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A subsidiary of Russian multinational RuSAL, the world&rsquo;s largest producer of aluminium and a major mining house in key resources, has terminated a labour agreement for 600 Guyanese workers over a wage dispute. Rusal announced it no longer recognizes the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers&rsquo; Union, something illegal under Guyana&rsquo;s law and deeply condemned by the ICEM. 
 
General Manager of the Guyanese subsidiary, Sergey Kostyuk, sent a letter to Union President Charles Sampson, stating that the collective agreement between the two entities, and through the Labour Ministry, was &ldquo;terminated with immediate effect.&rdquo; 

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Guyana&rsquo;s Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir reacted by ordering mandatory arbitration, citing the importance of the bauxite industry to the economy of the country. The Bauxite and General Workers&rsquo; Union began a lawful strike on 21 November and that strike is on-going, thus hampering production at a processing plant. 
The union called the strike when RuSAL managers failed to give a promised 10% pay raise to workers in Berbice, located in the centre of Guyana. RuSAL also angered workers and their union by sacking 56 for &ldquo;insubordination, refusal to obey instructions and misconduct,&rdquo; a dubious charge considering workers were engaged in a lawful strike action. 

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A Guyanese political party, Working People&rsquo;s Alliance (WPA), has intervened by pressuring the government to protect the workers&rsquo; constitutional rights. WPA stated that the conflict has &ldquo;grave implications for the entire trade union movement in Guyana,&rdquo; if RuSAL Bauxite Company of Guyana (BCGI) is not stopped in its total disregard for trade union rights. 
 
The ICEM condemns RuSAL for its ignorance of essential global labour standards and for the negative influence this conduct brings to Guyanese labour relations. The ICEM is calling on RuSAL to reinstate the discharged workers at its bauxite plant and to immediate adopt better industrial relations practices in Guyana.

RuSAL’s Labor Conduct in Guyana’s Bauxite Industry Strongly Questioned

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Industrial actions by 1,000 coal miners employed by New Zealand state-owned Solid Energy and its contractors ended in early December when members of the Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) accepted two-year wage and benefit terms from mine operators. 
The settlement at four mines on both the North and South Islands ends an eight-month dispute that erupted into industrial actions, full strikes, sympathy strikes, and a lockout, covering a period from late October to the end of November. The accord also sets in place the terms of the Multi-employer Collective Agreement (MECA), contract terms that had been elusive since March 2009. 
Miners will receive a 5% salary increase in 2010 and 2011, with miners from the Huntly East colliery on the North Island accepting an 8.5% increase to compensate for shift rotation changes. In addition, staff receive a one-off NZ$2,000 bonus for their roles in Solid Energy posting record 2008 profit results. 
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A series of industrial actions started with a &ldquo;go-slow&rdquo; job action at the Rotowaro mine on the North Island in late October. That immediately resulted in a lockout by contractor RWE Mining, leading to sympathy strikes at two South Island mines &ndash; Stockton and Spring Creek &ndash; that are operated by Solid Energy and another contractor. After miners quit the strikes to return to bargaining, the employers again submitted the same regressive terms, resulting in walkouts and renewed sympathy strikes in late during the November. 
With Solid losing millions of dollars each week due to the work stoppages, the two sides reconvened talks on 29-30 November. Shortly after, miners at Huntly East, Rotowaro, and Stockton accepted a revised MECA deal, with miners at Spring Creek ratifying the contract on 3 December. 
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Stated EPMU Assistant National Secretary Ged O&rsquo;Connell, &ldquo;Throughout the dispute, Solid tried to set miners from different areas against each other by offering them different deals within the MECA, but our members stood by each other and made sure that the company knew that an injury to one was an injury to all.&rdquo; 
This is &ldquo;a membership,&rdquo; he added, which was &ldquo;united in their strength and determination to get a fair deal.&rdquo;

New Zealand Miners Win New Contract through Solidarity Strikes

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Industrial Union TEAM is the new name, effective on 1 January 2010, of the merged Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union (Kemianliito), an ICEM affiliate, and the Finnish Media Union. The merger of the two is the product of a larger, six-union merger of Finnish industrial unions that failed to materialize in spring 2009. 
 
