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AUSTRALIA: The IMF-affiliated Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union reports that at a meeting which took place on March 15-16 at Port Hedland in the Pilbara between the unions and the mineral and metals multinational, BHP, the company agreed to negotiate a collective agreement for those workers who did not sign individual contracts. Management's offer, however, of a collective agreement based on the individual contracts was rejected by the unions, but in further negotiations during the two-day discussions the company significantly changed its position in relation to union representation rights. 
The AMWU says that major differences still exist between BHP and the unions on such points as: 
- Union representation rights must be part of the registered collective agreement. (At present, BHP wants these rights contained in a separate document like the old Industrial Relations Agreement.) 
- Union representation rights must contain a commitment to negotiate another collective agreement when this collective agreement expires. 
- The duration of the collective agreement should be three years (and not five). 
- If BHP introduces workplace change, there must be appropriate safeguards concerning such issues as rosters, staff handbook, wage reviews, hours of work, contractors and redundancy. 
The dispute at BHP began about six months ago when the company denied collective representation to its workforce at the Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia. The IMF's Australian affiliates won an interim Federal Court injunction on January 31 restraining BHP from approaching its iron ore workers to sign individual contracts.

The unions and the mineral and metals multinational are talking to each other.

Earlier story on BHP

Unions make progress with BHP

GREAT BRITAIN: In a deal kept secret until the last minute, the Munich-based German automotive firm, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), announced last week its plans to break up the Rover Group. The high value of the British pound was said to be the major factor in the decision by BMW to sell Rover. 
Alchemy Partners, a private investment firm, is taking over Rover Cars, with its assembly plant in Longbridge, in the West Midlands. As many as 5,000 jobs could disappear at this plant alone, not to speak of the many thousands more in related industries in the region which would be affected, such as suppliers and service industries. The venture capital group is reportedly planning to make sharp cuts in Rover's present output in car production, which could mean a sharp reduction in the 9,000 workforce. 
In a statement made by the general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, Bill Morris, he said the union would be seeking "an urgent meeting with Alchemy to discuss their plans for the Longbridge plant." And Tony Woodley, also of the T&amp;G, declared that they were not going to keel over and accept possibly tens of thousands of (direct and indirect) job losses that this could lead to. 
Ford Motor Company has confirmed its purchase from BMW of Land Rover, which makes the four-wheel drive sports utility vehicle at its Solihull plant in the Midlands, with a workforce of 12,000. The company has so far not mentioned any cost-cutting measures. 
The Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union has reported that, following BMW's decision to sell Rover, it called on the government to set up a regional manufacturing task force for the West Midlands. In addition, they underline the necessity for a huge retraining and reskilling programme in order to attract new companies to the region. The union also says that nationally the government should take urgent action to reduce the value of the pound against other European currencies.

Many jobs could go following the decision by BMW to pull out of Rover.

Crisis at Rover

The last couple of years have been quite hectic -- in terms of take-overs, mergers, strategic alliances, exchange of shares -- in major sectors of the new economy. 
One of these is the automotive. 
There is worldwide capacity now to manufacture about 70 million vehicles per year, whereas only 53 million can be sold. The paradox is that, in many countries, similar to other sectors in the past, i.e. steel and shipbuilding, every year new plants for producing cars and trucks are being built and opened for operation. Automotive manufacturers claim they have to do this if they are to stay close to the market. 
This will inevitably lead to plant closures in some countries, unless the global market expands considerably by increasing the purchasing power of hundreds of millions of people in the developing countries. 
But this is a too long-term objective for short-sighted capitalists. Through acquisitions, mergers and venture games on the stock market, companies are trying to find shortcuts to quick profits to distribute to the owners. As the impending giveaway of Rover car facilities to a group of speculators shows, these risky games often do not work out, especially when the rosy expectations of stockholders are not met. The Rover debacle proves that stockholder value comes before the jobs of thousands of metalworkers. 
Daimler-Chrysler, Volkswagen-Rolls Royce, BMW-Rover, Renault-Nissan, Ford-Volvo cars, GM-Saab are some of the major deals which have been made in this sector in the last decade -- without counting the numerous acquisitions by various countries' national companies. 
Of course, it is sometimes necessary to merge or take over a company. However, what is happening now is a concentration of power in ever fewer hands, and this will be very dangerous if we do not find global rules and norms to control it. The interests of consumers as well as those of workers and their families must be protected, and this can only be achieved through a democratic system based on international norms. 
This week two new mergers have been on the front pages: Fiat-GM and Volvo-Scania. Fiat-GM is an exchange of shares: GM is taking over 20 per cent of Fiat Auto, while Fiat is obtaining 5.15 per cent of the shares in the GM parent company. 
Both companies are supposed to continue to operate autonomously but develop common policies in strategic, vital areas, such as research and development, the Internet, and components. Both companies together will have a production capacity of over 12 million cars per year and will be present in all major markets, with a considerable share in each one of them. 
The other deal, Volvo-Scania, was rejected by the European Commission because the EC thinks this would give the new company a near monopoly in the Nordic market. 
I thought that the market was not just the Nordic countries but the whole of Europe!
Or has the Commission changed the objectives of the European Union without informing its citizens and the European Parliament? Europe-wide, Volvo-Scania together do not have a monopoly, although they do dominate in the heavy truck division. 
One should always be very cautious when talking about deals of this kind, for the simple reason that we do not know about all the games going on, but it looks as though some of the world's largest companies are ready to take over both companies. Volkswagen is very interested in Scania, while Iveco (read Fiat) is keen on Volvo. 
There would be nothing strange about it if this did happen. Swedish companies have always been very active at the global level and have bought many companies. But would this be a better deal for the consumers and workers? 
Maybe it is so, that in Brussels there are people who can lobby better than others. However, Volvo and Scania should have started working together already 20 years ago, when they had the possibility to develop a common industrial strategy aimed at consolidating them both on the global market. 
But, at that time, the banking interests (Scandinaviska Enskilda Banken --Handelsbanken) which controlled the two companies were more engrossed in their own business than in the interests of the workers, their families and Sweden.

