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South Korea faces a nationwide power strike from 24 November over plans to privatise the electricity sector. 
 
Notice of industrial action has already been served by the Korea National Electricity Workers' Union (KNEWU), which will ballot members tomorrow. The union says it will launch the action if the Korean parliament presses ahead with legislation to split up and privatise the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). 
 
The parliament's Standing Committee on Industry and Energy is due to consider the draft law by 23 November. The KNEWU has publicly opposed the plans from the outset. A recent opinion poll showed 90.8 percent of KEPCO employees ready to take part in protests, and the scheme has also run into growing opposition from the public at large. In fact, the restructuring is already behind schedule because parliament pulled back from adopting the legislation last year. 
 
KEPCO is one of South Korea's biggest public enterprises. By law, the government currently holds 52.6 percent of its equity. The corporation accounts for about 94.2 percent of the country's power generation, and has 44 GWh of installed capacity. It transmits, distributes and sells all of South Korea's electricity. In June this year, it employed 34,146 people. 
 
The government has tabled a four-phase privatisation plan, starting with a split-up of KEPCO's generation side from this year onward and full privatisation of generation by 2002. Full competition would be introduced into the wholesale electricity market in the period 2003-2008, and the retail side of the business would be sold off. Competitive retailing of electricity would be brought in from 2009 onwards. 
 
KEPCO's thermal and hydro generation units are already being hived off into five separate subsidiaries, as a prelude to privatisation. Its nuclear capacity will be kept as a wholly-owned KEPCO subsidiary for the foreseeable future. As in power sell-offs elsewhere, there may be few or no takers for the nuclear stations. 
 
One issue is the debts run up by KEPCO, but the union points out that these are the result of the government's own policy of providing cheap electricity to industry and to low-income households. KEPCO has a public service ethic which includes support for rural communities, small and medium-scale enterprises and the domestic coal industry. 
 
The union's fight against privatisation is &quot;not just a matter of job security,&quot; said KNEWU representative Kim Chae-Ro. &quot;Resolving KEPCO's debts through asset sales will destroy the company. The changes will lead to an industry where suppliers wield the sword.&quot; 
 
Globally, the KNEWU is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which has declared full support for the Korean union's action. 
 
&quot;Your powerful campaign has so far prevented the sell-off of your national utility,&quot; ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs emphasised in a message to KNEWU President Oh Kyung-Ho today. &quot;In Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Africa, we are helping our unions to fight against destructive privatisation which has led to huge job losses, higher prices and declining health and safety conditions everywhere it has been carried out. In countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Hungary, Uruguay, Paraguay and Thailand, unions have campaigned successfully in favour of alternative models which safeguard the interests of workers, their families and the citizens. The ICEM strongly believes that energy is a social product. It should be produced and distributed for the good of all citizens, not just for the benefit of the few.&quot; 
 
At special ceremonies across South Korea today, KNEWU officers had their hair trimmed down to a monkish minimum. It was a token of their readiness - and a cutting comment on a sell-off that could leave Korea shorn.

Korean Power Strike Over Privatisation

How can workers face up to the might of the global corporations? 
	 
	By organising globally.

	That is why more than 20 million workers worldwide are already members of the ICEM, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&#039; Unions. 
	 
	The ICEM is a rapidly growing industry-based world labour federation dedicated to practical solidarity. It unites trade unions in its sectors on all continents. Its aim is to become a truly global trade union.

	<img alt="" height="43" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/icemlogo.gif" width="50" />

	Its main focuses are:
<ul>
	<li>
		<div align="justify">
			negotiating and monitoring global agreements with multinational companies - mainly on workers&#039; rights, equality at work and the highest standards of health, safety and environmental protection worldwide</div>
	</li>
	<li>
		<div align="justify">
			networking trade union reps within global corporations</div>
	</li>
	<li>
		<div align="justify">
			coordinating solidarity and support for member unions during disputes</div>
	</li>
	<li>
		<div align="justify">
			union-building in countries where unions are weak or non-existent</div>
	</li>
	<li>
		<div align="justify">
			providing information and expertise on topics ranging from collective bargaining to health and safety standards</div>
	</li>
	<li>
		<div align="justify">
			representing workers&#039; interests within the UN, its agencies and other intergovernmental bodies</div>
	</li>
	<li>
		<div align="justify">
			skills training and development work with trade union officers and rank-and-file union members.</div>
	</li>
</ul>

	 
	The ICEM organises in a wide range of industries: 
	 
	Energy 
	Exploration, production, generation, refining and distribution of all types of primary and secondary energy. 
	 
	Mining and Quarrying 
	Exploration, extraction and processing of hard coal and lignite, metallic and non-metallic minerals, clays, sands, gravels and gems. 
	 
	Chemicals and Bioscience 
	Research, production and refining of chemical elements, compounds and products, pharmaceuticals, chemo-technical products, petrochemical products, agrochemicals, plastics, plastic products and composites and artificial fibres. Research and manufacture of products and materials resulting from biotechnical methods or genetic engineering techniques. 
	 
	Pulp and Paper 
	Research, production and conversion of pulp, paper, board, kraft, paper packaging and other paper and board products. 
	 
	Rubber 
	Research and production of synthetic rubber and composites and fabrication of both natural and synthetic rubber products. 
	 
	Diamonds, Gems, Ornaments and Jewellery Production 
	Diamond and gem sorting, cutting and polishing; pearl farming and setting; ornament and jewellery manufacture. 
	 
	Glass, Ceramics, Cement and Associated Industries 
	Research, production and fabrication of flat glass, container glass, glass fibres, household glass, technical glass and all other glass products; all types of pottery, clay and ceramic materials, composites and products; cement, non-metallic minerals, composites and products. 
	 
	Environmental Services 
	Waste disposal and recovery, pollution control, recycling, cleaning and maintenance, laundry, dry cleaning and hygiene services, porterage and security and associated activities. 
	 
	Service and Miscellaneous Industries 
	Service and miscellaneous industries not falling within the scope of other International Trade Secretariats. 
	 
	 
	The ICEM membership includes all employee categories within its sectors.

	By March 2012, the ICEM represented 355 industrial trade unions in 115 countries. Enquiries are welcomed from other unions in ICEM sectors worldwide. 
	 
	The ICEM unites workers irrespective of race, nationality, gender or creed. It supports sustainable industrial development. The ICEM campaigns for the highest levels of health and safety at the workplace, and for environmentally responsible industrial products and processes. The ICEM is also committed to the global application of the best possible standards and practices - especially within multinational corporations.

	&nbsp;

	 
	Principal officers of the ICEM

	&nbsp;

	 
	<img alt="" height="198" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/Senzeni.jpg" width="160" /> 
	 
	President 
	Senzeni Zokwana 

	&nbsp;

	<img alt="" height="169" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0610Manfred1.jpg" width="160" /> 
	 
	General Secretary 
	Manfred Warda

	 
	The ICEM promotes modern techniques of information exchange between affiliated trade unions, including computer networking. In particular, it is expanding trade union contacts and cooperation within the worldwide operations of the major multinational companies in its industries. 
	 
	As a clearing house for trade union expertise, the ICEM draws on a pool of specialists from its affiliated trade unions around the world. Its own staff provide rapid responses to unions&#039; specific questions on, for example, collective bargaining trends, company structures or the health hazards of a new industrial chemical. 
	 
