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The ICEM encourages affiliates and labour activists in South Africa to apply, this week, to a Masters Degree programme in &quot;Labour and Globalisation&rdquo; at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. 
 
The ILO&rsquo;s Global Labour University (GLU) Masters programme at Witwatersrand began in 2007, and focuses on Southern Africa and the Global South. The deadline for submission for the upcoming course is 31 July 2010. 
 
The programme has a special focus on &ldquo;Labour and Development.&rdquo; It aims to build capacity and competence for trade unions to enable constructive engagement in policy proposals that can make a difference and improve the position of working people and society at large within the context of sustainable development. 

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GLU courses are taught in English. More detailed information about the specific profiles of the programmes and the application form are available <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/3.html ">here</a>. 
 
The ILO&rsquo;s Bureau for Workers&rsquo; Activities (ACTRAV) and its project partners will award a limited number of scholarships to applicants from developing and transition economies. Applicants need to have the endorsement of a trade union to apply for a scholarship. 
 
The GLU has also developed and is initiating this year a shorter, six-month programme called &ldquo;Engage&rdquo; that is intended for trade union workers and others around a targeted and specific curriculum. The ICEM is actively encouraging trade unionists from Brazil, India, and southern African countries to apply. More on that programme, with the next application deadline coming 1 November 2010, can be <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/216.html ">here</a>. 
 
The six-year-old GLU has trained trade unionists in economics and in social sciences from 49 countries in its short existence. Courses are offered in English, women are strongly encouraged to participate, applicants should, as a rule, not be over age 40, and the endorsement of a trade union is a requirement for a scholarship. The scholarship is combined with a &euro;1,500 contribution made by a trade union or other donor.

31 July Deadline Looming for GLU Courses in South Africa

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A diamond-mining strike in Namibia was averted two weeks ago after eleventh hour negotiations by ICEM affiliate Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN), the country&rsquo;s trade union centre, National Union of Namibian Workers, the government, and Namdeb, the joint venture between DeBeers and the Namibian government, proved successful on 9 July. 
 
Some 2,800 miners of the Oranjemund branch of the MUN were poised to strike on 12 July over failure to grant salary increases during the financial crisis, while managers were given salary adjustments. In contract reopener talks that began in April, the MUN branch also sought housing allowances, remote allowance, and annual leave. 
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The two-year contract that was agreed to calls for a 2010 10% wage increase, retroactive to 1 April 2010, and a housing allowance increase of 9%. A remote allowance increase of 10% is pegged to the midpoint of salary scales, and next year&rsquo;s wage increase will equal the consumer price index. 
 
The ICEM commends the national leadership of the MUN for achieving such excellent terms. Namdeb is a 50/50 joint venture between the government and DeBeers and once was part of the Oppenheimer family&rsquo;s Consolidated Diamonds Mines, founded in colonial times in 1920. The mines, both onshore and now off, are located in the southwestern Namib Desert near the coast and by the Orange River.

Miners in Namibia, Namdeb Agree to Contract Terms at Diamond Operation

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A small hotel in the hills above Beirut, Lebanon, was the venue for the latest seminar held by ICEM and the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) under the Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Trade Union Alliance. The seminar brought together delegates from eight Iraqi trade unions in the oil and oil transportation sectors, affiliated to either ICEM or ITF. 
 
Popularly known as the &quot;Well to Wheel&quot; initiative, Iraq has been identified as a key country for the Alliance, which came together last week with the generous support of the US Solidarity Center. This was the first seminar held by the Solidarity Center in Lebanon, with earlier ones taking place in Amman and Aqaba in Jordan. 
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Lars Myhre, President of the ICEM&rsquo;s Energy Industries Section and a leader in Norwegian affiliate IndustriEnergi (IE) and Jim Catterson, Energy Officer, represented ICEM. Bilal Malkawi represented the ITF, while Heba El-Shazli, Regional Program Director, The Middle East and North Africa, together with Boyko Atanasov of the Qatar Office, represented the Solidarity Center. 
 
