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Global tyremaker Continental today came under growing pressure in its headquarters country, Germany, to settle a nine-month dispute at one of its US plants. It also faces the threat of worldwide union protests to coincide with its annual shareholder assembly on 1 June. 
 
At a press conference in Hannover this morning, the German mining, chemical and energy workers' union IG BCE pledged support for US tyreworkers and their union, the USWA. The IG BCE, which represents Continental's workforce in Germany, hosted the press briefing. 
 
At the global level, both unions are affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which is coordinating worldwide support for the US workers. ICEM General Secretary Vic Thorpe was among the speakers at this morning's briefing in Hannover. 
 
At issue is Continental's treatment of striking (and locked-out) workers at its General Tire plant in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. But union leaders have also voiced concern over the company's declared worldwide strategy of shifting production to &quot;low-cost&quot; areas. 
 
Explaining the US dispute to the German media in Hannover today were USWA Executive Vice-President John Sellers and the union's international corporate campaigner Jerry Fernandez. Also in Germany for the event were Larry Murray, Vice-President of the USWA local at General Tire's Charlotte plant, and Charlotte workers Andy Hodges, Kay Maree and Linda Hatchell. 
 
The core issue is that &quot;Conti&quot; is refusing to pay its Charlotte employees the going rate among leading employers of US tyre workers, even though the plant is now profitable. The American workers accuse Conti of failing to bargain in good faith and of trying to break the Charlotte local of the USWA. After provoking a strike, the company drafted in &quot;permanent replacement&quot; workers last September, thus effectively locking out and dismissing the strikers. 
 
In 1995, after Continental bought General Tire, the workers bailed out the Charlotte plant by &quot;giving back&quot; about 90 million US dollars in pay and benefits cuts. Charlotte is now showing a healthy profit, but the company is still refusing to bring its pay and conditions up to standard. 
 
Sellers said that Continental's conduct of the dispute breached US law. It also violated internationally recognised standards of corporate behaviour, and his union would therefore be lodging complaints with the UN's International Labour Organisation and with the OECD. 
 
The USWA would also put a resolution before Continental shareholders at their annual assembly on 1 June, urging the company to abide by ILO and OECD standards. And if there were no progress in resolving the US dispute, he said, international union action was planned to coincide with the shareholder meeting. 
 
For Germany's IG BCE union, Hannover regional secretary and Continental supervisory board member Dirk Sumpf urged the company to develop the same &quot;partnership&quot; relations with the USWA as it maintained with the German union. &quot;It's not a matter of what is possible under American law. It's a matter of what makes sense.&quot; 
 
And Manfred Warda, who heads IG BCE's international department, added that it was now &quot;mainly the company's responsibility to show ways of constructively resolving a conflict whose continuation cannot be in the company's own interests.&quot; IG BCE remained ready to support such efforts, he said. Continental's relations with the German union were on the basis of &quot;cooperatively and fairly reconciling interests&quot;. It would, Warda emphasised, &quot;be desirable to use these experiences so as to also make an innovative contribution in the USA to the improvement of employee-employer relations. In that regard, &quot;respect for ILO standards and for the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises is a plausible minimum demand.&quot; 
 
In Charlotte, &quot;Continental is violating the right to organise, as recognised internationally by governments, employers and unions within the ILO,&quot; ICEM General Secretary Vic Thorpe told the press conference. &quot;The American Continental workers have the unhesitating support of the ICEM and its more than 20 million members in 117 countries.&quot; 
 
In particular, Thorpe said, rubber workers worldwide were watching the Continental dispute very closely to see if the company would &quot;show some social responsibility.&quot; This was a &quot;test case&quot;, Thorpe emphasised, because &quot;the behaviour which Continental and other companies espouse at home in Europe must be mirrored in their operations elsewhere.&quot; 
 
Such companies should also be setting an example of good industrial relations to the new market economies of Central and Eastern Europe, Thorpe said. Instead, Continental's behaviour in the US had shocked and disturbed trade unionists as far away as Russia. To prove the point, he read out a message sent today by Russian trade unionists currently attending a conference in Moscow on unions and globalisation. 
 