	The ICEM believes that its policies must be locally &quot;owned&quot; by its rank-and-file membership - not handed down from above. These policies must be relevant to the day-to-day needs of its affiliated trade unions. The ICEM&#039;s union-building programmes carefully avoid the creation of client organisations. Its assistance to newly emerging industrial trade unions is on the basis of help for self-help. 
	 
	While maintaining its global unity, the ICEM has devolved some of its decisions and action to the world&#039;s different regions. 
	 
	Special provisions ensure that women workers throughout the world are properly represented within the ICEM, which runs programmes to meet their particular concerns. 
	 
	The ICEM issues a range of general and specialised publications, both in print and via the Internet. It also voices workers&#039; concerns within the world media. And its website at www.icem.org is first with the unions&#039; news and views. 
	 
	The ICEM often makes representations on workers&#039; behalf to national authorities and international bodies. These include the relevant specialised UN agencies, such as the International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organisation. 
	 
	The ICEM maintains close contact with the trade union movement&#039;s other sector-by-sector Global Union Federations (GUFs), with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), with regional trade union bodies of all continents and with other organisations campaigning on issues that directly affect its members (for example, the environment and human rights). 
	 
	The world&#039;s major employers are now organised globally. Trade unions cannot lag behind. The ICEM believes that industrial trade unionism worldwide must concentrate on its main tasks - improving workers&#039; pay and conditions and recruiting new members.

The ICEM - who we are, what we do

A grim New Year faces the Ukraine's unpaid miners and their families. 
 
40,000 miners have now launched an indefinite strike at the call of the Miners'Indepedent Trade Union of Ukraine (MITU). 
 
They have two demands: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>Payment of the wages owed to them. Wages and other social payments are now 11 months in arrears. The miners are owed more than 800 million US dollars. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>Provision in the 1999 budget for state subsidies to the coal mines. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
Miners who see their families going hungry are now turning to acts of despair. 
 
This Monday, a MITU miner picketing the Lugansk state administration tried to burn himself to death. Alexandre Mikhalevich is in critical condition after suffering 45 percent burns to his body and lungs. 
 
Three other miners say they will resort to self-immolation unless the wage backlog is paid. 
 
At the global level, MITU is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
 
&quot;The desperate act of Alexandre Mikhalevich reminds us immensely and painfully of the limits of what humans can endure,&quot; writes ICEM General Secretary Vic Thorpe in a solidarity message to MITU Chairman Mikhail Volynets. &quot;The sheer enormity of the wages and social payments due to workers cannot distract us from the thought that behind these figures are tens of thousands of men, women and children suffering in their limbs and souls. We realise that entire communities must feel that they have been brutally robbed of their past and of their future.&quot; 
 
But, Thorpe warns, &quot;our compassion cannot distract us from the firm belief that the response of organised workers lies in struggle - not self-annihilation. Yes, there are moments when we are overwhelmed by the complexity and magnitude of the problems in front of us, but the bitter experience of the ICEM's members is that there are no alternatives than to continue to fight for justice, dignity and solutions.&quot;

Grim New Year For Ukrainian Miners

Global Solidarity 
A newsletter for unionised Goodyear workers world-wide
 
Global Network Links Workers across Borders 
 
When more than 100 labor leaders and trade union representatives from 16 countries gathered in Cleveland, Ohio in March 1999, they decided to form a global network for Goodyear workers around the world. The goal was to open lines of communication worldwide and to share information of mutual interest. 
 
Publishing Global Solidarity is one facet in the creation of a network that builds international worker solidarity within a multinational corporation. With the continuing consolidation of the world tire industry, workers need a united global front to address common problems. 
 
The Cleveland conference and the establishment of a global network was a direct result of an agenda established during an ICEM rubber industry conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in June 1998. 
 
The delegates at the Cleveland conference elected a network steering committee comprised of Richard Davis (United Steelworkers of America), chairman; Yoshihiko Sawada (Gomo Rengo, Japan); Bill Holmes (Manufacturing Science &amp; Finance, U.K.); Carlos Antonio da Silva (Frente Unica de Borracha, Brazil); Thabang Nchele (National Union of Metalworkers, South Africa); and Peter Schmitt, (ICEM). 
 
The Steering Committee met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 25, 2000 to set the network&rsquo;s direction. Among other things, the network held an initial meeting with senior Goodyear executives and proposed that a joint agreement on health and safety be negotiated. 
 
 
U.S. Steelworkers Win Contract Improvements 
 
On November 15, 2000, the Goodyear/Kelly Springfield/Dunlop Policy Committee of the United Steelworkers of America announced member ratification of changes to the Master Contract. The contract improvements are consistent with the industry pattern agreement established in the 2000 Bridgestone negotiations. 
 
Union workers at Goodyear and subsidiary plants in the U.S. will receive wage, cost-of-living and pension increases as well as language improvements in several areas, including preferential hiring and outside contracting. The agreement covers 12,000 employees at nine Goodyear locations, 5,700 workers at three Kelly plants and 2,600 workers at two Dunlop facilities. 
 
Negotiations between Goodyear and the Steelworkers began in March. Re-opener discussions were suspended March 10, about a month after the Steelworkers chose Bridgestone as its target company for pattern bargaining. When negotiations between Bridgestone/Firestone and the union concluded successfully in September, talks between the Steelworkers and Goodyear resumed. 
 
 
Asia/Pacific Unions Hold Regional Conference 
 
The ICEM hosted the Asia/Pacific Goodyear Network Workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 25-26, 2000. The workshop resulted from actions taken at the ICEM World Rubber Conference of June 1998 and the ICEM-USWA Goodyear World Conference of March 1999, which directed Goodyear steering committees in all regions to conduct sessions. 
 
Yoshihiko Sawada, president of the Japanese Rubber Workers Union Confederation (Gomu Rengo, Japan) chaired the workshop that included 18 participants from five countries. Participants also came from SP KEP Goodyear Union, Indonesia; National Union of Workers, Australia; National Union of Employees in Companies Manufacturing Rubber Products, Malaysia; Centre of Indian Trade Unions; as well as ICEM-JAF and the ICEM. 
 
In addition to developing ways to network and communicate better, work groups discussed issues such as industrial health and safety, occupational diseases, and training and education programs. 
 
 
Goodyear Pushes to Bust Union in Colombia 
 
Despite extensive efforts over the past months to work with the company to reduce production costs at the Santiago de Cali plant, Goodyear management in Colombia is engaged in a blatant effort to undermine its collective bargaining relationship with the tire workers union SINTRAINCAPLA. 
 
The company unilaterally violated the union contract by hiring temporary workers in the production and maintenance departments. The collective bargaining agreement explicitly prohibits the use of temporary or contract workers unless the company and union agree. 
 
Workers at the plant have already accepted a number of concessions pursuant to collective bargaining negotiations with management aimed at saving jobs and keeping the plant open. 
 
 
Canadian Workers Reject Company Proposal 
 
Members of a Salaberry-De-Valleyfield, Quebec union, already on strike for six months, rejected a five-year contract proposal from Goodyear on November 15. Wage and job security issues were the reasons that members of Steelworker Local 919 overwhelmingly rejected the offer. The 76-member local, mainly office and technical workers at Goodyear&rsquo;s Valleyfield passenger radial facility, have been on strike since April 27, 2000. 
 
Local members have been working without a contract since July 1996. The union and the company have fought within Quebec&rsquo;s labor department over alleged exclusion of certain jobs from unionization. Initially the local was prevented by provincial law from striking, but regained that right earlier this year. 
 