Restructuring the automotive sector

KOREA,REP: A two-week-long march by Sammi workers, which began on March 7 in the southeastern city of Pusan, heading north, will reach Seoul on Saturday, March 18. On this day, Sammi Specialty Steel workers will have been leading their campaign for reinstatement in their jobs for 1,179 days! 
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is appealing to all friends worldwide to take action to coincide with the arrival of the Sammi workers in Seoul by sending protest messages by fax to: 
- President Kim Dae Jung: +82-2-770-0210 
- Prime Minister Park Tae Jun: +82-2-722-6464 
- President of Posco: +82-2-3457-1900 
- Minister for Labour: +82-2-504-6708 
For a sample protest letter and complete background information on the Sammi workers' struggle, access the KCTU's website on kctu.org/english/index.htm 
The most recent IMF news item on this long-running dispute is dated February 10, 2000, and can be found either in the IMF website news archives or in IMF NewsBriefs No. 5, 2000. 
Read more on <a href="http://www.imfmetal.org/imf/main/main_text.cfm?show=mworld&amp;id=562">Sammi workers in Metal World No. 2/2000.

Send messages of support for the Sammi Specialty Steel workers and help them get their jobs back.

Help Korea&#039;s Sammi workers

ROMANIA: Metarom, an IMF affiliate organising workers in the steel industry, held its 10th annual conference on March 7-9, 2000, in Târgoviste. About 100 participants, representing not only all member unions, but also international guests from France, Switzerland, Hungary and the IMF, heard a review of the organisation's activies over the 10-year period since its founding, in March 1990, and then held a lengthy discussion and vote on Metarom's project for a national union. 
This project, to consolidate the 44 member unions in Metarom -- totalling 40,000 workers -- into a single national trade union organisation, was initiated by Metarom's leadership as early as 1995. Against the backdrop of deepening economic crisis and vitally needed restructuring in Romania's steel industry, and recognising the weakness of a fragmented union structure, a majority of the convention delegates voted in favour of establishing one national union, with one single legal status. After the vote, Aurel Radi, Metarom president, said it was an "historic day" for the Federation, and the result of considerable effort over the last few years. It is only the first step towards constituting the national union, as now the new rules will have to be discussed and agreed by each local union. 
Employment in the Romanian steel industry has fallen from 207,856 in 1989 to 79,000 in October 1999, or 62 per cent in 10 years, and further cuts are expected within the framework of the steel restructuring programme required by the European Union as part of its conditions for negotiating Romania's accession to the EU. Metarom's most important action during this period, the Convention of Social Assistance for Steel, signed in 1996 but not yet implemented by the government, aims to provide both passive and active support measures for steelworkers during the restructuring process.

Solidarity prevails as convention delegates vote in favour of establishing one national union.

Historic day for Metarom

BULGARIA: Two IMF affiliates, the Metal-Electro National Trade Union Federation and Metalicy Trade Union, have written a joint letter to report that their traditional annual protest march has taken on wider significance, as not just the metal unions but the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions will be organising the event this year. 
The procession, to protest the difficult economic situation facing all workers in the country, will take place in Sofia on March 22. Key demands are once again for better pay and protection of trade union rights and for reducing the extremely high 25 per cent rate of unemployment. 
The IMF expresses its solidarity with the national Bulgarian protest action and the justified demands of the Bulgarian trade unions.

Annual procession will take place against a backdrop of hard times in the country.

Bulgarian unions to march

SOUTH AFRICA: Peter Dantjie, the acting general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, has resigned his position with NUMSA and taken up a senior position in the private sector. 
Dantjie served many years as a trade unionist in South Africa. Following the untimely demise a year ago of NUMSA's then general secretary Mbuyiso Ngwenda, Dantjie stepped up to acting general secretary at NUMSA, as well as replacing Ngwenda as a member of the IMF Executive Committee, representing Southern Africa. 
The NUMSA National Executive Committee has mandated its president, Mtutuzeli Tom, and first vice-president, Vincent Mabuyakhulu, to run the union on a full-time basis until NUMSA holds its next Congress, in August of this year.

An IMF Executive Committee member, the South African trade unionist has taken a job in the private sector.

