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Bangkok, Thailand, 22-24 November 2007&nbsp;
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<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="50" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="/index.php?id=184&amp;doc=2577&amp;la=EN">Resolutions as adopted by 4th ICEM World Congress</a>
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="50" align="absBottom" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="/en/?id=184&amp;doc=2482&amp;la=EN">4th ICEM World Congress 
Opening Speech by ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana</a> 

<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="50" align="absBottom" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="/en/?id=184&amp;doc=2483&amp;la=EN">4th ICEM World Congress 
Speech by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda</a>
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="50" align="absMiddle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="/index.php?id=184&amp;doc=2430&amp;la=EN">Draft Congress Agenda</a>
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="50" align="absMiddle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="/en/?id=184&amp;doc=2431&amp;la=EN">ICEM Secretariat Report</a>
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="50" align="absMiddle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="/index.php?id=71&amp;doc=2478&amp;la=EN">Women &ndash; Work &ndash; 21st Century</a>
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="50" align="absMiddle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/2007ICEMatwork-EN.pdf">ICEM at Work</a>

4th ICEM World Congress - Congress Documents

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Simultaneous three-day extraordinary congresses were successfully concluded last week in Sweden. In simultaneous congresses, delegates from ICEM affiliate SIF, the Swedish Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, and HTF, the Salaried Employees&rsquo; Union, voted to merge effective 1 January 2008 to become Unionen.
The joint congresses adopted statutes for the new Unionen, and passed a dynamic action plan. That plan contains the basic premise that democracy, respect, and solidarity will rule the union. Unionen also set forth in its action plan that it will also utilise union power, and fully realises that recruitment is behind union strength. 
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The plan also promotes solid environmental and safe climate practices, equality in labour markets, pledges a Unionen push for compulsory labour education in primary and secondary schools, and ensures that the union will protect the rights and interests of unemployed workers. 
 
The combined delegations at the merger congresses in V&auml;ster&aring;s, numbering 280, also created a youth membership discount on union fees and created a conflict fund. The union also voted to retain regional offices, 19 from Sif and 13 from HTF, and vowed to bring down union fee levels by using return on capital equity for operational uses. 
 
Delegates also had strong words against the crackdown by the military junta against citizens of Burma. Unionen&rsquo;s executive committee will now take action on that. 
 
Unionen will now comprise 530,000 Swedish workers employed professionally in 66,000 workers in the country&rsquo;s private sector.
<img height="200" src="" width="300" alt="" />
Bengt Olsson and Mari-Ann Krantz of Unionen&nbsp;
Mari-Ann Krantz, from Sif, will be the new President of Unionen, while Bengt Olsson, President of HTF, will be Unionen&rsquo;s Vice President. Stefan Carlsson, Cecilia Fahlberg, and Peter Hellberg will be the Deputy Vice Presidents. Unionen will hold its first ordinary Congress in October 2008, and return to three-year Congress periods thereafter. 
 
Philip Jennings, general secretary of Global Labour Federation Union Network International (UNI), was the featured speaker at the merger Congress on 3 October, the day the two unions conducted the vote to merge.

SIF, HTF Merge in Sweden to Create Powerful White-Collar, Private Sector Union

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A year ago, Michelin rubber company announced a massive, global four-year restructuring plan called l&rsquo;Horizon 2010. The plan would cut costs by over US$2 billion by 2010, push the operating margin to over 10%, and gain annual growth at a rate of 3.5%. 
 
It would also cost 12,000 jobs, nearly two-thirds of which are now happening in France, Spain, and Italy. The horizon for many European workers of Michelin is bleak and barely visible. 
 
In France, trade union CFDT has expressed deep concern over the French company&rsquo;s plan to close its auto and light truck tyre plant in Toul, an enterprise called Pneumatiques Kleber. The plant is located in Meurthe-Moselle near Metz. Michelin intends to close the 47-year-old plant by 2009, severing 800 jobs. 
In Spain last week, CC.OO trade unions conducted a vote among 5,500 Michelin workers at three tyre plants on a company-proposed plan tied in with l&rsquo;Horizon 2010. The plan passed by just under a two-to-one margin, but job restructuring will occur for half of the workers. Even though changes to work shifts are now in effect, Spanish unions did maintain the 35-hour work-week, and work days will not exceed 198 annually. 
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The tyre plants are Michelin&rsquo;s Valladolid auto and tractor tyre plant, an auto and construction tyre plant in Vitoria, and a truck and bus factory in Aranda de Duero. The plants are in northern Spain. Workers at a fourth tyre plant in Lasarte, near Bilbao and close to the Bay of Biscay coast, won assurances that Michelin will invest US$73 million to produce premium tyres for sport motorcycles. 
 
