English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Action Plan 2021-2025

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

Women

Youth

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

Tom Albanese 
Chief Executive 
Rio Tinto plc 
2 Eastbourne Terrace 
London 
W2 6LG 
United Kingdom 
 
Fax +44 20 7781 1800 
 
Geneva, 17 September 2009 
 
Dear Mr. Albanese, 
 
We have recently learned of the contract demands that Rio Tinto has made of 600 miners represented by Local 30 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), AFL-CIO, in Boron, California. 
 
We are deeply concerned that Rio Tinto is creating an unnecessary conflict at this mine. The company proposes to dramatically reduce worker rights provided under the current agreement; terminate the current pension plan; drastically increase costs for dental and medical benefits: eliminate leave for sick workers; take away bidding rights of older workers; and offer no wage increases over 8 years while cutting wages if productivity falls. Clearly, your management is also seeking to weaken the trade union. 
 
The demands made by your management are unjustified and draconian. Moreover, these demands contradict your own policies concerning sustainable development since you seek to punish the workers and their community which have been responsible for your success. 
 
We will be supporting the ILWU in whatever way we can. 
 
Sincerely,

Rio Tinto, Model Letter

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Some 1,200 miners at Shougang Hierro Peru begin their second week of an indefinite strike today, with no end in sight, as the company continues to refuse to enter dialogue with the union. Shougang Hierro&rsquo;s Marcona mine in Southern Peru is the country&rsquo;s only iron ore mine, producing 7.5 million tonnes of iron ore last year, and is part of China&rsquo;s state-owned Shougang Group. 
 
Management has failed to follow through on a collective agreement reached in July this year, which was supposed to raise daily wages by US$1.91 a day. The July agreement was reached through arbitration with Peru&rsquo;s Labour Ministry, and followed a 10-day strike at the mine. 
 
Shougang Hierro is notorious for paying the lowest salaries in Peru&rsquo;s entire mining sector. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="179" />
Shougang Miners
The Labour Ministry resolution last summer called on the company to raise miners&rsquo; wages, or be faced with a large fine. Mine management preferred to pay the fine rather than hike miners&rsquo; wages. The ICEM calls on the government of Peru to take more definitive action against the Chinese mining concern. 
 
Peru&rsquo;s national miners&rsquo; and metalworkers&rsquo; union, ICEM affiliate FNTMMSP, last week called on its members to carry out a nationwide sector strike 19-20 October in support of Shougang miners. 
 
The striking miners are further demanding improved health benefits, and better safety and hygiene. 
 
A union spokesman, Julian Julca, stated, &ldquo;The strike is total. We are approximately 1,200 workers on strike.&rdquo; In response to the action by 100% of Shougang Hierro miners, management made a request to the Labour Ministry to declare the strike illegal. 

<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="93" />
A US$1 billion expansion of the mine is currently underway to increase annual output by 10 million tones. Despite the global recession, Shougang Hierro Peru reported profits last year of US$145 million, a 50% increase over the previous year, and a figure almost three times the yearly profit of 2004. 
 
The national mining strike scheduled for 19-20 October is aimed at demanding compliance with the Labour Ministry resolution to raise the wages of Shougang Hierro miners, and will also demand the signing of a mining retirement bill by the government. In addition, FNTMMSP is seeking passage and enactment of mining profits legislation in Congress, which will assist all miners financially. 
 
The federated union also demands release of union leaders who were incarcerated for their involvement in a strike action at Minera Casapalca, and demands respect for the collective negotiation processes for both direct and outsourced workers. 
 
Peru is one of the world&rsquo;s top mining and metallurgical producers. The mining sector accounts for 60% of the country&rsquo;s total exports. The Marcona mine, 220 miles south of Lima, was bought by the Chinese national steel company in 1993.

Strike by Peru’s Miners Against China’s Shougang Group Hardens

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Three miners were shot by the Zimbabwe Republic Police on 25 September, when police forced the end of a three-week wage arrears strike at the Shabanie asbestos mine in the southwestern town of Zvishavane. During the peaceful protest of that day, police fired tear gas into a crowd of 1,000 miners and their families. 
 
The three, two men and one woman, were seriously injured with gunshot wounds to the legs and hands. Incredulously, three days after the police violence, the three were hauled into a local courtroom in wheelchairs and charged with public violence. Scores others were also arrested. 
 
