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The Third General Assembly of the South-East European Regional Energy Trade Unions Network took 
place in Belgrade, Serbia, on 19 September 19, under the chairmanship of Milan Kovacevic of EPS Trade Union, the host union. 
 
The gathering brought together delegations from both electric power and oil and gas trade unions from throughout the former Yugoslavia. Also present were the unions from Greece, Albania, Turkey, Cyprus, and Romania. 
 
Jim Catterson represented ICEM and EMCEF, with Public Services International (PSI) and the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) being represented by Josef Krejbych, PSI&rsquo;s Secretary for Central Europe. 

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The meeting gained considerable press attention with the opening covered by Serbian TV. 
 
Held under a banner proclaiming that &ldquo;Energy is a Public Good in All Countries of the World,&rdquo; the conference focused on building a countervailing force to the neo-liberal politics that had created an &ldquo;economy of chaos&rdquo; in the region. Delegates all gave a report on their situation and developments in the energy sectors of their respective countries. 
 
Many interventions called for closer cooperation between their international and European organisations, with the unions being a mixture of affiliates to ICEM and PSI, together with a number of unions unaffiliated internationally. The network is formally independent of the international union structures although ICEM traditionally has always participated, when invited, to the South-East European Energy Trade Union Network. 

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Delegates agreed to a number of statutory changes and increased the size of the Executive Committee to include the Presidents of each member union. A discussion also focused on expanding membership, with hopes expressed that the grouping would be able to bring in presently uninvolved unions from all the Vizegrad countries, as well as more unions from Bosnia, Cyprus, and Greece 
 
The conference closed with the unanimous endorsement of a series of resolutions, including a political declaration from the network, a strategy document towards the Social Forum and Energy Community&rsquo;s Ministerial Council for South East Europe, and a warning to the Serbian Government against privatization. 
 
An appeal was made to all South-East European trade unions to join the network and a further appeal was made to the international and European organisations to increase joint work and create unity. The network finally decided to hold its next General Assembly in Romania.

South-East Europe’s Energy Unions Meet in Serbia in September

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The ICEM has strengthened its connections with mining unions in Albania after attending the 5th National Congress of the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania (BSPSH). Two ICEM affiliates, the Independent Trade Union of Mines and the Trade Union Federation of Chemical and Metal Workers are key members of the BSPSH. 
 
The BSPSH and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania (KSSH), a second trade union confederation, have been under attack by the government of Albania after they were forcibly and illegally removed from their offices and had computers and records destroyed or confiscated. The ICEM pledged to support efforts to have the property of the trade unions returned. 

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BSPSH Congress
Joe Drexler, ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs, represented the ICEM at the Congress and saluted the work of the BSPSH in developing democratic trade unions. He particularly noted the historical contributions of miners and their president, Kezim Kalaja, who in 1991 led a general strike that ushered in an era of political change and democracy that allowed trade unions to develop. Kalaja also became president of the BSPSH and was re-elected at the 5th Congress by acclamation in recognition of his decades of leadership. 
 
Also attending the Congress were national federations from Italy, Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Serbia, and Poland. 

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Joe Drexler &amp; Kezim Kalaja, centre
Drexler visited an underground copper mine and enrichment plant, owned and operated by a Turkish-based company, in the Northeast of the Albania. President Kalaja and Gjon Zeka, the trade union&rsquo;s regional secretary, joined the tour. 
 
Albania is only one of only 23 countries which have ratified International Labor Organization Convention 176 on Health and Safety in Mines.

ICEM Strengthens Connection with Trade Unions in Albania

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The Solidarity Support Organisation of the Central Labour Organisation of Finland (SASK) is an important partner of many Global Union Federations (GUFs) in joint work in Africa, Latin America and the Asia Pacific Regions. But until now, it has not undertaken support work with a GUF in the Middle East. 
 
This may be about to change. In a first such effort, SASK organised a three-day set of workshops in Amman, Jordan. The sessions ran from 29 September to 1 October, and were aimed at sharing information and experiences with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the GUFs. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s Jim Catterson represented the Geneva-based GUF during the discussions, which brought together representatives from SASK, the ITUC, and six GUFs. SASK has seen the main reason for its absence in the region as a lack of good project proposals being tabled before them. 

