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<img alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/CAL_en.jpg" width="146" height="66" />
The ICEM CAL Mini Guide to Dealing with Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) is now available in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, and Bahasa Indonesian. 
 
The guide gives an overview of what the ICEM and its affiliates around the world are doing to promote permanent, direct employment and at the same time to promote better conditions for CAL workers. It also suggests ways in which unions can build relations with CAL workers, for example by creating a dedicated precarious workers&rsquo; section or representative, or introducing different membership fee levels and/or an alternate methods of dues collection. ICEM affiliates are encouraged to initiate a discussion on CAL within their own unions, and the Guide suggests a number of questions which may help to get these discussions started. 
 
The CAL Mini Guide in <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/ICEM%20Mini%20Guide%20CAL%20French.pdf">French</a> is available here. 
 
The CAL Mini Guide in <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/ICEM%20Mini%20Guide%20Spanish%20HQP.pdf">Spanish</a> is available here. 
 
The CAL Mini Guide in <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/ICEM%20Mini%20Guide%20CAL%20Portuguese.pdf">Portuguese</a> is available here. 
 
The CAL Mini Guide in <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/ICEM%20Mini%20Guide%20CAL%20Hindi.pdf">Hindi</a> is available here. 
 
The CAL Mini Guide in <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/ICEM%20Mini%20Guide%20CAL%20Bahasa.pdf">Bahasa Indonesian</a> is available here.

ICEM Mini Guide to Dealing with CAL now in multiple languages

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By a 61% vote on 15 October, members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1005 in Hamilton, Ontario, ended U.S. Steel&rsquo;s total chokehold on the livelihoods of 900 Canadian workers. Union members accepted a three-year labour agreement that ends a 49-week lockout at the steel mill. 
 
The agreement means workers will begin returning to jobs tomorrow, 18 October, for week-long health and safety training. The new pact is not altogether satisfactory because it creates a two-tier pension scheme with new hires placed in an inferior plan, and it ends cost-of-living indexing for 9,000 retirees, a key issue in the 14-month dispute.
<img src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/1101.us20steel.20bill20mahoney.jpg" width="218" height="163" alt="" />
U.S. Steel pressured steelworkers into submission by first imposing the lockout on 7 November 2010, and then supplying its Canadian customers from the former Stelco mill in Hamilton with finished steel from American mills. In the end and after nearly one year, most of Local 1005&rsquo;s members were on the verge of losing unemployment insurance funds, which coupled with the USW&rsquo;s C$200-a-week strike benefit gave workers about two-thirds of their normal income. 
 
The agreement contains a C$3,000 ratification bonus, to be paid within 60 days of Saturday&rsquo;s vote, and it also includes a lump sum pay-out of C$1,000 to retirees taking in less than C$1,500-per-month in lieu of annual pension indexing. Active workers will also see reduced cost-of-living annual increases. 
 
A profit-sharing plan for active employees will be implemented in the fourth quarter 2011. It will come from a pool of money totalling 6.5% above C$25 million in earnings from the Hamilton Works and could mean an added C$3,500 in income per worker. Union members will receive credited service for the 11 months of the lockout, meaning some workers will be closer to taking retirement. 
 
All workers will be recalled and they will be guaranteed 26 weeks of employment at 40 hours per week. That countered a U.S. Steel proposal from mid-September in which the company sought call-back language that would have left many workers without jobs long after ratification and the end of the lockout. 
 
In the new agreement, which takes effect today, new hires will not be included in the existing defined benefit pension scheme and placed in a union-administered plan that will see U.S. Steel contribute C$2.50-per-hour worked. 
 
