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Draft legislation in South Africa on whether to ban labour brokers or to increase regulation on enterprises that supply workers to businesses is stalled in the government, with the likelihood that revisions to the Labour Relations Act (LRA) on this key national issue will not be heard in Parliament by year end. 
 
Four draft bills were submitted to the Cabinet in May, but have been returned to the Labour Ministry for language revisions. Even after the Cabinet accepts the draft amendments to the LRA, including revising Section 198 (temporary employment services), they must still go the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) for review, and then to public comment before the full Parliament takes up South African labour law revisions. 
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Besides whether or not to ban labour brokers, the proposed legislation is expected to prohibit discrepancy in wages and working conditions between temporary and permanent workers, provide protection against unfair dismissals during probation periods for workers, provide more government labour inspectors to investigate abuses, harsher fines on abusive companies that are linked to their annual turnovers, and impose extended liability on primary employers when abuses occur. 
 
The major employer federations that cover staffing companies in South Africa, namely the Association of Personnel Service Organisations (APSO) and the Confederation of Associations in the Private Employment Sector (CAPES), are taking a pro-action position that some type of legislation must pass. 
 
But these groups are lobbying for tighter regulation of the more nefarious side of the industry, believing that there is abusive practices by unscrupulous labour brokers that must be stopped. 
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Labour unions in South Africa, however, led by the Congress of South African Unions (COSATU), are holding firm that a complete ban is necessary. The unions have made it a rule to inject the ban language on labour brokers in their collective agreements, and several employers have agreed to the ban. 
 
In the ten-day strike in August between the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) and the Automobile Manufacturers Employers Association (AMEA), representing BMW, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen, the two sides agreed to the ban. It takes effect on 1 January 2011, with the exception of pre-existing labour broker contracts, which will be permitted to run their term. 
 
Regarding the legislation, Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana made it clear while speaking at a labour law conference in mid-August that labour brokering in the country will definitely get a revamp with the objective of creating decent jobs. 
 
He told labour lawyers present that the notion of treating labour as a commodity must halt. &ldquo;We must stop this thing of selling labour,&rdquo; Mdladlana stated.

Labour Broker Law in South Africa Stalls, For Now

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The world&rsquo;s largest newsprint producer, Canadian-based AbitibiBowater, will exit from bankruptcy in mid-October, some 18 months after it sought protection from creditors in both Canada and US. A creditors&rsquo; committee last week gave approval to a restructuring plan that includes novel and company-saving collective agreements that were negotiated last spring, preserving pensions and granting unique union rights. 
 
Those agreements on both sides of the North American border between the forest products company and the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) of Canada and the United Steelworkers (USW) in the US kept the company solvent and operating. They also gave AbitibiBowater immediate financial relief, yet preserved some of the best union rights language in the North American paper industry. 
 
Last week&rsquo;s unsecured creditors vote came a day after the province of Quebec announced it would grant relief on contributions to workers&rsquo; pension plans in exchange for the company investing C$75 million in new projects over the next five years, as well as to maintain its headquarters in Quebec. 
 
The CEP and its President, Dave Coles, applauded both the province&rsquo;s and creditors&rsquo; actions, but reminded that the federal government has been conspicuously absent from issues to preserve the Canadian forest products industry.
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CEP President Dave&nbsp;Coles&nbsp; 

&ldquo;Workers have done more than their fair share to save this company, in marked contrast to our federal government which did nothing to come to the aid of ailing forest communities,&rdquo; said Coles. &ldquo;We will remember the Harper government&rsquo;s inaction at election time.&rdquo; 
 
The CEP preserved its pattern bargaining for the eastern Canadian paper sector in court-monitored negotiations with AbitibiBowater last spring. Although the five-year agreement contained 10% wage cuts for the first two years, it did protect existing and future retirement benefits with the company contributing C$500 million to a new, union-operated pension fund. In the US, in a four-year pact, USW members took a lesser salary reduction for the same period but won several union rights issues unique in American labour agreements. 
 
