14 April, 2011Mobilisation in the Netherlands toward strike action won 330,000 metalworkers a 25-month labour agreement in the small metals and electric-technical sector. The pay package of 4.45 per cent exceeds Dutch inflation and is expected to set the pace for national contracts in the coming weeks in automotive and the big metals sectors.
13 April, 2011Two weeks after a pair of Norwegian unions, together with ICEM and the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) signed a Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with Norsk Hydro ASA, two workers' representatives of the aluminium and energy company's board of directors journeyed to Pará state in northern Brazil to brief workers and trade union leaders there.
11 April, 2011The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and its Hungarian member organizations held a Euro-demonstration on April 9 in Budapest. The European trade unions marched to say no to austerity and for a more social Europe, with fair wages and quality jobs.
19 April, 2011IMF calls on affiliates to send solidarity messages of support to the 1,200 workers represented by the National Union of Metalworkers South Africa (NUMSA) that have been subjected to a lockout by Bridgestone South Africa since 22 March 2011.
19 April, 2011The latest issue of Metal World looks at the importance of organizing in different countries, describes trade unions responses to the global jobs crisis, reports on trade union networks as a means to ensure an equal playing field for workers and profiles Peta Thomson and Stephanie Eastcott, promoting better women's participation in trade unions.
15 April, 2011Taking steps to reduce hazards related to electronics products, a United Nations meeting in Vienna, gathering more than 100 experts from around the world, made recommendations for a UN process on reducing hazardous chemicals in the lifecycle of electronics.
7 March, 2012On March 5 members of the IMF and ICEM UK affiliate Unite the Union rejected a redundancy proposal from the Austrian packaging company Mayr-Melnhof that would have ended a 19-day lockout at a plant in Merseyside, near Liverpool. Workers rejected it largely because management still insists on its own discretionary powers in disbursing redundancy packages to 49 workers.
7 March, 2012In response to evidence of exploitation of workers producing goods for London 2012 Olympics, detailed in the new Playfair report "Toying with Workers' Rights", the organizers of the London 2012 Olympics signed an agreement with the Playfair 2012 campaign to protect the rights of workers in its supply chains.
7 March, 2012In October 2011 miners and metalworkers at ArcelorMittal Temirtau (Kazakhstan) demanded a 30 per cent wage increase. Their demands are still not met. On February 25 the workers held a conference and decided to hold a rally on March 10. They will also push for the changes in Kazakhstan laws, which prohibit strikes at plants with continuous working cycle.
1 March, 2012In support of the Global Days of Action, February 19 to 25, 40 unions from 35 countries called on the Mexican government to respect Freedom of Association by delivering letters, holding meetings and actions.