Kemianliitto and the Media Union, which represents workers in the graphical, print, and print delivery sections, committed to continue union merger talks following the breakdown of the larger merger. By the end of summer holidays, 2009, committees and an organizational structure were in place to complete to merger. 

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On 13 November, an extraordinary Congress of the Media Union approved the merger, while on 26-27 November, the General Council of Kemianliitto gave its consent. Kemianliitto President Timo Vallittu will lead Industrial Union TEAM, and the merged union will have a 20-member governing body. 
 
The merged union numbers 68,000, a figure that includes retirees. Kemianliitto comes in to the merger with some 31,000 active members, while the Media Union brings 14,000. 

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The larger Finnish industrial merger, in talks dating back two years, was proposed between Kemianliitto and the Media Union, as well as including ICEM-affiliated Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union, the Finnish Metalworkers Union, the Wood and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union, and the Finnish Railwaymen&rsquo;s Union. In spring 2009, the Electrical Workers&rsquo; dropped from talks, while a short time later the Metalworkers&rsquo; withdrew from participating by action of its Congress.

Kemianliitto and Media Union Become Finnish TEAM, 1 January

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Industrial action that was to begin today at a pulp and paper mill in the UK has been cancelled because progress was made in redundancy consultation talks last Friday, 11 December. Paperworkers who are members of Unite the Union voted 226 to 30 for industrial action, after Iggesund Paper &ndash; a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swedish Holmen Paper &ndash; announced unilateral job cuts in early November. 
 
Iggesund, operating a softwood pulp mill and paperboard mill in Cumbria, sought to cut 99 of 480 jobs at the facility. Following the announcement, local managers said there was no need for consultation. UK law states that redundancies of less that100 workers must be preceded by a 30-day union-management consultation period, while jobs cuts totaling over 100 workers must see a 90-day consultation. 

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External pressure and the overwhelming vote for industrial action convinced management to discuss its reasons for the redundancies. Peter Ellis, a Unite the Union National Secretary, reported that Friday&rsquo;s talks between the union and Iggesund reduced the number of job cuts by five, with the potential for possibly saving more jobs to occur in coming consultation sessions. 
 
In the lead-up to the industrial ballot, the ICEM delivered nearly 100 messages of support from global pulp and paper unions to Unite the Union, messages that were distributed on the shop floor of the paper company.

Industrial Action at Iggesund Paper Mill in UK Suspended

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As part of the monitoring of implementation of their global framework agreement, ICEM and central management of French-based chemicals multinational Rhodia carried out a joint mission in the USA from 6-11 December. A similar joint mission occurred first in China in 2007 and in Brasil last year. The principal objective was to ensure that the global agreement is properly implemented at specific workplaces. 
ICEM was represented by its General Secretary Manfred Warda and Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, while Group Vice-President, Human Resources, Yolene Coppin and Vice President, Sustainable Development, Jacques Kheliff from Rhodia were present. 
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ICEM delegation with plant management
At the first day of the meeting at the headquarters of the North American zone, headed by Jim Harton, Rhodia&rsquo;s North American business was introduced to the mission. Following ICEM&rsquo;s presentation on its general activities and particular efforts on global agreements, there was a special discussion on the US economic and legal situation. Employing around 1600 workers in 18 manufacturing units, the North American section of Rhodia has four categories of operations which are Novacare, Eco Services, Silcea and Polyamide. The majority of the production workers of Rhodia in North America are organised by ICEM-affiliated trade unions, USW, IBT and LIUNA. 
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ICEM delegation with plant union reps
The mission visited the headquarters of the USW at Pittsburgh and met International President Leo Gerard and his Assistant Jerry Fernandez. President Gerard introduced USW and its activities, particularly the drives to secure manufacturing and industrial employment in the US. The mission later travelled to Houston where Rhodia has a plant of Eco Services, organised by the USW. After the meeting with the factory union committee and local officers of the USW, the local management team briefed the group on the plant&rsquo;s activities and labour relations, followed by a site tour. The Rhodia North American team also informed the ICEM about the company&rsquo;s policies and programmes on human resources, employee benefits, and community relations. 
&ldquo;Between 2007 and 2009, in the framework of our global agreement, we have realised various missions in all the zones where Rhodia has business. This clearly demonstrates our engagement with a multinational company at a global scale, and it works very well,&rdquo; commented ICEM General Secretary Warda. &ldquo;We believe that that global agreements can and should play a meaningful and constructive role in labour relations, and our recent visit has shown this.&rdquo;