The Russians, including ICEM-affiliated unions there, &quot;strongly support the just demands of the USWA workers and call upon Continental/General Tire to put an end to its anti-worker policy.&quot; They &quot;insist that the company adhere to the highest possible labour standards wherever it does business, including respecting the right of workers to join trade unions without employer interference, the right of workers to engage in collective bargaining, and the right of workers to strike without losing their jobs.&quot; So the Russians &quot;urge Continental Tire to return immediately to the bargaining table and to negotiate a reasonable and just contract with the USWA.&quot; 
 
Several speakers at the press conference emphasised that Continental's use of &quot;replacement workers&quot; during the dispute would be illegal in Germany and most other European countries. Also taking part in the Hannover briefing was Jacques Caltot, who heads the rubber division of the ICEM-affiliated French union FCE-CFDT. 
 
Further international support for the US workers came from the International Metalworkers' Federation, whose Organisation and Solidarity Coordinator Brian Fredricks spoke at today's press conference. 
 
In the US, meanwhile, a &quot;public awareness&quot; campaign launched by the Charlotte workers is bearing fruit. Consumers and trade unionists are calling tyre retailers all over the country and urging them to enquire into the safety of tyres built by unskilled &quot;replacement workers&quot; in Continental's Charlotte plant. The callers are also voicing safety concerns about the company's alleged plans to import tyres from Mexico.

Conti Faces Global Union Alliance Over US Dispute

Trade unions representing workers in the world's energy and water utilities want to maintain strong social control over these basic public services. The ongoing revolution in electricity, gas and water sectors is frequently leading to major job losses, higher prices, problems with quality of services, and attacks on union rights. Proper regulation and full involvement of unions and other interest groups in all phases of any reform processes are required to guarantee a socially balanced outcome. 
This was pointed out by union delegates attending the International Labour Organisation (ILO) meeting of workers, employers and governments in session this week in Geneva. 
 
The ILO Tripartite Meeting on Managing the Privatisation and Restructuring of Public Utilities (water, gas, electricity) will exchange views on the impact of these processes on employment, working conditions, human resources development and service delivery. It aims to adopt a series of jointly agreed conclusions and possibly resolutions. 
 
The Workers' Group is coordinated by the Public Services International (PSI) and International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) whose affiliated unions represent millions of workers in electricity, gas and water utilities around the world. 
 
Contrary to claims by neo-liberal politicians and free market advocates, the unions feel that the experience of rapid changes in the utility sector is so far mainly negative. 
 
&quot;We find that the process of restructuring and privatisation of water and energy has frequently resulted in loss of employment, trade union derecognition, higher prices, problems with quality of services, hidden subsidies and guarantees from public authorities to private, and problems of weak regulation&quot;, pointed out Hans Engelberts, General Secretary of the PSI. 
 
According to Engelberts, &quot;provision of water and energy by public sector operations has clear advantages in accountability, public service obligations, stability of services, and stability of employment.&quot; 
 
Unions feel that there is a fundamental conflict of interest between multinational companies who are increasingly allowed to invest in utilities in search of quick profits, and citizens who need reliable, reasonably priced, high quality public services. 
 
The governments have an important role to play in balancing this conflict of interest. Strong regulation and framework conditions are some of the key tools for maintaining social control. 
 
But also unions have new control tools to offer. PSI is urging multinational water companies to sign up the PSI Code of Conduct on water services which lays down a number of basic conditions for lean and safe drinking water and fair labour practices. 
 
ICEM Deputy General Secretary Peter Michalzik cited ICEM's agreements signed last year with the Norwegian oil and gas group Statoil and the main players in the global chlorine industry. These agreements cover union rights, fair wages and benefits, health and safety standards, the environment and training. 
 
