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On Monday 20 August, a one-month long strike ended in the South African tyre sector, in which 6,000 members of the ICEM affiliated National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) had been participating. The strike included workers from six major tyre manufacturing plants, including Goodyear and Continental in Port Elizabeth, Dunlop in Durban and Ladysmith, and Bridgestone in Port Elizabeth and Brits, North West. 
 
The strike ended after the union reached a historic agreement with the South African Employers&rsquo; New Tyre Industry Association. 
<img height="102" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/SouthafricaNumsa100.jpg" width="100" alt="" />
The three-year agreement brings important achievements for the union members. Wage increases are set at 8% for the first year, and at 7.5% for the second and third year. Other advantages gained include skill-based development grading, five months maternity leave, an annual leave of 15 working days, and a 10.5% increase in employers&rsquo; contribution to the provident (or pension) fund. Agreement was also reached on another important NUMSA demand, namely on the scrapping of the use of labour brokers. 
 
In addition, Goodyear in Port Elizabeth agreed to absorb about 100 contract workers into its permanent staff, out of a total of 250 employees hired under labour brokerages. A consolidated process to phase out the remaining 150 agency jobs will be started. 
<img height="100" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/ICEMrubber.JPG" width="100" alt="" />
During the strike, NUMSA organised many different actions, including protest marches at Bridgestone-Firestone, Goodyear and Continental. About 4,000 union members handed over a memorandum to the New Tyre Manufacturing Industry Association&rsquo;s spokesperson Attie Higgs at the Continental plant. Another 2,000 strikers in Durban and Ladysmith gave their memoranda to the Dunlop management, as did the workers of Bridgestone in Brits. 
 
The Union had also organised industry-wide solidarity protest actions, which involved more than 15,000 employees in the auto manufacturing industry, where NUMSA has already signed an agreement which substantially improves the conditions of employment, while, at the same time, taking a long-term view to the continued growth of this sector.

One-month Tyre Industry Strike Ends in South Africa with Historic Agreement

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US paperworkers employed at International Paper Co., members of ICEM affiliate United Steelworkers (USW), voted to accept a precedent-setting master labour agreement with the firm on 23 August. 
 
The four-year accord covering workers at 14 pulp and paper mills in the US contains wage increases on top of negotiated local (or mill-by-mill) agreements, improvements in health insurance benefits, and lays the groundwork for improved health and safety standards, as well as labour-management cooperation on public policy issues. 
 
But perhaps most importantly, the framework pact contains a &quot;successorship clause,&quot; meaning if the company sells any of its unionised mills, the new owner must, as part of the sale agreement, retain all workers, recognise the USW as bargaining representative, and honour the collective bargaining agreement. 
<img height="82" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/USAUSW.jpg" width="150" alt="" />
&quot;The overwhelming support for this agreement shows how united our members are in pursuing master agreements in the paper industry,&quot; said USW President Leo Gerard. 
 
&quot;Successorship clauses protect workers from the unconscionable behaviour of corporations that sell a mill, then disregard the union and the collective bargaining agreement and summarily fire hundreds of people who have dedicated their lives to work there,&quot; added Gerard. 
 
The wage portion of the agreement amounts to a 2% increase upon expiration of local agreements, and another 2% on the second anniversary of the contracts. In addition, workers will receive a US$1,000 lump sum payment on the first and third anniversaries of the contracts. The USW represents 8,200 International Paper employees at mills, paper converters, and packaging plants in the US.

US Steelworkers Ratify Master Framework Agreement with International Paper

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Similar to non-union coal miners at the fateful Sago mine in the US state of West Virginia (<a href="-Safety-Workers’-Rights-Victimized-by-Bankruptcies">click here for more</a>), miners at Murrau Energy Corp., in the state of Utah, have designated ICEM affiliate United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) as their representative in discussions with the company and the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). 
 
