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Global worker No1 2022

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<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
On 13 August, in the northern Colombian city of Baranquilla, the right-wing paramilitary group &ldquo;Black Eagles&rdquo; issued a communiqu&eacute; calling for death to community activists and trade union leaders, most notably a union leader in ICEM mining affiliate Sintracarb&ograve;n. He is Adolfo Llanos. 
 
The ICEM strongly denounced the cowardly acts in a letter to the Colombian government and the three MNCs that control worksites in which Sintracarb&ograve;n represents coal miners, and transport and port workers. The ICEM demanded greater security for trade union leaders in the letter, and for the government to apprehend and convict those responsible.
<img height="220" alt="" src="" width="160" />
ICEM Gen. Sec. Manfred Warda
&ldquo;It must now be the obligation and responsibility of the government, in close cooperation with the management of Carbones del Cerej&oacute;n, to ensure the safety for all the people on this death list,&rdquo; wrote ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We take this vile and cowardly letter seriously and we hope you do as well, particularly in view of the fact that the 22 March 2008 murder of Sintracarb&ograve;n activist Adolfo Gonz&aacute;lez Montes has gone unsolved.&rdquo; 
 
Gonz&aacute;lez Montes was a committeeman for the Barrancas mining section of Sintracarb&ograve;n. He was murdered early in the morning of 22 March prior to his work turn at his home in Riohacha. Before his murder, multiple assailants tortured him in front of his four children, and immediately following the murder, other leaders of Sintracarb&ograve;n received telephone death threats.
<img height="101" alt="" src="" width="220" />
Adolfo Llanos is a union leader at Puerto Bolivar, Cerrej&oacute;n&rsquo;s deep-water coal export port on the Caribbean coast. Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n is one of the world&rsquo;s largest open pit coal mining firms, equally owned by AngloAmerican, BHP Billiton, and Xstrata. 
 
The Colombian government has maintained that the Aquilas Negras, or &ldquo;Black Eagles,&rdquo; no longer exists. But leaders of other unions have received death threats from the paramilitary group, including the food and beverage trade union Sinaltraninal late last year.

ICEM Demands Greater Security for Sintracarbòn Unionists in Recent Colombian Death Threats

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Focused militancy coupled with poised negotiating gave 325 workers of German industrial gas company Linde in Thailand a solid 31-month collective agreement. The Thai Industrial Gas Local Union (TIGLU), aligned with ICEM affiliate Petroleum and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation of Thailand, won major gains at 10 chemical plants in a negotiated agreement reached late last week. 
 
On 22 July, in the first round of collective negotiations, local management claimed they had no authority to address the union&rsquo;s 16 demands. Even at a 28 July tripartite bargaining session in a provincial labour office in Saraburi, management refused to take the demands.
<img height="233" alt="" src="" width="350" />
Last Week's Bargaining, TIGLU Committee in Foreground
TIGLU then conducted extraordinary meetings at different worksites where strike authorization was put to a ballot. As important, the union reached out to the ICEM and to German affiliate IGBCE, insisting that parent Linde instruct local management to bargain in good faith. 
 
A strike by two-thirds of the combined workforce started on 6 August, and lasted only four days. A commitment was gained quickly and honest talks began on 11 August. Those talks produced the first written agreement between TIGLU and the company. That happened last Friday, 22 August. In the binding pact, the union scored major gains on 10 of the 16 demands. They also won agreement that the remaining items would be addressed by joint union-management committees.
<img height="234" alt="" src="" width="350" />
&nbsp;TIGLU Workers on Strike, 8 August
TIGLU won important contractual commitments on contract labour, giving contract workers the right to full-time and permanent work after time periods. Effective 1 January 2009, a union dues check-off system will be put in place by the company, and Linde&rsquo;s management agreed to begin giving 39 scholarships for children of workers, ranging from elementary school age to post high-school age. 
 
TIGLU also achieved paid union leave, training courses for all workers on their rights, benefits, and entitlements, and increased health care benefits. That increases to 40,000 baht per year, the equivalent of &euro;750. 
 
They also won Providence Fund increases of up to 10% of salary for workers with 15 years service or more, and 5% increases for workers with less than five years. 
 
The ICEM congratulates the members of TIGLU for their energy, integrity, and ability to use social dialogue to post benefits and work rule improvements for Linde workers in Thailand.