Peter Dantjie leaves NUMSA

GREAT BRITAIN: After just one of the four planned walkouts by the professional staff at Ford -- a one-hour strike on February 21, unions announced at the end of last week that an agreement had been reached with the company over pensions and pay, and accepted by a margin of 3 to 1 by union members. 
Although Ford management had demanded a merger of the salaried workers' pension fund with that of the hourly-paid workers, the settlement removes this threat from the agreement. In addition to the pension fund question, an 11 per cent pay hike over the three years of the contract has been agreed, as well as a company commitment for a job evaluation programme regarding the increased personal responsibility and skill requirements for professional staff jobs. 
In joint press statements released following the vote in favour of accepting the deal, the national secretary of the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union, who is chief negotiator at Ford, Terry Pye, and the Transport &amp; General Workers' Union national secretary, Bob Purkiss, said: "Our professional members at Ford took a stand which was frankly against their nature. They were prepared to make personal sacrifices to save the Pension Fund and they have been rewarded with a pay deal with no strings attached. All the staff that took part in the dispute can be proud of their pensions victory." 
Ford's professional staff include engineers, information technology and clerical workers.

Professional staff union members have come out victorious in their confrontation with management.

Dispute settled at Ford UK

VENEZUELA: A new and urgent call for solidarity with the Venezuelan trade union movement has been issued today by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Since coming to power in early 1999, President Hugo Chavez and his government have shown a continuous disregard for workers' fundamental human and trade union rights. 
Following the inauguration of the National Constituent Assembly in mid-1999, a series of decrees were approved allowing government authorities to obstruct the normal functioning and the independence of trade union organisations. Measures taken by virtue of the decrees have made the fundamental rights of all workers to freedom of association and collective bargaining impossible to implement. 
The ICFTU says that despite pressure from both national and international trade unions and repeated interventions by the International Labour Organisation, as well as promises by the Venezuelan authorities to amend the decrees in line with international labour standards and their own National Constitution, the decrees were published, without modification, in the official government gazette on March 2. This makes the decrees official and immediately applicable. 
Joining the ICFTU call for solidarity with the trade unions of Venezuela, the IMF has written to government authorities to condemn their blatant disregard for workers' fundamental human and trade union rights, and to call into question the very way in which Venezuela is being governed. 
Organisations wishing to join the protest action should write to the following: 
- Sr. Hugo Chavez Frias, Presidente de la Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela, Palacio de Miraflores, Caracas, Fax: 0058-2-801.36.44 
- Sr. Luis Miquelena, Presidente Comision Legislativa Nacional, Palacio Federal Legislativo, Caracas, Fax: 0058-2-482.95.16 
- Sr. Lino Martinez, Ministro de Trabajo (Minister of Labour), Fax: 0058-2-483.68.66 
with copies to: 
- CTV trade union confederation, Fax: 0058-2-574.19.94 or e-mail: ctvpresidencia@cantv.net

Despite national and international protests, the Venezuelan government thumbs its nose at the world.

Anti-union decrees become official

Pinochet is back home. 
The closest I have been to him was in 1991 when he happened to stay at the same hotel in Lisbon, the Hotel Meridien, where the IMF was holding its Central Committee meeting. 
It was a strange feeling, one of disgust. When we learned about his presence, we protested, but of course without result. 
He should have been put on trial back then, but he was still going strong and conditioned the political life of Chile. 
It would have been fair and certainly just to see one of the most cruel dictators this world has ever known standing before a court and trying to explain all his crimes. It is important, not only for his victims and their families but also for the coming generations in Chile and the rest of the world, to judge his regime - not just Pinochet himself, but all his fellow generals and army officers who are hiding somewhere in Chilean society. 
The Spanish judge who started the whole process, Sr. Garzón, and all those fighting for human and trade union rights have won the battle on human rights. The fact that a judge, no matter where he or she is, asks another government to extradite someone suspected of crimes against humanity for the purpose of putting them on trial is a great victory in itself. 
The Rome Convention of 1998 -- for the creation of an International Court within the UN system -- is also a great achievement, making it possible to chase political criminals wherever they may be hiding, and without giving them any possibility of immunity from their crimes. 
The mighty Pinochet will probably never be put on trial, if it is true that he is senile. In such case, it could not be a fair trial. 
One can ask, then, why we should be fair with somebody who, himself, did not care about fairness and had slaughtered everyone who was opposed to him. But this is exactly what makes us democratic people different from those who are not democratic. 
The Chilean people recently chose a new president, after a democratic campaign and elections which gave the Left and its coalition partners a majority of the votes. On March 11, the new president, Ricardo Lagos, will take over. He is the third democratically elected president in the 12 years since the end of the dictatorship. 
Mr. Lagos was very close to Salvador Allende. He will be the best guarantee for the democratic development of Chile. 
He has promised to put Pinochet on trial. This would be fair to all the victims of the fascist regime that Pinochet represents. 
But more important is to make sure that the truth of what happened to every one of the "desaparecidos" emerges and will be included in the books of history, so that coming generations will have to read about and learn from our own mistakes.

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