AUSTRALIA: Unions staged a protest at the Annual General Meeting of BHP Billiton in Adelaide on November 28, over the company’s lack of commitment to working with unions that represent half its employees worldwide.

Glenn Thompson, Assistant National Secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), attended the meeting and asked why BHP Billiton refused to attend a meeting of workers from around the world in Brisbane in October.

Mr Thompson reported to the meeting that management was invited by the International Metalworkers’ Federation to address a delegation of BHP Billiton workers from around the world, but declined.

Tony Maher, of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), asked about BHP Billiton’s plans to fund low emission coal technology.

The company’s answers to the unions’ questions were polite but evasive. On industrial relations it gave no commitment to international relations with unions, re-iterating that its labour relations would be determined by local conditions and laws. The company also would not say if it was prepared to do more to expedite carbon capture and storage.

Meanwhile AMWU union members demonstrated out the front of the meeting, distributing leaflets and answering shareholders’ questions on these issues.

The action at the AGM followed a joint IMF and ICEM global unions meeting of BHP Billiton union representatives from around the world, held in Brisbane in October 2007. At the meeting delegates agreed to implement a combined strategy to improve workers’ bargaining position across the company.

A webcast of the questions and answers at the BHP Billiton Ltd AGM in Adelaide can be found at this link: http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/investorsMedia/shareholderMeetings.jsp

ITALY  At 01:30 am on Thursday December 6 at a steel factory in Turin owned by the transnational steel giant ThyssenKrupp a fire started in the shop where the full-hot metal is cooled. According to witnesses the incident looked like a scene from hell, with people enveloped in flames becoming fire torches in seconds. Colleagues of the victims who tried to help had to helplessly observe the nightmare, as four out of five fire extinguishers failed to function. 

The company was gradually dissolving the factory, with the enterprise due to close in two months time. Out of 400 people initially working at the factory the company relocated around 200 workers, the remaining 200 people were supposed to get compensation from a redundancy fund for two years and later to switch to a mobile employment scheme.

According to the opinion of Fabbio Carletti, FIOM representative, expressed in the Italian newspaper La Stampa the company is no longer interested in the plant and recently stopped paying attention to the enterprise, workers and their conditions.

Outraged with such lack of responsibility on the part of the company the IMF affiliates in Italy FIM-CISL, FIOM-CGIL and UILM-UIL made a joint statement:

 “We demand full and regular participation of the authorities in controlling workplace health and safety, the enterprises should adopt all the norms and necessary measures for controlling workers' health and safety and be fully responsible for their application. One should work to live, not to die.”

On Monday December 10 the IMF affiliates in Italy will organize an eight hour strike at all ThyssenKrupp enterprises. In addition, together with the announced strike, the unions have proposed a National Day of Struggle of Metalworkers of Italy on December 14 to get controlled health and safety conditions at all workplaces.

IMF expresses its condolences to the families of those that died and to the other workers who have suffered as a result of the tragedy in Turin and expresses its full solidarity with the metalworkers in Italy.

Update:
According to the last report received from Italy a total of seven workers died as a result of the incident.

GENEVA: Brian Fredricks, former assistant general secretary of the International Metalworkers’ Federation retired after almost 30 years of service to the IMF.

Marcello Malentacchi, IMF general secretary paid tribute to Brian’s work and life at the IMF Central Committee meeting in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

“It is not easy to summarise Brian's long and intense trade union work since 1968 when he started as a young worker at the Toyota assembly plant in Durban, through the formation of a new non-racial auto workers union, the strikes of the 1970s, the development of international solidarity linkages, and the establishment of the first IMF South Africa office. All of that represented a crucial contribution to the unification of unions in the metal sector and the foundation of NUMSA,” Marcello said.

A copy of Marcello’s complete speech is available in English on the IMF website’s Opinion section.

BRAZIL: Almost 500 delegates representing metalworkers from around the globe gathered in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, on November 28 and 29 to discuss ways to improve standards for precarious workers and develop a global strategy to stop the causualisation of permanent work.

