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ICEM conducted a project on organizing and social dialogue in Turkey in 2009 and 2010 with the support of the Dutch national labour centre, FNV, and its affiliate FNV Bondgenoten. Evaluation of the two-year work was made in a conference held on 29-30 November 2010 in the Turkish capital Ankara. 
 
Attended by more than 80 union representatives, the Conference hosted international delegates, namely Hans Hupkes, Celil &Ccedil;oban, and Mail &Uuml;rker from FNV Bondgenoten of the Netherlands: Mats Svensson from IF Metall of Sweden; Michael Wolters from IGBCE of Germany; Jorgen Juul Rasmussen from Dansk El F&ouml;rbund of Denmark; Jacques Caltot and Christophe Quarez from FCE-CFDT of France; Dimitra Penidis and Isabelle Verhaegen from CSC Batiment, Industri &amp; Energie of Belgium; and ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Chemical and Rubber Industries Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, who ran the project. 
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The Conference started with the speech of Mustafa Kumlu, President of Turk-İş Confederation and Tes-İş Union, who expressed appreciation for the activities of the project that covered some 600 union activists over the two-year period. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM takes the lead in organizing international solidarity for Turkish workers, and this project is a clear signal of that,&rdquo; said Kumlu, adding that Turkish unions support the creation of new manufacturing and energy workers Global Union Federation. Such an entity, he said, will create a large Turkish grouping of over 20 unions. 
 
Hans Hupkes, on behalf of FNV Bondgenoten, stressed the appreciation and satisfaction of his organization with the activities of the project. &ldquo;A lot has been done &ndash; and won &ndash; in such a short period. We gained spirit and a sense of solidarity without borders,&rdquo; he said. 
 
Warda said organising and social dialogue are two key elements of ICEM policy regarding multinationals. &ldquo;We need the ability to include companies inside Turkey in this process, and the FNV project, we believe, will serve us well to meet this objective.&rdquo; 
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ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan gave a report on project activities carried out in 2009-2010. The conference then listed observations and opinions of the unions supporting the project from Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, France, and Belgium. In a separate session, participating Turkish unions shared their observations and evaluated the set of conference. Trade union rights and freedoms in Turkey was one discussion item. A remarkable contribution was made by Sister M&uuml;zeyyen Acunal who was fired from her workplace in the paper industry because she pioneered an organizing drive there. 
 
For 2011 and beyond, an evaluation on the future of the project with an action plan will be developed. A common point was made that union organizing is very tough in Turkey. Current legislation makes it extremely difficult. In addition to mentioning the obvious difficulties, a consensus was put forward that new opportunities and tools, particularly international ones, need to be used. Organising campaign being conducted by Petrol-İş was mentioned as a good example. 
 
At the end of the discussions, Turkish unions agreed to develop capacity on using international tools in separate sessions for trade union officers. Specific bilateral groups between Turkish unions and unions from countries from where multinational investment to Turkey originates should be created. Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the Nordic nations were mentioned as priorities. 
 
Continuation of the struggle against Contract and Agency Labour, as part of ICEM&rsquo;s global CAL campaign, was defined as one of the priority areas. After the first national conference in 2008, an urgent second conference was identified as important, considering the recent pushes by the Turkish government to modify labour legislation for allowing more workplace flexibility and unlimited use of agency labour. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan commented: &ldquo;Our intensive project programme in 2009 and 2010 gave us a good opportunity to get together with a big portion of local union officers in the regions of Turkey. More than 600 people got a chance to learn and make use of international solidarity in day-to-day union activities. We now will embark on specific projects with concrete targets.&rdquo;

ICEM’s Two-Year Dutch FNV Project for Turkey Evaluated in Ankara

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Trade unions organizing employees at the German-based industrial gas company Linde in ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific Region creates a workers&rsquo; network at a first-ever meeting, held in Singapore on 13-14 December 2010. The meeting was realized with political and financial support provided by ICEM&rsquo;s long-standing project partner Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation (FES) 
 
Union representatives from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, and Vietnam attended the meeting while Michael Wolters, International Secretary of ICEM German affiliate IGBCE, Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM&rsquo;s Chemical and Rubber Industries Officer, Dr. Stefanie Elies, FES Office for Regional Cooperation in Asia, Andr&eacute; Edelhoff, FES Office Singapore, Yoon Hyo-Won, ICEM Asia-Pacific Project Coordinator, and Indah Saptori, ICEM Indonesian Project Coordinator, also participated. 
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The objective of this regional network meeting was defined as a first exchange of experiences in order to build a foundation for a steady network of unions representing workers at the Linde&rsquo;s regional locations. It was pointed out that it would not be possible to solve individual or local problems by this network meeting. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan presented information on the gas industry in general, while IGBCE&rsquo;s Wolters told of Linde&rsquo;s industrial structure in Germany and Europe. Specifically, Wolters defined the work of the Works Council system in Germany and the work of the European Works Council of the company. 
 
