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ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 18

The 86-day strike by members of the United Steelworkers (USW) at 12 Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. plants in the US ended 29 December, after rubber workers voted to approve a new accord at America’s biggest tyre producer by a two-to-one margin. USW announced yesterday that 10,000 of 14,000 striking union members voted in balloting, and that approval of the new three-year labour agreement was gained by a majority of members at all 12 branch locals.
<img height="66" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/USAUSW.jpg" width="120"/>
Some 500 Canadian USW members at four rubber accessory plants in the province of Ontario are voting on a separate contract proposal. Both the US and Canadian Goodyear workers have been on strike since 5 October 2006. 
 
"It took a strike, but we achieved a fair and equitable contract that protects quality health care for active and retired members,” said USW Executive Vice President Ron Hoover. "And by winning major capital investment expenditures, it secures our jobs for the future." 

The strike in the US centered on heath care coverage and job security. USW won a guarantee from Goodyear that it would commit US$550 million in capitalisation investments at the 12 plants over the next three years. 

The union also pushed Goodyear in week-long talks beginning on 19 December to increase a health care trust fund for active workers and retirees. The US-based company agreed to place US$1 billion in a Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association, from which medical and prescription drug benefits for current and future retirees will come. Future contributions into this fund will include diverted cost-of-living payments and profit-sharing plants. 
During the strike, Goodyear announced that it would close a tyre plant in Tyler, Texas, in 2007, thus making 1,100 workers redundant. USW and Goodyear agreed in the December talks that closure would occur no sooner than 2008, and the union won sizeable retirement buy-outs, enhanced severance packages, and medical coverage for Texas workers for a full two years beyond closure of the private-label tyre operation. It also won a guarantee that future manufacture of such tyres will be done in a plant that had been on strike. 
<img height="100" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMrubber.JPG" width="100" alt=""/>
The 12-week strike was marked by the company circumventing the union and appealing directly to USW members to abandon the walk-out and return to work. But there were few defections among the nearly 15,000 strikers, and that fact no doubt forced Goodyear to compromise its original demands. 

“The credit really belongs to our members and their families, whose solidarity prevented the company from short-changing them, despite all of its attempts,” stated USW President Leo Gerard. 
 
This week’s contract ratification means workers will return to work on 2 January at both tyre and engineered rubber product plants in Akron, Ohio; St. Marys, Ohio; Marysville, Ohio; Gadsden, Alabama; Buffalo, New York; Lincoln, Nebraska; Topeka, Kansas; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Danville, Virginia; Tyler, Texas; Sun Prairie, Wisconsin; and, Union City, Tennessee.

USW Ends US Goodyear Strike after Membership Vote Approval

The 20-million-member ICEM, the Global Trade Union Federation representing workers in the mining industry, today commended its Colombian affiliate, Sintracarbón, and coal producer Carbones del Cerrejón for achieving a new collective agreement over the weekend. After the union’s National Assembly of Delegates issued a strike mandate on 25 January, Sintracarbón’s six-member bargaining committee met with the management of Colombia’s biggest coal enterprise throughout the weekend to achieve the new two-year agreement. 
 
“The ICEM applauds the fact that both sides saw the rationale to continue discussions even after it appeared a strike was inevitable,” stated General Secretary Manfred Warda. “This is a testament to the commitment that Sintracarbón and the company has for the Social Dialogue process.” 
<img height="115" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Colombia.png" width="250" alt=""/>
Carbones del Cerrejón, with its three multinational stakeholders, AngloAmerican, BHP Billiton, and Xstrata, are partners with the ICEM and Sintracarbón in a unique Social Dialogue arrangement adopted in 2004 in Colombia. The agreement, which also covers other multinational companies and several other ICEM-affiliated trade unions in Colombia, established a formal process for meaningful labour-management discussions between parties. 
 
Warda said it was essential that the three parent companies asserted themselves in talks over the weekend. 
 
