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The last three major mining disasters in Russia&rsquo;s Kemerovo and Vorkuta Regions, which took 159 lives in three months, are a clear indication that the system of mining safety in the country is making miners hostages of profitability. 
 
Officially, the two methane explosions in Kemerovo resulted from faulty cables, which short-circuited and detonated the mixture of methane, air, and coal dust. Systems used at the mine to automatically localise and suppress explosions all failed (and were later prohibited for use in all Russian mines). 
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The high concentration of methane remained undetected because the mines&rsquo; gas detection systems were tampered with. Meters showed methane concentration in the mines to be significantly less than it actually was, and the complete power shut-down, which would normally prevent any short-circuiting in such situations, therefore never took place. 
 
Ruben Badalov, First Vice President of the ICEM-affiliated Russian Independent Coal Miners&rsquo; Union (ROSUGLEPROF), and a member of the Russian State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament, was on the federal investigatory team at the Ulianovskaya mine. Probing beyond the immediate causes, he exposes several indirect ones, whose nature cannot be reduced simply to matters of production discipline. 
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These indirect causes fall into a number of categories: from mistakes in the extraction estimates to assumptions of legal &ldquo;liberalisation&rdquo; of the whole mining safety control system. This makes it virtually impossible for public supervisory agencies, like Rostechnadzor, or the union&rsquo;s own inspectors, to enforce timely closures of unsafe mines. The common denominator for all the categories is a lack of regulatory mechanisms in the industry where the rule of the market is largely unchecked.
&ldquo;The actual methane content of the coal seam at the Ulianovskaya mine turned out to be several times higher than the project estimates,&quot; says Badalov, himself a mining engineer with extensive experience. 
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&ldquo;Moreover, the intensive extraction schedule contributed to the release of still greater amounts of methane into the mine, which was never properly degassed &ndash; a costly procedure. The roof was defined in the project documentation as highly resistant to caving and prone to overhanging. At the same time, the seam liability to rock bumps had been assumed to manifest itself ten metres below the level where the explosion took place. As a result, no precautionary measures, such as preventive degassing of the mine, or induced caving of the roof, had been scheduled. It was during the uncontrolled caving of 70 metres of the overhanging roof that huge amounts of methane were momentarily released into the mine.&rdquo; 
 
Both mines were designed by the same people, belonging to the same school of mining engineering, and while the licensing procedure is still in place, there&rsquo;s no meaningful quality control as the development of the mining science in Russia was hindered by lack of support from the state. 
<img height="88" alt="" src="" width="200" />
Ruben Badalov maintains that, as a purely commercial approach inevitably brings a temptation to simplify processes and disregard relevant specificities, there must be state supervision of all engineering work related to hazardous production processes. 
 
The Kuzbass disasters once again highlight the existing disparity between the fixed component of the coal miner&rsquo;s wages and the productivity-driven parts. The drop in income during outages to less than half of regular wages pushes miners to reckless behaviour. At the Yubileinaya mine, all it took to deceive the gas detection system was a piece of cloth wrapped around a gas sensor. 
 
&ldquo;This doesn&rsquo;t stimulate productivity, this stimulates coal extraction at any cost,&rdquo; says Badalov. In the course of the Federal Industry Agreement negotiations earlier this year, ROSUGLEPROF tabled a proposal to raise the fixed part of the wages to 70%, and although the target could not be achieved uniformly and in full, there were companies who were prepared to take this figure as a reference point.