In Canada, the restructuring plan under the country&rsquo;s Companies&rsquo; Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA) now goes before a Quebec Superior Court judge on 20 September for approval, while in the US, a conformation hearing under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Court occurs 24 September in the state of Delaware.

Newsprint Maker Abitibi to Emerge from Bankruptcy, Thanks to NA Paperworkers

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A 17-day strike by members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU) ended last Wednesday, 15 September, against Megabolt Australia Pty. Ltd., a Campbellfield, Victoria, producer of nuts, bolts, roof plates and other metal gear primarily sold to the mining industry. The 25 metalworkers won an exceptional contract in their first enterprise labour agreement with the company, owned by the Hutchins family&rsquo;s Wham Investments. 
 
Megabolt workers took up the AMWU banner after being stymied by a thriving company over wages. Some employees had worked up to ten years at wages of A$15 an hour, barely above the Australian minimum wage.
<img src="" width="156" height="117" alt="" />
photo: Tim Laurence
After maintaining 24-hour picket lines since the strike started on 30 August, Megabolt General Manager Tom Hutchins admitted he wanted labour peace and a resumption of production because, as he stated in a local newspaper, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got more business to win and jobs to create &hellip; I don&rsquo;t want anything more than to get a resolution.&rdquo; 
 
That resolution came in the excellent three-year accord. Workers won a 10% wage increase, backdated to 2 June 2010, with 4.5% increases to come each in 2011 and 2012. In addition, the AMWU won an A$750 ratification bonus for each worker, and the union negotiated permanent and full-time work status for all casual workers who have been on the job for longer than six months. 
 
Other gains include monthly rostered days off, improved redundancy provisions, an award-aligned classification structure, language on use of contractors, as well as health and safety and union rights. 
 
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re ecstatic with the outcome,&rdquo; said AMWU delegate Zelko Cimboro inside Megabolt. &ldquo;We got the outcome we wanted and the workers definitely feel stronger together now.&rdquo;

Australia: Vigilant Strike Leads to Superior Gains for AMWU Members at Megabolt

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The Mining and Energy section of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) welcomed remarks by BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers last week that carbon pricing in Australia must be part of the mix in meeting the challenges of climate change. 
 
CFMEU National President Tony Maher said in a statement on 17 September that BHP Billiton&rsquo;s breaking from the rest of industry on a future carbon tax is &ldquo;a big step in the right direction.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;As the world&rsquo;s largest mining company, BHP has laid down a challenge to the other mining operations and the Minerals Council,&rdquo; said Maher. &ldquo;The scare campaigns on climate change cannot be repeated,&rdquo; he added, referring to a hot-button issue inside Australia that was at top of the list in the toppling of the Kevin Rudd government.
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CFMEU National President Tony Maher&nbsp;
Kloppers made his comments in a speech on 15 September at a lunch in Sydney to a forum of the Australia-British Chamber of Commerce. He said eventually a global initiative regarding carbon pricing will come and when it does, &ldquo;Australia will need to have acted ahead of it to maintain its competitiveness.&rdquo; 
 
The BHP executive said, &ldquo;Carbon emissions need to have a cost impact in order to cause the consumer and companies to change behaviour and favour low-carbon alternatives.&rdquo; Before the business leaders, Kloppers called for &ldquo;a mosaic of initiatives&rdquo; to reduce carbon emissions, including a &ldquo;combination of a carbon tax, land use actions and limited (carbon) trading systems&rdquo; covering power plants. 
 
The speech marked a dramatic shift in public views voiced by resource-rich mining houses and industry alike on the climate change debate in Australia. Following the speech, both business and industry leaders denounced the speech. 
 
However, CFMEU suggested BHP Billiton&rsquo;s shift, along with the appointment of Parliamentarian and former Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Secretary Greg Combet as new Minister for Climate Change, has turned the tide on the debate. The Labour Party&rsquo;s Combet is currently assembling a climate change committee in hopes that legislation implementing a carbon pricing system will be readied by 2012. Opposition parties in Australia, the Liberals and Conservatives, are boycotting the committee.

