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Following the release of the English and Arabic versions of the &ldquo;ICEM Guide on Contact and Agency Labour (CAL),&rdquo; the ICEM has now also released French, Spanish, and Russian versions of this important tool to assist unions around the world with their efforts in this growing area of work. 
 
The French version can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/icem%20manual%20frans%2026032009def.pdf ">here</a>. 
The Spanish version can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/icem%20manual%20spaans%20070420092.pdf ">here</a>. 
The Russian version can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/icemmanualrussiandef.pdf ">here</a>. 
 
The English and Arabic versions of the manual, as well as the ICEM&rsquo;s CAL campaign website can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM CAL Guide describes numerous problems faced by short-term contract workers, and by workers employed through temporary work agencies, containing a number of best - as well as worst - practices from around the world. 
 
The guide also provides an overview of some of the most recent changes in national and international labour laws and standards. It further deals with combating the phenomenon at company level through collective negotiations. Useful and encouraging examples, together with union strategies and ideas to counter the many abuses in this field, are also provided.

ICEM Releases Contract and Agency Manual in French, Spanish, Russian

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Arjantin'e giden bir ICEM heyeti k&uuml;resel krizin &uuml;lke &uuml;zerindeki etkilerini inceledi, ayrıca ICEM'in 2011'de Buenos Aires'de yapılacak kongresi i&ccedil;in &ouml;n incelemelerde bulundu. ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda federasyonun Arjantin'deki &uuml;yeleri ile 29 Nisan'da bir araya gelerek ekonomik kriz konusunda g&ouml;r&uuml;ş alışverişinde bulundu. Ayrıca, ekonomik kriz konusunda ICEM &uuml;yesi olmayan sendikaların da g&ouml;r&uuml;şlerini aldı ve onlarla ICEM'e &uuml;yelikleri konusunu g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. 
 
ICEM'in Cenevre'de 23-24 Haziran g&uuml;nlerinde yapılacak Y&ouml;netim Kurulu'nda Beşinci D&uuml;nya Kongresi'nin yapılacağı yer konusunda karar alınacak. Arjantin sendikaları Kongre'ye evsahipliği yapmak istiyorlar. 

<img alt="" src="" width="264" height="198" />
Warda, ICEM'in Latin Amerika İrtibat Sorumlusu Carol Bruce ile birlikte, Arjantin Kau&ccedil;uk İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası SUTNA, Enerji ve Petrol İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası FeTERA ve &ouml;zel sekt&ouml;rdeki Petrol ve Gaz İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası FASPyGP ile g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. ICEM heyeti, n&uuml;kleer enerji iş&ccedil;ilerini temsilen ICEM'e katılmak isteyen Uni&oacute;n Obrero Metal&uacute;rgical (UOM) sendikasının yanı sıra, Arjantin ulusal sendikal merkezine (CTA) bağlı sendikalarla da ICEM'e katılım konusunu g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. 
 
Carol Bruce Arjantin'de iki g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;ne katıldı. 22 Nisan'daki g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;n&uuml; d&uuml;zenleyen ulusal sendikal merkez CTA, Arjantin'de işten &ccedil;ıkarmalar konusunda 180 g&uuml;nl&uuml;k bir moratoryum ilanını ve iş&ccedil;ilerin &uuml;cret kayıplarını karşılamak &uuml;zere devletin bir acil durum &ouml;demesi yapmasını talep ediyor. 
 
30 Nisan'da ise, Bruce, &ouml;b&uuml;r b&uuml;y&uuml;k ulusal sendikal merkez CGT'nin, krizin ve işsizliğin sorumlusu neoliberal politikalara karşı d&uuml;zenlediği g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;ne katıldı.

ICEM Heyeti Arjantin&#039;deki Krizi İnceledi

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ICEM, 15-16 Nisan g&uuml;nlerinde Singapur'da, Asya/Pasifik b&ouml;lgesinde taşeron iş&ccedil;iliği &uuml;zerine bir konferans d&uuml;zenledi. Konferansa sendikalardan 50 temsilci katıldı. 
 