The agreement, covering some 4,000 miners, awards a pay increase of 7.7% in the first year of the agreement, with a second year increase of either 1.5% above Colombia’s consumer price index for 2007, or 6%, whichever is higher. 
 
The ICEM congratulates Sintracarbón and its membership for standing steadfast in these negotiations in order to meet their other contractual demands. Those include sizeable payouts in both years of the agreement for university educations for children of miners; a series of bonuses for Cerrejón’s workers, which includes a ratification bonus and a set production bonus that will increase when the company’s coal price exceeds US$48-per-tonne; additional employer contributions to a pension fund in each year of the agreement; and extra monthly medical stipends for family members. 
 
The ICEM is specifically proud of the achievements Sintracarbón made for contract workers employed at Carbones del Cerrejón in Guajira state. That includes bringing 80 temporary workers to full-time, permanent status; and enlarging the level of benefits for contract labourers once six months of employment is complete. One more requirement is for the company to conduct interviews with contract employers to ensure they are complying with Colombian law, and that this process is shared with the union. 
 
For further details: <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/2105-Sintracarbón’s-Miners-Poised-to-Strike-at-Carbones-del-Cerrejón-in-Colombia" type="internal">/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/2105-Sintracarbón’s-Miners-Poised-to-Strike-at-Carbones-del-Cerrejón-in-Colombia</a>.

ICEM Applauds Coal Agreement Reached in Colombia

The 20-million-member ICEM filed a strong protest yesterday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over this week’s assassination attempt on a prominent trade unionist. 
 
Rasem Al Bayari, deputy general secretary of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), managed to escape in the early morning hours of Monday, 29 January, when assailants fired rockets into his home. A day after this violent act, more attackers returned to his home and fired shots at the house. 
 
“The Palestinian Authority, as a responsible Authority, must uphold internationally recognised rights,” wrote ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda to Abbas, “including full respect for the fundamental human rights of workers, such as their right to life.” 
 
The ICEM has demanded that the Palestinian Government ensure the safety of Al Bayari and his family, and urges “a thorough investigation into the rocket attacks and the shootings” so that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
<img height="203" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0701Saed.jpg" width="160"/>
 PGFTU Gen. Sec. Shaher Sae'd pionts to a bullet hole in the wall of the PCFTU conference room 
 

On 12 October 2006, the PGFTU’s headquarters in Nablus was attacked. This assault was followed by death threats to the union’s leaders. The Palestinian national labour centre then called it an escalation against trade unionism, because PGFTU leaders had been strongly speaking out on behalf of workers. 
 
The ICEM stands solidly behind PGFTU, and echoes the commitment of the Palestinian labour centre, at it reacted to this week’s cowardly and violent act on the Al Bayari’s home: “This act will not silence the workers and will not stop our activities to build the structures of the Palestinian State for the benefit of our people and workers.” 
Read the ICEM Letter to Palestinian Government <a href="/en/24-North-Africa-Middle-East-/2124-ICEM-Letter-to-Palestine-President-Mahmoud-Abbas" type="internal">here</a>.

ICEM Issues Strong Protest to Palestinian Government

<img height="40" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="100"/>
Some 300 French glass sector workers from four different unions protested in front of Saint-Gobain corporate offices in Paris on 20 February. The manifestation by workers of four Saint-Gobain Desjonquères (SGD) glass factories was over the company’s intention to reduce the workforce at a perfume and pharmaceutical bottle plant in Mers, as well as the possible sale or joint-venture spin-off of the Desjonquères glass business. 
<img height="285" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0702CGTdemo.jpg" width="380"/>
The unions, CFDT, FO, CGT, and CFTC, gained a meeting with senior managers during the protest, in which Saint-Gobain delivered a declaration that no workers would be sacked for economic reasons, and that any downsizings would occur through voluntary retirements and attrition. 
The declaration also included a guarantee that investment would be made to keep open the No. 7 furnace at Mers if demand is sufficient. In a statement last month, Saint-Gobain Desjonquères said it would shutter that furnace in 2008, cutting 125 jobs at the 1,245-worker factory. 
 
