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NUM, meanwhile, welcomed South Africa’s first woman to high office. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, former minister of Minerals and Energy Affairs, was sworn in last Thursday as deputy president. She replaces the former number two official in South Africa, Jacob Zuma, who was sacked by President Thebo Mbeki in connection with a bribery scandal. Mlambo- Ngcuka, 49, a leader in the anti-apartheid struggle, was elected from the ANC party to Parliament in 1994 in the country’s first all-race elections, and served as head of Minerals and Energy beginning in 1999, a post from which she helped draft the Mining Charter giving more black South Africans ownership in mines. 
In welcoming her selection by Mbeki, NUM General Secretary Gwede Mantashe cautioned against the position being caught up in politics. “We are concerned that she’s been thrown into a lion’s den, given the controversies surrounding the office of the deputy president at this juncture. We therefore hope that she is not compromised as a result. We trust that her experience of overcoming challenges in her past portfolio will come to the fore.”

Mines, Energy Minister Appointed South Africa's Deputy President

US affiliate USW proved Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. workers, no matter which process is used, will choose unionization every time. On June 14-15, in a secret ballot election conducted by the US government, workers in Asheboro, North Carolina, chose USW representation by a 173- 147 count. It marked the second time a majority of workers at the steel and tyre cord plant chose the USW. 
As part of the September 2003 collective agreement between the union and Goodyear, card check and company neutrality language was established. That means workers can choose union representation through a show of support by signing cards, as is the case in most countries. Regrettably an anti-union organisation given free reign over the Bush administration’s labour board challenged that portion of the collective agreement on legal grounds, and the remedy to the challenge was the government-supervised election two weeks ago.

Steelworkers in US Organise Goodyear Tire and Rubber Workers

In Chile, 500 miners are striking at Placer Dome’s Zaldivar copper mine in the northern region. The miners, members of Zaldivar Mining Union No. 1, rejected a pay offer 23 June, but Placer Dome invoked Chilean law calling for a return to talks before a strike could occur. In those talks, the Canadian company stuck to its 3.5% wage offer, far below Chile’s 6% inflation rate and the union’s bottom line, and miners struck 4 July. 
The company last week said it would attempt to resume 75% of production at the mine using supervisors and contract workers. The Zaldivar mine produced 148,000 tonnes last year and accounts for 1% of the world’s copper supply. Placer Dome, which operates 17 mines in seven countries, is the world’s fifth largest gold miner. The company is also engaged in contentious salary talks behind the Chamber of Mines in South Africa with the National Union of Mineworkers.

Copper Miners in Chile Strike Placer Dome

Another North American mining contract involving the USW was settled peacefully. Some 900 miners in the state of Montana ratified a three-year contract last week with Stillwater Mining, the US’s only producer of palladium and platinum. The workers at a mine and metal recovery facility won pay and benefit increases. Stillwater is majority owned by Russia’s Norilsk Nickel, the world’s leading nickel and platinum metals miner.

USW Comes to Terms with US's Only Pladdium/Platinum Miner

The labour dispute between New Zealand’s state-run coal company Solid Energy and ICEM affiliate Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) has heated up again. Some 200 union members at two of the company’s mines were locked out by Solid Energy and by one of its operating contractors for engaging in limited industrial action. Some 700 miners are seeking EPMU’s national call for a 5% pay increase and a commitment to pay parity at underground and surface mines on both New Zealand’s North and South Islands. Solid Energy, posting windfall profits this year due to high prices of coking coal, is offering only 10% over three years.

EPMU, Solid Energy Dispute Continues in New Zealand

USW members in the US at Bridgestone/Firestone tyre plants ratified a master agreement late in June with the Japanese rubber manufacturer. The agreement runs until next year, 2006, and USW won job security for workers and capitalization commitments from the company at most plants grouped in the master agreement. BSF has committed some US$200 million in capital improvements through 2006. USW took no concessions, gained value on a pension plan, and made the company pay past cost-of living advances. Some 6,000 USW members had collective agreements lapse in 2003, and a majority of union members in six bargaining units tied to the master pact voted acceptance. At two other BSF US plants not tied to the master contract, one workforce voted for the agreement while one did not.