In Italy, trade unions FILCEM-CGIL, FEMCA-CISL, and UILCEM-UIL began protests in June to protect 5,500 jobs at four production plants, all near Turin, three logistic plants, and a commercial centre in Milan. The unions have demanded that the multinational begin new investments in the country, and have called upon Italy&rsquo;s Ministry of Economic Development to closely examine issues that will facilitate investment. 
 
Michelin&rsquo;s ambitious four-year restructurings call for reducing inventory levels below 16% of net sales, freeing cash flows, and spending some US$650 million per year on capitalisation projects, nearly all of which will occur in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America. 
Besides Europe, workers in other countries have felt the pain of job cuts and plant closings. Early in 2007, in Nigeria, the French company closed a tyre plant in Port Harcourt, causing Nigeria&rsquo;s senior staff federation, Trade Union Congress (TUC), to say that it &ldquo;wonders why (Michelin) just wants leave of the country, causing misery and hardship to former employees who never prepared for premature retirement.&rdquo; The plant employed 1,200, and Michelin had operated it for 30 years. 
 
In North America, Michelin shuttered a unionised plant in Kitchener, Canada, in 2006. The closure cost 1,100 jobs in the province of Ontario. The United Steelworkers (USW) protested the closure several times, including a mass rally when the plant&rsquo;s machinery was auctioned off in May 2007. 
 
That same month, in the UK, Michelin announced it was closing its final pension scheme for 4,000 rubber workers at three plants and a logistics centre. The company said it was moving workers into a defined contribution pension plan, effective in January 2009. Three years ago, Michelin closed off the final pension scheme to all newly hired employees at its UK operations.

Michelin’s 4-year Restructuring Plan Causing Pain in Europe

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ICEM&rsquo;s two Nigerian oil and gas workers&rsquo; unions, NUPENG and PENGASSAN, gave the government and an energy company a two-week ultimatum on Friday, 5 October, or face a strike. The blue-collar and white-collar unions are fast losing patience with Conoil-Belbop Ltd., a publicly-listed Nigerian company engaged in oil and gas exploration, as well as petroleum products marketing.
The unions are pressing the government to force the company to comply with terms of a 2005 collective agreement, or face a national strike in the industry. 

<img height="155" alt="" src="" width="150" /><img height="142" alt="" src="" width="135" />
Salaries by the company have not been paid since August 2007, and Conoil-Belbop has sacked nearly all union members inside its 300-member workforce in a reorganization of the joint companies. The company is attempting to recruit new employees. 
 
In late 2006, the company arbitrarily and unilaterally reduced salaries by 30%, and refused to conclude talks earlier in 2006. The unions also accuse the company of unethical distribution of redundancy letters. NUPENG and PENGASSAN have already placed an embargo on all work at Conoil-Belbop. 
 
At a joint press conference on 5 October, PENGASSAN President Peter Esele said, &ldquo;It appears the embargo is not enough to make Conoil behave properly, and so we are taking it to a different level.&rdquo; The two unions called on the federal government and the ministers of labour and energy to immediately intervene.
The company&rsquo;s continued efforts to circumvent the unions are directly contrary to an order issued by the National Industrial Court in June 2007. Conoil is the marketing and distribution arm of the Lagos-based company, while Belbop is engaged in services related to oil and gas exploration. 
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PENGASSAN President Peter Esele
In other Nigerian news related to PENGASSAN, the senior staff union held a three-day workshop in Calabar, Cross Rivers state, over the weekend of 1-3 October. A statement from the workshop calls for a national summit as the means to resolve the ongoing crisis in the Niger Delta. 
 
Entitled &ldquo;Fostering Congenial Industrial Climate in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector: Challenges and Strategies,&rdquo; the statement calls on the government to wage a genuine fight against corruption in all facets of life, to give strict adherence and implementation of proposed Memorandums of Understanding with local communities, begin real infrastructure development, and to engage in youth empowerment projects. 
 
&ldquo;The workshop is concerned about safety and security of oil workers and other stakeholders in the Niger Delta,&rdquo; said PENGASSAN Acting President Mustapha Wall and General Secretary Bayo Olowoshile in a statement. &ldquo;The workshop agrees that underdevelopment, unemployment, corrupt activities of the local and political class, conflict merchants, and lack of political will by the ruling class contribute&rdquo; to the denigration of society in many areas of the Niger Delta.

Nigerian Oilworkers Ready for National Strike Due to Harsh Practices of Conoil-Belbop Ltd.

