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YUGOSLAVIA: An IMF mission visited Yugoslavia in early November to look into the trade union situation there since the new government came to power, and in particular to show vital support to the metalworkers of the independent and fast-growing trade union Nezavisnost. 
After almost ten years of hard work in a difficult, repressive climate, it is clear that Nezavisnost is becoming very popular among Yugoslav workers. The union confederation, founded in 1991 by journalists and metalworkers, today has 192,000 members. The metalworkers' section has 39,000. Many of these trade union members, however, are out of work and unable to pay union dues. With the 1999 war and subsequent economic sanctions, many companies cannot function for the lack of basic, essential materials needed for production systems, and unemployment remains high. Of the 400,000 metalworkers in Serbia, only 150,000 have jobs. 
The IMF mission was able to visit three of the metal companies in which Nezavisnost has members: 
- Industrija Precizne Mehanike (IPM), employing 1,100, manufactures mainly water and fuel pumps for vehicles; 
- the ZMAJ, which makes agricultural machinery, officially employs 4,000, but only 900 work at the moment; 
- Ikarbus, with 800 employees, produces buses. 
Although it is still not easy for Nezavisnost to organise in these companies, the situation is improving, and every day workers in new plants are joining the union. 
Marcello Malentacchi, IMF general secretary, who participated in the mission, said it would take time to "clean up" the problems facing Yugoslavia. "People in the factories and trade unions are doing incredible work to build up a new society after decades of dictatorship and repression," he declared. Malentacchi believed that the Stability Pact for the Balkans, a reconstruction plan launched by the European Union after the 1999 war, if implemented and followed up by investment for production in industrial activities, would be a good instrument to help the country get back to normal. The Pact would also help in finding a solution to the question of Kosovo. 
Although the IMF will continue to keep in touch with all unions in Yugoslavia, and push for the democratic transformation of the old ones, it is expected that assistance to Nezavisnost for structural and organisational purposes, coordinated by the IMF, will be forthcoming.

It will take time to solve the problems, but people and trade unions are doing incredible work to rebuild their society.

IMF mission visits Yugoslavia

KOREA, REP: The Hyundai Heavy Industries Workers' Union reports that it has successfully concluded a collective bargaining agreement with the HHI management and is satisfied with the deal, saying it offers better working conditions for its members. The union represents 20,000 workers out of a total workforce of 27,000 employed by HHI at its Ulsan shipyard. 
A member of the IMF-affiliated Korean Metal Workers' Federation, the union started collective bargaining in July 2000 but ended negotiations in September when management refused to continue bargaining in good faith and attempted to break the union. A strike vote was organised, but the company prevented it by rounding up hundreds of scabs who became violent with union members. Finally, in December, contract negotiations were reopened, due largely to numerous protest letters from metal unions worldwide calling on HHI management to bargain in good faith. 
Saying that the situation between HHI management and the unionised workforce has now normalised, the union is greatly appreciative of the deep interest and concern shown by metalworkers worldwide to workers' rights at HHI, and "we will return the same concern to other metalworkers around the world as you did for us."

It was a long, difficult but determined struggle for the trade union at Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Hyundai union reaches deal

POLAND/ITALY: The general secretary of the International Metalworkers' Federation, Marcello Malentacchi, has written a letter of protest to top management of Fiat Spa, in Turin, Italy, concerning the dismissal of 750 workers at the Italian carmaker's plant in Bielsko Biala, Poland. 
In his letter addressed to Fiat president, Paolo Cantarella, Malentacchi remarked that he was "once again compelled to write concerning Fiat's industrial relations practices," noting that the workers were dismissed without proper notification or negotiations with their trade union, NSZZ Solidarnosc, an affiliate at international level of the IMF. 
"To pursue dismissals in such a manner is unacceptable in this day and age," declared the IMF general secretary, "and I ask you to rescind the announcement and immediately begin negotiations in good faith with our affiliate." 
Fiat made known its unilateral decision for the mass dismissals on February 6.

After Italian carmaker announces mass dismissals at its plant in Poland, IMF requests they rescind their decision.