The names of the three who were shot are Alois Zhou, Taurai Zhao, and Simbarashe Mashuku. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
The 2,280 striking miners, of the Shebanie Mine Workers Union, part of the ICEM-affiliated Associated Mine Workers of Zimbabwe (AMWZ), had not been paid their full wages since January 2009. Shabanie, along with Mashaba, two of the largest asbestos mines in Zimbabwe, had been taken over by the government in 2004 under Mugabe regime&rsquo;s Reconstruction of State-Indebted Insolvent Companies Act. 
 
The mines had been operated by Shabanie Mashaba Mine Holdings (SMMH), a company controlled by businessman Mutumwa Mawere, a Zimbabwean living in South Africa who is accused of taking some US$80 million in assets out of Zimbabwe. 
 
By all appearances, the Shebanie mine was productive and profitable under a government-appointed administrator. But calls for payment of wages were ignored. 
 
The police brutality ten days ago produced immediate and terse condemnation by a number of organizations. Wellington Chibebe of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) called for the resignation of the two co-Home Affairs Ministers for their indifference to the incident. 

<img alt="" src="" width="85" height="93" />
In condemning the unprovoked shootings, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said the strike by asbestos miners started on 31 August. &ldquo;However, the striking workers have been forced to go back to work after being visited by gun-toting policemen and the dreaded Central Intelligence Operatives. The state security agents together with Shebanie Mine security officers visited workers in their homes on 29 September threatening them that if they did not return to work the following day, the workers should vacate not only the mine house they occupy but also get out of town.&rdquo; 
 
COSATU also reported the home of ZCTU Zvishavane District Secretary Ndodana Sithole was raided and ransacked on 30 September, with police demanding to know what action ZCTU was planning in response to the 25 September police violence. 
 
The ICEM supports the ZCTU in its call for a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the September police actions in Zvishavane.

Three Miners Shot, Hundreds Gassed in Zimbabwe Near Asbestos Mine

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Bir hafta kadar sonra b&uuml;t&uuml;n d&uuml;nyada sendikalar 1 Mayıs'ı kutlayacak. Ama T&uuml;rkiye'de ge&ccedil;en yıl 1 Mayıs'ta h&uuml;k&uuml;metin baskısına polis zorbalığı eşlik etti. 
 
T&uuml;rkiye'de sendikalar, 1980 askeri darbesinden &ouml;nce olduğu gibi, h&uuml;k&uuml;metin 1 Mayıs'ı resmi tatil g&uuml;n&uuml; olarak kabul etmesini istiyorlar. 1 Mayıs kutlamaları 1980 askeri darbesinden 1990'ların başlarına kadar yasaklandı, bu tarihten sonra da ancak belli sınırlar i&ccedil;inde kutlanmasına izin verildi. 
 
T&uuml;rkiye'de sendikaların 1 Mayıs'la ilgili herhangi bir kutlama eylemine girişmesi başının derde girmesi anlamına geliyor. Ge&ccedil;en yılki kutlamalarda, g&uuml;venlik g&uuml;&ccedil;leri sendikaların taksim Meydanı'na girmesini &ouml;nlemek i&ccedil;in şiddete başvurdular; g&ouml;z yaşartıcı gaz kullandılar, g&ouml;stericilere basın&ccedil;lı su sıktılar, insanları &ouml;zel sopalarla d&ouml;vd&uuml;ler. 
 

<img height="135" alt="" src="" width="200" />
Ge&ccedil;en yılın 1 Mayıs'ında sabah saatlerinde polis DİSK genel merkezine g&ouml;z yaşartıcı gaz sıkıyor 
Son olarak, h&uuml;k&uuml;met 1 Mayıs'ın resmi tatil olmasını &ouml;ng&ouml;ren bir yasa tasarısını Meclis'e sundu. Meclis İ&ccedil;işleri Komisyonu'nun hi&ccedil;bir itirazda bulunmadığı tasarı 22 Nisan'da Meclis'te g&ouml;r&uuml;ş&uuml;lecekti. 
 
