18 July, 2011
The annual meeting of ICEM’s International Nuclear Workers’ Union Network, (INWUN) took place in the US city of Boston on 14 July, preceded by a two-day ICEM Electric Power conference. Some 30 union delegates from ten nations attended, including unions representing nuclear power station workers, uranium miners, and staff employed along the nuclear supply chain, including fuel conversion and enrichment processes.
INWUN was founded inside the ICEM in 2004 and was incorporated as an official workers’ network of the Global Union Federation (GUF) in 2008. It is presided over by David Shier of the Canadian Power Workers’ Union (PWU), who stressed the importance of adding more unions to the network once conclusion of a new GUF is built with the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) and the International Textile, Garment, Leather Workers’ Federation.
IGBCE’s Ralf Barttels
This year’s event featured in-depths looks at the US lockout by Honeywell of members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-669 in Metropolis, Illinois, as well as a spirited question and answer session of leaders of the 220,000-member Japanese affiliate Denryoku Soren, or the Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Workers’ Union. That focused on the cooling down and aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station following March’s earthquake and tsunami.
Denryoku Soren leaders Takashi Wakasugi, Kiyoaki Kotabe, and Manabu Sasaki spoke of the courage that came to workers and union staff working at Fukushima in the days immediately following when hundreds of ICEM affiliates poured moral and physical support to the Japanese union. “Your encouragement and solidarity enabled all of us to press forward with restoration work as strenuous as it was,” said Wakasugi, Denryoku Soren’s Policy Officer.
The USW was represented at INWUN by Vice President James “Kip” Phillips, Local 7-669 President Darrell Lillie, and the local’s Vice President, Tim Goines. The lockout by Honeywell, ongoing now for 55 weeks (see recent ICEM news dispatch here), pits a multinational company against a group of 228 workers, who represent the safety and security of a community of 6,400.
Ukraine Atomprofspilka President Valeriy Matoc, with Lesia Semeniaka Seated
Since last July, Honeywell has been attempting to operate the uranium conversion plant with scab workers and several near-miss safety and environmental occurrences have happened. INWUN delegates condemned the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to grant licenses to Honeywell to operate the plant with scab workers, and a letter to that extent was sent to the American agency.
INWUN delegates also heard reports from individual countries, including the German union IGBCE on the de-commission of all nuclear facilities by the year 2022. IGBCE Representative Ralf Barttels made clear that although the union accepts closure of power stations in harmony with the wishes of the German public, the union has lobbied successfully to retain uranium enrichment, nuclear fuel production, research and development, and manufacture of nuclear components.
French delegates told of their ongoing efforts to achieve a Global Framework Agreement with Areva, as well as their court efforts to block outsourcing by the global nuclear provider in France. Delegates to INWUN also pledged to build a more coordinated dialogue with employer federations in the nuclear industry, particularly around safety. A representative from the industry-based World association of Nuclear Operations (WANO) also addressed the group.