Solidarnosc requests support

IMF protests to Fiat

BELARUS: Under the slogan "Raise wages up to the level of prices," a protest meeting took place on Bangalor Square in Minsk, Belarus, on February 14. About 9,000 workers participated in the demonstration. More than 2,000 of them were members of the Belarus Automobile and Agricultural Machinery Workers' Union (AAM). 
During the meeting, the AAM president, Aliaksandr Bukhvostau, and a worker from the Borisov Plant of Automobile and Tractor Equipment, Nikolay Pokhabov, made speeches, and participants adopted a resolution entitled "Raise wages up to the level of prices." 
An average monthly wage for workers at automobile and agricultural machinery companies in 2000 was 83,245 roubles ($US69), an increase of more than 3 times compared to 1999 when it was 27,290 roubles ($US22). At the same time, purchasing power is in constant and strong decline. 
Click on the associated link to read the text of the resolution.

9,000 workers take part in a protest meeting in Minsk.

"Raise Wages Up to the Level of Prices"

METAL WORLD: Feature on the struggle in Belarus

Demonstration in Belarus

GLOBAL: The first IMF world conference for the Dutch electronics firm Philips was held from February 6-9, 2001. Some 60 participants from 18 countries in which the group is represented with production sites discussed both Philips' financial position and joint trade union strategies and activities. 
The participants agreed on proposals and recommendations. The text is available under ASSOCIATED LINK and DOCUMENTS.

Philips workers from 18 countries have discussed joint trade union strategies.

The participants' agreement

Conclusions of first IMF Philips World Conference

CANADA: An agreement reached on February 19, 2001, after intensive bargaining between the IMF-affiliated Canadian Auto Workers' union and Falconbridge Ltd., was overwhelmingly ratified on February 20 by the 1,250 production and maintenance workers at the company's nickel-mining operations in Sudbury, Ontario. The bargaining committee of CAW Local 598 - Sudbury Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers' Union - reported that 87 per cent of the ballots cast were in favour of accepting the company's latest offer. 
Highlights of the three-year agreement (in Canadian dollars, 1 CAD = 0.65 USD) are: 
- a basic pension formula increase to $50, as well as a $3,000 monthly pension after 30 years of service (an increase from $2,700); 
- a $0.50/hour wage increase; 
- a $0.47 cost-of-living allowance (COLA) fold in from previous contract, and a new $0.10 COLA float; 
- a signing bonus of $2,000; 
- the Nickel bonus is maintained ($0.01 per hour for every cent the nickel price is over $2.15); 
- participation in the Employee Share Savings Plan (for every $1 contributed by the employee, Falconbridge will contribute $0.30); 
- an increase to $325 in the vacation bonus (up from $275). 
- an increase in the supplemental unemployment benefit (SUB) from $120 per week top up to $175, plus an improvement in the SUB fund to $1 million from $400,000. 
Other items in the agreement include three paid personal leave days, an increase in the sickness and accident benefit, and improvements to health, dental and long-term disability plans for both active workers and retirees. 
Sudbury workers at Falconbridge went on strike in early August 2000 when talks collapsed for the new three-year contract. It is now expected that the company's Sudbury operations, which produce about 35,000 tonnes of nickel and 45,000 tonnes of copper annually, will return to normal operations within 30 days of ratification of the agreement.

After nearly seven months of strike action at the company's nickel-mining operations in Sudbury, union members ratify contract offer.

CAW wins agreement at Falconbridge

GLOBAL: As with every year, the United Nations and other organisations will be celebrating International Women's Day on March 8, a day for which special events are organised throughout the world. 
This year, the International Labour Organisation in Geneva will commemorate the day with a conference which highlights women achievers -- women who have managed to get over the ever-present hurdles in order to reach top-level positions in both the public and private sectors. 
A panel discussion, entitled "Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Women of Power and Influence," will be led by the ILO's director-general, Juan Somavía, and among the panellists will be: 
- Gro Harlem Brundtland, a medical doctor who was Norway's first and only woman prime minister and is now director-general of the World Health Organisation; 
- Mary Robinson, a lawyer who served as president of Ireland before being appointed as the U.N.'s high commissioner for human rights; 
- Germaine Greer, author and academic who is known worldwide as one of the more important voices in feminism; 
- Mamounata Cissé, trade unionist of Burkina Faso, who chaired the ICFTU's Women's Committee and is now an ICFTU assistant general secretary; 
- Christine Ockrent, a well-known and respected French journalist who was France's first woman to anchor and edit primetime news on television. 
Discussion will center on progress which has been made towards gender equality in the labour market with respect to management and decision-making, to identifying the obstacles which still remain, and proposing strategies for addressing them. 
Although in some countries statistics are better in the public sector, universally women occupy only between 1 to 5 per cent of top level jobs in the private sector.

March 8 will see the celebration of International Women's Day across the globe.

