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Changes to Germany's industrial democracy laws took effect this Saturday. 
 
The new measures update the &quot;workplace constitution&quot;, a pillar of Germany's co-determination system (Mitbestimmung). The reforms will strengthen the country's works councils by bringing them more into line with present-day industrial realities. The changes, which had faced stiff opposition from employers at various stages, have been largely welcomed by the unions. 
 
The updated law is &quot;an important step towards more co-determination, even though not all of the unions' wishes were fulfilled,&quot; said Hubertus Schmoldt. He is the President of the German mining, chemical and energy union IG BCE. Co-determination has helped to ensure &quot;social peace and economic success&quot; in Germany, he pointed out. It has thus become &quot;a substantial advantage for the Federal Republic as an industrial location.&quot; 
 
Works councillors, who are elected by all employees of a workplace, are one of two complementary types of worker representative in Germany. The other is the union reps, who are elected by union members only. The trade unions conclude regional collective agreements for each industry and decide on any industrial action. The works councils have strong information and co-determination rights within each enterprise. This means that their agreement is needed for a range of important decisions. They are responsible for supervising the implementation of the unions' collective agreements in the workplace. This can cover various issues, such as the way in which worktime cuts are applied, or the payment of certain bonuses. Unions put up their own lists of candidates for the works councils. In practice, most works councillors have been, or are, union reps. Once elected, they remain in close touch with the union. 
 
The legislation on works councils dates back to 1972. In the meantime, German industry has seen a number of far-reaching changes. New technologies have altered working patterns, and the number of &quot;white-collar&quot; employees now exceeds the &quot;blue-collars&quot;. Mergers, hive-offs and outsourcing have drastically altered the structures of many big German firms. Globalisation and European integration have changed the context in which German industry operates. For all these reasons, workplace-level co-determination was being eroded and the legislation needed an overhaul. In fact, some of the legal changes reflect what was already happening in practice in the better workplaces. 
 
The main changes under the new law are: 
 
- More scope for negotiating the creation of works councils at the level where decisions are actually taken. According to circumstances, works councils can be company-wide, or based on a company subdisiary or product division. 
 
- Provisions to ensure that, when firms merge or demerge, the works councils based on the old company structure can continue to function, for a maximum of six months, until new ones are elected. 
 
- Removal of various bureaucratic hindrances to the creation of works councils. 
 
- Involvement of temporary or subcontracted workers in the election and running of works councils. 
 
- More works councillors. The number of works councillors entitled to paid full-time or part-time leave to carry out their duties depends on the number of employees in the firm. The new law lowers many of the thresholds. For instance, a firm with 500 employees was previously required to have 9 works councillors. Now, it will have 11. 
 
- Improved information and decision-making rights for the works councils on employment protection and skills formation. Works councils will have the right to propose employment promotion measures. 
 
- Tighter obligations on employers to place experts at the works councils' disposal for information purposes. 
 
- Stronger job security for works councillors. To dismiss a works councillor, an employer already needed the permission of the works council. Similar provisions now apply to the transfer of employees who are works councillors. 
 
- Environmental protection at the workplace level is now included in the list of tasks for works councils. This implies wide-ranging rights of information and consultation on a firm's environmental policies. 
 
- Greater sexual equality. From now on, whichever sex is in the minority in the workplace must legally have a proportion of works councillors at least equal to the percentage of workers of that gender within the workforce. This rule is expected to increase the number of women works councillors, and measures are being taken to reduce the out-of-hours work commitments required of works councillors. Works councils have now also been given the right to propose career promotion plans for women and to have these incorporated into companies' personnel policies. 
 
- More involvement of young workers and apprentices in works councils. From now on, works councils can apply for apprentices to be given full employment contracts. 
 
- Combating racism and xenophobia in the workplace is added to works councils' tasks. They receive the right to oppose the hiring or transfer of employees who incite race hatred, and to apply for the removal of employees who engage in such activities. 
 