Three Mining Disasters Take 159 Lives in Russia

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Pointed with direction from ICEM Norwegian affiliate Industri Energi, the Nordic country's national labour centre, LO, has advised state oil company Statoil not to open an office in Iraq. 
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The reason cited is Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani's letter from July 2007, which bans trade unions in the public sector. His decree replicates the ban on unions in the country's oil sector imposed by both the regime of Saddam Hussein and the occupational forces following the 2003 invasion. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/2357-Reckless-and-Repressive-Union-Busting-by-Iraqi-Oil-Minister">here</a> for more). 
Statoil is planning to open the office in the northern Iraq city of Erbil. According to a Norwegian press report, LO President Roar Fl&aring;then said the opening of the office shows poor judgement on Statoil's part. The LO has also officially called on Norway's government to block Statoil from moving into Iraq at this time. The Norwegian government is the majority shareholder of Statoil. 
<img height="150" alt="" src="" width="150" />
LO Norway's President Roar Fl&aring;then 
LO and Industri Energi's stand on this issue is also supported by the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFOU), a collection of some ten oil workers' unions in southern Iraq. IFOU President Hassan Jumaa Awad al Assadi has warned both Statoil and Norway's government that, until full recognition of trade unionism occurs, the company should not carry out any activity inside Iraq.

Norway&#039;s Unions Tell Statoil to Stay Out of Iraq for Now

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the UN General Assembly Declaration on HIV and AIDS, on a call by unions for more funding for HIV and AIDS, and more workplace activities and on efforts to find a vaccine or a cure to the disease. 
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UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS 
 
On 10 June, the High Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly adopted its outcome document, the new United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. 
 
The Declaration reaffirms the commitment of governments to fight the pandemic with time-bound targets laid down in the Millennium Development Goals, such as halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV by 2015. It commits governments to work toward the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015. Efforts must be accelerated to achieve the goal of universal access to antiretroviral treatment for those eligible based on WHO treatment guidelines by 2015. 
 
Governments also pledge to eliminate gender inequalities, gender-based abuse and violence, and increase the capacity of women and adolescent girls to protect them from the risk of HIV infection. The Declaration calls on young people to help lead global HIV awareness. 
 
Of particular importance to unions and the world of work is Article 85 of the Declaration which says: &ldquo;Commit to mitigate the impact of the epidemic on workers, their families, their dependants, workplaces and economies, including by taking into account all relevant ILO conventions, as well as the guidance provided by the relevant ILO recommendations, including ILO Recommendation No 200, and call on employers, trade and labour unions, employees and volunteers to eliminate stigma and discrimination, protect human rights and facilitate access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.&rdquo; 
 
While the Declaration recognises that funding has increased in the period from 2001 to 2010 over eight-fold to US$16 billion, it expresses concern that the global financial and economic crises have a negative impact on the HIV and AIDS response. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS and ILO/AIDS press releases) 
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Unions Call for Closing Funding Gap; More Workplace Action 
 
Trade unions told a key meeting of UNAIDS, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS that, along with real commitments from governments to fill the US$8 billion funding gap, the potential impact of workplace-based activities in tackling the pandemic is still not being realised. 
 
Unions called on the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board, the organisation&rsquo;s governing body, to add its weight to the UN call (see article above) and ensure that work-related activities are a full part of the overall response to HIV and AIDS. 
 
The action plan by the ITUC and its Global Union partners stresses reduction of stigma and discrimination, increase in access to prevention services, scaling up of social protection services and access to treatment, care and support. 
 
(Source: ITUC press release, 24 June) 
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Toward an HIV Cure? 
 
On the 30th anniversary of the first medical reports of a new illness, articles appeared on new efforts to find a cure for the AIDS virus. 
 
The new head of the International AIDS Society (IAS), Bertrand Audoin, said that a cure is the only way to keep ahead of the HIV epidemic in the long term during tough financial times. He admitted, however, that it may take as long as 25 years to find a cure. 
 
IAS has convened a working group of international researchers to develop a strategy that might lead to a cure. The group is co-chaired by Professor Fran&ccedil;oise Barre-Sinoussi, who won the Nobel Prize in 2008 for discovering HIV together with Luc Montagnier. 
 
Barre-Sinoussi writes in the International Herald Tribune that there is now robust evidence that early and highly active antiretroviral therapy can have a major impact on HIV transmission, demonstrating the &ldquo;treatment as prevention&rdquo; concept. AIDS is no longer the death sentence it was, but there now remains extreme uncertainty concerning the long-term sustainability of treatment access, especially in resource-limited settings, she writes. 
 