The unions also pressed management to take into account that some 400 temporary workers are employed at Mers. Workers from Saint-Gobain factories from Mers, Verreries de la Somme at Abbeville, Verreries de l’Orne at Argentan, and SGD Sucy-Enbrie took part in the manifestation. 
<img height="203" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/France.png" width="200"/>
On the day following the protest, the unions obtained a salary increase from Saint-Gobain of 2.5%, with a minimum wage hike of €55-per-month. They also won a €12-a-month increase in employer-paid health insurance, and a one-off bonus of €400. The unions credited the protest the day before with the substantial gains. 
 
The four unions, as well as a supervisors’ union, CFE-CGC, vowed to continue manifestations throughout the year in order to gain future job security guarantees from Saint-Gobain. Regarding a sale or spin-off of the glass business, the unions point to the fact that the Desjonquères business has enlarged the company four-fold in recent years. Outgoing CEO Jean-Louis Beffa has told market analysts that Saint-Gobain intends to exit the glass business, and to focus on building materials enterprises. 
 
Saint-Gobain bought the glass business of Henri Desjonquères in 1972 and operates ten glass factories around the world.

Saint-Gobain Protest Assures Fairness in Glass Business

<img style="WIDTH: 102px; HEIGHT: 40px" height="40" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="100"/>
UK unions, particularly Amicus, are supporting Action Mesothelioma Day tomorrow, 27 February, to draw attention to the tens of thousands of workers and family members suffering from asbestos-related cancer. The campaign is headed by the British Lung Foundation.
Amicus, which has already distributed thousands of posters to convenors and shop stewards, is urging members to stage a one-minute period of silence at their worksites tomorrow. One Amicus action in particular has drawn attention: the convenor at the union’s Crewe branch, home to workers employed at Bombardier Transport, has led a drive to erect a park bench in the municipal square of Crewe to commemorate Amicus members who have died or are suffering from mesotheliama. 
<img height="94" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMsustdev.JPG" width="100"/>
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. Malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body’s internal organs. The resulting cancer can develop long after exposure to asbestos. 
 
Most people who develop the disease have worked in jobs where they have inhaled asbestos particles. Family members have also been known to develop it through contact with working parents in high-risk jobs, or merely by washing the work clothes of such workers. 
 
In the UK, about 2,000 people per year die from mesothelioma. It is estimated that by 2050, 95,000 people will have died from the disease. 
 
“Mesothelioma can develop up to 60 years after exposure to asbestos and because of this long delay, it has been calculated that the number of UK cases will continue to rise until 2015,” said Amicus Health and Safety Officer Rob Miquel. 
<img height="50" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/UKFlag.gif" width="100"/>
“People have died needlessly from this most painful horrific disease,” stated Amicus Gen. Sec. Derek Simpson. “We will continue to fight for better working conditions, so that our children will not suffer the same fate.” 
 
The British Lung Foundation’s campaign began on 26 February 2006, when it presented the “Mesothelioma Charter” with 14,000 signatures to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The charter calls for better protection for employees from asbestos, better care and treatment for those inflicted with asbestos-related diseases, and more funding for research. Further information on the day and on the drive to stop this deadly disease can be found at the campaigning pages of the foundation’s website, <a href="http://www.lunguk.org/getting-involved.asp">http://www.lunguk.org/getting-involved.asp</a>.