Katılımcıların aktardıkları deneyimler taşeron iş&ccedil;iliğinin b&ouml;lgede yaygınlaştığını ve &ccedil;alışma ilişkilerine zarar verdiğini ortaya koydu. ICEM ve Friedrich Ebert Vakfı'nın yanı sıra, Singapur, Tayland, Filipinler, Malezya, Hindistan, Endonezya, Nepal ve Kore sendikaları ile İsve&ccedil;, Danimarka ve Almanya sendikalarının temsilcileri g&ouml;r&uuml;ş ve deneyimlerini sundular. 
 
D&uuml;zenli, s&uuml;rekli ve doğrudan istihdam edilen iş&ccedil;ilerin yerine daha d&uuml;ş&uuml;k &uuml;cretli taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin getirilmesi aşağı yukarı her Asya &uuml;lkesinde yaygın bir sorun. 

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B&uuml;t&uuml;n katılımcılar ortak bir sorun olan korku fakt&ouml;r&uuml; &uuml;zerinde durdular. Taşeron iş&ccedil;ileri, işlerini kaybetme kaygısıyla, sendikalaşmak bir yana, sendikal konuları konuşmaktan bile korkuyorlar. 
 
Bu alandaki sorunlardan biri de, &ouml;zellikle Filipinler'de, Hindistan'da ve Endonezya'da olduğu gibi, yasalara uyulmamasıdır. Katılımcıların dile getirdiği bir başka sorun ise bazı &uuml;lkelerde sendika sayısının &ccedil;okluğunun işbirliğini zorlaştırmasıdır. 
 
Bu alandaki olumlu gelişme ise, sendikaların ICEM k&uuml;resel kampanyasının hedeflediği şu &uuml;&ccedil; d&uuml;zeyde ağır ama emin adımlarla ilerlemeye başlamasıdır: yasa değişiklikleri (Filipinler'de bir yasa tasarısı hazırlanıyor); şirket d&uuml;zeyinde &ccedil;alışmalar (sorunu toplu s&ouml;zleşme g&ouml;r&uuml;şmelerinin ve &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenmenin ana ve &ouml;ncelikli konusu haline getirmek); taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin sendikalara katılabilmesini sağlayacak sendika i&ccedil;i yapılar oluşturmak. Tayland, Malezya, Hindistan, Singapur ve Kore'de bu ger&ccedil;ekleşti. 
 
Bu bağlamda herkesin kabul ettiği &ouml;nemli bir sorun, sendikal &ccedil;alışmayı şirket d&uuml;zeyiyle sınırlı tutmayıp işkolu ya da sekt&ouml;r d&uuml;zeyinde &ouml;rg&uuml;tleme ihtiyacıdır. &Ccedil;&uuml;nk&uuml; işverenlerin şirket d&uuml;zeyinde iki iş&ccedil;i grubunu (taşeron iş&ccedil;ileri ile s&uuml;rekli iş&ccedil;ileri) &ldquo;b&ouml;l&uuml;p y&ouml;netmesi&rdquo; genellikle daha kolaydır. 
 
Ne var ki şu sıralar başarı hik&acirc;yelerinden ziyade sorunlar ağır basmaktadır. Bunun somut &ouml;rneklerinden biri, Tayland'da bir sanayi gazı şirketi olan Linde'de istihdam edilen taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin sayısındaki artışın &ouml;n&uuml;n&uuml;n alınması ve taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine tamg&uuml;n ve s&uuml;rekli istihdam olanaklarının sağlanmasıdır. 
 
