English

Español

Français

Русский

New english test page

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Action Plan 2021-2025

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

Women

Youth

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

testing new page

Logos of IndustriALL Global Union

Press

&nbsp;<img height="450" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0611UKCornwall1.jpg" width="300" alt="" />
<img height="450" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0611UKCornwall2.jpg" width="300" alt="" />
<img height="233" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0611UKCornwall3.jpg" width="350" alt="" />
<img height="233" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0611UKCornwall4.jpg" width="350" alt="" />
<img height="400" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0611UKCornwall5.jpg" width="300" alt="" />
<img height="263" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0611UKCornwall6.jpg" width="350" alt="" />
<img height="233" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0611UKCornwall7.jpg" width="350" alt="" />
&nbsp;

Photos - Imerys demonstration South West 18 November 2006

Photos of the march and rally can be found <a href="/index.php?id=21&amp;doc=2038&amp;la=EN">here</a>.
A march and mass rally against Imerys&rsquo; rash restructuring in the UK'S&nbsp;South West was held on Saturday, 18 November, in St. Austell.
Sponsored by UK trade unions Transport &amp; General Workers Union (TGWU), Amicus, and GMB, the colourful march&nbsp;featured French, American and global union representatives, who reminded Imerys workers in the Cornwall and Devon region that the company will grant nothing without a fight. The march culminated with the rally and speeches at Polkyth Carpark. 
 
The march and rally, in which 450 people participated,&nbsp;was part of a build-up to an industrial ballot that the UK unions will take in the South West Imerys, a Paris-based multinational that produces building materials. Imerys is targeting some 610 jobs to be made redundant at its kaolin mine and processing operations in the South West by the end of next year.
<img height="50" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/UKFlag.gif" width="100" />
The restructuring has gained global attention through the TGWU&rsquo;s outreach to other unions representing Imerys workers around the world. 
Speakers at Saturday&rsquo;s event included Serge Gonzales, from the French trade union F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Force Ouvri&egrave;re (FO) Mat&eacute;riaux, C&eacute;ramique et Thermique, who is Secretary of Imerys&rsquo; European Works Council; Keith Fulbright, a shop-floor leader at Imery&rsquo;s Sylacauga, Alabama, calcium carbonate mine and plant, who is President of Local Branch 3-0516 of the United Steelworkers (USW) of America; and Dick Blin, a representative of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine &amp; General Workers' (ICEM) Unions, the Brussels-based Global Union Federation, which includes Imerys&rsquo; trade unions worldwide. 
 
Also speaking were&nbsp;Jennie Formby, TGWU National Secretary, and Laura Lamprell, TGWU Regional Industrial Organiser. 
 
&ldquo;Imerys has exhibited utter contempt in regards to workers, their families and, indeed, the entire well-being of communities built by the labours of English China Clay,&rdquo; said Formby. &ldquo;That contempt has stretched from the manner in which they made the announcement last July, to the manner in which they&rsquo;ve conducted the consultation process with the workers&rsquo; representatives.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;We have told Imerys that their anti-social policies in the UK will affect their reputation globally,&rdquo; said Serge Gonzales. &ldquo;We demand of Imerys a reversal to the anti-worker conduct that it is displaying in various countries throughout Europe.&rdquo; 
<img height="60" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/FranceFO.jpg" width="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="62" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/USAUSW.jpg" width="113" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="60" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/Icemrouge.GIF" width="70" />
In Sylacauga, Alabama, Imerys also has demonstrated a record of union-busting and non-adherence to its social obligations. The USW has fended off two de-unionisation efforts by the company since the turn of the decade, and it is only now, through renewed strength of the USW among the 500-member workforce, that the company has tempered its anti-worker agenda. 
 