CFMEU Applauds BHP Billiton’s Shift to a Carbon Tax in Australia

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Members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa strongly rejected last Thursday (16 September) a weak wage proposal from Northam Platinum Ltd., thus extending a 15-day strike by 8,600 miners at the company&rsquo;s Zondereinde mine in Limpopo province. The two sides will meet again tomorrow, 21 September, under auspices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) in Polokwane, but the two sides are far apart. 
 
The strike started with the night shift on 5 September, following NUM strike notice served to the South African-based company on 2 September. In August, a certificate of non-resolution was served by the CCMA.
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Last week&rsquo;s company wage offer of 8.5% is less than fair for NUM members at Northam, who are paid notoriously low wages. The offer was presented as &ldquo;a take-it-or-leave-it&rdquo; proposition from bosses, and NUM members at Zonereinde rejected it resoundingly with a heavy &ldquo;no&rdquo; vote. 
 
Northam&rsquo;s offer was a mere half-percent above its original proposal, and it rather miserly raised its monthly living-out allowance in last week&rsquo;s offer from 1,600 rand to 1,700, or US$237. The NUM is seeking a wage increase of 15% plus a living-out stipend twice the company&rsquo;s offer, 3,500 rands per month, or US$485. 
 
Salaries at Northam are as low as 3,500 rands per month before taxes, about US$480. Very recently, South African Mvelaphanda Resouces sold a 12.2% stake in Northam to London-based but Asian-centered Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. Plc. for 2.2 billion rand (US$295.9 million). 
 
Two other NUM strikes, both in South Africa&rsquo;s mineral sands sector, ended in September. A CCMA dispute between the NUM and Richards Bay Minerals, a 50/50 joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton in northern KwaZulu-Natal, was resolved with a three-year labour accord that ended a week-long strike in early September. Richards Bay Minerals produces titanium minerals mined from sand dunes, such as zircon, titanium slag and rutile, and titanium dioxide. 
 
The other strike, against Exxaro&rsquo;s KZN Sands operation also in KwaZulu-Natal that involved 600 miners, ended on 14 September with a satisfactory 2010 wage gain and re-writes to job grades. That strike began 24 August.
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NUM Spokesman Lesiba Seshoka
In other NUM news, the powerful union continues its longstanding policy of downing tools for a day in remembrance to comrades killed on the job. That will again happen this week, following the 14 September death of a NUM member at AngloGold&rsquo;s TauTona mine near Carletonville. The death was caused by an underground tram accident and workers at TauTona will observe the tragedy this week, in the words of NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka, &ldquo;to ensure that the company gets the message loud and clear that if you continue to claim the lives of innocent workers, we will claim your profit.&rdquo;

NUM Members at Northam Platinum in South Africa Reject Inferior Offer

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Mineworkers&rsquo; in northern Spain in September have taken to blocking roads, clashing with police, and staging sit-down strikes deep inside coal mines to protest wage arrears brought on by the government&rsquo;s inaction in renewing subsidies for utilities that operate coal-fired power plants. 
 
The series of strikes, blockades, and other manifestations in the provinces of Palencia and Leon have led now to leaders of energy unions of the nation&rsquo;s two labour federations calling for four days of a general coal strike &ndash; starting this Wednesday, 22 September &ndash; across Spain. That announcement came after senior union leaders, on 15 September, failed to convince Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian to remedy wage arrears for hundreds of Spanish coalminers and to implement a decree passed last February renewing the subsidies. Some 8,000 coal miners are expected to take part in the four days of strikes. 
 
When last week&rsquo;s meeting failed to move the government, the senior trade union leaders blockaded themselves overnight in an Industry Ministry room in Madrid as symbolic protest to miners at collieries in the north who are striking underground.
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Leaders of the UGT and CC.OO announced general coal strikes for 22-23 September and 29-30 September. The 29 September strike will tie in with a Spanish and Euro-wide day of mobilization against austerity and labour market reforms being pushed by governments and monetary institutions. 
 
