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Find the following statement in Arabic <a href="/index.php?id=24&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=2957">here</a>. 

The 20-million-member International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Union (ICEM) has added its voice to the calls for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of border crossings between Israel and Palestine to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. 
 
&ldquo;It is with shock and horror that I have seen coverage of the bombardment of Gaza in what is now four days of Israeli air strikes that have targeted both Hamas and purely civilian structures, including a major university, a television station, and mosques, as well as refugee camps, which serve as homes to many of the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in this densely populated Mediterranean coastal area,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;The loss of innocent Palestinian lives is deplorable and an immediate and fully respected ceasefire by both Israel and Hamas is now clearly the only way forward.&rdquo; 

According to the United Nations, as well as Palestinian officials, more than 370 Palestinians have died in the air strikes, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reporting that about a third of those killed since Sunday, 27 December - about 90 Palestinians - were civilians including more than 60 women and children. Over 1,000 Palestinians are said to have been injured, many critically, and hospitals and doctors are struggling to treat the injured in the face of chronic shortages of basic medical supplies and blood.
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&nbsp; 
The air strikes have been in response to rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza that have reportedly caused the death of four Israelis and followed the decision of Hamas, which controls Gaza, not to renew a six-month cease fire that had brought a semblance of temporary and relative calm to the area until it expired earlier this month. The action by Hamas is also deplorable and has been strongly criticised by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas is the Islamist movement which won Palestinian elections three years ago and then violently seized full control of Gaza last year. 

The UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said Israel's use of force was &quot;disproportionate&quot; and Richard Falk, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, said in a BBC interview: &quot;Israel is committing a shocking series of atrocities by using modern weaponry against a defenceless population - attacking a population that has been enduring a severe blockade for many months.&quot; 

Israel has said it is ready for weeks of action to end the threat posed by rockets, one of which on Tuesday landed in Beersheba, 46 km (28 miles) from the Gaza Strip. An extra 2,500 reservists have been called up by the Israeli army and, on the frontier with Gaza, preparations continue for a possible Israeli ground operation. Israel has declared the border area a &quot;closed military zone,&quot; which prohibits journalists and others from entering. 

There is no entry by sea possible, either. Israeli naval vessels confronted pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break the Gaza blockade by boat about 45 miles (70km) off the Israeli coast in international waters. The activists said one vessel had rammed the Palestinians&rsquo; craft without issuing a warning during the confrontation. The boat put into port in Lebanon with heavy damage on one side.
ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana, also President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa called on all parties to address the serious humanitarian needs in Gaza. He said, &ldquo;There must be the immediate opening of border crossings to ensure that the people of Gaza are supplied with food, water, fuel and medical treatment. The Israeli blockade of Gaza must be immediately lifted and full, unimpeded and urgent access for medical teams allowed.&rdquo; 

ICEM has received a message from Shaher Saed, General Secretary of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade unions (PGFTU) where he graphically details the suffering Palestinians face, and how Palestinian people only hope to live normal lives without threats of the weapons of occupation. 
 
Saed stated: &ldquo;It is the human responsibility of the international community to devote all efforts to pressure the Israeli government to stop their aggression and attacks on Palestinian people, who not only face death by the missiles, but also face hunger and death due to the lack of bread, medicine, electricity, and drinking water.&rdquo; 
 
Clearly, the ICEM believes, there is no military solution to the situation in Gaza or the wider search for peace in the Middle East. There must be a seriously increased international effort to ensure that both Israel and Palestine have the land, rights, and security to live in peace. 

ICEM fully endorses the recent statement by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and in particular the statement by ITUC General Secretary, Guy Ryder, that &ldquo;the cycle of attack and reaction must be be replaced with dialogue, to bring a definitive end to the conflict and establish the basis for the co-existence of Israel and Palestine as two democratic states in peace.&quot; 
Ryder added, &quot;The international community must bring real pressure to bear to ensure that Israel and Palestine step back from the cycle of violence and follow the path of dialogue. The UN, its Security Council members and all other countries which could use their influence to bring this about, must do so as a matter of the utmost urgency.&quot; 

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, a former General Secretary of the NUM trade union, is also commended by ICEM for having urged Israelis and Palestinians to stop the violence and asked the international community to find a solution for peace in the Middle East. 

&quot;Both parties must do everything their power to come to a solution in order to end the violence in the Middle East,&quot; Motlanthe said in a statement. &quot;Violence and counter-violence would not advance the cause of both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Strength and efforts must not be spared by the Palestinians and the Israelis to find an amicable solution to their problem.&quot; 

Motlanthe called for a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state co-existing with an Israel state within secure borders as a lasting solution to the ongoing Middle East conflict. 

