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The Guyana Bauxite &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union (GB&amp;GWU) is seeking corrective measures by the government of the South American nation in order to continue representing 500 miners of the Bauxite Co. of Guyana Inc. (BCGI), which is 90% controlled by the Russian metals company RusAl. 
 
Following six months of intense struggle, which crested in December 2009 when RusAl unilaterally withdrew recognition of the union at the Aroaima and Kwakwani bauxite mines in contradiction to Guyanese labour law, GB&amp;GWU finally got a hearing last week, on 25 May, before Guyana&rsquo;s Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board. 
 
But that hearing proved inconclusive, with the union seeking remedial action by the Labour Ministry before a ballot is put before miners on whether or not they want to retain the longstanding union. Fifty-seven GB&amp;GWU activists remain sacked after they led a strike on 22 November 2009. 
<img alt="" src="" width="256" height="192" />
GB&amp;GWU picketed the offices of Labour Minister Mansoor Nadir on 4 and 5 February 
The union wants redress for the Labour Minister refusing to act or to conduct an investigation that followed the end of the strike. BCGI prepared a de-authorization petition and coerced workers into signing it, denouncing the GB&amp;GWU. In April, it surfaced that BCGI management at both Aroaima and Kwakwani conspired to organise a workers&rsquo; committee for a rival union, one connected with the ruling People&rsquo;s Progressive Party (PPP) in Guyana. (The GB&amp;GWU has been traditionally aligned with the opposition People&rsquo;s National Congress Reform, PNCR). 
 
&ldquo;What we are asking,&rdquo; said GB&amp;GWU Secretary-General Lincoln Lewis, &ldquo;is that the laws of the country be upheld before any ballot at BCGI is held. That means that BCGI&rsquo;s one-sided de-authorization be addressed, victimization of union leaders be addressed, the illegal firings be heard, and its blatant interference over freedom of association rights be addressed. 
 
&ldquo;Now, that has not happened. We cannot enter a ballot until these complaints are answered. If we do, it opens an unwanted precedent for any union in Guyana &ndash; no matter the political alignment &ndash; for both national laws and international labour standards to be ignored in undermining a legitimate union.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="198" />
GB&amp;GWU Secretary-General Lincoln Lewis 
The dispute is now highly politically charged with PNCR representatives in the National Assembly bringing a no-confidence motion on Labour, Human Services, and Social Security Minister Mansoor Nadir inside the Legislature. The Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy has called for his resignation. 
 
The labour dispute initially started in wage negotiations last November. BCGI submitted three proposals and asked miners to vote and accept one. When they accepted the one least desirable to BCGI, managers began meeting with groups of workers to convince them to change their position. For those who stood by the democratic vote, management made it known they would be the first terminated. 
 
Management&rsquo;s bullishness, thus, caused the strike, a strike in which BCGI terminated union leaders, withdrew recognition, and subsequently has tried to introduce another union. The ICEM did intervene with the Guyanese government, but received only a curt reply that all laws and procedures are being adhered to. The ICEM will continue to stand by the GB&amp;GWU until full justice prevails.

Guyana Bauxite Union Still Seeking Justice from RusAl, Government

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Dutch-Irish pulp and paper company SmurfitKappa withdrew a signed social agreement with ICEM affiliate FGTB on a redundancy package, after claiming managers at the Mettet paper converter in the Walloon region of Belgium were coerced into signing it. The company announced in February that is was closing the Cartomill plant near Namur, thus terminating 69 workers. 
 
Late on 30 April and early 1 May, FGTB representatives and plant managers were negotiating the social package in the plant&rsquo;s offices when, after several hours into the night, an agreement was reached on transition and education terms, as well a &euro;30,000 per worker redundancy settlement. The company had originally offered only the Belgian minimum, &euro;28,000. 
 
But following the signing, plant managers conferred with corporate management and the decision was taken to invalidate the agreement, with Cartomills managers stating they were held against their will throughout the evening and forced to sign. Pascal Vivone of FGTB denies the assertion. &ldquo;I do not understand how they can come up with that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;At no point did they indicate they were being held against their will.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="245" height="100" />
The two parties, nonetheless, are now continuing the dialogue to reach a fair and equitable settlement. Both sides have agreed to conduct the negotiations off site. 
 
In another recent European paper dispute, the French unions &ndash; CGT-Filpac and CFE-CGC &ndash; won favourable wage terms through industrial action against French paper producer ArgoWiggins. The pay package covers some 2,000 workers at six French mills. The settlement came after several two-hour work stoppages dating back to mid-April. Workers won 2% average pay increases that includes bonus entitlements. ArjoWiggins is owned by the private equity group Sequana Capital.