The Economist devotes its 4 June cover to the epidemic: &ldquo;The end of AIDS? How 5 million lives have been saved, and a plague could be defeated.&rdquo; The lead article gives this stark statistic: since the discovery of AIDS, 25 million people have died and another 34 million are infected. But the death rate is dropping. In 2005 the disease killed 2.1 million; in 2009 the number was down to 1.8 million. Inside, an article gives a detailed account of the present state of research. If a few people&rsquo;s immune system controls the disease naturally, it suggests that a vaccine might be possible. And if antibodies have been discovered that neutralise the virus, that might form the basis of AIDS-clearing drugs. 
 
(Sources: BBC News, 1 June; International Herald Tribune, 4/5 June; and the Economist, 4 June.) 
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South Africa: New Policy Saves Thousands of Babies from HIV 
 
The South African government has slashed the HIV transmission rate from pregnant mothers to their babies to merely 3.5%, potentially sparing some 67 000 babies from HIV infection. The success is due mainly to the Health Department vastly improving its programme for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV infection (PMTCT) from April last year. 
 
&ldquo;It is possible to prevent all HIV-positive mothers from passing the virus on to their babies, but we now have to concentrate on the care of babies after birth,&rdquo; said Precious Robinson, deputy director of government&rsquo;s PMTCT programme, at the release of the new figures at the SA AIDS conference. 
 
Under the old treatment programme, mothers and their newborns were given one dose of the antiretroviral drug nevirapine. At best, this reduced the HIV transmission rate to 8.8%, according to small local surveys. But in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal, one in five HIV-positive mothers were still infecting their babies despite getting nevirapine. 
 
In order to save babies, the PMTCT treatment programme was prioritised. From last April, the Health Department advised that all pregnant women with HIV are given the ARV called AZT from 14 weeks of pregnancy and three ARVs during labour (nevirapine, tenofovir, and 3TC). If a pregnant woman has a CD4 count of less than 350, she should be put onto triple therapy (three ARVs) within two weeks of getting her CD4 test results. Newborn babies are now given nevirapine syrup for as long as their mothers are breastfeeding them, or for six weeks if not they are not breast-fed. 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.health-e.org.za">www.health-e.org.za</a>, 9 June) 
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&lsquo;Red Card&rsquo; to Keep Children Free from HIV 
 
Captains of national football teams competing in the FIFA Women&rsquo;s World Cup 2011 soccer championship in Germany are signing up to the Give AIDS the Red Card appeal in support of a global plan to eliminate new HIV infections among children by 2015. The Give AIDS the Red Card appeal, which was launched by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) one year ago at the FIFA 2010 Men&rsquo;s World Cup in South Africa, uses the power and outreach of football to unite the world around stopping new HIV infections in children. 
 
Every day more than 1,000 babies are born with HIV. However, with access to HIV counselling and testing for pregnant women and their partners, and treatment when needed, the risk of transmission can be brought down to less than 5%. 
 
On signing the pledge, team captains appeal to football players and fans across the world to &ldquo;celebrate life and support the global campaign to prevent mothers from dying and babies from becoming infected with HIV.&rdquo; 
 
(Source: UNAIDS press release, Geneva, 24 June) 
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Websites of Global Fund County Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) 
 
According to research conducted by Aidspan, at least 20 CCMs have established their own websites. Countries with CCM websites where the ICEM cooperates on HIV/AIDS include: 
<a href="http://www.india-ccm.org ">India</a> (Language: English) 
<a href="http://ccm-mauritius.org ">Mauritius</a> (Language: English) 
<a href="http://ccmnigeria.org ">Nigeria</a> (Language: English) 
<a href="http://www.gf.or.tz ">Tanzania</a> (Language: English) 
 
The information available varies considerably from one website to another, with the India site being by far the most comprehensive. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 149 of 8 June. GFO is a free service of Aidspan www.aidspan.org; to receive GFO send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 
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News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) published the fifth issue of Agenda, its yearly magazine dedicated to HIV and AIDS. Agenda features, among other articles, case studies from ITF affiliates, strategies to fight HIV and AIDS at the workplace, and a new study on the civil aviation sector which reveals workers&rsquo; exposure to HIV infection, as well as stigma and discrimination. 
 