Asya'da &ldquo;taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin istihdam teknikleri&rdquo; ile ilgili olumsuz &ouml;rneklerden bazıları şunlardır: 17 aylık standart s&ouml;zleşmelerin bitiminden itibaren, toplu s&ouml;zleşmeler, iş&ccedil;ilerin haklarının artırılmasını &ouml;ng&ouml;rmektedir. Bir diğer &ouml;rnek ise, denet&ccedil;ilerin taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine sendikal &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme konusunda a&ccedil;ık&ccedil;a ayırımcılık uygulamasıdır. Filipinlerde, şirketler, işe başlamadan &ouml;nce taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine istifa mektupları imzalatmaktadır. Bir kısım iş&ccedil;iden ise &ccedil;alıştıkları işe başka bir adla yeniden girmeleri istenmektedir. B&ouml;ylece iş&ccedil;ilerin s&uuml;rekli iş&ccedil;i sayılması &ouml;nlenmektedir.

ICEM&#039;in Singapur Konferansı Bölgedeki Taşeron İşçilerinin Sorunlarını Ele Aldı

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With over 70 confirmed participants, the ICEM&rsquo;s quadrennial World Conference for the Rubber Industries will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, USA next week, on 12-13 May 2009. The conference, to be hosted be the United Steelworkers (USW), will be presided over by USW President Leo Gerard, Chairman of the ICEM Rubber Industry Sector. 

<img height="140" alt="" src="" width="120" />
Leo Gerard, Chairman of ICEM Rubber Industry Section &amp; USW President
The venue is the Sheraton Music City Hotel, Nashville. 
 
Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer, will make a presentation on &ldquo;Global Industry Trends and Challenges.&rdquo; 
 
The Conference&nbsp;will also feature five panel discussions: &ldquo;Effects of Global Crisis on the Industry and Trade Union Challenges,&rdquo; &ldquo;Rising Hardships and Distortion in Work Relationships,&rdquo; &ldquo;Global Agreements, Global/Regional Company and Sector Networks and Campaigns,&rdquo; &ldquo;How to Improve Health and Safety for Workers: What Kind of Industrial Policy for a Greener Environment for Securing Jobs,&rdquo; and &ldquo;How to Better Coordinate Global Union Solidarity, Support and Cooperation.&rdquo; 

Other presentations on the agenda will include: &ldquo;Collective Bargaining in the Rubber Industry,&rdquo; &ldquo;Global Trade Union Response Against Challenges,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Healthy and Safe Work, Environment and Sustainable Development.&rdquo; The conference will conclude in the afternoon of 13 May with &ldquo;Development of an Action Plan&rdquo; for trade unions of the global rubber sector.&nbsp; 
 
ICEM Health, Safety, and Sustainability Officer Brian Kohler will make&nbsp;the health, safety, and sustainable development presentations. 
 
The Report for the Conference will be up on the ICEM website (<a href="http://www.icem.org">www.icem.org</a>) under ICEM Sectors: Rubber by late this week, as will the agenda and other background documents.

ICEM’s World Rubber Conference Set for Next Week in Nashville USA

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The announced 5.5% wage cut for 15,000 employees of Czech mining company OKD will not occur and instead, through negotiations with mining unions, a compromise has been reached. That compromise, occurring on 30 April, calls for a decrease in the number of agency workers used, and a partial reduction in the number of employees from supplier companies. 
 
The demand for cuts is due to the impact of the world&rsquo;s financial crisis. 

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The company originally proposed an across-the-board decrease in salaries of 5.5%, cancellation of some bonuses, and a reduction in staff of 2,600 regular employees and 900 workers employed by supplier companies. The negotiated compromise preserves all full-time jobs, with job reductions coming from among the 3,000 agency workers that OKD used and from staff of some suppliers. 
 
A mining union spokesman called the compromise the lesser of two evils. 
 
OKD, the Czech Republic&rsquo;s largest hard coal producer, is wholly owned by New World Resources of the Netherlands, an investment company focusing on assets in Central Europe. In 2008, OKD produced 12.7 million tonnes of coal, of which 7.4 million tonnes was coking coal.

Czech Mining Unions Preserve Pay; OKD to Cut Agency Staff, Suppliers’ Staff

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On 15-16 April, the ICEM organised an Asia/Pacific-wide conference on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) in Singapore. The conference, attended by 50 trade unionists, was held with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) of Germany. 
 
