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The ICEM this week recommitted to its fight for justice and fairness for US trade unionists in Sylacauga, Alabama, against French-based Imerys, a ceramics and building materials company. ICEM affiliate Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, Energy (PACE) Workers Union has filed further US labour code charges and is seeking stiffer remedies on Imerys union-busting strategies. The US government has already levied unfair labour practice violations against Imerys. 
 
PACE has also lodged a request for an investigation on Imerys by the US and French Contact Points under the OECD's Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The US union has emphasized in this request Imerys' flagrant disregard for US labour statutes and that it has breached principles of the General Policies and Employment and Industrial Relations sections of the Guidelines. 
 
Imerys has willfully violated global labour standards by denying trade union rights to workers, and by intentional harassment and intimidation of trade union leaders and union supporters at its calcium carbonate plant in Alabama. PACE has won two representation elections conducted by the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) over the past four years and Imerys managers at the 350-person worksite continue to discourage union participation by disciplining PACE shop-floor union leaders and withholding promotions to qualified, long-term workers who are supporters of the union. 
 
An effort to oust the union in January 2004 failed by better than a two-to-one margin and managers retaliated against union leaders and supporters by threatening discipline of workers who file union grievances, and deliberately targeting PACE Local 3-516 leaders with disparate work rules. 
 
Last month, local union Chief Steward Anthony Williams was sacked for carrying out his duties as a union representative. And weeks earlier, Local 3-516 President Keith Fulbright was singled out for unjust discipline. 
 
NLRB-issued complaints against Imerys cite the firm with unlawful interference in last January's election and refusal to provide the union with necessary information in order to carry out its legal representation obligations. PACE now alleges Imerys further violated the US labour code by refusing to bargain over workplace scheduling and training, and the discipline and sacking of union leaders constitute grave infractions of US labour law and global labour standards. 
 
Imerys has responded to NLRB's complaints through its counsel that it does not intend to cooperate with the government's investigation of the complaints. The US union has asked the NLRB to assert its powers under the US code by seeking injunctive relief in federal court in order to halt the company's flagrant labour law violations. 
 
In PACE's OECD request, the union asserts Imerys breach of Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises because &quot;(M)anagement has threatened, coerced and intimidated employees exercising their rights to organize for mutual aid and protection; has effectively repudiated provisions of the collective bargaining agreement to which it is a party and made unilateral changes to important terms of employment without bargaining with the employees' designated representative; has repudiated the dispute resolution procedure provided for by the agreement; and failed to cooperate with the investigation of the competent legal authority investigating these violations.&quot; 
 
The ICEM has stood with PACE and its local union in Sylacauga since 1999 when Imerys purchased an adjacent non-union plant, combined the two workforces and declared its intent to be union-free. A subsequent NLRB election on 22 June 2000 confirmed workers' choice for union representation, and Imerys' workplace policies since have steadily degenerated to open warfare against the union and its supporters. 
 
&quot;We are shocked that Imerys has not ended its anti-union behavior in the US and are prepared to do whatever is necessary to stop Imerys from destroying the union in Alabama,&quot; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. 
 
PACE's regional Vice President Don Langham, a member of ICEM's Presidium, said the US union and ICEM teamed up before to expose Imery's brazen anti-union conduct and pledged to do it again. &quot;We obtained support from French, Belgium and British unions representing Imerys workers in Europe and that was critical in forcing Imerys to finally recognize the union,&quot; Langham said. &quot;We had to take the issue directly to shareholders at Imery's annual meeting in Paris, and we are fully prepared to do it again.&quot;

Fresh Attacks by Imerys in Long US Labour Dispute

The 20-million-member ICEM's ExxonMobil Workers' Global Network kicked off with an initial conference 3-4 November in Houston, Texas, with over 80 workers and union leaders from 14 nations gathering to discuss workers' rights and human rights at worksites of the oil super-major globally. 
 
Officially termed Global Network of ExxonMobil Workers' Solidarity, the effort to link workers and their unions of the US-based oil and gas concern was launched at the ICEM's Third Congress in Norway in August 2003. Network participants this week agreed to coordinate activities globally, and will begin with a focus on ExxonMobil's denial and obstruction of workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively. 
 
&quot;ExxonMobil is one of the most difficult companies we deal with,&quot; said Vice President Jim Pannell of the US Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, Energy (PACE) Workers' Union, chief organizer of the conference and the lead union for the network. Added PACE Vice President Gary Beevers, &quot;Mobil Oil was a company a union could deal with but when Exxon swallowed it up, fair dealing was swallowed up with it.&quot; 
 
ExxonMobil workers and their union representatives from Albania, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, C&ocirc;te d'Ivoire, France, Japan, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, and the US attended the initial conference in Houston. 
 
