English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Action Plan 2021-2025

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

Women

Youth

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

Lawlessness and intimidation&quot; in Zimbabwe are now impacting negatively on trade union rights there, world industrial union leaders declared in Brussels this afternoon. 
 
The Executive Committee of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) called on the Zimbabwean government to &quot;allow trade union activities to take place freely and without fear or intimidation.&quot; 
 
Trade union rights and human rights must be guaranteed &quot;irrespective of political tensions in the country,&quot; the ICEM said. It also called for &quot;free political activity&quot; in Zimbabwe and the &quot;creation of an environment conducive to free and fair elections.&quot;

Zimbabwe Union Rights Under Threat

Sri Lanka's emergency regulations have been severely condemned by world industrial trade union leaders currently meeting in Brussels. 
 
Promulgated on 3 May, the regulations suppress &quot;fundamental democratic rights and basic trade union rights,&quot; said the Executive Committee of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
The ICEM particularly deplores the &quot;total suppression&quot; of Sri Lankan workers' &quot;rights to strike, to picket and to march in public procession&quot; in any sector that the country's President declares to be an &quot;essential service&quot;. The wide range of sectors already hit by the decrees includes fuel distribution, electricity supply, commodity exports and &quot;the sale, supply or distribution of any articles of food or medicine or any other article required by a member of the public,&quot; the unions point out. 
 
Calling on the Sri Lankan government to withdraw the regulations immediately, the ICEM pledged to mobilise &quot;full solidarity action&quot; by its unions worldwide and to lodge a complaint against Sri Lanka with the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). The emergency regulations breach the ILO's core standards on freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Unions Slam Sri Lankan Decrees

A strike that hit most of Turkey's tyre industry from 28 April onwards has been &quot;postponed&quot; by government decree. 
 
Under a frequently abused legal pretext, the Turkish cabinet claimed that the tyre strike was a threat to national security. 
 
It then invoked 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;. 
 
To apply this law to a tyre strike is obviously absurd. The move will certainly damage the Turkish government's reputation at a time when it is trying to prove its democratic credentials in a bid to join the European Union. 
 
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 decree &quot;postpones&quot; strike action at the three main multinationals affected by the dispute - Pirelli, Goodyear and Bridgestone. It was signed on 5 May by President S&uuml;leyman Demirel, Prime Minister B&uuml;lent Ecevit and the entire Turkish cabinet. 
 
The Turkish rubber workers' union Lastik-Is had been negotiating with the tyre companies since last November for a new agreement covering this year and 2001. At the global level, the union is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which organises tyre and rubber workers worldwide. 
 
The companies' final offer to Lastik-Is was a 22 percent pay increase for the first half of this year, followed by a further 6 percent in the second half, plus a small lump sum. For the year 2001, the companies proposed to make an additional payment dependent on the prevailing exchange rate between the US dollar and the Turkish lira at the time. 
 
This is a wholly inadequate offer, the union points out, in view of the steep rise in the cost of living. Turkey's inflation rate last year was 68.8 percent. The tyre workers would need a pay rise of the same order simply in order to restore their purchasing power. 
 
Altogether, some 5,000 workers are affected by the strike ban.

Turkish Tyre Strike Banned

Talks could begin today on the dispute that has shut down much of Norway's private sector. 
 
National labour federation LO called its secretariat into special session immediately after a press conference in Oslo this morning. LO President Yngve Hagensen told journalists that exploratory discussions have already taken place with the employers' federation NHO. 
 
&quot;These could - and I emphasise the could - lead to a resumption of negotiations with NHO as early as today,&quot; Hagensen said. 
 
But strike action could continue in parallel with any negotiations, he stressed. 
 
&quot;If we are to succeed in the negotiations, we must demonstrate our strength,&quot; Hagensen explained. 
 
84,600 Norwegian workers have been on strike across the private sector since 3 May, following the membership's rejection of a previous mediated settlement offer. The strike is scheduled to spread at 6.00 a.m. tomorrow local time, after which a total of 102,119 workers will be out. 
 
Industrial unions affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) are playing a major part in the campaign.

Norwegian Strike Talks Today?

Norway's nationwide strike will spread to more industries next Tuesday, union leaders told a press conference in Oslo this morning. 
 
102,119 workers will be on strike across the private sector from 6.00 a.m. local time on 9 May. These include the 84,600 union members who have been out since 3 May - already more than a third of the country's private sector union membership. 
 
Among the new strikers next Tuesday will be 5,200 pulp and paper workers organised by the general union Fellesforbundet. At the global level, Fellesforbundet is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
ICEM sectors already on strike in Norway include asphalt, cement, explosives, rubber products, paints, plastics and a range of ancillary and catering functions in the oil and gas industries. Electricity and electrochemical workers could join in later this month. 
 
The strike follows a membership vote to reject a mediated settlement covering much of the private sector. 
 