‘Action Mesothelioma Day’ Set in UK for 27 February

<img height="264" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0703March8.jpg" width="200"/>
 1. Finland – Study on Working Conditions Reveals Gaps in Male and Female Employment 
2. ITUC: Message on 8th of March 
3. Japan – Number of Part-time Workers Declines 
4. Malta – Malta has one of the Lowest Gender Pay Gaps 
5. Mexico – New Law Passed on Violence against Women 
6. Nepal – GEFONT Organises Domestic Workers 
7. Spain – CCOO and UGT Issue Joint Statement on International Women’s Day 
8. Thailand – Thailand Women’s Forum Held 
9. Turkey – Petrol-Iş Sponsors Women Writers 
10. United Kingdom – Single Women Do less Housework 
11. United States – 3-Day ‘Sisters on the Frontline’ Seminar in NYC in late March 
12. Resources
<img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
1. Finland – Study on Working Conditions Reveals Gaps in Male and Female Employment 
A recent study on employment in Europe indicates the differences in employment between women and men. Sweden and Finland are the countries with the lowest gaps. In Finland, the low gap is due to the fact that the rate of female employment is very high and the rate of male employment is low. 
Working conditions in Europe have remained relatively stable over the past few years in spite of the increases in part-time and temporary work and the greater number of women working. 
 
The following figures indicate the levels of male and female employment in 31 countries in Europe and refer to 2004:
<img height="740" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0703tabel5.jpg" width="379"/>
For more information, see: Fourth European Working Conditions Surveys 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
2. ITUC: Message on 8th of March 
This year, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is launching a campaign on maternity protection for 8 March. The aim is to promote governments ratifying ILO Convention 183. The ITUC has resources and tools available for this purpose, including a new video on the informal economy. To find out more, see: <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/">www.ituc-csi.org</a>. 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
3. Japan – Number of Part-time Workers Declines 
In the midst of an economic recovery in Japan, employers are hiring more full-time workers, after the number of part-timers reached a record high in 2005. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare presented figures to the government, which indicate that the level has reached a five-year low. 
Part-timers are defined as those who work less than 35 hours a week. They make up 22.5% of total employment, which is a 1.5% decline. Over 8.6 million women work part-time, as opposed to 3.4 million men. 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
4. Malta – Malta has one of the Lowest Gender Pay Gaps
A new report from the European Commission details the gender-related differences in pay earned by women and men. These 2007 conclusions are very similar to those presented over the past few years. The biggest differences in pay, between 20 to 25%, are in Cyprus, Slovakia, Estonia, Germany, and the UK, while the lowest differences, under 5%, can be found in Malta and Portugal. 
 
Some countries have been forcing companies to provide detailed arguments for their pay discrepancies, and this pressure has contributed to some improvement. Public sector pay gaps are generally less striking than in the private sector, where the typical pay gap is 25%. 
 
The EU Commission argues for more and better childcare facilities to enable women to pursue careers, because women often have no choice but to work part-time in order to continue looking after their families. All over Europe, 32.9% of women work part-time as opposed to 7.7% of men. The highest number of part-timers is in the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, UK, and Germany. However, very few women work part-time in the new member states. 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
5. Mexico – New Law Passed on Violence against Women
A new law was passed in February in Mexico to provide tools for fighting violence against women. The law ensures involvement by the police at all levels, the courts, media and schools. 
 
By law, the Ministry of the Interior can call an emergency due to an outbreak of gender violence to enable the response to be coordinated by the federal and local police and the courts. Measures to protect women must be taken, such as removing the aggressor from home. 
 
A national education campaign is now running, and a national data base is being created to document cases of violence against women. Studies are being done to diagnose the extent of the violence, and more women’s shelters are being promoted. 
 
The law orders gender training for police, prosecutors and other relevant officials. The government has been sponsoring ads on radio and television to warn perpetrators of violence that they will be punished. 
 
It is hoped that the law will improve the situation in a country where the murder rate of women due to violence is high. Seventy-five percent of these women are murdered by their husbands. Impunity has perpetuated these crimes, and means that the many murders in Ciudad Juarez, on the border with the US, have gone unpunished up to now. But now the law will hopefully provide some justice. 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
6. Nepal – GEFONT Organises Domestic Workers 
GEFONT organised a meeting of domestic workers on 2 February which culminated in the formation of the Nepal Independent Domestic Workers’ Union with a 13-member coordinating committee. The union will be registered as a national federation. This year, a national convention will be held. More than 200 domestic workers from the Katmandu Valley participated in the event. 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
7. Spain – CCOO and UGT Issue Joint Statement on International Women’s Day 
The 8 March Manifesto, issued by the two Spanish confederations, CCOO and UGT, passes in review the highs and lows of the past year. One of the highs was the new Spanish equal opportunities law, which provides for the negotiation of equality plans in companies with more than 250 employees, 13 days of paternity leave, and more flexible requirements for maternity pay and subsidies. 
 