Precarious work is typically non-permanent, temporary, casual, insecure and contingent. Workers in these jobs are often not covered by labour laws and social security protections. Precarious work is caused by employment practices designed to maximize employer profits and flexibility and to shift risks onto workers.

IMF affiliates put forth recommendations for actions to be taken as part of a global effort against precarious work. Some of these recommendations include:

• Unions should demand collective agreements that apply to all employees, including precarious workers.
• Clauses on precarious work should be included in collective agreements, both on improved working conditions and on limiting the incidence of precarious work.
• Unions should educate workers on the effects and impacts of precarious work, including on occupational safety and health.
• Unions should conduct national campaigns against precarious work and develop action plans to eradicate it, especially in Export Processing Zones.
• Unions should build alliances with other social movements in the struggle against precarious work.
• Unions should increase their intervention in labour reform in favour of precarious workers and actively resist legal reforms that facilitate precarious work or reduce the rights of precarious workers.
• Legal restrictions on the rights of precarious workers to join the same union, to bargain under the same agreement and to take collective action with regular workers should be removed.
• IMF shall coordinate an international Day of Action against precarious work that includes prior education and has a national focus.
• IMF shall coordinate international solidarity actions in support of precarious workers.
• International Framework Agreements should include rejection or limitation of precarious work.
• IMF should help to develop a global strategy, linking with other global union federations and national centres.

Following the two day meeting, approximately 2000 metalworkers marched through the streets of Salvador chanting “The people, united, will never be defeated!” in Portuguese, Spanish and English. Demonstrators flew union flags and banners high above the crowd, while others held signs calling for an end to Precarious Work.

“This is an important issue to working people around the world, regardless of the country they come from,” said Marcello Malentacchi, IMF general secretary. “We see it on every continent, precarious work not only strips workers of basic human rights, but compromises workplace health and safety standards, erodes working conditions and wages, and places an enormous stress on workers and their families. This is of serious concern to the IMF and the international labour movement. We can and must play a role in working to eradicate the degradation of good, permanent jobs.”

BRAZIL: Affiliates of the International Metalworkers’ Federation who participated in the IMF Central Committee in Brazil adopted a number of resolutions focusing on trade and workers’ rights.

A resolution on the IMF Working Party on Trade, Employment and Development called for affiliates to support African trade unions and NGOs in their campaign against Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) that are to replace the Cotonou Agreement with ACP countries. The resolution, adopted by the IMF Central Committee, noted that the European Union is continuing to push toward a liberalisation of the markets without an evaluation of its impact on affected communities. For resolution text, click here.

Central Committee delegates adopted a resolution in support of the Mexican Miners’ and Metalworkers’ Union’s (SNTMMSRM) struggle to fight the Mexican government and Grupo Mexico’s joint-effort to take control of the union. The resolution denounced the enormous political persecution SNTMMSRM members and leadership have faced and called on affiliates to take collective action in solidarity. For resolution text, click here.

The United Auto Workers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, United Steelworkers and Korean Metal Workers’ Union put forth a resolution opposing the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement and the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement and calling for the immediate release of imprisoned workers in Korea. Central Committee delegates fully supported the resolution. For resolution text, click here.

Indian affiliates put forth a resolution calling on the Indian government to ensure that it puts in place a fair, transparent and just law on land acquisition in response to the government’s recent move to set up industrial zones, displacing tens of thousands of rural people in India. The resolution was adopted by the IMF Central Committee. For resolution text, click here.

SPMK Kosovo presented a resolution in support of Iron Pipes Plant workers in Ferizaj 1 Urosevac who were dismissed under a privatisation plan employed by Kosovo Trust Agency. The resolution, which was adopted by the IMF Central Committee, called for workers to return to work and for Kosovo Trust Agency to dialogue with the union representing Iron Pipes Plant workers. For resolution text, click here.

