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The ICEM Turkish affiliate &Ccedil;IMSE-İş, the Cement, Ceramics, Pottery and Glass Industry Workers&rsquo; Union, decided at its presidential committee meeting on 2 June to call strikes at 45 cement factories. The decision, occurring in Ankara, comes after disagreement in cement sector collective bargaining negotiations. 
 
The bargaining has hit an impasse, blocking achievement of a new collective agreement. The union and the Cement Industry Employers&rsquo; Federation (CEIS) have been negotiating since 7 January. Bargaining in January and February did reach consensus on some 40 provisions on normative regulations. 

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&Ccedil;IMSE-İş President Zekeriye Nazlım 

But in the months since, no further progress has been made. &Ccedil;IMSE-İş decided to call a walkout on the entire industry at last week&rsquo;s meeting of the presidential committee, composed of the union&rsquo;s Executive Committee members and branch chairmen. The committee decided to take the necessary preparations for strike actions without delay. 
 
Some 5,800 union members are employed at the 45 cement plants. 
 
According to the Strike and Lock-out Law, &Ccedil;IMSE-İş can lawfully strike within a 60-day period after announcing the strike. The union will soon determine the exact day to start the strike.

ÇIMSE-İş Calls for Strike Actions at 45 Turkish Cement Plants

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ICEM and the Building &amp; Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI) are actively continuing the campaign of the Indian Cement Workers Federation (INCWF) for equal rights, better conditions, and higher salaries for contract workers at Swiss-based cement multinational Holcim. Union busting and police harassment were increased at Holcim-India over the last two weeks, and a worker rally at the Labour Ministry was organized in response. 
 
The renewed worker anger was sparked by an incident on 19 May with the arrest Bhagwati Sahu, who was falsely accused of stealing Rs. 3,500 and a mobile phone. Brother Sahu is a trade union organizer for contract workers at the Holcim-Ambuja plant in Rawaan. 
 
Claims of police complicity with the company were compounded when the local police opposed bail and spuriously calling Sahu a &ldquo;habitual offender, dangerous, and a threat to law and order.&rdquo; Numerous witnesses came forward to testify that Bhagwati was elsewhere at the time of the incident. Lakhan Sahu, a fellow union activist, was also charged with the same crime. He was attending a family funeral in Raipur, a one-day drive south of Rawaan. 

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The fake charges, intended to break the union organising of contractors at Holcim, also targeted six other union activists. 
 
Join the <a href="http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?Index=3442&amp;Language=EN">campaign</a> yourself by sending a message to the Holcim CEO via the BWI website here. 
 
INCWF, an affiliate of both the ICEM and BWI, has conducted a long-running campaign calling for equal rights for contract workers, as stipulated under Indian law. Holcim-India continuously neglects this legislation, specifically at its subsidiaries of ACC in Bhilai and Ambuja Cement in Baloda Bazar. 
 
On 26 May, 250 contract workers reached Raipur to meet the Labour Ministry and Labour Secretary to demand the implementation of the High Court order directing regularization, and the withdrawal of the false cases against their union leaders. Both the minister and secretary avoided meeting the workers though their subordinates made &ldquo;assurances&rdquo; of looking into the workers&rsquo; grievances. 
 
The BWI, ICEM, and Swiss trade union UNIA are planning to send a delegation to India to investigate the grievances. 
 
Holcim is the second largest producer of cement in the world. An average salary for Indian contract workers of US$2.17 a day and India&rsquo;s large quantities of limestone are reasons why Holcim has shifted production to the Asian sub-continent from countries such as Spain and the US.

Holcim, India’s Police Team to Resist Contract Worker Organising

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Four French unions, led by the CGT and the CFDT, carried out four-hour strikes at Lafarge cement plants today, 6 June, in protest to the company&rsquo;s intended plans to shut its Frangey cement facility near L&eacute;zinnes, L&rsquo;Yonne province, some 170 kilometres southeast of Paris. Workers began blocking trucks this morning at the Frangey plant and work stoppages were occurring at other French Lafarge sites in support of the 74 workers who could lose their jobs. 
 