Spotlight on women

The Riviera Hotel, 
Las Vegas, 
6th March, 2001 


Mr President, Colleagues, Brothers and Sisters, 

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to be with you today, so soon after the appointment of your new International President, and to be able to personally bring you this message of solidarity and support, on behalf of the twenty-three million metalworkers who are, like you, affiliated to, and a part of, the IMF family. 

The aluminium industry is one of the most important sectors of the IMF's basic metal industries, both in terms of the employment and thus trade union membership it provides, as well as the contribution your industry makes to global economic growth and thus prosperity. 

Global aluminium consumption is increasing faster than that of any other metal, as new applications are being continually developed that exploit the advantages aluminium has to offer, in terms of its very low weight, tensile strength and resistance to corrosion. 

Consequently the long-term prospects for employment in the aluminium industry are extremely good. 
 However, there are some significant problems or challenges, which need to be overcome in the short term. 

Bauxite, the ore from which aluminium is obtained, is the world's third most plentiful element, and it can be found in every part of the world. However, with our current level of knowledge and technology, there are only a relatively small number of places where the ore is found in sufficient quantities to make it economically recoverable. 

Just five countries, Guinea, Australia, Brazil, Jamaica, and India, contain over three-quarters of the world's bauxite deposits, and it does not make any sense to transfer bauxite half way around the world, when more than half of it ends up as waste. 

Consequently, fuelled by the continual process of economic globalisation, investments will increasingly be made in these bauxite-rich countries, creating much needed jobs in the process, in order to establish the refineries needed to transform the ore into alumina, for shipment to the aluminium smelters. 

The bulk of aluminium production is in the developed industrial countries, where the vast majority of the metal is used, either in a pure state or mixed with other metals to create alloys that increase its strength and ductility, enabling it to be used for a wide range of applications. 
 In contrast, alumina production is, at the present time, more or less equally divided between the regions where bauxite is obtained, and those countries where the aluminium smelters have already been established.
However, as noted above, this situation is likely to change in the future as soon as comparatively low-cost and stable supplies of electricity can be guaranteed. 

Probably the greatest problem facing the aluminium industry at the current time, is the relatively high costs of energy, given the extremely large volumes of electrical power that are needed to transform bauxite into alumina - around 5KiloWatt hours (KWh) per tonne, and in particular, from alumina to aluminium - between 12,000 to 14,000KWh per tonne. 

As we have seen recently in the US north-west, when the price of electricity rises beyond a certain limit, it is just not economically viable to manufacture aluminium, as the cost of production far exceeds the price that can be obtained for the finished metal. 

As you know, the situation recently arose in the USA, where companies which had contracts to obtain electricity from publicly-owned companies at, or close to the cost of production, could make much higher profits by closing down their plants, bringing an end, albeit temporarily, to production, and then re-selling the electricity they did not use. 
Indeed, it has been suggested that one company could obtain as much as $500 million profit by the end of September, as a result of this process. 
This underlines the vital need for the aluminium industry to have an adequate and stable supply of power at prices they can afford. 

At the present time the global aluminium market is rather tight, with consumption levels in excess of production levels. Furthermore, this situation is likely to continue for the next few years, as global consumption levels are expected to increase faster than new capacity is added or brought back on stream. 

However, the USA aluminium market is in a very different and much more difficult position. High electricity prices have forced many aluminium smelters to shut down and, in the light of the uncertainty, many aluminium consumers in the USA are withholding their purchases, which has resulted in a rapid build-up of stocks, further aggravating an already problematic situation. 

Colleagues, similar to many other sectors, the aluminium industry is being affected by the process of economic globalisation and is undergoing a period of consolidation and restructuring, with a wave of mergers and take-overs resulting in a concentration of ownership that further intensifies competition. 

This process inevitably results in restructuring, as the expanding companies seek to sell off those subsidiaries that are deemed to be non-core activities, or eliminate any bottlenecks in the production process, that prevent them from operating their plant at optimum levels of production, as they attempt to establish a balance between the various stages of the production process, from bauxite supply to alumina refinery, and then to aluminium smelting and, increasingly, to the down-stream higher value-added finished products. 
New investments in refining, smelting, extrusion and further processing are being made in every continent, from Asia to Latin America and from Eastern and Central Europe to the Antipodes, reflecting the constant increase in global demand for aluminium, and this augers well for the future. Indeed, the future for the aluminium industry is as bright and as durable as the metal you produce. 