T&uuml;rk-İş, DİSK ve KESK 1 Mayıs 2009'u tarihi Taksim Meydanı'nda kutlamaya kararlı olduklarını a&ccedil;ıkladılar. Taksim Meydanı T&uuml;rkiye'deki sendikalar i&ccedil;in b&uuml;y&uuml;k anlam taşıyor. &Ccedil;&uuml;nk&uuml; 1 Mayıs 1977'de 36 insan o meydanda &ouml;ld&uuml;r&uuml;ld&uuml;. 
 
H&uuml;k&uuml;met 1 Mayıs'ın Taksim'de kutlanmasını yasaklarken bu gerek&ccedil;eyi kullanıyor. 
 
1977'deki Kanlı 1 Mayıs'ın 30. yıld&ouml;n&uuml;m&uuml;nde, 2007'de, T&uuml;rkiye'deki sendikalar bu konuda bir girişim başlattılar. 2007 ve 2008 yıllarında binlerce g&ouml;sterici 1 Mayıs'ı Taksim'de kutlamaya giriştiği i&ccedil;in g&ouml;zaltına alındı. 
 
T&uuml;rkiye'de sendikalar sekiz saatlik işg&uuml;n&uuml;, insana yakışır &uuml;cret ve &ccedil;alışma koşullarının iyileştirilmesi m&uuml;cadelesinde Taksim Meydanı'nı bir sembol olarak g&ouml;r&uuml;yorlar. Ama İstanbul Valiliği kutlamalara Taksim Meydanı dışında her meydanın a&ccedil;ık olduğunu a&ccedil;ıkladı. 
<img height="151" alt="" src="" width="110" />
ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda 
ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda T&uuml;rkiye'de 1 Mayıs'la ilgili olarak şu a&ccedil;ıklamayı yaptı: &ldquo;H&uuml;k&uuml;metin 1 Mayıs'ın resmi tatil yapılması yolunda Meclis'e sunduğu teklifi ileriye atılmış bir adım olarak g&ouml;r&uuml;yoruz. Bunun T&uuml;rkiye'de demokrasinin ve sendikal hakların gelişmesi a&ccedil;ısından &ouml;nemli olduğu kanısındayım. 
 
&ldquo;Ne var ki bu yargının ge&ccedil;erli olması ancak Taksim Meydanı'nın 1 Mayıs'ta barış&ccedil;ıl g&ouml;sterilere a&ccedil;ılmasıyla m&uuml;mk&uuml;n olacaktır. Taksim Meydanı demokrasi ve sendikal haklar m&uuml;cadelesinin sembol&uuml;d&uuml;r. ICEM bu yıl 1 Mayıs kutlamalarını izlemek &uuml;zere T&uuml;rkiye'de olacaktır. &Ouml;n&uuml;m&uuml;zdeki Haziran'da toplanacak ILO Konferansı'nın iş yasalarını değiştirmesi gereken T&uuml;rk h&uuml;k&uuml;metini incelemeye alacağını biliyoruz. T&uuml;rkiye'nin &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme &ouml;zg&uuml;rl&uuml;ğ&uuml;, toplu pazarlık ve grev hakkı konusunda ciddi değişiklikler yapması gerekiyor. Bu değişikliklerin temel ILO s&ouml;zleşmelerine ve T&uuml;rkiye'nin onayladığı standartlara uygun olması gerekiyor. Gelişmeleri izleyeceğiz ve bu m&uuml;cadelede T&uuml;rkiye'deki &uuml;yelerimizle dayanışmaya devam edeceğiz.&rdquo;

ICEM ile Üye Sendikaları, Türkiye’de 1 Mayıs’ın Tatil Olmasını ve Taksim’de Kutlanmasını İstiyor

Women’s Newsletter Announces ICEM Set of Meetings, Activities

<img height="39" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The ICEM and affiliated unions United Steelworkers of America (USW) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) of South Africa will host a seminar on worker exposure to radiation in underground mines. The seminar, a non-technical introductory workshop aimed at union leaders and worker representatives, will be held on 27 May at Gallagher Estate near Johannesburg, South Africa. 

<img height="93" src="" width="170" alt="" />
The workshop will occur on the concluding day of the 12th Congress of the NUM, the Geneva-based ICEM&rsquo;s largest African trade union affiliate with 300,000 members. It will focus on the presence of radioactive gases, or radon, which is common in the world&rsquo;s uranium mining industry, as well as in other mineral extractions. 
 