&quot;It is true that we have national-level collective agreements and that we have a tradition of bringing out whole sectors of coverage during a dispute,&quot; commented Fellesforbundet President Kjell Bj&oslash;rndalen at today's press conference. &quot;We call out everything or nothing.&quot; 
 
No new offer has so far been received from the employers, Yngve H&aring;gensen told the journalists this morning. He is President of the national trade union federation LO, which is coordinating the action. 
 
&quot;We're going to conduct a big, solid strike without hitting 'third parties' too hard,&quot; H&aring;gensen added. &quot;We'll do it in such a way that it will be first and foremost the companies, the owners, who will feel it.&quot;

Norwegian Strike To Spread

Major investors are backing calls for change at mining multinational Rio Tinto. 
 
In Britain, where Rio Tinto is headquartered, investors with over 28 billion pounds sterling in assets (over 43 billion US dollars) are supporting two resolutions proposed by the Coalition of Rio Tinto Shareholders. One of the resolutions concerns corporate governance. The other calls on Rio Tinto to ensure that its labour practices worldwide comply with the core standards of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). 
 
British investors who have come out in favour of the resolutions include the Co-operative Insurance Society Ltd. (CIS). The CIS decision was announced by Britain's Trades Union Congress (TUC) today. CIS is one of Rio Tinto's largest shareholders, with more than 23 billion pounds sterling under management. A number of British pension funds have also swung their shareholder power behind the resolutions. 
 
Under its dual-listing structure, Rio Tinto holds two Annual General Meetings (AGMs) - one in London (on 10 May this year) and one in Australia (Brisbane, 24 May). The resolutions will be put to shareholders at both AGMs. 
 
&quot;It should come as no surprise that shareholders are welcoming our proposals with open arms,&quot; said TUC General Secretary John Monks. &quot;Institutional investors increasingly see the value of AGM resolutions that promote long-term shareholder value.&quot; 
 
The two resolutions are being backed by the TUC, by the trade union movements in Australia and the US and by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
The ICEM has already offered to negotiate and sign a global agreement with Rio Tinto. Under such an agreement, the ICEM and its affiliated unions worldwide would verify, among other things, the company's compliance with ILO core standards. Through the ICEM, unions would have the right to raise with Rio Tinto corporate management any alleged breaches of these standards. 
 
However, the ICEM has also made it clear that Rio Tinto must resolve current industrial disputes in Australia before a global agreement can be signed.

Rio Tinto: Big Investors Want Change

Most of the Turkish tyre industry has been hit by a strike launched this afternoon over a bargaining dispute. 
 
Goodyear, Pirelli and Bridgestone are among the companies affected by the action, the Turkish rubber workers' union Lastik-Is reports. 
 
Lastik-Is has been negotiating with the tyre companies since last November for a new agreement covering this year and 2001. At the global level, the union is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which organises tyre and rubber workers worldwide. 
 
The companies' final offer to Lastik-Is was a 22 percent pay increase for the first half of this year, followed by a further 6 percent in the second half, plus a small lump sum. For the year 2001, the companies propose to make an additional payment dependent on the prevailing exchange rate between the US dollar and the Turkish lira at the time. 
 
This is a wholly inadequate offer, the union points out, in view of the steep rise in the cost of living. Turkey's inflation rate last year was 68.8 percent. The tyre workers would need a pay rise of the same order simply in order to restore their purchasing power. 
 
Altogether, some 5,000 workers are involved in the disputeMost of the Turkish tyre industry has been hit by a strike launched this afternoon over a bargaining dispute. 
 
Goodyear, Pirelli and Bridgestone are among the companies affected by the action, the Turkish rubber workers' union Lastik-Is reports. 
 
Lastik-Is has been negotiating with the tyre companies since last November for a new agreement covering this year and 2001. At the global level, the union is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which organises tyre and rubber workers worldwide. 
 
The companies' final offer to Lastik-Is was a 22 percent pay increase for the first half of this year, followed by a further 6 percent in the second half, plus a small lump sum. For the year 2001, the companies propose to make an additional payment dependent on the prevailing exchange rate between the US dollar and the Turkish lira at the time. 
 
This is a wholly inadequate offer, the union points out, in view of the steep rise in the cost of living. Turkey's inflation rate last year was 68.8 percent. The tyre workers would need a pay rise of the same order simply in order to restore their purchasing power. 
 
Altogether, some 5,000 workers are involved in the disputeMost of the Turkish tyre industry has been hit by a strike launched this afternoon over a bargaining dispute. 
 
Goodyear, Pirelli and Bridgestone are among the companies affected by the action, the Turkish rubber workers' union Lastik-Is reports. 
 
Lastik-Is has been negotiating with the tyre companies since last November for a new agreement covering this year and 2001. At the global level, the union is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which organises tyre and rubber workers worldwide. 
 
The companies' final offer to Lastik-Is was a 22 percent pay increase for the first half of this year, followed by a further 6 percent in the second half, plus a small lump sum. For the year 2001, the companies propose to make an additional payment dependent on the prevailing exchange rate between the US dollar and the Turkish lira at the time. 
 