ICEM and Rhodia in joint mission of monitoring in the USA

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The International Textiles, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) held its Tenth World Congress in Frankfurt, Germany, from 2-4 December. The ITGLWF adopted several major decisions regarding the coming work re-organization. The theme of this Tenth Congress was &ldquo;Organise = Decent Work = Decent Life,&rdquo; and it brought together 214 delegates from 97 trade unions in 68 countries. 
 
It also paid moving tribute to the necessary humanitarian contributions made by the late ITGLWF General Secretary, Neil Kearney. Kearney&rsquo;s daughters were at the Congress and told of their father. 
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Neal Kearney&rsquo;s daughters, Nicole and Caroline
The Congress was hosted by IG Metall at its Frankfurt headquarters. 
The Congress took place just two weeks after General Secretary Neil Kearney died from a heart attack while doing important ITGLWF work in Bangladesh. The global trade union movement was shocked and saddened. Kearney, the ITGLWF General Secretary for the past 21 years, performed some of the toughest and most meaningful work in the world. 

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The Frankfurt Congress confirmed the appointment of Patrick Itschert as the new General Secretary. Itschert has led the European regional organization of ETUC:TCL, for nearly two decades. He will continue in both roles. 
 
Congress unanimously elected Hisanobu Shimada of Japan as the organisation&rsquo;s new president. Hisanobu Shimada is the General Secretary of ITGLWF affiliate UI Zensen. Outgoing president Manfred Schallmeyer of IG Metall received a special message of appreciation from Congress, for his work during the past five years as president. 
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Manfred Schallmeyer hands over the presidency to Hisanobu Shimada 
The ITGLWF&rsquo;s Congress elected fifteen Vice-Presidents, eight of whom are women, and formally approved the membership of the Executive Committee. 
 
The future of the ITGLWF was a major issue on the agenda. Congress recognised the need for a powerful trade union force across manufacturing industries, in response to corporate restructuring and obvious synergies created within the continual overlaps of the world&rsquo;s manufacturing sectors. The ITGLWF Congress resolved that the Global Union Federation make all necessary efforts to ensure the creation of a new GUF for manufacturing, and that it be concluded no later than 2011.&nbsp;

Memories, Accomplishments of Neil Kearney Cited at ITGLWF Congress

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the HIV/AIDS workshops in Trinidad and Tobago and in Ethiopia, and inform on the Global Fund approvals for Round 9, as well as on the 2009 Epidemic Update. 
 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are already engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 

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World AIDS Day 
 
In his statement on World AIDS Day, 1 December, the ICEM General Secretary focused on the &ldquo;I AM&rdquo; theme, with the key slogans: &ldquo;I am accepted; I am safe; I am getting treatment; I am well and I am living my rights&rdquo;. &ldquo;Our approach is also rights-based &ndash; we never forget that our first responsibility is to protect the rights, health and livelihoods of our members, their families and the wider community&rdquo;, he stated. &ldquo;Above all, we have to advocate Know-Your-Status campaigns for voluntary counselling and testing. If for every two people who go on antiretroviral treatment five more are newly infected, then we know that prevention must be the focus of our HIV/AIDS work&rdquo;. 
 
The ILO contributed to the &ldquo;I AM&rdquo; theme with the slogan &ldquo;I am living my rights. I am working.&rdquo; 

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World AIDS Day: HIV/AIDS Workshop in Trinidad and Tobago 
 
The Oilfields Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (OWTU) of Trinidad and Tobago, with the support from the Humanity Fund of the ICEM Canadian affiliate, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP), organised the opening of their HIV/AIDS workshop for OWTU General Council members to coincide with World AIDS Day, 1 December. 
 
Speaking at the opening, OWTU President General Comrade Ancil Roget emphasised the importance of fighting HIV/AIDS at the workplace. He highlighted that the World AIDS Campaign and World AIDS Day are about understanding that access to prevention, care and treatment is for ALL, not just for some. He also reminded the participants that high HIV infections are a manifestation of the deeper social and political crisis we are in and we cannot ignore the fact that poverty, inequality and social injustice make people more vulnerable to HIV. He pledged that his union, in line with the World AIDS Day slogan, will keep the promise to stop HIV/AIDS and protect the rights of workers living with HIV. 
 
