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Global worker No1 2022

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IGBCE in Germany has warned employers in the chemical industry not to deviate from their social responsibilities in bargaining that begins in April for 580,000 chemical workers. Emphasizing that only some employers are stating the industry needs to &ldquo;catch its breath&rdquo; free of any wage increases, IGBCE said in a statement it would not change directions in upcoming talks. The union maintains that only through meaningful increases can the consumer economy in Germany improve.

German IGBCE Warns Chemical Industry Ahead of Bargaining

An announcement by the Canadian government to sell off its remaining 19% stake in Petro-Canada was denounced by the country&rsquo;s leading energy union, Communications, Energy, Paperworkers of Canada. The Calgary-based company was established in 1975 to promote domestic supply of oil and gas and as a counter to the US-based oil giants. Petrocan is involved in Arctic gas, oil sands in western provinces, exploration and production of eastern seacoast reserves. It also operates a chain of petrol stations across Canada. &ldquo;Canadians want and need a role in our oil and gas industry, and now is not the time to sell off Canada&rsquo;s station,&rdquo; said CEP President Brian Payne. &ldquo;There are more than six million Canadians who drive up to Petro Canada regularly, believing that this company in part belongs to them. I can&rsquo;t think of a better way to alienate Petro Canada&rsquo;s loyal customers than by selling out.&rdquo;

CEP Resisting Canadian Petro-Canada Sell-Off

Letter writing to Ukrainian embassies is the message from the ICEM to all affiliates over the repressive and violent measures taken against Mikhail Volynets and his family. Volynets is president of ICEM affiliate Miners&rsquo; Independent Trade Union of Ukraine, a founder of the national center Confederation of Free Trade Union of Ukraine, as well as a member of the country&rsquo;s parliament, the Rada. On 7 March, two men abducted his 24-year-old son and beat him to near death. Since, Volynets has noticed two members of the Secret Service of Ukraine constantly outside his residence building, as well as two men monitoring visitors to his son&rsquo;s hospital room.

ICEM Protests Against Ukrainian Repression of Mining Leader

Two US ICEM affiliates&mdash;USWA and PACE&mdash;have been jointly working on legislative and member mobilization projects for several years. The two unions have now officially consummated that bond by entering into a formal strategic alliance with each other. The cooperative bond &ldquo;recognizes that it is in each union&rsquo;s mutual interest to coordinate their activities and share with each other the knowledge, techniques and experiences each has gained in areas in which they excel.&rdquo;

US Unions USWA, PACE Form Strategic Accord

German and French unions are teaming up to block the hostile takeover of German-French pharmaceutical Aventis by French rival Sanofi-Synthelabo. Hubertus Schmoldt, president of German IGBCE and Patrick Pierron, general secretary of the French union FCE-CFDT, oppose the hostile takeover. They fear massive job cuts in both countries will result, and jointly expressed disdain over how the takeover was set up. &ldquo;A hostile takeover such as this is counter-production to the stock market. There are hardly any winners with such actions, but certainly plenty of losers,&rdquo; the two unions said.

French, German Unions Resist Aventis, Sanofi Chemical Merger

The ICEM banner in Democratic Republic of Congo continues to show hope for the war-torn country. Last month 13 unions led by ICEM&rsquo;s two Congolese affiliates&mdash;the petrol/chemical union FNTPEC and mining union FENAMICO&mdash;came together in unity and industrial democracy under the ICEM&rsquo;s Regional Shop Steward Development Project of Africa. With war and strife receding in the Congo and multinational concerns rapidly eyeing mining and energy opportunities, the unions have agreed to work together to promote effective leadership and shop steward networks. ICEM Regional Chairperson and NUM President Senzeni Zokwana from South Africa is instrumental in coordination.

ICEM Education Project Making Headway in Congo

The CEP, meanwhile, welcomed 340 Shell oil workers from Montreal into their ranks. An unaffiliated local union there voted to join Canada&rsquo;s dominate energy, paper and communications union and will become CEP Local 121.

Shell Stand-Alone Union in Montreal Joins Canadian CEP

The mission included delegates from the United Steelworkers of America and the National Union of Mineworkers in South Africa, and was accompanied by IndustriALL Global Union&rsquo;s Director of Mining, Glen Mpufane. During the three days, the mission delegates met with the management of PT Freeport Indonesia, as well as government representatives from the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources and Minerals, and the Ministry Manpower and Transmigration.An investigation into the accident has been held, and from which CEMWU (FSPKEP-SPSI) was barred from active participation. The findings of the investigation could not be made public even though the report was not classified. This has led to a lawsuit being filed against the company by a human rights lawyer in Indonesia, although compensation has been paid to the families of the victims.&nbsp;&ldquo;We learned with horror that the cause of the accident was that the roof collapsed due to faulty lines along the rooftop and deterioration of ground support bolts, and as such no one could be held accountable,&rdquo; Andrew Vickers says.The mission&rsquo;s conclusion, supported by the CEMWU FSPKEP-SPSI, was that the cause of the accident was management negligence. No evidence of inspections or risk assessment performed before the accident could be provided.&ldquo;The mission also concluded that the accident clearly illustrates the urgent need for the ratification of ILO Convention 176 in Indonesia. IndustriALL Global Union is committed to lend our support to speed up this process,&rdquo; says Glen Mpufane.