&quot;We believe this network is essential to ensure fair dealing with this global company,&quot; said Nigerian PENGASSAN President Louis Brown Ogbeifun. 
 
Brian Payne, President of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada, said, &quot;ExxonMobil is difficult to deal with everywhere it does business, and so we have to have a global approach to it if we are to be successful.&quot; 
 
Added Abdul Rahman Mohammed, president of Malaysian KPPEPMI, a union representing ExxonMobil exploration and production workers, &quot;By working together we will have a very strong network.&quot; 
 
&quot;The ICEM promotes Global Networks because we strongly believe workers are the most competent monitors of their company's social and environmental performance,&quot; stated ICEM Mines and Energy Officer Gino Govender. 
 
At the close of the conference yesterday, delegates adopted a slogan for the network of &quot;Global Solidarity Today for a Better Tomorrow.&quot;

ICEM&#039;s ExxonMobil Network Takes Shape in Houston, Texas

The international trade union movement, including the ICEM today expressed its outrage at the expulsion of four international union representatives from Colombia on 30 October and 1 November, on the order of the government of President Alvaro Uribe Velez. It is understood that the Uribe government has drawn up a list of trade union representatives banned from entering the country, and that this list includes persons who took part in an international solidarity mission* to Colombia in September, to press the Uribe government to bring an end to the killing of Colombian trade unionists and the other means of anti-union repression which are rife in the country. Colombia has had a notorious record of violence and discrimination against trade unionists over many years, with more than 50 trade unionists murdered already this year. 
 
The four, Victor Baez Mosqueira, General Secretary of the ICFTU regional organisation for the Americas ICFTU-ORIT, Antonio Rodriguez Fritz (International Transport Workers' Federation), Rodolfo Benitez (Union Network International) and Cameron Duncan (Public Services International), were due to attend an Americas region trade union coordination meeting. Immigration officials detained them on arrival in the country and expelled them, in contradiction to Colombia's normal visa entry requirements. Three of them had taken part in a meeting with President Uribe during the September solidarity mission, where the President assured the delegation of his government's full commitment to trade union rights, and thanked them for their interest in the situation inside the country. 
 
In another development, union leaders from Great Britain, Ireland and Spain who had arrived in Colombia to attend a meeting of women trade unionists had their 60-day visas cancelled and were permitted to stay only three days in the country. 
 
The ICFTU and Global Union Federation partners including the ICEM are writing to formally protest to President Uribe at his government's actions, which constitute a &quot;totally unacceptable attempt to deny Colombian workers their legitimate right to international representation,&quot; according to ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder, who added, &quot;The Colombian government has a responsibility to protect trade unionists from violence and intimidation and to ensure that fundamental rights, enshrined in International Labour Organisation Conventions, are fully respected. This action by the government is entirely in the wrong direction, and we call upon President Uribe to restore the right of entry to all those affected, and to face up to its obligations under international law&quot;. 
 
The expulsion of the trade union leaders will also be brought formally to the International Labour Organisation, which is this week examining a number of complaints from the trade union movement over violations of freedom of association in the country. 
 
Global Unions' member organisations in countries around the world will also be raising the case with their national governments, and with intergovernmental and regional bodies including the European Union. Meetings with the Colombian Ambassadors in Brussels, Geneva and other cities are also being sought.

ICEM Joins Protest to Colombian Government

The 20-million-member ICEM is embarking on a major international campaign to challenge the increasing use by multinationals of contract and agency labour. The Global Union Federation (GUF) for the energy, mining, chemical and processed industries&rsquo; sectors held a conference on the subject in Brussels 16-17 September attended by 120 trade union leaders from ICEM affiliates in 35 countries.
&ldquo;We developed a consensus that there is something we can do that will have an affect on this adverse trend to permanent employment,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;This working conference developed a specific set of strategies which we intend to implement among our 400 affiliates on the issue of contract and agency labour.&rdquo; 
 
Foremost among strategies will be to insist on the right to consultation, negotiation and ultimately agreement prior to any company entering into a commercial contract that affects the employment status or conditions of permanent workers. The ICEM has vowed to dedicate the necessary resources so its affiliates are equipped to bring the issue before multinational firms in collective negotiations. 
 
