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Twenty-nine Chinese coal miners will be confirmed dead today, following a gas explosion at the state-run Yaotou colliery in Shaanxi Province on 29 October. The methane gas blast was just one of three accidents causing death that day in China&rsquo;s coal mining industry. 
 
At least three others were killed and 20 more trapped after flooding filled shafts at separate mines in central Henan Province and at Quinghai Coal Mining Co. in Shanxi Province. In the month of October, recorded killings inside the country&rsquo;s coal mines rose well over the 100 mark, as China&rsquo;s coal mining industry remains the deadliest in the world. 
 
Also in October, authorities began unravelling a cover-up in which 35 miners were killed on 14 July. That happened due to the mishandling of explosives at the illegal Lijawa Coal Mine in Yuxian County, Hebei Province. Owners had destroyed the bodies, hidden evidence, and paid off journalists and the victims&rsquo; families to keep the July incident quiet. A total of 63 people are under investigation. 
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Last week&rsquo;s Shaanxi Province blast killed 29 of 36 workers who were inside shafts. They were draining water for the municipal government, which operates the enterprise, when gas ignited. The Yaotao mine had been idle since 3 October due to flooding. 
 
On 19 October, a rope snapped on a cage carrying miners underground at Shenzhou Mining Co. in northern Shanxi Province, China&rsquo;s centre of coal production. Five miners were killed, and 36 of the 42 inside the cage were seriously injured. The tragedy occurred near Luliang city. Shenzhou Coal&rsquo;s main shareholder is Taiyuan Coal Gasification Co. 
 
Perhaps the most egregious mine safety crime of late &ndash; next to the Lijawa cover-up &ndash; happened on 16 October in the Ningxia Autonomous Region of China. Sixteen people were killed at Shenhua Coal&rsquo;s Dafeng Mine when workers set off two tons of dynamite while blasting rock, well exceeding limits regarding safety. 
 
The victims included five miners who were passing by in a vehicle, and others who were off-duty and in a nearby shed. A total of 48 were injured, including 16 seriously. The blasting firm, Guangdong Blasting Co. Ltd., is being held responsible for its workers&rsquo; actions. 
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A day earlier, the bodies of seven more miners were recovered at the Fuhua Coal Mine, lifting the death count from a 20 September fire caused by an explosion to 26. The mine is in Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province. 
 
From 10 to 13 October, another 29 Chinese miners perished in recorded gas explosions at three collieries. On 13 October, nine died inside Hebei Coal Industries in central Henan Province; on 12 October, 10 were killed when 5,000 cubic metres of methane gas ignited inside the Xingfu Coal Mine in Sichuan Province; and on 10 October, nine Chinese miners died in the Guangxi Autonomous Region&rsquo;s largest colliery, the Heshan Coal Mine of Heshan City. 
 
Outside the coal sector, a mudslide at an iron-ore tailings dam broke on 8 September killing at least 300 people, with scores more still counted as missing. This happened at Tashon mine in Xiangfen County, northern Shanxi Province. The mine was unlicensed and lax safety procedures were blamed for the collapse of a 3,000-metre-long embankment. Over 1,000 survivors were left homeless, and the governor and vice-governor of Shanxi Province were forced from office because of the disaster.

China Coal Mine Deaths Rise in October; Last Week, 29 killed in Blast in Shaanxi Province

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A six-month rubber workers&rsquo; dispute in South America, involving 4,000 staff represented by ICEM affiliate Sindicato Unico del Neum&aacute;tico Argentina (SUTNA), ended on 22 October when workers agreed to a mediated contract arrangement. It ended under terms put forth by the country&rsquo;s Labour Ministry through mandatory conciliation in September and October.&nbsp; 
 
SUTNA and management representatives of Bridgestone-Firestone, Pirelli, and Argentine-based FATE accepted a salary increase of 28% that was defined by the ministry, plus reinstatement for many of the 214 workers of the three companies who were fired during July industrial actions. Others accepted compensation as terms set in the government-mediated resolve. 
<img height="150" alt="" src="" width="150" />
The agreement calls for a 15% wage increase backdated to 1 July 2008, and another 13% on 1 December, but based on salaries that were effective in June 2008. As well, an allowance of 1,800 pesos was agreed to be paid in three installments: 1,000 pesos at the signing of the agreement, 400 pesos late in October, and another 400 pesos in March 2009. 
 
