17 May, 2010
Canadian steelworkers forced on strike by Brazilian mining house Vale last summer got another ally late last week. In West Africa, the Forestry, Logging, and Industry Workers of Liberia (FLIWUL) called on their President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, to look closely at Vale’s social record before the Liberian government grants Vale a rail and logistics link through the country from newly gained iron ore mines in Guinea.
In the 13 May letter to President Johnson-Sirleaf, FLIWUL said Vale “infringes human rights, exploits both male and female workers, imposes precarious working conditions, destroys nature, and disrespects traditional communities” in several countries, including Mozambique, Brazil, Canada, Peru, Chile, Germany, Italy, and New Caledonia.
Early in May, Vale bought a 51% stake of BSG Resources, which holds concessions to rich iron ore deposits near Simandou in south-eastern Guinea. Vale paid US$2.5 billion, with an initial payment of US$500 million for the stake and expects to begin production there in 2012. BSG Resources is owned by Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz.
Parts of the deposits near Simandou were once owned by Rio Tinto, but the government of Guinea confiscated the blocks in a development dispute.
The ICEM reacted favourably to FLIWUL’s challenge to Vale’s investment in Liberia, citing the fact that the world’s largest iron ore producer has a forced a bitter strike – now in its eleventh month – on 3,500 nickel and copper miners in Canada.
General Secretary Manfred Warda said the ICEM will also raise Vale’s new investment in Guinea with trade unions there, as well as with the military government of Guinea, which has shown a willingness to halt worker abuses by multinationals.
In the FLIWUL letter to President Johnson-Sirleaf (seen here), Secretary-General David Sackoh said, “We are aware of many serious issues surrounding Vale and its mistreatment of workers and communities where it operates around the world.
“We are disturbed at the treatment that Vale has given to its workforce in Canada. The company provoked a strike through its demands for deep concessions from its workers despite the fact that the company has made billions of dollars in profit in recent years.
“Madame President, following many years of civil war and turmoil the Liberian people finally enjoy peace and have a promising future under your leadership. This behemoth Vale with its suspect actions could potentially destroy our fragile economy for the benefit of a greedy few. As key stakeholder in the infrastructural and economic development of Liberia, FLIWUL wishes to urge the government to carefully study the situation and ensure that transitional companies investing in Liberia do so responsibly.”
Vale has attempted to break the strike by 3,100 miners in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ontario, and another 400 in Goose Bay and Voiseys Bay, Labrador/Newfoundland, by using replacement workers to continue production. That practice is outlawed in two Canadian provinces, and generally discouraged in the others. In Sudbury and Port Colborne, where Untied Steelworkers Locals 6500 and 6200 share a common labour agreement, bargaining did resume for the second time since the strike began on 13 July 2009. But those mediated sessions, 5-7 May, broke off when Vale refused to retreat from its intractable demands for steep cuts to living and working conditions.