Read this article in:
4 October, 2000The International Metalworkers' Federation is holding talks concerning worldwide developments in the shipbuilding sector.
USA: The IMF Shipbuilding Department Working Party will meet in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 12-13, 2000, to discuss present developments worldwide in the shipbuilding industry and future activities. Particular emphasis will be given to occupational health and safety in this sector, IMF safe ship-scrapping policy, and an ILO code of practice for the shipbreaking industry. The attack on trade union rights for shipyard workers in Turkey is also on the agenda.
The choice of location for the group's meeting puts the spotlight on one of the most important union organising victories in the U.S. South in over a decade, namely at the Litton Avondale shipyard. After a six-year struggle for recognition at a shipyard known for its dangerous working conditions, substandard wages and benefits, and whose previous owner was repeatedly violating workers' rights, 5,000 shipyard workers finally won their union on November 30, 1999. Litton Industries, a more union-friendly company, bought the shipyard in the summer of 1999.
The IMF group will visit the shipyard, which is a major defense contractor and the largest private-sector employer in Louisiana.
Countries represented in the IMF Working Party meeting are: Republic of China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore and the USA.
The choice of location for the group's meeting puts the spotlight on one of the most important union organising victories in the U.S. South in over a decade, namely at the Litton Avondale shipyard. After a six-year struggle for recognition at a shipyard known for its dangerous working conditions, substandard wages and benefits, and whose previous owner was repeatedly violating workers' rights, 5,000 shipyard workers finally won their union on November 30, 1999. Litton Industries, a more union-friendly company, bought the shipyard in the summer of 1999.
The IMF group will visit the shipyard, which is a major defense contractor and the largest private-sector employer in Louisiana.
Countries represented in the IMF Working Party meeting are: Republic of China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore and the USA.