The exclusion of jobs from bargaining units has continued to be an issue during the negotiations. Management&rsquo;s desire to turn union into non-union work, continued layoffs of Local 919 members, and increased use of subcontracting has reduced union employment by about 40% over the past decade. The Communications, Energy &amp; Paperwork Union represent production and maintenance workers at the plant. 
 
 
Indonesian Union Makes Proposal to Company 
 
In November, the SP.KEP Goodyear Indonesia (Chemical, Energy and Mine Workers Union at Goodyear Indonesia) 
 
initiated negotiations with PT. Goodyear Indonesia Tbk. The union is looking to improve wages, working condition and safety for its members. 
 
 
Goodyear Reneges on UK Union Agreement 
 
The company has mounted a major attack on two ICEM-affiliated unions in the United Kingdom. The Transport and General Workers Union and the MSF are battling to protect its members&rsquo; terms and conditions of employment as well as their ability to effectively represent membership. 
 
Goodyear has already announced layoffs (redundancies) of 540 workers at its Wolverhampton facility. More troubling is the way the company is handling the matter. In addition to the redundancy notice, the company has delivered 90 days notice that it is unilaterally canceling the long established employment security and severance payment agreement. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs and Goodyear Network chairman Dick Davis have urged the company to honor its commitments. 
 
The agreement, first signed in 1985, was revised and renegotiated as recently as October 1999. In September 2000, a Goodyear senior vice president promised the workers at Wolverhampton that the company would honor all existing agreements, including the Security of Employment Agreement. 
 
 
Operating Engineers Ratify Contract 
 
Striking workers at Goodyear&rsquo;s chemical plant in Houston, Texas overwhelmingly ratified a new contract in mid-December. The new agreement provides pension improvements and a first-year lump sum wage increase. 
 
Union solidarity was key in fighting Goodyear&rsquo;s demand for concessions on seniority rights, contracting out, health benefit cuts and wage reductions. Members of Local 347 of the International Union of Operating Engineers walked out on October 10 after rejecting the company&rsquo;s proposed new agreement. 
 
International unions representing Goodyear workers in France, Germany, Guatemala, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Australia and the U.S. registered protests with the company and lent support to Local 347. 
 
In early November, the workers rejected by a 2-to-1 margin another company offer that called for contracting out 139 jobs or across-the-board pay cuts. Wages would have automatically been cut by 33%, health care cost would have increased and a number of jobs would have been phased out over a two-year period. 
 
The settlement covers 350 workers at a plant that manufactures emulsion styrene butadiene rubber, a material used in tire production. 
 
 
Anti-Union Tactics in Guatemala 
 
The ICEM reported last year that Goodyear has targeted workers in Guatemala with anti-union practices. Forty-eight production employees, members of STGINSA, at the Guatemala City plant were fired without just cause and two executive committee members of the union were suspended. 
 
The union said the action breaches the collective bargaining agreement, the labor laws of the country and the international labor conventions ratified by the government of Guatemala. Ron Hoover, USWA Goodyear Coordinator in the U.S. urged the company to &ldquo;take the necessary steps to restore the proper integrity to the collective bargaining process (in Guatemala) and protect the company&rsquo;s &ldquo;Good Name.&rdquo; 
 
 
European Unions Stand Up for Goodyear Workers 
 
The IGBCE of Germany and the FCE-CFDT of France have recently written support letters on behalf of Goodyear workers in Wolverhampton, UK, Houston, U.S. and Colombia, South America. The letters were written to Goodyear Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Samir Gibara. 
 
Both letters proclaimed support for the Houston workers&rsquo; fight for a new contract and condemned Goodyear&rsquo;s management for undermining negotiations in Colombia, as well as terminating a job security agreement in the U.K. 
 
IGBCE president Hubertus Schmoldt also cited serious problems with Goodyear at its Philippsburg, Germany factory. Schmoldt criticized the company for trying to wreck the collective agreement and for not reinvesting in the facility. 
 
Both unions appealed to the company to take a civilized approach of discussing and negotiating changes with both the workers and their unions. 
 
 
ICEM &amp; FUTINAL Host International Conference 
 
Leaders of 25 unions from Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru Chile and Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and the United States, gathered in Praia Grande, Brazil in November 2000 to participate in a conference hosted by the ICEM and the Latin American United Tire and Rubber Industry Workers Front (FUTINAL). 
 
The tire and rubber worker trade unionists examined trends in the world industry as well as national, regional and global concerns. Measures were adopted that will improve the exchange of information between workers of different global tire companies that operate in the region. 
Several motions were passed that extended solidarity to Goodyear workers in the region. Members Guatemalan Goodyear union STGINSA received a pledge of support from the conference in their battle against the company&rsquo;s anti-union practices. 
 
A resolution condemning Goodyear&rsquo;s union busting attempts in Colombia was passed, as was a motion directed to the Colombian government that denounced death threats by right wing groups to labor leaders. 
 
A motion to offer international solidarity to the Titan Tire workers in Uruguay, members of FUNSA, also passed. This action denounced the recent agreement between Titan and Goodyear that reduces tire production in Uruguay and promotes the imports of Goodyear products. 
In an act designed to strengthen the links between workers across borders, it was decided that an international delegation of rubber workers would visit in early 2001 all the countries of the Americas affiliated with FUTINAL. Next year&rsquo;s conference will be held in Argentina. 
 
 
Goodyear-Pacific Dunlop Announces Restructuring 
 
South Pacific Tyres Ltd. is cutting production at one site and laying off workers at another in Australia. The joint venture of Goodyear and Pacific Dunlop looks to reduce costs and reverse company losses within six months. 
 
Heavy truck production will be halted at the Somerton plant and passenger and light tire production will be reorganized. The company also plans to lay off 500 workers at its Melbourne plant and reduce the product line at that facility. 
 
The National Union of Workers represents workers at these plants. 
 
 
Aircraft Tire Production Resumes in Brazil 
 
After a seven-year hiatus, Goodyear has resumed production of aircraft tires at its Sao Paulo, Brazil facility to meet increased demand. The company manufactured aviation tires at the plant from 1943 until 1992, when it suspended production. 
 
About 30 percent of the tire output will be for the Brazilian market while the rest will be exported to North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and other Latin American countries. 
 
Brazilian airplane manufacturer Embraer-Empresa Brasiliera de Aeronautica, the world&rsquo;s fourth largest producer of airliners and a Goodyear customer since 1969, is building a new domestic plant that the company will supply. 
 
 
Global Goodyear 
 
Goodyear is the world&rsquo;s largest tire company. In addition, it manufactures and markets worldwide several lines of belts, hoses and other rubber products for the transportation industry, as well as various industrial and consumer products. 
 
Goodyear operates 92 plants in 27 countries around the world. Thirty-two plants are located in the US, eight in Canada, 20 in Europe, two in Africa, 13 in Latin America and 17 in Asia. With the addition of its Dunlop tire joint ventures, Goodyear employs more than 100,000. 
 
Last year, Goodyear posted net sales of $12.9 billion and net income was $241.1 million. For the nine months ending September 2000, net sales increased 12%. 
 
Goodyear is the No. 1 tire maker in North America and South America and the largest in Europe. Chairman and CEO, Samir Gibara, earned $1.6 million USD in salary last year and exercised options worth another $216,000 USD during that time. 
 
 
Send Your News! 
 