Carol Ann Senah, Technical Director of the National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC), pointed out that the infection does not just hitch rides with truck drivers on lonely highways; it also travels business class with men in dark suits. The number of people living with HIV and AIDS has gone up from 14,000 to 20,000 in a short time. With the productive workforce,&nbsp;the age group 15-49 years hardest hit, the workplace must be an enabling environment to fight the pandemic. She called on everybody to be tested on national testing day, 4 December. 
 
During the three-day workshop, some 45 participants discussed behaviour change, preventing HIV transmission, negotiating on HIV and AIDS and they elaborated the elements of an HIV/AIDS workplace policy on the basis of a presentation by Hans Schwass, the ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant and the OWTU&rsquo;s own HIV/AIDS policy presented by Executive Officers, Comrades Chandersain Ramsingh &amp; Sati Gajadar-Innis, which was adopted in June 2009. Their work in groups was also informed by the excellent presentation of the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work by the regional ILO HIV/AIDS specialist, Madhuri Supersad. 
 
Participants came up with many ideas for HIV/AIDS activities at their workplace and within their communities to be organised within the next six months and to be reviewed and further carried forward at an HIV/AIDS workshop in 2010. 
 
One of the highlights of the workshop was the participation in a mixed performance of pantomime, music and testimonies of people living with HIV, which addressed stigma and discrimination. 

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HIV/AIDS Workshops in Ethiopia 
 
In two consecutive workshops in Addis Ababa in November, stakeholders advanced the LO/FTF-sponsored HIV/AIDS project in cooperation with the ICEM and its affiliate, the National Industrial Federation of Energy, Chemical and Mine Trade Unions (NIFECM). 
 
In the first workshop, officials revisited the NIFECM HIV/AIDS Policy which was adopted by Congress in August and the excellent leaflet which was produced in Ethiopia. They also reviewed and selected materials which should go into a toolbox for peer educators. 
 
A larger group of 20 participants, of whom 9 were women, with unionists from the basic unions discussed strategies to negotiate on HIV/AIDS, elaborated an HIV/AIDS workplace policy, acquired campaigning skills and brainstormed campaigning ideas. 
 
The Project Advisory Committee with participation from NIFECM, the LO/FTF and ICEM also met on the occasion. Priorities for the next few months are the training of peer educators and the starting of awareness and prevention campaigns in mining localities, as well as training on bargaining skills. 

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Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation Receives ILO Certificate, Organises Peer Educators Training for Women and Commemorates World AIDS Day 
 
On behalf of the INMF, its General Secretary B.K. Das received a certificate from the ILO Delhi Office in recognition of the contribution made to the prevention of HIV/AIDS in the world of work through the successful implementation of the HIV/AIDS Project sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim and the ICEM. 
 
In September, the Federation organised a training course for women to become HIV/AIDS peer educators. Peer educators courses held so far have shown a low participation by women, due to strong cultural barriers. Yet the potential of women and their involvement with families and the community has to be harnessed to fight HIV and AIDS. 
 
On World AIDS Day, 1 December, master trainers and peer educators, trained by the HIV/AIDS project, organised meetings, symposiums and rallies in major coalfields. The programmes did not only involve workers but also reached out to local authorities, teachers and students of schools and colleges, non-governmental organisations and organisations of people living with HIV. The HIV/AIDS project provided campaign materials for the events. 

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Global Fund Board Approves 85 Grants in Round 9 
 
The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, meeting in Addis Ababa from 9-11 November, approved 85 grants (out of 159 proposals received) worth almost USD 2 billion over the first two years for the three diseases. 54 grants received immediate approval, whereas 31 were approved in principle, subject to funding becoming available. 
 
Of the total amount, 44 percent are for HIV/AIDS grants. TB and malaria grants received 28 percent each. Of the grants approved, Africa (East, Southern, West and Central) will receive 56 percent. 
 