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Conference participants, outside the office of the General Union of Textile and Garment Workers in Jordan. 
After a brief formal opening session, ITUC representatives gave an up-to-date report on the trade union movement throughout the Arab World. This was followed by an overview from SASK on its global activities, methods of work and priorities regarding both work and information sharing with other Solidarity Support Organisations and the global union movement. 
 
Each GUF was then given time to describe its own activities in the region, developments in respective sectors, and GUF priorities for future work in the region. Here, Catterson emphasized that ICEM is still in a building stage in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Region, and a major overall priority is to integrate the union work. As well, a main priority is to integrate MENA affiliates into the global work and activities of the ICEM. 
 
Clearly, privatisation of industrial enterprises, as well as gaining greater access to MNC investment has led to new challenges for the trade unions throughout the region, Catterson said. Unions also need assistance to organise workers in the new enterprises. Trade unions delegates attending from the region expressed their wish to have more information, as well as advice on how to benefit from the range of &quot;international instruments,&quot; including ILO Conventions, OECD Guidelines, the Global Compact, and Global Framework Agreements. 

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Delegates receive a briefing in the local ITLGWU-affiliated union office inside a QIZ 
Catterson described in detail the joint work the ICEM is doing with the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) in bringing together oil and gas workers&rsquo; unions with port and transport unions that are involved in energy transportation in Iraq. 
 
Further sessions included a detailed focus on the issue of Migrant Labour in the region and in Jordan in particular, which saw extensive presentations from International Textile, Garment, Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) and the ILO Better Work programme. This latter project focuses on the garment industry and after an initial program in Cambodia, has expanded to a number of other countries including Jordan. 
 
Jordan has a significant garment manufacturing industry with production geared on exports almost totally to the US. The industry is principally located in special export processing zones known as Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs). Here, working and living conditions are truly appalling, with the overwhelmingly the number of workers foreign migrant workers. The ITGLWF Jordanian affiliate described the difficulties they face in organising workers in such conditions. Often, such workers distrust trade unions from experiences in their own countries and few speak Arabic. As well, access to either workplaces or living accommodations is tightly controlled by employers who often prevented union organisers from gaining access. However, ITGLWF had, in many instances, overcome such obstacles and continue to organise migrant workers in the industry. 
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Participants were able to see an example of these successes with a visit to a factory making jeans for the US market. The factory was in one such QIZ in an area north of Amman. The union has an office, staffed by multi-lingual organisers, with the office displaying the flags of nations in which migrant workers hail from. The organizers speak such diverse languages as Chinese, Urdu, Tamal, and Arabic. 
 
Workshop participants received an initial briefing by union officials and organizers in the union office, as well as a tour of a small but well-equipped medical clinic that serves workers and their families. The clinic provides free medical treatment, dental care, and diagnostics. 
 
It was established with support of the Asia and Pacific Regional Organisation (TWARO) of ITGLWF, along with the GUF&rsquo;s Japanese affiliates. It stands as a facility that any union would be proud to have. 
 
Management at one of the textile factories, employing around 1,500 workers, mainly from the Indian sub-continent, then joined the discussions for a question and answer session. Most of the workforce was organised by the union and a reasonable relationship had been built between union and management. 
 
ICEM will be in discussions with SASK in the future with a view toward developing joint programmes and providing solidarity and assistance to affiliated unions throughout the MENA Region.

ICEM Joins SASK of Finland, Others in Union-Building Workshops in Middle East

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A strike in South Africa&rsquo;s gold fields intensified last week as 4,000 miners and their family members, backed by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), marched on 29 September to DRDGold Ltd&rsquo;s offices in Carletonville. The strike at two company mines, Blyvoor and Consolidated Crown Gold Recoveries, started on 16 and 17 September. 
 
At the same time that last week&rsquo;s manifestation was occurring, the NUM filed a petition with the Department of Minerals to revoke the mining license of DRDGold. The union labels the company with a socially irresponsible record in South Africa, one marked by the closing of mines and payment of paltry salaries. 

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That anti-social attitude was evidenced at the outset of the strike. DRDGold sought a labour court order declaring the strike illegal, and when the agency did not rule on behalf of the company, DRDGold issued an ultimatum that job cuts would occur if the strike was not called off. 
 