In the ITF HIV/AIDS updates 108 and 109 of 1 June and 15 June, respectively, articles can be found on peer education for civil aviation workers in Ecuador, a life skill education programme on HIV and AIDS in Indonesia organised by the Indonesia Seafarers&rsquo; Union, and the critical role the Transport and Dock Workers&rsquo; Union at Mumbai Port is playing in the implementation of a workplace policy on HIV and AIDS. 
 
The June Newsletter of the Swedish Workplace HIV and AIDS Programme (SWHAP), jointly run by the International Council of Swedish Industry (NIR) and the Swedish Industrial and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (IF Metall), reports on a range of peer educators and other HIV and AIDS programmes in East and Southern Africa. SWHAP focuses on the response to HIV and AIDS at Swedish related workplaces. 
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Five Years Ago: From the July 2006 Issue (No. 10) 
 
The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In current issues, we refer to an article from the same month five years ago and reflect on developments. 
 
In the July 2006 issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin, we reported on the first seminar on HIV and AIDS and the workplace organised by ICEM affiliates in Colombia in cooperation with UNAIDS and the Ministry of Social Protection. 
 
We also reported on the concern the ICEM affiliate in Mongolia expressed about the increase in HIV infections. In a report to the ICEM Asia and Pacific Regional Committee, the Mongolia Mining and Energy Union gave an account of the recent increase in HIV prevalence in the country. Despite the still very low prevalence rate, the potential for a further increase due to unsafe sex, high infection rates among migrant workers and mobile traders, and lack of education among young people is high. It will be recalled that, with the help of the Japanese affiliates, the ICEM later initiated an HIV/AIDS programme in Mongolia. 
 
The article devoted to the United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS stated that unlike the 2001 UN General Assembly Session on HIV/AIDS, relatively few world leaders attended this meeting which took place in New York from 29 May to 2 June, 2006. Civil society organisations criticised the final declaration. Difference over prevention strategies, such as abstinence and condom use, intellectual property rights and the naming of vulnerable groups have resulted in a weaker declaration and in serious omissions. In deference to Muslim and conservative Latin and Vatican opposition, the Declaration refers only to &ldquo;vulnerable groups&rdquo; at risk for infection without naming sex workers, homosexuals, or intravenous drug users as in need of particular attention. Civil society also noted an insufficient commitment to women&rsquo;s rights. Most of these deficiencies seem to have been removed from the new Political Declaration (see first article in this issue). 
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This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 70, July 2011

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After review of the deadly clash between workers and police at Advanced Chemical Industries Ltd. (ACI) in Siddhirganj, Bangladesh, on 23 January, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union (ICEM) finds ACI&rsquo;s conduct contemptible and the root cause of the violence that left one worker dead and over 100 hospitalised. 
 
The Geneva-based ICEM also supports trade unions in Bangladesh who are risking repression and have demonstrated since last Sunday in opposing the heavy-handed use of police force in central Narayanganj district in putting down the legitimate protests of ACI workers on 23 January. 
 
After numerous attempts to correct disparities inside the 407-worker ACI Pharmaceutical plant, full-time and temporary workers alike attempted to stage a peaceful protest. ACI&rsquo;s response to the worksite protest was to call police, who caused mayhem by firing rubber bullets and some 30 canisters of tear gas at the protestors. 
 
One worker, a 25-year-old temporary worker, Enamul Huq, died in a hospital from wounds inflicted from police. Scores others remain hospitalised and the police now have unfairly issued arrest warrants for workers involved in the protest.
<img src="" width="123" height="151" alt="" />
Arrest warrant: Beaten Striker
The ICEM determines that responsibility for the melee belongs with ACI, which too long neglected the pleas of both workers and their plant-level trade union in addressing legitimate workplace concerns. Workers&rsquo; grievances center on failure to give temporary workers full-time, permanent work status, with some temporary staff working as long as 12 years in those unsecured position and without the level of benefits that permanent workers receive; refusal to allow temporary workers to join the plant-level union; and failure to address extremely low wage rates for both permanent and full time workers. 
 