For 19 days now, 52 miners of the Uni&oacute;n Minera del Norte (UMINSA) company have locked themselves 500 metres underground in the Las Cuevas colliery near Guardo in Palencia province because wages have not been paid since mid-July. Above ground, as many as 3,000 family members and supporters have led protests that have snarled roads and blocked train lines in and out of the northern part of the province. 
 
Despite a promise to the Industry Ministry weeks ago that it would pay wages, UMINSA owner Victorino Alonso, who also heads the coal producers&rsquo; association Carbunion, said poor cash flow by companies brought on by reduced buying of domestic coal has meant no ability to meet payroll, pay taxes, or make social security contributions. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not paying anything. We have no liquidity,&rdquo; he said. 
 
On 6 September, 14 miners repeated the Las Cuevas action by beginning a sit-down strike inside the Alto Bierzo company mine near Tremor de Arriba in Leon province. That strike was followed by 200 supporters manifesting in Ponferrada, as well as several traffic tie-ups on roads between Leon and Oviedo. 
 
The government of Prime Minister Jos&eacute; Luis Rodr&iacute;guez Zapatero has been reluctant to implement the decree from last February that would renew the subsidies to utilities using Spanish coal rather than imported coal. The government&rsquo;s reluctance is based on official European Commission objections to the subsidies. A Commission ruling has called for all state subsidies for domestically-mined coal to end by 31 December 2010.

Spain’s Miners Feel Pain as Government Coal Subsidies Shrink

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The rescue of 33 miners, trapped 47 days today 700 metres under Chile&rsquo;s Atacama desert, brightened considerably over the weekend. On Friday, 17 September, one of two rescue drills perforated a ceiling of a work room near where the miners are entrapped. And yesterday, 19 September, a third drill began boring a separate rescue hole. 
 
An oil-drilling rig, made by a Canadian manufacturer and leased to Chilean state oil company ENAP, began boring Sunday through high-silica rock to get to 597 metres and an area 300 metres from where the miners are trapped. 
 
But the big news at the weekend was the American-built Schramm T-130 reaming through ceiling rock of a workshop at 624 metres. That lifted hope and renewal, across Chile, particularly with Saturday, 18 September, being the celebration of Chile&rsquo;s bicentennial independence. The miners, already frustrated and bedeviled by topside doctors and psychologists controlling supply tubes, celebrated Independence Day with song and dance, and roasted meat pies and pasties, a diet different than the usual one of liquid nutrients and vitamin juices.
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="93" />
Top side, the Schramm T-130 drill was changing bits in order to re-drill the hole to a wider 74 centimeters. 
 
Two mine-drilling rigs have been operating since 31 August and early September, with South African mine, construction, and engineering giant Murray &amp; Roberts overseeing operations through Chilean associates Terraservices and Cementation Sudamerica. The first to begin drilling, an Australian-made Strata 950 Raisebore drill developed&nbsp;by South African company RUC Cementation that is boring a 38 centimeter hole, temporary stopped drilling last week at 250 metres for maintenance purposes. The Strata 950 is built for raise-boring of holes from one underground area to another, and was transferred to the site from state-owned Codelco&rsquo;s Andina mine. 
 
The larger Schramm T-130 rig, made by US-based Center Rock Inc. that is blind reaming another hole, hit a steel support beam in an abandoned shaft at 268 metres on 11 September, causing a two-day delay before spare parts were flown in. But days later, it had drilled through to an area close to the entrapped miners. 
 
Those 33 miners, employed at the San Jose mine of junior miner Campa&ntilde;ia Minera San Esteban Primera, escaped their deaths on 5 August when a shaft collapsed due to an explosion. The San Esteban company, a family-owned enterprise that stands now as a black mark on Chilean safety regulations inside non-major mining companies, extracts copper and gold and sells to Codelco. As a result of the mine collapse and entrapment, San Esteban has filed bankruptcy. 
 
