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To: All ICEM affiliates in Nepal 
 
Brussels, 12 April 2006 
 
Dear friends and colleagues, 
 
Ever since the illegitimate takeover of power by King Gyanendra in February 2005, the ICEM has been closely following the courageous efforts of its affiliated trade unions and others in Nepal. We are proud to have been able to support you and other trade unions as you have staged and taken part in the many demonstrations and protests actions against the king&rsquo;s autocratic rule. 
 
As we follow the unfolding events of the present time, we look in disbelief at how the so-called government in Nepal clings on to power using a wide range of brutal measures which seem to be installed specifically to hurt its own people. 
 
The ICEM strongly protests against the many arrests in Nepal that have taken place over the last few days, including the many arrests of both ordinary trade union members as well as trade union leaders. We also condemn the increasing violence used against the people of Nepal. We forcefully support the actions of the independent trade unions in Nepal as part of the broader struggle for the restoration of democracy. 
 
In name of the 20 million members of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions from 122 countries, I would like you to congratulate you on your actions so far and let you know that we are firmly with you and the Nepalese people in your united struggle against the royal oppression during this strike and beyond. 
 
In Solidarity! 
 
Fred Higgs 
General Secretary

ICEM letter of support for Nepalese affiliates

In the latest example of the appaling series of human and trade union rights violations in Colombia, the ICEM has learned of the murder of brother Daniel Cortez Cortez, a member of ICEM&rsquo;s Colombian affiliate Sintraelecol. 
<img height="66" alt="" src="" width="100" />
On Sunday April 2nd, brother Cortez was murdered in Puerto Parra, near the city of Barrancabermeja, the third largest city in Colombia, in a region known to be controlled by the paramilitaries. For the last 16 years, he has been working for the energy company Empresa Electrificadora de Santander, where he had been an active trade union member from the day he started. 
 
Daniel Cortez was assassinated at night on April 2nd. Attacked by a group of paramilitaries, he died instantly when he was shot in the face. He leaves behind a wife and four children and the ICEM offers its sincere&nbsp;condolences to his family, colleagues and friends. 
 
In a <a href="/index.php?id=26&amp;doc=1756&amp;la=EN">letter to the Colombian authorities</a>, the ICEM calls for an urgent, full and open investigation into the exact circumstances of this brutal assassination. Those responsible for the crime need to be brought to justice and convicted. 
 
The murder is, regrettably, not a stand alone case. Far more trade unionists are murdered in Colombia every year then anywhere else in the world. According to preliminary figures, over 70 murders on trade unionists were counted last year. In 2004, there were at least 99. 
 
&ldquo;This murder can not be just another addition to an already lengthy list. We need to keep realising that every time a trade unionist is killed in Colombia, a new tragedy unfolds. Each time, new families, other colleagues and different communities are faced with the loss of a family member, a colleague or a friend&rdquo; said Fred Higgs, General Secretary of the ICEM. &ldquo;It is imperative that we continue our demands on the Colombian government for effective protection for trade unionists in Colombia.&rdquo;

Member of Sintraelecol, ICEM Affiliate in Colombia, murdered

Meeting in Istanbul on 6 and 7 April, delegates at the ICEM&rsquo;s 3rd World Conference for the Rubber Industries ended two days of discussions and information exchange on Friday with the adoption of a plan for action. 
<img height="120" alt="" src="" width="120" />
Topics at the conference included current world-wide trends in the rubber industries, one of the most oligopolistic industrial sectors, and their effect on workers, as well as the need for multinational companies to guarantee respect for national and international workers&rsquo; rights. The conference was attended by over 100 representatives from 16 ICEM affiliated rubber sector trade unions from 14 countries. 
 
At the conference, two special resolutions were adopted. The first one dealt with the recently announced Goodyear plant closures in the UK and Poland, declaring international solidarity support towards the Goodyear workers in those countries. 
<img height="213" alt="" src="" width="390" />
The second resolution calls on Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli to &ldquo;exert common sense and to bargain in good faith&rdquo; with Turkey&rsquo;s ICEM affiliate Lastik-Iş. These three companies take a very harsh approach to collective bargaining in Turkey. They are not only demanding concessions in working conditions, they have also consistently called on the Turkish government to ban strikes, while simultaneously threatening to leave the country. 
 
The conference adopted an action plan for the next four years, setting out broad guidelines for international trade union action at both national and international level. An important priority in the action plan is the need for continued and improved dialogue with multinational companies in the rubber sector, including through global framework agreements and global trade union networks. Special emphasis also goes to health and safety issues. 
Other priority areas are the difficulties related to the increased use of contract and agency labour and the fight for gender equality. 
 