Subject to confirmation by the Board meeting in April 2010, Round 10 will be launched at the start of May 2010. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 110 of 12 November. GFO is a free service of Aidspan (<a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>); to receive GFO send an email to 
<a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 

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2009 AIDS Epidemic Update: New HIV Infections Down 
 
New infections in 2008 were 30 percent lower than they were 12 years ago, according to data released by UNAIDS and the WHO. The 2009 Epidemic Update, available at <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>, confirms a trend first observed about two years ago. 
 
UNAIDS and WHO state that the spread of HIV appears to have peaked in 1996. An estimated 2.7 million new infections occurred in 2008, the same number as in 2007, but well below the estimated 3.5 million new infections in 1996. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most heavily affected region, accounting for 71 percent of all new HIV infections in 2008. According to the report, there seems to be evidence that the declines are due to HIV prevention measures. 
 
However, the number of people living with HIV continues to grow. In December 2008, an estimated 33.4 million people were living with HIV, compared to 33.0 million in 2007. The reason that this number continues to grow while new infections are levelling off is that HIV-positive people are living longer, due in large part to expanded antiretroviral (AARV) coverage. The percentage of those needing ARV treatment who actually receive it rose from 7 percent in 2003 to 42 percent in 2008 or 4 million. That also means that over half of those in need of treatment or about 5 million people are still not receiving it. AIDS-related deaths in 2008 amounted to 2 million. 

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President Zuma Addresses the Nation on World AIDS Day 
 
In a national address on World AIDS Day, South African President Jacob Zuma declared that drug therapy for HIV-positive women and babies would be broadened and start earlier. 
 
The new policy on pregnant women, aimed at ensuring that babies are born healthy, is in line with the new treatment guidelines issued by the WHO just a day before. This new policy and extended access to antiretroviral drugs gives substance to Zuma&rsquo;s break with the views of his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, who during almost a decade in office had questioned whether HIV causes AIDS. It is estimated that delays during this decade caused the death of 35,000 babies and that 330,000 people died prematurely for lack of treatment. 
 
With more people being HIV positive than in any other country, Zuma called on South Africans to struggle against AIDS as they had against apartheid. 
 
(Source: Right Vision News, 4 December) 
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News from Global Union Federations 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a> reports in its HIV/AIDS Updates 75 and 76,&nbsp;1 and 15 November, on the opening of an HIV/AIDS drop-in centre on the Indian-Nepalese border which is designed to reach out to those working on the 2000 trucks that cross the border every day. It further reports on the private sector workshop held in Ghana which focused on the role of the private sector in Global Fund processes. It also informs on preparations for the 18th International AIDS Conference to be held in Vienna from 18-23 July 2010. 

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This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 51, December 2009

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As a priority, the ICEM has been building union networks within major multinational companies and sectors at global, regional, and national levels. These networks engage in exchange of information and experiences, organizing strategies, occupational health/safety, as well as building cross-border trade union solidarity through joint actions and campaigns. 
 
Some networks have provided valuable social dialogue lessons, with participation by various managements of companies. This is particularly the case in Latin America, where ICEM-affiliated unions have established a number of workers&rsquo; networks, with several of them operating quite well. 
 
With this, the ICEM held a 9-10 November conference called &ldquo;Latin American Regional Company Networks in the Chemical Industry&rdquo; in S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil with the support of the German Friedrich-Ebert Foundation (FES). The main objective was to make an evaluation on activities, and to harmonise and coordinate the activities of these networks.
<img alt="" src="" width="260" height="173" />
FES Workshop in&nbsp;S&atilde;o Paulo last week
In communication with the Latin American affiliates, ten multinational companies were included, namely Bayer, BASF, Akzo Nobel, Novartis, Sanofi Aventis, Lanxess, Solvay, Dupont, Dow Chemicals, and Bunge. 
 
Chaired by ICEM Latin America/Caribbean Regional Vice President S&eacute;rgio Novais, some 70 trade union representatives attended the two-day meetings from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. The conference also welcomed Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer; Michael Wolters, International Secretary of Germany&rsquo;s IGBCE; Isidor Boix, International Secretary of Spain&rsquo;s FITEQA-CC.OO; Kent Holsing, a local union president of the United Steelworkers (USW) in the US; Brian Finnegan of the US Solidarity Centre; and Fons Welters, Chairman of the Works Council of Akzo Nobel, representing FNV Bondgenoten of the Netherlands. 
 