SmurfitKappa Reneges on Signed Redundancy Package at Belgian Paper Plant

Mine workers are backing a shareholders revolt against Xstrata Chief&rsquo;s 41 % pay increase from last year, at the AGM of Swiss mining giant Xstrata on 5 May. 
 
A delegation of four coal miners from New South Wales and Queensland will travel to the AGM in remote Zug Switzerland, where Xstrata has its headquarters. 
 
CFMEU Mining and Energy Vice President and delegation leader Wayne McAndrew said the mining giant had spent the last year fighting a 3 % pay rise for mine workers, while Mick Davis earned $US7.75 million last year, a payrise of 41 % compared with the $US5.5 million he picked up in 2008. 
 
&ldquo;Xstrata&rsquo;s Australian coal operations are the most profitable parts of the company&rsquo;s extensive global operations. Yet one quarter of Xstrata&rsquo;s Australian coal mining operations currently face industrial disputes or unrest because of the company&rsquo;s anti worker stance&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;The union is able to work constructively with mining companies across Australia, but Xstrata has continually and consistently refused to work with us to gain the best results for everyone concerned in the mining industry, and most importantly the mine workers,&rdquo; said Wayne McAndrew. 
 
&ldquo;Xstrata is a company that is engaging in activities that are harming the future profits of the company and has the potential to affect its overseas mergers and acquisitions.&rdquo; 
 
The miners union is representing its members in their pursuit of three basic conditions: job security, equal pay for equal work and a legally enforceable avenue for arbitration. In 2009, 37 percent of operating profit for the entire business came from Australian coal. Australian coal also has the highest profit margin of any part of the business, at 27 percent. 
 
Lee Webb a miner at the Tahmoor Colliery in Sydney&rsquo;s south-west is travelling to Switzerland for the first time. 
 
&ldquo;I am going to Zug to show the shareholders that it is the rank-and-file workers like me who suffer when Xstrata will not work with the Union,&rdquo; he said. 
 
&ldquo;I want the shareholders to know that we are not asking for much, just to be treated fairly and decently and to have job security and a little bit of respect for the dangerous job we do for the company.&rdquo; 
 
The delegation will be led by Wayne McAndrew, CFMEU Vice President, Mining and Energy Division. He will be joined by coal miners from Newlands open cut mine in Queensland and Tahmoor Colliery in NSW.
The Geneva-based International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Union (ICEM) is supporting its Australian affiliate, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) in its protest against Xstrata. The ICEM is a global union federation consisting of 467 trade union affiliates in 132 countries.
Spokesperson: Wayne McAndrew will be available for interviews from Switzerland on +61 417 230 441(CFMEU); Please contact Dick Blin, ICEM Information Office, 079 734 8994 (mobile) for media assistance inside Switzerland.
ENDS 
 
The Xstrata AGM will be held in Zug, Switzerland on Wednesday 5 May at 11:00 am local time. (- 8 hours Australian EST) 
 
Media: For photos of miners at the AGM and to arrange interviews contact Angela Cuming (EMC) 0439 411 774

Australian miners flex industrial muscle in support of Xstrata shareholders revolt

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Next week, on 12 May, Don MacKinnon, President of the Power Workers&rsquo; Union (PWU), an ICEM affiliate, will be one of two honorees at Toronto&rsquo;s Tribute Award Dinner. MacKinnon will be feated for his involvement and fundraising on behalf of Easter Deals Ontario, an advocacy organisation for children with physical disabilities. 
 
Proceeds from the dinner help the organization meet the cost of mobility equipment, communication devices, and summer camp activities for children with disabilities. Bruce Power, one of the PWU&rsquo;s major employers, is the title sponsor of the event. 

<img alt="" src="" width="231" height="190" />
PWU President Don MacKinnon with CGT-F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Mines Energie&rsquo;s Alain Vassaux
The other honoree is Ontario Provincial Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan. 
 
MacKinnon began his career in the electric utility sector in 1971 as a lineman for Ontario Hydro. He became a key safety innovator for the power company, something that paralleled his rise in the union ranks. In 1989, he was elected Vice President of the PWU, and won election as President of the union in the year 2000.

Canada’s PWU President, Don MacKinnon, to Receive Toronto Tribute Award

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Representatives of the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU) say it has not been uncommon for Alcan, the steel and aluminum subsidiary of Rio Tinto, to lose alumina hydrate into coastal waters while loading ships in the Northern Territory. 
 