&quot;Globalisation makes it all the more necessary to strengthen co-determination,&quot; IG BCE President Hubertus Schmoldt pointed out. He is also Vice-President of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
&quot;The globalisation process offers great opportunities,&quot; Schmoldt said. &quot;But structural disruption has to be cushioned and overcome in a socially acceptable way. For this, co-determination is a vital prerequisite.&quot;

German Works Councils Strengthened

Strikes due to start this evening at three major South African coal producers have been called off after the employers met the union's demands. 
 
This was announced in Johannesburg this morning by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). 
 
Agreement has also been reached with some gold mining houses, the NUM said. But the union is still in deadlock with three big gold producers, who will therefore face strike action from Wednesday onwards. 
 
At the global level, the NUM is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which has been backing the South African union's campaign. 
 
A meeting between the NUM and the employers' Chamber of Mines on Friday brought agreement with coal producers Ingwe, Eyesizwe and Anglocoal. These had been the last coal companies holding out against the union's demands. The new agreement covers &quot;the outstanding dispute areas: namely, medical incapacity, meal interval and wages,&quot; the NUM reported today. &quot;Their revised offers met the demands of the union.&quot; The strike notice has therefore been lifted. 
 
Agreement was also reached on Friday with two of South Africa's major gold producers, Anglogold and South Deep. &quot;Both companies met the union's demands on the issues of wages and annual leave,&quot; the NUM says. &quot;Therefore, the strike threat on these companies has been lifted.&quot; 
 
Friday's meeting was, however, &quot;unable to resolve the deadlock with the Durban Roodeport Deep (DRD), Goldfields and Harmony.&quot; Consequently, &quot;the union was left with no choice but to declare a strike against these mines. A 48-hour notice will be served on them in order for the strike to begin on Wednesday night.&quot; 
 
But the union added that it remains &quot;open to hearing them should they have reasonable offers to make to us.&quot; 
 
More generally, the NUM says this year's agreements constitute progress towards &quot;our ultimate objective; that is, to transform the image of the mining industry.&quot; 
 
&quot;The living and working conditions of mineworkers should be changed,&quot; the union insists, &quot;so that they too can feel proud as a significant component of the overall workforce in our country. It is the NUM's resolve to work together with the industry in realising this objective. Hence our willingness to continue engaging with the employers, even at the last minute, so as to reach amicable resolution of issues.&quot;

SA Mine Strikes: Coal Bosses Reach Terms, Gold Miners May Strike

As South Africa faces the second day of a nationwide electricity strike, unionised miners have voted massively in favour of industrial action in the country's biggest industries, gold and coal mining. 
 
Announcing the ballot result this afternoon, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) immediately put some employers on notice of strike action. But three coal mining companies have now fallen into line with the union's demands, and national-level talks with the gold producers, in particular, are to continue on Friday. 
 
&quot;We are at a knife's edge,&quot; the mining union warned the employers this afternoon. The threat of a nationwide mining strike remained a very real one, and the NUM hoped that &quot;common sense, ingenuity and humane attitude will prevail.&quot; 
 
The mine and power workers are incensed by pay offers that would push down their already meagre living standards. 
 
Several power cuts were reported across the country yesterday as workers struck against a move by the parastatal electricity utility Eskom to unilaterally impose pay increases of between 7 and 9 percent. The unions are demanding 11 percent for the lowest-paid workers and 9 percent for the highest-paid. 
 
Two major unions involved in the action - the NUM in both mining and electricity, and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) in power - are affiliated at the global level to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
&quot;This is an industrial campaign in favour of a living wage and decent conditions for many of South Africa's most vital workers,&quot; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &quot;Our South African brothers and sisters have our full solidarity in this crucial struggle.&quot; 
 
 
 
ELECTRICITY 
 
POWER CUTS AND DEMOS 
 
The Eskom strike received full support from the workforce yesterday, the South African unions report. &quot;Demonstrations were held at workstations throughout the country, with thousands of workers taking part in the action.&quot; 
 
NUMSA noted major power cuts in the province of Mpumalanga, with other outages in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Eskom claimed that there had been no interruption of supply, but the national news agency Sapa said it had received numerous phone calls complaining of power cuts. 
 