Thai Industrial Gas Workers Win Through Striking, Engagement in Earnest Bargaining Table Talks

<img height="39" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Trade unions the world over are encouraged to apply for the remaining spots in the 2008-2009 master course offerings of the Global Labour University, to be held in Germany, India, Brazil, South Africa. 
 
Forms and information can be found&nbsp;<a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/">here</a>. 
 
The programme offered at Germany&rsquo;s University of Kassel and Berlin School of Economics centres on global governance and macroeconomics; the programme at the Tata Institute in Mumbai, India, deals with the informal economy; the curriculum at the University of Witwaterstand, Johannesburg, South Africa, is the politics of development; while at Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), S&atilde;o Paulo State, the focus is on transational companies.
<img height="91" src="" width="98" alt="" />
The Global Labour University is an initiative of the ILO, global trade unions, academic institutions, and foundations. ACTRAV, the ILO Bureau for Workers&rsquo; Activities, offers scholarships to trade unionists from developing nations and transitional economies. Applicants must have the endrosement from a trade union to apply.

Applications Closing Fast for Admission to 2008-2009 Global Labour University

<img height="39" src="" width="100" alt="" />
At the Fifth Meeting of the Brazilian national network of trade unions at Dutch-based Akzo Nobel plants from 15-17 July in S&atilde;o Paulo, union representatives from British-based ICI chemical facilities joined the network. Akzo Nobel recently acquired ICI. 
 
The expansion of the network is expected to further the links of solidarity between workers of the two companies in Brazil. 
 
The 25 union representatives present came from plants located in Recife, Santo Andr&eacute;, Mau&aacute;, S&atilde;o Bernardo do Campo, Jundia&iacute;, Itupeva, S&atilde;o Roque, S&atilde;o Paulo, Bahia, Guarulhos, and Rio de Janeiro. 
 
The network meeting opened with a presentation by the Brazilian national centre CUT on a multinational project surrounding the ABC Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union&rsquo;s Project of Life programme. That deals with the demands of life, health, and work, and introduces actions to ensure a better work environment. 
 
The coordinator of the network, Sergio Carrasso, then delivered a report on activities of the network since its inception in 2003. That was followed by the results of a survey done by the Social Observatory Network on working conditions at Akzo Nobel.
<img height="167" src="" width="380" alt="" />
&nbsp; 
The survey reflects a positive outcome through collective negotiations, with workers of Akzo Nobel in Brazil managing to establish better social dialogue practices in which civil rights have been guaranteed and wage differentials bridged. 
 
ICI trade unionists attending made a presentation on their individual plants, including numbers of workers, length of work days, discrimination problems, and social dialogue and corporate social responsibility experiences. 
 
The mid-July network meetings also served as preparation for the Third National Social Dialogue forum of Brazilian unions with Akzo Nobel. The network meeting concluded with a visit to the S&atilde;o Bernardo do Campo plant. 
 
Akzo Nobel workers pledged to continue seeking contacts with workers of the company in Mexico and The Netherlands.

Brazilian Akzo Nobel Workers’ Network Brings in ICI Plants for Effective Solidarity

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&nbsp;The ICEM lodged a stern protest with the government of Turkey following excessive police force to quell a peaceful protest by ICEM affiliate Belediye-İş, the Municipal and General Workers&rsquo; Union. Due to stalled negotiations on behalf of 10,000 union members at different segments of the Istanbul Metropolitan Muncipality, the union issued a 60-day strike notice in mid-July. 
 
On 17 July, 2,000 Belediye-İş members, along with officials of the union, marched to an administrative building of the municipality to hang a banner announcing their legal strike. They were immediately repelled by police, using pepper spray and pressurized water cannons. 
 
The police force was a reminder of the force used on 1 May this year when trade unionists attempted to lay flowers at Istanbul&rsquo;s Taksim Square in memorial to the 37 comrades killed there by government forces on 1 May 1977.
<img height="199" alt="" src="" width="300" />
Police Water Cannons Impede Peaceful&nbsp;Belediye-İş March on 17 July 

&ldquo;The attitude taken by police against peaceful demonstrators reinforces the impression and opinion worldwide on your government&rsquo;s pursuit against (workers&rsquo; rights),&rdquo; wrote ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. 
 