Those discussions and subsequent investigation follow the tragic cave-in at Murray's non-union Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, which killed six trapped miners on 6 August and another three miners on 16 August during a rescue effort. The disaster took place at 600 metres underground. 
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Under US mine safety law, non-union miners can request the expertise of the UMWA in the event of a disaster, or safety occurrence. That happened at the Sago Mine in early 2006 when 12 miners perished due to an underground explosion. Then, International Coal Group and its owner, New York investor Wilbur Ross, blocked UMWA safety experts from entering the mine following the blast. The union and MSHA had to sue the non-union company to gain access in order to uphold the law. 
 
In this month's Utah tragedy, again, production and the pursuit of profit led to mining deaths. Murray Energy had been engaged in retreat mining at the south end of the 5,000-acre Crandall Canyon Mine when a bump -- or shift of earth and rock resulting from excavation -- occurred. 
 
Retreat mining is when grids supporting a shaft's ceiling are deliberately removed in order to cause a controlled cave-in. Murray, which bought the mine in 2006, had been ordered by MSHA to halt the practice of retreat mining on the north end of the mine in March 2007, but the federal agency did grant permits for retreat mining on the south side. 
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The UMWA termed the practice &quot;a recipe for disaster,&quot; since mining was happening between two sections that already had been excavated. On 16 August, another bump occurred during the rescue, killing the three rescue workers and injuring six others. 
 
Cleveland, Ohio-based Murray Energy is owned by the controversial Robert Murray, holder of 19 coal mines in five US states. His mines have been hot with 32 serious safety infractions so far this year. He also violated US labour law previously when he threatened to sack UMWA members at a mine in the state of Pennsylvania if they talked openly about a brewing labour dispute. 
 
Murray told reporters last week that he would permanently close the Crandall Canyon Mine, thus entombing the six miners. But he reversed that public stand the very next day.

US Non-Union Miners Turn to UMWA in Aftermath of Utah Coal Tragedy

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Kimberly Clark has, after more than three weeks of strike action at its two South African tissue plants, finally settled its industrial dispute with the ICEM-affiliated Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union (CEPPWAWU). 
 
On August 22, when the CEPPWAWU was determined to step up support for their striking Kimberly Clark members by launching a secondary strike that would have targeted the company&rsquo;s raw material suppliers and retailers, Kimberly Clark decided to accept the terms of the Pulp and Paper Employers Association, as negotiated in the Wood and Paper Bargaining Council just before July 30. The terms include, among other things, an 8.5% wage increase and demands for permanent employment of temporary workers. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/SouthAfrica.png" width="250" />
The CEPPWAWU victory in the Kimberly Clark industrial dispute, during which the union received international support from various parts of the world, ended the last of the national strikes which the union launched across its sectors on July 30, after negotiations at the Chemical and Wood and Paper Bargaining Councils became deadlocked. 
 
The ICEM congratulates its affiliate on this resounding success which vividly demonstrated that international solidarity support can effectively augment the strength unions derive from the unity and resolution of their members and leadership.

Kimberly Clark Settles South African Paper Dispute with CEPPWAWU

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Energy trade unions from Canada, the US and Mexico met in Montreal, Canada, on 18 August 2007, to challenge efforts by leaders of the three countries, as well as by large multinational corporations, to secretly integrate national energy policies without public oversight or legislative accountability. 
 
North American ICEM affiliates Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) and United Steelworkers (USW) participated in a forum, organised by three networks of various social partners, along with other unions representing workers in the electrical, nuclear and oil sectors in Canada and Mexico. The ICEM also attended the meeting. 
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The ICEM affiliates condemned the legitimacy of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), a clandestine effort by the leaders of the three countries and their corporate partners to develop and implement a neoliberal energy policy, aimed at enhancing the interests of corporations and building a growing U.S security apparatus at the expense of workers and the public. 
The forum occurred just two days before the meeting by Presidents George Bush and Felipe Calderon and Prime Minister Stephen Harper with the CEOs of 30 multinational corporations from the three countries, aimed at moving the SPP process forward at a rapid pace. 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img height="165" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0708Canada3.jpg" width="250" border="0" /></a>
Dave Coles, CEP President and ICEM Vice President, confronting and stopping provocateurs, which were later proven to be police infiltrators. On YouTube <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow">here</a>. 
A statement condemning the SPP was issued following the forum, citing the lack of democratic participation and oversight, as well as the participants rejection of the security agenda. Efforts by the SPP to integrate the electricity grids and natural gas systems of the three countries, exploitation of Canada&rsquo;s massive tar sands production to serve US corporate and security interests, continued repression of trade union rights in Mexico, and the privatisation of Mexico&rsquo;s electrical, gas and oil resources were also a particular focus of the forum and the resulting statement. 
 