After a series of presentations updating delegates on the recent activities of the organisations in the region, as well as delegate presentations on their recent activities and discussion of the present situation in the Iraqi oil industry, participants divided into multi-union groups. The report backs to plenary sessions were able to agree a Code of Conduct for future work of the Alliance in Iraq, and a firm programme of activities to take place inside Iraq itself. 
 
The ten-point Code of Conduct commits all of the unions to recognise and respect each other and commits them to support each other in conflicts regardless of which trade union confederation of Iraq they are affiliated with. It recognises the need for regular meetings and discussion at both cross-sectoral regional and national levels, as well as maintaining the essential need for practical channels of communications between the unions in the Alliance and the Global Union Federations, ICEM and ITF, and with the Solidarity Center. 
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With only two of the 16 delegates being women, a serious discussion took place on how to improve women's participation. All agreed that the goal of the Alliance was to strengthen the trade unions and unions cannot be strong without women workers as members and activists. There was agreement that we need to have more women participation in future events and it is essential that more effort be taken by all to encourage and support women to participate in union activities both internally and externally. &quot;Strong Unions Need Women workers!&quot; was a slogan to be taken seriously. 
 
Delegates drew up a plan of activities to take place at a regional level inside Iraq at both a sectoral and cross-sectoral level. Unions decided to focus on work within regions in which transport was relatively easy and cheap, dividing the country into the south, centre, and north. Facilitators were decided on for each of the regions. Such facilitators would move along the work, carry outreach to involve other unions in the transportation sector, and maintain communication with the Secretariat. 
 
ICEM, ITF, and the Solidarity Center continue to see this work as a key way of building trade union strength in Iraq, as well as encouraging unions to work together and to create unity in Iraq.

‘Well to Wheel’ Forum in Beirut Focuses on Oil, Transport Work in Iraq

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In Singapore, a coalition of oil workers&rsquo; unions has petitioned the government for inclusion into the Retirement Age Act, which would allow 500 workers to retire at mandatory age 62 instead of the current lower age. An appeal by the group was made to Singapore&rsquo;s Manpower Ministry last week to abolish some of the 26 job categories that are exempt under the law. 
 
The coalition includes ICEM affiliate Singapore Shell Employees&rsquo; Union, the ExxonMobil Singapore Employees Union (ESEU), Singapore Refining Company Employees&rsquo; Union (SRCUE), and the United Workers of Petroleum Industry (UWPI), which represents BP, Chevron, and Singapore Refining staff. 
 
Singapore is attempting to revise provisions in its 1993 Retirement Age Act before a new employment law passes in 2012. The original retirement age in the 1993 statute was 60. In 1999, it was raised to 62. 
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But the law still excludes teachers, pilots, doctors, civil servants, police, soldiers, and other job categories. It also excludes jobs governed by a ministry in which age in occupation is a consideration regarding safety and other reasons. That includes many jobs inside refineries. 
 
Workers affected by the exemption must retire at an age negotiated between workers&rsquo; organisations and enterprises at the time the law took effect, 1993. For those in the city-nation&rsquo;s important oil sector, that age is between 55 and 60. 
 
The effort by the oil workers&rsquo; unions to win Retirement Age Act jurisdiction for refinery workers has been endorsed by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) of Singapore. Many here feel that in a tight labour market, with higher year-to-year living costs and higher life expectancies, working longer can be beneficial both to workers and to enterprises, the latter benefitting by retention of talent and experience.

Singapore Oil Unions Lobby for Statutory Retirement Coverage

Unions Make Work Safer: Today, 28 April, Every Day

Dear Colleagues, 
 
Svenska Pappers, the Swedish Paperworkers Union, and the Forest Industry Employers&rsquo; Association (SFIF) reached excellent union-friendly terms on a collective agreement last night, 26 April, just minutes before a second wave of strike action at six further Swedish pulp and paper mills was to begin. (See ICEM report of a week ago <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3709-Swedish-Paper-Strike-Continues">here</a>.) 
 