PROTOCOL INSTITUTIONALISING DIALOGUE AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL BETWEEN THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF ENDESA AND THE TRADE UNION REPRESENTATIVES 
 
Madrid, 25 January 2002 
 
PERSONS MEETING 
 
On the one hand, 
 
RODOLFO MART&Iacute;N VILLA and RAFAEL MIRANDA ROBREDO, persons legally of age, holding national identity documents nos. 09.580.318 - J and n&ordm;13045173 - X., respectively, 
 
and on the other hand, 
 
JOSU FRADE ODRIOZOLA, IGNACIO FERN&aacute;NDEZ TOXO and FREDERICK R. HIGGS, persons legally of age, holding national identity documents 14.863.638 A and 32,603.993 and British passport R 14.459.206, respectively. 
 
SIGNATORIES 
 
RODOLFO MART&Iacute;N VILLA and RAFAEL MIRANDA ROBLEDO are acting on behalf of and representing ENDESA, S.A. having its registered office at Madrid, Calle Pr&iacute;ncipe de Vergara 187, in their capacity as Chairman of the Board and Managing Director respectively of said Entity. 
 
JOSU FRADE ODRIOZOLA is acting on behalf of the FEDERACI&Oacute;N DE INDUSTRIAS AFINES DE UGT (hereafter &ldquo;UGT&rdquo;), in his capacity as General Secretary of the same. 
 
IGNACIO FERN&Aacute;NDEZ TOXO is acting on behalf of the FEDERACI&Oacute;N MINEROMETAL&Uacute;RGICADE CC.OO. (hereafter &ldquo;CC.OO&rdquo;.), in his capacity as General Secretary of the same. 
 
FREDERICK R. HIGG is acting on behalf of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (hereafter &ldquo;ICEM&rdquo;), in his capacity as General Secretary of the same. 
 
 
 
WHEREAS 
 
FIRSTLY: The U.G.T. and CC.OO comprise the majority trade union representation at ENDESA in Spain, both parties having ratified their mutual capacity as interlocutors for negotiating any agreements and pacts that are agreed for all the enterprises, under the terms of the Agreement signed on 29 December 1999. 
 
 
SECONDLY: ICEM states that it brings together the majority of the trade unions representing ENDESA employees in the international field. 
 
 
THIRDLY: Both parties agree fully on the existence of common interests that can be summarised in the expediency of making the needs for growth and for the competitive and financial success of the Endesa Group compatible with dignified working conditions for all Group employees. 
 
 
FOURTHLY: Both parties agree that trade union dialogue, as well as any possible future agreements reached at ENDESA, need to be carried out in a spirit of dialogue and mutual understanding and reflect the common interests mentioned above, 
 
 
IT IS HEREBY AGREED 
 
FIRSTLY: That both parties adopt, as fundamental principles of the present protocol: compliance with international labour standards, and in particular the ILO conventions on trade union freedom and the right to organise and international standards on the respect of human rights; the strictest respect of standards and required behaviour in the area of Safety, Health and Prevention of Occupational Hazards; viewing the vocational training of workers as a qualification instrument that is mutually beneficial to the two parties; the commitment to provide a service of the highest quality; and supporting and upholding the ENDESA expansion plans which enable its activities and employment to grow. 
 
 
SECONDLY: To establish a channel of dialogue and international trade union consultation within ENDESA at the highest organisational level, as an effective tool for achieving an adequate exchange of relevant information between the two parties. 
 
 
THIRDLY: That at least once a year, or whenever required by the relevant nature of the topics to be discussed, an ICEM representative will take part in one of the meetings established in the &ldquo;AGREEMENT dated 25.10.2000 BETWEEN THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF ENDESA AND THE TRADE UNION REPRESENTATION&rdquo;, in which the questions provided for in said agreement shall be addressed in an international perspective. 
 
 
FOURTHLY: That, independently of what has been established in the previous agreement, whenever the relevance of the topics to be dealt with so justifies, and in any event, at least once every six months, Endesa&rsquo;s Corporate Human Resources Management will meet with the highest officials of the signatory trade unions, and that this meeting will be attended by one ICEM representative for each country other than Spain in which ENDESA has companies that it controls. 
 
4.1. The basic content of this type of meeting will be the analysis and mutual exchange of information concerning the most relevant happenings in the labour area, as well as the short and medium-term outlook, and specifically as regards the evolution of employment. 
 
Additionally the two parties may agree on and adopt initiatives to achieve the basic objectives and principles that inspire the present agreement, including participation in international programmes that are consistent with the jointly adopted principles. In keeping with this, both parties consider it a matter of priority to work to draw up a code of conduct which is consistent with said principles. 
 
4.2. In order to render the objective of dialogue and consultation compatible with the good functioning of the meetings, the trade union representation will attend these meetings accompanied by officials who can guarantee that the topics are addressed in an adequate fashion. 
 