&ldquo;Although Turkey has ratified ILO Conventions 87 and 98, we understand that neither in law or in daily life can these standards be freely exercised.&rdquo; 
 
The strike notice was issued because the Istanbul Metropolitan Muncipality has closed the door on negotiations after offering only an 8% increase. Belediye-İş is seeking a 40% increase. According to the union, daily consumer costs have rapidly escalated beyond the high inflation rate in Turkey, with water and transportation increases nearing the 35% mark.

ICEM Protests Police Force to Break up Belediye-İş Strike Call in Turkey

The meeting was opened by Mohammad Jadallah of the General Union of Petroleum, Mining and Chemicals Workers in Palestine. Guests from Jordanian trade unions and fraternal organizations also addressed the meeting. 
 
The 25 women attending the meeting were between 21 and 52 years of age, with many young women present. The women&rsquo;s expectations for the meeting ranged from making recommendations to support women leaders in Palestine to exchanging information and experience to develop themselves as trade unionists to empowering working women in Palestine to creating awareness among Palestinian women about their rights. 
 
Turid &Oslash;ygard, NOPEF, made a presentation about women in Norway. The presentation covered women&rsquo;s rights, women in trade unions, women in society and NOPEF&rsquo;s future merger. Although it would seem that women are equal with men in Norway, there is still a long way to go there, too. 
 
Men still have plenty of privileges in Norway. For example, women still do not earn the same as men. Turid recommended to the women that in order to make progress in their society, they should use their right to vote. They should build up their self-confidence and self-esteem. 
 
She reminded them that if they wanted to earn the same as men, then they would need to work full-time and share family responsibilities with men. Even for gender equality at work, family life must be changed and fathers must spend more time at home. Women&rsquo;s participation in trade union life in Norway seems to be stagnating, and it is not easy to identify the reasons for it. It may be that women simply have too much to do with their jobs and their families. And trade unions are often seen as just too much a man&rsquo;s world. 
 
Carol Bruce, ICEM, introduced the topic of women&rsquo;s health. Health is just one more reflection of gender equality or inequality, not least on the job. The term gender refers to the fact that everything affects women and men differently &ndash; privatization, unemployment, the environment, extremism, health &ndash; all things affect women differently from men. 
 
All in all poverty and unemployment are the greatest risk factors for poor health. An abbreviation to describe gender differences in health are that men are the norm, and women are invisible. This phenomenon is just one more reflection of job segregation. Standards are developed with men in mind. 
 
Safety equipment and tools are based on men&rsquo;s needs, and women often have accidents when using them. Women&rsquo;s health hazards are less obvious to the naked eye than are men&rsquo;s, who work, for example in mining. Stress disorders are greater among women than among men, including musculoskeletal disorders. Men develop deafness more frequently as a result of working in generally louder environments. Men suffer more injuries and accidents at work. 
 
Women are more likely to report work-related sickness than men. In general women are less present in research, which means that women must boost their representation. Nevertheless all of these problems pale before the danger represented by HIV/AIDS. Any real solution to the AIDS pandemic will only be by empowering women. 
 
The women did an activity in groups called body mapping and risk mapping. The women drew a front and back picture of a woman&rsquo;s body and placed dots on the parts where they had felt illnesses or stresses. The body map was supposed to reflect their job-related injuries, illnesses and exposures, bearing in mind, however, that women&rsquo;s lives are not necessarily clearly broken down between working life and home life, but that the one spills over into the other. 
 
After that activity the women drew their workplaces to indicate where they had suffered accidents, illnesses, stress, etc. After the group work, the women were asked whether they had taken these complaints to the union to be solved. There was some disagreement about whether the union had taken action or not. 
 
On the second day the women played a game about negotiating. Group 1 played a mother who wanted her son to stay home and study, but the son wanted to go play football. Group 2 played a husband that wanted to buy a scooter, but the wife wanted a refrigerator. 
 
Group 3 played a mother who wanted the daughter to stay home to look after her sisters and brothers, but the daughter wanted to go out with her friends. After playing these negotiations out, the groups analysed what they had learned. They realized it was necessary to collect arguments and persuade the other side. 
 
Carol Bruce introduced the topic of collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is now more important than ever since most companies do not want regulations imposed by governments. Negotiations can be at all levels, local, branch, national, etc. ICEM even negotiates with multinationals on so-called global agreements to lay down basic standards. 
 