On USW Local 1005&rsquo;s website, union leaders said, &ldquo;We have made a huge effort so that the members can make an informed vote on whether to accept or reject this contract. We wanted to ensure that they are fully aware of the situation they face and of the responsibilities towards not just themselves and their families, but also towards the retirees, the future generation of workers, their union and their community. This whole process has shown that there are serious challenges facing us going forward.&rdquo;

Canadian Steelworkers Ratify U.S. Steel Pact, Lockout Ends

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ICEM Austrian affiliate PRO-GE and GPA djp, the Salaried Employees, Print, Journalism, Paper Union, sent stern warning last week to metal and industrial employers on 2011 wage packages. After second round bargaining failed on 12 October to close pay differences, workers surprised the industry by launching one-to-three hour warning strikes the very next day. 
Some 300 Austrian employers witnessed workers&rsquo; reaction last Thursday to the bosses&rsquo; proposal of a miserly half-percent above the 3.1% offer tabled in the opening round on 4 October. The strikes escalated on 14 October when the unions targeted 60 employers for 24-hour work stoppages. 
<img alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/1110.pro20ge.jpg" width="160" height="160" />
PRO-GE and GPA djp are negotiating on behalf of 170,000 metal, mining, and energy workers in Austria. Workers and their unions are steadfast that 5.5% is due them on 1 November. Their rationale is that productivity gains combined with healthy balance sheets and a September inflation rate of 3.6% warrants nothing less than the 5.5%. 
&ldquo;We know that the money is there,&rdquo; said PRO-GE Chief Negotiator Rainer Wimmer. 
PRO-GE and GPA djp have laid down a precision perfect strategy of rapid mobilization keyed on bargaining developments, or non-developments as was the case last week. The unions held hundreds of meetings with workers inside companies from 5-7 October after first round talks went nowhere, and then they held 400 mobilization meetings on 10-11 October in preparation for the 12 October second round. 
<img alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/1110.pro20ge20reiner.jpg" width="105" height="160" />
Rainer Wimmer
Going into Friday&rsquo;s escalated industrial actions, leaders of the two unions offered to continue talks over the weekend but a shell-shocked employers&rsquo; association representative would only say that 20 October is the next scheduled bargaining date. That means more job actions are likely to occur early this week, with the ICEM learning that the number of enterprises in which workers chose strike actions last week grew exponentially. 
Industrial workers realize that a 5.5% wage increase is fair compensation for inflation and a fair share of the expected 2011 economic growth of 3% that has been brought on by industrial productivity. In 2009, during the height of the financial crisis, metal/industrial negotiations produced a 1.45% salary increase, while in 2010 that increase was 2.45%. Now, Austria is posting strong export numbers and purchasing power during the first half of 2011 is on the climb. 
In a joint statement, Wimmer and GPA djp Deputy Federal Director Karl Proyer said, &ldquo;The fact that sustainable wage and salary increases are economically viable means that we can further support and strengthen purchasing power, thus boost the economy of Austria.&rdquo; 
Just some of the workplaces where 24-hour stoppages took place on Friday include the engine-maker MAN in Steyr, Opel assembly at Aspern Airfield, Opel powertrain at Donaustadt, Schindler-Aufz&uuml;ge in Vienna, Doppelmayr chair lifts in Wolfurt, Bosch in Hallein, Magna car parts in Steyr, Andritz AG in Graz, and Salinen AG salt mines in Ebensee.

Wage Shame Drives Austrian Metalworkers into Warning Strikes

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the ICEM Women&rsquo;s Workshop in West Africa, the selection of the abstract written for ICASA, and the report of the High Level Panel on Global Fund reforms. 
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Women and HIV and AIDS, Sub-regional Workshop in Accra 
 
The West African Sub-regional Women&rsquo;s Workshop, which was held in Accra, Ghana, brought together 17 women from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, and Guinea. 
 
The workshop identified specific challenges facing women at the workplace and in communities with respect to HIV and AIDS. It addressed violence arising from HIV status and women&rsquo;s health and HIV and AIDS and dealt with the issue of the use of female condoms. 
 
The workshop started with a presentation by Akua Asumadu, the ILO HIV/AIDS Focal Point in Accra on &ldquo;Gender in the World of Work and mainstreaming gender in workplace response to HIV and AIDS.&rdquo; 
 
The workshop dealt with the issue of the importance of women structures especially in a male dominated industry such as the mining sector. Participants felt strongly that despite existing challenges, women structures play an important role in uplifting women and suggested that women structures should begin to be relevant to women by addressing specific women health and societal issues in order to improve active participation of women. 
 