4.3. In order to assist the effectiveness of the meetings, ENDESA will provide those attending these meetings with the communication systems enabling them to maintain contact among themselves and with the trade union organisations signing the present agreement. Likewise, ENDESA will bear the reasonable costs of organising and attending said meetings and will set the venue of the meetings in agreement with the signatories. 
 
4.4. The agendas of the meetings will be distributed in advance by ENDESA management to those attending. 
 
Where proposed by either party with sufficient notice, it may be agreed that the meetings address other topics that are considered relevant in terms of their general or current importance. 
 
 
FIFTH. That the contacts and the information exchanged between the parties under the protection of the present agreement shall not replace or interfere with labour relations at the local level. 
 
 
SIXTH. That the information provided by Management at these meetings may be declared by the latter to be restricted and confidential, whenever its dissemination to competitors or to the general public could be detrimental to the economic interests of the Enterprise or to the proper execution of the business plans. 
 
In these cases, those attending commit to maintaining confidentiality and professional secrecy on the topics discussed and on the information and documentation provided by the Enterprise in such meetings. 
 
 
SEVENTH. That ENDESA and the trade unions signing the present agreement will disseminate its content to all companies, in the international area, over which ENDESA exercises control. 
 
Any information published externally about the present agreement will be mutually agreed by the parties. 
 
 
EIGHTH. That the present agreement will be valid until 31 December 2003, unless its extension is expressly agreed between the parties. 
 
 
And in witness of their acceptance of all the foregoing, they sign the present agreement in quadruplicate, at the place and date indicated in the heading. 
 
 
 
For ENDESA 
Rodolfo Mart&iacute;n Villa 
 
For FIA UGT 
Josu Frade Odriozola 
Rafael Miranda Robredo 
 
For F.M. CC.OO 
Ignacio Fern&aacute;ndez Toxo 
 
 
For ICEM 
Frederick R. Higgs

Text of the ICEM Global Agreement with Endesa

AGREEMENT 
 
Between 
 
FELLESFORBUNDET/ICEM 
 
and 
 
NORSKE SKOGINDUSTRIER ASA 
 
on 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOOD WORKING RELATIONS 
 
IN NORSKE SKOGINDUSTRIER&rsquo;S WORLDWIDE OPERATIONS 
 
1. PREAMBLE 
This agreement has been concluded between Norske Skogindustrier ASA, hereafter referred to as Norske Skog, and Fellesforbundet (The Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions) and the ICEM (International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions). 
 
The agreement is based on the signatories&rsquo; joint commitment to respect basic human rights and trade union rights in the community, and to achieve continuous improvements within the areas of working conditions, industrial relations with the employees of Norske Skog, health and safety standards at the workplace and environmental performance. 
 
On the basis of the company&rsquo;s core values - openness, honesty and co-operation - the parties agree that they should actively co-operate locally, nationally and internationally. Co-operation is to be built on mutual respect, confidence and freely available and honest information. This ensures the possibility for the employees to influence decisions through consultation with the management. 
 
This agreement relates to all Norske Skog operations where the company has direct control as owner. Where Norske Skog does not have a controlling interest it will use its fullest influence in order to secure compliance with the standards set out in this agreement. 
 
Norske Skog will notify its subcontractors and suppliers of this agreement and encourage compliance with the standards set out in paragraph 2 below. 
 
 
2. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT 
Both parties underline the fact that they respect fundamental human rights and trade union rights, both in the community and at the workplace. The parties also wish to promote these rights in the company&rsquo;s supply chain and with customers. 
 
Within the company&rsquo;s own field of business the top manager for each business unit is responsible for ensuring that the following minimum rules and ILO conventions are not broken: 
 
a) Freedom of association and collective bargaining 
 
All workers shall have the right to be members of trade unions. These unions shall have the right to be recognised for the purpose of collective bargaining in conformance with ILO Conventions 87 and 98. Workers&rsquo; representatives shall not be subjected to any discrimination and shall have access to all necessary workplaces in order to carry out their duties as representatives (ILO Convention 135 and Recommendation 143). The employer shall take a positive attitude to trade union activities, including organising. 
 
b) Discrimination 
Equality of opportunity and treatment shall be guaranteed regardless of race, colour, gender, religion, political conviction, nationality, cultural origin or other irrelevant factors (ILO Conventions 100 and 111). 
 
c) Health &amp; Safety 
 
The parties believe that every employee has the right to a healthy and safe working environment. Norske Skog is committed to providing this. To achieve industry best practice the company will involve and work with the employees, their representatives and trade unions, to continually improve the company&rsquo;s health and safety performance. 
 
d) Forced labour 
 
Forced labour, including slave and penal labour (ILO Conventions 29 and 105), shall not be used, neither shall employees be required to pay any deposit or leave their identity papers with the employer. 
 
e) Child labour 
Child labour shall not be used. Only workers over the age of 15 - or over legal school age or the age of 18 in connection with hazardous work - may be employed (ILO Conventions 138 and 182). If this commitment is, or has been, violated by Norske Skog, the company will ensure that adequate educational opportunities and adequate interim financial support will be given. 
 
f) Wages 
 
Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week shall at least be sufficient to cover the basic needs of the worker and his or her family. 
 