Participants received solidarity messages from Belgian Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale, French FCE-CFDT, and Switzerland&rsquo;s UNIA. 
 
&quot;Our confederation supports and encourages conferences like this, because this is fundamental to strengthening our activities around multinationals,&rdquo; said Silvan Antonio Oliveira, president of CNTQ, the National Confederation of Chemical Workers of Brazil. &ldquo;Through these kinds of events, we know these companies better and we have a full explanation of the problems that affect workers in the industry.&rdquo; 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan made two presentations, &ldquo;The Global Chemical Industry&rsquo;s Main Developments and Global Challenges, &ldquo; and &ldquo;Global Dimension of Labour Relations Through International Mechanisms &ndash; Social Dialogue, Global Agreements, and Workers&rsquo; Networks.&rdquo; 
 
Later, BASF and Repsol were examined as successful examples of regional network and social dialogue, while Bayer, Akzo Nobel, and Solvay were presented as successful examples of national networks. 
 
On 11-12 November, six different networks, including BASF, Bayer, Lanxess, Akzo Nobel, Solvay, and Dow Chemicals met individually and discussed how to move forward successfully. The ICEM was also represented in these individual meetings through &Ouml;zkan. 
 
Related to US-based Dow Chemicals, both For&ccedil;a Sindical and CUT unions of Brazil, the Argentine unions, and the USW shared their learning experiences from the ICEM seminar, and agreed to compile the contributions into a DOW network bulletin within the next 30 days. The Solidarity Centre agreed to support another meeting of the present members of the network in the first quarter of 2010. 
 
On Belgium-based Solvay, this meeting thanked the ICEM for making possible the conference which did much to improve communication and exchange of information necessary for the expansion of the network in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. 
 
The follow-up 11-12 November sessions served to evaluate recent activities, as well as to analyze the challenges that will be faced in 2010 regarding expanding the network and pursuing social dialogue with managements. 
 
For BASF, the final meeting discussed deeply the actions needed to promote decent work for contract employees. This network is completing a survey on Contract and Agency Labour in Latin America that will enable participating organisations to identify problems and promote decent work. The parties have major differences on how to use new technologies, such as the internet during work hours, and BASF has been neglecting to involve workers&rsquo; representatives in this process. The network will invite management of BASF to accompany workers on a visit to BASF Colombia, scheduled for March 2010, and also report on how BASF workers in Peru are creating a union there.

Social Dialogue, Networks In Latin American Chemicals Focus of FES Workshops

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With the Canadian winter already set in and four long months already on picket lines, 3,000 striking members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6500 in Sudbury, Ontario, remain upbeat. Their fight to retain living standards and working conditions opposite an interloping landlord, Vale of Brazil, has turned into a test of wills between a profitable multinational and working-class Canadians. 
 
This match-up pits Vale, intent on taking much more than just rich nickel reserves from Canadian soil, against miners and metalworkers, who together with their families see now experience unique fusion through their union in protecting their livelihoods. 
 
Strikers here, as well as 500 other striking steelworkers at Port Colborne, Ontario, and Goose Bay and Voiseys Bay, Labrador, know now their walkouts will last through the long Canadian winter. They know by Vale&rsquo;s reticence to return to bargaining, by the firm&rsquo;s secretive and intimidating posture to resume production, and by the fact that global nickel prices have not risen &ndash; following the collapse &ndash; to levels that will further maximize Vale&rsquo;s profits.
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="131" />
&nbsp;USW Local 6500 President John Fera 
 

So they&rsquo;ve prepared for a long winter without pay checks. While teams of strikers fan out across the world to spread a message of corporate greed, Local 6500 President John Fera remains in Sudbury and tends to what is necessary &ndash; nurturing unity and fraternity, and waging the fight against Vale on the local front, a relentless task considering company assaults on picket lines and in courtrooms. 
 