Leo Gerard, International President of ICEM&rsquo;s US affiliate USW (United Steelworkers), was re-elected as Chair of the ICEM rubber section. 
 
Speaking at the conclusion of the conference, ICEM general secretary Fred Higgs said that &ldquo;The discussions, resolutions and adoption of a forward looking action plan by the conference demonstrates that unions around the world in the rubber sector are determined to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing industry on the basis of mutual support and solidarity&rdquo;. 
 
 

For the resolution on the Goodyear plant closings in the UK and Poland, <a href="/index.php?id=164&amp;doc=1754&amp;la=EN">click here</a>. 
 
For the resolution on collective bargaining in Turkey, <a href="/index.php?id=164&amp;doc=1750&amp;la=EN">click here</a>.&nbsp;
For more information on this conference, including background documents and presentations, <a href="/index.php?id=164&amp;la=EN">click here</a>.

ICEM’s World Rubber Conference Reacts to the Challenges of Globalisation

BAE, Kang-wook 
President 
Korean Chemical and Textile Workers Federation (KCTF) 
Third floor, Woosung Building 
94-14 Yeongdeungpo-dong 7-ga 
Yeongdeungpo 
Seoul 150-037 
SOUTH KOREA 
 
by fax: + 82-2-26.32.47.55 
by&nbsp;e-mail: <a href="mailto:kctfim@hanmail.net">kctfim@hanmail.net</a> 

Dear Sisters and Brothers of KCTF-KCTU in Korea, 
 
We are informed by the ICEM that your union has been, since 2004, the victim of an anti-union repression by GS Caltex, and that you now have decided to launch a boycott campaign against GS Caltex products in Korea. This letter is meant to offer our union&rsquo;s support and encouragement in your courageous fight against the unfair labor practices by GS Caltex. 
 
We understand that some 30 union leaders at GS Caltex have been dismissed in August 2004 and that eight have faced criminal charges for carrying out their legitimate union duties. It is clear that GS Caltex wanted to punish these dedicated trade unionists, as well as the KCFT-KCTU itself, for its trade union actions. This behavior by the company is abhorrent and far from what can and should be expected in developed and civilized nations. GS Caltex needs to start bargaining in good-faith. 
 
It is also deplorable that the South Korean Government has collaborated with the management of GS Caltex by assisting in the suppression of reasonable union demands through dispatching anti-riot police units and arresting union members. 
 
We salute KCFT-KCTU for undertaking this brave struggle in defense of basic trade union rights, particularly the fight for freedom of association. Please know that the members and leaders of our union stand firmly with you in your pursuit of justice and dignity. 
 
Fraternally, 
 
 
(Name) 
(Title) 
(Union)

Model Letter of Support to KCTF

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ongoing protests across Thailand seeking the resignation of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were joined last week by thousands of public utilities&rsquo; workers, taking personal leave to march in the streets. Unions at the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), the Metropolitan Electricity Authority and other state utility enterprises encouraged workers to join the protests on 13 and 14 March, with senior level EGAT managers assisting by granting all requests for leave from workers. 
<img height="464" src="" width="300" alt="" />
The State Enterprise Relations Confederation, made up of these public service labour unions, called a general assembly on the same days, in efforts to get workers to participate in protests. 
A mass rally was held at Sanam Luang, Monday, 13 March, continuing into the next day when 100,000 people marched on the Government House to present a petition demanding Thaksin&rsquo;s resignation. The workers and the utility unions of Thailand are also using the protests to demand an end to Thaksin-led efforts to privatise the state enterprises, a major undercurrent leading to the call for the billionaire&rsquo;s resignation.

Thai Public Utility Unions March Against Thaksin

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
A strike by oil-service contractors in Ecuador was put down by the military, following a state of emergency imposed in three Amazon region provinces by President Alfredo Palacio. The 48-hour strike, 6 and 7 March, in which five of the company&rsquo;s largest oil fields were occupied, was conducted by 4,000 contract workers employed by 50 contract firms responsible to state-run Petroecuador. 
 
The contract workers, who work under 15-day, 20-day and 30-day term contracts, had not been paid in three months due to a dispute between the Finance Ministry and Petroecuador. The army put down the strike with tear gas and other forceful means and the leader of the oil workers&rsquo; federation, Remigio Sornoze, was jailed. Not only were the workers seeking their rightful back wages, but demands also include permanent employment by Petroecuador, and reforms to the budgetary law that regulates the oil company. 
 