&ldquo;The fact that nearly all 400 workers, temporary and full-time alike, participated in this disaffection and that is one signal that management of ACI failed in its duties,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re in total support of workers&rsquo; grievances and call on ACI to adopt a higher level of social conduct.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM also reminds civil society that Bangladesh has ratified ILO Conventions 87 and 98, freedom of association/right to organise/right to organise/bargain collectively conventions, and the Bangladesh government has a duty to ensure these global standards are applied. 
 
The ACI plant produces drug aids for human use. The plant employs 167 full-time workers and 240 temporary workers. ACI is major Asian manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of drug aids, agri-chemical and pesticide products, and basic consumer products. 
 
The ICEM is a Global Union Federation representing 20 million workers, encompassing 467 trade unions in 132 countries. 
 
For further information, contact: ICEM Information Officer Dick Blin, <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, +41 22 304 1842, or +41 79 734 8994.

ICEM Condemns ACI Conduct in Deadly Bangladesh Chemical Plant Riot

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The ICEM this month began a search for qualified candidates to assume the duties of Mining/Diamond, Gems, Ornaments, and Jewelry Production Officer. The vacancy was created when Joe Drexler decided to leave the ICEM to resume his duties with the United Steelworkers in North America. 
 
The position will be based in Geneva. The successful candidate must have fluent written and spoken English language skills, as well as IT skills. The Mining/DGOJP position at ICEM offers an excellent salary and level of benefits. 
 
Candidates must send full details of their background in a cover letter in English, along with a CV to General Secretary Manfred Warda and ICEM&rsquo;s Finance and Administration Officer Marie-France Sarfati <a href="mailto:marie-france.sarfati@icem.org">here</a>, (or to fax no. +41 22 304 1841) by 15 February 2011. 
 
The letter of job posting can be found <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=4203">here</a>, and a job description for the position in English can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Job%20description%20mining%20and%20DGJOP%20Officer.pdf">here</a>.

ICEM Seeks Mining Officer Based in Geneva

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RadioLabour broadcasts a daily round-up of news in the global labour movement. Now the daily broadcast is accessible from the ICEM website. 
 
The Solidarity News shows are five minutes long Monday to Thursday, and the Friday show is ten minutes long and summarizes the news of the week. 
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RadioLabour's news programmes are presented by international labour educator, Marc B&eacute;langer, and broadcaster, Irma Arkus. 
 
RadioLabour is also accessible via its <a href="http://www.radiolabour.net">website</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/radiolabour">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://RL-5.net">mobile phones</a>, <a href="http://www.radiolabour.net/itunes-instructs.html">iTunes</a>, UnionBook and Twitter. 
 
The ICEM is proud to provide access to this important labour communications tool.

Access RadioLabour’s Daily Broadcasts on ICEM’s Homepage

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Unit chapel leaders at some 50 corrugated paper operations in the UK, representing some 2,500 Unite the Union members, recently recommended acceptance of a 2010 pay package. Paperworkers represented by both Unite and GMB will now vote in the coming weeks on a pay accord that was agreed to with Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) in mid-December. 
 
The CPI, representing major corrugated boxboard and packaging employers at plants mostly owned by DS Smith, SmurfitKappa, and SAICA, agreed to raise their wage offer from 2.1% to 2.5% last month in response to the unions moving forward on a ballot for industrial action. 
 
The offer, when accepted by members of the two unions, will be retroactive to 1 September 2010, the date a prior one-year accord expired. 
<img src="" width="140" height="109" alt="" />
Unite National Officer Peter Ellis
Unite and GMB were set to file for an industrial ballot on 10 January. Unite represents the majority of workers in the UK&rsquo;s corrugated paper sector, while GMB represents some 800 workers in the sector. 
 
