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Three and a half thousand workers took to the streets on 23 April, in Hanover,&nbsp;Germany, to demonstrate for site preservation. Continental AG&nbsp;workers from across Germany, France, and Mexico turned out in solidarity for their IGBCE, IG Metall, and Verdi colleagues. The 3,500 demonstrated in front of the Conti-Shareholders' Annual General Meeting, for the preservation of the nearly 2000 jobs threatened. 
Several delegations of the European Forum of Continental AG (European Works Council), from Regensburg, Frankfurt, and Berlin, demonstrated alongside trade unionists. 
Werner Bischoff, a senior leader of the ICEM affiliate IGBCE, announced that the Corporate Executive Board can not make decisions alone, on matters of site closure. 
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Werner Bischoff 
As reported in InBrief No. 128, both factories recorded excellent financial figures for the year 2008. The ICEM supports the common declaration of the 2-3 April meeting of Continental AG workers&rsquo; representatives, in describing the proposed job cuts as &ldquo;morally despicable.&rdquo; 
 
One German trade unionist at the protest stated, &ldquo;It's the first time that French union members and German members of the BCE union have come together against the shareholders, who, as we have already said, are talking just about money, whereas we are talking about our families and our hearts&rdquo; 

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German labour representatives read a statement to shareholders that said &quot;we do not accept that the life of thousands of families, when suppliers are included, are sacrificed to your boundless appetite.&quot; 
Continental management has said that no definitive decision has yet been taken on the closure of the Clairoix plant. French workers have staged repeated protests over previous weeks, including the ransacking of administrative offices at the plant. The company had previously pledged to keep the French factory open until 2012 at least. 
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Workers are unanimous that if closure does occur, Continental will have to guarantee solid compensation packages for its employees. 
 
Continental slashed around 8,000 jobs worldwide last year, and 6,000 more in the first three months of 2009.

Hanover Demonstration to Preserve Continental Jobs

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The German social-democratic organisation, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), released a briefing paper entitled &ldquo;Comeback of Global Governance,&rdquo; outlining the need for reform of mechanisms for global political and monetary governance. The current financial crisis is seen by many as the opportunity to reform global financial bodies, which fail both in terms of representation and of effectiveness. 
 
The past year has seen a list of failures in terms of global governance, from the Doha round of world trade talks to follow-up of the Monterrey Financing for Development Conference. Even the preliminary rounds of discussion at Posnan, Poland, environment and sustainability forums have illustrated significant obstacles in commitments over combating climate change. 
 
Arguably the most vital changes needed are inside the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose failings have become all too apparent during this current global recession. The current financial crisis is a clear indication of how urgently an effective global regulatory framework is needed in order to come to grips with the present crisis and to contain future excesses. The days of the World Bank and IMF governing the world on a neo-liberal agenda now must end. 
 
The IMF&rsquo;s system of quotas and voting rights gives European countries an imbalanced amount of power that is no longer justified by their order in the world economy. Despite the limited voting-rights reform carried out in March 2008, the Benelux countries, for example, continue to have a higher quota than China. The reforms to the IMF that are on the agenda will go some way towards creating a fairer system, although they do not go far enough in &lsquo;giving a voice to the voiceless.&rsquo; 
 
The current economic climate offers many alternatives for change. US President Barack Obama seeks to establish a new disarmament and non-proliferation treaty. German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for a world economic council. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown advocate an international banking oversight commission. Germany and France, together with Russia and Brazil, promote a new global economic and financial architecture that has a special focus on regulating financial markets. 
 
Find the FES briefing paper <a href="http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/global/06319.pdf ">here</a>.

International Labour Calls for Reform of the Structures of Global Governance

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Following the release of the English and Arabic versions of the &ldquo;ICEM Guide on Contact and Agency Labour (CAL),&rdquo; the ICEM has now also released French, Spanish, and Russian versions of this important tool to assist unions around the world with their efforts in this growing area of work. 
 
The French version can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/icem%20manual%20frans%2026032009def.pdf ">here</a>. 
The Spanish version can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/icem%20manual%20spaans%20070420092.pdf ">here</a>. 
The Russian version can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/icemmanualrussiandef.pdf ">here</a>. 
 
