English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Action Plan 2021-2025

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

Women

Youth

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Golden Misabiko, President of the Association Africaine de d&eacute;fense des Droits de l'Homme in Katanga province (ASADHO/Katanga), has been released from&nbsp;custody in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), following his arrest last month. His organization had recently published a report alleging state complicity in illegal uranium mining in the country. 
 
State intelligence services arrested Misabiko on 24 July in the provincial capital of Lubumbashi, in the south east of the country. He was charged with &ldquo;threatening state security&rdquo; and &ldquo;defamation.&rdquo; Bail was initially rejected, following suspicions that the judiciary bowed to political pressure to keep him in custody. Subsequently, he has been released.&nbsp; 

<img height="209" alt="" src="" width="200" />
Golden Misabiko
The charges against Misabiko relate to the report published by his human rights organization on 12 July. The report alleges that the Shinkolobwe uranium mine, which was closed in January 2004 on national and public security grounds, had been the site of illegal mining in which the government was complicit. The mine should have been secured by the government, but instead mining was continued by parties from the military and from civil society. 
 
The report also criticised the national government for its role in the 26 March agreement with French nuclear energy company AREVA. The agreement grants the company the right to prospect and mine for uranium in the resource-rich country, and the agreement was criticized for a lack of transparency. 
 
Peaceful protests against Golden Misabiko&rsquo;s detention have been carried out in Katanga. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s 12 mining affiliates in the DRC repeatedly come up against police force and arrests during labour disputes.

Leading DRC Human Rights Defender Arrested

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A dispute between South Africa pulp and paper manufacturer Sappi and affiliate Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU) at the company&rsquo;s Enstra mill there was resolved early in August. 
 
The dispute, which had garnered ICEM attention, was over the company&rsquo;s intent to severely discipline and even discharge 19 shop stewards and 24 other workers for engaging in safety strikes late in April and early May. The issue was covered by the ICEM and an earlier report can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3285-ICEM-">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
In a negotiated resolve to the issue, Sappi and CEPPWAWU arrived at a four-page memorandum that was signed on 5 August. There were no dismissals, and the union admitted that its shop-floor leaders had engaged in unprotected strikes. Instead, affected shop stewards and others were given relatively short, unpaid suspensions. And &ldquo;final written warning&rdquo; letters will stay in effect for only one year. 

<img height="109" alt="" src="" width="180" />
The ICEM congratulates both parties for using dialogue to resolve what had been a deeply contentious issue. We believe that the agreement is a sign that healing inside the Enstra pulp and paper might begin, as well as a new era in labour-management relations. As part of the memorandum, CEPPWAWU must write a letter to all Enstra workers condemning the illegal strikes. Sappi waives its claims on asset damages stemming from the unprotected industrial actions. 
 
Twenty-three workers received one-week suspensions and returned to work on 18 August 18. Fourteen shop stewards received a 2-week suspension and will return to their jobs this week. Five other shop stewards, plus one other worker, are suspended for one month and will return on 11 September. 
 
Many ICEM affiliates, health and safety activists worldwide, and scores of others issued protests at Sappi and gave the dispute a global voice over health and safety concerns. These protests, CEPPWAWU feels, played the major role in lessening the penalties for what were a series of three illegal strikes. The South African affiliate, as well as the ICEM, conveys sincere gratitude to those who voiced their concerns from every corner of the world.

CEPPWAWU, Sappi in South Africa Resolve Shop-Steward Disciplinary Measures

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Last week, 33,000 electric power workers in South Africa came to terms with state-owned electric provider Eskom, thus averting a string of strikes and industrial actions. ICEM affiliates National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and National Union of Metalworkers (NUMSA) are expected to sign a new labour accord today. 
 
On 19 August, Eskom, which supplies 90% of South Africa&rsquo;s power needs, presented the two unions and a third one with a 10.5% first-year wage increase. That is 2.5% higher than the utility was prepared to pay earlier in August when the dispute went before the country&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCCM). 
 
The NUM represents 16,000 workers at Eskom, while NUMSA represents 5,000. Eskom employs about 29,000 workers in South Africa. 
<img src="" width="100" height="102" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="" width="100" height="103" alt="" />
A key item in talks up to and through last week&rsquo;s wage offer was over housing allowances. NUM and NUMSA are seeking a 5,000 rand (US$621) per worker housing subsidy. Resolve of this issue will continue in tripartite talks with the CCCM until 1 December 2009, when a process to finalise and implement the housing allowance will be put in place, said NUM chief negotiator Paris Mashego. 
 