Besides CGT and CFDT, FO and CFTC endorsed the industrial actions at some 11 Lafarge plants in France. The CGT and CFDT are the unions with membership at the Frangey plant. 
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Lafarge announced on 25 May at an extraordinary Works Council meeting that it would close the plant in three stages between now and the end of 2012. However, the initial redundancies &ndash; expected in August &ndash; will likely reduce employment to only 20. The company used over capacity and the small market that the plant serves as reasons for closure. 
 
Lafarge also said environmental factors were part of the decision, although the facility has received environmental certification. The Frangey plant produces 300,000 tons of cement annually and a system of cogeneration covers 50% of the plant&rsquo;s energy needs. 
 
The company said workers would be offered a chance to transfer to other Lafarge facilities. CGT delegate Jean-Claude Rives said the decision is unjustified because the plant provides a major benefit both in wages and in cement production to the L&rsquo;Yonne department. 
 
Twenty contractors also work at Frangey and they likely will lose their jobs. The French unions left open the possibility that further job actions would occur to protest the announced closure.

French Unions Conduct 4-Hour Strike at Lafarge Today

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Mansour Osanloo, the leader and co-founder of Vahed Syndicate, a union of bus drivers in and around Tehran, Iran, was released from an Iranian jail on 2 June after four years imprisonment. But his freedom came conditionally. He needed to post payment of a bond and release was granted on grounds that he maintain &ldquo;good behaviour.&rdquo; 
 
His only offence against the state was to form a free and democratic union of bus drivers in 2005. 
 
In a statement by the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), which has been fighting for his freedom and full recognition of his union, General Secretary David Cockroft said, &ldquo;He is free because trade unions worldwide demanded justice. 
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&ldquo;That bail has been set falls short of the full pardon we all wanted, and which the Iranian government promised, but for now we can just take a moment to savour his richly deserved return to his family.&rdquo; (See the full <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/6047">ITF statement</a> here.)&nbsp; 
 
The ITF reminded that two of Osanloo&rsquo;s colleagues of the Vahed Syndicate, Reza Shahabi and Ebrahim Madadi, are innocent victims still locked inside Iran&rsquo;s prisons. 
 
Vahed Syndicate and Osanloo, 51, had been under heavy state repression since the founding of the union six years ago. Osanloo had been jailed twice between 2005-2006 and was beaten and had his tongue slit while in prison. Then in early summer 2007, just a month after he had been at a meeting of the ITF in London and another with trade union leaders of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in Brussels, he was jailed again and sentenced to five years for &ldquo;acting against national security&rdquo; and &ldquo;propaganda against the state.&rdquo; Last year, another year was added to his sentence. 
 
Osanloo is suffering from poor health from the harsh treatment inflicted on him in Iran&rsquo;s prisons. A previous <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/2439--�Dirty-Tricks-Imposed-by-Iranian-Government-over-Imprisonment-of-Mansour-Osanloo ">ICEM report</a> on his treatment can be found here, while <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/2327-Iran-Again-Arrests-Mansour-Osanloo-Following-His-European-Labour-Visits ">another ICEM report</a> of his 2007 arrest following his European trade union visit can be found here.

After Four Years, Mansour Osanloo Released from Iran Jail

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Some 10,000 workers employed at El Teniente by sub-contractors of Codelco, Chile&rsquo;s state-run copper and molybdenum miner, have been on strike now for 13 days. Even though the walkout falls outside Chile&rsquo;s labour law, the strike is legitimate: contract employees demand that Codelco engage their unions in direct dialogue. 
 
The strike started 25 May against over 20 contracting firms and Codelco. It is happening at El Teniente, one of five Codelco divisions, which is the world&rsquo;s largest underground copper mine located 90 kilometres south of Santiago. Contract workers at cleaning, catering, supply and other firms want a primary employer to come to the table to address failed bonus schemes, unpaid hours, no job security and other grievances. They also demand that there be no recriminations over strike actions, a clear sign of the fear, precariousness, and trade union discrimination at El Teniente. 
Codelco is standing by the &ldquo;acuerdo marco,&rdquo; or framework agreement of 2007 in maintaining it has no obligation to address grievances of contract workers. Codelco CEO Diego Hern&aacute;ndez said the company&rsquo;s legal responsibility ends at health and safety compliance, and social security compliance of the sub-contracting firms. Unions representing contract workers want a re-write of the marco agreement. 
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Contract Workers Strike at El Teniente
The job actions have gained the support of civic officials and political leaders in the region and the ICEM commends contract workers at El Teniente for taking direct action in an effort to get a primary company to address its concerns. 
 