&ldquo;These and other elements of the SPP-corporate energy agenda are unsustainable and sacrifice the needs of workers and communities in each country to the profits of energy corporations.&rdquo; This is an agenda &ldquo;that fails to address the need for each country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including a new round of far reaching goals after 2012. Nor does this corporate-continental model of energy development respond to the needs of national economic development or recognize the primary role of energy industries for community economic development. &ldquo; 
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CEP President and ICEM Vice President Dave Coles, along with CEP Secretary-Treasurer Gaetan Menard and USW Vice President Gary Beevers presented the statement the next day at another forum, held on 19 August 2007, at the University of Ottawa. ICEM affiliates also joined a large demonstration the same day in Ottawa at the Canadian Parliament and a march to the Mexican and US embassies. 
 
Demonstrations were also taking place on 20 August in Montebello, Canada, where the leaders of the three countries are meeting with corporate CEOs. At the demonstrations, Dave Coles stood up to &lsquo;agents provocateurs&rsquo;, who later turned out to be police infiltrators: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow</a>. 
 
A copy of the full statement can be found at <a href="http://www.cep.ca">www.cep.ca</a>.

North American Trade Unions Condemn Secret and Undemocratic Efforts to Map New Energy Future

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN 25

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Pilkington glass workers in New Zealand, represented by Engineering, Paper and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) will decide tomorrow night, 14 August, whether or not to escalate industrial actions. During the first days of August, EPMU members at the Hamilton glass plant began a seven-day overtime ban because of a pay dispute. 
 
That was extended last week and union members at another Pilkington plant in Auckland met and agreed to support the Hamilton workers&rsquo; job actions. The Auckland workforce, represented by EPMU, was forced to take nine days of job actions last year in a pay dispute. In 2006, UK-based Pilkington was bought by Nippon Sheet Glass for &euro;3.2 billion, in a move to strengthen the Japanese company&rsquo;s presence in Asia, particularly China.
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&ldquo;The company&rsquo;s arguing over a quarter of a percent (in Hamilton), and frankly the members are getting sick of this kind of penny-pinching &hellip; the members are simply asking for their fair share,&rdquo; said an EPMU representative, as quoted on the union&rsquo;s website.

Pilkington Workers in Glass Dispute in New Zealand

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The position on climate change and renewable energy sources by the Mining and Energy Division of Australia&rsquo;s Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has drawn positive attention. A Green Party candidate for Senate in Queensland praised the CFMEU for its stand, and an opinion piece written by Mining and Energy Division President Tony Maher drew wide appeal in the Australian press. 
 
Queensland Green Party activist Larissa Waters welcomed the division&rsquo;s stand on renewable energy and a 60% target for greenhouse gas reductions by 2050. 
 
&ldquo;We would be keen to work with unions like the CFMEU to plan ways to move to an environmentally sustainable approach to energy production,&rdquo; said Waters, &ldquo;especially since we already have strong areas of agreement with them on the WorkChoices legislation.&rdquo; 
 
The CFMEU has begun a television ad campaign in Australia, contradicting the Howard government&rsquo;s denial that climate change is occurring and promoting immediate action programmes.
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In an article kicking the ad campaign off, Maher says, &ldquo;Doing nothing on climate change is not an option for the CFMEU.&rdquo; 
 
Maher writes: &ldquo;Our rank and file debated and discussed the proposition to campaign on climate change in every single mine and power station around the nation, before voting overwhelmingly to embark on this course of action. 

