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An inquiry into the fatal helicopter crash that killed 17 workers and crew headed to Canadian offshore oil platforms on 12 March 2009 continued earlier this month. In the days following the early February continuation, former Labrador-Newfoundland Supreme Court Justice Robert Wells, who heads the inquiry undertaken by the nation&rsquo;s Transportation Safety Board, issued immediate procedural changes a full seven months before his commission&rsquo;s report. 
 
Those changes are based on testimony from local union officers and staff of Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union, which represents 700 workers at two of three offshore platforms some 300 kilometres off Newfoundland. 
 
One mandate calls on the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, the agency regulating the offshore oil industry, to ensure that a fully equipped search-and-rescue helicopter is on standby at St. John&rsquo;s, Newfoundland, and ready to respond within 15 to 20 minutes of any mayday call. It took the charter service contractor, Cougar Helicopters Ltd., between 45 minutes to an hour to equip and launch a rescue helicopter last year on 12 March. 

<img src="" width="150" height="75" alt="" />
The other instruction by Wells restricts night flights to only emergencies until a dedicated helicopter is available that is equipped with an auto-hover and forward-looking infrared device in the event a rescue mission is necessary at night. Both recommended changes were accepted by the Offshore Petroleum Board and the agency was informing lead oil companies at the platforms of the directives last week, including ExxonMobil, Suncor, Husky, Chevron Canada, and ConocoPhillips. 
 
The immediate precautionary changes stem from testimony that CEP leaders gave on 9 February, and also last October and November when the inquiry began. Officers of CEP Local 2121, representing workers at the Hibernia and Terra Nova platforms, expressed concerns that response time, non-fitting survival suits, and lack of underwater breathing devices typify a corporate culture that is lax on transport safety. They testified that in the North Sea oilfields, a separate agency singly monitors air transport to the platforms and a 15-minute response time in the event of an emergency is mandated. 
 
The union also pointed out that Cougar&rsquo;s operations in the Gulf of Mexico provides search-and-rescue emergency service in 20 minutes time. 
 
The CEP also brought to question why no 24-hour military search-and-rescue helicopters are stationed at St. John&rsquo;s, the closest point and major port serving the offshore rigs. Such military craft, called Cormorants, are located in Gander, in central Newfoundland, a travelling time of up to two hours air time to the flight paths used by Cougar. Canadian military officials have neglected to address this issue, or to join the inquiry. 

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Also of concern to oil workers, according to Local 2121 President Sheldon Peddle and Vice President Brian Murphy and the lone survivor of the March 2009 ditching, Robert Decker, is the fact that Cougar&rsquo;s Sikorsky S-92A helicopters are equipped with a large fuel tank inside the cabin that complicates emergency exiting. Decker testified at the Wells inquiry on 6 November 2009. 
 
Peddle said that simulators used for worker safety exercises do not have such cabin impediments. 
 
On 12 March 2009, a Cougar Sikorsky S-92A helicopter carrying two crew members and 16 oil workers ditched into North Atlantic waters, eight minutes after oil pressure readings dropped from instruments that monitor the helicopter&rsquo;s engine gearbox. Two of the 18 on board managed to get out of the cabin after the crash, with only Decker managing to survive in the frigid waters. 
 
The issue of helicopter safety is of utmost importance to the ICEM-International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) Joint Onshore-Offshore Task Force, particularly in view of recent tragedies. On 1 April 2009, 16 workers died tragically in the North Sea when a Eurocopter Super Puma AS 332L2, operated by Bond Offshore Helicopters, ditched on its way to BP&rsquo;s Miller platform in the ETAP oilfields. 
 
On 26 February 2008, the same make craft crashed in southern Atlantic waters, killing five of 17 workers and crew heading to a Petrobras rig. That caused members of ICEM-affiliated FUB, the Oil Workers&rsquo; Federation of Brazil, to boycott the Super Pumas for the next six months. Two other Super Pumas also crashed in the South China Sea in January 2007 and November 2006. And two other ditchings occurred in North Sea waters in the first half of 2009 where, miraculously, nobody was killed.

CEP Testimony in Canadian Offshore Helicopter Crash Leads to Changes

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The ICEM South African affiliate, Chemical, Energy, Pulp, Paper, Wood, and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU), has condemned management&rsquo;s on-going reluctance to take into account union demands at the Azochem Laboratory in Roodeport, near Johannesburg. 
 