The NUM is seeking a living wage increase of 13% in high-inflation South Africa, while the company is offering a sub-inflation raise of only 7% for lower classified workers and 6.5% for higher category workers. Gold has been one commodity that has retained and exceeded its pricing expectations during the economic crisis, having risen over the past year from US$750 per once to US$1,000. 
 
DRDGold argues that since gold markets worldwide are fixed to the US dollar and because the dollar has lost ground to the rand, the company deserves pay awards that fall below South Africa&rsquo;s inflation rate. 
 
&ldquo;We cannot afford to have a company that pleads poverty all the time,&rdquo; said NUM Carletonvile Regional Chair Deon Boqwana. &ldquo;This is the same company that was once crowned worst employer of the year by COSATU some years back.&rdquo;

Mining Strike at DRDGold in South Africa Heats Up

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ICEM Italian affiliate FEMCA-CISL has drawn a line in the stand against any break-up of Eni, the oil and gas major that is 30% owned by the Italian government. As investors study a restructuring of the energy company, the union sounded a warning last week that splitting Eni into separate companies would bring more harm than good. 
 
FEMCA-CISL General Secretary Sergio Gigli said both workers and consumers would be negatively affected, and that skills, knowledge, and strategic synergies &ndash; long vital in the running of the company &ndash; would be destroyed. 

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Sergio Gigli
The union&rsquo;s comments came at the same time that a financial conference was being held in Milan to address restructuring the company. At that conference, American asset management company and minority shareholder, Knight Vinke, known for provoking shareholder activism to break apart enterprises, recommended that Eni&rsquo;s oil and gas units be split apart in separate upstream and downstream businesses. 
 
FEMCA-CISL called such a possible separation a loss of integration that would jeopardize the company as a national model, and as an entity that plays a valuable social role inside Italy. The union also said that any weakening of Eni would erode the company&rsquo;s ability to provide guaranteed strategic energy source supplies to Italy. 
 
Meanwhile, three Italian unions &ndash; FILCEM-CGIL, UILCEM-UIL, and FEMCA-CISL &ndash; welcomed the news last week that talks have fallen through between Eni and a UK private equity group, the Klesch Group, over sale of a refinery in Livorno, Tuscany. The discussions caused a nine-day strike by unions at the 1,000-worker refinery in early September. Eni had insisted in preliminary talks with Klesch that job guarantees be given to all workers.

Italian Union, FEMCA-CISL, Opposes Splitting of Energy Company Eni

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Belgian workers, members of two ICEM affiliates &ndash; FGTB and CSV, are bracing for more job redundancies in the glass sector, as Japanese-based Asahi Glass announced job cuts at two worksites in southern Belgium by year end. 
 
AGC Automotive, Asahi&rsquo;s auto-glass manufacturer, announced late in September that it intends to chop 203 jobs at a factory in Fleurus, Belgium, and at an administrative centre in Seneffe, Belgium. The company also said it was cutting another 68 jobs at an auto-mirror factory in Cuneo, Italy. 
 
Belgian workers in Wallonia immediately began a 24-hour strike upon hearing the announcement. The Renault procedure was invoked and the unions and management are in talks to hopefully restrict the number of job cuts. 

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This week, on 9 October, FGTB and CSC will hold a manifestation in Charleroi against Asahi&rsquo;s cuts, entitled &ldquo;We Will Not Pay Twice for the Crisis!&rdquo; 
 
Asahi&rsquo;s proposed redundancies would further deepen a manufacturing crisis that has gripped the Walloon region of Belgium. The 163 jobs targeted for redundancy at Fleurus would more than half the present workforce of 295. A short eight years ago, the Japanese company employed 1,150 workers at the auto-glass plant. In Seneffe, 40 out of 165 jobs at the company&rsquo;s European administration headquarters are proposed to be cut, with that facility closing and the remaining workers transferred to Fleurus. 
 
In Italy, the initial proposal for the Cuneo plant is to lop 68 of 209 jobs. Asahi also announced it was closing an auto-glass factory in Kitakyushi, Japan, by January 2010.

Belgian Glass Workers to Manifest as Asahi Plans More Jobs Cuts

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The ICEM was informed last week of Albanian President Sali Berisha&rsquo;s announcement to the national media, that the government will pass a bill in parliament to sequester all properties of Albanian trade unions. 
 
