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<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39" alt=""/>
ICEM’s Swiss affiliate, UNIA, is playing a central role in organising a national day of action and strike on 14 June calling for equal rights for women workers. Hundreds of activities will be held marking the protest, expected to include 100,000 people from over 45 organisations. 
 
Events in each of Switzerland’s main cities will educate and agitate around the issues of the gender gap in wages and in national legislation. Public administration buildings and main landmarks will be coloured with purple, including Geneva’s water jet fountain, the jet d’eau. 

<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1106.women day swiss.2.jpg" width="241" height="161" alt=""/>
In Switzerland, women earn on average 19.8% less than men in performing the same job. Nurses are especially low paid, in relation to men performing similar roles, and the Swiss Nurses Union will be actively involved in the 14 June protest. 
 
Not only are women paid less than men in Switzerland, but they take on twice the amount of un-paid work, with a much higher challenge than men to coordinate family and professional life. Many women see their careers halted by family requirements. And an extremely low proportion of top-level managers in Switzerland are women, leading many in the movement to call for quotas enforced by law. 
 
Next week on 14 June marks 30 years since equality of the sexes was enshrined in Swiss law, and 20 years since the first women’s strike in the country. The date also coincides with the expected adoption of an ILO Convention for Domestic Workers’ Rights, arguably the most precarious and lowest-paid work sector.

Swiss Women Set 14 June as ‘Equality Now’ Day

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Addressing the Plenary sitting of the 100th session of the International Labour Conference today, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda called for action on precarious work, workers' health and safety in the mining industry, and attention to the violation of rights of Holcim employees in India, as well as on abuses to glass workers in Mexico. 
 
Warda condemned the shocking attempt by Swiss-based cement multinational Holcim to crush the union representing its employees in India, with unsubstantiated claims leading to the 19 May arrest of union leaders engaged during a legal battle for the reinstatement of 80 members illegally sacked at the Holcim-ACC unit at Jamul.
Referring to the recent attempt of those outsourced workers to voice their concerns to the authorities, Warda continued, “It is deplorable that Mr. Chandrashekhar Sahu, the Labor Minister of the State of Chhattisgarth of India, attending this Conference, refused to meet 250 Holcim workers who had walked long distances to appeal to him for observation of basic trade union rights.” 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1106.manfred ilo.2.JPG" width="327" height="160"/>
Warda called on governments and employers to move towards ratification and implementation of ILO Convention 176 and its associated Recommendation 183, on safety and health in mines. With Ukraine soon to become the 25th country to ratify the Convention, this represents far too few adoptions, while miners are continuing to be killed and injured every day around the world. 
 
Finally, Warda focussed on the ILO complaint No. 2774 by Mexican affiliated union SUTEIVP. The complaint is being fully supported by the ICEM, following a 2008 mass dismissal of hundreds of workers at Industria Vidriera del Potosi S.A., a manufacturer of glass bottles used by Corona beer. The sacked workers were covered by a collective bargaining agreement and included the executive committee of the SUTEIVP at the plant. A protection contract was then established by the employer. 
 
See the <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEM_Manfred_Warda_ILC_Plenary_Speech%20_8_June%20FINAL.pdf" type="internal">full text of the speech</a> here.

ICEM General Secretary Addresses International Labour Conference

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The ICEM today expressed sadness and anger at the deaths of two members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6500 in Sudbury, Ontario, on Wednesday night, 8 June. The two miners died 900 metres underground at Vale’s Stobie nickel and copper mine when an overflow of broken rock, sediment, and water – known as muck – buried them. 
 
The miners were identified yesterday as Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26. The two men were operating a scooptram at the No. 7 ore pass inside Stobie. An ore pass is a junction where ore is dropped from one level to the next. Sixty miners were working in the mine on the night shift when the fatalities occurred. 
 