The union and its negotiating committee, led by President Jan-Henrik Sandberg, deserves a solid congratulatory note from all for holding firm against a business-backed employers&rsquo; group that was attempting to use the financial crisis to short-change workers. Indeed, the terms of this settlement reflect the very best industrial package achieved in and beyond Sweden of late, and Pappers truly deserves your congratulations. Please send a note in your own words, and your own language to Mikke Sterbeck at <a href="mailto:mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se">mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se</a>. 
 
Pappers is very pleased with the settlement, as well they should be. Following an 11-day strike at six mills, and on the verge of striking another six mills, the employers agreed to terms giving 18,000 paperworkers a 3.3% wage increase over 22 months. The first year&rsquo;s increase will be given 1 May, instead of the 1 June date that employers sought, and the second increase comes on 1 April 2011, again ahead of when the employers wanted to give it. Actually, in calculating the total pay package, it comes out to 3.4%, considering other items, including a 0.4% additional increase for the lowest paid workers in the sector. 
 
Pappers won excellent language regarding workers (and on behalf of these workers) who are hired through labour agencies, and the union won company-paid compensation for retirees in an aspect of the pension scheme that was at issue. In addition, Pappers won an additional month of company-paid maternity/paternity leave. The union is holding a teleconference with branch unions on Tuesday morning, 27 April, to explain this excellent package, a package that came about mainly due to the fact that 99.9% of its members were willing and did take industrial action. For this, the union deserves a congratulatory note from everyone in the global pulp and paper sector. Again, send to <a href="mailto:mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se">mikke.sterbeck.fk@pappers.se</a>.

Settlement in Sweden; Union Deserves Congratulations

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The International Trade Union Congress (ITUC) today launched the third and final stage of a new Youth Campaign. The campaign video was released 18 March, and that can be seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWvuOqCEU9U">here</a>. 
 
On 19 March, the campaign blog and brochure were released, so visit the blog <a href="http://youth.ituc-csi.org/ITUC-launches-Youth-Campaign-STEP,224 ">here</a> and view the brochure <a href="http://youth.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/Youth_EN_Final.pdf">here</a>. 
 
The Youth Blog has been redesigned and modernised, with new functionalities such as Facebook and Twitter. The brochure is a best practice guide on organising young people, informing young people about trade union work at the global, as well as national level. 

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The ITUC calls on supporters to redistribute the materials of its Youth Campaign, and to share the video and become involved via online social networking platforms. For hard copies of the brochure, contact the ITUC here <a href="mailto:youth@ituc-csi.org">youth@ituc-csi.org</a>. 
 
The various tools made available through this campaign are of valuable use for trade unions throughout the world in order to complement their existing organising work for new young members. The tools will especially assist unions in illustrating the international side of their work. 
 
Today, the new Youth Campaign website will be made available online. Visit the page <a href="http://www.changetheworld-now.com/ ">here</a>.

ITUC Launches Youth Campaign

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The International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) is calling on the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers&rsquo; and Exporters&rsquo; Association (BGMEA), as well as sourcing companies that use the Garib &amp; Garib knitwear factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, to better compensate the families of 22 workers killed and 50 others injured in a factory fire on 25 February. 
 
The ITGLWF is demanding that the BGMEA and multinational sourcing companies join the Global Union Federation in setting up a relief scheme that fully meets the needs of families of the deceased, as well as those injured at Garib &amp; Garib in Gazipur, some 30 kilometres outside of Dhaka. 
 
To date, the BGMEA has stepped forward with payment of 200,000 taka (&euro;2,085) to each family, while owners of the Garib &amp; Garib have given a mere pittance to families to cover funeral expenses &ndash; 2,085 taka (&euro;150). 

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Left, ITGLWF General Secretary, Patrick Itschert
Said ITGLWF General Secretary Patrick Itschert, &ldquo;The establishment of a multi-stakeholder team to determine the needs of those affected, on the basis of field research into the demographics of the victims&rdquo; is essential for fairness. &ldquo;Involving the (BGMEA) in this exercise in particular is an important means of making them aware of the level of compensation necessary to assist families in such circumstances,&rdquo; he added. 
 