&ldquo;The lesson that I bring about Imerys from America to workers of the South West is this: &lsquo;Stay united, stay focused,&rsquo;&rdquo; said the USW&rsquo;s Keith Fulbright. &ldquo;Our experience is that Imerys will attack when they know the union is weak. It was only after we signed nearly every worker into the union that everyone began displaying that fact on the shop floor. It was only then that Imerys backed off.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;Imerys must begin making real commitments to workers and communities of the South West,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;The ICEM guarantees that unless fairness and respect are granted, we will do everything in our power to bring this dispute into all the company&rsquo;s global workplaces.&rdquo;

Anger at Imerys Expressed at Rally in UK&#039;s South West

<img height="142" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/ICEMwomenBul.JPG" width="380" />
Contents&nbsp;
1. Chile &ndash; Government Publishes 
Gender Equity Guide 
2. France &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Position at EdF and GdF 
Worsens 
3. Germany &ndash; Men and Women 
Experience Stress Differently 
4. Kenya &ndash; Nairobi +21 Conference Held 
5. Korea &ndash; Equality Job Index&nbsp;Increases 
6. New Zealand &ndash; Government Prepares 
for Equal Pay Reviews 
7. Nicaragua &ndash; National Assembly Passes Total Abortion Ban 
8. South Africa &ndash; NUMSA Gender Awareness Quiz 
9. United Kingdom &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Pay Gap Narrows 
10. United States &ndash; Supreme Court&nbsp;To Hear Goodyear Case 
11. From Our Readers 
12. Resources 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
1. Chile &ndash; Government Publishes Gender Equity Guide 
 
SERNAM, the Chilean Women&rsquo;s National Office, published, on 9 November, a guide on gender equity in companies, called Gu&iacute;a para Impulsar la Equidad de G&eacute;nero en las Empresas. The guide contains examples of good practice, as well as tools to put the ideas into practice. 
 
With Chile&rsquo;s president Michelle Bachelet currently promoting corporate social responsibility, SERNAM found that discrimination against women continues to exist: women&rsquo;s average pay is still 30% below men&rsquo;s, with those in higher pay categories even earning 52% less. 
 
87% of all women work in services where they have less access than men to skills and management jobs. Chile ranks 110th out of 125 in terms of gender equity. There is, therefore, plenty of room for improvement. The SERNAM guide will soon be available on the Acci&oacute;n RSE site (in Spanish - <a href="http://www.accionrse.cl/">www.accionrse.cl</a>). 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
2. France &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Position at EdF and GdF Worsens 
 
In spite of the fact that an ambitious equal opportunities agreement was signed one and a half years ago, FCE-CFDT has found women&rsquo;s position worsening, or at best stagnating, at EdF (Electricit&eacute; de France) and GdF (Gaz de France). 
 
In 2005, the average number of hours&rsquo; training that women took advantage of went down, as did the number of women taking vocational training. There were also fewer men taking parental leave than the year before. In addition, new hires are generally found in technical areas, where fewer women are present. 
 
Women make up 23.1% of the workforce in the two companies, whereas they make up 49% of the precarious jobs. The union has also found that stereotypes still prevail &ndash; management still refuses men&rsquo;s requests to look after sick children, for example. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
3. Germany &ndash; Men and Women Experience Stress Differently 
 
IGBCE has launched a pilot project to investigate stress factors at three companies in Germany. The aim is for employees to cope better with stress so that, for instance, they can go home free of stress in the evening. 
 
Since women and men experience stress differently, preventive and curing measures have to be applied differently according to gender. In general, men have more injuries and accidents, whereas women suffer more from psychological problems. 
Men are more afraid of failure and high performance standards; women suffer more from poor communication and lack of recognition. Strategies to manage stress also differ &ndash; women get rid of stress by doing yoga or relaxation exercises, while men play football. 
 
The Infracor Company has distributed a questionnaire to track stress factors. While still analysing the results, one finding is that work against deadlines, heavy workloads, lack of decision-making power, fear of job loss or the double burden of working and looking after the family are all possible causes of stress. 
 
Stress has physical and psychological effects, which, if not eliminated, often reduce performance and concentration. However, they also lead to allergies and cardiovascular ailments. The IGBCE found that managing stress and health on the job pays for itself. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
4. Kenya &ndash; Nairobi +21 Conference Held 
 
The Nairobi +21 Conference was held in Nairobi on 27 October 2006 to reflect on what has happened since the first UN International Women&rsquo;s Conference, which was held in 1985. Women evaluated the progress made over the years, by following the development of strategies aimed at fostering the advancement of women. Speakers reminisced about times gone by, when women&rsquo;s issues were treated with disdain. 
 