Workers at the laboratory have been on strike since 27 November 2009, and their central demand is an end to contract work and placement of temporary workers in direct employment. At a minimum the union demands that, if short-term contract work remains in place, those workers must receive a 13th salary payment, with bonus, and that salaries be paid by the hour with a 10% across-the-board raise. 

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CEPPWAWU Deputy General Secretary Thabane Mdlalose announced that the union will &ldquo;use all mechanisms at our disposal, including mobilizing our members in other sectors to support our members in the Azochem Laboratory.&rdquo; 
 
Azochem management abandoned negotiations when the union brought the dispute before South Africa&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA). The CCMA is an independent dispute resolution body, established under the terms of the Labour Relations Act of 1995. 
 
Azochem is a contract manufacturer of cosmetics and neutraceuticals, with a broad and growing client base in South Africa. 
 
The ICEM is encouraging affiliates and activists to write to Azochem management to call on them to re-enter into negotiations with CEPPWAWU. The chief company contacts are J.C. Fellingham, Jr., Azochem Managing Director, at <a href="mailto:craig@azochem.co.za">craig@azochem.co.za</a> and W.A. Roos, Technical Director, at <a href="mailto:andre@azochem.co.za">andre@azochem.co.za</a>. 

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="118" />
CEPPWAWU is also fighting another pharmaceutical company, Winthrop, over their continued refusal to reinstate dismissed workers following a July 2009 strike. The CEO of the Pretoria-based multinational has threatened legal proceedings if the union does not cease calls for reinstatement. 
 
The company dismissed 20 union members for their role in the legal strike of July 2009. Eight workers have been reinstated, but 12 are still without jobs. 
 
CEPPWAWU is frustrated with the continued refusal of management to enter into discussions with the union over the issue. Winthrop is part of the large Sanofi Aventis Group, a French-based chemicals and pharmaceutical giant that has remained silent on the dispute. In 2009, Winthrop won a government contract to produce medicine on the condition that they would &ldquo;contribute in saving and creating jobs.&rdquo; CEPPWAWU accuses them of doing just the opposite. 
 
The ICEM joins calls to management of these companies to sit down with CEPPWAWU and resolve the matters amicably. Protest letters may be sent to: CEO John Fagan, 3rd Floor Aventis House, 2nd Bond Street, Midrand, South Africa 1685. The fax is +27 11 256 3700.

CEPPWAWU Defends Temp Workers in Pharmaceutical Strike in South Africa

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With a 1 March deadline looming, bargaining has temporarily stalled between the ICEM-affiliated general union, Central Organization of Industrial Employees in Denmark (CO-industri) and the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI). Negotiations are aimed at renewing collective agreements across the country&rsquo;s industrial sector. CO-industri represents 276,000 employees in the trade and service industries, while DI is the leading business lobbying organisation. 
 
The collective bargaining round directly affects 240,000 workers in the manufacturing industry and indirectly affects an additional 350,000 workers in the private sector. Historically, the manufacturing agreement is used as a blueprint for other negotiations. 
 
Business leaders set the tone for negotiations even before it began. DI CEO Hans Skov Christensen outlined his priority for the talks as an opportunity to &ldquo;restore the competitiveness of Danish companies,&rdquo; adding that wages are not the only element in competitiveness, but still a &ldquo;highly central part.&rdquo; These remarks were made by Christensen at the 6 January press conference, immediately prior to the start of discussions with CO-industri. 

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The chief negotiator and President of CO-industri, Thorkild Jensen&rsquo;s, said the union&rsquo;s clear primary demand in talks is the continued positive development of real wages. The secondary demands include improvements in social clauses, including improved pay during sick leave, improved maternity allowances, and improved conditions for shift workers and apprentices. 
 
Equal pay across the gender divide is also high on the agenda for this negotiation, as is the review of a special rule in prior agreements affecting clerical workers. Currently, clerical workers are only covered by the collective agreement if over 50% of workers in a specific company are members of HK, the union for commercial and clerical employees. 
 