The issue will become forefront on ICEM&rsquo;s global agenda. &ldquo;We will embark on a meaningful, long-term campaign to assist out affiliates to meet the challenges of contract and agency labour,&rdquo; said Higgs. Although the use of such labour is not a new phenomenon, it is a growing concern in developing countries and nations which have economies based on structured, long-term employment. 
 
In that respect, the campaign will also be taken to the UN&rsquo;s International Labour Organization to develop dialogue and language addressing the social effects on communities by the use of contract and agency labour. &ldquo;If there is one thing that undermines the declared position of the ILO&rsquo;s &lsquo;Decent Work&rsquo; agenda, it is the excessive and uncontrolled use of contract and agency labour,&rdquo; stated Higgs.
&nbsp;The conference also adopted measures to take the issue to the OECD, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other relevant inter-governmental agencies. The ICEM as well will develop educational programs and materials so affiliates can effectively spell out the ill-effects of temporary labour before their local and national units of government. 
 
Strategies developed at the ICEM conference benefited from trade unionists from developed countries that have faced the issue in their collective agreements now for 10-15 years. Rapid globalization and economic transformation is now taking the trend of non-permanent employment and contract labour to developing regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe. 
 
The ICEM has pledged to establish a database on global service-providing companies, and will track these companies in their performance on workers&rsquo; rights, health and safety and other criteria. The Brussels-based GUF will also serve as a clearinghouse for affiliates to exchange contractual information they have with service providers who do maintain collective agreements with trade unions. 
 
But Higgs stressed that the focal point of the campaign will be aimed at primary employers in all ICEM sectors. 
 
The 16-17 September conference used an in-depth working paper based on research drawn from the experiences and interviews on contract and agency labour by leaders of ICEM affiliates over the past six months. The paper, produced by Ceclia Mather of the UK, will now be updated to reflect the conclusions and strategies set forth at the conference, and will serve as the guide for this ICEM initiative.

Strategies to Challenge Contract Labour Adopted

Union members of ICEM affiliate Sindicato Unico de Trabajadores del Neum&aacute;tico Argentina (SUTNA) took direct action to win a festering labour dispute with global rubber manufacturer Bridgestone/Firestone. The union and management, with the aid of both the national and provincial labour ministers of Argentina and Buenos Aires, put an 11-month dispute behind them by agreeing to terms 13 September over the illegal firings of 58 workers. 
 
The Japanese company also agreed to begin new talks toward a collective agreement, something managers had refused to do since expiration of a prior contract in 2001. 
 
The dispute began in October 2003 when the company unilaterally implemented a rationalization plan by imposing a new shift schedule at its Llavallol, Pcia, Buenos Aires tyre factory where 700 workers are employed. The work-rule changes circumvented Argentina&rsquo;s labour code since managers failed to negotiate with SUTNA. Both the provincial ministry and national labour ministry issued rulings last winter against Bridgestone and ordered the company to reinstate the fired workers with backpay. 
 
Despite global union pressure applied by ICEM and the United Steelworkers of America, Bridgestone failed to adhere to the government&rsquo;s directives until SUTNA union members imposed an eight-day blockade in late June and early July on suppliers delivering materials to the plant. That produced talks mediated by the Buenos Aires labour minister in which the firm agreed to recall nine workers, and a promise of further dialogue. 
 
But with no further progress, SUTNA struck the facility again last week. 
 
The subsequent discussions held inside the national labour ministry produced an agreement by Bridgestone to recall a total of 12 workers and grant all discharged workers full backpay dating to last October plus a level of social benefits exceeding those mandated by law. In addition, the firm will pay a fixed amount to each displaced worker for a period of 20 months and made a commitment to employ these workers on a sub-contracting basis as the need arises. 
 
In the presence of both the provincial and national labour ministers, Bridgestone managers Ariel Dipascuale and Daniel Benvenutti agreed to respect the independence of SUTNA at the Llavallol factory and to begin fresh dialogue toward a new collective agreement. 
 
&ldquo;We commend the leaders and members of SUTNA,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;Their resolve and perseverance in the face of longstanding employer attacks is a lesson to us all.&rdquo;

Bridgestone/Firestone Dispute Resolved in Argentina

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ICEM affiliate and Russian power workers&rsquo; union El&egrave;ctroprovsoy&ugrave;z held its Congress in Moscow on 7-8 December. Debate centered on electric utility RAO UES&rsquo;s reform plan.
RAO UES is dividing the utility&rsquo;s assets in the drive for profits, which brings a severe threat to jobs and workers&rsquo; protections. Val&egrave;ry Vakhr&ugrave;shkin was elected president, and the union reinforced its commitment to international trade union cooperation through the ICEM in the face of globalisation.
El&egrave;ctroprovsoy&ugrave;z, which numbers 775,000 members, celebrated 100 years of trade unionism in Russia at this Congress, which drew 310 delegates of whom more than a third were women.

