&rdquo; said Tait, who also told the Aberdeen Evening Express he had been involved three times in various plans to re-purchase the mill. &ldquo;It was an absolutely straightforward &lsquo;No,&rsquo; no discussion whatsoever.&rdquo; Tait said the Inverurie example should be used for a change in British legislation, mandating a sale to occur when a buyer intends to produce the same or a similar product. 
 
Meanwhile, IP presented Unite and Scottish paperworkers with an inferior redundancy package, pay and benefits and job retraining that the union would not consider bringing to union members. Talks on that issue between Unite and IP will continue this week. 
 
&ldquo;International Paper is one of the biggest paper-making companies in the world and can afford to pay decent severance terms given the loyalty and dedication of our members,&rdquo; stated Burke.

International Paper Ends Consultation, Announces Closure to Scottish Inverurie Mill

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

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

ICEM Contract and Agency Labour Survey Shows Troubling Trends

Archive