Bridgestone Workers in US Ratify Collective Agreement

The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) today applauded US President Bill Clinton and the US Senate for ratifying Convention 176 of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO), concerning safety and health in mines. 
 
The White House today confirmed to the ICEM that President Clinton has signed the document ratifying Convention 176. The US Senate gave its consent to the Convention on September 20, 2000. The President's signature makes this the 14th ILO Convention ratified by the United States government. 
 
The tripartite (union/employer/government) ILO General Conference approved Convention 176 on June 22, 1995, following an international campaign by the ICEM for its approval. The ICEM represents over 20 million workers globally, including more than 2 million mine workers. 
 
"It is outrageous that in the 21st century, mine workers anywhere in the world are still forced to sacrifice their lives and limbs to make a living," said Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), which is affiliated globally to the ICEM. 
 
"This ILO convention seeks to set minimum health and safety standards for the mining industry globally and that is a very worthy objective that must be enforced," he said. UMWA and ICEM officials played prominent roles in the ILO workers' group which was instrumental in drafting and securing adoption of this Convention. 
 
"The ICEM applauds President Clinton and the US Senate for ratifying this important ILO Convention," said Fred Higgs, ICEM General Secretary. "When it comes to health and safety, there must be no double standards in the world's mining industry. 
 
"The US government's ratification sends an important signal to other countries with significant mining industries that mine worker health and safety must be treated seriously," Higgs added. 
 
The United States is the sixteenth government to ratify ILO Convention 176. Other governments which have signed up are Armenia, Austria, Botswana, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Lebanon, Norway, Philippines, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Zambia. The ICEM is continuing its campaign to convince further governments to similarly ratify the Convention. 
 
Under the Convention, states commit themselves to consult with unions and employers for the introduction of a coherent health and safety policy in mining. This policy is to include proper monitoring and inspection, plus investigations and reports on accidents and occupational diseases. Workers' representatives have the right to be fully involved in the inspections, investigations and reporting. The new standard places on employers the responsibility for risk elimination and reduction, ensuring that workers are evacuated from the mines if a serious danger arises, drawing up emergency action plans for each mine and providing full safety equipment and safety training. 
 
The Convention also calls for workers to be fully informed of the health and safety risks in each mine. Most importantly, they are to have the right to stop work and leave the mine if they have reasonable grounds for believing that they are in serious danger. 
 
More than 30 million people are employed worldwide in the mining industry and approximately 15,000 mine workers are killed per year around the world. There were 85 mine fatalities in the US in 2000. More than 127,000 miners were killed in the United States in the 20th century. 
 
Many mining accidents go unreported. Major known mining disasters in 2000 included: 
 
December 28, 2000. Donestsk Region, Ukraine, a windlass overturned and crushed two crane operators at the Bazhanov coal mine: two killed. 
 
December 19, 2000. Atakumoso, Nigeria, a landslide at an illegal gemstone mine: 15 killed. 
 
December 11, 2000. Baise city, Guangxi province, China, a roof collapse at a gold mine: 15 killed, four injured. 
 
December 3, 2000. Hejin city, Shanxi province, China, an explosion at the Tianlong coal mine: 42 killed, six missing. 
 
November 28, 2000. North West province, South Africa, a rock fall at Anglo American Platinum's Rustenburg platinum mine: two killed. 
 
November 27, 2000. Sichuan province, China, poison gas released at the Red Star Coal Mine: nine killed. 
 
November 25, 2000. Hulun Buir League of Inner Mongolia, China, a coal gas explosion at the Dayan Coal Co. mine: 51 killed, 12 injured. 
 
November 19, 2000. Gokcesu hin Mengen township, western Bolu province, Turkey, a gas explosion: three killed, four others missing. 
 
November 5, 2000. Liaoyuan district, Jilin province, China, a gas explosion at the Xian Coal Mine: 13 killed; 18 others missing. 
 
November 1, 2000. Nanchange, China, a fire in the Pinghu coal mine: 13 killed and one missing. 
 