Solidarity mission in the wake of disaster at Freeport-McMoran’s Grasberg copper mine

CANADA/GLOBAL: Unions launch a full-scale international campaign to shine a light on the Rio Tinto's systemic attacks on workers, communities, and the environment. Meanwhile, talks between the United Steelworkers' Union (USW) and Rio Tinto Alcan have resumed after a three month silence which has resulted in the lock-out of 780 workers. The government-appointed talks come just days after a delegation Canadian union leaders representing Rio Tinto workers returned from a national tour of Rio sites in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand that was led by the Mining and Maritime Initiative, a coalition of unions representing workers in the mining and maritime industries in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.Workers have been locked-out since January 1 after refusing to accept a dramatic increase in the use of precarious work. The plant has been operating with non-unionized workers at about one-third of capacity since early January.International pressure has begun to mount as unions representing Rio Tinto/Alcan workers around the world, including the Rio/Alcan European Works Council and affiliates of the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers Unions (ICEM) are revving up actions in support of the locked-out workers in Alma.On March 31, union leaders representing Rio/Alcan workers, the IMF and ICEM, labour activists and community groups will come together in a show of might and solidarity. Other international events and actions are planned for the coming months. &quot;While we were gone, many people accused us of traveling the world to tarnish the company's image. Even if this was our intent, it would have been impossible because RTA's image with regard to respect for workers has already taken hits from all sides. From Boron, California - where Rio Tinto locked out its workers in 2010 - to our fellow members in New Zealand or the Maritime Union of Australia, which represents a number of Rio Tinto employees, people were already aware of how far this company's anti-union practices have gone,&quot; explained Marc Maltais, head of USW Local 9490.&quot;The men and women of Alma have chosen to resist the erosion of their jobs, while deciding to demand respect from this multinational, which benefits from our electricity to run one of the most profitable manufacturing plants in the world. Unionists from all over know that, if Rio Tinto manages to beat us down here, this will embolden the company to attack all the other unions on the planet. From the U.S. to Australia, the entire union community realizes how important it is that we stick together. And this solidarity will surely be felt in Alma on March 31,&quot; said Guy Farrell, Assistant to the Quebec USW/Syndicat des Métallos Director. For more information about the campaign visit: <a href="http://www.almasolidarite.org/">http://www.almasolidarite.org/</a> (French) or <a href="http://www.justiceforriotintoworkers.ca/">http://www.justiceforriotintoworkers.ca/</a>. (English).

While a government-appointed mediator has called for resumed negotiations in an effort to end the three-month lockout of workers at Rio Tinto Alcan's giant Alma aluminum smelter in Quebec, Canada, trade unions are globally ramping up pressure on the company.

Global Unions increase pressure on Rio Tinto to end lockout in Canada

GERMANY/GLOBAL: The 3rd Bosch World Meeting, gathering more than 60 worker representatives from 34 countries around the world including for the first time from India, Malaysia and China, took place on March 21 to 23 in Abstatt, Germany.The participation of union representatives from Malaysia was made possible after the local union successful organized the Bosch plant in Malaysia with support from the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) and the Works Council in Germany.At the meeting the Board of Management once again committed to guaranteeing worldwide the right of all employees to join a union of their free choice and their commitment to negotiate collective agreements with these unions. A very important task of this World Meeting is to support each other in ensuring that this commitment will be realized at all Bosch sites worldwide as expressed in the <a href="../files/ifa_bosch_en.pdf">International Framework Agreement</a> with the company.Delegates at the meeting issued an <a href="../files/12033009345866/KMWU-Bosch_int_solidarity.pdf">International Declaration of Solidarity</a> for the members of the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU) who are currently in conflict with the South Korean Bosch management. The local union president was dismissed after workers did not show for work on the last day of the year. The management claimed it was an illegal strike, whereas the workers believed it was a negotiated day off. &quot;The delegates of the Bosch World Meeting express their highest respect and their deep appreciation of the courage, the determination, and the unity which our South Korean colleagues have demonstrated in their conflict. We support the colleagues in their efforts and their struggle to defend workers' and trade union rights,&quot; reads the statement.During the World Meeting the main issues addressed in the country reports dealt with investment and employment and the need to guarantee a future and secure jobs. Several delegates at the meeting were able to directly ask the Board of Management about specific issues and receive better information than they would have got locally. &quot;This access to information and the exchange of experiences was a crucial element of the meeting,&quot; said IMF Automotive Director Helmut Lense.A very important part of the discussion addressed the impacts of the financial crisis on employees. Especially in Germany dismissals were avoided by creating several instruments of flexibility. These examples could provide a basis for managing similar situations in the future without mass layoffs also in other countries.At the conclusion of the meeting, all delegates agreed to continue with the world meetings and expressed their commitment to start negotiations with management on an agreement for holding the regular world meetings, which would also be an important step forward to building and strengthening a work with all Bosch workers.

Bosch worker representatives from around the world were able to address international management directly and build solidarity for freedom of association and collective bargaining at all Bosch sites globally.

International Solidarity Declaration to KMWU Bosch workers

Global solidarity of Bosch workers reinforced

Archive

German IGBCE Warns Chemical Industry Ahead of Bargaining

CEP Resisting Canadian Petro-Canada Sell-Off

ICEM Protests Against Ukrainian Repression of Mining Leader

US Unions USWA, PACE Form Strategic Accord

French, German Unions Resist Aventis, Sanofi Chemical Merger

ICEM Education Project Making Headway in Congo

Shell Stand-Alone Union in Montreal Joins Canadian CEP

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