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In Mexico, the country's largest mining company, Grupo México, and the Mexican government, first under President Vicente Fox, and now under President Felipe Calderón, have systematically and repeatedly violated Mexican law and international standards to crush the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM).In February 2006, the government illegally removed the union's General Secretary, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, and replaced him with a government appointee, Elías Morales Hernández. Next, the government perverted the Mexican legal system and levelled charges of corruption and embezzlement against Gómez. An independent audit of the union's accounts, commissioned by the IMF, proved all funds were accounted for and exonerated Gómez of any wrong doing, yet the government still refuses to correct this wrong doing.When a number of inquiries into theses actions revealed that the government had used falsified documents, concealed evidence, and coerced officials to issue baseless arrest warrants against the union leader, Grupo México and the government moved to divide the union, granting overnight recognition to a procompany union and holding &quot;elections&quot; in which workers were forced and coerced to join its ranks.Meanwhile, Grupo México enjoys full use of the national army and federal police to break strikes, kill workers and arrest union leaders fighting for safer working conditions in Grupo México-owned mines.Gómez was officially reinstated as General Secretary on April 11, 2007, after a federal court ruled the Labour Secretariat had overstepped its authority and failed to comply with established procedures.However, Gómez remains in exile due to unfounded pending charges and intense safety and security threats against him and his family.Today, it seems Grupo México is able to murder, torture, intimidate and abuse workers with complete impunity while the acts of defending democratic freedoms and workers' rights are deemed illicit. The government has relied on force and violence to resolve the country's labour disputes, while criminalizingtrade union activity.The IMF and its affiliates are calling on the Mexican government to: <ul><li>release all union funds illegally seized by the government;</li><li>lift all charges still pending against Napoleón Gómez Urrutia and other members of the SNTMMSRM;</li><li>prosecute in a court of law, immediately and transparently, all those responsible in the corruption of documents and facts; and</li><li>investigate Grupo México's involvement in the  murder of Reynaldo Hernández González and the detention and torture of 20 SNTMMSRM members in Nacozari, Sonora.</li></ul> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="318"><tbody><tr><td><a href="../main/index.cfm?n=47&amp;l=2&amp;c=17550" title="Injury to one"><img src="" border="0" alt="Injury to one: the story of Mexicain miners" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>

Meeting in Oslo, the IMF Executive Committee vowed to support Napoleon Gomez Urrutia and the Mexican miners' union in their fight against government interference in union affairs.

Explosion at Grupo Mexico mine leaves around 65 miners trapped

Irregularities at the Pasta de Conchos Mine

IMF lodges complaint with ILO against Mexico

International fact-finding mission visits Mexico

EU advised on trade union abuses in Mexico

Grupo Mexico linked to murder of miner

Victory in Mexico

ACTIONS TAKEN ON DECEMBER 11

IMF honours Pasta de Conchos anniversary

IMF Central Committee adopts resolutions

Steelworkers file NAFTA labour violation against Mexico

IMF White Paper "An Injury to One" (in five languages)

IMF mission to Mexico Findings in 8 languages

Background report on Mexican labour law in 3 languages

Interview with Napoleon Gomez

Poster

ACTIONS TAKEN ON DECEMBER 11, 2006

IMF White Paper and documentary on Mexico

IMF pledges support to Mexican miners

ITALY: Italian metalworkers wrote to Emma Bonino, Italian minister for trade, on July 24, calling on her to make the Doha Round of negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) an effective round for development. The joint letter from IMF affiliates FIM-Cisl, FIOM-Cigl and UILM-Uil expressed concern about the negative consequences of excessive market opening, particularly for developing countries. Particular demands of the unions for the Doha Round included: <ul><li>that the non-agricultural market access (NAMA) proposals being considered not be adopted as they would result in only five points difference between the coefficient for the developing countries and that for the industrialized countries; </li><li>to ensure that tariff reductions for the developing countries are considerably lower than those for the industrialized countries; </li><li>to allow developing countries to adopt their own development strategies based on their domestic markets and their own industrial policies, including tariff levels.</li></ul> The unions argued that the Doha Round should be replaced by new rules to foster a policy of promoting human rights and development centred on people and on environmental sustainability. The letter was sent to the Minister in anticipation of the WTO General Council meeting on July 27 and 28, which has since been cancelled following the suspension of the Doha Round of trade negotiations. A copy of the letter is published in Italian and English on the IMF website.