Co-industri is following the guidance of the recently established European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (EMF) policy resolution that calls &ldquo;for more secure employment, against precarious work.&rdquo; This will be included in union demands in terms of increased investment in training and education of workers, and protections for temporary agency workers. 
 
The parties will continue to work towards an agreement without the conciliation of the Ministry of Labour. According to CO-industri&rsquo;s rulebook, every agreement must be put to a ballot, with a simple majority needed for ratification.

Danish Contract Negotiations Deadlocked on National Level

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The renegade Indian steel company run by Pramod Mittal was made to pay back wages to 1,250 members of ICEM affiliate Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non-Metals of Bosnia-Herzegovina (SSHN-FBIH) this month. A deadline of 15 February was met by Mittal&rsquo;s company, Global Ispat Koksana Industtrija Lukavac (GIKIL), which manages and half-owns the sodium carbonate plant, and wages were paid through December 2009. 
 
Workers at GIKIL, also half-owned by the Canton of Tuzla, and SSHN-FBIH&rsquo;s President Kata Ivelijc assured that back wages were paid by the delinquent Mittal through their vigilant strikes and determination. They received assistance outside of Bosnia-Herzegovina from the ICEM, the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and the European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (EMF). 
<img alt="" src="" width="338" height="189" />
Manfred Warda (centre) with Central European Project Coordinator Mato Lalic (next to Warda), and Kata Ivelijc, 5th from left
After receiving no pay for work performed over the final quarter of 2009, SSHN-FBIH took a week-long strike action on 6 January. That strike gained them back-pay for October and November, and then the outside intervention and workers&rsquo; actions at the plant and inside Tuzla got them December&rsquo;s pay by the deadline, 15 February, a date in which workers were braced to take another strike action. 
 
The empowerment by workers in highly industrialized northern Bosnia was widely noted across Europe. But it stands as a reminder that such victories can be fleeting against wayward companies like Mittal&rsquo;s. Both the ICEM and SSHN-FBIH pledge unified vigilance on future salaries to be paid on time, justified increases to those salaries, and improved health and safety conditions at GIKIL. (Read the background to this dispute and information on Pramod Mittal&rsquo;s companies <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3588-ICEM-IMF-Decry-Mittal’s-Pay-Delinquencies-in-Bosnia-Herzegovina">here</a>.)&nbsp; 
<img alt="" src="" width="272" height="161" />
GIKIL Factory in Lukavac
On 9 February, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda visited the area and together with workers&rsquo; leaders, met with Tuzla Canton Prime Minister Enes Mujić and three of his ministers. The meeting produced a promise to seriously question Mittal, in a scheduled and upcoming meeting with government authorities, over his management neglect. The trade union delegation also impressed on the Tuzla government that health and safety concerns around the plant&rsquo;s coking ovens must also be addressed. 
 
The government took up the matter at its regular 11 February session and determined that workers&rsquo; strike actions were justified and legitimate. Those and other conclusions favouring the union were then forwarded to the Assembly of the canton on 16 February. 
 
Further, a commission was established to make corrections to salaries in accord with a previous collective agreement. The commission also will be charged with investigating the health hazards inside the plant. The ICEM is confident that the union and GIKIL workers are now well placed to monitor and participate in the commission&rsquo;s full work. 
 
Kata Ivelijc thanked the ICEM, IMF, and EMF for &ldquo;the cooperation and support&rdquo; and said the intervention &ldquo;left a strong impression on the institutions and media&rdquo; in the region.

GIKIL Pays Back Wages to Bosnian Workers; Monitoring Begins

Two global union federations are urging the Mexican government and Mexican armed forces to use restraint in any attempt to secure Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s Cananea copper mine in Sonora State. The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) are deeply concerned that a court ruling last week will precipitate violence between armed Mexican troops and miners represented by an affiliate of the two Geneva-based labour federations, Mexico&rsquo;s National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM). 
 
The caution to Mexican authorities comes following an 11 February decision by a labour appellate court upholding a Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board declaration to end a 31-month strike by the union, and terminating the collective agreement between SNTMMSRM and Grupo M&eacute;xico. 
 
The ICEM and IMF are aware that federal troops have been dispatched to northern Sonora State. The ICEM and IMF are also in direct contact with the Mexican trade union and believe miners at Cananea are resolved to continue occupying the mine until a fair and equitable labour agreement is reached. 
 
