English

Español

Français

Русский

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

Another mining disaster happened 10 January in South Africa at AngloGold Ashanti&rsquo;s TauTona gold mine near Carletonville, just outside of Johannesburg.
A rock slide caused by an earth tremor killed three workers, and injured five others, two of them seriously. An investigation into the accident is being jointly conducted by the Ministry of Minerals and Energy, ICEM affiliate National Union of Mineworkers, and AngloGold Ashanti South African Mines. 
<img height="103" src="" width="100" alt="" />
A similar earth tremor at the TauTona Mine last July killed two miners, while a rock fall at AngloGold&rsquo;s Mponeny Mine in South Africa in October also killed two miners.

Earth Tremor Kills Three at AngloGold South African Mine

The worst Romanian mining catastrophe in 20 years occurred on 14 January when a methane gas explosion occurred at the Anina Mine in the southwestern part of the country.
Seven miners were killed and five seriously injured by the blast at the 200-year-old mine owned by state-run Benat Mining Co. The mine was scheduled to be closed in October 2006, but Romanian President Traian Basescu&mdash;upon visiting the site a day after the disaster&mdash;ordered immediate closure.
<img height="67" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Records show that some 1,000 miners have died at the Anina Mine since it opened in 1792, with the worst tragedy happening in 1920 when 270 miners perished from an underground explosion.

Gas Blast in Romanian Colliery Closes 214-Year-Old Mine

<img height="100" src="" width="100" alt="" />
A 17-day strike by some 28,000 contract workers of Chilean state-run copper producer Codelco ended over the weekend.
Contract workers did not receive the bonus payment they were seeking, but did achieve a pre-agreement to end the strike for alternative financial compensation and improvements in working conditions. Codelco&rsquo;s contract workers are unionised and are members of divisional unions aligned with the Copper Workers Federation (FTC). 
The non-ICEM-affiliated FTC&rsquo;s strike actions centered at Codelco&rsquo;s El Teniente mining area and at the company&rsquo;s Andina Division. Codelco is the world&rsquo;s largest producer of copper. The strike caused copper prices to hit a record high on 19 January.

Contract Workers End Strike at Chile’s Codelco Mines

Miners at a uranium mine in Namibia won a 2006 salary agreement from R&ouml;ssing Uranium after interrupting work for four hours on 10 January to deliver a petition to company management.
<img height="66" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Some 450 miners of the R&ouml;ssing Branch of ICEM affiliate Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Namibia won an 8% pay hike from the mining concern that is 68.6% owned by Rio Tinto, plus a one-off bonus of N$1,000 and substantial housing allowances. When senior managers at the mine where unavailable to accept the petition at the mine&rsquo;s main entrance, miners boarded buses to Swakopmund, some 70 kilometers away, to present the petition to senior management.
Rio Tinto announced in December that it was investing US$112 million in R&ouml;ssing Uranium, a move that would extend the life of the mine from 2009 to 2016.

Rio Tinto Miners in Namibia Win Pay Gains

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Five subcontractors at a Taiyo Oil Co. refinery in Imabari, Japan were burned to death 17 January inside a 100,000 kiloliter oil storage tank. An explosion and fire occurred when two contractors were preparing the tank for cleaning.
Investigators are looking at safety management practices of the two contractors, Taiyo Techno Service and Fukasaki-Gumi, and suspicion of negligence on their part.
The Taiyo Oil Workers&rsquo; Union, affiliated with JEC Rengo, is monitoring in the investigation. The union represents refinery workers at the 120,000 barrel-per-day Taiyo refinery, but not contract workers. Two other contract workers were injured in the blast and subsequent fire.

Contract Workers Killed at Japanese Oil Refinery

French affiliate FCE-CFDT has condemned Swiss chemicals and pharmaceutical company Novartis for installing a special telephone line in plants so workers can whistle-blow on one another.
<img height="99" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The union said such a practice abuses the company&rsquo;s own code of conduct, and creates a sour climate for employee morale. The central committee of workers for Novartis&rsquo;s French enterprises, along with the FCE-CFDT and CGT-FO, have taken legal action in the city of Nanterre.
In spite of laws and regulations preventing such practices, certain multinationals, including Novartis, do no hesitate to transgress these laws and regulations in order to arrive at methods that are perceived to be accountability measures, stated the FCE-CFDT.

French Affiliate Protests Novartis’ Whistle-Blowing Tactics

<img height="99" alt="" src="" width="100" />
CEP members at a Stora Enso paper mill in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, will vote tomorrow and Wednesday, 24 and 25 January, on a company contract proposal. Rejection likely will mean 660 members of CEP Local 972 will face a lockout effective 26 January. 
Following eight days of non-stop bargaining that ended late on 18 January, Local 972 members met with union leaders on 21 January to review proposed terms, which includes job losses, contracting out provisions and changes in seniority procedures.
Stora Enso issued the mandatory 48-hour lockout notice on 30 December, and has had its only Canadian pulp and paper mill closed since 23 December, with nearly all workers on layoff status

Canadian Stora Enso Workers to Vote on Contract

The Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) of Canada on 16 January conducted 14 separate demonstrations across the North American country to protest the jobs crisis in the forest industries sector. Last week&rsquo;s actions came seven days before Canadians go to the polls in national elections today.
The protests were aimed at demanding government aid for stricken communities, as well as government subsidies tied to maintaining and creating jobs in forest products sectors.
&nbsp;<img height="131" alt="" src="" width="92" /> 
 
CEP President Brian Payne
&ldquo;These jobs and communities are worth fighting for, and it&rsquo;s about time the politicians joined our fight,&rdquo; stated CEP President Brian Payne. Some 7,600 jobs have been lost due to shutdowns and cutbacks in the past year in Canada, and 40,000 over the past five years.

Canadian CEP Union Calls for National Action Over Forest Sector Jobs

Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen of Finland, ICEM&rsquo;s Paper Sector Chairman, has questioned whether the current paper employers&rsquo; frenzy to contract out jobs is in the best interests of the companies&rsquo; own future financial health.
Because of the agreement that ended last year&rsquo;s bitter lockout in the Finnish paper sector, mill-level negotiations on outsourcing are underway at some 30 enterprises, work capably done now by Paperiliitto members. Ahonen told the Finnish press that employers would be wise to consider that such practices might backfire on them in the future.
<img height="171" alt="" src="" width="120" /> 
 
Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen
If mill-level talks on sub-contracting do not reach mutual accord, the matter goes before a national arbitration panel that includes Paperiliitto, the employers&rsquo; federation, and an impartial chairman. All final decisions by such a panel must be unanimous.

Paperiliitto President Predicts Finnish Outsourcing Will Backfire

ICEM Serbia-Montenegro affiliate, EPS Trade Union, began the second phase of strike actions at three enterprises of the state-run electric power generation and distribution services on 20 January.
Distribution workers are now striking two hours daily, while thermal plant production has been decreased by 10%. In addition, maintenance workers at hydro plants and transmission network workers have reduced services. The strike actions, which began 10 January, are over back wages owed to power workers and miners for 2004 and 2005 and for a fair wage increase in 2006. 

<img height="133" alt="" src="" width="100" /> 
 
EPS Trade Union President 
Miroslav Veličković
The Serbian Mining and Energy Ministry reneged on an offer that had ended one-hour, daily strikes. Originally, the two sides agreed that workers would be paid 70% of accrued back-wages now, and the remainder later. Last week, the government amended that offer to pay workers only 9% on a monthly basis, and structure that as a loan.

Serbian Affiliate Commences Phase Two of Utility Strike Actions

Archive