Italian metalworker unions wrote to trade minister calling for an effective round of trade negotiations for development.

Letter to Italian trade minister on Doha Round

Lettera unitaria a Emma Bonino

Italian metalworkers call for WTO reform

The International Metalworkers&#039; Federation is one of the largest and oldest Global Union Federations. The IMF was created in August 1893 when thirty members from metalworkers unions in eight countries met in a small hotel in Zurich with the aim of creating an International Bureau, thus founding the IMF. These early members laid the foundations for international cooperation between all metalworkers&#039; unions of the world.<h3>Organising workers</h3>Data collected by the Bureau at the time showed that social and economic conditions for metalworkers were extremely difficult. Working hours in Europe ranged from 11.5 to 15 hours a day and wages were very low. Only a small number of metalworkers were organised and the structure of unions at the national level was highly fragmented.From the beginning, solidarity between unions extended further than simply exchanging information and was focused on offering mutual support:<ul><li>Within the first three years, British metalworkers contributed 1,000 marks to the Solingen cutlery-makers out on a protracted strike.  </li><li>Swiss metalworkers contributed 100 Swiss francs to moulders engaged in a harsh struggle in Nuremberg. </li><li>German metalworkers later reciprocated in 1897 when British engineering workers were fighting for the eight-hour day and foundry workers in Denmark demanding higher wages were locked out. </li><li>Everywhere, especially in Germany, funds were raised, establishing a tradition of international solidarity that has significantly strengthened metalworkers&#039; unions to this day.</li></ul><h3>Eight hours work, leisure and sleep</h3>The early 1900&#039;s were characterised by rapid economic growth in international trade and investments. Metalworkers understood the important strategic role that the IMF could play in protecting human and trade union rights. In 1893 the first Congress wrote:<blockquote>&quot;Our endeavour must be to fulfil the slogan of the May Day celebrations: eight hours&#039; work, eight hours&#039; leisure, eight hours&#039; sleep.&quot;</blockquote> In 1904, the different unions, which now included representatives from 11 countries, decided to create the International Metalworkers&#039; Federation (IMF). <h3>The goals of the Federation have always been to:</h3><ul><li>encourage metalworkers&#039; organisations to co-operate on trade union matters; </li><li>support unionisation efforts in countries where trade unions are weak; and </li><li>establish guidelines for effectively implementing solidarity actions during labour disputes.</li></ul>

A tradition of solidarity

The International Metalworkers' Federation boasts more than 200 affiliated unions in 100 countries and represents the interests of 25 million metalworkers worldwide.<h3>Congress</h3>Our key decision-making body is Congress, which meets once every four years and agrees to an <a href="index.cfm?n=673">action programme</a> which sets out the long-term aims and goals of our work. All affiliates have the right to send delegates to Congress.Congress also determines the <a href="../index.cfm?c=20018&amp;ol=2">Rules</a> of the organisation, indicating how the IMF is run.<h3>Committees</h3>The Central Committee meets once every two years and is responsible for all decisions made between Congresses.The Congress elects the President and the General Secretary of the IMF and the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee consists of 25 members, including at least six women, and meets twice a year. All regions in the world are represented in the ExComm.The Finance Committee consists of six members from the Executive Committee, plus the IMF President, Vice President and General Secretary. This Committee makes recommendations about financial planning and examines the IMF annual budget.The Secretariat carries out the decisions made by Congress and the Central Committee. It is managed by the General Secretary. The <a href="index.cfm?n=630">IMF headquarters</a> is located in Geneva, Switzerland, where the activities of the organisation are coordinated through a network of <a href="index.cfm?n=631">regional offices</a>.IMF activities are primarily financed by affiliation fees from its member organisations.