Mashego said the NUM polled its members on the wage offer and housing deferral late last week, and 80% consented to take the offer. 
 
Meanwhile, a NUM strike against Impala Platinum that was set to start today was averted when the world&rsquo;s second largest platinum miner returned to the bargaining table Saturday and raised its offer. The company offered a 10% increase. The NUM, which represents 18,000 ImPlats workers, cancelled the strike and is currently weighing the offer.

South Africa’s Mineworkers, Metalworkers Agree to Wage Terms with Eskom

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The strike by Bridgestone workers at an aircraft tyre retreading plant in Frameries, Belgium, has ended after nine weeks of continuous striking. 
 
After the failure of conciliatory negotiations at the national level, a draft agreement at the local level was finally agreed. Workers ratified the agreement by 57% to 42% on 7 August. 
 
The agreement accepts the closure of the plant, but with a number of conditions. Those conditions include payment of compensation to workers in lieu of plant-closing notice, plus compensation based on seniority. Also, placement of each worker into another job in a different company near the worker&rsquo;s home also was a condition. 

<img height="171" alt="" src="" width="250" />
A bonus pay-out with an advance of &euro;500 was agreed to, as well, to compensate for the loss of job security. The bonus also covers early retirement options. The eight temporary workers were given permanent contracts, this qualifying them for the benefits, and Bridgestone has lifted all sanctions or punishment related to the strike. 
<img height="183" alt="" src="" width="276" />
The strike by all 140 workers, led by ICEM Belgian affiliate FGTB Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale, started on 11 June over eight job cuts. 
 
The Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale-FGTB is proud of its victory, standing up to a huge multinational, with courageous rubber workers earning the respect of many. The achievements were not the goals that the union had set out for, but they are notable. 
 
The FGTB issued a message of thanks to all those who expressed their solidarity during the struggle.

Bridgestone Strike at Belgian Airplane Tyre Factory Ends

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
ICEM affiliate, Union Sindical Obrera de la Industria del Petroleo (USO), has been negotiating a new collective agreement with state-owned Ecopetrol. The period of negotiation was extended by 20 days and ended on Saturday, 22 August. The negotiators worked continuously for the final 24 hours of the 40 day talks. Agreement was reached on a new collective agreement for the period 2009-2014, and will be backdated from 1 July 2009. The agreement will apply to all Ecopetrol employees, as well as those employed by contractors working on Ecopetrol projects. 
 
Major demands of the union were health care for the families of temporary workers, the reinstatement of workers who had lost their jobs due to trade union activities, opposition to US military bases in the country, an increased wage scale, the recognition of a conventional wage for all activities of industry, employment regulations in Ecopetrol, and issues of trade union and human rights. 

<img alt="" src="" width="290" height="140" />
The agreement satisfies USO&rsquo;s demands on health, education, and housing, as well as on occupational health. Families of temporary workers will receive health care from the company, on the condition that they have been employed for a minimum period of six months. 
 
Considerable wage gains were achieved, with base salaries rising by between 6.87% and 18.74%, depending on the worker&rsquo;s category. All salaries will then rise incrementally, by around 1% per year, for the remaining five years of the agreement. 
 
Another proposed article in the collective agreement sought support from the company for sport and recreation of workers and their families. Funding should be provided by management towards clubs and societies, with 80% of membership fees subsidized by Ecopetrol. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
The union was eager to seek a collective agreement to solve the conflict, but the message from the USO leadership was clear: &ldquo;If there is no agreement, there will be no production,&rdquo; said Moises Baron Cardenas, President of USO Barrancabermeja. 
 
As reported by the ICEM in InBrief 135, the early days of the negotiation process were marred by violence and intimidation. On Thursday, 17 July, riot police attacked workers at the Barrancabermeja refinery with tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun bombs, seriously injuring three workers. Police arrested two workers. The attack occurred two days after the start of the negotiations; USO suspended the meeting to focus on treating the injured and securing the release of detainees. USO President Germ&aacute;n Osman condemned the attack.

Colombian Oil Workers Union, USO, Reach New Agreement with Ecopetrol

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report, among other items, on the VCT campaign in Tanzania sponsored by the IG BCE&rsquo;s Women Department, the efforts to include people living with HIV/AIDS in the health insurance scheme in India, and how the 2010 Soccer World Cup can score goals of another kind.
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are already engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
 
Editor: Hans J Schwass, ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
IG BCE Women Support Project in Tanzania 
 
Since their Congress in October 2008, the Women&rsquo;s Department of the German ICEM affiliate IG BCE (mining, chemical and energy workers) has collected funds for an HIV/AIDS project in Tanzania, in cooperation with ICEM affiliates TUICO (industry) and TAMICO (mining). 
 