Industrial action and demonstrations took place in all provinces. 
 
Strikes and demonstrations were continuing today, as the unions took Eskom to court for unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of its employees. This breaches South Africa's Labour Relations Act, the unions point out. 
 
NUMSA called the unilaterally imposed 7 percent hike &quot;miserable&quot; and &quot;measly&quot; and said it would &quot;lead to serious poverty and misery.&quot; 
 
The unions insist that the power strike could have been avoided if Eskom had sent senior managers to the 2001 wage talks. Most of the junior managers involved in the negotiations so far &quot;do not have the vision and capacity to deal with crucial national issues that affect the working conditions of workers,&quot; the unions say. &quot;We are therefore calling for their instant removal from the wage talks.&quot; 
 
Eskom has &quot;continued to disadvantage workers whilst making huge profits,&quot; NUMSA points out. &quot;Last year alone the company made a profit of 3 billion Rand. The whole of the profits went to company executives in a form of huge salaries and bonuses. The majority of the workers did not receive the profits. Their purchasing base has continued to diminish, leaving many of them in dire poverty.&quot; 
 
 
 
MINING 
 
STRIKE NOTICE AS TALKS CONTINUE 
 
In mining, South Africa's biggest industry, negotiations reached deadlock last week between the NUM and the employers' Chamber of Mines - specifically the gold and coal producers. 
 
The union then organised a national strike ballot, while emphasising its openness to a continued dialogue with the Chamber - &quot;in particular where there would be a clear and genuine indication of improved offers aimed at addressing [the union's] demands.&quot; 
 
This Monday, all NUM members in the gold and the coal mines were balloted on strike action. The results received up to this afternoon are: 
 
Total votes cast: 96 723 
Yes: 95 130 
No: 1 078 
Spoiled papers: 515 
 
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Mines had asked for new talks, which were held on 24 July and resulted in some improved offers: 
 
 
Gold producers 
 
All the gold mining houses have now committed themselves to a minimum monthly wage of 2 000 Rand (about 244 US dollars) by the year 2002. However, different companies have proposed different ways of reaching this target. The basic minimum is proposed as an entry point amount for miners joining the industry. At present, their monthly pay ranges from 1 200 to 1 600 Rand (about 146 to 195 US dollars). On the issue of annual leave, only two companies are offering 25 days, with the commitment of reaching 28 days by 2002. The rest only talk about an additional two days over the two-year cycle, thus reaching only 23 days. 
 
The union is presently discussing these new offers, and will report back to the membership before deciding on action in the gold sector. 
 
It will meet with the Chamber of Mines - gold producers specifically - this Friday to &quot;give them feedback on what the union members have to say to their demands.&quot; 
 
But, the NUM warns, &quot;this situation neither implies nor means that the strike threat is lifted off with regards to gold producers. It is now imperative that the Friday meeting should make good and emerge, once and for all, with a settlement package acceptable to both parties.&quot; 
 
 
 
Coal producers 
 
Three companies - Duiker, Afri-Ore and Kangra - presented offers which met all the outstanding demands of the union. The NUM says this &quot;demonstrates the genuine commitment of these mine houses to work together with us towards realising the objective of transforming the mining industry. We applaud the seriousness with which they have gone about this matter, and can only foresee prospects of a better and improved collective action.&quot; There will be no strikes at these three companies. 
 
Three other companies - Ingwe, Eyesizwe and Anglocoal - did not bother to make any offer at all. &quot;Consequently,&quot; the NUM says, &quot;we remain in deadlock with this troika on the three issues of meal interval, medical incapacity and wages.&quot; These companies are &quot;hell bent on refusing to address the genuine demands of the mineworkers,&quot; the NUM points out. &quot;It is this inhumane attitude that makes them blind to even the most basic of human needs; the need for nourishment - that is; a meal interval. Their failure to address the issue of medical incapacity, particularly of those terminally ill mineworkers, speaks volumes of how they perceive the lives of these workers.&quot; The NUM has therefore today given Ingwe, Eyesizwe and Anglocoal notice of strike action &quot;beginning on Sunday, July 29th with the night shift.&quot; 
 
Ingwe is owned by mining multinational Billiton, whose share price fell by 4.19 percent on the Johannesburg stock exchange following this afternoon's NUM announcement. 
 