But on 13 April, something more grievous occurred. While loading a ship near Alcan&rsquo;s bauxite Gove refinery in Nhulunbuy, workers were ordered by a manager to dump a ship-loading conveyer containing 80 tonnes of alumina into Melville Bay after the load became contaminated with water. The AMWU-represented workers protested the decision, but the manager called the lead supervisor who ordered it dumped into the harbour. 
 
The incident went unreported for two weeks until a whistle-blower informed the news media. Alcan management then responded by saying the 80-tonne figure was wrong &ndash; that it was only 30 tonnes. 
 
Rio Tinto Alcan could face a maximum A$1 million fined by the Northern Territory Environmental Ministry if the company is found to have illegally dumped harmful substances. Alumina hydrate contains caustic soda, which can cause severe burns. 
 
AMWU members working at Alcan at Gove say it is common for two percent of loads to be lost due to wind or negligence. The AMWU is standing behind Gove workers as they provide evidence to the territory&rsquo;s Environment Department. A union representative said it was the company&rsquo;s inaction over a number of years that caused workers to go to the media over the April incident.

AMWU Members Say Rio Tinto’s Alcan Alumina Spills Not Uncommon

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The month of May has been designated by United Steelworkers Local 6500 in Canada as &ldquo;anti-scab&rdquo; month, a reference to the strikebreakers that the Brazilian mining company Vale is using in efforts to break a ten-month strike in the provinces of Ontario and Labrador/Newfoundland. 
 
Some 200 steelworkers and other supporters rallied in Queen&rsquo;s Park, Toronto, on 29 April to support introduction of legislation in the Ontario Parliament that would outlaw the use of striker replacements during economic strikes or lockouts. Many of the steelworkers arrived after long bus rides from Sudbury, Ontario, where they experience first-hand the family hardships and community strife brought on by the bargaining intransigence of a company content to use scabs to regain partial production. 

<img src="" width="205" height="154" alt="" />
ICEM Vice President, Ken Neumann
On 29 April, the Private Member&rsquo;s Bill that again would prohibit companies operating in Ontario from using scabs passed a first reading in Parliament by a 32-3 vote. The bill was introduced by New Democratic Party legislators France Gelinas and Peter Kormos. 
 
Somewhat surprisingly, 21 members of the ruling Liberal Party joined with eight New Democrats and three Progressive Conservatives to pass this first reading. The bill must proceed through two more hearings before becoming law, and that could happen by year&rsquo;s end. In Canada, most labour code is enacted at the provincial level. 
 
Quebec and British Colombia are currently the only two provinces that prohibit the use of replacement workers during strikes or lockouts. In Ontario, such a prohibition was on the books from 1992 to 1995, but was repealed in 1995 when Liberals took control of the Parliament. Gelinas presented proof that legislation banning companies from using replacement workers leads to shorter strikes, less volatile picket-line scenes, less family and community stress, and overall, better labour-management relations. 

<img src="" width="154" height="205" alt="" />
Andrea Horvath, NDP Ontario Chair Person
The 3,100 victimised miners and nickel and copper smelter workers at Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario, as well as another 250 workers that are on strike against Vale in Voiseys Bay and Goose Bay, Labrador, are current examples on why the ban is needed. Their lives have been turned upside down by a profitable employer demanding deep cuts in their collective agreements. 
 
In Sudbury on 28 April, the City Council firmly sided with the interests of the community by passing a resolution condemning Vale for using replacement workers. The resolution also calls on the provincial legislative body to enact the ban and urges Vale and the USW to return to the bargaining table. Previously, the city has charged Vale with violating zoning bylaws by housing scab workers inside an industrial complex. 
 
In Voiseys Bay last month, USW Local 9508 aligned with the Nunatsiavit First Nations People to prevent a Vale vessel from entering a port to collect copper ore concentrates. Union leaders also met with the Labrador/Newfoundland Minister of Natural Resources to express safety concerns over replacement workers utilizing mining and other equipment without the proper training.

Canadian Nickel Strikers Rally for Renew Anti-Scab Law in Ontario Province

Unions representing Vale workers in Brazil, Canada, and Indonesia met in Soroako, South Sulawesi November 10-12, 2009. 
 
We are concerned with the actions and policies of Vale toward workers in our countries. We see corporate policies from head office in Brazil that attack workers and do not respect the national situations in each country. 
 
We strongly reject the Vale policy of increasing the number of contractor workers and reducing the permanent workforce. All Vale workers deserve fair compensation and job security. Contract employment should not be a way for companies to avoid paying good wages and benefits and avoid legal obligations to employees. 
 
We are opposed to Vale&rsquo;s demand to reduce worker rights and benefits in each of our countries. 
 