The announcement was made on 19 August, with the promise to push the Bill through within three months. 

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Trade unions in Albania have suffered continued discrimination from the national government in recent years. On 1 August 2007, both of the country&rsquo;s Trade Union Confederations, the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania (BSPSH) and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania (KSSH), were expelled from their headquarters and prohibited from exercising their normal activity. All property and documents inside the offices were destroyed by police. 
 
The threat of expropriation and police occupation of trade union premises has been continuous for many years. Since July 2006, the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) has called on the prime minister to start a dialogue with the Albanian trade union movement, in order to find a solution safeguarding the continuity of the social dialogue in Albania. 
 
The ICEM condemns this attack on the democratic trade unions of Albania. There will be a joint ILO-International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) delegation to Albania starting today, 24 August.

Expropriation of Albanian Trade Unions’ Property Condemned

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The Solvay workers of Brazil met for the fourth time under the auspices of the Solvay Network. The conference met 11-13 August, in Salvador de Bahia, on the northeast coast of Brazil. A new website was launched by the conference, as well as a new Action Plan for 2009-2010. See the new website <a href="http://redesolvaybrasil.ning.com">here</a>. 
 
The new website is designed to assist communication and coordination, and also participation of workers at the 14 Brazilian locations of the Belgian-based company. 
 
The new Action Plan lays out the Network&rsquo;s intentions to consolidate a new database of the different conditions and working relationships currently affecting members, a study into the inclusion of workers in the profits made by the company, and analysis of the commitment made by Solvay to the Charter on Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility. 

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That was signed in November 2008 between the company and the European Works Council (EWC). 
 
The meeting included visits to Solvay plants at Sim&otilde;es Filho, and brought together workers and trade unionists from organisations such as the Sindicato dos Quimicos do ABC, and Confederac&atilde;o Nacional dos Ramos Quimicos (CNQ/CUT), as well as from CUTMulti Project, Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Ind&uacute;stria Qu&iacute;mica, Petroqu&iacute;mica, the Chemicals and Plastics Union of S&atilde;o Paulo, the BASF Cama&ccedil;ari, and the Petrochemical and Allied Workers of Bahia Blanca (Argentina). 

<img src="" width="170" height="214" alt="" />
Network Coordinator, Juvenil Nunes da Costa
ICEM Vice-President for the Latin America/Caribbean Region, Sergio Novais, informed the Network that there will be a meeting next month with company management in Brussels, and called for meetings of the Network on training and exchange of experiences, in the month of November, in S&atilde;o Paulo. 
 
There is a strong prospect of a new process of social dialogue with the company. One priority of the Network is to make the Solvay management formally recognise the Solvay Network. 
 
The coordinator of the Network, Juvenil Nunes da Costa, described the meeting as a great success.

Solvay Workers’ Network Meets for Fourth Time in Brazil

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Slovakia declared 11-12 August a period of national mourning, after 20 miners died in an underground explosion in the town of Handlova, central Slovakia. It was the worst mining disaster in the country&rsquo;s history. 
 
All state institutions flew the nation&rsquo;s flag at half mast, starting at 08h00 on 11 August until 08h00 12 August following the 10 August mine blast at the Hornonitrianske Banke Mining Company&rsquo;s lignite coal mine. A public memorial for the departed miners was held on 20 August in Handlova. 
 
Hornonitrianske Banke Prievidza is Slovakia's top brown coal producer, supplying fuel to the nearby Novaky heating plant. 

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Recovery teams continued last week to search for the bodies of the fallen mineworkers, however finding survivors was impossible not a possibility. The mine&rsquo;s Director, Peter Cicmanec, stated that heat caused by the blast, and the high concentration of poisonous gases, put it beyond doubt that any of the missing miners would still be alive. 
 
Cicmanec has been criticised inside Slovakia for not making public condolences on the mine tragedy until the memorial service last week. 
 
The disaster was caused by a methane gas explosion, 330 metres underground, at around 09h30 on 10 August. Several of the deceased were fire fighters, who were in the shaft to put out small fires of self-igniting coal. The gases had been left in the shaft by previous &ldquo;imperfect combustion.&rdquo; 
 
Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek stated that nine workers were recovered from the mine and treated in a local hospital on Monday. 
 