Anglo American, owner of Anglocoal, fared even worse. By the end of trading today, its share price had plummeted by 8.18 percent.

South African Power Workers Strike; Miners Might Follow

Urged on by Canada's energy workers, global unions are queuing up to &quot;Give Petro-Canada A Kick In The Gas.&quot; 
 
The well-placed boot in question may help to settle a protracted labour dispute in Ontario. 
 
 
<img height="287" alt="" src="" width="377" />
 
This March, Petro-Canada signed a national collective bargaining agreement with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) [Syndicat canadien des communications, de l'&eacute;nergie et du papier (SCEP)]. But unresolved local issues forced Petro-Canada workers at refineries in Edmonton, Alberta and Oakville, Ontario, a lubrication facility in Mississauga, Ontario, and at terminals in Oakville, Ontario and Port Moody, British Columbia, to launch a strike in early April. 
 
 

<img height="82" alt="" src="" width="363" />
 
The Edmonton and Port Moody facilities have since reached agreements and returned to work. Approximately 470 workers remain on strike. To date, the company has maintained its position of job cuts, wage freezes and increased hours of work for those CEP members, and has refused to apply at the Ontario sites the same conditions that settled the disputes elsewhere. 
 
Among those pressing Petro-Canada to resolve the Ontario dispute are the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), to which the CEP is affiliated at the global level, and the Algerian oil and gas union FNTGPC. Algeria is strategically important to the company. Outside Canada, its extraction activities are concentrated in Algeria and neighbouring Tunisia. 
 
<img height="135" alt="" src="" width="136" />
 
The CEP is now seeking an all-out labour boycott of Petro-Canada. As well as extracting oil and gas, Petro-Canada styles itself &quot;Canada's Gas Station&quot;. It is the country's second-biggest retailer of petroleum products, with filling stations across Canada. So a major aim of the &quot;Kick In the Gas&quot; campaign is to hit Petro-Canada's retail trade, and petrol stations in various parts of the country have been picketed. 
 
CEP President Brian Payne says the company's behaviour, including its use of motorcycle gangs to intimidate the strikers, is &quot;outrageous.&quot; 
 
&quot;We will bring the full weight of the labour movement down on Petro-Canada,&quot; Payne insists. &quot;Petro-Canada agreed to ... a settlement that is now in effect for about 10,000 workers across the country - and now it is refusing to apply it to this one Local.&quot; 
 
The company is also using guerrilla tactics to try to intimidate the workers, Payne reports. &quot;Scabs [strikebreakers] are being escorted across the picket line by an infamous motorcycle gang and members are saying they have been issued death threats.&quot; 
 
 

<img height="272" alt="" src="" width="360" />
PICKETING PETRO-CAN 
The company's behaviour is &quot;outrageous,&quot; says the Canadian energy workers' Brian Payne. (photo: CEP) 

&quot;Corporate greed is one thing,&quot; says Payne, noting that Petro-Canada made 897 million Canadian dollars in profits last year and record first-quarter profits again this year. &quot;But this type of petty and mean-spirited discrimination brings a whole different perspective to Petro-Canada's corporate identity. And we plan to make sure consumers are aware of it.&quot; 
 
Awareness of the dispute is also growing outside Canada. 
The 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) is in &quot;total solidarity&quot; with the CEP campaign, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs wrote to Petro-Canada's President and CEO Ronald Brenneman. 
 
&quot;I cannot understand how Petro-Canada can reach a national agreement with the union and then refuse to apply that agreement to the Ontario operations,&quot; Higgs added. &quot;Reports of company intimidation of strikers are deeply disturbing and are in contravention of Conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labour Organisation.&quot; 
 

<img height="275" alt="" src="" width="357" />
photo: CEP 
Higgs urged Brenneman to &quot;return to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith with the CEP a fair and just agreement that will bring an end to the strike in Ontario.&quot; 
Brenneman has now also received a protest from Mohammed Bedreddine, General Secretary of Algeria's National Federation of Oil, Gas and Chemical Workers (FNTPGC). 
 