Participants spoke candidly on the ongoing problems of short-term contract and agency work, and other forms of precarious work, and how it affects their daily lives. The experiences expressed made it abundantly clear that the phenomenon is wide-spread, still on the rise, and detrimental to labour relations in Asia-Pacific countries. Such contributions, in addition to those from the ICEM and the FES, came from Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Korea, as well as from Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. 
 
An omnipresent problem is that, in almost every Asian country, regular, permanent, and direct-employed workers are being replaced by CAL workers, who are often paid less than permanent workers. They never get the same benefits, nor do they have much of a job future. In Malaysia, for example, it was said that CAL in the past used to be almost uniquely a problem for migrant workers. This is no longer so. In Pakistan, trade unionists note a sharp increase in the use of &ldquo;piece-rate workers.&rdquo; 

<img height="155" src="" width="240" alt="" />
A concurrent issue expressed by all participants is the fear factor. Contract and agency workers are afraid even to discuss union issues, let alone join a union, since this often translates to an end to their fixed-term contracts. It appears to be a simple matter for companies operating in Asia to remove workers from their workforce, or to shift them to less secure jobs. 
 
Among the numerous other problems mentioned was the lack of respect for law where there is some semblance of existing legal protections, such as in the Philippines, India, or Indonesia. Another problem voiced is that oftentimes there are too many unions in some countries, making cooperation difficult. 
 
The positive news is that unions, slowly but surely, are starting to deal with the problem at all three levels that the global ICEM campaign on CAL is aimed at: legislative changes that not only protect workers from abuses, but also leading to more direct and permanent employment (a promising bill is being readied in the Philippines); work at company level, including making the issue key in collective bargaining as well as an organising priority; and evaluating internal union structures to ensure that CAL workers can effectively join trade unions. This has occurred in Thailand, Malaysia, India, Singapore, and Korea. 
 
An important concern on this latter point, as acknowledged by all, is the need to organise more trade union work at industry or sector level, steering away from company-unionism, where it is often easy for employers to &ldquo;divide and conquer&rdquo; the two sets of workers. 
 
Unfortunately, there are currently still many more problems than success stories. One specific example is the continuing problem in stemming the number of CAL workers at Linde in Thailand, an industrial gases company, and granting full-time, permanent employment to such workers. 
 
Adverse examples given of &ldquo;CAL employment techniques&rdquo; in Asia include the use of standard 17-month contracts, in which the collective agreement calls for more rights and benefits for workers after 18 months. Another is supervisors who openly discriminate against CAL workers linked to a union. In the Philippines, companies have used blank resignation letters, asking CAL workers to sign before they even start work. Other workers have been asked to re-enter their current job, but under another name, thus preventing them from gaining increased benefits, or becoming part of the permanent workforce.

ICEM Singapore Conference Illuminates Problems for Contract, Agency Workers in Region

It was largely due to the efforts of those who suffered and their union representatives that governments, after decades of inaction, finally introduced regulations on the use of and exposure to asbestos. But asbestos is still around and there are those who continue to tout it as the &ldquo;magic mineral.&rdquo; While your brake linings and floor tiles may still contain asbestos, most of today's production is now exported to third world countries where weak regulation and enforcement allows people to be fatally exposed to the killer fibres. 
 
WHAT IS ASBESTOS? 
Asbestos is a class of silicate mineral fibre. There are three main asbestos minerals: chrysotile, crocidolite, and amosite. The most common type is chrysotile. 
 
Because of their chemical structure, they form long crystalline fibres of amazing strength and fire resistance which can be recovered from the mineral. Asbestos is used in textiles, cement products, brake linings, filters, roofing tiles, flooring, fillers for plastics and thousands of other products. 
 
While union activists in the 1970&rsquo;s and 80&rsquo;s managed to put the workplace hazards on the front burner and achieved enormous reforms on the job and legislatively, the fact is that asbestos is still in use. And the concerns initially raised by unionists 30 years ago, while still valid, have been somewhat muted by a well funded industry lobby, at times in sync with our governments. 
 