The ITGLWF is offering to hold a round-table meeting in Dhaka with the employers&rsquo; association and the brand names to implement the compensation scheme. The union federation said that in 2005, following the collapse of the nine-story Spectrum garment factory that killed 64 and seriously injured 84 others in Savar, Bangladesh, ITGLWF and Spanish retailer Inditex established a compensation protocol that could serve as the model for victims and workers of Garib &amp; Garib. 
 
To date, only H&amp;M of Sweden and Teddy SpA (Terranova) of Italy have confirmed they source from Garib &amp; Garib, but neither company has yet to announce its compensation to victims. 
 
In the evening of 25 February, an electric short-circuit on the second floor of the factory caused a fire, trapping workers because stairwells were blocked by goods and production materials. Many of the workers retreated up several flights of stairs, where they were consumed by rising black smoke and heat. Reportedly, security guards on duty did not know how to operate fire extinguishers and water hydrants. Of the 22 victims, 15 were women. 
 
Only seven months before, in August 2009, another fire at the Garib &amp; Garib factory in Gazipur killed a firefighter and injured seven workers.

ITGLWF Demands Proper Pay Protocol in Aftermath of Deadly Bangladesh Apparel Fire

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The latest in a series of Caspian Sea Oil &amp; Gas Workers&rsquo; Network meetings took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 22-23 February, again with support fro the German Friedrich-Ebert Foundation (FES). FES&rsquo;s local representative in Baku, Rashad Huseynli, actively participating in the event. 
 
Lars Myhre, chair of ICEM&rsquo;s Energy Industries Section and a founder of Norwegian affiliate Industri Energi (IE), again headed this year&rsquo;s discussions. IE has played a strong role in the network since its inception and has carried out extensive bilateral programmes and exchanges with the host union, the Oil and Gas Workers Union of Azerbaijan. 

<img alt="" src="" width="280" height="174" />
Some of the participants at the Caspian Workers&rsquo; Network 
Delegates attending came from the Russia Oil &amp; Gas Workers&rsquo; Union (ROGWU), led by President Lev Mironov, and included representatives from the trade union structures of both Gazprom and Rosneft. The host union delegation, led by President Jahangir Aliev, included a representative from the Lukoil trade union in Azerbaijan, as well as the newly-elected chairman of the trade union branch at the Caspian Shipyard Company. 
 
Workers here had seen the success of oil workers&rsquo; organising at various contract company operations and began organising themselves. The union is the latest branch structure to affiliate to the Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union of Azerbaijan, which has successfully organised over 400 of the 650 workers at the shipyard. Apologies for absence were received from ICEM affiliates Petrol-Iş of Turkey and the Oil Workers of Kazakhstan, active members of the network. Both unions were unable to attend because of important meetings in their respective countries. 
 
After an opening session and delegate introductions, updates were given on ICEM activities in Eastern Europe/Central Asia by ICEM Regional Coordinator Anatoly Surin. Jim Catterson, ICEM&rsquo;s Energy Industries Officer, gave an overview of the oil and gas sectors globally. Delegates then shared detailed information on the latest situations in their country&rsquo;s energy sectors, covering such issues as organising, terms and conditions of employment, and recent investments by various multinational companies. 

<img alt="" src="" width="290" height="194" />
Front, from left: Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union of Azerbaijan Leader Jahangir Aliyev, ICEM&rsquo;s Anatoly Surin, and Lev Mironov, President of ROGWU 
Lars Myhre gave a detailed presentation on the various agreements that IE has covering Statoil in Norway. 
 
The previous meeting of the Network had formulated a declaration of common social standards to aim for in national negotiations, and this meeting focused on the potential for engaging the multinational companies operating in the Caspian region in a regional social dialog forum. Detailed presentations covering their operations in the Caspian were given by management representatives of both Statoil of Norway and SOCAR, the state-owned company of Azerbaijan that is in the process of expanding regionally, having recently purchased a refinery in Turkey. Both presentations led to lively question and answer sessions. 
 
After a general presentation by Jim Catterson on ICEM activities regarding Social Dialog including Global Framework Agreements (GFAs), presentations were made by Myhre and Lev Mironov on the GFAs that ICEM has with Statoil and Lukoil. 
 