&quot;We need more such enforceable agreements and other similar arrangement to construct a social basis for the new global energy and water sectors&quot;, said Michalzik. 
 
 
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
Public Services International (PSI) is a global trade union federation representing 20 million public service workers in 500 unions in 150 countries. 
 
International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) is also a global union organisation with 430 affiliated unions representing 20 million workers in 115 countries. 
 
The UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) is hosting a Tripartite Meeting on Managing the Privatisation and Restructuring of Public Utilities (water, gas, electricity). 20 representatives each of governments, employers and workers will discuss the issues and attempt to agree on conclusions that provide guidance for future action. The Meeting is taking place on 12-16 April 1999 in Geneva.

Unions Want Social Control, ILO Utilities Meeting Told

Chemical sector unions and companies are to cooperate worldwide on the continuous improvement of health, safety and environmental protection. 
Agreement on this was reached following talks in Geneva last week between worker representatives coordinated by the 20-million-strong International Confederation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Unions (ICEM) and employers grouped within the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA). 
 
Specifically, the joint efforts will focus on the chemical industry's Responsible Care programme. This voluntary initiative aims at continuous improvement of health, safety and environmental standards. It stresses the need to communicate the results to stakeholders and the public. 
 
Governments were also represented at the Geneva meeting, which was organised by the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). 
 
The meeting's conclusions emphasise that &quot;there is a dialogue in progress which will be formalised and continued on the meaningful involvement of workers and their representatives on the subject of Responsible Care between ICCA and ICEM.&quot; 
 
Similarly, &quot;employers should involve fully the workers and their representatives in local Responsible Care activities and brief them and their representatives at the national level in matters such as the status of implementation.&quot; 
 
Responsible Care has had &quot;positive results&quot; and &quot;there is potential, with greater involvement of stakeholders, to go further.&quot; Its goals &quot;should be embraced by all chemical firms and by all those working in the industry.&quot; 
 
But Responsible Care must not just deliver. It must be seen to deliver. &quot;Performance indicators and verification procedures&quot; are therefore &quot;critical for the credibility of the initiative.&quot; 
 
Crucially, the companies, governments and unions recognised that Responsible Care is no substitute for regulation. Rather, &quot;the regulatory framework and voluntary initiatives should be mutually supportive.&quot; 
 
Regulation should ensure that &quot;minimum standards are set and met.&quot; This entails &quot;legally authorised inspections&quot;, coupled with &quot;support programmes&quot; and &quot;sanctions&quot;. But the less prescriptive &quot;goal-setting&quot; regulations also require &quot;suitable government oversight&quot;. 
 
Voluntary initiatives, on the other hand, should &quot;in particular aim at achieving higher levels of performance than those possible through legislation alone.&quot; They should &quot;provide encouragement and mechanisms for bringing all plants and firms up to acceptable performance levels&quot;, and their goals &quot;should not be static but should be based on the principle of continuous improvement.&quot; 
 
The emphasis is on the &quot;development and diffusion of best practices&quot; both between companies and within each corporation. Notably, multinationals should apply their corporate health, safety and environment standards worldwide. There should also be &quot;provision of expertise to chemical industries in developing and transitional countries&quot;, including via the ILO and other UN agencies. 
 
The chemical industry's trade associations and the bigger companies in the sector should help small and medium-size businesses to improve their health, safety and environment performance. 
 
&quot;The development and diffusion of best practices will be rendered more effective to the extent that workers and their representatives play an effective role in the voluntary initiatives,&quot; the employers, governments and unions agreed. 
 
&quot;Internationally comparable systems of performance should be developed and maintained to track chemical enterprises' health, safety and environment performance,&quot; they insisted. &quot;Workers and their representatives should be involved in the development and use of such systems.&quot; 
 
Managers and workers alike need training if Responsible Care is to succeed. The Geneva conclusions set out these training requirements in some detail. Again, &quot;workers and their representatives should have a voice and influence in determining the nature and scope of the health, safety and environment-related information and training provided to them in the context of voluntary initiatives.&quot; 
 
Chairing the workers' group in the committee that drew up the conclusions was ICEM Vice-President Fred Higgs (for a summary of his and the employers' comments, see ICEM UPDATE 9-1999). 
 