&ldquo;This week is a very critical time at Cananea and we urge the Mexican government to order its forces to use prudence and abeyance in dealing with workers,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;If the mine is to reopen, we insist that Grupo M&eacute;xico, the government, and the union engage in honest dialogue to address the issues that are unresolved, and to recognise the union in a productive spirit.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;The use of violence of any kind will serve only to further isolate the parties,&rdquo; said IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina. &ldquo;We understand that the legal process has now been exhausted, so we urge respect and balance and hopefully a negotiated resolve can occur that will put the miners back to work in a region of Mexico that desperately needs income-generating jobs.&rdquo; 
 
Together, the ICEM and IMF represent 45 million workers globally. The ICEM serves as the umbrella global union federation for 467 trade unions in 132 countries, while the IMF represents the interests of 200 trade unions in 100 countries.

ICEM, IMF Urge Restraint by Mexico at Cananea Copper Mine

Trade union rights in Turkey were repeatedly violated in 2009. The current strike of TEKEL workers has now been running for over 70 days, following a snap decision by the government to close their workplaces. The striking workers and their families have left their homes, travelled to Ankara and have been pitched in tents in protest against the decision. Temperatures reach -15 degrees at night there. 
 
TEKEL, the former state-owned tobacco company was recently privatised. Privatisation and the decision of the government to close all of the company&rsquo;s warehouses caused the loss of 12,000 jobs. 
 
Protestors have been violently dealt with by police. After beginning their action outside the headquarters of the ruling political party, the AKP, protestors were removed by force by police on 16 December. The following day, with the demonstration continuing in a nearby park, police erected barricades around the park and proceeded to attack demonstrators with water hoses, tear gas, and then with clubs. Tents have since housed the demonstrators outside the headquarters of T&uuml;rk-Is, the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions. The union of the tobacco workers Tek Gıda-Is is affiliated to T&uuml;rk-Is and ICEM&rsquo;s sister International, the IUF. 

<img alt="" src="" width="301" height="200" />
Turkish Law gives protection to workers affected by privatisation in this way, alternative employment, with full employee benefits ought to be provided. However the Turkish government continues to refuse to accede to its responsibilities in this regard. 
 
The ICEM was in Ankara yesterday to show its continuous support for the striking TEKEL tobacco workers who have been living in tents around the headquarters of T&uuml;rk-Is. ICEM&rsquo;s Director for Industry and Corporate Affairs Joe Drexler and Chemical Industry Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, a Turkish-origin trade unionist, conveyed the solidarity and greetings of 20 million ICEM members from around the world to the striking workers who assembled in front of the building of T&uuml;rk-Is. 

<img alt="" src="" width="301" height="200" />
&quot;All workers of the world are behind you; we have been and will continue to be shoulder-to-shoulder with you in your rightful and honourable struggle. I am sure that you courageous workers, with such determination, will be the winners. Please continue your fight&rdquo;, stated Drexler. &ldquo;The strong voice of solidarity for TEKEL workers is heard throughout the world. Yours is so strong that the whole world hears it clearly. Your struggle is our struggle. We will always be with you until we win together&rdquo;, said &Ouml;zkan in his speech. The ICEM delegation then toured all the tents, where the workers live and struggle, and were very well received by the workers. 
 
Earlier this week, the ICEM sent letters to the Turkish President, Prime Minister, Labour Minister and Ambassador in Bern. General Secretary Manfred Warda stated ICEM&rsquo;s support for TEKEL workers and urged to find a solution as soon as possible. 

<img alt="" src="" width="301" height="200" />
ICEM&rsquo;s actions in support of the Turkish tobacco workers will be ongoing. The first will be to join the ITUC Geneva Office-led delegation with the Turkish mission in Geneva, in line with the global solidarity day on 26 February. The delegation will directly raise the uneasiness of the global union movement over the situation of TEKEL workers, and demand an urgent solution. The delegation of the ICEM will be composed of Kemal &Ouml;zkan, Carol Bruce and Tom Grinter, while other global union federations headquartered in Geneva will also send representatives to the meeting. 
 