Dr. Fred Nana Poku from the Ghana AIDS Commission made a presentation on &ldquo;The existing progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS, gender related issues that hinder access to care and the strategies in place to encourage the use of the female condoms.&rdquo; 
 
His presentation was followed by a presentation on the female condoms as a well as a demonstration on its proper use by Paule France Ndessomin, the ICEM HIV and AIDS coordinator. It became clear that the majority of women had never come across a female condom and were ignorant of its existence. The efforts through the ICEM HIV/AIDS project not only familiarise women with female condoms but also demonstrate the potential of their empowerment. 
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International AIDS Conference in Addis Ababa 
 
The 16th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA 2011) will be held in Addis Ababa 4-8 December. The theme of the Conference is &ldquo;Own, Scale-up and Sustain.&rdquo; 
 
In the context of the project, sponsored by the Danish LO/FTF and in cooperation with the ICEM affiliate NIFECM, an abstract was written for the Conference proceedings. <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEM%20Abstract-ICASA2011-a.pdf">The abstract</a>, entitled &ldquo;HIV and the Workplace, Awareness and Prevention in the Mining Sector in Ethiopia, Trade Unions Take their Responsibility,&rdquo; was selected for presentation at an oral abstract session at the Conference. 
 
High Level Panel Recommends Major Changes to the Global Fund 
 
A High Level Panel led by former President Mogae of Botswana and former US Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt has recommended in its report, released on 19 September, that the Global Fund make some major changes in its structure and working methods. The Panel was established six months ago by the Board of the Global Fund after widespread media publicity about corruption among some grant implementers. 
 
The Panel was given a broad remit to look into the Global Fund's problems and what should be done about them. Much is riding on the report; several donors have delayed making, or implementing, their funding commitments for 2011 and later until they see how the Panel reports and how the Fund responds. 
 
It would go beyond the scope of this e-bulletin to summarise the 149-page report (which is done in the GFO Issue 158 quoted below). However, some of the major recommendations stand out. 
 
Firstly, the GF Board should specify the maximum available funding for each type of country. It is further recommended that the GF introduces a two-stage grant application process with a relatively brief concept paper first and a full proposal after &ldquo;approval in principle.&rdquo; With respect to staffing, it is recommended that the overall ratio of Country Program Staff (mainly Fund Portfolio Managers) within the Secretariat should increase. 
 
The report was subsequently adopted by the Global Fund Board. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 158 of 20 September. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>; to receive GFO send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 
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HIV and the Neglect of Older African Adults 
 
While the focus of HIV and AIDS interventions has always been on the 20-40-year-olds most likely to be infected, African democracy institute Idasa warns that health workers and social planners have neglected to take into account the elderly who have contracted the virus &ndash; and their numbers are growing. 
 
Successful ARV treatment is just one factor that has created a new group of HIV and AIDS patients &ndash; the over 50s who face their own distinctive needs and challenges. A IDASA study, HIV and AIDS and the Older Adult, points out that old age could disguise the symptoms of HIV and AIDS, leaving it undetected and untreated as health workers and social services focus their attention on the younger population. This could have serious consequences as older adults may fall through the treatment net. 
 
Greater awareness of the prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the older cohort is urgent. The study suggests that older people may be more sensitive to antiretroviral drug toxicity and therefore the body&rsquo;s reaction to antiretroviral agents may be different in the older person. The authors also warn that older people may be suffering from age-related conditions and using other non-HIV medications, which could introduce complications in the use of antiretrovirals. 
 
The stigma and discrimination experienced by older people suffering from HIV and AIDS is also greater. Furthermore, many of South Africa&rsquo;s older generation have been left to care for AIDS orphans. They have become the sole breadwinners and sources of income in many households. but a growing numbers of these senior citizens are HIV-positive or suffering from AIDS themselves. 
 
