INDONESIA: In a landmark decision on January 17, the Indonesian Constitutional Court, ruled that out-sourcing work is unconstitutional and against workers’ rights as enshrined in the Indonesian Constitution.

The Jakarta Post reports that millions of contract-based workers will regain their rights, including monthly salaries, allowances, severance pay and social security benefits, after the Court annulled rulings on temporary workers and outsourcing set out in the 2003 Labor Law.

The decision came in a case involving an electricity meter reader who filed a claimed that his permanent job was lost and taken over by out-sourced workers in contravention of the constitution.

Speaking at a pre-congress forum of the Kongres Serikat Pekerja Indonesia (KSPI) in January, IMF Regional Representative Arunasalam urged the unions to pursue this important decision of the highest court in Indonesia. He called upon the delegates to study the decision and seek improvement of the labour laws. He also pointed out that precarious work is a "cancer" in society that impedes socio-economic development for the working class and undermines trade union growth.

Meanwhile in the industrial city of Bekasi, tens of thousands of workers blockaded the main highway for about eight hours on January 20, paralyzing economic and industrial activities in the area. The mass protest erupted after the Bandung Administrative Court in West Java ruled in favour of the Indonesian employers’ association (APINDO) and ordered the provincial government to annul its decision on a 16 per cent minimum wage increase for 2012 to Rp 1,491,886 (US$168) for general workers, Rp 1,715,645 and Rp 1,849,913 for Category 1 and 11 respectively for industrial workers.

This protest forced APINDO to back down on its demand during negotiations with the unions mediated by the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry. Following this the West Java governor signed a decree revising the minimum wage for the Bekasi regency as was initially decreed.

Said Iqbal, President of IMF affiliate FSPMI said that workers power won the fight. He stressed that unified and concerted fearless struggle drove the employers to agree to minimum wage increase.

Similar protests are organised in Tanggerang which is another large industrial city. The rising cost of living and declining purchasing power is forcing workers and unions to fight for higher wage increases prompting the Indonesian President to call upon employers to pay higher wages to off-set rising costs of living.

NETHERLANDS:  On February 6 Mitsubishi Motor Corporation announced closure by the end of 2012 of NedCar, its only plant in Western Europe located in Limburg, southeastern part of the Netherlands. According to the IMF Dutch affiliate FNV-Bondgenoten, organizing half of the 1,500 employees of NedCar, closure of the plant, the biggest employer in the region, would have dramatic consequences for Limburg and Dutch manufacturing industry.

FNV-Bondgenoten spokesperson Henk van Rees commented, "The stopping of NedCar is unmercifully hard for a region already plagued by high structural unemployment. I am very concerned that mostly older workers will have no place in Limburg’s labour market on top of all the other unemployed."

In 2010 the company appealed to the unions and the government suggesting they participate in the studies and plans on how NedCar could be further converted into a competitive car assembly plant. Unfortunately, after long and intensive discussions the company ignored all union suggestions and decided to go for closure.

The announced reason for the closure is underproduction. Last year the output volume reached 47,000 vehicles versus annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles on a single shift. The plant produces Colt compact and the Outlander sport-utility vehicle (SUV). The production accounts for 4.3 per cent of the company’s global output.

The union is preparing to fight. At NedCar a strike has been announced on February 10. At the same time the union also demands a clearer stand from the Dutch Government and politicians about the issue of NedCar. Anja Jongbloed, member of the FNV executive board said, "We want an urgent meeting with Minister Verhagen (Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs) to discuss the results of this dramatic development and what can be done to preserve as many jobs as possible at NedCar and in Limburg”.

CANADA: The European Works Council (EWC) of Rio Tinto condemned the global minerals and metals producer for its unwarranted lockout of 780 Canadian members of Syndicat des Métallos d’Alma, an affiliate of the United Steelworkers (USW) in Alma, Québec.

In a letter sent on February 2  to the CEO of Rio Tinto, Tom Albanese, the Rio Tinto European Works Council asked him to urge the local managers of Rio Tinto Alcan to "negotiate in good faith" in order to put an end to the lockout of 780 workers at Alma, which started on December 30.

