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In a contentious Congress that almost collapsed without being completed, South African ICEM affiliate Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union (CEPPWAWU) re-elected Simon Mofokeng as General Secretary 2 September in Durban. Some 299 delegates represented the union&rsquo;s seven regions at the 4th Congress from 31 August to 2 September. 
 
Mofokeng was the only one of six national office bearers to win re-election, besting former General Secretary Welile Nolingo 178-114 in a secret ballot delegate vote. Thamsango Mhlongo, a shop steward at Mondi&rsquo;s pulp and paper mill at Richard&rsquo;s Bay, KwaZula-Natal, won election as President. He defeated incumbent President Jacob Mabhena by a margin of 200-97. 
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CEPPWAWU President Thamsanga Mhlongo, General Secretary Simon Mofokeng
The Congress was marked by heated debate on the final day over a Secretariat Report that was one day late in distribution per statutory requirements. The union has been mired in a years-long conflict with the investment manager of its investment arm, CEPPWAWU Investments, a conflict now in South Africa&rsquo;s courts that has frozen most of CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s assets. 
 
The final day&rsquo;s debate caused all of the Congress&rsquo;s resolutions to be postponed, as well as proposed constitutional amendments and other important statutory business. Following a recommendation from an officer of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), delegates moved to hold a Special Congress to complete the business of the 4th Congress. That likely will be held in the first quarter of 2012. 
 
The final day&rsquo;s business concluded with election of officers, with all seats being contested. 
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Earlier, the Congress heard from COSATU President Sidumo Dlamini and South African Land and Public Enterprise Minister Malusi Gigaba, who represented the African National Congress (ANC) at the Congress. Gigaba told delegates that the ANC political party &ndash; together with South Africa&rsquo;s trade unions &ndash; must enforce the revolutionary discipline that toppled the apartheid regime in reference to the current split in the party caused by the ANC&rsquo;s Youth League. 
 
Gigaba also reminded delegates that land reform is still incomplete in South Africa and said the supply of food to the nation&rsquo;s impoverished depends on water development and rural land re-use. Dlamini urged CEPPWAWU delegates to overcome its current stalemated position, and he reminded that the union was the first union in South Africa to won the 40-hour work-week. 
 
Dlamini also praised CEPPWAWU for being the leader in engagement of foreign capital in order to create jobs, affirmative action, and respect for workers&rsquo; rights. Dlamini also said CEPPWAWU must be the leader in forging a state-owned pharmaceutical company in South Africa, a persistent theme throughout the Congress. 
 
Results of elections for other national office bearers: Lucas Mashego, First Deputy Vice President; Eunice Dlodlo, Second Deputy Vice President; Samuel &ldquo;Chief&rdquo; Seathlolo, Deputy General Secretary; and Thulasizwe Nsibande, National Treasurer.

CEPPWAWU Holds Heated 4th Congress in South Africa

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ICEM&rsquo;s trade union affiliate in Peru, the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (FNTMMSP), has affiliated branch unions undergoing pivotal labour disputes in the South American country in the face of high commodity prices and ever-rising profit margins. 
 
On 31 August, 1,124 miners employed by China&rsquo;s Shougang Hierro Per&uacute; began an indefinite strike at the country&rsquo;s only iron ore mine in southern Peru. And last week, 1,100 union branch members of FNTMMSP undertook a 48-hour strike at the Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde open pit copper and molybdenum mine in Arequipa department over regressive conventions proposals in a proposed five-year labour agreement. 
 
The FNTMMSP branch and managers of Cerro Verde will meet today in efforts to resolve the dispute. If no solution is found, unionized miners will begin an indefinite strike beginning on 14 September. Cerro Verde is Peru&rsquo;s third largest copper mine and is owned by US-based Freeport-McMoRan (53.7%), SMM Cerro Verde Nederlands (21%), a unit of the Japanese Sumitomo Corp., and Peru-based Compania de Minas Buenaventura (19.3%). 
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FNTMMSP General Secretary, Luis Castillo Carlos
Cerro Verde management is proposing an initial 2% salary increase, but then seeks to eliminate all future yearly wage reviews in favour of a production bonus defined by the company and based on copper production, the mine&rsquo;s financial results, and copper prices on the London Metal Exchange. 
 