ICEM fully agrees with this statement and will continue to work for peace in the Middle East. The Geneva-based ICEM is a Global Union Federeation representing 467 trade unions in 141 countries.

ICEM Calls for Immediate Ceasefire to Ease Gaza Hostilities

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The Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (PCMLF), affiliated to the Labour Confederation of Pakistan, staged a protest demonstration in front of the Quetta Press Club on 13 January 2009, and again ten days later in front of the Mines Inspectorate. The manifestations were in protest to a deadly incident at the Mach coalmine in which eight mineworkers lost their lives. 
 
That tragedy occurred on 4 January when a mine shaft collapsed, causing the mine to fill with poisonous gases. 
 
Comrades of the dead workers were maddened to see a week pass by following the tragedy with only one of the bodies being removed from the mine by the authorities. A further reason for the demonstration was that the First Information Report (FIR), which puts forth information on those responsible for industrial accidents, had not been submitted for the deadly Mach disaster. 

<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="150" border="1" />
The mine authorities had no prior registration of the contractors working there, including the victims. It became clear at the protest that it is common practice throughout the mines in the region not to register contract workers. This also stands as an obstacle to organizing workers. 
 
The Pakistani Department for Mines and Minerals received heavy criticism from throughout the country, as it failed to supply the required safety equipment to retrieve the bodies. Mines Inspector Mohammad Farooq stated that there had been eleven miners present at the time of the collapse, with three workers rescued and the others killed instantly. 
 
The colliery belongs to Balochistan Mines, which is owned by Federal Minister for Livestock Mr. Hamayun Aziz Kurd. The protest demonstration culminated with the unanimous adoption of a resolution calling for immediate efforts for the recovery of the dead miners&rsquo; bodies; the granting of compensatory money to the families; that those found guilty of negligence be rigorously punished; that the Mach mine where the tragedy occurred be immediately sealed; and that Pakistan&rsquo;s Mines Safety Act be strictly enacted in the case. 
 
The PCMLF asked for letters of protest to be sent to the relevant authorities.

Pakistani Manifestation Condemns Deadly Mine Accident, Inaction in Retrieving the Dead

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The Council of Finnish Industrial Unions (TP) is calling for higher cooperation with employers and business groups as the protocol to lessen the sting of the current economic crisis. The group of 14 trade unions last week called on Finnish business and social partners to join the unions in a set of talks aimed at ensuring a stable labour market and income maintenance so purchasing power does not drop. 
 
The Council has set a date of 25 February for an initial meeting with industrial and service sector employers&rsquo; groups to discuss the means in finding common ground on employment strategies and domestic market improvements. Several European Works Councils (EWCs) of leading Finland companies came out after the unions&rsquo; call and endorsed strengthened cooperation between TP and business. 

<img height="122" alt="" src="" width="120" />
The unions are eager to reach an accord in order to avert mass job losses, to strengthen and enhance company competitiveness, and to continue strong domestic demand for goods and services. Such an agreement, which would cover 90% of Finland&rsquo;s two million wage earners, would be the socially conscious approach to avoid mass redundancies that, TP claims, are not brought on by lack of Finnish competitiveness, but rather by a deep crisis that has hit hard on production and demand. 
 
&ldquo;Under these circumstances, freezing wages, curbing the growth of purchasing power, or weakening other terms of employment are not the right solutions&rdquo; to current economic problems, said TP in a statement. TP is calling for a social accord that would be binding on the unions, labour market confederations, central employer associations, and the Finnish public sector. 
 
Trade unions enjoined to TP include Paperiliitto, Kemianliitto, Finnish Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union, Toimihenkil&ouml;unioni (TU), or the Salaried Employees&rsquo; Union, Finnish Media Union, Finnish Metalworkers Union (Metalli), Wood and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union, Construction Trade Union, Finnish Foodstuff Workers&rsquo; Union, Association of Business School Graduates (SEFE), Association of Graduate Engineers (TEK), Union of Professional Engineers UIL, and the Union of Machine Supervisors.

Finnish Council of Trade Unions Call for Framework Employer Agreement to Offset Economic Crisis

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The Norwegian government has announced that its US$300 billion sovereign wealth fund has divested of its stake in Canadian mining company Barrick Gold and US aerospace and weapons maker Textron. The divestments come after Norway&rsquo;s Council on Ethics determined the companies were not socially responsible. 
 
Textron was dropped because it manufactures cluster bombs, while Barrick Gold&rsquo;s shares were sold because of severe environmental harm at the 95%-owned Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea. 
 