The day-long workshop will feature Dr. Fergal Nolan, President of the Independent Radiation Safety Institute of Canada. He will discuss the necessary measures needed for protection from radiation exposure, as well as the importance of incorporating radiation safety into a mine&rsquo;s design. 
 
The seminar will also cover effective government regulatory procedures, changing management culture on radiation safety, and building trade union training and awareness on the issue. 
 
&ldquo;The effects of radiation exposure, even low levels over many years, will often occur after a miner has retired,&rdquo; said Joe Drexler, ICEM&rsquo;s Director of Industry and Corporate Industry Affairs. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re hopeful this workshop will be the first step in more extensive radiation training for trade union safety representatives in Africa&rsquo;s mining industry.&rdquo;

ICEM, Affiliates Team to Present Mine Safety Workshop on Radiation, 27 May in Johannesburg

La agrupaci&oacute;n Global Unions, que est&aacute; integrada por 13 federaciones sindicales internacionales, la Confederaci&oacute;n Sindical Internacional (CSI), y el TUAC de la OCDE, sabe cu&aacute;n importante es que en EE.UU. se apruebe el Acta de Libertad de Elecci&oacute;n de los Empleados (EFCA). Sabemos que para tener una econom&iacute;a fuerte, se tiene que dar a los trabajadores la oportunidad de afiliarse a un sindicato y realizar negociaciones colectivas para que se paguen sueldos justos y se eleven las prestaciones sociales de todos los ciudadanos de la sociedad. 
 
Creemos que &eacute;ste es el aspecto fundamental del Acta de Libertad de Elecci&oacute;n de los Empleados. Nuestro sindicato respalda firmemente a los sindicatos norteamericanos en el trabajo que realizan para lograr que el Congreso de Estados Unidos apruebe este proyecto de ley, que cuenta con el apoyo del Presidente Obama. Rogamos informar a los miembros de su sindicato, como tambi&eacute;n a sus funcionarios sindicales elegidos, que nuestro sindicato apoya plenamente el EFCA, y que consideramos que es un elemento esencial de una sociedad libre que permita a los trabajadores afiliarse a un sindicato, sin que les pongan obst&aacute;culos. 
 
(Firmado &hellip; Nombre del funcionario sindical) 
(Nombre del sindicato) 
(Pa&iacute;s)

Llamada Urgente: EFCA Letter ESP

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
With over 70 confirmed participants, the ICEM&rsquo;s quadrennial World Conference for the Rubber Industries will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, USA next week, on 12-13 May 2009. The conference, to be hosted be the United Steelworkers (USW), will be presided over by USW President Leo Gerard, Chairman of the ICEM Rubber Industry Sector. 

<img height="140" alt="" src="" width="120" />
Leo Gerard, Chairman of ICEM Rubber Industry Section &amp; USW President
The venue is the Sheraton Music City Hotel, Nashville. 
 
Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer, will make a presentation on &ldquo;Global Industry Trends and Challenges.&rdquo; 
 
The Conference&nbsp;will also feature five panel discussions: &ldquo;Effects of Global Crisis on the Industry and Trade Union Challenges,&rdquo; &ldquo;Rising Hardships and Distortion in Work Relationships,&rdquo; &ldquo;Global Agreements, Global/Regional Company and Sector Networks and Campaigns,&rdquo; &ldquo;How to Improve Health and Safety for Workers: What Kind of Industrial Policy for a Greener Environment for Securing Jobs,&rdquo; and &ldquo;How to Better Coordinate Global Union Solidarity, Support and Cooperation.&rdquo; 

Other presentations on the agenda will include: &ldquo;Collective Bargaining in the Rubber Industry,&rdquo; &ldquo;Global Trade Union Response Against Challenges,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Healthy and Safe Work, Environment and Sustainable Development.&rdquo; The conference will conclude in the afternoon of 13 May with &ldquo;Development of an Action Plan&rdquo; for trade unions of the global rubber sector.&nbsp; 
 
ICEM Health, Safety, and Sustainability Officer Brian Kohler will make&nbsp;the health, safety, and sustainable development presentations. 
 
The Report for the Conference will be up on the ICEM website (<a href="http://www.icem.org">www.icem.org</a>) under ICEM Sectors: Rubber by late this week, as will the agenda and other background documents.