The ardent and pitched dispute, dating back to expiration of a prior agreement on 1 April 2008, was marked by a 48-hour strike on 24-25 July, in which the 214 were sacked. When the companies refused to reinstate the workers, an indefinite strike then began on 25 August. That was suspended only when the Labour Ministry declared compulsory conciliation. 
 
The ICEM issued an alert to its affiliates in the rubber sector, asking for support to the union and its 35% wage demands. July and August also saw several trade unions and civil society organisations in Argentina take to the streets to support SUTNA and the rubber workers. 
 
&ldquo;We thank the ICEM affiliates from around the world that sent messages to SUTNA during this difficult dispute,&rdquo; said ICEM general Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;A settlement is now in place and we hope reconciliation and mutual respect become the norm in all three tyre plants.&rdquo; 
 
Japanese-based Bridgestone-Firestone and Pirelli of Italy operate factories near Buenos Aires, each employing 1,400 rubber workers, while FATE employs 1,200 at a plant in San Fernando.

Tyre Dispute in Argentina Ends with Ministry of Labour Intervention

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Scores of ICEM affiliates have sent letters to Mexican President Felipe Calder&oacute;ne condemning the Mexican government&rsquo;s campaign to destroy the Mexican National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), known as Mineros, and undermine the union&rsquo;s duly elected general secretary, Napoleon G&oacute;mez Urrutia. 
 
The Mexican government has colluded with Grupo M&eacute;xico to destroy Mineros, which stands out as one of the few democratically elected trade unions in a country in which genuine trade union rights are routinely repressed. G&oacute;mez, who exited the country under threats of assassination and arrest on false charges, was subsequently overwhelmingly re-elected to head Mineros. However, the government has refused to recognize the election as lawful, further demonstrating the government&rsquo;s complicity with Grupo M&eacute;xico.
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Political leaders in Europe, the US, Canada, and Latin American have also sent letters of protest to the Mexican government. 
 
Two members of Mineros, who have been on strike for over a year at a Grupo Mexico copper mine, attended the ICEM&rsquo;s Global Mining Conference in August in St. Petersburg, Russia. They gave a stirring presentation of the strike by 3,000 miners and the repressive actions taken against their union and Napoleon G&oacute;mez. ICEM affiliates agreed to engage in actions in support of Mineros, and the letter to Calder&oacute;ne represents a first-step in a widening campaign of support. 
 
The ICEM is working closely with International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) and the United Steelworkers (USW) to build global trade union support for the union and G&oacute;mez.

ICEM Affiliates Protest Mexican Government’s Assault on Mine, Metalworkers’ Union

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Last week&rsquo;s Eighth National Convention of the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada saw the announced a national boycott of Petro-Canada products. That announcement was made by Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, on 28 October in Montr&eacute;al. 
 
The boycott will target all of the company&rsquo;s petrol-filling stations and retail products. It comes 21 days before Petro-Canada&rsquo;s one-year lockout of 260 oil refinery workers, proud union members of CEP Local 175 of Montr&eacute;al. 
 
In collective negotiations leading up to the 17 November 2007 lockout, Local 175 rejected inferior company proposals that undercut the union&rsquo;s National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Programme for 2007-2008. Petro-Canada&rsquo;s sub-par proposals fell even short of the negotiated and agreed to provisions that other CEP branch unions ratified with the company. 
 
To date, a Quebec-wide boycott of the company has diminished company sales by 20% in that province. A more pronounced national boycott will have a deeper impact. Local 175 members have remained steadfast toward achieving the national pattern collective agreement. Again in September, they voted by 96.5% against Petro-Canada&rsquo;s inferior offer.
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&nbsp;CEP President Dave Coles at Petro-Canada Picket line, 28 October 
 

The 260 trade unionists have been financially supported by the CEP&rsquo;s strike fund, plus supplemental funds generated from energy and other trade unions across Canada. (Messages of support can be directed <a href="mailto:scep175@qc.aira.com">scep175@qc.aira.com</a>.) 
 
&quot;Canadians should not support any company that has the gall to wrap itself in our flag, use our maple leaf as part of its logo while it breaks the law by using scab labour,&rdquo; Georgetti said at the congress. 
 
The CEP marked the full boycott by temporarily adjourning the congress and transported the 1,200 delegates and guests to picket lines at Point-aux-Trembles, an industrial and residential area of Montr&eacute;al. 
 