&ldquo;Everyone here knows what this fight is about,&rdquo; Fera told the ICEM. &ldquo;Every worker on strike is fully engaged and every family member knows what is at stake for this community. And that is a credit to the Steelworkers union.&rdquo; 
 
He then ticks off an ever-expanding list of local actions, activities, and self-help programmes that USW Local 6500 is engaged in through its newly-built union hall. Strikers receive C$200-a-week in strike benefits from the international union. That is supplemented by a big food bank, a special-needs fund, as well as social service professionals on duty &ndash; all operated out of a union hall that was rebuilt from a costly fire 14 months ago. 
 
Local 6500 continues to launch activities on a weekly basis, including a &ldquo;coats-for-kids&rdquo; drive, in which donations from unions, organizations, and individuals will fund new winter wear. A recent &ldquo;Family Day&rdquo; on picket lines underscores what Fera speaks of. The union also will sponsor several Christmas events to forge even greater cohesion.
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Union Meetings Produce Huge Turnouts
As testament to this unity is that not one striker has crossed picket lines to return to work since the strike began on 13 July. 
 
While dozens of striking steelworkers have taken the strike to Vale worksites and Vale showcase events on four continents, hundreds other Sudbury activists have been just as active at home. They have protested at Vale offices in Toronto, at provincial offices, and against a national Tory government that has turned a deaf ear to the Investment Canada Act, a law that is meant to protect Canadian jobs and resources when non-Canadian enterprises take over. 
 
Sudbury strikers have also taken the fight to Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement, a Conservative who at the outset of the strike said the Sudbury region would be a &ldquo;valley of death&rdquo; had it not been for Vale buying Canadian-based Inco in 2006. 
 
Now, as a fading day&rsquo;s light turns rapidly to another winter night, the only semblance of death is on picket lines with Vale&rsquo;s black-suited security guards trying to prod strikers into violent acts for the sake of cameras and the courtroom. Since early October, the company has feigned start-up of production. But there has been no real output, only Vale&rsquo;s false tricks to psychologically intimidate workers. 
 
The company has manipulated unionised administrative and technical workers, who remain on the job with a working labour agreement, to begin training for production. Fera says maybe 50 out of 450 such workers might be doing Local 6500 work, adding that three of the six mines might have limited activity. Workers and non-union personnel are also active in a nickel refinery, but there is no activity inside the huge, 100,000-metric-tonne-per-year smelter. 
 
&ldquo;The company wants us to believe that one shipment has gone out from the Clarabelle refinery, but our sources in transportation say this is not true,&rdquo; Fera said.
<img alt="" src="" width="190" height="142" />
From left: USW Local 6500's Nick Larochelle; Andi Karman, President of FSP-KEP Soroako; and Local 6500's Tim Kiley in Indonesia&nbsp;
Meanwhile, trade union activity across the world continues. Last month, the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) joined the campaign to press Vale for a fair collective agreement in Canada. Today, in Seoul, Korea, the ICEM and IMF facilitated two Canadian strikers in a public &ldquo;head-shaving&rdquo; protest in front of Vale offices in Seoul. 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F34Af4nT7mw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F34Af4nT7mw</a> 
<img alt="" src="" width="280" height="179" />
Canadian USW members at head-shaving today in Seoul: Doug Olthuis, Nick Larouche, and Tim Kiley&nbsp;
The protest today was also brought before Korea Zinc, a company whose subsidiary &ndash; Korea Nickel Corp. &ndash; is 25% owned by Vale. In a letter to CEO and Chairman Chang Keun Choi, USW President Leo Gerard, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, and IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina, said: We request &ldquo;that you contact Vale and demand that they treat workers fairly around the globe, including by returning to the bargaining table in Canada and ceasing to use replacement workers.&rdquo; 
 
The letter requested that Korea Zinc &ldquo;refrain from the purchase, receipt, or processing of nickel and nickel products produced in Canadian facilities where members of the USW are on strike.&rdquo;
<img alt="" src="" width="280" height="139" />
Manifestation in Seoul, Korea, today, 16 November
Thirty Korean activists turned out today for the manifestation outside of the office tower housing Vale, including all three&nbsp;ICEM Korean&nbsp;trade union affiliates, and eight of their officers.&nbsp; 
 
The same team of Canadian strikers now in Korea &ndash; Nick Larochelle, Tim Kiley, along with the USW&rsquo;s Doug Olthuis, and Brazilian CNM-CUT Metalworkers&rsquo; General Secretary Sergio Guerra &ndash; accompanied the ICEM and Indonesia Chemicals, Energy, Gas, and Mining affiliate, FSP-KEP, and its President D. Patombong Sjaiful, to Vale&rsquo;s remote PT Indonesia Nickel Corp. at Soarako, Sulawesi. The delegation attempted to meet with miners there, themselves victimized by Vale&rsquo;s corporate policies. 
 