A resolution in support of workers at the Ford automotive assembly plant in Vsevolojsk, Russia who are fighting for improved wages and working conditions was adopted by the IMF Central Committee. The resolution demands that the company cease any form of intimidation or force against the workers and enters into good faith negotiations with the union. For resolution text, click here.

All resolutions were adopted in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil on November 29, 2007.

BRAZIL:  On November 27, in Salvador, the capital of Bahia, Executive Committee members of the International Metalworkers Federation debated the future of the IMF and made recommendations for discussion in resource allocations.

Delegates received updated information about the work and activities planned and implemented in 2007 by the Geneva based IMF Secretariat. Delegates approved the audit report and budget proposal for 2008.

There was much discussion over the Programme of Activities 2008, which included a new method of reporting and planning, giving a more detailed overview of proposed activities and providing information on the strategic importance of programs. IMF executive committee members agreed that the new reporting methods adopted were a great improvement in assisting them in taking better informed decisions regarding IMF resources.

Executive members discussed and approved the affiliation of two Belgian trade unions Algemen Belgisch Vakverbond, (ABVV) and Metaal and Metallurgistes Walonie- Bruxelles (MMB), which previously were part of the single organisation affiliated to the IMF. Russian trade union, Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA), became the eighth union in Russia to affiliate to the IMF. The Mexican trade union, Sindicato Progresista de Obreros y Empleados de la Industria de la Extracion, Fundicion y Fabricacion de Metales, del Hierro, Autopartes, sus Similares y Derivados de la Republicana Mexicana also was approved for affiliateion. All trade unions were unanimously welcomed to the IMF.

Delegates unanimously nominated Fernando Lopez to serve as the new assistant general secretary to replace Brian Fredricks who will retire from the IMF. The executive committee also unanimously nominated a new IMF Executive and Finance committee member Stefan Lofven to replace retired committee member Kiel Bjorndallen, in both committees.

A long discussion took place over a paper prepared by the Secretariat, linked to the resolution of the IMF Vienna Congress, regarding Global Union Federations and the future of the international trade union movement.

IMF president Jurgen Peters proposed to create an extended finance committee with representatives of six regions designated to review the current approach of the IMF in a number of issues including the medium and long-term income prospective, expenditure structure, externally funded projects, analysis of internal structures, analysis of existing structures and working methods, and distribution of resources as well as future cooperation with key GUFs.

BRAZIL:  More than 50 delegates participated in the International Metalworkers’ Federation’s Women’s Workshop on Precarious Work in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil on November 26.

Delegates considered a report on activities of the IMF Equal Rights Department regarding Export Processing Zones (EPZs) and women workers in the electronics manufacturing industry. The meeting put a focus on the issue of precarious work in Brazil, where Brazilian women represent the majority of precarious workers in the country.

Carol Landry from the United Steelworkers Canada, Hyewon Chong of the Korean Metal Workers Union and Francia Sosa of the National Federation of Miners and Metalworkers (FENATRAMIN) in the Dominican Republic were part of a panel reporting on precarious work in their respective countries and strategies their unions have taken to address this important problem.

Hyewon reminded delegates of the enormous challenge precarious workers face to improve their situation. “Once you fall in, it’s almost impossible to climb out and get permanent work,” she said, noting that precarious workers are by definition robbed of the tools to change their lot, the right to strike and the right to collectively bargain.

The workshop examined why women are more likely to be in precarious work and possible union approaches to improve conditions for women precarious workers specifically. Delegates put forth list of recommendations to be considered at the IMF Central Committee meeting taking place in the following days.

Proposals to be considered include:

• Unions should take action to reduce the double burden of domestic work on women, one of the reasons for women’s over-representation in precarious employment.
• Actions should be taken to improve the work-life balance in regular employment, to reduce precarious employment.
• Unions should do their own gender analysis of precarious work.
  Strategies on precarious work should emphasize Decent Work and incorporate gender and race.
• Since women are often employed in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that lack capacity to implement gains for women, union need to insist on bargaining with the principal company.
• All Central Committee proposals must take into account gender.
• IMF should develop a women’s manifesto pointing out the various ways that neo-liberalism has affected women in the metal industry.
• Precarious labour has a feminine face and all IMF documents need to show that understanding.
• Precarious work means precarious lives and social insecurity leading to increasing violence against women. This must be emphasized in the IMF’s campaign against precarious work.