However, 20 years later, things are different. Kenya now has 18 women parliamentarians, and many women have been appointed to the judiciary and senior public service positions. Many battles have been won, but the war for realizing gender equality is far from over. 
 
Women are still under-represented in policy making. Societal and cultural biases and practices, such as female genital mutilation, still pose a health risk to girls. Insecurity and conflicts continue to expose more women to hunger, poverty and assault, and HIV/AIDS destructs millions of women&rsquo;s lives in sub-Saharan Africa. 
 
One conclusion of the conference was to demand better resource allocation for gender ministries and to push for 50-50 representation in leadership. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
5. Korea &ndash; Equality Job Index Increases 
 
Two recent findings by the Korea Labor Institute are that the labor status of women in Korea is lower than men&rsquo;s and that the labor status of workers over 50 has been declining. These findings are the result of an analysis of the Employment Equality Index in Korea, which includes factors such as gender, age, labor status and wage levels for the past 10 years. 
 
The Employment Equality Index consists of four sub-categories: the Labor Compensation Index, based on wage levels per hour; the Labor Participation Index, based on the ratio of wage workers; the Labor Status Index, based on the ratio of management level workers; and the Job Security Index, based on the ratio of regular workers. A figure above 100 indicates that the employment equality status is higher than that of men, whereas a figure below 100 indicates that the status is lower. 
 
With the male workers&rsquo; Employment Equality Index set at 100, the female workers&rsquo; index started at 50.1% in 1995, went down to 49.5% during the 1998 crisis, and reached 55.7% last year. 
 
According to the study, the women&rsquo;s Labor Status Index was 8.1%, indicating that the number of female management-level workers is less than one tenth that of men. The women&rsquo;s Labor Compensation Index stood at 69.4%, and the Job Security Index at 61.3%. The study also found that the labor status of older workers was gradually worsening. 
 
The Ministry of Labor hopes that more women will take management jobs after the government&rsquo;s affirmative action programs. The government also hopes to encourage workers over 50 to stay in the labor market. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
6. New Zealand &ndash; Government Prepares for Equal Pay Reviews 
 
The New Zealand Cabinet has agreed on the terms of reference for the equal pay and employment equity reviews. Although the equal pay law has been in existence since 1972, women&rsquo;s average hourly earnings are still only 86.4% of men&rsquo;s. 
 
The public service, health and education sectors will all be subjected to a review designed to ensure that occupations dominated by women pay women fairly and provide equal employment opportunities. 
 
A template must be completed, which tests each occupation&rsquo;s job size and remuneration against a comparable occupation, before a pay equity or equal employment opportunity claim is lodged. A review will also be carried out before a claim is lodged. 
 
Depending on the review&rsquo;s findings, workers such as teachers, secretaries, librarians, dental therapists and nurses may have their pay boosted. 
 
New Zealand&rsquo;s Council of Trade Unions Vice-President Helen Kelly said that, with pay equity claims resolved, women would look at the state as a preferred employer, boosting the need for the private sector to undertake similar actions. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
7. Nicaragua &ndash; National Assembly Passes Total Abortion Ban 
 
Nicaragua&rsquo;s national assembly has voted - 52 to 0 - to ban all abortions, even in those cases where the mother&rsquo;s life is at stake. Nicaragua already had restrictive anti-abortion laws, with women and doctors who take part in abortions facing prison sentences of up to six years. 
 
Members of Nicaragua&rsquo;s medical association and United Nations representatives opposed the timing of the vote, which coincided with the presidential elections on 5 November. They claimed the abortion debate had become too politicized. Hundreds of people protested outside the National Assembly in Managua before the vote took place, saying the law would be a death penalty for some. They fear the law will force women to die. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
8. South Africa &ndash; NUMSA Gender Awareness Quiz 
 
NUMSA, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, has published a gender awareness quiz. Answer the questions and check where you stand on the public and private struggle. 
 