Global Solidarity is published by the United Steelworkers of America, Five Gateway Center, Pittsburgh, PA. 15222, USA. 
 
If you have news and information for the next issue of Solidarity News, please send it to Don Faulkner by: 
 
Fax + 1 412 562 2520 or 
 
E-mail mailto:dfaulkner@uswa.org

Goodyear network Global Bulletin - English version

AGREEMENT ON TRANSNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 
 
on the day of November 29, 2002 in Rome, between 
 
Eni SpA 
 
and 
 
FILCEA-Cgil, FEMCA-Cisl, UILCEM-Uil, ICEM 

the following points were agreed on: 
 
1. Introduction 
 
The growing internationalisation of the Eni Group calls for the development of a transnational outlook by the parties involved in this process. 
 
With the European Works Council these parties have already firmly established a positive procedure for information exchange and consultation at European level. At extra-European level, the expansion of Eni makes the topic of socially responsible conduct on the part of the company all the more relevant. 
 
With the signing of a Protocol on Industrial Relations in Rome on 22 June 2001, Eni, Filcea, Femca and Uilcem expressed their intention to conform the development of the Group's activities to fundamental ethical principles based on respect for human rights and social rights as contemplated in international conventions. To this end, the parties, in compliance with their signed commitment to seek adequate procedures for information exchange and periodical consultation with regard to the presence and expansion of Eni throughout the world and to develop a dialogue on the social and economic effects of these operations, have agreed to proceed with the formulation of the present agreement. 
 
 
2. Principles 
 
The signatories agree to the importance of supporting a model of corporate growth that combines the creation of value and innovation with attention to human rights and adequate standards of working conditions and safety, as well as quality of life and eco-compatible development. To this end, they have declared their commitment to work towards the cultivation of working practices capable of promoting economic and social progress. 
 
With the present agreement, Eni confirms its commitment to respect fundamental human and social rights in all the Group&rsquo;s activities and to establish new ways of exchanging information on topics pertaining to industrial relations at world level, for the purpose of improving and promoting good labour practices. 
 
Eni and its companies acknowledge the guiding principles of the &ldquo;Universal Declaration of Human Rights&rdquo; of the United Nations and of the fundamental conventions of the ILO, and declare that they intend to take steps to apply these principles within the context of their activities. 
 
 
In particular, they confirm: 
 
- the right of association and negotiation (ILO conventions nos. 87 and 98). All workers are entitled to belong to trade unions of their choice and to benefit from fundamental union rights; 
 
- prohibition of forced labour (ILO conventions nos. 29 and 105). Forced labour is prohibited; whether it be slavery or work performed by inmates; 
 
- prohibition of child labour (Conventions 138 and 182). Child labour is prohibited, especially in its most strenuous forms, and the right of children to complete their development and education must be safeguarded; 
 
- non-discrimination in employment (Conventions 100 and 111). Workers cannot be discriminated against on account of their race, sex, religious creed, political opinions or social origin. Men and women must receive equal salary treatment for work of equal value, and the principles of equal opportunity must be applied; 
 
- non-discrimination against labour representatives (Convention 135). Labour representatives are not to be subjected to any type of discrimination on account of their activities in representing workers; 
 
- continuing efforts to improve conditions of safety and health at the workplace, including the dissemination of the positive results already achieved within the Group. 
 
 
Eni reiterates its commitment to optimise and apply the Group&rsquo;s principles: 
 
&middot; Business ethics 
 
all Eni&rsquo;s activities at home and abroad must be carried out honestly, with integrity and in compliance with existing laws. 
 
&middot; Respect for stakeholders 
 
Eni respects all stakeholders (employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers, communities, business and financial partners, institutions, public organizations, industry associations, trade unions, and others) with whom it deals when carrying out its business activities, in the belief that they represent an important asset for the company. 
 
&middot; Protection of workers and equal opportunities 
 
Eni observes universally accepted labor laws and complies with the &ldquo;core labor standards&rdquo; contemplated in the fundamental conventions of the ILO (International Labor Organization). Therefore the company guarantees freedom of trade union membership and the right to collective bargaining, while it repudiates all forms of forced labor, child labor and discrimination. 
 
Eni also assures equal employment and professional opportunities as well as equal treatment based on merit. 
 
&middot; Enhancement of professional skills 
 
Eni acknowledges and promotes the development of individual employees&rsquo; skills and know-how as well as team work so that individuals can fully express their energy, creativity and potential. 
 
&middot; Respect for diversity 
 
Eni draws inspiration for its business conduct from its respect for the cultures, religions, traditions and ethnic diversity of the communities where it operates and is committed to preserving biological, environmental, social, cultural and economic identities. 
 
&middot; Respect for human rights 
 
Within its sphere of activities, Eni is everywhere committed to supporting the United Nations &ldquo;Universal Declaration of Human Rights&rdquo;. 
 
&middot; Cooperation 
 
Eni actively contributes to the improvement of the quality of life and socio-economic development of the communities where the Group is present. 
 
&middot; Protection of health and safety 
 
Eni guarantees the highest standards of health and safety for its employees and the communities in all the areas of the world where it operates. 
 
&middot; Environmental protection 
 
Eni will pay the utmost attention to the environment and ecosystem affected by its business activities and draws inspiration from the goals contained in international conventions signed by Italy on sustainable development. 
 
 
3. Implementation procedures 
 
3.1. Monitoring and initiatives 
 
To ensure application of the principles and conventions referred to above, Eni undertakes to carry out adequate monitoring activities by means of its own control instruments. In the course of the annual meeting, as indicated under point 3.5, appropriate procedures may be agreed on for the involvement of local trade unions or &ndash; where these do not exist &ndash; of representatives designated by the trade unions signing the present agreement. 
 
When information is received of situations that are out of line with or violate the agreement reached, the parties shall notify each other of the fact in timely fashion. Once the nature of the situation has been determined, Eni shall act to eliminate any anomalies, and inform the union organisations of the initiative. 
 
With regard to activities assigned to contractors, Eni shall formulate suitable guarantees against possible violations within the framework of existing contractual relations. 
 
3.2. Affirmative action 
 
The parties may agree to carry out programs of affirmative action geared towards promoting fundamental human and social rights, together with good work practices; these programs may consist of activities involving information, training and research. 
 
3.3. Information 
 
Eni and the signatory union organisations undertake to propagate the present agreement, by publicising its existence and contents. 
 
3.4. Industrial relations 
 
Within the context of the principles referred to above, the parties acknowledge the importance of developing industrial relations at all levels that take into account the different socio-economic contexts in which the group operates. 
 
In light of the above, Eni and the companies of the Group undertake, within the scope of their responsibilities, to establish a constructive relationship with union organisations and workers&rsquo; representatives appointed on a democratic basis and recognised by international trade unions. 
 
3.5. Annual meeting 
 
In May of each year &ndash; with the purpose of promoting a system of information, consultation and dialogue with the signatory trade unions &ndash; a meeting shall be held involving the national secretariats of the FILCEA, FEMCA and UILCEM, as well as the general secretariat of the ICEM and Eni, with representatives of the competent departments for topics of their concern. 
 
In the course of this meeting, complete information shall be provided on: 
 
&middot; economic-financial topics regarding the ongoing development of Eni at world level; 
 
&middot; current performance and future prospects of the main operating activities, focusing on the most significant geographical areas and the related figures concerning employment; 
 
&middot; ongoing development of the group&rsquo;s industrial relations in the different countries and areas where it operates, with particular attention to potentially critical situations, including the provisions agreed to under point 3.1.; 
 
&middot; the undertaking by Eni of actions and programs of Corporate Social Responsibility, as well as initiatives involving health and safety at the workplace. 
 