The ICEM urges its affiliates and supporters to write in support of the TEKEL workers to President Abdullah G&uuml;l, <a href="mailto:cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr">cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr</a>, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, <a href="mailto:bimer@basbakanlik.gov.tr">bimer@basbakanlik.gov.tr</a>, and Labor and Social Security Minister Omer DIN&Ccedil;ER <a href="mailto:iletisim@csgb.gov.tr">iletisim@csgb.gov.tr</a>. Find a model letter <a href="/index.php?id=22&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3651">here</a>.

Global Solidarity Day with Turkish Workers, 26 Feb: ICEM Stands with Striking Workers on the Ground

Dear President Abdullah G&uuml;l, 
 
The [enter union name] presents its compliments to President Abdullah G&uuml;l and would like to communicate our grave concern with the situation facing TEKEL workers in Turkey. 
 
We are writing on this occasion in respect of 26 February 2010, the Global Day of Action in Solidarity with Turkish Workers. We stand in solidarity with our Turkish colleagues throughout Turkey, as trade union rights were violated too often in 2009. However at the forefront of our focus on this Global Day of Action is the situation currently facing the workers of TEKEL, the former state tobacco company, which was recently privatised. 
 
We understand that the government decided to close down all the warehouses owned by TEKEL, causing the loss of 12,000 jobs. Workers, their family members and supporters have been demonstrating in near freezing temperatures in protest against this decision since December last year. 
 
The protest began in front of the headquarters of the AKP, but the police cleared the area on 16 December and forced the demonstrators to a nearby park. The following day, police put up barricades around the park and then used water hoses and tear gas against the demonstrators. Police violence escalated and clubs were used against the demonstrators, many of whom had to be hospitalised. Mustafa T&uuml;rkel, president of Tekgida-Is, which represents these workers and is affiliated to ITUC-affiliated national union centre T&uuml;rk-Is, as well as the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco &amp; Allied Workers' Association (IUF), and general secretary of T&uuml;rk-Is, was arrested, but then released later that evening. 
 
The police violence caused an outcry in the Turkish Parliament, but the government continues to refuse to accede to the workers' demand that they be given alternative employment with their full employee benefits, as the law on privatisation provides. The workers have been continuing their actions to date, in front of the T&uuml;rk-Is offices, for more than 70 days now. 
 
After meetings, on 11 February 2010, between the Chairman of The Turkish Grand National Assembly, Mr. Mehmet Sahin, and The Presidents of national union centres T&Uuml;RK-IS, DISK, KAMU-SEN and KESK on the one hand, and between Prime Minister Erdogan and T&uuml;rk-Is President Mustafa Kumlu on the other, the unions denounced the authorities' intransigence towards the workers' demands, and called on them to try to reach a negotiated solution to the problem. To date, their appeal has not been honoured; on the contrary, Prime Minister Erdogan announced that his government will not tolerate further actions after the end of February. 
 
Last year has been a very bad year for trade union rights in general in Turkey. The Brussels based International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has written or co-signed protest letters to the government on no less than nine occasions, without ever receiving a reply. The violations of trade union rights which gave rise to these letters ranged from a plea to the authorities to refrain from violent repression of peaceful May Day demonstrations, over the massive arrests of trade union members and leaders, of which dozens were made to stand trial on charges of supporting terrorist organisations, and the attempted murder of S&uuml;leyman Celebi, President of the ITUC affiliated national union center Devrimci Is&ccedil;i Sendikalari Konfederasyonu (DISK), to the ill treatment of and lack of medical care for detained trade unionists. Furthermore, the ITUC, together with over a dozen representatives from trade unions and Global Union Federations from eight different European countries, a Human Rights officer of the delegation of the European Commission to Turkey, and representatives of Lawyers Without Frontiers and Protection International, joined an international observers' delegation which attended the trial which was held in Izmir in November last year against 31 members and leaders of national public sector union KESK, which is also an ITUC affiliate. 
 