Norway&rsquo;s Global fund, which includes pension funds derived from oil revenues that it invests in foreign equities, sold its US$174 million stake in Barrick Gold last year. An Ethics Council panel determined that Barrick&rsquo;s Porgera mine runs serious &ldquo;risk of accumulation and build-up of heavy metals, especially mercury in the environment. Pollution from the mine will potentially have serious negative consequences for human life and health.&rdquo; 

<img height="120" alt="" src="" width="120" />
The ethics panel determined that &ldquo;the company&rsquo;s assertions that its operations do not cause long-term and irreversible damage carry little credibility.&rdquo; Barrick Gold, now the world&rsquo;s leading gold producer, increased its stake in the Enga Province open-cast and underground gold mining operation in April 2007 when it purchased 20% of Emperor Mines Ltd&rsquo;s shares. It had earlier, in 2006, gained a 75% stake in Porgera with the takeover of PlacerDome. Porgera produced 542,000 ounces of gold in 2006, and has proven reserves of 9.42 million ounces. 
 
Textron, the corporate owner of Cessna aircraft, was taken off the safe investment list because Norway is signature to the Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibition. The Norwegian government divested US$41 million in Textron shares. 
 
Twenty-seven multinational companies have now been blacklisted from investment by Norwegian public funds due to ethical reasons. 
 
Earlier in 2008, the government sold its US$800 million Rio Tinto holdings because of environment degradation at the Grasberg gold and copper mine in West Papua, Indonesia. Rio Tinto, along with Grasberg partner Freeport McMoRan, had been found discharging 260,000 tonnes of tailings daily into a natural river system. Freeport McMoRan had been expelled from the fund in 2006. Other mining companies that have been excluded from Norway&rsquo;s investment fund include DRDGold of South Africa and India&rsquo;s Vedanta Resources.

Norway Divests Shares of Barrick Gold, Arms Maker Textron

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The ICEM last week joined the campaign calling for justice for Constantina Kuneva, a Bulgarian migrant worker and trade union activist, who was attacked with sulphuric acid while on her way home from work. Ms. Kuneva is General Secretary of PEKOP, the Athens-based All Attica Union of Cleaners and Domestic Workers. 
 
The attack, which took place on 22 December 2008, left Ms. Kuneva without the use of an eye and her vocal chords. She is still in a hospital. 
 
In a letter to Greek Minister for Employment, Ms. Fani Palli-Petralia, General Secretary Manfred Warda heavily criticised the inadequacy of the investigation into the vicious attack. &ldquo;The ICEM strongly protests the unacceptable delay and most deficient investigation procedure into the murderous attack.&rdquo; 
 
Warda praised the reopening of the case by police, as well as the extended time allotted to collect information, but reaffirmed an &ldquo;urgent demand that the police and judicial authorities conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and punished and the victim properly compensated.&rdquo; 

<img height="95" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM fully supports the work of the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE), along with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in its work defending Ms. Kuneva. 
 
In a similar letter to the Greek Minister of Justice, Mr. Nikos Dendias, Warda clarified the suspicious nature of the attack. &ldquo;A few weeks before this awful attack, Constantina Kuneva had warned that she felt in grave danger as a result of her union activities. In an interview for the ITUC at the end of November, she had also denounced the poverty wages and harsh working conditions in this sector.&rdquo; 
 
The cleaning sector in Greece is 80% comprised of migrant workers and a vast majority are women. The ICEM will closely monitor the situation and call upon Greek authorities to prevent the spread of criminal activities that are related to labour relations.

ICEM Demands Full Investigation into Assault of Woman Trade Unionist in Greece

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ICEM&rsquo;s largest affiliate in Africa, South Africa&rsquo;s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), last week welcomed the release of the Presidential Safety Audit by the Department of Minerals and Energy. As reported by the ICEM (click <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/2871-South-African-Parliament-Passes-Mine-Safety-Reform;-Year-long-Safety-Audit-Still-Held-up ">here</a>) there had been a significant delay in the publication of the report. 
 
The NUM criticized the industry for using the report to misrepresent conditions as acceptable. A shocking figure to emerge from the report was that 100 cases against mine bosses have been allowed to collect in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), with no progress. This alarming evidence of justice being blocked for those responsible for deaths of miners has angered the NUM. 

<img height="128" alt="" src="" width="90" />
NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni
&ldquo;This is very worrying that the NPA can allow criminality to take place without any proper action,&rdquo; said NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni. &ldquo;It is worrying that in cases where action has taken place, companies have been fined between R2,500 (US$260) to R5,000 (US$520) for negligently claiming the life of mineworkers.&rdquo; 
 
The audits were conducted in 355 mines across the country, under 12 categories. Gold and coal mines were the safest at 70%, followed by platinum and diamond mines at 67% and 66%, respectively. 
 