 
4. Final provisions 
 
4.1. Practices of industrial relations at local and enterprise levels 
 
The agreement does not replace or represent an obstacle to local practices, with the parties recognising the principle according to which problems that arise between workers and their companies must be resolved at the level closest to the workplace. 
 
4.2. Organisation 
 
Eni undertakes to sustain, within the bounds of normality, the costs for the organisation of the annual meetings contemplated under point 3.5. 
 
4.3. Distribution of information 
 
With the purpose of distributing and exploiting to the fullest possible extent the contents of the agreement, existing communications tools may be utilised, including information networks. 
 
4.4. Duration of the agreement 
 
The present agreement is considered valid for two years, at the end of which it shall be revised and/or confirmed for a similar period. The parties may agree in advance to the modifications or additions to be made to its contents. 
 
4.5. Management 
 
The management of the present agreement is the responsibility of the general secretariats of the FILCEA, FEMCA and UILCEM, as well as the general secretariat of the ICEM and the Eni Personnel Department. 
 
 
 
Eni SpA 
Renato Roffi 
Filcea-Cgil 
Attilio Arseni 
Femca-Cisl 
Sergio Gigli 
 
Uilcem-Uil 
Romano Bellissima 
 
ICEM 
Fred Higgs

Text of the Global Agreement between ICEM and Eni

&quot;The ending of child labour - and particularly of its worst forms - is an urgent task for trade unionists everywhere,&quot; said Fred Higgs today. Higgs is General Secretary of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM). 
<img height="228" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/childlab1.jpg" width="150" alt="" />
Photo: Yamina De Laet - ICEM
&quot;Child labour is found in a number of ICEM industries,&quot; he emphasised, &quot;notably in the very hazardous sectors of mining, diamond and gem polishing and building materials. Our global agreements with multinational companies always insist on full compliance with the standards against child labour set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). In the gem sector, we are committed to work together with employers, governments and the ILO to end the use of child labour.&quot; 
<img height="173" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/childlab2.jpg" width="250" alt="" />
Photo: Yamina De Laet - ICEM
Today is the first World Day Against Child Labour, launched by the ILO. Delegates to the 175-nation International Labour Conference in Geneva are today discussing the recently released ILO report &quot;A Future Without Child Labour&quot;. 
 
246 million children are involved in child labour, the report says. That is one in every six of the world's children aged between 5 and 17. Of these, some 179 million - one child in every eight - are still exposed to the worst forms of child labour, which endanger their physical, mental or moral well-being. 
 
The World Day Against Child Labour will be held annually, in order to intensify support for the world campaign.

End Child Labour, World&#039;s Unions Say

Four major mining companies are now being targeted by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), which held its World Congress in Durban, South Africa, last week: 
 
 
RIO TINTO 
 
In Durban today, John Maitland promised &quot;full solidarity and support&quot; for Namibian miners facing a restructuring programme by the world's second-biggest mining company, Rio Tinto. Maitland is the newly-elected President of the ICEM. He is also National Secretary of ICEM-affiliated Australian miners' union the CFMEU, which has been embroiled in a series of conflicts with Rio Tinto, mainly over the company's attempts to deunionise its Australian operations. 
 
Workers at Rio Tinto's Rossing uranium mine in Namibia have held a series of protests recently over the company's plans to restructure the operation without properly consulting the workers and their union, the ICEM-affiliated Miners' Union of Namibia (MUN). MUN leaders were among the 800 delegates at the ICEM Congress last week. 
 
&quot;The ICEM and the CFMEU will support our Namibian comrades in every way that we can,&quot; Maitland said today. &quot;From our own experience in Australia, we know that when Rio Tinto tries to restructure behind the unions' backs, it is really out to destroy jobs and bust unions.&quot; 
 
Rio Tinto's anti-union tactics were condemned by the Australian Federal Court last Friday. The court found Rio Tinto guilty of breaching freedom of association laws by victimising union reps at its Hunter Valley No. 1 mine in Australia. The company refused to allow three miners there to carry out bona fide union business. It treated the union reps as absent without leave and threatened them with dismissal. In fact, two of them had been attending the Industrial Relations Commission and the third had been at a union meeting. The company has decided not to appeal against the verdict, and may now be fined. 
 
A continuing ICEM global campaign is aimed at persuading Rio Tinto to abandon its anti-union stance, while improving both its environmental record and its treatment of indigenous peoples. The action, conducted in alliance with a wide range of campaigning organisations, includes a special Rio Tinto cybercampaign. 
 
 
PLACER DOME 
 
Last week's Congress unanimously approved the launching of a global ICEM campaign on mining multinational Placer Dome. The Canadian-based company recently retrenched about 40 per cent of its South African workforce and has taken an anti-union stance in a number of countries where it operates. Its environmental record has also been severely criticised (see ICEM UPDATE 63/1999). 
 
Among those speaking for the campaign was Lawrence McBrearty. In Canada, Placer Dome's home country, McBrearty is National Director of the ICEM-affiliated United Steelworkers of America (USWA). His union represents Placer Dome miners in Ontario. &quot;We have a responsibility as a labour movement to support you in rectifying this injustice,&quot; McBrearty told South Africa's ICEM-affiliated National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). &quot;Rest assured that the 180,000 steelworkers in Canada and 500,000-plus members in the United States will do everything we can.&quot; 
 
 
INCO and GOLDCORP 
 
McBrearty also told the Congress of two major disputes facing Canadian miners, and asked for global trade union support. 
 
On 14 September, Inco locked out 1,040 USWA members at its nickel mine in Thompson, Manitoba. This followed the union membership's rejection of the company's final offer. The Inco offer did not include any improvements in pensions, wages or benefits. USWA members at two other Inco Canadian operations have suspended their participation in joint labour-management design projects until the lock-out in Thompson is settled. Inco also has production operations in the UK, Indonesia, Japan, Guatemala, France, China, New Caledonia and the United States. 
 
In Red Lake, Ontario, 187 USWA members have been on strike since June 1996 at a gold mine run by Toronto-based Goldcorp. This is the longest mining strike in Canadian history. It began over the company's demand that a stable collective agreement, in place for over 35 years, should be completely rewritten. The effect would have been to reduce all the gains made by the union for its members their over the past 35 years. 
 
&quot;Inco and Goldcorp are two examples of a heartless corporate culture that puts profits before people,&quot; McBrearty told the ICEM Congress. &quot;We will take our members' struggle for justice to the four corners of the globe until we achieve fair and just agreements in Thompson and Red Lake.&quot; 
 
&quot;We will mobilise our affiliates worldwide to communicate their solidarity with the USWA in these two important disputes,&quot; said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs, &quot;and we will use every means to urge both Inco and Goldcorp to reach a settlement with the union expeditiously.&quot;

Unions Target Mining Companies

AGREEMENT 
Between 
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF CHEMICAL, ENERGY, MINE AND GENERAL WORKERS&rsquo; UNIONS, 
RUSSIAN OIL AND GAS WORKERS UNION 
 
And 
OPEN JOINT STOCK COMPANY 
&laquo;OIL COMPANY LUKOIL&raquo; 
 
1. PREAMBLE 
This Agreement is between the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM), Russian Oil and Gas Workers Union (ROGWU) and Open Joint Stock Company &laquo;Oil company LUKOIL&raquo; (LUKOIL). 
 