October 20, 2000. Guangxi, China, an impoundment failure at a copper mine resulted in a landslide: 30 miners killed, 50 injured and another 100 missing. 
 
October 13, 2000. Thabazimbi, South Africa, a rock fall at a Northam Platinum mine: two killed. 
 
October 11, 2000. Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China, a gas explosion at the Zhangergou coal mine: 25 killed. 
 
October 11, 2000. Mianzhu, Sichuan Province, China, a landslide at a phosphate mine: at least 20 killed. 
 
September 28, 2000. Shuicheng, Guizhou province, China, an underground explosion at the Muchonggou coal mine: 161 killed; 43 critically wounded. 
 
September 28, 2000. Driefontein, South Africa, a rockburst at a Gold Fields mine: two killed and ten injured. 
 
September 27, 2000. Carletonville, South Africa, a rock fall at the Gold Fields Kloof gold mine: four killed, four injured. 
 
July 9, 2000. Gansu province, China, a fire at a coal mine: 17 killed. 
 
June 17, 2000. Henan province, China, a gas explosion at a coal mine: seven killed, four injured and another 7 missing. 
 
June 16, 2000. Mianzhu, Sichuan province, China, a coal mine explosion: seven miners and 5 rescuers killed. 
 
May 15, 2000. Welkom, South Africa, an underground explosion at the Gold Fields Ltd Beatrix gold mine: seven killed. 
 
April 15, 2000. Shanxi province, China, a gas explosion in a coal mine: 40 killed and three missing. 
 
April 6, 2000. Welkom, South Africa, a rock fall at the African Rainbow Minerals gold mine: three killed. 
 
January 10, 2000. Orkney, South Africa, a rockburst at an African Rainbow Minerals gold mine: six killed.

US Ratifies ILO Mine Safety Convention

Perseverance paid off for workers in the US state of Alabama. They have just gained their first contract [collective agreement] at the 400-person Imerys calcium carbonate plant in Sylacauga. 
 
Global labour solidarity played an important part in their campaign. 
 
Union members ratified the new agreement on Tuesday night by an over 70 percent margin. The result was announced yesterday by their union, PACE. 
 
The contract is the culmination of a campaign that began in June 1999 after Imerys had withdrawn recognition of the union. Imerys is a leading materials and minerals multinational headquartered in France. 
 
At the global level, PACE is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). PACE and the ICEM waged a global campaign that resulted in a successful organising drive at Sylacauga in June 2000. This in turn led to negotiations for a first contract. 
 
"We congratulate the Sylacauga workers and PACE on their endurance," said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs today. "Their victory is our victory." 
 
The three-year contract provides for a pension up to 2.08 percent of earnings for each year of service; annual raises of 3.5, 3.0 and 3.0 percent; a cap on health insurance premiums paid by workers; incentive bonuses; a company-backed retirement savings scheme; overtime pay after eight hours; and increases in shift differentials and holiday pay. The contract also eliminates the older "tech system" for promotions and job classifications and replaces it with one based 
largely on seniority and job bidding rights. 
 
"After 42 days and nights of negotiations over the last six months, we were able to come to an agreement with management that will better the lives of Imerys' workers," said PACE negotiator Jimmy Colston. "The company and union were able to work together on this, which we believe has led to a much better relationship after a rocky start." 
 
PACE Region Five Vice President Don Langham thanked Colston along with local union president Keith Fulbright and the union negotiating committee "for their hard work and skilled negotiations." He also thanked Joe Drexler of PACE's special projects division, the ICEM's Fred Higgs and the unions in other countries who pressed Imerys to recognise the union in Sylacauga. These included unions representing Imerys employees in France, where the company is headquartered, in Britain, in Belgium and in Australia. Also featuring in the campaign were a widely publicised PACE and ICEM lobby of the Imerys shareholders' meeting in Paris and a special PACE/ICEM website. 
 
"For the first time, workers here will be able to advance in a fair manner and with equal rights to improve their livelihoods and the welfare of their families," said PACE local union president Keith Fulbright yesterday. "The contract has brought about unity, pride and dignity that we never had before, and the company will also benefit from this."

