A critical multi-union trade union conference was held in Basra, Iraq, last week, 14 May, under the scope of the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW). Chaired in part by Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, president of the ICEM affiliate, General Union of Iraq Electricity Workers and Technicians (GUEWT), the conference produced a unified response to the Iraqi government’s call for union elections between June and August of this year.

 
At left, ICEM Executive Committee Member Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein 

The demand called on the government to abolish 1987’s Public Law No. 150, a Saddam-era decree forbidding workers employed in the public sector from forming or joining a union. A statement issued to the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that followed the meeting also called on it to abolish Decree No. 8750, the draconian instrument put in place in 2005 by the occupational forces. That measure effectively confiscated all trade union funds, and prohibited unions from collecting dues or maintaining assets.

In addition, the 15 trade unions present issued a demand for revival of Article 22, Paragraph 3 of the Iraqi Constitution, which would guarantee Iraqi unions the right to form or join free and democratic trade unions.

Early this year, the al-Maliki government decreed that trade unions inside Iraq must conduct several rounds of elections in order to choose leaders. But under Public Law 150 – and of equal significance, the occupation’s Decree No. 8750, which al-Maliki continues to uphold – most of the unions at last week’s GFIW Basra event could not participate in such elections.

The GUEWT, for example, as well as workers in the oil, railway, transport, ports, and health care sectors, are excluded because these sectors all are part of Iraq’s public sector. “We agree with the format for union elections, but with reservations,” said Abdullah Muhsin, GFIW International Representative. “Full freedom of association and common recognition of free and democratic trade unions inside Iraq must come first.”

In the letter to Prime Minister al-Maliki, that went as well as to Iraq’s President and the President of Parliament, the GFIW states: “Five years have passed since the fall of the hated regime. Iraqi workers, instead of receiving the support they deserve, must realize their potential and thus employ this potential to help reconstruction of Iraq’s devastated economy.

“In the name of Basra workers, our federation, the GFIW in Basra, appeals to your Excellencies to recognize the sacrifices endured by Iraqi workers in their defiance of extremist onslaughts, and allow workers the right to conduct free and open elections across Iraq’s public, private, and cooperative industries.”

Besides the GUEWT, the letter was signed by the GFIW Basra Head, Hussein Fadel Hassan; the Mechanic Workers’ Union of Basra; the Transport Workers’ Union of Basra; the Service Workers’ Union of Basra; the Construction and Wood Workers’ Union; the Municipality Workers’ Union of Basra; the Iraqi All Ports Workers’ Union, based in Basra; the Railway Workers’ Union; the Health Workers’ Union of Basra; the Engineering and Professional Workers’ Union of Basra; the Agricultural Workers’ Union; and the Society for Development and Reconstruction.

The ICEM affiliate Mineworkers’ Union of Namibia (MUN) and management of Skorpion Zinc, owned by AngloAmerican, are expected to conclude negotiations today, ending a paralyzing 11-day strike that has affected global zinc markets.

According to MUN President Andries Eiseb, the two sides exchanged proposals over the weekend, and spent the entire day on Sunday, 18 May, analysing the proposals. Further review is expected today, and the agreement is expected to be submitted to striking miners either late today or tomorrow.

“There is the intent by both parties now to amicably settle the dispute and we expect conclusion today,” said Eiseb, who helped present the union’s proposal to management at the mine and smelting operation near Rosh Pinah in southwestern Namibia.

Salary agreement came late last week, when the union and management agreed on a 12% wage increase for all 680 miners. The major stumbling block in weekend negotiations was related to the company’s desire for continuous operations, and the needed Labour Ministry exemption for that to occur. The issue of continuous operations also included the matter of adequate compensation.

MUN agreed to support application for the exemption, and Skorpion must now compensate workers at time-and-a-half for all overtime, pending outcome of a court case. In a 2004 labour agreement, MUN won double-time for Sunday and public holiday work and that will remain intact. The overtime issue became complicated in negotiations due to the pending court case.

Other issues that were resolved to the benefit of workers include housing allowances and company transport. The housing allowance was increased to N$1,700 per month, while MUN won a guarantee that the company will provide transport to the capital city of Windhoek, some 650 kilometres from the mine. Previously, transport was only granted to Keetmanshoop, a distance of 200 kilometres.

Miners at Skorpion work seven-day on, seven-day off rotations.

The ICEM affiliate Mineworkers’ Union of Namibia (MUN) and management of Skorpion Zinc, owned by AngloAmerican, are expected to conclude negotiations today, ending a paralyzing 11-day strike that has affected global zinc markets.

According to MUN President Andries Eiseb, the two sides exchanged proposals over the weekend, and spent the entire day on Sunday, 18 May, analysing the proposals. Further review is expected today, and the agreement is expected to be submitted to striking miners either late today or tomorrow.