Concluding this agreement, the Parties confirm their full commitment to the principles contained in the UN Global Compact initiative, as well as the principles concerning labour and environmental issues defined in the UN and ILO core documents and conventions. 
 
The Parties also count on the adequate initiatives of the other participants of the global market, as well as good partnership with the state and society. 
 
The purpose of the Agreement is to create an open channel of information and dialogue between ICEM and LUKOIL. This dialogue will be between LUKOIL and the ICEM at international level, and management of the LUKOIL Group enterprises and trade unions at the local and national levels. The aim of the Agreement is to continuously improve industrial relations, and develop good work practices in LUKOIL worldwide operations. 
 
The Agreement covers all activities and operations where LUKOIL has direct control. Where LUKOIL does not have overall control it will exercise its best efforts in order to secure compliance with the standards and principles set out in the Agreement. LUKOIL will notify its contractors, licensees and major suppliers of the existence of the Agreement and encourage them to comply with the standards and principles contained within it. 
 
LUKOIL and ICEM affirm their support for fundamental human rights in the communities affected by LUKOIL Group activities and in the workplace. Furthermore, the Parties recognise the importance of protecting the health, safety and well being of those at work, and share a sense of joint responsibility for the impact that work and company practices may have upon the natural and human environment. 
The Agreement is intended to ensure the best possible standards of protection for those employed in and affected by LUKOIL Group business operations and activities. 
 
There is common recognition by the Parties of the principles and standards contained within this Agreement and LUKOIL's own values as expressed in their &lsquo;Social Code of OAO LUKOIL&rsquo;. The purpose is to monitor the practical application of the Agreement and to discuss any improvements in working practices or positive contributions the Parties may make to the eradication of poverty, furthering personal development and the protection of LUKOIL Group workers, through the best economic, social and sustainable development principles. 
 
These obligations are taken by LUKOIL voluntarily, and may be additional to formal legal requirements in the countries, where LUKOIL Group is operating 
 
2. HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
2.1 LUKOIL respects fundamental human rights and will be guided in its operations by the provisions of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 
 
2.2. Highly valuating additional opportunities arising from natural and cultural diversity of the employed workers and heritage of the population in the areas of LUKOIL Group operations, LUKOIL will base its work on the following principles: 
 
2.2.1. Respect and support of traditions of national tolerance and appreciation, respect and protection of national and cultural traditions, art and craftsmanship in the regions of the LUKOIL Group Business activity. 
 
2.2.2. Respect of religious beliefs and habits of the workers and local population. 
 
3. TRADE UNION RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS AT WORK PLACE 
 
LUKOIL will respect trade union rights, including rights secured in the core ILO conventions: 
 
3.1. The right of every employee to be represented by a union of his or her own choice and to basic trade union rights as defined by ILO Conventions 87 and 98 covering freedom of association and the right to organise, as well as the right to engage in collective bargaining. LUKOIL therefore agrees not to oppose efforts to unionise its employees. 
 
3.2. Not to employ any kind of forced or bonded labour as proscribed in the ILO Conventions 29 and 105 or otherwise. 
 
3.3. Not to employ child labour as proscribed by ILO Convention 138 and 182. 
 
3.4. To promote, and ensure equality of opportunity and treatment in employment, including equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and the prevention of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation as required by ILO Conventions 100 and 111 respectively. 
 
3.5. To take a socially responsible approach to restructuring its units and organizations under its control, as well as to de-localization of the production facilities, including adequate advance notification of LUKOIL Group plans to reduce workplaces. 
 
3.6. To pay fair wages and benefits, as a minimum in accordance with industry standards in the country concerned. 
 
3.7. Taking into consideration that stable business operations of the LUKOIL Group enterprises depend on the recruitment of qualified and competent young workers, LUKOIL policy will be aimed at combining work obligations of the young workers with the opportunity for them to develop professional skills and qualities. 
 
3.8 LUKOIL respects family values and will practically implement provisions of the ILO Convention 156 (workers with family responsibilities), paying special attention to defending rights of the working women, expectant mothers, nursing mothers and women with large families. 

 
4. HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 
 
4.1 LUKOIL and ICEM will cooperate to ensure that their activities are carried out with the fullest possible regard for health, safety and the environment. In particular this will include: 
 
4.1.1 Implementation of the core principle, that protection of life and health of the worker has topmost priority; 
 
4.1.2. Committing to provide a safe and healthy work environment, deploying common &quot;best practice&quot; standards; 
 
4.1.3. Implementing the principles of the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work; 
 
4.1.4.Supporting a precautionary approach to health, safety and environmental challenges; 
 
4.1.5.Undertaking initiatives to promote greater health, safety and environmental responsibility; 
 
4.1.6. Encouraging the development and diffusion of safe and environmentally friendly technologies. Promoting and reviewing the education and training of both management and workers on health, safety and environmental awareness and protection, including, as appropriate, joint union/management education and training programs. 
 
4.2. LUKOIL, being a major user of natural resources and recognizing its responsibility to society for preserving good environment and efficient use of natural resources, will: 
 
4.2.1. Consistently seek to identify and investigate hazards and threats to health within LUKOIL Group production facilities, and will take action to eliminate them or mitigate their impacts; 
 
4.2.2. Periodically supply information and supports an open dialogue with all parties interested in LUKOIL activities in industrial and environmental safety; 
 
4.2.3. Publish reports about its operations, and results of assessment of impact on the environment, personnel and population. 
 
5. IMPLEMENTATION 
 
Annual Meeting 
 
5.1. LUKOIL and ICEM will meet annually to review practice and experience of the agreed principles as part of the follow-up to this Agreement. The purpose shall be to discuss the issues covered by the Agreement with a view to agreeing joint actions that will further develop good working practices. In addition to general industrial issues and health, safety and environmental matters, the following topics may be addressed: 
 
5.1.1. General corporate policy on employment, occupational health, safety and environmental issues and challenges affecting those within the LUKOIL Group and, as appropriate, between LUKOIL and its related companies, including suppliers and subcontractors; 
 
5.1.2. Training and education matters, issues affecting the exercise of trade union rights, other issues mutually agreed. 
 
5.2. Participants at these annual review meetings will normally be 3-5 senior officials representing the ICEM, ROGWU and relevant managers from LUKOIL. 
 
5.3. International Network of Trade Union Representatives 
 
The ICEM, supported and assisted by LUKOIL, will establish an international network of trade union representatives to ensure effective communication and exchange of information between union representatives at the LUKOIL Group enterprises. 
 
In support of the network LUKOIL will provide e-mail access to union representatives in LUKOIL Group enterprises for communication, and facilitate annual meetings of union representatives from each location participating in the network. This will require paid time off, the payment of travel and accommodation costs, plus providing translation and interpretation. 
 
5.4. Local Industrial Relations Practices 
 
The Agreement between the Parties shall be applied consistently throughout LUKOIL operations. It is not intended that this agreement replace or substitute the results of collective bargaining and valid tariff agreements, or interfere with local industrial relations practices related to information exchange, problem solving and negotiations, rather it is intended to supplement these processes. The Parties to the Agreement respect the principle that industrial relations issues are best resolved as close as possible to the place of work. 
 