These agreements generally contain what are called ILO core labour standards. But in trade unions women must already negotiate to get their demands on the collective bargaining agendas. Sometimes it is even more difficult to negotiate with male colleagues than with employers. Women&rsquo;s committees in trade unions should develop women&rsquo;s demands in the unions and pass them on to the negotiators. Research also must be done to see what women&rsquo;s demands can be met. 
 
The women went into groups to decide on what their priorities would be if they were going to negotiate. The list was: job security, respect on the job, health insurance, controlling working hours, more money, maternity leave, occupational safety and health, childcare, programmes for ending discrimination, pension, training, sexual harassment. 
 
The three groups had the following top priorities: Group 1 &ndash; job security, respect on the job, health insurance, controlling working hours. Group 2 &ndash; health insurance, job security, occupational safety and health, equal pay. Group 3 &ndash; respect on the job, more money, controlling working hours, job security. In the analysis we told the women that in the United States and Norway the women&rsquo;s priorities would most probably have been to have more money. 
 
Turid &Oslash;ygard introduced the topic of trade union democracy. The women went into groups to discuss how their unions worked and how people were nominated to trade union boards. We found that some of their practices were limiting, such as not allowing any contract workers to be in the union, or only allowing people to be union members who had worked for five years. 
 
The women had to find mechanisms to have their voices heard, instead of simply leaving things up to leadership or planners. Leyla Shream from Jenin explained her experiences in detail as a trade union leader. 
 
The women all gave their views of what the problems were for women to participate in trade unions. Their culture does not easily allow women to participate together with men and to participate in unions. 
 
It is difficult to reconcile family and trade unions. People are more concerned with earning money. According to customs and traditions men are superior to women. Women are seen as inferior. 
 
According to their culture women are ashamed. Women&rsquo;s environment is a factor. Women have no self-confidence, or if a woman has it, she can be destroyed. Women can only accept traditions; they are complacent, they are not ready to fight. 
 
The intifada influences women. Women cannot move because of all the restrictions, the separating wall, the seizure of land, all the pressures. Women&rsquo;s husbands are imprisoned or killed, so women must care more for the children. Men have power and authority. Women have too many tasks; they cannot do their jobs properly if in addition they go out to do volunteer work. Women do not support women. Women feel inadequate. Women need awareness workshops. Women need to know they can manage the role. Men need to support women; their support will help. Women can benefit from their precursors. Men need to have awareness of women&rsquo;s role. 
 
Society and the environment are masculine, and women already need encouragement at home. Women are already stressed in transport. Women should take the initiative and not leave everything up to men. 
 
On the last day the women all stated their conclusions. The political situation is imposed, and thus women must be more positive toward themselves. Women must not leave leadership up to men. Women cannot eradicate situations and traditions; they are born with them. 
 
Women must have self-confidence and determination and must be empowered and work hand in hand with men. We need workshops together with men and families to make it more possible to move. Families need awareness. Society must also change. The best way is to go door to door. 
 
Educational curricula should be modified to reflect new realities, and the importance of cooperation between men and women must be stressed. Women must make alliances to achieve their goals. Men must have awareness and realize what women can do. Women must fight for their rights. 
 
Women need more training on decision-making. In the short term women need training, and in the long term curricula must be changed to raise awareness of women&rsquo;s role. Women must have more strength than men. We must destroy the walls that separate us from each other. 
 
Palestinian women are strong. Women should have centres to support women. Women need more self-esteem. Women say they are weak, but they can improve themselves as leaders. Women must support women. Women must increase confidence. We must eradicate gender discrimination and get rid of the stereotype that men are everything. We need joint seminars between women and men in order to convince men union leaders to accept partnerships with women. Men must give women the freedom to participate. We should use the media to talk about women leaders. All women would benefit. 
 
The recommendation for future work was to continue with such workshops, but it was emphasized that the next time men must be along. Things will never change until men are made aware of women&rsquo;s needs. Men must also see how capable women are as leaders. It would also be worthwhile broadening the scope of the countries involved. 
 
The women did an evaluation of the workshop on a point system from 1 to 10, with 1 lowest and 10 highest. The questions were the following: did the workshop meet your expectations? This question scored 7. Did you like the subjects? This question scored 9. Did you like the method? This question scored 8. Did you find the workshop useful? This question scored 8. Will you use it? This question scored 8+. 
 