(Source: IDASA press release, 25 August) 
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Swaziland: HIV Prevalence among Factory Workers 50% 
 
A new study has found that more than half of workers in Swaziland&rsquo;s garment industry are living with HIV, and officials are realizing that the once-hailed promise of manufacturing employment has become a financial and medical nightmare for tens of thousands of Swazi women. 
 
About 30,000 Swazis, mostly women, are employed in garment factories financed by Taiwanese investors and operated by managers from mainland China. The survey also found that most factory workers were well informed about HIV/AIDS, and 90 percent of workers interviewed were aware of the female condom and other methods of preventing HIV. 
 
The prevalence rate for textile industry employees is significantly higher than the 26% rate among sexually active adult Swazis, which is already the highest in the world. Although most of the workers knew how to prevent HIV, their circumstances did not allow them to practice this. Wages for part-time workers can be as low as US$56 a month, and rarely top US$223 a month for factory-floor workers. This forces a lot of factory workers into prostitution where unprotected sex is often demanded. 
 
(Source: IRIN/PlusNews, Matsapha, 11 August) 
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Nigeria: Changing Attitudes to Contraception 
 
Traditional leaders&rsquo; support has been vital to reproductive health education efforts. Health workers say an apparent rise in contraceptive use in Nigeria stems largely from a willingness by traditional and religious leaders in some regions to use their influence in promoting reproductive health. 
 
In the predominantly Muslim north, where contraceptive use has historically been far lower than the national average, the support of traditional leaders has helped change attitudes in communities where contraception was long regarded as taboo. 
 
Even in rural areas condoms are being used. People now know the negative consequences of not using condoms - HIV and pregnancy. Culturally relevant performances in villages are used to promote messages about family planning, reproductive health and safe sex. 
 
(Source: IRIN News, 27 July) 
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News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) in its latest HIV/AIDS update 113 of 1 October, reports on its participation in the Inter-Agency Task Team to scale up HIV workplace policies and programmes and to mobilise the private sector. 
 
The September Newsletter of PSUFASA (Public Sector Unions Fighting AIDS in Southern Africa &ndash; <a href="http://www.psufasa.org">www.psufasa.org</a>) gives guidelines for trade union participation in the proposal process for the Global Fund and reports on meetings of PSI affiliates in Zimbabwe to explore the possibilities to include a workplace component in the country proposal. The newsletter also describes the anti-stigma and discrimination programmes which were launched in several southern African countries. 
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Five Years Ago: From the October 2006 (Issue No. 13) 
 
The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In current issues, we refer to an article from the same month five years ago and reflect on developments. 
 
In the HIV/AIDS e-bulletin of October 2006, we reported on the 3rd Regional Workshop for national coordinators. It will be recalled that the first cycle of the ICEM HIV/AIDS project, which ran from 2005 to 2006, included a series of regional training workshops for national coordinators. This third workshop focussed on peer education and laid the foundation for successful national activities in the coming years. The fourth and final workshop in that cycle dealt with accessing resources at national level and the writing of project proposals. Without knowledge of funds which may be available at national level and skills to access them, long-term sustainability cannot be achieved. Only a limited number of affiliates, however, succeeded in mobilising additional resources. 
 
In that issue, we also reported on the difficulties the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria had in financing grants for approved Round 6 proposals. Although only 43% of eligible proposals were approved, a funding gap of US$300 million emerged and project funding had to be postponed until additional pledges were received. 
<img alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/image_aids_ribbon.gif" width="40" height="40" />
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 73, October 2011

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From the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation website 
 
Hungarian unions demonstrated on 1 October in front of the Parliament in Budapest, rallying against a proposed new regressive labour code. 
 
The proposed bill includes serious roll-backs in worker's rights. It makes it easier to terminate employees, cuts down on the number of vacation days and allows employers to vary work schedules between 36 and 44 hours per week. 
 
See the <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/116.ICEM.Hungary%20Solidarity.30September.pdf">30 September ICEM letter</a> supporting the action here.&nbsp; 
<img src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/1110.HUNGARY.jpg" width="216" height="161" alt="" />
Photo: IMF
The government wants the state to withdraw from the regulation of the labor market. Not only state-imposed &quot;bureaucratic&quot; measures, but collective bargaining rights would be removed. IMF affiliate VASAS rejects the proposed legislation, saying it would pose a serious threat to the basic rights of Hungarian workers and their social protection. 
 