Robert Wages, Vice-President of the ICEM-affiliated American industrial union PACE, chaired the workers' group on the resolutions committee. Coordinating the workers' representatives throughout the week-long meeting were the ICEM's Deputy General Secretary Peter Michalzik and Health, Safety and Environment Officer Reg Green. 
 
Global union-employer cooperation on Responsible Care is now set to move forward rapidly. Within the next two months, the ICEM will be addressing the governing bodies both of the ICCA and of the European-level chemical producers' federation CEFIC on this issue.

Chemical Safety: World&#039;s Firms And Unions To Cooperate

The chemical sector will be under continuous and intense public scrutiny for the foreseeable future, workers' spokesman Fred Higgs told a UN-backed world meeting of unions, employers and governments now in session in Geneva. 
Health, safety and the environment will remain the focus of that public attention, Higgs emphasised. Voluntary initiatives such as the chemical industry's Responsible Care programme could play an important role in meeting the sector's responsibility to ensure the highest possible health, safety and environmental performance. But these initiatives have to be credible - and that means they must fully involve workers and their trade unions. 
 
Fred Higgs is Vice-President of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). He is the spokesman for the workers' group at the Geneva meeting, which is being held under the auspices of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). Unions, governments and employers meet on equal terms within the ILO, whose Tripartite Meeting On Voluntary Initiatives Affecting Training and Education on Safety, Health and Environment in the Chemical Industries ends tomorrow. 
 
According to Higgs, &quot;Voluntary industry initiatives - in particular the Responsible Care programme - will only be viewed by workers and their trade union representatives as important and legitimate components of industrial policy and strategy if they fully and meaningfully involve workers and their trade union representatives from the plant level through to the international level.&quot; That was why companies must base their voluntary approaches on the development of mutual trust and joint union/management involvement at the workplace. 
 
Both the ICEM and his own union, ICEM British affiliate the TGWU, see these voluntary initiatives as part of their everyday concerns, Higgs said. They &quot;very much hope to agree with employers this week the principles necessary to build the joint commitment and involvement on which the Responsible Care programme ultimately depends for its effectiveness and credibility.&quot; Failure to reach such agreement would inevitably result in a considerable hardening of union attitudes towards the Responsible Care programme in particular, and voluntary initiatives more generally. 
 
Unions representing chemical workers worldwide have every interest in ensuring that the chemical industry is at the forefront when it comes to health, safety and environmental protection, Higgs pointed out. &quot;If this can be achieved by genuinely joint commitment and involvement of both sides of industry in voluntary initiatives such as the Responsible Care programme, then voluntary initiatives will perhaps finally have come of age.&quot; 
 
The ICEM has consistently pressed for the chemical firms' Responsible Care programme to be made credible and verifiable, with full union participation. A 1997 world survey by the ICEM found that workers and their unions were neither widely involved in nor well-informed about Responsible Care. Among those that were, many were sceptical about its real value. 
 
In fact, chemical manufacturers now increasingly accept that unions and others must be better involved in the programme if it is to be credible. 
 
&quot;Dialogue is an imperative if Responsible Care is to succeed,&quot; Bryan Sanderson told the Geneva meeting this week. &quot;Governments and Trade Unions are essential stakeholders in this process of dialogue.&quot; 
 
Sanderson is President of the chemical manufacturers' European council CEFIC and chairs the board of their world council, the ICCA. 
 
In Geneva, he called for the development of verification systems for Responsible Care. He also recognised that the chemical industry still has much to do to improve its workers' and external stakeholders' knowledge of the Responsible Care programme. &quot;But we are committed to improving this,&quot; Sanderson promised.