Not all has been rosy, however, especially outside of Spain – where hundreds of women are murdered in Mexico and Guatemala, connivance by the police in rapes in Nigeria, and women stoned to death in Iran. CCOO and UGT have been involved in the fight to achieve the millennium development goals. 
 
Spanish women still lag behind other women in Europe. While the average rate of women’s employment in the rest of Europe is 57.4%, in Spain it is only 54.1%. Women’s rate of unemployment in countries outside of Spain is 9%, whereas in Spain it is 12.2%. However, agreements have been reached in the framework of social dialogue which will hopefully improve this situation. 
 
Collective bargaining has also contributed to positive developments, with 52% of collective agreements containing clauses on non-discrimination or gender equality. 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
From our readers: 
Carol Fraser of the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers (CEP) union of Canada sends greetings on International Women’s Day, as well as links to two sites in Canada to celebrate the day: <a href="http://www.cfc-swc.gc.ca/dates/iwd/index_e.html">www.cfc-swc.gc.ca/dates/iwd/index_e.html</a> where it is a question of taking real action against violence against women and <a href="http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/womensday/index.asp">www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/womensday/index.asp</a> which indicates activities that can be done in schools.
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
8. Thailand – Thailand Women’s Forum Held
The Thailand Women’s Forum was held in Bangkok on 3 and 4 March to celebrate Women’s Day. The forum was intended to provide space for exchange and sharing between women, men, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, people living with HIV and civil organisations who work for democracy, protest unfair trade, protect their communities and fight for women’s rights. 
 
Discussions focused on neo-liberalism and free trade agreements, health, gender roles, sexual relationships, oppression from customs and religion and building alternatives. The forum was organised by Thai Labour Campaign, among other sponsors. 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
9. Turkey – Petrol-Iş Sponsors Women Writers 
In this month of March 2007, Petrol-Iş has launched a contest for women to write stories. All women home workers, factory workers, public workers, temporary workers, non-unionised, sub-contracted workers, women at home or outside the home are possible themes for the contest. 
 
The stories must not have been published before. Professional or non-professional writers are eligible to participate. Anyone can send in stories of between 3 and 10 pages, and the deadline is 25 March. A women’s jury will be judging the entries, and First, Second, and Third Place given. 
 
Petrol-Iş will publish all stories. The results will be declared on 2 May and prizes awarded at Petrol-Iş headquarters. 
Please see also ICEM’s InBrief of 26 February, or the ICEM Circular on the ICEM’s home page for information on the Petrol-Iş strike against Fresenius. A remarkable group of women are on strike at this medical facility in Turkey, and they deserve whatever support we can generate. 
 
All are invited to take action on 8 March through <a href="/" type="internal">www.icem.org</a>, where a model letter of support is available in different languages. 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
10. United Kingdom – Single Women Do less Housework 
Single women do an average of ten hours of housework a week, while it increases to 15 hours when they live as a couple. Men, on the other hand, spend seven hours on housework when they are single, with it reduces to five when they live in a couple. 
 
The conclusion is that gender inequalities at home have a major influence on gender inequalities at work, and vice versa. 
 
What is needed is for women to gain equal employment opportunities and to start doing the same jobs as men and achieve pay parity. Nevertheless it will still take time for people to change cultures. 
 