The participating union representatives gave information about the situation in their home countries, which varies from country to country. In Indonesia, labour relations for unions follow a high standard of regulations, and stable situations also exist at Linde plants in Singapore and Vietnam. But in Thailand, there are big problems and conflicts with the management, while the situation of the union in South Korea is extremely difficult. 
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&Ouml;zkan gave a perspective on the issue of Contract and Agency Labour, or &ldquo;precarious work.&rdquo; This was then discussed by participants regarding use of non-regular or short-term contract workers at Linde plants in Asia. At all of the locations have some variations of precarious work, such as broad outsourcing of work, use of temporary agency workers, or non-regular casual workers. In Thailand, logistics will be completely outsourced until 2012 with the effect of a wage reduction for workers affected. Global Framework Agreements and union networks were also discussed at the meeting. 
 
The participants of the meeting agreed to set up a regular e-mail communication system among them. Kelvin Tang from Singapore was given responsibility for forming the communication network. The participants committed to inform their local and national unions about the results of the meeting, and will as well address their local managements. One result of the December meeting is to organise a special meeting regarding the situation in Thailand.

Linde Industrial Gas Workers’ Network Created in Asia-Pacific

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The ICEM&rsquo;s affiliate in Pakistan, the Pakistan Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers (PCEM), is fighting against severe breaches of workers&rsquo; rights to organise and bargain collectively at the Swiss-based agri-chemicals multinational, Syngenta. 
 
On 23 December, members of the Syngenta Employees Union Pakistan, belonging to PCEM, arrived at work to find announcement in the company newspaper that their union&rsquo;s General Secretary had his employment terminated as of 22 December, with no justified reason given. Brother Imran Ali, who is also the President of the national union PCEM, had no warning prior to learning the news in the &ldquo;Daily Jang&rdquo; newspaper. 
 
In a letter to the Chairman and CEO of the global pesticide producer Syngenta, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda condemned the flagrant breach of conduct of local management as a clear attempt to dismantle the union. Warda highlighted the commitments of Sygenta in the company&rsquo;s Code of Conduct, and also in their signatory status to the Global Compact. See the full letter <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/158%20Letter%20to%20Syngenta%20management.pdf">here</a>. 
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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
Prior to Mr. Imran&rsquo;s sacking, he was summoned to the human resources department, where he was told by Mushir Ahmed Jaffery, personnel manager, Syed Saad Khalil, manager for Information Services, Col. Jalal, head of Security, and Rizwana Mujeeb, head of human resources, to sign a blank paper. When İmran refused, he was threatened with bad consequences if he refused to withdraw from his trade union activities. 
 
Imran, as labor union president, was about to submit a draft collective agreement which would have been effective as of 1 January 2011. 
 
Later in the same day that he was sacked, 23 December, the head of Syngenta&rsquo;s security in Pakistan, Jalal, a retired military officer in Pakistan, met with 50 union members who had worked at the company on temporary contracts and filed cases at the Labour Court for permanent employee status. Jalal threatened and intimidated the workers to withdraw their legal petitions and resign from Syngenta. One of those workers, Muhammad Nadeem, a diabetic and heart patient, suddenly died of a heart attack on 24 December, as a direct result of this pressure from management. 
 
Those workers had received the support of the Labour Court on 18 December, which declared in favour of their grievance petitions, entitling them to permanent employment immediately. Syngenta Pakistan management refused to acknowledge the judgement of the Labour Court. 
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The company management&rsquo;s refusal to consider the collective bargaining agreement, continued on 28 December as Jalal called in paramilitary forces to the Syngenta plant and threatened workers not to support the agreement or the union. Instead, he told them to join a yellow union, otherwise management would outsource the production unit and sack all current employees. The workers refused. 
 
The company responded to ICEM allegations saying that they had acted within the law and without regret. Brother Imran Ali is still awaiting reinstatement in his job, but with no indication from management that this will happen. 
 