Chemical Safety: Union Involvement Vital, UN Meeting Told

Global Solidarity 
A newsletter for unionised Goodyear workers world-wide
 
ICEM World Rubber Conference Set for Brazil on October 28-29 
 
The World Conference for the Rubber Industry will take place later this month in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 
 
Since the last conference held in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the effects of globalization &ndash; corporate mergers and acquisitions and new strategic alliances &ndash; have become more evident in the rubber industries. 
 
The ICEM has determined that the agenda for the conference will focus on: 
<ul>
 <li>Economics, future trends and their impact on workers </li>
 <li>Occupational safety and health and the environment </li>
 <li>Global trade union networks </li>
 <li>Global company agreements and other industrial initiatives including employee participation. </li>
</ul>
The conference will be chaired by United Steelworkers of America (USWA) International President, Leo W.Gerard, the chair of the ICEM rubber section. 
 
Turkish unions win new settlement 
 
In late May, Turkish union leaders and three foreign joint venture tire makers reached an agreement and averted the possibility of a strike in the crisis-hit country. 
 
The government earlier had ordered a postponement of strike plans by Lastik-Is, the rubber union at the leading tire plants of Turk Pirelli, Goodyear and Brisa Bridgestone. 
Talks between the union and the firms on pay and social security payments for 2002-2003 had hit difficulties amid a deep economic recession sparked by a financial crisis in February 2001. 
 
Goodyear Cancels Continental Carbon Contract 
 
At the request of the United Steelworkers of America, the company canceled its contract with Continental Carbon in late September. Continental Carbon, a producer of carbon black used to make tires, locked out its union workforce in Ponca City, Oklahoma on May 7, 2001. 
 
The Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers&rsquo; (PACE), which represents the Ponca City locked out workers, has escalated a corporate campaign to include warnings to tire manufacturers, such as Goodyear and Bridgestone, and consumers about the company using replacement workers to manufacture carbon black at the Ponca City plant. 
 
Polish Unit Improves Financially 
 
Debica, the Polish unit of Goodyear, reported a strong second quarter this year. The company attributed the performance to restructuring and a stronger Euro currency.
Last year, the company reduced its workforce by 20%, laying off 800 workers. It also cut general expenses by a similar amount. 
 
Since Debica garners about 70% of its sales from exports, the strengthening of the Euro is expected to continue bettering Debica&rsquo;s results. 
 
U.S. Mold Plant Will Close 
 
It appears that more than 100 workers at Goodyear&rsquo;s Stow, Ohio mold plant will lose their jobs. The facility is currently operating at less than a third of its capacity. 
 
Thirty years ago, Stow was the only manufacturer of tire molds for the company&rsquo;s American tire plants. 
 
That changed in the mid-&lsquo;90s when the company opened a nonunion mold shop in Statesville, North Carolina. In recent years, the Stow shop focused on molds for racing and experimental tires. 
 
To save money, the company now farms out much of its mold manufacturing to independent plants and has reallocated work among it offshore mold plants in Brazil and Luxembourg. 
 
Company Increases Stake in Slovenia Venture 
 
Goodyear announced this spring that it had increased its holdings in its joint venture with Sava Tires of Slovenia from 60% to 80%. Since 1998, Goodyear has invested more than $90 million in modernizing the facility. It holds the right to buy the remaining 20% stake in 2004 and 2005. 
 
The investments increase the company&rsquo;s position in the Eastern European tire market. In 2001, Sava produced more than 6 million car and truck tires at its Kranj, Slovenia facility. The company has 1,400 workers. 
 
Company Plans Expansions 
 
Goodyear has committed nearly $500 million to three major projects. Two of the expansions are planned in the U.S. and the other is slated for China. In addition, the company has committed to a smaller project at a joint venture in New Zealand. 
 
In the U.S., the company plans to spend $250 million over four to five years to modernize its Lawton/Fort Sill, Okla., radial passenger tire facility. 
 
It will spend another $120 million to modernize its Topeka, Kan., farm and earthmover/off-the-road tire plant that will upgrade equipment, processing and technology during the next five years. 
 