However, the development of massive MNCs like Alcoa, for example, with subsidiaries in almost every part of the world, means that they become the pace setters for wages, working conditions, occupational health and safety and environmental provisions, for the industry as a whole. 

This makes it increasingly important for the trade unions which represent the interests of the workers in such companies, to develop the necessary structures to facilitate the international solidarity and cooperation that will become increasingly important in the years ahead. 

Indeed, if the International Metalworkers' Federation, and other International Trade Secretariats did not already exist, to help overcome the barriers of language, xenophobia and different cultures, and attempts by employers to play off one group of workers against another, it would be essential for the trade union movement to create them. 

Consequently, we owe a great debt of gratitude to those trade union leaders who met in Zurich over 100 years ago, and possessed the wisdom and foresight to establish the IMF, and we should ensure that we make full use of the opportunities it provides to build the same kind of solidarity at the international level, that is the key to effective trade union action at the national or any other level. 

As many of you will be already aware, IMF affiliated unions have been discussing the problems arising from globalisation, and seeking suitable solutions at successive Central Committee and Congress meetings for over 10 years, through the formulation of a series of IMF Action Programmes. 

At the Congress which will take place in Sydney, Australia later this year, we will be adopting the most recent version of our Action Programme. 

The new Action Programme will focus on the universal need for recognition and respect of fundamental human ' and workers rights, which are an essential part of the sustainable economic policies that are necessary to achieve global growth. 

And while world trade is a key aspect for global economic and social development, it must be fair as well as free. 

Speculative financial transactions constitute the vast bulk of monetary transfers, and it is clear that the ability to rapidly transfer funds to almost any part of the world, has exacerbated, if not been a major factor, contributing to the several financial and economic crises we have all suffered from in recent years. 

There is an urgent need for some form of regulation or control over such transactions, and the IMF has strongly supported the introduction of what is known as a Tobin Tax, on all speculative financial transfers. 

Furthermore, in order to redress the imbalance of power between the MNCs and trade unions, we need to strengthen our organisational structures, in order to make them more effective in defending the interests of our members. 

Where there is a lack of unity at the national level, we will seek to achieve this by establishing IMF Country Councils, and seek to further integrate them into the IMF structure by encouraging their participation in the IMF Regional Councils we have established. And in parallel to these developments, at the individual company level, through the establishment of IMF World Company Councils. 

Indeed, one of the most important developments we have established within the IMF to help achieve our goals, is the creation of IMF World Company Councils amongst some of the major MNCs. 

IMF World Company Councils provide a unique forum for workers within one multi-national company to come together and determine a common platform of demands, in order to ensure that the company recognises their employees right to fundamental human and trade union rights. 

I should explain that these are not in any way similar to the European Works Councils, which have a legal status, but are largely talking shops, where management who have to meet the costs of these meetings, set the agendas and in many cases, choose to ignore their legal and moral responsibility to inform the workers of major decisions, such as the recent example provided by the sudden announcement by General Motors to close its Vauxhall plant in Luton in the U.K., where the workers found out they were to lose their jobs, when it was broadcast on the television news programmes. 

In contrast, the agendas for IMF World Company Councils are drawn up by the IMF and the unions involved, although we frequently invite a representative from the management of the company to participate in these meetings, in order to address the meeting and respond to any questions or issues the delegates wish to raise. 

IMF World Company Councils also provide an opportunity to establish networks of trade union activists, who can respond quickly to any attempt by management to exploit any group of workers, or pressurise those in one country or region to accept changes that might undermine the position of those in another country. 
While we cannot expect to achieve the same level of wages in every country, where we have workers in Mozambique, for example, who were literally forced to accept a no-strike clause in their employment contracts, as a condition for gaining employment, and are receiving wages that are less than one quarter of those paid to South African workers doing exactly the same type of work, then it is clear that the management of the company involved, Billiton, are exploiting the difficult situation that exists in Mozambique, and these workers badly need all the help we can give them. 

Another important aspect that we have developed in the IMF, as part of our ongoing struggle to ensure that the workers in MNCs, especially those in developing countries, are not exploited or used to undermine the wage levels and terms of employment in the older industrialised countries, is the preparation of a draft Corporate Code of Conduct. 

The IMF's Corporate Code of Conduct sets out to establish that all workers in a single company are guaranteed the same basic trade union rights, sometimes referred to as "Core Labour Standards", as well as observing their environmental obligations and ensuring decent wages and working conditions for all the company's employees, including those who work for sub-contract companies, irrespective of where they live and work. 
 Colleagues, the USWA has a proud history of fighting for trade union and workers' rights and has, since its inception, played a major role in the wider international trade union movement. 