It is useful for health and safety activists to keep alert on the dangers inherent with the use of asbestos and to keep the focus where it should be: saving our members&rsquo; livelihoods and lives. 
 
There are a multitude of environmental and health related issues surrounding the use of asbestos in society. 
 
ASBESTOS RELATED ISSUES 
 
EXPOSURE LIMITS 
Even though there is no evidence that there is any &ldquo;safe&rdquo; level of exposure, most jurisdictions have enacted limits. Check what applies in your workplace. Workers need to assure themselves, when working with or near asbestos, that exposure limits are not being exceeded; that protective measures are adequate (respirators, clothing, etc.); and, that you are not endangering yourself. In many jurisdictions, you have the right to refuse unsafe work. 
 
SMOKING AND ASBESTOS 
An asbestos worker who smokes will have many times the risk of cancer than a non-smoking asbestos worker; or a non-asbestos exposed smoker, would have. But attempts to deflect the dangers of asbestos by blaming high cancer rates on smoking are irresponsible. The fact is that asbestos workers who have never smoked in their lives die of asbestos related cancers. 
 
BLUE vs WHITE 
There has been some suggestion that only &ldquo;blue&rdquo; (crocidolite) asbestos is a problem and that &ldquo;white&rdquo; (chrysotile) asbestos is relatively safe.. If true, why is asbestos related disease so widespread when crocidolite accounts for only 3% of all asbestos used? 
 
IMMOBILIZED FIBRES 
Industry makes the argument that the fibres are immobilized or bound together in such a way they cannot be released in many asbestos products. But, there are workers who must handle these fibres prior to their incorporation into such products and others who must saw, cut or fasten them in such a way that the fibres may, indeed be released. 
 
FIBRE MODIFICATION 
There is little or no evidence that chemically modifying asbestos fibres renders them safer and the only way to find out is to wait decades for workers to die or get sick. 
 
SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS 
Fibreglass and other synthetic mineral fibres are the main asbestos substitutes. While it may be true that they are safer to work with than asbestos, the best approach for workers is to treat asbestos substitutes with suspicion and handle them with caution. The more similar the substitute is to asbestos, the more likely it is to have similar health effects. 
 
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 
Asbestos provides a good example of the link between occupational and environmental health and safety. Widespread environmental contamination with asbestos in asbestos producing region and near industries which use asbestos may be causing a &ldquo;cancer epidemic in slow motion.&rdquo; 
 
JUST TRANSITION 
Regrettably, the money already spent by some governments propping up this sunset industry could have been used to create a first class Just Transition programme for asbestos workers, their families and the communities that have depended on the asbestos industry. 
 
HOW ASBESTOS KILLS 
Asbestosis is one disease caused by asbestos in the lungs. Some scientists think that when asbestos fibres are inhaled, cells called macrophages attempt to engulf and digest them. The fibres are not easily dissolved by the digestive enzymes, however &ndash; although certain harmful chemical constituents of asbestos may be dissolved enough to be a problem in themselves. As well, the size and shape of asbestos fibres causes some of them to project through the cell wall of the macrophages, allowing these powerful enzymes to leak out and attack surrounding lung tissue. The end result is progressive scarring and damage to the lungs, resulting in loss of elasticity of the lung tissue. Damage can become severe enough to cause disability and death. 
 
Cancer is another consequence of asbestos exposure. Estimates of the number of cancer cases vary widely. Of the cancers that asbestos is known to cause, 80% are lung cancers; 10% are mesotheliomas; and 10% are others such as throat, stomach and intestinal. Although some asbestos cancers are difficult or impossible to distinguish from cancers caused by other agents; mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the lungs or intenstines) is ONLY known to be caused in humans by asbestos. Mesothelioma is 100% fatal. 
 