In China, Goodyear will invest $120 million through 2006 to nearly triple production capacity for passenger tires at its Dalian facility. Capacity will rise to 5.3 million units by 2006, when employment will double to 1,000. 
 
In New Zealand, Goodyear's South Pacific Tyres Ltd. joint venture will invest about $5 million at its Upper Hutt passenger car tire plant this year to expand output nearly two-thirds to 2.4 million tires annually.

Goodyear network Global Bulletin - English version - October 2002

Contents: 
 
1. 2005 Nobel Peace Prize 
2. ICEM Africa Regional Women's Meeting 
3. Collective Bargaining Training in Chile 
4. ICEM Colombia Women's Meeting 
5. Diagnosis in Costa Rica 
6. UK - T&amp;G Women's School 
7. Negotiations in Spain 

 
1. Nobel Peace Prize 
 
The names of nine Nepali women, included in a list of 1000 women worldwide to be nominated as a single entity for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize, were made public on 29 June. The list includes among others Binda Pandey, GEFONT Nepal and Vice-President of ICEM. The 1000 women have been collectively nominated as a single candidate for the prestigious prize. Of the 1000 women nominees, 157 have been nominated from South Asia, the most of any region. The project aims to make women's efforts visible to counter injustice, discrimination, oppression and violence. 
 
 
2. ICEM Africa Regional Women's Meeting 
 
A meeting was held on 2 June 2005 in Johannesburg before the ICEM Africa Regional Committee meeting to formally establish the Africa Regional Women's Committee and to review activities in the region. 
 
Information was provided on ICEM global programs on HIV/AIDS and contract and agency labor. It was agreed that in both issues women are disproportionately affected, and special attention needs to be paid to impacts on women. The Shop Steward Development Program in Africa has a potential for developing teams of women at national level, and ICEM is asked to increase the scope and level of activity targeted at women within this project. 
 
Monitoring the recruitment and development of women in unions is difficult if there are no women's structures; without women's structures we act individually. Without a commitment to funding, however, it is difficult to initiate activities in the region for women. Thought should be given to developing a fund for women's activities in the region, and any ideas should be passed on to Vida Brewu at vbrewu@yahoo.co.uk. 
 
The ICEM Africa Women's Committee was established and made up of one representative each from Ghana, Botswana, DRC, Nigeria and South Africa. The committee will meet annually before the African regional committee. 
 
 
3. Collective Bargaining Training in Chile 
 
Erica Hidalgo Barrahona, ICEM women's committee, held a two-day training course for women in collective bargaining together with the Chilean oil workers' union FENATRAPECH. It was the last event scheduled in the FNV/SASK Equal Opportunities Project in Latin America. It was attended by 24 women. 
 
The topics included were labor relations and collective bargaining, changes in the company and their impact on collective bargaining, new and old contents of collective bargaining, gender issues and negotiations. Power relations were also discussed. Simulations were done. Public speaking was practiced. Cooperation with other organizations was also arranged. 
 
 
4. ICEM Colombia women's meeting 
 
ICEM Colombia held two women's meetings, from 30 March to 1 April, and from 1 to 3 June 2005. The themes were women and labor market, changes in women's work, gender division of labor, work, gender and globalization, women's working conditions, and equal opportunities and equal pay between women and men. 
 
These meetings were held in the framework of the FNV/SASK equal opportunities project. 
 
The women analysed their own experiences to understand the changes in their working lives. They analysed what jobs women have done, what the stereotypes are for women's work that have been passed down, and how women's and men's roles have been defined, with women and men doing different jobs and carrying out different functions. 
 
Women and men are assigned different roles, with men assigned to public space and women to the home. Thus the two sexes are segregated, and what they do is valued differently. Work is evaluated on the basis of what it contributes to creating wealth. Globalization has made the sexual division of labor more acute and women's work more precarious, leveling the existing differences downwards. The demands for more qualifications that the economic model requires have not been matched by qualified jobs. Nowadays women are better educated, but they have more precarious jobs with lower pay. The most precarious jobs are in the informal sector, which is mostly covered by women. Equality between men and women is recognized with a lowering of standards for both. 
 
