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EPMU members at a Colgate-Palmolive factory in Petone, NZ, are continuing a series of one-day strikes over the pay issue. While the global chemicals and detergents company shows record earnings in New Zealand, it offers Petrone workers a 5% increase covering 15 months, rather than the 5% yearly increase sought by the EPMU.

Strikes Occurring in New Zealand at Colgate-Palmolive

After losing a contempt of court case against leaders of the Botswana Mining Workers Union (BMWU) last month, diamond-mining monopoly Debswana has chosen a different retaliatory route following a 13-day strike late last summer: internal disciplinary measures against BMWU leaders. Debswana, a joint venture between DeBeers and the government of Botswana, has summoned individual leaders of the union for hearings on the spontaneous strike action that broke out in only a few areas of the company&rsquo;s wide-ranging operations. Despite company rhetoric calling for healing and reconciliation over the August-September strike that saw participation by 450 of the firm&rsquo;s 7,000 workers, this latest action is proof that the company has no intention of forgiving and forgetting.

Debswana Continues to Retaliate Against Botswana&#039;s Miners

A strike by 21,000 members of NUM of South Africa ended in the Free State 6 April when the union and Harmony Gold came to terms over a number of issues, including an independent audit panel to examine racism issues at Harmony&rsquo;s Free State operations. Other issues resolved include conversion of hostels into family units with increased housing allowances, rectification of inaccurate pay deductions and workers&rsquo; rights to choice in health care treatments. Although the agreement did not cover the unilateral retrenchment of 4,900 miners in the Free State, talks are expected to continue on that issue.

NUM Ends Strike Against Harmony Gold in South Africa

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
NUPENG and PENGASSAN, ICEM affiliates in Nigeria&rsquo;s energy sector, reached agreement with oil companies and the country&rsquo;s Ministry of Labour and Productivity on 6 April, five days ahead of a threatened three-day warning strike. 
The signed accord compels all parties to monitor compliance of quotas on expatriate workers in the oil industry, as well as regulating casualisation and contract workers, redundancies and pensions.

Nigerian Unions, Government Reach Accord Over Issues

Nepal&rsquo;s monarchy continues its irrational restriction of civil liberties by targeting labour leaders for arrest on even the slightest provocation. On 8 April, national center GEFONT&rsquo;s Vice Chairman Lalit Basnet and Hetaunda Zonal Chairman Madhusudan Khatiwada were jailed for speaking out against curtailment of basic trade union rights, including assembly. 
Similarly, GEFONT&rsquo;s Bara Zonal Chairman Kamalesh Jha was arrested in Kalaiya while protesting King Gyanendra&rsquo;s harsh authoritative measures. GEFONT&rsquo;s Kanchanpur Zonal Chairman Dharmananda Panta was arrested 25 March hours after he was re-elected. He was released 6 April. Official government response to his incarceration: &ldquo;(Dharmananda Panta&rsquo;s) continued freedom would allow him to conduct interviews which are against the spirit of His Majesty&rsquo;s proclamations, and would further escalate unrest, thus hampering peace and tranquillity.&rdquo;

Nepal Clamping Down on Trade Union Leaders, Trade Union Rights

UPM Kymmene and other Nordic paper companies are retaliating against affiliate Paperiliitto and paperworkers in Finland over industrial action banning overtime. At a UPM Kymmene mill in Kajaani, the company refused to pay workers already on the job when a paper machine was forced to stop because of the overtime ban. Other paper companies are applying the same tactic, unusual in such circumstances. 
Workers demonstrated late last week at Stora Enso mills in Kaukop&auml;&auml; and Tainionkoski over lack of progress in paper industry bargaining, and demonstrations also occurred earlier at Mets&auml;-Botnia mills in Joutseno and Rauma. Paperiliitto called the overtime ban because the Forest Industries Federation of Finland, after dropping from the national incomes policy agreement, is stalling in reaching agreement for 29,000 paperworkers.

Finnish Paper Companies Taking Hard Approach Against Union

America&rsquo;s second and fourth largest industrial unions merged 12 April, creating North America&rsquo;s largest industrial union. ICEM affiliates United Steelworkers and PACE are officially one following a resounding voice vote of approval from delegates representing PACE local unions at a special convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Steelworkers&rsquo; Executive Board had already approved the merger in January. The merged union now has 850,000 members and is called the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied-Industrial and Service Workers International Union, or simply USW.

PACE and USWA in US Officially Merge

The United Steelworkers of America (USWA) extended the US national rubber agreement to another tyre company when workers of Yokohama Tire Corp of Japan ratified an agreement in Salem, Virginia. Similar to USWA&rsquo;s rubber workers employed at Goodyear and Michelin&rsquo;s B.F. Goodrich, the 670 trade unionists in the state of Virginia won guaranteed job security measures, as well as increases to their pension formula. USWA currently is in talks with Bridgestone/Firestone over the same issues&mdash;job security, capital investment in US unionized tyre sites and other economics&mdash;at BSF&rsquo;s US tyre factories. Talks on the US pattern agreement for rubber have followed extensions for most companies since 2003 expirations. Bargaining broke off, however, between Continental Tire and USWA during mid-term negotiations when the German company proposed concessionary terms including increased out-of-pocket health care costs for retirees.

USWA’s Master Tyre Contract in US Extended to Yokohama

American affiliate PACE announced that the US government&rsquo;s Mine Safety and Health Administration has found 48 violations of health and safety standards at Imerys&rsquo; calcium carbonate plant in Sylacauga, Alabama. The French-based firm has tallied 44 of the charges, while four are related to substandard conditions created by contractors. PACE has filed further unfair labor practice charges against Imerys, this time for retrenching the job of the local union president, retaliating against other PACE members for lawful union conduct, and unilaterally changing work terms without consultation with PACE. The US government has already found Imerys guilty of three labour code violations. PACE, together with the ICEM, is pursuing an OECD investigation of Imerys for its anti-union conduct at Sylacauga.

Imerys in US Called on Mine Safety Violations

Australian affiliate CFMEU condemned the legal recourse two mining companies are taking over their criminal convictions to health and safety laws. The two, Xstrata and Centennial Coal, say they will challenge to overturn a statute in New South Wales calling for criminal prosecutions of serious health and safety violations. Both have been convicted of such offences. CFMEU says there will be no compromise on the statute. &ldquo;Let these companies tell the miners face to face why they consider their health and safety not worth the protection of the law and why they consider their lives of no value,&rdquo; said Tony Maher, the union&rsquo;s Mining and Energy General President.

Mining Companies in Australia Seek to Overturn Convictions

Archive

Strikes Occurring in New Zealand at Colgate-Palmolive

Debswana Continues to Retaliate Against Botswana's Miners

NUM Ends Strike Against Harmony Gold in South Africa

Nigerian Unions, Government Reach Accord Over Issues

Nepal Clamping Down on Trade Union Leaders, Trade Union Rights

Finnish Paper Companies Taking Hard Approach Against Union

PACE and USWA in US Officially Merge

USWA’s Master Tyre Contract in US Extended to Yokohama

Imerys in US Called on Mine Safety Violations

Mining Companies in Australia Seek to Overturn Convictions

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