The Print, Paper, Publishing and Media Section of ICEM affiliate Amicus has published a very interesting newsletter for Women’s International Day. This timely and informative <a href="http://www.amicustheunion.org/pdf/AmicusWomen_final_lowres2.pdf">newsletter</a> promises to assure all women in this sector that they will be made aware of opportunities within UK’s largest union to participate and be involved in the wider union and its democratic structures. 
 
The Equalities Department of Amicus also has an International Women’s Day page, which encourages trade unionists to send messages of support to women across the world through the union’s global trade union links. Throughout March, the Amicus page will be updated with information throughout the world. The page can be found at <a href="http://www.amicustheunion.org/Default.aspx?page=5797">http://www.amicustheunion.org/Default.aspx?page=5797</a>. 
 
In London on 8 March, a unique panel discussion and viewing of the short film “In the Name of Honor” by Reza Moradi, an Iranian free-speech advocate. The seminar, entitled “Women’s Rights, the Veil and Islamic and Religious Laws, is sponsored by the International Campaign in Defense of Women’s Rights in Iran, the UK and National Secular Society, and the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association. 
 
It will take place from 6 PM until 10 PM on 8 March, in Room 3D of the University of London Union, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HY. (The nearest Underground stops are Russell Street or Goodge Street.) 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
11. United States – 3-Day ‘Sisters on the Frontline’ Seminar in NYC in late March 
Cornell University’s Institute for Women and Work, the university’s Labor Program, the New York State AFL-CIO, and City University of New York’s (CUNY) Murphy Center for Labor, Community and Policy Studies will conduct a series of workshops on 30-31 March, and 1 April. 
 
Called “Sisters on the Frontline: Organising Women and Building Power,” the sponsors are billing it as the first women organisers’ conference in the US that will bring together women organisers, scholars, officials, and leaders of labour organisations. 
 
The conference’s aims are to generate ideas and methodology to overcome the challenges for women in labour unions and community-based organisations; and to identify the challenges to recruit and retain women in such organisations. One session in the three-day set of workshops and panel discussions is called “How to Rock the Boat without Getting Thrown Off.” 
 
The conference will take place at CUNY’s Murphy Center, 25 W. 43rd Street in Manhattan, and the conference’s programme and agenda is at 
<a href="http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/iww/events/sistersFrontline.html">http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/iww/events/ 
sistersFrontline.html</a>. 
 
Registration fee is US$50.00, and scholarships are available. Contact Francine Moccio of Cornell at fam5@cornell.edu for further information. 
 <img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
12. Resources 
<a href="http://www.cimacnoticias.com/site">http://www.cimacnoticias.com/site</a> is a Mexican site with news from a gender perspective (in Spanish). 
 
<a href="http://www.unfpa.org/publications/detail.cfm?ID=322">http://www.unfpa.org/publications/detail.cfm?ID=322</a> 
includes a publication called Programming to Address Violence Against Women: Ten Case Studies.

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN 20

<img height="40" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="100" alt=""/>
ICEM affiliate in North America, the United Steelworkers (USW), will host a two-day meeting next week for global union leaders of Goodyear rubber plants. The purpose of the meeting is to expand the steering committee of the Goodyear Network for more effective actions. 
 
This ICEM Network meeting will be held on 19-20 March, at the union hall of USW Local 2, Akron, state of Ohio. Akron is also the world headquarters for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. 
<img height="100" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMrubber.JPG" width="100" alt=""/>
The agenda will include a presentation on the structure of the ICEM Goodyear Global Union Network, and national reports on Goodyear’s record of labour relations from across the world. The meeting will take up improving communications across the network, and will develop a solidarity action plan for trade unions representing Goodyear workers. 
 
Besides union leaders from USW local branches at some 16 Goodyear plants, union leaders from Goodyear enterprises in Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Peru, Poland, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, and the UK will attend the USW-sponsored Goodyear Global Union Network.