Deductions shall not be made from wages as a disciplinary measure. All employees shall receive clear information in writing about the wage scales and deductions from pay before they are employed. Information regarding pay and deductions should be provided to employees each time wages are paid, and these should not be changed other than by written consent of the individual worker or by collective agreement. 
 
g) Employment conditions 
 
Employment shall, as a main rule, be based on permanent employment. Temporary and part-time employees should as a main rule receive the same relative terms and conditions as fulltime permanent employees. All employees shall have the opportunity to take part in relevant educational and training programmes. 
 
 
3. IMPLEMENTATION 
a) Norske Skog will ensure that appropriate translations of the agreement are available at all workplaces. The agreement will also be made public on Norske Skog&rsquo;s website and Intranet. 
 
b) Both parties accept that effective local monitoring of this agreement must involve the local management, the workers and their representatives, health and safety representatives and local trade unions. 
 
c) To enable local representatives to play a full role in the monitoring process, they will be given adequate time for training and involvement in the monitoring process. The company will ensure that local representatives are provided with information, access to workers, and rights of inspection necessary to effectively monitor compliance with this agreement. 
 
 
4. INFRINGEMENTS OF THE AGREEMENT 
In the event of a complaint or an infringement of the agreement the following procedure will normally apply: 
 
a) Firstly, the complaint should be raised with the local site management. 
 
b) If the complaint is not resolved with local management, it should be referred to the appropriate national union who will raise the issue with the company&rsquo;s regional president. 
 
c) If still unresolved, the complaint will be referred to the ICEM Brussels office who will raise the matter with the company&rsquo;s Corporate Management. 
 
Where infringements are found, these shall be reported to the responsible member of management, who will ensure that relevant corrective measures are implemented. 
 
 
5. ANNUAL REVIEW 
 
The signatories to the agreement will hold an annual meeting in order to review the principles, practice, effectiveness, and impact of the agreement. The aim shall be to exchange views regarding the current situation, and jointly develop further good working relations in Norske Skog. 
 
At these meetings leading ICEM / Fellesforbundet representatives, the Chief Shop Steward of Norske Skog, and representatives of Norske Skog Corporate Management will participate. 
 
The original English version of this agreement will apply in all parts and to all interpretations of the agreement. 

6. INFORMATION 
Fellesforbundet/ICEM will distribute copies of this agreement to all its member unions that organise employees in Norske Skog companies world wide, and broadly publicise the existence of the agreement. 
 
Likewise, Norske Skog will distribute copies of this agreement to all Norske Skog locations, their partners and contractors in the language(s) of the country concerned and will inform the local management about the conclusion and content of this agreement. 
 
 
7. ADMINISTRATION AND INTERPRETATION 
Fellesforbundet, ICEM and Norske Skog are responsible for the administration of this agreement. 
 
Questions regarding the interpretation of the agreement shall be resolved in accordance with the procedure jointly agreed to by the parties in point 4 above. 
 
The provisions of this agreement represent minimum standards applicable to all Norske Skog operations, and should be improved upon where possible. 
 
 
8. DURATION AND RENEGOTIATION 
This agreement is valid for a period of 2 years, after which it may be prolonged or renegotiated. 
 
 
Norway/Lysaker, 24 June 2002 
 
 
Norske Skogindustrier ASA 
Jan Rein&aring;s, President and CEO 
ICEM&nbsp; 
Fred Higgs, General Secretary 
 
Fellesforbundet&nbsp; 
Kjell Bj&oslash;rndalen, President

Text of the Global Agreement between ICEM and Norske Skog

In a major rebuff to the Australian government, the OECD has criticised its handling of a complaint on breaches of OECD guidelines by global minerals giant Rio Tinto. The Australian government will now have to deal with the complaint on its merits - and this could mean further trouble for the company. 
 
A senior intergovernmental committee of the OECD - the Committee on Investment and Multinational Enterprises - issued a ruling on 10 December in Paris that has now been released publicly. It deals with a formal complaint lodged by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in April 1998 regarding Rio Tinto's multiple breaches of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises - a voluntary code with which the company claims it complies. The OECD Guidelines require that companies respect the rights of their employees to bargain collectively and promote collective bargaining. 
 