Governing bodies

At our 2005 Congress, we adopted an Action Programme setting out four main areas for action, which include:<ul><li>global structures to meet global challenges</li><li>strategies to engage transnational companies</li><li>solidarity and organising</li><li>a social dimension to economic globalisation</li></ul>In our commitment to creating global structures to meet global challenges, the IMF will: <ul><li>continue to build a global union able to co-ordinate and implement actions at all levels, wherever and whenever they are required;</li><li>continue to work with other Global Union Federations and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD to pursue the interests of its affiliates;</li><li>encourage cooperation and build unity between unions; and</li><li>begin building information networks between affiliates and maintain and effective communications system.</li></ul>As we develop strategies to engage transnational companies, the IMF will:<ul><li><div>continue to focus on building and maintaining solidarity among trade unions and workers across the global production chains of metalworking companies and industries;</div></li><li>strengthen links between unions that represent workers across production chains in transnational corporations through the IMF World Company Councils and sector-based networks and action groups;</li><li>negotiate and implement international framework agreements with transnational corporations;</li><li>find and support other mechanisms that engage transnational corporations.</li></ul>As we strengthen solidarity and capacity to organise, the IMF will: <ul><li>defend and promote collective bargaining, assisting affiliates in bargaining on wages and working conditions, and on outsourcing, job security and other issues associated with corporate restructuring;</li><li>promote union building by co-ordinating and supporting projects as well as providing advice to its affiliates on issues such as organising strategies, unions structures and equal rights;</li><li>promote equal rights, including improving the representation of women in IMF structures;</li><li>protect and promote health and safety at work, including campaigning for a ban on asbestos;</li><li>take international solidarity actions in support of social achievements, workers&#039; rights, organising and collective bargaining; and</li><li>organise the unorganised, particularly of women, young workers and non-manual workers and in export processing zones and small- and medium-sized enterprises.</li></ul>To promote a social dimension to economic globalisation, the IMF will:<ul><li>cooperate with and be part of the social movement against globalisation that favours only the transnational corporations;</li><li>demand that all national governments implement internationally recognised Core Labour Standards, including the right to organise and bargain collectively, and that these rights are included in all trade agreements; and</li><li>fight for sustainable economic development and growth as described in the document Strategies for an alternative economic programme, based on the following four pillars: <ul><li>job creation and purchasing power</li><li>debt cancellation and development assistance</li><li>regulations capital movements</li><li>reform of the global institutions of governance</li></ul></li></ul>

Solidarity and organisation: the foundation of our work

The core mission of the International Metalworkers' Federation is to improve workers' wages, working and living conditions, and to ensure that workers' rights are respected, particularly in the metal industry. The IMF represents blue- and white-collar workers in industries such as steel, non-ferrous metals and ore mining, mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, automobile, aerospace, electrical and electronics.The IMF brings together metalworker trade unions at national and international level to help members challenge the neo-liberal agenda of corporations and conservative governments and to ensure all share in the wealth generated through sustainable economic growth.By working with other organisations, the IMF aims to<ul><li>Build a global metalworkers' movement.</li><li>Organise the unorganised.</li><li>Strengthen international solidarity.</li><li>Engage with trans-national corporations.</li><li>Negotiate international framework agreements.</li><li>Secure workers' rights, including the rights of women workers.</li><li>Fight for sustainable economic development, and</li><li>Promote fair trade, social justice and the elimination of poverty.</li></ul>See our <a href="../index.cfm?n=673">2009-2013 Action Programme</a> for full details.

Improving workers&#039; wages, conditions and rights

The IMF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean has been located in Montevideo, Uruguay, since March 2008. It represents trade unions in many Latin American countries in the metalworking, mining, automotive, steel, electrical and electronics, aerospace, shipbuilding, mechanical engineering sectors. The IMF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean represents affiliates in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Curaçao,  Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela. The regional office team provides advice and education services on trade union issues and organises sector activities and meetings for members of affiliated unions in the metalworking and related industries with a view to contributing to the development of international trade union policy and international solidarity, promoting the involvement of unions in trade agreements and analysing trade union structures in order to improve them so they are able to meet the challenges they face today.In addition, the office channel&#039;s international experience on labour and trade union rights to trade union leaders during disputes with multinational companies and governments.The regional office also implements projects and activities in cooperation with trade unions, especially in the automotive, mining and metalworking sectors.The regional office has staff for financial administration, education and projects, the organisation of conferences and meetings and communications and press. The regional office has been previously located in Caracas, Venezuela; San Jose, Costa Rica; Mexico City and Santiago, Chile.The Regional Officer is Jorge Almeida, an Argentinean national, a trade union leader in the automotive industry from a young age and specialist in the area of trade union education.The regional office has a quarterly publication called Mundo Metal, which reports on the activities, programmes and projects of the IMF and its affiliates and discusses issues of regional importance.