The three branches of the Federaci&oacute;n de Trabajadores del Cobre (FTC) at El Teniente, representing 2,300 direct Codelco workers, issued a statement on 30 May, in part, stating that the Cobres federation &ldquo;has always maintained a stance of solidarity with the legitimate aspirations of the employees of sub-contractors. The FTC has been a key player to open talks between unions representing workers, contractors themselves, and the client company Codelco, in order to see positive agreements. 
 
&ldquo;The FTC expresses its solidarity with the contract workers and their representative trade union organizations, and we clearly do not support the manipulation and exploitation of a legitimate movement to promote interests other than that of workers.&rdquo; 
 
The dispute was peaceful during the first nine days of the strike, but turned unruly on Friday, 3 June, when contract workers blocked roads leading to the mine complex. The blockade caused buses carrying regular workers to be turned away. 
 
Codelco, the world&rsquo;s largest copper producer, saw its first quarter pre-tax profit balloon to US$2.31 billion due to high copper and molybdenum prices. That is an 87% increase over the same period in 2010 and is partially due to the state company&rsquo;s sell-off of its 40% share of electrical producer Edelnor. 
 
Separately, the Federaci&oacute;n de Sindicatos de Supervisores y Profesionales Rol A Codelco (FESUC), the supervisory and professional union federation at Codelco, charged that senior managers are transforming the company solely for the purpose of privatisation. This comes at a time when supervisors at some divisions are being furloughed without the option to transfer. 
 
FESUC President Ricardo Calder&oacute;n said layoffs, precarious employment, and outsourcing are the precursor for privatization, while another FESUC leader called on CEO Hern&aacute;ndez to publicly state the company would not be sold off to private investors.

Contract Workers Strike Codelco at El Teniente Mine in Chile

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On 24 February, Juan Linares was released after spending two years in jail. His release came just days after worldwide mobilization of unions in the 14-19 February global days of action demanding trade union rights in Mexico. Linares has been a member of SNTMMSRM (or Los Mineros) since 1972 as a mine worker at the ArcelorMittal Sicartsa steel mill. 
 
Why were you imprisoned and what was the impact of this on your union? 
 
I was imprisoned under false charges of fraud, on which no evidence was ever presented. This is clearly an anti-union measure taken by the government of Felipe Calder&oacute;n to undermine and attack the Miners' Union. There was an investigation and an audit was carried out which shows that there has been no embezzlement of funds at all. The anti-union attacks from the government have been constant, firstly starting with the accusations against the General Secretary Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia; secondly, the freezing of the bank account and thirdly, imprisoning me. This just serves the government&rsquo;s intention to finish off our union. 
 
How did you manage to secure your release after two years in jail? 
 
International support, particularly from the IMF, ICEM, AFL-CIO, and the United Steelworkers, that mobilized international opinion about my case and in particular the global days of action held in February had considerable impact on my release. I was imprisoned for two years, two months and 20 days. 
 
Is the government persecution of Los Mineros continuing? 
 
Yes, the government continues daily to persecute Los Mineros and this is because it is a right wing government. This already started in the time of Vicente Fox and is now continuing with Felipe Calder&oacute;n. Persecution is particularly harsh from the Minister of Labour. 
 
What is the situation for Los Mineros and the independent trade union movement in Mexico today? 
 
I think that things are slowly improving. The questions that we are discussing today on the merger at the global level will be particularly beneficial for Mexico. For example, another union under attack - SME - will soon be together with us and I think that we could achieve a really strong and independent labour movement in Mexico. 
 
How can international solidarity support Los Mineros and other independent unions in your struggle? 
 