In 2010, Cerro Verde produced 312,336 tonnes of copper in 2010. Notwithstanding an indefinite strike that could begin on Wednesday, 2011 production is expected to exceed the 2010 numbers slightly. The 48-hour strike on 7-8 September saw 100% participation. 
 
At Shougang Hierro&rsquo;s Marcona iron ore pits in the Ica department, the strike by miners in yet another in yearly walkouts against the Chinese steel company over pay that is far lower than any other mining enterprise in Peru. 
 
Iron ore miners earn a miserly &euro;11.18 per day (US$16.10) and are seeking a 25% increase. Shougang Hierro is offering only a US$.47 per day increase. The strike is also over a failure on the part of management to meet a list of 2011-2012 demands on working conditions, which the union submitted in April 2011. 
 
&ldquo;We know that the Chinese company can meet the wage demands of workers at Marcona because of the high price of iron ore and Shougang&rsquo;s large profit margins,&rdquo; said FNTMMSP President Luis Castillo Carlos. 
 
The Chinese company realized a five-fold increase in profit from Marcona in the first half of 2011 from that of the same period in 2010. The first-half 2011 net profit of US$274 million came on higher sales volume and higher iron ore pricing, the company reported to Peru&rsquo;s securities regulator. 
 
Iron ore sales from Marcona totaled 5 million tonnes from January through June this year, up 25% from the 4.02 million tones of refined iron ore sold during the same period of 2010. Because of the strike, Shougang Hierro declared force majeure on 1 September. A provincial government agency is involved in mediation efforts to reconcile the two sides.

Major Copper, Iron Ore Strikes Break Out in Peru

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A UK defense contractor who reneged on terms contained in a collective agreement last year met industrial action last week. Members of Unite the Union in the London and Eastern Region began an overtime ban and work to rule at the Wattisham Airbase in Suffolk on 7 September against Morson Wynnwith, a contractor for AgustaWestland which manages a fleet of Apache helicopters for the British Ministry of Defence. 
 
The 100 engineers belonging to Unite entered into a four-year labour agreement in April 2010 with Morson Wynnwith, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manchester-based Morson Group Plc. Part of that accord called for wage parity to occur over the four years with Unite engineers employed by the same company at Middle Wallop Airbase in Hampshire. 
 
The Wattisham engineers, most of whom are ex-military personnel, earn &pound;3,000 annually less than Unite members at Middle Wallop, who service and maintain the same military equipment. Last spring &ndash; a year into the agreement &ndash; MorsonWynnwith initially offered a 2% wage increase. The military contractor later increased the offer to 2.6%, the same wage increase accepted at Hampshire, and told the Wattisham unit that service and maintenance work done on Apaches at Middle Wallop is more complicated. 
 
Engineers at Wattisham rejected the 2.6% offer in June and immediately passed a strike ballot with a 71-14 vote. Eighty-one workers then voted for job actions short of a strike. 
 
&ldquo;If these skilled workers had accepted that proposal,&rdquo; said Region Officer Mark Robinson, &ldquo;then they would have fallen further behind.&rdquo; He added that the engineers do not take strike action lightly because they recognize the importance of their work related to the battlefield, but Morson Wynnwith&rsquo;s backtracking over last year&rsquo;s forced the issue. 
 
The dispute is under review by UK&rsquo;s Advisory, Conciliation, and Mediation Services (ACAS) and a report is slated to be issued in October. Unite and Morson Wynnwith are expected to talk next week but if there is no movement by the company, job actions could be escalated. 
 
The engineers at Wattisham Airbase are responsible for maintenance on the Apache helicopter, which the UK Army Air Corp is using in Afghanistan. They do complete servicing and maintenance on each unit of the specialized aircraft after 600 flying hours.

UK Engineers Begin Industrial Action against Apache Helicopter Contractor

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ICEM Presidium Members and leaders of major affiliates paid a visit to Japan to convey a message of condolence and solidarity on the occasion of the National Conventions of Denryoku Soren and UI ZENSEN. The delegation was led by President Senzeni Zokwana and General Secretary Manfred Warda, composed of Dave Coles from CEP, Canada, Andrew Vickers from CFMEU, Australia, Michael Mersmann, IGBCE of Germany, David Shier from Canada&rsquo;s Power Workers Union, and Phee Jungsun, ICEM Regional Contact Person. 
 