Furthermore the proposed amendments would be incompatible with, as well as being below the social standards laid down in the European Social Charter. 
 
At the request of Hungarian and European trade union leaders L&aacute;szl&oacute; Andor, European Commissioner responsible for employment and social affairs met the presidents of six Hungarian trade union confederations and Bernadette S&eacute;gol, secretary general of the European Trade Union Confederation on September 2. The union leaders informed the Commissioner about their objections, stressing that if the Parliament adopts the present proposal, it will seriously threaten the basic rights and social situation of Hungarian workers, and clash with the standards set in the European Social Charter and the democratic practice of European countries. 
 
On 12 September, thousands of union protesters took to the streets around the Hungarian Parliament to express their opposition against the proposed amendment of the Labour Code. 
 
A petition signed by four Hungarian national union confederations has been sent to all Hungarian members of parliament: 
 
&quot;You are pushing the employees into a downgraded, subjugated situation. Should you vote in favour of this bill, it would mean falling salaries, increased working time, that employees will be left unprotected, and that protection of the collective agreements will cease. It will leave the workers to the mercy of the employers, and forced agreements will be brought on.&quot; 
 
The IMF lends its full support to the Hungarian metalworkers in their struggle.

Thousands Demonstrate In Front of Hungarian Parliament against Attack on Trade Union Rights

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Seventeen Chinese miners died last week at the Anping coal mine in southwest Guizhou province, as a new wave of coal mine explosions, cave-ins, and floods hit the country&rsquo;s mining industry. The latest happened at the Anping mine in the Lihua township of Libo county, when an early morning methane gas blast happened on 4 October. 
 
There were 28 miners in pits at the time of the blast. Thirteen died instantly, while rescue efforts pulled 15 from the mine. Four died in a hospital within a day following the explosion. The mine is owned by privately-held Liuzhou Zhengling Group Ltd., a machine tool manufacturer based in the autonomous Guangxi Zhuang region. 
<img src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/Mine20Entrance.jpg" width="221" height="160" alt="" />
The mine only started trial production in June and initial conclusions found that safety rules had been breached and inadequate measures were practiced that failed to relieve the build-up of methane gas. 
 
On 25 September, at least five miners died when a shaft collapsed at a mine in Yunnan province owned by the partially stated-owned Yunwei Group of Yunnan Coal Chemical Group Ltd. The cave-in happened at a colliery near the city of Qujing. Twenty-three miners were working at the time of the collapse, with 16 escaping and only two of the seven who were trapped managed to be rescued. 
 
And on 16 September, ten miners died in flooding at a mine in Shanxi province owned by the China National Coal Group. Official Chinese statistics for the first seven months of 2011 reveal 1,083 mine deaths. The Chinese state said there were 2,433 fatalities in 2010 and 2,631 in 2009, although the real number of mine deaths is thought to be many times more because thousands of mine deaths go unreported in China.

Coal Mine Accidents Raise Death Toll in China’s Collieries

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The latest meeting of the ICEM Repsol &ndash; YPF Network took place in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, 26-28 September, 2011. Set up in 2005, the Repsol Network brings together unions organising workers within the Spanish energy multinational Repsol from Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain. In attendance at the latest meeting, together with our Spanish affiliates, FITEQA-CCOO and FITAG-UGT, were trade unions from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru as well as from the host country Bolivia. ICEM Vice-President for the Latin American and Caribbean Region, Sergio Novais, represented ICEM together with Energy Officer Jim Catterson. 
 