A Chilean court has seized the firm&rsquo;s assets of US$1.8 million, or &euro;1.43 million, but the state has not made arrangements over lost wages. For sure, 100 San Jose miners who were not underground on 5 August, as well as another 170 San Esteban miners at the neighbouring San Antonio mine, are not being paid wages. Reportedly, Campa&ntilde;ia Minera San Esteban&rsquo;s insurance carrier is responsible for wages of the trapped miners. 
 
Together with the Murray &amp; Roberts contractors, Chilean state officials and officials of Codelco are leading the rescue, and the use of three separate bore holes is intended to give the greatest chance of faster freedom to the miners. The oil-drilling rig, Rig 421, is expected to reach 597 metres and is drilling away from the other rescue drills because its heavier size likely would cause rock slides. 
 
Once widening occurs by the mine-drilling rigs, as it begins today for the Schramm T-130, a steel &ldquo;rescue pod&rdquo; will be erected by both the miners below and technicians on top in order to lift the miners out one at a time in the 15-minute ride to the surface. 
 
Estimates of when the miners will earn and win their freedom have now been moved up, perhaps to happen in early November.
<img alt="" src="" width="191" height="128" />
In the meantime, and perhaps the biggest indignity for miners still working for a bankrupt company, has their strength been restored enough to clear the rock and construct the cage to ensure rescue? They suffer from skin sores, foot fungi, and abrasions caused by handling rock. With temperatures at 35 degrees Centigrade and humidity at 88%, the risk of infections and bacteria in a low-oxygen environment is very high. Three, small, 15-centimetre holes used to ferry capsules of food, liquids, medicines, and other essentials is now their only portage to the outside. 
 
The ICEM has received scores of requests from trade unions seeking to lend support to the miners. The ICEM has been in contact with one of the leaders of Union No. 2 of Compania Minera San Esteban, its Secretary, Javier Castillo, and we encourage trade unions and trade unionists to send messages of goodwill to the miners at <a href="mailto:jcastillojulio@gmail.com">jcastillojulio@gmail.com</a>. 
 
The ICEM also congratulates the humanity and solidarity shown from throughout the world to the trapped miners of Union No. 2. In just one example of such solidarity, through a call by Australia&rsquo;s Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU), hundreds of construction workers in West Australia at a building site donated A$50 each to pay for food, housing, and other costs for family members. That inspiring response to the now longest underground mine survival in human history is being repeated in one form or another by trade unions and others all across the world.

Rescue of Chilean Miners Hits Stride

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At the ICEM World Conference for the Energy Industry today in Stavanger, Norway, global trade union leaders issued the following statement:
Protest Note to the EU Commission on EU Coal Production 
 
Interfering in national legislation, the European Union (EU) Commission presented a law to close coal mines all over Europe until 2014 for reasons of austerity and liberal market policies regarding state aid. 
 
ICEM declares its solidarity with the unions in Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Spain and in all other countries which oppose the EU Commission&rsquo;s proposal and which defend miners&rsquo; rights to employment now and in future for a sustainable energy supply that includes coal in their respective counties under safe, secure and decent work conditions.

ICEM Energy Conference Takes Issue with EU Coal Policy

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All of France&rsquo;s main trade union confederations will strike tomorrow throughout the country, protesting President Sarkozy&rsquo;s bid to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, increase public sector workers&rsquo; pension contributions, and increase the pension required contribution period to 41.5 years before a worker is entitled to a full state pension. 
 
The national strike will be held tomorrow, 7 September, to coincide with the Plenary debate of the bill in the National Assembly. The stoppage will be conducted from 7pm this evening, until midnight Tuesday. Stoppages are predicted across sectors, from public transport, power generation, teaching, telecommunications, while hospital staff will guarantee only emergency services. The action will seek to fight the proposed pension reforms, and also defend jobs and demand government action for economic recovery.
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="87" />
The proposed pension reform is extremely unpopular in France, and unions are aiming to build on the 2 million people mobilised in June to protest the changes. Union activists plan strategy meetings on 8 September to consider next steps in the campaign. 
 