Slovakian Prime Minister, Robert Fico, has promised financial aid to the families of the victims in the amount of &euro;33,000. He has also ordered an independent investigation into the cause of the accident. 
 
The mine produces 2.2 million tonnes of lignite per year and Hornonitrianske Banke Prievidza has plans to open new mines in the region after the discovery of deposits of some 7.2 million tonnes. 
 
A total of 445 people have lost their lives in the mines surrounding Handlova since 1915. But over the past 17 years, only 12 have died.

Slovakia Holds National Days of Mourning Following Mine Tragedy

<img height="39" src="" width="100" alt="" />
ICEM'e bağlı T&uuml;mka-İş &uuml;yesi 190 k&acirc;ğıt iş&ccedil;isinin'a karşı 16 g&uuml;nd&uuml;r s&uuml;rd&uuml;rd&uuml;ğ&uuml; grevle ilgili olarak yapılan m&uuml;zakerelerde &ccedil;ok az ilerleme kaydedildi. Greve yol a&ccedil;an &uuml;cret uyuşmazlığı Procter&amp;Gamble'ın Gebze'deki fabrikasında 21 Şubat'ta başladı. Amerikan şirketi fabrikada k&acirc;ıt havlu, k&acirc;ğıt mendil ve &ccedil;ocuk bezi gibi hijyenik &uuml;r&uuml;nler &uuml;retiyor. 
 
Grevcilerin ve onları destekleyenlerin 26 Şubat g&uuml;n&uuml; fabrikanın &ouml;n&uuml;nde yaptığı mitingde, d&uuml;nyanın d&ouml;rt bir yanındaki sendikalardan gelen dayanışma mesajları okundu. Dayanışmayı &ouml;rg&uuml;tleyen ICEM şirketin T&uuml;rkiye'deki y&ouml;netimine bir protesto mektubu g&ouml;nderdi. 
 
Mitingin yapıldığı g&uuml;n, şirket y&ouml;neticileri &uuml;cret tekliflerini yenilediler, ama bu &ouml;nemli bir artış i&ccedil;ermiyordu. 

<img height="132" alt="" src="" width="180" />
Gebze Mitingi, 26 FŞubat
&Ouml;nceki iki yıl s&uuml;reli toplu s&ouml;zleşme 31 Ağustos 2008'de son erdi. 
 
Şirketin &uuml;cret artışı teklifi ilk altı ay i&ccedil;in y&uuml;zde sıfır ile 2 arasında oynuyor. Diğer altı aylık d&ouml;nemler i&ccedil;in &ouml;nerilenler de dahil, toplam artışlar, T&uuml;rkiye'deki enflasyon oranının &uuml;&ccedil;te ikisini ancak karşılıyor. Sendika ise ilk altı ay i&ccedil;in y&uuml;zde 8'lik bir artışın yanı sıra diğer altışar aylık d&ouml;nemler i&ccedil;in &uuml;lkedeki enflasyon oranını karşılayacak artışlar talep ediyor. 
 
T&uuml;mka-İş Genel Başkanı Kemal Yılmaz ve Y&ouml;netim Kurulu &uuml;yesi Erg&uuml;n Tavşanoğlu grevi başından beri destekleyen ICEM'e ve ICEM &uuml;yesi kardeş sendikalara teşekk&uuml;r etti.

Türkiye&#039;de Procter&amp;Gamble&#039;daki Grev İkinci Haftasını Doldurdu

Archive

South-East Europe’s Energy Unions Meet in Serbia in September

ICEM Strengthens Connection with Trade Unions in Albania

ICEM Joins SASK of Finland, Others in Union-Building Workshops in Middle East

Mining Strike at DRDGold in South Africa Heats Up

Italian Union, FEMCA-CISL, Opposes Splitting of Energy Company Eni

Belgian Glass Workers to Manifest as Asahi Plans More Jobs Cuts

Expropriation of Albanian Trade Unions’ Property Condemned

Solvay Workers’ Network Meets for Fourth Time in Brazil

Slovakia Holds National Days of Mourning Following Mine Tragedy

Türkiye'de Procter&Gamble'daki Grev İkinci Haftasını Doldurdu

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