The strike curtailed over 40% of Ecuador&rsquo;s 535,000 barrel-per-day production, costing the nation US$20 million. The South American country depends on Petroecuador for 43% of its revenues.

Contract Workers in Ecuador’s Oil Sector Strike

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
ICEM affiliate AMICUS of the UK has issued formal notice to International Paper at its Inverurie Mill in Scotland that industrial action is imminent if the company doesn&rsquo;t immediately amend a pay proposal. The union at the 400-worker printing and writing papers mill voted by four-to-one for industrial action, and notice of a four-hour work stoppage set for 23 March was sent to management. 
 
Bosses at the American company are demanding that paperworkers take a pay freeze in 2006, and receive a small, one-off payment in 2007. Workers responded with the resounding strike vote, calling a freeze an &ldquo;insult.&rdquo; Over two consecutive years in the recent past, Inverurie paperworkers had three percent deductions weekly taken from their earnings to fill a pension gap. 
 
One Amicus leader told a local newspaper after the 10 March strike vote that if bosses had their way, &ldquo;we would be chasing inflation forever.&rdquo; The union said the paper industry federation in the UK has made pay increases of 2.5% in 2006.

Amicus Poised for Industrial Action Against International Paper

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Negotiations in Norway&rsquo;s industrial sectors between ICEM affiliate Fellesforbundet and Norsk Industri broke off last week and are now headed for mediation with a state conciliator. The union and industry began the 2006 talks on 6 March over four separate collective agreements&mdash;paperboard, building materials, metal/engineering, and textiles. 
 
Fellesforbundet is seeking continuation of early retirement provisions, contract language to diminish part-time and casual labour, and life-long learning options for workers. Norwegian law stipulates industrial conflict cannot be declared until 14 days after the start of state mediation, which now would be on 3 April.

Industrial Bargaining in Norway Goes to Conciliation

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
A potentially deadly offshore oil disaster was averted last week in the North Sea by quick action from platform firefighting teams. The incident occurred at Shell Exploration &amp; Production&rsquo;s 180-worker Tern Alpha platform, 105 miles northeast of Shetland Islands, and caused the evacuation of 128 workers. 
 
The fire started in the early hours of 16 March when a high voltage electrical motor in the gas compression module overheated. Onboard emergency teams fought the fire for four hours, during which time coast guard helicopters from the UK and Norway, as well as a BP rescue team, ferried the 128 to other platform installations. 
 
The fire, in an area of compressed gas, could have triggered a major disaster had it not been for the trained emergency teams. Shell Exploration operates Tern Alpha for Shell and Esso in the Hudson fields of the North Sea. The platform began production in 1989.

Emergency Response Teams Prevent North Sea Catastrophe

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="100" />
China&rsquo;s latest coal mine fatalities occurred Saturday, 18 March, when 28 miners were trapped by flooding in Shanxi province. The incident happened at the Fanjiashan mine, owned by the Zhaoxian township in Luliang city. 
 
Prior to this, 12 major accidents claimed the lives of over 100 miners over a two week span dating back to 5 March. And separate to this, near Baishan, Jilin province, seven accidents over a two-week period in March occurred at local mines, killing a total of 10 workers. 
<img height="67" alt="" src="" width="100" />
On 13 March, a gas blast at the Rongsheng mine in Erdos city, Inner Mongolia, killed 22. Also on that day, nine were found dead after an explosion at the Qitaihe Taihe mine in Heilongjiang province. The cause of this latter blast was cited as illegal smoking inside the mine. On 23 February, a coal dust explosion killed 18 in Shandong province at a mine owned by the Zaozhuang Mining Group. The cause here was listed as failure to dampen an underground coal seam prior to drilling. 
 
In Hunan province, which already reports 79 mining deaths this year&mdash;29 more than last year&mdash;33 miners perished at three of the major accidents since 5 March. Provincial officials this month moved to close 400 unsafe mines in Hunan province. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Other actions are occurring at the national level to curb mining deaths. The government has recently blocked some US$70 million worth of coal mine investments on behalf of government officials. A government probe found that 4,578 officials in China have investments in the country&rsquo;s coal mines. Chinese workplace safety officials admit an estimated 60% of Chinese mines ordered to close in 2005 still continue to operate. The State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) reported at the National People&rsquo;s Congress last week that their mandate is to reduce coal mine deaths by 3.5% this year. 
 
In 2005, China had an official death rate of 5,986, with unofficial estimates ranging up to four times higher. If March 2006 is any indication, Chinese coal mines will need to make fast improvements in safety in order to reach this goal.

March a Deadly Month So Far for Chinese Mine Workers

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