President Sarkozy is seen to be scrambling at present, with record low levels of public support, 18 months before presidential elections, the president&rsquo;s government last week scrapped plans to cut student accommodation subsidies, in an effort to reduce student support for tomorrow&rsquo;s protest. Defeat of the pension reform bill would conserve workers&rsquo; conditions, but also strike a significant blow to Sarkozy&rsquo;s right-wing UMP party&rsquo;s election chances in 2012. 
 
ICEM French affiliated union FCE-CFDT describes the pension reform and other government austerity measures as &ldquo;carriers of social injustice&rdquo;, adding that it is unacceptable that all the financial burden of the economic downturn is passed onto employees in both the public and private sector. 
 
Sarkozy is also suffering heavy criticism for his crime crackdown which is targeting the Roma community. The president&rsquo;s decision to target a group based on their ethnicity has concerned many, including members of his own cabinet.

French to Strike Tomorrow in Protest Against Retirement Age Rise

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ITF&rsquo;s (International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation) Turkish affiliate TUMTIS&rsquo; (the union of road transport workers) ongoing dispute with UPS, was the centre of a global day of action, attracting solidarity and support from throughout the world, on 1 September. Those participating in the day of action called upon UPS in unison to &ldquo;Deliver Justice not Abuse&rdquo;. 
 
Local management of UPS, the global messenger company based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, has reacted disgracefully to an organising drive of its workers by TUMTIS. While management have used physical intimidation on workers not to join the union, 157 employees of UPS and its contractors in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir have been sacked since April 2010 when the drive began, because of their support for TUMTIS. 
<img height="195" alt="" src="" width="137" />
(Photos: ITF)
Out of the 157 total, 126 were sacked at 3 UPS facilities in Istanbul, and 27 in Izmir. In Izmir one manager fired gunshots near the TUMTIS picket line, while other protesting workers were attacked by riot police. This is in direct breach of Turkish labour legislation, and certainly not in line with the company&rsquo;s pledges on corporate social responsibility, in which UPS promises to never obstruct its employees from joining a union. 
 
The day was organised following a unanimously adopted emergency resolution at the ITF Congress in Mexico City 5-12 August, reported InBrief No. 163 <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3970-42nd-ITF-Congress-in-Mexico-City-Elects-MUA's-Paddy-Crumlin-President">here</a>. 
 
The global day of action saw trade unionists protesting in front of national UPS offices in Australia, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia, among others. See more about the day of action <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/ups-justice.cfm">here</a>. 
<img height="113" alt="" src="" width="170" />
TUMTIS&rsquo; national labour centre, TURK-IS has supported the union&rsquo;s daily picket since the start of the conflict. 
 
The ITF urges supporters around the world to contact their local UPS management and transfer this <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Model_letter_UPS_CEO.doc">model letter</a> condemning the union busting in Turkey. Locate your nearest UPS office <a href="http://www.ups.com/content/corp/worldwide/index.html?WT.svl=SubNav">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
Workers at the 80% UPS-owned subsidiary &lsquo;Unsped Global Logistic Ticaret AS&rsquo; receive a monthly wage of 382 euros, while contract and agency (CAL) workers earn far less. The vast majority of UPS&rsquo; 5,000 employees in Turkey are CAL workers, often working over 70 hours per week. 
 
The ICEM supports demands of the ITF that all 150 sacked UPS employees are reinstated unconditionally, and that anti-union harassment is stopped immediately and fully at UPS and its subcontractors in Turkey. 
 
There will be a second global day of action on 15 September if the workers are not reinstated. 
 
Support the LabourStart campaign <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=750">here</a>.&nbsp;

Day of Action for UPS Workers in Turkey

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