US Imerys Workers Secure Agreement

<img height="78" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/nopef.gif" width="64" alt=""/>       <img height="70" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/statoil.gif" width="70" alt=""/>     <img height="61" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/icemlogo.gif" width="70" alt=""/>
Global industrial relations took another step forward in energy multinational Statoil today, when the company signed a new agreement with the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
The global agreement covers: 
 
- trade union rights and other human rights 
 
- health, safety and environment 
 
- information 
 
- training. 

<img height="308" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/statoilsig.jpg" width="380" alt=""/>
GLOBALLY AGREED 
At today's signing (l. to r.): NOPEF's Lars Myhre, who chairs the ICEM energy section; Statoil Vice-President, Labour Relations, Jostein Gaasemyr; ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. 
(Photo: Øyvind Hagen/Copyright Statoil) 

It was signed at Statoil headquarters in Stavanger, Norway, this afternoon by the company, the ICEM and the ICEM-affiliated Norwegian oil and petrochemical workers' union NOPEF, which brokered the accord. 
 
The package is an updated and expanded version of an agreement first signed between the ICEM, NOPEF and Statoil in 1998. It builds on their experience of implementing that deal in practice. 
 
Importantly, the new agreement has been designed to accord fully with the Global Compact initiative launched by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The ICEM-Statoil agreement complies with all the principles set out in the Global Compact, which aims to ensure respect for labour rights, other human rights and the environment within a globalised economy. 
 
"I believe that the agreement we have signed today is a major step forward," said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs in Stavanger. "It should set an example to other multinational companies in our sectors. They should now show their commitment to the Global Compact by signing global agreements with the ICEM." 
 
 
RIGHTS PROTECTED 
 
Today's agreement commits the parties to uphold basic human rights in the community and the workplace. In particular, it lists basic worker rights enshrined in the Conventions of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). 
 
The ICEM-Statoil agreement says that respect for human rights includes: 
 
"- the right of every employee to be represented by a union of his or her own choice and the basic trade union rights as defined by ILO Convention 87 and 98 covering freedom of association and the right to organise, as well as the right to engage in collective bargaining. Statoil therefore agrees not to oppose efforts to unionise its employees 
 
- a commitment not to employ forced or bonded labour as proscribed in the ILO Conventions 29 and 105 or otherwise 
 
- a commitment to employ no child labour as proscribed by ILO Convention 138 
 
- a commitment to exercise equality of opportunity and treatment in employment, including equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and the prevention of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation as required by ILO Conventions 100 and 111 respectively 
 
- a commitment to pay fair wages and benefits according to good industry standards in the country concerned 
 
- a commitment to provide a safe and healthy work environment, deploying common 'best practice' standards." 
 
Statoil will "refrain from dismissing or otherwise discriminating against union delegates, identified as such by the Parties, or employees providing information relevant to the observance and implementation of this Agreement." The company "will assist union delegates in the performance of their functions by making available relevant information and other agreed facilities." All union delegates "must agree to respect the commercial confidentiality of information disclosed in the exercise of their duties." 
 
Statoil "may also facilitate the opportunity for union representatives from Statoil operations to meet as necessary to discuss the application and future development of this agreement." 
 
 
HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT 
 
The company and the unions emphasise the importance of "protecting safety, health and well-being at work" and commit themselves to "ensure the best possible standards of protection for those employed in our business." 
 
They will also "cooperate to ensure that Statoil activities are carried out with the fullest possible regard for the environment" - notably by: 
 
"- supporting a precautionary approach to environmental challenges 
 
- undertaking initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility 
 
- encouraging the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies." 
 
 
TRAINING 
 
Training under the agreement will include courses on health, safety and environmental best practice for union delegates and training programmes for management. The programmes will be developed jointly, and the cost of NOPEF/ICEM involvement may be covered by the company, subject to agreement. 
 
 
ANNUAL REVIEW 
 
Statoil and NOPEF/ICEM will meet every year to review the implementation of the agreement. 
 