In conclusion, delegates emphasized that the meeting had been extremely useful and had led to a considerable exchange of valuable information. It was time, however, to make the work of the Network more comprehensive and to ensure an effective information exchange occurs between network meetings. 
 
With this in mind, ICEM was asked to create a section of the ICEM website which would initially include the background material and presentations made at the meeting, as well as a report on the discussions. ICEM would also circulate a questionnaire asking all network members to detail the companies that operate in their section of the Caspian and give information on workforce numbers, trade union organization, and terms and conditions of employment. 
 
The results of the questionnaire would also be published. The study would also give a basis as to which companies to approach in order to establish routine social dialog at this regional level. Since ROGWU is considering introducing a system of video-conferencing for routine communication with regions across the Russian Federation, ICEM will also explore the use of this technology for more frequent exchanges. 
 
The work of the Caspian Sea Oil &amp; Gas Workers&rsquo; Network will also form part of the agenda of the forthcoming ICEM World Conference for the Energy Industries, to be held in Stavanger, Norway, from 6-8 September.

Energy Workers’ Network of Caspian Meets in Baku

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The ICEM reported on 22 February in InBrief No. 150 that the affiliated mining union the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (FNTMMSP), the country&rsquo;s largest mining union federation, has taken strike action at three mines of the precious metal producer Buenaventura. Peruvian law stipulates that companies must share a minimum of 8% of its profits with workers. The union claims Buenaventura are hiding financial information of the period 2006-2009 in order to avoid profit payments to the 4,000 workers during a global price boom. 
 
With the Peruvian Ministry of Labour siding with the company, and announcing the strike illegal, workers were forced back to work to avoid losing their jobs. This decision by the government has led FNTMMSP to go on short, rolling strikes. Workers will again down tools this Friday, 26 March, at the Antapite gold mine, and the next day at the Uchucchacua silver and Orcopampa gold mines of Buenaventura. 

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A FNTMMSP local leader at the Orcopampa mine stated that the demands of the strikers include improvements in working conditions, and the rehiring of a miner fired during an earlier strike, as well as a larger share of profit-earning bonuses. 
 
Buenaventura managers have so far refused to negotiate, with Buenaventura CEO Carlos G&aacute;lvez stating that only shareholders have the power to increase workers&rsquo; wages. He said management is powerless to avoid the rolling strikes. 
 
Uchucchacua is located in Lima's Oy&oacute;n province, Orcopampa in Arequipa region, and Antapite in Huancavelica region. Buenaventura operates four other mines and has a controlling interest in mining companies Cedimin and El Brocal. El Brocal workers went on a separate strike 13 March in response to management failing to pay agreed pay raises. 
 
Elsewhere in the Peruvian mining industry, 630 workers at Doe Run&rsquo;s Cobriza copper mine have ended a strike after one day, as company officials immediately began tripartite negotiations with FNTMMSP and the Labour Ministry. 

<img alt="" src="" width="160" height="120" />
FNTMMSP General Secretary, Luis Castillo Carlos
FNTMMSP General Secretary Luis Castillo has led the negotiations for the mineworkers of Doe Run. Castillo argues that the collective agreement has not been fulfilled by management, whereas it has been by workers, a year after it was signed. 
 
Doe Run Peru has been hard hit by the financial downturn. The operation, which is a unit of the US-based Renco Group, had its credit line cut six months ago. 
 
The company was expelled from the country&rsquo;s National Association of Mining and Energy for not completing a government-mandated clean-up at the metals processing complex in the central Peruvian city of La Oroya, which environmental organizations say is one of the world&rsquo;s most polluted places. 
 
Earlier this month, Doe Run Peru signed a letter of intent with Swiss mining multinational Glencore. If the agreement on a sale goes through, Glencore will provide Doe Run with a credit of some US$100 million, and will also finance the environmental clean-up demanded by government. 
 
The Peruvian mining industry&rsquo;s US$16.36 billion in foreign sales last year amounted to nearly 61% of the Andean nation&rsquo;s total exports.

Peruvian Miners Struggle for Fair Profit Share Continues

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