After extensive preparatory work, which included a workshop for the TAMICO and TUICO Women&rsquo;s Committees, and a refresher course for male and female peer educators and lay counsellors, activities culminated in a &lsquo;Know-your-Status&rsquo; Campaign in Dar es Salam on 13 June. 

<img alt="" src="" width="346" height="260" />
Workers and their families were mobilised through union structures and at the workplaces and by pre-campaign radio announcements. With the technical support from the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), facilities for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) were set up. 
 
From early morning on 13 June, the Mnazi Mmoja grounds were crowded with people wearing white T-shirts, emblazoned with the four logos of the IG BCE, ICEM, TAMICO, and TUICO, and the slogan of the campaign &ldquo;Know Your HIV Status &ndash; Get Tested&rdquo;, in Swahili. People living with HIV/AIDS gave their testimonies and urged participants to get tested. Condoms and femidoms, as well as leaflets and educational brochures were distributed. 
 
More than 600 people turned up at the grounds and well over half of them queued up in front of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), tents to be tested. 
 
In this outstanding example of international solidarity, EUR 14,000 has been collected so far by the women of IG BCE. This was the first VCT campaign organised by the trade union movement and as donations are still coming in from IG BCE regional and local structures, it is expected to continue the work in 2010. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
India: Health Insurance for People with HIV/AIDS? 
 
The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is set to make a case for a social security safety net for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). It is exploring the options of getting the Union Labour Ministry's health insurance scheme (RSBY) extended to PLHAs. This health insurance related policy proposal, along with an anti-discrimination Bill protecting PLHAs, and another Bill seeking to protect consumers from being exploited when they procure blood for transfusion, are among the priorities of NACO. 
 
The RSBY scheme was introduced by the Labour Ministry for families below the poverty line in April last year. The Centre or State pays the premium, while the individual pays INR 30 (about USD 0.60) as a registration fee and receives INR 30,000 coverage for hospitalisation for a five-member family. NACO supports PLHAs for HIV-related illnesses, but they are also susceptible to other illnesses such as malaria, appendicitis and heart-attacks, illustrating the need for a social security net. 
 
The anti-discrimination HIV/AIDS Bill, seeking among other things to protect PLHAs at their workplace, has been with the Union Law Ministry for some time. 
 
(Source: Business Line, The Hindu, 3 June) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Soccer World Cup Campaign 
 
Authorities in South Africa have begun construction of one of the 20 planned Football for Hope centres in Africa -- part of a 2010 World Cup campaign called &quot;20 Centres for 2010&quot; aimed at reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, poverty and crime in local communities. The centre, under construction in South Africa's Khayelitsha Township, will include a soccer field, community centre and after-school programs that will focus on sex education and HIV/AIDS education. 
 
The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) is providing the campaign with $10 million in funding. Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda and other African countries will be home to the remaining 19 centres. According to FIFA President Joseph Blatter, the centres will &quot;provide a platform for communities to address social issues such as children's rights, education, health, HIV/AIDS prevention and will leave a legacy for Africa that will last long after the final whistle of the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been blown.&quot; 
 
(Source: Medical News Today, 28 May) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
South Africa: President Addresses Increased Access to ARVs 
 
In his first state-of-the-nation address, South African President Jacob Zuma said he wants to have 80 percent of HIV-positive South Africans who need antiretrovirals (ARVs) on them by 2011. The government would strive to step up measures to improve health care in Africa's strongest economy. &quot;We have set ourselves the goals of reducing inequalities in health care ... and step up the fight against the scourge of HIV and AIDS, TB and other diseases,&quot; Zuma said. 
 
Over 630,000 people are on the government's ARV programme currently and provisions are in place to increase that number to 1.4 million by 2011. During his address Zuma also discussed the need for the government to collaborate with stakeholders on a comprehensive plan which aims to reduce the rate of new HIV infections by 50 per cent by the year 2011. 
 
According to the third national &lsquo;HIV prevalence, incidence and communication survey&rsquo;, conducted in 2008 by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the percentage of people living with HIV in South Africa has barely changed in the last six years, but the survey revealed that between 2002 and 2008 there were many changes in HIV knowledge, risk behaviour and testing habits. 
 