The meeting followed a well-established pattern with the first day a union-only gathering to update each other on the latest situation in the respective countries as well as to prepare interventions for the following day where management from both the Madrid Headquarters and the Bolivian operations of the company were in attendance. The final day was again restricted to trade union delegates for discussion on the previous day&rsquo;s business and plans for the future. A protocol agreement signed in November 2008 provides management recognition of the Network. Management of the Madrid-based oil and gas company agreed to recognise the workers&rsquo; network as a collective body to represent the trade unions in the countries where both Repsol and its majority owned subsidiary, YPF, operate. 
<img alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/1110.REPSOLsantacruz-bol-sept20159.jpg" width="276" height="160" />
Also on the first day Sergio Novais updated participants on the latest situation regarding the forthcoming ICEM World Congress to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 24-26, 2011 and Jim Catterson gave a presentation on ICEM work priorities in the Oil and Gas Industry, following the 2010 World Energy Conference in Stavanger as well as an update on the industry globally and in Latin America in particular. Both presentations led to lively discussions and comparisions with their own situations. It was agreed that interventions would be made the following day expressing concerns at the company&rsquo;s increasing use of temporary and contract and agency workers, Occupational Safety and Health, and the need to recognise and facilitate trade union organising in all operations. Participants also agreed to request the company to open discussions about reaching a Global Framework Agreement with ICEM. 
 
The second day of discussions opened with detailed presentations by the company representatives covering their global operations, planned expansions and the operations in Bolivia in particular. There were then detailed discussions following question and answer sessions. The discussions focused on many of the issues raised by the unions on the first day and the company representatives gave detailed replies and made commitments to recognise trade unions in their operations. 
 
During the course of the meeting union participants were shocked and appalled to hear of the vicious murder of an activist of USO in Colombia. A strong condemnation of the assassination was agreed and sincere condolences sent to the family of the deceased. 
 
The final day decided that the network needed to prioritise Contract and Agency labour work and participants were interested to hear of the ICEM global campaign on the subject. Occupational Safety and Health continued to be an area of key concern and participants agreed it was important to press for a Global Framework Agreement with the company. It was also important to improve outreach to other trade unions, in particular Trinidad and Cuba where the company had important investments. 
 
Finally it was agreed that the next meeting of the steering committee of the network would take place in Spain, probably Barcelona, in 2012 with a follow up meeting of the full network planned for Ecuador in 2013. 
 
More information on the meeting, including conclusions in Spanish are available <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Santa%20Cruz%202011%20-%20Borrador%20para%20las%20Conclusiones.doc">here</a>.&nbsp;

Repsol Workers’ Network Meets in Bolivia

<img src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Following the disaster at the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico the ICEM-affiliated trade union in Norway, Industri Energi (IE), appointed a reference task force to: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Review reports and data on the accident </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Draw lessons and how to implement these lessons in their Health and Safety work both nationally and internationally </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Evaluate the consequences of the accident for the offshore business in Norway and elsewhere around the world </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Advise the trade union&rsquo;s decision-making body concerning the accident and the consequences of it. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
<img src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/NorwayIE.jpg" width="90" height="121" alt="" />
The taskforce had its first meeting on 16 February 2011 to discuss the mandate and working methods as well to review the material at hand. Since then they have conducted 6 meetings and submitted their report at the beginning of September 2011. 
 
The <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1110.IE%20deepwater%20Eng_Rapport_Deepwater_s.pdf">report</a>, dedicated to the &ldquo;11 offshore workers who lost their lives on the altar of greed&rdquo; is now available in English here.&nbsp; 
 
It has been produced by a team from the union who have examined in detail the relevant official reports available on the disaster and made comparisons with the legislative and industrial situation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. As can be seen from the report the authors have a depth of knowledge and experience of the offshore oil industry which makes their conclusions particularly important. The report also highlights the lack of trade union membership and representation as a significant factor in the series of events which led to the disaster. 
 
If you have any questions on the report please contact <a href="mailto:lars.a.myhre@industrienergi.no">Lars Myhre</a>, ICEM Energy Industries Section Chairperson.&nbsp;

Industri Energi Publishes Report into Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster

<img src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief100.jpg" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
With the United Steelworkers (USW) currently voting local-by-local on adoption of a US National Oil Bargaining Policy, one thing is certain when talks with oil refiners get underway early in 2012: union-initiated process safety improvements will lead the agenda. 
 