There, CEP President Dave Coles said the locked-out workers&rsquo; proven resolve has been an inspiration to all inside the union, and the 150,000-member CEP would ensure that their struggle for the Canadian pattern would be realised.
<img height="266" alt="" src="" width="200" />
Locked-Out&nbsp;CEP Local 175 Members&nbsp;
The 300 locals at the congress re-elected Coles for a second two-year term, and Ga&eacute;tan M&eacute;nard was also re-elected as Secretary &ndash; Treasurer. After an amendment was submitted on a resolution calling for re-establishing Canadian public ownership over the oil and gas sectors, the resolution was adopted. The union seeks to maintain Canadian jobs in the energy sectors, as well as create new jobs through eco-friendly and sustainable means. 
 
The union also adopted a set of policies in a resolution that addresses the pulp, paper, and wood crisis in Canada, a sector that has seen massive job losses, with 20% of it not closed down in Canada. 
 
&ldquo;There are critical problems with our economic system that need to be addressed,&rdquo; said Coles. &ldquo;Privatisation, de-regulation and the &lsquo;let-the-markets&rsquo; rule premise that our capitalist system was built on is proving to be a giant hoax.&rdquo; 
 
The CEP also held an International Solidarity Night on 27 October, which included ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, and Finnish Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen and General Secretary Petri Vanhala, as well as others. Warda congratulated the CEP on the meaningful work that its Humanity Fund is doing globally, particularly its joint HIV/AIDS projects with the ICEM in Africa. 
 
The CEP also bestowed a Peace and International Solidarity Award to the US International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), an ICEM affiliate. The award honoured ILWU for its one-day strike on 1 May 2008 at American west coast ports and ports in British Colombia, Canada. The day-long work stoppage was in protest to the US-led occupation of Iraq. ILWU Secretary-Treasurer William Adams accepted the award on behalf of the union.

Canadian Labour Declares National Boycott of Petro-Canada at CEP Convention

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Bookings for the ICEM&rsquo;s World Conference for the Pulp and Paper Industry, scheduled from 8-10 December 2008 in Piri&aacute;polis, Uruguay, are filling fast, and the last of some 150 spots are expected to be taken in the coming fortnight. Uruguay President Tabar&eacute; V&aacute;zquez will open the conference on 8 December, and he will be joined by the country&rsquo;s Ministers for Energy, Labour and Social Security, Economy and Finance, and Tourism, with some of the government officials closing the conference on 10 December. 

The Pulp and Paper Conference will feature an opening day panel and discussion on the state of the industry &ndash; both in the emerging economies and in the traditional pulp and paper countries. That forum will discuss the current economic crisis, its effect on the industry at present, as well as trends over the past few years on output shifting from the global north to the global south. Mets&auml;-Botnia President and CEO Ilkka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml; will be one of the panelists participating.
<img height="198" alt="" src="" width="280" />
&nbsp;Centre, CUOPYC Walter Silva and at right, Uruguay President Tabar&eacute; V&aacute;zquez&nbsp; 

Industry growth in China will also be on the agenda. A Friedrich Ebert Siftung expert, Bernd Reddies, will also take part in a panel. 

Day two will include a panel of trade union and NGO leaders. They will develop a concise solidarity action plan for ICEM affiliated trade unions and others representing global paperworkers. The afternoon session on 9 December will lay the practical foundation for that plan. 

The host union, ICEM affiliate Centro Uni&oacute;n Obreros Papeleros y Celulosa (CUOPYC) of Uruguay, has already done much groundwork to make sure the conference will be a success. The union has reserved 10 December as a social-events day to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR was signed on 10 December 1948. 

Uruguay President V&aacute;zquez said this on the coming ICEM conference: &ldquo;It is a great challenge for CUOPYC, but it is also an excellent opportunity. Not just for CUOPYC, but for all in Uruguay, and the national government has committed to organize this event. We declare this meeting to be of national interest.&rdquo; 

Sizeable trade union delegations have already registered from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Sweden, and Thailand, as well as several countries from Europe. Finnish Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen, sector head of ICEM&rsquo;s Pulp and Paper Industry, will chair the conference.
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Trade unions still wishing to send delegates are encouraged to move fast in order to get visas, and to register through the ICEM Secretariat. Information and Registration documents can be found by going to the ICEM website <a href="http://www.icem.org">here</a>, clicking the respective language, and then going to &ldquo;Pulp and Paper&rdquo; for each language&rsquo;s homepage. The 8-10 December conference will be conducted in all seven statutory ICEM languages. 