In a letter today to USW President Leo Gerard, himself a former mineworker in Sudbury, USW Canadian National Director Ken Neumann, and USW Local 6500 President Rick Bertrand, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda stated: “It is a terrible tragedy and makes clear the inherent dangers for workers whose livelihoods are dependent on the mining industry. Please convey the sympathies of the entire ICEM global family of unions to the families of the two miners, as well as to all union members of Local 6500.” (See the full <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/54.ICEM.USW.Sudbury%20Deaths.Canada.10June.pdf" type="internal">ICEM letter</a> here.) 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1106.sudbury, stobie mine site.jpg" width="144" height="168"/>
Vale’s Stobie nickel and copper mine
The ICEM also noted that USW’s expert team of safety and health investigators will probe the tragic circumstances to uncover what went wrong and to ensure a similar tragedy does not happen again. The ICEM stated the sad irony of the 8 June is that only eight days before the miners’ deaths, Vale was honoured with an award by the Canadian Institute of Mining as having the safest two metal mines in Canada. 
 
Although the mines receiving the award were at Vale’s nickel operations in Thompson, Manitoba, mines from Sudbury won the same award consecutively from 2006 to 2009. 
 
In a statement, Local 6500 President Bertrand said, “The Steelworkers will be involved in this investigation every step of the way. Once the investigation is complete we will work hard for the workplace to be restored to safe condition before it starts up again.” 
 
The Stobie mine in Sudbury consists of two adjoining mines, an open cast one and an underground one where the tragedy occurred. Canada has not ratified ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention.

ICEM Saddened by Mine Deaths of Two Steelworkers at Vale in Sudbury, Canada

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/CAL_en.jpg" width="146" height="66"/>
The US Solidarity Centre has released a new report detailing the Nigerian oil industry’s shift from permanent, direct employment towards outsourced and temporary labour – known in Nigeria as “casualisation.” The report argues that the casualisation of labour is industry-wide, and is a clear attempt to reduce the cost of doing business while simultaneously breaking workers’ strength. 
 
The Solidarity Centre engaged with leaders and members of the ICEM-affiliated Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to examine industry trends and their impact on workers’ lives. A key trend, highlighted by almost every programme participant, was the degeneration of permanent employment and the increasing casualisation of labour. 
 
<a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1105.pubs_nigeria_degradationofwork.pdf " type="internal">The study</a>, in English, can be found here. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/NigeriaPengassan.JPG" width="120" height="126"/>
According to NUPENG and PENGASSAN, for every full-time oil worker there are four casual workers. The unions argue in the report that the shift away from permanent employment is an attempt to replace unionized employees with lower paid and less protected workers, as well as to transfer employment responsibilities to subcontractors. 
 
Casual workers perform the same tasks as permanent workers, but without any job security and under “never-ending probation.” They are frequently laid off, particular just before they would become entitled to permanent contracts. Most casual workers are not union members. They receive lower wages – the report estimates between 15-50% of union workers’ wages – and fewer benefits. 
 
The report gives examples of some of NUPENG and PENGASSAN’s organising and advocacy efforts which, it highlights, are often thwarted as employers shift bargaining responsibilities from one subcontractor to another, or even resort to violence. Ensuring respect for workers’ rights is particularly challenging in a context in which the Nigerian state plays the dual role of enforcer of labour legislation and majority shareholding partner or owner of most Niger Delta oil companies in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC). 
 
Recognising NUPENG and PENGASSAN’s long history of supporting transparency and democracy, the report concludes by emphasising the important role the unions have to play in the struggle against the downward pressure on decent work and other human rights in the Niger Delta.

Damning Casualisation Report in Niger Delta

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/CAL_en.jpg" width="146" height="66"/>
How many workers are employed at BASF India’s Mangalore plant? How many of these do not have permanent direct contracts? 
 
The company has 420 workers altogether, 300 are contract workers. There are two women who are contract workers. The contract workers are employed by 10 different agencies which operate in the plant. Six years ago, there were only permanent workers working on the production line, and no contract workers. Now there are even contract workers on the production line, working the same jobs as permanent workers. 
 
Do all workers have written contracts? Is it clear who their employer is? 
 
Workers have written contracts, and the name of the contractor which employs them is displayed on their identity cards. The card is valid for six months and then they have to renew their card again. They continue as workers. Some workers are migrants and only stay for between four to six months then they return home. Others stay for two-to-three years. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1106.cal.basf india.png" width="254" height="160"/>
Interviewees (from right to left in picture): 
Mr. C. Mohandas, Forklift operator and Branch Vice President 
Mr. K. Mohandas, Production Worker in Coating Division and Branch Secretary 
Mr. Ashok Jogi, Store Forklift Operator and Branch Treasurer
What wages do permanent and contract workers receive, and what hours do they work? 
 