The findings, based on interviews with about 21,000 individuals, 15,000 of whom agreed to anonymous HIV tests, give a fairly detailed picture of South Africa's mixed success in fighting the largest HIV epidemic in the world. Prevalence appears to have stabilized at about 11 per cent, and infection rates among children and teenagers have decreased, not least because of a significant increase in the use of condoms. 
 
HIV infection in the country's nine provinces still varies widely. KwaZulu-Natal, which has consistently carried the highest burden, now has a prevalence of 26 percent in the 15 to 49 age group, up from 22 percent in 2005; in Western Cape, levels increased slightly from 3 percent in 2005 to 5 percent in 2008, but are still the lowest in the country. 
 
(Source: Medical News Today, 9 June and IRIN PlusNews, 9 June) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Namibia: Court Case Highlights Workers&rsquo; Rights 
 
In a landmark case in Namibia, 22 hotel workers are taking their employer and a doctor to court for allegedly testing them for HIV without their informed consent. According to the allegations, the owner of the Oshakati Country Lodge hired a doctor to conduct HIV tests on all the lodge&rsquo;s employees. 
 
The Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) in the capital Windhoek, which is handling the case, said that the test results were displayed on notice boards in the lodge. The LAC is seeking monetary compensation on the basis that the lodge owner and the doctor violated the workers&rsquo; rights to privacy and dignity, as guaranteed by the country&rsquo;s constitution. The case will be heard by the High Court in Windhoek at the end of July. 
 
(Source: IRIN PlusNews, 3 July) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Joint Action for Results &ndash; UNAIDS Outcome Framework 2009-2011 
 
UNAIDS recently launched its outcome framework for 2009-2011 called Joint Action for Results. This Outcome Framework, which builds upon the UNAIDS Strategic Framework (2007&ndash;2011), will guide future investment and hold the Secretariat and the Cosponsors accountable for making the resources of the UN work for results in countries. 
 
Under the Outcome Framework for the period 2009&ndash;2011, UNAIDS will focus its efforts on achieving results in eight priority areas. These priority areas have been selected, based on a series of consultations with the cosponsors, communities, civil society, and a broad range of other stakeholders, their realization will accelerate the achievement of universal access. 
 
The eight priority areas include: the prevention of mothers from dying and babies from becoming infected with HIV; treatment of people living with HIV; the prevention of people living with HIV from dying of tuberculosis; the protection of drug users from becoming infected with HIV; the removal of punitive laws, policies, practices, stigma and discrimination that block effective responses to AIDS; stopping violence against women and girls; empower young people to protect themselves from HIV; and enhancing social protection for people affected by HIV. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>) 
The full document can be downloaded&nbsp;<a href="http://data.unaids.org/pub/BaseDocument/2009/JC1713_Joint_Action_en.pdf ">here</a>. 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS updates of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) report on, among other things, the UNAIDS Outcome Framework 2009-2011, the inclusion of the Guyana Clerical and Commercial Workers&rsquo; Union in the country&rsquo;s Global Fund Coordinating mechanism, and on increased efforts in Ghana to create HIV/AIDS workplace policies (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe or Translate? 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line. 
 
Unfortunately, the e-bulletin can only be published in English. 
 
For a free automated (non-ICEM) translation of this HIV-AIDS bulletin into other languages, you may want to try <a href="http://www.google.com/language_tools">http://www.google.com/language_tools</a> and insert the following URL into the window &ldquo;Translate a Web page&ldquo;: 
 
<a href="/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3322">/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3322</a> 
 
Or click directly on the links below: 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=fr&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Cliquez ici pour une traduction automatique en fran&ccedil;ais.</a> 
 
Cette traduction est faite automatiquement par un logiciel internet gratuit. L&rsquo;ICEM n&rsquo;assume aucune responsabilit&eacute; &agrave; cet &eacute;gard. Elle est approximative, mais peut n&eacute;anmoins vous donner une id&eacute;e g&eacute;n&eacute;rale du contenu de l&rsquo;article. 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=de&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Hier Klicken f&uuml;r eine maschinelle &Uuml;bersetzung ins Deutsche.</a> 
 
Diese &Uuml;bersetzung, f&uuml;r die die ICEM keine Verantwortung &uuml;bernimmt, erfolgt durch eine frei zug&auml;ngliche Internetsoftware. Diese &Uuml;bersetzung ist nicht perfekt, gibt aber eine ann&auml;hernende Idee, wor&uuml;ber der Artikel handelt. 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=ru&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Щелкните мышью здесь для получения машинного перевода на Русский.</a> 
 