On 6 September, a meeting was conducted with representatives of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Union of Denryoku Soren. President Taneoka of Denryoku Soren and Mr. Yoshio Sato, General Secretary of ICEM-JAF facilitated the discussion on the current situation in the Fukushima plants. The chaotic and desperate situation immediately following the Tsunami attack was described, when about 600 workers on the site fought against the melt-down and were also concerned about the safety of their families. 
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International Delegation meets Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Union of Denryoku Soren
The delegation paid tribute to those workers who sacrificed themselves in the recovery operations at the damaged power plants. According to the report from Mr. Hasekawa Takahiro, Unit Union Chair of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Union of Tokyo Electricity (TEPCO) Union and Mr. Yukio Arai, President of the Tokyo Electricity (TEPCO) Union, two reactors out of the three that were destroyed and melted down are now under control in terms of cooling down and recycling radiated water. The level of radiation has been decreased to normal radiation outside of reactors. Robot equipment is being used to check the situation inside the reactors. A total of six workers had been exposed to radiation above the standard levels. The full scale report has just been constructed and submitted to the IAEA Board Meeting, to be held in late September. 
 
Manfred Warda commended workers still under precarious conditions, saying &quot;you are heroes&quot; and offered any necessary solidarity and technical assistance from ICEM and its affiliates. TEPCO has been working on the financial plan for compensation that requires more than US$2.5 Trillion and needs state subsidy. 
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Manfred Warda addresses UI Zensen National Convention
The ICEM delegation then moved to attend the National Convention of UI Zensen in Yokohama, President of which is Brother Ochiai, Vice President of ICEM and Chair of the Asia Pacific Region. UI ZENSEN has worked strenuously on an organizing drive, and now becomes the largest industrial federation in Japan with 1.2 million members. Brother Ochiai congratulated the merger agreement of the three GUFs and confirmed full support for the new organization. Manfred Warda expressed solidarity towards relief and recovery efforts and complimented the firm spirit of the Japanese people. &quot;We have come to express the grief we share with you and again convey to you, all your members and their families, to the Japanese people and to your country, our condolences for the loss of so many people, relatives, friends, neighbours &ndash; and we know that many of your members and their families were among the victims of the disaster. But let me also applaud you for the immediate determination you showed to take tremendous efforts to come to the assistance of all who needed your support and for all the personal sacrifices that you and many of the members of your union devoted during the process of rescue operations.&quot;

ICEM Solidarity, Condolence Visit to Japan

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A branch of the&nbsp;Indonesian trade union&nbsp;FSP-KEP (SPSI), the Trade Union of Chemical, Energy, and Mine Workers (CEMWU), will renew strike action this week, 15 September, with a month-long walkout at a leading global copper and gold mining complex, the Grasberg operation of US-based Freeport-McMoRan in eastern Papua province on New Guinea Island. 
 
The strike by 8,000 Indonesia miners would follow an eight-day strike in July that saw six union leaders sacked, only to be returned to their jobs when mine management relented and agree to re-start pay talks. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4549-Indonesia-Mine-Union-Wins-Strike-Reinstatement-of-Sacked-Union-Leaders ">ICEM news article</a> on that initial strike.) 
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4 July March to Kuala Kencana
Those talks did resume in Timika on 20 July but after a number of sessions, no agreement was reached on pay for 2011 to 2013 and negotiations broke off on 5 September. The FSP-KEP branch is seeking a doubling of miners&rsquo; US$1.50-per-hour wage rate, while PT Freeport is offering only an 11% increase, mostly in the form of bonuses. 
 
The Grasberg mine is 91% owned by Freeport-McMoRan and 9% by the Indonesian government, and serves as the American mining company&rsquo;s biggest revenue producer. The mining house, which also faces a copper strike at its 53.7% held Cerro Verde copper mine in Peru, recorded a second quarter 2011 profit of US$1.37 billion. 
 