RUSSIA: The Interregional Trade Union of Automobile Workers (ITUAW), which represents workers at the Ford car assembly plant in Vsevolozhsk, has been in wage negotiations with the company for four months. But Ford management has thus far refused to seriously consider the union’s reasonable proposals or to engage in proper reconciliation procedures, according to the union.

On November 7, the workers went out on a one-day warning strike at the plant located outside St. Petersburg where the company builds the popular Ford Focus model.

As management continued to ignore workers’ demands, the workers decided to down their tools and begin an industrial action at midnight November 19. The strike comes during a period of booming car sales for Ford in Russia. Workers are demanding an increase in the basic monthly wage to 28,000 roubles ($1,143), up from 19,000 roubles, and a new collective labour agreement.

Russian consumer prices are already running at least 1.3 percentage points higher than the government’s 8.0 percent yearly inflation target. As a result, factory managers across the country are facing demands for higher wages, according to news reports.

“We have been waiting for four months, since the end of July, but it’s all gone nowhere. The management of the plant has not cooperated with the reconciliation committee,” said Alexei Etmanov, chairman of the Ford trade union branch of the ITUAW/VKT.

“Now they’re trying to win some time. On Dec. 15, the Christmas holidays will start. Then we will see no negotiations until mid-January.” Etmanov said, indicating that such delays by management have occurred before.

The IMF and its affiliates have sent expressions of solidarity with the workers and union at the Ford Vsevolozhsk plant in their fight for better wages.

GLOBAL: In the issue, Metal World interviews Brazilian metalworkers Julio Cesar and José Pereira Miranda who speak about their experiences and the importance of the trade unions in their workplaces.

Silvia Portela de Castro reports on the project of setting up Mercosul, the common market in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and examines the challenges trade unions face in influencing the direction of this bloc in a special report on Metalworkers and the Mercosul.

Union leader Alexei Etmanov, a trade unionist at a Ford plant in Russia, is profiled in the latest issue of Metal World. Alexei explains how a visit to Brazil in 2005 had a lasting effect on him, changing his entire concept of trade unionism.

Metal World, IMF's quarterly magazine, is printed in English, Russian and Japanese and can be downloaded from the IMF website. Metal World is mailed to subscribers free of charge. To be added to the Metal World mailing list please send subscription details to: [email protected] or fax your request and address information to: IMF Communications +41 22 308 5055.

The IMF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean has been located in Montevideo, Uruguay, since March 2008. It represents trade unions in many Latin American countries in the metalworking, mining, automotive, steel, electrical and electronics, aerospace, shipbuilding, mechanical engineering sectors.

The IMF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean represents affiliates in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Curaçao,  Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The regional office team provides advice and education services on trade union issues and organises sector activities and meetings for members of affiliated unions in the metalworking and related industries with a view to contributing to the development of international trade union policy and international solidarity, promoting the involvement of unions in trade agreements and analysing trade union structures in order to improve them so they are able to meet the challenges they face today.

In addition, the office channel’s international experience on labour and trade union rights to trade union leaders during disputes with multinational companies and governments.

The regional office also implements projects and activities in cooperation with trade unions, especially in the automotive, mining and metalworking sectors.

The regional office has staff for financial administration, education and projects, the organisation of conferences and meetings and communications and press. The regional office has been previously located in Caracas, Venezuela; San Juan, Costa Rica; Mexico City and Santiago, Chile.

The Regional Officer is Jorge Almeida, an Argentinean national, a trade union leader in the automotive industry from a young age and specialist in the area of trade union education.

The regional office has a quarterly publication called Mundo Metal, which reports on the activities, programmes and projects of the IMF and its affiliates and discusses issues of regional importance.