17 August, 2011The ICEM affiliate in Georgia, the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Industry Workers' Trade Union, is again bringing dignity and job rights to steelworkers in the Central Asian country. On 2 August, after formally submitting grievances over extreme sub-standard work conditions before the managing director of Euroasian Steels LLC in Kutaisi, the company agreed to recognise the union as voice for 400 workers, and begin a process to correct problems.
22 September, 2011On September 20 the Swedish metalworkers' union IF Metall filed a bankruptcy petition against the ailing Swedish automaker SAAB at the local district court. The decision was taken unanimously at a video conference meeting of the IF Metall office, the Trollhättan local and the SAAB section.
21 September, 2011ArcelorMittal has announced the idling of its 2nd blast furnace in Florange, France, from October 3, 2011 for an unspecified duration. The IMF affiliates in France, the FGMM-CFDT, FO Métaux, FGM-CGT, and CFE-CGC criticise the decision.
19 September, 2011The ITUC sent a letter to the president of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili protesting rights violations on the part of the Georgian-Indian company Hercules Steel as well as the Georgian authorities. Earlier the workers of the metal plant were forced to go on strike. In response the administration, aided by the government, launched a campaign of repression.
19 September, 2011On September 18, at 10:30 pm after a meeting with Maruti-Suzuki management and authorities, the principal officers of the MSEU were arrested and put in police custody.
19 September, 2011The first joint shipbuilding/shipbreaking conference of IMF and EMF is seen as a positive and successful experience by the participants. Both organisations will try and explore opportunities for further international cooperation and solidarity in this field.
13 October, 2011Thanks to their tenacity and to grass-roots mobilization, the negotiators of UNIA, the Swiss IMF affiliate, have succeeded in thwarting the employers' drive toward flexibility and achieved some gains in social benefits.
12 October, 2011A secret ballot to determine the majorty for union recognition at Robert Bosch, Malaysia, was conducted by the Malaysian Ministry on September 27. The National Union of Transport Equipment and Allied Industries Workers (NUTEAIW), an IMF affiliate, secured a 73.6% majority among the 499 employees.
11 October, 2011On 6 October, leaders of Indonesian FSP-KEP (SPSI), the Trade Union of Chemical, Energy, and Mine Workers (CEMWU), officially extended a 30-day strike at the world's largest gold and third largest copper mine one more month -- until 15 November.
3 October, 2011After a month long struggle by workers of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), a car manufacturing giant, at Manesar plant, Gurgaon, India an agreement is reached between the management and workers of MSIL Manesar Plant and Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union (MUKU) on September 30, 2011. The IMF congratulates Maruti Suzuki workers and hopes that the management will respect the terms of settlement in its letter and spirit.