Rio Tinto has been embroiled in a series of major industrial disputes in Australia, essentially over its attempts to deunionise its operations there. 
 
The Australian government rejected the ACTU's complaint in February 1999, claiming that Rio Tinto compliance with Australian law was sufficient to comply with the Guidelines. It also argued that Rio Tinto was not really a multinational enterprise - even though it has over 60 operations in some 40 countries and all senior management in its London head office. The government refused to deal with the substance of the complaints. 
 
The ACTU therefore took the matter directly to the OECD, which has ruled the Australian government is wrong on both counts. 
 
John Maitland, National Secretary of Australian mining union the CFMEU, described the result as a victory for unions and a major international embarrassment to the Australian government. 
 
Maitland is also President of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), to which the CFMEU is affiliated at the global level. Together with a broad alliance of campaigning organisations, the ICEM has been pressing Rio Tinto to improve its respect for the environment and for human rights worldwide, notably trade union rights and the rights of indigenous peoples. 
 
&quot;On the advice of Rio Tinto and [Australian industrial relations minister] Peter Reith, the Australian government thought it could escape its obligations to apply OECD standards for trade union rights through the spurious use of technicalities,&quot; Maitland said. &quot;Instead, the OECD effectively said 'no way'. The ACTU has cited independent findings of conduct that constitute multiple breaches of the OECD Guidelines by Rio Tinto and these must now be dealt with. 
 
&quot;The outstanding question now,&quot; Maitland insisted, &quot;is whether the coalition government is going to stick with their big business mates in flouting OECD standards. Or are they going to finally live up their responsibilities as a member government of the OECD?&quot; 
 
The OECD ruling creates further difficulties for Rio Tinto, coming on the heels of allegations in the United Kingdom over serious pollution at the company's former Capper Pass tin smelter, and litigation by environmental and indigenous groups in Canada over its Diavik diamond mine. 
 
An ICEM meeting of unions from Rio Tinto's operations worldwide will be hosted in Australia next February by the CFMEU.

OECD Rebuffs Australian Government Over Rio Tinto Case

Australian miners' union the CFMEU today called on Rio Tinto, the world's biggest mining company, to reinstate illegally sacked workers at the company's Gordonstone mine. 
 
The miners were fired by the previous owners of the mine, Arco, but when Rio Tinto bought Gordonstone, it opted to restart operations there with a group of hand-picked employees on a non-union contract. 
 
The union's renewed call to the company follows a strange ruling today by the Australian Federal Court. The court found that it does not have the power to overturn a decision of the Full Bench of the Industrial Relations Commission, even though the Commission had erred in law. The CFMEU is now considering its legal options. 
 
The union had appealed to the Federal Court to uphold a ruling by Commissioner Hodder last year that the illegally sacked Gordonstone mineworkers should have preference of employment when the mine reopened. The company appealed against Commissioner Hodder's decision before a Full Bench of the Commission, which upheld the appeal by a 2-1 majority. The Federal Court ruled today that the Full Bench of the Commission had erred in law in quashing Commissioner Hodder's decision. However, the Federal Court said that under Australia's Workplace Relations Act, it did not have the power to quash the Full Bench of the Commission's decision. 
 
The Federal Court also ruled that the Commission was wrong when it registered a non-union Certified Agreement involving secretly recruited employees hired by a Rio Tinto $2 shelf company. The Court ruled that this Certified Agreement was void because it was registered before the business was operational. 
 
CFMEU Mining and Energy Division General President Tony Maher welcomed the Court's quashing of the Gordonstone non-union agreement. 
 
While the CFMEU had won the case &quot;hands down&quot; in the Federal Court, Maher said, the illegally sacked Gordonstone miners were robbed of justice by the combined effects of a legal technicality and two serious legal errors of the Industrial Commission. The Federal Court ruled that the Full Bench of the Industrial Commission got it wrong when they quashed Commissioner Hodder's decision and they got it wrong again when they allowed Rio Tinto's $2 shelf company to register a Certified Agreement. 
 
&quot;What sort of a system is it when workers are recognised as right in law and yet are allowed to become the victims?&quot; Maher asked. &quot;We will be examining all our options and will be consulting the labour movement as this decision has implications for all workers.&quot; 
 
He called on Rio Tinto to cease victimising the sacked workers and to employ them. 
 
At the global level, the CFMEU is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which is part of a broad international alliance of organisations campaigning for big improvements in Rio Tinto's environmental performance and in its respect for human rights, including trade union rights and the rights of indigenous peoples.