GLOBAL: After years of strong criticism by trade unions, the World Bank has finally instructed its staff to stop using the labour indicators of its &quot;Doing Business&quot; flagship publication that gives higher rating to countries with the lowest workers&#039; protection. These have been used to push developing countries to adopt strict labour market deregulation policies as recipe for development and conditions for eligibility for loans and grants.At a time of global crisis, with the institutions of finance being severely criticised as part of the causes of the present problems that hit most severely workers in all countries of the South and the North, the World Bank is making a significant move that, if concretely translated quickly and effectively in its policy recommendations, can mark an important change with positive effects on employment policies in developing countries. The World Bank communiqué issued on April 27 stresses the importance of &quot;development goals&quot; such as &quot;social safety nets to shield vulnerable parts of society from intolerable risk and protection of rights for workers and households as well as for firms&quot;.The Bank is also scaling up its work on social safety nets, on &quot;issues of access to benefits such as unemployment insurance and social security&quot;. With regard to the Doing Business indicators, the Bank will adjust the scoring in its annual report &quot;regarding provisions for fixed term workers and standards for severance payment, mandatory days of rest and night work and holidays, and minimum wage levels, in order to accord favourable scores to worker protection policies that comply with the letter and spirit of the relevant ILO Conventions, recognizing that well-designed worker protections are of benefit to the society as a whole&quot;. Furthermore &quot;a guidance note will be issued clarifying that the indicators do not represent World Bank policy and should not be used as a basis for policy advice or in any country program documents that outline or evaluate the development strategy or assistance program for a recipient country.  The note will emphasize the importance of regulatory approaches that facilitate the creation of more formal sector jobs with adequate safeguards for employees&#039; rights and that guard against the shifting of risk from firms to workers and low-income families.....We will convene a working group including representatives from the ILO, as the international standard setting body, trade unions, businesses, academics and legal experts.....to advice on revising the EWI and on the establishment of a new worker protection indicator.......and on labour market and employment protection issues -- with a view to creating regulations that help build robust jobs with adequate protection in the formal sector that can withstand future crises.     The development of a new worker protection indicator (WPI).......could cover such matters as how a country is adhering to core labour standards and using law, regulation and other instruments of government to ensure that workers are adequately protected, including in the event of unemployment&quot;.The International Metalworkers Federation will actively monitor, together with the other global unions, the translation of these welcome developments into practice.

After years of strong criticism by trade unions, the World Bank has finally instructed its staff to stop using the labour indicators of its "Doing Business" flagship publication that gives higher rating to countries with the lowest workers' protection.

Surprise: labour market deregulation is no recipe for development!

A three year women's organizing project, developed by the International Metalworkers' Federation has led to greater increases in the number of women members, shop stewards and leaders of Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia (SPMI). <h3>Women's membership increases</h3>Widespread precarious employment conditions has resulted in rapid turnover of women workers. However, SPMI managed to increase the number of women members from 29,780 in 2003 to 42,272 in 2006 by organizing new plants and enlisting others into the union.SPMI also focused on changing its union structures to enable increased participation of women. At its Congress in December 2006, SPMI adopted new rules to allow for a minimum of 30 per cent representation of women at all levels of the union and elected women onto its National Board for the first time. The number of women leaders at the branch level also increased from 18 per cent in 2003 (8 out of 43) to 25 per cent in 2006 (27 out of 108). In addition, SPMI established a Women's Directorate to cater for the needs of women members.This IMF project was funded by the Swedish trade union centre LO-TCO and supported by IMF affiliates Sif and IF Metall.<object></object>

Organizing women workers in Indonesia

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