The English and Arabic versions of the manual, as well as the ICEM&rsquo;s CAL campaign website can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM CAL Guide describes numerous problems faced by short-term contract workers, and by workers employed through temporary work agencies, containing a number of best - as well as worst - practices from around the world. 
 
The guide also provides an overview of some of the most recent changes in national and international labour laws and standards. It further deals with combating the phenomenon at company level through collective negotiations. Useful and encouraging examples, together with union strategies and ideas to counter the many abuses in this field, are also provided.

ICEM Releases Contract and Agency Manual in French, Spanish, Russian

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Arjantin'e giden bir ICEM heyeti k&uuml;resel krizin &uuml;lke &uuml;zerindeki etkilerini inceledi, ayrıca ICEM'in 2011'de Buenos Aires'de yapılacak kongresi i&ccedil;in &ouml;n incelemelerde bulundu. ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda federasyonun Arjantin'deki &uuml;yeleri ile 29 Nisan'da bir araya gelerek ekonomik kriz konusunda g&ouml;r&uuml;ş alışverişinde bulundu. Ayrıca, ekonomik kriz konusunda ICEM &uuml;yesi olmayan sendikaların da g&ouml;r&uuml;şlerini aldı ve onlarla ICEM'e &uuml;yelikleri konusunu g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. 
 
ICEM'in Cenevre'de 23-24 Haziran g&uuml;nlerinde yapılacak Y&ouml;netim Kurulu'nda Beşinci D&uuml;nya Kongresi'nin yapılacağı yer konusunda karar alınacak. Arjantin sendikaları Kongre'ye evsahipliği yapmak istiyorlar. 

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Warda, ICEM'in Latin Amerika İrtibat Sorumlusu Carol Bruce ile birlikte, Arjantin Kau&ccedil;uk İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası SUTNA, Enerji ve Petrol İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası FeTERA ve &ouml;zel sekt&ouml;rdeki Petrol ve Gaz İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası FASPyGP ile g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. ICEM heyeti, n&uuml;kleer enerji iş&ccedil;ilerini temsilen ICEM'e katılmak isteyen Uni&oacute;n Obrero Metal&uacute;rgical (UOM) sendikasının yanı sıra, Arjantin ulusal sendikal merkezine (CTA) bağlı sendikalarla da ICEM'e katılım konusunu g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. 
 
Carol Bruce Arjantin'de iki g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;ne katıldı. 22 Nisan'daki g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;n&uuml; d&uuml;zenleyen ulusal sendikal merkez CTA, Arjantin'de işten &ccedil;ıkarmalar konusunda 180 g&uuml;nl&uuml;k bir moratoryum ilanını ve iş&ccedil;ilerin &uuml;cret kayıplarını karşılamak &uuml;zere devletin bir acil durum &ouml;demesi yapmasını talep ediyor. 
 
30 Nisan'da ise, Bruce, &ouml;b&uuml;r b&uuml;y&uuml;k ulusal sendikal merkez CGT'nin, krizin ve işsizliğin sorumlusu neoliberal politikalara karşı d&uuml;zenlediği g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;ne katıldı.

ICEM Heyeti Arjantin&#039;deki Krizi İnceledi

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ICEM, 15-16 Nisan g&uuml;nlerinde Singapur'da, Asya/Pasifik b&ouml;lgesinde taşeron iş&ccedil;iliği &uuml;zerine bir konferans d&uuml;zenledi. Konferansa sendikalardan 50 temsilci katıldı. 
 
Katılımcıların aktardıkları deneyimler taşeron iş&ccedil;iliğinin b&ouml;lgede yaygınlaştığını ve &ccedil;alışma ilişkilerine zarar verdiğini ortaya koydu. ICEM ve Friedrich Ebert Vakfı'nın yanı sıra, Singapur, Tayland, Filipinler, Malezya, Hindistan, Endonezya, Nepal ve Kore sendikaları ile İsve&ccedil;, Danimarka ve Almanya sendikalarının temsilcileri g&ouml;r&uuml;ş ve deneyimlerini sundular. 
 
D&uuml;zenli, s&uuml;rekli ve doğrudan istihdam edilen iş&ccedil;ilerin yerine daha d&uuml;ş&uuml;k &uuml;cretli taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin getirilmesi aşağı yukarı her Asya &uuml;lkesinde yaygın bir sorun. 