5.5. Training Programmes 
 
ICEM and LUKOIL will cooperate in developing joint training arrangements covering those issues dealt with in this Agreement, and their implementation. This will include appropriate training in health, safety and environmental best practice for union delegates from countries where LUKOIL operates. It will also include management-training programmes within LUKOIL Group. LUKOIL may cover the cost of ICEM participation in LUKOIL training programmes subject to Agreement. 
 
5.6. Information 
 
5.6.1. ICEM will distribute copies of the Agreement to all its member unions, including those that organise employees in LUKOIL companies around the world, and will broadly publicise the existence of the Agreement and explain its implications to the unions organising workers within LUKOIL. 
 
5.6.2. LUKOIL will in the same manner distribute copies of the Agreement to all LUKOIL offices in the relevant local languages of the countries concerned. 
 
6. ADMINISTRATION 
 
The General Secretary of the ICEM, or his appointed representative and the LUKOIL President, or his appointed representative will be ultimately responsible for the administration of the Agreement. 
 
7. OTHER CONDITIONS 
 
 
This Agreement is signed in two languages, English and Russian, having equal legal power. 
 
8. DURATION AND EVALUATION 
 
The duration of this Agreement is initially for one year, after which it will be subject to review prior to being extended for a further period. 

 
LUKOIL 
Vagit Alekperov 
 
ICEM 
Fred Higgs 
 
 
ROGWU 
Lev Mironov

Text of the Global Framework Agreement between Lukoil and ICEM

Amandla Awethu 
&quot;Power is Ours and we will Unite and Organise.&quot; 
 
With that ringing call, John Maitland closed the World Congress of the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Unions (ICEM) in Durban, South Africa, today. 
 
Some 800 union leaders from all continents took part in the Congress, which mapped out a labour response to globalisation. 
 
Maitland, from Australian miners' union the CFMEU, is the newly elected President of the ICEM. 
 
Power is Ours is the translation of the Congress motto - Amandla Awethu. 
 
Unite And Organise is the ICEM's slogan. 
 
Both messages were powerfully put across when trade unionists from all over the world marched through the streets of Durban on Thursday. 
 
 
Main Congress decisions: 
 
GLOBAL TRADE UNIONISM 
 
The ICEM will &quot;build a global trade unionism so as to challenge the globalisation of corporate power and its supportive institutions,&quot; the Congress unanimously decided. 
 
To achieve this, the ICEM will: 
<ul>
 <li>Set up &quot;permanent networks between organised workers in key multinational companies.&quot; These union networks will exchange data on pay, conditions and other relevant issues within each global corporation. They will also be a focus for joint solidarity action where needed. 
 </li>
 <li>Dialogue with senior management of leading corporations &quot;wherever possible&quot;, so as to help resolve disputes, to seek information on long-term investment strategies and to ensure that social goals are central in corporate strategy. 
 </li>
 <li>Negotiate global agreements with multinationals. These agreements are to include &quot;recognition of workers' right to organise and collective bargaining.&quot; Recognition of these rights will be linked to the key Conventions of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). The agreements will also guarantee &quot;common 'best practice' standards for health, safety and environmental protection throughout the company&quot;. Provision must be made for joint union-management training on the implementation of the agreements. The agreements must include &quot;regular monitoring and enforcement procedures&quot;. Drives to negotiate global agreements will have a &quot;particular focus on corporations from developing countries like Angl-American, Billiton and Old Mutual.&quot; 
 </li>
 <li>Progressively extend the global agreements to cover each company's contractors and suppliers. 
 </li>
 <li>Dialogue with &quot;environmental, women's, community, human rights, indigenous peoples' and other relevant organisations, as appropriate to the task of reinforcing the trade union role as a bulwark for broader social freedoms.&quot; 
 </li>
 <li>Participate in the planning and implementation of the programmes of intergovernmental agencies such as the World Bank, the OECD, the United Nations Development Programme, the ILO and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), so as to &quot;ensure that their resources are only directed to sustainable social outcomes and to increase transparency and democracy within these multinational institutions in general.&quot; </li>
</ul>
These drives will be carried out in close cooperation with the unions' other sector-by-sector International Trade Secretariats, as appropriate. 
 
 
UNION-BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT WORK 
 
Much of the ICEM's union development work is through projects. These are usually designed to strengthen affiliated unions or potential affiliates. Activities include research, organising, campaigning, training, building sectoral networks and multinational councils. 
 
All projects should serve the ICEM's central aim: UNITE AND ORGANISE. This is emphasised in a detailed policy document on trade union development adopted by the Congress. 
 
In today's globalised economy, old distinctions between developing country unions and developed country unions no longer apply, so ICEM projects &quot;may involve South/South links or North/South links, East/East links or East/West links or any combination of these.&quot; 
 
In line with the ICEM policy of mainstreaming women's interests [cf. WOMEN WORKERS below], the ICEM will ensure that women and women's issues and rights are fully integrated into its project work. This will be achieved with the support of the ICEM Women's Committee. 
 
As part of the ICEM's alliance-building with other social and campaigning organisations [see under GLOBAL TRADE UNIONISM above], it should develop &quot;exploratory and innovative projects&quot; that &quot;bring together unions and non-governmental organisations working together with the wider community.&quot; 
 
Outside funding &quot;will be accepted exclusively for ICEM projects and programmes&quot; and the ICEM &quot;will not be used as a conduit for the aims of other organisations or influences, regardless of their origin or alliances.&quot; 
 
The ICEM will cooperate &quot;with other friendly international trade union organisations on projects where it makes sense to do so.&quot; 
 
 
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ICEM INDUSTRIES 
 
As a defender of industrial workers and their communities, the ICEM &quot;has an obligation to participate fully in defining, promoting and refining the concept of sustainable development&quot;. It aims at &quot;economic, social and environmental harmony&quot; and recognises that the dynamics between these three imperatives &quot;will change over time&quot;. 
 
So the ICEM will help to &quot;develop 'Just Transition' policies and strategies which address the transitional needs of workers and their families in the pursuit of more sustainable development&quot; - particularly where &quot;large-scale moves from old to newer, more friendly, technologies are involved.&quot; The Congress emphasised the international context of Just Transition. In particular, support is needed for workers and their families in developing and newly restructuring countries. 
 
There should be transitional funding from industry and public sources, the ICEM says, in order to &quot;support the process of industrial change and relieve workers from carrying the burden of cost and insecurity that has accompanied the process of change to date.&quot; 
 
In its global agreements with multinationals [see GLOBAL TRADE UNIONISM above], the ICEM will insist on the highest possible standards of health, safety and environmental performance - no matter where the company concerned is operating. 
 
The ICEM will also boost its work on priority concerns such as &quot;the prevention of environmental dumping, the development of more efficient and cleaner use of energy and the 'sunsetting' of obsolete and/or unwanted products and processes.&quot; 
 
Here too, the need for cooperation both with other union internationals and with citizens' groups is stressed. 
 
 
WOMEN 
 
Women workers are crucially important to the ICEM's future. They now make up more than 30 percent of the international's membership, and the number of women in ICEM industries is continuing to grow. 
 
&quot;Job segregation is, however, commonplace,&quot; the ICEM says, &quot;and the gap between women's and men's earnings remains wide.&quot; 
 
Within trade unions, too, women are often disadvantaged. The Congress recognised that much more needs to be done to secure full equality for women within the trade union movement - including at all levels of the ICEM. A start has already been made on this, through adjustments to the structure of the ICEM's governing bodies. One result is that, for the first time, the Congress elected two women Vice-Presidents - Margaret Prosser from the UK and Rosa Novoa from Chile. 
 