The FSP-KEP (SPSI)&nbsp;branch of CWMWU, the PT Freeport Indonesia Workers' Union,&nbsp;is reportedly asking now to negotiate directly with Freeport-McMoRan&rsquo;s chairman and non-elective board member James Moffett, who took in a total compensation package last year of US$21.5 million. 
 
Grasberg is the world&rsquo;s largest gold mine and second largest producer of copper concentrates, with daily output of 61,000 tonnes of copper and gold ore. The eight-day strike in July cost the company 16,000 tonnes of copper output and 60,000 ounces of gold production.

Indonesian FSP-KEP (SPSI) Union Set to Renew Grasberg Mine Strike

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The ICEM and the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) renewed a Global Framework Agreement last week&nbsp;with Umicore, the Brussels-based global materials technology group with expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy, operating in four business groups, namely catalysis, energy materials, performance materials and recycling, with some 14,400 employees.
First signed in September 2007, the agreement has been the basis for joint union-management activities for proper implementation of the principles set out in the text. Representatives of the company, both Global Union Federations&nbsp;(GUFs)&nbsp;and the European Works Council conducted joint missions in China in 2008, in Brazil in 2009, and in South Africa in 2010, in addition to the regular monitoring activities defined in the agreement. 
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(left to right) Ignace de Ruijter, Marc Grynberg, Jyrki Raina, Kemal &Ouml;zkan
The four-year renewal was done with&nbsp;a ceremony held on 6 September in the Belgian capital with Umicore&rsquo;s Marc Grynberg, Chief Executive Officer, and Ignace de Ruijter, Senior Vice-President Human Resources, as well as IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina and ICEM&rsquo;s Kemal &Ouml;zkan, Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs on behalf of General Secretary Manfred Warda. 
The agreement was also re-affirmed by the Belgian trade unions through the signatures of Marc De Wilde, President of ACV-CVC Metea, Paul Heykants, Secretary of LBC-NVK, Said Zaoudi, Secretary of CNE-GNC, Georges De Batselier, Vice-President ABVV Metaal, Angelo Basile, Deputy General Secretary of MWB-FGTB and Guy Vertommen, Secretary BBTK and Kurt Marysse, National Responsible of ACLVB/CGSLB. 
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(left to right) Kemal &Ouml;zkan, Marc Grynberg, Jyrki Raina
The agreement covers six major chapters, namely Human Rights, Working Conditions, Environment, Implementation of Agreement, Monitoring, and Validity of Agreement. Under Human Rights, Umicore pledges to adhere to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, as well as adherence to ILO core labour standards. The latter specifically includes ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, and other Conventions regarding child labour, forced labour, and non-discrimination and equal opportunities' practices. With the renewal, the parties re-confirmed their political decisiveness over their global level commitments within the framework of the agreement. 

&ldquo;We believe that this agreement offers benefits for all stakeholders. All parties have benefited from the constructive relationship fostered by the original agreement and we look forward to this continuing in the coming years,&rdquo; said&nbsp;Raina, speaking on behalf of both GUFs. 
 
&ldquo;We are so proud of this international agreement with IMF and ICEM. This gives a big value in our policies towards the issues of sustainable development,&rdquo; said Umicore&rsquo;s&nbsp;Grynberg. &ldquo;This agreement supports Umicore&rsquo;s global vision on social issues and reflects our diversity and international presence. It will help us in our journey towards sustainability and in being considered a great place to work,&rdquo; added Umicore Vice-President&nbsp;de Ruijter.

ICEM and IMF Renew Global Agreement with Umicore

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The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) condemns the cold-blooded assassination of a Colombian contract worker who was working with affiliate Uni&oacute;n Sindical Obrera (USO) to bring trade union rights to temporary workers at Ecopetrol&rsquo;s Barrancabermeja refining and petrochemicals complex in Santander department. 
 
Isidro Rivera Barrera, 45, was repairing a washing machine in front of his home at 16h on 26 September in Barrancabermeja when a gunman jumped off a motorcycle and shot him three times at point-blank range. The assassin and accomplice then escaped on the high-powered motorcycle. 
 