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B&uuml;t&uuml;n katılımcılar ortak bir sorun olan korku fakt&ouml;r&uuml; &uuml;zerinde durdular. Taşeron iş&ccedil;ileri, işlerini kaybetme kaygısıyla, sendikalaşmak bir yana, sendikal konuları konuşmaktan bile korkuyorlar. 
 
Bu alandaki sorunlardan biri de, &ouml;zellikle Filipinler'de, Hindistan'da ve Endonezya'da olduğu gibi, yasalara uyulmamasıdır. Katılımcıların dile getirdiği bir başka sorun ise bazı &uuml;lkelerde sendika sayısının &ccedil;okluğunun işbirliğini zorlaştırmasıdır. 
 
Bu alandaki olumlu gelişme ise, sendikaların ICEM k&uuml;resel kampanyasının hedeflediği şu &uuml;&ccedil; d&uuml;zeyde ağır ama emin adımlarla ilerlemeye başlamasıdır: yasa değişiklikleri (Filipinler'de bir yasa tasarısı hazırlanıyor); şirket d&uuml;zeyinde &ccedil;alışmalar (sorunu toplu s&ouml;zleşme g&ouml;r&uuml;şmelerinin ve &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenmenin ana ve &ouml;ncelikli konusu haline getirmek); taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin sendikalara katılabilmesini sağlayacak sendika i&ccedil;i yapılar oluşturmak. Tayland, Malezya, Hindistan, Singapur ve Kore'de bu ger&ccedil;ekleşti. 
 
Bu bağlamda herkesin kabul ettiği &ouml;nemli bir sorun, sendikal &ccedil;alışmayı şirket d&uuml;zeyiyle sınırlı tutmayıp işkolu ya da sekt&ouml;r d&uuml;zeyinde &ouml;rg&uuml;tleme ihtiyacıdır. &Ccedil;&uuml;nk&uuml; işverenlerin şirket d&uuml;zeyinde iki iş&ccedil;i grubunu (taşeron iş&ccedil;ileri ile s&uuml;rekli iş&ccedil;ileri) &ldquo;b&ouml;l&uuml;p y&ouml;netmesi&rdquo; genellikle daha kolaydır. 
 
Ne var ki şu sıralar başarı hik&acirc;yelerinden ziyade sorunlar ağır basmaktadır. Bunun somut &ouml;rneklerinden biri, Tayland'da bir sanayi gazı şirketi olan Linde'de istihdam edilen taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin sayısındaki artışın &ouml;n&uuml;n&uuml;n alınması ve taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine tamg&uuml;n ve s&uuml;rekli istihdam olanaklarının sağlanmasıdır. 
 
Asya'da &ldquo;taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin istihdam teknikleri&rdquo; ile ilgili olumsuz &ouml;rneklerden bazıları şunlardır: 17 aylık standart s&ouml;zleşmelerin bitiminden itibaren, toplu s&ouml;zleşmeler, iş&ccedil;ilerin haklarının artırılmasını &ouml;ng&ouml;rmektedir. Bir diğer &ouml;rnek ise, denet&ccedil;ilerin taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine sendikal &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme konusunda a&ccedil;ık&ccedil;a ayırımcılık uygulamasıdır. Filipinlerde, şirketler, işe başlamadan &ouml;nce taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine istifa mektupları imzalatmaktadır. Bir kısım iş&ccedil;iden ise &ccedil;alıştıkları işe başka bir adla yeniden girmeleri istenmektedir. B&ouml;ylece iş&ccedil;ilerin s&uuml;rekli iş&ccedil;i sayılması &ouml;nlenmektedir.

