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Nigeria&rsquo;s two oil and gas workers&rsquo; unions, ICEM affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN, condemned the country&rsquo;s privatisation of Eleme Petro Chemical Ltd. to a Thailand-based investment concern. At a joint news conference in Lagos on 10 August, the two unions called the sale of an olefins refinery at Port Harcourt to Indorama Petrochem Co. Ltd. lacking in transparency. 
 
NUPENG and PENGASSAN made documents available proving that Nigeria&rsquo;s privatisation arm, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), had undersold the state&rsquo;s 75% stake in the polyethylene and polypropylene refinery and that Indorama could not secure adequate financing for the privatisation deal. The unions said BPE gave the plant to Indorama after it paid only 30% of the US$250 million selling price. Also, the government still holds a US$300 million liability on the plant. 
<img height="109" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/NigeriaNupeng.gif" width="105" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <img height="105" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/NigeriaPengassan.JPG" width="100" />
The unions charged that Indorama has no proven track record in petrochemicals. Indorama, based in Bangkok, is a three-year old company that is owned by Indorama International Finance Co. Ltd. of the UK. 
 
The two oil workers&rsquo; unions, cooperating effectively under the aegis of NUPENGASSAN again, &ldquo;condemns in its entirety, the whole transaction, as this action is capable of jeopardizing the future of our members and is not in the interests of Nigerians and the economy.&rdquo; The statement added that state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. had &ldquo;the technical know-how and competence to run and manage&rdquo; the petrochemical operations.

NUPENG, PENGASSAN in Nigeria Condemn Petrochemicals Privatisation

<img height="40" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief201.gif" width="100" />
ICEM Canadian affiliate Power Workers&rsquo; Union (PWU) supports the efforts of a Canadian company to build more nuclear power capability in the province of Ontario. Bruce Power, a privately held electric generating company based in Ontario, announced recently that it would begin the licensing process with federal and provincial regulators to construct more nuclear reactors. 
&ldquo;The government of Ontario is clear on its direction to keep nuclear generation in Ontario&rsquo;s electricity mix,&rdquo; said PWU President Don MacKinnon. &ldquo;We support any actions that begin the process of planning for the future of nuclear power.&rdquo; 
<img height="48" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/CanadaPWU.jpg" width="269" />
Bruce Power currently operates six nuclear reactors, with two other units currently under re-construction and expected back on line in 2009. The company is the source of 20% of Ontario&rsquo;s power supply and has the capability to generate 6,200 megawatts. Bruce Power is seeking regulatory and licensing approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission under the country&rsquo;s Environmental Assessment Act to conduct more reactors that would begin operation after 2015. 
PWU is the largest electricity union in Ontario, and has union membership in all of the provinces nuclear and coal-fired power plants. The PWU also represents workers in hydroelectric, gas, oil, and biomass generation plants, as well as in regulatory and research aspects of the industry.

PWU in Canada Supports Efforts to Build More Nuclear Reactors

<img height="40" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief201.gif" width="100" />
In a meeting with French building materials company Imerys last week, British trade union Transport &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union (TGWU) asked the company to reconsider its plans to cut 800 jobs by the beginning of 2008 in Cornwall, Devon, and Lee Moor in the country&rsquo;s South West. 
 
TGWU said the job cuts, which would bring economic devastation to the region, are &ldquo;totally unjustified&rdquo; and said the company must give serious consideration to counter proposals put forward at the 15 August meeting. 
<img height="55" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/UKTGWU.gif" width="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="62" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/UKAmicus.jpg" width="120" />
&ldquo;The company is in a strong position to have a bright future in Cornwall, and everything should be done to persuade them to stay,&rdquo; said TGWU National Secretary Jennie Formby. &ldquo;(Imerys has) a hardworking, long-serving workforce who deserve better than being dismissed with massive job cuts and a redundancy offer that will in no way compensate for their lost employment.&rdquo; 
 
Added Malcolm Mellow, TGWU Convenor at Imerys in the South West: &ldquo;Members have been rocked by the news that they will lose their jobs after devoting years of loyal service to Imerys. The workforce and their families deserve better.&rdquo; 
 
Imerys cut some jobs in the region in 2004, but promised then that the remaining 800 jobs would be secure. That pledge was breached early in July 2006 when a proposed restructuring plan surfaced saying the vast majority of jobs in kaolin mining and processing at former English China Clay operations would be lost, and the work transferred to Brazil. Imerys bought English China Clay in 1999. 
 