The ICEM&rsquo;s Pulp and Paper Conference will be preceded by a 6-7 December workshop by South American forest-sector unionists on certification programmes, sponsored by the Building and Wood Woodworkers&rsquo; International (BWI). ICEM delegates are welcome to attend, with sessions to be conducted in Spanish.

Registrations Draw Tighter as ICEM’s Uruguay Pulp, Paper Conference Nears, 8-10 December

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Le Fonds Mondial de la lutte contre le SIDA, la tuberculose et la malaria a publi&eacute; son 9&egrave;me appel &agrave; propositions. Le formulaire d'inscription et la documentation de r&eacute;f&eacute;rence sont disponibles en six langues &agrave; l'adresse <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org/</a>
 
Les propositions doivent parvenir au Fonds mondial d'ici le 21 janvier 2009 
 
Toutes les propositions soumises d'ici l'&eacute;ch&eacute;ance du 21 janvier 2009 seront examin&eacute;es par le secr&eacute;tariat afin de v&eacute;rifier qu'elles r&eacute;pondent aux crit&egrave;res d'&eacute;ligibilit&eacute;. Les propositions recevables seront ensuite transmises au Comit&eacute; technique d'examen des propositions (Technical Review Panel - TRP). Le TRP fera part de ses recommandations au Conseil du Fonds mondial, qui prendra ensuite ses d&eacute;cisions en fonction. 
 
Comment fonctionne le Fonds mondial? 
Le Fonds mondial, lui-m&ecirc;me un partenariat entre secteur public et priv&eacute;, est une instance de financement. Depuis son lancement en janvier 2002 et jusqu&rsquo;en d&eacute;cembre 2007, le Fonds mondial a donn&eacute; son approbation pour des subventions dont la somme totale s&rsquo;&eacute;l&egrave;ve &agrave; 14,5 milliards USD, plus de la moiti&eacute; &eacute;tant destin&eacute;e &agrave; la lutte contre le VIH/SIDA. 
 
Le Fonds mondial est bas&eacute; &agrave; Gen&egrave;ve. Il n&rsquo;est pas repr&eacute;sent&eacute; par pays. Le processus de propositions et l&rsquo;attribution des subsides sont d&eacute;l&eacute;gu&eacute;s au niveau national. Le Fonds Mondial donne le cadre de travail et publie les directives concernant plusieurs aspects de ses op&eacute;rations. Il r&eacute;colte de l&rsquo;argent, le d&eacute;pense et le v&eacute;rifie &ndash; le Fonds mondial fonctionne au m&eacute;rite. 
 
Toutes les propositions doivent passer par les Country Coordinating Mechanisms &ndash; CCM (Instances de coordination nationale &ndash; ICN). La composition des ICN est suppos&eacute;e &ecirc;tre repr&eacute;sentative de tous les acteurs de la lutte contre le VIH/SIDA, y compris la soci&eacute;t&eacute; civile, le secteur priv&eacute; et les organisations de personnes vivant avec le VIH/SIDA (PVVIH). 
 
Comment les syndicats peuvent-ils s'int&eacute;grer? 
Le r&ocirc;le du lieu de travail dans la lutte contre le VIH/SIDA est reconnu. Aucune des activit&eacute;s li&eacute;es au lieu de travail ne peut &ecirc;tre efficacement &eacute;tablie sans les syndicats. Le r&ocirc;le des syndicats nationaux et de leurs pendants internationaux, les f&eacute;d&eacute;rations de syndicats mondiaux (Global Unions), est reconnu par des organisations internationales telles que l&rsquo;OIT, l&rsquo;OMS et ONUSIDA. 
 
Le Fonds mondial est d&eacute;sireux de construire des partenariats entre le secteur priv&eacute; et le secteur public et de r&eacute;aliser des projets de co-investissement. Sans la participation du secteur priv&eacute;, l&rsquo;acc&egrave;s universel aux conseils et tests volontaires (CTV) et au traitement antir&eacute;troviral (ARV) ne serait pas possible ou serait encore plus retard&eacute; qu'il ne l'est d&eacute;j&agrave;. Les repr&eacute;sentants des travailleurs dans le secteur priv&eacute; sont les syndicats. Les directives de la 9&egrave;me S&eacute;rie de propositions mentionnent les syndicats comme organisations &eacute;ligibles du secteur priv&eacute;. 
 