Under international labour conventions, as well as national laws, union leaders must be free to work in the best interests of their members without the possibility of reprisals and discipline by management. We call on Vale to respect the rights of union leaders and ensure protections are implemented. 
 
We want to especially mention the USW strike in Canada. The CUT unions in Brazil, and the SP-KEP strongly support the USW in this strike as a part of union solidarity in fighting for sustainable welfare for workers. When Vale brings unnecessary and unjust demands to the bargaining table in any one country, there will be a reaction in all divisions in the company. We call on Vale to return to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair collective agreement. 
 
As unions we will continue to work together and to build a union network of actions and communication so that we can ensure worker and communities benefit from mining development. 
 
Sjaiful D.P. 
President 
FSP-KEP 
 
Andi Karman 
President 
SP-KEP Soroako 
 
Sergio Guerra 
Sindimetal-ES, CNM-CUT Brasil 
 
Tim Kiley, Nick Larochelle, Doug Olthuis United Steelworkers, Canada 
 
Joseph Drexler 
ICEM

Joint Statement of Vale Unions from Soroako

&ldquo;The stronger the union, the safer the mine!&rdquo; 
 
 
 
We, representing miners&rsquo; trade unions from different federations and traditions, meeting in New Delhi from 28-30th October 2009, have examined the status of occupational safety and health in mines in India. We benefited from the presence of the representatives of ICEM, ILO, CIL, DGMS and CII. 
 
 
 
We declare that safety and health of miners is not an issue that divides us. We say: &ldquo;the stronger the union, the safer the mine!&rdquo; 
 
 
 
We are firmly of the view that ratification of ILO Convention 176 on safety and health in mines would provide real benefits for miners&rsquo; safety and health. The convention is a distillation of global good practice. It is a modern, relevant and achievable standard. 
 
 
 
India has been a member of the ILO since 1919, and is a leading member now. As the second most important mining country in the world, India should set an example by ratifying the convention 176. India was present at the debates in Geneva when the convention was drawn up, and participated in its development and the Indian delegation voted in favour of its adoption. 
 
 
 
The convention has been ratified by 23 countries, which represents more than 10% of the ILO&rsquo;s membership. 
 
 
 
Since 1995, when the convention was adopted at the International Labour Conference, the Government of India has repeated on several occasions that it is &ldquo;considering&rdquo; the convention. We believe that now is the time for action. Fourteen years is long enough. 
 
 
 
We repeat our request to the government of India to ratify the convention forthwith, or engage in a genuine and meaningful tripartite dialogue to identify those articles in the convention that appear to stand in the way of ratifying the convention and seek the advice of the ILO in overcoming them. 
 
 
 
In the absence of any meaningful dialogue, miners&rsquo; trade unions will launch a campaign in favour of ratification, and we will seek to negotiate the realization of the standards contained in the convention through collective bargaining with individual mining companies. 
 
 
 
&ldquo;The stronger the union, the safer the mine!&rdquo;

Declaration by miners’ trade unions on ILO Convention 176

Organization 
 
 
 
Miners&rsquo; national federations will review their own structures and develop national, company, area and pit safety committees. 
 
 
 
As safety and health is not an issue that divides us, these committees should seek to work together at all levels. 
 
 
 
Such &ldquo;union safety organization&rdquo; can work to empower and revive the existing safety structures, including Workmens&rsquo; Inspectors, Pit Safety Committees and company safety committees, as appropriate, in the coal and non-coal mines. 
 
 
 
They can also work to mobilize support amongst miners and the masses for ratification of the convention through education, pit meetings, colony meetings (including meetings aimed at the families of miners), posters, stickers, handbills, wall painting, etc. 
 
 
 
A joint national campaign 
 
 
 
At national level, the federations could come together to agree for joint movement in mining industry to pressurize the Government of India to ratify C. 176 
 
 
 
The federations could hold joint company level conventions to popularize the demand for ratification of C 176. 
 
 
 
A joint delegation of the five federations should visit the Minister of labour to demand ratification of C 176. 
 
 
 
The federations should demand the convening of the next national Conference on Safety in Mines, to discuss the issue of ratification of C 176. 
 
 
 
Signatures of 15 lakh mine workers and their families should be collected on a petition to demand ratification of C 176. 
 
 
 
The federations can also hold a demonstration before Parliament to submit the petition and meet the Lok Sabha speaker. 
 
 
 
Support 
 
 
 
The Federation shall seek assistance and help from National and Global trade unions and also from the ILO to organize campaign for the ratification of the ILO Convention 176.

Programme of action: “the stronger the union, the safer the mine!”

ICEM Women’s Bulletin No. 36/Boletín de noticias de las mujeres de ICEM No. 36

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