The ICEM is working with affiliate TGWU, as well as with UK affiliated trade union Amicus, which represents a smaller number of Imerys workers in the South West, to preserve the jobs and the region&rsquo;s economic viability.

UK’s TGWU Meets with Imerys to Dissuade Job Cuts

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The two-week-old strike by miners in Chile against the world&rsquo;s largest copper producer, Minera Escondida Ltda., continues today despite negotiations over the weekend with lead company BHP Billiton. The talks were spurred by Chile&rsquo;s government following a blockade by strikers aimed at preventing the company from operating with replacement workers. 
 
Following talks that failed midway through last week, some 300 miners, members of Escondida Workers&rsquo; Union No. 1, blocked access roads leading to the operations near Antofagasta, some 1,400 kilometres north of the Chilean capital of Santiago. Police attempted to reopen roads, using water canons and other forceful methods. 
<img height="66" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/ChileFLAG.gif" width="100" alt="" />
Despite declaring force majeure following the start of the strike on 7 August, BHP Billiton, the majority owner of Minera Escondida, was using replacement workers to carry forth production. The company declared that it was maintaining copper smelting and cathode processing at 40% of capacity, or 3,600 tonnes per day, and extraction processes at 10% capacity using substitute workers. 
 
Miners and police clashed for two days, 17-18 August, before Chilean President Michelle Bachelet ordered Labour Minister Osvaldo Andrade to intercede with mediation efforts. Those talks were held throughout the weekend and BHP Billiton did increase its salary offer. 
 
Some 2,052 members of the union are on strike at Minera Escondida, representing 96% of the company&rsquo;s workers. The union lowered its wage demands from 13% to 10% since the strike began, and BHP&rsquo;s revised salary offer, issued on 19 August, did offer hope that the strike could be settled early this week. 
 
In bargaining last week, BHP Billiton did not move from its wage proposal of 3% above Chile&rsquo;s inflation rate. Escondida Workers&rsquo; Union No. 1 is also seeking a one-off bonus of US$29,629, while the company is offering significantly less. 
 
The union says its demands would only cost the company 1% of its profits for 2006. Since a prior labour agreement was negotiated in 2003, copper prices have increased nearly six fold. The union has secured individual loans totalling up to US$1,841 for each miner, if necessary, to cover their expenses through the end of the month. 
 
Rio Tinto, a Japanese consortium led by Mitsubishi, and the World Bank&rsquo;s International Finance Corp. are the other stakeholders at Escondida, a company that last year produced 8% of the world&rsquo;s copper supply. BHP Billiton owns 57.5% of the copper operation, and is the managing partner.

Chile’s Copper Strike Continues as Miners Clash with Police

Please send a message to 
(with a copy to the&nbsp;ICEM - <a href="mailto:info@icem.org">info@icem.org</a>) 
 
Fran&ccedil;ois YAO 
General Secretary SYNASEG 
E-mail : <a href="mailto:ykokora@cie.ci">ykokora@cie.ci</a> 
Fax :+225 21 23 38 25 
 
 
 
 
Dear Colleagues, 

Re: Your strike against CIE 
We have learned through the ICEM that you will be on strike against CIE from&nbsp;October 30 to November 1. 
 
We understand that for a long time, CIE has been using the following tactics in an attempt to weaken your union 
 
&bull; Refusal to enter into dialog, and applying dilatory measures 
&bull; Hindered union freedoms by prohibiting the posting of union notices, and refused to allow holding union meetings, etc. 
&bull; Violated the union fees check-off agreement, by withholding fees, abusively use fees that have been collected in favour of third parties. 
&bull; Arbitrary creation and use of a Mutual Investment Fund (FCP in its French acronym) supposed to benefit employees but which proceedings are not used in favour of workers whereas they are the only contributors. 
 
We fully support your decision to call for a strike this week and demand that CIE immediately open unconditional negotiations with SYNASEG. 
 
In Solidarity,

Model support letter for SYNASEG campaign

<img height="40" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief201.gif" width="100" />
In the latest turn of the contentious Canadian mining company consolidation, ICEM affiliate United Steelworkers (USW) has called on the newest player in the takeover frenzy of copper and nickel company Inco to engage in open and direct dialogue with the union. 
 