“There is the intent by both parties now to amicably settle the dispute and we expect conclusion today,” said Eiseb, who helped present the union’s proposal to management at the mine and smelting operation near Rosh Pinah in southwestern Namibia.

Salary agreement came late last week, when the union and management agreed on a 12% wage increase for all 680 miners. The major stumbling block in weekend negotiations was related to the company’s desire for continuous operations, and the needed Labour Ministry exemption for that to occur. The issue of continuous operations also included the matter of adequate compensation.

MUN agreed to support application for the exemption, and Skorpion must now compensate workers at time-and-a-half for all overtime, pending outcome of a court case. In a 2004 labour agreement, MUN won double-time for Sunday and public holiday work and that will remain intact. The overtime issue became complicated in negotiations due to the pending court case.

Other issues that were resolved to the benefit of workers include housing allowances and company transport. The housing allowance was increased to N$1,700 per month, while MUN won a guarantee that the company will provide transport to the capital city of Windhoek, some 650 kilometres from the mine. Previously, transport was only granted to Keetmanshoop, a distance of 200 kilometres.

Miners at Skorpion work seven-day on, seven-day off rotations.

The strike started on 9 May, and immediately drove zinc prices up on the London Metals Exchange. Skorpion, one of the world’s leading zinc mining and processing firms, produces 150,000 tonnes of special high-grade zinc annually. Management attempted to leverage its bargaining position last week by bringing in contract workers in efforts to continue production.

The Skorpion mining and smelting operation, wholly owned by Irish-based Anglo Base Metals, a subsidiary of AngloAmerican, began operations in Namibia in 2003. It became fully operational in mid-2005, and it produced 56,300 tonnes for the first six months of that year when the price of zinc was at US$660-per-tonne. The MUN strike pushed zinc prices up a full 5%, with it trading at US$2,285-per-tonne late last week.

The strike started on 9 May, and immediately drove zinc prices up on the London Metals Exchange. Skorpion, one of the world’s leading zinc mining and processing firms, produces 150,000 tonnes of special high-grade zinc annually. Management attempted to leverage its bargaining position last week by bringing in contract workers in efforts to continue production.

The Skorpion mining and smelting operation, wholly owned by Irish-based Anglo Base Metals, a subsidiary of AngloAmerican, began operations in Namibia in 2003. It became fully operational in mid-2005, and it produced 56,300 tonnes for the first six months of that year when the price of zinc was at US$660-per-tonne. The MUN strike pushed zinc prices up a full 5%, with it trading at US$2,285-per-tonne late last week.

African trade union leader  François Yao announced that a 34-month dispute between ICEM affiliate National Union of Workers in Electricity, Gas, and Water (SYNASEG) in Côte d’Ivoire and Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Electricité (CIE), a subsidiary of French-based Bouygues Group, ended recently with a framework labour agreement calling for continual social dialogue and respect for trade union rights.

The framework accord was signed on 30 April 2008, after five months of intense negotiations between SYNASEG leaders and CIE. Yao, the SYNASEG General Secretary, announced the agreement at a 1 May, Workers’ Day, news conference.

“We have now opened a new spirit of tolerance and dialogue that will ensure harmony and cohesion within (our country’s) electrical sector,” he said. He termed the negotiations “difficult, but frank and sincere,” and credited Bouygues’ chief manager in Côte d’Ivoire, Marcel Zadi Kessy, with providing an atmosphere that made the draft agreement possible.

The union will now begin informational meetings with electricity workers across the West African nation in order to inform them of the accord.

The agreement calls for regular, quarterly meetings between the new social partners. It also pledges both parties to a common goal of profitability and lifting the living conditions of CIE’s workforce. And specifically, SYNASEG won full participation in the affairs of the Mutual Investment Fund, a fund established years ago for training, placement, and workers’ needs. It was the company taking unilateral control of that fund in 2006-2007 that brought the dispute to a near strike in March 2007. Workers make contributions to the fund.

 
The dispute itself began in 2005 when CIE began systematic attacks on SYNASEG. That was seen as retaliation against the union for its backing of a then government plan to renationalise the utility and end Bouygues’ 15-year contract. The ICEM had brought the dispute to both global attention, and to the attention of French social partners.

The ICEM commends both its Côte d’Ivoire affiliate and the Bouygues affiliate for reaching a framework agreement that will ensure social harmony. “We are sure that this recently achieved milestone of mutual respect and joint confidence will carry the SYNASEG-CIE partnership to greater rewards for both workers and the company,” said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda.

Two ICEM affiliates in Turkey, Kristal-İş and Lastik-İş, are bracing for industry-wide strikes in the coming weeks due to break-downs in negotiations. The unions have been negotiating with employers’ associations since autumn 2007, but without achieving final resolves.