Этот перевод выполняется автоматически с помощью бесплатной Интернет-программы, и ICEM не несет за него ответственности. Перевод приблизительный, но все же может дать общее представление о содержании статьи. 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=ja&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">日本語への翻訳について、無料オン� ��イン翻訳サービス利用されたい方はここをクリックしてください。ただし、当該サ� ��ビスを利用した翻訳の質等について 、ICEMは一切責任を負いませんので、� ��了承ください。</a> 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=es&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Haga clic aqu&iacute; para una traducci&oacute;n autom&aacute;tica en espa&ntilde;ol. 
</a> 
Esta traducci&oacute;n se hace autom&aacute;ticamente con tecnolog&iacute;a libre del Internet. La ICEM no se responsabiliza de ella. La traducci&oacute;n es aproximada, pero puede proveer una idea general del contenido del art&iacute;culo. 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=sv&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Klicka h&auml;r f&ouml;r en maskin&ouml;vers&auml;ttning till svenska.</a> 
 
Denna &ouml;vers&auml;ttning utf&ouml;rs automatiskt med kostnadsfri internetteknik. ICEM tar inget ansvar f&ouml;r den. Den &auml;r inte helt korrekt men ger dig &auml;nd&aring; en allm&auml;n uppfattning om vad artikeln handlar om.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 46 July 2009

pulp and paper/pâte et de papier/pulpa y papel

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM lodged strong protest a week ago, demanding Turkey President Abdullah G&uuml;l veto a bill giving &ldquo;Private Labour Offices&rdquo; broad rights to place temporary workers in enterprises. On 9 July, President G&uuml;l did veto the bill, and now the ICEM demands the Turkish Parliament not bring it back. 
 
The bill was submitted by Parliament to G&uuml;l in late June after it cleared the legislative body without hearings or direct input from the country&rsquo;s labour federations. The ICEM calls attention to this anti-social fact because global unions are targeting actions in Turkey and Thailand on Day of Decent Work, 7 October 2009, specifically over the precarious labour issue. 
 
The legislation, as written, would have given fees to labour brokers and it would have created a slave market composed of short-term contract workers. The proposal read that any person or entity could establish a private labour hire agency with a modest investment of TL 20,000, or &euro;9,250. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
&ldquo;We applaud President G&uuml;l and his administration for doing the right thing to veto this,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We now call on the global community to assist our Turkish comrades to make sure this bill does not surface again.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM credits Turkey&rsquo;s three trade union federations for immediate and effective opposition to the legislation. The ICEM now calls on the Turkish Parliament to abandon this anti-people measure. 
 
Mustafa Kumlu, President of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (T&uuml;rk-İş), said accurately it would render existing mechanisms between unions and government useless. Kumlu, an ICEM Executive Committee member, said &ldquo;social rights, social security, and other benefits&rdquo; would disappear under this legislation. 

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="161" />
Mustafa Kumlu
In the 7 July letter to G&uuml;l, Warda said creating such a labour system in a society is equivalent to &ldquo;placing dynamite under the social structures.&rdquo; He called it a &ldquo;21st century employment relationship based on slavery.&rdquo; 
 
ICEM work leading up to 7 October and after will partly focus on Turkish failure &ndash; in the eyes of the ILO &ndash; to implement Labour Conventions that the country has already ratified. A focus will also ensure that transparency and fairness become full partners in all social discussions leading to possible Turkish ratification of ILO Convention 181, the Private Employment Agencies Convention. 
 
The ICEM said in the letter to the Turkish government that the proposed law is not in compliance with the EU Directive on Temporary Agency Work, a standard passed in October 2008 that the ICEM insists must be adhered to by Turkey. The ICEM also labels the legislation a misguided response to the economic crisis, and an inhumane practice to even pronounce it as a measure to reduce operating costs.

Turkey: Labour Hire Veto Applauded, More Work Demanded

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
With 95% and 85% strike votes over the weekend, 3,500 Canadian miners of two United Steelworkers (USW) branch unions voted to take joint strike action beginning early today against Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale-Inco). 
 
The strike started in northern Ontario province and at a southern Ontario refinery and port. Production from Ontario accounts for 10% of the world&rsquo;s nickel supply, and the Vale-Inco assets in Ontario are considered among the world&rsquo;s richest nickel and plating resources in the world. 
 
The strike came after the USW, in late May, gave the Brazilian-based company a ten-week extension to complete talks. Management continued pressing for a concession-ridden collective agreement in that period, and Canadian miners spoke with one voice and multiple strike lines in total response to the company&rsquo;s social cuts. 
 