The seminar ended by passing out diplomas to all the women. Then each woman wrote down on a piece of paper something that she wanted to get rid of, ripped the paper up and threw it in the waste basket in the middle of the circle. Then all held hands and said one word about something that they wanted to fight for such as just peace or gender equality or solidarity.

Meeting report - ICEM/NOPEF Training for Palestinian and Jordanian Women

The meeting was opened by Mohammad Jadallah of the General Union of Petroleum, Mining and Chemicals Workers in Palestine. Guests from Jordanian trade unions and fraternal organizations also addressed the meeting.
The 25 women attending the meeting were between 21 and 52 years of age, with many young women present. The women&rsquo;s expectations for the meeting ranged from making recommendations to support women leaders in Palestine to exchanging information and experience to develop themselves as trade unionists to empowering working women in Palestine to creating awareness among Palestinian women about their rights. 
 
Turid &Oslash;ygard, NOPEF, made a presentation about women in Norway. The presentation covered women&rsquo;s rights, women in trade unions, women in society and NOPEF&rsquo;s future merger. Although it would seem that women are equal with men in Norway, there is still a long way to go there, too. 
Men still have plenty of privileges in Norway. For example, women still do not earn the same as men. Turid recommended to the women that in order to make progress in their society, they should use their right to vote. They should build up their self-confidence and self-esteem. 
She reminded them that if they wanted to earn the same as men, then they would need to work full-time and share family responsibilities with men. Even for gender equality at work, family life must be changed and fathers must spend more time at home. Women&rsquo;s participation in trade union life in Norway seems to be stagnating, and it is not easy to identify the reasons for it. It may be that women simply have too much to do with their jobs and their families. And trade unions are often seen as just too much a man&rsquo;s world. 
 
Carol Bruce, ICEM, introduced the topic of women&rsquo;s health. Health is just one more reflection of gender equality or inequality, not least on the job. The term gender refers to the fact that everything affects women and men differently &ndash; privatization, unemployment, the environment, extremism, health &ndash; all things affect women differently from men. 
All in all poverty and unemployment are the greatest risk factors for poor health. An abbreviation to describe gender differences in health are that men are the norm, and women are invisible. This phenomenon is just one more reflection of job segregation. Standards are developed with men in mind. 
Safety equipment and tools are based on men&rsquo;s needs, and women often have accidents when using them. Women&rsquo;s health hazards are less obvious to the naked eye than are men&rsquo;s, who work, for example in mining. Stress disorders are greater among women than among men, including musculoskeletal disorders. Men develop deafness more frequently as a result of working in generally louder environments. Men suffer more injuries and accidents at work. 
Women are more likely to report work-related sickness than men. In general women are less present in research, which means that women must boost their representation. Nevertheless all of these problems pale before the danger represented by HIV/AIDS. Any real solution to the AIDS pandemic will only be by empowering women. 
 
The women did an activity in groups called body mapping and risk mapping. The women drew a front and back picture of a woman&rsquo;s body and placed dots on the parts where they had felt illnesses or stresses. The body map was supposed to reflect their job-related injuries, illnesses and exposures, bearing in mind, however, that women&rsquo;s lives are not necessarily clearly broken down between working life and home life, but that the one spills over into the other. 
After that activity the women drew their workplaces to indicate where they had suffered accidents, illnesses, stress, etc. After the group work, the women were asked whether they had taken these complaints to the union to be solved. There was some disagreement about whether the union had taken action or not. 
 
On the second day the women played a game about negotiating. Group 1 played a mother who wanted her son to stay home and study, but the son wanted to go play football. Group 2 played a husband that wanted to buy a scooter, but the wife wanted a refrigerator. 
Group 3 played a mother who wanted the daughter to stay home to look after her sisters and brothers, but the daughter wanted to go out with her friends. After playing these negotiations out, the groups analysed what they had learned. They realized it was necessary to collect arguments and persuade the other side. 
 