The ICEM demands the full reinstatement of Imran, with full back pay and benefits, as well as the lawful recognition of the 50 workers who won their case in the Labour Court for rights to permanent employment at Syngenta.

ICEM Fights for Reinstatement of Union Leader in Pakistan

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Trade union members of IGBCE and Verdi downed tools on 24 January in a four-hour warning strike across Germany against fair-pay salary delays by RWE. The worksite actions came a day before the sixth round of 2010 wage talks in Dortmund, the last chance for RWE to make an equitable salary increase before a full strike ballot occurs. 
 
With worker anger inside RWE boiling over, senior managers of the major European utility provider find themselves at a pivotal point with its 26,000-member German workforce. 
 
The warning strikes last week proved discontent at RWE is wide and loud. Scores of local staffs and thousands of RWE workers held vocal assemblies sponsored by the unions that delivered the same message: workers will contribute to the economic success of the company, but they want fair and full participation to create that success. 
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Spirited demonstrations took place at many RWE gas and electric power stations and other workplaces, including lignite mines of RWE Power at Garzweiler, Hamach, and Inden. Coal-fired power plants at Niederaussem and Weisweiler also registered vocal support for further strike action. RWE&rsquo;s nuclear workers at Biblis, Emsland, and Gundremminger downed tools, and gas workers from Emsland and Gersteinwerk also took part in the stop-work actions. 
 
IGBCE urged RWE in a statement to make an acceptable wage offer. The ICEM affiliate said the warning strike is necessary in order to increase pressure on RWE at the bargaining table. A full and unlimited strike would also ratchet pressure on RWE&rsquo;s major German industrial customers. 
 
RWE had astoundingly withdrawn a 2.9% wage offer, while IGBCE and Verdi were demanding 6.5%. In place, the energy company proposed 2.4%. Salaries, however, are not the only issue. Worker demands for job security and halts to work-time increases also have thus far been unmet by RWE.

German Power Workers Close to Full Dispute with RWE

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In line with the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) signed jointly by the ICEM and the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) with Belgian-based Umicore, a chemicals, metal technology, and catalyst systems company, the parties conducted a mission to Umicore subsidiaries in South Africa from 24-26 January. 
 
It was the third such mission since the GFA was signed in September 2007, with the two previous ones to China in 2009 and to Brazil in 2010. The main objective of the joint missions, as a regular exercise in accordance with the relevant provisions of the agreement, is to monitor compliance. 
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Participants at the Umicore Mission in South Africa
Umicore&rsquo;s South African plants are located in the city of Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape province, and are called UACSA and UCPE. They are part of the company&rsquo;s automotive catalysts business segment, one of four business units of Umicore. The area is a leading producer for automobiles and auto parts. 
 
Umicore was represented by Ignace De Ruijter, Senior Vice President of Human Resources; Guy Ethier, Senior Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety; Mark Dolfyn, Director of Human Resource Development; and Kerry Bryans, Managing Director of Umicore South Africa. From the trade union side, ICEM Chemical and Rubber Industries&rsquo; Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, Belgian trade union officer Luc Triangle of ACV-CSC METEA (representing the IMF), and the Chairman of the Umicore&rsquo;s European Works Council and member of ICEM German affiliate IGBCE, Peter Kamm, attended. 
 
From South Africa, representatives from ICEM-affiliated Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) from both Umicore plants also participated. They included: Skhumbuzo Phakathi, International Relations Officer; Clement Chitja, Head of Collective Bargaining: David Nzanzeka, Regional Secretary; Khaya Mkefe, Regional Organiser; and South African Works Council members Lindelwa Gxavu (Chairperson), Ncedile Boyce (Deputy Chairperson), Sindiswa Silotile (Secretary), Xola Dlova (Deputy Secretary), and Camagu Mzinyati (Organiser.) 
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CEPPWAWU Shop Stewards Lindelwa Gxavu and Siniswa Silotile
The internal trade union meeting also welcomed Vuyo Bikitsha, Regional Secretary, and Mziyanda Twani, Educator, from the ICEM- and IMF-affiliated National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), which had membership at UCPE plant in the past. 
 
Considering recent issues between local management and trade unions in the Port Elisabeth plants, the visit by the ICEM and IMF representatives resulted in positive and constructive evaluations. The plant visits also assisted workers in resolving some outstanding local issues. 
 