&ldquo;The decision to back the campaign did not surprise me &ndash; for more than a decade the union has been an active participant in the climate change debate. After all, our members and our families' livelihoods are at the pointy end of the debate.&rdquo; 

Maher says the key to the union&rsquo;s position was engagement with members &ldquo;to create our own policy on greenhouse emissions.&rdquo; 

He adds, &ldquo;We have taken this approach because we want to live in a cleaner world and we want the security for our members, our families and for the coal communities for which we are a vital part. 

&ldquo;Now some may argue that the way to secure the future of coal communities is to stick our heads in the sand and, like John Howard, deny that climate change is occurring. 

&ldquo;But what security is there in refusing to engage in a debate that is raging at this very moment?&rdquo; Maher writes. 

&ldquo;From our perspective, security comes in certainty &ndash; the certainty of Clean Energy Targets and the certainty of commitments to greenhouse reductions. 
&ldquo;Business needs certainty too. If mining companies invest billions into new technology, they must receive a guarantee that such clean energy will have a market share.&rdquo; 

Maher cites examples: &ldquo;Clean coal technologies like carbon capture and geosequestration will reduce the impact of coal on the environment. As most mainstream thinkers agree, coal will remain a large part of the world's energy mix for the foreseeable future &ndash; the real challenge is to minimise its harmful impacts.
&ldquo;At the same time, we need to be investing in and embracing renewable energy sources. Our argument is that without a clear Clean Energy Target &ndash; backed with a carbon trading regime &ndash; we will never have the incentive to invest in these new technologies.&rdquo; 
CFMEU claims it is the first mining union in the world to take such a stand on the climate change issue.

CFMEU&#039;s Green Initiative Applauded in Australia

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US Affiliate United Steelworkers (USW) won an important court victory in its pursuit of justice for workers at shuttered Continental tyre and rubber plants in America. On 31 July, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court in the state of Ohio ruled that the German company must fulfill union contractual obligations to retired workers regarding health care.
<img height="100" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/ICEMrubber.JPG" width="100" alt="" />
In December 2006, some 2,000 retirees from closed Continental plants in Charlotte, North Carolina; Mayfield, Kentucky; and Byron, Ohio, filed a class action lawsuit with the support of the union. Along with the cost-savings plant closings, the company shifted a large part of health care costs onto retirees. 
In the lawsuit, USW retirees, many of whom had been sacked at the time of the plant closures, sought restoration of the previous health insurance programme, and they argued for refunds on premium payments and other compensation. 
Judge Jack Zouhary of US. District Court in Toledo, Ohio, ruled in a summary judgment that the company had improperly reduced the benefit levels for retirees and their spouses. The judge&rsquo;s decision stated that since the company was unable to force its terms with the USW during contract talks, it unilaterally and illegally began implementing the cuts. 
Continental North America argued it had the right to lower retiree benefits, because the labour contracts had expired. Zouhary ruled that retiree benefits must remain separate from wages and benefits of active workers since there is &quot;inference&quot; in labour agreements that &quot;those benefits ... continue as long as the beneficiary remains a retiree.&quot;
<img height="158" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0609USARonHoover.jpg" width="120" />
&nbsp;USW's Ron Hoover 

USW President Leo Gerard praised the judge&rsquo;s decision. &ldquo;The fact that the court issued summary judgment shows just how disgraceful Continental was in abandoning its contractual obligations to American tire builders who gave the company a lifetime of work.&rdquo; 

Continental has stated it will appeal the judge&rsquo;s decision, but the USW is calling on the company to make the payments even if it does appeal. &ldquo;This is an international corporation that has made massive profits throughout this sorry affair,&rdquo; said USW Executive Vice President Ron Hoover. &ldquo;It is time for them to finally stand up and fulfill the promises&rdquo; made to workers.