One thing in which we need the support from the international organizations is to be able to continue organizing and recruiting new members in our union and that is what we would ask the international organizations to which we are affiliated. I also would like to share with you my great joy because we just heard on 25 May that our leader Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez has now been cleared of all accusations against him and we are looking forward to having him back with us in Mexico and to continue our struggle. We believe that the union movement in Mexico is really advancing.

Interview: Juan Linares, National Mexican Mine and Metal Workers Union (SNTMMSRM)

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A tentative collective agreement was reached late in the evening on 19 June in New York City for 15,000 General Electric (GE) workers in the US. The proposed four-year accord came hours before a Sunday midnight expiration of a prior agreement for 11,000 of the 15,000 workers, represented by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and the International Union of Electronic Workers/ Communications Workers of America (IUE/CWA). 
 
Ten American unions have been bargaining with GE since 24 May as part of a joint union Coordinating Bargaining Council (CBC). The unions represent industrial workers who manufacture everything from jet airplane engines to locomotive train diesels to electrical appliances to small motors to lighting systems. Pension terms negotiated under the agreement will also apply to staff of NBC, the US television network owned by GE. 
 
Details of the proposed agreement will not be released until Thursday, 23 June, to allow the GE Conference Boards of the UE and IUE/CWA time to consider all provisions and make recommendations to their respective memberships. 
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UE President John Hovis
&ldquo;While the proposal contains important improvements and advances, it also contains certain disappointments,&rdquo; said President John Hovis of the UE, an ICEM affiliate. &ldquo;However, given the current economic climate overall, it&rsquo;s an agreement we can support.&rdquo; 
 
Breakthroughs came in bargaining on 18 June when GE negotiators increased its wage offer and withdrew unfair and additional payments on retirees for prescription drug coverage. Entering bargaining yesterday (19 June), the two sides were still grappling with issues related to a company Health Choice medical plan, a pension scheme for new hires, and regressive GE proposals to an early retirement option for workers. 
 
The CBC has representation from the UE, IUE/CWA, United Steelworkers (USW), International Association of Machinists &amp; Aerospace Workers (IAM), National Association of Broadcast Employees &amp; Technicians (NABET/CWA), the United Auto Workers (UAW), the International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees (IFPTE), the Electrical Workers (IBEW), Sheet Metal Workers Union (SMWIU), the United Association of Plumbing and Pipefitting Union (UA), and the Firemen &amp; Oilers division of the Service Employees Union (SEIU). 
 
The talks were national in scope for multiple local branch unions of the UE and IUE/CWA, while mostly single-site or single-unit bargaining was simultaneously occurring for the other unions although the entire CBC was at the large table in the New York talks. 
 
Messages of support (or congratulations) can still be given CBC negotiators by signing this IUE/CWA <a href="http://action.cwa-union.org/c/783/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=2601 ">Unity Petition</a>.

Tentative Pact Reached in US for 15,000 General Electric Workers

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A new update has been published by the ICEM of its PowerPoint presentation on &ldquo;Contract and Agency Labour and the ICEM CAL Campaign&rdquo;. This regularly updated presentation, which can be used by anyone, contains not only a considerable number of updated key statistics on Contract and Agency Labour and other forms of precarious work, including the ICEM&rsquo;s own statistics, but also a wide range of national and international &ldquo;best practice examples,&rdquo; highlighting, among other, what unions around the world have done successfully to counter the problem. 
 
The full-length English version of the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/11-05-19%20CAL%20ICEM%20PPT%20for%20website.2.ppt">presentation</a> can be found - and downloaded - here.

New ICEM CAL Facts and Figures Overview

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The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has adopted updated Guidelines for Multinational Companies. The new OECD Guidelines were adopted on 25 May at a signing ceremony led by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and attended by AFL-CIO and TUAC President Richard Trumka. 
 