The mission resulted in a number of concrete results, including a conclusion that local communication on a number of issues, including recruitment procedures, structure of employment, integration of both plants, and training and education, should be further advanced and would benefit from greater engagement by both parties. By doing this, the results are in line with the objectives of the GFA to create mutually beneficial relations and dialogue between all the partners. 
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Trade Unionists Visit &ldquo;UMICARE,&rdquo; a Social Project by the Belgian Company in South Africa
The ICEM and IMF representatives were impressed by the excellent work of the local trade union representatives, and also recognized that local and corporate managers play a crucial role in creating better social dialogue within the company for the future. This visit will be evaluated in April 2011 at the next GFA Monitoring Committee with management. Both ICEM and IMF are ready for the continuation of the GFA. 
 
As part of the South African mission, the trade union delegation also visited a social project financed by the local company called &ldquo;UMICARE.&rdquo; The programme, while small, enables children to gain valuable opportunities in schooling to improve their chances for a better life. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan commented on the visit: &ldquo;While approaching the four-year mark of the Umicore GFA, I am proud to observe very positive and concrete steps forward. Each joint mission has given us important input and synergy for future activities with positive expectations. I do believe that dialogue between ICEM/IMF and Umicore is an excellent model of global industrial relations tailored for what we need to create as a global union federation.&rdquo;

ICEM, IMF Complete Umicore GFA Mission to South African Plants

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A ten-day mission across three countries of South America by the ICEM President, General Secretary, and Regional Vice President covered much ground and different issues from Chile to Argentina to Brazil. The visits were made from 9-18 January. 
 
In Chile, Senzeni Zokwana, Manfred Warda, and Latin America/Caribbean Contact Person Carol Bruce met with leaders of both ICEM affiliated and non-affiliated unions. The meeting with Chilean chemicals union affiliate, FENATRAPECH, was highly successful, and the ICEM met with different mineworkers&rsquo; federations on recent events and in particular ratification of ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. 
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The ICEM leaders also met with Chile&rsquo;s Minister of Labour Minister and Social Welfare, Camila Merino, who was sacked just days after the 11 January meeting by President Sebasti&aacute;n Pi&ntilde;era in a government shake-up. Despite Pi&ntilde;era&rsquo;s late 2010 pledge to the world after the rescue of 33 miners at the San Jos&eacute; copper mine late Chile would ratify Convention 176 &ldquo;within 90 days,&rdquo; Merino told the ICEM the country&rsquo;s emphasis is on the more general ILO Convention 187, the Promotional Framework for Occupational Health and Safety Convention. 
 
The ICEM reminded the now-ousted minister that on the global stage, Chile is firstly a resource-rich mining country. 
 
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, the ICEM delegation met with Minister of Labour, Employment, and Social Security, Dr. Carlos Tomado, who was briefed to date on arrangements for ICEM&rsquo;s Fifth Statutory Congress in Buenos Aires from 24-26 November 2011. He was also given information on ILO Convention 176, and he pledged his ministry&rsquo;s support for ratification of the convention. 
 
The ICEM also met on the afternoon of 14 January with General Secretary Pedro Wasiejko and leaders of the ICEM affiliate, &Uacute;nico de Trabajadores del Neum&aacute;tico Argentino (SUTNA), as well as with leaders of other Argentine unions. 
 
Finally, the ICEM mission travelled to Rio de Janeiro to further ongoing talks with Brazilian state oil company Petrobr&aacute;s on a Global Framework Agreement.

ICEM South American Mission Covers Mine Safety, Congress, Global Agreement Talks

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ICEM&rsquo;s Turkish affiliate Petrol-İş, the Petroleum, Chemical and Rubber Workers Union, has been conducting an aggressive organizing campaign now for two years. The main objective has been to strengthen public confidence in unions, and to convey the union's positive message about improving work standards, not only to unorganized workers but also for families and within the local communities. 
 