Carol Bruce introduced the topic of collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is now more important than ever since most companies do not want regulations imposed by governments. Negotiations can be at all levels, local, branch, national, etc. ICEM even negotiates with multinationals on so-called global agreements to lay down basic standards. 
These agreements generally contain what are called ILO core labour standards. But in trade unions women must already negotiate to get their demands on the collective bargaining agendas. Sometimes it is even more difficult to negotiate with male colleagues than with employers. Women&rsquo;s committees in trade unions should develop women&rsquo;s demands in the unions and pass them on to the negotiators. Research also must be done to see what women&rsquo;s demands can be met. 
 
The women went into groups to decide on what their priorities would be if they were going to negotiate. The list was: job security, respect on the job, health insurance, controlling working hours, more money, maternity leave, occupational safety and health, childcare, programmes for ending discrimination, pension, training, sexual harassment. 
The three groups had the following top priorities: Group 1 &ndash; job security, respect on the job, health insurance, controlling working hours. Group 2 &ndash; health insurance, job security, occupational safety and health, equal pay. Group 3 &ndash; respect on the job, more money, controlling working hours, job security. In the analysis we told the women that in the United States and Norway the women&rsquo;s priorities would most probably have been to have more money. 
 
Turid &Oslash;ygard introduced the topic of trade union democracy. The women went into groups to discuss how their unions worked and how people were nominated to trade union boards. We found that some of their practices were limiting, such as not allowing any contract workers to be in the union, or only allowing people to be union members who had worked for five years. 
The women had to find mechanisms to have their voices heard, instead of simply leaving things up to leadership or planners. Leyla Shream from Jenin explained her experiences in detail as a trade union leader. 
 
The women all gave their views of what the problems were for women to participate in trade unions. Their culture does not easily allow women to participate together with men and to participate in unions. 
It is difficult to reconcile family and trade unions. People are more concerned with earning money. According to customs and traditions men are superior to women. Women are seen as inferior. 
According to their culture women are ashamed. Women&rsquo;s environment is a factor. Women have no self-confidence, or if a woman has it, she can be destroyed. Women can only accept traditions; they are complacent, they are not ready to fight. 
The intifada influences women. Women cannot move because of all the restrictions, the separating wall, the seizure of land, all the pressures. Women&rsquo;s husbands are imprisoned or killed, so women must care more for the children. Men have power and authority. Women have too many tasks; they cannot do their jobs properly if in addition they go out to do volunteer work. Women do not support women. Women feel inadequate. Women need awareness workshops. Women need to know they can manage the role. Men need to support women; their support will help. Women can benefit from their precursors. Men need to have awareness of women&rsquo;s role. 
Society and the environment are masculine, and women already need encouragement at home. Women are already stressed in transport. Women should take the initiative and not leave everything up to men. 
 
On the last day the women all stated their conclusions. The political situation is imposed, and thus women must be more positive toward themselves. Women must not leave leadership up to men. Women cannot eradicate situations and traditions; they are born with them. 
Women must have self-confidence and determination and must be empowered and work hand in hand with men. We need workshops together with men and families to make it more possible to move. Families need awareness. Society must also change. The best way is to go door to door. 
Educational curricula should be modified to reflect new realities, and the importance of cooperation between men and women must be stressed. Women must make alliances to achieve their goals. Men must have awareness and realize what women can do. Women must fight for their rights. 
Women need more training on decision-making. In the short term women need training, and in the long term curricula must be changed to raise awareness of women&rsquo;s role. Women must have more strength than men. We must destroy the walls that separate us from each other. 
Palestinian women are strong. Women should have centres to support women. Women need more self-esteem. Women say they are weak, but they can improve themselves as leaders. Women must support women. Women must increase confidence. We must eradicate gender discrimination and get rid of the stereotype that men are everything. We need joint seminars between women and men in order to convince men union leaders to accept partnerships with women. Men must give women the freedom to participate. We should use the media to talk about women leaders. All women would benefit. 
 
The recommendation for future work was to continue with such workshops, but it was emphasized that the next time men must be along. Things will never change until men are made aware of women&rsquo;s needs. Men must also see how capable women are as leaders. It would also be worthwhile broadening the scope of the countries involved. 
 
The women did an evaluation of the workshop on a point system from 1 to 10, with 1 lowest and 10 highest. The questions were the following: did the workshop meet your expectations? This question scored 7. Did you like the subjects? This question scored 9. Did you like the method? This question scored 8. Did you find the workshop useful? This question scored 8. Will you use it? This question scored 8+. 
 