Australian Miners Win Court Victory But No Justice

The 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) is maintaining its offer to facilitate an attempt to resolve ongoing disputes between Rio Tinto, the world's biggest mining corporation, and the ICEM-affiliated Australian miners' union CFMEU. 
 
The company is embroiled in a series of long-running industrial disputes in Australia, essentially over its attempts to deunionise mines and to move workers away from collective agreements onto individual employment contracts. 

<img height="373" alt="" src="" width="250" />
ICEM British Vice-President Fred Higgs (left) and Australian Vice-President John Maitland in discussion just before Rio Tinto's London AGM.
But the ICEM offer drew a very cool response from Rio Tinto at its Annual General Meeting in London today. 
 
A number of Australian and British trade unionists had bought shares, so that they could raise questions during the AGM about the company's attitude to unions in Australia and elsewhere. 
 
Asked if Rio Tinto would accept the ICEM offer, the company's Chief Executive Leon Davis replied: &quot;We have had meetings with ICEM officials. From my point of view, I said that it was a dispute that could best be solved in Australia.&quot; 
 
However, Davis went on to tell the shareholders that he would have &quot;no problem&quot; with a meeting between Leigh Clifford, Chief Executive of the company's energy group, and John Maitland, who is both ICEM Vice-President and National Secretary of the CFMEU. 
 
Maitland was one of the Australian trade unionists attending the AGM in London today. Also lobbying there were Reg Coates, National Vice-President of the CFMEU's mining and energy division, Stuart Vaccanio, President of the CFMEU lodge at Rio Tinto's Gordonstone mine and Carole Maitland, who is patron of the Miners' Support Group. 
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Maitland, Higgs and Gordonstone miners' leader Stuart Vaccanio demonstrate outside the AGM.
ICEM Vice-President Fred Higgs was among British trade unionists taking part in the AGM and in protests outside the venue before the meeting. 
 
&quot;We are disappointed and very concerned that Rio Tinto did not clearly take up the ICEM offer,&quot; John Maitland commented afterwards. &quot;The tone of the AGM was certainly more courteous than last year, but nothing in what was said by Chairman Robert Wilson and Chief Executive Leon Davis suggested that Rio Tinto is seriously interested in resolving the Australian issues with us. 
 
&quot;That is highly regrettable,&quot; Maitland said, &quot;because Rio Tinto should now really be turning over a new leaf in its Australian industrial relations - and then going on to conclude a global-level agreement with the ICEM. Such a global agreement could be of great benefit to the company. One issue that it could cover would be the means of improving the company's health and safety performance, about which both Robert Wilson and Leon Davis very frankly expressed their concern during today's AGM.&quot; 
 
But, Maitland concluded, &quot;in the present circumstances, we have no choice but to continue and intensify the ICEM campaign on Rio Tinto. This will include action at the company's Australian AGM in Perth on 27 May.&quot; 
 
In Perth as today in London, shareholders will be handed an extra document as they enter the meeting. Rio Tinto - Behind The Facade is this year's edition of the stakeholders' report published by the ICEM in cooperation with a wide range of groups campaigning to improve Rio Tinto's respect for human rights - notably workers' and indigenous peoples' rights - and for health, safety and the environment. 
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Carole Maitland makes sure the arriving shareholders get the full picture.
Out today, the new report assesses Rio Tinto's performance in these fields against the yardstick of the company's own in-house business principles. Detailed examples from around the world show how the company is failing to live up to those principles. 
 
&quot;Rio Tinto must fulfil not only its fiduciary duty,&quot; the report insists, &quot;but also its wider social duty to all those stakeholders who have contributed, and continue to contribute, to the survival and success of the company.&quot; 
Many a shareholder was seen studying the report after - and during - the AGM.

ICEM Maintains Help Offer - Despite Mixed Signals From Company

As locked-out American employees of global tyremaker Continental rounded off their solidarity tour of Europe today, &quot;Conti&quot; workers in Scotland were balloting on possible strike action. 
 
The US delegation represented some 1,450 strikers at the General Tire plant in Charlotte, North Carolina. 
 
Earlier this week they held talks with unions in Scotland, where Continental's Newbridge plant could soon be hit by a strike over imposed workforce cuts and longer work times. 
 
Continental's business strategy declaredly includes &quot;relocation of production to low-cost countries&quot;. 
 
On the company's own figures, its production of car tyres in &quot;low-cost countries&quot; has soared, by volume, from 0 percent in 1990 to about 35 percent today. So Continental is well on course to its target of making 40 percent of its car tyres in &quot;low-cost countries&quot;. 
 
This is creating pressure on pay and jobs at various older-established Continental plants, and serious prospects of closures. In some of the European countries visited by the US delegation, unions said the local Continental management had warned them not to meet the American strikers - for fear of compromising their own plants' chances of survival. 
 