Salary issues are the main stumbling blocks in both sets of talks.

Kristal-İş, representing glass workers, is now in its twenty-first term of industry negotiations with the Turkish Glass, Cement, and Soil Industry Employers’ Association. The bargaining covers 6,000 workers at 11 plant sites operated by glassware companies Paşabahçe, Trakya Cam, Anadolu Cam, and Cam Elyaf.

All are entities of the Siscam Group, the fast-growing glasswares multinational that has factories in Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, and Georgia.

After months of stalled negotiations, on 5 May, the last session, the glass association made a miniscule offer covering social bonuses, while failing to put any offer forward regarding salary increases. With no further progress in talks since that date, the Kristal- İş Executive Committee decided on 9 May to pursue strike action.

In the tyre industry, Lastik-İş has been negotiating with three rubber multinationals – Bridgestone Brisa Sabanci, Pirelli Lastikleri, and Goodyear Lastikleri. The talks cover 4,000 workers at four factories in the cities of Izmit and Adapazari.

Some 29 agenda items out of 59 have been concluded in the industry-wide collective talks, but the remainder are at impasse. A recent mediation session did not produce results. The main disagreements cover salaries for new hires, annual paid holidays, the use of temporary workers, and work hours.

Lastik İş is demanding a wage increase of 12% for the first six-month period of a two-year contract, and the Turkish rate of inflation for each six-month period over the remaining 18 months.

The union is also adamant in retaining rights gained in the past 50-year history of collective negotiations, and seeks to exclude industry-proposed rules regarding work flexibility.

The rubber employers’ association has not put forward proposals concerning salaries or social bonuses. The Executive Committee of Lastik-İş, on 8 May, decided to endorse strike action.

While Kristal- İş has not announced a date for it strike to begin, Lastik İş President Abdullah Karacan told the Anatolia News Service that a rubber strike has been set for 31 May. Under Turkey’s Collective Agreements, Strikes, and Lock-outs Law, work stoppages must now occur within a two-month period from the time a petition was submitted. In the past, however, strikes called by both unions were banned by the government because of so-called “national security” issues.

In tyre talks in 2004, a government decree prohibiting an industry-wide strike was overturned by Turkey’s Supreme Court. That fact brought the rubber association to agreeable terms with Lastik- İş.

The ICEM will continue to follow developments and lend unequivocal support to its two affiliates in their respective industry-wide collective talks.

Meanwhile, Petrol- İş, another Turkish affiliate of the ICEM, has taken strike action at Nese Plastics, a company operating in the city of Gebze. Some 141 union members are striking. Negotiations began on 5 December 2007, but management of Nese Plastics has not made a wage offer, insisting on paying current salaries despite high inflation rates in Turkey.

The Labour Government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown appears to have brokered a deal that will give agency workers new and better rights in the UK. Late last week, negotiators for both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Confederation of British Industry struck a deal that would bring the UK more in line with the European Union nations that seek a Temporary Workers Directive.

Although some details of the proposed UK law concerning agency workers still need to be worked out, staff of agencies would get job protection rights after 12 weeks of work. Employer groups had sought up to a year’s working time before a doctrine of unfair dismissal could take effect. Equal pay and similar work conditions for 1.4 million agency workers also is included in the UK dialogue, although details on those issues are still in discussions.

Last week’s news was a clear victory for the TUC and UK’s trade unions, which mounted an effective campaign early in 2008 for work rights for agency workers.

In a speech early last week, Brown tipped his hand to the impending agreement, promising legislation that “will, for the first time, ensure new rules for the fair treatment of agency workers here in Britain.”

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber 

On Wednesday, 14 May, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said of Brown’s draft legislative plan: “I welcome the Prime Minister’s clear recognition that agency workers get a raw deal. Unions will now step up their campaign to secure proper protection and a fair deal for agency workers.”

That campaign produced a record 136 MPs supporting a Private Member’s Bill on the issue of rights for temp agency workers. That bill, by Labour MP Andrew Miller, which garnered a full third of the House of Commons in February, left little doubt that the Brown Government must act on a draft law.

Winning work rights for agency workers in Britain will also have enormous significance inside the EU, where a directive has been blocked by only a handful of countries, including the UK. The proposed EU directive has a six-week period for temp workers to gain employment rights.

The ICEM is backing seven Turkish road transport workers who have been imprisoned since November 2007, and who will have their first court hearing on 6 June. The seven, as well as eight others – all connected with the Labour Union of Turkish Motor Vehicles’ Workers (TÜMTIS) – will be in an Ankara courtroom, charged with “setting up a criminal organization.”

In fact, the road transport workers were organizing other transport workers in two separate recruitment drives for TÜMTIS around Ankara. The ICEM has joined the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), as well as affiliate Petrol-Is, in seeking justice for the trade unionists.

