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14 August, 2005ICEM news release No. 32/2004
A fter five days of attempting to persuade corporate officials of a Taiwanese firm in intervene in a longstanding American labour dispute, five trade union members and representatives of Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, Energy (PACE) Workers' Union, an ICEM affiliate, launched a hunger strike in Taipei today.
The US unionists have been locked off their jobs in Ponca City, Oklahoma, by Continental Carbon Co. (CCC), a subsidiary of the giant Koos Group of Taiwan, since 8 May 2001. The PACE contingent arrived in Taiwan on Monday expecting a meeting with senior members of the Koo family to resolve the dispute. They did meet 10 June with company officials from China Synthetic Rubber Co. and Taiwan Cement-the two Koo companies that control carbon black producer CCC-but a second meeting with senior officials of the Koos Group was denied.
Instead, the Taiwanese conglomerate issued a statement on the visit by the American trade unionists, accusing them of distorting the truth about the lockout and environmental problems surrounding the Oklahoma plant. "Such action has misled the people of Taiwan and has caused great harm to the reputation and public image of our two companies," the statement read. "With this in mind, we have asked the Taiwan government and law enforcement agencies to use all available legal means to protect the interests of our companies."
The hunger strike by PACE members still legally employed by CCC and union representatives began after the Annual General Meeting of Taiwan Cement where the US visitors together with Taiwanese supporters staged a protest.
"We are appalled that a company will call upon all the instruments of the state in order to silence legitimate protests by people whose livelihoods are at stake," said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. "We are confident that Taiwanese officials will not be provoked by such rash and hostile statements."
The Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions (TCTU) is giving local support to the American protestors. Earlier in the week, the PACE members and representatives, together with the TCTU, met with officials of the Taiwanese labour ministry and officials of the Ministry to Foreign Affairs to explain to them the circumstances surrounding the three-year lockout in Oklahoma, as well as environmental lawsuits against CCC brought by PACE and the Oklahoma's Ponca Tribe of Native Americans.
The US unionists have been locked off their jobs in Ponca City, Oklahoma, by Continental Carbon Co. (CCC), a subsidiary of the giant Koos Group of Taiwan, since 8 May 2001. The PACE contingent arrived in Taiwan on Monday expecting a meeting with senior members of the Koo family to resolve the dispute. They did meet 10 June with company officials from China Synthetic Rubber Co. and Taiwan Cement-the two Koo companies that control carbon black producer CCC-but a second meeting with senior officials of the Koos Group was denied.
Instead, the Taiwanese conglomerate issued a statement on the visit by the American trade unionists, accusing them of distorting the truth about the lockout and environmental problems surrounding the Oklahoma plant. "Such action has misled the people of Taiwan and has caused great harm to the reputation and public image of our two companies," the statement read. "With this in mind, we have asked the Taiwan government and law enforcement agencies to use all available legal means to protect the interests of our companies."
The hunger strike by PACE members still legally employed by CCC and union representatives began after the Annual General Meeting of Taiwan Cement where the US visitors together with Taiwanese supporters staged a protest.
"We are appalled that a company will call upon all the instruments of the state in order to silence legitimate protests by people whose livelihoods are at stake," said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. "We are confident that Taiwanese officials will not be provoked by such rash and hostile statements."
The Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions (TCTU) is giving local support to the American protestors. Earlier in the week, the PACE members and representatives, together with the TCTU, met with officials of the Taiwanese labour ministry and officials of the Ministry to Foreign Affairs to explain to them the circumstances surrounding the three-year lockout in Oklahoma, as well as environmental lawsuits against CCC brought by PACE and the Oklahoma's Ponca Tribe of Native Americans.