Les capacit&eacute;s des syndicats en termes de main d&rsquo;&oelig;uvre sont limit&eacute;es. Ils ont en outre d'autres pr&eacute;occupations quotidiennes. Les syndicats ne sont pas des ONG qui ne traitent que d'un seul probl&egrave;me. Ils doivent trouver des partenaires et former des alliances avec les entreprises et les ONG. 
 
Tr&egrave;s peu d'ICN comptent des syndicalistes dans leurs rangs. Bien que nous continuions d&rsquo;&oelig;uvrer pour la repr&eacute;sentation des syndicats aux ICN, il vital qu'&agrave; court terme, ces derniers travaillent en collaboration avec les membres des ICN favorables &agrave; leur cause. Il est important pour eux de trouver des partenaires coop&eacute;ratifs qui peuvent d&eacute;velopper leurs id&eacute;es de projets &agrave; travers des propositions pour les ICN. 
 
L&rsquo;Organisation allemande pour la coop&eacute;ration technique (Deutsche Gesellschaft f&uuml;r Technische Zusammenarbeit &ndash; GTZ) g&egrave;re l&rsquo;initiative BACKUP (Building Alliances &ndash; Creating Knowledge &ndash; Updating Partners), sur laquelle vous pouvez vous appuyer. La GTZ est repr&eacute;sent&eacute;e dans plus de 130 pays. De nombreux bureaux d'USAID ont des coordinateurs VIH/SIDA et certaines ambassades, notamment celles des pays scandinaves, des Pays-Bas, du Royaume-Uni et de l&rsquo;Union europ&eacute;enne peuvent pr&ecirc;ter assistance. Les syndicats mondiaux et l&rsquo;OMS sont favorables &agrave; l'utilisation du potentiel des syndicats dans le but d'&eacute;largir et d'acc&eacute;l&eacute;rer l&rsquo;acc&egrave;s aux CTV et aux ARV. L&rsquo;OIT et son programme sur les lieux de travail OITSIDA ont des points de mire sur le VIH/SIDA dans de nombreux bureaux. 
 
Le Fonds mondial recommande aux candidats de nommer un (ou plusieurs) B&eacute;n&eacute;ficiaires principaux (BP) gouvernementaux et un (ou plusieurs) B&eacute;n&eacute;ficiaires secondaires de divers secteurs non gouvernementaux, y compris du secteur priv&eacute; dont les syndicats font partie (financement &agrave; deux voies de cession). 
 
Quelles sont vos prochaines &eacute;tapes? 
&bull; R&eacute;digez vos id&eacute;es d&rsquo;un programme sur le lieu de travail sur une page et pr&eacute;parez une &eacute;bauche de budget. 
&bull; Mettez-vous en relation avec les membres de votre ICN et influencez ceux potentiellement favorables aux causes syndicales afin d&rsquo;inclure des programmes li&eacute;s au lieu de travail dans les propositions de la 9&egrave;me S&eacute;rie. Les informations nationales sp&eacute;cifiques sont disponibles &agrave; l&rsquo;adresse <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. 
&bull; Contactez les bureaux de la GTZ, d&rsquo;USAID, de l&rsquo;OIT, d&rsquo;ONUSIDA et de l&rsquo;OMS. 
&bull; Tissez des alliances avec les entreprises; rappelez-leur leur responsabilit&eacute; sociale. 
&bull; Collaborez avec les ONG et les organisations de PVVIH. 
&bull; Consultez le site <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">http://www.aidspan.org/guides</a>&nbsp;sur lequel un guide de la 9&egrave;me S&eacute;rie est disponible. 
 
Comment l'ICEM peut-elle vous aider? 
Le Coordinateur mondial de l&rsquo;ICEM a de bonnes relations de travail avec toutes les organisations mentionn&eacute;es. Il peut vous aider gr&acirc;ce &agrave; ses contacts et peut vous donner des liens menant &agrave; de la documentation utile. Envoyez vos id&eacute;es de programmes li&eacute;s au lieu de travail et vos demandes &agrave; <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. L&rsquo;ICEM a des accords mondiaux avec une douzaine d&rsquo;entreprises multinationales qui devraient s&rsquo;engager dans la lutte contre la pand&eacute;mie. 
 