Permanent workers are paid a wage of Rs. 13,000 per month. They work eight hours per day, six days a week. 
Contract workers who do housekeeping and security are paid Rs. 4,500 per month. They work eight hours per day and have no weekly day off. 
 
Contract workers on the production line are paid piece-rate. The contract workers who work in packing, loading and unloading are paid about Rs. 7,000 per month. They have to work, on average, nine-to-ten hours a day to earn this. They have no weekly rest day. Contract workers on the production line do the same job as permanent workers. 
 
Contract workers’ wages are not enough. It is very tough to manage family economics. If you want to rent a small single room, the cost is Rs. 2,000 per month. Electricity and gas cost about Rs. 300–400. In one room, they accommodate five of six persons sometimes - normally they are bachelors. If they use the canteen for breakfast and dinner, the cost is Rs. 1,400 per month. For lunch in the canteen contract workers have to pay Rs. 24. The cost is only Rs. 5 for permanent workers. 
 
Have contract workers demanded a rest day? 
 
The workers feel under pressure, and are afraid that the company will dismiss them if they ask for a day off. If workers do receive a rest day they are not paid for that day. 
 
Do contract workers have the same leave entitlements as permanent workers? 
 
Permanent workers in the factory receive seven days casual leave, ten days of public holidays, 18 days privilege leave and up to six sick days leave per year. Contract workers receive no annual leave and no paid public holidays. 
 
Do all workers receive equal benefits? 
 
No. Contract workers get fewer benefits. For permanent workers they give a transport allowance, but contract workers do not get this. In the canteen, contract workers have to pay the exact rate, not the subsidised rate. 
 
Do all workers receive equal treatment with respect to health and safety? 
 
Both permanent and contract workers freely receive health and safety protective equipment like gloves and helmets and safety shoes and goggles, and safety training. 
 
If contract workers have health problems, they have to go back to their villages because there is no adequate provision for them. The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) should provide medical facilities. BASF India deducts ESIC payments from contract workers’ wages, but it is not clear whether the payments are made to ESIC. One month ago, a contract worker seriously injured his finger. The worker needed to take five days off, but he did not receive salary during this time. The worker had no ESIC card (a card is usually issued to all members), so that worker could not access medical facilities. 
 
When Germans come to visit the factory, managers claim the plant has been an “accident free zone” for 900 days. But when workers suffer relatively minor injuries they are still required to come to the factory and punch their card. The workers are not required to work, but sit in a room for their shift. This is how management maintains an accident-free record. 
 
One contract worker suffered serious injuries when solvents caught fire. The worker has been out of his job for one month now, and we are not sure if he is receiving wages or not. 
 
Are any contract workers members of your union? 
 
There is no union for contract workers. Only permanent workers are members of the BASF Workers’ Union. Contract workers wanted to organise about 4 years ago, but management fired seven contract workers immediately. Now they don’t want to join any trade union because of fear. 
 
Management tried to force the Vice President and Treasurer to leave the union. They said what is the need of the union? Management said this year we finished the trade union. Management forced 44 permanent workers not to join the union, to sign individual wage agreements. And now management recently made another three members leave by mental harassment. Management called their family members to pressure them. 
 
What is the most challenging aspect of being a contract worker in BASF India? 
 
The worst thing is the low wages. Low wages have a very negative impact on contract workers lives. 
 
What is your union’s number one demand? 
 
Regularisation. The contract labour system should be abolished. At the very least contract workers should receive equal pay and benefits.