Bedreddine, who had been contacted by the ICEM over the Canadian dispute, told Brenneman of his union's support for the Canadian strikers and its outrage over &quot;discriminatory practices directed against workers at the same company.&quot; 
 
Urging a &quot;rapid and equitable resolution&quot; of the dispute, Bedreddine made it clear that Petro-Canada's dealings with the CEP would have an impact on the FNTPGC's approach to company operations in Algeria. &quot;This is our union method, as you will find out in the future . . . in the oilfields of Tamadanet in Algeria that Petro-Canada plans to develop,&quot; Bedreddine wrote to Brenneman. 
 
Praising the support from the Algerians and the ICEM, the CEP's Brian Payne said: &quot;A globalised oil and gas industry requires a globalised labour movement, and we hope Petro-Canada will realise there are consequences, even beyond Canada's borders, for its anti-union actions in Ontario.&quot;

CEP: &#039;Kicking Gas At Petro-Canada&#039;

In a significant display of global industrial action, the Norwegian oil and petrochemical workers' union NOPEF is threatening to black a company over its union-busting in the USA. 
 
Trico Marine Services supplies shipping to the oil industry in both Norway and America. The company respects workers' right to organise in Norway. But in the US, it is actively anti-union. 
 
NOPEF has demanded confirmation, by 16 August, that Trico will &quot;let the employees in Trico Marine Services Inc, USA decide themselves whether they will join a trade union or not, without any interference, harassment, discrimination or threats from the management.&quot; 
 
Trico must also confirm that if workers at Trico Marine Services Inc, USA choose to join a union, the company will recognise it for collective bargaining purposes. 
 
If no such assurances are received by 16 August, then &quot;NOPEF's members in Statoil, Norsk Hydro, Phillips, Amoco, BP, CCB, Aker Base, Tananger, Aker Base Dusavik, Fjordbase, Vestbase, Forsyningsbase Helgeland in Sandnessj&oslash;en, Mongstad Base and Polarbase will be called on not to execute work which has anything to do with Trico Marine Services, its subsidiary and companies where Trico Marine Services, USA has beneficial ownership.&quot; NOPEF will also mount a publicity campaign and will press as many oil companies as possible &quot;not to have any kind of financial dealings&quot; with the firms targeted by the boycott. 
 
The Norwegian union has already persuaded oil company Norsk Hydro to halt negotiations with Trico on the chartering of vessels, and Statoil is also currently examining its options. 
 
At the global level, NOPEF is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
The ICEM, in cooperation with the International Transport Workers' Federation, has been fully involved in the Trico campaign. ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs has been in contact with senior Statoil management on this issue and has emphasised that Statoil, as a major Trico customer, could use its influence to help resolve the question of trade union recognition in the US. 
 
In 1998, the ICEM, NOPEF and Statoil signed the oil sector's first-ever globally applicable agreement on industrial relations. This covers basic trade union rights, health, safety and the environment, information and training. In March 2001, an updated and further strengthened version of the agreement was concluded. This new agreement takes full account of the UN's Global Compact initiative, under which multinationals commit themselves to promote trade union rights and other human rights.

Norwegian Boycott Threat Over American Union-Busting

Canadian-based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. should withdraw from Burma. That is the call from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) on the eve of Ivanhoe's annual shareholders' meeting. 
 
The company&rsquo;s joint venture with the Burmese military regime in the Monywa copper mine provides &ldquo;funds for the coffers of a regime that has been irrefutably linked to forced labour and narcotics trafficking,&rdquo; say CLC President Ken Georgetti and ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs in a letter sent to Ivanhoe Chairman Robert Friedland. 
 
The Monywa mine, located in Sagiang, is also linked to mass conscription of involuntary labour. According to the UN&rsquo;s International Labour Organisation (ILO), 921,753 people were forced to build the railway connecting Monywa to the town of Pakokku. The Thazi dam hydroelectric plant which is the mine&rsquo;s power source was built using 3,000-5,000 forced labourers. 
 