The long-awaited report describes worrying trends, including poor hazard identification and risk assessment processes, slow reporting of accidents, failure to submit occupational hygiene returns and others. 

<img height="105" alt="" src="" width="90" />
NUM &amp; ICEM President, Senzeni Zokwana
The audits were ordered by former President Thabo Mbeki after 3,200 workers were trapped deep underground at gold producer Harmony Gold's Elandsrand mine in October 2007, when a falling pipe damaged mine shaft infrastructure. Miraculously, all 3,200 miners were rescued after some 38 hours. 
 
Senzeni Zokwana, NUM President and also President of the ICEM, said the union has zero tolerance for mine fatalities. &quot;No condition should justify why a worker should lose a life.&quot;

Safety Audit Release in South Africa Gives Cause for Concern

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM has learned from one its Iraqi affiliates, the Petrochemical Workers&rsquo; Union of Basra, that union members were targeted by Iraq&rsquo;s military for leading a peaceful demonstration on 28 January in Basra. The protest was held in demand of wage arrears from a petrochemical facility, one of the state-operated petroleum operations in the south. 
 
In a communication to the ICEM from the union, management of the company requested that the army break up the demonstration &ldquo;in a step reminiscent of former fascist policies.&rdquo; The army did intervene and brought protesters to a military holding camp for interrogation. 
 
On 2 February, management of the company began its own inquiry into the peaceful right of assembly, and targeted four workers with leading the protest: Kifaah Hassan Ibraheem, Qasim Abbas Muhsin, Kareem Johi Sahan, and Waleed Salih. The union is filing complaints with the government over the company&rsquo;s handling of this dispute. 
 
The ICEM condemns the Iraqi state company&rsquo;s interference of workers&rsquo; right to assemble, and subsequent infringement and suppression of other rights. The Geneva-based ICEM will continue to monitor events in this one particular enterprise, as well as human and labour rights abuses that occur at any Iraqi workplace.

Iraqi State Petrochemical Company Uses Military to Bust Peaceful Protest

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The United Steelworkers (USW) reached tentative wage and benefit terms across the US oil and petrochemical industries last week for 24,000 workers, effectively setting a three-year pattern for refineries, pipelines, transportation, and other downstream services. But the union emerged from talks deeply disappointed that the industry did not take seriously the need for more stringent safety procedures. 
 
USW President Leo Gerard said: &ldquo;Our main focus in this round of National Oil Bargaining was health and safety, but the industry refused to allow us to be equal partners with them in resolving the health and safety problems that persistently are not being addressed across the whole industry. The oil companies were not willing to work with us to improve process safety.&rdquo; 
<img height="140" alt="" src="" width="120" />
USW President, Leo Gerard
The tentative contract now will be offered at branch union tables across the US, with the USW pledging it will not give up on improving health and safety. &ldquo;Let it be clear,&rdquo; said USW Vice President and head of Oil Bargaining Gary Beevers, &ldquo;we are not finished with our struggles for meaningful change in the health and safety arena.&rdquo; 
 
The tentative contract was reached with lead company Royal Dutch Shell and its joint-venture operations in Austin, Texas, on 3 February, two days after expirations of 70 local collective agreements. The USW and the oil industry agreed to rolling, 24-hour contract extensions on 31 January to avert mass strikes. The tentative accord means there will not be any major petroleum walkouts for the next three years, although disputes can now arise on local levels. 
 
Besides the 24,000 US oil workers with collective agreements expiring 1 February, another 6,000 USW members have contracts expiring in the coming months, and last week&rsquo;s accord sets the pattern for them as well. 

<img height="144" alt="" src="" width="100" />
USW Vice President and head of Oil Bargaining,&nbsp; 
Gary Beevers
In a statement, the USW said, &ldquo;Rather than launch a national strike over health and safety that would have hurt the American people at a time of economic crisis, the USW withdrew its health and safety proposal and focused on the economic package.&rdquo; 
 
That economic package contains 3% salary increases on 1 February in 2009, 2010, and 2011. It also includes a US$1,000 ratification bonus and a US$500-per-year payment to each worker to offset out-of-pocket health care costs. The USW succeeded in granting no retrogression of past contract terms, including company-paid health care at an 80% level. As well, the USW retained job security and successorship principles, the latter meaning collective agreements are assured and maintained in the event of a sale or takeover. 
 