ICEM&#039;in Singapur Konferansı Bölgedeki Taşeron İşçilerinin Sorunlarını Ele Aldı

ICEM white-collar affiliate PENGASSAN in Nigeria is calling for complete transparency and full accountability in the acquisition by state Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) of African Petroleum (AP). PENGASSAN is standing with workers of AP who now face uncertain futures at the hands of NNPC following the official 6 July take-over of debt-ridden AP. The companies have not agreed to terms and even a panel of inquiry set up by the government to ascertain debt level cannot reach a decision on the matter. PENGASSAN believes it is wrong for NNPC to acquire AP before due process and an investigation into AP&rsquo;s indebtedness happens. PENGASSAN President Uche Okoro stated that NNPC should take &ldquo;a more civilized approach to recover the debt and not wake up one morning and take over AP or stop if from doing business. That will have a lot of impact on our workers of AP and we are not comfortable with that.&rdquo;

PENGASSAN Demands Transparency in NNPC&#039;s Buy-up

In Baghdad, the Iraq Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) has formed workers&rsquo; committee inside affiliate Electricity and Energy Workers Union to better the conditions of employees at the city&rsquo;s Main Water Agency. The campaign aims to secure interest-free payments to workers, deal with administrative and financial corruption inside the agency, get unpaid holiday pay for workers, and make it easier for them to collect pay checks. Currently, Water Agency workers must pass through arduous security and administrative delays at banks in order to receive their pay. The Electricity and Energy Workers Union has won reinstatement for scores of cleaning workers who had been sacked at the Main Water Agency.

Baghdad&#039;s Electrical Workers Organise

In Iraq, oil workers in Basra at the Southern Oil Co. brought the company to a 24-hour standstill on 17 July with a strike. Some 15,000 workers took part in the strike that was intended to force the company and Iraq&rsquo;s Oil Ministry to take a portion of Southern Oil&rsquo;s vast profits and use it to build Basra&rsquo;s local economy. Backed by the General Union of Oil Employees (GUOE) and the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions in Iraq, last week&rsquo;s work stoppage could be a precursor to a general strike in Iraq&rsquo;s south if allocations from the country&rsquo;s largest crude oil producer are not used for basic infrastructure needs such as sewage systems, electrical grids and medical services. GUOE is also seeking a wage increase for workers, land allowances, and risk payments, something that Southern Oil&rsquo;s managers already receive.

Oil Workers in Southern Iraq Strike

A mass rally and march will occur next month in Botswana over the government&rsquo;s failure to intervene in the dismissal of 461 workers last year at diamond-mining enterprise Debswana. The Botswana Federation of Trade Unions is conducting the strike, and it is also a protest by the country&rsquo;s unions against Debswana&rsquo;s refusal to recognise new leadership of ICEM affiliate Botswana Mining Workers&rsquo; Union. Trade unions are seeking a re-work of employer-favoured labour legislation passed in May 2004, legislation which Debswana&mdash;a joint venture between DeBeers and the government&mdash;used to sack the 461 for striking illegally.

Mass Rally in Botswana over Debswana&#039;s Intransigence

The three-month-long dispute between 750 New Zealand miners, members of ICEM affiliate Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), and state-run Solid Energy ended 19 July with a negotiated settlement. The union won a 5% wage increase for year 2005, plus 2% cash payment in 2006. In addition, EPMU won pay parity for miners in underground and open pit mines on both New Zealand&rsquo;s North and South Islands. Workers at some mines will get an additional 3% next year, others will receive 2%, and miners at two of those coal mines will receive an extra 1.5% wage boost at the end of the two-year agreement in 2007. &ldquo;This agreement sees another significant group of workers win a 5% pay rise, as well as re-establishing a national industrial agreement,&rdquo; stated EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little. He added that it was &ldquo;a milestone for the mining industry.&rdquo; Since EPMU launched its &ldquo;Five in &lsquo;05&rdquo; campaign in February, the union has negotiated 5% first-year wage settlements in 219 of 245 labour agreements negotiated across several different sectors.

EPMU Wins 5% for NZ&#039;s Solid Energy Miners

Archive

Hanover Demonstration to Preserve Continental Jobs

International Labour Calls for Reform of the Structures of Global Governance

ICEM Releases Contract and Agency Manual in French, Spanish, Russian

ICEM Heyeti Arjantin'deki Krizi İnceledi

ICEM'in Singapur Konferansı Bölgedeki Taşeron İşçilerinin Sorunlarını Ele Aldı

PENGASSAN Demands Transparency in NNPC's Buy-up

Baghdad's Electrical Workers Organise

Oil Workers in Southern Iraq Strike

Mass Rally in Botswana over Debswana's Intransigence

EPMU Wins 5% for NZ's Solid Energy Miners

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