The 14-member joint union/CPI bargaining body began 2010 negotiations in July, but talks became bogged down in October when CPI offered a pay hike of less than half of the retail price index. Unite National Officer Peter Ellis says now that the tentative settlement falls into the upper level of median pay awards in all industries in the UK this year. 
 
Meanwhile, Unite and Kimberly Clark reached an early accord for 2011 that was agreed to by workers in December. The agreement covers 500 workers at two towel and tissue mills, the Northfleet mill in Kent and the Barrow-in-Furness mill in Cumbria. The 2011 pay award, effective 1 February, will be 1.5%, with Unite also winning a lump sum bonus of &pound;1,450. That lump sum will also be calculated into the pension contribution, thus raising the benefit level.

Corrugated Paper Agreement to be Voted on By Unite, GMB Members

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The ICEM-affiliated National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM) of Mexico, or Los Mineros, conducted its National Assembly 10-11 January in Mexico City. Delegates representing over 60 sections and fractions of the union, from 22 states, pledged unfaltering support for their General Secretary in exile, Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia, and for the national executive. 
 
The meeting confirmed the priority challenges facing Los Mineros at present during four ongoing strikes, at Cananea, Zacatecas, Taxco, and El Cubo. The National Assembly also reiterated the union&rsquo;s demand for the immediate release of union officials Juan Linares Mont&uacute;far and Mart&iacute;n Salazar, and for an immediate end to the illegal freezing of union bank accounts by the Calder&oacute;n government. 
<img alt="" src="" width="368" height="87" />
Delegates resolved to continue the fight to bring Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez back to Mexico, currently made impossible by sham legal charges from the government. Los Mineros also want their democratically elected leader to be officially recognized by the authorities, which has not yet happened. 
 
Delegates pledged full support to the Global Days of Action for trade union rights in Mexico, 14-19 February, which will mark the fifth anniversary of the deadly mine disaster at Pasta de Conchos. The Days of Action will provide a strong, cross-sector trade union alliance carrying out actions across the globe, intended to pass common demands to the Mexican government through its embassies and consulates around the world. 
 
To get involved in trade union action during the week 14-19 February, email <a href="mailto:tom.grinter@icem.org">tom.grinter@icem.org</a>. See the campaign material&nbsp;<a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP">here</a>.&nbsp;

National Assembly of Los Mineros of Mexico Reiterates Trade Union Demands

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A new 10,000-member was born early in the new year when the ICEM affiliate Forestry, Logging, and Industrial Workers&rsquo; Union (FLIWUL) and the National Mine Workers&rsquo; Union of Liberia merged, creating the United Workers&rsquo; Union of Liberia (UWUL). 
 
The merger, after two years of discussion, was formalised by delegates of both unions at a convention in Monrovia on 5 January. The new union has 2,600 members in mining, 1,250 in forestry, as well as 6,000 members employed at the Firestone Rubber Plantation. It also has 550 members working for the National Transit Authority, the public bus system. 
 
The union has five collective agreements and that will increase to eight in the near future. 
<img alt="" src="" width="170" height="78" />
FLIWUL brings ArcelorMittal mine and railroad workers into the merger, workers employed at the state&rsquo;s Forestry Development Authority, as well as the Firestone workers. The National Mine Workers&rsquo; Union represents miners in the country&rsquo;s western cluster of mining activity. The union is closing in on organising iron ore miners of a Chinese company. 
 
The 5 January merger convention elected four leaders from each trade union to guide UWUL, including FLIWUL David Sackoh as Secretary-General. &ldquo;The mission of this merger is to unite Liberian workers to build bargaining power for decent work, mutual respect, and sustainable development at the workplace and in communities through collective action and social dialogue,&rdquo; said Sackoh. 
 
The other union officers include: Aloysius S. Kie, President, who served in that capacity with the Mine Workers and as President of the Liberia Federation of Labour Unions; Oretha Tarnue, Vice President, who led FLIWUL Union No. 1, or the Forestry Development Authority Union; Dave Seneh, Deputy Secretary General for Administration; James D. Sorboh, Deputy Secretary General for Operations; Sakou Sirleaf, Treasurer; Tenneh Y. Nagbe, Chair of the Women&rsquo;s Committee; and Mohammed Guss, Advisor. 
 