The campaign adopted an approach which seeks to break down the negative public prejudices and attitudes towards unions. A prior ICEM report on the union&rsquo;s activities can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3595-Petrol-Iş-Continues-Aggressive-Recruitment-Drives-in-Turkey ">here</a>. In this context, Petrol-İş has been targeting a number of companies to organise, but the union is confronted by comprehensive attacks by employers. The anti-labour Turkish legislation also does not help. This creates much pain for workers seeking a say in their working lives, as well as for the union. 
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Here are some examples: 
 
Polyplex Europa Polyester Film San. Tic. A.S., located in Corlu province, is a subsidiary of Indian multinational Polyplex Corporation Ltd. It produces thin polyester film with manufacturing facilities in India, Thailand, and Turkey. In Corlu, about 250 workers are employed. The organizing work of Petrol-İş was completed over the latter part of 2010. Then, on 23 December, the employer fired six Petrol-İş members and erected a primitive partition made of canvas between union members inside the factory and the six sacked workers protesting outside. On 7 January, company management, in order to attack the union&rsquo;s recruitment efforts, went further and dismissed 15 more workers. Today, because workers want the benefits of a trade union, a total number of 21 have been fired. 
 
Now, members of the union are carrying on protest actions in front of the factory with support from friends inside the factory. Union workers outside the factory have set up a tent in order to continue their protest actions under ardous winter conditions. 
 
ICEM, as well, has taken initiative by writing a letter to the management of the company in India. Petrol-İş Is has met with the General Consulate of India in Istanbul to intervene on the issue. 
<img alt="" src="" width="228" height="171" />
In July 2009, Petrol-İş Is organised workers at BERICAP Kapak San. Ltd. Sti., located in the Gebze district of Turkey. The enterprise is a subsidiary of BERICAP GmbH &amp; Co. of Budenheim, Germany, and produces plastic caps and covers. When management heard about the organizing, they dismissed six workers. Workers then staged a series of protest actions. The union, Petrol-İş, signed a collective agreement on 26 January 2010. But the employer has never fully recognized the existence of the union at the workplace. 
 
A systematic and hostile attitude and behavior by company management towards the union workers have escalated tensions at the workplace. And recently four of the union members were dismissed without any compensation on 25 December 2010. Ninety-eight of the total 120-member workforce are Petrol-Is members and they support co-workers. Recently, they started a protest action in front of the BERICAP factory. But this time the employer terminated the contracts of 98 Petrol-İş members without compensation. The industrial action still goes on. ICEM also visited Petrol-İş members via its Chemical and Rubber Industries Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, who gave solidarity messages of ICEM to the striking workers. 
 
Petrol-İş has recently organized Demo Plastik, a subsidiary of the French-based company AFE Plasturgie, which is located in the city of Bursa and employs 109 employees. Petrol-Is recruited 53 members in the plant. But when local managers learned of the union organizing, they immediately dismissed ten trade union militants. All the dismissed people then started to picket outside of the plant. The management continued to exert pressure on union members to resign from their membership, and the situation grew worse. The employer dismissed all the workers who refused to quit the union. 
 
The plant&rsquo;s management has established a subcontracting company which does all the business inside the plant. The workers who resigned from the union by force are now employees of the company-related sub-contractor company. The company also does not pay severance payments of the dismissed workers although labor law requires it. 
<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="160" />
ICEM immediately communicated with its French affiliate FCE CFDT, who contacted and met with senior leaders of the company. But so far there is no result. ICEM is now prepared to file a complaint before the OECD. 
 
Petrol-İş organised Sa-ba End&uuml;striyel &Uuml;r&uuml;nler İmalat ve Tic. A.S.,which is a auto-parts supplier to multinationals such as Ford, Isuzu, Fiat, and Renault. It produces plastic-based finished and semi-finished goods for industry. 
 
About 210 workers are employed at the workplace in the Istanbul area. But on 20 December 2010, four of the union workers were dismissed without cause and the whole workforce started protest actions in front of the factory. Then, Sa-ba management terminated the contracts of 95 union workers who supported their fired co-workers. Protest actions went on by the 99 fired union workers in front of the Sa-ba factory the next month. The ICEM send a protest letter to the Turkish-based company, as well as alerting the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) on the dispute. 
 
After a series of meetings with management, Petrol-İş has been recognised as bargaining partner and the dismissed workers, those wishing to return, have been reinstated. 
 
To send solidarity messages to Petrol-İş over their ambitious organising efforts in Turkey, click <a href="mailto:petrolis.international@yahoo.com">here</a> to send support.&nbsp;

Organising Campaigns of Petrol-İş of Turkey continue, but with Pain

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The ICEM affiliated trade union in Northern Cyprus, EL-SEN, played a central role in organising one of the largest rallies in the history of Northern Cyprus last Friday, 28 January, as well as a general strike on the same day. 
 