After this trial, the ITUC denounced that &quot;2009 showed an intensified crackdown on the unions by the government. After the KESK arrests in May, there was the arrest and subsequent ill treatment of Murad Akincilar, a Turkish national working for the Swiss union UNIA, and the assassination attempt on DISK President S&uuml;leyman Celebi. T&uuml;m-Bel Sen representative Metin Findik is still in prison after more than five months, without being informed of any charges against him. On 7 December, 13 leaders of one of DISK's most important affiliates, Nakliyat-Is, were arrested (in the KESK case, most important affiliate Egitim Sen is being targeted). There is a true pattern in all of these cases: upon being arrested, all unionists are being treated in a rough manner, or even mistreated; the authorities invoke some legal clause in order to keep the cases &quot;under secrecy&quot;, meaning that the defense lawyers can initially not look into their clients' files &ndash; even for more than a month, as in the KESK case. And the accusations are all related to some form of &quot;terrorist activity&quot;. 
 
In its most recent Progress Report in the framework of the Turkish EU accession negotiations, dated 14 October 2009, the European Commission stated that &quot;Full trade union rights have not yet been established in Turkey. The current legal framework is not in line with EU standards and ILO Conventions, in particular as regards the right to organise, the right to strike and the right to bargain collectively, for both the private and public sectors. The ILO Committee of experts called upon Turkey to adopt these reforms and suggested the organisation of a high-level bipartite mission to assist the government.&quot; As you will know, this mission is early next month. 
 
The deterioration of trade union rights in Turkey is a cause of serious concern for the international trade union movement. International trade union objectives are clear and remain the same. We are calling for full democratic rights for all Turkish citizens, including freedom of association; a halt to all violent repression; the release of all imprisoned trade unionists; and respect for core labour standards and workers' rights, including the TEKEL workers'. 
 
Yours sincerely,

Global Solidarity Action Day with Turkish Workers

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM reported <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3571-Safety-Benefits-Won-by-Iraqi-Leather-Workers-after-53-Day-Strike">here</a> of the successful leather workers&rsquo; strike that concluded in December in Iraq, a strike that spawned a shorter strike in the clothing and textile sector in the Baghdad area. Both workers&rsquo; units come under the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI), a national labour centre that counts two ICEM affiliates to its rolls. 
 
In January, the Ministry of Industries has retaliated by predictably reverting to something that other Iraqi ministries have done: It has taken the leader of the textile strike, FWCUI President Falah Alwan, and transferred him from a Cotton Industry enterprise, under the State Company for Textiles, to another enterprise in order to suppress his union activities. 

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="119" />
Falah Alwan
The ICEM condemns this action and urges trade unionists and human rights activists globally to protest. The ICEM notes that global protests in the past produced reversals for other Iraqi trade unionists who were exiled for trade union building, including port workers of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) in Um Asr and eight leaders of ICEM-affiliated Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU) in the Basra area. 
 
Please send an e-mail in your own words to Minister of Industry and Minerals, Fawzi Hariri, <a href="mailto:minister.office@industry.gov.iq">here</a> and <a href="mailto:minister@industry.gov.iq">here</a>, and copy the State Company for Textiles <a href="mailto:textile@industry.gov.iq">here</a>. 
 
Trade unions in Iraq are under constant pressure, considering neither the occupation forces nor the Iraqi government has lifted the draconian Saddam era Decree150 that prohibits independent unions from existing in the all-encompassing public sector. The Iraqi government has also failed to pass into law a meaningful labour code, a set of fair and universally accepted statutes that have been drawn up by Iraqis with assistance from experts at the ILO.

Iraqi Government Reprimands Falah Alwan by Exiling His Work Posting

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
The ICEM supports the International Trade Union Confederation-led trade union appeal for victims of the earthquake disaster in Haiti. The trade union relief work is being carried out primarily by ITUC&rsquo;s affiliates in the Dominican Republic, in cooperation with Haitian colleagues across the border. 
 
We urge ICEM affiliates to support this Appeal. 
 
Funds for the appeal can be transferred to the following ITUC bank account: 
 
No. 375-1008200-61 
Banque ING, Brussels Branch Institutionals, 1 rue du Trone, B-1000 Brussels 
Code IBAN: BE 62375100820061 
Code BIC/Swift: BBRUBEBB 

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="95" />
The ITUC requests that the words &ldquo;SOS Solidarity &ndash; Haiti&rdquo; are included with each transfer to this account. 
 
ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder has called for the cancellation of Haiti&rsquo;s debt, in the aftermath of the disaster, to increase the country&rsquo;s chances of reconstruction. 
 