1. Your wife/partner wants to stand as a shop steward in her union. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Say that she cannot stand because you are worried that the children will be neglected and it will interfere with the cooking and the cleaning of the household. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Support her and say that together as a family you will all discuss how she can be active in the union and how the family will accommodate her. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
2. Your wife/partner is a shop steward and wants to attend NUMSA National Congress for five days. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Say she cannot go because a NUMSA National Congress is not a good place for a woman to be. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Encourage her to go and together with your family work out how you will all manage. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
3. Your workplace has many women workers. In shop steward elections, workers voted for three new women shop stewards. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Carry on having your shop steward committee meetings after work as you have always done. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Ask the new women shop stewards if the time is all right for them or if they want to suggest an alternative time. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
4. Your workplace has always had many women workers but no women have ever stood as shop stewards. Shop steward elections will take place in 18 months time. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Assume that it&rsquo;s because women are not committed and that&rsquo;s why they don&rsquo;t stand as shop stewards. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Speak to workers and set up a gender committee in your factory. Link the gender committee to the shop stewards committee and provide training to the gender committee reps so that they can learn the job of the shop steward. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
5. You are holding a shop steward council in your local. The meeting was meant to start at 9h00 and finish at 12h00. However some of the male office bearers are late and the meeting only started at 10h30. At 12h00 many people start to leave, especially the women comrades. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Complain that those leaving are not committed. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Apologise to those that are leaving for having started the meeting late and appeal to all those present to respect the times so that next time the meeting can start and finish on time. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
ANSWERS: If you answered mostly (a) then you need to seriously look at your views on gender and your relationship with your wife/partner. If you answered mostly (b) then you have opened the door to challenge patriarchy. Congratulations but don&rsquo;t stop here! 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
9. United Kingdom &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Pay Gap Narrows 
 
Women are closing the pay gap with men, as indicated by recent government figures. The gap between male and female pay is at its lowest since 1938, the year when recording began. 
 
Men&rsquo;s average pay went up by 3.5%, while women&rsquo;s pay rose by 4.2%. Women now earn, on average, 12.6% less than men, compared to 13% last year. A man&rsquo;s weekly average earnings stands at 487 pounds. A typical woman is paid 387 pounds a week. The reason for the large gap is that men work more overtime. 
 
A key reason behind the change is that more women now work in high-earning professions. In the 22-29 age group, women actually earn more than 1.5% more than men. But beyond the age of 29, male earnings greatly outstrip those of women, as women returning to the workplace after childbirth tend to miss out on several years of pay rises. 
 
The Equal Opportunities Commission estimates that the pay gap means that the average women working full time will lose out on about 330,000 pounds over her working life. That means 19 years of down payments on a house, 15 new cars or 10,500 nights out. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
10. United States &ndash; Supreme Court To Hear Goodyear Case 
 
On 27 November, the US Supreme Court will hear the arguments on a pay discrimination case involving a former Goodyear employee. Ms. Ledbetter charged that she earned 15% less than the next lowest paid manager in her work group. She claimed that she had been underpaid for her management positions since she was first hired. 
 
Goodyear claims her lower salary was based on low performance ratings. Ledbetter, however, claimed her evaluations had been falsified, at least in part because one of those who reviewed her job performance was an immediate supervisor whose sexual advances she had rebuffed. 
 
A jury in the US District Court awarded Ledbetter nearly US$234,000 in back pay, almost US$5,000 for mental anguish and nearly US$3,3 million in punitive damages. In the end, the court was required by statute to limit the verdict to US$360,000. Goodyear is appealing this verdict. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
FROM OUR READERS: 
 
Oluchi Okorie from Nupeng, Nigeria, comments about Bulletin 16: 
 
 
&ldquo;It is surprising that Indian women still face these problems of dowry to their husbands. Unlike in our country Nigeria, the reverse is the case. 
 
The bride&rsquo;s family receives the bride price and other gifts from the groom and his family. Some extended family members of the bride also make their demands which, if not met, sometimes will lead to the threat of withdrawing from the marriage contract. 
 