With the retirement of George Becker and the appointment of Leo Gerard, we have witnessed the end of one chapter in the long and illustrious history of the USWA, and now marks the beginning of a new one. 

It is clear that we in the trade union movement are facing some difficult times and, with the election of a Republican President in the USA, the situation is not going to get any easier, but I am confident, that as long as the workers in the metal industries continue to cooperate, and provide the support and solidarity that was shown by those who helped to form the IMF over 100 years ago, then we can and we will succeed.

The following is the speech given by the IMF general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi, to the Steelworkers' conference on aluminium.

Speech to the USWA Aluminium Conference

EUROPE: The European Trade Union Confederation is organising a mass trade union demonstration in favour of full employment and social rights in Nice, France, on December 6, 2000, the eve of the European Union summit meeting. 
Sixty thousand trade unionists are expected for the Euro demonstration, with participants representing not only ETUC member organisations from EU countries but also member organisations from Central and Eastern Europe. Trade unionists from the following countries will be present: France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, Austria, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia. 
The message the ETUC and demonstrators will present to the Nice Summit is that "Europe is still too market-focused and capital-driven and cares too little about social aspects and jobs. With the Single Market completed, and the Euro and enlargement (of the EU) on the doorstep, it is high time for a clear signal from the EU that the European project wants to engage with its workers and citizens." 
The summit meeting of heads of state and government, under French presidency until the end of this year, meets on December 7-9 to discuss reform of EU institutions before the 
future accession of up to 28 new members.

A mass demonstration pushing for full employment and social rights will take to the streets on the eve of the EU Summit.

Trade unions march in Nice

A week ago in The Hague, Netherlands, people from all over the world, including many experts on the environment, showed how to destroy a constructive discussion through endless quarrels. 
The outcome of these talks has been a failure for the entire world. It is pathetic to see some of the participating ministers trying, via the TV screen, to convince people that the conference on the reduction of air pollution was a success. 
For many years, scientists have been warning about the so-called greenhouse effect of air pollution. The problem is acute and has to be dealt with now. Otherwise future generations will not have the opportunity to enjoy many of the natural resources which we take for granted. Natural catastrophes are increasing in number because of the change in the climate which is occurring on every continent on Earth. 
The USA, which is the greatest source of pollution in the world, wants to rely on market solutions to environmental problems, rather than address the problems at their source. Just four per cent of the population in the world is responsible for 25 per cent of all pollution and still wants to continue doing it.
In addition, the USA wants to "buy" pollution quotas from other countries which are not contributing to the pollution problem because they do not have any industry or production which pollutes as much as industrialised countries. 
Sustainable growth and the environment can go along together. In its report "Our Common Future," the UN Commission, led by Mrs. Brundtland since 1986, showed clearly that it is not only possible but necessary to combine the two issues. Politicians, if they still serve the people, are supposed to find the solutions and the necessary compromise to implement the ideas of the UN's Brundtland Commission. 
But why, despite the fact that everyone recognises the problems, is no agreement possible? 
Short-sighted economic interests are, as usual, the main reason. No one is prepared to impose on the manufacturers and industry the need to produce goods which do not cause as much pollution as they do today. 
Environmental requirements have always been regarded as a burden, instead of a benefit, for the company. This is wrong. When calculating the cost involved, we cannot only take production costs into consideration, as we have to also include the long-term cost that society as a whole must pay to repair and restore the environment, as well as the costs we or future generations will have to pay if we do nothing. 
Prevention is the best way to protect the environment. Prevention means measures need to be taken at the source of the pollution. It is very often in the plants and at the workplace where many preventive measures can and should be taken. Many of the major environmental catastrophes which have occurred in the last decades started at the workplace: Seveso, Bhopal, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Basel -- these are the most infamous. 
In The Hague, the point of discussion was the application of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. It is difficult for the man on the street to understand why governments could not agree to do something they have already agreed upon! 
No wonder that politics are becoming more and more remote and politicians less and less in touch with reality, lending substance to the claim of a growing democratic deficit.

Archive

IMF mission visits Yugoslavia

Hyundai union reaches deal

IMF protests to Fiat

Demonstration in Belarus

Conclusions of first IMF Philips World Conference

CAW wins agreement at Falconbridge

Spotlight on women

Speech to the USWA Aluminium Conference

Trade unions march in Nice

The failure of mankind

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