Picket lines went up at midnight on 13 July at mines, a smelter, and processing plants in the copper-nickel belt surrounding Sudbury, Ontario, and at Port Colborne, some 400 kilometres south on Lake Erie. USW represents some 3,300 miners in northern Ontario, while USW Local 6200 represents 200 workers at Port Colborne. A strike website has been created, and is <a href="http://www.fairdealnow.ca">here</a>. 
 
&ldquo;We have spoken to all the unions that work in the global operations of Vale and we have their unanimous support as well,&rdquo; said USW President Leo Gerard, himself a native of Sudbury and a member of Local 6500. 

<img height="140" alt="" src="" width="120" />
Leo Gerard
&ldquo;This is a global fight and we are a global union and we will use our global power to fight these concessions.&rdquo; 
 
Vale-Inco&rsquo;s concessionary proposals are many, including a new and reduced pension scheme for new hires, reductions to production bonuses, loss of value in cost-of-living increases, and amendments to contracting-out provisions, which will decrease job security for Vale-Inco workers. 
 
The company is attempting to supplant a defined benefit pension plan with a defined contribution plan for new hires. Other concessions proposed to the pension benefit include removal of the indexing provision and deep cuts to the disability pension. Regarding outsourcing, Vale-Inco seeks to give outside contractors&rsquo; use of the company&rsquo;s moving equipment, a serious threat in mining to full-time, permanent jobs. 

<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
In a solidarity letter to nickel miners and smelting and port workers of USW Locals 6500 and 6200 in Canada, the ICEM wrote, &ldquo; &hellip; the fact that young workers and old workers at Inco are standing tall and standing together to preserve future incomes&rdquo; is highly commendable. 
 
&ldquo;We must not let corporate greed and a rush to the bottom stop us from choosing the correct path out of financial malaise,&rdquo; said the ICEM letter. &ldquo;In this fight, in a strategic nickel-processing area of the world, union members of Locals 6500 and 6200 have chosen the correct road.&rdquo; 
 
Vale is the world&rsquo;s second biggest mining company. It bought Canadian-based Inco late in 2006. Also in Canada, at Vale-Inco NL, members of another USW branch local&nbsp;are braced to strike on 1 August at Voisey&rsquo;s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador province. The company takes nickel, copper, and cobalt reserves from northern Labrador. Similar to Ontario, USW Local 9580 had given Vale-Inco a temporary contract extension to resolve bargaining issues, but little positive movement has come from Inco.

Miners of USW Strike Vale’s Nickel Riches in Canada

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers' Association (IUF) scored a victory in its ongoing struggle for the rights of workers at Unilever in June, by reaching a settlement with the multinational to permanently employ members of a union Action Committee at the Rahim Yar Khan plant in Pakistan. 
 
Permanent positions were created for workers, who had previously been employed precariously. Unilever dismissed those workers after they protested against status as fixed-term contract workers. 
 
In October 2007, the IUF began a concerted campaign against the mass dismissals, supported by the National Federation of Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Workers of Pakistan, which was conducted in the country&rsquo;s courtrooms, as well as on streets. The Action Committee was then formed to fight for rights for permanent jobs. 
 
Last month&rsquo;s negotiated settlement was agreed to through mechanisms of the OECD, including applying standards of its Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which require companies to ensure that all its subsidiaries conform to global labour standards, including ILO Conventions 87 and 98. 

<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="158" />
The 120 new positions were created at the Rahim Yar Khan plant as of 24 June 2009. All Action Committee members were appointed to these posts. Under the terms of the agreement, these workers are to suffer no discrimination or victimization, and will be free to organize and bargain collectively. 
 
Implementation of the agreement will be continuously monitored by the IUF and Unilever. 
 
Despite this positive settlement, Unilever continues its policy to employ large numbers of CAL workers. There has been no improvement to the rights of workers at the Lipton tea factory in Khanewal, Pakistan, which was reported <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/3015-Support-Needed-for-Contract-Agency-Workers-Forming-Union-at-Unilever-Tea-Factory-in-Pakistan">here</a> by the ICEM in January 2009.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;I am encouraged by the news of a just settlement at the Rahim Yar Khan plant,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;This is a step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before we succeed in ending the anti-union employment strategies of Unilever.&rdquo; 
 
The Khanewal factory employs just 22 permanent workers, with another 723 hired through six labour agency companies.

Victory Noted for IUF in Unilever Contract Labour Struggle in Pakistan

Archive