"In addition to the general industrial issues and health, safety and environment matters, the following topics may be addressed: 
 
- general corporate policy on employment, occupational health, safety and environmental issues affecting those within the company and, as appropriate, between the company and its related companies including suppliers and subcontractors 
 
- the economic and financial position of the company and the development of its business and related activities 
 
- training matters 
 
- issues affecting the exercise of trade union rights 
 
- any other issues mutually agreed upon." 
 
 
GLOBAL SCOPE 
 
Initially valid for two years, the new agreement covers all activities worldwide where Statoil has direct control. However, the company will also "notify its subcontractors and licensees of this agreement and encourage compliance with the standards." 
 
Statoil and the unions undertake to "broadly publicise the existence of the agreement" and to explain it both to union members and to management in the company worldwide. The global agreement explicitly does not replace local-level industrial relations. Both the company and the unions "respect the principle that industrial relations issues are best resolved as close as possible to the place of work." 
 
The ICEM is currently negotiating global agreements with a number of multinational companies and sectors. Implementation of these accords is fully monitorable by the unions. This is the crucial difference between global agreements and the internal codes of conduct adopted by many multinationals. 
 
Statoil operates in 23 countries worldwide, and employs 16,000 people.

New Statoil Agreement Boosts Global Worker Rights

Oil workers throughout Brazil today demonstrated for tighter safety in the national oil company Petrobras, following yesterday's disastrous oil platform explosions. 
 
At the call of the oil union federation FUP, workers staged go-slows and other industrial demonstrations. In particular, they called for the right to stop work in case of danger. And they demanded an end to subcontracting in the oil industry. Today's protests and the FUP demands were fully backed by Brazilian unions in all sectors, via the national labour confederation CUT. 
 
The 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), to which the FUP is affiliated at the global level, also pledged its full support for the Brazilian oil workers' campaign. 
 
"One worker died in the explosion, one has been hospitalised in a serious condition, with little prospect of survival, and a further nine workers are missing and have already been given up for dead by the Petrobras management," the FUP said today. 
 
Brazil's Regulatory Standards NR-9 and NR-5 do in fact give workers the right to halt work on their own initiative in the case of a perceived imminent danger. However, these norms are widely disregarded in practice and relatively few workers are aware of their rights. Today, the FUP demanded full and immediate implementation of stop-work rights. 
 
Subcontracting of jobs is a rapidly growing trend throughout the world oil industry and in many other industrial sectors. Trade unions worldwide have repeatedly drawn attention to the risks involved. Subcontracted workers - who are not on the payroll of the company where they actually work and who frequently change jobs - have demonstrably higher accident rates than do regular company employees. 
 
The Petrobras P-36 rig, which suffered a series of explosions in Brazil's Campos Basin yesterday, is the world's biggest semi-submersible oil platform. 
 
P-36, which is now tilting and taking on water, contains about 1.5 million litres of petrol and oil. These could spill into the sea, causing a major environmental catastrophe within the next three days. 
 
Petrobras has a very poor safety record, FUP Coordinator Maurício França Rubem told the ICEM today. "Since the beginning of last year," he said, "the oil workers' unions and the FUP have recorded 95 significant accidents within Petrobras units, of which 18 were fatal. Of these deaths, 16 were among oil workers employed by subcontractors." 
 
The Campos Basin holds the record for accidents, França Rubem said. 50 of the recorded accidents occurred in this area, causing 12 deaths (of which 11 were among subcontracted workers). 
 
Petrobras is not providing adequate training for subcontracted workers, he stated. At the same time, drastically reduced manning levels mean that the regular employees are also getting less time for safety training. "Compared with a total of some 62,000 workers at the beginning of the 1990s, the company today operates with about 34,000 people on its payroll, despite the increase in production and activities." 
 
In the past three years, 81 workers have been killed on Petrobras sites, he added. "That's an average of two human lives lost every month." Of the 81 who died, 66 were subcontracted workers. 
 
The Petrobras management is "clearly responsible" for the series of disasters, França Rubem insisted. The "brutal subcontracting implemented within the company", in tandem with the "criminal cutbacks in the regular workforce", has "multiplied the risks already inherent in this sector."

Brazilian Oil Workers: for Safety's Sake, End Subcontracting Now

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