But &quot;quotas should be accompanied by other positive action measures to boost women's participation,&quot; says the women's programme unanimously adopted by the Congress. Action could include &quot; campaigns to organise women workers, work to strengthen women's leadership skills, providing childcare at work and in union activities, mainstreaming gender perspectives in all activities.&quot; 
 
&quot;Mainstreaming&quot; is the key to the ICEM's gender policies. This means including &quot;the dimension of equality between men and women in all areas of policy&quot;. 
 
Increasing women's participation at all levels of the ICEM &quot;cannot just be left up to goodwill and voluntary mechanisms,&quot; the programme insists. Rather, &quot;some binding arrangements must be introduced&quot; and &quot;compliance with them must be monitored.&quot; 
 
A number of industrial issues are of particular concern to women, and the ICEM will give priority to tackling these. They include pay inequality, job segregation, the lack of affordable childcare, sexual harassment, inadequate training and promotion for women, the need for active employment policies that could improve women's job prospects, the need to protect homeworkers, and proper maternity protection for women workers worldwide. 
 
Women are one of the most promising groups for new organising, the programme points out. &quot;Trade unions have to do their part to motivate women to join unions, and once they have joined, to take over responsibility. For this, however, trade unions have to be more women-friendly.&quot; 
 
 
CUBA 
 
The US blockade of Cuba is &quot;unjustified and illegal&quot; and must be lifted, the Congress declared. &quot;Overall, it is the people of Cuba, poor and working people, who are suffering.&quot; 
 
The ICEM will campaign actively to end the blockade. 
 
Contacts will be developed with appropriate Cuban trade unions, with a view to possible ICEM affiliation at some stage in the future. 
 
 
CHERNOBYL 
 
The Chernobyl nuclear power station disaster of 1986 is still causing serious health problems and social consequences, the Congress recalled. 
 
The state of the &quot;sarcophagus&quot; covering the damaged reactor gives cause for particular concern, and poses &quot;the danger of repeating the Chernobyl disaster,&quot; the ICEM warns. 
 
Together with the Ukraine, the G7 countries, UN member governments, the international financial institutions and the world community must reach a decision on the future of the damaged reactor and must &quot;fully finance all necessary works and activities,&quot; the ICEM Congress insisted. 
 
Before the closure of Chernobyl, Ukraine must receive &quot;financial and other relevant assistance&quot;, both to develop new power sources and to ensure &quot;a comprehensive solution to the social problems of the personnel&quot; who will lose their jobs as a result of the closure. 
 
Assistance must also be given to the Belorussian, Russian and Ukrainian populations evacuated from the contaminated zones. These people &quot;badly need effective medical treatment and improvement of their living conditions.&quot; 
 
 
SMALL-SCALE MINING 
 
Small-scale mining employs more than 13 million people and is still expanding. 
 
These workers, who include many women and children, are unprotected and subject to &quot;extreme exploitation,&quot; the Congress said. There are also &quot;an unacceptable number of accidents, occupational diseases and the premature physical aging of child labourers.&quot; 
 
Together with the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO), the ICEM will develop a comprehensive policy for this sector. Points will include an immediate stop to all forms of child labour and bonded labour and to the exploitation of women working in small-scale mines. Enforceable safety regulations must be introduced, compliant with ILO Convention 176 on mining health and safety. Poverty alleviation is an important factor in ending the exploitation of workers in small-scale mines, and the ICEM insists on full union participation in a World Bank programme for this sector. 
 
 
ICEM REGIONAL STRUCTURES 
 
The ICEM will &quot;intensify its activity toward establishment of clear and distinct regional structures in all of its regions&quot;. 
 
 
PLACER DOME 
 
The Congress approved the launching of a global ICEM campaign on mining multinational Placer Dome. The Canadian-based company recently retrenched about 40 per cent of its South African workforce and has taken an anti-union stance in a number of countries where it operates. Its environmental record has also been severely criticised.

ICEM Unites And Organises To Face Global Power

Leaders of gold mine workers worldwide today drew up proposals for safeguarding the future of the industry. 
 
Gold mining is a major employer in a number of countries, but the recent instability of the gold price and uncertainties about gold's future role have put jobs at risk. 
 
That is why the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) convened today's World Gold Forum in Durban, South Africa. The host country is the world's biggest gold producer. 
 
Before drawing up their recommendations, the union leaders had heard detailed presentations from South African Minerals and Energy Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka and from senior officials of the companies' World Gold Council, the Chamber of Mines of South Africa and the South African Reserve Bank. 
 
The unions' recommendations will now be sent to the World Gold Council, national banks and others whom the unions wish to engage in a continuing dialogue on the future shape of the industry. The proposals will also go to the ICEM's governing bodies for ratification. 
 
The mining unions' main conclusions: 
 
The need for gold reserves must be reaffirmed. Recent sales of gold reserves have occurred at a time when the world economy, and particularly the US economy, has experienced growth. However, the unions emphasise that the current boom - based mostly in the USA - is the result of rising share prices and cannot be sustained indefinitely. 
 
The release of above-ground bullion stocks should be regulated. Central banks hold about a quarter of the world's above-ground gold. Central banks have a primary obligation to help achieve stable economic growth. They cannot do this through speculative investment in the financial markets. All current plans for gold sales, announced or unannounced, should be publicly abandoned by the central banks, the unions insist. 
 
Measures must be taken to increase the consumption of gold. Better marketing of gold is needed, the unions say. In particular, this entails promoting the use of gold in jewellery. Noting that gold jewellery has a rather old-fashioned image, the unions suggest that the World Gold Council should create a prize for young designers of gold ornaments. Restrictions on the private ownership of gold in a number of countries should be lifted, the unions recommend. 
 
Restructuring will continue to take place within the gold industry, but this must be in full prior consultation with the trade unions concerned. Special programmes must be introduced to minimise the social impact. The unions point out that job cuts in gold mining are particularly disastrous for developing economies, where each gold mining job directly supports ten people and indirectly creates employment for many more in some of the world's poorest countries. It is also the case that the first gold miners to be retrenched are usually the least skilled, with the slimmest prospects of finding alternative employment. Among the most vulnerable gold miners are those who work in small-scale mining in a number of developing countries. The international community must ensure that small-scale miners either can operate in a healthy, safe and viable manner or have access to alternative sources of income. 
 
 
The gold miners' leaders also unanimously called for an ICEM global campaign on the world's third-biggest gold producer, Placer Dome. The campaign will be aimed at reversing Placer Dome's job cuts and pressing the multinational to repair the serious environmental damage that it has caused in a number of countries. 
 
The World Gold Forum precedes the ICEM World Congress (Durban, 3-5 November). This will map out a trade union response to globalisation. 
 
Speakers at the Congress session on 4 November will include South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki.

World&#039;s Gold Workers Chart A Future For The Industry

Archive

Korean Power Strike Over Privatisation

The ICEM - who we are, what we do

Grim New Year For Ukrainian Miners

Goodyear network Global Bulletin - English version

Text of the Global Agreement between ICEM and Eni

End Child Labour, World's Unions Say

Unions Target Mining Companies

Text of the Global Framework Agreement between Lukoil and ICEM

ICEM Unites And Organises To Face Global Power

World's Gold Workers Chart A Future For The Industry

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