Interview with BASF Workers’ Union, representing workers at BASF India Ltd., Mangalore Plant

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<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/></div>
Union members of US affiliated Teamsters Union (IBT) used a broadening corporate campaign to win reprieve over job losses at a BMW auto-parts warehouse in California. IBT Local 495 and North American bosses of German auto-maker BMW agreed on 9 August to a six-month extension of a collective agreement that was to expire 31 August.
BMW North America had given notice in June that it would terminate the agreement at a parts distribution warehouse in Ontario, California, then and outsource the 68 Teamster jobs to a third party logistics company. The IBT nationally then ramped up a pressure campaign on both sides of the Atlantic (see prior <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4570-US-Teamsters-Ardently-Resist-BMW-s-Auto-Parts-Outsourcing" type="internal">ICEM news article</a> here) and there is little question that adverse publicity on the luxury auto producer caused management to re-consider.
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Last week, just as dockworkers belonging to unions affiliated with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) organised informational pickets at nine ports in 10 countries on behalf of the California warehouse workers, BMW North America sat down with Local 495 in Southern California and agreed to extend the contract for six months to allow the two sides to work out a mutually acceptable solution that addresses long-term employment for Teamster members.</div>
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1108.bmw.california.jpg" width="223" height="160"/>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" align="center">Dockworkers picket in Bremerhaven, Germany, on behalf of US Teamsters</div>
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“We sent a clear message to BMW with our campaign actions that outsourcing these jobs is unacceptable,” said Teamsters Joint Council 42 Public Affairs Director Ed Rendon. “We won’t be happy until we get a full agreement, but we’re highly optimistic this will happen and BMW will better run their business with our members” maintaining direct employment.</div>
Added IBT Local 495 Secretary-Treasurer Bob Lennox, “I am confident that BMW will honor its promises to find a solution to keep their long-time, dedicated workforce and ensure that these jobs remain good, middle-class jobs."
Teamster members and supporters protested at a 6-7 August weekend event called “Bimmerfest” in the state of Maryland where BMW enthusiasts annually turn out to celebrate ownership of the German car. Thousands of handbills were distributed and a Teamster-hired airplane flew overhead with a banner emblazoned “BMW: the Ultimate Misery,” the campaign’s slogan.
And on 8 August, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa sent a letter to BMW North America CEO Jim O’Donnell telling him that members of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) were about to picket the Port of Los Angeles, and reminded him that the company received monetary assistance during the 2008-09 financial crisis from the US federal government.
The 68 Ontario warehouse workers themselves had spent their weekends handbilling BMW dealerships in California, Oregon, and Washington state, telling consumers about on BMW’s intended social dumping.
The Ontario, California, warehouse is one of six parts depots in the US, supplying and distributing BMW parts to auto dealerships and auto-supply outlets in the western region of the US.

Campaign Action Wins US Teamsters BMW Contract Extension

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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/></div>
 
The Mexican government of President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa ordered the army and police to use brute force to take over the country’s second largest electrical power distributor, Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFC) in October 2010 via an executive decree. This unilateral decree also meant shutting down the 95-year-old Mexican Electrical Workers’ Union (SME) and sacking 44,000 workers. 
 
The Calderón administration has conducted a multifaceted campaign to destroy the SME, one of only a handful of independent trade unions in Mexico, as part of the government’s systematic plan to eliminate any workers’ group which stands in the way of business interests and unencumbered markets. In July 2010, SME members reelected General Secretary Martín Esparza, but Calderón’s regime has refused to certify the election, citing bogus voting irregularities. 
 
The SME has had its union bank accounts frozen, 13 union activists are political prisoners in jail, and now arrest warrants have been issued for the SME leadership. This shocking campaign of state violence against a trade union must be combated with global solidarity. 
 
The ICEM encourages affiliates and trade union supporters to be heard on this matter. Click here for a <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/SME-CARTA%20DESPLEGADO%20%20(2).doc" type="internal">model letter</a>, in Spanish, to Calderón and his cronies. Put the letter on your organisation’s letterhead, or individually with your name, and <a href="mailto:pp_mdo@yahoo.com.mx; aidesparzasosfuturo@gmail.com">send it electronically</a> to SME here.  
</div>