The seminar ended by passing out diplomas to all the women. Then each woman wrote down on a piece of paper something that she wanted to get rid of, ripped the paper up and threw it in the waste basket in the middle of the circle. Then all held hands and said one word about something that they wanted to fight for such as just peace or gender equality or solidarity.

The ICEM teamed up with its UK affiliate Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), resulting in justice for two trade union leaders who were dismissed two years ago by Thai Industrial Gases (TIG), the Thai operations of BOC, a British-based global industrial gases company.
The two key leaders were reinstated after a series of negotiation sessions conducted by Fred Higgs, ICEM General Secretary, when in Bangkok in late August. These negotiations with regional management of BOC were made possible by the prior insistence of Peter Booth, TGWU National Secretary for Manufacturing. TGWU, along with BOC&rsquo;s head office in the UK, demanded that such negotiations take place. 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img height="86" alt="" src="" width="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="83" alt="" src="" width="150" />&nbsp;
The ICEM and TGWU intervention also guaranteed that ICEM affiliate Petroleum &amp; Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation of Thailand (PCFT) will be fully recognised as bargaining representative for some 800 TIG workers at ten worksites in Thailand. 
 
One of the TIG union leaders, Chatree Jarusuwanwong, was back on the job effective 18 September, while the other, Chatchai Paiyasen, will return 1 October. Both will receive nearly two years&rsquo; of back-pay for the period they were dismissed. 
 
The two were sacked on 15 December 2004 for carrying out trade union activities. Two months earlier, after TIG workers formed their union following unilateral benefit cuts by the company, a manager of the subsidiary had confiscated official certification papers issued by the Thai Labour Ministry. The two union leaders were fired because they had pressed for the right of collective bargaining, something managers had promised but never delivered. 
ICEM&rsquo;s Fred Higgs intervened directly in the matter while in Bangkok. By then, TIG managers had the unfair dismissals tied up in the Thai courts system. Months before Higgs&rsquo; visit, ICEM had alerted TGWU, who brought the issue before senior British managers of BOC. 
<img height="67" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Higgs began dialogue with TIG managers, as well as with a Southeast Asia regional manager of BOC. The result was a promise to review the case. The decision to reverse the unfair dismissals and award back-pay came early this week. 
 
&ldquo;This is an excellent example of what can be achieved through global solidarity with our affiliates,&rdquo; said Higgs. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re extremely grateful to the TGWU and to Peter Booth for their efforts. It made the difference.&rdquo; 
 
Higgs also noted that one of the demands made to BOC management was that the two Thai union leaders be allowed to continue their legitimate trade union activity. 
 
Brothers Paiyasen and Jarusuwanwong expressed their gratitude to the ICEM and TGWU. In a joint statement, they said, &ldquo;With this victory, we are determined to work hard to develop the trade union movement so that we can do more to help other sisters and brothers who still struggle for their right to organise.&rdquo; 
 
Noting that they had been off their jobs for some 654 days, they added, &ldquo;Working with the ICEM and the British TGWU, we felt their efforts achieved a positive change. Before we met the ICEM and TGWU, we were desperate in our fight for reinstatement. This active communication and coordination really made a difference.&rdquo;

ICEM, TGWU Intervene To Achieve Justice at Thai Industries Gases Company

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 15

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Representatives of the Union Nationale des Travailleurs du Congo (UNTC), one of the major national trade union federations in Congo, decided at their 5th Congress in July on a major change in Federation&rsquo;s sectoral structures. 
 
One consequence of this decision, which brought down the number of industrial federations from 21 to 14, is the merger of ICEM affiliate FENAMICO (F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Nationale des Travailleurs des Mines du Congo) with its sister metal federation, to from the new F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Nationale des Travailleurs des Mines et de la Metallurgie (FNTMM). Crispin Ngeleka Mulumba was elected as its new General Secretary.

FENAMICO, Mining Affiliate in Congo, Merges with Metal Federation

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Meeting report - ICEM/NOPEF Training for Palestinian and Jordanian Women

Meeting report - ICEM/NOPEF Training for Palestinian and Jordanian Women

ICEM, TGWU Intervene To Achieve Justice at Thai Industries Gases Company

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 15

FENAMICO, Mining Affiliate in Congo, Merges with Metal Federation

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