IF YOU THINK THERE IS ASBESTOS IN YOUR WORKPLACE: 
Demand an immediate workplace Asbestos Survey. Your Joint Health and Safety Committee should lead the effort to identify and map all occurrences of asbestos and should be given all resources required to do the job. Once the asbestos has been identified, the JHSC should develop recommendations to control exposure. There are four generally accepted approaches. In order of preference, they are: 
 
1. Removal of the asbestos material: In all cases, this is the CEP&rsquo;s recommended solution. It is the only way to ensure the hazard is eliminated. Strict procedures must be followed and enforced which means careful planning and attention to the training of all workers and supervisors as well as to the choice of replacement materials. 
 
Of the four accepted approaches to dealing with asbestos, removal is best 
 
2. Encapsulation or sealing of the asbestos material: Coating or impregnating the asbestos material with a bonding agent immobilizes the fibres and reduces their release. Danger still exists, however, because the bonding material may deteriorate or work (cutting, grinding, repairs, etc.) may be performed on the material, creating the potential of fibres being released. Encapsulation should be considered a temporary measure with the objective of removing the asbestos material at some appropriate future date. 
 
3. Enclosure of the asbestos material: If neither removal nor encapsulation is possible within a reasonable time, the next best approach is to separate the asbestos material from the rest of the workplace by some kind of barrier (removable ceilings or walls are not acceptable). Enclosure is not a control measure and should be accepted only as a temporary means of protecting workers until removal can be completed. 
 
4. Asbestos management plan: If any materials cannot immediately be removed completely and safely, a management plan will be required. If any asbestos materials remain in the workplace, even if encapsulated or enclosed, an ongoing system is needed to: 
&bull; Maintain clear identification of the areas where exposure may take place; 
&bull; Educate people what to do if work must take place in or near these areas; 
&bull; Inspect the materials frequently for any changes; 
&bull; Formulate a complete removal strategy as quickly as possible. 
 
There are many lessons to be learned by union activists from the decades of battle which have been waged to protect ourselves and the public from asbestos hazards: 
 
&bull; Legislation and regulation on their own are not a total &ldquo;win&rdquo;. Regulatory solutions, too often, come after a problem becomes a crisis and while we need good laws, we also need better ways of identifying and controlling hazards before the death toll mounts. 
 
&bull; Our memory is too short. Having greatly reduced the uses and abuses of asbestos in the 1980&rsquo;s, too many people lowered their guard, believing the battle had been won. This has created an opportunity for the industry to rewrite history and win a rebirth. 
 
&bull; Scientists and other supposed independent authorities are just as vulnerable to undue influence as anyone when powerful economic forces are at work. 
 
&bull; Finally, the asbestos history reminds us that our best tool for building improved occupational health and safety is sold union activism at the shop floor level. 
 
DON&rsquo;T TAKE YOUR RIGHTS TO THE GRAVE 
If there is any doubt about whether the work is proceeding safely or not, remember that the regulations are a minimum standard. Compliance with regulations may not be sufficient in some cases. Remember, too, that workers in some cases have the right to refuse unsafe work. Don&rsquo;t take your rights to the grave!

ASBESTOS IS A KILLER

(Statement by International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation) Union leaders representing the international labour movement met with Santiago Canton, Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS, in Washington, DC, to urge immediate action on Mexico and investigate gross labour and human rights violations carried out by the Mexican government against the National Miners and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM). 
 
Led by Marcello Malentacchi, general secretary of the International Metalworkers' Federation and Juan Luis Zuniga of the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico, the delegation included: international representatives for the United Auto Workers (UAW) and United Steelworkers (USW); Manfred Warda, general secretary of International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM); Stan Gacek of the AFL-CIO; Victor Baez, general secretary of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA-ITUC); and petitioners Marco Del Toro and Luis Chavez from Del Toro Associates as legal representation to the Mexican miners' union. The high-level delegation put forward recommendations to the commission, among them, urging an immediate call on the Mexican government to:
■ return all frozen funds immediately to the SNTMMSRM, those seized in 2006 and in 2008;
■ lift all charges still pending against Napoleon G&oacute;mez Urrutia and other members of the SNTMMSRM;
■ prosecute in a court of law, immediately and transparently, all those responsible in the corruption of documents and facts; and
■ recognize Napoleon G&oacute;mez as the democratically elected general secretary of the National Mexican Miners and Metalworkers Union.
&quot;This case constitutes an important precedent for this commission which will mark its position on all acts of political persecution which prevent a person from aspiring to adequate defense against the abuse of power by a State,&quot; read the amicus curiae letter submitted by the delegation in support of the complaint filed with the commission by the Mexican miners' union. 
 