The seminars also provide leadership training with what it means to be a woman leader. An analysis was provided on differences between women's and men's leadership, as well as power relationships. Equal opportunities and equal pay were discussed in connection with collective bargaining and the importance of including gender in negotiations. 
 
 
5. Diagnosis in Costa Rica 
 
On 10 June a seminar was held in Costa Rica to define policies for women and men in collective bargaining. It was attended by 12 women and 8 men. The point was to do mapping and to see where women have been excluded from the oil industry up to now. Up to now women have only been doing certain things. A questionnaire was developed. A diagnosis was also developed of the situation with youth. The young people were asked their aspirations. The demand was to include people under 40 years of age in the trade union induction process. This work will be continued and expanded in the first week of July. 
 
 
6. UK - T&amp;G National Women's School 
 
A National women's school was held from 12 to 17 June 2005 organised by the Transport and General Workers Union in Eastbourne, UK. The group was divided up into four to cover getting involved in the union, women in the workplace and winning for women. The subjects covered, among others, union structures, branch equality officers, women's health, equal pay and equal pay audits, family friendly policies, work-life balance, and trade union conference procedures. Sisters attended from all levels within the union, from newly elected reps to more experienced colleagues. The women gained more confidence and went out to encourage more women to take their rightful place within the unions. 
 
 
7. Negotiations in Spain 
 
FITEQA CCOO in Spain managed to achieve certain extra payments for families in their 2005 negotiations. 
 
These extra payments are still not widespread, but they cover certain advantages such as scholarships, assistance for children, for education. This is something that has to be analysed more in detail because it has to do with the fact that companies seem to be more willing to pay out limited amounts of money. It may also be due to the fact that some employment structures are getting younger, so that these advantages can be directly relevant to young families. Because of the fact that pay is not equal, these payments are considered to be a form of compensation. These payments do have their merits, but nevertheless, it is wages and salaries that pay for work, and trade unions should still keep their eye on non-discrimination in pay and negotiate on equal pay for work of equal value and the necessary processes of evening out pay.

ICEM Women’s bulletin No. 2 – July 2005

The ICEM today, 12 September, signed its first Global Framework Agreement in the Materials Sector&mdash;a social responsibility code of behaviour with French-based Lafarge, a building materials manufacturer. The agreement was signed in Paris jointly with the global union federation International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW), and the World Federation of Building and Woodworkers Unions (WFBWU), a Christian labour federation. 
 
The Global Agreement marks ICEM&rsquo;s twelfth such international code of standards contract with a multinational enterprise, and the second that has been jointly signed with another global union federation. 
 
&ldquo;We welcome Lafarge&rsquo;s commitment to uphold high principles of social responsibility in all global operations, whether it&rsquo;s on workers&rsquo; rights, union recognition, environment, health and safety, or other recognised international work standards,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. 
 
IFBWW General Secretary Anita Normark also welcomed the commitment of Lafarge to apply international labour standards at all worksites worldwide. &ldquo;The value added of the agreement with Lafarge must be seen, that the three federations have a global network of trade unions which are able to monitor the agreement,&rdquo; said Normark. 
 
&ldquo;Lafarge is convinced that there can be no sustainable economic success without progress in the fields of social responsibility and environmental protection,&rdquo; said Christian Herrault, the company&rsquo;s Executive Vice President for Human Resources and Organisation. &ldquo;Consequently, this broader vision which goes beyond economic factors to embrace human, labour and environmental aspects has been built into our programmes underpinning performance and managerial processes.&rdquo; 
 
Herrault added that Lafarge &ldquo;has consistently valued the central role played by its workforce within the company and signature of this agreement represents a further step forward in our ongoing dialogue with staff.&rdquo; 
 
The agreement cites the International Labour Organization&rsquo;s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the ILO&rsquo;s Tripartite Declaration of Principles on Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the United Nations Global Compact, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development&rsquo;s (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. 
 
