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Canadian affiliate CEP is challenging the decision by Finnish firm UPM Kymenne to shut a kraft pulp mill in Miramichi, New Brunswick. &ldquo;We have questions about this announcement and we are not getting logical answers,&rdquo; said the CEP&rsquo;s Max Michaud. Citing the union&rsquo;s recent decision to seek mediation in bargaining with the company. CEP also is concerned about wood source policies that hamper the mill and is asking the provincial government to investigate. Some 400 high-paying and family-supporting jobs are at stake in the rural community.

CEP in Canada Seeks to Keep Pulp Mill Open in New Brunswick

US affiliate PACE filed a formal inquiry to the US Contact Point over French-based Imerys&rsquo; labour conduct at a calcium carbonate operation in the state of Alabama. The inquiry hopefully will start an investigation by US and French Contact Points under OECD&rsquo;s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Unlawful complaints issued by the US labour board have been levied against Imerys for interference in union activities and for failure to provide PACE with necessary information to process workers&rsquo; grievances. Imerys management says it will not comply with US labour board investigations of its illegal actions, and PACE is seeking injunctive relief under the labour code in a federal court.

PACE Seeks OECD Investigation on Imerys’ Labour Conduct

FUB-CNQ affiliate in Brazil is conducting meetings this week for 40,000 Petrobras oil workers to gain an affirmative vote for a five-day strike against the state firm beginning 19 October. The issue is an inferior pay proposal for active workers, and an inadequate benefit escalator for retirees. The union conducted surprise, 24-hour strikes in early October over four days protesting the company&rsquo;s unwillingness to pay. The two sides are 5.3% apart over this year&rsquo;s increase.

FUB Brazilian Affiliate May Strike Petrobras

A 24-hour strike 20 September by FNV Bondgenoten largely shut down the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The following day saw thousands of workers protesting in The Hague, Utrecht, Arnhem and Eindhoven. FNV and other Dutch unions are protesting government proposals to slash social protections and healthcare. A mass strike over the issue will occur this Saturday, 2 October, beginning at 12:00 noon in Amsterdam.

Bondegenoten Shuts Rotterdam in Protest to Proposed Social Cuts

Canadian affiliate CEP at the same 13 September labour rally and march over health care issued a call to adopt a national pharmacare programme aimed at providing low-cost and accessible drugs to Canadian citizens. The rising cost of drugs, the CEP asserts, has produced a number of examples of bargaining table discord between the union and employers.

CEP Proposes &#039;Pharmacare&#039; Programme for Canada

ICEM affiliate CFMEU was forefront during mid-September international actions protesting building materials firm James Hardie&rsquo;s dodge of asbestos liabilities in Australia. The company in 2001 shifted its headquarters from Sydney to The Netherlands in a move seen as cutting its liability for over 60 years of asbestos exposure to workers in Australia. On 15 September, 20,000 workers rallied across Australia&mdash;still home to the vast number of Hardie shareholders&mdash;while a contingent of mesothelioma victims with trade union leaders including the CFMEU&rsquo;s Lindsay Fraser went to Amsterdam for James Hardie&rsquo;s AGM on 17 September. A damning report on the company was issued September 21 by an Australian state government inquiry, which found that the chief executive had misled investors and the company developed a &ldquo;culture of denial.&rdquo;

Australian Unions Angry Over James Hardie’s Asbestos Cover-ups

The ICEM launched an aggressive global campaign to stem the use of contract and agency labour at a conference in Brussels 16-17 September. Trade union leaders of ICEM affiliates were uniform in their consensus that long-term and wide-ranging strategies are needed to protect the community-enriching benefits that permanent employment offers. Central among all strategies developed will be a programme aimed at primary employers in all ICEM sectors.

ICEM Launches Bold Campaign on Contract and Agency Labour

The hostile Trade Union Act in Nigeria may have begun to fall apart in the country&rsquo;s Senate. Amendments to President Olusegun Obasanjo&rsquo;s union-busting measure passed last week included removal of a &ldquo;no strike&rdquo; clause to the bill, as well as language making all union membership voluntary. The General Assembly&rsquo;s lower chamber began debate late last week with the leader of the All Nigerian People&rsquo;s Party, Salik Ahmed, calling for outright dismissal of the bill.

Nigerian Unions Paring Worst Aspects from Labour Reform Bill

In South Africa at an ethylene plant run by Sasol, seven workers were killed following a gas blast on 1 September. The section of the plant in Secunda, Mpumalanga, where the explosion occurred was down for maintenance while some 450 contract workers and 100 permanent employees worked in the area. Reportedly, a valve was mistakenly opened. It was the third accident at the Sasol complex over the past three months in which deaths occurred. ICEM affiliate CEPPWAWU, one of three unions representing workers at Sasol, is attempting to be part of the investigation team, but the South African firm is trying to limit the probe.

Recent Blast at Sasol in South Africa Kills Seven

In the US, USW returned to bargaining this week with Bridgestone/Firestone (BSFS) in hopes of sparking serious negotiations, something the Japanese tyre maker has failed to do in over two years of bargaining. At a meeting 12 May in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, bargaining committee leaders representing 6,000 rubber workers at the company&rsquo;s eight US plants set an agenda of action and mobilization that will lead to a 15 July strike if BSFS doesn&rsquo;t get serious at the bargaining table. 
That will include factory-by-factory mobilization meetings by the entire union committee in June, and a mass demonstration at the US headquarters of BSFS in Nashville, Tennessee, on 8 July. That action will be in conjunction with issuance of a mandatory five-day strike notice. USW is seeking job security measures and commitments of capitalization and modernization to BSFS&rsquo;s US tyre operations. Such assurances have already been won under a pattern agreement with other major tyre manufacturers.

USW to Take Bold Actions to Achieve Bridgestone Contract

Archive

CEP in Canada Seeks to Keep Pulp Mill Open in New Brunswick

PACE Seeks OECD Investigation on Imerys’ Labour Conduct

FUB Brazilian Affiliate May Strike Petrobras

Bondegenoten Shuts Rotterdam in Protest to Proposed Social Cuts

CEP Proposes 'Pharmacare' Programme for Canada

Australian Unions Angry Over James Hardie’s Asbestos Cover-ups

ICEM Launches Bold Campaign on Contract and Agency Labour

Nigerian Unions Paring Worst Aspects from Labour Reform Bill

Recent Blast at Sasol in South Africa Kills Seven

USW to Take Bold Actions to Achieve Bridgestone Contract

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