The US visitors quickly established a rapport and solidarity with their Scottish colleagues, John McAllister says. He is the Branch Secretary for the GMB union at Continental's Scottish plant. 
 
&quot;The American Continental workers' situation is very similar to ours,&quot; McAllister told ICEM UPDATE. &quot;The company obviously wants low-cost operations everywhere except in its home country, Germany.&quot; 
 
Management at Newbridge is trying to impose new shift patterns that would mean fewer workers and longer hours, McAllister says. The company plans to cut 135 jobs there by April, and a further 60 over the rest of this year. 
 
McAllister saw Newbridge management today with proposals to salvage the situation. &quot;But how do I know that if I give something now, they won't be back for more? We recognise the company's need for profits and productivity. But here at Newbridge, we need some hope for the future. We can't go on working 42-hour weeks.&quot; 
 
Talks would be continuing, McAllister said. &quot;Obviously, we are hoping that a solution can still be found that will avert strike action.&quot; 
 
 
 
AMERICAN CONTI DISPUTE ENTERS SIXTH MONTH 
 
Meanwhile, the workers at the Continental's Charlotte plant in the USA have been on strike since last September, and have been effectively locked out since November, when the company &quot;permanently replaced&quot; them with strikebreakers. 
 
The core issue in the American dispute is that the company is refusing to pay the going rate among leading employers of US tyre workers, even though the plant is now profitable. 
 
After Continental bought General Tire, the workers agreed to &quot;give back&quot; US$90 million in wages and benefit cuts, in order to get the plant back to financial health. These give-backs amounted to $30,000 per worker. The clear understanding was that the workers would be properly compensated when the plant returned to profitability. In the meantime, General Tire is showing a healthy profit, but there is no sign that the workers are about to be paid their due. 
 
Due to a legal loophole, American employers can fire workers during a dispute, as long as the sackings are termed &quot;permanent replacement&quot;. This curious right is not absolute, however. If the company can be shown to have engaged in &quot;unfair labour practices&quot;, it could be obliged to take the strikers back and to foot a big bill for wage backlogs and compensation. 
 
The Charlotte workers are confident they can prove that General Tire bargained in &quot;bad faith&quot; - in other words, that it was not trying to reach a settlement. This would constitute an &quot;unfair labour practice&quot;, as would the company's withholding of information needed for collective bargaining. The only question is how long the legal proceedings will take. US labour law cases tend to be a slow business. 
 
The Americans' tour of Europe has been coordinated by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), whose membership includes unions organising in Continental's operations worldwide. Affiliated to the ICEM is the US tyreworkers' union, the USWA, as well as the various unions visited during the European tour. 
 
 
CONTI SACKS TURKS FOR UNIONISING 
 
This afternoon, the Americans flew back home from their final stop - Turkey. There, they visited the city of Bursa, about 200km from Istanbul. Continental's ContiTech division has a plant in Bursa, making plastic parts for the car industry. 
 
Last November, workers at the ContiTech plant decided to organise a branch of the Turkey's Lastik-Is union. 47 of the 79 Bursa workers signed up for union membership. As soon as it heard the news, the ContiTech management in Bursa sacked 45 workers. All 45 were among the 47 who had opted to join the union. 
 
The Americans also had discussions with Lastik-Is General Secretary Halil Altunay at the union's headquarters in Istanbul yesterday. Comments by Altunay and the USWA's John Sellers were widely reported by the Turkish press and television. 
 
Sellers is Executive Vice President of the USWA and head of the union's Rubber/Plastics Conference. He accompanied the US Continental strikers' representatives throughout the European tour, and his remarks to the Turkish press summarised the American workers' case. 
 
Halil Altunay stressed the global aspects of the encounter between Turkish and American Conti workers. &quot;This is a good example of international workers' solidarity, as put into practice by our International, the ICEM,&quot; he told the Turkish media. &quot;It comes at a time when workers everywhere are having to face the consequences of the globalisation of capital. Instead of bargaining properly, Continental is trying to get rid of the union in a number of countries.&quot; 
 
 
WHISTLESTOP TOUR 
 
Over the past week and a half, the Americans also visited Slovakia, the Czech Republic, France and Belgium. In each country, they met with the unions and their leaders, explained their current dispute and received solidarity and support. The delegation also held discussions with the ICEM at its headquarters in Brussels. 
 
Immediately before the tour, USWA and ICEM officers had met in Germany - where Continental is headquartered - with ICEM German affiliate the IG BCE, worker representatives from the Continental Supervisory Board and officials of Continental's German Works Council (see ICEM UPDATE 3/1999).

Locked-Out American Strikers Tour Europe

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