&quot;The interference by the administrative authorities in judicial matters has thwarted any possibility of defense with a view to obtaining speedy verdicts in accordance with the law. The guarantee of due process has clearly been overtaken by the bias of the judicial authorities,&quot; the letter read.
The delegation also urged the commission to take immediate &quot;precautionary measures&quot; regarding the government's recent illegal seizure of all union accounts and funds; the government's refusal to officially recognize Napoleon G&oacute;mez Urrutia as elected general secretary of the miners' union; and health and safety issues of miners on strike at three mines owned by Grupo M&eacute;xico, the largest and most powerful mining company in the country. &quot;Precautionary measures&quot; are measures for immediate action that the commission can take if there is a strong indication that irreparable harm may take place.
&quot;Clearly this is of moral and strategic importance to us,&quot; said Stan Gacek, speaking on behalf of the American labour movement. &quot;This is of significant importance to us at the national level, the regional level and the international level, as you can see given the representatives here. We have issues of irreparable harm here and we think that precautionary measures are absolutely critical.&quot;
Commissioner Santiago Canton thanked the delegation for their time and received the recommendations and evidence of human rights violations put forward by the international delegation of trade union leaders.

Trade Unionists Demand Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Action over Mexican SNTMMSRM Abuses

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ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda Meksika h&uuml;k&uuml;metinin uyguladığı sendikal baskıyı Burma ve Zimbabve rejimlerinin uygulamalarına benzetti. Meksika'da y&ouml;netim son olarak iki sendika y&ouml;neticisini tutukladı ve sendikanın banka hesaplarına el koydu. 
 
H&uuml;k&uuml;metin sistemli baskısı altındaki Meksika Maden ve Metal İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası (SNTMMSRM) &uuml;lkede demokratik bir &ouml;rg&uuml;t olarak varlığını korumak i&ccedil;in m&uuml;cadele ediyor. 
 
Son tutuklamalar &uuml;lkedeki en b&uuml;y&uuml;k bakır madeni şirketi Grupo M&eacute;xico ile diğer işverenlerin isteği &uuml;zerine yapıldı. ICEM başka sendikacıların da tutuklanmak &uuml;zere olduğuna dikkat &ccedil;ekiyor. 

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İki sendika y&ouml;neticisi, SNTMMSRM'nin Politik Sekreteri Carlos Pavon Campos ile sendikanın Genel Adalet Konseyi Başkanı Juan Linares Montufar, Grupo M&eacute;xico'nun Cananea bakır madeninin &ouml;zelleştirilmesinden sonra sendikaya verilen fonları &ccedil;almakla su&ccedil;lanıyor. Meksika'da Fresnillo, Madero, and Sabinas madenlerinin aralarında bulunduğu bir&ccedil;ok işyerindeki maden iş&ccedil;ileri tutuklamaları protesto etmek &uuml;zere iş bıraktılar. Madenciler iki sendikacının serbest bırakılmasını talep ediyorlar. 
Juan Linares'in yasadışı tutuklanması, federal ve eyalet g&uuml;venlik g&uuml;&ccedil;lerince 3 Aralık g&uuml;n&uuml; evinden alınmasıyla ger&ccedil;ekleşti. Carlos Campos'un keyfi ve yasadışı bir şekilde Camarones g&ouml;zaltı merkezine g&ouml;t&uuml;r&uuml;lmesi ise ertesi g&uuml;n ger&ccedil;ekleşti. 
Meksika y&ouml;netiminin baskı uygulamaları son &uuml;&ccedil; yıldır kaygı verici bir seyir izliyor. SNTMMSRM'nin Genel Sekreteri Napoleon Gomez Urretia iki kez sendikadan alınarak g&ouml;t&uuml;r&uuml;ld&uuml;, diğer sendika y&ouml;neticileri de haksız ve uydurma su&ccedil;lamalara maruz kaldı. Bu su&ccedil;lamaların bir&ccedil;oğu mahkemelerden d&ouml;nd&uuml;.