Sackoh&rsquo;s tenure as leader of FLIWUL dates back 2003 and before that with the union&rsquo;s predecessor, FLAWUL, where he organised a logging company in the West African nation. Prior to that, he headed the United Seamen&rsquo;s and Port Workers&rsquo; Union of Liberia, where he landed after a career as a marine engineer. 
 
In a statement read at the early January merger convention, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda congratulated the two unions, calling the marriage &ldquo;a great accomplishment and one in which the adage &lsquo;In Unity There is Strength&rsquo; we know will prove true in Liberia.&rdquo;

FLIWUL, Miners’ Union in Liberia Merge to Create United Workers’ Union

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An indefinite strike by a branch of the Peruvian National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (FNTMMSP) was averted just hours before a strike deadline on 14 January when managers at the country&rsquo;s third largest copper mine finally addressed and corrected a set of seven grievances. 
 
Some 1,200 miners of the ICEM-affiliated FNTMMSP&rsquo;s Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde union had downed tools twice in late December &ndash; once for 24 hours on 24 December, the other time on 31 December to 1 January for 48 hours &ndash; over violations in a three-year collective agreement that will expire on 30 August 2011. 
 
Branch union Chairman Leoncio Amudio Pe&ntilde;a said miners were preparing for a strike contingency planning meeting on the evening of 13 January when the company called union leaders in and pledged correction of contract breaches. The two sides had been meeting with officials from the Peruvian Labour Ministry throughout last week to resolve the issues. 
<img alt="" src="" width="363" height="153" />
Cerro Verde is 53.56% owned by US-based Freeport-McMoRan, 21% by SMM Cerro Verde Netherlands, a subsidiary of Sumitoma Metal Mining Co. Ltd. of Japan, and 19% by Compa&ntilde;&iacute;a de Minas Buenaventura of Peru. The operation, in the southeastern region of Arequipa, sells 50% of its annual copper concentrate production to Sumitoma Metal in a contract that runs until 2016. 
 
Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde produced 283,750 tonnes of copper in 2010, and it also produces molybdenum concentrates as a by-product. 
 
The grievances centered on shortcomings to family members in private medical coverage, inadequate transportation to and from the open-pit mine, and food rations while at work. The union was also in dispute with the copper producer because many workers were forced to work extra hours without added pay. The normal work-week at Cerro Verde is 45.5 hours. 
 
The FNTMMSP has a number of labour agreements coming due this year in Peru&rsquo;s mining and metals sector. One lapsed contract, with Barrick&rsquo;s Gold of Canada, was resolved two weeks ago, covering workers of Minera Barrick Misquichilca at the Lagunas Norte gold mine in northern Peru and the Pierina mine in the Amcash region. 
 
The three-year contract gives workers a 7% increase retroactive to 1 June 2010; 6.5% effective 19 June 2011; and 6.5% on 19 June 2012. A signing bonus was also agreed to, giving miners with ten or more years of service 27,000 soles (US$9,620); those with five to ten years, 26,000 soles; two to five years, 23,500 soles; and those with one to two years, 21,500 soles. A quarterly productivity bonus also was won. 
 
On the metals side, FNTMMSP met on 14 January with management of Metallurgical Peruana SA (Mepsa), a manufacturer of steel grinding balls and smelted metals used in the mining and agricultural sectors, to resolve a 2010-2011 dispute. Some 400 metalworkers staged a ten-day strike in early December and besides 2010 pay awards, Peru&rsquo;s Labour Ministry is now mediating FNTMMSP&rsquo;s demand to reinstate 14 workers who were sacked in last month&rsquo;s strike.

Grievances Settled, FNTMMSP Calls Off Peruvian Copper Strike at Cerro Verde

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Grievances Settled, FNTMMSP Calls Off Peruvian Copper Strike at Cerro Verde

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