ICEM’s World Rubber Conference Set for Next Week in Nashville USA

<img height="39" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The announced 5.5% wage cut for 15,000 employees of Czech mining company OKD will not occur and instead, through negotiations with mining unions, a compromise has been reached. That compromise, occurring on 30 April, calls for a decrease in the number of agency workers used, and a partial reduction in the number of employees from supplier companies. 
 
The demand for cuts is due to the impact of the world&rsquo;s financial crisis. 

<img height="122" src="" width="120" alt="" />
The company originally proposed an across-the-board decrease in salaries of 5.5%, cancellation of some bonuses, and a reduction in staff of 2,600 regular employees and 900 workers employed by supplier companies. The negotiated compromise preserves all full-time jobs, with job reductions coming from among the 3,000 agency workers that OKD used and from staff of some suppliers. 
 
A mining union spokesman called the compromise the lesser of two evils. 
 
OKD, the Czech Republic&rsquo;s largest hard coal producer, is wholly owned by New World Resources of the Netherlands, an investment company focusing on assets in Central Europe. In 2008, OKD produced 12.7 million tonnes of coal, of which 7.4 million tonnes was coking coal.

Czech Mining Unions Preserve Pay; OKD to Cut Agency Staff, Suppliers’ Staff

<img height="39" src="" width="100" alt="" />
On 15-16 April, the ICEM organised an Asia/Pacific-wide conference on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) in Singapore. The conference, attended by 50 trade unionists, was held with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) of Germany. 
 
Participants spoke candidly on the ongoing problems of short-term contract and agency work, and other forms of precarious work, and how it affects their daily lives. The experiences expressed made it abundantly clear that the phenomenon is wide-spread, still on the rise, and detrimental to labour relations in Asia-Pacific countries. Such contributions, in addition to those from the ICEM and the FES, came from Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Korea, as well as from Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. 
 
An omnipresent problem is that, in almost every Asian country, regular, permanent, and direct-employed workers are being replaced by CAL workers, who are often paid less than permanent workers. They never get the same benefits, nor do they have much of a job future. In Malaysia, for example, it was said that CAL in the past used to be almost uniquely a problem for migrant workers. This is no longer so. In Pakistan, trade unionists note a sharp increase in the use of &ldquo;piece-rate workers.&rdquo; 

<img height="155" src="" width="240" alt="" />
A concurrent issue expressed by all participants is the fear factor. Contract and agency workers are afraid even to discuss union issues, let alone join a union, since this often translates to an end to their fixed-term contracts. It appears to be a simple matter for companies operating in Asia to remove workers from their workforce, or to shift them to less secure jobs. 
 
Among the numerous other problems mentioned was the lack of respect for law where there is some semblance of existing legal protections, such as in the Philippines, India, or Indonesia. Another problem voiced is that oftentimes there are too many unions in some countries, making cooperation difficult. 
 
The positive news is that unions, slowly but surely, are starting to deal with the problem at all three levels that the global ICEM campaign on CAL is aimed at: legislative changes that not only protect workers from abuses, but also leading to more direct and permanent employment (a promising bill is being readied in the Philippines); work at company level, including making the issue key in collective bargaining as well as an organising priority; and evaluating internal union structures to ensure that CAL workers can effectively join trade unions. This has occurred in Thailand, Malaysia, India, Singapore, and Korea. 
 
An important concern on this latter point, as acknowledged by all, is the need to organise more trade union work at industry or sector level, steering away from company-unionism, where it is often easy for employers to &ldquo;divide and conquer&rdquo; the two sets of workers. 
 
Unfortunately, there are currently still many more problems than success stories. One specific example is the continuing problem in stemming the number of CAL workers at Linde in Thailand, an industrial gases company, and granting full-time, permanent employment to such workers. 
 
Adverse examples given of &ldquo;CAL employment techniques&rdquo; in Asia include the use of standard 17-month contracts, in which the collective agreement calls for more rights and benefits for workers after 18 months. Another is supervisors who openly discriminate against CAL workers linked to a union. In the Philippines, companies have used blank resignation letters, asking CAL workers to sign before they even start work. Other workers have been asked to re-enter their current job, but under another name, thus preventing them from gaining increased benefits, or becoming part of the permanent workforce.

ICEM Singapore Conference Illuminates Problems for Contract, Agency Workers in Region

Archive