Rio Tinto displays "a lack of vision that can only lead to the destruction of the social fabric of the community," wrote European Works Council Secretary Véronique Roche, warning, "Our European organization will stand alongside the USW in every effort organized in Europe and elsewhere and will participate in the USW’s fight to repel such anti-social attacks."

The intervention made by Rio’s EWC is part of an international solidarity campaign of the USW, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions  and the IMF to support the workers at Rio Tinto Alcan’s Alma aluminium smelter. Eleven days ago ICEM and IMF global affiliates began sending protest letters to Rio Tinto’s President and CEO Tom Albanese resulting in: the company turning off its fax machines.

A mass protest of Canadian and global trade unionists will take place in Alma on March 31. That will come a day after the ICEM North America Region holds its committee meeting in the region as a show of support for the victimised members of Syndicat des Métallos d’Alma, USW Local 9490.

The chief issue behind the lockout is Rio Tinto Alcan’s desire to have unlimited outsourcing rights, something that would eventually half the wage base of the Saguenay-lac-Saint-Jean region. Since Rio Tinto purchased Alcan in 2007 for US$39 billion, Alma management has replaced each worker taking retirement, or in other reductions in force, by outsourcing to sub-contractors who use low-wage staff without full social benefits.

Syndicat des Métallos d’Alma tried to set a floor on full-time, direct employees in collective negotiations. Alcan refused and immediately locked out the unionized workforce on expiration of a prior five-year agreement.

For more information go to:

USW ENGLISH: http://www.usw.ca/workplace/campaigns/campaigns/rio

USW FRENCH: http://www.usw.ca/travail/campagnes/campagnes/rio

ICEM: http://www.icem.org//files/PDF/lettre%20TOM%20ALBANESE%20ALMA%20FEV%202012%20engx.pdf

To take action go to: http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?c=28626&l=2

EUROPE: Representing eight million workers in Europe, the national trade union leaders affiliated to the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers’ Federation (EMCEF), the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) and the European Trade Union Federation for textiles, Clothing, Leather and Footwear (ETUF-TCL) signalled their intention join forces through a merger of the three federations, which will take place in Belgium on May 16, 2012.
 
On January 31, 2012 the first joint meeting of the executive bodies of the three founding organizations agreed on a political programme, new statutes and on the candidates for the political leadership of the new organisation.  Michael Vassiliadis, president of Germany’s IGBCE, was nominated to serve as president. EMF general secretary Ulrich Eckelmann was nominated to be general secretary. Nominated as vice presidents were Anders Ferbe from IF Metall, Sweden, Renzo Ambrosetti from UNIA, Switzerland, and Valeria Fedeli from CGIL FILCTEM, Italy. Sylvain Lefebvre, EMCEF, Bart Samyn, EMF, and Luc Triangle, ETUF-TCL, were nominated as deputy general secretaries.

The new federation will consist of four policy committees: the collective bargaining and social policy committee, the company policy committee, the  industrial policy committee, and the social dialogue policy committee. It will also be composed of eight regions: South, Benelux, Central, South-East, Eastern, British, Nordic/Baltic, and South-West.

The joint executive declared that the new federation will strive to become a fighting force for a dynamic economic framework that will allow industry to thrive as the motor for jobs and sustainable growth across Europe.

The new federation has yet to formally adopt a name, its temporary name is the European Industrial Workers’ Federation (EIWF).

GLOBAL: Trade unionists around the world will mobilize during the week of February 19-25, calling on the Mexican government to stop its attack on workers and implement steps to allow for workers to organize independent democratic trade unions of their choosing.

Last year more than 50,000 union members, students and human rights activists from some 40 countries participated in the Global Days of Action, launched on February 14 in Mexico and Australia simultaneously. For six days union members came together in an unprecedented show of solidarity. Thousands of letters were sent to the Mexican government, more than 50 meetings were held at Mexican Embassies throughout the world, and massive demonstrations throughout the week, inside and outside of Mexico, marked the strength and urgency of our message: STOP the attack on workers, we demand Trade Union Rights in Mexico, NOW!