USW to Host Goodyear Global Union Network of Workers Next Week

<img height="48" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="120"/>
The Lafarge Group of France has become intransigent in a year-long dispute with subcontracting workers at a cement plant in South Korea. Despite ICEM and Building and Woodworkers’ International (BWI) insistence that the company drop legal appeals over freedom of association rights won for eight contract workers, Lafarge continues to spend money and resources on appealing an issue that involves trade union organisation.
<img height="92" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/SouthKorea.png" width="200"/>
In March 2006, managers at Lafarge’s Okgye, South Province, cement plant fired 13 workers, after 21 of 35 workers of Woojin Industry, a subcontractor of Lafarge, joined the Korean Chemical and Textile Workers Federation (KCTF). Lafarge also cancelled the contract of Woojin, and shifted the equipment and jobs to two other subcontractors, Sehwa Industry and Daewon Industry. 
 
In late September 2006, the Gangwon Regional Labour Relations Commission ruled that Lafarge is legally the employer for the dismissed contract workers, since they worked as agency workers for more than two years. The court ordered Lafarge to re-employ the workers, and pay them for the periods of dismissal. 
 
When Lafarge failed to adhere to the ruling, KCFT was forced to take the case to the National Labor Relations Commission. In November, the ICEM and BWI strongly urged senior managers of Lafarge – through the Global Framework Agreement the two labour federations have with the company – to step in to resolve the matter in good faith. A month later, in December 2006, the Gangwon Regional Commission issued unfair labour practice citations on Lafarge for failing to negotiate with KCFT over the matter.
<img height="119" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMcement2.jpg" width="120"/>
The dismissed workers have conducted sit-downs and picketing at the cement plant, as well as at Lafarge’s offices in Seoul and the home of new Lafarge Halla CEO Frederic de Rougemont. Throughout 2006, Lafarge in South Korea has dispatched mid-level managers to talk with KCFT, who have no authority to act. 
 
The case is now before the central labour commission, with Lafarge employing expensive and wasteful counsel to reverse the freedom of association rights inherent for all workers at the Okgye cement plant. 
 
The ICEM and BWI will continue to press this issue through all available avenues. Lafarge acquired Halla Cement of Korea in 1998.

Lafarge Resisting Unionisation of Contract Workers at Korean Cement Plant

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Over 200 trade union leaders and activists throughout Zimbabwe were arrested last week, on 12 and 13 September 2006. A large number of them were treated in an extremely violent way by the police forces while in detention. 
 
Victims include the three top leaders of the national centre Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo and Secretary General Wellington Chibebe were so brutally assaulted that they could not stand up afterwards. First Vice President Lucia Matibenga could no longer walk. She was, as were others, severely beaten on the soles of her feet. 
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ZCTU General Secretary Wellington Chibebe
After being ill-treated at the Matapi Police station in Mbare on 13 September, the three top leaders were refused immediate medical attention. They were released later on bail. Speaking from his hospital bed, Brother Chibebe told the press afterwards he had been unconscious for over half a day. Police from Matapi later simply denied that the arrested were assaulted. 
 
Reportedly, their physical shape was such that senior police authorities refused to take them in custody at Harare’s Central Police Station. Comrade Chibebe has a broken arm. Both he and Comrade Matombo suffered cranial/facial bruising and other head injuries. Many other arrested trade unionists equally suffered from the police violence, having their heads bashed against prison walls and being stamped and kicked in the head. 
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Police reports from last week suggest that the trade unionists could be charged under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), a commonly used law to deter trade union activists in Zimbabwe. 
Ruling party Zanu PF militia had started the repression last week by intimidating and blocking union marchers in many cities, including in Harare. The ZCTU’s demonstration was against the country’s inflation rate of 1,000 %, in demand of higher incomes, lower taxes and better access to antiretroviral drugs needed to fight HIV/AIDS. 
 
Some 256 ZCTU activists were arrested in total, in at least 16 cities. ZCTU offices were blockaded and sealed by the army and police forces. Meanwhile, the union leaders vow to continue their protest.

Bloody Repression against Trade Union Leaders in Zimbabwe

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