Russia’s Electric Power Workers’ Union Holds Congress

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The issue of changing the work schedule for contract employees of Esso Australia Resources Ltd. and BHP Billiton Resources in the offshore oil and gas industry will likely reappear in talks now underway between employers, including the ExxonMobil subsidiary, and Australian unions.
In spring 2004, Esso and the contractors locked out workers for a three-week period in an attempt to terminate the enterprise labour agreement in order to impose a two-week on, two-week off work schedule. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission rejected the application, and Esso and contractors, led by Halliburton&rsquo;s KBR subsidiary, the joint venture of Worley Group and ABB, and Corke Instrument, appealed the decision.
The current work schedule is a seven-day roster, which workers and their unions contend is more family friendly. Esso and BHP operate oil and rigs in waters of the Bass Straight off Victoria, and Esso also runs energy processing plants in Longford and Long Island Point, Victoria.

ExxonMobil and Contractors in Australia Return to Bargaining

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Halliburton, the US construction and oil services company, continues to restrict union representation of the unaffiliated Chemical, Energy, Mines, Oil &amp; Gas, and General Workers&rsquo; Union (FSP KEP) in Jakarta, Indonesia.
&nbsp;The company is attempting to withdraw certification of the Jakarta branch union of FSP KEP because branch leaders elected include workers from the information technology department. Halliburton Energy Services of Indonesia claims IT workers have access to sensitive company data, thus should not be eligible to hold union office.
Halliburton delayed a collective agreement for FSP KEP members for a two-year period up until recently because of management turnover and attempts to cut workers&rsquo; benefits. Halliburton is deployed as a contract services provider to several multinational oil companies doing business in Indonesia, including state-run Pertamina, the Chinese government&rsquo;s CNOOC, ConocoPhillips, BP, Total and Caltex.

Halliburton Interferes with Indonesian Union’s Elected Officers

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The USW in the US supports the decision by the federal Labor Department to refer the consequences of BP&rsquo;s fatal 23 March 2005 explosion at an oil refinery in Texas City, Texas, to the US Justice Department for possible criminal indictments.
Fifteen workers&mdash;all contract employees&mdash;were killed and another 170 were workers injured when the blast occurred during start-up of an isomerisation unit at the former Amoco refinery. BP issued its final report on the US&rsquo;s worst industrial disaster in two decades last week by identifying root causes, including &ldquo;Processs safety &hellip; had not been set and consistently reinforced by management.&rdquo;
In September, the US Labor Department&rsquo;s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the firm with over 300 &ldquo;egregious and willful&rdquo; violations and fined the British firm US$21.4 million.

BP’s Texas Oil Refinery Blast May See Criminal Indictments

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The United Steelworkers (USW) in Canada has endorsed the mega-mining merger of Inco Ltd. and Falconbridge Inc., two Canadian mining houses that combined would comprise the world&rsquo;s largest nickel producer.
The C$13 billion friendly takeover was given approval at a USW press conference in Sudbury, Ontario, on 7 December with the announced formation of a Steelworker Inco/Falconbridge Council made up of 8,500 workers at 15 USW bargaining units.
USW said the merged company will be &ldquo;good for Canada, good for communities and good for building bargaining power across the continent.&rdquo;
The merger is threatened by a possible hostile bid by Swiss-based Xstrata Plc., the Glencore International-controlled mining giant which purchased a 20% stake in Falconbridge in August. Inco has extended to 27 January its offer to Falconbridge shareholders, who must sell at least two-thirds of the company&rsquo;s outstanding shares to Inco before the deal becomes final.

USW in Canada Endorses Inco, Falconbridge Mining Merger

Archive

Fresh Attacks by Imerys in Long US Labour Dispute

ICEM's ExxonMobil Network Takes Shape in Houston, Texas

ICEM Joins Protest to Colombian Government

Strategies to Challenge Contract Labour Adopted

Bridgestone/Firestone Dispute Resolved in Argentina

Russia’s Electric Power Workers’ Union Holds Congress

ExxonMobil and Contractors in Australia Return to Bargaining

Halliburton Interferes with Indonesian Union’s Elected Officers

BP’s Texas Oil Refinery Blast May See Criminal Indictments

USW in Canada Endorses Inco, Falconbridge Mining Merger

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