Brazil&rsquo;s Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), the world&rsquo;s largest iron ore miner, entered the bidding for Inco recently with an all-cash offer of C$20 billion. The USW said it expects CVRD to adhere to a set of principles it adopted late last year when the high-stakes take-over battle began with Inco&rsquo;s proposed bid for rival Canadian company Falconbridge. 
<img height="225" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0605KenNeumann.jpg" width="200" alt="" /> 
 
ICEM Vice-president Ken Neumann
&ldquo;We look forward to having an open dialogue with CVRD to ensure there is a clear understanding of the union&rsquo;s position with respect to whoever or whatever ends up owning Inco,&rdquo; stated USW Canadian National Director Ken Neumann. Inco had been pursued by Canadian nickel and zinc producer Teck Cominco and US-based copper giant Phelps Dodge. Teck Cominco last week dropped out of the bidding. Also last week, Swiss-based Xstrata closed on the purchase of Falconbridge, a company employing many Canadian USW members. 
 
Neumann said the bottom line for the union is absolute protection of union members, their families, retirees, and the communities in which Inco operates. &ldquo;Beyond that, we expect the government of Canada to exercise its responsibility to Canadians and examine every potential purchaser of our resources, and do what is best for Canada,&rdquo; said Neumann. 
 
The eight principles set forth by the USW last year in this intense consolidation of the rich mining and metals industry includes: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>respect for USW members, the union itself, and it&rsquo;s collective agreements; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>an honouring of pension and benefits obligations for active and retired workers; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>a commitment to full training and development of existing staff, rather than use of contractors; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>no erosion in the union&rsquo;s involvement and significant workplace role in health, safety, and the environment;</div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>a commitment to continued operation of all facilities and to substantial reinvestment in all operations; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>full and immediate disclosure of corporate plans and of potential community, employment, and environmental impacts of any corporate transaction; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>respect for the voice of workers and commitment to union-management dialogue, including a forum that incorporates local union leadership; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>and union involvement in any sale of the company. </div>
 </li>
</ul>

USW Imposes Worker, Community Principles on Brazilian Firm in Canadian Mining Purchase

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Riot police in southern Peru battled striking contract workers at Chinese state company Shougang Hierro Per&uacute; SA recently, leaving seven seriously injured, including the wives of three workers. Some 600 contract workers employed by three cooperatives began a strike at Peru&rsquo;s only iron ore operation late in the evening on 7 August. 
 
The strike ended on 16 August, but not before police used excessive force to seriously injure the seven, including one person who nearly died. Twenty-eight other workers were detained during the police violence, which occurred on 9 and 10 August as strikers blocked roads leading to the mine in Marcona, department of Ica.
<img height="150" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0608PeruShougang2.jpg" width="200" /> 
 
C&eacute;sar Garc&iacute;a Hern&aacute;ndez, a contract worker, 
injured by police
One of Peru&rsquo;s national labour centres, the Confederaci&oacute;n General de Trabajores del Per&uacute; (CGTP), which helped resolve the eight-day strike, decried the violence, calling it an &ldquo;inexplicable act by police to protect the interests of a foreign company.&rdquo; Reportedly, police used heavy sticks, their boots and threw tear gas canisters at the strikers in order to disperse them. Eyewitness accounts said police were particularly abusive to women by kicking them as they cooked for the strikers. 
 
The strike had the effect of shutting the mine since some 900 permanent workers, trade unionists of ICEM affiliate Federaci&oacute;n Nacional de Trabajores Mineros, Metal&uacute;rgicos Y Sider&uacute;rgicos del Per&uacute; (FNTMMSP), honoured strike lines. In June, following a week-long strike, the union won wage and bonus increases for the permanent workforce. 
In a statement, FNTMMSP condemned the social conditions that contract workers of the three cooperatives work under, including failure by the companies to recognise workers&rsquo; collective bargaining rights. FNTMMSP called the establishment of the cooperatives a scam &ldquo;to evade all kinds of legal responsibilities and obligations.&rdquo; The union said the contracting companies fail to provide a decent and just salary, violate standard work rule requirements, and do not provide extra wages for night work or allow contract workers to take holidays. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/ICEMminingsector.JPG" width="100" />
The three cooperatives are Sercolima Sac, La Cooperativa del Solar Ltda., or Coopsol, and Cooperativa Santo Domingo de Intermediaci&oacute;n Laboral de Shougang. 
 