The popular demonstration of 30,000 people was organized by the &ldquo;Platform of Trade Unions&rdquo; to resist a raft of proposed employment laws that threaten the future for Cypriot workers. The regressive changes to labour law constitute another example of governments manipulating the global economic crisis to justify reducing workers&rsquo; rights in the long term. 
<img src="" width="230" height="154" alt="" />
EL-SEN President, Tuluy Kalyoncu, reported to the Secretariat that the so-called reform package will restrict the practical application of the right to organise and bargain collectively, privatise public institutions (even those turning a profit), legitimise the employment of unregistered foreign workers, cut the salaries of the workers and their pensions, and facilitate the continuation of a damaging black market. Regarding the black market, Northern Cyprus&rsquo; government accept that 50% of all economic activity goes unrecorded, creating a budget deficit to be paid for by workers. 
 
EL-SEN turned out close to 100% of all members at the rally. Disappointingly, the Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus, İrsen K&uuml;&ccedil;&uuml;k, dismissed the significance of the popular demonstrations, playing down numbers of participants and arguing that municipalities controlled by opposition parties forced staff to turn out. 
<img src="" width="221" height="148" alt="" />
The admirable popular uprisings currently spreading throughout the Arab world should serve as a wake-up call to the K&uuml;&ccedil;&uuml;k administration that the legitimate grievances of workers must be heard and acted on. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda expressed full solidarity and support to the demonstrators. In a letter to Prime Minister İrsen K&uuml;&ccedil;&uuml;k, he said, &ldquo;A central concern that must be addressed is the right of workers to choose a trade union, and to bargain collectively as a social partner. Too often in TRNC, this principle is not only ignored but real barriers are put before workers, preventing basic freedom of association. We call on your government to adopt decent social conduct by adopting stricter rules and laws, and steeper penalties on employers who abuse workers&rsquo; rights.&rdquo; 
 
Warda&rsquo;s words of support were distributed widely during the demonstrations, calling on K&uuml;&ccedil;&uuml;k to adopt global labour standards, and practice those standards with legitimate trade unions, as opposed to encouraging an influx of labour brokers, and a general reducing of regulations, rules and codes essential in a democracy.

Northern Cyprus Resists Ankara’s Reforms

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Sintracarb&oacute;n, the ICEM trade union affiliate organising workers at Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, the world&rsquo;s largest open-pit set of coal mines, is on the verge of a walkout following a 99.9% strike vote last week. The 4,000-member union and Cerrej&oacute;n, which is owned by multinationals BHP Billiton, Xstrata, and AngloAmerican, have come up against difficult bargaining since December as they seek to renew the two-year collective bargaining agreement. 
 
Following frustrating talks Cerrej&oacute;n management, the union conducted a vote of its members between strike and arbitration tribunal, in line with Colombian legislation. Members decisively backed strike action in ballots collected last Friday, 28 January. On Saturday, 29 January, an assembly of Sintracarb&oacute;n delegates, was held in the city of Riohacha, and ratified the decision to strike with unanimity. 
 
Significantly, management has indicated that it will present a new offer to workers today, 31 January. If the offer is satisfactory to Sintracarb&oacute;n, a new collective agreement might not be far off. If not, a strike likely will occur before 6 February. 
<img alt="" src="" width="180" height="83" />
Talks began between the union and management on 9 December, and expired with no agreement following the end of the 40 days of bargaining and an extension on 17 January. 
 
In a letter to the President of Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, Le&oacute;n Teicher, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda criticised the company&rsquo;s tactic during negotiations, of contacting individual union members personally by phone. 
 
The main issues in talks are wage gains, status of subcontracted workers, pensions, and local community needs that have been displaced by the mine. 
 
The huge open-pit mining complex in the northern state of Guajira produces highly desirable low-sulphur thermal coal. The mine produces 32 million tonnes annually, with a majority of that shipped to Europe. But exports recently began also to China, a country sustaining industries that have a huge demand for coal. 
 
View the full ICEM letter to the company <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ICEM%20Carta%20Cerrejon%2019%20enero%202011.pdf">here</a>.&nbsp; 
<img id="il_fi" alt="" src="" width="160" height="90" />
President of Sintrachaneme, Jairo Fernando Solano Cervantes
Also of concern to the ICEM at Cerrej&oacute;n, trade union organising of mechanics at the Chaneme company is still being scrutinized, with workers harassed and intimidated by management. Sintracarb&oacute;n changed its Statutes so that it could include outsourced workers at the mine complex, and played an important support role in the formation of the union Sintrachaneme a year ago. See previous ICEM report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3573-Union-Contract-Workers-Continue-Fight-for-Work-Rights-at-Cerrejón-in-Colombia">here</a>. President of Sintrachaneme, Jairo Fernando Solano Cervantes, is being targeted by sustained intimidation and harassment, stepped up since 14 December. 
 