The pattern agreement now goes to some 86 oil and petrochemical worksites operated by such companies as Shell and its operating partners, ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, BP, PDVSA, Valero, Tosco, Tesoro, Sun, Sunoco, LyondellBasell, Marathon, INEOS, Holly, and several other companies.

US Oil Workers Reach Wage Terms; Criticise Industry’s Overall Safety Neglect

ICEM affiliates&nbsp;responded in large numbers to a global survey on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL), allowing the Global Union Federation to analyse extensive data. 
 
The survey supports predictions that temporary work and work through labour agencies is becoming more common, and that workers employed through such work are in far worse economic and job security situations than permanent workers. The survey also illustrated how trade unions are prioritising the organising of temporary and agency workers. 
 
&ldquo;The response to this survey was impressive,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;But even more impressive is the depth to the responses. Both are an indication that this issue is growing in importance for virtually all workers and unions around the world.&rdquo; 

<img height="138" alt="" src="" width="100" />
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
Data was collected in the second half of 2008. In total, over 100 trade unions completed the survey. The responses came from all regions of the world and from all ICEM sectors, including energy, mining, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, rubber, pulp and paper, and building materials manufacturing. Click <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/Overview%20of%20results%20of%20ICEM%20CAL%20Survey(1).pdf">here</a> for the visual representation of data collected. 
 
The ICEM survey follows a 2007 query by the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) of its affiliates, which allows certain comparisons between the two surveys. For instance, 20% of all ICEM respondents said wages of non-permanent workers are less than half that of permanent workers. Of IMF affiliates that indicated wages for precarious workers are lower than those of permanent workers, one-third indicated those wages are less than 50%. 
 
Another similarity is the level of fear bought on by the changing employment landscape. The ICEM survey reveals that 83% of unions responding cite fear among workers over job security as a major concern, while 9 of 10 IMF respondents say workers in their countries feel less secure because of the changing work relationship. 
 
In addition, the ICEM poll reflects that fear is by far the biggest obstacle to union organising of temporary workers, specifically the fear of getting fired for such activity. Government legislation, union rules and structures, and opposition by trade unionists are cited as lesser obstacles to overcome. (An overview to the ICEM survey, complete with the IMF similarities, can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/CALdbase/CALattachmentforFeb09NR-final.pdf">here</a>.) 
 
The results of the survey support the 20-million-member ICEM&rsquo;s four-and-a-half-year campaign to respond to the rampant increase in the use of contract and agency labour. An alarming number of respondents wrote that temporary and agency workers not only are paid less, but also do not receive pay for overtime and holiday work. 
 
Health and safety conditions are far worse for temporary workers, and often they are not entitled to medical benefits. ICEM-affiliated unions also note that unskilled temp workers are abused more than skilled workers. 
 
Some positive points for trade unions did come out of the study. For instance, unions are increasingly aware of the importance of organising precarious workers and some 87% stated that they are actively engaged in organising such workers. For 62% of the respondents, organising part-time and agency workers is a priority and 69% of unions inform their members on issues related to part-time and precarious work. 
 
For the ICEM, the survey&rsquo;s outcome confirms that CAL will remain a focal issue for the coming years. Establishing communication networks in order to inform trade unions on this growing menace to the concept of decent work, as well as bringing unionisation to non-organised workers will therefore remain high on the ICEM&rsquo;s agenda.

ICEM Contract and Agency Labour Survey Shows Troubling Trends

The 13-month lockout by Petro-Canada of 260 refinery workers in Montr&eacute;al, Quebec, likely will end tomorrow when unionized members of Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Local 175 vote on a new collective agreement. 
 
Since 2 December, the union and management of Canada&rsquo;s second largest oil company have been engaged in private mediation with Special Mediator Lucien Bouchard, who served as Premier of Quebec Province in Canada from 119 to 2001. That mediation apparently has paid off. The two sides agreed to a tentative agreement late last week. 
 
CEP Local 175 will ballot members tomorrow evening, 23 December. 
 
The union is not releasing terms of the proposed contract until members vote on it, but CEP Local 175 is recommending the proposal for acceptance to membership. CEP Representative Daniel Cloutier said the union&rsquo;s bargaining committee &ldquo;is glad to submit the proposal to the membership,&rdquo; and he predicted it would be accepted. 
 
Petro-Canada locked out workers at the 130,000 barrels-per-day refinery on 17 November 2007. The company was attempting to break from the collective bargaining pattern of the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Programme, ironically negotiated first between the union and Petro-Canada at an oil refinery in Edmonton, Alberta, in spring 2007.

Likely End to Petro-Canada Lockout to Come Tomorrow

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