Continental Tyre Owes USW’s Retirees Medical Pay, Judge Rules

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Double-digit pay gains were won for miners by South Africa&rsquo;s largest union, the National Union Mineworkers (NUM). With two-year negotiations now nearly complete, only the world&rsquo;s largest gold-mining companies remain tight-fisted in pay talks. Global-leading platinum producers, AngloAmerican&rsquo;s Kumba Resources, and several coal producers came to terms with the NUM in the past week. 
 
DeBeers averted a diamond-mining strike on 31 July when it increased its pay offer. 
 
On 7 August, the world&rsquo;s second largest platinum miner &ndash; Impala Platinum &ndash; reached accord with the NUM. A day later, AngloPlatinum, the world&rsquo;s largest producer came to agreement. The contracts won by the NUM cover 39,000 miners at AngloPlatinum, and 26,000 at Impala Platinum. NUM also won a 10% for miners at the smaller Northam Platinum operations.
<img height="96" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/ICEMminingsector2.JPG" width="100" />
AngloPlatinum, 75% held by AngloAmerican, will this year award lower-classified miners a 10% increase, while the higher classifications get 8.5%. Next year, miners will receive between 8% and 9%. The Impala calls for 10% and 8% this year and between 7.25% and 8.5% in 2008. 
 
Also last week, workers at Kumba, a major iron ore producer, agreed to pay hikes this year of 10%, 9.5%, and 8.5%, depending on the job classification. 
 
And 13 days ago, NUM recommended wage increases of 10% and a bit lower for the higher classifications to coal miners. In the second year of the agreement, coal miners will receive 1% on top of the consumer price index, or no less than 8%. NUM&rsquo;s coal-mining members are employed by such companies as AngloCoal, Xstrata, Optimum Collieries, Exxaro, Eyesizwe, and Kanga. 
 
At DeBeers, where a strike by 6,000 workers was to occur on 31 July, the world&rsquo;s leading diamond miner met the NUM&rsquo;s terms on that day. Diamond miners will receive 10% in the lower grade; 9.5% in the middle grade; and 8.5% in the higher-paid grade. &ldquo;We put a demand of 10% and we got it, so there is nothing to complain about,&rdquo; said Peter Bailer, NUM&rsquo;s lead negotiator in diamond mining.
<img height="270" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0610NUMFransBaleni.JPG" width="180" />
&nbsp;NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni
But talks with gold producers remain stalled. In the last days of July and early August, the Chamber of Mines &ndash; on behalf of AngloGold Ashanti, Goldfields, and Harmony Gold &ndash; had refused to budge from its top offer of 7.75%. As the two sides continue in talks, the NUM is mobilizing for strike action. &ldquo;We believe that the Chamber of Mines has tested our patience long enough and our workers will haunt the profit they make out of the workers sweat,&rdquo; stated NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni. 
 
Nearly all the negotiations between the NUM and mining companies are occurring through the Chamber of Mines. Since disputes were called in most, South Africa&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) has been involved. 
 
Meanwhile, another mining death has occurred at an AngoGold facility in South Africa, the third such death at an AngloGold mining operation in the country in just a few weeks. A worker fell into a pit at the company&rsquo;s Moab Khutsong mine on 9 August. The pit had no barricades around it. AngloAshanti now has recorded 12 deaths overall in its South African mines this year.

Platinum, Coal, Diamond, Iron Ore Talks Complete for NUM in South Africa; Gold Talks Continue

Archive

One-month Tyre Industry Strike Ends in South Africa with Historic Agreement

US Steelworkers Ratify Master Framework Agreement with International Paper

US Non-Union Miners Turn to UMWA in Aftermath of Utah Coal Tragedy

Kimberly Clark Settles South African Paper Dispute with CEPPWAWU

North American Trade Unions Condemn Secret and Undemocratic Efforts to Map New Energy Future

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN 25

Pilkington Workers in Glass Dispute in New Zealand

CFMEU's Green Initiative Applauded in Australia

Continental Tyre Owes USW’s Retirees Medical Pay, Judge Rules

Platinum, Coal, Diamond, Iron Ore Talks Complete for NUM in South Africa; Gold Talks Continue

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