Surtout : 
 
&bull; Commencez aujourd&rsquo;hui si vous voulez parvenir &agrave; quelque chose. 
&bull; Rappelez-vous que le secteur priv&eacute; inclut les syndicats au titre de repr&eacute;sentants des travailleurs. 
&bull; Rappelez-vous que vous avez des alli&eacute;s que vous pouvez mobiliser et qui peuvent vous aider. 
&bull; &Eacute;crivez au coordinateur mondial de l&rsquo;ICEM &agrave;&nbsp;<a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;pour plus d&rsquo;informations et d'aide.

ICEM VIH/SIDA bulletin électronique: Appels du Fonds Mondial pour les propositions de la 9ème Série

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN 25

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US Affiliate United Steelworkers (USW) won an important court victory in its pursuit of justice for workers at shuttered Continental tyre and rubber plants in America. On 31 July, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court in the state of Ohio ruled that the German company must fulfill union contractual obligations to retired workers regarding health care.
<img height="100" src="" width="100" alt="" />
In December 2006, some 2,000 retirees from closed Continental plants in Charlotte, North Carolina; Mayfield, Kentucky; and Byron, Ohio, filed a class action lawsuit with the support of the union. Along with the cost-savings plant closings, the company shifted a large part of health care costs onto retirees. 
In the lawsuit, USW retirees, many of whom had been sacked at the time of the plant closures, sought restoration of the previous health insurance programme, and they argued for refunds on premium payments and other compensation. 
Judge Jack Zouhary of US. District Court in Toledo, Ohio, ruled in a summary judgment that the company had improperly reduced the benefit levels for retirees and their spouses. The judge&rsquo;s decision stated that since the company was unable to force its terms with the USW during contract talks, it unilaterally and illegally began implementing the cuts. 
Continental North America argued it had the right to lower retiree benefits, because the labour contracts had expired. Zouhary ruled that retiree benefits must remain separate from wages and benefits of active workers since there is &quot;inference&quot; in labour agreements that &quot;those benefits ... continue as long as the beneficiary remains a retiree.&quot;
<img height="158" alt="" src="" width="120" />
&nbsp;USW's Ron Hoover 

USW President Leo Gerard praised the judge&rsquo;s decision. &ldquo;The fact that the court issued summary judgment shows just how disgraceful Continental was in abandoning its contractual obligations to American tire builders who gave the company a lifetime of work.&rdquo; 

Continental has stated it will appeal the judge&rsquo;s decision, but the USW is calling on the company to make the payments even if it does appeal. &ldquo;This is an international corporation that has made massive profits throughout this sorry affair,&rdquo; said USW Executive Vice President Ron Hoover. &ldquo;It is time for them to finally stand up and fulfill the promises&rdquo; made to workers.

Continental Tyre Owes USW’s Retirees Medical Pay, Judge Rules

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Double-digit pay gains were won for miners by South Africa&rsquo;s largest union, the National Union Mineworkers (NUM). With two-year negotiations now nearly complete, only the world&rsquo;s largest gold-mining companies remain tight-fisted in pay talks. Global-leading platinum producers, AngloAmerican&rsquo;s Kumba Resources, and several coal producers came to terms with the NUM in the past week. 
 
DeBeers averted a diamond-mining strike on 31 July when it increased its pay offer. 
 
On 7 August, the world&rsquo;s second largest platinum miner &ndash; Impala Platinum &ndash; reached accord with the NUM. A day later, AngloPlatinum, the world&rsquo;s largest producer came to agreement. The contracts won by the NUM cover 39,000 miners at AngloPlatinum, and 26,000 at Impala Platinum. NUM also won a 10% for miners at the smaller Northam Platinum operations.
<img height="96" alt="" src="" width="100" />
AngloPlatinum, 75% held by AngloAmerican, will this year award lower-classified miners a 10% increase, while the higher classifications get 8.5%. Next year, miners will receive between 8% and 9%. The Impala calls for 10% and 8% this year and between 7.25% and 8.5% in 2008. 
 
Also last week, workers at Kumba, a major iron ore producer, agreed to pay hikes this year of 10%, 9.5%, and 8.5%, depending on the job classification. 
 
And 13 days ago, NUM recommended wage increases of 10% and a bit lower for the higher classifications to coal miners. In the second year of the agreement, coal miners will receive 1% on top of the consumer price index, or no less than 8%. NUM&rsquo;s coal-mining members are employed by such companies as AngloCoal, Xstrata, Optimum Collieries, Exxaro, Eyesizwe, and Kanga. 
 