The labour leaders cited the decision in November 2000 by the ILO, which is comprised of unions, employers and governments, to exhort corporations to &ldquo;review...the relations that they may have with [Burma] and take appropriate measures to ensure that [Burma] cannot take advantage of such relations to perpetuate or extend the system of forced or compulsory labour.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;We urge you to re-evaluate your direct business relations with the Burmese military junta in light of this global consensus,&rdquo; wrote Georgetti and Higgs. &ldquo;It is the position of the global labour movement that it is impossible to do business with the Burmese government or in Burma without subsidising forced labour and other human rights violations. Certainly in the case of Ivanhoe&rsquo;s partnership with the military junta, foreign investment is directly propping up the regime.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM is a global trade union federation uniting more than 20 million workers worldwide. The CLC represents 2.3 million working Canadians and their families. It is the voice of Canada's labour movement. 
 
A recent proclamation issued by the ICEM's energy union affiliates from the Asia/Pacific region, meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, called on oil and gas companies to &ldquo;cease investment in Burma while the use of forced labour continues.&rdquo; The unions represented were from Australia, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Ivanhoe Mines Should Pull Out Of Burma, Unions Say

The Turkish government today decreed a two-month suspension of a major strike in the country's glass industry. 
 
The grounds for the ban? Apparently, the loss of glass output is a threat to &quot;national security&quot;! 
 
Turkey's national security seems to be a very fragile thing. Last year, it was &quot;endangered&quot; by a strike in the tyre industry, which was also promptly banned by decree. 
 
In fact, the Turkish government is simply using once again a catch-all clause that enables it to outlaw strikes at will. 
 
Today's &quot;suspension&quot; is under Article 33 of Turkey's Law on Collective Agreements, Strikes And Lock-Outs. This allows the government to suspend any strike or lock-out for sixty days if it is deemed to endanger &quot;public health or national security&quot;. 
 
Moreover, &quot;postponement&quot; of a strike under this legislation usually amounts in practice to an indefinite ban, because Article 34 of the same law empowers the labour ministry to impose arbitration at the end of the sixty days, unless the parties have either come to an agreement or voluntarily sought arbitration. 
 
Turkey's official arbitrators rarely decide in a union's favour. 
 
The Turkish glass, cement and earth workers' union Kristal-İş will appeal to the Supreme Court against today's decree, but in the meantime, the law obliges the union to suspend the strike. 
 
&quot;We think that there is no connection between the glass strike and national security,&quot; said Kristal-İş President Mustafa Bağ&ccedil;eci today. &quot;The hidden side of the decree is the employers' demands. It is the glass employers who have got this strike postponed.&quot; 
 
At the global level, Kristal-İş is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
&quot;To claim that a strike in the glass industry threatens national security is, quite frankly, absurd,&quot; writes ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs in a letter sent today to Turkey's Prime Minister B&uuml;lent Ecevit. &quot;Your action flouts the most basic internationally recognised trade union rights. Clearly, current Turkish labour law would be wholly incompatible with membership of the European Union.&quot; 
 
90 percent of Turkish glass production has been halted by the strike, which was launched on 24 May at major glass production companies within Turkey's Şişe-Cam group. Some 6,000 workers are involved. 
 
The main issues are pay and subcontracting. The union has been negotiating a new collective agreement with Şişe-Cam since last December, but bargaining broke down over the employers' refusal to consider wage increases in line with inflation. Şişe-Cam insists that real pay will have to go down. The employers say that the International Monetary Fund programme for Turkey calls for cuts in workers' purchasing power. 
 
Subcontracting of labour is on the increase in the Turkish glass industry, and Kristal-İş is firmly opposed to this trend. Kristal-İş also wants an assurance that all Şişe-Cam workers who want to join the union will be allowed to do so. Managers in some Şişe-Cam subsidiaries have been denying workers the right to organise, Kristal-İş says.

Turkish Glass Strike Banned; to &#039;Protect National Security&#039;

Malaysia should release labour activist Tian Chua, the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) urged today. 