The impact of our global actions were felt around the world. On February 24, just weeks after Global Action Days launched, political prisoner Juan Linares of the National Miners’ and Metalworkers’ Union of Mexico was released from jail after being unjustly imprisoned for more than two years. Building on our 2011 actions, independent unions in Mexico, together with their respective global union partners, have come together as a movement of force, challenging retrogressive labour legislation, Mexico’s scandalous “Protection Contract” system, and exposing corporate and political corruption.

Despite an escalation in action and outcry from unions in Mexico and at the international level, workers continue to be denied fundamental rights, independent unions face violent and political attack, and corporate impunity is at an all time high.

During the week of February 19-25, 2012, in honour of the Pasta de Conchos miners who died in a mine blast on February 19, 2006, members of the international labour movement are again asked to take action.

POSSIBLE ACTIONS INCLUDE:

• Request a meeting with Mexican Embassy/Consulate representatives to discuss trade union rights in Mexico.
• Organize a small delegation to deliver a statement or letter to your local Mexican Embassy/Consulate.
• Send a letter to your local Mexican Embassy/Consulate.
• Engage national policy makers to join meetings with Embassy representatives or to send similar letters to the Government of Mexico.
• Publicize actions taken in defense of trade union rights in Mexico on your union’s website and in its publications.

Print-ready posters and model letters are available to be used for actions and mobilizations. Posters are available in English, French, Spanish and Russian. The original In design artwork file is also available upon request if you wish to add logos or additional information, contact: [email protected]. Model letters are available in English, Spanish, French, Russian and German.

Please be sure to keep us informed of all actions taken, send photos, letters, and reports to: [email protected]

MEXICO: Arneses y Accesorios de Mexico, Mexican subsidiary of the auto parts wiring systems and accessories company PKC, has told workers at its plants that it has signed a collective agreement with the CTM. The workers had decided they wanted the SNTMMSRM to represent them.

The company’s human resources representative in Mexico and plant managers communicated a message from the company president, Harri Suutari, to all factory assembly lines and departments.

The message, which was registered in English and interpreted orally into Spanish for the workers said (the original English is not available, below is a translation of its Spanish version): “the company has been able to work without a union for many years, because it has been a company with open doors, ready to listen to workers and resolve their concerns and problems. It has recently come to our attention that outside groups want to destabilise labour peace, recruit workers and get into the company. In these circumstances, and in order to protect itself and jobs, the company has decided to sign a collective agreement with the Mexican Confederation of Workers (Confederación de Trabajadores de México, CTM), led by Tereso Medina, in Coahuila so that no other unions get involved. You may ask yourselves what is the best union? We would say the CTM, because it represents workers in the auto parts industry.  How much will the union dues be? Nothing, because the company is going to pay them so that the CTM does not enter the plants and has nothing to do with you. Things will continue as usual, for example, the company will continue to recruit new staff. What will the benefits be? Labour peace and a secure job for many years".

The IMF rejects PKC’s anti-trade union attitude and its intention to impose a union against the wishes of its employees. The IMF and other international non-governmental organisations that combat protection contracts in Mexico and support the miners’ union’s struggle condemn the company’s actions.

CANADA:  On February 3, five weeks after Caterpillar’s Progress Rail Services locked out 465 CAW members trying to slice their pay to C$16.50-per-hour from C$34 and to eliminate a defined benefit plan and reduce overtime pay and holiday time in collective bargaining, Caterpillar announced closure of its Canadian train locomotive plant Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) in London, Ontario.

The announcement comes only 18 months after Caterpillar bought the plant and was awarded C$5 million in tax breaks from the Canadian government to promote industrial development.

“Caterpillar had no intention of keeping this plant open,” said CAW President Ken Lewenza. “From day one, we believed that Caterpillar was trying to provoke a crisis, by forcing deep cuts that were not possible.”

This sting to Canada’s industrial base comes seven days after Caterpillar reported record annual profits of US$4.9 billion in 2011, an 83 per cent jump over 2010 earnings of US$2.7 billion. The closure announcement also came a day before Progress Rail Services was to hold a jobs fair in Muncie, Indiana, where the company opened a similar diesel locomotive plant in October 2011 and is now one-third toward a staffing level of 650. Average salaries in the start-up Muncie plant range from US$12-16-per-hour.