The major problem with this in some cases is that the groom will start maltreating the bride after the marriage must have been contracted with the belief that he bought her expensively. There are other cases where the groom may not have enough resources to take care of the bride after marriage. 
 
In either way, none is perfect because the whole thing falls back on women. We pray there should be a remedy to this in this modern age.&quot;
<img height="31" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/womenlogo.jpg" width="25" />
RESOURCES 
 
Falling Through the Floor lets young Chinese women workers tell us in their own words about their arduous experiences of trying to earn a decent living in the boomtowns of the Chinese economic miracle today. See at: <a href="http://www.china-labour.org.hk/public/main">http://www.china-labour.org.hk/public/main</a>.&nbsp; 
 
WOMANKIND Worldwide helps women in developing countries - silenced or isolated by harmful traditions, conflict, violence and intimidation or the sheer exhaustion of surviving in poverty &ndash; to have a distinctive say in what goes on in their family, community and country. See <a href="http://www.womankind.org.uk/">http://www.womankind.org.uk</a>. 
 
Public Services International has done an evaluation of its 2002-2006 Pay Equity Campaign. The evaluation can be obtained from ICEM &ndash; write to <a href="mailto:carol.bruce@icem.org">carol.bruce@icem.org</a>.

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 17

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 15

<img height="40" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief201.gif" width="100" alt="" />
ICEM affiliate Federatia Sindicatelor Libere si Independente din Industria Petroliera (FSLI Petrom) informed the ICEM that the situation on the Orizont Oil rig in Iran has gone back to normal. As reported earlier, a dangerous situation had arisen on 22 August 2006, when Iranian gunboats fired at an oil rig and held 26 workers hostage, of which 19 were Romanian nationals, all affiliated to FSLI Petrom. 
 
The attack was connected to a commercial dispute between GPS, the Romanian company that owns the oil rig, and a contracting firm from the United Arab Emirates, which, in turn, had subcontracted work to a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company. More details can be found in the ICEM News release from 23 August 2006: Condemnation Towards Iran on Attacking Romanian Oil Rig. 
<img height="62" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/RomaniaPetrom.jpg" width="150" alt="" />
According to FSLI Petrom, the crew shifts are now running normal again and workers on the rig are again free to communicate and move about. The 19 Romanian workers that were briefly held hostage have all been able to return home safely. Their replacements were issued with Iranian visas without any problem. 
 
In their message to the ICEM, FSLI Petrom expresses its thanks for the solidarity by ICEM affiliates. The ICEM issued a circular to all its affiliates at the end of August, calling for solidarity messages. According to the union, the messages of support &ldquo;encouraged and supported the prompt reactions of both the trade union and of the Romanian authorities in order to make this situation to go to normal.&rdquo;

Thank You from Romania

<img height="40" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief201.gif" width="100" alt="" />
Representatives of the Union Nationale des Travailleurs du Congo (UNTC), one of the major national trade union federations in Congo, decided at their 5th Congress in July on a major change in Federation&rsquo;s sectoral structures. 
 
One consequence of this decision, which brought down the number of industrial federations from 21 to 14, is the merger of ICEM affiliate FENAMICO (F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Nationale des Travailleurs des Mines du Congo) with its sister metal federation, to from the new F&eacute;d&eacute;ration Nationale des Travailleurs des Mines et de la Metallurgie (FNTMM). Crispin Ngeleka Mulumba was elected as its new General Secretary.

FENAMICO, Mining Affiliate in Congo, Merges with Metal Federation

<img height="40" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief201.gif" width="100" />
Following a fire in the first and second generation stations of the El-Missaub electrical heat generation station, the Federation of Works Councils Unions of Iraq (FWCUI) calls for improved safety equipment at the facility. Two workers needed to be taken to a hospital as they suffered from suffocation after trying to extinguish the fire. 
 
The union is asking the administration of the station for increased safety measures, such as supplying the different units with personal fire protection devices, organising training on safety issues and repairing broken down safety equipment. The union also points towards the non-existence of insurance for workers in case they become the victim of an industrial accident.

Fire In Iraq’s el-Missuab Power Generation Station.