At DeBeers, where a strike by 6,000 workers was to occur on 31 July, the world&rsquo;s leading diamond miner met the NUM&rsquo;s terms on that day. Diamond miners will receive 10% in the lower grade; 9.5% in the middle grade; and 8.5% in the higher-paid grade. &ldquo;We put a demand of 10% and we got it, so there is nothing to complain about,&rdquo; said Peter Bailer, NUM&rsquo;s lead negotiator in diamond mining.
<img height="270" alt="" src="" width="180" />
&nbsp;NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni
But talks with gold producers remain stalled. In the last days of July and early August, the Chamber of Mines &ndash; on behalf of AngloGold Ashanti, Goldfields, and Harmony Gold &ndash; had refused to budge from its top offer of 7.75%. As the two sides continue in talks, the NUM is mobilizing for strike action. &ldquo;We believe that the Chamber of Mines has tested our patience long enough and our workers will haunt the profit they make out of the workers sweat,&rdquo; stated NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni. 
 
Nearly all the negotiations between the NUM and mining companies are occurring through the Chamber of Mines. Since disputes were called in most, South Africa&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) has been involved. 
 
Meanwhile, another mining death has occurred at an AngoGold facility in South Africa, the third such death at an AngloGold mining operation in the country in just a few weeks. A worker fell into a pit at the company&rsquo;s Moab Khutsong mine on 9 August. The pit had no barricades around it. AngloAshanti now has recorded 12 deaths overall in its South African mines this year.

Platinum, Coal, Diamond, Iron Ore Talks Complete for NUM in South Africa; Gold Talks Continue

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A crippling strike at South African refineries has ended, but other strikes by ICEM affiliate Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers' Union (CEPPWAWU) continue in glass, paper tissue, packaging, and wood products. 
 
Some 40,000 members of CEPPWAWU have been in dispute with employers&rsquo; groupings cutting across all sectors since late June. On 26 July, the union issued 48-hour strike notices in ten different industries. Some employers&rsquo; associations settled, while others took the strike action. 
 
The petrol strike started on 30 July and ended on 7 August. An immediate fuel shortage just days into the strike brought panic buying at the gas pumps. South Africa&rsquo;s largest refinery, a joint Shell-BP Sapref complex in Durban, was shut, as was PetrolSA&rsquo;s refinery in Mossel Bay and Chevron&rsquo;s Caltex plants in Cape Town. Sasol, which supplies 40% of South Africa&rsquo;s fuel and petrochemicals, found its operations undermanned and was effectively down.
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CEPPWAWU negotiators were called into talks late on 6 August by the nation&rsquo;s conciliatory agency and the National Petroleum Employers&rsquo; Association. The strike ended the next day. Bosses had moved a half-percent increase proposed for January 2008 to 1 July of this year, and an 8.5% wage increase was agreed to. CEPPWAWU made other gains, as well, including maternity leave improvements and added payment for public holidays as a provision to the 40-hour work week. 
 
The effects of some of the other strikes cut across industry divides. From the drug industry to building materials, delays and shortages of products or packaging for those products was growing daily. 
 
On 30 July, some 3,000 pharmaceutical workers went on strike at major drug and generic drug producers, including Pfizer, Aspen, and Adcock Ingram. That strike ended on 2 August when the employers association revised its terms. Also on 30 July, CEPPWAWU members in the Tissue and Allied Products section took strike action, shutting the operations of Nampak and Kimberly-Clark. 
 
Kimberly-Clark issued an ultimatum to its two CEPPWAWU-represented workforces in Cape Town and Johannesburg that its miserly pay offer of 6.5% was its final offer. 
 
Over the weekend prior to the Monday, 30 July, strike deadline, the Pulp and Paper Employers Association came to an 8.5% wage agreement with CEPPWAWU. That prevented thousands of workers at Sappi and Mondi from striking. And talks in the Industrial Chemicals section are continuing. 
 
On 3 August, thousands of red-shirted protesters turned out for a CEPPWAWU manifestation in Johannesburg to lend support to workers and their fair wage goals. The union and striking workers also received formal support that day from COSATU and the South African Communist Party. 
 
CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s ten different bargaining tables in 2007: Industrial Chemicals, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Glass, Petroleum, Pharmaceuticals, Pulp and Paper, Sawmilling, Tissue and Allied, Particle Board, and Sasol Mines.

CEPPWAWU Resolves Petrol, Pharma Strikes; Tissue, Glass, Wood, Packaging Strikes Persist

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