Caterpillar lobbied the Indiana state legislature ardently for passage and in full likelihood will zealously resist unionisation of the Muncie facility, a former ABB manufacturing site. This comes amidst Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman enjoying 2011 salary and perks of US$10 million, while his company was out to gouge C$30 million from the 465 CAW members in London.

CAW’s President Lewenza pointed at government inaction and stated these job losses are casualties of an outdated and dysfunctional Investment Canada Act that attaches no commitment between Canadian jobs and corporate takeovers.

“We will not leave this community, we will take over this plant, we will take over the equipment, we will take over the facility, until our members get justice here”, added Lewenza commenting on the decision to cease operation in Ontario.

For more details visit ICEM website at http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4876-Raging-Insult-to-Final-Injury:-Caterpillar-to-Close-Canadian-Train-Locomotive-Plant.

BELGIUM: At the Belgian general strike of January 30, and during the EU summit held in Brussels, the Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique (FGTB), the Centrale Syndicale Chrétien CSC and the Centrale Générale des Syndicats Libéraux de Belgique (CGSLB) were keen to send a message to the attention of European leaders.

Belgium’s three main unions called for efforts to revive the European economy. As part of the demonstration at the summit building, union leaders delivered a symbolic "eurobond", pressing for a joint pooling of debt in the euro-zone.

The strike affected the entire country including all provinces and sectors. The strike was widely followed and actions took place in a peaceful atmosphere. The unions hope that a genuine social dialogue with the government will be possible.

For more details see FGTB’s pamphlet and CGSLB’s pamphlet.

ROMANIA:  On January 24, Electrolux employees went on a general indefinite strike after the company management refused to conclude a new collective agreement with all provisions from the previous contract. Representing the workers the Free Trade Union SAMUS, a member of the IMF Romania affiliate Trade Union Federation METAROM, is demanding a 24 Euros wage increase for every employee starting from January 2012 and another 25 Euros increase starting from September; however the parties did not come to an agreement.

The protest actions started from a two hour warning strike on January 19 with no reaction from the management. On January 24 workers announced a general indefinite strike. The leader of the Free Trade Union SAMUS, Sorin Faur, declared “no matter the duration of the strike and the consequences, the people are determined to go on”. In addition, the union also organized side actions including a rally in the town of Satu Mare and protest meetings.

The Electrolux plant in Satu Mare, County of Maramures produces kitchen and cleaning appliances and equipment and is the biggest Romanian enterprise in its sector.

The IMF has sent a strong message of solidarity support to the striking workers of Electrolux in Romania and calls on the affiliates to convey their solidarity messages in order to get a quick and fair solution of this dispute.

Send your solidarity messages to Mircea Scintei, FSS Metarom President at [email protected] and [email protected] with a copy to the IMF at [email protected].

GLOBAL: At a press conference coinciding with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Public Eye Award announced the winners of the vote for the most evil companies in 2012. This year the mining giant Brazilian Vale collected the most votes of 25,042. The second prize went to the Japanese Tepco, with 24,245 votes for its gross negligence in safety practices at its nuclear power plants.

The international jury awarded the global award to the banking giant Barklays whose speculation on food “futures” drives up global food prices at the expense of the poorest.

Vale got nominated for building the Belo-Monte-Dam in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, where potentially 40,000 people will be forcefully evicted. However, this is not the only reason for Vale to be blamed for the most socially irresponsible corporate behavior.

For a number of years unions across the world have been fighting against Vale’s anti-union behavior. Workers in different countries faced unjust lockouts and dismissals while resisting the company’s attempts to erode working conditions and deny basic labour rights at Vale operations worldwide.
 
Fair Deal Now at Vale has been one of the most powerful campaigns over the recent years organized by United Steelworkers (USW) and supported jointly by the IMF, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM). The campaign started in 2009 and lasted for 18 months before a deal for 3,500 steelworkers in Voisey’s Bay/Goose Bay, Labrador, and in Ontario, Canada, was finally reached at the end of January 2011.