This is a wholly inadequate offer, the union points out, in view of the steep rise in the cost of living. Turkey's inflation rate last year was 68.8 percent. The tyre workers would need a pay rise of the same order simply in order to restore their purchasing power. 
 
Altogether, some 5,000 workers are involved in the dispute

Turkish Tyre Strike Hits Multinationals

80,000 workers across Norway will launch an indefinite strike from 6.00 a.m. local time on 3 May, the national union federation LO announced this afternoon. 
 
This means that over a third of all the country's private sector union members will take industrial action next week - and many more could be called out if the dispute drags on. 
 
The strike call follows a membership vote to reject a mediated settlement covering much of the private sector. 64.3 percent of the votes cast were against the proposed settlement, which was reached at the beginning of this month. 
 
The strikers will include 5,000 chemical and allied workers organised in the NKIF union, which is affiliated at the global level to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). Sectors affected will include cement, explosives, rubber products, paints, plastics and oil-based products. At the same time, warning will be given of strike action by another 500 chemical workers from 15 May onwards, when their agreements expire. For public health reasons, however, the pharmaceutical industry is among the sectors exempted from the strike. 
 
In oil and gas, members of the ICEM-affiliated NOPEF union in a number of onshore ancillary services and catering will strike from 3 May. 
 
However, NOPEF says that Norwegian oil output &quot;will not be needlessly affected at this stage of the dispute.&quot; 
 
Members of ICEM-affiliated general workers' union Fellesforbundet will strike in a number of sectors, including asphalt production. 
 
Electricity workers in the ICEM-affiliated EL&amp;IT union are not involved in the dispute at present, but could become so after 15 May, when their own agreement expires. 
 
Similarly, a further 10,000 NKIF members in the electrochemical industry, including Norsk Hydro, could join the action after 31 May, when their present agreement runs out.

Norwegians Call Nationwide Strike

Australia's corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, has ordered the top five shareholders in Rio Tinto Ltd. to release the names of organisations on whose behalf they hold shares. 
 
The ASIC action comes in response to a request from the Coalition of Rio Tinto Shareholders, which is undertaking a proxy campaign for the mining multinational's two forthcoming Annual General Meetings. Under its dual-listing structure, Rio Tinto holds two AGMs - one in London (on 10 May this year) and one in Australia (Brisbane, 24 May). 
 
The Coalition of Rio Tinto Shareholders launched a three-nation shareholder proxy campaign on 8 March. However, its efforts to communicate with fellow shareholders have been restricted by the domination of the Rio Tinto Ltd. share register by nominee companies that are not the beneficial owners of the shares. 
 
This is believed to be the first time that the ASIC has issued a disclosure order with the particular aim of enabling the market to be better informed about a proxy campaign. 
 
Two resolutions have been proposed by the Coalition of Rio Tinto Shareholders. One concerns corporate governance. The other calls on Rio Tinto to ensure that its labour practices worldwide comply with the core labour standards of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). 
 
On this last point, the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) has already offered to negotiate and sign a global agreement with Rio Tinto. Under such an agreement, the ICEM and its affiliated unions worldwide would verify, among other things, the company's compliance with ILO core standards and would have the right to raise with Rio Tinto corporate management any alleged breaches of these standards. 
 
However, the ICEM has also made it clear that Rio Tinto must resolve current industrial disputes in Australia before such a global agreement can be signed.

Rio Tinto: Top Shareholders Ordered To Name Names

In a new self-help move by some of the world's poorest workers, the National Union of Working Women (NUWW) last Friday launched a health protection scheme for its more than 300,000 informal sector workers in Chennai, India. The announcement came as the Asia-Pacific Women's Committee of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) was meeting there. The NUWW is an ICEM affiliate. 
 
Like most newly industrialising and developing countries, India has many &quot;informal sector&quot; workers who earn a pittance from unrecognised jobs on the fringes of the formal economy. The informal sector does not have access to social security or other public services. Nor is it covered by labour legislation. Overall, less than 10 percent of the Indian population have access to social security. 
 
Among the informal workforce are NUWW members working on the bottom rung of society. They do such jobs as making incense sticks, matchsticks and fireworks. Although they are making a contribution to society, they are still neglected. 
 
NUWW members pay 24 Rupees per year in subscriptions to their union. 
 
In 1981, a life insurance scheme was started. But it was discovered that, in fact, medical expenses are the biggest burden for the worst-off women workers in the informal sector. After childbirth, for example, they are heavily indebted. So the NUWW members decided to launch health programmes. They negotiated with an insurance company an annual premium of 70 Rupees, which provides coverage for up to 15,000 Rupees of medical expenses a year. It also provides them with good-quality health services and hospitalisation. 1,000 NUWW members have already registered for the scheme.

Indian Informal Workers Launch Health Scheme

Archive