<img height="255" alt="" src="" width="380" />
HAPPIER TIMES: Tian Chua (centre) just after the ICEM had helped to secure his release in 1998. With him were the ICEM's Asia-Pacific Regional Secretary Phee Jung-sun and Peter Colley of the ICEM-affiliated Australian miners' union CFMEU. 

This is not the first time that Tian has been arrested, but now an order has been issued for him to be detained without trial for two years, effective from 4 June 2001, under Malaysia's draconian Internal Security Act. He is currently in the Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping. 
 
Tian is &quot;a dedicated and effective campaigner for labour rights in Asia,&quot; writes ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs in a message to the Malaysian Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Tian &quot;is widely respected by his colleagues in the region and beyond,&quot; Higgs states. &quot;Certainly, he is not an advocate of violence... If he had done anything that posed a threat to the security of Malaysia, there would presumably be sufficient evidence to charge him. 
 
&quot;No such charges have been brought against him in any court of law,&quot; Higgs points out. &quot;On behalf of Tian Chua's colleagues worldwide, I therefore request you to ensure that he is released immediately and unconditionally.&quot;

Malaysia Detains Labour Activist: Tian Chua Jailed Now for Two Years

Illegal attempts by Turkish employers to break a strike today led to arrests - of strikers. 
 
Contrary to the provisions of the Turkish Labour Code, employers involved in the current labour dispute in the Turkish glass industry were today permitted to remove stocks from plants affected by the strike. Security forces then arrested trade unionists who opposed this illegal action. 
 
Among those detained is Ahmet Aksungur, branch chairman of the Turkish glass, ceramic and earth workers' union Kristal-İş. 
 
Globally, Kristal-İş is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which has protested to Turkish Prime Minister B&uuml;lent Ecevit over the arrests. 
 
&quot;Such repressive action is contrary to international labour standards,&quot; ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs pointed out in a message to Ecevit today. It will therefore &quot;do nothing to improve the perception of Turkey within the European Union and elsewhere.&quot; 
 
Higgs urged Ecevit to &quot;ensure the immediate, unconditional release of all the detained trade unionists, and an immediate end to the illegal strikebreaking by the glass industry employers.&quot; 
 
90 percent of Turkish glass production has been halted by the strike, which was launched on 24 May at major glass production companies within Turkey's Şişe-Cam group. Some 6,000 workers are involved. 
 
The main issues are pay and subcontracting. The union has been negotiating a new collective agreement with Şişe-Cam since last December, but bargaining broke down over the employers' refusal to consider wage increases in line with inflation. Şişe-Cam insists that real pay will have to go down. The employers say that the International Monetary Fund programme for Turkey calls for cuts in workers' purchasing power. 
 
Subcontracting of labour is on the increase in the Turkish glass industry, and Kristal-İş is firmly opposed to this trend. Kristal-İş also wants an assurance that all Şişe-Cam workers who want to join the union will be allowed to do so. Managers in some Şişe-Cam subsidiaries have been denying workers the right to organise, Kristal-İş says.

Turkish Glass Employers&#039; Strikebreaking Stirs Global Protest

Violent police action to end a strike at one of the world's biggest nylon manufacturers has been condemned by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
Riot police and troops attacked Korea's Hyosung plant, in Ulsan, on Tuesday and broke up a 12-day-old strike there. The police had reportedly been called in by the Hyosung management. 
 
&quot;The Hyosung dispute is essentially over management bad faith during negotiations on employment security,&quot; ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs pointed out in a letter to Korean President Kim Dae-jung. &quot;It is therefore an industrial relations issue, and there was no good reason why riot police and troops should have intervened in the Hyosung dispute at all - let alone in the very violent way that they did.&quot; 
 
Higgs asked President Kim to &quot;put a stop to such unwarranted police interventions in industrial disputes.&quot; He also urged him to &quot;order the police to withdraw from the Hyosung plant&quot; and to &quot;bring your influence to bear on company managements so that they bargain in good faith with trade unions, notably in the case of Hyosung.&quot;

Global Union Protest Over Korean Police Raid

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