&ldquo;This cowardly act again reminds us that Colombia is a deadly country for those exercising freedom of association and free speech rights,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We reiterate our trade union affiliate USO&rsquo;s call that Colombia&rsquo;s public prosecution office uses all means to apprehend and prosecute the criminals and masterminds behind this heinous crime.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM also called on Ecopetrol, its major contractor at Barrancabermeja, Foster Wheeler AG, and all other sub-contractors to ensure the security of all oil industry workers in the city. The ICEM further called on 90% state-owned Ecopetrol and its contractors to create workplace climates where freedom of association and rights to join unions and bargain collectively are considered common civil liberties. 
 
Isidro Rivera was shot twice in the shoulder and once in the throat. He died within minutes of the shooting, slumped across the chair he was working on and in front of neighbours who came running after hearing the shots. Isidro Rivera was a recognised union member by Ecopetrol who was attempting to spread the trade union message to contract workers inside Colombia&rsquo;s biggest downstream oil and petrochemical facilities. He is survived by three children. 
 
For further information, contact ICEM Information Officer Dick Blin, <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, +41 22 304 1842.

Contract Workers’ Leader at Ecopetrol in Colombia Assassinated

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The three-month-long wage dispute between a branch of ICEM Indonesia affiliate Federasi Serikat Pekerja Pulp Dan Kertas (FSP2KI) and managers of a pulp mill on Sumatra Island owned by the Japanese Marubeni Group was resolved recently. Along with settlement, the Human Resource director that exhibited rude and coercive behaviour toward the union&rsquo;s bargaining committee in July was sacked. 
 
SPPTTEL, the branch union of FSP2KI at the PT Tanjung Enim Lestari pulp mill near Muaraenim, and Marubeni were able to reach a 2011 wage accord with help from the provincial Manpower Ministry office. The two sides reached a compromise on wages, but it was the company&rsquo;s dismissal of Eko Ganefianto that perhaps is the biggest triumph for paperworkers of SPPTEL. 
 
In collective negotiations, this boss threatened worker layoffs and termination of all bargaining committee members when the union put forward its wage demands. Ganefianto also threatened to call out police to forcefully break any strike that SPPTTEL called. 
 
Mostly due to the manager&rsquo;s words and tone, SPPTTEL did strike for three days in late July (see <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4573-Paperworkers-Strike-Indonesian-Pulp-Mill-Pressure-Brings-Marubeni-to-Table ">prior ICEM report</a>). Although a police presence was nearby, the walkout by 1,000 paperworkers was peaceful. 
 
In pursuant bargaining, the union retreated from monthly wage demands of IDR 632,000 (US$74) and the company moved upward considerably. The agreement reached just over two weeks ago calls for a monthly increase of IDR 240,000 (US$27) per month. The average median salary at Marubeni&rsquo;s pulp mill is IDR 2 million, or US$235-per-month. 
 
The union also won payment for the three days of strike action, and partial payment on salaries for the post-fasting Ramadan days of Eid ul-Fitr.

Indonesia Pulp Dispute Settled; Human Resource Director Sacked

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ICEM Belgian affiliate Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale-FGTB and the chemicals company Clariant made temporary peace over the weekend in a pitched industrial strike by blue-collar workers in Louvain-la-Neuve. In weekend talks between the union and Clariant Benelux, the blue-collar workforce accepted reinstatement of one of two discharged shop stewards and resumption of social dialogue based on trade union rights and safeguards of freedoms, said the FGTB. 
 
Mohamed Loukili and Kemal Bennaceur were sacked by Clariant on 27 July for faithfully carrying out union responsibilities inside the workplace. This weekend&rsquo;s negotiations won reinstatement for Loukili, while Bennaceur decided earlier to accept a pay-out package from Clariant and depart the company. 
<img alt="" src="" width="231" height="164" />
Strikers Surround FGTB Rep Mohamed Loukili at 17 August Manifestation
A 17 August strike manifestation at Clariant plant gates in Louvain-la-Neuve saw 200 workers and supporters call on Clariant to reverse the anti-social sackings. Three days before the annual summer shut-down, managers announced dismissal of the two union representatives. That caused a strike by the entire 45-worker blue-collar unit, a strike that threatened the safety of some 100 white-collar staff when work resumed last week. 
 