Some 300 local USW leaders convened in Dallas, Texas, in late September and adopted a bargaining policy. That policy is now up for ratification by USW branch unions representing oil workers and once 75% of local unions agree, the agenda will be tabled when bargaining begins early in 2012. A current three-year labour agreement between USW and a majority of US downstream oil and petrochemical employers expires 1 February 2012. 
<img alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0811GaryBeeversUSW.jpg" width="110" height="159" />
Gary Beevers
USW Vice President Gary Beevers, who heads the sector, said achieving process safety will be the main issue in this round of talks. &ldquo;We must have meaningful and enforceable safety provisions if we are going to save lives, and we are prepared to strike, if necessary, to get that,&rdquo; said Beevers, an ICEM Executive Committee member. 
 
Process safety refers to a safe and functioning engineering and management controls system that prevents explosions, fires, and toxic releases caused by the highly hazardous chemicals used in refining. USW will strive to get a union-trained safety specialist in each of the 69 refineries where it represents workers as part of that process safety system. 
 
The USW reports that during the term of the current labour agreement, up through early September 2011, there were 131 reported fires in US refineries, about one per week. The USW lost seven union members, including some who were Local 12-591 leaders, in the deadly 2 April 2010 explosion at Tesoro Corp.&rsquo;s Anacortes, Washington, refinery. 
 
The Tesoro explosion was caused by a heat exchanger in a naphtha unit that blew apart due to cracks in a welded area, an obvious flaw in process safety. The Washington State Department of Labour and Industry determined that the Texas-based company failed to test equipment for cracks and fined Tesoro US$2.39 million, a fine the company appealed. 
 
The USW represents 30,000 workers at a total of 168 production, refining, marketing, transportation, and pipeline installations, and its membership in the US&rsquo;s 69 oil and petrochemical refineries gives it representation covering 64% of all workers in the US downstream sector. 
 
Oil bargaining in the US is termed pattern bargaining in which USW selects a lead company to negotiate with and then those terms are presented and expected to be accepted by other companies. Traditionally, the USW and its predecessor unions have selected Royal Dutch Shell as the lead company.

Safety Central Issue in Upcoming US Downstream Oil Talks

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Under strong intimidation and threats, 6,500 workers at the government-owned Mahshahr Bandar Imam Petrochemical complex, in the South-West of Iran, took strike action on 28 September, demanding an end to management&rsquo;s use of subcontracting firms at the plant. Workers&rsquo; rights are continuously undermined by intermediary companies, in a familiar pattern seen around the world. Workers are not directly employed by the factory where they work, and so are unable to bargain collectively with management, forced to work in substandard conditions with low wages and allowances, all based on precariously temporary contracts. 
 
Workers at the Tabriz petrochemical company at the plant conducted an 11-day strike in March this year on the same demands. That strike was suspended after an empty government promise to respond to workers&rsquo; demands within three months. While CAL workers do not receive their production and efficiency bonuses, their contract agency collects those benefits. Despite of management threats and arrests of union activists, the union is committed to continuing the action until their demand is met. 
 
On paper, the management has supposedly committed itself to eliminating the subcontracting firms for some time but its actual implementation in most facilities is yet to happen. 
 
The Free Union of Iranian Workers reports that on the seventh day of the strike, three oil workers were summoned to the security office and immediately put under arrest. These were Mansour Abbasi, a worker with the Khawrazmi subcontracting company and a workers&rsquo; representative; Mohammad Bagher Bagheri, worker at Fars Industries contracting company and a workers&rsquo; representative; and Jasem Bandarani, another worker at the Khawrazmi subcontracting company. The arrests followed protest rallies near the main offices of the petrochemical complex which included marches and chants. The three arrested workers have since been released. 
 
Reports suggest over 70% of Iranian workers are employed on temporary contracts, with no job security. Many other shocking abuses are reported, from poverty wages often beneath the low minimum wage, non-payment of salaries for up to 18 months, extremely dangerous working conditions, and little to no legislative protections.

Iranian Petrochemical Workers Strike, Demanding Elimination of Subcontractors

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