The ITF has established an online campaign (which can be found here). It has also filed protest letters with Turkish Prime Minister Reçep Tayyip Erdoğan, and taken the matter before the European Parliament’s Human Rights Department.

“These kinds of attacks on trade union organizations directly violate the internationally established conventions protecting trade union rights, which Turkey has ratified,” said the ITF. If found guilty, the workers face further prison terms, as well as a court order shutting down their union.

On 20 November 2007, 17 transport workers were detained for exercising their legitimate trade union rights. Three days later, seven trade unionists were formally arrested – along with eight others – and the seven have been held in Sincon prison near Ankara since.

The ICEM encourages affiliates to visit the ITF site, and to lodge protests with Turkey’s government. Protest letters can be sent to bilgi@basbakanlik.gov.tr, or faxed to             +90 312 417 0476       , or             +90 312 418 0476       

The ICEM filed strong protest with the government of South Korea last week over the detention and deportation of two leaders of the Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU). President Tornu Limbu and Vice President Abudus Sabur were arrested outside the union’s offices in Seoul on 2 May, and held in the Cheongju Detention Centre.

The two were deported by South Korea’s Justice Ministry on 15 May, according to a release issued by Amnesty International. Due process was denied them, as they were not given legal rights to challenge the deportation order.

“It is very clear to the ICEM, and its 475 affiliates in 173 countries, that the two have been incarcerated because of their trade union activities, a clear violation of accepted international norms and standards,” stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda in a letter to the Korean head of Mission at the UN in Geneva last week. “Migrant workers, like all other workers, deserve the respect and treatment afforded them under freedom of association, as enshrined in ILO Convention 87.” Click here to find the ICEM letter.

Reportedly, both Tornu Limbu, a citizen of Nepal, and Abudus Sabur, from Bangladesh, were beaten while in detention. The crack-down occurred just following newly-elected South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s public vow that foreign workers in the country, who are without the necessary papers, will be flushed out of Korea even through use of force.

Limbu, 42, and Sabur, 39, had been effectively organising migrant workers in the country for 16 and nine years, respectively. Limbu has been a vocal critic of the difficulties and unfairness inherent in the work permit process in Korea for foreign workers.

The MTU and the fight for rights for migrant workers have the backing of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. On 18 March, the plight of migrant workers in Korea was the central focus of a seminar in Geneva, which called on the United Nations to take strong action to ensure that migrant workers work with dignity as part of their basic human rights.

Today is Day 12 in Harare Central Remand Prison for the two top leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). The two, President Lovemore Matombo and Secretary-General Secretary Wellington Chibebe, were denied bail on 12 May, and they await a further hearing on 23 May.

And at that bail hearing last week, a leader of one of the two teachers’ unions in Zimbabwe was detained. Raymond Majongwe, Secretary-General of the Progressive Teachers’ Union, was seized at the Harare High Court.

Education International (EI) is calling for protest action. For more, click here.

It is believed that Majongwe is being held for chronicling the number of teachers in his union who have been victims of political violence for failing to contribute to the ruling ZANU-PF’s party vote total in March’s parliamentary and presidential elections.

ZCTU's Wellington Chibebe 

Comrades Matombo and Chibebe were arrested on 8 May and charged with “communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the state and inciting public violence.” Those allegations came from speeches they made on International Workers’ Day, 1 May, before 1,500 Zimbabweans inside Harare’s Dzivaresekwa Stadium.

The two presented themselves to police on Thursday, 8 May, after armed police turned up at their homes searching for them. Both had been severely beaten when they were last in police custody, in September 2006.

The arrests of the trade union leaders are part of a wider crackdown on civil society defenders inside Zimbabwe in the wake of the 29 March elections. The ruling ZANU party of Robert Mugabe lost those elections, but results showed that Movement for Democratic Change candidate Morgan Tsvangirai did not win the necessary 50% plus one for the presidency, so a run-off election is now required. The Mugabe government has not yet set the date for that election.

The Council of Global Unions, the coordinating body for most of the 11 Global Union Federations, as well as the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee of OECD, has launched a new website, www.global-unions.org.

The site will rely on RSS feeds from the representative global bodies and will provide relevant data and timely calls for action on issues concerning global trade unions. The site was launched on 1 May, and in the coming weeks will be further updated to include features.

The website was a creation of a global union communicators’ task force, and had the technical expertise of the ITUC’s Alex Gomes in design and innovation. Aidan White, General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, chaired the task force.

 Education International GS Fred Van Leeuwen

“The website is just the latest way to improve how we talk to the world," stated Fred Van Leeuwen, General Secretary of Education International, who is also chairman of the Council of Global Unions. “Global-unions.org is the new starting point for anyone, anywhere, who works and is looking to someone in fight in their corner.”