Letters Needed to Aid Mexican Electrical Workers’ Union, SME

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<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/></div>
Members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-669 in Metropolis, Illinois, ratified a three-year labour agreement with Honeywell, Inc., on 2 August, officially ending a lockout that began on 28 June 2010. The ratification vote came a full 13 days following conclusion of a negotiated settlement (see <a href="/en/3-Energy-Oil-and-Gas/4564-USW-Union-at-Honeywell-Reaches-Tentative-Labour-Agreement" type="internal">ICEM report</a> of 22 July). 
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The extraordinary long time between the tentative settlement and the ratification came because Honeywell managers at the uranium converting facility neglected to give explicit job assignments to locked-out workers in a separate back-to-work agreement. </div>
Terms of the agreement take effect today with the majority of USW members attending re-certification sessions at an area college.
The 228 steelworkers at Honeywell convert milled uranium, known as yellow-cake uranium, into uranium hexafluoride (UF6) which is used in nuclear fuel enrichment. The lock-out was marked by Honeywell’s decision to resume full production nine weeks into the company’ s work stoppage and then re-start operations with inexperienced scab replacement workers. Twice in the months that followed, the plant saw near-miss tragedies due to mishandling of dangerous chemicals.
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1106.honeywell%20safety%20matters.jpg" width="131" height="214"/>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The period between the 20 July 2011 tentative agreement and the 2 August ratification, which occurred with a 113-75 vote, was as contentious as the entire lockout was. Honeywell managers told Local 7-699 that it wanted experienced workers to return to the jobs they knew best, but then submitted a back-to-work roster which saw job postings many of the locked-out workers had never worked before. </div>
It took Local 7-669 leaders enormous time and effort in the 13-day interval to sort out the return-to-work roster. Meanwhile, Honeywell managers publicly denounced the union for not conducting the ratification vote. “They were trying to force a vote before our people knew exactly which job they would return to,” said local union spokesman John Smith.
Local 7-669 members begin the return-to-work ritual today with training and re-certification as mandated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Forty workers will return two weeks later for the same, and the remainder two weeks after that. The unionised workforce will number about 220 workers when the experienced and qualified USW members are fully back to work. 
The negotiated settlement preserves most of the key union-protection provisions that Honeywell was trying to strip at the start of the lockout, including seniority, job bidding, overtime, and retention of a defined benefit pension plan for existing workers, as well as retiree medical benefits that go along with that plan. 
On wages, the new three-year collective agreement calls for no increase in the first year, 1% effective 15 August 2012, and 2% on 15 August 2013. Local 7-669 proposed in bargaining over a year ago a freeze on wages and continuation of all terms and conditions of a prior three-year contract. But Honeywell seemed intent on taking away pension benefits, the accompanying health care benefits, as well as union-protection provisions. 
Honeywell abandoned most of those contract concessions, perhaps realising that it needed experienced steelworkers to effectively operate the plant safety and productively. Production had plummeted to a reported 35% of pre-lockout levels and Honeywell was not meeting its order demand for UF6. 
USW Local 7-669 waged an extraordinary campaign in preserving most of their work standards. The workers traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, to stand with public employees protesting the gutting of their collective bargaining rights by Governor Scott Walker; they journeyed to Europe and won support from major trade union federations, as well as Honeywell’s European Works Council (see that <a href="/en/3-Energy-Oil-and-Gas/4429-EMCEF-EMF-EPSU-Condemn-Honeywell-Lockout-in-US" type="internal">ICEM update</a> here); and they connected with immigrant groups in Los Angeles, California, to block Honeywell from gaining a water-services contract there.

USW Local 7-669, Honeywell Accord Takes Effect Today, Ending US Lockout

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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39"/></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> 
ICEM’s six Colombian affiliates – Sintraelecol, Sintracarbon, Sintravidricol, Unión Sindical Obrera (USO), Fenaltec, and Sintracarcol – escalated their coordinated struggle against Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) at a seminar held from 26-28 July in Bogotá. 
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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Attended by more than 200 representatives, the seminar welcomed delegates from Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, and Spain. The ICEM was represented by its Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs Kemal Özkan, while regional leadership of other Global Union Federations – International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), UNI, and Public Services International (PSI) – as well as the FNV national centre of the Netherlands attended. A number of local union and NGO representatives were also present. </div>
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<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1108.colombia kemal.group.jpg" width="308" height="161"/> 
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Organized and coordinated by ICEM Colombian Coordinator Carlos Bustos, the meeting was opened by Özkan, who highlighted ICEM’s global campaign against Contract and Agency Labour. Attendees also listened to presentations from major Colombian national confederation leaders, including the presidents of CUT, CTC, and CGT. All underscored the need to pay close attention to the measures that the union movement as a whole must take to end all forms of precarious employment. 
 