The ICEM congratulates the FGTB on winning this important union rights test, and notes it is the second time in a month that Belgium&rsquo;s Socialist Union has won reinstatement rights for sacked job leaders. It happened at Belgian Refining Corp. (BRC), near the Port of Antwerp, when two union delegates were reinstated through dialogue on 15 July between FGTB-ABVV and BRC managers. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4558-BRC-Belgium-Conflict-Settled-Sacked-Oil-Workers-Reinstated ">ICEM story</a> here) 
 
Clariant&rsquo;s chemical plant in Louvain-la-Neuve is part of the Swiss company&rsquo;s Masterbatches division and produces colour chemicals for inks and textiles.

Union Rep at Clariant in Belgium Reinstated

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Jack Layton, the soul of a progressive Canada and leader of the NDP, passed away Monday, 22 August, of cancer. For the past decade and more, Layton has led a populist surge in Canada that has given NDP, the party of fairness and justice, the official opposition stamp &ndash; since May 2011 &ndash; to the ruling neo-liberal Tories. Layton was 61. 
 
Layton had recently been diagnosed with his second bout against cancer. He died at 4h45 on 22 August in his home and surrounded by his family. 
 
Layton&rsquo;s energy and conviction inspired ordinary Canadians and statements on his passing testified to that. Statements by North American unions said Layton&rsquo;s inspiration, ideas, and vision must push faster forward. 
 
In a statement to Canadian unions, the ICEM said, &ldquo;What happens in Canada has global significance&rdquo; (see full <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/100.ICEM.Jack%20Layton.Canada.23August.pdf">ICEM letter</a>). The ICEM remembers Layton as a courageous fighter for social justice, depicted best in his own words on the labour strife brought by Vale, the Brazilian mining giant, or to the Mexican government on its union smashing. 
 
In Sudbury at the beginning of a bitter year-long strike Vale provoked against Canadian living standards, Layton stood among thousands of miners, and emphatically said, &ldquo;They cannot take away what working people have built over generations in this country, or this town.&rdquo; 
<img src="" width="290" height="161" alt="" />
Toronto: Tributes to Jack Layton
In 2009, Layton was part a global labour mission to Mexico sponsored by the ICEM and International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF). He accurately summarised the full trade union climate in Mexico: &ldquo;We made it clear that the government&rsquo;s interference in union governance, it&rsquo;s jailing of union leaders and freezing union bank accounts, declaring strikes illegal and failing to prosecute the killers of union leaders, are serious and unacceptable violations of basic human rights.&rdquo; 
Dave Coles, President of the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) of Canada said: &ldquo;I knew Jack Layton as a principled social democrat who was utterly committed to social justice and peace. Thousands of our members knew Jack by his first name, as a leader who had reached out to them in their workplaces and communities. Jack Layton paid attention to our members&rsquo; deepest concerns and gave them unqualified support in their struggles.&rdquo; 
Ken Neumann, Canadian National Director of the Untied Steelworkers (USW), said: &ldquo;Jack reawakened Canadians to the reality that government can &ndash; and must &ndash; play a positive role in ensuring the economic and social wellbeing of its citizens. Steelworkers will help lead the way in honouring Jack&rsquo;s legacy by carrying on his fight to build a better Canada and a better world.&rdquo; 
Ken Lewenza, President of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) said in a message to the NDP: &ldquo;At Jack&rsquo;s passing, your voice of conscience is needed more than ever. Your efforts can and will make a difference in the direction of our country.&rdquo; The CAW also said in mourning, progressive Canada must reflect on Jack&rsquo;s vision for Canada &ldquo;and how we can endeavour to make some of his cherished ideas a reality.&rdquo; 
 
Jack Layton was born in Hudson, Quebec, into a political family. He entered public service in 1982 as a member of the Toronto City Council after leaving academia. His years on the city council of Canada&rsquo;s largest city were marked by many accomplishments concerning poverty, homelessness, public transport, and environmental stewardship. In 2004, Layton won election to the federal Parliament as NDP leader, and the NDP has grown steadily to where it now is the logical political choice for a social Canada, and beyond. The ICEM letter said Jack stood always for workers, the poor, the disenfranchised. 
 
Jack is survived by his wife, Olivia, his dedicated political partner; and a son, Mike, a member of the Toronto City Council, and daughter, Sarah, who works for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

ICEM Mourns Passing of Canadian Stalwart Jack Layton

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