ICEM Meksika Hükümetinin Uyguladığı Sendikal Baskıyı Kınıyor

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K&uuml;resel federasyon y&ouml;neticilerinden oluşan bir heyet, 5 Aralık 2008'de tutuklanan Kore Sendikalar Konfederasyonu (KCTU) Başkanı Lee Suk-haeng'in serbest bırakılmasını sağlamak &uuml;zere 26 Ocak 2009'da G&uuml;ney Kore'ye gidiyor. Heyetin başında Uluslararası Sendikalar Konfederasyonu (ITUC) Genel Sekreteri Guy Ryder ve OECD nezdindeki Sendikal Danışma Komitesi (TUAC) Genel Sekreteri John Evans yer alacak. 
 
Ziyaret, KCTU ile Kore Sendikalar Federasyonu'ndan (FKTU) oluşan ortak komitenin ge&ccedil;en hafta yaptığı toplantıda, h&uuml;k&uuml;metin uyguladığı &ldquo;sendikal baskıdan duyduğu ciddi kaygılar&rdquo;ı a&ccedil;ıklaması &uuml;zerine ger&ccedil;ekleşecek. 
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Lee Suk-haeng, ABD'den Kore'ye sığır eti ithalatını protesto etmeye y&ouml;nelik grevler ve oturma grevleri yapılmasını teşvik etmek ve 2007 ortalarında E-Land perakende firmasının mağazalarında oturma grevleri d&uuml;zenlemek suretiyle &ldquo;iş yaşamını engellemekle&rdquo; su&ccedil;lanıyor. E-Land şirketi, Kore'de ge&ccedil;ici iş&ccedil;ilere sınırlı haklar tanıyan D&uuml;zensiz İsitihdam Yasası'nın 1 Temmuz 2007'de y&uuml;r&uuml;rl&uuml;ğe girmesinden &ouml;nce 900 ge&ccedil;ici iş&ccedil;iyi işten attı. 
 
İşten atmalar, bir protesto patlamasına yol a&ccedil;tı. Binlerce kişinin desteğiyle 12 mağazada patlak veren oturma grevlerinde başı işten atılanlar &ccedil;ekiyordu. 20 Temmuz 2007'de polis oturma grevlerini kırmak i&ccedil;in şiddet kullandı ve eylemleri d&uuml;zenlediğinden ş&uuml;phe edilen sendika y&ouml;neticileri hakkında tutuklama kararları &ccedil;ıkarıldı. Aralarında KCTU Başkan Yardımcısı Jin Young-ok ile Genel Sekreter Lee Yong-sik'in bulunduğu diğer sendika y&ouml;neticileri de tutuklandı. 
 
Aralık ayında, ICEM, G&uuml;ney Kore Başkanı Lee Myung-bak'a g&ouml;nderdiği mektupta, 20 milyon &uuml;yeli federasyonun &ldquo;sendika y&ouml;neticilerinin sadece temel iş&ccedil;i haklarını kullanmalarından &ouml;t&uuml;r&uuml; tutuklanıp hapse atılmasından&rdquo; dehşete kapıldığını belirtti. ICEM şimdi G&uuml;ney Kore y&ouml;netimini, Ocak sonlarında &uuml;lkeye gidecek k&uuml;resel sendika heyetinin isteğine saygı g&ouml;stermeye ve devletin uyguladığı sendikal baskıyı kınayan iki Kore sendikal merkezinin talebini kabul etmeye &ccedil;ağırıyor; ayrıca, Lee Suk-haeng'in derhal serbest bırakılması &ccedil;ağrısını yineliyor.

Küresel Federasyon Yöneticileri Lee Suk-haeng&#039;in Tutuklanmasını Araştırmak İçin Kore&#039;ye Gidiyor

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