As has been widely reported in the mainstream media, the huge earthquake hit Haiti on 12 January, and was followed by a number of aftershocks. Along with the reported death toll of over 100,000, Haiti&rsquo;s infrastructure has been severely damaged, with many buildings and roads completely destroyed. The humanitarian situation is desperate and aid is needed. 
 
Once the immediate humanitarian effort passes, the solidarity campaign will continue to use funds raised to help Haitians in their recovery from this natural disaster.

ICEM Urges Haitian Relief Funds through ITUC

The 20-million-member International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) is demanding that the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina intervene on behalf of 1,250 workers in the northern city of Lukavac. The workers have had their pay slashed and are owed wage arrears by India-based Global Infrastructure Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of the Ispat Group, owned by the Mittal steel-making family. 
 
The company is the minority owner but manages a coke-chemicals enterprise called Global Ispat Koksana Industtrija Lukavac (GIKIL), which sells to steel mills throughout Central Europe, Turkey, and in India. The local government of the Canton of Tuzla is majority stakeholder. 
 
In a 21 January letter to Bosnia-Herzegovina Prime Minister Mustafa Mujezinovic and to Canton of Tuzla Prime Minister Enes Mujić, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda &ndash; together with International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) General Secretary Jyrki Raina &ndash; called on both the federal government and regional government to ensure that restoration of previous pay levels dating to 2003 are restored, that wage arrears are paid, and that the governments be more vigilant on potentially serious health risks existing inside GIKIL. 
 
The ICEM, a Geneva-based global trade federation that numbers 467 affiliated trade unions in 132 countries, is pursuing justice for Lukavac workers on behalf of one of those affiliates, the Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non-Metal Workers of Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM has probed Global Infrastructure Holdings, its parent, the steel-maker Ispat Group, and Pramod Mittal himself.&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;What we find is a history of depraved conduct placed on people in many countries and total disregard for global social standards, as well as statutes enshrined in European law.&rdquo; 
 
In Lukavac, workers have carried out lawful strikes twice in six months, laying claims to salaries owed them. Despite all workers taking membership in the union, GIKIL&rsquo;s Indian managing director, Guttupalli Jagannadham, has bypassed the union in slashing pay to 55% of previous earnings. That level is below the minimum wage standard contained in the national collective agreement for chemistry and non-metals, and amounts to just above &euro;200 per month (400 marka), putting it well under the minimum wage threshold for the sector in Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
 
Workers staged a strike from 6 January to 14 January after salaries had not been paid in October, November, and December 2009. During the strike, the October and November pay was made, but December salaries are still in remiss. A mediated agreement that ended a three-day strike in July 2009 called on GIKIL management to honour the collective agreement, and pay all wages due by 31 December 2009. 
 
The ICEM and IMF also stated concern for workers&rsquo; health at GIKIL in the letter to the Bosnia-Herzegovina government. The Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non-Metal Workers believes a number of workers have acute cases of cancer due to lack of safeguards around coke ovens. 
 
In the joint letter, the combined 45-million-member ICEM and IMF cautioned the government not to lose oversight over labour-management relations at GIKIL. &ldquo;We think this a mistake, considering the recent history of wage arrears, asset stripping, and general social depravation brought by Global Infrastructure Holdings.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM cites a number of instances in the near past where Ispat and its Global Steel Holdings and Global Infrastructure Holdings subsidiaries have not met payrolls and displayed other social misconduct following privatizations and restructuring. Those cases have occurred in Nigeria, Libya, Bulgaria, as well as against Indian expatriate staff working abroad. 
 
&ldquo;We take the breach of contract, failure to engage the union in social talks, and wage issues very seriously,&rdquo; said Warda of the conflict in Lukavac. &ldquo;Either the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina corrects the wrongs imposed on workers, or we carry this dispute to different levels.&rdquo; 
 
For More Information, Contact: or Kata Iveljic, Tuzla Branch President, Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non-Metal Workers, <a href="mailto:sindikat.tz@bih.net.ba">sindikat.tz@bih.net.ba</a>, +387 35 279 081 (mobile: +387 61 894 385); or Dick Blin, ICEM Information and Campaigns Officer, <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, +41 22 304 1842 (mobile: +41 79 734 8994).

ICEM, IMF Decry Mittal’s Pay Delinquencies in Bosnia-Herzegovina

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