They also spoke of the need to establish mechanisms by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the ITUC’s Americas regional arm, the CSA, to eliminate precarious employment and the scourge of poverty that it creates. 
 
International delegates as well as Colombian union representatives saluted the meeting with messages of their actions against irregular employment. 
 
The phenomenon of precarious employment is seen in transformation of technological advances, rapid globalisation, industrialisation, expansion of capital, and competitive measures and increasing capital accumulation by only a few. This makes impaired working conditions possible, most participants agreed.
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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1108.colombia kemal.JPG" width="314" height="161"/></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> 
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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">In Colombia, unemployment reached to 12.8% in February in 2011. In 2010, the figure of underemployment was 32.6%, while the informal sector employs some 58% of all workers. Union density, however, remains at less than 4% over the last several years. 
 
High rates of unemployment are presented as an excuse for the increased irregular forms of employment. In such high unemployment, employers try to reduce working conditions, and use the refrain “there will always be someone waiting for the job." 
 
As stated by Carlos Bustos, the seminar aimed at to characterize the phenomenon of precarious employment in Colombia, particularly in sectors where ICEM affiliates are active, and it achieved a full exchange of experiences from the legal, economic, political, and social points of view. The successful experiences achieved by USO, Sintravidricol, and Sintracarbon attracted much attention, since these unions have managed to recruit workers who are on non-regular employment contracts. 
 
Finally, a joint declaration (read the <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/FINAL%20DECLARATION%20-%20ES.pdf" type="internal">Spanish language version</a> here) was developed and approved. It exhibits firmness and decisiveness by participating organizations to tackle Contract and Agency Labour issues.</div>

ICEM’s Colombian Affiliates Band Together to Fight Contract, Agency Labour

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A Mexican coal mine explosion inside a Coahuila colliery of Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA), a subsidiary of the Grupo Acerero del Notre steel and transport conglomerate, killed four miners early on 26 August. The explosion occurred at AHMSA’s “La Esmeralda,” or No. 5 mine in the municipality of San Juan de Sabinas. 
 
Six other miners managed to escape the blast, which occurred during the 25 August night shift. The explosion caused a roof inside the mine to collapse, burying the miners who were operating machines. A total of 132 miners were at work at the No. 5 mine at the time of the blast. Bodies of the four dead miners were recovered late on 26 August. 
 
They are: Miguel Hernández Martínez, 33; Mario Alberto Flores Martínez, 38; Ángel González Pineda, 32; and Jesús Tobías Hernández, 36. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Mexico.SNTMMSRM.jpg" width="100" height="121"/>
The ICEM and Metalworkers’ affiliate, National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, blasted the yellow union set up at La Esmeralda for remaining silent on the mine tragedy, just as it had when a 27 March 2011 tragedy happened at another AHMSA mine that killed two and injured three. That occurred at AHMSA’s Monclova No. 7 mine, also in Coahuila state. 
 
Los Mineros leveled blame on the company and the “irresponsibility, greed, and arrogance” of AHMSA that caused the deaths, comparing it to Grupo México’s negligence in the 2006 Pasta de Conchos mine explosion that killed 65 miners. 
 
AHMSA is Mexico’s largest vertically integrated steel producer and third largest overall, and is a company that strives to supply its own coal and iron ore reserves. The company, which was state owned until 1992, also has become a heavyweight in cross-border transport and export of pipe and tube, rolled steel products, carbon steels, and other iron and steel products. Construction of AHMSA’s sixth blast furnace recently as part of the Fénix project, has lifted the firm’s annual steel-making capacity to over five million tonnes annually. 
 
The La Esmeralda mine began production in 1999. 
 
Over two dozen mine deaths have occurred so far this year in Coahuila state, including 14 who died after an explosion in an illegal coal mine on 3 May. That <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4413-Mine-Blast-Near-Pasta-de-Conchos-Kills-14-in-Mexico " type="internal">Mexican safety travesty</a> can be read here in an ICEM May 2011 account.

Coal Mine Blast at Mexican Steel Company Unit Kills 4

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