The unions produced a joint statement. It can be seen <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP/3495-Joint-Statement-of-Vale-Unions-from-Soroako">here</a>. 
 
In Brazil, a team of strikers from Canada, including those from both Ontario and Newfoundland/Labrador, were inside during a Vale investors meeting in Rio de Janeiro, raising questions related to the company&rsquo;s social responsibilities. They also are meeting with politicians, civil society groups, and will address worker delegate assemblies of trade unions representing Vale miners and metalworkers, who are themselves considering ratification of tentative collective agreements with Vale in Brazil. 
 
A week ago in the UK, a team of USW members joined top leaders of Unite the Union in a protest in front of Deutsche Bank in the City of London, while Vale was inside giving a report on its performance in global metals market. 
 
In addition, LabourStart, the trade union activists&rsquo; portal to the global union movement, began an on-line protest against Vale two weeks ago. To lodge a protest with Vale in Brazil on its maltreatment of Canadian workers and there families, click <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=595">here</a>. 
 
And back in Sudbury, all the latest strike activity by Local 6500, and Local 6200 in Port Colborne and Local 9508 in the Canadian maritime province, can be accessed by visiting the union&rsquo;s excellent website, <a href="http://www.fairdealnow.ca/">here</a>.

Miners Dig In: Steelworkers Ready Nickel Strike for Long Canadian Winter

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
The fruits of the ICEM&rsquo;s Contract and Agency Labour campaign were revealed last week when the first sub-contracting company at massive Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n recognized a newly-formed union. Chaneme Comercial S.A., a mechanical maintenance contractor, has recognized the trade union Sintracheneme, and with the assistance of ICEM mining affiliate Sintracarb&ograve;n, is currently negotiating a first collective agreement for 300 maintenance contract workers. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM salutes the leaders and dedicated union members of Sintracarb&ograve;n,&rdquo; said General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;Through their diligence, and the diligence of Project Coordinator Carlos Bustos, they made this possible. History has been made at one of the world&rsquo;s largest coal mines.&rdquo; 

<img src="" width="80" height="86" alt="" />
Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, equally owned by BHP Billiton, AngloAmerican, and Xstrata, employs some 3,500 miners, who are represented by Sintracarb&ograve;n. But another 4,000 workers at the sprawling mine pits in La Guajira state are employed by contract workers. 
 
This past summer, Sintracarb&ograve;n assisted 150 drivers with union organization, but that employer, SOTRANS, has refused to consider the transport workers&rsquo; demands or recognise their union, Sintrans. (See that story <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3290-Sintracarbón-Seeks-Unionisation-for-Subcontractor-at-Cerrejón-in-Colombia">here</a>) The ICEM has taken the matter up with the parent companies of Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n. 
 
But with Chaneme Comercial, however, talks are now underway regarding work conditions at Cerrej&oacute;n, education allowances for both workers and their children, and on community development. Chaneme employs another 400 maintenance mechanics in other mines of northern Colombia. 

<img alt="" src="" width="260" height="173" />
Jaime Deluquez, centre, with Jes&uacute;s Brochero and Jos&eacute; Nicol&aacute;s Brito Mendoza
Workers of Chaneme repair and maintain the massive 240-tonne and 320-tonne trucks, as well as doing the same for the heavy digging equipment that inhabits the eight open cast mines of Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n. 
 
&ldquo;This is an important precedent here and more important is that we reach an amiable and effective collective agreement,&rdquo; said Jaime Deluquez of Sintracarb&ograve;n, who together with Edilberto Contreras of national labour center CUT has been assigned to assist the bargaining committee from Sintracheneme in reaching a first labour agreement. 
 
That accomplishment may be only days away, since the employer &ndash; unlike SOTRANS &ndash; has displayed a willingness to reach terms.

Metal Maintenance Contractor Recognises Union in Colombia’s Cerrejón Coal Pits

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