This harassment has included a suspicious vehicle being parked outside his house that is conducting surveillance on Solano and his family. On one occasion, Solano was chased by unrecognized cars. In Colombia, the world&rsquo;s most dangerous country for a trade unionist, Solano must be protected by his employers. The ICEM is angered by this illegal intimidation, which is an attempt to crush the organizing of contract employees at Cerrej&oacute;n.

Strike Set as Cerrejón Miners Face Off with Managers in Fierce Colombia Bargaining

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A tentative labour agreement reached 26 January will likely be ratified late tonight, ending the 18-month strike between Brazilian multinational Vale and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9508 in the Canadian province of Newfoundland/Labrador. The union is conducting the last of six explanation and ratification votes to members on the north coast of Labrador today, and by all indications the 124-member Local 9508 will approve a five-year labour agreement with Vale. 
 
The expected approval ends a bitter strike in which Vale &ndash; purchaser in 2006 of all mining assets of Canadian-based Inco &ndash; sought to roll back living conditions and work terms for 3,500 steelworkers in Voiseys Bay/Goose Bay, Labrador, and in Ontario. 
 
The Eastern Canadian tentative agreement last week came following intense pressure placed on Vale from a special provincial Industrial Inquiry Commission. That independent inquiry issued recommended solutions to end the strike early in January. (see recent ICEM report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4188-Vale’s-Arrogance-to-Eastern-Canadian-Miners-Communities-Government-Continues">here</a>.) The settlement, if approved tonight, comes just weeks before that same panel is scheduled to issue a second report on the integrity of Vale&rsquo;s operations in Labrador. 
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The company has been operating nickel, copper, and cobalt mining and processing operations with scab replacement workers. On 22 January, a leak from a retention pond in Voiseys Bay went undetected for eight hours, causing a processing plant there to stop production for nearly five days. 
 
On the last day of that shut-down, Vale managers called Local 9508&rsquo;s bargaining committee into talks and the two sides and with the aid of mediator Bill Wells struck a compromise deal. 
 
The new contract would begin tomorrow, 1 February, and run until 1 February 2016. A back-to-work protocol was also adopted in which all striking workers will be recalled to their jobs within a maximum of seven weeks. Workers returning will receive an immediate C$2,000 retention bonus and another such C$2,000 bonus after completing seven days of work orientation and training. 
 
USW Local 9508 achieved adequate wage increases, retained cost-of-living increases, and won excellent language regarding contracting-out practices. A compromise was made on a production bonus, the so-called nickel bonus. Although still achievable, several Vale-demanded components were added such as cash flow return on site investment and overall operational efficiency that are generally out of workers&rsquo; hands. 
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USW Local 9508 President Darren Cove
A C$.20-per-hour wage increase is gained in each year of the agreement, and workers&rsquo; starting wages, following return to work, will be lifted with the first increase plus accrued cost-of-living adjustments from 2009 and 2010. Future cost-of-living increases will be accrued quarterly and paid out on a yearly basis. 
 
Local 9508 won a extra&rsquo;s holiday, bringing from 11 to 12 the number of statutory holidays; staff working night shifts will receive a first-ever C$.30-per-hour shift differential; and a 10% work-site premium for work performed in remote areas will be added to salaries. 
 
The union&rsquo;s contracting-out language was expanded positively to prevent Vale from using outside contractors for the purpose of reducing full-time staff. 
 
The expected end of the 18-month strike today will likely mean settlements in the next few weeks of strikes by USW Local 9508 members at three contract companies on Vale&rsquo;s Labrador/Newfoundland properties. Those contractors represent security, catering, and a First Nation skilled-mechanics company called Ushitou Maintenance. Nearly 300 union members of Local 9508 have been on strike at those firms since mid-2010. 
 
The ICEM and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), Geneva-based Global Union Federations that have supported Canadian steelworkers in the long-running Vale disputes in Newfoundland/Labrador and Ontario, congratulate the members of Local 9508 for their resilience, as well as USW District Six in Canada for exemplary worker representation in facing off with an extremely adversarial mining house.

Pressure Mounts, Vale Settles in Eastern Canada

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