The update contains a number of positive elements, including a chapter on Human Rights and the unequivocal application of the Guidelines to suppliers and other business relationships. The Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) statement on the update of the guidelines states: &ldquo;These elements significantly increase the relevance of the Guidelines and their potential to raise the standard of responsible business conduct in a global context. The success of the Update now depends on its prompt and full implementation both by adhering governments and by the OECD.&rdquo; 
 
The updated Guidelines have particular relevance to Contract and Agency Labour as the coverage extends to those &ldquo;in an employment relationship with the multinational enterprise.&rdquo; The commentary to Chapter Five on Employment and Industrial Relations clarifies that the terminology is consistent with that used in the ILO Multinational Enterprises&rsquo; Declaration and refers enterprises wishing to understand the scope of their responsibility under Chapter Five to the non-exhaustive list of employment relationship indicators set forth in ILO Recommendation 198 of 2006, paragraphs 13 (a) and (b). 
 
Paragraph 13 of R198 states that the indicators of the existence of an employment relationship might include: 
(a) the fact that the work: is carried out according to the instructions and under the control of another party; involves the integration of the worker in the organization of the enterprise; is performed solely or mainly for the benefit of another person; must be carried out personally by the worker; is carried out within specific working hours or at a workplace specified or agreed by the party requesting the work; is of a particular duration and has a certain continuity; requires the worker's availability; or involves the provision of tools, materials and machinery by the party requesting the work; 
 
(b) periodic payment of remuneration to the worker; the fact that such remuneration constitutes the worker's sole or principal source of income; provision of payment in kind, such as food, lodging or transport; recognition of entitlements such as weekly rest and annual holidays; payment by the party requesting the work for travel undertaken by the worker in order to carry out the work; or absence of financial risk for the worker. 
 
The <a href="http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/43/29/48004323.pdf">OECD MNE Guidelines</a> are available here. 
 
The <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/TUAC%20Statement%20on%20Revised%20OECD%20Guidelines.pdf">TUAC Statement</a> on the updated Guidelines is available here (PDF)

OECD Guidelines Positively Updated

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A plan of action to combat outsourcing in Latin America was agreed at the regional Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) seminar held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, 6-7 April. The seminar, organised by ICEM CAL Project Latin American Coordinators Rosane Sasse and Elias Soares-Pintado, was attended by 28 union leaders from Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, and Chile. 
 
The event began with participants presenting on the status of outsourcing in their own country. Colleagues from Ecuador shared the findings of research into the impact of legislation introduced by President Rafael Correa to ban the use of outsourcing. A number of participants mentioned how legislation in their countries is being abused and many expressed concern at the gap between law and practice. It was agreed that outsourcing has a detrimental impact in all countries, and that coordinated action is needed to stop its use. 
<img alt="" src="" width="101" height="110" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="113" height="110" />
Elias Soares-Pintado, Rosane Sasse
On 28 July, it was decided, all participating unions will launch an ongoing campaign against outsourcing in Colombia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. To coincide with this, participants will organise activities to raise workers&rsquo; awareness of the issues. 
 
A CAL network was established during the seminar, with each country nominating at least one representative. Representatives will exchange information about challenges and successes. 
 
A detailed plan of action against CAL was agreed, which includes: 
 
- The ICEM will approach Ministries of Labour in particular countries calling for recognition of CAL problems, for respect for trade unions and for concrete actions to be taken against CAL. 
 
- All unions, federations, and confederations should communicate the problems associated with outsourcing and begin a debate on CAL with their governments. 
 
- The ICEM will prepare documents on CAL for the Summit of the President of Latin American countries and the Andean Parliament. 
 
- When a new business is established, unions will immediately start a debate on how production is set out and whether CAL or permanent workers will be employed. 
 
CAL Americas network &ndash; list of representatives 
 
The list of representatives for the CAL Latin America Network includes: German Paplecino, SUTNA, and Marcelo Sotosca, STI Black River Gas, Argentina; Ricardo Rodrigues Vera, Fenatrapech, Chile; Moises Ochoa Berrocal, FENUPETROL, Peru; Walter Silva, CUOPYC, Uruguay; Marcelo Solozano, Link, Ecuador; Rodrigues Manuel Acevedo, SITRAPEQUIA, Costa Rica; Carlos Bustos Pati&ntilde;o, ICEM Project Coordinator, Colombia; and Elias Soares-Pintado, ICEM Project Coordinator, Brazil.

Latin America Seminar Agrees Regional Action Plan and Launches CAL network

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