<img height="40" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief201.gif" width="100" />
According to information received by the ICEM, last week saw the arrest of Javanmir Poradi, the head of the Electrical and Metal Workers&rsquo; Trade Association, in the western city of Kermanshah in Iran. He was reportedly released again yesterday evening. Given the regular and persistent ill-treatment of labour activists in Iran, Brother Moradi&rsquo;s disappearance was very concerning for his family. No information was available on Monday as to his treatment in detention. 
 
Iranian security forces allegedly told brother Poradi, on 12 September, to report to their offices the next day. Whereas his family was initially told on Wednesday that he was taken to the public prosecutor&rsquo;s house, this office later stated it did not have information as to his whereabouts. He is said to have been arrested for &ldquo;organising a May Day rally&rdquo; this year. 
 
Four other labour activists, from the Shaho and Kurdistan textile factories in the city of Sanandaj, were also arrested earlier last week, in relation to a planned protest against a number of dismissals. The four were badly treated while in detention, before being released.

One More Arrest and Ill-treatment of a Labour Activist in Iran

<img height="40" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief201.gif" width="100" />
The ICEM has sent a letter to the Unilever headquarters to protest the planned illegal closure of the Hindustan Lever's Mumbai factory. Hindustan Lever, a subsidiary of Unilever, sold its plant in Mumbai in July 2005 to another company, Bon Ltd. Two months later, the new owner made an application to the local government to close the factory. 
 
Hindustan Lever had apparently hoped it could use the proposed sale to not only take advantage of tax concessions, but also to avoid its legal obligation to negotiate with the trade union, the Hindustan Lever Employees' Union (HLEU), which is an affiliate of the IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations). A recent High Court decision has now clearly established, again, that this transfer is against Indian law. 
<img height="66" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/IndiaFlag.gif" width="100" />
With this legal victory, HLEU members at the plant continue their struggle against the illegal transfer and closure, stronger then ever before, and supported by many Indian and international trade unions. In the ICEM letter, the Global Union Federation calls on the company to enter into immediate and fair negotiations with the HLEU. 
 
More information on the dispute, including the possibility to send a message to the company, can be found on the IUF&rsquo;s web-site <a href="http://www.iufdocuments.org/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi?db=default&amp;uid=default&amp;ID=3697&amp;view_records=1&amp;ww=1&amp;en=1">here</a>.

Protest Against Hindustan Lever Plant Closure in Mumbai

<img height="40" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief201.gif" width="100" alt="" />
Facing tremendous pressure to refrain from taking action, the Korean Power Plant Industry Union (KPPIU), which represents around 3,000 members at five power plants that belong to the Korea Electric Power Corporation, or KEPCO, went on strike for 15 hours on 4 September 2006. 
 
The strike was a response to the unwillingness of KEPCO management to negotiate such issues as better working conditions, the rotation system, the expansion of the scope of trade union work and the reinstatement of fired colleagues. The trade union action followed a decision by the National Labour Relations Commission, a day earlier, to call for government arbitration over the labour dispute. 
<img height="100" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/ICEMelectricity3.JPG.JPG" width="100" alt="" />
Both the company and the government took a very antagonistic stand towards the workers. Neither party was open to any negotiation whatsoever, administrative actions against strikers were announced, and the government warned against taking part in what it called an &ldquo;illegal strike.&rdquo; Reportedly, the government even had 3,500 emergency substitutes ready, just in case. 
 
Workers returned to work late Monday afternoon, as the government intervened to halt the strike, with union executives under threat of arrest. However, in the end, negotiations between labour representatives and the managements of the power plants resumed later the same day.

Short Strike by Korean Power Workers

Archive

Photos - Imerys demonstration South West 18 November 2006

Anger at Imerys Expressed at Rally in UK's South West

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 17

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 15

Thank You from Romania

FENAMICO, Mining Affiliate in Congo, Merges with Metal Federation

Fire In Iraq’s el-Missuab Power Generation Station.

One More Arrest and Ill-treatment of a Labour Activist in Iran

Protest Against Hindustan Lever Plant Closure in Mumbai

Short Strike by Korean Power Workers

About IndustriALL

Follow us

Contact us