The strike ended after negotiations occurred between the primary employer, the subcontractors, the CGTP, and the government. Contract workers did not achieve all salary objectives, but did gain a US$1-per-day salary increase. The parties also reconciled some of the outstanding grievances, including the immediate reinstatement of three workers who had been discharged.

Police Attack Striking Contract Workers at Peru’s Iron Ore Mine

An alliance between two Global Union Federations (GUFs) covering oil and gas workers became stronger this week when delegates to the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) Congress in Durban, South Africa, gave rousing support to the ICEM/ITF Global Oil and Gas Industry Trade Union Alliance. The ITF and the International Chemical, Energy, Mine &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) have been jointly operating workers&rsquo; rights efforts in various parts of the world over the past two years. 
 
The ITF represents 4.5 million transport and logistics workers from 624 affiliated trade unions in 142 countries. The ICEM represents 20 million trade unionists from 379 affiliates in 123 countries.&nbsp;The ITF is&nbsp;based in London, while the ICEM is headquartered in Brussels.&nbsp; 
 
The two-year cooperative arrangement between the GUFs has mostly centered on the offshore portion of the industries. The official launch of the ICEM/ITF Global Oil and Gas Industry Trade Union Alliance now means that onshore work, from extraction and refining to distribution will get equal attention. 
 
&ldquo;The success that we&rsquo;ve had over the past two years demonstrates the strong synergies that exist between the two organisations,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. &ldquo;Today&rsquo;s energy market and its inter-connecting infrastructure make this alliance a natural for workers&rsquo; and their trade unions to have far more power and influence at the very highest international levels of the major companies controlling these crucial markets.&rdquo; 
 
The union federations will organise on issues from the &ldquo;wellhead to the wheel,&rdquo; the motto adopted during the two-year-old project. It means forging a common bond of all workers engaged in work in the oil and gas sectors, from exploration, refining, to manufacture &ndash; ICEM&rsquo;s traditional sectors &ndash; through to distribution, including sea, road, rail, and pipeline, ITF&rsquo;s areas. 
 
The two GUFs have put in place a joint structure that includes affiliated trade unions of both organisations. Besides cooperating effectively on strategic issues that have arisen in such places as the Timor Sea, the Caspian Region, and Nigeria and West Africa, the alliance has mapped trade unions that exist across several oil companies and their major service contractors. The alliance will utilise ICEM&rsquo;s existing Global Framework Agreements to include transport services, and it will place a special emphasis on extending job protections to the massive number of contract workers employed throughout the oil and gas sectors. 

Contact: Dick Blin, ICEM Information Officer 
+32 2 626 2026 
+32 4 74 88 00 54 (mobile)

‘From Wellhead to Wheel,’ Global Oil and Gas Trade Union Alliance Surfaces

ICEM WOMEN&#039;S BULLETIN No. 14 - August 2006

<img height="40" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/InBrief201.gif" width="100" alt="" />
A highly successful ICEM women&rsquo;s conference for the Asia-Pacific Region was held 27-28 July in Bangkok, Thailand. Attended by 22 trade unionists from six countries, the conference generated much discussion and several ideas for communicating effective practices related to gender issues globally. 
 
Topics discussed included maintaining a manageable work-life balance, work inside Asia&rsquo;s pharmaceuticals industry, and maternity issues. Related to the latter, participants debated and devised model standards for trade unionists on maternity leave. 
 
ICEM affiliated trade unions attending came from India, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, and Thailand. ICEM-JAF of Japan helped to sponsor the two-day discussions.

Asia-Pacific Women’s Conference Fosters Maternity Leave Guide

Archive

NUPENG, PENGASSAN in Nigeria Condemn Petrochemicals Privatisation

PWU in Canada Supports Efforts to Build More Nuclear Reactors

UK’s TGWU Meets with Imerys to Dissuade Job Cuts

Chile’s Copper Strike Continues as Miners Clash with Police

Model support letter for SYNASEG campaign

USW Imposes Worker, Community Principles on Brazilian Firm in Canadian Mining Purchase

Police Attack Striking Contract Workers at Peru’s Iron Ore Mine

‘From Wellhead to Wheel,’ Global Oil and Gas Trade Union Alliance Surfaces

ICEM WOMEN'S BULLETIN No. 14 - August 2006

Asia-Pacific Women’s Conference Fosters Maternity Leave Guide

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