The agreement states in its preamble: &ldquo;Lafarge considers respect for workers&rsquo; rights to be a crucial element in sustainable development&rdquo; and the 172-year-old company &ldquo;will seek to use the services of those trading partners, subcontractors and suppliers, which recognise and implement principles&rdquo; contained in the Global Agreement. 
 
Those principals include: 
&bull; No forced labour; 
&bull; No discrimination in employment; 
&bull; No use of child labour; 
&bull; Freedom of association and right of workers to collective bargaining; 
&bull; Living wages paid at least at the level of national legislation or collective agreements, as applied in the industry/sector concerned; 
&bull; Working hours comply with relevant national legislation, national agreements and industry/sector standards; 
&bull; Safe and healthy work environment in accordance with ILO Convention 156 and ILO Guidelines for Occupational Health Management Systems; and 
&bull; Development of Skills Training for all workers in cooperation with trade unions. 
 
The Lafarge Global Agreement establishes a review process group composed of representatives from company management and the signatory trade union federations that will meet at least annually for review and implementation of the principles in all Lafarge worksites. 
 
Lafarge employs 77,000 workers in 75 countries. The company is the worldwide leader in building materials; number two producer of aggregates and concrete; and the world&rsquo;s number three producer of gypsum. 
 
The ICEM has 420 affiliated trade unions in 125 countries, encompassing 20 million workers. The IFWBB has 10.5 million members in 281 trade unions, also in 125 countries. The WFBWU represents 1.5 million workers affiliated to 55 Christian unions in 41 countries.

ICEM Signs Global Agreement with French-based Lafarge

ICEM affiliate EGAT-LU continues to be repressed by Thailand's government and management of public utility Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). On 28 April at the union's extraordinary meeting at EGAT headquarters in Nonthaburi, the company broke precedent by denying hundreds of union members and EGAT-LU use of a meeting room and sound system. The meeting was moved outside and a key issue was an EGAT freeze on a scheduled 15% annual wage adjustment. Other public sector workers received the increase. The government and utility are pushing privatisation of an initial 25% and that process escalated recently when the State Enterprise Policy Committee approved corporatisation of the utility.

Thai Government Repressing Electric Union over Privatisation

Another ICEM affiliate in Turkey is continuing its fight against privatisation in a courtroom in Ankara. Petrol-Is presented its case 2 March to again block privatisation of oil-refining company Tupras by the Turkish Privatisation Authority that now is seeking to sell a 14.8% stake. The authority holds 66% of Tupras, while 34% is publicly traded. Last year Petrol-Is convinced a court to halt the sale of the 66% stake to a joint venture composed of German Efremov-Kautschuk GmbH, a subsidiary of Russian Tatneft, and Turkish holding company Zorlu, a home textiles and home electronics company. Tupras operates four refineries and a petrochemical plant in Turkey.

Turkish Oil Union Fights Privatisation in Court Room

Turkish ICEM affiliate Sel&uuml;l&ouml;z-Is received mass support from two national trade union centers 4 March in its continued occupational of the SEKA paper mill in Izmit. The Sel&uuml;l&ouml;z-Is center, DISK, and TURK-IS mobilized affiliated unions to join the occupation that day. Some 700 paperworkers of Sel&uuml;l&ouml;z-Is plus family members have occupied the mill since 20 January in order to block privatisation of state-run company SEKA. Scores of ICEM affiliates from around the world have registered strong letters of protest to Turkish affiliates in their countries as a result of a 16 February ICEM Circular.

Support for Paper Mill Occupation in Turkey Growing

Archive

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ICEM Signs Global Agreement with French-based Lafarge

Thai Government Repressing Electric Union over Privatisation

Turkish Oil Union Fights Privatisation in Court Room

Support for Paper Mill Occupation in Turkey Growing

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